Red Dots

Red Dots, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

The pieces fell into place,
the veil of uncertainty, removed

Proof of concept

Proof of concept, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

You'll never know until you try they say, and that certainly has been proven to be true for me.  Especially when it comes to the digital world of photography and now ebooks.

If you want your work to get published, and you're willing to do the work, there's never been a better time than now.

It's all up to you.

Coffee

Coffee, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Just a little something to start the day.

Suckers

Suckers, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

There's one born every minute...
Suckers, the world depends on them.

Shopping Spree

Shopping Spree, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Cyber Monday just didn't interest me. Neither did Black Friday. I'm sorry, but why spend money on things you don't need? or get gifts that people don't want?

Education

Education, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Life's a constant learning process with many challenges and rewards.

My memory cage

My memory cage, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Suffering,
Suffering,
Pictures of gray
The emotion grim
Found in a bay
Fool, fiend, fallen friend
Blind expectations of today
Selfishly, selfishly
Throwing your life away

Unfinished Work

Unfinished Work, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

I jumped in the ebook pool, and am swimming along.  Getting the formatting right isn't going as smoothly as I'd like, but it's not as bad as I expected.  The key here is to know some html, and actually clean things up that way.

This isn't a book that I wrote, but one I'm helping out with on the technical side.  We're starting with a small project and will take it from there.

So, to sum up briefly these are the step of the process we've taken.  We started with a MS Word (yuck) document, saved it was html, used a text editor to clean up some of the code.  Then downloaded, installed, and ran Kindle Previewer to create the mobi files needed for the Kindle.

It's been interesting so far.  There's a bit more work to do before this whole thing goes live and becomes an actual ebook.

Eat

Eat, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

The feast is over,
the friends have gone...
another year in passing

Mysty Connections

Mysty Connections, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Today we count our blessings,
reach out to family and friends,
and give thanks for grace of this...

Corner Reflections

Corner Reflections, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Sometimes we just need to step away from our problems and reflect on them to realize they aren't all that bad.

Sunset Solace

Sunset Solace, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Take comfort where you can find it,
and make the moment yours...

Looking over the edge

Looking over the edge, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Tumbling images in his mind,
thru cross years, pressure pushing
back restraining flood gate break,
and everything spills out...

He went out,
out too far,
to see the edge,
to see what's over there,
he pushed himself,
he had to see,
he never came back....

Wet Floor

Wet Floor, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Life is always waiting to slip you up and take you down. Take precautions.

Storm Ready

Storm Ready, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

As winter approaches, nature begins cleansing the world around us... we stand ready for her furry.

Closed Up

Closed Up, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

As the recession stretched beyond a half decade the future grew dimmer and dimmer.

Pine Strand

Pine Strand, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Silence awaits us,
it's our common ground

Government Spending

Government Spending, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

There's no magic solution to our fiscal problems.  Government needs to stop burning through money and waiting for the economy to fix itself.  The best thing it could probably do is to get our of our way with all its rules and regulations and let us solve the problem.

Love Equations

Love Equations, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

We tried to quantify our love, and we failed,
we had no means measure boundless emotion

Screened Dreams

Screened Dreams, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Freedom, just something remembered,
like screened dreams of days past

Word Production

Word Production, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

I've been lost in the world of digital publication lately.  It's been consuming my time, and my imagination.  Reading, writing, editing, posting, analyzing data, and all the rest.  I'm fascinated by it all.Ever since I was given a Kindle. 

In my opinion analog dead tree publishing is a relic of the 20th Century.  That's were it belongs.   Don't get me wrong, I still have a bit of sentimental reverence for old books, and admit to still owning some.  But that's were it ends.  I won't read a book or magazine now unless it's digital or I've got no other choice because I've got to review one.

I think that it's time to stop keeping analog word production on life support and pull the plug on traditional publishing.  Digital publishing is the future and current, and the possibilities of where this medium could go are only just now being explored.

Set your imagination free and explore the frontier of this world.  Especially if you're a writer.

One for my baby

One for my baby, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

It ended with a phone call,
there was no reason to prolong things,
and besides the suffering was just beginning...

Urban Abyss

Urban Abyss, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

When life's an equation,
that's little understood,
we live in a frustration,
that does no one any good...

Memories Fail Me

Memories Fail Me, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Oh so soon, the world we knew turns into colorful stories and flights of fancy....  If you've got aging parents I'm sure you can relate.

I've been helping my mom out around her place to cope with what were once simple tasks for her, and to keep things in order.

She lives in a rural area, but don't worry she's being looked after.  I just wanted to relate some of the funnier things she's said lately.

1.  The woman who lived in the house across the street from her had been foreclosed on, and eventually evicted by force.  Long story short, the house needs repairs.  I was up visiting, and my mom was telling me how men had been over to pour new electricity into the walls of this vacant house so that they could sell it.  Shortly after she told me this, a painting crew came to work on the house.  I was told by my mom that they were the ones who poured the electricity.  Okay...

2.  Plumbing troubles.  When I'm at my mom's, I make it a habit to check all appliances, fixtures, washer, dryer, garbage disposal, water heater, and toilets.  It's important to keep things working properly.  On one recent visit, I noticed that one toilet wasn't flushing as it should.  Some extra strength Draino took care of the issue.  I reminded my mom to let me know if she was having issues with the toilet.  She said that "since people have moved in across the street, the problem should stop."  Okay...

3.  Old food.  Folks, if you're helping out an elderly parent make sure that you routinely check the expiration dates on food, and check for science experiments growing in the refrigerator.  The last thing you want is for them to poison themselves.  That being said, my mom buys packaged and canned foods like the rest of us.  You know, corn, soup, pudding, etc.  That stuff has a decent shelf life, but still, you need to check it.  Recently I did just that, pointed out to mom that some of it was expired and that we needed to toss it.  No big deal.  I reminded her that she needs to routinely check this stuff herself.  Well, she said "That food wasn't mine.  People come by sometimes and put food on the shelves or in the refrigerator."  Okay...  So I told her next time she sees those people to let them know we tossed their food.  Really!

I'm just passing along stories, and don't want anyone to get the idea that my mom is neglected.  She isn't.

We're all headed in the same direction folks.  It's called getting old.

No reason why we can't laugh about it....

Rainy Red

Rainy Red, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Tears of blood
on fields of love
Years of the same
Death falls from above
War's our game

Lost Worlds

Lost Worlds, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Ellen's world imploded,
the days and seasons,
all rolled into one...
when she could remember.

Just like the faces,
all strangers now,
even the ones she loved...
she lost the world around her.

Ready Green

Ready Green, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Our medium of expression was confined by single outlets... to say more we needed to expand our vision.

Pocket Change

Pocket Change, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Pockets lined with the green,
that buys each and every vote.

Hand Out

Hand Out, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

We've become a nation of takers,
demanding we be given everything...
and this has cost us our freedom.

Spice it up

Spice it up, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Find another dream to call your own,
the flavor of life is added by you...

Time's Up

Time's Up, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Letting words of uncertainty part from fearful lips,
sealing the heart from the past, not knowing love
when it comes along, so only time will tell
if you've broken the spell at last...

Tag cloud

Tag cloud, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Giving order to our world and thoughts by any means we can.

Donuts for all

Donuts for all, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Politicians will do and say anything to get elected, but what really counts is what they do after the votes have been counted.

Tea time

Tea time, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

and if by luck the wicked turn into friends,
and this is anger seized,
obliteration of thought will be released...
a calmness will brews
call it tea time for the soul.