Ikkarub's House of Nonsense

RBW 2009, Rather Brilliant Indeed!

2009-11-06T23:40:12Z

For those of you in doubt, I'm still alive - just without regular net access. Those of you hoping to be in the will will have to wait a bit longer, ditto on the wake. So, what have I been up to? Well, I'll post a general update soon, but most immediately RBW!

I must say I've had my doubts about this con, I think by now everyone knows the troubles of previous years, add the uncertainty of new management... Well I'm pleased to say the con went swimmingly- err, boatingly at least. The staff did a top notch job, and whilst there were a couple of minor problems it all seemed to work out.

Friday:
Even before reaching the con I was pounced on by an Outkast and friend - pays to be more aware of your surroundings near fur cons I guess. The day was slow to start, but eventually met up with Magnus, Sanicle and co again and was gifted a lovely conbadge from Magnus!

In the evening my friends were all elsewhere during the quiz, so I fought my shyness and asked to join an undermanned team (we still made 3rd place). So glad I did, met Xandy and Cally, both wonderful people, and wound up spending the whole night drawing, chatting and partaking of the Mountain Dew! Kudos to the hotel from providing paper and pens around the room, these guys were prepared for furs.

Saturday:
Saturday was mostly panels, catching up with friends, and visiting the dealers' room to get some lovely Sangluna pieces for the new home. Also got my first commission (after 10 cons!), a badge from Sketchkat. Then came the boat party, didn't seem as packed as last year - a good thing in my opinion. And finally chilling in the loby into the night until the drinks caught up to me.

Sunday:
Spent most of the day hanging with Thrasher and her friends - although I'd spoke to Thrasher online before, we hadn't met and spent an awkward few minutes hanging around unsure of the other's identity. Awesome fur to hang around with, and unfortunately having a shit day, but we tried our best to take the brunt off of it. Missed most of the events (save the FailSuiting) but it was worth it for the good company. Shame about the unfortunate events later in the evening, but the less said about that the better.

So that was RBW for another year, definately planning to make next years - also considering Anthrocon, Confuzzled and possibly even the out-of-the-blue (or is that pink?) Eufuria. In the mean time I'm dragging myself and Thrasher off to London tomorrow to fight the Post Con Depression. CON MUST NOT END!

Passwords

2009-10-12T14:46:25Z

Was just reading a little government leaflet on protecting yourself online, and noticed a couple of pieces of advice. Always use strong passwords, and don't use the same passwords for different websites. A strong password in this day and age is about ten characters, numbers and letters, mixed case, includes punctuation in many cases, and isn't anything easy to remember.

Some people might have uncanny memories and find such things easy, but I'd wager most people couldn't juggle more than a couple of those. And whilst I realize I'm geekier than most, I easily have accounts on more than a hundred websites - I probably sign up for two or three a week. It's pretty obviously not possible for a normal person to remember so many of these complex random combinations. So why the hell do they write this kind of advice?

In no particular order

2009-07-02T15:24:55Z

Last week was in London again, had a fantastic (if way too hot) time. Also got my first commission done (I've been in this fandom how many years?) - http://forum.ukfur.org/index.php?showtopic=17100 - Go on, get one!

So, Iran wants democracy? Were they not paying attention to Iraq or something? If they do change government though, can they go back to being Persia? 'Prince of Iran' just doesn't have that ring to it.

http://www.break.com/index/obamas-jokes-at-correspondents-dinner.html - ok, I take it back, Obama can be kinda funny... but I still miss the shrub. Sure, he was responsible for a lot of suffering and death, but he was always good for a chuckle.

Why is it I can get a silent fan for my computer, but not my room. My home life is currently a cycle of "I can't hear anything, gotta switch off the fan"/"it's too hot to do anything, gotta switch the fan back on". If this continues, I may be forced to resort to 'the outside'.

