My brother has been working in the healthcare industry for several years. He's one of probably three people worldwide that has actually read Obamacare from beginning to end. He distilled this experience into a short ebook entitled Health Care Reform For Humans. It's apolitical and explains in very clear terms what health care is really about and what it means for us. Here's his blurb about it:
Health care is too expensive, and health insurance sucks. The new health care reform law is confusing. So let's cut through the politics and the Washington egghead mumbo jumbo and talk about it like regular humans. Since we're all in this together, and we're the only ones who can do anything about it.
Highly recommended! And not just because he's my brother! It helped me out a great deal, and hopefully it will help you, too. Well worth the price.
UPDATE: A friend in the UK informed me it's not available for him to DL. I have no clue if this is USA only, or for the North American continent. Any Canadians able/willing to let me know for sure?
Current mood: edumacated
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Even more Sarah puns!
Some excellent additions! (Part 1 and Part 2)
13) Toga
14) Sen
15) Moany
15.5) Moany al'Vassilaros
16) P (just the initial - goes well with my career choice - unless someone needs Thpeech Sarah P, in which case they'd need a different profession altogether :) )
17) Band (obscure, but funny!)
Current mood: eternally cracking up
13) Toga
14) Sen
15) Moany
15.5) Moany al'Vassilaros
16) P (just the initial - goes well with my career choice - unless someone needs Thpeech Sarah P, in which case they'd need a different profession altogether :) )
17) Band (obscure, but funny!)
Current mood: eternally cracking up
Monday, September 24, 2012
Yet more Sarah puns!
Here's two more Sarah puns, added by my midwife this weekend:
10) Sly (After I told her all the jokes I had so far, she looked at me and said, "Sarahsly?" :D)
11) Nade
And another one by a different friend - a bit of a stretch, but still quite (meta)clever!
12) Brelle (cerebral)
Keep them coming!
Edit: Part 1 and Part 3
Current mood: STILL cracking up
10) Sly (After I told her all the jokes I had so far, she looked at me and said, "Sarahsly?" :D)
11) Nade
And another one by a different friend - a bit of a stretch, but still quite (meta)clever!
12) Brelle (cerebral)
Keep them coming!
Edit: Part 1 and Part 3
Current mood: STILL cracking up
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Sarah is coming! (Beware: puns ahead!)
So it's official - we are having a girl (due Dec 29), and her first name will be Sarah.
Of course, being who I am, There Must Be Jokes.
I am totally open for suggestions, but here's what we've got so far for middle names (most of these require you to say her first and middle name together for the pun to work):
Edit: Part 2 and part 3
Current mood: cracking up
Of course, being who I am, There Must Be Jokes.
I am totally open for suggestions, but here's what we've got so far for middle names (most of these require you to say her first and middle name together for the pun to work):
- Bella (one of my favs and quite (meta)clever IMHO)
- Sota (A true Texan - no, wait - that's in Florida...)
- Tonin (She'd be one happy girl! Ha!)
- Lee (We already have a Jackson Daniel. Since Morris is a family name, we could name the next kid Phil and we'd have a trifecta of vices!)
- Ann Wrap
- n'Getty
- n'Dipity
- Make Sarah her middle name, double it up, and make Kay her first name: Kay Sarah Sarah
- Or I could suggest to Jenny, "Honey, why don't we try Sarah Tops?" (Bahahahaha! I'm still laughing about this one.)
Edit: Part 2 and part 3
Current mood: cracking up
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Another confirmation: Peter Parker is a nerd
I was watching an episode of the old Spiderman cartoon, the one from the early 90s, and he had a great line.
He's fighting Scorpion in a nuclear plant, and JJ Jamison is there with him. Scorpion hits some control to pull out the rods away from the reactor, and Spiderman, while dodging Scorpion's tail, is explaining to Jamison what will happen if Scorpion succeeds.
Jamison: What do you know about stuff like this?
Spiderman: [pointing at himself] Hey, who do I look like? The Tick?
This is not only a hilarious line, but since The Tick was not a Marvel character at the time, this means that Peter either read Tick comic books or was watching the cartoon. However, this episode aired in Nov of 1994, and the first Tick cartoon aired in Sept of 1994, so it is even more likely that Peter was referencing the comic book. Prior to the Tick cartoon, only major comic book nerds even knew The Tick existed.
So more proof that Peter is hugely nerdy. :) Like we needed more, but hey...
This is not only a hilarious line, but since The Tick was not a Marvel character at the time, this means that Peter either read Tick comic books or was watching the cartoon. However, this episode aired in Nov of 1994, and the first Tick cartoon aired in Sept of 1994, so it is even more likely that Peter was referencing the comic book. Prior to the Tick cartoon, only major comic book nerds even knew The Tick existed.
So more proof that Peter is hugely nerdy. :) Like we needed more, but hey...
Current mood: geeky
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
I. Am. BATMAN!
I had a seriously cool dream last night. Unfortunately, I cannot recall many of the exact details, just an overview, though there are a few memorable scenes in my head.
One of my favorite games of all time is Batman: Arkham Asylum. I have only dabbled a tiny bit in Arkham City, and hope to play it more some day, but the first one was just amazing.
Anyhoo, last night, I dreamed I was Bruce Wayne, and there was a serious problem. The Penguin had been planning for a loooong time, had somehow figured out that I was Batman, and had infiltrated my whole infrastructure. Meaning, that he had discovered the Batcave, and had also either created or discovered some kind of zombie virus. People infected with it either acted as normal shamblers or if they were already superhuman, the Penguin was able to mind control them. Anyone who was affected by the virus were easily identifiable because their eyes were completely white.
I don't remember how it all started, but as Bruce, I realized that I was completely locked out of all my Batman gadgets, suits, vehicles, and everything because the Penguin had sent zombie agents into the Batcave. What's more, this represented a serious threat to so many people that the Joker joined my side to fight with me. In my dream, he became a character you could fight with against the zombies and other villains facing us down.
Because I had no Batman suit to wear, then one scratch from a zombie meant I would be infected, and that would be the end. There was definitely a horror element to it - nothing like child zombies, where you don't want to kill 'em because there might be a cure, but if they break skin, you are dead meat. I think when I played as the Joker a bit (and he had long claws on the end of his fingers - not sure why or how), I had to kill a few kids, but as Bruce, I never did.
One zombie was a superhuman - he was like Luke Cage/Power Man (almost impervious skin and super strength) from Marvel, though he was white and didn't have a superhero suit. He seemed to be a Boss fight several times, and as Bruce, I tried to kill him outright several times. One time, I tried an iron spike right to his chest, and it simply bent. I dodged out of the way before he could hit me, but I knew I needed to come up with a way to take him down.
Somehow I knew I needed a way to launch a projectile at him at high velocity. I ran into a room and found a fellow superhero tied up, but not zombified yet. I released him and I saw a flashing message saying, "Green Arrow UNLOCKED!" (LOL! Love the video game dreams...)
Problem was, he had some of his arrows, but no bow. It had gotten lost or hidden somewhere, and so the next part of the game/dream was finding it. I think the dream ended before we got that far, but I somehow knew that Green Arrow could take out that guy once he had his bow.
I never really saw the Penguin, though I also somehow knew he was behind it all.
All in all, what I recall of this dream was all the fighting and flipping around just like in the game, with the added fear element of avoiding even a scratch from any of the zombies - not so hard from the shamblers, but from the superhumans? Hoo boy, that was tough - I basically had to avoid them until I way to take them out in one hit. I think there were more than just the one I explicitly recall, but like all dreams, many of the specifics faded as the morning wore on.
I even woke up briefly in the middle of the dream, thinking, This is so awesome! I am totally going to blog it.
You're welcome.
Current mood: superheroic
One of my favorite games of all time is Batman: Arkham Asylum. I have only dabbled a tiny bit in Arkham City, and hope to play it more some day, but the first one was just amazing.
Anyhoo, last night, I dreamed I was Bruce Wayne, and there was a serious problem. The Penguin had been planning for a loooong time, had somehow figured out that I was Batman, and had infiltrated my whole infrastructure. Meaning, that he had discovered the Batcave, and had also either created or discovered some kind of zombie virus. People infected with it either acted as normal shamblers or if they were already superhuman, the Penguin was able to mind control them. Anyone who was affected by the virus were easily identifiable because their eyes were completely white.
I don't remember how it all started, but as Bruce, I realized that I was completely locked out of all my Batman gadgets, suits, vehicles, and everything because the Penguin had sent zombie agents into the Batcave. What's more, this represented a serious threat to so many people that the Joker joined my side to fight with me. In my dream, he became a character you could fight with against the zombies and other villains facing us down.
Because I had no Batman suit to wear, then one scratch from a zombie meant I would be infected, and that would be the end. There was definitely a horror element to it - nothing like child zombies, where you don't want to kill 'em because there might be a cure, but if they break skin, you are dead meat. I think when I played as the Joker a bit (and he had long claws on the end of his fingers - not sure why or how), I had to kill a few kids, but as Bruce, I never did.
One zombie was a superhuman - he was like Luke Cage/Power Man (almost impervious skin and super strength) from Marvel, though he was white and didn't have a superhero suit. He seemed to be a Boss fight several times, and as Bruce, I tried to kill him outright several times. One time, I tried an iron spike right to his chest, and it simply bent. I dodged out of the way before he could hit me, but I knew I needed to come up with a way to take him down.
