you know the rest, or should ;)
Coming out of Souplantation last night we were walking the kids to the car when The Bunny let out an excited squeal.
"SANTA!!!" she screamed, pointing across the parking lot to where a large, jolly looking fellow with a snowy white beard, a round belly...a red t-shirt? And a fluffy, white headband??? stood next to an old model VW Beetle.
"Santa" locked his car and came over to us so I stepped forward and apologized to him.
"I'm sorry," I said, "I'm sure you get that a lot."
He smiled and said, "that's because I really am Santa. I'm on vacation." And he took something from a pocket. A stack of...business cards? He held one out and I looked at it, and for some reason I decided to let my son take it. Then "Santa" gave a card to The Bunny, or perhaps Liz took hers and passed it on. The kids took their card excitedly and climbed into the car as Santa rejoined his family and headed into Souplantation.
As my son buckled up his seatbelt I took his card from him and looked at it. It had a picture of Santa's smiling face, complete with red hat and white trim (not just a white headband), and had the caption "Santa sees all".
I flipped it over but the back was blank. No phone number. No email. No website. Nada. It wasn't a business card at all, just...I don't know what it was...something for "Santa" to give to the kids, I guess. I'm sure he caused quite a stir inside Souplantation.
As we pulled out of the parking lot we passed Santa's VW Beetle and I pointed it out to my son. "What's the license plate say?"
He looked at it. "Santa I ?" he said
"Santa One," I corrected. "The letter I is one in Roman Numerals."
Sometimes you need a little magic in your life. They help push out those memories of the time when you were a child and you saw Santa. Of course it wasn't the real Santa but a tubby Garbage Collector with a long beard, who didn't take kindly to you calling out "Hi, Santa!" Which is how you found yourself taking refuge in your mum's car while a very angry "Santa" stood outside, screaming at you through the window.
Fortunately last night's Santa behaved more like the real deal, than the belligerent impostor of my childhood.
If you've got a few years under your belt, and a few extra pounds around your waist, and a long, white beard, I think you should be willing to accept the occasional (or even frequent) case of mistaken identity.
Embrace the Santa.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Debuffs in Wizard 101
Card Combat in W101 is not terribly complicated, but there are little tricks of which you might, or might not, be aware. For example, what is the correct order in which you should cast the following three debuff spells, in order to maximize their effectiveness, and why? For the sake of the argument, let's assume you're a Death Wizard facing another Death Wizard.
Take your time now.
I'm not going anywhere.
And I haven't worked out how to do a "more after the Break" thing in my Blog, or I'd put the answer after a "break".
Instead I have to rely on cheap delaying tactics, like this ;)
So, what order do you apply those Debuffs for maximum effectiveness versus another Death Wizard? You must cast Death Prism prior to casting Death Trap. Curse can be cast at any time, but you must cast Death Prism before casting Death Trap.
Why?
Because (currently) debuff spells go off using the LIFO method, that is the last Debuff you cast is the first to go off, while the first Debuff you cast goes off last.
So if you cast Death Trap before Death Prism (as I found out, to my detriment), Death Prism will go off prior to the Trap, thus converting your lovely Death School Damage into Life School Damage. And your Death Trap debuff, the one which increases the amount of Death Damage inflicted by 30%? It does nothing for Life School Damage.
But if you cast Death Prism before Death Trap, the Trap will go off and add 30% more damage to your Vampire Spell, then Death Prism will go off and convert your Death damage to Life, and Life has a boost effect on Death-school Mobs which is why we're using Death Prism ;)
So, Prism before Trap except after...well...never, really :P
P.S. For Bonus Marks, can anyone tell me if the Pips next to the Cards mean anything? Coz I have no idea why they're there. And it might be important. It's not the Pip/Mana cost of each spell, because all of those Debuffs are free to cast, hence the zero in the top left corner of each card.
Take your time now.
I'm not going anywhere.
And I haven't worked out how to do a "more after the Break" thing in my Blog, or I'd put the answer after a "break".
Instead I have to rely on cheap delaying tactics, like this ;)
So, what order do you apply those Debuffs for maximum effectiveness versus another Death Wizard? You must cast Death Prism prior to casting Death Trap. Curse can be cast at any time, but you must cast Death Prism before casting Death Trap.
Why?
Because (currently) debuff spells go off using the LIFO method, that is the last Debuff you cast is the first to go off, while the first Debuff you cast goes off last.
So if you cast Death Trap before Death Prism (as I found out, to my detriment), Death Prism will go off prior to the Trap, thus converting your lovely Death School Damage into Life School Damage. And your Death Trap debuff, the one which increases the amount of Death Damage inflicted by 30%? It does nothing for Life School Damage.
But if you cast Death Prism before Death Trap, the Trap will go off and add 30% more damage to your Vampire Spell, then Death Prism will go off and convert your Death damage to Life, and Life has a boost effect on Death-school Mobs which is why we're using Death Prism ;)
So, Prism before Trap except after...well...never, really :P
P.S. For Bonus Marks, can anyone tell me if the Pips next to the Cards mean anything? Coz I have no idea why they're there. And it might be important. It's not the Pip/Mana cost of each spell, because all of those Debuffs are free to cast, hence the zero in the top left corner of each card.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Death in Wizard 101
I must say, I am enjoying my Death Wizard. I haven't specialized in any other Schools, other than investing a few Training Points to get access to Shields/Wards to help better protect me against them. Death Wizards are very versatile, and very soloable, in that their (or at least my) primary attack returns half the damage I inflict back to me, but as health, so a 750 point attack will heal me for 375. It's not a lot, but when combined with Wards to reduce incoming damage it's enough to keep me going, and going, and going.
Like Saylah I find myself soloing a lot of W101's content, and a Death Wizard is very well suited to do just that. I even soloed The Ironworks Instance in Marleybone, twice. There were a couple of close calls but nothing so close that I was freaking out. Usually it was just my Health falling below 500 points before I was able to deal out the finishing blow.
Your Soloing ability is also greatly enhanced by use of RMT or Crown Gear, and my Death Wizard has the 25 RMT Cloak and Boots, but not the fugly Hats. After that last horribly inappropriate outfit, as much as it would have benefited me, I couldn't even bring myself to buy the 30 RMT Hat, which looks not unlike the Jester-style Hat I had at level 12.
That Cap of the Banshee is my current Hat, which you'll get to see later.
I thought about farming the Boss-dropped Death School Hat, so I looked up where it dropped. It only drops off the final Marleybone Boss, Moewiarty himself, who is located on the 15th Floor of the Big Ben Instance. Yeah, like I'm really going to "farm" him, running the Instance numerous times, just to get a hat which is not only inferior to the RMT Hat...but still makes me look like a freaking Court Jester!!!
The game rewarded my adherence to style with the Cap of the Banshee:
While it may not give me a Health Buff like the RMT & Boss Hats, and there's no extra chance of a Power Pip, nor increased Accuracy, it does come with a +4% Attack Bonus to my Death spells, and a +8% Resistance to Death magicks. Ok, so that's not as good as the overall Offense and Defensive bonuses of the RMT Hat, but who cares? It's a freaking Bowler! Not only does it look totally cool, but it dropped in the very same color you see in the picture. It came matched for my outfit! And, I may be the only one to say it, but I think it completes the look, and my Death Wizard looks like a real Uber bad ass in it :)
John Shadowblade...Undead Hunter?
Damn straight!
Like Saylah I find myself soloing a lot of W101's content, and a Death Wizard is very well suited to do just that. I even soloed The Ironworks Instance in Marleybone, twice. There were a couple of close calls but nothing so close that I was freaking out. Usually it was just my Health falling below 500 points before I was able to deal out the finishing blow.
Your Soloing ability is also greatly enhanced by use of RMT or Crown Gear, and my Death Wizard has the 25 RMT Cloak and Boots, but not the fugly Hats. After that last horribly inappropriate outfit, as much as it would have benefited me, I couldn't even bring myself to buy the 30 RMT Hat, which looks not unlike the Jester-style Hat I had at level 12.
That Cap of the Banshee is my current Hat, which you'll get to see later.I thought about farming the Boss-dropped Death School Hat, so I looked up where it dropped. It only drops off the final Marleybone Boss, Moewiarty himself, who is located on the 15th Floor of the Big Ben Instance. Yeah, like I'm really going to "farm" him, running the Instance numerous times, just to get a hat which is not only inferior to the RMT Hat...but still makes me look like a freaking Court Jester!!!
The game rewarded my adherence to style with the Cap of the Banshee:
While it may not give me a Health Buff like the RMT & Boss Hats, and there's no extra chance of a Power Pip, nor increased Accuracy, it does come with a +4% Attack Bonus to my Death spells, and a +8% Resistance to Death magicks. Ok, so that's not as good as the overall Offense and Defensive bonuses of the RMT Hat, but who cares? It's a freaking Bowler! Not only does it look totally cool, but it dropped in the very same color you see in the picture. It came matched for my outfit! And, I may be the only one to say it, but I think it completes the look, and my Death Wizard looks like a real Uber bad ass in it :)
John Shadowblade...Undead Hunter?Damn straight!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
What the??? Where'd that come from?
