delta_november
May. 6th, 2012
10:35 am
Trolling through Project Gutenberg, looking for free downloads to fortify my Kindle against an upcoming plane trip, I ran into this very odd book.
Wells, H. G., Little Wars; a game for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys' games and books, 1913.
Leaving aside the unnecessary sexism of the title, this appears to be a set of miniature wargame rules. Wikipedia has more details here. I had no idea that this founding figure of modern science fiction was also a gamer!
It would be interesting to take a shot at playing this at a steampunk/neo-victorian gathering.
May. 5th, 2012
10:39 pm - Frankenstein letters that I shall not write
"I fear, my beloved girl, little happiness remains for us on earth; yet all that I may one day enjoy is centred in you."
-- Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, Frankenstein
I've written some pretty emo letters in my time (some unsent, some regrettably posted) but I've never come close to Frankenstein's letter to his cousin/fiance. Obsession, despair, and semicolons!
07:44 am - Have I been wrong all these years?
I've been enjoying Wil Wheaton's new Youtube series Tabletop. In each episode he plays a different board game with friends. This week is a selection of short games: Tsuro, Zombie Dice, and Get Bit. Of these, I only own Tsuro. I may have to hit The Hairy Tarantula to fix this deficiency.
Wil plays Tsuro differently from the way we always have. He advances the player's pawns along the path as it is built, which certainly makes it easier to figure out what's going on. I don't know why, but this idea never even occurred to us. We always left the pawns at the starting location on the board's edge, mentally tracing our path every turn. I think that adds to the celtic-knot beauty of the game.
So how do you play Tsuro?
May. 4th, 2012
08:10 am
"There was always scope for fear so long as anything I loved remained behind."
-- Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, Frankenstein.
And that's always the problem, isn't it. Can we ever truly live a life of love without fear? I try, but with imperfect success.
Keyser Soze has an interesting take on this problem, though not one that I would universally recommend.
Apr. 29th, 2012
07:12 pm
I am correcting a deficiency in my education, and am reading the original Frankenstein. Excellent stuff. In the future I believe I shall close all my letters with "Remember me with affection, should you never hear from me again." My usual "With fond regards" pales in comparison.
Apr. 28th, 2012
08:43 am
My profession continue to bring shame upon itself. The president of the Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) has taken the PEO to court. Details here.
Apr. 27th, 2012
07:45 pm
This has been a good day. I blew off the afternoon at work to visit my dear friend ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=91.6){kind=small}
leftofcool and her 27 hour old child. When I see them again tomorrow the little one will be twice as old! It's not often I get to see somebody age so much.
This is what is truly best in life: hope for the future.
Apr. 20th, 2012
07:56 pm - Flying photos
Today I flew my first cross-country solo. I took off from Toronto Island Airport and flew to Muskoka. From Muskoka I flew to Peterborough, and had lunch at the wonderful airport diner. Then it was back to Toronto Island. There was a total of 2.8 hours in the air, and 3.5 hours of engine run-time.
Since I was alone, and had nobody to tell me not to, I took a few photos.
( Read more... )
Apr. 18th, 2012
08:51 pm
Somebody on the Internet is wrong.
In particular, this Globe and Mail article is completely contrary to my experience. The unsurprising take-home message is that the world is full of diverse people.
04:55 pm - MIT recommendations, and furniture fun
I'm going to be at a conference at the MIT Media Lab in a month or so. It's been quite some time since I've been to MIT. Any advice on where the cool kids stay these days? [Assuming they've grown up somewhat, and can no longer just crash with undergrad friends who live on campus.]
Also, I should throw together a trade show exhibit with some fancy furniture. The nicest stuff seems to be available from here. Several Internet points to the person who can construct the best exhibit/pillow fort from their catalog.
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