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After a bit of exploration, I discovered that there were no planets nearby that were worth colonizing. So, I ventured out a bit further and found the planet "Hoth V." I settled on it, and renamed it "New This Land." But colonization is expensive, so in order to keep my budget balanced, I jacked the tax rate up to 49%. I'm sure that my subjects didn't mind, and that the 40% approval rating was just a fluke.( Read more... )Current Mood:  content |
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I've been playing a lot of Galactic Civilizations 2 lately, and have decided that I want to start an epic game and write about what's happening in it. ( Read more... )Current Mood:  creative Current Music: GalCiv2's Music |
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I don't really post enough, I know. But I realized that if I had something here that I was going to rant about on AIM to various friends, I might as well post it here. :D
So, power was out today in the area for a few hours, which meant that all the stoplights on my commute home were out. As everyone in the country minus one person knows, this means that stoplight intersections become 4-way stops. However, the douchebag in the white truck with the McCain-Palin bumper sticker did not.
I was ahead of him, and when I'd stop at a powered-down stoplight he would honk, and then when I'd go, he'd charge on through, right after me, not letting cross-traffic have a turn. The first time he did this, I thought he didn't realize that the power was out. It was the stoplight at the offramp after the interstate, and the power had briefly flickered back on. So I gave him the benefit of the doubt and assumed he thought the light was green. He repeated this at each and every stoplight -- Honked at me for stopping, and then charged through after me. By the third light, I had realized that he was just a douchebag who thought he was too important to wait for his turn.
At the 4th light, I made sure to come to a full stop, and waved the one car that was cross-traffic on ahead of me. He kind of hesitated, cause he wasn't sure if it was his turn, but I waved him on and waited for him, while the douchebag in the white truck was honking at me. When I took my turn, I waved backwards at the guy in the truck... who was charging through the intersection with me.
At the next intersection, the highway had expanded to 2-lanes, and so while I stopped in the right lane, he swerved to the left and passed me..... only to get to the next intersection which had cars stopped at it. More in the left lane than in the right. So while he was honking at the new person he was behind, I caught up and got through the intersection first. (And when he got up to the front, he didn't wait his turn, and charged ahead right after the guy he was behind, yet again.)
Eventually he got far enough ahead of me that I lost track of him, until the turnoff to Oak Harbor, where he was stuck in a VERY long line of cars waiting to turn left. I'm sure he charged ahead one car early, though. Given the sheer number of lights that were out today, I hope a cop finally saw him, and ticketed him.
But yeah. I seriously don't get how someone can see EVERYONE ELSE doing a 4-way stop at EVERY intersection, and decide either:
1) Every single other car on the road is doing the wrong thing by doing a 4-way stop when the power is out.
or 2) I am too important to do a 4-way stop, and should just charge ahead as soon as possible.Current Mood:  annoyed Current Music: U.N. Owen Was Her (Vocal Remix) |
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Denden said I should post this in my LJ. I pointed out that I'd already shown it to him and Xeddy, and that was basically my entire readership. But then he said that Ale would read it. So, here you go, Ale! Some LiveChat from work.
DnPnFnD : give me their email..
Me : certainly! You can contact them by going to the "Premium Support" link on your League page. That will open a form to mail them. :)
DnPnFnD : GIVE ME THEIR EMAIL
DnPnFnD : YOU DONT SPEAK ENGLISH?!
Me : The Premium Support link is the only way to contact them. It sends them an e-mail that they can respond to.
Me : And yes, I speak English. Notice how I can properly capitalize my sentences?
DnPnFnD : oh u bruto
Me : I also can spell "redeem" properly.
DnPnFnD : let me talk to your mana
DnPnFnD : manger
DnPnFnD : i need to report u
Me : Certainly! One moment. :)Current Mood: annoyed |
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Nov. 6th, 2008 @ 09:49 pm
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I already broke my rule about not going longer than a week between posts. >.> Oh well. Maybe I'll make up for it later.
Me: "There's a fine line between using race as a device for comedy and just being flat out excessively racist, and hoping that the shock value will carry the humor, like a Dead Baby Comedy"
Xeddy: "Yeah."
Me: "The audience for that kind of humor is a bit limited."
*pause*
Both of us, simultaneously: "4chan."
Then there was laughter and smooching cause of the simultaneity (which the Internet assures me is actually a word).