Drat that Mogs and her newly discovered archery skills.
Six random things about me.
Random? How does one decide what constitutes randomness?
Just like Mogs,
1. I also like to hunt (but haven't for quite some time). My implement of choice is a 12-gauge shotgun, loaded for bunny, of course ;)
2. I can shoot a bow too, and am purty darn good at it, or I used to be. I could reliably put an arrow into a 4" circle at 20 metres (approx. 65 feet).
3. I once beat a semi-professional swimmer at his own game.
4. I could climb before I could walk. Classic example was my mum coming into the living room and finding me sitting on top of our television set.
5. I once helped out a mate by replacing his car's broken tail-light with a unit I found...in a used car lot...on the back of another car.
6. English is my first (& only) language, and I love to read, but I was terrible at English (the subject) in High School.
Mogs? Do I need to Tag someone else now? I could Tag my wife, but I think she's given up on blogging. Xinh, however, she's pretty reliable about doing these things.
Xinh? Tag! You're it!
Six random things about me.
Random? How does one decide what constitutes randomness?
Just like Mogs,
1. I also like to hunt (but haven't for quite some time). My implement of choice is a 12-gauge shotgun, loaded for bunny, of course ;)
2. I can shoot a bow too, and am purty darn good at it, or I used to be. I could reliably put an arrow into a 4" circle at 20 metres (approx. 65 feet).
3. I once beat a semi-professional swimmer at his own game.
4. I could climb before I could walk. Classic example was my mum coming into the living room and finding me sitting on top of our television set.
5. I once helped out a mate by replacing his car's broken tail-light with a unit I found...in a used car lot...on the back of another car.
6. English is my first (& only) language, and I love to read, but I was terrible at English (the subject) in High School.
Mogs? Do I need to Tag someone else now? I could Tag my wife, but I think she's given up on blogging. Xinh, however, she's pretty reliable about doing these things.
Xinh? Tag! You're it!
Monday, January 19, 2009
What happens in Vegas...
doesn't always stay in Vegas.
Friday afternoon we dropped the dog off at the in-laws (who already had the kids) and the FIL pissed Liz off by making fun of the list she gave him, such as locking the dog in her crate at night. We should have had JE watch A Night at the Museum with him, so he could see what happens to people who don't follow directions. Of course they didn't lock in the dog in her crate on Saturday night, so she repaid their "kindness" by taking a dump outside their downstair's bathroom. They still thought she was a good dog.
Saturday morning we were off to Vegas, and we made pretty good time right up until we hit Primm, Whisky Pete's, and...the Fashion Outlet. After returning a Coach purse for Liz that she'd bought last time we were in Vegas, along with visiting numerous other stores where more items were purchased which will (probably) be returned at a later date, we resumed our journey. Thanks to our GPS the trip was fairly uneventful, except thanks to the almost, never-ending construction going on around The Strip we missed our turn-off to the Monte Carlo. We had to drive a mile further up the road then come back down The Strip, where we encountered more construction, road works, etc.
And let's not forget the Vegas pedestrians who are worse than the elderly Chinese folks you run into (or would, if it wasn't illegal) in Chinatown.
Oh look, we need to turn right here, and we have a Green Right Turn arrow but...there's people crossing the road. Both roads. People are both crossing the road in front of us, and crossing the road into which we want to turn. Then there was the woman in the car ahead of us who refused to turn at a Green Right Turn arrow. Possibly because the other lights were Red. Maybe because she'd found herself in a Right-turn only lane and she wanted to go straight ahead. We tooted her, the car next to her tooted her, Pedestrians on the sidewalk even tried to wave her around the corner. Finally she made her turn...just as the light changed and all the pedestrians began crossing the road. After Liz zipped through a gap in the pedestrians (don't ask how an SUV zips through a gap between pedestrians, it just does) we made our right-hand turn, and found the woman pulled over to the side of the road. Yup. Lost.
We checked into our room and found not a single, King-sized bed as requested but two Queens. Not only that, but for a non-Smoking room on a non-Smoking floor, it sure smelled like someone had been smoking. And look, here's an ash tray on the table. An ash tray, in a non-Smoking room. Just lovely.
I called down to the front desk and was informed they had no other King-sized bedrooms left on non-Smoking floors. So we took what they did have. Our second room turned out to be on the third floor, at the very end of the hall, and had a fantastic view of the Monte Carlo's second floor roof top. Our previous room had been on the 22nd floor, right off the elevator lobby, so I was pleased to get a room which would see zero foot traffic, and indeed it did prove remarkably quiet.
We went downstairs, hit the Casino, and found the Jackpot Dance Party machines that we'd enjoyed playing last time (it has a mini Bonus game that pops up occasionally and gives you a chance to win extra credits). Unfortunately we only found two of this particular machine, and both were being played, so we found a couple of other machines that looked like fun and settled down. We don't go to Vegas to get rich, we go to have fun, except these two machines weren't fun, and we were losing our money too quickly, so Liz went in search of a different machine while I waited for the waitress to return with the beers we'd ordered.
While waiting for our beers I watched another woman play a different machine, and a combination of a long wait for our beers, my non-playing, and my observation of this other woman playing managed to draw the attention of Security, because suddenly I had a large guy standing over me asking me in a jovial, but very direct, no-nonsense manner, "Where is your Player's Club card, and why aren't you playing?"
Now I've done some things in my life before which should have attracted the attention of security, but never did, so their arrival this time greatly amused me and I literally laughed out loud. I explained that I was waiting for the waitress to return with the beers I'd ordered, and that as soon as she showed up I was going to search for my wife who'd gone off to play another machine.
Taken by my accent the first Security guy (there were two of them) responded that as soon as he got home he was going to turn on the BBC. But the second Security guard had a better ear for accents and had me pegged as an Aussie, and he chastised his friend. We chatted for a couple of minutes then the cocktail waitress turned up with my beers, lending credence to my story. "Here's my beers," I said, tipping the waitress. "Now I just need to find my wife." The waitress remember Liz and told me she was just around the corner, and she was. My wife had been sitting right on the other side of my bank of games, and judging by the grin on her face, she'd over-heard my close encounter of the Security kind, too ;)
After playing our new machines for a while I was up a couple of dollars but Liz had lost several dollars so together we were a few dollars in the hole. I'm not trying to make light of our losses. We go to have fun not get rich, but we don't plan to lose our life savings either, so we play the Penny Slots. Yep, we're real high rollers, we are ;)
Actually I did play Blackjack once at $5 a hand. I'd allowed myself a stake of $50 before I knew what the table limit was, and even after seeing it was $5 a hand I still decided to play. I'd won a few hands but lost more and I was down to my last $10 when the cards started falling my way again. Half an hour later I'd won more hands than I'd lost and I had $50 in front of me once again, at which point I stood up, tipped the dealer $5 and walked away.
So now we just play the Penny Slots.
We played for a while then I went to the Box Office and secured our tickets to see Lance Burton, then Liz and I hit the Monte Carlo's buffet. We leisurely stuffed ourselves on all the fine food available, then with full bellies, wandered across the casino and into the Lance Burton Theater. Lance was pretty good, although I think both Liz and I would have liked to see Penn & Teller, if only they weren't so freaking expensive. As a bonus, there was a very humorous half-time show by a juggler and his stage hand.
After the show Liz and I wandered up The Strip but didn't get much further than Planet Hollywood's Miracle Mile Shops, where we strolled around, watched the indoor thunder storm, and bought more stuff.
Sunday morning we sampled the breakfast buffet at the Monte Carlo before heading up the I-15 to yet another Outlet Mall where...we returned the pair of jeans we bought at the Outlet Mall at Primms.
We also did a spot more gambling, again on the Penny slots, again on the machine we like playing. There was a lady playing at the machine Liz had been playing the previous day (& losing), so Liz sat down at the machine which I'd been playing (& winning) and fed in $5. Within minutes (or so it seemed), Liz won a 250 credit Jackpot (Woohoo! $2.50! Yes! In your face!) then the bonus game came up and Liz won another 500 credits.
That was about when the lady next to Liz decided to leave. I didn't have much luck with her old machine and by the time we walked away Liz had won back everything she'd lost the day before, but now I was down a couple of dollars. As I said, we play to have fun, we won some, we lost some, we broke even, we had fun :)
Sunday night we ate at the Bellagio, then we killed our feet some more walking up The Strip before riding The Deuce back down to the Monte Carlo.
That morning we'd discovered another good thing about our room, it faced north, so when the sun came up it beat down on the opposite side of the building instead of shining in our window. This made sleeping in very easy, and both Sunday & Monday morning we slept late. Sunday we made the breakfast buffet at the Monte Carlo with just half an hour to spare, and before we were done eating the lunch selections had already been brought out, so we got the best of both worlds.
