I've never understood the term "virtue signalling", but, perhaps I misunderstood the nicomachean ethics.

I've never understood the term "virtue signalling", but, perhaps I misunderstood the nicomachean ethics. My understanding -- or at least where I've gotten to through life -- is that ethical virtue is predicated by actions, and that why we do things has little to do with whether an action is virtuous.

But, I could well be wrong. It's been a while since I've studied ethics in anything like a rigorous well. If anyone would like to explain it to me, please do.

Freshmen Share

Freshmen Share

At the officer's academy on Port Newmar during my freshmen year:
-- I had a roommate who grew up on a ship, but hadn't ever crewed on. I taught him about being a crew member, he taught me about life as a spacer.

-- Bev and Brill were roomies, though I spent a lot of nights over.

-- Pip and Brill dated a lot, and a lot of different people.

-- The four of us went out with whoever Pip and Brill were seeing, and have a grand time.

-- During second semester, Pip and I started making a little money. By then, Pip had a good model of the financial market of the Port, and we started speculating. We'd arrange to sell a cargo at a specific price, and buy it from an incoming merchant ship at a lower price. We made profit without much overhead. It was a few kilocreds.

-- During the summer, we had our first summer in space! At the time, I was head of the class, so I was Acting Captain. Bev, Pip, Brill, and Pip and my original roommates were all on the cruise. As cadets we weren't paid, but we did help the ship make money. It was a big ship, like the Lois.

... What can I say? I just finished Full Share, and I want to know about academy life. Whatcha think, Tony Lower-Basch and Josh Mannon?

Friendly reminder: You don't have a right to anyone else's threads, and they don't have to let you post.

Friendly reminder: You don't have a right to anyone else's threads, and they don't have to let you post.

And this has nothing to do with the Constitution.

Pretty sure I pulled my plantar during a run this morning. Again.

Pretty sure I pulled my plantar during a run this morning. Again.

I kept running, because I'm an idiot. Slower and slower.

Should I stop running?

I got a new bag!

I got a new bag!

https://www.containerstore.com/s/travel/travel-comforts-essentials/walter-ray-tab-plus-messenger-bag-seatback-organizer/12d?productId=11005572

I'm moving to a two bag solution. This'll be my everyday bag. It holds most everything I need, except for my work laptop. Which will absolutely not fit.

So, I'm keeping my big red LL Bean bag to move around my work laptop if and when. The new bag fits inside the Big Red Bag, even with the laptop.

Rob Donoghue may have Thoughts About Bags.
https://www.containerstore.com/s/travel/travel-comforts-essentials/walter-ray-tab-plus-messenger-bag-seatback-organizer/12d?productId=11005572

Prediction: Amazon/Whole Foods will crush Blue Apron and similar companies without really trying, possibly through a...

Prediction: Amazon/Whole Foods will crush Blue Apron and similar companies without really trying, possibly through a buyout or hiring all of the management.

Continuing a conversation, and seeking more perspectives ...

Continuing a conversation, and seeking more perspectives ...

Say we've got a whole caravan of small space ships, each with population of about a family. Each ship is free, sure, but also reliant upon each other ship for trade, specialized competencies, and friendship.

Or, as Matt Johnson put it: This game is about a proto-typical american western town in the 1800s. Only it's actually in space. And it's the 2800s. And the towns can move.

What game system do we use for this?

I reckon there's two ways to crew up a commercial spaceship:

I reckon there's two ways to crew up a commercial spaceship:
Either, you have enough crew to have an expert plus someone always on watch in: Propulsion, Environmental, Gravity, Computer Systems, Astrogation, Piloting.

If you have pax, add steward. If you have cargo, add Trade. If you worry about pirates, add sensors. If you are a pirate, add weapons and a squad of boarders.

Lots of people. Dozens. But, probably not hundreds because crew is expensive and, unless you're some sort of crazy pirate or military craft, you want to minimize crew.

And that can be fun in an RPG! There's a lot of people to talk to, have triangles, etc.

Alternatively, you can have, I dunno, like four people. An engineer, someone on the bridge, someone to buy cargo maybe or to go be bad guys, maybe a pecialist pilot or astrogator. Maybe up to a dozen people.

Ad that can be fun, too! Then the PCs are the crew, and that's pretty great, too.

Is there a third option?

Do you like me?

