Nazrax

Camp fire
I'm camping with my family, and we're working on building a fire. One of my kids has a long branch and breaks it up so it can go in my to-be-burned pile. My other kids like the idea and work on finding stuff they can break up to add in. The car is still half full of stuff (though I'm not sure if we're loading or unloading.)

Pizza delivery
I'm watching a video about pizza delivery guys and a strange sickness that they've started suffering from. It seems that, in order to give customers a reassuring sense of "sameness," all pizza delivery guys wear the same exact human-looking mask. Now the video is showing clips of some of the delivery guys pulling their masks off and looking pretty bad: they're panting, wiping sweat off of their pale faces, and just generally looking sick. Now it's showing two of them standing next to each other. They've got the same face and are wearing the same clothes, but their heights are very different. One of the guys tells the cameraman that his friend has to do this delivery because he customers will see though the "you always get the same guy" ploy if anyone else goes. Now I'm watching one of them driving to a delivery, snacking on the pizza he's supposed to be delivering.

Fragment: I'm with my family among some bare trees.

A bunch of short dreams
My son wants me to read him the next chapter in a book. He says that my wife told him that he could only read the first twelve pages. I realize I must have heard him wrong and that my wife (who's currently downstairs) wants to hear me read too. Now I'm downstairs, and I see her taking out her knitting needles.

I'm walking around in an airport. Off to my right, I see a guard in the process of closing a HUGE door. It's about five feet wide, but it's probably fifty feet tall. He gets it closed and I see that it looks like a bank vault door, with lots of stainless steel pistons and wheels. I don't understand why such a door would be in an airport, but whatever. As I think more about it, I realize that the airport must be on lockdown and I won't be able to leave. I hope it doesn't last long; I just want to get home. Now I'm walking around in the parking deck.

I'm in a room with my son. Both of us are getting dressed to go to the beach. Now we're ready and with some other people, and I see that we have a bag of stuff that needs to go with us. Someone suggests putting the straps of the bag through my swim shorts' belt loops, but that sounds like a really bad idea: I'm not wearing a belt, and I don't want the weight of the bag pulling my shorts down.

I'm at my computer looking at the current Steam sale. I'm amused that there's another one, since the Christmas sale only just ended. I'd been hoping that some of my friends would pick up a copy of Portal for their family, but they missed out. I search for Portal, to see if it's back down to Christmas-sale levels, and am surprised that the search comes back with no hits. That's really weird. I try searching for Trine, and this time I get only a single hit on some Trine-related DLC but not on any of the Trines themselves. Weird ... Anyway, the DLC is cheap, so I decide to get it. Looking over its reviews, people are doing the usual rant about how much they hate paid DLC. I hesitate, hoping that I'm not wasting my money getting DLC for a game I don't actually own.


Fragments:
I recommend that someone use the IBM Single-Sign-On ID everywhere he can so that it's easier for him to download things and to "muddle his profile"?

My wife asks me for advice for something about which I know nothing.

I'm camping IRL.
Bed @ 2125

Redwall
An otter babe (Redwall) meets his father for the first time and decides that he's not worth knowing. Other creatures also council his mother that she should stay away from the father. Later, I'm watching vermin trying to prepare what looks like a fancy meal as part of some scam to trick honest creatures. One of them is listing off various things they'll need, including a wine with a good mouth-feel. One of them gets roped into pretending to be the somolier - it seems he accidentally had some good wine in the past, so now he's considered to be the wine expert.

Mythbusters
I'm watching Mythbusters. They're having some kind of competition against some special forces people. The competitions are one-on-one, one Mythbuster against one special forces guy. They have to compete in three areas, and the winner forfeits his win if he gloats. Grant actually manages to beat his opponent, but he's disqualified because his shout of "NOW!" had too much triumph in it.

Now they're talking to someone who was injured when he couldn't get away from a propeller.

Now Jamie is talking with a "rural" guy about the results of the competition. Now they're racing some very strange contraptions. Jamie's is somehow built around an upright piano, and as he tries to go faster he ends up knocking the piano over.


Puzzle museum
I see a museum that's full of stuff which the residents of the town have been collecting for many years. Unfortunately, some people have become fed up with it and have started vandalizing it. Now I'm looking at some beautiful framed puzzles. Some of them are photographic, while others are more abstract, but I really like all of them. Unfortunately, none of them are finished, and many have large areas which are missing pieces. Somehow I find the bags of pieces and start trying to finish the puzzles. I'm quickly able to fit in large sections which had been separately put together but never added to the final puzzle. Now I'm looking at a puzzle showing all of the Disney princesses. I notice that there should be a recurring villain, but all her pieces are missing. I hunt through my bag of pieces, find her, and put her in place. Now I'm looking at a number of puzzles side-by-side and marvel at how well their color schemes match.

Old radio show
I'm watching events playing out as narrated by an old radio show. There's some kind of slapstick chase going on, but it's dragging out much longer than a modern show would, and they have to break it in the middle to go to commercials. Now they're recording a new show. I see a German boxing instructor, and I hear him speaking German, but quietly; the English narrator is telling us what the instructor is saying. Now there's a German in the streets waving his arms and generally making a scene, forcing cars to slow and go around him, as he loudly declares that Brits are weak and can't sing. Now he's singing, and he sounds horrible.

Meeting Markiplier
I'm eating somewhere at Georgia Tech. Looking up, I realize I'm sitting directly across from Markiplier. I work up my courage enough to tell him how much I'm enjoying his Subnautica videos, tell him never to apologize for "geeking out" about how amazing exploration in a game is. I ask how many more videos in the series he's planning to make, and he says that he's done for now. There are too many things he needs to get that haven't been implemented (particularly screws), so he's going to wait a few months before getting back to it. He also makes mention of that "crazy Nazrax guy" who keeps asking for "that ice thing." I laugh and give him a playful shoulder punch, saying that I'm Nazrax, I have no idea what ice he's talking about, but he really really needs to build himself some beacons. He says something noncommital. I ask if he really reads all the comments on his videos, and he says he reads most of them.