Friday afternoon we dropped the dog off at the in-laws (who already had the kids) and the FIL pissed Liz off by making fun of the list she gave him, such as locking the dog in her crate at night. We should have had JE watch A Night at the Museum with him, so he could see what happens to people who don't follow directions. Of course they didn't lock in the dog in her crate on Saturday night, so she repaid their "kindness" by taking a dump outside their downstair's bathroom. They still thought she was a good dog.
Saturday morning we were off to Vegas, and we made pretty good time right up until we hit Primm, Whisky Pete's, and...the Fashion Outlet. After returning a Coach purse for Liz that she'd bought last time we were in Vegas, along with visiting numerous other stores where more items were purchased which will (probably) be returned at a later date, we resumed our journey. Thanks to our GPS the trip was fairly uneventful, except thanks to the almost, never-ending construction going on around The Strip we missed our turn-off to the Monte Carlo. We had to drive a mile further up the road then come back down The Strip, where we encountered more construction, road works, etc.
And let's not forget the Vegas pedestrians who are worse than the elderly Chinese folks you run into (or would, if it wasn't illegal) in Chinatown.
Oh look, we need to turn right here, and we have a Green Right Turn arrow but...there's people crossing the road. Both roads. People are both crossing the road in front of us, and crossing the road into which we want to turn. Then there was the woman in the car ahead of us who refused to turn at a Green Right Turn arrow. Possibly because the other lights were Red. Maybe because she'd found herself in a Right-turn only lane and she wanted to go straight ahead. We tooted her, the car next to her tooted her, Pedestrians on the sidewalk even tried to wave her around the corner. Finally she made her turn...just as the light changed and all the pedestrians began crossing the road. After Liz zipped through a gap in the pedestrians (don't ask how an SUV zips through a gap between pedestrians, it just does) we made our right-hand turn, and found the woman pulled over to the side of the road. Yup. Lost.
We checked into our room and found not a single, King-sized bed as requested but two Queens. Not only that, but for a non-Smoking room on a non-Smoking floor, it sure smelled like someone had been smoking. And look, here's an ash tray on the table. An ash tray, in a non-Smoking room. Just lovely.
I called down to the front desk and was informed they had no other King-sized bedrooms left on non-Smoking floors. So we took what they did have. Our second room turned out to be on the third floor, at the very end of the hall, and had a fantastic view of the Monte Carlo's second floor roof top. Our previous room had been on the 22nd floor, right off the elevator lobby, so I was pleased to get a room which would see zero foot traffic, and indeed it did prove remarkably quiet.
We went downstairs, hit the Casino, and found the Jackpot Dance Party machines that we'd enjoyed playing last time (it has a mini Bonus game that pops up occasionally and gives you a chance to win extra credits). Unfortunately we only found two of this particular machine, and both were being played, so we found a couple of other machines that looked like fun and settled down. We don't go to Vegas to get rich, we go to have fun, except these two machines weren't fun, and we were losing our money too quickly, so Liz went in search of a different machine while I waited for the waitress to return with the beers we'd ordered.
While waiting for our beers I watched another woman play a different machine, and a combination of a long wait for our beers, my non-playing, and my observation of this other woman playing managed to draw the attention of Security, because suddenly I had a large guy standing over me asking me in a jovial, but very direct, no-nonsense manner, "Where is your Player's Club card, and why aren't you playing?"
Now I've done some things in my life before which should have attracted the attention of security, but never did, so their arrival this time greatly amused me and I literally laughed out loud. I explained that I was waiting for the waitress to return with the beers I'd ordered, and that as soon as she showed up I was going to search for my wife who'd gone off to play another machine.
Taken by my accent the first Security guy (there were two of them) responded that as soon as he got home he was going to turn on the BBC. But the second Security guard had a better ear for accents and had me pegged as an Aussie, and he chastised his friend. We chatted for a couple of minutes then the cocktail waitress turned up with my beers, lending credence to my story. "Here's my beers," I said, tipping the waitress. "Now I just need to find my wife." The waitress remember Liz and told me she was just around the corner, and she was. My wife had been sitting right on the other side of my bank of games, and judging by the grin on her face, she'd over-heard my close encounter of the Security kind, too ;)
After playing our new machines for a while I was up a couple of dollars but Liz had lost several dollars so together we were a few dollars in the hole. I'm not trying to make light of our losses. We go to have fun not get rich, but we don't plan to lose our life savings either, so we play the Penny Slots. Yep, we're real high rollers, we are ;)
Actually I did play Blackjack once at $5 a hand. I'd allowed myself a stake of $50 before I knew what the table limit was, and even after seeing it was $5 a hand I still decided to play. I'd won a few hands but lost more and I was down to my last $10 when the cards started falling my way again. Half an hour later I'd won more hands than I'd lost and I had $50 in front of me once again, at which point I stood up, tipped the dealer $5 and walked away.
So now we just play the Penny Slots.
We played for a while then I went to the Box Office and secured our tickets to see Lance Burton, then Liz and I hit the Monte Carlo's buffet. We leisurely stuffed ourselves on all the fine food available, then with full bellies, wandered across the casino and into the Lance Burton Theater. Lance was pretty good, although I think both Liz and I would have liked to see Penn & Teller, if only they weren't so freaking expensive. As a bonus, there was a very humorous half-time show by a juggler and his stage hand.
After the show Liz and I wandered up The Strip but didn't get much further than Planet Hollywood's Miracle Mile Shops, where we strolled around, watched the indoor thunder storm, and bought more stuff.
Sunday morning we sampled the breakfast buffet at the Monte Carlo before heading up the I-15 to yet another Outlet Mall where...we returned the pair of jeans we bought at the Outlet Mall at Primms.
We also did a spot more gambling, again on the Penny slots, again on the machine we like playing. There was a lady playing at the machine Liz had been playing the previous day (& losing), so Liz sat down at the machine which I'd been playing (& winning) and fed in $5. Within minutes (or so it seemed), Liz won a 250 credit Jackpot (Woohoo! $2.50! Yes! In your face!) then the bonus game came up and Liz won another 500 credits.
That was about when the lady next to Liz decided to leave. I didn't have much luck with her old machine and by the time we walked away Liz had won back everything she'd lost the day before, but now I was down a couple of dollars. As I said, we play to have fun, we won some, we lost some, we broke even, we had fun :)
Sunday night we ate at the Bellagio, then we killed our feet some more walking up The Strip before riding The Deuce back down to the Monte Carlo.
That morning we'd discovered another good thing about our room, it faced north, so when the sun came up it beat down on the opposite side of the building instead of shining in our window. This made sleeping in very easy, and both Sunday & Monday morning we slept late. Sunday we made the breakfast buffet at the Monte Carlo with just half an hour to spare, and before we were done eating the lunch selections had already been brought out, so we got the best of both worlds.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Wanted! Dead or Alive!
BugHunter has a post up about a 'date' he & his wife recently went on to Body Worlds. That may not sound like a great date to you, but BH & his wife apparently had a great time (other than the delays, long lines, and crappy customer service), and I would have thought it was pretty cool, too (other than the delays, long lines, & crappy customer service).
When I did a search for Body Worlds, one of the links that popped up caught my eye: How much is your body worth?
Intrigued, I clicked on this Cadaver Calculator, and this is what I found out:
What about you? Are you worth more Dead than Alive?
*Edit* After answering the 20-question quiz you will be prompted to sign up for something like Mingle (an online Dating service), but in small print at the bottom will be a link you can click to say "No thanks, take me to my quiz results."
When I did a search for Body Worlds, one of the links that popped up caught my eye: How much is your body worth?
Intrigued, I clicked on this Cadaver Calculator, and this is what I found out:
What about you? Are you worth more Dead than Alive?
*Edit* After answering the 20-question quiz you will be prompted to sign up for something like Mingle (an online Dating service), but in small print at the bottom will be a link you can click to say "No thanks, take me to my quiz results."
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Welcome to the new regime
Now with hand-picked press conferences.
According to Chicago Sun-Times Journalist Carol Marin, many of the journalists at press conferences for President-elect Barack Obama (what? You thought this was about G.W.?) "don't even bother raising our hands any more to ask questions because Obama always has before him a list of correspondents who've been advised they will be called upon that day."
So certain Journalists at the press conferences are pre-approved to ask questions, and if you're not on that pre-approved list, don't even bother trying to get the President-elect's attention.
Yeah, so what if this has been going on down through the ages? So what if G.W. did it, too. It's too late to go Bush Bashing (unless you've got a Holden Ute, then I'm in), we're entering the Age of Obama, baby!
And all I have to say to that is: Don't blame me. I voted Libertarian.
According to Chicago Sun-Times Journalist Carol Marin, many of the journalists at press conferences for President-elect Barack Obama (what? You thought this was about G.W.?) "don't even bother raising our hands any more to ask questions because Obama always has before him a list of correspondents who've been advised they will be called upon that day."
