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<article class="blog-post h-entry post-text"><header><h2 class="p-name entry-title blog-post-title"><a href="posts/2003/10/03/2003-10-03/" class="u-url">Recent Reading</a></h2>
<div class="metadata blog-post-meta">
<p class="byline author vcard"><span class="byline-name fn">T. Kurt Bond</span></p>
<p class="dateline"><a href="posts/2003/10/03/2003-10-03/" rel="bookmark"><time class="published dt-published" datetime="2003-10-03T00:00:00-05:00" title="2003-10-03 00:00">2003-10-03 00:00</time></a></p>
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<li><p><cite>One Virgin Too Many</cite>, by Lindsey Davis. Davis's Falco novels are
about a Roman informer mixing it up with low-lifes and senator's
daughters, and are a little in the style of the hard-boiled private
detective novels. That is slightly disconcerting, but they are very
enjoyable once you've adjusted your viewpoint a little.</p></li>
<li><p><cite>Ambrose Bierce & the One-Eyed Jacks</cite>, by Oakley M. Hall.</p></li>
</ul>
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</article><article class="blog-post h-entry post-text"><header><h2 class="p-name entry-title blog-post-title"><a href="posts/2003/09/30/2003-09-30/" class="u-url">Recent Reading</a></h2>
<div class="metadata blog-post-meta">
<p class="byline author vcard"><span class="byline-name fn">T. Kurt Bond</span></p>
<p class="dateline"><a href="posts/2003/09/30/2003-09-30/" rel="bookmark"><time class="published dt-published" datetime="2003-09-30T00:00:00-05:00" title="2003-09-30 00:00">2003-09-30 00:00</time></a></p>
<p class="commentline"> <a href="posts/2003/09/30/2003-09-30/#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="cache/posts/2003/09/30/2003-09-30.html">Comments</a>
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<li><p><cite>H.M.S. Surprise</cite>, <cite>The Mauritius Command</cite>, and <cite>Desolation Island</cite>,
by Patrick O'Brian.</p></li>
<li><p><cite>SPQR V: Saturnalia</cite>, by John Maddox Roberts. I've always enjoyed
Roberts's books, including his earlier SF, and was glad when, after a
hiatus, more of his SPQR novels turned up. In some ways Decius
Cecilius Metellus seems more of a typical Roman than the protagonists
of Saylor or Davis. I enjoy Saylor's books the most, I think, with
Davis's books coming after Roberts's.</p></li>
</ul>
<p><a class="reference external" href="http://www.sfrevu.com/ISSUES/2003/0308/Space%20Opera%20Redefined/Review.htm">Space Opera Redefined</a> is an interesting article that that
points out that the term <em>space opera</em> has changed in connotation from
“bad science fiction” to “colorful, large scale, science fiction
adventure”. I was vaguely aware that such a change had happened, but
was uneasy with it, and sometimes described books as “well written
space opera”.</p>
<nav><ul itemprop="keywords" class="tags">
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</article><article class="blog-post h-entry post-text"><header><h2 class="p-name entry-title blog-post-title"><a href="posts/2003/09/21/2003-09-21/" class="u-url">Playing an RPG with Lily</a></h2>
<div class="metadata blog-post-meta">
<p class="byline author vcard"><span class="byline-name fn">T. Kurt Bond</span></p>
<p class="dateline"><a href="posts/2003/09/21/2003-09-21/" rel="bookmark"><time class="published dt-published" datetime="2003-09-21T00:00:00-05:00" title="2003-09-21 00:00">2003-09-21 00:00</time></a></p>
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<p>Lily (my daughter; she'll be five next month) was in my office today
and asked about a miniature <a class="footnote-reference brackets" href="posts/2003/09/21/2003-09-21/#footnote-1" id="footnote-reference-1" role="doc-noteref"><span class="fn-bracket">[</span>1<span class="fn-bracket">]</span></a> that was in a little box on one of my
bookshelves. I told her it was used for playing a game, and showed her
some more of them. She was fascinated, and wanted to know if we could
play the game. I said ok, and got out my battlemat. Without thinking
too much about it, and influenced by the miniatures (typical <cite>AD&D</cite>
miniatures) I drew out the entrance to a cave in the side of a cliff,
