What Are You Working On?

[Jack7]

The thread by Ranger Wickett on Do you know what a leitmotif is, and some other threads (like, What Are You Reading?) led me to the idea of creating a What Are You Working On thread.

The point of the thread is to briefly describe what you are working on (it can be anything, a novel, a non-fiction work, an invention, a musical composition or song or group of songs, a game, an academic paper, a work or business project, etc.) and then let others discuss this work or these projects with you, while you discuss what they are working on. Perhaps this will give others some good ideas, critiques, sources of research, new perspectives, etc.

The point is to discuss your works and the works of others in a beneficial way. To help them with what they are working on, and for them to assist you with whatever you're working on. Personally I'm a big believer in discussing ideas and concepts as a method of fleshing out and improving such ideas and concepts. I see it as an important part of a project I've developed over the years, the Renaissance Gild. I often discuss what I'm working on with friends and colleagues. However discussion with those I don't know often proves as fruitful as discussion with those I do know.

Now I realize that I am probably older than many of you guys and gals, and in addition I work for myself. So I probably have more time to devote to both professional and personal projects than many of you younger people who are possibly in school, work for someone else, just married, have small kids, etc. So I'm going to list quite a few projects, some I'm working on professionally, and some I'm working on in an amateur fashion or even just as a hobby. Some I work on every day and some I work only as I have the time.

So you can do like me and list as many projects as you wish, or you can list only one project if you wish. (And of course you don't have to categorize them, I categorize everything because it helps me keep order. But do it any way you wish as far as I'm concerned.) The point is not how much you are working on, but what you are working on that is of interest to or important to you. And hopefully others can help you out with it, or just discuss it in an interesting, provocative, and productive way.


Art and Music and Architecture

I've been drawing up exact architectural plans as to how I intend to renovate and remodel my house and lands. I've already started by cutting many of the trees so as to clear space for exactly how I intend to landscape, and I've used the plans to make improvements to the house. Finally I'll turn the garage into an Art studio, build the gym I want out where the pool used to be, and lastly build the Observatory I've always wished I had. I designed the observatory myself so that the telescope can be slid in and out of the upper floor onto a clearing ledge that will allow it to be free of the observatory itself. I'm also gonna try and build the inside of the dome in such a way that it can serve as a projection platform, like a planetarium, when it isn't in use for any other purpose.

I've been improving my sketching skills to sketch out designs for some paintings and a set of Icons I want to do.

And I've finished the Genesis CD I composed (which contains various samples of the different types of music I write). I haven't tried to clean it up completely yet because I wanna put a home recoding studio in my underground basement, but first the basement has to be repaired, renovated, and finished. To tell you the truth though I don't get much chance to compose anymore. Maybe one day out of a month or so. Sometimes not that much. I wish I had more time to write music though.


Gaming and Recreation/Avocations

Most of my gaming and hobby projects are amateur efforts. Except for one, I'm writing a video/computer game script base upon my Vadding experiences called, cleverly enough, the Vadder.

Otherwise I'm writing my own RPG and setting, as well as a Parallel Reality Game Script (like an ARG, only different in some respects) about the history of my local area and city. I've got a name for one major part of the script already - The Dark Corner. Though I'm not sure what I'm gonna call the whole game yet. I'm incorporating geocaching (which I've recently taken up along with my kids and enjoy immensely) into the game, as well as incorporating it into the Vadder game. I'm also gonna incorporate geocaching into some of the adventure modules and scenarios for my RPG.


Homiletics and Religious

I'm studying to become a Priest (Greek Orthodox). I figure in about five years or so I can return to the seminary and complete my studies. Until then I've developed my own set of preliminary studies for the Priesthood. Which I may publish on my blog or something. I studied the order of studies for both the Jesuits and the Franciscans (two of my favorite Orders) and developed my own studies program, which I've already begun. I've started out studying the Church Fathers, Koine (I took it in college too) and some Hebrew. I'm also studying modern Greek. I figure by the time I return to the seminary I'll be way ahead of the game and can progress quickly.

