Eye see you...

     Are you sick of the puns yet?  I promise, no more eye puns.  I'm back, though, and the eye surgery went well.  My left eye now sees better than it has since I was about 7 or so, when I first started wearing glasses.  Right eye still gets to wear a contact, and reading glasses are still needed, but...  It's nice to see again, and nice to not have the headache that has plagued me for the last 5 months. 

     The eye surgery was...  Interesting.  I spent nearly two hours in prep, getting an antibiotic/numbing eye ointment that was like apple jelly applied twice, and then, just before the surgery, a intravenous injection of something the anesthesia doc called "Don't give a damn juice".  I was conscious and aware during the surgery, they draped my face and other eye, so I didn't see anything except the incredibly bright light they shined in my eye.  There was some pain (or pressure that I interpreted as pain) a couple of times, and there was a distinctively odd feeling when they inserted the new lens.  The best way I can describe it is to imagine taking a thick skinned grape and poke it with the blunt end of a toothpick.  "Pop", more of a feeling than a sound, when the toothpick breaks the skin.  I still shudder at the image, but at the time, I "didn't give a damn"...

     I'll be taking eye drops for the next three weeks to promote healing and prevent inflammation.  Oddest thing now is wearing only one contact.  At night, when I take it out, I can still see, even though it's only one eye, the good one overrides the bad one.  This night time vision is something I haven't had for... (counting fingers and toes and...  Damn, out of digits).  More than 40 years.  So that's what that bumping noise in the dark was...;-)

     Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and prayers, I was grateful for the notes and such.  So now, it's back to work, and...  Back to Imperfect Hope.  I've got some great plans now... 

Here we go...

     The surgery is tomorrow.  I have to admit, I haven't mastered my anxiety, but I suppose I've masked it well enough.  By way of mitigating my worry, I've joked about the procedure quite a bit, and I've come up with a visual that, if nothing else, lets me laugh.  Picture a dark, musty dungeon, iron maiden hanging from the overhead beam, manacles on the wall and straw on the floor.  I've been strapped to an ancient gurney, painted white with peeling patches on the railing.  A hunch-back gnome pushes me through the creaking oak door into the room, as Vincent Price's maniacal laughter peals in the background.  And the screaming starts...

     Yep, a grade-b 60's horror flick.  All that's missing is the slightly bent, rusty needle they'll stick in my eye to get me to talk...  Oh...  There it is...

     Seriously, the surgery is no big deal.  The prep takes longer (1 1/2 hours for the anesthesia to take effect), vs 15 minutes for remove the cataract and replace the lens.  Recovery is mostly for the sedative to wear off.  I'll have to wear a protective eye shield for a week or so at night, so that I don't poke or scratch my eye, but...  I should be seeing 20/20 by this time tomorrow out of my left eye.  Wish me luck...

     On to D'oril stuff.  While sipping coffee this morning, I was watching a history channel piece on early navigation, from the viking times until Prince Henry of Portugal in the 15th century.  I learned quite a bit about the earliest forms of navigation, especially with the invention of the astrolabe (a method of determining your latitude), and the problems of determining longitude.  This tied in quite well with the issues that I've roughly shaped regarding the great ocean between Tallux and the Confederacy.

     In order to restrict the ability of the Empire of Tallux, a China-sized imperial expansionistic force, I'd made the ocean between the two continents very difficult to navigate across most of it's breadth.  Only in the far north, where the two continents are close, is the limited navigation systems of the empire able to cross the ocean with any degree of success, and that is restricted by the harsh weather and dangerous, rocky waters.  Thus, the empires early efforts at conquest outside their own continent lay in the north, trying to secure ports along the rugged northern coast of D"oril  Sadly (for them), there are few harbors usable, and none of them year round.  This was one of their biggest problems during the time of Sha'te Valley.