Now I'm somewhere else and I run into him again. He's printing out some kind of daily itinerary / status report, and I see that it says he's 79% done with his daily tasks. Now I'm making a bunch of comments on a video. I realize that I really should have threaded them and manage to drag and drop them into a proper order.

Bed @ 2245
Woke @ 0530 /w alarm

Electric guitar
I'm watching a group of musicians. One of them has just switched over to an electric guitar and is trying to figure out how to make it work. He's strumming the strings, but they're very rubbery and hardly make any sound at all. Someone points out that his guitar isn't actually plugged into a speaker, and they start looking around for the right cable. Now it's plugged in, and he's trying again, but it's still not making the right sound. He tries strumming, he tries plucking, he tries picking, but nothing is working right.

Fragment: Something outside a house.

Bed @ 2225
Woke @ 0140

Math
I'm helping both my son and daughter with some math. It was supposed to be simple, but I've now covered the whiteboard in long multiplication and/or division. My flow has split into two, some going right, another going up and to the right - just for my daughter. I haven't even started on my son's problem. I'm trying to demonstrate something about something they're doing, showing them that life isn't as simple as they'd like it to be. I ask for a prediction about the next step, and only my son gets it right. My daughter does something wrong and comes out with an answer that's double what it should be.

WBTB. BTB @ 0155
Woke @ 0330; lost recall
BTB @ 0350
Woke @ 0600

Caravanning home
I'm driving on 120 behind a some other cars; we're all headed for my house. Just as the car in front of me goes through a light, it turns yellow. Normally I'd stop, but since I'm trying to stay with them I gun the engine and make it through before it turns red. Now I "don't trust one car" (I wrote it in my DJ, but I have no idea what that means ...). It tries to run, and a couple of the cars in my caravan try to chase it down to cut it off. It turns down a driveway. One of the cars in my group follows while the other pulls in sideways to block off the driveway and stop it from coming back out. I realize they've turned into the Brothers' driveway and know that there's nowhere to go. Now we're all parked in the driveway. The driver is somehow injured and is complaining loudly, but he's being held by a couple of large Brothers; I know they're more than capable to see to his injuries while keeping hold of him.

Now we're all in our cars, turning left out of the driveway. I realize that I should have been in the lead, but it's too late now. I manage to pull into the middle of the line so at least I'm not at the back. I see my 6yo daughter driving the car next to me, but I don't think anything of it. Looking left and right, I'm having trouble seeing around her car, so I can't see if it's safe to go. I'm pretty sure nothing's coming, so I make the turn as quickly as I can. Now I'm driving along, and a HUGE oncoming truck (with two trailers) swerves into my lane, hits the guard rail, and comes to a stop. There's a strange "sidecar" hanging out of the side of the cab, and the guy in it starts shouting up to the driver. I slow down and somehow slolom between the trailers.

Now I'm home. I talk to Mom, then someone comes in with a large bag with coins spilling out of it. Now I'm serving up some soup. We didn't have many cans left, so everyone only gets a half bowl, but they all ate earlier so I hope it'll be enough. Now I'm talking to someone about the symbolism of the characters in Firefly - especially in the episode where everyone's inside Odo's mind. River represents compassion; <someone> is reasoning; Jayne is strength. An enemy is killing them one-by-one. I think that the episode took a turn for the worse once other members of the DS9 crew showed up - mixing shows like that is just weird.

Now we're playing a board game which has "students" and "trainers." Students become trainers by rolling dice until they get a certain value; trainers can be downgraded to students if they get hit with "sprainers." I really don't like games which don't let you move at all until you hit a certain magical value. I've never played this game before, and I don't know if I will again.

Bed @ 2310
Woke @ 0630

Factory puzzler
I'm playing a first-person game set inside a factory with a very industrial feeling to it. Lots of panels, catwalks, etc. I'm in a long corridor which has two channels, one on each side. My goal is to use portals (e.g. from Portal) to get large (boulder-sized), rolling spheres from one end to the other. Right now, I'm concentrating on the one on the right, completely ignoring the one on the left. I open a portal in a wall it's about to hit along with another portal on the floor past the wall, and I see the sphere roll through the portal and fly a few feet into the air on the other side. I have the feeling that was the wrong move; I'm probably going to have to start this level over.


Sneaking snack
I'm sneaking through what feels like an office building. I'm in a fairly large room. A door is to my right, a conveyor belt is moving right-to-left in front of me, and there's a door at the far end of the conveyor belt. I take out a small glass object and throw it at the door at the far end of the belt, and the object shatters. At least the conveyor belt seems to collect the shards. I hope no one heard the crash.

Now I'm in a wide hallway. I realize a janitor is headed my way, so I turn and look at the choices in a large vending machine in the middle of the hallway. I'm amazed at the prices: anywhere from $8-$9, depending on whether the snack has chocolate in it or not.

Now I'm entering a slightly darkened room. At first, I think it's empty. I see a strange grid on the floor in the middle of the room and try to figure out what I'm seeing. As I look at it, I realize that the grid is actually surrounded by rows of people - students, I believe. Someone is talking about a weapon that Adam built when the world was created. It's hidden under Atlanta, and they need to find and deactivate it before it "wakes" and destroys the city.


Vacation packing
I'm in a bedroom along with my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law. They're packing, but I'm really tired and lay down. Now I'm loading the car. Now I'm dividing snacks between the two cars. A "plastic shoebox" is full of pre-wrapped brownies. I'm counting them to make sure there are enough for my wife and our kids in the van plus myself and my father-in-law in the other car. Thankfully, we just have enough for everyone.

