Snypiuer

Great . . . juuUUSSsttt GREAT! First frikin' Jaws spoiled the ocean for me, NOW I'm not going to be able to swim in a pool at night! AND baths! I LIKE a nice relaxing hot bath at night with the lights all low . . . THANKS! Thanks a LOT! You know, sometimes, just SOMETIMES, I wish some of you WEREN'T so good in your writing! And yet, I can't wait for more!

Mr Moog paced, worriedly, around the room. NOT because of the fact that, for the past 3 days, Snypiuer had been asleep and NOTHING he had tried would wake him. Nor was it the fact that, as we know, the sleep of the semi-divine is FAR more than the sleep of mere mortals and Snypiuer was, obviously, in the throes of some dark nightmare. It wasn't even the fact that he hadn't seen that creepy cloak of Snypiuer's since he had taken it off and went to sleep (though Moog DID have a permanent case of the heebie-jeebies because of it). No, what had caused Mr Moog to become so 'on-edge' that he was about to crawl out of his skin was the fact that, after 3 days of fitful, semi-divine sleep that he was unable to be awoken from . . . Snypiuer had, suddenly, gone perfectly still . . . as if he were . . . listening to someone. *3 DAYS AGO* Snypiuer had been in a mood for weeks (if not months) that was growing, exponentially, darker by the minute. Pith, Silvia and Mr Moog understood, with crystal clarity, the danger this increasingly darkening mood placed EVERYONE in because, being his closest companions, they knew more than anyone how truly insane his quest to take the place of the long dead Blood God had driven him and, thus, they knew full well that even they had NO concept of the depths of his insanity nor what it may lead to - only that it was bad . . . very, VERY bad. This knowledge led them to do the only sensible thing . . . they made themselves scarce. So, when they found themselves, suddenly, in Snypiuer's parlour, they knew things had come to a head. At the sight of Snypiuer, Mr Moog gasped and took a step back as Pith and Sil step to either side, giving themselves room to move. ALL of them filled themselves with so much magical energy, the entire room began to give off a low hum and the air around them crackled as they also pulled their weapons and took defensive postures. Snypiuer took in the scene: His closest companions, weapons in hand, at the ready and each filled with enough magical energy to level a small mountain, energy they were barely able to contain and ready to unleash it upon him at the slightest thought. He took it in in an instant and dismissed it even faster - as a God would dismiss the smallest of his creations. He spoke to them in a far off voice, "Darkness and evil portents require our attention. I need to speak to each of you . . . individually. Pith. Follow." Snypiuer turned and entered his inner chambers. His companions let the energy they had grasped fade away as they put their weapons away. Pith followed and, as the door closed behind him, Mr Moog and Sil looked at eachother and shrugged. After a short time, Pith returned. Both Mr Moog and Sil stood, with looks of concern upon their faces, for Pith was dressed for battle. But not just for ANY battle. Moog and Sil had not seen him this prepared since they had fought in the fiercest of battles in the darkest times of Terra Lost. Before either could voice their concerns, he said, "I could NEVER had asked for better companions. A better brother or sister." He grasped Moog and hugged him, then they grasped each others' wrist and shook. He patted Moogs' shoulder as he turned to Sil and repeated the ritual. "Watch yourselves." He told them with an intensity and glare that shook each of them to their core. Then, with a coldness they had NEVER seen in him before, he softly said with a glance over his shoulder towards Snypiuers' door, "Watch HIM even closer." As he stepped away and began to rip a tear in reality itself to travel through, Mr Moog said with a false sense of bravado and humor, "Jeez Pith, you act as if you're about to storm the very Gates of Heaven!" Pith neither turned to look back nor slowed down as he replied in a flat voice, "Not Heaven my friend." As he stepped through and the rip sealed behind him, Moog and Sil saw he had stepped through into an utter darkness filled with screams. Snypiuer's voice came from his inner chambers, "Silvia, time is short." Sil was yelling at Snypiuer before the door even began to close. Moog could hear her muted yells through the door for a while before they went silent. A short time later, the door opened and Silvia came through, dressed for battle the same as Pith. Mr Moog saw a flash of memory from Terra Lost - the last time he had seen her dressed this