Summer Vacation 2008

First, a quick list of what we did:

• Drove to Colville
• Checked in at Benny's - had to have a 'smoking room' for the first two days because Grangers had taken the others for the weekend.
• Gathered with Nick and Dean
• Mexican food and margaritas at Rancho Chico, then drinks at The Acorn. The food disappointed slightly, but the beers did not.
• Next day, I ran four miles.
• Dean came over to the motel, and we played Munchkin Cthulu for the first time. Munchkin is a great game, and perfect for the group. I believe Nora won the first game (hooray!).
• Nora, Dean and I drove to Spokane for The Party with Tess and Mitzi at Mitzi's place.
• There are many pictures from this party; it was awesome in many ways. Everyone loves Nora (hooray!).
• Tony and Nick met us there. David stayed in Colville in preparation of The Three Days of Hay.
• We drove back that night. Dean was feeling kinda chatty, which kept me awake. Thank goodness.
• On Sunday, Nora and I ate at Park Place, the restaurant next to Benny's. The food was not very good. A particularly obnoxious right winger sat at a table next to us, holding court with his friends. It was particularly frustrating that he had a couple valid points wrapped up in his ignorance and meanness. In retrospect, this may have taken place on Saturday morning.
• We had lunch at an oasis of good food and good service called The Courthouse Cafe. Everyone in or near Colville should eat there often. Nora had salad. Yummy! Tony met us there with his kids, on his way homeward.
• I ran six miles.
• Then we switched to a better, non smoking room, with a king sized bed! Hooray!
• Dean, Nora and I played Clue and Mille Bourne.
• We met up with Nick and introduced him to Munchkin Cthulu.
• On Monday, Tony and I ran 10 miles. It was awesome. Tony kept me to my 8 minute mile, but proved a very even keeled and entertaining running companion.
• Dean came by after his half day's work at the shop with his Dad. I believe we played more Munchkin Cthulu, then headed up to Nick's. I'm pretty sure I'm mixing up some of these details.
• Cafe Italiano was closed, so we went to Tony's. I had a pesto dish which was very good. I believe we went to Nick's place after.
• I didn't run on Tuesday.
• Nora swam a lot, I swam a little.
• Dean and Tony came by around 4ish, and Tony learned Munchkin Cthulu.
• Nick came by around 5:15ish.
• I think Tony had to leave, and the rest of us went out for pizza (Westside Pizza. The name makes no sense to me. Technically, it's on the east side of Colville. Nora suggested it has to do with the westside of Colville.)
• I think I got my days mixed up again: I"m pretty sure we at at Cafe Italiano on Tuesday. Probably we went to Tony's on Sunday and Westside Pizza on Monday. Anyway, whenever it was that we went to Cafe Italiano, the experience was wonderful. It was sparsely attended, and they closed as soon as we left; the food was delicious, and the service was friendly and attentive.
• Then we watched Little Miss Sunshine. We invented a process for making the decision, since we all had different movies we wanted to see.
• Wednesday, I ran 8 miles. Whew, that was a tiring one. It was hot, I forgot my hat AND my sunglasses.
• Then we packed up, had breakfast at the Courthouse Cafe again, did a little shopping and headed for Northport!
• Nora and I had lunch at the Mustang Grill, before checking in at Lazy-Daze. The food was great! They had garden burgers!
• I'll try to get to the second half of our vacation today or tomorrow. I'll need some time to describe our days at Lazy Daze.

Moderate Excess

So far, the vacation is predictably fabulous. I've introduced my wife and other friends to Munchkin Cthulu, which is a great game for this group. Few of us have read much Lovecraft, but it's easy enough to understand Victorian era horrible monster hunting. My friends and I were weaned on 1st edition Advanced D&D, and had a few copies of Deities and Demigods floating around. That book included a whole chapter on the Cthulu mythos. Then they discovered that those characters were copyright protected and had to go away (along with Moorcock's Melnibone' set) from later editions.

Yesterday we also played a few rounds of Clue. It had been years since any of us had played it, so we were all on equal footing. The strength of Clue is that it demands a different kind of game play than most board games: you have to work out the logic, plus try and read your opponents' mannerisms. Almost oddly, I'm not a huge fan of it. This shouldn't be interpreted as a judgment of the game itself. Rather, it's a very personal preference because the game doesn't directly line up with my own strengths. As I told the group, "I'll enjoy it when we play, but I probably won't ever suggest it."

The food in Colville is hit and miss. We discovered a great place for breakfast and lunch called The Courthouse Cafe. Unfortunately it doesn't have beer or wine, and isn't open for dinner. It did remind me that not all tasty beverages require alcohol. The service is also quick and friendly, and all the food has been top notch.

On the other side of things, in other places, we've encountered some lazy food (chile rellenos that really weren't, grilled cheese with good bread but yucky American cheese, and a generally dissatisfying set of omelets for brunch).

It's fairly easy to get good beer in Colville now. That's an improvement. During my last trip, I discovered a local brewery called 'Lost Falls' that I enjoyed, but I can't find it anywhere anymore.

Another high point of the trip so far was running 10 miles yesterday morning with Tony. We kept tight to my comfortable but not too comfortable 8 minute mile. I don't believe I've ever run that far before. Since I don't think I had ever run 9 miles before doing so last month, these mileage personal records aren't so novel anymore.

The Problem with Packing

It's almost worse to pack when you have the benefit of a car. There's no real upper limit, and it's hard to tell when you've finished.

When traveling by train or plane, I pack light. Very light. I expect to wear some things more than once; I keep the footwear to a minimum (usually I bring whatever I plan to wear, plus one additional pair of something). You get the idea.

This time around, I have plenty of clothes, games and books. I hope I have the all the fundamentals. Again, the fact that we'll be near 'civilization' almost makes it worse. It's all the harder to focus on necessities.

Blah blah. It isn't all that fun, either.

Big Fucking Rat

I just saw a big fucking rat outside the window.

I went out with my entrenching tool (basically a little shovel), but it had hidden, I think behind one of my wife's planter boxes.

Yes, I'm pretty sure it's illegal to use firearms within city limits. I could shoot the hell outta that little bastard. There would be massive disapproval. My wife would probably disapprove, the neighbors probably... then there's always the police. I will restrain myself.

Greycat came out with me, but seemed unaware of the larger project. He's still out there sniffing around. Maybe he'll get lucky and the rat will be stupid. He brought a dead rat home once, back when he was still living on the porch. Today would be a good day for an encore. That first rat only covered about a tenth of the medical bills we've invested into him. If he catches this one, we'll call it even.

I'm not holding my breath. Most likely we'll contact the rest of the association and call in a professional.

Light Lord's Background

Here are the Nick's answers for Light Lord. I've [censored] bits that his character may prefer not to discuss with the others.