Now we're in a little repair shop, parked on some kind of maintenance pad. I walk around the car to the driver's side, take a cable from a female employee, and plug it into my hubcap. Another employee tells me that the diagnostics all pass, so we don't need anything done, and I'm embarrassed to have taken up their time for nothing. He reassures me that they'd rather have me bring it in when I don't need to than to have something break on the road.

Bed @ 2235
Woke @ 0600; WBTB /w mantras, BTB @ 0620 (took a bit to get back to sleep)
Woke @ 0700

Feeling gravity
I'm in the bathroom at work. I've finished washing my hands and am about to leave when I decide to check my phone to see if someone's sent me the information I need. I don't have any new messages, so I'm about to head out, but something reminds me that I should do an RC. I do a nose-pinch, fully expecting it'll show reality, but I find that I can breathe. I'm completely convinced that this is reality, so I must have done it wrong. I do it again, breathing in, then out, and I can still breathe. I'm having a really hard time believing I'm dreaming, but I clearly am. I rub my hands, then reach out and feel a screw in the side of a stall. I'm amazed at how accurate everything looks and feels. I realize I'm doing the "move really slowly so I don't pop the dream" thing and make an effort to move normally from this point on. I grab a paper towel and wad it up, again amazed at how real it all feels.

I remember my goal of increased awareness and run my senses over my body, immediately noticing that the gravity is wrong: I feel much too light, and there's hardly any pressure on my feet. For a moment my balance goes funny, but I get it back quickly. I jump into the air, then slowly float down, enjoying the feeling. I leave the bathroom and walk down a hallway trying to decide what to do. I'm going to try to get outside to fly again. I see a T intersection coming up and stop, trying to think what to imagine that would get me outside most easily; but I wake up.

Bed @ 2145
Woke @ 0215; BTB @ 0230, couldn't sleep; BTB @ 0520
Woke @ 0640

Going to a wedding
I'm at Bob W's house. I pull up YNAB on my phone to check something, and he sees it and asks me about it, appreciating that I'm taking good steps to take care of my finances. Now we're getting ready to leave to go to a wedding, and I'm still in my grubby clothes. I'm not sure where my good clothes are, but I think they're waiting for me where the wedding is being held. Now I'm in the house by myself; I know that everyone else has already loaded up in Bob's van and they're waiting for me. I have a moment of doubt about whether we'll all fit, but I assume he knows what he's doing and that we'll be fine.

Now I'm sitting by myself in a vehicle. I look around and realize I'm not in a minivan. I get out and see that I was in a large station wagon. I walk out of their garage onto their driveway, and I see a huge double-decker tour bus, and I know they're waiting for me. I get on board. To my left, a narrow stairway goes up to the upper deck. Another passage leads off to my right to the driver, and I can only see one chair - a nice big padded one - in front of me. Now we're driving down his driveway, and the driver makes some comment about having shifted too many gears too soon, and that he can't shift back, so it'll be a tough merge into traffic on the main road.

Now we've arrived and are in the room where the wedding will be held. It's a small room with lots of dark wood; very attractive, but I'm concerned that there are only three chairs plus a lectern. I look around the room again and realize that it's actually a hallway; there are many closed doors going this way and that. A woman - the wedding organizer - says that a couple more chairs are on their way, but I know that's just not enough - it won't even be enough for our small party, let alone for all the other guests. Looking through a window, I notice that one of the doors leads out onto a balcony.

Now I'm standing on the balcony with Blake, looking down at a steep beach. A huge wave crashes over the beach, going way up the sand, eventually cresting the top and going down the far side. I can see a large bag get washed over, and I know that there's a path down there - though I can't see it - that's about to get washed over.

Tasks of the Month
I'm in a house, and I realize that I'm dreaming. I start to move slowly and carefully, then I remember that I always do that in my lucids and force myself to walk normally while making it a priority to remember that I'm dreaming. I try to remember what my goals are and remember that the first TOTM is to find a missed present. I try to visualize what a Christmas tree with a single present under it would look like, then turn around, expecting to find it. Instead, I find a whole bunch of small, sparse, undecorated trees. I don't see any presents, but I walk over and look under them. I see something small near the wall, so I crawl under the trees to get it. It's a huge pouch of Fruit by the Foot. I tear it open, curious as to what I'll find inside, and I'm almost surprised that it actually has Fruit by the Foot in it. I pull the roll out and see that it's not well rolled, and it's somehow really gooey. I unroll a bit and try a bite. Because it's so gooey, I end up getting a bit of the paper in my mouth, but I decide that, since I'm dreaming, the paper won't be a problem, and I can't even feel it. It tastes just like the real thing. I get some on my fingers, and I have trouble getting it off.

Now that I've completed the first task, I try to recall another one, and I remember the pencil task. I start to form an image of a table with a piece of paper and a pencil; then I notice that there's already a table in front of me, covered with arts supplies, with someone sitting at while drawing. I'm already fixated on the idea of summoning a table and completely ignore the one in front of me. Once I have the image in my mind, I turn around to find a table exactly as I'd pictured it. Walking up to it, I mentally command the pencil to draw something. It rises to a 45 degree angle and starts to scribble all over the paper. Some areas are densely colored in with jagged strokes, and other areas have wide, flowing curves. Oddly, the pencil is drawing in blue. The paper was already half-covered in some kind of picture, and the existing design is quickly hidden by the scribbles.

Now that I've completed both tasks, I try to think of something else to do, and I decide to summon Jadzia Dax (I have absolutely no idea where this idea came from - I haven't watched DS9 in years). I think of what she looks like and turn around, but no one is there. I start wandering the house looking for her. I see a couple of people and ignore them, then finally find someone who kind of looks like her, even if she is wearing a dress. As soon as I start walking towards her, she changes into a grizzled man with a buzz cut. I try to change him back, but it doesn't work, and the dream fades.

