So Now, Apparently, I'm Destined to be a Millionaire

I thought it was about time I'd update you on why I haven't been posting to my blog so often. Now that I have broadband - amazing, I know - I thought I'd be posting to my blog more often; however, I also just started my first semester of college... some... few weeks ago. I don't recall how many. My brain is a little bit mushy.

So what have I been doing, while you have been awaiting my next post (I mean, assuming you were waiting for my next post...)? I have been embedding another language into my brain, learning what's under the hood of a computer (everything still looks like green and lines and boxes to me with the occasional shiny thing), and learning what being a leader means (and the possibility of big event planning).

Which takes up an insane amount of time. A little more than I was expecting, but I'm really enjoying every bit of it. And no, it's not just because my class took a vote today on how long it would take for me to become a millionaire. Last time I checked, I wasn't a superhero. I can recall, off hand, over 30 people who do more than I do.

What started all this? I mentioned that I'm an author. Oh, the common misconceptions. As a reminder to people, I'd like to point out that most authors aren't celebrities.

Anyways, over the next few weeks, I'll still be getting familiarized with my classes. Still, I'll be attempting to make regular blog posts, hopefully, at least, one a week. So stay subscribed and be on the lookout for more soon!

For those interested in the "Millionaire" poll results, the majority voted by the time I'm 20. A few votes for by the time I'm 18. And one vote for by the end of the semester.

Taco Bell

It took a lot of effort on my part to not write the title of this blog post in all caps with many, many repeated letters followed by many, many exclamation points. Why? I'm a Taco Bell obsessive. That's why. I admit my problem.

My family is glad the nearest Taco Bell is 25 miles away (times like these, I hate my small town). If I lived closer, I'd have myself a fourth meal every night. Never. Ever. Ask me what I want to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, whatever. Never. I may bust your ear drums. I may highly annoy you. You may even wish real life had a "Block" button. Since I first stepped foot into a Taco Bell, I never have suggested anything else for any meal.

When I pass by a Taco Bell in the car (when I'm not driving), I feel compelled to break through the glass or strangle the driver. Kind of like a rabid vampire visiting a blood drive. Or Alice Bonham in Flutter (My Blood Approves Series), when she takes a visit to the JFK airport. And it's not fair that there's a Taco Bell on every corner, but none near my house.

For this reason, I believe that Taco Bell should deliver. But they don't. And despite the pleas I've seen from other Taco Bell obsessives on Twitter, they are still a walk-in only restaurant. But that's okay. I still love Taco Bell, and I have this theory, that one day Amazon will actually sell Taco Bell's Beefy 5-layer Burritos, and I will be able to choose 2-day shipping at the checkout. Hey, it could happen!

I could go on forever, and to be honest, this blog post is really quite pointless compared to a lot of posts I've done in the past. So, I'm reigning myself in. I'm stopping here, and just going to casually mention that I just created my very first ringtone, and... I'm sure you can guess it's theme.


The Insane Taco Bell ringtone will soon be available for download free at - http://www.phonezoo.com/ringtone/234083415/insane-taco-bell-heather-paye.htm

And you can listen to it on my Tumblr page here - http://kittynadem.tumblr.com/post/8859023190/insanetacobell

Also pending a YouTube version of this ringtone - with video.

Signing off for tonight. May your obsessions run deep!

Old Things

Have you ever walked through a swapmeet or yard sale and noticed things from way back when, or other unidentifiable objects that are obviously not from your time?

Recently, I've noticed quite a few old things cross my path lately. For one, an old coffee maker, which - get this - has no buttons! This amused me to no end, and still does. I've no idea how old it actually is, I'm guessing it may be a 1960-80 model, but it still works quite well. I couldn't figure out how to make it work, but I've seen it in action. It has a switch on it, and a little mini-clock to set the timer.

Today, I noticed wall clocks, and I realized oddly, that there are a lot of inventions created in the 1900s that we don't really need anymore. Who needs wall clocks to tell the time when we have cell phones constantly at our side with the correct time? The same with digital clocks. It seems every piece of electronic device now has a clock, and I don't remember the last time I had to search around just to find out what time it was.

Rendering clocks, unnecessary.

I was watching my brother shread cheese today as well, and something about that made it seem incredibly old fashioned. Cheese is preshreaded now. We but it in bags, not blocks... well, unless you enjoy slaving away in the kitchen. I almost rendered blocks of cheese unnecessary, then I thought of my favored encheladas and marked that off my list of "Too Old". Shreaders/graters could be made invalid though, as we have all those nifty electronic gadgets to shread and gunk for us. So I added them to the list.

