Ok, not entirely nothing. I am doing a few chores around the house, trying to improve the state of the place a little. But, I'm getting tired of having no larger tasks. Sure I'm trying to find a decent job, but to be honest that mostly involves waiting. Some folks say, "Enjoy it while you can." Ok, I'm trying to, and sometimes it is nice to take things slow and relaxed, but I really need to get back to work, just for the sense of being useful.
Anywho...the last couple of weeks have been eventful job-search-wise. I had two separate interviews at the atom mill. The first one went well, as previously mentioned, but the second didn't seem so great. Some of the questions showed me that I should have prepare better, studying more of the operations there. Oh well. It didn't help that I was at the height of a particulary nasty cold, and was working hard to not cough up any major organs, or spread too much mucus. The next day I had another interview for a quality engineer job near here. If anything, I was sicker than the day before, but I thought I presented myself well. We shall see in the next week or two what happens.
Things have been a bit tense with the spousal unit of late. She's seriously stressed out about school, her volunteering, work, her sister's ongoing drama and balancing it all. So I'm just trying to keep my head down for the most part when things seem especially dangerous.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Monday, November 20, 2006
"What? Still alive?!"
Just a quick update on the state of my universe. In spite of my much improved mood of late, I have been totally lacking in energy or ambition thanks to a very nasty cold. This thing has been hanging on for about a week now, and just won't ease up. A couple of days ago I purchased a store brand version of Nyquil with the hope that it would help me sleep through the hacking cough and plegm-flood. The usual cherry flavoured goop usually makes me gag, so I picked up the green stuff instead, figuring it to have a mint taste. Wrong. It turns out that this vile concoction has a strong flavour of anise/black licorice. Goddam but I HATE that flavour! So every night I toss down a shot of this hell-brew and spend the next half hour trying to get the taste out of my mouth. Problem is, every tiny puff of air that manages to crawl up my esophagus carries with it the hideous taint of that foul ichor! It's worse than the illness! However it did seem to be at least a little effective.
I had an interview last Thursday for a job at the ol' atom mill. I thought it went pretty well, but we shall see. I won't hold my breath, as they don't seem to move too fast. I have another interview for a different position there tomorrow.
Spousal unit made up a batch of chocolate cupcake for a thing she went to yesterday, and there were quite a few left over. Unfortunately they are absolutely amazing, and I've been inhaling them a little faster than is good for me.
All for now.
I had an interview last Thursday for a job at the ol' atom mill. I thought it went pretty well, but we shall see. I won't hold my breath, as they don't seem to move too fast. I have another interview for a different position there tomorrow.
Spousal unit made up a batch of chocolate cupcake for a thing she went to yesterday, and there were quite a few left over. Unfortunately they are absolutely amazing, and I've been inhaling them a little faster than is good for me.
All for now.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Hello, anybody there? I can hear you breathing.
I know somebody must look at this thing. The sitemeter says so, and it wouldn't lie to me. So leave a comment, or maybe just money. Let me know who's really there. Make comments, suggestions, even bad puns. I'd like to think that my only hits aren't automated spam-bots.
What are you so damned happy about?
So, here I am with a nasty cold, the kind that makes you feel like your head is stuffed with fur, occasionally dries that certain spot in your throat to the point of making you cough up stuff you ate as a child, but other than that doesn't feel that bad.
And I am still unemployed. And the car needs an oil change. And I need a haircut. And I haven't played D&D in months. And I want a new computer, and some new games. And the spouse is spending most of her time locked away in her office, presumably working on an essay for her film course, or perhaps plotting my doom! Mwahahahaha!
But for all that, I'm in a great mood! I'm not quite sure why. Perhaps some little gizmo in my skull has malfunctioned and is now pumping endorphins into me full blast. Don't knock it, I guess; it helps to balance the month or two of misery after I was fired.
"Will break atoms for money"
So what have I done lately? Well, I have 2, count-em!, 2 interviews lined up at Mr. Burn's place. One Thursday, and another next Tuesday for 2 different jobs there. For the first one I have to make a 5-minute presentation on nuclear energy. No more details given than that. Ok, no biggie, even though I haven't made a presentation in probably 13 years. But the one next week is what I really want. This is for the job I tested for in September. Gad, but they don't move too fast, do they?
On top of that, I've got an agency presenting my resume to a certain car manufacturer starting with "T", for a seriously big money job. Sure, make the decision to bail on quality even harder! Happiness or money, happiness or money, ummmm?
