Random Things

[weswilson]

• In a debate recently, I got forwarded to the list of Scientists Opposed to Mainstream Global Warming. Later in the thread, someone pointed out Project Steve. In an effort to refute a similar list of scientists who doubt evolution, Project Steve is a collection of scientists named Steve or Stephen who support it. It's a parody, and the scientists there know that lists of names don't define truth... but like the Real Climate bet, it's an effort to challenge irrational attacks via truthiness on the terms they seek to exploit. These kinds of retorts are gaining respect with me. Sense of humor ftw!


• I need a new phone. I want an iPhone, especially considering the 3G stuff is coming out... but we aren't on the financial footing that justifies that expense. I'm hoping I can fix that.


• Wendy and Duncan got me the 4E Player's Handbook for Father's Day. It's a great book, but I *hate* how the feats are included with the class descriptions. I'm finding the book a bit cludgey because of it.


• The wine job is great, but getting my sales up to where it seems like a real job is tough. I'm still making part-time salary with full-time work. I know this sales thing takes time, but I'm fairly frustrated right now.


• Duncan got croup, and even though he's over it, Wendy and I are still suffering from bronchitisy crap. He brings us home so many wonderful things!


• We're working on changing the format of our podcast to a General Gaming format. I'll be interested to see how that works out.


• Play On Con is stressy and tough. Many people have jumped forward like champs to participate, but many people who I was counting on have, for reasons that are legitimate or not, backed out. This is why I stopped doing The Monstrosity. When you build big things, your ability to produce is dependent on others, and their imperatives are guaranteed to be different than your own. My personal predictions for what we could accomplish have been set aside in certain ways. It's going to be a great time, but I hate trying to enlist people to participate. If they commit early, there's the backing out factor... and now that it's late, there is the waffle factor. I wish there was just some zone of "YES! I'd LOVE to!" It's rare I find that.


• New Pyro achievements and weapon unlocks for TF2! Man, I love that game.
  

Bounty from my garden...



Red bell peppers that need to ripen...


My melons are starting to grow as well...


CORN! I'm particularly excited about this!


Okra... Zucchini... Green Beans... and a Melon plant that is eating the whole bed.


Pesto made from fresh basil... yum yum...


Squash casserole made from fresh squash... yum yum...


Poor Duncan... sick with croup and puffy eyed. But he does like peach sorbet!


My job... trying to keep these shelves from being replaced with other wines...

Comments

[greatevil.livejournal.com]

Sadly I NEED the flair gun so I'll be grinding. BUT I HATE that every one and there mom will be a pyro now, that is my class god damm it and I enjoy it. the new alt fire has some promis to esp for spawn rushing on level 2 of dust bowl.

I'm listing to the pod cast slowly... you guys talk a lot.

I'm eager for the new engy feats. I want to rock them like a bad mother fucker.

[weswilson]

Yeah... we're gabby.. but we have a good community built up.

I've been doing the Medic achievements without grinding... so I might consider doing it with the pyro ones as well.

[greatevil.livejournal.com]

I'm barily half way to my first one on the Medic but then again it isn't my fav class.

Actually I suck at scoring points in the game, I kill myself too often doing silly things like pushing the cart or disrupting the other team when they are setting up for a rush or manning my gun like a good little engy. Wish we got points for dispenser use.

[pierrekrahn.livejournal.com]

I only grinded a few medic achievements that I figured were impossible!! (ie. Big Pharma).

I'm almost half done doing the pyro achievements right now. The million points of damage will take a while (too bad it wasn't retroactive) and I will have trouble getting 6 axe kills, but overall I think the achievements are better and more easily achievable than the medic's.

I can't wait for the engineer stuff to come out, and don't look forward to the sniper's :(

I'm also on the fence about the format change of the podcast. I don't play any of the other games you guys talk about, but you're so fun to listen to that you can talk about hangnails and I would still love it (thanks for keeping me sane at work).

Possible topic of discussion for the next episode: If the intelligence is so important that people are defending it with their lives, then why is it kept unsecured on a pedestal out in the open like that? Shouldn't it be under lock and key (like in one of those lockers in the spawn room that the opposing team can't reach)?