So certain Journalists at the press conferences are pre-approved to ask questions, and if you're not on that pre-approved list, don't even bother trying to get the President-elect's attention.
Yeah, so what if this has been going on down through the ages? So what if G.W. did it, too. It's too late to go Bush Bashing (unless you've got a Holden Ute, then I'm in), we're entering the Age of Obama, baby!
And all I have to say to that is: Don't blame me. I voted Libertarian.
Monday, January 12, 2009
And here we go again...
It's the twelfth of January, already. How did that happen? We're almost two full weeks into the year, just like that.
This year promises to be a big one, too. I'm not talking about any of you, I mean for me. I was born in 1969 so this is the year I turn 40.
Thank heavens there's a couple of mates who'll hit the big Four-Oh before me ;)
Don't bother clicking their links, the slack buggers haven't updated their Blogs in donkey's :P
40 years old.
Technically I'm already in my 40th year, because each birthday actually celebrates the culmination of another year since you were born. And because I was born on August 30th, and there's just 7 1/2 months until my birthday, if you believe life begins at conception then I'm already over 40 years old.
What have I done during these past 40 years that's actually note worthy?
When I was about 4-5 I fell out of a tree, dropping approximately 15' to the ground where I struck my head on a concrete lawn edging. Oh yes, there was blood.
At maybe 8-10 years old I pushed a basketball out to my little sister and probably saved her from drowning.
As a teenager I won a couple of ribbons for athletics in High School, and even represented my school in an inter-school tournament.
I also finished second in a regional marathon (my first & only), then waited around for the presentation ceremony where I discovered that just as in life, there's no prize for coming in second; you're just the first loser.
At 19 years old I crashed my grandparents' car into a very large tree. The tree survived, the car did not.
At 20 years old I competed in the Victorian State Karate Championships, where I had the dubious distinction of being eliminated by the eventual Winner of my Division. It wasn't really that big of a deal. Just like in Karate Kid, anyone with their Sensei's approval could compete :P
In my late 20s I flew to the U.S. to meet a woman I'd met on the internet. Later we got married, and eventually had two kids.
I also completed my University degree here in the States. I graduated in absentia, but my parents were still proud of me.
And that's been my life, so far.
What haven't I done?
The only goal I set for myself (that I recall) which I never actually accomplished was to race Puffing Billy.
I also don't own a classic (pre-70's) Ford Mustang, but there's still time for that ;)
Oh, I also never became a millionaire by 30 years of age, because the system I had for betting on Horse Races worked brilliantly in the data gathering stages, but failed miserably when it was actually put into practice.
This year promises to be a big one, too. I'm not talking about any of you, I mean for me. I was born in 1969 so this is the year I turn 40.
Thank heavens there's a couple of mates who'll hit the big Four-Oh before me ;)
Don't bother clicking their links, the slack buggers haven't updated their Blogs in donkey's :P
40 years old.
Technically I'm already in my 40th year, because each birthday actually celebrates the culmination of another year since you were born. And because I was born on August 30th, and there's just 7 1/2 months until my birthday, if you believe life begins at conception then I'm already over 40 years old.
What have I done during these past 40 years that's actually note worthy?
When I was about 4-5 I fell out of a tree, dropping approximately 15' to the ground where I struck my head on a concrete lawn edging. Oh yes, there was blood.
At maybe 8-10 years old I pushed a basketball out to my little sister and probably saved her from drowning.
As a teenager I won a couple of ribbons for athletics in High School, and even represented my school in an inter-school tournament.
I also finished second in a regional marathon (my first & only), then waited around for the presentation ceremony where I discovered that just as in life, there's no prize for coming in second; you're just the first loser.
At 19 years old I crashed my grandparents' car into a very large tree. The tree survived, the car did not.
At 20 years old I competed in the Victorian State Karate Championships, where I had the dubious distinction of being eliminated by the eventual Winner of my Division. It wasn't really that big of a deal. Just like in Karate Kid, anyone with their Sensei's approval could compete :P
In my late 20s I flew to the U.S. to meet a woman I'd met on the internet. Later we got married, and eventually had two kids.
I also completed my University degree here in the States. I graduated in absentia, but my parents were still proud of me.
And that's been my life, so far.
What haven't I done?
The only goal I set for myself (that I recall) which I never actually accomplished was to race Puffing Billy.
I also don't own a classic (pre-70's) Ford Mustang, but there's still time for that ;)
Oh, I also never became a millionaire by 30 years of age, because the system I had for betting on Horse Races worked brilliantly in the data gathering stages, but failed miserably when it was actually put into practice.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Now I know...
why Garfield, and Bob Geldof & The Boomtown Rats don't like Mondays.
You know what's worse than opening a pistachio nut and thinking it's moldy?
Discovering the "fuzz" on the nut is actually the remnants of a cocoon spun by a little grub. And look! There it is! Roasted in its little niche, inside the pistachio nut.
You know what's worse than that?
Looking at the pile of empty shells from the pistachios you've already eaten.
You know what's worse than opening a pistachio nut and thinking it's moldy?
Discovering the "fuzz" on the nut is actually the remnants of a cocoon spun by a little grub. And look! There it is! Roasted in its little niche, inside the pistachio nut.
You know what's worse than that?
Looking at the pile of empty shells from the pistachios you've already eaten.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Inappropriate work attire
My Life Wizard made it to Moo Shu, but because my son and I haven't been playing together as much my son's Wizard is still stuck back in Marleybone, so I rolled a Death Wizard, a big, bad Necromancer to play in the meantime. He's actually kind of fun. Whereas my Life Wizard has low damage but the ability to heal himself, my Necromancer can heal himself by sucking the life right out of his opponent. Other than my Life Wizards (yes, I have two :P) he's the only Wizard I've played that beat Golem Tower before hitting level 10. In fact I did it twice in a row with my Necromancer, with him at just level 5.
At level 12 you begin a chain quest to get a totally new outfit, and I was really looking forward to completing this quest as every piece is almost always an upgrade.
Here's my Necromancer before equipping his new level 12 Quest pieces.
Prior to this I had a Black robe with Purple Trim, and I would have dyed this one the same, but I figured I was getting an upgrade soon so I didn't need to waste the Gold, likewise with the Hat. The Boots were originally black so I didn't bother dying them.
Then I completed the quest chain and got my new clothes. Alright! Let's see what my Necromancer/Death Wizard looks like in his new clothes!!!
What the fuck is this?! Excuse me! I'm a Necromancer! A Master of the Undead! I can't go running around looking like this! What the hell were the designers thinking? I know this is a game targeting the kiddies, but come on!
Actually, I'm keeping the Robe, but the obscenely tall & pointed hat, with the flower on the side? Uh uh. The shoes can go, too. It's a good thing that quest chain provides you with a decent chunk of XP (I leveled twice while doing it) because the Quest Rewards (for a Necromancer) suck. The hat would provide me with 14 more Health and +3% Resistance to Death Magic, while the Boots would have me exchange +3 Dmg for +2% Resistance to Death Magic (same Health, before & after). I can live without that. I might go dye my new Robe though, if it's not too expensive :P
At level 12 you begin a chain quest to get a totally new outfit, and I was really looking forward to completing this quest as every piece is almost always an upgrade.
Here's my Necromancer before equipping his new level 12 Quest pieces.
Prior to this I had a Black robe with Purple Trim, and I would have dyed this one the same, but I figured I was getting an upgrade soon so I didn't need to waste the Gold, likewise with the Hat. The Boots were originally black so I didn't bother dying them.
Then I completed the quest chain and got my new clothes. Alright! Let's see what my Necromancer/Death Wizard looks like in his new clothes!!!
What the fuck is this?! Excuse me! I'm a Necromancer! A Master of the Undead! I can't go running around looking like this! What the hell were the designers thinking? I know this is a game targeting the kiddies, but come on!
Actually, I'm keeping the Robe, but the obscenely tall & pointed hat, with the flower on the side? Uh uh. The shoes can go, too. It's a good thing that quest chain provides you with a decent chunk of XP (I leveled twice while doing it) because the Quest Rewards (for a Necromancer) suck. The hat would provide me with 14 more Health and +3% Resistance to Death Magic, while the Boots would have me exchange +3 Dmg for +2% Resistance to Death Magic (same Health, before & after). I can live without that. I might go dye my new Robe though, if it's not too expensive :P
Friday, January 02, 2009
When do you let go?
For too long JE had training wheels on his bike, and it was far too rarely that he actually went out and rode. I knew I'd been a poor father when picking up the Bunny from Preschool I saw several of her 4 y/old classmates riding around the playground, on 2-wheel bikes. Oops! Big Oops.