**********

Light Lord's Info:

> 1. What are your character’s thoughts on politics? Socialist / Liberal / Moderate / Conservative / Libertarian etc…
>
> Believer in getting rid of the oppressiveness - throw off the chains of the lower class and let all enjoy the fruits of our labor. Will take arms as necessary.
>
> 2. What hobbies did he or she enjoy before the robots came? What does he or she still enjoy?
>
>Camping, hunting. Would make makeshift snares and traps, work on "aim" of energy powers by shooting targets in woods.
>
> 3. What does he miss most from ‘before?’
>
> Interacting with "non-freaks," especially the girls.
>
> 4. What is the worst crime(s) imaginable to your character?
>
> Torture would be acceptable, so long as it's helping a mission. Would prefer not to kill, but will if it means survival for me or my friends.
>
> 5. What historic figures does she most admire? Despise?
>
>Became a big fan of Lincoln when the oppression came. Not a Communist exactly, but sometimes it makes sense. Really despise those who enacted the robot control. Also anyone who enslaved the little guy.
>
> 6. Does your character read much? What does she read most?
>
> Enjoy historical biographies, military history. Use that for strategic planning. Like pictures of the "before times."
>
> 7. What is your character’s biggest secret?
>
>[censored]
>
> 8. What was your character’s childhood like?
>
>I used to bully Shadow Master as a child since I was bigger and stronger. We remain close, but when he got his powers, I tended to work on my powers alone.
>
> 9. What is your character’s drink(s)?
>
> I like gatorade-type beverages, particularly high in electrolytes. [other comments censored]
>
> 10. When and how did your character’s powers reveal themselves?
>
[censored, just in case this is the sort of thing the character may prefer not to discuss]

Marvel Prep

It's less than a week before the vacation starts!

I have to get serious about my Marvel game prep.

First, I've decided not to use the karma gambling storytelling mechanic. I do want players to have some narration, and I will use karma rewards for that. However, since I'm trying to add incentive for them, it doesn't make sense to make them gamble for the 'privilege.'

I've averaged the starting karma for all the players, cut it in half, then added karma rewards for the last battle (for Type: X) and artistic contribution. Lightlord (Nick's character) gets 15 more than the others, because he was the first to submit answers to the questions I sent around a few months ago. Others will still get 10 karma for turning in their homework.

Marathon?

We've caught some good weather this weekend, and I had a delightful 'long run' of nine miles. My pace was 8 minute 40 sec/mile which is most reasonable for that distance. I usually hover around eight minute miles, and I should go a little slower on those long runs.

Since March, I've been working my way through a training schedule. It increases my weekly mileage gradually, and builds in lighter weeks. Overall, I've responded really well to this sort of regimented schedule. In the past, I haven't had much of plan, aside from increasing my distance and time gradually (or not, depending on my mood).

I pulled up the next phase of the training schedule, the one that takes me from 'long runs' of 10 miles up to a full marathon, and compared it to a calendar. It synchs up nicely with the Seattle marathon in November. I'm afraid to commit to anything, I'm afraid to actually say, "I'm training for a marathon." Instead, I'm going to keep plugging away at my schedule, and see where I am at the end of the summer.

I'm basing my training on the information at marathontraining.com

Dr. Drew Pinsky

I like Dr. Drew. I completely believe that he wants to help people, and that he has authentically dedicated his life to that end. I also respect his competence: he really does help people, and I completely trust what he says when talking about addiction. When I think of a Paladin in the Dungeons and Dragons sense, Dr. Drew fits that bill.

He is full of shit sometimes: he definitely has a bias toward normality and conventionality. The thing about those Lawful Good Paladin types is they see the world in black and white. Sometimes that's appropriate. Sometimes it misses the mark and blinds them to the nuances that make people fun. For example, I wouldn't go to him for sex advice. I don't think he gets kink, exploration of sexual identity, non-monogamy, or any of that dirty stuff that Dan Savage is so good at.

Mage Game... RIP?

The gaming group is still in pretty good shape, though we don't play as often as we'd like, and we could probably use another member. However, we're rebooting our system again and starting new characters.

The last time we did this, we stayed in the World of Darkness setting, playing as magi, but hacked the rules notably.

I was growing tired of urban fantasy, and had lost my love for my transvestite Ayn Randian artist character. Other members of the group also have some itch for variety.

My new character concept is of a semi-retired businessman, probably not human, who has piles of money, contacts and charm. He just bought (or had constructed) his dream spaceship. While he knows how to operate everything on the ship on the level of an accomplished amateur, he's no professional captain, navigator, pilot, engineer, etc...

I'm playing with the idea of giving him low level telepathy and/or some racial semi-monstrous body transformation abilities.

This concept is influenced by the Dallas Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones, that red squid guy form Futurama, and the Jurassic Park owner, John Hammond.

I need to figure out his race, so it can be worked into the game setting.

Below I'll paste in some of our other discussions:

***********

If what makes the modern earth setting world 'special' is simply a widget that protects it from invasion, I'm cool with that. In that sense, every world probably has something 'special' about them. For example, perhaps there is a ley line conjunction on Earth, which allows some limited magic use. From there, a cabal of mages might cast some spells of protection to keep the baddies away. Perhaps the science fiction world has vast dilithium deposits which powers their ships and allows advanced weaponry and shielding. Another has a large werewolf population, and everyone who lands there gets converted or eaten.

My thought too is that the modern Earth would be similar to WOD, but the vampires and werewolves would probably originate elsewhere.

I'd like to keep the 'awakened' vs 'sleeper' concept non-central to the overall universe. While it may be important in some realities, for others, it's a very slim line between civilian and hero. It makes sense for Force users, Mages and Superheroes, but for lower powered characters I don't see the advantage.

Maybe we should also start a discussion on power levels for our PC's. I think there's room for a broad range (ROTJ Luke Skywalker and C-3P0 in the same group, Thor and Captain America working together) within reason.

-Chad

Things I know I think and things I want to remember.

----- Original Message ----
From: jumpup7jam
To: emeraldeye@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2008 5:40:27 AM
Subject: [emeraldeye] Re: SETTING: Meta-setting discussion

Oooh, Craig, I like it! That is, save for a couple of points. I
think it ought to be unspecified as to whether or not the number of
realities are infinite. Perhaps there is a finite number of known or
easily reached realities, thus making them effectively finite, but I
don't think there's any reason for that door to remain permanently
closed. Plus, it's more fun not knowing. That way there can be
philosophers.
Personally, I'd rather "our" reality weren't special. In so much
fiction and thought, there's a sort of blown-up (in terms of scale)
self-importance. Humans are so great. Earth is a wondrous place.
America. Yah-da-da. Don't get me wrong, I do like earth and humans
and The United States of America, but in a setting with lots of other
worlds, I don't see why they need to be special, unless it's to
prevent us from taking our flight of fancy so far as to lead us to
disparage our own lives. We witness fantastic realms and events and
find our own lives wanting if we don't include the caveat that our
place is special, even though we don't have super powers.
I'm babbling.
Anyway, I love the rest of it. Are you thinking of a way to systemize
the mixing of realities, or are the characters so unaffected that such
a thing would be superfluous?
All have great days!

