About four months ago I wrote a post about the website Kiva. Kiva is a microfinance website. Members can donate money to lower income people across the world in amounts of $25.00 or more. It is an opportunity for people that normally might not be able to, to obtain loans for their businesses or personal expenses.
Since I've joined up I've made eight loans. A couple of my original ones have been fully paid back (allowing me to make additional loans) and one is currently delinquent in making his repayments.
It is a great learning experience. After reading through many profiles looking for the right loan to make you obtain an understanding of the the lives others in the world live. One potential lender I looked at was trying to raise money to rebuild his business after it was destroyed in political unrest.
I finally found a loan that met my current personal preferences; an individual (not a group), 12 month or shorter repayment plan, from most countries. Thus far I've given loans to people in Bolivia, Kenya, Ghana, Peru, Philippines, Ukraine, Tanzania, and Tajikistan.
So far it has been a very interesting experience. I still have to do some more independent research on microfinance, but it seems to be a great way to help. Loaning someone money and expecting it to be repaid helps to teach some responsibility where just giving money does not.
I'll be sure to give more update as things develop. Has anyone else used Kiva? If so do you have any interesting stories?
30 August 2010
29 August 2010
D&D Game Today
Played in a D&D game today. It's a smallish group, three players and one DM, so the players are allowed two characters. For months I only had my Warlock, but I've recently added a half-ogre war hulk (from the Miniatures Handbook, a potentially abusive character class).
The game itself is a strange mix of third and fourth edition D&D. The players are all using 3.5 books but the DM is pulling out monsters and treasure from 4th edition sources. It's been bumpy at times, but the campaign has been working.
My half-ogre will become an unstoppable engine of destruction in about three more levels. My Warlock has steadily grown in power and has collected a wide assortment of magic items and scrolls. Even at 13th level I now have access to Shapeshift abilities. I spent a good portion of today as a 26 hit die gold dragon. That really helped to put a hurting on the army of giants attacking a settlement we vowed to defend.
Anyway, it has been an interesting game. I'll be sure to give some updates as things progress.
The game itself is a strange mix of third and fourth edition D&D. The players are all using 3.5 books but the DM is pulling out monsters and treasure from 4th edition sources. It's been bumpy at times, but the campaign has been working.
My half-ogre will become an unstoppable engine of destruction in about three more levels. My Warlock has steadily grown in power and has collected a wide assortment of magic items and scrolls. Even at 13th level I now have access to Shapeshift abilities. I spent a good portion of today as a 26 hit die gold dragon. That really helped to put a hurting on the army of giants attacking a settlement we vowed to defend.
Anyway, it has been an interesting game. I'll be sure to give some updates as things progress.
28 August 2010
Saberfrog Production Blog
A bit over two years ago I did a little work on a film called Saberfrog. It's less than a month until the official release of that film.
The writer/director of the film has created the Saberfrog Production Blog to chronicle his efforts in putting this whole project together.
It's an interesting read for those who participated in the process and for those who are interested in some of the behind the scenes of the making of a low-budget feature length film.
Give it a look.
The writer/director of the film has created the Saberfrog Production Blog to chronicle his efforts in putting this whole project together.
It's an interesting read for those who participated in the process and for those who are interested in some of the behind the scenes of the making of a low-budget feature length film.
Give it a look.
27 August 2010
Gaming Withdrawal
For years I’ve had a Friday night table-top role-playing game to attend. For the last number of weeks I haven’t. I’m starting to suffer from withdrawal. The last five years of Friday gaming had been pretty cool.
For three of those years I ran a GURPS infinite worlds campaign. That has to be my favorite game to run since my Vampire: The Dark Ages campaign about a dozen years ago. After the GURPS game ran its course I ran Scion for nearly two years. Scion is a game where the players are the offspring of the deities of old in the modern world. The PCs just finished being demigods before becoming low-powered gods, however the game systems for the ultra-powered divine levels left much to be desired so we moved on from that.
We tried a few other games, the next most successful one our recent Marvel Superheroes campaign where I actually got to be a player. Despite my sucky power I managed to become possibly the most important character in the game.
