I am also trying to move myself to use this site in some other ways.. not really sure how right now though. I seem to post to FB/Twitter/buzz and the like all the time with out a problem, but those are shorter quick thoughts.. ehh.. whatever..

I have worked out a few new tunes recently, you can check em out over at my SoundCloud page.. http://soundcloud.com/twig

so yeah.. whatever

Unfortunately Alterra currently requires an older client version to get connected, there is a LOT of code updating that I still need to do to get current clients connecting correctly. I have been spending some time doing those updates the last couple days, and hope to finish fairly soon.

The server IS up and playable, with a v 5.0.0ish client and Razor .. use play.twigsjoint.com for the server address, default port. If you need a game client, let me know. If you had an account with Alterra before, all your characters & belongings are still there!!!

Not sure if I am going to build out a website the same as I did before, I do have an old site backup, but like to get as much of that stuff IN GAME for ease to players.

Well.. back to the code for me.. see ya in game!

As some of you know, back in 2007 I had my first small part in one of Pendant’s shows.. Batman: The Ace of Detectives.. Issue 18 – “Sacrifical Lambs”. In this episode I played the part of Reed, one of Golthom PD’s Finest. It was a short, but fun part, and now I have had the pleasure (and honor) to be in more Pendant shows.

First one I thought I would mention is Seminar. A killer anthology show, covering many genres of stories. Each episode showcases two stories in it as well as its own base story line about a classroom in the future. I scored a roll in Episode 26 – “Social Interaction”, playing Terry Fames, one heck of a high stakes poker player with an equally mysterious past. For the voice, I envisioned an older, cigar smoking, whiskey drinking, high class good ol boy from down south, and think I hit it spot on. I wont tell you any more about the character here, dont want to spoil the story.

The episode I am in is actually the 3rd part of the story, so make sure to check out Episode 24 & Episode 25 for the goods before my part.. and don’t forget to subscribe to hear the final part of the story when it comes out, and while there check out all the past episodes, as the stories are all simply awesome.

The second part I wanted to mention is a reoccurring role in Pentant Audio’s production of Martian Manhunter: Strange Visitor. I play the part of Michael Holt, the second DC Comics character to take the AKA of Mister Terrific. Michael has some seriously large shoes to fill as he is said to be the 3rd smartest man on Earth, holds 6 martial arts Black belts, 13 PH.Ds, has “a natural aptitude for having natural aptitudes” and was an Olympic Gold Medalist in the decathlon. All that plus the various technologies he designed for his T Mask and T-Spheres makes for a pretty kick arse character to play.

While voicing Michael Holt, I actually keep sort of a visual in my head of Michael Dorn playing Warf on Star Trek. For some reason Dorn’s deep voice, and self security in speaking as Warf just seems to fit.

So get on over there.. check out the first 3 episodes that are out for Martian Manhunter and get subscribed so you wont miss any more as they are released.

Edit: When you have a listen to the stories, or if you already have… PLEASE come on back here and comment on my voice acting. I would love to hear what people think about any of my roles.

“We need to go out and play coin-op video games. Any video game, anywhere. … Play a game, get as high a score as you can, and write it down – a picture of the screen is best, but shooting the whole coin-op is fine, and if you don’t have a camera, just write in and tell me what you scored and where you were.”

PixelVixen will get clues at stages, as the collective score builds. (See.. go read her blog, and you will understand)

Not being one to back down from such awesome challenges.. I set out to crack out some score for the Vixen of Pixel. Good ol X-Men Arcade would be a fun try I thought.. till I realized the score was only a “kill count” .. WHEW.. that would take quite awhile to get a good high number score that way.. so around 80 kills I called it quits. My second game thought was TMNT arcade, but it scores the same way.

On to the next game.. another favorite of mine.. 1944: The Loop Master. A simple enough game genre that I always seem to have fun at. Dodge bullets, shoot everything. So I mashed some buttons and put my stick through the loops.. and smashed out a couple high scores on the box and took pics of my best 3.

[View with PicLens]

So lets see how I did.. the scores I pulled out were: 315170 + 355903 + 621192 .. for a Grand Total of 1292265 points. I think thats good for the first few hints!! Time to go report in with my score. Take that mysterious Mr. Collector!!!

So compared to other types of internet challenges.. THIS one is all fun and games. (yeah, I typed that, ugg)

Edit: added the TMNT info link.. Doh!

@DieLaughing - Science came to me in an experiment and strongly suggested a theory that all non-believers should be put to death.

@pennjillette - “Knock, Knock.” “Who’s there?” “Atheist.” “Atheist who?” “Oh, I’m sorry, we don’t knock on your door when you’re trying to relax.”

@sunspot_mike - You know you play too much D&D when every time you move to a bigger dumbbell at the gym, you think of it as “leveling up”!

