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layout: default
tabtitle: Ireland Log
title: A Log of My Travels in Ireland
tags: misc, travel
tags: travel
short_desc: "Once upon a time, I traveled to Ireland. It was quite the
experience. Me, my 3 friends Suf, Chris and Cary, Scion, shenanigans,
Guiness, whiskey, and Thunderstruck."
---
<article>
<h2 class="ireland">Day 1: 07/27/10</h2>
<span style="font-style:italic">Melon... <span style="font-weight:bold">*scatter*</span></span>
<p>Today is travel day! Heading out right now towards JFK, then a 5 hour lay-over there, then finally taking off towards the Emerald Isle! I'm both excited and anxious, but surprisingly calm. I think it's to the point where I'm ready to get things moving.</p><p>This flight will be rather uneventful: short 55 minute hop to JFK. I'm looking forward to the longer flight. The time will give me opportunity to read, relax and think... something I haven't done enough of in the past week.
<p>Today is travel day! Heading out right now towards JFK, then a 5 hour
lay-over there, then finally taking off towards the Emerald Isle! I'm both
excited and anxious, but surprisingly calm. I think it's to the point where
I'm ready to get things moving.</p><p>This flight will be rather uneventful:
short 55 minute hop to JFK. I'm looking forward to the longer flight. The
time will give me opportunity to read, relax and think... something I
haven't done enough of in the past week.</p>
<h2 class="ireland">Day 2: 07/28/10</h2>
<span style="font-style:italic">Left is safe!"</span>
<p>Today we finally arrived in Ireland, first in Dublin and then Shannon. The trip over was a bit of a challenge: a lack of sleep combined with an atmosphere trying to promote one, all wrapped in the situation of no comfortable way to actually get sleep helped to contribute to me not sleeping more than 30 minutes tops. On the plus side, I did get to watch Dorian Grey and Percy Jackson on the way over. Also, they served a very delicious beef stew for dinner; I was pleasantly surprised.</p><p>Upon arrival, we immediately set out to retrieve our luggage, which arrived mostly unmolested. Then, as we proceeded out of the terminal, we finally found our 4th member, Suf, waiting eagerly for our arrival; he had arrived a day earlier, and had many a story to share about his adventures in Limerick (our eventual destination for the day). We got our car, forgot our GPS, recovered our GPS, and began driving toward Limerick from Shannon Airport. We quickly discovered that, given our American driving-habits, we thought every car driving on the "wrong side of the road" was going to kill us. I think twice we all panicked for fear of our lives. But, once we adjusted (or at least, once Suf did... Cary is still a bit iffy) the drive was relatively quick and painless. We arrived not more than 30 minutes later in Limerick, and made for the City Center to explore on foot the many shops and eateries that the city had to offer, as well as pay a visit to "The Bitter End" Pub, where Suf had visited on the previous night. We explored for a bit, had lunch at The Bitter End, visited a shop so Cary could purchase a couple shilelagh (spelling), wander to a tourist booth for information and, with said acquired directions, made for our first B&B of the trip: Coonagh Lodge. We relaxed and napped a bit at the Lodge, enough to recouperate for a voyage back to Limerick, and made for some dinner and adventure. We explored around, eventually stopping in at a place called "Wokking" for some authentic Irish Chinese food, which turned out to be very tasty and filling. We then explored for a pub, stopping at "Charlie St. George's" pub for a quick pint and some people-watching. Then, we explored a bit more, and wound up back at The Bitter End to enjoy an evening cup of tea and some relaxing time. After this, we made back to the B&B, where I discovered that my power brick likes to make a weird noise as it charges my laptop. I account it to the different voltage, and pray that it doesn't explode and kill us all.</p><p>Of most important note, Suf decided to enlighten us with some of his arab cab driving slang, most notable of which is "Why for you fuck my road?" An important question, to be sure, and one to be answered in the days to come. A very steady lean into this adventure, which I prefer to the alternative "kick-in-the-door" style. Hopefully I can figure out some way to get my computer to connect to WPA2 connections so I can have internet more readily. At least for tonight, I probably won't get back on (unfortunate news for my KoL desires. Too many adventures will be wasted after I waste the NS... Oh well...)</p>
<p>Today we finally arrived in Ireland, first in Dublin and then Shannon. The
trip over was a bit of a challenge: a lack of sleep combined with an
atmosphere trying to promote one, all wrapped in the situation of no
comfortable way to actually get sleep helped to contribute to me not
sleeping more than 30 minutes tops. On the plus side, I did get to watch
Dorian Grey and Percy Jackson on the way over. Also, they served a very
delicious beef stew for dinner; I was pleasantly surprised.</p><p>Upon
arrival, we immediately set out to retrieve our luggage, which arrived
mostly unmolested. Then, as we proceeded out of the terminal, we finally
found our 4th member, Suf, waiting eagerly for our arrival; he had arrived a
day earlier, and had many a story to share about his adventures in Limerick
(our eventual destination for the day). We got our car, forgot our GPS,
recovered our GPS, and began driving toward Limerick from Shannon Airport.
We quickly discovered that, given our American driving-habits, we thought
every car driving on the "wrong side of the road" was going to kill us. I
think twice we all panicked for fear of our lives. But, once we adjusted (or
at least, once Suf did... Cary is still a bit iffy) the drive was relatively
quick and painless. We arrived not more than 30 minutes later in Limerick,
and made for the City Center to explore on foot the many shops and eateries
that the city had to offer, as well as pay a visit to "The Bitter End" Pub,
where Suf had visited on the previous night. We explored for a bit, had
lunch at The Bitter End, visited a shop so Cary could purchase a couple
shilelagh (spelling), wander to a tourist booth for information and, with
said acquired directions, made for our first B&B of the trip: Coonagh Lodge.
We relaxed and napped a bit at the Lodge, enough to recouperate for a voyage
back to Limerick, and made for some dinner and adventure. We explored
around, eventually stopping in at a place called "Wokking" for some
authentic Irish Chinese food, which turned out to be very tasty and filling.
We then explored for a pub, stopping at "Charlie St. George's" pub for a
quick pint and some people-watching. Then, we explored a bit more, and wound
up back at The Bitter End to enjoy an evening cup of tea and some relaxing
time. After this, we made back to the B&B, where I discovered that my power
brick likes to make a weird noise as it charges my laptop. I account it to
the different voltage, and pray that it doesn't explode and kill us
all.</p><p>Of most important note, Suf decided to enlighten us with some of
his arab cab driving slang, most notable of which is "Why for you fuck my
road?" An important question, to be sure, and one to be answered in the days
to come. A very steady lean into this adventure, which I prefer to the
alternative "kick-in-the-door" style. Hopefully I can figure out some way to
get my computer to connect to WPA2 connections so I can have internet more
readily. At least for tonight, I probably won't get back on (unfortunate
news for my KoL desires. Too many adventures will be wasted after I waste
the NS... Oh well...)</p>
<h2 class="ireland">Day 3: 07/29/10</h2>
<span style="font-style:italic">"Ya know, you keep that shirt on much longer, you gonna get jungle rot" - Biff McBodyspray</span>
<p>Today was our first big travel day. We left Limerick around 11:00 am and made for Galway. Along the way we stopped in at the Cliffs of Moher, and then continued on to our destination in Kinvara.</p><p>The Cliffs of Moher are quite the site to see. Set along the Atlantic Ocean is a couple-mile stretch of sheer cliffs, topped with walkways and occasional watch towers, or at least ruins of them. We walked the Cliffs for about an hour, just exploring the different angles and particulars of the cliffs themselves: the numerous outcroppings, the way the waves would collide with the rock, the caves and small inlets that the water had born away. All these details helped to complete one heck of a view! I also enjoyed the visitor center, which was built into the hillsides near the cliffs.</p><p>After the cliffs, we make our way to Kinvara. We stop briefly at the Burren, a barren area of rocks and not much else. Once we arrive, we check into our B&B and decide to hold off on Galway until tomorrow night. This leaves us with plenty of time to explore Kinvara proper. We relax for a bit and make to town for some dinner and adventures. We decided to stop in at an Italian place called 'The Full Tide Inn', and while waiting for our food, had quite the heated philosophical discussion. It really put into perspective for me just how unprepared I am to defend my own view/the Stoic view of topics. After dinner, we walked out to Dunguaire Castle, which was unfortunately closed, but we still were able to explore the surrounding grounds. We learned a bit of background from a fellow tourist, and then made our way back into town to buy a few snacks before heading back to our B&B. That night, despite our best laid plans, we weren't able to get to Scion. However, luckily for me, the internet access at the B&B was unprotected and therefore I could hop onto KoL and finish up my ascension! I bought the trophie available to me (the one regarding food recipies) and clammered through the astral gash to return once more to my life of adventuring. I ascended as a Sauceror, holding onto Pastamancy so I can really start to rack up the bonus adventures from my cooking. A few adventures gone, I manage to get to level 2 the first day, and am very excited to really get this sauce boiling.</p>
<span style="font-style:italic">"Ya know, you keep that shirt on much longer,
you gonna get jungle rot" - Biff McBodyspray</span>
<p>Today was our first big travel day. We left Limerick around 11:00 am and made
for Galway. Along the way we stopped in at the Cliffs of Moher, and then
continued on to our destination in Kinvara.</p><p>The Cliffs of Moher are
quite the site to see. Set along the Atlantic Ocean is a couple-mile stretch
of sheer cliffs, topped with walkways and occasional watch towers, or at
least ruins of them. We walked the Cliffs for about an hour, just exploring
the different angles and particulars of the cliffs themselves: the numerous
outcroppings, the way the waves would collide with the rock, the caves and
small inlets that the water had born away. All these details helped to
complete one heck of a view! I also enjoyed the visitor center, which was
built into the hillsides near the cliffs.</p><p>After the cliffs, we make
our way to Kinvara. We stop briefly at the Burren, a barren area of rocks
and not much else. Once we arrive, we check into our B&B and decide to hold
off on Galway until tomorrow night. This leaves us with plenty of time to
explore Kinvara proper. We relax for a bit and make to town for some dinner
and adventures. We decided to stop in at an Italian place called 'The Full
Tide Inn', and while waiting for our food, had quite the heated
philosophical discussion. It really put into perspective for me just how
unprepared I am to defend my own view/the Stoic view of topics. After
dinner, we walked out to Dunguaire Castle, which was unfortunately closed,
but we still were able to explore the surrounding grounds. We learned a bit
of background from a fellow tourist, and then made our way back into town to
buy a few snacks before heading back to our B&B. That night, despite our
best laid plans, we weren't able to get to Scion. However, luckily for me,
the internet access at the B&B was unprotected and therefore I could hop
onto KoL and finish up my ascension! I bought the trophie available to me
(the one regarding food recipies) and clammered through the astral gash to
return once more to my life of adventuring. I ascended as a Sauceror,
holding onto Pastamancy so I can really start to rack up the bonus
adventures from my cooking. A few adventures gone, I manage to get to level
2 the first day, and am very excited to really get this sauce boiling.</p>
<h2 class="ireland">Day 4: 07/30/10</h2>
<span style="font-style:italic">"Be-buh-buh-day, be-buh-buh-day, E-DAY-OH, E-DAY-OH, THAT'S OK!"</span>
<p>Holy crap, today seemed like an entire month's worth of exploration and adventure. After a delicious traditional Irish breakfast, we made for Galway.</p><p>In Galway we parked and set out for our busiest and most fun day yet. I can tell you now that my feet are none to happy about the amount of walking we achieved, but if nothing else this is a good reminder to properly prepare next time: make sure my shoes are comfortable enough to walk around in almost constantly. So, we park and make towards the city center. Galway is situated along the coast of Galway Bay (go figure...) and has a river running through the center of town. We head down the busy pedestrian walkway and hit up a few shops. Chris, Suf and Cary all check out a couple tattoo parlours, and me being less interested make for some good people watching and relax a bit. We continue our walk through the busy crowds, and eventually make our way to the river. Exploring it for a bit, Cary and I decide to stop off at a river-side restaurant called 'Mustard', where I get one of the most delicious pulled-pork sandwiches I've ever enjoyed. Afterwards, we met back up with Chris and Suf, and walked out towards the bay a bit. As we voyaged further away from the city, we met with a couple of fellow travelers, and discovered a great bar to stop at in town, known as 'E Brun' or 'The Bridge.' At the bar we met Bill, a local of Galway, who told us of many great sites and happenings around town. An important detail of our stay in Galway is that the Galway Races were going on. Evidently, they're a big deal.</p><p>So, after our stop in the pub and a delicious Guiness, we make to explore and find 'The Crane,' where Shela's son will be playing live music later in the evening. We find it, and gather from another local (and rather attractive) girl the location of a couple of good niteclube. After finding the Crane we decide to hunt our a place to eat, and eventually wander back to 'Kelly's', which helps to bring back nostalgic memories of Geneseo and our own Kelly's. We enjoy a deliciously filling meal there, compliments of Chris, and find out that later in the evening we can enjoy Crane for some authentic (and rather good) Irish jazz (which sounds not much different from any other type of jazz...). Thus far, although I've been able to explain our day in only a few short paragraphs, we've experienced to us what has felt like a lifetime worth of exploration. But, the fun is only just about to start.</p><p>10:20pm, and we just left The Crane Bar to head back to the B&B for some kick-ass Scion action. Along the way, we overhear a few clubs, but nothing really catches our ear until we get to Kelly's. We can hear the beats from outside, we can feel our feet aching but wanting to join in, so we head upstairs and find (!!!)... a bunch of people standing around as a DJ mixes. What a let down! Well, Suf wouldn't have any of this, and neither would the rest of us, so after settling into our comfortable corner, Suf finally finds a song that he'll groove to. And groove he does. Following quickly in suite, we join him on the floor and find ourselves almost alone dancing. The 4 American tourists are the only ones dancing in the Irish Niteclub. Almost poetic, mostly pathetic. Well, this quickly changes, as more people flock to the dance floor after seeing our amazing example. And by no means am I exaggerating! We literally started the dance party at a niteclub. We groove it and move it for a good couple of hours before we take off for new adventures. After a bit of exploring, and a lot of drunk people, we decide to split up: Chris and Suf head back to Kelly's for some more dancing, Cary wanders the street talking to people, and I, the lamest of the group, head back to the car to call it a night. Before long, we all reconvene, load up the GPS and make our way back to the B&B. This night has been legendary, and no degree of detailed description can truly capture just how epic the night was.</p><p>Simply put: Galway was unforgetable.</p>
<p>Holy crap, today seemed like an entire month's worth of exploration and
adventure. After a delicious traditional Irish breakfast, we made for
Galway.</p><p>In Galway we parked and set out for our busiest and most fun
day yet. I can tell you now that my feet are none to happy about the amount
of walking we achieved, but if nothing else this is a good reminder to
properly prepare next time: make sure my shoes are comfortable enough to
walk around in almost constantly. So, we park and make towards the city
center. Galway is situated along the coast of Galway Bay (go figure...) and
has a river running through the center of town. We head down the busy
pedestrian walkway and hit up a few shops. Chris, Suf and Cary all check out
a couple tattoo parlours, and me being less interested make for some good
people watching and relax a bit. We continue our walk through the busy
crowds, and eventually make our way to the river. Exploring it for a bit,
Cary and I decide to stop off at a river-side restaurant called 'Mustard',
where I get one of the most delicious pulled-pork sandwiches I've ever
enjoyed. Afterwards, we met back up with Chris and Suf, and walked out
towards the bay a bit. As we voyaged further away from the city, we met with
a couple of fellow travelers, and discovered a great bar to stop at in town,
known as 'E Brun' or 'The Bridge.' At the bar we met Bill, a local of
Galway, who told us of many great sites and happenings around town. An
important detail of our stay in Galway is that the Galway Races were going
on. Evidently, they're a big deal.</p><p>So, after our stop in the pub and a
delicious Guiness, we make to explore and find 'The Crane,' where Shela's
son will be playing live music later in the evening. We find it, and gather
from another local (and rather attractive) girl the location of a couple of
good niteclube. After finding the Crane we decide to hunt our a place to
eat, and eventually wander back to 'Kelly's', which helps to bring back
nostalgic memories of Geneseo and our own Kelly's. We enjoy a deliciously
filling meal there, compliments of Chris, and find out that later in the
evening we can enjoy Crane for some authentic (and rather good) Irish jazz
(which sounds not much different from any other type of jazz...). Thus far,
although I've been able to explain our day in only a few short paragraphs,
we've experienced to us what has felt like a lifetime worth of exploration.
But, the fun is only just about to start.</p><p>10:20pm, and we just left
The Crane Bar to head back to the B&B for some kick-ass Scion action. Along
the way, we overhear a few clubs, but nothing really catches our ear until
we get to Kelly's. We can hear the beats from outside, we can feel our feet
aching but wanting to join in, so we head upstairs and find (!!!)... a bunch
of people standing around as a DJ mixes. What a let down! Well, Suf wouldn't
have any of this, and neither would the rest of us, so after settling into
our comfortable corner, Suf finally finds a song that he'll groove to. And
groove he does. Following quickly in suite, we join him on the floor and
find ourselves almost alone dancing. The 4 American tourists are the only
ones dancing in the Irish Niteclub. Almost poetic, mostly pathetic. Well,
this quickly changes, as more people flock to the dance floor after seeing
our amazing example. And by no means am I exaggerating! We literally started
the dance party at a niteclub. We groove it and move it for a good couple of
hours before we take off for new adventures. After a bit of exploring, and a
lot of drunk people, we decide to split up: Chris and Suf head back to
Kelly's for some more dancing, Cary wanders the street talking to people,
and I, the lamest of the group, head back to the car to call it a night.
