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Alex's even longer post thread.

Started by Alex, March 19, 2020, 10:14:15 AM

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Alex

He was by all accounts a very prolific letter writer. I do agree that I believe he had mental health issues. I think that they fed into his fears and writings, and wouldn't have been anywhere near as good if he hadn't been so afraid of so many things himself. Even allowing for the time he was alive, he was considered to be more racist than most. On the other hand, it isn't like he is able to profit from these views.

Cool on the birthday.
Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.

Alex

Started doing DDPY with Kristi today. If you'd ever asked me if I would have thought I'd do a fitness program started by an ex-pro wrestler I am pretty confident you'd have gotten my "What the f**k are you on?" type look.

Yet here I am, trying to contort my body into positions that I am pretty sure it was never designed for. When I was younger I went for speed and endurance. As I got older I went for a bit more power as my body started to slow down a bit. Bendiness was never on my to-do list.

It is something to do while we wait for the apocalypse I guess. Be it environmental, war, disease or whatever or as I suspect for any real extinction-level time period, a combination of several different factors that combine to have a greater effect than any one or two disasters could have on their own. The first punch staggers you, but the second one puts you down.

None of which explains why I am hauling my ass around contortionist wet dream.

Actually, the reason behind that is simply because I've been worried about Kristi's health. She's been having a lot of gall bladder pains and needs to lose weight to get an operation. I suspect though if she loses some weight, then she won't need the op. That is the hope anyway.

Gloryhammer, Wind Rose and Alestorm have all put out new music. Wonder if I'll get any of their CDs as presents? I heard Ozzy has finished a new album. Still waiting on the tour for the last one you old prick. Get f**king out there on tour. And less for the terrible collaborations with Post Malone while you are at it. If you need to put out some new music, then how about a kick-arse album, the likes of which you've not done since No More Tears.

Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.

Alex

It is the local council elections across Scotland today. I voted, more in the vain hope of keeping a petty, spoilt brat of a man out of power although I think I'll be in the minority and he will get elected.

Still, at least he is only at the very lowest level of elected power and not going to be running the country.

The way this election runs you can vote for up to six candidates, and you put a number beside each one in order of preference. I voted for 4 of them (there were coincidently 6 people standing for the ward). One I didn't vote for because he'd been campaigning in towns that were outside the borders of the area he'd be representing. I figure if he can't get what places he is going to be standing on behalf of right, then he shouldn't be anywhere near any kind of power. The other one, well he is an a***ole who thinks he can bully people into letting him have his way. He's had a few knockbacks recently and found that what influence he has is distinctly limited. I have no wish to have any part in giving him an increased measure.

Watching a fan-made movie of 'At the Mountains of Madness' right now. It isn't well-acted, but it isn't the worst I have seen either. Anyway, it isn't much over an hour-long, so if anyone else wants to watch it, you'll find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2PW_GZcCCM

It has a woman playing one of the professors. HPL would be spinning in his grave.  :bouncegiggle: Although the reason I think that has more to do with the general lack of women in his stories than anything against educated women (I have no idea what his position on that was, although it wouldn't surprise me if he was against it.
Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.

Alex

I've decided that for the 5th edition campaign I am now going to be running for a local shop, I am going to look at reworking the first online campaign I ran. This time instead of finding a magical MacGuffin, they will find a map which will lead them on a treasure hunt (which will be the masks from the original story).

I'll break it up into little pieces and run it as one-shots which, should we get a regular group I'll look at converting to a campaign.

It is my last day of being 47 today. For some reason, this feels momentous in a way that other birthdays haven't. I have no idea why this should be so.

Maybe it is my body telling me, hey you have reached the halfway point where you have now lived more days than you have left. I am told death and taxes are inevitable, but I made it to my mid-20s without paying taxes and could have continued in that vein had I so wished. People just haven't figured out the dodge for the other one yet.

