• I can't believe I'm still awake … #
• #Google backpedals (again) on #Buzz privacy http://bit.ly/bbP1tp – Padlock that barn door boys! #
• Just cleared compositing directory of render passes not needed any more – *44GB*!!! I *really* need to update my site with finished renders! #
• #DeviantArt #Artist mention: Bloodredsangre http://bit.ly/dgbjNA Cute fae and vamps amongst others #
• Just fed ferals, count's back to 5 so we didn't lose one as we feared! Looks like he found a new feeding/sleeping spot #
• Taking a break from rendering today, defragging the boxen in the farm. Wondering if I should write instead. #
• BBC News – Space rock contains organic molecular feast http://bit.ly/9PLb88 #
• OK, *this* is somewhat scary – #Poe Toaster didn't show this year – baltimoresun.com http://bit.ly/9n5kCN #
• Clips & interviews from the remake of "The Wolfman" on #CNN – http://bit.ly/bDxKla – I think I've found a new movie to watch on a big screen #
• Worth Going To! >> RT @JamesAMoore: For anyone in Atlanta area w/gets bored, I have a signing http://bit.ly/bJVCKv here, 7:30 PM on 2/16/10 #
• Riddles and Rumors: Big #Batman 3 Plot Points – Techland #TIME http://bit.ly/dx0ge7 #
• Group gives #veterans homeless pets a second chance #CNN http://bit.ly/bQYsO0 – And yes, it does work #
• You know you're having a slow day when you're arguing in blog comments about whether or not a pixie is a fae #
• #DeviantArt #Artist Mention: KaanaMoonshadow http://bit.ly/a3o3z8 – Beautiful work #
• QOTD: The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible – Arthur C Clarke #
• See a common theme here? >> RT @DarkHorseComics: #newcomicday #newcomicday #newcomicday #
• Don't know if anyone's seen these: Captain Phil Harris Moments #Discovery #DeadliestCatch http://bit.ly/baB5wL – Walk with beauty Captain #
• El Reg gets creative titling an article "#Google #Buzz accused of EPIC #FAIL quot; http://bit.ly/aTq6cu – You'd think they were geeks #
• Today's #deviantART #artist mention: Damaged927 http://bit.ly/dDfvQB – Some really cute anime art #
• QOTW: I have an Oscar and Alex [...] doesn’t. [...] I would have done a far better job of playing me than her >> *snerk* @MarleeMatlin #
• NBC's tape-delay coverage of Olympics frustrating for sports fans SI.com http://bit.ly/cHyNeX – Not to mention incomprehensible, lame & daft #
• Looks like local PD has that new "rumbler" siren … can *feel* it two blocks away! #
• Help me resolve a disagreement with my pixie friend and vote on my poll: Are pixies fae? http://bit.ly/b4dt0K #
• Today's #deviantArt #Artist mention: alltheoriginalnames's http://bit.ly/cUx1vU – You've got to see this guy's art! #
• Congratulations to #deviantArt #Artist LadyNightVamp, on her first cover art sale!! http://bit.ly/aw1Y4i #
• Hubby trapped by #WMATA #MetroAccess – An hour late making p/u, and now he's forced to do the Grand Tour of DC. 3 hours so far. #FAIL #
• Grand Tour update – #WMATA #MetroAccess still has hubby trapped on one of their vans. Dinner's cold. Good job he's not diabetic. #FAIL #
• Woohoo!! Hubby is finally saved from #WMATA #MetroAccess Grand Tour captivity. Only took 4 hours. Got to love efficiency #FAIL #
• Music to render to: Buffy Sainte-Marie's Running For The Drum esp. No No Keshagesh http://bit.ly/c4j7rX #NDN #
• Note to self: Don't populate an infinite plane with a non-dynamic ecosystem if you value your system's resources – 77 million polys of scrub #
• Today's #deviantArt #Artist Mention: porkshanks http://bit.ly/bKUsCd – *punk Cosplay and some amazing repurposing & jewelry! #
• Hmmm, should I be excited and proud I actually managed to grind Vue into imploding? Bad artist! Bad! #
• You know you've gone crazy when: you decide you've had too much coffee this morning #
• Farm happily churning away on a new Wasteland Wench render, and keeps office warm @ the same time! #
• Trying to explain Wasteland Wench to hubby, best description I could come up with is Mad Max meets Sigourney Weaver … #
• Muse is being a bitch this morning, teasing with glimpses of a fantasy image but not letting me "see" what she sees. Bribe with choccies!? #
• RT @GeekGyrlFriday Online Chat with Author Yasmine Galenorn | Geek Gyrl Friday http://tinyurl.com/yhebnw3 #
• Hot chocolate with marshmallows makes a good bribe, Muse happy and pointing out what I should have seen myself! *dives into render* #

Alright, can you help me resolve a dispute I’m having with my good friend in Second Life (and slightly crazy pixie) Koko?

