What To Do, What To Do

I've been running a tight sched through the last several months. Recently, some things have changed, broken down, or morphed. It's time to look at my calendar once again. As a result, I have new time slots that have come available.

I have too many things I want to do. I want to play pool. There is a Monday league for beginners (which I might do okay in) and a Wednesday league for experienced players (which I would be used and abused in). Both sound like fun. I also want to play a tabletop RPG. That would have to start in the afternoon, so it would need to happen on Monday or Wednesday as well. Then, I'd like to start a meditation group up to compliment the group that is watching the Bart Ehrman DVD series, Lost Christianities. From what I can tell, Wednesday is the best evening for that. I would like to spend more time blogging. (I would even prefer to be able to do podcasting, but it takes way more time.) The best time for that kind of activity for me is during the day, which means Tuesday or Wednesday. Then, I'd like to play Halo 2 with my friend Nukem, who is only available early afternoons, which means Tuesday or Wednesday. Then, I want to work on a monthly (?) podcast with a friend of mine who is an atheist to talk about some shallow and deep shit of life. I still think the best name we could have for it would be "Whiskey and Beer," since thats what we'd be drinking during it.

All of these choices have led to paralysis. My guess is I'll go with pool on Mondays (since I can't do it often on Tuesdays anymore). Then Wednesday may be blogging/gaming day. We'll have to see though.

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Making Headway on the Sci-Fi RPG

I've been working on a table-top roleplaying game with a friend of mine. Since we haven't exactly put our noses to the grindstones, it has been in production for about 3 years. I'm disappointed that it has taken this long. I figured a year, max. And it should have taken that. I guess lazy costs time.

I believe it is nearing completion. Unfortunately, I don't want to say too much about it, other than it will be a sci-fi game with a unique system. The plan is to offer it as a website. We also want to have forums so that players could add to/modify the current rule set and setting. That way, we can have house rules and official rules online for all to see. Pick and choose the way you want to play it. House rules that we really like may even make it to official standing, with the authors receiving credit.

I would like to offer the basic game for free. If we follow this plan, the only charges would be if there are any supplements. And then, a minimal fee (about $1-$2) would probably be enough. It would be nice to pull in enough to keep the site up.

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Score: 8.3

Okay, not really a score. It's my handicap in the pool league. I subbed a couple of weeks ago. I had to pick up 4 past games and play 8 games that night. Winning 8 out of 12 isn't bad, though I really should have won 11. And I would have, had I not continued to flake on the 8 ball. I need to work on consistency. That probably means I need to go back to setting up practice shots rather than playing complete games. Repetition, repetition, repetition.

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Behold, My Mighty Shaft of Power!

I've been playing pool for 3 1/2 months now. I figured out that I like the lighter sticks. I wanted blue (I call it my lightsaber). I wanted something between $50 and $150. Anything more than that and I would not be able to appreciate it.

I finally found my stick of choice: The Viking G02, Blue.

I love this stick. I've only used it a couple of times, but already I can feel the importance of having something decent to shoot with. A good investment.

And, yes, I supported the place that I play, Rockford Billiard Cafe.

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New Goal: Pool Shark

I've decided that I need to learn pool. Well, not just learn pool, really. I want to become a shark.

Those who know me know that I usually don't just learn something new. I want to be good at it...really good. That applies to pool as well. Last week I came into the office on a day off and practiced shooting on the pool table for about 6 hours. Yes, I was sore the next day. But, in a game I shot a masse around one ball, into another, which in turn tapped my real target and knocked it to the edge. Unfortunately, it didn't go in, but I was quite happy with "almost." It's a great game.

Eventually, I'd like to be able to do the tricks in this video, though I think that may be a loooong time away.

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Application to the Evil League of Evil

I just picked up Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.  One of the extras is a set of video applications for the Evil League of Evil (ELE).  My favorite is the one by The Reverend.  I think this should be my application.

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Radar Detectors in Illinois

I've always believed that radar detectors are illegal in Illinois. The article "Illinois Car Insurance: Radar Detector Law & Legalities" says otherwise.

