It is cold as duck outside. I don't know why I'm saying 'duck' instead of the other word that rhymes with 'duck'. I went out this morning, determined to get my runner wings back. I put on long sleeves and pants, since I knew it was cold, but boy was it cold. 26 degrees Fahren, with 12 mile per hour winds. The cold I can handle, the wind makes it feel like someone is stabbing me with cold knives. Anyway, Yazhi and I braved it for a measly 2 miles, about half of which I walked. The breathing is the toughest I think. After having not run for.. a number of months, I hate being totally winded after just a hundred yards. But here's to trying to be back on the wagon.
In other news, I had a successful birthday, in the way that birthdays are deemed successful: I am still alive, I ate good food, I had good times. Friday evening found the lot of us at El Patron for food and Margaritas. I consumed margaritas until I was no longer able to reliable hold up my end of intelligent conversation, then my friends found a mariachi band, who sang, and then I got whip cream right in the face. It was good stuff. We left there, eventually, went to the other Williams' place for a few minutes to gather ourselves, then on to Memphis to hang out with the Youngers. I think we made it back to Southaven by 3AM and crashed at the other Williams' place, since we were simply to birthday'd out to drive on back to our place. Thanks to my friends for their terrific company. I could not have asked for a more fantastic time.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Ban on Coffin Photos
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/23/iraq/main613301.shtml
I'd just like to know how this works.
What mechanism allows the President to ban the media from displaying the coffins of military service-people? I know this is not a George W. invention, but I'm very irritated that this is happening. Mostly because we live in a country that features pretty wide-ranging freedom of the media. Its sometimes a bad thing, but I can think of only very little good, and alot of negative regarding the ban on coffin photos. I certainly respect the rights of the families of the dead, but I don't think that photographs of flag draped coffins infringe on those rights. Rather, I think that we have the right, as the public, to see the cost of our foreign policy.
But wait, I got sidetracked, there are two issues here - privacy for the families of the deceased is one, but the other is how does the President get to decide what we see photographs of? This is just one thing, but what about when we can't see photographs of the anit-war demonstrations?
I'd just like to know how this works.
What mechanism allows the President to ban the media from displaying the coffins of military service-people? I know this is not a George W. invention, but I'm very irritated that this is happening. Mostly because we live in a country that features pretty wide-ranging freedom of the media. Its sometimes a bad thing, but I can think of only very little good, and alot of negative regarding the ban on coffin photos. I certainly respect the rights of the families of the dead, but I don't think that photographs of flag draped coffins infringe on those rights. Rather, I think that we have the right, as the public, to see the cost of our foreign policy.
But wait, I got sidetracked, there are two issues here - privacy for the families of the deceased is one, but the other is how does the President get to decide what we see photographs of? This is just one thing, but what about when we can't see photographs of the anit-war demonstrations?
Miscommunicated prophecy
"Prophecy Rule. Any ancient prophecies are always correct. Also, if they mention Chosen Ones who will save the world, the players will be it." taken from here.
Ok, so it would entertaining to run a game in which the players are witness to a prophesy, and either misunderstand it, or the prophet is just dead wrong. The players of course need to be in on the joke, otherwise its just the DM being clever and the players being angry, but the game consists of their (mis)adventures, trying to complete this misunderstood quest, or perhaps even trying to race the real Chosen Ones to the Amulet of Doom or whatever.
Imagine if you will a group of dwarves thrown into the Lord of the Rings saga who believe that it is their destiny to deliver the ring that Grandma Stone-beard gave them into Mount Doom.
(tone: dark comedy)
Ok, so it would entertaining to run a game in which the players are witness to a prophesy, and either misunderstand it, or the prophet is just dead wrong. The players of course need to be in on the joke, otherwise its just the DM being clever and the players being angry, but the game consists of their (mis)adventures, trying to complete this misunderstood quest, or perhaps even trying to race the real Chosen Ones to the Amulet of Doom or whatever.
Imagine if you will a group of dwarves thrown into the Lord of the Rings saga who believe that it is their destiny to deliver the ring that Grandma Stone-beard gave them into Mount Doom.
(tone: dark comedy)
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
at least I have a moral compass
I had an odd encounter today.
While fixing a computer, I found myself physically in the middle of a conversation regarding politics and religion.
Three or four people began discussing how Barak Obama would never get elected President, simply based on his name. It then went to how Hilary Clinton was smirking during the State of the Union address, and to how the differences in Congressional reception to the address: Republicans standing and clapping, and Democrats sitting passively, how these differences were showing weakness to the world, and making us seem divided, and making fools of the American people. Then there was some discussion about how they couldn't believe that "liberals" believed as they did. All of this conversation transpired within just four minutes or so. I sat quietly, attempting (unsuccessfully) to add a Windows XP Home Edition workstation to our domain. I was unsuccessful in my technical effort, since XP Home Edition sucks and cannot be a part of a domain. However I did a stellar job of just staring at the screen and silently being horrified at the conversation. Finally it began winding down, they mentioned Obama being schooled at a Wahhabist muslim school, and how Wahhabism is the sect that all the terrorist have come from. And then quickly to "this country was founded as one nation under God!" (emphasis theirs) (btw I feel compelled to point out that this is incorrect *smug*). They bashed a little on Jehova's Witnesses, who refused to salute the flag, etc, etc. Suddenly I was noticed (sitting literally in the middle of the conversation, as the participants stood nearby or sat in their desk chairs), and someone observed that they didn't know what religion I was, and they might be "putting [their] foot in [their] mouth". Despite the obvious question in the air, I continued to silently glare at the computer, willing it to join the domain. The crowd then scattered, but the woman in the cube next to me went ahead and asked, "So what religion are you?".
Let me pause here. Without giving you a long, boring story about my religious upbringing and growth and eventually disillusionment, blah blah blah, I am an athiest from a strong christian background. I do not frequently discuss religion (or lack thereof). Even with close friends, we all know where each other is coming from, and we're all largely on the same page, or at least willing to respect each others opinions. But still, we generally don't talk faith. I certainly don't talk faith with either of my parents. My step-mother enjoys gospel music loud enough to hurt your ears, and I only barely turned my mother down to go with her to a Christmas Eve church service. Now that I think about it more, I'm perfectly content with my parents having false assumptions about my faith- at very least leaving it really vague.
