Tuesday, December 22, 2009

This just in...

I've deleted more spam comments from my last post than I have from the entirety of the rest of my blog ever. This is amusing to me.

James

Labels: I need a tag for this sort of thing

Friday, October 09, 2009

The update of updateyness, now with updates

Lots of things going on. Like SNOW.

Stupid snow, reminding me that Winter is Coming. We need to winterize the trailer, and clean out the garage so we can park under shelter ASAP. We're also giving the inside of the house the hairy eyeball, and looking at some major reorganization.

In less prosaic affairs, I've got lots of cool ideas for Reality Cops, but they mostly pertain to layout and presentation; the game itself is floating untended at the moment. I desperately need some perspectives that aren't mine, and they aren't coming. :/ I hate chasing after people.

I'm reopening Death's Door as a project; not so much with an eye to republish it, as to use it as a testing ground for rewriting and layout now that I've got that many more years of writing/designing under my belt. It may end up getting republished as a result though, who knows.

And last but not least, Where Are Your Keys is continuing to hold my fascination, such that I've invited a bunch of local people to a workshop to introduce the game, and we'll see what happens from there. I already have some thoughts about techniques and things that I may (will) do differently.

James

Labels: I need a tag for this sort of thing, publishing, Reality Cops, WAYK

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

WAYK, the Language Fluency Game

Where Are Your Keys?

Wow. Just . . . Wow.

The sound quality is politely described as "poor" in this video, but you can really see the potential. I was able to pick up some of the basics of ASL just watching, let alone actually participating.

Seriously. Check it out.

Labels: geekery, I need a tag for this sort of thing, WAYK

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Funky.

Check this out:

superuse.org.

Very cool.

Labels: geekery, I need a tag for this sort of thing, Stuff and Things

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Advance warning

Just so the people in my life are warned well in advance:

I will be useless come September.

Remember: you were warned.

James

Labels: geekery, I need a tag for this sort of thing

Monday, March 24, 2008

The Sad State of Men's Swimwear

It is, nominally, Monday, when I blog about stuff and things. But my receipts for what I bought in the last week (or two) are back in Edmonton, and I am not.

So, instead, I will mark the occaision with an epistle.

A letter from James, to the blogreaders, on the sad state of men's swimwear. May this find you in good health.

When last I chanced to need swimwear on little notice, I was puzzled and a touch dismayed by how poor the selection was. A tiny rack, with perhaps a dozen or so sets of trunks, in various sizes, off in the middle of nowhere. Not only could I not find it, it took the salespeople I asked quite some time to track it down for me. "Out of season", I was told. Reasonable, I thought. It was, after all, middling to late august, and stores were no longer paying attention to summer things, but the seasons coming up, Hallowe'en, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I bought the one least offensive to my sensibilities, a single colour red set of trunks. Boring, and not what I would prefer, but what do you expect from the dregs of summer gone?

Today, I thought, today will be different. Spring is in the air, so stores must be selling all their summer stuff - what with spring things having been sold back in February. And, lo, it was different. This time there were two racks with possibly as many as two dozen sets of trunks. And it only took me fifteen minutes to find it, without needing to call on the ever-absent and inattentive sales staff. (This, I note, in marked contrast to the women's swimwear section, which was approximately the size of a football field, with lovingly photoshopped models displaying what I presume to be swimwear, though I'm not sure what is to distinguish it from underwear. Perhaps the beach in the background? To be fair, the football field of women's swimwear and the two racks of men's swimwear contained roughly equal amounts of total cloth, so perhaps that is their idea of equality? Enough, I will not be digressed - further - with thoughts of gender bias.)

These two racks of swimwear came in a singular type: knee length trunks with pockets. They did, to their credit come in a variety of styles, as many as five or six different colour patterns were available, that I might find something akin to pleasing. Or at least, not too offensive. For, you see, the styles fell into two broad catagories. The first evokes images of California beaches, surfboards, and blond, tanned boys saying "duuuude" and smoking pot. Not, I'll grant, an entirely bad image, but the intensity of the image was striking. An apt comparison might be using a leather hairband, tie-died shirt, bell-bottom jeans and sandles to evoke hippie. It certainly accomplishes the task, but with nothing that resembles subtlety or style. Rather, it bludgeons the senses with the impression until you wander away, dazed, trying to remember where you are, and why the sound of surf is so strong in your ears.