Before long, we all reconvene, load up the GPS and make our way back to the
B&B. This night has been legendary, and no degree of detailed description
can truly capture just how epic the night was.</p><p>Simply put: Galway was
unforgetable.</p>
<h2 class="ireland">Day 5: 07/31/10</h2>
<span style="font-style:italic">"Where are we heading again? Ballerina?" "BALLINA!"</span>
<p>After the unbelievable adventure of Galway, we head out for our next stop in Northwest Ireland: Ballina.</p><p>We set off after saying goodbye to our thus-far favorite B&B and host Shiela, and head north. As we're driving, we spot a few turn offs and decide to stop at one of them to explore a bit of the countryside. We find our way onto a mountain, scale the smaller hills leading up to it, and eventually make our way back to the car to continue walking. As we're driving, we happen across one of the more epic scenes of our voyage: the carved out "seat" of a mountain, which we refer to afterwards as 'The God Seat.' Surely, the scene of epic Scion games to come.</p><p>As we continue along our voyage, we stop off at Kylemore Abbey, the most stunning scene I've seen in my life thus far. Imagine a white and grey castle, then make it less war-oriented and more beautiful, then set it on a gorgeous lake, at the base of a very impressive mountain. That's Kylemore Abbey. We park and explore a bit, and I get several good pictures. Further, I manage to spot a statue of something half way up the mountain, made of white stone. Whoever made this statue certainly had a lot of determination!</p><p>We leave the Abbey and finish our journey to our B&B for the evening. We relax, settle in, and finally get to playing some Scion. Cary volunteered to run first, so we play through the first half of his one shot: saving a 'shie' from an Irish scion and his giant lackies. My character, a defensive tank named Derrick Nasher, does quite well. We finish up the session, spend our exp (making us even more boss), and crash for a relatively early night.</p><p>This B&B also has an encrypted internet, so at first I'm out of luck. However, on a whim I try out the Chromium build I brought along (thanks Hexxeh!!), and manage to easily set up a connection through that! I can't upload any files or pictures very well, but I can still play some KoL and post a few updates to my social sites. Also, Google Voice has proven to be a godsend! Being able to text from a website has been my primary means of keeping in contact with the family back at home.</p>
<p>After the unbelievable adventure of Galway, we head out for our next stop in
Northwest Ireland: Ballina.</p><p>We set off after saying goodbye to our
thus-far favorite B&B and host Shiela, and head north. As we're driving, we
spot a few turn offs and decide to stop at one of them to explore a bit of
the countryside. We find our way onto a mountain, scale the smaller hills
leading up to it, and eventually make our way back to the car to continue
walking. As we're driving, we happen across one of the more epic scenes of
our voyage: the carved out "seat" of a mountain, which we refer to
afterwards as 'The God Seat.' Surely, the scene of epic Scion games to
come.</p><p>As we continue along our voyage, we stop off at Kylemore Abbey,
the most stunning scene I've seen in my life thus far. Imagine a white and
grey castle, then make it less war-oriented and more beautiful, then set it
on a gorgeous lake, at the base of a very impressive mountain. That's
Kylemore Abbey. We park and explore a bit, and I get several good pictures.
Further, I manage to spot a statue of something half way up the mountain,
made of white stone. Whoever made this statue certainly had a lot of
determination!</p><p>We leave the Abbey and finish our journey to our B&B
for the evening. We relax, settle in, and finally get to playing some Scion.
Cary volunteered to run first, so we play through the first half of his one
shot: saving a 'shie' from an Irish scion and his giant lackies. My
character, a defensive tank named Derrick Nasher, does quite well. We finish
up the session, spend our exp (making us even more boss), and crash for a
relatively early night.</p><p>This B&B also has an encrypted internet, so at
first I'm out of luck. However, on a whim I try out the Chromium build I
brought along (thanks Hexxeh!!), and manage to easily set up a connection
through that! I can't upload any files or pictures very well, but I can
still play some KoL and post a few updates to my social sites. Also, Google
Voice has proven to be a godsend! Being able to text from a website has been
my primary means of keeping in contact with the family back at home.</p>
<h2 class="ireland">Day 6: 08/01/10</h2>
<span style="font-style:italic">"...just chillax..." "Woah... I never expected to hear 'chillax' outside of the states!" -A conversation between Kim and Chris</span>
<p>Day 2 of our stay in Ballina. We eat an early breakfast and make for Killary Adventure for some archery!</p><p>We arrive in Killary around noon, and enjoy an hour of arching with our instructor Kim and another instructor named Dugal. I managed to shoot 2 bullseyes! It's amazing that if you actually hold the weapon properly and keep proper form, you can actually aim with it. Never would have thought otherwise... (/sarcasm). We joked, tried out some trick shooting, played a HORSE-style game, and all-in-all came out of the adventure feeling really great. Plus, we all got some wicked "battle wounds" from the bow on our forearms.</p><p>After the archery, we decide to head to Westport, on advice from Kim, for some shopping and to get lunch. We immediately (perhaps fatefully) stumble upon a place called 'The Asgard' and decide that there's no better place to eat in town than here. I enjoy some Bangers and Mash - Asgard Style - and feel the wonderful feeling of fulness once more. This trip has been a wonderful venture in delicious foods. The traditional Irish breakfast (Egg, real bacon, sausages, black and white pudding, half a tomatoe, toast, tea and juice) is so filling that most of the time we feel no need to eat before dinner. Today, though, was a glaring exception; that, and we had a different breakfast of pancakes and poached eggs. After the Bangers and Mash, we split up: I head off to explore the riverway and the port, while the others go shopping. I manage to snap quite a few nice pictures, and figure out some more features on the camera, before we meet back up and head back to Ballina, and then onwards to Enniscrone, the birthplace of Cary's ancestors, the Grimes.</p><p>We arrive in Enniscrone around 4:00 in the afternoon, to a beautiful sunny day and warm weather. Enniscrone in a beach town, so we split up once again, with me heading out towards the beach and the others once more hitting up the shops. I walk along the Atlantic Ocean, soaking in the waves and the rays, and eventually make my way back to the car to relax for a bit. We head back to the B&B, rest for a bit, and decide that heading back to Enniscrone for some delicious, authentic Irish-Chinese food would be best. And best it was: we discovered the awesomness and addictivness that is puffed-rice prawn crisps. Dinner was good, too.</p><p>We head back to the B&B and finish up Cary's session of Scion. Chris set his crab-tank relic for self-destruct and took care of all the giants for us, while I managed to manipulate our crazy Irish scion friend Brian that he forgot how to fight, which led to his untimely demise (or at least him falling unconscious...). We saved the 'shie', secured the relic protected inside it, and got Brian's birthrights for ourselves. A success, and a good start to our Scion adventures yet to come. Cary hands the GM torch over to Chris, and we begin his session tonight: we get tasked by Brigid (one of the Tuatha) to help out one of her daughters. We manage to find her just in time for the night to expire, and so we call it there. In KoL, I've managed to get to level 4, half-way towards 5, before I call it a night. I haven't yet played all my available turns, but I'm making decent progress. With a bit more practice I can probably get getting to level 6 a 2-day process, which will help to speed through the slower part of the game.</p>
<span style="font-style:italic">"...just chillax..." "Woah... I never expected
to hear 'chillax' outside of the states!" -A conversation between Kim and
Chris</span>
<p>Day 2 of our stay in Ballina. We eat an early breakfast and make for Killary
Adventure for some archery!</p><p>We arrive in Killary around noon, and
enjoy an hour of arching with our instructor Kim and another instructor
named Dugal. I managed to shoot 2 bullseyes! It's amazing that if you
actually hold the weapon properly and keep proper form, you can actually aim
with it. Never would have thought otherwise... (/sarcasm). We joked, tried
out some trick shooting, played a HORSE-style game, and all-in-all came out
of the adventure feeling really great. Plus, we all got some wicked "battle
wounds" from the bow on our forearms.</p><p>After the archery, we decide to
head to Westport, on advice from Kim, for some shopping and to get lunch. We
immediately (perhaps fatefully) stumble upon a place called 'The Asgard' and
decide that there's no better place to eat in town than here. I enjoy some
Bangers and Mash - Asgard Style - and feel the wonderful feeling of fulness
once more. This trip has been a wonderful venture in delicious foods. The
traditional Irish breakfast (Egg, real bacon, sausages, black and white
pudding, half a tomatoe, toast, tea and juice) is so filling that most of
the time we feel no need to eat before dinner. Today, though, was a glaring
exception; that, and we had a different breakfast of pancakes and poached
eggs. After the Bangers and Mash, we split up: I head off to explore the
riverway and the port, while the others go shopping. I manage to snap quite
a few nice pictures, and figure out some more features on the camera, before
we meet back up and head back to Ballina, and then onwards to Enniscrone,
the birthplace of Cary's ancestors, the Grimes.</p><p>We arrive in
Enniscrone around 4:00 in the afternoon, to a beautiful sunny day and warm
weather. Enniscrone in a beach town, so we split up once again, with me
heading out towards the beach and the others once more hitting up the shops.
I walk along the Atlantic Ocean, soaking in the waves and the rays, and
eventually make my way back to the car to relax for a bit. We head back to
the B&B, rest for a bit, and decide that heading back to Enniscrone for some
delicious, authentic Irish-Chinese food would be best. And best it was: we
discovered the awesomness and addictivness that is puffed-rice prawn crisps.
Dinner was good, too.</p><p>We head back to the B&B and finish up Cary's
session of Scion. Chris set his crab-tank relic for self-destruct and took
care of all the giants for us, while I managed to manipulate our crazy Irish
scion friend Brian that he forgot how to fight, which led to his untimely
demise (or at least him falling unconscious...). We saved the 'shie',
secured the relic protected inside it, and got Brian's birthrights for
ourselves. A success, and a good start to our Scion adventures yet to come.
Cary hands the GM torch over to Chris, and we begin his session tonight: we
get tasked by Brigid (one of the Tuatha) to help out one of her daughters.
We manage to find her just in time for the night to expire, and so we call
it there. In KoL, I've managed to get to level 4, half-way towards 5, before
I call it a night. I haven't yet played all my available turns, but I'm
making decent progress. With a bit more practice I can probably get getting
to level 6 a 2-day process, which will help to speed through the slower part
of the game.</p>
<h2 class="ireland">Day 7: 08/02/10</h2>
<span style="font-style:italic">"Worst. Bank. Holiday. Ever."</span>
<p>After a restful evening, and another delicious breakfast of pancakes and poached eggs, we enjoy a quick chat with John, our host, before heading off on our "driving day from hell." Our course will take us through the middle of Ireland, stopping off at Athlone to see the oldest bar in Ireland (and perhaps the world) and eventually into Tipperary for the evening</p><p>Our first stop of the day is in Athlone, a city smack-dab in the middle of Ireland. The drive to Athlone was a bit long, but still strikingly beautiful. It seems like Ireland, despite it's rather small size, is still host to some of the most grandiouse and beautiful scenes I've ever seen. We arrive in Athlone around noon, and wander around a bit. Suf, Cary and I all stop in at 'The Snug' for a quick pint, before we take off across the bridge in the middle of town to hit up some shopping. We stop off in Athlone Castle along the way for some great pictures, and run into Chris, who had wandered off to find some shops, after we cross the bridge. Chris and I decide to backtrack to the Castle, then wander around before we head back to Sean's. Sean's is the oldest bar in Ireland, dating back towards 900AD, and quite possible the oldest bar in the world. Obviously, I enjoy a pint of Guiness before we head back to the car and continue along our day's journey.</p><p>We decide to stop off at Clanmocnoise Abbey, a ruined abbey just south of Athlone, before heading out to Tipperary. The sites there are truely amazing, and the ruined Abbey is quite cool as well. The conservation attempts have, thus far, done a good job of maintaining what was salvageable, but the Abbey itself is beyond repair. After some cool pictures, we continue on our way to Tipperary.</p><p>We finally arrive at our destination for the evening. Tipperary is a small town, with a good amount of shops and a very comfortable atmosphere. Unfortunately, and unknown to us, due to the Bank Holiday most of the food shops are closed. We settle for a fast-food place called "American Stars" and apologize to our digestive tracks before heading back to our B&B for some Scion action.</p><p>Scion has us defending Nikki from a couple of Fenrir, which we succeed in doing, and then finding out our target was, in fact, a doppleganger. We discover this a bit too late, though, and end our session assaulting 'The God Seat' and a Norse Scion, who claims that "the ginger bitch has got to go." Well, Derrick'll be damned if he let's a potential future employer die that easily. The stage is set as both Derrick and the Norse Scion enter their Collosus Armor, Cary's Scion enters his Warpspasm, and Suf's Scion prepares to make pincushins out of the Frost Giants. After Scion comes KoL, which sees my progression to level 5 and acquisition of Advanced Sausecrafting. I adventure for a bit more, before fatigue wins and I succumb to sleep.</p>
<p>After a restful evening, and another delicious breakfast of pancakes and
poached eggs, we enjoy a quick chat with John, our host, before heading off
on our "driving day from hell." Our course will take us through the middle
of Ireland, stopping off at Athlone to see the oldest bar in Ireland (and
perhaps the world) and eventually into Tipperary for the evening</p><p>Our
first stop of the day is in Athlone, a city smack-dab in the middle of
Ireland. The drive to Athlone was a bit long, but still strikingly
beautiful. It seems like Ireland, despite it's rather small size, is still
host to some of the most grandiouse and beautiful scenes I've ever seen. We
arrive in Athlone around noon, and wander around a bit. Suf, Cary and I all
stop in at 'The Snug' for a quick pint, before we take off across the bridge
in the middle of town to hit up some shopping. We stop off in Athlone Castle
along the way for some great pictures, and run into Chris, who had wandered
off to find some shops, after we cross the bridge. Chris and I decide to
backtrack to the Castle, then wander around before we head back to Sean's.
