Jason's Thoughts

Really? Is quarterly the best I can do?

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:08:29 GMT

Seems I only ever post to my blog when something bad happens. While I'd like to say that's not true this time, I can't. I can, however, say that it's not the reason I'm posting. The bad thing happening had nothing to do with my decision to post an update. I will get it out of the way quickly:

On November 29, 2009, Legends closed its doors at 314 Main Street. We've spent the last week getting everything moved out.

Now, onto the good stuff :)

Legends will probably reopen at some point in the future, with a different focus.

On Thursday, December 3, 2009, I proposed to my girlfriend (now fiance, not to spoil the story), Jamie. Nothing fancy, just a nice dinner and a ring. If you haven't guessed, she said yes. :) Our current plan is to get married on October 23, 2010. I'll relate other details as they become available.

Kent has started working on remodeling the front bathroom. So far, the removal of walls and cabinets have been the primary effort, but now that we're about done with the shop stuff, we'll be able to put more time into the remodeling.

I'm currently involved in 3 D&D games. 2 as a player, and 1 as DM. It's the longest I've ever run a campaign, and I'm so happy with it. I'm really happy with my group. On Tuesdays my game has Jamie, Kent, Louis, Matthew and Russ. Wednesdays I play alongside Jamie, Kent, Tim and Pam, with Dave as DM in a game that has been running almost as long as our tuesday night game. On alternate Saturdays, I play alongside Kent, Kent (B.), Philip, Louis, and Lisa, with Jamie serving as DM. :) I'm having a blast with all of them.

With more free time available, I'm going to get back into learning XNA programming. I'm also going to get back into classes for the spring. I've been wanting to program something for a few months now, and the urge is getting to be overwhelming.

Things I'm currently reading: Dragons of Autum Twilight (with Jamie), Kindred Spirits (Dragonlance Meetings Vol 1), Memories of the Future (Wil Wheaton -- Highly recommended, check it out at http://www.memoriesofthefuturecast.com and http://stores.lulu.com/wilwheaton )

I've moved my service bench to the Library in my house, so now I can get back to working on computers for people.

Oooh, the Library: Over the last few months, we've turned the front room of the house, which has been a "catch-all" for the last few years, into a library. So far, I've got 5 full-sized book cases and one small one, completely filled with books (roleplaying, comic trade paperbacks, and lots and lots of fiction). Another shelf is going to be built sometime this week, and the remainder of the books should make it to that shelf soon. I also have an old Rolltop desk filled with my D&D miniatures, tiles, and notes, a large kitchen table that seats 6 comfortably, for roleplaying, and two computer workstations. Oh yeah, and the big old arcade box (currently disconnected). I'm really loving it. It's a great place to work, to relax, and to just "be".

None of this would be possible, if not for Jamie. She's a great focus for my life, and a wonderful partner.

Reasons for posting on a blog...

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:21:19 GMT

It seems the only time I ever post journal entries anymore, is when someone dies. I'm not sure if that's morbid, or that's the only time I feel like I have something to say. I always come on here and say "I plan to post more in the future" and then I never do. It's been a month and a half since my last post. So this time I'm not going to say it. I'll just post.

Things have been interesting lately. The shop is staying busy, with consistent 20+ turnouts for Friday Night Magic and decent turnouts for other events, as well. I've been running my D&D campaign now for longer than I've ever run a continuous game, and I can say the same for the one I play in, as well. Having a blast with both, as I get to play two nights in a row with some of my best friends, which include my wonderful girlfriend Jamie and our friend Kent. I'm really happy with both groups we have playing on Tuesday and Wednesday night, and enjoy both evenings immensely.

We've been working on things at the house, and that is going well, but slow. We're not home enough to tackle any of the big projects, but we've taken care of several of the smaller ones. I've turned the room I used to call a game room into a library, with 6 full bookshelves, my server, and the arcade box project (still unfinished).

I always feel like I have so much to share, and then lose my train of thought early into the post. I'll continue this one later, cause I know I have more to say about various aspects of life, but I'm scatterbrained today.

On the nature of cats

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:10:05 GMT

Most white cats with blue eyes are deaf. They say 65-85 percent of them are. So, when we got Spike, we half-assumed that he would be as well. Of a litter of 4, he was one of two adorable white kittens with blue eyes. His brother, Giles (yes, I'm a geek) was one of two almost-as-adorable tabby type cats. Originally, we had only been getting one kitten, to be a companion for our 3 month old kitten, Willow (Told you I was a geek.) Giles came along with the deal because my then-stepson wanted one of his own.

