| Cheap |
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| 10:20pm 22/12/2009 |
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Free bagels today!
I love it when works feeds us
Don't have to buy lunch |
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| DDR Post |
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| 08:35pm 22/12/2009 |
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music: BT - Rose of Jericho
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Not my best day in DDR ~ I did about 13 songs and then wiped out, very tired. Also, my right ankle was quite sore. I decided not to push it further, I worked up a sweat and got somewhere between 20 and 35 minutes of exercise. |
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| lol |
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| 07:49pm 22/12/2009 |
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The other day I was in the car with the manager who often drives me home and we were randomly chatting. We passed by this costume shop that is on the route.
Manager: What's the display now?
Me: Something nativity related. It's not Joseph and Mary anymore. But I don't think it was the Ten Wisemen either.
Manager: ... There's three wisemen.
Me: (LMAO) I told you I was bad at math!
Manager: That's counting!
Me: IT'S STILL MATH
I was laughing so hard, it was great. XDDD But then we got into how three was an arbitrary number anyways. XD
So yeah, speaking of Star Ocean, I found another PA! This one is a Precis and Claude one in North City. I saw it after the Calnus explodes, but it might be possible to see it beforehand because she's just running around the area she normally is in with Bobot chasing her - you can walk right past her and the PA won't trigger unless you actually talk to her.
It's one of the more in-depth new PAs, with quite a few options, and it revolves around the idea that Precis stays cheerful to try to keep everyone else's spirits high, and how she's worried about her father (now that Narl has told everyone what has really happened to Expel). Your choices range from sympathetic to stupid, and one of the really obviously terrible options is when she tries to pretend it's no big deal and starts to say that maybe it's better if her dad's no longer around, and you can choose to start badmouthing Graft (calling him weird and whatever) and unsurprisingly she becomes furious and throws Bobot at you. Bobot goes flying towards the screen and Precis storms off. Then Bobot runs sweating/crying back to Claude, who pats the little robot. WTF XDDD
One of the last options I haven't yet tried, which is clearly the good one, is "(I think she needs a hug)". I was like, "awww" when I saw that option, which quickly turned into "WTF YOU THINK SHE NEEDS A HUG?? *YOU* NEED A HUG!!!!"
I hope there is actually at least one new PA dealing with that whole exploding Federation ship/unresolved dead father issue thingy :{
One point five days left to go~ and my mommy and sis fly out to Taiwan tomorrow morning! I hope they have a safe and smooth trip x3 |
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Read 3 - Post |
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| Jetwolf.com go bye-bye (temporarily) |
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| 11:45am 22/12/2009 |
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mood:  aggravated
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For anybody trying to reach jetwolf.com, you might notice that you can't. Long story short, I'm in the process of moving providers. The site will hopefully be back up within a few days.
Also, if you try to email me there, you'll soon realize you can't do that either. For now, anybody trying to reach me will need to do so through gmail (jetwolfv1). Alternately, there's always Twitter (@JetWolf). |
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| Best soup ever and things I have found on the internet |
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| 08:09pm 21/12/2009 |
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I assembled soup for supper for supper last night. It is our current favourite. It contains:
- homemade turkey stock (although there is now no more stock in the freezer)
- potato and a bit of onion, browned a bit then added to the stock
- sausage, browned separately and added at the last minute
- kale, added with the sausage
- parmesan cheese, including a chunk of parmesan rind to gnaw on at the bottom of each bowl
Later today, I am going to buy the last little bits of stocking stuffer, and new glasses. For I got my eyes tested, and they did NOT put in the stupid drops that dilate your pupils, oh happy day. And lo, my eyes were proclaimed perfectly healthy, independent of my hereditary needing glasses to see past the end of my nose.
Things I have found lately while reading the internet:
- Simon's Cat This is the guy who did the "wake-up cat" cartoon. Scarily, hilariously accurate. Also, the sound of the cat meowing while I watched them made Trout run to the window, intently looking for the OTHER CAT in the vicinity of HIS HOUSE.
