Biscuit

Hobbits go postal

2008-05-14T14:40:57Z

So the paranoia of Warhammer continues, and I continue to relish my ignorance of the gameworld. Last game I was introduced to the concept of the "Dwarven Runebearer" or "Postman"
Which leaves me in a state of cognative dissodence, because postmen are so the best class ever, in every system, but dwarfs (and dwarves) are universally vile.
Also, I was set to thinking about the Postal list again, and I suddenly realised that it lacked the skill "Parcel Force", which would allow you to use levels of strength to push large parcels through small letter boxes.

Potato!

2008-05-12T10:23:41Z

So, my drama-potato grew leafs and things. I hope it is doing happy potato-things underground as well.

Also in this run of photos, my garden poses with the cute watering-can we bought in Hanau and elmyra. Observe:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elmyra/2484169820/

Sadly, the table legs have started splitting. Possibly they needed more painting to start with. Maybe I can stich them together with wire in a vaguely Frankinstinian way.

baloonworld @ 2008-05-10T21:41:00

2008-05-10T20:48:50Z

Last week, I got back from Hanau, and my potato had grown leafs!
Photos to follow.
Evemtually.

baloonworld @ 2008-05-04T18:37:00

2008-05-04T17:26:22Z

It was dark, content, trapezoidal, and full of tea. Assam. This is because it was a teabag, and in a box with many other teabags and no light source. It was a good teabag, and the tea it contained was good tea. It could infuse deliciousness.
It stayed there for a long time. Very occasionally, the box would open and one of the other teabags would be taken out. This was because the box was in a German cafe, where little tea was drunk.
Then it was taken out and put on a small plate. Some water had been boiled and put, inexplicably, into a glass, and the small plate was put on top of this. The teabag looked around, wondering if would go in a mug or a teapot, and wondering where its boiling water would come from.
They made their leisurely way over to a table on the other side of the street, so the water cooled some more, then they were set down, the teabag in pride of place on top of the pile. Eventually the teabag shocked when it was taken off the plate and put into the water. Despite its horrified astonishment, the teabag rallied courageously, and attempted to diffuse thought the glassful of warm water.
Because the water was in a glass, it was possible to see the teabag's valiant efforts at diffusion. It was a brave teabag, fully three dimensional for maximum contact volume, and the leaves within in it were chopped finely, to expose a large surface area to the water, allowing quick infusion. The water was cold, so it stayed longer than it had anticipated, so that the tea would not be weak.

It failed.

Because the water was not boiling, the tea was both weak and bitter. The teabag was very sad, and it sat once more on its small plate, with its corners drooping despondently.
Then the milk came over. Milk in tea is an abomination, but quite a common one; the teabag did not think this, it was far too aware of its own failure to belittle any other attempts at tea-making. Then it realized that it was frothy coffee milk, and it sagged further.

EDIT: I asked for Earl Grey

baloonworld @ 2008-04-28T13:40:00

2008-04-28T12:50:56Z

Mili and I are watching "stompy deathbot goes to school" AKA "Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles"
It is a very cute charactor study of a stompy deathbot and her adopted familly. They are teaching her what it is to be human, and she is teaching them to crush fleshies.
I think that this is /adorable/.
I was utterly happy when she made her first friend
"That's my friend. I met her in the bathroom and attempted to give her a tight present. Her parents are going to kill her. I am a bitch whore"
*Friend suicides, John is angery*
"Don't be a freak."

Sadly, fights for the future of humanity interpose much of stompy deathbot's mingling-with-fleshies time, but she will surely end up on the cheerleading squad, by virtue of the superhuman athleticism and superiour squishy-crushing ability. It will be /delightful/.
*Dances arround, singing*
"KILL ALL HUMANS! KILL ALL HUMANS! KILL ALL HUMANS!"

Admittedly, the only person I've known on cheer squads was one of the large, hairy rockers at Liverpool, so my mental immage may be slighly warped.

Explaining the Lipkin model

2008-04-24T15:38:41Z

I have just had the hell explained out of my QM homework.

I am so explained to right now it is untrue. If you saw me you would be like "dear gods man, you have been explained to so hard".

I utterly approve of postdocs going mad with explaining. It is glorious.

In other news, I woke up at 4 this morning and could not get back to sleep.