What's up with silent computer fans anyhow? I can hear them, just not so much - shouldn't they be called quiet fans? And ultra-silent fans? Something's either silent or it's not, there's no 'ultra' in it!

Yarr!

2009-06-20T10:24:47Z

Being the geeky lot you all art (pot, kettle, black. I know), I'm sure most of you guys already know that the Sweedish Pirate Party have won a seat on the European Parliament. Don't know if they've got any idea what they've gotten themselves into, but I'm for this because it demonstrates to the other parties how the voters feel about copyright and privacy issues - 7.1% of the vote - so hopefully they'll cause some change indirectly.

Found out a fun thing reading up on European Parliament though... MEPs have diplomatic immunity from detention and legal procedures, except when caught in the act of an offense. I think we've just found the perfect guy to host The Pirate Bay!

Updateyness

2009-06-17T17:54:22Z

"The problem with Live Journal is that we all think we are so close, but really, we know nothing about each other..." - no, wait, that's the problem with LJ? I could name a few more worthy candidates...

Anyhow, long overdue an update, so a couple of random things:

At a furry con, innappropriate advances shouldn't be unexpected, but Confuzzled kinda caught me off guard - because it wasn't from the furries! Some random hostel guest after a few drinks started complimenting my appearance, then hit me with the line "Mmmm... if you came up to me in a dark alley, I would so totally go with you". Still not entirely sure what to make of that, but it does make one wonder about the furry reputation.

At the start of the month I paid a visit to London, and whilst there I came across a helpful sign in a park, with headings like "Where can I find somewhere to play sports?" and "Where can I go for a walk?", underneath each it was also written in braille. This is all well and good, until you get to the heading "Where can I just enjoy the view?", conveniently also rendered in braille, for the sake of blind people looking for a good view.

Speaking of London, I'll be back there next week, hoping to visit some friends again - so I wont be online, but will have my mobile with me if you want to get in touch.

Here goes nothing!

2009-05-22T04:23:06Z

OK, here's how it is. Spoke to the union again, and apparently they say work has to give me the day off, work say they don't. So I'm going to Confuzzled, and likely going to get in trouble for it afterward, and hopefully the union can save me - I am of course a bundle of nerves.

Still have to phone in, and basically tell my very kind manager who's bent over backwards to get me Friday off at least that I wont come in Sunday whatever she says my job is. Not looking forward to that.

And now, I need to dye my hair, wash my clothes, pack my bag, make a con badge and do a billion and one other things. But I'm going! Wish me luck folks!
-
Hmm, this entry never got posted for some reason. Try again. On another note, why is it that whenever I try to dye my hair I end up dying my face?

Confuzzled Update

2009-05-20T13:35:04Z

Damn, things looked so close to being fixed for a bit - but fell through on a piece of miscommunication. I've got the union involved, but am having trouble getting ahold of people - when I phoned the union yesterday they said to speak to the personnel manager and get back to them. The personnel manager wasn't in yesterday, so I had to wait until today, and now today the union guy isn't in. I have the nasty feeling that even if this can be sorted it wont be done in time. As it is, it looks like I'll have to pack as a precaution, and then see Friday morning whether or not to leave.

Awesomeness

2009-05-16T21:42:19Z

HantsFurs meet today was great! Just what I needed to take my mind off Confuzzled woes. Whilst I've thought we should do regular meets for years (we're probably the least organized furry group in the country, and that's saying something!), I'll admit I was a bit skeptical if they'd work after the first few. Now though we seem to be shaping up fast - meets where stuff actually happens!

I'm just praying they don't get too popular - I don't socialize as well in large groups, and noticed I came out of my shell more as the group dwindled. Funny though, I think I actually spoke more with the three non-furs (well, furs-in-making, whether they like it or not) than the furs. Anyhow, great time, can't wait for the next.

Not a happy bunny

2009-05-15T21:52:54Z

This has been developing for a couple of weeks, but as of today it's looking extremely unlikely I'll be able to attend Confuzzled... Work refused my holiday because there'd be no one left to work (which is because for almost a year now they've been running the department with only half the staff it's supposed to have).

