The Caravan Begins

Tonight, I took a small group into the the world of GURPS.

I used a personal variation on Caravan to Ein Arriss, and slowly taught them the basics of playing. And they taught me what they know and what they like.

We had an interesting group of four, missing one due to flu, and another who has not been able to come and be taught the Way.

One is an Elf. He styles himself as a ranger, but has many annoying disadvantages and knows not magic.

One is a Centaur. She has overcome her impulsiveness and likes company and archery.

One is a holy woman. She has some magic and pictures herself as a great seer of truth.

One is an astrologer. She is perky and pacifistic.

It has been over a decade since I have played with XXs. And never more than one at a time.

It's a bit disturbing.

I am Fat

...Or so I am told.

By a commenter (Anonymous, I might add).

"You are fat", was what I received, and have dwelt upon this all day.

I know I am not. I'm not in perfect shape, but I am far from fat. And now I almost wish I had allowed the comment to post just to find out which post it was commented on.

But it's gone now, and so it's not an issue.

It's still very weird though.

Domestication

I guess there just comes a time when you have to admit to yourself that you are domesticated. Tonight I ironed probably two dozen shirts.

Most were silk, and the majority of the rest were cotton. I've gotten fed up with cleaners. They break buttons and add too much starch, and can't get out stains, so I did it all myself. I already do all the laundry because I'm better at it, but I can't expect Jennifer to iron my shirts. She's as busy as I am with her work.

But now I see why my mom did it watching television. I watched "Inside the Actor's Studio" with Chris Rock as the guest, and then I watched Clerks 2 while I ironed.

And now I'm ready for bed. And I doubt I'll be wearing any of these shirts for a month since I'm not going to be needing any nice clothes out in the field.

Wipeout

We've now had two people laid off at our company, and not one of us saw it coming.

I feel safe, and I hope I am, but you're never 100% sure.

It was nice to get back in the gym after two weeks (three weeks?), but I'm only moderately sore, and next week, will not be too terribly shook-up.

I'm getting pretty focused on the upcoming beginners' GURPS game on Saturday. It's going to be as big a group of players as the psionics game John will be running in two weeks. I'll be looking forward to that one after all of this.

Return to Stockton - Day 2

Very quickly due to fatigue and updates.

Conductor casing set.

Steak and baked potato for dinner.

Reading Lord of Light by roger Zelazny.

Very tired.

Good night.

Return to Stockton - Day 1

Today I was back in Stockton for another drilling job at a different site. We're putting a monitoring well in a sidewalk.

This morning the rig got setup, and began cutting a square in the sidewalk. They got two sides of the square cut, and the rig stopped. They messed with it, and it kept dying.

So they sent out another rig. When it finally arrived they got the work done very quickly, but what should have been a 4 hour job took 8, and what could have been a day to get ahead with drilling, was lost to simply clearing the hole.

Luckily the rain stopped early again, so we were dry when we watching them work.

Hopefully tomorrow will also be a good day for weather.

Weekend Work

Yesterday Jennifer and I were over at her studio getting more things set up, and then went to IKEA to buy more things to set up.

It was a very long day, and the fact that the fridge died on us didn't help. She spent the morning over there today with the repairman, and then was out with a friend.

I went to Livermore, got my comics, and had Philly Cheese steak. Then I came home and did laundry.

Tomorrow I get to play in Stockton. In the rain. In the street.

I'm going to miss my nice warm office.

Do that meme, do that meme...

Once again Miss Em (whose blog is now secret) has sent me something cool on Facebook. She's surreal, and so I had to be as well. But do not ask me where question #12 is. It's a mystery.

48 Questions

Here are the rules - post this list on your profile using the Notes tab. Replace my answers with yours. Tag 10 people to do the same thing.

Author commentary: You’re not the boss of me now… You’re not the boss of me now… You’re not the boss of me now… And you’re not so big…

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Columbus but my parents can’t spell. And Leif’s father.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
When “Firefly” was canceled.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Why bother? No one teaches it anymore.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Peanut butter

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
No, I don’t like goats.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Not until we develop cross time travel to parallel worlds.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
Only against giant hedgehogs.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes, but we never talk.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Do you even know me?

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
None of the above.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Boots, boots, boots.