- A recipe for chocolate spiced zucchini loaf that ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) troutkitty IM'd me from all the way across the living room, accompanied with a pleading look. The same circumstances also surrounded this banana bread recipe, which looks very close to my usual recipe from the Rebar cookbook.
- A hopeful article: Significantly More Teens Think 'That's So Gay' is Wrong as GLSEN's Ad Council Campaign Enters Second Phase
- A bunch of improv tips. Anybody local-ish will probably guess which Calgarian linked this on Facebook. *g*
- The Electronic Frontier Foundation looks like an excellent place to donate to, and not just because of the bonus of a special-edition XKCD shirt.
It is snowing again, big, fat white drifting flakes. I see more sidewalk-shovelling in my future. But first, I am going to finish reading the internet (I have a weekend addiction to apartment therapy) and before anything else, hunt down socks or slippers. Brr, cold floor! |
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Read 1 - Post |
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| no subject |
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| 06:39pm 22/12/2009 |
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TICCY, GUESS WHAT? YOU'RE GOING TO RUN THE MELBOURNE MARATHON WITH ME IN OCTOBER.
I need to lose the brain drug weight I put on during treatment, because it's uncomfortable. I'm going to do this by training to run 42km. Technically, I could do this by myself. But why would I, when I can coerce innocent bystanders to suffer with me? :D |
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Read 15 - Post |
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| Inclined |
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| 09:21pm 21/12/2009 |
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Starting to pay off
The workout get easier
Even doing more |
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| Tea alert |
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| 08:55pm 21/12/2009 |
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Tao Tea Leaf opened up on the weekend. It's on Yonge between Rosedale & Yonge/Bloor stations. As the name suggests, it's all Chinese teas. (EDIT: but they're also like a cafe/snack joint in that they have bubble tea & cookies) |
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Read 3 - Post |
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| The Pickwick Papers - Installment 2 |
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| 01:17pm 21/12/2009 |
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mood:  chipper music: AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
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When we left our four heroes, they had been standing with the unnamed stranger who has (unbeknownst to them) been the cause of most of their troubles. He brings with him an actor who seems to be the model for Eeyore/Marven the Paranoid Android/any number of such characters, as he is a miserable bastard. But all the for better, as this leads us to an incredibly pointless yet hysterical third chapter, the entirety of which is the actor telling them about a fellow actor of his who drinks too much, gets down on his luck, catches a fever, and dies horribly over the course of several days. The florid, overbearing style used to tell this tale is the real treat here.
After this, things get back to the main point of the early parts of this book, which is to say our four heroes make utter fools of themselves while everyone around them sniggers. We do get an excellent description of a military review for the town. The review ends up almost taking out Mr. Pickwick and his fellow adventurers multiple times (you get the feeling it might be revenge for the previous evening's party shenanigans), but when they finally escape from the middle of the company they come across some fellow idiots, i.e. the Wardles. Loved seeing the snarky back and forth between the spinster sister and her two nieces.
Wardle invites our heroes to their farm, and the final chapter I read is of them being schnookered - again - into going there via the two orneriest horses you ever did see. One is ridden by Mr. Winkle, the so-called "sportsman" of the group - this goes well until he is forced to actually get off the horse for something, at which point the horse messes with him for several minutes then gallops back home. The other, attached to a box carriage, is driven by Mr. Pickwick, who proves wretched at driving horses that don't listen to anything anyone says. They eventually have to walk the several miles to Mr. Wardle's farm, where this section ends.