Sean's is the oldest bar in Ireland, dating back towards 900AD, and quite
possible the oldest bar in the world. Obviously, I enjoy a pint of Guiness
before we head back to the car and continue along our day's
journey.</p><p>We decide to stop off at Clanmocnoise Abbey, a ruined abbey
just south of Athlone, before heading out to Tipperary. The sites there are
truely amazing, and the ruined Abbey is quite cool as well. The conservation
attempts have, thus far, done a good job of maintaining what was
salvageable, but the Abbey itself is beyond repair. After some cool
pictures, we continue on our way to Tipperary.</p><p>We finally arrive at
our destination for the evening. Tipperary is a small town, with a good
amount of shops and a very comfortable atmosphere. Unfortunately, and
unknown to us, due to the Bank Holiday most of the food shops are closed. We
settle for a fast-food place called "American Stars" and apologize to our
digestive tracks before heading back to our B&B for some Scion
action.</p><p>Scion has us defending Nikki from a couple of Fenrir, which we
succeed in doing, and then finding out our target was, in fact, a
doppleganger. We discover this a bit too late, though, and end our session
assaulting 'The God Seat' and a Norse Scion, who claims that "the ginger
bitch has got to go." Well, Derrick'll be damned if he let's a potential
future employer die that easily. The stage is set as both Derrick and the
Norse Scion enter their Collosus Armor, Cary's Scion enters his Warpspasm,
and Suf's Scion prepares to make pincushins out of the Frost Giants. After
Scion comes KoL, which sees my progression to level 5 and acquisition of
Advanced Sausecrafting. I adventure for a bit more, before fatigue wins and
I succumb to sleep.</p>
<h2 class="ireland">Day 8: 08/03/10</h2>
<span style="font-style:italic">"There any bars... excuse me... pubs around here?" "Welcome to Ireland, lad!" - A conversation between me and a bouncer</span>
<p>Today we headed back to the Rock of Cashel to get a great tour around the castle grounds. I took lots of pictures, bought a few things for myself and a great sweater for my mom, fall down a few steps while wandering the castle grounds (resulting in a beautiful leg-bruise to match my archery-provided battle wound on my forearm), and we wrap up Tipperary and head to Cork.</p><p>We arrive in Cork and are immediately thrust into the realization that Cork is quite the large, industrial city. After a bit of confusion finding our way to our B&B for the night, we decide to take some naps to recover some energy and mana, and head out to find dinner and some nighttime entertainment. On the generocity of our very funny and cheery innkeep, we head to a place called Zak's, and are pleasantly surprised in the meal; I had a delicious Irish-beef burger, some awesome garlic bread, and a Murphy's to wash it all down (Murphy's is brewed in Cork; Guiness is not very welcomed here). We finish dinner, and head out to find some clubs for the night.</p><p>We start our evening off wandering the neighborhood around Zak's. We find a place, rather populated and playing somewhat good music, but quickly discover it's overpopulated with Binfo for the night. We pass this pub, and ask the bouncer for any suggestions, and get pointed towards a place called "Sober Lane." Ignoring the odd name, we head off in the appropriate direction and run into a metal pub along the way, so I insist we stop in and enjoy a drink. We get a pint, enjoy the music, and move on. 'Sober Lane' turns out to be a much younger-oriented pub, which doesn't dissappoint us, but it really pulls through when Chris discovers the dart board in the back corner. We quickly take it over, playing darts until the pub closes (oddly early, for our expectations), and Chris and I head out to relax outside. Cary and Suf, being the charmers that they are, end up chatting it with two girls local to the area, who invite all of us back to a place called 'Cruscien Lar' (which we all continually misunderstand as crusifixion). We follow them through the streets of Cork, and eventually wind up at the closed pub. They hit the secret side enterence, and convince the owner and co. to let us in.</p><p> Cruscien Lar (which I'm sure I'm spelling wrong), ended up being the undeniable high point of Cork. Once we got a bit more comfortable and began chatting with everyone, we really ended up enjoying ourselves! And then, we met Alan. Alan is a veritable world travelling musician. He has been pretty much everywhere, including state side, with his band 'The Jordans' and he had many tales to share with us. He mentioned that the prices for alcohol (and women (...and drugs)) were best in Slovakia, that you'll never see anything more beautiful than the Southeastern Asian countries, and that Russia really isn't that bad a place. Really a lot of what we talked about fell into those topics, and it was a conversation which I enjoyed thoroughly. Alan taught me that being a world traveller doesn't take gobs of money and resources. All it takes is a desire to explore, and a willingness to step outside your comfortable little box.</p><p>Throughout the night we talked with Alan, and his friends Marie and Ger (the girls which Cary and Suf connected with), about not only their travels, but also their taste in music (which was gloriously metal-oriented), their careers, their adventures and their aspirations. As the night wound down, we all said our farewells, and left through the side door. Our night was almost at an end! As we wandered back to the B&B, we stumbled across a rather rowdy bunch, and Suf, being the social butterfly that he is, decided to hop on board. We eventually were introduced to Nollagh and her friends, who were travelling in our direction to a supposed party. Considering we're still young, as was the night, we tagged along and were eager to arrive at another Irish party. Sadly, the party was a bit of a bust, and seeing as we were so close to home, we decided to just call it a night. An awesome night, almost so much to as to rival our crazy adventures in Galway.</p>
<span style="font-style:italic">"There any bars... excuse me... pubs around
here?" "Welcome to Ireland, lad!" - A conversation between me and a
bouncer</span>
<p>Today we headed back to the Rock of Cashel to get a great tour around the
castle grounds. I took lots of pictures, bought a few things for myself and
a great sweater for my mom, fall down a few steps while wandering the castle
grounds (resulting in a beautiful leg-bruise to match my archery-provided
battle wound on my forearm), and we wrap up Tipperary and head to
Cork.</p><p>We arrive in Cork and are immediately thrust into the
realization that Cork is quite the large, industrial city. After a bit of
confusion finding our way to our B&B for the night, we decide to take some
naps to recover some energy and mana, and head out to find dinner and some
nighttime entertainment. On the generocity of our very funny and cheery
innkeep, we head to a place called Zak's, and are pleasantly surprised in
the meal; I had a delicious Irish-beef burger, some awesome garlic bread,
and a Murphy's to wash it all down (Murphy's is brewed in Cork; Guiness is
not very welcomed here). We finish dinner, and head out to find some clubs
for the night.</p><p>We start our evening off wandering the neighborhood
around Zak's. We find a place, rather populated and playing somewhat good
music, but quickly discover it's overpopulated with Binfo for the night. We
pass this pub, and ask the bouncer for any suggestions, and get pointed
towards a place called "Sober Lane." Ignoring the odd name, we head off in
the appropriate direction and run into a metal pub along the way, so I
insist we stop in and enjoy a drink. We get a pint, enjoy the music, and
move on. 'Sober Lane' turns out to be a much younger-oriented pub, which
doesn't dissappoint us, but it really pulls through when Chris discovers the
dart board in the back corner. We quickly take it over, playing darts until
the pub closes (oddly early, for our expectations), and Chris and I head out
to relax outside. Cary and Suf, being the charmers that they are, end up
chatting it with two girls local to the area, who invite all of us back to a
place called 'Cruscien Lar' (which we all continually misunderstand as
crusifixion). We follow them through the streets of Cork, and eventually
wind up at the closed pub. They hit the secret side enterence, and convince
the owner and co. to let us in.</p><p> Cruscien Lar (which I'm sure I'm
spelling wrong), ended up being the undeniable high point of Cork. Once we
got a bit more comfortable and began chatting with everyone, we really ended
up enjoying ourselves! And then, we met Alan. Alan is a veritable world
travelling musician. He has been pretty much everywhere, including state
side, with his band 'The Jordans' and he had many tales to share with us. He
mentioned that the prices for alcohol (and women (...and drugs)) were best
in Slovakia, that you'll never see anything more beautiful than the
Southeastern Asian countries, and that Russia really isn't that bad a place.
Really a lot of what we talked about fell into those topics, and it was a
conversation which I enjoyed thoroughly. Alan taught me that being a world
traveller doesn't take gobs of money and resources. All it takes is a desire
to explore, and a willingness to step outside your comfortable little
box.</p><p>Throughout the night we talked with Alan, and his friends Marie
and Ger (the girls which Cary and Suf connected with), about not only their
travels, but also their taste in music (which was gloriously
metal-oriented), their careers, their adventures and their aspirations. As
the night wound down, we all said our farewells, and left through the side
door. Our night was almost at an end! As we wandered back to the B&B, we
stumbled across a rather rowdy bunch, and Suf, being the social butterfly
that he is, decided to hop on board. We eventually were introduced to
Nollagh and her friends, who were travelling in our direction to a supposed
party. Considering we're still young, as was the night, we tagged along and
were eager to arrive at another Irish party. Sadly, the party was a bit of a
bust, and seeing as we were so close to home, we decided to just call it a
night. An awesome night, almost so much to as to rival our crazy adventures
in Galway.</p>
<h2 class="ireland">Day 9: 08/04/10</h2>
<span style="font-style:italic">"My father's name is Merry Merry Mack!"</span>
<p> After a rather enjoyable rest, we departed from Cork on our way to our final "big city" stop: Killarney. Killarney has a very homey feel about it. There are plenty of tourist shops, plenty of sites and sounds to experience, and the night life is absolutely amazing, but more on that in a bit.</p><p>We arrived at our B&B to find that the owner had stepped out for a bit, so we decided to just park and wander into town. We quickly found some great shops, restaurants, pubs, and other such attractions. Chris and I wandered around a few places, and I ended up finding a few good gifts for the family: a corkscrew and wine stopper for dad, both made of pewter; and a hat for Eric, which I think will suit him quite nicely. After a bit more wandering, we headed back to the B&B to relax and recover before we hit the town.</p><p>I think the most memorable part of Killarney for me was all the festivities going on at night in the city. Almost every pub had live music, there were people out walking and having a great time. There were lights, and food, and music, and drinks... it just felt like a fun place to be! We started our night wandering around a bit, and found ourselves at an outside banquet of sorts, with life music. Suf and I, exemplifying our boistrious nature, led the singing of the chorus (see the quote), and made our mark early in the Killarney perspective. After our job was done there, we found our way to a pub called 'Scruffy's', near an amazing hotel. The band playing there had some great traditional music as well, which we joined in on. Had a pint, made some friends, moved on down the road to our final destination for the evening: McSorley's. McSorley's is appropriately named because my feet at the end of the night were very McSore. To say the least, McSorely's is about 50% enough to keep me in Ireland. The drinks were great, the atmosphere was amazing, and, the best part of all, the music was fantastic. This particular evening we were treated to a performance by a ground called "Zoot Allures", a cover band. They played an AMAZING set, with so many great songs, and such great energy, that it made me really wish American clubs would pull their heads out of their asses and actually play good music. Anyways, amazing music was played, several videos were filmed, more-than-several beverages were consumed, and at the end of the night, the lead singer from the group gave me a great, big bear hug. Naturally, I returned the favor.</p><p>Well, Zoot Allures wasn't the end of the night for us, as McSorely's has a secret back room dance club, so we obviously had to make use of that. We danced for a good while, then Chris, Cary and I decided to take off and get back to the B&B to sleep. We left a window open for Suf. Once again, to say the least, Killarney is absolutely amazing!</p>
<p> After a rather enjoyable rest, we departed from Cork on our way to our final
"big city" stop: Killarney. Killarney has a very homey feel about it. There
are plenty of tourist shops, plenty of sites and sounds to experience, and
the night life is absolutely amazing, but more on that in a bit.</p><p>We
arrived at our B&B to find that the owner had stepped out for a bit, so we
decided to just park and wander into town. We quickly found some great
shops, restaurants, pubs, and other such attractions. Chris and I wandered
around a few places, and I ended up finding a few good gifts for the family:
a corkscrew and wine stopper for dad, both made of pewter; and a hat for
Eric, which I think will suit him quite nicely. After a bit more wandering,
we headed back to the B&B to relax and recover before we hit the
town.</p><p>I think the most memorable part of Killarney for me was all the
festivities going on at night in the city. Almost every pub had live music,
there were people out walking and having a great time. There were lights,
and food, and music, and drinks... it just felt like a fun place to be! We
started our night wandering around a bit, and found ourselves at an outside
banquet of sorts, with life music. Suf and I, exemplifying our boistrious
nature, led the singing of the chorus (see the quote), and made our mark
early in the Killarney perspective. After our job was done there, we found
our way to a pub called 'Scruffy's', near an amazing hotel. The band playing
there had some great traditional music as well, which we joined in on. Had a
pint, made some friends, moved on down the road to our final destination for
the evening: McSorley's. McSorley's is appropriately named because my feet
at the end of the night were very McSore. To say the least, McSorely's is
about 50% enough to keep me in Ireland. The drinks were great, the
atmosphere was amazing, and, the best part of all, the music was fantastic.
This particular evening we were treated to a performance by a ground called
"Zoot Allures", a cover band. They played an AMAZING set, with so many great
songs, and such great energy, that it made me really wish American clubs
would pull their heads out of their asses and actually play good music.
Anyways, amazing music was played, several videos were filmed,
more-than-several beverages were consumed, and at the end of the night, the
lead singer from the group gave me a great, big bear hug. Naturally, I
returned the favor.</p><p>Well, Zoot Allures wasn't the end of the night for
us, as McSorely's has a secret back room dance club, so we obviously had to
make use of that. We danced for a good while, then Chris, Cary and I decided
to take off and get back to the B&B to sleep. We left a window open for Suf.
Once again, to say the least, Killarney is absolutely amazing!</p>
<h2 class="ireland">Day 10: 08/05/10</h2>
<span style="font-style:italic">The room fell silent, as the man lowered his microphone to the crowd. A single bewildered bystander asked, "Yeah?" The man only nodded, a knowning nod. The bystander tipped his head back, and breathed deep the pub air, and finally, as the tension grew to an unberable level, cried out: "THUNDERSTRUCK!!!"</span>
<p>I thought the first night was amazing. Holy crap this town just keeps getting better and better!</p><p>So, day 2. After some great, great sleep (which, of the 4 of us, I'm the only one to wake up in time for breakfast), I clean myself up and head to town. Yesterday I had seen an "internet cafe," and figured it would be similar to what we call internet cafes in America (I was wrong), so I made my way there to get my KoL fix, and check up on the tubes. Well, the internet cafe was a pay-per-use computer room, so I threw my cash at the front desk and got a couple hours of hardcore internet access. KoL Update: beat the boss bat, the Goblin King, and the first part of my Nemesis quest. Not bad, I guess, but I think it's safe to say that juggling an acension with travelling abroad is a bit difficult, unless you know what you're doing. I don't, for the most part.</p><p>After lunch at a (surprise!) Chinese food place, we decided to take the afternoon off and head back to the B&B to play some more Scion, before McSorley's opened up again. We did some great stuff, saved the freckled Scion, then I made the decision to let her die (which ended up coinciding with some major character development, so that's nice), and then Cary's character died defending her. So, all in all, we failed our mission, but succeeded at Scion. Huh.</p><p>Anyways, McSorley's opened up shortly after the game, so we hit up dinner (more Chinese), and I spent some time wandering around getting pictures of the pubs we had visited. It's funny: my dad complimented me on all the pictures of the beautiful scenary and what not, but he asked a very important questions: where are all the pubs?? So I tried to rectify that our last night in Killarney, snapping a picture of a few placed before winding my way back to McSorley's for the evening. Round 2... FIGHT!</p><p>The cover band at McSorley's tonight was not as good as the other band, which is the equivalent as saying that the 200000 Candle-Power flashlight isn't as bright as the 300000 Candle-power one: they're both way brighter (or, awesomer in this case) than the required flashlight (or, typical American cover band, in this case). Tonight's show was by Revenge, who paid tribute to some of the older songs, including quite a bit of ACDC. We rocked out hard core, really supporting the band out front by dancing and singing along. Then the moment happened, the moment that Chris has claimed is the most epic moment of the trip. The quote says it all, but in short: the band was playing Thunderstruck by ACDC, and the lead singer lowered the mic to me to scream "THUNDERSTRUCK!!" into, and it was amazing timing. I do have to say, sometimes my timing is spectacular. Anyways, that memory will stick with me forever, and I think with Chris, Suf and Cary as well, so I consider this night an unbelievable success.</p><p>Once more, we invaded the back room, only this time we stayed until close. We danced our way into another dance party, because evidently we're all Lords of the Dance, and met some new friends: May, a French girl there with friends. We danced with them, we danced with total strangers, and we danced until we couldn't dance any more! I literally understood what it meant to be out of mana that night. I had barely the energy to return home, before I just passed out on my bed.</p><p>Killarney is the city I would most enjoy in Ireland. Of all the places we've gone, it's the city which feels the most alive. It has the loudest pulse, the brightest flash, the sweetest music; it's the type of environment I want to live in. While I don't think Ireland is quite the island for me, if I did decide to live here, Killarney would be my final destination.</p>
<span style="font-style:italic">The room fell silent, as the man lowered his
microphone to the crowd. A single bewildered bystander asked, "Yeah?" The
man only nodded, a knowning nod. The bystander tipped his head back, and
breathed deep the pub air, and finally, as the tension grew to an unberable
level, cried out: "THUNDERSTRUCK!!!"</span>
<p>I thought the first night was amazing. Holy crap this town just keeps getting
better and better!</p><p>So, day 2. After some great, great sleep (which, of
the 4 of us, I'm the only one to wake up in time for breakfast), I clean
myself up and head to town. Yesterday I had seen an "internet cafe," and
figured it would be similar to what we call internet cafes in America (I was
wrong), so I made my way there to get my KoL fix, and check up on the tubes.
Well, the internet cafe was a pay-per-use computer room, so I threw my cash
at the front desk and got a couple hours of hardcore internet access. KoL
Update: beat the boss bat, the Goblin King, and the first part of my Nemesis
quest. Not bad, I guess, but I think it's safe to say that juggling an
acension with travelling abroad is a bit difficult, unless you know what
you're doing. I don't, for the most part.</p><p>After lunch at a (surprise!)
Chinese food place, we decided to take the afternoon off and head back to
the B&B to play some more Scion, before McSorley's opened up again. We did
some great stuff, saved the freckled Scion, then I made the decision to let
her die (which ended up coinciding with some major character development, so
that's nice), and then Cary's character died defending her. So, all in all,
we failed our mission, but succeeded at Scion. Huh.</p><p>Anyways,
McSorley's opened up shortly after the game, so we hit up dinner (more
Chinese), and I spent some time wandering around getting pictures of the
pubs we had visited. It's funny: my dad complimented me on all the pictures
of the beautiful scenary and what not, but he asked a very important
questions: where are all the pubs?? So I tried to rectify that our last
night in Killarney, snapping a picture of a few placed before winding my way
back to McSorley's for the evening. Round 2... FIGHT!</p><p>The cover band
at McSorley's tonight was not as good as the other band, which is the
equivalent as saying that the 200000 Candle-Power flashlight isn't as bright
as the 300000 Candle-power one: they're both way brighter (or, awesomer in
this case) than the required flashlight (or, typical American cover band, in
this case). Tonight's show was by Revenge, who paid tribute to some of the
older songs, including quite a bit of ACDC. We rocked out hard core, really
supporting the band out front by dancing and singing along. Then the moment
happened, the moment that Chris has claimed is the most epic moment of the
trip. The quote says it all, but in short: the band was playing
Thunderstruck by ACDC, and the lead singer lowered the mic to me to scream
"THUNDERSTRUCK!!" into, and it was amazing timing. I do have to say,
sometimes my timing is spectacular. Anyways, that memory will stick with me
forever, and I think with Chris, Suf and Cary as well, so I consider this
night an unbelievable success.</p><p>Once more, we invaded the back room,
only this time we stayed until close. We danced our way into another dance
party, because evidently we're all Lords of the Dance, and met some new
friends: May, a French girl there with friends. We danced with them, we
danced with total strangers, and we danced until we couldn't dance any more!
