43 Bean Flavour Bursting the Dark Clouds

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My 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 (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.

Comments

Re: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! *

[castleclear.livejournal.com]

First the correction of my typographic error: Happy Birthday to YOU, younger man! :-)

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

[castleclear.livejournal.com]

*belief that a benign interstellar galactic civilization might be watching OURS, is what I intended to write. So firmly is what I intended my fingers to type held in mind, that often I cannot see my typographical errors except belatedly. Worse, sometimes I omit an entire word. I am my own worst proofreader.