Steve Shockley's Blog, page 2

NameGen: a Random Name Generator for Writers

NameGen is a name generator for Windows computers.  Some people who may find it useful include:

Fantasy fiction authors can use it to create character names.Gamers can use it to generate character names.Business users can use it to find new product names or code names.System administrators can use it to come up with unique usernames or passwords.Linguists can use it to create words for artificial languages.The name generator algorithm can be utilized by game developer...

Idea Lab

The concept of an Idea Lab is to gather together all of the tools for coming up with ideas and brainstorming into one web workspace. I would also create my own tools by writing web apps to randomly generate ideas or aid in the brainstorming process.

Experiments

16 Tourney – Curate 16 items like I describe in .

Some Useful ToolsThis Person Does Not Exist – Use AI to generate random facesChatGPT – Chat with an AI (useful for brainstorming)Random Wik...

Interesting Notes on the Taiwanese Language

Note: This article was originally published on NotePD

I’ve lived in the US all my life and don’t look very Asian (I’m often confused for Latino or Middle Eastern), but I can speak the Taiwanese dialect of Chinese conversationally with very little accent. I picked up the language from my grandmother when I was little. It’s always fun to see the reactions of other Taiwanese speakers when I suddenly start speaking Taiwanese to them.

Here are some interesting things I’ve picked up about the Ta...

Family Cookbook: Ramen Stir-fry

My daughter really loves ramen noodles. Naturally, this is probably her favorite dinner. It’s basically ramen noodles without the soup. Since ramen itself doesn’t have much nutritional value, I be sure to load it up with chicken and vegetables, which the kids don’t mind since the ramen tastes so good.

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp oil2-3 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighsSeasoned salt3 tbsp oil3 medium bell peppers, cut into chunkshalf bag shredded carrots4 cups of boili...

Rapid Releasing 1,000 Mini Books

Writing and selling a book is unlikely to be profitable.

But what if you wrote and sold three books? Your chances increase.

How about writing and selling twenty books? Now you’re likely to make significant profits. Just look at the success of the 20BooksTo50K® Facebook Group.

What if you took it to the extreme and wrote 1,000 books? With an efficient process, lots of discipline, and a dedicated team, it’s definitely possible. If you wrote and published a short book every week, you would...

Travel Destination Ratings

So many places to go, so little time.

Whenever I plan a road trip, the first thing I do is pull out all of my travel guides and look for all the destinations along the way.  However, most travel guides merely report on what’s there, but don’t tell you if it’s worth seeing.  There can be thousands of sights along the way, but only a handful are worth pulling over and spending time and money on.  Road trips are a study in efficiency.  You only have a certain amount of time and a certain sum of ...

The Ultimate Life Bucket List

There are certain milestones that are almost mandatory for everyone, in order to have lived a well-rounded and fulfilling life. Here is a list of 70 bucket list items, one for each age from age 10 through age 79. While you don't have to do any of these things, and there is no specific order or time limit for doing any of it, if you choose to skip one you may be missing out on a life-defining experience.

History Through Movies

In a way, you can think of movies as books in video format. Instead of reading stories, you're watching them. I'd always thought it would be neat to see a timeline of the settings of historical movies. A quick search online turned up a few of good ones.

How to Write Well

To excel in writing, passion for words and reading in all forms is essential. Writers observe their surroundings, convert experiences into words, and write consistently. Writing preserves knowledge for future generations, and simplicity is key to effective writing. Building a toolbox of writing skills and mastering grammar and composition rules are crucial.

A Brief Guide to Natural Sleep Supplements

Prescription sleep aids pose serious risks such as tolerance, drowsiness, erratic behavior, balance issues, cancer risk, and habit formation. Alternatives like probiotics can improve sleep by enhancing gut health. Other natural remedies include kava, tryptophan, valerian, chamomile, and melatonin, which offer safer options for managing insomnia and improving sleep quality.