“But it’s not our money…”

So why isn’t Hollywood doing something? I mean, they talk all the time about doing things for their fellow man, so why not prop up the Californian government? I mean, Hollywood as a whole has more than enough money to keep it going… Oh wait, I remember now. They want other people to do good things for fellow man, and other people’s money to be funding it. Because otherwise, how are they to pay for their yachts, face lifts, boob jobs, cocaine, yada, yada, yada, other signs of decadence and hypocrisy. So it MUST be other people’s money paying for the equality they yammer so hard about.

Insurance is unnatural

This post was inspired by a spider web, and then cemented by the Glenn Beck newsletter (I can already hear “Ewww, Conservative cooties!!! Get them off! Get them off me!!!”) where the heading read “The 2,000 pages that will destroy America.” The next sentence read, “The healthcare bill is heading towards a vote.”

But let’s go back to the spider web that is situated above my front door. It’s in a state of disgrace, sagging and full of holes. It doesn’t look like the spider has been there for a while now, probably off vacationing wherever spiders vacation (more likely, she’s dead, having gotten enough nutrients to lay eggs, laying the foundations for the next generation of eight legged horrors, ensuring that arachnophobes will have something to be terrified about next year… isn’t the cycle of life precious?) So I started to think about what the spider does when she comes back to the web next year, wondering if she filed out claims forms to get a new web. Of course, the answer is “Of course not.” No other animal does it either. If the nest/den/dam gets destroyed, the animal either rebuilds it or dies off.

The same goes for health insurance, although I guess I could imagine that the structures of social creatures might come close to health insurance, as the tribe cares for the wounded. Yet, even that falls apart when the chips are down, and the pack/herd/whatever is threatened by illness/predators. If you’re too sick or wounded, your ass is going to be the first to be literally thrown to the wolves.

(comes back some time later…) Now where was I? So yeah, in the natural world, there is no thing as insurance. Your herd has little vested interest in caring for your wounded ass unless there is no danger to the herd.

On the other hand, I’m still trying to decide if Glenn is right or not that Universal Healthcare is a sign of the Apocalypse. I’m trying to decide whether or not the debt will destroy the United States in 50-100 years time. In the short term, definitely not. Long term? Well, all good things come to an end. Whether or not I live to see it is still up in the air.

Oh shit – Stop cloning around

So, you think you manly enough? Like Russian Arnold? Then go and read this. Prepare the vodka (“Making the bad days good, and the good days better”) and brain condom… because you’re going to need them.

So, I got sucked into one site and spat out another

I had a moment of panic when I came across an article about Thought Disorder and started wondering, “Is that me?” Now, normally, I wouldn’t have worried about it, except for this:

It is usually considered a symptom of psychotic mental illness,

Yeah, while I admit that I’m not exactly normal, I don’t like to think of myself as psychotic. Fortunately, on further reading, if I do have have thought disorder, it’s extremely mild, because at least I can finish a sentence (most of the time) without lapsing in to a non sequitur. As for how I got to the thought disorder article? An outbound link from tvtropes. No, I’m not linking it. If you want to waste your time, I don’t want to be the one to be blamed for it.

Now, for something in Spam…

Since I did that bit of soul baring, I figured I’d do a quick spam post, to make me feel better, and I found an interesting one:

Fuer unser Unternehmen werden bundesweit Einkaeufer gesucht. Vorkenntnisse nicht erforderlich. Wir arbeiten Sie gruendlich ein. Auch ideal fuer Fruehrentner und Arbeitslose.
Bewerbung bitte an CorneyFreda@gmail.com

That is the first time I’ve gotten a German spam (at least I think it’s German, could be Dutch, but I’m too lazy to look it up right now.) But that wasn’t what was so interesting: the from address Miriam egger transeptszg418@rossmann-cpa.com.

Now, in a habit that I’ve been picking up from my new job, I did some digging, because rossmann-cpa.com sounded too legit to be a normal spam. And what do you know? It is. My best guess is probably a spoofed email address, but if you’re going to spoof a legit domain, why not use it in the bleeding body of the spam?

And yup, it’s German. Any ways, I feel better.

One of those moments…

Have you ever had a moment where there was a small connection, a small pathway to another person’s soul, and you just don’t walk down it? Now, that pathway doesn’t lead you into their soul, because there is a door on the other side, but at least you can see the way to the door, and once you stand in front of the door, you can knock. Now they might answer the door, and then tell you, “No, thanks, I already bought windows this year” but hey, at least you stepped up, right? You knock on enough doors, you’ll find someone to buy what you’re peddling. Hell, door to door salesmen still exist, and poor shlubs like me get dates.

Except that every time I see the path, I can hold the conversation long enough to admire the path for all of its beauty, but I can never open my mouth to venture down it, to ask if they’re busy that night, or get their email address. The funny thing is that I have had those connection moments more times in my life than I can count. Hell Shit (Since I used Hell earlier,) I probably could have gotten laid at least ten times I can think of just by walking down any of the paths that formed. But each time… I held back, I didn’t open my mouth to say the words that I was thinking “Can I have your number?” Or “Could I take you out for a drink?” Or any of the million lines that men have used to cement the connection, and start to win a woman’s heart. The human race still exists, so I should be able to get a date, because I know that I’m a worthy human being, sympathetic and witty, fast to laugh, and quick with words (even if they are diplomatic bullshit… In some ways, I love the challenges of being Politically Correct in public. Especially since I just love skirting sensitive subjects in extremely polite ways, and working part of days has only made it worse.)