And just so the entirety of my post isn't me and Xeddy being dorks, check out this cool video. I'm impressed that they seemed to keep the meaning of the Japanese version (based on the subtitled translation I saw) while still making the words fit the music.
Current Music: Airman ga Taosenai |
| » All-out attack |
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So, I was sitting at Laura's desk, setting up my new computer, when Kate takes a shot at me. It went wide, but up until now I'd been neutral, not participating in any nerf attacks. So, of course, now that I'd been attacked, I felt obligated to strike back. Laura's on vacation, so I grabbed her Nerf gun and her ammo stash and started shooting back.
Eventually it turned into Grab vs. Case's, with Kate/Rhianna vs. Case/me. The programmers weren't in the office today, and Sherri was at lunch, so all the offices along the hallway were vacant. Case moved a bookcase into the hallway for cover, and we were darting from office to office, shooting at each other. I got some good hits on them, though I did get hit in the eye at fairly close range once. Was careless with looking around the corner. The best shot of the fight had to be Rhianna getting a dart stuck in the light somehow. It's pretty funny.
So, yeah. Working hard today. >.>
Oct. 23rd, 2008 @ 01:27 pm
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| » The House Always Wins - Part 3 |
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So, today we didn't have any actual work to do, so everyone was just gambling and having fun. In the morning, I was on my own, cause I couldn't find anyone else from my office. So I was playing Blackjack, and was up by about $23. While I was playing, the others found me, and we grabbed a quick fastfood lunch, and they took me on a "whirlwind tour of Vegas."
We walked from our hotel to the shuttle, and went to one end of the strip and started making our way down it. We went to the MGM, New York New York, Planet Hollywood, the Monte Carlo, the Bellagio, Paris Las Vegas, and one other one that I don't remember the name of. The most I made it up to was about $30 ahead (counting the morning), but by the end of the Bellagio, I was back down to 0. This also meant that I was out of cash, and I didn't want to use the ATM, so I just kind of chilled.
While we were out and about, I got to see a lot of the sites. I never realized just exactly how ostentatious Vegas really is. I mean, you get a general idea from movies and such, but they don't really do it justice. The fountains at the Bellagio really are amazingly cool, though.
Finally, after hitting all of those casinos, we went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner, and came back to our hotel, where I gambled some more. I played some of the more entertaining slots, and Blackjack. When all was said and done, I had lost $7 for the day. I had fun though, and $27 for a weekend's worth of entertainment isn't too bad at all, and it was well within what I had budgeted.
I'm flying back home tomorrow. It's been fun, but I miss Mike, and it'll be nice to be home again.
Gambling Update:
Day 3: -$7
Total: -$27
Oct. 19th, 2008 @ 10:34 pm
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| » The House Always Wins - Part 2 |
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Hearts Update
Game 4: 1st Place
Game 5: 4th Place
Game 6: 1st Place
Game 7: 1st Place
Final Standing: 2nd place
So, yay for Hearts! :D I finished 2nd in the qualifiers, and just barely missed out on first. I had the same number of ranking points as the first place person, which meant that ranking was determined by the total number of points we'd accumulated over the seven games. I missed out on first by NINE points. So, I was really happy with that finish, given how rarely I play Hearts. Obviously, since I was just a "filler" player, I didn't get to go to the finals or anything, but I had a blast. :)
Other highlights of the day include:
Patti and Rhonda finished 0/8 in their Spades matches, and I got to tease them about it. (In fairness, many of their matches were incredibly close games.)
One of the players in the "Wizards" card game tournament addressed everyone in the room, and introduced the winner of their tournament as "The Grand Wizard," with no apparent realization of what she had just said. You could practically hear everyone's jaws drop, and I just started cracking up.
Because of outdated rules on the Website, some enterprising rules lawyers (oh, and don't EVEN get me started on how these tournaments are SERIOUS BUSINESS™) decided that the Spades finals had to be best 2 out of 3. This meant that the Spades finals just ended at about 2:45 am, which is why this post is so late, and why I'm so tired..
I've discovered how interesting it can be to just meander about the casino, watching people play the slots, or watching the people at the craps table, and seeing the people who win get excited. It's just fun, and it's cheaper than spending my own money. ;)
I played a few other random slot machines today. All the Blackjack tables are $10 minimum, which is more than I really want to spend for one hand of cards. And of course, the person next to me (someone from the tournament) won big on her machine, and when I got up to go meander some more, she get on my machine, and won $50. >.>
Gambling Update:
Night 2: -$6
But there is some good news! I found a penny on the ground tonight after I got back from losing my $6, which means that I can keep that penny in my pocket tomorrow, and my slot machine luck will turn around and I'll win! :D
Oct. 19th, 2008 @ 02:49 am
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| » The House Always Wins - Part 1 |
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Viva Las Vegas!