I literally understood what it meant to be out of mana that night. I had
barely the energy to return home, before I just passed out on my
bed.</p><p>Killarney is the city I would most enjoy in Ireland. Of all the
places we've gone, it's the city which feels the most alive. It has the
loudest pulse, the brightest flash, the sweetest music; it's the type of
environment I want to live in. While I don't think Ireland is quite the
island for me, if I did decide to live here, Killarney would be my final
destination.</p>
<h2 class="ireland">Day 11: 08/06/10</h2>
<span style="font-style:italic">"Wow, this place is nice. I don't think we belong here."</span>
<p>Today we all are taking a bit of a down day. After the past 2 nights, I'm exhausted, and ready to just sit around a do nothing for a bit. Well, conveniently Cary is getting his tattoo today, so I got my wish. We check out of our B&B, pack up the car, park in town and go exploring a bit more. After I stop at the Tourist Information, I learn of a free Wi-Fi pub nearby, and relax there for a couple of hours, enjoying some tea and playing some KoL. I don't really achieve anything of any worth in game, and Suf, Cary and Chris show up just in time for us to work on our Scion characters a bit and head to dinner. We go to the Chinese food place we hit up last night for lunch, and then Cary must depart for his tattoo. Chris, Suf and I all decide to wander back into the pub for a bit, where I finish up my KoL for the day, enjoy some more Scion, check the email, and generally just chillax.</p><p>We leave Killarney around 5:30 and arrive at our second-to-last destination, Ballyseede Castle Hotel. Since we have nothing to do until later, we settle in, relax for a bit and get to playing some more Scion. That's right: WE ROLEPLAYED IN A CASTLE.</p><p>After the session, we split up: Cary, Suf and Chris all head back to Killarney (a whopping 15 minute drive) to hit up McSorley's again, and I lame out and take the night off. Whilst waiting for sleep to drift in, I enjoy some good ol' American past-time and watch a bit o' telly: 'Analyze That' was on. I watched 'Analyze That' in a castle. Today is just full of achievements!</p>
<p>Today we all are taking a bit of a down day. After the past 2 nights, I'm
exhausted, and ready to just sit around a do nothing for a bit. Well,
conveniently Cary is getting his tattoo today, so I got my wish. We check
out of our B&B, pack up the car, park in town and go exploring a bit more.
After I stop at the Tourist Information, I learn of a free Wi-Fi pub nearby,
and relax there for a couple of hours, enjoying some tea and playing some
KoL. I don't really achieve anything of any worth in game, and Suf, Cary and
Chris show up just in time for us to work on our Scion characters a bit and
head to dinner. We go to the Chinese food place we hit up last night for
lunch, and then Cary must depart for his tattoo. Chris, Suf and I all decide
to wander back into the pub for a bit, where I finish up my KoL for the day,
enjoy some more Scion, check the email, and generally just chillax.</p><p>We
leave Killarney around 5:30 and arrive at our second-to-last destination,
Ballyseede Castle Hotel. Since we have nothing to do until later, we settle
in, relax for a bit and get to playing some more Scion. That's right: WE
ROLEPLAYED IN A CASTLE.</p><p>After the session, we split up: Cary, Suf and
Chris all head back to Killarney (a whopping 15 minute drive) to hit up
McSorley's again, and I lame out and take the night off. Whilst waiting for
sleep to drift in, I enjoy some good ol' American past-time and watch a bit
o' telly: 'Analyze That' was on. I watched 'Analyze That' in a castle. Today
is just full of achievements!</p>
<h2 class="ireland">Day 12: 08/07/10</h2>
<span style="font-style:italic">"Ma'am? A quick question. We named the dogs: this one is named Roger the Mighty, and this one is named George the Stout. How close were we?"</span>
<p>After a wonderful night's rest in the castle, we pack up our things, enjoy a delicious breakfast, explore the castle grounds a bit more, and head off to our final B&B, just outside of Shannon.</p><p>As we approached our destination, we decided to stop by Limerick for lunch/dinner and just explore our initial landing grounds one last time. We wander to 'The Bitter End', take some pictures, and find our way to a Chinese food place (big surprise) and an outdoor pub. Since we couldn't decide on which one to go to, I suggested we go to both. This decision was met with much happiness. After we finished our Chinese food (quite delicious), we headed next door, and was met with delicious desserts and beautiful women. Our waitress let slip it was her birthday, so in true, boistrious American style, we sang her 'Happy Birthday!' (Hope it was a good one, Sam!). Apparently she got in trouble for that... Oops...</p><p>Anyways, we hit up our B&B to drop stuff off, and repack our bags for tomorrow's trip, and finish up our Scion campaign. We hopped out to 'Durty Nelly's' for a quick dinner (and sadly, our waitress Una already had her birthday a month ago) of traditional Fish and Chips, then back to the B&B to finish up our night rolling the dice. With the campaign finished, we hit the hay in preparation for tomorrow's voyage. Hopefully none of my loot get's wrecked!</p>
<span style="font-style:italic">"Ma'am? A quick question. We named the dogs:
this one is named Roger the Mighty, and this one is named George the Stout.
How close were we?"</span>
<p>After a wonderful night's rest in the castle, we pack up our things, enjoy a
delicious breakfast, explore the castle grounds a bit more, and head off to
our final B&B, just outside of Shannon.</p><p>As we approached our
destination, we decided to stop by Limerick for lunch/dinner and just
explore our initial landing grounds one last time. We wander to 'The Bitter
End', take some pictures, and find our way to a Chinese food place (big
surprise) and an outdoor pub. Since we couldn't decide on which one to go
to, I suggested we go to both. This decision was met with much happiness.
After we finished our Chinese food (quite delicious), we headed next door,
and was met with delicious desserts and beautiful women. Our waitress let
slip it was her birthday, so in true, boistrious American style, we sang her
'Happy Birthday!' (Hope it was a good one, Sam!). Apparently she got in
trouble for that... Oops...</p><p>Anyways, we hit up our B&B to drop stuff
off, and repack our bags for tomorrow's trip, and finish up our Scion
campaign. We hopped out to 'Durty Nelly's' for a quick dinner (and sadly,
our waitress Una already had her birthday a month ago) of traditional Fish
and Chips, then back to the B&B to finish up our night rolling the dice.
With the campaign finished, we hit the hay in preparation for tomorrow's
voyage. Hopefully none of my loot get's wrecked!</p>
<h2 class="ireland">Day 13: 08/08/10</h2>
<span style="font-style:italic">"Do I really have to be the asshole to say that we travelled back in time in that hot tub?" - Hot Tub Time Machine</span>
<p> And just as quickly as it began, our whirlwind tour comes to an end. We left the B&B early this morning to get to the airport, returned the car without a fuss, checked in our baggage, shuffled through customs and passport checks, and eventually found our way to the gate. The airport in Shannon has free Wi-Fi, which is epic, so I whiddle away at my turn-count in KoL, achieving little but still enjoying the game. Shoot off a text to mom letting her know things are on time, and eventually board my first of three flights for the day.</p><p>The flight is rather uneventful. We're seated next to a kid flying back from a wedding, so it was fun to chat with him for a bit. Then, onto the free movies: Iron Man 2 (pretty boss), Hot Tub Time Machine (really, quite the unknown comedy. Hilarious!) and Repo Men (meh, not really my bowl of soup...) round out the trip. We land soundly in JFK, disembark, and find our next flight delayed, so Chris, Suf and I, after bidding farewell to Cary at the Terminal, head to 'NYC Sports Grill', right outside our arrival gate from the beginning of the voyage, and enjoy some good ol' fashion American burgers before our flight to Boston.</p><p>The flight to Boston is painless, despite the Logan Airport's best attempt at being the worst air port ever (I just really don't like it). We land safe and sound back home, and I eagerly make my way to baggage claim to make sure everything is safe there. I get my bags (w00t), find everything in one piece and accounted for (w00t x2), and bid Chris and Lindsay farewell as my parents drive up in the van.</p><p>Thus, our voyage ends. A successful first trip overseas, and a more-or-less successful first attempt at travel blogging too. Methinks I'll have to try this again sometime. Farewell, and as they say on the Emerald Isle: CHEERS!</p>
</article>
<span style="font-style:italic">"Do I really have to be the asshole to say that
we travelled back in time in that hot tub?" - Hot Tub Time Machine</span>
<p> And just as quickly as it began, our whirlwind tour comes to an end. We left
the B&B early this morning to get to the airport, returned the car without a
fuss, checked in our baggage, shuffled through customs and passport checks,
and eventually found our way to the gate. The airport in Shannon has free
Wi-Fi, which is epic, so I whiddle away at my turn-count in KoL, achieving
little but still enjoying the game. Shoot off a text to mom letting her know
things are on time, and eventually board my first of three flights for the
day.</p><p>The flight is rather uneventful. We're seated next to a kid
flying back from a wedding, so it was fun to chat with him for a bit. Then,
onto the free movies: Iron Man 2 (pretty boss), Hot Tub Time Machine
(really, quite the unknown comedy. Hilarious!) and Repo Men (meh, not really
my bowl of soup...) round out the trip. We land soundly in JFK, disembark,
and find our next flight delayed, so Chris, Suf and I, after bidding
farewell to Cary at the Terminal, head to 'NYC Sports Grill', right outside
our arrival gate from the beginning of the voyage, and enjoy some good ol'
fashion American burgers before our flight to Boston.</p><p>The flight to
Boston is painless, despite the Logan Airport's best attempt at being the
worst air port ever (I just really don't like it). We land safe and sound
back home, and I eagerly make my way to baggage claim to make sure
everything is safe there. I get my bags (w00t), find everything in one piece
and accounted for (w00t x2), and bid Chris and Lindsay farewell as my
parents drive up in the van.</p><p>Thus, our voyage ends. A successful first
trip overseas, and a more-or-less successful first attempt at travel
blogging too. Methinks I'll have to try this again sometime. Farewell, and
as they say on the Emerald Isle: CHEERS!</p>

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@ -3,78 +3,82 @@
tabtitle: Bye Bye Windows
title: Farewell to Windows Tour 2015
tags: gaming
---
<article>
<h1>Farewell to Windows Tour 2015</h1>
<p>It has come time to bid Windows farewell. Once upon a time Windows was
short_desc: "It has come time to bid Windows farewell. Once upon a time Windows was
the only digital world I knew. It began when I was young, during the
venerable 3.1 era. I remember booting up our family computer into DOS, and
before starting Windows I could start Doom 2 or Keen's Dream, or any
number of other games. That was my first interaction with a command line.
My, my, how times have changed.</p>
My, my, how times have changed."
---
<p>From Doom 2 and Keen I went on to Baldur's Gate and Battlezone. I
dabbled here and there in NES/Sega/SNES/Genesis stuff, but PC gaming
always held my attention. The only exception to this was my Gameboy with
Pokemon, because that game is literal crack to a 12 year old. Baldur's
Gate held my attention like only a classic RPG can, and I remember
pouring over the manual and this guidebook I had to learn as much as I
could about the world the game created. Around this time I was also
getting into Dungeons and Dragons (Satan's game!), so there was a
definite mixture of digital and tabletop gaming. Battlezone, on the
other hand, was introduced to me by my good friend Rob, and became a
classic among my group of friends. Then, of course, Smash Bros became
a thing and that was our game of choice. That and Soul Calibur; ah
memories.</p>
<h1>Farewell to Windows Tour 2015</h1>
<p>It has come time to bid Windows farewell. Once upon a time Windows was
the only digital world I knew. It began when I was young, during the
venerable 3.1 era. I remember booting up our family computer into DOS, and
before starting Windows I could start Doom 2 or Keen's Dream, or any
number of other games. That was my first interaction with a command line.
My, my, how times have changed.</p>
<p>It wasn't until relatively recently that I ever even tried gaming on
Linux. My senior year of high school I was introduced to Linux by my
friend Ben. That spawned the interest, but it was always secondary to
my true love of computers, gaming. Throughout college I had an Asus
netbook, which was always my Linux machine, but I still had my Windows
desktop, which was my gaming machine. Windows was essential for gaming:
Steam; Final Fantasy 11 (yes, I know.); triple-A titles. These
were "Windows Exclusives," unless I wanted to venture into console
territory. Thus it remained, throughout college and my early-mid 20's.
Then something magical happened: Steam came to Linux. That was the
deathblow to Windows in my book, at least for my needs. I had long ago
dropped my interest in many games, leaving a small but well-loved list of
games that I do still care about. The majority of these are now supported
on Linux, but there are a few which remain Windows only. That is what this
"tour" is for; the last few games I want to play on Windows, before I go
Linux only.</p>
<p>From Doom 2 and Keen I went on to Baldur's Gate and Battlezone. I
dabbled here and there in NES/Sega/SNES/Genesis stuff, but PC gaming
always held my attention. The only exception to this was my Gameboy with
Pokemon, because that game is literal crack to a 12 year old. Baldur's
Gate held my attention like only a classic RPG can, and I remember
pouring over the manual and this guidebook I had to learn as much as I
could about the world the game created. Around this time I was also
getting into Dungeons and Dragons (Satan's game!), so there was a
definite mixture of digital and tabletop gaming. Battlezone, on the
other hand, was introduced to me by my good friend Rob, and became a
classic among my group of friends. Then, of course, Smash Bros became
a thing and that was our game of choice. That and Soul Calibur; ah
memories.</p>
<h3>Featuring</h3>
<p>The list isn't huge, but there are some definite strong players:</p>
<ul>
<li>Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2</li>
<li>Dishonored</li>
<li>Duke Nuken Forever</li>
<li>Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon</li>
<li>Spec Ops: The Line</li>
</ul>
<p>Mostly "newer" games, mostly graphics-intensive games. I know these
run fine on Windows, and they may work in Wine but I don't feel like
either figuring out if they do, or trying to make them play nice.</p>
<p>It wasn't until relatively recently that I ever even tried gaming on
Linux. My senior year of high school I was introduced to Linux by my
friend Ben. That spawned the interest, but it was always secondary to
my true love of computers, gaming. Throughout college I had an Asus
netbook, which was always my Linux machine, but I still had my Windows
desktop, which was my gaming machine. Windows was essential for gaming:
Steam; Final Fantasy 11 (yes, I know.); triple-A titles. These
were "Windows Exclusives," unless I wanted to venture into console
territory. Thus it remained, throughout college and my early-mid 20's.
Then something magical happened: Steam came to Linux. That was the
deathblow to Windows in my book, at least for my needs. I had long ago
dropped my interest in many games, leaving a small but well-loved list of
games that I do still care about. The majority of these are now supported
on Linux, but there are a few which remain Windows only. That is what this
"tour" is for; the last few games I want to play on Windows, before I go
Linux only.</p>
<h3>Special Guest Appearances By</h3>
<p>There are a few games that I will fiddle with to get working in Wine
though, and these are games I don't quite want to let go, but still are
Windows only: Skyrim and Guild Wars 2. I love Guild Wars 2, I think it's
the best MMO on the market, with the most supportive and friendly
community and one of the best developers. Skyrim is, well, Skyrim; I like
hitting things. Chivalry would be a close third on this list, but Chivalry
is on Linux now, so I can scream my lungs out and stab people whenever I
want. Regardless, I imagine I'll be playing plenty of each of these while
finishing up the main list.</p>
<h3>Featuring</h3>
<p>The list isn't huge, but there are some definite strong players:</p>
<ul>
<li>Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2</li>
<li>Dishonored</li>
<li>Duke Nuken Forever</li>
<li>Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon</li>
<li>Spec Ops: The Line</li>
</ul>
<p>Mostly "newer" games, mostly graphics-intensive games. I know these
run fine on Windows, and they may work in Wine but I don't feel like
either figuring out if they do, or trying to make them play nice.</p>
<h3>Tickets on Sale Now!</h3>
<p>Well, not exactly. But this would be a fantastic way to get into
streaming, and maybe I'll transition from Windows to Linux with that as
well. Streaming has always been something I've wanted to do, but never had
the time nor effort to pursue. So, either tradition will hold strong, or a
new challenger will appear. Until then.</p>
<h3>Special Guest Appearances By</h3>
<p>There are a few games that I will fiddle with to get working in Wine
though, and these are games I don't quite want to let go, but still are
Windows only: Skyrim and Guild Wars 2. I love Guild Wars 2, I think it's
the best MMO on the market, with the most supportive and friendly
community and one of the best developers. Skyrim is, well, Skyrim; I like
hitting things. Chivalry would be a close third on this list, but Chivalry
is on Linux now, so I can scream my lungs out and stab people whenever I
want. Regardless, I imagine I'll be playing plenty of each of these while
finishing up the main list.</p>
<br /><h4>[Bill Niblock][2015-04-28][Gaming]</h4>
</article>
<h3>Tickets on Sale Now!</h3>
<p>Well, not exactly. But this would be a fantastic way to get into
streaming, and maybe I'll transition from Windows to Linux with that as
well. Streaming has always been something I've wanted to do, but never had
the time nor effort to pursue. So, either tradition will hold strong, or a
new challenger will appear. Until then.</p>
<br /><h4>[Bill Niblock][2015-04-28][Gaming]</h4>

105
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@ -1,105 +0,0 @@
---
layout: default
tabtitle: Philosophy of Bill, Abbreviated
title: The Philosophy of Bill, Abbreviated
tags: philosophy
---
<article>
<h1>Perception And Thought</h1>
<p>I consider myself a very philosophical person. That doesn't mean I'm any
good at philosophy, I just tend to think a lot about ethics, morality, and
happiness. Recently I've been thinking more about my worldview, what I
value as important, and how I achieve happiness in my daily life. I wanted
to jot down what I feel is a brief examination of my basic tenants; the
basic Philosophy of Bill.</p>
<p>I derive a lot of my philosophy from my Christian up-bringing and
Stoicism. I'm not a very religious person, though. I never really was. My
belief of what God is falls strongly under the agnostic category: I'm not
sure what God is, or if I believe in a God, but I do believe in a higher
power of some sort. I feel it's logical to always assume there is something
more powerful than yourself, but I also feel it's impossible to prove this.
