Work Fun...

....just a crazy day at my job.

One day, I'll describe to you all how my job works out.

Let's just say that a lot of jobs I'm looking into are going to get me away from this...

Fried Brain

Brain fried.

Hardware going screwy.

Will post more tomorrow.

Hardware Woes

It's official.

I'm probably going to have to pull the HD from this computer and put a new one in...it's time. The drive is about four or so years old and probably should have been replaced a year ago.

If I have to do that, I will probably have a whole swapping out of the mobo, processor, and video card. New hardware, yay! Maybe even Vista-ready. Expensive, tho...about $500+, so if this computer can soldier on for a bit longer, it will.

My only issue? If the new mobo requires a SATA connection and can't take IDE, that means the nice, large 200+ gig HD that's my D: drive might have to be replaced...if there isn't a IDE/SATA card that I can use as a bridge.

Yay, the joys of playing with computers.

Finished Off...

....Full Metal Alchemist and Hand Maid May. Opinions?

FMA was tight, very much a story trying to tell a story. What is really scary is something that the story brought up-what truly powers our world? Or worlds?

Hand Maid May was a good fun harem anime. At the very least, it was a definitely an interesting take on the various tropes of time travel and androids...

Miniatures Wargaming Thoughts

Some of the random thoughts that I've had about any form of new miniature wargames. I'm thinking modern/future gaming-fantasy/historical would require some different concepts.

1. Fast, fast combat resolution. While it would be perfect if you could roll one die and both handle to-hit and damage, I can't think of an elegant way to do it.
2. A "realistic" system of morale. From what I've been reading, morale rarely just "breaks" in the sense of utter panic except under certian circumstances. Perahps a three or four-level gradiated system that confers different penalties (pinned means that a unit cannot advance towards the enemy, etc...)
3. Point-based build system, so you could build anything from a single soldier to a Terminator to battlefield monsters. It would let you settle the perrenial debate of "which sci-fi army could beat another sci-fi army".
4. Models for the "official" line would come as 35mm painted plastic ones (for grunt and some specialist units), and unassembled, unpainted metal ones (for "hero" and "elite" units).
   
5. Vehicles...there will be some. Enough rules to run a brigate-sized battle with mech infantry and tanks and walkers and artillery and worse...
6. All the things you need to play the game (unless there's a rule dispute) won't take up more than two pages of 8.5x11" paper.
7. Compelling backstory! There will be a compelling backstory...

More as I think of it.

Adobe

I'm about to play the fun game of "how does one use Adoble (insert program here)?" soon...

At least I was able to get it at academic rates.

So, if you see a lot of...strange pictures showing up, it's just me.

100 Ideas...

Actually, it's seven ideas.

I'm looking at all the social gathering/group sites, like Tribe.net, Friendster.com, and Myspace.com, and I'm thinking of how I could do it, and better.

Some of my ideas...

• Lots of tools for "who am I?"....picking "anime" could let you select a slider where you can say you love mecha anime, hate yaoi, and would be vulnerable to death by shonen-ai. Six levels of options above and below "neutral".
  
• Oh, and personal relations...you can pick six levels from "kinda know them" to "best friends forever". Or "don't really know them" to "despise them".
• The site will have two tiers-a "basic" site that will have ads, and a "preferred" one where people pay a small fee, don't get ads, and their profiles go up top. Oh, and for adult forums, you have to prove that you're an adult...by having a credit card in your name.
• Fun, fun tools of all sorts. We want this to be THE place for social networking...

Like a lot of my ideas...I can do it, I just need some point to get started in the right direction. Hell, I could probably get the servers off of eBay or a disposal company...

Dating Myself

I hate to say it, but Brett is partially right...KITT is a good Cylon, while KARR is the evil Cylon.

God, how many people would have gotten those references? Of course, I would want to jump a drawbridge with the Bluesmobile, or a hill with the General Lee...hell, travel through time with a DeLorean with a-grav and a time device to see how hot some of the ladies of fame are...

I'm feeling odd and old...

