CE Wills

    The decade of the sixties was unlike any other time frame in history. Those who matured in this era have a common fear. They are afraid their children will grow up like them. Don't get mad, its a semi-joke. The strictness of parents who had fought and survived World War 2 produced a rebellious breed because excessive authority causes rebellion just about every time. It is a bit scary to think of folks from this generation with their finger on the nuclear button.       My newest novel is called Climber's Reward . Its about a guy named Beck Oswald who becomes a man while the Vietnam War is still rockin' and rollin'. Beck goes to Vietnam to escape from a prison sentence. While there he gets involved with the Phoenix Program and is tasked with assassinating KGB agents and Vietcong leaders. When he returns to the states he falls into a similar line of work, that of a contract killer. Meanwhile, he's in therapy, trying to deal with his issues. ...

    Hey, everyone. This is a track of a raccoon. I found it under water at the creek behind my house. Notice their long and nimble fingers? I had a silly post a while back about a raccoon playing a guitar. Those fingers make you wonder if they could be taught many things. Notice the thumb. By the way, some deep prints will still be discernible after several days with water flowing over them.      Today at work I saw something rather cool. I walked outside to get something out of my car. There was a mockingbird sitting on a power line. I saw a flash of color and the mockingbird sort of exploded in a barrage of feathers as a hawk hit him. A hawk gets such impetus because he folds his wings and dives like a maniac. There is no fight and there is no battle and there is no mercy. The hawk just comes from such a great height that he is an irresistible force.     The odd thing about this was not the unfortunate demise of the mockingbird, howe...

    Hey, everyone. It's overcast and 37 degrees this morning in the mountains. Although this is much better than snow or ice, and I'm grateful, the brief departure of spring is a bit of a drag. The old-timers (gee, guess this now includes me) will probably call this 'dogwood winter' because it will cause the dogwoods to bloom. A bit later we'll have 'blackberry winter' which will motivate the blackberries to do their yearly thing. The frost killed my Easter flowers but we still have some of the yellow forsynthias.     I like to go to the court house in the summer and see the old guys sitting on the tailgates of their trucks selling veggies they have grown. People stop and chat about everything, and nothing, and it somehow gives me a peaceful, easy feeling. Sounds like an Eagles song. I could sure enjoy some 'home grown' tomatoes right now. They taste a heck of a lot different than hot house tomatoes, don't they?     Oh, the blog title is ab...

    Hey, everyone. I just published a short story over on Smashwords.com. It's a good story and it's free, which is a potent combination. It's bite-sized, about 5 handwritten pages and should be ideal for your morning commute in New York and Chicago. Maybe in Singapore and Shanghai as well. It floats my boat to think about someone in China reading my story Monday morning as they sit in their cubicle at work. Maybe you'll be a bit more content to be at work after you read of this guy in a cool locale who has a baaaad day. I'll post the link below. http://smashwords.com/b/49698     Hey. By the way, I saw that Carnivores Ice Age has issued an update whereby you can now hunt an abominable snowman, called a Yeti. I got the update but I don't have sufficient points built up to hunt that dude just yet. It should be awesome! I'll be back shortly, here at the green retreat. I'm CE Wills.

    Hey, everyone. My wife and I went out to eat today and attended a movie. Like nearly all women on earth, my wife likes Matthew McConaughey. It is an added treat for her if she can see him in a good movie. The Lincoln Lawyer is a solid flick and quite entertaining.     Is it a fast-paced action film with violence and car chases? No. Is it a romance for the ages? No. Does it have nail-biting suspense? No. What it does have is an interesting story by Michael Connelly, several excellent actors plying their craft and a couple of hours of entertainment. My wife rates it as 3 stars out of 4. I would have to concur.     Matthew McConaughey does a good job as defense lawyer Mickey Haller. He's a smooth operator who operates his practice out of his Lincoln Town Car. In a curious coincidence, on the way to the theater I was behind a Lincoln and the 'T' was broken off the emblem so that all you saw was OWN CAR. Funny, right? Anyway, Mick has a lot...

