The Devil Duck tag:,2009:/1 2009-06-26T18:43:29Z My little home on the web. Wipe your feet! Movable Type Publishing Platform 4.01 Sigh tag:www.thedevilduck.com,2009://1.186 2009-06-26T18:41:03Z 2009-06-26T18:43:29Z I've been reading everything for the new G.I. Joe movie. All i can say is my inner child is off crying in a corner hugging his HISS tank.... I've been reading everything for the new G.I. Joe movie. All i can say is my inner child is off crying in a corner hugging his HISS tank. Rant/Contest of the Day tag:www.thedevilduck.com,2008://1.185 2008-11-24T23:30:26Z 2008-11-24T23:36:11Z So I amused myself after reading this article about the war on Thanksgiving now being waged by the Eco minded green painted tree huggers. Its not bad enough that Turkey dinners are Genocide to the Turkeys, but now they want... article about the war on Thanksgiving now being waged by the Eco minded green painted tree huggers. Its not bad enough that Turkey dinners are Genocide to the Turkeys, but now they want to know what the carbon foot print is of your dinner. So I amused myself by making a status message for myself that read My "carbon foot print" is shaped like a combat boot. I was immediately sent this by my good friend and cohort Dave My carbon footprint is shaped like the caged baby seals I imported in a Hummer H3 straight from Alaska." Whats your carbon foot print shaped like? ]]> QOD tag:www.thedevilduck.com,2008://1.184 2008-11-18T22:43:32Z 2008-11-18T22:46:29Z "I heard Amsterdam is outlawing psychedelic mushrooms too" - LW "Man that's really gonna screw up the Bolognese" - PH Yes after many years of improv classes the filters do just naturally wither and die... "I heard Amsterdam is outlawing psychedelic mushrooms too" - LW "Man that's really gonna screw up the Bolognese" - PH Yes after many years of improv classes the filters do just naturally wither and die]]> God bless scientists tag:www.thedevilduck.com,2008://1.183 2008-10-01T21:28:45Z 2008-10-01T22:02:47Z "We should teach students 21st-century science, not some watered-down version with phony arguments that nonscientists disingenuously call 'weaknesses,' " said Sahotra Sarkar, a professor of integrative biology at UT. "Calling 'intelligent design' arguments a weakness of evolution is like calling... "We should teach students 21st-century science, not some watered-down version with phony arguments that nonscientists disingenuously call 'weaknesses,' " said Sahotra Sarkar, a professor of integrative biology at UT. "Calling 'intelligent design' arguments a weakness of evolution is like calling alchemy a weakness of chemistry, or astrology a weakness of astronomy." The full story And a related IM conversation about said article. uh yeah.... boot to the head to anyone who thinks that intelligent design should be taught in public high schools as a weakness to evolution - LW I'm sorry god did not put a bunch of fossils in rocks randomly as a way to keep us occupied and surprised. - LW its like Easter! - PH heheh yes its the fossil bunny, he hops around after God putting fake fossils in rocks that God points to so we puny little humans can dig them up and keep our selves occupied wondering why they were there - LW ]]> Where every body knows your name... tag:www.thedevilduck.com,2008://1.182 2008-04-18T19:48:43Z 2009-06-26T18:50:03Z "Ya, this is the guy with the bottle a week habit" - Store Clerk Even more amusing when its a gun store.... "Ya, this is the guy with the bottle a week habit" - Store Clerk Even more amusing when its a gun store.]]> Geek Love tag:www.thedevilduck.com,2008://1.181 2008-03-25T22:42:35Z 2008-03-25T22:47:48Z Some folks just don't believe the conversations I get drawn into. LW - "Apparently there is such a thing as an easy DNA extraction kit. It's like an ez bake oven for geeks!" ME - "No, I'm going to just... LW - "Apparently there is such a thing as an easy DNA extraction kit. It's like an ez bake oven for geeks!" ME - "No, I'm going to just go out on a limb now and tell you no" LW - "Awww thats not fair." PH - "No house AI for me, No gene lab for you." LW - "You have no appreciation for science" PH - "Do you really want the house AI to have access to a gene lab?" LW - "LOL Touche"]]> I'll bite as well. tag:www.thedevilduck.com,2008://1.180 2008-01-04T22:31:06Z 2008-01-04T22:35:58Z Bold the ones that are true for you. The list is based on an exercise developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. The exercise developers ask that if you... Father went to college Father finished college Mother went to college Mother finished college Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home - Library for all the others Had more than 500 books in your childhood home Were read children's books by a