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Yep, the Broken cog is broken. Time to just fess up and admit I don't have the time or interest to keep it up, expand it, or any of that stuff, and since as of this writing I have a visitor count of... (check's imaginary gauges in the imaginary control console)... errrrruhm, exactly zero point zero, it's just time to let it die for a while.

So... if you are one of the less theoretical less than 0.1% who have found this place, you're no doubt thinking the whole internet is just a complete waste of time (presuming, of course, that you got your internet connection strictly to see this site, of course! <g>) Well, I simply can't be responsible for that! Here's some links that might make it worth your time to stay living in the 21st century.

Entertainment | Useful tools

Useful tools ...

Mozilla Firebox and Thunderbird
Open source, and the best, most customizable web and mail clients I've tried. If you haven't tried them, you should.
Daz Productions
Excellent artist's resource for 3D models and software. Start with their free Daz Studio to view, pose, and render in, then check out a host of content to go with it. And if you do love 3D modelling and don't have a Daz Platinum Club membership, you're a complete nitwit. So, nyah! A link to some of Daz's
Garage Games
In addition to distributing numerous great game titles, Garage Games also distribute the Torque Gaming Engine, a fairly low-cost gaming engine for small independant game developers and just people who want to experiment with creating their own games and 3D game worlds without bankrupting themselves. Plus a ton of content for game building.
PC Shield Deluxe
Affordable, well rated antivirus/antispam software based on Kaspersky core.
PDF Creator
If you're on a Mac, you have PDF export capabilities built into your the print option of your file menu, but what to do if you're stuck in Windows? This handy free application is one of the best PDF makers I've worked with on the Windows side of things: adds a virtual printer that can be used to turn pretty much anything you can print into a PDF file.
Wikipedia
Like the Hitchhiker's Guide to Earth, really, in many ways. If only they had "Don't Panic" in large friendly letters on the home page, they'd be perfect. Still, a good source of introductory articles on damn near everything.
Audacity
Very useful free, cross platform audio editing software
Pixel Toolbox by Axiom X
A great free utility for making windows icon and other small tilable patterns.

Entertainment ... mostly (though not exclusively) indie webcomics. Give your brain a break and enjoy...

El Goonish Shive by Dan C Shive
Aliens, magic, interdimensional visitors, shape changing/gender switching transformation rays... and that's the short explanation. Lately Dan's seems to have been doing a lot of re-working, and re-working, and re-reworking his art style, so the plot is unfolding kinda slowly, but this is still a classic.
Gods of Arr-Kelaan by Chuck and Steve Rowles
A spaceship full of once-humans from the planet Earth have been chosen by the living world of Arr-Kelaan to be its new pantheon. And you thought earthlings had problems with their religions!
Oyonale by Gilles Tran
Original artwork by Gilles Tran. Since I last stopped in, this site has undergone an incredibly impressive rebuild with a lot of new material. Very nice!
Girl Genius by Phil and Kaja Foglio
The authors refer to this as a "gaslamp fantasy" series. Very enjoyable tale of a quasi-Victoria era world mixed with pure science-fantasy where "sparks" (rare individuals with fantastic inventive genius) compete for power in a world where "mad science" is the order of the day every day.
Xylia
An interesting fantasy that I've only picked up recently. Mystical beings, reincarnation, a mystery door, and a promise carried over from life to life appear to be the center of this developing plot. Watching this one eagerly to see where it goes.
Templar, Arizon by Spike
Stories from Arizona... only not the Arizona you're probably thinking of. Not unless you already know this twistedly novel alternate reality spun for us by Spike. Features a cast of characters you can't possibly forget who only keep getting more interesting as you read.
Negative One by SwankIvy
Based on characters from stories she writes purely for the love of writing, Ivy is now spinning this ongoing series juggling four simultaneous plotlines showing the origins of her main characters. An entertaining mix of drawings with first person narratives sets it apart from many webcomics.
John Dies At the End by David Wong
Classic story that started as an online serial, now a novel. John and David discovery of a drug known as the "soy sauce" opens for them a whole new world of horrifying psychic experiences that they probably would have been happier not discovering. Horror? You betcha. Bizzare weird, insane comedy? No doubt. Story zings you in so many directions by the end, you're actually kind of surprised to run out of words on the final page but trust me, it does all come together in the end (sort of). Well worth the read.
Planet Karen by Karen Ellis
A semi-autobiographical diary of a charmingly quirky goth girl. Karen Ellis mixes commentary on her real life with her ingenious and often humorous fantasy imagination. Sometimes geeky, sometimes gothy.

This website and its contents, except where otherwise noted, are were copyright 2008 Charles Fusner.
Technically, all comments and inquiries can still be directed to the email address at left (just don't expect any speedy replies).