Now I’m just taking some time off. Perhaps I’ll rebuild a group in the coming months. I’ve got a Tuesday game on a regular basis, but it has a short time slot and everyone has to work the next day so we never really bet to push it too much.
Tonight I’m just reading through some GURPS books as I watch some DVDs. I want to be ready for when Friday gaming starts back up for me.
Well, enough rambling about my problems. I’m just want to try to post to this blog everyday and tonight I’ve had old role-playing games on my mind. I now return you to your regularly scheduled internet browsing.
For three of those years I ran a GURPS infinite worlds campaign. That has to be my favorite game to run since my Vampire: The Dark Ages campaign about a dozen years ago. After the GURPS game ran its course I ran Scion for nearly two years. Scion is a game where the players are the offspring of the deities of old in the modern world. The PCs just finished being demigods before becoming low-powered gods, however the game systems for the ultra-powered divine levels left much to be desired so we moved on from that.
We tried a few other games, the next most successful one our recent Marvel Superheroes campaign where I actually got to be a player. Despite my sucky power I managed to become possibly the most important character in the game.
Now I’m just taking some time off. Perhaps I’ll rebuild a group in the coming months. I’ve got a Tuesday game on a regular basis, but it has a short time slot and everyone has to work the next day so we never really bet to push it too much.
Tonight I’m just reading through some GURPS books as I watch some DVDs. I want to be ready for when Friday gaming starts back up for me.
Well, enough rambling about my problems. I’m just want to try to post to this blog everyday and tonight I’ve had old role-playing games on my mind. I now return you to your regularly scheduled internet browsing.
26 August 2010
From the What’s The World Coming To File
Judge Alan Kay has refused to dismiss parts of Craig Smallwood’s lawsuit against NCsoft. It seems that NCsoft’s game Lineage II is allegedly addictive. Smallwood played the game for over 20,000 hours from 2004 to 2009. Judge Kay should have dismissed the entire suit.
For whatever NCsoft may or may not have done, how was Smallwood making a living? Spending 9 hours a day for nearly six years playing a video game leaves little time for a job and earning money to pay the rent and utility bills. Were family members aiding him in his destructive behavior instead of helping him get his life on track? Does he live alone and on welfare? If that is the case the State of Hawaii is as much as fault for his ‘addiction’ as NCsoft would be since they enabled him to play.
Mr. Smallwood didn’t seem to realize he had an addiction until his account was closed on him. He seemed to believe that this was so that he could get hooked on another one of their games, but in their response to the suit NCsoft alleged that Craig was involved in real money transfers that were specifically forbidden in the User Agreement and Code of Conduct for the game. (page 7 of Defendant’s Answer)
If this case goes through and is successful what will we see next? Will there be a class-action lawsuit by the viewers of Lost who claim they became addicted to the show and spent hours every week watching the show and spending time on internet forums discussing it? Will the composers of annoying commercial jingles that get stuck in your head be brought before international war-crimes tribunals on charges of torture?
For a period of five years I’ve played City of Heroes off-and-on. While that game could be fun at times most of the time it could grow very boring as the missions and hunting became a grind and more like work than entertainment. When I finally reached 50th level with one of my characters I checked and discovered that I had spent a little over 250 hours playing that character. That was enough for me to help me stop playing. I can’t imagine playing any game for over 20,000 hours. There isn’t enough content in a typical game to keep me entertained for even 250 hours; how can someone become addicted to a stupid game?
Anyway, good luck to NCsoft on this one. And good luck to Craig, hopefully he can make some changes to improve his life; realizing you have an addiction is the first step to overcoming it. A change in personality and habits is required for that, not a big check.
For whatever NCsoft may or may not have done, how was Smallwood making a living? Spending 9 hours a day for nearly six years playing a video game leaves little time for a job and earning money to pay the rent and utility bills. Were family members aiding him in his destructive behavior instead of helping him get his life on track? Does he live alone and on welfare? If that is the case the State of Hawaii is as much as fault for his ‘addiction’ as NCsoft would be since they enabled him to play.
