Catchup - 9/10/02

I forgot until I was out the door this morning that it was vote-day! So much for getting to work terribly early. I managed to avoid all the tech-trouble that many of the stations were having today.

I won my ebay auction... so I should be getting more little figures than I'll ever need, for cheapy-cheap. :) Toys! Yay! Fun!

Where’s my PM thunderstorms?

Computer-controlled music played on explosion organs. - Remember that church organ that I thought looked like it was designed to fire projectiles at the listeners?

The Large Hot Pipe Organ is the world's only MIDI controlled, propane powered explosion organ. The LHPO's pyro-acoustic explodo-rhythmations will throbbatize your earholes and dance-ify your booty and make you realize what "Industrial Music" REALLY means!

Cool Doodles by Stanislaw Lem - I especially liked the Skeleton of a Procyte

I'm going to turn in a little early... I think a good long night of rest is in order. The vertigo passed about noonish today, but I had no real appetite... I'm going to put a little fuel in the body, just for doing so, and then it's reading and playing with the Newtzilla before beddy-bye.

9/11/02

Dreamt last night that my sweetheart was well into being with child.... and that I went to work in a grocery store on the side, because it meant all the diapers and baby food were for free, plus they had a better health plan than my current gig. Strangely, I seemed to really be enjoying my work there... people were friendly, and there were lots of kids that came in because I got the manager to stock comic books on the magazine rack, and I got to do story time, a la my old bookstore days.

I really dig that I can detect when medicine "kicks in"... mild ache this morning spiraled out into some big ouches... but I did a pre-emptive strike so that by the time the tweak was at it's maximum strength, the sensation had begun to fade. I'm currently only feeling about maybe 5% of what I might be, ache wise...which is very, very nice, indeed. Compare a "just bit my tongue" to a white-hot spike in the eye.

I'm a thankful boy.

Drinking extra strong tea right now, to go with some wonderful oatmeal. (Real oatmeal kick for breakfast and late night snacks this past month).

Low grade Heroclix / Mage knight scenarios -

Scene: Make two armies, small (or use some heroes) and larger. Make the larger army about twice the number of the small, e.g.: 300 pts. and 150 pts. Set up large army to have half of play area as their stronghold. They are restricted to this area. Small army or armies set up on side(s) adjacent to stronghold. Fun to use multi dial figures in stronghold.

Goal: Win by conquering stronghold or player who gets most kill points

Scene: Create two equal armies and set up the play area. When rolling to determine who goes first, the first side also gets an additional figure that doesn't count toward the army total. The figure doesn't engage in combat or take damage but may be captured. The speed of the figure is 5 regardless of what's printed on it.

Goal: The side with the figure must make effort to keep it imprisoned. The opposing side must try to rescue the figure. A successful rescue is capturing the figure and returning it to your edge. A failed rescue is losing your army in the process of rescuing.

variant - Create two equal armies and set up the play area. When rolling to determine who goes first, the first side also gets an additional figure that doesn't count toward the army total. The figure doesn't engage in combat or take damage but may be captured.

Goal: Escort the neutral figure to the other side or the playing field. Can add that a certain radius around the figure must be free of opposing figures after a certain time. Alternately, if the neutral figure is captured the game is lost. This could further be changed that the figure could be gained back.

Scene: Think the Eastwood movie The Gauntlet. Well, get your toughest figure--use a chariot if you like, just modify the speed so you can't run past everything. Or use a couple tough figures and put them in formation, defend would be nice. Set up area with ranged attackers on either side. To keep things from being a complete bloodbath, use one (or two if you can handle it) actions each side each turn. Figures going from the start to end point don't worry about attacking or pushing, just try to survive. Healing, etc. is fair play. Some abilities would make "running the gauntlet" impossible--but fun to try against.

Goal: To get from start point to end point--across the play area. Those running the gauntlet can't stop and fight--you must take it. Add terrain to spice it up, make a maze of sorts.



Scene: Capture the Flag - With equal opposing armies, set up play as normal. You can put a flag in the middle or use one for each army. Need a circle to mark area around flag.

Goal: Win by capturing flag, either opponent's or one in center. To capture flag, defeat all opposing figures within a 6-inch diameter around flag. This area must be cleared for 3 turns.

Variants -

Situation: Use a Monopoly board. Use figures of roughly similar value, as movement tokens on board.

Rules:

1. Move and buy property per normal Monopoly rules.


2. When you land on property owned by another player, the players' figures must fight. Property owning player goes first then opposing player counter attacks, and fight is over. Pay your rent after slapping each other.


3. May pay $1000, or another agreed upon amount, to heal one click. This may be done at any time. As long as the money flows, the healing grows.


4. May use abilities that apply, may not use those that do not apply. You should be able to figure this out.


5. Consider deal making like letting someone make free attack with no counter, paying for someone else's healing, etc.


6. Last remaining figure or last one with money wins.

Dodgeball

Situation: Create an assortment of figures, faction, etc., doesn't matter. Helpful if they have ranged attack, if not you'll need to "create" a ranged value for figures. (Assume a 4 is my method) You'll need one action token.

