jagash

Cangames 2012 role call

2012-01-01T21:50:08Z

Cangames approaches and I seek your support. I want to make this Ottawa Convention (Victoria Day long weekend) astounding and drag people back in. I plan on running a game in every slot, from Lady Blackbird to Fiasco to Dogs in the Vineyard.

How many of you fine folks would be willing to join me and make this an astounding occasion?

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A friend indeed

2011-11-30T03:25:15Z

A friend of mine, switterbeet is very likely to be moving to Ottawa in January and would be looking for a friendly and hopefully geeky roommate. Are any of my friends looking for someone? She is good people.

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Public Confession - I need to avoid the arguments.

2011-11-06T17:31:27Z

I take responsibility for my personal failings. I know that nobody is perfect, but I have to recognize my personal failings before I can overcome them. I realize that I argue _far_ too much. There are a host of faulty reasons and each of these makes different people uncomfortable in different ways.

I argue to prove to myself that I am capable of discussing complex issues.
I try to "debate" others to show that I respect them on an intellectual level.
I constantly play devil's advocate to challenge my own natural assumptions and prejudices.
I have particularly weak communication skills when it comes to deeply listening. My mind is so fixated on "the debate" that I tend to try to predict the vector of my "opponents" points rather than really listening and accepting what they are telling me.

If I have argued with you in the past, especially if I made you uncomfortable in the process, I apologize. I am attempting to better myself and listen rather than arguing. It might take a bit of time before I can overcome this pernicious bad habit, but I promise to do my best.

Regards,
Jason

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Next sporadic update

2011-09-02T00:41:49Z

This update will be kept brief, mostly because I am utterly exhausted. The whirlwind of travel still hasn't calmed down and I will be swept away shortly for yet another meeting. My mental energy levels are crashing through the floor which is a real shame considering the amount of stuff that I want/need to accomplish.

Got to admit, the fact that my department got nasty cuts recently does not inspire hope or renewed enthusiasm. Still, there is nothing I can do about it other then move forward with a smile. That's life.

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Fini

2011-08-18T05:33:59Z

Just unpacked my desktop in my new home and after some fiddling, finally managed to get the ruddy thing functioning. Unfortunately I don't have the luxury of spending a month slowly unpacking and working on my projects. Oh well, that is life.

I had an astounding time at GenCon, despite the painful drives to Indy and back again. I had a blast at the Ennies, hanging out with excellent designers and being welcomed into the fold. I was even able to run my playtest for a designer idol I respect greatly, which certainly boosts my confidence levels!

What great accomplishment have you made in August? I am eager to hear about your own stories.

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Moving to the Orange Side

2011-07-23T02:08:09Z

Things are set for a moving day of August 13th to the new (old) house in Hull. I have begged a few boxes off the lovely and generous beable and I will begin frantically packing them as soon as I am prepared for the imminent GenCon trip. I am not using up my once in a lifetime "asking friends for moving help" card, since I only have one small apartment to move and it should be a relatively simple process.

Now, the paperwork for moving to Quebec is going to be a tad on the painful side. Still, it should shave off ~45 minutes of commuting each way to the office and that alone should make up for the time spent in the bureaucracy. Not to mention other perks, like the ability to grow a reasonable amount of vegetables in the back yard.

Wish me luck!

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Yes, I live

2011-07-06T03:29:47Z

Sorry about being so very silent on LJ/DW of late, but life has been rather hectic. I participated in a great Montreal gaming convention followed by a week in Quebec City for a work meeting. Loved the Grand Roludothon in Montreal, the Mondial de la Biere, my wandering through the fortifications of old Quebec and my meeting in Wendake. They are both beautiful cities, but it seems I am not cut out to be the great world traveler. I long for long spans of time at home, but at the same time I am excited at some of the places I will get to travel to.

My next great venture will be to my little sister's wedding in Calgary. I have no idea what to expect, though I expect they will forge great memories. I wish them the very best in their union and I hope to support them as much as possible over the next week of madness.

Any of you folks traveling more than usual this summer? Have any ways of coping with the stress of the voyage?

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Proud, productful weekend.

2011-04-23T18:48:09Z

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Montreal Gaming Convention in June

2011-04-16T16:55:00Z

Anyone else want to attend? It's on the Grand Prix weekend, but for locals at least it should be easy enough and it could be fun. I will be there avec ma blonde.

http://www.roludo.ca/gr2011

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Really? It's that easy?

