Foul on Disc

Wiping Off the Dust Vol. IV

2005-01-20T15:25:00.000-08:00

I dig the cold. It changes the feel of the atmosphere. Summer feels thin. Winter feels thick and cozy. It's like a popsicle and cheesecake. Popsicles are alright, but cheesecake is way better. Plus, winter reminds me of Christmas. Everyone likes Christmas, right?

Alright, winter has its problems. You have to defrost your car windows and you can slip. But think about summer: Everyone's grouchy, you have to turn on the AC on 24-7, you can easily get dehydrated...allergies... I'd rather fall on my fat, hairy butt than get irascible, dehydrated, and congested.

Wiping Off the Dust Vol. III

2005-01-20T15:24:00.000-08:00

CONTROL FREAK
If you're concerned about your post being off topic, this guy will let you know. He seems to have the rules memorized like he wrote them himself. In fact, the majority of his posts could be about who ISN'T following the rules. He also may indirectly criticise someone's posting style ("DoomEater is rather foolish, isn't he *chortle*.) Nicer Control Freaks will actually help you out--but he'll inform you about your indiscretions too. Fortunately, he may use smilies to take the edge off. ; )

FOREIGN GUY
Difficult to understand, but easy to recognize, the Foreign Guy hasn't mastered English by any means. He may have the highest IQ on the board, but little of what he posts makes sense.

DOOFUS
He isn't a Foreign Guy, but he's just as coherent. The Doofus may shift into a Malefactor if he thinks its funny or if a Cynical Expert badgers him. Occasionally, he may change his username and use all his knowledge of grammar to appear more mature than he really is. A Doofus may be a preteen or a young teenager trying to find identity, hence the shifting personas.

NICE GUY
He'll gladly help you out with anything you need. He may tell Control Freaks to pipe down. The Nice Guy wants everyone to get along until things get too out of control, at which point he'll walk away muttering.

CYNICAL EXPERT
He knows a lot about the subject at hand. You might even suspect he has some inside knowledge he isn't sharing. "You can't engineer that!" and "That's impossible!" are his warcries. People who innocently propose hypotheses may feel like Cynical Experts are ganging up on them.

Wiping off the Dust Vol. II

2005-01-20T15:23:00.000-08:00

Date & Place of Birth:
Mardos
Height/Weight/Physical Description:
6'1", 322lbs, extremely muscular. Bald, long, braided beard, blue eyes. Wears warpaint.
Citizenship/Ethnic Origin:
Anzar warrior.
Parents' Names & Occupations:
Father was a beserker, mother was one of many concubines.
Spouse or Lover:
Hos.
Education:
Knowledge beyond what he can sense is mostly superstition.
Occupation/Employer:
Soldier/warrior. Fights for his tribe.
Social Class:
Soldier/warrior.
Salary:
Everything is provided by the tribe. He doesn't value or understand money, only simple trade.
Community Status:
Respected as a powerful fighter: Nobody messes with this guy.
Job-Related Skills:
Good with a broadsword in the right hand and a warhammer in the left.
Political Beliefs/Affiliations:
The fewer laws, the better. Anyone who wants to rule over a mass of people has to prove himself. Just because he has children doesn't mean they'll make good rulers. If you want something, go get it yourself, or trade for it. Charity is ridiculous, but it's not his style to openly criticise anyone for it unless someone asks.
Personal Qualities (imagination, taste, etc.):
Definitely not an artist. He lives firmly in the moment. Most of his mind is focused on what he sees, feels, tastes, touches, and hears, which is then processed logically.
Ambitions:
Find the greatest warrior on Agnaroth, and fight him for competition's sake.
Fears/Anxieties/Hangups:
Bad loser, vengeful.
Intelligence:
Stupid, but not dumb.
Sense of Humor:
He loves slapstick. Riddles and sarcasm are lost on him.
Health/Physical Condition/Distinguishing Marks/Disabilities:
Eats whatever he can find. In great physical shape. Tattooed all over. His size works against him when facing a small, agile opponent.
Sexual Orientation/Experience/Values:
Straight. Plenty of experience.
Tastes in food, drink, art, music, literature, decor, clothing:
Likes simple poems about war and strength. Wears a lot of thick fur with strategically placed plates and scale mail-type armor. Almost never takes any of it off. The walls have eyes...
Attitude toward Life:

Attitude toward Death:

Philosophy of Life (in a phrase):

Wiping off the Dust Vol. I

2005-01-20T15:21:00.000-08:00

This is a detailed description of Agnaroth, its people, its places, religions, cults, factions, kingdoms, heroes, and villains. It is in the genre of 'low fantasy,' which intends to skip the pretentious trappings of Middle-Earth, Faerun, etc.

--Sorcery--
Sorcery is also called magic or witchcraft, but The Governance prefers the former. A 'spell' is 'cast' by connecting to the powers of nature through meditation. As such, a spell is restricted to components, or 'elements' of nature. A 'sorcerer' or 'sorceress' cannot turn a foe into a toad, nor can the caster become any animal or monster of any type at any time; however, an animal or monster can be set on fire or frozen. Sorcery cannot control minds, summon monsters from other dimensions, or divine information the caster would otherwise be unable to know. Used creatively, however, sorcery can do things such as create a bridge of ice or provide light in an otherwise black cavern.

--The Governance--
The Governance is a mysterious cult that acquires and freely distributes knowledge to any group for any reason. Their actions indicate that their only goal is to find information and make it easily referenced. The Governance has no known fortress, hall, dungeon, or any other kind of operational building.

Soul of a New Machine

2005-01-20T15:00:00.000-08:00

I've been annoying my friends (both of them) by going on and on about my new computer. I don't have it yet, but I expect to between now and the 27th, if iTunes doesn't get to me first. Here's the specs:

AMD Athlon XP Based System DDR333
* USB-A12 Mid Tower 400W Front USB,Black
* Gigabyte 7VM400M-RZ KM400M DDR333/Audio/Video/Lan
* AMD Athlon XP 2100+ 266 Mhz Oem
* AMD Recommended Aluminum Ball Bearing Fan
* Kingston PC3200 DDR400 256MB
* 1.44Mb FDD Black
* Hitachi 80Gb ATA 100 7200RPM
* 52x32x52 Sony CDRW Black
* Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy
* Radeon 9250 128MB TV AGP

You're only getting 256MB of RAM? Why not more? And why not a DVD-RW and a better graphic card? Oh yeah, and how about those 64-bit processors?
Yeah, I might regret this, but it saves money and I can always upgrade later. The goal of this PC is to run fairly new games (Neverwinter Nights, Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, Dungeon Siege, Unreal Tournament 2004) at a comfortable framerate. 40-50 is best for me. In a few months, I'll definitely upgrade my monitor. The refresh rate is terrible and the monitor itself is white. White won't match the black case. I'm keeping my keyboard, mouse, printer, and speakers because there's no reason to get rid of them...yet.

FEMA Tsunami Game

2005-01-20T14:35:00.000-08:00

Check it out, kids! The FEMA Tsunami Relief Game! It's actually a lot of fun...

Conversely, I couldn't get the Java applet to work. If it hangs forever, it must be Java!