Mr. Smallwood didn’t seem to realize he had an addiction until his account was closed on him. He seemed to believe that this was so that he could get hooked on another one of their games, but in their response to the suit NCsoft alleged that Craig was involved in real money transfers that were specifically forbidden in the User Agreement and Code of Conduct for the game. (page 7 of Defendant’s Answer)
If this case goes through and is successful what will we see next? Will there be a class-action lawsuit by the viewers of Lost who claim they became addicted to the show and spent hours every week watching the show and spending time on internet forums discussing it? Will the composers of annoying commercial jingles that get stuck in your head be brought before international war-crimes tribunals on charges of torture?
For a period of five years I’ve played City of Heroes off-and-on. While that game could be fun at times most of the time it could grow very boring as the missions and hunting became a grind and more like work than entertainment. When I finally reached 50th level with one of my characters I checked and discovered that I had spent a little over 250 hours playing that character. That was enough for me to help me stop playing. I can’t imagine playing any game for over 20,000 hours. There isn’t enough content in a typical game to keep me entertained for even 250 hours; how can someone become addicted to a stupid game?
Anyway, good luck to NCsoft on this one. And good luck to Craig, hopefully he can make some changes to improve his life; realizing you have an addiction is the first step to overcoming it. A change in personality and habits is required for that, not a big check.
10 August 2010
Back to Work on My 1st Novel
Thunder rumbled in the distance as rain pattered against my window. It had gotten dark since I first sat down in front of my computer to continue my work. The glow from the monitor was all that was giving illumination to the room.
Two years of work would be coming to an end in just a few short months. I sifted through piles of notes to find useful data to update my manuscript. I had received many helpful suggestions from the members of the Rochester Writers Association on parts of my novel. Now I was taking the best of those suggestions and integrating them into my story.
Over 40,000 words had been written in June 2008. I had fallen short of my goal for those thirty days but I knew that my story would be worth completing. Over the two years following that real life began to interfere; large projects at work, other writing, research for another blog.... weeks turned into months and my draft remained uncompleted.
But on that dark and stormy night not too long ago I gathered my notes, printouts, index cards, and source material to begin working to finish that first draft.
Will my draft be ready for publishing when it is completed by this fall? Certainly not! That's why it is called a first draft and not a completed manuscript.
No, instead the draft will be printed and given to a handful of trusted reviewers for further critique. Then comes the next round of updates and re-writes. Perhaps by May 2011, nearly three years from the first word being written, and over four years since research began, will I finally be ready to begin the quest to find an agent.
I would ask for luck, but hard work and stubbornness have usually served me better.
Two years of work would be coming to an end in just a few short months. I sifted through piles of notes to find useful data to update my manuscript. I had received many helpful suggestions from the members of the Rochester Writers Association on parts of my novel. Now I was taking the best of those suggestions and integrating them into my story.
Over 40,000 words had been written in June 2008. I had fallen short of my goal for those thirty days but I knew that my story would be worth completing. Over the two years following that real life began to interfere; large projects at work, other writing, research for another blog.... weeks turned into months and my draft remained uncompleted.
But on that dark and stormy night not too long ago I gathered my notes, printouts, index cards, and source material to begin working to finish that first draft.
Will my draft be ready for publishing when it is completed by this fall? Certainly not! That's why it is called a first draft and not a completed manuscript.
No, instead the draft will be printed and given to a handful of trusted reviewers for further critique. Then comes the next round of updates and re-writes. Perhaps by May 2011, nearly three years from the first word being written, and over four years since research began, will I finally be ready to begin the quest to find an agent.
I would ask for luck, but hard work and stubbornness have usually served me better.
25 July 2010
Roller Derby
A couple of weeks ago I went to see a roller derby double-header in Rochester. In the first match the home Rottenchesters battled the visiting Blue Collar Betties and defeated them 147 to 37.
Above is a very blurry photo of the excitement!
The second match-up was the local 5-H8-5s against the Ithaca Bluestockings. During the warm up prior to the game I could tell the Bluestockings would be trouble. They way they skated side-to-side and practiced their tactics, it seemed like they had a lot on the ball. Sure enough they beat the 5-H8-5s 134 to 68.
A penalty being called!
