A Neat Historical Artifact from 1940s Japan

I found this going through some of my dad's stuff. I'm not entirely sure, but I think what I have is actually from 1940. It certainly looks like it could be that old, as the backing paper is now khaki colored, but I have no idea if it was originally that color or if it's yellowed over time. 

The bigger reason that I think it's legit is because dad was born a Jew in 1936 in Austria, and when he & my grandparents fled Nazi oppression in 1941, they fled east through Russia rather than going through war-torn and occupied western Europe. (I don't have a date on this, but it had to have been before Operation Barbarossa when Nazi Germany attacked Russia, so that's any time between 1 January and 23 June 1941.) They then took the Trans-Siberian Railroad to Manchuria, and from there they took a boat to Japan and sailed from Yokohama to Seattle. 

My father was in the region at the right time, and Japan in 1940 more or less controlled all major ports in mainland China, so I figure it's likely that Japan printed out a ton of these such that they were still around and being used a year after issue. 

Three bits of Japanese trivia related to this:

1. Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (Japan Mail Steamship Company) operated passenger services at this time. No, I don't know why it's NKY and not NYKK. Kabushiki kaisha is a type of corporation in Japan; I think the English translation would be something like "Company, Limited". 
2. The word maru (丸, meaning "circle") is often appended to Japanese commercial ship names. If you're a Trekkie you'll have heard of the Kobayashi Maru, which uses this same tradition. 
3. The Emperor Zinmu referenced on the paper is likely an older translation of Jimmu, the legendary First Emperor of Japan who is said to have begun his reign in 660 BC. 660 + 1940 = 2,600, the anniversary given. 

Anyway, it's a neat bit of history and I thought folks would find it interesting. I have a 1200 dpi scan of it if anyone is interested. 

Nominated for the 2023 Gundie Awards!

Today I learned of the existence of the Gundies, which is "a set of awards that recognize top creators in the firearm industry. The awards are voted on by the community and provide a platform for creators to gain exposure and recognition. The Gundies also promote responsible firearm ownership and showcase creators from all backgrounds." 

Apparently the Gundies are basically the Oscars of the gun world. They're only a few years old, but apparently "the usual guntubers" have talked about them. This explains why I haven't heard of them: I don't watch a lot of gun videos. Instead, I learned about them because I received an email telling me that I was one of the most requested nominees for the category of Top Voices of the 2A this year, and that I should ask my friends to vote for me every day in January. 

If I win, I will get to attend a Range Day, Expo & Ceremony at Drive Tanks in Texas. Presumably I will be allowed to drive a tank?

If you are inclined to vote for such a thing, please register at this link  and vote every day this month. I'm up against some pretty serious competition, like Colion Noir and the Armed Attorneys, so I need all the help I can get!

Thank you, and special thanks to those of you who will vote every day this month!

Cool Stuff For Christmas

I had actually intended this to be a Boxing Day post, and then do my best to get a lot of writing done during the "vacation week" I give the authors at Blue Collar Prepping... but life had other ideas. I've been damn busy this week, but at least I've also been damn productive:

1. I'm getting caught up on rest and becoming de-stressed
2. My health is improving
3. I'm making significant improvements in organizing and de-cluttering my life
4. I'm doing end-of-year paperwork on what Operation Blazing Sword has accomplished (look for a "state of the sword" post next week)
5. All while continuing to perform my usual familial duties. 

But enough of that! You folks want to see the cool things I was given, right?

120-sided die

Yes, you read that correctly: not a 100-sided die, but 120. It's improbably large, as you can see in the photograph, and given it's size it's about as heavy as you'd expect. 

I don't roll it the way I roll my other gaming dice (which is to say, I hold them in my palm above the table before rapidly rotating my hand away, leaving the dice to fall more or less vertically before bouncing to a halt) because it makes such a loud THUNK that I'm worried I will break something. Instead, I place my left hand on the table like a goal and then literally roll the die towards it in a most-horizontal manner. 

This was given to me by The_Jack, who is a player in the various RPGs that I run. I have no idea what I'm going to use it for, but it amuses me. 

1000-lumen LED Headlamp

http://amzn.to/2EbwW1Q

Now this is something that I have used, albeit briefly: after we got home from Christmas Eve service, it was dark outside but I needed to walk the dog. I can confirm that this lamp is both comfortable and bright. 