Anyway, I told her that I abstained. "You what?", "I'm not really a church-going kind of guy." Yeah, okay, I was uncomfortable with the question. Which is totally weird, and I immediately thought of all the emails that my dad sends me, about how persecuted Christians are in the US of A. She asked if I was an athiest, and I responded that yes, I am an athiest. She nodded her head, and looked away from me, sortof toward her computer screen, and didn't look at me again, and told me that when she was serving in the Air Force in Iraq, how there was a guy she served with who was really nice, and super kind to everyone, and he'd revealed that he was an athiest, and how that didn't change her opinion of him, and how he had a moral code he lived by, and how she was cool with him being an athiest but that she'd pray for him, etc etc. Two things were really funny/weird to me, one was that she was obviously was uncomfortable with my lack of faith, and two was that I inferred from her conversation that she was shocked that a nice person was an athiest, and how would he function without a moral compass, but that he somehow managed to not kill babies anyway.
Then I came up with a work around for the domain issue, while she worked on her stuff, and we sat and worked silently. And that was it.
So it was just weird.
While fixing a computer, I found myself physically in the middle of a conversation regarding politics and religion.
Three or four people began discussing how Barak Obama would never get elected President, simply based on his name. It then went to how Hilary Clinton was smirking during the State of the Union address, and to how the differences in Congressional reception to the address: Republicans standing and clapping, and Democrats sitting passively, how these differences were showing weakness to the world, and making us seem divided, and making fools of the American people. Then there was some discussion about how they couldn't believe that "liberals" believed as they did. All of this conversation transpired within just four minutes or so. I sat quietly, attempting (unsuccessfully) to add a Windows XP Home Edition workstation to our domain. I was unsuccessful in my technical effort, since XP Home Edition sucks and cannot be a part of a domain. However I did a stellar job of just staring at the screen and silently being horrified at the conversation. Finally it began winding down, they mentioned Obama being schooled at a Wahhabist muslim school, and how Wahhabism is the sect that all the terrorist have come from. And then quickly to "this country was founded as one nation under God!" (emphasis theirs) (btw I feel compelled to point out that this is incorrect *smug*). They bashed a little on Jehova's Witnesses, who refused to salute the flag, etc, etc. Suddenly I was noticed (sitting literally in the middle of the conversation, as the participants stood nearby or sat in their desk chairs), and someone observed that they didn't know what religion I was, and they might be "putting [their] foot in [their] mouth". Despite the obvious question in the air, I continued to silently glare at the computer, willing it to join the domain. The crowd then scattered, but the woman in the cube next to me went ahead and asked, "So what religion are you?".
Let me pause here. Without giving you a long, boring story about my religious upbringing and growth and eventually disillusionment, blah blah blah, I am an athiest from a strong christian background. I do not frequently discuss religion (or lack thereof). Even with close friends, we all know where each other is coming from, and we're all largely on the same page, or at least willing to respect each others opinions. But still, we generally don't talk faith. I certainly don't talk faith with either of my parents. My step-mother enjoys gospel music loud enough to hurt your ears, and I only barely turned my mother down to go with her to a Christmas Eve church service. Now that I think about it more, I'm perfectly content with my parents having false assumptions about my faith- at very least leaving it really vague.
Anyway, I told her that I abstained. "You what?", "I'm not really a church-going kind of guy." Yeah, okay, I was uncomfortable with the question. Which is totally weird, and I immediately thought of all the emails that my dad sends me, about how persecuted Christians are in the US of A. She asked if I was an athiest, and I responded that yes, I am an athiest. She nodded her head, and looked away from me, sortof toward her computer screen, and didn't look at me again, and told me that when she was serving in the Air Force in Iraq, how there was a guy she served with who was really nice, and super kind to everyone, and he'd revealed that he was an athiest, and how that didn't change her opinion of him, and how he had a moral code he lived by, and how she was cool with him being an athiest but that she'd pray for him, etc etc. Two things were really funny/weird to me, one was that she was obviously was uncomfortable with my lack of faith, and two was that I inferred from her conversation that she was shocked that a nice person was an athiest, and how would he function without a moral compass, but that he somehow managed to not kill babies anyway.
Then I came up with a work around for the domain issue, while she worked on her stuff, and we sat and worked silently. And that was it.
So it was just weird.
419
From: drabdu_samu60@xxxxx.xxx
To: me
Subject: URGENT REPLY
DR ABDU SAMU
The Manager of Audit & Accountancy Dept.
African Development Bank/A.D.B.
Ouagadougou, Burkina-Faso.
( READ CAREFULLY AND KEEP SECRET)
Greeting, and how are you doing?I hope fine.Please let this my message do
not be a surprise to you because i got your information and lay trust in you
before i contacted you.I am the MANAGER OF AUDIT & ACCOUNTANCY DEPARTMENT of
our bank and i decided to contact you over this financial transaction worth
the sum of TWENTY TWO MILLION,THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS
($22,300,000.00).This is an abandoned fund that belongs to the one of our
bank foreign customers who died along with his completely family on 25th
oct,2002 in a plane crash disaster.
I was very fortune to came acroos the deceased file when i was arranging the
old and abandoned customers files of 2004-2005 in other to submit to the
bank managements accordingly for documentation purposes.It is clearly stated
in our BANKING FOREIGN POLICY and signed lawfully that if such fund remains
unclaimed by the NEXT OF KIN till the period of Eight(8) years starting from
the date when the beneficiary died, the money will be transferred into the
BANK TREASURY as an unclaimed fund.Besides,it is not authorized by the law
guiding our bank for a citizen of BURKINA FASO to make the claim of the
fund.