    Hey, everyone. I saw a really cute video on the web the other day. You have probably seen it. A mom is blowing her nose and it scares her baby, then he starts laughing. It's really precious.      I read a nice article about Apple the other day. It was by Arnold Kim on Mac Rumors.com. It was titled, Wife Says No, Apple Says Yes. It seems that Apple is watching returns of the I-Pad 2 very closely, in order to get a jump on any potential problems. One of the returns was kicked upstairs out of amusement. The returned I-Pad 2 had a yellow sticky note on it that stated, "Wife says no". Two VP's heard about it and sent the guy a free I-Pad with a note. The note said, "Apple says yes".      Sounds like a million bucks worth of free advertising and good will. Well done, Apple.     PC World is reporting that an I-Pad 2 is being sold for 5 million pounds. It has a T-Rex thigh bone shaved into the frame. I guarantee this g...

    The game called Rage has been available for I-Pad for months. I had resisted the urge to buy it because: 1. I heard it was short in length, with very few levels because it was like a preview of the full game. The full version is supposed to come out in 2011. 2. I heard it was gory. 3. The story line seemed like it could have been better. I mean, why say that you are participating in a futuristic game show? With an ugly commentator and no Vanna White? Why not have a dramatic story line like  this? Your friend has been captured and taken underground into these creepy tunnels by a bunch of zombies so you go after him.      This game is really good. I'd rate it at least 4 stars out of 5 and probably 5 stars out of 5. For one thing I love the fact that the developers gave me an easy button. No matter how terrific a game is, it's no good if you get stuck on a difficult spot early on. Are you hearing me, Nova 2 ?     The game pla...

    Hey, everyone. Sometimes I will think of something I want to tell you when I'm not planning on doing a post. This is one of those times. I may have mentioned this long ago but it bears repeating. When you are searching for new IOS games (I-Pod, I-Phone, I-Pad ) go to you tube to look at a video. I know, I said this just lately but I wanted to tell you to type in I-Pad games, appvee, when you go to you tube. No use fighting through a bunch of 'lame' reviews to get to the good ones.     Appvee.com does a terrific job on reviews, especially Eric. More importantly, you can trust his opinion, though, of course, his taste in games may vary from yours.     Hey, did you notice I used the word 'lame', like a hardcore gamer? Maybe I'm not a casual gamer after all. ( See my post on Casual Gamer Syndrome )     Have a good week. I'm CE Wills.

    Hey, everyone. I had a thought about the I-Pad 2. The media made a big deal of the fact that the device was thinner and lighter. I thought, before I even bought it, that this was not necessarily a good thing. To me the original was not too heavy or thick. I ran across something on the web that mentioned that the glass for the screen was not as thick. If you tap the screen pretty good during the excitement of shooting a T-Rex you may feel a slight bending of the screen. Under normal circumstances I don't see this as a big deal but combine the thinner screen with a smart cover that leaves the slick metal back in contact with your hand and you have a recipe for a problem.      Part of Apple's appeal ( bad pun ) is the solid build quality of their stuff. I'm sure that it will be fine. You know you're becoming a geek when you start to worry about your toys.      I've been messing around with Garage Band just a bit. It is a very coo...

    Hey, everyone. I find myself in a bit of a peculiar situation. I've found a game I really like, yet I have to add a proviso to any recommendation. So let's get started. The game is Gunner Galaxies. It is free on the app store and it's a load of fun. Here is the thing I want to make clear. The game has the latest of the marketer ploys called in-app purchases. This is where you have the 'opportunity' to buy weapons or power-ups or gold while you're playing the game. In this case you can buy 'Galactic Credits' at a price from 99 cents to $9.99.  In a case like this I'm confused about what to "buy" and what not to buy. I think there is some free stuff you can earn for your ship etc. just by blowing stuff up but I won't get it because I don't know if it will cost me. Apple just had a big hassle with the parents of little kids who had bought a bunch of stuff on a Smurfs game, yet they allow this stuff. Here's my idea. Just charge ...

