I stand between the candle and the star...

Good Eeeeeeeevening.

2008-12-08T05:54:02Z

Which creature of the night are you? Your Result: Vampire You are a social pragmatist, as likely to kiss as to bite. Your sensuality and social pragmatism is the counter-balance to your existential angst and your tendency toward depression.
Sorceror
Werewolf
Cthulu Spawn
Incubus/Succubus
Demon
Ghost
Which creature of the night are you? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

LJ Downtime

2008-12-06T18:15:25Z

<1>Obama and many other Democrats won! Feels weird to have one's voice heard after a long time of feeling like no one was listening. I celebrated election night, but somehow have had no desire to celebrate further or talk politics until Jan. 20th.

<2>Well, ACNW 2008 took up a great deal of my creative brain. Have been involved in serious creative endeavors since.

<3>Then I discovered Facebook, which relates to item #2 above, and is addictive for instant feedback.

<4>It may be some time before I post to LJ regularly again.

Writer's Block: I Love Lucy

2008-10-16T22:50:25Z

I Love Lucy premiered today in 1951, and has been on the air ever since. Although Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s marriage didn’t last off the air, Lucy and Ricky are one of the great couples in television history. Who is your favorite TV couple?

View 500 Answers

'70s: Archie and Edith Bunker in "All in the Family."

'80s: Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd in "Moonlighting."

'90s: Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt in "Mad About You."

'00's: Turk and Carla in "Scrubs."

Grading the Candidates: Let's Hope the Debate Tonight Touches on This

2008-10-07T22:54:40Z

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America today released their 2008 Congressional Report Card.

Obama = B

Biden = B

McCain = D

Check your State's Senators or Representatives

Meme Thing, You Make My Book Sing

2008-10-03T00:55:57Z

* Grab the nearest book.
* Open the book to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post the text of the next two to five sentences in your journal along with these instructions.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

"She smiled at Reuben and then at Louise; they were such a good-looking couple. Ponter was seated next to her; she would have taken his hand if it wasn't wrapped in a bloody glove."

Yes, this is actually from my closest book. I have a nearly paperless cubicle, and the closest was the novel I'm reading right now. It's called "Hybrids," the third book of Robert J. Sawyer's marvelous "The Neanderthal Parallax" trilogy. The "bloody glove" isn't as menacing as it sounds: Ponter, like all Neanderthals in the book, use their hands to eat, but for sanitary reasons use an "eating glove."

My Color...

2008-09-18T21:13:18Z

you are mediumseagreen
#3CB371

Your dominant hues are cyan and green. Although you definately strive to be logical you care about people and know there's a time and place for thinking emotionally. Your head rules most things but your heart rules others, and getting them to meet in the middle takes a lot of your energy some days.

Your saturation level is medium - You're not the most decisive go-getter, but you can get a job done when it's required of you. You probably don't think the world can change for you and don't want to spend too much effort trying to force it.

Your outlook on life is brighter than most people's. You like the idea of influencing things for the better and find hope in situations where others might give up. You're not exactly a bouncy sunshine but things in your world generally look up.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

In Remembrance

2008-09-11T23:20:17Z

So here we are, seven years after the World Trade Center towers fell. We’ve lost so much more since that day than just the 2976 souls who died at ground zero, the Pentagon, and elsewhere that day.

Make no mistake: it was a terrible, tragic loss of life. And yet, for perspective, in the month of January 2001 alone there were 3,010 traffic deaths in this nation. That’s one month. For the calendar year 2001: 43,788. And we didn’t bomb Toyota.

Seven years after the attacks on New York and the Pentagon – attacks planned by a Saudi and carried out by 15 Saudis and four others from Egypt, Lebanon and the UAE – the U.S. has spent $577 BILLION of your children’s money on the invasion and occupation of Iraq, and displaced millions in the Middle East. Over 4,000 U.S. troops have been killed (the government won’t even count civilian casualties; it’s somewhere between 95,000 and 1 million) and Habeas Corpus is all but dead at home.

And what is the current state of our politics? A candidate for the Presidency from the current ruling party – whose own post-9/11 definition of “torture” would render his experience in Vietnam mere “enhanced interrogation techniques” – has begun to air an entirely false, sordid and disgusting ad that in effect calls his opponent a pedophile.

I mourn.

And send what $ I can afford to progressive candidates, and speak out where I can.

Xanadu...

2008-09-10T21:45:46Z

Your result for Reincarnation Placement Exam...

The Pleasure Dome of Kublai Khan

44% Civilization, 60% Humanity, 32% Urbanization, 46% Danger, 66% Exoticness, 21% Chaos, 78% Hedonism.