I don't know how old I was when my father taught me to ride a 2-wheel bike, but I never had a bike with training wheels; I went straight from Trike to Bike. I remember being envious of the younger kids with training wheels on their bikes, even though I could already ride a 2-wheeler. I remember talking with one girl who said her Dad had taken one of the training wheels off her younger brother's bike, but she said he didn't even need one training wheel because she'd seen him riding his friends' 2-wheel bikes with no problems.
So when I figured it was time for JE to lose the training wheels, I just took one of them off. That was actually a mistake. Instead of trying to balance, JE would just lean over to the training wheel side. So I took that wheel off too, then holding his seat or handle bars I trotted along beside him while he freaked out. It became almost impossible to get him back on the bike. I had to tell myself not to give in, not to put the training wheels back on.
In a local Thrift Store Liz and I discovered a pre-loved Razor Scooter which looked like it still had quite a few rides left in it. I figured this was a good way for JE to learn to balance on two wheels, or more to the point, to have the confidence in his own ability to balance on two wheels. At first he'd be almost constantly pushing off with one foot, but as his confidence grew he began scooting for longer and longer distances between pushes. We got our daughter a scooter of her own, too, so with both kids having Scooters, and Southern California having somewhat mild winters (except when it pours down raining, which isn't that often), the kids were able to get out and ride a lot.
Every now & then I'd put JE on his bike, and holding onto his seat and running alongside him, we'd do a couple of laps up & down the driveway. Then I realized the little guy had outgrown his old bike; his knees were almost up around his ears as he pedaled, even with the seat fully raised up. It was time to get him a new bike.
With a donation from one Aunty we bought JE a new, bigger bike for Christmas, and as small as it was, it was still pretty tough getting it into and out of the back of the SUV (it came pre-built) then wrestling it into our storage closet until Christmas. Naturally when the big day arrived it was pouring rain, so JE had to wait until the next day to go out on his new bike.
But when he did, what progress he'd made!
I ran along beside/behind him, not quite holding his seat, and he'd ride from one end of the driveway to the other (probably 50 metres or so), then turn around, sometimes on his own, and ride back. Occasionally I'd catch him from toppling over, but more often than not he'd catch himself. He was wobbling all over the place, but he wasn't going down.
And I found myself in a situation that as a parent, I'll have to face quite a few more times in the future, with both of my children.
Letting go.
I'm sure my son can ride by himself without my help. He's already demonstrated that he can turn 180-degrees and right the bike before tipping over. He has trouble getting started without my help, but I seem to recall that was a problem I faced myself when learning to ride. I tried to show him how to push off while standing on one pedal, much like you do on a scooter, but he preferred to start riding while already seated, with me helping him maintain balance. I also recall I used to lean my bike against the fence, climb on, then begin pedaling while simultaneously pushing my bike off the fence.
My son can ride his bike by himself, the issue at hand is him having the confidence to do it all by himself, and not losing that confidence when he takes his first fall, but getting straight back on and riding again. But that's not going to happen if I don't let go.
As parents we need to learn to let go; we need to let our children spread their wings and fly. They'll always be our babies, but they won't always be children.
I don't know how old I was when my father taught me to ride a 2-wheel bike, but I never had a bike with training wheels; I went straight from Trike to Bike. I remember being envious of the younger kids with training wheels on their bikes, even though I could already ride a 2-wheeler. I remember talking with one girl who said her Dad had taken one of the training wheels off her younger brother's bike, but she said he didn't even need one training wheel because she'd seen him riding his friends' 2-wheel bikes with no problems.
So when I figured it was time for JE to lose the training wheels, I just took one of them off. That was actually a mistake. Instead of trying to balance, JE would just lean over to the training wheel side. So I took that wheel off too, then holding his seat or handle bars I trotted along beside him while he freaked out. It became almost impossible to get him back on the bike. I had to tell myself not to give in, not to put the training wheels back on.
In a local Thrift Store Liz and I discovered a pre-loved Razor Scooter which looked like it still had quite a few rides left in it. I figured this was a good way for JE to learn to balance on two wheels, or more to the point, to have the confidence in his own ability to balance on two wheels. At first he'd be almost constantly pushing off with one foot, but as his confidence grew he began scooting for longer and longer distances between pushes. We got our daughter a scooter of her own, too, so with both kids having Scooters, and Southern California having somewhat mild winters (except when it pours down raining, which isn't that often), the kids were able to get out and ride a lot.
Every now & then I'd put JE on his bike, and holding onto his seat and running alongside him, we'd do a couple of laps up & down the driveway. Then I realized the little guy had outgrown his old bike; his knees were almost up around his ears as he pedaled, even with the seat fully raised up. It was time to get him a new bike.
With a donation from one Aunty we bought JE a new, bigger bike for Christmas, and as small as it was, it was still pretty tough getting it into and out of the back of the SUV (it came pre-built) then wrestling it into our storage closet until Christmas. Naturally when the big day arrived it was pouring rain, so JE had to wait until the next day to go out on his new bike.
But when he did, what progress he'd made!
I ran along beside/behind him, not quite holding his seat, and he'd ride from one end of the driveway to the other (probably 50 metres or so), then turn around, sometimes on his own, and ride back. Occasionally I'd catch him from toppling over, but more often than not he'd catch himself. He was wobbling all over the place, but he wasn't going down.
And I found myself in a situation that as a parent, I'll have to face quite a few more times in the future, with both of my children.
Letting go.
I'm sure my son can ride by himself without my help. He's already demonstrated that he can turn 180-degrees and right the bike before tipping over. He has trouble getting started without my help, but I seem to recall that was a problem I faced myself when learning to ride. I tried to show him how to push off while standing on one pedal, much like you do on a scooter, but he preferred to start riding while already seated, with me helping him maintain balance. I also recall I used to lean my bike against the fence, climb on, then begin pedaling while simultaneously pushing my bike off the fence.
My son can ride his bike by himself, the issue at hand is him having the confidence to do it all by himself, and not losing that confidence when he takes his first fall, but getting straight back on and riding again. But that's not going to happen if I don't let go.
As parents we need to learn to let go; we need to let our children spread their wings and fly. They'll always be our babies, but they won't always be children.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Straight No Chaser, 10 years later
Their original clip, from 10 years ago, has been taken down. They're 10 years older and some of them are having just a shade of trouble hitting the really high notes, but the A Capella group from Indiana University are still doing an excellent job with their rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas.
I hope it makes you smile as much as it does me.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Festivus, or just plain Happy Holidays.
I hope it makes you smile as much as it does me.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Festivus, or just plain Happy Holidays.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Another one rides the bus
This morning while waiting for the bus, a (what's the PC term?) Residentially Challenged Man wandered up, scratching himself, fidgeting, and doing things your typical RC person is wont to do, like slapping himself and yelling at things only he can see.
I debated (with myself) the merits of calling my local P.D. but really, what had this fellow done other than be Residentially Challenged? That really shouldn't be a crime (and I doubt it is), and while he did look like he could use the attention of someone who'd take better care of him than he was himself, would my local P.D. be able to satisfy that role in his life? And considering the Bus Station is under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff's Department, not the local P.D., my friendly, neighborhood RCM would probably end up just getting a ride into downtown and wind up a few blocks from where I work.
He wasn't hurting anyone, and didn't really appear dangerous, so I figured what with it being Hanukkah/Christmas/Kwanza/Winter Solstice, why not just let my fellow man be.
A Metro Bus came through and the RCM got all excited, but this particular Bus was Not In Service so it just drove on by without stopping, and the RCM calmed down (somewhat) and resumed his fidgeting and pacing. Then a Foothill Transit Bus pulled up at the station and the RCM jumped up and trotted over to the door, but as this Bus terminated at the Bus Station the RCM was once again disappointed. Then my Bus finally arrived and everyone in line got excited, but the RCM was more so than most.
Ignoring the line of passengers he trotted up to the door and got lucky. Normally the Drivers of the Express Buses into downtown close the front door when they go back to check their passengers and make sure everyone has paid the extra fare to ride into town, but this morning's driver didn't do that; he left the front door open.
The RCM pushed his way in front of the first person in line and when the driver was halfway down the bus he made his move and leaped aboard. Taking a couple of quick steps he plopped down into the first available seat, and his new neighbor immediately switched seats. I watched as the Bus Driver got to the back of the bus, checked his last passenger, then turned and made his way back towards the front. Surely he'd notice RCM and realize he hadn't been there earlier but RCM's sheer audacity paid off and the Driver walked past him without blinking, or even wrinkling up his nose.
For gaming the system and getting a free ride into downtown, we salute you, Mr. Smarter-than-you-look Residentially Challenged Man!
I debated (with myself) the merits of calling my local P.D. but really, what had this fellow done other than be Residentially Challenged? That really shouldn't be a crime (and I doubt it is), and while he did look like he could use the attention of someone who'd take better care of him than he was himself, would my local P.D. be able to satisfy that role in his life? And considering the Bus Station is under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff's Department, not the local P.D., my friendly, neighborhood RCM would probably end up just getting a ride into downtown and wind up a few blocks from where I work.
