Alexander Knight

I totally want a Starcraft/ Warhammer 40K crossover mod for either Dawn of War (I or II) or Starcraft (Or SC 2 whenever that finally arrives.)

"For the Emp-Aiur!"

::coughs::

Okay, so it sounded better in my head.

Ugh.
So.
Apparently Dreamworks is looking to pick up some movie rights...
http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/15309.html

So I decided to write the trailer for them. It's not that hard.

[over black screen, show text that the announcer is about to say in a really cool font.]

Announcer - See a world no one else can see...

[cue child walking through an empty house, then fade to black and show text again.]

A - A world of magic and terror...

[cue child finding a box, hint at special effects as he opens it, fade to black one more with more text.]

A - See through the eyes of... the View-Master!

[cue child picking up a View-Master. Pan camera to make it appear that the audience is the one looking through. Crescendo music and spam the audience with gratuitous CGI 3D special effects, giving away nothing of the plot or even concept of the movie.]

A - [over the CGI extravaganza] Next summer, journey through a world of enchantment and adventure. Journey through the world of... The View-Master!

[cue old man in CGI addressing a CGI version of the child, get a famous celebrity to do the voice, Ian McKellan if we can swing it...]

Old Man - Steven, you *are* the View-Master!

[immediately cut to splash page with Summer 2010, hold then show page with director and cast info and rating.]

See? Maybe I should work for Hollywood?

Okay, so my first post on LJ in forever and a day and a half is a recipe, but it's one I felt like sharing because I found it tasty *and* it was vegetarian (Perhaps even vegan?)
Cut, of course, for those that do not care or don't want a huge post flooding their friends list.

( Sweet Potato - Pecan Burgers with Caramelized Onions )

If you do look at the recipe or even use it, comment to let me know what you thought. Like I said, I rather liked it.

Okay, so I don't post in this very often. I think part of it is the low readership I have, another part is the fact that when I do post in here, I really tend to just bitch about things in general.

Maybe if I make it a project log, it'll get me to finish things. It's a thought.

In the meantime:

- I switched my Enbrel from standard self-injection to an autoinjector. Pro: Don't feel the needle. Con: Less control. Pro: It's over in 15 seconds. Con: The med BURNS IT'S WAY IN! Pro: The locking mechanism shoots out when it's done so that the needle is protected and can't easily stab someone. Con: DID I MENTION THE BURNING!

- I suspect that either a.) After amonth of this I'll get used to it. or b.) FUCK THAT NOISE I'M GOING BACK!

- Finishing up an online 3.5 Ed D&D adventure. After running the thing I learned a very, very VERY valuable lesson. 3.5 is dead to me. Long live 4E!

- No, seriously. I feel that 3.5 is a chore to run. There's a lot more prep-work to do in order to set things up. 4E makes things a *lot* easier. I mean, sure, okay... I see the whole, "It's like an MMO" thing. Sure. But how does the fact that your PC has powerz make it suddenly impossible to roleplay? You still have skills too, you know. And for me, I don't need rules to tell me how to actually *talk* to NPCs or rules how to actually setup or *tell* a story. That said, 4E is easier to run and has a lot less fiddly rules about it.

- Oh, and there is no borken Improve Trip feat. Nor does Harm, Power Word: Kill = End of the encounter.

- Playing a lot more 40K lately. And by playing I mean losing. Holy crap. My dice are not friendly. I think I need to resume rolling in threes. I tend to do better that way. The nice thing about the way we're doing things is that we're doing an 'escalation' style setup where you play 500 point games, and get that force painted. Then 1000 points and have that painted, etc. Problem is, I'm a month behind. Once I get this D&D thing finished, I'll have more time to paint.

- I need a boardgame group. I realize that most of my gaming is simply roleplaying. While I like roleplaying games, I have a shit-ton of boardgames that NEVER sees use these days. And many that have never *seen* use.

- A beer sounds like a good idea.

- Federal taxes are done. Brakes and the rest goes to UM: Flint. Yay. ::sighs::

- State taxes will get done at some point here. UM: Flint.

- I hate brokesville.

I am alive.

I know I've been quiet.

Will consider posting something later.

Random Things:

- Due to my Standard of Academic Progress, I have not been eligible for Federal Student Loans for a while. So in order to try and get things done quickly I decided to try Sallie Mae for a loan. Yeah, they declined me without a co-signer. Fucking bastards. Parents won't co-sign either. :-P So I'm kinda' hosed right now.

- Work is still blah. Nothing like a nice useless economy in a business where we need a strong economy to be profitable. Yet another year without a raise. Yay. Let's go back to number one... :-P

- Otherwise, school is going very well.

- December 6th, going to the Flint Institute of Art for their European Masters exhibit. Looking forward to that.

- A friend just about suckered me into playing Magic again. I will play, but not buy!!!