Wow...

Ergo Proxy has just been awesome, and I'm loving it.

I'll probably have to do a TMW on it...

Con's Over...

Yay, fun.

Having to deal with drama in all directions.

Yes, I like solving problems. But, whom helps to solve mine?

Con Excitment

Running any major portion of a fan convention has been aptly described as...chaotic.

Will tell the stories on Monday, when I'm home, safe and sound, and can think...

But, I can say this...there will be promotions.

Drunk...

...and not that all witty.

More tomorrow.

Smuggler's Blues

There's trouble on the streets tonight, I can feel it in my bones
I had a premonition, that he should not go alone
I knew the gun was loaded, but I didn't think he'd kill
Everything exploded and the blood began to spill

I'm starting to sober up from being very, profoundly drunk.

To understand my situation, the last...three hours, I've been charming, wittiy, and cuddly. And, working through at least two marguritas and a "phaser shot" and a dirty martini.

So baby, here's your ticket, put the suitcase in your hand
Here's a little money now, do it just the way we planned
You be cool for twenty hours and I'll pay you twenty grand

So, Johnny boy is drunk. And running on that odd place between sober and drunk, where my brain doesn't care, and I can write without fear, without soundng or seeming stupid.

I wonder if this is the state that authors aim for, the pure bliss of creation without the Critic behind them.

I'm sorry it went down like this,
And someone had to lose,
It's the nature of the business,
It's the smuggler's blues
Smuggler's blues

I'm starting to come back. Scary thoughts.

Starting to come back to the scary, scared human being that I am, sober and afraid. No wonder alcohol has been called "liquid courage". I'd like to think that the things that I've done, I'd do if I was sober...but I wonder, as my body starts to grow...dense.

The sailors and pilots, the soldiers and the law,
The pay-offs and the rip-offs, and the things nobody saw
No matter if it's heroin, cocaine, or hash,
You've got to carry weapons 'cause you always carry cash
There's lots of shady characters, lots of dirty deals
Every name's an alias in case somebody squeals
It's the lure of easy money, it's got a very strong appeal

Alcohol is easy. So are drugs-it's so easy to escape, to become what I am when I have nothing but reactions and responses-and that when I'm this way, it's excuseable.

Hell, I make my own beer....which I'm sharing tomorrow night.

Perhaps you'd understand it better
Standin' in my shoes
It's the ultimate enticement,
It's the smuggler's blues
Smuggler's blues

But, I wonder-the so very Scottish personality that comes out when I'm in that fuzzy land between drinking and drunk, whom has no fear.

Whom goes up to women that when sober, I'd be scare of. And wouldn't ask out, wouldn't touch, wouldn't ask if they wanted to be touched...

See it in the headlines, you hear it every day
They say they're gonna stop it but it doesn't go away
They move it through Miami, sell it in L.A.
They hide it up in Telluride, I mean it's here to stay
It's propping up the governments in Columbia and Peru,
You ask any DEA man, he'll say, "There's nothin' we can do"
From the office of the President, right down to me and you, me and you

I wonder...and fear. I need to know where this knife's edge is-tomorrow night, I come in kilt and boots, ready to drink and stand and fight without hesitation. To find my dream, that I will come home with someone to earn another tail at con...

It's a losing proposition,
But one you can't refuse
It's the politics of contraband,
It's the smuggler's blues
Smuggler's blues

We wil see.

Saturday comes up. My kilt remains unfolded.

And, if I am happy...I shall win.

We...will see.

First Day At Con...

...busy is the best term I can think of. VERY, very busy.

The usual last-minute disasters.

Running around to get stuff.

Oh, cute girls too...

Must get out of the room more...

Roasting Pork

Wow.

Fifteen pounds of pork takes about three or so hours to cook.

It's an interesting smell, one that I can enjoy a great deal.

The people at con will love the results, I bet...

The Cookie Blitz

(Imagine, "Weird Al" doing a parody of Ballroom Blitz)

One of the big things I do for conventions is bake cookies.

A LOT of cookies.

