I Blogged My Pants

Geez I am terrible about writing

2010-07-20T13:50:00.000-07:00

Yup.

Will Wright Quits EA to work at his Stupid Fun Club

2009-04-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

The headline is exactly it. Will Wright is leaving EA, who ate Maxis, to work at a thinktank of his own genesis (which is now EA-funded). He told the world via forum post. It's interesting he says he'll never have a blog.

EA's been a lot better about not Killing Purchased Creativity lately. Think Will's departure has anything to do with the history of Spore? I know I found it somewhat disappointing. Perhaps I'm just not wide-eyed enough anymore to be amazed by simulations like I was with SimCity and SimAnt.

Does Anyone Remember Eternal Darkness?

2008-12-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

That GameCube game by Silicon Knights with the patented Sanity Meter?

My favorite insanity effect was the bug on the screen, followed by the one where you walk around the newly-entered room for a bit and your head suddenly explodes. I suspect these were my favorites because these were the ones that provoked an especially spirited reaction from my roommate Chris who actually owned the game.

I was going to summarize the game here until I discovered the Wikipedia article which does a much better job of summarizing it. Anyhow, Eternal Darkess is totally worth your $15 at your local used game store.

TV Time!

2008-10-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

Obama's delayed the World Series... (Though the rain did already.)

The Aquabats have a TV show! (I didn't know that MC Bat Commander was the Yo Gabba Gabba! guy!)

My organic chemistry professor's father is sick... The break is nice but man, I feel bad about it. Good luck, Sumita's Dad!

I got this really neat occupational suitability report from the Veteran's Administration. I've misplaced it, but I'll fill this in when I figure out where I set it. Now they just need to hurry up and start paying my tuition.

The Spirit looks like an awful movie... an AWFUL FUN movie!

Mint.com is kinda neat... it's actually decent at automatically sorting debit-card purchases into categories for budgeting. Creditkarma might also be worth a look, I'm still debating wether or not to sign up. Scam sense is wiggling pretty hard.

Been using Google Chrome. The multithreadedness is really neat and makes it super-responsive, but it has lots of quirks that don't seem to work quite right. In-line videos are always always always messed up and lots of weird javascript/AJAX messups happen. It's dumb. Fix it, guys!

Why is software always the bump in the road?

I voted!

2008-10-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

Mail-in ballots are super convenient!

School, Week Two!

2008-09-29T15:35:00.001-07:00

Forgot to take my methylphenidate again this morning. This thing where the plan is to wake up to go from Seattle to Everett thing in time for school is hard.

Spent the weekend in Portland. Randomly ran into an old CY-Tagger acquaintance, that was neat.

First Day of School

2008-09-22T11:44:00.000-07:00

Third day of methylphenidate. Well, second. Yesterday, I forgot my drugs at home and spent the Sunday in Seattle. I'm ADD enough I can't remember to take my drugs, apparently.

Need new editions of calculus and physics textbooks... What a scam.

Free Online Textbooks

2008-09-17T13:21:00.001-07:00

We need more of them.

textbookrevolution.com isn't enough.

there are things going on in the markets...

2008-09-17T13:14:00.001-07:00

I wish I was smart and rich enough to play...

I thought credit was an engine of economic growth, creating capital for new firms?

Chicken Chasing

2008-09-15T12:15:00.000-07:00

So Katie has these chickens...

which got loose last night.

That was a fun chicken-chase.

We caught them.

Prediction...

2008-09-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

Eventually, someone's going to figure out that all these tabbed programs, like IMs and browsers and word processors, should be able to drag tabs back and forth between windows.

Computer desktop workspaces need to go sharable one of these days..

Home... Up and... Well... Not really.

2008-09-06T16:37:00.000-07:00

Spent my week bleeding and reading at Katie's. The weekend has come, and I gingerly struck out on my own. Picked up Doktor Sleepless #8. So THAT'S what happened to his parents...

My roommate got an office chair. I'm falling behind the curve.

Thea's picked up a new beau... that's nice.

Twilight Imperium tomorrow. Time to start picking bits out of boxes!

Status report....