So the request of you as a foreigner is necessary to apply for the claim and
transfer of the fund smoothly into your reliable bank account as the NEXT OF
KIN to the deceased.When the fund is transferred into your account,FOURTY
PERCENT(40%) will be for you in an assistance and in provision of the bank
account,while SIXTY PERCENT (60%) will be for me. If you are really sure of
your integerity, trustworthy and confidentiality,reply with your contact
necessary for the transfer and call me as you so that i will let you know
the steps to follow in order to finalize this transaction immediately.I will
be waiting for your urgent reply.
My regards to you and your family,
DR ABDU SAMU
* Advanced Fee Fraud
* Scam baiting
* 419 eater
To: me
Subject: URGENT REPLY
DR ABDU SAMU
The Manager of Audit & Accountancy Dept.
African Development Bank/A.D.B.
Ouagadougou, Burkina-Faso.
( READ CAREFULLY AND KEEP SECRET)
Greeting, and how are you doing?I hope fine.Please let this my message do
not be a surprise to you because i got your information and lay trust in you
before i contacted you.I am the MANAGER OF AUDIT & ACCOUNTANCY DEPARTMENT of
our bank and i decided to contact you over this financial transaction worth
the sum of TWENTY TWO MILLION,THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS
($22,300,000.00).This is an abandoned fund that belongs to the one of our
bank foreign customers who died along with his completely family on 25th
oct,2002 in a plane crash disaster.
I was very fortune to came acroos the deceased file when i was arranging the
old and abandoned customers files of 2004-2005 in other to submit to the
bank managements accordingly for documentation purposes.It is clearly stated
in our BANKING FOREIGN POLICY and signed lawfully that if such fund remains
unclaimed by the NEXT OF KIN till the period of Eight(8) years starting from
the date when the beneficiary died, the money will be transferred into the
BANK TREASURY as an unclaimed fund.Besides,it is not authorized by the law
guiding our bank for a citizen of BURKINA FASO to make the claim of the
fund.
So the request of you as a foreigner is necessary to apply for the claim and
transfer of the fund smoothly into your reliable bank account as the NEXT OF
KIN to the deceased.When the fund is transferred into your account,FOURTY
PERCENT(40%) will be for you in an assistance and in provision of the bank
account,while SIXTY PERCENT (60%) will be for me. If you are really sure of
your integerity, trustworthy and confidentiality,reply with your contact
necessary for the transfer and call me as you so that i will let you know
the steps to follow in order to finalize this transaction immediately.I will
be waiting for your urgent reply.
My regards to you and your family,
DR ABDU SAMU
* Advanced Fee Fraud
* Scam baiting
* 419 eater
Pan's Labyrinthe
Went and saw it the end of last week, and it was fantastic.
Loved the darkness, the violence, the bleak melancholy, and the brightness of her hope.
Observations of an almost-31-year-old
I've never been very intimidated about the prospect of growing older. Through my twenties, each birthday came and went without me being concerned about being older. I didn't feel any older.
But I'm a little intimidated by birthday # 31. I haven't been "in my twenties" for a year now, and when I think about it, I think I miss it a little. Not that there was anything that I had or did not have in my twenties, that I am now correspondingly bereft of or possessing. Its more of a title I suppose. Itmeans I'm still meant I was a spring chicken, instead of being easily old enough to be the father of an elementary school student.
I think this one bothers me because I do feel a little older. And I look a little older. It seems as though I woke up after my 30th birthday and noticed dark circles under my eyes. Like, I'd never had/never noticed such a thing about myself before, certainly not consistently. But now it seems as though every morning, whether I got a full restful night's sleep or not, I've got dark bags under my eyes. And my hands cramp from time to time. Not frequently, in fact, rarely. But sometimes. Usually I think its either a vitamin thing or a tiredness thing. When I'm running regularly, I notice that if I try to do things requiring fine manipulation etc, my hands will sometimes cramp, but its happened a few times seemingly spontaneously. And my friends tell me that I've got gray hairs. Yknow, I've wondered, if I went bald, or went gray, would I do hair-growth-stuff, or dye my hair? I've certainly dyed my hair before, but its been for entertainment purposes only, not to hide my graying hair.
So anyway, as you can see, I'm full of optimism on the eve of my 31st birthday. I can say that I am looking forward to El Patron on friday night for some Chicken Quesidilas and Margaritas, and a movie or two on Saturday. We've been planning to see Smokin' Aces, though I'm a little anxious now, cause its got a 33% on Rottentomatoes. I'd also really like to see either Curse of the Golden Flower or Letters from Iwo Jima this weekend.
But I'm a little intimidated by birthday # 31. I haven't been "in my twenties" for a year now, and when I think about it, I think I miss it a little. Not that there was anything that I had or did not have in my twenties, that I am now correspondingly bereft of or possessing. Its more of a title I suppose. It
I think this one bothers me because I do feel a little older. And I look a little older. It seems as though I woke up after my 30th birthday and noticed dark circles under my eyes. Like, I'd never had/never noticed such a thing about myself before, certainly not consistently. But now it seems as though every morning, whether I got a full restful night's sleep or not, I've got dark bags under my eyes. And my hands cramp from time to time. Not frequently, in fact, rarely. But sometimes. Usually I think its either a vitamin thing or a tiredness thing. When I'm running regularly, I notice that if I try to do things requiring fine manipulation etc, my hands will sometimes cramp, but its happened a few times seemingly spontaneously. And my friends tell me that I've got gray hairs. Yknow, I've wondered, if I went bald, or went gray, would I do hair-growth-stuff, or dye my hair? I've certainly dyed my hair before, but its been for entertainment purposes only, not to hide my graying hair.
So anyway, as you can see, I'm full of optimism on the eve of my 31st birthday. I can say that I am looking forward to El Patron on friday night for some Chicken Quesidilas and Margaritas, and a movie or two on Saturday. We've been planning to see Smokin' Aces, though I'm a little anxious now, cause its got a 33% on Rottentomatoes. I'd also really like to see either Curse of the Golden Flower or Letters from Iwo Jima this weekend.
snopes and the IT smack-down
First: http://www.snopes.com
Bookmark it. Refer to it before you forward emails.