and we played out exploring a typical mindless dungeon with several of
the miniatures and drawing the dungeon on the battle mat. Lily really
got into it, having her PCs go back to their house for supplies once
and exploring and scaring away monsters and looking for treasure. She
also really liked rolling dice.</p>
<p>In retrospective, she'd probably have had more fun if I'd run a
<cite>Bunnies & Burrows</cite> game; I don't have any <cite>B&B</cite> miniatures,
though. She's seen me play <cite>B&B</cite> (using the <a class="reference external" href="http://www.fudgerpg.com/">Fudge</a> rules) with her cousins a couple of
times, and has been a little bit interested, but given her greater
interest in the miniatures this time I think she might really enjoy a
<cite>B&B</cite> game now.</p>
<p>Watching Lily have fun moving the miniatures around and rolling dice
reminds me of how much shear <em>fun</em> this was when I first starting
gaming (playing <cite>D&D</cite> and <cite>AD&D</cite>). Part of the fascination was indeed just
the miniatures and dice, and that's something that I've not really
thought about in a long time. I've maintained in the past that part of
the fun of games like <a class="reference external" href="http://www.chaosium.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=39&products_id=62">Stormbringer</a> is actually rolling all
those funny shaped dice, and certainly there is something neat about a
well-painted minature figure.</p>
<aside class="footnote-list brackets"><aside class="footnote brackets" id="footnote-1" role="doc-footnote"><span class="label"><span class="fn-bracket">[</span><a role="doc-backlink" href="posts/2003/09/21/2003-09-21/#footnote-reference-1">1</a><span class="fn-bracket">]</span></span>
<p>I'm not much of a miniatures person myself (I don't play any
miniature games, for instance), and these miniatures were actually my
brother Alan's from many years ago when we actually played <cite>AD&D</cite>, and
some of them are actually official <cite>AD&D</cite> miniatures. I like being able
to look at a fight scene on a battle map and see where the characters
their opponents, however, and often use dice or 0.75 inch numbered
wooden cube to represent characters during complicated fight scenes.</p>
</aside></aside><nav><ul itemprop="keywords" class="tags">
<li><a class="tag p-category" href="categories/kids/" rel="tag">kids</a></li>
<li><a class="tag p-category" href="categories/lily/" rel="tag">lily</a></li>
<li><a class="tag p-category" href="categories/old-blog/" rel="tag">old blog</a></li>
<li><a class="tag p-category" href="categories/rpg/" rel="tag">rpg</a></li>
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</article><article class="blog-post h-entry post-text"><header><h2 class="p-name entry-title blog-post-title"><a href="posts/2003/09/20/2003-09-20-recent-reading-obrian-weber-simmons/" class="u-url">Recent Reading</a></h2>
<div class="metadata blog-post-meta">
<p class="byline author vcard"><span class="byline-name fn">T. Kurt Bond</span></p>
<p class="dateline"><a href="posts/2003/09/20/2003-09-20-recent-reading-obrian-weber-simmons/" rel="bookmark"><time class="published dt-published" datetime="2003-09-20T00:00:00-05:00" title="2003-09-20 00:00">2003-09-20 00:00</time></a></p>
<p class="commentline"> <a href="posts/2003/09/20/2003-09-20-recent-reading-obrian-weber-simmons/#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="cache/posts/2003/09/20/2003-09-20.html">Comments</a>
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<ul>
<li>
<p><cite>Master and Commander</cite> and <cite>Post Captain</cite>, by Patrick O'Brian. <cite>Post
Captain</cite>, the second book in O'Brian's series of Napoleonic era
British Navy novels featuring Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, is
considered by many to be the best of the series, and is often
recommended as the book to read first. It is easy to see why: many of
the recurring characters of the series are introduced here for the
first time, as well as the seeds of many things that are resolved much
latter.</p>
<p>I agree that it is one of the best books of the series, perhaps the
best, but I do not think it ideal as an introduction to the series.
