Thursday, May 25. 2006
Seen in classified ads in the UK Posted by Ancient of Days
in Gathering Darkness at
14:01
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A British friend sent me these. Phone numbers masked for YOUR protection:
Wanted:30 Chinamen and a zepplin for elaborate practical joke. Can you help? Please call xxxx-xxx-xxx.AmandaI'm running a bit late. Will be there in about an hour. How far apart are the contractions?Does anyoneelse think that there's something not quite right about Gary Lineker?Incurable romanticseeks filthy whore. Call me. xxxx-xxx-xxxSmall minority wantedto spoil it for the rest of us. There's always one - could it be you this time? Phone xxxx-xxx-xxx.Money Worries?Earn £££££££'s. You don't even have to get out of bed! To find out more, call 'Pimp' Jimmy at xxxx-xxx-xxx.Nemesis WantedI'm 5'10". Into kayaking, books, and conversation (by day), justice, honour, and vengenace (by night). Seeking arch-enemy, possibly crimelord or deformed megalomaniac. Call xxxx-xxx-xxx.Hitachi Washing Machine, DX250, under warranty until kill, kill, kill them all you must kill them now February 2004, in perfect working order. Call xxxx-xxx-xxx.Lose Weight Fast!Tired of dieting and exercise? Incredible results guaranteed! Try amoebic dysentery! Vials available: £20. Simply add to seafood.Tuesday, May 23. 2006Monday, May 22. 2006
The Bill of Rights vs. National Security Posted by Ancient of Days
in Gathering Darkness at
08:25
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[Ed. Note: I never got around to finding a link for "US AG" before posting the article. It now links to Wikipedia.]
This past weekend, the US AG made the statement in regards to the right of the press that is protected under the First Amendment:
Where do you draw the boundary between liberty and security? Is the Bill of Rights absolute, or are there gradations of rights within the parameters laid down by that document? If "National Security" trumps the First Amendment, 'quis custodiet ipsos custodes'[1], as they say? I, personally, find myself pondering the tenets of utilitarianism: the 'right' is whatever brings the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people. I look at this argument, and recognizing a slippery slope with no visible bottom, I grow concerned. I believe we've already covered this example on this blog, but I'll repeat it to satisfy my own curiosity. A surgeon has five terminal patients: one needs a liver, one needs a pancreas, one needs a heart, and two need kidneys. A sixth, non-terminal patient just came in to have his appendix removed. Should the surgeon kill the sixth man and pass his organs around to the others? [1] Loosely translated: Who watches the watchmen? Wednesday, May 17. 2006
On a slightly more serious lighter ... Posted by Ancient of Days
in Gathering Darkness at
21:33
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There's a discussion going on over at Terra Nova where one blogger insists that the Horde is evil, and that anyone who plays Horde is inherently evil as well.
After having played through Warcraft III, and played WoW on both sides of the conflict, I have to say that I couldn't possibly disagree more. The Alliance, to me, is the far more evil of the two groups. It was through the greed and rapine of the world by the humans and the night elves that most of the tragedy was brought about. The Horde is like the American Indian (Tauren themes, anyone?): portrayed as evil by a bunch of greedy, destructive, selfish humans. Based on his essay, I can only believe that he'd conclude that I hate my own race. I'd say that's probably true, to some extent. As a general rule, I'm not particularly proud to be a member of the race responsible for so much of the suffering in our past, especially given that I'm not very many generations removed from German anscestry of which I'm particularly displeased. I look at the behaviour of the Alliance on Maelstrom and I see echos of our own past: abuse, greed, selfishness, and disrespect are rampant amount the Alliance on every server I've played on thus far, while the Horde generally tends to be more open, sharing, and although perhaps a bit more anarchic, the natural result of that appears to be a higher level of general respect for the anonymous individual. These are simply *my* experiences. The one other point he made that I'd like to respond to is regarding his child. I'm not sure if it's he or I that has done something "wrong", but both my 5 year old and my 1 year old are fascinated by the Undercity. I've never actually played an Undead, but I party with them on a fairly regular basis, and neither of my children has shown any fear of the character models. Wednesday, May 17. 2006
Word of the Day Posted by Ancient of Days
in Gathering Darkness at
18:55
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GloatyJerkMcFriendThief.
Now if only I had a useful example you could all refer to so that the concept was absolutely clear........ Tuesday, May 16. 2006
Just because I'm paranoid doesn't ... Posted by Ancient of Days
in Gathering Darkness at
18:15
Comments (2) Trackbacks (0) Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're NOT after me...
Just some random thoughts:
Conspiracy Theory of the Day I'm afraid I'm going to end up missing the boat on microformats simply because I don't have the time to research them. If you're afraid of the same thing, maybe you can start here, and take notes for me? Is anyone else interested in participating in NaNoWriMo, perhaps as a group activity? Monday, May 15. 2006
They Might Be Funny Posted by Ancient of Days
in Gathering Darkness at
16:08
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They Might Be Giants are featuringa series of songs known as the "Venue Songs", written about the venues in which their most recent tour took (is taking?) place.
