The Toxick Zone

Tumbling Around A Mixed Bag

[toxicktoe]

@edg3g0d @bowch @malvi666-blog @zazazazaminimadussa1950-blog @sweettimetravelheart @authors-choice @attracthernow924 @bodybuildingworkoutplan @silentkim @outdurr @absolutelydecor-blog @books-cooking @shenikaklostermann8249-blog @jessicax2000 @educationallyindependent @gamesupports-blog @stillnotapunkrocker @tjs-thedreamer 

Ray-Ban Sunglasses

[toxicktoe]

@edg3g0d @bowch @malvi666-blog @zazazazaminimadussa1950-blog @sweettimetravelheart @authors-choice @attracthernow924 @bodybuildingworkoutplan @silentkim @outdurr @absolutelydecor-blog @books-cooking @shenikaklostermann8249-blog @jessicax2000 @educationallyindependent @gamesupports-blog @stillnotapunkrocker @tjs-thedreamer 

Ray-Ban Sunglasses

[toxicktoe]

Sunday Photo Fiction – Father’s Day Sunday Photo Fiction is run by the awesome Susan Spalding. The idea is to write a story in 200 words or less based on the photo provided.

[toxicktoe]

As many of you know, I have a disability that puts me in a lot of pain most of the time. I either have to use a wheelchair or use sticks to get around and sometimes it takes up to an hour to get out of bed.

Sleep at night can be hit and miss. When I move, it wakes me up as shooting pains course through me. I used to use blogging as an escape from the discomfort until I started having difficulty thinking of things to write because of the pain.

I turned to playing games on the XBOX One as it allowed me to disappear into another world, another realm, another place completely by chasing down monsters, battling robots, or travelling through space to new galaxies, wiping out whole colonies of bad guys. Or good guys, depending on the character. My gamertag bought amusement to people as it is Toe Blarone. A play on the chocolate, and keeping the one word I have had in my tag for years – Toe.

I started watching a few broadcasts of people playing the same games I did and enjoyed what they were doing, and I would talk to them in their chat and ask them how they find “streaming”. Streaming:

(noun) Computing  A method of transmitting or receiving data (especially video and audio material) over a computer network as a steady, continuous flow, allowing playback to start while the rest of the data is still being received.

One of the people I spoke to about it, said that they started it due to their disability. After I thought about it for a few days and visited more and more channels, I decided to give it a go myself. A proper go. I had already tried twice before. Once for a couple of weeks on and off on the streaming platform Twitch, and then once at a special event on 29th April 2017 on the newly merged with XBOX channel, Beam.

I spoke to these people for a few weeks until I thought about it myself. Maybe if I gave it a proper go. On the recently rebranded MIXER – which had been Beam. When I started, I had 5 followers. They were all friends. People who also had an XBOX and played games, and on occasion, streamed. I mentioned in a couple of the other channels that I was going to give it a go, and … things didn’t’ go as planned.

The stream would stop suddenly and turn off; the quality would drop to unwatchable; the sound would turn robotic; the video would just freeze. So I decided to give it up. I mentioned to one of the people I followed that it had turned into a cake full of laxatives and rotten eggs. They told me to contact the support desk and get it fixed. I did so. Over the next two weeks, I was getting support for each new issue that popped up, and it was being fixed almost straight away. Because I had streamed in that event in April, I was given one year of Mixer Pro for free, which meant I got priority support.

By the end of September, my stream was working well, and I had built up 50 followers on there which was seriously impressive. To me. One of the people who helped me, well, I say help, more like inspired me to start, was a “partner” of Mixer. A partner is someone who stands for the company, they show the face of the business and promote it by being the best they can be and by being interactive. I decided that I was going to subscribe to this person as he had shown me a lot of support.

By the end of October, my follower count had passed 100, and I was so moved by it. That 100 people wanted to watch when I was online. Of course, not all of them turned up. Most days, nobody did. I felt dejected and wanted to throw in the towel again, but was persuaded otherwise. Told that if I have a schedule, then that would help. So I set a schedule, and posted every time I went “live”.

When I had no one there, I still talked. I acted as though I had an audience there. I talked about what I was doing. I talked about anything. Even current events. Sometimes it felt so good just talking. It really took my mind off everything. I didn’t think of the pain which made it easier.

I started feeling a lot happier as streaming made me smile. It didn’t make me think about going outside which I am very limited in doing. (Have you ever tried getting a wheelchair down 3 flights of stairs?) By the end of November, my follower count was at 200. I never thought I would ever reach that amount of people. Some even came back regularly to watch.

Mid-December I decided I wanted a target by the end of the year. I wanted to go into 2018 with 300 followers. December 30th I was on 296. I resigned myself to being at that stage, as I didn’t plan on streaming on New Year’s Eve. I was convinced otherwise though. I was told I should see in the new year, live on stream. So I did. With 305 followers.

I had done it. I decided I wanted to be at 500 by the end of 2018. I figured that at the rate the followers were growing, I should about do it by November.

The Partner who I had subbed to, and he had later made me a moderator on his channel, decided to “Raid” me in January. When a streamer finishes his or her stream, they take all of their current viewers to another channel and host them. It gives them some more air time and introduces the viewers to someone they may not have seen before. This caused my follower count to rocket, and I was dumbstruck and starstruck. To have someone of that calibre raid me was something I never dreamed of happening.

As a result of that, by the end of January, I was on 496 followers.

I was part of a raid that went into the channel of the highest profile streamer on Mixer. This guy was the first person to reach 100,000 followers and 1,000,000 views. This guy knew very few people in his channel as they would come and go. He knew his mods and a few of his subscribers.