12. THERE IS NOOOOOOOO QUESTION 12.
It is twice "Rule 6" anyway.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
The one that I like.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Boobs or lack there of. Then I start checking things off the list.

15. RED OR PINK?
Green, copper based, remember?

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My second least favorite thing.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
Everyone. My aim is very poor.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST?
Everyone? And read 6.5 billion responses? Are you crazy?

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Flesh

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
The hum of my hard drive. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?Inanimate.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
I probably have some, yes.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
My phone is very small. I talk to people on my feet or while sitting in a chair.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Who? Old crotchety? No, I hate her guts and her imaginary fish. Duh.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Night time hallway cat laps.

27. HAIR COLOR?
Infrared.

28. EYE COLOR?
Ultraviolet

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
On my shelves.

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Protein and carbohydrates. With cellulose for variety.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Depends on the movie. Some have neither.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Zapruder.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
626.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Spring or autumn?

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
With the right snake you cold have both.

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?Miss America38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Miss South Carolina

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
The Apocrypha

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
My mouse, and occasionally my hand.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
I didn’t, so there. Nyeah.

42. FAVORITE SOUND(S).
My heartbeat in my ears.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Moss or spell-check.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
In seven-dimensional time-space? Nowhere at all.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Shhhh, they might be watching.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Aren’t you old enough to have figured this one out already?

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
Alex Trebek's

48. HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE/SIGNIFICANT OTHER?
Well.

15 Albums

Another challenge from the girls on Facebook.

"Think of 15 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, emotions. They might not be what you listen to now, but these are the albums that no matter what they were thought of musically shaped your world."

1. “Star Wars - the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” by John Williams: In 1977, this album (actually two LPs) was constantly on my turntable. I had it on when I was playing, and I had it on just to listen to. It brought me into the world of movie soundtracks.

2. “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band” by The Beatles: This was my first real cassette album, and truly introduced me to the Beatles.

3. “Good Vibrations” by The Beach Boys: This collection of the Beach Boys was the cassette that was most often in my car my junior year of high school in Maryland. I created an entire musical (in my head) using the songs in order cast with my friends from school.

4. “Pipes of Peace” by Paul McCartney: This was the first album (and LP) that I bought with my own money.

5. “Brothers in Arms” by Dire Straits: I didn't realize the Dire Straits had done “Sultans of Swing” but enjoyed their stuff on MTV from this album. Some friends of mine were really into DS, and said if I listened to one complete album, I would want everything they had recorded. I did, I did, and I do.

6. “Star Trek II - The Wrath of Kahn soundtrack” by James Horner: The music from the fight in the Mutara Nebula was incredible to me, and this album was impossible to find for years. I had to hunt and hunt for it, finally finding it in an ad in a comic book.

7. “Lethal Weapon 2 soundtrack” by Michael Kamen: There is a song in here that when I was fast forwarding on my cassette I heard completely differently. Played normally you really wouldn’t hear it, but sped up it is based on the stereotypical scary music of rising notes “duhnt, duhnt, duhnt, duhnt, duuuuuhn, duhnt.”

8. “Alchemy” by Dire Straits: Simply taught me that I don’t like concert albums. I prefer studio recordings.

9. “Himself” by Bill Cosby: My first purchased comedy album. Also and LP, I got this one at an auction. I remember buying this and a black leather baseball glove.

10. “Batman soundtrack” by Prince: This one was the first album to really be a difference between soundtrack and score. It seemed that we all had to wait so long for Danny Elfman’s score. And I still argue that it should be “Songs from…” and “Soundtrack”; a score is the music itself not the performance or recording.

11. “Footloose soundtrack” by various artists: My first CD. My parents got this for me because I was enjoying the movie so much. It’s pretty dated now.

12. “The Extremist” by Joe Satriani: My friend Steve and I listened to this album all the way to my one and only SCA event. It amazed me the emotion that went into and came out of a “simple” electric guitar. I get every studio album of Joe’s that I can get my hands on.

13. “Dance Into the Light” by Phil Collins: Jennifer and I received this album as a gift (actually a bribe I think) from the regional manager of Kleinfelder. There was something about him giving us the album that tainted it to us, and has slowly tainted most of Phil’s music. I have all of his albums, but probably only 5 songs on my iPod.

