I Have No Life, Documented Proof

So LotR Online opened up yesterday for the pre-order suckers.¹ Was going to check it out before work but I got distracted with maintenance stuff in WoW. After getting a salad going, I started up the client and chose the Landroval to house my first character.

Decided to go with a Male Elf Hunter (Nuker), making him look as gay as possible.² Somehow resisted the impulse to name him some derivative of Legolas, settling on Aeradan of Lórien. Was underway a few minutes after agonizing over that wonderous name.

Started out in an instance all by myself.³ Equiped my uber-special-free Cloak of the Peace-Keeper and Ring of Agility then pillaged a fallen elf for a dagger and bow. Got led around the area with some enemies to kill until Elrond appeared to one-shot a Snow Troll. We watched the leader of the Dourhands try to get some artifacts but a roof and shit fell on him. Elrond buggered off and some cut-scene with broken audio introduced me to the newbie area: Refuge of Edhelion. Filled with n00bs, naturally.

So I killed some lynx, collected their paws, and handed them over to an elf named Laergil to level. The leveling system isn't bad; it's broken into active and passive skills to acquire with level. I got a new ranged attack then discovered the passive list included my racials. Apparently I have reduced fate (whatever that means) and improved agility because I'm an elf. Further, it turns out the elves feel things more deeply so I have reduced morale and morale regeneration out of combat. (!!!) Hopefully that is countered by the fact that I'm resistant to disease and poison.

So after talking to my trainer Glanwen, Dorongúr Whitethorn gave me some pants and told me to scout Siler Deep and find one of Elrond's sons Elladan. The Grocer Gailthin wanted some scrolls from the ruined library there and Orodlin wanted me to clear out some cave-claws, so it seemed I had little choice.

Elladan was waiting outside all buff after killing some goblins. He said I should go in there an look at their corpses because he was to busy. Sure enough, I found their corpses and incriminating dwarf-made axes. Proof of dwarves and goblins collaborating—for shame! Killed my cave-claws along the way and found the library since there was no other place to go.

Even though it was an instance, I shared it with the other n00bs. Didn't really care for the competition but the spawn rate was high enough to make it only a passing annoyance. Turned in all my quests and got some elite elven leather to better protect my gay elf ass. Then took my incriminating axes further west to Ferin's Court.

There I found a dwarf named Dwalin Longbeard who liked my axes but wanted further proof of evil-doing. So I had to track down a Goblin-prowler for irrefutable proof. Mathi Stouthand also wanted me to kill a foul-tempered aurochs-bull named Frostmantle. There was a uber n00b sword in it for me if I did, so I wend to the overcamped area to drop him. It took four spawns until I managed to tag one from the gankers. I also found a prowler that had a curious dwarf sword so I ran back to the Court to get shit going.

Dwalin had talked to elves and seeing the sword I found he was inspired to take pen in hand. Another on of Elrond's sons Elrohir was up in the Mirkstone Tunnels past the Axe-head Path and he wanted his freshly scrawled note delivered to him. I had nothing better to do so I was the obvious choice. Fought through n00bs and goblins alike to find Elrohir. Elrohir also had some writing to do so I took his missive back to Dwalin, only to be rewarded with a very gay feathered cap.

On my was back I noticed a haughty elf chick named Erynwen who wanted me to kill plants that could be used for foul intentions. I could bitch slap her because she was going to give me a new bow if I did her bidding. So I went back to the Axe-head path to brave n00bs and goblins again, destorying these plants as I went. Got my bow. The future was looking bright.

Dwalin was now ready to head out and kick ass. All signs pointed to a stranger in a red robe and tales of a possible resurrection of Skorgrím. Skorgrím was a dirty dwarf that allied his clan with goblins and trolls way back. Dwalin insisted that no magic on Middle-Earth could bring back the dead but I had my suspicions.

By accepting Dwalin's quest, I would be leaving n00b haven so I decided to take a break and reflect. So far I found the graphics to be really shitty. The jumping animation actually looks more than dorky, it's painful. Some n00bs were saying the looks improve when we get the real DVDs to install. It would make sense that the downloadable stuff is minimal. It defaulted me to a horrible 960x600 resolution, so popping up to 1280x720 help a little with the text.⁴

Yet the interface is decent for being stock. All of the main windows can be dragged into new, remembered positions. Key display elements can also be moved. All quests are tracked, with a tree showing progress and the details are all there for review. The tooltips tell you when items are just vendor trash or can be used in tradeskills. Armor pops up with what you're currently wearing for easy comparison.