Somehow I knew I needed a way to launch a projectile at him at high velocity. I ran into a room and found a fellow superhero tied up, but not zombified yet. I released him and I saw a flashing message saying, "Green Arrow UNLOCKED!" (LOL! Love the video game dreams...)
Problem was, he had some of his arrows, but no bow. It had gotten lost or hidden somewhere, and so the next part of the game/dream was finding it. I think the dream ended before we got that far, but I somehow knew that Green Arrow could take out that guy once he had his bow.
I never really saw the Penguin, though I also somehow knew he was behind it all.
All in all, what I recall of this dream was all the fighting and flipping around just like in the game, with the added fear element of avoiding even a scratch from any of the zombies - not so hard from the shamblers, but from the superhumans? Hoo boy, that was tough - I basically had to avoid them until I way to take them out in one hit. I think there were more than just the one I explicitly recall, but like all dreams, many of the specifics faded as the morning wore on.
I even woke up briefly in the middle of the dream, thinking, This is so awesome! I am totally going to blog it.
You're welcome.
Current mood: superheroic
Friday, August 10, 2012
Life Update Novella
Holy cow, a lot of stuff has gone down.
The beach: we went, we had fun! Except for the fact that I applied sun screen once and didn't the rest of the day. I used to be a redhead to some degree (when I had hair), and so my skin suffered. While I'm glad I didn't get 2nd degree burns, I still have some redness three weeks later. Thems were some serious sunburns. Thank heavens for aloe - slathered it on twice a day for two weeks.
The kids: Jenny decided not to go to Albuquerque and Arizona for 2 weeks, but rather to meet her sister halfway between here and Alb. When she started having some cramping and such, I decided that I would take the kids rather than her juuuust to be safe, pregnancy-wise. They are safely home and have already Skyped with us a few times. :) Jackson really misses his cousins!
The game days: Sadly, because she didn't go, I didn't get to do my extra game day(s). :(
The trip: But her cousin that she hasn't seen in 14 years contacted her and told her that he would be in Dallas last weekend, so she decided to go, and ended up being gone for a week anyhow, just not out of state. I was working so much, I didn't get to do any game days, though I *did* get a couple of other guys whose families were out of town over at my place for dinner and a game of Carcassonne and Knights & Cities of Catan (best expansion set for a game ever - if you like Catan, get that expansion). She just got home late last night.
I am looking forward to finally getting some time at home without any visitors! Time to enjoy being with my family in our new space.
Though it won't last for long...
The business trip: My work is sending me to Ottawa for some training on an application we'll be using, last week of August. I might need to check with some of my Canadian folks to see if they are in the vicinity and want to get together...
The books: Since I was driving 7 hours in a car with no cruise control or CD player (it has a tape deck!) through barren areas of Texas with virtually no cell phone signal, I borrowed my brother's audible.com account so I could listen to some audio books on my trip back from dropping off the kids.
I began with Odd and the Frost Giants, by Neil Gaiman. Neil is really, truly excellent - some of his stories are just Good, but most of his stuff is in the Amazing category. This was the latter - I thoroughly enjoyed it.
But most of the rest of the books my brother has are spy novels, or perhaps I should say counter-terrorism novels. I've always enjoyed a good Tom Clancy novel, but I haven't touched one in a while. Well, my brother really likes Daniel Silva, who wrote (is writing/will continue to write) the Gabriel Allon novels. Gabriel Allon is an Israeli counter-terrorism agent, and the detail is fascinating - it's sometimes hard to tell where the history ends and the fiction begins. I love reading about (well, listening to) a non-USA perspective with this kind of story. Cool stuff. Highly recommended.
Current mood: covert
The beach: we went, we had fun! Except for the fact that I applied sun screen once and didn't the rest of the day. I used to be a redhead to some degree (when I had hair), and so my skin suffered. While I'm glad I didn't get 2nd degree burns, I still have some redness three weeks later. Thems were some serious sunburns. Thank heavens for aloe - slathered it on twice a day for two weeks.
The kids: Jenny decided not to go to Albuquerque and Arizona for 2 weeks, but rather to meet her sister halfway between here and Alb. When she started having some cramping and such, I decided that I would take the kids rather than her juuuust to be safe, pregnancy-wise. They are safely home and have already Skyped with us a few times. :) Jackson really misses his cousins!
The game days: Sadly, because she didn't go, I didn't get to do my extra game day(s). :(
The trip: But her cousin that she hasn't seen in 14 years contacted her and told her that he would be in Dallas last weekend, so she decided to go, and ended up being gone for a week anyhow, just not out of state. I was working so much, I didn't get to do any game days, though I *did* get a couple of other guys whose families were out of town over at my place for dinner and a game of Carcassonne and Knights & Cities of Catan (best expansion set for a game ever - if you like Catan, get that expansion). She just got home late last night.
I am looking forward to finally getting some time at home without any visitors! Time to enjoy being with my family in our new space.
Though it won't last for long...
The business trip: My work is sending me to Ottawa for some training on an application we'll be using, last week of August. I might need to check with some of my Canadian folks to see if they are in the vicinity and want to get together...
The books: Since I was driving 7 hours in a car with no cruise control or CD player (it has a tape deck!) through barren areas of Texas with virtually no cell phone signal, I borrowed my brother's audible.com account so I could listen to some audio books on my trip back from dropping off the kids.
I began with Odd and the Frost Giants, by Neil Gaiman. Neil is really, truly excellent - some of his stories are just Good, but most of his stuff is in the Amazing category. This was the latter - I thoroughly enjoyed it.
But most of the rest of the books my brother has are spy novels, or perhaps I should say counter-terrorism novels. I've always enjoyed a good Tom Clancy novel, but I haven't touched one in a while. Well, my brother really likes Daniel Silva, who wrote (is writing/will continue to write) the Gabriel Allon novels. Gabriel Allon is an Israeli counter-terrorism agent, and the detail is fascinating - it's sometimes hard to tell where the history ends and the fiction begins. I love reading about (well, listening to) a non-USA perspective with this kind of story. Cool stuff. Highly recommended.
Current mood: covert
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Life's a beach v 2.0 and Lessons From Play
So the extra kids are leaving next Monday, so we are going to try for a good beach visit this Friday. Since the last time we tried, we were unpleasantly surprised by stinkin' 25 MPH winds once we got there, I checked this morning and found 15 MPH winds for Friday. I'm hoping that 1) it'll just gust that high without being a constant presence and 2) 15 MPH winds aren't that bad.
Looking forward to a fun beach visit!
Plus, I have to mention that watching Jackson play with his cousins has showed me just how awful I am at playing with him. I have shifted so completely into the adult world that watching them just run and play has reminded me what I have forgotten. There are all kinds of wonderful things about the adult world, but I really feel as though I have lost something marvelous by forgetting how to connect with a child through simple play.
Jackson has been absolutely loving the time with his older cousins, to the point that when I try to play with him, he pushes me away because I'm simply not fun enough. That's both funny and sad at the same time. I mean, I'm just not 6, and so there's a fundamental difference between me and his 6 year old cousin, making it kind of funny when he says, "No, Daddy! No!" He sees me getting in the way of playing in the way that little kids do.
However, I didn't know I had lost it until he got old enough to show me. Now that I know, I am going to try and reclaim that child-like portion of my soul. I think there is great value in being able to connect with little kids, and I want that part of my soul back.
Current mood: hopeful
Looking forward to a fun beach visit!
Plus, I have to mention that watching Jackson play with his cousins has showed me just how awful I am at playing with him. I have shifted so completely into the adult world that watching them just run and play has reminded me what I have forgotten. There are all kinds of wonderful things about the adult world, but I really feel as though I have lost something marvelous by forgetting how to connect with a child through simple play.
Jackson has been absolutely loving the time with his older cousins, to the point that when I try to play with him, he pushes me away because I'm simply not fun enough. That's both funny and sad at the same time. I mean, I'm just not 6, and so there's a fundamental difference between me and his 6 year old cousin, making it kind of funny when he says, "No, Daddy! No!" He sees me getting in the way of playing in the way that little kids do.
However, I didn't know I had lost it until he got old enough to show me. Now that I know, I am going to try and reclaim that child-like portion of my soul. I think there is great value in being able to connect with little kids, and I want that part of my soul back.
Current mood: hopeful
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Bone and Lone Wolf
Many years ago, when I was around 18 or so, Mark Edmunson (one of my high school friends) introduced me to the wonderful comic book of Bone. Over the following years, I slowly collected the graphic novels one by one until I owned all nine.
After I got married, I introduced Bone to my wife, who also loved the story. And then we began moving. And moving. And moving. And moving.
All of my Bone books (heck, almost all of my books, for that matter) stayed in boxes for 5-6 years. As we were unpacking a couple of weeks ago, we found the whole set, and I have been slowly working my way through them again. I have even introduced them to my nephew and nieces, with the predictable result of adoration.
As I reflect, I am very grateful for the introduction so many years ago, which has brought great joy to so many people.
Bone rocks.
I'm just sayin'.
And while I'm on the subject? So does Lone Wolf. For those who don't know Lone Wolf, they are adventure gamebooks written long ago that still have a huge following.
