The Eastern Coyote
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Below are the 7 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Yolfen" journal:
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05:07 pm
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Redwall d20 Development and Playtesting
Hail, roleplayers!
A personal re-interest in the Redwall universe has inspired me to look into developing a d20 reference for the lands and creatures of the books. I've looked around online, and while there has been scattered discusion, there doesn't seem to be anything seriously developed thus far, so I thought I might try my paw at this.
While on my search I found the www.d20srd.org Website which is all the open source rules and game info for the d20 RPG system, and it is a well-composed reference; the d20 Modern SRD is also linked to this site and is an offering direct from Wizard's of the Coast. I'm am taking the time to refresh myself on the basic rules, while also browsing through the alternatives and variaents sections for inspiration.
The Redwall books are intended more as children/teen literature, and they aren't as broad and deep in terms of themes and dynamics as the fantasy fiction intended for adults. To that end, the goal of this project is a stand-alone reference that is more streamlined and less detailed than other settings, while still retaining the themes and cannon of the books. I like a lot of the optional rules in the Variant Rules section of the site and find that many of these would be more appropriate to my project than the standard rules, especially as a means of playing a less complicated game based on a less complicated setting. When finished, this reference document will essentially be a Campaign Setting book and will essentially replace the standard PHB.
Eventually I'm going to require feedback and playtesting to work out the kinks. I'm not a very experienced DM, though I hope that when its all over, that I will have created a set of reference documents that would allow even me to properly host a challenging and dynamic campaign for my group. Carvis, I know among my frist that you are the most experienced int his department, and I hope that I may be able to call on you for feedback and advice when the time comes.
Thank you for your interest.
Current Mood:  creative
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07:41 pm
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A Quick Thought on the End of the World
The more I read, the more I hear, the more I discuss this "end of the world" we're supposedly within a half decade of, I have come to the following conclusion: if our days as a growing, thriving species are numbered, then I see the "end of the world" are rather the point of no return where numerous evens have occurred to take us towards depletion or extinction. It won't be a single event and I feel that we, like with Y2K, will wait in anticipation of something that will not come, while that which has will go unobserved, and by then it will be too late to turn back.
Cancer. AIDS. Global warming. Super bugs. WMD's. These are the potential threats we face today, and a disturbingly large assortment of options to choose from. We're due for major civil unrest somewhere in the world. We're due for a major conflict (WW3 is supposed to be one of the ways we're supposed to do ourselves in). We've been due for a stock market crash that, and it acutally worries people that it hasn't hapened; China could make this happen if they felt pressured enough, and everyone knows it now. At what point will any one of these going to break loose and touch off a chain reaction from which we escape with only few survivors?
I'm genuinely curious to see what we face in December 2012, as I know that, as a species, we're simply too small-minded to be able to see the wave coming to stave off disaster before then. *smirks* maybe we'll tip the barrel over if nothing happens anyway, simply out of frustration and spite. I'd want to survive and be considered useful in such heady times, and hope to be able to reach enough of the right people before its too late to get me to where that can happen. This post isn't about spreading panic, only awareness that we find ourselves in the most troubled times in our history and that if a dark time is to befall us soon that I hope that we each can see its coming and make ready for it.
That is all.
Current Mood:  thoughtful
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02:02 pm
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Discussion: The Urban Nomad
Readers,
When I had been discussing the idea of spending more time away from the home a few months back, that was really just a part of a larger concept I had been thinking about for some time now: the idea of living as an urban nomad. Now I'm not talking about living off of handouts and scavenging in dumpsters, but about the idea of living without a permanent home and being an "urban nomad." If you've ever felt the pull of wanderlust, but don't want to live the life of the typical homeless person, perhaps there is a workaround.
Since 2002, I have moved approximately seven times, and when it comes to securing a place to live, transporting posessions, and staking out the resources in one's community has been a challenge. This isn't as bas as others I've known, and its always lead to establishing a "home base" for myself and usually one other individual, but I've never felt "settled" or been allowed to settle, for one reason or another, though I have tried; I've wondered if I ever would or how long it would take. I've felt the pull of wanderlust several times in my life and perhaps I'm already half way there, weighted down only by my financial responsibilities and posessions I cannot easily have travel with me. Perhaps it is when I have few of either that I might feel unburdened enough to want to give being an urban nomad a go.
You hear about the "homeless bums," the hitchhikers and squatters, and those people who backpack their way around foreign countries, but I've yet to hear about someone or a group of someons who've actually managed to build a healthy, qualitative lifestyle in the modern civilized world without having some sort of home base. Can it truly be done? What tools, techniques and resources would be required? What are the drawbacks? These questions and others are the ones I hope to further define and decuss further in followup discussions on this topic.
I want to make it clear that I'm not personally looking to become an urban nomad myself, at least not anytime soon. As a species, we once survived as other animals did, by going where the resources needed for survival and prosperity were available, then learning to develop and exploid these resources has lead us to develop permanent settlements, but maybe there's still room for the nomadic approach to living, even if its still within your own city. If you have any thoughts at this time I'd be curious to hear them, though I will be elaborating on this subject as time passes so as to give the whole concept a chance to be fully explored and discussed.
Thanks for your interest.
Current Mood: thoughtful
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08:24 am
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Much Better :)
I'm definitely not going into work today. Fuck that! I'm not that desparate for the money anymore, and thanks to a nice grilled sandwich, a chi-hot choc mix that I'm still drinking, and "other stuff" i'm feeling much better this morning. I'm still the only one up.