14. “Dark Side of the Moon” by Pink Floyd: Lots of people say that the Beatles “White Album” is the album they have to have, but DSotM is a must have. When CDs and MP3s go away, whatever format is next, then after my foundation soundtrack, DSotM will be there.

15. “The Eiger Sanction” by John Williams: I found that even the greats have their bad days. This may have been good soundtrack when it was written, but it seems that there is a point in music where a switch gets flipped somewhere, and the whole feeling of it seems old and dated. After this soundtrack and before “Jaws” was when it flipped for John Williams.

Coraline

Jennifer and I saw Coraline tonight.

And it's amazing.

Yes, it's stop motion, and sometimes you can really see it, but the story is told so well that it just goes with it.

It really doesn't compare with The Nightmare Before Christmas or Corpse Bride. They are totally different kinds of movies.

Some of the celebrity voices are apparent the first time you hear them, but after that, they quickly become the voice of the character.

We even saw it in 3-D and the quality is incredible. It's not done gimmicky throughout, just a couple times, but after that it becomes part of the movie.

Go. See. Enjoy.

Bad Writing and Good Writing

I finally gave up trying to read Empress by Karen Miller. The writing was compelling for most of the book, but I never cared about any of the characters. I finally stopped about 20 pages from the end.

Also today, we had a pre-field meeting for some drilling we'll be doing next week. Our staff geologist from Japan was going down our checklist, and I noted something interesting about her notepad. While she was taking notes on tasks required of her for after the meeting in English, I noticed that the notes on the folded over pages were in Japanese. It just tickled me that she was doing that. It's like a totally different form of shorthand.

Lulls

I got a lot of work done today.

I have completed a closure request, so now all it needs is he risk assessment section.

I'm preparing for my month and a half in the field.

And now I'm getting into character for our upcoming return to Psionics with GURPS. I really enjoy my character, but it's been a bit difficult with the e-mail session.

He's just so different from my Elf in our Fantasy campaign. I have to remember that modern humans actually use contractions. John and I got a big kick opt of that as well as both of us tending to refer to Randal as Auremar.

Rain

Some days, (rain) there are things (rain) that just overwhelm everything else (rain). Today the courtyard (rain) at the office was on the verge of flooding (rain) due to a clogged storm drain.

(rain)

I have to admit though (rain) that the office sounds so amazing (rain) with the water falling on the roof.

(rain)

But what I don't need are the lizards (rain) coming into my office (rain) through the cracks in the wall and floor (rain) around the doorway.

(rain)

Ew.

Torpid

Today was a pretty relaxing day in the beginning. Jennifer and I got up, she had a client to meet, and so I got to kill some time around the house before going to meet up with her for lunch.

I typed up her character from our GURPS training session yesterday, along with Holly and Elise's. I found a few things wrong with Jennifer and Holly's, and then found that Elise still had 40 points to spend. She's a little confused still on the disadvantages vs. the advantages.

Then while I was working my way through my Internet reading, I found a link to this game simply called The Space Game. It's a real time strategy game, but dealing with asteroid mining and setting up power links and defense grids. It's very fun, and not as frustrating as I would have expected. Plus you play against the computer, so there' no one tea-bagging you when you die.

Then I went to meet with Jennifer. We had lunch at Long John Silver's, then we went to help a friend with some storage setup at his apartment. Two trips to the E-Ville Home Depot alter, I think we have his closet set up lean and mean.

Afterwards, Jennifer and I went to T-Rex Barbecue in Berkeley. This has to be the best barbecue I've had in living memory. It knocks my Marlboro barbecue into a cocked and squashes it with the magicians rabbit. It has a wonderful macaroni and cheese. And a serviceable corn bread. I also had the New York steak with garlic mashed potatoes which were amazing. But the best was the appetizer: Smoked Pork Riblets with Spicy BBQ Sauce. Along with our take home stuff of what all we could not finish, we took home a half-pint of the sauce. Sometime this week, we're getting ribs, and doing it at home.

And now, I still have to go back, because we were too full for dessert. And they have over 100 whiskeys, including a specially picked barrel of bourbon from a distillery outside of Frankfort, Kentucky, that I've never even heard of. It's so unknown to me that I can't even remember the distillery. We're going back for brunch next time.