    Hey, everyone. Wish you were here. It's spring here at the green retreat. I've been doing some chores this morning and now I'm sitting in the sun listening to my I-Pod. It's cool to have several thousand songs in your shirt pocket. Songs handpicked by you and for you. There's nothing on there for anyone else.      This sunshine stuff is OK. It's hard to be depressed or irritable when you're sitting in the sun. Even here on the mountain there are flowers blooming now. Around the first of April we will have what I call the 'Green Out'. The hard woods like oak and maple and hickory will leaf out green and suddenly you are enclosed by this wall. It's a bit overpowering and it actually stops the noise from the highway from reaching the place. Not that there is much noise, anyway, from there. Noise takes people, mostly, and there are few of them around.     There's a little country church about a mile or so away as the crow flies (quaint...

    Hey, everyone. I thought that after the frivolous post about the rainbow pig, it would be a good time to get serious. So, what is more serious than a post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel by Cormac McCarthy? The title is The Road.     This was the first novel that I've read by this author. He has an odd style in many ways, but I like him. His brevity is admirable. It is impossible to read this book without feeling a tug at your heart.     The story takes place in the aftermath of a nuclear war. A man and his young son are trying to travel south on the highways of a post-apocalyptic country. They are heading south because of the cold weather caused by an atmosphere shrouded in ash. The man realizes they can never survive the winter in the northern climes.     They have no car, bicycle or vehicle of any kind. Their few belongings are stuck in a grocery store shopping cart which they have salvaged. They are faced with the daunting ...

    Hey, everyone. I mentioned my Rainbow Pig the other day. Well, since his picture went out all over the world, I'm having a bit of a problem with him. He thinks he is a rock star and his ego is hard to take. In fact, he informed me that he wants to 'bust a move' for his 'fans'. So bear with me, and him. Most days he is a good pig and his bright colors never fail to cheer me up. So, without further ado, here he is. By the way, I shot the video and took the picture with the I-Pad 2.      From the author's Rainbow Pig's retreat, I'm CE Wills. PS: I went to my I-Pad and checked my blog and Pulse. The video does not show up on either. My apologies. It shows up on my PC but alas, not on mobile devices.

     Hey, everyone. I have a few more thoughts on the I-Pad 2, which I bought Friday afternoon. If you didn't read my previous post on it, you might want to do so.      I like the device very much but it is not perfect. The thinner sides tend to hurt my hands if I hold it a long time. I prefer the chassis on the I-Pad 1. The blunt shape is more comfortable to hold.      In the previous post I talked about the Smart Cover at length. I don't recommend it. It tends to want to come off as you use the device and I prefer something I don't have to keep messing with. I have already mentioned how it doesn't want to stick to the back of the device with the magnets when you fold the cover back out of your way. It doesn't give you any cover for the back of the I-Pad 2 at all. I know that there is stuff back there you don't want to cover up, like a speaker and a camera. Despite this, I recommend that you look at some of the cases that ar...

    Hey, everyone. I've been having a great time watching the hit TV show called Baggage . As I mentioned in a previous post this game is on the Game Show Network at 9:30 PM Eastern time. The premise of the game is similar to the Dating Game but  a contestant has to choose from three people of the opposite sex as these three reveal their dark secrets and weird hangups. It is hosted by the funny Jerry Springer and the show is endlessly entertaining.      As we recently watched several episodes we had taped, I turned to my wife and suggested that we could take a note card and write down our small, medium and large baggage that we'd give Jerry if we appeared on the show. I told her a couple that I'd write down, as if she didn't know about mine decades ago. She told me which ones she'd write down and we had a few laughs about it.     My point is this. Some game developer could make a lot of money by creating a home edition of this gam...

