Last Tuesday morning was a little crazy.
First Eunice and I tried to find Lincare in order to get some parts for my CPAP machine. It was an adventure. We first ended up in a civil engineering firm. When we finally got there, the tech we were supposed to speak with was still with another client. In the end I came out with a lot of new machine parts, including a mask (expensive!) and a rental machine. The old machine is being worked on. I was concerned because without the CPAP machine I can't really sleep. I mean, stopping breathing 63 times in an hour is about as fun and restful as it sounds.
And Heroic Snoring really isn't that heroic. It won't save you in case of fire, for example. It will wake up the neighbors though. Maybe they could save you from the fire. Or more likely start it because they can't sleep. Heroic snoring, for those who are confused, is sort of like having a herd of Wildebeasts running through your house. Noisy ones.
After the adventures at Lincare we went to drop off Eunice's transcripts at George Mason University. I figured this was going to be awful. I imagined a nightmare of impossible parking and archaic regulations. It was surprisingly easy. We found a parking place immediately, found the office we needed, and turned in the transcripts without a hitch. We were in and out in about half an hour.
I was shocked. Where was the academic red tape? Where were the snipers in those ivory towers? Why didn't we need 74 signatures on 11-teen different pieces of paper from a variety of departments, some of which don't exist? Now that I've had a chance to think about it, I think it's a plot. They're suckering us in. I mean, Eunice hasn't been admitted yet. She's not in their system yet, and that affords her some freedom.
Or maybe they're different.
Only time will tell.
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Changes on the horizon
I'm in the middle of writing a big update for last week, but something is happening that I have to at least hint at.
Changes are coming.
I just wish I had a "before" shot.
Changes are coming.
I just wish I had a "before" shot.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
ALL HAIL THE RAT BRAIN!
Thursday, October 21, 2004
...Tomorrow The World!
Eunice and I went to the Maryland Renaissance Festival last weekend. We had a good time. The weather was very nice and for the most part the acts were good. We got to see a group of crazy Canadians called Men in Tights perform what we think was an improvised play, called Denis The Menace Of Venice. I've decided that Canadians are Crazy. And I think I might want to be one when I grow up.
We also got to see Hack and Slash's Ale Extravaganza (or something like that --it involved a lot of drinking). They were pretty funny, though the stage combat needed some work. Of course, it was the last show of the day and they might have been a bit tipsy by then, so actively trying not to kill each other was probably a good thing.
We also ate some good stuff. My two favorites were the Steak on a Steak and Deep Fried cheese's. If you know me, you know my theory about food. That is, anything on a stick is better. Also, deep frying makes everything better. Cheesecake is food of the Gods --ambrosia. So, if you take cheesecake, deep fry it, and put it on a stick, that must naturally be the best thing on the planet. Best. Food. Ever.
There was also the terrifying Macaroni and Cheese on a Stick. But I'll let Eunice talk about that one. The drawing made it look... unappetising.
We also went and had our runes cast (I'm not sure if that's the right phrase). We went to a fortune teller and she had us pick Norse runes out of a bag in order to divine our future. According to the runes, Eunice and I have a lot of positives around us. We should work together on something that involves lots of people.
I'm thinking we should start our own cult.
We also got to see Hack and Slash's Ale Extravaganza (or something like that --it involved a lot of drinking). They were pretty funny, though the stage combat needed some work. Of course, it was the last show of the day and they might have been a bit tipsy by then, so actively trying not to kill each other was probably a good thing.
We also ate some good stuff. My two favorites were the Steak on a Steak and Deep Fried cheese's. If you know me, you know my theory about food. That is, anything on a stick is better. Also, deep frying makes everything better. Cheesecake is food of the Gods --ambrosia. So, if you take cheesecake, deep fry it, and put it on a stick, that must naturally be the best thing on the planet. Best. Food. Ever.
There was also the terrifying Macaroni and Cheese on a Stick. But I'll let Eunice talk about that one. The drawing made it look... unappetising.
