zircon Members
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Posts posted by zircon
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OK all, please hop in irc.esper.net #ocrdnd at around 6PM EST. We'll figure things out from there.
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OK cool, just need someone to show me around Roll20... can't figure out how to do video/audio yet.
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I do most of the following:
* Write, produce & sell albums
* Custom scoring work for video games, film, TV, ads
* Music licensing via libraries / publishers
* Create custom sounds + instruments for use by other musicians & producers
* Teaching / lessons
* Perform & record for other people (i.e. studio session work / remote sessions)
* Mixing, mastering, orchestration & other musician services
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Yes I would want to keep it going if people are having fun.
OK, so suggestion. If you're interested in playing, please go here...
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/gettingStarted.html
Read a bit about character creation, races, and classes, so you have some idea of what to expect. Think about what KIND of character you want to play.
* Someone who prefers to fight at range with bows?
* Someone who sneaks around the battlefield, moving swiftly + striking quickly?
* A melee tank type that can soak up damage and dish out big melee hits?
* A berserker / rage type character?
* A healer? A buffer?
* A mage with lots of spells (but squishy?)
* A pet character?
EDIT: OK, how's this for game #1 on Saturday...
kitty
Kenogu Labs
Koriantor
HalcyonSpirit
What we could potentially do is alternate each week, have another game on Monday with Brandon, NJ, relyance + 1-2 others.
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That's half the fun!
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Pathfinder is a pen & paper game like Dungeons & Dragons. If you have no experience at all I would recommend reading a little about D&D/tabletop RPGs to see if it would appeal to you.
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We can talk Monday evening as a possibility too, would people be free 6PM then? Show of hands?
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Yes, I'd like people to make new characters. We can do that during the start of the session as a group - more fun that way, IMO
Especially since we'll be (potentially) teaching a new player too. -
OK, who could make 5PM EST this Saturday (9/27)? ~4 hour session or so.
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I'm interested in running a Pathfinder campaign - or at least a couple adventures - for a party of 3-5. We can play via the Roll20 system + video chat. Any experience level is welcome, from no D&D/Pathfinder experience to veteran players.
1. Who's interested in playing?
2. What's your availability (weekdays, weekends, which times..)
(BTW for my MD/DC/NoVA friends, this is a separate campaign!)
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Well, worth noting, video games are WAY bigger than movies.
http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2614915
As of 2013, the video game industry was about $93 billion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_industry#Statistics
The entire world's film industry is only about $35 billion.
TV is a lot bigger than both though.
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Whoops, good catch... fixed.
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Besides a brand-new full walkthrough showing each and every instrument, we're now offering an ESSENTIALS version of the library. This has two mics (close + hall), 16 bit samples, and about half the instruments of the full library - all the core stuff, like bass drum, two snares, cymbals, aux perc, timpani, etc - for only $89.
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Yeah so, that "blowing off the lid stuff"... real good journalism. It was all proven false. Zoe did donate to IFred. Anita did talk to the FBI. Even that scumbag writing for Breitbart admitted it himself. No apologies or anything - it's totally cool to make 100% fabricated accusations up and then not say "I'm sorry" when they're proven false.
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Today, Impact Soundworks released our first ever symphonic library. Rhapsody: Orchestral Percussion is designed to be a comprehensive swiss army knife for orchestral percussion in any style. I've been using it as my go-to library for months now, and I'm very excited now that it's finally released. Check out the details below:
Rhapsody is RELEASED! Click here to get it!Impact Soundworks is thrilled to release our flagship symphonic library, RHAPSODY: Orchestral Percussion. This exquisite virtual instrument covers both the essential canon of symphonic percussive instruments, like snares, bass drum, cymbals, timpani, xylophone, tubular bells, triangle, etc., and a full compliment of aux percussion such as bongo, conga, cajon, djembe, crotales, anvil, sleigh bells, and more.
The library is provided with three user-blendable mic positions: close, stage, and hall. Unlike many existing percussion libraries, our close mics are exceptionally dry (with just a hint of air), allowing for maximum versatility when blending with other libraries or customizing with your own reverb. Stage and hall mics offer natural, but not overwhelming, reverb from the beautiful hall.
Our philosophy with Rhapody: Orchestral Percussion is to provide a versatile and expansive collection of percussive instruments, sampled with our signature depth, that is equally suitable for both "epic" scoring as well as more intimate pieces, classical mockups, hybrid tracks, and everything in between. Flexibility is the name of the game! Pricing information will be available soon - as always, our goal is to provide an exceptional value for the working composer.
