Congrats, Honza and Hydro! Even if Honza says he hasn't been active on the storyline forums, I know the two awards were more than deserved.
@Neko - I haven't played Guitar Hero III, becaus eyou know, I'm not into consoles. But I did download the GH3 pack for Frets on Fire. I don't play it a lot though - I got my Epiphone SG and an amp, and thus prefer the real thing, thank you very much.
@Vax - A big meetup is something I have long been dreaming of. And well, if my plans to study in London come to fruition, it will become easier for me. Man, it would be cool as hell. I know I will at the very least try to meet with Shady, Kon, Pouky and Urza at the same time in Athens, when I fulfill my lifelong dream of visiting Greece.
@Honza - Uh, remind me... how old is your sis again?
By the way, like mine, yours was definitely a busy year. I'll try to write a Rick's Year in Review® later this week, but I must say that it was definitely an awesome one. I can safely say that I have matured immensely in 2007, especially on the emotional side. Livia going away was the first time in my life when I made a conscious decision to try and cope with such a loss as an adult, and I'm happy to see I succeeded. But hey, I'm stepping on my future post's toes now, so I'll stop.
Congrats, Honza and Hydro! Even if Honza says he hasn't been active on the storyline forums, I know the two awards were more than deserved.
Thanks for the kind words, and thanks to all who voted. I'm happy for it. And not that I was not active...I was just far more active the years before than now...well, I am taking this trophy as a reward for being a stable contributor (kinda like the Oscar for life's work ;)).
And big thanks and warm welcome for brother Yamaneko, who returned after a long hiatus :). We hope that you are gonna stick around a bit now, Alec
By the way, like mine, yours was definitely a busy year. I'll try to write a Rick's Year in Review® later this week, but I must say that it was definitely an awesome one. I can safely say that I have matured immensely in 2007, especially on the emotional side. Livia going away was the first time in my life when I made a conscious decision to try and cope with such a loss as an adult, and I'm happy to see I succeeded. But hey, I'm stepping on my future post's toes now, so I'll stop.
Emphasis put on words that I thoroughly understand, for this year brought the very same thing for me. Anyway, looking forward to that post!
Tomorrow at 13.00 GMT, I am going to wrestle for the "first half" of my Ph.D. title. Wish me luck, and a good-mood committee. I'll be back next evening, hopefully happy.
Take care, bros!
Honza
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@Neko - I haven't played Guitar Hero III, becaus eyou know, I'm not into consoles. But I did download the GH3 pack for Frets on Fire. I don't play it a lot though - I got my Epiphone SG and an amp, and thus prefer the real thing, thank you very much.
Epiphone SG? No way. Cherry or Ebony? My bass is cherry, and I love it.
Car: I kept thinking: When is he going to get his blue tag? Then I remembered that it was trophies. I have been away for a while. Congrats by the way.
Rick: Bah, Frets on Fire doesn't work with Vista (I got stuck with it when I got my new computer from Dell.)
Speaking of which, Vista's doesn't live up to its bad reputation (if that makes any sense.) I've only had it crash a couple times, mostly when I've left programs on for days, which I really shouldn't be doing. It runs smoothly, and I love the fact that if you turn it off via the start menu, as opposed to forcing it through the power button, you can boot right to where you were, everything saved, and ready to go.
Edit: Whoops, 1.5K I knew I was saving it for here, but I forgot that I was just at it. Oddly enough, all my other posts on the page still say 1499. Weird.
Well, I'm gonna get a Vista on my new laptop, so I hope that it will be at least as smooth as yours, neko
Btw, today I realized something. A poster named true heir, who quite frequently posted in Storyline, has called me by my own name, that very few people outside GA know, some time ago. I knew that he did some very nice and thoughtful posts in the past, and even stated thinking about him as a potential GA candidate. Today, when I read one of his posts, and looked at his avatar, something clicked in my head... and I had a strong suspicion that I am looking at Ix. Then I scrolled up the post and saw that he was banned, and I knew that it must be today. A quick inspection to the right thread just confirmed what I thought. Ix was banned again.
The strangest thing is that I realized it today, before I read the Currently S/B thread. Weird...
Anyway, as I said, I passed the doctoral exam, and all that remains to get my Ph.D. is to write and defend the thesis. To be honest, I am glad that it is done, but I would not be broken if I failed. A day ago, I learned that one of my colleagues, a guy of the same age as me, died on Saturday. We knew that there was something bad with him, cancer-related - for three years ago, he was a normal guy, whereas later he once or twice absented for a long time and then returned with the signs of fresh chemotherapy, hairless and weak. He should have some surgery in summer, but they decided to contirnue with the therapy instead. Still, we believed that he was going to make it...and were deeply stricken when we were told that he passed away. He'd have been 28 at the Christmas Eve. :(:(:(
When you learn something like this, some exam quite loses its weight...
And I know that if I am gonna stay and work in the oncology institute, I will damn try to contribute as much as I would be able to fighting this damned disease.
I decided to take this Xmas in a bit in the gaming spirit, and to give my family something that will help us enjoy the time together. So, they're getting a classic one - The Settlers of Catan. After setting up a nice Carcassonne gaming club in our scientific group, a second game to explore. My sis was absolutely delighted to hear about it, for she played it with friends and was quite happy to going to have her own game.
Well, gotta get a shower now and the proceed with writing a grant report. Oh well.
Have a great time, guys, I am glad to be back after a while.
Honza
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Epiphone SG? No way. Cherry or Ebony? My bass is cherry, and I love it.
Cherry all the way! Attached a pic for ya.
Quote from Honza »
As for other news: I passed the exam, and I am officially half a Ph.D. now.
