Unassailable Logic

Grandson

It's been quite awhile since I've sat down to write something for Between Keyboard and Chair but I felt that the logic in the following conversation was too good to let pass.

This conversation took place between my son and grandson on the Saturday before Mothers' Day. Nothing like a rational approach to gift giving.


Son: Did you buy your mother a Mothers Day gift?
Grandson: No.
Son: Why not?
Grandson: I don't have any money.
Son: Didn't your mother give you $20?
Grandson: Yes.
Son: What are you planning to buy with that money?
Grandson: An XBox card.
Son: Why not buy your mother a Mother's Day present with that money?
Grandson: That doesn't make any sense. That would be like just giving her back the money!

And later


Son: I'll take you out to buy a Mothers' Day card to give to your mother.
Grandson: I made one at school.
Son: You made on at school. That's nice.
Grandson: Yeh, it was either make a Mothers' Day card or do math!

You can't argue with that.

At least that's the way I see it from Between Keyboard and Chair.

Don

Historical Miniature War Gaming

It's been a hot summer and I must admit to essentially taking it off from blogging or doing anything else work related on the 'Net. However, the time has come again to start writing for Between Keyboard and Chair.

In July I happened to be in Smiths Falls, Ontario and dropped by Monolith Architectural Models to visit my nephew, Noel White. For as long as I can remember, Noel has been entranced by historical miniature war gaming. It was a quiet day at Monlith and Noel was busy working on some of his models. I took one look and decided that he should guest author a blog article. So I now turn you over to Noel:

Miniature War Gaming

I was invited by Don White to write a short article for Between Keyboard and Chair on one of my hobbies - historical miniature war gaming. It's something I've enjoyed for at least 20 years, and I've found it a rewarding and relaxing hobby. Though my father had a small collection of miniature soldiers, it didn't really begin until a good friend and neighbour gave me a sci-fi figure and encouraged me to paint it. My first paint job was sloppy and crude, but I enjoyed it enough to purchase some of my own. I then discovered the various games that one could play with enough miniatures and a willing opponent. As a young teenager I was drawn to the fantasy and sci-fi variety but over the years I lost interest in fiction and moved on to historical games and miniatures. After all, anyone could invent fiction. I felt using my own imagination and doing my own research was far more rewarding than memorizing fantasy.

Just What Is It?

So what is historical miniature war gaming? Its usually 2 players, each with a collection of miniatures representing an army from a particular period in history. They are placed on a large table that is often decorated with simulated ground features (what we call “terrain”) and moved with the use of rulers or other templates. Dice are rolled to simulate the unpredictable factors of combat, and ultimately determine who wins and who loses. Often you'll receive advantages to your dice rolls if you can catch the enemy in unfavourable circumstances. For example, pikemen may enjoy an advantage versus cavalry, or the enemy may suffer if you attack him from behind. A complete game (or “battle”) can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days based on the set of rules you have agreed to use. My current favourite set of rules for ancient/medieval warfare simulation is Field of Glory, published in the UK, and it sits somewhere in the middle in terms of complexity and provides a reasonable degree of historical accuracy. A Field of Glory battle is usually over in 3-4 hours. Those who are interested can compete in tournaments at some of the larger gaming conventions.

Model Making and Research

Gaming aside, my favourite part of the hobby is the model-making and research. Within the restrictions of your chosen set of rules, you build an army of little soldiers that resemble its historical counterpart. There is lots of variety in scale and new manufacturers are emerging every year. The pewter or lead figurines are usually mail-ordered from a web-store, since few conventional retailers exist in Canada. You assemble and paint them yourself, after having researched the appropriate colours and battle formations in the translations of various ancient texts and excellent modern accounts. You can easily spend as much time reading as painting! You can also find tips and painting techniques that really bring the figures to life and make the tiny details much easier to handle. It can take many, many hours to put together an army of 100-200 figures and a great deal of time and patience is involved. You are also encouraged to make the terrain your army will fight across (such as villages, hills, forests, rivers and so on) as well as a suitably decorated game-table.

