Thursday 8 July 2004


  • I was amazed at the videos on terrisfight.org of Terri's obvious non-vegatative state considering how much Mr Schiavo has tried to have his wife killed.  Has he no shame or shred of compassion? 

     

    Anyway, last night I fell asleep while discussing (with myself, here, in the previous entry) some of the thoughts I had over the weekend.  Rereading the entry, I think I got most of the points across that I wanted to convey on the topic of my marital status.  I remember feeling like I left it uncomplete when I went to bed, but I guess not.  So, the next topic I wanted to discuss is local conventions. 

     

    This weekend was WesterCon LVII:  Konkopelli.  I chose not to work it for several reasons, including cost to attend, distance to bike or convince someone to give me a ride, loss of holiday pay at work, lack of a place to crash, lectoring duties, and the holiday party planned by An.  I was vaguely interested in attending a regional convention to see how they compare to local cons, knowing that I'm not likely to attend one unless its held here.  But that, and the bigger name guests of honour and participants wasn't enough to outweigh the negatives.

     

    But I've had this growing, but unspoken, feeling since LepreCon this year.  A feeling I kept shifting to the backburner rather than explore.  While at Steve's game on Saturday, the inevitable local convention conversation came up (considering the fact that all of us were not at the con, but Rusty was missing the game because he was).  Smitty was dishing out that same complaints that almost everyone who quit going to local cons spouts.  Complaints which for the most part aren't valid anymore, but when countered with that they keep complaining rather than give local conventions a chance.  And somewhen between when I was countering complaints which weren't valid for newer conventions and I was challenging him to put action to his complaints, the feeling solidified itself in my conscience. 

     

    I've always been a believer that if you see something broken, you fix it.  Rather than complain, do something.  Action speaks louder than words.  So, when some friends of mine were complaining about conventions I challenged them to do something about it.  So we started working at the local conventions more, in the hopes that we could fix what was broken.  But what really happened?  One friend found success in that through working the local conventions he was able to join a group which formed to assist local conventions.  He's nw able to do what he always wanted at cons, and all the more power to him.  The other friend, well I don't know if she's found that success or not.  With her current conventions commitments, success probably can't be ascertained for another two years. 

     

    There is a certain amount of stress in the learning curve for working at conventions, and that stress is exponentially worse the higher up the ladder one climbs.  Yet, I've found that despite the initial stress one undergoes, once a possition is learned it can be fun.  However, is that hard work and that fun enough?  Because, to be honest, the local conventions don't offer me enough to pay full price yet.  In fact, I've never attended a convention for which I had to pay full price (that I can recall anyway.  Even at DarkCon IV I payed the Saturday/Sunday only price because I hadn't originally intended to attend without running any events).  The closest convention would be HexaCon, because it offers its main attraction (gaming) in larger quantities and varieties than any of the other conventions offer their main attraction (whether it be sf art, sf lit, comics, or other primarily gaming cons). 

     

    I've reached a point where I'm seeing some allies quit or sellout to the old guard.  Many of my successfully received changes are ignored and old ways are brought back as soon as the next convention rolls around.  So then I have to wonder if my work is even worthwhile, or if I'm Sisyphus rolling that boulder to nowhere.  If I capitulate, that'll make me a lackey of the old guard.  If I quit, I let them win.  If I keep at it without success, I'm a fool.  Can I be successful as allies leave the ranks left and right, all for their own reasons?  It's not a comfortable feeling to have, so no wonder I've kept trying to ignore it. 

     

    I still have four more local convention commitments over the next two years, with another commitment implied if not actually made.  I seriously need to reevaluate things.  Getting allies is tough, as most people don't want to do a lot of work for no monetary gain.  I guess I should say that's it hard to blame them, but it really wouldn't be if I wanted to do so.  Blame is cheap, as someone once said. 

     

    The most successful conventions are those run as businesses rather than as volunteer-based not-for-profits.  Perhaps that's what this town really needs.  I've heard several pipedreams over the years, but if anyone actually pulled it off I'd have to become a paying member just to insure its early success even if I couldn't attend.  So, if anyone ever stumbles across this Web site and is pondering that very idea for our area, reread this paragraph again. 

     

    Anyway, I'm not falling asleep at the computer, but it is later than I should be up on a work night.  I'll continue tomorrow. 