Way to go, bro! If only Herder would show up with the beer keg.
On True Heir: Yeah, I kinda knew he was Ix. He told me a while back that he had a new account, but didn't tell me what was it, and just said something like "I'm thinking you'll reconize it". Sure enough, after seeing a couple of posts by Heir, I had no doubt. I wonder how they caught him this time. Haven't spoken to Ix for a while now though.
Quote from Honza »
And I know that if I am gonna stay and work in the oncology institute, I will damn try to contribute as much as I would be able to fighting this damned disease.
I'm sorry for your friend, bro. I must say I have a passionate hatred for that disease, as I've seen some of my parents' good friends succumb to it. If I were working in medicine, I think it certainly would be in the oncology field. I'm happy that there are competent people such as yourself fighting to make cancer deaths smaller and smaller in number.
On a brighter note: I start on my new job next Monday. I'm very excited about it, because this new agency has a very well known creative department (in which I will work), unlike the one I'm currently in, which is more known for its planning department than anything else. I'm still kinda fed up with the whole ad agency deal, but oh well, here's one last chance for me to fall in love with it again.
Way to go, bro! If only Herder would show up with the beer keg.
Let's hope that he will show at least for the Xmas...;)
Quote from Rick »
On True Heir: Yeah, I kinda knew he was Ix. He told me a while back that he had a new account, but didn't tell me what was it, and just said something like "I'm thinking you'll reconize it". Sure enough, after seeing a couple of posts by Heir, I had no doubt. I wonder how they caught him this time. Haven't spoken to Ix for a while now though.
Well, I feel really stupid, for now it is all clear to me. And how they caught him? I'd be almost willing to put my money on the "Heard a Small Rumor" thread in Storyline. His yesterday's post there, that brought me to the idea of him being Ix, was, well, very Ix-like. Maybe somebody noticed that as well, and initiated an account or IP check.
Quote from Rick »
I'm sorry for your friend, bro. I must say I have a passionate hatred for that disease, as I've seen some of my parents' good friends succumb to it. If I were working in medicine, I think it certainly would be in the oncology field. I'm happy that there are competent people such as yourself fighting to make cancer deaths smaller and smaller in number.
Thanks for the kind words, bro. I must say that I am quite happy and lucky at once that we had not a cancer death in family. The most moving fact is that the friend was my peer in age. Yeah, there usually comes a time in your life when you peers start to pass away, but that age is not this age.
And despite I am a chemist, now a biochemist, not a field usually directly related to "people" per se, working on such research field makes me feel that I can contribute to actually helping people - and that feels good.
Quote from Rick »
On a brighter note: I start on my new job next Monday. I'm very excited about it, because this new agency has a very well known creative department (in which I will work), unlike the one I'm currently in, which is more known for its planning department than anything else. I'm still kinda fed up with the whole ad agency deal, but oh well, here's one last chance for me to fall in love with it again.
Best luck to you, bro!
Btw, cool pic
I posted today to James' DCI banning thread, just to share my opinion officially (he told me the whole thing in a mail some time ago, and I told him my opinion), and also because I really cannot look at SapphireTri's posts. Man, is it a some rule that all former mods became bitter after demodding, and later ultimately fall from grace, start flaming/trolling (Xen), ripping (Lance, JayC), or behaving this way?
See ya tomorrow, amigos
H.
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I Must apologise for a long absence. One I will not have to repeat, thankfully.
Please forgive my inability to respond to the miriad posts made in the past weeks, I have read everyone, I'm thankful you've all continued (in part) to make this clan function as the mighty alliance it is. Awesome.
Well, I guess I owe you all a catch up: Owen, my youngest son is now 4 months old, julian, my eldest is 2 years 8 months. Hope and I are still living in Manukau Heights, in Auckland city. I'm still working full time, doing plenty of design work on a couple of gaming projects, and some soemwhat sporatic work on some amateur radio with a couple of coleagues also.
Life, as it were, is really good.
What's better is I finally got stable interweb access at home, after the debacle that is NZ telecom, which means, I'll do you guys justice and be here much more often from now on.
Oh, and the WOTC thing... I'm really interested (as you may have read) just how these supposed advantages are measured. I loved Rick's and Honza's posts in the thread, which touched on the very ideas and opinions I hold also... Simply put this is a railroading attempt from a company with no legal power to do anymore to me (FACT). I guess I can't expect any less than 'what I got' even though the circumstances of the banning are highly dubious. lol. They should have just said as Elaine from WOTC said to me by PM: "Please stop... you're making baby Jesus cry", that would have had more credibility than this unfair advantage tripe.
If you can't measure it, can't equate it, can't even prove it, it doesn't exist. Sorry WOTC.
Anyways, rumor season kicks off soon... very soon! Are y'all with me?
@James - I think it's safe to assume that the so-called "advantage" given to players at the pre-release is simply the excuse they came up with to make it sound fair in the minds of their customers to ban you. Frankly, how else could they justify it? "Banned for pissing R&D off"? "Banned because we said so"? Or better yet, "Banned for making baby Jesus cry"?
Lik I said in the SYM thread, their own site spoils the pre-release for those who want to go "in the dark", anyway. Even if MTGSalvation didn't exist, those people would have to compete against others who would know every single mechanic on the new set, plus how exactly they work, by only reading magicthegathering.com.
Quote from Shady »
Rick:Herder will be in greece from december 20 to Jan 10 if i remember correctly, so i guess he'll post then:(
Ironically, I will be the one posting less frequently by then. But hey, there are plenty of cyber cafés in Buenos Aires, so I'll be able to at least drop by to say hi.