way. He timidly began to ask, "Sil, what's . . .", she cut him off and softly said, as she hugged him tight, "You take care of yourself . . . and him." She released him and stepped back, Mr Moog's eyes widened with shock and he shuddered - not because her eye suddenly became cold and lifeless as she handed him, what appeared to be a sliver of glass made into a knife whose handle was some sort of silver tape wrapped around one end, and said in a detached voice, "Remember what we talked about. This probably won't kill him, but it may give you enough time to escape." No. What made Mr Moog quake inside, with a fear he had never known, was the single tear he swears he saw begin to form in her eye. He couldn't move as she swept past him. The light from the doorway she ripped in reality blasted him from behind and left a feint outline of his shadow on the wall before him as the tear in reality closed - he didn't even hear when she whispered, "Goodbye my dear friend." He quickly hid the sliver of glass in his shirt and straightened himself as Snypiuer simply said, "Moog." As he entered the chamber, Moog was taken aback at how old and weary Snypiuer appeared. He asked in earnest, "Boss, what's going on?" Snypiuer raised his right arm towards a coat rack in the corner near his bed, which he stood in front of. His cloak began to crawl across his arm, like a giant black snake, and stretched across to the coat rack where it hung itself - a living shadow that seemed to flutter upon breezes only known to it. Mr Moog had ALWAYS been creeped-out by that cloak. But, for some reason, it put him more on edge than usual as he attempted to NOT look at it. Snypiuer slowly sat down at the edge of his bed. "I'm tired, my old friend. I feel as if we are headed for dark times, the likes of which we have not seen since our days upon Terra Lost." Moog shuffled a bit as he placed his hand over the sliver of glass concealed in his shirt. Snypiuer sighed and hung his head. Moog's heart stopped as Snypiuer said in a low, tired voice, "It's just a piece of glass you know. Older than our time on Terra Lost, but just a piece of glass, none the less." He chuckled, weakly, as he rubbed his eye and continued, "A piece of glass with duct tape for a handle. Funny how something so . . . normal, could hold so much power - simply because it was from the time before Magic." Moog stepped to Snypiuer's side and placed his hand, gently, on Snypiuer's arm, "Boss, we've survived situations so bad, the Gods tell stories about us. What CAN'T we get through!?" The sadness in Snypiuer's eye made Mr Moog's heart break. Before Moog could say anything, Snypiuer patted the hand he had placed upon his arm and said, "When was the last time a Demigod, other than myself, walked amongst us? Or the Elders? The Halls of the Pen are silent. The Keep is a living thing and those who dwell within it are it's lifeblood - it's every breath. And they are gone. There is a darkness that senses the Pen is dying and it seeks to consume it. Keep that simple piece of glass close my friend . . . and watch . . . out . . . for . . ." as Snypiuer's words trailed off he lay down. Mr Moog shook him, "Watch out for what? Watch out for WHAT!?" A smile came to Snypiuer's lips as he woke enough to pinch Moogs cheek, ruffle his hair and snidely say, "Why, ME of course!" Snypiuer's hand fell to his side as he sank into a deep slumber. Mr Moog removed Snypiuer's boots, arranged him, comfortably, in bed and watched over his friend. Snypiuer, almost immediately, began to sleep fitfully: Tossing, turning, muttering in his sleep. Moog checked for a fever, but there was none and, if he hadn't known that the sleep of the semi-divine was unlike that of mortals, he would have sworn Snypiuer was suffering from delirium - the storm that hit that first night and the feeling of impending doom that grew moment by moment over the Keep of the Pen is Mightier than the Sword was proof that it wasn't delirium, but it was, in deed, the sleep of the semi-divine that gripped Snypiuer. *PRESENT* But that was three days ago. Three days that Mr Moog, a simple piece of glass in hand, watched over Snypiuer as he slept - fitfully. Three days that a dark, dreadful feeling seeped into every nook and cranny of the Keep, building and growing stronger. Three days that that DAMN creepy cloak had been missing. Three days of waiting for Pith or Silvia to return. For Snypiuer to waken. For that DAMNED cloak to appear! Three days of frayed nerves and frantic thoughts. Three days and now . . . it ALL had stopped. It was still THERE. But it had, simply . . . frozen in place - As if all of reality had taken a breath and was . . . waiting . . . listening.

