Random Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread

Posts: 331 · Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:28 pm

bclarkie wrote:

Oh great, the ringer joined. Mad

Thanks for the compliment!

Posts: 4449 · Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 11:09 pm

lucyjoyce wrote:

And now for something completely different.

My son has been evacuated from Georgia and is spending some time in my new favorite country, Armenia. Should be heading home in a few weeks as the Peace Corps in Georgia takes a bit of a time-out. He has a shot next June at the Ukraine or Bulgaria. Rejoice with me as I open a nice bottle of white merlot and prepare to face down the steadily weakening Tropical Storm Fay. And please stop this less than loving exchange of posts. I'm trying to relax here!

Love you all!

Great news Jo!

And in regards to Fay, it's been hilarious all week to catch the national media trying to drum up some Apocalyptic Ordeal, since they took the time to send a butt load of media there......to report on rain and wind. Lots of station directors and crying their eyes out as reporters vainly attempt to wring some pathos out of a few raindrops. But glad it didn't do more damage to you Floridians....

Mike B.

Posts: 4449 · Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 11:12 pm

Avurax wrote:

For some reason I got a chuckle out of the story and thought I would share. The above post was intended as a light hearted jab toward some of the Aceaum Texas Mafia (ATM) (TM) I have joked with in the past. The post was absolutely not intended as a political debate or other hot button topic. Again, my bad.

Now back to your regularly scheduled program...

No problem. It started out ok. These things always tend to swerve out of control, too bad, I like to exercise my debating muscles ocassionally.

Oh, and now I'm coming up to Nashville to shoot you. Laughing

Mike B.

Posts: 2611 · Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 11:29 pm

benjoshua wrote:

Speaking of Oho State, whoever wins the USC vs. Ohio State game will likely be #1 after the game, so Georgia won't be #1 for long anyway.

Possibly ... with an impressive blowout win, maybe even likely.

But if Georgia goes on the road and beats South Carolina like a rented mule on the same day (and after tripping over their own vomit in that game last year, they should be highly motivated), it would be strange to see them penalized for doing so by slipping a spot in the polls.

My crystal ball says Georgia's bad loss will come later in the season ... against those godless Gators.

Posts: 543 · Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 12:14 am

Xaxaxe wrote:

Possibly ... with an impressive blowout win, maybe even likely.

But if Georgia goes on the road and beats South Carolina like a rented mule on the same day (and after tripping over their own vomit in that game last year, they should be highly motivated), it would be strange to see them penalized for doing so by slipping a spot in the polls.

My crystal ball says Georgia's bad loss will come later in the season ... against those godless Gators.

Agreed. Although, I think the wild card in all of this, as it always is, is injuries. I think Tebow wore himself out by late in the season, and I predict it'll happen even earlier this year....maybe by the Georgia game. The bottom line is that they'll trip, fall, something, eventually.

Posts: 1179 · Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 10:55 pm

Here's a website for all you chain-mail bikini connoisseurs. Wink

http://www.sblades.com/bikinis.php

Posts: 1179 · Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 8:42 am

For whatever reason a McCain spokesman took a swipe at D&D players... Shocked

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/08/john-mccain-cam.html

EDIT: Laughing

The McCain spokesman got complaints about his D&D comments and posted a follow-up.

Michael Goldfarb said:

Quote:

If my comments caused any harm or hurt to the hard working Americans who play Dungeons & Dragons, I apologize. This campaign is committed to increasing the strength, constitution, dexterity, intelligence, wisdom, and charisma scores of every American.

Posts: 2611 · Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 4:33 pm

WotC layoffs:

http://ww2.wizards.com/Company/Press/?doc=20080820

"Lifestyle gamer" ... seriously, who writes this stuff?

Posts: 1277 · Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 4:43 pm

Notice how similar this is to 2000 when 3.0 was first released? Now, however, they have no "names" to terminate... so its just structural renewal and expansion, like its an engineering project or whatever. I love that crap.

Posts: 781 · Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 4:49 pm

Xaxaxe wrote:

"Lifestyle gamer" ... seriously, who writes this stuff?

soulless gamesworkshop speak but cannot mention "the hobby" since already claimed TM Smile

WotC wrote:

Wizards of the Coast today announced new organizational alignment...

NE->LE??

Posts: 1179 · Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 5:05 pm

As with any event like 4.0, follow their job openings...

Job Openings

Posts: 1432 · Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 5:29 pm

jasonw1239 wrote:

As with any event like 4.0, follow their job openings...

Job Openings

umnnnn................ Laughing

Quote:

Usability Researcher
Full-time
Requisition ID 3287

Location Renton WA

Description

Suits Optional...
...Brains Required!!
(Ummnnn... WHY now? Didn't need them before..
.... Aneoth's edit)

Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and the world's largest publisher of adventure games, including Magic: The Gathering® Trading Card Game and Dungeons & Dragons® Roleplaying Games has an exciting opportunity for a Usability Researcher to join our team.

We offer competitive salaries, a great benefits package, and the excitement of working in a creative organization. But the best part of working here is that we think creating products that bring hours of enjoyment to millions around the globe is an inherently cool way to earn a living.

Note – only local candidates need apply. There is no relocation for this position.

