Boring Friday afternoon at work... Let's go fill a cooler with BEER!

Hrm, what have I done that you probably haven't...

1. I've gotten someone kicked out of a major university (UNC) for trafficking kiddie pr0n.
2. I've collapsed someone's lung with a hockey stick.
3. I've killed a deer by bashing it's head in with a rock tied to a stick.

So, I'm going though my bank account today, to see when I should think about ordering a new aventail, and I notice that it's way lower than it should be...

Turns out, as I was riding home last night, someone was using my card up on iTunes, Yahoo, and Ebay, to the tune of about $375.

Well, Wachovia was actually pretty good for once. Right away they could see that I didn't make those charges, opened a case in their fraud recovery division, canceled my card, sent me a new one, and started taking those charges off my account. The nice lady I talked to even said "besides your checking account being messed up, are you having a good day otherwise?"

I've gotten down on the big blue bank from Charlotte, but it's nice to have them come though in such a time.

Hey folks, quick update.

Due to demand, I'm going to move the Little KBerg Fighter School to *Wednessday* night at 7:30. That's right in front of my place at 7:30 on Wednessday. Depending on the size of who's there, we'll walk to a space large enough to hold us.

Wear sneakers and light clothes like you'll be outside for an hour. If you have a stick type object that's 36 inches long, feel free to bring that too.

If you'd RSVP with a comment, I'd appreciate it.

Have a good Friday folks.

-to bad he never cries. (Unless you are a woman voter, then he cries every time it would be sensitive to do so...)

Anyway, saw these on Slate and had to repost.

There are many things people do not know about BARACK OBAMA. It is every American's duty to read this message and pass it along to all of their friends and loved ones.

Barack Obama wears a FLAG PIN at all times. Even in the shower.

Barack Obama says the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE every time he sees an American flag. He also ends every sentence by saying, "WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL." Click here for video of Obama quietly mouthing the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE in his sleep.

A tape exists of Michelle Obama saying the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE at a conference on PATRIOTISM.

Every weekend, Barack and Michelle take their daughters HUNTING.

Barack Obama is a PATRIOTIC AMERICAN. He has one HAND over his HEART at all times. He occasionally switches when one arm gets tired, which is almost never because he is STRONG.

Barack Obama has the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE tattooed on his stomach. It's upside-down, so he can read it while doing sit-ups.

There's only one artist on Barack Obama's iPod: FRANCIS SCOTT KEY.

Barack Obama is a DEVOUT CHRISTIAN. His favorite book is the BIBLE, which he has memorized. His name means HE WHO LOVES JESUS in the ancient language of Aramaic. He is PROUD that Jesus was an American.

Barack Obama goes to church every morning. He goes to church every afternoon. He goes to church every evening. He is IN CHURCH RIGHT NOW.

Barack Obama's new airplane includes a conference room, a kitchen, and a MEGACHURCH.

Barack Obama's skin is the color of AMERICAN SOIL.

Barack Obama buys AMERICAN STUFF. He owns a FORD, a BASEBALL TEAM, and a COMPUTER HE BUILT HIMSELF FROM AMERICAN PARTS. He travels mostly by FORKLIFT.

Barack Obama says that Americans cling to GUNS and RELIGION because they are AWESOME.

Sword and Shield. There is no better weapons form. Others may devolve into a wrestling match, or a battle of who’s quicker than whom; but Sword and Shield is the perfect match of a waltz and a chess match.

You have to walk before you can dance, and you have to know how the pieces move before you can play chess. So, who wants to learn how to fight Sword and Shield?

I’ve already heard from zihuatanejo, harleenquinzell, lady_guenievre, galeran, primetime_d, and Duncan’s nephew Conor, that you folks are interested. While I’m teaching, are there any others?

What I’m thinking is, Monday nights at 6:00, in Little KBerg, I’ll lead a workshop on how to fight Sword and Shield. That will give folks plenty of time to make it to the KBerg meeting afterwards should they so desire.

To start, all you will need is a 36 inch long stick of some sort (a yard stick, a piece of pvc pipe, an old rattan stick, whatever). I can even spot you one for the first few classes. By the time we get to the end, you’ll probably want a shield of your very own, and we can work out a shield hanging workshop at some point as well. These will be out-of-armor, so you can learn proper form before we hang 40 pounds of metal on you.