2008-09-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

I can eat! Feeling surprisingly good. After the cab-ride to caretaker's house, where I produced a prodigious amount of bloody snotspit, I settled into bed and had a nap. She read to me; Deep Space 9 #1 - Emissary. How sweet is that? Anyhow, apparently I can eat real food and just have to avoid bumping this nose, vomiting, and swallowing too much blood.

I can breathe out of my nose about as well as I ever could... so when the swelling and stuff is over, I imagine I'll be two or three times better than when I started. Rockin'!

I'm lucky!

2008-09-03T19:53:00.000-07:00

See, despite looking like that on the right, I get good care taken of me.

yeah, but you should see the other guy.

2008-09-03T19:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I looked like the photo on the left a few days ago.

Now, I look like the photo on the right.

Going in for Surgery

2008-09-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

Going to get a septoplasty, and a turbinectomy. Hopefully this'll help with my sleep apnea. I'm afraid of Empty Nose Syndrome.

Skype

2008-08-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

Good program. Too invasive. GO AWAY, little browser plugin!

Added Tumblr, toyed with layout

2008-08-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

Well, the videos don't quite line up the way I wanted, but I'll learn proper CSS someday instead of just randomly changing width variables and everything will work out. Until then, I'll do link amalgamation in that little sidebar! Progress!

Now if only I had something to say...

I found an old photo!

2008-08-05T01:17:00.000-07:00

I looked like this in 2005.

The one on the left, dummy.

Trying out Google Reader

2008-08-04T16:09:00.000-07:00

So... a lot of the links on the right were just weblog links I used frequently.

I've gone and put most of them into Google Reader. Let's see if it sticks. Now I'll have to post actual things here and not just links to other articles.

I'm already annoyed by how some sites (PA, Achewood, looking at you.) don't actually put their content in their RSS feeds. I suppose the ad revenue has to come from somewhere.

Oh, and RepairPal looks really neat... maybe I'll finally take my old-ass Subaru into the shop. That oil leak is starting to seem severe.

The New York Times knows the score...

2008-08-01T12:52:00.000-07:00

The Trolls Among Us

Hurry up and sell out, moot.

That, or call the plumber, because the internet's pipes are leaking again.

Are trolls libertarians?

Gamasutra is a great website.

2008-07-28T22:58:00.000-07:00

Analysis: Bushido Blade - An Honorable Game

A great article, found on an old associate's game-centered livejournal.

I always loved the simplicity of Bushido Blade. It emphasized my favorite part of fighting games: snap-decisions, and rewarded them heavily. Fights could be over as soon as they started, or be minutes-long, intense, and end with a bang.

This girl is fast...

2008-07-28T17:08:00.000-07:00

I find roller derby highly entertaining.

Look how happy I am!

Thanks, Dockyard Derby Dames!

Still Not A Famous Rapper

2008-07-26T10:40:00.000-07:00

Maybe next week.

Democratic nominee is out in Europe, having left on a couple sour notes. Republican nominee is establishing himself as tenacious underdog.

I really liked Analysis of the Global War on Terror: Contentious Ground. The question asked is loaded in a rhetorical direction, but the thoughts it spawns occupy me. I don't think we've taken the high ground yet.

Found a hidden community I'd been looking for for a long time, and it was slightly disappointing and less hidden than I expected. Just finishing a quest is worth xp, and it's nice to be in the cool kids' club.

Back From Oregon Country Fair

2008-07-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

Back from a hippie festival. Dust sloughing from my Utilikilt, newly gifted to me. In front of my own computer. I think I left my wallet and my phone in an abandoned sack of random items.

Highlights: Tom Noddy, NANDA, shooting stars.

Disappointing: Ann Wright

Now, the week ahead.

Mr. Murdoch Goes to War

2008-07-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/murdoch

We'll miss you, Wall Street Journal.

What'd you do this weekend?

2008-07-07T12:55:00.001-07:00

Obama Supports Telco Immunity

2008-07-03T19:41:00.001-07:00

First public financing, now Obama folds on FISA.

This editorial felt like it was on the mark, though it contains dread thoughts. The Dems bought the HOPE box, but what's inside? At least he's apparently being straight with the country about it. Way to put the flag pin back on, buddy.

I miss the idea of federally-funded health care already. I hope this National Insurance Exchange works out.

EDIT: Read -http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/fisa-compromise.ars

Politics Catch-up

2008-07-01T18:49:00.000-07:00

Obama refuses public financing. (Disappointing. Time to start rationalizing.)

Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 signed into law. (Hooray!)

Supreme Court directly addresses the Second Amendment. (Uhhh... I dunno, really.)

I'm Delinquent, Meow

2008-07-01T17:51:00.000-07:00

Been busy. Not updating blog. Should update blog. Become outstanding writer, famous and all that. Calculus and chemistry homework isn't very word-inspiring, though the weekend adventures at the pre-Oregon Country Fair have been pretty lively. I suppose I should get a digital camera and fill this space with flickr links already.

The bugbites are beginning to recede from the last weekend out, and I have emerged with a Greyhound ticket to try to exchange, a couple hundred dollars poorer, and a free Alaska Airlines roundtrip voucher. I'm going to Hawaii, anyone want to come? I have a $25 off coupon you can use...

But, despite the bus line failing me and the airline bumping and delaying me, I made it to chemistry class in time for my oustandingly nice instructor to give me the quiz and point me to a desk in the hall.

I really like how Valve has been supporting Team Fortress 2. Now if only it could cope with Alt+Tabbing.

Guilty Gear Ex Two Sharp Reload

2008-06-12T10:49:00.000-07:00

Released on Xbox Live!

Who wants some slash?

Modern Meditation

2008-06-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

There's a thought or two for you.

Food for Thought

2008-05-26T00:40:00.000-07:00

The proud, the few

I'm not sure I agree with this in total, but I think it's something my more reactionary friends might want to think about. (Even if the Post is a rag and the authors are neoconservative shills.)

A Long Day

2008-05-26T00:30:00.001-07:00

"First the fire, now I have to face the admiral? It gets worse and worse..."

McCain isn't Slick

2008-05-23T01:51:00.001-07:00

McCain, Obama spar on GI bill

McCain is going to burn his POW credibility by permitting himself to be identified as a Naval Academy stereotype who doesn't understand you can honorably leave the military. I think Senator Harkin fired the first ranging shot, and barrages are coming.

Also, booya GI Bill.

McCain is Slick

2008-05-18T14:30:00.000-07:00

"I do know this: jamming gaydar is not a federal responsibility. That's something best left to state and local government."

Ugh

2008-05-16T19:29:00.000-07:00

Sedation makes you realize how tenuous one's grip on reality is.

Where's the Future Already?

2008-05-10T02:45:00.001-07:00

I'm not really satisfied with the state of portable computing. Laptops are great and all, but they die in three hours when you haven't plugged them in. Non-laptop computing is even worse. The ASUS Eee PC and MacBook Air have made some good progress in the keyboard+monitor form factor, but it's not there yet for sure. Why do the biggest widgets have the worst battery life? Sure, there's more screen to drive, but as long as we're hauling them around, we may as well cram in a few more lithium cells to earn a few extra hours of freedom from the electric tether.

Smartphones appear to be where the small-device convergence is happening. That makes some intuitive sense, since it's the thing with the wide-area network hookup. Too bad they're largely trash, being bad at both being phones and smart. Apple made a lot of good interface progress with the iPhone, but being yoked to inferior price and data-rate AT&T turned off a lot of people (including me), and the difficulties with the software everyone uses (Office, Outlook), turned off the business people. HTC's new Diamond and Raphael look especially promising, doubly so because of their relationship with my favorite carrier Sprint.

Don't forget about Google's Android. Here's hoping it manages to annihilate the dumb world of $3 phone ringtones and janky Java phone apps that don't work.

What the hell is up with portable listening devices anyway? Earbuds are uncomfortable and I have yet to really find a good way to cope with the dangling wire. Wireless earphones all have a behind-the-ear design that doesn't cooperate well with my eyeglasses. What I really want is something like the Motorola/Oakley RAZRWIRE gadget that I can hang on my own glasses; in stereo. Maybe someday it'll shoot lasers onto my optics for Augmented Reality goodness too, but I can wait for that.

Height tax!

2008-05-08T11:07:00.001-07:00

This paper is pretty entertaining, and I'm only on the third page.

Optimal Taxation of Height

found via: Greg Mankiw's blog

It's way too early.

2008-05-05T04:06:00.000-07:00

You can skip to about 0:30 if you want.

