Tuesday, August 31, 2010

WoW and Time

Ah how things can change in a year. This time last year I still thought of myself as a WoW player (though a very passive one). Two years ago and I was a heavy player!
And now? Now I rarely think of it, unless someone brings it up in conversation. And even then I don't miss the game. I miss the people, but not the game itself.

What brings this up? Well, I decided to clean up my blogroll. While a number of them were just gone (like Nas's blog), others I just didn't care about anymore. Actually I think pretty much all the ones I removed were by people who weren't posting. Except one where the link was broken and had gone unfixed because I didn't care.

Why bother with a past that I don't care about, and practically no one who reads this cares about? Well, that's because I'm a sucker for things nostalgic. Give me enough time and I will miss even the crappiest of jobs, or even friends (though I've had blessedly few of those).

Hmm, I need to update my google reader for Scott's new blog, dang people and their blog moving! *shakes fist*

Anyone curious about the rambling nature of this post? Well, mostly it's 'cause I'm at work and have no work to do. At all.

Oh! One last call out, if anyone reading this is really familiar with linux holler at me. Working on setting up my computer with Suse and having some issues with it.

Adios!
~joe/ish

P.S. If anyone has beaten Starcraft 2 on hard holler at me. I'm stuck on the last protoss mission.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Comments on relationships

Sooooo, it's been awhile since I've posted here. So I thought I'd throw in a random post! A friend of mine recently asked me: "I have heard a variety of opinions about what boundaries a couple should set on their physical relationship while they are "dating." What are your thoughts?"

Here's is my reply (warning, it's something of a rough draft):
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Person I'm Replying To,

Sorry about taking so long to reply. I've been busy with a few things the last few months and kept forgetting, except when I was busy.

Personally I think physical limits are rather subjective as to the relationship. With me and Hannah we didn't hold hands for the first month, and tried to always stay in public or around friends when hanging out.
I believe in general you won't run into any problems so long as you don't look for a line or border. While that may sounds wrong at first let me explain the thought process behind it.

If you have a line you will walk right up to it on a regular basis. And once you're right next to the line you will really want to step over it. Once you step over it you'll usually rationalize it, and redraw the line. And when you're not with the other person you won't be right up against the line, and you'll feel really good that you have boundaries set on your relationship to keep you safe. It can also cause you to become very tempted to judge others.

The thought process I would encourage isn't based on a line that shouldn't be crossed, but rather two polar opposites. The world is made up of gray, there is rarely a distinct line between what is good and what is bad, almost every good act has some bad aspects to it, and the reverse is true as well.
So instead of trying to imagining that there is some line in the sand between good and evil, imagine that you're climbing a hill. At the top is perfection, spiritually and physically, and at the bottom is anti-perfection. Instead of finding a comfortable ledge to hang out on, keep climbing towards the top. Will you slip? Yes, but not as far as if you were just standing on the ledge, and since you're in shape from all that climbing you'll regain what you lost faster.

Okay, so practically how does this work? On a regular basis evaluate why you're making the decisions you're making. Are you putting your arm around her because you love her and want to show that or comfort her, or are you putting your arm around her because it feels good. The action is the same but the cause is different, and because the cause is different the actions that come after will be different.
If you are merely trying to show your love sex will very rarely be a reasonable avenue, flowers and home made food do it much better. If you are doing it because it feels good, well, I've met someone that doesn't think sex does/will feel good, and so that's a reasonable path to take.

Now this will lead to limits, but it will not state them. Also, it's not always bad to do something just because it "feels good." But it does mean you need to be very careful how you tread, especially when that good feeling involves someone else.

I hope this helps you somewhat. I know it doesn't give a definitive answer to your question, but I don't necessarily believe there is one. Everyone's relationships are different, and everyone's beliefs are different. And unless you feel called by God you shouldn't (in my opinion) judge other people by your standard (remember, some people believe it's wrong to eat pork).
If you have any other questions or need a clarification on what I said please feel free to write back. I'll try to get back in a more timely manner (like, within 24hrs).

Sincerely,
Joseph
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Any thoughts on my thoughts?
~joe/ish

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Awesomeness comes in pairs

So I have happy news! The first is I rode from my house to work (2.5mi) this morning in 7min! This is awesometime.
As best I can tell this is due to my fixing my gears (now I can get up into my top ones). Soon, hopefully Saturday, I'll have road tires for my bike, supposedly that helps a lot.

Happy news #2! I have my mancala game working! At the moment it doesn't have the best of graphics, but it'll install, and run. Switch between players, keep score of wins/ties, say when someone wins (and reset the board), keep you from trying to move empty places...And many other interesting features!
Or at least some other features. Hopefully soon I'll take away the move buttons and have people click on the actual numbers (or better yet the series of dots!).

That's about it for now.

~joe/ish

Friday, August 13, 2010

Calling all Bikers!

And not motorcyclists, I want real bikers. The ones that use their feet (and some fancy machinery) to get them from place to place. Preferably commuting sorts, though anyone with experience is free to pitch in. Or those people with strong opinions, they're okay too. However, if you have no experience, have no strong opinions, and are easily cowed by words...DO NOT COMMENT! Or go ahead and comment, really not to worried about it.

Anyhoo, here's the deal. Right now I ride 2.5mi to work, and sometimes 2.5mi back (lately it's been in the 100s so my wife has been giving me the truck on our lunchbreaks).

A problem? I ride a well used mountain bike on pavement. From my understanding I couldn't be much less efficient, unless I got a trick bike. Either way it's not that big of a deal, only 2.5mi. However, rather soon (in Dec) there is a decent chance I'll be living further away, at which point I'd want a real bike.

Also, I kinda want something I can carry stuff on. Like, grocery runs and such. And I don't think I've ever seen a hookup for one of those back things that you strap stuff to for a mountain bike.

And now to the point: Does anyone (I'm looking at you Dax) have advice for what to get? Or personal experience that says street bikes aren't really that much better on streets than mountain bikes (I would find that hilarious)?

Any other general bike commuting advice would be appreciated as well. Oh, and right now I use a $10 walmart satchel to carry stuff to/from work, so I'm open for suggestions for that too.

Adios!
~Joe/Ish

P.S. And did you notice what I did with the post?

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Orphans of Success

So I flat stole that title. Bite me Jason Peters! That or come join me for a cigar and bourbon.

On to things that make sense. First off I'm due to start the fall semester in a whopping 12 days. Go go work and full time school! I am looking forward to it though, I'm hoping to have some interesting and challenging classes.

Besides, after I graduate things get hard. I have to find a real job. And do real work at it. Though hopefully I'll be able to grab one in Waco.

Oh, and I beat StarCraft2! All in all a very fun game. They totally revamped the way the single player works, and it's totally awesome. People called Dax should play. And others as well if they're still alive and kicking. Like Malcolm, but I know he's getting pretty up there in years. ;)

And finally, hmmm, well that's about it. I take my final for philosophy today, which is cool. And not just that I'm getting done with it, my philosophy class itself was pretty stellar. My teacher did an excellent job of presenting both sides to every argument.

Oh! For those of you curious about Jason Peters, or more curious why I brought him up today, he wrote an excellent article here. As best as I can tell it's fairly bi-partisan in nature (not the whole site, but that post in particular), and I'd say fairly spot on.

Hi ho silver! And away!
~joe/ish

p.s. Anyone here played Agricola?