Last night, in Apocalypse World:

Last night, in Apocalypse World:

... The hardhholder totally abandoned his hold to take his gang out to negotiate with a warfleet
... the battlebabe, on a jet ski, evaded damage and involvement, while making enemy ships shoot at each other
... the gunlugger took on a large gang, and set up a sniper nest to control the situation
... the Faceless found a shoulder mounted artillery gun that fires through ships
... the chopper, on a PT boat, boarded a freighter and stole a new boat.
... and the news, oh the news, made everything complicated and gave us Johny Dollar, the man with the action packed expense account, playing on every radio.

Would you like to know more? Which character did I play?

This is the story of how I died.

This is the story of how I died.

I am Sister Maria Olivia, of the Sisters of the Holy Family. I am the servant of Henriette Deville, and Bride of Christ.

I was born and raised in New Orleans. I can see the future in visions given to me by God. I knew my death was coming, and that it was my only path of redemption for the terrible things I have done. I have always tried to help others, and have often not cared for their consent in the doing.

You should know before Christ, there was another man in my life. We had a child, who lives in the Orphanage The child was kidnapped, and I called in debts from those I trust the most to save her. She's mine, and she belongs to God.

I called upon the strength of Roxy, the teenager wolf I mentor. I called upon Cleopatra the Vampire, who brings wealth and connections. I called upon the mind of Rashid, who is aware of more than most mortals. Finally, I knew I would need the magic of Caiman the Fey.

Each would be necessary for this to succeed. For my child to be rescued, and to ensure my own redemption.

Between Roxy's nose and Cleopatra's limo, we were able to make a bee line for the one who had kidnapped my child. This took us far outside our city, but I knew we had to find her.

We were ambushed. A machine gun nest, death cultists wielding obsidian arrows, and seers who had sought my protection earlier just a month prior. It was the seers who had taken my child.

The limo was ruined by gunfire, doubly so when Roxy tossed it at the machine gunners. I was attacked by some very upset death cultists, who would not listen to reason and, instead, Caiman had to use his magic to send them to a better place. After knocking a few out, Rashid disappeared in the middle of the carnage, and Caiman opened a portal to his Swamp Court.

Cleopatra managed to grab the Seer who kidnapped my child, and expressed that she grew hungry for blood. The Fey of the Swamp Court brought us to a large tree, where I began my interrogation. Roxy stayed to finish the fight, and Rashid investigated further.

The dying seer was forthcoming, though in the end I had to pull more information from their mind than they wished to give. As she died, I saw with her eyes. She could see the terrible things I had done, and they echoed around my habit making me look a demon.

Cleopatra tried to devour her blood as she died, but missed the mark. Cleopatra was in bad shape.

Roxy called in a favor from the Duke of Lightning to join us in the Fey court. We compared notes, and agreed. I hope Roxy learned her information with kinder methods than we did. I do worry about her. She kindly brought back two of the seers who attacked once, one a bit the worse for wear.

After we rested a bit -- and Cleopatra grew hungrier -- the Fey returned us as close to New Orleans as the swamp would allow. We took a bus back.

With Roxy, I finally admitted that Monseigneur Villanova is not what he seems. That he was blackmailing me, making me act as bait for a trap, and that I was doing so to protect Roxy from a similar fate. She did not accept this, as I knew she would not.

We heard from Rashid. He had gathered similar information to our own, and was recruiting magicians to assist.

On the bus, Cleopatra's hunger began to overwhelm her. She needed to feed, and asked the seers if they would give her their blood. They asked me if it was safe. Is it safe they asked. To have a vampire drink your blood.

I knew they would believe me if I lied: I am the great and powerful Oracle. I see all. And I knew lying would place the last nail, and I would be forever damned. I saw clearer than the possible futures that lay ahead of me, and choose the path of redemption.

I allowed Cleopatra to consume what she needed. In so doing, this predator ignored the needs of her prey and drank her full. She learned my deepest secret: that the father of my child is Monseigneur Villanova.

As I passed into the loving embrace of my Lord Jesus, I saw the future laid out in all it's glory. I saw Christ upon a throne ruling the heavens and the earth. And before that blessed time, I saw my own child coming to unite New Orleans under her. I saw every knee bow and every tongue confess that she was the Lord.

Even now, without me, my friends go to confront the one who kidnapped my child. I wish them godspeed.

[ OMG, you guys. The vampire totally ate my Oracle and it was amazing. I adore End Moves. This group is amazing. Consistently, I think I am the least creative and least skilled player at the table. ]

I know exactly why I so adore the Solar Clipper series: everyone knows their job.

I know exactly why I so adore the Solar Clipper series: everyone knows their job.