     

    "There is, therefore, about all complete conviction a kind of huge helplessness.  The belief is so big that it takes a long time to get it into action.  And this hesitation chiefly arises, oddly enough, from an indifference about where one should begin."  ~G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

Wednesday 7 July 2004


  •  

    So I attended the holiday barbeque An was hosting at his fiancee's place.  Apparently, the two of them realised that they have been together two and a half years and their sets of friends had yet to meet each other.  I was the only one of An's friends who showed, so their plan wasn't a total failure.  We talked, played Uno Attack!, ate burgers and hotdogs with all the fixin's, and stayed up way too late.  Luckily, Tina's place is only three miles away. 

     

    So I was thinking about how they seem a well meshed couple, and thought of other well meshed, not-so-well meshed, poorly meshed, and antagonistic couples I know and have known.  For some reason, I just can't even imagine being lucky enough to be part of a well meshed couple.  This despite the fact that I would certainly enjoy the ability to share joys and burdens with another human being.  This despite the fact that at times I would love nothing more than to be physically close to someone (a body to lean on, a hand to hold, or even just a familiar nearby presence with whom I would share a connection).  I mean, I don't even feel called to go looking for potential mates. 

     

    This makes me wonder, what is our Lord's plan for me then?  I don't feel called to marriage or the priesthood.  Am I just ignoring His call, is it just not yet my time, or is there something else planned for me?  I've had friends concerned that I'm diluting the gene pool by not breeding.  I've had friends unconcerned because they think I'll be a late bloomer like many others they know (or are!) who didn't find their vocation until their thirties.  I'm not against being married, so I wonder why I've always felt that I would never be. 

     

    I guess that has left me somewhat envious of those friends and family who have found that clarity of purpose to know that they "shouldn't let this one get away" or that they felt called to "make a bride of the church".  Even slight envy can be dangerous, so its back to praying for the grace to avoid its lure. 

     

    Wow, I'm falling asleep here at the computer.  I guess I had better get going.  More thoughts next time.  When I'm not falling asleep. 

     

    Season = Winter
    You're Most Like The Season Winter ... You're often depicted as the cold, distant season.  But you're incredibly intelligent, mature and Independant. You have an air of power around you - and that can sometimes scare people off.  You're complex, and get hurt easily - so you rarely let people in if you can help it. You can be somewhat of a loner, but just as easily you could be the leader of many. You Tend to be negative, and hard to relate to, but you give off a relaxed image despite being insecure - and secretly many people long to be like you, not knowing how deep the Winter season really is. Well done... You're the most inspirational of seasons :)

    ?? Which Season Are You ??
    brought to you by Quizilla

     

    ""I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self."  ~Aristotle

Monday 5 July 2004











  • Currently Playing
    Saga Begins
    By Weird Al Yankovic
    "The Saga Begins" video on Launch
    see related


    Daleks Defeated!  BBC forced to be creative, oh no!   


    Wow, Weird Al has managed to do a recap of The Phantom Menace that covers every scene of the movie!   That's too cool for words.  I guess I don't keep up enough with pop culture, because I still think of him having Gallagher-like long hair. 


    The smoke from the Willow Fire is high in the atmosphere even as far as down here.  At least the partial cover made it a cool holiday, as we only reached fourty-one centigrade today.  That should make public and private gettogethers some of the best in years. 


    Speaking of holiday gettogethers, BJ, Da, Jay, Kim, Mara, Sam, and I got together Friday despite our stated plan to get together at least once a month.  Da said we could count it as our June gettogether anyway and still plan one for this month, and I think I'll go along with that.  We had a pot luck.  Kim made a potato salad which could have been better if she'd have cooked the potatoes.  It was her first attempt, and the rest of the ingredients were well combined so I suspect that her next attempt will be awesome.  Mara feared trying my carrot-raisin salad, but then discovered that she liked it best of what was available (so long as she picked the raisins out of it, go figure). 


    We ended up playing Apples to Apples.  The first round was baked apples, and went well.  Unfortunately, we then tried one version where the judge gets green apples to match to his/her red apple.  No one enjoyed that version, so we switched to another version where the judge finds the worst fitting red apple for her/his green apple.  Everyone else liked that version, but as usual I really disliked it.  I've left the table when forced to play that version before, but with BJ on my team I didn't want to leave him in the cold.  Afterwards, we watched Return of the Jedi (or at least tried to do so, I think everyone might have fallen to sleep before it was over). 


    Saturday Steve ran his FR campaign with Jason, Kendal, Monte, Smitty, and I in attendance.  Our characters healed up from our encounter with the drow, covered up the looted bodies, and continued on until dark.  The next day we reached a cliffside where we were forced to tie up our horses, bury unneed equipment and loot, and head down the sheer cliffside.  Cap turned into a leopard and avoided most of the trouble.  However, Kor avoided getting help from anyone and fell down from one ledge to the next.  We had to go up and heal him after the third fall, but he continued to fall from ledge to ledge until he finally reached the bottom.  How he expects to return to the top of the cliff when we head home I have no idea. 