Looks like the right-wing party has lost ground in the local elections. That was expected and I don't see it bringing down the fat muppet Johnson. Politicians will tolerate a lot in a leader. Pretty much anything unless it looks like it is going to hurt their own election chances. Everything else to them is just window dressing. They talk about the parties going on in No 10 during lockdown and yeah that p**ses people off, but what is really going to guide who they vote for is the cost of living crisis we are going through with prices going up. Well, they were told this would happen if they voted for Brexit and voted for it anyway, so f**k them. Just because outside circumstances have made it even worse than it would have been, they still made their choice and this is the consequence.
Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.

Alex

It was a lovely day outside yesterday. Kristi had a course to go do, so I took Ash off out to Elgin for a quick trip. Had to pick him up some new dice of course. Then it was back to Lossiemouth. We stopped at the swings and let him play for a bit, before picking him up some treats for being well behaved and then heading home.

Popped across the backdoor to a neighbour's house for a BBQ and some beers. I was only going to put in an appearance to be polite, but I ended up enjoying it and staying for a few hours. I still left early though because I wanted to spend the day with Kristi and Ash.

Kristi got me some DVDs, a book made up of the pictures we took at the tank museum, some WW2 models and a kit of the Razor Crest.

I got myself the new Battletech set and a Soviet tank. I am pretty much out of room on my German shelf for anything more, so I guess I have to work on the other factions a bit now.

It is going to be an interesting day tomorrow. I am wondering what Putin is going to say at the May Parade. Does he expand the war, or try to claim a victory? Do people around him smell blood in the water and a chance to take his place, or are they loyal stooges to the end?
Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.

Alex

#515
After all the build-up, Putin's victory day speech seems to be much of a nothing new. Disappointing, but not surprising.

If I took an alcoholic drink every time someone in the Russian government mentions using nuclear weapons, my kidneys would have given up the ghost and died. The only problem with wiping out all your enemies in 30 minutes, is that shortly afterwards their retalitory strikes are going to hit. So yeah, celebrate killing them all off, but you better party hard and fast because very quickly you are going to be just as dead.

If there are any survivors, they might care who fired first, but I suspect that they'd have a lot of other priorities.

Mark has asked me that in the event of an apocalypse, can he partner up with me as I have a smattering of survival techniques. Thing is, my first question would be what do you bring to the deal? I am not sure a working knowledge of conspiracy theories brings enough value to justify me sharing my family's food supply.

I worry a lot less about the thought of a nuclear apocalypse than people might think. I am living right beside somewhere that is going to be targetted in a first strike, and only limited ways to get away from it. I figure from the warning going off, we have about enough time to make it to the beach for a walk along it, then it is welcome to the cinderblock. No point in worrying about it.

Should you find yourself in this situation and have a chance of survival, the first thing you should do is seek shelter. You do not want to be out in the open when that fallout starts coming down. Lie down, head towards the blast (preferably with some sort of protective covering like a helmet), and stay down while the initial blast wave goes overhead. Stay down afterwards, because nature does not like a vacuum, and all that air that was blasted out, it is going to come rushing right back in. Once you've had both the positive and negative blast waves, if you aren't under cover get to it ASAP. Then get rid of your clothes. Chances are they are contaminated with radioactive particles. Don't try to wipe the dust off, just ditch your outer attire. You then want to stay in your shelter for a day or two (longer if you have the supplies). With EMP, the chances are electrical things will no longer work, so no internet, radio, TV or cars. Your best bet for getting around might just be a bike. A good knife is your best tool. You can make other weapons, shelter, traps for food, clothes and so many other things essential for survival. A gun might be handy for a while, as long as you can maintain it and keep up an ammo supply, but really it is a secondary concern. It will help, but if you need a gun to survive, the chances are you aren't going to last long anyway. Longer though than the other people you can shoot to take supplies off.

From there on it, you'll need to come up with a way to secure an untainted water supply and start producing your own food. I know some general ways to do that (including most randomly, how to get a babboon to take you to a water supply), but they all depend very much on your environment. So I'll just wish you luck in your post-apocalyptic survival scenario.