He wasn't hurting anyone, and didn't really appear dangerous, so I figured what with it being Hanukkah/Christmas/Kwanza/Winter Solstice, why not just let my fellow man be.
A Metro Bus came through and the RCM got all excited, but this particular Bus was Not In Service so it just drove on by without stopping, and the RCM calmed down (somewhat) and resumed his fidgeting and pacing. Then a Foothill Transit Bus pulled up at the station and the RCM jumped up and trotted over to the door, but as this Bus terminated at the Bus Station the RCM was once again disappointed. Then my Bus finally arrived and everyone in line got excited, but the RCM was more so than most.
Ignoring the line of passengers he trotted up to the door and got lucky. Normally the Drivers of the Express Buses into downtown close the front door when they go back to check their passengers and make sure everyone has paid the extra fare to ride into town, but this morning's driver didn't do that; he left the front door open.
The RCM pushed his way in front of the first person in line and when the driver was halfway down the bus he made his move and leaped aboard. Taking a couple of quick steps he plopped down into the first available seat, and his new neighbor immediately switched seats. I watched as the Bus Driver got to the back of the bus, checked his last passenger, then turned and made his way back towards the front. Surely he'd notice RCM and realize he hadn't been there earlier but RCM's sheer audacity paid off and the Driver walked past him without blinking, or even wrinkling up his nose.
For gaming the system and getting a free ride into downtown, we salute you, Mr. Smarter-than-you-look Residentially Challenged Man!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Fable II
Does Microsoft really need to sell their X-Box so badly that they'll force gamers to buy it just to play Fable II?
Considering you can't play Halo on the PC (or we'd spank those console players arses, and they know it), it really shouldn't be a surprise, but it's still fucking annoying. And no, I'm not going to buy an X-Box just to play Fable II...I already have an X-Box, it's called a PC, and it kicks the X-Box's arse.
Fucking Microsoft.
/rant off
Considering you can't play Halo on the PC (or we'd spank those console players arses, and they know it), it really shouldn't be a surprise, but it's still fucking annoying. And no, I'm not going to buy an X-Box just to play Fable II...I already have an X-Box, it's called a PC, and it kicks the X-Box's arse.
Fucking Microsoft.
/rant off
Thursday, December 11, 2008
They play how much, now?
According to GigaOM, in Q2/2006 Blizzard made $30,000,000 from their 5,000,000 Chinese subscribers who, GigaOM quotes (but from where I'm not sure), pay approx. US4¢/hr to play.
$30m per quarter means $10m/month (on average).
$10m / 4¢ (per hour) = 250,000,000 hours.
250m hours / 5m players = 50 hours.
So on average, each Chinese player plays WoW for...just 50 hours per month?
Oddly enough, that really isn't much.
When I used to play, I could easily play for 2-3 hours every weeknight, plus the same (or more) on weekends. I'd be up early on weekends and get in a good couple of hours before Liz would be up, and then sometimes get in another hour or two after that as well. We'd go out somewhere for the afternoon/evening, get home, and I could easily put in another couple of hours before bed.
2-3 hours per weeknight + 12 hours per weekend (both days) = 22-25 hours per week.
4 weeks + 3/4 'extra' days per month = 100+ hours of WoW per month.
So I played twice as much as the average Chinese player, and I was just a casual-hardcore player.
True hardcore players would put in even more time, possibly as much as 150 hours per month. Raiding on multiple weeknights (4 hours per) would easily jack your monthly hours up that high.
I know what you're saying. What about Chinese Gold Farmers. They're on 24/7 (except Tuesdays). Allowing downtime for Tuesdays, let's say 29 days per month, at 24 hours per day, = approx. 700 hours. So one Chinese Gold Farmer = approx. 14 recreational players.
Unless...all of the Chinese players are Gold Farmers. How ironic would that be.
Assuming the average Chinese player is on for 50 hours, and the average Chinese Gold Farmers is on for 700 hours, given that there is 5,000,000 of them and together they play for a combined 250,000,000 hours, I'm sure there's a quadratic formula that would let you work out the ratio of Players to Farmers. I'm good with Maths, but I can't be stuffed working it out.
Anyone want to take a shot at it?
$30m per quarter means $10m/month (on average).
$10m / 4¢ (per hour) = 250,000,000 hours.
250m hours / 5m players = 50 hours.
So on average, each Chinese player plays WoW for...just 50 hours per month?
Oddly enough, that really isn't much.
When I used to play, I could easily play for 2-3 hours every weeknight, plus the same (or more) on weekends. I'd be up early on weekends and get in a good couple of hours before Liz would be up, and then sometimes get in another hour or two after that as well. We'd go out somewhere for the afternoon/evening, get home, and I could easily put in another couple of hours before bed.
2-3 hours per weeknight + 12 hours per weekend (both days) = 22-25 hours per week.
4 weeks + 3/4 'extra' days per month = 100+ hours of WoW per month.
So I played twice as much as the average Chinese player, and I was just a casual-hardcore player.
True hardcore players would put in even more time, possibly as much as 150 hours per month. Raiding on multiple weeknights (4 hours per) would easily jack your monthly hours up that high.
I know what you're saying. What about Chinese Gold Farmers. They're on 24/7 (except Tuesdays). Allowing downtime for Tuesdays, let's say 29 days per month, at 24 hours per day, = approx. 700 hours. So one Chinese Gold Farmer = approx. 14 recreational players.
Unless...all of the Chinese players are Gold Farmers. How ironic would that be.
Assuming the average Chinese player is on for 50 hours, and the average Chinese Gold Farmers is on for 700 hours, given that there is 5,000,000 of them and together they play for a combined 250,000,000 hours, I'm sure there's a quadratic formula that would let you work out the ratio of Players to Farmers. I'm good with Maths, but I can't be stuffed working it out.
Anyone want to take a shot at it?
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Graffiti: Art, or Vandalism?
I thought I'd expand on the conversation/comments started by my last Post.
IMO, whether Graffiti is Art or Vandalism depends on the graffiti itself, and on the "canvas" that was used.
When we first moved into our townhouse our communal letterbox (that we shared with 6 neighbors) came with a piece of lumber across the top. About 3' wide, 12" tall, painted white, it proved an irresistible target, so I wasn't too surprised when I came home from work one day to see something unintelligible scribbled across it. But we'd been painting the house that past weekend so I happened to have a couple of cans of white paint in the garage, and as soon as I'd parked my car I was back out the front, paint & brush in hand.
When painted/written under a larger piece of work I could acknowledge that this:
is an artist's signature. But when it's scrawled in black marker across a letterbox it's nothing but senseless vandalism. I obliterated it with a coat of white paint (not this piece specifically).
A couple of days later it was back. Maybe the same Tagger, maybe not, I don't know; I lost the ability to read Scribble when I graduated from Kindergarten.
I painted over it again.
About a week went by before the Taggers struck again, and probably within hours of them scribbling their nonsense on my letterbox I'd once again erased it.
It was almost six months before they Tagged us again.
They were still around. I'd see their work up and down the street, on other letterboxes, For Sale signs, even spray painted on hedges, but for six months they left us alone. And when they finally did hit us I was back out there, painting over it again.
It didn't piss me off, in fact I got a smug sense of satisfaction by imagining the Tagger coming by later to admire his work, and seeing that his biggest Tag was already gone, just hours after he'd put it up.
That's Tagging. It's graffiti, and it's vandalism. It's exactly the same as your dog pissing on and marking every rock, tree & street sign when you take him for a walk.
"This is mine! And this is mine! Oh, this? This is mine, too! And this! It's mine as well!"
No, this letterbox is mine!
Now if the Taggers had shown a little bit of style and creativity, I might have left their work alone. If they'd done something like this:
or even this:
I'd have thought, "That's pretty cool! I like it!" and it could have stayed.
But when a dog takes a piss up against your letterbox it's only natural to grab your hose and clean it off. Or you piss right back, and you keep on doing that, and eventually the dog comes through saying, "This is mine! And this! And this, too! And...oh! This? No. This is yours."
IMO, whether Graffiti is Art or Vandalism depends on the graffiti itself, and on the "canvas" that was used.
When we first moved into our townhouse our communal letterbox (that we shared with 6 neighbors) came with a piece of lumber across the top. About 3' wide, 12" tall, painted white, it proved an irresistible target, so I wasn't too surprised when I came home from work one day to see something unintelligible scribbled across it. But we'd been painting the house that past weekend so I happened to have a couple of cans of white paint in the garage, and as soon as I'd parked my car I was back out the front, paint & brush in hand.
When painted/written under a larger piece of work I could acknowledge that this:
is an artist's signature. But when it's scrawled in black marker across a letterbox it's nothing but senseless vandalism. I obliterated it with a coat of white paint (not this piece specifically).A couple of days later it was back. Maybe the same Tagger, maybe not, I don't know; I lost the ability to read Scribble when I graduated from Kindergarten.
