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Perhaps my mind is addled by all of the Tim Russert eulogies and enconiums I've been seeing recently (and, I sorrow that I didn't spend more time previous watching him, though I did sit next to him in 15th Street traffic within the last 3 weeks), but i have been wondering about something... Have I had a positive impact, however minimal, in your life?Be it through personal interaction, virtual/electronic interacts, or even via my work (mostly gaming material, at this point). I would like to know. (If anyone wants to turn this into an LJ meme, I strongly support such. It is gratifying to know that one has had an impact on other people.) Tags: mental health, philosophy, vitamin u
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(inderectly yoinked from ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) mgrasso)A House of Puzzleshttp://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/15817The long and short of it is that a family paid to have their (fabulously expensive) apartment renovated. The family wanted something special, and boy is that what they got. During the renovation, architect/designer Eric Clough embarked on a multi-year secret project to hide puzzles in the apartment, unbeknownst to the apartment’s owners, and not even discovered until months after the project’s completion. The project included extensive historical research, puzzles, and even a soundtrack. Too damned cool. Tags: 240 dollars worth of puddin', covet, mad science, mental health, philosophy
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Quoted from an email I just sent to the head of my day-job's IT department and HR: This evening, as I was preparing to leave, my car's electrical system suddenly crapped out. No power, no turning over of the engine -- even the power locks and gearshift didn't work.
Not being particularly automotively-minded, this sent me into a state of panic.
In looking through my car's handbook, I figured I needed to check the battery and the fuses. I opened the hood, but could see nothing in the gloom. The parking garage of our building is dark, and I have no flashlight in my car (something to be remedied, indeed!).
I came back up to the office to see if I could beg, borrow, or steal a flashlight to check out the electrical issues. [M] and [K] came back down to my car with me. (User Support has a whole new meaning, here!)
When I tried to start my car when they accompanied me, it STARTED. I popped the hood again, and the [day-job] IT department quickly figured out the problem.
I just got back my car from some collision bodywork last week. Apparently, what happened was that the screw holding down the bracket that holds the car battery was either never replaced or not screwed in tightly enough. This caused the connections to loosen, denying my car of power.
With great speed and insight, [M] and [K] figured this out. They tightened the battery connections, and even found an appropriately-sized screw to fasten down the bracket!
They are my heroes.
I ask that this "going above and beyond the call of IT duty" be added to their records, and figure on their reviews for this year. Because not only did they ease my panic and fear, they helped me get my car going again.
(I'll check the bracket tomorrow morning, before I come in; if there's a problem, I'll hit up my dealership.)
Sincerely,
Chad Underkoffler
[day-job] Chief Editor In other news, I need to purchase a flashlight and basic tool kit for the car. Recommendations? Tags: day-job, gah, mental health, philosophy
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First, a personal anecdote. Back in the last millennium, I either heard or read something that ended up causing a fundamental shift in my perspective and personal psychology. It had to do with active listening and conversational stances. The short form of this insight was along the lines of "in a conversation, are you actually listening to the other participants, or just waiting for your turn to speak?" IIRC, one method to judge this involved paying attention to the pronouns one used in speaking -- are you using more "I" than "we" constructions, for example. ( STUFF )In light of this, I think this habitual pronoun usage helps explain an element (among many, including the substantial and the style-focused) of my distaste for Senator Clinton. I'd love to hear the observations/opinions on this sort of pronoun usage from my f-list -- especially in light of the "unused" pronouns [singular you, plural you (yinz/y'all), and he/she/it) -- be it discussing typical conversation or the political arena. Tags: mental health, philosophy, reference
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ysabetwordsmith has a great post up here on how to support your favorite author. There's two bits I want to quote, regarding feedback:
* Feedback is candy. When people respond to something an author has written, it triggers the pleasure circuit. A lot. Just being noticed is gratifying. Positive feedback -- knowing that you made someone smile, or made their life easier -- is really, really gratifying. Some authors also enjoy negative feedback. If you enjoy screaming at each other, go for it. Whatever floats your boat. Just don't sit there with your mouth open, saying nothing.
[snip]
* Feedback is fuel. When you pay attention to someone's work, you're sending energy in that direction. (You may have seen how a performer onstage can use an audience's excitement to fire up their creative engine in a delicious feedback loop. This works much the same way.) Many authors can use this energy to power their writing. Since authors are frequently busy, every extra bit of energy helps.
There's a lot more to the post, though, go and check it out! I found these two bits very interesting and illuminating, given my current feelings of heavy loads and lack of energy energy (see the State o' the Chad posts). Something I think I said to drivingblind yesterday was along the lines of "too many open projects drains all my juice away, and also makes it difficult to relax, because they all take up attention and make it difficult to set aside." I get snappish, rude, easily distracted, insomniac, frustrated, blocked, unfocused when my energy levels get too low. Getting a goodly chunk of Small Favor notes written yesterday helped reduce the "size" of that particular mojo-drain. Today, I feel slightly less drained and irritable than I did yesterday, but I still am way below my usual levels of affability, energy, and mellowness. Thus, more work on those notes tonight. OBVIOUS LESSON FOR SELF: When you get like this, dumbass, pick one thing and ride it to a completion point, so you can close the spigot. Tags: game design, mental health, work journal, writing
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Just a quick update... all of my current projects are still live, I've tried to service them all a bit this past week... and it's sucking the juice out of me. Here's what I'm gonna do with them, so as not to go insane. ( snipping for sanity )Well, that almost cut it in half. Also: Find time to sleep, somewhere in there. Tags: dresden, evilhat, fiction-and-poetry, game design, gaming, mental health, movies, pdq, pt-job, s7s, sekrit projekt, sf&f, work journal, writing, zoz
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To aid my own sanity and time-management, here's the list of freelance projects I'm currently juggling (note, please, I am not including day-job stuff or social stuff): 1. Gearing up to run several local gamma playtest sessions of Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies, to test out rules changes made through the beta playtests. After I get feedback and testing on that... 2. ...moving onto the gamma draft revision of the S7S manuscript with lessons learned and general text-tightening/awesomifying. This will be sent out to peer reviewers for comment and gamma playtesters for testing. 3. I am still contributing to The Dresden Files RPG; the most important element of this will be my research and analysis on Small Favor, once I actually buy the book later this month. 4. I am writing Zorcerer of Zo-based fairy tales, with the aim of putting out a small fiction collection. Right now, I've written five -- "The Blue Tailor," "The Wooden Pirate," "The Witch Girl," "The Horse Prince," and "The Gingerbread Knight." I probably need at least five more (and art) to make a slim digest book. 5. I (apparently) have begun a novel, trading on two of my big interests: swashbuckling and mysticism. One chapter down. 6. I am collaborating on at least one (possibly three) movie scripts with a colleague. 7. I am providing feedback to other authors and game designers regarding their works on an ad hoc basis. 8. I will be picking up some freelance editing work for another Standards Developing Organization (SDO), in the interests of making money. 9. I am positive I have one or two other low-impact projects I cannot summon to mind right now. That's the State of the Chad at the moment. I will be pondering how best to service all of these endeavors with regard to the limitations of time and attention. If you are involved with any of the above listed projects, please take this as an explanation of why I may be a bit terse in responses. Tags: dresden, evilhat, fiction-and-poetry, game design, gaming, mental health, movies, pdq, pt-job, s7s, sekrit projekt, sf&f, work journal, writing, zoz
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