The humor is the main reason to read this so far. There's some very funny stuff, especially since the reader is far cleverer than any of the four protagonists. Still, the presence of the mysterious not-evil-at-all-really stranger is missed - I wonder if he'll be back? |
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| Unusual/Unattached |
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| 10:39pm 20/12/2009 |
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Slept in pretty late
Then spent all day playing games
Nice to have days off
It's been a long time
Was always busy with her
No time for myself |
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| get togethers :3 |
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| 08:58pm 20/12/2009 |
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I'm glad I finally typed up my whole Austria report! I added some photos and printed it off for my mom to take back to Taiwan so that my grandfather can read the whole thing and learn about what shenanigans we were up to. XD (They'll probably say something like "there's a lot of descriptions of food in here ...") The new printer was put to good use printing it all out. XD
The nice thing about the holidays is getting to see people you rarely have a chance to hang out with. Yesterday my sis and I got together with a bunch of friends and we had a late brunch at Christina's on the Danforth. It was a lot of fun getting to catch up with everyone again, sharing stories and rants XD
Today was the annual get-together with Christine and Alex! Aside from cons we seem to only manage to get together for each other's birthday and Christmas :{ But I guess that's not bad for staying in touch so long! We went to Yorkdale and had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, which was pretty fun. It's more expensive of course, but none of us had ever been so it was a neat experience. It's pretty much like eating out at a theme park with the jungle-themed environment and all the animatronic animals, not to mention the "thunder storm" that took place every 20 or so minutes XDD
After lunch we caught The Princess and the Frog XDDDDD which I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would. It was cute and funny with likeable characters, and we all lol'ed quite a bit. The New Orleans setting and sound really gave it a lot of flavour (which made me kind of whaaat at the song choice for the end credits lol), and I like Tiana's expressions as a frog (especially her "determined" expression lol). I also thought Charlotte was hilarious; her gestures and mannerisms crack me up and I'm glad they made her such a sweet girl as opposed to just being a plain spoiled, bitter rival which would have been easy and obvious XDDD
But yeah, overall fun couple of days XDD
THIS WEEK IS KWISHMASH HOMG~ |
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Read 1 - Post |
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| Relational Intellect |
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| 05:54pm 20/12/2009 |
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My brain works in a very ... interesting manner. I tend to process patterns first, details second. My spacial recognition is quite good, as is my sense of relationships. I am just killer at sliding tile puzzles.
Unfortunately, what with all the pondering about tidying up my bedroom and cleaning out my walk-in closet, my subconscious decided the entire apartment was a giant sliding tile puzzle and that it was time to rearrange both the bedroom and the living room simultaneously. I am grateful that the hallway (storage) closet door was closed this entire time or I would probably be involving it as well.
This is what today has seen accomplished:
Stripped the bed, rotated the mattress, washed all the bedding and sets of sheets (including a new set I bought yesterday at Target).
Dug through the old clothes in the closet, threw out a garbage bag of old clothes, including out of style suitcoats and shirts not worth keeping even if I get back into that size.
Hung new clip hooks in the patio window, dusted the ceiling, blinds, and room corners for cobwebs, sorted through all the decorations I got out already, hung up icicle lights on the new clip hooks, moved the couch, moved the main living room lamps, am moving the entry table but not quite sure where yet, throwing out old floor fan.
Unfortunately the apartment is completely ripped up right now. I'm about to go toss things in the garbage and when I come back I think it's time to tackle the bedroom closet some more. In theory, I want to dust and sweep the room before I put the bedding back on my bed. I think I'm going to throw out some old posters too.
[ETA: BONUS points! I just found my missing massager gadget that Susan bought me several years ago. Damn thing has been buried under a spare comforter all this time.] |
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Read 5 - Post |
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| a long day's night |
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| 05:46pm 20/12/2009 |
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mood:  calm
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Everton tied Birmingham City, which considering where Birmingham sits in the table probably is a bit impressive. Still a long way to avoid relegation, but things are at least looking up.
Next book up is Rite of Conquest,, by Judith Tarr. It looks fun enough, and it's certainly been on my bookshelf long enough.
Still plowing through BSSO. Hopefully I'll have gotten through all of season one by Christmas.
Unrelated to anything, but I'll be making sweet potato pies in a couple of days. Let's see if I can manage them solo. |
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Read 1 - Post |
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| In Which Jen Has Enough of the Snow |
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| 03:18pm 20/12/2009 |
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Okay, really? If this is an every-7-year event, maybe I can deal with it. I remember the last time we had this much snow was just after I moved into my house and thus had to shovel myself. I think that's pretty much one of the only things I miss about an apartment. Well, that and the maintenance.
Pictures later. When I went out this morning, there were 20" on my front steps, which I didn't shovel yesterday.
