Sometimes I do despair. It seems like the world's a cruel and unusual place. A dark labyrinth of human causality and mutual disdain. But ya know, then I just go look at some porn.
I was just pondering how scary death is for an atheist. Cause if you think about it, dying is like having a hard drive die on you, with everything on it, and not backing anything up. Your entire existence is that hard drive. And it gets reformatted. And then beaten with a sledgehammer. Your entire existence, all you ever were, all you could be, every memory and emotion you ever had, all lost forever without a DVD backup or anything. That's pretty depressing. But I guess people do live on, in a way, through their works. Probably why I started writing this blog. Let your words roam free across the information superhighway. Share your intellect and experience with strangers. Remember, a stranger's just a friend you haven't met.
Truth be told, I was in college once upon a time. It was kinda fun, being out on your own. Buying your own food, sleeping whenever you feel like. For some people, fucking whenever you feel like. Lots of great times, right? And of course, college classes themselves are usually pretty flexible. Yet, there are still some limitations. For some classes, there aren't any attendance requirements. These are the lectures, and they don't bother taking roll because the class is just so damn huge. This is awesome if you're smart and lazy, because all you have to do is study at home, and you'll only really be required to go to three class days: once to take the midterm, once to turn in the paper, and once to take the final. Of course, there are other classes which will be much smaller discussion-based classes, and those do take attendance.
Now, a lot of classes also have a dual form, in that there will be a lecture section as well as a discussion section. You'll have to attend one, and the other will be flexible. I always opted out of attending lectures when I could, because they were fucking boring as hell. And I like to think of myself as a relatively bright guy. Of course, attendance did bite me in the ass once, and I barely got by. Here's the story.
Well, there was one class I really wanted to get into. I couldn't get into this History class, cause it was full at the beginning. So I just put myself on the waitlist and went to this other class, which was Business economics or something. After 2 weeks of classes, enough people finally dropped out for me to get added to the History class. Which was cool. So I start attending the discussions with the TA, which require mandatory attendance. The lecture sessions aren't, which was fine. Cause the class was 20th Century History, the easiest history there is. Well, one discussion I decide to miss, cause I was feeling under the weather that day. At the end of the semester, the TA pulls me aside and tells me I'm gonna fail, cause I've missed 3 out of 10 discussions. You'll remember I missed 2 at the beginning because I wasn't formally enrolled, and the other 1. Now, I had gotten an A- on the midterm in this class. This is not a class that you can legitimately claim that I do not know the material. So I tell him I missed the first 2 because I was on the waitlist and was attending the other class at the time. He looks at me regretfully and says that 2 absences are allowed, but 3 is too much. So I'm like... "dude, I've got an A- on the midterm, I'm not sure what I'll get on the final but I bet it'll be pretty good too, this is complete bullshit."
So finally, he tells me that if I can show proof, like a letter, that I had been attending that other class for the 2 weeks, he'll let it slide. Well then, I diligently track down the professor for this Business Economics class that I had been in, go to her office hours, wait a bit while she helps out her students with their math problems, and fucking beg her to write this letter for me. Of course, she needs proof, so I pull out these lecture notes that I'd taken and somehow saved from the 2nd week, and she writes it. I'm not streaming tears from my eyes, but it was a big relief, let me tell you. So I take the final exam and just slap the letter down in front of my TA as I'm handing it in. Problem solved.
The moral of the story? Attendence is overrated. Listen up TAs... just because some kid in your class happens to miss a couple of classes, it doesn't mean they don't know the material. Give em the benefit of the doubt.
Guess what, I had a really weird dream yesterday. Dunno why, but I dreamed that I had sex with my old high school science teacher. This is kinda weird, cause I never found her attractive when I was in high school. But lo and behold, I was just nailing her in the science closet. Ya know, that room where they have all the dioramas and microscopes and tools. Very awkward. Well, I just felt awkward waking up from that, cause we always had this sort of love-hate relationship in her class. On one hand, she was always really easy-going and friendly with students. But on the other... she was this really liberal environmentalist. So I would always call her out on pushing her agenda in... ya know, science class.