It was quickly apparent that Spike was not deaf. He did, however, have selective hearing. This did little to make him less adorable, though. I will be posting pictures of him as a kitten on my facebook, as soon as I can find the pictures. He was a bit more adventurous than his brother. Like most cats, he liked getting into cardboard boxes, much moreso than the other two. He also loved to chew on plastic. Plastic bags, wrapping on boxes, etc. He didn't eat it, just chewed on it. An accomplished mouser, he loved to show off his kills, which usually meant flinging tiny mouse carcases into the air whenever Judy walked down the hall. He always had a wide-eyed innocence that made him seem like an angel, even when he wasn't.

When my wife and I divorced in 2007, I kept the cats, and she kept the dogs. Spike and Giles adjusted to the change well enough. Jamie moved in in 2008, and they got along great with her. Eventually, though, we decided that we couldn't spend as much time with them as we'd like, and I offered them to my ex-wife. That was in June.

On Wednesday, she called me to tell me that Spike was acting puny. I went over to see him, and he was listless and weak. Took him to the vet on Thursday, and they did several tests, and figured it was an upper respiratory infection, and suggested we keep him separate from the other cats, until they got the results back. Friday, they called and told me that, in addition to the infection, Spike was diabetic. They prescribed an antibiotic and pain killer. By Saturday, though, his condition was much worse. His breathing was shallow, he was dehydrated.

We took him back to the vet,and I could just feel his pain. He wasn't able to blink, he was breathing through his mouth, and looked terrible. When I finally got to see the whites of his eyes, though, I knew this wasn't going to be an easy trip. After talking to the vet, we made the decision to take away his pain. He was such a good kitty, and had never deserved that pain.

I love you Spike. I will miss you.

The only way I can get Half-blood Prince out of my head...

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:22:28 GMT

~~I'll try to do this without spoiling things. But I won't make any guarantees.~~ Spoilers will be saved for below the break.

We went to see Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince with several friends at midnight last night. I enjoyed the movie, but I feel there were several missed opportunies and "What the hell?" moments.

Things that I felt were missing entirely (I may revise this as I think of them):

Bill Weasley and Fleur
Any of the three Ministers
The Gaunts
Kreacher and Dobby
The Dursleys (I was ok with this, and liked the replacement)

Things that were under-done:

Romilda Vane
the Advanced Potionmaking book
The private lessons
Ginny's relationship with Dean Thomas

Things that came out of left field:

The Christmas Scene

Without going into details, I'm most disturbed by the christmas scene. It has no basis in the books, replaced an interesting scene that I would have liked to seen, and didn't really advance the plot, unless it's setting up a retooling of the story in the final two movies.

That said, there were several moments that I feel they handled very well:

The love potion
The cave (mostly)
The climax of the story (While slightly off, was still well done, and easier to pull off than the book's version)

Beware, below here, ye be entering spoiler lands.

Ok, couldn't do this without getting more detailed. We didn't see the meeting of the ministers, though we did see an abbreviated meeting at Spinner's End. Dumbledore's injury was pretty downplayed, but the visit to Slughorn was pretty good. The movie doesn't do a very good job of showing a real "trusting, close" relationship between Dumbledore and Harry. After telling Harry he won't be going back to the Dursley's (who weren't even mentioned), he pops him, alone, into a pond/puddle at the Burrow. He never talks to him about his destiny, he doesn't talk to him about lessons. In fact, other than a few comments by the characters, and a newspaper headline, the whole "Chosen One" thing is pretty much brushed under the carpet.

The train scene was fairly well done, though it did emphasize that the Order was going to have little to do with this movie, as Luna discovered Harry, not Tonks. While the "setup" of the Half-blood Prince's potion book was good, it kinda fell away. Similarly, we saw Draco stressing over his difficult task, but we didn't see Harry obsessing about Draco's new master/task/etc. We didn't learn that Harry had inherited 12 Grimauld Place, or Kreacher. And we, once again, didn't see Dobby. The lack of either house elf is going to make it difficult to impart just how important they are to the final story.

The ministry was completely absent from the movie. It will make the ministry's role in the final movie less interesting, I'm afraid. Without the minister paying Harry a visit at the Burrow, we don't really get to see what the Ministry is trying to do (or not do) about Voldemort's now-confirmed return. Instead, we were treated to an all-out assault on the Burrow for no apparent reason than to give Bellatrix and Fenrir Greyback (unnamed except in a wanted poster) something to do.

