Laurion

That was fun, but bent my mind a little.

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:41:17 GMT

Route 30 parallels the Pike for quite a stretch, at times with sufficient elevation that looking across 30 you cannot see the pike below.

Except for when a car carrier goes by and you can see just enough of the top. Seeing a line of cars ‘driving’ backwards on the Pike was very amusing.

Played poker tonight, at Jducoeur’s invitation (thank you!), and had a lot of fun. Not having played anything but the ubiquitous Texas Hold ‘Em for quite some time, the variety of variations called at the table were at times mind-bending. Particularly, I occasionally had troubles with some of the more convoluted split-pot high-low variations. Not strategy-wise, typically, but I did flub a few action sequences, to my embarrassment. Overall though, thanks to some good choices in Liege Lord, and some good fortunes in being the only high hand in Anaconda, (both split-pot games, oddly), I ended up more than doubling my stake (after factoring in chips bought from me at the very end). But the money would have been well spent had I lost it all, as I had a really good time. Of course, now I must find an opportunity to give some of the money back at another poker night.

And now I must to bed before I lose too much more sleep.

Originally published at lebor.net. You can comment here or there.

MMORPGs came before the Internet, didn’t ya know?

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 19:28:32 GMT

15 years ago, most people didn’t have Internet Access, per se. They had dial-up service. 28.8k was state of the art (with 33.6k poking it’s nose in places). Service was typically AOL or CompuServe, maybe something else, and metered per hour, sometimes as much as $5/hour. You might also have to pay long distance charges if there wasn’t an access point in your local exchange. Oh, and of course, if you only had one phone line you would tie it up, unless someone picked up the phdsgndjkls nhyreio hnbknrw.b;ip0f nu3tur in which case that’s what you’d see.

I’m not just trying to show my age here, I’m setting the scene. 15 years ago, I was pretty cutting edge in some ways: pretty fast 28.8k modem, second phone line, lucky enough to live in the corner of town that fell into the local exchange that covered a large area. But we didn’t have any of the dial services like AOL, because the fees were unreasonable. But I still spent hours each week online.

How? Local BBSs (Bulletin Board Systems) - Other people would set up their computers with modems and phone lines and special software and host local systems that people like me would dial into. All ANSI text based terminals, with crude text-based interfaces, and no mouse. (I’m ignoring the later RIP vector systems) Some of these were BBSs in the literal sense of an electronic bulletin board - Forums these days - log in write new posts, respond, communicate, for community. Some had file exchange options. Many had Doors. Doors were add on third party modules that let visitors interact with the system and with others in different ways. Some would let you do things like bank unused minutes (with only one, maybe two modems, most BBS limited your online time so as to ensure fairer access), or send messages all across the country through BlueWave, a store-and-forward type e-mail system. Like the current postal service, all the messages would be gathered together, and in the middle of the nights, systems would dial into each other and pass messages around like pony express. Turn around time was typically a day, maybe two if a link was offline.

And many BBS’ had games. Multiplayer games, although, again, with most local BBS only having the one modem, they were asynchronously multiplayer. And me living in a larger local exchange, I had access to dozens of local systems. The only cost was my time, and the $15/month we spent on a second phone line. So I was a regular member of half a dozen or so systems, and most every day after school, I’d spend some time dialing around my regular list. If one was busy I’d move on to the next, and return later, etc. I wasn’t big into the discussion forums or the file exchanges, but I did play the games. I had my favorites, and the popular games would find their way into almost every BBS. Tradewars 2000, Exitilus, and the ever ubiquitous Legend of the Red Dragon (LoRD).

All of the above has been windup and warmup. Yesterday I discovered that someone has made a web based remake of LoRD called Legend of the Green Dragon. And it’s an open source project, fully with the intention that people can download and run their own game servers. How could I resist? So yesterday I spent some time installing it, adding modules, configuring, and setting it up. And now I invite you to dabble around. For anyone who has played Kingdom of Loathing, you’ll probably recognize the influence this game had on that. You can find the game running at logd.lebor.net… , and it’s open for anyone to sign up and play. You are welcome to come join me as I delight in the fact that good games never die, they just get remade by dedicated fans…

Originally published at lebor.net. You can comment here or there.

I sleep in my dreams.

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:05:21 GMT

As if the weather and the new virtual bachelorhood didn’t make it hard to sleep, there was also a gang of hoodlum birds (I picture them wearing ‘colors’, do-rags, and baggy feathers), that decide the best way to demonstrate their prowess was to stay up all niht pretending to be car alarms. There were two or three of them at 11:30 at night, long past birdie bedtime, and that persisted until 3am or so, when the numbers started to *increase*.