Dinner and Games

Last night's dinner was great. We had a wonderful time, and the food was amazing. We look forward to the next time we can do that.

Today, tow of my GURPS trainees came over and we finished getting their characters established. Now all we need is a session to play with all five of the newbies.

Today is brief, but I'm ready for bed.

Dinner Menu

Valentine’s Day Dinner
14 February 2009
Chez Appel et Collins

~ = MENU = ~

~ Appetizers ~

Russian Tomatoes
Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus
Vespers

~ Palette Cleanser ~

Fresh Baked French Bread
Olive Tapenade
Pinot Gris – J - 2006

~ Salad ~

Endive with Seasoned Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar with Feta
Mushroom and Dill Marinated Cucumbers
Syrah – Cakebread - 2005

~ Entrée ~

Steak Medallions with Mushroom Reduction
Nutmeg and Gruyere Pasta
Cabernet Sauvignon – Cakebread - 2004

~ DESSERT ~

Grand Marnier Chocolate Mousse
with Chocolate Shavings and an Orange Twist
Fine Ruby Port – Dow’s

~= HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY = ~

Boots for a Bonus

Recently I got my work boots re-soled.

For most of my career I've had the typical lace-up, steel-toe, work boots. But after seeing a driller with steel-toe cowboy boots, I vowed to get a pair of my own. I went to the western outfitter across from Sun Valley Mall, and got myself a pair of Durangos which were very comfortable, but didn't have much tread. I ended up wearing the keel down pretty quickly (as I tend to do), and so took them in for repair.

I asked if they could put a more aggressive tread on the whole boot, and they pulled out some waffle-stompers that looked great. I said go ahead, and put 'em on.

I think they turned out pretty kick-ass.

Oh, and for an added bonus here's me at work. This is from 2007, but it's also how I looked on Wednesday the 4th with our high concentrations in soil.

Dessert First

Tomorrow we are having the Sorrell's over for dinner. I'll give more of the menu tomorrow, but tonight.while Jennifer was out, I made the dessert: Wonderful Chocolate Mousse (a.k.a. Grand Marnier Chocolate Mousse).

It was my favorite "special" dessert growing up, and I made it even more special when I made it for Jennifer for our first date picnic.

And I think it is something that needs to be shared because it is so great. So without further ado "Wonderful Chocolate Mousse"

6 tablespoons strong coffee
2 ounces (1/4 cup) Grand Marnier liqueur
6 ounces (3/4 cup) semi-sweet chocolate bits
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine coffee, liqueur, and chocolate in top of double boiler. Place over simmering water. Stir until chocolate is melted. Add sugar, continue to stir until very smooth and glossy. Cool. Chip cream with vanilla until very thick. Thoroughly blend chocolate mixture into cream. Spoon into glasses, cover, and chill.

(Serves 6)

For the Microwave:
Place chocolate bits in 4-cup glass measure. Microwave for 2 minutes on high or until melted. Add hot coffee, liqueur, and sugar; stir until smooth and glossy Cool. Whip cream with vanilla until very thick. Thoroughly blend chocolate mixture into cream. Spoon into glasses, cover, and chill.

First of all, it's very simple. Second, the taste is impressive. And I forget every time I make it, that it requires coffee.

Enjoy.

Back to Normal

Work today was business as usual. Things went back top normal, and then we planned out the next month and a half of field work. I'll be in the office next week, and then in the field for the following 4 to 5 weeks.

Jennifer and I were going to go see Coraline today, but we got distracted, and ended up staying home.

We did watch some old Twilight Zone episodes though. "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" is eon of my favorites.

Drilling Deep - Day 6

And... we're done.

I am so wiped out. And all I did was watch these guys work. Yes, I helped Yuko log the samples, but that drive killed me. And Yuko drove.

I'm so glad that we get to do it all over again in March. This time in Santa Clara. Now that drive is really gonna suck.

Drilling Deep - Day 5

Very quickly, because I am very tired.

We got our last two wells drilled today. One got set, but the last one did not get finished because we had gone 10 feet deeper than proposed for all of the wells, so the drillers rand out of casing for the wells.

So we'll half a nice short day tomorrow.

In the rain.

