AmadanNaBriona Posted May 27, 2011 Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings At the risk of double musing.. My g/f had to go to a wedding for her family. The last one got kinda ugly, so she was freaking out a bit. So I took her up to the foothills below the San Andreas Fault I've been researching a bit and went hunting for flint. Dunno if any of the chert I found will end up working out, but she found a few nice fossil shells and an arrowhead. It's really nice dating someone with similar interests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawnmower Boy Posted May 27, 2011 Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings Overtime is not all it's cracked up to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinKitty Posted May 27, 2011 Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings My Parents have an offer on my old home. Now for all the inspections, etc. and to see if the buyer can get a mortgage through the Veteran's Admin. I hope for my Parent's sake that everything works out but I will miss the house I grew up in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted May 28, 2011 Report Share Posted May 28, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings Have to love the service I just got. Ordered a 1 Terabyte External HD from Newegg. They promised 2 day shipping. Ordered it yesterday, got it today. Didn't even have time for the UPS tracking to get started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted May 28, 2011 Report Share Posted May 28, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings It is a profoundly wonderful, slightly terrifying, utterly amazing thing sometimes when you're a writer and someone actually wants to pay you for it, and put it out there for you. While it may not make the quota needed to actually get published, I'm profoundly grateful to Blackwyrm games for taking a chance on me. I have a few other unrelated ideas I'd like to fling their way, maybe having gotten this far I'll screw up the guts to go for 'em. Sure, I'm plagued by doubts. What if I don't reach the quota? What if I do meet it, and folks HATE it? My name could be forever shamed, friendships could be lost! My family could disown me for the thousand year dishonor I'll bring upon my entire clan. My dog will stop wagging her tail when I approach! Sorry about that, had to print all that out just so I can see how silly it looks, and so I'd have something to look back on later whatever happens. If it doesn't meet the quota, I'll cheer for my fellow settting creators who made theirs and live vicariously through them. Meanwhile, I work on the next project. If it does, and some folks don't like it, well, then darn it, that's par for the course. One man's treasure is another man's junk, one size does not fit all, and other cliches that became cliches because they tend to be true. And I learn. If folks gripe about this or that aspect, I take notes, and I use it to get better. If they praise certain parts I didn't expect to be a hit, I remember to hold onto those parts and even build them up for my next project. And lastly, I remind myself of the utterly amazing gamemasters and players out there. If all goes well, They will take the setting, make it their own, and work wonders with it that will have me going "Why didn't I think of that?" The one thing I can't do is be Fear's #$*@&! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted May 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings The experience of finally accepting a concrete job offer is a lot like wave-particle duality. Yesterday morning I didn't know where, or when, or if I'd be working, or even if we'd be able to keep the house. Now the wavefunction has collapsed and my location and trajectory are much more defined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vondy Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings Did not do the research. AMC has this Seattle based detective drama entitled "The Killing." The writers wanted to have a "mobbed up" character so they inferred he's ex-muscle for a Polish crime group (decades ago)... They said what? Seattle has a long history of political corruption. The SPD was notorious for shakedowns going into the 1970's, which is why they have a centralized detective bureau today instead of precinct squads. To their credit they really cleaned house. The city's historical organized crime is mostly Asian. The Tongs and Yakuza are entrenched going back a century. I still rememeber the Wah-Mee Massacre. And the Swedes, long ago, did have a strongarm lock on labor at Fisherman's Wharf and the Port of Seattle, but they didn't spread into traditional organized crime ventures. The Colacurcio family is the closest thing it has to "Mafia." Jack Sr. was grilled by Bobby Kennedy in his racketeering probes and has been the focus on ongoing federal and local investigations. He's done time for petty corruption. So has his son Frank Jr. He's basically a strip club, "talent agency," and vending machine king. Frank Sr. been under investigation for murder, shady land development deals, and bootlegging. He's long been thought to be connected, but is definately not made. His long, oft questioned friendship with Washington State DNC fixer and former Governor Rosellini is notorious for those who are tuned into the Seattle pulse. But Seattle isn't an "East Coast Mafia Town." In the last twenty years African American and Southeast Asian gangs have become promiment - and the Russian and Mexican Mafia's have moved in. You've also got the BC Bud crowd. Puget Sound... biggest Marijuana busts ever! But... Polish gangsters? Let alone established, well-known, and going way back? In Seattle? Are they kidding? There were real world choices (or amalgams) the writer's could have pulled from... If they'd done the reasearch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings I notice animated gifs don't work well in Windows 7. You can open one, but only via Internet Explorer, and Movie Maker only shows the first frame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings I just reviewed my Taekwondo poomse (aka katas), which I haven't done in a couple of years. I've forgotten so much, it isn't funny. It's starting to come back to me though, thanks to my books and some videos on YouTube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted May 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings I've long known that I judge books by their covers, but I don't think I realized how much until this afternoon when I had a rare opportunity to browse the local Borders. I found myself skipping over entire authors and shelves, as always, because I can't stand the art on the spines. I've probably read a grand total of three Baen books in my lifetime largely because every single one of them has incredibly fugly red and yellow text on a black background. All of them! Hey Baen, I'm a fan of legibility, but there is such a thing as too much contrast. Tor books are slightly better but still somehow manage to look like trashy romance novels, mainly because of their choice of type. Conversely, Ace, Del Rey, and (I think) Orbit all have very nice overall cover