Quidquid latine dictum sit, profundum viditur.

They're getting vicious now

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 00:38:34 GMT

Had to share this post from a members-only WW2Online forum. Dayum.

Subject: stop pleading to the jury, rightwingers
the trial is over

You've been found culpable

Competent to stand trial, but competent for almost nothing else

We all know your crimes, and there's no need to list them here

You are all convicted now, and as convicts, you have no credibility

No one cares when you say you were framed, that it was "the other guy who done it"

Each one of you shares the stain of avaricious drool, and bilous ruin, but the rest of us have to make things right now

Nobody can tell you to STFU, so justice is never quite served, I suppose.

However, each of you has to live with the knowledge that your stunted, naive, and rapacious economic ideology has led us to that which you feared most: The Socialist State

You brought us to this position, now kindly get out of the way and shut up while responsible people try to undo your damage.

It's the least you can do

(and probably the very most you can do)

Gaming, resumed

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:09:20 GMT

So, my group of mid-30's gamers have largely managed to get past the mid-summer doldrums and we've actually gamed the last two scheduled sessions (we aim for every other week).

The previous session, three weeks ago, one person couldn't make it, and the other was a maybe. I'm personally tired of the "I'll put maybe because I don't have the guts to say no" approach, so I told everyone it was on, and we played down two (normally five players and myself as the DM).

It was good. I was able to run each of the three folks a fair ways along their personal plot threads, and everyone left jazzed about the game. One of my players also has turned out to have a real flair for writing session recaps, which saves me a ton of work post-game and a lot of delays in-game as I scribble down what's happening.

Last Friday we gamed again, and were only down one person, and it was even better. A major, major event from the paladin's past was dragged kicking and screaming out in to the light of day. He had been slain, raised, destroyed, and brought back again - with no resultant memory, and nobody else still in the party had been there; he had become very uncertain of his path as a result. A priest of death, however, heard about a paladin who was slain yet still walked, and came to see if this was a perversion (IE: was he actually undead), and utilized a MacGuffin that very, very painfully forced the soul to relive the experience, somewhat restoring the paladin's memories.

The swashbuckling Count Diego faced down his duel with panache and kicked his challenger's ass with ease (Note: D&D rules suck for raising tension in a duel), then bought out a failing inn with the intention of creating a swordsman's school. Perhaps he should be paying more attention to the notes left on his door, though....

Ever-so-creepy and "not evil, honestly" sorceror Vox had to bail on his abode, after being almost ambushed there by a mysterious group called "the Silencers". He's now on the run in the city.

And finally, stalwart Haufn, priest of the war-god Marrek, is finding that he's getting dragged in to a street-war between gangs of pre-adolescent toughs, and wondering what the hell is going on.

The players left really energized again, with discrete plans for the future. I'm lovin' it.

RIP Murray

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:46:33 GMT

My father passed away this morning at 1:30 AM.

I suck

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:46:50 GMT

Sorry folks, I should have posted here when we got back.

Our baby, Elizabeth, was born on August 1st. 6lb 4oz (two weeks early will do that). We're all back and hunkydory.

My wife's been posting pics and such on her LJ - go take a look at nlazarus.

Heading to the hospital

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:58:11 GMT

Off to the hospital, time for the labor to be induced.

A new helm, after 17 years?

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:33:34 GMT

I may just get a new helm after fighting in my current one for 17 years. It's starting to show some serious dents, and is really big. I've got a freaking huge head, yet I have over an inch of padding in this helm...

Chang brought over one that he made a while back, and I'm pondering it. It's not quite as slimline as I was hoping, but I also agree with him that the current "single layer of foam" is insanity that will ensure concussions. I work in IT; I'm not about to futz around with my brain's safety.

Krenn's Fighting Blog, Ep 13

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 08:35:04 GMT

More fighting videoblog goodness, although not as good as it could have been due to low light conditions. Shot 2008/04/10.

Krenn's Fighting Blog, Ep 12

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:58:11 GMT

The latest episode of my fighting blog - chipping away at a backlog of about 8 recorded practices, many of which aren't really going to justify a videoblog entry.

Since we last left our heroes....

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:19:17 GMT

Goodness me - it's been over a year since I last updated this. My Blogger account is even worse off, so don't feel too bad, LJ....

Let's see, what's happened in the last year.

I gave up on Tribal Wars. Extremely annoying forum idiots, liars and cheats, and too big of a time suck. If it wasn't fun, why was I spending 2-3 hours a day on it?

Team Fortress 2 came out, and I played it until my eyes bled. So much blood! I loves me a pyro....

