Wednesday, September 9, 2015

wuck fork

title says it all. here's a cool song though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJtG6CH6bYA

Another day, another plague
I still see the same old shit
Like a never-ending story
Life's passing by in front of my eyes

Everyday I wake up and things never change
It's getting hard to have faith in this world

Another day, another plague
It's like a cancer taking the life out of me
The only hope I had left is slowly dying

Everyday I wake up and things never change
It's getting hard to have faith in this world

Those days, have turned into years
Ant I haven't gained anything

Everyday I wake up and things never change
It's getting hard to have faith in this world

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Why I love Hearthstone

Was 0-2 when I started playing this draft again. Consistently outplayed and punished a lot of opponents to win 10 matches in a row. Not your standard mage draft...


Thursday, August 13, 2015

Daily Prompt 8/13/15

Write a list titled, "Things that are opening."

  1. eyes
  2. doors
  3. windows
  4. ears
  5. caves
  6. opportunities
  7. businesses
  8. jaws
  9. skies
  10. hearts
  11. minds
  12. people
  13. walls
  14. gates
  15. shutters
  16. bottles
  17. jars
  18. books
  19. mouths

Song of the Day 8/13/15

Suicide Machine - Death

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZvI1mXY3QQ

Lyrics courtesy of darklyrics.com:

Controlling their lives
Deciding when and how they will die
A victim of someone else's choice
The ones who suffer have no voice
Manipulating destiny
When it comes to living, no one seems to care
But when it comes to wanting out
Those with power, will be there
Prolong the pain
How long will it last?
Suicide machine
A request to die with dignity
Is that too much to ask?
Suicide machine
How easy it is to deny the pain
Of someone else's suffering

[Solos: Schuldiner, Masvidal]

Robbed of natural abilities
In death they now seek tranquility
In a confused state of mind
Extending agony, they must be blind
Manipulating destiny

When it comes to living, no one seems to care
But when it comes to wanting out
Those with power, will be there
Prolong the pain
How long will it last?
Suicide machine
A request to die with dignity
Is that too much to ask?
Suicide machine

I really like this song for a lot of reasons. The riffs, drumming and solos are excellent like all of Death's music, but the lyrics really grab me. I often hear people assume heavy metal, and in particular death metal, are very superficial. The stereotype is death metal is just loud and angry and full of over-the-top violent lyrics, and while there is some truth to that, I think Death's music is full of very real issues.

Suicide Machine's topic is clear: euthanasia. I'm going to do a little assuming of my own and say the vast majority of opponents to euthanasia are Christians. Many of these people are probably also part of the right wing, politically-speaking, and are against any sort of national healthcare. My favorite line is:

"When it comes to living, no one seems to care
But when it comes to wanting out
Those with power, will be there"

There is great irony in the fact that opponents to euthanasia do not care about any of these people while they are alive, but suddenly have objections due to their beliefs. These opponents do not care about the life of the patient, they do not care about their suffering or the burden this puts on the family and friends of the patient. They only care that their religious beliefs are being transgressed, because people should wait for "God" to end the life naturally. I find this particularly funny, because what is more unnatural than letting a wounded person suffer in pain until a supernatural being decides to snuff them out? Seriously, this sounds like something H.P. Lovecraft would write about.

What kind of god leaves people to suffer and cling to a painful existence?

Monday, July 6, 2015

FTF - 2


“Status report!” Yuhl barked to no one in particular.
The same it was two minutes ago, the technician thought dryly. He spun around in his chair to face Yuhl.
“Working on it, sir, but there's little we can do. Damn fog pretty much ruins any hope at bringing advanced imagining online. I can revert to the basic cameras if you want. Thermal is a no go, I'm afraid.”
“Whatever it takes, just give me eyes on the main gate.”
With a quick nod the man swiveled back to his console and continued working.
Yuhl was uneasy. The fog screwing with the systems was nothing new, but it had rarely been to this extent. Yuhl's command chamber was the brain of the fortress and its cameras his eyes. He didn't like flying blind. Without the optic scopes they were completely reliant on routine sound offs from the front gate.
“Mister Stamper, double the guards both inside and out of the gate. I want the men at the front calling in every ten — no five minutes. Immediately.”
The huge guard at Yuhl's side nodded, the only noise marking his departure was the hiss-clank of the steel door shutting behind him. Stamper didn't talk much and he asked questions even less. For Yuhl that made a perfect chief of security.A true professional, that one, Yuhl mused. 
Not like the majority of his men, who cared only about the next pay stub dangling in front of them. Although most of the facility’s security force were ex-guardsmen, few retained the discipline or sobriety of their military days. And although Malkor was technically under the protection of the local subsector’s military, there had been no men to spare defending the outpost with the Third Greenskin War in full swing. Since his reassignment from his home planet’s defense force to Malkor, Yuhl had pushed relentlessly to reign his men in. There was improvement, to be sure, but security standards were still fairly lax. Routine inspections by Imperial officers were always nerve wracking for Yuhl, but nothing like the unscheduled inspection he was being subjected to.
It didn’t help he was being inspected by him. Yuhl shuddered at the thought.
“Do I unnerve you so, Commandant?”
Snapping from his thoughts, Yuhl turned to face the newcomer, rod-straight and rigid.
“Pardons, sir, I did not hear your approach,” he responded stiffly.
The man laughed as he strode into view, illuminated by the dull glow of the headquarter’s many flickering screens. He was of modest height and build, wearing a simple black trench coat over a grey vest and trousers. A plain, freshly shaven face was topped by salt and pepper hair that jutted out into a widow’s peak. His only noteworthy feature was his grey, calculating eyes. 
For all his simplicity and humility Yuhl could not forget who he was….or what he was.
“Subtlety is just one of my many talents,” the man said softly.
“You have many surprises it would seem, sir.”
He laughed again, but his eyes shared none of the mirth.
“So how fares the facility, Commandant Yuhl?”
The young man hesitated before responding. Each word had to be carefully chosen when dealing with the likes of this one.
“Nothing out of the ordinary sir, some problems with the exterior imaging….it’s the fog you see. Again, nothing out of the ordinary.”
“‘Nothing out of the ordinary?’ Your man Stamper almost ran me down in the hallway. Seems like quite the hurry for nothing.”
“I’ve doubled the detail at the gate and am personally receiving their updates, I assure you it is merely a precaution,” Yuhl tried to sound confident.
“Is it not during the calm that we must be most wary of the storm?”
He let the sentence hang for a long moment before walking away from Yuhl. With a wave of his hand, Yuhl marched over to him and out of earshot of his men.
“As you say, it is probably nothing... Should it be something, though, the details have been seen to, I trust?”
“Of course sir, the men have been thoroughly drilled and briefed on the matter. When the time comes, they will handle it professionally and to your...specifications,” Yuhl trailed off.
“I hope so, Commandant, any damages would be most upsetting. Remember these are violent, traitorous criminals. They will show your men no mercy and will not be easily stopped, nor reasoned with.”
“I have every faith in my men, sir,” Yuhl responded with a hint of annoyance. “But I still have not seen the records on these criminals. How will I know who they are, what they are capable of, or even what crimes they are charged with? Indeed how do I even know if they are guilty or innocent?”
“My order has an old saying, Yuhl, perhaps you have heard it.”
Yuhl forced himself to stare directly into the man’s eyes.
“Innocence proves nothing.”
***