Anyway, this morning I received this email (link is to snopes article regarding the email).
Predicament isn't quite the right word, but still: This is a junk email. The user is wasting company time and resources (look at me, slaving for The Man!), and spreading an irrelevant but stupid rumor. If I just wear my IT Department hat, I'll immediately send the user, and maybe all employees, an email debunking this and requesting that they not misuse company resources. On the other hand, the person who sent the email did so because they were fooled into thinking that they were somehow warning their coworkers against a serious danger. Though it bears mentioning that the same user sent this email. Despite being (foolishly) wrong, the user was well meaning.
Like with my parents, who have sent this kind of stuff to me, I'm a little hesitant to debunk mislead forwarders, even privately, because it seems that people react to this kind of thing with defensiveness, embarrassment, and sometimes a little anger (at themselves for being foolish, and redirected on the messenger?), instead of being grateful at being set straight. I'd rather be set straight: "Hey Jerm, that thing you sent is bogus." But not everyone views being corrected the same way.
Bookmark it. Refer to it before you forward emails.
Anyway, this morning I received this email (link is to snopes article regarding the email).
Predicament isn't quite the right word, but still: This is a junk email. The user is wasting company time and resources (look at me, slaving for The Man!), and spreading an irrelevant but stupid rumor. If I just wear my IT Department hat, I'll immediately send the user, and maybe all employees, an email debunking this and requesting that they not misuse company resources. On the other hand, the person who sent the email did so because they were fooled into thinking that they were somehow warning their coworkers against a serious danger. Though it bears mentioning that the same user sent this email. Despite being (foolishly) wrong, the user was well meaning.
Like with my parents, who have sent this kind of stuff to me, I'm a little hesitant to debunk mislead forwarders, even privately, because it seems that people react to this kind of thing with defensiveness, embarrassment, and sometimes a little anger (at themselves for being foolish, and redirected on the messenger?), instead of being grateful at being set straight. I'd rather be set straight: "Hey Jerm, that thing you sent is bogus." But not everyone views being corrected the same way.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Monday, January 15, 2007
language relics
An odd observation this evening.
The kinds of random things that I think about while going to bed and trying to go to sleep. This time it was odd enough that I have gotten up to blog it.
Language relics. I read a wikipedia article on it awhile back.
For some reason, the "ight" with a silent "gh" struck me.
Words with silent "gh" in "ight" (off the top of my head): Sight, might, right, tight, slight, fright, flight, light, night, blight, fight.
Words that dropped the "gh", or don't have it, anyway: kite, smite, trite, bite.
I shall resolve to try to find the wiki article on such things. I believe things like this are relics of our language when everything had an "e" on the end, and there were random, extra "h"'s throughout our words.
And now I'm going back to bed.
The kinds of random things that I think about while going to bed and trying to go to sleep. This time it was odd enough that I have gotten up to blog it.
Language relics. I read a wikipedia article on it awhile back.
For some reason, the "ight" with a silent "gh" struck me.
Words with silent "gh" in "ight" (off the top of my head): Sight, might, right, tight, slight, fright, flight, light, night, blight, fight.
Words that dropped the "gh", or don't have it, anyway: kite, smite, trite, bite.
I shall resolve to try to find the wiki article on such things. I believe things like this are relics of our language when everything had an "e" on the end, and there were random, extra "h"'s throughout our words.
And now I'm going back to bed.
MLK Day
Today is the birth date of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It's amazing how far civil rights have come since his time, and its also sad how in some ways we seem to still be stuck in the mindset that we were during that time. Minorities are largely in a much better situation now then they were in the 1960's, but we still have so far to go. I live just outside of Memphis, and around here, you don't have to dig very deep to find deep seated racism. Heck sometimes you don't have to dig at all. Here's hoping for a brighter future, a future in which racism is a thing of the past.
Totally unrelated, did you know that (according to Wikipedia) the population of Memphis, TN, is 680,768, and the population of Atlanta, GA, is 470,688. This strikes me as strange because Memphis seems to be so backwards, and so lacking in many things that one associates with truly "big city" metropolitan life. But here's another telling figure perhaps. Memphis metropolitan population: 1,260,581. Atlanta metropolitan population: 4,917,717. (I just wish we could support a gaming store.)
And finally, I wanted to pimp the latest little hobby-project I've charged into.. The Shadowrun of Yesterday. Jason and I are "working hard" to bring the gritty cyberpunk future of Shadowrun to the simplicity and fun of the Shadow of Yesterday system
Totally unrelated, did you know that (according to Wikipedia) the population of Memphis, TN, is 680,768, and the population of Atlanta, GA, is 470,688. This strikes me as strange because Memphis seems to be so backwards, and so lacking in many things that one associates with truly "big city" metropolitan life. But here's another telling figure perhaps. Memphis metropolitan population: 1,260,581. Atlanta metropolitan population: 4,917,717. (I just wish we could support a gaming store.)
And finally, I wanted to pimp the latest little hobby-project I've charged into.. The Shadowrun of Yesterday. Jason and I are "working hard" to bring the gritty cyberpunk future of Shadowrun to the simplicity and fun of the Shadow of Yesterday system
Virginia, flabby, zombies, pants, stuff.
Not much exciting going on here.
Krissi and I went to Virginia for her mom's 50th birthday. It was a good, quick trip, and I'm glad to be back home.
I desperately need to get back on the running and exercising thing. I feel flabby and bleh.
