One: I was sitting at a red light one morning on my way to work, and then I was sitting rather in front of the red light, having been rear-ended by some a-hole from Maryland who told the cop, "I looked down at my GPS for a second and I guess she slammed on her breaks."
Pro tip: It's a bad idea to lie to cops about this sort of thing in the age of cameras and vehicle telematics that can prove that actually, you rear-ended a vehicle that had already come to a complete stop at a red almost a minute before you drove into it.
Anyway. The car I was driving (Not! My! Car! for an added level of delight) survived with only notable damage to the bumper (which needed to be punched back out...after the license plate of the car that drove into me was detached from it, the a-hole from Maryland having driven into me with enough force that their plate holder punched into the bumper). Also, their windshield was shattered by their airbags.
Also, people who hit me were in their mother's car. Also, they had their own, pre-verbal infant in the car with them when they drove into me.
Two: The building’s AC broke again on Friday. After the first email, in which management informed residents that they were “diligently working” to get the part necessary to fix it, I reflected that “diligently working” probably meant “We're waiting until Monday morning to to deal with this so that we don’t have to pay anyone weekend rates fix it.” Judging by the fact that AC was finally restored just before 5:00 pm Monday, it doesn't look like I was not wrong.
I spent 10 years without AC, so I knew that I could survive without AC and how to survive without AC. Still, it was not pleasant. Part of the problem is that although I am not one of god's chosen with the ability to telework, the GC is, which means that someone is in the apartment all day, using lights, computers, and other appliances, all of this continually generating heat. And more basically, I enjoy being coddled by AC now that I have it, and it's hard to fall asleep in an 80+ degree apartment.
Three: For some reason, I have been experiencing a persistent urge to reread the Harry Potter series + write more fanfic for it. I have no idea from where this impulse is originating, nor why it is as persistent as it is. I don't even like the books (just certain characters from them), and the less said about their author and her odious opinions, the better. But the urge persists and shows little sign of abating.
Four: Reading this Washington Post article I encountered the following paragraph:

And so help me god, I understood it immediately. How did I understand it? Because I literally saw Civ II units moving around a map of Europe in my mind's eye as I read it. I played the heck out of that game back in the day--so much so that I used to see those units moving around on my eyelids as I was falling asleep--who could have guessed that it was preparing me to understand geopolitics/military strategy 20-odd years later.
Five: Live music is returning! And I have been going to see it! Recent acts have included Boyharsher, Club Music, Mudvayne, Polica, Static-X, Too Free, White Zombie and (several months ago) Tool. And. I will shortly be seeing Peaches and I could. Not. Be. More. Excited.
Loose Change: My Saltmarsh campaign is back on schedule, having resumed sessions last Saturday. This group has really hit its stride: the balance of socializing and gameplay is excellent. The balance of combat and roleplay is excellent. The individual players are all branching out and trying builds, strategies, and tactics that we've not, as individuals, tried in previous games. It's all a tremendous amount of fun and I'm very much excited for next week's session.
The long-delayed Heroes of Baldur's Gate Magic draft finally (finally!) took place last Sunday. Congratulations, Wizards, you have finally found the thing that will get me to play Commander. The very first card in the very first pack I opened was the Boo token, which I have been longing for since the original Forgotten Realms set came out. And now I have it! Other players got Minsc and Boo and Lulu, both of which I also wanted. But! I did get the retro Dynaheir and some other really good cards. And! I won my game (although this is probably more to do with my coming out of the gate incredibly weak and staying that way--I ended the game with only seven lands--than with any level of skill on my part).
My Monday D&D homebrew campaign is in the midst of a really, really good plot arc right now. Like, seriously, I wish I could write fanfic of it, because the story is just so insanely good.
My Thursday Feywild campaign? After a month of last minute cancellations--we're talking "15 minutes after we should have started playing" cancellations--so that all the players could play, the DM called a last-minute session on Monday, when I could not play. I will admit to being sour, as the player whose unavailability unfortunately fell on the day everyone else said, Fuck it, we don't want to postpone anymore. However, the DM has finally put together a schedule for the next five or so sessions, so hopefully the problem is mitigated from here on out.
I am playing in a Spelljammer one-shot tomorrow that has the possibility to grow into a mini-campaign. I am very excited for this.