The second style was rather the opposite. They were so inoffensive, so muted and drab as to go beyond the pale and offend with their sheer lack of interest. Anyone, woman, or man, no matter their actual age or appearance, upon donning these shorts, would have no difficulty getting a seniors discount anywhere such things are granted. These are not the swim trunks your father buys. These are not the swim trunks your grandfather buys. These are the swim trunks your grandmother buys for your grandfather because his old pair, acquired shortly before Edison patented the lightbulb, are "getting a touch ratty".

Eventually, I settled for the least offensive of the srfr duuude stylings, a sort of khaki affair with camo on the inside of the waistband (The inside? Why, pray tell?). But I was not content with them, and couldn't help but wonder why there was so little choice and variety, and further, if I was particularly unlucky, or if it was always like that? I don't miss The Baywatch Years, but just because not everyone should wear Speedos doesn't mean they should be banished from the racks. And what's wrong with some variety in length? Knee length isn't everyone's preference in a swim trunk. And pockets. Why, pardon my brief foray into foul language, the hell do swimtrunks have pockets? one pocket that seals shut for a locker key, or a credit card I'll grant is a good idea. But big front pockets like casual pants? There's really only one good reason for hands to be in your swimwear, and you don't need pockets for that.

How about styles? Surely there is some middle ground between California surfer and retirement trunks? What about something tight and black, for the goth crowd? Or, on consideration, something lacy and black, for the goth crowd? Where are the swim trunks for punks, the one that say "Screw you!" to the establishment? Designer trunks, exactly like the other ones, except with an expensive logo stitched in a corner for the too-much-money crowd?

Is this too much to ask, my friends?

Labels: I need a tag for this sort of thing, I think too much

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Dear Sleeping Brain,

Next time you grace me with dreams about Tricia Helfer, could you at least have it be, like, vaguely erotic or something? Why do you serve up meaningful conversation instead? It's a dream, sleeping brain.

Sigh. Even in my dreams, women are safe.

James

Labels: I need a tag for this sort of thing

Monday, February 11, 2008

Stuff and Things, Part Six, and a pants update.

This week I get to look like a good little non-consumer. Only 1 tank of gas, and that's all, yay!

Nothing to do with the fact that I was a stay-at-home dad all week, with Raven being in Australia, no...

For February 11:
-31.46l of regular gas (Feb 8)

And in other news, the No Pants solution has been postponed indefinately, due to Holy Crap, it's Cold Out.

James

Labels: I need a tag for this sort of thing, Stuff and Things

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Stupid standard sizing.

I seem to have healthy living-ed myself into the land of No Pants.

As far as I can tell, nobody makes pants in 32-34 size. What's up with that? 32-32 I can find. 34-32 and 34-34 are easily had. But 32-34 appears to be this mutant pant size. I'd stop exercising and eating well so that my waist climbed back up to 34, except that I'm really enjoying the healthy living stuff.

There's only one reasonable course of action available to me: stop wearing pants.

James

Labels: I need a tag for this sort of thing

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

An amusement

Heard on the radio today: "Weather is causing problems all across Canada. A snow storm is affecting PEI and Vancouver Island [...]"

A snow storm? Holy crap, that's a big snow storm, no wonder the rest of Canada is having problems, what with the rest of Canada being between PEI and Vancouver Island...

James

Labels: I need a tag for this sort of thing, I think too much

Friday, December 14, 2007

Christmas cheer

Hey all,

On Tuesday (the 18th) I'll be puttering around at home, making candy and sysadmin buns, drinking eggnon, watching Christmas schmaltz and listening to Christmas music and generally overindulging in the season.

Anyone who wants to is welcome to join me. I have a fireplace and I'm not afraid to use it.

James

Labels: I need a tag for this sort of thing