Fare Well 2008, Kia Ora 2009
Jan. 2nd, 2009 04:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tcpipA fine welcome to 2009 after a pretty damn fine 2008. I have taken the opportunity to review and summarise what I got up to last year (yes, it's long) and what I'm planning for this year (somewhat shorter).
I released two issues of RPG Review. Wrote a large section of a planned new edition of Campaign Law, which has been put on ICE (haha, joke there) and to which I'll be re-writing as "Adventure By Design". Reached the NaNoWriMo target with the DemonSpirits roleplaying game. On the second last day of 2008 was offered another writing role by ICE for Cyradon for Rolemaster Classic. Did a lot of good gaming this year; was very happy with my RuneQuest Prax campaign, my HeroQuest Glorantha game and the Powers & Perils game I'm running. All three will continue in the new year. Also, finished an epic AD&D1e game and put that puppy on the shelves for good. Played many others, most consistently D&D Fantasy Australia. Went to GenconOz in Brisbane during July and had a great time.
Wrote reviews on RPG.net for Middle Earth Role Playing, Dragon Warriors, Dungeons & Dragons (4th edition), Basic Roleplaying, Mongoose RuneQuest Deluxe, Swordbearer, Legend of the Five Rings (1st edition), AD&D Queen of the Demonweb Pits, HeroQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, AD&D Vault of the Drow, Kill Puppies for Satan, The Traveller Book, and AD&D Shrine of the Kuo-Toa.
Went to New Zealand and gave a paper on Lying in Politicsat the Australasian Society for Continental Philosophy annual conference, which hopefully will be published in Parrhesia. Also had a paper published in the French culture journal, Organdi on Definition, History, Usage and Future of Computer Data Storage. Finished a surprisingly large portion of a Cert IV in Training and Assesment and hoping to have it complete in the next two weeks (which would mean finishing a six month course in three months). Gave a presentation at eResearch 2008 on the advantages of Drupal as a content management framework. Gave a paper on 'What Is Video Collaboration?" at the ARCS Video Collaboration Workshop in slides and notes. Contributed to a course at Utah University on Marxian Economics.
A truly an excellent year for work (and finances). Apart from the aforementioned papers, which were mostly through ARCS, I also wrote (and re-wrote) most of the tutorial for VPAC, in addition to the usual tasks of installing and optimising various scientific programes (ah, MATLAB in parallel, how I remember thee) and high-end video conferencing (part of which was screened on the ABC's Catalyst). I made use of some federal political contacts to enhance the financing prospects for the Australian cancer research body, Biogrid. Somewhere along the line I became the floor OHS rep and did a First Aid certificate. As real estate, share prices and gold plummetted (by around 30, 40, and 30 percent respectively, I think), I put my money in a fix-term deposit when interest rates were at their highest. As a result, my personal wealth and income is greater than it's ever been.
In spiritual endeavours, gave Critical Issues Facing Unitarian-Universalism, A Heretic of Clarity: The Unitarian-Univeralism of Steven Fritchman, Religious Freedom and National Self-Determination and spoke at 3CR on Médecins Sans Frontières. Gave a number of presentations at the Unitarian Philosophy Forum; including on Philosophy of Justice, and the Philosophy of Art and the Philosophy of Science (can't find that link).
Personal life was just fine as well.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
caseopaya is a true darling *smooch*. I have many wonderful, intelligent and simply gorgeous friends, some of whom I enjoyed the company with during a little gathering in Walhalla. It was the Chinese Year of the Rat, and this was the year for three new boys (Calamity, Trouble and Mischief) and the departure of the rescue rats, Scoudrel and Ragamuffin, and the most venerable Rogue. During all these we rescued a dog as well.
Didn't do much in politics this year (which has been the case for a few years). Was pleased to see that the original objectives for Labor for Refugees were reached. Early in the year The Age published a letter of mine (on Israel and Palestine, how about that?). Tried my best to generate a legal case for the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act, alas to no avail.
But my goodness, what a year. Did I really do all that?
caseopaya and I spent new year's eve initially in the company of trayce and nutzboy who are very nearby and we should catch up more *nods*. After that we made a way to the home of severina_242 and _zombiemokey, where we counted down with the leap second and then watched the truly awesome zombie-flick, Homecoming. I drank far too much Rémy Martin VSOP (I really like champagne, I really like brandy - when it comes to cognac, I'm doomed). Seriously, I'm far too old to be spending the following day nursing a hangover... But that does bring us to 2009...