From Hobby To Career

This unusual hobby of mine has lead to other things including my unusual career! I operate my own a scale model-making business near Ottawa called Monolith Architectural Models. The majority of my clients are architects and real estate developers who need high quality scale models for sales offices and presentations. In a way, I turned my hobby into my business. I'm also considering a second business fabricating components and terrain for various war games, and possibly developing my own game.

I'm also involved in a play-testing group for Field of Glory version 2. We are all volunteers from all over the world testing the latest suggestions to improve the game. We record our battles and submit the results to the design team who make adjustments accordingly. There is lots of debate and research involved too!

I encourage any who are interested to seek out their local hobby club and ask some questions. It's a very rewarding pastime with plenty of opportunity for socializing, learning and fun.

Noel White,
Monolith Architectural Models
1+613-205-1071

Don White Photography

After years and years of shooting photographs I've decided to try marketing some of them online. Granted, I've sold matted and framed photos locally but that has been as a result of word-of-mouth, so I've decided to see what the Internet can do for me. The site I've set up is Don White Photography. I also have accounts at Artist Websites and RedBubble. Photographs, cards, T-shirts and stickers can be purchased at these locations.

Feel free to drop by Don White Photography or go directly to my accounts at Artist Websites and RedBubble.

If nothing else, I hope I bring some enjoyment to you with my pictures.

That's the way I see it from Between Keyboard and Chair

Don

Government of Canada Overthrown

Nothing raises the blood pressure more at Between Keyboard and Chair than the arrogance of little Stevie Harper and his drones. King Stevie and the PMO have decided there no longer is a Government of Canada.  Instead it's been replaced in government pronouncements by the HARPER GOVERNMENT.

Now this has been going on for quite some time but King Stevie has become more arrogant since the beginning of 2011. I did a search of the Government of Canada web site for the phrase "harper government" and the following numbers show the major increase in the use of Harper Government in departmental pronouncements since the beginning of the year.

• 2011 (128)
• 2010 (60)
• 2009 (44)
• 2008 (9)
• 2007 (1)
• 2002 (3)

This is just another example of King Stevie's contempt for the People of Canada and further exemplifies his goal of turn Canada in to Steven Harper's Canada.

At least that's how I see it from Between Keyboard and Chair.

Y'all come back now, eh?

Don

Walter Cameron's 75th Birthday Party

Walter and partner, Marlyn

On Saturday, January 29, I had the pleasure of attending the 75th Birthday Party for Walter Cameron in Almonte at the home of  his daughter, Wanda, and her partner, Rob. I also had the pleasure, at the invitation of Wanda, of being the MC during the sit-down meal. There had to be at least 40 people in attendance and many of them were accomplished musicians that Walter has played with over the years. Needless to say, the evening ended up with a lot of good music being played until we finally shut down around midnight. An excellent way to pass a Saturday night.

One nice touch to the evening was the presence of four generations: Walter, his daughter Wanda, grand-daughter Amanda, and great-grandson Dallas.

Wanda, Walter, Dallas and Amanda

I've known Walter for almost as long as I can remember. In fact the first time we ever met we attended a dance together in Canonto, Ontario.  Apparently, Walter wasn't too impressed with my vocal capabilities at that event. However, I was only about 18 months old at the time and he had to look after me while my parents and his older sister were up dancing. He was somewhat underwhelmed that he had to entertain a squalling kid.

Walter in 1961

We lost touch with one another after that inauspicious start to our friendship and we didn't really connect again until 1960 when Walter joined the Mississippi River Boys as a vocalist and guitar player. The Mississippi River Boys was a country dance band that played throughout Lanark, Renfrew, Frontenac and Carleton counties in Eastern Ontario from 1956 to 1985.  I had been playing with the band since New Years Eve 1958. Walter and worked together from 1960 until 1977 when he left to play with the late Ron McMunn.  Since then we've run into one another at various events but as we've gotten older those meetups have become all too infrequent.  About three years ago we had the good fortune to have Walter sit in with Grateful We're Not Dead at a show we were doing at a Western Games event at Drummond Center. Maybe we can arrange for him to make another guest appearance.