Nature spotting today, I was looking at a flock of sheared sheep, and saw a dog with them. Not the typical sheep dog, and not an Aussie, but still a sheep dog, right? Then I thought, I wonder if there is anything preying on the sheep. Then in the distance I saw this reddish-orange shape bounding around this other field. I saw a fox. Cool.

Drilling Deep - Day 4

Today we set the first well after drilling to 85 feet.

Things were going well (I swear, no pun intended) at first, but the water was so silty that the well casing kept floating up and out of the sand pack. It slowed the drillers down, but we did manage to get off site at 5:00.

Sunday afternoon, after my time with Dian, I watched the animated collection Batman: Gotham Knight. Aside from the extreme anime influences, I really enjoyed it. The combination of influences from the new movies added to the basic Batman mythos went together very well.

A Sense of Pleasance

Today I got the opportunity to spend with an old friend from college. We'll call her Dian.

After seeing the condition in which she left me emotionally nearly 15 years ago, some might wonder how I could still call her a friend. But she's one of those that you just remain friends with. She's very intelligent, and has a way about her that you just want to talk to. She's fun to be around.

And she's very pretty.

She was in the area for an interview, and asked if I could give her a ride there while her sister was working. We met at DVC, had lunch at Monsoon Masala, and drove to Mill Valley. And we kept up a constant string of conversation. It was wonderful.

I learned today that the Bay Area is really not that big. Not two blocks from the theatre she was interviewing at is a burrito place that my family and extended family ate at a couple years ago near Christmas after walking around Muir Woods.

After the interview we drove back, I dropped her off with her sister and she headed off to see her mom.

I'm rooting for her to get the job in the summer, and not just for the chance to see her again. She's very confident, and one of those people you (or I, at least) just want to see succeed.

Ah, the Weekend

Today was nice and relaxing.

This morning Jennifer and I got up around 9:30, got dressed, and went to Carrow's for our diner breakfast that we've been talking about for nearly a month.

Then we came home and I got ready to go to the GURPS game at John's.

It was a bad time for our heroes, and the dice were not friendly. Soon after arriving in a city, we were split up (by our own actions), and then the bad guys attacked. Each group was out-numbered and out-powered.none of us dies horribly, but many were wounded, almost all non-player characters (NPCs) were taken down, and the evil ones were barely kept from their objective.

Oh, and the game ended with everyone slowly being healed, and my character in suspended animation 50 feet underground.

Not through any direct action by the enemy though; simply through their defense turning my attack on them being turned back onto me. I was unable to resist the effect, and so down I went. The worst part is that the only people to see me disappear were my opponents, my partner being unconscious at the time, and I have a spell active that hides me from magic sensing for a further 4 hours.

And that was the cliffhanger ending.

...at least from my perspective.

Drilling Deep - Day 3

Today, we finished the conductor casing drilling. Monday we'll be back to drill deeper and start setting wells.

But the fun for the week was driving through the delta and seeing the wildlife.

Twice I saw a group of wild swans. It's really kind of weird to see such graceful creatures with dirty brown necks from feeding in the marshes.

The egrets have been amazing and pervasive. And today I saw three blue herons in various locations, flying around.

And the best part was today's drive back when I saw this strange thing out in the middle of a field. I looked hard at it and it turned out to be a coyote.

And tomorrow I'll get to pretend I'm an Elf. Yay!

Drilling Deep - Day 2

First off, I need to remember to click "Publish Post." I forgot to do that last night for the post on drilling yesterday. I probably got distracted by the cat, and just went o bed afterwards.

Anyway, today was both worse and better.

First it started out with rain, and then moved to sunny but windy and cold.

We also started half an hour earlier than yesterday, but we finished an hour earlier.

So not a bad trade.

No other news though...

Drilling Deep - Day 1

Oh what a day.

We're drilling some deep groundwater monitoring wells at our site in Stockton. And because we're drilling through one layer of contamination we're installing conductor casing (a large pipe) first so that we can isolate the upper contamination from the lower water-bearing zone.

We got to the depth for the conductor casing at 9:30 this morning. And yet we were still on site until 4:45 because we had to get the 8-inch augers out, drill back down to depth with 15-inch augers, and then drop the 50 feet of conductor casing down, and then grout it up while removing the augers.

From leaving the office to returning, it was a twelve hour day.