What else is good? My buddy Roscoe was over Sunday to watch some DVD's and drink some very good beer. I'm currently listening to a podcast of old 80's 'underground' or alternative music. A lot of it is now semi-popular retro stuff, but back then you would never here most of it on regular commercial radio. I remember listening to the local university station back in 81 or 82 and hearing this stuff. Ah, the mighty CHRW, blasting it out with a whopping 50 watts! The sound quality kind of sucks, it sounds like somebody put a mike next to a radio. But the tunes are great.
"Mumbo, perhaps. Jumbo, perhaps not!"
Oh, and I've been reading a book about mindfulness meditation. It's originally a Buddhist thing, but the book I'm reading is about the program used at a major medical center for stress relief, pain, that sort of thing. Pretty cools stuff, actually. I'm surprised how hard it is to do nothing. Try it. Seriously, sit, concentrate on your breathing. Don't do anything else, don't even think of anything else. Your mind will wander, guaranteed. Try doing that for 15 minutes, or 30, or more. It's fucking hard sometimes! But afterward I feel incredibly relaxed and mellow and my head is clear. And it's all legal and doesn't create cravings for junk food! And I don't have to pay anybody! Anyway the book says to do this for 15 minutes a day for a week to start. Well, so far I've worked up to 10 minutes. Gad, if I ever manage 45 minutes, I think I'll have melted by the end!
Well, enough of this feel-good, happy, shiny, peace to the world crap. Time to play a violent video game!
And I am still unemployed. And the car needs an oil change. And I need a haircut. And I haven't played D&D in months. And I want a new computer, and some new games. And the spouse is spending most of her time locked away in her office, presumably working on an essay for her film course, or perhaps plotting my doom! Mwahahahaha!
But for all that, I'm in a great mood! I'm not quite sure why. Perhaps some little gizmo in my skull has malfunctioned and is now pumping endorphins into me full blast. Don't knock it, I guess; it helps to balance the month or two of misery after I was fired.
"Will break atoms for money"
So what have I done lately? Well, I have 2, count-em!, 2 interviews lined up at Mr. Burn's place. One Thursday, and another next Tuesday for 2 different jobs there. For the first one I have to make a 5-minute presentation on nuclear energy. No more details given than that. Ok, no biggie, even though I haven't made a presentation in probably 13 years. But the one next week is what I really want. This is for the job I tested for in September. Gad, but they don't move too fast, do they?
On top of that, I've got an agency presenting my resume to a certain car manufacturer starting with "T", for a seriously big money job. Sure, make the decision to bail on quality even harder! Happiness or money, happiness or money, ummmm?
What else is good? My buddy Roscoe was over Sunday to watch some DVD's and drink some very good beer. I'm currently listening to a podcast of old 80's 'underground' or alternative music. A lot of it is now semi-popular retro stuff, but back then you would never here most of it on regular commercial radio. I remember listening to the local university station back in 81 or 82 and hearing this stuff. Ah, the mighty CHRW, blasting it out with a whopping 50 watts! The sound quality kind of sucks, it sounds like somebody put a mike next to a radio. But the tunes are great.
"Mumbo, perhaps. Jumbo, perhaps not!"
Oh, and I've been reading a book about mindfulness meditation. It's originally a Buddhist thing, but the book I'm reading is about the program used at a major medical center for stress relief, pain, that sort of thing. Pretty cools stuff, actually. I'm surprised how hard it is to do nothing. Try it. Seriously, sit, concentrate on your breathing. Don't do anything else, don't even think of anything else. Your mind will wander, guaranteed. Try doing that for 15 minutes, or 30, or more. It's fucking hard sometimes! But afterward I feel incredibly relaxed and mellow and my head is clear. And it's all legal and doesn't create cravings for junk food! And I don't have to pay anybody! Anyway the book says to do this for 15 minutes a day for a week to start. Well, so far I've worked up to 10 minutes. Gad, if I ever manage 45 minutes, I think I'll have melted by the end!
Well, enough of this feel-good, happy, shiny, peace to the world crap. Time to play a violent video game!
Friday, November 10, 2006
Geek Alert 3: Return of Geek Alert
So in the mid-90's, we ended up moving away from this old burg for a job, and all the RPG stuff was packed away into storage. No games, no players, no time. Without interested players what's the point? I didn't even bother to look for gamers in the new town. Most of them would be teenagers anyway, and I really didn't have the patience for that brand of immaturity. That went on for around three years, and then I took a job back here in silly London town.