I want to be a missionary priest and church-planter. As practice I'm going on mission trips for my Baptist church, assisting with disaster relief and mission projects and charity work, and run the church Mission's House. I'm also writing a series of sermons. By the time I become a priest I want to have already developed a body of sermons that I can use for nearly any occasion or time of the year.

Soon, when I can arrange it with the wife and kids, I plan to make a week long retreat to a local monastery to work on religious and spiritual writings and maybe sketch and paint some. Plus during the day I want to follow the prayer and mediation rules of the monastery and in the evenings just relax and recuperate some.


Military/Law Enforcement/Civil Service/Politics

Primarily I'm just training for my squadron right now. That's kept me pretty busy in my spare time.
But I also want to go into technologies development, especially as regards invention and R&D. And CyberOps which I'm helping with right now, but would like to work on more consistently.

I haven't worked a criminal case in a long time but recently I discovered who the murderer in an old cold case was. I still can't do much about it yet because I found out who it was and how it was done (and it fits very well with what I had already discovered during my initial investigations) by accident almost (or strange coincidence, if you believe in that kinda thing) and my source of information won't let me act on it yet. But I'll be glad to put that one to bed. I worked it over ten years. I don't actively investigate much anymore, but I still like resolving cold cases and help out when I can.

I've also re-entered the political arena. At my age I have a real distaste for politics, (always have even though I've been very politically active before) and consider it more a public duty than a personal desire, but I also feel that at this moment in history, I'm duty-bound to help if I can.


Personal

For some time now I've been training using the P90X training system, along with the Ten Minute Trainer when I don't have the time to physically train normally. I really like the training and the program and how it works. So I'm in the process of developing a year long (11 month actually, I give myself a month off regular training to relax and recover) training and diet program which is a combination of P90X and the training program I developed for myself over the years. It's looking pretty good, and the parts of it I'm using so far are very effective.


Science and Invention

For invention I'm working on Environmental Encoding, which I describe below. I hope to be able to undertake a couple of Industrial Archaeology (I've always like archaeology) expeditions this summer if all goes well, and if I have time to write up full reports and presentations, then I'll give the results to a local museum. If not then I'll give what I got to a local professor who is a friend of mine and he can put everything in order and make the donations.

Otherwise my primary scientific interest are in the fields of biochemistry, physics, and genetics/biology. I've finished my animal breeding experiments, so that's over for the moment. I have some other experiments I'd like to run but don't have much time for them right now, so in my spare time I occasionally write up the preps and experiment constructs. But that's about it right now. I wish though I had three or four months to do nothing but work on my scientific and invention projects. I have a couple of ideas for a new type of operating system I'd like to see if I could develop, but lack the seed money and partners right now. I suspect though it would take an entirely new kind of hardrive to work properly.


Writing:

Faction (Non-Fiction)

Aside from normal non-fiction writing for clients I'm working on a book entitled Security Training for Missionaries. I've got it fully sketched out and a couple of chapters done. I'm working on expanding my essay on PIINs (Private Intelligence and Investigative Networks), maybe into a small to mid-sized book. And I've got the Book of Intelligence Designs (a book on Intel) almost fully written but not properly formatted and re-written yet.

Fiction

Aside from the short stories I'm writing and attempting to sell I'm working on writing two novels. One is about the Basilegate, the Byzantine Empire, and Prester John. I'm rewriting the first draft actually.

The other novel is about a Regulator and the Regulator movement in South Carolina prior to the American Revolution. The book starts out in the Frontier's Wars and leads in to a book on the Eastern Frontier's movement, and then concludes with a third book which is a Western entitled The Lettermen. I've always wanted to write a series of American Frontier books and a Western (I grew up in the woods and can't stand the city, except to visit it when necessary). I'm really just in the process of plot sketching and research on those books though.

I'm also writing a Graphic Novel script called Transit.