All and all a fun evening. The next roller derby in the Rochester area will be at the Dome Arena on 14 August 2010. The Roc Stars against the Queen City Roller Girls' Lake Effect Furies from Buffalo, NY. Check it out at the Roc City Roller Derby website.
Who knows; I might even figure out how to use my camera before the next bout!
Above is a very blurry photo of the excitement!
The second match-up was the local 5-H8-5s against the Ithaca Bluestockings. During the warm up prior to the game I could tell the Bluestockings would be trouble. They way they skated side-to-side and practiced their tactics, it seemed like they had a lot on the ball. Sure enough they beat the 5-H8-5s 134 to 68.
A penalty being called!
All and all a fun evening. The next roller derby in the Rochester area will be at the Dome Arena on 14 August 2010. The Roc Stars against the Queen City Roller Girls' Lake Effect Furies from Buffalo, NY. Check it out at the Roc City Roller Derby website.
Who knows; I might even figure out how to use my camera before the next bout!
03 July 2010
Legacy Challenge: College Years
It took some time but Albert Fugg has now graduated from college. It was a very successful experience for him. Not only did he met his future wife, Zoe, but midway through his junior year he reached his lifetime aspiration of maxing out all of his skills.
(photo of Zoe accepting Albert's engagement proposal)
On top of all of that he managed to keep a 4.0 GPA in all semesters and was brought into a secret society. With all of that, and the freetime he had, going to town and getting a job while trying to set the ground work for the Legacy Lot; life out of college will become very challenging.
Science is the family hobby, and the favored hobby of Albert. He also currently has 8 family friends.
Now that Albert has moved into the Legacy Lot he has gotten a job in the Paranormal career. He has also adopted a dog to create a family breed. The marriage to Zoe was quick and didn’t involve a wedding party or vacation.
Albert is also expecting his first child… just not with Zoe. Albert was abducted by aliens and was impregnated!
Next Goals:
• Develop the family breed
• Establish a family business
• Buy a vacation home
• Give birth to the second generation
Current Score: 6 (4%)
On top of all of that he managed to keep a 4.0 GPA in all semesters and was brought into a secret society. With all of that, and the freetime he had, going to town and getting a job while trying to set the ground work for the Legacy Lot; life out of college will become very challenging.
Science is the family hobby, and the favored hobby of Albert. He also currently has 8 family friends.
Now that Albert has moved into the Legacy Lot he has gotten a job in the Paranormal career. He has also adopted a dog to create a family breed. The marriage to Zoe was quick and didn’t involve a wedding party or vacation.
Albert is also expecting his first child… just not with Zoe. Albert was abducted by aliens and was impregnated!
Next Goals:
• Develop the family breed
• Establish a family business
• Buy a vacation home
• Give birth to the second generation
Current Score: 6 (4%)
| Legacy: 0.5 | Ghosts: 0 | Free Time: 1.5 |
| Money: 1 | Business: 0 | Collections: 0 |
| Friends: 2 | Family Breed: 0 | Master: 0 |
| Impossible Wants: 1 | Seasons: 0 | Handicaps: 0 (3 potential) |
| Platinum Graves: 0 | Bon Voyage: 0 | Overflow: 0 |
| Penalties: 0 |
09 June 2010
Hawaii Five-O
Bad news.
CBS has gone and re-imagined Hawaii Five-O.
The original series was cool. When it started Hawaii had been a State for less than a decade, not only did Five-O fight crime across the islands but they got involved in international espionage (usually against the Red Chinese and the nefarious Wo Fat), and just the way everything came together gave the show a great feel.
This re-set of the classic show is just going to become CSI: Honolulu. The new actors won't be able to capture the same spirit the original characters developed after over a decade on television.
I wouldn't be complaining as much if they just created a continuation of the original series. While James MacArthur is too old to play a retiring head of Five-O passing the torch to the new guy, he could have been brought in to play the Governor who reactivates Five-O after a decade or so of inactivity. A who new set of characters could have brought in to fill whatever demographic requirements the network had (funny how none of the main characters in the 're-imagined' series will be Hawai'ian...). Since Hawaii actually doesn't have 'State Police' (State of Hawaii Sheriff's Office, which is part of the Hawaii Department of Public Safety, serves as law enforcement across the state) they could do what ever they want with Five-O.