BTB @ 0650.
Woke @ 0810

Foiled flying
I'm in a house looking at a post from Heather. A picture shows two of her boys playing with a strange toy: one of them is holding something in his mouth, and the other is pulling on a long elasticated cable attached to the mouthpiece. I can't imagine what this thing is supposed to do and how they can play with it without one of them getting hurt; either the one with the mouthpiece gets a face full of elastic or the other one ends up with a hard mouthpiece flying at him. The caption of the picture says something about home-made gifts often being the best ones.

Now I'm working on Poppy's table with Bob H. The table has been pulled apart in the middle, and he's trying to put the leaves (3 of them, each 6 inches wide) back in. He's having trouble, trying to put them in the wrong way, and I really want to tell him that I'll take care of it, but I don't so I don't offend him. Eventually he puts an extension in the tip of the table (since when has this table had extensions?). I try to look at it without being obvious to see if the grain of the wood matches - I don't think he got it right. Thankfully, he announces that he needs to leave and asks me to finish up and then put the table away somewhere safe (it's currently off to the side of the living room just to get it out of the way).

Now he's gone, and I realize I'm dreaming. Vividness is poor but not bad. I rub my hands, but it doesn't really do much. Nearby, I see my dog and cat lying down in front of the fireplace, and the dog is licking the cat. I praise him for being a good dog, walk over, and pet the cat. Her fur is warm and soft, and the dream grows more vivid. I try to focus on more of my senses to see what else I can pick up. I can't smell anything, and there's nothing to taste, but I can hear her purr. I stand up and decide that this time I'm going to practice flying.

I walk down a hallway and turn left towards the front door. I open it and pass through and am disappointed to find myself in the garage. I decide there's no need to wait until I'm outside to fly and jump into the air then zoom towards the open garage door. Unfortunately, there's chain-link fence covering the doorway. I steel myself to pass through it, knowing that I've flown through things before; but as I'm about to hit, I have a moment of doubt, and I get caught my it. I manage to force myself through, but I'm disappointed to find myself in another indoor area. I scold myself for failing to properly imagine what I should find. Looking around, I see that there's a section of the ceiling that seems to be open, and I fly towards it. As I get closer, I see that it's also covered by chain-link, but at least I can see sky beyond it. Once again, I get caught by the fence, and I end up waking up.

Bed @ 2230
Woke @ 0520

High-rise hotel
I'm in a high-rise hotel room, wearing my bath robe, moving around quietly so I don't wake my wife. Something strikes me as "off" and I realize I'm dreaming. I look around, marveling at how good everything looks. I remember I'd intended to rub my hands together to stabilize, but I decide to just run my hand along the wall instead. I remind myself that this is a dream and that everything I see and touch is a creation of my own mind (but it doesn't really affect me). My wife gets up, and I worry that means that my real-world wife is going to wake me up. I try to about how to use the dream, but my wife is telling me about some problems she's had with our email lists, and I don't want to ignore her in case I'm wrong about this being a dream. I half-heartedly answer her while trying to think how I can prove to myself whether this is a dream or not (doing a nose-pinch never even crosses my mind). Eventually, I decide that, yes, this really is a dream, and I need to get to it.

As I'm trying to decide how to use the dream, I remember that the current task of the month is to find a buffet. I picture a table full of food in a hallway, open the door, and go out. I do end up in a hallway, but there's no food. The hallway dead-ends to my right at another picture window, so I follow it around a corner to my left. I see an open doorway to my left and a stairwell (going down) to my right. I marvel that this place looks exactly like it does in real life (which it doesn't - this place doesn't exist). I look through the doorway and find only a small room. Turning around, I see that there's now a plastic card table (white) set up between a new doorway and the stair railing. Some of my kids are arranging bags of candy on it. It's not quite the buffet I'd been planning on, but it's still a table full of food, so I think it's close enough. I remember I'd had an additional goal of eating something, so I walk over to see what's there. I see some large bags of peanut butter M&Ms, but they're not open yet, and I don't want to open them myself. To their left is a large bag of small assorted candies, and it's already open. I reach in and pull out what I believe to be a small Snickers. My eldest daughter laughs at me for my choice and makes a comment. I rip it open and am surprised that it has a small heart covered in red foil. I'm amused - even though it's Christmas time, the table is full of Halloween candy, and now I have a Valentines chocolate? Somehow I know it's dark chocolate, so I don't mind the weirdness. As I'm unwrapping it, I wake up (for real).

Points: 27

Bed @ 2300
Woke @ 0440

Cooler cleanup
I'm at home, looking at the street, watching as strange garbage trucks drive along my road. They've got some kind of water cannon on top near the back of the truck, and they're spraying out the trash cans they pass. Now I'm out at the street, having just brought out our large styrofoam cooler, hoping they can clean it out. Sure enough, they turn down the water cannon's pressure and spray it out well, getting into all the places I have trouble with.

Unknown test
I'm walking through a town, looking at the buildings around me. Most are fairly normal houses, but there are a couple of odd ones. Just after passing through a gate, I see a small, bright red, corregated metal dome which is maybe 5 feet across and 3 high. A couple of houses later I see another odd metal building, this one house-sized. I'm confident that "The Tower" is responsible for building them. I don't see any way in or out of either one, but I do find a switch which causes them both to rotate. I suspect there's a puzzle to be solved here, but I don't know if it's actually solvable yet, so I leave it and keep walking. Now I'm looking at three small tunnels - they're large enough for a couple of people to walk next to each other. Two of them are somehow "collapsed" and only one is open. People on strange little carts are zipping out of it. I suspect that only one tunnel can be open at any time, and that when another one is opened the current one will collapse. I don't know what would happen to the people inside, but I guess they're zipping through quickly to reduce the chances of it happening to them.

