Continue reading »]]> I had my first workout today in a brand new gym, or at least brand new for me. I’ve always been intimidated by weight machines and cardio machines, but I was not going to let it stop me today. Not even a little fiasco at the front desk about my pre-paid membership got in my way.

Today was an elliptical day, but to be fair, I’m trying to mix things up to keep my body guessing on what I’m doing. I’m also not going to max out on anything I do, because I don’t need an injury that’s going to set me back several months like before.

I never knew just how long 35 minutes on an elliptical burned. Granted, I didn’t just do a flatline resistance. It was a machine I had not used before, so after putting in my age and weight (sigh), I chose a weight-loss setting and got to work.

It did help to stay motivated when I would see two of my co-workers moving from weights to cardio and back again. They’re both retired military, so I draw inspiration from them when I’m there. One of them is even lower than my target weight. If he can do it, so can I.

It won’t be easy, but it’ll be worth it. Now to just stick with it.

Continue reading »]]> Our office is having a fitness challenge, starting at the beginning of June and ending at the end of July. To get our baseline, a CrossFit trainer came in and made an incredible amount of measurements. I couldn’t remember all of them, but the big ones stuck out on me.

Weight: 285

Body Fat %: 38.5

BMI: 44

I’m not in a very good place right now because of these measurements, but I have to change. There’s no other way around it. I did rather well the last time, between eating habits and workouts, but I fell off the wagon.

My problem is that I have a hard time keeping from cheating on workouts or foods. I also take things very personally when it comes to instruction on what I need to do. I see everyone have every single opinion as to what I should do with my weight loss, and all it does is make me want to give up completely because I feel that anything I find on my own that works for me is instantly wrong.

I have a lot of demons that I fight. Many people have bigger ones than I do, but that doesn’t change the fact that I still have them. I have the one that tells me I didn’t get enough sleep, so sleep an extra 45 minutes. I have one that finds all the unhealthy things for me to eat and scarfs them in my mouth because they taste good. Then I have the one that shows up afterwards and tells me that I’ll never look good again.

It’s a downward spiral, and I have to stop it. The key word in that statement is “I,” because no one else can do it but me. I start back at the gym on Monday, because that’s when our membership to the gym begins. I’ll have to find my weight training program again to find what worked so well before.

Because I have to change.

Continue reading »]]> This is a post for you to get just a little background on me. I am an IT professional. I deal with computers from a business standpoint as well as a consumer. I’ve been working with computers my entire life, ever since I was copying BASIC commands from a textbook into a command prompt on a Tandy 1000… when I was 3. I overclocked my first mid-sized tower when I was 8, much to my dismay when the overclocking burned the processor. I immediately learned how to build my own mid-sized tower to replace it. The last mid-tower that I retired ran for 11 years, and it still worked when I finally shut it off for good. I can configure most routers, switches, smartphones, tablets, desktops, laptops, and servers. I’m saying all this to give you my credentials when it comes to computers.

Now, I will say this: there are times that I hate technology.

Much like what the Borg Queen said to Data in Star Trek: First Contact, a computer is “an imperfect being, created by an imperfect being.” When we turn on a smart phone or a desktop computer, or when we run a particular piece of software, we expect it to work like it should. Apple products have been even been labeled that they “just work.” Most of the time, these things do work. Sometimes, though, there is just one little thing that snowballs into another, and before you know it, you find yourself holding your piece of computer equipment in both hands and looking for the nearest window. And really, we as humans only have ourselves to blame for making things such as computers that just never seem to be 100% functional.

You’re probably saying at this point, “But, you’re putting this on your blog, which means you’re using a computer to write in the first place. Why the hate, C.W.?” Let me take you on a bit of a journey in my portable computing lifetime.

My first laptop ever was an iBook G3, running OSX 10.3 at 800MHz. At the time, it was a relatively reliable machine. The downside of it was that it was incredibly flimsy, and after one fateful mistake where I turned too quickly from my desk in my dorm room and caught the charger cable the wrong way… well, the laptop survived, but I broke the hinge for the screen to attach to the rest of the computer. I took it in to get repaired at a local Mac repair shop, but it never worked the same way again. The monitor would turn off, the hard drive would crash, and sometimes it wouldn’t even turn on. I eventually gutted the machine and pulled all the data off of the hard drive.

