Photo Art Blog

Hello Photo Art and Photoshop enthusiasts. I have a blog dedicated to compositing and photo manipulation. In the world of digital photography, the idea of not using all the tools at our disposal is like painting and being limited to one brush and one color. If you’re happy with shots straight out of your camera, then perhaps you don’t need anything but a good printer. On the other hand, if you’re like me and just can’t manage to be at the right place at the right time, then a little manipulation can make a big difference.

There are numerous reasons to enhance or alter your photos. Be assured that most successful photographers make some alterations, even if they display their work as traditional photography. Adjusting contrast and saturation is much too easy not to brighten up the color. But why stop there?

I would never profess that Photoshop is a simple program to learn. I’m sure that even the people that designed it haven’t tried every combination of every feature that it has. Also, I’m sure users have discovered ways to use Photoshop that were never conceived by Adobe. It’s an amazing piece of software.

With that said, come join me on an adventure in learning how to create Art out of Photography. Even after using the program for 10 years, I’m still learning. I have developed some of my own techniques because some of the tutorials I’ve tried were just too daunting, and too cumbersome.

I’m just starting the blog, so please excuse the fact that there aren’t hundreds of tutorials and articles. I’ll get there, so please visit often. In the meantime, take a look at my Photo Art and see if there is anything you’d like to try. If I don’t have an article or tutorial on a particular subject, you can always ask me to add one.

Fiction Blog

Hello fiction enthusiasts. I have a blog dedicated to writing, and about my experience in self-publication and self-promotion. I will share my mistakes in hopes that I can persuade you not to follow in my footsteps. Hopefully the path I’m now on is the right one.
Some of what I want to communicate is directed at those that share my passion in writing, some that share my passion in guiding humanity to a better tomorrow, and some to those readers that just love a good story. Writing for me is nearly an obsession. If I don’t write, I feel empty. There is something about getting the juices stirring. Also, I have a few bones to pick with those that go though life without making a conscience effort to make life better for humanity, or at least for someone they love.

It’s hard not to get on my soapbox. There are plenty of things in this world to get pissed about. There are enough injustices that everyone has a right to do some venting. The thing about getting pissed though is getting over it and trying to figure out some way to make life better. That is my focus. I have to try and make the world see the light. I’ve given myself the job, and I’ve always believed a job worth doing is a job well done.

In fiction, part of that job is to point out the obvious that might not be obvious to everyone. The job is to take your readers hand and guide them along, and give them something they can relate to. It has to make sense or what is the purpose in writing? Too much fiction has no purpose. There is no revelation and nothing to learn. Many authors don’t even have the guts to expose their true convictions.

I write knowing I’m not in the mainstream. I don’t buy into all the crap that humanity has to sell. I don’t believe man has the right to pillage the earth or drive other living organisms to extinction. I don’t think big government, big business, mass infrastructure, or global economies are designed to do more than profit the greedy. There are better ways of doing everything.

My invitation to visit my blog could go on ad infinitum because I have so much to share, but then what would I write about on my blog? So, if you’re of similar mind and can buy into my hopes and dreams for a better tomorrow, then come along. If you think it’s all just a bunch of hogwash, you might still be entertained, and you always have the option of expatiating your views.  
I’m just starting the blog, so please excuse the fact that there aren’t hundreds of articles. I’ll get there, so please visit often. In the meantime, take a look at my fiction and see if there is anything you’d like to read. If I don’t have an article on a particular subject, you can always ask me to add one.

umPODS Blog

Hello umPODS enthusiasts. What? Okay, there is a fair chance you don’t know about umPODS, so let me invite you to my world of nonfiction where I’m currently dedicating a good deal of time and effort into saving the world. Yes, this is my dream for a better tomorrow. I’m working toward a goal of building a prototype unishell modular Permacast Optimal Detached Superstructure (umPODS).

I have written a considerable amount on the subject, which you’ll find on my blog. Although umPODS are truly conceptual, such structures could be built today with the materials and technologies that we have. Will it be affordable to build the first prototypes? Probably not. Can they be affordable? That’s debatable, but I believe they have the potential to revamp the construction industry and make conventional building obsolete. Why? Because umPODS will be spray cast using robotics, thus eliminating labor.

I have pondered what that means. The U.S. economy is so embedded in the labor-intensive construction industry that any change in its makeup can upset the applecart for a large segment of our economy, and thus not be too popular with our government and a number of industries. My job is to prove that it’s worth it in the long run. Saving the ecosystem trumps the idea that we must have a booming economy to have a prosperous life. We don’t need big government, big business, mass infrastructure, global economies, and the rape of this planet to create a sustainable existence. What we need are the tools to be self-sufficient, thus autonomous superstructures would be the shields where sustainable environments exist.

Is it possible to live without fear that some disaster will befall us? We don’t only have to worry about fire, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, and tsunamis, we have to worry about pandemics, wars, terrorism, rioting, famine, drought, freezing, baking, indebtedness, injustice, our souls (assuming we have one), injury, disease, poison, collapsing economies, and probably about a million other mishaps that can potentially wreck our lives. We can classify this all under the fear of survival, both in life and in death. Are umPODS the ultimate answer? Probably not, but they could be a stepping-stone to a better tomorrow. They could be the difference between extinction and the perpetuation of our species.

I’m just starting the blog, so please be patient as I get my articles updated and reposted. I’ll get there so you can ponder the pros and the cons, so please visit often. In the meantime, read my fictional account of building umPODS in The Future Teller. Also, if I don’t have an article on a particular subject on umPODS, you can always ask me to add one.