Mikelo! - The Fabulous Life of Mike Conway

Tribute to my Dad

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 20:27:17 PDT

On this day a year ago, I lost my father. He was an amazing man that I always looked up to. I still miss him.

Player Test

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 03:19:32 PDT

I'm thinking of creating a podcast using Mevio, so I'm seeing how the embed works by using another podcast of mine.

Glenn Beck vs. Me

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:34:16 PST

Feel free to ignore the leftist message at the end. This was fun.

Mikelo! - Ghost Hunting Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:58:14 PST

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The conclusion to Mikelo's investigation, and what he found out.

Music:
Konyor by Betyarbanda
http://www.jamendo.com
Willow and the Light by Kevin MacLeod
http://www.incompetech.com

Music and video released under Creative Commons Attribution
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/

I feel good today

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:10:53 PST

I'm going to be making sure that I make the best out of my life, and I'm going to test this silly RSS to Twitter thing until it works.

Last Night, I Saw Myself Dead

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:44:44 PST

I got an early Christmas present from @RichJude the other day, and part of it included a book (more on that gift later). When I'm settling down into bed at night, I like to do a little reading and then nod off. Last night, I was looking through this book and read this passage:

"Although we only experience one physical death in this life, we experience thousands of other sorts of deaths during out life. Life, as we know, is a cycle, and death is part of that cycle. Phases of our life end, others begin."

The paragraph goes on, but once I read that, I suddenly felt like I got hit. My eyes actually seemed to slam themselves shut. In the darkness that followed, I saw Srila Prabhupada* stanbding in front of me, and he said, "Yes, and now that you have accepted that reality, and of your previous death-" next to him a casket appeared, and I was laying in it. "-you can finally move on and take steps into your new life."

I awoke to Jude coming into the bedroom, but was too tired to tell him much. I tried to tell him what I saw, but had such a hard time staying awake, so I nodded off.

This morning, I'm still pondering this. I think I have accepted the death of old ideas and attitudes. I have a new apartment waiting and a new job starting in January. I'm starting a new period of creativity where I will be releasing new games and books. I'm letting the low-energy depressing life die, and I'm accepting a new life of prosperity and energy and happiness. I'm going to bury the corpse of my old life and live the new.

*Srila Prabhupada is my spiritual master, the one who saved my life by showing me who God is and bringing me to Him. He also founded the Hare Krishna movement in the West. He quit his body long ago, but that never stopped him from being a true influence on the lives of others.
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Having trouble building characters for your story or game? Build compelling characters in five easy steps. http://bit.ly/CharacterTYPES

Mikelo! - Ghost Hunting Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:55:42 PST

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Mikelo decides to see if he can capture some ghost footage, but finds himself unable to do so without help.

Music:
Konyor by Betyarbanda (http://www.jamendo.com)
Dark Cue 4 by Kevin MacLeod (http://www.incompetech.com)

All music and video released under a Creative Commons license.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/

Mikelo! - Blog Action Day: Climate Change - Optimism

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:17:08 PDT

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Mikelo explains why the current attitude of doom and gloom isn't really the right way to think. Sure things look bad, but it's really not as bad as it looks, and we can make the changes that are necessary for a clean and healthy planet.

Conservation Hardware:
http://www.conservationhardware.org
(719) 636-BULB (2852)

Music: Konyor by Betyarbanda (http://www.jamendo.com)
Pure Attitude by Kevin Macleod (http://www.incompetech.com)

Music and video released under a Creative Commons license:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/

Mikelo! - Poor Sick Katie

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:31:11 PDT

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Mikelo's cat Katie is feeling under the weather, and so a trip to the vet is in order.

Thanks to Nicole Haladay for the funds to get Katie in to see the vet, and to Healthy Pets Animal Hospital for seeing her, and helping us out.