Poetry

I've finished two books of poetry so far though I've made no attempt to sell them as of yet. Although I've sold some individual poems I'm gonna wait til this summer to take a stab at trying to sell one of my books. Maybe with the help of an agent. Otherwise I've been working on a set of Experimental Poems which are also codes (and in some cases cyphers and crypts). I really enjoy working with codes and crypts and these poems are part of an experiment I'm conducting concerning Environmental Encoding. It's based on an idea I had when I saw Iraqi insurgents communicating with each other through graffiti tags in their neighborhoods.


Well, I'm going out to the lake with the family for a little picnic and to relax some.
If you wanna discuss what you're working on then feel free to list it here.

I'll see ya later.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Currently, I'm...

1. currently pursuing yet another degree- this one in Conflict Management & Negotiations.
2. writing a chord book for guitar covering New Standard Tuning- an alternative tuning created/rediscovered by Robert Fripp.
3. learning songs for guitar in both standard and New Standard tuning.
4. designing jewelry.
5. going to the Dallas Guitar Show Sunday, April 18, and this coming Friday, I'm attending the Intergem International Gem & Jewelry show...both being held at Dallas Market Hall.
6. designing PCs for HERO, M&M, 3.X and 4Ed and others. Just in case.
7. reading mostly fantasy, sci-fi, and horror stories/novels.
8. writing fantasy, sci-fi, and horror stories/novels. I haven't been satisfied enough with any of them to even try selling them...but who knows?

 

[Jack7]

writing a chord book for guitar covering New Standard Tuning- an alternative tuning created/rediscovered by Robert Fripp.
learning songs for guitar in both standard and New Standard tuning.
going to the Dallas Guitar Show Sunday, April 18, and this coming Friday

My youngest daughter would get on well with you. She plays both piano and guitar and is pretty good at both.

I find it interesting that you're writing the chord you mentioned.
Do you plan to publish it?

I'm attending the Intergem International Gem & Jewelry show...both being held at Dallas Market Hall.

I'm not interested in jewelry per se, I don't even wear my wedding band, but I am interested in crystal and gem formation.

 

[LightPhoenix]

I've got four main projects I'm currently working on:

1) Finding a biotech job. I'm currently working retail, and it sucks. It was a strategic move though, because I can take that and move to most of the biotech hotspots in the USA and have a job there while I work on finding a biotech one. My experience has been that if you don't already live in those areas (DC, San Fran are the big two), it's a huge disadvantage on your resume.

2) Running my weekly 4E game. It's been a long time since I was a DM, and the previous DM in the group was pretty awesome. Still, he wanted to play, and I wanted to try DMing. Re-skinning is my favorite thing ever.

3) ROM Hacking FF5. Yes, I'm aware of the dubious legality of such a thing. Mostly, my area of interest is learning how the system works; there's not much info for it out there (versus CT or FF6). I've made some fairly good progress on that front. It's a technical challenge, and I'm enjoying it, for the most part. Sometimes it can be aggravating.

4) Miscellaneous game design. For a while now I've wanted to get into designed Flash games. I have a bunch of concepts, but I just haven't gotten into it yet. I'm sure I will at some point, but it is number four on my list right now.

 

[megamania]

THE CONSTANT
35 hours at the store per week
40 hours at the factory per week
spend time with wife and kids

When there is free time-

Storyhours of Eberron

Mutants & Masterminds Island City campaign design and eventually play

Comicbook dealing with this campaign world

Needlepoint of art

Outdoor projects

Keep my sanity (Which I am losing)

 

[Jack7]

3) ROM Hacking FF5. Yes, I'm aware of the dubious legality of such a thing. Mostly, my area of interest is learning how the system works; there's not much info for it out there (versus CT or FF6). I've made some fairly good progress on that front. It's a technical challenge, and I'm enjoying it, for the most part. Sometimes it can be aggravating.

LP, this is my opinion on the matter of hacking. (I know you're just ROM hacking, but I'm gonna expand it a little more to speak about other kinds of hacking you might pursue now or want to later on. Because I think this thread could be used for interesting and maybe helpful discussions on various subjects. So this isn't aimed just at you specifically. And also I'm interested in hacking and vadding.)