In the cave, the situation was handled ok, except I don't feel they showed how much Dumbledore was weakened/suffered. By the time they returned to the Astronomy tower, it wasn't clear why the events were able to happen, regardless of which version of "why" you look at it with. Again, it will be difficult, in my opinion, to explain what happened, in the final two movies.

While they handled Harry and Ginny's relationship development "ok", it wasn't nearly as dramatic as the book. Look, Ginny's dating Dean. Harry's a little jealous. Oh, Ginny and Dean have been fighting again. Ginny and Harry almost kiss. Ginny and Harry kiss. In contrast, I LOVED the Ron/Lavender "romance", and the way it fell apart.

I didn't DISLIKE the movie, mind you, and I hate to be a nitpicker. I just feel the only movie that missed more opportunities was the third one, which glossed over almost the entire story. It's as if they're not looking to the overall story when they put the movies together. We know the filmmakers for movies 1-5 didn't have the "whole" story available to them, when they were filming/editing. But this movie didn't have that problem. We KNOW which elements will be important to the story. Yet they still ignored elements that are pretty important to the story's conclusion: How many horcruxes are there? What might other horcruxes be? In the movie, we're told they could be any ordinary object. Well that narrows it down. Hey neat, one's a locket. Why? Why is it a locket?

Ok, I've moved from reviewing to rambling. So on that note, I'll wrap this up, though I may still have more to rant about.

A Moment in History

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:17:44 GMT

On Thursday March 26th, I had the honor of attending the opening of the George Rogers Clark Memorial Time Capsule, interred on September 3, 1933. It was not intended to be opened for 100 years, but due to the leakage issues that have plagued the memorial since construction, the structure is undergoing extensive repairs and reconstruction. Since the repairs are expected to preserve the memorial for ANOTHER hundred years, this would be the only opportunity to open the time capsule. So, twenty four years early, we have seen a moment in history.

Jamie, Dutch and I arrived at 6:45, and immediately ran into my friend Jason Keller, who had brought his kids to the event. We discovered that the capsule had actually been opened on Tuesday, and they had arranged most of the contents to be viewed by the public, followed by a ceremonial opening of the capsule. I didn't think to brng a camera, but Jamie had her phone, so we took several pictures, which can be viewed either on her Facebook page or the Vincennes Indiana Remember When Group on Facebook.

We lingered outside the auditorium for a bit, taking in the artifacts. To put it into perspective for myself, I have to realize that my grandmother was 8 years old when these newspapers, photographs and books were packed into a metal box and sealed in the cornerstone of the George Rogers Clark Memorial. The newspapers all proudly bore the symbol of National Recovery Administration. They told of a torture/murder trial, happening in Robinson, IL (I believe). Labor strikes. And many articles about the construction of the Memorial and the country digging itself out of the Great Depression. Several photographs, faded with age, of presidents and other famous people of the day. And books and booklets. Nothing that can't be found today, but sealed away when they were new. A program of the competition for the design of the memorial itself. The construction specifications, Indiana history journals... It wasn't until after I'd left school that I discovered my love for local history, and this was just overwhelming.

Jamie and I made our way into the auditorium, and were able to secure front row seats, even though the place was already nearly packed. After a brief slideshow, and several thank-yous, the capsule was ceremonially re-opened, and the final few artifacts were removed, and placed on display as well. Ranger Frank Doughman gave a small speech, which illustrated how important the event that the memorial celebrates, Clark's victory at Fort Sackville, is in our national history. After the ceremony, I had the opportunity to chat with several people involved with the project, as well as local historian Norbert Brown.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience, a once-in-a-lifetime event, and an honor to attend. Now I just have to hang around for a hundred more years, to see it opened again.

Semester #3

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:26:33 GMT

So, I've not posted much about going back to school. I guess I've just not been in a very bloggish mood. But I'm trying to get back into a routine, so here I am. As I may or may not have posted earlier, beginning with this past summer, I've made my third attempt to attend college. The first two attempts were "false starts" of a sort. I tried in 1995, but working a full time job at nights, and trying to support 3 deadbeats who were living with me, I just couldn't make it to class. So, I dropped out for the first time. In 2005, I was working full time again, but I opted for destance ed courses. I got everything started, but never got motivated to actually DO classes. For the second time in a decade, I failed to go back to school.