Under federal law, the use of radar and lidar detectors is illegal in all commercial vehicles over 10,000 pounds (see http://www.ncsl.org/programs/transportation/radar.htm). For all other purposes, radar and lidar detectors are legal in Illinois.

Whoda thunk it? That settles it. I'm getting one so I can make it to the parents faster.http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10594074&postID=4719299981442534941#

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EVE Synopsis on Destructoid

I've been playing EVE Online for a while now. It's an MMO set in space. What I love about is is its realism. When your ship gets popped, you don't just get to respawn. You have to go buy another. That means spending hard-earned ISK getting back to where you were before the combat. There are consequences. If you don't want to play the price of replacing your ship when you lose in PVP, don't play the the PVP game.

What I loath about the game is its realism. If I get my ship popped, I will have to replace it. I don't want to have to spend all that time re-earning the ISK to get back to where I started.

(Surely, you see how this is going.)

Seriously, it's a great game.

While searching EVE Online for information about the character races, I noticed a link to this stellar synopsis of the game: EVE: The Unforgiving - A Basic Understanding of CCP's Masterpiece. Anyone looking for an MMO should read that article and consider EVE.

And if you do decide to join, let me know so I can give you a referral.

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B&N Fail

Really?  They didn't! 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  

Oh, and I think at work I may request my own office.

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Cool Site: The Art of Nonconformity

Chris Guillebeau (no, I'm not quite sure how to pronounce it) is a new name to me. I happened to stumble upon it through an article on Seth Goddin's blog. I clicked the link, and ... wow!

This is a great site. I mean, come on, how can I (of all people) not get the excited-fuzzies from seeing a PDF entitled "A Brief Guide to World Domination"?

So far, Guillebeau's site is impressive. Ultimately, his message is to find a way to follow your passion and milk the most out of life. Don't let the world dictate to you how you will live. Your destiny is just that: yours. It's time to take it back with your own hands.

Or something like that.

I haven't spent a whole lot of time on it, though that will surely change. Not surprisingly, the "nonconformist" writings appeal to me most. He has a great article on "The Anarchist Professor." Someone needs to tell the stories of those who do things "differently." They help us go claim a new perspective on on standards that we simply take for granted.

The Art of Nonconformity inspires me. Perhaps some day I, too, shall have such a cool site.

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PTO

I'm taking some paid time off Wednesday and Thursday. It's going to be nice to wind down with a 4-day weekend. It's amazing how quickly the time fills up. It's Tuesday, and already I have a million things that I want to fit in.

~Work on RPG
~Play EVE
~Read a friend's story
~Read some theological texts
~Read about emerging systems
~Sketch
~Play with Annabelle
~Try to finish watching Millenium
~Cook corned beef and cabbage
~Visit friends
~Post a blog or 2 on ECF-Net
~Clean the appartment
~Do laundry
~Slowly go through my Revenge of the Sith art book.

It's almost exhausging looking at the list. I may need to go back into work to catch a break.

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B-Net

Recently, I've tried to reconnect with BeliefNet. So far, not having any luck. Here's a link to my journal over there. I've called it a ghost town. It used to be quite active. My theory is that the vitriol is driving people away. Very sad.

There are two blogs, though, that I may like enough to keep coming back. Tony Jones is a leader in the Emergent conversation. He is a theologian who tries to be cutting edge. For many, he is. So far, his blog is quite lame. (He seems to be currently caught up in an argument regarding "practical theology," which is basically "duh-material" for anyone who's clued in.) But, I would hope to see it pick up.

B-Net also has Gus diZerega blogging for them. I first found out about him through his book Pagans and Christians: The Personal Spiritual Experience (which I highly recommend). He's had an interesting multi-post argument going on about why pagans should not have "clergy." So even if I find the place to be a wasteland, it still has a couple interesting water holes in it.

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Day Off

Ahh, if only I could get up whenever I wanted every day of the week.

My plans:
~meet with a friend
~continue reading Emergence: The Connected Life of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software, which is proving to be quite good
~work on the game a bit
~contact people about Walter Wink
~and my cat insists that I play with her

Not very ambitious. That should make for a good day.

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Hey There Cthulhu: The Photomontage Video

Gotta love it. :D

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