It’s really simple.  I say pixies are fae (also known as fairy or faerie folk), Koko says they’re not, they’re a species all to themselves.

So I was curious as to what everyone else thinks.

Comments

• February 19, 2010, Kokoro (1 comments) writes: Pixies are much more than Fae.. Fae are all the pretty ones that humans lump together. Pixies are chaos and chocolate combined.. So there.. :P

Tainee, our PCA, is a member of the family and we love her to bits.

Not only does she manage to keep the two of us on schedule, and handle all the stuff we can’t do because of our chairs, she’s one of those rare human beings who is just genuinely a really nice person.  In the slang of the Service, she’s a good egg, snappy dresser, fun to be with at parties.

She’s also really talented.  She started learning how to do beadwork, at first because we could always use some for our regalia, but she really got into it and now makes all kinds of pieces.  Pretty soon she’ll have her own site where she’ll be putting pieces up for commercial sale, but for now she’s concentrating on doing custom and small pieces.

Each one is for the most part created on the spur of the moment, no formal pattern is created.  It’s led to some … interesting results over time

So here’s samples of the items she has on hand right now that are completed.  Some are custom pieces that are already spoken for, some are available, and she’s always willing to hear about ideas for pieces people might like.  Check it out below, and if you’re interested in any of these, or in custom beadwork, send an email to tainee_2004@yahoo.com with the word “Beadwork” in the topic line.

Note: This is not “Indian Beadwork”, i.e. created by a Native American.  This is “Indian-style Beadwork”.  It’s important to note the difference, as there are many web sites out there that will claim to sell Indian Beadwork but don’t.

