The Lost

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:52:28 GMT

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.

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:46:09 GMT

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?

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:03:56 GMT

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.

Onions: (Mind you, I didn't put the onions on myself. Not a big fan.)
1 tsp canola oil
3 cups sliced onion
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Burgers:
2 1/2 cups (1/2 inch) cubed peeled sweet potatos
Cooking Spray
2 1/2 cups chopped onion
3 garlic cloves
1 cup regular oats
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 tbsp canola oil, divided
6 Boston lettuce leaves
6 (1 1/2 oz) 100% whole wheat or whole - grain buns (I dunno if there are eggless or vegan friendly versions of these or not.)
6 tbsp chili sauce (We used salsa instead.)

1.) To prepare onions, heat 1 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced onion to pan; saute 12 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Stir in vinegar, sugar, and 1/8 tsp salt; cook 30 seconds or until vinegar is absorbed. Remove onion mixture from pan; keep warm. Wipe pan dry with a paper towel.

2.) To prepare burgers, place potato in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until tender; drain.

3.) Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chopped onion and garlic to pan; saute 5 minutes or until tender.

4.) Place potato, chopped onion mixture, oats, cumin, 3/4 tsp salt, and pepper in a food processor; process until smooth. Place potato mixture in a large bowl; stir in nuts. Divide potato mixture into 6 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch thick patty.

5.) Wipe pan dry with a paper towel. Heat 1 1/2 tsp oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add 3 patties to pan; cook 4 minutes or until browned. Carefully turn patties over; cook 3 minutes or until browned. Remove from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 tsp oil and 3 patties. Place lettuce leaves and patties on bottom halves of buns; top each patty with 1 tbsp chili sauce (We did salsa.), about 3 tbsp onion (I forgo this step on mine), and top halves of buns.
Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 burger).

Calories: 376, Fat 12.3 g (sat 0.9 g, mono 5.8 g, poly 3.2 g); Protein 11.3 g; Carb 59 g; Fiber 7.9 g; CHOL 0 mg; Iron 3.4 mg; Sodium 785 mg; Calcium 89 mg.

I don't know what all in there is vegan friendly, but it is all vegetarian friendly and you can pick up most ingredients at the Farmer's Market - which you should, support local!

Oh, and I found it rather tasty despite the absence of meat.

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.

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 04:26:00 GMT

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.

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:49:34 GMT

I am alive.

I know I've been quiet.

Will consider posting something later.

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 17:03:32 GMT

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.

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:14:55 GMT

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.

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:50:18 GMT

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?

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 02:40:23 GMT

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)

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:00:56 GMT

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.

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 01:33:44 GMT

So at Shinkendo tonight, after class, the question was posed - "If money was no object, what would you want to do?"

No one specifically asked me, so I got more time to think about it. I realized and I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, I don't know what I would do.

I mean, nothing specific. I have a list of things I'd like to do but not really one thing.

For instance:

- I'd like to own the following types of businesses: A pub (PUB *not* BAR! There is a difference); a game store; a coney type place that would have vegan and vegetarian meals (And not just dishes) at coney island type prices.

- I'd love to pick the piano back up and learn to play it well. Not just tinker around vaguely knowing where the notes are.

- On that note, I'd also love to learn to play the guitar. Thank you Guitar Hero!

- I want to have an entire Space Marine Chapter fully painted in 28 mm scale for Warhammer 40,000. That does include vehicles, but not space ships. :-D

- I want to restore a muscle car from junk. I want to learn how to do all that so I can fix it when it breaks as well.

- Make my own cosplay costume of any of my favorite characters... Of course it'd have to be something that I am physically built for. Though I hear Admiral Zhou would be a good contender right now due to my facial hair... ::glares at a particular Squeakyrat...::

- Be able to have season tickets to the symphony and attend the concerts.

- Be able to attend any Con I want and do so with my friends. ::sniffs:: I missed Comic Con!!! ::sniffs::

- Open up a Science Center in Flint that would be as cool, if not cooler, than the one in Toronto.