--- In emeraldeye@yahoogro ups.com, "james craig" wrote:
>
> Let's start off the setting discussion by talking about the multi-genre
> setting as a whole. As we get into specific realities we might
spawn more
> threads. Here's what I'm thinking about the multi-verse (much
borrowed from
> Torg, Mage, Rifts and other places):
>
>
> - There are multiple realities (but not infinite) that are
effectively
> different dimensions/universe s, in that getting from one world to
another is
> more than just traveling distance (but it may be part of the
journey). Each
> reality has it's own theme/genre and own laws of physics. For
example, in
> Etherspace people can breath in space (either it is filled with
air or each
> person's personal gravitational field keeps a personal atmosphere
around
> them), in Fairy-tale land magic can alter reality if done within
the proper
> ritual/spell format, in space wars universe the theory of
relativity doesn't
> apply, so ships can rocket through interstellar space at absurd
speeds
> (giving Einstein the finger).
> - I like Torg's idea that each reality has some sort of overlord
(but not
> necessarily evil or good), and this being's will/belief is what
sets the
> genre of that reality. This is in turn supplemented by the
collective
> belief of the inhabitants. The realm's overlord may need their
belief to
> empower him/her/it.
> - Everyone from each reality keeps some of it with them if they
go to a
> different reality (like a personal aura). The more powerful the
character,
> the bigger/stronger the aura. Over time it would degrade.
Awakened beings
> (like the PCs) have enough energy in their auras to do cool crazy
stuff
> (like magic in a non-magic world, epic action stunts, super
powers, etc.).
> - Our earth/WoD is of some special significance, probably because
of an
> abundance of metaphysical energy, like Possibility energy from Torg,
> Quintessence, Ether, Chi, Mana; either way the fundamental energy of
> reality/life. This same abundance of energy makes it a great
target as well
> as prevents the bad guys from invading en masse.
>
> more later

Ride the Bus

There's a great article in the 6/10/08 Seattle Post Intelligencer which both describes how more folks are riding the bus now that gas prices have floated into the $4.25 / gallon range, and gives tips on how to ride the bus for newbies.

I've mentioned before that I am a big believer in buses. More should be done to provide transit (or at least high occupancy) only lanes, and more should be invested to keep our buses running frequently and on time. Buses don't require expensive tracks and can be easily flexed as demands change, unlike light rail.

Bus fares only cover a minority of the costs for bus related mass transit, so as ridership increases, outside funding will also need to increase. Those buses are getting full, and that's great, but before long, we'll need bigger buses and more frequent service to balance the increase in ridership. That will cost tax dollars, in addition to the additional fare revenue.

Also check out one of my favorite blogs for all things bus-a-licious in and around Seattle: http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/buschick/

Don't Settle

Eagle Rare continues as the bourbon of the moment. That's the last of the birthday bottle though, so back to Elijah Craig until the next special occasion.

My lovely wife got tickets to Anthony Bourdain for us, and we just got home. He's a great speaker, and the one thing I carried from him is to continue guarding against mediocrity. I've never been much of a foodie, and I'm still not. I have many steps to go before I even really understand what he's talking about. However, I do understand lazy food, and I understand tasty food. There's always the 'I know what I like' criteria, which is completely valid. At least, it's valid if one is paying attention and has given some thought to what one likes.

Then, my friend David pointed me toward this YouTube mash-up of William Shatner's version of Common People laid over some Star Trek Animated Series clips. The shit is brilliant in several ways.

I know I've settled for lazy comic books, lazy television, lazy movies, lazy internet sites and lazy web surfing. In this context, I'm using the word lazy in the worst sort of way: there are plenty of cases when lazy is a wonderful, brilliant thing. Lazy can be perfect. However, when it comes to entertainment and many other things, it's actually a little horrifying.

I may start eating some kinds of fish again. I recently read an article about how some fish are not endangered, not underpopulated and not filled with toxins. They're really quite healthy apparently. I know that sardines were an example. That contrasts with tuna and salmon which are fish populations that are having problems. More research is required.

I've been a vegetarian... hmm, I think for over ten years. It's appropriate to revisit my dietary choices in this regard.

Obama

Back in February, during the Washington State Caucus, I was undecided. That's over now. Well, yes, I know that's easy to say now that Hillary's out, but something else has changed.

Barack Obama has genuinely won me over. Right now, I see him as a focused Bill Clinton combined with those men who symbolized hope during the 1960's, but were martyred before their time.

No he's not a super-hero, he isn't a prophet, he isn't our savior. I think he is the man to lead America to a better day.

The Unrepentant Asshole in Me

Today while running, I spit on two cars that were blocking the sidewalk. Well, the second one was only blocking 3/4th's of the sidewalk. I debated that one for a moment, but I had a mouth full of saliva when I reached it and let her rip.

Also, I flipped off a guy in his truck when he didn't stop for me, as I was standing in a crosswalk. He was driving too fast. He flipped me off in return: I was generally satisfied with the exchange. I'm glad he didn't stop and try to kick my ass, 'cause he probably could have: I was tired.

In further news of my descent into barbarism, I've come to prefer to blow my nose out-of-doors, or in a sink at home, to using a tissue.

Which reminds me, the Claritin has quit working. I've become a human snot machine, and need to blow my nose a lot these days. Maybe the Zantac will help. That pill bottle advises one to avoid alcohol while taking the pills. I'm not sure it's worth it. I also can't help but wonder if it's the 'destroy your liver' kind of avoid alcohol, or the 'you may feel double drunk' version.

Iron Man

I loved Iron Man. Jon Favreau gets how to direct the character, the visuals were excellent, the script was strong, the villains made sense and held together logically.

I have a few minor quibbles:

1) I would have dialed back the Tony Stark / Pepper Potts (played well by Gwynneth Paltrow) romantic tension just a little bit. Overall I liked it.

2) There's no way that any battle tank in production would be able to hit a target flying through the air at the speed that Iron Man was travelling. Tanks are designed to blow up slow moving, truck sized ground targets, not fast moving, human sized air targets. On the other hand, I liked that the .50 cal knocked the early Iron suit around.

3) The cute house robots went a bit too far. Ugh. I liked the automation of his mansion, however, and a certain amount of cute robotics is tolerable. It was that last bit when one handed his power-heart thing to him that i'm complaining about.

4) The film Tony Stark and Iron Man seemed based primarily on the 616 version, while Nick Fury was very much an Ultimate Universe adaptation. This doesn't really bother me, I feel compelled to play my uber-comic geek card on this vague discontinuity.

Again, these are minor complaints. For every one of these, there are at least 10 things done perfectly.

Grace and Karma

Sharon Stone's recent comments that suggest a karmic link between China's treatment of Tibet and the earthquake that killed 68,000 Chinese people (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7425203.stm) was ill advised, ignorant and offensive. It itsn't too great a stretch to compare it with Jerry Falwell's suggestion that the 9-11 attacks were a result of God's anger at the ACLU (http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/f/falwell-robertson-wtc.htm).

There is one significant difference: Sharon Stone is an entertainer by profession. Jerry Falwell is a religious leader by profession. We should demand more of our spiritual advisors and expect less of our actors.

I Live in Color

The beer is Fat Tire Amber. Since it's my birthday this week, I splurged a bit and now I have some Rogue Ale in the fridge for later. I finished a bottle of Elijah Craig last night and picked up a bottle of Eagle Rare. Again, it's a bit of a splurge.

Earlier this month, I went to Mark Siano's Soft Rock Explosion and had a near religious moment of clarity: I needed to start living bigger. Soft Rock from the 1980's is Big, no, not big like the Beatles were big: the themes were big, the music sounded big, the voices were big. Soft Rock fills you up. I want to live more like that.