Yesterday, I shoveled for about 2 hours and got my driveway done and the deck. Granted, it was snowing at the time, but my theory was I'd rather shovel a foot of snow then than 20" of snow now. I'm glad I did, it's starting to melt with the sunshine and, thus, getting heaving. The deck was the more concerning as I didn't want a chance of any of the older boards breaking.
This morning, I went out and there was probably a good 4" of snow on the deck and driveway. I did away with that and, 3 hours later, the deck, driveway, and most of the front steps are clean. I put some twine across my steps, though, so the crazy mail carriers won't try to go up it. It's still a little treacherous.
Also, we had a community bonding moment. First, one lady across the court helped me with the front steps and then provided us with hot tea. Then, 3 other neighbors (whose names I still don't know) decided we weren't going to wait for the plow, and we were afraid the plow would just block us in anyway, so the 4 of us cleared out half the court. Now we have a nice little path to the main road which, while not exactly clear, is navigable if we really needed it.
The good thing is I didn't trash my back doing all this shoveling. I may, however, have strained my arms. Because there was so much snow I was effectively doing various Olympic throwing events in order to get the snow some place that wasn't in the way. My right arm is definitely sore. Ah well! |
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Read 3 - Post |
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| RPG Combat Questions Poll |
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| 01:15pm 20/12/2009 |
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Here are some questions for all of you gamers. This is specifically in regard to pen & paper type fantasy RPGs, such as D&D, AD&D, GURPS, Warhammer, etc. The poll text has to be kind of short so please read the information text before it carefully.
Initiative systems underpin combat systems in a major way. There are basically only two types.
-In the first, combat is organized into rounds. Each round players make an initiative check, often dice+a stat modifier, then take the number of actions they're allowed, and then it all starts over again. Typically a certain movement allowance is given each round.
-In the second, combat is phased. Once a fight begins it continues endlessly. A speed attribute or dice roll may determine who goes first but then is irrelevant. Ratings are associated with each action you could take that determines how long it will be until you act again. Movement often requires use of an action. Once you act, you're allowed to act again as soon as your action has resolved/time has passed.
Attack systems are the other major component of combat systems. Again there have been two approaches primarily used in the past with computer games generating a newer third.
-Generic Attack. The first approach keeps attacking simplified. You just have a certain number of attack rolls, any tactical choices/considerations generally just become a number modifier. Mages tend to get to cast 1 spell per round while melee classes make 1-3 attacks.
-Blow by Blow. The second system works by having each action you make resolve separately, with its own modifiers. Spells still tend to take as much time as three melee attacks.
-The third approach is a hybrid, where some kind of generic or auto attack mechanism is in place and you get to make special attacks or use spells on top of that. Spell casting time varies widely, usually depending on the attack power of the spell. In terms of RPGs I'm not familiar with any that have tried this and it could be a very bookkeeping-intensive system; for the sake of this poll, assume an easy way to track actions with minimal fuss is in place.
In the past, some well-known games have used the different possible combinations of initiative and attack approach. Despite this, it's important to examine each question separately. For instance, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons was well known for using Round Initiative+Generic Attack, however Vampire the Masquerade used Round Initiative+Blow by Blow attack. True Phased Combat+Generic Attack is actually not possible, but the Hero System used something kind of close to it. Phased Combat+Blow By Blow is actually Final Fantasy's Active Time Battle system and Final Fantasy X used a not-realtime version of it that worked out just like a P&P game showing you when you'd be able to act again based on which attack or spell you used. Finally, Round Initiative+Hybrid Attacks can be found in Feng Shui where attacks against unnamed opponents become genericized but attacks on a named foe are resolved individually. Phased Combat+Hybrid Attack is the system used by Final Fantasy XI Online and Guild Wars and even WoW, where the player characters auto attack while charging adrenaline/tactical points/recharging magic, and they opt to unleash special attacks and spells at will.
Poll #1501333 RPG Combat Questions
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 10What kind of initiative/action system do you prefer in a fantasy role playing game? What kind of attack system do you prefer? |
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Read 2 - Post |
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4 (40.0%)