The curriculum will focus on: developing a stance that works for you, how to move while staying in stance, power generation, blow development, and proper defense. There will be reading material to cover (really, it’s a pleasure to read Gyrth’s writings and thoughts, this will not be a chore). You can get started here: http://scamelee.freeservers.com/oldcastle_1.html

So, who’s in? Do you want to start this coming Monday?

So, some of the defenders were joking that we should go walk into the woods after the processional, and let the challengers come find us. Had I known that it was going to be that hot, I probably would have done it…

So, it was hot, bla bla blarg. Anyway, how did I fight? Here’s the run down. First the format. A large handful of Defenders (about 8 or 9), who were pre-chosen before the event, were to meet all challengers and hold the field among them. Any given Challenger would line up, tell the herald what they would like to fight (sword and shield, single maces, dagger and buckler, pole arm, etc.) and on what field they would like to fight it (either open field or over the barrier). Once a Challenger was announced, a Defender would answer that challenge and meet them on the field with a matched set of weapons. All blows were to be counted, so a leg shot and a head shot both counted as 1 each (there was no knee fighting). The suggested format was to be best of 3 counted blows, but that could be negotiated on the field to be something else (some went for 1 shot, others went up to 5). No official score was kept, no reporting done as to wins and losses.

I started by fighting Master Dunstan, sword and shield, at the barrier. We agreed to go best of 5 counted blows as it was the first of the day. I lost this one 2 to 3. I think my main problem with this pass was twofold; first I expected the barrier to save my legs and keep me from throwing leg shots, but it was too low for that to happen. Thus, I lost a point for a shot to the hip before I realized that there was hope of hitting Dunstan in the leg if I managed to get him to raise his shield up. This picture shows me actually throwing a full out leg wrap over the barrier. Secondly, I didn’t move while at the barrier. While we agreed that folks would have to “cowboy up” and not back off the fence, I later figured out that I could move side to side and stay right at the barrier.

Next, I fought Lady Eva (sp? She had a green shield with white moons on it), sword and shield in the open field. I kept my small tourney heater all day, so folks had a bit of a defensive advantage over me with their standard Atlantian heater shields. However, I did win this pass 2 to 1. Eva actually struck the first blow, but I was able to answer back; first by getting inside her guard as she was running backwards (with me following in good form), and secondly with a C range sniper shot to her leg.

Next I fought Master Donal with mace and small shields, in the open field, to best of 5 counted blows. I borrowed Baron Athos’s mace, and I think I’m going to have to go get some hardware like his, as it was quite a fun weapon to play with. The lack of a “flat” side means that I was able to throw shots with different geometry, where my palm can face my opponent or myself at the end of the blow, rather than up (as for a flat snap) or down (as for a wrap or offside). Also, heavy headed weapons like a mace can blow small light shields out of the way. I think I had Master Donal at a disadvantage though, as my shield was strapped and his was a center grip. Thus, when he hit my shield, my entire arm was behind it and could stay strong, where his had a tendency to move drastically. After a pendulum shot to his gut, and a palm forward offside to his face, I won this pass 3 to 2.

Then, I took a break, got my helm off, and had some water.

On my second wind, I got back in the Defenders line and found the next challenger was again Master Dunstan. I hoped to get him another Defender, but none were ready and available, so we fought another pass, this time to best of 3 over the barrier. Knowing now the limitations of the barrier to keep my legs safe, and realizing my ability to move, I was able to win this pass 2 to 1. By sliding from shield to sword side, I could get his defense to follow me overly quickly, so a fake in this regard opened the back of his helm to a high head wrap. If I remember correctly, the second blow that was counted good happened as I moved from sword to shield side while throwing an offside, and moving the shield out of the way with the quillons of my sword.

I took another quick sit down break (helm on), and then went back out again to face milord Ormer, sword and shield, in the open field to best of 3. This was a fierce fight right off the bat, and really tested my tired self. My body was mostly doing the right thing, but my mind quickly shut off. We battled to 1 each, before I took a shot to my groin that would count for the third, and thus I lost this pass 1 to 2. What made me pause was not the cup shot itself, but the fact that I thought it was well blocked. When I ran it back over in my head, I was way out of position and all kinds of backwards on my footwork.