That's my list. Money is no object there. Too bad it is in real life.

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:39:46 GMT

While I am still disappointed that I had to miss a trip to Cali for Comic Con, I'm additionally glad, this year, that I chose to be responsible rather than not. Comic Con typically falls on the same weekend as inventory here. This year we were asked to pull everything down from the returns area and get rid of it, with the boss' hand in what he can get it into. Had I not been here to do that, I might have gotten in more trouble because I would not have been able to answer questions about returns that have gone back aways. On the plus side, this also means that I will have no merchandise in our return area that has to be taken care of. That's really one major weight gone. The next one is getting rid of dead merchandise that doesn't move. If I can get that taken care of then my department will be clear and free and easier to manage. And that's really what I'm looking for, is making my job *much* easier.

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:44:05 GMT

This is the best article ever!

http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/commentary/alttext/2008/06/alttext_0618

Tue, 20 May 2008 04:39:16 GMT

I should post my requisite monthly post:

- Had an offer to room with a friend out in LA for nine months starting this fall. Had to turn it down. Too many albatrosses hanging around my neck. If I had the money saved where I could cover my bills for a year without a job as well as been able to get rid of my car and thus get rid of the loan on it, it would have been done in a heartbeat. As it stands, I'll have to remain here for a while and work.

- On the plus side one of the two employees who was responsible for the little "talk" I had with the boss was let go basically for not being a team player.

- Room looks great. Threw out some stuff that was literally either garbage or just not needed and honestly, I don't feel regret for it. In fact I have room in here to actually set up a board game and play a solitaire game if I wish. Or even have people *gasp* in my room comfortably?

- Spare room has been organized and also looks... adequate. Need more cowbell... I mean bookshelves. ZOMG I has lots of books.

- 4e D&D is going to rock. I believe I know what my own birthday present to myself is, since it's released a week before my birthday.

- Iron Man was da bomb! I hearted it.

- Shinkendo has been going very well. Next month we'll be doing the demo at the Arab International Festival again. I look forward to it this time. In the fall we're supposed to go to the seminar down in IL. Supposed to be a good time and we'll get a chance to meet Obata himself. Also looking forward to that. I'll get him to sign my Shinkendo book and my copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (He plays Master Tatsu, the bad guy ninja trainer.) By then I should also be on my second rank and in-theory be ranked in Akido.

- I think that's all the news for now. Just saying, I do occasionally update this. Though not with anything poignant and pertinent these days.

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 03:55:10 GMT

So I'm sitting here in my room. There is a bed, my computer, a clock radio, three gallons of paint and a ladder. Everything else has been gutted. It's weird. Part of it feels almost liberating having room to stretch out or set up a game on the floor. (Yeah, okay so no table. :-P) But then part of it feel depressing. Like a large chunck of my life is missing. I know it sounds weird... but I think maybe I have too many things. Sometimes I wonder if I buy things on impulse the same way some people eat or do drugs. They do it to feel better... I wonder if I buy to feel better. Some things I know I want and like others I buy... because it looked cool. I mean, how many miniature games and role playing games do I have and have never played because it looked cool? How many collectable trinkets do I have for the same reason? And yet, knowing that I don't need them, I still feel oddly empty with them not in here.

::shrugs::
Maybe I'm just a tool of consumer America.

Or maybe I'm just annoyed that my PS2 and my TV are not hooked up and I can't play right now.

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:40:00 GMT

So last Friday I went up to the school to see where I stood in terms of my SAP. It did not look good. Apparently I was mistaken as to how it works. Retaking failed or withdrawn classes doesn't override the SAP. It just counts as having taken a class. All I can say is FUCK! Thankfully that means I don't need to retake Stats and Probability. Still that means that I need to pass the next ten classes. Not a problem... except for the fact that I have to pay for all of them out of pocket. SOMMA MA' BITCH!!! It does annoy me that the school makes it nigh impossible to dig your way out of holes you may have dug. ::sighs::

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:25:04 GMT

Relative news update.