Oh, and by the way, I saw Herder online on MSN last Sunday! Too bad I couldn't speak to him, because I had some friends over to watch the relegation of the most despicable football team in Brazil. Rafa may be a wee bit sad now though.
Quote from Hydro »
Anyways, rumor season kicks off soon... very soon! Are y'all with me?
Hell yeah! Rumor season = most exciting thing about the game for me right now.
And of course , nice to hear your internet problems are coming to an end. Say hi to the missus and the kids.
Well, I'm a fan of Palmeiras. Palmeiras-Corinthians is arguably the biggest football rivalry in the country, so I'm obviously very happy now. Palmeiras lost its match on Sunday, which pulshed it out of the Copa Libertadores-qualifying top 4, but I couldn't even make myself mourn the fact, thanks to Corinthians's disaster. Good times.
Huzzah! Both Neko and James are finally back! All we need now is 8 gallons of V8 and a lawn mower and we'll be the back to the old GA in no time!
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Man, is it a some rule that all former mods became bitter after demodding, and later ultimately fall from grace, start flaming/trolling (Xen), ripping (Lance, JayC), or behaving this way?
It's probably an unspoken rule. Once you have that taste of power, you have a hard time dealing with the fact that it just isn't there anymore.
Quote from James »
I Must apologise for a long absence. One I will not have to repeat, thankfully.
Dammit, now everybody's apologizing for things they had no control over. Stop it already!
Quote from James »
Oh, and the WOTC thing... I'm really interested (as you may have read) just how these supposed advantages are measured. I loved Rick's and Honza's posts in the thread, which touched on the very ideas and opinions I hold also... Simply put this is a railroading attempt from a company with no legal power to do anymore to me (FACT). I guess I can't expect any less than 'what I got' even though the circumstances of the banning are highly dubious. lol. They should have just said as Elaine from WOTC said to me by PM: "Please stop... you're making baby Jesus cry", that would have had more credibility than this unfair advantage tripe.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but IIRC most of the spoiled cards we've been getting as of late are coming more and more from other websites, right? I mean, the Future Sight rumor season didn't even start until some foreign site put up some cards, right? So all people would have to do would use BabelFish or Google Translation or something for those cards as well. The point I have here is that there are WAY too many web sites that WotC would have to go after if they wanted to squelch the whole rumor things. I think that they will find that continuing the threatening against you and other fellow rumor spreaders will get a bit too big, even for them. I could see it getting to the equivalent point as the paparazzi with Hollywood celebrities: an annoying nusance that they will just accept as part of life.
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I Must apologise for a long absence. One I will not have to repeat, thankfully.
Please forgive my inability to respond to the miriad posts made in the past weeks, I have read everyone, I'm thankful you've all continued (in part) to make this clan function as the mighty alliance it is. Awesome.
Well, I guess I owe you all a catch up: Owen, my youngest son is now 4 months old, julian, my eldest is 2 years 8 months. Hope and I are still living in Manukau Heights, in Auckland city. I'm still working full time, doing plenty of design work on a couple of gaming projects, and some soemwhat sporatic work on some amateur radio with a couple of coleagues also.
Life, as it were, is really good.
What's better is I finally got stable interweb access at home, after the debacle that is NZ telecom, which means, I'll do you guys justice and be here much more often from now on.
Oh, and the WOTC thing... I'm really interested (as you may have read) just how these supposed advantages are measured. I loved Rick's and Honza's posts in the thread, which touched on the very ideas and opinions I hold also... Simply put this is a railroading attempt from a company with no legal power to do anymore to me (FACT). I guess I can't expect any less than 'what I got' even though the circumstances of the banning are highly dubious. lol. They should have just said as Elaine from WOTC said to me by PM: "Please stop... you're making baby Jesus cry", that would have had more credibility than this unfair advantage tripe.
If you can't measure it, can't equate it, can't even prove it, it doesn't exist. Sorry WOTC.
Good to hear that everything is good with your life, James. Welcome back, brother. The renewed internet connection is just the sweet top And although I am copying Rick: give my kind regards to the queen and the princes
The WotC thing: I was more than glad to express my support. I must also half-apologize for the posts today, for that SapphireTri jerk's comments aimed first at you and then at me again brought the R part of me to the surface, and I just had to react. This is just the type of people I hate with passion.
Quote from James »
Anyways, rumor season kicks off soon... very soon! Are y'all with me?
You bet, James. Of course we are.
Well, I am currently sitting by the laptop and writing a grant report. Tomorrow we are going to pay the final tributes to the aforementioned deceased friend, and then I am leaving for the weekend to Lenka's hometown. I hope I'll be online sometimes before Monday, but if not, I wish you all a nice weekend and I am looking forward to be back then.
Take care, bros. It is good to have you back.
H.
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I went to a BBQ at a friends house last night, it was choice... I ate 4 steaks. Now I'm still quite bloated with beefy goodness... all is well in the world.
What's everyones plans for the weekend? And... have you all seen the Street fighter 4 teaser trailer? Thoughts?
What's everyones plans for the weekend? And... have you all seen the Street fighter 4 teaser trailer? Thoughts?
I've seen the one that shows Ryu and Ken fighting. It looks pretty wicked, but I was hoping to see some actual game sequences.
As for the weekend, it's looking good so far. Tonight I'll have a goodbye dinner with the people at work, since I'll be starting on the new office on Monday. Then there's a concert by some local bands, which I will attend with some friends.
Tomorrow I have loads of (fun) stuff to do, with at least three music events taking place, including a festival with dozens of bands. Not sure what I'll do yet - I was even thinking of having some friends over at my place. Let's see what I decide.
On another note: has anyone seen the Futurama movie? I know I can't wait to!