My second laptop was an Asus Z92T, which came from a company well-recommended by a friend of mine. Unfortunately, I did not read the fine print when I bought the machine, so I did not notice that the company’s website offered a full return policy on every product it sold… except for laptops. I received the laptop, opened it, started up the computer, installed a Windows OS, installed one computer game, and the laptop crashed. I spent the next three months trying to resurrect the computer, but I didn’t have enough diamond dust for that particular spell. I wrote the company a scathing letter, had several heated conversations with their support team, and eventually ripped the hard drive out and stuck it in an enclosure. To this day, the hard drive still works.

My third laptop was a 15″ MacBook Pro, bought back in early of 2008. Since we had an Apple Store come to town, I picked it up with the AppleCare plan. As a sidenote: if you ever, ever, ever buy anything from Apple ever, buy the AppleCare. A month after the 1-year warranty ran out, my battery died. Normally I would have had to pay $100 for a replacement, but the AppleCare covered it. Two months before the AppleCare ran out completely, my motherboard melted. That’s not an exaggeration. I had installed World of WarCraft: Cataclysm, and the updates to the graphics engine were too much for my video card to handle, and it melted the motherboard. I took the laptop to the Apple Store, they sent it off, and replaced everything for me for free. For free. FOR. FREE. Why? Because I had the AppleCare. Now, of course, the battery is dead again, the hard drive is taking longer and longer to spin up, the touchpad isn’t responding as well, and the display is starting to not turn on. Still, it was a good little laptop, but it had been through hell.

I should take a moment to talk about my laptop at work, the Dell Latitude E5400. I’ve had it for three years, and even it is showing signs of its oncoming expiration. I’ve installed operating systems three times, reinstalled all of my programs, and all updates are consistently installed. But then the CPU gets maxed out, or the RAM is pegged, or the swap file is used up, or the battery dies in 20 minutes, or the sound card only works for every other reboot, or the wireless card blocks all other wireless devices at home, or the hard drive heats up so much that I could burn my hand on the casing… I will have to back up my files soon, and hope I can put in for a replacement.

Now, for a special segment in the world of netbooks. My dad had an Asus Eee PC 1000HE. It came with Windows 7 Starter. He later on bought a laptop with a full keyboard, and gave me the netbook to see if I could use it. I wiped it, installed Windows 8, then wiped it and installed Windows 7, then wiped it and installed Linux Mint. None of them seemed to improve the performance. It still runs hot for a netbook, and I can only run one application at a time. Forget about getting online with it. If you open a web browser, it stands there like Eddie Izzard impersonating a printer as it says, “I’m not sure what you want me to do.”

So, the only thing left is a tablet. I’ve been writing this post on an iPad 1st generation that a co-worker is letting me borrow, just to see if an iPad is what I need or if I should venture to an Android. This is a 32GB model with WiFi and Cellular, but I’m only using WiFi. Yes, I’m technically 3.5 generations behind, and I’m limited by the fact that I can only run iOS 5.1.1 on it, and the keyboard I’m using doesn’t quite fit with it, but for once, I do not have a problem with the performance. The hardware runs just great for what it is. My problem lies in the apps. All I want is an app that will let me edit text documents that are saved in Dropbox, and I don’t want to spend any money for software that I might not get to use if I don’t go with an iPad. But no, I have to spend anything from $1 up to $40 just to be able to do that. Call me a cheapskate, but how hard can it be?

Maybe I’m just ranting. Maybe this should just be classified as “first world problems” and I should be thankful for what I have and move on. Maybe it all just doesn’t really matter. What I’m trying to say is this: if I can take a bunch of individual parts from a computer DIY website, put them together, and make a tower that would go on to run for 11 years, why can I not find a portable computer that will last even a quarter of the time? “Well, maybe if you have such a hard time with portable computers, you should just go back to a pen and a pad of paper to write.” I could, but then, you wouldn’t be able to read anything I’ve written on your computer, now would you?