As I mentioned, there were a large number of talented musicians at Walter's party and everyone had a chance to perform. Of course, the night would not have been complete without getting Walter up to the mic and he finished off the entertainment for the evening.  I had my iPod Touch with me and was able to catch him on video.

Performing with Walter are Ray Donaldson - peddle steel, Mac Knowles - lead, Wayne Munroe - drums, and Tom Gardiner - bass.

So Walter, I expect to be invited to your 80th, 85th, 90th and 95th birthday parties. And if you make 100, I'll see to it that Grateful We're Not Dead is there to entertain you.

And a final insight garnered at the party: As young bucks, all the guitar players I knew had belt buckle scratches on the back of their guitars. As I looked around the room on Saturday night, I realized that none of us has to worry about scratching the back of our guitar anymore.  There's a lot more padding now.

At least that's how I see it from Between Keyboard and Chair.

Don

Fifty Six Seconds

Well I'll be damned!!! It's amazing how things eventually connect together. Recently, from my position Between Keyboard and Chair I came across an article that states:

"FIFTY SIX SECONDS is all the time a person will spend watching your loading animation, clicking through your site, reading your copy, and watching your content. A 60-second spot."

This article was posted in 2009 on Annoying Design.

Back in 2006 I read an article in the Ottawa Citizen which quoted a study that had shown:

"women think of sex once every two weeks whereas men think of sex every 58 seconds"

and as a result, in 2007 I wrote a song for Grateful We're Not Dead entitled At Least Once Every Minute.

Needless to say, it's likely the men surfing the 'Net who have had the greatest impact in generating the 56 second statistic. It then allows them 2 seconds to switch over into thinking about sex.

At least that's how I see it from Between Keyboard and Chair.

Don

Jeff White - Masking Tape Sculptor

Masking Tape - Not Just For Painting

How often do you think of masking tape? If you're like me, only when you decide to do some painting around the house and in my case, that's very infrequently. However, there are people who look at masking tape as a medium for creativity. One such person is Jeff White, an Ottawa-based storyboard artist and animator. Jeff has adopted masking tape as his medium for sculpting.

Jeff and the Cowboy Gecko

The Hobbyist

Jeff has dabbled in wood carving and sculpting as a hobby for a number of years. He has created short-lived sand sculptures on the Pacific beaches of Ecuador and set his hand to paper mache sculpting as well. It is just recently that he opted for masking tape as his material of choice.

Haida Mask Turtle

Masks

His first major projects were face masks suitable for wall hangings. It was during his work with these that he developed his technique for simulating hair.

Collection of Masks

Facial Hair

Caricature, Cartoon and Fantasy Characters

Being involved in the animation industry, it is only natural that Jeff creates caricatures, cartoon and fantasy characters using masking tape.

A Rose By Any Other Name...

The Dragon

The Band

The Artist

Jeff can frequently be seen at local hockey rinks, pockets filled with rolls of masking tape as he works on a sculpture while attending his son's hockey games and practices. Or possibly you'll come across him sculpting as he enjoys a coffee at Tim Horton's or sitting in a shopping mall. He's hard to miss. If you do see him, feel free to say "Hello" and I'm sure he'll be glad to expound on the enjoyment and techniques of masking tape sculpting.

The Guru

And I guarantee, you'll never look at masking tape as just paper and adhesive again.

At least that's how I see it from Between Keyboard and Chair.

Don

P.S. More of Jeff's work can be seen on Flickr and Picasa

Good Bye, Mr Kitty

It is with sadness and a sense of loss that I sit Between Keyboard and Chair writing these words. I feel as if I've lost a good friend.