I guess the main reason I've not posted much about it was that I was afraid I'd repeat the process. In April of 2008, I re-applied, and signed up for two classes: one on campus, and one online. At the same time, I signed up for three classes in the fall. Again, I chose one on campus (Speech) and two online. So far, I've gotten through the summer classes, and both of the online fall classes. I dropped the Speech class before it started, for the time being. My schedule in the evenings really wouldn't let me make the class regularly, so I figured it would be better to stick to what I know was working.

I'm happy with my results so far. Jamie is a great influence on me, and I've been able to stick with it, and so far, I have a 4.0 GPA. I've started three online classes this semester, two of which are with the same instructor as two of my other online classes last year. I think it will go well. It may take me 4 or 5 years to get an Associates Degree at this rate, but hey, it's better than not doing it at all.

Dear Red States,

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:06:28 GMT

(Note, I didn't write this, nor do I live in a "blue" state, but I liked it. And let's hope we can still turn Indiana Blue.)

Dear Red States...

We've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California. To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches. You get Ken Lay.

We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood. We get Intel, Apple and Microsoft. You get WorldCom. We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss. We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama . We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states finally pay their fair share. Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.

Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq , and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.

With the Blue States in hand, we w ill have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines (you can serve French wines at state dinners), 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools, plus Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.

With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.

We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.

Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the death penalty or gun laws, 44 percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61 percent of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals then we lefties.

By the way, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico ..

Peace out.

Sincerely,
Blue States

State of the Jason Address

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:19:55 GMT

Again, it's been a while since I've posted. I feel like I'm sitting down in a confessional. "It has been 3 months since my last confession, father." Anyway, it's been a pretty good summer. Let's see what I can share...

Jamie and I moved the shop to Main street in May. It's been a great move. We've had a good crowd of regulars build up, we've got events on most nights of the week. We're doing HeroClix on tuesdays. There are roleplaying groups that get together on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. A huge group of our Magic playing regulars get together on Thursday nights for group magic games. M:tG Tournaments on Fridays and most Saturdays. It's the best shop location we've ever had, in any incarnation of "the shop". Russ and Ginny have even agreed about that.

I started back at college this spring. I only took two classes this summer, and three this fall, but so far, things are going well. I hope to get my degree finally. I'm pretty happy with my summer grades. Granted, they were easy classes, but I've been daunted by college for so many years, a 4.0 average was a great relief. I feel a lot more confident going into the fall semester.

Money's still tight, as usual. But I feel it's going to be getting a little better. We had originally planned to attend GenCon this year, but we were unable to do so. I took the couple of days off, anyway, and we had a small vacation, even if we didn't get to go anywhere extravagant. It was nice to take a short break.

I've been reestablishing contact with friends I hadn't heard from in quite a while. Even if it's just an email here or there, it's still great to be reconnecting with good friends.

Ok, that's enough rambling for now.

Save Ferris!

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:05:06 GMT

more graph humor and song chart memes

The Passing of a Legend

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:53:45 GMT

More and more, I find myself posting on LiveJournal when someone who influenced me in some way passes away. Sadly, today is no exception.

I first discovered George Carlin's brand of comedy in 1986. I was twelve. We had gotten HBO for the first time, and on New Year's Eve, HBO showed 5 comedy specials in a row. The Rodney Dangerfield's 9th Annual Young Comedian All-Stars, Paul Rodriguez (I forget the name of the special), Howie Mandel (The North American Watusi Tour), Robin Williams (An Evening at the Met), and George Carlin (Playin' With Your Head). I was already a fan of Howie's over-the top comedy, and Robin Williams's energetic performances. There were several introductions to comedy for me, that night, though. The Dangerfield special featured Bob Nelson, Rita Rudner, Maurice LaMarche (who went on to voice The Brain in Pinky and the Brain, among other things), and Sam Kinison. But the one that stuck with me the most was George Carlin. I didn't realize how long he'd been around at the time, but I soon found out. I was enthralled by his analysis of words that we use, and his use of logic that made the completely insane seem perfectly reasonable, or vice versa.

I soon began to collect his albums, Take Offs & Put Ons and FM & AM were the two first that I found. To this day, I can still speak along with the routines on those albums. Then I found some of his earlier HBO specials, and rented them more than once (I was still only 15 or 16 by this point).

I'm almost thirty-four, now. I have every HBO special, nearly every album or CD. I've seen him live twice, once in Terre Haute, IN, and once in Evansville, IN. I've read his three books multiple times. To say that he has had a tremendous impact on my outlook on comedy would be an understatement. While most of what George had to say was part of a routine, there was a lot of it that spoke volumes about how one can be funny without necessarily being outrageous; how the words we use so infrequently say what they mean.