One seriously nice thing is you start out with five fifteen slot bags, so there's no initial storage issue for a pack-rat like me. There was no ammo being tracked which was nice but that means no bonuses from crafting. There's no encumerance but I certainly don't miss that. I was also able to fire at point-blank range. You can get interrupted but there's no dead-zone.

The armor all mentions dyes, so hopefully tradeskills will allow armor to be colors. That was one thing I liked in EQ and miss in WoW—tinting. I am gay. I want my armor to match, dammit.

Only remaining problem is the mob text. There's no indication of hostile vs. friendly. The names will display relative threat based on level instead. Red means tough ass, white is roughly equal, navy is less challenging, and cyan is trivial. Might be able to get used to that.

Took the pause to try another character. This time I went with a Human Captain (Buffer/Pets) which seemed to be akin to a Paladin. Made her look slightly serious and named her Favor. The starting area involved me being rescued from some brigands by a hobbit-loving ranger Amdir. He wanted me to rescue two hobbits while he buggered off with diversions.

Found the hobbits, was led around by the nose again, and eventually even saw a Nazgú stike down the ranger. Apparently the Ring Wraith was afraid of me and the hobbits because we were close to fire. *snicker* So we took Amdir to the n00b area for healing. There's some quests to get going around helping the locals and convincing a Captain Brackenbrook that one of his men, Calder Cob, is actually in league with the Blackwold.

The Captain class is interesting. They can use a ton of weapons right off. They work off of various shouts for buffing with a post-battle shout that heals with a heal-over-time. It takes them a while to get a pet and eventually they can use a shield, so it has potential. I noticed that my human racial lamely reduces my Power so I was going to pick another race that wouldn't hamper my mana. Turns out only Humans can be Captians, so I have to deal with the gimping. Ended up camping her.

Decided to roll a Female Elf Lore-Master (Crowd-Control/Pets) that I named Ishara. Seen a few about with a raven so I wanted to see what they're like. They start with a DoT and a slow. Really seemed to like their mechanics so I trudged through the elven n00b area again. This time I also found two quests I missed. In my character summary it shows I finished 6/10 possible quests in the area so I earned a “Ally of Ered Luin” deed granting me a bonus “Charity +1” where “I find myself more resistant to wounds, able to defend against ranged attacks more easily, and able to recover my Power more quickly outside of combat.” Well well!

I couldn't find any more quests so I accepted Dwalin's quest to get the fuck out of Dodge. We went through another solo instance where I protected Dwalin with my Raven on the way to Skorgrím. The red robed guy ended up being something funky looking called Ivar who escaped with the restored Skorgrím. Dwalin and I finished off Marrec and a flunky, saving Elrohir.

That dropped me off in an area called Celondim. There were a bunch of new quests and finally a Master of Apprentices so I could choose a Vocation. Even found a mailbox which mentioned an Auction House being somewhere. Was feeling overwhelmed and unready to commit to a vocation so I decided to call it a night.

The pets are decent, with the commands very WoW-like. I was given a hint to dismiss my pet when I level so I can re-summon one that would have leveled with me. But poor little Brittle is stuck at level four while I'm six. Not sure what I need to do there.

So this morning I think I'm going to figure out what vocation I want to pick. Noticed when I logged in that you get rested XP.⁵ Also want to get to level eight for my bear pet. Then I might try another class.

So far every character I've created comes with the bonus cloak and ring, which is nice. Was hoping I didn't have to pick my main without checking out all the classes. I haven't “died” yet so I should try that to see what it's like to recover. Going to hold off though since I got the Hunter and Lore-Master to five without dying so I earned titles “the Wary”⁶ for them.

Tried using the windowed-mode and it's surprisingly responsive when the game has focus. When using another application most everything freezes though, which for a RT game is pretty lame. That might be a beta thing. I hope.

Anyway. Fuck all this writing. Back to Middle-Earth.