Much of my work for 2009 is already cut out for me. I'm planning to finish my Cert IV in the first two weeks of January, and also during that time I must complete my paper for Parrhesia. After that I must cut out those last 13,000 words from my PhD (god, what a drudgery) and then update material for 2008, and then write for Critical Horizons. After that I'll probablybe shanghaiedvolunteer to re-write the VPAC courses so they'll be available for a range of 'delivery methods' (online would be a really good start). Somewhere along the line I also have planned publications on propositional logic for moral and aesthetic pragmatics and (a more negative) one on Kantian metaphysics.
There is a gaming agenda as well (of course). As mentioned, I've been commissioned to do a fair bit of work for Rolemaster Classic's Cryadon, which will take up January and Febuary. At the same time I'll be finishing off Adventure By Design (release due March) and DemonSpirits (release due April). I'll also do a 'quick start' version of the Mimesis RPG for release by the end of the month, rather like the original Basic Role Playing. (Nota bene: I must see whether Redbrick would be interested in publishing this). After that, there will be Oubreak of Heresy (Transylvannia, 16th century) for March, Ten Thousand Islands (Malay archipelago, 16th century), for June and Cybernoia (Australia, 22nd century, for September). With at least an additional dozen reviews for RPG.net, this should also keep me busy. There will, of course, be an additional four issues of RPG Review, plus one print version for the end of June.
For some time I've been meaning to start a political website of news, information and essasy with a practical orientation; 2009 should be the year for it. Isocracy, "equal rule", is the name for principles that embody classic liberal notions of self ownership and, by extension informed consent, and the radical liberal (and socialist) principle of the public ownership of unimproved site rents, arranged through free association and controlled independently of the state. I rather suspect that these ideas might have some degree of popularity.
So, should I buy a house in Tasmania or the South Island? Holidays in Indonesia or Thailand? Or will the trans-Siberian to Europe beckon at some stage?
I released two issues of RPG Review. Wrote a large section of a planned new edition of Campaign Law, which has been put on ICE (haha, joke there) and to which I'll be re-writing as "Adventure By Design". Reached the NaNoWriMo target with the DemonSpirits roleplaying game. On the second last day of 2008 was offered another writing role by ICE for Cyradon for Rolemaster Classic. Did a lot of good gaming this year; was very happy with my RuneQuest Prax campaign, my HeroQuest Glorantha game and the Powers & Perils game I'm running. All three will continue in the new year. Also, finished an epic AD&D1e game and put that puppy on the shelves for good. Played many others, most consistently D&D Fantasy Australia. Went to GenconOz in Brisbane during July and had a great time.
Wrote reviews on RPG.net for Middle Earth Role Playing, Dragon Warriors, Dungeons & Dragons (4th edition), Basic Roleplaying, Mongoose RuneQuest Deluxe, Swordbearer, Legend of the Five Rings (1st edition), AD&D Queen of the Demonweb Pits, HeroQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, AD&D Vault of the Drow, Kill Puppies for Satan, The Traveller Book, and AD&D Shrine of the Kuo-Toa.
Went to New Zealand and gave a paper on Lying in Politicsat the Australasian Society for Continental Philosophy annual conference, which hopefully will be published in Parrhesia. Also had a paper published in the French culture journal, Organdi on Definition, History, Usage and Future of Computer Data Storage. Finished a surprisingly large portion of a Cert IV in Training and Assesment and hoping to have it complete in the next two weeks (which would mean finishing a six month course in three months). Gave a presentation at eResearch 2008 on the advantages of Drupal as a content management framework. Gave a paper on 'What Is Video Collaboration?" at the ARCS Video Collaboration Workshop in slides and notes. Contributed to a course at Utah University on Marxian Economics.
A truly an excellent year for work (and finances). Apart from the aforementioned papers, which were mostly through ARCS, I also wrote (and re-wrote) most of the tutorial for VPAC, in addition to the usual tasks of installing and optimising various scientific programes (ah, MATLAB in parallel, how I remember thee) and high-end video conferencing (part of which was screened on the ABC's Catalyst). I made use of some federal political contacts to enhance the financing prospects for the Australian cancer research body, Biogrid. Somewhere along the line I became the floor OHS rep and did a First Aid certificate. As real estate, share prices and gold plummetted (by around 30, 40, and 30 percent respectively, I think), I put my money in a fix-term deposit when interest rates were at their highest. As a result, my personal wealth and income is greater than it's ever been.