@Craig - You're no fun! People definitely need to post more stuff while, uh, inebriated. Good laughs are always welcome.
I'm on my way to get some drinks right now, as a matter of fact. As long as I don't mess with tequila, shouldn't be a problem.
Anyway, the reason I came here to post now: I drafted a LLL deck a while ago on MODO, and it ended up so cute that I even took a screenshot of it - but sadly, forgot to post it here. Just saw the jpeg file lying on my desktop with the very appropriate name of broken.jpg, so here it is. See if you guys guess which position I ended up.
Cheers for now. Hope all of you have a great weekend.
turns out this was Legacy Champs for greece and after losing that match(and my final round due to sever misreading of cards) i finished 9th and found out that the first 8 players would all receive a foil judge promo Cunning Wish:eek::suckup::suckup::suckup::rollout:
Typical Shady.
Nice to know you got your Wish the day after though.
Last night, I drafted a deck that had more merfolk in it than lands. Oh man. Sadly, I lost in the finals to an elf deck, thanks to crappy draws and a wrong decision not to mulligan.
On another note, the new agency is great! Who'd tell I'd be having fun creating ads again.
Seems that the bad events are circling around me lately...today in the morning my father was hit by a car :(. No broken bones, no brain concussion, but he is not quite OK either. It's snowing here, and the car that hit him was actually trying to halt, but thanks to the wet road, it skidded. Fortunately it was only about 20 mph speed...and the doc said that if he was not such a bit burly (we are all near 2 metres and around 100 kg of weight, for Dad it is 1.8/115), he might not have survived. He's at home now, and I am leaving in the evening to go there as well. Seems that this year's Christmas are gonna be quite unusual....:-/
Good to hear that the new job is pleasing for you, Rick
See ya for now, I'll be back later with presumably better and more cheerful news... ;-)
Take care!
H.
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Seems that the bad events are circling around me lately...today in the morning my father was hit by a car :(. No broken bones, no brain concussion, but he is not quite OK either. It's snowing here, and the car that hit him was actually trying to halt, but thanks to the wet road, it skidded. Fortunately it was only about 20 mph speed...and the doc said that if he was not such a bit burly (we are all near 2 metres and around 100 kg of weight, for Dad it is 1.8/115), he might not have survived. He's at home now, and I am leaving in the evening to go there as well. Seems that this year's Christmas are gonna be quite unusual....:-/
Wow, Honza. I can always count on you for making me realize that there are worse places for me to be at this point.
I'm thinking it right now: What...the...hell. Seriously. It never fails. If I get interested in a woman, either I totally scare her away (previous semester) or, what happens more often, I find myself attracted to someone who's not interested in a relationship because she's "just too damn busy." Why is it that I can see so many couples on campus, but I can't call myself part of a couple? How do these other couples make the time for each other? Really, all I want is to be able to sit around and hold somebody, especially after a bad set. Is that really too much to ask for?
On the bright side (as if there is one), I'm probably going to be getting some new computer equipment for Christmas that will allow me to get you all at least some audio of my sets. That should be a blast.
Dammit, I hate the holidays. Something always happens, be it my own fault or somebody else's, that just takes all the fun out of the season. Bah humbug.
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Honza: Sorry to hear about you father bro, but I'm glad to hear he's alright.
Well Xmas shopping season is in full swing here in Auckland, malls are open til midnight now, and they are busy busy busy! I've still got gifts for my sisters and mum to get too... argh!
@Honza - All the best to your dad. I hope you can enjoy the holiday by his side like nothing bad ever happened.
@Vax - Remember the "Girls are evil" speech I gave a while back? Well, clearly it still applies.
I think the best advice I can give you is to try and not make a big deal out of it, and try to get yourself in as many cool parties as you can. Man, you're in college! College parties are awesome even when you don't end up making out with a girl on a nearby bedroom. Plus, the chances that you will actually hook up with someone there are significantly bigger than usual, so all should be good.
Speaking of girls, I've been seeing one lately. Her name is Maria, and we've been getting along great. I think I like her, although it's not the unexplicable craze that took over me back when I was dating Rebeca (which is ultimately for the best, I think). To be really honest though, I really don't want to get into anything too serious right now, so our relationship is more about having fun than anything else, which I think is all I need.
@James - Xmas shopping, eh? Been doing some myself, but I still haven't figured out what I'll get to the most important person in the world for me.
Which is myself, of course. [/:symb:] I'm thinking a new cellphone. Possibly an iPhone, but probably something a bit cheaper. Gotta save some cash to spend on my holiday trip.
And last, but certainly not least... can I get a LAST WEEK AT WORK BEFORE HOLIDAYS FTW?
I think the best advice I can give you is to try and not make a big deal out of it, and try to get yourself in as many cool parties as you can. Man, you're in college! College parties are awesome even when you don't end up making out with a girl on a nearby bedroom. Plus, the chances that you will actually hook up with someone there are significantly bigger than usual, so all should be good.
You're right, as always Rick. I have no clue as to why I allow myself to get attached to women like that. And the thing about a lack of time? I'm pretty sure that it will apply to me this coming semester. I'm taking Stage Directing, and the final in that class is to put together a one-act play. That means finding a play (no comedies:swear:), casting it, getting the costumes, getting the set made, rehearsing it...I doubt that I will have time to spend with anyone, so I was acting in a real hypocritical manner, even if I didn't realize it.
As for parties: I never hear about any parties. Ever. Though I am paying real close attention to see if one actually pops up some time. Most of the people I go to class with have just been glad that classes are over, and they're planning to crash and enjoy the month that they have before the spring semester starts. That, plus most of them have to work a bunch when they're not in school. So the prospects for parties seems really low.