Mr Kitty

Mr Kitty was a cat. He wasn't my cat. He was a neighbour's cat. Or more accurately, he was the neighbourhood's cat.

Mr Kitty came into our lives when his owner, Frank, rescued him when his mother had abandoned him. Frank fed the kitten from an eyedropper every few hours and Mr Kitty survived to become a beloved character amongst most of the neighbours.

The young Mr Kitty

The Alpha Cat

Mr Kitty was neutered and de-clawed but he was very much the Alpha Cat at our end of Ariel Court. Other cats knew to keep their distance when Mr Kitty was making the rounds of his domain and if they didn't show the proper respect they were quickly brought into line. He certainly knew how to use his teeth and his back claws.

The Food Circuit

Mr Kitty knew exactly where to go on the Court to get fed. He made his rounds to all the accommodating houses every day. At 5:00 AM he would be on our kitchen window sill waiting for his breakfast. He'd return a few times a day for a snack. If you didn't notice him or didn't pay attention to him he'd stand on his back legs and paw against the screen until you fed him. Anytime our van turned onto the Court, we'd likely see Mr Kitty making a beeline for our doorstep to greet us. At those times he likely wasn't hungry, he was just dropping by to get his head scratched.

King of the Court

When it came to petting him, you had to show the proper respect. If he felt you were getting too familiar he'd quickly warn you with a little nip on the fingers. After all he was the King of The Court. He was quite picky about his friends. If you were his friend, he'd rub up against your legs and let you pet him lightly. If you weren't his friend, then beware. He wasn't adverse to giving you a little nip just to show you your position in the pecking order.

A Fatal Weakness

Mr Kitty had a fatal weakness. He wasn't afraid of cars. He would sleep on, in or under vehicles. If you left a car window open you would likely find Mr Kitty sleeping in the car. If he was lying on the hood or roof, he wouldn't move even when you started the vehicle. He once spent two days locked in the trunk of a car because he had crawled in and gone to sleep. He was found when the owner took the car to a garage for maintenance. That attitude can be deadly and unfortunately, fate caught up with Mr. Kitty a week ago. He was lying under a vehicle and was accidentally run over. His injuries were too severe and he had to be euthanized the following day.

Mr Kitty on April 23, 2010

During the years Mr Kitty was with us, he became a habit for us. First thing in the morning we'd put cat food out on the window sill for him. If we saw him coming across the walk between the houses we'd go to the door to greet him. He certainly had trained his subjects well over the years and we all had learned to show him the proper respect for one in his position.

Bless you Mr Kitty. You are sorely missed.

At least that's how I see it from Between Keyboard and Chair.

Don

Sean Rasmussen Fan Club

Time for an update for everyone who has been following my progress in Sean Rasmussen's For A Few Dollars More Learn and Earn Competition.

Firstly, I'd like to thank all of you who supported me during the affiliate marketing exercise by registering for access to the contest forum. If you haven't registered there is still time until July 31. Have a look at With A Little Help From My Friends for the details. If you're feeling brave you can go straight to the Registration Form.

My apologies to those who tried to register and received an error message. The server has been configured properly again and the registration process is working once more. I lost a few points during that fiasco.

You can check out my standing in the competition at For A Few Dollars More.

Yesterday, Sean gave us the task of writing a blog article. The topic is to be (surprise, surprise) Sean Rasmussen. We have until Friday evening (Australian time) to get the post ranked on the first page of Google with the keyword Sean Rasmussen as the search criteria. At that point, Sean and his lovely wife, Cherie, will be reviewing the blogs and allocating bonus points in the contest.

I decided I needed a new domain with Sean Rasmussen as part of the URL if I was going to make any progress in this exercise so I registered seanrasmussenfanclub.com. I then set up the domain on my Hostgator account and proceeded to learn how to use Wordpress to develop the new blog.