@TWiG - tears to my eyes as I listen. street musicians worldwide covering Stand By Me collaboratively http://tinyurl.com/6rlkb2 – via @HarmonixSean

@donttickleme - FYI to my family. The CORRECT way has been and always will be the way Mom does it/wants it done.

@pennjillette : To all my fellow bass playing brothers and sister – remember – 5 strings is a banjo / 4 strings is a bass. You can use wire-cutters.

OK, we thought, if its POURING maybe we wont go, if its sprinkling, we can setup the canopy, table and wares and go from there. No Prob. So, I get up early (for me) and get all my glass packed up, Tasha gets the kids off to their Great Grandparent’s, and we load up tables, canopy, her stained glass and everything else.

Arriving at the school we find only a sign… CANCELED! DOH!

So as to not waste the day and display items we had borrowed, we went ahead and set up at the Grandparent’s garage sale.. in the rain. At least there was hot coffee!! hehe

I was fairly surprised how many people DID come to a yard sale in the rain.. though many just wanted that “yard sale, used stuff, good deal”. Understandable.

So way long story, for such a short happening, but yeah, I made a quick $20, lots of people oooh’d and ahhh’d and I passed a few cards out. And all with only breaking one item.. my dragon.

Traditionaly a oil burning lamp was used, but thankfully in todays time, I get to use a big, hot Propane & Oxygen torch system. I like fire.. and I love to create things with my hands, making this one of the most fulfilling things I have done to date. Unlike digital art or audio media, being able to hold a beautiful finished product in your hands is something extra special.

I have enjoyed it enough, that I am dedicating my time to it fully. This is now basically my “job”, so hopefully it will start to pan out into profit and help put a little food on my family. ;)

Well now I have got a shop setup here on my site, where I can display the items I have created, and you can check em out, rate your favorites, and buy up the ones you love. Everything is hand made with the finest materials of their type, by me, with some assistance from my wife on the jewelery finishings.

So check it out.. TwigsJoint.com/shop or start in right away with the links in the side bar showing a few of the beautiful items available. More items will be filling up the shop as I get them photographed and listed. Feel free to contact me if you would like a custom item made, I am willing to try ANYTHING! hehe

* Penn Jillette, Jack Osbourne, Spike Feresten & Dana Carvey *

(click this if you want to just watch the whole show - Talkshow with Spike Feresten – Season 3 : Ep. 12 )

EDIT: Looks as if the full show is no longer on Hulu.. but the clip is still there, link fixed.

From the start here I would like to list a few of the common, short term side effects of smoking marijuana. Different users will experience their own combination of some or all of these “side” effects while using Marijuana for medical reasons. Depending on the reason for use, some of these effects listed may actually be wanted. This is NOT a complete list, or at all trying to make it sound harmless. There will always be long term effects of inhaling ANY kind of smoke, be it cigarettes, pot, campfire or even incense. Nothing we do in life is “completely safe”, but that is another post all together.

Side Effects of Medical Marijuana

• Coughing (during use)
• Getting “High”
• Drowsiness
• Hunger
• Dry Mouth
• Thirst
• Dry / Red Eyes

When I compare that list to some drugs advertised on TV with their lists of things like: Rashes, Burning Sensations, Oily Anal Secretions, Kidney Failure or DEATH… I really dont mind the want for snacks and a nap, and infact USE many of those so called marijuana “side effects” for my own health.

The smoking vs eating argument. What it comes down to here is speed of effect, smoking marijuana the user will often feel the effects immediately. Ingesting the marijuana through food is MUCH healthier for your lungs, yet often takes upwards of 30 minutes or more for the effects to kick in, leaving the pain to grow, and re-dosing a confusing guess.

The following is a list of medical problems I use Marijuana for, some explanations and a little info or tips that I learned along my usage that may help others.

NAUSEA
- One of the most common mentioned medical uses for Marijuana, and personaly I would have to say it works VERY well for this issue. I find that just taking one or two tokes from some smooth smoking marijuana as the nausea sneaks in, curbs it right away. Its an almost instant reaction for me and most others I have observed. If the nausea has already set in strong, take a toke, then a few slow deep breaths, then another toke. Repeat this a few times and you will be feeling better in no time flat. Much faster than any over-the-counter nausea drugs, and with much nicer side effects. This seems to work with nausea caused from colds/flu as well as movement based types (Car or Boat Sickness), and with the nausea I seem to feel for a few hours every single gad dang morning. I take one toke in the morning, not even enough to get a regular user like me “high”, and I am fine.