Without the background given by <cite>Master and Commander</cite> I think that
<cite>Post Captain</cite> is harder to follow and the relationship between
Aubrey and Maturin much harder to understand. I think it is much
better for the reader new to Aubrey and Maturin to begin with
<cite>Master and Commander</cite>, a simpler (though not simple) book and to
get a good feeling for the two and their world before tackling the
lengthier and more involved <cite>Post Captain</cite>.</p>
<p>Certainly my own experience agrees with this course: I first read
<cite>Post Captain</cite> in the early '90s, and found it a real struggle to
finish. Perhaps a year later I found a copy of <cite>Master and
Commander</cite> and was enthralled. I immediately re-read <cite>Post Captain</cite>
and was further enthralled: in this re-reading the book pulled me in
and carried me through the story in a state of eager concentration,
much better prepared to see what the book had to offer.</p>
</li>
<li><p><cite>Ashes of Victory</cite> and <cite>War of Honor</cite>, by David Weber. These books,
the nineth and tenth of Weber's vastly popular science fiction novels
about Honor Harrington, an officer in the Royal Navy of the Star
Kingdom of Manticore, chronicle then events taking place after
Harrington's return from imprisonment and presumed death, the downfall
of the People's Republic of Haven, the reformation of the Republic of
Haven, and the continuing tensions between Haven and Manticore. The
Honor Harrington series are well written military science fiction,
probably the best series of any of the current crop of this currently
quite popular sub-genre.</p></li>
</ul>
<ul class="simple" id="illium">
<li><p><cite>Illium</cite>, by Dan Simmons. This novel, the first of two, is an
interesting blend of mythology and science fiction, mixing a re-
enactment of the <cite>Iliad</cite> (observed by academics re-embodied and
recycled at the whim of the gods), the reawakening of a
post-<em>Post Human</em> Earth, and the scrutiny and action of the robotic
residents of the outer solar system into an interesting and engaging
story. I'm looking forward to reading <cite>Olympos</cite>, the concluding
book of the duology.</p></li>
<li><p><cite>Captain Kilburnie</cite>, by William P. Mack. Mack is a retired U.S. Navy
Vice Admiral and this is his first novel about Fergus Kilburnie, a
young Scottish officer in the Napoleonic era British Navy. It was
originally published by the Naval Institute Press. I enjoyed the book,
although the last third seemed to lag, and am looking forward to
reading the sequel.</p></li>
<li><p><cite>Unicorn's Blood</cite>, by Patricia Finney. Intrigue and espionage in the
London and Court of Queen Elizabeth I, this is excellent historical
fiction with interesting characters, story, and an excellent
recreation of Elizabethan England.</p></li>
<li><p><cite>Otherness</cite>, by David Brin. A collection of Brin's short stories.</p></li>
</ul>
<nav><ul itemprop="keywords" class="tags">
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</article><article class="blog-post h-entry post-text"><header><h2 class="p-name entry-title blog-post-title"><a href="posts/2003/09/08/2003-09-08/" class="u-url">Remembrance & Choices</a></h2>
<div class="metadata blog-post-meta">
<p class="byline author vcard"><span class="byline-name fn">T. Kurt Bond</span></p>
<p class="dateline"><a href="posts/2003/09/08/2003-09-08/" rel="bookmark"><time class="published dt-published" datetime="2003-09-08T00:00:00-05:00" title="2003-09-08 00:00">2003-09-08 00:00</time></a></p>
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<section id="remembrance"><h2>Remembrance</h2>
<p>Warren Zevon died Sunday; he'll be missed.</p>
</section><section id="choices"><h2>Choices</h2>
<blockquote>
<p>What is more, it appears to me that this is a critical time for him, a
lesser climacteric — a time that will settle him in that particular
course he will never leave again, but will persevere in for the rest
of his life. It has often seemed to me that towards this period (in
which we all three li, more or less) men strike out there permanent
characters; or have those characters struck into them. Merriment,
roaring high spirits before this: then some chance concatenation, or
some hidden predilection (or rather inherent bias) working through,
and the man is in the road he cannot leave but must go on, making it
deeper and deeper (a groove, or channel), until he is lost in his mere
character — persona — no longer human but an accretion of qualities
belonging to this character. James Dillon was a delightful being. Now
he is closing in. It is odd — will I say heart-breaking? — how
cheerfulness goes: gaiety of mind, natural free-springing joy.
Authority is its great enemy — the assumption of authority. I know few
men over fifty that seem to me entirely human: virtually none who has
long exercised authority. — Stephen Maturin, writing in his diary,
<cite>Master and Commander</cite>, by Patrick O'Brian</p>
</blockquote>
</section><nav><ul itemprop="keywords" class="tags">
<li><a class="tag p-category" href="categories/ill-sleep-when-im-dead/" rel="tag">i'll sleep when i'm dead</a></li>
<li><a class="tag p-category" href="categories/old-blog/" rel="tag">old blog</a></li>
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</article><article class="blog-post h-entry post-text"><header><h2 class="p-name entry-title blog-post-title"><a href="posts/2003/09/07/2003-09-07/" class="u-url">Recent Reading</a></h2>
<div class="metadata blog-post-meta">
<p class="byline author vcard"><span class="byline-name fn">T. Kurt Bond</span></p>
<p class="dateline"><a href="posts/2003/09/07/2003-09-07/" rel="bookmark"><time class="published dt-published" datetime="2003-09-07T00:00:00-05:00" title="2003-09-07 00:00">2003-09-07 00:00</time></a></p>