Even if they don't know how to do it, they know what is assigned to them. What falls within their purview.

That should would be nice. I've never had a job like that.

Please give me something distracting, fun, and with totally no connection to my job, politics, or recent events in...

Please give me something distracting, fun, and with totally no connection to my job, politics, or recent events in Alexandria, VA.

I'm putting together a project dependency chart. This is not a thing I normally do!

I'm putting together a project dependency chart. This is not a thing I normally do!

There are three options: data source is needed and we have it, data source is needed and we don't have it, data source is not needed.

Clearly, we have it is green. Maybe a green dot.

What should the others be? Red for missing, black for unneeded?

Virginians: remember to vote.

Virginians: remember to vote.

I don't care which Democrat you vote for, but I do want voter turnout to be truly absurd.

Guess whose seeing HAMILTON on his birthday?

I think the sort of game design I'm interested in is about shaping the conversation; what sort of conversation do I...

I think the sort of game design I'm interested in is about shaping the conversation; what sort of conversation do I want to have? What sort of conversation do I think is interesting at the table? What stories do I want people to tell me about?

Board games do this, too, of course. In Carc we have discussions regarding how terrible our friends are; in Catan there are discussions about beneficial trades.

In Apocalypse World, there's a conversation shaped by how hot, cool, sharp, hard, and weird our characters are. The moves shape the conversation, for sure.

The hacks all modify the conversation, right.

Dungeon World has conversations about killing monsters; Urban Shadows has conversations about politics and debt. Monsterhearts, oh monsterhearts, conversations about sex and teenagers and teenage sexuality.

Dungeons & Dragons -- I'm not actually sure -- but at least some versions the conversation has been about distance, base attack bonuses, and THACO. That's all pretty abstract.

What conversation does your game engender?

I adore RPGs about voluntary families.

I adore RPGs about voluntary families.

Jay Treat's A Pirate's Life did this well; my own pbta space pirate game is angling towards it, though without the purity of focus of Jay's work.

I was reminded of this at, of all places, the Lego Store. They've got a 6-legged Star Wars walker that I did not recognize; it is apparently from Rebels, about a small group who take over a walker, and turn it into a permanently moving home.

Firefly is precisely this; a small group who live together voluntarily and try to make a life together. Each with foibles and strengths, and either genuine fondness for each other or respect.

Both of these are what I want from my rebellions, rather than the hierarchy we see in Rogue One; small groups opting out of the Machine, fighting it when they can. Most importantly, keeping their own moral code rather than ceding it to their leaders.

I've tried doing this in Apocalypse World, usually to dismal failure. I don't know if that's me, poor communication, or, as I suspect, if AW doesn't lend itself towards it.

Advice appreciated.

Who knows about print on demand?

Who knows about print on demand?

Maybe 50 to 100 pages?

Recent experience sought. Asking for a friend. Honest.

In the Convocation of Malqort, known to legend as the Caliphate of Azithan, and to it's neighbors as the Necromancer...

In the Convocation of Malqort, known to legend as the Caliphate of Azithan, and to it's neighbors as the Necromancer Kingdom ...

There's these designed cities, right.

And they all start the same: some farmland, a road, the start of a tenement.

Sometimes, along a river. Often, with inns and cathedrals. sometimes, traders and builders are invited.

As towns expand, the local priests make investments of their Lifeless in these different areas. As they complete these areas, they get the votes of the Faithful they attract or feed. You get a lot more votes for big cities, farms pay off based on the number of cities they supply, and roads are based on length.

If you have one priest-architect, things work out. What happens as more work in a single area?

Some things I've learned over the years:

Some things I've learned over the years:
1. Resumes should be one page, and simple.
2. Cover letters should be tailored, and simple.
3. After the first 3 months, the work laptop is closed at 5 PM. For emergencies, 6 PM.
4. On the outside of a company trying to get in, the bureaucracy has all the power. Once you're in, quite the opposite.
5. Ask for raises. You might get them. You might not. The reaction is worth noticing. And you for sure won't get one without asking.
6. Apply for jobs. You for sure won't get a job you don't apply for.
7. Recruiters are generally not worthwhile.
8. Save automatically.
9. Investments you need in less than five years should not be in the stock market.
10. Always use passive funds.

I probably make less money than you'd expect for a middle-aged white guy with ten years experience, a masters from Carnegie who does computer related knowledge work. I make enough.