Continue reading »]]> It doesn’t matter how you write, just so long as you do write. I’m a fan of all methods, be it blogging, fancy word programs, typewriters, or pen and paper. Anyone who tells you that one is superior to another is honestly looking for self-validation. Sure, having 25,000 typed out is a great feat, but those words are no different than the 800 that another person puts on a spiral notebook. Why? Because each person took a blank space and created in it.

Now that I have your attention, let me put this down as well: co-writing is no different than writing.

I’m serious.

So what if it’s a collaboration with another person or five people or a hundred people. So what if the final product is only 50% or 20% yours. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you created. Does a choir of 160 people sing any better than one of 32 people? No. What matters is the skill and effort put into the project.

So, how do you co-write? There are a few ways that I’ve attempted it, and there is no right way for everyone. Just like writing by yourself, there’s a particular way that just works for each person.

The first way that I attempted co-writing was back when I first started writing fanfiction. My friend, Jeffrey, had given me some of his fanfiction to read because I had shown an interest, and I started writing some of my own. We decided not long after that to write separate fanfiction in one universe, and they would feature main characters who interacted with each other. Anything we wrote, however, was our own creation, and we only influenced each other on the way our respective characters would have acted. If I were to name this process, it would be “singular, with influence” co-writing, because we were writing two separate stories.

My second attempt was during high school. I had a brief setting of Safehaven, centered around my fictitious nightclub, but I had no idea where to go with it. Another friend of mine, Sean, had read some of my work and asked if he could create a character in the universe. When he did, I started writing adventures for his character at his request. I don’t have those stories anymore, probably due to a corruption in a computer long since retired, but it was a good experience. I would have to name this “directional” co-writing.

Then we get to the project I’m currently on with Lora. I mentioned her in my last post, about the project we’re both writing. We have been working on our individual projects for a number of years. She told me the end of her series, and I told her about my universe. We at first decided how much fun it would be if our characters could meet, because it would give us a chance to discover more about them. A few days before NaNoWriMo 2012, we hatched up a scenario where they COULD meet in my world, as a fun way to keep the writing energy flowing if either of us got stuck in our individual projects. A month later, we found ourselves faced with a new trilogy to write, completely canon, that connected both of our worlds. The best description I could use for this is “conversational” co-writing.

Our process is unique because of logicstics: we live in separate parts of the country. Writing pages or paragraphs of a combined work would prove to be quite difficult because of our physical distance. To overcome this, we use Google Talk to instant message each other. Sometimes we use the built-in widget in Gmail, and other times we use chat programs like Pidgin or Digsby. Google Talk saves every chat conversation you have into a separate email, so all of our collaborations are saved in the cloud. Then, we download the conversations, edit out timestamps, then fill in the blanks.

But, how do we write the content? We have our characters interact with each other as if they are talking in the scene. We use pre-designated blocks to describe what our characters do, what they see, and what the reader sees. Then, after editing timestamps, we fill in extra description to further enhance the point of view, as well as add in scenes that only involve our own respective characters. At the end, there is one manuscript with two writers’ work completely woven together.

Now, I won’t say that that is the best way, because there is no best way save for the one that works best for you and your co-writer. I will say that it is something not to be taken lightly. It’s a difficult balance to achieve where each writer feels like they are contributing a fair share. Just remember that every person in any size of collaboration is important, and the most important parts of any project are to do your best and have fun with it.

Continue reading »]]> So, it’s been a while. Forgive me.

I promised Amelia Lynn from Will Write for Sushi that I would fill out these questions. For one, when you’re tagged on a blog hop, you just have to do your part; it’s a rule. This is a great way for me to get back into blogging as well as just writing. I’ve had to take some time off over the past month because of holidays and visitors and parties, so now that it’s a new year, it’s time to get cracking again.

