More bits n' bobs

[ltmurnau]

Boring day, but I'm glad it's not as hot as it was yesterday. It hurt to peel myself off the seat at the end of yesterday. Now it looks as if it might rain.

I've been very busy the last few nights getting my library out of boxes and sorted out onto bookshelves. I am about out of shelf space, so my military history collection will have to sit and wait for a bit. I am amazed at hwo well my books got through two years of storage in the garage - only some crush damage to some volumes because of the way the boxes were stacked.

Also, sorting out my old SF magazine collection - no idea how many items, maybe 2-300 issues. About half of it is Analogs from the 1950s to the 1970s, but lots of Galaxy, IF, Worlds of Imagination, and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, one I always liked. It is all going into comic bags and then storage, until I can get it out onto shelves one day. Meanwhile, would be fun to dip into and read from time to time. The artwork is incredible on the earlier issues.

I want to get all this done before Aki arrives on Sunday(!!!). Apparently a typhoon is headed for Osaka but will peak on Saturday, so it's possible but not probable that his flight will be delayed or cancelled.

I've found out that my game on Algeria has been nominated for a Charles S. Roberts Award as "best post-WW2 game". This means exactly nothing, except for egoboo, and I know I won't win because one of the other nominations is a very good game on Vietnam by a friend of mine, that has over 10 times as many copies in print. But I dont' mind, it's nice to be nominated anyway.

Meme time:


You have to love yourself to love the altfriday5

1. Would you say you love yourself? Why or why not?
Not really. I think I am very hard on myself.

2. What does self-love feel like to you (or what do you think it would feel like)?
Probably something like being really assured and happy, all the time - never second-guessing yourself or your motives, or pausing to compare yourself to others.

3. What does loving another person feel like to you (or what do you think it would feel like)? Does it feel the same as self-love?
Hard to describe. Not the same.

4. Do you believe that you have to love yourself to be able to love someone else? Why or why not?
Depends how you mean the word, I guess. I suppose not, but that would make it less pleasant all round.

5. Would you say that you love or have loved another person? Why or why not?
Yes.

Does the altfriday5 make you happy?

1. Do you feel happy on a day-to-day basis, in general?
No.

2. What are the things currently in your life that make you feel sad in the short term, if any? How much control do you feel you have over changing those things?
Sadness over being separated from Aki. Frustration at my job. Being angry about other people's shortcomings. I don't have a lot of control over any of these things, except in a negative way.

3. What are the things currently in your life that make you feel unhappy in the long term, if any? How much control do you feel you have over changing those things?
See the above. Add worry over Aki's future and my degenerating body and mind.

4. What do you do to make yourself happier in the short term?
Waste time in myriad ways - cast, read, game. I usually feel better from a bad day if I can go and unwind on my own for a little bit.

5. What do you do to make yourself happier in the long term?
I don't know. Try to reduce stressors in my life, but that doesn't seem to last.

Proud of the altfriday5, once again
These questions are in honour of Pride Day, happening this weekend in Toronto & San Francisco (and maybe elsewhere for all I know). These are recycled from last year's Pride Day questions, so those of you that answered them a year ago should mentally add "in the last year" to the questions, or use them to explore any changes that have happened over the year.

From the altfriday5:

1. What are you proud of about yourself?
I am, for the most part, a person of integrity.

2. Tell us about one of your proudest moments (i.e., when you felt a lot of pride in yourself).
I was very happy the first time I saw something of mine in print (a short game review in a magazine).

3. Who in your life are you proud of? Why?
Akito. I think he has done amazingly well so far.

4. Pick one of the people from #3 and tell us about one of their proudest moments (i.e., when you felt a lot of pride in them).

5. Who is proud of you?
I think my Dad is, kind of.

Assets altfriday5

1. What do you consider is your best "asset" physically? Why?
I'm told it's my eyes.

2. What do you consider is your best "asset", personality-wise? Why?
My sense of humour.

3. Have you ever deliberately photographed your physical "assets" or had them photographed? Why or why not?
Well, normally my eyes are open when I have my photo taken.

