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Greetings,

I have an older site at aetre.xepher.net that I haven't updated in a few years; It's probably time for that one to come down. That said, although my interests have moved on, I'm still very much involved in creative pursuits. For the past five years, I've been playing in a rock band named Traitors N' Thieves in the Washington, DC area, and we're just starting to get a following and some professional-grade recordings done. And now we want to take it next-level with a professional-looking website, some iTunes submissions, etc. So, without any further ado:

Username: traitorsnthieves

Email: keay.senseiATgmail.com

Site Description: Features pictures and videos of our gigs (videos would be linked from our Youtube channel), links to songs, news and upcoming gig info, and hopefully in the very near future, a link to iTunes for downloading.

Our current site is here: https://www.reverbnation.com/traitorsnthieves and it serves a general purpose, but isn't the professional-grade look we're going for this time around--think https://www.cagetheelephant.com/ or similar for rock band websites.

The current site has three songs that we recorded in studio in 2014. The new site would have these, plus three new songs we just recorded last month and are getting mastered this Saturday, and it would include live gig recordings of these and other songs. We typically play in a venue where we can record the performance every one to two months depending on the season, so updates would come regularly, albeit on a monthly rather than weekly or daily basis. But we will keep updating; the band has been together 5 years, and we're solid and determined.

So, hope you like the music, and hope we can get a site hosted here. (For what it's worth, I'm on bass and vocals.) Thank you for your time.

http://tlug.jp/articles/Windows_Is_Free

This is by far the most interesting article on piracy that i've ever seen. Long, but definitely worth a read.

That said, I'm running a legal Windows 2000 that I paid for specifically to get Linux off of my machine, I have legal versions of Dreamweaver and Office, and all the programs on my machine that are free are legally free downloads (the free versions of AVG and ZoneAlarm, for example). And I have enough experience over two years with multiple versions of Linux that I feel I could take up the writer of the article on his challenge in the last paragraph.

Your thoughts?

Or something.

http://aetre.xepher.net/Negima_Lullaby.avi

Hopefully in the future I'll figure out how to fix all the things that annoy me about this video. But for a first attemt, I think it's pretty sweet...

Enjoy!

Hardcover or Download: http://www.lulu.com/content/371346
Paperback: http://www.lulu.com/content/371412

Welp, here's the final presentation of the book I mentioned in a previous topic a long time ago. The beta readers seemed to agree this was the best title after they'd finished the book, so it's what I went with. Just thought I'd post this as an update and thank all the people from the Xepher community who helped give advice along the way on it.

It took four years, but it's been worth it.

Sorry I haven't been around. Anyhoo, in a week I start teaching high school Physics.

Our slogan: "It's Phun unless you Phail."

So. How's everyone been?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7521044027821122670&q=%22Fear+of+girls%22

The following was shamelessly copy/pasted from my livejournal. I apologize if it seems like I'm bragging, but I'm just in a state of *squee* right now.

---

At our university, the students get the chance to do "course evaluations," wherein they grade their professors and teaching assistants. Well, I was a teaching assistant last semester, and the results of my students' comments are in.

A few formalities, first:

Part of the evaluation was scantron. A, B, C, D, and E are the grades (think of E as being equal to F on the normal grade scale). The second part was just any brief commentary the students had about the teaching assistant. All comments are anonymous and randomly ordered, and I am never told who voted for what in the scantron. That's as it should be, I think. Note that the entire evaluation is strictly optional and that nobody has to do it if they do not want to.

Now, without any further ado, the results:

---

PART ONE: SCANTRON

1. "The instructor's handling of the course (starting class on time, assigning work, returning graded work, etc.) was:"

Votes for A: 11
Votes for B: 0
C: 0
D: 0
E: 0

2. "Syllabi, homework, projects, and tests were appropriate to the course level:"

A: 7
B: 2
C: 2
D: 0
E: 0

3. "The instructor was approachable before or after class, and readily available through regular office hours or by appointment."

A: 6
B: 4
C: 1
D: 0
E: 0

4. "The instructor was respectful towards the students."

A: 8
B: 3
C: 0
D: 0
E: 0

5. Overall, I would rate the instructor as:

A: 4
B: 7
C: 0
D: 0
E: 0

6. Overall, I would rate this course as:

A: 3
B: 7
C: 1
D: 0
E: 0

---

In every single one of the above categories, I beat the averages for both undergraduate courses and the physics department.

Now, here's the commentary...

---

PART TWO: COMMENTS

7. "Please supply additional comments about the course or instructor here."

- "Physics is phun!"
- "Try and be a little more leniant with the grading."
- "The instructor was excellent."
- "Instructor did a great job of helping out students who were having trouble. Made the class time enjoyable by being friendly and engaging the class. He knew the material extremely well."
- "yello"
- "Everything was just fine."
- "Very helpful, and a fair grader."

