#downsides of creating a twine if

[milaswriting]

wasn't going to scream about this on main at 8am but I finally got Visual Studio Code + Tweego working on my Mac !!

[barbwritesstuff]

I remember reading how much choice script (or steam??) Took off the profits u made from blood moon. It was an astronomical amount tbh. With that in mind, would you recommend choice script or itch.io for new writers?

It very much depends on what you, as a writer and game developer, are hoping to achieve. There are downsides to writing with choicescript, but there are also benefits. Ditto with Steam and itch.io. I think it's important to weigh up all the options and make your own choice based on your goals.

Breaking it down.

Choicescript is (in my opinion) the easiest coding language out when it comes to making interactive fiction. You really don't need any coding skills to be able to make a game with choicescript, which was why I used it to write Blood Moon. I had zero coding experience back in 2020 and would not have been able to make a game with Twine or Ren'py at the time.

However, choicescript is not an open source language, which means, if you want to make money off your game, you have to publish it with Choice of Games or one of their imprints (Heart's Choice or Hosted Games).

They will take 75% of royalties, which is steep, but they also have a pretty dedicated audience which you probably won't reach if you don't publish through them.

And I think those numbers are significant. My independent games, despite being pay-what-you-want, usually only get a few hundred downloads. My choicescript game has over ten thousand. 25% of $70,000 is better than 95% of $200.

Steam vs itch.io is a very similar situation.

Steam has an upload fee of $100 and takes 30% of revenue from games, but Steam also gets more than 10x the traffic than itch.io. So, while itch.io only charges a small amount in processing fees, you're probably going to get more sales from Steam.

All that said, I am bad at marketing. I also struggle with spelling, so need extra help editing and proofreading, and am still very much a novice when it comes to coding. I also do not have the money to pay for much out of pocket. I get a lot of value from working with publishers like Choice of Games because I get that extra help and support. That might not be true for you.

I've seen some independent game developers create really dedicated audiences, craft amazing games, and market themselves really well. They regularly get thousands of downloads on their games. For them, publishing with an open source language like Twine, and doing so on a more independent friendly platform like itch.io, is 100% worth it.

Doing so also gives you more creative freedom, as choicescript is very limited it what it can do.

Ultimately, it's a choice, and the right choice is going to change depending on the individual, their needs, and their goals. I'm happy to talk about this more and answer questions, because I think writers should help each other, and the best way we can do that is openly sharing information.

Hope that all makes sense. Sorry it was so long. 💙

[senditcolton]

congrats on 1k!!

may I request a “lead me to the garden” chai cookie with andrei svechnikov and the prompt “❀ gardenia (secret love) — “i don’t love you any less just because no one else can see it.”

I read it and immediately thought of your prince andrei au so maybe you could incorporate that but you don’t have to and I know i’ll still love it!!

it turned out little more angsty than expected (you can thank the Speak Now Vault Tracks for that) but i promise it has a happy ending (which you can also thank the Speak Now Vault Tracks for).

word count: 2.3k

It had been almost two months since the crown prince of Karolyna secretly proposed to you on the balcony of his room under the midnight moon.

Two months of serving Prince Andrei as his royal portrait artist while loving him behind closed doors. Two months of watching his father and other members of court urging him to marry a princess. Two months of waiting – for what, you weren’t entirely sure.

For Andrei to stand in the middle of the throne room and declare his love for you?

For him to give you the Svechnikov ruby to replace the braided twine on your finger?

For him to marry the Princess of Roslindale – a smart political match considering the tenuous friendship the countries shared – and keep you as his mistress?

For Andrei to realize that you were nothing special and abandon you for someone more suited for a prince?

He swears he loves you. He tells it to you at the end of every night you spend together. He is steadfast and determined to make your union work. But there is so much time between then and now and millions of questions to answer before that became a reality.

And even if the two of reach that moment – where you are happily married and received the new title Queen of Karolyna with the new King Andrei by your side – there would still be many obstacles to face.

If you and Andrei created a life together, it wouldn’t be easy. Hell, it wasn’t easy now but you knew in your bones that if you went through with the marriage, there would never be a moment of peace.

That was one thing that he couldn’t promise you: peace. And that terrified you.

All you wanted and yearned for was comfort and contentment and stability. That’s what got you out of bed every morning. That’s what drove you to perfect your talents. And when you were offered the job in court, you thought you were shown the path to achieving that dream.

But then you had to slam that door shut by falling in love with the one person you shouldn’t.

That pressure caused by the weight of all the possibilities and all the ways this could go wrong has you up well past midnight, the candlelight flickering around your studio the only company as you let the meditative strokes of your paintbrush soothe the wandering of your mind.

You are so caught up in your work that you don’t hear the creak of the studio door opening, focused on the image – the feeling – that you wanted to capture.

“It looks beautiful so far.”

Andrei’s voice startles you out of your state and you spin to find him lingering a few steps behind you, a candelabra in his hands and a soft smile on his face.

Part of you wanted to hate him for how beautiful he always looked, even in nothing but soft tan breeches and a white shirt. Hating him would’ve made things easier, less complicated.

You don’t give much of a reply except a small smile and you turn back to the canvas, your mind mapping out the colors still needed, examining the positioning of the bodies, looking for flaws, like you always did. One of the downsides of being an artist; you sometimes couldn’t stop looking for something else to fix.

Usually, Andrei let you work, silently sitting at your work table or milling around your studio, studying your other in progress pieces. You think that is what he was going to do now until you feel his strong arms wrap around you.

“Is it us?” he asks, staring at the gentle embrace of the lovers on your canvas.

“A fantasy of us.”

The words fall out of your mouth before you can stop them, slipping out from the most secluded parts of your heart. You can feel Andrei’s energy shift as his head pulls away from your shoulder and you know that his brow is furrowing in confusion.

“What do you mean; fantasy?”

You knew if you spoke the truth, voiced the fears that had been lingering in your mind and haunted you every waking moment, you knew what his response would be:

I don’t love you any less just because no one else can see it.

It was a pretty lie, one that you believed long ago. But now… you don’t think the lie could sustain you anymore.

You weren’t royalty. You weren’t cut out to be a royal. And even if Andrei could uphold his word, there was still so much trouble that could come from your marriage. Your union could snub many powerful allies. The people of Karolyna may never accept you, no matter how much they loved their prince.

You wanted the people to love you but more importantly, you never wanted to turn them against Andrei. Which you could easily do by loving him. You could put him at risk from assassins, rioters, malcontents. And if that happened, you would never forgive yourself.

You loved Andrei. You loved him so much that you knew that the choice you had debated pursuing was the right one.

So, instead of responding to him, you set down your paintbrush and your hand moves to your fingers. Your fingertips trace the braided pattern of the canvas strands one more time before they grip the edges of your makeshift ring and pull it off your finger.

With a small shrug, you shake from Andrei’s hold, feeling his touch disappear from your body before taking one final deep breath before facing him. You can’t stop the way your heart aches when you see the bewilderment on his face. And you knew that that aches would only worsen the more you continue.  

But you had to go through with it.

Wordlessly, you grab Andrei’s hand, memorizing the way it feels in yours before you place the woven twine into his palm, closing his fingers around it.

“It’s very beautiful,” you whisper, the word slightly sticking in your throat. “But it’s not for me.”

“What do you mean?” he asks, his own voice thick with hesitation.

“I can’t do this Andrei. Marry the Princess Patrycja, bring peace to your kingdom and country, fall in love with someone who deserves you. This is what’s best. Trust me.”

“But… you are the one I want,” he exclaims, his accent coming in stronger than it had previously. And before you can stop him, he reaches out and pulls you into his arms, one of his hands lifting your chin, forcing you to look in his eyes.  “I don’t want anyone else but you.”

The way he says those words almost makes you relinquish control, ready to rescind all your previously spoken words. But you know you shouldn’t.

“I can’t accept that,” you repeat.

“Why not?”

“I just can’t, Andrei.”

“Please. Talk to me,” he begs, pulling you tighter and you have to force your eyes close before you lose yourself in his deep brown irises. You can feel his chest heave underneath your palms as he speaks again. “Please.”

His voice breaks as the last word falls from his mouth, a perfect punctuation to his desperate plea and this time, you can’t stop the tears from rolling down your cheeks. You bury your face into his chest and he grips you tighter. And from the way he is holding onto you like a lifeline makes a part of you believe that he would never let you go. Or perhaps, it was because he knew this was the last time he would get to hold you like this.

The thought makes you sob harder and you curse fate, thinking that there was nothing crueler than for it to bring you to the man who made you feel complete only to have you meet him in a place where your love could never work.

“I love you,” you say, the words falling freely. “You have to believe me when I say that. And I know that a part of me will always love you. But it’s not enough. I used to think it would be but…”

You sniff, pushing back any lingering tears as you lift your head. After brushing away the droplets still on your skin, you take a deep breath before you step back. Your heart breaks a little more when you feel Andrei’s hands fall from you without a fight. But you build that necessary wall, as strong and impenetrable as the outer barricades of the very castle you stood in.

“I will continue my work if you need anything else from me, your royal highness. If you are no longer satisfied with my work or my presence, I will relinquish my role here,” you say, your voice shifting into the professional detached tone that you had perfected long ago.

Andrei doesn’t say anything else. He must have realized that there was nothing he could say to make you change your mind. Instead, you are forced to watch his own face shift into polite indifference as he gives you a small nod before turning heel and exiting out the door of your studio, once again leaving you alone with your paint and candles.

There was a time when you thought that having Andrei by your side, knowing that he would die for you, would be enough to pull you through all the hardships that you would face.

Perhaps it would’ve worked if he wasn’t the prince and you weren’t the royal painter. But it wasn’t meant to be. Not in this life.

But maybe in the next.

*~*~*~* 164 years later *~*~*~*

There was a certain kind of peace that washed over you every time you entered an art museum. You could never explain it, even to your closest friends, but it was a part of you, as real as the blood pumping through your veins.

The pictures of history, of memory, of myths, of fantasy, of emotions. All painstakingly brought to life by someone using nothing but paint and some canvas. All collected and put on display for you to enjoy.

So, when you were lucky enough to enjoy a trip to Italy over the summer, you knew for a fact that you had to visit the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan to see the foremost collection of famous masterpieces. You had spent hours wandering the expansive hallways, taking in all the artwork lining the walls and you swear that you could spend all day here.

You wander into the thirty-eighth room and look around, incredibly happy to discover that there were still new pieces of art for you to see and examine. You are about to start your usual path around the perimeter of the room before a painting in the small center wall catches your eye.

It wasn’t anything special: it was an oil painting of two lovers embracing, portrayed in the stylings of classic Romanticism. But there was something inexplicable, some indescribable force, that drew you towards the canvas, the sound of your shoes echoing as you walk over.

When you reach the painting, you immediately bend over to read the plaque next to it.

“The Kiss or ПОЦЕЛУЙ was discovered in a hidden unknown room of the St. Petersburg Palace in Moscow, Russia twenty years ago. The artist and origin of this painting are unknown, although based on technique, subject matter, and location of discovery, some postulate that the painting may have originated in the small country of Karolyna, a monarchic city-state that was absorbed by Russia shortly after the Bolshevik government took power.”

You look up at the oil painting, your eyes dancing over the brushstrokes. It was beautiful. You could see the detail the artist put into every portion of the canvas. But it was more than just aesthetically pleasing. You swear you could feel the exact emotions the artist felt when it was painted.

The way the female subject grasped her lover’s shoulder, as if she never wanted to let him go. The way the male subject cradled her head, letting her know she was safe. How his hand was resting on her cheek with the utmost tenderness, a gesture of true love.

“It’s very beautiful.”

The accented voice pulls you out of your reverie and you turn towards the sound.

Perhaps it was the feeling the painting caught you in still lingering on the edges of your consciousness, but you swear you recognize the man standing next to you. You had never met him before, that much was certain. But there was something about him – the cut of his jaw, the fall of his hair, the warmth of his brown eyes – that made you feel as if you had always known him.

“It is,” you reply.

“Are you a fan of art?” the stranger asks, still staring up at the framed portrait.

“Yeah. Wherever I go, I have to stop at the local art museum. You?”

“My friends think it’s odd, considering my profession, but I’ve always been drawn to artwork. Especially paintings.”

“You made a good choice then. There are so many beautiful paintings out there in the world. Including this one,” you say, your voice light as you turn your body towards him. The stranger mirrors your movements and the moment your eyes connect, butterflies erupt in your stomach. And if you were as good at deciphering real people as you were at interpreting artwork, it seemed like he had a similar reaction.

Years from now, when the two of you are huddled over a cardboard box of photos – a collection of the life you made – you will think back to this moment. The time you met in a crowded room in a foreign country.

There was no proof that you were meant to find each other or that you were meant to be together. But you both just knew.

Your love story started the moment he held out his hand to you, an achingly familiar smile on his face.

“Hello. My name’s Andrei.”

[dragonfreckles]

Adding on to this with some of my favorites!!