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1. Still can't believe I bought it without even reviewing it. I blame the marketing hype, in-game freebies, and unique chance to ego fluff.
2. Never that hard with the traditional Elf models.
3. GREAT idea. Don't have to fight other newbie fuckers when learning the basics.
4. I am still running a GeForce 6600 so I held off on anything higher.
5. LotR calls it “Enhanced XP.”
6. Maybe “The Timid” or “Teh Pussy” would be appropriate, too.

Gone

Alex came in with tears in his eyes. His brother Kuy, who also works here, passed away rather suddenly on Wednesday. Was a total shock. He sat two cubicles away… I was teasing him just Tuesday about his haircut. He had called Tanya Wednesday morning not feeling so great and wanting to work from home. Must have been less than two hours later when cardiac arrest claimed him.

Alex was in the middle of pneumonia and had already been out of work two days. This stress also kicked-started his gout. Theo and I were worried about him all yesterday. So it was good to see him, know that he was ambulatory. Hated the familiarity of the waves of grief and shock he was radiating. Will need to attend the services on Monday.

Death. *sigh*

Declivity

Ugh! Was listening to Solarstone's Deepblue Radio Show on The System when the retro track came on. I so knew it, it killed me. It was a track on an Oakenfold Cream set that I actually have a rip of. Took me forever to find the track listing and get the original track. My recall is not what it used to be—hate getting old.

Faster, Harder, Scarier and All-knowing

Without a doubt, this is some of the best news I will hear all year: The Onion News Network is online! The premier was brilliant, with ticker news and everything. Theo walked up when I was on Condi Rice to find me in tears and unable to breathe. Nothing amuses me like the flawless amalgamation of impropriety and incisive satire.

Truly. I will never read again.

Must Have

Just watched a video demo of a multi-touchscreen that totally got my attention. It reminded me of some silly movie that allowed a VR user to select books and files from a pretend archive. It had a mock angel that would flutter down that you could ask questions.

But this damn thing is real. I saw him browse a Wiki and play a Star Trek TNG video. It was like a huge virtual canvas that you could pan around and throw images around. My brain would totally love to work that way. Just wouldn't want to stand… need the drafting-table version so I can sit my lazy ass down in front of it.

Gattaca

12 arrested over Baptist's gay eugenics remarks
published Monday, March 26, 2007

Twelve people affiliated with the gay rights group Soulforce were arrested Monday in Louisville, Ky., after their sit-in at the office of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Albert Mohler, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported.

The group was protesting Mohler's recent online article in which he said prenatal anti-gay hormonal therapy would be biblically justified if a biological basis for homosexuality could be found.

About two dozen activists took part in Monday's sit-in. After being warned by police that they would be arrested, 10 left peacefully and the rest were arrested by police.

As a well-known Christian leader, Mohler "has a tremendous influence" and his "calls for eugenics for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people needed to be answered," protester Kyle DeVries told the Courier-Journal.

"We decided to come here and demand a rescindment of those comments and a public apology for them."

Lawrence Smith, a spokesman for the seminary, told the Courier-Journal that Mohler was not on the premises during the protest.

"They, of course, have a right to protest, but they don't have a right to break the law, and that's why they were arrested," Smith said. "You have to understand they are a professional protest group. Their aim is to create disruption and in some cases be arrested."

Soulforce, based in Lynchburg, Va., seeks to end "religious-based oppression" of gay men and lesbians through nonviolent Gandhian protest. The group's annual Equality Ride tours military and religious campuses with anti-gay policies, call on colleges to repudiate the policies and meets with the necessarily closeted students whom the policies oppress.

Fifty activists are aboard two buses this year -- one bound for the West Coast, another staying on the East Coast. On Thursday in Clinton, Miss., after an action in which five Equality Riders were arrested, police stopped the vehicle and told activists to "get out of town." (The Advocate)

Those Equality Ride people are pretty damn kewl. My dad sent me the local clipping when they hit BYU—totally made me giggle. But for them to stand up like this is impressive. I some how missed the original “prenatal anti-gay hormonal therapy would be biblically justified” article. Well, obviously I missed it or I would have written something instantly.

Hipocrisy like that makes my blood boil. I can understand the whole “It's a choice” stance because, without a common frame of reference, it's impossible to see without faith in your fellow human beings. But tampering with genetics is unconscionable. They would be “Playing God” with their own God's work! What kind of feat of illogic is required to make this right in a dogmatic's mind?! Just astonishing. And reinforcing the fact that I have no use for Christianity in general.

