Vlog from Firday the Thirteenth – We Survived 7-13 to 7-14-12
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Author Archives: Dragon Co. (Austin Smith)
On Deadlines
Too much bluffing will make you show it,
Too much pressure will make you blow it.
-Guy Clark
By: Austin Smith
I love Blogging, and writing in general, and doing things. I’ve never turned and said to a person ” Man, you know what I hate. Doing stuff!”. But I’m also terrible at getting stuff done. I have so much to do and never end up doing it all. Like yesterday, I had three goals, and I got them all done… in the two hours before midnight.
That’s what I’m going to talk about, deadlines. People just do better with deadlines. And the ability to force yourself to meet a deadline is an awesome skill. Like right now, I’m forcing myself to get something done on friday before eight. Friday was my choice, eight was my friends’ choice. It’s not like I have to get anything done, but I want to. I could just not go out and do stuff, but then I would have no friends.* I could also just forget about it all together, but then I would let myself down.
Deadlines help us get things done, they give us a feeling of necessity. I have not seen one person do worse with a deadline then without. Sometimes I haven’t seen them do better, but that’s because they suck. And it doesn’t need to be a fast and hard deadline either. Some people work better under pressure and prefer that, but others crack. The deadline doesn’t have to be the end, though. I could stop now and still have “met” my deadline. It isn’t necessary to put all the pressure on, just some, just enough to make you get it done. Telling someone that they have to finish something or someone’s going to die doesn’t help, and I can guarantee you that if you told one of the novelist crowd to write a book in a week or the world would end they couldn’t do it.
A lot of people will say that you need time to create the masterpieces that your ideas were meant to be, and if you can write ” War and Peace” fine by me, but from my experience the best ideas come when you need an idea. Sometimes they are forced and bad, but sometimes you can overwork something to death, too. The deadline never has to be the end of something, just ask George Lucas. Everything you do will get the time you owe it.
* Not that I have any anyway.
Speak Your Mind 3 #11-15
QUESTIONS
1. Do you think the U.S. President is doing a good job?
2. Do you like chocolate ice-cream?
3. What is a good height for a girl?
4. How old is your father?
5. Name a movie star you like.
ANSWERS By: Austin Smith
1. No, I don’t hink the last three presidents have done a good job, and I think the current president is especially bad at his job.
2. Yes, I very much like chocolate ice-cream, especially mixed with other types.
3. Six foot, give or take five inches
4. He is seventy three years old.
5. Leonardo DiCaprio
Review – Sakura Micron 005 Technical Pen
Ah, Microns, the main technical pen of the trade. This one specifically is the 005 (.2mm) black version. The body is easy to hold. The finish is glossy, but grip-able. It is just long enough to be comfortable in the hand and is a nice comfortable plastic. The nib size is neatly marked on the side and top, making it easy to find the right pen for the job. After much use however, the makings on both the side and top fade away, with the top going first.
The nib is very thin, good for fine detail work and writing. It does bend easily and one should be careful about how much pressure is applied when using it. When the correct amount of pressure is applied the line is very smooth and even. The ink itself is a nice deep black that is resistant to bleeding when wet but does fade when an eraser is rubbed over it. Other then that minor fading the Pigma ink is very reliable. The ink does not bleed through thin paper and mark other sheets below it.
After heavy use the markings on the pen do rub off as mentioned. The nib begins to wear down and the metal past it begins to mark the paper. The lines begin to become jittery and inconsistent. But that is after a long and useful life. The amount of time it takes to wear the pen down to that point is incredible. And it more then makes up for its price.
The Micron is the premiere technical pen (almost) and does its job incredibly well. They are expensive but amazing (in my opinion) and at the very least write well. And the amount of time that they last easily allows for them to be replaced when they begin to show signs of wear.