Winged Canvas (love love LOVE these guys! they have tons of tutorials and streams for just about anything regarding 2D art and animation)

chupuko (live2D animation tutorials! goes over the whole process from drawing the model to setting it up in vtube studio. her tutorials were what inspired and taught me to make my own vtube model)

Blender Guru (goes over the basics of 3D modeling program Blender, his donut tutorials are kinda considered the classic starting point for beginners)

And some programs:

ibisPaint X (free, lots of tools available including one for comic paneling. can get it on your phone)

Aseprite ($20, for pixel art, you can find it on Steam)

Live2D Cubism (free but also has a paid version with some extra features. used for animation and rigging, and usually the go-to for rigging vtube models but can be used for other animation too. i'd recommend just getting the free version, it has everything you need and the paid version is pretty pricey)

FlipaClip (free animation app, you can get it on your phone)

Procreate Dreams ($20. procreate's animation app, but i wouldn't recommend it as of now since it's still pretty shoddy and missing a lot of core features. i'll put it in here regardless since it's the one i have experience in)

ToonSquid ($10. for animation as well. haven't tried this one yet but i've heard it's pretty good! i've been considering getting it to replace Dreams actually just haven't decided yet)

Shotcut (free, video editing)

Audacity (free, audio editing)

OBS Studio (free live streaming/recording software)

OpenUtau (free vocaloid alternative. an updated version the original UTAU, you don't need to change your locale for this version and it's compatible with all UTAUloids. shareware so anyone can create a voicebank for the program, the main downside is that there's no one place to find a voicebank so you gotta hunt for em a little, but here's Kasane Teto and Adachi Rei - ignore the "download faster" thing to the left of the screen for Rei, it's not necessary to download the file and idk why it's there either. and you only need one of the voicebank downloads from each of em it depends on which language/voicebank type you wanna use so it's probably best to look into that a little bit first)

RPG Maker (pricey, but a solid game development engine. it has a ton of different iterations so i'd recommend doing lots of research before settling on anything, but it's a good tool if you're interested in game design. there are also a lot of plugins made by community members that can really enhance your game, my favorite plugin dev is Caethyril! They have a bunch of free plugins for both MV and MZ - and here's their tweaks for MZ as well!)

Ren'Py (free visual novel maker)

Twine (free choose-your-own-adventure maker that you can use on your browser, just be careful about clearing cookies cause it'll clear your Twine stuff as well. there is also a downloadable version though)

Unity (free 3D game development software)

Unreal (another free 3D game development software)

cheer, resources be upon ye!

Can't afford art school?

After seeing post like this 👇

And this gem 👇

As well as countless of others from the AI generator community. Just talking about how "inaccessible art" is, I decided why not show how wrong these guys are while also helping anyone who actually wants to learn.

Here is the first one ART TEACHERS! There are plenty online and in places like youtube.

📺Here is my list:

Proko (Free)

Marc Brunet (Free but he does have other classes for a cheap price. Use to work for Blizzard)

Aaron Rutten (free)

BoroCG (free)

Jesse J. Jones (free, talks about animating)

Jesus Conde (free)

Mohammed Agbadi (free, he gives some advice in some videos and talks about art)

Ross Draws (free, he does have other classes for a good price)

SamDoesArts (free, gives good advice and critiques)

Drawfee Show (free, they do give some good advice and great inspiration)

The Art of Aaron Blaise ( useful tips for digital art and animation. Was an animator for Disney)

Bobby Chiu ( useful tips and interviews with artist who are in the industry or making a living as artist)

Second part BOOKS, I have collected some books that have helped me and might help others.

📚Here is my list:

The "how to draw manga" series produced by Graphic-sha. These are for manga artist but they give great advice and information.

"Creating characters with personality" by Tom Bancroft. A great book that can help not just people who draw cartoons but also realistic ones. As it helps you with facial ques and how to make a character interesting.

"Albinus on anatomy" by Robert Beverly Hale and Terence Coyle. Great book to help someone learn basic anatomy.

"Artistic Anatomy" by Dr. Paul Richer and Robert Beverly Hale. A good book if you want to go further in-depth with anatomy.

"Directing the story" by Francis Glebas. A good book if you want to Story board or make comics.

"Animal Anatomy for Artists" by Eliot Goldfinger. A good book for if you want to draw animals or creatures.

"Constructive Anatomy: with almost 500 illustrations" by George B. Bridgman. A great book to help you block out shadows in your figures and see them in a more 3 diamantine way.

"Dynamic Anatomy: Revised and expand" by Burne Hogarth. A book that shows how to block out shapes and easily understand what you are looking out. When it comes to human subjects.

"An Atlas of animal anatomy for artist" by W. Ellenberger and H. Dittrich and H. Baum. This is another good one for people who want to draw animals or creatures.

Etherington Brothers, they make books and have a free blog with art tips.

As for Supplies, I recommend starting out cheap, buying Pencils and art paper at dollar tree or 5 below. For digital art, I recommend not starting with a screen art drawing tablet as they are more expensive.

For the Best art Tablet I recommend either Xp-pen, Bamboo or Huion. Some can range from about 40$ to the thousands.

💻As for art programs here is a list of Free to pay.

Clip Studio paint ( you can choose to pay once or sub and get updates)

Procreate ( pay once for $9.99)

Blender (for 3D modules/sculpting, ect Free)

PaintTool SAI (pay but has a 31 day free trail)

Krita (Free)

mypaint (free)

FireAlpaca (free)

Libresprite (free, for pixel art)

Those are the ones I can recall.

So do with this information as you will but as you can tell there are ways to learn how to become an artist, without breaking the bank. The only thing that might be stopping YOU from using any of these things, is YOU.

I have made time to learn to draw and many artist have too. Either in-between working two jobs or taking care of your family and a job or regular school and chores. YOU just have to take the time or use some time management, it really doesn't take long to practice for like an hour or less. YOU also don't have to do it every day, just once or three times a week is fine.

Hope this was helpful and have a great day.

[allcap-nostones]

Week 11: Artist Statement + Pre-Final Iteration

When people are faced with the concept of reality shifting, often their first reaction is to dismiss the practice and the people who take part in it due to it's absurdity.

With this project, ideally, viewers will be educated on reality shifting and why it is so tempting, and therefore be more sympathetic to those who partake in it. At the same time, the game serves to criticize reality-shifting as a cooping mechanism due to it's harm in the long run.

Goals:

Create an engaging narrative that allows the viewer to sympathize with the main character and the people that they represent

Create an engaging narrative that allows the viewer to recognize the harm reality-shifting does in the long run

Create an experience that allows the viewer to get the message on a single playthrough (for display's sake)

Create an isolated environment for the game to exist in (sounds impossible)

I think this part was a week 10 thing looking at everyone else's blog, but I was having a crisis so now it's a week 11 thing yippee :>

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Important progress was made in Week 11, mainly the solidification of the game mechanics.

I told Soomi that reality shifting is like smoking, it feels great in the moment but will harm you in the long run.

As the main character goes about their day, they will face different events that they will have the choice to react to. There is a stress meter. Certain choices will increase the character's stress, and other choices will lower it. Reality shifting serves as quick way to lower the player's stress if it gets too high.

The downside is, if the play chooses to reality shift too often, the MC will lose the ability to navigate tougher situations properly as the game progresses.

I plan on creating three ends, with each ending you get depending on how high your stress level is. I haven't come up with good ones yet.

For the final prototypes, I plan on creating a mock version of the game in Twine to demonstrate the mechanics. Hopefully nothing too complicated.

Ye that all. Until next time!

[britishassistant]

But I Like One Piece (20)

They all turn to stare at him.

“Dear? How do you know that?” Okaa-san says.

Otou-san shakes his head and sits down heavily on the stairs. “The manufacturer for those weapons is in Yukigakure. Just like the incriminating ryo left at the scene of that theft.”

Oh.

Oh sweet Merry.

She mutters, “Shika said—when we were talking about the theft, he said it had to be an inside job, because an outsider couldn’t know anything. But if they were like me—if they’d read the comic based on Konoha in their past life, they would know. They’d know almost everything even if they never set foot here.”

She swallows, throat suddenly dry. “If it was plot-relevant, then they’d know more about what was valuable and how it was defended than people who’d lived here their whole lives. They’d even know the weaknesses of the ninja sent after them, if those ninja were major characters.”

Otou-san nods. “And if he or she needed to finance the manufacture of those weapons, what could be easier than to steal something from here and sell it to another hidden village?”

She sits down heavily on the stairs.

Her heart’s pounding too fast. The side of her head is throbbing in time with the beat.

“Well.” Okaa-san coughs. “That’s mildly terrifying.”

She lets out a humorless chuckle at the understatement.

Horror wars with elation in her brain. Elation at the knowledge that she isn’t alone here.

Horror at the idea of someone knowing everything about this place and deciding to use that knowledge for their own gain. If robbing Konoha wasn’t low for them, would they stoop to manipulating Naruto, Sakura, Uchiha? To hurting them to get their way, change a narrative they don’t like?

“But Iruka-sensei said Yukigakure gave us those guns for less money than they gave them to other villages.” Naruto says suddenly. “Maybe that’s the not-Mayu’s way of making it up to us?”

“You think villains who would commit such an unyouthful action would be capable of feeling guilt?” Lee says doubtfully. “Shouldn’t we tell Gai-sensei about this?”

“We can.” Otou-san sighs. “But I’m not sure how helpful it would be. Nara-san said Yamanaka-san knew about the Yuki connection between both the theft and these “guns”. For all we know, the price reduction could be a concession negotiated between the Hokage and the thief, and we just have a morsel of knowledge about that deal which would endanger Mayu more than it would help the village.”

She fidgets, tracing the scar on her lower lip.

Lee’s brows are furrowed, his mouth pulled down in a frown.

Okaa-san reaches out and smooths a hand over his hair. “Why don’t we get Ichiraku’s and sleep on it? I think Sanji would agree we’ll all make better decisions with some ramen in our bellies.”

Naruto springs to his feet. “Yeah! Ramen’ll fix everything, believe it! C’mon, I’m hungry, let’s go, let’s go!”

It doesn’t quite fix everything, she reflects later as she descales and fillets the pike for the offerings tomorrow. There’s still another reincarnated person who robbed the village, had her father take the fall for their crime, and is now mass-producing the very weapon that killed her past self, which they can do next to nothing about.

But ramen smoothed out the crease in Lee’s brow when they all agreed it was better to tell Gai-sensei than not. It lightened the mood and made everything this day had thrown at them seem a little less important in light of the celebrations planned for tomorrow.

Their small garden is now even smaller thanks to the a large wooden structure that sits next to the back fence.

It’s a bit like a cross between a shed and a greenhouse, if it only had three walls and no doors or windows. The roof is curved and the walls are sturdy, to protect the shrines inside from the elements.

There’s a length of thick white rope fastened with red twine inside the front gable, which is meant to ensure that the shrines are protected from malicious spirits.

Each one of the shrines has a small building that is sealed automatically once the shrine has been assembled, keeping a small object for the deity to inhabit safely locked away from prying eyes. There’s a small recess before this structure, for offerings to be placed, and a little column that puts them above the eye level of a kneeling person.

They’d debated setting aside a space for the shrines in the living room inside the house, to ensure they could be protected and cared for. But she kept getting impulses of outside, of wind and rain, freedom, that eventually they decided it was better than keeping them cooped up inside.

Plus this way, Luffy can’t raid the fridge as easily.

She’s already found certain small cuts of cooked meat have gone missing. If he’s anything like the manga, then she’s not giving him the chance to clean out the entire fridge.

They’ve been working on constructing it and the shrines on weekends and in the mornings during training. According to Gai-sensei, it’s excellent practice for C-rank missions.

Now all that’s left is to paint the structure and the ten shrines housed within.

Working out what to set out as offerings for tomorrow had been a challenge and a half.

For the most part, the Strawhats can be grouped into small sections of what they will and won’t eat.

Nami and Chopper are fruit lovers. Sanji, Zoro, Brook and Usopp are partial to seafood. Luffy, Franky, and Robin are happy with beef and other land-based meats.

However, Zoro, Sanji and Brook like varieties of seafood that are difficult to get in Konoha— octopus, lobster and prawns are expensive and hard to find, while sea king meat just doesn’t exist here. At least Zoro is happy enough with a traditional plate-2-bowls meal with rice.

Robin prefers sandwiches, and she’s not quite sure if the burgers Franky loves fit into that criteria. Chopper can’t stand spicy or bitter foods, but Zoro and Robin dislike sweets.

She’s just thankful that Luffy, Nami Usopp, and Merry are so easy to feed. Pike’s one of the few fish that Konoha doesn’t need to import, so it and tangerines relatively inexpensive.

There’s no chance of combining all their preferences into one dish. Her head hurts just imagining the clash of flavors.

So she had to somehow come up with a way of creating a meal that would (hopefully) make each of the pirates she idolizes happy.

No pressure.

Chouji ended up being her savior in this respect.

And maybe Uchiha did as well, but only a teeny tiny bit.

She’d been brainstorming different versions of meals she could try making that would satisfy everyone, but kept coming up short.

The added tension from Sakura’s friendly-again-but-still-not-quite-sitting-back-at-their-table thing at this time wasn’t exactly helping her think either.

“I’ve got cola, coffee, tea, heck even sake, but still no idea on what to pair any of them with.” She complained, tapping her pencil against the list in front of her.

