Rochndil

01:15 pm: It's back!
After a long silence, MSGOTU (Mark Stretch's Gallery Of The Unusual) is finally back on the 'net!

Now we can all once again enjoy the amazing works of Mark Stretch and Stellos, free from the tyranny of...not being online?

Thanks again to Mark for all his hard work!

Rochndil, browsing some of his favorites again...

09:19 am: Webcomics index - pretty cool!

I was just made aware of this nifty site by Tugrik today, and I must say I'm quite impressed.

Here's some linkage:

I just set up my account there, and they already had listed ALL BUT ONE of my odd little collection of webcomics...and I submitted a link to the missing one.

Give it a look, you'll probably save yourself a lot of time.

Rochndil, who enjoys saving time...

10:44 am: The end of an era...
Well, it's been a lot of years (since 9/10/96!), but I'm finally going to pull the plug on my old dial-up internet account. The service quality has just gotten too crappy, and the level of spam is unbearable.

So, in just a few minutes, the wheels will begin slowly turning to render rochndil@concentric.net back into the dust from whence it came.

That means that any traffic to my old homepage needs to now be redirected to http://home.comcast.net/~rochndil, and any Email to rochndil (at) comcast (dot) net - crawler obscured, of course.

I can't say I'll miss the low speed and struggle to get a decent connection, but I definitely WILL miss the address, since I've had it for more than a decade. Oh well, life goes on, and so must we all.

Make sure to update your bookmarks and addy books. The webpage will be completely re-worked soon, so keep an eye on this space for an announcement.

Rochndil, no longer a concentric customer...

Tags: email, web

03:31 pm: Table-top RPGs
Good afternoon!

It's been a while, but RL continues to keep me busy.

There was a post recently to a local furry community from a user who isn't quite sure what the fuss is all about with RPGs. Instead of just responding to his comment locally, I thought it was worth putting my thoughts up here (in my infinite modesty).

RPGs have a long history, and much of my personal RPG history is recalled in an earlier post (October of 2006) here. I won't spend a lot of time rehashing the history of RPGs, you can Wiki that easily enough. What I would like to talk about for a bit is WHY.

I'll paraphrase the poster's words. He's wondering why he should take the time to get involved with an old-fashioned RPG, when he's quickly tired of the "flash-and-trash" so often encountered in current MMORPGs. If traditional RPGs were as feeble, in gameplay, as MMORPGs are, I could certainly agree with his concern.

Fortunately, real RPGs have about as much similarity to MMORPGs as Chess does to the classic card game, "52-pick-up." Now, I won't dance around the bush. I am NOT a fan of MMORPGs, for several reasons.

Relevant to this discussion, though are a few key points. MMORPGs, in general, are fairly intense graphically, but rather "light" in the actual game mechanics. Most inter-character activity is limited to typed "pop-up" messages or a list of pre-set actions. The primary in-game activity is to raise your character's level by slaughtering as many creatures as possible, often including other player's characters (and stealing their stuff). Along the way, friendships and alliances may form, but they also can blow away in the wind, as characters and players come and go from the world. Ultimately, much character "growth" simply becomes a game of numbers. The one with the highest numbers wins. How very...uninteresting.

In a traditional RPG (of whichever system), things are quite different. First off, the world, in general, is a much smaller, more intimate place. Unless the GM (Game Master) is actually running a number of different groups in the same game world, the players, and their party, are the STARS. They're making HISTORY, no matter what level they may be, or how shiny their armor is. Everything they do MATTERS. When they fail, it's a tragedy. When they succeed, it's a victory! They're building history, both for their characters, and the world they live in.

Interacting with other players LIVE in REAL-TIME, is an experience that simply cannot be simulated online (yet). You can't make faces at each other, throw pretzels at the speaker-of-bad-puns, or get the person sitting next to you a caffeine-refresher. When you roleplay with your group, you get to see their expressions, hear the tone in their voices. Properly done, they project a little of their soul into their characters, and you just can't do that through a computer screen.

And pretty pictures? How's your imagination? Just like a great work of fiction, an immersive RPG experience will fire up your imagination to render the scene in colors more vivid and REAL than you'll ever see on a RGB display. Not only will you vicariously LIVE these adventures, you'll do so with friends, who will be able to play "remember when" with you down the road.