Like, we had this project to illustrate some form of environmental degradation one time. So I went and came up with this game called "Ghetto Bowling" whereby I constructed this apartment building and street, and made a chute where the apartment dwellers would slide their garbage down and try to knock over pedestrians on the street below. Ya know, to show the state of waste disposal in early 19th century cities. That got a good response.
And then there was this one time when someone else was giving a presentation on environmentally friendly housing construction, so he was talking about... I think it was straw-bale houses. So I, being the clever one, raised my hand and asked "Well now, hold on a second here. I'm no architect, but if the Three Little Pigs has taught me anything, it's that houses made out of straw aren't too structurally safe." Another sorta good example that comes to mind was this symposium that was being held by some professors. She was gonna give us all extra credit if we went, so I of course decided to go attend. They were discussing bacterial colonies I believe, so one of them asks the audience, "What are colonies composed of?" I immediately shout out, "Colonists?" She just turns to me and says in this exasperated voice "Thanks Pete."
So yea, it was an interesting class to be in. But never did I imagine I would want to fuck her. Cause... I totally didn't find her hot. Couldn't really tell how old she was. Late 30s, early 40s maybe? It's hard, cause I imagine teaching high school must age you horribly.
Is it just me, or were the early 90s a great time for kid's cartoons? You had Saturday morning cartoons about scifi war like ExoSquad or BattleTech, and then the Disney afternoon block with stuff like Duck Tales, TaleSpin, Gargoyles, and Darkwing Duck. And of course, we also had the Marvel animated series, namely the X-Men TAS, Spider-Man TAS, and Iron Man TAS. The funny thing is, all of those early Marvel shows have now had replacement series pop up. While I haven't watched these new millenium newcomers and can't comment on their content quality, I feel I am justified in saying that... well, the intros for the early 90s shows are far far superior. Just watch and be reminded of how fucking catchy those were.
So because the road less travelled is being less travelled, people are noticing that and taking the road less travelled because it's less travelled and they don't want to travel like everyone else, so everyone is taking the road less travelled, leading to the road more travelled being less travelled, and so we should actually travel the road that used to be more travelled but is now strangely less travelled in order to stand out from the less travelled-posers and just travel really really fast down that more travelled road that is now somewhat less travelled but maybe still as well travelled as the road that was less travelled but may not be. 1 Comments
You know, it's sorta funny how people classify other people in our world. Take the word "Asian" for example. In America, we generally use it to define Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, or Japanese people. Maybe sometimes Hawaiians, but that's iffy. However, Americans generally won't refer to Indians or Russians as Asians. Even though, technically, they totally are Asian. I first noticed this when someone wrote that Harold and Kumar was the first mainstream film to star two Asian-Americans. It took me a second to realize that yes, Kumar is Indian and therefore technically Asian. But we usually just call Indians Indians, and not Asians. Same for Russians. They live in the upper colder part of Asia, but nobody goes around calling Ensign Chekov an Asian.
It's even weirder in Britain, they call Muslims Asians. 1 Comments
I can't help but feel that the cover art for the FanPro and Catalyst stuff is somewhat boring.
No, I'm not talking about the cover to TRO 3075 either. We all know that one is awful. I'm talking about the stuff here: Gallery
It's not awful, but it isn't as good as the old FASA covers. Just compare this: Total Warfareto the cover of the Tukayyid scenario pack cover: Tukayyid
It's competent to be sure, but it's very bright and colorful and filled with Photoshop effects that I could make if I did some research. While the Tukayyid cover is nicely painted and looks epic in a mythic sort of way. It doesn't look like something you'd be able to find on a deviantart site. I'm not saying all FanPro covers suck or that all FASA covers rock, but I do tend to prefer the older, less glossy work.