I always expected the possibility of the holiday being refused, but ordinarily you're allowed to take the day off unpaid if they wont give you paid holiday - they've now suddenly refused to allow this. I was told that nobody is allowed to get unpaid days off now, despite knowing other department staff are getting them.

I'm making a desperate last minute attempt to get the union to change this, but it's a slim shot at best. So it seems I can kiss goodbye to the all the money I paid for Confuzzled (including transport, sponsorship, new clothes, etc. it comes to about two months wages), the biggest social event of the year for me, and it seems I'd have given up on going to Anthrocon for nothing. All so I can spend 10 hours earning a meager wage whilst being bemoaned for not managing to do what used to be three people's workload.

I'm trying very hard to keep a positive outlook right now, but it sure aint easy to find a silver lining here.

I Want You! (yes, you)

2009-05-05T18:49:48Z

For a long time now my social circle's been far too limited. And I figure the time for changing that is long overdue, I want to get out there and make some new friends, and to reconnect with those I've fallen out of touch with.

Well, I figure here's a good start - if you've friended me on here, I'm guessing at some point I caught your interest. This is sort of an open invitation to get in touch for anyone who'd like to get to know me better, but is either shy like me or just never thought to. So if you're one of those folk I've only met in passing or not heard from in ages, or even one of the couple on here I don't even know, please drop me a message and say hi - I'd love to hear from you.

MSN: ikkarub@gmail.com

Is there an echo in here?

2009-03-03T10:44:34Z

Last night I had a sudden and rather strong pain in my right ear. Completely out of the blue, and there for about an hour or two before I fell asleep. Now this morning I've woke up with an echo. Absolutely everything I hear I hear normally, and then an echo of it (it's actually kinda nice listening to some music, but otherwise it's creeping me the hell out). Worse, I can't make it to the doctor's until the end of the week. Here's hoping it goes away before hearing every word twice drives me insane.

Timing

2009-02-15T09:43:12Z

Why is it that after a night of excessive drinking - though by my standards, I guess three times the recommended units isn't that excessive - the alcohol and caffeine wear off just as I have to go to work? I've had seven hours sleep in the past four days too... but I'm not complaining.

The first regular HantsFurs meet earlie- err, yesterday was a success - even if there's still a few bumps to iron out. It's just a pity I had to leave to get to work today. Still, met some new people and had a blast. Can't wait for next month's!

Orange Sky

2009-02-02T02:33:20Z

Strange weather... I thought there was something strange when I saw the window. No, not the heavy snow... it's 2:30 AM, and I don't have the light on - there's enough light coming through the window. The whole sky is lit up orange, and whilst not as bright as day, it's too light out there to be night. It's probably something to do with reflection of light on the snow or similar... but it's still damned eerie and quite beautiful.

Gone At Last

2009-01-20T18:36:35Z

To all my friends in America: Happy New President! Or rather, happy end of the last one.

Though having just watched a speech by Obama... I think I'm gonna miss Bush. Bush was more fun the watch (especially when he's not /my/ leader).

Oh, and a random thought going through my mind at the moment: Time is money, so how come if I have all the time in the world I can't buy whatever I want?

Lastly, Game's pricing strikes me as odd. Battlefield 2 alone: £9.99. Battlefield 2 with one expansion: £14.99. Battlefield 2 with all expansions: £9.99. Heroes of Might and Magic V £9.98 each or £25 for two!

Update

2009-01-15T23:57:43Z

OK, so what's going on in life at the moment? Uni's still too easy, but hopefully something challenging will come along soon (I'll regret saying this). Mind you, showing up's still worth it for the social aspect if not the education - always fun hanging around with a crowd that's almost as geeky as me.