EDIT: Seriously, being confused by the Lipkin model is an awesome bonding experiance for a nuclear group. We are all so massively confused together. We should totally get confused together more often :)

The dollshouse

2008-04-24T09:56:01Z

We went to a play. It was lovely. There were three acts of growing horror at the charitors freakish sexual dimorphism, and then there was glorious self-trancendance.

I was so happy.

baloonworld @ 2008-04-22T16:35:00

2008-04-22T15:49:03Z

LQCD is horrifficly confusing.
Seriously.
What I understood from the last two days is
1)Lighter quarks are harder to calculate
2)so we lie and claim thast quarks are heavier than we know they are
3)do the maths for the heavier quarks
3)and then we extrapolate (guess) what real-world mass quarks would do, in the light of our knowledge of what heavy effect quarks do.

ALSO

in the case where gamma -> 2e-
(which is clearly impossible (Charge should be conserved ))
it is because "It is scaler"
Scaler QCD(?) is a theory of QCD which descibes a universe where gamma -> 2e-
Again, the maths is easier. I did not understand if this had any conceivable baring on EM forces and leptons in the real univererse

ADDITIONALLY
Glasgow university undercater their events, leaving the phD students no sandwices to steal at the end of a conferance lunch. ABOMINATION!

Now, I have homework to do for Witek, which promises to be epicly difficult, but in a slightly different way.
Glorious.

Hobbits D&D + cute

2008-04-10T10:44:09Z

Tedious phalanxs of undead. They still stay dead when they get killed, so Lich-boy doesn't have the magical dongle we lost last session but one (yet).
In a flashback to the sick game, I did breifly have extra dimentional space full of corpses, but then we got somewhere safe, tipped them out and looted them. It just wasn't the same. ffitch is looking forward to finding lich boy and asking to have a poke through his spell book though. Also critiquing Lich-boy's work.

The cute story is that when I got to the SU room we had booked, there was a couple asleap on one of the sofas. I really don't understand how they fitted on or why they didn't fall off. I was like "err.... Hi" and they were kind of sweet and confused and wondering about sleeping there until morning lectures, thus avoiding having to take the bus, Then I gently shoo'd them out of the room before they had to meet our token unsocilized abberent freak.

Book and tool reviews

2008-04-08T20:26:49Z

Stranger in a strange land: A good concept, spoiled by an authorial voice like wading mind-deep in filth. (unfinished)

I, Vampire: Would totally rip off Lestat's car, sleep with his boyfriend and order a monumental amount of pizza delivered to his house. <3 Sulivan O'Blivian (unfinished)

Mili's yellow wire cutters: I have been lusting after these for about a year, but her dad stole them to aid in model aircraft manufacture ~~the same time he stole my file~~. These things are awesome, although I'm still going end up with the strongest grip I've had since I rock climbed every week. It now takes roughly no time at all to cut a coil; I've ran out of fat wire, although there is still some of the pretty half mm stuff I bought at the knitting show :) Chainmaile will be mine :)

EDIT: Mili's dad did not steal my file. I put it somewhere safe and Mili tried to persuade me it never existed

I Have Science!

2008-03-27T21:09:41Z

Also, I almost emailed 5 files (with numerical titles, 112, 114, 116, etc.) consisting entirely of two collums of five-digit numbers to Mead. I am
1)Cryptical
2)Inexplicably delighted
3) wanting to be a Science!-based super-hero, as it would give me an excuse to shout "Science!" and punch people in the face, which can only be a joyful experiance for all concerned.

EasterCon messes me up.

2008-03-27T19:48:27Z

last year I collopsed unexpectedly, and required feeded. This year I carried emergancy rations with me at all times, and didn't, so I thought I'd got away without collopsing.
Then I was out of my routine after easter con, and didn't go shopping so I ate badly yesterday and then I worked until now (and have much to do before I rest), and so I eat it now.

I love you, emergancy ration made of seeds and oats and nuts and suger.

Neil read me stories

2008-03-25T13:54:24Z

Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Paisly RPGsoc: Pruning the spider

2008-03-18T13:56:25Z

So Warhammer continues its paraniod, self-destrutive, ludicrusly complex spiral.

Last game, however, was, a first: I added one charitor and 3 interconections to the spider diagram of relationships, and errased* 4 charitors and all of their interrelations, as well as two other interelations, to a net simplification of the diagram (which still will not fit on one page of A4)

So the party is full of betrayal (I was right) and mistrust, and there is a chance that death-wizard girl will be insane when she regains conciousness, but we have a good chance of simplfying the diagram further next time.

