Terrana

terrana @ 2008-08-26T12:38:00

2008-08-26T11:42:57Z

Bah. Every time I decide to try and write something, I discover someone else got there first and did it better than I could have. So I end up reading rather than writing. That's all very well, but it's not what I set out to do. Ah, well, there goes another good idea.

The Crash project: abandoned

terrana @ 2008-08-20T14:27:00

2008-08-20T13:27:10Z

It's funny; I meant to post something here, but in the time it took me to load up the site and punch in my login details, I've forgotten what it was.

EDIT: Fixed a typo. Still can't remember what I wanted to post about.

terrana @ 2008-08-19T14:29:00

2008-08-19T13:29:20Z

"Yeah, that's fire. I suggest not touching it."

Premise: the Crash

2008-08-18T22:29:11Z

While digging through old logs, I discovered the premise of an RP I started with someone which never really got off the ground. Quoted here for those interested.

In the cut-throat global society Earth had developed into, there was little in the way of prospects for those whose parents weren't affluent enough to send them to one of the technical academies. So when some group of boffins on one of the orbital platforms discovered the galaxy was filled with Earth-like planets, people were queueing up to get on to one of the colony starships now being built. A chance to go away, far away, to somewhere you could make a difference was too good a chance to pass up so you signed on, like most others, as a "generalist." Amazingly, you got a place on the first ship built (though computer problems meant it was actually the third to leave). The last thing you remember is settling down into your hibernation bunk as a friendly but tired-looking man with a clipboard told you you'd be there before you knew it. The original plan was to wake colonists as they were needed and as there was room for them in the first settlement. But it didn't quite happen like that...

Your next experience feels like it comes only moments later, even though you remember being told it'd be nearly 150 years. The door of your bunk begins to hinge open, shudders and halts. It is then lifted open by a gloved hand, a black-haired man briefly visible before he shines his torch towards you. "Hey," he shouts with an American accent to an unseen companion behind him in the now dark passenger bay, "this one's alive!"

Might develop this into a serious work of fiction.

STATUS UPDATE: Abandoned

Writer's Block: Running Things

2008-08-18T21:43:24Z

What would you change about your country if you could be in charge for a day?

Submitted by gentle_dream

View other answers

Ooh, now this is a question. There's a whole lot I'd change. I'm not sure a day would be enough, so the first order of business would be establishing myself as a dictator. With that messy business out of the way, I'd set about renationalising the utilities - gas, electricity, water etc. - in the hopes of undoing a bit of the damage privatisation has done. I'd overhaul the education system so as to teach young children things that are actually useful to know, and to pay more attention to ranges of ability levels, rather than taking the current one-size-fits-nobody approach. I'd add a new income tax band at 60-80% on all earnings above £100 000 - and 250% on all above £1 000 000, because I'm a vindictive git. I'd completely replace the criminal justice system, and have criminal behaviour treated as a disease to be cured than something to be punished. I'd make the requirements for getting a driving license stricter (you'd need to know how to drive rather than just how to operate a car). And finally, just before re-establishing the democratic process and stepping down as dictator, I'd call up our military reserves and put out a KOS on furries, because I have a freaking grudge to settle.

That about covers it.

terrana @ 2008-08-18T18:15:00

2008-08-18T17:15:09Z

I want to play Planetside again. Not Planetside as it is now; Planetside as it was back in 2004.

Re: Computer Game Piracy

2008-08-13T23:35:40Z

You all know this is a subject close to home for me, so the below linked article made interesting reading for me. It's more or less what I've been saying all along, but it's nice to see a developer's perspective on things.

Cliff 'cliffski' Harris writes about his findings based on an informal survey taken as to why people pirate games - generally and his specifically - and, most interestingly, what he plans to do with it: Talking To Pirates.

I took the no-DRM icon used for this post from the article linked. Somehow, I didn't think he'd mind.

terrana @ 2008-08-12T13:55:00

2008-08-12T12:55:49Z

A'ight, folks! The tea-dragons are back online. Prettyshiny.org and LaSalle services resumed as of... now.

terrana @ 2008-07-23T11:48:00

2008-07-23T10:48:50Z

One of my pet hates:

Installers with music that you can't turn off.

Thought for the Day

2008-07-20T23:17:23Z

Being black doesn't mean you can't be racist.
Being female doesn't mean you can't be sexist.
Being gay doesn't mean you can't be sexually bigoted.
Equality works for everyone. That's the point. Down with political correctness.

terrana @ 2008-07-15T15:48:00

2008-07-15T14:50:21Z

I love roleplaying and RPGs. I play whenever I can, which isn't often, unfortunately. So why can't I be a decent GM? I've tried three times, and all have been unmitigated failures. What am I doing wrong?

terrana @ 2008-07-02T19:18:00

2008-07-02T18:19:57Z

I need a project, something to keep my mind off of the depressing reality of prolonged unemployment that doesn't involve playing EVE Online any more than I already do. Solution: time to finish learning German! I always promised myself I would, but I never had the time. That's not a problem now, I think.

And I can get Schnee to tell me how well I'm doing. This is a plus.

terrana @ 2008-06-29T12:59:00

2008-06-29T12:00:42Z

Process Explorer tells me that my CPU usage and I/O throughput are both minimal. So why is everything running so slowly?

terrana @ 2008-06-28T21:05:00

2008-06-28T20:05:51Z

So, julius_songkhla, you've added me to your list. May I ask why? I really don't need sick freaks like you anywhere near me.

terrana @ 2008-06-25T13:22:00

2008-06-25T12:39:11Z

I play a lot of computer games; there's no disputing that. And I've been doing it long enough to be able to see the times changing around me. And once that point is reached, nostalgia is a trap we all fall into at some point. I go into games shops, see nothing new or interesting. It's all been done before, and better. Am I really going on about the good old days, I ask myself? Yes, I guess I am.

