Beware the Plot Device

...

Sun, 06 Nov 2005 19:28:38 GMT

Work work work work.

Had fun involved in a recent collaboration. My key issues were bad timing and a few structural areas of blindness due to the former. But in some ways the existance of a harsh deadline ended up getting better results than otherwise (i.e. some as opposed to none).

Michael's birthday today. =) Played Roborally & Civilization with him on Saturday, and it was fun indeed. Wayne kicked our collective butts at RR, and I was the suprised final frontrunner in Civilization, due in no small part to my warlike tendencies.

I have had so many projects on, and have done that thing where I swamped them under to avoid thinking about the problems with them all and the amount of time it will take to finish them all. I am hovering now, waiting to determine my next course of action. I have a lot of things I committed to, now am doubting the value of some and my own impetus to complete them for others.

Finished a big report at work on Friday. Liza has a bucket of work to go this week before she gets a chance to detox her brain.

So what better time than now to start something else entirely!!! Argh.

Anyhow.

I came up with two other concepts for collaboration, that I will have to run past the guys when we finally get around to having the end of Grey's spectrum celebrations. Spectrum... spectre... there is something in that word too, as a follow on.

so silly.

back again back again, jiggity jig

Sat, 08 Oct 2005 08:02:08 GMT

We are back from our first holiday in a long time.

I am tired. But experienced.

One thought: Can you ever really see the Great Wall of China? Isn't it kind of like trying to see Great Britain?

Portmanteaus, Pospurlative, Lexigenisis, and autobraingasmic asphinxia

Sun, 21 Aug 2005 12:09:22 GMT

Portmanteau: see the Jabberwocky explanation to Alice by Humpty Dumpty.

Pospurlative: indicating a failure when attempting to repeat an excellent success, usually due to complacency. "I went from superlative success to pospurlative failure with one roll of the dice."

Lexigenisis: Making up words. Punny fun. What I am doing right now.

Autobraingasmic: Having a little bit too much fun in your own head...

Asphinxia: the act of making up riddles that you think are really clever, that others end up being able to solve so fast that you almost choke.

Nothing is ever finished

Fri, 12 Aug 2005 12:47:04 GMT

only abandoned at some point.

Barring disaster, I shall have a new job soon

Fri, 12 Aug 2005 08:57:21 GMT

verbal offer accepted. Verbal resignation given. Soon comes the flurry of paperwork...

I am relieved yet strangely regretful.

4.5 years given to online stockbroking... too many conflicted emotions and thoughts to make them coherant. I shall instead ride the wave and hopefully rise above it to simple relief.

35

Sun, 31 Jul 2005 21:35:26 GMT

Been quiet on the LJ front. Stress, need to take a break etc all aparant.

At home today (birthday day off) and am usuing this holiday that I halped to negotiate with my current employer for all emplyees to look for another job. There is irony in that.

Have an interview in a couple of hours, for a job that totally matches my profile. Slightly nervous because I don't know if some extra factor over which I have no control will come into the mix and stuff this for me.

Note: totally matches my profile is still a very long way from 'writing for a living' but an extra bunch of money never goes astray when attempting to find time to write.

My writing endeavours have taken a side route for a month. Been working on a charity product, and it has done some time suckage. I also note that the game chef thingy kinda sucked out my brain for a bit. Winner announced yesterday, and Myrmidon didn't make the short list. Not a surprise, It is far too rough to be playable... still one or more very good games hang in the balance there I am sure. when I have time to write them, of course...

Alright. time to get up. Luck or something is on order.

Think Outside the Box

Sun, 24 Jul 2005 20:00:18 GMT

Was the episode 8 title. Didn't declare it on Friday for obvious reasons.

Roll Credits

Sun, 24 Jul 2005 19:59:06 GMT

Watched Lemony Snickett's yesterday. Quite liked it. Was about to turn it off, then the end credits ... were brilliant.

Favourite end credits: Any film with a gag reel at the end is good. The animated gag reels from the Pixar are brilliant. Jackie chan movies also rock in this regards. Until now, ultimate favourite was definately Se7en, with the reverse credits and artwork reminding me of Arkam Asylum.