Picked up World War Z on the way back from Virgina and have been devouring it. I'm enjoying it a great deal, which, in and of itself, is enjoyable- since this is the first book I've sat down and read in .... a long long time. And of course it makes me want to run a zombies game. Which of course makes me want to run any TSOY game. Shadow of Dungeons and Dragons, anyone? I'm such a basket case. Oh, and World War Z is a kinda funny story too, cause I saw it in a store awhile back and thought "cool!" and put it back down. Then I saw talking about the book, and so my interest was both renewed and intensified, and so I'd made known in no uncertain terms, my desire for the book. But we've been trying to be super thrifty, so were holding off for my birthday. But while walking through the Dulles airport, we passed a bookstore, and I challengingly offered "Lets make a bet on whether they have WWZ there", since Krissi had expressed that she figured they would not have it. We walked into the store in time to overhear the guy at the counter talking to someone on the phone.. his conversation went like this: "blah blah blah blah World War Z blah blah blah". To which I said, interrupting him, "You have it, right?" He got off the phone, found the book, and, well.. I already said that I'm enjoying it. =)
We've been playing the Order of the Stick boardgame, which is fun. But y'know, sometimes while playing in these 3-6 hour board games, I wonder why my friends are willing to commit to boardgames on a regular basis, but not to a role playing game on an even semi-regular basis (or at all, really). Maybe its a level of commitment thing. Maybe there's some other writing on the wall I should be paying attention to. Anyway.
Urm, other non-news... went on a shopping spree at Kohl's with christmas gift-cards. Came away with some pants, which I've been kinda badly in need of, since all of the pants I've been wearing to work either are, or appear to be, 5 years old.
Krissi and I went to Virginia for her mom's 50th birthday. It was a good, quick trip, and I'm glad to be back home.
I desperately need to get back on the running and exercising thing. I feel flabby and bleh.
Picked up World War Z on the way back from Virgina and have been devouring it. I'm enjoying it a great deal, which, in and of itself, is enjoyable- since this is the first book I've sat down and read in .... a long long time. And of course it makes me want to run a zombies game. Which of course makes me want to run any TSOY game. Shadow of Dungeons and Dragons, anyone? I'm such a basket case. Oh, and World War Z is a kinda funny story too, cause I saw it in a store awhile back and thought "cool!" and put it back down. Then I saw
We've been playing the Order of the Stick boardgame, which is fun. But y'know, sometimes while playing in these 3-6 hour board games, I wonder why my friends are willing to commit to boardgames on a regular basis, but not to a role playing game on an even semi-regular basis (or at all, really). Maybe its a level of commitment thing. Maybe there's some other writing on the wall I should be paying attention to. Anyway.
Urm, other non-news... went on a shopping spree at Kohl's with christmas gift-cards. Came away with some pants, which I've been kinda badly in need of, since all of the pants I've been wearing to work either are, or appear to be, 5 years old.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Innocent until proven guilty (or blown up by a hellfire missile)
Links first:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/01/10/somalia.strike/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innocent_until_proven_guilty
I have a few thoughts to share. But bear with me as I properly organize them here.
We are involved in a "Global war on terror", which I think is some retarded bullshit.
During a war, "ideally" (-1 points to me for using War and Ideally in the same sentence) we will be killing enemy combatants. Thanks to Bush, let me clarify: we'll be killing people who have guns or bombs or other direct war-making materials and who are actively involved in using them against us.
Now, I'm not really out for defending any terrible people who are in fact responsible for the deaths of innocent victims.. but at the same time, I'm not interested in giving a blank check to anyone to "kill people who are bad". Two extremes. It always concerns me though when I see the words "killed" and "suspected" in the same sentence.
And this is where it gets a little gray to me. Here in America, the police generally don't kill suspects. That's what courts and states with the death penalty are for. In a time (and place) of war, the same rules do not apply. Dropping bombs on massed Nazi tanks? Good stuff. Blowing up a LandRover with a "suspected terrorist" and um, his family? Um.. Are we still the good guys? What does suspected mean? And how many innocent men, women and children is it okay to kill, if we get to take out one of these "suspects"? Seriously? 1? 2? 10? 100? How many is okay? Is there a formula here? If bad guy A killed 100 people, can we kill 99 to get this guy? What if he has the potential to kill another 1,000? How do we decide that? And is it then okay to kill more people to stop him before he kills those 1,000?
While wondering about this, a friend pointed out that we don't want confirmation in the form of a mushroom cloud.
So.. Anyway, I'm just wondering 'out-loud' here. We're not in a perfect world, but nor are we really delivering good solutions to our not-so-perfect situation.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/01/10/somalia.strike/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innocent_until_proven_guilty
I have a few thoughts to share. But bear with me as I properly organize them here.
We are involved in a "Global war on terror", which I think is some retarded bullshit.
During a war, "ideally" (-1 points to me for using War and Ideally in the same sentence) we will be killing enemy combatants. Thanks to Bush, let me clarify: we'll be killing people who have guns or bombs or other direct war-making materials and who are actively involved in using them against us.
Now, I'm not really out for defending any terrible people who are in fact responsible for the deaths of innocent victims.. but at the same time, I'm not interested in giving a blank check to anyone to "kill people who are bad". Two extremes. It always concerns me though when I see the words "killed" and "suspected" in the same sentence.
And this is where it gets a little gray to me. Here in America, the police generally don't kill suspects. That's what courts and states with the death penalty are for. In a time (and place) of war, the same rules do not apply. Dropping bombs on massed Nazi tanks? Good stuff. Blowing up a LandRover with a "suspected terrorist" and um, his family? Um.. Are we still the good guys? What does suspected mean? And how many innocent men, women and children is it okay to kill, if we get to take out one of these "suspects"? Seriously? 1? 2? 10? 100? How many is okay? Is there a formula here? If bad guy A killed 100 people, can we kill 99 to get this guy? What if he has the potential to kill another 1,000? How do we decide that? And is it then okay to kill more people to stop him before he kills those 1,000?
While wondering about this, a friend pointed out that we don't want confirmation in the form of a mushroom cloud.
So.. Anyway, I'm just wondering 'out-loud' here. We're not in a perfect world, but nor are we really delivering good solutions to our not-so-perfect situation.
