Population: OneIt's where I talk to myself. Gaming, politics, and links I don't want to forget about.Inaccurate history- December 22, 2006 This is a holiday gift for Brant, who is long-suffering. "You can't trust the Ordo when it comes to the occult," she said. "That's not a proverb, but it should be. Here's another one: 'You're smarter than the Ordo thinks you are.' Put the two of those together and you have the sort of scenario that leads, inexorably, to something like the current state of Walt Disney World." She paused, looking up at her audience. "Sabado would tell it differently. Of course. But if you're worth his...http://popone.innocence.com/archives/2006/12/22/inaccurate_history.php Secrets- December 21, 2006 Secrets work like this, right now. This is subject to change. Possession of a Secret grants arcane power. The more people who hold a Secret, the less power it grants. If we were playing a D20 game, then you could have up to +20 in your Secret skill if you were the only one who knew a Secret. If two people knew the Secret, the maximum would be +15. Ten people +10. And so on. A Secret must be significant. Secrets are defined by five elements: the secret; that which the Secret's holder can...http://popone.innocence.com/archives/2006/12/21/secrets.php The darker side- December 21, 2006 Conversely, the PC software for the Sony Reader absolutely sucks. It looks remarkably like someone was hired to clone iTunes, and did so without ever understanding the ways in which iTunes is good and bad. You can't drag content directly onto the Reader; you have to copy it into the Library, then copy it from there to the Reader. The interface is custom and non-standard -- the menus don't look like Windows menus, and the dialog boxes aren't Windows dialog boxes. The Preferences dialog box has..http://popone.innocence.com/archives/2006/12/21/the_darker_side.php Drunken Magistrate- December 20, 2006 The Drunken Magistrate is one of many taverns in Vain's Rest. There is nothing unusual about it. There's a common room where people drink and eat, and perhaps six bedrooms up above. One can sleep in the common room, too, but one'd best count on being woken up early. The stable is not particularly good, and there is no dedicated stable boy. There's a musician or two most nights. Ba Juerun owns the place; his daughter Nuru waits tables, and his wife Audu cooks. His son, Chanc, does whatever...http://popone.innocence.com/archives/2006/12/20/drunken_magistrate.php Banegard Tower- December 20, 2006 The Banegard was founded by Jacob Sloth, some two generations after the Maiden Broke. His purpose was to provide a bulwark against evil in the world, one not dependent on the politics of Oratain or the religious strictures of any church. His departure from the Army of the West was not entirely amicable, but since he was perhaps the best general of the age and since he brought much of his support staff with him, Oratain chose not to obstruct his passage. Banegard Tower was shaped as an...http://popone.innocence.com/archives/2006/12/20/banegard_tower.php Vain's Rest- December 19, 2006 Vain's Rest is located at the border between the North and the South; it's a border delineated by nature, not by man. To the north, green hills and white mountains rise to the horizon, and farmers trade stories of children stolen by the southern barbarians. To the south, the desert rolls in dunes as far as the eye can see, and the cultured gentlemen of the jeweled cities discuss the ways in which the northern barbarians can be cozened. Vain's Rest is a city of exiles. The Broken Maiden lies...http://popone.innocence.com/archives/2006/12/19/vains_rest.php Fragmentary- December 19, 2006 Vain's Rest Vainites Geoffery Vain Drunken Magistrate Broken Maiden Untamed Lands The Untamed The North Order of Hermetics Banegard Tower Oratain Kingsmen The South Trader's League The Yuanya Emirate The Camel Tribes Free City of Calainhttp://popone.innocence.com/archives/2006/12/19/fragmentary.php Bits of bits- December 14, 2006 The MacHeist thingiemabob is coming to an end. In this case, thingiemabob is defined as "a big publicitymarketing event for small Mac developers." The salient information is that you can get a bundle of nine applications for $49. Of the apps in the bundle, I find Delicious Library and Newsfire to be fairly significant; that's DVDbookgame cataloging and a very good RSS newsreader. There's also a personal information manager, an OS level skinning application, a game of your choice, an HTML...http://popone.innocence.com/archives/2006/12/14/bits_of_bits.php |