Chaos
But I finally got to take a break.
I have to tell you folks something...
This shit — it's hard to put down.
I had stated, roughly two weeks ago, something like, "I'm taking a break."
Then, it rained. I can't take breaks when it's raining! A break means I need to be outside somewhere, hopefully as far away from wifi and all of these addictive technological life additives as possible.
The weather improved, and you haven't heard a damn thing from me for a little over a week. That felt good.
Sure, I was still lurking in the shadows, browsing around, dropping a few votes here and there, consuming that content. I made an effort to spend more time away though, and that was hard to do.
I shouldn't even be alive right now!
Damn. That line would have made a great clickbait title...
I'm slightly injured. My left foot is pooched.
'Pooched' is slang for "fucked up" where I come from...
The dirtbike survived, and that's all I really care about.
Found a nice trail. This trail led to a place I've never been. Twas an old gravel pit, of sorts. Many little hills. Up and down. Up and down.
And up and down and up and down and up and...
Oh. Fuck.
Down!
A cliff. I dropped twenty feet, at least.
Normally I inspect these places before I start going nuts.
And that's exactly what I was doing. Inspecting, too fast.
Oddly enough, had I been going faster, I probably would have launched into one of my highest jumps, ever. All jumps are the same, it doesn't matter how much air is beneath the bike. If you know how to land, you know how to land.
I went front-tire-first into an embankment. Total nosedive. That made me do a perfect front flip over the handle bars. I landed on my frikkin' feet!
But that hurt.
Gettin' too old for this shit.
So now, I'm an artist, with a limp.
I can confidentially say, "I'm a lame artist," and not even feel like I'm insulting my own work or artists in general.
Isn't that exciting!
Not really.
But I thought it was funny, so I wrote it.
Spent a lot of time...
Thinking.
I see a lot of politics happening out there in Steem World.
I'm well aware of the changes coming. Two days to go.
There's a lot I could say, about things. I could easily be right in there, speaking my mind, saying my piece. I promised myself awhile ago though, stay out of it.
I spent a lot of time over the past couple of years, saying my piece.
I'm to the point now where I welcome any kind of change. Something needed to happen, and now something is happening.
And now I'll end this post
with something 'motivational', maybe.
I'm reading the "worries" from some folks, here and there. Talking about the little guy, worried about the little guy.
We all start somewhere. Here, that somewhere is usually the bottom. That's where I started. I can point at hundreds of others I've met over the years and say, "they did, too."
Your first Facebook account started with you, and no friends.
Your first Youtube channel started with you, and no subscribers.
Everyone, everywhere, starts at the bottom.
It's not permanent!
Unless you give up before you get started.
I've been here three years. I hope things improve for me now. I hope I can once again begin climbing the ladder, like the old days.
So if you're one of these folks, a content producer who feels like they are being handed the shitty end of the stick, think about where you'll be and where you want to be in three years. Forget about next Tuesday.
If you don't want to struggle forever, simply work your way out of it.
That's my plan. And those doom and gloomers got nothing on me.
Anyway.
Those are my words.
That's my artwork up there. It's new, and I hope you liked it at least a little bit.
Until next time...
Ciao.
This was the perfect time to post, what are you talking about... I almost didn't see this post until I saw the fancy title and then I couldn't resist looking; now my mind has been expanded by some amazing artwork, and I can go about my night... thanks @nonameslefttouse you're the best! 👍
No, you're the best! ...For showing up, and looking, during a time when things are notoriously slow. Thank you.
Glad the bike is okay as having a pooched bike would suck.
You are right about the bottom up work and for those little guys reading this who haven't backed themselves to be somewhere in three years from now, what are they expecting to happen?
NOSE DIVE (inspired by, Where To Now)
I know you don't wear a helmet because, you are that kind of guy, but I also wanted to respect your privacy.
It starts with the one producing the content, whatever that content is. It's not up to the code, or the curators. That comes after the content is produced. I hope people can see why it's important to improve. I had a few extra minutes to browse and far too many producers go with the bare minimum, or it's a post for a contest, or a theme like writing for five minutes. Hard to find new unique stuff.