So, here we are, the questions that you didn’t know were asked that needed to be answered anyway:

1. What is the working title of your book?
Well, there are several books, so there are several titles, but it’s all in one series. My prequel short stories are called “The Safehaven Chronicles,” which are little vignettes into the lives of each of my characters before the main series. The main series is just titled “Safehaven,” with subtitles for each book. The first one is “The Forgotten Experiment,” which is pretty much set in stone. The second one right now is “The Historical Factor,” but that might change when I know more about what that one will entail. Then there is the collab project with Lora Hibbard, a trilogy set in the future of the main series. There’s no name for the trilogy yet, but the working titles are “First Contact,” “Second Sight,” and “Third Faction.” Yes, it’s a little bit James Patterson, but it works.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
I’ve had the idea for “Safehaven” for an incredible amount of years. I always liked the idea of a modern-day nightclub, where you could go to have a nice romantic dinner and see some performers or you could dance the night away, all in the same building. I also liked having a group of people bound by normal day activities thrown into situations way bigger than themselves, and finding out who survives.

3. What genre does your book fall under?
Most definitely SciFi. At first, with the magical elements in the creation of the world, I thought it could be Fantasy. After the collab project started, I discovered more than I ever imagined about the world, and it solidified in SciFi. And that’s okay.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I always have a hard time with this, because I tend to cast actors who are past their prime for my characters. Also, I don’t watch TV as much as I used to, and even then, I see more things on Food Network or Discovery than sit-coms. I did have my characters cast by others, and I didn’t recognize the actors. In the end, I tend to let the reader decide.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Which one? All of them? Okay…
Safehaven: The Forgotten Experiment–A nightclub owner and his estranged Militia brother are attacked by an unidentified biker gang, throwing them on a journey filled with conspiracy and death.
Safehaven: The Historical Factor–The crew of Capsule 5 Bar and Dance face the ramifications and consequences of their expedition to Wakila, while government plots threaten to change the lives of everyone on Safehaven.
The Safehaven Chronicles–Before they were bound by blood, sweat, and tears, before they were even bound by the nightclub, the crew of Capsule 5 brought their own experiences together in this collection of prequel short stories.
First Contact–An extraterrestrial object crashes in the wastelands of Wakila, two people face the reality that they will never return home, and a broken family picks up the pieces after devastating losses.

6. If you plan to publish, will your book be self-published or published traditionally?
Both. Chronicles will be a self-published project, most likely in e-book format. My intent is to get readers interested in the actual series by using the short stories as flavor. The main series will be a traditional published work. As far as the future series, I’d love to see that in bookstores as well.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
The first draft of TFE was written during NaNoWriMo ’09, start to finish. I got about half-way through THF during NaNo 2010. Chronicles and First Contact are still works-in-progress, but they were used for NaNo 2012. See a pattern? Also, ’09 was the first time I completed a manuscript, and I had the idea of TFE since middle school.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I’ve read more Fantasy than SciFi, and my knowledge of books is dismal compared to movies. Anyone who wants to be a writer must first be a reader, and I have a huge backlog of books to read. To answer this question, I have no idea.

9. Who or What inspired you to write this book?
The first person in my life who gave me the itch of writing was an old friend of mine in middle school, Jeffrey Howell. He and I would write fanfiction together, and while it was incredibly bad, it was tons of fun. He was the first one to support me when I started writing original fiction. Sadly, he passed away several years ago due to a heart condition, but I will dedicate my first book in his memory.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
For a SciFi novel, I wanted to make the technology “just work,” without having to teach a class to the reader. The technology is actually not that far off from our own in terms of advancement, but it approached the “modern” era with a completely different set of tools. I hope that it is unique enough to be interesting, but not too unique that it’s confusing.

Now, to carry on the tradition of the blog hop, because that’s another thing that you’re supposed to do.
–Lora Hibbard, The Insomnia Kid
–Carol Ann Marks
–Caitlin, Geeky Artists Unite

Continue reading »]]> SSV Normandy, Commander Kami Shepard, personal log…

I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel about this.

