• Dreamshaping

    On Dreamshaping: Mission Accomplished

    October 13, 2022 /

    Mark McNease

     

    I’m on a mission. How many times have we said this to ourselves? How many times have we told it to the people around us? Being on a mission is a way of focusing our attention and energy onto whatever that mission is. For a few people there may be one overriding mission in their lives—to be an actor, a writer, a doctor, the raiser of a family—but for most of us there are multiple missions that change over time. We may be on a mission to earn a degree during our college years, or to succeed without one. We may be on a mission to raise children, or to live our fullest lives without them. We may be on a mission to lose weight, or further our careers, or even to find the kind of inner peace that surrenders missions altogether! That’s a little closer to nirvana than I will likely ever come, so I accept that I have missions. The challenge is finding the best ways to pursue them.

    It’s okay to have a goal, to see a particular destination in the distance that we work our way toward. A mission can be as narrow as arranging an event and having it go off to our satisfaction, or as wide and critical as surviving our formative years. I’ll admit I’d been on a mission to get through high school and leave the town I’d grown up in. It was among the most difficult missions of my life, but it is a mission accomplished. I made it. I thrived. I found other, less life-threatening missions to devote myself to.

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  • LGBTSR

    A New Me: Soon to Be Writing as MA McNease

    October 12, 2022 /
    Making a book sale at the Frenchtown Bookshop

    It’s not a gender-neutral thing. It’s not even a pen name, since I’ve always written under my own name, and MA are my initials. Once I finish up the last Marshall James thriller, and the sequel to A House in the Woods, I’ll be using the name MA McNease. No periods. I just feel like some renewal, and I’ve never been fond of the name Mark. (It was Marshall at birth and later changed when I was adopted.) Stay tuned. I may put out A House the the Woods 2: The Devil’s Due, under the new moniker, I’m not sure yet. Just keeping it all interesting for myself. – Mark/MA

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  • New

    There’s An App for That: DALL.E 2 Lets You Create Images from Text Using AI

    October 9, 2022 /

    Cat with magnifying glass sleuth hat cartoon style.  Those are the words I typed into my image creator at DALL.E 2, part of OpenAI.com.

    From their website:

    OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company. Our mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.

    OpenAI’s mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI)—by which we mean highly autonomous systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work—benefits all of humanity.

    We will attempt to directly build safe and beneficial AGI, but will also consider our mission fulfilled if our work aids others to achieve this outcome.

    DALL·E 2 can create original, realistic images and art from a text description. It can combine concepts, attributes, and styles.

    And I just did this one: fish on a bicycle paiting style. It doesn’t cost anything, either. Try it out!

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  • An App for That

    There’s An App for That: DALL.E 2 Lets You Create Images from Text Using AI

    October 9, 2022 /

    Cat with magnifying glass sleuth hat cartoon style.  Those are the words I typed into my image creator at DALL.E 2, part of OpenAI.com.

    From their website:

    OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company. Our mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.

    OpenAI’s mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI)—by which we mean highly autonomous systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work—benefits all of humanity.

    We will attempt to directly build safe and beneficial AGI, but will also consider our mission fulfilled if our work aids others to achieve this outcome.

    DALL·E 2 can create original, realistic images and art from a text description. It can combine concepts, attributes, and styles.

    And I just did this one: fish on a bicycle paiting style. It doesn’t cost anything, either. Try it out!

    Read More
  • Savvy Senior

    Savvy Senior: Auto Aids That Make Driving Easier and Safer

    October 9, 2022 /

    By Jim Miller

    Dear Savvy Senior,

    Do you know of any car gadgets that can help older drivers? I drive a 12-year-old car and have arthritis in my neck, back and knees which limits my mobility making it more difficult to get in and out of the car and look over my shoulder to backup.

    Almost 80 

    Dear Almost,

    To help keep older drivers safe and extend their driving years, there are a number of inexpensive products you can purchase that can easily be added to your vehicle to help with many different needs. Here are some popular auto aids to consider.

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  • LGBTSR

    Retire Fabulously’s Dave Hughes on the Where Do Gays Retire Podcast

    October 9, 2022 /

    CLICK TO LISTEN

    From the Show’s Description

    Dave Hughes is a leading authority on retirement lifestyle planning. He has written over 100 articles about retirement lifestyle planning for his website, RetireFabulously.com, and has published three books: Design Your Dream Retirement, Smooth Sailing into Retirement, and The Quest for Retirement Utopia.

    From 2016-2017, Dave was a regular contributor to U.S. News’ On Retirement blog. In 2017, RetireFabulously.com received the Best Senior Living Award from SeniorHomes.com as one of the top retirement blogs, by both reader polling and judge’s selection. Dave was named one of NextAvenue.org’s Top 50 Influencers in Aging for 2017.

    Following a successful 34-year career as a software engineer, trainer, course developer, and manager, Dave accepted an early retirement package and retired at age 56.

    You can hear my own recent interview with Dave on the One Thing or Another Podcast HERE.

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  • New

    A New Me: Soon to Be Writing as MA McNease

    October 4, 2022 /
    Making a sale at the Frenchtown Bookshop

    It’s not a gender-neutral thing. It’s not even a pen name, since I’ve always written under my own name, and MA are my initials. Once I finish up the last Marshall James thriller, and the sequel to A House in the Woods, I’ll be using the name MA McNease. No periods. I just feel like some renewal, and I’ve never been fond of the name Mark. (It was Marshall at birth and later changed when I was adopted.) Stay tuned. I may put out A House the the Woods 2: The Devil’s Due, under the new moniker, I’m not sure yet. Just keeping it all interesting for myself. – Mark/MA

    Read More
  • New

    The Great SHOCKtober Giveaway! Nine Mysteries and Thrillers FREE on Kindle for 5 Days Only

    October 1, 2022 /

    For five days, from October 1 – 5, you can enjoy nine (9!) of my mysteries and thrillers FREE on Kindle. Just CLICK ON MY AMAZON PAGE or one of the book links below and start downloading for your killer Halloween reads.

    Kyle Callahan Mysteries
    Murder at Pride Lodge
    Pride and Perilous
    Death by Pride
    Death in the Headlights
    Kill Switch
    Last Room at the Cliff’s Edge
    Reservation for Murder

    Marshall James Thrillers
    Murder at the Paisley Parrot
    Beautiful Corpse

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