So:

(1) Lemony Nickets
(2) Se7en
(3) Monster's Inc

Would be my top 3 now.

stuff

Fri, 22 Jul 2005 10:23:05 GMT

I have been trying to give my head some space... so much on at the moment.

I diverted myself by writing some more gaming stuff, different than the last gaming stuff. I will need to real my head back in and start finishing some stuff that I started soon. I have left myself out and gotten stretched too thin.

Stupid stupid stupid.

Am looking into moving job. I think E*Trade is giving me burn out on top of the other stressors.

Applying for & Moving jobs is stressful.

Kobayashi Moru....

I have gotten art back for the Chrome Races. Now I am only 12 projects behind on the chrome stuff. *sigh*. But let me tell you, seeing some stuff that has only existed in my head in art form totally rocks. Jason is SO COOL.

head down, bum up, writing stuff

Thu, 30 Jun 2005 14:04:50 GMT

have decided to try to make it to 20,000 words with the charity thing. am up to 6500. have five artists and an editor volunteering to do the other bits. coming along, but long way to go yet.

it is raining so much but it penetrates not into the heart. We can be damp here and a scant 100 kms away be in drought. If they can pump oil across the ocean why can't we pump water over the mountains? And they are talking of water shortages in Sydney. Madness. It is just economics. we have the technology, we just don't have the logic and forward planning.

Applying for other jobs at the moment... have been stuck in a rut for a while and it may be time to get out of my comfort zone.

M.I.T. its easy as Do Re Mi

Sat, 25 Jun 2005 23:43:19 GMT

it's the little things...

Sat, 25 Jun 2005 23:28:05 GMT

http://www-jcsu.jesus.cam.ac.uk/~rah56/handy.html

Lots of cats. :)

And Darth Vader. :)

one

Thu, 23 Jun 2005 13:35:36 GMT

the last nail

Stigmata holes drip martyr's ink.
Now buy indulgences and put
all your wieght on
a paper crutch.

how it goes...

Thu, 23 Jun 2005 12:40:18 GMT

Had a rather crap tuesday at work, and now the rest of the week is suffering the consequences.

On the plus side, have determined to put out another charity project. More writing to do... and me in a bad zone of mind. *sigh*

Think the cold and dark have crept up on me. I have the only chair in the whole company that has 12 minutes of sun at 12:05 in between the buildings. But the sun was hidden today.

Need to find a way to calm, sleep is not enough at the moment. It will come to me. I feel it coming. But not yet.

another

Mon, 20 Jun 2005 13:46:42 GMT

did another one. Will probably run out of steam soon enough. but is good learning excercise...

red...

whee!

Playing with the GIMP

Sun, 19 Jun 2005 06:00:40 GMT

Here is what I started. I don't know if I can finish it, but it was fun to do...

Awake?

Questions, comments, abuse?

A Priori and Blame

Sun, 19 Jun 2005 05:57:15 GMT

I have learned

(a) Nerd still bad, Geek now good.

(b) Gender is still hot. Which makes me very glad. Too few people that I personally know feel any fire over it.

(c) There is a fake thing that is done with responsibility and A Priori or A Posteriori traits. In the modern world of genetic engineering and science over nature, the relationship between Blame and Origin is not as clear as people might think.

Hmm.

I'm 51! Woot! 51st state! 16 years ahead of my time! or something...

Sat, 18 Jun 2005 01:40:33 GMT

RPGnow have just put out 6 monthly earning list, and Plot Device comes in as number 51. This is an improvement of over 65 places since December.

All in all the RPG stuff has earned around $1300 US dollars to date from the first release date in September last year till now. Most of that has gone back in to pay for the art used, but still, it is growing.

Not exactly something to leave my day job for, though... but a nice hobby for a frustrated author. :)

excellent

Wed, 15 Jun 2005 11:33:02 GMT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/somerset/4090676.stm

gendered fandom and the geek male

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 17:01:30 GMT

so kate has written about gendered fandom, and I grok it but think it is like putting blue clothes on boy babies and pink on girls: imposed by social foolishness and self reinforcing categorisation.