    Hey, movie lovers. My wife and I went to see the new movie entitled The Adjustment Bureau . It is a love story combined with a sci-fi twist. It is derived from a novel by the noted author, Phillip K. Dick.      Matt Damon is in the lead role and does an awesome job as David Norris, a congressman who is running for a Senate seat in New York. He meets a lady named Elise, a ballet dancer who is played by the devastating Emily Blunt. Love her accent. David and Elise fall in love almost at once. The bad news is that there are forces at work which do not approve of their love. These forces bring a supernatural element into the love story.     The sci-fi part of the movie is a bit silly. There are these guys that wear really stupid hats which have been manipulating the planet's affairs for centuries. Their intentions are benign but the results are often cruel. Sounds like parents, right? They have plans for David to be the President of th...

    On rare occasions I demonstrate such self-discipline that I feel I must boast just a little. Today is one of those days. Knowing full well that the second generation I-Pad was emerging from its cocoon today I resisted the temptation to buy one until 5:03 PM local time. A lesser man would have doubtless had one earlier. I was told by a guy that was in front of me in line that the Apple store had a line that was out the door of the store and out of the door at the mall as well.     Of course Apple takes care of their own stores first, as far as available inventory goes, but when I went to the local Wal-Mart I was told that they were supposed to get a total of seven I-Pad 2's but the shipment did not come in. So my wife and I went to another Wal-Mart and were assured that their shipment had indeed arrived. Unfortunately they had only received seven total. Four 16 Gig WiFi only, in the black, one 32 Gig WiFi only, and two 64 Gig WiFi only. In other words, ...

    Hey, everyone. I was informed by a young person the other day that I am what is known as a casual gamer. I was somewhat aware of this but blissfully unconcerned. Upon reflection, I decided to figure out what constitutes a casual gamer and a hardcore gamer. This is tongue in cheek, so no poison e-mail, please. CASUAL 1. Plays on his phone, I-Pad, or other multi-use device. 2. Buys his own games. 3. If he bought a game that cost more than $9.99, he would need therapy to deal with the guilt feelings. 4. Does not relish a challenge. In fact, he bashes Angry Birds in app store reviews for being too hard. In fact, this person resembles Goldilocks with the porridge belonging to the three bears. This game is too hard, this game is too easy, this game is "Sigh," just right. 5. Tends to have around 100 games on his mobile device. Plays each one until slightly irritated, then deletes them. Fortunately, most of them are either free or cost 99 cents. 6. Fancies himself a ga...

    Hey everyone. I hope you are having a good week. Yesterday, when I went to work, there was a bit of a shock when I reached the valley. I live a couple of thousand feet higher, on a small mountain. There is usually about a 4 or 5 degree difference in temperature which can run as much as 10 degrees. Not a huge deal, sometimes, but if its 36 and raining in the valley, then its 31 and snowing at my house. We have snowfall similar to New York. But I digress. Right now it is spring when I get to the valley. There is Forsythia blooming yellow, Bradford Pears with their white blossoms and the pink of Crab Apples. At my house, spring runs about two weeks late, which is a drag. Its sort of like when you were a kid and the other kids had ice cream and you had a raw potato. You just feel left out.       At least I don't have to drive in snow and ice right now, so I am grateful for that. We do have a few Easter flowers blooming. I noticed that the Redbuds...

    Wow! I just watched a freakazoid movie on TV. The name of it is The Box , with Cameron Diaz.  Most of you have probably already seen it but here's the recipe. A strange guy brings a box to a couple's home in Virginia. He leaves the box on their doorstep. Inside the box is a smaller box with a glass cover. Underneath the glass cover is a red pushbutton. There is a note with the box that indicates a Mr. Steward will drop by at 5PM the following day. Well, Mr. Steward does indeed drop by.       Mr. Steward tells Cameron Diaz that if she pushes the button within 24 hours, he will give her a cool million in cash, but alas, one person she does not know, somewhere in the world, will die. Sort of the ultimate chain letter. The writer certainly has your attention at this point. Of course, moral dilemma or not, it wouldn't be a show if they didn't hit the button. We are a few minutes into the movie at this time and it hasn't started to get freaky ...

