Disordered Thoughts and Curmudgeonly Ramblings
Pirates are all we can be!
Seriously. We’ve had two weeks of maximums in the mid 30’s and minimums in the low 20’s, and this week it’s ramped up to high 30’s with minimums in the mid 20’s. If it doesn’t cool down after that, I’ll be dead.
Until then, what could be cooler than a Scottish metal cover of a Eurovision song about pirates? In my opinion, nothing!
That is all.
Not the best way to start the day…
I don’t know if other people attract random weirdos, or if it’s just me (perhaps it’s that old ‘birds of a feather’ thing). In any case this morning on my walk to the railway station I was approached by a tall, thin individual who lit up a cigarette and proceeded to walk along side me asking questions…
“Hot isn’t it?”
“Sure is”
“Off to work?”
“Yup”
I followed my usual procedure for these circumstances, which is to keep doing whatever I’m doing and provide as little response as possible, in the hopes that the annoying freak would get the hint and leave. No such luck, as he kept at it…
“What d’ya do?”
“Computer Programming”
No point providing him with more detail than that. If he found out I was a web designer he might want a site built…
“D’ya make websites?”
So much for that strategy…
“Yup”
“How much does a good website cost these days”
“’bout $4000”
“But they can take it down right?”
Now that was an odd question. I mean it really depends on who “they” are, and a whole bunch of technical factors revolving around hosting, domain names and local jurisdictions. I decided the simplest course was just to agree with him…
“Sure can”
“Unless it’s hosted in America, yeah?”
OK… A bit abstract, but whatever…
“Yeah”
“We spent $2000 on a website and three days later they took it down”
Let me guess, because you didn’t pay them?
“Shit”
“Yeah, I’m with Van Tongeren‘s boys and we made a website for the ANM but they took it down”
WHAT THE FRACK!?
For those puzzled by my reaction Jack van Tongeren was WA’s best known white supremacist and founder of the Australian Nationalist Movement – a group specializing in the firebombing of Asian restaurants and sticking up posters saying “Asians (or whatever other ethnic group they felt threatened by that particular week) Out or Racial War!”. And here was one of these toe-rags walking along beside me making small talk! Reasoning that anyone unhinged enough to join the ANM would not take my views on their insane hate group well I remained non-committal…
“Oh yeah”
“So we had to move it to America, now it’s on Stormfront“
FUCKING STORMFRONT?? HOLY FETH!! Stay non-committal! Stay non-committal!
“Oh yeah”
At this point there was a pause, as if the maniac beside me was waiting to see if I’d break out into a verse of the Horst Wessel Lied. After a minute or so of silence he started back up again, on a subject almost as bad…
“I had the best sex of my life last night!”
Geez, I really want to hear about that! Pray continue sir!
“Oh yeah”
“Two women, it was completely unexpected too!”
“Right”
Thankfully at this point he appeared to spot something distressing up ahead, quickly mumbled “See ya mate” and decamped into the park by the library. I continued towards the train station breathing a sigh of relief, but about ten metres on was confronted by a rather shabby looking and apparently quite angry woman…
“Who was that bloke you were talking to?!”
Good question. The mystery racist nympho of olde Bayswater?
“I dunno, some bloke who just walked up to me”
She muttered something under her breath and headed into the park, presumably chasing after him.
Not the best way to start the day really.
Five Rounds Rapid
Nicolas Courtney’s dead? Massive suckiness 🙁
Sweet lemonade, sweet lemonade, oo sweet lemonade,
I challenge anyone to listen to this all the way through and remain sane…
That is all.
(I survived it, but my sanity is a moving target at the best of times…)
A unique new way we’ve figured out to to prize money from the hand of the gullible
The BiUnity(TM) Quantum Crystal System is a unique new way we’ve figured out to to prize money from the hand of the gullible using the exciting field of Harmony Block Transfer Computation Renewal – a type of science we’ve just made up!
This unique system was developed by Dr Hiram Q. Chuzzlewit (holder of a Doctorate in Applied Scientism from the Yorba Linda School of Correspondence) based on information ‘bought back’ after he hit his head on a doorway and felt woozy for a few minutes – and wastes more CPU clock cycles than any comparable product!
BiUnity(TM) is the first system of its kind to use a computer to do absolutely nothing while convincing you it’s doing something by bombarding you with a load of meaningless gibberish peppered with new-age keywords such “energy”, “vibration”, “fractal” and “harmony”. It also displays pretty patterns that can be used to hypnotise your pets and less intelligent relatives!