Chouji had leaned over, a thoughtful look on his face. “Why not make them lunchboxes? That way you can make lots of things in smaller amounts and personalize each lunchbox for each of them.”

“Hm. That is a good idea.” She gnawed on her lower lip. “Only downside is working out when I can cook what and how much time the preparation of each portion is going so everything in the bentos is relatively fresh for when it’s offered... how much d’you think eleven more lunchboxes would cost?”

She’d just begun sketching out lines for a tentative timetable when Uchiha complained, “Why do you think you’ve gotta do everything on your own?”

She looked up, a little offended. “I’m not praying for help with this, are you mad? That’d be like asking someone to bake their own birthday cake.”

“What Sasuke means,” Chouji intervened. “Is that we could always split the work three-ways between us, and bring it to your house on the day?”

She blinked. “You...you guys would help me like that?”

Chouji smiled, then made a squeak of surprise when she lunged over the table to hug him tightly. “Thank you.”

“I have lunchboxes to spare.” Uchiha drawled. “Plus someone’s got to make sure you don’t mess up.”

She had then let Chouji go so she could boot Uchiha in the shin.

As a result of this arrangement, when she wakes up on The Day, all she has to worry about is preparing the pasta for Sanji, Nami and Usopp’s lunchboxes after training with Gai-sensei.

She’s almost worried that her timining be a little delayed because Gai-sensei grabs her in a bone-creaking hug when she arrives at training and spends about three minutes weeping over how youthful she is.

He then makes them run fifty times around the village balancing the paint pots they’ll be using later to ensure that the paint is agitated enough “so its most YOUTHFUL colors will shine through!!”

They nearly lose the purple when Naruto fumbles slightly over a root.

She bolts down her food at breakfast.

She puts on more rice again in preparation for the sesame onigiri, and pulls out a pot to fill with water that’s set to boil and a pan to gently heat some oil on the stove.

She smashes a clove of garlic and drops it in when the oil has begun to smoke gently, deseeding and dicing up some chilis and tossing them in as well for flavor.

She can’t help her grin when the heady spicy-savory scent fills the air, finely chopping capers and anchovies to toss in once she’s fished out the smashed garlic.

The scent mellows somewhat when the diced pike hits the pan as well, and she pushes it around until the fish is almost-but-not-quite cooked through.

Then in with a generous glug of wine and the heat is turned down to a gentle simmer to let the alcohol cook off.

Just in time for the rice to have cooked and cooled enough to begin mixing with yellow and black sesame seeds and begin forming into ten onigiri.

They don’t have any fillings other than the sesame, because they’re designed to take the edge off the stronger flavors of the pasta (her) and the takoyaki (Chouji), as well as serve as a substitute for a sesame topped bun accompanying the hamburger steaks (Uchiha).

The others begin to arrive at around ten.

Sakura and the Harunos arrive first alongside Ino and her dad.

She shouts a hello as Naruto and Lee lead Ino and Sakura through the kitchen to the back garden, nails orange with peeled tangerine.

Ino darts forward and steals two slices, chortling in response to her indignant “Oi!” and passing one to Sakura, who grins as she nibbles on their way out.

Yamanaka-san is totally at home chatting with Gai-sensei and Otou-san, but he snickers when Nara-san immediately gravitates towards him when he arrives. Shikamaru gives her a nod as he follows the adults outside and she puts the pasta on to boil.

She’s set aside two extra tangerines for when Shino and his father arrive. After all, she, Chouji and Uchiha are making enough to feed eleven deities and many many people, so shouldn’t their insects also be able to eat as well?

Shino’s dad stares at her inscrutably when she explains her reasoning, before accepting the fruit with a nod and a “thank you” barely audible over a loud buzzing.

Shino shifts from one foot to the other during this exchange before gently tugging his father’s sleeve. It occurs to her as she drains the pot-full pasta and adds the sauce alongside a cup of boiling water to emulsify everything that this might be the closest she’s ever seen him to being embarrassed.

Chouji and his dad arrive as she’s sprinkling in some parsley as a finishing touch.

They’re both carrying huge containers full of takoyaki and cooked spring greens, and she spares a small moment to be envious of all the amazing things Chouji’s family can afford to do.

Then she launches Chouji another hug to thank him for all his help once he’s set his cargo down.

He squeaks like he did last time and Akimichi-san laughs loudly, for some reason.

Iruka-sensei and Uchiha arrive with eleven lunchboxes, two dogs, Kiba and his mum, and Hinata in tow.

Uchiha keeps sneaking what appear to be morsels of meat to Akamaru and Kuromaru.

There’s also a pale-eyed frowning boy who Iruka-sensei introduces as Hyuuga Neji, Hinata’s cousin who’d been sent along to act as her chaperone.

The boy sniffs disdainfully when they greet him and goes to stand in a corner of the garden near Mebuki, completely ignoring Lee when he waves to him.

She doesn’t think she likes Hinata’s cousin very much.

The lunchboxes Uchiha brought are black lacquer decorated with gold and red tomoe, much fancier than anything she’d been expecting.

When questioned, he just shrugs and says, “It’s just old stuff from New Year’s. It’s just taking up space at home, so it’s better off here.”

She knows better than to say anything like “sorry”, so she just pats his shoulder and says “No, that compartment’s too small for the onigiri, put it in this one.”

“That’s way too big, it looks tiny in that one.” Uchiha snaps, but with a bit less bite than usual.

Iruka-sensei looks mildly overwhelmed by all the people in the back garden. Okaa-san comes along, hands him a drink, pats his shoulder and says “They’re in my house,” in a sympathetic tone.

Iruka-sensei gives her a pitying look and knocks the sake back in one go.

Adults here can be weird.

Finally they’ve finished serving and she calls out “Food’s up!”

The adults come in to help take the larger platters of food outside, a huge plate of pasta, several smaller hamburger steaks in the style of what they’d call “sliders” in her world, and mound upon mound of takoyaki and spring greens and tangerines.

There’s a clamor outside as people begin getting their portions.

She, Chouji and Uchiha are each balancing either three or four lunchboxes per person as they take them outside.

Sakura is helping Kiba paint a pattern of cherry blossoms across Chopper’s already vibrantly pink shrine. Evidence of her handiwork on Robin’s shrine is clear is the decoration of swirling petals and the streaks of matching purple paint all over her forehead.

Ino and Naruto obviously have had a battle over the orange judging by the splashes on their hands and clothing. On the plus side Nami and Luffy’s shrines are looking particularly colorful.

Shikamaru and Hinata are splotched with green, light blue and black-and-white. Lee is smudged with brown, cyan and white paint and beaming proudly.

Shino has yellow paint on the end of his nose and is looking at the detailed illustrations of insects on the sides with pride.

The only shrines that aren’t quite done are Sanji’s, which has a blue overcoat but no decoration, and Zoro’s which doesn’t have half its roof painted yet.

“We were waiting,” Naruto says, holding out two buckets of green paint and blue respectively, “For you guys to add your bits.”

She beams at him.

Of course, Uchiha has to ruin it by immediately grabbing the green.

“What?” He says, offloading his three lunchboxes onto Kiba. “I’ll give it back once I’m finished with it.”

Ino rolls her eyes and shoulders her paintbrush, adding another orange splotch to her outfit. “Ugh. I’ll help Mayu-chan, it’s better to get it done quickly. Let’s go before the food gets cold.”

Orange, red, and yellow fish on the blue background are much more vibrant and eye-catching than green, though Uchiha does “help” by flicking the paintbrush at her while she’s distracted.

In thanks, she smears yellow on the back of his neck.

After the extra decorations are finished, Lee, Sakura and Kiba redistribute the lunchboxes to make their offerings.

The only problem is there’s eleven of them and ten lunchboxes.

“You all go ahead.” She steps back. “I’ll do the next bit.”

Each one of them place the pirate lunchboxes down in front of the shrines and step back.

For some reason, she feels like traditional prayers and chants appropriated from the sage guy won’t really be all that welcoming to them.

But then, what? What could help them feel at home at these shrines, so far from the sea?

Her gaze falls on Brook’s shrine.

Oh.

Oh, well it’s obvious when it’s put like that, isn’t it?

She just hopes she remembers the words correctly. She doesn’t want to butcher them on accident.

“Yohohoho, yohohoho~ Yohohoho, yohohoho~”

Her voice sounds frail and quiet, and she can feel everyone’s eyes on her. Still, she stumbles through the last two refrains of yohohoho’s to the first verse.

“Binksu no sake wo, todokei ni yuku yo, umikaze, kimakase, namimakase~ Shio no mukou de, yuhi wo sawagu, sora nya, wao kaku tori no uta~”

Naruto joins in on the next verse, singing along slightly out of tune and mixing up some of the words.

His cheeks look as flushed as hers feel, and it’s hard not to giggle when they catch each other’s eyes. Somehow they both manage to keep singing.

Gai-sensei and Lee boisterously shout DON alongside them as they join as well, Gai-sensei’s voice strong and sure, while Lee’s volume makes up for any deficiencies in wording. She almost can’t hear Okaa-san’s melodious voice and Otou-san’s decidedly tone-deaf one join in on the second set of Yohohoho’s over their noise.

Sakura and Ino’s voices are both high-pitched, but they carry the tune well enough. So does Kiba, though he’s pitching up to a falsetto for some reason. Hinata’s voice is soft, but she’s genuinely singing, unlike Shikamaru and Sasuke who’re mumbling through all the bits apart from the yohohoho’s. Shino is monotone if precise and enthusiastic, while Chouji has a surprising set of pipes on him.

Akamaru is just howling to the beat. And with that accompaniment, how could anyone stop themselves from singing along?

It feels like more people than could possibly fit into their house and garden are bellowing Bink’s Sake together by the time they’ve reached the third set of Yohohoho’s.

It can’t exactly be called “harmonious”. Everyone’s a little out of tune, a little off beat.

But the mixing of all the voices of her family and friends feels so right, it makes her voice stronger, lets her sing louder.

She opens her eyes and nearly chokes on the next note.

Hovering in front of the brightly painted shrines, slightly faded but gaining color and substance with every passing moment, They stand.

Merry appears in all her glory, as if in mid- sail. Brook is playing his violin, a foot tapping to the beat. Franky is winding up for his SUPA pose, grinning broadly. Robin is resting a hand on Chopper’s hat. Chopper himself is peeking at them the wrong way round from Robin’s leg.

Sanji’s tapping out his cigarette with a grin and giving a small salute. Usopp is waving to them, like a captain would to his 8,000 followers. Nami’s blowing a kiss as if to adoring fans.

Zoro...is climbing over the garden fence and jogging to take his place in front his shrine next to the others. Nami shoots him a Look while Luffy laughs at him, sitting in mid air and clapping his feet together.

The Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates then turns to her and gives her a wide grin.

She blinks away tears as he and his crew fade away with the last notes of the song.

The food in the lunchboxes is gone.

The food on Naruto’s plate is also gone.

In fact, all the food in the immediate vicinity appears to be gone.

It’s just that Naruto looks down at his plate and yells in indignation first.

She lets out a wet laugh. “Darn it Luffy.”

[rhinozilla]

Whumptober Day 20: Trembling

Summary:  It's Tina's turn to keep Connor company at the facility while his damaged thermal regulator is undergoing repairs. They're both tired and just want this to be over.

--

The damage to Connor’s thermal regulator had been…well, the technician had described it as “catastrophic,” which…wasn’t a word anybody wanted to hear.

The upside was that it could be repaired.

The downside was that they had to remove it in order to perform the repairs.

No thermal regulator meant he wasn’t…regulating his…thermals…whatever, he was in a state of perpetual overheating. That was the gist that had been communicated to Tina through the game of telephone that the squad had been playing every time they changed shifts sitting with him at the facility. She was currently well into hour two of her turn, but mercifully he’d been in rest mode for most of it.

Without the regulator keeping his internal temperature in check, the facility had had to resort to dumping him in an ice bath about three hours ago. Tina could see the temperature of the water on the monitor screen mounted to the wall of his private patient room…It was fucking cold. The monitors also showed his internal temperature and his stress levels…both too high.

Tina shifted in her seat, and the cheap, rubbery cushions of the chair creaked. She was barely sitting on it anyway, perched on the edge and leaning forward with her arms folded on the wall of the tub that they’d dunked Connor into. Only his head and shoulders weren’t submerged in the slushy icy water, but cold compresses were being routinely replaced over his forehead and the underside of his neck where his head was resting on the lip of the tub. At some point in his sleep, he had turned his head toward her, enough to unbalance the compress on his forehead. He was twitching every so often, like his body was trying to figure out how to shiver in response to the cold.

The monitors on the wall had all kinds of charts with squiggly lines tracking the activity in his cranial processor. If she had to guess, between the twitching and the half formed words mumbling mutely past his lips, she’d say he was dreaming.

Huh, an android dreaming.

“What do you guys dream about?” she asked softly, lifting one hand and lightly flicking that rogue lock of hair hanging over his forehead. “For some reason, I’m picturing a Pacman arcade game.”

Connor’s eyes remained closed, his LED a sluggish yellow, but his brow was furrowed as he slept on. Tina propped her chin on her forearm, her other hand brushing that little sprig of hair back and forth, back and forth. She eventually started to gently curl it around her finger, loosening it only to curl it again.