Now I'm sitting with my wife in a cafeteria, with the tunnels behind me. Sitting across from us is a man who's arranging some testing for us. He can't give us any information at all about the tests, but we have to make some choices anyway. The first choice is which of two of the tunnels to go down. My wife and I have to choose different tunnels. I ask my wife if she wants to choose, and she doesn't, so I choose the one on the right. Now, he asks me to choose either "3" or "8," and I choose 8. He tells me that, because of my choices, I'm going to be getting the paper towel test. As it happens, I've heard some rumors about this one. Someone said that it's really important not to get your paper towel wet, since you do poorly if it tears.

I kiss my wife, stand up, and head off towards a much larger central room. The testing guy is standing by the door and comments appreciatively that I must really love my wife. I tell him that Mom is British, then head into the main room. Before finding the testing area, I decide to relieve myself and head for the bathrooms. Now I'm in the bathroom, which is long and skinny, and I realize that I'm the only man in here. None of the women seem to notice me, so I don't think I could have stumbled into the wrong bathroom by mistake, but I head outside to check. Sure enough, I was in the women's bathroom, and I see there's a closed gate in front of the men's, saying that because men taking such-and-such a test are required to have full bladders, no men are currently allowed in the bathroom. I'm not pleased, but there's not much I can do about it. I realize I don't have my paper towel and head off to find the testing guy. After wandering through a couple of packed rooms (one of which is full of only young adults) and despairing about ever finding him, I finally track him down. He apologizes for forgetting to give it to me (though I wonder if even this is part of the test) and gives me a stack of supplies. It ranges from sheets of cardboard (which are each a few square feet) down to tiny somethings, along with some tools. I can't hold it as presented, so I try to put it down to reorganize it; but people keep coming up trying to help me. I finally shoo them away, get it organized, and pick it up.

Now I overhear people talking about my test. One says that it's dangerous, that some people have died, and the speaker took the 'easy' way out - something involving a knife covered in spikes - the moment it became an option. I have no idea what any of that means. Now I'm in a girls' bedroom somewhere along with a handful of kids. There's an attached bathroom, and I excuse myself to it. I hope this isn't considered cheating - but it was closed for a different test, and it's been a long time, and I still haven't started my test, and I really need to go. I try to close the door but it's not wide enough for the doorway and is inches away from latching. I look around to see if I'm missing anything, but I'm not. The kids seem to be distracted, so I decide to go ahead and relieve myself. Suddenly I get a chill/goosebumps down my left arm. I start, trying to figure out what caused it, but I can't figure anything out. My arm actually feels kind of numb - what's going on? I wake up.

BTB @ 0500
Woke @ 0715

Fragments:
A girl who wants to do something and is complaining about gender inequality.

A quick view of a place where police lineups are held: they're making stripes on the back wall using masking tape.

We're meeting Megan in a parking lot. We've pulled in, and I'm waving at her, getting her attention. Now we're in a store, and her son is causing problems (as usual).

Points: 5.5

Bed @ 2310
Woke @ 0520

Fixing an old injury
I'm in a long, narrow room in an old house. A doctor is preparing to do surgery on a man's arm, trying to fix an old wound that was never properly dealt with. He takes a pair of X-rays of the man's arm: one from the top and one from the bottom. The X-ray from the top looks normal, but the one from the bottom shows a long, slightly wavy, finger-width groove running the length of the bone. He explains to the family that he's going to have to fill this groove.

Lucid introspection
I'm with my wife. We're in a wide stairway / hallway area in some kind of weird multi-tenant house (maybe a bed and breakfast). I know this is a dream (though my awareness is extremely low). I want to get into a bathroom (I have a reason in the dream, but I don't remember it). In front of us, on the wall to my left, is a large plate-glass window. Looking through it, I can see a bathroom. A young woman is in there, doing something, but I'm not concerned since this is just a dream. Now my wife and I are in the bathroom, and the young woman* leaves without a word. * The bathroom is fairly wide and very long. The long wall across from the window is completely covered by a mirror. Running the length of the mirror is a shallow counter, maybe a foot deep, which is covered in a variety of small things (toiletries?) from one end to the other. I take a closer look at some of the stuff in front of me, then turn right and walk through a doorway into a very large bedroom. Carpet is on the floor, a king size bed is off to our left, and there's a small dresser and a door on the right-hand wall, but otherwise the room is empty. * I mentally run down my lucid 'progress', thinking that my daytime practice is doing pretty well, and my dream recall is generally OK, but that the only thing left is the frequency of my lucids, which is much better than it's ever been but still has a great deal of room for improvement. Of course, since lucid frequency is the only thing that really matters, it's not saying a lot to say that it's "the only thing left."

BTB @ 0530 (took a while to get to sleep)
Woke around 0700

Steam controller fiddling
I'm sitting at a dining room table, working at a computer, fiddling with my Steam controller. Some of my kids are standing around behind me, watching me. Ever since I got the controller they've been fascinated by it. Now I'm going down the steps in the house (dream-me thinks I'd been upstairs in my office and I'm coming back down), and I'm thinking about Steam's streaming. Would it be better to have the controller's receiver plugged into the computer receiving the stream, or would it be better to have the controller plugged into the computer sending the stream? After all, if the receiver is being controlled, then there might be input lag; but if the signal is strong enough to make it all the way upstairs, then even if I get video lag I won't have to fight with input lag as well.


Fragment: I'm outside, somewhere grassy, with a group of young adults from church.

Points: 15.5

Bed @ 2225*
Woke @ 2330 /w nothing.*
Woke @ 0200 /w nothing.*
Woke @ 0345 - unknown reason

Remote pairing
I'm in "my room" talking with my team lead on the phone, using my Bluetooth headset. My phone shows me a notification that something's crashed, but I assume it's some background process since everything seems to be working OK. My lead is doing most of the talking, and I'm generally making "Uh-huh" noises. It's only when I actually try to add something that I realize he can't hear me. I start fiddling with the phone, trying to get 'unmuted.' Eventually, he asks me a direct question, and after trying again with the headset I disconnect it and hold up the phone to my ear. This time he can hear me and I explain what happened with the headset before getting back to the conversation at hand. He wants to spend most of tomorrow pairing with me on our project, some kind of radio hardware, and we're planning out what we want to accomplish.