We also went and had our runes cast (I'm not sure if that's the right phrase). We went to a fortune teller and she had us pick Norse runes out of a bag in order to divine our future. According to the runes, Eunice and I have a lot of positives around us. We should work together on something that involves lots of people.
I'm thinking we should start our own cult.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Jon Stewart Rocks
Right now I'm watching a RealOne version of Jon Stewart's interview on Crossfire. It's pretty obvious that the crossfire guys just don't get what Jon's trying to say.
I think I'm going to have to start watching the Daily Show now.
Edit: here's the clip.
I think I'm going to have to start watching the Daily Show now.
Edit: here's the clip.
Saturday, October 16, 2004
World Wide D&D Game Day --the results
Well, Eunice and I played "The Lair of the Mad Alchemist" at our FLGS for game day. Overall we had a good time.
First, we were late getting out the door and to the store. We were running about 15 minutes behind schedule. When we finally got to the store, the woman working there told us that Wizards of the Coast had originally told them that the adventure we were in was for 6 people. Instead it was for 4. But, if we wanted to wait for about an hour we could still play.
So, we browsed for a bit. We bought a copy of the card game Kung Fu Samurai on Giant Robot Island and played a hand of that while we waited. It was pretty fun. It's a game where you use your cards to make a b-movie. There are several sets, including Grave Robbers From Outer Space and Cannibal Pygmies In The Jungle of Doom, and they're all compatible with each other. Eunice's movie had a host of characters, including an honorable samurai in transformable power armor, an anime school girl and a concubine (among others --she really had a horde), while mine had an ancient master, a perverted teenager with powerful innate ability, and his Uzi-toting kung fu mother. Wackiness insued.
We finally got to play D&D, and had to rope some 13 year old girl into playing with us so we had 3 players. She regaled us with tales of her Ninja Tielfling and other role playing stories (I'm sure all us gamers went through that phase).
Anyway, the GM was better than the one we had for the RPGA event, and frankly I think the adventure was better too. We were still on rails, but I expected that, given that it was really intended for folks who'd never played the game before. Overall both Eunice and I had fun, and it made me realize how much I miss good gaming.
I really gotta get an AU game going again.
Tomorrow Eunice and I are off to the Maryland Ren Faire. It should be fun.
First, we were late getting out the door and to the store. We were running about 15 minutes behind schedule. When we finally got to the store, the woman working there told us that Wizards of the Coast had originally told them that the adventure we were in was for 6 people. Instead it was for 4. But, if we wanted to wait for about an hour we could still play.
So, we browsed for a bit. We bought a copy of the card game Kung Fu Samurai on Giant Robot Island and played a hand of that while we waited. It was pretty fun. It's a game where you use your cards to make a b-movie. There are several sets, including Grave Robbers From Outer Space and Cannibal Pygmies In The Jungle of Doom, and they're all compatible with each other. Eunice's movie had a host of characters, including an honorable samurai in transformable power armor, an anime school girl and a concubine (among others --she really had a horde), while mine had an ancient master, a perverted teenager with powerful innate ability, and his Uzi-toting kung fu mother. Wackiness insued.
We finally got to play D&D, and had to rope some 13 year old girl into playing with us so we had 3 players. She regaled us with tales of her Ninja Tielfling and other role playing stories (I'm sure all us gamers went through that phase).
Anyway, the GM was better than the one we had for the RPGA event, and frankly I think the adventure was better too. We were still on rails, but I expected that, given that it was really intended for folks who'd never played the game before. Overall both Eunice and I had fun, and it made me realize how much I miss good gaming.
I really gotta get an AU game going again.
Tomorrow Eunice and I are off to the Maryland Ren Faire. It should be fun.
Friday, October 15, 2004
The RPGA
So tomorrow is Worldwide D&D Game Day. As I said previously, I signed Eunice and myself up for a session at our Friendly Local Gaming Store (FLGS). I hope the experience will be better than when we played at an RPGA event at that same store.