I recall stumbling on Book 4, The Chasm of Doom, at a 5th grade book fair, and I was mesmerized. You got to make a character, and the special abilities were awesome! But I was confused - a few passages asked if I held some object or another, so I read and reread the gamebook over and over again, trying to find those objects. It wasn't until later that I realized that you found those objects in previous books! This was catnip for me! The same character with objects and abilities carried from book to book? Unheard of and amazing!
I still own books 1-15, though every one of them, including the books I do not own, can be found and played online at Project Aon. The creator, Joe Dever, gave permission for all of his books to be put for free in HTML format in order to keep the love alive. Yay!
I still go back and reread the whole series from Book 1 to Book 20, plus other series in the same world using different characters, online every few years because they are still so much fun. The whole thing can be done online, including the random number generation and character sheets.
If you are bored and need a few days' worth of diversion, go check out Project Aon and (re)acquaint yourself with Lone Wolf, the Kai Lord. It'll be worth it. :)
Current mood: nostalgic
After I got married, I introduced Bone to my wife, who also loved the story. And then we began moving. And moving. And moving. And moving.
All of my Bone books (heck, almost all of my books, for that matter) stayed in boxes for 5-6 years. As we were unpacking a couple of weeks ago, we found the whole set, and I have been slowly working my way through them again. I have even introduced them to my nephew and nieces, with the predictable result of adoration.
As I reflect, I am very grateful for the introduction so many years ago, which has brought great joy to so many people.
Bone rocks.
I'm just sayin'.
And while I'm on the subject? So does Lone Wolf. For those who don't know Lone Wolf, they are adventure gamebooks written long ago that still have a huge following.
I recall stumbling on Book 4, The Chasm of Doom, at a 5th grade book fair, and I was mesmerized. You got to make a character, and the special abilities were awesome! But I was confused - a few passages asked if I held some object or another, so I read and reread the gamebook over and over again, trying to find those objects. It wasn't until later that I realized that you found those objects in previous books! This was catnip for me! The same character with objects and abilities carried from book to book? Unheard of and amazing!
I still own books 1-15, though every one of them, including the books I do not own, can be found and played online at Project Aon. The creator, Joe Dever, gave permission for all of his books to be put for free in HTML format in order to keep the love alive. Yay!
I still go back and reread the whole series from Book 1 to Book 20, plus other series in the same world using different characters, online every few years because they are still so much fun. The whole thing can be done online, including the random number generation and character sheets.
If you are bored and need a few days' worth of diversion, go check out Project Aon and (re)acquaint yourself with Lone Wolf, the Kai Lord. It'll be worth it. :)
Current mood: nostalgic
Monday, July 16, 2012
Game Days! Plural!
So after a long dearth of game days, I finally held one this last Saturday. The last Game Day was February of last year, so I haven't had one in almost 18 months. Since Saturdays off were few and far between, it wasn't until my client load dropped a bit that I could justify spending a day playing games instead of being with my family. I had several free or almost free (1 client only) Saturdays in a row, so I scheduled a game day and it was a rousing success.
Some guys from my church had never played Age of Renaissance (and we didn't play it the last game day we had, so it's been almost 2 years since I had a chance to play it), so we scheduled an all day event. We had two experienced strategy gamers, one dad and his 15 year old son, and one very smart guy who was interested but had never even played Settlers of Catan. We laid out the AoR board and played a practice game where I taught them the ropes, and then we got down to business in a real game. I won both games, only because it's so complicated and deep that it takes a few games to really get the hang of it. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.
Well, as I've mentioned before, we have 4 extra kids currently - our nephew and three nieces are staying with us for a month. They hail from Albuquerque, and Jenny will be driving them home, then swinging up to Mesa, Arizona to see her family there before heading home again. She leaves in around 2 weeks, and sans family, odds are good I'll be able to host 1 or maybe even 2 more game days, depending on other peoples' schedules.
I've heard awesome things about Arkham Horror, but have never played it, so I may be able to squeeze in a game while she's gone. Yay! I'll enjoy it because my client load is picking up again soon(just scored 1 and possibly 2 more large referral sources), so after this round, it could be another 18 months before the next game day.
Current mood: gaming delight
Some guys from my church had never played Age of Renaissance (and we didn't play it the last game day we had, so it's been almost 2 years since I had a chance to play it), so we scheduled an all day event. We had two experienced strategy gamers, one dad and his 15 year old son, and one very smart guy who was interested but had never even played Settlers of Catan. We laid out the AoR board and played a practice game where I taught them the ropes, and then we got down to business in a real game. I won both games, only because it's so complicated and deep that it takes a few games to really get the hang of it. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.
Well, as I've mentioned before, we have 4 extra kids currently - our nephew and three nieces are staying with us for a month. They hail from Albuquerque, and Jenny will be driving them home, then swinging up to Mesa, Arizona to see her family there before heading home again. She leaves in around 2 weeks, and sans family, odds are good I'll be able to host 1 or maybe even 2 more game days, depending on other peoples' schedules.
I've heard awesome things about Arkham Horror, but have never played it, so I may be able to squeeze in a game while she's gone. Yay! I'll enjoy it because my client load is picking up again soon(just scored 1 and possibly 2 more large referral sources), so after this round, it could be another 18 months before the next game day.
Current mood: gaming delight
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Magic system
I had an interesting experience last night trying to describe my magic system to a friend who was helping me think of how it could be applied in various ways across a culture. He's a musician, and I realized that while I understand how the magic works on a more abstract level, I still have a lot of work pinning it down on how it works in the details.
Most magic systems focus on the effects, the end result. For instance, a wizard says, "I want to fly." They cast a spell that somehow breaks all the laws of physics AND builds in some kind of control into the spell so the person is easily able to maneuver. I've seen some games/stories where a fly spell still requires an education on how to use it well, but that tends to be abstracted out.
But the devil is in the details - flying is *hard*. Coming up with a spell that breaks the laws of physics when I can't even describe said laws might be possible in other worlds, but not in mine. The only reason we have airplanes is due to hundreds of years of scientific discoveries layered on top of each other, combined with the engineering required to accomplish said feat.
So let's examine said Fly spell. First off, levitation: am I changing my mass so I float? If so, how do I compensate for wind? I have become a balloon, and so the spell needs some way to help me go where I want to go despite air pressure to the contrary.
Perhaps I alter myself so that gravity has no effect on me personally, and I float around as though I am in space? But if I can do that, why could I not do the opposite and make gravity stronger in my area? That's a great attack spell - increase someone's personal gravity to the point where very heavy objects hit them with high velocity. And I would need some way to move forward and backwards, taking into account I still have my mass.
Perhaps I generate some kind of force beneath me that has the effect of rocket boots without the fire and heat. Or maybe a force bubble/platform that I stand in/on and I use it to carry me around.
Obviously, each one of these methods has unique needs. In the first example, I need both the ability to choose my direction *and* a method of generating forward movement. While the first need is shared by the second example, my method of generating forward movement if I am massless will be different if I retain mass. The latter two examples bring with the means of forward motion, but the rocket boot example still needs a form of guidance.
Which brings us to the next step - how do I guide it? With my mind? I need some way of connecting my means of guidance to my thoughts. But how does that work? Do I mentally choose a direction and it takes me there until I say otherwise? But what about random thoughts that go through my brain - do they throw the spell off? How would the spell distinguish between a random thought about a direction and a thought it should listen to?
Or what if I use my body to control it? Perhaps my hands as they flick in different directions is what guides the spell. But think of the spell as a computer program - unless I specifically program it to recognize those signals, I can't use them. So a fly spell needs to take into account all of these factors, making it a remarkably complex enchantment.
I will note that no one has been able to design a flying spell in my world yet. They've just barely come up with some sort of flying craft, and they are slow, expensive, and vulnerable. It takes multiple mages working pretty constantly to keep the craft running rather than a fire-and-forget type experience.
So a typical D&D Fly spell abstracts out these questions. "How does it work?" isn't even asked. It doesn't matter how it works, it just does. And somehow the spell is magically able to compensate for all of these concerns. In our world, we have to ask how things work to a major degree. Obviously, we've not needed to understand physics behind flight to design bows and arrows, nor did we need to understand molecular structure to create steel, but understanding those deeper laws have assisted in our military and transportation endeavors.
My magic system still allows for a small level of abstraction (else it wouldn't be MAGIC), but not even close to the level of most worlds. My mages cannot simply decide what they want to do and ignore all the details required to make that work. Some types of magic (Divination, Illusion) allow for more abstraction than others (Mind, Elementalism, Motion), but still, none of them get the D&D level of abstraction. It's hard to create a complicated effect, and there are always unintended consequences, just like in our world.
Current mood: thoughtful
Most magic systems focus on the effects, the end result. For instance, a wizard says, "I want to fly." They cast a spell that somehow breaks all the laws of physics AND builds in some kind of control into the spell so the person is easily able to maneuver. I've seen some games/stories where a fly spell still requires an education on how to use it well, but that tends to be abstracted out.
But the devil is in the details - flying is *hard*. Coming up with a spell that breaks the laws of physics when I can't even describe said laws might be possible in other worlds, but not in mine. The only reason we have airplanes is due to hundreds of years of scientific discoveries layered on top of each other, combined with the engineering required to accomplish said feat.