In about three days, I've gone through about sixteen sticks of butter, a pound bag of chocolate chips, half a pound of raisins, and a whole bunch of other stuff...all so that Staff Feed can eat well.

It's one of those strange jobs....it beats working, at least at where I work. And, I can nibble on cookie dough to my heart's content (it turns out to be small quantities...). And, it gives me more time to watch anime!

Sadly, the third DVD of HMLV was defective, so I'm waiting for a new one from Greencine.com. Did get to see UHF, and that movie was just plain crazy. And fun.

10 Away From 100

Coming up on my 100th post.

And, I'm thinking of a theme for it.

So far, I'm really, really getting off on this idea of doing a NSFW shoot of anime cosplayers in...interesting positions, costumed.

Either that, or go off on this massive screech/screed about what I think most network and movie execs should be dragged out into the street, and shot. Along with their lawyers.

Any ideas? Or should I just post all the "struggling Tifa" photos and get it over with?

Adopt Barbara Boxer!

Wow, they couldn't just wait for the end of the month to shoot themselves in the foot?

Barbra Boxer is complaining that since Condolizza Rice doesn't have children (whom will "pay the price" for her decisions), she doesn't have a right to make important decisions about the military of the nation.

Wow. Once again, the Demcrats prove that we need a drug plan, so I can GET the drugs these people are using. I want to be that disconnected from reality. Sadly, to get that way, it seems I need to read more Marx, DailyKOS, and consider Michael Moore a "serious" film maker. I'm not that insane yet.

However, I think the perfect solution has been hit upon. Condolizza Rice should adopt Barbra Boxer. It would solve everything!

Con Prep Notes

Anybody that ever has worked a convention can tell you-it's a lot of stress, no matter how well-run the con is.

Starting late tomorrow or early Monday, I'm going to be baking cookies. A lot and lot of cookies...

Baking roast pork and shredding it on early Thursday so I can put it in bags and toss it in a cooler, so I can take it for dinner on Friday.

Then, the Costco run...

Hard to be the bandleader, instead of the guy banging the big drum. But, damn it, I'm having fun!

Gaming Thoughts #3

For all the gamers out there, how many games have you bought because they're "cool" or "I like the rules", but have never played.

The short list (from memory)-

• New World Of Darkness (yet...)
• Exalted
• D&D 3.5
• Cyberpunk 20XX
• GURPS 4th Edition (yet...)

From what I can figure, a third of my games are "never played".

I want to play some more of these games....but, then again, I want the gaming group that I played with that scattered to the four winds about eight years ago. They were people with brains attached. Could completely derail the campaign...and then run as if this was all planned.

And, damn it, that I don't have them, the more I appreciate them in comparison to other GMs and groups...

Idea Chucking...

Working through some ideas tonight, so it'll be a pretty light posting.

• For anybody that has customer service experience, is there a technical term or condition that customers have, where they don't listen to what you've told them?
  
  We have that where I work-to get something done, we need items A, B, C, D, E, and F from them. They send us C and E. They claim that they don't need to send us A, they sent us B, D is going to be faxed to us in the morning (in Moscow) and F is still "being processed". And, oif course, they want miracles performed...
  
  I'm so tempted to charge my company an additional ID-10-T fee for each one of these customers...
• Does anybody know how to set up a Wiki? I'm thinking of creating a Wiki for a sci-fi TV series that doesn't exist yet (i.e. create a universe from scratch) and see what happens from there....
  

Blaugh, the brain feels like a limp noodle.

A Car Question

You get all sorts of complaints about how older cars are "gross polluters" that are out on the highways, contributing to the Greenhouse Effect (of course, most of the "greenhouse gases" are coming from cows in the form of methane, and you don't see them being tapped...), and generally a nusisance. Especially for older cars that are poorly maintained, but are still driven because they are the only cars somebody can afford to keep running.