But here's where it breaks down, you see. I then go home, play those old games that did it first and better, and have my opinions confirmed. Normally, the way nostalgia works is that you tend to remember the best of things, and if you were to go back and try things the old way again, you'd be bitterly disappointed. Yet computer games don't work that way - I don't have a distorted memory of games from 10 or 15 years ago, because I just played them last week. Why stick with the old ones? Because occasionally I try a new one, and find it just isn't as much fun.

This is an observation I've been making to anyone who'll listen for a couple of years now. Where did it all go so wrong? We're getting just as many bad games as we always used to, naturally, but there seem to be far fewer worth actually playing. And if you look around for a bit online, you'll see that opinion everywhere. Go on, have a look; I'm not going anywhere.

Scary, isn't it? In the age of computers with 4GB of RAM, and graphics cards with huge, silly numbers on them, there are people playing Nethack. Why? Because they find it to be better than anything else these absurdly overpowered computers can offer them. Starcraft, released in 1999, is considered a national obsession in South Korea, although that is probably a significant exaggeration. Even after the release of Supreme Commander, which was supposed to be the RTS, there are still people who sit around playing Total Annihilation. The Playstation 3 in shunned in favour of its predecessor. There are still people playing Star Control 2!

Where did it all go so wrong?

terrana @ 2008-06-16T13:54:00

2008-06-16T12:57:45Z

So, any of you ever play Space Empires III, IV or V?

Want a game?

terrana @ 2008-06-07T22:27:00

2008-06-07T22:28:22Z

Whee, I think I'm turning just a little bit bipolar.

EDIT: Or maybe more than a little. Man, I shouldn't read about this stuff; it only makes me worry.

terrana @ 2008-05-30T13:48:00

2008-05-30T12:49:31Z

Because I've been in the mood for cheap photoshops lately:

I'm sure you all get the reference.

terrana @ 2008-05-29T20:20:00

2008-05-29T19:28:51Z

I was reading through TV Tropes (as you do) today and came across the concept of nightmare fuel. To summarise, it's stuff in TV shows or other media that give people nightmares. The common theme is that of horror - people are given nightmares by things that scare or otherwise repulse them.

I've never found this to be the case for me. That said, I don't get many nightmares at all. Perhaps I don't have the right mindset for it. Interestingly, on the rare occasion I do have them, I find them to be triggered not by horror but despair. Curious.

terrana @ 2008-05-21T21:57:00

2008-05-21T20:58:23Z

So I made a nice, new icon. I actually made this one rather than cropping it from someone else's image. It's simple, but it works. It fits my personality but, ironically, not my current mood.

And in a couple of months, when I've deleted the new Laser Eyes icon, this post will make no sense.

terrana @ 2008-05-20T10:37:00

2008-05-20T09:38:51Z

The way I deal with stress and similar is interesting to watch. I have what can only really be described as an "unhappiness capacitor." When something suitably life-shattering happens, I don't feel a thing for a few days, anything up to a week. Then it hits me.

terrana @ 2008-05-19T15:15:00

2008-05-19T14:23:01Z

I the state of the computer gaming industry is verging on abysmal.

Since Solanth broke up with us, Jacel suddenly had a bit of spare money which had been previously allocated for getting him over here to visit. Jacel decided the thing to do with this money was go out and buy Guitar Hero 3. I wasn't about to complain; I even went along. So we went into Game, Gamestation and a couple of other shops. And - here's the point of this post - in not one of these shops did I see I single game I actually wanted. I don't mean that there were just no games I wanted that I could play; even when you take into consideration the ones that would require prohibitively expensive upgrades to my computer or a new console, there were simply no games there that I would have wanted, even offered to me free. The only interesting ones, I already had. And my collection isn't actually that large or recent.

So what's happened to games? I used to go into these places and stand for hours looking at the ones I couldn't afford to have. Now I couldn't even find anything to hold my interest. And I don't think it's just me - how does Bus Simulator 2008 get into Game's top 20 anyway? And I can understand others being interested in GTA 4 for various consoles, but I wasn't, and I couldn't see any other titles I could even say that about. I repeat, what's happened to the games?

terrana @ 2008-05-13T13:16:00

2008-05-13T12:17:02Z

Finally, I've got it to the point where no one outside of my immediate family pays any attention to my birthday. I've been trying to achieve this for years! Victory for Terrana!

terrana @ 2008-05-09T13:39:00

2008-05-09T12:39:40Z

Dear Government,

Please stop poking me. I'm this →||← close to snapping one way or the other and you will not like "the other."

No love,
Terrana

Mass

2008-05-08T16:05:39Z

Thought for the day:

Although inertial mass, passive gravitational mass and active gravitational mass are conceptually distinct, no experiment has ever unambiguously demonstrated any difference between them. In classical mechanics, Newton's third law implies that active and passive gravitational mass must always be identical (or at least proportional), but the classical theory offers no compelling reason why the gravitational mass has to equal the inertial mass. That it does is merely an empirical fact.

Albert Einstein developed his general theory of relativity starting from the assumption that this correspondence between inertial and (passive) gravitational mass is not accidental: that no experiment will ever detect a difference between them (the weak version of the equivalence principle). However, in the resulting theory gravitation is not a force and thus not subject to Newton's third law, so the equality of inertial and active gravitational mass remains as puzzling as ever.

-Wikipedia on mass

This has always perplexed me.