Now I'm walking away from my building, crossing shopping center parking lots. I need to get some distance from my office to test something out. I'm concerned that radio signals are just too finicky, and that all the stuff around here will create all sorts of 'hot spots' and 'cold spots' and we just won't be able to make sense of our results unless we get much better testing hardware. At a minimum, we're going to need a proper signal strength meter, but we're also going to need ... something else (I forget in-dream). Now I'm still moving away from my building, but I'm somehow in a sitting position, sliding backwards over the ground, frictionless, though it's a very bumpy ride and I have to watch out for hedges lining the driveways.

Now I'm walking again, approaching the intersection of a couple of busy roads. A utility truck is pulled up onto the grass, and the utility guy is walking around. I can hear rock music blaring even though I'm still a ways away from him. This is my general destination - my lead wants me to test from here, though I don't think it'll work, since I no longer have line-of-sight to my building.

Now I'm standing on the steps of what seems to be a condemned tenement building. The whole thing is painted brick red, though the paint is peeling. There's another similar structure across the street, though it's actually made of brick. My lead is with me, and I point over, saying that we may be able to 'spike' the building across the street near its top with a radio repeater if we can figure out who to ask for permission. As I descend the steps, I look around, wondering if anyone still lives here despite the terrible condition of the building. The board I try to use as a railing turns out not to be connected to anything and I jump, not expecting it to pull away in my hand. I put it back down, then descend the steps even more carefully.I walk along a grassy area until I can finally look back to see the College of Computing, which is at the end of a shopping center strip. It's got a drive-around that I didn't remember being there.

Now I've walked back and gone inside, and I'm in the waiting room of a doctor's office, standing in line to pay. To my left, a frosted glass window opens and the receptionist spays me with water as if from a shower head. I yelp, dashing around, trying to get out of the stream, and she laughs uproariously. I'm not pleased, but I like the people here and I can't feel too annoyed at them. Back in line, I look around carefully, and no more ambushes seem to be forthcoming. The guy in front of me turns and hands me a wallet he thinks I dropped - it certainly looks like mine. I open it and find it's full of British pounds, not dollars, and I tell him it's not mine. Hearing "pounds," another man turns, sees the wallet, and exclaims that it's his. He gives me a hand-written note and some American bills he's been carrying, explaining that he wanted to give a reward to whoever gave found and returned his wallet. His English is good if rather accented - German, maybe. I'm not sure what to do - I wouldn't mind a few extra spending dollars, but I don't want to take advantage of him either. I make a very small effort to return the money, but he rebuffs me, and I don't press it. I'm having trouble counting the bills - at first, I think it's a five and a one, but each time I look at it it's different. At one point, I think it's a twenty, a ten, and a five. Eventually, I remember the note and look at it. It's scrawled in nearly unintelligible handwriting, a thank you for finding his wallet. Along the left side is his own recipe for something. I don't try to interpret the note or the recipe since the handwriting is so bad, but I do keep it for later study.

Now I'm talking to one of the doctors. He's amused, smirking, reminding me of the reason I trust him, that he doesn't take any of my personal information; but then he runs through all the various agencies, groups, and regulations they have to deal with which completely destroy any semblance of privacy I may have had.

BTB @ 0410; can't sleep until 0610
Woke @ 0715

Delta lucid?
I'm looking at a gray-on-gray "field," and I know I'm asleep. I'm aware of the feeling of my right hand. I manage to form an image of a hand and open and close it without affecting my physical hand.

Searching for sky; flight!
I'm in a rather plain room with a family I feel I know, a man and couple of teenage kids. I'm working with some food laid out on the lid of a large Rubbermaid tub. I take a small piece of fish steak out of a square Glasslock container where it's been sitting on wax paper and marinating in something dark. Someone asks me if I know how to handle fish and I answer yes.

I remember that I'm dreaming and reach out to feel the edge of the lid, its plasticy sharpness. The people are gone. I stay calm, moving slowly, breathing deeply, fixing the knowledge that this is a dream in my mind (I forget to rub my hands). I feel the top of the lid, then the wall near me, then start to head outside. I need to get outdoors so I can fly. I move very slowly, as if quick movement will shatter the dream or make me forget (I need to work on that ...)I walk through the doorway and find myself in something like a small enclosed garden - grass on the ground, other growing stuff around, 4 walls, and something overhead. I walk through another doorway and find myself in another small room, then in another enclosed outdoor space. I see a screen door (it's green all over) and launch myself through it, but I just find myself in another enclosed space. I start to get concerned - what if I can't find a way out? I calm myself and don't let myself get sucked into it. I reflect that I'm not yet very good at dream control, so I don't trust myself to bust through a wall, but I can still use simpler, more reliable methods. I stop, telling myself that there will be a doorway around the next corner, picturing it in my mind, picturing the sunlight shining through it. I turn the corner and find myself in a garden with a fence. There's still something overhead, but there's a gap between the covering and the fence, and sunlight is streaming through the gap. I'm so relieved, I feel a huge weight lifted from myself.

I launch myself up through the gap, and I'm out, hovering in the air about ten feet up. I'm so happy, but I keep control of myself. Buildings are on either side of me, and a kind of wide alley stretches out before me; but I can still see the blue sky above. I pause for a moment - I've never gotten beyond this stage, so now what? I focus on feeling confident, go into what feels like a natural flying pose - right arm forward, left arm cocked backwards - and start moving upwards and forwards, out beyond the buildings. I remember that part of my goal is to really feel the sensation of flying, of wind in my face, of speed and height, but I get nothing. I'm out in the open now, with nothing around me. To my left, I see a woman flying in, holding an umbrella. I wake, feeling amazing and slightly emotional.

