Tuesday, January 29, 2008

I've been playing Halo 3 on multiplayer campaign mode. The design of the game reminds me of Alien in a vision of a futuristic pragmatism in war sort of way, except that the ringworld is absolutely beautiful. It's worth mentioning that Halo is based on the Ringworld series by Larry Niven. I have yet to read them, but I may just order them from Amazon sometime soon.

The combat NPCs aren't absolutely retarded except if they're driving and you're shooting. They seem to hang back a bit too far, which I think is just an over-caution to make up for a lack of any real intelligence, and to make you feel like they are, indeed, the Master Chief's followers. I like shooting them in the back of the head with a grenade launcher and laughing when one of the survivors utter, "he was on our side :("

The enemy, the Covenant as they are called, seem to be following a crazy leader bent on the annihilation of all life, or something, so they fight with a religious zeal that is actually kind of impressive. My favourite enemy in the game, so far, has been the giant mechanical spiders that come lumbering over the sides of oddly-shaped buildings firing their huge lasers at your tanks. I had a hard time pulling those things down even with a friend helping me. 

I always thought that Halo was a silly, shallow series with awkward controls that was made for the lowest class of gamer, Madden fans. I've come to discover: It is that, but that blasting these shrewd bugs is actually pretty fun. I'd like to get a four player campaign going, I've only experienced two player, so far, so that I can crank the difficulty up to 11. Anyone interested?

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Br0n has never been out of our supervision except for a few babysitters, times at friend's houses for sleepovers, and a short-lived daycare experience. I remember my mother telling me about dragging her brother around since a time when she was fairly young. I know that I wasn't allowed to roam the streets freely until an age of several years after the age that my mother fist began to go out with her friends unsupervised. I know we will afford Br0n much less personal freedom than I was afforded in that regard. In our changing times I worry that more and more parents are clutching their children as we do ours, affording them less and less freedom with each passing generation. I understand that with more people there is more crime and with more crime there is a greater risk to our children, but I also understand that paranoia plays a big part in parenting, these days. 

Personally, I've always been oblivious to danger, and it may bite me in the ass one day. I'm worried that children will never see the dangerous world in which we live until they escape through their window when they are 16, at an age when a child can do the most destruction to themselves. 

A few days after we moved into our new place, there was a shooting on the corner and an officer's strike at the nearby jail. These are real dangers that Br0n should know are there, if she were ever to find herself without her parents. Not only because of her personal safety, (because I don't think she's going to walk into a jail riot or that a gangland shooter will target her specifically,) but also so she can understand what is going on around her at any given moment and take action in an appropriate manner ~on her own.~ Shielding her from situations like these will not give her this capacity. 

I see children at 11 and 12 only just ebing able to walk to school by themselves in a reasonably safe neighborhood and worry if those children's lessening sense of freedom will ultimately damage humankind's future.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

I just bought an Orc Shaman fig, an Aerith doll with lots of articulation points, and a McFarlane Hunter Dragon online, and when they get here I am going to DISPLAY the SHIT out of them.. 



































































..And maybe put Aerith in lewd poses.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

We've figured out that we're staying in the Golden Nugget hotel while in Vegas and going to the Grand Canyon with Vegas Airlines, who seem to be the only airline offering flights without a tour attached. The reason we're not taking a bus is that there are no buses going there that don't have tours attached to them and it will take about 5x longer on the bus, making a one-way trip about 5 hours. We still need to figure out where we're going to stay while in the Grand Canyon and which airline to take to Las Vegas. 

I'm going to see about buying a velvet Elvis while in LV.

I've gone back to drinking 1.5L of water/day, since I have been getting headaches from dehydration lately.

Monday, January 21, 2008

My gamertag is CrustedCrow. If you have a 360, please add me. 

Procrastinating once again. We have so much work to do and I continuously dodge my responsabilities. Bronwyn is sick as a dog with a fever of 102 and complaints of a headache and an upset stomach. If she's still sick tomorrow, we're taking her to the doctor.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

I'm thinking of the Grand Canyon as a possible destination for my childless March Break holiday. Backpacking through the gorge seems awesome.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

If I Were A Camel

If I were a camel, do you know just what I'd do?
I'd pad across the desert with my master at my mane,
Packing loads of water and other precious things,
Leaving footprints unfollowed for the transience of them. 

If I were a camel, I'd shit right where I stand.
Waste, not so much discarded as left for other hands, 
Made useful by necessity lest hunger come to them. 
If I were a camel, I'd know just where I stand. 

I would live without fear but for the master's boot,
Which kicks with knowing rhythm, and in that, fear is moot. 
My fear would be without ground, as sand is through a hoof, 
And slips away with strong winds to blind the starry roof. 

If I were a camel, I'd know what I had done, 
A life of taking precious things to places which become
Familiar to my unshod legs. Peace for mind and soul, 
Until death finds me old and worn and takes this dreary one. 

I would lay down one last time and close my sleepy eyes, 
And dream of sinking in the sand, a pyramid of bone.
If I were a camel, I'd watch you from on high, 
And walk the line between design and natural sandstone.