(If there are any less intelligent than you!)
BiUnity(TM) leads the way in selling you overpriced pieces of rock crystal with wires attached in the hope that you’ll think these can somehow “transmit information” to your body in direct contravention of well established physical and biological principles!
Federal law prevents us from presenting any testimonials about BiUnity(TM) (as we’d then have to submit it for assessment by the FDA and our whole little money making scheme would collapse around our ears when they announce it’s just some lumps of rock crudely wired up to USB plugs and a cheap graphics demo program) but here’s a completely unrelated story we’d like you to read…
“I used to get terrible headaches from the CIA using lasers to shoot messages into my brain. Now whenever I feel a headache start I simply beat myself in the head with my BiUnity(TM) crystal probes until I pass out and then I feel much better! Thank you BiUnity(TM)!” — Arthur P’Tang P’Tang Owlett, Toledo, Ohio
So if you’ve got more money than sense and honestly believe paying $5,000 for some lumps of rock and cheap software will make your life better, we want to hear from you! Google BiUnity(TM) Quantum Crystal System today!
The singing made it even more hellish…
My social life has been stupidly busy lately. Well, stupidly busy for me which probably means it’s getting close to what a normal person would regard as the bare minimum of social activity to stop them passing into a coma. In any case I’ve been doing so much that I haven’t had the time to blog about any of it – a situation I plan to partially rectify by writing about my Thursday night, when I attended my good friend Katie’s birthday do at DeVille’s Pad.
DeVille’s Pad is a place I’ve been meaning to check out (in a vague and unfocused way) ever since it opened up in the old Polygon nightclub next to McIver railway station. It’s a bar/nightclub that attempts to combine a chic, somewhat kitsch 1950s tiki-bar style with a devil and hell theme – a synthesis that they actually manage to pull off quite well.
(The same people operate a smaller 1950s style tiki-bar near the cathedral, so they’ve had practise)
The interior is done up to look like someone transplanted a Vegas hotel from the 1950’s into a cave. The walls curve around into interesting organic shapes, there’s stalactites and wrought iron all over the place and a stage and a dance floor. Ah! Here’s a convenient panorama that gives some idea. The place is very cool, frankly I’m astonished they let me through the door.
Katie had invited about 25 of her friends, very few of whom I’d met before so I basically just found somewhere comfortable to sit back and enjoy the show. And a show there was, as (it turns out) Thusday nights are Karaoke at DeVille’s!
The performances had their high points and low points. There was one woman in particular who – “performed” is probably the best word as “sang” would be entirely inaccurate – a number of songs in an off key bawl that could have cut metal. The guy hosting the show on the other hand belted out several numbers – notably The Final Countdown – really well. The big surprise was a somewhat diminutive staff member who did an incredible version of Twist and Shout. She was then joined by a six foot tall, black-clad apparition of doom with hair like Cousin It for ACDC’s Thunderstruck, which varied between her astonishingly powerful rock vocal and his truly impressive death grunting.
Another staff member briefly abandoned the bar to do a great version of Sexual Healing, which is not a phrase I ever thought I’d have cause to type. Then a Scottish couple did Build Me Up Buttercup – well, sort of, he just shouted the lyrics in his thick Scottish accent, while she looked embarrassed. But it was quite entertaining. Later on they broke out into a spontaneous sword dance, minus any swords (at least I presume they didn’t have any swords, I couldn’t see their feet from where I was sitting).
All of the food has either a hell or 1950s theme. After some consideration I went for the Royale with Cheese burger. I have to say this was a bit disappointing – it was a perfectly adequate burger, but there was nothing to make it stand out against any other perfectly adequate burger you could get elsewhere rather cheaper (I guess I’ve just been spoiled by Grill’d).
I said my goodbyes about 10 and got the train home. A good night all up and I’ll certainly consider heading back when I need somewhere impressively unique for a meal.
The state of journalistic play
Keep in mind Perth only has one daily newspaper, and it’s pretty much of the same calibre as the Herald Sun.
I’ve got the blues Jen!
Man I love Bones. Not an episode goes by where they don’t use technology in a way that it simply doesn’t work.
For instance, in a recent episode they found a negative cast of a skeleton inside a block of concrete. They filled the cast with metal, and CAT scanned it to get a 3D model of the skeleton, which they then printed out on a rapid prototyping machine to get a skeleton they could study. They then solved the murder via a bunch of microscopic scratches on said skeleton. Brilliant!