I like to define faith as simply irrational belief. I have faith in many
things, both permanent and temporary. I like faith, actually, quite a bit.
I admire those who have strong faith, so long as they maintain reason and
are not fanatical. I also try to maintain a very open approach to religion.
I believe everyone has the right to worship however they choose, so long as
it does not involve anything overly immoral, such as killing. I have a hard
time tolerating people who are overly zealous about their faith, or about
denouncing someone else's faith. Nothing is more disgusting than attacking
someone for their beliefs. They are called beliefs for a reason; they are
not fact, they are opinion. It's ineffective to attack opinions, because
they are ephemeral to begin with. Like trying to hit a ghost with a
lamp-post: it just won't do what you think it will.</p>
<p>I love debate and discussion, but there is a clear difference between
debate for truth and argument for winning. I try to keep in the first camp,
but I'm not super-human and I have an ego so I often visit the later.
However, I always learn when I make mistakes, and I cherish when I fail,
because it only serves to better myself. I think that's the most
fundamental under-lying theme of my philosophy: always better myself;
always learn something. That ego thing, though, that's a tough monster to
handle. I've found myself adopting views similar to Zen Buddism (I think)
often when trying to quell my ego:</p>
<p><ul>
<li> All will return to nothingness.</li>
<li> Ergo, what I do will be inconsequential.</li>
<li> Ergo, I am inconsequential.</li>
</ul></p>
<p>I think most people hear this and grow disheartened or depressed, but I
view it as very uplifting. There's a certain freedom in knowning that, no
matter how much I fail, in the end it won't matter much. It's sobering to
remember that no matter how much I've achieved or won, in the end it won't
matter much. It's important to remember that I am nothing but an improbable
spec of matter floating on a rock in an unimaginably vast and empty space.
Too many people get caught up on that "in the end" part, though, and they
begin to question why they should act at all. Well, there's a bit of time
between now and "the end" and you need to fill the void with something. For
me, that's learning, and understanding, and appreciating.</p>
<p>In my studies, I've discovered and adopted Stoicism as a philosophy. I
won't explain too much what Stoicism is about, since there are many sources
online which do that. I apply Stoicism mostly in the mental aspects of the
philosophy, and less in the faith/religious aspects. From Stoicism, I have
reinforced my beliefs in the importance of understanding our environment. I
remind myself every day of things I cannot control, and that I can only
control my perception of things. I try to act according to logic and
wisdom, and not according to feelings, which can hamper reason. For
example, I try not to let anger control my actions if I get trolled by my
friend Nick. I understand that anger, love, stress, and all other feelings
are very much out of my control, but allowing them to control me is well
within my control. In other words, I very much get angry, or grow lustful,
or prideful, but I try not to let those feelings dictate my actions. I
believe it was Seneca the Younger who said, "Men are not angered by things,
but by their perceptions of them." One of many mantra I keep in
reserve.</p>
<p>The most important thing in my life, though, is not control but
happiness. I can seek to control my perceptions and emotions all I want,
but if it does not lead to happiness, it is a fruitless endeavor. I find
happiness most when I learn; when I understand a system. I'm an engineer at
heart, so I view the world as a system of systems (of systems, of
systems...) each of which is bare to understanding. I free myself from ego
and oppression so that I can learn without fear of failure or the
disapproval of my peers. I like to always remind myself that the only
person who truly cares about me, is me. That's not to say others don't care
about me, but they care about themselves first, and me afterwards. That's
how things are; it's not wrong or depressing or hurtful it's just the way
the system works. I care for many people, but I'm always number one on the
list.</p>
<p>While all this is well and good, philosophy is an ever changing system;
a CICD environment. I am constantly integrating new ideas and concepts into
my understanding of the world, and sometimes purging old or unnecessary
ones. I have my fair-share of quandries, perhaps more so than others;
perhaps it's an unfair-share. That's what makes it worth it, though, to me.
I seek to learn, and in doing so, find happiness and confusion. It's a
recursive system: the confusion leads to learning, which leads to happiness
and confusion. And I love recursion.</p>
<h4>[Bill Niblock][2015-05-04][Philosophy]</h4>
</article>

107
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@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
---
layout: default
tabtitle: Philosophy of Bill, Abbreviated
title: The Philosophy of Bill, Abbreviated
tags: philosophy
short_desc: "I consider myself a very philosophical person. That doesn't
mean I'm any good at philosophy, I just tend to think a lot about ethics,
morality, and happiness. Recently I've been thinking more about my
worldview, what I value as important, and how I achieve happiness in my
daily life. I wanted to jot down what I feel is a brief examination of my
basic tenants; the basic Philosophy of Bill."
---
# Perception And Thought
I consider myself a very philosophical person. That doesn't mean I'm any
good at philosophy, I just tend to think a lot about ethics, morality, and
happiness. Recently I've been thinking more about my worldview, what I
value as important, and how I achieve happiness in my daily life. I wanted
to jot down what I feel is a brief examination of my basic tenants; the
basic Philosophy of Bill.
I derive a lot of my philosophy from my Christian up-bringing and
Stoicism. I'm not a very religious person, though. I never really was. My
belief of what God is falls strongly under the agnostic category: I'm not
sure what God is, or if I believe in a God, but I do believe in a higher
power of some sort. I feel it's logical to always assume there is something
more powerful than yourself, but I also feel it's impossible to prove this.
I like to define faith as simply irrational belief. I have faith in many
things, both permanent and temporary. I like faith, actually, quite a bit.
I admire those who have strong faith, so long as they maintain reason and
are not fanatical. I also try to maintain a very open approach to religion.
I believe everyone has the right to worship however they choose, so long as
it does not involve anything overly immoral, such as killing. I have a hard
time tolerating people who are overly zealous about their faith, or about
denouncing someone else's faith. Nothing is more disgusting than attacking
someone for their beliefs. They are called beliefs for a reason; they are
not fact, they are opinion. It's ineffective to attack opinions, because
they are ephemeral to begin with. Like trying to hit a ghost with a
lamp-post: it just won't do what you think it will.
I love debate and discussion, but there is a clear difference between
debate for truth and argument for winning. I try to keep in the first camp,
but I'm not super-human and I have an ego so I often visit the later.
However, I always learn when I make mistakes, and I cherish when I fail,
because it only serves to better myself. I think that's the most
fundamental under-lying theme of my philosophy: always better myself;
always learn something. That ego thing, though, that's a tough monster to
handle. I've found myself adopting views similar to Zen Buddism (I think)
often when trying to quell my ego:
- All will return to nothingness.
- Ergo, what I do will be inconsequential.
- Ergo, I am inconsequential.
I think most people hear this and grow disheartened or depressed, but I
view it as very uplifting. There's a certain freedom in knowning that, no
matter how much I fail, in the end it won't matter much. It's sobering to
remember that no matter how much I've achieved or won, in the end it won't
matter much. It's important to remember that I am nothing but an improbable
spec of matter floating on a rock in an unimaginably vast and empty space.
Too many people get caught up on that "in the end" part, though, and they
begin to question why they should act at all. Well, there's a bit of time
between now and "the end" and you need to fill the void with something. For
me, that's learning, and understanding, and appreciating.
In my studies, I've discovered and adopted Stoicism as a philosophy. I
won't explain too much what Stoicism is about, since there are many sources
online which do that. I apply Stoicism mostly in the mental aspects of the
philosophy, and less in the faith/religious aspects. From Stoicism, I have
reinforced my beliefs in the importance of understanding our environment. I
remind myself every day of things I cannot control, and that I can only
control my perception of things. I try to act according to logic and
wisdom, and not according to feelings, which can hamper reason. For
example, I try not to let anger control my actions if I get trolled by my
friend Nick. I understand that anger, love, stress, and all other feelings
are very much out of my control, but allowing them to control me is well
within my control. In other words, I very much get angry, or grow lustful,
or prideful, but I try not to let those feelings dictate my actions. I
believe it was Seneca the Younger who said, "Men are not angered by things,
but by their perceptions of them." One of many mantra I keep in
reserve.
The most important thing in my life, though, is not control but
happiness. I can seek to control my perceptions and emotions all I want,
but if it does not lead to happiness, it is a fruitless endeavor. I find
happiness most when I learn; when I understand a system. I'm an engineer at
heart, so I view the world as a system of systems (of systems, of
systems...) each of which is bare to understanding. I free myself from ego
and oppression so that I can learn without fear of failure or the
disapproval of my peers. I like to always remind myself that the only
person who truly cares about me, is me. That's not to say others don't care
about me, but they care about themselves first, and me afterwards. That's
how things are; it's not wrong or depressing or hurtful it's just the way
the system works. I care for many people, but I'm always number one on the
list.
While all this is well and good, philosophy is an ever changing system;
a CICD environment. I am constantly integrating new ideas and concepts into
my understanding of the world, and sometimes purging old or unnecessary
ones. I have my fair-share of quandries, perhaps more so than others;
perhaps it's an unfair-share. That's what makes it worth it, though, to me.
I seek to learn, and in doing so, find happiness and confusion. It's a
recursive system: the confusion leads to learning, which leads to happiness
and confusion. And I love recursion.
#### [Bill Niblock][2015-05-04][Philosophy]

257
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@ -3,149 +3,150 @@
tabtitle: An Examination of TLS, Part 1
title: An Examination of TLS, Part 1
tags: tech
short_desc: "TLS, more often referred to as SSL, is a means by which a
secure connection is established over a computer network. In this
introductionary post, I layout the steps to establishing a secure
connection."
---
<article>
<h1>TLS: An Examination Into the Security of the Internet, Part 1</h1>
<p>TLS, more often referred to as SSL, is the means by which a secure
connection is established over a computer network. Most often these
connections are established over the Internet, between a client (ex., web
browser) and a server (ex., a web site). In the specific case of web sites,
HTTP is layered on TLS/SSL to ensure a secure and private connection; HTTPS
is not a separate protocol, rather a combination or protocols. Establishing
a secure connection thus requires a few steps:</p>
<h2>Step 1: Establish an TCP connection</h2>
<p>TCP is a transport-layer protocol that establishes a connection which is
reliable and fault-tolerant. As opposed to UDP, TCP will seek to verify
that information is transferred successfully and as intended. This is
important for the next step. The connection is established as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li>A client will contact a server and announce it wishes to
establish a connection. (Called a SYN, short for synchronize). This
SYN is a number, stored as part of the TCP header; we'll call it
A.</li>
<li>The server will respond to the client announcing it has
received the client's wish, and also state that it wishes to establish
a connection. (Called a SYN-ACK, short for synchronize-acknowledge).
Ths SYN-ACK is actually two values: One is the ACK value, A+1. The
second is the server's SYN value, which we'll call B.</li>
<li>The client then acknowledged the server's wish, thus
establishing a connection (Called simply an ACK). Because it was
expecting an ACK value in step 2, and expecting that value to be A+1,
it can verify that this connection is the same as the one it started.
Additionally and similarly, the ACK which gets returned to the server
as B+1.</li>
<li>At this point, the connection is established. Both client and
server have assured themselves of a proper connection thanks to the
three-way handshake described above. From this point forward, the
server has bound a specific port to listen for any further
communications with the client. </li>
</ol>
<h2>Step 2: Establish an SSL/TLS Connection</h2>
<p>TLS, Transport Layer Security, is appropriately on the same layer as
TCP, the transport layer. TLS relies on public key authentication to
establish a secure connection between the aforementioned client and server.
The connection is established as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li>A client will announce to the server it wishes to establish a
TLS/SSL connection. It will include information such as it's TLS/SSL
version, the ciphersuites it wishes to use, and which compression
methods it wishes to use.</li>
<li>The server then uses the highest possible TLS/SSL version, chooses
one of the ciphersuites available to the client, chooses one of the
compression methods available to the client, and sends it's
certificate. A certificate is basically a container for a server's
public key, but with many additional details, and often signed by a
certificate authority, to further verify the certificate contains the
proper key. More on certificates in part 2.</li>
<li>The client then uses the server's public key to encrypt a secret.
This secret is then sent back to the server.</li>
<li>The server decrypts the secret with it's private key. This secret
is now shared by only the client and the server, and from this point
on is used for symmetric encryption.</li>
</ol>
<p>From this point forward, the connection is encrypted and secure from
external threats. Of course, this all depends on a trusted certificate and
proper encryption algorithms.</p>
<h2>Step 3: Establish an HTTP connection</h2>
<p>HTTP is an application-layer protocol, and is responsible for translating
the information from the transport layer into information used by an
application. Your web browser, for example, will utilize HTTP to translate
a bunch of hexidecimal information into alpha-numeric information, which is
then formatted and presented to you as a web page. Security is previously
established thanks to TLS/SSL, and reliability is previously established
thanks to TCP.</p>
<p>Part 2 focuses more on the specifics of TLS: certificates, cipher
suites, and public key authentication.</p>
<h1>TLS: An Examination Into the Security of the Internet, Part 1</h1>
<h3>Sources</h3>
<ol>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public-key_cryptography">
Wikipedia: Public-key Cryptography</a></li>
<li><a
href="https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/6290/how-is-it-possible-that-people-observing-an-https-connection-being-established-w">Stack
Exchange: How is it possible that people observing an HTTPS
connection being established wouldn't know how to decrypt
it?</a></li>
<li><a
href="https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/20803/how-does-ssl-tls-work">
Stack Exchange: How Does SSL/TLS work?</a></li>
</ol>
<p>TLS, more often referred to as SSL, is the means by which a secure
connection is established over a computer network. Most often these
connections are established over the Internet, between a client (ex., web
browser) and a server (ex., a web site). In the specific case of web sites,
HTTP is layered on TLS/SSL to ensure a secure and private connection; HTTPS
is not a separate protocol, rather a combination or protocols. Establishing
a secure connection thus requires a few steps:</p>
<br /><h4>[Bill Niblock][2015-05-06][Technology]</h4>
<h2>Step 1: Establish an TCP connection</h2>
</article>
<p>TCP is a transport-layer protocol that establishes a connection which is
reliable and fault-tolerant. As opposed to UDP, TCP will seek to verify
that information is transferred successfully and as intended. This is
important for the next step. The connection is established as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li>A client will contact a server and announce it wishes to
establish a connection. (Called a SYN, short for synchronize). This
SYN is a number, stored as part of the TCP header; we'll call it
A.</li>
<li>The server will respond to the client announcing it has
received the client's wish, and also state that it wishes to establish
a connection. (Called a SYN-ACK, short for synchronize-acknowledge).
Ths SYN-ACK is actually two values: One is the ACK value, A+1. The
second is the server's SYN value, which we'll call B.</li>
<li>The client then acknowledged the server's wish, thus
establishing a connection (Called simply an ACK). Because it was
expecting an ACK value in step 2, and expecting that value to be A+1,
it can verify that this connection is the same as the one it started.
Additionally and similarly, the ACK which gets returned to the server
as B+1.</li>
<li>At this point, the connection is established. Both client and
server have assured themselves of a proper connection thanks to the
three-way handshake described above. From this point forward, the
server has bound a specific port to listen for any further
communications with the client. </li>
</ol>
<h2>Step 2: Establish an SSL/TLS Connection</h2>
<p>TLS, Transport Layer Security, is appropriately on the same layer as
TCP, the transport layer. TLS relies on public key authentication to
establish a secure connection between the aforementioned client and server.
The connection is established as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li>A client will announce to the server it wishes to establish a
TLS/SSL connection. It will include information such as it's TLS/SSL
version, the ciphersuites it wishes to use, and which compression
methods it wishes to use.</li>
<li>The server then uses the highest possible TLS/SSL version, chooses
one of the ciphersuites available to the client, chooses one of the
compression methods available to the client, and sends it's
certificate. A certificate is basically a container for a server's
public key, but with many additional details, and often signed by a
certificate authority, to further verify the certificate contains the
proper key. More on certificates in part 2.</li>
<li>The client then uses the server's public key to encrypt a secret.