Rules:

1. Move per normal, each figure may move each turn.


2. Choose a figure to "have the ball" first, set the action token by them.


3. That figure moves and then may make a ranged attack on any legal target.


4. On a roll of 2, 3, 11, or 12, the ball misses and balled figure retains action token and turn is begun again.


5. On a hit, target figure is removed from game.


6. On a miss, figure with action token is removed from game and action token goes to target.


7. Last figure standing wins.


8. For alternate, flip the hit/miss rule. Get some use out of those weak figures. Go for it, re: "ABC Blackout" or "Olie Olie Oxen Free."

Prop ideas.... Green felt for brush/woodlands, blue felt for water and blockades. also, some nifty templates



*snickers.... someone called ultroid blue did a care-were bears custom paint for mage knight. I think it looks like they're singing. Also, the village people, the packers..and a few misc.

Big things at work... looks like big bird quit the job there because he stole some equipment from our mail shop (a $4000 tabber, and who knows what else) and gave? /sold? /traded? them to our old boss, the ever-Evil Wally. The cops picked up big bird yesterday, and Wally Jr freaked out when the fuzz showed up at his place, looking for stolen property. $4000 is expensive enough to be a felony... grand theft, trafficking stolen goods... Maybe Wally will get hit with some of the poo-spray, too. I'm looking forward to seeing what the news is today when I get there.

A private moon landing... next year? That's pretty dang keeno. Private moon-landings ahoy! They're planning a three-month exploration of the big ole rock!

TransOrbital of California has become the first private company in the history of space flight to gain approval from the US authorities to explore, photograph and land on the moon.
The US State Department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have granted it permission to send its TrailBlazer spacecraft into lunar orbit.

The launch is set for June 2003 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

From Adam Felber -

The Sunshine State is stunningly progressive in its approach to drug abuse. In Florida, if you've got a monkey on your back you're treated as a victim, not a criminal. Even if your habit drives you to theft while in court-ordered treatment, you'll be placed right back in that treatment program so that you can take another crack at "kicking." Same thing if your problem leads you to take up forging prescriptions. And if your jones gets the best of you occasionally and you're caught with, say, a sizeable rock of cocaine, well, don't worry. Governor Bush will understand. In fact, he'll say, " the road to recovery is a difficult and long journey for those afflicted with addiction." He gets it. Back to treatment you go, and it's doubtful that your repeated offenses will ever earn you more than a day or two in prison. Qualifying for this program is easy. You're entitled to it, so long as you admit you've got a problem.

And you have to be the governor's daughter, of course. Otherwise, you're headin' for the slammer.

Hmm... Why does Newt leaping into the litter box to do his duty immediately after I clean it out crack me up so much?

"Hey! This doesn't smell like *my potty*! I'd better pee, and then rooster tail a little of the sand! That’s better!" Maybe he likes adjusting the sands, a la a Zen garden... albeit with tootsie rolls after digesting.

He's been a playful little guy all morning...playing milk ring fetch like a good boy... it really makes me happy when he brings me the ring, and drops it in front of me, out of the blue. I know he digs the quality time with his mamma-pod, and I surely do, too.

Back to Newtie-play. :)

It's raining nicely, and I'm home and in a comfy place. people at work were respectful and kind, today. Happy for it.

Dinner is warming on the stove. rice, tofu, broccoli and peanut sauce.

I'm counting blessings tonight. There's a lot of 'em out there... and a few in here, too. Love, life, knowledge, the senses. Relief. Hope.

G'night, dear journal.

9/12/02
Wow... pleasantly exhausting dreams last night. I wonder what factors make some vivid, and others difficult to remember? Emotional content? Adrenaline?

Seventy-eight full-color reasons to be glad you're not in high-school any more.

They certainly seem to have more variety of industrial-distributed food, though.

Makes me miss my Speed Buggy Lunchbox.

some terrain for miniatures wargaming. Here's a use for those AOL Discs...put a small glob of thick white glue on an old CD, then pile on bits of sprue, kitty litter, gravel or sand and cool looking bits on to it. (sprue and cool stuff first, then the grit just to cover any glue, then paint.. base in black, and dry brush the colors.

Good luck this morning... I found $25 dollars in a pack of smokes on the bus. I tossed the Winstons out, and kept the money as a just reward for anti-littering.

Home early, and taking it easy. New duties at work tomorrow...plus meetings about the website. I find out exactly what the duties entail tomorrow too…but I don't imagine they're too much fun... sales and the mail shop were bleating about having to do it… and Kev offered our dept... I hope it's nothing tedious. Kev did mention that it'd only be for a little while.... that sort of softening suggests that it'll be PITA work. Hopefully, it's something I can automate programmatically.

Tonight's book... Starting fresh with Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software by Steven Johnson, paperback edition. Tony gave it to me just yesterday. Got to dig found lit, given freely. I was interested in it last winter, but my reading queue was already quite full... glad to have it reappear.

Newt's adorable tonight...curled up in the middle of my Indian-style sitting position. Time to read some non-backlit text, enjoy purrs, the scent of nag champa, and some science. Throw in some snuggly sweetie read-dreaming too, while I'm at it.

See you later, Dear Journal.