I regret not having the opportunity to shake Mr. Carlin's hand. Beyond that, I regret nothing about the impact George Carlin has had on me, on my outlook on humor, and on my outlook on life. George, thank you for your vision, your humor, and your style. I will miss it all.

Never before has a move felt so much like a rebirth...

Mon, 12 May 2008 15:16:15 GMT

Legends Games and Comics (formerly just Legends) has reopened on Main Street, bringing our family gaming and comic business back to the downtown proper for the first time since 2002. I'm really loving it. We've moved to 314 Main Street in downtown Vincennes. Our gaming space has tripled, and we can now actually display and sell product. It's a very old building, with beautiful wood floors.

As you may have noticed from the minor name change, we've added a bit to our arsenal. We now carry a smattering of current comics and will expand that as we determine the collecting habits of our customers. We've also formalized and expanded our hours.

Ok, enough of the sales pitch. I'm so excited about this. It feels great to be back in a big open space. We had our first two tournaments this past weekend, and it was a blast. I want to be in a position, in a year or two, to turn it back into a full time job. Dunno if that's possible or not, but I'm gonna try. :)

Anyway, I know most of the people that read my journal already know about all this or live too far away to care, but if you happen to be close enough, come check it out. I really love it.

And I can't thank the people who helped it happen enough.

Legendary Journeys

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:32:48 GMT

Legends Games and Hobbies, or Legends, or Legends Games, whatever you want to call it, has been back in business for 21 months. We've been operating as a small storefront, with a larger play area in back. It's worked out very well.

Space has become a premium, however. We've got events going on most nights, with Steve running Palladium on Mondays, and Minis painting night on Tuesday, Ken's group meeting on Wednesday, plus the regular magic crowd on Wednesday nights, tournaments on Friday Night, Saturday Afternoon, and Roleplaying on Sunday. Business is picking up, and there's a part of me that's thinking we need both more display space, and more playing space.

Overall, a frightening prospect, because I really LIKE our location. We've looked at a few places, though, and there is potential. I guess time will tell

John Hadlock 1933-2008

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 18:48:23 GMT

I know I don't post very often, but sometimes, I do just to clear my head. That's what I'm doing now. Today, a good co-worker, a good friend, and a good man has left us. John had been scheduled to have a valve replacement surgery today, but the surgery was cancelled because of his blood count (clotting factor, I think). He came in today, and was going about his normal daily routine, and looked good, seemed to be doing well.

About an hour ago, we were notified that he had been taken to the hospital, from the local Rural King. His wife, Lori (our director), left immediately. A short time ago, we were informed that he didn't make it.

I've known John for several years, but only got to know him after I started full time here. The nicest guy you'd ever know, never had a bad thing to say about anyone. Very helpful, and an all-around good person.

I just wanted to say something here, since I'm not good at saying things anywhere else. Thank you for listening, reading, or whatever.

I will miss him.

2007, The Year in Review

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 18:47:02 GMT

It's been a while since I've said anything here. I could say I've been extremely busy. I could say that I've been sick. I could say that I've been forgetful. All would be true, but the real reason I've not posted anything lately is far, far more sinister.

In the late twentieth century, I fear I was abducted by subterranian mole-people, and slight alterations were made to my neural pathways, leaving me prone to long periods of social exile. This reprogramming leaves me unable to communicate at times, though I occasionally have minor lucid periods, like now, where I can attempt to explain away my apparant deficiency. So, on behalf of the mole people and myself, I apologize.

That said, it's been an interesting year. Most everyone I know has heard about my divorce, which has left me looking at a new doorway on my life. I'm trying to get through that door, with some success. I'll keep you posted in the coming year. Some of you are probably aware of my fears regarding my job, that sprung up this time last year. I'm pleased to report that I'm still somewhat necessary, and I think things will continue to be ok.

The shop is going well, sales aren't tremendous, though as I've stated before, that's not the primary concern. That will hopefully change a bit though, in the coming year, as our operating hours may be changing somewhat.

I'm still playing Kingdom of Loathing and Fallen Sword a bit, but not as much as I used to. My primary online hobby is now Second Life. I've taken up a number of design projects that really appeal to the "world builder" in me, from the old MUSH days. I used to spend days at a time working on code projects, making entire combat and transformation systems for MUSHes, back in the day. I've missed that, so now I've taken to creating buildings, and gadgets and such for Second Life. The nice thing is, it's very possible to make real money selling virtual gadgets. So, my hobby may turn into more.