At the moment, I'm looking at classes for the fall.

I know for a fact I need HIS 299, which would be 12:15-1:45 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. That I need to shuffle my schedule around for. I'm also looking at HIS 3... something. Basically History of African - American Religion. It counts for a history credit and a humanities, so it's all good.

*If* I can get financial aid, I'm also going to take BIO 103, which is the basic BIO class for non-science majors. (I.E. It should be an easy class for me.) And it's a Natural Science credit. Then I need a single 2-3 credit hour class on top of that, which I was looking at online courses. That would take me to 12-13 credits which is, IIRC, full time. Yes. Full time with only a little adjustment to my work schedule. It'll be hell, but the sooner I get done with school, the sooner I could consider a job somewhere else that might pay better.

The online courses I am considering are: Intro to Communication Theory; Macro-Economics; Micro-Economics; Intro to Linguistics; Intro to Drama; African History Pre-1800; African History Post-1800; African-American History to 1877 or a retake of Statistics and Probability for Psychology.

I would really, really like to be able to pull off full time...

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 08:39:27 GMT

You know, I don't normally get annoyed by the disparity of preview items/ free stuff between the Games Department and my own department, except when the disparity is increased by someone from said Games Department absconding with free stuff from my department just because it's remotely connected to games.

See, said Games Department person didn't handle anything with historicals, and really turns most historical figure requests over to me. Our biggest distributor of historical figures (Which by the way, is a *games* distributor...) was given to me as one of *my* distributors. So why is it when a new historical rule set preview is sent to the store from a company *I* order and inventory and manage (Osprey) ends up in his department and his hands? I mean, I can actually name everything I got as free preview stuff for my department. Can he do the same for his? And what of that free stuff for his department has he passed on to me? Two books. And a third one as soon as it's available for retail sale. This doth annoy me.

What annoys me more about it is that he didn't even seem to wait for me to see it and ask me about it before absconding with it. I think that is the pisser.

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:39:48 GMT

Well... this is a sad day... however, I had to make a decision that would be more responsible.
I was going to fly out to LA for San Diego Comic Con, however tonight after some serious thinking about where I am at and where I am going, I realized I needed to use that money to pay off UM: Flint so that I can go back to school. Then when I have a job that pays better, I can then consider flying out to California for fun. (Or even better, get a job out there instead...)

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 21:52:12 GMT

Alright, I've been a long time since I posted, so it's memetime.

1. Post a list of seven TV shows you love (current or canceled).
2. Have your friends list guess your favorite character from each show.
3. When guessed, bold the line and write a little bit about why you like that character.

1. Firefly Yes, rotsman is correct, Wash is my favorite character on the show. Mal may be my captain, now, but Wash is truly my co-pilot. I love his personality and his entire attitude towards the job. He's one of the two members of the crew that I feel represent the heart of Serenity. Plus when it comes to sci-fi games, I always prefer to be the pilot, so I feel a certain sort of kinship with his character.

2. Babylon 5 Rotsman also got this one correct. However, this is a trick one as there are two parts to it. I will finish once the other part (Which should be easy...) has been noted. Wooly has part two. Yes, you cannot have Londo Molari without G'Kar. If Londo had been on his own, he wouldn't have ever been capable of being a sympathetic character. However, the play between the two made for wonderful banter and great foils for each other. You come to realize throughout the show, that they are close to friends as they could get... and even more, had things now been the way they were between the Centauri and the Narn, they *would* have been friends. They really made the show.

3. Avatar: The Last Airbender Freetre got this one with Uncle Iroh. Yes, the old man is my favorite. He is a talented warrior, but more importantly he shows that not all Fire Nation people are bad. Unlike many other Fire Nation citizens, he shows compassion, honor, wisdom and patience. The fact that he hides this all under the guise of just your typical eccentric old man makes him that much cooler.