    When we reached the bottom we were introduced to Smitty's human scout (a class from Mercenaries, probably the best non-Hasbro d20 supplement) who was there hunting displacer beasts.  While we ate lunch, we were attacked by a pair of displacer beasts.  Nasty buggers, and we ended the session immediately after the fight just like last week. 


    Today, mass was nearly empty as I expected.  They didn't even bother with all of the EM stations.  Father Milt discussed how America is seen by many to be the New Jerusalem promised us, while others see us as the new Rome or new Babylon.  The choir sang The Battle Hymn of the Republic for the closing processional, and I seemed to be the only one who didn't know the lyrics to the verses.


    Tonight I'm watching SG1 for the first time in quite a while.  It seems just as good a series as when I used to watch it regularly.  In fact, I ought to just watch it rather than be doing two things at once. 


    You are DORY!


    You are Dory, the happy fish with mad skills.  It's amazing how you can have such a possitive outlook on the world.  (Maybe you've just forgotten how to be pessimistic.)  Absolutely nothing can make you feel sad...except maybe rejection.  Extreme situations can cause you to lose your composure as well, but just remember:  time heals all wounds.


    What Finding Nemo Character are You?
    brought to you by Quizilla


    "If a man overcomes fear, he acquires clarity of mind.  But this very achievement of clarity becomes the next opponent to be faced.  Once fear is dispelled, clarity becomes the next enemy by tempting a man to give up ever doubting himself.  And so it goes.  Each accomplishment, itself, becomes the next obstacle to be overcome."  ~Sheldon B Kopp, If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him!

Friday 2 July 2004



  •  

    I have all sorts of ideas that I want to write down when I ride, but when I get to a computer they seem to disappear.  This is not useful, so I'm in the process of trying to force myself into a regular writing schedule.  Hopefully, that will get me used to doing some of my creative process where I can get it down in a slightly more permanent fashion. 

     

    Well, this is annoying.  Today Rusty has uncancelled his Shadowrun game for tomorrow.  I had already made plans this whole past week to do something with some other friends because he had said that Friday was going to be clear.  This follows last week when Harley cancelled Rusty's game that day for a LARP. 

     

    He's lucky I checked my E-mail tonight as part of my new strategy to be on the computer on a regular schedule.  I've warned people in the past that I can only be guarenteed to check my E-mail on the weekend, but no one listens.  The Sunday group had expected me to somehow check E-mail before the game earlier this week.  Riiiight.  It's hard to make the time to be on the computer every day.  Sure, at work I have to be on the computer, but here at home this new attempt to be on the computer each night is resulting in a lot less sleep than I'd like.  I haven't found anything else I can sacrifice as yet.  We'll see what comes of this in the long run.

     

    Hmmm...Monte is IMing me that he'll be playing my character tomorrow for me.  That's scarey.  Luckily, I already E-mailed Rusty to let him know that he could NPC me if needed.  I hope he doesn't really dump my character on Monte, but if he does I guess there's nothing I can do.  Even a threat like that won't get me to dump my previous plans.  If Rusty had not wanted me to have alternate plans he shouldn't have cancelled last weekend. 

     

    Wow, this William Hung is as bad as all of my television watching coworkers, family, and friends had warned me!

     

    Well, I hope everyone had a great Canada Day!  I need to go make turkeyburgers for my lunch this weekend and carrot salad for tomorrow's get together.  So, have a great night!

     

    Thanks to morriganshadow for the quiz!


    Take the What's Your Song? quiz and visit Castle Diqueria.

    "The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure." ~ Vince Lombardi

Thursday 1 July 2004


  • Babies by GK Chesterton.

     

    Well, on my split weekend yesterday I had a slew of phone calls to return.  Monday turned into an extra long day at work, almost twelve hours!  By the time I got home I went straight to bed.  John had called and wanted me to cover both readings this Sunday so he could attend a holiday barbeque.  My mom called about stopping by to drop off some misdirected mail to me.  Some friends and I have been planning a get together for this weekend, and things seem finally settled today.  Francis wanted me to help out with Westercon despite the fact that I don't have the time off.  Ivan called to discuss his plans for Hexacon this year and next.   Monte wanted to discuss his feat selection as a 6th level dwarven fighter which he'll reach in a couple more sessions.  It sounds like he might take a level of paladin at seventh before taking dwarven defender at eighth, an intriguing choice. 

