knshnhmr

"And that the real difference is -- we have a place where we can secure them even if the military commission that tries them doesn't find them guilty."
-Representative Michael Rogers (R-MI)

I'm actually speechless.

There is ...
I mean ...
What the HELL?

The rest of the interview supports that he didn't misspeak or otherwise screw up.

I don't know.

Seriously?

http://www.citypaper.net/blogs/clog/2008/12/02/cardio-with-obama/

http://blogs.wsj.com/biztech/2008/12/04/obama-zunegate-day-two/


I mean...

Seriously?

What?

Why does this matter?

And again...

Seriously?

Since I picked up the Hero Builder's Guide in 7th grade, I've been playing D&D. I've considered myself a D&D player for 6 years of my 19. At least to me, that's significant. And yet, because of the campaign I've been playing in this summer, I find myself disgusted with the system. Today's session was the last straw.
12 hours of fighting mooks with a few lines of crap fluff. Not that the actual fluff is bad, mind you, as I have it on good authority that the Age of Worms campaign arc is awesomely written, but because the DM has been ... well, fucking it up seems too kind. I mean it's at the point where I stood up, slapped the DM's hand and said, "Ok, I'm tagging in as DM".

He laughed it off, but still. There's something about reaching the point where you are absolutely certain you can do better [i]even though you've never read the adventure [/i].

It doesn't help that contrasting this giant clusterfuck of a D&D experience is a game of Exalted run by my longtime DM, Rafilar. I've got to say, I like Exalted. I like the ruleset, I like the basic concept behind the game, I like the setting, and I like the way the game feels as played. Hell, I even like the flames on the forums. (They've popped out some good ideas and some nuggets of wit, so sue me)

Hopefully I'll be able to get an Exalted game running when I get back to Marlboro.

As for D&D, I hope that I'll be able to take a break from seeing it, and come back to it fresh. Or I'll play 4e.

This experience really does show me just how important a DM is in determining your gaming experience. Bad DM, worse experience. Good DM, chance for a good experience. You could play with a group of awesome players, but a bad DM will wreck it. The inverse is not true. With a good DM, and one shitty player, you'll still run a pretty good game. The player's disruption is limited in scope. The DM is everywhere.

Fuck, it's 3 AM. I'm going to sleep.

I live in Tucson, Arizona. I go to college in Marlboro, Vermont. In 20 days, I'll be boarding a train in Tucson that will let me arrive (through a few connections), 3 days later (August 28th) in Albany. My aunt has been kind enough to offer to pick me up in Albany, then drive me to school the next day. Now, move in day is officially September 2nd. I just got a reply from Ken saying (and sounding definitive) that I cannot move in 3 days early. Honestly, that would be fine with me, except for two things. One, I will be making a three thousand mile trip to get there, starting on a train that only leaves a few times a week. Two, my roommate, Dorkwis, will have already moved in on the 28th. This is at a college with (what I understand to be) a long history of people moving in a few days early because it makes life easier. Ken suggesting that I find some place to stay in Brat for the three days only fixes half the problem, and that's the easy part to fix. My aunt is also currently storing most of my stuff, and not letting me move in early means an extra trip for her. And staying with her isn't much of an option, either, as she's not going to be available on the 2nd. Gahh.


Update:
So, the issue seems well in hand. I'll be staying with keeperofmadness until school opens, and I'll drop my stuff off at the room on my way to his apartment.
Having friends sure is nice.

The term nasal rape is often bandied about as a term for a mild malodor. Well, I have to say, that there are things worse smelling than back alleys of large cities, or pit toilets, or whatever.
I discovered the true horror of the term when I was taken to visit a Perfumery cum Perfume museum. The issue is not whether the scents are individually pleasing or even if they are too strong. It's the sheer number of different powerful scents overpowering the senses. A human nose can distinguish only a few tens of scents at a time comfortably. In the sales rooms of this place, there were no less than a hundred different perfumes wafting about on the stale air, each containing no less than three scents. As my nose tried to comprehend the conflicting mass of scents, it was overwhelmed.
The best thing I smelled there was the fresh air as I was leaving.

More fun posts about France to follow.

