Eat at Gamera’s
There is a restaurant only a few blocks away from us named “Megallon’s Gourmet Barbecue”. Naturally, when I pass by and am in appreciative company, it’s difficult to avoid making Godzilla vs. Megalon references. “Straight from the underwater farms of Seatopia!”
Last week I composed a business card for them. Imagine my delight to discover that the owner’s partner was nicknamed “Jet Jaguar” and the place is full of kaiju memorabilia. I may have to eat there sometime soon, just on general principle.
Today, a weblog link took me to a site comparing shots of the 1977 LD release of Star Wars and the 2004 Special-Special Edition DVD release. It got me to thinking what a difference a little time can make in a story; if we agree that Luke is approximately 25 by the end of Return of the Jedi, then Darth Sidious’ great Galactic Empire only lasted 25 years. The Old Repulic had lasted for at least 1000 according to Lucas. Not really a proud entry in Sith history, hmm?
Ben Kenobi certainly didn’t act like he’d been jumping lava rivers only two decades ago. Yoda absolutely suffered a decline in health and strength from age 875 to age 900. And Han Solo talked as if no one had seen public use of the Force, or a Jedi for that matter, in a century or so. How quickly the Galaxy forgets…
Technomancer issues
After picking up SR4 last year, I’ve finally found enough people in my circle of friends to start up a campaign. We spent an entertaining evening last night working up character concepts and doing Build Point math. The veteran SR2 players were a little thrown by some of the changes, and not completely thrilled at first blush, though I suspect they may get used to them given time. That’s not really what’s on my mind.
Technomancers.
Now, from a game design standpoint, I love the idea, and I have no problem with any of my players building one. No, what’s driving me crazy is the logic behind them… it may not faze anyone else, but it’s bugging me. Here’s the thing:
When you use the Matrix, even if you are in Seattle and hacking a mainframe in Moscow, you don’t go anywhere. Your brain is still receiving nervous impulses as it sits there in your meat body, and the only places you go are in your imagination. In fact, skilled hackers can change the appearance and geography of the Matrix to suit themselves – the Matrix is nothing but documents on servers and pictures in your head.
If you are disconnected from the Matrix suddenly, your consciousness cannot “stay in” the Matrix because it never actually went anywhere. Your brain will suddenly resume taking signals from your sensory nerves instead of your interface, and you will be back in reality. It may be jarring, and unpleasant – I’ll even buy that the experience could kill some fragile folks – but there is no more Matrix signal fro your brain to process. There is nowhere, in fact, to be trapped in.
Given that, exactly what is a technomancer accessing? I’ll buy the idea that, though magic or genetics or both, his brain is now a Matrix terminal. No problems at all with that. But given that the only way to see the information in the Matrix is for your “terminal” to connect to a server somewhere, somehow, how is it doing so? Can your brain magically access any Matrix port nearby as if it were a juicy version of my hacker’s handheld PDA? If so, does that mean my technomancer is going to be SOL out in the Mojave Desert? (Or does wireless coverage in the Sixth World reach EVERYWHERE – Antarctica and the middle of Amazonia included?)
Perhaps there’s data in a late 3rd edition or early 4th SR supplement that would clear this up for me. But a lot of the writing in the base 4th SR rules implies that the Matrix is an entire plane of its own that exists independently of the servers and network through which we access it – that if every electrical source on the planet stopped functioning tomorrow, the Matrix would still somehow be there.
Which by the way, is not necessarily an uninteresting idea. But it somehow doesn’t seem to fit in well with the otherwise somewhat realistic nature of the Matrix so far.
Edit: This was supposed to go in the
The flooded dragon podcast planet of Freon
A year after having it loaned to me, I have finally picked up and read “Eldest” by Christopher Paolini. This book is the sequel to “Eragon”, which I found to be enjoyable, if lacking in originality. “Eldest” is more of the same; I’d suggest it to any reader I know, with the caveat that they shouldn’t expect anything mind-blowing. The writing is good, and the characters are interesting, which is more than many fantasy books can claim.
Still, one day I want to read a high fantasy novel where the elves are short-lived and highly industrial, if not technological. Perhaps the ancient lost civilization that left behind all the ruins and dungeons could be one of humans, or lizard men, or Things We Barely Understand instead of the freakin’ elves again. And hey, how about hippie, type B dwarves that live simple lives of farming and woodcarving? You get my drift, here?
We lived through Ernesto – our house was never in danger, though I did lose power halfway through my morning webcomic troll. Driving to work was a dumb idea – two different blocks were flooded, and when the tires stop making the “zzziiiisssshhh” noise and begin making the “blubble-blurble-splep-blobble” noise, the water’s too deep – but dumb luck saved me, and the drive home was a little better. The yard looks a bit battered, though.