Fragment: I'm holding my mini-massager, trying to use it; but the battery is so low that it can barely vibrate.

Points: 36

Bed @ 2310
Woke @ 0145

Real FPS
I'm inside an FPS (somehow I know it's System Shock). I'm near the elevator, and I've already cleared the whole level. Before taking the elevator, I decide to run around this area using a tool which makes the white walls darker whereever my aiming reticle is pointed. Once I've made most of the walls pretty dark, so that they match <something>, I head to the elevator and go to level 3, skipping over level 2.

Now I'm wandering around on level 3. I'm holding down a different button that's somehow leaving a blue trail on the ground behind me so I can figure out where I've already been. I realize that I can't make any progress here - everywhere I try to go is somehow gated, and I know I'm being pushed back towards level 2 in order to get what I need to get past the gates.

Now I'm in the elevator lobby fighting some humanoid enemies. I manage to shoot a couple and then start summoning some kind of power - fire, maybe? Two of the remaining enemies come at me together. I focus my attention on one, attempting to use my power on him, but nothing seems to be happening. The other one manages to grab me and starts to concentrate. Somehow I know he's summoning his own power to use Sickness on me. I panic, knowing that any moment now he'll finish and I'll feel sick, and I don't know how to cure magical sickness. I try to get him off, but I can't. The veins in his throat turn green, and I know he's finished; but I don't feel any different. I wonder what went wrong, but I'm thankful for it.

WBTB, mantras, visualization. BTB shortly after 0200.
Woke @ 640

Quitting smoking
I'm in a guest bedroom somewhere. I see that I have two different lighters and try them both out. One has a nice big flame, while the other has a tiny flame that just barely comes out. I hold the tiny one up to my lips and feel a slick hardness, almost as if it's chapstick. I have the sudden realization that I'm going to have to stop smoking those tiny cigarrette-shaped cigars someone recommended to me since my insurance forbids any tobacco use at all. (I don't and have never smoked, so I have absolutely no idea where this came from ...)

Careful reading
I'm looking at a small 2-row bookshelf. I turn to talk to someone about one of the books I saw and that I've read in the past, and he tells me that I can't really appreciate the book unless I read it much more carefully than I did. I consider telling him that I actually listened to it, but he'd probably be even less pleased, so I don't say anything.

Hunter and hunted
I'm watching a small group of people trying to escape from someone who's trying to hunt them. They're in an area with huge mounds of dirt, using them as cover. Eventually, they find themselves in a small dead-end canyon. They try to figure out what to do - maybe climb the walls? - before their hunter reaches them.

Bathroom drop
I'm in a white tile bathroom fiddling with a hatch on the floor. I'm wearing an experimental bathrobe/parachute combination, and I'm about to open the hatch and drop through, then use the suit to land safely. Part of the test will also be grabbing another guy mid-air and safely landing both of us. I'm a bit worried about the hatch - I don't want someone to come into the bathroom carelessly and fall to his death. I don't think there's any way I can jump while keeping it closed, but maybe I can lock the door, or maybe I can put up some kind of barrier around it ...

Fragment: Something about a breaker box with only three breakers: two on the left, one on the right. The one on the right is currently off, and I turn it back on with a solid snap.

Points: 7.5

Bathroom hunt
I'm in a long, fairly narrow room. The walls and floor are all tiled a light green, and a doctor is with me. We walk from one end of the room to somewhere near the middle, and I realize I really need a bathroom. Sheepishly, I ask her where one is, and she vaguely gestures to one side while giving instructions that I don't follow. I head off in the direction she waved in.

Now I'm walking through a large area. In front of me, off to the right, I see a doorway labeled as a single-seat bathroom. It seems odd for such a large place, but whatever. Now I'm inside the bathroom. It's a large room, at least 20'x20'. I don't understand why a single-seater would be so large, but whatever. In the middle of the wall on my right is a door, and I realize it's a second entrance. I look to see how to lock it and see a long bar - as long as the wall - which can be rotated to block the door. I rotate it into the 'locked' position and latch it. I assume that the person who works on the other side of the door must use a wheelchair.

I turn back around to lock the main door and find that a whole crowd of people is coming in. A few people are already seated on the couches, and a couple more are still standing. I kick myself for not locking the main door first, but it's too late now. I can't kick out a whole crowd, especially not when they're here for a meeting. I leave, intending to look for another bathroom.

Now I'm in a kind of food court area. All of the tables are on a giant raised platform. I make the connection that food courts always have a bathroom nearby, so I find some stairs that lead onto the platform and take them.

Now I'm walking along a wide hallway with stores on each side, looking for a sign for bathrooms. This is a mall, so one can't be too far away, though it'll probably be down an inconspicuous side hallway. Now I'm running, and I can hear my pursuers as they talk to each other. They're confused by my running style - somehow I'm using my hands as well as my feet - and amazed by my speed. They admit to each other that there's no way they'll catch me, and I thrill in my speed.


Raising the sun
I'm in my bedroom with my wife. I start talking about the book we're reading (IRL) and something I didn't agree with in the last chapter. Now I'm in the hallway outside our bedroom, and I notice that the lights are off and the light-up light switches are dark. I realize that the breaker must have blown and start to head downstairs to flip it. Now I'm in the pantry, at the breaker box. The lights are off, and I reach for my cell phone to turn on its flashlight. As soon as I touch it, the flashlight turns on, which surprises me. I don't think about it too hard, since it's what I needed anyway. I hold it up and scan the panel, looking for a flipped breaker, and find it. I turn it off, then back on. It immediately flips back off, and my other hand feels warm and goopy. I worry that the breaker might have a short and start feeling the panel for heat, but the panel is fine. I decide to go back upstairs to see if I can find what's tripping the breaker.