• RT @NASA: The Astrovan loaded with 6 eager astronauts is headed to launch pad 39A. No technical issues, weather is "go" – launch @ 4:14a ET. #
• Sign you know you're doomed: You're watching the weather channel and are arguing over how the weatherdrone's blouse was made (more) #
• and totally ignoring the forecast of 8"+ more snow on top of the 3 1/2 foot already on the ground #
• Nervous day – with more snow coming, going to risk strapping on my legs and walking out to store for restock #
• 6 blocks out, 6 blocks back, crutches as ski poles. There are times when the Marine in me gets me into all kinds of insane plans #
• It's at times like this I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me when I was a kid #
• Pondering rendering an administrative assistant for @GeekGyrlFriGEV – Now to just think of something … suitable #
• Legs strapped on, render for @GeekGyrlFriGEV in progress while I'm gone … time to brave the snows. Adapt, Improvise, Overcome – nuke 'em! #
• Whew, back from The Long Trip … man the roads are a mess – the sidewalks are non-existant #
• Ohhhhhhhh @GeekGyrlFriGEV … There's something left on my blog I think belongs to you http://bit.ly/bZ1zla #
• I think the shoes I used today are pretty much scragged from the snow and water. Oh well, now I have an excuse to but a new pair! #
• And joyous news (NOT) – they figure 8-12" more snow coming tomorrow night. #
• Kudos to neighbor who went and rented a bobcat to clear the street cos the town hasn't had a plow near here. Still stuck but not *as* stuck #
• Topper on @WUSA9 forecasts 1-2 foot of snow tue->wed, near blizzard conditions wed – restock now guys #snowpocalypse #
• So something that says @DarkHorseComics rocks, as does #Terminator qualifies? #
• RT @skottieyoung: putting together my book THE ADVENTURES OF BERNARD THE WORLD DESTROYER. Wait till you see the guest pieces! #
• Ugh, seen disabled seating chart for venue @trans_siberian will be playing here, wouldn't be able to see squat. Guess it'll be xmas again #
• Why do concert venues always stuff disabled back where people's heads will get in the way, let alone crowded if ppl standing?? #
• Verizon Center in DC has a much better setup for disabled on the floor #
• Kudos to @WUSA9 for during-storm coverage, big BOO for their aftermath coverage – why only film feel-good segments in high-rent areas? #
• From #CNN – Dying teen's dream to travel – http://bit.ly/alkLIc #
• And the snow has restarted. #Snowpocalpyse Part Deux #
• Damn – this render is flowing out sooo smooth, and sooo creepy. Started as a doodle but it's taken on a direction & life of its own! #
• Sent render to the farm – estimated 2 hours … Did I mention I have *no* patience?? #
• Robo-call: #MetroAccess is *completely* shut wednesday – no rides, no staff @ office – duration day to day #WMATA #snowpocalypse #
• RT @sfwa: Ann & Jeff VanderMeer accepting previously published submissions for STEAMPUNK RELOADED antho http://tinyurl.com/yk3p8lb #
• Gah! Beautiful render and I spot right in the middle of it a monster fern – total scale FAIL. Try again #
• farm thinks 20 minutes before it's finished this pass of the render … so impatient to start postworking it #
• GFX Blog: Dark Forest Mauseleum http://bit.ly/cdh9Pk #3D #GFX #
• Before and after pics – Aftermath of #Snowpocalypse to one night of #Snowpocalypse II – I hate sequels! http://twitpic.com/12f6vr #
• Ugh, just has a power outage again … I love UPSs #
• Brain blood vessels clue to #MS http://bit.ly/bfIy6F #BBC #
• RT @NASA: RT @NASAJPL A cool game for your budding rocket scientist! "Build your own space mission" at http://bit.ly/9V9XH0 #
• Donut forget to patch! >> Bumper Patch Tuesday tackles multiple #Windows flaws http://bit.ly/amnuEF #
• Anyone w/snowmobiles near buckeystown pike, fire crew and some staties need recovery #snowpocalypse #
• OK, I've had it with all this bloody snow! Time to make me a new avatar #
• Why is it I can visualize traits in other people to make avatars of, but can never find an image that fits *me*? #
• RT @kenyonsherrilyn: These are the eyes from Simi's doll. She & Ash will hit stores in Jul. Preorders begin in Apr – http://bit.ly/coU2f2 #
• OK, new avatar design sent to the farm for crunching. Fingers crossed #
• RT @GreatDismal: RT @azaaza: Warning: Buzz has a huge privacy flaw. Be default everyone can see who you email often. http://bit.ly/aijfCg #
• RT @FairyFindings: RT @CandaceHavens: Talking about beauty of online resources 4 writers here http://bit.ly/tCqKm Please share resources. #
• OK, I don't like this new avatar … redoing it #
• RT @NASA: And we have LAUNCH of the Solar Dynamic Observatory on its mission to reveal sun's inner workings in unprecedented detail #SDOisGO #
• Thought for today: Our past helps shape us, but does not define us #
• Just avoided getting soaked – took a hoe to the ice on awning over front door, ice chunk came off followed by waterfall! #
• Feral colony count: 1 not seen since snows started. Dumped white long haired cat now comes into laundry room with Cinnamon – no fights! #
• Ferals colony has 3 long term (8 yrs) – Cinnamon, Watcher, 3C (all litter mates). 2 dumpers – Tux and "white cat". Colony was at 11 at max #
• Watcher's the one AWOL since the snows started. Cinnamon's semi-socialized and holed up in laundry room. We think she's got something (more) #
• going with Boots, our blind cat – they sit on either side of register in wall … Boots got hisself a GF?? #
• Idea for new avatar being churned at the farm – 3 hours so far! Did I mention I have *no* patience? #
• Hmmm … RT @CERN: Romania becomes a candidate for accession to CERN http://bit.ly/dfuufp #
• Hmmm, something's broken the archives links on my GFX site … it works, you just can't go to the monthly archives. Weird #
• Why is someone trying to defend the drivers in a 50-car pile-up in Virginia yesterday? Which part of "Stay home, don't drive" did they miss? #
• RT @sfwa: sff.net users: They had a major hardware problem. No data lost. Restoring services ASAP. Details @sffnet or http://status.sff.net/ #
• RT @DarkHorseComics: Great review of Aliens: More than Human http://tinyurl.com/greataliens, trade late sprng http://tinyurl.com/orderaliens #
• New avatar render *still* at the farm getting churned – got the full color, AO, and shadow passes … still waiting on 2 more #
• New avatar renders complete, 6 hours 4 minutes total. Now for postwork #
• OK, let's see … what does this button do? Aha! #
• GFX Blog: Render: New Personal FB/Twitter Avatars http://bit.ly/c6tMFT #3D #GFX #
• 'I had controversial #MS treatment twice' http://bit.ly/cOKKCl #BBC #
• That was an interesting chat session with TKA agents … now if only I could remember where I heard about it from #
• Astros get all the fun toys – I Want one! RT @NASA: The station's robotic arm has removed the Tranquility node from Endeavour's payload bay. #
• OK, enough robo-arm envy for one evening, off to catch up on L&O:SVU eps for a bit #
• 2am, time for bed. Going to try and make it to the store tomorrow to restock emergency supply – I'm out of saltines onoes! #
• Don't forget to meet the assistant I made for @GeekGyrlFriGEV and send her suggested names for the little tyke! http://bit.ly/bZ1zla #
• RT @FairyFindings: RT @Syfy: Last Reminder: I'm giving away my BSG pewter #cylon raider to someone who RTs this note by Friday, 2/12 #
• Oh FFS, now we might get snow tomorrow as well? Would the person doing weather magic please GO BACK TO SCHOOL!! #
• RT @YasmineGalenorn: @FairyFindings No, but caffeine makes EVERYTHING better! >> Truer words have never been spoken #
• The Weather Channel says … expect snow in the Metro DC area tonight. I'll wait for @WUSA9 to say it before I believe it #
• #FF #FollowFriday Authors: @JamesAMoore @Susineito @LKHamilton @YasmineGalenorn @kenyonsherrilyn @BrianKeene @Trollgodfather @JeffStrand #
• #FF #FollowFriday Authors: @neilhimself @StevenBrust #
• #FF #FollowFriday Artists: @DarkHorseComics @JL_Anderson @MarkH_B @skottieyoung @MikeHawthorne @joannastar #
• #FF #FollowFriday Music: @trans_siberian @ladygaga @bearmccreary #
• OK, Topper on @WUSA9 Admits there *might* be more snow coming to DC tomorrow. Aren't we lucky??? #
• Free rendered desktop background: Cyberlight on Moonwolf’s Graphics Lair http://bit.ly/7TWHSu … What can I say, I like gynoids #
• Very cute and sweet and wingeded! >> RT @kenyonsherrilyn: http://twitpic.com/12vsrd – Manga Simi #
• Can 'Wolfman' destroy vampire fever? #CNN http://bit.ly/9SbT1r – Interesting analysis of the movie and the genre in the 21st century #
• Everything you need for the geek in your life this v-day? http://bit.ly/c3jCrs #
• Woke up to V-day pressie from hubby – hardback reprints of last 2 Stephen King Dark Tower books! Squee!! (No laughing, @FairyFindings !) #
• Computer Engineer Barbie coming soon to a toy store near you http://bit.ly/b6quYN #
• OK, sense of humor hard at work, gotta do a *special* V-Day render #
• RT @skottieyoung: New Blog Post with the cover to JUNK ONE first in the series of my new artbooks http://bit.ly/9d3R2w #
• I did warn people my sense of humor was on the loose today #
• Move to merge Asperger's, autism in DSM-V stirs debate – #CNN http://bit.ly/amSqYL – And NTs wonder why we find them confusing? #