In spiritual endeavours, gave Critical Issues Facing Unitarian-Universalism, A Heretic of Clarity: The Unitarian-Univeralism of Steven Fritchman, Religious Freedom and National Self-Determination and spoke at 3CR on Médecins Sans Frontières. Gave a number of presentations at the Unitarian Philosophy Forum; including on Philosophy of Justice, and the Philosophy of Art and the Philosophy of Science (can't find that link).
Personal life was just fine as well.
caseopaya is a true darling *smooch*. I have many wonderful, intelligent and simply gorgeous friends, some of whom I enjoyed the company with during a little gathering in Walhalla. It was the Chinese Year of the Rat, and this was the year for three new boys (Calamity, Trouble and Mischief) and the departure of the rescue rats, Scoudrel and Ragamuffin, and the most venerable Rogue. During all these we rescued a dog as well.Didn't do much in politics this year (which has been the case for a few years). Was pleased to see that the original objectives for Labor for Refugees were reached. Early in the year The Age published a letter of mine (on Israel and Palestine, how about that?). Tried my best to generate a legal case for the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act, alas to no avail.
But my goodness, what a year. Did I really do all that?
caseopaya and I spent new year's eve initially in the company of trayce and nutzboy who are very nearby and we should catch up more *nods*. After that we made a way to the home of severina_242 and _zombiemokey, where we counted down with the leap second and then watched the truly awesome zombie-flick, Homecoming. I drank far too much Rémy Martin VSOP (I really like champagne, I really like brandy - when it comes to cognac, I'm doomed). Seriously, I'm far too old to be spending the following day nursing a hangover... But that does bring us to 2009...Much of my work for 2009 is already cut out for me. I'm planning to finish my Cert IV in the first two weeks of January, and also during that time I must complete my paper for Parrhesia. After that I must cut out those last 13,000 words from my PhD (god, what a drudgery) and then update material for 2008, and then write for Critical Horizons. After that I'll probably
There is a gaming agenda as well (of course). As mentioned, I've been commissioned to do a fair bit of work for Rolemaster Classic's Cryadon, which will take up January and Febuary. At the same time I'll be finishing off Adventure By Design (release due March) and DemonSpirits (release due April). I'll also do a 'quick start' version of the Mimesis RPG for release by the end of the month, rather like the original Basic Role Playing. (Nota bene: I must see whether Redbrick would be interested in publishing this). After that, there will be Oubreak of Heresy (Transylvannia, 16th century) for March, Ten Thousand Islands (Malay archipelago, 16th century), for June and Cybernoia (Australia, 22nd century, for September). With at least an additional dozen reviews for RPG.net, this should also keep me busy. There will, of course, be an additional four issues of RPG Review, plus one print version for the end of June.
For some time I've been meaning to start a political website of news, information and essasy with a practical orientation; 2009 should be the year for it. Isocracy, "equal rule", is the name for principles that embody classic liberal notions of self ownership and, by extension informed consent, and the radical liberal (and socialist) principle of the public ownership of unimproved site rents, arranged through free association and controlled independently of the state. I rather suspect that these ideas might have some degree of popularity.
So, should I buy a house in Tasmania or the South Island? Holidays in Indonesia or Thailand? Or will the trans-Siberian to Europe beckon at some stage?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2009-01-02 06:09 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2009-01-02 06:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-02 06:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-02 06:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-02 06:53 am (UTC)Next year it will be armagnac!
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Date: 2009-01-02 07:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-02 07:19 am (UTC)OK OK OK, you know I meant busy, didn't you.
Teach me for not proof reading.
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Date: 2009-01-02 07:28 am (UTC)So maybe I will have a "besy" year :)
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Date: 2009-01-02 08:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-02 08:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-02 08:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-06 11:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-06 11:57 pm (UTC)What did I do six months ago?
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Date: 2009-01-07 12:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-07 12:05 am (UTC)Hmmm... Maybe a campsite in Tasmania and a flat in Dunedin..
(And a shack hidden in the middle of Fiordland..)
no subject
Date: 2009-01-07 10:17 am (UTC)Shit.