- Pet peeve: "So guess what I scored on eBay this morning..." Sure, you're going to tell me anyways... Oh, it's a current production item? Great! Sure, I want to know about you spending money to buy something from eBay that you could have spent here. And while you're at it, why don't you buy your fucking glue, paint and other supplies there too, because that's what's going to happen when you don't buy local. I tend to walk away from customers that tell me about their "score". I probably shouldn't, but it beats the alternative of going off on them.

- That is all.

The Returner Games' Final Fantasy Role Playing Game Third Edition rules are finally finished and in PDF format at their website.

www.returnergames.com

That is all.

I['m bored at work meme.
Stolen from Lupus_Theurge

If you are on my friends list, I want to know 36 things about you.
I don't care if we never talk, or if we already know everything about each other.
Short and sweet is fine... you're on my list, so I want to know you better!

Comment here and repost a blank one on your own journal.

01) Are you currently in a serious relationship?
02) What was your dream growing up?
03) What talent do you wish you had?
04) If I bought you a drink what would it be?
05) Favorite vegetable?
06) What was the last book you read?
07) What zodiac sign are you?
08) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where.
09) Worst Habit?
10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride?
11) What is your favorite sport?
12) Do you have a Pessimistic or Optimistic attitude?
13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
14) Worst thing to ever happen to you?
15) Tell me one weird fact about you.
16) Do you have any pets?
17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly?
18) What was your first impression of me?
19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?
22) What color eyes do you have?
23) Ever been arrested?
24) Bottle or can soda?
25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?
26) Favorite band to listen to when you're mad?
27) What's your favorite place to hang out at?
28) Do you believe in ghosts?
29) Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
30) Do you swear a lot?
31) Biggest pet peeve?
32) In one word, how would you describe yourself?
33) Do you believe/appreciate romance?
34) Favourite and least favourite food?
35) Do you believe in God?
36) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?

So I realize that I haven't posted in over a month... *cough*
Really, I find myself posting less often because the people that used to read this really do not anymore. I'm wondering if it is worth my time to continue to do so. ::shrugs:: We'll see.

On to stuff:

- Shinkendo seminar was awesome! I really enjoyed learning directly from the founder of Shinkendo. I had expected a huge room and lots of people and barely any contact with Kaiso. Far from it. So the trip:

* The trip down to Champaign-Urbana was, well, boring as all heck. Once out of the Chicago area proper, the trip is corn. Corn for an hour and a half. That is a crap-ton of corn. Let me tell you, it says a lot when the exits have signs that say, "Attractions" and the sign is *blank*. We got dinner at a fast-food Texas BBQ joint. It was an odd combination but it was tasty. Went back to the motel and crashed early. It was a long freaking day.

* The next day we headed to the seminar after a *huuuuge* breakfast, courtesy of foresight and our sensei. She and her fiancee brought a lot of food. A *LOT* of food... Plus my buddy and I picked up one of those single serve cereal assortment packs as well. We headed out to the seminar which was at the new sports complex on the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana campus. It was a huge complex. The scenery *cough* was also nice to look at too. I felt like a dirty old man. We ran a little bit behind as the class had already started warm-ups. I'll spare the details of the training itself. I will say, there was probably twenty, twenty-five people there at most. It was a little hard to understand what he was saying as it was also a bit loud due to some airvents and such. We did new stuff and stuff I already somewhat knew. Again, it was a lot of fun. Tiring too. After the first session of two hours, we broke for lunch. Sensei had made rice, chicken and shrimp bowls for all of us, as well as a veggie bowl... I forget which veggies mind you. Tasty little lunch. And filling. There were two more sessions after that with a short break between them. The best part of the day, was after the last session. We all lined up as usual, and Kaiso presented people with their ranking scrolls. It was an absolute honor to receive my second scroll directly from the school's founder himself and in front of other people no less. The only disappointment from that is that the picture of me receiving my scroll did not turn out. Oh well. Perhaps if I get my teaching rank... when I get my teaching rank... I'll have the opportunity to receive that directly from Kaiso as well.

* After the first day of seminar we had a banquet dinner to attend. And by banquet I mean we went to a chinese buffet in town. Sensei asked us to dress nicely as the dojo was giving Kaiso as present for his 60th birthday. Dinner itself was not terribly exciting. It was... alright. I've had better buffets here in Michigan. That being said, several people spoke about the event and Shinkendo in general and what it means, etc. Then Kaiso spoke. It was short but he said exactly what he needed to. And he's got a sense of humor. Was not too long before Kaiso left and then everyone else filtered out as well. We got back to the motel in time to catch the tail end of Blazing Saddles and then pretty much called it a night after a little bit of Adult Swim. (For the record, Shin-Chan gave me a WTF is that moment. The entire episode.)