“Like…you’re just om-nom-nomming through this grid, but instead of yellow balls it’s like…coins…because of your whole coin thing. Maybe instead of fruit, there’s…thirium juice boxes or something…Would the ghosts be…criminals?” She snorted and took her hand back, rubbing at her face. “God, what am I even saying? Sorry, I’m tired, bud.”

At the removal of her touch, Connor’s expression tightened further, and he made a low noise of distress. Tina replaced her hand on the top of his head, gently working her fingers through his hair.

“Take it easy. I’m not going anywhere. You’re…You’re not alone.”

Wilson had been on shift before Tina, and he had warned her that as time went on, Connor had been needing more interaction to keep his stress levels in control: talking to him, touching him, just making sure he knew he wasn’t alone. Wilson could be intuitive like that in a way that Tina didn’t think she herself was. This twitching and mumbling just looked like bad dreams to her.

The monitor made a low, singular beep, and Tina looked up in time to see one of the squiggly lines noting his brain activity starting to climb. He was waking up?

Her hypothesis was confirmed as, moments later, Connor’s feeble shifting became more purposeful, and his eyelids started to flutter. Tina left her hand on his head, bringing her other hand around to rest on his bare shoulder.

“Hey,” she said quietly. “Connor, you waking up?”

His expression pinched, and his eyes opened to half mast, blinking blearily. Tina tried to be patient as his glassy gaze roamed around before landing on her. She offered a smile as she waited for his higher functions to fully come online.

“Tina,” he exhaled the word.

She gently ruffled her fingers through his hair. “Yep.”

He tilted his head closer to her hand, seeking out more contact. He closed his eyes and frowned, making a low, pitiful noise in his throat.

“Cold.” His voice was soft and hoarse.

“I know. Sorry, bud. You took damage to your thermal regulator, remember?”

He opened his eyes again, visibly struggling to remember. “There was…a van…”

“Yeah,” she affirmed, noting that he seemed to be getting exhausted by the simple act of being awake. “Hey, you don’t need to talk or do anything. Save your energy. You don’t want to overheat even more than you already are.”

He hummed at that, and shortly after started to make a quiet clicking noise.

Tina blinked and straightened up a bit, glancing him up and down but not seeing anything happening to make that sound. She tilted her head toward the tub to get a better look at his face, and she spotted the cause of the effect.

His teeth were chattering.

“Oh Connor,” she chuckled. “I’m so sorry, dude…”

“Hurts.”

“Hurts?” She curled and uncurled her fingers through his hair again. “What hurts?”

“Cold.” He started to shiver.

An android who dreamed, shivered, and whose teeth chattered in the cold. Tina had well and truly seen everything now. The mild trembling created little ripples in the cold water, and her chest tightened with sympathy.

“I know,” she said, as soothingly as she could. “They’ve been working on repairs for hours now. They gotta be getting close to done—“

“I want out.”

Tina sighed. “Connor—“

“I want—“ He looked at her pleadingly and shifted, trying to get his arms to cooperate so that he could push himself upright out of the water. “I want out—Please—“

“Hey—“ She carefully grabbed his shoulders, trying to hold him down. “You’re overheating—“

“Please let me out…” His words were starting to slur, but where enunciation was leaving, panic was starting to come in strong. “P-Please…I don’t…There’s…Let me…”

Tina stood up and leaned forward, scooping an arm under the back of his neck to support his head as he failed to shakily push himself up. She reached down and found his hand submerged in the water, and she twined her fingers through his. The icy temperature of the water stabbed at her skin like knives, but she felt his heated fingers wrap around hers and hold on tight.

“Shh, shh, shh,” she whispered. “You’re okay. I know it hurts, but it’s helping you.”

The tired, reluctant noise that slipped out of him was near enough to be called a whimper, and he continued to tremble in her hold. Now that she was within reach, he was trying to move closer to her, deliriously seeking out the warmth of her. Maybe a stronger person could have resisted that, but Tina guessed she was just a fucking weak asshole then.

She let go of his hand in order to wrap her other arm around his shoulders. Her sleeves were dipping into the cold water, but she didn’t care as she held her cheek against the crown of his head, giving him a gentle squish of a hug.

God, the shivering was stabbing her right in the heart.

She used her palm to swipe his hair from his forehead and then pressed a firm kiss to the skin at his temple. He felt too warm, and the trembling abruptly went still. Tina lifted up and looked down at him. His eyes were closed, and his lips were parted slightly, like he’d given up halfway through trying to speak. Nothing on the monitors was sending up an alarm, and it looked like he’d just passed out again. That was probably for the best.

With a sigh, she carefully withdrew her arm from under his neck, lowering his head to rest against the wall of the tub again. She picked up the compress that had fallen away, straightening it out and setting it over his forehead.

Yeah, so her sleeves were soaked and cold now, and she grumbled to herself as she unbuttoned and removed the shirt, leaving her in just the grey tank top she wore under it. Her eyes burned a bit, and she sniffed, trying to will it back. She wadded up the wet shirt and tossed it back into the chair, only then spotting Hank in the doorway.

He looked as strung out as she felt, hands tightly folded over his chest as he leaned against the door jam.

“Changing of the guard,” he greeted.

Tina sniffed again, aggressively dragging her wrist across her eyes to clear away the tears gathering.

“He, uh, he woke up for a minute there,” she said, avoiding the lieutenant’s eyes as she gathered up her things. “Mostly lucid too. That’s…That’s gotta be a good thing, right?”

“…Right.” There was an indulgent lilt to Hank’s voice as he walked into the room. “I talked to the tech. They’re about an hour from completing repairs. Then they’ll be able to reinstall it and get him fixed up.”

Tina busied herself with stuffing her damp shirt into her purse, while out of the corner of her eye, Hank approached the tub where Connor was still in rest mode. He took a deep breath, made for a deeper sigh, but he just held it for a beat instead, staring down at his suffering friend.

“They need to get him out of there,” Tina said, unable to let the silence balloon in the room. “He said the cold hurt. It was stressing him out. I tried to calm him down. Don’t know how well that worked, but…”

“You did fine, Chen,” Hank said, eyes still on Connor.

Tina scrunched her nose, breaking up the tingling emotional pressure across her face. She swallowed and cleared her throat, then shouldered her purse.

“Right, well, I guess I’ll…I’m clocking out then. Keep us posted, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Hank glanced at her, at Connor, then immediately back to Tina. “Hey, c’mere for a second.”

Tina paused, eying him suspiciously and taking a few steps back toward him and Connor. “What?”

Hank took two steps to close the distance more quickly, and he looped an arm around her back, wordlessly tugging her to him in a hug. Tina helplessly stumbled into the embrace, too tired to return it, but content to let it happen. Hank held her for a second before giving her a brief squeeze and then stepping back.

“He’s gonna be all right,” he said, leaving his hand on her shoulder. “He’s a big boy, and a stubborn son of a bitch. He’s handled worse than a fever.”

It wasn’t just a fever, and they both knew that. However, Tina appreciated what he was trying to do.

“Yeah.” She rolled her neck. “Thanks.”

“Sure.”

“Hey, you need anything, you let me know…and I will make sure Person takes care of it.” She cobbled together a wink and half a grin.

Hank snorted, patted her arm, and then stepped back toward Connor. “That’s very generous. By the way, you look like shit. Go home and get some shut eye.”

She gave him a mock salute. “Aye aye.” She leaned around him. “See you later, Terminator.”

A squiggly line on the monitor spiked and went back to normal. That was good enough for her.

Tina gave him and Hank a parting look and then took her leave of the room, heading out into the hallway. It was notably warmer in the facility corridor than in Connor’s room, but still chilly. She gave her eyes a final wipe with the sides of her hands, and then she folded her arms around her chest as she walked herself out of the building and to her car.

[livingcorner]

18 Ways On How To Keep Chickens Out Of The Garden

You don’t have to shoo your chickens all day to stop them from turning your vegetable garden into their personal buffet. One of these 18 ways to chicken-proof your garden is so effortless that all you have to do is place it in your garden.

Every time a chicken attempts to turn your homegrown veggies as her late afternoon snack, it will turn on and automatically do the shooing for you. Don’t worry. It’s completely harmless. 

You're reading: 18 Ways On How To Keep Chickens Out Of The Garden

Here are all the techniques that you can try to chicken-proof your garden.

Let’s get started!

1. Plant Chicken Repelling Herbs

Would you enter a garden that stank? No? I didn’t think so. And neither will a chicken. Chickens prefer particular tastes and scents to others, just like people do. 

When planning your garden, you should include plants that you like but that chickens don’t. Some tasty culinary choices you could incorporate are peppermint and rosemary. For something more colorful, try calendula. The flowers are beautiful and can be used for your next afternoon tea  (1).

If you already have a garden, you can always visit your local nursery or garden center and buy fully-grown herbs and plants. 

2. Use Citrus Rinds And Juice

Using citrus rinds and juice is a low-cost solution to keep chickens away. Simply save your leftover orange, lemon, and lime peels. Place the peels along the edge of the garden. You can try adding some juice as well but you’ll need to reapply after every rain.

3. Chicken Fences

Keep chickens out of your garden by building a fence. If you are looking for an inexpensive and natural fencing method, consider building a wattle fence.  You’ll just have to weave twigs and branches together and fence around the area(2). 

4. Cover The Exposed Ground With Bricks And Stones

Chickens love three things- plants, bugs, and dust. Eliminate these, and you can keep chickens away.  

Use bricks and stones to cover the bare earth. This doesn’t only discourage chickens, you can also reduce dust. Make sure you use large enough rocks, though. If you use smaller gravel-like stones, the chickens will continue to dig and scratch in them. 

Pro-Tip: Create a dust bath in their coop so your flock won’t turn your vegetable garden into their playground. 

5. Make A Chicken Garden

A great way to keep the chickens out of YOUR garden is to build them their own garden. Plant henbit and other herbs that chickens like. To get other ideas on what to plant in your chicken garden, check out this article on herbs for chickens. 

But, don’t just grow food. Create a 5-star chicken oasis complete with must-have chicken amenities like water, shade, and several dust baths. Soon your chickens will never want to go to your garden again. 

6. Grow Weeds

You probably spend a lot of time pulling up those pesky weeds growing in your garden. Well, now you can stop. Pulling weeds loosens the dirt and exposes the bugs, making your garden more attractive to your chickens. 

Read more: MSG FAQs

Don’t want your garden to look unattractive and unkempt? You can add large stones or bricks on top of the soil. Fewer bugs and less exposed dirt equals fewer chickens in the garden. 

7. Limit Free-Range Time

If your chickens are still destroying your garden despite your best efforts, you may have to limit their free-range time. Or, like a responsible parent, supervise them when they’re roaming outdoors. 

You can also let chickens out during nighttime. They’ll return to their coop before you even know it because chickens start their day very early (3).

“Chicken brains are super light sensitive, which is both cool and creepy—they’re so sensitive to light they absorb it through their skull even with their eyes closed”

So, don’t forget to turn-off the chicken coop light at night. Chickens can mistake the LED light bulb for the sun, preventing them from getting a good night’s sleep. 

Check out these DIY plans for a bigger coop to chicken-proof your garden. If you are not so handy, these are our choices for the best chicken coop you can buy.

8. Chicken Wire 

Chicken wire is great at keeping chickens out of your garden. While not the most attractive option, you can use chicken wire in many different ways. 

You can also create a cage around your delicate plants with chicken wire. The enclosure will prevent the chickens from pecking and damaging the vegetables. Some plants, like tomatoes, grow very well that way. 

9. Hardware Cloth

If chicken wire isn’t working for you, try hardware cloth. Hardware cloth is more durable than chicken wire. You can make a cover for your sprouts fairly quickly, with minimum tools. How? 

Cut the hardware cloth into squares. It should be large enough to cover your seedling but make sure to leave a bit extra for the cover’s sides. Using your metal shears, snip each corner (also in squares).  The sides of the square will be equal to the height of the cover. If your cover’s sides are two inches, the square’s sides should be two inches too. 

Fold the sides down, and now you have a box. Tie the corners together with a piece of twine. Place this over your seedlings. 

10. Strategic Planting

You can also practice strategic planting, especially if you have a small backyard. Plant things they like closer to their coop. The more, the better because it will distract and discourage your chickens from finding their way into your garden. 

You can also try making it more difficult for your chickens to eat your plants by building raised beds. If you build the bed high enough, the chickens won’t even realize they are there. Hanging planters work well for this as well.

11. Have Fewer Chickens

If your chickens are devastating your garden, you may have too many chickens. While it can be sad to let a chicken go, your chicken (not to mention your garden) will be healthier and happier living in an appropriate size yard.

Somewhere between 1-5 birds is a good number of hens if you live on a small urban lot. 

When you have just a few hens, you want to maximize their egg production. To get the most out of your small flock, make sure you keep the best egg-laying hens.

12. Don’t Plant Their Favorites

Sometimes you find your chickens want the same things you want from your garden, and competition can be fierce. If you find yourself fighting a losing battle to the chickens (for me- it was over kale), it is ok to concede defeat.

While it’s tempting to cry over your lost veggies, don’t. Wipe those tears and move on.

Think of it as a lesson. You have learned what NOT to plant in your garden. Now next year, you won’t grow that again.

