-
Post Mortem. New Years.
Well, I went out for New Years eve. And not long ago, I made it home. The last leg of my trip home was a 3 km walk, from Renfrew up to my place. During the walk, I had a decent amount of time to reflect. Right now, my gut says that it was likely my last night out at Noir or other kink events for the foreseeable future. It was not a bad night, but a few minor things have left me feeling like I need to take some time away from things for a bit. The difficult part…
-
between xmas and new years.
Well, it’s the 29th of December. On Wednesday, I’ve got a shift, and then in theory, I could go out to Noir. I’ll have friends there, and I’ll have the excuse of having the neon wand set up for demos. Though if I’m doing that, I’ll be sober. And right now, I have an odd inclination to get drunk again. The problem with that is that I lack someone to make sure I get home safe. Odds are, I’d be fine. I have a tendency to stay functional, no matter how drunk I get. But at the same time, I’ve…
-
Signal to Noise Ratios
I’ve long been known to rant about my frustration with the modern world in regards to the signal to noise ratios, specifically the frustration I have with the difficulty of recognising craft from dross. We are in an era where everyone can have a voice, but most haven’t developed the skills required to recognise when it is wisest to be quiet. In various circumstances, that ignorance benefits those who are either playing the odds or who are oblivious to negatives of the reactions they generate. Some individuals are happy to spray forth a stream of generalised inquires, happy with their…
-
ships sunk.
This is the fourth or fifth time I’ve opened a window and stared at the page, trying to clean up my thoughts into words. The last few times I’ve decided to install Linux or browse Facebook instead of actually writing. I’m having a hard time expressing myself because I don’t consider my current concerns to have high stakes. They are meaningless in the bigger picture. Petty and small, yet somehow they are still managing to cripple me. Not to long ago, I looked at a thread on reddit asking people why they were really single. While I thought about what…
-
Good news, but bad feelings
I should be in a good place. I’ve got a job that I like and that I’m good at. I’ve got friends that I enjoy spending time with. I’ve got interesting projects that I’m working on. I have been getting a good night’s sleep most nights. My back isn’t bothering me, nor is my bad knee. And yet I’m not. I’m aware that I’m in this weird downward spiral of negativity. I don’t know how to get out of it. I’m fully aware of it, but nothing seems to help. I should get out and exercise more, maybe that will…
-
332.6 / 33.087
I’m over at my parents place, fixing their network connections and being social. In theory, I’m here for a holiday dinner. And another one later in the week. Given how little sleep I managed to get last night, I’m a bit on the grumpy side. When I got here, I took a shower, to freshen up and wake up a bit. While in the bathroom I used the scale. I haven’t used one in a long time, probably a good 6 months, maybe longer. I’m heavier than last time I looked at it, which makes sense. I’ve been walking daily,…
-
Sweet Revenge.
Sometimes, you find a certain pocket of reality, a sweet spot in the the slipstream of fate. It’s a delicate little hollow, that you can only know by feeling the disruptions along the edges. As long as you ride with it, everything works. I had one of those nights tonight.
-
Madness ensued.
It’s been nearly a week since I posted. The last week was a rough one. There was a bit of an issue at work which resulted in some of extra hours, and I managed to turn my cold into a respiratory infection for a few days. All in all, I’m really grateful for that lovely electric fire that faces my bed. I don’t think I’d have recovered as fast without it. I found out I’m going to be losing another friend, but this time on good terms. I won’t be able to make it out to his going away party,…
-
The Kinky and Geeky Munch
I can’t recall the last time I’ve been out for a munch. Probably at least 3 months. I made the time to come out to this one, expecting to go out to the TNG group to support them. However, I ended up at the Kinky and Geeky, though I’m not exactly sure why I made that decision. One factor would be that there’s a one shot game of the Laundry files happening at the Kinky and Geeky and I haven’t played an RPG in ages. We’ve attempted to get our Shadowrun game up and running again for a while, but…
-
404 – Lost and Found.
I glance down at my phone. Its 4:04. Having spent far too much of my life online, the first thought that crosses my mind is 404, file not found. Then I start to reflect on my circumstances. I have a place that I reside. It isn’t home, but it’s the place where I’ve spent the last decade and where I’ll likely spend the next decade. It should be home, it has all the elements of a home. Somehow there’s something missing. Most likely its only in my head. Home is where the heart is, the cliche says. In that case…
-
The Tallest.