Any ways, I know I could get a date, but there I am talking to a lady, connecting with her, and the words that I want to say are left unsaid. And I don’t know why I never say the words. In some ways it’s very frustrating, but at the same time, I accept it. Mixed feelings of resignation and anger over not even trying to get shot down… And it’s not like I even care about getting rejected, or at least that’s what I tell myself. Then again, I’m probably in denial over this, which is OK, but not.

You know, this entry kind of reads emo to me, but I know it isn’t. I quite simply trying to sort out something inside my head, trying to break down a wall that is bothering me in public, instead of simply quietly accepting internally. Maybe that is my problem: I internalize my problems most of the time, never showing that I have problems, sometimes very severe problems. Now that I think about it, there’s something evil about smiling and laughing while inside my emotions are trying to destroy me, because people simply accept that I’m OK. And I have been doing this my entire life. Literally, my entire life. The “why” of how I came into that habit are in various places on this blog, but right now I’m not interested in the why, but in the habit itself, obviously. So, how do I deal with this wall? How do I deal with this?

I sit here with no answers. I think I need some help with this.

I just wish my djinni would stop sitting still

Bah. I’m sitting here at my keyboard, and I have no ambition at all to get up and do anything, even though there is plenty for me to do, like go sign the lease for my apartment, go out and walk and enjoy the sunshine (even if it is a bit chilly), make another attempt to clean my apartment (because the last time I didn’t… I hate cleaning my apartment… it feels like desecrating my little temple to entropy,) and I’m sure that I can come up with other things to do, other than sitting around in my boxers and stare at this computer screen until my retinas glaze over in the mindless stupor that surfing the net causes.

So… yeah… I guess I’m going to get going now. Need to sign that lease before they decide that I’m not living here anymore.

A post for those new MMO players out there…

I posted this originally in the STO message boards in regards to advice for new players, but I figured, hey this is good for everyone, so I decided to post it here. Actually, this is good advice for life in general (except for the trying things that might kill you part, I don’t want to be responsible for a Darwin Award winner, because that idiot’s family might sue me for it, and christ, I don’t want to have to explain this particular post in a courtroom.)

So anyways, enjoy:

I want to reiterate to the new players out there: take everything you read on message boards with a grain of salt. Do not just swallow everything that is said, but decide for yourself. Even on gameplay suggestions, experiment, see if that advice is actually works for you. If not, try something else.

Never be afraid to die. Some of the most hilarious things that have happened to me was because I asked myself “I wonder what happens if I do this” and then ended up splatted over the landscape.

But ask your teammates before doing something “stupid.” KEEP THEM INFORMED, even if it’s something as simple as “Hey ya’ll! Watch this!” That let’s them know that death and destruction might be coming their way, and they can prepare accordingly.

And when things do go bad, don’t get angry. Just chalk it up to a learning experience and go on. On the other hand, if things keep going badly, over and over again, to the point that you are annoyed… it might be time to go do something else. Unless you enjoy suffering, then keep doing it. Just don’t expect people to be sympathetic to your complaints. Few people enjoy complainers.

If you find a way of doing things that you enjoy, then keep doing them, even if people say you’re doing things “wrong.” Play the game your way. For example, I hate leveling. So on my character in Aion, I hit level 27 and quit. I’ve been doing odd quests and crafting, and I’m content enough to keep playing. I reiterate: play the game your way, not someone else’s.

On the other hand, if someone makes a suggestion about a better way to play, listen and try it out. Who knows, you might enjoy it. If not, oh well, go back to your way.

Sometimes though, a patch does something that breaks your preferred gameplay (or in extreme cases, kills it off entirely.) My advice: breath in, breath out, relax. Life is going to change no matter what you do, and the games do too. If you can’t find a compromise that let’s you still enjoy the game… Find a new game. It’s harsh, but sometimes games do that to you. There is a sea of MMOs out there, including some very niche games. Or pick up a new hobby.

So that is my wisdom from almost 9 years of MMOing and 20 years of video gaming.

So… When is the Environmental Jihad coming?

I laughed when I first saw this… I first thought, “About fucking time that they recognize this.” And then it hit me the implications: religions tend to be a convenient excuse to force other people to think the way you do. Now, you could argue that this is what I’ve been arguing all along, but for some reason this particular case chills me to the bone.

But on a happier note, here in the United States, I could probably sue the US Government for breaching the separation of church and state for any legislation dealing with global warming. Be careful of the tools you bring to bear, because they can be used against you.

That was interesting

The following was posted from my Pre’s email. I learned a bit about it formats, so when I try it again, I’ll get it right.

A sad reminder that things change. And it must happen, no matter how painful it is in the short term. But people put down roots, and they expect things to stay the same, which is why calenders and religions were invented (one to track the patterns, and the other to beg to the gods when the patterns change.) I hope these people find the new patterns and discover new avenues of living, if not, they are in for a long, bitter cold winter.

Oh, and this story mentions “environmental impacts” of temporary bridge. I laugh, and shake my head sadly because it reminds that environmentalists have no concept of how the world changes. They want it to stay the same no matter what cost, making it difficult for the rest of us to adapt. Well, just one more difficulty, I’m sure we’ll think of something.