So let's examine said Fly spell. First off, levitation: am I changing my mass so I float? If so, how do I compensate for wind? I have become a balloon, and so the spell needs some way to help me go where I want to go despite air pressure to the contrary.
Perhaps I alter myself so that gravity has no effect on me personally, and I float around as though I am in space? But if I can do that, why could I not do the opposite and make gravity stronger in my area? That's a great attack spell - increase someone's personal gravity to the point where very heavy objects hit them with high velocity. And I would need some way to move forward and backwards, taking into account I still have my mass.
Perhaps I generate some kind of force beneath me that has the effect of rocket boots without the fire and heat. Or maybe a force bubble/platform that I stand in/on and I use it to carry me around.
Obviously, each one of these methods has unique needs. In the first example, I need both the ability to choose my direction *and* a method of generating forward movement. While the first need is shared by the second example, my method of generating forward movement if I am massless will be different if I retain mass. The latter two examples bring with the means of forward motion, but the rocket boot example still needs a form of guidance.
Which brings us to the next step - how do I guide it? With my mind? I need some way of connecting my means of guidance to my thoughts. But how does that work? Do I mentally choose a direction and it takes me there until I say otherwise? But what about random thoughts that go through my brain - do they throw the spell off? How would the spell distinguish between a random thought about a direction and a thought it should listen to?
Or what if I use my body to control it? Perhaps my hands as they flick in different directions is what guides the spell. But think of the spell as a computer program - unless I specifically program it to recognize those signals, I can't use them. So a fly spell needs to take into account all of these factors, making it a remarkably complex enchantment.
I will note that no one has been able to design a flying spell in my world yet. They've just barely come up with some sort of flying craft, and they are slow, expensive, and vulnerable. It takes multiple mages working pretty constantly to keep the craft running rather than a fire-and-forget type experience.
So a typical D&D Fly spell abstracts out these questions. "How does it work?" isn't even asked. It doesn't matter how it works, it just does. And somehow the spell is magically able to compensate for all of these concerns. In our world, we have to ask how things work to a major degree. Obviously, we've not needed to understand physics behind flight to design bows and arrows, nor did we need to understand molecular structure to create steel, but understanding those deeper laws have assisted in our military and transportation endeavors.
My magic system still allows for a small level of abstraction (else it wouldn't be MAGIC), but not even close to the level of most worlds. My mages cannot simply decide what they want to do and ignore all the details required to make that work. Some types of magic (Divination, Illusion) allow for more abstraction than others (Mind, Elementalism, Motion), but still, none of them get the D&D level of abstraction. It's hard to create a complicated effect, and there are always unintended consequences, just like in our world.
Current mood: thoughtful
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
This is Sparta!
Someone made this change to a Wet Floor sign sitting in one of our bathrooms.
Current Mood: amused
Current Mood: amused
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
My Awesome Holiday (or How My Work Got In the Way of My Fun)
I'm a trainer for my job, and we were supposed to start a large new hire class last Monday. However, the contracting agencies screwed up, and this class of nine came in pieces at a time. The first wave arrived on Wednesday, the next wave came on Friday, and the last wave came on Monday.
The problem with this is that we had two weeks to finish new hire training, which is normally not a problem. In fact, it would normally not be a huge problem that they came in waves - irritating, but not a real problem. The real issue is that we have several new clients being transitioned in at this moment, and so the timing was critical.
So, yay! That means because the agencies screwed up, I had to work through most of today to train everyone in time for Friday. It's not SO bad because it works like flex-time for me. I'll just take off next Friday and get a 3 day weekend. But *still*.
Mumblegrumblehadtoworkonthe4thmumblegrumble.
Current mood: cranky
The problem with this is that we had two weeks to finish new hire training, which is normally not a problem. In fact, it would normally not be a huge problem that they came in waves - irritating, but not a real problem. The real issue is that we have several new clients being transitioned in at this moment, and so the timing was critical.
So, yay! That means because the agencies screwed up, I had to work through most of today to train everyone in time for Friday. It's not SO bad because it works like flex-time for me. I'll just take off next Friday and get a 3 day weekend. But *still*.
Mumblegrumblehadtoworkonthe4thmumblegrumble.
Current mood: cranky
Monday, July 2, 2012
Post Apocalyptic Dream
I haven't had one of my awesome vivid dreams in a while, and this one was fun!
It started out with me being an actor on a TV show about a group of people in a small underground compound after some kind of disaster above-ground. Nuclear fallout was alluded to, but never specifically discussed. I recall certain scenes in my dream where I knew the audience had been waiting a while for it, however, as the dream progressed, it became a real thing rather than a TV show (though an RPG element crept into it a little later).
It started out with me knocking down a guard and taking his massive assault rifle-thingie. Really big, powerful gun. There had been an enemy within the compound, and they had seized control! But we had had enough and it was time to fight back. I walked slowly through the compound, taking out all the guards - people were screaming and running. Guards poured out of a door towards me and I gunned them all down.
I should mention that this gun was big enough that it had a strap I put around my shoulder to help steady it. Those that were on my side would grab the weapons of the downed guards and we marched on, freeing the whole compound. One of those I freed was a young child, and as I knelt beside him, I knew the audience had been waiting a long time for this.
I told him that I was his father, which was why I had been watching out for him all this time, but I couldn't tell him because there were people after me, and if they knew he was mine, then they would take him. See, the reason certain people were after me was because I wasn't fully human - some kind of alien DNA had been implanted in me when I was younger, and I needed to teach him about his own heritage and how to hide his secret.
After I explained this to him, he gave me a big hug (he was maybe 6), and I could almost hear the audience saying, "Awwww!"
He asked me what I meant by "alien DNA", so I concentrated and 5 or 6 tentacles crept out of my skull like a crown. I explained that they could be used at short range to attach to another person's head and read their thoughts, and even control them like a puppet, but that he shouldn't use these abilities except for helping others and defending himself. I retracted them again and told him I'd still watch out for him, but he couldn't tell anyone else for now since it was still dangerous.
We finished our conversation and he ran off with the adults who had been watching him since the beginning of the show.
Suddenly, I heard screams from the front of the compound, and I knew that "he" was back. This man had been hunting me for my alien DNA since the beginning of the show, though I cannot tell you what his name was. (This was the last time I was aware it was a show - after this, it became real.)
I felt grateful my son had gotten away, and then I ran as fast as my big gun would allow me to where he was coming in. He had acquired some kind of technology, maybe alien, maybe not, that covered him and his even bigger gun in shiny metal strips.
Imagine Colossus from the X-Men, except that he did not have multiple unbroken metal bands around his body - they were broken up by vertical slashes, as if there hadn't been enough metal to make a single band, so they had to be applied a section at a time.
Also, he was in some kind of walking machine - I don't recall if he had spider legs or tank treads, but he was definitely not walking on two legs. I fired my gun into the barrel of his gun, trying to make it blow up, but the metal strips peeled away from the gun and caught the bullets, all of them. I think they had some kind of magnetic ability so as to attract the bullets, but then they flexed and threw the bullets back. The speed of the redirected bullets wasn't as fast as it had been from my gun, but it was still plenty fast enough to do damage, so I was dodging them as best I could.
I tried to shoot him in the face and around his body, with the same results. I knew I couldn't take him down with this gun, so I dropped it and ran to the back of the compound, knowing that I needed to come up with a solution quickly since the back was a dead end.
As I ran, some other people came to me and reported that they had tried grenades, and he had been immune to the explosion, throwing the shrapnel back just like he had the bullets. They had also tried magic (at this point, I recall thinking as a dreamer, There's magic here? Oh yeah, when we level up, we can take light and dark magic as skills! Yep, my dreams are awesome), to no avail. He was immune to that as well.
As I skidded to a stop at the dead end (it was actually more like a T-intersection - the hallway ended and branched out to to short rooms, one on either side), I turned left and decided to make my stand there. I suddenly remembered that I had leveled up a couple of times and so could take some extra skills! Yay! I quickly selected Light Generation and Light Control, the two Light magic skills. I didn't want the Darkness skills since I knew those were evil and I wasn't evil.
I quickly thought through my options - even if he was immune to our direct attempts to stop him, he wouldn't be immune to our indirect attempts. In other words...
I told some of the other people to slow him down while I cut through the stone ceiling in order to drop a ton of stone on him when he came around the corner. I figured it was time for us to come out of the compound and see what was going on above ground. I summoned my magic and used the intense light to cut a large section of the ceiling, leaving one little edge in for when he rounded the intersection into my line of sight. I knew that there was no way for me to avoid getting hurt in the rockfall, either, but I hoped my new light shields would be enough to offset most of it since I was prepared.
I finished barely in time - he came at me, and I collapsed the ceiling. I was knocked almost completely unconscious - I barely remembered being pulled up and out of the new hole into the sunlight by others in the compound, and I was delirious for some time. Either we had been underground long enough for any residual radiation to fade, or the disaster was never nuclear in the first place because the air was clean and the sun was shining. (When I woke up, I recall thinking, Huh, that must have been a real twist in the story for the TV audience! "It wasn't a bomb after all! Dun dun duuuunnnnn!")
I slowly regained consciousness, but when I was fully awake, I felt afraid that the guy after me had not been killed, and was still after me. But now, with the whole world in front of me, he would likely never find me again. Plus, with those two new skills, I could fly, and pretty darned fast, too! Whee!