So there are a LOT of advantages to a REAL RPG. But, no system is perfect, and there are some limitations too. Probably the biggest is logistics. You just can't jump into a session any time. People have lives to take care of, and getting everyone together can be a challenge. Game systems, generally, cost money to purchase, and take time to learn. Time spent learning a system, while often enjoyable, is time NOT spent playing a game. And, like with any group of people, there are always folks who want to be...difficult. Mr. "Oh, no, I saw your INVISIBLE spirit coming, and used this counterspell..." will be encountered, as well as Ms. "but...it says right here, on page 43352 of rulebook XXI that I CAN do that, see?" Rules Lawyer and Mr. Incredible are two of the troublesome gamer types; there are others. Properly handled (by the GM), they can be rendered little more than a nuisance though, and sometimes their strengths can actually be put to good use. Managing a game groups is a superb exercise in team-building.

What can be even more fun, though, is when the characters don't QUITE get along. Carefully handled, these rivalries can lead to the best roleplay, as long as the players keep their heads. And if not, get the pretzels ready! After all, it's only a game folks, you're all there to have FUN.

I've personally invested thousands of hours learning, playing, and preparing RPG games over the last quarter-century or so. I hope anyone that hasn't yet, will give it a try. The real thing is always better than the virtual wannabe.

Rochndil, who has played D&D, AD&D, GURPS, Champions, and finally Rolemaster since the late 70s somewhere...

Tags: rpg

10:35 am: There is hope!
It's a real pleasure to find something NEW, GOOD, and ORIGINAL these days on the music scene. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who's noticed that most bands these days are cheap rip-offs of each other, with few, if any, having any semblance of originality (or talent).

I'd been hearing "Welcome to the Black Parade" from My Chemical Romance on the radio for a while, and liked it enough to pick up the CD. Color me impressed! While that track is definitely among the best, I can't say that it's my favorite, as there are several other strong contenders. They have a kick-ass sound, skill and complexity in their performance, and some excellent writing for both melody and lyrics. If I had to put them into a genre box, perhaps metal with soul? Like any true talent, they defy easy categorization.

Being jaded and tired of the retread-world makes it hard to enjoy much. Thanks for rattling the bars of my cage, MCR. It isn't often that I'm pleasantly surprised, even inspired. Music is a light in the darkness.

Rochndil, who finds hope in the strangest places...

"I am not afraid to keep on living...nothing you can say can stop me going home." - MCR.

Tags: music

10:43 am: Nothing really NEW, but there are some interesting bits

Myspace Chinese Astrology

Not sure I agree with some of the characteristics. Me, fashionable? Surely you jest!

Rochndil, who picks clothes by what's on top of the pile...

09:49 am: The Everything test!
Interesting test, some unusual results.

07:40 am: Which Hero?
Not sure if I entirely agree with this, but:

Which Heroes Hero are You? Your Result: Peter Petrelli   You're a dreamer who has lived in the shadow of your family and wants desperately to be your own person. Like Hiro, you feel the need to do something extraordinary with your life. You have dreamy eyes and great hair.
Nikki Sanders
Sylar
Nathan Petrelli
Hiro Nakamura
Isaac Mendez
Claire Bennett
Matt Parkman
Which Heroes Hero are You? Create a Quiz

Given a better set of questions, I strongly suspect I could have ended up as Sylar. But I won't complain about being a "good guy."

Rochndil, who would do some rather extreme things for the right reasons...

11:23 am: I took the test here: http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=14457200288064322170 - and this is the (unsurprising) result I got:

English Genius
You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 80% Expert!
You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go!

I could go and look for what I missed, but it's too much like work.

Rochndil, who has to know his language, after all...

06:51 pm: UnBirthing...where did it start?
Someone asked me a bit back exactly where I got interested in UnBirthing (UB). I guess to a certain degree it was something I was ALWAYS interested in, but in a vague and uncertain way. Back when I was building lasers, I read an erotic horror anthology that contained a story called "Psychopomp" that was, as far as I can remember, my very first exposure to overt UB. It was hyooman stuff, though, so while powerful, it still didn't quite crystalize in my addled brain.

Some years later, after I had discovered the internet and all its wonders, and also found the furry fandom, I again stumbled across a specifically UB story, but this time it was definitely furry. The tale was "Pony's Revenge," by Dream Weevil, and I was definitely in love. Without any doubt in my mind, that was the story that set me on this course, and I've no doubt it had a similar influence on other writers. Anima, do you concur?

Not long after that, I found Omega's long-running and superior Furry UB group, back when it was whatever it used to be called (OneList?) before Yahell ate it. Sadly, they later on deleted the group without warning (as they seem to so enjoy doing). Nothing has really replaced it, but I keep in touch with Omega, and hope he'll eventually resurrect it.

