My interview with the Create/Invent Podcast is now live

My interview with Pat and Jeremy on the Create/Invent Podcast is now live! I had a lot of fun chatting with them about writing, old time BBS systems, and working in the technical world.

You can find the interview on YouTube and SoundCloud. Copy or click on the links below :

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeZ4dEoHlM8

SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/thecreativitypodcast/briangreiner

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Site update : progress report

I’m pleased to report that all the existing pages have been cleaned up to display properly under WordPress. In some cases, new content has been added.

There’s stuff that I want to add, of course, but at least the basic site is presentable! Hope you enjoy it.

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I write books

In late 2013 I decided to try the NaNoWriMo challenge. That’s the National November Writing Month, where participants publicly declare their intention to write at least 50,000 words in one month. That may seem like a lot of work — at it is — but it forces a person to truly focus on starting and completing a book. There are no prizes, as such, just the satisfaction of getting it done.

I’d never written a book before, but decided that at the ripe old age of 61 that it was worth a shot.

That led to my first book, “Darkness Creeps Forth”. Every year after that for several years I used NaNoWriMo to produce another book. After that I stopped doing NaNoWriMo, and just wrote. As of 2023, I’ve written and published 10 books.

In terms of publishing, I decided to go the self-publication route. That was another steep learning curve, but I uttered my battle cry of, “How hard can it be?”, and dove in. I quickly learned that producing a book was quite different from simply writing one (and that had many difficulties of its own!). Despite having no artistic abilities, I create all the covers, choose the fonts, and learned how to produce files suitable for ebooks and printed books. A DIY whirlwind of fun, for sure.

I’ve produced a web site dedicated to my books that can be reached by clicking here.

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Site updates — progress report

The redesign of the site continues apace. I’ve updated all of the Christmas pages, and brought it up to date (as of 2022). Some of the cat pages have been updated, but much remains to be done.

Thank you for your patience!

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In memorium : Gritz

It is my sad duty to announce the death of Gritz, at the age of 17, due to bone cancer of the jaw.

The cancer was diagnosed at the beginning of November, and we gave him all the “best days” that we could. He remained good tempered and happy until the very end.

He became part of our family, along with Eddie, in October 2010. It took him a few months to truly feel at home, but he always got along well with the other cats and staff.

Gritz was a good friend, and will be sorely missed.

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Evil in the garden

Evil stalks the tender plants in the garden, ripping and tearing at the young shoots. Oh, who will save my veggies?

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A visit from a pair of ducks

While I taking a rest on the deck while gardening, this pair of ducks hopped up to say hello! They got to within arm’s reach! When they realized I had no food for them, they grumbled then wandered back onto the lawn.

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Glories in the garden

I really enjoy puttering in my garden. In truth, I’m something of a Darwinian gardener … that is, once planted, it survives or not on its own strengths. I’ll water things once in a while if there’s been no rain for a week or so, but other than that, I’ll do little but remove the weeds every so often.

I don’t know how the toads got into my yard, or how they survive the winters, but I’m always delighted to see them.

Into everyone’s life a little rain must fall, and sometimes some hail. These hailstones were larger than normal.

A beautiful moth graced my garden.

A selection of roses; a delight for the senses.

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In Memorium : Beaudelair

It is with deep sadness that I inform you of the death of Beaudelair, at the age of 23. He’d been with us since 1998 (19 years!).

He was in pretty good health up until the last couple of weeks, climbing up and down stairs to check out his favorite spots. He slowed down rather more than normal for a week or two, then his body just gave up and decided it was time. Rather than prolonging his suffering, I took him to the vet one last time. Many tears were shed by myself and the vet, who had grown quite fond of him over the years. Despite being a sunny day, a thunderstorm developed later that evening, My wife and I decided that it was Beaudelair and Spooky reuniting in the heavens.

This is a picture of him just a few months before his death. Despite the gray hairs, he was a fine figure of a cat up until the end.

He was a good friend, and will not be forgotten.

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Local Book Sale

My ward has an annual display & skating party event. I was invited to show off my books, so I created this display. I offered to include a scrollsawed ornament with each book. Alas, I had more interest in the ornaments, so I decided to sell them for $5 each. Sold more of them than books. Sigh.

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