He had been that young once, that sure of himself and his ability to remake the world in the shape he chose. And it had been true, within bounds. It seemed like something that had happened to someone else, except when it seemed like it had all happened a week before.
The Tyrant’s Law, by Daniel Abraham
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nT6BO0FH5M
A while back someone did a screencast covering a Wesnoth game that I played against the then reigning champion of Wesnoth, Dauntless (he’s still ranked #3 today). This may not interest you if you’ve never played Wesnoth, but I think Wesnoth is a fascinating combination of chess-like strategy and poker-like risk management, and I wish it were more popular.
The good news is that I won this game against a higher-ranked opponent, the bad news is that I won partly due to incredibly good luck at crucial moments. I made some mistakes, which Dauntless exploited to the hilt, but my luck allowed me to recover. Of course, Dauntless made mistakes too, otherwise I would never have had the chance to get lucky 🙂 At any rate, this was a hard-fought game with complex tactics and strategy, and despite my mistakes and luck I feel I acquitted myself well.
If nothing else, watch this video to hear the commentator Neki boldly advance his opinions and get really excited about the game ^_^ Sadly Neki left the Wesnoth community in frustration when his efforts to create a serious Wesnoth esports competition, complete with sponsors and prize money, fell through. I kind of miss him, as abrasive as he could be at times.
P.S. Make sure to watch the video fullscreen in HD quality, otherwise you won’t be able to read any text and it’s hard to tell what is going on.
“I remember the man you used to be,” I said. “What happened to that guy? He was something else.”
From Circle of Enemies by Harry Connolly
Intentional spending is when you determine what makes you the happiest and then plan your finances so that you can afford as much of it as possible.
When It’s Okay To Spend Money
This made me feel a little better about a purchase I was debating 🙂
Icky Blossoms is one of the most danceable bands around and I have a crush on their music. I saw them in a tiny venue in some hotel in NYC and they blew me away (then I saw them open for The Faint and I was blown even further away). “Heat Lightning” is probably my favorite song on their current album but they are all fantastic. (Good job choosing the opening song for your album, guys!)
The 30 Most Hilarious Autocorrect Struggles Ever
These autocorrect failures made me laugh so hard that my throat started to hurt and I couldn’t finish reading them.
But I’ve always thought — tests are a gift. And great tests are a great gift. To fail the test is a misfortune. But to refuse the test is to refuse the gift, and something worse, more irrevocable, than misfortune.
“Shards of Honor” (Vokosigan Saga), by Lois McMaster Bujold
Now that books are increasingly going digital, what other physical objects can libraries share with the community? “Seeds” is one answer that never would have occurred to me.
“I stand up next to a mountain” – Want to know how a bulked-up Quetzalcoatlus would compare to a giraffe?
UPDATE: The Flickr link is dead, instead here’s a relevant link: 9 things you may not know about giant azhdarchid pterosaurs
Why do I @#$%ing love everything the Front Bottoms do? I had to reblog this video for the fireworks, if nothing else.
UPDATE: The Front Bottoms violate basically every fireworks safety guideline / regulation in this video, so don’t try this at home. If you want to learn how to shoot fireworks safely I recommend taking the PGI Display Operator Certification course. The PGI has a perfect safety record and are experts at using fireworks responsibly.