I had a laugh about those old dial-phones earlier with a friend of mine. Here's my post from Facebook - "Oh no, don't start on the old phones! I look at my shiny, touchscreen phone now and can't even begin to comtemplate how slow texting would be on one of them dial things!" Who, in the 1930s, would have thought there would be a such thing as a "Smartphone"?

How about the days when a TV was a TV, no HD (High Definition) or SD (Standard Definition) labling? SD TVs - and the SD movies that rode in with them are on the "Too Old" list.

Cameras that have film in them - like the kind my grandmother still uses (how amazed she must have been when she found out it was a waterproof camera!) - has also been added to my list. We use digital cameras now...

What's next? I'm quite eager to get rid of snail mail. The world isn't quite ready for that yet, but we recieve all our letters from family and friends, our bills, everything really, via email - for free nonetheless. I'll be happy to get rid of this form of communication from the castle ages. Get rid of the USPS blue boxes on the street corners. It's weird.

No books in print. This does bring a touch of sadness to me. But this is something that definitely will happen, and is fast approaching. It is in the interest to the environment - and saves on the bookshelf space issues as well. eReaders are here, and they're not leaving, the creation from B.C. is - print books.

What is ready to go now?

What can't you wait to see go extinct in the future?

Beat the Heat with a Baseball Bat

Growing up in Arizona, if there's one thing I know, it's how cruel and unusual the desert can be. Right now, the summer is getting into full swing - and not just in the southwest.

So, pretty much everyone I talk to claims that the humidity kills 'back east' and is nothing compared to AZ's heat - even my father who was born and raised back there. And yes, admittedly, we are lucky 80% of the year with horribly dry weather, which makes frying more of a possibility than melting. BUT! With monsoon season approaching in little over a week, I do feel the need to clear up that it isn't this way for the other 20% of the year. I'm talking about an average of 109 degree temperatures plus enough humidity to melt a turtle.

I did some research a few hours ago, and did find that the average humidity percentage for Arizona is 56% - that's the average for the whole year. So, it isn't quite 70% humidity or even 60% as I previously guessed, but it's probably more than most people would think.

But let's combine those infamous 112 degree temperatures with that 56% humidity.

Now how about that 'back east' weather? Their average temperature in summer is 80 degrees. Their average humidity percentage is 80%.
So, by looking at the statistics, both pretty much average out to being equally horrid and filled with a bunch of ick. The difference is 30 degrees more or 30% more humidity.

Now, the question is which is worse? What you can handle?

The heat or the humidity?

*Note: My vote is to move to Alaska during summer seasons... btw... so I'm like... Switzerland.

Do You Use Morals?

Do You Use Morals?

By Stephen Tremp

Do you use morals, ethics, and social matters in your stories that manifest in a lesson learned at the conclusion?

This is a topic I love to discuss. As a writer, I think it is vital to weave into the plot concepts of morals and ethics that challenge the characters to do things they normally would not do. They will need to somehow find a way to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. The result will be some kind of lesson learned. Many great authors and poets do this, some to a larger degree than others. Often (not always, example is the movie Se7en) we witness good triumphing over evil. However, a suspense thriller or a fantasy adventure should incorporate more than merely a battle of good vs. evil, where good ultimately triumphs in the end. Yawn.

There are a plethora of issues a writer can use, such as economic, ethical, human, legal, moral, religious, rights, and social matters that can question the core values of your character(s). These can be fantastic opportunities to introduce conflict, and conflict is necessary to drive the plot forward.

Question: as we address one or more of these matters, do we subtly incorporate some kind of lesson or question our present value system? And if so, what happens when we approach the end of our story? Do you tend to forget about your threaded morals and ethics, or are there consequences to your characters’ actions? Think back on what they did, conspired, and manipulated. What did they sow? Will they reap the whirlwind? If not, then you may be making your ending anti-climatic. It could be boring. Predictable (the worse scenario). Nothing special.

I note everything my bad guys think, say, and do. Ultimately, they will have to pay for their sins. They will need to be held accountable for their actions, either in this life or the next (think the ending of the movie Ghost where the bad guys are killed and their souls drug off to hell by dark evil spirits). So think about what you weave into your writings. Will they manifest at the end of your story in the form of judgment? If not, then what good is introducing morals and ethics in the first place?

Question: Do you use morals and ethics to achieve a lesson learned? Do you think about the consequences for your characters actions at the conclusion? Do you mete out justice and judgment, such as a guilty verdict in a court of law, the bad guy being killed by a cop, or the antagonist ending up dead and ultimately in a place of eternal torment?

Or do you feel lessons learned are too preachy and the lines of ethics and morals are too blurred to come to definitive conclusions? Or perhaps life’s not fair, so why try to tie a nice pretty red ribbon around the ending.

Stephen Tremp is author of the action thriller Breakthrough. You can visit Stephen at Breakthrough Blogs.