43 Bean Flavour Bursting the Dark Clouds
Jan. 20th, 2011 11:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tcpipMy body has just completed it's 43rd orbit around the sun. Rather overwhelmed by the sixtyeighty or so people who sent me birthday wishes on Facebook. It has certainly made up for what a very ordinary past few days.
The first rather disappointing event was the mark I received for my Managing Innovation assignment; it was Credit grade, but sufficiently low that I have little chance of retaining my streak of HD and Ds thus far. I have requested a re-assessment as, in my opinion, the marking overlooked numerous points where I showed I had absorbed the course material to date. I am certain that the grade had nothing to do with a "full and frank" discussion I had with the course co-ordinator several semesters back in the graduate forum concerning the effects of the Corn Laws and Comparative Advantage. Let's just say that I am not a semi-socialist with nationalistic notions of protectionism.
The second event was a report from my rather inactive mortgage broker in New Zealand that the AMP had declined to lend me the remaining equity for the Dunedin place as it was rented to students. They then made an offer to sell the place on my behalf. Whilst I am not a lawyer (alas, but one graduate semester in Business Law), that stinks of Conflict of Interest in the legal sense. Panicking slightly as settlement date is the end of the month, I have taken matters into my own hands and contacted several banks here and New Zealand. I have particular optimism that Members Equity, the bank established by the trade union movement, will be able to bail me out of a fairly dire predicament.
Spent tonight in a very enjoyable session with several gaming buddies playing Dr. Who: Adventures Through Space and Time (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
angusabranson? Are you reading this?). Our storyline involves a Dunedin Torchwood group and is following threads ranging from John Carpenter's "The Thing", "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure", "The Tomorrow People", "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" and "Bad Taste". Seriously, when you're with the right group RPGs beat television hands down.
The first rather disappointing event was the mark I received for my Managing Innovation assignment; it was Credit grade, but sufficiently low that I have little chance of retaining my streak of HD and Ds thus far. I have requested a re-assessment as, in my opinion, the marking overlooked numerous points where I showed I had absorbed the course material to date. I am certain that the grade had nothing to do with a "full and frank" discussion I had with the course co-ordinator several semesters back in the graduate forum concerning the effects of the Corn Laws and Comparative Advantage. Let's just say that I am not a semi-socialist with nationalistic notions of protectionism.
The second event was a report from my rather inactive mortgage broker in New Zealand that the AMP had declined to lend me the remaining equity for the Dunedin place as it was rented to students. They then made an offer to sell the place on my behalf. Whilst I am not a lawyer (alas, but one graduate semester in Business Law), that stinks of Conflict of Interest in the legal sense. Panicking slightly as settlement date is the end of the month, I have taken matters into my own hands and contacted several banks here and New Zealand. I have particular optimism that Members Equity, the bank established by the trade union movement, will be able to bail me out of a fairly dire predicament.
Spent tonight in a very enjoyable session with several gaming buddies playing Dr. Who: Adventures Through Space and Time (
angusabranson? Are you reading this?). Our storyline involves a Dunedin Torchwood group and is following threads ranging from John Carpenter's "The Thing", "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure", "The Tomorrow People", "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" and "Bad Taste". Seriously, when you're with the right group RPGs beat television hands down.![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-01-20 02:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-20 10:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-20 02:33 pm (UTC)Financial - Looks like the banks cannot own you, so they play the sort of game you outlined.
RPGaming - Need a fix soon. Writing character concepts, scenarios and rule variations. However, still will not play any sort of DnD.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-20 10:12 pm (UTC)*cough*Submit articles to RPG Review*cough*
However, still will not play any sort of DnD.
To be fair there is some D&D/D20 games which are worth a look at, especially Testament is exceedingly well done, as is the True20 line of products (Blue Rose, Mutants & Masterminds). There is also a fantasy series ... whose name I forget ... where you get to play the 'bad guys', which is pretty good.