This secret is then sent back to the server.</li>
<li>The server decrypts the secret with it's private key. This secret
is now shared by only the client and the server, and from this point
on is used for symmetric encryption.</li>
</ol>
<p>From this point forward, the connection is encrypted and secure from
external threats. Of course, this all depends on a trusted certificate and
proper encryption algorithms.</p>
<h2>Step 3: Establish an HTTP connection</h2>
<p>HTTP is an application-layer protocol, and is responsible for translating
the information from the transport layer into information used by an
application. Your web browser, for example, will utilize HTTP to translate
a bunch of hexidecimal information into alpha-numeric information, which is
then formatted and presented to you as a web page. Security is previously
established thanks to TLS/SSL, and reliability is previously established
thanks to TCP.</p>
<p>Part 2 focuses more on the specifics of TLS: certificates, cipher
suites, and public key authentication.</p>
<h3>Sources</h3>
<ol>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public-key_cryptography">
Wikipedia: Public-key Cryptography</a></li>
<li><a
href="https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/6290/how-is-it-possible-that-people-observing-an-https-connection-being-established-w">Stack
Exchange: How is it possible that people observing an HTTPS
connection being established wouldn't know how to decrypt
it?</a></li>
<li><a
href="https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/20803/how-does-ssl-tls-work">
Stack Exchange: How Does SSL/TLS work?</a></li>
</ol>
<br /><h4>[Bill Niblock][2015-05-06][Technology]</h4>
<!-- ================================= -->
<!-- ================================= -->
<!-- Notes (because why remove them?)
Asymmetric Key Authentication:
- Relies on two keys: Public key, Private key
- Both keys are related, but impossible (computationally infeasable) to
identify the private key based on the public key [1][2]
- The public key can be distributed publicly
- Used to encrypt message to the owner of the private paired key
- Used to verify signatures from the private key
- The private key is kept secret
- Used to decrypt message from the public paired key
- Used to as a digital signature
- Relies on two keys: Public key, Private key
- Both keys are related, but impossible (computationally infeasable) to
identify the private key based on the public key [1][2]
- The public key can be distributed publicly
- Used to encrypt message to the owner of the private paired key
- Used to verify signatures from the private key
- The private key is kept secret
- Used to decrypt message from the public paired key
- Used to as a digital signature
Basics of an Asymmetric Key handshake:
1. Client reaches out to server, requesting a secure connection
2. Server acknowledges request, sends back it's public key
- This is commonly known as a certificate. Often signed by a
third-party to ensure it is what it's supposed to be.
3. Client uses this public key to encrypt a secret, and sends the package
back to the server.
4. The server then uses it's private key to decrypt the public-key
encrypted secret, and uses that secret hence forth to encrypt all traffic.
5. A private connection is now established.
1. Client reaches out to server, requesting a secure connection
2. Server acknowledges request, sends back it's public key
- This is commonly known as a certificate. Often signed by a
third-party to ensure it is what it's supposed to be.
3. Client uses this public key to encrypt a secret, and sends the package
back to the server.
4. The server then uses it's private key to decrypt the public-key
encrypted secret, and uses that secret hence forth to encrypt all traffic.
5. A private connection is now established.
Basics of Certificates
1. A certificate is a vessel for a server to provide authentication
information.
2. Typically a certificate will contain the following information:
- A UUID of the certificate itself
- The subject of the certificate
- The signature, and signature algorithm used
- The issuer of the certificate, as well as dates when it is valid
- The purpose of the key
- The thumbprint, and algorithm, used to hash the key
- The public key itself
3. Certificate Authorities act as a third part to verify the integrity of
public keys.
1. A certificate is a vessel for a server to provide authentication
information.
2. Typically a certificate will contain the following information:
- A UUID of the certificate itself
- The subject of the certificate
- The signature, and signature algorithm used
- The issuer of the certificate, as well as dates when it is valid
- The purpose of the key
- The thumbprint, and algorithm, used to hash the key
- The public key itself
3. Certificate Authorities act as a third part to verify the integrity of
public keys.
-->
<!-- ================================= -->

78
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@ -3,53 +3,51 @@
tabtitle: A Good Friend's Father
title: A Good Friend's Father
tags: philosophy, personal
short_desc: "A good friend's father died. What can I learn from this?"
---
<article>
<h1>A Good Friend's Father</h1>
<p> A good friend's father died. He was quite a strong figure in my
childhood. He was compassionate, endearing, strong, and happy. He is
succeeded by two of my best childhood friends, and his second wife. I will
always remember him as smiling, or laughing, or even sometimes frustrated
with his children.</p>
<h1>A Good Friend's Father</h1>
<p> A good friend's father died. He was quite a strong figure in my
childhood. He was compassionate, endearing, strong, and happy. He is
succeeded by two of my best childhood friends, and his second wife. I will
always remember him as smiling, or laughing, or even sometimes frustrated
with his children.</p>
<p> When I learned of his passing, I immediately thought of my position in
life. My father is roughly the same age, and my mother slightly younger.
Was this death too early? Is there such a thing? If I stick to my
philosophical beliefs, then death is fated, regardless of where or when;
never early, never late. When I told a friend of the passing, his remarks
were expectedly typical: "That's fucked up. He died so early. He died so
young." The trick with beliefs is they are always tested. I found myself
caught up in grief and worry. Surprised at the passing, worried with the
thought of my parents dying. I even grew anxious of the funeral and calling
hours. Suddenly this anxiety was like a weed, finding it's way into the
cracks in my beliefs and understanding, unsettling and disrupting my peace
of mind. Instead of mourning the loss, I tangled myself into an emotional
knot, and selfishly so.</p>
<p> When I learned of his passing, I immediately thought of my position in
life. My father is roughly the same age, and my mother slightly younger.
Was this death too early? Is there such a thing? If I stick to my
philosophical beliefs, then death is fated, regardless of where or when;
never early, never late. When I told a friend of the passing, his remarks
were expectedly typical: "That's fucked up. He died so early. He died so
young." The trick with beliefs is they are always tested. I found myself
caught up in grief and worry. Surprised at the passing, worried with the
thought of my parents dying. I even grew anxious of the funeral and calling
hours. Suddenly this anxiety was like a weed, finding it's way into the
cracks in my beliefs and understanding, unsettling and disrupting my peace
of mind. Instead of mourning the loss, I tangled myself into an emotional
knot, and selfishly so.</p>
<p> I sat, a few days after the news, watching the rain. I considered how
the rain falls where it is due, regardless of what it falls on. The
rain cares not, it simply is. I considered the millions of drops falling on
the millions of people all around the globe. Their situations in life as
unique as each drop; in structure similar, yet in action ever slightly
divergent. In life, I cannot decide where or when I exist, I can only
decide how to perceive my existance. Epictetus wrote, "man is disturbed not
by things, but by the views he takes of them." My perceptions were skewed,
my understanding flawed, and thus I was disturbed.</p>
<p> I sat, a few days after the news, watching the rain. I considered how
the rain falls where it is due, regardless of what it falls on. The
rain cares not, it simply is. I considered the millions of drops falling on
the millions of people all around the globe. Their situations in life as
unique as each drop; in structure similar, yet in action ever slightly
divergent. In life, I cannot decide where or when I exist, I can only
decide how to perceive my existance. Epictetus wrote, "man is disturbed not
by things, but by the views he takes of them." My perceptions were skewed,
my understanding flawed, and thus I was disturbed.</p>
<p> One of my favorite analogies is Bruce Lee's metaphor about water. It is
a reminder to be fluid and formless, adaptable and potent; "If nothing
within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves." There's
no way for me to know what will be asked of me, as my life moves forward.
I must be shapeless, so when obstacles appear I flow around or through
them, without hesitation. I cannot affect when or how these obstacles
appear, only how I perceive them. I had forgotten this. </p>
<p> One of my favorite analogies is Bruce Lee's metaphor about water. It is
a reminder to be fluid and formless, adaptable and potent; "If nothing
within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves." There's
no way for me to know what will be asked of me, as my life moves forward.
I must be shapeless, so when obstacles appear I flow around or through
them, without hesitation. I cannot affect when or how these obstacles
appear, only how I perceive them. I had forgotten this. </p>
<p> A good friend's father died, and he reminded me how to live.</p>
<p> A good friend's father died, and he reminded me how to live.</p>
<br /><h4>[Bill Niblock][2015-07-09][Philosophy]</h4>
</article>
<br /><h4>[Bill Niblock][2015-07-09][Philosophy]</h4>
<!-- ================================= -->
<!-- ================================= -->

208
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@ -3,131 +3,135 @@
tabtitle: An Examination of TLS, Part 2
title: An Examination of TLS, Part 2
tags: tech
---
<article>
<h1>TLS: An examination into the Security of the Internet, Part 2</h1>
<p>TLS, more often referred to as SSL, is the means by which a secure
short_desc: "TLS, more often referred to as SSL, is the means by which a secure
connection is established over a computer network. Part 1 examines how to
establish a secure connection using TLS. This article examines further the
techniques and technology that makes TLS secure. Specifically, a brief
examination of certificates, cipher suites, and public-key
authentication.</p>
authentication."
---
<h2>Certificates</h2>
<p>A certificate is a vessel for a domain to provide authentication
information. More specifically, and perhaps most importantly, a certificate
is the package which transfers a key. TLS relies entirely upon Public-Key
Authentication to setup a secure connection. The challenge with Public-Key
Authentication is often sharing keys in a verifiable and secure manner.
This is to say that, despite public keys being public, you still need to
verify the owner of the key. This is where certificates, and Certificate
Authorities come in. Each certificate is tailored to a specific domain. It
includes not only the public key for a user to connect to the server with,
but also meta-data about the certificate: a UUID, and information about the
Certificate Authority; a signature authorizing the certificate, as well as
the encryption used for the signature; a thumbprint of the key, and details
of the algorithm used to hash the key; and a purpose for the certificate.
Certificates may contain additional details, but the aforementioned list is
required.</p>
<h1>TLS: An examination into the Security of the Internet, Part 2</h1>
<p>A Certificate Authority (CA) is a trusted third-party repository of
signed keys. The purpose of a CA is very specific: verification. A CA will
generate and issue a key-pair to a domain. The domain can then share the
public key using a certificate. How specifically a CA verifies the domains
and keys is out of scope of this discussion, but Wikipedia provides many
details on the techniques used.</p>
<p>TLS, more often referred to as SSL, is the means by which a secure
connection is established over a computer network. Part 1 examines how to
establish a secure connection using TLS. This article examines further the
techniques and technology that makes TLS secure. Specifically, a brief
examination of certificates, cipher suites, and public-key
authentication.</p>
<h2>Cipher Suites</h2>
<p>A cipher is the algorithm used to encrypt information. Ciphers are
incredibly complex mathematical formulae, and are well beyond my
understanding. However, it is important to note that the strength of a key
is only as strong as the cipher suite used to generate it. Likewise, the
strength of a certificate is only as strong as the cipher used to sign
it. Keep this in mind when you generate and work with keys.</p>
<h2>Certificates</h2>
<p>A certificate is a vessel for a domain to provide authentication
information. More specifically, and perhaps most importantly, a certificate
is the package which transfers a key. TLS relies entirely upon Public-Key
Authentication to setup a secure connection. The challenge with Public-Key
Authentication is often sharing keys in a verifiable and secure manner.
This is to say that, despite public keys being public, you still need to
verify the owner of the key. This is where certificates, and Certificate
Authorities come in. Each certificate is tailored to a specific domain. It
includes not only the public key for a user to connect to the server with,
but also meta-data about the certificate: a UUID, and information about the
Certificate Authority; a signature authorizing the certificate, as well as
the encryption used for the signature; a thumbprint of the key, and details
of the algorithm used to hash the key; and a purpose for the certificate.
Certificates may contain additional details, but the aforementioned list is
required.</p>
<h2>Public-Key Authentication</h2>
<p>The most important part of TLS is public-key authentication. I would
argue that public-key authentication is one of the most important facets of
the technical world. Because of this, I want to recap in more general terms
how public-key authentication works:</p>
<p>A Certificate Authority (CA) is a trusted third-party repository of
signed keys. The purpose of a CA is very specific: verification. A CA will
generate and issue a key-pair to a domain. The domain can then share the
public key using a certificate. How specifically a CA verifies the domains
and keys is out of scope of this discussion, but Wikipedia provides many
details on the techniques used.</p>
<ol>
<li>Two parties want to establish a secure connection.</li>
<li>Each party generates two keys: one to share publicly, one to keep
secret.</li>
<li>Each party then shares their public keys.</li>
</ol>
<h2>Cipher Suites</h2>
<p>A cipher is the algorithm used to encrypt information. Ciphers are
incredibly complex mathematical formulae, and are well beyond my
understanding. However, it is important to note that the strength of a key
is only as strong as the cipher suite used to generate it. Likewise, the
strength of a certificate is only as strong as the cipher used to sign
it. Keep this in mind when you generate and work with keys.</p>
<p>Now, whenever one of the two parties wants to securely communicate with
the other, they "sign" (encrypt) the communication with their private key.
The second party can then use the public key of the first party to verify
the identify of the sender, and decrypt the message.
<h2>Public-Key Authentication</h2>
<p>The most important part of TLS is public-key authentication. I would
argue that public-key authentication is one of the most important facets of
the technical world. Because of this, I want to recap in more general terms
how public-key authentication works:</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Security is a very deep and involved topic, but one I feel every
Sys-Admin should know a bit about. While these posts are only meant to serve
as a high-level overview of TLS, there are many more-detailed sources
available. I would suggest a visit to your local Wikipedia as a good first
step. Thanks for reading.</p>
<ol>
<li>Two parties want to establish a secure connection.</li>
<li>Each party generates two keys: one to share publicly, one to keep
secret.</li>
<li>Each party then shares their public keys.</li>
</ol>
<h3>Sources</h3>
<ol>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public-key_cryptography">
Wikipedia: Public-key Cryptography</a></li>
<li><a
href="https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/6290/how-is-it-possible-that-people-observing-an-https-connection-being-established-w">Stack
Exchange: How is it possible that people observing an HTTPS
connection being established wouldn't know how to decrypt
it?</a></li>
<li><a
href="https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/20803/how-does-ssl-tls-work">
Stack Exchange: How Does SSL/TLS work?</a></li>
</ol>
<p>Now, whenever one of the two parties wants to securely communicate with
the other, they "sign" (encrypt) the communication with their private key.
The second party can then use the public key of the first party to verify
the identify of the sender, and decrypt the message.
<br /><h4>[Bill Niblock][2015-11-10][Technology]</h4>
</article>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Security is a very deep and involved topic, but one I feel every
Sys-Admin should know a bit about. While these posts are only meant to serve
as a high-level overview of TLS, there are many more-detailed sources
available. I would suggest a visit to your local Wikipedia as a good first
step. Thanks for reading.</p>
<h3>Sources</h3>
<ol>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public-key_cryptography">
Wikipedia: Public-key Cryptography</a></li>
<li><a
href="https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/6290/how-is-it-possible-that-people-observing-an-https-connection-being-established-w">Stack
Exchange: How is it possible that people observing an HTTPS
connection being established wouldn't know how to decrypt
it?</a></li>
<li><a
href="https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/20803/how-does-ssl-tls-work">
Stack Exchange: How Does SSL/TLS work?</a></li>
</ol>
<br /><h4>[Bill Niblock][2015-11-10][Technology]</h4>
<!-- ================================= -->
<!-- ================================= -->
<!-- Notes (because why remove them?)
Asymmetric Key Authentication:
- Relies on two keys: Public key, Private key
- Both keys are related, but impossible (computationally infeasible) to
identify the private key based on the public key [1][2]
- The public key can be distributed publicly
- Used to encrypt message to the owner of the private paired key
- Used to verify signatures from the private key
- The private key is kept secret
- Used to decrypt message from the public paired key
- Used to as a digital signature
- Relies on two keys: Public key, Private key
- Both keys are related, but impossible (computationally infeasible) to
identify the private key based on the public key [1][2]
- The public key can be distributed publicly
- Used to encrypt message to the owner of the private paired key
- Used to verify signatures from the private key
- The private key is kept secret
- Used to decrypt message from the public paired key
- Used to as a digital signature
Basics of an Asymmetric Key handshake:
1. Client reaches out to server, requesting a secure connection
2. Server acknowledges request, sends back it's public key
- This is commonly known as a certificate. Often signed by a
third-party to ensure it is what it's supposed to be.
3. Client uses this public key to encrypt a secret, and sends the package
back to the server.
4. The server then uses it's private key to decrypt the public-key
encrypted secret, and uses that secret hence forth to encrypt all traffic.
5. A private connection is now established.
1. Client reaches out to server, requesting a secure connection
2. Server acknowledges request, sends back it's public key
- This is commonly known as a certificate. Often signed by a
third-party to ensure it is what it's supposed to be.
3. Client uses this public key to encrypt a secret, and sends the package
back to the server.
4. The server then uses it's private key to decrypt the public-key
encrypted secret, and uses that secret hence forth to encrypt all traffic.
5. A private connection is now established.
Basics of Certificates
1. A certificate is a vessel for a server to provide authentication
information.
2. Typically a certificate will contain the following information:
- A UUID of the certificate itself
- The subject of the certificate
- The signature, and signature algorithm used
- The issuer of the certificate, as well as dates when it is valid
- The purpose of the key
- The thumbprint, and algorithm, used to hash the key
- The public key itself
3. Certificate Authorities act as a third part to verify the integrity of
public keys.
1. A certificate is a vessel for a server to provide authentication
information.
2. Typically a certificate will contain the following information:
- A UUID of the certificate itself
- The subject of the certificate
- The signature, and signature algorithm used
- The issuer of the certificate, as well as dates when it is valid
- The purpose of the key
- The thumbprint, and algorithm, used to hash the key
- The public key itself
3. Certificate Authorities act as a third part to verify the integrity of
public keys.
