Thrakazog

Re: A Thread for Random Musings Well, we had the home inspection today. The house needs a new roof, new siding all around, structural work on the expansion roof, a new floor in the mud room, a new central air unit, a new water heater, and several minor other things. So, unless the sellers agree to come down some $25k on the price, which they won't, I'm backing out of the sale. There are no good surprises in life. Only bad. Dry fishsticks, all the way.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings One last hurdle, baby, and that house is MINE ALL MINE! MWA-HA-HAAA!!! The home inspection is Wednesday. I've got the official New Jersey Home Inspection Nazi himself doing the inspection. He told me it'll take close to four hours - termites, radon, soil plug, the works. My fingers, toes, and nose hairs are crossed. All goes well, and there's nothing left to stop me now. --Insert Dr. Evil laugh here-- That, and the Red Sox sweeping the Yankees has me all fired up this morning. :D:D:D

Re: A Thread for Random Musings Ugh. Double ugh. Gag ack phhft. Thirteen years ago, when I was in college, I could start drinking on Thursday night and not stop or sleep until Sunday and it wouldn't even faze me. Maybe just a little, but it wasn't anything a well-rolled Bob and a few games of backgammon couldn't smooth out. And I could do it almost every week, studying allowing. Today, I sit in my office a broken man. My head feels like someone's laying down a new wood floor on my medulla oblongata. The bacon, egg, and cheese on a bagel and large black coffee are having a nausea-stabilizing effect on my stomach. And why, do you ask? Because last night my building had an unannounced tennant's meeting out on the front stoop. The agenda included a discussion of the weather and which low-carb beer was better, Mic Ultra or Aspen (I voted Aspen, eight times). All I can say is...I need to drink more frequently. My tolerance is completely shot to hell and that is simply unnacceptable. EDIT - Ah, nevermind. I just rememebred that I gave blood Wednesday afternoon. Phew. I thought I was slipping there, for a moment.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings I'm reading through the seller's disclosure with a fine tooth comb. There's a little stress about the date on the loan paperwork and geting it notaraized same day, what with both the wife and I working and all, but that's just stress. I have the picture from the MLS listing set as my background on both the home and work computers. This will be the third time I've gone through this process, but for whatever reason I've never been this nervous about buying a house. I'm so excited about this place. Maybe it's because the two places I've bought previously are city apartments and this is the first suburban house for me. Who knows. The contract is in attorney review until Friday. I couldn't get the inspector I wanted until Monday. This guy is the House Inspector Nazi, a fully certified structural and civil engineer who only does home inspections and is something of a diva because he's considered the best. I'm praying he gives me a thumbs-up once he's done. The ad to rent out my current two-bedroom apartment is already drafted, ready to be submitted. The packing of minor nonessentials has begun. I'm scouting moving companies and getting estimates. All of which is likely getting ahead of myself but, well, I'm too excited to not get my hopes up. Argh! I want to close!