Well, the first year or so here was gameless as well. That is until a friend, M, mentioned that some old friends in his home town, about a 45 minute drive from here, were starting a game of Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition. Third edition? What's that? Sure, I'd give it a shot. So I went about 3 or 4 times and had in intro to 3ed. I liked it enough to buy the new Players Handbook. Then for a while M couldn't make it. Either the game fell apart, or they just didn't want me there without M. So that was that.
Well, not quite. I let things go for a couple of years until some aquaintances who were more serious gamers asked spousal unit and I if we'd like to join a little game they were having. So myself and spousal unit, M and his wife S, and the hosts P and K got together Friday nights for a few months for gaming. Until other priorities took over. S dropped out, then M. Shortly after P lost interest and that was it.
No that wasn't it! Hell maybe I could run a game. So I picked up the other 2 main rulebooks on eBay and found conversions of some of my old favourite adventures. Then we started at my place with M and S again, and other friends R and D. I ran my campaign for a bit over a year. Progress was slow because often several people couldn't make it. S dropped out entirely. P from before joined in for a while until we switched days to make it more convenient for most. Unfortunately it was less convenient for him. Later M took over running his game until last summer when, again, other needs squashed our plans. And that really was it.
Now I'm looking to start out again, with spousal unit, R & D, and perhaps other folks K & D2. That may last until we have to move again.
On a side note, I still have all of my old, early 80's hardcover books and some of the adventure modules. Unfortunately in the summer after 1st year U, I lent all my low level modules to an old high school friend. I have not heard from him since. Paul, if by some incredible fluke of probability you ever read this, I want them back! It's been 18 years; you should be done with them by now!
Well, the first year or so here was gameless as well. That is until a friend, M, mentioned that some old friends in his home town, about a 45 minute drive from here, were starting a game of Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition. Third edition? What's that? Sure, I'd give it a shot. So I went about 3 or 4 times and had in intro to 3ed. I liked it enough to buy the new Players Handbook. Then for a while M couldn't make it. Either the game fell apart, or they just didn't want me there without M. So that was that.
Well, not quite. I let things go for a couple of years until some aquaintances who were more serious gamers asked spousal unit and I if we'd like to join a little game they were having. So myself and spousal unit, M and his wife S, and the hosts P and K got together Friday nights for a few months for gaming. Until other priorities took over. S dropped out, then M. Shortly after P lost interest and that was it.
No that wasn't it! Hell maybe I could run a game. So I picked up the other 2 main rulebooks on eBay and found conversions of some of my old favourite adventures. Then we started at my place with M and S again, and other friends R and D. I ran my campaign for a bit over a year. Progress was slow because often several people couldn't make it. S dropped out entirely. P from before joined in for a while until we switched days to make it more convenient for most. Unfortunately it was less convenient for him. Later M took over running his game until last summer when, again, other needs squashed our plans. And that really was it.
Now I'm looking to start out again, with spousal unit, R & D, and perhaps other folks K & D2. That may last until we have to move again.
On a side note, I still have all of my old, early 80's hardcover books and some of the adventure modules. Unfortunately in the summer after 1st year U, I lent all my low level modules to an old high school friend. I have not heard from him since. Paul, if by some incredible fluke of probability you ever read this, I want them back! It's been 18 years; you should be done with them by now!
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Geek Alert Part 2: The Revenge!
Ok, so there I was in early high school. The ultra nerd/dweeb/geek. The overweight kid who had to wear corduroy pants, played AD&D, and was reasonably good with computers. Yeah, a real chick magnet - Not! Anyway, a small group of gamers congealed at good ol' A.B. Mucus S.S. D&D gave way to MERP or Middle Earth Role Playing, which was a slightly simplified version of the Rolemaster system adapted to Tolkien's world. That was great fun. I still fondly recall my hobbit cuisinart shredding a surprised, seated orc with twin short swords and taking about 10 rounds to do it while the orc sat there stunned, and my elf warrior leaping on the back of a pissed off dragon and riding it while it tried to smash him against the ceiling.
During H.S., I also played games called Battletech, and it's RPG offspring Mechwarrior, about giant robots shooting each other up. I also messed around with the odd other game, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Blinky the Mole was one of my characters, long before the video game character!), and Car Wars.
One year, about grade 11 I think, all the sillyness about D&D being satanic broke out in the U.S. We actually had a crew from the local TV station come out to do a story on our group! I don't think the story ever ran. I guess when they didn't see any ritual sacrifices of virgins (which would have been just about any member of the group!), they must have figured it wasn't sensational enough.