It has three settings

1. Set Things On Fire
2. Rather Dim, Actually
3. Let's Induce Epilepsy!

Setting one is great for doing things at night, but you need to be careful not to blind your buddies by looking at their faces when you talk to them, and you also need to be careful not to blind yourself with "light splash" when you get too close to a surface (or when your hand goes up to adjust the angle or zoom of the light). 

Setting two avoids that entirely, but like my name for it suggests it's rather anemic. It feels like it's only about 100 lumens or so, but perhaps I'm biased because of how powerful setting 1 is. 

Setting 3 is basically a strobe version of setting one. It might make for a good tactical light if not for the dual faults of being mounted to your head and requiring you to take a hand off your weapon to turn the light on and off. 

Other things to like about this are a red light in the back for your buddies to see you and the ability to charge the two lithium batteries inside the case. It comes with three chargers: one for wall outlets, one for cars, and one for USB ports. 

Seal-a-Meal Vacuum Sealer

Chaplain Tim recommended this to readers last year and I was finally able to get one. I haven't used it a lot -- mainly just to vacuum-seal clothes and fire-starting materials and food for my Bug Out and Get Home Bags -- but I really like what I see and so far it's operated flawlessly. The sole complaint I have about it is that the vaccuum is LOUD, but at this price point I can live with that. 

Note to those interested in getting one:  Don't buy the pre-cut bags. Instead, buy 100 feet of roll for $20 and make your own bags; not only is it cheaper, but you can make the plastic last longer by cutting them to size. 

Cold Steel Mini Tac Tanto

This was given to me by my friend David Blackard. It's supposed to be a neck knife, but he had someone mount a belt clip to it. 

This sucker is sharp and handy. I'm not sure where to put it, but I'm definitely going to find a use for it. Until then, I'm wearing it on my belt. 

By the way: the scales on the handle are great for grip but aren't pleasant against the skin of abdomen. I learned that when trying to carry it concealed. 

Trauma Kit from Lucky Gunner

I've always gotten cool gifts from Anthony Welsch at Lucky Gunner, but this one wins points for being both cool and useful. 

That's a SOFTT-W tourniquet with a Phlster Flatpack Tourniquet Carrier and a mini compression bandage, compressed gauze and hemostatic gauze that fits into a Snake Eater Tactical stretchy-wallet-thing (I couldn't find it on their website) which carries all of that as well as a pair of gloves (those are the blue peeking out from the gray). 

A Set of Grownup Luggage

This is the biggest item I received, and it's because I told my family "Look, I flew three times this year and it looks like I'm going to fly at least that many times again next year. I don't mind using mom's suitcase but it's soft-sided and I'd really like something hard-sided so I can have more confidence when I fly with a checked firearm. Also, spinner wheels would make my life so much easier. I know it's expensive, so how about [brother] and [sister] just send my share of birthday money to [parents] so I can get this?"

And I got it. And I'm excited to have luggage. This makes me feel so damn old, y'all. But I can't deny that I'm looking forward to taking this with me when I go on cool adventures to new places, meeting new people and talking about Operation Blazing Sword.

http://amzn.to/2Dz1b1I

(I also received some girly stuff, but I doubt my mostly-male readers want to read about that.)

So what cool things did you guys for Christmas?

Ammo Ambassadors

Ammunition To Go (a company from whom I've bought ammo before) is running an excellent campaign known as Ammo Ambassadors:

We're giving away 100,000 rounds - that's 2,000 boxes of 9mm ammo just for bringing a new shooter to the range! So, be sure to start planning today as quantities are limited!

Here's how this works:

1. Find a buddy or family member that's new to firearms. 
2. Print off this target and take it to the range with you. 
3. Introduce your new shooter to firearms and snap a photo of them with their target. 
4. Send us a copy of the photo with the submission form below. 
5. We'll send you two boxes of 9mm ammo for free as a thank you for your time and energy helping grow the number of firearms-friendly folks in the United States.

This is what we call a Win-Win, folks:  You take a new shooter to the range. You both have fun. You educate them on firearms and hopefully get them voting for gun rights and gun freedom, And in return, you get free ammunition -- that's completely free, with no shipping or handling (I know this because I've already gotten some with that code) -- to help defray the expenses incurred in letting someone else use your ammo.

What's not to love?  Go become an Ammo Ambassador today!

This looks really, Really, REALLY COOL

These were brought to my attention and they look super-nifty keen.

Similar in use to the Drama Deck from TORG, but made for D&D/Pathfinder, they allow a player to salvage a run of crappy luck with a one-time use card. And they can be given out as rewards for good roleplaying or being clever without worrying about breaking the game.