     The empire has also had some limited success with a bering sea type land bridge in the far north, but again, bad weather made this route extremely tenous in the best of times.  Tallux desperatly needed a warm weather port, all of which are securely (of sorts) tied up by the confederacy, or the sea-raiders within the many rugged islands along the coast.

     I've envisioned the empire's naval technology similar to 15th century portugal.  Thus, they are mostly limited to following coasts, with short, "latitude drives" directly across short stretches of open ocean limited to a couple of weeks at the most.  The confederacy, on the other hand, has an advantage that they don't even understand, a secret kept by a few of the wealthiest merchant princes of the western coast, a way to navigate across a few of the vast expanses of the ocean, at least for a few legacy flagships.  But that's a tale for another post...

Clear skies, and tomorrow, hopefully, Clear vision...

Jim


    

A short look back.

      Decades ago, I took a creative writing class at CU.  Never mind that the professor (if I recall, a  graduate student who seemed to have no interest in anything except his own writing) didn't like anything I wrote, most probably because he wanted work that matched his own style.  I vaguely recall that there were a few things I got out of the class. 

     Like, be prepared to try explain to a professor the difference between Tome (a large old book), and Tomb (the dusty musty smelly dead place), or just use "so and so opened the book" rather than "so and so opened the tome" and have the professor insist that it should be spelled tomb.  From this experience I concluded that his command of english was...  Flawed.  Despite his degree.  It's colored my view of the higher education cartel since.

     Like, Don't actually present a plot in "creative writing".  The professor wanted stories in which nothing happened.  Like much of the "literature" that is considered main stream by "Those who tell us what to like and write about it in the east coast newspapers".  From this, I concluded that the kind of fiction I liked was dead.  At least, that's what the professor wanted me to conclude.  I'm afraid I kept reading books with  (gasp) Plots...

     Hmmm.  Most of what I seemed to have gotten from that and other college level creative writing courses was negative.  I came away from that experience with no desire to write after all the negative criticism of my work by that particular "Ivory Tower Elitist".  It took me years to overcome that unpleasant taste in my mouth, and even then, only after much conversation with real writers, such as Mercedes Lackey, Robert Asprin, and Mel. White.  Each of them saw something I'd written, crude as it was, and encouraged me to keep going.  I wrote many games for the IFGS, the International Fantasy Gaming Society, games that required a plot so the players could participate in the story, many of them were considered good.  I even got a game of the year award for Piper on the Hill.  From that type of writing I started writing more and more detail about D'oril, and without realizing it, started developing my style.  It only took me 15 years to recognize that my style had merit, and accept it within myself.  I still have battles with the inner critic that the creative writing class implanted in my brain.

     In the last couple of years, as I've approached FAA retirement in a couple of years, I've read a lot about writing, looking for ways to polish that style.  Orson Scott Card, on his website Hatrack.com, mentioned in one of his earliest posts (As well as in the book on writing he authored) that a good writer reads.  And I've read a lot.  I've even gone back and reread a lot of stuff from my college days that I liked,(such as Marion ZImmer Bradley's Darkover novels), or read and scratched my head over, wondering if I liked it (Such as Arthur C. Clarkes Foundation series).  The books and articles about writing have ranged from basics about story structure to the nitty-gritty nuts and bolts about grammar and structure.  My writing technique has improved, I think, writing games for the IFGS probably has done a lot for that, especially in the area of developing plot.  I've been working through a writing exercise workbook on my breaks at work.  Besides working on character, setting, mood and description, my efforts have given me a bit of confidence in my ability to write about almost anything.  Blogging has started my on the track to, if nothing else, writing about just that, almost anything, and to vary my style from serious (see personality topics or D'oril background articles), sarcastic (anything to do with the FAA), to humorous (such as Activationg the Wayback Machine, Mr. Peabody, or Spoonerisms).

     THe only things I've not developed well, yet, are consistancy, and confidence.  I keep blaming the FAA.  Maybe it's time to look in the mirror.  Time to hand the bagpiper that shilling.....