INSTRUMENT LIST
Bass Drum w/ Rolls
Bongo
Cajon (two types)
Castanets
Conga
Cowbell
Crotales
Cymbal Scraped
Darbuka (two types)
Djembe (two types)
Finger Cymbal
Glockenspiel
Gongs w/ Rolls
Gran Cassa w/ Rolls
Guiro
Marimba
Metals 5x
Piatti + Mute
Ride Cymbal w/ Rolls
Shaker w/ Rolls
Sleigh Bells
Snares (3x sizes / tunings) w/ Rolls
Snare Ensemble w/ Rolls
Tam Tam w/ Rolls
Tambourine w/ Rolls
Temple Blocks
Timpani w/ Rolls
Toms
Tom Ensemble w/ Rolls
Triangle w/ Rolls
Tubular Bells
Vibraslap
Woodblocks
Xylophone
SCRIPT FEATURES
* Easy mic mixing - ON/OFF for each mic, volume, panning, stereo width
* Individual tune, volume, and ADSR for each instrument
* Assign instruments to unique outputs
* Extra convolution reverb available
* Internal preset system for saving mic mixes or instrument settings
* Per-instrument Solid GEQ
* Custom mic offsets for increasing/decreasing mic 'distance'
* Elegant, intuitive design
VIDEO
DEMOS
https://soundcloud.com/isworks/sets/rhapsody-orchestral-percussion
PRICE / RELEASE
Price: $199 intro price through Sept 30th, MSRP $249
Visit our website to read more & purchase!
We can't wait to hear what you do with Rhapsody: Orchestral Percussion. Let us know what you think!
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Jill and I really wish we could have been there to hang out with people. We ended up working the entire weekend...
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Not a surprise that a writer for an ultra-conservative publication like Breitbart is being a shitlord.
https://twitter.com/TheQuinnspiracy
Quinn did donate to iFred.
As for Anita, like Ab said, there are a million explanations for why the SFPD didn't have Anita on record. (1) She might have contacted a different police department - the most obvious explanation. (2) She might have used a different name. (3) She might not have gotten to the point of filing a report, in which case there would be no record. etc.
In any case, as Quinn mentioned via Twitter, these ridiculous accusations put the *victims* in the position of having to basically doxx themselves by releasing private information publicly to appease internet trolls.
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I honestly and truthfully find it ethically HELPFUL and informing to see things depicted as I suspect they really were; a palpably barbarous past should make us appreciate our present, by contrast, much more. Unless, of course... we are impressionable imbeciles... I liked The Borgias for this reason; of course Game of Thrones is fictional, but I think it actually depicts a more realistically HUMAN past than most works of historical fiction manage.
There is something to be said for the power of COUNTEREXAMPLE. Unless, of course... you're Anita...
True, but I've heard the following point which I find has some truth as well. If we take a high fantasy game with dragons, wizards, magic, and lots of other totally made-up elements, it's not reasonable to say that violence/degradation of women is necessary for 'realism'. If we accept all the other made-up stuff, it's fair to say we can also accept a historical past where women are not degraded as much.
I can certainly understand the historical angle, just saying, it's not always a compelling argument if the game is full of heavy fantasy elements (and/or a world that is entirely fictional).
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One of my favorite #gamergate articles is from FORBES of all places:
I'm wondering how people feel about that. Andy in particular - you've pointed out (correctly, I think) the speculative nature of many of the accusations, but this writer is at least willing to treat some of the nastiest stuff as "alleged"...is that reluctance victim-blaming or harassment in and of itself, or just good journalism, displaying equal skepticism for information supporting either argument?
On victim blaming: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/09/03/nude-pictures-hackers-advice-blame-freedom-and-timing/
Makes some solid points - anyone beg to differ? This is exactly how I feel - sound advice is sound advice, the probability of becoming a victim CAN be reduced by avoiding certain behaviors, there IS often a sacrifice involved in terms of personal freedom that shouldn't be minimized, and timing is important.
Is there more to say? What part of that don't we all actually agree with?
The first article is long-winded but pretty thorough and concludes with some 'safe' points that I would agree with. I do think it glosses over some of the more obscene actions that were taken by the people harassing Quinn & co. That her personal information was spread over the internet is not a matter of opinion, but fact. Skype accounts being compromised, threats being issued over twitter, these things are public record... perhaps in his attempt to be as neutral as possible, the author may not have done his research on that side of things. But his conclusions are sound.
The article about the nuances of victim blaming, practical advice etc. is great. I'm in agreement with all of that.