Seeing Red
(sorry this link is long: just click it!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signing_statement#Controversy_over_George_W._Bush.27s_use_of_signing_statements
and
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Bush_declares_immunity_from_Patriot_Act_oversight
You know, I think I'll declare myself immune to speeding laws. Oh wait, I'm not the "leader of the free world".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signing_statement#Controversy_over_George_W._Bush.27s_use_of_signing_statements
and
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Bush_declares_immunity_from_Patriot_Act_oversight
You know, I think I'll declare myself immune to speeding laws. Oh wait, I'm not the "leader of the free world".
Television History
Wow!
This may be one of the most amazing nights in television history.
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=2782006
I'll give you three guesses who I'm hoping ends up with a bloody nose.
This may be one of the most amazing nights in television history.
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=2782006
I'll give you three guesses who I'm hoping ends up with a bloody nose.
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Defining what you're playing
Ok, here is a gaming observation that I'd like to put into text, that people who are much more clever than I have already arrived at, and talked about, but I'm going to give it a stab here myself.
If you and I and some other folks are going to sit down at a table and play a Role Playing Game, we need some idea of what we're going to play. Now, I'm not exactly talking about *which game we're going to play*. I'm talking about what we're going to play. But this can work in two ways. I assume that 99.9% of the time when people sit down to play, they already know which game they're going to play. Let's assume its D&D. So we have that, but do we know what we're going to be doing? No way. That has to be refined. We either need to let the DM say "This is what we're doing", and we all go along with it, or we need to have a discussion about "This is what we'd like to be doing", and figure out where to take it.
"I'd like to play a game about mystery and exploration, and discovery of ancient evil, and possibly going bat-shit." Call of Cthulhu, check.
"I'd like to explore dungeons, kill gobs and gobs of monsters, get XP, and get levels. Oh and magic swords." Dungeons & Dragons, check.
"I'd like tons of intrigue and mystery and character development and double-crosses and fancy parties." Vampire, check.
That was a fun exercise. Anyway. Even if we all sit down at the table and say "We're playing D&D", or "We're playing Vampire", there should be a discussion about what we're going to be doing. Because its super safe to say that not every D&D game, or not every Vampire game is the same. Maybe we want to do a Thieves Guild game in D&D, or we want to play a brutal combat game of Vampire instead of political intrigue.
'Cause both the players and the GM should be getting something that they want out of the experience.
If you and I and some other folks are going to sit down at a table and play a Role Playing Game, we need some idea of what we're going to play. Now, I'm not exactly talking about *which game we're going to play*. I'm talking about what we're going to play. But this can work in two ways. I assume that 99.9% of the time when people sit down to play, they already know which game they're going to play. Let's assume its D&D. So we have that, but do we know what we're going to be doing? No way. That has to be refined. We either need to let the DM say "This is what we're doing", and we all go along with it, or we need to have a discussion about "This is what we'd like to be doing", and figure out where to take it.
"I'd like to play a game about mystery and exploration, and discovery of ancient evil, and possibly going bat-shit." Call of Cthulhu, check.
"I'd like to explore dungeons, kill gobs and gobs of monsters, get XP, and get levels. Oh and magic swords." Dungeons & Dragons, check.
"I'd like tons of intrigue and mystery and character development and double-crosses and fancy parties." Vampire, check.
That was a fun exercise. Anyway. Even if we all sit down at the table and say "We're playing D&D", or "We're playing Vampire", there should be a discussion about what we're going to be doing. Because its super safe to say that not every D&D game, or not every Vampire game is the same. Maybe we want to do a Thieves Guild game in D&D, or we want to play a brutal combat game of Vampire instead of political intrigue.
'Cause both the players and the GM should be getting something that they want out of the experience.
Monday, January 8, 2007
the glory of FIGHT BATTLE
OMG.
This is easily one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life.
is a game designer, and employee of Wizards of the Coast.
He created FIGHT BATTLE.
It is the most amazing Role Playing Game in the universe.
Read about it here,
then here,
and finally here.
Note: for the uninitiated, who somehow stumbled blindly upon this, the above is a terribly funny joke. There. That was free. Thanks to Shas for linking this stuff to me months and months ago. I just can't believe I didn't post something to the effect of LOLOLOLOROFL!!!LL!11111LOL.
This is easily one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life.
He created FIGHT BATTLE.
It is the most amazing Role Playing Game in the universe.
Read about it here,
then here,
and finally here.
Note: for the uninitiated, who somehow stumbled blindly upon this, the above is a terribly funny joke. There. That was free. Thanks to Shas for linking this stuff to me months and months ago. I just can't believe I didn't post something to the effect of LOLOLOLOROFL!!!LL!11111LOL.
fair and balanced
From a CNN report on the pair of recent security scares at the Port of Miami:
"The developments came a day after three Middle Eastern men in a cargo truck sparked a brief terrorism scare at the port."
I have to complain. One: These men are Americans. How come they're clearly labeled "Middle Eastern"? Two: Who sparked the security scare? These three men, or the security personnel?
I know, its semantics, but its annoying.
"The developments came a day after three Middle Eastern men in a cargo truck sparked a brief terrorism scare at the port."
I have to complain. One: These men are Americans. How come they're clearly labeled "Middle Eastern"? Two: Who sparked the security scare? These three men, or the security personnel?
I know, its semantics, but its annoying.
more movies
First.. does anyone ever have the problem of having too many links to provide for one thing?
Case in point:
Movies! I lied by omission. In addition to Children of Men [imdb,wiki,rt], we also saw Beerfest [imdb,wiki,rt] and Everything is Illuminated [imdb,wiki,rt].
See? Totally overboard on the linking. But its like some sort of blog perversion.. I know I shouldn't throw a dozen links on there. You're a big boy/girl. You can look it up yourself if you wanna. And yet I can't stop myself...
Oh... and I just saw this randomly on IMDB: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I have both snorted in high-brow, derisive amusement, and been keenly interested. Call me puzzled.
Case in point:
Movies! I lied by omission. In addition to Children of Men [imdb,wiki,rt], we also saw Beerfest [imdb,wiki,rt] and Everything is Illuminated [imdb,wiki,rt].