So, I wore a tie to work. That felt pretty good, so I kept wearing them. Since then, I've worn a tie every day. Children's dress policy is "business casual," in a west coast sense. It's more casual than business, for the most part. Middle to senior management wear ties, as do a few others, so I'm not alone. I am, however, definitely in the minority.

Coincidentally, World of Warcraft lots its luster for me. I quit playing, and eventually cancelled my account. That felt pretty good too. Ironically, Nora and I met up with some of our guild mates for the first time on Monday. They're nice folks, and there was some attempt to persuade me back. While that may have worked a few months ago, I wasn't swayed.

I really want to keep going out. I want to do fun, new things. I want to drink good booze, talk to fun and smart people. I want to keep living in color.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Financial Dreaming

A few years ago I read “Smart Couples Finish Rich” and did my best to follow its advice. We created a filing system, which has only vaguely been maintained, raised my pre-tax retirement withholding, and set some goals for getting out of debt.

Miraculously, I seem to be in a position to meet my first or second round of goals, and should be debt free later this year. I’ve tried to keep my costs down, but really my success has come from a few specific things: 1) Nora has helped by subsidizing our household bills. I pay less of those, she pays more, so I can pay down my debt quicker and 2) my lifestyle has stayed essentially the same since we returned from our honeymoon while our income has grown.

My mind keeps drifting into the promised land of debt-free life. What will I do then?

1) Increase my pre-tax withholding, probably to 20% (I’m at 15% now)

2) Start paying my full share of the mortgage, if not more.

3) Start putting money into a simple savings account. We really should have a few months of fluid savings in case of calamity.

There are also some fun things I have in mind:

1) Join the next generation of gaming. I did buy an Xbox 360 shortly after launch, but it was for scalping, not for playing. I made a profit of around $150, if I remember correctly. I’m also considering the PS3, but still leaning toward the 360.

2) Go out once during the week. We used to have dinner and/or do something else fun midweek. After we bought the house that dropped off, mostly for financial reasons. I’d like to do that more.

3) Upgrade my computer. My current one does fine, but it’s a hand-me-down. I’m not sure between laptop or desk-top.

4) Buy a digital camera. I completely broke the last one while trying to ‘fix’ a less serious problem.

Go Play Northwest

Yesterday I pre-registered for Saturday at next weekend's Go Play Northwest indie gaming convention.

I also signed up to play Don't Rest Your Head with Ogre Whiteside from Stabbing Contest. It also looks like Ryan Macklin from Master Plan has signed up to play that session.

I listen to both of their podcasts regularly and am really looking forward to this.

Now I better find a copy of the game... I listened to The Game Master Show cast playtest DRYH, so I have some idea what I'm getting into, but that's not the same as having actual familiarity of the rules.

WoW RIP?

I think I'm done with World of Warcraft for awhile. More than awhile. I haven't actually cancelled the account yet, but that will happen soon.

When Wrath of the Lich King is released in the fall, there's a chance I'll come back.

Part of the reason is that I enjoy exploring new worlds while gaming. WoW has an enormous and varied set of environments, but, it's still the same universe with the same basic gameplay.

The Greenlake Motel

The Greenlake Motel is being shut down with little notice for health and safety reasons, putting many of the long term tenants in a tough situation.

The reminds me of a subchapter in my life when I had something of a relationship with that dump:

A few years ago, I started a vending machine business. I didn’t feel like my job was going anywhere and I had dreams of building an entrepreneurial empire. I overpaid for the machines, and they never brought the types of income ‘promised’ by the folks who sold me those machines from the ‘Business Opportunity’ ad in the newspaper.

I hired an older gentlemen who specializes in this sort of thing to find locations for the machines. One of these locations was the Greenlake Motel. These weren’t giant, complicated machines. They sold small candy (M&M’s or whatever) on one side, and peppermint patties on the other. I had endless problems with that peppermint patty side. The candy tended to melt and get smashed, gumming up the works and leading to an unsatisfactory experience for my customers, not to mention maintenance hassles for me.

Most of my locations made little money. The better ones earned maybe $6 per week, some less than $1. The machine at the Greenlake Motel, however, was my golden egg. That thing made $20 - $30 per week. I could barely keep enough candy in the thing. If they all performed like that, I probably would have stayed in the business.

One week, I serviced the machine during the week, rather than on Saturday, which was my normal routine. The owners of the motel happened to be there, and saw me shoveling the pile of quarters into my bag. The next week, the manager (an obese, but nice guy who sometimes told me stories of slum motel goings on), said that I had to take the machine away, orders of the motel owners. Apparently they didn’t want anyone else making money inside their cheap motel.

I wonder if they ever put a different machine in their lobby. The tenants probably didn’t have a whole lot of simple pleasures in their lives; I hope my little $.25 handfuls of candy gave them a little something more to look forward to each day.

Summertime

Summer is visiting Seattle and that means summer outfits.

It also means sunbathing girls with their bikini tops undone.

I love that in a way I can't even describe.

I went for my longest run in memory today: 8 miles, and those summer outfits and sunbathing girls helped keep me going.

Student Loans

Hooray!

********

Your Direct Loans

Account Number	Status	Repayment Plan	Principal Balance	Fixed Payment	Current Due	Past Due	Late Charges	Total Due	Due Date
*****xxxx Loan Details	Paid in Full	Graduated	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Totals	N/A	N/A	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	N/A

Your Erotic Personality

This may drift into the 'too much information' range, but it's a fun quiz:

I took Sage Vivant's Erotic Personality Quiz and discovered I'm a Partier!

What is your Erotic Personality? Find out now.

Another Experimental Marvel Heroes Mechanic

This rule activates when a player decides to use karma for a dice roll.

Normally, the makes this announcement, but doesn't have to decide how much to spend until after the dice roll. The minimum is 10 points.

With my rules hack, the character has the option to decide in advance how many points to use, and what level of success she desires. The minimum is still 10.

If the character succeeds with beyond the minimum required for the announced result, the player has earned the right to control the manner in which the success occurs. This is a 'yes and...' success. The player's creative control includes the ability to introduce a helpful non player character or affect with a maximum characteristic equal to the extra karma.

The player can also introduce additional obstructive NPC's or affects to receive a karma refund (or bonus) equal to that character's maximum characteristic.

Karma points are also refunded based on player creativity.

If, however, the player fails in spite of the karma use, one of two things happens. If the player would have succeeded had they used 1.5 times the amount of karma used, the character fails forward. This can be thought of as a 'yes but...' result.

For example, Benjamin is playing Thor for a session. Ben decides that Thor really needs to knock out his opponent during his next attack. In other words, he needs a 'stun' result on a Fighting roll. Thor's Fighting score is Unearthly, so he needs a roll of 86 or better for a red result.

Ben decides in advance to use 30 karma points on this endeavor, then rolls the dice.

If he rolls a 98, he has a total of 42 extra karma points ([98-86]+30) and has earned the right to control the scene. Since 42 falls in the 'Incredible' range, when Ben narrates the action, he may introduce new beneficial characters or affects with up to a max score of Incredible. He may also choose not to introduce anything. Either way, Ben is encouraged to be creative with his description. Have fun!