* Day two. Check out. Breakfast. Went to seminar. It wasn't quite as intense as the first day, though it's suspected that Kaiso ate something at dinner that disagreed with him. Still the first session was reinforcing some of the things we learned the first day. The second session was all bojutsu. I like using the bo. It's a cool weapon. Plus Bo, Spear, Naginata... all function the same way. :-D After the second session he gave a short lecture on the many uses for the bo... It was hilarious. Third session was back to the sword. Mostly drawing techniques and such. That was about it. I was able to get my copy of the Shinkendo book signed as well as my copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. :-D We also got a myriad of pictures taken with Kaiso. I hope to get some of them soon. ::glares:: The trip back seemed to go a bit faster than the trip down. I got home in time to flop in my bed and crash.

* All in all it was a fun time. I learned a lot, more than I can remember even... and some of it is written down! I officially received my second rank and got my book signed. I'd love to do another seminar again. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

- Other things. School is going well. So far I believe I am acing my Bio class. Not that hard when it's a 100 level class, granted... But I am acing it. I love the feeling. My history class might be killer here shortly though. I'm at the point where I need to start reading books for my historiography as well as a book for a group paper. Blah. Still, I am doing well in the class. Not acing it, but I am in the A range still. With 32 credits remaining to graduate after this, hopefully I can bring my GPA up to or at least near a 3.0... It took me far too long to learn that I should have applied myself better. I should and could have... But here I am.

- Reason for the GPA needing to be higher: Grad School. Yeah, gonna' do it. I'd like to get a MLS or MIS... (Library Science or Information Science.) Plus side, it's a degree with growing opportunities, even outside the 'library system' itself. Down side, to work where I'd *really* like to work, I need to go *all the way.* Yeah, that means the Ph.D. It'll be a lot of work, but I know despite the reservations that some of my friends may have, I am capable of doing it.

- That in mind, I have the following schools in mind for my MLS/MIS degree: UCLA, University of Illinois, UoM:AA and Wayne State. Now thoughts regarding each in order of preference:

University of California - Los Angeles
* Pros: I like LA. Both times I visited I enjoyed everything. I can see myself living out there. I have friends that live out there. I could continue to study Shinkendo. Possibly even at the home dojo. I wouldn't *need* a car.
* Cons: COST OF LIVING. It's EXPENSIVE!!! And a half.

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
* Pros: Close to home. I wouldn't have to leave all my friends behind me. I could still study Shinkendo.
* Cons: I would still need a car. I'd still probably have to move out of state for any job opps. IIRC, UoM has high enrollment standards.

University of Illinois - Champaign - Urbana
* Pros: I could still study Shinkendo. The campus has nice *scenery*.
* Cons: I would still need a car. It's in the middle of BFE. I'd have no friends there.

Wayne State University
* Pros: Same as UM:AA
* Cons: Same as UM:AA, trading high enrollment standards for being in Detroit.

So that is what I am looking at there.

- Signed up for a Paint and Play Warmachine league. You have a month to paint up the force and play one other member of the league. It starts at 350 points for the first month. The second month brings it up to 500 points and the final month is 750 points. I'm a wee bit behind on things due to working on other projects. Oh yeah... and that school thing too. Kinda' gets in the way too. Considering I only have ten models to paint, it shouldn't be that hard.

- Also a group of friends is doing a Tale of X Gamers like from White Dwarf. Starting with 500 points, we're painting up our 40K armies. The initial idea is to start a brand new army, however with money being tight, we decided that it would be fine to paint models that you have but aren't painted. Given my rate of painting, that means almost everything I already own is fair game. Maybe if money frees up a little bit, I might start the new army next year. Steel Legion Imperial Guard will be mine someday. Oh yes. It will be mine.

- Finally, I have a chance again this year to travel down to the Alliance Distribution Open House. I get to meet reps from various game companies and acquire schwag. It was fun last year and looks to be fun this year. I enjoyed having the opportunity to play Star Craft: The Board game before its official store release date. (Apparently it was already out at Gen Con though. :-P)

I suppose it's been pushing towards a month since my last post...

- I'm a student again!!! Yay! Biology 103 and History 299. Gets one of my two lab courses out of the way as well as a required-for-graduation class as well.

- According to my transcript I have 81 credits towards graduation. That means I have roughly about 39 credits left for my degree. After the seven this semeste that *roughly* equates to two full time semesters. Yay!

- Attending the Shinkendo seminar down in Illinois at the end of the month. Looking forward to that.

- At the doc's last Thursday. Explained that shortness of breath wasn't the issue and that exhaustion was a more accurate word for it. Stopped using inhaler since it didn't help. Instead, she (The substitute doc...) put me on Cymbalta. Yes. An anti-depressant. Will it help or hinder, dunno yet. I've been on the 30 mg dose for almost a week now, and then I go to a 60 mg dose. I am a little bit concerned about the sheer number of side-effects. There seems to be a lot of them... We'll see what happens. I still haven't told my parents about it yet. I don't feel comfortable telling them. (Yet I do feel comfortable sharing it here. Eh...)

- Inventoried my Magic cards. Roughly (I'm at work, not home...) 3500 of them. Roughly. It was funny, I could see my purchasing trend over the past few years (Decade.) The biggest time for it was the Ice Age/ 4th Edition era. Really dropped off after that.

- That's about it for the time being.