Non-Toxic

Stay away from the watchmen, unless you like staring at blue dick

2009-03-16T04:32:48Z

So, the watchmen.

It's AWFUL. And by awful, i mean tragic. I mean take the worst parts of robocop 3 and combine them with the worst parts of Mighty Ducks 3.

The ending was predictable (yeah, I never read the novel). The actors were terrible. the effects were terrible. I would rather have watched retarded kids fingerainting for two and three quarter hours. It also dragged out for SO FUCKING LONG. The intro was as long as all of the endings on the director's cut of LOTR.

The only thing epic about this movie is its fail. Save your money, and fuck, don't even watch it through netflix.

PS> I'm not kidding about the blue dick. There's probably a good 15 minutes of blue dick on the screen. And the sex scenes are about as over the top ( and unrealistic) as team america: world police. Only they're not funny.

Relocation

2009-03-04T04:52:06Z

So, yeah, I moved with the woman to Hartford. Just started my new job, which is going really well.

Gave up on wow (again) as i've done everything there is to do for a while. I started playing warhammer again - that game has gotten much better since release. It is actually fun to play now and runs pretty smoothly. If you're burned out on WoW (or Meh as I have come to call it0 reup your warhammer account and check it out - it's definitely worth a second look.

Other than that, I'm just waiting on the complete collapse of our economy and the introduction of the Amero. Once that happens I'll have something to write about again.

Just say no (to corporate welfare)!

2008-12-12T16:37:55Z

Yeah, I'm talking about the auto industry.

It's not the car companies who have failed us, it's our elected officials - who could have taken action to flatten the market and use legislation to help guide the auto industry to a stance where our shitty car makers could be making fewer, less shitty cars. Which would translate to less shitty results.

Let them die. Let's have a little faith in our capitalist system. The lack of the big 3 (well, 2 of em) will cause our market to open up. If the demand for domestic cars increases, new companies will rise to meet that need, or ford will expand to meet it. If the auto industry is done for domestic shitboxes and shady dealers, no amount of cash from the taxpayers is going to fix that. They're still going to fail because there is NO DEMAND FOR THEIR PRODUCTS.

The Auto Industry has been close to collapse before - you know, the last time American car companies missed their mark (trying to compete with big, shitty mileage boats against more economical foreign cars), it was rough. Plants closed, car companies and brands closed, and things went south for a while. There was no taxpayer welfare. These companies had to struggle and retool and develop new products.  Which gave us the SUV. Just as shitty, just as bad on gas - but it had that certain social status and a non-gender specific appeal (to a guy it's a truck, to a woman it's a minivan) that made them sell like hotcakes. Even after we knew they lack stability or any real safety.

The foreign car makers did a good job responding, bringing their own similar products to market. This lead to a fair amount of competition, with the american car makers taking over the SUV and Minivan markets, and foreign companies taking the economy and luxury markets (let's face it, Cadillac owners are dropping like flies, and outside of Medford, there's no young people buying them).

Now, yet again, the oil industry threw a wrench into the machine (See that paragraph up there about the first time? Yeah, that was sparked by OPEC, too). Americans are already overstretched financially after being cultivated into a society that lives off of credit, not cash. Again, the american automakers have been unable to produce a product that is economical to own and profitable. But why?  Why did our automakers focus on the SUV?

That's an easy answer. The SUV has a high markup over material costs to produce. This allowed the US automakers to turn a small profit per unit while paying the exorbitant costs of floating a long-unneeded and draining union. The American car companies pay about $80 per hour for labor costs to build each car. In the Japanese car plants in the USA, non union workers receive stellar benefits (not counting the crazy union 95% layoff pay, and other ridiculous crap) and produce a higher quality car - for about 50% of the labor cost of a union shop.

So now, we have people blaming the Big 3, OPEC, and the Unions. However, the problem is not the fault of any one of those, but all three.

OPEC is our adversary, not our partner in global politics. We need to overcome them, be it by reducing our oil intake, increasing our own oil production, or war.

The concept of union labor is long overused. We live in a society where government regulations ensure a safe work environment and social security benefits for workers who are disabled. We don't need the unions anymore, and they've shown themselves time and time again to be corrupt slouches who have little to no interest in ensuring the quality of the output (which is supposed to be the plus side for a company unlucky enough to be ravaged by a labor union). This ties into the whole illegal immigrant thing - which I'm not going into here, but suffice to say, if union labor was worth it, people would hire union rather than illegal immigrants.

The big problem with the unions is that, short of a massive turnover in senate, they will continue to own our government.   Yes, they own it. Admit it. Then do something about it. The very best vote you can cast is the one against an incumbent.