Hacking is different from Cracking, which is intentionally attempting to disable or harm a device or a system. Hacking should really only be done to learn about systems and how they function, and sometimes to alter content, like with game hacking, but not to harm.

That being said, hacking is still technically illegal (in most cases) and depending on how you go about it, and how good you are at it, hacking can and should be done without harming anything. But most authorities know the difference between Cracking to cause harm, and hacking to learn, or even just out of curiosity. (The trouble from the authority's point of view, or the point of view of the target, however, is that usually if the hacking is discovered then they have to investigate to determine what is the real intent, and that costs them time and money and effort and resources that they naturally feel they could have more productively dedicated to some other project.)

Now all of that being said, if the authorities become aware of your hacking or if the party you are hacking decides to pursue the matter you'll just have to take your lumps and suffer what is customary in your case (I'm speaking generally here). I say that because I have been a Vadder since I was a boy, and Vadding is simply, or it started out this way anyways, physical hacking. And God knows I've had my run ins with the police while Vadding, and even with the police when working undercover and they didn't know who I was or what I was doing. I've never been arrested, having had much experience talking my way out of things and diffusing situations with the police and the authorities. But I certainly could have been on some occasions (I'm rarely discovered, and that comes from practice too, but sooner or later everyone is discovered or caught unawares) and once I was actually surprised the officer let me walk. Cause I was casing a place undercover not long after 9/11 and truth be told, if I had caught someone else casing where I was I would have arrested them. But I think he kinda sensed what I was doing cause as he questioned me I suspect he thought I might have been testing security rather than seeking to penetrate it. Nevertheless I mention those kinds of things because it is possible it will happen to you, that the authorities or your target will come after you. Be prepared in case it happens, and if it never does, fine, and if it does, it's part of the inherent risk.

I'd also say though never hack or vad to cause damage. Instead, intend and strive for the opposite.

On the other hand I personally think that vadding and hacking skills are excellent skills to possess, especially in the modern world. Knowing how to vad well has assisted me numerous times on investigations, working undercover, with gathering Intel, working against criminal organizations, etc, etc. Also vadding is an excellent compliment to survival skills, especially in urban situations.

I also work with others in helping them learn hacking skills so that they can both penetrate systems when need be, and so that they may better be able to help defend systems against malicious attacks during Cyber Operations. Hacking is an excellent technological skill to possess and assists with what I call "technological survival skills." With all of the cracking aimed at various systems, and with all of the acts of corporate espionage, hacking techniques are good for almost everyone to know who might need to defend an information system. (Who knows, one day your hacking skills may end up being of benefit to your family, friends, company, community or even your nation. And I think ROM hacking is a good way to start hacking.) After all you can't defend against what you don't know. But then again you can't master or develop any skill set without practice. So to learn to defend against cracking you must also know how to hack. It's very much like the fact that it order to defend the public against an armed attacker, a policeman must first learn to use a gun himself. That's just the way it is. (Then again as a policeman or soldier you can't just shoot at any old target and claim that you were merely practicing for future benefit. You must carefully choose your targets so no-one will be harmed by your practice.) But with that "targeting caveat" I'll say that studying a thing is good, but practicing it is really how you master it. I think though that in the end, like anything in life, it primarily depends on how you use the skills you possess, and to what end. If you set out to learn to hack to do harm, or with criminal intent, it will return to you in harm. If you learn how to hack in order to do some good, to assist or defend others, and to help yourself and others, then in my opinion, it is a skill set worth possessing and mastering. Especially in the modern world.

With hacking and vadding and things like that it's always a balance between what you can learn and do and how you use what you know, versus the potential threat to security and the legality of the effort. So my advice to you is, if your intention and motivation is good then by all means learn to hack. But in doing so exercise self-control and restraint, do no harm, and respect who and what you target, because after all, you can harm others just as easily by neglect and recklessness, as you can by intentional malice. Measured and controlled risk is always preferable to reckless and uncontrolled risk.