I've also been playing with Tony Mitton's Puerto Rico Evolver too much. Man I suck at Puerto Rico.

Carrier - A PBS Documentary

2008-05-03T08:10:00.000-07:00

Past couple days, I've watched Carrier. It's caused me a lot of nostalgia and made me want to be a Naval Aviator. Take a look; it's a good warts-and-all view of Navy life, from gay Amerind QM3s to pilots in matching leisure suits, and the girl you knocked up treating you poorly to boot.

It's not the best documentary I've seen, but I liked it enough to shotgun all 10 episodes over three days. (The best one I have seen is Murderball.)

A good day.

2008-04-28T01:17:00.000-07:00

Today was nice. I learned to play Dungeon Twister at Phoenix Games.

Then I saw Jonathan Coulton in Seattle. Opening for him was an act called Paul and Storm, who I really enjoyed.

Also, I learned someone has evidently read this in the past while. Time to start taking more cellphone photos.

Losing my Mind

2008-04-02T05:00:00.001-07:00

So I slept through the first day of class, but made it to iaido, which was cool. I have a stick! Second day today, forgot I had physical therapy appointment until just now. Hope they're not too put out. Can't wait to see the bill for a missed appointment.

Went to the second day, oceanography group essay and a day behind in math. I'm less than impressed with my oceanography group. We'll see how many of them come to our Thursday meeting having prepared at all.

School starts tomorrow!

2008-03-30T23:02:00.000-07:00

Let's not bomb this quarter like previous ones... I've gone and signed up for an Iaido class, maybe that'll keep me up and at 'em.

I almost bought Bang! the other day, at Wednesday board game night at Phoenix Games in Mukilteo. Eric, the gent who coordinates the event, steered me to Bang! The Bullet instead, which is Bang! and every expansion produced all in one package. So worth it. Turns out Eric also writes a game blog called Talking Game.

Wrist is starting to get better, now that I've figured out that some ways to apply traction and pop those bones back into place. Sweet. Now maybe Dr. Physical Therapist can do something for my knees.

News from the Home Front

2008-03-16T15:03:00.000-07:00

Welp, I'm still not terribly mindful about this blog. Go figure.

I've gone and found out what's been wrong with my wrist since January. I've evidently subluxed my the lunate bone in my wrist. Had a very nice physical therapist named Zach help me figure that out. After my first visit, I was feeling great, so I went and played my new Rock Band drum kit for three hours and promptly popped it back out of place. I'm so clever.

All registered for Spring Quarter of school. Let's hope it's better than the last two.

Oh my! I'm going to Panama!

2006-05-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

QMSA Deppe, checking in. Okay. I've been neglectful. I was originally thinking this would be sort of a personal journal thing, but now I realize it's a better way to keep in touch with the world, rather than a place to archive everything I've thought at one point or another. Those confusing garbage entries at the beginning, we'll just forget about those. It's my blog, I can edit what I want.

Briefly, here's the update. I finished Quartermaster "A" School, ended up assigned to the USS Ford, FFG-54, homeported in Everett, WA.

I've spent the past few weeks here waiting to fly out to the ship. The Transient Personnel Detachment isn't too bad. I ended up in a nice barracks, with a sort of suite style arrangement.

Of course, paying the Sailors who are waiting for their ships and not having them do anything just won't do, so they give us work assignments! My favorite so far was working in the base recycling plant, sorting cans and bottles and nasty such. One of the "differently abled" guys threw a can over my head into the can crusher (a gnarly piece of machinery). It happened to be full of chewing tobacco waste. I still haven't gotten the stains out of my utility jacket. That stuff is nasty.

Anyway, life in Everett is nice. I think after my active duty is done, I might stay in Washington State and go to college up here. I need to look in,to changing my residency for cheaper tuition. This assumes I don't try out the Seaman to Admiral 21 program.

I've been listening to The Decemberists lately. Check them out if you haven't. I dig the gratuitous use of vocabulary.

I don't have a proper camera or digital camera, so all the photos you are now enjoying come from my janky Samsung A900 cell phone camera from Sprint! (with bonus finger occlusion!)

Life Marches On!

2006-02-16T17:12:00.000-08:00

I survived boot camp. I'm now SA Deppe, John H. writing to you, the fair reader from the MWR Library at Naval Training Support Center, Great Lakes.