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If you want to lose weight, I have a fairly simple piece of advice: track everything that you eat. Write down every calorie. That means weighing your food (buy a food scale, they're cheap) and beverages. You will likely be very surprised at how much you're consuming - I know I was. Once you get a sense of how much you're eating every day (average over the course of a week), adjust that down by about 500 calories per day. Weigh yourself over time and see how your weight fluctuates. If you aren't losing weight, you need to adjust further downward.
For example, I'm 5'9 / ~180 lbs right now.. down from ~191 a few months ago. I shoot to eat 1700-1800 calories a day. Doing this I've been losing a little less than a pound a week. While exercise is very healthy, you could exercise for 6 hours a day and it wouldn't matter to your weight IF you were eating more than you're burning. Thus, you need to TRACK what you eat and adjust your intake.
In terms of building muscle, it can be difficult to do WHILE losing weight, but if you're relatively untrained you will see "noob gains" over the course of a month or two. Do you have access to any gym equipment at all? Or just bodyweight stuff?
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Progress update - my lowest weight so far has been 178.2 pounds! I'm shooting for 1700-1800 cals a day which is NOT easy but I'm determined to get down to 170, maybe lower. In the meantime, I'm proud of my current lifts on my heavy set: bench 160x7, squat 230x8. I've made some marginal improvements on my bench despite losing weight and on basically everything else I'm maintaining. Not doing deadlift yet due to lower disc injury over a month ago but I'm looking forward to incorporating it into my routine.
Speaking of said injury, I'm doing physical therapy a few days a week and the therapist strongly recommended I work on my flexibility / core stabilization. So far that is doing wonders. I was dangerously inflexible due to not stretching at all - he suggested that a lack of flexibility in my hamstrings could have caused my lower back to get pulled in some weird positions during squats. So, I'm now doing a stretch routine (~15-20 mins) almost every day and it feels really nice.
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So what's the alternative? Maybe she shouldn't have shared her opinion at all? Yes, everyone knows that there are lots of trolls, misogynists, racists, sexists (etc) on the internet. Even if it's only 1% of the internet that's still millions of people engaging in terrible behavior. However, it's a sad state of affairs where we suggest that to avoid harassment, people should not share their opinions.
As for people like Quinn and Anita "exploiting" abusive tweets etc for financial gain, that is frankly absurd. Read what they've been saying on their Twitter feeds. Their lives are in shambles, particularly Quinn's. Nobody would willingly or knowingly subject themselves and their family to that level of exposure, harassment and negativity for a few bucks.
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One point that bears mentioning... Zoe's attackers are in many cases cowards hiding behind anonymity or random forum-goers with little regard for their reputation outside the like-minded venues they frequent. Their vitriol is more aggressive and their threats and actions more objectionable, no argument. Something that kind of bugs me, though, is that on the other side of the fence, you've got folks who are well-known, have professional reputations to consider, are (as you point out) actual game developers themselves, and are absolutely going batshit against people like TB, in public, or making sweeping generalizations about anyone & everyone that disagrees with them, Zoe, or Anita. While you're absolutely right that there's no equivalence in the levels of harassment, there's also very little equivalence in the reputation, notoriety, and bullhorn-power of the two opposing groups. The group that has little-to-nothing to lose is (unsurprisingly) behaving far worse, but the group that should be more concerned with image - both their own and of the industry they represent - isn't really knocking it out of the park...
I think there's such a strong emotional reaction from people in the industry because many of them have been in the position of receiving large amounts of internet hate, and they empathize with her position. Then, because of heightened sensitivity (which is probably warranted on their part) they're lashing out at people who don't deserve to be lashed out at.
I WILL say one thing about TB, even though I agree with the points he was making. His post could have been.. better-timed. He's publicly talked about how difficult it can be to be a visible figure in the game industry. Because of his popularity, he's received tons of hate himself and he said it's extremely stressful etc. By making that post at the time that he did, he drastically magnified the attention drawn to the situation.
I think he should have known that some % of his readers would be the type to take allegations & speculations as fact for any NUMBER of reasons, skimming over his points that cooler heads should prevail, that there are other possible explanations for things, and so forth. The end effect of his post, intended or not, was significantly increasing the amount of negative attention (putting it lightly) directed at Quinn & her friends. Were I in his position, and given the harassment already occurring, I probably would have waited a little while to make my points about game journalism and focused first on condemning people acting like shitlords.
OCR Pathfinder - Who wants to play?
in General Discussion
Posted · Edited by zircon
For clarity - that's 6PM EST today (Saturday). Please have a webcam / mic ready as well as access to the Pathfinder rules (can be found online)