Awesomeness in the guise of research

I generally like my job. Sometimes it’s frustrating. Other times it’s a blessing. Most of the times, it’s a bunch of waiting. Every so often, however, I get to do something truly amazing in the name of research. One of those times happened this past weekend when I joined a paranormal investigation team on an actual ghost hunt.

I’d met the folks at Nevermore Paranormal some time ago at a local convention and asked them if I could pick their brains so I could flesh out the MEG guys a bit more. Although MEG is just sort of there on the other end of a phone in Book 1, they play a bigger role in the future and I wanted to make them more than just a close guess of what I thought ghost hunters were. I’ve seen plenty on TV and read a lot in books, but I jumped at a chance to talk to the real deal.

And, some time later, I got to go with them to investigate the Squirrel Cage Jail in Council Bluffs, Iowa. I was happy to just go along and see an investigation in person. More than that, I got to hold a K2 meter and wave it around until the lights flickered at spikes in the magnetic field. It’s a lot more exciting than it sounds. I participated in EVP sessions, staked out a cellar in total darkness, took pictures of abandoned jail cells and tried to contact the Other Side. Pretty much an awesome way to spend a Friday night! It was even cool debunking some things that first seemed like major evidence. Although I didn’t get to hear any disembodied voices or see anything move or glow, I did have a few weird moments that aren’t so easily explained. (Surely, no HUMAN BEING would stack books like this) There were times that the electromagnetic fields seemed to fluctuate at just the right time in response to some questions we asked in one particular cell. Again, it was much cooler at the time.

Anyway, my thanks to everyone at Nevermore Paranormal. I did my best to contain myself and hopefully didn’t step on any toes. All of the MEG guys (and gals) are better for your efforts. You’ll just have to trust me on that for now because the next Skinners won’t be out for a while. Waiting…..now you’re in MY world!

MEG Branch 1

I put a link to MEG Branch 1 on the side of the page. It's just my page on Live Journal. I actually started out trying to put this blog on Live Journal just because some other people I know are on there. I found it hard to work with, so I ditched it and moved over to Blogger. It's not that LJ is overly complicated, but getting stuff set up on there just felt like a chore. Blogger seems a lot easier as far as arranging the layout and inserting pictures and all that crap.

Just a preference thing. No biggie.

The people I mentioned are still on LJ and you need to be a member to leave comments on some of them so I rejoined and put together another journal. I'm not crazy about updating more than 1 blog, so I decided to give that one an ectological focus. I can talk about supernatural stuff like ghost sightings, ghost hunting, urban legends, all that fun stuff. This will still be my normal day-to-day blog.

It's kind of funny because at the time I'm writing this, SKINNERS #1 isn't even on shelves yet and the only people who read this are a few friends and family (you will all be remembered when the New Order is implemented...heh). The last thing I need is another blog, but there it is. Not really that big of a deal when I think 2 blogs is probably a pretty low number for most folks. I still haven't done much of anything with my MySpace page, which I started for the same reason as I started the first LJ.

Enough of that. You get the idea. 1 blog is now 2. The link's on the side, so check it out if you like. If not, there'll still be plenty of crap right here!