I've also reconnected with some old, close friends in the last year, that I had missed terribly. Two of them have livejournal accounts, and I just want them both to know how glad I am to be back in touch with them.

Ok, enough babbling now. I'll get my resolutions done, here in a day or two

Semi-Random Thoughts

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 16:12:05 GMT

There's something to be said about curling up in a blanket on a cold morning, drinking a cup of hot tea, and pretending my life is even something close to normal.

It's cold today because something is wrong with my furnace. Leave it to me to discover this on Thanksgiving day, which may mean it'll be Monday before it can be fixed.

I've recently discovered a program that lets you create custom Magic: The Gathering cards, but even moreso, will let you design other types of cards. My Thanksgiving Day project was to create a template for a user on the forums for the software, that will let him create cards for a Marvel based card game, I'm assuming of his own design. Here's a link to what he requested:

Original Request

I came up with a template that would handle the 10 different card types that he presented, in Photoshop, and then taught myself the basics of template design in the MSE software, and was able to create the following using the template I'd created:

My Project (Work in Progress)

All in all, I'm happy with it, for a first attempt. I may put a little effort into my original plan, to create a game. We'll see...

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 03:40:33 GMT

Nothing major today, just wanted to show off part of a picture I took at the Children's Museum recently.

The Coins (pt. 2)

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 18:36:28 GMT

A short continuation of The Coins. Just a couple of paragraphs, didn't have as much free time today as I'd have liked.

He returned "home" shortly before dark. "Home" these days was a boarding house near the docks. One of the house's few long-term residents, Jibbs had been there for about a year. He made his way through the common room, up to the second floor, down to the end of the hall, last door on the right. He pushed his door open and stepped inside. The doors didn't lock from the outside, so he never kept anything important in his room. He pushed the bolt into place, and stretched out on the uneven bed. He pulled the two coins from his pouch, and looked closer at them. He was sure they were silver, from the weight and feel, but he had never seen the markings before. They were similar to the imperial scale, but not exactly. Like the scale, one side of the coin had the profile of a man, though this didn't look like the emperor who graced every coin in the realm. This man's forehead was more angled, and his hair was thinner, though longer in the back. It was hard to make out many details though. The reverse sides were nearly worn smooth. He could tell that whatever lumped shape was there, it wasn't the typical balanced scale found on the imperial silver coin. They were very tarnished, and he began to believe his early elation was probably misplaced. They were just old coins, probably older than the current emperor. Still, he thought, they may be worth something just for their age.

He got up, and glanced out the narrow window, overlooking the dock. Had he really lived here a year? It seemed like so much longer. He was the last living member of his family, having lost his father to the plague just last spring. They had come to the city to carve out a new life for themselves after the attack on the village left them without his mother and younger brother. Dalajib Gillesipe had only been on his own a year. His fifteenth birthday had just passed about two weeks ago. He had managed to stay at the boarding house by making a living selling his carvings. But he wasn't selling as many any more, and he was sure he'd be out on the street soon, if something didn't change.

To be continued...

Lisa Moore, 1970 - 2007

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:00:23 GMT

I've only recently come back to reading comics like Funky Winkerbean. The local paper only carries the sunday strips, so I'd not been easily able to follow what was going on. A good friend recently got me a subscription to Daily Ink, and I read the entire year previous. For those of you that don't know what I'm talking about, in 1999, Lisa Moore was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a mastectomy, and for several months, the storyline followed her. That story was published in Lisa's Story. Over the last few years, it has resurfaced, she started undergoing therapy, was found to be in complete remission (in error, chart mix-up), started radiation again, and eventually stopped fighting, opting to spend the last few months of her life, enjoying it. Her life ended today.

I've only lost one really close family member to cancer, when I was 8 years old. But this story still struck a chord with me. I've been watching with sadness for months now, and in one way, I'm glad to see her pain end. I'm reminded of my friend Bill's mother, who passed away on the morning of the 2nd.

I don't have a lot more to say, I'm afraid. Except Goodbye Lisa. Fictitious or not, your journey was shared by millions, and your story will continue to touch the lives of others.

Paula Wethington wrote an obituary here: http://www.blogsmonroe.com/reporters/?p=202 -- Much more eloquent than I can be, I'm afraid.

Edit: http://stuck-funky.blogspot.com/ carries an archive of the storyline since Lisa's mis-diagnosis was discovered.

