The islands draft.

_drafts/plants_as_pets.md

@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+---
+title: "Why Everytime I Think About Getting a Pet I get a Plant"
+author: "James Pace"
+date: "2024/02/27"
+---
+
+Every once in a while, particularly during the late winter when the seasonal depression
+really starts to hit, I start really wanting a pet.
+My thought process is fairly repeatable and can be easily summed up here as:
+
+1. I live in a small apartment and I wouldn't feel right trapping a dog
+   or cat in my apartment all day, so I can't get one of those.
+2. Even if I wasn't worried aboutt the size, I'm not at my apartment enough to take
+   care of one during the work week.
+3. Somehow people take care of kids????
+4. Ok, so a big animal won't work, but what about something small, like a fish or
+   something?
+5. I research fish, and realize none of the options are interesting or would work in a
+   small tank.
+6. Start looking at hermit crabs, realize I don't really have a good spot for a 10 gallon
+   tank, and then start looking elesewhere.
+7. Start looking at worms or ants.
+
+Unfortunately, I live in a small apartment and don't have the space to properly take
+care of a cat or dog so I don't buy one.
+

_drafts/the-islands-part1.md

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+---
+title: "The Islands: Part 1"
+author: "James Pace"
+date: "2024/10/08"
+---
+
+> "The Islands" is a fictional series that take place in an chain
+> of islands in an alternate universe.
+>
+> I'm writing this as an excuse to improve my writing skills,
+> but I hope you also can derive some joy from it.
+>
+
+The boats constant bobbing up and down in the rough seas made the island up
+ahead appear even more intimidating than it did on a normal day.
+We may have been pulling up to the southern beach of the island, but it was the
+mountain that set on the northern shore that dominated the scene.
+The mountain was grey and almost dreary looking, with asymmetric sections
+that jutted out every such way, almost like little bolts of lightning.
+The southern beach, where we were headed, was gorgeous, with the blue water
+reflecting the image of the palm trees growing out of the pearl white sand.
+
+It was hard to miss the contrast.
+
+"Mahalo!"
+
+I hear a deep friendly voice yell as the boat bounces into the dock.
+A cheery round man waves at us passengers from dock as the captain
+moors the small charter boat.
+
+"Welcome, welcome", the man says at no one in particular.
+
+"Make sure to grab all your belongings and form a line!", he says cheeringly,
+"I'll bring you through customs shortly."
+
+The boat is quickly emptied and we follow the man through a gate towards the custom
+building.
+The man starts chatting with the man at the front of the line and provides some tips
+for the best places to eat on the island.
+The man is extremely cheerful.
+I notice the irony that we're following short Santa Claus through a gate with guards
+holding guns, fingers on the trigger, on each side.
+
+The customs building is built from rock from the mountain and looks like a fortress.
+If it wasn't for the men in the black uniforms holding M16s, you could be forgiven
+for assuming you were in a medieval fortress.
+
+On the left side of the door into the customs office is a sign that reads "Welcome!".
+On the right is a shield for the Second Royal Regiment, which proudly displays the motto
+"As the moutain protects the north we protect the south." under a drawing of a body crushed
+under a boulder, only the legs sticking out.
+
+I found my self mulling on the contrast of a "Welcome" sign next to a sign showing death,
+when out guide smiled at me and said "Your next!" while pointing towards a desk where a
+custom's agent stood.
+
+I borught my brain back into reality a smiled at the guide before walking towards the agent.
+I already had all the paperwork I needed in hand.
+
+The customs agent looked through all my paperwork and then looked again, before looking at me
+in the eye and completely dead pan saying "You may proceed through the double doors.
+Enjoy your stay."
+
+I walked through the heavy wood doors, and was immediately attacked by the light.
+I took a deep breath in and then repacked my documents.
+
+It was time to make it to my next destination on the island.

index.qmd

@@ -11,10 +11,10 @@ listing:
 
 Welcome to my blog, dedicated to things I've learned and am currently learning.
 
-A lot of the intital content has come from things I'm working on for my for-fun
+I'm currently writing a series of fiction called "The Islands" as an excuse to
-projects, and are thus are related to programming and Open Source software.
+draw.
-Over time, I hope to chronicle different types of content as my interests
+
-change.
+
 
 
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