Snypiuer notices the sticky note. Smiles. Pulls out a slightly larger sticky note and pen. After making some quick markings on it, he puts the pen away and pulls out a pair of scissors and begins cutting it. He places the larger sticky note over Azuran's so that it now appears to have a quite elegant frame. Gently pats it to make sure it's secure and softly says, "There". Smiles again and wistfully continues walking the Pens' sleepy halls.

As always, more would be appreciated!

I like this one. . . it flows very nicely and is just, simply, good!

Each skin can have it's own logo, so if anyone wants to put one together to better match a given skin. . . GO FOR IT!

Give any feed back you have and I'll add any new skins I find!

Go to POLL and let me know which is your favorite skin and we'll set the one with the most votes as default. Until then, I'll randomly change the default skin at my own, whimsical, discretion!

FINALLY!!! The idiot in charge of skins has FINALLY done his job (why do we put up with such shoddy and inefficient work performance!?) Just go to the bottom of the page on the left-hand side and click 'change theme', then choose a skin. The last 2, Hex and Kolor, can change their color theme. On the top right of every page, there is a box with 6 letters/numbers (no idea if it can be removed or hidden). Click on this box and adjust to your liking! Working on making a logo that fits better with a couple of the skins. ENJOY! (and tell the idiot in charge of these things to get his act together or he's a-gonna get a beating!)

O.K., got some new skins, just need to get the logo on them - bear with me!

O.K.! Degorram told me how to get the skins and it worked! Let me grab some and set them up with the CBox and our Logo and I'll make them visible for everyone.

STILL trying to figure out HOW to get the skins. I'm following the directions, but not working! I KNOW I'm making a simple mistake SOMEWHERE! Bear with me and I'm SORRY it's taking so long!

WHOA! I have GOT to get myself in gear! I have not made a News update in ages. I'm just completely non-functioning at the moment (haven't been for some time). Anyways, Patrick has moved us and, like in MOST moves, we lost some things. The skins didn't survive and I'll be doing what I can to fix that - just give me some time to figure out exactly WHAT is different. If I can motivate myself, I'll try to tidy the site up a bit (that is, IF I can figure out HOW).

The human heart is a wondrous thing. It's so small that, when it's filled with joy, it over-flows and you have to share your happiness with everyone you can. Yet, when it's filled with sorrow, it becomes a bottomless pit of pain and sadness - an endless void of tears that we crawl into and shut ourselves away from those we love as we wallow in despair and it feels as if our heart is whithering away and dieing. But, the most wondrous thing about the human heart is, when the tiniest bit of hope touches it, the thinnest bit of happiness caresses it. . . it heals. If these last two poems come from within your own personal well of sorrow and are this good. . . I can't wait to read what you write when your heart heals.

O.K., it's no secret that I have no idea what I'm doing and failing on a grand scale to learn anything. There has been talk of reorganizing the site to make it, at least, look better. Problem is, the people with the knowledge of HOW to do it are hindered by RL and simply don't have the time required. My suggestion is, everyone give their thoughts on what is most important to do first and those with the knowledge of how, just give a quick explanation of what I need to do (what the code looks like and where it should be found) and I'll look up the specifics. I've found several other writing sites that have regular activity and think we can incorporate some of their elements while retaining the intimacy that sets the Pen apart. If any of you know of any sites, give a link and what you believe we should emulate.

Suffering from a monumental case of non-inspiration to write anything, I was wondering where others find their inspiration to write. Do you have a favorite theme or setting that you feel most comfortable with? Do you follow a basic pattern when writing? Whatever you think may help, not just me, but others.