Sorry, I just had to do it

My Kinda Valentine's

Comments

• February 16, 2010, Ken St. Andre (4 comments) writes: that's a real beauty and the beast combination. Only question is: which is which? Reverse it, Moonwolf, and draw a predatory Babe leering down on a helpless Alien.

A conversation with Patrick a few days ago reminded me of a post I wrote in 2004, so I thought I’d add a little to it and bring it up to date.  Original post is down below.

The conversation was pretty innocuous, talking about the way the sidewalks were totally impassable due to the snow being plowed onto them creating mega berms that will take ages to be cleared, and how it meant we’d have to travel on the road itself to reach the stores.

As an aside, Pat let slip that at one of the Powwows we attended a few years ago, someone had come up to him and said “You know you’re not really dancing, don’t you?”.

I should explain a little.

We go to powwows on a regular basis, those that we can reach in the Metro DC area.  Both of us go out during inter-tribal dances.  Now, we know we don’t “dance” the way everyone else does, physically – we can’t (although I have a design for a fancy shawl rig for my manual chair in mind that might actually surprise some people!).  We know this as well as everyone else does.

But dancing in the circle isn’t just about the physical.  The arena is Sacred Space, dancing is also about what you bring into that space in your heart.

My Tank has its own regalia, which either tells my story, or for the Veteran’s Day Powwows at George Mason University carries regalia I created specifically as a Patriot Guard Rider to show honor to my brothers and sisters in arms.  That brings even more energy into that Sacred Space, with purpose.

The fact both of us are on wheels makes no difference to us – in some ways it amplifies and focuses us on that spiritual side of the dancing.  We don’t “just wiggle our controller joysticks around” randomly, we let the song the Drum sings and the energy of the dancers around us guide us, our chairs, and yes our bodies as they will.

And, I hope, the other dancers in the arena can join our energy to theirs as we do theirs to ours.  I still remember a pair of young dancers at one BAIC powwow in Baltimore dancing around the Tank as we went around the arena during an intertribal, making it and me part of their dance – even to jumping over my footplate with that grace and fearlessness of kids

Until Pat mentioned that remark, I hadn’t even really thought about the question “Are we dancing, or just playing?”.  I have a feeling the answer I’ll get from Rie if she reads this will be censored for language, but I have to ask myself, why would anyone ask it to begin with?

I think some of it goes back to the points I made all the way back in 2004, reprinted below.

The question Pat was asked was “You know you’re not really dancing?”, based on our not behaving as people expect wheelies to behave.  Did this person think that we should just be sitting off in the corner, out of sight and out of mind?  Worse, was he judging out matter of fact dancing against the dancing of everyone else and finding us wanting?

At the very least, he did actually say something, but I now wonder how many at Powwows share his question but are afraid to ask?

And that’s where the drive for political correctness really holds us back – How can we explain all of what I’ve written above to them, when we can’t be sure who has that question in their minds – or even if any of them have that question.  This “fear” surrounding people with disabilities created by political correctness holds us back far more than any pseudo-advantage political correctness is supposed to give us.

At the end of the day, my feeling on this (I won’t speak for Pat with it) is that I know in my heart why I enter the circle, and I know that the energy I offer is accepted where it matters.  If someone has a problem, they’re perfectly entitled to it, but as long as I continue to respect the Sacred Space, where is the problem?