Well, I'm going to be flying out to Peoria, IL tomorrow night, so my activity here might be a bit lax for the following week or two. I get to visit some family, though I sometimes wonder why I would want to.:p Also, just to mention again one of the points that might have been lost in my last post: I should be able to at least get some audio versions of my comedy going early next year. I'm looking into getting some software/hardware that would make that possible. It's not video, but it's a start.
All in all, besides that woman crap, things are pretty much looking up. Oh, and LAST WEEK AT WORK FTW!
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ZOMG! Thirded! LAST WEEK AT WORK FTW!!!!! WOOOP WOOOOP
now, so this post isn't given a spam warning...
Simon and I have begun printing some BETA versions of our Power Fantasy expansion: Masquerade the Fates, for our bigger playtest group. Awesome characters, big moves, lots of fun. Looks like it'll be late next year before we look at getting everything back up and running if it all goes to plan, though considering how the 1st 20 characters took as 4 years to complete and balance, a year is looking fairly rushed! lol!
thanks for the wishes for Dad, he's, fortunately, recovering quickly and well - in fact, he's playing a hard guy now, even declining to take a health vacation. It happened on Friday an on Monday he took a crutch and went to work, despite he's still in pain when he walks. He was lucky as hell with the collision, and thanks god for it.
Simon and I have begun printing some BETA versions of our Power Fantasy expansion: Masquerade the Fates, for our bigger playtest group. Awesome characters, big moves, lots of fun. Looks like it'll be late next year before we look at getting everything back up and running if it all goes to plan, though considering how the 1st 20 characters took as 4 years to complete and balance, a year is looking fairly rushed! lol!
Wow, that's a great news. Let me know as soon as it is out, James I'm taking the PF for the Xmas holiday back home, to play it with Marta.
Quote from Rick »
To be really honest though, I really don't want to get into anything too serious right now, so our relationship is more about having fun than anything else, which I think is all I need.
Exactly what I intended to do after the break-up with Aneta. I am glad to hear you are feeling good, Rick bro But things can sometimes undergo quite a fast progress.;)
Well, as for my shopping, it is very bad for me....no gifts aside from the Settlers of Catan for Marta and the family. And the Twilight Imperium boardgame that I bought more or less for myself Funny fact about the game - one of the nations are lion-like Hacan, and one of their three leaders provided for the game is a character named Carth. I really wondered if there was any Magic fan in the development team, who sneaked the reference to Carth the Lion/Carthalion into the game.
As for the others, I'm going Santa-hunting right now after I finish typing this message. In the evening, I am going for a traditional Xmas special MTG evening with my playgroup, again 3-set All-Common Highlander, like the one that Shady advised me last year. This time, I went for RB deck from Lorwyn/Time Spiral/Future Sight, aggro with lots of removal and subtle madness subtheme. I'll let you know how I finished
Have a great day, amigos, I'm going to gift-hunting. Take care!
H.
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@Neko - I haven't played Guitar Hero III, becaus eyou know, I'm not into consoles. But I did download the GH3 pack for Frets on Fire. I don't play it a lot though - I got my Epiphone SG and an amp, and thus prefer the real thing, thank you very much.
@Vax - A big meetup is something I have long been dreaming of. And well, if my plans to study in London come to fruition, it will become easier for me. Man, it would be cool as hell. I know I will at the very least try to meet with Shady, Kon, Pouky and Urza at the same time in Athens, when I fulfill my lifelong dream of visiting Greece.
@Honza - Uh, remind me... how old is your sis again?
By the way, like mine, yours was definitely a busy year. I'll try to write a Rick's Year in Review® later this week, but I must say that it was definitely an awesome one. I can safely say that I have matured immensely in 2007, especially on the emotional side. Livia going away was the first time in my life when I made a conscious decision to try and cope with such a loss as an adult, and I'm happy to see I succeeded. But hey, I'm stepping on my future post's toes now, so I'll stop.
Have a nice beginning of the week, everyone!
*****
ricklongo and RicardoLongo on MTGO
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Visit my gaming blog: http://www.gamingsweetgaming.blogspot.com
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Thanks for the kind words, and thanks to all who voted. I'm happy for it. And not that I was not active...I was just far more active the years before than now...well, I am taking this trophy as a reward for being a stable contributor (kinda like the Oscar for life's work ;)).
And big thanks and warm welcome for brother Yamaneko, who returned after a long hiatus :). We hope that you are gonna stick around a bit now, Alec
17 next summer, why? ;):p
Emphasis put on words that I thoroughly understand, for this year brought the very same thing for me. Anyway, looking forward to that post!
Tomorrow at 13.00 GMT, I am going to wrestle for the "first half" of my Ph.D. title. Wish me luck, and a good-mood committee. I'll be back next evening, hopefully happy.
Take care, bros!
Honza
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
Epiphone SG? No way. Cherry or Ebony? My bass is cherry, and I love it.
Car: I kept thinking: When is he going to get his blue tag? Then I remembered that it was trophies. I have been away for a while. Congrats by the way.
Yep. I'd prefer the blue tag as well, but...oh well ;-)
As for other news: I passed the exam, and I am officially half a Ph.D. now.
More later, take care, amigos!
H.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
Speaking of which, Vista's doesn't live up to its bad reputation (if that makes any sense.) I've only had it crash a couple times, mostly when I've left programs on for days, which I really shouldn't be doing. It runs smoothly, and I love the fact that if you turn it off via the start menu, as opposed to forcing it through the power button, you can boot right to where you were, everything saved, and ready to go.
Edit: Whoops, 1.5K I knew I was saving it for here, but I forgot that I was just at it. Oddly enough, all my other posts on the page still say 1499. Weird.