Now I'm walking through our entryway on the way to the stairs. I see a bright orange flash and fear that there's a fire upstairs; then I realize that the explosion was outside, across the street. I walk over to the window to look out. It's dark, and I can only vaguely make out the shapes of children playing nearby. I have a vague thought along the lines of "I can't believe how bad everything is; this must be a dream" and something clicks. I don't yet believe I'm dreaming, but I do a nose-pinch to make sure. I can still breathe, and I realize I'm dreaming.

My daytime daydream practice kicks in, and I remember what I'm supposed to do. 1) Remember and hold onto the sure knowledge that I'm dreaming. 2) Slowly rub my hands and feel the friction between them. 3) Look around myself, study my environment, and affirm that everything I'm seeing is created by my own mind. 4) Find a way outside. 5) Fly. I quickly go through steps 1-3, and I keep telling myself "This is a dream" for the rest of my dream. I'm in my entryway, so all I have to do to get outside is to open the front door. Curiously, the whole wall rotates as if it's a secret passage, but I don't really care - it opens the path to my front porch, and I go outside. It's still night, and I don't want to fly around in the dark, so I decide to pull a Truman Show and make it day. I stretch out my hands towards the horizon (I know it's not east, but I don't care), command "Sun, rise!" and lift my arms. The sun comes shooting over the horizon and disappears over my head. I turn around to see where it went, but I can't see it.

I turn back around and try again. I stretch my arms to the horizon and slowly lift them. The sun comes up with them, and I "stick" the sun to about 10 o'clock. Over the next few seconds, the sky fades from a starry black to a beautiful blue. I'm excited it worked, and I wake up. I try for a DEILD, then do another nose pinch, but I'm awake.


Fragment: My van is at the top of a driveway, and I'm doing something with the cargo in the back.

Bed @ 2315
Woke @ 0120

Assault preparations
I'm watching preparations for a major assault. At times, it seems to be for a war game, while at others, it's for real.

Some soldiers are speaking to a native. He's small, emaciated, and painted to make him look like a skeleton. Between the paint and emaciation, he pulls off the skeleton look pretty accurately. He's telling the soldiers about the dangers of the next island, and especially of the natives who live there. They're much smaller, look like young children, and are incredibly dangerous. The soldiers will need to deal with them quickly or suffer a lot of casualties themselves.

I'm watching at base as some higher-ups are making their plans. They've had to wait a few more days to takes the islands than they'd planned on, but everything looks like it should line up for tomorrow, so they're preparing the offensive.


BTB @ 0145
Woke @ 0600

Impossible phone number
I'm out west, driving by myself, when a green car speeds by me. I give chase, not wanting to lose him, and call 911. I explain that I'm on such and such a road, following a dangerous car. I don't have authority to do it, so I expect I'll be getting a ticket, but I still feel that I'm doing my duty. Two police cars show up; one stays with me while the other chases after the green car (which is still somehow going very fast despite near-rush-hour conditions). I talk to the police officer for a minute, give him my name and number, and move on. It's all very cordial.

Now I'm home, sitting at my computer. I've gotten a message from another officer, and I'm trying to call him back; but there's both a 10 and an 11 in his phone number, and I can't figure out how to dial it. I try couple of things, including dialing only a 1 instead of the 10 or the 11, as well as trying to dial the whole 12-digit-long number, but neither one connects. I ask someone sitting nearby if he's ever heard of having a ten in a phone number, and he hasn't.

Now I'm somewhere else. I realize I still haven't gotten back with the police officer and that I'll probably get into trouble if it takes me much longer. I resolve to deal with it first thing when I get home. Now I'm going back to my car. A fire truck pulls into the parking lot, and I wonder if it's somehow related to me and my troubles. A heavyset fireman gets out and starts walking toward whatever I just came out of; nope, not here for me. Now I'm home again. I manage to call the first officer and leave a message explaining who I am and what's going on with the second officer.


Finding a car stereo
I'm driving, following Waze to get to a store which sells car stereo equipment. I'm almost there; but then I look at the map and see that it says that it'll be about another hour, and that the map is telling me to go back home the way I came. I don't understand what's going on. I look at it again and it's got an even longer estimate. I decide to ignore it for now and drive around where I am in hopes that I'll see a store that sells what I need. At first, I don't see anything except abandoned buildings; but eventually I run across a store that sells refurbished car parts. It doesn't say anything about audio, but I'm hopeful.

Now I'm inside, browsing. I'm getting discouraged since there's nothing here about audio at all. A woman approaches and asks if I need help and I explain what I'm looking for. Now we're looking at something she's pulled off a shelf, which turns out to be a car radio. It's very oddly shaped - kind of triangular. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a CD player built in. I explain I'm looking for one with a CD player as well as bluetooth. I keep looking around and find small packets of what claim to be speaker drivers for about a dollar each; I wonder if I can use these to fix the staticy speakers in my car.


Mannequin gel
I'm looking at two female mannequins which are standing in a giant block of a weird gel: if it gets disturbed, waves of green move out from the disturbance point. I switch my consciousness into one of the mannequins and move just slightly; then I switch into the other one and turn its head way to the left. I try to switch back to my own body but just end up in the first mannequin again. After flipping back and forth a few more times, moving each body a little more, I'm back in my body; unfortunately, I've managed to move both mannequins so much that the subtle / careful patterns I'd hoped to create are obliterated and the whole thing is a mess of green everywhere.


Industrial exploration
I'm with other people walking through a dark, abandoned industrial setting. We hear what sound like indistinct voices. A couple of my companions go off hunting and come back saying they found some people down in a hole/room that was blocked off by a piece of equipment. The people who were rescued seem to be a bit out of it but are generally OK. A tunnel/huge pipe goes off to my right, but I think it was used for some kind of waste product and I don't want to go into it.


Fragment: Something about weird goos and pipes, and a guy whose female doppelganger tells him how much better it is to be a girl.