2011-04-09T21:59:21Z

I just made homemade pasta for the first time. It took me, maybe 20 minutes to go from raw ingredients to a meal on my plate. Is it seriously that easy? Heck, right now I am eating the stuff I failed to form properly and it's still delish.

I _will_ do this again!

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Without wheels

2011-04-09T20:49:15Z

So my bike made its journey to freedom this winter, without me. AKA, someone stole my bike along with a number of others from the apartment parking garage and shoved them in a van then drove off. This means that I have no bike and thus will have a hard time navigating should a lockout occur this summer. Not that I _wanted_ another expense...

Yeah, it's rather frustrating but that's how life works. Beyond that, life is going smashingly. Work is busy and my chances of continuing in my job are increasing every day. I am changing my particular method of writing, adopting to using LaTEX rather then OpenOffice in the hopes I will be able to better structure and better write my book this way.

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Any Canadian want a little work?

2011-03-26T17:42:39Z

http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=emp&lang=e

They hire for advanced polls and the real polls. For anyone seeking employment it might be a handy stopgap.

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Overcommunicado

2011-03-23T23:03:49Z

I have had a nasty text messaging problem with my phone over the past two an a half weeks. It keeps on sending me duplicate messages, to the tune of 30+ duplicate copies of each message. As a net result I have had to disable my text messaging until the Telus tech support can resolve the issue.

Beyond that, I am doing well. I am planning for an overly busy summer with a wedding, convention and potential work engagement. Oh, yeah, I also got an extension on my current job until September. *thumbs up*

Now my only challenge is managing my time enough so that I can reliably write, learn and socialize in addition to my day job tasks. Any tips on work-life balance from the crowd?

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On the road and feeling fine

2011-01-17T03:48:17Z

Apparently I am destined to travel and spend far too much money this winter. I had the good fortune to visit the fair city of Montreal with the love of my life. She showed me a dozen interesting restaurants & stores, I was able to visit the Biodome and generally appreciate the glory that is the metro. By the gods, I wish we had even a poor approximation of that in Ottawa. The combination of food, fashion and lodgings were more then a minor strain on my finances, but I appreciated every minute.

I am also in the midst of preparing for a work meeting in Vancouver. Good bit of work to prepare for the meeting and I suspect that I may receive significant criticism as the representative of the oppressive government. All the same, it will give me a chance to visit the city once more and to show it to my lady. I expect it might fully bankrupt me, but I will finally have good sushi again!

Oh, and then for kicks I am planning out my summer vacation (attending the GoPlay Northwest convention in Seattle) and my little sisters Calgary wedding. Considering that I am a sedentary introvert with no drive to travel, I find it rather impressive. That said, if I am posting less frequently on LJ/DW, you know the reason.

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Wintereenmas 2010 achieved!

2010-12-28T00:21:24Z

I must say that I enjoyed a relatively quiet yet pleasant Christmas.   My mother gifted me with some photos taken from my balcony, looking out over the river. While it will be a challenge to mount, I will have a perpetual sunset over my couch. Throw in a few books, a bottle of mango liqueur and I am relatively happy.

I also provided a few gifts over the holidays.   Shiny new knives for my mother who _really_ needed them, a good coffee grinder for my folks and a ipod for myself. I neatly counterbalanced my consumerism with charity, gifting 3 water wells for villages in Bangladesh.   My parents, sister's household and another special someone received email notices on Christmas day saying that a well was donated in their respective names.

So, I have to say that I am satisfied with my Christmas overall. What about yourselves? What single gift defined your Christmas?   It can either be a gift you gave or one you received?   Most curious.

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Oh dear... oh dear... Do it yourself CNC Kit for cheap

2010-12-25T16:15:01Z

I am insane for even looking at this, but there is a project on Kickstarter to support a do it yourself CNC kit for manufacturing. Not normally my cup of tea, but I would be interested in learning how to do so and I think it could be legitimately useful for my own company. Game pieces, tokens and other stuff could be worthwhile.

At minimum, I may be able to tamp down on the urge by spreading the information. I know a number of engineers in my network of friends who might be equally tempted by this. Anyone local interested in potentially sharing one? Realistically, I am interested more in the _functionality_ then the tool itself and I would be happy to just have the ability to occasionally craft something on someone else's machine.