Clear skies,
Jim

Bad speling, and a revisit to the geography of D'oril

     I apologize, my last post included some oddities.  It seems that my scribefire added some unusual spacing when I tried to edit my work last week, placing much of the word earlier through the sentence that followed.  And, tired as I was, I didn't bother with a spell check.  Now I have to describe what that brain fart spelled like.  Perhaps I'd better not.

     Three weeks to the surgery.  Anxiety is building.  Never mind the rational side that understands that it's a simple procedure...

     On to the fun stuff.  I'd touched upon the geography of D'oril a bit back, thought I'd try and expound further on the confederacy, as well as explain my (still in the formative stage) thoughts on the history of the lands.

     The confederacy is split by an extensive mountain range into two halves, the eastern and western reaches (in some of my writing, I"ve referred to them as marches, I'll sort out the naming conventions later).  The western half is heavily influenced by it's sporadic access to the western ocean, and bears a slight resemblence to Norway (Think fjords and rough coastline) and Washington state.  Trade cartels grew from the few widely scattered towns that have reliable access to the ocean, the further south, the larger the towns and greater wealth.  Prior to the formation of the confederacy, these towns were fairly independent of each other, though a few feudal strongholds did form.  As a result, the mercantile cartels wielded (and still wield) a fair amount of influence within the confederacy, they have no direct representative on the council, but quite a few of the barons chosen to represent the different regions of the western marches are chosen because of their strong ties to the cartels.  This is especially true of the south central region, where several large baronries formed out of some very wealthy mercantile families. 

     Further to the south along the western coast, the land becomes less rugged, and a more agricultural and feudal society grew.  Some of the baronries there have a much longer history, and deem themselves "the true center of the confederacy", for at first, it was the expansion of their lands that provided the core of the early confederacy as they linked up with the largest of the eastern duchies.  The traditionalists, as they see themselves, have much less of a tie to trade, and hold a rather dim view of their mercantile-oriented cousins to the north.  The society is one of rigid class distinction, clear patriarchal lineage, and a severe (and successful) military tradition. 

     The southernmost of the eastern reaches are likewise traditionalists, with a much stronger hierachy, where the feudal lords share power with a church-like organization that influences much of the society.  Originally, the religion (and I use this term loosely, for I don't intend to parallel any historical churches) focused on education, especially scientific, philosophic, and magical researches.  A guild like power structure formed whereby the feudal lords each received an appointed advisor from the religious side of society, who often unofficially shared power with the lord, and occasionally even ruled.  The religious power structure began breaking down with the formation of the confederacy, as well as the formation of splinter groups that sprang up with the opening of the frontier to the north.

     It is the northern part of the eastern reaches that had the first (in "modern" times) contact with the K'tath of D"oril.  Early on, it developed a frontier like atmosphere, with riches obtainable, under the threat of the dangers of the wilds.  Think "wild west", gold rushes, timber, wide open spaces.  Into this dangerous frontier came many unhappy with the rigid structures of the south, as well as mercantile interests looking to gain even more wealth.  Here is where the archtypical adventurers of the IFGS came together.  Now I just have to define...  When...

     At anyrate, there's a lot more to it, and I'll post more as I dig through my notes and cobwebs.  Ask away, I'm sure there are lots of gaps, and answering questions will only help me solidify my thoughts...

Clear skies,
Jim

The eyes have it

     I scheduled the eye surgery.  April 21.  Now to deal with the anxiety of knowing what they do.  Ewwww...  (At least I'll get valium before the surgery)  In the meantime, because of the long term effects that contacts have on the shape of eyes, I have to wear my glasses until then in order to give my eye time to rebound to it's "natural shape".  The good news:  The headaches will go away April 22.