*sounds of boots clinking on the deck*

Thanks to the recording that Tali’Zorah recovered, the Council ruled in our favor. Saren’s Spectre status has been rescinded for the destruction of Eden Prime and the death of so many humans. Upon his capture, he is to be tried for his crimes by the Council. If that’s not an option, he can be terminated.

*more clinking*

The Council won’t send in a fleet to apprehend him, because it would start a war. Udina, however, would never let the Council hear the end of it if something wasn’t done about what happened at Eden Prime.

*clinking stops*

That’s when they appointed me into the Spectres. A Spectre can always go where the Council cannot. And what better way for everyone to be happy than for the first human Spectre to go after the enemy of Eden Prime?

*the bed creaks*

Of course, that’s only the cover story. Ultimately, we have to stop Saren reaching this Conduit he spoke of, and the Reapers are the biggest threat to the entire galaxy. They destroyed the Protheans; they can destroy us. We can’t fail this one. I can’t fail.

*the bed creaks again*

The only thing that’s really leaving a fowl taste in my mouth is what happened after that. Anderson stepped down as captain of the Normandy, and he and Udina have given her to me. I understand that I would need a ship and a crew, but not like this. It doesn’t seem right. Anderson wouldn’t hear of it, though. He just wants me to stop Saren. I won’t let him down.

Wrex, Garrus, and Tali have all joined us on the Normandy. I’ll have to check up on them to make sure the rest of the crew doesn’t give them a hard time. For now, I have to rally the troops.

Continue reading »]]> SSV Normandy, Commander Kami Shepard, personal log…

I’m getting the feeling that I will need to ask more questions than I think are necessary. If I don’t, I risk getting broadsided with surprises. I don’t like surprises. Even if they’re in the form of a favor for the asari Consort. I understand that she has a rather long waitlist for clients, so she’s in very high demand doing whatever her clients need and needs help in other matters. She didn’t have to flirt with me in front of Alenko and Williams, though. I will admit that it would have been a different story if I was off-duty…

*ahem*

So we set off to see Barla Von, the agent for the Shadow Broker after that, because I figured if that Harkin guy was what Udina said he was, I’d probably find him in Chora’s Den under a table or something. Such a disgrace. Anyway, the Shadow Broker wants to assist us in taking down Saren, because Saren has double-crossed him. Normally, I would try to stay away from people like the Shadow Broker, but if he wants to help me, I won’t turn down the offer. Barla Von told me to find Wrex, a krogan bounty hunter that was currently on contract with the Shadow Broker, who was being questioned at C-Sec.

I knew if I had to ask for assistance from a krogan, I would need backup from another species, one more suited to dealing with krogans, so I had to find Garrus. Unfortunately, that meant I had to find Harken first. We stepped off of the transit to Chora’s Den and were immediately ambushed by some turians. They were easily dispatched, but it still left a fowl taste in my mouth. They had to be working with Saren, which unsettles me because that means he’s not limiting himself to geth for allies. How many of his agents are in the galaxy now?

Well, I wasn’t that far off with Harkin. He wasn’t under a table, but he was a few shots short of it. I admit, I don’t know what it’s like working in C-Sec, but there’s still no reason behind disorderly conduct and the drinking; there’s a time and a place for everything. He really knew how to push my buttons, though, and I almost threw a drink in his face, but at least he told me we’d find Garrus at the medical clinic.

Harkin didn’t tell me that we’d also find a firefight. We walked in on some thugs trying to hit up the doctor there for some protection money or something; once the shooting started, it didn’t really matter with them, especially with Garrus’s crack shot. He’s a good aim, but he still has a lot to learn about hostages and humans. Dr. Michel introduced herself to us afterwards, and told us about a quarian who had vital incriminating evidence against Saren and was brokering safety with the Shadow Broker. Is there anything the Shadow Broker doesn’t know? Dr. Michel sent the quarian to Fist, the owner of Chora’s Den and another agent for the Shadow Broker. Fist, however had turned against the Shadow Broker and was holding the quarian for Saren.

This is why I need to start asking more questions.