*Gruff did it. With an axe.

S&Z: The Easter Shoggoth

2008-03-17T17:21:49Z

"Nyte. In Bulgaria we do not worship so-called easter bunney. Am worshiping Easter Shoggoth" Early bond villains were so sterotypically Russian it wsas begining to spill over into Susan's speach-patterns. *
"And every easter, the Easter Shoggoth come squirming all glutiniously from its lair and, leaving behind a swaith of detruction, extrudes chocolate eggs in the gardens of all the good children."
"What does it do to bad children?"
"Its leaving dismembered rabbits on doorsteps. Have seen them, scattered like wet rags."
"wow... thats so cool!"
By the end of that play-time, for 2b had formed a rudementory shoggoth cult. Susan was triumphant.

Ia!
Ia fthagn!

*I however, have no idea of how russian grammer works, so this is probably wrong

No Dramas!

2008-03-10T17:02:22Z

You see, the plan was to make an LJ post about my
garden (and the vegetable patch, which is actully just a potato that grew roots in the cupboard so I gave it a pot and some dirt to live in) and no one to reply, and then I was going to have Drama and me and the potato were never going to talk to anyone ever again*.

And then I mentioned it on the worklist, and people were lovely and said they liked it and the cat, which is sensible, and I like him too, so I was utterly defeated by everyone being lovely, so I couldn't have Drama, and oh noes.

CONCLUSIONS: Me and the potato will continue to talk to people, because they are lovely. I still suck at Drama.

*elmyra helped me with this plan

baloonworld @ 2008-03-09T11:46:00

2008-03-09T11:49:12Z

1. Who are you?
What do you want?

2. Do you have any brothers or sisters?
I had a plant-clone once. She was lovely.

3. How old are you?
I'll be a week old on Tueday.

4. What's your height?
5'4'

5. Are you a virgin?
Not much point really. Not like I could bring it to term.

6. Who's your mate/spouse?
Me and Breeze have a couple of Brides that we stole.

7. Do you have any kids?
Not on me.

8. What's your favourite food?
I like sweeties.

9. Have you killed anyone?
Anyone, like independent, self-actualized people? Far fewer than you'd imagine, or I'd hope.

10. Have any secrets?
May-be

11. Do you love anyone?
Lots. Everyone. Borderlands posse remind me of happier times, Nab and Rain help me get back there. G'mord pulled me out of hell, and he has a window box with a cow in it.

12. What is your job?
To see that society transcends this reality. Obviously, I'm working on this society because I need some sort of handicap.

13. Boy or girl?
...

14. What do you do to relax?
Jump off cliffs. Chat with people. Rearrange reality.

15. There's a person who's teasing you; what could you do?
It's Tarrak or possibly Carlsberg. Regardless, he's lovely, and probably wants some help with something and is too shy to ask.

16. Let’s say you have a person who you really care about but she/he doesn’t know about your feelings. How do you tell her/him?
What like when Tarrak called me "creature" rather than saying "I love you"? I think he's over that by now.

17. What do you regret most in life?
My growing caution since those early days in the borderlands. Nab made me nicer armours and I can bug Rain for endurances and then throw caution to the winds as nature intended. Its glorious, like a return to childhood innocence.

18. Do you like your maker?
I'm pretty awesome, yes

19. Do you dream?
'es

20. What scares you?
Socks!

Book reviews: The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

2008-03-04T16:12:57Z

Junky space porn celibrating anarco-sydicatism. Refutes the values of other governmental systems by having peple in an immaginary socity say that they have never seen the need for n where n is somthing provided by an existing socity. Given that the socity is based on the premise that it is cheaper to grow grain hydroponicly on the moon and ship it to Earth than grow it hydroponicly on Earth, the validity of the hypothetical socity is pretty much nil. Heinlien sets up an ideal oppertunity to explore ideas concerning utilitarian socity ran by a loving machine overlord, and then carefully avoids it at the last minute, presumably for reasons of it being interesting. Charitors are almost psycopathic in their emotional detachment from the death of their loving machine-god.

With two exceptions (below), all the other (54) reviews on iRead are either libertarians saying "this book describes a world just like the one I imagine I live in. It is therfore excellent" or "this book is good"

"libertarian tough-guy writing at its best. Which isn't really saying a whole lot."

"Well, I'm TRYING to read it, anyway. I find Heinlein's take on gender to be REALLY off-putting."