Thus, I sat down for another break in the shade to cool off. The only trouble was, I wasn’t cooling off. I was also acting like a jack ass to Guenievre about some minor thing. I knew I was being stupid for getting mad, but my patience for things goes to zero when I’m overheated. After five minutes or so, I was no cooler and starting to hit the clammy shivers stage, so I knew it was time to get out of the body armor at least and let some breezes work on me. By the time I was back to just warm, everyone else had quit out too and it was stupid to put the sweaty gambeson back on.

So ended the fighting at the Pas. For myself, it was 19 blows over 5 passes.

The Baronial Fighter Practice was (very wisely) changed to just a chat in the shade. After that, we took down the baronial pavilion, I cleaned up my own pavilion a bit, took a shower, went to court, and went to feast. I was pretty much a zombie for most all of that. There was a great bardic going on, but I was so tired, I think I crawled into bed around 10:30 to 11ish.

Collected pictures of Guenievre and I are here: http://www.erminespot.com/gallery/v/SCA/Events/foret/

A while back I postulated some rules for a new internet game called Flame War. Given the current state of the Merry Rose, it seems appropriate to post them here.

Step 1: Come up with either a really good or really bad idea. Either way, it has to be controversial.
Step 2: Post it to an electronic venue, be it an email list, blog/LJ entry, forum, etc.
Step 3: Sit back, count the points, and watch your faith in humanity erode.

Points awarded as follows:
1 Point for every reply
5 Points if it spills over into another venue of the same type (another email list, another LJ post, etc)
2 Points for every reply in that spill over post
10 Points for spilling over into a different venue (email goes to LJ, vice versa…)
3 Points for every reply in the new venue
25 Points if someone in an official position (moderator, King, Seneschal, etc.) has to step in and appeal for calm
50 Points if the moderator bans further discussion outright.
10 Points for every time someone quotes policy (Kingdom Policy, elist policy, terms of use agreement, etc).
10 Points for every post made in all caps (assuming the poster doesn’t usually write that way)
30 Points for every person who leaves the venue (unsubscribes from the list, de-friending, etc.)
40 Points for every person who comes back just to argue the point.
100 Points for the first time someone mentions Hitler. (Godwin’s Law)
Double points for every reply arguing past the Hitler Point (so if it was in a new venue, it was worth 3, but now it’s worth 6).

Edit: 50 Points for every new permanent venue created (new email list, LJ community, etc.).

So, have fun over the weekend. By my accounting, the MR Principality debate is running about a score of 250.

1.) What do you love most and least about Jennifer?

You're trying to get me in trouble ;P

I love her mind the most. It's always turning, thinking, finding the best way to do things. Her body is a close second...

I love her insecurities the least.

2.) Let's say 13-14th century France never existed. What other persona / time period would you feel gravitated to?

I think the Norse have a pretty nifty thing going, and wouldn't mind checking them out.

3.) Practical or Sentimental? You get offered one million dollars tax-free if you divorce Jennifer and don't see/talk/contact her for one month. You can go remarry her and find her again at the end of the month. The catch is you can't tell her why until the month is over. So what do you do?

There's no amount of money that would cause me to be that cruel to Jennifer. I'd spend the entire month afraid that she'd kill herself, and I don't think she'd take me back at the end of the month.

4.) Do you really think anyone can get into heavy fighting and go all the way with enough dedication and desire or are there some realities to the sport and situation that mean that wanting it and working for it will sometimes not be enough?

I think there are people who can not get into heavy fighting, because they have medical issues or whatever that will keep them away from it.

If you can authorize, I think you can "go all the way" as it were. That is to say, the only thing keeping any authorized fighter from being a great fighter is themselves. Now, does that mean that anyone can become a Knight? I don't know as I'm not privy to their discussions - but I'm willing to bet we can come up with some people who are great fighters who are not now, and probably won't be ever, a Knight, just because they are jerks (on or off the field).