Well, I’m sitting here about to have some BBQ at Memphis Blues with our good friend The Tallest, aka Tall Alex. Earlier today, I popped onto Facebook today to check in on things and saw he was actually online for a change. His plans had been buggered, so I offered to help him out with the move. We set up a plan and head out for a meetup near Stadium Skytrain. After I get on the bus, he calls me with an update. He’s getting a 1-ton for tomorrow, so the rush job with the Modo truck isn’t needed today.…
-
Oculus Review
The other night I noticed that Oculus had shown up on Netflix. I’d been wanting to see if ever since FlayOtters a.k.a Charlie from Austin had talked about it on Horror Show Hot Dog. I hadn’t gotten around to seeing it in the theatre, though that’s no surprise. I almost never see anything in theatres these days. Last night, I decided to watch it before bed. It probably would have been better to watch it with someone, but opportunities for that are rare lately. It has a nice tense atmosphere and for a change, I didn’t get bored and start…
-
Gottacon planning.
Well, Dimestore and I got our Warhorn clearance today. We can now register for the various festivities. Well, we could, if the site was actually letting us register, which it doesn’t seem to be doing. (After a quick email to the organizer, it is now working.) I’m wanting to do the midnight game again, as it’s an experience you can’t get anywhere else. But I wonder if that’s being selfish. We’ve done it before, maybe we should leave the slots for people who haven’t experienced a multi-table game before. I think I want to compete in a few of the…
-
Publicity
I’m experimenting with adding social media functionality. I don’t know if I’ll keep it or not. In theory, it makes it easy for people to pass along my thoughts to others. But I can’t help feeling like it’s begging for more eyes, and I’m not sure I like that. Well, no, I am sure, I dislike it. But it’s how the net works, so I should at least give it a shot before ripping out that functionality. Evolution is easier when you are able to yank out the parts you dislike and replace them. No need to wait for successive…
-
Yet More Netrunner.
There’s a tournament at Starlit on Saturday. Dimestore and I signed up for it. However, he’s got a couple’s day with his wife instead, so I’ll be going in solo. This tournament has a special prize for flatlines, so I’m working on a killer deck for a change. I’m a bit stumped on ice balance currently. I’ll probably work and rework it for a few hours tonight. After the tournament, there’s two options depending on the timing. Make an effort to go check out the local vampire LARP or relax for a bit. I’ve got a birthday party later that…
-
icandy
This is just a stream of thoughts and impressions that I’ll use to write up a review later for Erotic Vancouver. Markus had advertised the event as being more pub like than club like, but I think I misunderstood what he meant by that. Its got similar lighting as the last time I was here. I was expecting a little brighter and a bit more mellow. Attempting to play board games here will be tricky. Certain games might work, but the random ones I brought with me probably require a brighter and quieter space to work. King of Tokyo, I…
-
Time slides sideways.
I’m in this coffee shop on the corner, a block away from the party I’m supposed to be at. I changed my shirt after work, but didn’t bother with anything else. I packed some gears, but gave no real thought to my appearance. In theory, one reason to attend this event is to be social. To meet people. To flirt. Yet I’m totally unprepared for that. Instead I’m sitting here having a dark chocolate mocha so I’ll stay awake. I’m sure there’s something I’ll learn from this on later reflection, but right now I’m just staring my own foolishness in…
-
Insomniac
As often happens in November, my body has become an production facility for disgusting slime. The process is resulting in a combination of lethargy and disassociation; a feeling of weary calm. For many years I was a mouth breather, as my twice deviated septum and enlarged adenoids limited my nasal oxygen flow to less than 10% of my airflow. Eventually, I got over my paranoia over hospitals and had something done about it. As a result, I’m actively conscious of my breathing, in terms of quality of airflow. Of course the thing that got me over the paranoia about hospitals…
-
Assemblage
Neither the hero nor the monster, but both could fit, if the bits weren’t too broken to make sense of it. Didn’t work as it was, attempted modification, without much skill. Disassembled, reassembled, jumbled and bumbled. Best they get is barely better than a wreck. Not enough of any individual design to be recognised. Adapted and survived but not thrived.
-
The Vancouver Kink Community.