The SA stands for Seaman Apprentice. I'm starting to get settled here in NSTC for A-School, but I'm sad they won't let me out past midnight on my 21st birthday. February 19th is a weekend, and I'm not even authorized to drink alcoholic beverages. Booooo.

Anyway, I've lots of things to do. Hopefully I can get all the journal entries I've been making to a computer, and the ones I mailed to Jeff back, and get them all transcribed for your reading pleasure.

Okay, it might not be too pleasurable. A fuckin' recruit (pronounced ree-cruet) isn't exactly in a writing state of mind usually.

Later, llamas.

Shipping Out

2005-12-12T14:35:00.000-08:00

Soon I'll be gone. I've had a lot of fun this weekend. I...

Bought nice clothes, ate at Mcdonald's (twice!), Perkins (twice!), Devotay, Pita Pit; went to a gay bar (twice!), chainsmoked, danced, was horribly embarrassed, caused horrible embarassment, cried like a bitch, did paperwork, threw money at people, tucked money in occupied garments, had a long walk, and more! Saying goodbye is hard.

Soon I'll go to dinner with as much of the Ames crew as can be rounded up. Then it's off to Des Moines to stay in some hotel and then in the morning it's off to the races.

Thanks for coming out.

This blog should be taken over by Jeff Sorensen while I'm in recruit training. I'll try to update via postcard/letter. We'll see what I can hack out, or he can come up with. Hopefully it'll be worthwhile.

Over and out.

This Just In...

2005-12-12T11:22:00.000-08:00

Hello faithful reader!

Just got back from a weekend in Iowa City.

More later, it's the eleventh hour.

It's Cold and the World is Ending

2005-12-05T21:55:00.000-08:00

Ship-off day, December 13th, gets closer every day. It's cold. I hope I don't freeze to death in boot camp.

I just saw Aeon Flux. It was nice to see the story without it being all cut up. It was a lot better than I expected. Don't get me wrong, not a national treasure, but not a total waste of time.

I've been reading The Bluejacket's Manual, it's a book I'll be issued. A sort of sailor's handbook. I find it odd, but they capitalize the word "Sailor" in it, like so. It doesn't exactly strike me as a proper noun.

So, anyway. I intend to maintain this blog with transcribed postcards from boot camp. I realize postings have been spotty so far, but Hello Sailor! related occurences have been minimal. If you want to volunteer to help me out here, or just want me to write you a post card, leave a comment.

Physical Training: Still lazy
World of Warcraft: Level 47

Many Hands Make Light Work

2005-11-16T11:30:00.000-08:00

So I got a call today from Mr. Recruiter. He tells me I need to sign a form saying I know my ship date has changed, and that the office and the rest of the DEP (Delayed Enlistment Programs) guys are going to volunteer with tornado cleanup in Stratford. So I run about, grab some boots, my old army coat, and the warmest clothes I can get, and off to the recruiting station. I sign the form, and off to Stratford.

We get there, and the place has been entirely cleaned up! There's a couple houses with big chunks out of them, but the parts of town we drove around had been pretty well patched up, with plywood over broken windows and the like. Seeing empty house foundations was a bit sobering. So with nothing to do in Stratford, we called another town that'd been hit hard, Woodward. Woodward had called off working on account of the snow, so we didn't have anywhere to volunteer.

So the recruiter bought us lunch at the Hunan Palace, and here I am at home, posting this.

Physical Training: Lazy
World of Warcraft: Level 34

This is the Captain, We're Going to be Delayed

2005-11-15T06:06:00.000-08:00

Ship-off day has been delayed because my Social Security card hasn't come in the mail yet. The new date is December 13th. I suppose this means I'll be around for Thanksgiving. I'm simultaneously disappointed and relieved. Disappointed because I wanted to be gone, and relieved because this gives me more time to go straighten out the mess I've left at the university.

In other news, my Night Elf Druid on Tichondrius has reached level 32. I'm making productive use of this extra time. Expect me to start keeping a physical training log in this space.

First Post!

2005-11-14T10:15:00.000-08:00

So here's my very own weblog. I'm joining the Navy. Just as soon as I get all my paperwork figured out.

Holy shit.

Later, suckers.