I know there's some out there who think, Once I start seeing higher payouts, then I'll work harder. That's backwards, because they'll never see the value rise. Now, hopefully, quality will improve, and curation will be easier, plus more rewarding.
You cracked the code in that image, with your addition, but I won't say much more, other than I do actually wear a helmet. My brains still get rattled though!
There is a process of not working unless getting paid for it. Sounds great, but there are a lot of people not working.
I have heard the argument, "I don't get out of bed unless I am getting at least xxx a day" too.
What they have to ask themselves is, how many days do they get out of bed. I get out of bed everyday, whether it is for x, xxx or xxxxx.
I think I am going to change my about me to, "digital artist"
Three years later, after starting at the bottom, it looks like I just barely made that 20 they're talking about when they speak of this new reward curve, so far. There's a tiny bit more than ten hours worth of work in this post. Of course, I hope things improve with this hardfork. In three years, those folks starting out now should hopefully see a better result than this, which is why things had to change. That's the part many don't realize, it seems, and that's all I can really say, other than I think you should leave the digital art up to me, and you can stick to writing, because you're clearly better with words.
I think it will be less. However, if this is only at the Steem layer (which it is) it could be a brilliant thing for Steem as combined with DVs, there might be some very good and well rewarded contributors coming to the fore which should attract attention on steem, and then onto the SMTs and communities.
I could do digital art. I just don't want to. ;D
I was thinking about after the fork bringing in some more creative stuff again. I actually see what I write about Steem as creative though as there is a fair bit of work that goes into building the vision of a piece without getting too lost in the technical aspects - but it is still steem content...
It might(should) help quality rise up, BUT, if that just gets buried with paid votes, there will have to be a UI change that places the PROMOTED bidbot stuff into a different tab. Curation needs to mean something. My vote should always help boost something up, not be a pointless endeavor like it has been since bidbots. There's changing and there's fixing and organization. Nothing wrong with sorting the pile.
Mess around with Krita. It's a free program with many buttons. Works fine with a mouse as well if you don't have the high tech stuff.
When it comes to content, I'm looking forward to raising the bar. That might mean one post every two days instead of daily. It would be cool to do something awesome, once per week, and earn from that one post what seven daily posts would earn. A weekly episode. If that kind of thing caught on instead of this short attention span trend the internet seems to rely on, we'd see some amazing things here. For instance, have you ever noticed how short novel chapters are here, compared to a book? Mini chapters. An author should feel comfortable posting the entire real chapter in one shot. I honestly think the short chapters make the novel nearly impossible to read and enjoy, since you're only getting small chunks each day, and 24 hours is a long time to wait for another paragraph, when I can nearly finish an entire book in that time.
It definitely would be nice to write once a week for a decent reward. If this is to come it is gong to be through the different interfaces where one article will get the support, but other interfaces will hold all the other short-form crap we do day to day, without expecting it to earn much.
I was just wondering .... what happen to you :)
I'm not one to shy away from vacations and me time. I worked almost every day, for nearly three months straight. It was time to relax. That's something you folks need to get used to, following me. I leave, but always come back. If I don't, I burn out. When I burn out, I'm gone for months.
All good .... I was amazed by your pace of work, quantity and quality ....
Welcome back!
Top-down change is welcome, but we can also be a source of bottom-up change if we band together like an angry mob with pitchforks.
Thank you much.
Pitchforks... Man, I grew up on a farm. Pitchforks bring back too many memories of cleaning chicken housing facilities. Just keep piling on fresh straw, until it's about a foot deep, then scoop!
I'm looking forward to seeing this change though. I don't need to alter a damn thing, which is nice. I'll just keep doing what I've always done. At least now, when I find some bullshit, someone who typically sees and upvote from me won't lose out because I had to downvote a shithead.
If you won't pick up a pitchfork, perhaps you can be recruited to take up a pickaxe. What about a scythe? That might be more fitting...
Maybe a hatchet for each hand and a few throwing stars. Not just any throwing stars though. I'll need some with the center of mass far out to one side, so I can throw curves and spirals and really mess with people.