-->
<!-- ================================= -->

298
_posts/2016-01-30-Revelations-Stoic-Understanding.html
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@ -3,162 +3,164 @@
tabtitle: Developing Stoic Understanding
title: Developing Stoic Understanding
tags: philosophy
---
<article>
<h1>Revelations: Developing Stoic Understanding</h1>
<p>Sherman J. Clark wrote a fantastic article on the Stoicism Today blog in
short_desc: "Sherman J. Clark wrote a fantastic article on the Stoicism Today blog in
December which really spoke to me. It approached some of the questions and
problems I've had with Stoicism in an elegant and enlightening way, which
has led to my significantly greater understanding of Stoicism. Notably, and
what I want to highlight here, were the topics of <i>Selfishness</i>,
<i>Metaphysics</i>, and <i>Balance</i>.</p>
has led to my significantly greater understanding of Stoicism."
---
<h3>Selfishness</h3>
<p>I have a difficult time with the idea of a universal brotherhood. I
cannot properly picture it, nor understand how to approach or pursue it.
When Stoicism speaks of the importance of community or of a universal
brotherhood, I generally switch off. Appropriately, I have a difficult time
understanding how Stoic pursuit is anything but selfish. Everything I
pursue, everything I read and try to apply, seems to benefit solely me.
There is an argument to be made that by bettering myself I better others
around me, but that does not provide a fulfilling conclusion. It doesn't
actually promote social action, rather it proposes a benefit if I take
action. I'm looking for a reason to take that action, which seems to be
lacking. Clark specifically cites this issue towards the end of his
article: "I do not believe it possible to find within stoicism any
principle that definitively rules out selfishness or guarantees
other-regarding behavior." My thoughts exactly. Clark thus proposes that
the impetus for selflessness, or at least community, comes from the simple
fact that learning is best done communally. This I can certainly agree
with, if only considering the obvious fact that I do not know every answer
to every question, and thus I must seek them from external sources.
Learning with others promotes diverse opinions and solutions, often outside
the scope of my approach.</p>
<h1>Revelations: Developing Stoic Understanding</h1>
<p>Sherman J. Clark wrote a fantastic article on the Stoicism Today blog in
December which really spoke to me. It approached some of the questions and
problems I've had with Stoicism in an elegant and enlightening way, which
has led to my significantly greater understanding of Stoicism. Notably, and
what I want to highlight here, were the topics of <i>Selfishness</i>,
<i>Metaphysics</i>, and <i>Balance</i>.</p>
<p><i>"Not only do we need the insights of others to help us understand our
world better, but our own experience and understanding is best achieved not
in isolation but in shared conversation—dialectic."</i></p>
<h3>Selfishness</h3>
<p>I have a difficult time with the idea of a universal brotherhood. I
cannot properly picture it, nor understand how to approach or pursue it.
When Stoicism speaks of the importance of community or of a universal
brotherhood, I generally switch off. Appropriately, I have a difficult time
understanding how Stoic pursuit is anything but selfish. Everything I
pursue, everything I read and try to apply, seems to benefit solely me.
There is an argument to be made that by bettering myself I better others
around me, but that does not provide a fulfilling conclusion. It doesn't
actually promote social action, rather it proposes a benefit if I take
action. I'm looking for a reason to take that action, which seems to be
lacking. Clark specifically cites this issue towards the end of his
article: "I do not believe it possible to find within stoicism any
principle that definitively rules out selfishness or guarantees
other-regarding behavior." My thoughts exactly. Clark thus proposes that
the impetus for selflessness, or at least community, comes from the simple
fact that learning is best done communally. This I can certainly agree
with, if only considering the obvious fact that I do not know every answer
to every question, and thus I must seek them from external sources.
Learning with others promotes diverse opinions and solutions, often outside
the scope of my approach.</p>
<p>This point is building block 1; the first of three pieces to a puzzle:
<b>learning promotes selflessness</b>.</p>
<p><i>"Not only do we need the insights of others to help us understand our
world better, but our own experience and understanding is best achieved not
in isolation but in shared conversation—dialectic."</i></p>
<h3>Metaphysics</h3>
<p>To paraphrase Carl Sagan, we are the universe's way of understanding
itself. To Stoics, the universe is often synonymous with Nature. Living in
accordance with Nature is basically Stoic virtue. That's a very big
basically, and a very simplified view of Stoic virtue. However (a) I'm not
very good at explaining this; and (b) it's a <b>very</b> involved topic. I
want to touch on it briefly, since it is both covered by Clark and also
relevant to the discussion. Clark makes a very straight-forward argument
that Physics, or science to a more general degree, is appropriate as a
Stoic virtue. Again he touches on the importance of learning, and expands
it to how science is the means by which we can learn and understand the
beauty and order of our universe. By learning and understanding more about
the universe (Nature), we can better live in accordance with Nature. I'm
simplifying again significantly, but I think it boils down to knowledge.
Temperance and courage, two significant Stoic virtues, are defined by Clark
as a symptom of awareness. Temperance is the awareness that what others
crave is not worth craving after; courage is the awareness that what others
fear is not worth fearing. If virtues are best defined as properly attuned
awareness, then what better awareness to develop than the awareness of how
the universe works? As a computer scientist, and a person who finds great joy
in understanding systems and why they work, this makes perfect sense to me.
Building block 2: <b>awareness and understanding is the foundation of
virtue</b>.
<p>This point is building block 1; the first of three pieces to a puzzle:
<b>learning promotes selflessness</b>.</p>
<h3>Balance</h3>
<p> By balance, I mean the balance of stoic thought managing emotions. It
is common for Stoic teaching to be applied to negative emotions and
situations. Many blogs, books, and classes focus on applying a Stoic
mindset to stress, anxiety, depression, and the unfavorable situations that
cause those and other similar types of emotions to arise. Clark is
quick to propose a more important question: what happens when this approach
is fully applied? What happens when a full pursuit of Stoicism is taken
seriously? I appreciate Clark's use of the word "serious" when he speaks of
this pursuit. It implies to me that half-way applying Stoic thought is an
immature pursuit. That is to say, similar to an immature fruit tree, you
have only part of the system available to you. This is often how I've felt.
I know and understand the power of applying Stoic thought to difficult
situations. I want to know, as Clark puts it, if there is any room left for
joy after we've fully applied the Stoic philosophy.</p>
<h3>Metaphysics</h3>
<p>To paraphrase Carl Sagan, we are the universe's way of understanding
itself. To Stoics, the universe is often synonymous with Nature. Living in
accordance with Nature is basically Stoic virtue. That's a very big
basically, and a very simplified view of Stoic virtue. However (a) I'm not
very good at explaining this; and (b) it's a <b>very</b> involved topic. I
want to touch on it briefly, since it is both covered by Clark and also
relevant to the discussion. Clark makes a very straight-forward argument
that Physics, or science to a more general degree, is appropriate as a
Stoic virtue. Again he touches on the importance of learning, and expands
it to how science is the means by which we can learn and understand the
beauty and order of our universe. By learning and understanding more about
the universe (Nature), we can better live in accordance with Nature. I'm
simplifying again significantly, but I think it boils down to knowledge.
Temperance and courage, two significant Stoic virtues, are defined by Clark
as a symptom of awareness. Temperance is the awareness that what others
crave is not worth craving after; courage is the awareness that what others
fear is not worth fearing. If virtues are best defined as properly attuned
awareness, then what better awareness to develop than the awareness of how
the universe works? As a computer scientist, and a person who finds great joy
in understanding systems and why they work, this makes perfect sense to me.
Building block 2: <b>awareness and understanding is the foundation of
virtue</b>.
<p><i>"It is neither appealing nor intellectually honest to take comfort
from a philosophy that works only if you do not think about it too
carefully."</i></p>
<h3>Balance</h3>
<p> By balance, I mean the balance of stoic thought managing emotions. It
is common for Stoic teaching to be applied to negative emotions and
situations. Many blogs, books, and classes focus on applying a Stoic
mindset to stress, anxiety, depression, and the unfavorable situations that
cause those and other similar types of emotions to arise. Clark is
quick to propose a more important question: what happens when this approach
is fully applied? What happens when a full pursuit of Stoicism is taken
seriously? I appreciate Clark's use of the word "serious" when he speaks of
this pursuit. It implies to me that half-way applying Stoic thought is an
immature pursuit. That is to say, similar to an immature fruit tree, you
have only part of the system available to you. This is often how I've felt.
I know and understand the power of applying Stoic thought to difficult
situations. I want to know, as Clark puts it, if there is any room left for
joy after we've fully applied the Stoic philosophy.</p>
<p>Clark investigates 5 possible answers to this dilemma, none of which
fully answer our question. However, he does propose a solution, and it is a
solution which resonates with me deeply: <b>"true stoic joy comes through
comprehension, understanding, and insight</b>." And that's the final
building block.</p>
<p><i>"It is neither appealing nor intellectually honest to take comfort
from a philosophy that works only if you do not think about it too
carefully."</i></p>
<h2>Completing the Puzzle</h2>
<p>Putting it all together, what I took from Clark, and what has helped me
to better understand Stoicism as it applies to me:</p>
<p>Clark investigates 5 possible answers to this dilemma, none of which
fully answer our question. However, he does propose a solution, and it is a
solution which resonates with me deeply: <b>"true stoic joy comes through
comprehension, understanding, and insight</b>." And that's the final
building block.</p>
<p><b>True stoic joy comes from learning about our universe,
together.</b></p>
<h2>Completing the Puzzle</h2>
<p>Putting it all together, what I took from Clark, and what has helped me
to better understand Stoicism as it applies to me:</p>
<p>This has always been what has brought me the most happiness, but to hear
it from someone else now makes it much more potent. Almost ironically so,
considering one of the first topics I wrote about above was my general
disregard of community in Stoicism. In retrospect, it makes perfect sense
why I find computers so fascinating, or puzzles, or even video games: they
force me to learn about a system. And what more complex and unexplored
system exists than the literal infinity of the universe? When we pursue the
Stoic ideal too completely, there is a perceived risk that we will grow
completely apathetic, forced to acknowledge that while negative emotions
are not worth concern, so too are positive emotions, including joy! With
the revelation that true joy comes from understanding, the flawed
perception is then clarified to show flawed pursuit: we grow apathetic not
because we incorrectly realise nothing in the world is worthwhile, but
because we fail to understand the system. We grow apathetic by not
understanding the universe, or at the very least by ignoring the call to
curiosity. Everything boils down to understanding: we develop temperance
by understanding what is worth pursuit; we develop courage by understanding
fear; we develop wisdom by understanding how to learn; we develop justice
by understanding righteousness and wellness.</p>
<p><b>True stoic joy comes from learning about our universe,
together.</b></p>
<h3>Challenge</h3>
<p>My challenge now is to embrace this lifestyle completely. In the confines
and privacy of my own mind, it's very easy to follow. The only emotions and
opinions I need to concern myself with are my own, and I work hard to
properly concern myself with them. When it comes to others, I will
face emotions and opinions which I may disagree with, which may be
downright harmful, or which will hinder my pursuits. I will face failure
and frustration, especially so when opinions are concerned. This is where I
must double my efforts, and lead by example: show that the point is not to
win, or be the best, but to learn and understand. But what if this hinders
another, or makes them uncomfortable, or causes them harm? When I'm in
social interactions, I go out of my way to avoid uncomfortable or harmful
scenarios. I try not to call out others on their faults or failures,
because I don't believe them to be capable of handling it. That may be
worse than an accusation: to assume weakness or inability!</p>
<p>This has always been what has brought me the most happiness, but to hear
it from someone else now makes it much more potent. Almost ironically so,
considering one of the first topics I wrote about above was my general
disregard of community in Stoicism. In retrospect, it makes perfect sense
why I find computers so fascinating, or puzzles, or even video games: they
force me to learn about a system. And what more complex and unexplored
system exists than the literal infinity of the universe? When we pursue the
Stoic ideal too completely, there is a perceived risk that we will grow
completely apathetic, forced to acknowledge that while negative emotions
are not worth concern, so too are positive emotions, including joy! With
the revelation that true joy comes from understanding, the flawed
perception is then clarified to show flawed pursuit: we grow apathetic not
because we incorrectly realise nothing in the world is worthwhile, but
because we fail to understand the system. We grow apathetic by not
understanding the universe, or at the very least by ignoring the call to
curiosity. Everything boils down to understanding: we develop temperance
by understanding what is worth pursuit; we develop courage by understanding
fear; we develop wisdom by understanding how to learn; we develop justice
by understanding righteousness and wellness.</p>
<p>I must learn to act in accordance with Nature. I must seek to understand
all that I experience. I will seek the experience of others to verify or
improve my understanding as often as possible. Likewise, I will provide
others with my experience, so that they may learn and improve their
understanding. I will never do so in an attempt to prove myself superior,
because I know that pursuit is fruitless; pride does not bestow
understanding. And if others try to prove themselves superior to me, then I
will most likely let them, because pride does not bestow understanding.
Plus, if they are superior to me, then I have a source of knowledge!</p>
<h3>Challenge</h3>
<p>My challenge now is to embrace this lifestyle completely. In the confines
and privacy of my own mind, it's very easy to follow. The only emotions and
opinions I need to concern myself with are my own, and I work hard to
properly concern myself with them. When it comes to others, I will
face emotions and opinions which I may disagree with, which may be
downright harmful, or which will hinder my pursuits. I will face failure
and frustration, especially so when opinions are concerned. This is where I
must double my efforts, and lead by example: show that the point is not to
win, or be the best, but to learn and understand. But what if this hinders
another, or makes them uncomfortable, or causes them harm? When I'm in
social interactions, I go out of my way to avoid uncomfortable or harmful
scenarios. I try not to call out others on their faults or failures,
because I don't believe them to be capable of handling it. That may be
worse than an accusation: to assume weakness or inability!</p>
<p>In summary, I'm left with a question, and a revelation. The revelation
is that the greatest joy in life is understanding the universe. The
question is, how do I share this joy with others without being offensive or
insensitive? So long as my intentions are pure, I'm doing what I can to
avoid those problems, and the remainder rests on the audience.</p>
<p>I must learn to act in accordance with Nature. I must seek to understand
all that I experience. I will seek the experience of others to verify or
improve my understanding as often as possible. Likewise, I will provide
others with my experience, so that they may learn and improve their
understanding. I will never do so in an attempt to prove myself superior,
because I know that pursuit is fruitless; pride does not bestow
understanding. And if others try to prove themselves superior to me, then I
will most likely let them, because pride does not bestow understanding.
Plus, if they are superior to me, then I have a source of knowledge!</p>
<h2>Source</h2>
<p>Sherman J. Clark's article can be found on the Stoicism Today blog,
linked here: [<a
href="https://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/stoicismtoday/2015/12/19/how-now-horatio-the-stoic-joy-of-physics-and-friendship-by-sherman-j-clark/">Link</a>]</p>
<p>In summary, I'm left with a question, and a revelation. The revelation
is that the greatest joy in life is understanding the universe. The
question is, how do I share this joy with others without being offensive or
insensitive? So long as my intentions are pure, I'm doing what I can to
avoid those problems, and the remainder rests on the audience.</p>
<br /><h4>[Bill Niblock][2016-01-29][Philosophy]</h4>
</article>
<h2>Source</h2>
<p>Sherman J. Clark's article can be found on the Stoicism Today blog,
linked here: [<a
href="https://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/stoicismtoday/2015/12/19/how-now-horatio-the-stoic-joy-of-physics-and-friendship-by-sherman-j-clark/">Link</a>]</p>
<br /><h4>[Bill Niblock][2016-01-29][Philosophy]</h4>
<!-- ================================= -->
<!-- ================================= -->
@ -172,17 +174,17 @@ https://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/stoicismtoday/2015/12/19/how-now-horatio-the-stoic-jo
- Selfish vs community
- Nature
- nature is the universe
- we should live in accordance with nature. what does that mean?
- best way is to constantly seek to understand nature
- nature is the universe
- we should live in accordance with nature. what does that mean?
- best way is to constantly seek to understand nature
- Positive and negative emotions
- Easy to apply stoic practices to negative emotions
- What happens when applied to positive emotions?
- "it is neither appealing nor intellectually honest to take comfort from a
philosophy that works only if you do not think about it too carefully"
- I like how a full pursuit of Stoicism is often classified by Clark as
"serious" pursuit. Several implications; importance of the word.
- Easy to apply stoic practices to negative emotions
- What happens when applied to positive emotions?
- "it is neither appealing nor intellectually honest to take comfort from a
philosophy that works only if you do not think about it too carefully"
- I like how a full pursuit of Stoicism is often classified by Clark as
"serious" pursuit. Several implications; importance of the word.
-->
<!-- ================================= -->

314
_posts/2016-03-11-Random-Thoughts-1.html
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@ -3,178 +3,180 @@
tabtitle: Random Thoughts
title: Random Thoughts 1
tags: technology, gaming
short_desc: "I'm on vacation this week, which is pretty grand. Thus far
I've accomplished one of the 4 rather meager goals I set for myself, played
plenty of games, caught up on some reading and videos and feeds, and slept
in far later than I should have."