Btw, today I realized something. A poster named true heir, who quite frequently posted in Storyline, has called me by my own name, that very few people outside GA know, some time ago. I knew that he did some very nice and thoughtful posts in the past, and even stated thinking about him as a potential GA candidate. Today, when I read one of his posts, and looked at his avatar, something clicked in my head... and I had a strong suspicion that I am looking at Ix. Then I scrolled up the post and saw that he was banned, and I knew that it must be today. A quick inspection to the right thread just confirmed what I thought. Ix was banned again.
The strangest thing is that I realized it today, before I read the Currently S/B thread. Weird...
Anyway, as I said, I passed the doctoral exam, and all that remains to get my Ph.D. is to write and defend the thesis. To be honest, I am glad that it is done, but I would not be broken if I failed. A day ago, I learned that one of my colleagues, a guy of the same age as me, died on Saturday. We knew that there was something bad with him, cancer-related - for three years ago, he was a normal guy, whereas later he once or twice absented for a long time and then returned with the signs of fresh chemotherapy, hairless and weak. He should have some surgery in summer, but they decided to contirnue with the therapy instead. Still, we believed that he was going to make it...and were deeply stricken when we were told that he passed away. He'd have been 28 at the Christmas Eve. :(:(:(
When you learn something like this, some exam quite loses its weight...
And I know that if I am gonna stay and work in the oncology institute, I will damn try to contribute as much as I would be able to fighting this damned disease.
I decided to take this Xmas in a bit in the gaming spirit, and to give my family something that will help us enjoy the time together. So, they're getting a classic one - The Settlers of Catan. After setting up a nice Carcassonne gaming club in our scientific group, a second game to explore. My sis was absolutely delighted to hear about it, for she played it with friends and was quite happy to going to have her own game.
Well, gotta get a shower now and the proceed with writing a grant report. Oh well.
Have a great time, guys, I am glad to be back after a while.
Honza
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
Way to go, bro! If only Herder would show up with the beer keg.
On True Heir: Yeah, I kinda knew he was Ix. He told me a while back that he had a new account, but didn't tell me what was it, and just said something like "I'm thinking you'll reconize it". Sure enough, after seeing a couple of posts by Heir, I had no doubt. I wonder how they caught him this time. Haven't spoken to Ix for a while now though.
I'm sorry for your friend, bro. I must say I have a passionate hatred for that disease, as I've seen some of my parents' good friends succumb to it. If I were working in medicine, I think it certainly would be in the oncology field. I'm happy that there are competent people such as yourself fighting to make cancer deaths smaller and smaller in number.
On a brighter note: I start on my new job next Monday. I'm very excited about it, because this new agency has a very well known creative department (in which I will work), unlike the one I'm currently in, which is more known for its planning department than anything else. I'm still kinda fed up with the whole ad agency deal, but oh well, here's one last chance for me to fall in love with it again.
*****
ricklongo and RicardoLongo on MTGO
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Visit my gaming blog: http://www.gamingsweetgaming.blogspot.com
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Let's hope that he will show at least for the Xmas...;)
Well, I feel really stupid, for now it is all clear to me. And how they caught him? I'd be almost willing to put my money on the "Heard a Small Rumor" thread in Storyline. His yesterday's post there, that brought me to the idea of him being Ix, was, well, very Ix-like. Maybe somebody noticed that as well, and initiated an account or IP check.
Thanks for the kind words, bro. I must say that I am quite happy and lucky at once that we had not a cancer death in family. The most moving fact is that the friend was my peer in age. Yeah, there usually comes a time in your life when you peers start to pass away, but that age is not this age.
And despite I am a chemist, now a biochemist, not a field usually directly related to "people" per se, working on such research field makes me feel that I can contribute to actually helping people - and that feels good.
Best luck to you, bro!
Btw, cool pic
I posted today to James' DCI banning thread, just to share my opinion officially (he told me the whole thing in a mail some time ago, and I told him my opinion), and also because I really cannot look at SapphireTri's posts. Man, is it a some rule that all former mods became bitter after demodding, and later ultimately fall from grace, start flaming/trolling (Xen), ripping (Lance, JayC), or behaving this way?
See ya tomorrow, amigos
H.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
I Must apologise for a long absence. One I will not have to repeat, thankfully.
Please forgive my inability to respond to the miriad posts made in the past weeks, I have read everyone, I'm thankful you've all continued (in part) to make this clan function as the mighty alliance it is. Awesome.
Well, I guess I owe you all a catch up: Owen, my youngest son is now 4 months old, julian, my eldest is 2 years 8 months. Hope and I are still living in Manukau Heights, in Auckland city. I'm still working full time, doing plenty of design work on a couple of gaming projects, and some soemwhat sporatic work on some amateur radio with a couple of coleagues also.
Life, as it were, is really good.
What's better is I finally got stable interweb access at home, after the debacle that is NZ telecom, which means, I'll do you guys justice and be here much more often from now on.
Oh, and the WOTC thing... I'm really interested (as you may have read) just how these supposed advantages are measured. I loved Rick's and Honza's posts in the thread, which touched on the very ideas and opinions I hold also... Simply put this is a railroading attempt from a company with no legal power to do anymore to me (FACT). I guess I can't expect any less than 'what I got' even though the circumstances of the banning are highly dubious. lol. They should have just said as Elaine from WOTC said to me by PM: "Please stop... you're making baby Jesus cry", that would have had more credibility than this unfair advantage tripe.
If you can't measure it, can't equate it, can't even prove it, it doesn't exist. Sorry WOTC.
Anyways, rumor season kicks off soon... very soon! Are y'all with me?