On the other hand, if Ben rolls a 73, Thor has trouble. While that normally would have resulted in a yellow fighting success, it misses the announced mark. The good news is, that if Ben had spent 13 more karma, it would have succeeded: this earns a 'yes but' success. The judge (GM) narrates "Thor hits Mega-thug, which slams the now unconscious villain into the pillar. The force of the impact shatters the load bearing pillar, and the building starts to collapse."

The character can not succeed beyond the announced result, and any successes less than desired are 'yes but' types of tainted success.

Seattle Mariners, 2008, RIP

Last year, the Seattle Mariners were one August road losing streak away from making the playoffs. The bats were hot, and the bullpen was phenomenal. The notable missing piece was in the starting pitching. On top of that, both Jose Lopez and Richie Sexson seemed to be having an ‘off’ season.

The offseason moves appeared to address the pitching problems. The regulars came back, Richie was certain to return to his old self, Jose was another older, and several months removed from his brother’s tragic death. It took guts to trade away the new phenom Adam Jones, but seemed worth it. With a true #1 starting pitcher, the playoffs seemed certain.

Now that the Mariner’s have lost their way to the bottom of the Major Leagues, even a .500 season seems preposterous. No one seems to know what’s wrong. Does it have something to do with John McLaren? Is he too much the ‘player’s manager?’ Were last year’s hot bats a fluke? What’s wrong with our pitching and defense?

Now there are rumors of a trade for the much beloved Ken Griffey Jr. Yes, Seattle loves Junior. Yes, I can imagine a situation where he would help the team. I can not imagine, however, a way that he can help us salvage the season right now. As a player, he is injury prone and in the waning years of his career. He is simply in no position to provide the kind of clubhouse leadership that’s been lacking since... probably since Brett Boone’s career jumped the shark. Trading any kind of valued prospect for Junior would be a serious mistake. In fact, I don’t think adding him back to the roster at all is a good idea.

Let him take the route of the Sheriff, Norm Charlton: after he retires he can come back as a hitting coach. That would put the feel-good bookend to Junior’s career that we’d all like to see.

Marvel Heroes Homework

Below is homework I assigned to my player characters for our Marvel Game.
*********

Answer these questions in as much or little detail as you want. Karma will be awarded for creativity and thoroughness.

Feel free to skip or add questions, or to submit questions of your own to the other players.

Please forward your answers directly to me at ******** @ yahoo.com

What are your character’s thoughts on politics? Socialist / Liberal / Moderate / Conservative / Libertarian etc…

What hobbies did he or she enjoy before the robots came? What does he or she still enjoy?

What does he miss most from ‘before?’

What is the worst crime(s) imaginable to your character?

What historic figures does she most admire? Despise?

Does your character read much? What does she read most?

What is your character’s biggest secret?

What was your character’s childhood like?

What is your character’s drink(s)?

When and how did your character’s powers reveal themselves?

Emerald City Comicon

Nora and I went down to the Emerald City Comicon yesterday.

We first attended the show during its inaugural year, and I think we had only been dating for less than a year. It was TINY back then. There weren't any panels, no real celebrities, and only a handful of top creators and a few of the moderately sized companies were represented.

It feels very much like a grown-up convention now. It still can't compare to San Diego's convention, but now, at least, it's the same order of magnitude, if not quite in the same league.

We went to three panels, "FRAUGHT WITH PERIL: MAKING COMICS INTO GAMES," "WIL WHEATON PERFORMS THE HAPPIEST DAYS OF OUR LIVES" and "SPOTLIGHT ON JAMIE BAMBER." All were great. Matt Turnbull and John Feil broke down the challenges and rewards of converting comics into video games. Wil read three stories from his book (probably from a couple different books of his), and Jamie answered questions. All were charming, engaging and smart.

The floor of dealers and artist spaces was as chaotic and intense as San Diego ever is, only with much less total space.

Another high point was in the gaming area where I was able to demo Marvel Heroscape. The game is quick to learn, fast to play and pretty fun overall. From the website, "Heroscape is a fully-customizable game system that lets you build your own battlefields, create your own armies, and battle the enemy using your own strategies." While I don't quite see myself rushing out to buy the game, it definitely activated my gamer hunger. My tastes run less toward the wargaming type, even though Heroscape is relatively simple.

I do think I will attend Go Play Northwest in a few weeks to try and get my gaming itch scratched.

Guilt

Generally speaking, I don't do guilt. I have regrets, of course. There are probably millions of little decisions spread across my life that I wouldn't do again, given the same or similar circumstance. There are very few things that I would alter though, at this point looking back. My life has turned out pretty well, and I wouldn't want to change the way things have turned out for me.

To quote William Adama from Battlestar Galactica, "you live with it." I sincerely believe that the golden path is to carry them with you enough to learn without letting them overpower you, and without letting them pull you backwards or get you stuck.

Star Trek V was a pretty bad movie. It did, however, have some great bits. I particularly enjoyed Captain Kirk's response when Sybok offers to remove his pain. Our pain molds us as humans. The key is to use the pain as a lever, not to avoid it, disavow it or wallow in it.

Having said that, I've had it pretty easy. My life hasn't been 'charmed,' but I haven't really suffered either.

There are a few points of gnawing guilt that I will admit: there's always more I could be doing to conserve the environment, and the division of resources in our world is inherently unfair. In other words, I have more than I deserve, and I cause more harm than I need to. There are plenty of justifications I could offer, but none would really alter those two fundamental points.

Nick's picture, version 2

I've been a little lazy with the blog this month, so in order to buff my content, and because I really enjoy when my friends are creative, I present the next version of Nick's picture:

The Work

A recent “This American Life” episode raised an interesting question about the relationship between power, responsibility and accountability.

What if, at the end of our lives, we aren’t judged by our failings? What if the good we’ve done isn’t weighed against the bad? What if, instead, we are judged on the good we could have done, but didn’t?

This compares with another thought I am all to familiar with: the work we have completed is tiny when compared with the work we have left to do.

Someone wise said that first, but I don’t know who. If anyone knows, I would love to learn.

Marvel Super Heroes Power Stunts

As written, Marvel Super Heroes has a mechanic that forces characters to use large amounts of karma to use their powers in varied and interesting ways.

For example, Storm's mutant power is weather manipulation. To use that ability to create winds that permit her to fly is a 'power stunt.'

Since I want to use the karma mechanic to propel the story rather than encourage players to save them up, I need something else.

My thought is to break the rankings of powers into two categories: power and skill. At character creation, it would be assumed that both are equal; players could raise one at the expense of the other, if desired (at character creation).

Any power stunt would be assigned an 'intensity' ranking by the judge (aka, game master). Some stunts would be automatic (making it drizzle in Seattle with weather manipulation) and would only require the normal roll. The intensity ranking would go down every time the hero successfully uses the power in that way.

My Good Friend Nick's Picture

Posted completely without permission, but with all remaining rights reserved, here is a picture from my friend Nick. It may be a draft, but it's way more art than I've done lately!

How Long could You Survive?