5.) How much do you think popularity plays into the choice of who gets elevated?

I'm going to have to guess here, as I'm not a peer, but I'm going to guess that it depends on which peerage we're talking about as to how much popularity is a factor. I've had Knights explain to me that they look at prowess first, all other factors second. I've had Pelicans tell me that they do consider the Kingdom and Society impact of a given candidate. I don't understand the Laurels very well at all, so I'm not even going to guess on them. I think either way you go, you are going to have to be reasonably popular, or at least known, in the order you might wish to aspire to before you'll get a favorable polling. Now, in this Kingdom, you polling may or may not be worth anything if TRM have already made up their mind about you. Does that answer your question? If not, give me some more boundaries to answer within, as this was a very vague question.

1. Do you have a favorite "annual" SCA event? If so, what about it makes it your fave?

I would go with Pennsic. It's more of an annual "SCA event" rather than an "annual" SCA event, but still, it's my fave. I can really get into being Girard for a good long while. There's tons of fighting, more than I can usually get to, there's lots of cool people to hang with, it's a wet site full of parties and nobody has to drive home... It's just a blast.

2. What is your favorite "crossover" item (food, clothes, tools, etc) that you use in both SCA and mundane contexts?

The problem with this question is that it's a bit like asking Bruce Wayne what his favorite cross over item is, when really, the only thing Bruce and Batman have in common is money and Alfred. Being as I have neither lots of money, nor a butler...

I don't really use anything in both contexts. Jennifer will use medieval spices in modern cooking, which is cool. I guess I would go with our wall of scrolls though. It's something from the SCA that we decorate our house with, but it doesn't really go back to the SCA context once they get home from court.

3. What is your favorite book, and why should I read it? (Change "book" and "read" accordingly, if you have stronger opinion about film, landscape, etc)

My favorite book is Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. You should read it because it's entertaining, and it will help you understand geek culture (if you don't already).

Bonus; favorite move is Fight Club. We should all watch it every so often just to shake ourselves out of our comfortable little ruts, question our own sanity, and ask if it's time to wrap it all in explosives and start over.

4. Do you speak / read / write fluently in any other languages? (Where "other" can include anything not modern American English)?

I know enough French to be able to spend a week refreshing and then go to Paris and probably be mistaken for a Brit or Canadian rather than an American. However, without assistance from software, my written English looks like something from the slow class at your local elementary school, so writing French is just way out of the question.

5. You've won a contest that allows you to fill a standard paper grocery bag in the store of your choice, level to the top of the bag, with whatever you like. What store would you choose, and what would you put into the bag?

Well, I was going to say Platinium, but Jennifer was looking over my shoulder and suggested Diamonds (like 3 carats or better), so I had to look it up. Platinium is going for about two grand an ounce, but 3 carat cut diamonds are going for upwards of 65 grand each, so she was right. The truth is though, if the bag was full of Platinium, it would be too heavy to carry out of the store, and there's no store where I could find a bag full of 3 diamonds, so...

I'd have to find a really high end liquor store, and I'd fill my bag with the best gins, scotches, and tequilas. Then, I'd go get little brandy snifters and have a tasting party.

1. You're running Atlantian Heavy Fighter Boot Camp. Which activity is the most important and why?
-calisthenics (situps, pushups, etc)
-running/jogging
-footwork (i.e. drills)
-sword/shield work (i.e. drills)


Good one. I would go with footwork and stance. Very little fighting happens when standing still, and if you want to defeat a good defense, you are going to have to move. Most people make the majority of their mistakes when they move. It doesn't matter if you have a crappy flat snap and a jacked up off side if you can reliably maneuver to be behind your opponent while staying alive. It also doesn't matter if you've got a fantastic arsenal of shots if you have to stand perfectly still to throw them.


2. You and Jennifer have just become independently wealthy. What do you do with your time?

I would to some degree play in the SCA professionally. That is to say, hit lots of fighter practices and an event every other weekend. I may also consider going back to school, get a degree or two in Medieval history. Depending on how wealthy, I may start building a castle.

Beyond that, I'd probably be quite the movie buff, and it's tempting to open a neighborhood bar.