Music: Babylon Extended by Kevin MacLeod
http://www.incompetech.com

Music and Video licensed under Creative Commons http://creativecommons.org/licenses /by/3.0/us/

Attempt at Myth, part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:58:06 PDT

A few days ago, I made an attempt to write a creation myth, which will form the foundation of the Darkstar Supers Universe. I'm proud of the result, and have already been integrating it into the Gauntlet Alliance mythology. I'll probably edit it into something more coherent later, but here's the beginning of it, kept as tweets:

"Light did not come quickly to the universe. Under the swirling crimson and pitch skies of Premus, the battle for genesis began."

"Great beasts of fur and circuitry rose against paladins of occult might, each pulled from different universes to do battle."

"The Masters and The Fiends, the first created beings of this new reality, drew in these beings for dominance of the fledgling cosmos."

"The light of the Masters barely held its own against the darkness of the Fiends, but rapidly gained strength and brightness."

"The knights and cyborgs fell to each others' weapons and might, and the spilled blood soeaked into Premus's soil. From death rose new life.

"The ground of Premus, formed of only the most basic life-giving minerals, gave rise to new natives of the universe, rising from the earth."

"The A'dama rose first. But a piece of them was unstable and fell from them during their sleep. These pieces mingled with the soil, and..."

"...became the Hav'yavat. Together, they were the Premans, and made this first world their home."

"The light and dark became separated and equally dispersed. Soon, the clouds over Premus cleared, revealing an ancient red sun in the sky."

"The Masters actively strove to lead the Premans in the ways of Good, while the Fiends subtly tempted them away from the Masters' light."

"In between the Masters and the Fiends, the Premans flourished, using their bodies and minds make food and shelter and soon, tools."

"Within a generation they had created a fully-formed language. Within three, they created vehicles. Within seven, complex machinery."

"By the 13th generation, the Premans learned to harness electricity. By harnessing electricity, they soon learned magic."

"By taking hold of these forces of nature, the Premans soon expanded beyond their home world, and took homes on other planets."

"The influence of the Masters proved stronger than the Fiends' influence, and the Premans society flourished in both strength and love."

To be continued...

Project A-ko: Backmask

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:56:49 PDT

Recently I was watching Project A-ko: FINAL with Jude, and there was a part where an alien spacecraft is approaching Earth. We noticed that half of the conversation is dialog that has been played backward. Well, we had some time on our hands, so we recorded it and did a little editing. God bless Audacity.

Here's the original (MP3):
Download

And here it is played forward (Note: I left the regular dialog as is) (MP3):
Download

Good thing Jude got me into The Beatles, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten the references. Enjoy!

Mikelo! - Clean Up!

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 01:05:14 PDT

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Mikelo cleans the bathroom of a former tenant who claims to have scrubbed for "hours." Mikelo shows what he accomplished in just 30 minutes, and what he used, so you can do the same.

Music:
Konyor by Betyarbanda
Right and Wrong by Zooner
http://www.jamendo.com

All music released under a Creative Commons license.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

Vote for more taxes? Oh, please...

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 09:52:09 PDT

On Facebook this morning, I got a message from Steven Saint-Thomas of the Pikes Peak Justice and Peace commission about Measure 2C which is going on the ballot. This is what he wrote:

The Pikes Peak Justice & Peace Commission is endorsing measure 2C on the November ballot to better fund essential city services by means of property tax.

The most equitable way to fund a city is by taxing property, the true wealth of the community. Taxing sales is regressive – rich and poor pay the same rate, placing the burden on the poorest. In addition, sales tax is a tax on consumption, which we hope continues to decrease as Americans consume fewer precious resources.

The city has relied too heavily on sales tax and it’s time to make the shift. We urge the community to pass 2C and call upon Justice & Peace Commission members to help us promote the initiative at tables and booths around the city between now and November. Please let us know if you can help!

More taxes, huh? That's the solution? Personally, I'm all for sales taxes and eliminating most other taxes. There's nothing wrong with consumption, especially if we as a people start doing it more responsibly by keeping our world clean and clean up the mess we already have made. It can be done.