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<li><p><cite>Curtains for the Cardinal</cite>, a Renaissance Mystery, by Elizabeth
Eyre. This is both a good mystery and a good historical novel.</p></li>
</ul>
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</article><article class="blog-post h-entry post-text"><header><h2 class="p-name entry-title blog-post-title"><a href="posts/2003/09/05/2003-09-05/" class="u-url">HeroQuest</a></h2>
<div class="metadata blog-post-meta">
<p class="byline author vcard"><span class="byline-name fn">T. Kurt Bond</span></p>
<p class="dateline"><a href="posts/2003/09/05/2003-09-05/" rel="bookmark"><time class="published dt-published" datetime="2003-09-05T00:00:00-05:00" title="2003-09-05 00:00">2003-09-05 00:00</time></a></p>
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<p>I finally got my copy of <cite>HeroQuest</cite> today. While I've not yet had
time to read it through completely it's easy to see that it is an
excellent game. While it uses the same base mechanics as its
predecessor, <cite>Hero Wars</cite>, it is a new, although compatible, game: it
does not just correct the flaws of, it greatly improves on the
successes of <cite>Hero Wars</cite>.</p>
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</article><article class="blog-post h-entry post-text"><header><h2 class="p-name entry-title blog-post-title"><a href="posts/2003/09/01/2003-09-01/" class="u-url">Recent Reading</a></h2>
<div class="metadata blog-post-meta">
<p class="byline author vcard"><span class="byline-name fn">T. Kurt Bond</span></p>
<p class="dateline"><a href="posts/2003/09/01/2003-09-01/" rel="bookmark"><time class="published dt-published" datetime="2003-09-01T00:00:00-05:00" title="2003-09-01 00:00">2003-09-01 00:00</time></a></p>
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<li><p><cite>Ruled Britannia</cite>, by Harry Turtledove. What if the Spanish Armada
had succeeded in landing in Britan? Shakespeare and consipracy.</p></li>
<li><p><cite>Person or Persons Unknown</cite>, by Bruce Alexander. The fourth Sir John
Fielding mystery.</p></li>
<li><p><cite>Snow Crash</cite>, by Neal Stephenson. I've finally got around to reading
this, and enjoyed it greatly. Lots of neat ideas.</p></li>
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</article><article class="blog-post h-entry post-text"><header><h2 class="p-name entry-title blog-post-title"><a href="posts/2003/08/25/2003-08-25/" class="u-url">Recent Reading; Where free software is failing</a></h2>
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<p class="byline author vcard"><span class="byline-name fn">T. Kurt Bond</span></p>
<p class="dateline"><a href="posts/2003/08/25/2003-08-25/" rel="bookmark"><time class="published dt-published" datetime="2003-08-25T00:00:00-05:00" title="2003-08-25 00:00">2003-08-25 00:00</time></a></p>
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<section id="recent-reading"><h2>Recent Reading</h2>
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<li><p><cite>Transit to Scorpio</cite>, as by Alan Burt Akers; actually written by Ken
Bulmer. The earlier books in this series have Alan Burt Akers listed as
their author while the later books are listed under Dray Prescot, but
they were actually written by Henry Kenneth Bulmer, a prolific writer
of science fiction and other things. The Dray Prescot Saga is a <a class="reference external" href="http://www.kregen.com/booklist.html">long</a> series in the planetary
romance genre. The first 37 of the books were published in English
(starting in 1972 and continuing into the early 1990s) and the rest of
the 52 books were published in German. They are the story of Dray
Prescot, a 18th century sailor who is transported to the distant
planet of Kregen and his adventures there as nomad, slave, warrior,
pirate, and reluctant troubleshooter for two opposing superhuman
forces. Like most classic planetary romance, these are rousing tales
of adventure, straightforward wholesome escapist fantasy. The length
of the series, however, allows this to be something more than than a
mere escape, as we watch Dray Prescot develop from a typical warrior
stereotype into something more interesting and see how the many themes
of the series (friendship, identity, fair play, prejudice, religion,
and trust among them) develop through a much longer period than most
authors are able to devote.</p></li>
</ul></section><section id="where-free-software-is-failing"><h2>Where free software is failing</h2>
<p>Daniel Barlow's blog for <a class="reference external" href="http://ww.telent.net/diary/2003/8/#25.67406">Monday, 25 Aug 2003</a> talks about Tom
Lord's <a class="reference external" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030607173459/http://lists.fifthvision.net/pipermail/arch-users/2003-May/027591.html">post</a> that talks about where Free Software is
failing to think ahead.</p>
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</article><article class="blog-post h-entry post-text"><header><h2 class="p-name entry-title blog-post-title"><a href="posts/2003/08/24/2003-08-24/" class="u-url">Recent Reading</a></h2>
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<p class="byline author vcard"><span class="byline-name fn">T. Kurt Bond</span></p>
<p class="dateline"><a href="posts/2003/08/24/2003-08-24/" rel="bookmark"><time class="published dt-published" datetime="2003-08-24T00:00:00-05:00" title="2003-08-24 00:00">2003-08-24 00:00</time></a></p>
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<li><p><cite>Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix</cite>, by J.K. Rowling. The
fifth book in the series is exactly what we've come to expect, and
very enjoyable.</p></li>
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<p>Lacking Natural Simplicity is one, not particularly flattering,
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