Yekrats.com: Scotto’s Seafud Shanty

I found this amusing blog based on a couple of homeless Sims 3 characters, Alice and Kev, which the narrator has allowed to run amok turning on their free will. He created them with some serious issues dealing with other Sims. From there, the narrator weaves a tale of their life stories.  Tragic and funny: http://aliceandkev.wordpress.com/ .

I got back from Protospiel last night (http://protospiel.org, the annual game designer convention in Ann Arbor, Michigan) and I had a great time. I learned a few things, met some great people, and tested the heck out of my game “Golden Spike”.

(continue reading…)

I was thinking about the new getting the new re-do of The Secret of Monkey Island. It looks pretty good, and I remember liking the game.

But then I took a look at the system requirements…

They expect a machine 3GHtz or faster! I’d need a whole new computer! Grrr…

The game Portal, rendered in ASCII.

http://bytejacker.fliggo.com/embed/RuZobi9H

If you don’t know what Portal is, then maybe it’s not as impressive.

Way back in 1991, in my college acting class, we were assigned a lip-synch project. (Thanks Rich Rand!) We were to pick any song to lip-synch, and then perform it ON STAGE for the rest of the class. I chose Michael Jackson’s “Black or White”.

I dove into the assignment full tilt, too - no parody. I really tried to get into the mind of Michael. This was theatre class after all. I watched Michael’s video over and over again, and practiced my choreography and imitated his style. I tried my best to dress like him despite my own nerdy white-boy limitations. I couldn’t moonwalk, but I faked it OK for a couple of steps.

I remember I was last to perform during that class period. There were a lot of good performances that day. I was nervous, but the lights came on and the music started. It was great! (At least in my mind’s eye.) I was dancing all over the place. Somehow, I had tapped into the Michael Jackson groove!

Do you remember the end of the video where Michael did a primal scream - AAAAAAAARGH! - and ripped his shirt in two? Did it! You betcha. After my scream, which was not technically part of the song, the class went wild! For a moment, I had a ephemeral feeling of what it was like to be a pop star.

Got an A+ on that assignment.

In spite of all his weirdness, I really liked his music, especially his earlier stuff. So, I raise a glass to you, Michael. Mama-se, mama-sa, mama-ku-sa, yow!

GenCon registration almost snuck by me this year.

Carl and I are running four StoryCards events, which are pretty close to full.

In addition, I’m keeping it light this year, signing up for only two events. The first is the must-see musical comedy sing-a-long Hickman’s Killer Breakfast (which I had a lot of fun at last year). Also I signed up for a live-action RPG set at a Hogwarts band camp for Slytherin. (The same group did a Harry Potter LARP last year that was really quite fun.)

For my English-speaking readers, I thought I’d bring to you a little debate raging on in the Esperanto community right now. It’s a debate about what to call some countries. That’s a big deal to some people. (continue reading…)

It’s the girls’ birthday this week, and like a bad parent, I did not order one of their gifts until early Monday morning. Aha, but like a smart parent, I ordered from Amazon, paying a little extra for their 3-5 day shipping option. That way, I could get the gift in time for their birthday party. I figured they might be able to process it that day, and I might receive it by Thursday, Friday, or Saturday at the latest.

But Saturday is here, and no package. In fact, the USPS site claims the package did not leave their facility until yesterday afternoon. Checking the Amazon site, it tells me to expect it on Tuesday, 8 days after my order, or 7 not counting the order date. So, what gives?

I called up Amazon (receiving surprisingly very prompt service there) but they explained how they count “3-5 days.” First, I can’t count Monday, because that is a fraction of a day. (Fair enough.) Also I can’t count weekends (despite the postal service running on weekends). I also can’t count the day it arrives, because — according to the Amazon rep — that’s another fraction of a day. So they count Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Monday … (hand waving) … TA-DA! You’ll have it on Tuesday! (Note, they said if I don’t get it by Tuesday, I get my extra $5 back.)

I’m still trying to figure out exactly what I paid the extra $5 for, to upgrade from “free” 5-10 service to more expensive 3-5 service. Maybe they should name it something different, like “regular” service and “gold” service, and not promise a specific number of days. Then I wouldn’t have the expectation of receiving a package within a certain number of days. If I pay extra for something within 5 days, I expect it!

Moral of the story: Caveat emptor.

If you haven’t seen it already, my good pal Fuzzy has an interesting rant. About his elevator at work.

Probably more interesting if you’re a programmer or like computer interface design.

I’m currently at the “Landa Kongreso” (National Congress) of Esperanto-USA in Saint Louis. It’s a pretty amazing experience - using a language so much that you think in it. In fact, writing this right now, I must concentrate on which part of the brain to use: Esperanto or English. Even more baffling: We are Esperantists, chatting in the hallway or at an excursion among English-speakers… and then an English-speaker talks to me, and I must consciously think whether to say Dankon or Thank you. I never really had that feeling when I spoke French in Quebec, because I don’t think I was ever sufficiently capable to think in French. You might be surprised (not) but we have had more than our fair share of strange looks.

There’s about 100 people here supposedly, all mixing and chatting in Esperanto. This is my first real experience speaking the language (vocally). I’ve become pretty good over the last 10 years of typing and reading it, but since I don’t have a local club, this is my crash course in hearing it and speaking it.

There’s people here from all skill levels, and the veterans are very understanding when I explain my situation. And I try to be very accommodating to the fresh newbies who decided to come.

Last night we went to the Memorial Arch (”Memoriga Arkego”), which was more crowded than I remember in the past (in 1984, I think). Today we have a full slate of Esperanto meetings and presentations.