Created by OnePlusYou

Yearly Marvel Heroes Game

Here is some role playing stuff for my once per year game that won't make sense to most of you:

********
In a rare discussion with the press, Nimrod stated "Mutant and mutant sympathizer incursions will not be tolerated. The Canadian government has been advised that harboring militants will not be tolerated and that they will be held responsible for such activities." European analysts suggest that this is in reference to the situation in the nation's Pacific Northwest...

Earlier this morning, the BBC reports that the federal government has declared a state of emergency in the three states which constitute its Pacific Northwest: Idaho, Washington and Oregon. An increased Sentinel presence has been confirmed at several points along Interstate 90 and Highway 2, specifically in the Snoqualmie and Stevens Pass areas.

Goooood Morning to the Liberated Northwest! Canadian Liberation forces are in direct confrontation with Sentinel forces

Attention citizens of Seattle! Mutants and mutant sympathizers have invaded your community, and a general curfew has been declared. Sentinel forces are here to help you. You are instructed to stay indoors until the situation has been stabilized. Violators of the curfew will be treated as enemies to the nation.
********

Karma starting base:

Lightlord 50 (Sentinel battle), 20 (RP 'leadership' bonus and artwork submission)
Shadowmaster 50(Sentinel battle), 10 (RP 'my brother!' bonus)
Silverbrand 50(Sentinel battle), 20 (RP 'my people' and character refinement bonus)
Fool 50 (Sentinel battle), 10 (character refinement bonus)

Nora's character: 10 (character refinement)

Current Role Playing

My oldest friends and I always had a string of role playing geekery in us, but have never played seriously. Last year, we pulled out some of their Marvel Superheroes characters (last played over 10 years ago), which we had played a few sessions in something resembling the 616 universe. Then I plunked them into the Days of Futures Past timeline.

In story terms, the young characters my friends had played in the late '80s, early '90s continued adventuring, as their world went into decline.

My vision for this game is to play it somewhat convention style. We don't play often enough for a normal campaign, but even if we play once or twice a year, we can string some stories with continuity together and have a good time of it.

Here is the history these characters live in:

***********

In January of 2003, a mutant terrorist group attacked the Super Bowl, murdering dozens. A larger disaster was averted largely because of timely intervention by the Avengers. However, the press was terrible and wave of mutant hysteria began to boil.

Later that year, 1500 innocent civilians died during a battle between the Marauders and a group of young crimefighters. The majority of those crimefighters were mutants.

The anti-mutant hysteria continued, and began to spread to include all super humans.

In the fall of 2003 the U.S. military became involved in a Waco style incident surrounding Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Like Waco, it ended in fire and death. Unlike Waco, the besieged gave as good as they got. There were many deaths on both sides.

In the spring of 2004 a member of the Senate, Joseph McGrafton was revealed to be a mutant with emotion-control based powers. He hanged himself two days later. In his journals, a mutant conspiracy was revealed that spread throughout North America, whose goal was to create a pro-mutant apartheid state, with non-mutants serving as second class citizens.

That election led to a wave of anti-mutant extremists being elected to federal office. Most moderates were forced to resign; some grew silent, a few died under mysterious circumstances.

In January of 2005, the Sentinel Program was begun anew. By the end of the year, mutants were forced to live in special areas (ghettos) of cities. Camps were established for those who resisted, planned to resist or those deemed otherwise too dangerous to be free.

Resistance groups have sprung up across the country, most notably, a large group is based in Canada, not far from Vancouver. There have been cross border incidents, and the relationship between the U.S. and its neighbor to the north has seen better days.

Two Legged Dog

I first saw video of this dog a year or two ago. It's really pretty amazing, and shook my perspective of what is possible and what is normal.

Moving People

I've become a person who believes that dedicating our energy into expanding and improving the bus system is the proper answer. We've seen that rail based construction projects are extremely expensive, usually wind up destroying some businesses, can disrupt communities, and rarely are any faster at getting from point A to point B than the car it often competes with. This is particularly true of street level light rail.

Instead of throwing money at building rail lines that can't be moved to adapt to changing demographics, I much prefer increasing service, increasing 'bus only' and/or high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, and increasing express bus lines.

We learned in Seattle that a thousand little adjustments to traffic flow can make a huge difference in reducing congestions. We already have streets, we already have buses (though not enough).

Here is an article from 2003, written on behalf of the Independence Institute. I don't endorse this group, and am not a member. I offer the article only because it provides a clear summary of my 'pro-bus' perspective. They seem a little nutty, but I have great sympathy for their libertarian perspective.

Battlestar Galactica, Season 4, Episode 1

Last Friday marked the beginning of the final season of Battlestar Galactica. This show is one of my favorite things in the world. I love it more than Star Wars (the prequels knocked that franchise off its pedestal for all of us, didn't it?), more than Star Trek (again, filled with great bits, but frequently dodged the tough questions, and was too deeply rooted in the Roddenberry Utopian Vision), more than the Seattle Mariners (but probably not more than the Seahawks), and probably more than the World of Warcraft.

***This brings out the question, why do I play so much WoW if I don't LOVE it? Good question. The short version is that it's a very good game, which I enjoy a lot, and it's extremely cost effective. With that, there's the communal element, and the fact that my wife plays. And she doesn't play ANY computer or video games (aside from the occasional solitaire, Tetris and Lego Star Wars).***

One of the most impressive things in last Friday's episode of BSG was the opening space battle. This was the first time since the miniseries that the entire fleet was in jeopardy of being destroyed by the Cylons. When the first ship was lost, it suddenly became very clear that this was real. No one was safe. Then, when the circular roundy ship (I don't even know its name) started taking heavy damage, I realized how emotionally invested I had become. Aside from Galactica and Colonial One, the ship with the circle around it is the most distinctive part of the fleet's skyline.

The three part set up is just one of the reasons why I love BSG so much. 1) they established that ship as a part of the fleet in a subtle way. I grew to have affection for it over these years, 2) They established a threat to the civilian ships by destroying one, and 3) the ship took heavy damage, which obviously threatened its existence.

The result was pure rapture.

Shadrachgrey at 70

My first World of Warcraft character, Shadrachgrey just achieved level 70!

John McCain is a Republican

The list below comes from Moveon.org. Yes, they're a lefty group. However, this list is filled with facts which should dissuade any liberals and left leaning moderates from being swayed by McCain's occasional appearance of humanity.

*************

10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't):

1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1

2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."2
3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.3

4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."4

5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.5

6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.6

7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."7

8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.8

9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."9

10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.10
John McCain is not who the Washington press corps make him out to be. Please help get the word out—forward this email to your personal network. And if you want us to keep you posted on MoveOn's work to get the truth out about John McCain, sign up here:

http://pol.moveon.org/mccaintruth/?id=12407-4278654-en4CiM&t=232

Thank you for all you do.