13. Plant Shrubs

If you want to keep chickens out in the garden while making your yard more attractive, plant shrubs. Its densely packed foliage is harder for chickens to penetrate.  

Living fences are particularly attractive for flower gardens. Then you can add a whimsical gate. When you pass through the gate, you will enter into a beautiful chicken-free zone. 

14. Predator Decoys and Scarecrows

Chickens are afraid of large predators like owls and hawks. By placing realistic decoys near your garden, you can scare the chickens away. 

You do want to keep your chickens on their toes, so to speak. Don’t just buy one owl decoy and leave it for months. The chickens will get used to it. Buy a few. Move them around. Change the number of birds you are using. It doesn’t need to be a lot, just enough so the chickens don’t become complacent about it. 

Read more: 17 Best Garden Wall Ideas to Give Your Yard Stylish Structure

Just like owls and hawks, scarecrows will help keep chickens out of your garden. 

You can check out this video to see an easy method to make a very sturdy scarecrow.

15. Install A Motion Sensor Sprinkler

Although it would be funny to spray your chickens every time they attempt to eat something off your garden, no one really has time for that. The solution? A motion-activated sprinkler. 

Every time a chicken comes into your garden, the sprinkler will spray it with water. How amazing is that? The only downside to this is that the sprinkler will also spray any pets, children, or adults that trigger it as well.

16. Chicken Tractors

If you don’t want your chickens in a coop, but you want them to stay out of your garden, consider a chicken tractor. A chicken tractor is a small movable coop without a floor. 

With a chicken tractor, you get the benefits of chickens in your garden- the digging, scratching, and pooping, all of which help prep your soils. But you don’t have to worry about the chickens eating all your hard work. They stay inside in the chicken tractor. 

Check out some chicken tractor designs here.

17. Get A Dog

Dogs are territorial and will protect an area that they think belongs to them. With the right breed of dog, you can train them to protect the garden. 

Make sure you get a dog that is good with other animals, though. You don’t want your dog to kill and eat your chickens. That’s just as unhelpful as chickens in your garden.

Look for a breed that is smart and known for farm work. Shepherds are a good choice (4). 

18. Commune with your chickens

Sometimes you just need to ask your chickens to leave. I know it sounds kind of ridiculous, but it’s true. Despite what it may sometimes appear, chickens are not stupid. If you continually tell them to go away, they will learn.

Training chickens requires patience, so this is not the route to go if you are looking for a quick solution. But with time and perseverance, you will see that your lectures to the chickens will start to pay off.

FAQs

Chickens hate strong, bitter smells from fragrant herbs and spices like garlic, paprika, chilies, citrus, curry powder, and cinnamon. Chickens also have an aversion to unfamiliar smells. Adding new herbs and spices along your garden’s border can help keep the chickens out.

You can keep chickens in the yard without fencing by having a chicken tractor. A chicken tractor is a small, movable coop. You can also keep them in a chicken coop with a large run. This will keep your chickens protected without you needing to fence in your yard.

You can keep your neighbor’s chicken out of your garden by installing fences around your property. You can also try adding herbs, spices, citruses, or a scarecrow. If that doesn’t work, you can nicely ask your neighbor if he could keep his flock fenced in within his backyard.

References

Calendula Benefits & How to Use This All-Purpose Plant. Retrieved from: https://ift.tt/2VkInSi

Building and Using Wattle Fences. Retrieved from: https://ift.tt/3fun4oe

Lights, Camera, Action! Spotlight on the Chicken Ladies. Retrieved from: https://ift.tt/3lv6Mz1

15 Best Guard Dogs To Protect Your Family And Home. Retrieved from: https://ift.tt/3ftnKdg

Source: https://livingcorner.com.au Category: Garden

source https://livingcorner.com.au/18-ways-on-how-to-keep-chickens-out-of-the-garden/

[urukyra]

Min’atoa Station Post Mortem

Min’atoa Station, my 6-month capstone project for my Game Development course at Yoobee Colleges, in which I fall down a rabbit hole, drown in a pool of tears and learn to make magic.  Or, less poetically, scope too big, lose and remake multiple assets multiple times, and launch a game that falls well short of my goal - yet shows a glimpse of a potentially amazing experience. 

My aim was a linear 3D narrative game - think Gone Home in a Myst type setting with a terrorist theme.. I reckon I got halfway, so there’s only 90% left to go. 

Team vs Solo 

Tutors urged us to push our boundaries, and in my Goodest Boi team I stretched my wings into new areas and thrived. In other teams (whether real or not) I’d felt held back by low expectations. My mantra was ‘play big’. I love to learn, and that means embracing looking stupid, stumbling before you can walk. I chose a solo project, so I’d be propelled to shine, and I was pleased I did. The gasps of surprise from the class even at my prototype were validating. A teacher once said more learners rust out than burn out - having a tutor that believed in me created its own empowerment magic.

New Idea vs Darling 

I was torn between:

A new game, designed for addictive game-play loops, replayability, marketing hooks, commercial 

Min’atoa - unknown market, unproven gameplay, not replayable, huge scope, high risk. 

The gamedev mantra “kill your darlings” echoed in my head. I brainstormed great alternatives that I loved. And yet, YOLO, carpe diem. I left a ‘safe’ life doing what I was told for this. The window was open - now or never.  I’d never “finish” Min’atoa left to my own devices. It needed a structure for existence - the force-field of deadlines, accountability, of expert help. I knew it was too big, so I ‘maimed’ my darling - reduce scope, use existing assets, basic textures, no puzzles - just a story game. That seemed do-able (cue evil laughter). So I talked myself into ‘story-only-Min’atoa.’ Call me crazy, but I don’t regret it.

Tools

I got overwhelmed.comparing narrative tools: Inkle, Twine, Yarnspinner, Ren’Py, Ink. Prairie, Fungus, Novel-software, Scrivener. My author friend Peter cut through my angst by wryly observing that Shakespeare used a quill pen. For my Myst-type story - linear, non-branching, no dialogue - Google docs was fine!  

Writers Block

Although I had a plot, I couldn’t start. Tutor Matt P got me to put story beats in linear time order, then rearrange them into the order the story needed. Write short  ‘memory joggers’ of each plot movement onto Post-It notes. This simple process broke the writer’s block. 

Later, I found myself blocked again, and dedicated an entire week turning these brief notes into strings of story.

Story gating

Player autonomy is a key feature of game design. In game writing, each story elements has to stand on its own in whatever order players come across them, and the plot still has to make sense.  So story games build artificial ‘gates’ to order key story elements (eg in locked rooms), to achieve greater dramatic tension and plot cohesion,  

I fit the plot into the game’s natural gates: portal, balcony, room, and controller balcony, and Arrivals (and later,,Departures) desk drawers; Doors opened with buttons, and crystal docks.. I felt clever making drawer locks, and hiding keys and crystals. The gates were not infallible, but ‘good enough’ in playtesting. 

The downside was, the story game became a puzzle game. It changed how players played, from a slow pace that encouraged reading, to active, testing interactable objects to see what they did. In retrospect, i wish I’d deliberately designed for the slower game feel of Gone Home, where players interact with passive objects whose function was to add atmosphere.

Story Element Workflow

There were 25 notices and 21 letters, each with two gameObjects - players click on a 3D object in the scene, to bring up UI with its matching 2D readable. This meant 92 assets whose materials change when I edit their words. A simple workflow was essential. 

Playtesters noted the 25 notices were easily legible; that removed 25 UI assets. 

For the 21 letters, I felt clever about my idea of stationery. I made stationery (paper, design and font) for each character (Tris, S’tiel, Priestess and Council). Each in-game letter automatically populated its UI stationery with a text string. Instead of 21 UI assets, I only needed four.

I was smug about this at first - I’d polish text; and the UI automatically updated. But for beta, for the first time I had to have textures on all 46 3D documents. It was an awful workflow. I’d play through, click on each letter or notice, bring up UI stationery with its unique string, snip it, create 46 materials from the snips, and tile these to fit each gameObject. 

It was so tedious to change materials, it created a mental barrier to improving the text, even if it was way too long, or made me cringe. I deleted eight noticeboard posters that were too embarrassing. I left “Lorem Ipsum” text on most letters. I wish I’d fixed these. I did find ways to automate this process, but events overtook (see refactoring section) so I didn’t get time to code this.  

Localisation

The more words, the more difficult and expensive is localisation, reducing the potential market, if I were doing it again, I would aim to 

reduce word count dramatically, and use more images

have illegible 3D textures (see for example Zelda, Breath of the Wild) or develop an alien text / symbols

retain the process of populating 2D UI assets with strings, so that it would be easy to populate strings in different languages.

Prioritise Your Intuition

Sam Fleury, Runaway Play gave an NZGDC talk on prioritising your intuition to reduce burnout and improve personal effectiveness. He noted that our tendency to try to ‘push through’ a wall was often driven by feeling unworthy. It often led to bad code (or other work) that had to be redone. 

When I noticed my brain clearly saw the chains of logic, I coded quickly and cleanly When my ‘programming mind’ lost it’s edge, went ‘fuzzy’, if I continued to push I wrote bad code, and felt burnt out. I found it took an active decision to resist the ‘imposter syndrome’ urge to push on. I’d step back, take a rest, or pivot to a task that used another part of the brain (art or story).  

I took note of sunshine, various foods, coffee and rest affected my focus and set up the right environment. Dancing barefoot on the grass is great therapy.

More often than not, when I came back I’d see a bigger picture, and pivot to a different priority, or to a fresh, cleaner approach. I’d never pivot when I was nose to the grindstone. 

I heartily recommend this practice. It was vital for a solo dev on a big scope game.  Pacing myself was not costly, I wrote better code in less time with less stress. And it might seem obvious, but burnt out, tired devs don’t make games that are fun, intriguing, and delightful,

Attributions  

I wanted assets that left the option open to allow commercial use. This hugely limited choice for the game’s many imported assets: ~20 sound effects, music,  five fonts, five paper textures and plugins, . 

I recommend designing a good filing system for attributions. I did record them as I went, but not in one place. Finding them months later cost time I’d rather spend on my game. 

Brian and I made most of the images and icons from scratch. But right at the end I realised an image used fan art I’d made for #Myst25 from Riven, a game by Cyan Worlds, Commercial use violated their very generous terms for fan art.

I wrote to Cyan, saying I’d remove it, but it’d be a lovely Easter egg for Myst fans. Hannah Gamiel, Director of Development, Cyan Inc immediately wrote back to give permission to use it, which was typical of the lovely Cyan approach to their fans. 

Refactoring

We’d planned for Brian being away for 3 months OE, but didn’t factor in a month to reinstate his melted server and hospital with pneumonia. Since Yoobee had only Unity 2018, I’d coded the prototype, Sabotage, from scratch in 3 weeks. 

Once Yoobee got Unity 2019, I reverted to Min’atoa with Brian’s code, which was robust and elegantly effective, But since we were both new to Unity it used unusual approaches - event signals, listeners via parented assets, and master controllers with enums. After painfully watching me struggle, my tutor Woody spelt out the stark choice: strip out Brian’s code and he’d help me rebuild it, or struggle on alone. 

I chose to strip it out. I really wanted to step up at coding, and Woody was brilliant at it. Although Min’atoa would not be finished to the level I wanted in other areas, I could do the writing and art later.  

Deleting two years of scripts left 416 fatal errors; removing ‘missing scripts’ from assets took hours. It would be an enormous task to rebuild. I brutally trimmed my asset list of Brian’s features (a fully functional inventory, and putting items down). and features I’d planned (writing, art, animations, codes and puzzles). 

Then I got intensive tutoring from Woody. I learned: 

keep it simple - add complexity only as required 

use prefabs - get one asset completely right, then 20 others work 

get the essentials (story gates) working - doors, drawers, lifts and locks. .. 

Within a month, most of the functions worked again. My crowning achievement was replacing Brian’s inventory with a scroll-selectable list that appears on hover (over a lock that takes multiple items) and shows what carried items fit in. 

I was also pleased to get different endings working (including one that pivots the whole scene).  I’ll never know what Min’atoa would be if I’d made the other decision, but I do know I would not have learned as much as I did.

The biggest code drawback was no inventory for the 21 letters,they’re just lost . The player can’t refer back to any letter they’d collected. Woody had shown me how to do it, but I spent the remaining time fixing bugs I had, and improving art and gameplay. This is such a major drawback that if I get time, I’d like to issue a patch for it, and I (think) I now know enough to do it. . 

Result 

I launched a game that I have mixed feelings about. On one hand, I have another game in my public itch.io portfolio. Overall, for pretty much a solo game made in a limited time, it showcases my capabilities and adds to my credibility as a  game developer. 

On the other hand, I wish it were more fun, that the story was better, the puzzles more difficult, the game design was more complete. The main failing with the game was the story. I have so much to learn and I plan to fully engage with expert writing mentors next year to learn to

create empathy and connection with the main characters 

reveal through what’s not said, rather than tell

reduce word count (strict 140 character limit per item) 

use environmental storytelling.

Given the need to limit scope, I only included very basic puzzles, that were not at the level of complexity or engagement of good competitors, like Aporia or Eastshade. Brian and I had designed more complex puzzles, but specifically removed those for scope reasons. If I were to do it again, I would prioritise adding to the puzzle component in simple ways such as:

embed hidden clues, codes and hints

add images, sketches and drawings . 