Still going to the animé society there - although I'm starting to think they've lost sight of the original goal. These days it seems to be an effort to show the absolute worst animé they can find. But it's still fun in an MST3K kind of way. I've somehow become known as 'the furry' there, despite there being three others.

My game project is going well (if to the detriment of my other artistic stuff), I've now got stats, combat mechanics, partial inventory, an interface and basic scripting implemented. If I can just cobble together a rudementary AI I'll be ready to make demo releases soon. I'm almost dreading finishing the code though - that means it'll be time to draw thousands of art assets.

Lastly, after a lot of introspection lately I've decided to renew my efforts to try and make some friends in the furry fandom again. I'm still not sure -how-, but I'm commited to it at least.

Yarr!

2008-12-19T11:29:48Z

As a random thought, when you type in the CD key to install a game, you're supposed to be reading it off your case or manual, right? Definately not getting it from a nfo file or keygen (that'd be piracy, piracy is bad). So why do so many game installers let you copy and paste in the CD key? - even when the key is split across multiple input boxes, the installer will very kindly seperate it out and remove the dashes.

Not that I'm complaining - it's certainly less work to grab a keygen than try to dig out the case for a game (particularly when I have so many) - but it seems they've missed the perfect opportunity to make piracy at least a little more frustrating.

Coding Again

2008-12-18T16:15:32Z

I've been saying for ages I need to get back to work on my projects, but now that uni's let out for the holidays I've finally gotten around to it. The last week my sleep cycle's been out of whack (falling asleep in the afternoon), so with no one around to game or talk to, I figured it was about time to get cracking on my latest game.

So, as of the end of the seventh day of work, it now looks something like this:

(unfortunately, about half of this week's work was behind the scenes, whilst looking essentially the same it's a lot more flexible and efficient now)

Obviously all the graphics there are just placeholders, but the sprite's a mock up of the main character. I'm trying to work out what size sprites to use, the bigger ones allow for better quality images (although the placeholder doesn't really show it), but the smaller one allows for more movement in the animations. What do you guys think?

Need Help - RBW room

2008-11-19T13:59:56Z

Alright, seems my initial plans for RBW have gone out the window, so now I'm urgently in need of people to room with. I'd been planning to split with two other people, and if I can't find anyone else to share a room with then I simply can't afford to go (and the money I've paid on a ticket already will go to waste).

Unfortunately, it now seems everyone I know either doesn't want to go, or has had to cancel - of course, I don't know very many furs to start with. So if any of you know anyone who needs a room mate, could you please put them in touch with me?

The week so far

2008-11-06T01:56:06Z

For those of you who've been following the US election, don't start cheering yet - I'm still waiting for the recount that announces George Bush the winner.

And for those of you dissapointed with Red Alert 3, I have no sympathy. Seriously, how many years has it been since EA killed off Westwood? You should know better by now.

Through the animé society I've discovered Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. Not the kind of show I usually go for, but it's so screwed up I find it strangely addictive.

Finally, I've started work on my new game engine. Yeah, after all the hours sunk into the old one I've suddenly decided to skip genres and start from scratch. Not much to actually play yet, but at the conclusion of day one I already have a navigatable map in three dimensions. So, can you guess what it is yet?

My God, it's full of furs!

2008-10-13T23:19:41Z

Just got back from Southampton - as part of my effort to socialize more, I've enlisted myself into the animé society (and it only cost me a soul! Bargain!). Had a great time drinking and getting to know folks - my shyness held me back as always, but I still met a few interesting people that I look forward to getting to know.

I'm discovering the catch to having a laptop though, it tends to betray my furriness - not usually the first thing you'd mention to a new crowd you're meeting. But a few people spotted tell tale images (no, not what you're thinking!), and the cat's now out of the bag as it were. And so much the better for it, met three other furs - and identified a couple more possibles. We are everywhere! Some of the cosplayers at the animé meet also seemed interested in the fursuits, and quite a few people knew of furries from the London Expo.

All around fun night, can't wait for the next one!