Mohler's most incendiary comment had to be: “I realize this sounds very offensive to homosexuals, but it's the only way a Christian can look at it. We should have no more problem with that than treating any medical problem.” Very offensive doesn't quite capture it for me. Even ignoring the removal of homosexuality from the DSM-II back in 1973 from deviancy, the WHO dropped it completely in 1992. My sexual orientation is not broken. Plenty of other things are. *snicker*

The response from FPC's Jennifer Chrisler was perfect: “What bothers me is the hypocrisy. In one breath, they say the sanctity of an unborn life is unconditional, and in the next breath, it's OK to perform medical treatments on them because of their own moral convictions, not because there's anything wrong with the child.” Simply brilliant summation of my titanic outrage. And a perfect parallel. This stance should have the Pro-Lifers up in arms.

Had to concede an excellent closing point by Dr. Jack Drescher, a New York City psychiatrist: “This represents a major shift. This is a man who actually has an open mind, who is struggling to reconcile his religious beliefs with facts that contradict it.” Granted it's not the pace I would prefer, but it's movement.

• There is no gene for the Human Spirit.
  Tagline for Gattaca (1997)

Sweep!

Gay-kiss uproar prompts IHOP protest
published Friday, March 23, 2007

After four lesbians were asked to leave an International House of Pancakes in Grandview, Mo., a group is organizing a demonstration against the chain restaurant.

PROMO, the Missouri LGBT equality organization, was coordinating a demonstration to take place Friday evening. Protesters plan to arrive with brooms at the restaurant to "clean up the corporate brush-off," a statement read.

"This is a clear act of discrimination, even if IHOP does not understand that it is," PROMO said in a written statement. "The couple of pecks that caused these individuals to be asked to leave, would not have been considered inappropriate if the couples were heterosexual."

The four women -- Toni and Jackie Smith, Blair Funk and Eva Sandoval -- were sharing a booth at the restaurant. There, Funk and Sandoval shared a short kiss, which attracted the manager's attention.

The manager said to the four women, "I have to tell you, we've had some complaints about public displays of affection, and we're a family restaurant. We can't accept it, and we won't accept it," Funk told Kansas City Star columnist Mike Hendricks.

While the state of Missouri does not have a law protecting the rights of gays, Kansas City, St. Louis, Columbia, and University City have policies that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Marcia Nieto, guest services representative for IHOP, issued an apology, which was obtained by Queerty.com. In it, Nieto stressed that the women were not asked to leave but "were asked to refrain from bold displays of public affection as guests had found it offensive." (The Advocate)

Definitely a fine line to draw. I understand and generally agree with the “It's a Family Restaurant” defense. But being a cynical fag, I'm prone to believe that same level of effrontery displayed by a heterosexual couple would not have merited comment from the management. Were I in range, I would pick up a broom and join the protest.

Encore une fois, Je suis cassé

Found my old Nokia and managed to catch Thayne while he was still awake. So I got the birthday wish. Bit of catching up and promise of communication before Christmas. *snicker* Totally forget how he and Leonard Nimoy share the same birthday. Naturally I make a Star Trek association. Gene Roddenberry and I had the same birthday. ;)

It was late so I minimized the guilt conveniently. This is the first time I've talked to him since I've moved to Minnesota. LJ and eMail doesn't count.

I'm a pussy—that's all it is. There's still a lot of pain associated with that valley and the whole damn state. Especially in March. I know I'm a lot better but there are random moments and old songs that take me right back. Eight years since he died now. And I'm still shut down, unavailable, in so many ways.

I suppose it's no longer pain. More of a numbness. It's all boiled down to some really happy memories, some poignant regret, and vague musings. All the “What if…” bullshit. And the inevitable comparisons that are more than unrealistic. Unfair.

Sure I believe in life after love. Don't see how I have a choice. Bleh. Need to stop thinking and get some sleep.

WoW, Indeed

Analyst: Western MMOGs worth $1.5B by 2011
By Tor Thorsen, GameSpot
Posted Mar 21, 2007 11:31 pm GMT

British media firm predicts that after reaching $875 million in '06, revenue from European and American massively multiplayer online games will nearly double in four years.

