Ravings of a Textual Deviant

The 2003-2004 NHL season opened last night, after what Ed calls the Great Summer Sports Drought. (Baseball is a game, not a sport.) What can I say but, woo-hooo!!!!

The countdown to thanksgiving has already begun. I’m expecting anywhere from 21-32 people for The Big Meal, depending on various factors so far out of my control I can barely even conceive of some of them. I’ve been baking ahead since last weekend, and probably driving Ed crazy with all the cries of “don’t eat that!” Because all of my relatives, except my parents, are from out of town, I expect to do a lot of cooking. Fortunately, Alisa and I are joining forces, and not only will I have help, I’ll be able to cadge some of her freezer space as well. That’s friendship, I tell you!

Apparently, I am not the only one who thinks that Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport is one of the grubbiest, most squalid, most miserable hubs of transportation on the planet. (It reminded me strongly of the Oakland BART station–the one right before the trans-Bay tube– and that’s an accomplishment…of sorts.)

I’ve just returned Napoleon’s Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History, by Drs. Penny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson, to the library, and I must say, I’m sad to see it go. Chemistry was not one of my better subjects, much to my father’s disappointment (as he’s a chemist himself, and a very good one). On the other hand, at least I know what to get him for his birthday this year. (If you’re reading this, Dad, remember to act surprised.)

The best thing about the book is that you don’t have to be good at chemistry to understand the book. (In my case, this a Good Thing–I work with chemists frequently, but my understanding of chemistry is not much beyond the high school level.) Considerably more than seventeen molecules are dicussed, but it makes for a good story, and I am not going to fault the authors on that count. There are plenty of diagrams to guide the reader through the important points, and the really good stuff has less to do with pure chemistry and more to do with the kind of cross-discplinary work that fascinates me. As Amir Aczel is to math, Le Coueur and Burreson are to chemistry. If you have ever wondered exactly how those formulas you learned in school apply to real life, this is an excellent place to find out.

This week’s Game WISH asks

How do you tell stories in your games? Are there character stories, overarching stories, and/or other kinds of stories? Could you tell a coherent story from games you?ve GMed or played in? Does it matter to you? Why or why not?

I think that every game has more than one story to it. Every character has a story, and major NPCs often have their own stories. What you end up with is a polyphonic narrative, possibly what Ginger refers to as an “overarching narrative.” Some stories may cross, or even wind together, as Shirley and Margaret’s did in The Grand Ellipse. (Sidebar for Lunar Ellipsoids–there will be a game; one of my tasks this week is to scan enough of GURPS Space for you to build your ships.) In the Grand Ellipse more than other games I’ve run or played in, everyone got a different story out of the game. I think that this is probably true to some extent in any game, however. I know that Dorothea and Alisa would tell stories different from mine, Ed’s, Vincent’s, Evan’s, David’s, Cathy’s, and each other’s. My story, as the GM, would probably be the most coherent, because I have more of the puzzle pieces than anyone ese. However, I think that the players who were most involved in the game (wrote the most email both to me and to each other) have extremely coherent stories of their own.

I like to get a coherent story out of a game; it smacks of a well developed plot outline and lots of player participation…in other words, a successful campaign, at least by my standards. This holds true for me as both a player and a GM. I agree heartily with Dorothea that as a player, the best way to build a story is develop your character. If the campaign is episodic, I’m more likely to get a series of related short stories, one with many common threads, to be sure.

I had an appointment with a personal trainer yesterday, and I discovered that I can actually hit some of the goals I set for myself this summer. He told me that I should be doing 30 minutes of cardio work after a weight workout, and 45 minutes of cardio on non-weight days. So I tried it, and what do you know, I can actually do it! It’s not easy, but it’s possible, which I never would have believed three months ago, when twenty minutes on a non-weight day seemed like a sure way to induce a massive heart attack. I’ve only lost something like 10-12 pounds so far, but I can feel the muscle gain, and some of my clothes are starting to get loose. (Others are getting closer to fitting; I save everything, against the best advice of closet organizers.) The only down side is that I’ve discovered that the last three months were just to get me into condition to do the next year’s hard work. It’s discouraging to think that it’s going to take another 12-15 months to get to where I want to be…even though I know full well it means taking off about 1/3 of my current weight. As hard as I’ve worked, I feel as though I ought to be closer to my ultimate goal than that.

Well, I have managed not to get stuck in anything for over 24 hours. On Friday, I spent a couple of minutes stuck at the security checkpoint at work, but it was not my fault. Somebody else’s badge locked all the exits, but there was a call box to security and everyone managed to get out with a minimum of fuss. Not even worth mentioning, in comparison, and certainly not as bad as the time I got stuck in an elevator. (Better ventiliation for one thing.)

I hope my streak continues.

I got stuck again today…

All I needed was to make some copies. The first copier that I tried chewed up and refused to spit out the first page that went into it. I reported the problem and went on to another copier. Halfway through my copy job, there was a paper misfeed. I couldn’t find the problem, until I realized that there was a crumpled piece of paper that had fallen down behind the drawers, at the bottom rear of the case. no problem…remove the paper drawer and fish it out.

Or not

I discovered a design flaw in the Konica 7200 GE3. The drawers did not actually come all the way out of the copier. Nor was there any access panel that would let me get to the piece of paper. Well, I have fairly small hands, so I decided to lie down and see if I might be able to nudge the crumpled paper into a more accessible position through one of the many small, narrow openings…not realizing at the time that there wasn’t an accessible position. I had an “almost there” moment, immediately followed by the realization that my hand was caught in one part of the copier, and my wedding band was preventing me from getting it out. Mind you, I was lying on my stomach at this point, stretched out across the floor in a small room.

It took me a few minutes, but I did manage to work my hand out, with the ring, even. However, the ring caught, and I was absolutely convinced that my engagement ring had fallen off inside the copier. Then, I realized I couldn’t even remember if I’d been wearing it. My hand was all tingly from being stuck in the copier, so I couldn’t feel a difference. Regardless, we still had to call the copier repair person to remove the crumpled piece of paper. She had to remove a pair of screws to get the paper drawer out, in order to reach back and retrieve the offending object. No engagement ring, though. I spent the rest of my work day convinced that I was never going to see it again. Fortunately, it was wrong. I had put it on this morning, but had taken it off again and put it safely back in its place.

Evil, thy name is Konica.

I’m sure this comes as a surprise to no one.

You’re Most Like The Season … NO wait! Hold it!
You’re not like a season at all! You’re a
psycho… You need a new season created just
for you.
You either answered wildly to be different, or you
truly are a ’special case’. Independant -
maybe, Intelligent - somewhat. Weird and wacky
- most certainly.
A nut case, a fruit cake, the joker, the insane
lunatic However be careful or you may get
locked up.

Well Done… You’re not at home in any of the
seasons, you creat your own.

?? Which Season Are You ??
brought to you by Quizilla

Paul’s got a lovely little meme that I can’t resist…

What is the furthest North you have ever been?

If being in an airplane counts, then over the North Atlantic on my way to Europe. If we’re talking feet on the ground, then Paris, France. (Six hours in DeGaulle airport, which is one big smoking area. Everything is gray–the walls, the carpets, the air. It reminds me of the BART station in Oakland–squalid, grubby, and depressing.) In North America, Toronto, Ontario. (Canada rocks!)

The furthest South?

Cozumel, Mexico, on a cruise I won.

The furthest West?

Muir Woods, Marin County, California, far too early in the morning.

The furthest East?

Venice, Italy, with my brother and grandmother. Oh, the stories I could tell about that trip…

The highest elevation?

Assuming feet on the ground, Denver, Colorado.