Some time had passed, and for some reason, I had to go back to the compound - I don't recall exactly why, but I flew back into the hole I carved out and went to the front. It was then that I realized it was a trap - the guy hadn't been killed, and now with me underground again, he blocked my exit and came towards me, this time with some kind of energy shield (magical or technological, I'm not sure which) that prevented me from pulling the same trick again. I was looking around for some kind of option, when...
I woke up. I wonder how I got away. :) I'm in a good mood - these dreams always make me feel pretty awesome.
Current mood: pleased
It started out with me being an actor on a TV show about a group of people in a small underground compound after some kind of disaster above-ground. Nuclear fallout was alluded to, but never specifically discussed. I recall certain scenes in my dream where I knew the audience had been waiting a while for it, however, as the dream progressed, it became a real thing rather than a TV show (though an RPG element crept into it a little later).
It started out with me knocking down a guard and taking his massive assault rifle-thingie. Really big, powerful gun. There had been an enemy within the compound, and they had seized control! But we had had enough and it was time to fight back. I walked slowly through the compound, taking out all the guards - people were screaming and running. Guards poured out of a door towards me and I gunned them all down.
I should mention that this gun was big enough that it had a strap I put around my shoulder to help steady it. Those that were on my side would grab the weapons of the downed guards and we marched on, freeing the whole compound. One of those I freed was a young child, and as I knelt beside him, I knew the audience had been waiting a long time for this.
I told him that I was his father, which was why I had been watching out for him all this time, but I couldn't tell him because there were people after me, and if they knew he was mine, then they would take him. See, the reason certain people were after me was because I wasn't fully human - some kind of alien DNA had been implanted in me when I was younger, and I needed to teach him about his own heritage and how to hide his secret.
After I explained this to him, he gave me a big hug (he was maybe 6), and I could almost hear the audience saying, "Awwww!"
He asked me what I meant by "alien DNA", so I concentrated and 5 or 6 tentacles crept out of my skull like a crown. I explained that they could be used at short range to attach to another person's head and read their thoughts, and even control them like a puppet, but that he shouldn't use these abilities except for helping others and defending himself. I retracted them again and told him I'd still watch out for him, but he couldn't tell anyone else for now since it was still dangerous.
We finished our conversation and he ran off with the adults who had been watching him since the beginning of the show.
Suddenly, I heard screams from the front of the compound, and I knew that "he" was back. This man had been hunting me for my alien DNA since the beginning of the show, though I cannot tell you what his name was. (This was the last time I was aware it was a show - after this, it became real.)
I felt grateful my son had gotten away, and then I ran as fast as my big gun would allow me to where he was coming in. He had acquired some kind of technology, maybe alien, maybe not, that covered him and his even bigger gun in shiny metal strips.
Imagine Colossus from the X-Men, except that he did not have multiple unbroken metal bands around his body - they were broken up by vertical slashes, as if there hadn't been enough metal to make a single band, so they had to be applied a section at a time.
Also, he was in some kind of walking machine - I don't recall if he had spider legs or tank treads, but he was definitely not walking on two legs. I fired my gun into the barrel of his gun, trying to make it blow up, but the metal strips peeled away from the gun and caught the bullets, all of them. I think they had some kind of magnetic ability so as to attract the bullets, but then they flexed and threw the bullets back. The speed of the redirected bullets wasn't as fast as it had been from my gun, but it was still plenty fast enough to do damage, so I was dodging them as best I could.
I tried to shoot him in the face and around his body, with the same results. I knew I couldn't take him down with this gun, so I dropped it and ran to the back of the compound, knowing that I needed to come up with a solution quickly since the back was a dead end.
As I ran, some other people came to me and reported that they had tried grenades, and he had been immune to the explosion, throwing the shrapnel back just like he had the bullets. They had also tried magic (at this point, I recall thinking as a dreamer, There's magic here? Oh yeah, when we level up, we can take light and dark magic as skills! Yep, my dreams are awesome), to no avail. He was immune to that as well.
As I skidded to a stop at the dead end (it was actually more like a T-intersection - the hallway ended and branched out to to short rooms, one on either side), I turned left and decided to make my stand there. I suddenly remembered that I had leveled up a couple of times and so could take some extra skills! Yay! I quickly selected Light Generation and Light Control, the two Light magic skills. I didn't want the Darkness skills since I knew those were evil and I wasn't evil.
I quickly thought through my options - even if he was immune to our direct attempts to stop him, he wouldn't be immune to our indirect attempts. In other words...
I told some of the other people to slow him down while I cut through the stone ceiling in order to drop a ton of stone on him when he came around the corner. I figured it was time for us to come out of the compound and see what was going on above ground. I summoned my magic and used the intense light to cut a large section of the ceiling, leaving one little edge in for when he rounded the intersection into my line of sight. I knew that there was no way for me to avoid getting hurt in the rockfall, either, but I hoped my new light shields would be enough to offset most of it since I was prepared.
I finished barely in time - he came at me, and I collapsed the ceiling. I was knocked almost completely unconscious - I barely remembered being pulled up and out of the new hole into the sunlight by others in the compound, and I was delirious for some time. Either we had been underground long enough for any residual radiation to fade, or the disaster was never nuclear in the first place because the air was clean and the sun was shining. (When I woke up, I recall thinking, Huh, that must have been a real twist in the story for the TV audience! "It wasn't a bomb after all! Dun dun duuuunnnnn!")
I slowly regained consciousness, but when I was fully awake, I felt afraid that the guy after me had not been killed, and was still after me. But now, with the whole world in front of me, he would likely never find me again. Plus, with those two new skills, I could fly, and pretty darned fast, too! Whee!
Some time had passed, and for some reason, I had to go back to the compound - I don't recall exactly why, but I flew back into the hole I carved out and went to the front. It was then that I realized it was a trap - the guy hadn't been killed, and now with me underground again, he blocked my exit and came towards me, this time with some kind of energy shield (magical or technological, I'm not sure which) that prevented me from pulling the same trick again. I was looking around for some kind of option, when...
I woke up. I wonder how I got away. :) I'm in a good mood - these dreams always make me feel pretty awesome.
Current mood: pleased
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
The Schrodinger's Ian Experiment
I just changed the voicemail on my phone to this message:
"You have reached the voicemail of the Schrodinger's Ian experiment. I am currently unobserved, making me both available and unavailable at the same time. Please leave a message, and once I am observed, collapsing me into an available state, I will return your call."
Gads, I love being a nerd.
Current mood: nerdy
"You have reached the voicemail of the Schrodinger's Ian experiment. I am currently unobserved, making me both available and unavailable at the same time. Please leave a message, and once I am observed, collapsing me into an available state, I will return your call."
Gads, I love being a nerd.
Current mood: nerdy
Monday, June 25, 2012
A Handyman is Me!
This is my very first home. I have lived in a million different apartments and lived with several different families in their homes. Ergo, I have never had the responsibility/obligation to maintain my own set of tools (aside from basic hammers, wrenches, and screwdrivers) in order to fix things up around my own house.
As a matter of fact, I recall when my dad bought me my own toolbox with tools on my 12th or 13th or 14th birthday. I was quite upset. "These are stupid! Why would I want my own tools? I'll never use them!" I exclaimed, very loudly and ungratefully like an ungrateful teenager would.
The fact that I was partially correct concerning the length of time before I would actually need them is somewhat besides the point. I find myself now wishing I had a toolbox and a set of tools, if for no other reason than to accomplish the tasks at hand without spending the $200 at a single shot in Home Depot to begin my tool collection fresh. What's more, that $200 barely scratched the surface of what I'll need.
We pulled out a malfunctioning kitchen drawer, only to determine that it was the drawer, not the runner, that was malfunctioning, and that the repair was beyond our ability.
We fixed a car with misfiring pistons by replacing the coilpacks. Not too difficult, but more car intensive than I have tried in a long time.
We used wood glue to reattach the support rails that had fallen off our dining room chairs. It was not fun to sit on a hard wooden floor for that long, let me tell you.
And finally, we installed a ceiling fan in the guest bedroom downstairs, the only bedroom without on. I had to borrow a ladder from the neighbor to accomplish the ladder (latter! Get it? Ha ha! Ha... nevermind), but it felt good to improve my new house. My house. Yeah, that still feels strange.
After I get off work today, dad and I will tackle the crib. The joints have been stripped so badly, it is barely holding together. We will have to repair the holes with dowels, drill new holes, and reattach all the pieces. This job required me to purchase my First Power Tool Ever - a drill.
Sheesh, an awful lot of firsts all in one small period of time...
Current mood: handy
As a matter of fact, I recall when my dad bought me my own toolbox with tools on my 12th or 13th or 14th birthday. I was quite upset. "These are stupid! Why would I want my own tools? I'll never use them!" I exclaimed, very loudly and ungratefully like an ungrateful teenager would.
The fact that I was partially correct concerning the length of time before I would actually need them is somewhat besides the point. I find myself now wishing I had a toolbox and a set of tools, if for no other reason than to accomplish the tasks at hand without spending the $200 at a single shot in Home Depot to begin my tool collection fresh. What's more, that $200 barely scratched the surface of what I'll need.