If you need me, I'll be hanging around with the other radioactive, blood-drinking zombies.

Having some fun with my Friday night players at the moment:

QuoteShift — Today at 9:02 AM
Alex when did you say this part of the Friday game ends ?

Dark Alex — Today at 10:11 AM
The part in the city as a whole, or the The Creeper storyline? If it is the The Creeoer, potentially that could end this week. The other one depends on what the party still want to do in Baldurs Gate.
[10:12 AM]
It could end with The Creeper, or you could spend months there.

Shift — Today at 10:39 AM
Dam it always happens when I'm not around
[10:40 AM]
Is there a summary of how this came to be?

Dark Alex — Today at 11:20 AM
You want a run down of Fridays game?
[11:21 AM]
So the group continued further down into the caves beneath the city. They almost walked into a see through Gelatinous Cube, and a couple of party members were absorbed into its acidic mass, but were rescued.
[11:22 AM]
They continued along the passage, some of the group getting threatening messages in their heads promising their destruction and doom.
[11:24 AM]
Part of the floor collapsed, causing the two party members in the front to fall into a pit and a burrowing Umber Hulk ambushed the group. While the party fought it, a second Hulk tore through the wall behind them and attacked Falael (as he was the closest). The ranger was ripped to pieces in a matter of seconds. The party barely managed to overcome the Hulks, but eventually they stood more or less victorious.

Ian/Kaitryn — Today at 11:24 AM
There was also the two Isect-ogres
[11:24 AM]
Oh you just mentioned that...

Dark Alex — Today at 11:25 AM
It was decided to bury Falael in the rather handy pit they had just fought in. Although since the party didn't clean it out, he gets to share his grave with an Umber Hulk rather than getting the dignity of his own hole in the ground.

Ian/Kaitryn — Today at 11:26 AM
It's our tribute to his death

Dark Alex — Today at 11:26 AM
The party were now looking for a safe area just to hole up and rest. Continuing along the cavern a little way they found themselves in a large cave, dominated by an underground lake. What happened next is, well I think I should wait until the next game and let you get a bit of a surprise at what they found there.
[11:27 AM]
What I will say is that it was very big, very slimy and in the water.
[11:28 AM]
They are low on hit points and spells.
[11:29 AM]
And I am hoping that everyone who was there got at least a bit of a surprise from that final encounter.
[11:31 AM]
That is what an Umber Hulk looks like. They are underground dwellers, using their powerful claws to dig through the earth.


Shift — Today at 11:50 AM
So basically we are close to being proper f**ked

Dark Alex — Today at 11:50 AM
If I had played things differently, the group would have wiped on Friday.

Shift — Today at 11:51 AM
Oh s**t
[11:51 AM]
You felt a hint of remorse for us? :P

Dark Alex — Today at 11:51 AM
f**k no
[11:51 AM]
I wanted you to meet the thing in the next room is all.

Shift — Today at 11:52 AM
I need some big hps back I take it, and go roar

Dark Alex — Today at 11:53 AM
If that is how the party decide to handle the situation, feel free.

Shift — Today at 12:04 PM
It's a trap, fall back

Dark Alex — Today at 2:12 PM
That is also an option.
[2:12 PM]
I mean you've killed everything on the way on, so retreating would be perfectly safe. Wouldn't it?

Shift — Yesterday at 2:27 PM
Everyone  do not move  just stay where you are 😅 we fend our ground

Dark Alex — Yesterday at 2:48 PM
As long as there isnt another Umber Hulk borrowing beneath you, that will be perfectly safe.

Dark Alex — Yesterday at 3:39 PM
Or a Purple Wyrm. Or a Brown Dragon, Ankheg, Derro raiding party etc...
Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.

Alex

Doing a university course. It opens up with a whole thing on cyber security, which compared to the stuff I normally deal with is soooo noddy. All the different variants of phishing, which to me still boils down to the same thing and doesn't need to be broken down into its own thing.