Now that it is morning, and the temperature is rising, it’s actually quieter out there, just in time for me to go to work.

Originally published at lebor.net. You can comment here or there.

Seen on the side of a bottle of Poland Springs ‘fruit a’peel’ spritzer:

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 01:50:19 GMT

Seen on the side of a bottle of Poland Springs ‘fruit a’peel’ spritzer:

WARNING: Spritzers under pressure. Point away from people you like. If you like my bubbles keep me cool.

Originally published at lebor.net. You can comment here or there.

<--

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:41:32 GMT

The downside to me having more than one blog now… ok, well, the downside for you, is that occasionally, I am going to stand on this box and tell you to go look at me standing on that other box. Like now. I just finished posting about one of the ways the subprime lending affects me in a professional capacity, and not just me, but millions of others. I think it’s worth me coming over here to point interested parties to the post over there.

chadberg.edublogs.org…

Originally published at lebor.net. You can comment here or there.

So’s not to clutter this one…

Sat, 24 May 2008 20:09:50 GMT

As part of an ongoing project at work, I’ve started up a new blog over at chadberg.edublogs.org… . What better way to make sure I’m fully familiar with the tool than to use it? That’s a bit of a misdirection though; it’s a customized WordPress solution, so I’m already very familiar with the core. But I do need to be familiar with the custom changes made for educational purposes. So over there I’ll be blogging about my professional world (is that ‘plogging’?).

I’ve only a couple of posts there at the moment, but more in draft form. Interested parties are welcome to subscribe. Uninterested parties are too, but I don’t know as that will happen. Bizarrely interested people are welcome to subscribe to that one and unsubscribe from this one.

Originally published at lebor.net. You can comment here or there.

Next item on the block…

Sat, 24 May 2008 16:38:08 GMT

Does anyone need a small laser printer?

I’ve come into an extra HPLJ 1200, and as I already have a small laser printer, thought I would see if someone else was interested in it.

If you’re curious, yes, it is B&W only. Yes, it has USB. Yes it is compatible with your OS.

Originally published at lebor.net. You can comment here or there.

Speaking of Michael Crichton

Sat, 24 May 2008 13:19:23 GMT

Sci-Fi channel is running their new mini-series version of Andromeda Strain starting on Monday. Previews look pretty good.

Just a note so interested parties can set their TiVos.

Originally published at lebor.net. You can comment here or there.

A show with everything, including Yul Brynner!

Sat, 24 May 2008 01:06:43 GMT

Watching Westworld again. Wonder how many times Larry Niven watched it.

Oh, right! Majel Barrett!

Home alone this weekend, so probably posting often.

Originally published at lebor.net. You can comment here or there.

So if anyone is still curious….

Sun, 18 May 2008 16:47:20 GMT

We finally have a ceiling in the entryway again. The landlord has fixed the roof (but not the gutter that caused the problems to begin with), and put new drywall up in the ceiling. He’s also painted and fixed the railing.

Nice to know it only took 6 months.

Originally published at lebor.net. You can comment here or there.

Ok, now I can go to bed.

Thu, 15 May 2008 02:14:00 GMT

I know, I'm late to the party, but I just finished watching Season 3 of Battlestar Galactica.

They really tried to put 10 pounds of plot and cliffhangers into a 5 pound bag there, didn't they?

Oh, and it was nice to see Badger again.

View this post on my blog

What I do.

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:43:29 GMT

I often get questions from people wondering why it is I'm paid to sit in front of a computer and play around on the web much of the day, why I make a point of joining facebook, myspace, twitter, livejournal, etc, why I've installed and tried dozens of wiki engines, blog engines, rss agregators, audio, video, and other content creation software. I often sum up my job as straddling the divide between teaching and technology, that my job is to support faculty in bringing technology into the curriculum. But along the lines of show, not tell, I present to you the reader, a set of links to important and relevent works that sum things up nicely.

First, a YouTube video on the life of the current student. Technology is such a big part of their lives, it has to become part of their educational infrastructure as well.

Next, an article on the challenges of integrating technology into pedagogy (the art of teaching). This is an excellent article that sums up a lot of my daily frustrations, hurdles, and goals.

Educause Review Article (Educause is a great resource)

Lastly, another YouTube video, from the same group at KSU, about some of the results of technological integration.

View this post on my blog

Twitter

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:41:47 GMT

Hey-o, for anyone curious and there, I'm now signed in to a Twitter account. I don't pay it much attention when I'm not at work, so it isn't a good way to get ahold of me. I wonder if I'm missing part of the point of Twitter because of that, but I also don't really have the mindspace to spend on another stream of information, sorry.