We pulled out a malfunctioning kitchen drawer, only to determine that it was the drawer, not the runner, that was malfunctioning, and that the repair was beyond our ability.
We fixed a car with misfiring pistons by replacing the coilpacks. Not too difficult, but more car intensive than I have tried in a long time.
We used wood glue to reattach the support rails that had fallen off our dining room chairs. It was not fun to sit on a hard wooden floor for that long, let me tell you.
And finally, we installed a ceiling fan in the guest bedroom downstairs, the only bedroom without on. I had to borrow a ladder from the neighbor to accomplish the ladder (latter! Get it? Ha ha! Ha... nevermind), but it felt good to improve my new house. My house. Yeah, that still feels strange.
After I get off work today, dad and I will tackle the crib. The joints have been stripped so badly, it is barely holding together. We will have to repair the holes with dowels, drill new holes, and reattach all the pieces. This job required me to purchase my First Power Tool Ever - a drill.
Sheesh, an awful lot of firsts all in one small period of time...
Current mood: handy
Friday, June 22, 2012
Parental Unit Visit
My folks arrived in Austin yesterday and will be coming down to San Antonio this morning with my wife. I'm very excited since I've taken the day off from work and I have no clients tomorrow, so I get to work with my dad on various projects around the house. We've got a few things that need fixing and installed. He's very handy. Me, not so much. This will be a good learning experience.
They are staying until next Wed, at which point, Jenny's sister will be bringing over her four kids (ranging from 13 to 4) to stay with us for a month. We'll go from 1 kid to 5 kids. It'll be fun! :)
So we will have lots of visitors over the next month in our new house. Makes me very grateful for all the help we've had getting unpacked to the degree we are now. My parents will help us unpack and organize more, but at least we have the guest bedroom almost completely set up.
Now how are we going to cook for 4 more kids? Hmmmmm.... ;)
Current mood: anticipatory
They are staying until next Wed, at which point, Jenny's sister will be bringing over her four kids (ranging from 13 to 4) to stay with us for a month. We'll go from 1 kid to 5 kids. It'll be fun! :)
So we will have lots of visitors over the next month in our new house. Makes me very grateful for all the help we've had getting unpacked to the degree we are now. My parents will help us unpack and organize more, but at least we have the guest bedroom almost completely set up.
Now how are we going to cook for 4 more kids? Hmmmmm.... ;)
Current mood: anticipatory
Thursday, June 21, 2012
The Cultist Wars, Part 5 - Cultists
War had erupted on the continent. At the center of it were the followers of the Three Betrayers, the cultists themselves. Long before Ista Heera had given them arms and supplies to wage war, they had been preparing. Like a cancer, they had grown up, consuming entire villages so that children were born and raised in the faith only knowing of the Three and their eminent rise to power. Devoted solely to the Three, these cultists had then infiltrated the societies of the nations across the continent, only running into trouble with Hoovastadt - because of their almost eternal state of martial law, very few cultists had been able to gain a long-term foothold there.
When the foolish Istaheeran had begun supplying them, they took full advantage. Many cultists were brought in from the other continents, a centralization of their power and a building of their armies. Under the cover of the Mauwan tribal society and the constant Vekviran chaos, they increased their number of troops to the point where they could wage war, for the first time in remembered history.
Each of the major powers in the area was accounted for, for each of them had a weakness that could be exploited by the cultists to achieve their ultimate victory in this part of the world. Both the Phoenix Kingdom and Ista Heera had been infiltrated in almost every level of society, and they would be cast into chaos when the signal came to strike. To crush Hoovastadt, the cultists had been stirring up the barbarians and orcs in the north to anger, coalescing their armies around a single tribe ruled by the cultists themselves. And Corsuvian, who had avoided the complete infiltration of Ista Heera and the Phoenix Kingdom, but not as successfully as Hoovastadt, a combination of both methods.
The main fighting was in Corsuvian, and predictably, the Phoenix Kingdom sent troops. What the leaders of both countries couldn't have known was how many of those troops and troop commanders were actually cultists.
The trap was set, and it only happened because of one man. Normally fractious, the three cults had unified under a single leader, one who followed all Three rather than just one of the Three. He had overseen all the preparations, and knew that on a single day, the continent would be theirs. After the continent, the world. It had been foreseen.
And on a single day, the trap was sprung.
Every major power was paralyzed, or ready to be crushed, and complete victory was at hand.
Except by the end of the day, their leader was assassinated by an unknown blade. Suddenly blaming each other for the murder, the three cults began fighting each other more than the nations they had set out to conquer, each cult wanting dominance over the other two in order to rule after their victory. But victory slipped from their grasp slowly as the nations struggled to rebuild and defend themselves. If one cult could dominate the others before all advantage was lost, they could still win, but it was now a race against time.
----------------------------------------
This is the day our strategy board game begins. Several characters in the comic fought in the Cultist Wars, and the repercussions of fighting an enemy made up of your neighbors and friends are still echoing through the world today, 20-30 years later.
The game will require each player to choose what side to play, one of the four nations, or one of the three cults, with the game dynamics differing from game to game depending on who is playing what. The four nations can trade and assist each other, all while still striving for dominance over all. The three cults only work together when one of the four nations pulls ahead of the others, otherwise they fight with themselves and the nations.
There's much more, but as I am unsure if my game ideas are automatically trademarked when I post them, better to keep them quiet for now. :)
Current mood: creative
When the foolish Istaheeran had begun supplying them, they took full advantage. Many cultists were brought in from the other continents, a centralization of their power and a building of their armies. Under the cover of the Mauwan tribal society and the constant Vekviran chaos, they increased their number of troops to the point where they could wage war, for the first time in remembered history.
Each of the major powers in the area was accounted for, for each of them had a weakness that could be exploited by the cultists to achieve their ultimate victory in this part of the world. Both the Phoenix Kingdom and Ista Heera had been infiltrated in almost every level of society, and they would be cast into chaos when the signal came to strike. To crush Hoovastadt, the cultists had been stirring up the barbarians and orcs in the north to anger, coalescing their armies around a single tribe ruled by the cultists themselves. And Corsuvian, who had avoided the complete infiltration of Ista Heera and the Phoenix Kingdom, but not as successfully as Hoovastadt, a combination of both methods.
The main fighting was in Corsuvian, and predictably, the Phoenix Kingdom sent troops. What the leaders of both countries couldn't have known was how many of those troops and troop commanders were actually cultists.
The trap was set, and it only happened because of one man. Normally fractious, the three cults had unified under a single leader, one who followed all Three rather than just one of the Three. He had overseen all the preparations, and knew that on a single day, the continent would be theirs. After the continent, the world. It had been foreseen.
And on a single day, the trap was sprung.
Every major power was paralyzed, or ready to be crushed, and complete victory was at hand.
Except by the end of the day, their leader was assassinated by an unknown blade. Suddenly blaming each other for the murder, the three cults began fighting each other more than the nations they had set out to conquer, each cult wanting dominance over the other two in order to rule after their victory. But victory slipped from their grasp slowly as the nations struggled to rebuild and defend themselves. If one cult could dominate the others before all advantage was lost, they could still win, but it was now a race against time.
----------------------------------------
This is the day our strategy board game begins. Several characters in the comic fought in the Cultist Wars, and the repercussions of fighting an enemy made up of your neighbors and friends are still echoing through the world today, 20-30 years later.
The game will require each player to choose what side to play, one of the four nations, or one of the three cults, with the game dynamics differing from game to game depending on who is playing what. The four nations can trade and assist each other, all while still striving for dominance over all. The three cults only work together when one of the four nations pulls ahead of the others, otherwise they fight with themselves and the nations.
There's much more, but as I am unsure if my game ideas are automatically trademarked when I post them, better to keep them quiet for now. :)
Current mood: creative
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
The Cultist Wars, Part 4 - Corsuvian
War had erupted on the continent. The only reason Corsuvian hadn't fallen within the first week of fighting with the cultists was due to their strong navy and the close presence of their ally, the Phoenix Kingdom. When the Cultists boiled out of Vek Viro to the north and Mauwa to the south, it was all they could do to hold off the hordes until both Hoovastadt and the Phoenix Kingdom sent help. Now, with the combined armies of all three nations on Corsuvian ground, the war had taken a different turn.
Until one day.
It had began as a normal day - King Hallaan was sitting in chambers with the representatives of both Hoovastadt and the Phoenix Kingdom, discussing how to use their combined military might to push forward into Vek Viro and crush the center of the Cultist incursion. It was a shock to almost all of them to hear the sound of battle suddenly ringing from the city. As everyone ran to the windows, they saw the unthinkable - many of the battleships in the harbor had turned and were firing on the other ships, all the while troops began pouring from the suddenly hostile ships into the docks, attacking the surprised dockworkers and guards stationed there.
Somehow, the cultists had infiltrated their navy and transported troops to the heart of Corsuvian in one nearly fatal blow. As King Hallaan turned to call for his own guard, he saw the Phoenix Kingdom military representative had cut the throat of his Hoovastadian counterpart and was rushing the King, bloodied dagger in hand, calling on the Unnamed, one of the Three Betrayers, for help. After a short struggle that ended with the traitorous cultist falling out the high window to his own death, the King summoned his own forces.