Got another management visit today, although including us on the places visited feels like a bit of an afterthought the way it has all been organised. I am not really caring about it, but poor Mark had went and sorted out things to do with the boss to impress him only to get told "Yeah, I have other plans, so I won't be able to attend that."

This particular management figure is the person who was the final straw in my decision to quit. It could get interesting if we do get a chat with him. It isn't the changes he'd brought in that prompted this, but the way they are being implemented. The chain of command is like a bunch of monkeys all on a rope. The monkey at the top looks down and see's a whole bunch of other monkeys trying to get up to his spot. The monkeys below, well when they look up, all they can see is a bunch of a***oles.
Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.

Trevor

Quote from: Alex on May 10, 2022, 04:00:42 AM
The chain of command is like a bunch of monkeys all on a rope. The monkey at the top looks down and see's a whole bunch of other monkeys trying to get up to his spot. The monkeys below, well when they look up, all they can see is a bunch of a***oles.

:bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle:
We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness.

Alex

Some of the videos on the cyber course got to be slightly amusing (in an about as funny as the average episode of The Big Bang Theory).

Thinking I might need to check out The Spine of Night. The trailer wasn't grabbing me, but I'll give it more of a look. I don't have a go-to TV show to watch at the moment. Not since Supernatural finally finished (until the movie comes out doubtless lol).

Spoke with my mum on Sunday. She wasn't sounding great, so I spoke to my younger brother (who lives a lot closer to her than I do), and got him to book tickets for her to come up and stay with us for a bit. She is coming up tomorrow and should arrive about the same time I finish work. It is a shame that I won't be able to take time off work to spend with her, as next week is a busy week and we already have Mark off on leave, but I can take her somewhere at the weekend.

Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.

Alex

It is a hot day today. Had my sister in law and her youngest son over to visit, along with my mum and sister being here already.

You can tell from the movies I get to watch this week that we have company.

As expected, Ukraine won the Eurovision song contest. I managed to avoid watching any of it, although I've heard that the Norwegian entry was something special... It seems to have involved giving bananas to wolves. It means I get more material to mock one of my Norwegian friends.

Honestly, there was years worth of mockery from that performance. She was a bit flabbergasted about it herself to be fair.

Stupid mostly crap music competition.

Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.

Alex

So tonight was my first face to face, all-around a table playing D&D night in so long that I can't actually remember what my last such session was.

I reran the first chapter of my first online campaign, where the party are tasked with investigating a series of killings around a village. At first, the party thinks that the spirit of an evil spellcaster is responsible (with some hints that there could be more to the story than they first realise). They go through a few twists and turns, and then at the end of it, find that they are in possession of an artefact that is way more powerful than they can handle. I also added in a map and a diary that will give the party more of a backstory to the item, whereas last time the group had to figure out everything all by themselves.

The game seemed to run well enough. I had four players, all of whom said they were keen to play again, so we have a provisional second game in two weeks. One of the players immediately went downstairs and snapped up a copy of the Players Handbook (what they need to play the game as a minimum), as well as a couple of sets of dice, so it is making money for the shop over and above the hiring the table cost from the players. None of them had ever played before, and I do enjoy recruiting more people to the hobby.

Funny, my mum always thought I'd grow up to be a priest and be good at getting people to go to church.

Bumped into a guy who I'd taught to play D&D when he was a kid (he must have been 12-14 sort of age). I hadn't seen him since he left school. He'd joined the army along with another friend, while a third member of their group went to the airforce (him I have encountered before). Anyway, when I saw him I really didn't recognise him. He looks older than me even though he must be about 18 years younger. Anyway, we've linked up on facebook. I remember they asked if I could take them with me to Aberdeen one time and show them where all the games shops are. On the way back we were waiting at the train station. They were near the edge of the platform and I was standing further back. An old guy with his wife pushed through them even though there was plenty of room on the platform, which I figured was rude, but I didn't say anything. Then the old guy came back and did the same thing and said something nasty to the boys, so I stepped forward and gave him a mouthful of abuse. The old guy suddenly crapped himself realising these kids had an adult to protect them. I followed him onto the train and sat where he could see me and spent the next 90 minutes staring daggers at him. I am willing to bet that he was more careful the next time he was getting on the train.
Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.