I’ve been involved in the Vancouver kink community for my adult life, though you’d be hard pressed to find someone who’d actually seen me do anything particularly kinky at any of the events. With the exception of running electrical play demos at Noir, most of whatever kinks I might practice have been behind closed doors. I have issues feeling like I don’t fit in, like I don’t belong, and my way of dealing with those feelings was to pitch it. I’d carry gear, I’d show up for set up or tear down, I’d drive people home, I’d help enforce the…
-
Upcoming Netrunner
December brings two Netrunner Tournaments. One at Starlit Citadel and the other over at Connections. In theory, this means I should work on my decks and get some practice in so I’ve got a decent shot. In practice, unless I manage to get some time on octgn, I doubt I’ll get any games in. Still, I’m looking forward to them. I enjoy the game, even if I’m not great at springing traps to kill the runners. Or evading traps meant to kill me. I have a tendency to not apply enough pressure, something I should work on improving. Still, it’s…
-
My audience.
When I originally started this, I had an idea of who might read it, but no solid plans for how to reach any of them. I figured I’d focus on what I had to say first and worry about who I wanted to read it afterwards. However, as the internet is a strange mixture of ephemeral and everlasting, of fluid and static, and of random interconnections, I have to consider who else will read it and what impact that might have on my life. I know at least one of my coworkers knows of this place, as he helped me…
-
Origin of the Phrase
The most common questions that people ask when they see this site is Murder Hobo Club? Really? What the Hell? Are you advocating getting together to murder the homeless? Or are you homeless murders who share tips? Are you insane? What the hell are you thinking? Well, the phrase murder hobo is something that has some resonance for me. For reasons I can’t understand, it’s something that has come to mind randomly over the last few years. I think I originally heard it on the Order of the Stick forums, or the Pathfinder forums. It referred to a style of…
-
Before Noir
Tonight, Noir happens. Friends of mine will be there. I could go and join them. In previous years, I’d have planned to celebrate the fact that I’ve survived yet another trip around the sun. I’m going to be a designated driver tonight, so that won’t be an option. Even without that it’s been a while since I’ve had more than a drink with a meal. Alcohol as a social lubricant bothers me these days. The idea of buying someone a drink seems distasteful, but not in a way I can explain clearly. Perhaps it is the fact that the effects…
-
Netrunner at Magic Stronghold
Today: a Netrunner tournament at a local gaming shop with my friend Dimestore; (At least that’s his nom de net). It’ll be first constructed tournament, and my second Netrunner tournament overall. My corp deck, I’m pretty comfortable with, I’ve played it a few times and I know what it needs. Then again, I swapped out a handful of cards last night and I’m not sure how much impact that’ll have. My runner deck, not so much. Its been evolving over the last little while, but I’ve not played it enough. It’s been virtually scrapped twice in the last 24 hours.…
-
A blank page
A blank page is an intimidating thing, more so when it’s the first page of something greater. A single page can easily be crumbled up and thrown away, but a page that is part of a book leaves evidence of its passing when removed. They say the first step is to write something, write anything. If you’re happy with it, great. Most of the time, you aren’t, and but if you focus on getting to be happy with it, you’ll never get into that place where the words flow effortlessly from your fingers as fast as they come to you…
-
timestamps
The dates on posts earlier than this are inaccurate at this time.
-
The Embodiment Social Conscience
When we lived in smaller social structures, it was easy to be able to perceive who was contributing what to a community. In theory, we would know if someone wasn’t able to pull their own weight and why; since everyone would know if we weren’t pulling our own weight, it would be harder to shirk our duties. As societies expanded, we had more people to keep track of, and instead of tracking individuals, we began tracking groups and cliques within the society. Strategies develop for dealing with this issue, including internal grape vines. Just as societies develop specific individuals tasked…
-
Sacrificial Wisdom
I hate to be the one to tell you this, but this whole ritual sacrifice thing going on here, while very nice, just isn’t going to work out the way you’ve planned it. Allow me a moment to explain. The great old ones, they’re kinda like food critics. If you can manage something pleasing to their palate, they’ll provide you with plenty in return. But, they’re really picky and easily bored. You try to serve them the same old sacrifice they’ve had before, odds are they won’t hate it, but they won’t like it either. You’ll get a middling review,…
-
the fire
There was a sound that I can only describe as not being completely unlike the sound of a tinfoil phone book being ripped in half and a flash of a color that reminded me of a lime green tuxedo I’d worn to a costume party once. As my vision returned, I realized my couch was now on fire.