これで以上です。
Pro tip: It's a bad idea to lie to cops about this sort of thing in the age of cameras and vehicle telematics that can prove that actually, you rear-ended a vehicle that had already come to a complete stop at a red almost a minute before you drove into it.
Anyway. The car I was driving (Not! My! Car! for an added level of delight) survived with only notable damage to the bumper (which needed to be punched back out...after the license plate of the car that drove into me was detached from it, the a-hole from Maryland having driven into me with enough force that their plate holder punched into the bumper). Also, their windshield was shattered by their airbags.
Also, people who hit me were in their mother's car. Also, they had their own, pre-verbal infant in the car with them when they drove into me.
Two: The building’s AC broke again on Friday. After the first email, in which management informed residents that they were “diligently working” to get the part necessary to fix it, I reflected that “diligently working” probably meant “We're waiting until Monday morning to to deal with this so that we don’t have to pay anyone weekend rates fix it.” Judging by the fact that AC was finally restored just before 5:00 pm Monday, it doesn't look like I was not wrong.
I spent 10 years without AC, so I knew that I could survive without AC and how to survive without AC. Still, it was not pleasant. Part of the problem is that although I am not one of god's chosen with the ability to telework, the GC is, which means that someone is in the apartment all day, using lights, computers, and other appliances, all of this continually generating heat. And more basically, I enjoy being coddled by AC now that I have it, and it's hard to fall asleep in an 80+ degree apartment.
Three: For some reason, I have been experiencing a persistent urge to reread the Harry Potter series + write more fanfic for it. I have no idea from where this impulse is originating, nor why it is as persistent as it is. I don't even like the books (just certain characters from them), and the less said about their author and her odious opinions, the better. But the urge persists and shows little sign of abating.
Four: Reading this Washington Post article I encountered the following paragraph:

And so help me god, I understood it immediately. How did I understand it? Because I literally saw Civ II units moving around a map of Europe in my mind's eye as I read it. I played the heck out of that game back in the day--so much so that I used to see those units moving around on my eyelids as I was falling asleep--who could have guessed that it was preparing me to understand geopolitics/military strategy 20-odd years later.
Five: Live music is returning! And I have been going to see it! Recent acts have included Boyharsher, Club Music, Mudvayne, Polica, Static-X, Too Free, White Zombie and (several months ago) Tool. And. I will shortly be seeing Peaches and I could. Not. Be. More. Excited.
Loose Change: My Saltmarsh campaign is back on schedule, having resumed sessions last Saturday. This group has really hit its stride: the balance of socializing and gameplay is excellent. The balance of combat and roleplay is excellent. The individual players are all branching out and trying builds, strategies, and tactics that we've not, as individuals, tried in previous games. It's all a tremendous amount of fun and I'm very much excited for next week's session.
The long-delayed Heroes of Baldur's Gate Magic draft finally (finally!) took place last Sunday. Congratulations, Wizards, you have finally found the thing that will get me to play Commander. The very first card in the very first pack I opened was the Boo token, which I have been longing for since the original Forgotten Realms set came out. And now I have it! Other players got Minsc and Boo and Lulu, both of which I also wanted. But! I did get the retro Dynaheir and some other really good cards. And! I won my game (although this is probably more to do with my coming out of the gate incredibly weak and staying that way--I ended the game with only seven lands--than with any level of skill on my part).
My Monday D&D homebrew campaign is in the midst of a really, really good plot arc right now. Like, seriously, I wish I could write fanfic of it, because the story is just so insanely good.
My Thursday Feywild campaign? After a month of last minute cancellations--we're talking "15 minutes after we should have started playing" cancellations--so that all the players could play, the DM called a last-minute session on Monday, when I could not play. I will admit to being sour, as the player whose unavailability unfortunately fell on the day everyone else said, Fuck it, we don't want to postpone anymore. However, the DM has finally put together a schedule for the next five or so sessions, so hopefully the problem is mitigated from here on out.
I am playing in a Spelljammer one-shot tomorrow that has the possibility to grow into a mini-campaign. I am very excited for this.
これで以上です。
From:
no subject
I know AC is terrible for the planet, and often abused (thinking here of all the stores and restaurants that blast it at 60 degrees with their doors or windows open) but man, used judiciously, it improves life so much.