Citations

If you care...

Right-click and "Save As..." if you need to own Cosmicrex.jpg. Courtesy 4chan, like many other things on this blog. Like ZOM-G, whose entire dialog set came from the annals of that good forum. I just learned that 4chan gave us orly owl, basically the end result and most important contribution of the entire internet as far as I'm concerned.

Wild Pitch was taken verbatim from Chill Rob G. First heard it late one night on Boston radio- the dudes from Portishead, back when Portishead was still relevant and no one was talking about 'trip-hop' or DJ Shadow- finished a show and headed over to a college radio station just to spin some records. Wild Pitch was one of 'em, and if I rhyme-plagarize anything, it's that.

Ghost Ride the Sub was adapted from Mista FAB as if you dun' know. Check YouTube.

Chums of Charon come by way of a nod to "Against the Day" by Thomas Pynchon, which I'm weathering. Not his best work. Starting to sound repetitive, yes we get it.

Gagged

And just think... that article and many of the other accounts from these people are only the ones we hear about... there is so much more un-announced and secret tapping and snooping going on. Hell, they are probably reading this. Bastards, every one of them. The current FBI and the department of Homeland Security were so aptly portrayed in Cube. The average working stiff is just a small piece in a giant evil puzzle. I know a guy who works in the IT department for the FBI here in colorado. He is a nice enough guy. I bet he even thinks he is serving his country. But as long as the EVIL FUCKING pricks are in charge in Washington, he is just doing his part to built the cube.

but I don't really have an opinion about the matter.

You are going to do the FBI a favor, goddamnit.

Read this.

Fucking Patriot Act.

Too much fun.

http://www.handdrawngames.com/DesktopTD/

Be not ashamed of your blog.

The web pooped again. It's called twitter.

I think the internet is kind of like passing notes in 7th grade.

I wish I had Ed's hair.

Steve, I think that you are trying to say that we are folk who value ideas. -I think it's most apparent in our shared sense of humor. You guys are some witty bastards, and you make me laugh much more than anyone else can.

I think a lot of happiness derives from taking risks. Big Debe should know all about this. That guy should've died more than once in the pursuit of happiness. However, I am not talking just about physical risks, obviously.

I recall one morning, sitting on Rob's, Ed's and Chris' floor in Boston, just a few months after I had moved back to Rocktown. I was out for a visit, and I really missed that life of chilling in Boston. School was rough, and I wasn't satisfied with where I was. At that moment, I had an epiphany. I thought to myself: Who do I envy, and why do I envy them?

I soon came to the conclusion that everyone I envied had one thing in common, and it wasn't money: They had achieved something difficult. From that moment on, I resolved to suspend the pursuit of happiness in order to achieve something difficult. For me, that was a degree in Physics. And somehow, happiness followed. Since then, I've tried to live by the two rules I previously mentioned: 1) Do things that are hard, and 2) create something everyday.

It works for me.

Oh yeah, and 3) I'm worth it! You go girl!!!

Tuesday

I just realized it's Tuesday.

getting old

I'm glad you brought it up Steve. I have thought about our group of friends a lot lately. I got to see a few of the boys a couple weeks ago, and it was fantastic.

There's nothing quite like watching some one younger than you do something you haven't or can't. I bought a house before Will did. But now, Karen just bought a house and I am now the only one in my family that doesn't own a home.

When I first started working out of college, I had a 19 year old coworker at the desk next to me. He dropped out of high school and said "Fuck You" to college because he was already making ninety grand as our Linux sys admin. I was making 35k with a bachelors degree at age 24... I was miserable about it as long as I kept comparing myself to him. I thought it would have felt so good if he was lonely or depressed or something. The reality was, he was a really cool guy and we are still friends. I was the one who was all fucked up in the head. I think Mark said it best... I needed to be "in my skin". I'm still not.

Is it cliche to say that this is life? We were pretty tight when we were younger. I still consider each of you close. I feel like if you showed up on my doorstep, you'd have a place to stay and food to eat as long as you needed. And I think you would do the same. Things change. In some ways it sucks. In a lot of ways, the changes in life are the best things.

I think the common link that many of us shared was education. Specifically, our parents were educators. Not one of them were power or money hungry business people. We were all raised on art, math, and politics. We argued philosphy at age 12. It's just what we did. There's no question that we had an unspoken value attached to higher education. What, a couple of PhD's, a couple bachelors, and hell, you have a Law degree and an accounting degree.

I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about... I don't even know what day it is.

KT

I'm not trying to make this about me and what I want, it was something that I was thinking about when I saw my friend's buy the house, and I figured I'd share with the group since we don't seem to talk about stuff much anymore.