designs. I'm also not a huge fan of the recent trend in photomanip cover art--I much prefer a more impressionist painted style--but it doesn't offend my design sensibilities the way ALL RED CAPS ON BLACK do. Ugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted June 3, 2011 Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings A Perfect Day is one of the most sinister songs I have ever heard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted June 3, 2011 Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings I notice PBS shows Le Miz whenever a potential romance goes sour for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted June 3, 2011 Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings 20th anniversary reunion of my junior high class tonight. I expect people to have matured, even if it's just a little bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawnmower Boy Posted June 4, 2011 Report Share Posted June 4, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings This could be in the thread for random links, but there's three links, and they're not randomly grouped. i) http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/fat-city_567621.html ii) http://themonkeycage.org/blog/2011/06/01/the-cushy-life-of-a-university-of-illinois-sociology-professor/ And, just freaking awesome, iii) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p3nOXEWtddWKJ4esFlVqdXzae2ITr5GtnJviV7nhGGM/edit?hl=en_US&authkey=COWf5ukJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted June 4, 2011 Report Share Posted June 4, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings ... A. looks pretty smashing in that little number. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narf the Mouse Posted June 4, 2011 Report Share Posted June 4, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings For something intended to allow computers to understand human-style instructions, fuzzy logic is surprisingly difficult to understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burrito Boy Posted June 5, 2011 Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings I don't mean to alarm anyone but I think the Russians are about to invade America. Red Dawn was on today in English and Spanish. It's a sign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted June 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings The thunderstorm was unreal. Lightning strobed outside the windows, and the thunder lashed so constantly it was impossible to tell which stroke went with which boom. It had been like this for hours, since sundown, and showed no sign of letting up. "Daddy, I'm scared." The youngest, curled beside me on the floor in a nest of blankets and pillows. For what must have been the thirtieth time. It was long, long past his bedtime. "It's all right. I told you, it's just noise. You don't have to be scared." He settled back into his nest, eyes open. Small. Scared. Of course. It was a hell of a storm. Then I had an idea. I got up, gathered him up in his blankets. "Come," I said. "Where are we going?" he asked. "Let's go watch the storm," I said. "I like thunderstorms." We stood outside, under the eaves of the house, watching the clouds flash from within and the jagged streaks striking beyond the eastern hills. "Wow!" he shouted, into the rain. He was beaming. We didn't watch for long--fifteen minutes, perhaps, before the chill from the wind drove us inside. But he was still smiling when I laid him back down. "It's like fireworks, Daddy," he said. Five minutes later, he was asleep. The storm faded into the east. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted June 6, 2011 Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings My watchband stinks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted June 6, 2011 Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings I am the very model of a modern procrastinator when I have to do it now I prefer to do it later Part of me cares a lot but the rest is lackadaisical like trying to write some snappy fiction for y'all I drift in spurts of energy while my lethargy I try to cull My muse she put a hole in the cup just when I thought IT was full Of my bipolar energy level I have plenty proof like lounging around when suddenly I make a sing song spoof My reputation meter indictes my whims are quite a hit yet sometimes I try to force it and I feel like #### In short when it comes to energy, trying to find my synergy, I seem to hit a fader I am the very model of a modern procrastinator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted June 6, 2011 Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings Last night, my uncle passed away. He was in hospice surrounded by his wife, daughter, son, and two of his remaining brothers. I'm not always proud to be associated with my paternal family, particularly that generation, but Uncle Dave was a good man who did more to keep his somewhat screwy family running smoothly than they and I appreciate. I know I owe him a debt of gratitude and I will miss him. I only hope that my generation has grown out of the stupid sh...tuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted June 6, 2011 Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings Have I mentioned lately JUST HOW MUCH I HATE Desolid? Lucius Alexander Well, I know I've talked to the palindromedary about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted June 7, 2011 Report Share Posted June 7, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings Is going after a woman half your age a sign you're having a mid-life crisis? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vondy Posted June 7, 2011 Report Share Posted June 7, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings I realized my cynicism is deep ingrained. I was writing a bit of dialog for a short story about a private military / intelligence contractor who takes off the books "private commissions" from people in need - or to obtain justice via extralegal means. Anyways, in this scene he's explaining to a client / romantic interest what it is he does - and why he does it. "I'm a contractor." "That's suitably vague." "Yes." "For whom?" "Do I contract?" "Yes, for whom do you you contract?" "People the State Department approves of, mostly." "Mostly?" "State isn't exactly a bastion of erudition or ideals." "Oh? What is it a bastion of?" "Interests." "You mean our national interests." "In as much as money and those who control it are interested in our nation, yes." "And when they aren't interested?" "I take a personal interest." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted June 8, 2011 Report Share Posted June 8, 2011 Re: A Thread for Random Musings I can't believe I got reputized for posting a write up of a Keebler Elf. Maybe I can tie them in with the Chocolate Orcs and the Ginger-Bred Men.... Or maybe I should start writing up the Geico Gecko, Tony the Tiger, the Frito Bandito, Kool Aid Man, Snap Crackle and Pop..... Lucius Alexander More likely I'll forget about and go back to composing palindromedary taglines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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