I needed firepower and help from the Shadow Broker to get this quarian and the data safely, so I had to get the krogan. Good thing I did, too. Wrex was on contract with the Shadow Broker to kill Fist because of his double-cross. I felt like I was swept into an old Earth crime boss movie. He confirmed everything we knew, so I at least had some consistency. He wanted to fulfill his contract, and I needed the data, so I sent Alenko and Williams back to the Normandy and brought Garrus and Wrex along.

Good thing I did. Fist was waiting for us, with robot sentries. I nearly bought the farm, but Garrus and Wrex covered me long enough to wax the sentries. Fist folded after we pressed him for information. Then Wrex shot him.

*sigh*

It would have been nice to have someone alive who had dealt with Saren to bring to the Council, but Wrex wanted the money for the job. I wish I could say I was disappointed, but he is a krogan mercenary.

Fist did tell us where the quarian was before he was killed, so we double-timed it to the back alleys of the Wards and rescued her from her captors.

Udina, of course, wasn’t very happy with our methods of investigating. I guess Williams wasn’t kidding about politicians. The quarian, Tali’Zorah nar Rayya, played us a transmission she recovered from a destroyed geth drone, which had Saren and Matriarch Benezia talking about attacking Eden Prime, getting closer to the Conduit, and something about the Reapers.

The Reapers. The ones who destroyed the Proteans 50,000 years ago. I think that vision I got from the beacon on Eden Prime had to have been talking about the Reapers killing the Proteans. What if Saren has found a way to bring the Reapers back? And what does this Conduit have to do with anything?

Udina has requested an audience with the Council again. Maybe now they’ll take our claims more seriously.

Related articles

• Mass Effect: The Citadel (duckwritings.com)

Continue reading »]]>

Logo Diablo III (Photo credit: Dekuwa)

I’ve never really thought myself to be “cool.” I didn’t hang out with the most popular kids, I was picked on growing up, I was overweight, our family’s social status was low, I had really awkward hobbies, I played video games on consoles and the computer; the usual stuff that back then wasn’t considered to be “cool.” My dad even showed me what Pong Paddles were like before console gaming, and my grandmother got me my first Game Boy. Entirely “uncool” back then.

Then, something happened. All the stuff I liked started becoming “cool.” Computers developed, gaming consoles began “wars” against each other, companies were created to deliver digital entertainment. It was a “golden age” of video games, led by a fat Italian plumber, a blue-haired hedgehog with red shoes, and awkward but technologically-savy “uncool” people.

Fast-forward to this week. After work (I have a career in IT), I went to Earth Fare with my netbook and did a bit of writing. Then, I went to a friend’s place and played Halo 3: ODST because he hadn’t finished it. After that, I went to my local Gamestop at 11pm and got in line for my copies of Diablo III. Yes, plural. I got the Standard Edition, and I got my wife the Collector’s Edition. The guys at the store asked me if I was sure I wanted two copies, even though some of them have seen my wife and me in the store several times. As I looked around the store, I noticed that the majority of the customers were younger than me. Some of them probably didn’t even remember playing Diablo II when it came out 12 years ago, but there they were.  I pick up my games, go home, and go to sleep. Why? Because it was 12:30am, and I had work the next day. I figured I would play a bit when I got home that night.

I wake up the next morning to reports of gamers getting pissed off because they couldn’t login to the servers to play their games. People were upset because they took days off of work to play and couldn’t play. Pirated versions of the game that could be played offline were already available for download. One report was of a guy who has already beat the game in its normal difficulty.

And I find myself thinking, “Was I really like this before? Could I have been this obnoxious? This consumed by games? This… uncool?”