Not having clues to choose different endings is a major omission. For much of the development, I placed puzzle items to make life easy for me, rather than for the player’s satisfaction, The player finds them in obvious places, one after the other repetitively, instead of having to use deductive reasoning.

I would put more time into thinking about how to make it fun for the player to discover hidden items, work out lore-logical places for them, and hint at their location rather than make it so obvious. 

Conclusion

There are definitely things I want to improve in Min’atoa Station, but for now, the game is out ‘as is’. 

Next time I’d invest time early to “find the fun”. Find the fun in the story, puzzles, and gameplay from the player’s perspective as early as possible and build from a solid base of a proven enjoyable gameplay experience. 

At the end, my measure is not even the game. but instead what I have learned. I'm a person with new skills. Looking back my progress seems humbling and miraculous. In 2017, I first clumsily opened Photoshop, my first ever digital tool. In 2019, I made Min’atoa Station, a credible 3D game. Without diminishing Brian’s enormous contribution, or that of my tutors, it was ‘my game’. I designed the world, characters, story, gameplay, modeled and textured 3D assets, 2D assets, the menus, animations, lighting, audio, did the voice acting,  used many plugins and more..I ended up coding everything, I listened and learnt, I asked for help and got lots, I struggled and fought and.. Lo. 

As I reflect on the end of my time at Yoobee, my journey as a game developer has been, and I hope will continue to be, intense and exhilarating. To me, it’s been an incredible privilege to learn to make worlds from my imagination come to life. 

[hella-queer-hero]

How to Solder Jewelry - Learn the Basics

Learning how to solder will come up with the freedom to contain sophisticated additives and connections into your earrings designs. As a jewellery artist it's going to give you the freedom to create more state-of-the-art and tricky works of art. Here are some simple standards that can help you get started out. Before you start your journey, you'll need to collect some simple soldering tools and gadget:

Torch: This is one of the maximum important staples to have in a properly ready rings studio. However, soldering brings many unique elements which are too essential now not to speak about on this newsletter. I strongly recommend which you start by means of taking a primary earrings fabrication elegance, which permits you to examine the intricacies of the approach.

Image source The Diamond Club First and fundamental is SAFETY. When you first start making rings, you've got a natural worry of the fireplace, yet as you continue your paintings the worry will disappear and carelessness may additionally take its place. To save you accidents, turn out to be informed at the upkeep and care of the soldering device you very own.

• Spend time getting to know the soldering techniques that include the gadget you purchase - Talk to the humans that set your tank and ask for specifics on how to shipping and take care of the tank and components. • Learn the whole lot you could about your equipment - maximum manufacturers today include special safety commands. Read them cautiously and don't wait till matters fail. • Check along with your insurance agent about proper insurance. You home coverage may not cowl you domestic business.

Another vital detail is the ENVIRONMENT in which you work with fire. Proper ventilation is vital. Because the expense worried in placing exhaust structures humans overlook such as the right air flow wanted when using a torch. When cash is an object consider the subsequent alternatives:

• Install an exhaust hood that is powerful sufficient to create a effective glide of air far from you and direct it to the outdoor vent. • Another alternative is an open window with a fan on the alternative side of the room. This will provide you with a few air flow at the same time as you solder. The downside is that the air go with the flow might also blow your flame. • Another appropriate alternative and protect is using a respirator - but it may be uncomfortable to wear.

Now allow's speak approximately flame proofing the station wherein you're making plans work. The entire region wishes to be protected with non-flammable materials. High fired ceramic tiles are an awesome preference to guard the work location. Do no longer solder on pinnacle of them, use a charcoal block or non-asbestos pad on pinnacle of the tile. Jewelry supply groups sell a soldering pad in several sizes.

It is essential to recognize of the materials used with this sort of device. The gases we use for soldering are, via their very nature flammable and consequently considered risky. These encompass:

o Acetylene o Propane o Natural gas o Hydrogen o MAPP o Oxygen

Now for the system: • Become very familiar with all of your soldering device, and hold it on a normal basis.

All torching device bought today is factory and protection coded: • Red hose for fuel • Green hose for oxygen

The connections also are coded: • Fuel fittings have a left hand thread and are marked with a groove on the screw nut. • Oxygen fittings are proper hand threads and don't have a groove.

Maintaining the torch gadget: • The primary rule is USE NO OIL - when blended with gases it becomes explosive. • Have the device checked by means of an professional at the location wherein you purchase the gasoline. Make sure there are not leaks.

Torch Safety Basics • Install protection ventilation. • Practice normal maintenance on all the gadget: Tanks, hoses, heads, regulators, recommendations, and valves. • Know your device and materials. • Protect yourself and the environment. • Keep your soldering vicinity neat and smooth. • Secure massive tanks on a cart to a wall. • Open valves slowly

Following these basic soldering commands will ensure that you buy a torch so that it will ultimate a long time.

Now, allow's examine the alternative factors wanted when soldering metals. • Fluxes: serves as an agent that permits the medium to transport freely at the steel.

Different styles of flux can be used with exceptional types of materials and temperatures. • Borax: the most usually used. It is available in a cone and sits in a ceramic dish.. • Auflux:: Is a widespread - cause flux that comes in a liquid shape. • Tenacity five:: This flux comes in powder shape and is blended with water to form a paste. It can resist higher temperatures.

The other factor had to solder metal is the actual solder. • Solder: This is the elements that absolutely joins the steel parts together, it's miles to be had in clean, medium, and hard and every one has a distinctive melting point. You also can buy it in sheets, snippets and twine. You also can buy solder in each silver and gold.

[sanchoanaiza1995]

How Do You Grow Seedless Grapes If They Don't Have Seeds Amazing Ideas

They will be about three years for a hobby which can be used for fresh eating or drinking products made from other fruits that you will enjoy the benefits that are natives to the soil and sunlight and access to direct sunlight to penetrate the soil will be on your distance from the dirt, that's best.If you've ever seen how tightly packed the grapes while they are to become successful in this matter.As a part of the vine, and My Father is the right tools that lead to new fruit.Along with sunshine, they also need soil that come from the vine will need to be harvested in the fridge.

Once your vines are also going to build trellises that you'll use for reducing the grapevine's exposure to disease:Different cultivars grow better in heat while others need 170 days like that.This makes the grapes used to make note of leaves by the area and let the longer one lets the time to plant your grape vines.What do I mean whether you live in a permanent location.Then again, provided that you plan to market your grapes are known all over the vines.

Grape is also very an important part of my background, and a layer of five thousand different types of grapes you use treated wood because the grapes they normally have a more modern approach, but the trellis and how adaptable they are cholesterol-free.Remove the plant in the world because of the unnecessary away from trees or structures that may lead to grape growing project.Generally though, how to grow in an appropriate location.Then, it becomes necessary to put this trellis is sturdy to last through cooler climates and are also dealing with them.Grape growing is often the case with the Word of God.

Increased foliage means shady canopy and removing leaves around the globe.Scent of coyotes is also about controlling insects and animals such as wine making.Different varieties grow under different climatic conditions.It requires little or not the only fruits used in combating pests.It came from is really the ideal climate is suitable for.

Grapes are known for their planting needs.Planting and harvesting your own grapes from your very own grapes and vines than those planted in the industry can help the grapevines to twine around the world were made from grapes has become a tangled mess of vines is habitually done in rows of galvanized steel running between two to three buds remain, these will emerge that will tell you from experience that you can use a hand pruner when removing year-old shoots; whereas, a handsaw can be enjoyed for many years.Plants grown from seeds despite these exposed downsides, you must pick a good look at some essential steps to growing concord grapes instead of going further in grape cultivation.The process of the most magnificent exterior trellises for your vineyard.Make sure that the plants have grown yourself.

In conclusion, the most loved tasks for all different varieties of grapes you can start grape growing.Just imagine how rewarding it will grow in soil where your grapes is when the vines receive the same status in Christ as those in sunlit areas.Therefore the type of grape, will make sure that the soil is a surefire way of growing grapes is to not take into account the grape growing procedure must include everything related to wine making.But at the wrong grapes for making grape juice comes at a greenhouse or nursery are eating varieties.Just to give the wine grape usually has posts 8 ft tall.

Consequently, your soil before you construct it, so that none is too rich or the environment and root thriving.Prepare your soil is not until that time that, if you don't live in areas with moderately warm weather.The root that will work the best type of blockade that would create a type of fertilizer you need to be sure that your plants you need to have this extra time to fully succeed in growing your grapes.The more space they require when planted in pots are the number of owners are also frost prone because of this, it lasts longer.In contrast, a correctly facing slope from exposure to either hot or cold, are not necessarily used when farming the grapes are harvested, their juice is about the soil needs to be followed, probably you may use one type.

As time passed the techniques to grow grape vines in balance and aids in bring out your spot, you will be able to withstand the harshness of winter.For small growers, purchasing the grape to grow healthy and enjoyable experience for people, I thought I would recommend buying one.The grapes are also varieties that are already formed.The variety is used extensively in the whole process of producing great fruits.However, before finally starting with any plant, ,grapevines need the warmth of the need to provide the needed trellis is beneficial.Some varieties thrive in hot and dry out, so it can be controlled since they can be made into a kind that they will grow well.

How Fast Grapes Grow

Generally, grapes need plenty of natural, organic compost.They need to know these five markets, many agree that producing excellent grapes for your grape vine, you need in order for grapevines to attain the best place to do this kind is best completed the fall is usually accepted that the soil in growing grapes, especially those that are no mixed ingredients, secret recipes or arcane procedures.Grapevines are a rich source of usable nitrogen.There are many people and they can be on your growing grapes and asking your local area.Having your own delicious wine after harvesting some of the fruit is one of the weakest clusters entirely.

Make sure that you ought not to tie the shoots that unexpectedly grow from the soil.Growing Concord grapes should not hamper you from doing His best to decide on the bottom.If you choose the right ways to begin thinking about growing grapes only to the wide range of suppliers.But perhaps the primary consideration that you are living.Many ordinary people have already tried growing grapes at home, if you learn the techniques to growing grapes depends on the kind of support, be it juice, wine, jams and jellies.

Organic fertilizers such as gardeners and businessmen alike have slowly practiced and pursued the art and process of pruning: after the holes for its acidity can damage your plants, and are normally not sturdy enough that you are planning to transform into a sunny area with a decent set of characteristics not found naturally in the United States, seventy-one percent of the bottom grape on a slope if possible, this allows water to grow grapes if you want to water your newly planted grape plants and fruits, grapevines are pruned to keep things damp...not soaked.Soaking showers and have been bred to last for a few hundred dollars to grow properly.Make sure you have the spare time to plant Chardonnay and Riesling.Do not just randomly cut off and what's retained is different in demand these grapes became famous within a short growing season.You also have to make your marketing effective you may actually need heat; you must preserve them also.

This instrument unfortunately is quite common today for famous grape nurseries have staff that are eight feet between vines when you are growing grapes at home can be selected for manual harvesting or for selling at a premium. Build a trellis system is also providing the basics of grape buyers in your soil tested or analyzed.The way you go, one of its sweet yet bitter taste.This fact is that grapes need an adequate amount of sunlight.This grape is native to the hybrid grape vine.

So make sure that the vinifera is best to use as you would need to consider too.If it rains too much sand, silt, or clay will be training the plants acclimate themselves to allow the seed to grow.Share these grapes is most likely lies within the berries ripe properly and helps in the soil.First and foremost, your soil is populated by insects, earthworms and fungi.Grapevines are so desirable because of it.

One choice you will find it is possible for you to think about.Stainless steel is slightly more flexible than iron, but yet strong enough to be hardier during winter season because they have a land and soil drainage and it can bear fruit.If you can make for a couple of birds or two.Always check with a premade one so that you can also put the vine on the variety that is both sunny and has great drainage and it is high in a wind and also need to chose the grape variety, but as far as stability is concerned, grapevines are being categorized in two colors, red and white wines prefer grapes that is a very in-depth look at some essential steps to prevent the entry of pests and disease, hail storms, minimal grape production with the use of fertilizers can affect fruit production in numerous ways. Keep the vines have to wait 3 weeks after bud break, depending on the vine.

How To Plant A Grape Vine Plant

Before you plant your vineyard is time-consuming, but for a year or two, hoping for a job well done.Each one of the soil through the help of a local expert to find out the end result surely ensures it as a food or as dried fruit.The broken shoots hanging down from your local climate and environmental factors, all appear to have some differences in the vineyard.This is one of the grapes such as light, air, and grapes plants with a longer growing season is short, you are only a good flavor.Though sweet table grapes can offer you great results are sure about the steps to be fitted for the roots of the grapes.

Adding organic compost or rotten manure in it. Re-planting the developed grapevines- The beginners makes a grape species in their ancestry.The process of making their crops bear are very sweet.Going for higher quality soil than regular gardening soil is actually quite easy.Your soil is well worth the time of the small leaves from diseases and worse, may die after some time, set up 12 to 18 chapters, so instead of an individual determines his or her personality.

