Chaosbutterfly

We all had a great time.  Just to let everyone know, we didn’t permanently break my phone when we were playing with all those apps.  I looked up on line how to fix the crazy not seeing the phone network thing and fixed it last night when I got home.  You have to remember that the new smart phones are not really intrinsically phones.   They are hand held computers with cell phone transceivers built in and come with a little phone application that drives that transceiver.  Sometimes that phone app crashes.  I had downloaded too many apps and according to a few forums I read last night, too many apps drive the HTC Hero crazy.  I had driven my phone crazy… lol.  I have concluded one thing with this phone.  The Google App, Google Sky Map has to be the coolest, most elegant app ever yet written.  It’s a window to the Gods in your cell phone.  That is just cool on every level.

Anyway, when I wasn’t breaking my new cell phone, we had a lot of fun, enjoyed some great Celtic Music and drank a lot of Texas Pecan Coffee amongst other things.

Thanks everyone for coming.

I found this video at the Houston Chronical.  Its the State Capitol building in the snow.  Just three minutes of snow falling.  Kind of relaxing actually.   Put that on a loop.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid29266405001?bctid=68172270001

I was wiped out and I didn’t realize just how wiped out I was until this morning.  I’m still a little brain foggy.  I was so wiped that I just couldn’t make myself get out of bed until noon.  I had to call in sick.  I only really woke up around 1400 or so and made lunch.  Well worth it though.

I have learned that I suck at Diplomacy.  The game that is and pretty much at the real life thing too.  I really need to work at the negotiation thing.  That game is a lot of  fun, but gawd.  My ld issues really become issues where it comes to knowing who to trust and who is outright lying to you.  Vital in that game.  I never realized how much that game was a Roleplaying game.  You only think it’s a board game.  It’s not, that board is there only for your convenience.  That game is 99% RP.  I must play this more, it’s good therapy.

The LARPs were great.  I was too Larped out for the Sunday Paranoia LARP.  I’ve never made one, I’ve always wanted to do one, but alas, I was doing good to stay awake for the AD&D game.  Yea, a real live AD&D 2nd ed. game.  For real!  I haven’t played that in years.  Anyway, the cthulu LARP lasted until 4am.  I lasted through the whole game without dying, but went stark raving mad.  It was a good madness though.  I have video from the Serenity LARP, it was fun too, but could have used more action.  I’ll process the video when I get time, possibly this week and post it up on youtube.    I have to do some work on my own larp this week.  I’ve made a lot of observations on how everyone runs their larps and now I am getting a good idea on how I’m going to work out the system for mine.  It needs to be more actual skill based and not so reeve/keeper/ST heavy.  LARPing should not be just table top gaming standing up and with costumes.   It needs to involve actual physical skills.  But I need this to be held in a hotel, so I need to curtail the physical action to some extent.   Much to be done.  I am still also waiting on more information from the concom about the hotel.  This needs to be finalized.  I need to do a trip to the hotel and get this worked out and finalized so I can plan decorations, and plot space.  I need to get the props worked on too.  Much to be done. Email isn’t hacking it on this.  Must make real phone calls.  Ok, I’ll stop thinking out loud… lol

The problem with cons like this is that I go to see friends and I wind up, not seeing much of them because we all are scattered everywhere gaming at our own games.  This has to be one of the best gaming cons in this part of the country, even though it’s confined to the campus of Rice University.  This fact has started to be a problem, the con keeps growing and more people show up each year.  There is only so many places at this campus usable to be con space.  Yea, it’s free con space, but you know, nothing is really free, they pay with the fact this con can only get so big.  This place is now crammed with gamers.  There is  space that isn’t free of gamers either gaming an official on the lists game, or their own private game.

I am waiting on a friend that is in the middle of a game now.  I have a LARP I will be in at 1500.  His game stops at 1400, that will make a short lunch.

So, I have had my new phone about 24 hours now and I’ve had a tiny bit of time to play with it.

(continue reading…)

Report: Pilot’s manifesto found online | NewsWatch: Breaking news | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle.

This is the “manifesto” written by the guy who flew a plane into a building in Austin yesterday.  Go ahead and read it.  There are a lot of people out there who probably feel this guy’s pain.

I got a new phone.  My old cell is dying and its become a pain to deal with.  My old super cool Sanyo SCP-8400 blue flip phone that has served me very well has started to lose the ability to know if it’s opened or closed.  Making it cut off in the middle of conversations.  I’m sending it to be donated to the Sprint Buyback program so it will get a good home.   In return, I will have a new plan and a bright shiny new HTC Hero Google Android phone.  Not to mention a ginormous bill in March for all this.  gawh…

As rates rise, fewer willing to buy health insurance | Business | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle.

Check out who is top recommended commenter here.   I have often argued with my friends on this issue.  For Profit Insurance is the elephant in the room of health costs.   You can have insurance all you want so long as they don’t profit from our misery.

USA’s BMW Oracle has toasted the Alinghi.  Gawdz, that thing was going 3 times faster than the wind!  It looks like a spaceship with sails.  Pretty freaky.

It’s really a terrible pity that no one in the States is broadcasting the America’s cup. The American boat BMW Oracle is toasting the Swedes. America may have it’s cup back for the first time in 15 years.