Quick update before I crash tonight. So, I got to Vegas, and no one was at the airport to pick me up. After waiting for 2-3 hours, and looking around, I finally bite the bullet and call Xeddy for advice. I didn't know what hotel I was going to, so I had him look it up online for me, and he told me to take a shuttle. So I finally made it to the hotel. I'm a place-filler for the Hearts games, cause they were two players short. I can't go to the finals or anything, but I can see how I actually rank. I've won one game, which is all I need to be happy with whatever rank I get. :)
Hearts Update
Game 1: 3rd Place (2 points)
Game 2: 1st Place (6 points)
Game 3: 4th Place (1 point)
After the Hearts stuff was over, I went to dinner with Case, Patti, and Rhonda, and afterwards, we went to play on the Monopoly slot machine. I'm so cheap that I can't really see myself getting into the whole "slot machine" thing. It's not all that fun to play, and you run out of money too fast. Ah well.
Gambling Update
Night 1: -$12
...so yeah. >.>
Oct. 18th, 2008 @ 02:50 am
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| » Politics != War |
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Originally, I deleted this, but at feathusy's urging, I salvaged it from the saved draft, cause he said that it was important for me to post, even if I didn't think that I'd written it well. So, here you go! :)
From DailyKos:
"I've been making the case the last couple of weeks that we can't just focus on winning in November, but that we have an imperative to take advantage of a historic opportunity to break the conservative movement's backs and crush their spirits. In the White House, that means getting Obama a broad popular and geographic mandate for change. In the House, that means annihilating the Republican caucus and working toward a 100-seat Democratic majority. In the Senate it means getting to a 60-seat filibuster proof majority."
You're doing it wrong!!!
Yes, I do read DailyKos sometimes. Being a liberal myself, it can be nice to get my news in a way that is biased towards myself. Besides, at least I know which way they'll spin things. But when I read something like I quoted above, I just get annoyed. There's something to be said for grace in victory, should we wind up winning.
I agree with the second part of the quote. I would love to see the election turn out as a landslide for the Democrats, so that Obama would have the political capital to really make some changes for the better. But couching that sentiment in language like "crush their spirits" and "annihilating" reminds me why I stopped reading Kos the last time. Maybe I'm just a bit naive, but I always thought that the Democrats were supposed to be above that sort of divisive language. It just strikes me as a bit mean.
I may disagree with most of what Republicans believe, but I do know that they're acting in what they think are the best interests of the country. At the VP debate, Joe Biden recalled a time when he was told, "Everyone's sent here for a reason, because there's something in them that their folks like. Don't question their motive." He said that he took the advice to heart, and I think that more people should follow his example. We can't lose sight of the fact that it's still everyone's country, whether their party wins or loses the election. We may disagree, but we still have to keep the country running. Being divisive is no way to make that happen.
Politics is not war. Both sides can afford to be civil to each other. Wouldn't it be nice to live in a world where politicians from both parties could debate the issues, work on coming to solutions to the nation's problems, and then all go out for drinks together as friends, regardless of which side of the aisle they were on? A bit too idealistic? Maybe. But I like the thought of it anyway.
Oct. 12th, 2008 @ 11:42 pm
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| » Some newfangled portable telephonic device |
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It's been a pretty uneventful week, really. Played some AO, played some Megaman, and played some Infinite Undiscovery.
I did download the demo for the Penny Arcade game: On the Rain-slick Precipice of Darkness. It's got the same art-style and humor that Penny Arcade has, so I really enjoyed the demo. I'll probably wind up buying the full version of it, but I'm waiting until I finish either Megaman or Infinite Undiscovery first, I think. And then I'll probably buy Tales of Vesperia too. I do like having this 360. :D
Today, Xeddy's gonna make me finally buy a cell phone. It's cause I'm going to Vegas for work next week, and he doesn't want a repeat of what happened with my Chicago trip. Basically, I missed my shuttle and didn't call, cause my phone card was out of minutes, and I didn't think it was a big deal. Well, it turns out that Xeddy looked up on the Internet when my shuttle was supposed to arrive, so he was worried that I wasn't on it. He drove around for 2 hours all panicked, wondering why I wasn't on my shuttle, and thinking that I'd gotten off at the wrong stop, and had gotten myself lost. It was adorable in retrospect, him thinking that I'd walk 5 miles in the wrong direction and never make it home. But it wouldn't happen, cause there are no bridges in town.