I painted over it again.
About a week went by before the Taggers struck again, and probably within hours of them scribbling their nonsense on my letterbox I'd once again erased it.
It was almost six months before they Tagged us again.
They were still around. I'd see their work up and down the street, on other letterboxes, For Sale signs, even spray painted on hedges, but for six months they left us alone. And when they finally did hit us I was back out there, painting over it again.
It didn't piss me off, in fact I got a smug sense of satisfaction by imagining the Tagger coming by later to admire his work, and seeing that his biggest Tag was already gone, just hours after he'd put it up.
That's Tagging. It's graffiti, and it's vandalism. It's exactly the same as your dog pissing on and marking every rock, tree & street sign when you take him for a walk.
"This is mine! And this is mine! Oh, this? This is mine, too! And this! It's mine as well!"
No, this letterbox is mine!
Now if the Taggers had shown a little bit of style and creativity, I might have left their work alone. If they'd done something like this:
or even this:
I'd have thought, "That's pretty cool! I like it!" and it could have stayed.
But when a dog takes a piss up against your letterbox it's only natural to grab your hose and clean it off. Or you piss right back, and you keep on doing that, and eventually the dog comes through saying, "This is mine! And this! And this, too! And...oh! This? No. This is yours."
Monday, December 08, 2008
Tagging
I've got about 100 posts left to Tag and I've noticed Blogger's main Edit Comments page allows you to Tag a bunch of posts all at once...except without exploding an entry, the title doesn't always tell me what it's about, especially when you're looking at a 2 y/old post.
Also I can only apply 1 tag at a time to multiple posts and that seems counterproductive. I'd need to explode every post, look at the first Tag, then go through every post to see if that Tag applies to that post, if so, check it, do that for every Post, then apply that first Tag. Uncheck every post, review every post with respect to the second Tag, apply second Tag, uncheck every post, and so on.
I think it's going to be faster to review every post, apply relevant Tags, then republish it.
I don't know if that means I'm about to spam the Readers of anyone who subscribes to my Blog or not, or if it doesn't count for Edits and re-publishes.
If it does, I apologize in advance for the next 100 or so spammed Posts just for me to get my Tags up-to-date.
Also I can only apply 1 tag at a time to multiple posts and that seems counterproductive. I'd need to explode every post, look at the first Tag, then go through every post to see if that Tag applies to that post, if so, check it, do that for every Post, then apply that first Tag. Uncheck every post, review every post with respect to the second Tag, apply second Tag, uncheck every post, and so on.
I think it's going to be faster to review every post, apply relevant Tags, then republish it.
I don't know if that means I'm about to spam the Readers of anyone who subscribes to my Blog or not, or if it doesn't count for Edits and re-publishes.
If it does, I apologize in advance for the next 100 or so spammed Posts just for me to get my Tags up-to-date.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
What a boring life we must lead :P
Almost a week since I last posted. Nothing to discuss, perhaps? Not even a rant?
Okay, so Thanksgiving was in there somewhere. Interesting bit of Thanksgiving trivia, not sure how accurate it is. Apparently 600 million pounds of Turkey is eaten each year on Thanksgiving Day. I don't know about you, but that seems an awful lot of Turkey.
Now when they say "Thanksgiving Day", do they just mean the Thursday? Coz I get Friday off as well as Thursday (perk of being a government lackey). Also, given there's barely 300 million folks in the U.S., total, that means every man, woman & child has to personally account for 2 pounds of Turkey (on average). Okay, so you eat 1 pound of turkey for lunch, then another pound for dinner. Done, right? How many kids do you know that would eat a full pound of meat in one sitting? That's the patties from four Quarter Pounders. Actually, it's probably the patties from five Quarter Pounders, because I doubt a Quarter Pounder patty weighs a full quarter of a pound after you fry it up. When you put it that way, a pound of meat is a fucking (sorry) shit load (sorry again) of meat.
So somehow every man, woman and child eats 10 Quarter Pounder patties worth of Turkey on Thanksgiving Day? I highly doubt that. Now I realize some people will eat that much, and some will eat even more, but I still find it hard to believe that as a nation we can consume 600 million pounds of Turkey in one day. More likely, it's 600 million pounds of Turkey sold for Thanksgiving Day, but there's no actual proof that all that Turkey gets eaten.
Monday night we decided to get a Christmas Tree, just a little one, about 4' tall, from one of the local lots. The young guy that helped us out tied the tree on top of our Highlander all by himself. I figured it was appropriate to tip him, and as he'd done such a good job I figured he deserved more than the single dollar I had, so I bummed another dollar off Liz, folded them together, then palmed them and handed them over during the Thank You handshake. I don't know whether or not they're supposed to pool their tips, but I figured he'd helped us out and tied the tree on our car by himself, he deserved to keep his $2 tip. The subtle way he slid the bills into his hip pocket without even looking at them first told me he was probably supposed to share his tips with the others, so I'm glad I tipped him on the sly. I'm sure the other guys don't share all their tips either so as long as they're all shorting each other, it's okay, right ;)
The kids had a great time decorating the tree when we got home, and we only had to shove Willow away a couple of times before she got the hint that the tree is not a new toy. We took a few pics but Liz hasn't uploaded them yet, and she's hidden the camera away somewhere, so at this point in time, you'll have to use your imagination ;)
*Edit - apparently the pictures were up...I just couldn't find them :P
Okay, so Thanksgiving was in there somewhere. Interesting bit of Thanksgiving trivia, not sure how accurate it is. Apparently 600 million pounds of Turkey is eaten each year on Thanksgiving Day. I don't know about you, but that seems an awful lot of Turkey.
Now when they say "Thanksgiving Day", do they just mean the Thursday? Coz I get Friday off as well as Thursday (perk of being a government lackey). Also, given there's barely 300 million folks in the U.S., total, that means every man, woman & child has to personally account for 2 pounds of Turkey (on average). Okay, so you eat 1 pound of turkey for lunch, then another pound for dinner. Done, right? How many kids do you know that would eat a full pound of meat in one sitting? That's the patties from four Quarter Pounders. Actually, it's probably the patties from five Quarter Pounders, because I doubt a Quarter Pounder patty weighs a full quarter of a pound after you fry it up. When you put it that way, a pound of meat is a fucking (sorry) shit load (sorry again) of meat.
So somehow every man, woman and child eats 10 Quarter Pounder patties worth of Turkey on Thanksgiving Day? I highly doubt that. Now I realize some people will eat that much, and some will eat even more, but I still find it hard to believe that as a nation we can consume 600 million pounds of Turkey in one day. More likely, it's 600 million pounds of Turkey sold for Thanksgiving Day, but there's no actual proof that all that Turkey gets eaten.
Monday night we decided to get a Christmas Tree, just a little one, about 4' tall, from one of the local lots. The young guy that helped us out tied the tree on top of our Highlander all by himself. I figured it was appropriate to tip him, and as he'd done such a good job I figured he deserved more than the single dollar I had, so I bummed another dollar off Liz, folded them together, then palmed them and handed them over during the Thank You handshake. I don't know whether or not they're supposed to pool their tips, but I figured he'd helped us out and tied the tree on our car by himself, he deserved to keep his $2 tip. The subtle way he slid the bills into his hip pocket without even looking at them first told me he was probably supposed to share his tips with the others, so I'm glad I tipped him on the sly. I'm sure the other guys don't share all their tips either so as long as they're all shorting each other, it's okay, right ;)
The kids had a great time decorating the tree when we got home, and we only had to shove Willow away a couple of times before she got the hint that the tree is not a new toy. We took a few pics but Liz hasn't uploaded them yet, and she's hidden the camera away somewhere, so at this point in time, you'll have to use your imagination ;)
*Edit - apparently the pictures were up...I just couldn't find them :P
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Shaking up WoW
A couple of WoW's Wrath quests have got people in a bit of a tiz lately, such as one which asks you to torture an NPC to extract information from them. Somehow some people find this quest morally repugnant.
Never mind that to get this far their toon has probably already committed numerous acts that are equally disturbing, and which together far outweigh one simple act of torture.
At least on the Alliance side, most players will:
Kill numerous sentient humanoids to collect their eyes to make a stew.
Kill numerous sentient humanoids for kelp, just so two youngsters can defy their parents and hang out together.
Slaughter wildlife by the thousands, in some cases for nothing but their paws, legs, or liver. "Go! Kill some pigs, and bring back their livers so I can make a few pies."
In some cases wildlife are slaughtered, literally by the hundreds, for no reason at all, other than to impress a couple of people. Yes, Nesingwary, I'm looking at you!
Almost all Alliance will be offered a quest to kill a man who helped rebuild Stormwind and who was then cheated and wronged by the Stormwind Nobles. Most Alliance will accept a contract to kill this honorable man, who refused the Nobles' bribes and who turned down a cushy government job because he was loyal to his men, men who were not brigands but common laborers and stonemasons. Most Alliance will take this quest and do everything they can to kill this man, one Edwin VanCleef, and they won't think twice about what they're doing.