See? Totally overboard on the linking. But its like some sort of blog perversion.. I know I shouldn't throw a dozen links on there. You're a big boy/girl. You can look it up yourself if you wanna. And yet I can't stop myself...
Oh... and I just saw this randomly on IMDB: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I have both snorted in high-brow, derisive amusement, and been keenly interested. Call me puzzled.
I'm an asshole
mywife (1:02:50 PM): i'm trying to find the Airia from Shawshank
mywife (1:03:03 PM): It is from The Marriage of Figaro Act III
me (1:03:04 PM): oh hey
me (1:03:42 PM): funny that you should mention that.
me (1:03:45 PM): here ya go http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/Shawshankey/
(Thanks to for the link)
(audio is not particularly safe for work)
mywife (1:03:03 PM): It is from The Marriage of Figaro Act III
me (1:03:04 PM): oh hey
me (1:03:42 PM): funny that you should mention that.
me (1:03:45 PM): here ya go http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/Shawshankey/
(Thanks to
(audio is not particularly safe for work)
Holy Crap (system requirements)
So I got my hands on Rainbow Six: Vegas, and hoped to give it a whirl. I've long been a fan of the Rainbow Six series, and so I was eager to try this new one out. Now, let me interrupt myself.. I'm a nerd. A computer nerd. I'm not the biggest computer nerd that I know, really, and I'm somewhat less of a computer nerd now than I was just a few years ago. I no longer avidly keep up with what the latest, greatest video card is, and no longer do hourly refresh a long list of computer hardware and game websites. But I'm still a computer nerd and proud of it. So.. my desktop is rather dated. I built it.. oh god.. has it been two and a half years ago? I'm going to totally lose my nerd hat. Anyway, it has fallen behind the technology curve. I've also got a laptop that is approaching two years old, but I beefed it up when I bought it, and so its been able to run everything I've loaded on it.. granted, with things like Medieval II or Oblivion, I've had to turn down the graphics a little.. but I've been able to play and enjoy them.
I knew R6:Vegas was pretty, so I knew I'd have to turn the graphics down. What I did not know was that since my system(s) do not meet the minimum system requirements for the game, I couldn't even run it. At all. Bgak.
On the other hand, *drool*. Now where's that money tree at....
I knew R6:Vegas was pretty, so I knew I'd have to turn the graphics down. What I did not know was that since my system(s) do not meet the minimum system requirements for the game, I couldn't even run it. At all. Bgak.
On the other hand, *drool*. Now where's that money tree at....
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Children of Men
Went and saw Children of Men today.
Fan-tastic. I highly recommend it.
Also, could someone please call the Malco Corporate offices and tell them that they need to get with the program and put Pan's Labyrinthe into their theaters? Thx.
Fan-tastic. I highly recommend it.
Also, could someone please call the Malco Corporate offices and tell them that they need to get with the program and put Pan's Labyrinthe into their theaters? Thx.
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Wireless Bridge
Here's another work-related one for ya.
A few months ago the put a small free-standing building up on the property here that was to serve as the Shipping Office. We of course call it the "Shippin' Shack". So the Shippin' Shack of course is going to have a couple of telephones and PCs in there, but aside from electricity, it has no wiring going into it, and there's not really anything close-by to pull wiring from. So we decided on a wireless network solution. Two IP phones, two machines, a switch, a wireless access point and a wireless bridge. Simple enough. The access point will sit where there is wiring and network, and have an antenna attached to it. It will beam that wireless signal across the yard to the Shippin' Shack, where there'll be another antenna with a wireless bridge attached. Attached to that bridge will be a switch which will carry the network connection to the PCs and IP phones. Simple enough. So we get all that in place, get the configuration of the AP and bridge setup and WOOT they're all connected. It's IT magic.
Then it quit working. Of course. It was up for a couple of days, then it went down. Well, that's annoying, but no big deal. I fiddle with it, reboot the AP. Still nothing, I go into the config interface for the AP and see that the radio is turned off. Which doesnt make any sense. The radio would have been on earlier. The radio would not (should not?) have turned itself off. I turn it on, the connection comes back up, and I go back to my office.
Then it quit working. I mean, it'd work for a few days, then just quit. Like right in the middle of the day. So I'd go look at it, reset the AP, turn the radio back on (cause it was off again) and it'd start working. Again and again and again. Never any discernable pattern. Usually once every week or week and a half, but sometimes twice in an hour. Seemingly always during the work day, but never on any certain day or at any certain time. Frustrated, I reconfigured both from scratch. Same problem. I replaced the AP with another identical AP. Same problem. They're both from the same manufacturer. We're not talking about square pegs in round holes here. Again and again and again.
Then they installed another piece of equipment that used a network connection beside the shippin' shack. Worried, but still planning on trying to find a solution, we got it setup to be on the switch connected to the bridge in the shippin' shack. Then we waited. And waited. And waited. The connection didnt drop. Its been... three months now? And not once has the connection gone down. So apparently if you have an intermittent connectivity problem that no amount of troubleshooting will solve and you're at the point where beating your head against your desk seems like a logical next step, just try putting more devices on the network. It just might fix it.
A few months ago the put a small free-standing building up on the property here that was to serve as the Shipping Office. We of course call it the "Shippin' Shack". So the Shippin' Shack of course is going to have a couple of telephones and PCs in there, but aside from electricity, it has no wiring going into it, and there's not really anything close-by to pull wiring from. So we decided on a wireless network solution. Two IP phones, two machines, a switch, a wireless access point and a wireless bridge. Simple enough. The access point will sit where there is wiring and network, and have an antenna attached to it. It will beam that wireless signal across the yard to the Shippin' Shack, where there'll be another antenna with a wireless bridge attached. Attached to that bridge will be a switch which will carry the network connection to the PCs and IP phones. Simple enough. So we get all that in place, get the configuration of the AP and bridge setup and WOOT they're all connected. It's IT magic.