Anyway, to stop that from happening again, he said that I have to get a cell phone before Vegas, so that's what we're doing today.
Oct. 11th, 2008 @ 09:58 am
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| » Of Robots and Temples |
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It was a fairly uneventful weekend. Meghann came over to play with the 360, and we had fun. She played some Braid, and other random stuff that we've downloaded, and then we started watching videos on the computer, and wound up watching several Zero Punctuation reviews online. So, that was really fun.
As for games, I played some more Megaman 9. Now, beware of the amazingly shocking spoiler behind the cut.
( I mean it! It's really, really shocking. )
Xeddy and I also played a bunch of Anarchy Online this weekend, too.
( Temple-tacular! )
So, yeah, all in all, a good weekend. :)
Oct. 5th, 2008 @ 10:19 pm
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| » Nerf War |
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So, there's been a nerf war happening in the office for the past couple of days. Kate and Rhianna (who work in the "Grab" part of the office) brought in nerf guns yesterday and kept attacking each other... and then they went after Laura in a hilarious sneak attack that involved them leaving out the backdoor and storming in the front door by Laura's desk so that she wouldn't see them coming.
So today, Laura stole their ammo and has it hidden in her desk. And she stole a couple of the guns and has stockpiled them. And when Kate came in, Laura stealthily followed her back to the kitchen area and shot her. Unfortunately, the Grab room is apparently Texas, because they have even more weapons today, and are apparently stockpiling them, so Kate shot back.
Then, when Rhianna came in a bit later, Kate and Laura ambushed her pretty quickly, and she had to duck into Sherri's office to escape. Things have calmed down for a bit, but I'm sure that there will be a few more skirmishes before the day is out. ;)
Yeah, there are days when I really do like this job. :)
Oct. 3rd, 2008 @ 10:22 am
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| » I stole your tag, Mely |
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So, I was originally going to write about Megaman 9, but after reading a few posts on the debate, I changed my mind. So, the Megaman entry will be later. (Three-word Preview: It's really fun.)
So, we didn't get to see Sarah Palin go up in a NASCAR-esque crash or words, which was actually one of the reasons I tuned in. But she managed to hold together fairly well, thus disappointing all of us hoping for some schadenfreude.
But Sarah Palin was not what stuck with me most about that debate; it was Joe Biden's performance that I find myself remembering most. Before last night, I had only the vaguest idea about who Joe Biden was. I'd seen that Daily Show clip where he anachronistically claimed that Roosevelt went on TV at the start of the Great Depression, but that was about it. And as the debate started, I was unimpressed, as he seemed to be stumbling a bit, while Palin was issuing soundbite after soundbite. But when he finally hit his stride, and I found myself impressed not only with the quality and substance of his answers, but also his charisma.
I did notice that he slipped up and said "Marriage" in his response to the gay rights question, which surprised me (and meant that he had to backtrack to the politically safe answer of not redefining marriage). But overall, I do feel that I have a better understanding of Biden himself and where he stands on the issues, so I'm glad that I watched the debate.
Oct. 3rd, 2008 @ 09:58 am
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| » Starcraftriffic |
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So, tonight I played Starcraft with Kevin and Shaner. I'm still really bad at it, though. I'm sure I'll get better with experience, as I learn what the tech tree is, and all the quirks of the interface.
Aside from that, my main issue with Starcraft is the major penalty for playing defensively. I tend to sit back in my base and build up as much as possible before ever attacking, but in Starcraft, it's better to just make a ton of weak units and rush the other players. Which is to be expected, I guess, from the game that made "Zerg" into a verb.
Sep. 29th, 2008 @ 08:46 pm
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| » 359 + 1 |
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So, yeah. I love my new 360. ^_^ I've been playing Infinite Undiscovery and Braid, as well as a bunch of demos I downloaded. I like playing all the different demos for games that I might not otherwise try.