It's also similar to 7th Sea's Drama Dice mechanic, whereby whenever a player uses a card to improve a roll, that resource is turned over to the Game Master to be used to make the players' lives more complicated.

Plus there are ways to "power up" by trading in a set number of cards to draw from the Epic Hero Deck.

Everyone who plays D&D or Pathfinder really should consider backing this project -- and it's already fully funded, so you aren't going to get a broken heart by supporting a lost cause! I am looking forward to getting my hands on some and seeing what kind of change it brings to a game.

Go to their Kickstarter page and see what else you can unlock!

Monday Gunday, Photo Edition

So, this past week Oleg Volk was in my neck of the woods, and because he likes me for reasons I can't quite explain, he invited me to hang out with him, meet interesting people, and shoot some cool guns that aren't yet for sale.

Twist my arm, I said.

Warning: Below the jump are pictures of Kel-Tec guns which might cause jealousy.  Also below the jump are pictures of my face, which might make people uncomfortable.  You Have Been Warned. 

Monday Gunday: Erin Shoots Cool Things

During my recent sojourn to the Land of Lincoln last month (prior to roadtripping it over to Indianapolis for this year's NRA Annual Meeting), I had the privilege of going shooting with Da Tinman and Snooze Button Ronin. In addition, I got to shoot some rare and unusual firearms I hadn't gotten to see, let alone fire, before then.

I apologize in advance if this post causes feelings of envy and/or covetousness. It's not my intention to go "Neener neener, look what I got to shoot!"... but it does kinda end up sounding like that. Sorry. :/

Also, fair warning:  This post contains pictures of myself. Hateful comments about my appearance will result in you being blacklisted from this blog.

An odd thought for an idle Monday

Isn't it weird/awesome that we, and in fact most of the world, use:

• months named by Romans (Julian calendar) and then adjusted by another Roman (Pope Gregory XIII),
• filled with days of the week named after Norse gods (but using the Germanic spelling); 
• and then we count down those days filled with hours, minutes and seconds using a Base 60 numbering system for time that originated with the ancient Sumerians 
• and which is written with Hindu-Arabic numerals.

Maybe you shrug your shoulders and say "So what?" but I think it's nifty that this deeply rooted stuff which we take for granted has come from all over the place.  Realizing that the way we measure time is an amalgamation of four seven different and ancient cultures and that it's all so invisible to us is like... well, the best approximation I can come up with would be if I discovered that my skin was made in Brazil, my brain came from Taiwan, and my organs were made by the Inuit, but they were all still me and still American.

When I posted this on Facebook  (and if you aren't following me there, why aren't you?  I'm delightfully weird and random there), I received a wonderfully fascinating reply by a gentleman by the name of Logan Darklighter:

What's the connection between the Space Shuttle and Roman Chariots?

The width of two horses' asses.

Wagons were more or less standardized on the width of tackle it took to harness two (and multiples of two) horses in front of a chariot.

Roads and the ruts worn into those roads more or less demanded carriages be built to the same scale.

Later when trains were invented, in many cases they followed old roads and kept the same standards.

Thus a standard gauge engine and rail cars are based on that width between the rails. Tunnels cut for those trains to go through mountains and hills are cut so that a standard sized railcar will go through.

Morton Thiokol had to design their SRB boosters so that they'd clear through those tunnels when they are being transported by rail to Cape Canaveral. They couldn't be any wider.

Wow! That just gets me. I'm not especially disposed to the whole "We are one" interconnectedness thing, but the concept that these ancient concepts have such an important and measurable, yet invisible, affect upon my life makes me wonder about all the other bits of awesomeness around me that I just can't see.

Inevitably, that leads me to thinking about how all the iron in my blood all comes from exploded stars and then I get really mellow and zen and usually end up looking at the night sky for a while.



Don't worry, this is about as hippie as I get. I'm not going to sit in a circle and hold hands and sing Kumbaya.

Unless, of course, there are ponies involved, in which case, I am totally going to make you sing.

I learned a thing today!

The Romans would put signposts and notices at the intersections of three roads, and that's where we get the word for trivia -- it literally means "three roads" (tri and via).

Because the notices didn't pertain to everyone and thus were neat to know yet not terribly useful, the word gained the definition that it has today -- pieces of information of little importance.

And that was trivia about trivia!

Link for those who doubt me:  http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=trivia

(Hat tip to Jeff W. for the trivia)

Tactical Giftwrapping

I just received a package in the mail from The_Jack and inside was the most delightfully wrapped present:

550 cord used instead of ribbon!  Isn't that amazing? He even managed to make it curl.  It's pretty AND it's practical.