KT

I'm not trying to make this about me and what I want, it was something that I was thinking about when I saw my friend's buy the house, and I figured I'd share with the group since we don't seem to talk about stuff much anymore.

My compass.

It's an interesting thought: our group's moral compass. I think we enjoy each other for like-mindedness, but of course, we must be somewhat like-minded because we spent so much time together. Either way, I don't care. Not because I don't feel like being introspective, but because it works for me, -my compass that is.

Everyday, my compass takes me to places that I am happy to find. It really does. Maybe other people don't always 'get it', but I don't assume they should. -I don't want their compass, they don't need mine. I like science, games, travel and art. I need to frequently work at that stuff and with that stuff to make me happy. I like money too, more than some, but not as much as others. I need a minimum amount of cash to keep me happy. -I have an IRA because I want to build some security in that sense. I drive a Mercedes but wear Chuck Taylors, I like to have both. (Rob wears a tie but does his experiments to house music). However, in 20 years, I might want other things.

Sounds to me like you want a goal that feels good working towards, Steve. As your friend, my best guess is that goal has something to do with 'wealth' and 'executive power'. You are an optimizer my friend, and you enjoy the finer things in life, especially when they are the fruits of your labor. I believe you find joy in "cutting through the shit", and getting business done. In all honesty, I think you'd thrive with an independent private enterprise. -Something to call your own. It's my opinion that once an opportunity to "maximize strategy in order to maximize you personal gain" presented itself, you'd find crazy energy.

Dude, DiD is not dead. -Not while Koppel is on Toppel.

KT

I don't know, according to dictionary.com I think existentialism is the correct term for us. That's a side-thread over a relatively minor point though, in my opinion.

I used to really like our little group's "moral compass," where we would basically bounce ideas and theories off each other and kind of "groupthink" our way to a system of norms and values. But now that our little group has dispersed, broken down, and changed, I wonder if that system is outdated. Intentionally rhetorical question: can a small cultural system survive when the members become dispersed and begin to affect, and be affected by, "outsiders" who never agreed to be bound by the group's conclusions? (No).

The follow-up to that thought is this: If a system will become outdated in such a short period of time, should it be a viable system at all? Assuming, in arguendo, that it should not be considered viable because it did become outdated in a short period of time, then what system should be used in its place? A natural substitute might be the system of norms and values that the larger sphere of society uses, which would introduce all sorts of concepts that we basically rejected: cosmetic surgery, money > personal happiness, conformity, etc.

The conclusion would then be that we may have been traveling down the wrong road, using the wrong map, for decades now.

On a personal level, I really can't wait to be old (50, 60, etc.). I'm getting really tired of dating, dealing with people I don't like, not owning my own property, not being settled and sure of myself, etc.

Age 10d4 years

I hear you Steve. But I kind of thrived on existential angst growing up, and still do, really. I could never do the money thing.

Regardless, I wear a shirt and tie to work most days. No one else here does though, so it's not like a uniform... more like the latest version of my long hair/combat boots or big pants/adidas sneaks. I get older, world keeps turnin, I'm just trying to have an interesting life.

I feel like I've sacrificed some things, but in the long view, I'm pretty satisfied with the road thus far. I mean, shit, I just had a fabulous $600 dinner for two in one of Tokyo's most exclusive hotels. Not everyone gets to do that.

What I worry about is the road ahead. Seems like I've had a pretty care-free life thus far, compared to the big shit on the horizon next year. Scary, really. My 'existentialism'- better said to be 'iconoclasm'- is the thing I trust in to get me through it with minimal regrets.

But money does matter- I need enough to do what I want, but no more. Maybe a bit more now to save for the days that I'm old. Ugh, old.

...

By the way, to any of you DiD haters- we still rockin. Bitches don't even know the bonus shit I got comin online.

KT

I think that is partially what I am getting at -- does personal happiness, as a goal, really deserve a place at the head of the table, or should objective measures of success (e.g. house) have that spot, while personal happiness is relegated to a lesser seat? I'm analogizing to the prioritization of the different goals.

In school I never really thought about this, but now I've been thinking about it more and more.

I'm trying not to take a side on this issue, or present a skewed/biased question, I'm just using TT as a bit of a "philosophical bulletin board" to keep us in touch now that DiD seems to be fading out.

But I do genuinely value feedback.

Uh, sorry dude. I'm loaded.

Sorry Steve, I might not have mentioned that Gao Qi and I have a net worth of 2 million. -We're rich dude.

JK. It's an interesting thought, however. -I think the pursuit of capital can be a respectable endeavor.