The automakers have, for too long, gone with a 'if you build it, they will buy it' mentality. I would love to see some fresh ideas in the car industry in general, and I think that there is a lot left to be explored for making profitable cars that are inexpensive to make and own.   The problem is that the car executives have been born, fed, and raised into the "make lots/sell all" mentality. They need to take people in from other industries - people who have new ideas and new visions. In short, they need a blood transfusion.

So, I guess that'd be my 3 recommendations:
1) Fight Opec. Fight them however we can with whatever we have to.
2) Eliminate the labor union. Provide significant tax breaks for non-union shops, and work to get new unskiled labor into the plants. You have to produce cars for less if you want to sell them for less - and you have to sell them for less to sell more of them.
3) Eliminate all executive and senior management at chrysler and GM. New board of directors to be approved by shareholders.  Let's see what a Richard Branson or a Bill Gates or a Warren Buffett could do at the helm of a car company. American auto executives know absolutely nothing about their own industry, their core markets, or their operations. Maybe we should recruit some executives over from Toyota and Honda?

once in a billiondy million year update

2008-11-11T14:33:20Z

Yeah - so. Been busy with Sandy, work, WoW, etc.

I've been thinking quite a bit about NERO lately.. I took most of this year off from ravenholt, and the last event off from Kaurath (after trying and failing to take the event prior off).

What I've come to the conclusion of is that nero was a game I was playing primarily because I felt obliged to do so - whether it be to see friends, or because there were things I was expected to do in-game, or whatever. With that said, I'm eliminating nero from my menu for a little while. I can make plans away from the game to see my friends, and at the core of it, NERO just isn't worth it.

But, before you say "You're paying like 75 bucks for a whole WEEKEND of entertainment"... I'm not necessarily talking about the money. I'm talking more about the hassle - the buying gas, paying tolls, and spending 3 hours driving each way. The putting on green makeup, taking off green makeup, and being green until tuesday all for a "par" experience. Some of these choices are ones that I made myself, true, but the things that I want out of a larp have changed drastically over the last few years, and nero just isn't that product.

I was excited for the ravenholt transition, but from what I can see - it seems like the staff is going to take it more down the "gotta perm a few pc's to make an omelet" route - one that alot of us played before.

My larp philosophy is very different - I think that PCs in larps should essentially always have the choice to die (by going into a hopeless situation or whatever), and that the "risk factor of death" really isn't scary, and it doesn't encourage heroic play. That's what we're all playing to be, heroes and villains, right?

Being heroic does not mean getting stuffed in the ass because someone on the staff feels the need to create encounters that are statted not in a way to make them over-statted, but statted in a way to negate the abilities of every person who is in that group.

STOP BEING UN-FUN. A LARP IS NOT AN MMORPG TIME GRIND, NOR IS A LARP WITH THE CHANCE OF PERMANENT DEATH FUN WHEN EVERY ENCOUNTER WILL POTENTIALLY REMOVE YOUR ABILITY TO PLAY YOUIR CHARACTER.
Is there a time for hell fights? Sure! Should those hell fights and the storylines they revolve around provide plenty of opportunities for heroic actions and self sacrifice? Absolutely. Should those hell fights be statted completely to put it in the PCs ass? probably not unless it serves some storyline point and uses the threat of permanent death in an illusory sense. (like a certain recent nightmare fight).

Anyhow, that's my current take on larping in general and specifically nero. I'll be back to nero when I have confidence in the product.

wow, what the hell?

2008-07-12T12:11:05Z

Check this out - further proof that europe != free.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,380802,00.html

The more I think about it, isn't it about time france got their asses kicked again? I think this time it'll be their own muslim community that does it.

Why can't europe just acknowledge the fact that they're old news and no longer really relevant to the world outside europe?

saudi arabia

2008-07-02T02:59:21Z

Dear King Abdullah -

GO FUCK YOURSELF.

Love,

USA

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,374602,00.html

I think if Americans should 'get used to oil prices' that saudi arabia should 'get used to glowing in the dark'. I hope that these bastards realize that our military can and certainly should be used to acquire and maintain the resources our country requires in order to function.

great website

2008-06-21T12:20:27Z

www.hotchickswithdouchebags.com

OMG, there are so many people I know who should be on this website. It's really kind of staggering.

oh my god

2007-09-07T16:08:10Z

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296054,00.html

Fucking hippies. Why do they have to ruin everything?

What's wrong with being American, anyhow? Give me a break!! This is one retro movie i will NOT be seeing.

Fuck GI Joe, I hope cobra wins.

Weekendness

2007-09-04T15:55:12Z

So, this weekend was pretty fun.

I went to NPC Lione (cheater) Rampant - after years of crappy nero, I still go back to it.. however, this game took exactly 2 hours and 5 recycles to show me that the only place I should have in that game is offing pc's for fun and profit.