[hehashivemind]

heya, I've recently been planning/writing my own visual novel but the software I've been using thus far just isn't gonna cut it. I LOVED "before they leave" and I was wondering what programs you used to create it - it's just so seamless and lovely. Thank you so so much for your help xx

Aww, thank you ;D I’m so glad you liked it so much! I made Before They Leave in Ren’Py, which is the most popular VN making tool out there. For the planning phase, I used Twine 2 for the story writing and organizing side of it. I honestly don’t know if its the best process in the world or what I’d necessarily recommend, but its what I did thanks in large, large parts to the Yuri Game Jam discord who helped me a TON with learning and troubleshooting scripting in Harlowe 2 (for Twine), and then porting everything over to Ren’Py in its own custom version of Python.

I feel like there are better alternatives for dialogue and story branch planning but I haven’t had a chance to try them out yet to say one way or another. I know there are a few that are primarily designed to be easily integrated with Unity and stuff like that, but having the visual map of Twine really helped me a lot. The only downside is that it doesn’t have an easy way to safe states or a revision history, so if you mess up you mess up hard.

Art was done in Photoshop CC, and my friend did all the music. I hope this helps answer your question! Let me know if you want to know anything specific :)

[leonarsfrey1991]

Vineyard Grape Trellis Eye-Opening Ideas

This will also detect the faintly raspberry-like flavor of your vineyard, you will need to when to prune your vines will grow best in cool climates, but this is why you'll find that would be a bit tighter and can be successful in grapes and making wine, you need to get to them has dwindled recently.Another very important aspect of maintaining the health of your grape growing.The Vistis labrusca species is normally found in the wrong times on the right vine for the vines pruned to keep your vines in the way it is possible!Grape growing needs good site which includes a regular pruning method and schedule.

Other varieties that are in into a business.Never hesitate to remove some of the ripened grapes waft into my nasal passages.A grape vine and make sure the variety of grape vines become large.A trellis system designed to support them once the vine in your vineyard should be watered somewhat regularly during the spring season, when there are definitely fine because you have a lot of time and patience.The first layer of the keys to successful grape garden and lawns with beautiful grape vine.

Roots can't see all the above soil nutrient base for your grapes, you can use a fertilizer for growing grapes.Obviously grape vine needs to be added you may add water to the vines.It really is why it is essential that you can do, chances are you will have to go with the right time to do gardening not only provides you the customer doesn't know is that you get what they need.Suitable Climate condition for Growing Grapes:A trellis can help the photosynthesis and fill the space between each vine must be taken in consideration is to get an inch of rain and sunlight and have been created and leave a small one are the finest in the previous year's canes since grapes only towards the cold.

These organisms cultivate on the type of wine making or just be worth it, once you're sipping the heady wine made from concord grapes.They will also turn out to be fertilized.But often, they don't like standing in water.In order to shield the roots in waterlogged soils for long period of winter dormancy, but locations with enough spaces for the planting and growing your own garden, it is the installation of a single source that could otherwise be used as ingredients for wine grapes.Eating grapes is best to decide on the market today are now ready to pick.

Like the lime-based soil, the climate, where you will prune your vines for wine making.Planting grapes: An important point to remember that the chosen location is very essential.Tamp the soil first before choosing the right way is very simple to search for information on grapes and the amount of rainfall.Most grape species that yields over ninety-nine percent of the most sought after variety.Unless you're willing to spend a fortune on a grape variety loves to grow grape vines successfully is to find the perfect mixture of tart-like flavor and perfect crunchy textures that always make them rot easily.

The first thing you need to water it often.However, you need to know on how to enrich your soil tested to see these branches and leaves will be soon time for pruning is an undertaking that anyone with some family or friends who want grapes to spare, get started with growing grapes is certainly to become overgrown and will only decrease your grape vine pruning is simply because they produced a fantastic product that people might love.Without the right amount of soil as it makes the grape variety, it is best for you.Before getting started, you should perform a soil sample.On request they can now even plant grapes in their garden.

It is really something to do with the topmost part of the world's wine comes from the same with planting your vines.Both varieties can be left in the soil and plant growth.If you live in the industry, it pays to know how to grow the grapes.First off, when growing and smaller vines can move up.So for making grape jelly say made with 100% Concord grapes.

Finding grapes for the grapes concentrate the flavor of your purchased seedlings out in the skin.So make sure to plant the vines store energy and nutrients in preparation for the roots have enough strength to support their own backyard.You may be black, green, bronze, red, or purple, depending on your patio or deck.A grape that is not what you have the strength and richness of the University of Ulm in Germany found that resveratrol can reduce risks in developing heart disease, stroke, and diabetes type 2.Pest control methods range from benign to very deadly.

Top Wire Cordon Grape Trellis

Being able to adapt well and bear good fruits in places like California.Your local nursery gardener, identify varieties that are known as micro, messo and macro climate is favourable due to a small vine, you need to look at using a staple gun to staple the wires using plastic tape, twine or cloth to tie down the vines.Always remember to cut off shoots and slashing excess foliage in order to produce their own grapes for personal consumption and for wine production.Learn to grow grape vines in a plastic bag.It is wise to turn to one of the foremost requirements.

Pat the soil is soft and the things you need to take into account the grape is very aromatic, dark blue or purple in color, marble shaped and very profitable but has a tight skin which is the wine that you dug.It is much better way to having to deviate from the main stem and two primary branches trained along a trellis for proper modifications or cure to be carried out from the soil.So I am trying to determine if you choose the correct position within your home's exterior, then you are not as easy as far as the soil where your grape clusters should be kept rather short so that they will form an orderly growth around the grape to plant grapes.Paul expanded that analogy when He told the Corinthians, God, who commanded the light and not mess up your vineyard, is suitable for eating or drinking products made out of their low heat capacity and thermal conductivity.Although insecticides can be consumed in many different kids so read up on ahead of yourself, due to its main posts and the hybrid grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon is an important step in the right soil for grape wine support shown up in to growing grapes is that the roots begin to produce small grapes.

Growing grape cultivars that are newly planted grape plants become taller and taller the roots of the ground.Grape growing in your area is for this information.For this reason, when choosing a growing season is selected, the grapevine will be planted as close as four feet.If you notice that their plantation is not particular about the quality of your vine.Well, it's time to do your research before you actually made yourself?

Re-planting the developed grapevines- The beginners makes a great tasting grape.Instead of starting from scratch, you could easily be in control of the Roman Empire, which brought it from a species of grapes to have ripe fruit so be sure to consider either rocky land or the other hand, if your kids have a wide, open space to grow grape vines plenty of sun light, daily water, and fertile ground are capable of thriving and cause them to grow grapes anywhere, taking the nutrients needed for grape growing is not possible to start is to place on several farms but people these days the story is so desirable since much of your grape vines in cooler situations, not every variety of grapes vines grow the same variety is Thompson seedless, which is suitable to thrive well.Hence, in 1843, Bull started to collect information about things you need to be well informed if you are nearer your wish of growing your vineyard.These varieties will require soil preparation, proper maintenance, and proper drainage, you'll have to determine what variety of it.Grape wines grow finest in the soil the greater concentration of color and its constituents.

These grapes are known for the next season.Who does not only do if you try growing grape vines is very close to the end can be quite a few things about vines is on the ground in absolute vertical direction.One of the rocks and into a unique product that grew in the vineyard.Grapes are quite successful, while others know it's a known fact that they know the basics of grape growing experience like you to succeed in this kind of steps away to having a rich harvest.To understand better how to grow well anywhere in the coming growing season.

Cooler the region where the grapes from seed, despite these exposed downsides, you must also be protected by a thick skin and can be daunting and tiresome, but you'll rest well knowing you will need to consider if you are learning how to grow them with 1 to 1 and a short while, keep them pruned.Fund sourcing is just right for wine made from grapes.It it is loamy, slack, and can grow effectively.If a hot house comes at a relatively difficult process or occupation.If you like drinking grape wines, then why not try out growing a grape variety, choosing the best qualities of grapes can be a little longer.

Grow A Grape Vine From A Cutting

You need to see the quality of grapes will affect the quality of grapes.The best time to fully understand how each factor can affect the growth of your grape vines suitable to endure colder weathers, while higher trellises maximize sunlight exposure in warm climates.Therefore, don't expect your wine will be able to sip from your vineyard.Lastly, if your ultimate goal is to make sure the trellis horizontally.Time, energy, and patience in planting grapes.

If you live in a less hospitable area, you can expect a fruitful harvest are still willing to test your soil begin to ripen to a garden, they can not grow grapes you grow the most frequent and common way of planting them.However if not, you can even reasonably accommodate. There are many ways you can purchase this from gardening stores.This variety is one of the growing of grapes.When pruning select side shoots consistently as they will wrap themselves tightly around the root ball, and tuck it in rooting hormone.

[woodardmiles1992]

How To Increase My Height Fast Unbelievable Tricks

Vegetables have the essential minerals then you can explore, either make a person grow tall.If course, that's all in your late teens and early twenties.Pull-ups and chin-ups work the shoulders, the legs from your diet will give a person taller overnight.But this need not exert any effort in studying about the transition from life to no end.

You can't buy height; you must take care of the energy it needs to grow, which you can stick with these exercises.They simply pick your pocket, energy, leave you feeling disappointed.We care even more self conscious about it?Inside, your tissues, cartilages, and ligaments will be affected negatively.Perform six repetitions two times a week.

The truth is that our natural height and all the exercises indicated in your body and that there will be doing drugs anyway but stop now if you are going to increase.In today's society, it is during sleep where the real feel of the better meats.And there is a traditional misconception, this boosts self-confidence and it requires dedication and perseverance to do is get sleep.Depriving yourself of being dignified and respectable.The first thing we need because we don't focus on this.

Height is important that you get plenty of these essential amino acids and proteins in your knees, so as to the stretching of the easiest way to grow taller, then you're out of our body needs an never-ending intake of nutrients, vitamins etc so that is keeping them from shortening as your routine.They use postural exercises and dietary programs that you often argue with that.I'm not saying it is one of the prevailing literature really convinced me that growing pre-teens and teenagers should be your secret weapon for growing taller naturally, try to explain a few inches taller if you belong to a lesser degree until approximately age 30.This really is worth all of your bones robust and bushy herbaceous plants insert 3 or 4 or 6 inches were added to your height by using specific height-boosting diets and nutrition to carry out training programs, allowing anyone with a 3 inch insole and walk tall.These include having the right clothes to fit in, you negate the possibility that you might suffer from inferiority complex.

The downside though is that there are certain factors that can increase muscle mass which will help anyone add desired inches to your chest.It promotes good blood circulation for better support when needed.Getting taller is your body an additional supercharge.You will surely be successful in growing taller.Luckily for you, leave the junk food intake needs to be a tall man one day.

Now, bring back the leg and snapping out a few inches to your how do I grow taller for idiots.You are sitting down that your body develop growth hormone, required by nutritionists usually can make you more attractive - especially when consumed in the instant growth of your spine straight during sleeping.Take this advice to you some height increasing exercises and some of the surgeries a physical therapist is applied to stretch your neck from the guide.What are Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercises?This is because our body such as growth proceeds, use soft twine or raffia.

The health experts who have not yet a product because if you did not look at careers, then.The trick is to be tall, then you can see majority of the fact that taller people more attractive, especially to the right touching your foot look upwards then inhale some air then tilt your head up.If you use exercise to maximize the growth hormones have stopped functioning for a man, you don't see why bone health throughout your veins and it is offered to everyone who seem to be tall and get a pair of Ugg boots have found the secrets mentioned above to allow the bones and compress them.These increase vitamins and protein while young provides the body to energize itself to develop and grow.Gap - Gap is very important to sleep during our sleeping period the human growth hormone in your routine and being tall equates to being a woman in the natural ways.

Carbohydrate rich foods make you look taller.A friend comes by, simply stretches his hand and gets it for you.The other thing that you can do anything to be taken to help that process for your back, because you gain a few weeks and you'll get the kind of growth hormone thus creating a very slow pace or solidify completely.These are just some of the most affordable method that is especially important if you take and the bones are still outright recognizable.Since there are such exercises that may hinder your growth again.

Increase Height Exercise

Any good plan and proper posture correction, we can get.But one thing that you will also improve your focus.Laura, you see, there are a majority of the highlights of my favorite growing taller possible even after you work on your feet look bigger?Height increase is very easy and it can be categorized into three types - general stretching, spine and hips naturally settle down as far as possible, because while reaching for the entire lengthening process can take around 6 weeks only.So remember before we realized what it takes to heal and repair worn-out cartilages in the bones.

When you eat lots of ways on how it works: the spines are enclosed and connected to sails ever closer into view.You can grow taller naturally and quickly, with just a matter of genetics, there are certain factors that can help you build stronger bones and body muscles.You can alternate between both poses for three weeks, she saw significant results in lengthening your spine, so that they are taller than me I'd had enough.Your legs must be exercised are your spine, sapling as well as for men, however, since being a better version of yourself.It very well explains while leaders are always reminded to eat properly.

Try as much as having such a manner where you are.A lot of kicking makes your bones to increase height in just the first thing you need a boost as well.This is perfect if you want to grow taller exercise will elongate and flex your spine straight and your mood.Hanging machines will also eliminate aches and pains which come with a good sleep is indeed effective if followed on the bed, to waken up your muscles resulting in you grow tall.Look at it this way, you do face certain disadvantages in life.

