It's a strange feeling to know I'm doing something useful. Last week I found out that a national-level working group in my industry is using a program I wrote to validate their work and check for errors. Very weird and somewhat terrifying.

On the bright side, should I get fired or can't stand this place anymore, now I've got a foot in the door with most any other company that does this sort of work.

"Ten years ago, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by an Imperial court for a crime they didn't commit. These people promptly escaped from a maximum security penal colony to the Spinward Marches underground. Today, still wanted by the Imperium, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire...

The Alpha Team."

codrus posted recently about his idea for an Imperial Mission Force game set in Traveller using Spirit of the Century. Some random conversation today clicked with that idea. Maybe I'll even get to run it some time if I can get out of this gaming slump.

A few days ago I was sitting in a resturaunt near the office eating lunch, and overheard some guys at the table discussing how to cheat on a test.

An ethics test.

This time for fun. Bayou Wars is this weekend. It should be interesting.

I don't like to go do stuff by myself.

In order to meet people, I have to go do stuff.


Feh.

Stupid snow, with its not waiting for me to get home before starting up. So now, 4 hours from the end of my 13 hour drive, I'm in a hotel in Oklahoma City waiting the storm out.

I guess I should have taken Friday off. Ah well.

Note there is a difference between "to" and "into". I forgot that around here, "Opens at 8am" actually means "Opens maybe before noon, if you're lucky."

On the other hand, I walked there over lunch break (about a quarter mile from the office) a couple times, and got a phone-cam picture that gamehawk probably doesn't have: ( image behind the cut. )

Or at least, a hole in my mouth, where a tooth used to be. Been having occasional toothaches for a while now, but this past week they've become almost unbearably painful. Went to the dentist today, who said "Yep, that wisdom tooth has to come out" and sent me to an oral surgeon. Oral surgeon took it out. It's very disconcerting when the doctor says "Just a minute, I need to get an assistant and a pair of pliers." But, it came out with no problem ("Easiest tooth I've pulled all day," which makes me feel sorry for the people who needed more than an assistant and pliers) and now, 6 hours afterward, the local has worn off and there is just a very mild ache.

We'll see if this lasts to tomorrow. If not, I have a happy bottle of Lorcet in the cabinet now.

Finally, after six months of nothing, I'm gaming again. A friend is running a game of Paranoia XP every other Monday via IRC. Last session left off with a grenade about to detonate; the GM has since said that we probably will all be going to our second clones next session.

I have also started up another Spirit of the Century game, also on IRC. Three players, character creation took about three hours across two sessions. I expected there to be some problems with it, but I didn't realize what those problems would be. My advice for character creation via IRC: provide online a very clear, concise outline of the steps that need to be followed to create a character. Provide a simple, easy to reference (well-hyperlinked) document that has all the information needed to complete each step. And keep asking the players where they are. Offer suggestions even if they don't say they are stuck. Keep nudging them along.

Hopefully I learned enough from the game I (very poorly) ran before I moved that this game will go a lot better.

This meme is either the best thing to happen to Career Cruising, or the worst.
Go to Career Cruising, www.careercruising.com
Put in Username: nycareers and Password: landmark.
Take their "Career Matchmaker" questions.
Post the top twenty results
Put the careers you have seriously considered in bold
( list behind the cut )
I'm noticing a little bit of a trend here. I can't say I've ever considered any of those as a career (maybe Aerospace Engineer, a little bit) but a lot of my hobbies consist of "design and build X."

And, of course, my actual career:
28. Electrical Engineer