However, I wrote back to him with the following message:

I don't understand how sales tax hits the poorest when they buy the cheapest and the rich buy more expensively. The higher-priced the item, the more tax is paid on it. Add to that that there's no loophole for it. Everybody pays.

As opposed to property taxes, of which there is too much of already. As if lower-income people have enough problem paying already, you want to add more of a burden to them, and more than likely keep them from holding onto the property they might have now?

The rich have tax attorneys to help them find ways of paying less taxes, including on property, so your new taxes would do just what new taxes always do - make the poor pay more. Lower-income don't have the luxury of tax attorneys, and more taxes is likely to cause them to lose their homes. And if no one is living in the homes, no taxes are being collected anyway.

How about instead we take a look at where our tax dollars are already going and start auditing wasteful programs? Make the records bleed for a change. When we're done slashing nonsense spending, we apply the savings to where money is needed most?

I'll be voting against this measure. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.

Mikelo! - Things I've Seen: Debbie, Gangstas and Shows

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:23:25 PDT

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Mikelo relates some of the interesting things he's been witness to of late.

Mikelo! - Katie and the Little Red Light

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Mon, 11 May 2009 17:52:01 PDT

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Mikelo's Cat ventures into the hall and discovers something to hunt down. Music: Danse of Questionable Tuning Artist: Kevin MacLeod and Bryan Teoh http://www.incompetech.com Music and Video released under a Creative Commons: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/

Mikelo! - Free Comic Book Day 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Wed, 06 May 2009 00:02:28 PDT

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Mikelo shows off his haul from the greatest day of the year. Thanks to Bargain Comics in Colorado Springs, Co for hosting the event. Music: Konyor by Betyarbanda The Attraction by Bill Basham http://www.jamendo.com All music and video licensed under Creative Commons http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/

Mikelo! - Bus to Gillette Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:08:21 PDT

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Mikelo is stranded yet again, but manages to overcome with a little help.

Music: Tectonic by Kevin MacLeod
http://www.incompetech.com
Licenced under Creative Commons Attribution

Mikelo! - Bus to Gillette Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:32:35 PDT

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Mikelo is still in the bus terminal, and the lack of sleep is taking its toll...

Music: On the Cool Side by Kevin MacLeod
http://www.incompetech.com
Licenced under Creative Commons Attribution

Mikelo! - Bus to Gillette Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:21:57 PDT

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Mikelo's mother suffers a heart attack and is doomed to a life of inactivity until she recovers, so it's Mikelo to the rescue, taking care of things while she recoups. The problem is getting there...

Music: Sunshine by Kevin MacLeod
http://www.incompetech.com
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution

Mikelo! - Help Karen Ellis

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:11:57 PST

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http://planetkaren.girl-wonder.org/

Planet Karen is a fun read written by Karen Ellis. Now that she's basically homeless thanks to a fire in her building (unfortunately claiming the life of the person living above her), Girl Wonder set up a benefit to help her get back on her feet.

Benefit linkage:
http://girl-wonder.org/2009/02/benefit/

Please do what you can.

Mikelo! - Fanboy

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 09:14:39 PST

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Click to Download (Low Quality .mp4)
Click to Download (High Quality .mp4)

Mikelo talks about fangirls, like his daughter, but gets a special surprise while doing so.

Mikelo! - Poverty Doesn't Exist (Blog Action Day Special)

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:11:33 PDT

Mikelo weighs in on the conversation on poverty.

Mikelo! - Deck Building

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:16:03 PDT

Mikelo puts the finishing touches on a deck that he's spent the last 6 weeks rebuilding.

Mikelo! - Mental Mud

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:17:07 PDT

Mikelo's got problems, but probloms are made to be overcome!

Goal - A video a day. Can it be done? Well... yeah, of course. Duh.

Mikelo - Getting Wood

noreply@blogger.com (Mikelo!) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:14:31 PDT

Mikelo sees someone familiar while visiting a supply shop. The experience is... enhancing.