BACK & NECK PAIN
- One of the most common uses of Marijuana for patients I work with and talk with is pain. Back and Neck pain can be caused by so many different reasons that treating it can be hard, unless the exact reasons for the pain are known, injuries for example. Even knowing the reason for the pain, doesn’t mean there is a cure for that problem. Often people with chronic pain are left with no options from their doctors than a lifetime of pain medication. I find that a combination of marijuana, stretches, and posture can help prevent, or greatly lower some of the chronic, often debilitating pain I, and people I know live with every day.

If the pain is just starting in, first I relax, and slowly smoke a very STRONG strain of marijuana, exhaling my hits slowly and almost meditatively. Once you can feel yourself loosening up, and you will, slowly do the stretches that help your problem area best. This will greatly reduce tension and inflamation of the muscles in your body, then the stretching often prevents the problem from escalating to the severe level. When the problems are not able to be prevented, and are in full pain mode, and sometimes, not allowing me to move correctly at all, a different tactic is needed, and some help from a over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication, Ibuprofen. I take 600mg of Ibuprofen (consult your doctor, wikipedia or the bottles information for the side effects of this rather common use drug), along with VERY STRONG strains of marijuana. I will often smoke a first & second bowl rather quickly, and another slower, sort of “as needed”. While the smoking is going on, it is again important to relax. The marijuana will start to help the pain and inflammation until the stronger dose of Ibuprofen kicks in to try to fully relax the inflamed areas of your back and neck, while the marijuana continues to help with the pain. Once the pain is reduced to a manageable level, the stretching steps from before will be used.

INSOMNIA
- Another common use for Marijuana is sleeping problems, and many types of marijuana have the side effect of drowsiness. Some strains of pot are VERY good at helping people to fall asleep, and some people will fall asleep smoking almost any type. As with all things, our bodies react and interact with things differently. I find that by using a nice strong sedative strain, and smoking a few bowls while watching some mind numbing TV for awhile before the time I want to get to sleep, I have a much higher sleep success rate. The sedatives of the marijuana help me to stay sleeping through distractions, without FORCING a non-restful zombie sleep the way various “sleeping drugs” will.

DEPRESSION
- If you have ever used or have seen the use of most depression medication, you may wonder who in the hell thought those screwed up main effects and side effects are at all worth gaining to loose the feelings of depression. With marijuana the various effects from the “getting high” part come into play quite nice. Dosage is simple, smoke till your smile is back and you can laugh at something. A strain with a nice, uplifting high is best here. Might take a bowl or two, best done with a friend who is in a good mood already, and can help you to relax. Here is another one that the weed doesn’t cure, but lets you feel better for the time and let you think through things in a much less depressive way, allowing you to solve the root issue smoother. NEVER drink alcohol for depression, it will ALWAYS make the feelings worse.

ANGER
- Not often mentioned in lists of problems that marijuana will help, and often overlooked, is Anger issues. I have found that, as a side effect of using marijuana for other issues, it has helped in general with my anger “problems”. When I notice myself getting overly pissed off at something, I try to step back and take a few rips of weed, the effects combined with the time to sit and think about the issue a bit, brings things back to a controlled level. And again with the warnings, try not to drink alcohol if you have anger control issues, they will only strengthen and while drunk you may not be able to control it at all.

There are of course many many more uses for medical marijuana, these are just the ones I personally use it for. At some point I may talk about some of the uses that others I know have used it for, and their personal tips and tricks. Feel free to use the comments here to add your own tips and tricks for how you use medical marijuana to help with your own issues.

Now of course I probably HAVE to say here, according to paragraph 41.9 of some law somewhere, that I am not a doctor, and I don’t even play one on TV! That these are the techniques I use myself, and all I can truly claim is that they work for me. Use at your own risk, results may vary, no refunds, beware of dogs.

We have the highest non-violent incarceration rate in the world. We need to free up our police, jails and courts to deal with people who actually pose a clear and present danger to life and liberty. Stop persecuting non-violent drug users. Prefer regulation to prohibition and give up on this “war” that can never be won.

So here is how I see it. The war on drugs is nothing more than a war on our freedom. I personally feel that as a citizen of a free country, you and I should be able to put into your body what ever we want, harmful to ourselves or not. Users of cigarettes, coffee and alcohol are using “drugs” each day, as part of their own free will, and freedom to do so. Some people would argue that these drugs are as addicting and harmful, if not more, than other “drugs” that are deemed illegal. Yet they are legal to buy in almost any store, and commonly, are quite available to minors even though there are laws to try to prevent it.

A largely used argument against legalization of “drugs” is the violence and crime that, according to some, is only possible with use of these illegal drugs. My own personal anecdotal experience, as well as many studies, have demonstrated that alcohol, a legal and commonly available “drug” causes, what I perceive as, insane amounts of violence, crime and danger to others. Just look at bar fights, teen alcohol poisoning rates, DUI car accidents and random ass kickings down dark alleys. Clearly alcohol doesn’t have a clean record either, but it IS legal.