Amazingly enough, Cerine actually FOUND Dream Weevil somewhere on the internet, and convinced him (or her?) to contribute to the UB group (contributions which I have saved, of course!). I was priveleged to write a parallel story to one of his(?) works, which caued me a great deal of satisfaction, since it's not often you get to write BACK to an author who so strongly influenced your development.

Sadly, I've never heard again from Dream Weevil since the group was destroyed, but I hope he's doing well, wherever life has taken him. Every once in a while I go back to "Pony's Revenge," and it's still quite a tale.

You can find it here, if you'd like to read for yourself:

www.furry.de/tsa/myth/ponysrevenge.html

Rochndil, who missed getting something done in 2006, but 2007 is a new year...

07:26 pm: 12 days meme
So, it's a LITTLE bizarre, but amusing. Enjoy!



Rochndil, who never knew they could do that...

08:14 pm: Stocking meme!
( my xmas stocking )

02:52 pm: Seduction Style Meme
I'm not sure if this "quiz" is totally full of shit or not. I can't say I agree with the results much. Anyways, here it is:











Rochndil, who isn't impressed...

03:23 pm: This one was HARD...
...or I wouldn't bother posting it, since the result was completely predictable.

You Are Incredibly Logical

Move over Spock - you're the new master of logic You think rationally, clearly, and quickly. A seasoned problem solver, your mind is like a computer!

Nobody who knows me should be surprised...

08:44 pm: Something profound, not just another meme.
On the way back from VA I listened to Jackson Browne's excellent CD, "Late for the Sky." This is, IMHO, one of his finest works, and also one of the greatest albums ever penned. I was especially struck by the profound and prophetic nature of "Late for the Sky," lyrics reproduced below. Thanks, Jackson, sometimes I need a kick in the arse to remember what it's all for.


Lyrics by Jackson Browne, who is definitely a poet:

Some of them were dreamers
And some of them were fools
Who were making plans and thinking of the future
With the energy of the innocent
They were gathering the tools
They would need to make their journey back to nature
While the sand slipped through the opening
And their hands reached for the golden ring
With their hearts they turned to each other's heart for refuge
In the troubled years that came before the deluge

Some of them knew pleasure
And some of them knew pain
And for some of them it was only the moment that mattered
And on the brave and crazy wings of youth
They went flying around in the rain
And their feathers, once so fine, grew torn and tattered
And in the end they traded their tired wings
For the resignation that living brings
And exchanged love's bright and fragile glow
For the glitter and the rouge
And in a moment they were swept before the deluge

Now let the music keep our spirits high
And let the buildings keep our children dry
Let creation reveal its secrets by and by
By and by--
When the light that's lost within us reaches the sky

Some of them were angry
At the way the earth was abused
By the men who learned how to forge her beauty into power
And they struggled to protect her from them
Only to be confused
By the magnitude of the fury in the final hour
And when the sand was gone and the time arrived
In the naked dawn only a few survived
And in attempts to understand a thing so simple and so huge
Believed that they were meant to live after the deluge

Now let the music keep our spirits high
And let the buildings keep our children dry
Let creation reveal its secrets by and by
By and by--
When the light that's lost within us reaches the sky

Rochndil, who has little more to say...

02:58 pm: Santa Meme!

Dear Santa... Dear Santa, This year I've been busy! In January I donated bone marrow to fenderlicious in a life-saving procedure (300 points). Last Friday dwivian and I donated clothes to the needy (11 points). In March I caught a purse-snatcher who stole rancid39's purse (30 points). In November I put money in sushimare's expired parking meter (14 points). Last Sunday I helped zefel hide a body (-173 points). Overall, I've been nice (182 points). For Christmas I deserve a pony! Sincerely, rochndil

Write your letter to Santa! Enter your LJ username:

03:08 pm: Dayum, talk about scary...
For the record, I WAS hatched in Philadelphia.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: Philadelphia Your accent is as Philadelphian as a cheesesteak! If you're not from Philadelphia, then you're from someplace near there like south Jersey, Baltimore, or Wilmington. if you've ever journeyed to some far off place where people don't know that Philly has an accent, someone may have thought you talked a little weird even though they didn't have a clue what accent it was they heard.
The Northeast
The Midland
The South
The Inland North
Boston
The West
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Rochndil, still a bit spooked...

02:02 pm: Rolemaster lives!
I probably should start at the beginning for this one.