–Eli, Justin, Noah, Laura, and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Saturday, April 5th, 2008

Sources:
1. "The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day," ABC News, April 3, 2008
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/the-complicated.html

"McCain Facts," ColorOfChange.org, April 4, 2008
http://colorofchange.org/mccain_facts/

2. "McCain More Hawkish Than Bush on Russia, China, Iraq," Bloomberg News, March 12, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aF28rSCtk0ZM&refer=us

"Buchanan: John McCain 'Will Make Cheney Look Like Gandhi,'" ThinkProgress, February 6, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/06/buchanan-gandhi-mccain/

3. "McCain Sides With Bush On Torture Again, Supports Veto Of Anti-Waterboarding Bill," ThinkProgress, February 20, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/20/mccain-torture-veto/

4. "McCain says Roe v. Wade should be overturned," MSNBC, February 18, 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17222147/

5. "2007 Children's Defense Fund Action Council® Nonpartisan Congressional Scorecard," February 2008
http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagename=act_learn_scorecard2007

"McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion," CNN, October 3, 2007
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/03/mccain.interview/

6. "Beer Executive Could Be Next First Lady," Associated Press, April 3, 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-S1sWHm0tchtdMP5LcLywg5ZtMgD8VQ86M80

"McCain Says Bank Bailout Should End `Systemic Risk,'" Bloomberg News, March 25, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHMiDVYaXZFM&refer=home

7. "Will McCain's Temper Be a Liability?," Associated Press, February 16, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4301022

"Famed McCain temper is tamed," Boston Globe, January 27, 2008
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/27/famed_mccain_temper_is_tamed/

8. "Black Claims McCain's Campaign Is Above Lobbyist Influence: 'I Don't Know What The Criticism Is,'" ThinkProgress, April 2, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/02/mccain-black-lobbyist/

"McCain's Lobbyist Friends Rally 'Round Their Man," ABC News, January 29, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4210251

9. "McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam," Mother Jones Magazine, March 12, 2008
http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html

"Will McCain Specifically 'Repudiate' Hagee's Anti-Gay Comments?," ThinkProgress, March 12, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/12/mccain-hagee-anti-gay/

"McCain 'Very Honored' By Support Of Pastor Preaching 'End-Time Confrontation With Iran,'" ThinkProgress, February 28, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/28/hagee-mccain-endorsement/
10. "John McCain Gets a Zero Rating for His Environmental Record," Sierra Club, February 28, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/environment/77913/

Map of Humanity

I found this amazing thing yesterday. The url says it comes from www.joeydevilla.com, but I didn't see it on that fella's blog.



This reminds me of my relationship with maps in general. Topographical maps sooth me. I can literally feel my blood pressure drop, in a good way, in an almost spa-like way, when I have a good map in front of me. This comes, at least partially from my time in Explorer Search and Rescue as a teenager. Navigating with map and compass was one of the earliest real-world and useful things I was good at. We spent many nights running along behind a black lab who was chasing a scent. There were no GPSs then; it was up to us, with flashlight and map to keep track of where we were so we could find our way home. Good times.

Tighten Your Belt, Strengthen Your Mind

It sounds like willpower is just like a muscle. You can develop your ability to resist temptation through things like money management classes, brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand and other medium to long term activities.

On the other hand, people who must exert their willpower multiple times in short succession experience diminishing ability. Just as you wouldn’t expect to run your fastest mile shortly after completing a 10K, it is more difficult to work toward multiple goals at the same time.

This makes me think of the White Wolf willpower mechanic, which models this real world description of will very well. In that game, you have a max number of will points, which can be increased gradually, and as your character exerts his or her will throughout the game, your current bank dwindles. Over time, the bank of will points grows back to that character’s max.

It’s always nice when a game mechanic both resembles real life and is simple to use.

Facilitative Interventions

As a padawan facilitator, I’ve observed a commonly arising decision when dealing with groups: to intervene, or not to intervene. One large part of a facilitator’s work is to establish boundaries, or at least, to lead the group to establish boundaries, so less intervention is required on the facilitator’s part. When intervention is necessary, the group understands and respects the reasons why.

This same decision is common in everyday life as well. After observing something against your sense of order, do you intervene? If so, how?

I will admit that I choose my bus seat (and sometimes stop) to avoid the practicality of intervention. I generally avoid those seats up front, so I reduce my involvement with the elderly, handicapped or impaired. I usually stay out of the back to avoid the rowdy kids and poorly behaved adults.

This also applies when one’s friends are having a disagreement, or seem to otherwise be drifting astray. When do you intervene? We’re all familiar with ‘Interventions’ in the addict sense, but the word also applies to smaller interactions. For example, if you are with a group that’s running late, it’s generally appropriate to remind them of the time. The next step might be to seek out your server and ask for the check.

Anyway, this is a topic that’s been on my mind some. There’s no real point to it.

'Manners police' hit Japan metros

This article is about a week old. Yes please, I would like the etiquette police to begin patrolling my mass transit system, please.

Badly behaved commuters riding on Yokohama's public transport will soon be risking a dressing-down.

Weekend Warcraft

Lately I've been trying to focus on group dungeon running. This is quite a trick, particularly as a fury spec'd warrior. Tanks and healers have a much easier time of finding groups, because they hold an awesome responsibility. Really tanks and healers are the engines that make group adventuring run in WoW.

Today, I wound up taking the Underbog. This is not what I'm good at. My character, Shadrachgrey, is designed to inflict lots of damage quickly. He is not designed to keep bad guys' attention and survive while doing it. Since Underbog is a bit below my level (68 at the time), and we couldn't find anyone else, I gave tanking a go. It worked out okay, I guess. It was pretty fun, and I don't think my inexperience caused too much trouble.

This was a non-guild pick-up group (PUG), and one of the group members apparently loves his guild too. He mentioned that they have a 'never leave the group' policy. After a particularly hair fight, which we all survived, he said that we were all invited into his guild, if we wanted. I don't think there were any takers. He was a very smug fellow, and I can't help but imagine a guild filled with guys like that. Thanks, but no thanks.

This experience did show me that tanking can be fun. I expect at some point I'll respec to 'prot' (in other words, redesign my character's abilities), for the series of big dungeons at the 'end' of the game.

4C System

This is a cool genericized adaptation from the Marvel Superheroes game from the late '80's and early '90's.

While there are pdf's of the original around, this contains all the important bits, without the Marvel brand.

Easter Raid

The guild had an Easter morning raid that wound up laying waste to Southshore. I don't have a microphone, but I was able to eavesdrop on Ventrilo and answer back using in-game raid chat.

It was a good time. We even killed their cows. More trickily, we also killed their flightmaster. The raid group only had a couple 70's, myself (at 67) and the rest were low to mid level toons.

I pulled some Halloween costume wands out of the bank to add some more festivity to the occasion.

Hatebringer

A couple of weeks ago, while in the Underbog with some guildies, this beautiful blue dropped. I was the only warrior in the group, so it was offered to me. When I accepted, I thought it was a one handed mace.

Shadrachgrey has been almost exclusively dual wielding for months, with a brief, and unsatisfying exploration into two handed maces many, many levels ago.

After the group disbanded, and I went to arm myself with the new toy, I realized my mistake. However, since my guild mates had so graciously given the mace to me, I felt some requirement to at least try the thing. After all, it's bind on pick-up, so I couldn't pass it along to anyone.

I suffered through leveling my two handed mace skill, put some gems in the slots, and must admit, it's working well for me now. The screenshot won't show it, but the Hatebringer pulses. And, come on, it's called Hatebringer. How cool is that? Pretty cool, I say.

This configuration doesn't take full advantage of my fury spec, so when better weapons come, I'll surely switch back to dual wield. In the meantime, I'm having a blast. With Hatebringer.