When I first entered an arena at Powwow, it was after a lot of searching for answers along a similar vein – I knew I couldn’t physically dance as everyone else would, so I asked myself constantly would my going into the arena somehow be embarrassing or an insult to those dancers. Would I be able to reach that place people go when they dance in that Sacred Space?

Eventually I got my answer – it’s not about me. It’s about the dance. I’m not dancing for the people who are watching, I’m not dancing for me.

I’m dancing for my ancestors, my history, the people who matter to me, the people who need the energy, and (for me especially), for my brothers and sisters in arms who can’t be there.

So we handle it all as perfectly normal, everyday – we’re oblivious to the wheels we use instead of feet.

Hopefully, people will read this and understand that we’re not “too” normal.  We’re just like everyone else, we’d just like to be treated the same.

Originally Posted August 2004

---

It’’s kind of frightening to wonder if I might have blown a recent job interview by being too “normal”.

Most of the time, people seem to be very confused as to how they”re supposed to “behave” around people with disabilities, at least in my experience with someone in a wheelchair at any rate. There’’s been such an upsurge in “political correctness” that many people are concerned almost to the level of paranoia as to how to handle talking to disabled people.

For example. Is it politically correct to tell someone they have a really cool looking wheelchair? Is it politically correct to ask them questions about how hard it was to learn to use it when they first got it?

Is it politically correct to tell someone they have a really cool looking car, or a very nice outfit on that day? Is it politically correct to ask someone questions about how hard it was to learn to drive that powerful sportscar, or to say how “brave” someone is to go out wearing a particularly scandalous outfit – “I”d never dare go out in something like that”?

It all depends on the wheelie really, and the attitude of the questioner. But somehow we”ve managed to lose sight that someone could possibly ask such questions because they”re actually interested. The disabled community has somehow, in trying to combat the real discrimination out there, create an atmosphere of fear and paranoia that I believe is actually working against us. How? Because it prevents the only true way to battle discrimination – Education, showing people that we”re no different than they are.

When someone has to be concerned at a potential backlash for trying to learn more about us, who we are, why we”re that way, they”re never going to see how we maintain our dignity and humanity despite the obstacles we”re encountering. We”re always going to remain an “unknown” because we”ve somehow persuaded the world that to try to learn anything about us is rude, anti-social, bigoted, discriminatory, and worse. We”re isolating ourselves by creating a shield of ignorance that prevents others from finding out that we”re real people.

I”m kind of odd, really. Once I got used to the Tank (my Quantum Blast 650 – aptly nicknamed!), as far as my own image of myself was concerned, my feet were wheels, and my legs became 300 lbs of steel, plastic, and batteries. And that’’s as far as I notice the Tank – I pay as much attention to being in it as I did to being stood upright and walking when I could. I can”t change the fact that I”m in the Tank, so I just accepted it as being a part of my body, no more “different” than my legs and feet.

So for me, someone saying the Tank is a really cool looking powered chair (in purple no less) (which it is, by the way), it’’s the same as someone saying that I have pretty ankles (They do, and I do ). I”m not going to complain if someone pays me a compliment, and I”m certainly not going to complain if someone can wrap their head around the same fact of life I had to accept when I got the Tank – It’’s a part of me, but it doesn”t define me.

Perhaps that’’s the real problem in society … Discrimination wants to define wheelies as being “the person in the wheelchair”, with the emphasis on “the wheelchair”. I define myself as “the person in the wheelchair”, with the emphasis on “the person”. The problem is, the wheelchair is a part of me, so when people look at me, they”re scared they might cause offence, because of “political correctness”. The easiest solution for them is to tiptoe around me at every opportunity, which means they”ll never really get to know me, or be as at ease with this hunk of metal attached to my ass, as I am.

I don”t pay any attention to my Tank, although I”m quite proud to point out it’’s just so perfect (thanks to the wizardry of Mark E Smith) it even has a cup holder, and makes large holes in bedroom doors (don”t ask). But it seems to throw people for a loop that I don”t pay attention to it. They”re unsure how to handle a wheelie who is so matter-of-fact about an extension to their body. I don”t act the way wheelies are “supposed” to, that such topics are totally off limits, uncomfortable, or that if you bring it up I”m going to slap you with a discrimination suit. It’’s a part of me, it”ll always be a part of me, and you”re just going to have to deal with it. But you can”t deal with it if you don”t know about it, and are afraid to ask.

As long as we have this blanket attitude of “keep away” when it comes to discussing those things that are a -part- of who we are, we”ll never really remove discrimination. If we make such a big deal out of those things that -we- believe separate us from the able-bodied, then those things will always be a big deal to the able bodied. We have to demystify these things through education and starting to -act- like we”re normal people, or else discrimination will never leave – it”ll just stay hidden.