Don't get me wrong, the store itself is pretty cool. And I'm sure there are a lot of people who dearly love the RPGA. From my experience, it was like a bad convention game. There were no real choices to be made throughout the adventure.
Our problems started early, before the adventure began. When we got there we found out that some of the GMs had canceled, including ours, and more people had showed up unexpectedly. Event organizers were scrambling to get everyone into a game, and I commend them for that. Eunice, myself, and my friend Steve got put into a game with at least 10 people. The GM they got hadn't yet read the adventure when we started playing. And did I mention that the adventure was for 5th level characters? Not the first level guys we played.
So it starts out with the party in a city in the desert. The city is under attack by swarms of giant insects. I'm not talking 3 or 4 --I'm talking several thousand. And the insects sort of disintegrate people. So, we're standing around trying to figure out how not to die when we conveniently notice that the only place not being swarmed is the Evil Temple.
Our options:
1. Stay and die
2. Flee to the Evil Temple
Oddly enough, we went with option 1. I have to say at this point I wanted to charge the bugs. I could see the plot train and I was pretty sure I didn't want to get on it. So off we flee to the Evil Temple.
At the Evil Temple we confront the Evil Priest (EP). EP says he knows a way out, and he can come with us if we agree to escort and protect him and his Miserable Slave Peon (MSP).
Our options:
1. Beat up the EP
2. Agree to his demands
3. Take our chances with the swarm.
I was all for option 1. We went with option 2. The party spent the night hanging out with the MSP and watching the bug swarm eat people and buildings, and anything that wasn't part of the Evil Temple.
The next day we flee mightily with the EP and the MSP. I forget what happened on the trip, but I want to say it mostly consisted of, "Take 16 damage, roll a reflex save for half." I lived, barely.
So we get the EP and MSP where they want to go, which naturally is a some kind of underground structure guarded by animated statues. Hilarity ensues, yet we manage to beat up the guardians. I spend most of my time cowering in corner trying to become one with the wall, yet not paste.
Then, as we explore the underground structure we get the big plot twist. The MSP is really the EP, and the EP is really the MSP! And the real EP now has a necklace of fireballs. Which he uses to blast the party. I make my save but die anyway. W00T!!!!one1!!!
I don't remember much about the fight with the REP (Real Evil Priest), but it came down to the REP threatening with another missile (which would kill the rest of the party if he used it), and one player being conflicted about whether or not he should let the REP put us all out of our misery or try and save everyone's life by killing the REP. I thought it would end in a real fist fight.
In the end the DM fudged things and didn't kill off the whole party. He then went and let the survivors go on to the bonus encounter.
All in all I would rather have had surgery.
To be fair, the DM did fill in at the last minute, and was trying to deal with an adventure he hadn't read yet.
The end result was still not fun.
The whole thing left me with a bad impression of the RPGA. In protest I started an Arcana Unearthed game. Everyone involved had a good time.
Anyway, I'm thinking that after our experience tomorrow I will be more motivated to start the AU game up again. Sadly, it'll have to be with some different folks because half the players are unavailable. At some point I do intend to get my own story hour summary of the campaign up on my page.
Anyway, world wide D&D game day. At the very least I hope to get cool 30th anniversary D&D swag.
I'm sure that given the right people it can be a lot of fun. I often say the same thing about gaming. Given the right people any game can be fun.
Don't get me wrong, the store itself is pretty cool. And I'm sure there are a lot of people who dearly love the RPGA. From my experience, it was like a bad convention game. There were no real choices to be made throughout the adventure.
Our problems started early, before the adventure began. When we got there we found out that some of the GMs had canceled, including ours, and more people had showed up unexpectedly. Event organizers were scrambling to get everyone into a game, and I commend them for that. Eunice, myself, and my friend Steve got put into a game with at least 10 people. The GM they got hadn't yet read the adventure when we started playing. And did I mention that the adventure was for 5th level characters? Not the first level guys we played.