Welcome back, with a limp. A Go-pro attached to the helmet could have caught this amazing stunt, although it may freak you out to re-live the moment.
Where to now? The main face (I can't see any more just yet) looks hopeful of brighter days :)
I've thought about doing a moto-vlog for the past two years. I needed the time to be away from producing content though. Maybe next year. I'd actually enjoy having an instant replay feature. All you'd see is the ground approaching fast though and I'm certain the flip would have knocked the camera off, seeing as though I hit my head. I do wear helmet, so that part didn't hurt.
Brighter days ahead indeed. Hopefully things pick up. I put a lot of work into this post, plenty of hours. Hopefully there's incentive to keep pushing harder, working more. Apparently, I enjoy this. Thought about that a lot, as I limped around.
I enjoy watching the head-cam vlogs I see - there are a few cyclists who put them here occasionally.
Folks will no doubt return as the main token rises, but I suspect they will have missed the tribe boat and need to work extra hard to get noticed.
We must enjoy being here considering the insane amount of time that goes into various aspects :)
Getting noticed is always hard. I'm still trying to get noticed. It never ends. Some folks, you've seen them, they're content with a small social circle of consistent voters. Many of them earn decent money, but get about as many comments in a month as I get in a few days. That's a sad life, talking to yourself. I wonder if those folks will wise up starting Tuesday? LOL...
I was thinking of releasing something today too but the timing just didn’t seem right, like you were saying. What I’m saying is, thanks for confirming your suspicions whatever your name is.
I published all this at a bad time, intentionally. It's a secret experiment! I need to know something, in a few days, and this was the only way to find out.
If you do end up releasing something, and if said something is creative in nature, be sure to use that 'creativecoin' tag, deal?
Creative deal.
I almost didn't notice this post until I saw the fancy title and then couldn't resist looking...
Nice to see you back, hope that foot gets better quick, getting older is a pisser!
That title is one way to get attention, I'm noticing. I think I could have wrote anything there though, which is what I always do, because I think it's hilarious to be like that, and nobody else does it.
Either I'm getting older, or the ground is getting harder. Or maybe they just don't make footwear like they used to. Or maybe gravity has more, pull stuff. Or maybe the air is thinner. Or maybe I just don't know how to land those kind of jumps. Or maybe I just need to be more careful because I have more lives than a cat and I'm really pushing my luck. I could tell stories for days and they'd be all about the times I've almost died, all alone.
It's all of those things and more! But the thing to be wary of is the innocuous thing. The daft thing. The little thing, like tripping over a fold in the carpet that will do for you. :0)
Choking on a cracker or inhaling a bug while you sleep. How do you even explain that at the gates?
Maybe that's what ghosts are, people to embarrassed to pass beyond
I think sometimes the line is long, waiting becomes a partial eternity, and people just get bored, so they go home, then discover they're dead, so they do weird shit to get attention, because being normal doesn't work anymore.
It would certainly sum up their behaviour. I mean why on earth world you return only to bump and rattle. Boredom!
Hahaa...an artist with a limp makes not a lame artist!
I did...I did like your new artwork, I think the limp added a lil somethin', ya know?? lol
Maybe it's like heightened senses? The foot is ruined, so the hand is picking up the slack? That sounds stupid, but it might just be stupid enough to be one of my stupid ideas... whatever that means.
Nooo lol, not stupid, it's stoopid smart. The right hand may not know what the left hand is doing, but the foot knows...oh yeas it does
I liked the Art work, being lame does not seem to have hurt you at all. If it was a crash and burn you would be like the phoenix, but for now just a lame artist. The bottom is a good place to start. I don't know why so many people worry about being at the bottom, there is no where to fall, I guess one issue with being at the bottom is catching the ones that fall from the top, and some of them fall a long way and they hurt when they hit the bottom rung people, I know from experience having been hit one or two a few times, from those that were high up.
I think HF22 I am going to try to not say a word about, but yeah, who am I kidding. Stupid time of day or not to post, its a stupid time of day for me to still be up, so I am glad you picked a stupid time to post. I just wish the four cent rung would stop moving, then I might feel like I am making progress and regressing.