I have also thought about it from time to time; it would be easy for me to get into a good med school now and be rich 8 years later. I doubt I would actually dislike clinical medicine, too. However, I really like research. I am my own boss, it gives me time to think, to be creative, to travel, and to even spend time on hobbies. I'm not rich, but by comparison to the rest of the earth, I bet I am in the top 10%. Even more, there is the potential to make more money in the future: patents, consulting, entrepreneurship, or the book I am writing. -Who knows what will pan out, but I don't feel a ceiling, and that's what's most important to me.

I know it is cliche as hell, but diggin' your journey is what it is all about. -I've met several rich miserable people. But, if you look at someone like Donald Trump, he's not in it just for the money. You can tell he really digs what he is doing. -The guy is in his skin. It's obvious. Being Donald Trump is probably a lot more important to him than the money. Yes, they are inseparable, but you know what I mean.

This is what keeps me happy: 1) Do things that are hard. 2) Create something daily.

Two cool stories: Tons of water on Mars. Funny cryptology thing.

Oh yeah, one more thought: I don't think money has anything to do with being a good or bad person. There are tons of poor assholes and lots of good rich people. I like all good people, and don't hold an abundance or lack of money against anyone.

KT

One of my best friends from law school got married recently, and they were working in Chicago. They decided to leave Chicago and go back to Indy. They just bought a 400k house (>5k sq ft, 5 bdrms, etc.). They graduated 1 year before I did. Maybe I should have gone into law instead of accounting >.<

Existentialist thought:
I don't mean this to be rude or incite anything, if you disagree feel free to. I was thinking, I wonder if our little group grew up too existentialist? Maybe we should have focused on money and good jobs like everyone else, instead of trying to be "good people?"

Again, I'm not trying to make anyone feel bad or provoke anything, it's just a thought I had. I mean my friends are 28 years old and they just bought this house.

Neato.

The universe is great.

Probably a good thing.

I think a daily post might be best. That way, we can all keep pace.

Sometimes, logging on and finding that I am 13 posts behind makes me feel apathetic. If we knew that Rob would post once a day, we could each do the same and likely keep better in step.

Let's try it.

Update

From here on out, I won't be posting as much as before. I'll be posting a more normal amt, like once a day. The game might get a bit weirder, too, if that's possible.

Japanese Dreams

Rob, glad you're back! I hope you had a fantastic time. It sounds like you did.

Perhaps someday we'll see some pictures.

just ignore Tut's impatience... Chicago must be boring this time of year.

they call walls beotch

Those guys are both bitches. I mean think about it, Marivhon had NWP's in Acrobatics, Le Parkour, Circe de Soleil Acrobatics, AND breakdancing.....

Ok those guys aren't bitches, but they have a long way to go to catch up to Marivhon.

I have seen video of, I think it was Koreans, jumping off the 3rd story of a building onto concrete with a back flip in the jump. They just sort of spring up from the ground after they hit and (mostly) just walk away.

Btw the way don't forget Rob likes action verbs, not I think we should sentances.

He's probably still having dreams in japanese lights. I think I need to go there very badly.

Le Parkour

That guy's good. Check out David Belle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGnFB7zr6dM&mode=related&search=

It's a bit long, but impressive.

Check this real life ninja

Excellent--guy does amazing stunts/flips/etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2kJZOfq7zk

Great idea.

http://digg.com/gaming_news/Find_nearby_gamers_with_Google_Maps/

Give a Digg for this guy. Such a great idea.

It's beautiful.

http://boingboing.net/images/WWUD.swf

Back

Yeah, and you know what else they have in Japan? Lots of other cool things. Wasn't gonna spend my time there blogging for Christ's sake.

Japanese TV is the best and I could watch it for hours. Tokyo is just fucking cool across the board. Everything you might have heard is true. Expensive! The mountains were also beautiful, and we hung out with a ton of snow monkeys. Seriously, there's this snow monkey spa where they all hang out in a hot spring, and you can walk right up to them.

Okay, let's do this thing.

Step off biotch

I've heard that one before. What's your next excuse, the dog ate my DM?

they have teh internetz in Japan.

Big in Japan.

Dude, our DM is in Japan. -I think we ought to give him a break.

He'll be back soon.

DiD dead?

Stay tuned for this breaking story...

Srsly, Fritjof is free and in Finland, let's go kick some azz.

Wha?!

huh.

I think thrilling wonder is my new favorite web site. It's just that good.

Japan is fucking great.

More later.

World (dis)parity maps.

http://thrillingwonder.blogspot.com/2007/03/world-imbalances-shown-on-unique-maps.html

The scoop.

In case you've missed it:

In the early 1980's, many tombs were excavated in Jerusalem. The thousands of ossuaries found in these were cataloged and warehoused.