View this post on my blog

Well, I'm amused.

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:34:18 GMT

LiveJournal today revealed that all new accounts in the future will either be ad-supported, or paid. I think many of us saw this coming when they first announced ad-supported accounts. On the one hand, I think it shows the failure of LJ to offer a compelling paid product. They are under fire from many other blog platforms and social network sites, including, but not limited to Blogger, Wordpress (both the hosted .com version and the HIY version so many of us with our own websites prefer), Facebook, MySpace, and whatever comes out tomorrow. It also shows that ever since the first buyout by Danga in 2005, and now by SUP in late 2007, buyers are interested in monetizing as much as they can, both to recoup what may have been overvalued purchase prices, and to maximize profits while they can. I'm fairly sure that the creation of new accounts has at least leveled off, if not dropped, since the 2002-2004 heydey, when almost everyone I know joined up. (well, those who hadn't moved in earlier). On the other hand, I think LJ still has enough critical mass that they might get away with it. As strong as the other blog platforms are for blogging, and as strong as the other social network sites are for social networking, neither quite seems to meet in the middle where LJ sits. MySpace actually comes closest, as it has a decent built in Blog capability, but it is underemphasized, in favor of music, glitz, friend rankings, etc. LJ won't lose a lot of people over this, as those with Basic accounts get to keep them, and members here are likely to use other sites as complementary to, and not replacements for, LJ. And even if MySpace could replicate the featureset of LJ, the design doctrines of MySpace tend to create a divide in the demographics and draw. We see that currently, with the divide in average age, creative use, content types, etc. Much of LJ's code is open source, and has been for years, and even with that, it has fended off competition mostly through the force of the established userbase, nor do I see a clone service changing much at this point. Deadjournal had some success in its time, but most spinoffs have been very narrowly focused (Deisjournals, for instance), and because of LJ's already established organic ways of building communities, there hasn't been much call for a community specific version.

All of this is mostly a dispassionate study for me. Most of the time, I make postings on my own blog, but I crosspost to LJ, so I have no real concerns over keeping control of my content. I do comment regularly here at LJ because of the social aspects. I even have a paid account, mostly so I can pipe LJ out through a custom style (as most of their APIs are focused on getting content into LJ, not out). For most of us, not much will change. Amusingly, as of this morning, the Terms of Service, the closest thing to a legal contract, stated that all LJ accounts with a valid registration are eligible for a free Basic account. Until they change the TOS, they may have to offer new account holders the ability to switch. As of this moment though, there is no way to sign up for a Basic Account, or to switch your account type to Basic once singed up.

And I'll form... the Mega Maid!

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:41:20 GMT

Ok, there are a number of examples of 'small robots/vehicles join together to form a large humanoid robot that kicks butt'. Voltron (Lions, please!), certain Transformers/Gobots/knockoffs, Dai-X from Brian May's Starfleet, etc. I'm fond of them, partly as an artifact of my youth. It was always lots of fun to take toys and assemble them together like clever little mega-lego thingies. And of course, much like Power Rangers for a younger generation, the TV shows expressed the principle that teamwork could achieve more than individual efforts. I have no problems with that.

What I really want to know though, is what kind of technology enabled these things when locked together to be orders of magnitude stronger than when they were apart? I mean, if you've got kick butt shields and lasers when you are assembled, why wouldn't you have them when disassembled? You could argue power requirements, but joining together doesn't really give you more power, just more coordinated power. I guess joined together could give you more short term power, but then you're setting yourself up to be in a really bad place when you run out your power supply (although those always seemed to be infinite, no?). In some cases, like Voltron, it was clear you needed a larger robot to wield a larger offense or defense (giant electric sword...). But looking at standard operations, I would think you'd be better off in most cases as separate but coordinated pieces. Smaller targets, faster movement, the ability to swarm, surround, and flank opponents, etc. Could it be that there is some sort of super-powered energy system when they are together, but it was broken up amongst the constituent parts to make it less likely the enemy would get their hands on all the components at once? A sort of distributed key system? Was it just that there was only one _really_ good pilot who could achieve more by controlling the whole joined unit instead of leaving it up to the lesser pilots to be effective (I'm looking at you Pidge.)? It just seems tome that there would be more effective ways of doing it than having to smush into, of all things, a humanoid conglomerate.

View the Original Post Here

Someone wants to buy this, right?

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 17:27:17 GMT

Drawn right from the online store at http://www.thecatconnection.com/page/TCC/PROD/SALE/GFT-5055

It starts innocently enough.. You find a little kitten on your doorstep and rescue it. Then, somehow, another cat comes along, and you take that one in, too. Then another and another, before long, you look in the mirror and... OH MY GOODNESS!!! You're a Crazy Cat Lady too!!!!