It's amazing what simply taking the bedding off of a bed will do to a room. My dorm room is now very clearly un-lived in.
Right now, my room has a couple of bags, two desks, two beds, and a box of stale pizza in it. And yet, I'm still not sure how I feel about leaving, either specifically or generally.
Specifically, I'm glad that I'll never be living in this shithole of a dorm again. At the same time, however, It's a little sad to see my room go. I complained about it a lot, but like computers, it's somehow special. The first room away from my parents that I've ever really called home, the standard against which all that comes after will be judged.
Generally, Marlboro College has been my home for something like nine months. I think that, in addition to that, it's in an area that I'm suited to. Finally, it's where I've learned to keep a social life. In Tucson, I never really had one. Sure I had a couple of friends, but I had long been pigeonholed as something of a loner. At Marlboro... well I don't really know how to put it.
So in some ways it's more of a home than Tucson is. But Tucson is where I've lived for the past fourteen years. By most rational definitions, that's home. My family's there, my friends from High School are all there, I know how to get places, all that stuff.

I don't want to leave here, but I want to go home.

I'm a geek, I like computers, and usually computers seem to like me. Despite this, I bitch about the status of my computer a lot. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, I use my computer a lot, in fact sitting in front of it in some form takes up the majority of the majority of my days. Second, I abuse my computer; for instance, I let it's processors run flat out for several months straight because I was too lazy to find and fix the problem. Third and finally, computers are still magical to me.
Remember the first time you used a computer? The idea that clicking that key put something up on the screen was mind boggling. Even more so was the fact that you couldn't figure out how the hell stuff was being stored. Every day is kind of like that for me, the more I learn about the inner workings of various hardwares and softwares, the more magical it gets. Call me crazy, but I like that.
So, on to the original post. I'm a devoted mac user. I like the way the operating system works, and I like most of apple's software. I am, however, in no way an elitist. I don't mind that other people use Windows and Linux, and I recognize that those operating systems are better for some things just like Macs are better for other things. One of the things Macs happen to be better suited to is me.
Now, I know enough about computers to know that emulating another operating system is generally not efficient. That's why I've been using Azureus for a while now. The problem with Azureus, however, is that it blows. It is a shitty program, that up until now, only hogged resources. I was ok with that, because that was less resources than emulation would take. And since Azureus is the only fully functioned BitTorrent client for Mac, emulation is the only other option. This morning, Azureus had a run of crashes.
So I switched to uTorrent running in VMWare. There are a couple of kinks in it, but I have to say that I'm more than happy with it. uTorrent is what a program should be. It does its thing when I tell it to, and doesn't complain. It's also a hell of a lot better at doing its thing than Azureus was.
It is a sad day when emulation beats native support, but what can you do besides wait for uTorrent to come out for Mac.

Here's to waiting.

This is the first time that I have been drunk/tipsy. I have had alcohol a few times before this, but never to the point of motile impairment or slurred speech.

It's really an interesting experience. My brain seems fairly sharp, if slow. However, my speech and motor functions are somewhat shot, though my typing doesn't seem to be affected.

The last Mimzy was a little bit of an interesting movie, especially with drunken friends who are very affectionate.

More to come, and here's the Redhead.

Hello Daniel's Livejournal--

I haven't had a Livejournal since I was sixteen and was angsty. I think that it's silly for Dan to have one because he isn't generally (or ever) an angsty person. Typing is arduous under the influence of alcohol.
-The Redhead

I'm going to see about keeping a journal here over the summer. I've decided on a couple of ground rules for myself to start it off.

Number 1: Every post will be public. If I'm not willing to say something to everybody who reads this, then I'm not really willing to say it at all. Friends only posts and friends groups create divisions between people, and while that has its place, that's not what this journal will be about.

Number 2: Anyone can comment, anytime. I'll read them. If I have something to say, I'll say it. If you have something to say, say it. I'll be listening.

Number 3: I will try to be interesting and honest. Otherwise, what's the point? If you're dull, no one wants to read your shit, and if you're lying, Oprah will find out and kill you. Really. I'm not running for anything at the moment, so I have nothing to gain from lying in a journal. Of course, I do value some of my privacy, so I'll not be using last names, and I may change other details to protect that and the privacy of others. It is the internet.

I may not post all that often or all that regularly, but when I do, I'll be following my rules.

Who else has set rules for themselves on the internet, and what are they?

--Daniel