     

    I stopped by the office to pay rent and discuss the vandalism to my lawn, and discovered that they've been having trouble getting the cops to treat this seriously, too.  At least its not me. 

     

    We also had a Diagon Alley Live meeting, preparing for Hexacon XIV.  We're behind on work for Pokemon Live Action, I have no idea how we plan on doing both at the same convention.  Wish us luck.  Afterwards I went grocery shopping, mowed my lawn, did dishes and laundry, and posted here yesterday.   

     

    Today I had several fires to put out at work due to having taken yesterday off.  What would they do if I was in an accident or I quit?  They scare me sometimes with their reliance on me for so many things.  At least it made the day go by incredibly fast.

     

    After work I had a call from Andrew finalizing plans for the barbeque on the 5th.  Then I had another call from Wayne asking me about our TFLAS-related web sites.  So, I signed on and checked that stuff out and then came here because I had promised to keep this updated more often.  It's not very interesting content, but at least its content. 

     

    Isn't it interesting how much pop music deals with falling in, being in, falling out, or missing out on love?  I wonder if anyone has ever done the percentages.  Probably not. 

     

    For those of you who thought cooties were just a myth...

    (Thanks to AislinnRogue for the quiz!) 










    What kind of disease are you?

    Paul:

    Paul is caused by alien mind control rays.



    Paul disease causes immediate spontaneous combustion.
    The only way to stop the spread of Paul is to raise bees in your hair.


    Name?

     


    "To be a man of knowledge has no permanence." ~ Carlos Castenada, The Teachings of Don Juan:  A Yaqui Way of Knowledge

Tuesday 29 June 2004






  • Currently Playing
    Die Another Day
    By Madonna
    "Die Another Day" video on Launch
    see related

    OpinionJournal - Taste

    What makes gamers different from the rest of humanity?  I ask this question because I have found a pattern which I can't explain.  I have found that in life I can usually understand what people mean behind what they say.  Call it intuition, empathy, psychicness (or whatever the word would be), or just plain greater than average intelligence, its something I inherited from my mother, I think.  Often times, when just in a one-on-one interaction, when people appologise for not being clear I dismiss it as something I didn't even realise was a problem.  In groups, once people become frustrated with their lack of comprehension or misinterpretation, I often reinterpret what the speaker wanted to say. 

    I take this idea of reinterpreting what the speaker had to say from one of the listening skills I learned in therapy.  In therapy they taught us to repeat what people say in different words to insure that both parties understand that the same thing was communicated.  Its a listening skill which helps cut down on miscommunication troubles, and I still use it today when I'm given ambiguous orders or requests.  However, I've also adapted it to situations when I believe that I understand what someone is saying but others don't.  I'm almost always correct, and people are always grateful regardless. 

    The sole exception to this is when a gamemaster is not being understood by the other players.  I've found that anytime I reinterpret a misunderstood or uncomprehended gamemaster someone at the gaming table snaps at me and says something like, "You're not the gamemaster!" or, "He's the gamemaster, not you!"  It's something that happens everytime I try to do the other players a favour, and I don't understand why.  Not only do I not understand why my fellow players wouldn't want to help the gamemaster and themselves communicate better, but I don't understand why if that happens in gaming situations why it hasn't yet happened outside of gaming when I'm reinterpreting someone for others. 

    Typing of role playing, previously I said, "Despite not being a fan of vampire..."  After catching up on some friends journals I realized that that wasn't quite true.  Sometimes I'm quick to generalise and/or exaggerate.  I'm not a fan of the way most vampire campaigns turn out.  However, to be fair, my favourite role playing campaign of all time was a vampire campaign.  However, its been so long since I last played in that campaign (eight years?), that what first comes to mind when I think of vampire is live action games which run into out-of-game politics.  That's what really turns me off.  Additionally, many people run vampire with less horror and more superheroics than I personally care for.  Vampire is basically gothic superheroes, but it needs to emphasise the horror or I might as well be playing MSHAG. 

    Speaking of horror (metaphorically, I didn't want to use "typing of..." as a transition again), I just watched the fourth episode of Shada.  If you're not tuning in every Tuesday for a new episode start now!

    Who would have thought that a James Bond movie single would have a music video with a Star Wars reference?  Kind of cool.

    Thanks to alienista for the quiz:









    How to make a Paul
    Ingredients:
    5 parts intelligence
    3 parts brilliance
    3 parts empathy
    Method:
    Stir together in a glass tumbler with a salted rim. Add a little emotion if desired!