After high school, it was off to university. In first year I really didn't have time for any serious gaming. But in 1989 or so some folks I knew invited me into their group to play some AD&D and Battletech. That worked for about a year or two, but then the demands of school and other aspects of a social life took over. After graduation while uselessly unemployed, a new group of friends started playing. There was a little D&D, but then we switched over to something new called Shadowrun. Awesome game! Combine D&D fantasy elements with cyberpunk sci-fi. Great fun! My best character was a cyborg killing machine with a very dry sense of humour. After being caught in the middle of a spell that converted an urban area into a natural one he became a vegetarian and was ever after known as the 'cybered-up-vegomatic'. We all found Terminator 2 hilarious, because basically that was the character I had been playing. When Arnold pulls out the minigun from the underground cache and the young John Conner say 'It's definitely you.', I laughed my ass of, because that was my guy! Oh yeah, the character was ironically nicknamed Twitchy.
After finding gainful employment and moving away, my gaming career came to an end... for a while.
More to come in the exiting 3rd episode. Be sure to tune in!
During H.S., I also played games called Battletech, and it's RPG offspring Mechwarrior, about giant robots shooting each other up. I also messed around with the odd other game, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Blinky the Mole was one of my characters, long before the video game character!), and Car Wars.
One year, about grade 11 I think, all the sillyness about D&D being satanic broke out in the U.S. We actually had a crew from the local TV station come out to do a story on our group! I don't think the story ever ran. I guess when they didn't see any ritual sacrifices of virgins (which would have been just about any member of the group!), they must have figured it wasn't sensational enough.
After high school, it was off to university. In first year I really didn't have time for any serious gaming. But in 1989 or so some folks I knew invited me into their group to play some AD&D and Battletech. That worked for about a year or two, but then the demands of school and other aspects of a social life took over. After graduation while uselessly unemployed, a new group of friends started playing. There was a little D&D, but then we switched over to something new called Shadowrun. Awesome game! Combine D&D fantasy elements with cyberpunk sci-fi. Great fun! My best character was a cyborg killing machine with a very dry sense of humour. After being caught in the middle of a spell that converted an urban area into a natural one he became a vegetarian and was ever after known as the 'cybered-up-vegomatic'. We all found Terminator 2 hilarious, because basically that was the character I had been playing. When Arnold pulls out the minigun from the underground cache and the young John Conner say 'It's definitely you.', I laughed my ass of, because that was my guy! Oh yeah, the character was ironically nicknamed Twitchy.
After finding gainful employment and moving away, my gaming career came to an end... for a while.
More to come in the exiting 3rd episode. Be sure to tune in!
Geek Alert!!!
Remember Wil Wheaton? You know, the kid who played Wesley Crusher on Star Trek:The Next Generation? The character most people disliked, and the one responsible for the most alcohol imbibed during a Star Trek drinking game (someone says 'shut up Wesley', you must finish your drink!). Well, it turns out Mr. Wheaton was a victim of bad screenwriting. It seems that in real life he is actually a real hoopy frood (and if you don't understand that, you're not a real geek). The spousal unit clued me in to his blog a while back but recently I've been reading it more. Check it out here: http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/
He's also written a couple of books, and I've had a chance to read a bit of one. He's actually a pretty decent writer. Quite entertaining stuff. Anyway, check out his site.
The reason I'm bringing this up is because his latest entry is about his introduction to Role Playing Games (RPG's), and Dungeons and Dragons in particular. It got me thinking about my start in the big bad world of gaming, way back in the early 80's....
It was back around 1981 or 82, and I hadn't quite started high school.
My first intro to D&D had been by my cousin L and her then husband. One evening I had stopped off at their place while a game was going on. I was given a very terse explanation (after all, I was just a dumb kid), and afterward I thought nothing more about it.
There weren't a lot of kids my age on my street, so I spent a fair bit of time by myself, drawing, reading, playing with Lego, making up my own games. One game I made up involved a side view of a tomb/dungeon/tunnel complex populated by skeletons, zombies, and treasure. This was before I knew much about D&D, and it was actually inspired by Raiders of the Lost Ark. Well, one of the few friends in the neighbourhood saw this one day and commented that it was a lot like D&D. He had just started playing with the old red-box Basic D&D set and offered to show me how to play. Over several weeks we played through good ol' B2:Keep on the Borderlands, one of the classic adventure modules that old time gamers look back on with great affection. I vaugely remember I had a fighter character -I can't remember the name- who achieved the lofty height of 3rd level, which was the highest that the Basic Set supported. A while later my friend purchased the 'Expert Set', which expanded the game, allowing players to rise to 6th level, I think it was.
