Ascendant

I think the more important question is if, on Valentine's Day, does Justin Sinclair become the Romanticore?

Coding has its moments-- Douglas Coupland likened it to playing with Legos, and I don't disagree. There are immutable rules to the way things fit together, but given enough time and resources, you can pretty much create whatever you can imagine provided you can figure out how to make everything interlock. It's definitely a left-brain activity, but I like to think it also engages the right brain in that you're often called into coming up with novel solutions to what seems like intractable problems.

Debugging, however (which is technically what the OP is complaining about) is almost always a huge pain. Someone points out an error and you've got to go through hundreds, if not thousands of lines of code to trace it back to the source, providing you can even repeat the error in the first place (and there and hundreds upon hundreds of reasons someone may be experiencing a problem that you can't replicate). It's tedious, boring, soul crushing work that almost always ends up being a minor typo or otherwise stupid mistake.

But the rush of squashing that final bug is pretty rewarding, at least for about 30 seconds, until you have to move on to the next problem on the list.

I think that my programming background may be at the heart of why I identify with superheroes, or maybe vice-versa-- either way, once you've vanquished your most recent foe, you've got about 30 seconds of peace until the next crisis shows up.

You know, just by posting this, you've violated the first AND second rules of Speed Club.

Well, I'm still dealing with the lawsuits from the Ascendancy Program, which was supposed to be installed on library and school computers to get kids interested in astronomy by allowing them to virtually see the stars from any point on Earth at any point of time. So, naturally, somebody just went all "ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn" on it and set the stars to be in the right position to cause a R'lyeh rises event. But since it's computer based, it only created a virtual Cthulhu, which is why I think you're probably all receiving inordinate amounts of spam these days.

Um... and I shouldn't have tell anyone about this in this day and age, but for safety's sake,don't open those attachments; they tend to make people crazy. I mean literally insane.

I'm also legally obligated to tell you that if you or someone you know has been affected by this, you may be entitled a substantial settlement. Call 1800-SUE-BIGA for more information. Make sure to mention case #1789, because they tend to get confused over who's suing me for what.

In the mean time, I've been discussing my options with the world's best group of cyber-excorcists (Well, by "best" and "group", I mean the only 3 people out there), and I'm confident we can rid cyberspace of this menace once and for all.. However, failing that, we might have to destroy every computer or internet connected device on the planet. I'm not saying that's going to happen, but it might be a good idea to write this down on actual paper so future generations know what we were thinking at the time.


But yeah, other than that, I'm good.

Hey, I can't afford the kind of money to register a domain name at this point; heck, at this point, the cockroaches have moved out of my apartment in the hopes of finding better places.

Ascendant: "Look, it's customary to get a last request, and for my last request, I have just one question for you."

You: "If it is just a question, I will grant you your last request."

Ascendant "Thanks. So, what's the proper command to format all of the drives on a Linux-based System?"

You: "Simple. It's..." Wirrrrrrrhhhh.... ((Total system shutdown))

Ascendant: "Well, that was surprisingly easy. Figures, though-- nobody can afford Apple, and everybody hates Microsoft."

For a while there, I used to have the huge, fast-moving Hyperpotomus and homeless bovian Bum Steer.

((Ascendant stands up and speaks at her funeral after the priest asks if anyone has anything to say about the deceased))

Um... Hi... Uh... everyone...

Er... Look...

It is my regret-- one that will live with me for the rest of my days-- that I did not have the chance to know Rose Maiden as well as I would have liked, as well as many of her closest friends knew her. The thing is that every time I was fortunate enough to talk to her, she challenged me to be better, to try harder, and to make a positive change in the world, because she believed I could rise to those challenges she set for me, and I have tried ever since to honor the idea that her belief was not misplaced. I counted her as a fellow hero, but more importantly, a trusted friend and confidant, but it is with the sense of enormous loss that I look back and realize I squandered the opportunity to follow that friendship further.

To be perfectly frank, I always thought there would be more time.

But, the cold, hard fact is that there never is more time.

There's just the time we have.

John Lennon once said, “Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans”. Unfortunately, the darker converse to that maxim that he probably, tragically, discovered all too late is that sometimes, your other plans stop happening with the loss of life.

For all the places I've been, the amazing things I've witnessed, and the incredible people I've been fortunate enough to meet, I still lack the poet's wisdom to accurately articulate the magnitude of her loss, so instead I take comfort in the words of my father, who once told me “If you can honestly say you were more enriched by a person's presence than diminished by their passing, they had a successful life.” By that metric, Rose had a life many, many times more successful than most people can imagine.

And while I mourn her passing, I refuse to despair in her loss, because at the end of her day, the world is a better place because she was here.

We're better people because she was here.