You don't have to be a game-news junkie to know that massively multiplayer online games are big business. With more than 8 million players, World of Warcraft has become such a phenomenon that it's been sent up on South Park. The Burning Crusade, the first expansion for the game, sold more than 2.4 million copies internationally in the 24 hours after its January 17 release. (It has since gone on to top 3.5 million units worldwide.)

According to a new report from media-research firm Screen Digest, MMOGs generated roughly $1 billion in revenue worldwide in 2006. Of that sum, $299 million came from Europe and $576 million came from North America. The British company estimates that around 87 percent of the "Western" MMOG market's $875 million of revenue--roughly $761 million--was from subscription fees, the genre's traditional source of income.

While $875 is a princely sum, Screen Digest predicts the Western MMOG market will nearly double in size in the next four years to $1.5 billion. The report's authors believe that the jump will be in part due to new revenue streams that are being introduced into MMOGs, including in-game advertising and selling virtual items for real cash.

"During the past few years the Western landscape for massively multiplayer online games has become increasingly fragmented following the introduction of new genres of games including social networking, virtual pet rearing and virtual world building titles," said report author Piers Harding-Rolls. "These new games and platforms have brought with them many new gamers and also new business models that are generating revenue that is largely incremental to the incumbent subscription business."

Screen Digest believes the most growth in the MMOG market will be in Europe in general, and in France specifically. However, it believes that Germany will remain the biggest market for the genre on the continent through 2011.

Being a contributor to that fantastic sum, it still seems wild. Even the good games reach critical mass. I guess the trick will be sucking more people in.

Equivalencey

Out at corporate in Baltimore they're having a hardcore gold tournament: off-site, green fees, stupid shirts, sponsorship, charity… the works. Out in St. Paul we're having miniature golf in converted empty offices or random places around the building..

Lost twelve people quietly on Tuesday—four in Baltimore and eight elsewhere. Promotions or transfers are always announced and eMailed; half my team was pulled into a room by Tanya who gave us some names of people who won't be around anymore. The axe execs who were still in town yesterday bought pizza for everyone in IT… for no announced reason. I dubbed it the “YOU ARE NOT FIRED, HERE'S MORALE” lunch.

Was just talking to recently/consensually unemployed Colby Tuesday about middle-sized corporate life. Too funny.

Equinox

Stupid work. It's all dark and threatening outside. I stayed in bed an extra thirty minutes enjoying the warmth. Perfect first day of Spring and I'd rather be curled up with a book. Or strolling across the 3^rd street bridge getting sprinkled on. So need to marry rich and retire.

And whoa. Both Rosie O and Mathew Broderick turned forty-five today.

Permanence

MikeC caught me in the hall. He got all in my face, stared up at my forehead, and said, “Yep, that scar is gunna stay. Don't worry about it. Makes you look very manly.” My smirking reply was, “Great. That's exactly what I was going for.” It really doesn't bother me any more. There are probably still some psychological remnants, but I'm not worried about having a life right now anyway.

Out of the blue Theo IM's me: “what is the difference?” Having no clue what he's talking about, I automatically respond: “Mathematically referred to as a Delta, it is the sum of all changes from a starting state and an ending state.” While I don't think that's technically correct, it stopped him from bothering me further. *snicker*

• The nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them to choose from.
  Andrew S. Tanenbaum

Unfortunate Irony

Cyndi Lauper's “Big Gay Tour” dates are starting to sell tickets and I'm annoyed. The second venue is Salt Lake with no stops in Minneapolis. I suppose Chicago is possible but I would be scared to go alone. And I'll be damned if I'm going back to Salt Lake. *snicker* Really impressed with who's going with her. Oh well! The Gay Gods are angry with me.

Pretend Uncle

On the way in this morning I heard Keb' Mo's Prosperity Blues on the radio, making me think of Nikki and Tony. At the office Nikki caught me in the hall. Talked for a minute and she mentioned that they might need me to watch the girls in two weeks when Keb' Mo' is here. Said that would be fine—I have no life.

Got to my desk and found the Charley art Nikki had left. Apparently Charley really liked it because it involved water color, stamps, and writing. So adorable. Made me think of a moment I had Saturday.