That's my opinion, and I know you didn't ask for it, but I hope you (and maybe others) will think about it and that it may help in some way.

Good luck with your biotech job hunt too. I have a keen interest in biotech and genetics and biochemistry myself. So, happy hunting.

35 hours at the store per week
40 hours at the factory per week...

...Keep my sanity (Which I am losing)

I can see why. That's a lot of hours working.
If it's possible (and I don't know your situation of course) then maybe you should slow down a little. I nearly worked myself into a heart attack once. I eventually became exhausted and contracted the flu and followed that up with a dose of pneumonia. Which was very rough, but still better than a heart attack I reckon. After I recovered from the pneumonia and exhaustion, which took months, I slowed down and my chest pains went away and haven't come back. Overwork (and I like to work) can take a toll on ya.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

At this point in time:

Home hunting. After being more or less itinerant for the last 15 years or so, I've decided I need to put some roots down somewhere, a place to officially call home-- someplace to look forward to coming back to. The world is a big place, however, and finding a suitable "home" that fits all my parameters takes time. Once I figure that out, I'll buy a little house.

Job hunting. Still. I've been spinning my wheels for over a year now, so I may or may not end up switching careers (again). A few prospects have recently opened up, but nothing truly interesting. Fortunately, money isn't much of a problem at this point.

"Secular monasticism". I'm not terribly sure what that means, but it fairly well-describes my life & outlook, going as far back as highschool, at least. Community service, introspection, self-sufficiency, education, expression & creativity, etc. I'm slowly codifying it, because I think having that on paper will likely inform the directions I take in life from here on out.

Scientific/technical English language resources project. Mainly just a collation of past works, and mew material as I feel inspired.

Ramping up math studies, with intention of returning to school to get an advanced degree.

Hobbies. Reading all sorts of stuff. Writing the occasional essay, article or poem. Gaming in theory only: just occasionally write up bits for a campaign that may or may not come to light. Learning bass guitar (though this has been, umm, on and off the backburner for a long time, I'm honor bound to succeed eventually!). Homebrewing.

Minor dabbling in programming, and keeping vaguely aware of related tech basics (so I don't get too out of practice).

 

[LightPhoenix]

LP, this is my opinion on the matter of hacking. (I know you're just ROM hacking, but I'm gonna expand it a little more to speak about other kinds of hacking you might pursue now or want to later on. Because I think this thread could be used for interesting and maybe helpful discussions on various subjects. So this isn't aimed just at you specifically. And also I'm interested in hacking and vadding.)

Actually, I have no interest in what would be considered "proper hacking." I'm not breaking in to anything, and I'm not trying to circumvent any sort of DRM or such. I know a large Chrono Trigger ROM Hack (Crimson Echoes) got shut down by Square, but generally no one cares about old SNES games, even ones being re-released.

As an aside, I've never understood S-E's fierce protection of Chrono Trigger while never actually putting out a game since Cross.

Good luck with your biotech job hunt too. I have a keen interest in biotech and genetics and biochemistry myself. So, happy hunting.

Thanks!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

My youngest daughter would get on well with you. She plays both piano and guitar and is pretty good at both.

I find it interesting that you're writing the chord you mentioned.
Do you plan to publish it?

Well, its going to be VERY bare bones when I finish it...not really a professional-looking product. In addition, most of the chords are things I'm finding via brute force- I'm not much of a theorist.

As such, I'm probably just going to post it for free in a series of threads at one of the forums for one of the major guitar magazines, like Guitarplayer.com.

Once I finish it, that is. I'm just up to C, so there's a long way to go.

I'm not interested in jewelry per se, I don't even wear my wedding band, but I am interested in crystal and gem formation.

The Intergem show has a little bit of everything, including people who just sell crystals, geodes, mineral samples, orbs, obelisks, stone carvings, cabochons, faceted stones and so forth.

 

[Klaus]

- Finished writing something I can't comment because of a NDA;

- Writing something else I can't comment because of a NDA;

I know, not really exciting (except for me!)