The International Astronomers Union voted last week that Pluto isn’t a full planet, but a “dwarf planet”. They did this in part because Pluto’s moon, Charon, is almost the same size as Pluto and might have deserved planet status; and a more distant body in our solar system, “2003 UB313”, is even larger and might have been awarded the same privileges. “2003 UB313” has been nicknamed “Xena” by its discoverer, and no stuffy astronomers’ group is going to sit still for “Planet Xena”. (The nickname is unofficial, but may well stick.) (And yes, Xena has a satellite… Gabrielle.)
Pluto, Charon, Xena, and the asteroid Ceres all qualify for “dwarf planet” status under the IAU’s new rules. I say Pluto still deserves the love, and we all know what’s a planet and what’s an asteroid, whatever they say. Manned mission to Planet Xena!
Podcast recommendations of the day: Taverncast, for WoW players; not only is the material useful and interesting, but it’s presented in a very light-hearted, entertaining manner by the hosts. Also, Geek Counterpoint, for those with a science bent; much drier in tone, but still well-presented and interesting – my interest was caught by the episode on inflatable spacecraft. Seriously.
The Hyundai is very mad at me right now. The dash clock and stereo are cutting out intermittently (and separately), the a/c has stopped working (and with it, my defogger, which has made driving in the rain interesting), and my temperature gauge is running high. Given how much of the car is factory-sealed, that may mean a trip to the dealership. 🙁
I may finally attend a NekoCon this year, given that it’s right on my doorstep and all. Thinking about it.
Operator 7-G, please contact me immediately
Robotech.com is offering a large-scale transforming Garland motorbike toy from one of my favorite anime flicks, Megazone 23. And at the low-low bargain price of $99.95! Sigh. Pout.
I have just finished clearing out a large section of my office – yes, you can actually see floor now – so that Rain can move her computer in here. We need the room, ’cause we’ve offered the spare bedroom to our friend Starr, who really needed a place to sleep while wrapping up nursing school. The help with expenses will be nice, but what clinched the deal was her offer to do dishes for us!
Large rant coming about gamers who think they are the center of the fan universe. Film at 11 (of one day or another.)
Icon for somewhat lame meme
Funny thing is, I do have lots to talk about. Bad news is that I’m far too busy helping our new roommate move in to actually sit and write much of a post.
I did have time the other day to throw this together in Photoshop, but I’m thinking that it’s really not funny enough to use as one of my icons.
The image of an extremely large boa constrictor wrapped around Starscream just didn’t work as an LJ icon, either.
tzel’s looking a little blue
Sometime this week, I must enter the World of Warcraft and seek Telf.
One of the many podcasts I’ve been listening to is an hour of house music from a French website at www.rlpmix.com (actually from iTunes, but anyway). Two amusing things; the Starfleeters in western Virginia used to know a guy with the initials RLP, and it’s fun to think of him surfacing as a French DJ; also, when he reads his website on the audio, he pronounces it “DOO-bleh-vay DOO-bleh-vay DOO-bleh-vay dot r-l-p-mix dot com.” “W” and “J” – the two awkward late-comers to the Roman alphabet.
I do think that “web.domain.com” would have been much easier to say in daily discussions than “www.domain.com”. Too late now.
Anime Geek Foolishness
Every time the radio mentions that Fiona Apple will soon be performing here, I worry that she’ll go Rampant and try to steal the SDF-1 from its reconstruction dock in Norfolk Harbor.
Please state the nature of the medical emergency
Friday morning’s “gas pain” turned out to be diverticulitis (does involve the lower G.I., so the Wikipedia link may squick some folks). After a day of agony, I ended up in the ER until 4 a.m. where the doctor was thankfully able to diagnose me immediately. I’m on antibiotics for the next few weeks, and I have to give up peanuts only months after finally learning to like them.
My system’s still a bit rattled from the fever and pain. I’d rather stay home another day or seven, but duty calls.
Bringing new meaning to the term “press gang”
Friday at work, we had “Dress Like a Pirate Day” in an attempt to do “Talk Like a Pirate Day” one better.
The whole gallery of pictures is behind the link. It was a lot of fun… we certainly flummoxed the shop owner for a few moments.
My co-workers were amazed to learn that I can throw together a passable pirate outfit from my closets with 30-minutes notice. Thank you SF and fantasy fandom 🙂
(Oh, and I did finally find some Harlock desktops to throw onto the screens of the two stations I use.)
Arr.
Tomorrow is Dress Like A Pirate Day at work, in late celebration of the new Disney movie.
I was intending to let my computer be part of the theme, until I found out what an incredible scarcity of Captain Harlock wallpaper / desktops exists on the web.
Bleh.