There were some people who were pretty into it - it's nteraction-ish, but this one balding dude (with a red and black shield, featuring a white cord holding the foam on) cheated his BALLS off, and totally turned me off from the game. This dude thought his shield was the monolith from 2001, but in fact, I was lighting him up like nobody's business. I mean, it looked like Lee Papa fighting me, only I was lee and he was me.

So, after this retarded exchange, during which staff actually took me out because he couldn't hit me and wouldn't take my hits (I was a two body goblin with two called 2 damages), I snapped a becker sword over my head and went home.

DO NOT.. I repeat.. DO NOT NPC Lione - you WILL NOT have fun. Mainly because of this douchebag. It was.. appalling.. and I have definitely seen my fair share of cheaters!

This dude was like the worst nero cheater if that cheater had a neurological condition that made it impossible for him to feel boffer hits. I mean, really. Don't bother with this crap ass larp.

In other news, King Richard's faire was OK - Moresca's is now 33% more price gouging than before! And, if you've shopped at Moresca, you know how much they gouge prices. I bought a couple of shirts (one red, one black - a 'just in case' for madrigal), and a hood. It was $200. I should have just walked away, but I paid for it. I'll likely be avoiding KRF next year, as a lot of the places that sold larp staple items (the place with the mocassins and leather bound books/pouches, the place with all the cool belts and bracers right by the entrance, and the dude with the masks over by the slightly-too-flamboyant [and expensive] "everything has ugly celtic knotwork" store over by the jousting field) have closed down.

We had a little team dinner on sunday after KRF, things are shaping up nicely. We've outgrown the cabins in the ring at Cedar Crest - so we're going to need something bigger (once you factor in our associates who will want to stay with us).

Yesterday, I went to revere beach, which was passable - we didn't stay as long as I'd have liked, but we're going back this sunday, weather permitting.

Anyhow, that's it - it was a good weekend.

J

back from dallas

2007-08-16T17:15:59Z

yup - i'm back. Was a fun trip. 114 degrees the day we left.

With each city I visit, I'm drawn more and more away from wanting to live in Boston.  It just plain sucks to live here. The weather is crap, most of the people are crap, the cost of living is astronomically higher than the pay scale, and it's just crap in general.

So, that said, I've applied for a transfer @ work to Cincinnatti - yeah, the winters will be tougher, but I'll be able to afford to live there.

Yeah, that means giving up most of my larping, but the only game I am not hating right now is Kaurath, and that's only four times a year - I can do that.

We'll see how the transfer process goes - teh gurl is all about going with me, but i'm not positive that she'll like it there - who knows?

looking for a starving artist

2007-08-06T16:04:43Z

I am looking to engage someone to do some artwork for my larp rulebook. Specifically, four fantasy character portraits and a world map. I will, of course, be paying for this work.

Please let me know if you're interested.

A Good Cause

2007-07-10T14:46:05Z

So, the Jericho viewer community has partnered with nuts online (the nut website that helped us ship 20 TONS of peanuts to cbs in order to get Jericho back on the air) to start a charity fund.

Funds from this charity go to the town of Greensburg, Kansas. We've raised a little over 20 grand so far, and it's going strong. Greensburg was utterly destroyed by tornadoes on May 4th, and they need all the help they can get.

I know money is tight for everyone, but this is a really good cause.

Vacation

2007-07-09T16:27:18Z

So, Vacation is over. Spent a day at my Aunt's up in NH, which was fun. Mostly sat around playing video games and working on my accelerant game. All in all it was 10000% better than coming into work.

But now, I'm back to work. Bummer. I had a whopping 650 e-mails to read upon my arrival back at the office. Good Times!

Jericho - WATCH IT

2007-06-26T18:49:46Z

Jericho is airing reruns on Fridays starting 7/6, with a second season starting up this fall.

If you haven't watched Jericho, you should check it out - post-nuclear show set in Kansas. Very entertaining (the middler episodes (3-7 or so) are a little clunky, but all in all, the first season ends in awesomeness.

The ep's are also available via www.cbs.com or www.whodropppedthebomb.com - check it out! Those of you who know me know that I despise TV.. and I still find myself glued to the tube whenever this show is on.

the weekend

2007-06-25T20:34:51Z

Ok, so friday was the anniversary night - we went out to a nice little italian place we used to frequent when teh girl lived over near where i work. It was really nice, and she got dolled up to go - which was really cool. She's kinda crunchy and doesn't do that very often, so it was a nice change of pace.

After that, we went home and basically collapsed - it'd been a long-ass week for both of us, so we just agreed to have some downtime together.

