caraig: (dogsnake)
Jon, the Local Man of Some Curiosity But Not Quite Mystery, here at lovely Newark Liberty Int'l Airport with a DidjaKnow?(tm) moment.

DidjaKnow?(tm)...

o that United has replaced a good percentage of their ticketing counter people with ATM-style machines? (No bonus points for guessing if Diebold made 'em.)
o that United now charges for in-flight meals?
o that the airport has flights at all hours, but if you want a cup of java or even just plain bottled water and a stale croissant, you need to wait until about 5:30AM?
o that United now charges you for the priviledge of the 5 extra inches that sitting in a seat next to an emergency exit gives?
o that there is something called a "CerealBar" in the terminal? No joke, they sell cereal and milk. Probably bowls and spoons, too, I hope. The Tick was unavailable for comment.

DidkaKnow?(tm) is a trademark of Adam Warren. Maybe. He came up with it first, at any rate.

This post marks the first use of the DOGSNAKE! pic, for things that are just plain whackado beyond mortal ken.
caraig: (Blogging)
Lately I had the chance to read the first three trade paperbacks of Warren Ellis's Transmetropolitan, It's one of those watershed titles that has made a huge mark in comics, which includes Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen. I'll make a cut here for folks who aren't interested.

Read more... )Pax.

Squee!

Dec. 7th, 2007 11:18 am
caraig: (Awesome)
SNOW!
caraig: (Default)
I'm curious about something here, mostly about behavior in online communities. I'd like to open a discussion about this.

Here's the situation: You're in an online community/game. You enjoy it, but the 'general' channel of the chat channel for the server is frequently filled with people who show a low maturity level, using offensive language that seems to threaten to overload the profanity filter, trash-talking, being obnoxious, and who still think 'your mom' jokes can be funny. You can stay quiet, but this is starting to ruin your enjoyment of the game. You can put the worst offenders on an ignore/gag list and never hear from them again but that doesn't solve anything for the community. You can turn off the channel, but again, that doesn't solve anything for the community, and besides, there are still lots of people who are worth talking to and helping out. Telling the offenders to behave just has them level their 'guns' at you and they keep going on.

So, what do you do in a situation like this? What's your plan of attack, if any, and how do you handle the situation to make it more comfortable for the largest number of (sane, sensible) people?
caraig: (The Anger Sphere)
So nine months after I move here, I discover that I do seem to indeed be missing boxes and Stuff from the move. At least one box of books, which had large-format art books in it and all my LARP books in it but for one, most of which one probably can't find anymore. This is mildly frustrating and irritating, since I know that these books were either repacked or brought with me. Most likely repacked.

Then again, the garage is such a mess right now and my stuff scattered all over that I'd be hard-pressed to tell you exactly where things are. They might still be there, somewhere, but until I get my own place and unpack, Heavens know where the books I'm missing might be.

Pax
caraig: (The Anger Sphere)
The US State Department promised immunity to Blackwater mercenaries following the incident in which they killed Iraqi civilians.

Man, the mercenaries of the 60's, 70's and 80's only WISH they could get support like this from their employer....
caraig: (Default)
So, thought I would distract myself and give you some good old fashioned shorty game reviews. There aren't many spoilers here, I think.

First up, Portal. This is probably one of the most enjoyable first-person games I've played in a while. No combat (well, not really), no guns whipped here and there, just good old fashioned puzzle solving. And one of the most fun and best-written mad computers I've ever seen. Plus, the gun turrets are absolutely adorable. Yes, the turrets are. They have this sweet little innocent voice even when they're trying to kill you.

Next, F.E.A.R. - Extraction Point. A sequel/expansion pack to F.E.A.R. from about a year ago, Extraction Point is you getting out of the mess left behind in the first game. It still has creepy twitchy moments, but it's actually much better than the first. Plus, it has a really very nice climax, if a bit cryptic. It's unfortunately very linear.

Then, in contrast, we have Clive Barker's Jericho. Where F.E.A.R. is terror, Jericho is horror, and it makes no bones about it. There's a lot of blood and gore, there's pretty horrific creatures and beasts. At the same time, it's not scary, so I can play it at night. It also has an intriguing storyline, based off of oddball interpretations of Gnostic and Kabbalistic beliefs. (So yeah, it caught my attention.) Still, this is an extremely mature game in that there's a lot of cussing, a lot of crappy humor, and a lot of blood and gore. But that's Clive Barker for you. It reminds me a bit of Prey. It is extremely linear, though, which is a downside.

Half Life 2: Episode 2. Continued excellent writing, characters with depth, and an intriguing storyline, it nevertheless left me kind of cold. It was more of the same. Maybe Episode 3 will be different -- at least, it should be, considering what's happening in it. The Source engine, while excellent, is starting to show some signs of age, though.

So, what games have you been playing lately?
caraig: (The Future!)
I wish to voice my revulsion at the harassment and stalking and smear being waged upon Graeme Frost and his family. More behind the cut.More behind the cut. )

Pax.

EDIT: To clean up some thoughts.

New Icon!