You were a little difficult to place. You want a world that's exotic, but still very civilized and under control. And your answers indicate you don't give a fig for technology, education, urbanization and all the benefits thereof -- but you still have a great fondness for the human beings who tend to pursue these things.

Well, we have something for you that should be something of a treat. You won't get out much. But we don't think you'll mind.

In the Pleasure Dome of Kublai Khan, you are born and bred to serve pleasure all your days. Physically beautiful and mentally geared toward pure pleasure, you will spend your allotted days subjected to all manner of hedonistic play and sensual experimentation. You need never suffer a moment of pain, nor of sobriety. Cuddle up, honey, relax and enjoy yourself.

You kinky pervert.

Take Reincarnation Placement Exam at HelloQuizzy

Late to the Game, but Still Fun.

2008-09-08T22:27:24Z

From http://chaz.bdmonkeys.net/battle.php. Me and Talkie Toaster....

Rock Mastery Achieved!

2008-08-14T21:55:36Z

All it took was practice: once each at 80%, 90%, and 100% speed, and I passed "Enter Sandman." Then went on to dominate "Highway Star" (because I've been listening to Deep Purple for decades) and cruise to Medium level mastery! I loved the way that my character "Axelrod" (He looks like an S&M version of Thor) directed the pyrotechnics at the end.

Just had a great lunch at Icon Grill and am not at all concerned about the overwhelming amount of mail in my inbox.

Worked late last night on a game for Ambercon Northwest: "Professor Dworkin's Sing-Along Blog," based on Joss Whedon's excellent musical tragicomedy, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. I know I am too deep into it when I am writing original songs for the game. :]

Back in Barack

2008-08-13T00:40:22Z

So, I'm back after a hiatus, because my work computer had, for some time, blocked the LJ site. Hope it continues!

Wow, things continue to happen in my absence. Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee and is starting to feel the full force of the smear machine (Barack = Britney! He's a rich white woman! As well as a Muslim! And a radical black Christian!) The first half of the last season of Battlestar Galactica has aired, complete with a cliffhanger ending that just *begs* for a cameo from WALL*E. My son has moved out and is living on his own (although is still a long way from financial independence). I have submitted one game to Ambercon NorthWest, based on a Discworld campaign I am running FTF. I have passed along my notes for a game that I was going to run last year to evilandi who independently came up with the same concept, and is looking to run it this year. I have completed drums on Medium difficulty in Rock Band, and am struggling to overcome "Enter Sandman" to acheive the same with guitar.

Life goes on!
:)

Colonial One

2008-04-04T21:29:20Z

Okay two big reasons to be excited today.

First, the last Season of Battlestar Galactica begins tonight!

Second, I go to the Washington State Legislative District Caucus tomorrow to represent for Senator Barack Obama.

If he does not get the nomination, I will be sad, but will still support a female President of the United States.

But before that, I'll tune in to the female President of the Twelve Colonies. :)

So say we all!

The Torch has been Passed to a new Fen-eration

2008-03-21T16:33:41Z

Today, my son is a man. He is attending Norwescon on his own!

Well, he's actually volunteering as part of a group run by "Kevlar." (I don't know him, but he seems to be active in the Fen community.) He'll be sharing a hotel room with a bunch of other folks, haunting the halls as security, eating lots of junk food...ah, youth.

First con on his own! I'm so proud.

Why Obama Would Make the Best President

2008-03-19T18:07:50Z

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Why would Barack Obama make a better President of the United States than the alternatives?

As I've said elsewhere, he and Senator Clinton's voting records and policies are quite similar. So why is he a better choice than Hillary?

First, I think his lack of Washington connections is a plus. Hillary has connections, but also owes a lot of favors, and in that sense Barack is more of his own person. Second, I like his background as a community organizer. He has plenty experience building consensus. Third, I believe this consensus-building will work better across party lines. Hillary can fight the Republicans; Barack can work more effectively alongside them. Fourth, Barack reaches more Americans than Hillary. He has more support among independents and Republicans. Wouldn't we love a President that the majority of the country could be proud of? Fifth, Obama is less divisive. There are many in this country who hate the Clintons with a white-hot passion (many more than feel that way about Barack). They would be constantly attacking during a Hillary Clinton Presidency. They would also mobilize during the campaign if Hillary gets the nomination, making Obama more electible; but I was concentrating on why he would make a better President, not Nominee. But to speak for a moment on that race for the nomination, just contrasting how Obama has approached it with how Hillary Clinton's campaign has conducted itself also gives the edge to Obama. http://hillaryattacks.barackobama.com/

Why is Obama a better choice than Senator John McCain? Well, the inescapably obvious is that Obama is a Democrat. The Republican party right now is controlled by extreme corporatists who pander to big money, Christian extremism, racism and intolerance of all stripes. They have mounted a continual assault on the Constitution, politicizing public service, unbalancing the branches of government, and damaging your and my basic civil rights. They believe government is evil, and through corruption and incompetence, are doing their best to make that a self-fulfilling prophecy. After thirty years of Reaganomics and eight years of the neo-cons running roughshod over this country, we need to break the stranglehold that the GOP has on this country.