I like both the pieces, I think the top one has more going on visually for me than the bottom one, but I still keep looking at the "where to now" one. It is almost like the two pieces are polar opposites of each other, but they are both happy pictures, even though one looks like death and the other like life. You do a nice job of showing happy dead things, I guess they have different burdens than the living things.
Being a lame artist isn't so bad. Now I have an excuse to sit down and just be a lame artist.
Being at the bottom only means you can get high, and apparently, people like catching a buzz. Just the thought of moving up was all I needed for motivation when I first started out. I just wanted to get somewhere. Not settle inside a comfort zone.
Happy dead things. About death. If you were dead, and got to see someone living, how happy would you be if you saw them wasting their one chance? People zone out on these devices, constantly, for nothing, anywhere else. No matter how shitty it can be here, it's still rewarding. People take so much for granted, want more and more, for less and less. That's no way to live, something I've been thinking about a lot lately, and it's given me a good reason to stray away from the complaining committee.
It’s a relief the dirt bike survived unscathed, I imagine you would have made a graceful view taking a nose dive into a cliff. Anyway of all the bits you could have landed on at least the feet are relatively resistant - I shudder to think of a tank slapped to Crown Jewels.
I made sure to stay standing on the foot pegs as I dropped. Knew I was going over the handlebars long before I hit, was ready for it, kind of. Those tank slaps though... a guy can learn from that pretty damn quick.
So that first one up there is pretty interesting. It looks like two miniature people that are opposite poles, with very large pelvises. The pelvises are doing all the talking. That could be interpreted in a lot of ways. And then there is the miniature people with the large dancing limbs that are in the background - dancing limbs are less important than talking pelvises I guess...
The last one actually looks kind of feminine to me. Your people don't usually look like women to me. But her opposite is in the sky up there. Opposites and balance seem to be a theme with your art today, or, well, the theme I have decided to give it.
Well, at least you didn't crunch your hand or you might be typing only one paragraph with only one hand and deciding to join in on those photo challenges ;)
So does anyone know where you are going when you take off on a ride like that? I sound like your mom :)
The top one would require a lengthy description and several images that outline each individual image inside. Did you see the volcano? That's one of my favorite parts. The wild limbs can be a snail on the bottom and some of a meat eating triceratops, on top. They serve a purpose at a distance, where I'm hoping it looks like something else until folks get close. Those features only work in a room, when it's on a wall.
Nobody knows where I go when I leave, usually. I don't even know. I always try to find a new place to explore. I pack some basic survival stuff in case I need it. Been doing this for years. I wouldn't mind purchasing something designed for long distances off road, and being gone for a few months, maybe years.
I think I see the volcano, but I'm not sure. I do see the the dino/snail. Overall I'd say that when it comes to your art we might be playing with the same ball, but two completely different games :)
There is a big news story in my area of two men that went off-shore in a fishing boat and never returned. Massive search, which not surprisingly, has yielded nothing. That's what came to mind when I was reading this earlier, although the ocean is significantly less forgiving than being out in the wilderness even under bad circumstances.
The volcano is right there in the middle, erupting. These things can be whatever people want them to be though. Doesn't matter to me what anyone sees but it's always interesting to hear about.
There was time long ago when I wanted to find any job I could, on a boat. Then I got fussy and didn't want to fish. Wanted something on a sailing yacht of sorts. Something like that. Couldn't find it, without experience. Gave up and it's probably for the best. The ocean is its own world. The only problem I'd face here, is the cold, in winter.
Just standing there staring out at the horizon, it hurts the eyes and the mind as you imagine all the land falling away and you just surrounded by that endless water. Yes, I'd definitely take cold over being adrift in that.
Reading about your nose dive and front flip... You are lucky to be able to type the lines above.
Ps: I decided to open the article 😂
There's a bit of luck there indeed. Going too fast to stop in time, but still slow enough to keep the impact minimal. The natural ground is softer than pavement as well. I've slid over grass at speed. No injuries. Even gravel is pleasant compared to asphalt.
Sorry to hear about your accident hope you're doing better. Yeah breaks are meant to be broken just like rules. Reminds me of an Old English song preach not me your musty rules. Good to hear from you
It's all good. Little wipeouts and incidents are common on these bikes.