Re: A Thread for Random Musings I just got off the phone with my accountant. My taxes are ready to be picked up and mailed. And at this point, George W. Bush would have to murder his wife on national television to lose my vote. Even then I'd seriously think about it, and probably vote for him anyway. I'm thinking of naming my first child "Dubya", even a girl.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings Opening Day - the two words bring a smile to my face every time. Like "Vegas" and "Honey, I made bracciole for dinner." I look forward to opening day all winter. Thirty guys, arriving promptly at ten in the morning and ready to go. By ten thirty the grills are going full force and the beer is flowing. I get to see guys I haven't seen since last opening day and probably won't see again until the next opening day. We greet each other as best of friends anyway. One of my fraternity brothers (eight of us formed the core of this annual event group ten years ago) summed it up as, "Ah, the gluttony that is Opening Day." And he's right. Let's see: burger, burger, drumstick, sausage sandwich, sausage sandwich, drumstick, seven innings of baseball, burger, double-burger, chicken cutlet sandwich, sausage sandwich, devil dog, devil dog. Sprinkle about twenty-five Buds throughout. And throw in 4-6 random individual sausage links eaten off a fork with no bun - those are difficult to keep track of. Well, another opening day came and went yesterday. I mourn it's passing as intensely as I revel in it's afterglow. And now I'm off to the store for more Alka-Seltzer.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings Real estate agents are rapidly dropping into lawyer territory on my esteem scale. Burn them with fire.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings This Sunday's "Week in Review" section of the New York Times was the most outright hostility I've ever seen perpetrated in a supposed "non-liberal" major media outlet. Every headline was damning in some aspect, or doom-and-gloom about the future, with regards to President Bush. It was disgusting. The Kerry campaign has a good friend in the New York Times.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings I'm sick of fighting the political fight. I'm sick of blind hate or blind love for President Bush. He's done some good things and he's f--ked up some things, and nothing he's screwed will mean the end of society as we know it. The left's tactics of "say and do anything no matter how morally or logically repugnant to defeat Bush" is driving me slowly insane. The right's obsessive need to display everything Bush has said or done as some holy act beyond criticism is equally causing me the need to piss fire. Nobody wants to be reasonable, and the worst is when I step back and see myself doing it too. Life's too short. I'm addicted to politics and I hate politics and I hate having to defend what should be obvious. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! I'm not in a happy place right now.

Re: Answers & Questions

Re: Answers & Questions Q: Welcome to the stereo chamber. Do you have any complaints? A: Like Erin Grey in the space vampire episode, but with less clothing, some bungie cord, and a can of Pam.

Re: What are the most annoying player habits! And this is why I like to play personalities based on my real one. The GM lays out the pre-combat event, and I can take a moment, close my eyes, and imagine how I'd really react. I almost always go with my first reaction, since it's the most realistic. I find it frustrating when you correct a player action, explain how something works in your campaign, and then instead of gettign a revised action you get "but this is how I want to play it."

Re: Answers & Questions Q: Annakin? A: I rolled it myself.

Re: Answers & Questions Q: Hey, Dude, how's your NCAA March Madness video game all-star death match brackets looking? A: Some guy from Telemundo asking about our hot water heater.

Re: Answers & Questions Q: What maneuver ended the career of retired professional wrestler The Mighty Scot? A: We don't have enough pork rinds.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings The smile-smirk in the "rolleyes" smiley takes away all the meaning, sometimes. I liked the straight-mouthed version better. It was much more...satisfying.

Baking powder is good for getting odors out of carpet.

-tsk- Now you're just being juvenile.

Oh my! Politicians lie??? AAAAAIIEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! Quick, Martha, get the canned goods and the kids down in the cellar! Somebody get Geraldo Rivera on the line! What do you mean he's gone sailing? I was cleaning out my desk and found the old original XWing game CD lurking in a drawer. I loaded it up and it still rocks. Need to buy a joystick for flight control, though.

In downtown New York City, during rush hour, you cannot walk at your own pace unless your own pace is equal to "very fast". If you walk too slow, you get bumped into, cursed at, batted around, and generally harassed. That being said, I love working in downtown New York City. Thrak can power-walk with the best of them.

Just for kicks I downloaded an adware/spyware detector/eliminator this morning. I found some 60 processes running in the background. I noticed a real performance difference after cleaning my system.

You could always play a Highlander-type immortal, one who'd been around since the dark ages. You tend to accumulate skills over a few millenia.

My new favorite breakfast, discovered over the weekend at Waikiki's Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant: The Loco Moco. A mound of sticky rice, topped with a large medium-well burger, two sunny-side eggs, brown gravy, and chopped raw onion. Sprinkle liberally with Tabasco and soy sauce.

The worst part about going to a really ritzy restaurant for lunch in a State Capital is having to tolerate the nobodies elbowing their way through my friends and me to get to their table.

I will also vouch for TE. I enjoyed just reading it. Incorporating elements into my own Star Hero campaign should be fun.