Wait a minute, wait a minute. Let’s look at what all I’ve played in the past. I’ve had the NES, the Sega Genesis, nearly every version of the Game Boy up to the DS, a PS1, a PS2, a GameCube, and an Xbox 360, as well as home-built computers to play computer games. Okay, what games do I have? Some of the big hitters are: Diablo I and II, Pokemon games going back to Blue, Halo 1, 2, 3, and ODST, every Assassin’s Creed console game, a lot of Kingdom Hearts games, lots of Final Fantasy games, all the Half-Life games, all the Myst games, SWTOR… Okay, what games do I have pre-ordered? Assassin’s Creed 3, Halo 4, Bioshock Infinite, and I’ll pre-order Kingdom Hearts 3 when it (finally) comes out…

Okay, I’m not out of touch with video games these days, so why am I so shocked by this behavior? Did I take Tuesday off of work so I could play Diablo III? No, because even if I was allowed, I would rather save that day off for vacation or emergencies. Did I play it as soon as I got home from work Tuesday? No, because after I installed it, I had a friend come over and we played the game with some other friends online, and even then the servers crashed after 3 hours in. Did I get upset about that? No, because I knew at that point I had to go to bed because I had work the next day. Did I post on the forms calling Blizzard out for spending 12 years wasting our time with an incredibly bad launch? No, because they’re just people, too, and since I’m in IT, I understand what they’re going through, so I’ve cut them some slack. Did I play Wednesday after work? Barely an hour, because I was at another friend’s house watching Caprica before I had to go to church that night. What about my wife? Long story short, she’s at a summer job in another state, and I’ve sent her her copy and the means to get online, but she might not get to play until Saturday night or Sunday. Why? Because she has to work. Will I play tonight? No, because I have another friend coming over tonight to watch Top Gear. I also have yard work and laundry to do this weekend, and another friend coming over to grill some steaks, so I’ll probably just play on Sunday after church, and hopefully my wife will be able to join me.

Oh, geez. Is it because I’m… an adult? With a career? With responsibilities? With a family to support? But, my wife and I are members of the Internet. We quote Red vs Blue. We actually don’t watch Big Bang Theory because it’s too close to real life for us. We had a Portal-themed birthday party for one of our friends recently. We go to Dragon*Con every year. How can I be an adult if I still feel young? Is it because I do adult things? I do things that children like to do, too. Maybe it’s just that I have found balance, that I’m well-adjusted. Everyone knows that our society lives in instant gratification and self-importance. I wasn’t brought up that way. Maybe I’m considered old-fashioned because I don’t want to have absolutely everything right now, because I work to get what I want, because I’m willing to sacrifice, because I know to weigh pros and cons with everything, because I know how to wait and when it’s time to play and when it’s time to put my toys away.

This release of Diablo III, this game that’s been 12 years coming, has given me a glimpse into a world in which I thought I belonged, when you would find the free time to play a game, either alone or with others, and you’d play, and then you were done. Now, it looks like it’s turned into a world where all is sacrificed for the games. There are leagues where people are paid lots of money to compete in playing video games. People have died from malnutrition because of playing video games. I don’t want to be associated with that, even though video games is a part of my lifestyle. But that’s just it. Video games is a part of my lifestyle. My dad would always say to me growing up, whenever I would get obsessed by something, that “There’s more to life than just ____________.” I get it now. Life is the summation of all of the things we do, and our lives are filled with all the things that make us who we are. We should all feel so privileged that we get the freedom to find out who we are.

So, if all this makes me old-fashioned, fine. If it makes me uncool, fine. I would rather be considered “not a true gamer” than sacrifice who I am. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do. My level 17 monk in Diablo III will be waiting for me when I get around to him.

Continue reading »]]> SSV Normandy, Commander Kami Shepard, personal log…

*sounds of papers being shoved off of a desk*

*a fist slams on the bulkhead*

I should have known that wasn’t going to go well. What was I supposed to expect from bureaucrats? I know we need to play nice with them because we’re still trying to gain a seat on the Council. I can’t count the number of times I heard that from Ambassador Donnel Udina. Anyone want to take bets that he would place anyone other than himself in that cushy seat?… Yeah, I didn’t think so.