Gentlemen, if you have a tactical lady in your life, do this for her. She'll be impressed. Likewise, ladies, do this for your menfolk: they'll appreciate the practical nature of it and you'll have less garbage to throw away afterwards!

THANK YOU

First of all, a huge Thank You to all veterans for their service and their sacrifice. Others have said it better -- having never served, I feel like I can't really add anything of consequence other than to nod at the eloquence of others and agree with them.  Still, I thank you for all you've done and all you've given and all you've lost, and I hope that my meager thanks are sufficient.

Second, a big Thank You to everyone who donated prizes to the Squeak or Treat raffle. I quite literally could NOT have done this without you:

• Joie Brown
• Ezra Hinson
• Mark White
• Evelyn Hively
• Allison Babcock
• Thirdpower
• Prentice Osborne
• The_Jack
• Taryn K
• Danica West
• Echo Sling
• Michael Z. Williamson
• Larry Correia
• Julia H. West
• Brook West
• Dan Willis
• Alfred Trujillo
• Jay "Da Tinman" Ater
• Troy Hickman
• Howard Tayler
• Daniel G
• Mike Pondsmith
• Jim Wrench

Speaking of prizes, I have coordinated almost all of the winners with the donors. (Still waiting to get a confirmation from one donor.)  Prizes should be in the mail already, if not this week. If you haven't received your prize by Thanksgiving, let me know. I can nag like you wouldn't believe. 

And of course, an equally big Thank You to everyone who donated money for Squeak or Treat.  While I couldn't have done it without the prize donors, it wouldn't have been a success if no one had bought tickets. There were even some people who donated anonymously and refused all offers of tickets. This was especially kind because that increased the odds of winning for other people!

For everyone who donated this month, or back in August, THANK YOU SO MUCH.  Together, we met our goal and even exceeded it!  According to Squeaky, while she will not know for certain how much the cost of her procedure will be (apparently, medical bills slowly filter in over the course of months), she is 90% sure all her expenses have been covered. 

What this means for you is that I get to hang up my fundraising hat (for a while, at least), and you folks get to enjoy the holidays without me hustling you for more money. And that's a good thing, because I'm pooped. :)

And to conclude, here is a video recorded by the lovely Squeaky Wheel herself. I apologize for not posting it sooner -- apparently, I missed its Oct. 24 premiere -- but other than a wish for a Happy Halloween it's not dated.  So if you want to find out how S.W. is doing, or want to know what your donations helped do, now's your chance to ask her yourself!

Again, thank you all so much.  We now return this blog to its usual insanity.

Ten Dolla Holla!

As promised (though a bit late), here are the winners of the $10 Squeak or Treat raffle!


Carl Eranio was this category's big winner, securing SIX of the big ticket items:  the IWB magazine holder, 200 rounds of .45 ACP, a signed copy of Monster Hunter International, the signed and numbered Schlock Mercenary book, the signed copy of Common Grounds, and the Celestia Mech!

Snooze Button Ronin, not content to sweep the $5 category, also made gains in this one, picking up signed copies of MHI, Hard Magic, and Mind Bridges.

Next we had several dual winners:   Laura Bradshaw won the decorative shield and the MHI challenge coin; Ted Nelson won the metal butterfly and the signed copy of Listen Up, You Primitive Screwheads; and Jonathon Na won both issues of Project: Shadows.

Do Unto Others seemed to be the Michael Z. Williamson book of choice, as both winners -- Frank Earl and John Kochan -- picked that to be their prize.

MHI continued to be the favorite Larry Corriea book, being chosen by both Chris Bridges and Sean Hert.

Clifford Fargason won a signed copy of The Flux Engine.

And finally, proving that dreams DO come true, Brandon Kuhn won the Luna Mech with a single, last-minute entry.  Lucky bastard.  :P


Once again, a BIG thanks to everyone who donated their time, their talents, and their money toward making this fundraiser succeed. We met our goal and even went a bit over! Give yourselves a big pat on the back.

Five - Five Dolla - Five Dolla Winnas!

Sorry about not posting yesterday, everyone -- I had a headache that just wouldn't quit. Oof.

But now, after much wrangling and sorting and emailing, I have the list of everyone who won prizes in the $5 "Squeak or Treat" grab bag!

Some people won more than once -- but that's okay, because they bought more tickets, and that's how probability works!