---

I know it's a good thing to be anonymous and all, but seriously... who wrote "yello?"

Ah well.

I'm beaming right now.

Peace out, all.

---

I knew I could teach... I knew I could teach...

we had this at the old forum, where we all link pictures of "unbearably cute" things. i'm a sucker for such things. and the old thread worked out peachy, so here's to a redo, a couple years later...

i'll start things off:

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/EUR/2400-1246~Penguin-Chick-Posters.jpg

and instantly the obligatory penguin entry has been taken care of.

My next big "project," I've decided, is going to be an online graphic novel. Only problem is, I have no skill as an artist. So if there are any artists out there who would be interested in collaborating and would be able to do about six panels a week (black & white only), or if you know some one who fits the description, hit me on a.i.m. (screenname "AegelmaereAetre") or leave a message here, and I'll contact you with more information. I don't want to give away any spoilers just yet, but the comic I have in mind would be fairly dark/surreal, so just a heads up on that.

If this thread goes unanswered and dies away gracefully, I shall swallow my pride and mumble my way back over to the typewriter where I belong. If, on the other hand, I'm able to find a talented artist who fits the bill this way, I will rejoice by eating Honey Nut Cheerios.

My cereal bowl is at the ready.

the votes here, plus in other places around the net, will help me decide on a title for the novel i'm just about done writing.

the working title has been, "An Oblivion's Indigo," but there are a number of alternatives that would also fit nicely. so pick the one that sounds best to you.

the options are:

Sovereigns
The Story of Oblivion
Colors of Sovereignty
Worlds to Rise Above
An Oblivion

[WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS NSFW LANGUAGE.]

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS NSFW LANGUAGE.


The Epic of "Crazy Eyes" (to the tune of "The Beverly Hillbillies")

Oh, this is the story 'bout a man named Doug,
And his coworker, Phil, when they went out for some stuff
Went drivin' out of camp just for to get some food,
When suddenly they ran into a really weird dude...
Crazy Eyes, that is. Redneck crazy. Country stereotype.

Doug was a-drivin' with his windows wide open
And he and Phil were just ridin' and a-talkin'
Doug said "asshole" in part of the conversation,
But the word fell on the ears of a farmer there, standing
By the road, he stood. Crazy Eyes. Redneck crazy.

Well, Crazy Eyes got angry and decided what to do:
He flipped the pair the birdie and he yelled, "Fuck you!"
Doug paid him no attention 'cept to shrug the old man off
But that's not the end, for Crazy Eyes ain't had enough...
Revenge, that is. Country vengeance. Fuel for feuds.

Doug and Phil thought their incident had passed
When up from behind them came a truck a-drivin' fast
Phil looked in the mirror and said, "Dang that's a nice grill!"
But Doug looked at the driver and his heart a-leapt in thrill...
Not a good thrill. More like panic. Widened eyes.

Doug said, "Hey there Phil, that's the guy we saw before
"Who flipped us off, and now he's after us to get some more!"
Phil doubted Doug's conclusion 'bout the driver up until
The truck passed them, stopped in the road, and cut off Doug and Phil
Holy shit. This isn't happening. How can this be?

Doug slammed on the brakes and didn't know what he should do
What would you do if a country bumpkin came a-huntin' you?
Well, this old man, he stepped out from the truck,
And he pointed at them angrily and said, "You little fucks!"
Fuckers, that is. Motherfuckers. Texas trash.

Well they call him Crazy Eyes 'cause if you look into his eyes,
You'll see one pointin' at you while the other's at the sky
He cusses and he swears by the roadkill he calls food,
And, all things told, he's one fucking scary dude.
When he's angry. Country bumpkin don't take no shit.

Doug gave him an apology, and he yelled it nice and loud,
And Phil sat there as if he could outpiss a thundercloud.
After a while, Crazy Eyes accepted this apology,
Though not without a-warnin' them, "Y'never come back, y'see?"
And they didn't. Instead went back. To camp and safety.

So that's our little story, and you take it as you like,
But be warned if you're ever gone a-drivin' on the pike,
Or road, or whatever, that if you see old Crazy Eyes,
Watch your language, or be damn good at it when you 'pologize.
Beg and yell. Kiss his feet. And he may let you live.

Y'all never come back, now, y'hear?

--

note: i put this on my lj, too, but i thought it was worth posting here as well. and YES, it really is a true story.

Post 'em if ya got 'em.

And feel free to add me to the "friends" list, too; I'll add ya right back, assuming I recognize who ya are from these forums.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/aetre/

xanga etc. counts too for this thread. i know people have been telling me xanga is better, but... well, lj is where my friends went, so it's where i am.

http://aetre.xepher.net/lens_flare.htm

I just uploaded this new story called "Lens Flare." It's completely done, so go ahead and read and enjoy.

And of course, any and all constructive criticism welcome.

The main page: http://aetre.xepher.net