Was in Target going through automotive when I saw this very attractive father watching over his daughter in a stroller while listening to his four-year-old son prattle on about something. As I passed he looked down and asked, “Was there anything else you wanted to see?” He had that perfectly earnest facial expression that little boys do so well when he responded, “Oh yes.” then guided Dad back to the toy area.

I was a whirling maelstrom of emotion at that point. Totally turned on by the Dad. Thought the kids were adorable. Then Michael things from the past assault. What a mess! So glad that I live alone. I didn't talk to anyone the rest of the weekend except for Rob when I was stuck on some coding Sunday night.

So unimpressed with my life.

Men with Guns; Morality

Presidential candidate Brownback: Homosexual acts are immoral
POSTED: 8:46 a.m. EDT, March 16, 2007

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican presidential candidate Sam Brownback is backing the nation's top general over his remarks that homosexual acts are immoral.

The Kansas senator planned to send a letter on Thursday to President Bush supporting Marine Gen. Peter Pace, who earlier this week likened homosexuality to adultery and said the military should not condone it by allowing gay personnel to serve openly.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs also said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune: "I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts. I do not believe the United States is well-served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way."

'Unfair and unfortunate'

Lawmakers of both parties criticized the remarks, but Brownback's letter called the criticism "both unfair and unfortunate."

"We should not expect someone as qualified, accomplished and articulate as General Pace to lack personal views on important moral issues," Brownback said. "In fact, we should expect that anyone entrusted with such great responsibility will have strong moral views."

Asked whether he agreed with Pace's comments, Brownback said: "I do not believe being a homosexual is immoral, but I do believe homosexual acts are. I'm a Catholic and the church has clear teachings on this."

Clinton: It's for 'others to conclude'

Democratic candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama initially tried to sidestep the issue when asked about it this week, but both sought to clarify their opposition to Pace's comments on Thursday. (Read how Clinton later said she "does not share [Pace's] view, plain and simple")

Obama did not directly answer on Wednesday when asked if same-sex relationships were immoral, Newsday reported. Obama issued a statement on Thursday, saying, "I do not agree with General Pace that homosexuality is immoral. Attempts to divide people like this have consumed too much of our politics over the past six years."

Clinton told ABC News Wednesday that it's for "others to conclude" whether homosexuality is immoral. On Thursday, she put out a statement saying that she'd heard from gay friends who said her answer sounded evasive.

"I should have echoed my colleague Senator John Warner's statement forcefully stating that homosexuality is not immoral because that is what I believe," her statement said.

Meanwhile, Democratic hopeful Bill Richardson called Pace's remarks "unfortunate" and said the Bush administration should reject them, adding that he would push Congress to repeal military's "don't ask, don't tell policy" in which gay service members are required to keep their sexual orientation private.

"People should not be judged based on their sexual orientation," the New Mexico Governor said in Santa Fe. "Throughout my entire career I have fought for equal rights and against discrimination of any kind."

Brownback: 'We applaud Gen. Pace'

While there is no indication that Pace's job is in jeopardy, Brownback's letter to Bush said "personal moral beliefs" should not disqualify anyone from a position of leadership in the U.S. military.

"General Pace's recent remarks do not deserve the criticism they have received," the letter said. "In fact, we applaud General Pace for maintaining a personal commitment to moral principles."

Pace said he supports "don't ask, don't tell," something Brownback said is "an appropriate policy."

Brownback, a favorite of the religious right, has been a prominent opponent of gay marriage.

Brownback spokesman Brian Hart said the senator was working Thursday to get other lawmakers to sign his letter. Hart said Brownback's office would not disclose who has signed on to the letter until there is "a final count."

On his campaign bus in Iowa on Thursday, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, declined to comment when asked whether he agreed with Gen. Peter Pace's comment that homosexuality was immoral. He said he still backs the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. "It's working."

Another Republican candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who has been criticized for changing his views on gay rights to conform with conservative views, said he thought Pace's comments were "inappropriate for public discourse."

"He can believe what he wants to, that's the great thing about America -- believe in what you want. But in a governmental setting, the right way to go is to show more of an outpouring of tolerance," Romney said on CNN's "Larry King Live."

He said he didn't think the "don't ask, don't tell policy" made a lot of sense, but added he wouldn't change it now.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

I found Brownback's stance annoying—splitting hairs of hatred. I suppose it espouses the Christian “Love the sinner, hate the sin” ethos but it's still hate.