4. The Shield Well, no one got this one so I'll answer it myself. Dutch is my favorite here. He gets all the shit from other people just because he wants to do the right thing, however for the wrong reason. He wants to be the famous detective to solve a whole bunch of serial murder crimes. He's such an underdog throughout the series. I dunno. It appeals to me.

5. Star Trek: DS9 Wooly strikes with this one. I almost said, no... but that'd be a lie. Sisko is my favorite. He has a charisma about him. People follow him despite his less-than-adequate abilities as a commander. Yes, you heard me right. I feel that he isn't as strong a commander as others. He is not as decisive as he needs to be. Picard gives an order, it gets done no questions asked and he's sure it was the right order. Sheridan gives an order, it gets done and he's sure it was the right order. Kirk gives an order, it gets done and he doesn't care if it was right, as long as it gets results. Mal gives an order, it gets done after he reminds people that it is an order and not a request. Sisko... I dunno.

6. Star Trek: TNG I suppose it's not fair for wooly to get this one, since he knows me all too well. Indeed, Picard is my favorite TNG character. For his love of Dixon Hill to Earl Grey tea, the man evokes class and taste. Besides that, he is rarely wishy-washy on his decisions but he knows when it is best to take council with people who may know better than he does. Also:
"I am Locutus of Borg. Resistance is futile. Your life, as it has been, is over. From this time forward, you will service us."

7. House M.D. Dr. Gregory House is indeed correct, also from Rotsman. I think it's the fact that he doesn't let bedside manners and 'proper procedure' get in the way of figuring out what the heck is wrong with the patient. He does what he needs to do. And if it is wrong, he doesn't panic and say, "ZOMG! What are we to do!" He just looks at what the new evidence gives him and revises and reacts.

Bonus 8th show:

This is an extreme one. I do no anticipate anyone getting this right, but you get bonus kudos if you do.

8. Scrapped Princess Leo. That's all I'm going to say. He's so enamoured with Pacifica that he does almost anything for her, despite her unfortunate title.

Final update aside from bolding correct answers. Saturday, the 16th of February is when I'll be posting the answers to the shows that no one got. That is also when I will respond to your comments. Unless someone guesses number 4. number 8, being the bonus question, goes away once number 4 is found out.

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 19:01:15 GMT

Okay, so I'm home. I feel like I can post a full post now. As I was going to say, a dream I had last night got me thinking about Pan's Labyrinth this morning. (That creepy hand-eye guy was in it. I fed someone to him because they stole something from my store... I think... It was weird.)

Now, I should LJ Cut this for all you poor sods who haven't seen the movie.
I had a thought about the ending of the movie.
Assuming the fantasy was 'real' and not just the insane visions of a distraught girl, I had a though.

Fae are typically creatures of spirit, humans are creatures of flesh and spirit. The spirit of a human is released upon death. In order for her to return to her original state as the faerie princess, Ofelia had to lose her mortal shell and well... die. Fae are not necessarily an altruistic bunch, as I've been learning. Perhaps the final test was *not* would she sacrifice herself instead of an innocent, like they said. Maybe the truth is that she had to be willing to surrender her mortal shell to return to her true state of being. That sacrificing the blood of her brother would not result in that, and instead show how truly 'human' she had become, by sacrificing another for her own gain.

That's just some idle thoughts I had.

In other news, I decided to look at the calendar in advance to see whereupon my birthday lies.

Its a Saturday. One that I am not working on. Maybe consider doing something. I dunno.

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:31:39 GMT

Joining the meme club...