    "There are no mothers and fathers for grown-ups, only sisters and brothers." ~Sheldon B Kopp, If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him!

Monday 28 June 2004

  • Why do fools use Summer Time or Daylight Saving Time?  After all, here in Arizona we don't use it.  We just change our hours of operation in different seasons to reflect the number of hours of daylight that are available. 

     

    So, I guess I ought to explain the comment posted 24/06/2004 at 01:36 hours by TruePirate.  It all started when I was reading my subscription to Texie and I followed a link to Gaz.   I replied, in what I thought was a polite manner, basically telling each side of the flamewar that what they were doing was pointless.  I chose not to be goaded into entering the war when TruePirate posted here.  I hope that he isn't disappointed, but I quit doing flamewars years ago.  The short term fun is rather hollow in the end.  I guess next time I should just let people flame themselves bored and not try to interject. 

     

    Anyway, Friday was Harley's twenty-fifth birthday, so we were dragged out to the Camarilla's Flagstaff campaign, Vampire Court game.  Because Kitty, Rusty, Monte, and I didn't have characters we didn't actually enter the game until the last fourty-five minutes.  It sounds like they'll give this fourth Friday game another chance in July, so I hope Harley likes his birthday present.  We resisted playing this game and the games they play first through fourth Saturdays for some time.  I'm not a fan of vampire, and their changling game is run on Saturdays while I'm still at work. 

     

    Despite not being a fan of vampire, it was good to see some people I haven't seen in a while.  I guess Bobby has been in this game for years now (and is playing the current keeper of Elysium).  Kitty invited him to be in her Vampire:  The Requiem table top campaign when she starts it up.   

     

    [Virgin Radio News is so lame.  I can't believe that they just called Shrek a children's film.]

     

    Anyway, Monte made a Malk who defends the homeless who came to Flagstaff to "sort out" the Flagstaff police officers who have been urinating in homeless folk's shantytown homes uo there.  Monte claims its based on a real news item, but no one there recognized the story.  Rusty made a Gangrel from the Williams area.  Kitty made a Nos also from Williams.  So I made a Caitiff from Williams in their coterie, Jack Hammer.  We are running from something, but we didn't elaborate because the players haven't had the chance to decide yet! 

     

    My clanless vampire character was sired by a thirteen gen Malk who abandoned his progeny when he discovered Jack didn't gain any Dementation.  So Jack doesn't particularily care for Malks.  (I made my character in another room from Monte, and didn't know he was making one.  Oops!)  Luckily, a brujah decided to mentor me in the finer points of camarilla society.  Unfortunately, Jack has three days to find a clanhead who will accept him into Flagstaff so that he can be introduced to the Prince.  In the few minutes I had to play him, Jack discovered quite a bit about current vampire-related events throughout Arizona just by listening to elders willing to chat about past and present without thought of a reward other than being listened to. 

     

    Saturday was Steve's FR 3.0 campaign again.  It was just Jason, Kendal, Monte, Rusty, and I because Kitty wasn't feeling well and Smitty was at his going away party.  Mike brought in a shield dwarf fighter who was resurrected by Moradin after his whole merchant caravan was slaughtered.  Rusty brought in an aasimar bard from Mulhurand who was banished by servants of a rival god.  They had been in the scorpion caves for some days and happened upon our campsite when they left.  As a group we continued along the treeline until we had no choice but enter the forest.  Once in the forest we eventually stumbled upon a party of drow.  They had high ground (fifteen feet up in the trees), plenty of healing potions, and scrolls to dispell our longterm area effect spells (such as Briar Web).  We barely managed to not lose anyone to the fight, thanks to the bard's music, the human fighter's use of the bard's crossbow, the dwarven fighter's choice to duel one of the drow clerics, the barbarian's choice to draw the male drow's spells and arrows, the paladin's choice to cast combat spells and use arrows of healing on party members, and the druid's choice to take the other drow cleric on in the trees as a black bear! 

     

    Sunday was Scott's Paladium game, which he admitted he was running as his way of working through his grief.  We converted to second edition fully this time, which took half of our session to accomplish with only the one book.  Scott claims that Game Depot can't get a copy from any of its distributors.  Whatever.  It's Paladium.  How can they not obtain a copy? 

     

    We decided to take Fredrick on a stretcher while we continued on our way to the dwarven forge.  We ran into the hermit's cabin, and he agreed to watch Fredrick while he recovered.  (Bill didn't show up, but promised to do so for the next session.)  We continued on when we stumbled upon a bear.  the wolfen knight decided to attack it, and we nearly died before the mind mage was able to convince it to leave.  There in the clearing we found some infinity blosoms and al dabir berries, which were of some major help. 