Position Summary

The Usability Researcher will be responsible for designing and conducting user research for a wide range of digital games and websites. Primary responsibilities include working with other user experience professionals, game designers, software developers, and business leaders across the organization to identify user research needs. This position will provide expert opinion on user experience issues. It will also assist product teams make decisions by developing key insights and frameworks about target audiences' needs and other motivating factors driving behavior. Must be able to help translate those insights into compelling user interface recommendations.

Essential Functions / Major Responsibilities

Plan, design and conduct user research studies.
Conduct usability testing.
Conduct heuristic evaluations and competitive research.
Write user research reports and present results to interdisciplinary project teams.
Employ a range of research methods such as field ethnography, personas and scenarios, heuristic evaluations, cognitive walkthroughs, lab usability tests and online surveys.
Work closely with UI Designers to conduct user research studies, assess the usability of prototypes and influence the future direction of existing products.

Education and/or Experience:

Advanced degree in HCI, Psychology, Human Factors, Communication, or related field.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

5+ years performing research for software applications.
Excellent interpersonal and interviewing skills.
Passion for usability and an advocate for the user.
Excellent research skills including the ability to analyze large and small sample quantitative and qualitative data sets.
Excellent written and verbal and presentation skills.
Strong negotiation and leadership skills.
Demonstrated ability to work well in multi-disciplinary groups including technical, business, brand and customer experience.
Ability to translate research findings into solid design recommendations.
Ability to manage multiple projects.
Must be familiar with the User-Centered Design Process.

Preferred Qualifications:

Interest in strategy games.
Experience playing online games.
Interest in Magic the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons.

Applications must be submitted online. To apply, follow the link: http://ww2.wizards.com/Company/Jobs/

We are an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer.

The above is intended to describe the general content of and the requirements for satisfactory performance in this position. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of the duties, responsibilities, or requirements of the position

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Posts: 781 · Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 5:36 pm

HCI?? no more HHI w/d20s needed ;>

Posts: 1104 · Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 10:22 pm

I'm going to have to ask what HHI is, as I'm missing the joke. Embarassed

(And I'd just like to note that Aneoth's copied job posting makes perfect sense to me. Smile

)

Posts: 1179 · Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 8:05 am

HCI = Human Computer Interaction
HHI = Human to Human Interaction

Posts: 1104 · Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 8:38 am

jasonw1239 wrote:

HCI = Human Computer Interaction
HHI = Human to Human Interaction

Ah! I got the first one (I have a very small amount of background in it), but didn't get the second one. D'oh! Embarassed

Posts: 2269 · Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 11:25 am

HCI is actually one of the fields that is growing fast. A lot of universities now have specialty programs for HCI.

Posts: 1104 · Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 12:01 pm

Don't I know it.

Did my masters on a sub-field of it, but it wasn't big enough during my undergrad to have more than a handful of courses available. Really wish I had been able to do more of it. Sad

Posts: 1179 · Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 10:16 am

Interesting note on the Friday blog entry by Stephen Cheault from Troll Lord Games.

Quote:

I will release a series of pdf adventures (Dwarven Glory 2, Dwarven Glory 3 and Monsters of Aihrde IV)

Link to blog here.

I thought that follow-ups to Dwarven Glory might interest some people. Smile

Posts: 1001 · Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 6:36 pm

Off-topic but in a "vintage" vein . . .

I went to the Metal Masters tour last night: Testament, Motorhead, Dio-Sabbath, and Judas Priest. If anyone else is going to see this tour, wear earplugs when Dio-Sabbath hits the stage, and buy the t-shirts when they are half-price after the concert is over.

I don't know if Testament has a connection to the other three bands, but Motorhead and Black Sabbath have toured together before. And Rob Halford did the vocals for a Sabbath concert a few years back. This gives the tour an old-school, everyone-knows-everyone-else feeling.

Testament: Chuck Billy (vocals) seemed to be in a good mood, and the band played 80s/90s thrash. I'm not a big Testament fan, but they rocked. Opening band = no PA, but the the sound was good anyway. First time I've seen Testament.

Motorhead: Mickey Dee (Michael Delaouglou) is a superb drummer and showman. For maybe 30 seconds he played his drums while juggling three or four drumsticks with his right hand. Shocked

He didn't miss a beat; it was amazing to see. This was a few songs after his drum solo. However, the sound for the rest of the band was terrible. No PA = sounds like mud. An odd collection of songs, but they ended with Overkill, complete with its false stops that mess with non-fans. Smile

Fourth time I've seen Motorhead.

Dio-Sabbath: OK, the band is called Heaven and Hell, after the first Dio-Sabbath album. The PA kicked in, and Tony Iommi tore through my earplugs. Ronnie James Dio looked like happiest man in the world; he even asked someone in the audience to hold up the album covers for Mob Rules and Heaven and Hell. Dio sounds better than ever. Geezer Butler's right hand looked like Cousin It on speed. This was a "greatest hits" from the three Dio-Sabbath albums. Second time I've seen Dio, third time I've seen some version of Sabbath.

Judas Priest: Awesome as usual. The song choices were not all "greatest hits", and only one song from Nostradamus was played. Some of the stage transitions were smooth, while others had the house lights come up. Rob Halford must have done half-a-dozen costume changes. Good God, I've seen Judas Priest five times that I can recall.