While we”re on the subject, BBC News Online has an amusing article about a pregant woman turned away from a nightclub by the moron on the door.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Helen Henderson: A wheelchair doesn’t make an employee perfect (thestar.com)

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get any pictures yesterday, but I wanted to get this update up from round one before round two hits – it just started snowing again.

I have no clue where he got it from, but yesterday we were astonished to see one of our neighbours come down the road in a Bobcat, a small front-loader excavator.  He then proceeded to chunk out a wide path down the road, and even cleared our driveway enough so we can get to our trashcans.

So all the clearance you see in the pictures below is attributable to one resourceful resident, not the town, and not the county.

On the other hand, we’re starting the second round of snow – some estimates go up to 20 inches, some higher.  If it hadn’t been for our neighbor we could have been looking at four to five feet of snow blocking us in and the Town not coming to plow until enough of it melted.

So – the final pictures, rounding off Snowpocalypse Round One:

I was in a silly mood this morning, trying to avoid having to think about having to venture out into the snow to restock some supplies since there are more storms on the way, and decided to render a personal assistant for Yasmine Galenorn’s personal assistant, GeekGyrlFriGEV.

Now, I know she’s a bit young, and might need the occasional burping and stuff, but I figure it’s best to start her training early.

So congratulations, GeekGyrl – you’re a momma

GeekGyrlFriGEV's Personal Assistant

Comments

• February 8, 2010, Justine Greene writes: @MoonWolf95 oh wow.....That is AWESOME! Thanks for my assistant! Does she have a name? (For those curious: http://bit.ly/bZ1zla here she is)
• February 8, 2010, Justine Greene writes: Hey Moon Stalkers, check out the adorable dragonling @MoonWolf95 made for me http://bit.ly/bZ1zla She needs a name-tweet suggestions to me!
• February 8, 2010, Tweets that mention Render: A Geek Gyrl-Friday’s Assistant » Moonwolf’s Lair -- Topsy.com writes: [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Justine Greene and Justine Greene, Moonwolf. Moonwolf said: Ohhhhhhhh @GeekGyrlFriGEV ... There's something left on my blog I think belongs to you :) http://bit.ly/bZ1zla [...]