3. Which PLQ do you feel you need the most amount of work on? The least?

I feel like I need to be more willing to step up and speak out when people are doing things that are patently wrong - so I call that Courage. I'm haunted by a time when I sat there at lunch on site at a University that was in a high school, and a couple guys cracked out a bottle of wine. I just couldn't bring myself around to say something about it, and eventually someone else did instead. I'm trying to make sure that doesn't happen again. At the same time, the key is to make sure that one doesn't go around making mountains out of mole hills.

Where do I need the least work? I guess a sense of obligation. I feel like if something needs to be done, I'm pretty willing to step up and do it.

4. If you could go back and do it again, would you have a big wedding? Do you think you'll do a vow renewal ceremony sometime?

No, I'm still very happy we eloped. It sucks that I pissed off my family doing it, but I'm still happy we did it the way we did. We toss around a renewal ceremony or something like that, every so often, but I don't know how serious we are about it.


5. When did you know that Jennifer was "the one"?

I thought she was The One for me quite quickly. On the Friday night when we started dating (the next day we went out for bagels), I went back to my room at 2, and my roommate was just getting back too. I remember he asked me where I disappeared to, and I explained how I met a girl and I thought I was in love. It took me another week or so to grok rationally what I had been feeling for all that time.

1. If you had to reenact any time period (other than medieval) which one and why?

I'd probably say Rev War, but really, I would probably get into a fantasy society rather than go to another historical society.

2. whose house would you hole up in should the zombie threat become real?

I would say Master Eldrid's is my first thought. His collection of firearms and ability to make armor in the house makes him a smart choice. If it's a city issue, I might consider Corby's house, as his is the most rural.

3. if you had a harem, would you really make them fight over you? in mortal combat or in a tub of mud?

There's enough of me to go around, there's no need to fight ;P Now, if they decided to get themselves into a dissagreement, I could see having a mud wrestling tub to settle disputes.

4. favorite mixed drink?

Most of the time, a dry gin martini with plenty of olives. In the heat of the summer, perhaps a margarita or mojito.

5. death before dishonor?

Always.

1) When/if you win crown, what will your first royal whim be?

I think it will be "Let's all remember to act with Courtesy at all times, in all our communications with each other."

2) What advice would you give your 16 year old self (and "ask the cute girl out for bagels" doesn't count ;) )

"Get though S&M, then take a differed enrollment at UNC so you can take a year off from school to work."

3) Is there a "Southernism" you still don't fully get.

I don't really understand why it's better to use something like "Bless your heart" when you are really saying "fuck off bitch". Everyone on each side knows what you're really saying, so why not be out in the open about it?

4) How do you think your life would've been different had you not injured your knee playing hockey?

On that track, I very well may have gone to West Point to play hockey there, and might be a lieutenant or better in the US Army right now. I would have either just finished my 4 year term, or would have just re-enlisted for a second term (or I could be dead in the Sandbox).

5) What exactly IS the issue with combat archery?

There's two answers to that. My persona has an issue with archers because he believes that combat should occur between chivalrous gentlemen within arms reach of each other. The idea that a middle class soldier could strike down a noble from 200 yards away is nearly unacceptable.

On the "game side" of the issue (as in, pertaining to stick fighting), I don't have an issue with combat archers. Some folks don't like that they can't hit them, or they are not supposed to hit them, at full force. Some folks don't like any scenario where someone can hit you but you can't hit them back (for example, they are on top of the castle wall shooting at you, and you can't reach them to tag them out). Most of the time, these people will have no problem with such situations when their side is the one with the advantage.

1) What do you believe squiring give you that you could not get without taking a belt?

I think being a squire gives you two very important things. First is a coach - someone to bounce ideas off of, who will watch what you are doing and tell you if you're doing it right or wrong, what your next step might be, etc. Also, wearing a belt is an outward symbol of your desire to join the peerage associated with it; so hopefully other folks will know that and will offer advice and aid to help you along the way.

2) Its in the future, you are a knight and a duke - what now?

Hopefully, that day will come. I hope to be able to train new fighters, take on squires of my own, and keep myself in good fighting shape. I think that even when that day has long past, I'll still have much to learn about fighting.