So are geeks inherently male, by virtue of the type of intelectual activity they engage in? Is it only in opposition to say LARP or Cosplay that the the gamergeek becomes masculine? Or is the concept of geek genderless? What about nerd? Does being socially inept remove gender and make a person sexless, or is there only emasculation here?

I wonder

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 20:39:08 GMT

why it is warmer in winter when it rains.

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 13:21:06 GMT

So done the second of the Champions: the Commander. (will be live in a bit) http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=4948 Finding it hard to keep on track and finish these ones. Need to get onto other projects to clear head from d20 stuff for a bit, but have to finish these first. 2 weeks to write these. that is the plan anyhow...

Spent the day relaxing, cooking, cleaning, washing, and playing with cats. Oh, and watching tv. Seinfeld series on tv, plus catch up stuff from last week. Oz just took a turn for the weirder, with the prisoners taking part in a trial of a new drug to be administered to prisoners in lieu of a prison sentence. Which ages their bodies by the length of time of their sentences... after 4 seasons of hard core prison sex and violence, to get a sci-fi bent really made me sit up and pay attention. They left it hanging till the next episode, so something else to look forward to there.

Cut the cat claws. Funny how they now recognise the activity and complain but don't move around too much. Except Balthazar, who still throws himself about like a possessed rat on speed unless I scruff him into place, at which point he purrs and sits still. Weird bondage cats...

Dogs have take to ripping the stuffing out of their beds for fun. Much mess.

Back to the slog tomorrow. *sigh*

]I[

Sun, 12 Jun 2005 16:07:47 GMT

Saw Episode ]I[ finally.

Disappointing.

People praised the continuity, but I was sorely disappointed at the lack of success at keeping even the simplest continuity intact.

Some of the truck size problems that irked me in particular:
(1) Sideous tells Vader that Vader killed Padme ("NOOOOOOO"), while Padme was still pregnant. Yet in Empire, Vader knows he has a son. He must be justifying the Emperor with teleporting pre-natals I have to assume.
(2) Padme dies in childbirth, but in Jedi Leia remembers her mother. Force imparted memory enhancers I suppose.
(3) It takes the Emperor a couple of years to undo the republic, conduct the clone wars, abolish the trade federation and start work on the death star, and declare the Empire, but it takes 20 years (or however old luke are liea are) to then dissolve the Senate. Loooooooong time to set up regional governers.
(4) JarJar Binks lived. Something had to kill him before New Hope, and it should have been on camera. OK that is not continuity, but it should be.

And then we have the bad writing, the unbeleivable conversion to the dark side, and the council of the jedi being Sith fodder unless they are named NPCs. And the wookies... what was the point? Oh, that's right... Merchanizing.

*sigh*

Bad Video Night

Sat, 11 Jun 2005 15:57:52 GMT

Liza's cousins and a friend have been promising to have a Bad Video Night for several years, and tonight it happened.

Started with some light entertainment with "Happy Tree Friends" to which I was in hysterics.

Moved to the first bad video, supplied by Dan: "Death Race 2000". OMG the nudity, the violence. Kung Fu Master beating up Sly Stalone as a woman beating baddie. Bad, Bad, dialogue. The Hand Grenade. Wacky races...

break for dessert. watched music video (Aphex Twin: Come to Daddy) much to my amusement. Seen it on rage, and like "windowlicker" real excellent evocative stuff.

Then the next bad video. "Howling III: The Marsupials." I have never been more ashamed to be Australian. How Barry Otto and that guy from the beurepairs add can ever show their face in public I will never know. This is now the champion bad film of all time. It just would not end. No matter how much you wanted it to die. 93 minutes but felt like easily twice that.

Was much fun, and at last "Dreamcatcher" has been trumped.

less than 100 awful things

Sat, 11 Jun 2005 04:38:34 GMT

I remember I started a project once to cleanse me of some bad feelings. I would put into a small book every ounce of unpleasantness and evil I could muster until such time as I didn't feel the need to do it anymore, until I didn't feel that I had any more vitriol in my person. I made a deal that if it was less than one hundred items long I was OK with myself as I was, and if it were more that I would seek professional help.

I never made it past twenty. I discovered that I don't have the energy to keep evil inside me for very long at all. For which I am rather glad.