     

    The next morning, we left the clearing only to hear a large group headed our way.  Because the mind mage and knight lack the prowl skill, deep voices speaking wolfen started demanding that we show ourselves.  Maedros peeked out, saw that there were dozens of chained humanoids being led by orc, ogres, a huge troll, and a very large wolfen.  So he cast a fog among the group, warned his companions that there was too large of a group to fight, and lead them in fleeing to safety.  (The players were quite upset that we didn't free the slaves, but I pointed out that it was their characters' faults for not peering out to see the slaves as well.  Those who act last, react.) 

     

    Eventually, we found ourselves being fired upon by a kobold-manned kobold ballista.  Following the knight's idea, the water warlock talked the kobold into letting the party come forward to purchase kobold weaponry.  We were ushered into the cave that had been our intended destination.  There we looked at wares before the ranger bought a sword.  Then, toasting the transaction, he crushed an al dabir berry into their drink and watched as the kobolds fell fast asleep.  We then went deeper into the caves to find teh dwarven forge. 

     

    Afterward, I went to mass where Father Milt discussed the immediacy needed in following the path Jesus sets out for us.  Then I came home, read some E-mail and web journals, posted here, and now have to head to bed because I get to work tomorrow.  Yay.    Nothing like a split weekend to make it seem like you didn't get one.  Of course, it could be worse.  I could be unemployed.  Always remember that there are people worse off than you. 

     

    Have a great week, everyone. 

     


    Thanks to bassaf and stacinator for the quiz!


    Well, u-- um, can we come up and have a look?

    What Monty Python Character are you?
    brought to you by Quizilla, the bug-installing free quiz site!


    "The only way to get something bad is to take something good and spoil it. Whenever you find a bad thing, look for a good thing somewhere in the ruins." ~ J. Budziszewski

Friday 25 June 2004


  •  

    OK, I think I owe everyone a recap of Steve's D&D campaign from the 5th of June.  Following the scorpion attacks at moondark, our party went back to its watch/sleep schedule.  We allowed Twiggy the extra hour needed to recover the spell slot he had spent the previous day.  Unfortunately, the spell slots he used against the scorpions were too recent to be refreshed so soon.  When morning came we tried to rescue some of the meat from the huge scorpion before following their tracks to a small cave.  Inside was a network of cave tunnels, filled with large scorpions.  While we could keep our own against one, at one point we were ambushed by three at a time.  Twiggy fell, and Hawk went to retrieve the body only to fall himself.  The scorpions were fast enough that they outran even Capernicus's cheetah form, leaving him unable to rescue either teammate before they fell.  Eventually, we retreated to where we camped the night before. 

     

    Mike is currently making a dwarven fighter with his eye on the dwarven defender prestige class.  Rusty is making a svirfneblin bard to replace Twiggy.  And, of course, Smitty will be joining the campaign with his mysterious character.  Saturday should be interesting.

     

    Thank Jada for this quiz!

    I am the Master of the Universe!
    Magister Mundi sum!

    Which Weird Latin Phrase Are You?
    brought to you by Quizilla

     


    "Obviously it ought to be the oldest things that are taught to the youngest people; the assured and experienced truths that are put first to the baby. But in a school today the baby has to submit to a system that is younger than himself. The flopping infant of four actually has more experience, and has weathered the world longer than the dogma to which he is made to submit."
    ~ G.K. Chesterton

Thursday 24 June 2004


  •  


     

    It's one of those weeks.  I found out today at work that I'll be working Monday, leaving me with a Sunday and Tuesday split weekend.  Nice advanced warning.  Then I was warned that they'll need me at the Scottsdale store for the first two months it is open.  After that "we" will evaluate which store will be my permanent assignment.  Ok, those are small lumps, easily rolled along with.  No life is a completely smooth ride. 

     

    Then I come home to a black and white peppered street outside my house.  As I get closer I notice that its ground up rocks from my yard contrasting with the street.  White spots fulled about half of the colour of the street, with the other half being the actual black of the pavement underneath.  I can't wait for school to start up again so that these hooligans have something else other to do than attack my property. 

