IT Work, Roleplaying, Socrates, and (mostly) WA science fiction fans

[tcpip]

IT work is varied; since last week it has consisted of two days for Datalink on server migrations, one day for Borderlands, fixing databases, half a day on a small LAN/wireless net for a guy who makes his money playing the marginal sharemarket and a day doing web development for a motor company. Two tales worthy of telling on these matters; firstly my boss at Datalink is a genius. He communicates very with the small team of seven, with daily staff meetings. He inspires, pushes gently, helps when he can, and knows the tech stuff really well. The second tales concerns the motor company. This is the website that I tried to get the contract about a year ago. They went for people who cost about seven times as much and wanted a fully fledged database driven system. A year later, with no development on the site, they've come back to me. How about that, eh?

Friday night I playtested RuneQuest IV with Andrei and caseopaya. For the first time in many years (like, almost 25) of playing RQ I actually managed to play in Glorantha. I am sure this is some sort of record. My character is gruff Bison-rider named Tarkhan (Waha initiate) and caseopaya has a Satarite trader (Issairies initiate). Saturday day, I updated everyone's posts for Ten Thousand Islands; they're all tripped out at Borobudur in their version of "heaven" with one character communing with Merapi, but that's you get for being an animist. Sunday was more gaming, with the Outbreak of Heresy campaign. Having dropped Francis David off at his theological college the PCs are off on another mad murder mystery. Practical upshot; we're collectively revising the Wikipedia entry on Francis David; dukeofmelbourne I expect verifiable evidence of your claim that the Hussites had armoured wagons.

Related issues: I'm giving the service at the Melbourne Unitarian Church on August 21st on "Religion and Role Playing". Seriously! Currently thinking up a snappy description (like "You're all SATANISTS - and we actually don't mind") to encourage attendance by gamers. Suggestions welcome. Also, I'm thinking of getting in contact with the local Magyar association (yes, horngirl, I'm looking at you), about anything the Church can do about the profound injustice to Hungary called the Versailles Treaty. Besides, we may find some more Francis David scholars.

Speaking of scholars (see how this works), the Unitarian Church Philosophy group has, on my constant nagging, started a course on The Last Days of Socrates. We did Euthyphro and discussed how is a very clever secular text, as Socrates shows that Euthyphro (the best theologian in Athens), cannot provide grounding to his ideal of piety, and how it is actually a subset of "the good".

Sociability this weekend consisted of dinner and drinks with darklion and kremmen on Thursday, a 30th birthday for a 2600 member and then on to the Continuum 3 masquerade ball, where I caught up with Grant Stone, Sue-Anne, darklion, doctor_k, strangedave, baralier, and domesticmouse. Sunday was a late dinner with more WA SF fans, including _fustian, livelurker, delicious_irony, darklion, kremmen and others who's nic I've forgotten already (c'mon people, help me out here...). Last night skipped a Neil Gaiman signing in preference to saving poor severina_242 from another visit to the dentist. Afterwards she told me all that it wrong with the latest Harry Potter book. By the sounds of it, I think Ms. Rowling has lost the plot. But she's so rich from suckers who'll still buy this steaming turd of a story, right?

Comments

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

"All that is wrong", not "All wrong". An important difference. I'm sure the book has a redeeming feature, or even maybe two.

[greylock.livejournal.com]

Ah. It's been a long day filled with the economic impact of amine unit corrosion on overall plant profitability.

[catsidhe.livejournal.com]

Redeeming Features:

• The kids are all acting as completely believable 16-year-olds. Confused, horny, emotional, irrational, angry, morose, reactive, you know, sixteen.
• The traditional Happy Ending isn't. (If I were to say one more thing it would be a spoiler.)
• Long-standing assumptions are re-assessed
• despite some reviews, she did listen to an editor this time, at least, more than for Order of the Phoenix.

Not-so-redeeming features

• The adults are mostly acting like 16-year-olds as well. Although, a more developed student of human nature will be gratifyingly surprised by the accuracy here.
• The editor was listened to, but not always obeyed.
• This is not a book that those 10-year-old kids will necessarily appreciate when they finish it. (Note, that doesn't mean that they can't cope with it, despite the "think of the child-run" crowd, but they will get a shock.)

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

(If I were to say one more thing it would be a spoiler.)

I. Was. So. Tempted.

Long-standing assumptions are re-assessed

Re-assessed? They don't make any sense at all. They're completely out of character.

Although, a more developed student of human nature will be gratifyingly surprised by the accuracy here.

But it so much easier to have simply evil people rather than those who have motivations, reasons and justifications!

[lederhosen.livejournal.com]

Oh, it does. Without even *reading* it, I've been keeping my heart warm for the last couple of days just savouring the drama generated by all those heartbroken shippers who discovered their Most Despised Pairing is now canon. Or the ones who've invested their souls in Blaise Zabini fanfic and now find their world shattered because JKR has mentioned that he's BLACK.