If you are reading this, then my website is up in one form or another. I just wanted to take a moment to apologize for the fact that it was down for so long and that when. If you cast your memory back you may recall a few posts where I was looking for a replacement for the program which I use to create the site and some place to host it. Until this year I was using iWeb and me.com for these roles. Unfortunately, me.com was replaced by iCloud and hosting was no longer an option provided.

I knew that support for iWeb was going to cease soon as well so I decided that it was high time to branch out, maybe choose a program which would allow me to learn a little coding as well.

Of course this meant I had to make two decisions, learn two new things...

So I put it off forever.

Well, obviously not forever, otherwise you would not be reading this.

Long story short, I started recreating my website with Rapid Weaver (which I love) and hosting it on GoDaddy (which I haven't made my mind up about yet). It took quite a while to figure out what I was doing wrong, but the other day I finally reset a couple of things, made sure everything was pointing where it was supposed to, and bing bango, there was the site. Nice easy to read black lettering on a plain white background.

Which is not at all what it is supposed to look like.

So the good news is that the site is up. Hopefully I can get the two systems to play nice and get it to the point where it looks the way it is supposed to. Then I will start retro-fitting older material so all (or at least most of) the content is back.

Until then, enjoy the stuff I do have up. Thanks for sticking around.

Tags: Website

Busy, Busy, Busy

26/09/12 21:37

Isn't there some old curse about living in interesting times? I guess the same thing applies to full social calendars and not being bored. I love autumn. I love the Halloween season.

That being said, I'm getting exhausted just looking at everything planned for the next month.

I'm not even going to go into the fun stuff that I would like to do.* I am just going to list the things that I am likely to do and you can understand why I am so tired.

It starts this weekend with the bazaar at St. John's Armenian Orthodox Church. Plenty of good food, music, stuff to buy. I know that I will be there for at least part of the weekend.

I may also make an appearance at the Three Corpse Circus in Ann Arbor. The GLAHW will be there in the lobby, but it sounds as if they have more than enough people to staff the table. I might go just to check out the flicks.

The following week is the start of October and that's when the fun really starts.

4 October the GLAHW will be helping the Bedford Library get into the Halloween spirit with a number of short story readings.

That weekend, the Main Art Theater will be showing Evil Dead II. I will be taking in one of the shows, either Friday or Saturday at midnight.

That weekend there is also an even called Ghoultide in Chelsea featuring unique, Halloween themed arts and crafts.

I will round the week out by attending the October meeting of the GLAHW Sunday afternoon, then meet up with the Motor City Haunt Club to tour the two big haunts in Pontiac: Erebus and Realm of Darkness.

The following week is relatively empty, but the weekend is packed. There is a special something that I am not going to mention, just in case The Mrs takes a gander at this. Saturday 13 Oct (how fitting) is World Zombie Day. There are a number of zombie related events planned. While I would like to participate in all of them, I will most like just be walking in Royal Oak.

Fast Forward to Thursday 18 October. The movie Hellbound? had it's Detroit area premiere. It looks like an interesting documentary on people's beliefs about the afterlife. Look for me at the Uptown Birmingham 8.

Saturday the 20th you will be able to find me at the Flint Horror Con all day. There is also rumor that there will be a speaking gig involved.
Friday the 27th I and other members of the GLAHW will be at the Redford Theatre for a midnight viewing of The Evil Dead. Yes, I know that's technically out of order, but what can you do?

The next night is the big one for the GLAHW. The Fifth Annual Monster Mash for Literacy Bash will be held at the Berkley VFW (Post 9222) on Coolidge Highway. Drinks, dancing, a costume contest, Penny Auction with tons of great prizes, it looks to be a blast.

30 October I will have my annual Devil's Night viewing of The Crow. I don't care what they call it now, it will always be Devil's Night to me.

31 October -- Halloween!! Costumes, candy, kids, $5 pizza and wine or pumpkin flavored beer!

1 November -- Hit the Halloween store discount sales and sleep for a week!

*For that, visit the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers website and check out the most recent newsletter. The Tombkeeper Archives details all of the horror related craziness on deck.

Tags: Life, Humor, GLAHW, Plans, MCHC

Thank You

14/09/12 21:28

So, the good news is that everyone is all right.

This morning I was awakened by the shrill ringing of our house phone. For the record, I never answer the damn thing. Seriously, never. It is not going to be for me. People I know and want to speak to know this, have my mobile number, and will text me there. The home phone will either be for The Mrs or someone trying to sell me something (a product, a political candidate, a spiritual savior). It's best to let the machine handle it.

This morning, however, there was a sick kind of dread feeling that said I should answer it.