3) What is your happiest memory?

August 23rd, 1997; Jennifer came down the stairs from her dorm and we went out to get bagels.

4) If I handed you a check for $250,000 and you had two weeks to spend it all, what would you do? Investments will be forfeit at the end of the two weeks.

I wonder if I can buy a house in 2 weeks if I'm paying cash... If so, I'd probably put about $175,000 into a house. Next, I'd probably buy two cars, a truck worth about $30,000 and a small car for around town worth about $20,000. With the rest of the $25,000, I'd probably take $5000 for a new TV/entertainment center and $20,000 goes to Ikea to furnish the new house.

If buying a house and cars counts as an investment, then my answer is; I'll take the quarter million, and you have to come find me somewhere in Europe to get whatever's left.

5) What was it about your very first SCA activity (i.e. first time you ineracted with the SCA) that made yopu come back?

I think it's mostly the sense of community and generosity that I found here. I went to an event, and anytime I thought I was going to need something, it just showed up like magic. Ysolt is good that way.

I'm back from Charlotte and likely to be in front of my computer, so I guess I'll jump in. If you had some burning desire to know 5 different things about me, now's the time to ask.

Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies...

• 16:55 Watching rednecks trying to play the lottery is more fun then playing it yourself. #

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• 10:21 This day is teh Suxors. My neck is killing me, I'm still fixing things from a network death, and Jennifer lost a very important file... #

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• 12:25 best twitter Vista gadget yet: arsecandle.org/twadget/ #
• 13:11 Ok, trying out Digsby, a new combined IM/social networking client... #

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• 11:07 If you work for Blackberry, does that mean you have a RIM Job? #

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Ok, as it was brought up elsewhere, I figure I'll poll you folks about it. I use Loud Twitter to pull all my daily Tweets and post them here in digest form. Now, I'm doing this so that you folks can read them, not for me. So, how do you feel about it?


Poll #1192730 Twitter
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

How do you feel about digest posts from Twitter

Just so you know, this isn't a democracy. I may or may not act on this, but at least I'll know how my friends list feels about it.

• 08:56 Slow start, need coffee... #
• 09:48 Off to a customer #

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• 08:49 Sheetz! #

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• 10:33 Back from a customer visit. #
• 12:17 How did my Twitter Time Zone get messed up? #
• 15:16 Waiting for firmware to download to a machine... #
• 20:10 Walking to Chipotle for dinner... #

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• 10:09 Off to google-huff #
• 10:28 Standing in line at the google-huff #
• 13:18 more dishes... damn dish washer is broken #

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• 09:36 Time to make the donuts... wait, no, time to do the dishes :( #
• 12:21 Off to sunset frill for lunch #
• 12:35 Make that nantucket grill... #
• 16:28 Wii Blackjack for the win. #
• 19:21 Bring me "girl with a pearl earing," my fecundity depends on it ! #

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Thus, trapping the alarm sender in a burning building...

Lots of times, interesting things run by but I don't post them, because I'm not by a computer or what not to get it to LJ. So, I've signed up for a Twitter account (it's "soucyn" - big surprise there), and if anyone else is interested in following me, feel free.

If you are not so interested signing up for a twitter account, there's a service running that should collect up all my "tweets" and post them in digest form to my LJ here daily. We'll see how that goes.

I got to vote today in the first NC Primary I've ever seen where it makes any bit of difference on the national stage. So, for all you North Carolinians, go out and vote today.

While filling in my scantron sheet, I looked for my own name, but didn't see it. I did see a "Dennis Nealson" and thought for a second it was alienor. darklordmoeser pulled out right behind us, and followed us into the polling place, so when we were walking out I had a Science and Math moment and asked, "So, what did you get for number 1?"

Thanks to theodorad for recording it, and posting it on YouTube. For those who want to see the ceremony, here it is:

John McCain may be unfit for the office of President of the United States, but it’s not because he isn’t a citizen. If you’re not up on what I’m talking about, the Washington Post can fill you in. In short, people are saying that he’s not a “natural born” citizen because he was born on a US military base in the Panama Canal Zone.

