And... I'm spent!

Convention finished, guests of honor home, pizza had, reimbursements gained, convention will continue into next year. Had a great time being the squire (peon, lackey, minion, gopher, etc) of Mr. Larry Elmore, famous fantasy artist. Good guy, that one. Learned a bit about the process of his art, what he's done, why he's done it, and a lot of other things. We had good dinners together and talked and ate, and generally had a good time. He did good business as well. Hopefully, he'll come back as our guest in later years. I think I made a pretty good impression on him - the convention was a bit of a break from work for him, and so we let him just sit and sell his wares and talk. And... I did manage to sneak a game in. Huzzah. Five years of sitting the board, and that was the first game I've actually played in.

So that's done. I still have a paper to write that's due Thursday, and I'll get on that... tomorrow. Today, instead, I'll regale you with stories of a very young college student (I hope he doesn't get burnt out with all the people making demands on him). Neil Patrick Harris, meet your real-life equivalent. This kid might need some protective ninjas, avenging unicorns, but most especially, he'll need nihilist gum for when he enters his emo phase. (Isn't it amazing what one can do with some links - thanks greyweirdo - and a crazy imagination? Like the people who tagged this sign as "Zeppelin’s least-favorite song". I've been partial to Zappa, myself, but there's enough room for everyone on my playlist.)

And about that piece I posted last night - at some point soon after the stuff that went down at Columbine high, slashdot (TENNY! It's past your bedtime. Go to bed. Awwwww...) posted an article about something I really believe is true - it could have been anybody. I know it could have been me. It's not because I had pressure valves to let the steam off with and people who were actually friendly to me to form my own clique with. The real truth of the matter? I've found that college is a lot like high school was, and that the real world is probably like this as well, but with one major exception - out here, the different groups aren't forced to be in close proximity to each other. So they don't explode because they aren't under pressure. (Although work environs may produce that effect).

The last bit for tonight is simultaneously the most and least important thing in this post - the founding document of Merlism. So have a look at The book of Merl. There's no wrong order to read it in, and some of those things will feel quite right.

Mm-hmm.

...and we continue onward merrily. Or something. Progress achieved for today. More progress must yet be achieved. In fact, a lot more. But this week is all about achieving progress. Yay, progress. *shoots his assignments*. Better yet, *sics pirates on them*

At least they're starting to get toward mass-producible solar cells. Guess now we can start making jokes about sticking them where the sun don't shine.

Remember Fred Phelps? The guy whose church makes a nuisance of itself protesting all about the country? The people responsible for such wonderful things as godhatesfags? He's planning on arriving here. While both sides are slated to be peaceful about the entire affair, one almost wishes that pandemic violence would erupt. Of course, a sobering thought is that's what's been happening in Paris for the last ten days. So I suppose we should be glad that most people laugh it off when neocons complain about a business partnership between a "wholesome" doll manufacturer and a group that intends on empowering girls, even the ones that might not fit the mold the dolls are cast in. Strange times we live in. The types where the satire of enforcing a geek dress code again might be taken seriously. Has been for many years before this, still is in some places.

A pair of philosophies - the first, that the universe values diversity above all else, and that ethics might be restructurable to reflect this particular point to good effect. There's a lively discussion beneath it about how much diversity is the balance point to be maximally good for us. The other is about the changeover of our culture from one of words to one of images. The article author takes a dim view (there's a visual pun for ya) on the transition from prose to Photoshop. My profession wants people to be using their word skills, not their image skills. Besides, while you can show an object, the skill in being able to describe it is in the words. The language might still survive, but an image-based society may or may not keep around all of those wonderful words, and instead be more of a Newspeak society.

Class tomorrow. No breakfast cereals, but it's a snacking-enabled class, so I might be able to get through it long enough to get down to lunch. Hopefully, by the end of tomorrow, everything will be squared away in one way or another.