I'm wiped.

"Blow Me Away" - MP3 Divination

So I'm bringing something cool over from Facebook (yes, there are some cool things in Facebook). It's reminiscent of bible divination where you ask a question and open the bible and point to a verse. This one involves putting your MP3 player on shuffle, and after you read each question, you press the skip button, and then write down the title to that song in answer to that question, no matter ho strange or inappropriate it is for that song.

Of course the Facebook thing is to get others to do it to you, but I'll put it up here just for the weirdness. And hope for others.

1. IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY? "High Hopes" - Pink Floyd {Possibly.}

2. WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY? "Devilman" - Rob Zombie {Not as such.}

3. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL? "Birdhouse in Your Soul" - They Might Be Giants {This could work.}

4. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE? "Junkie Doll" - Mark Knopfler {Getting someone off stuff, maybe.}

5. WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO? "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" - Sting {It worked the time that counted.}

6. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU? Theme song from "The Flash" - Danny Elfman {Well, aside from CSUS band flashbacks, I'll take this in a positive way.}

7. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN? "That's All" - Genesis

8. WHAT IS 2+2? "Stop Trying" - Huey Lewis {... okay}

9. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND? "Freeing One's Mind" - Dialogue from Mallrats

10. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE? "Sun is Shining" - The Fireman {... you make me happy when skies are gray...}

11. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY? "Why Don't You Come Over" - Garbage

12. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? "Justin" - Korn {Not really.}

13. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE? "Angry Chair" - Alice in Chains {Not gonna touch this one.}

14. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU? "Rock is Dead" - Marilyn Manson {Geology is defunct? Really?}

15. WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING? Main Theme (Expanded Version) from "Futurama" - Danny Elfman {Nope}

16. WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL? "I Don't Love You" - My Chemical Romance {I here I was hoping for "I Grieve" by Peter.}

17. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET? "Only the Good Die Young" - Billy Joel {Does that make me evil?}

18. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS? "Sleep Together" - Garbage {Do they really?}

19. WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN? "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist" - Muse {Whole new insights.}

20. HOW WILL YOU DIE? "What I've Done" - Linkin Park {All my fault.}

21. WHAT IS ONE THING YOU REGRET? "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes {Do you?}

22. WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH? "Desire" - U2 {If it's done right.}

23. WHAT MAKES YOU CRY? "A Thousand Years" - Toto

24. WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED? "Blue Blue Sky - Eric Stewart/Alan Parsons {meh.}

25. DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?"Human Beings" - Seal {Animals only tolerate me.}

26. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE? "First We Take Manhattan" - Leonard Cohen {::whiff:: Swing, and a miss.}

27. WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW? "Second to None" - Styles of Beyond {Yup.}

28. WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS? "Blow Me Away" - Breaking Benjamin

Football

Yeah, I watched the Super Bowl, and enjoyed the victory of the Steelers over the Cardinals.

I can remember watching the Steelers and the Cowboys back in the late 70s.

But anyway....

I'm still kind of amped over the beginnings of the new GURPS group. Sure they are quite the motley crew, but they've got some good potential.

The warrior woman will be ambidextrous and wielding throwing axes two handed. The centaur will be an archer, and probably have a spear as well. The astrologer will have weather, air, and possibly water spells and also carrying knives for both wielding and throwing. The priestess will be the healer, but also has a couple missile spells. And finally, the Elf ranger... who doesn't know any spells yet.

And of course whatever, I decide to run.

The hardest part was getting them to see past what had brought them to gaming. Two were coming from computer games, one no experience at all, and two had played old D&D. It takes a lot to reshape the thinking of some people to get them to understand that there are no "classes" or "alignments".

GURPS Training

Training went very well yesterday. Jennifer cut out early to go watch some UFC at a freidn's, and Holly and her friend Elise left a bit after that, but Gemma and Paul finsihed theirs.

Gemma made a priestess focussing on healing, and Paul made an Elven ranger with no spells at present.

Holly is workign up a centaur, Elise is making a warrior woman, and Jenniferis making an astrologer.

At least all of them have some offensive capabilities as well.

We'll ahve another small session for the three women who aren't done, and then we'll try a game.

All in all everyone came away happy, and lookign forwrd to more.