Alex

Arranging a second game for the 4th of next month and we have two additional players joining, taking it up to 6 players which is as big as I want the group to get for the moment.

Watching the TV series of Hammer House of Horror. I love the theme song for that show.

I should check up on the news, and find out what is happening in the world outside. Feels like effort would be involved there though. I reorganised the pictures on the walls today (yay for the most exciting life). I bought myself a limited edition print from one of my favourite artists as part of a fundraiser for Ukraine. Trouble is that Kristi also bought me one, and it is the same picture. If anyone else is a big Gary Chalk fan (I'll be surprised, it isn't like the is well known), and wants a print of his, let me know. Got a spare one.

Still, it was a good cause.

Oh well, back to my uni course. Programs won't write themselves alas.
Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.

Alex

Today we found out we are losing the programming side of our job.

This means that I will be busy one week out of four. Now, I could take advantage of this, do a load of working from home and take home what is easy money, during what with all the price rises going on, is uncertain times. Or I can stick with my original plan and submit my PVR in 5 or 6 weeks and get the hell out. I have served my time and been through several wars, mostly at the request of another country that then abandoned us when they decided the job was too difficult. Found out today I've been awarded another pointless medal. I'm pretty sure I've lost my other ones (I think they were accidentally thrown out). I don't think I care enough to replace them. Maybe I'll buy cheaper reproductions off ebay?

I know Kristi will support me on whichever path I choose. She is prouder of me serving than I am.

Not hard really.

Sometimes I listen to or read what people outside this world I inhabit think what they think is going on and just have to laugh at their stupidity (or if you feel more generous than I do right now, nievity). Sometimes I am even slightly envious that they can think that, that is how things really are. It might feel better to join them in blissful ignorance.

Will I miss anything?

Sure. Then again, there are things I miss from every other job I've done too. Ultimately I can't see myself looking back any more or less fondly than the couple of weeks I spent working for Harlequin Construction for a few weeks the summer before I joined up. Then again, I'll miss it more than when I worked for Fullerton Fabrications (both companies that have gone out of business in the years since I left them. Factory jobs have proven to be my least favourite rolls).

One of the civilians I work beside, he is, or was rather, the general manager for his company's activities around here. He was made redundant at the weekend. I remember him once giving me a talk on corporate loyalty, and working extra unpaid hours. We noticed he had binned all the awards he'd been presented with when he came in to clear out his office. I guess he just learned an important lesson about corporate loyalty. Except in very rare and exceptional circumstances, it all goes one way.

Trevor, if you are reading this, I am watching a documentary about looking for Great Whites in Bird Island if that means anything to you. Not as much fun as Shark Attack III though.
Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.

ER

Quote from: Alex on May 25, 2022, 02:22:23 PM

Sometimes I listen to or read what people outside this world I inhabit think what they think is going on and just have to laugh at their stupidity (or if you feel more generous than I do right now, nievity). Sometimes I am even slightly envious that they can think that, that is how things really are. It might feel better to join them in blissful ignorance.



Out of curiosity, is there a particular issue or situation you had in mind here? (And I agree and have had similar thoughts many times.)
What does not kill me makes me stranger.

Alex

Quote from: ER on May 26, 2022, 12:34:06 PM
Quote from: Alex on May 25, 2022, 02:22:23 PM

Sometimes I listen to or read what people outside this world I inhabit think what they think is going on and just have to laugh at their stupidity (or if you feel more generous than I do right now, nievity). Sometimes I am even slightly envious that they can think that, that is how things really are. It might feel better to join them in blissful ignorance.



Out of curiosity, is there a particular issue or situation you had in mind here? (And I agree and have had similar thoughts many times.)

Yes, two separate people in particular, but I could apply it to any number of other people too.
Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.