       This is an area where I used to hike a lot. It's pretty wild country yet and sometimes when you hike there are some pretty rough folks on the trails. Not in the area shown here but in some areas I guess there are people who cook meth in the woods. I really feel sorry for these folks but I don't want to be around them. The photo is courtesy of my wife, who is the picture taker in the family, by the way.       It's 38 degrees here on the mountain and there is a heavy rain falling. There have been times that I didn't have a roof over my head on similar nights and it feels good to be warm and snug. If we were a few degrees cooler we would  get a big snow, I bet. There is some flooding in the area.     I was over  on Google news a minute ago and saw an article on gaming. The president of Nintendo feels that "smartphone games" are placing the future of gaming in jeopardy. I had a post months  ago that he shoul...

    Hey, everyone. Sometimes you know a game is going to be really special by the title. This may or may not be one of those times. Today I downloaded a game from the app store. Its different and fun as well as free. That's a heck of a deal. The game is called Zombie Trailer Park .      First of all, I like the music. It does have ads at the top, during game play, even. For a very reasonable 99 cents you can upgrade to the ad free version. The game is totally worth the 99 cents because it's so darn cute. I do wish they listed the paid version on the app store directly because I don't like in-app purchases. That's probably a bit silly of me, but how do I know that it is going through the app store? I don't like typing in my password unless I am on the app store and know I'm on the app store. At any rate, I make it a practice never to say negative things about anything free so I am sorry for bringing that up.     Here's the recipe for th...

1. My belt buckle 2. My hair 3. Gasoline at 29 cents a gallon. Yes, I have seen it. 4. The bottom of the ocean, as I flew into Nassau, Bahamas. 5. Athletes who played for the love of the game. Players who would rather lose than cheat, or try to injure a good player on the other team. Best I can remember, it was called sportsmanship. 6. The Grand Canyon. 7. My wife's smile when she was young and healthy and she had not had to endure the hardships and worries of life. I wish I could have done a better job sheltering her from...life. 8. John Denver. 9. John Wayne do anything. 10.  The way Richard Gere walked when he was young, like in American Gigolo . The confidence, the health and the love of life. No, I'm not gay. 11. John Fogerty play the guitar. 12. Jerry Lee play the piano. 13. My kids when they started walking. 14. A huge bass break the water with my hook in its mouth. 15. A 1969 Plymouth Road Runner at 140 miles per hour. For all you folks in the metric syste...

    Hey, everyone. Well, this afternoon Apple is expected to unveil its latest version of the I-Pad in California. It is expected to have front and rear cameras for video calling, greater storage capacity and it's expected that the 16 gig version (like mine) will go the way of the dinosaur. I'm cool with mine as is but I have to take stuff off when I add new apps. This is especially true with the intense new games like Infinity Blade which use almost a gig by themselves. By the way, there is a new update to Infinity Blade which will be coming out very soon. It features new monsters and new levels, or so I've read.      Those of you who have waited for the I-Pad 2 before buying a tablet are probably feeling pretty good about your decision  right now. I hope you really like it. In fact, I know you'll really like it. I enjoy mine more than anything I have ever bought.      Seems to be a little lull in quality games right now. T...

    Hey, everyone. Wow, back to the salt mines today. I find myself becoming a weekend guy, just focusing on passing off the days between weekends. This seems a bit of a waste, don't you think?       Jane Russell, an actress who radiated sex appeal and charisma, passed away today at the ripe  old age of 89. She was special. I remember her starring with Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blonds. That's a lot of woman for one movie. Ms. Russell was a very religious lady in her latter life and believed in speaking in tongues. She organized prayer groups in Hollywood, which is like starting an AA chapter in a bar.       For those of you who are now using the terrific app called Stanza, may I recommend you download a good pulp fiction novel called Sin In Their Blood by Ed Lacy? Ed was one of the kings of the pulps and this is typical of the genre. It's quick starting, easy to read and interesting. I'm amazed how one get...