parent Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18 Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18. (at a time? no) The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18 Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs Went to a private high school Went to summer camp Had a private tutor before you turned 18 - My aunt was a teacher Family vacations involved staying at hotels - What few we took Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18 Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them (instead of paying for college at all) There was original art in your house when you were a child. Had a phone in your room before you turned 18 You and your family lived in a single family house Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home You had your own room as a child - Easy when your an only Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course Had your own TV in your room in High School Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16 Went on a cruise with your family Went on more than one cruise with your family Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family]]> QOD tag:www.thedevilduck.com,2007://1.179 2007-10-02T14:48:37Z 2007-10-02T14:51:50Z Excerpt from a IM conversation, we were discussing a group of folks in NYC who pretend to be Jedi and practice Light Saber dueling. Me: i mean ok i admit if someone had a class on light saber dueling I... i mean ok i admit if someone had a class on light saber dueling I would take it but still DS: If I had a light saber that'd mean I'd have force powers....and that'd mean really wouldn't be here at work DS: ...otherwise I'd have to force choke a professor. DS: "I find your lack of technology....disturbing". DS: Damnit...I want force powers now.]]> QOD tag:www.thedevilduck.com,2007://1.178 2007-09-13T18:53:15Z 2007-09-13T18:54:32Z Got this just a bit ago in a text message. Its so philosophical in its own way. "A piece of my soul dies each philosophy class" - LW... "A piece of my soul dies each philosophy class" - LW]]> Quote of the Day tag:www.thedevilduck.com,2007://1.177 2007-09-04T17:58:28Z 2007-09-04T18:00:01Z more WoW amusement seen on the Trade Channel "LF high level JC (thats Jewelry Crafter)..I need more cuts than an emo kid on a bad day" - Random WoW player... "LF high level JC (thats Jewelry Crafter)..I need more cuts than an emo kid on a bad day" - Random WoW player]]> Thought of the Day. tag:www.thedevilduck.com,2007://1.176 2007-08-31T21:19:37Z 2007-08-31T21:22:21Z Thought of the day. While on a nature retreat for work you should never even think about sending the Director of Admissions (aka the Associate Provost of the University, aka Your main boss) on a snipe hunt just because she's... Thought of the day. While on a nature retreat for work you should never even think about sending the Director of Admissions (aka the Associate Provost of the University, aka Your main boss) on a snipe hunt just because she's never heard of hunting snipes. Ok we thought about it... But we didn't You use what you have at hand. tag:www.thedevilduck.com,2007://1.175 2007-08-29T20:40:58Z 2007-08-29T20:45:34Z Things heard in the Underbog last night. Warning..WoW geekness ahead. Warlock - "I can fear it?" Shaman - "Humm I could drop a earth bind totem" Paladin - "Humm I'll just run up and punch it in the face...What its... "I can fear it?" Shaman - "Humm I could drop a earth bind totem" Paladin - "Humm I'll just run up and punch it in the face...What its all I've got" "Hey Leszy, you know what would be really cool, a Pizza calling Totem!" - Snohomish ]]> Day one of GenCon tag:www.thedevilduck.com,2007://1.174 2007-08-17T03:49:49Z 2007-08-17T03:50:53Z Today was the first day of the convention, and it was a very very long day. My day started with some less then by the book repairs on a computer that broke on the drive up. I am currently holding... Today was the first day of the convention, and it was a very very long day. My day started with some less then by the book repairs on a computer that broke on the drive up. I am currently holding a heat sink in place with a zip tie. Not sure if its going to hold but it just has to make it till Sunday. I spent my day listening to folks tell me about their role playing character so I could help them match that up to the perfect miniature. I spend most of my day trying to push my game with some really good reception to it. I got lots of compliments, which makes all the trouble I’ve gone through in the last few years worth it. I think though that I’ve actually talked to more folks in a day then I’ve ever talked to at faire. Couple of cool things, got to play the new expansion for world of warcraft, got to play starcraft2, and I got to see some info on the 4th