So it starts out with the party in a city in the desert. The city is under attack by swarms of giant insects. I'm not talking 3 or 4 --I'm talking several thousand. And the insects sort of disintegrate people. So, we're standing around trying to figure out how not to die when we conveniently notice that the only place not being swarmed is the Evil Temple.
Our options:
1. Stay and die
2. Flee to the Evil Temple
Oddly enough, we went with option 1. I have to say at this point I wanted to charge the bugs. I could see the plot train and I was pretty sure I didn't want to get on it. So off we flee to the Evil Temple.
At the Evil Temple we confront the Evil Priest (EP). EP says he knows a way out, and he can come with us if we agree to escort and protect him and his Miserable Slave Peon (MSP).
Our options:
1. Beat up the EP
2. Agree to his demands
3. Take our chances with the swarm.
I was all for option 1. We went with option 2. The party spent the night hanging out with the MSP and watching the bug swarm eat people and buildings, and anything that wasn't part of the Evil Temple.
The next day we flee mightily with the EP and the MSP. I forget what happened on the trip, but I want to say it mostly consisted of, "Take 16 damage, roll a reflex save for half." I lived, barely.
So we get the EP and MSP where they want to go, which naturally is a some kind of underground structure guarded by animated statues. Hilarity ensues, yet we manage to beat up the guardians. I spend most of my time cowering in corner trying to become one with the wall, yet not paste.
Then, as we explore the underground structure we get the big plot twist. The MSP is really the EP, and the EP is really the MSP! And the real EP now has a necklace of fireballs. Which he uses to blast the party. I make my save but die anyway. W00T!!!!one1!!!
I don't remember much about the fight with the REP (Real Evil Priest), but it came down to the REP threatening with another missile (which would kill the rest of the party if he used it), and one player being conflicted about whether or not he should let the REP put us all out of our misery or try and save everyone's life by killing the REP. I thought it would end in a real fist fight.
In the end the DM fudged things and didn't kill off the whole party. He then went and let the survivors go on to the bonus encounter.
All in all I would rather have had surgery.
To be fair, the DM did fill in at the last minute, and was trying to deal with an adventure he hadn't read yet.
The end result was still not fun.
The whole thing left me with a bad impression of the RPGA. In protest I started an Arcana Unearthed game. Everyone involved had a good time.
Anyway, I'm thinking that after our experience tomorrow I will be more motivated to start the AU game up again. Sadly, it'll have to be with some different folks because half the players are unavailable. At some point I do intend to get my own story hour summary of the campaign up on my page.
Anyway, world wide D&D game day. At the very least I hope to get cool 30th anniversary D&D swag.
I'm sure that given the right people it can be a lot of fun. I often say the same thing about gaming. Given the right people any game can be fun.
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Another birthday shout-out
Not only is it my buddy Aaron's birthday, it's also my buddy Chris'.
As I said in my last post, Aaron is an awesome guy who I don't see or talk to nearly enough (which is mostly my fault --I'm bad about keeping in touch, thus the whole blog thing).
Chris is also great. He's one of my best friends here. Oddly enough, I don't spend nearly enough time hanging out with him either... Perhaps there's a pattern here.
As I said in my last post, Aaron is an awesome guy who I don't see or talk to nearly enough (which is mostly my fault --I'm bad about keeping in touch, thus the whole blog thing).
Chris is also great. He's one of my best friends here. Oddly enough, I don't spend nearly enough time hanging out with him either... Perhaps there's a pattern here.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Mixed Feelings
So a buddy of mine sent me this link:
http://www.liquidgeneration.com/quiz/moviehero_quiz.asp
Apparantly I'm neo.
While one on hand I think it's cool, on the other I'm disappointed. I really liked the first matrix movie. It had that whole "belief turns into reality" theme, which I like. Not to mention the over-the-top action, and stuff blowing up.
On the other hand it's Keanu Reeves. Bleh.