The_Jack was the category's big winner, walking off with SIX prizes:  the wind chime, the tan Echo Sling, and all four of Ezra Hinson's pony portraits!

Second place goes to the Snooze Button Ronin, who scored a Cunning Jayne Hat, 2 pounds of smoked meat, the militia rocker tabs, and both sets of soaps. (He's not going to need stocking stuffers for female friends this year!)

The Jayne Hats proved to be the runaway hit of this category, with everyone seeming to want one.  Brook West and Brian Hert also got one (in fact, Brian was so generous that he said he ONLY wanted the hat, and forfeited all his other prizes to other people -- thank you for your generosity, Brian!), and Roland VanHorn  picked the "Baby Jayne" hat for his nine year old.   If you wanted a hat but didn't get one, let me know in the comments below and I will put you in touch with the artisan. I'm sure she'd be happy to make you one for a small fee.

Dwight Brown won the second Echo Sling. Fittingly, it was the brown one.

Gwen Patton, one of my guest authors, won the crocheted Sgt. Schlock.

David Baumiller won the Joie Art print, and picked Ponythulhu!  This is doubly cool because his wife, Michelle, bought him a ticket -- ONE TICKET -- for his birthday. And he won!  Happy birthday, David.

Carl Eranio  won the tech support session by Allison Babcock.

Ingrid Shappard  won the painting by Renee Williams.

And finally, Robert Roman  won the Prentice Osborne message -- he's going to have her record a book trailer.  She's never done anything like that before!  She's excited to do something new and he's excited to get professional help promoting his book.


Once again, a BIG thanks to everyone who donated their time, their talents, and their money toward making this fundraiser succeed. We met our goal and even went a bit over!  Give yourselves a big pat on the back.


Tomorrow, Eris willing, I'll announce the $10 winners.

Squeak or Treat

UPDATE (10/18/2013):  Due to Halloween happening on a Thursday, and the financial tightness of the recent government furlough, I will be extending the drawing to happen at midnight Eastern time, November 3rd.  This gives folks time to earn another paycheck before the raffle runs out! 

UPDATE TWO (10/21/13): For clarity's sake, I should mention that when you enter, you aren't just assigned something at random if you win. What I do is, first I will draw to see who wins. Then I contact the winners and tell them to give me a list of, say, their top 5 prizes. The first winner gets #1 on his list, and the second winner gets the first item on his list -- unless the first winner claimed that, in which case he gets #2 on his list, and so forth. By this method, I hope to pair up prizes with people who really, really want them!

Hold on to your pants, folks...

... because you are liable to crap yourself with joy.

I have secured not one, not two, but five signed Larry Correia books for the raffle!

Now, unlike the Michael Williamson books, these are paperback. But you get your choice of the following:

1. Monster Hunter International
2. Monster Hunter Vendetta
3. Monster Hunter Alpha
4. Hard Magic
5. Spellbound

Mr. Correia has multiple copies of these books, so it's not a first-come first-served kind of thing. If you win one of these (with a $10 ticket, natch), you pick the book you want, and not only he sign it for you, he will personalize it for you (he specifically mentioned "doing requests" in his reply). 

The Squeak or Treat raffle ends November 3rd -- that's this Sunday -- so be sure to get your tickets now!

Crocheted Schlock!

That's Sgt. Schlock, as in Schlock Mercenary.   Danica West (daughter of Julia and Brook, both of whom have also donated something to this raffle -- it's a family effort!) has a license from Howard Tayler to sell handcrafted Schlocks and will crochet one for whoever wins this $5 prize.

This is just an example. She will make it to your specification after you win, thereby allowing you to customize:

• the color
• the pose
• the number of arms/eyes
• the weapon (plasgun or other)

Tiny Crocheted Schlock is 4-5" tall and is a steal at only $5/ticket. 

Squeak or Treat: More pictures!

You've only got 7 days to buy your raffle tickets and then the opportunity is LOST FOREVER.   Some of these prizes are one-of-a-kind and you may never again get a chance to get them!  So buy your tickets now -- isn't five or ten bucks worth the price of avoiding everlasting regret?

But seriously, I'm begging you guys here. We are so close to our final goal, with only $200 left to hit our target.  There are so many cool things here, and it only takes one (1) ticket to win!  If everyone who hasn't yet donated would buy just one $5 ticket, we'd be there in no time!

First up, my friend Taryn K. has finished her second batch of scented soaps, this time with a Christmas theme:

Top row, from left to right (scent-wise): Gingersnap, Cinnamon Sugar, and Hollyberry. The bottom row is Christmas Spice and Hot Cocoa. I will have to get more of the Hollyberry and Hot Cocoa scents. They smell soooo good!