edition of D&D. The calm before the storm. tag:www.thedevilduck.com,2007://1.173 2007-08-16T11:25:25Z 2007-08-16T11:26:42Z Today started slow, we didn’t really even leave the hotel till almost 10, as today is our gap day. Most companies are setting up their booth space today. By accident Reaper learned last year that they could set up early... Today started slow, we didn’t really even leave the hotel till almost 10, as today is our gap day. Most companies are setting up their booth space today. By accident Reaper learned last year that they could set up early on Tuesday, and not have to worry about scrambling around mad like most folks do on wed. So we headed up to the show and did last min prep and work just tiding up the place. Of course that brought about today’s drama of the retailer who backs directly up to the Reaper booth set himself there on purpose and is selling only and all Reaper product at up to 26% off. Needless today not only is it rude but it’s just not right. Things have been set in motion with the powers that be to make things right and at the very least he will not be allowed to set up his booth anywhere near Reapers at shows in the future. We also found that one of our PC’s that get used for a register rattled its cpu heat sink loose to this afternoons field trip will be to a computer store or radio shack to find temp parts to repair it till we can get the actual dell clip shipped to us to fix the heat sink permently. The rest of the evening went by slowly. Mostly it consisted of a group of us sitting in the lobby greeting the late arrivals. I was slightly amused and yet felt sorry for some of the folks coming in trying to find a room for rent. GenCon Is big, every hotel with in about 15min is booked solid. Most of the hotels down town near the convention center are able to almost double their rates for the weekend and folks will pay it. About the only thing bigger to hit this area would be a political party convention or a superbowl. The other convention I work from time to time AKon in Dallas measures attendance in thousands, this one measures in tens of thousands. It’s no Ritz Carlton tag:www.thedevilduck.com,2007://1.172 2007-08-15T02:59:17Z 2007-08-15T03:00:24Z Our day started not too early with as late as we got in last night. The hotel is clean and efficient but in the end is still a Super 8. We have “High Speed” which by my estimates is a... Our day started not too early with as late as we got in last night. The hotel is clean and efficient but in the end is still a Super 8. We have “High Speed” which by my estimates is a single DSL line for the entire building; we’ll have to give it the WoW test tonight if I have the time. It does have breakfast with coupled with the high speed and cost makes this a great location for us, not to mention the fact we have a Lowes and a Wal-Mart sharing the parking lot. We will be able to get anything we need if we’ve missed anything. We spent the day setting up the booth, dodging forklifts and other companies trying to make a splash at the convention. GenCon by nature is where companies come to show off their latest and greatest this is where the big bucks are spent in the game industry. To give you an example Dell has a area set up with about 10 of their fully outfitted XPS line of gaming machines, the game computers that run 3000 before the monitor. Blizzard is here with more World of Warcraft goodness, and Starcraft 2, I’m going to go schmooze them tomorrow. We just got back from dinner, which was a nice quite event being were all worn out from putting down the foam flooring tiles and building the display racks for the miniatures. I got to do computer tech support as well putting the three pc’s together for the registers. After dinner we wandered over to the Wal-Mart, my beloved often jokes about our exciting Friday nights wandering aimlessly around the Wal-Mart, well tonight it was 6 guys with nothing to do and of course we got caught in the electronics section looking at the play station games and the toys section bemoaning the fact that Ron was the only one with kids to buy the cool toys for. I wandered over to the sporting goods section and was amazed to find things you can’t buy in Texas these days in a Wal-Mart. Pistol ammo for 45’s, bows and arrows. The thing that stopped me dead in my tracks was a familiar black bottle, with a yellow label on it. Wal-Marts in Indy sell two F black powder. Now for those of you who don’t know, 2 F black power, specifically the kind that comes in the black jar with the yellow label is exactly what we use to fire the cannon at faire. Normally I have to scourer the city to find it at a hunting supply store, but no right here in a Wal-Mart 5 min from down town Indy, black powder. I was stunned.