My seadragons begin as flopping mudskippers [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudskipper]. They already have the front legs to pull them around. As time passes, they adapt to their environment and begin evolving into their secondary, humanoid form.

From something strange and a bit ugly looking, they metamorphose into the perfect predator. Humans are drawn to their dangerous sex appeal and the pheromones they produce. A seadragon rarely goes hungry once it attains a human-shape to wear.

Disability Visibility at Amazon
0 comments on "WIP: Bryan at the End of the World"

I’ve been picture prompting my way through writing "Bryan at the End of the World." It’s oddly cathartic to get my "what if the world ended" fears down in print.

Anyways, this is something I’m working on. It’s not complete, but will appear on Kimichee when it’s done. "Teaser – RE: Bryan at the End of the World" –

= = = =
"Bryan at the End of the World" is a pseudo-sci-fi survivalist story. Bryan Waterson is a 19 year old kid that survives the end of society and the human race by himself.

He watches the world crumble away and his parents and siblings *transform* and it’s horrifying to him. And then there’s the waiting for when he will change, then the misery of being alone, and then finally the fear that he *won’t* ever change.

"They became some beautiful experience. He can see their changed forms merging with the nature around him, new species blooming and growing. And he has to wonder what is wrong with him that he was left behind."

*

Someone said the world would end not with a bang but a whimper, and it was true. The human race came to an end because of antibiotic resistant germs and hubris.

It was a mess of a situation. Humans created their own downfall by pumping themselves and all of their food animals with antibiotics. Then to solve the problem of antibiotic resistant

—-events: too many 100 year olds, cemeteries running out of room, transformative nano-technology. People dying and turning into unnaturally hued flowers. Bryan continues to care for the plants that his family have become. Wonders if they’re still "alive" in there and whether they’re happy or not. Wonders why he was left behind. The only good thing is that it’s easy to tell the once-human plants from regular ones, as they look different.—-

Bryan Waterson wasn’t completely sure about the sequence of events. He knew he was alone and that every person he’d ever met was dead.

All he knew was that he wanted to survive.

Allies & Enemies at Amazon
0 comments on "Windows 10 Followup; G+"

WINDOWS 10 –

Windows 10 seems like it’s got all of the makings of a great OS. It’s just not quite there yet. By the time of the official rollout, it might be. So wait a little while before upgrading. Just make sure that you reserve your free copy.

Also, it’s been suggested that you don’t upgrade if you’re running Windows 7 or older. The previous generation computers that were specifically designed to handle those chipsets could make your upgrade a rocky one.

A. Cortana. You click this and Cortana is supposed to ask what she can do for you. At the current moment, it doesn’t seem like she can do very much. Hopefully she will upgrade to become the digital assistant we were promised by sci-fi movies. Have patience.

I would like it if I can say “Hey Cortana, take a note” and have her bring up a program and begin taking dictation. I have been interested in Dragon Naturally Speaking, but I’ve hesitated to buy it because I’m not sure if I would be able to tell a story outloud and have it make sense. I tend to sound pretty dumb when I’m talking, and I’d hate spending $60+ on software that I don’t use.

B. Task View. This one is a bit strange. I’m not quite sure what I’m supposed to do with this one, though if I right-click on it I can choose to see the Task Manager, so that’s where you can find that. Also, sometimes when I click on it, all of my open windows shrink and spread out across the screen — like when you’re thinking about closing Chrome and all the tabs are laid out. It doesn’t seem to have much purpose though, as when you click a window, ALL of them come back up on your screen, not just the chosen one.

Honestly, I would have liked the option to choose which window displays, and leave the other ones unseen in the tray. When snoopy people are lurking at my shoulders, it would be nice to not have them able to see everything that I’m doing. Just a point and a click leaves my screen safe for kid-view and nosy strangers.

C. Notifications. This is like the Windows 10 version of a cellphone notification display. You can make changes to brightness, Internet access, etc. Plus they really want to make sure that you use OneNote. It opens as a right-hand pane.

D. A change in view. Yeah, I don’t know what’s happening here. But that’s how the minimize/maximize/x-out icons look for some non-Windows programs.

In all, Windows 10 feels like it might be headed toward becoming something great. Just have patience and wait for it.

FYI: Currently I am unable to access the Windows Store or use any apps. My legacy programs — non app — seem to work fine. Plus I find myself kind of missing the Metro-look. It must be Stockholm Syndrome.

* * *
GOOGLE PLUS —

I’ve been doing a lot more on Google Plus of late. It’s just so easy to send pictures and operate G+ from my phone. It’s a different experience from Facebook too. I think it’s a bit more my speed.

The only unfortunate thing is that people aren’t really on Google Plus. Its unpopularity makes it difficult to form a steady readership. Everyone may have been forced to make a G+ account… that didn’t mean they’ve chosen to use it.

My Google+ stuff:
My account: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+HarperKingsley/posts
Picture Prompts: https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/E03HAB

I’m usually posting pictures and things, and my blog shares itself on my timeline. If you’re just interested in reading fiction pieces, the Picture Prompts collection is where they usually end up.

All Systems Red at Amazon
0 comments on "So I “upgraded” to Windows 10. Now what?"

I upgraded to Windows 10 and it’s not as great as I wanted it to be. It’s like all the pieces were there, they simply didn’t come together in a way that’s useful to me, or even convenient.

Take Cortana for instance. It’s a nice idea to have a digital personal assistant, but there’s definitely some flaws. Like, she requires an internet connection. That’s not so bad on its own, but for simple tasks it’s kind of a pain. Plus, most of the time she doesn’t even respond when you call out “Hey Cortana” or click the little circle.

Then there’s the way Windows 10 completely changed how my live tiles appear. It’s like they forced the tiles on me in the first place, then when I get used to the way things work, they change everything around and give me a smug look “Now what are you going to do about it?” Uh, I’m probably going to hate you forever and write horrible(ish) things on my blog. You’re welcome.

The minimize/maximize/x-out options look a bit strange, and I can’t get the Microsoft Store or half of the apps to work anymore. I’m assuming that my antivirus is interfering with things, so I hope I’ll be able to fix the problem. If not, a large chunk of my computer just became useless bloatware.

I guess I just wanted to say that I’m not very pleased at the moment. Windows 10 better shape itself up, or it’s going to be facing a serious backlash from the whole of the PC world. There’s a reason why some people refused to leave XP behind. And right now I’m wishing I had held off on the upgrade and stayed with Windows 8 at least a few months longer.