Senator McCain is dedicated to continuing a war that was illegal and immoral, is crippling our military, dissolving our standing in the world, and bankrupting the country, providing fodder for conservatives to argue for dismantling any and all social programs as being "too expensive."
On the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, McCain's support for this continued occupation is enough to invalidate him as a candidate. Especially given his recent "senior moments" on this most important subject. http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/80107/

Senator McCain also lacks the integrity required of a President. Holding an undeserved reputation as a "maverick," McCain is up to his ass in lobbyists. In order to secure his party's nomination and support, he has reversed his stance against Christian extremism, reversed his stance on the ruinous Bush tax cuts, and has recently even voted against bans on torture.

What Senator Obama thus has over both, in short, is leadership. Yes, he has called for change. As he has said: "The last thing we need is having the same old folks making the same old mistakes over and over again." This is not enough by itself; but it is a place to start. The destination is a stronger, more inclusive, more perfect union.

A More Perfect Union

2008-03-19T05:38:17Z

Historic and inspiring.

Barack Obama speaks in Philadelphia, PA at Constitution Center, on matters not just of race and recent remarks but of the fundamental path by which America can work together to pursue a better future.

"Let us be our brother's keeper...let us be our sister's keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well."

Good Luck at ACUS!

2008-03-11T22:33:14Z

To all of you who are attending Ambercon US this year, best of luck and have fun. L and I hope to be able to make it next year. And of course, we will definitely be at Ambercon NW.

Scary Thought of the Day: InfraGard

2008-02-29T00:39:39Z

"A top FBI official in Washington is refuting claims that the agency has given permission to InfraGard members to shoot to kill in the event of martial law." http://www.infragard.net/

What good is a privatized National Guard if they can't shoot to kill? “Those of you in the private sector are the first line of defense,” says FBI Director Robert Mueller.

So join up (if you can find a sponsor) and "receive secret warnings of terrorist threats before the public does." According to the Progessive Magazine, one member says: “Then they said when—not if—martial law is declared, it was our responsibility to protect our portion of the infrastructure, and if we had to use deadly force to protect it, we couldn’t be prosecuted.”http://www.progressive.org/mag_rothschild0308

Washington for Obama

2008-02-10T18:54:16Z

Well, I did go out and caucus yesterday. This was my first year I got outraged enough to get active, and I can credit The Daily Show, Air America/AM 1090, the courageous examples of Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich, the inspiring oratory of Barack Obama, and my wife who encouraged me to put my money where my mouth is.

Congressman Kuchinich was my candidate because of his policy positions, but I knew he stood little chance because he’s not at all sexy to the media. Once he was out of the race, I had to choose a new person.

I was literally undecided until I took a business trip to Des Moines, IA. As you might imagine, I was surrounded by Republicans. This was during the debates two weeks ago, and we watched a lot of them on the bar TV. These conservative Republicans were lukewarm on Senator McCain, absolutely loathed Senator Clinton, and Senator Obama…him they liked. They wouldn’t mind if he were president. In fact, several favored him over any of the Republican candidates. My brother in Minneapolis, who worked for Congressman and former Democratic Speaker of the House Tom Foley, was a staunch Democrat but has now been an attorney long enough that he is an Independent, told me that in a Clinton-McCain match-up he would vote for McCain. Those events opened my eyes.

Because I felt he could reach a greater diversity of Americans, I caucused for Senator Barack Obama in Precinct 606 of my local 32nd Legislative District.

I not only ended up caucusing, I was elected Precinct Chair.

My precinct had four delegates up for grabs. There was an amazing mix of people caucusing for Senator Obama: everyone from a 17-year-old female high school student to a sixty-something male attorney. And they also came in pairs: a mother and a daughter, a husband and a wife; and we were pretty much an even split on gender. I wish there was more of a racial diversity, but it was mostly caucasian with a couple of Persian immigrant citizens also participating for the first time. (Shh! Don't tell the Republicans! They'll think we were aiding terrorists!)