At one point he said “Toe Blarone? I’ve seen that name. I have heard about you on twitter. I have heard good things.” (I may have fangirled a bit there) This guy knew my name!

It is now 18th February 2018, and I have 588 followers on Mixer. My aim is to be a Partner. Maybe this year, maybe next. I think I can do it.

Streaming helps me deal with my disability. It helps me deal with not being able to go out. It helps with my anxiety. It helps with talking to people. It helps me to not think of things. It helps tremendously. And I no longer hide my face. I have my camera on when I am “Live”.

I am currently saving to buy a computer that allows me to better my streaming capabilities as my laptop just can’t handle it. I already have some parts on order, but a have a few things left to get. I am hoping to be fully interactive by the end of June this year.

If streaming can do this for me, then there are activities that can do the same for you. Maybe streaming isn’t your thing, but there may be things you can do that will help. It is not the end of everything with a disability. Things can get better. Things will get better. But you have to work at it a bit to make it get better. You can’t have it fall into your lap.

I have made a lot of new friends. doing this.

If you want to put a face to the name, then head to my Mixer channel below.

How I Cope With My Disability … As many of you know, I have a disability that puts me in a lot of pain most of the time.

[toxicktoe]

Zombie … Delores O'Riordan September 6th, 1971 - 15th January 2018

[toxicktoe]

2017 Has Been Somewhat Peculiar Normally I look back on a year and I think "well that was a crock of Benghazi bananas being broken, bashed, bitten, boxed and badly botched"; or "Wow.

[toxicktoe]

Harassment In Entertainment As I can't get out, one of the ways that I keep in touch with people is through video games and watching people streaming these games.

[toxicktoe]

Don't Take Anyone For Granted. Not Even Yourself

Don’t Take Anyone For Granted. Not Even Yourself

Sometimes we take things for granted. Items, people, health. Then suddenly it is gone and we have none of it. Our friend goes, we find we are unable to do something, we fall ill.

Then we see what we have lost and wonder how we will cope with what we had before but is now gone.

That is when we have to learn again, and this time, hopefully, the lesson leaves a mark on us we don’t forget. We don’t…

View On WordPress

[toxicktoe]

Something Said Can Make A Difference Years Later A few years ago, I was posting three times a week with words of encouragement and hope.

[toxicktoe]

Time ...

Time …

Time through our eyes Is fleeting in its pace Yet seems to take forever When watching a timepiece face

Hours seem like minutes Yet minutes can seem like hours Why can’t we know the Doctor With all his time-travel powers

Time and tide, they wait for no man No woman, and no child They seem to mesh together Driving many of us wild

The girl becomes a teen Her life becomes her story As her own…

View On WordPress

[toxicktoe]

What Songs Have Meaning For You?

What Songs Have Meaning For You?

There are songs that stay with us over the years, over the decades and across the turn of the century for those us old enough to remember the nineties. Some stay with us because we like them, some because we hate them, and some because they hold a special meaning for us.

Some of these make us remember the good times, and some bring hurt and pain every time we listen to them. As I was listening…

View On WordPress

[toxicktoe]

About Them Gifs And Bots The other day, I posted about not needing gifs and bots to be a streamer. Since I posted that, I have had a chat with more than a few streamers and come to the conclusion that you really DO need a bot.

[toxicktoe]

Games With Gold - October 2017

Games With Gold – October 2017

October’s Games With Gold have been announced, and to me, it is a very weak month. I don’t know if they are getting ready for a mega month, or they are running out of things to give away for free.

Each XBOX One game is available for a full month, and each XBOX 360 game, playable through Backward Compatibility, is available for half a month.

GONE HOME A girl returns home from a year abroad to an…

View On WordPress

[toxicktoe]

Forza Motorsport 7 - First Thoughts

Forza Motorsport 7 – First Thoughts

One of the things I like about the Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon games is that they always release a demo before the game is due out so people can see what it is like on a limited track and vehicle base.

I decided to stream my playing of the demo and say my thoughts as I was playing it. The demo allows you to use three vehicles, on three tracks and choose three racers.

This is what I thought.

View On WordPress

[toxicktoe]

When you play games on the XBOX, PlayStation or Computer, you have the option to broadcast so other people can watch you and interact with you. There are different means of doing so, with the two main ones being Mixer (formerly Beam) and Twitch.

Another broadcaster, MahdDogg, has written a post on advice for broadcasting with what you do and don’t need. With his permission, I am sharing this today in the form of a link.

Please head over and read:

GIFS, BOTS AND EXTENSIONS DON’T MAKE YOU A GOOD STREAMER. IT’S ALL ON YOU.

  Advice On Streaming And Broadcasting By @MahdDogg When you play games on the XBOX, PlayStation or Computer, you have the option to broadcast so other people can watch you and interact with you.

[toxicktoe]

You Sing A Spell Chequer On A Poem

You Sing A Spell Chequer On A Poem

John Robinson runs a new blog since he retired his Daily Graff one which he calls The After Graff (an amalgamation of <I>GR</I>oan and l<I>AFF</I>). He now only posts on a Saturday with words of wisdom, a photo and a few words he wanted to share.

This week, his words focused on the misspelling of tomorrow. When I looked for words I commonly misspelled (with misspell being one of them) I found a…

View On WordPress

[toxicktoe]

Time For A Moonie

Time For A Moonie

Yesterday, I posted a photo of the moon and over the last few days I have been asked about how I photograph it. Rather than answer in comments, I thought I would do a post to explain settings and such-forth and so-like.

When I take the photos of the moon, the first thing I always do is fit the camera to my tripod. It is a lot easier keeping the camera steady when you are not holding it hehe. I…

View On WordPress