Folks, both his parents were citizens when he was born. John McCain has been a US Citizen for all of his 72 years. I’m not saying I’ll vote for him, but seriously, this is a non-issue. If two US citizens are living at Ramstein Air Force Base in German, and they have a child, that child is a US citizen. Hell, if my wife and I happen to be vacationing in Paris, or the Bahamas, when we have a child, that child would be a US Citizen.

If you’ve never been a citizen of anywhere else, I think that should do for being a “natural born citizen” for terms of being eligible for public office. Let’s not forget that our first few Presidents and Vice Presidents were born as subjects of the English Crown, and only became citizens by virtue of being in the US when we declared independence.

Lemmie give you my morning so far. I'm supposed to be in a truck on the way to Charlotte...

6:00 - Alarm goes off
6:30 - Jennifer finally kicks me outa bed
7:10 - After a shower and hanging out, it's determined that Jennifer will drive herself in so she can sleep in more. I put on shoes and go to work.
7:25 - I arrive at work, both trucks are still in the parking lot, 2 other employees are here
7:30 - I wonder where the driver/deliver guy is, as I go on to work on a problem with someone else's computer.
7:40 - I look out the window and the truck is gone
7:45 - I ask the Dispatch Manager to figure it out, and she gets the guys on the nextel, who tell her that they are already 45 minutes down the road.

If the truck was there at 7:30, how can it be 45 minutes away 15 minutes later?

So, I’m back safely at my desk after quite a weekend. The drive up on Friday night was pretty easy, though it seemed a bit longer than it really was. The drive back on Sunday was hellish, as we drove though some pretty nasty rain. We stopped by Ikea on the way home, to pickup spiffy new pillows, and it was my first bad experience at Ikea ever. It seemed like everyone there was pissed off and snapping at everyone else around them.

Anyway, it was awesome to hang out with kfitzwarin and ormswyn. Their house is like 95% finished, and is just super cool. There’s a huge great room to lounge around in with really comfortable leather sofas, and a gorgeous kitchen, and a really rich looking master suite (with a bathroom large enough that cats get lost in it). They even have a crawl space that would make like the best oubliette ever. Very very spiff. I know it’s been a huge source of stress for those two, but guys, it looks awesome.

So, as regular readers will note, I was off to Tournament of Chivalry for more than just fighting this year. Saturday, I became Sir Corby’s newest and 6th squire. My belt was cut from a famous hide, and in the tradition of my house, is red on one side and white on the other. This caused a bit of concern among some of the Knights who didn’t know this, as it was rolled up white side out while Corby was talking about it (and going though some of the Knights who have similar belts), to the point where he had to assure them that he was not going to hand me a white belt.

There are pictures here, and I’ll repost any others I see.

Thank You to everyone who made it out to see and those who were wishing me well from afar. Thanks to my Squire Sister Evja who came out for the ceremony before jetting home to be with her husband on the last weekend before he heads to the sand box. I know he’s a JAG lawyer and unlikely to be in harm’s way, but here’s hoping for a safe and speedy return nonetheless. Thank you to theblueleader for making my spiffy new surcoat – many folks complimented me on it. Thank you to sircorby for doing the block printing on the surcoat, and making my belt, and generally agreeing to take on a task like teaching me. Thanks also to rolanddem, who I am given to understand, did lots of the brass work on my belt. Also, thank you to kfitzwarin and ormswyn for hosting us and driving us around, and to pinkleader and Allan for hosting a swanky get together after the event. And of course, thank you to my darling wife for all the work she did in making me armor, and painting shields, and going up there with me, and generally being a super wife.

On the fighting, it was an interesting day. There was a lot of waiting around for us unbelts. This lead to much standing in armor, which is actually more draining to me than actually fighting sword and board fights. But, I still got to fight a bunch of knights, and a few good unbelts too. I have a couple of bruises to show for my day, and I remember the shots that generated them. Sir Angus gave me some pointers on why I’m getting hit in the leg (I’m cheating my shield up to cover my head, and need to just pick that up on an active block instead of a static one). I had some issues with power generation, so I’ll be working on that this week. There were a few times when I would get the shot there, and it was clean/unblocked, but just didn’t have any power on it.