Tony Lower-Basch

Tony Lower-Basch

From the Comey written testimony:
"The President then returned to the topic of Mike Flynn, saying, 'He is a good guy and has been through a lot.' He repeated that Flynn hadn’t done anything wrong on his calls with the Russians, but had misled the Vice President. He then said, 'I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.'"

Dear folks from outside the US

Dear folks from outside the US,

We're sorry. We really are.

-- Most of us.

P.S. - I don't know if this makes it better or worse, but we are trying. Many of us.

COMEY testimony begins shortly.

COMEY testimony begins shortly.

I've got WAMA 885 on. How are you going to listen?

Tell me about SPACE PIRATES

Tell me about SPACE PIRATES

Show me pictures of SPACE PIRATESHIPS

In the last month or so:

In the last month or so:
-- We visited friends who moved to the country. Something about DC being stressful.

-- homemade strawberry-rhubarb infused cocktails

-- One of my little RPG experiments has been playtested with feedback from professionals.

-- I was asked to run a cool gaming event next year.

-- I got to spend time role-playing with a friend from the other side of the world, including introducing her to a couple of my favorite RPGs. Yes, I mean Fiasco.

-- Two different components of the business I work for are trying to buy my time. They both think they want me 100%, and both probably need around 40%. Both are essentially side gigs at work. This is called "job security"

And tomorrow, Comey testifies which will obviously be the beginning of impeachment proceedings.

How has your month been?

DS9 S1: Ep 9: Dax

DS9 S1: Ep 9: Dax

Or, one of the ones I always skip.

Early on, Julian doesn't take a soft no for an answer.
Then, Dax gets kidnapped and (essentially) raped.

Not an episode I want to watch.

For years, I've had a widget in gmail of Google Calendar. It's been great!

For years, I've had a widget in gmail of Google Calendar. It's been great!

Over the last few weeks, it has disapeared.

It finally disapeared from my chromebook.

What gives, Google?

Solar Wind and Sales.

Solar Wind and Sales.

Reworking a couple of playbooks. I'm moving the Master of the House to be opposite the Fence such that your crew either can move booty or has a bar. Hard choice. These both focus on Trade.

That frees up the constable, who never quite jelled. Instead, I'll put that opposite the Shipboard AI and rename it the crewer.

The Shipboard AI has some pretty extreme near MC moves, like telling people they should roll, interpreting a 6-, and telling people to mark XP. I'm hoping to create a fog, where the AI and the MC have overlapping responsibilities. Eventually, I'd like to get rid of the MC altogether but that is for another time.

The crewer, though, is simple. You mark XP for solving problems with kindness. When someone does something shitty, you can have a conversation to talk them through it. You can call for people to settle their differences, and welcome new comers.

Open to ideas!

Dear friends

Dear friends,

It has been a while since I've asked.

How have you made the world safer for your neighbors?

I've continued to reach out to my elected representatives. I'm helping make our local gaming spaces safer, though I for sure don't have point on that.

I've become more involved in local politics, albeit in order to mitigate the catastrophic effects of this administration. We're right outside DC, so local politics are national politics.

There's a certain white supremacist who is slowly being kicked out of the area. There's a whole campaign ongoing regarding "All Are Welcome", by which business means everyone except that asshole.

Love to you and yours! He will not divide us.

The Year of the Flood, Margaret Atwood, chapter 17, page 84 in the library binding:

The Year of the Flood, Margaret Atwood, chapter 17, page 84 in the library binding:

"
They were thieves, said Amanda, looking for stuff they could lift, but they said they'd take Amanda and her mother to dry land and a shelter if they'd do a trade.
"What kind of trade?" I asked.
"Just a trade," said Amanda.
"

OMG.

Sometimes I see brilliant writing and my can fathom the differences in writing quality between me and them. Orwell or Scalzi are both examples of this: I can see what they are doing as they lead up to it and I'm impressed with the skill. This isn't to compare the two, but to say they give me a similar feel and I see them expertly using the same type of tools I have access to. Though, if I have access to, say, blunt scissors then Scalzi has a chainsaw and Orwell a scalpel.

With Atwood, I'm having a different reaction, a feel more like: look what genius has wrought. A sense of awe.

Atwood is using entirely different tools, and I'm seeing just the barest glimpses of what those are. Instead of a cutting implement, she's got fire tamed and at her disposal.

It's inspiring the way Victor Hugo was inspiring. Not to be a better writer, as the gulf is extreme and unknowable, but perhaps something better: to strive for a better world.

