The Trachea of Wisdom and Truth says:

"Live long and prosper but don't mind this blog as the owner is too busy peeling potatoes to care."

Amen.



*Yes, I'm so rushed off my feet now - if I don't seem to be anywhere or replying anything these days - I'm probably at monkey's eyebrow*

There are authors who write mind-blowingly awesome books but publish them at glacial speeds (Steven Brust, I'm looking at you).

There are authors who write so-so OK books with that rare gem that peeks out like gold among the pyrites. (Tom Holt)

There are authors who put out relatively great books at relatively fast speeds (Lee Child).

And then, there is Dean Koontz.

Dean Koontz with a nice head of hair.

Dean Koontz is the kind of author you read when you know all the mind-blowing books or relatively great books are out on loan. And you're in the library mulling over trying out a new series and almost definitely getting disappointed - and then AHA! Dean Koontz.

He is an author who does not disappoint. Really. Even Lee Child and Steven Brust have their soggy moments but not Koontz. Plus he's published over 100 books! Damn, this guy must be on finger steroids!


Anyway, here are my top 5 books from the master of your deepest darkest dreams!

The Good Guy

*Guy meets hitman in bar. Hitman out to kill girl. Guy grabs girl and run*


The Husband
*Wife kidnapped. Husband needs to pay 2 mil. But he's a garderner. Hubby goes out find $. While being suspected of murder*


Velocity
*Hero gets note: Bring note to police & psycho will kill a teacher. Don't bring note to police & psycho kills a grandma. Hero goes out to whack psycho*


Odd Thomas*Guy can see ghosts. Uses powers to investigate disaster on his town*


Relentless*Tired of writing. Go wiki it yourself*

He's stories are usually about absolute good triumphing over absolute evil. And his main protagonists are not the whinny, brooding, I-Have-Powers-I-Won't-Use-Cos-I'm-Afraid-To-Hurt-People-Around-Me douchebags so common now in popular literature.

Go read him.

PS* All the above are my own personal opinions. Steven Brust and Tom Holt fans - Don't bash me.
And Mr Brust, please hurry up and write!

There are a ton of Photoshop actions online that will turn any normal digital photo into lomo-ified plastic camera glory. But do you want the real thing?

I must thank Shan and others for bestowing onto me this reverend piece of hardware and I was eyeing this DIY TLR (twin lens reflex) camera ever since I saw it in ThirtySix. This is the GakkenFlex.

Got it at $58 that might seem steep - but is not, compared to the outrageous Blackbird Fly with no true viewfinder. The GakkenFlex comes with a magazine loaded with gorgeous pictures and written entirely in Japanese.

the cover says 'Adult Science'. But i may be wrong.


Inside the flap.

The goodies.
The goodies unwrapped.

There are a ton of parts in here, I assure you. For someone who can't construct lego for nuts - these looked like C3P0's intestines. Thank you, Gakken for writting everything in Japanese. Makes my life so much easier. not.

First side done.

It was actually not so bad. There are a couple of tutorials online (in english) that will help you get past the tricky bits. And the instruction diagrams were pretty easy to follow.


Three sides done.

Wow, I'm actually constructing something that looks like it could become a camera! *For someone whose handicraft sucks more than a vacuum ~ Father, Mother... I'm so happy!*


Final Look.




And here are some snap shots I took with my very virgin test try!
Some pics may see abit blurry and all. But to tell the truth ... ... I love the misty effect!

Stupid me for opening the camera's body halfway through winding. Lost half the photos like that. But oh well.




Double Exposure Bam!

Well, that's not all~ I have more photos in my Flickr account so go there and see the rest!

Hey.


I'm employed.