After 14 hours, I finally published the blog article Sean Rasmussen: Gentleman And Internet Marketer Extraordinaire. Surf on over and have a look. Feel free to leave a comment. If you wish you can also promote it by Digging, re-tweeting or sharing it on Facebook. Extra appreciation will radiate from me if you also share it on other social bookmarking sites.

There is another Webinar on Friday morning (my time) at 3am so I'll have to get my napping schedule in order so I can be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for participating.

So that's how things stand right now. We're quickly approaching the final day of the contest and excitement is building. I'd like to wish Good Luck to all the great people I've met during the competition.

Don't forget to check out the blog article Sean Rasmussen: Gentleman And Internet Marketer Extraordinaire, leave a comment, give it a wee bit of promotion and/or link back to the article from your own blog. All means of support is really, really, really appreciated.

Now may the best person win. (I had to be politically correct there.)

At least, that's the way I see it from Between Keyboard and Chair.

Don

With A Little Help From My Friends

G'day, eh?  A standard Canadian greeting. And now I'll do something else we Canadians are renowned for; I'll apologise in advance of doing something. Sorry, eh? And finally the request for assistance.

This is not spam. At least I don't consider it to be, but then I'm somewhat biased.

Back in the middle of June I began to participate in an Internet Marketing competition. There is $20,000 AU in prizes up for grabs in the contest with the 1st prize being $3,000. My main reason for participating was to meet new people and have some fun.  But now I'm in 5th place and within striking distance of 1st prize. So I'm seeking a little help from my friends, family, relatives, acquaintances, friends-of-friends, neighbours, in-laws, outlaws, complete strangers, and maybe even peoples' pets. The rest of this article explains what is going on and the assistance I'm seeking. Be assured there is no cost involved for you. All I need is a little of your time, some mouse clicks and a bit of typing.

As mentioned, I'm competing in a 7-week Internet Marketing competition out of Australia (Sean Rasmussen's For A Few Dollars More Learn and Earn Competition) and, now in the middle of the 6th week, we are engaged in an affiliate marketing exercise. In order to gain points I have to try to persuade people (and who better to ask than friends, relatives and acquaintances) to sign up for access to a Year Of The Affiliate (YOTA) forum that has been set up for the duration of the contest. A few weeks after the contest is over the forum is to be taken down.

The process is relatively easy. Simply follow the link I've provided above and at the end of the article and fill out the YOTA application form. When you are filling out the form you are required to choose a password. Please make a note of the password so you can login to the forum after your application is processed. No credit card information is required but a physical mailing address has to be provided. The physical address goes in the section called the Billing Details. The address is simply used in the $0 receipt that is emailed to you. Once you have completed the form, click on the Submit button. You will then receive two emails. One is the receipt for $0 and the second gives you a username to use when accessing the forum.

Be sure to follow the link in the second email and sign into the forum. That's when I get my points.

For those of you kind enough to give me this assistance, there is a special bonus. When you login to the forum you will have access to an excellent 30 page ebook - The Ultimate Twitter Guide. Simply enter the Welcome Aboard! section of the forum, click on The Ultimate Twitter Guide (download) thread and follow the link to the download.

I've included an image below of what the application page looks like. My wife signed up on the forum in order for me to test it and, of course, to give me the ten points. If you can't market something to your wife, then who can you market to. (Hmmmm, I wonder if I should mention the iPod Touch I really need?)

And now the link to the registration form for the Year Of The Affiliate (YOTA) forum.

There is no cost associated with joining this forum. And the forum is to disappear after the contest. Thank you for your consideration of this request.

If you have any questions or concerns about the process, please feel free to contact me by leaving a comment and I'll do my best to answer any questions you have. Also, if you're so inclined, feel free to ignore the request as well.

But remember, you'll have my undying gratitude if you help me, whether or not I reach first place












That's how I see it from Between Keyboard And Chair.


Don