My solution? On a state-by-state basis (depending upon the state, we'd have to check with them to work out the best way to do it per state), the federal government will match the Kelly Blue Book price of the car that is twenty years or older when it's being traded in-as long as there is a verifiable chain of custody to show that it's going to the junkyard. Double rates if the new car that is being bought is a hybrid.

This way, you get older cars off the road-and keep them off-and put newer cars on the road. Which will have better emissions controls, better fuel mileage, and better performance. I can't see where this would be a problem...tho somebody will complain, I promise.

An iPhone?!?!?

Oh, it's one of those "great ideas", but there are so many practical problems-

1. The last round of iPods had a reputation for their plastic developing scratches easily. The WHOLE FACE of the new iPhone is plastic.
2. There are no controls on the phone other than the touchscreen. If that breaks, you have to get a new phone.
3. The size of the drive is the same as the iPod Nano, and the iPhone has video capability. Video EATS up HD capacity, even the MPEG-4 format used for the iPod.
4. The phone is being offered as an exclusive through Cingular. I've heard mixed reviews of Cingular's service.
5. The cost...$600 for the largest size. Not a lot of difference in cost, easier to get the biggest...which will sell out the fastest.

Personally, I'm going to wait for the second generaton of the hardware, so that all the heatseekers can do the final beta test of the hardware. And, that means I have to get a camera phone, too...which presents so many difficulties. Namely when I get creative...

UPDATE-Oh, and add this.

You can't replace the battery. Which means when the battery wears out, you have to get a new phone. I've only had two cell phones over five years, and the only reason I changed phones was that the old phone's screen was dying.

Got Hanaukyo Maid Team La Verite #2 and #3.

I just love Green Cine....I just got the next two DVDs in the series and I'm working my way through them.

And, I've got a scary theory that's forming. If I'm right, and I hope to GOD I'm not, Taro is as much a victim of Grandfather's efforts as Mariel. And, Grandfather is not only a major-league pervert, he's a major manipulative bastard. And, I think that Taro was a pawn in the Hanaukyo family's rivalry with the Jihioh family, and he will be walking the primrose path that Grandfather has set up. Why? Because Taro is a decent human being, and will not walk away from this mess.

Random Note About The World #45

Cherish the people that work without ego, and without bullshit.

Having dealt with people that love petty power games more than getting the job done, I can fully love the feeling of dealing with proper professionals. Petty power games bore me, and get in the way of getting what I need done, done.

Things That I'm Looking Forward To Reading...

With the New Year coming up, I have a lot of books that I'm looking foward to reading, and enjoying. This doesn't count my reading of politics/current events (I consider that "work" to provide blog material) , and is mostly science-fiction/fantasy. I read voraciously-I can usually polish off a hardcover book in two weeks. This means that I tend to go through a lot of books fast, and I need more books to feed my reading habit. (Women, a perfume that smells of old books is always a turn-on for me...)

The books coming up are...

• 1634:The Baltic War by Eric Flint and David Weber-This is going to be fun. One of the best Alternate History timelines ever written, the 1632-verse has been one that is fast, well-paced, well-written, and has a wide variety of voices in it. It will be a GOOD time to see this book, esp. since a lot of the side plots are being dealt with in other books.
  
  And, why Henry Leffords is so infamous in his breakout efforts...
• Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber-I think this is going to be one of David Weber's big, successful, New York Times Best Seller books (lemme see, he's got at least two series that count for this...maybe three...). The concept is high and sounds well-done, and some of the bits I've read in other places is very "silly serious". It'll be good to read.
• Command Decison by Elizabeth Moon-A caviat...I think Elizabeth Moon has a tendencey of too much soap opera in her books. Bad soap opera. But, it's hard to put down this series...
• Yellow Eyes by John Ringo and Thomas Kratman-Lemme see, why wouldn't I like this? Two of my favorite authors (you must read Watch on the Rhine, and read it with an open mind...and understand that some people will do whatever is needed when the devil drives). And, it's set in the Posleenverse-which has a lot of stories to tell. The eARC on Webscriptions is great...and I just want to read this book. Openly. In San Francisco.
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.R. Rowling-I want to see this series end...the story will be worth reading. Rowling has created a deep and well-made universe, and she has earned every dollar that she has gotten. The last book will be a good read that I can use.

