Okay, so I've been <i>busy</i>!

Whew! Let's see... I haven't posted much in the past week because I've been adding and updating features on the site. For one, <a href="http://www.fantasist.net/cgi-bin/attic.cgi">The Alchemist's Attic</a> is now on the standard menu bar. For another, that standard menu bar is now on the results of all my cgi scripts. (Yes, along with all the nice advertising...) And, I've added the <a href="http://www.fantasist.net/pockets.shtml">Fantasy Pocket "Litter" generator</a> to my <a href="http://www.fantasist.net/worldbuilding.shtml">Worldbuilding</a&gt; and <a href="http://www.fantasist.net/resources.shtml">Resources</a&gt; pages.

I've also been working on plugins for the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wordpress.org">WordPress</a&gt; blog system, which I will eventually be converting to for this section of the site. They're not quite ready for public release, but when they are, I'll have a Moon Phase plugin, a Chinese Zodiac plugin and a Forgotten Realms (Dale Reckoning) dates plugin. That last is the really tricky one, but when I'm done it will have all the functions to let you run an entire blog, including the calendar in the Dale Reckoning date system, which is used in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for Dungeons and Dragons.
That last plugin was developed in preparation for my own custom calendar system which I intend to use in a blog set in a fantasy world. The idea being that it would tell a very personal story of one of the inhabitants of said world. Sort of like a fantasy version of the Pepys Diary.

So, as you can see, I really have been busy! But, I promise I'll post more cool things here soon.

<i>That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die.</i>

Ah, if only Lovecraft could live on in that eternal life beyond death. But, alas, he cannot and we have only his tremendous body of work to keep us company. Never the less, knowing that it is his birthday, I feel compeled to mention it.

Also, the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.vancouvergamingguild.com/">Vancouver Gaming Guild</a> is celebrating H. P. Lovecraft's birthday with a convention! So, if you're in the area, why not check it out?

Well, there's more than one way to age a conlang!

And, now Jamie Norrish, the webmaster at <a target="_blank" href="http://artefact.org.nz">artefact.org.nz</a&gt;, has that other way. As you three readers of this sad, little blog know, I have a handy, online Conlang Dialect Maker, which is based on a CPAN module that is based on <a target="_blank" href="http://www.zompist.com/sounds.htm">the Zompist Sound Changer</a>. Well, Mr. Norrish has created a whole different set of libraries for doing the same thing, only in Python! Unfortunately, I don't know Python and don't have the time to learn it right now, but if you do, <a target="_blank"href="http://zounds.artefact.org.nz/">the IPA Zounds application</a> is for you.

Good luck!

You may have noticed a change here at Fantasist.net.

Namely, the fact that there are now advertisements. Well, frankly, it just can't be helped anymore. So far, in over five years of having this site, less than ten people have bought books from my Amazon.com store, no one has bought anything from the CafePress store, no one has bought anything for me from my Wishlist and no one has donated <i>any</i> money. It's not cheap to run the place and costs keep going up, so I finally decided that I had to host some small ads. Hopefully, they're not too intrusive, but they're here to stay. I may move them around some, but I'm fairly certain that I'll always have them from now on.
I actually got the idea from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.langmaker.com">Langmaker.com</a&gt;, run by Jeff Henning. He has a few, very tasteful, ads on the side of his site now. And, knowing what I know about the web and costs and such, I don't begrudge him any of the tiny revenue he must take in from it.

So, now you know.

At least for the Eastern seaboard.

According to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5652141/?GT1=4529">this article on MSN.com</a>, the end is coming to the Eastern United States in the form of a tidal wave. At least, it might be coming. Sometime in the next 200 years, or so.
Apparently, there's a volcanic island out there that has a big chunk of rock that <i>might</i> break off at the next eruption which <i>should</i> cause a tidal wave that would devistate the Eastern shores of North America. Yeah, a lot of suppositions there. But, it <i>might</i> happen.

In any case, it would make for an interesting story! Hey, it's Friday, go write it this weekend!

This is a bit of a personal issue, really.

Okay, since I've been reading stuff online about the ocean, and posting about it, too, for a change, this seemed appropriate. I've found a tool to help me maintain good seafood consumption, namely, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp">Seafood Watch</a> at the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. It's a list, or series of lists, of safe, sustainable seafood reccomendations. There are several pocket "cards" here in PDF format that you can print out and take with you to restraunts and shopping. Each card has three categories: Safe, Warning, and Danger. And each has an explanation of why the various fish were put in their categories.
The population is growing at such an amazing rate that I think we, as an entire race, need to look at how we manage our resources. Toward that end, farming fish and being carefull to consume sustainable fish just plain makes sense. It may end up being the world's last, best, source of protien.

Noticed something different?

Yeah, I've gotten so much comment spam that I had to turn off comments on the blog. Frankly, that's a shame because I liked getting the occasional comment from my three readers. Ah, well, such is life. Maybe when I change to a new blog system, they'll be better about blocking comment spam.

I can only hope.

"Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?"

Well, not the characters from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,64483,00.html">this story on Wired News!</a> But, it's still an interesting article about deep-sea life. Life so strange, in fact, that it almost seems like it came from an alien planet. Imagine, creatures capable of consuming prey larger than their own body! Or, strange, glowing, flowery jellyfish that are self-illuminating. Or, even a type of previously unknown, worm-like life. Well, it's all there at the bottom of the ocean.
One of the reasons that I'm posting this is that someone on a created culture list has been asking about the many forms of life. In fact, he was lamenting that he knew so very little about biology that he was afraid that his vision was too limited. I think about that every time I read an article like this. No matter what I can come up with, nature has beaten me to the punch.

Hope it inspires y'all a bit.

Okay, how can this be fun?

Easy, when it's the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/impacteffects/">Earth Impact Effects Program</a>! This webpage calculates the damage that a hypothetical impact object would inflict on the Earth. Frankly, the physics have always been beyond me, but it looks cool. In a total annihilation sort of way, that is.
Seriously, I'm one of those geeky writer guys who always wants to know this kind of stuff, so I figured that I'm not the only one!

It's Friday, go have fun blowing up the Earth!

I knew you could become an ordained minister on-line, but...

I had no idea you could sell your soul on-line! Well, apparently, you can. And, also apparently this is the only way to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.necronomi.com/projects/666/">Make money on the Internet</a>. And, based on how many people have made donations or bought books from this site, I think that's the only way I might make any money from the Internet!

Anyway, it struck me as funny, so enjoy it, or not. It's Friday, so it's your choice!