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Date: 2011-01-20 08:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-20 10:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-21 12:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-21 01:59 am (UTC)HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! *
Date: 2011-01-21 11:42 am (UTC)(*commences singing "Happy Natal Anniversary To You")
re: Gaming
Date: 2011-01-21 11:46 am (UTC)Absolutely it does!!!
Re: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! *
Date: 2011-01-22 06:39 am (UTC)(I think they might be drunk!)
Re: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! *
Date: 2011-01-22 02:16 pm (UTC)I think drunk is the kind yet apt term for it. I am of course thinking of the term Drunk on Power. I bet like other potentially harmful things, it's really intoxicating.
Have you ever read The Lazarus Effect? http://www.sfreviews.com/docs/Frank%20Herbert%20and%20Bill%20Ransom_1983_The%20Lazarus%20Effect.htm It was second in the series. That said, I still prefer Joan Slonczewski's A Door Into Ocean. Or for that matter Sylvia Louise Engdahl's classic for teenagers, Enchantress from the Stars. http://www.sylviaengdahl.com/efts.htm
*Digression, I don't know why, but I believe the Australian governemnt has Engdahl's few novels on their ban list and you are not allowed to read it there. Whether this is because the message is too hopeful, or could relate to treatment of aboriginal peoples, or simply to combat superstitious belief that a benign interstellar galactic civilization might be watching outs, I cannot I say.
I hope these and other ideas might relate well to the very interesting RP Toon game, though these are speculative science fiction, not the fascinating romp through history your group is doing. Regards and best wishes to the young gods. *wink*
Some days I can't help but Typo it seems
Date: 2011-01-22 02:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-21 07:23 pm (UTC)Much happiness to you and Erica.
Chris and Clare
no subject
Date: 2011-01-21 10:39 pm (UTC)Seriously, Torchwood is awesome. The new series of Dr. Who? I tried very hard to like it, but I was very, very disappointed. I had to go back and watch some of the Eccelston/Tennant stuff to remind myself that Daleks are scary, because the new Daleks are shite.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-22 06:37 am (UTC)Just to give a brief summary of our awesome story so far...
The Dunedin Torchwood team (Alien Invasion Defense Service) is employed by the Crown to protect all of NZ from alien invasion (and the moon). It consists of a psychic adolescent girl with a constant pout and an elder boffin Zanzibarean from 2095, and the rather hardy sole survivor of a shapechanging alien from an Antarctic base.
So in the cause of our duties we spot a fish-headed alien bastard driving a Ferrari and we give 'round the Octagon and down to the docks. Said alien drives his vehicle into a deserted warehouse and we give chase. Next we know it we're in Edinburgh, 1801. After just getting used to this very unusual transformation who should be driving a cart down the road but this fish-headed invader with a young man drinking from a from a flagon and shooting pistols.
We give chase once again, and this time the fish-head doesn't escape, crashing the chart into a shit-filled loch. The alien bastard passes out and we drag it and his young friend out of the loch. The youth turns out to incredibly drunk. Sobering the youngster up we're informed he works at the university where we take the pair of them and eventually bring the alien to recovery stage. When it finally comes to, it is revealed that he really has nothing to do with the temporal vortex and is just some extra-terrestrial hoon looking for a party. Fish-head is very upset when he discovers that this country exports opium for tea.
The youth swears he normally doesn't drink can't remember getting in such an inebriated state; that was all fish-head's fault. Turns out his earliest memory was but ten years ago when he fell from an most excellent tree, and found himself in the employ of a university don. Prior to that he has total amnesia. A few slip-ups and it seems that youngster knows things that he shouldn't, like the location of Antarctica and the equivalence equation for relativistic mass and energy.
A quick bioscan later we discover that he is fact a she, and she has two hearts and carries a sonic screwdriver. Whilst we originally think that we've caught ourselves The Doctor, further questions seems to make this unlikely and instead we have ourselves a Time Lord with amnesia.
Meanwhile our psychic with a pout also has a fondness for "borrowing" things. In this case it's a small glass ball with what appears to be gas swirling in it. It's been giving her visions of the past, and it has a name...
And that's where we're up to!
no subject
Date: 2011-01-22 02:28 pm (UTC)