The Moldavians need serious work, so that is what I will task myself with this morning. I think I'll make this weekend and hardcore personal projects weekend, scine I still have a lot of unfinished business therein.
Oh, Carvis, did you know that Moldavian is a real language? A friend of mine, assisting me with the development of their written language, found it via Wikipedia. Are you dead set on using "Moldavia" and "Moldavian" for your game?
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04:58 pm
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A Nerdly Amusement
It just ocurred to me that at a time when floppy are no longer included as standard with new computers, and are generally considered useless, I have tested more floppy drives since I started working here, than processors from either Intel or AMD, digital cameras, laptop RAM, KVM switches, wireless network adapters, I/O controller cards, and possibly as many or more than LCD's that pivot, those Creative Microphoto MP3 players, Bluetooth devices. I think I've tested about 8 floppy drives, most of them black-faced.
Does this mean that we still sell that many floppies, they're just that defective, or these other parts are just that well built?
The floppy drive, in its most common 3.5" flormat, has been around for around 20 years and we still require one around the shop to do reliable BIOS updates for motherboards and controller cards, sometimes to run HDD diagnostics or Norton Ghost, and to install SATA and SATA RAID drivers during the OS install for testing. Vista is the first Windows-based OS to support a thumb drive for retrieval of drivers during the installation process. For our needs, until the thumbdrive becomes as ubiquitous as the floppy had become, we'll still be suing the 1.44MB magnetic storage media for these most basic of maintenance needs. You can still use a memory key or CD in DOS, but floppies just work, always, without having to do anything special as you may need to do to make that CD or key accessible.
Thanks for your interest.
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12:53 pm
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Apartment Saga Nears End
Hail!
Here's an upadte:
2 weekend ago we went to sign the lease, only to find out, then, that we required tenant's insurance before we could move in. Everything else was signed and the security deposit handed over.
On Saturday, Rhari and i became AMA/CAA members and purchased Tenant Insurance with them. I dropped paid for it then and there via debit and walked out. I may also look into getting health and dental with them as long as I'm a member with them. :)
I had Rhari ask Derek if he wanted to move in with us and he accepted. When Merc arrives, that will be 4 adults and 1 child in the apartment. This arrangement is to last until August 12, when Rhari and Derek move out. While not really wanting Derek there, this is my idea and I think it will be a good short-term financial arrangement for everyone involved. If one of us has trouble acquiring new employment during this time, the other three can help pick up the slack.
Most of the apartment is packed up and apartment tidied up, and will be completed for this weekend. We'll be doing the walk-in on Saturday and handed the keys, and on Sunday a workmate is going to swing by with a rental truck and we should have the place relocated within the afternoon. Derek will also be moving in that weekend and I sitll have to ask Myron if he'd be willing ot make a run over to Derek's and pick up his stuff. I'll return that evening to get the last of the cleaning done before Monday which will be the last Monday the place will be shown before May.
I still need to call and have services transferred over, and will probably do that today.
May is going to be a very exciting and challenging month for all of us. Outside of my immediate family, this is the most number of people I've ever had to live with and I hope we can work together to make this happen.
That is all.
Current Mood:  busy
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12:12 pm
[Link] | ...And this is one of those days when I really could be anywhere else...
Not once, but twice, do I get snapped at by a co-worker for trying to be helpful, but I also have a bit of a swimmy head, I think as a result of too much sugar yesterday. Yeah, these will both pass in time, its just unpleasant being in it. There is still a lot of cleanup to do before the party on Saturday, and I'd sooner be home doing that right at this moment, even if they are paying me to be here rather than being at home. Why do I get so damned sensitive when other people get snippy with me? :C
I was busy near the start of the weekend, but here another day goes by with pretty much and empty shelf and a feeling that I'd like ot be doing more. I'm trying not to talk myself into a feeling that this is as high as I should go in the PC hardware repair business, while I know one of the techs here would love to have less work to do. :P I know Rhari has sweet all to do at her job most days and has even less freedom with her idle time, though she's getting a chance to move to a job that should keep her busier so at least.
I want to speak to the Service or Sale manager in the new year about moving into one of these departments and I really want to feel like I am up to the challenge.I know there would be stress in its own way in those departments, but I want to give it a try. As there is nobody to take over for me, I coudl see them saying "no" or "not right now." We are short staffed at every location IIRC. I want to stay at this location though, as I am already established here and where I am looking to move is down the street from here.
There is apparently a raise review that takes place in February and if you get something, you apparently start seeing it in March. I will have been here 8 months by the review, and I hope that is enough time and that I am worth paying more. I'm sure the owners pass look over at my empty shelf and wonder why they are even paying for someone to do dedicated equipment testing; it would never be empty if it was left upto the other techs to do it between themselves. I hope they understand this.
The one tech here that had a child on the way pretty much disappeared the day his girlfriend delivered and hasn't been back nor did he give word of quitting. We all suspect that he left for a better job, like Dall at $17/hour. Money isn't everything to me, and so I am still here because I don't really want to start over with a new job and I don't want to be on the receiving end of cranky customers. Answering a phone this morning got me a cranky co-worker instead. :/
The new year has a lot to offer and so I will be patient. Perhaps a Webcomic project will do me good. I'll certainly need something if they decide that I'm not worth enough to give me a raise or that I'm not skilled enough to work as a full technician. I still have yet to certify in anything and so maybe a steady job will give me the focus to get on that and get it done. It certainly couldn't hurt when it comes down to wanting a better shake and having the papers to say I've earned it.
Current Location: Work
Current Mood:  anxious
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