Fantasy Name Generators

The site delivers exactly what they say: Generated Names. Everything from real names to place names and "other names" can be found on this website. If you write, and if you need some names, this website will help you. At the very least, whether you use their names or not, you might be inspired with hints to create your own names.

Superscript Generator

Superscript Generator

Lingojam has a nice superscript that's easy to use. Just enter your number on the left side, and the superscript will appear on the right side. Then, just copy and paste. Check it out.

End of The Year Productivity Overview

Productivity

The end of the year is high, so here is a bit of a rundown of what we have discussed (or have not) on the blog about productivity and other knowledge.

Bullet Journal

A bullet journal or "BuJo" is a journal system that helps track thoughts, tasks, to-do lists, etc. It was created by Ryder Carroll. You should, at the very least, take a look at what it involves and see if it's for you. A good overview appears on Wikipedia. You can even find a book about it if you search the net.

Keep a Written Journal

Keeping a journal can certainly help you in your writing projects, but did you know that keeping a journal can reduce the symptoms of depression? I didn't either. Try keeping a journal, preferably a daily journal. If you want to know more about the "why," and benefits of such, check out the article on Psychology Today.

While you're here, don't forget that the Lonestar Hobby Blog also offers a few bits of advice about increasing your knowledge and productivity:

Wondering what words are or are not capitalized in titles? The list is here.

Still running Windows 10? Here are some keyboard shortcuts.

Need a fast way to discover the proper Roman numeral? Check out this chart!

Windows File and Folder Attributes: All you need to know.

Audio Formats: The list of various audio formats.

Internet Error Codes. What is a 404? Find out here.

7 Signs You Have a Powerful Mind

7 Signs You Have a Powerful Mind

I found some good "signs" on Meta. I'm not sure of 100% accuracy, but they are interesting to think about.

1. You don't argue - you just stop explaining. You've learned that silence protects your peace better than words ever will.
2. You lost interest fast when conversations have no depth. Small talk drains you. Real connection energizes you.
3. You sense people's intentions instantly. Your intuition picks up energies long before they speak.
4. You're calm in situations where everyone else panics. That's emotional intelligence - not luck.
5. You don't chase...you attract. Because you know your value, and you act like it.
6. You can walk away from anyone, even someone you love. Strength isn't staying - it's choosing yourself.
7. You reinvent yourself quietly. While others are posting, you're improving. while they talk, you transition.

"If these signs hit a little too hard...you’re not 'different' — you’re leveling up mentally. Most people never develop this kind of emotional strength...but if you relate to even 3 out of 7, your mind is operating on a higher frequency than you realize. Strong intuition. High standards. Zero tolerance for drama. That’s not attitude — that’s growth."

Source: Meta. Text by gosetainsights.

Roman Numerals

Roman Numerals Chart

Need a fast way to discover the proper Roman numeral? Look no further. From time to time, I need this chart to calculate the proper number. I often use it when composing a table of contents. Or I'll use it to describe rare (fictional) book, i.e., "Book 20, The Mage's Chronicles."

The image belongs to exceltemplates.org.

Words Typically Not Capitalized in Titles

Do Not Capitalize

Words that are typically not capitalized in titles, unless otherwise directed to do so. You wouldn't want to refuse the request of an editor or instructor.

A

And

As

At

But

By

Down

For

From

If

In

Into

Like

Near

Nor

Of

Off

On

Once

Onto

Or

Over

Past

So

Than

That

To

Upon

When

With

Yet

Keyboard Shortcuts 1

Keyboard Shortcuts

This list covers Windows 10 shortcuts. Some shortcuts may not work with Windows 11. The ones I have tested do work with 11. Sources: MSN, Internet.

Ctrl + A - Selects all content.

Ctrl + C (or Ctrl + Insert) - Copies selected items to the clipboard.

Ctrl + X - Cuts selected items to the clipboard.

Ctrl + V (or Shift + Insert) - Pastes content from the clipboard.

Ctrl + Z - Used to undo an action, including undelete files.

Ctrl + Y - Used to redo an action.

Ctrl + Shift + Esc - Opens the Task Manager.

Ctrl + Shift + N - Creates a new folder on the desktop or File Explorer.

Alt + F4 - Closes an active window. (If no active window is present, a shutdown box appears.)

Ctrl + D (Del) - Deletes a selected item to the Recycle Bin.

Shift + Delete - Deletes the selected item permanently, skipping Recycle Bin.

F2 - Renames the selected item.

Esc - Closes the current task.

Alt + Tab - Switches between open apps.