     

    Well, I come inside to my cat crying as if she was out of food, water, or clean litter.  Curious, I check it out only to find that her white food bowl and brown food were three quarters covered in a black writhing mass, which turned out to be ants when I turned the lights on.  I followed the solid back trail of ants through the hall, into my bathroom and its ajoining bathroom to the wall near my tub.  Those weren't there this morning when I left.  *sigh*

     

    Luckily, life isn't all sourkrout.  Yesterday I watched episode three of Shada.  Then I made what I hope is a more understandable recap of the adventures of Tomoshibi Kage.  Today, between home and work I stopped by Wayne's to meet his new housebunny Cocoa and help clean up his place for the Paladium game on Sunday. 

     

    Speaking of gaming, I owe everyone a recap of Steve's D&D campaign for May 29th!   Our party had left Shadowdale to enter Cormanthor, and when we reached the treeline Ruben gave us two options:  go straight through the forest where we were likely to run into drow and other dangerous forest denizens during the day or take the treeline as far as we could before entering the forest proper and run into the dangerous grasslands denizens during the night.  We opted for the treeline, as we suspected that it would be faster for the non-druids of the party. 

     

    One night, the half-orc noticed a large scorpion was sneaking up on the party during his watch.  He woke up Cap who used his dawn spell to awaken the rest of the party.  Once the first one was dispatched, two more attacked in unison.  Then, once they were dispatched a huge scorpion attacked.  We almost lost a few people at that point.  Luckily, the party was triumphant and we could return to sleep.

     

    I'll recap the June 5th episode of the campaign later.  My laundry is ready for the dryer which means I can go to bed soon.  Thanks for letting me vent my minor complaints, especially considering the real troubles that people have in this world.  Good bless everyone!

     

    Looks like Jada and I scored the same again.  Thanks for the quiz, m'lady.

    Xuan Wu ~ Turtle
    You are Xuan Wu! Mythological background:  Because the turtle has a thick, solid shell that serves as protection - this animal is associated with stability.  You enjoy intellectual pursuits.  Also, in Feng Shui (the Chinese myths behind choosing a house), the black turtle's solidity is used to protect from cold northern winds.

    Which Chinese Mythological Being Are You?
    brought to you by Quizilla

     


    "Social co-existence and peace cannot be achieved by erasing the religious distinctiveness of each people." - Pope John Paul II

Monday 21 June 2004












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    Doctor Who:   Loups-Garoux
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    Is UNICEF still for children?  

    Imagine waking up to a strange noise and knowing that something isn't right.  As you get up in alarm, you awake your cat who had been sleeping next to you, and then she too clues into the sense of danger in the same direction.  Then, imagine going in that direction only to discover a flag burning in your yard. 

     

    Paul didn't have to imagine that this morning, that's how he ended up having to call Crimestop at three this morning.  Luckily, they caught the kid and the whole family is being evicted from the park.  Aparently he's just come out of the service and he was so sickened by US flags flying in the neighborhood that he started burning them all throughout the park early this morning.  Luckily, I don't keep my flag out at night, but I don't like having my grass burned.  It'll take forever for it to grow back there. 

     

    Anyway, Friday night Rusty ran his Shadowrun campaign while Jen and Trav supplied a chicken pasta and garlic bread dinner with relishless deviled eggs supplied by Kitty.  There was some slight complaints about mixing gummy worms in with the pasta, but considering how no one else tried it we'll just ignore their complaints.  After all, the sweetness added to the flavour of the dish in a way that was good enough to have seconds. 

     

    In game, Kage called upon an ancestor spirit for guidance in reguards to the dream he had and discovered that the people he saw in the dream would come together to combat something, but not exactly as we saw in the dream.  If we wanted to be prepared for the event, we were supposed to investigate toxic spills.

     

    So, going to sleep with that information in mind, in the morning Kage went to his neighbors and interupted thier breakfast with the news.  Some of them had had the same dream, while others that didn't remember it did remember waking up disturbed in a cold sweat.  After some investigation, it was discovered that toxic spills were currently at an unheard of low.  The local streetgang reported that the doorstoppers had cleared out this week, which always is a herald of something bad about to come down. 

     

    Well, eventually we discovered that a corporation had instituted a new head of disposal a few months back and that since then the number of toxic spills had dropped citywide.  He had won several awards and promotions.  We decided to investigate;  one team as potential investors impressed with the good press, the other as students of mine impressed with their ecological new image on a field trip. 

     

    Meanwhile, two of the neighborhood streetworkers were refusing to work due to a new entertainment chip they had bought that they were much more interested in.  They bought the chips for twenty-five new yen, much cheaper than any chip has the right to cost to produce.  Most interestingly, the girls just lay in their beds swaying back and forth, ignoring the outside world unless the chips are popped out of their heads.  Assumably, they might even starve to death if allowed. 