Stunned by these events, the King began sorting through the reports pouring into his room while the dead body was removed. Previously, the Mauwan forces had been streaming solely through the small land bridge between their countries, but now, the formidable Corsuvian Navy had been compromised. There were also many reports of sabotage throughout the besieged capital city, not to mention that many of the allied troops had begun fighting each other instead of the enemy. Indeed, some of them had been the enemy all along.
Isolated from their allies, and the state of the existing allied troops in question, the new war had come crashing to the front doorstep. Corsuvian was on the verge of being overrun entirely. They needed a miracle.
--------------------------------------
This is the day our strategy board game begins. Stay tuned for the last player perspective in the game!
Current mood: creative
Until one day.
It had began as a normal day - King Hallaan was sitting in chambers with the representatives of both Hoovastadt and the Phoenix Kingdom, discussing how to use their combined military might to push forward into Vek Viro and crush the center of the Cultist incursion. It was a shock to almost all of them to hear the sound of battle suddenly ringing from the city. As everyone ran to the windows, they saw the unthinkable - many of the battleships in the harbor had turned and were firing on the other ships, all the while troops began pouring from the suddenly hostile ships into the docks, attacking the surprised dockworkers and guards stationed there.
Somehow, the cultists had infiltrated their navy and transported troops to the heart of Corsuvian in one nearly fatal blow. As King Hallaan turned to call for his own guard, he saw the Phoenix Kingdom military representative had cut the throat of his Hoovastadian counterpart and was rushing the King, bloodied dagger in hand, calling on the Unnamed, one of the Three Betrayers, for help. After a short struggle that ended with the traitorous cultist falling out the high window to his own death, the King summoned his own forces.
Stunned by these events, the King began sorting through the reports pouring into his room while the dead body was removed. Previously, the Mauwan forces had been streaming solely through the small land bridge between their countries, but now, the formidable Corsuvian Navy had been compromised. There were also many reports of sabotage throughout the besieged capital city, not to mention that many of the allied troops had begun fighting each other instead of the enemy. Indeed, some of them had been the enemy all along.
Isolated from their allies, and the state of the existing allied troops in question, the new war had come crashing to the front doorstep. Corsuvian was on the verge of being overrun entirely. They needed a miracle.
--------------------------------------
This is the day our strategy board game begins. Stay tuned for the last player perspective in the game!
Current mood: creative
Monday, June 18, 2012
Best (and most hilarious) Father's Day *Evah*!
Jenny and Jackson gave me a fantastic Father's Day yesterday.
First off, I came downstairs and found this on our kitchen blinds:
That was super cute, especially Jackson's contribution on the left.
Then I saw this shirt:
Jackson has surprisingly good handwriting for a 2 year old.
And finally, I opened up a package and found this apron, purchased here:
And we ended the day with ribeyes and mashed potatoes! Yum!
How awesome is that? I have a new favorite shirt, and I am quite excited to wear that fantastic apron this Friday after I get my new grill.
Happy Father's Day to me and other dad's out there!
Current mood: loved
First off, I came downstairs and found this on our kitchen blinds:
That was super cute, especially Jackson's contribution on the left.
Then I saw this shirt:
Jackson has surprisingly good handwriting for a 2 year old.
And finally, I opened up a package and found this apron, purchased here:
And we ended the day with ribeyes and mashed potatoes! Yum!
How awesome is that? I have a new favorite shirt, and I am quite excited to wear that fantastic apron this Friday after I get my new grill.
Happy Father's Day to me and other dad's out there!
Current mood: loved
Thursday, June 14, 2012
The Cultist Wars, Part 3 - Hoovastadt
War had erupted on the continent. With the armies of the cultists boiling out of Vek Viro to the west and the constant threat of the Istaheeram on the east, Hoovastadt struggled to keep their armies from being overrun. Though the Istaheeram had been strangely quiet during the war, King Keldon suspected foul play and kept his troops at full strength on that border. In order to do that, though, he had to pull armies from the northern border to support the war against the cultists. The barbarians and orcs living in the glacial wastes had not launched a major offensive in some time, and he hoped it stayed that way just long enough to survive this current conflict.
He was proved wrong on one fateful day.
It had started as a normal day. The King met with his generals and mage advisers in the Hall of Battle to discuss new strategies. Cultists had been caught trying to sabotage some of the local mage guilds, and they had been swiftly put to death. No stranger to war, Hoovastadt had been protecting themselves and the independent Merchant City from aggressors for a long time. The laws were strict, the punishments were stricter, but the populace was happy and devoted to their cause. Cultists had a difficult time infiltrating their infrastructure, despite trying for a long time. While a few may have escaped notice, King Keldon had confidence that most of them had been dealt with along the way.
Suddenly, one of the mages looked up with a startled look on his face. In short bursts, he began relaying the messages sent from his compatriots in the north - a massive army of orcs and barbarians had gathered and begun a march towards the center of the country. Fighting had begun, but the troops stationed there were so outnumbered that they could only slow the horde for a small time before they would be utterly destroyed.
Caught between the hammer of the barbarians and the anvil of the cultists, and knowing the war had just spread, the beleaguered kingdom began plotting how to survive. If the Istaheeram attacked now, they would fall. Might they need to make an ally of them? It was only a matter of time before the barbarian army rolled inexorably south, destroying everything in its path. But knowing that if they could fend off the new invaders, the rich mineral deposits of the north would then be there for the taking, making them potentially even more powerful than Ista Heera and the Phoenix Kingdom combined. Even in these dire straits, there was potential.
-------------------------
This is the day the strategy board game we are designing begins. Our intent is to release the game with full comic stories to lay out the backstory of each side. This is a very rough overview, and will be trimmed up as we progress along. ;)
Stay tuned for the perspectives of the other players in the game.
Current mood: creative
He was proved wrong on one fateful day.
It had started as a normal day. The King met with his generals and mage advisers in the Hall of Battle to discuss new strategies. Cultists had been caught trying to sabotage some of the local mage guilds, and they had been swiftly put to death. No stranger to war, Hoovastadt had been protecting themselves and the independent Merchant City from aggressors for a long time. The laws were strict, the punishments were stricter, but the populace was happy and devoted to their cause. Cultists had a difficult time infiltrating their infrastructure, despite trying for a long time. While a few may have escaped notice, King Keldon had confidence that most of them had been dealt with along the way.
Suddenly, one of the mages looked up with a startled look on his face. In short bursts, he began relaying the messages sent from his compatriots in the north - a massive army of orcs and barbarians had gathered and begun a march towards the center of the country. Fighting had begun, but the troops stationed there were so outnumbered that they could only slow the horde for a small time before they would be utterly destroyed.
Caught between the hammer of the barbarians and the anvil of the cultists, and knowing the war had just spread, the beleaguered kingdom began plotting how to survive. If the Istaheeram attacked now, they would fall. Might they need to make an ally of them? It was only a matter of time before the barbarian army rolled inexorably south, destroying everything in its path. But knowing that if they could fend off the new invaders, the rich mineral deposits of the north would then be there for the taking, making them potentially even more powerful than Ista Heera and the Phoenix Kingdom combined. Even in these dire straits, there was potential.
-------------------------
This is the day the strategy board game we are designing begins. Our intent is to release the game with full comic stories to lay out the backstory of each side. This is a very rough overview, and will be trimmed up as we progress along. ;)
Stay tuned for the perspectives of the other players in the game.
Current mood: creative
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Mormons and homosexuality
I read this beautiful blog post about a practicing Mormon coming out as gay, and I was struck by several things.
Note how his family and his future wife (long before she ever considered the possibility) loved him and accepted him. This is what we believe. We get accused of being haters, but I see zero evidence of hate in that post. What I *do* see are people who loved Josh, supported him, and basically lived their religion.
The fact that he decided to get married and live as a practicing Mormon is almost completely besides the point, because none of those decisions had been made when he first came out. All of those people loved him anyways.
While I cannot say the majority of Mormons do act this way, I will say that 100% of them should act this way. Anyone who has these types of issues don't need excoriations from anyone else -- it's hard enough as it is. Our job is to love them and help them in the ways that we can.
Note how many people came out and supported him in the comments sections of this post! Then note how many of them are Mormon.
Anyone who claims that all Mormons are bigots do not know the truth. Some Mormons are bigots, just like some LGBT people are bigots. Bigots are found in every walk of life, but any Mormon bigots are not living their religion, period. Josh's story illustrates how we really feel about those that live in the LGBT space.
Note: I am explicitly not looking to discuss Prop 8 here. It is a separate issue. While I welcome comments, anyone who brings up Prop 8 will have their comments deleted.
Current mood: proud to be LDS
Note how his family and his future wife (long before she ever considered the possibility) loved him and accepted him. This is what we believe. We get accused of being haters, but I see zero evidence of hate in that post. What I *do* see are people who loved Josh, supported him, and basically lived their religion.
The fact that he decided to get married and live as a practicing Mormon is almost completely besides the point, because none of those decisions had been made when he first came out. All of those people loved him anyways.
While I cannot say the majority of Mormons do act this way, I will say that 100% of them should act this way. Anyone who has these types of issues don't need excoriations from anyone else -- it's hard enough as it is. Our job is to love them and help them in the ways that we can.
Note how many people came out and supported him in the comments sections of this post! Then note how many of them are Mormon.