Lik I said in the SYM thread, their own site spoils the pre-release for those who want to go "in the dark", anyway. Even if MTGSalvation didn't exist, those people would have to compete against others who would know every single mechanic on the new set, plus how exactly they work, by only reading magicthegathering.com.
Ironically, I will be the one posting less frequently by then. But hey, there are plenty of cyber cafés in Buenos Aires, so I'll be able to at least drop by to say hi.
Oh, and by the way, I saw Herder online on MSN last Sunday! Too bad I couldn't speak to him, because I had some friends over to watch the relegation of the most despicable football team in Brazil. Rafa may be a wee bit sad now though.
Hell yeah! Rumor season = most exciting thing about the game for me right now.
And of course , nice to hear your internet problems are coming to an end. Say hi to the missus and the kids.
*****
ricklongo and RicardoLongo on MTGO
*****
Visit my gaming blog: http://www.gamingsweetgaming.blogspot.com
****************
Check out Rick's Picks, my PureMTGO article series
****************
*****
ricklongo and RicardoLongo on MTGO
*****
Visit my gaming blog: http://www.gamingsweetgaming.blogspot.com
****************
Check out Rick's Picks, my PureMTGO article series
****************
It's probably an unspoken rule. Once you have that taste of power, you have a hard time dealing with the fact that it just isn't there anymore.
Dammit, now everybody's apologizing for things they had no control over. Stop it already!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but IIRC most of the spoiled cards we've been getting as of late are coming more and more from other websites, right? I mean, the Future Sight rumor season didn't even start until some foreign site put up some cards, right? So all people would have to do would use BabelFish or Google Translation or something for those cards as well. The point I have here is that there are WAY too many web sites that WotC would have to go after if they wanted to squelch the whole rumor things. I think that they will find that continuing the threatening against you and other fellow rumor spreaders will get a bit too big, even for them. I could see it getting to the equivalent point as the paparazzi with Hollywood celebrities: an annoying nusance that they will just accept as part of life.
Many thanks to:
Sig: CharlieD at Limited Edition Signatures
Avvy: XenoNinja at HotP Studios
Well said, Vax. It had to happen sometimes, and the waiting was worth it
Good to hear that everything is good with your life, James. Welcome back, brother. The renewed internet connection is just the sweet top And although I am copying Rick: give my kind regards to the queen and the princes
The WotC thing: I was more than glad to express my support. I must also half-apologize for the posts today, for that SapphireTri jerk's comments aimed first at you and then at me again brought the R part of me to the surface, and I just had to react. This is just the type of people I hate with passion.
You bet, James. Of course we are.
Well, I am currently sitting by the laptop and writing a grant report. Tomorrow we are going to pay the final tributes to the aforementioned deceased friend, and then I am leaving for the weekend to Lenka's hometown. I hope I'll be online sometimes before Monday, but if not, I wish you all a nice weekend and I am looking forward to be back then.
Take care, bros. It is good to have you back.
H.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
I went to a BBQ at a friends house last night, it was choice... I ate 4 steaks. Now I'm still quite bloated with beefy goodness... all is well in the world.
What's everyones plans for the weekend? And... have you all seen the Street fighter 4 teaser trailer? Thoughts?
As for the weekend, it's looking good so far. Tonight I'll have a goodbye dinner with the people at work, since I'll be starting on the new office on Monday. Then there's a concert by some local bands, which I will attend with some friends.
Tomorrow I have loads of (fun) stuff to do, with at least three music events taking place, including a festival with dozens of bands. Not sure what I'll do yet - I was even thinking of having some friends over at my place. Let's see what I decide.
On another note: has anyone seen the Futurama movie? I know I can't wait to!
*****
ricklongo and RicardoLongo on MTGO
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Visit my gaming blog: http://www.gamingsweetgaming.blogspot.com
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I'm on my way to get some drinks right now, as a matter of fact. As long as I don't mess with tequila, shouldn't be a problem.
Anyway, the reason I came here to post now: I drafted a LLL deck a while ago on MODO, and it ended up so cute that I even took a screenshot of it - but sadly, forgot to post it here. Just saw the jpeg file lying on my desktop with the very appropriate name of broken.jpg, so here it is. See if you guys guess which position I ended up.
Cheers for now. Hope all of you have a great weekend.
*****
ricklongo and RicardoLongo on MTGO
*****
Visit my gaming blog: http://www.gamingsweetgaming.blogspot.com
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Check out Rick's Picks, my PureMTGO article series
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Sorry to hear you didn't make the T8 too, it would have been 'money'!
Nice to know you got your Wish the day after though.
Last night, I drafted a deck that had more merfolk in it than lands. Oh man. Sadly, I lost in the finals to an elf deck, thanks to crappy draws and a wrong decision not to mulligan.
On another note, the new agency is great! Who'd tell I'd be having fun creating ads again.
*****
ricklongo and RicardoLongo on MTGO
*****
Visit my gaming blog: http://www.gamingsweetgaming.blogspot.com
****************
Check out Rick's Picks, my PureMTGO article series
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Seems that the bad events are circling around me lately...today in the morning my father was hit by a car :(. No broken bones, no brain concussion, but he is not quite OK either. It's snowing here, and the car that hit him was actually trying to halt, but thanks to the wet road, it skidded. Fortunately it was only about 20 mph speed...and the doc said that if he was not such a bit burly (we are all near 2 metres and around 100 kg of weight, for Dad it is 1.8/115), he might not have survived. He's at home now, and I am leaving in the evening to go there as well. Seems that this year's Christmas are gonna be quite unusual....:-/
Good to hear that the new job is pleasing for you, Rick
See ya for now, I'll be back later with presumably better and more cheerful news... ;-)
Take care!