Except I somehow doubt that,
a) The resolution (for want of a better word) of concrete would be good enough to retain microscopic scratches.
b) A CAT scan would be detailed enough to pick up any microscopic scratches the concrete did manage to preserve.
c) The rapid prototyping machine would have a high enough resolution to print out any microscopic scratches the CAT scan did pick up.
Add to that the scene of the rapid prototyping machine at work – playing a bunch of bright red, clearly visible laser beams all over a tank of goop – well it’s just sheer genius.
(And that’s not to mention the 3D holographic display they regularly use – a technology that just plain doesn’t exist)
Funnily enough, I don’t enjoy Bones for the reason that so many nerd guys do. Emily Deschanel is unquestionably very pretty, but I find Brennan’s characterisation rather annoying. Also, I guess I find it hard to be attracted to a supposed scientist who makes so many basic scientific errors 🙂
On a personal level I’ve got the blues Jen! I’m feeling tired, run down and ineffective. I spend all week hanging out for the weekend when I can actually get things done – then get nothing done on the weekend because I feel so vague, tired and unfocussed. My apartment is in an appalling state because I haven’t got around to tidying it for weeks, and all I want to do is either prowl mindlessly around the net, or crawl into bed and sleep. Hmmm, I probably need more exercise, more vegetables, or a good slap upside the head or something 🙂
Jimmy Goose was by far the best.
For a history nerd such as myself, this is hilarious…
For normal people probably not so much 🙂
Although it kind of ruins the joke, I compiled a list of the ‘Presidents’ for my own satisfaction, and repeat it here…
1. George Washington
2. John Aaronson
3. Terry Montrose
4. Hudson McLavoie
5. Jim Stand
6. Bruce K. Tedesco
7. Jimmy Goose
8. Lucas Brokus
9. Plugman M. Tucks
10. Alan Diamond
11. Tex O’Keef
12. Nolan Shack
13. Angus W. Crowe
14. Gepetto Corrigan
15. Liam F. Stitches
16. Jackson Graft
17. Houston van Austin
18. Doug Wobble
19. Geoffrey Risenburg
20. Geoffrey Savinkus
21. Geoffrey Dolby
22/24. Geoffrey Stuckmeyer
23. Geoffrey Simms
25. Governor Mark Whitford
26. Buddy Knox
27. William Jefferson Clinton
28. Joe Montanac
29. Unknown
30. Daniel Flintstone (Boo!)
31. Bernard H. Stuckey
32. Christopher Tigus
33. Limpton Quick
34. Jonathan T. President
35. Leo Smoot
36. Steven W. Spooner Junior
37. Roy Wizzle
38. Charlie Angel
39. Arck Ack
40. Neill K. Sputterman
41. Oliver Paltrow
42. Sweeney Patch
43. Gary Question
44. Mark Ruth
(Later – It seems that my list has become the standard one being copied around the blogosphere. Unfortunately I’ve made some updates to it since it was originally copied. Fascinating…)
Skeletons. And Fire. And skeletons on fire.
If your Imperial Guard force includes an Techpriest Enginseer you may take up to three Servo Skulls at a cost of 30 points each.
| WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld | Sv | |
| Servo Skull | 4 | – | 3 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | – | – |
A Servo Skull moves as an independent model with a movement of 12″, following the skimmer rules. It may move in and out of cover without penalty and has the Scouts special rule. Servo Skulls count as HQ units and may not claim objectives. They may not join up with other units.
A Servo Skull carries no weapons and cannot fire or assault. It never has to take leadership checks, and in any circumstance where a leadership check would be required is assumed to have automatically passed.
If attacked in an assault a Servo Skull fights as normal, but any wounds it inflicts are ignored apart from for purposes of combat resolution. If victorious in a combat it may disengage and move up to 6″ in any direction at the end of the assault phase.
A Servo Skull is so delicate that it has no Armour Save, and can never receive one. However its small size and high speed grant it a permanent 5+ Cover Save, even when completely in the open.
Destroying a Servo Skull scores no victory points, however if all Techpriests in the force are removed as a casualties, all Servo Skulls are also removed. If all Techpriests are in reserve, all Servo Skulls must also be in reserve.
If a scattering weapon is targeted at a point within 6″ of a friendly Servo Skull, it rolls one less die for scatter. Being in range of multiple Servo Skulls has no additional effect.
So, that will either add some interesting strategic choices to the game, or break it entirely. Have fun kids! 🙂