Second, my friend Jim Wrench has finished the Celestia and Luna BronyMecha:

Celestia, "Sola Invicta":

Luna, "Nos Custodit":

 I swear to God, you guys, if I hadn't promised these for auction I would be keeping these for myself. They are THAT COOL.

And because enough folks have made "Squee!" noises about one or the other, they will be raffled separately.

Brony Mecha!

This donation for the Squeak or Treat raffle should tempt both bronies and wargamers alike.


Mydnight's Hobby Corner (the guy who paints Thirdpower's Ogre minis)  has generously donated two professionally painted CAV miniatures. The conversation went something like this (approximately):

Him:  Hi, I'd like to donate something to the raffle. I'm a miniature painter. Maybe I could paint something for someone?

Me:  Well, that's cool, but I don't know how many people would need that sort of thing... might be better to raffle off an  already-painted mini. Would you do that?

Him:  Sure!  What kind of minis do you like?

Me:  I like mecha.

Him:  I have some CAV minis I could paint. Here, look at some pictures. I could even do one in a pony theme if you'd like.

Me: (looks)

Me: (thinks a moment)

Me: Hmm, tell me... would you mind painting two instead of one?

Him:  I think so, yeah... what did you have in mind?

Me:  (gales of wicked laughter)

Here is what is so funny:  one of the mecha  excuse me, CAVs that he is offering to paint is called the Dictator.

Now if you're a pony fanatic, and you hear the term "dictator" -- what do you immediately think of?

That's right, you probably think of this:

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/11/celestia-empire-vs-lunar-republic.html

So by now you're probably thinking, "Gasp!  Did you, Erin? Did you REALLY?"

Yes.

Yes I did.

Now it's worth pointing out that both of these are still works-in-progress. Luna still needs her cutie mark and New Lunar Republic emblem, and Celestia needs more color/highlights (because all that white is boring), but this is enough to give everyone a rough idea of what you're going to get -- painted and detailed Princess Mecha, with hex bases and terrain details.

I'm honestly not sure if I should raffle these off as a set (because they'd be more valuable that way), or as individual pieces (so that a fan of Luna can get her mecha, and a slave of the solar monarch fan of Celestia can get hers). Either way, these are definitely $10 ticket items.

If you're a brony, you want these.  If you're a miniature gamer, one (or both) would be enough to annoy or demoralize your opponent. If you're a wargaming brony, then you NEED these.

Simply donate $10 (or more) to Squeaky's surgical fund, email me the PayPal receipt, and you're automatically entered into the drawing!

Studio Apt, all mod cons, corpse hatch, murder room

So this guy rents an apartment....

Discovers a trap door...

Opens it, finds stairs underneath...

Goes exploring, finds  a secret passage underneath...

And finds... well, go see for yourself, but I maintain that's either a vampire's crypt or a sacrificial murder room.  The soft, freshly disturbed earth is particularly terrifying.

On the one hand, this is incredibly cool, as the renter has just doubled his usable space without increasing his rent at all. And if you're a goth, or a D&D gamer, you have instant ambiance!

On the other hand, I have such a hyperactive imagination that this would scare the living shit out of me. I'd have to, at the minimum, park an anvil on the trapdoor.  Even if I don't believe in ghosts and vampires, my subconscious mind likes to entertain the possibilities thereof.  And that doesn't even take into account vermin, mold, and other nastiness which might make it's way up... and are you CERTAIN there isn't another way in?

It's very cool, but I don't think I could live there.

More proof I am actually a girl

Quoting a Facebook friend who was speaking in my voice after I posted this link:

"I just ordered more shotgun ammo and, SQUEEEEEE!, precious tiny dragon gaming dice keepers!"

You are such a girl.

I am, and thank you for noticing. ♥

But really, how can you NOT find these precious and adorable?

They're holding tails while they sleep oh my god OH MY GAWWWWWDDDD !!!!!

Stage direction: Erin runs around the room, flailing her arms like Kermit the Frog, whilst making incoherent "squee"-ing noises. 

These are just so adorable I don't know what to do with myself.  I desperately want one (or all) or them. But then, how could I use my dice?  I CAN'T TAKE DICE AWAY FROM THESE ADORABLE DRAGONS.

Becca Golins' DeviantArt gallery may be found here


ZOMG SHE MAKES PONIES TOO!!!   AHHHHH!   *dies of cuteness overload*.