Oh, and if you have a 360 and haven't played Braid, you have to at least try the demo. It's such an amazing game. It's an excellent example of games as art. Beautiful visuals and music, the storyline (brief as it is) is well-constructed, and most importantly, the gameplay is amazingly fun. It's a bit short, but it only costs $15, so I wasn't too upset by that. It's about the same length/cost ratio as Portal.
So, yeah. Haven't been on FFXI much lately. Taking a bit of a break to avoid burnout, and my 360 is giving me even more reason to be doing other things. :D I'll probably come back before too long, but I'm definitely not going to organize or lead anything for quite a while. Too much stress, not enough fun. I'll just be a participant, not an organizer. :)
In the meantime, I'll be sticking to the 360, maybe a bit of Anarchy Online, and probably a fair amount of Starcraft, which Shaner got me for my birthday, cause he wanted me to play it online with him and Kevin. xD
Sep. 28th, 2008 @ 06:02 pm
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| » It's my birthday too, yeah! |
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Well, technically yesterday was. But it was a good birthday. :) Meghann came over and we had pizza and cake, and we played 4 Swords (Gamecube game) and Naval War (card-based game). So, yeah. Good times!
And Mike got me an XBox 360, so that's awesome! I've been downloading random demos from XBox Live and playing them. And I played a bit of Infinite Undiscovery (which is the game he got me), and it's pretty fun. But man, the graphics on the 360 are just amazing. Having the HDTV helps with that, I think. This is the first time I've seen a 360 hooked up to a really nice TV, and it's just so preeeeeetty.
I'll probably head to the store today to pick out a game for my birthday present to myself. :)
Sep. 27th, 2008 @ 09:53 am
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| » Okusenman |
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I've done this when I was a kid. It's a faded memory,
a red and white cap on my head.
Ultraman! Ultraman Seven!
When I was a kid, a fond memory,
when I'd eat curry and stuff,
I put silver spoons on my eyes.
Ultraman! Ultraman Seven!
But now I've forgotten all that,
and I'm living each day like I'm being chased by something.
Even if I look back, (In the forgotten photo album)
I can't go back to those times (Photos of myself doing stupid things)
anymore. (Laughing with friends)
Ultraman! Ultraman Seven!
Where are those guys now?
What are they doing?
The answer is still unclear.
Ultraman! Ultraman Seven!
But now I've forgotten all that,
and I'm living each day like I'm being chased by something
The amount of courage you gave me was
110 million! 110 million!
The seasons that have passed were dramatic.
We've done this when we were kids,
wearing the 3D glasses that came with magazines.
Ultraman! Ultraman Seven!
Memories we've forgotten as we grew up were revived vividly,
making an L with our arms.
Ultraman! Ultraman Seven!
But now I've forgotten all that,
and I'm living each day like I'm being chased by something.
Even if I look back, (Opening the aged diary)
I can't go back to those times (on the faded pages)
anymore. (The name of my first crush)
Ultraman! Ultraman Seven!
Now i just look back to those times.
I was able to laugh innocently, unaware of the impure things.
Ultraman! Ultraman Seven!
But now I've forgotten all that,
and I'm living each day like I'm being chased by something.
The scenery I've overlooked was worth
110 million! 110 million!
The seasons that have passed were graffiti.
The courage you gave me was
110 million! 110 million!
The seasons that have passed were dramatic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqT1SAPfF_w
Sep. 25th, 2008 @ 12:36 am
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| » Baleeted |
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If there is someone on your Friends List who makes your world a better place just because that person exists and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the internet, then post this same sentence in your journal. (Just saw that. And it's true.)
Previous entry deleted, cause damn was I ever whining and feeling sorry for myself. Not a pretty sight. But I left the above sentence, cause it's true. ^.^
Love you, Mike! Happy Commercialization-of-love Day!
Feb. 14th, 2006 @ 07:28 pm
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| » And here I thought that what I did for Andrea was NICE. |
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Ah, because this has become the journal of the memes, and not of actual posts: here's one I swiped from ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) xedrik
 Dear Santa...
Dear Santa,
This year I've been busy!
Last Tuesday I bought porn for the_dr_ruth (-10 points). In September I gave xedrik a kidney (1000 points). Last Friday I set regek's puppy on fire (-66 points). In November I bought porn for the_reformer (10 points). In May stratushero and I donated clothes to the needy (11 points).
Overall, I've been nice (945 points). For Christmas I deserve a red Radio-Flyer wagon!
Sincerely,
rpgaymer |
Dec. 7th, 2005 @ 12:48 pm
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