The first time I saw the Matrix I was working for Tiburon, trying to get Madden Football 2000 out the door. We had just finished a milestone. Like most milestones, it was bad. It was filled with late nights and disturbing realizations, like the reason traffic isn't so bad is that you're driving home at 3 in the morning. Our producer, Scott, decided we needed a break after we hit our milestone. So, he arranged an "offsite meeting." I don't think we even told management.
So, one friday Scott had us leave the office for our offsite meeting. We were going to see some movie called "The Matrix," which I hadn't even seen any previews for. The title rolled and pretty soon I was watching Trinity, Neo, Morpheus and the rest of the team warp reality and generally whup up on bad guys. It was a level of awesome I had only glimpsed at in Hong Kong action movies. And the best part was that it was on work time.
In other news, I'm considering starting a second blog, focused on the more technical side of my life --programming, game development, that sort of thing.
Finally, I'd like to wish my buddy Aaron a happy birthday. He and his wife Jen and their baby Adara are all wonderful people, and I don't get to see them nearly enough. Heck, I have yet to see little Adara in person.
http://www.liquidgeneration.com/quiz/moviehero_quiz.asp
Apparantly I'm neo.
While one on hand I think it's cool, on the other I'm disappointed. I really liked the first matrix movie. It had that whole "belief turns into reality" theme, which I like. Not to mention the over-the-top action, and stuff blowing up.
On the other hand it's Keanu Reeves. Bleh.
The first time I saw the Matrix I was working for Tiburon, trying to get Madden Football 2000 out the door. We had just finished a milestone. Like most milestones, it was bad. It was filled with late nights and disturbing realizations, like the reason traffic isn't so bad is that you're driving home at 3 in the morning. Our producer, Scott, decided we needed a break after we hit our milestone. So, he arranged an "offsite meeting." I don't think we even told management.
So, one friday Scott had us leave the office for our offsite meeting. We were going to see some movie called "The Matrix," which I hadn't even seen any previews for. The title rolled and pretty soon I was watching Trinity, Neo, Morpheus and the rest of the team warp reality and generally whup up on bad guys. It was a level of awesome I had only glimpsed at in Hong Kong action movies. And the best part was that it was on work time.
In other news, I'm considering starting a second blog, focused on the more technical side of my life --programming, game development, that sort of thing.
Finally, I'd like to wish my buddy Aaron a happy birthday. He and his wife Jen and their baby Adara are all wonderful people, and I don't get to see them nearly enough. Heck, I have yet to see little Adara in person.
Monday, October 11, 2004
Rome: Total War!
So this afternoon I rekindled my interest in strategy games. Now, I love a good turn based strategy game. Sadly, it's been a while since I played a good one (Master of Orion 3 certainly wasn't it). After talking a bit with another friend of mine, I'm right now trying to download Rome: Total War.
My goal is of course to use the fabled Incendiary Pigs on everything.
Yes, that's a real unit. It's how you counter elephants. I don't know about you, but if I were a soldier and some other side sent pigs after me --pigs that were ON FIRE, I'd be... concerned. Or hungry for ham. Either way my mind wouldn't be on the battle.
My only concern with this is that if I get involved in yet another game my grand plans for gaming and self improvement will be postponed yet again.
I think there's only one way out of this. I need to start using Macs at home. Macs have almost no games. Thus, no temptation. Win!
My goal is of course to use the fabled Incendiary Pigs on everything.
Yes, that's a real unit. It's how you counter elephants. I don't know about you, but if I were a soldier and some other side sent pigs after me --pigs that were ON FIRE, I'd be... concerned. Or hungry for ham. Either way my mind wouldn't be on the battle.
My only concern with this is that if I get involved in yet another game my grand plans for gaming and self improvement will be postponed yet again.
I think there's only one way out of this. I need to start using Macs at home. Macs have almost no games. Thus, no temptation. Win!
Sunday, October 10, 2004
World Wide D&D Game Day!
So it turns out that next Saturday is World Wide D&D Game Day. My FLGS is holding 2 events. I just signed Eunice and I up for the beginning one. Hopefully this will go over better than the time we went to an RPGA event. If nothing else it will serve as further motivation for me to start up my campaign again.