     EarI mentioned lbriefly the ifaa's issues with controlleer staffing atr DIA last week.  Turns out there's an investigation (someone leaked to channel 4) that came out this week.  You can read the report at ninenewsinvestigates.  I think the report is, in itself, a bit more alarmist than the real situation, but hey, that's what tv news does best.  From my point of view, the typical "safety was never compromised, everything is fine, we're looking out for you (pay no attention to the man behind the curtain)" chorus that is repeated by the faa's spokesman is typical.  They repeat that mantra over and over.....  The bottom line, someone from headquarters is always assigned the job of reassuring the public/covering their butts.  Remember that the next time you deal with any federal (or even state) agency at anything other than the operational level.  In the meantime, we (the controllers) will continue to keep em flying...

     A couple of months ago, I wrote about the background of the Empire in Imperfect Hope.  (I"ll link to that article shortly)  I was rereading it, and noted some storylines in it that bear potential.  I'd written about the empires past as if posting an excerpt from a history book published many decades after the events, perhaps even centuries later.  It was written from the empire's point of view, referring to the ktath and their allies as assassins and opponents of the empire as rebels.  Even the disaster (for the empire) at Sha'te Valley was spun, despite it being a crucial event in the toppling (eventually) of the emperor. 

     What struck me was how easy it was for me to reference the empires point of view in a positive light.  In Imperfect Hope, the empire is intended to come across as "the enemy", but I have to make them believable and realistic.  From their point of view, they have a perfect right to do what they're doing, it's for the good of the empire, and ultimately, good for everyone in the long run.  Only an unbiased history will tell if they're right.  (and from the author's moral view, they are not "right", but to make a believable and compelling story, I'll continue to give them the benefit of the doubt...)  ;-)

     Those who remember the IFGS game Sha'te Valley will remember the "Villains" who survived the battle, Phorix, Grannach, and Beauty.  I never 'officially' wrote about what happened afterwards to them, in part because for a long time I considered working on more D'oril based IFGS games.  I did have a fate in mind, and I'd hinted at it to some of you over the years.  However, the empire "history" I posted some time back addresses that in a vague way, and I've realized that their fates (as well as that of the heroes (assassins in the empire point of view), makes for a great tale.  From the lead up to Sha'te (Heartbow and Seeker), to the battle, to the empire's dramatic retreat from D'oril (think Napoleon/1812/retreat from moscow) and pursuit by the k'tath and the companions of ELorna, to the turmoil in the Empire when their survivors get home and take their sides in the rebellion against the corrupt and capricious emperor.  I know the players at Sha'te always had their own hopes for what their characters would do in the aftermath... Therein lies perhaps my next project. 

Oh, it'd be a prequel to Imperfect Hope.  Perhaps it would even answer the question about what ever happened to Brandis, Cerredwyn, Doc, Evro, Wulluff, Delanore, Merlissa, and the rest of the D'oril gang.  Just remember, it's all fiction, and with author's licence, whatever happens in my stories takes place outside of IFGS life, unless you can make it fit...  ;-)

And I may change the names to protect the not-so-innocent...

Till Next Time  (TNT)
Jim

And now for something completely different...

     A quick eye update...  The latest eye doc appointment put me through a battery of test, all of which created in me a headache you wouldn't believe.  Putting dilating drops and numbing drops in your eyes, then flashing a series of bright lights into your eye is...  Painful.  Result: Cataracts, not bad yet, eye pressure a bit high, no retinal nerve damage or loss of range of vision.  Left eye clarity is down about 20% (it's like looking through a dirty window).  So now, I'm to meet with a specialist next week.  <sigh>

     More FAA stupidity.  We're short handed (25% fewer controllers now than 5 years ago), with fully 10% of the controllers partially trained/recent hirees.  Denver Approach is reaching a critical point with their staffing (too many newbies at the radar), so they went back to procedures that were in place back in the stapleton days to ease the pressure on approach.  (which increases our workload dramatically).  So, when we have a trio of operational errors last week, what does management do?  Take one controller off radar/assistant duties in each area, and put them on the supervisor desk to essentially answer the phone and defer any real decisions to the supervisor, who now must sit in the middle of the control room, "watching".  Good idea, reduce staffing by another 10% in order to allow a supervisor to sit in the control room, doing nothing but...  Who knows.  At least there's no snoring...  Yet.)  Now to take by anti-cynic pill, I should feel better in about 10 minutes...   :-)

     Got brainstormed the other night while I was working on Imperfect Hope.  The story idea, in brief, involves a retired warrior/now scholar, asked to return to his liege lords service to correct the mistakes made by his lords heir/son.  Right now, a short story idea, we'll see if it develops any more...