Back in the distant past (late 70s), my father learned of this fascinating new type of game, where you created an imaginary character and through its eyes explored an imaginary world. He heard of this because Gary Snyder's (yes, the poet) kids were playing it. The game was the original Dungeons and Dragons. Not long after, he bought the boxed set for my brother James and me to play. Now, this is WELL before AD&D even existed, and at the time polyhedral dice weren't being manufactured (yet). The game came equipped with punch-out chits to be drawn from a bag. And so we played the game, and loved it. I still have that original rulebook and the module, now horribly marked up with my atrocious handwriting, in PEN of course.

Time passed, dice became available (sadly, I burned that original set of hideously ugly dice when I got my first set of GEM dice, which I have still), and AD&D came along. We bought those volumes, and played on, and on, and on...for many years. In the fullness of time, 2ed came out, and left such a bad taste in my mouth that I lost interest in the system, but hurray, just in time, a rescue came along!

James had met some kids at his new high school, and they played an entirely different game system, and it was supposed to be great! So I joined in, even though the games (at that time) cost money to play (the GM was good enough to be a professional, and used the moderate income to help pay off some bad debts). The game was Rolemaster, first edition, and I was hooked.

Off and on, all through my college years I played with that group. Even after I graduated, and while I was in grad school, I still attended bi-weekly sessions, though not always regularly. Overall, I probably played with that group for the better part of a decade, from about '87 to '95. Alas, all good things come to an end, and eventually we had a falling-out and I went along on my way. Life had become complicated for me, and the time to game wasn't really available anymore either, so perhaps the time was right for a break.

Most of a decade passed again, and things changed, changed some more, and eventually I came full-circle and decided it was time to re-connect with my roots. While I'd been away from the RPG scene, lots had changed. TSR was bought by Wizards of the Coast (evilevil), makers of Magic the Gathering (EvilEvilEvil!), and Iron Crown Enterprises (the makers of Rolemaster) had gone into bankruptcy and come out the other side. AD&D created the D20 license scheme to try to further leverage it's stranglehold on the P&P game market (with considerable success), and, unsurprisingly, fewer and fewer kids took up the RPG torch, preferring instead to follow the easier path of CRPGs and MMORPGs, where instant gratification was the way of the world.

So I step back into the hobby, after many years away, and the landscape has definitely changed. Most of the gaming stores I had known are now nothing more than a fading memory. My beloved game system has become even more marginalized than it ever was, because the complexity and detail that I love, what makes it magic for me, offends the eye and mind of the impatient youth of today, whose short attention span is legendary.

Only time will tell the full story, but the way I see it, if we, who love these games, don't actively recruit some young blood into the fold, all the wonder and joy they brought into our live shall die with us. And I, for one, am not going to take that lying down. Torches only cost a few copper, it's not hardship to pass one on. Rolemaster lives, in me.

Rochndil, strapping on sword and shield, and carrying a 10' pole...

08:52 am: Gay Rights!
Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands?" - Ernest Gaines

We would like to know who really believes in gay rights on LiveJournal. There is no bribe of a miracle or anything like that. If you truly believe in gay rights, then repost this and title the post as "Gay Rights". If you don't believe in gay rights, then just ignore this. Thanks

************ (NOTE: This is a meme. The part up THERE^ is what's to be copied. The part down THERE\/ is my personal commentary, and is usually not copied.)

Personally? I think gay folks are a bit cracked. Lesbians I can understand, but I just CANNOT wrap my brain around the idea of males being sexually attractive. BUT, I would and do everything in my power to make certain that they have, and retain, ALL of the rights of any other citizen. Freedom is for everyone! If two people, male, female, or both, want to join their lives and households together, why should anybody else be able to say anything about it? What's BAD about folks coming together and building a little piece of stability, community, and sanity in this mad world?

Let me tell you, I've seen PLENTY of rotten "breeder" couples out there, that should NEVER have been allowed to spread their sickness to a new and impressionable generation. Is anybody doing anything about them? Nope. Instead they waste MY tax dollars and MY legislative time persecuting folks that are trying to CONTRIBUTE something to this country instead. Now, in my mind, THAT is a crime that should be prosecuted to the fullest possible extent of the law.

There should be no question that the essential rights of gays and lesbians are the same in every way as the rights of everyone else. Any movement to the contrary is, frankly, un-American. Lets move on and focus on something that URGENTLY needs our attention as a nation, like, maybe the unfolding disaster in the middle east?

Rochndil, who will take any unpopular position as long as it's right...

10:21 am: Profile time!
Not bad, really. There are a few areas I take issue with, but overall it's a pretty good take.


My Personality

Neuroticism	43
Extraversion	34
Openness To Experience	54
Agreeableness	38
Conscientiousness	86

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