If this doesn't describe you, then you surely you know someone who does fit this scenario. The people who designed The Crazy Cat Lady Action Figure certainly must know such a person, because this bizarre toy captures the Cat Lady Phenomenon to a "T." There she stands in her bathrobe, checkered pajama bottoms, headband, wild hair, and a fanciful look on her face. And she's surrounded by six cats that own her heart and soul.

And if that's not enough, there's a quiz. Are you a crazy cat person?

View the Original Post Here

Visa has IPO

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:31:05 GMT

So, Visa is going public. Mastercard did so a year and a half ago. I'm no economist, but I have to wonder if pressure from investors is going to drive higher credit card rates and fees, at a time where economic pinches will force more people to use their cards, and in a culture that is already groomed to turn to credit as the answer to the reality that cost of living is outpacing growth in income for many.

Those with an informed opinion are formally invited to weigh in on the issue. Comment away!

View the Original Post Here

Really? Monopoly?

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:51:17 GMT

Ridley Scott is apparently making a movie based on the board game Monopoly.

I kid you not. See here.

Ok, of all the dozens of questions clamoring to be asked, a few are louder than others.

First, why Monopoly? Scott claims it to be the most popular board game in the world, but that smacks of a half-truth to me. It might be the most popular board game in the sense of the most well-known commercial board game in the world, but I'd be willing to press the issue and compare it to chess, checkers, go, or even tic-tac-toe (although that last one is arguably not a game, or at least not a board game).

Continuing the why rant, why should being the most popular make it good material for a movie? It's a terrible game, with no good plot options leaping out at me that haven't already been explored by such classic comedies as Trading Places, The Money Pit, and Airplane (because I often muse to myself after a game of Monopoly that I picked the wrong week to quit huffing glue). I would find more movie material in Risk, Stratego, Mouse Trap, or even Trivial Pursuit. Not to mention the hundreds or thousands of contemporary, but lesser known, games.

Which brings me to question two: Why does he try to sound like this is such a novel idea? I mean, yes, granted, he is reversing the typical formula. Usually after a popular movie is out, they make a bad game based on it, and many times the bad game is a copy of Monopoly with movie stills pasted on the squares with Elmers glue and shipped while the buzz is still high. (Tanga is selling Pirates of the Carribean Monopoly if anyone is interested.... ) In no way, however, is he being original. There's a freaking musical based on Chess. There are plenty of movies made where the central element is a gambling game (Maverick, Wall Street [Tell me the stock market isn't a gambling game...]). Fer crying out loud, he isn't even being original in making a movie based on a board game. Little movie called Clue, remember it?

Thirdly, why now? If you were going to make a Monopoly movie, wouldn't you make it in the 80's? When American games really were about Monopoly, Scrabble, Clue, and Trivial Pursuit? I know the writers have been on strike, but that's no excuse for the lamest movie premise ever. Does he *want* to suck right now? Has he developed an inoperable tumor that impairs judgement? Either this will be an atrocious comedy, or an even more atrocious attempt at serious social commentary. I'm picturing Christopher Walken as old Uncle Pennybags. Speaking of which, does anyone remember Uncle Wiggily? That would be an awesome movie. Or not.

Alright, time to back off the ranting, and save the rest for game night. Maybe we should have a ritualized burning of my extra monopoly set. (I bought it for the paper money... what does that say about the game?) Here's hoping he and Mr. Crowe don't screw up the Nottingham movie, because another good Robin Hood telling isn't a bad idea. Given the obvious mental infirmities of the director, I won't be getting my hopes up.

View the Original Post Here

Huh. Words fail me.

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 15:52:02 GMT

http://www.lileks.com/institute/dorcus/index.html

Indescribably funny. And I say this knowing that in 30 years a picture of me will probably end up in one of these things.

View the Original Post Here

Time to stir up trouble.

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:10:29 GMT

In honor of the excellent Star Trek vs. Star Wars panel at Arisia, I present a slightly different debate:

Which is the better Wiki, Memory Alpha or Wookieepedia? Remember to support your argument with cogent (not necessarily logical) arguments. Please keep the arguments about the wikis themselves. You may argue the merits of content, layout, visuals, authority, creativity, accessibility, practicality, comprehensiveness, etc.

View the Original Post Here

Where does the time go?

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:21:47 GMT

I realized this morning in the shower (witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational new water heater) that I occasionally casually hang out with people I've known a decade or more.

As someone who grew up in a military family, this was a very sudden and shocking realization.

I'm glad for it.

