status messages

What a lovely way for a game to end:

zunger-Arc-Hum-Mal-Neu died in The Dungeons of Doom on level 5. Killed by a little dog, while helpless.

I think it’s a sign that the game is trying to not just kill, but humiliate.

Published in: on February 27, 2003 at 23:41  Comments (6)  
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Protected: Things that relaxed me this PM

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Published in: on February 27, 2003 at 19:40  Enter your password to view comments.  

Hey, I want to be a dead Russian too!

If I were a Dead Russian Composer, I would be Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

Considered the leader of the 19th Century Composer group “The Mighty Handful,” I am indeed the teacher among them. My orchestration skills are superbly colorful, and are explained in my book on the topic, but works like “Scheherezade” explain my mastery better.

Who would you be? Dead Russian Composer Personality Test

Published in: on February 24, 2003 at 15:34  Comments Off on Hey, I want to be a dead Russian too!  
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Strange days…

Well, I take back what I said about having no clear post-war plan: the Washington Post is reporting that there is a plan to establish American rule over the area, and it seems pretty clear that we’re going to need a fairly strong American rule if we’re to prevent the Kurds from asserting any autonomy and thus causing problems for Turkey.

Why do I suddenly get the feeling that a lot of Americans are about to get a nasty lesson in just how nasty middle eastern politics can get? I hope we’re ready to be as brutal as Saddam Hussein or Hafez el-Assad – because otherwise we may find ourselves in a very long, drawn-out series of internal conflicts, ending in the need to retreat in disgrace. Not to put too fine a point on it.

And speaking of nasty shocks: There’s a rather amusing article in the NY Times about the people who volunteered to be human shields in Iraq. My favorite part is the guy evincing some suspicion that Saddam’s offer to position them in power plants and so on may not be entirely in their best interests.

I’m not sure whether to be horrified or twistedly amused by this. I’m really wondering at what point it will occur to these people that Saddam’s standard operating procedure for human shields is to use them to increase casualties during bombings, so that it plays better on CNN. Yet another Quick Intro to Middle East Politics…. *sigh*

(And just for extra shits & giggles – apparently we’re invading the Philipines, sending combat troops to fight against Abu Sayyaf. Oh, good, this is an excellent time to be opening a few more fronts. I was worried we might not have enough.)

Published in: on February 21, 2003 at 12:10  Comments (3)  
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Well, that’s weird.

I just spent much of the evening working on my resume, with some much-appreciated help from hansandersen. It made me realize just how strange my job quals are: physics, lots of scientific software dev, lots of back-end software dev, and odds and ends like “radiation lab experience,” “held DOE P clearance,” and reading knowledge of various medieval languages.

I’m sure there’s some sort of job that combines those things, but I’m kinda curious as to what it is…

Published in: on February 21, 2003 at 00:23  Comments (8)  
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Interesting news tidbit…

I hope this is correct:

Defection

Published in: on February 20, 2003 at 10:29  Comments (3)  
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Protected: *whew*

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Published in: on February 18, 2003 at 01:02  Enter your password to view comments.  

Yeah, that’s me…

What Video Game Character Are You? I am a Gauntlet Adventurer.I am a Gauntlet Adventurer.

I strive to improve my living conditions by hoarding gold, food, and sometimes keys and potions. I love adventure, fighting, and particularly winning – especially when there’s a prize at stake. I occasionally get lost inside buildings and can’t find the exit. I need food badly. What Video Game Character Are You?

(and enjoying a very good trip to Colorado right now – be back tonight. See you all soon.)

Published in: on February 17, 2003 at 15:09  Comments Off on Yeah, that’s me…  

Can anyone interpret this?

I found this on the IBM jobs web page. Fairly standard job offer, apart from a slight oddity in the second paragraph.

I’m going to assume that this doesn’t mean what I think it means. Does this have some other sort of meaning in the computer industry, or in government contracting?

Published in: on February 13, 2003 at 14:53  Comments (11)  
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Last night

…was really damned good. Lots of people came over, brought good food, ate, drank, were merry, and watched Twin Peaks. I need more nights like that.

Published in: on February 9, 2003 at 12:43  Comments (1)