More stuff will be coming out...and when I find it, I'll let you all know.

Going Back To School

In about two weeks, I'm going back to school-San Francisco State University-and it means that I have to spend way too much time playing with the computers. Writing papers. Fixing documents.

It'll be...frustrating. Tiring, but frustrating. I think that a lot of college degrees are white-collar union cards-and I damn well want to earn my union job.

Watching Anime...

Greencine.com sent me the first DVD of Hand Maid May, and I'm pretty happy with it.

It's fun in an amusing sort of way, and it's a fun watch. It's got a good sort of silly fun to it, and I'm loving it-more harem animes need this kind of fun.

I'm playing around with Full Metal Panic!: The Second Raid, and I like it, tho I watch it and I realize that the characters subordinate common sense to plot (you only release hostages from bonds if there is a medical reason or once you've secured them away from the location...). I like the Arm Slaves-they are as close as you can get to a pretty "realistic" mecha-it's on the same size and scale as Labors, Gears, and VOTOMS.

Have to see more anime...

Brilliant Label Idea!

One of those ideas that just seems to run into you...I was thinking of making labels for the next batch of beer. Not much, just something neat.

I'm talking about this with a friend...and POW! I come up with our theme, lovely ladies gracing our beer bottle labels, with a suitable name to them.

A few of the ideas-
*Summer Honey-A Honey Wheat beer, with good flavor. Our lovely lady is a honey-skinned beauty with brown/blonde hair, wearing a very nice summer dress.
*Powerful Wenching-A Scottish ale, with a Scottish lady, well-endowed (she is NOT missing any meals) in Rennisance Faire garb, with long red hair and being so tempting in her appearance.
*Warm-Hearted Lady-A nut brown ale, with a warm, kind lady with dusky skin, a warm smile, delicious cheongsam that matches her skin.
*A Taste Of India-IPA, with a very attractive Hindu lady in a sari that is so very seductive...
*Season's Greetings!-A Celebration Ale with a lovely cinnamon taste, with a blonde bombshell in a great Santa suit.

If I ever decide to go pro, there will be a contest for models for the posters-we want great talent that has never been photographed before...

Work Ethic

I listen to NPR on occasion. Usually because the people in the office turn it on and it's the only station that can get in and through. One of the news stories was how a lot of resturants have problems finding legal labor-a place in Ohio said that they had an ad for a job, and they only got three people-one whom quit in two weeks, and two that were there only so that a manager could sign their unemployment papers.

One thing that really hit me was that the guy that ran the resturant said that one guy they hired for the night shift was trying to sneak out of work consistantly...and that the teenage help they had was getting their parents to call in sick for them, so they could go to concerts and such.

When I was a teenager-my parents would have been...resisant to call in sick for me unless I was puking.

I worked shit jobs-you work the shit jobs when you get started. You work the shit jobs because you need to have a job, so you can pay the bills. If I had to, I'd work at a pig rendering plant. I'm going to pay for my life.

And, I'm going to keep my job. I'm going to ask, going in, if a job might require me to work overtime. And schedule around it.

What really worries me-more than the bad work ethic of a lot of people-is that a lot of what we'd call "entry-level jobs" is being handled by illegal laborers. Whom are entirely dependent upon the protection of their employers to not be deported.

The term "serf" seems to apply here, so very well...and that is very, very bad for a democracy.

A Game Design Document...

I'm thinking about game concepts, and there's one that I've been working on for a while.

The game idea is for a starship game, where players get to command warships in battle, shooting at each other. It's how I think starship combat should be-ships shooting at each other at massive distances, not Star Trek "I can touch your hull!" combat. Torpeoes flying across the sky, right behind them is a storm of missile fire, as warships burn across the night.

There's another one that I'm working on, think of it as X-Com with giant robots. You build the robots, build up bases, and try and defend San Francisco (the sequel will be in Tokyo...).