Fantasy

2008-10-02T01:45:36Z

A random observance on fantasy settings: It's common to see both elves, and dark elves in a setting - the latter, more often than not, being evil and having darker skin. And, whilst not as common, across various games I've seen 'dark' variants of most races, dark dwarves and the like - similarly, they have darker skin and are inherently born evil.

And it occurs to me, I've never seen any of these games offer you a chance to play as a Dark Human - some let you play a human with darker skin, but in none of them does this make the character automatically evil, or, for example restrict them to theif and similar classes.

And, well, you could imagine the uproar if they did - that'd be racism, right? So is racism alright as long as it's only elves?

...I think weird things late at night...

Suicide

2008-09-25T04:16:58Z

I don't have a problem with suicide - I generally think it's ill advised in most situations, but I believe no one should be forced to live against their will. That said, I do have a problem with people who throw themselves in front of trains. Delays are bad enough already without the newly departed adding a couple of hours, and backing up services for the rest of the day. Kinda makes me want to move to Japan - there at least they have a system where the dead's family gets billed for the trouble caused (then again, Japan does seem to have a strange obsession with offing themselves).

Thruthiness

2008-09-20T23:31:34Z

This'll probably not interest my British readers, but the few yanks on my list will know what I'm talking about. I've just found out that The Colbert Report is indeed shown on British TV - now, why have I never noticed it? It's on a channel I never watch. The Colbert Report is shown on Fox. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go insane now trying to understand this.

On a related note, the latest Daily Show has Tony Blair for a guest, whilst the latest Colbert Report features Richard Garriott - Colbert gets the ruler of Britannia, whilst Jon has to settle for the former ruler of Britain. Are my priorities screwed up that I got more excited to see Lord British?

You Get What You Don't Pay For

2008-09-19T12:19:43Z

Alright, not much post-worthy happening to me right now, so I figured I'd do a gaming post - video games, for one of my two major interests, don't seem to get much mention here. Lately I've been enjoying a couple of free games, and I reckon a couple of you'll probably enjoy these too.

First off, The Battle For Wesnoth. It's a turn based tactical game, with slight touches of RPG - if you're familiar with Final Fantasy Tactics or Fire Emblem, you'll know the type. It's got tons of content (13 campaigns, with more avilable online), and it'll run on Linux (or Windows and Mac, for the heathens among you) and even on the Eee PC!

The other freebie that's been eating up my time is Darkness Over Daggerford - it's a free campaign for Neverwinter Nights, and although a couple of years old now it's still very much enjoyable.

Sadly, the studio's latest offering, Mysteries of Westgate (for NWN2), despite being finished last year still hasn't been released because Atari's not satisfied with the copy protection! I think most of you know I'm no fan of copy protection in the first place, but even those of you in favor of it will probably agree this is ridiculous. Sure, you make less money if the game's pirated, but you make no money if you don't release it!

Lastly, whilst on the subject of games, I've just seen a piece of art from Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (which I really should have played by now). I know it's a tradition for them to make ridiculous looking characters with even more ridiculous looking giant swords, but this is pushing it!

Powerless

2008-09-11T15:13:25Z

Woke up this morning (yes, really, I woke up at a normal time) with no electricity. Even the key meter was dead. For the last nine hours I've been sitting here with no electricity, and thus nothing to do.

You never realise how much you depend on something until it's gone. It really is quite maddening just sitting here alone with no power. Can't cook, can't clean, can't watch TV, can't play games, can't read (all my reading material being on computer), can't listen to music, can't phone for someone to fix it (mains powered phone), no one to talk to.

Worst of all, nothing to distract me from all the depressing thoughts I try so hard to hide from. Normally when I'm feeling down, I throw myself into a game, a show, or just browse the web to take my mind off it. I can't solve my problems, so I at least avoid thinking about them. Not having that luxury... it's not been a pleasant day. I just hope the power doesn't cut out again (when it came back earlier, it only lasted ten minutes).