Instead I fumbled for it, missed the call, and fell off the bed on to the floor.

When it rang again I knew right away that it could not possibly be good news.

It was, in fact, On Star. They had The Mrs on the line. She had just been in an accident. She told me that she was ok, but that I needed to wake "all the way up" because she was probably going to have to go to the hospital to get checked out. She would call me back when she knew where she was going.

What she did not tell me was that she was hanging upside down when she made the call. Her car was wheels in the air and she was suspended by her seat belt.

Bonus points for wearing her seat belt.

There were three frustrating calls where I could hear the person on the other end of the line, but they could not hear me. In what can only be considered a stroke of brilliance* in my pre-caffeinated state, I texted her phone to let the person on the other end know this. In a few moments I received the following text:

This is Detroit EMS medics. Your wife was in a rollover on 75 n Nevada. She is fine has a cut on her arm but otherwise no major injuries. she is going to Detroit Receiving hospital at 75 n Mack. She is OK.

Then a few seconds later:

This is no joke sir

There followed a blur of activity on my part. Again, remembering that I had no coffee at this point, it is amazing that I was able actually get dressed and make it down to the hospital. In addition I was able to call The Mrs' work to let them know that she would not be in and why, pack a go bag, make sure the dogs were squared away, hide a key and arrange for someone to use it to let the dogs out in case we were gone all day, AND get dressed and make it down to the hospital.

The hospital in question is not one of the ones either of us has worked for. It is located near downtown Detroit and was the closest one to the accident site. I had a vague idea of where it was. Actually, that's not true, I knew exactly where it was. I did not know which of the many buildings which make up the Detroit Medical Center was the Receiving Hospital with the Emergency Center. I found it without making any wrong turns (which is something I rarely do, even when driving in my own neighborhood). Knowing there would be no way I would remember where I parked, I took a series of pictures as I walked from the car so I would know what to look for on the way back.**

The security people were very helpful and soon someone came out to the waiting room to let me know that they had just finished a CT and she was going from there to X-Ray. He assured me he would come and get me the moment she was done, probably about 45 minutes.

I snagged a Mountain Dew from the vending machine and sat down with my bag of goodies. I had brought a change of clothes for The Mrs, a rain jacket, her book so she wouldn't get bored, and my book so I wouldn't get bored. I sat back...

...and realized that I hadn't brought my reading glasses.***

It was actually a very short wait and I was treated to one of the Security Guards singing. His voice was amazing. The Mrs was indeed ok. She was in a neck brace and her left had was badly abraded. She insured me that she was fine. She was treated at the bed side by a number of wonderful medical professionals. Her neck was palpated, we were told that the head and neck CT were fine, and the human version of the cone of shame was removed. Shards of glass were removed from her hand and it was dressed. There was waiting, but there is always waiting. We engaged in conversations with the attending nurses, one of whom was a SANE nurse preparing to testify and another who was planning a trip to a haunted house.*4 We also played a rousing game of compare the Emergency Center.

"These gowns are so soft."

"The sheets are soft too."

"The curtain, I don't know...it looks like some of it is raised and shiny and other parts aren't but when you look at it different it is different."

This last was said while she flicked the curtain separating her bed from the next one over and after she had been given Vicodin for the pain in her hand.

I know that this reads like it was written by a self-centered schmuck, but at this point I need to stay focused. I still have some phone calls to make including the insurance company and the State Police to track down what happened to her vehicle. I am afraid if I focus more on The Mrs I will break down before I get a chance to. Also, I wanted to make sure I got down the amazing feeling of gratefulness and happiness I am feeling before I start dealing with the bureaucracies.

Right now she is upstairs lying down with two dogs who have orders to not let her stand up without getting me first. I have never been happier to have her home.

I think I may have already summed it up on a recent post on the Zuckerberg Experiment:

Not that I'm actually egocentric enough to think that the whole world follows me, but I wanted to send a special thank you out to the universe.

Thank you that my wife is safe and relatively unharmed.

Thank you to all of the amazing strangers who helped us today, from the first responders, to the medical professionals, the lady from OnStar, and especially the strangers who stopped and stayed with her while she hung upside down in her vehicle.

Most of all thank you to all of you, our family and friends, who have sent prayers, good thoughts, and wishes for a speedy recovery.

* Or more likely an example of rote muscle memory.

** An old hiking trick. When in doubt, fall back on what you know works.

*** Damn. So close.

*4 Rousing chorus of "It's a Small World After All" anyone?

Tags: Life, The Mrs

The Dragon's Roost

The Mental Excreta of Michael Cieslak