---
<article>
<h1>Disjointed Thoughts</h1>
<h1>Disjointed Thoughts</h1>
<p>I'm on vacation this week, which is pretty grand. Thus far I've
accomplished one of the 4 rather meager goals I set for myself, played
plenty of games, caught up on some reading and videos and feeds, and slept
in far later than I should have. In doing the reading, primarily an article
on 'Wait, But Why' about Elon Musk [
<a
href="http://waitbutwhy.com/2015/11/the-cook-and-the-chef-musks-secret-sauce.html">link</a>
], I found my mind wandering across a few different thoughts, that I felt
were worth jotting down, though I couldn't imagine dedicating an entire
post to; paragraph-worthy thoughts. So, let's just throw them all
together!</p>
<p>I'm on vacation this week, which is pretty grand. Thus far I've
accomplished one of the 4 rather meager goals I set for myself, played
plenty of games, caught up on some reading and videos and feeds, and slept
in far later than I should have. In doing the reading, primarily an article
on 'Wait, But Why' about Elon Musk [
<a
href="http://waitbutwhy.com/2015/11/the-cook-and-the-chef-musks-secret-sauce.html">link</a>
], I found my mind wandering across a few different thoughts, that I felt
were worth jotting down, though I couldn't imagine dedicating an entire
post to; paragraph-worthy thoughts. So, let's just throw them all
together!</p>
<h2>Thought 1: Chef and Automation</h2>
<p>The aforementioned article speaks a lot of the idea of a chef versus a
cook, and how we should all aspire to be chefs. This coincides mostly in
name alone, but also by proxy with Chef, the configuration management
software. We've been implementing Chef at work, and I dabbled in it a bit
here and there. Actually, the primary impetus behind learning Ruby was
Chef. A solution Chef was supposed to provide was the opportunity for
automation. On the surface, I was onboard. Once I learned more, I cannot
agree with Chef being the proper tool. I should preface any
computer-related topics I discuss with the disclaimer that I find the Unix
Philosophy very appealing, that I believe that efficient tools don't need
fancy GUIs or complicated philosophies or use cases, and that the terminal
is a very beautiful place. Chef's use is as configuration management:
ensuring that all hosts managed by it are kept synchronized. With respect
to automation, this means Chef is ideal for placing the automation files
onto hosts, ensuring they're current, and accessible. However, when it
comes to automation, I think a different tool is required. My initial
thought is using SSH to run the remote commands. I've got a bit of a crush
on SSH. I think it's an incredible and powerful tool. I think the
combination of Chef for configuration deployment and SSH for remote
execution is a pretty dang good couple.</p>
<h2>Thought 1: Chef and Automation</h2>
<p>The aforementioned article speaks a lot of the idea of a chef versus a
cook, and how we should all aspire to be chefs. This coincides mostly in
name alone, but also by proxy with Chef, the configuration management
software. We've been implementing Chef at work, and I dabbled in it a bit
here and there. Actually, the primary impetus behind learning Ruby was
Chef. A solution Chef was supposed to provide was the opportunity for
automation. On the surface, I was onboard. Once I learned more, I cannot
agree with Chef being the proper tool. I should preface any
computer-related topics I discuss with the disclaimer that I find the Unix
Philosophy very appealing, that I believe that efficient tools don't need
fancy GUIs or complicated philosophies or use cases, and that the terminal
is a very beautiful place. Chef's use is as configuration management:
ensuring that all hosts managed by it are kept synchronized. With respect
to automation, this means Chef is ideal for placing the automation files
onto hosts, ensuring they're current, and accessible. However, when it
comes to automation, I think a different tool is required. My initial
thought is using SSH to run the remote commands. I've got a bit of a crush
on SSH. I think it's an incredible and powerful tool. I think the
combination of Chef for configuration deployment and SSH for remote
execution is a pretty dang good couple.</p>
<h2>Thought 2: Ayn Rand and Objectivism</h2>
<p>I have taken an unfair and rather ignorant position against Rand and her
objectivism. I can all but blame my father for the position, since as an
angsty teenager, hearing him support something, however slightly, meant I
had to disagree with it. That being said, my experience of Rand is probably
the same as many other Americans: I read a few of her works in high-school,
promptly forgot about it, and then learned via blog posts and Wikipedia
what she was all about. Even writing this I have a bit of a sour taste,
formed by biases developed in ignorance. I have decided to test my
assumptions, by reading and analysing Rand's works and philosophy
first-hand. Look forward (or don't) to a post specifically on Rand, her
works, and her philosophy. Just... don't wait up for it. This one will take
me a while...</p>
<h2>Thought 2: Ayn Rand and Objectivism</h2>
<p>I have taken an unfair and rather ignorant position against Rand and her
objectivism. I can all but blame my father for the position, since as an
angsty teenager, hearing him support something, however slightly, meant I
had to disagree with it. That being said, my experience of Rand is probably
the same as many other Americans: I read a few of her works in high-school,
promptly forgot about it, and then learned via blog posts and Wikipedia
what she was all about. Even writing this I have a bit of a sour taste,
formed by biases developed in ignorance. I have decided to test my
assumptions, by reading and analysing Rand's works and philosophy
first-hand. Look forward (or don't) to a post specifically on Rand, her
works, and her philosophy. Just... don't wait up for it. This one will take
me a while...</p>
<h2>Thought 3: Developments</h2>
<p>A few projects I've been working on that have excited me.</p>
<h3>IRC Bot</h3>
<p>I love IRC. I think it's still the most powerful chat service available,
and doubly so for technical chat needs. I can certainly understand why
HipChat or Slack is chosen over IRC, but I can't agree with the decision.
Regardless of that battlefield, to better make use of IRC, I am creating a
bot. Thus far I've built it using Cinch [ <a
href="https://github.com/cinchrb/cinch">link</a> ], but I think in the
future the goal will be to refactor Cinch out in favor of my own code.
Nothing against Cinch, but the fewer dependencies the better. The one
unavoidable dependency is Gearman, which is a distributed job system.
Gearman allows me to have a bot written in Ruby, but execute shell scripts
natively without exposing a shell, and without tying up resources. This is
very useful considering the purpose of the bot is mostly for operational
information, such as host health, network quality, and even automation.
It's been a very fun process thus far, and I look forward to continuing to
expand and consider functionality.</p>
<h2>Thought 3: Developments</h2>
<p>A few projects I've been working on that have excited me.</p>
<h3>IRC Bot</h3>
<p>I love IRC. I think it's still the most powerful chat service available,
and doubly so for technical chat needs. I can certainly understand why
HipChat or Slack is chosen over IRC, but I can't agree with the decision.
Regardless of that battlefield, to better make use of IRC, I am creating a
bot. Thus far I've built it using Cinch [ <a
href="https://github.com/cinchrb/cinch">link</a> ], but I think in the
future the goal will be to refactor Cinch out in favor of my own code.
Nothing against Cinch, but the fewer dependencies the better. The one
unavoidable dependency is Gearman, which is a distributed job system.
Gearman allows me to have a bot written in Ruby, but execute shell scripts
natively without exposing a shell, and without tying up resources. This is
very useful considering the purpose of the bot is mostly for operational
information, such as host health, network quality, and even automation.
It's been a very fun process thus far, and I look forward to continuing to
expand and consider functionality.</p>
<h3>Dotfiles</h3>
<p>My dotfiles are like a beautiful garden secluded from the world: fun to
work on, but generally fruitless. In a continuing effort to remove any
unnecessary dependencies, I have resumed my investigation into using Make
to manage my dotfiles. I found a fantastic article detailing
self-documented Makefiles [ <a
href="http://marmelab.com/blog/2016/02/29/auto-documented-makefile.html">link</a>
] and some assorted sources of others using Makefiles to manage their
dotfiles. I'm quite excited about this development, because it means my
dotfiles should be deployable across any Unix platform.</p>
<h3>Dotfiles</h3>
<p>My dotfiles are like a beautiful garden secluded from the world: fun to
work on, but generally fruitless. In a continuing effort to remove any
unnecessary dependencies, I have resumed my investigation into using Make
to manage my dotfiles. I found a fantastic article detailing
self-documented Makefiles [ <a
href="http://marmelab.com/blog/2016/02/29/auto-documented-makefile.html">link</a>
] and some assorted sources of others using Makefiles to manage their
dotfiles. I'm quite excited about this development, because it means my
dotfiles should be deployable across any Unix platform.</p>
<h3>Documentation</h3>
<p>I find myself writing a decent amount of documentation at work. While
speaking with co-workers about this, and pondering why documentation is
often so lacking, I've decided on the following conclusions: documentation
is tedious; and documentation is hard. I've been mulling over the idea of a
documentation engine build on git and leveraging GitHub technology. When I
think about documentation, I like comparing it to programming:
documentation is just code in English. If you follow my premise, then it's
perfectly reasonable to expect the same services for documentation as we
have for code: linters, style guides, builders, automated deployments, pull
requests, etc. Git (and GitHub) already provide version control, which
should be essential for any documentation engine. Build on top of that
services which hook into the repositories, and I think documentation could
be made significantly less tedious, while considerably more standardized,
accessible, and useful.</p>
<h3>Documentation</h3>
<p>I find myself writing a decent amount of documentation at work. While
speaking with co-workers about this, and pondering why documentation is
often so lacking, I've decided on the following conclusions: documentation
is tedious; and documentation is hard. I've been mulling over the idea of a
documentation engine build on git and leveraging GitHub technology. When I
think about documentation, I like comparing it to programming:
documentation is just code in English. If you follow my premise, then it's
perfectly reasonable to expect the same services for documentation as we
have for code: linters, style guides, builders, automated deployments, pull
requests, etc. Git (and GitHub) already provide version control, which
should be essential for any documentation engine. Build on top of that
services which hook into the repositories, and I think documentation could
be made significantly less tedious, while considerably more standardized,
accessible, and useful.</p>
<h2>Thought 4: Guild Wars 2</h2>
<p>I really enjoy Guild Wars 2. However, one unfortunate thing is the state
of my favorite class, warrior, in the standardized player-versus-player
format (sPvP). I've been thinking a bit about how to improve warrior, and I
think I've come up with some interesting ideas. On the off-chance that
someone from ANet finds this post, let me here and now give you full
permission to use any and all ideas related to GW2 as you see fit;
considering it in the public domain. My favorite warrior, WilsonStorm, once
quipped that warriors don't have any fancy magic to do their stuff with,
they just hit things. I like this summary: the warrior is a martial master,
who relies on pure physical capabilities and eschews any magical help. With
that in mind, I would propose the following 3 major changes:</p>
<h2>Thought 4: Guild Wars 2</h2>
<p>I really enjoy Guild Wars 2. However, one unfortunate thing is the state
of my favorite class, warrior, in the standardized player-versus-player
format (sPvP). I've been thinking a bit about how to improve warrior, and I
think I've come up with some interesting ideas. On the off-chance that
someone from ANet finds this post, let me here and now give you full
permission to use any and all ideas related to GW2 as you see fit;
considering it in the public domain. My favorite warrior, WilsonStorm, once
quipped that warriors don't have any fancy magic to do their stuff with,
they just hit things. I like this summary: the warrior is a martial master,
who relies on pure physical capabilities and eschews any magical help. With
that in mind, I would propose the following 3 major changes:</p>
<p><ul>
<li style="font-weight: bold">Embrace the Adrenaline</li>
<li style="font-weight: bold">Make Stances Like Attunements</li>
<li style="font-weight: bold">Make Banners Like Spirit Weapons</li>
</ul></p>
<p><ul>
<li style="font-weight: bold">Embrace the Adrenaline</li>
<li style="font-weight: bold">Make Stances Like Attunements</li>
<li style="font-weight: bold">Make Banners Like Spirit Weapons</li>
</ul></p>
<h3>Embrace the Adrenaline</h3>
<p>I would like to see more functionality provided by default from
adrenaline. An example would be decreasing weapon-skill cooldown based on
the level of adrenaline, 1 second less per level of adrenaline. I like
keeping some functionality in traits, though, because it encourages build
diversity and can force critical decisions.</p>
<h3>Embrace the Adrenaline</h3>
<p>I would like to see more functionality provided by default from
adrenaline. An example would be decreasing weapon-skill cooldown based on
the level of adrenaline, 1 second less per level of adrenaline. I like
keeping some functionality in traits, though, because it encourages build
diversity and can force critical decisions.</p>
<h3>Make Stances Like Attunements</h3>
<p>Not as in they become F1-F4, but in the following sense: Only one stance
can be active at a time, activating stances provides an ongoing lesser
benefit, and activating the stance again provides a temporary significant
benefit but ends the stance. Let's take Berserker Stance as an example. In
its current iteration, it gives you adrenaline every second, and resistance
every 3 seconds, for the duration of the stance. In my revised iteration,
you would activate a stance, and have a passive benefit plus a new active
option. So, you activate Berserker Stance and start gaining adrenaline
every second (while in combat). Then you can activate it again to gain
resistance (say, 3 stacks every 3 seconds for 6 seconds). This would remove
the passive benefit of Berserker Stance, and put it onto cooldown. However,
you can only have one stance active at a time! So, say you were in
Berserker Stance, and suddenly you wanted to be in Balanced Stance. By
activating Balanced Stance, you would deactivate Berserker Stance without
using it's active ability, putting it onto a shorter cooldown than normal.
As part of this change, I would probably revisit what each stance does as
well, since some wouldn't properly fit into the new format.</p>
<h3>Make Stances Like Attunements</h3>
<p>Not as in they become F1-F4, but in the following sense: Only one stance
can be active at a time, activating stances provides an ongoing lesser
benefit, and activating the stance again provides a temporary significant
benefit but ends the stance. Let's take Berserker Stance as an example. In
its current iteration, it gives you adrenaline every second, and resistance
every 3 seconds, for the duration of the stance. In my revised iteration,
you would activate a stance, and have a passive benefit plus a new active
option. So, you activate Berserker Stance and start gaining adrenaline
every second (while in combat). Then you can activate it again to gain
resistance (say, 3 stacks every 3 seconds for 6 seconds). This would remove
the passive benefit of Berserker Stance, and put it onto cooldown. However,
you can only have one stance active at a time! So, say you were in
Berserker Stance, and suddenly you wanted to be in Balanced Stance. By
activating Balanced Stance, you would deactivate Berserker Stance without
using it's active ability, putting it onto a shorter cooldown than normal.
As part of this change, I would probably revisit what each stance does as
well, since some wouldn't properly fit into the new format.</p>
<h3>Make Banners Like Spirit Weapons</h3>
<p>Again, not exactly like Spirit Weapons, but drawing similarities. First,
instead of banners being bundles summoned at a location, they would provide
an aura around the warrior when activated. This would be visually apparent
by the warrior literally having a banner on their back. Each aura would do
what the current banners do, but would be centered on the warrior. After
being activated, the banner skill will flip to a secondary skill similar to
how Spirit Weapons flip after being summoned. This would be the previous
on-summon ability. So, when you activate Battle Standard, you start
eminating the passives to everyone around you for the entire duration.
After being activated, Battle Standard flips to a secondary skill that is
the AoE revive. Unlike stances (and just like spirit weapons), multiple
banners can be active at once, so the passives could need adjustment, but
probably not much. The only downfall to this is the loss of the banner as a
bundle/weapon, but I can't imagine many people actually use it as such.</p>
<h3>Make Banners Like Spirit Weapons</h3>
<p>Again, not exactly like Spirit Weapons, but drawing similarities. First,
instead of banners being bundles summoned at a location, they would provide
an aura around the warrior when activated. This would be visually apparent
by the warrior literally having a banner on their back. Each aura would do
what the current banners do, but would be centered on the warrior. After
being activated, the banner skill will flip to a secondary skill similar to
how Spirit Weapons flip after being summoned. This would be the previous
on-summon ability. So, when you activate Battle Standard, you start
eminating the passives to everyone around you for the entire duration.
After being activated, Battle Standard flips to a secondary skill that is
the AoE revive. Unlike stances (and just like spirit weapons), multiple
banners can be active at once, so the passives could need adjustment, but
probably not much. The only downfall to this is the loss of the banner as a
bundle/weapon, but I can't imagine many people actually use it as such.</p>
<p>I think the really excited thing about these changes would be the build
potential. Consider a build that uses a stance and a banner! There's
suddenly actual use for banners outside of niche builds or one-off uses in
dungeons! Stances and banners actually require planning and tactical usage
rather than reactionary button-mashing to break stuns or revive team mates!
And warriors gain much-needed viability in a team, due to providing buffs
to team mates, and better damage output.</p>
<p>I think the really excited thing about these changes would be the build
potential. Consider a build that uses a stance and a banner! There's
suddenly actual use for banners outside of niche builds or one-off uses in
dungeons! Stances and banners actually require planning and tactical usage
rather than reactionary button-mashing to break stuns or revive team mates!
And warriors gain much-needed viability in a team, due to providing buffs
to team mates, and better damage output.</p>
<br /><h4>[Bill Niblock][2016-03-11][Gaming, Technology]</h4>
<br /><h4>[Bill Niblock][2016-03-11][Gaming, Technology]</h4>
</article>
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Sources:
http://waitbutwhy.com/2015/11/the-cook-and-the-chef-musks-secret-sauce.html
http://waitbutwhy.com/2015/11/the-cook-and-the-chef-musks-secret-sauce.html
-->