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Of Captchas and Centurions...


I was thinking the other day that it's been a while since you guys got a good rant from me! Now, don't worry, this one won't be too long, I just wanted to point something out that's been bothering me.

If you're a blogger, chances are you know what a Captcha is... if you don't know what a Captcha is, don't worry about it, it's not going to be on the SATs or anything. Captcha is simply something that's used to make sure you're actually a person, and not a spam bot. It requires something called a "word verification."

Here's where the rant starts.

If something is called a "word verification," you'd think that a word would be required in order to verify you. Here is an example of some Captcha Word Verifications:

  • Deafedly
  • Disse
  • Nulasace
  • Reari
  • Scoup
  • Shvfenio
  • Singes
Now, I could be wrong, but those aren't words! How can you have a word verification with things that aren't words? There are plenty of words in the english language - real ones - why not just use THOSE for word verification?? Why MAKE UP words?? And who is making up the words? Is it a machine? A SPAM BOT, maybe?? Doesn't that defeat the purpose?

*shakes head* It just seems so pointles... don't call it word verification if it's not a WORD.

/rant

Now that I look at it... all those "words" sound like they'd make GREAT pokemon names... hey, Jordan, wanna draw some new Pokemanz? :P

To put this note on a more happy note, I've decided to throw in a quick short story. I've had a lot of creativity bouncing around in the ole noggin lately, mostly because my novel project hit a stand still. I've been churning out story idea after story idea, one shots and what not... and I've still got a fair amount of crazy ideas jingling around in the old noggin... a lot of times I'll just say something random, and this whole crazy story will form in my head. This is one I've had since I wrote THIS post, and I've finally got the energy and creativity to form it into a story... plus, Jordan mentioned her friend had posted a short story, and she inturn posted one herself, so I figured I'd follow suit. Who knows? Maybe I'll do this more often, and a bunch of us bloggers can get together and publish a book! haha!

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Pain... I didn't know much outside of the excruciating pain tearing through my entire body. My eyes darted around the room, trying to comprehend what had happened... where I was... how I had gotten here. I closed my eyes, trying to block out the pain and remember where I was...

"Oh no!" I heard a female voice cry. I didn't open my eyes - I knew her exclamation was in reaction to the site of my crumpled, broken body, lying on the floor. Her worried remarks only drove home the fact that I was dying, and as that realization hit me, my life flashed before my eyes...

For as long as I can remember I was alone. I lived on the streets, getting food and shelter where I could. I had found a few nice homes but was never able to stay very long. Anyone who saw me was absolutely disgusted by my appearance, and chased me away before they even got to know me. Still, I remained optimistic. As the rainy seasons drew closer, I began to look for a shelter, some place to stay to get out of the rain. It wasn't hard to find a place - by the rainy seasons, most places had become abandoned, but I was growing older. The older I got, the colder it got, and I decided that this time, I wanted a place with heat. I had been searching for a while, on the verge of giving up, when I heard voices.

"We can get in through here... she'll never suspect a thing!"

"Are you sure? She won't see us coming?"

I snuck up slowly, hiding behind a bush and listening closer.

"Not at all... and we can get in while she's sleeping. Once we find what we're looking for, there's nothing she can do!"

Thieves! I thought. I peered cautiously out from behind my hiding spot and saw them... there were three of them, crouched beneath a window. I assumed that they were planning on crawling in through the window and taking what they wanted. I had never liked thieves, especially ones that came in the cover of night.

"We need to sneak in before hand, case the place." I watched as they all agreed, and started for the window. My eyes darted around... surely there had to be someone that could stop them! But alas, no one. I took a deep breath - it was going to have to be me. I didn't want to; I still needed to find a place to stay, but I couldn't just turn my back on this situation. I took off as fast as I could, scurrying silently across the ground and after the intruders. I ran pass the back two and went straight for the leader, leaping onto his back and biting into his neck. I dug in, grabbing on deep and keeping his body pinned to the ground until he stopped moving.

"We've been compromised!" I heard one of the remaining two say, and they both left, abandoning their leader. It didn't matter, he was dead. I wiped my mouth with the back of my arm and peered into the window.

The room looked welcoming - dimly lit, well furnished, and warm. I decided I deserved a warm place to stay for the night, since I had just foiled the theives plans, and crawled in through the window. I heard distant voices, and decided to take a look around. Lots of posters covered the walls, stuffed animals overran one corner, and books were everywhere. I spotted a comfortable looking corner and crawled up the wall and across the ceiling to inspect it.

"I don't know why they haven't come into my room yet," I heard a female voice say, and I froze. I watched as a young woman walked into the room, and I fastened a piece of silk to the ceiling and dropped down to get a better view. She spotted me almost instantly, and I grip the string with my back two legs and hoist my body up in a defensive gesture, outstretching my remaining six limbs in what I can only hope is a scary pose.

"Cool," she mutters in a low voice, leaning a little closer. My initial reaction was to jump on her face and bite her so I could get away, but I had this strange feeling that she wasn't going to hurt me. "What are you doing here?" I shrug, not having an answer, and scurry back up the silk to the ceiling, and continue to my corner. She watches me, smiling, and then leaves.

How strange, I think to myself as I settle down in my corner. But, at least I have someplace warm and dry to stay.

Days went by, and I got along well with the young woman. She let me stay in her room, undisturbed, and I killed any creatures that tried to come into her room. She began to call me her little centurion. I liked the nick name... and the fact that for once, someone wasn't disgusted by me.

As we ventured deeper into the rainy seasons, I decided to venture deeper into the room. I crawled down the wall and scurried across the wide floor, taking in everything, and heading for the stuffed animal collection in the opposite corner. However, before long I grew tired, and went to turn back... that was when I found out how lost I was. I had no idea where I was. I crawled toward a shirt on the ground and tried to find my way top side, to get a better view of where I was. Before I knew it, a great earthquake moved the shirt, and I felt myself lifted into the air with the article of clothing. I saw light and hurried to it, poking my head out and realizing I was in the arms of the young woman. I ran out from under the shirt and onto her arm, waving my arms at her, overjoyed that someone found me.

"EW!" She screamed, and I realized in horror that she didn't recognize me. I tried to get away, but she flicked me off of her arm, driving me into the floor hard. I got to my feet, dazed, right before a crushing wait came down on me once... twice... three times... "What was THAT?" I heard her say, and then the pain set in. I knew something was wrong.

Pain... My eyes darted around the room, trying to comprehend what had happened... where I was... how I had gotten here. I closed my eyes, trying to block out the pain and remember where I was...

"Oh no!" I heard a female voice cry. I didn't open my eyes - I knew her exclamation was in reaction to the site of my crumpled, broken body, lying on the floor. Her worried remarks only drove home the fact that I was dying... my fault, I suppose. As the pain began to receed, so did my consciousness... but I smiled. At least I got to die in a warm place... with a smile on my face.

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Yay for short stories!!!

Let's get this!

~Lauren

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