It's also remarkably affordable this way.... Usually CNC would require more then a couple hundred dollars...

http://kck.st/e4C3FE
http://www.mydiycnc.com/project%20overview

Talk to me!

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Not complaining about emotions!

2010-12-18T01:24:56Z

So I have come down with some kind of illness. While it meant I didn't go to work this morning (Yay!), I skipped the Christmas party for my unit at work (Boo). Even beyond that, I wasn't willing or able to make it to the annual martial arts sushi dinner this evening. :(

I hope to recover over the next couple days, but this weekend is still going to suck.

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Yeah, about that convention

2010-11-27T18:40:20Z

Exhausted and struggled to wake up in time to make it to the con. Then I saw white-out conditions out my window and after realizing that the commute would involve a long walk over an unsheltered bridge I decided to roll over and attend next year. Oh well, I should be able to capitalize on this by spending a few hours writing.

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The week and it's end

2010-11-26T03:40:56Z

Been attending a super seekret meeting all week on endangered species at work all week; of which you might potentially hear about it on CBC next week. The intellectual rigour of this group is astounding and I am inspired by their efforts.

I have also heard that my noble deed, volunteering to help a friend of the family move on Saturday, is unnecessary. This will free up my Saturday in attending a very local board-game convention just across the river from my apartment. It is rare to have a convention within walking distance of my place, so I will be happy to attend.

How about yourselves? Any great events taking place either during this week or during the upcoming weekend?

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Saturday well spent

2010-11-21T04:44:23Z

Now that was a most excellent day. At around noon, trippingpossum came on over to my place and we started up a game of Horus Heresy. It's a bit of a monster of a game physically, but it turns into a compelling tactical romp. Heavy but fulfilling, great for a rainy day. It is nice to have a beefy 2-player tactical game, though I am also glad that I didn't pay the full sticker price for that one. Oh, and he slaughtered me in the game due to my failure to keep token units occupying terrain. Oh well, ya live and you learn.

Turns out that nascent_dreams was able to join us and much socialization was had. They were patient with me as I whipped up a shrimp and spicy sausage Jambalaya which worked out relatively well. While I did a lousy job in shelling the shrimp and the brown rice was a little firm, it was still an overall success. They seemed to appreciate the dish so I will claim that the meal was objectively good. A few hours more kibitzing and they departed for the evening. It has been a long while since I have had the pleasure of having good friends over for game, a home cooked meal and conversation.

Oh, and I am also quite pleased at the level of discussion I have been having online (Twitter and Google Buzz) with regards to my game design work. A few friends have asked pertinant questions and even better, I had decent answers on hand. Apparently the design isn't as bad as I feared thus far. :)

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Good news, bad news

2010-11-06T00:44:00Z

Good news: Very productive day at work where I felt I contributed in a meaningful way. I also managed to reach the most important weekend and my illness has abated a bit.

Bad news: I am still somewhat sick which has led to me feeling more then a little tired. I am very much in a "curl up with someone" kind of mood but alas, it's not in the cards. The whole listless and lonely combination still sucks to some extent, but I have no real right to complain. These are relatively ephemeral concerns in the long run.

Blah.

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Under the weather

2010-11-04T20:02:48Z

I have been slapped around by a particularly nasty little cold over the last few days. Enough that I took a couple days off work and spent a ridiculous amount of time sleeping. Someone has been wonderfully kind and took care of me, and I am grateful.

I will hopefully be recovered enough that I will be productive at work tomorrow. I have a number of files that I need to work on and I will feel much better when those are resolved.

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Time flies

2010-10-24T14:51:31Z

So my little, baby sister? Not only is she getting married this summer, but the pair of lovebirds just bought a brand new 300k house yesterday. Gods, I expect her to have kids sometime soon at this rate....

I am very happy for them, even if I am feeling a little dumbstruck at how quickly my little sis is growing up.

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Free music discovery

2010-10-11T15:08:51Z

Following controversy on the non-use of Creative Commons music on CBC, I have been able to discover an absolutely lovely little site. Check out http://www.jamendo.com/en/

It is a place chock full of almost 40k albums of creative commons music which you can download and play for free. Check it out!

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Enlightening reasoning

2010-10-07T11:05:17Z

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