Those caucusing for Senator Clinton were all middle-aged white females. There were only two undecideds: They were both middle-aged white females who threw in with Clinton, and the deciding factor was that if they had stayed uncommitted or threw in with Obama, then Senator Clinton would not have gotten any delegates.

So it ended up one delegate for Clinton, three delegates for Obama. Across the state, Precincts were going 50% to 75% for Obama.

I was elected as one of the Precinct Delegates for Senator Barack Obama, who I am supporting to be the next President of the United States. Think good thoughts for me as I go on to the County Convention, then possibly State Convention in Spokane and National Convention Denver, CO.

Believe in your ability to bring about real change. http://origin.barackobama.com/issues/

Happy New Year

2008-02-07T19:10:42Z

It's been a long month and a half without posting to lj.

I can at least wish everyone all the best in the Year of the Rat!

Help! What's the Best Ipod?

2007-12-20T16:14:44Z

I need to buy an MP3 player as my Christmas present for L. It needs to be affordable and have either a portable dock with speakers, or capability to broadcast to two wireless headphones at the same time.

It's going to be used to hold dance music, so that L and I can take it to the gym or wherever and practice.

L and I are currently running old desktops with Windows XP, so it needs to be able to talk to those, as well as a replacement computer we're trying to budget for this year.

It doesn't have to be an Ipod brand.

Any suggestions?

This explains why I was training the employee on our last visit

2007-12-17T22:48:37Z

Among everything else to happen in the last few weeks, L's computer monitor died. We went to Circuit City, where I had to explain an advertised offer to an employee; going so far as to pull up the Circuit City web site on the internet-enabled computer that happened to be on display near the register.

Then today L sends me a link to Fortune's 101 Dumbest Moments in Business for 2007, that includes this story:

MOMENT #70: CIRCUIT CITY
Good job. You're all fired.
In a cost-cutting move, Circuit City lays off all sales associates paid 51 cents or more per hour above an "established pay range" - essentially firing 3,400 of its top performers in one fell swoop. Over the next eight months Circuit City's share price drops by almost 70%.

Life is Full of Suck...and Cinnamon Rolls

2007-12-04T06:00:52Z

My basement is flooded. The BoA bill payer overdrew my bank account by a thousand dollars. It's 10PM and my son needs help finishing a paper that's due tomorrow. Fortunately, the other homework he's been spending the last three hours on is making cinnamon rolls. I must go eat them until I am catatonic.

Gaming Crack for Girls

2007-11-30T21:22:24Z

So, this last week has been unimaginably busy. That's what happens when you're finally trained enough at your new job for them to put you to work. And then you get to do a lot of OTJ training during the busy season. Haven't done anything online all week except check my e-mail and job stuff.

As part of my job, I became aware of Hidden City Games. I'm not sure why they claim credit for Magic the Gathering and Pokemon card games (they worked for WOTC at the time?) but they seem to have created some amazing gaming crack for the X chromosome crowd in Bella Sara. Enter at your own peril.

For those who trust a computer program to define their style...

2007-11-23T19:33:01Z

The Blogalyser reveals...

Your blog/web page text has an overall readability index of 12.
This suggests that your writing style is conventional
(to communicate well you should aim for a figure between 10 and 20).
Your blog has 8 sentences per entry, which suggests your general message is distinguished by clarity
(writing for the web should be concise).

CHARACTER MATRIX

male		female
self		world
past		future

Your text shows characteristics which are 55% male and 45% female
(for more information see the Gender Genie).
Looking at pronoun indicators, you write mainly about yourself, then your social circle and finally the world in general. Also, your writing focuses primarily on the present, next the past and lastly the future.

Find out what your blogging style is like!

Thanks

2007-11-23T19:23:47Z

L and I had our traditional Chinese take-out and watched Spider-Man and Mystery Men. I'd forgotten how funny MM was. I'm thankful that, over the last decade, Hollywood has finally "got it" regarding superhero movies. Now if they can get it regarding female heroes (Alas, Elektra and Catwoman.)

I'm thankful that I'm still alive, despite various decisions in my youth that could have prevented that. I'm thankful that it seems my recent dizziness has been caused by congestion, so I can stop waiting for a TIA. I'm thankful I'm only a moderate hypochondriac.

I'm thankful that I get to go to my brother-in-laws today to eat turkey, and were we may discuss Turkey. I'm thankful that he's a decent human being despite his political affiliations.

I'm thankful I have friends - gaming friends, and folks I can BS with online. Thanks folks!