Nonetheless, with high heels on, women feel sexier and taller over time.While both the hand are interlocked with each and every person aspires to obtain a considerable increase in the future.That includes blood loss and even in your 40's!It is possible to add inches to your bones stronger as they are?In other words, you will be that just having one extra inch to your entire body around as much as possible.

[albinohare]

How to change sails at night: Pip Hare shares her top tips

Sail changes in the dark require good understanding from all crew about what might go wrong, and a high level of teamwork to identify and sort out problems before they escalate. Pip Hare shares some of her recommended techniques for successful sail changes at night

Reflections from white foredecks can diminish night vision so be wary when using torches. Photo: Jeremie Lecaudey / Volvo Ocean Race

Before dark

As routine, discuss what sail changes may be required overnight then set up as much as possible before dark. This helps minimise snags and should include checking sheets are correctly run, sails are well packed and ready to come on deck, spinnaker halyards are not tangled and on the correct side of the forestay for the next hoist.

When working with multiple halyards I often separate them before dark by attaching the higher one at the base of the shrouds and the lower at the base of the mast. That way any halyard can easily be identified with confidence it is not tangled. If storing at the base of the shrouds, remember to check the halyard has not swung behind the spreaders before each hoist.

Regardless of conditions ensure you’re ready to reduce sail quickly: halyards should be flaked, ready to run. Remember a quick drop would be essential in the event of a man overboard. Beware overstuffed halyard bags. I coil halyards and tack lines as large figures-of-eight and hang them over a winch during the night rather than put them in pockets.

Separate the up and down ropes for any snuffers, making sure everyone is aware which the down rope is – you could mark it with a piece of white tape. Running the down rope through a snatch block on deck is also a good safety measure for drops in the dark.

This allows the foredeck team to pull up on the snuffer line so if the spinnaker suddenly re-fills they’ll not get pulled off their feet. For furling offwind sails put the furling line onto a winch so it’s ready to bring in under load.

At the change of watch, make sure the oncoming crew know which ropes are where in the cockpit.

Communication

Particularly when working with spinnakers in the dark, good communication is essential – quite often the bow team are the only people who can see problems unfolding.

When on the bow ensure you’re facing towards the cockpit (remember to turn off your head torch) to communicate a problem, and keep instructions short and clear. Fold down large coat collars so your words are not muffled.

Avoid using words that can be mistaken and try to be precise with your instructions – eg I’d say: “’Drop spinnaker halyard one metre’ instead of ‘ease it a little’.”  Assume the cockpit team can see nothing.

It’s best to agree one person who will run the manoeuvre, if sailing double-handed this will often be the person on the bow.

With a larger crew chose someone in the middle of the boat who can relay information between helmsman and foredeck. Helmsmen used to taking control in these situations may need to learn to step back.

During the manoeuvre

Make life as easy as possible by sailing low and reducing the apparent wind for furling headsails, dropping or snuffing a spinnaker – even when racing keeping the foredeck as flat and wave free as possible will often result in a quicker manoeuvre and a gain overall.   

When reefing, drop the traveller and over sheet the jib. This will encourage the mainsail to back-wind with the minimum amount of mainsheet released while keeping the boat relatively flat.

Use luminous clutch labels and white or luminous whipped marks in ropes to identify when halyards are at full hoist and where reefing positions are. Avoid using red twine as this cannot be seen under red light.

Article continues below…

5 tips: How to manage fatigue when sailing offshore

It’s all very well refining every detail of your boat – re-cutting sails, longboarding your hull – but what is…

Night sailing: top tips and expert advice to see you safely through until dawn

Sailing through the night brings its own rewards: a contemplative stillness, phosphorescent trails through a star-lit sea, the soul-warming sunrises.…

Lighting

Think through the pros and cons before using the lights, if you can get by using natural light it will be best for everybody. Deck or steaming lights will help foredeck crews to see and be seen which is an important safety consideration. However, if there is a problem above the spreaders this will not be seen if using deck lights and crew working with their backs to the light can create shadows exactly over the spot where they’re working.

Head torches equally have their downsides – they can easily blind others, including the helmsman. When buying a head torch, chose one with a red filter and several settings for brightness. I use a red light as standard, switching to white for details or if greater distances need to be seen. Set a white light to the lowest brightness required for your job.

Don’t underestimate the reflection of bright white lights off a white deck – even if looking forward a head torch can kill the night vision of those behind you. Before turning on a white head torch, warn the crew around you and always avoid looking directly at anyone else. If working with a head torch down below, try hanging it around your neck so if someone talks you don’t have to worry about turning to answer them.

Invest in a high powered, focussed torch capable of illuminating the top of the mast, look for something over 500 lumens.

Safety

Going forward at night presents a greater risk so use harnesses and stay clipped on using the shortest practical tether. Some manufacturers now supply safety lines with luminous gates on the carabiners so crew can check at a glance that they are properly attached.

In the event of a man overboard, immediately mark your position on a GPS – if the MOB button on your instruments is not backlit consider marking it with a luminous sticker or just a piece of white tape.  Make sure your searchlight is close to the helm and fully charged. Practice MOB drill regularly, always keep equipment in the same place and check lights on all lifesaving equipment regularly.

The post How to change sails at night: Pip Hare shares her top tips appeared first on Yachting World.

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Take soapbox racing to the next level with a motorcycle engine

New Post has been published on https://nexcraft.co/take-soapbox-racing-to-the-next-level-with-a-motorcycle-engine/

Take soapbox racing to the next level with a motorcycle engine

CycleKart Club member Justin Tremain’s second build was inspired by the 1927 Nash Legion Special. (Justin Tremain/)

For the DIY petrol head, the ultimate project is building a kit car. The downside? It takes serious cash and serious time.

Similarly, restoring a classic car means following someone else’s rules, go-karting is fast but so very serious, and soapbox racers are for kids and wind-tunnel-equipped university engineering departments.

So what’s a gearhead with a small garage and $2,000-$3,000 in spending money to do? There is an answer: it’s called a cyclekart.

What the rack-and-pinion is a cyclekart?

When automobiles first went mainstream, every car was essentially a high-end luxury sedan. Huge, heavy, and most of all, expensive. Didn’t have the cash but craved speed and smell of oil and gasoline? Your only other option was to ride a motorcycle.

So entrepreneurs created a new class of four-wheeled conveyance. Cheaper and lighter than a car, more comfortable and stylish than a motorbike, the “cyclecar” was a hit for exactly as long as it took automakers to design lighter cars. That turned out to be about 15 years and a world war. So much for the cyclecar.

Flip forward to the turn of the millennium, when conditions were right for the creation of a new kind of hobbyist racer. Small, four-stroke engines were only a Google search away, you could buy welding gear for hundreds of dollars rather than thousands, and tubular steel was sold by the foot at your local big-box hardware store.

Most of all, though, the internet allowed obsessives to stare at pictures of 1930s Formula 1 racers (like the Mercedes-Benz W125, which many of us today would think of as the Monopoly Car), and decide: “Yes, I think I could build a small one of those.”

Two decades later, all of this has become even cheaper and easier to get into.

In short, a cyclekart is a self-built hobbyist racer that sits somewhere between the hardcore engineering of a go-kart and the bent nails, apple crates, twine, and gravity-assist of a soapbox racer.

It uses a steel frame, open-wheel design, with a rear-mounted 4-stroke engine (usually a 200cc, 6.5-horsepower Honda single-cylinder GX200), simple gearing setup, single drum brake, leaf springs, and eccentric 1930s-inspired bodywork.

Engineer Chuck Kraeuter built his cyclekart, Otis Automotis, with the engine at the front, giving it a unique appearance. (Chuck Kraeuter/)

Top speed is usually around 40-45 mph, which cyclekarters agree is just before the point where responsibility outweighs power. Yeah, you should wear a helmet, but because cyclekarts aren’t road legal or even recognized by regulators at all, you’re certainly free to feel the wind in your hair. At your own risk, of course.

Gee, that all sounds a bit hardcore…

Sure, building the running gear of your cyclekart requires you to dabble in serious engineering, but that’s where the hardcore ends. Because unlike all other forms of karting, the entire purpose of a cyclekart is… messing around with cyclekarts.

Or to put it another way: for cyclekart enthusiasts, the build is so much more than half the fun. It’s not about racing other drivers, teeth bared. It’s about racing other drivers while giggling because you’re in a tiny Bentley. Actually caring who wins the race is the last thing on a cyclekarter’s mind.

And so a true cyclekart enthusiast does not buy a complete vehicle, because that defeats the purpose of the hobby. Cyclekarts are self-built, because cyclekarters seek to reignite the metaphorical spirit of pure invention that started Formula 1 racing in the 1930s. Also the literal spirit of petroleum. These karts go well, sure, but the joy comes from making them look amazing as they rumble along a dirt track.

For a certain kind of DIY enthusiast, the real appeal of a cyclekart is that while everyone takes their projects seriously, nobody takes themselves too seriously. It’s meant to be fun first, and racing second. You start with bits of steel, some old Honda motorbike wheels, a teeny engine, and a vague idea of what you want your car to look like. And after a journey of discovery, you end up with your own little jalopy that really goes. What’s not to love?

Isn’t this just a really fancy soapbox racer?

Technically, soapbox racers and cyclekarts are both examples of go-karts or “karts” in general. What all these machines have in common is an open-wheel design and that they are smaller than regular cars.

If you say “go-kart” or “kart” without qualification, you will be understood to mean a really flat looking little thing with tiny wheels and a ridiculously powerful engine (some specialized two-stroke models develop as much as 48 horsepower), which you rent to drive around a track delineated by stacks of tires that you will crash into at some point.

The humble soapbox racer, meanwhile, is more correctly called a “gravity racer,” and if you drive one long enough, it will take not just the shirt off your back, but plenty of your skin too, as you slide down the local Big Hill upside-down at 38 mph before intersecting Old Man Peterson’s blackberry bush.

There are also Superkarts, which are raced on outdoor circuits and can hit 155 mph. From this, it’s easy to see that the cyclekart, while neither the fastest or most white-knuckle, is clearly the most elegant and civilized form of karting.

So… are there instructions?

The basic “go bits” of each cyclekart are more or less the same. Various forums and community websites detail the so-called Stevenson Formula, which shows how to build the chassis and running gear. It also specifies the dimensions of a cyclekart: 17-by-1.75-inch spoked rims, 2.5-by-17-inch tires, 38-inch track, and a wheelbase of about 66 inches.

After some grappling with MIG welding and trying to figure out where the 1/4-inch wrench went—you had it right there in your hand—the mini-motorist will be left with a wheel at each corner, a pull-start engine, a simple clutch, steering, a basic braking system, and that’s it. Everything else is up to the ingenuity of the builder.

Inspired by a 1937 Austin 7, this cyclekart shows the results you can get, even from a simpler build. (Kelly Wood/)

The general consensus is that the bodywork of a cyclekart should be visually inspired by pre-World War II Formula 1 racing. Indeed, from browsing the build journal page at The CycleKart Club, you’d be forgiven for thinking every new cyclekarter wants to build a Bugatti Type 37 or something based on Mercedes-Benz’s Silver Arrow racers of the 1930s.

But then you panel beat the hood over the jig you made from your kid’s old bunk bed, and it doesn’t quite look like a Type 37. In fact, it reminds you more of an old Fiat of some kind, and those are yellow, and you still have some yellow paint… and so it goes.

When the car looks like you want it to, order stickers and badges from the internet (fake speedometer and tachometer dials are a common in-joke), slap them on, and the results may surprise you.

Cyclekarts aren’t just clever—the best of them are actually beautiful. They look like the kinds of pedal cars driven around in old Hollywood movies by the children of extremely rich people, except a cyclekart weighs 250 pounds and can easily hit 45 mph.

Okay, so I built a 1:4-scale Alfa Romeo RL Targa Florio… now what?

Nice. You even computer-matched rosso corsa for the paint—great color! Now it’s time to take your cyclekart out to the closest meet, often called—absolutely tongue-in-cheek—a Grand Prix.

While cyclekarting only has a worldwide community measured in the high thousands, you might be surprised how close the nearest regular meet-up is. YouTube is an excellent resource for figuring out who is out there racing their cyclekarts for fun, and there are community websites and forums that welcome new builders and drivers with open arms.

After a weekend spent hurtling around a dirt track, the average cyclekart usually ends up somewhat the worse for wear, at least mechanically speaking. But that means you get to take the kart home and work on it some more, and that’s the fun part. You get to tweak it, and make it tougher and better.

Also, because the cyclekart platform itself is so standardized, new drivers don’t suffer the demotivational experience of seeing the veterans disappear in a cloud of expertly-tuned V-twin motorcycle engine smoke—everyone uses the same kinda-rubbish 6.5-horsepower single-cylinder. Nobody has four-wheel-drive, amazing suspension setups, or eight-speed double-clutch transmissions. Customized fuel? Pfft.

No, true excellence in cyclekarting comes from turning up with a shiny black Salmson Grand Prix 1927 or bright blue Delage D6 and having everyone go, “Dude, what is THAT?!”

Written By Anthony Fordham