Anyone who claims that all Mormons are bigots do not know the truth. Some Mormons are bigots, just like some LGBT people are bigots. Bigots are found in every walk of life, but any Mormon bigots are not living their religion, period. Josh's story illustrates how we really feel about those that live in the LGBT space.
Note: I am explicitly not looking to discuss Prop 8 here. It is a separate issue. While I welcome comments, anyone who brings up Prop 8 will have their comments deleted.
Current mood: proud to be LDS
Monday, June 11, 2012
My Pandora Station
I've been working on this station for some time, and I'm pretty happy with it. It all began because I remembered how when I was a kid in the 80s, we could hear LL Cool J's "Momma Gonna Knock You Out" and Poison's "Don't Need Nuthin' But A Good Time" on the same radio station, and I missed that kind of drastic variety in my music. I created this station to represent a huge variety of tastes.
I started with a seed of Will Smith and Def Leppard, then added in other 80s bands, The Muppets, Weird Al, Jonathon Coulton, and other stuff. I even added in some Phineas and Ferb (from the Disney Channel). Every song that has come up got a direct Yes or No vote, so if it hasn't been marked as Yes, I haven't heard it yet. :)
I've learned a lot about myself:
1) I don't like Van Halen or Depeche Mode very much. I thought I did, but when I heard more of their stuff outside of their standard radio plays, I discovered they just bug me.
2) I really like Boston!
3) There are some really cool cool artists out there!
Anyhow, here you go - enjoy the great mix of 80s and other eclectic tastes:
http://www.pandora.com/station/play/3614
Current mood: rocking out
I started with a seed of Will Smith and Def Leppard, then added in other 80s bands, The Muppets, Weird Al, Jonathon Coulton, and other stuff. I even added in some Phineas and Ferb (from the Disney Channel). Every song that has come up got a direct Yes or No vote, so if it hasn't been marked as Yes, I haven't heard it yet. :)
I've learned a lot about myself:
1) I don't like Van Halen or Depeche Mode very much. I thought I did, but when I heard more of their stuff outside of their standard radio plays, I discovered they just bug me.
2) I really like Boston!
3) There are some really cool cool artists out there!
Anyhow, here you go - enjoy the great mix of 80s and other eclectic tastes:
http://www.pandora.com/station/play/3614
Current mood: rocking out
Home at last
We are successfully moved in, with tons of unpacking in front of us, but we are making progress.
It has been a very strange experience. If I include my 2 year mission for my church in Sacramento, California, I have moved around 43 times since I left home at age 18 (I am not military). I have never found a place to really stay - every single spot was just a waystation to something else. However, now that we are in this house, we plan to stay for as long as possible. Raise our kids here, invest in the neighborhood, heck, we'll actually register to vote finally!
But with all the moving, it hadn't really sunk in that we are home home. Here to stay. Not moving again for the foreseeable future. It wasn't until we were unpacking Jenny's dishes, and I asked her where she wanted to keep the boxes they had shipped in, that I was struck by our permanency here. She responded, "I don't need them any more. We aren't going to move again for a long time."
I sat down, suddenly struck by what she was saying. I literally couldn't wrap my brain around it. What? We don't need any of these boxes any more?
I am not ashamed to admit that I teared up as the reality started to sink in.
I am still trying to process that I am really Home, and there have been a few more misty moments. No more vagabonds, us!
Now to write another blog post and back to unpacking!
Current mood: profoundly grateful
It has been a very strange experience. If I include my 2 year mission for my church in Sacramento, California, I have moved around 43 times since I left home at age 18 (I am not military). I have never found a place to really stay - every single spot was just a waystation to something else. However, now that we are in this house, we plan to stay for as long as possible. Raise our kids here, invest in the neighborhood, heck, we'll actually register to vote finally!
But with all the moving, it hadn't really sunk in that we are home home. Here to stay. Not moving again for the foreseeable future. It wasn't until we were unpacking Jenny's dishes, and I asked her where she wanted to keep the boxes they had shipped in, that I was struck by our permanency here. She responded, "I don't need them any more. We aren't going to move again for a long time."
I sat down, suddenly struck by what she was saying. I literally couldn't wrap my brain around it. What? We don't need any of these boxes any more?
I am not ashamed to admit that I teared up as the reality started to sink in.
I am still trying to process that I am really Home, and there have been a few more misty moments. No more vagabonds, us!
Now to write another blog post and back to unpacking!
Current mood: profoundly grateful
Friday, June 8, 2012
The Cultist Wars, Part 2 - Ista Heera
War had erupted on the continent. Long time enemies of the Phoenix Kingdom, the Istaheeran had been funneling resources, weapons, and money to the Cultists so they would attack and weaken the Phoenix Kingdom and their allies. Using the war with the cultists as a catalyst to gain greater power in the area, the Istaheeran would then start the process of eliminating their adversaries one by one. However, the collection of cabal leaders that made up the ruling class of the Istaheeran had deeply underestimated the intent and ability of the cultists.
They learned this on one single day.
It had started as a normal day - Seenjah Khul, cabal leader of the Wind Assassins, one of the most powerful (and feared) groups in Ista Heera, had just finished his breakfast of fresh fruit. The cultists were doing their job quite well, and he foresaw the destruction of Hoovastadt within 6 months. Once they had been eliminated, the Istaheeran would control the Merchant City with all its wealth, and no one could stop them from blanketing the entire continent with their power and influence.
A breeze blew the cloth covering the wide window aside, and he could smell the magic. Another mage likely would not have recognized it in time, but this was the spell that aided his own assassins, and he knew it well. He had not even attempted to open his mouth for the guards - they would likely be in on this attempt on his life. As a cabal leader, he ruled until someone killed him or he suddenly vanished with sufficient wealth to live elsewhere in safety. This was how it was done, and a cabal went through a period of chaos until they found a new leader.
No cabal leader ever kept a second in command, for that would guarantee the direction from which his life would end.
Seenjah had dodged multiple previous attempts, but this was the first from the hand of his own group of assassins. He had never ruled it out completely, but it was still unexpected enough that he almost lost his life before we could react. The knife narrowly missed him as he threw himself to the side. One graze from that blade would end him completely due to the potent venom it carried, the trademark of the Wind Assassins.
Pure luck helped him survive and slay the assassin, who died with the name of Kun, one of the Betrayers, on his lips. Cultists! Within his own hand-picked assassins! And that's when he heard the fighting in the rest of the city.
The reports came in quickly from his own cabal - almost every single leader in the city had been assassinated on the same day, and nearly every cabal was fighting with itself and the others. The city was in chaos.
In spite of the grim situation, Seenjah found himself smiling. Yes, the cultists had suddenly become a much greater threat, but he had the chance to become the most powerful man in the entire Istaheeran. Now he just needed to mobilize his cabal, gather the country around him, and destroy these cultists that dared to turn his own people against him. And he was the man to do it.
--------
This is the day the strategy board game we are designing begins. Our intent is to release the game with full comic stories to lay out the backstory of each side. This is a very rough overview, and will be trimmed up as we progress along. ;)
Stay tuned for the perspectives of the other players in the game.
Current mood: creative
They learned this on one single day.
It had started as a normal day - Seenjah Khul, cabal leader of the Wind Assassins, one of the most powerful (and feared) groups in Ista Heera, had just finished his breakfast of fresh fruit. The cultists were doing their job quite well, and he foresaw the destruction of Hoovastadt within 6 months. Once they had been eliminated, the Istaheeran would control the Merchant City with all its wealth, and no one could stop them from blanketing the entire continent with their power and influence.
A breeze blew the cloth covering the wide window aside, and he could smell the magic. Another mage likely would not have recognized it in time, but this was the spell that aided his own assassins, and he knew it well. He had not even attempted to open his mouth for the guards - they would likely be in on this attempt on his life. As a cabal leader, he ruled until someone killed him or he suddenly vanished with sufficient wealth to live elsewhere in safety. This was how it was done, and a cabal went through a period of chaos until they found a new leader.
No cabal leader ever kept a second in command, for that would guarantee the direction from which his life would end.
Seenjah had dodged multiple previous attempts, but this was the first from the hand of his own group of assassins. He had never ruled it out completely, but it was still unexpected enough that he almost lost his life before we could react. The knife narrowly missed him as he threw himself to the side. One graze from that blade would end him completely due to the potent venom it carried, the trademark of the Wind Assassins.
Pure luck helped him survive and slay the assassin, who died with the name of Kun, one of the Betrayers, on his lips. Cultists! Within his own hand-picked assassins! And that's when he heard the fighting in the rest of the city.
The reports came in quickly from his own cabal - almost every single leader in the city had been assassinated on the same day, and nearly every cabal was fighting with itself and the others. The city was in chaos.
In spite of the grim situation, Seenjah found himself smiling. Yes, the cultists had suddenly become a much greater threat, but he had the chance to become the most powerful man in the entire Istaheeran. Now he just needed to mobilize his cabal, gather the country around him, and destroy these cultists that dared to turn his own people against him. And he was the man to do it.
--------
This is the day the strategy board game we are designing begins. Our intent is to release the game with full comic stories to lay out the backstory of each side. This is a very rough overview, and will be trimmed up as we progress along. ;)
Stay tuned for the perspectives of the other players in the game.
Current mood: creative
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