November 2011

Final

published by Joe Justice on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 15:49

A hollow, dripping sound rang in Michael’s ear. He opened his mouth to speak and water poured out causing him to vomit and cough until his lungs were empty. The ground he was laying on was rocky and damp, but he wasn’t underwater anymore. Around him all he could see was darkness.

Part V

published by Joe Justice on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 15:48

For over a year Michael visited Shara and became more infatuated with her every day. His whole life began to evolve around her and the world around him faded away. He left his job, abandoned his friends and was content to live in the little shack built by his grandfather or in a tent beside the Swimming Hole. While his love for Shara remained platonic, it was very real and consuming.

Part IV

published by Joe Justice on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 15:47

The trip to the Swimming Hole was a blur. Michael’s mind was racing and his legs and lungs were on fire. He hadn’t bothered to take a car. A straight hike from the mill would have taken the same amount of time as driving since there were no roads that lead directly to it. But he didn’t hike; he ran. With a full, unrelenting sprint, he ran. His body would scream to him in pain, and he would trip and fall, gashing his skin on rocks, briars, stumps and twigs. But he didn’t stop, not for a moment. His skin just sealed over and his legs kept going.

Part III

published by Joe Justice on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 15:46

Michael crouched down at the edge of the Swimming Hole and flicked his fingers in the water. It had been two weeks since he had seen Shara, a mermaid, in that water. Or at least, that’s what he believed - but he was having his doubts. He stared into the water at his reflection, desperately wanting it to break and see Shara came to the surface.

Part II

published by Joe Justice on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 15:41

From time to time, throughout the day, Michael would attempt to talk to Shara; to try and understand who she was and how she got there. But more often than not, his attempts were fruitless. Shara was absentminded and bubbly in general and would often fade from one part of her life to the next, with no warning of where she was beginning and ending from event to event.

“How did you get here?” Michael had asked. “Aren’t mermaids from the ocean?”

The Eternal Mermaid’s Kiss

published by Joe Justice on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 15:35
I wrote this story back in 2007 and it's one I really like. It is a horror story, not really guts and gore, but not for the squeamish. It's roughly 8,000 words, so I've split it up into smaller parts to make it more readable. If you enjoyed reading it, let me know!

The Eternal Mermaid’s Kiss

By Joe Justice

Editing Text Files: The inherent problem with Linux server tutorials

published by Joe Justice on Tue, 11/22/2011 - 21:47

As I've thought about how to write up a tutorial on setting up a FTP server using Linux, I keep coming back to one, glaring problem: it's difficult to edit text in Linux. This is actually an amazing oxymoron if you know anything about Linux systems. There are probably thousands of commands and software tools available for text manipulation. Programming languages were developed purely for text manipulation. The entire Linux operating system is developed to be configured via simple, plain text documents.

I'm a terrible blogger

published by Joe Justice on Tue, 11/22/2011 - 11:23

I have to confess that I'm a really terrible blogger. It's not that I don't have any good ideas for blogs, I have ideas all the time. And it's not that I can't write, it's that when I do write I want to do it right – See how I turned a phrase there? Don't tell me I don't have incredible literary skillz.