That stunt sounds amazing. Shame it wasn't caught on camera. Hope there was no long term damage to your foot.
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Can't really call it a stunt. Just physics doing its thing. I think if I caught it on camera, I'd have to wipeout often, just to keep the videos interesting. That, would most likely cause some long term damage, to something, eventually. My foot will be fine. Just a twisted ankle and some bruising on the heel. That's the foot that shifts gears though, so I can't ride!
Oh no, riding denied for a bit!
Yes, you'd probably have a short career if you were to do videos like that. Maybe sticking to art is a safer choice. 🤔 More longevity in that.
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I normally have a preference for your swirly cloudy stuff and the long stuff that I keep looking for the cat in, I think this head one is one of the first head ones that has actually spoken to me. Unfortunately I can't understand what it's saying.
:O so that cliff jump episode is one of the few times you probably should have gone faster?! D: well I'm glad you're now a lame artist rather than formerly an artist, hope you're not lame for too much longer :)
I think they speak a different language. Probably write using pictographs.
That spill wasn't even the worst one yet. Second wipeout this year. Maybe I am dead though, because these things never seem to kill me.
Maybe you're just really good at not dying :)
I always thought art galleries were unfair to artists because the gallery owners took such a large cut. It seems a bit like we're going to that model now. I do get that it will encourage curation but won't that reduce content creation at the same time? And things are already slow... I participate in some of the themed days. What you get from them are bit-sized glimpses into other people's lives and flora & fauna from around the world -- wonderful, since I have always believed the greatest purpose of the internet is to bring us together. I hope your pooched foot heals quickly.
We're still getting 100% of what's ours. A better deal to the consumer. They can invest, rather than spend and continuously burn money. Then I can go out and vote, and make up for some of these "lost" rewards. If this encourages more to buy Steem and hold it, then the value of these posts rises. I suppose the creators who don't really treat the place like a business will want to stop. Many didn't hold their tokens, so they're not in a position to earn with curation. We're all responsible for our own decisions. It's quiet now, meaning less competition and the value is low, so that means it's easier to earn more Steem. That's how many of us made thousands early on. Holding then cash out small percentages at high value times.
I like photography posts. I prefer magazine article style though, especially when voting. People buy magazines, so there's value there, in my eyes. Nobody buys a social media post. I still look from time to time but I get annoyed clicking photo post after photo post and only seeing one photo and no words. Then I look at the blog and they've been at it all day. One post with several photos and words would have been less effort, and earns more. The rest is spam and clutters up the feeds. If the site was organized better, that wouldn't be much of a problem. Some of those five minute free writes bug me. I think this response took five minutes. My post took over ten hours. Will my response earn as much as the post? Probably not! LOL!
I love doing 3-15 photo posts with write-ups. If it's travel like I did this spring, I like showing the photos and talking about them. 15 is about the limit of an attention span. Other days, I just have a couple on a subject. One of my favourite ones to look at are the short walks. It might be a hike or a walk around the neighbourhood but you get to see things unlike what you see in travel guides.
15 is probably a good number. I've noticed my art posts, when everything is put together, seems like too much all at once but it helps they've been viewed once before.
I like the photography posts a lot but for me, the photographer has to be part of the post. I always prefer personality over captions pointing out the obvious. Same with art. "Here's what I made" doesn't help me much when I don't know anything about 'I' and of course I'm not interested much in process or tutorials, since I can usually figure it out just by looking.
That's my preference. We're not all the same.
Take care of yourself!
Did the bike survive that tumble?
Everything seems fine. A few seemingly loose spokes on the front tire but I haven't thoroughly inspected it. Needed new tires anyway so might be adding a new wheel to the list as well. The front forks seem fine and that was my biggest concern. No leaks.
Congratulations @nonameslefttouse!
Your post was mentioned in the Steem Hit Parade in the following category:
Your poor foot :( Actually, fuck that, taking risks is one of the best things about this place and getting hurt is our way of remembering those risks- speaking from experience LOL
The art is stunning as usual.
Glad you're still here!