4. Have you ever posted photos showing off your physical "assets"? Why or why not? If yes, who was able to see the photos (a select group, all your friends, anyone)?
Sure. Anyone can see.

5. Whose assets would you most like to see a photo of?
Damn, I dunno...

Old enough to vote for the altfriday5
This week's questions are inspired by a truly bizarre film, Wild in The Streets (http://imdb.com/title/tt0063808/).

1. What is the federal voting age where you live? Do you feel it's too low, too high, or just right?
18. It's about right, although the turnout of young voters in Canada (18-24) in federal elections is about 25%.

2. How old were you when you first voted (if ever)?
18

3. Did you have any interest in voting before you reached voting age? Why or why not?
Yes, I've been interested in politics since I was a kid.

4. What is the minimum legal age (if any) to be elected to the federal house(s) of government where you live? What's the minimum for the federal leader(s) (e.g.prime minister, president, supreme benevolent leader), if any? Do you feel these ages are too low, too high, or just right?
If you are 18 you can run for federal office. Theoretically, you could become Prime Minister at that age. In the 70s we had a couple of Members who were 20 or 21. Our youngest Prime Minister was Joe Clark in 1979, who was one month shy of 40. He didn't last, though....

5. What changes do you think it would make in the political landscape of your area if the voting age were lowered to 16? 14?
Oh God no, not that... Some Member of Parliament, a while ago, introduced a Private Member's Bill that proposed the voting age be lowered to 16, but only symbolically - 16 year olds could vote, to get the feeling of participating in the democratic process, but their ballots would not be counted. A fine way to introduce someone to the Society of the Spectacle.

Payday!

1. Do you feel you're appropriately paid for what you do? If not, are you overpaid or underpaid?
I am very well paid for what I do.

2. Do you budget? If so, how long is your budget period? If not, why not?
I try not to ration my money out - instead I'm a miser; I just try to hang on to it as long as I possibly can. The problem is that my money is usually spent for me before I can do anything with it - spousal support (one more payment to go), child support, mortgage, property tax, preauthorized bill payments, etc. etc.

3. How difficult do you find it to stick to your budget, or to your available cash if you don't?
To me, being rich is being able to buy a book you want, or go out for something to eat if you want. The fact that the book that makes me happy is normally a $2.50 old paperback or a $8.99 remainder table special, or that the meal that fills me is probably a $6.95 plate of fried rice, is nice too.

4. Would you do your job if you didn't get paid for it??
No.

5. What would you do if your wage were suddenly doubled?
What a silly question. Smile, I suppose.


Open wide for the altfriday5

1. When did you last go to the dentist? Why did you go?
Very recently -- first for a crown and onlay, then when half of a molar cracked off.

2. Do you go to the dentist regularly? Why or why not?
I go for regular cleanings. I actually take good care of my teeth, but it's the grinding of them that give me trouble.

3. How do you feel about going to the dentist (e.g. afraid, happy, disgusted, okay)?
Afraid, uncomfortable, disgusted. I think I have a fairly high tolerance for pain, but I still really dislike the ritual.

4. Have you ever had any cavities filled? If yes, tell us a bit more about it.
Sure, lots of them. When I was 15 I had my teeth painted with sealant, and had no cavity trouble for almost 5 years. That was a good time.

5. Have you ever had any other major dental work (braces, root canals, etc.)? If yes, tell us a bit more about it.
Root canal/abscess: http://ltmurnau.livejournal.com/37640.html et seq.
Broken tooth: http://ltmurnau.livejournal.com/158195.html

Comments

[tartarisaws.livejournal.com]

congrats on the award nomination! may it stay in print long enough for me to be able to afford to have a copy shipped here! :9~

[ltmurnau.livejournal.com]

Thanks! As I said, from nomination to actual award is a long shot. I'd send you a copy myself, except that I don't have any.

[tartarisaws.livejournal.com]

cool, but it's a project i'd definitely want to support. I just gotta get a little more disposable income to justify the purchase. in other news, it's been about ten years since i've played a non-computer wargame and i miss it! i don't miss fighting the cats off the infantry counters with a stick, tho >_<;