Two Thoughts for the Day

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7305023.stm

Just as it is too early to declare the Iraq adventure a failure, it is far too early to declare success. I agree that it’s been a relatively successful several months, and there are reasons for optimism. Violence has declined, and the government is becoming more stable and capable.

What follows is some self indulgent processing. It wasn’t written to be read, it was written to help me think.

Lately I’ve been pondering the tension between respect for the Tao, the infinite harmony of the universe, and my belief that the universe is essentially uncaring and we are self determined beings.

I clearly see that bad things happen to people for no reason. I also see that hard work often leads to success; oftentimes success is only found after long battles that seemed pointless midway through.

This reminds me of the importance of the journey; if the battles are purely distressing, if the journey is miserable, perhaps the adventure should be abandoned, at least on a personal level. This ties in with the Buddhist path of ‘right livelihood.’ It also ties in with the thesis of “First Break all the Rules” by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman. Connecting the right employee with the right job is the essential skill of management. From the employee’s side, finding a job that fits right is an essential component to happiness and harmony.

Placed in a goal setting context, it is important to choose goals that will be satisfying to attempt. If the journey is positive, it matters less if the outcome is achievable.

Warcraft Screenshots

Warcraft cats don't mind the water.













This the most recent shot of Shadrach, with Greydog the black wolf and Wolpertinger.












This pic is several weeks old. It's from the guild parade, when we all took flight across Outland.

Otter in Lake Washington

I saw an otter today, paddling around in Lake Washington. I've never seen an otter down there before, and I run past there pretty often.

A Few Words about Prostitution

There is nothing morally wrong with a man hiring an expensive prostitute.

There are a number of ethical problems worth noting. The first depends on the relationship this person has with his wife. Some marriages have allowances for this sort of thing. While I don’t know the data, I believe most marriages in the U.S. do not include allowances for additional intimate relations of any kind.

From a political standpoint, the largest quandary is that the governor of a State should be expected to uphold the laws of said state. Such a governor is also expected to obey federal laws. There are many laws on the books that are patently ridiculous, and it’s not reasonable for anyone to stay in compliance all the time. I tend to believe that our nation’s laws regarding prostitution, for the most part, fall into this category.

I feel a need to point out that not every prostitution law is created equal. For example, no good comes from street prostitution. Everyone involved is at risk of violent crime, disease and general exploitation. On the other hand, controlled environments such as those found openly in Nevada and Amsterdam and often discretely advertised as ‘incall escorts’ in the U.S. should be permitted.

Not only should it be permitted, we would do well as a society to move beyond that taboo altogether.

Yes, Mr. Spitzer was stupid for engaging in illegal (though hardly ‘criminal’) activity as the governor of New York. If he lied to his wife about this activity, he has shown a remarkable lack of character.

However, we as a society are doubly stupid for adhering to a value system that assumes that visiting a prostitute is ‘wrong.’

Warcraft Roleplaying

The Earthen Ring server is technically a role-playing, or RP server. In reality, very few of us stay in character while out questing. On a whole, role playing is gladly accepted, though rarely perpetuated.

In my own head, however, my characters have strong personalities and histories. This comes from playing the Bioware games of the last decade, specifically Baldur's Gate and Knights of the Old Republic. Both of those games allow for vastly different interactions based on decisions made by you on behalf of your character. Since those games are strictly single player, there is no chat interface, and conversations occur using a 'choose your adventure' format.

It is easy enough to translate that into WoW, primarily through the design of your character, and through the choice of quest lines. For example, Shadrachgrey is somewhat of a barbarian and feels out of place in Silvermoon City. His rep there is low, and he generally avoids Blood Elves. He'll take their money, mind you. Shadrach is all too happy to do mercenary quests, and to let the blood flow. Politics are not his concern. Keeping his bellly full is his concern. He has great affinity for Thrall, and orcs in general, and he has a sweet fondness for tauren.

On the other hand, my druid Sasquatch has a more gentle soul. He is fascinated by the Blood Elves (reflected by my journey there to do the starter quests in Silvermoon), and wishes to help the Forsaken find some sort of peace. He is, however, deeply disturbed by their insistence on creating a new plague to kill humans (Shadrach didn't mind so much, even though the undead make his skin crawl).

Now that Shadrach has spent some time in the Outlands, he has returned to Azeroth for deeper training to help him sustain his long term maneuvers. Like any good special forces type soldier (or warrior) he must be self sufficient. I had let his cooking, fishing and first aid skills slip, and it was becoming difficult to heal quickly between battle.

WoW Screenshots with Context

Here is a great picture of Sasquatch. I believe this is off one of the Thunder Bluff hills.








This is another of Sasquatch pic from Thunder Bluff, but in a very different setting. What are those two doing in the background?!








Here is a recent pic of Shadrachgrey. You can see he still has those immense pauldrons on his shoulders. Those took many hours of service to the Defilers to earn. Yesterday I traded them out for some Outland blues. That helmet is one of my favorite pieces of gear. I hope he doesn't outgrow it soon.

I'm having loads of fun with Shadrachgrey these days. It's refreshing to tear shit up the way that fury warriors are trained to do. With the Sunwell Plateau content coming up soon, and Wrath of the Lich King shortly thereafter, I'm trying to get him to 70, so I get to play along with all the big kids.

I'm trying to make a point of doing more instances with guild mates. It's a very different game, which requires very different play from soloing, running battlegrounds, or teaming up Iresine.

Comic Book Geek Pondering

All good comic geeks know, there's an endless mine of 'all-star team' topics to explore, and they're all endlessly satisfying.

What would it be like if you took the main powerful characters from all the main continuities?

Superman, Captain Marvel (Shazam!), Wildstorm's Apollo, Thor...you could also include Wonder Woman and Silver Surfer

Am I forgetting anyone? The characters on this team have to be able to fly, preferrably into outer space (can Captain Marvel do that? I think he can.), and they have to be virtually invulnerable and able to kick ass and tear shit up.

When the Warren Ellis started The Authority, it was the sort of book that this hypothetical book would have to be. Big battles, lots of explosion, gnarly bad guys who deserve what they get. Earth, and multi-verse shattering stories. That's what this would have to be like. Who else could challenge this group, united?

Energy and Transportation

The continuous climb in fuel prices isn’t really a bad thing, especially when placed in the context of global warming. As prices rise, usage should fall, and the environmental impact should be mitigated. I understand that this has a negative affect on the economy, but for the most part, it’s something we should suck up and adapt to.

However, there are some sectors who are being unduly punished by the continuous price increase. These sectors, by their very nature, use fuel, often very large amounts, in the service of the greater population. These groups should protected, or, at the very least, be offered tax relief.

I’m referring primarily to truckers and farmers. They should not be expected to carry the burden alone.

Always Go Left

I have long had a ‘always go left’ policy for exploring potentially confusing areas, both in video games and in real life. According to this article, I’m not the only one. It is so much an ingrained part of our nature, that police will often dedicate more resources to searching areas to the left of an escapee’s last known location. This strategy, apparently, yields improved results.

I can think of two uses for this information: when designing anything requiring the natural flow of people, whether a supermarket, airport, work cell or video game, encourage people to flow left, or counterclockwise. When fleeing from the police, go right.