H.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
Wow, Honza. I can always count on you for making me realize that there are worse places for me to be at this point.
I'm thinking it right now: What...the...hell. Seriously. It never fails. If I get interested in a woman, either I totally scare her away (previous semester) or, what happens more often, I find myself attracted to someone who's not interested in a relationship because she's "just too damn busy." Why is it that I can see so many couples on campus, but I can't call myself part of a couple? How do these other couples make the time for each other? Really, all I want is to be able to sit around and hold somebody, especially after a bad set. Is that really too much to ask for?
On the bright side (as if there is one), I'm probably going to be getting some new computer equipment for Christmas that will allow me to get you all at least some audio of my sets. That should be a blast.
Dammit, I hate the holidays. Something always happens, be it my own fault or somebody else's, that just takes all the fun out of the season. Bah humbug.
Many thanks to:
Sig: CharlieD at Limited Edition Signatures
Avvy: XenoNinja at HotP Studios
Well Xmas shopping season is in full swing here in Auckland, malls are open til midnight now, and they are busy busy busy! I've still got gifts for my sisters and mum to get too... argh!
@Vax - Remember the "Girls are evil" speech I gave a while back? Well, clearly it still applies.
I think the best advice I can give you is to try and not make a big deal out of it, and try to get yourself in as many cool parties as you can. Man, you're in college! College parties are awesome even when you don't end up making out with a girl on a nearby bedroom. Plus, the chances that you will actually hook up with someone there are significantly bigger than usual, so all should be good.
Speaking of girls, I've been seeing one lately. Her name is Maria, and we've been getting along great. I think I like her, although it's not the unexplicable craze that took over me back when I was dating Rebeca (which is ultimately for the best, I think). To be really honest though, I really don't want to get into anything too serious right now, so our relationship is more about having fun than anything else, which I think is all I need.
@James - Xmas shopping, eh? Been doing some myself, but I still haven't figured out what I'll get to the most important person in the world for me.
Which is myself, of course. [/:symb:] I'm thinking a new cellphone. Possibly an iPhone, but probably something a bit cheaper. Gotta save some cash to spend on my holiday trip.
And last, but certainly not least... can I get a LAST WEEK AT WORK BEFORE HOLIDAYS FTW?
*****
ricklongo and RicardoLongo on MTGO
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Visit my gaming blog: http://www.gamingsweetgaming.blogspot.com
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You're right, as always Rick. I have no clue as to why I allow myself to get attached to women like that. And the thing about a lack of time? I'm pretty sure that it will apply to me this coming semester. I'm taking Stage Directing, and the final in that class is to put together a one-act play. That means finding a play (no comedies:swear:), casting it, getting the costumes, getting the set made, rehearsing it...I doubt that I will have time to spend with anyone, so I was acting in a real hypocritical manner, even if I didn't realize it.
As for parties: I never hear about any parties. Ever. Though I am paying real close attention to see if one actually pops up some time. Most of the people I go to class with have just been glad that classes are over, and they're planning to crash and enjoy the month that they have before the spring semester starts. That, plus most of them have to work a bunch when they're not in school. So the prospects for parties seems really low.
Well, I'm going to be flying out to Peoria, IL tomorrow night, so my activity here might be a bit lax for the following week or two. I get to visit some family, though I sometimes wonder why I would want to.:p Also, just to mention again one of the points that might have been lost in my last post: I should be able to at least get some audio versions of my comedy going early next year. I'm looking into getting some software/hardware that would make that possible. It's not video, but it's a start.
All in all, besides that woman crap, things are pretty much looking up. Oh, and LAST WEEK AT WORK FTW!
Many thanks to:
Sig: CharlieD at Limited Edition Signatures
Avvy: XenoNinja at HotP Studios
ZOMG! Thirded! LAST WEEK AT WORK FTW!!!!! WOOOP WOOOOP
now, so this post isn't given a spam warning...
Simon and I have begun printing some BETA versions of our Power Fantasy expansion: Masquerade the Fates, for our bigger playtest group. Awesome characters, big moves, lots of fun. Looks like it'll be late next year before we look at getting everything back up and running if it all goes to plan, though considering how the 1st 20 characters took as 4 years to complete and balance, a year is looking fairly rushed! lol!
thanks for the wishes for Dad, he's, fortunately, recovering quickly and well - in fact, he's playing a hard guy now, even declining to take a health vacation. It happened on Friday an on Monday he took a crutch and went to work, despite he's still in pain when he walks. He was lucky as hell with the collision, and thanks god for it.
Wow, that's a great news. Let me know as soon as it is out, James I'm taking the PF for the Xmas holiday back home, to play it with Marta.
Exactly what I intended to do after the break-up with Aneta. I am glad to hear you are feeling good, Rick bro But things can sometimes undergo quite a fast progress.;)
Well, as for my shopping, it is very bad for me....no gifts aside from the Settlers of Catan for Marta and the family. And the Twilight Imperium boardgame that I bought more or less for myself Funny fact about the game - one of the nations are lion-like Hacan, and one of their three leaders provided for the game is a character named Carth. I really wondered if there was any Magic fan in the development team, who sneaked the reference to Carth the Lion/Carthalion into the game.
As for the others, I'm going Santa-hunting right now after I finish typing this message. In the evening, I am going for a traditional Xmas special MTG evening with my playgroup, again 3-set All-Common Highlander, like the one that Shady advised me last year. This time, I went for RB deck from Lorwyn/Time Spiral/Future Sight, aggro with lots of removal and subtle madness subtheme. I'll let you know how I finished
Have a great day, amigos, I'm going to gift-hunting. Take care!
H.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)