My only tie to EverQuest

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:49:27 GMT

I haven't played Everquest in nearly two years. But three years ago, I took over the development of a popular Customized UI project called Quartz. The original author had quit playing, and disappeared, meaning that as the game updated, the UI would occasionally stop working, as new elements were added. It started, I made a couple of mods and fixes, just to keep it working. I discovered how much I enjoyed working on it, though, and contacted the original author, and got his official permission to take over the project.

I carried Quartz from version 1.6 to 2.0, and have been very happy with the reaction it has received. 2.0 was posted on March 6, 2006. I've not done an update since then. I quit playing Everquest, and have just lost the drive to do much on it.

I did some investigating last night, and found that a few users have been making updates, to keep the UI working. So I've decided to try to turn the project over entirely to the most active one. Hopefully Quartz will remain as popular as it was back when it was in its prime, at 1.6 and beyond. :)

I've been trying to figure out how to get organized again, and stepping away from some of my unfinished projects completely seems to be one of the things I need to do. So I'm going to narrow down to a few projects, and either bury of find new homes for the others. I believe the Campaign Manager OGL will be another casualty of this culling. I've not had the urge to work on it in nearly two years, but I did learn quite a bit about using XML as a datasource...

...

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:23:10 GMT

I can't do it... Usually when a wrestler (or other celebrity) that I looked up to passes away, I will make picture for my post. I can't do it for Chris Benoit. Not yet. So you get Eddie.

WWE.com: Benoit Tragedy Unfolds

FOXNews.com

I'm at a loss for words... mostly. I heard about this shortly since the news broke yesterday, and I had the unenviable job of telling some friends of mine, who are big fans of "The Crippler". I watched the three hour episode of Raw. They cancelled their live show, and only kept a skeleton crew around to put together a tribute show, and it was well done, considering the short notice.... And they knew. I'm almost sure they knew. Respect. He always demanded respect. They said goodbye to their friend.

But, what happens now? What if it does turn out that it WAS a double-murder/suicide, and this man, this HERO for people, for over 10 years... killed his 7 year old son and wife, before taking his own life? How will people, who have idolized him (and there are many), deal with the idea of their long-time hero being a murderer?

I wasn't a huge Benoit fan. I respected him, but I always felt more closely in tune with the villains, as they are the guiding force for the storyline. Benoit was never a successful villain. He didn't have the microphone skills to pull it off. But his intensity, dedication, and skill were surely worth admiration. He came to the WWF(WWE) on January 31, 2000, along with his friends, Dean Malenko, Perry Saturn, and Eddie Guerrero. Benoit and Guerrero had a very successful run in the company, and Malenko took a position as a trainer and scout.

I guess time will tell. But I worry. About his other two children. About the fans who looked up to him. And I wonder... what could have happened? And what happens now?

The Coins (pt. 1)

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 18:19:36 GMT

He turned the two coins over in his hands, a look of shocked amazement on his face. A hundred thoughts raced through his mind at once. Would anyone notice? Were they what he thought they were? Were they real? Of course, he couldn't be sure, not just yet. He gathered his composure, secreted the two faded, worn coins in a pouch, and continued down the way to his next destination.

He made his way across the market square, raising his hand in greeting as he approached the aging cart and the cart's owner, "Ho, Garan"

"Ho, Jibbs" Garan looked up, and smiled at the young man. "What brings ye down to the market today?"

"Just came down to see if anyone was interested in buying some of my carvings to resell. Sold two of them, going to bring a few more down tomorrow. Thought I'd come by here, and watch the world go by for a bit, if you don't mind."

"Jes don't bother the payin' customers," Garan replied with a good-natured grumble.

"Do I ever?" Jibbs settled down on the ground against the wheel of the cart, and produced a block of wood and a slender blade from his pouch, and began to carve.

Time passed, and his thoughts kept going back to the two ancient silver coins he had been accidentally paid for his craft work. The old woman seemed oblivious to the fact that the tarnished coins were anything other than regular imperial scales. He hoped she would not realize later that she had given him the wrong coins. He figured he'd know for sure tomorrow, when he took some of his other carvings to her. If she asked about the old coins, he would simply play dumb.

He looked up, as a portly man in red mages robes approached the cart. Garan greeted him jovially, "G'day sir. What can Garan's Curiosities, Magical and Mundane provide ye with today?"