     Anyway, time to go back to work.  Keep those cards and letters and comments coming.  Or at least post an anonymous note acknowledging that my readership exists...

CLear skies,
Jim

    

friday stuff

     Fitch peeled the rest of the thigh dressing off, and produced a roll of soft cotton and clean dressing from his bag.  He whistled an off key sailors tune as he spread some salve on the wound, covered it with the new dressing, and wrapped the whole upper thigh with the roll of cloth.  "Keep that clean, if you wish to bathe later, let me know and I"ll make sure the water is fresh and replace the dressing again afterwards.  Now, how's that shoulder feel?"

    Cerryn responded with a shrug that sent new twinges of pain through her shoulder. 

    Captain Fitch eyed the puckered scar tissue where Randir had healed her.  "Yeah, I can see that it'll hurt for a while, but...  Your companion is a talented healer, I know of few pure healers who could have tended that one as thoroughly as he seems to have, even without the shadow wound."  His eyes closed as he ran his fingers across the scar.  "I did a little reading last night, found a reference to shadow knives in an old text.  According to that text, You're probably the first person who has survived such a deep wound from one, I'd say that had your friend not done whatever he did, you wouldn't have lasted the night."

The above section was part of what I worked on (and reworked some of) earlier this week.  I actually managed to put together a couple of thousand words during breaks at work this week.  Some of it feels pretty good, some is easily recognized as low-grade dreck from work.  I believe I've commented before on how I can tell what's written at work, and what's written when I'm at home and actually "in the writing mode".  It may be getting harder to tell th difference.  (or I'm getting less perceptive).  We'll see...

     Speaking of we'll see, my opthamalogist has recognized that my left eye is developing a cataract.  I hadn't noticed any problems until she pointed it out, now I realize that for the last couple of months, at times I felt like I was looking through a dirty window with my left eye.  I'd put it aside as side effects of allergies.  I've spoken with the regional flight surgeon, and have come to the nervous decision to deal with it as soon as practical.  The surgery, considered routine, gives me the willies...

    It gives me the willies because of something I faced 23ish years ago.  I'd been working at Denver Instruments, where I worked on soldering parts to electronic instrument circuit boards all day.  One Friday after work, I took my paycheck to the bank, where they were laying new carpet.  My eyes started burning shortly after getting home from work.  Apparently (as explained by the ER doctor later that day), the fumes that my contact lenses absorbed every day from work interacted with the carpet cement fumes to create an acid of some sort, that etched my eyes under my contacts.  I spent the next 4 or 5 days with patches on my eyes, completely dependant on my girlfriend for everything, waiting to find out about any permament damage.  Not having any vision for that time (and the corresponding worry) has made me very sensitive about my eyes.   (I still remember listening to the superbowl on tv that weekend as Craig Morton and the broncos got slaughtered.  Needless to say, I'm a bit nervous about having the cataract surgery (as described by the opthamalogist, they make a hole in the side of your lens, stick an instrument in, and scramble/liquify your lens with ultrasonic waves.  They then replace it with a permament contact lens-like implant that will give me perfect vision in that eye.)  I was okay until he mentioned "they make a hole in the side of your lens.  <<<Shudder>>>

     Anyway, I've another doc visit next week, to further examine the problem and discuss options.  In the meantime, as Red Green would say,

"Keep your stick on the ice"...

Jim