How is it acceptable to kill a man whose crime was to speak out against injustice, but torturing someone for information is really, really not okay?
Seriously, it's not like the choices you make affect anything.
Kill a named Quest Mob, in 5 minutes he'll pop right back up. Mine that Node, half an hour later, another Node will spring up in its place.
In most cases, WoW is a very static world.
The in-game choices you make don't make a shred of difference, or at least any effects from the choice you make disappears after 5-10 minutes.
The only choices that really affect anything are the very first two you make: Do you choose Alliance or Horde, and what class? Pretty much any other choice you make is irrelevant.
In Shattrath you'll be able to choose between Scryer and Aldor, but if you make the wrong choice (for your craft) then it just takes a little bit of work to undo that choice. It's not a huge, game breaking decision. It might take an investment of time & gold on your behalf to undo your choice, but it can be reversed.
But, what if there was a choice to be made in-game which couldn't be reversed.
Take the Torture quest that's getting everyone up in arms. What if you strolled up to a camp with two Quest Givers and when you talk to the first one he says, "Psst. We've got a guy tied up in bushes. Go back there, smack him around a bit, and see if you can't get some information out of him."
I'm sorry, you want me to do what? Beat up a helpless guy? I don't think so.
So you click Decline then talk to the second Quest Giver. He says, "Psst. They've got a guy tied up in the bushes back there. Go get some food & wine from the Innkeeper, untie the guy and lead him up into the hills, then give him the food & wine and see if he'll open up to you."
Interesting. You've got two quests which seem to have the same goal in mind; Interrogate a prisoner for information. But in the first quest you'll use violence to extract the information, whereas the second quest has you be a little more subtle.
If you'd accepted the first guy's quest, the quest marker would have disappeared from second guy, and instead of offering you the subterfuge quest he now might say, "A man who thinks he's about to die will say anything to save his life. How can you trust information gained through torture?"
A smart cookie might make the connection between the two quest givers, then abandon the Torture quest to see what the second Quest Giver had to say.
And now you're presented with a moral choice, a very real choice. You no longer have a choice between doing or not doing a quest; now you have a choice between torturing someone for information, or befriending them to gain the same.
Imagine if this was how you chose between Aldor and Scryer, with your choice affecting who will talk to you in the future, what quests you can get, and even what City you will eventually call home at 80. Imagine if making a choice one way or the other gives you some sort of communication device which allows you to communicate in a channel specifically reserved for just the Torturers, or just the Spies...regardless of faction. Yes, suddenly Alliance and Horde could communicate with each other, but only those who'd chosen to torture the prisoner could communicate with each other, while only those who'd chosen to free and befriend the prisoner could communicate with each other.
Imagine Horde and Alliance being able to group up, together, to do lvl 80 Instances? And why not? With BC's introduction of Dranei Shamans and Bloodelf Paladins, the factions are practically the same now anyway.
Imagine if there were decisions to make in the World of Warcraft that really mattered, decisions with irreversible consequences.
If you think people are upset over the Torture quest now, just imagine the screaming, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth if players/toons were held accountable for their in-game decisions ;)
Never mind that to get this far their toon has probably already committed numerous acts that are equally disturbing, and which together far outweigh one simple act of torture.
At least on the Alliance side, most players will:
Kill numerous sentient humanoids to collect their eyes to make a stew.
Kill numerous sentient humanoids for kelp, just so two youngsters can defy their parents and hang out together.
Slaughter wildlife by the thousands, in some cases for nothing but their paws, legs, or liver. "Go! Kill some pigs, and bring back their livers so I can make a few pies."
In some cases wildlife are slaughtered, literally by the hundreds, for no reason at all, other than to impress a couple of people. Yes, Nesingwary, I'm looking at you!
Almost all Alliance will be offered a quest to kill a man who helped rebuild Stormwind and who was then cheated and wronged by the Stormwind Nobles. Most Alliance will accept a contract to kill this honorable man, who refused the Nobles' bribes and who turned down a cushy government job because he was loyal to his men, men who were not brigands but common laborers and stonemasons. Most Alliance will take this quest and do everything they can to kill this man, one Edwin VanCleef, and they won't think twice about what they're doing.
How is it acceptable to kill a man whose crime was to speak out against injustice, but torturing someone for information is really, really not okay?
Seriously, it's not like the choices you make affect anything.
Kill a named Quest Mob, in 5 minutes he'll pop right back up. Mine that Node, half an hour later, another Node will spring up in its place.
In most cases, WoW is a very static world.
The in-game choices you make don't make a shred of difference, or at least any effects from the choice you make disappears after 5-10 minutes.
The only choices that really affect anything are the very first two you make: Do you choose Alliance or Horde, and what class? Pretty much any other choice you make is irrelevant.
In Shattrath you'll be able to choose between Scryer and Aldor, but if you make the wrong choice (for your craft) then it just takes a little bit of work to undo that choice. It's not a huge, game breaking decision. It might take an investment of time & gold on your behalf to undo your choice, but it can be reversed.
But, what if there was a choice to be made in-game which couldn't be reversed.
Take the Torture quest that's getting everyone up in arms. What if you strolled up to a camp with two Quest Givers and when you talk to the first one he says, "Psst. We've got a guy tied up in bushes. Go back there, smack him around a bit, and see if you can't get some information out of him."
I'm sorry, you want me to do what? Beat up a helpless guy? I don't think so.
So you click Decline then talk to the second Quest Giver. He says, "Psst. They've got a guy tied up in the bushes back there. Go get some food & wine from the Innkeeper, untie the guy and lead him up into the hills, then give him the food & wine and see if he'll open up to you."
Interesting. You've got two quests which seem to have the same goal in mind; Interrogate a prisoner for information. But in the first quest you'll use violence to extract the information, whereas the second quest has you be a little more subtle.
If you'd accepted the first guy's quest, the quest marker would have disappeared from second guy, and instead of offering you the subterfuge quest he now might say, "A man who thinks he's about to die will say anything to save his life. How can you trust information gained through torture?"
A smart cookie might make the connection between the two quest givers, then abandon the Torture quest to see what the second Quest Giver had to say.
And now you're presented with a moral choice, a very real choice. You no longer have a choice between doing or not doing a quest; now you have a choice between torturing someone for information, or befriending them to gain the same.
Imagine if this was how you chose between Aldor and Scryer, with your choice affecting who will talk to you in the future, what quests you can get, and even what City you will eventually call home at 80. Imagine if making a choice one way or the other gives you some sort of communication device which allows you to communicate in a channel specifically reserved for just the Torturers, or just the Spies...regardless of faction. Yes, suddenly Alliance and Horde could communicate with each other, but only those who'd chosen to torture the prisoner could communicate with each other, while only those who'd chosen to free and befriend the prisoner could communicate with each other.
Imagine Horde and Alliance being able to group up, together, to do lvl 80 Instances? And why not? With BC's introduction of Dranei Shamans and Bloodelf Paladins, the factions are practically the same now anyway.
Imagine if there were decisions to make in the World of Warcraft that really mattered, decisions with irreversible consequences.
If you think people are upset over the Torture quest now, just imagine the screaming, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth if players/toons were held accountable for their in-game decisions ;)
Monday, November 24, 2008
QWOP
QWOP: First you move one foot forward then place it firmly on the ground, then you bring your other foot up past the first and place it firmly on the ground. Then you bring your first foot forward again, past the second foot, and place it firmly on the ground once more, or at least that's what you do in theory.
In practice, you kick your leading foot out ahead of you and almost do a backflip, or you shove yourself backwards with your leading foot, catch yourself with your second foot but only succeed in pushing yourself backwards further still, before crashing down on your head. Or you do a very painful looking Split then bounce along on your knee until your unborn children scream out in pain.
By the way, you have Tesh to thank for this complete bastard of a game. Uncoordinated people with no sense of rhythm need not apply. Upon the rest of you brave (foolhardy? Could never tell the difference...) souls I inflict upon you QWOP!!!
Run, you fool! Run! It's just Q&P, then W&O, then Q&P again...or...is it?
No, it's not that simple. It's QWOP!
In practice, you kick your leading foot out ahead of you and almost do a backflip, or you shove yourself backwards with your leading foot, catch yourself with your second foot but only succeed in pushing yourself backwards further still, before crashing down on your head. Or you do a very painful looking Split then bounce along on your knee until your unborn children scream out in pain.
By the way, you have Tesh to thank for this complete bastard of a game. Uncoordinated people with no sense of rhythm need not apply. Upon the rest of you brave (foolhardy? Could never tell the difference...) souls I inflict upon you QWOP!!!
Run, you fool! Run! It's just Q&P, then W&O, then Q&P again...or...is it?
No, it's not that simple. It's QWOP!
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