[elizabethf.livejournal.com]

Your garden is awesome. We just joined a CSA. I love the idea of having fresh food and it's awesome some people can do that but I haven't it in me to even remotely attempt something like that. I am an indoor girl all the way to the core.

[weswilson]

I'm not sure it's that hard. I've sorta pulled it off out of the corner of my eye for a while now. You get lucky with some plants, and not with others.

[elizabethf.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm sure it's not that hard. My mom's big into gardening but I think I'd rather sit on death row than have to do yard work of any kind. LOL. I wish I felt differently, and I've tried to, but it's a whole lot of not happening. heh. I think I mostly envy the desire and motivation.

[weswilson]

HA!

There's a sort of nobility in taking care of the yard... There's even a book about it. I've got too much yard right now. I'm going to start taking the neighbor up on his offer to use his riding mower.

[ohmyhead.livejournal.com]

MAN I like that TF2! Hilarious trailer. Are there one of those for each player? I'd love to see them all. I remember liking the demo, but I got CoD4 instead. I also remember the maps being fairly small. And are they all CTF? And are there like new maps coming out all the time? Or is is the standard maps that come with the game only?

These are the ones out so far:

[weswilson]

We'll do it this way:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/11890.html

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/19523.html

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/23881.html

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/24780.html

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/26152.html

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/33024.html

And probably one of the best Machinima's I've ever seen: Ignis Solus

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/26187.html

Re: These are the ones out so far:

[ohmyhead.livejournal.com]

Thanks!! I'll check these out this afternoon. I will also be writing ElGay about how we can only seem to embed YouTube vids here. Yahoo and MySpace videos won't embed. And that suck-diddly-ucks, Flanders.

Re: These are the ones out so far:

[ohmyhead.livejournal.com]

I went out and bought it! Just installing TF2 for now. Woohoo!

[trshtwns01.livejournal.com]

Wow! Your garden is producing great. Mine has just started, but not like that. We've gotten one good summer squash. My canteloupes are growing, but are only a couple of inches across now. I do have some awesome sweet basil I can't wait to do something with.

[weswilson]

Mmmmm... yummy pesto is yummy.

I know why you want an iPhone...

[degeneratepress.livejournal.com]

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1815933,00.html?cnn=yes

Re: I know why you want an iPhone...

[pierrekrahn.livejournal.com]

"The iPhone's Next Frontier" ??

More like "The iPhone's Only Frontier"

4E

[9jack9.livejournal.com]

The Pathfinder RPG beta from Paizo comes out in August, and I'm all about that. It's basically 3.75, and is being printed as hardcopy for an open beta test, final version comes out next summer. You can download the Alpha in pdf form on the Paizo site.

They fixed grapple, simplified skills, gave more feats, allowed turning to be channeled into heals, and made the core classes worth going to 20 in. It's also compatible with all the stuff already out.

Re: 4E

[weswilson]

I own a ridiculous amount of 3.5 stuff... which is wacky, since I only played in a couple of campaigns. I always had dreams of the "big campaign in my head". :)

[fahkingnut.livejournal.com]

If I'm working by then and have the money to make the trip, could you use this old man for some non-physical tasking con-duty?

Always willing to help out one of the family.

Love & Hugs,
FahKingNut

[weswilson]

I will definitely hit you up if you are there.

[darkfirewolfe.livejournal.com]

ooo, your squash are quite pretty - and your melons are nice (hehehehehe)

[weswilson]

I'll show you mine if you show me yours. :)

My Round Pair

[darkfirewolfe.livejournal.com]

they may not be melons - but they're the round pair I've got ;)

Re: My Round Pair

[weswilson]

One hangs a little lower than the other... that's hot.

[psyk.livejournal.com]

Before you buy an iPhone, read this. Its something I feel everyone about to buy one should read, atleast just to hear a second opinion. In fact, I wouldn't be totally against forcing the mac store to make people read it before actually buying one... lol

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=iphone (NSFW: Maddox)

[weswilson]

Everyone I know who has gotten an iPhone says it has changed the way they look at their phone. I'm also a huge fan of iTunes and pulling my podcasts down effortlessly.

I need to look and see if Verison has that phone you linked, though.