O.K., where to start? Let's put up some statistics first. Stats: Source https://www.cia.gov/...ok/geos/as.html Australia and https://www.cia.gov/...ok/geos/us.html USA Population Australia 21,766,711 (July 2011 est.) USA 313,232,044 (July 2011 est.) Urbanization Australia 89% of total population (2010) USA 82% of total population (2010) Population of Major Cities Australia Sydney 4.429 million; Melbourne 3.853 million; Brisbane 1.97 million; Perth 1.599 million; CANBERRA (capital) 384,000 (2009) USA New York-Newark 19.3 million; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana 12.675 million; Chicago 9.134 million; Miami 5.699 million; WASHINGTON, D.C. (capital) 4.421 million (2009) GDP Australia $917.7 billion (2011 est.) Official Exchange Rate $1.507 trillion (2011 est.) Per Capita $40,800 (2011 est.) By Sector agriculture: 4% industry: 25.6% services: 70.4% (2011 est.) USA $15.04 trillion (2011 est.) Official Exchange Rate $15.06 trillion (2011 est.) Per Capita $48,100 (2011 est.) By Sector agriculture: 1.2% industry: 22.1% services: 76.7% (2011 est.) Labor Force Australia 12.02 million (2011 est.) By Occupation agriculture: 3.6% industry: 21.1% services: 75% (2009 est.) USA 153.4 million By Occupation farming, forestry, and fishing: 0.7% manufacturing, extraction, transportation, and crafts: 20.3% managerial, professional, and technical: 37.3% sales and office: 24.2% other services: 17.6% Unemployment Australia 5% (2011 est.) USA 9.1% (2011 est.) Population Below Poverty Level Australia NA% USA 15.1% (2010 est.) Household Income or Consumption by Comparison Share Australia lowest 10%: 2% highest 10%: 25.4% (1994) USA lowest 10%: 2% highest 10%: 30% (2007 est.) Taxes as % of GDP Australia 31.1% of GDP (2011 est.) USA 15% of GDP Now, what can we take from this? In terms of % of Population, more Australians actually live in cities than Americans do. In fact 11.851 million Australians (slightly less than 55% of all Australians) live in just 4 cities and about 80% of all Australians live within the Eastern Seaboard or coastal fringes (http://www.wilmap.com.au/ausfacts.html). This means that delivery of goods in Australia is much more centralized than they are in the USA - with over 50% of the population located in four cities and 80% of the total population living along waterways (coastline). Combine this with a far smaller population than the USA and it should be much more cost effective to supply goods/services in Australia. While I maintain that a mandated higher minimum wage has a lot to do with this, another factor is rate of taxation. Australians are taxed at over twice that of Americans (31.1% vs. 15%) - it's a fundamental fact of business that all costs are transferred to the consumer, thereby increasing the cost to supply goods and services. We can also see that, despite the USA having 15.1% of it's population below the Poverty level and Australia having a statistical 0% below Poverty level, the bottom 10% of the population in both countries have a comparison share of 2% of GDP while there is less than a 5% difference in the top 10%. This does translate to Australia having a slightly better distribution of wealth (due to the difference in population) but the difference in GDP lessens this disparity. Add the fact that every cost of living calculator I can find lists the cost of living in Australia as, anywhere from, 30% to 80% higher than the cost of living in the USA and a taxation rate of twice that of the USA and mandating a higher minimum wage just exacerbates things. I will concede that, due to Australia's' smaller population and the actual distribution of the population, a mandated higher minimum wage has less of a negative effect in Australia than it would in the USA. Also, to make incentivizing a higher minimum wage more effective over all, a restructuring of the tax code would need to be done. I have a basic outline of such a reworked tax structure and will attempt to post a simplified version. . . eventually!? I know I'm missing something. . . just can't figure out what!

O.K., after reading your link, I did a bit of looking around. The science of the story is, basically, an amalgamation of physics and philosophy. Simplified, it's 'all of reality is composed of energy' and 'everything is what it is because of how an individual perceives it'. The physics used is 'Timeless Physics', which actually affirms my original argument of time not actually existing. *On a quick side track, I never knew of this theory (actually 2 similar theories with slight differences) and find that, with a little tweaking on WHY they reach their conclusion, they may hold promise (yes, I said THEY need to adjust their premise. In other words, while I agree with them as a whole, I am correct as to the WHY and they are wrong). On another side track, this is the second time in the last few months that I have discovered that a belief I hold actually has an established system in place. The first being, unknown to me, it seems I am a practicing 'Discordian' - go figure. . .* All in all, a sound and cogent explanation of reality. Where the mistake is made, is in using this theory in relation to numbers. While I readily agree that all of reality is nothing more than different configurations of energy and how an individual perceives those configurations, numbers do not fall under this - any energy related to numbers lies, solely, within the object it quantifies, separate from the number itself. Thus, while we 'perceive' numbers, there is no energy component to them and, in order for anything to be more than a concept, it must consist of energy that is then defined by an individuals perception of that energy. Numbers, simply, do not fit this criteria.