View the Original Post Here

Arisia Panels

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 17:22:20 GMT

Some folks have asked what Panels I'm going to be on at Arisia, so here's the list:

Gaming What is LARP, and Why Would I Want to Do It?
Fri 7:00 PM 1hr
Rebecca L Kletnieks, Chad Bergeron (m), Michael A Ventrella, Mark Waks, Anna R Bradley, John Bacon

Although I'm listed as a moderator, this is a group of old hats, so I expect a lively and self-moderating discussion. I'm minorly worried that the panelists may outnumber the attendees. That doesn't bother me too much, because I think we can have a good conversation anyhow, so we'll still get something from it. That said, you should all go, and it'll be a better panel for it.

Gaming Intro to Board and Card Games
Sat 11:00 AM 1hr
Chad Bergeron (m), Jacob Sommer, Stephanie Clarkson, Christopher Weuve

Another intro panel. Given the topic and the environment, I'm again not sure how many attendees there will be. I think that at a con, people interested in an introduction to modern board and card games will probably just go to the game rooms. Still, there's definitely a place for introducing people to gateway games, rather than having them go to a game room and get inundated with 18xx, Roads and Boats, or even Caylus type games as their first steps.

Gaming Tossing the Dice - Luck Free Games
Sat 3:00 PM 1hr
Kiralee B McCauley, Chad Bergeron (m)

This is a focused panel that I enjoy. I ran this panel at Pi-Con a few months back, and I think there's enough meat here for attendees to sink their teeth into. I know a number of gamers out there who prefer games where strategy, skill, and brainpower are the core principles to winning, and I hope to see some of them here. As well, it is interesting to show people that games don't have to be too abstract to be luck free. (Not that I think Luck is the enemy. When random luck outweighs any opportunities at luck management though, the game gets tired fast....)

SMOFing The Care and Feeding of Gophers
Sun 12:00 PM 1hr
The Marvelous MERV, Chad Bergeron, Eugene Heller, Mary Dumas

I asked for a fourth panel, and I'm pleased to have been added to this one. Gophers, or volunteers, or lackeys, or whatever you want to call them, are the backbone of any con, just like infantry are the backbone of the army (well, maybe not in modern times... computers may be the backbone of the modern army). There's a good spread in this panel of people who have worked on different scale conventions, and in different Cat Herder roles. This is an unsexy topic, but that means that it will probably be a very meaningful dialogue for those who do attend.

So come to these panels if they at all interest you, and I hope to see you at Arisia. Please note that except for the panels, my entire reason to be at Arisia is to hang out with people, so if you'd like to arrange something, let me know!

View the Original Post Here

Bored now. Games?

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 21:10:11 GMT

So, not much going on tonight for me, so I was wondering if anyone felt like coming over and playing games tonight?

At least you don't have to worry about your torch going out.

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:36:22 GMT

Hamlet, the Text Adventure Game! With a supporting cast of dozens, and guest appearances by many of Shakespeare's greats!

Seriously, y'all should go check this out.

http://www.versificator.co.uk/hamlet/index.html

View the Original Post Here

Freebies

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 03:41:11 GMT

Would anyone like a recliner or a filing cabinet? No charge, and I can help transport them. I just don't need them anymore, and thought I'd offer to my friends first. Read on for descriptions.

The recliner: It's not super-comfy, and it's not super-pretty (It's green. Watermelon rind green vinyl). It is, however, a good recliner, and the price is right.

The filing cabinet: Many moons ago it was part of a desk, but you really can't tell. It's got two drawers, and can take legal wide files. I'll even throw in a bunch of legal wide hanging folders. I recently got a new (to me) desk and matching filing cabinet, and don't need two. It's fairly solid, wooden, light colored, with a dark matte top and metal hardware. IKEAish.

This holiday season, I can give you free furniture. You can give me part of my house back.

View the Original Post Here

Laurion

That was fun, but bent my mind a little.

MMORPGs came before the Internet, didn’t ya know?

I sleep in my dreams.

Seen on the side of a bottle of Poland Springs ‘fruit a’peel’ spritzer:

<--

So’s not to clutter this one…

Next item on the block…

Speaking of Michael Crichton

A show with everything, including Yul Brynner!

So if anyone is still curious….

Ok, now I can go to bed.

What I do.

Twitter

Well, *I'm* amused.

And I'll form... the Mega Maid!

Someone wants to buy this, right?

Visa has IPO

Really? Monopoly?

Huh. Words fail me.

Time to stir up trouble.

Where does the time go?

Arisia Panels

Bored now. Games?

At least you don't have to worry about your torch going out.

Freebies

Well, I'm amused.