This FanPro cover also suffers from what I'm talking about. A lot of shiny photoshop beams: Combat Equipment
I much prefer this sort of approach. Painterly and stylized: AeroTech 2
The Tukayyid cover is amazingly effective at conveying the battle. A giant, hazy muddle of forces battling in the background... then two Mechs ducking it out when we pull closer, and finally infantry playing cat and mouse in the foreground. Take a look at the paint too. The Thug has "Blakes Wrath" on its PPC coiling, while the Stone Rhino is sporting the sort of nose art you'd see painted on an A-10 Warthog. I just love little artistic touches like that. And the important part... there are weapons discharging, but they aren't overpowering the overall image. As opposed to this: Combat Ops
I just found out Doug Chaffee did the Tukayyid cover. He also did the AeroTech 2 cover that I linked. So I guess I just really like Doug Chaffee's cover art.
Here's another FASA cover that wasn't done by Doug Chaffee that's great: Coventry
Again, very little pyrotechics. In fact, there's a sense of peace throughout the image. A serene calm just washes over me when I look at it. It's a beautiful forest, and this Jade Falcon force is just casually strolling through it. To the left, you see some actual falcons startled and scattering in their wake. It's art, and I would definitely hang this up in my room in a frame if I owned it. Can't say the same for most of the FanPro covers.
I think in general, covers that have little to no combat are more impressive and impactful. The whole "Less is More" concept. Here's some examples.
They released official specs for the Star League era Atlas II finally.
Oh my god... that is not an Atlas. That is a pale imitation. An imposter. You cannot have an Atlas without a large cannon of some sort on the right torso. I was expecting some sort of hybrid of the 3025 and 3050 refit. And boy, I did not get it. They really butchered that thing to hell. The weapons configuration is just all over the place. An LB10X in the right arm? 2 ERLLs in the left? That doesn't look anything like the classic Atlas.
It seems to be some sort of bridge between the Atlases we're used to and some wacky DA designs. And I hate wacky DA designs. There's no need for a bridge. They're awful, disgraceful.
I'm not adverse to change. When 3050 came out, I thought that AS7-K was a very well done upgrade to the original. It still felt like an Atlas. This Atlas II could be any sort of Mech with a cobbled together weapons config. It doesn't have that same sort of silhouette that the original had.
There're a few design features that an Atlas should follow. One is that there has to be some sort of large cannon mounted in the right torso, right around the hip. Another is that each arm has to have a laser mounted, whether Large or Medium class. And lastly, there has to be a missile system of some sort, though the location of that is more flexible. The Atlas II completely disregards the first two.
The problem is, they finally committed to canon one of the most legendary Star League designs of all time, and just screwed it up when the solution wasn't all that hard to reach. People have been conjuring up Star League designs on their websites for years now. I would've even settled for an Atlas II with arm mounted PPCs, now that I think about it. 2 ERPPCs, an AC20 in the torso. That's not a bad design.
(To properly read this, just think about John Rambo's speech at the end of First Blood, and you'll get the right tone.)
You know, I'm kinda pissed off. This has nothing to do with anything in real life, just BattleTech in general. I'm pissed off because they call my BattleTech "Classic BattleTech" now. Like I'm some sort of old fogey, hanging onto the classics, watching a ton of VH1, etc. Like hell it's classic. I started reading BattleTech when I was 8, now I'm 23 years old. I'm not ancient. And it isn't Classic by any means. This title of "Classic BattleTech" just rubs me the wrong way.
And why is it classic? Because we had to make way for the new Dark Ages. For the new fans, who can't be bothered to read about Aidan Pryde or Joanna or Hanse or any of the pivotal characters. What a joke. Who goes into BattleTech wanting to see nukes? Isn't the whole appeal of BattleTech based on BattleMechs? Not a flurry of nukes followed by AgroMechs. I didn't leave BattleTech behind... it left me behind. And now it calls my era Classic. Like I'm a fossil. A dinosaur.
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