Isocracy AGM, VPAC Supercomputer Project, Socialising

[tcpip]

Prepared the committee report for today's Isocracy AGM with Race Matthews speaking afterwards on worker's cooperatives. For an organisation with a mere 26 members, we made extraordinary achievements this year (two branches established, seven forums, two Senate submissions, etc). Most recent post on the website is Stephen Spirgis' review of Rising Up and Rising Down, an excellent assessment of political violence in politics. Will take his opportunity to thank sebastianne for her great work over the years as VP, as she's unfortunately standing down.

Very pleased this week with the efforts on the new supercomputer. We've managed to get an enormous amount of the software installed, with numerous nodes installed with various DNS wars. imajica_lj deserves special recognition for his herculean efforts. Indeed, despite the swearing, cursing, and glazed-eyes from trying to get the system to an excellent state, there has been a high level of camaraderie from those on the project. First "real users" expected early next week. The most amusing media coverage compares our little 45.9 teraflop machine with Titan, the world's fastest at 20 petaflops.

Thursday night was another excellent Call of Cthulhu session, playing out the Zargeb and Belgrade chapter of Horror on the Orient Express; one character is increasingly insane, but the others are actually improving! Second chapter of our game-play posted. Last night attended the weekly multicultural gathering organised by Keith P.; some thirty (mostly) students crammed into his flat to discuss community. Will be presenting at the group in a fortnight's time on the topic "The Worst Features of the English Language", which I imagine fluffyblanket would have a few comments to make!

Comments

[ratfan.livejournal.com]

Insanity isn't always a drawback in COC, I find. There's one player in our team whose character has been elected Governor of his state ;-) My current character, Virginia Kendall (see link in previous post to the game) has lost heaps of points from simply gazing at the works of a mad artist, but I haven't written her off yet.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

True, insanity isn't always a drawback.. But the character in question has a great deal chipped away with no ill effects, so now that losing 20% in a short time (and gaining an indefinite insanity) will be happening at least twice a session. They're down to 7 SAN.. and there's no sanatorium of repute nearby (Sofia is the closest city).. Not that they would go willingly with their megalomania, criminal psychosis, and panzaism....

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

7 SAN!? They better have a brilliant on-board psychotherapist available if they want to make it to Istanbul!

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Even the player admits that they're not going to make it... However, the issue is convincing the psychotic megalomaniac character that a short visit to the Bulgarian Institute for Mental Health is a good idea.. I mean, they're not a good idea now, I can't imagine what passed for mental health in 1923!