Continuing my fan-fic about our friend Ishmael that I started here:

Continuing my fan-fic about our friend Ishmael that I started here:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+WilliamNichols/posts/TQS5FJiumkV

This one is a bit revisionist. There is no canon.

Call me Ishmael. It's the name my mother gave me.

I'm the third mat and Chief Engineer of the Agamemnon. My wife, Bev, is the Captain. My best friend, Pip, is XO and Master Trader. His fiance, Susan, is our fourth and Chief Steward. We have six crew, usually. The four of us own most of the ship, with investors helping out: Pip's family, Bev's family, and Federated Freight, the company that first hired me and Pip.

We bought the Aggie at scrap prices, and after a few years she showed her age. We had soaring costs, and just keeping her in repair was taking most of our time. I was spending most of my time in the engine room, working on the algae matrix, and keeping the sails operational.

And I wasn't the only one: Bev was having to re-calibrate the controls constantly, Pip was finding it harder to get updates on prices, and Susan was running interference on passengers growing unhappy.

We'd need a new ship, or at least a major in dock overhaul. Pip started looking. He and Bev are both from well-established spacer families, with some good connections. I don't know how they both wound up with groundhogs like me and Susan.

Let me tell you a little about the Aggie. She is a small ship, at under 10mt. She's a Starliner, with large windows. She's got 10 cabins; we used four for ourselves and our crew, leaving six for passengers. Because she's so small, she can make transition real close to a star system, which cuts down on travel between systems dramatically. While we can make a trip in two weeks, it'd take a 40kt ship months. We'd stocker her with luxury linens, bought the nicest ship suits, and generally accidentally made a fast luxury passenger vessel.

We made bank, at least at first.

We always kept a crew, and wound up with six. Susan had an assistant to help with the passengers, Pip hired one person to help with the cargo, we had three deck personnel, and I hired two engineers. The more or less permanent crew was Billy with passengers, Sally in cargo, John, Maria, and Bub in Deck, and Jooda and Kane in engineering.

That ate into the profits a bit -- crew shares are divided by rank -- and I had a suspicion we wouldn't need so much help if the Aggie wasn't so old.

I digress. In our search for a new ship, Pip found a lead halfway across the quadrant where Susan was raised. We decided to pay a visit. We decided to stay in port for a while, so Pip could get to know Susan's father.

Turns out, he runs a greasy spoon. And it is delicious. The smell of bacon wafts through that level.

The ten of us -- that's us plus the crew -- were invited over, and he reserved a table just for us. Susan handled the introductions, and as soon as he heard my name, he froze.

Turns out, Susan's my half-sister. We've got the same dad.

We both cried. It was weird to find out this way. But, better to have realized it now than to have been going to that diner for twenty years and not know it. That'd be tragic, and for no reason.

I told him about mom, he told me about his new family. I knew some from Susan, but it was great to hear the other side. Same thing with his time with my mom. They just never quite clicked, though he'd always had a soft spot for her.

The ship Pip had looked for dried up, and we decided to rehab the Aggie instead. That could take months, but we could fix some nagging issues we'd always had. The nearest dock was a few weeks away.

Before we went, Pip and Susan tied the knot. Dad got to give her away, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. For our last trip before refitting the Aggie, Dad asked if he could come along. Not as a passenger exactly, but to take on the cooking duties to give Susan a break.

Bev agreed, this was a great idea. I'd XO for this last journey, and we'd treat Susan and Pip as guests. They'd get a real honeymoon.

What you like to know what improvements we made to the ship?

What comes to mind when you read the word battlecruiser?

Oh man.

Oh man. I'd been worried I was falling out of love with reading. That, unwillingly my tastes were changing from books to phone games. I've had difficulty reading more than 5 or 10 pages at once, for the last couple of books.

No more worries. I start a Margaret Atwood novel, and all of a sudden was sixty pages in. I only stopped as it was time to do other things.

I read a lot of genre fiction. Why did I not read Atwood twenty years ago?

[ The obvious answer is obvious, folks. And I won't deny it, but it's not like she's the first women author I've read, either. ]

Who'd be interested in a Bleedy Larp at Nova Con this July?

Who'd be interested in a Bleedy Larp at Nova Con this July?

Location: Tysons Cornerish
Date: July 28

Sean Leventhal, Patty Kirsch, Monica Fulvio, George Austin, Christo Meid, Misha B (I'm an optimist), Megan Knouff

Signal level of interest and converse.

https://www.novacomic-con.com/

Edit: I'm a typo machine!