When I would take a break and sit down, I would surprise myself when I looked down at my armor. My first thought was, “this isn’t my surcoat… it’s not black and white…” then would be like “Oh, yeah, squire, duh…” I swear I must have done that three times or more.

It was also interesting how people treated me a bit differently than I expected. One unbelt I was about to fight, asked “are you the new squire?” as we were introducing ourselves. After I confirmed that I was, he replied with “well, you’re probably going to kick my ass then…” I was kind of taken back by that, so I said something like “wearing different clothes doesn’t make me a better fighter, so we should fight a bit and figure out who’s ass get’s kicked.” I did win, but I can’t help but think that the guy defeated himself mentally before anyone ever said “lay on.” Everyone was congratulatory, but over all, it seemed like the Knights were staring at me all day (that may just be in my head), the other squires were happy to have me join their ranks, and the non-squired unbelts seemed to be a bit more afraid of me (with a couple notable exceptions).

Anyway, I have a long road ahead of me. Time to start walking.

For those who might be interested in reading something like On The Origin of Species or The Decent of Man, but don't have the paper copies around, well, here's the complete works of Charles: http://darwin-online.org.uk/

That is all...

As I am a under a week away from becoming a squire to sircorby, I figured it’s time to look like a squire. Not one of those duct tape squires either. I also realized that my current leg armor is pretty much not legal, as either I have a set of legs that don’t hold my hard knee cops over my actual knees, or I have a set that used to have fabric over all the plastic, but thanks to many leg shots, now does not. To add to that, the leading corner/edge of my decent looking heater shield had been turned into a fabric-covered bag of splinters. Oh, and my backup/practice sword turned into something that I could sweep up the back deck on, while my good sword looked like it spent a week at Pennsic and has gotten no love since (which was true).

So, massive armouring projects have ensued. My lovely wife, lady_guenievre, set about making me some new gamboised cuises, while I made some new hard cuises. I decided to go with a set made out of plastic splinted leather. Those that will see me on Saturday, and those who see the pictures afterwards, should be rather impressed with the overall look. I have high hopes that this set will work, with the new pourpoint and gamboised cuises, and prevent the knee cops from falling down to my shins. In just a few minutes, the gamboised cuises will come out of the dye bath (all nice and black) and go into the washer.

Also, as we speak, glue is drying on my new shield. I spent a good chunk of the weekend building up a fiberglass shell on the outside of it, and it now sports a rope edge that is covered in cloth. Tomorrow, it’ll be painted, and on Thursday, I’ll strap it.

And, as I lost my skull cap at a recent event, my lovely wife has taken upon herself to replace it in a more period fashion with a linen arming cap.

Tomorrow, I’ll be heading out to Master Eldrid’s to get some rivets replaced in my hard kit, and maybe touch it up a bit. Then, just polish things, strap the shield, and pack on Thursday, and it’s off to crash at kfitzwarin’s before the big Saturday.

It’s quite cool, I think I’ve gone from typical Atlantian fighter to skin-out in about 2 weeks. However, if you folks have been wondering why I’ve been skipping things lately, it’s been to work on all this stuff.

Here’s the deal. Servers suck power and bandwidth, neither of which is free. I’d love it if they were, but they aren’t. Any company that owns LJ has to pay for those things, plus people time to keep the servers running smoothly.

People cry, “but it was working so well for so long!” Then why has the company changed hands twice? You don’t sell an organization that’s making you money.

And really, is this the most effective protest? No. You have the ability to post all the content you want for as long as you want. You can cost them a ton of bandwidth. If you want to really hurt a company, use your social network to cost it something. If all the people you know on LJ, and all the people they know, etc, committed to refreshing their friends list every minute for the same 15 minute time period – you would probably have one of the best legitimate distributed denial of service attacks the internet has ever seen.

So, everyone go read “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” by Heinlein, and grok TANSTAAFL, and count yourself lucky that you aren’t paying monthly for the air you breathe.

Today is the day of Eve Carson’s Memorial Service at the Dean Smith Center. You probably are reading this after the service has completed. Well, Fred Phelps has decided to protest this service, trying to draw attention to his particular brand of hate and bile. I applaud the efforts of