My Haukmoor campaign finally completed a "farewell" story arc for one of the PC's. That was supposed to be 4-6 sessions taking a little over a month - it became 14 sessions and took two years. We're now rolling on a variety of new plotlines and it seems to have re-invigorated my players.

I got serious about my SCA fighting, finally. My body's not liking a lot of it (sucks to be 35 and competing with 25 year olds) but you play the hand you got dealt. Unfortunately I just got dealt a joker and threw my back out a week ago.

I've become a podcast addict, when it comes to podcasts about RPGs. I'm regularly listening to eight of them now, with Fear The Boot, Sons of Kryos, and Dragon's Landing leading the pack.

Assorted family hijinks on my parent's side, and it looks like it's not going to end well.

We ripped out all the carpet in the living room and replaced it with laminate flooring. No, I don't own the house, I'm just an idiot tenant that loves to be a DIY handyman. I didn't pay for it myself, though; I'm not that idiotic. ;) We also repainted, the place actually looks decent now.

My wife and I celebrated our tenth and eleventh wedding anniversaries (June 1st).

Finally, said wife is expecting, and due August 18th, with our first kid. It's purportedly a girl, but the techs are all being cagey about it.

That's not everything, but it's an eclectic smattering of the major and the minor. It'll do for now.

A matter of respect

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 00:53:30 GMT

I shouldn't be online right now. I should be at my friend Jacob's place, rolling dice and scribbling on my character sheet.

A week ago, he put forward a 1200-1800 gaming session on Google Calendar, and asked everyone to please respond as soon as possible to allow smooth rescheduling.

Only three players out of five responded. Me, and another fellow were yes, and one maybe.

Then, last night at 0225 I get an email that it's being rescheduled to an 1800 start, because somebody's not available.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over.

I'm really unimpressed by this. Not responding for so long is incredibly disrespectful to the other players. I could have been participating in a match with my Counterstrike clan tonight, but now I'll be gaming instead. I have to put in a last minute cancellation with them, and that makes me look like a jerk.

Words shall be exchanged. We're all in our thirties, this kind of shit should be far behind us.

Great insert in the Apocalypto trailer

Sun, 04 Mar 2007 01:12:09 GMT

http://www.apple.com/trailers/touchstone/apocalypto/teaser_large.html

Watch it until you see a screaming monkey, at that time pause the film and step back with the arrow keys... you'll understand when you see the frame. :)

Credit apparently goes to a goon on Something Awful. I got the instructions from Fredrik1 on the WW2Online boards.

Tribal Wars humor

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 20:35:40 GMT

I'm part of a big, BIG tribe brotherhood in a game called Tribal Wars, started by a bunch of guys from the WW2Online Off Topic forums. We're kinda quirky and in it for fun. Here's a "canned response" letter they posted which just cracked me up.

Hello,
You are receiving this Tmail because you sent me a message asking if my tribe would be interested in a(n): (mark all that apply)
[]NAP
[] Alliance

with your tribe. I receive many of these messages every day, and it would be very difficult to respond to them individually. I will be using this form, provided by The OT Brotherhood, to respond.

We have no interest in your offer because: (mark all that apply)

[] I was just about to send nobles to your whole tribe (note I have enough nobles to do so)
[] You are small
[] Our tribes are at war. How do you not know this?
[] You are small
[] Your English is lacking
[] Your tribe is obviously not active
[] Your tribe is obviously full of random people you invited
[] Your tribe offers no value to mine
[] You are whiny
[] You have failed to pay tribute, maybe if you would have sent me some protection resources like everyone else on this continent...
[] I accept your offer, please press Alt + F4 to add my tribe to your list
[] I'm OT
[] Just STFU
[] There is no need to justify this
[] Because

Furthermore I find that:

[] Your caps lock key is broken
[] I don't like the way your shoelaces are tied.
[] Your tribe description is lacking
[] After visiting your external tribe forms, 2 people have registered and the most ever online at one time is 5 and the latest post is one week ago…posted by you
[] Alternatively I could accept your offer and never follow up on it. However, that requires 2 extra mouse-clicks and your tribe is not worth 2 mouse clicks
[] I expect your tribe to last one more week before it is disbanded
[] I'm pretty sure your shirt is on backwards
[] According to our intelligence your sheep are not highly fertile

As well, you:

[] You have failed to read the tribe description where it says who to contact regarding tribe relations (note I am not that person)
[] Failed to give your tribe a proper name
[] Failed to give yourself a proper name
[] Failed to realize that our tribes are nowhere near each other

While I see that you are now making efforts to create diplomatic relations with my tribe, I do not care because:

[] It is too late as I've already sent my nobles and cannot cancel them
[] TOTUS VESTRI TRIBUS ES BELONG NOBIS
[] All your villages are belong to us
[] Your message has only infuriated me more
[] I'm OT
[] Your tribe is in the shade of my greatness, be happy with that

We at OT thank you for your message. We would like express that your message is important to us. We hope this form response has answered any of the questions you had. If you have any further questions or comments please feel free to:

[x] STFU and upgrade your iron mine

Thank you again,
The OT Brotherhood

Off to Toronto

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 23:38:47 GMT

Just got told that I need to go to Toronto next week, to see how one of the teams there operates. Should be interesting.