Then it quit working. Of course. It was up for a couple of days, then it went down. Well, that's annoying, but no big deal. I fiddle with it, reboot the AP. Still nothing, I go into the config interface for the AP and see that the radio is turned off. Which doesnt make any sense. The radio would have been on earlier. The radio would not (should not?) have turned itself off. I turn it on, the connection comes back up, and I go back to my office.
Then it quit working. I mean, it'd work for a few days, then just quit. Like right in the middle of the day. So I'd go look at it, reset the AP, turn the radio back on (cause it was off again) and it'd start working. Again and again and again. Never any discernable pattern. Usually once every week or week and a half, but sometimes twice in an hour. Seemingly always during the work day, but never on any certain day or at any certain time. Frustrated, I reconfigured both from scratch. Same problem. I replaced the AP with another identical AP. Same problem. They're both from the same manufacturer. We're not talking about square pegs in round holes here. Again and again and again.
Then they installed another piece of equipment that used a network connection beside the shippin' shack. Worried, but still planning on trying to find a solution, we got it setup to be on the switch connected to the bridge in the shippin' shack. Then we waited. And waited. And waited. The connection didnt drop. Its been... three months now? And not once has the connection gone down. So apparently if you have an intermittent connectivity problem that no amount of troubleshooting will solve and you're at the point where beating your head against your desk seems like a logical next step, just try putting more devices on the network. It just might fix it.
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
First post of the year: TV and Werewolf
Woo! Happy 2007.
I've already talked about my resolutions, so- moving right along..
TV.
I have long claimed that "there is nothing on TV." What I meant is that there is nothing *good* on TV. I still kinda mean it. C'mon, we've got "Dancing with the stars", which just makes me shudder in horror, and then stuff that I stick my nose up at, that alot of my friends (and *cough* family) like, such as CSI, House, American Idol, etc. I just think that most tv is garbage. But I sure do love me some tv too. Law & Order (no, JUST Law & Order, I dont need any acronyms with it, thanks), Reno 911, Arrested Development, Sopranos, Rome, Lost (well, used to), Dead Like Me, Firefly, Dirty Jobs, Mytbusters, Drawn Together, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Scrubs, anything on the History Channel.... granted, some of these are canceled, but actually that just makes them easier for me to watch, cause friends have them on DVD and we can see them at our own pace, without commercials. Anyway, I dont have much of a point here, aside from that we've been watching Dead Like Me on DVD [note to self: come back when feeling less lazy and linkify these things]. Its a good, clever show, with an incredibly clever concept. I find it enjoyable, but I wouldnt put it in my Stack of Best Shows Evar- in that stack you'd certainly find Arrested Development and Firefly and the like.. but not Dead Like Me. Its good, but far from great. Though I think Mandy Patinkin and the character of Ms. Herbig are easily my favorite bits of the show.
Mmmmm I want to watch some more Arrested Development.
Oh and Werewolf. Here's who and what I have:
Me - I'll run the game, check.
Maddie - she's interested in playing werewolf. We did some prelude stuff, just her and I awhile back.
Krissi - she's willing to play werewolf.
Bill - A guy I contacted via email, who's said he's interested, and has given me an okay for a game date later in January.
Joseph - Another guy I contacted via email, he says he's interested, but I havent heard from him regarding the game date.
Ann - A girl I emailed about playing, but have not heard a word from.
Jason - I wish he was interested in playing :P
I've got a ton of ideas and stuff kicking around in my head, which is exciting for me. My plan is that if my game date happens, I'll hand out pregenerated Werewolf characters for a prelude of sorts. I'll propose that this is an introductory scenario so that people will not be going into chargen and such blind. I'll run the intro scenario, hopefully telling a story that will kindof setup a stage for the coming story arc, then after that we'll recreate characters or retweak them to people's contentment, and go forward with some playing.
That's the plan.
I've already talked about my resolutions, so- moving right along..
TV.
I have long claimed that "there is nothing on TV." What I meant is that there is nothing *good* on TV. I still kinda mean it. C'mon, we've got "Dancing with the stars", which just makes me shudder in horror, and then stuff that I stick my nose up at, that alot of my friends (and *cough* family) like, such as CSI, House, American Idol, etc. I just think that most tv is garbage. But I sure do love me some tv too. Law & Order (no, JUST Law & Order, I dont need any acronyms with it, thanks), Reno 911, Arrested Development, Sopranos, Rome, Lost (well, used to), Dead Like Me, Firefly, Dirty Jobs, Mytbusters, Drawn Together, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Scrubs, anything on the History Channel.... granted, some of these are canceled, but actually that just makes them easier for me to watch, cause friends have them on DVD and we can see them at our own pace, without commercials. Anyway, I dont have much of a point here, aside from that we've been watching Dead Like Me on DVD [note to self: come back when feeling less lazy and linkify these things]. Its a good, clever show, with an incredibly clever concept. I find it enjoyable, but I wouldnt put it in my Stack of Best Shows Evar- in that stack you'd certainly find Arrested Development and Firefly and the like.. but not Dead Like Me. Its good, but far from great. Though I think Mandy Patinkin and the character of Ms. Herbig are easily my favorite bits of the show.
Mmmmm I want to watch some more Arrested Development.
Oh and Werewolf. Here's who and what I have:
Me - I'll run the game, check.
Maddie - she's interested in playing werewolf. We did some prelude stuff, just her and I awhile back.
Krissi - she's willing to play werewolf.
Bill - A guy I contacted via email, who's said he's interested, and has given me an okay for a game date later in January.
Joseph - Another guy I contacted via email, he says he's interested, but I havent heard from him regarding the game date.
Ann - A girl I emailed about playing, but have not heard a word from.
Jason - I wish he was interested in playing :P
I've got a ton of ideas and stuff kicking around in my head, which is exciting for me. My plan is that if my game date happens, I'll hand out pregenerated Werewolf characters for a prelude of sorts. I'll propose that this is an introductory scenario so that people will not be going into chargen and such blind. I'll run the intro scenario, hopefully telling a story that will kindof setup a stage for the coming story arc, then after that we'll recreate characters or retweak them to people's contentment, and go forward with some playing.
That's the plan.
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