Now I am not saying that users of illegal drugs do not commit crimes or become violent, ANY human can commit a crime or become violent. But there are those laws on the books making those crimes illegal, and there are punishments for those crimes. A criminal with out drugs is still a criminal. A killer without drugs is still a killer. The drugs did NOT make them do the crime. The drug or the alcohol may have screwed up their perception of right and wrong, but they still picked their own crime and likely picked their victim. Yet when the only “Crime” a person commits is something as harmless as smoking a joint in the privacy of their own home, our country says they are “criminals that must be stopped”!!!

Take spray paint for a strange type of example. It is legal to have and use.. sold in many types of stores.. for personal or professional use.. for a whole list of great purposes, and in many places a state ID proving you are over 18 is required to purchase it. Now, once you use that paint to tag your name on a building wall, or all over your neighbors car.. then a crime has been committed. You are punished for the crime, not because you used spray paint, but because of what you did WITH the paint. The same should apply to drugs, as it sort of does with alcohol. Using the drug doesnt need to be a crime, your freedoms do not need to be taken away. Doing a crime, while on the drug or not, is what needs to be illegal and punished. I could use this metaphor with a ton of other laws that save “stupid people”, but thats another post in its own right, though it does move me to my next point in this current post.

I grew up subscribed to the “survival of the fittest” attitude in the world, and here is where some, if not most of you will think that I am the one thats friggin crazy. If drugs are legalized, and some of these people, often the really stupid ones, taking the “dangerous to self” drugs overdose.. and die.. did it harm you? Nope, you survived, and WON, this round of Survival of the Fittest. Some would gasp here and say “WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS?!?!”.. Education dear parents Edu-frigin-cation!!!

Parents, you are responsible for what your kids learn. Teach them the truth, not propaganda, from start to finish. Information is almost always screwed up in one way or the other when it comes to drug education for the youth of this country. Usually with marijuana, kids are taught lies about pot use by people they were supposed to put trust in, the police, their teachers and even their parents. They are told about all the horrible things smoking just one toke off a joint will do to you, and how evil you will become. Then one day they take that toke, and none of those bad things happen. Thats when, kids, being smart yet not wise, believe that those adults must have lied about all drugs. If pot wasn’t the evil demon it was said to be.. then crack probably isn’t either. Youth that is informed with truth and accuracy would have stood a better chance in that test, and would still hold the trust of those adults whom gave them that truth.

I want to finish this off by saying I smoke pot. Plenty of it. I also smoke cigarettes and drink massive amounts of coffee. What keeps me from crime sprees, looting, raping and pillaging is not a fear of laws, a god or any other “idea”, but just simple morals, something true criminals lack.

Love of all humans, and want for them to be free, happy and content is all I need.

Lets stop this war on FREEDOM and get back to the real fight.. The WAR ON CRIME!!

Wikipedia describes Graphology as

“the study and analysis of handwriting especially in relation to human psychology. In the medical field, it can be used to refer to the study of handwriting as an aid in diagnosis and tracking of diseases of the brain and nervous system.”

Now as a skeptic I would first want to know how in the hell looking at writing could help diagnose diseases!?!? But I also know that I am writing this for a slightly different reason.. so I will let wikipedia answer that question for me with ..

“Graphology has been a controversial field for more than a century. Although supporters point to the anecdotal evidence of thousands of positive testimonials as a reason to use it for personality evaluation, most empirical studies fail to show the validity claimed by its supporters.”

Ok.. so now we know that Graphology is not an all powerful super mind and body reading technique, we can just go have some fun with it. That brings me to the Tul pen company, not because I endorse their pens (though they can feel free to send me one for trial and review if they so like. hehe) or want to sneak in some little referral link… but because they want us to have some fun with Graphology too.. and I sure did!

They ask you to write a sentence down in your natural handwriting.. then they ask you a few questions regarding the looks and writing style of your.. well.. writing. When they have collected all the secrets from your brain.. err I mean.. analyzed your beautiful writing, they will present you with a humorous video all about you! Now, remember.. its all just in fun.. so I should probably not trust in them telling me how smart I am and what a great leader I could be.. or should I ???

Take the test here… http://tul.com/

Wed, 07 Jan ‘09

The Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, Calif., is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 10 mission with an exhibition highlighting the connection between NASA’s pioneering astronauts and Peanuts’ barnstorming beagle. In May 1969, Apollo 10 astronauts Gene Cernan, John Young and Thomas Stafford traveled all the way to the moon for one final checkout before the lunar landing attempt.

via .:: Aero-News Network: The Aviation and Aerospace World’s Daily/Real-Time News and Information Service ::..

Peace-

TWiG