Total comments: 1038

1	alex_knight	210
2	Anonymous	186
3	chennpug	81
4	ladyerwyn	77
5	rotsman	60
6	wooly	50
7	fancy1	44
8	freetre	44
9	lupustheurge	37
10	faloun	23
11	rainar	23
12	gbjazzman	21
13	gungy	21
14	cryshayn	19
15	lorie_journal	19
16	devnevot	18
17	scattered_pearl	12
18	ryan_of_eris	12
19	scionmattly	11
20	zoranadragonkyn	9
21	arcane_nitehawk	8
22	pydjikon	8
23	mooinabox	7
24	riaska_kevralyn	6
25	bloodredmoon13	6
26	sinmantyx	5
27	k8ephoenix	4
28	techno_pezant	3
29	sonofoslo	3
30	buhfly	2
31	meghanlore	2
32	dianak	2
33	erryl	1
34	jesterstear	1
35	jillydreadful.wordpress.com	1
36	laughing_jackyl	1
37	yokel_ghost	1

Generated by LJ Comment Stats.

I gotta say, it's pretty sad that the third highest poster is someone I have had nothing to do with for almost three years now... I think... Something like that. Maybe only two. But a while, nevertheless.

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 06:51:34 GMT

GYAAAAHHH!!!

It's just not faiiiiiir!

So a friend of mine got me hooked on the cartoon Avatar - The Last Airbender... I have discs for the first and second season... except the last two episodes of season two won't play!!! And the last ending was on a maaajor cliffhanger!! Gaaaaahhhh!!!

::bangs his head against the wall!!!::

And officially, for those watching the show, my favorite episode so far... particularly one segment... is Tales of Ba Sing Se, the segment with Iroh. That segment nearly made me cry. That is all.

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 04:39:59 GMT

Okay, so I realize that it has been quite a while since I posted last so here goes:

I now hold the rank of Ichimongi in Shinkendo and whatever the first rank is in our branch of Toyama-Ryu.

That is all.

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 05:58:27 GMT

Regarding people bitching about the impending release of 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons:

Yes, they are going to change things.
Yes, you are probably not going to like it.
Yes, you will have to buy new books.
...
Oh, wait. No, you don't. You don't at *all*.
A new edition isn't going to *ruin* your game. You know why? Because they aren't FORCING you to make the change. In fact, it's rather liberating. You know exactly HOW many books there will be for your edition! Yes, you may have to *run* out and pick them up before they no longer see print, but oh well.
Are you going to stop playing D&D when 4e comes out or even worse, right now? If the answer is yes, you are. You're an idiot.

Let's move on to a different subject, still related... However, slightly different.
Forgotten Realms.
Yes, they are going to change things.
Yes, you are probably not going to like it.
Yes, they are making a new campaign setting book.

Again, get over it already. Let's go with exhibit a. Playing in their backyard. Okay, so there's no fence in this yard. You play over here all the time. They have this nice crabapple tree you like to climb. One day you go over there and find that the tree is gone! Oh no, they cut it down! Are you going to bitch to them for taking the tree you liked to climb away? That would be stupid. Why not put a tree in your own goddamn back yard? Seriously. If you don't like the changes that they are making, then play in your own yard. Be creative. Or, if you still want to play in their yard, adapt and get used to the fact that there isn't a crabapple tree there. Or climb the willow tree they've had for a while out front. You know, find something familiar in the new setting and use that. Or relive your memories of climbing the crabapple tree. That is to say, use the old books and write your own history.

How about b? Fans of the fiction. It's a setting that's been around for HOW many years? Things are going to change. Think about it. George Lucas changed things in his original trilogy. Did it make it better? Some would argue the answer is NO! (HAN SHOT FIRST GODDAMNIT!) However, the fact of the matter is that sometimes TPTB decide that their vision is not the same as yours. Don't like it? Stop reading the material. Don't buy every new book just because it has the words Forgotten Realms on the cover. Find something different. Branch out into other genres. Read the literary classics. JUST... STOP... BITCHING... ABOUT... THE... CHANGES... It's NOT going to make them go, "Oh, well... we decided that people are complaining too much, so we changed it back." It's NOT!

Thank you.
(And yes, it is ironic that I'm ranting about other people ranting. I know it won't change anything they are doing. But hell, might as well join the crowds, right?)