Anyway, for future reference, re-imagining an old television show = Bad (ex. Battlestar Galactica), continuing an old television show = Good (ex. Doctor Who). I've head the 2009 version of the Prisoner called a reinterpretation... I'm afraid to find out how horrible that is.
CBS has gone and re-imagined Hawaii Five-O.
The original series was cool. When it started Hawaii had been a State for less than a decade, not only did Five-O fight crime across the islands but they got involved in international espionage (usually against the Red Chinese and the nefarious Wo Fat), and just the way everything came together gave the show a great feel.
This re-set of the classic show is just going to become CSI: Honolulu. The new actors won't be able to capture the same spirit the original characters developed after over a decade on television.
I wouldn't be complaining as much if they just created a continuation of the original series. While James MacArthur is too old to play a retiring head of Five-O passing the torch to the new guy, he could have been brought in to play the Governor who reactivates Five-O after a decade or so of inactivity. A who new set of characters could have brought in to fill whatever demographic requirements the network had (funny how none of the main characters in the 're-imagined' series will be Hawai'ian...). Since Hawaii actually doesn't have 'State Police' (State of Hawaii Sheriff's Office, which is part of the Hawaii Department of Public Safety, serves as law enforcement across the state) they could do what ever they want with Five-O.
Anyway, for future reference, re-imagining an old television show = Bad (ex. Battlestar Galactica), continuing an old television show = Good (ex. Doctor Who). I've head the 2009 version of the Prisoner called a reinterpretation... I'm afraid to find out how horrible that is.
07 June 2010
Library Thing
To-day I've started playing around with Librarything.com. It is a place to list books that are in your library or that you have read. You can write book reviews and expand some of the common knowledge of books you are familiar with. Additionally, there are numerous groups and ways to connect with other book lovers.
It's easy enough to sign up. You don't even need to provide an email address (but you might want to include one in case you ever forget your password). No personal information has to be given. The free version of the site allows the listing of 200 books. the paid versions (either annual or lifetime, lifetime being very reasonably priced) can list an unlimited number of books.
Books can be assigned to different categories: Your Library, Wishlist, Books You've Read, To-Be-Read Pile, etc. You can categorize your books in whatever way is most helpful to you.
There are over a million users of the site and over 40 million books in the database. After you start to enter books you will see listings of other members with similar libraries to yours. There is also a lot of cool stuff over in the Statistics/Memes section of your profile.
There are also local resources available. Local book groups, user submitted listings and reviews of local book stores, and other things to make the site more useful for your real world interactions.
Then, of course, there are all the widgets and ways to connect to other sites such as Facebook, Bookmooch, Paperback Swap, and numerous others. Personally, I'm not liking my Library Thing account with any of my other social media sites; sometimes you don't want your online identities to be too interconnected.
If you are a book lover and want to connect with others Library Thing is a great resource.
The only thing I have to decide now is if I'm going to start listing all of the role-playing game books I've read over the years.
It's easy enough to sign up. You don't even need to provide an email address (but you might want to include one in case you ever forget your password). No personal information has to be given. The free version of the site allows the listing of 200 books. the paid versions (either annual or lifetime, lifetime being very reasonably priced) can list an unlimited number of books.
Books can be assigned to different categories: Your Library, Wishlist, Books You've Read, To-Be-Read Pile, etc. You can categorize your books in whatever way is most helpful to you.
There are over a million users of the site and over 40 million books in the database. After you start to enter books you will see listings of other members with similar libraries to yours. There is also a lot of cool stuff over in the Statistics/Memes section of your profile.
There are also local resources available. Local book groups, user submitted listings and reviews of local book stores, and other things to make the site more useful for your real world interactions.
Then, of course, there are all the widgets and ways to connect to other sites such as Facebook, Bookmooch, Paperback Swap, and numerous others. Personally, I'm not liking my Library Thing account with any of my other social media sites; sometimes you don't want your online identities to be too interconnected.
If you are a book lover and want to connect with others Library Thing is a great resource.
The only thing I have to decide now is if I'm going to start listing all of the role-playing game books I've read over the years.
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