PrtScn (Print Screen) - Takes a screenshot and stores it in the clipboard.

Windows key + I - Opens the Settings app.

Windows key + E - Opens File Explorer.

Windows key + A - Opens Action center.

Windows key + D - Displays and hides the desktop.

Windows key + L - Locks the device.

Windows key + V - Opens the Clipboard bin.

Windows key + Period (.) or Semicolon (;) - Opens the emoji panel.

Windows key + PrtScn (Print Screen) - Captures a full screenshot in the "Screenshots" folder.

Windows key + Shift + S - Captures part of the screen with Snip & Sketch.

Windows key + Left arrow key - Snaps app or window left.

Windows key + Right arrow key - Snaps app or window right.

Practical Creativity Exercises

Creativity Exercises

• Get familiar with AI. It's all around us!
• Pick a random object in your home's work area (where you write) and write a story about it.
• Subscribe to Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day.
• Choose a random noun (or other words), such as "camel." Attempt to list other words in the category of animals that start with "c." Now choose your own word(s). How many can you discover?
• Keep a journal of ideas, such as short story ideas. Write about four sentences about your idea(s). You'll come back to your list eventually and it'll be valuable to you.

See also: Helpful Writing Tips

Audio Formats

Audio Formats:

MP3 - MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III:

Name of the type of file for MPEG, audio layer 3. Layer 3 is one of three coding schemes (layer 1, layer 2, and layer 3) for the compression of audio signals.

Layer 3 uses perceptual audio coding and psychoacoustic compression to remove all superfluous information. It also adds an MDCT (Modified Discrete Cosine Transform) that implements a filter bank, increasing the frequency resolution 18 times higher than that of layer 2.

The result in real terms is layer 3 shrinks the original sound data from a CD (with a bit rate of 1411.2 kilobits per one second of stereo music) by a factor of 12 (down to 112-128kbps) without sacrificing sound quality.

3 - Southeast Asia, South Korea, Republic of China (Taiwan), Hong Kong, Macau.

4 - Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, South America, New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea and much of Oceania.

5 - India, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Africa (except Egypt, South Africa, Swaziland, and Lesotho), Central and South Asia, Mongolia, North Korea.

6 - People's Republic of China.

7 - Reserved for future use (found in use on protected screener copies of MPAA-related DVDs and "media copies" of pre-releases in Asia)

8 - International venues such as aircraft, cruise ships, etc.

ALL - Region ALL discs have all eight flags set, allowing the disc to be played in any locale on any player.

WMA - Windows Media Audio:

Short for Windows Media Audio, WMA is a Microsoft file format for encoding digital audio files similar to MP3 though can compress files at a higher rate than MP3. WMA files, which use the ".wma" file extension, can be of any size compressed to match many different connection speeds, or bandwidths.

WAV:

WAV is the format used for storing sound in files developed jointly by Microsoft and IBM. Support for WAV files was built into Windows 95 making it the de facto standard for sound on PCs. WAV sound files end with a .wav extension and can be played by nearly all Windows applications that support sound.

FLAC - Free Lossless Audio Codec:

Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) is an audio compression codec that employs a lossless data compression algorithm. A digital audio recording compressed by FLAC can be decompressed into an identical copy of the original audio data.

Audio sources encoded to FLAC are typically reduced to 50–60% of their original size.

It can handle any PCM bit resolution from 4 to 32 bits per sample, any sampling rate from 1 Hz to 655,350 Hz in 1 Hz increments, and any number of channels from 1 to 8.

Channels can be grouped in cases like stereo and 5.1 channel surround to take advantage of interchannel correlations to increase compression.

Helpful Writing Tips

Writing Tips - AI-Generated Image

Some thoughts on writing short stories:

• If it becomes a job, write one paragraph and quit for the day.
• Less is more.
• Keep it simple.
• One paragraph a day is fine.
• Write three paragraphs a day if possible.
• Extreme detail is not necessary.
• Outlines are helpful. You can search the internet and find many pages to help do this.
• Research then write.
• Prepare the outline for one paragraph the night beforehand.
• Learn something new every day.
• "Me time" is a dumb phrase. But take it when you can.
• Go somewhere relevant.
• Remember the camera on your phone.

Windows File and Folder Attributes

These were gathered from the internet and placed here for my own use. I believe I found them all through the use of Google.com.

R = Read only

H = Hidden

S = System

C = Compressed

N = Not Indexed

L = Reparse Points

O = Offline

P = Sparse File

I = Not content indexed

T = Temporary

E = Encrypted