Guess what! I was hooked. I ended up getting my own copies of both basic D&D sets, trying to write a module or two, that sort of thing. Then high school started. I don't remember exactly how it happened, but it turned out one of my new high school friends played something called Advanced D&D. I admit I was slightly intimidated: if it's called advanced, it must be more difficult. Well, I ended up in a session or three with a school gaming group, most a bunch of older kids. I mostly remember one adventure that the DM had blatantly stolen from an Elric story (a series of fantasy books by Michael Moorcock), but I didn't realize this until I actually read the story a couple of years later. By this time the cousin unit, L, had heard that I was playing D&D, and at Christmas 1982 she gave me one the coolest presents I've ever received: The AD&D Players Handbook. You know the one, with the two thieves working to pry the gem eye out a big demon idol. Awesome! That X-mas I was also given a pretty sizable wad of cash. I guess most folks had no idea what I was into, as I was quite an introvert around home. Sweet! Well, during my week off from school between Christmas and New Year, I took my new wealth to the local hobby store and purchased all the AD&D books then available: the Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster Manual, Fiend Folio, and Deities and Demigods (yes, the early edition with Cthulu, Elric, and Ffard!). I was into this game in a big way.
Face it, this was pure escapism for me, and I needed it. I was basically a lonely kid with a single parent who was dealing with some extremely tough health issues, and grandparents -well meaning as they were- who seemed to have no idea how to relate to me. With this game I was off into a more exciting world. And it introduced me to many new friends over the years.
To be continued...
He's also written a couple of books, and I've had a chance to read a bit of one. He's actually a pretty decent writer. Quite entertaining stuff. Anyway, check out his site.
The reason I'm bringing this up is because his latest entry is about his introduction to Role Playing Games (RPG's), and Dungeons and Dragons in particular. It got me thinking about my start in the big bad world of gaming, way back in the early 80's....
It was back around 1981 or 82, and I hadn't quite started high school.
My first intro to D&D had been by my cousin L and her then husband. One evening I had stopped off at their place while a game was going on. I was given a very terse explanation (after all, I was just a dumb kid), and afterward I thought nothing more about it.
There weren't a lot of kids my age on my street, so I spent a fair bit of time by myself, drawing, reading, playing with Lego, making up my own games. One game I made up involved a side view of a tomb/dungeon/tunnel complex populated by skeletons, zombies, and treasure. This was before I knew much about D&D, and it was actually inspired by Raiders of the Lost Ark. Well, one of the few friends in the neighbourhood saw this one day and commented that it was a lot like D&D. He had just started playing with the old red-box Basic D&D set and offered to show me how to play. Over several weeks we played through good ol' B2:Keep on the Borderlands, one of the classic adventure modules that old time gamers look back on with great affection. I vaugely remember I had a fighter character -I can't remember the name- who achieved the lofty height of 3rd level, which was the highest that the Basic Set supported. A while later my friend purchased the 'Expert Set', which expanded the game, allowing players to rise to 6th level, I think it was.
Guess what! I was hooked. I ended up getting my own copies of both basic D&D sets, trying to write a module or two, that sort of thing. Then high school started. I don't remember exactly how it happened, but it turned out one of my new high school friends played something called Advanced D&D. I admit I was slightly intimidated: if it's called advanced, it must be more difficult. Well, I ended up in a session or three with a school gaming group, most a bunch of older kids. I mostly remember one adventure that the DM had blatantly stolen from an Elric story (a series of fantasy books by Michael Moorcock), but I didn't realize this until I actually read the story a couple of years later. By this time the cousin unit, L, had heard that I was playing D&D, and at Christmas 1982 she gave me one the coolest presents I've ever received: The AD&D Players Handbook. You know the one, with the two thieves working to pry the gem eye out a big demon idol. Awesome! That X-mas I was also given a pretty sizable wad of cash. I guess most folks had no idea what I was into, as I was quite an introvert around home. Sweet! Well, during my week off from school between Christmas and New Year, I took my new wealth to the local hobby store and purchased all the AD&D books then available: the Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster Manual, Fiend Folio, and Deities and Demigods (yes, the early edition with Cthulu, Elric, and Ffard!). I was into this game in a big way.
Face it, this was pure escapism for me, and I needed it. I was basically a lonely kid with a single parent who was dealing with some extremely tough health issues, and grandparents -well meaning as they were- who seemed to have no idea how to relate to me. With this game I was off into a more exciting world. And it introduced me to many new friends over the years.
To be continued...
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