She will be missed, and the city's light will be darkened by her absence, but I have full faith that the many, many individuals she also inspired to be better, to try harder, to make a positive change in the world, will pick up her torch from where it fell and carry it forward, clear of vision, sure of foot, and free of fear.

And I think that's exactly what she would have wanted.

Um... Thank you.

I just finally managed to get my couples-only super-date MA arc up and running:

Save the Date, Arc #485557: Save The Date is a professional date planning service designed to cater to the busy superhuman couple on the go. Grab your significant other and get ready for a night of romance!

Well, a few words of advice:

1) Set the stage. RP out the ideas of the event ahead of time. For example, if you're planning to take over the world, show up in the D as your villain and RP the recruitment process with people you meet there. The D gets a lot of flack for MRP/ERP, but frankly, I haven't really encountered it, and generally, people there are willing to engage in RP if you handle it correctly.

2) Coordinate. I suggest starting two threads, one IC, one OOC, clearly marked with the event's name, in the Virtue (or whatever server you're throwing it on) boards so that it's easy for people to find it. The IC thread lets people write what their characters are doing and gives you an opportunity to manage the narrative as need be, while the OOC one allows you to let people know when the next phase of the event is taking place. Where possible, plot out your timeline ahead of time so that events transpire with at least 72 hours notice (although a week would be ideal).

3) Use the Environment. You've got a lot of real estate at your disposal, so feel free to use it. Things have changed since I ran my last server-wide event; for one thing, we've got AE now, which is a huge benefit. Use that and other things to build the experience for people. Where possible, figure out ways to use individual zone mechanics in your plotline. For example, during my event, I had Blue/Red side forces trying to launch as many missiles from Warburg as possible, and whichever side launched the most in a 15 minute period 'won' that phase of the event.

4) Be flexible. If you've got 100 people involved in playing your event, that's 100 chances Plot Point B of the event will be derailed by someone. Have backups and contingency plans in place. Also, remember that from the viewpoint of everyone participating, they're the hero of the story; it's your job to make them feel that way throughout the event. Finally, don't be afraid to incorporate a game-changing idea and run with it; when all else fails, follow Rule 5:

5) Have fun. I can't stress this enough. There's no point to doing any of this if it's not fun, and no one is going to play if they aren't having fun. It's Okay to make mistakes provided you can laugh at them and move on; don't get so emotionally invested that you can't just sit back and enjoy the moment. There is a good deal of work involved, to be sure, but if your work-to-fun ratio drops to less than 1:1, consider a better use of your time.

Writing bios is probably my favorite part of the game, actually (and certainly a plus that sets CoX apart from the Distinguished Competition), but generally I try to go for what I'd expect to see on the interior cover of that character's comic book-- Brief origin, general status, etc.-- enough to let you jump in the story if you wish, but probably not a complete background.

My suggestion would be to do a purge of non-active accounts every two years, but do an email blast (or make a similar notification effort) two weeks beforehand to all accounts possibly effected.

Here's the kicker, though-- you wouldn't have to resub to keep your names, just log in under your inactive account and check off the names you wish to retain and you're covered for the next two years. If you never plan on returning to the game, you don't have to do a thing. However, if you do have an attachment to your characters but, for whatever reason, don't want to rejoin the game right now, you just need to spend a few minutes to note that and everything is fine.

I honestly can't see how anyone could claim that's unfair, but this being the internet, I'm sure someone will come up with a reason why it is.

Well, let's see....

Max and Daphne remain trapped within the old basement by rubble from last week's earthquake, and their desperate bid for survival sparks a growing romance.

At the Women's Prison, Rachel, unaware of her husband's predicament, forms an uneasy alliance with Zoe in order to make good her escape, while Trevor's investigation into Lawrence's testimony begins to take a sinister turn.

Elsewhere, a despondent Vincent spirals into self destruction with pills and alcohol after hearing the news that Sofia's ship was lost at sea with all hands presumed dead, finally finding solace in the arms of an unlikely new love.

Erica continues to tug at the heartstrings of her hunky, reluctant kidnapper, Jorge, while the brains of the operation, the brutal and sadistic Carlos, sets out to finish Davin's meddling once and for all.

Meanwhile, on a hiking trip, Sky and Dakota uncover a secret about Amber's baby that could spell trouble for Alex's bid for Presidency.

But, even as the campaign heats up, an mysterious figure from Jenika's past may force her to choose between the love of her life and one of her kidneys.



There, now you're caught up.

I don't see any way past it. I'm just going to have to make Moleculo: THE MOLECULAR MAN!!!!!


...Or, if you prefer, El Hombre De Los Moleculos.

Soooo... You're leaving on the 24th, eh?

YOU GOT A JOB WORKING FOR SANTA, DIDN'T YOU? DIDN'T YOU!?!

Can't wait! Ascendant will be there with a check on behalf of the Edith West Foundation.