I think it's dangerous when someone with that much responsibility (power) feels this way amidst all the “don't ask, don't tell” undercurrent. But at least he said something to create the forum. If everyone hid their hate like Romney suggests, things would never get better.

Besides… how does morality comes into the chain of command? Are orders supposed to originate from moral views? Sounds scary to me. Guess I'm pretty naïve.

Morale

Company ran a contest where if you read some new product hype you were entered into a drawing. Winner received a Porche for a day to ride around in. It was only available to employees in the Baltimore area but the whole company got to hear about the winner today. Bastards.

I respec'd away from Disc to Holy-heavy and was pretty pleased with the results in Karazhan. Until the fucking Maiden, anyway. One-shotted Attumen and Moroes, but we called it a night after five wipes on the Holy bitch. Really hate that encounter. Managed to pick up the Soulcloth Robe pattern so I can now make the set. Still need to finish my Scryer rep.

• How my achievements mock me!
  William Shakespeare

Retraction

Yesterday was the warmest March 13th in the recorded history of the Twin Cities. To celebrate I wore shorts today, only to find out there's snow expected by the afternoon. Perfect!

• We do what we must, and call it by the best names.
  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Engage?

Funny how I see a blurb about Star Trek 11 almost two weeks ago yet the friend that mentions it first is still AdamB.¹ I haven't bothered bring it up because of how depressing the last two were. Sure I'll go opening night like I have for the last 10, but I don't get worked up about them anymore. Wish they'd stop fucking with the goldmine.

• Anything not worth doing is worth not doing well. Think about it.
  Elias Schwartz

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1. Still wish he would marry me.

Attack of the DVDs

Around Christmas time Buy.com had some really good deals and I randomly bought the first three seasons of Smallville for $12 each. Started watching them mid-February. Unfortunately I went through them so fast I didn't have time to order four and five before finishing three. The cliff-hanger left many things open—so mean. Arriving in the middle of last week, I immediately ripped open four to watch the first disc. Cancel code blue… I'm stabilized.

Surprised at how much I like the series. They introduce Superman's powers slowly, all as puberty-based problems to deal with. There are constant references to the comic series that are cheesy but fun. They depict Jor-el as an antagonistic father figure, reaching out from beyond the grave to control Clark.¹ The meteor rocks create all sorts of wacky powers and mutations. They worked in cameos by Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder² that I thought were very well done. And… Bo Duke is Superman's earthly father—too kewl!!

Have to admit that Thomas John Patrick Welling has special appeal.³ There are a number of times he captures the wholesome innocence that Reeve did so well. Plus… well, he is fucking hot. Plenty of torso things have been keeping my eyes on the screen. The first episode of the fourth season had extra skin, too. Can't believe he's going to be thirty in a few weeks.

Welling body shots aside, season four is looking good. Introduced Lois Lane and kept Chloe jealous. Lana Lang is back from France with a super-powered possession and a lover working a teacher at her High School. The Luthers are working the psycho as always. Wonder if they'll add another token black character after booting Pete.

Will be a while before I find out. While waiting for the shipments, I started up Buffy. Finished season three last night. Thinking I will go through six this week. I also went a little crazy at the Target sale this weekend. Bought seasons one and three⁴ of That Seventies Show, the complete Firefly, and seasons one and two of Will & Grace. I'm insane.

• You don't tug on Superman's cape
  You don't spit into the wind
  You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger
  And you don't mess around with Jim
  Jim Croce, You Don't Mess Around With Jim

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1. Could there have been a better voice for Jor-el than Malcolm McDowell?!?! I think not!!
2. Damn the drinking hit her hard. She looked like she'd been trampled by caribou then chewed on by rabid dogs.
3. I am not sure he's such a great actor. Doubt he'll ever make it past the Superman-as-a-boy type-casting.
4. They were out of season two but I'll get it for $18 sometime.

Adjust

Hate Daylight Savings time. My body was totally attuned to the declination and rotation and whatever. All last week I was up before the alarm… the first one into the office on my team. Then Sunday hits. Couldn't go to sleep the hour earlier. Managed to be in rather punctually but I'm grumpy. Sipping at my Tazo Green Ginger tea. Not looking forward to our daily status meeting that's minutes away…