So, just to clarify, the Council decided that there’s not enough evidence to link Saren to the geth or to the attack on Eden Prime, so he’s still a Spectre. There was a turian just outside the meeting, Garrus Vakarian, having an argument with the the head of Citadel Security. He tried to warn me before the meeting, telling me he couldn’t find anything against Saren before leaving. I agree with Alenko that we need to talk to him about what he did find. Cooperating with C-Sec would look good with the Council. Udina suggested to contact a retired human C-Sec officer, Harkin. Why a retired officer would have better luck than an active officer, I don’t know. I’m thinking Udina just wanted to deal with humans instead of aliens. *sigh* Captain Anderson suggested a less-than-official approach: contacting the Shadow Broker. Now, I understand the reasoning behind going through non-official channels, but I don’t know how I feel about dealing with an informational black market.

Still, I have to explore all options, otherwise we’re grounded. Yeah… we’re being held responsible for Eden Prime until we can find anything on Saren. If there’s one enemy that I’ll never really know how to fight, it’s politicians.

Good news, though. Williams has been transferred to the Normandy. She’s set up shop in the cargo bay with all the munitions. I imagine she’ll get on nicely with the quartermaster there.

We had the service for Jenkins before we got to the Citadel. How many more will there be at the end of all this?

Time to be investigators.

Related articles

• Mass Effect: Eden Prime (duckwritings.com)

Continue reading »]]> SSV Normandy, Commander Kami Shepard, personal log…

My head hurts. No, it’s not just that I came back from a mission. No, it’s not that I woke up in sickbay, though the meds probably did something to me. It was that blasted vision.

They always say to start at the beginning for things like this, right? Maybe it’ll clear the fog in my mind.

I had Corporal Jenkins and Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko on this mission. We were to head to the excavation site where the beacon was discovered. Not long after we arrived, we were ambushed by several geth drones. We fought them off, but we lost Jenkins. Why is it that the eager ones are always the ones to buy the farm? He didn’t do anything wrong. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, just like so many other people who’ve died fighting wars, or being swept into them. I promised Alenko we’d have a proper burial for him.

We pressed on and rescued Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams from another ambush. After we waxed the geth, Williams informed us that she was stationed at the garrison on Eden Prime, and that she was the only survivor after the attack. Doesn’t that sound familiar. I was a person down already, and she was holding it together as best she could. Part of me wanted to send her back to the ship, but I needed her skills.

We reached the dig site only to find that the Prothean beacon was missing. Not good. I had already lost one soldier on this. Losing a beacon would be unforgivable. Williams suggested to check out the research camp. We found at the camp that the geth have these spikes that will impale organics and turn them into a kind of geth-shaped lifeform. Human-shaped synthetic zombies. I’m sure that it could work with other species, but I’m not sure I want to entertain the thought of a krogan turned into one of those things. We did succeed in finding other survivors: Dr. Warren and Dr. Manuel. Dr. Manuel was obviously shaken by the attack. I tried calming him down as best I could while Dr. Warren informed me that the beacon was sent to the spaceport. On the way we rescued a few farmers, but I immediately knew something was shifty about them. Something about holding weapons for a smuggler–I can’t really remember because of this damn headache.

I do remember finding Nihlus. One bullet, PBR. We found that smuggler, Powell, cowering behind some crates. He saw the whole thing happen with Nihlus. He says another turian Spectre shot him, Saren. This is serious. I really don’t know how to explain the possibility that a Spectre has gone rogue, not to mention one as decorated as Saren. Is it possible that Saren has allied himself with the geth as well? It’s almost too strange. The geth do not look favorably on organics, so why would they be led by one? I’m hoping the Council will have some insight.

We took a train to the spaceport and diffused some bombs, which I now think were probably set by Saren. After neutralizing the remaining geth, we found the beacon. Alenko found some way to activate it, and it lifted him into the air. I had to move fast. The last thing I remember was tackling him, pushing him out of the way, and then…

Darkness… Pain… Synthetic and organic materials… Fire… War… A planet… It was all so fast.

The next thing I know, I’m in the sickbay back on Normandy. Dr. Chakwas says I’ll be fine. I do admit, it helped to record all of this. Maybe some of it will make more sense to me later, but right now, I have to inform Joker that we need to dock at the Citadel. Looks like I’m getting my wish about the Council.

Related articles

• Mass Effect: Prologue… (duckwritings.com)