"I am looking for a scroll case, enlaid with ivory..." The man continued to describe what he sought, and Jibbs tuned him out. He kept carving, and studied the customer casually. Middle aged, slightly balding, well fed, soft hands... a perpetual student of the arts, perhaps, or a casual dabbler with noble upbringing. Jibbs turned his attention back to his carving and his thoughts. When he returned home this evening, he would examine them more closely. They may be extremely valuable antiques...

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't see the gaze of the red-robed mage turn to him, examining him every bit as thoroughly as he had done himself, mere moments ago. Nor did he notice the malevolent grin that played across the man's face, before taking his purchase, and moving away from the cart.

... To Be Continued

The Urge to Write

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 14:49:01 GMT

I've been considering writing a multi-part story here. Nothing fancy, or terribly earth-shattering. Just have the urge to write creatively when the mood hits. It's been a long time since I've written fiction, and I have several thoughts on what to write about. I'm reluctant to do so, though. I'll have to think about it.

...

GRR... I can't even write about wanting to write. I'm tired of being worried if someone will take what I say as a personal attack or a complaint, etc. So I'm not going to do it anymore. I'm gonna write, cause I wanna write. If anyone decides to take it personally, it's not my problem.

So, coming soon, some kinda fiction. Maybe some history on Dalajib Gillespie or something...

My short vacation, day one...

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 21:54:04 GMT

I finally decided to take a bit of a vacation. I've travelled a bit south, to visit my friend Josh, before he moves away at the end of the summer. Didn't roll into town til the early evening, so day one is kinda short, but I had a blast. The evening started with Josh, his girlfriend, Shana, and me going to an indian restaurant (my personal food weakness these days), and having a wonderful conversation, and equally wonderful food. Foolish Jason, forgot to bring a camera along, so no pictures to go along with that. The restaurant is called Sitar, and if you enjoy indian food, and happen to be in Nashville, check it out. :)

Next, Josh and I continued on to The Station Inn, which has an open bluegrass jam every sunday evening (and beer). I'm not a big bluegrass fan, but this was a ton of fun. Around 14 people, wandered in from wherever, sat down, and started playing. It's fun to see people playing music just for the sake of playing, enjoying themselves, and being completely unrehearsed. Some of these people didn't even know each other, just joined in, and let it fly. I did take a somewhat crappy picture with my phone, but it doesn't do justice to the experience.

The beer left a bit to be desired. Only Bud and Bud Light on tap, and several bottled varieties, none of which were on my list of favorites, so I tried a few. Still, the music made it all worth it.

I'll post monday's events (including my 3 hour nap in the middle of the afternoon) and pictures, as soon as I get back this evening. I'm shooting for something different tonight. Just not sure what yet.

This is going to take forever

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 01:52:53 GMT

Ok, the server is reimaged, and I now have a ton of things to reinstall.... The first thing I will be doing is reinstalling all the user accounts... bear with me, this will take a little while.

After looking things over quite a bit, I think I'm going to be making some pretty steep changes to the server. Over the next few days, I will be restoring everything that was backed up, but I'm going to be rearranging everything. If you have a domain, you will have access to a web interface that will let you add subdomains, email users, etc.

Now, here's where I need your help. If you have an email address with me, I need to know the following things:
1: What exactly is the email address you use? (In the past address@dragonpro.com and address@wyldware.com were the same thing. They won't be, now)
2: Do you use your shell account? I will be disabling shell access for those who don't use it. Even if you KNOW that I know the answer to this, please tell me anyway.
3: Provide me with an alternate contact email or way of getting ahold of you.
4: Spread the word to people who don't read my journal.

Please email information to lordjay23 at hotmail.com

Thanks

P.S. If you don't have another email address, please contact me on msn or yahoo with the lordjay23 name. Alternately, use jcline1974 on yahoo.

Have you ever...

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 13:46:25 GMT

...tried to back up an entire server's worth of data, and transfer it home? Not a fun process. That's what I'm in the middle of doing right now. It's been running all night. DragonPro hosts 7 or 8 online games, a radio station, teamspeak server, several SQL database driven websites, and several OTHER websites, not to mention serves as a personal storage archive for a few of us. :) It's gonna take a bit. The fun part is, once the server's rebuilt, I'll be re-uploading everything.

So, again, bear with me, nothing's LOST, it just may take a bit for me to get it reconfigured again. Oh, but I probably won't be installing blackhole again, this time (sorry X). It's not been updated in a long time, so I'm going to try again with spamassassin. I've seen some impressive things that can be done with it, so we'll see what happens.