     

    Saturday night, Monte decided to run Feng Shui:  Star Fleet Academy at the park at College and Cury while we ate Rally's chilidogs.  Rusty was playing a Klingon Engineering Cadet (Techie), Kitty a Vulcan Medical Cadet (Medic), and Paul a Betazed Security Cadet (Bodyguard, a template from Seal of the Wheel).  After a session in Starfleet ethics, we were informed that it was time to go on our planetary surival expedition.  For one week we were to be trapped on an undeveloped planet with nothing but our communicator, tricorder, phaser, medical kit, and one personal item each.  On our particular mission were the three player characters, two more security cadets, and an officer cadet. 

     

    A runabout delivered us to a jungle planet, and we were told that if we wanted to wash out of teh exercise we could contact the two onboard and they would beam the student up until the end of the exercise.  We quickly built a shelter, gathered food, and lost our officer cadet to a snake bite for a couple of days.  When the staff of the runabout contacted him after he recovered conscienceness to see if he wanted to wash out, the communication was suddenly jammed.

     

    The engineer was able to rig a couple of tricorders to monitor communication between a Romulan and our runabout.  They were discussing Romulan ale for trade, but teh betazed could sence deception from both parties.  So, a quick message in Moorse code using the jamming static warned our crew.  Eventually talks broke down, the Romulan declared that not all Romulans were happy with the peace (since teh events of Nemesis), and that the runabout crew had six hours to surrender or die.  We quickly broke camp and headed for a nearby cave network in which to hideout, but not before we saw the remnants of the runabout streak through the sky. 

     

    After a few days survival underground, the two gmc security cadets went to explore outside and were ambushed by transported lifesigns speaking Klingon.  Once our teammates' lifesigns no longer regestered, we retreated further into the caves until we stumbled upon a gnarled horror.  Once it was dispatched, the ground above began being hit with explosions.  Eventually, we could sense fresh air down there when the bombing stopped, so we went to the surface to see what was up.

     

    The USS Nautilus had rescued us.  After a debriefing with the vulcan captain, we discovered that they had scared off the Romulan ship which was crewed by Orion Pirates.  The pirates had gathered disenfranchised people of all races to their banner, and were trying to start a war because greater profits could tehn be made.  The captain let the cadets be on the bridge when he confronted the pirates and demanded back the hostages.  We were sent in a shuttle to go retrieve our two cadets and two runabout chaparones! 

     

    When we returned to the academy, we were informed that the Nautilus had rescued us before the week of our exercise was completed, and thus were washed out of teh exercise.  However, the headmistress mentioned that the captain had highly recommended us and suggested that we would have places on the Nautilus when we graduated if we wanted.  So she was going to count our extra amount of survival that we had to do during the exercise make up for the shorter duration and let us pass anyway! 

     

    My father called Sunday morning, and we chatted for a few hours.  I guess his ankle that was injured in the Superstitions is still in pain when he walks.  I guess they had to wait a month before they could do an MRI.  He's already back to climbing 5.10s, but is wary of trying 5.11s again so soon.  Hopefully, this won't be a lifetime injury. 

     

    My maternal grandmother also called.  So I talked with her, her husband, her son, and my cousin Jess.  I guess the Diamondbacks narrowly lost the game my grandfather and uncle attended for Fathers' Day.  My uncle had never heard of the carrot-raisin salad my grandmother had asked me to make again.  So, at his request I explained the ingredients and he seemed interested.  He mentioned that he knew that I liked bizarre food combinations, so he wasn't sure what to think until he heard what it comprises.  Of course, he complains about chocolate bar on a sandwhich despite never trying it. 

     

    You'll notice this is a common thread throughout life.  People don't like it if you try something they never thought of trying before.  The only regular exception to this rule is if several people at once exert peer pressure.  Its not like the food isn't all digestible.  Nor is it like people weren't intending to eat these foods during the same meal.  They just don't like having their whole meal at once.  Bizarre, what can I say?

     

    Father Milt's homily asked us if we wanted to know what other people think of us.  "Who do you think I am?"  On one hand, its good to have critical feedback, to have another fresh viewpoint, while on the other its scarey to hear things about us that we don't want to know or accept.  It's very applicable to us all, really. 

     

    You already know how my morning went, and then I came here to update (had it disappear and had to restart it), and will now get ready for teh family picnic.  Chow.


    My elvish name is Dínendal Telrúnya and my hobbit name is Hambut Gamgee-Took of Bywater.  Thanks to talonfire for the links.


    "All roads lead to Rome;  which is one reason why many people never get there." -G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

The Seasons of Mount Chernabog

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