Recently, a journalist and an archaeologist realized that one tomb contained 9 ossuaries in which 6 were named (generally only 20% bear names). The names were: Joseph, Mary, Jesus son of Joseph, Matthew, Mariamne e Mara (mara means 'master'), and Judah son of Jesus. This tomb is from the 1st century.

While the other names are somewhat frequent, this is the only Mariamne found, amongst the thousands of ossuaries discovered. In a early book of the Bible, one that was discarded by the church, 'The Acts of Phillip', a woman (Phillip's sister), who is very close to Jesus, and whom many scholars believe is Mary Magdaline, is called 'Mariamne'.

Anyway, considering the frequency of names at the time, a very conservative statistical probability of having Mary, Joseph, Jesus son of Joseph, Jesus' known brother Matthew, and Mariamne in one tomb, has a 600:1 chance of being Jesus and his family.

But then, it's more interesting: A few years ago, an ossuary collector publicly disclosed that he had acquired an ossuary around the early 1980's in Jerusalem, that bore the enscription: James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus. (James was killed shortly after Jesus for preaching Christianity). Many people thought this ossuary was a hoax. However, in the tomb containing the 9 other ossuaries, there were 10 alcoves, one of which was empty. And, the original archaeologist that found them said he found 10, although only 9 were cataloged.

So, mass spectrometry was performed on the surface of this 'James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus' ossuary, and the sediment composition on the top was compared to the nine others, and a random sample of other ossuaries. -It matched the 9, but no others.

Now, if this 'James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus' ossuary is considered in the statistics, the chance of it being Jesus and his family (very conservatively) is 30000 to 1.

What is more, although the bones inside the ossuaries were reburied upon excavation in the 80's, some mitochondrial DNA was recovered from Jesus and Mariamne. -They were not related.

Hopefully, better techniques can extract DNA from all the ossuaries, and confirm the relationships.

However, all signs strongly point to no divine resurrection. And, a Grandson of God. -Or, maybe even a Grandson of Joseph.

Just a dude.

They've got Jesus' DNA!

He was just a dude. With a kid too!

Ah, Random Haiku...

I murdered for you
A bull in a china shop
A line in the sand


-That's some intense stuff.

It's a ceremony, dude.

It's not like delayed-blast heal. The spell takes 10 rounds to cast. It's like a little ceremony. -You know, chant some stuff, make some signs, whatever. 10 rounds is just 100 seconds, less than 2 minutes.

I've never seen a priest prepare a communion offering in 10 seconds. Those guys generally take about 5 minutes. Thus, I can imagine that healing someone might take as long as toast.

As for the energy thing, that's cool for a battle priest, but I can't really see the brother of charity whoopin' some ass before he blesses the soup kitchen.

In any case, check that email. This stuff has a home.

KT

Sorry I haven't checked my email in awhile. I've been working a lot and I was dating a new girl. Now she's pissed off at me, so I'll probably have more time to check email and stuff.

Why would a healing spell take 10 rounds to cast? That seems silly. I think 1 round, 1 action is a good formula to stick to. An alternative would be to make more powerful heals heal each round for 3+ rounds or something. If you want to make healing less powerful, have Cure Serious do 2d8 / round for 3 rounds instead of 4d8 instantly. Something like that.

I don't think anyone is going to want to say "I cast Cure Serious" and then just wait for 10 round to go by.

Another option is to do away with memorized spells, and make people DO a certain amount of damage before they have enough "energy" or "anger" or whatever to cast a heal. In other words, maybe they have to d0 20 pts of damage to an enemy to heal 15 pts to a friend. It's just another idea.

In the bank.

Yeah, that's not a bad idea, Steve. However, I am going to make it pretty wimpy, or fairly high level. -Maybe a temporary form of regeneration.

In fact, the generic healing spells that ramp up have all been slowed down to a 10-round casting time. Rob and I agreed that the game could be improved with less combat healing. There is still a 2nd circle fast heal called 'Mend', but the more potent ones that get better with each circle are slower.

I'd like combat healing to be the exception, not the rule. I'd rather put the focus on attack skills and strategies, rather than the win going to the guys with the most heals to burn.

But, this chat really belongs on the Factory page. Steve, did you get the invite? Anyway, thanks for the suggestion. The more ideas the better.

KT

I like the idea of a heal spell that is proactive. Something like this:

2nd level, heals 1d8+2, but doesn't trigger until the next time the target takes damage.

This requires a little planning, because you don't want it to trigger on a 1 or 2 point hit, and it might be inadequate (if the person gets hit for 20). Also, it gives the priest something to do in the 1st round, when no one has taken damage.