• RT @YasmineGalenorn: Blog up: My reaction to the Amazon Fiasco: http://bit.ly/9YtMnV #
• Oh joy – more snow on the way! 5 inches forecast. Just what we needed! #
• What do you call the iPad in Arabic? • Register Hardware http://bit.ly/cOjPUT #
• The Conservative Case For Gay Marriage – Newsweek.com http://bit.ly/9i7Pg6 #
• RT @DeadliestCatch: Update on Capt. Phil, he's recovering from surgery. http://ow.ly/12m71 #
• Judge seals videotape in #Taser case – #CNN http://bit.ly/bcL2r5 – What the hell is on this tape?? #
• Researchers: U.S. escalated drone strikes in Pakistan in recent weeks – #CNN http://bit.ly/d2c2Bt – And the problem with this is what? #
• .#Hubble, sky survey catch rare asteroid crash, #NASA says – #CNN http://bit.ly/b9hd66 – Asteroids like DC drivers when snow falls! #
• Reports: #Phishing attack hits #Twitter – #CNN http://bit.ly/czz784 – Whoopsies? #
• Yay snow covered trees and a gorgeous view of the park. Boo wet heavy snow that's going to make chair ramp a nightmare #
• RT @metroopensdoors: Metrobus, MetroAccess service returning to normal operations http://www.wmata.com/tiny.cfm?id=4277 #
• Why oh why don't authorities realize their plows force wheelies onto the roads by creating snow berms blocking all kerb cuts??? #
• RT @NASA: STS-130 prelaunch countdown briefing at 10a ET on NASA TV and http://www.nasa.gov/ntv – launch weather for Sunday is 70% "go." #
• RT @YasmineGalenorn: Please RT to remove @astatalkcom from Twitter. They are posting links to unauth. copies of copyrighted works! #
• OK, let's see if this idea works … Why does Facebook have to be so complicated compared to Wordpress?? http://fb.me/50PFsVt #
• On the subject of art theft … Does this qualify? http://bit.ly/9RSR88 #
• GFX Blog: Delilah and Ariel http://bit.ly/aSMzHB #3D #GFX #
• Today must be monday, I never could get the hang of mondays. Big drain pipe under house blocked and needing replacing, and snow on the way! #
• I'm expecting to be stuck until tuesday when the snow hits, but will have no excuse not to do pic of you & 3yo at mall @MikeHawthorne #
• Delaware, New Jersey brace for blizzard; D.C. area to see heavy snow – #CNN http://bit.ly/cYX5v7 – DC blizzard warning for 10am-10pm Friday #
• W00t! Jim's gotten into another Top 10 list: RT @JamesAMoore: http://bit.ly/9t7Jzi This is where. #
• Oh my … gimme gimme!!!! @CBR @DarkHorseComics #
• Is the #Avatar concept really possible? – #CNN http://bit.ly/9KyvYe #
• From #WMATA #039;s site: #Metro prepares for major winter storm Friday and Saturday http://bit.ly/bItTlA – #MetroAccess riders call 301-562-5360 #
• So, 40lbs of ice melt bought, supplies are in, plumbing repaired, now we just hunker down and wait for the storm #
• So snow's coming, neighbour cars blocking the street, plows won't be able to come after the snow – end result, we're gonna be stuck. *sigh* #
• Accountants are the unsung heroes of maintaining sanity this time of year @YasmineGalenorn #
• #FF Authors: @YasmineGalenorn @LKHamilton @kenyonsherrilyn @JamesAMoore @Susineito @Trollgodfather @StevenBrust @JeffStrand @neilhimself #
• #FF Artists: @MikeHawthorne @MarkH_B @joannastar @JL_Anderson @DarkHorseComics @skottieyoung #
• #FF Music: @Trans_Siberian @bearmccreary #
• Town response to call telling them road's blocked so plows won't come down leaving 2 wheelies stranded after snows? "We're leaving flyers" #
• RT @YasmineGalenorn: For Authors: AG launches "WhoMovedMyBuyButton"–will alert you if Amazon moves YOUR buy button! http://bit.ly/b3F3Fx #
• Still got power, farm churning away doing the last @YasmineGalenorn fanart (Camille), hubby hitting McD's on his way home – Life is good! #
• Uh-oh, sense of humor kicked in. Idea for next render – Giger aliens having a snowball fight. I'm bad #
• OK, *you* tell me where it's canonical that Giger aliens don't have snowball fights! #
• Expanded idea: @MikeHawthorne 's 3YO having a snowball fight with Giger aliens. Wonder if @DarkHorseComics would buy the idea … #
• Yeesh, cabin fever's started to set in and the storm's not even here properly yet #
• If you'd like to blame someone for my 3D art, it's @MarkH_B who got me started years ago – Check out his stuff at http://bit.ly/b8M3fM #
• Well, they shifted the #Blizzard Warning 12 hours – 10pm to 10am now. @WUSA9 doppler shows frightening clump of snow s. of #DC – #Snowstorm #
• It's not the snow that worries me, but the response of the auth's. By now they should *know* how to handle snow even in #DC – #Snowstorm #
• #Snowpocalypse pic, 9pm http://twitpic.com/11lb4i #
• #Snowpocalypse pic, 9pm http://twitpic.com/11lbee #
• http://twitpic.com/11lbee – Pic taken from front door … not great, camera shake is cos it's so damned cold! Will try to get better ones la #
• http://twitpic.com/11lb4i – Pic taken from front door … not great, camera shake is cos it's so damned cold! Will try to get better ones la #
• According to @WUSA9, #WMATA & Ride-On buses in the #DC region are now stopped, #MetroRail will shut down above-ground @ 11pm #snowpocalypse #
• MD Gov O'Malley: "This is a great time to curl up with a book" – I suggest @YasmineGalenorn @LKHamilton @kenyonsherrilyn and @JamesAMoore #
• Yay, Camille render passes almost done – 6 hours. Now comes the Photoshop part and the Magic Pen Of Wacom Intuos! #
• From @WUSA9 – #WMATA no above ground #MetroRail and no #MetroBus saturday – Probably means no #MetroAccess either #
• PCA's dog after 2 minutes going outside to do his business. He was *really* eager to get back in! http://twitpic.com/11lkht #snowpocalypse #
• According to #MetroAccess web site – all trips saturday cancelled, if you have a medical emergency call 911 #snowpocalpse #WMATA #
• http://twitpic.com/11lkht – This is our PCA's dog after 2 minutes outside doing his business – pola-dot doggie! #
• Thundersnow ~1 hour from being overhead – It's absolutely beautiful outside, snow reflecting lights – so I'm weird! #snowpocalypse #
