More specifically, I am one of John Scalzi’s loyal minions. Therefore, under the aegis laid down today, I’m linking to Schlock Mercenary.
My task is done.
Category: Fun
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Chess
My Dad was visiting a few weeks ago and we played several games of chess while he was here. I think we were both rusty, but a few were intricate and exciting. At least half weren’t the type of game where it’s whoever makes the least mistakes who wins, but rather whoever outmaneuvers the other side. I always forget how much I like playing chess against a person, rather than a computer. For some reason, I just cannot get into computer chess. I end up playing too fast and missing stupid things which makes it no fun. People are different, though. Probably because it brings out my competitive nature, which few games do nowadays. -
Comment Spam; "Thanks Akismet!"
Here is one day, approximately 24 hours, of the spam caught by Akismet, which automatically kills comments that it thinks are Spam. To date, it seems to do a pretty good job for me.
I’ve heard rumors that it is very difficult to become rehabilitated if you accidentally get logged onto the Akismet auto kill list, but they’re only rumors.
Suffice to say, it seems that auto-spammers think I’m interested in Porn, Poker, Free stuff, Sex, and various other things. The “URL”, “Jul”, “Post”, “IP” and “Spam” words should be disregarded because those mostly came off of the Akismet screen on my blog management page. I didn’t bother to remove them. Too lazy.
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Dice Bag Purse
If you’re a die-hard gamer, you own lots of dice; it’s almost a requirement.
My own dice bag is, ummm…unique, possibly, and if you don’t already know why, I’m not going to tell you. Here is an example of a dice bag in opposite sense to the normal one. It’s a bag, shaped like a die, intended as a purse. Lovely!
All of the instructions for making it are at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories.
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Anti-Plush
Physics is Phun points us toward a website that sells plush toys that represent the various subatomic particles, both actual and theoretical.
I point out that they missed something that comes straight from the science fiction canon.
I’m daring to assume here that not everyone already reading my blog is reading Jim’s.
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Are MMORPGs Addictive?
Cognitive Daily shows the results from a limited study of how several computer games affect college students. Are MMORPGs the new reefer? Perhaps.I do not play WOW or Age of Conan or any of the other MMORPGs. I’ve refused because I’ve seen since the inception of Ultima and EverQuest just how much valuable time can be sucked down by the need to play the game. Not that I’m throwing stones, here. I’ve been a Tetris freak in my time and I’ve been known to stay up ’til the wee hours for just one more turn on Civilization. I know my limitations and I’m pretty sure that WOW would be the end of my free time.
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Poison Ivy
Today’s Xkcd hits a bit close to home for me.
One of my fun surprises when I moved to Atlanta was just how big poison ivy can grow around here. A tip: if you’re hiking in Georgia, don’t lean against the four-inch-thick hairy vine that’s growing up the side of a tree. For that matter, don’t lean against the hairy vine no matter how thick. Where I lived in New Hampshire, poison ivy was always a ground plant, growing in small clumps or bushes, so I got me an edumacation the first time I had to go to the doctor for a steroid shot.
Now I hear that increased CO2 concentrations can lead to explosive growth of our hairy-stemmed poisonous friend. Anecdotally, I can attest that I have a ton of poison ivy growing in my yard this year. It wasn’t there previously; this is new growth going to town with a vengeance. We’ve been forced to bring out the nuclear weapons (Roundup™).
So, watch out hiking in Georgia; if you’re working with the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club, always always always wear long pants.
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Blogging the Election
With only four and a half months left to go in this interminable election cycle things have become quite amusing for those of us who don’t listen to the news on TV and get most of our updates from the web.
I present, for your entertainment, Why You Should Vote for Barack Obama:
Barack Obama’s skin is the color of AMERICAN SOIL. His blood is the color of the AMERICAN FLAG. His fingernails are the color of APPLE PIE. He rubs AMERICAN SOIL on his chest every 20 minutes, then cleanses himself with HOLY WATER.
Truly, Senator Obama is a most American of Americans.
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Gales of Laughter
I made a huge mistake at 12:55 this afternoon. I checked the Whatever and saw that John Scalzi is running a contest. He is asking for creative hate mail to include on the rear cover of his latest book “Your Hate Mail will be Graded.” In that entry, he linked to an entry he’d posted in 2002 concerning the content of the hate mail he receives and ways in which it could be improved to be more interesting to him, the receiver. My mistake was to read this 2002 entry. From 12:57 to 1:05 I was causing myself serious stomach distress by trying to hold in the gales of laughter which would have brought the rest of the office to my door. I had a coworker call from over his cubicle wall, “Are you ok?” after a snort had escaped my control.
This was honestly the funniest thing I’ve read in months. Maybe years.
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As You Like It
We attended the Georgia Shakespeare performace of As You Like It, by William Shakespeare. It was fine.
As you can see from the image, the play was set with a groovy 70’s fashion statement. The first act wasn’t so 70’s as to be overwhelming, but the second act felt like Austin Powers. Alas.
Still, the performance was good, even if they (I think) edited it down enough that it was confusing in places. That may just be how the play is put together. I understand that this is not one of Shakespeare’s most critically acclaimed plays.
Georgia Shakespeare is always fun, even if they play is “ehh” because we picnic beforehand. We’re looking forward to the next play, The Merchant of Venice.