Flying out Monday morning-ish, flying back Wednesday night. Two days in the office in Scarborough.

So damned true...

Sat, 20 Jan 2007 02:37:41 GMT

Saw this on one of the forums I frequent, and I have to agree...

Heh.

Well, that was exciting

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 21:20:02 GMT

My manager was maneuvering an equipment cart out of our area, through the glass doors, when he unexpectedly tapped (and I mean tapped... very light) the edge of one of them.

Tempered glass doesn't like being tapped on the edge. You can pretty much hit the face of it with a hammer, but the edge?

KERSHAAAAAAAaaaa went the glass.

Good, I still deserve my diploma...

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 01:19:59 GMT

You paid attention during 91% of high school!

85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don't get scores that high! Good show, old chap!

Do you deserve your high school diploma?
Create a Quiz

Oh frakking joy

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 03:26:42 GMT

Some files in /bin on one of my servers mysteriously changed themselves two nights ago, just after midnight.

Won
Der
Ful

Probably been rooted. We'll see.

Old truths are like wine... they just get better with age

Sat, 14 Oct 2006 01:17:45 GMT

A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, believing that he has the gods on his side.
--Aristotle

Back from Montreal

Sun, 17 Sep 2006 06:15:22 GMT

Montreal was pretty good.

The work stuff went OK. The new guys were pretty eager, although one of them seems a bit brown-nosy. The way he talked to me was very obsequieous, but when I overheard him talking to somebody else in the washroom it was very different. They were able to keep up with a crazy pace, though, so I'll cut some slack.

The city itself I hardly saw. I also seem to have a knack for being on trips when bad shit happens (in Seoul on Sept 11 2001, in Montreal during the shootings).

Montreal smoked meat left me somewhat unimpressed. I tried it at a few places, and while it's pretty good, people talked about it like it was ambrosia.

Getting together with an old friend on Friday, though, was out of this world, and not something I'm going to go in to. I don't kiss and tell. ;)

Off to Montreal

Sun, 10 Sep 2006 08:10:47 GMT

Heading off to Montreal in the morning - 8:45 AM flight from YVR. Going to be there all week, training up a new QC-based team, which should be interesting considering we normally train new guys for four weeks, not five days, but a week is what I have.

Try not to trash Vancouver while I'm away!

1500 80's videos

Fri, 01 Sep 2006 06:59:57 GMT

http://www.1500videos.com/

AKA "1500 things that I'll remember that fairlithy won't, and thus make me feel old".

;)

Ah, the glory days of MTV - when the M actually mean "music".

Some that you just can't pass up...

Max Headroom. Too cool for school, baby.

The Beastie Boys, at the 1986 New Years. Note the baby fat on those cheeks, they're fucking KIDS then.

Just bust a move - I used to be word perfect on this song...

Imagine - the Bush Remix

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 07:00:03 GMT

Quite well done... very impressive.

Star Trek meets Monty Python

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 19:49:52 GMT

Far too funny. :)

My interests collage

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 20:28:13 GMT

This looked rather interesting, so I figured I'd see what it turned up for me. The PHP ad made me laugh, at first I thought it was some kind of porn image. It's hard to read, but it says "fuck mod_perl - PHP - programming with attitude". Heh.

Create your own! By ga_woo

I'm finding myself inordinately amused by Euro bubblegum pop tonight

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 07:27:33 GMT

Specifically... Toy-Box videos. They're hilarious.

It all started when Rose's playlist stumbled across the (miscredited) "Aqua - Tarzan and Jane", which is actually Toy-Box. I decided to see if there was a video for it, and this turned up...

One of the comments on that recommended their "Titanic spoof", called "The Sailor Song", with some hilarious muppetry.

And finally, their mega-CGI "Best Friend". It's got ninja-babes (they call them that on the interview, don't look at me like that) and a lightsaber duel - what's not to like?

Sure, it may be bubblegum crap, but it's amusing, and I'm enjoying switching my brain off for a night. ;)