• Otherworld Fanart posted up on my blog in three posts via http://bit.ly/8Zv4IJ – Comments welcome (Menolly plz be gentle!) @YasmineGalenorn #
• Looks like 18" of snow so far, still falling. Looks so ethereal Need to remember to go clear hole in shed door so ferals can get out in AM #
• OK, enough staring at the snow as beautiful as it looks before it turns to grey sludge, sleep calls #
• Vid of the day: @WUSA9 camera car was trying to help a snowplow *truck* out of a snowbank in Montgomery County – @WUSA9 PLEASE YouTube #
• We've got 2' at the front door, *after* clearing 8" last night – and another ~12" due today – be careful @MikeHawthorne #
• #snowpocalypse pics this AM http://twitpic.com/11owyh http://twitpic.com/11owyo http://twitpic.com/11owzh #
• Reminder: #WMATA has no above-ground #MetroRail no #MetroBus no #MetroAccess – MetroAccess riders in emergency call 911 #snowpocalypse #
• Dammit, not even our PCA can make it through to get to the shed & clear a way for the ferals to get out. Hope the cans last night were enuf #
• Still snowing – Got to hand it to @WUSA9 teams for staying out in the middle of this #snowpocalypse #
• RT @kenyonsherrilyn: http://twitpic.com/11pe8o – OK this is not only hysterical. It's just fun. Now I know what I'm going to do at next con #
• I'm a Graduate of the Ellen Ripley School of Ladylike Behavior But no, they're perfectly nice and cuddly and friendly!! @GeekGyrlFriGEV #
• If you have neighbors with disabilities plz check on them, if they use mobility aids offer to help clear the snow if you can #snowpocalpyse #
• Remember plowed roads *create* barricades for wheelies/blind especially, snow berms on sidewalks mean we have to use roads #snowpocalypse #
• RT @taosecurity: #snowpocalypse The snow is out there. It can't be reasoned with. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead. #
• http://twitpic.com/11q1fn – The tree in the background is a 14' tall colorado blue spruce, that's usually higher than the gutter – the weigh #
• Oh hell, a church collapsed in DC #Snowpocalypse #
• Uh oh, power just flickered. Not a good sign! #
• OK, so power's back, but we have 3 feet of snow outside. Can't get to shed to release ferals, can't get to road (not plowed anyways) >> more #
• but we're warm, and should be OK until they get to our street mid-week. Wheelies in snowstorms are stranded longer than 2-leggeds #
• Slush piles 2-leggeds can step over might as well be walls for wheelies – no-one clears enough, so we have to wait #
• New blog post up about render fails, using an OW fanart draft as an example http://bit.ly/a9iArj @YasmineGalenorn @FairyFindings #
• I really should start doing more process blog posts I think. It's just hard trying to put it all into words, my hands just "do" it #
• Next set of render projects – mostly more landscapes to add to the freebies section on my GFX site: http://bit.ly/a0j2U2 #
• Since we've got so much snow outside today, I might as well work some snowy landscape renders #
• RT @FairyFindings: Fun contest, gang! Enter for shot at Witchling & several other "firsts" RT @RKCharron http://bit.ly/dCBZ4P #
• Woohoo!!! I get to go smash ice off the ramp this am! Downside – not allowed to use flamethrower. Bah humbug! #
• No above ground #MetroRail #Metrobus or #MetroAccess service today http://bit.ly/ammY8d #WMATA #
• Not sure where @WUSA9 weatherdrones got figures, but we got 39" of snow – they're saying ~20". They can come see (if they can get here ) #
• Flip side, @WUSA9 mobile units with live skype feeds yesterday – great idea. Hope they're not gonna dock pay of guy whose chain got broke #
• Haz hammer, no more haz ice. It's nice to be the Marine of the household #
• Don't get me wrong, it's not that I like destroying things. Well, maybe a little. Ben Hur hubs for my chair should be covered by insurance. #
• VDOT official(?) pronouncement – some side streets won't see plows until tue #snowpocalpyse #
• Neighbors clearing part of road – might get more pics of how deep the snow got, will post to http://bit.ly/czgzuH #snowpocalypse #
• If VA spent 94% of snow budget at xmas, what's theit deficit now – and what will it be after mid-week?? @Organica_ #
• Two new pics added at http://bit.ly/czgzuH #
• Quote from me on the phone to BFF "I don't do happy endings" in response to her mentioning I killed her char off in "Outsider: Epiphany" #
• The downside to basing characters in my books on my friends – they get attached to what I do to their alter-egos #
• I don't know why she's complaining, I killed off the protagonist *and* resurrected her for the 2nd book #
• National Weather Service winter storm watch for DC area, est 5"+ snow tue pm/wed am #snowpocalpyse round 2 #
• Much more entertaining than SB >> RT @NASA: STS-130 managers gave a "go" to fill Endeavour's external tank for Monday's http://bit.ly/aWLwQJ #

I love how history repeats itself.

Most of the snow clearance you see on the ramp was done by our fantastic and wonderful PCA, Tainee.  I did get to go out and start hammering on the ice on the ramp though – figures I get to do the destruction part

They think that plows might get to roads like ours mid-week.

Now, I realize people might say “Oh, well, the neighbors will all decide to dig their own way to the nearest cleared road” – and they very well might – but it won’t do us any good, since even a relatively small pile of frozen-slushed snow a car might drive through, or a pedestrian might step over, might as well be a solid wall for a wheelie.

That’s going to be the next obstacle once the roads get cleared – trying to get around once we’re out of the neighborhood.  County plows will have dumped all the snow on the sidewalks, meaning we’ll have to travel along the side of a very busy main road.

Hopefully, unlike last Christmas’ snows, we’ll remember to take the camera with us so people can get some idea of just how scary it can get.

I swear, the world is made to try and reduce the number of crips by putting us in harms way just to go out!