Oct. 3rd, 2007 12:50 pm
caraig: (Awesome)
You know, I have no idea where this image is from. All I know is that I stumbled onto it last night and it just spoke to me of sheer awesome.

I mean, srsly. Wearing gold lame while skyboarding on an alligator and apparently dodging anti-aircraft fire. Awesome.
caraig: (Default)
It's a little bittersweet to be back in Silicon Valley for computer training. This time it's Cisco CCNA, instead of Mac Genius. It still reminds me of working for Apple, and what a great place the 1 Infinite Loop campus was. I still want to work for Apple corporate, but hells no not retail or helpdesk.

The freight train just came by; it went by the class at Apple, too.

More later; pax.
caraig: (Blogging)
Ganked from
caraig: (Default)
Thought i would give this a try and see what came up. The art on the cards is gorgeous!


You are The Fool


The Fool is the card of infinite possibilities. The bag on the staff indicates that he has all he need to do or be anything he wants, he has only to stop and unpack. He is on his way to a brand new beginning. But the card carries a little bark of warning as well. Stop daydreaming and fantasising and watch your step, lest you fall and end up looking the fool.


What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.



This really isn't too much of a surprise; the Fool is the first step on the journey of the hero.
caraig: (Default)
Okay, remember the review I made of Shoot 'Em Up? Just saw Hot Fuzz. It's distinctly British (same guys who did Shaun of the Dead) and it's almost as over-the-top, with none of the creepiness that SEM gave me. It was just fall-down hilarious.

More later. Pax.
caraig: (Default)
Okay, first up: Do not go into this movie thinking it will be anything other than what it says it is. This is an action movie. Remember the most recent xkcd? This movie doesn't even have the 30 seconds of exposition. Hardly two minutes go by in this movie without someone shooting at someone else, which doesn't leave much time for exposition. Even the obligatory love scene had guns 'n shootin'. Everything is so over the top that it's like real life anime. There was barely the shreddiest scrap of plot, enough government/plutocrat conspiracy to get Jon's attention, and everything else was sheer, unadulterated shoot-em-up. Paul Giamatti's character absolutely devoured the scenery.

So. Monica Belucci was quite yum. That being said, there were a few times in the movie where I thought, 'Geez, this is pretty creepy,' as far as on-screen treatment of women went. A couple of 'refrigerator' moments. So I can't really say that this was the perfect mindless action film. Thinking (maybe too much) about it, actually, this is pretty much the defining action movie for our current society... which, I have to admit, isn't saying much.

Y'all know that song, 'I need a hero?' We need a heroine, one that isn't there to be the sex object of a creepy villain or such. Where's Michelle Yeoh, Zoe Bell, Karen Mok, and the rest when you need them?
caraig: (Default)
Okay, folks. I am taking this opportunity to improve things in my life. One of the things is, because of the insane gas milage and my TIE Jeep ("Zot") is getting rather venerable, is to get a Toyota Prius.

I am now soliciting names for this vehicle. The current contenders are 'ZAPP' (goes well with 'ZOT' and it IS electric after all!) and 'BEWM' (using the Nevada Atomic Test Site Museum plate, of course.)
caraig: (Ace Rimmer)
First. At the station, we are filming a show now that is oriented towards the latino community in Carson City, and is being shot in a Spanish and an English version. This is making for a few minor challenges, but mostly it warms the cockles of my heart that this is something that would make certain bigoted sexist and racist pundits scream until their faces turn blue.

Second, who is the bigger geek, the geek or the geek who posts his filk on LJ? =)
caraig: (Default)
Are there any good resources out there for the design of
role-playing games? Mostly I'm looking for mechanics stuff like designing conflict resolution systems and such. This is for pen-and-paper RPGs. Thanks in advance!
caraig: (Blogging)
From: Me, The Guy In Charge
Re: Dreams

Please in the future do not form dreams that are toon-bunny/surreal admixtures of Stand By Me and Requiem For A Dream even though I've never even seen Requiem For A Dream. It is particularly bad taste to throw several of my old high school classmates at me mixed in with people whom I do not recognize and yet the dream makes me treat as old friends. You're confusing me, and that isn't the job of the subconscious! Do NOT make me write a disciplinary letter and put it in your file.

Thank you.

Rick Loomis

Aug. 6th, 2007 11:49 am
caraig: (Blogging)
I highly recommend going to the website of Rick Loomis. This is a photographer who hasn't gotten nearly enough recognition.

His pictures of Burning Man are incredible. He has some amazing shots in there!

However, I would also like to direct people to one set of photos that have not been shown to the US public. Go to the 'Menu' and click on 'Projects' then 'New Battle.' These pictures might disturb you, so please do not click if you're not up for it. Yes, it's related to the war; but it's not photography from within the war zone, though Loomis is also a good war photographer. Basically, what I'm saying is, if you support the war and/or the President, you owe it to yourself to check out his 'New Battle' photoessay and think. That's all.

Beyond that, he's got a lot of amazing photos in there which, no matter what your political orientation, are simply fantastic.
caraig: (Writing)
I haven't had some writing in a while. Let's have some writing!

Cold Comfort

A bit different from what I usually write of late. Input and criticism welcome, of course!
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