I really have to get some kind of good gaming going.
I really have to get some kind of good gaming going.
Saturday, October 09, 2004
Time to go live
Well, Eunice announced the web site to her friends and family, so I suppose it's time to announce it to my friends too. I'd best be updating this regularly or there will be... trouble :).
Eunice and I caught part of the presidential debate on TV last night. I have to say first that we're both very biased. We're voting for Kerry, no question about it. Actually, we were going to vote for Dean, based solely on the "Dean Scream." I mean, we want somebody with that kind of enthusiasm representing us. Sadly, most of America didn't agree.
So anyway, we're voting for Kerry. We both thought Kerry won the debate last night hands down. It looked like Kerry was in his element. He was relaxed. He had done his research. It looked like he faltered once, trying to think of various medical conditions that could be cured by stem cell research. I thought he even gave the right answer on abortion. He's against it personally, but he doesn't think he should legislate his own religious beliefs.
Bush on the other hand looked like he was mad. All the time. The angrier he got the more he blinked. It was pretty funny. A few times he didn't wait for the moderator to tell him to go. Once he didn't let the moderator ask him a question, he just charged ahead with his rebuttal. Bush didn't come off looking good.
The one thing I really wanted was someone to ask a question about same sex marriage. Sadly, it didn't happen. Perhaps in the next debate.
Eunice and I caught part of the presidential debate on TV last night. I have to say first that we're both very biased. We're voting for Kerry, no question about it. Actually, we were going to vote for Dean, based solely on the "Dean Scream." I mean, we want somebody with that kind of enthusiasm representing us. Sadly, most of America didn't agree.
So anyway, we're voting for Kerry. We both thought Kerry won the debate last night hands down. It looked like Kerry was in his element. He was relaxed. He had done his research. It looked like he faltered once, trying to think of various medical conditions that could be cured by stem cell research. I thought he even gave the right answer on abortion. He's against it personally, but he doesn't think he should legislate his own religious beliefs.
Bush on the other hand looked like he was mad. All the time. The angrier he got the more he blinked. It was pretty funny. A few times he didn't wait for the moderator to tell him to go. Once he didn't let the moderator ask him a question, he just charged ahead with his rebuttal. Bush didn't come off looking good.
The one thing I really wanted was someone to ask a question about same sex marriage. Sadly, it didn't happen. Perhaps in the next debate.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Slayers!
Last night Eunice and I finished watching the first Slayers series. I love it because it lampoons high fantasy and, well, stuff blows up a lot. In fact, if Lina doesn't let something have it with the mega-spell Dragon Slave at least every other episode, I'm disappointed. So far I haven't been.
The first Slayers series chronicles the adventures of Sorcery Genius Lina Inverse and her dumb-as-a-brick companion Gourry. The wackiness ensues pretty quickly. The animation quaulity is only so-so, and the english voice actors are terrible. This is definately one to watch with subtitles. Overall the characters are likeable, the plot is entertaining, and stuff blows up a lot. You really can't ask for more than that.
Now we get to start on the next set, appropriately named Slayers: Next.
The first Slayers series chronicles the adventures of Sorcery Genius Lina Inverse and her dumb-as-a-brick companion Gourry. The wackiness ensues pretty quickly. The animation quaulity is only so-so, and the english voice actors are terrible. This is definately one to watch with subtitles. Overall the characters are likeable, the plot is entertaining, and stuff blows up a lot. You really can't ask for more than that.
Now we get to start on the next set, appropriately named Slayers: Next.
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Planet Houston, are you receiving?
Well, I've decided to join some of my friends and stride boldy forward into the late 90's and start my own blog. We'll see how this little venture turns out.
For my inaugural post, I feel I have to mention Shaun of the Dead. Eunice and I got to see it Saturday. It rocked. Gotta love those wacky brits.
For my inaugural post, I feel I have to mention Shaun of the Dead. Eunice and I got to see it Saturday. It rocked. Gotta love those wacky brits.
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