Waste

2008-02-27T10:35:29Z

I spent half an hour in the library checking what Fowler has to say on the subject of ending a sentance with a preposition. The short version is "It's English, not Latin. Get over yourself" Now I have to waste more time arguing with John about it.

Lovely.

PGS: warhammer

2008-02-26T22:07:47Z

So the hobbits society has booked rooms in the SU. one of these is the Inexplicable Vast Concrete Room. This a erratically-shaped room of bare concrete about three stories high with vast door-like window shutters done in steel and about a foot thick.
Anyhow my poor little initiate of Sigma had an Evil Skull, which he'd handed over to a senior priest for destruction and some light betrayal (it builds character). Said priest was latter caught using my damn Evil Skull in his blasphemous rites*. Which is when I found out that if you raise your voice a bit, the phrase "Oi! give me back my Evil Skull" will resonate around the Inexplicable Vast Concrete Room quite nicely.

Final conclusion: Pre-plotted game book e.g. "Ashes of Middenheim" is restrictive, like a railway, but occasionally fun, like an Evil Skull.

*the rites of the blood god are an absolute pig to interrupt. I tried following the ritual leader around and giving him and the sacrifices medical attention, but no luck. Next time: mop and bucket.

Paisly RPGsoc: D20

2008-02-21T20:44:58Z

I'm playing Fitch mk II*. He's amazing and so is summoning swarms into closed rooms full of would-be ambushers. They so did't understand why they were suffering from so much rat-face incident.
Next time I'm going for freakish dexterity and ~lots of random crap from the wonderious item list. "Gosh I responded first again. Go-go gadget [freakish object]!"

Also, order of the stick's dancing lights = signal flare is pure win.

* I had to come up with a charictor quickly and hadn't prepared anything

The tin can

2008-02-16T16:16:35Z

I was walking through Paisly, which was aweful as usual, but this time I had a friend. There was an Irn-Bru can which kept pace with me for most of the length of the high street, like the American Beauty plastic bag's rattly Scottish cousin. I was not entirly convinced that the slope of the high street was enough to account for the can's motion, or excessive rattlyness. I have thus developed a `tiny gnome in steel boots' theory in order to account for both.

ALSO
Today I went for a run and the weather was surprisingly nice, despite taking place in the Paisley area. Then I went back to the lab to make more 'corrections' to my transfer report.

For Hobbit:

2008-02-07T11:54:53Z

Re-enlivening chambers with bees (Insecto reanimus):

http://bp1.blogger.com/_c4twH_sjx5o/R6qnT1TGAXI/AAAAAAAAA6M/URgTEwaoYC8/s1600-h/patamecanique.gif

From
http://syndicated.livejournal.com/cabt_of_wonders/35712.html

I'm a postgraduate student, am I eligable for a university pension?

2008-01-31T14:33:35Z

Note: At each stage, repeat the title
take the route marked 1 the first time, the one marked 2 will only open up after you have performed other actions. Do not take the routes marked "yes" or "HR". Although they are expected to take you to the start this has not been tested. They may take you, inexplicably, to the exams unit.

            START
                           ||
                           ||
                           \/
I'll put a<---------H.R- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -+
request to         ||                                   /\
leslie blair           ||1
for you.               ||                                    |
                           \/
        "I don't know, I'll pass you                  |
       over to student administration"
                           \/                                     |
                   Exams unit
                           \/                                    |
    "WTF? Try student records"
                           \/                                     |
               Student records
                           \/                                     |
    "I don't know why I've even got
     this call do you want me to put -(yes)->+
            you through to HR?"                        /\
                           \/                                   |
        "No I've done that. They put
       me through to the exams office"
                           \/                                 |
       "OH! you've been invigilating!"
                           \/                               |
                         "No".
     Explain what "postgrad" means.       |
                        Again
                           \/                                      |
         "I can't help. how about - -(HR) - - > +
                Loraine or HR"                             |
                           \/                                      |
                       Loraine                                |
                           \/                                      |
"I don't know. Try HR" - -(surrender) - - >    +

EDIT: I quite like the wobbly formatting Lj has given the paths: its like how I feel :)

Paisly gamers: D6 starwars campaign

2008-01-22T12:00:06Z

Ewoks pwon everyone's face. Seriously, they are horiffic and can hide in everyone's blind spot(at the same time, which is impossible) and then they jump and shiv you up.
On the minus side: No E-web (possibly mounted on a shopping trolly), as I am not a twink.