Warning: Some of these may not be safe for work (so far, Anaheim concerns me). Tuesday, April 11. 2006
On a lighter note Posted by Ancient of Days
in Gathering Darkness at
15:42
Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) On a lighter noteMonday, October 24. 2005
Have you noticed Firefox popups? Posted by Ancient of Days
in Gathering Darkness at
22:50
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If so, you're probably a victim of Flash popups. See this page.
Sunday, September 25. 2005
Pardon our Dust Posted by Ancient of Days
in Gathering Darkness at
02:28
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You may or may not have noticed the google ads showing up in the lower right hand side of the blog. It's something I'm trying out because there's a chance I may have to either start paying for the hosting of this site, or move the server to Orem, and I want to know what my options are. Is this annoying or disturbing to anyone? Please post any comments to this article.
Monday, August 22. 2005
I'm feeling rather light-hearted today Posted by Ancient of Days
in Gathering Darkness at
20:02
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A Programmer and an Engineer are sitting next to each other on a long flight
from LA to NY. The Programmer leans over to the Engineer and asks if he would like to play a fun game. The Engineer just wants to take a nap, so he politely declines and rolls over to the window to catch a few winks. The Programmer persists and explains that the game is real easy and a lotta fun. He explains "I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you pay me $5. Then you ask me a question, and if I don't know the answer, I'll pay you $5." Again, the Engineer politely declines and tries to get to sleep. The Programmer, now somewhat agitated, says, "OK, if you don't know the answer you pay me $5, and if I don't know the answer, I'll pay you $50!" This catches the Engineer's attention, and he sees no end to this torment unless he plays, so he agrees to the game. The Programmer asks the first question. "What's the distance from the earth to the moon?" The Engineer doesn't say a word, but reaches into his wallet, pulls out a five dollar bill and hands it to the Programmer. Now, it's the Engineer's turn. He asks the Programmer "What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down on four?" The Programmer looks up at him with a puzzled look. He takes out his laptop computer and searches all of his references. He taps into the Airphone with his modem and searches the net and the Library of Congress. Frustrated, he sends e-mail to his co-workers -- all to no avail. After about an hour, he wakes the Engineer and hands him $50. The Engineer politely takes the $50 and turns away to try to get back to sleep. The Programmer, more than a little miffed, shakes the Engineer and asks "Well, so what's the answer?" Without a word, the Engineer reaches into his wallet, hands the Programmer $5, and turns away to get back to sleep. Wednesday, August 3. 2005
*blinking furiously* Posted by Ancient of Days
in Gathering Darkness at
00:06
Comment (1) Trackbacks (0) *blinking furiously*Tuesday, August 2. 2005
Bigfoot or Bison? Posted by Ancient of Days
in Gathering Darkness at
23:58
Comment (1) Trackbacks (0) Bigfoot or Bison?Tuesday, July 5. 2005
Things Worth Doing, part I: Why? Posted by Ancient of Days
in Gathering Darkness at
22:54
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Have you seen "Once More, With Feeling" (an episode of Buffy, somewhere in the 6th season)? Or maybe Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings"? Or perhaps you've read J. Michael Straczinsky's graphic novel "Midnight Nation"? Read Asimov's "The Gods Themselves", or Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game", or Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"? Each of the above, in some way, sits in my memory as a source of truth; an example of what I expect when I sit down to watch TV, or a movie; when I pick up a comic book, or a S/F novel; when I read a poem. Is that a bad thing? Writing this article, I find myself thinking about a lot of things: the nature of time; my arch-nemesis, "sleep"; the creative process; my thoughts and feelings regarding elitism; the concept of "intellectual property"; the value of entertainment in society. I'm probably not going to be able to tie all of that into a coherent article in one shot, but here's some things to think about. We have a limited number of hours alloted to us in which to do. . .well, EVERYTHING. OK, by this point, all of you should be familiar with my feelings on sleep. If you're not, well...PAY ATTENTION! Sleep is the enemy. More accurately, time is the enemy. There are so very very many things in life worth doing, that I find myself unable to even enjoy sleeping because I lie in the state between waking and dreaming, filled with frustration at the prospect that I'm simply wasting time. Curtis accused me of being "picky", and this is true. Given an infinite amount of time, I feel supremely confident that I would never actually grow "bored", because I want to know *everything*. I want to experience all that is worth experiencing, and there simply isn't time for it. Thus, anything that is of less-than-excellent quality that consumes my time is a source of bitterness and frustration to me, because those are minutes and hours I'll never "get back." Therefore, in an effort to expand my little Cult of Personality, I will be using this blog as a forum to spread my disease. I'm going to share some "Things Worth Doing", and maybe you'll all start seeing things a little more...hurriedly. :) Tuesday, July 5. 2005
New Gallery Section Posted by The Mad Giggler
in Gathering Darkness at
22:52
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There is now a gallery section for the Homestarmy website. It's available from the frontpage or by clicking here. There is a webcomic/manga in the works, and the first page should be up later this week.
Sgt. Muffin, I need an email address from you, so I can forward your username/password combo along. Oh, and don't get too attached to your current nickname. |
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