Read the link and found it interesting. It brought up a few things and I need to dust off some books. The story dealt with physics and long, LONG ago, Snypiuer went to college on a physics scholarship (no, I didn't graduate - long story). The piece itself actually is based on time not existing, so I need to look up a few things to form an opinion on the subject of numbers existing. Will TRY not to procrastinate too much and, as always, anyone else who wants to weigh in, can.

Have not forgot about this, just doing research to bolster my side! And I'm lazy and slow! Anyone else have an opinion on this?

Sounds like someone REALLY sucks! You know what doesn't suck? That's right, your poem!

I am going with: Time is nothing more than a concept we use to differentiate between infinite, exact moments in which everything in existence is fixed in a unique position. In other words, while time works to give us information on that which we observe, it, in and of itself, does not actually exist. Like numbers. Show me a 1. Not a representation of a 1. An actual THING that is a 1. There is no such thing. Yet, it's a concept that functions to give us information on AMOUNTS of that which we observe.

O.K., in the hopes that ANY sort of discussion will spark activity, we have begun a topic on Higher Minimum Wages which everyone is invited to join in. Feel free to add other topics. I am adding this one: Time, does it actually exist?

O.K., a lot of info! We do need to point out that Australia has a population of about 23 million with a total workforce of about 10 million, as opposed to the USA's population of over 300 million with a total workforce of about 160 million. One would think that a larger workforce would lead to a higher number of jobs. It does, but it also leads to a lower number of jobs per capita - there is only a certain amount of things that have to be made (manufacturing - the basis of all economies). When a product can be made and transported from a nation with a cheaper workforce, they will be - something you also mentioned. A mandated higher minimum wage within a much larger pool of workers that already exist in a lower per capita environment will thus produce greater negative effects. We also have to make the decision of whether or not a minimum wage job should be a life long career choice or a stepping stone to better employment and a safety net for individuals who, for one reason or another, need to take a minimum wage position. The fact is, most minimum wage jobs are unskilled, labor intensive, service, etc. type jobs. By making such jobs a viable career choice, through a mandated higher minimum wage, we promote the bare minimum of effort to better ones self through higher education. In a lower jobs per capita workforce, this is a very bad thing. If it is to be a stepping stone or safety net, a mandated higher minimum wage (once again, in a lower jobs per capita workforce) would make these jobs attractive to individuals who may not actually 'need' this type of employment and, thus, make it harder for those who do 'need' this type of job to obtain one. You stated (basically) that businesses that cut back on quality will eventually fail - have you heard of Walmart or IKEA? Just saying ! We also must remember that, even an unemployment rate of even 10% in Australia is about 1 million unemployed. In the USA, 1 million unemployed translates to a rate of less than .65%. Even if we were to have an unemployment rate of 5% with a higher mandated minimum wage, there would be about 8 million people unemployed. By keeping a moderate minimum wage and giving incentives for, rather than mandating a, higher minimum wage, we can actually increase the jobs per capita. Which, in a higher workforce environment, has a greater benefit. Oh yeah, I do not consider money that a government does NOT take from a company or individual a subsidy. If there wasn't a given company or individual to begin with, the government would not receive ANY money from it. A government can only GIVE what it TAKES from another, it produces and creates NOTHING. As long as the government does not actually transfer assets to a company or individual, there is no subsidy. By allowing a company to directly PAY a wider employed workforce, it, not only, lessens the need for the government to transfer wealth, it does it much more efficiently, effectively, cost effectively and with greater benefits. Finally, even though Australia has, both, a higher jobs per capita and lower unemployment rate than the USA, Australia still has a higher cost of living. One must wonder if the higher minimum wage has something to do with this.