Saturday was gaming at Jake's house. I haven't played D&D more than like 10 times in my life - it was fun nonetheless. It was good to get some social interaction going again. Saw some people I really was looking forward to seeing..

Sunday was teh wedding. The reception was literally two streets over from camp claire. We took off before entrees hit the table because it was decidedly uncomfortable for both of us - we're good like that.

I have all of next week off, so if you want to hang out, let me know.

yeah!

2007-06-22T12:14:06Z

If it can control a model train, it can control an attack helicopter...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,285934,00.html

ravenholt

2007-06-20T16:49:41Z

Ravenholt ran OK, I think. The phoenix war plot is over, so I can move on to running other stuff.

My future with neromass is still up in the air. With the new talent coming onboard, I'd like to stick around, but I'm not sure Teh Owner is going to be running regularly enough to warrant having staff...

which blows...

If the price was something within reach, I just might make an offer. It's not, and it'd be reckless for me to spend more on a nero than, say, on a car or an apartment for a year.

We'll see what the future holds

blah

2007-06-14T19:23:59Z

just feeling sort of blah today. i'm still feeling some anti-floon from Madrigal - whether or not it's justified isn't the point.

I'm looking forward to this weekend. I can only hope that the stuff i've got concocted comes off cool. No fireworks and few props makes for a shitty attempt... but i'll do the best I can with what I got.

jealous guys

2007-06-13T02:53:23Z

haha.. hahaha.. aha..

I laugh at you, jealous guys.

madrigal ranting

2007-06-03T20:51:46Z

Madrigal Rantiness revised and removed. Things have been explained and I understand why I did not have a good time. It will be dealt with in-game.

kaurath

2007-05-30T05:18:07Z

Had a great time at Kaurath.. did lots of interacting with PC's and achieving plot goals.

There were lots of people bitching this weekend, but I think that it's for the most part due to their inability to be in-game to the level kaurath demands in order to break into plotlines. You know, you actually have to talk to people before they'll give you stuff to do - it's not silver platter nero. I approach it more like an nteraction game from the perspective of working plot.

I'm bummed that the next event isn't until august, but it gives me lots of time to read and re-read the players' guide and try to unravel the thing into something that makes more sense.. we'll see.

cyaluminous @ 2007-05-24T23:57:00

2007-05-25T03:57:57Z

why do i bother?

cyaluminous @ 2007-05-16T17:40:00

2007-05-16T21:42:26Z

Bah, Jericho is cancelled.

And they left it on a cliffhanger. stupid fuckers at CBS - I guess they're going to replace it with some sort of "undead cop show". omg.

Maybe sci-fi will pick it up. Jericho is the only show I watched this season (literally, I swore off TV, for the most part, years ago). It was sort of the show that was what I was hoping endgame was gonna be.

Bleh. stupid undead cops.

for those wondering

2007-05-14T20:44:49Z

Yes - I am still working on my accelerant game.

Yes - I have a few people already slated to staff.

Yes - it's going to be fun.

No - I don't have a camp yet

No - I'm not done with the skillsets/headers yet

Yes - there is a druid class, two actually

Yes - it is primarily made for PvE, but there is a race made for PvP

yes - I am trying to blend accelerant rules with nero combat flow (fight all day, and roleplay while doing so, damnit)

Yes - I'm doing funky things with CP that will make it much more equitable and a team effort.

Yes - cheaters will be dealt with in-game, as will metagamers and people who are out of game. you have been warned.

Yes - the cosmology is finally done

Yes - the campaign setting (currently named Ceralin, for the continent it's on) is nearly ready for play (stupid names!)

Yes - the races are, for the most part, unique with influences from classical fantasy

Yes - every race is low makeup

Yes - it's a single-class game. There are about 20 classes to choose from.

Yes - you will get bonus points for looking awesome. And by awesome, I mean looking like an adventurer, not a dude in pajamas running around the woods.

Yes - there are forums already setup. I'm allowing people who ask me for access to look at the rules as they stand. This is on a case-by-case basis. cheaters will be denied access. shoot me an e-mail if you want to take a peek.

Yes - there is a "gnome like race". You're welcome, Nick.

larp larp larp larp larp

2007-05-11T02:46:37Z

so, yeah. i've been larping alot.

Looking forward to next Ravenholt - my 3 year plot is starting to peak - should be a fun few events to run.

Also looking forward to northlands, kaurath and madrigal. I have some trepidation around madrigal, as I'm pretty sure one more weekend with cracked out endgame crunchy stats is going to make me just about ready to flip out and quit... we'll see, though previous promises of more sensible statting have not come to fruition, so i'm pretty cynical about it.

Aside from that, the weather is wicked nice! Been a good season so far for larping - made up for last year's shit-tastic larp season... we'll see how long it holds out.