Ben Taylor

What I love about chest colds is that I can lie about doing nothing, partake of simpler pleasures, and not feel guilty about it. Since I've actually been fairly busy this month searching for my next job and contributing at the VOC, this comes as a nice break. When I'm not hacking up my esophagus.

So this week I've started playing Romancing Saga, which I picked up for its eccentric reputation. That reputation is well-deserved. Romancing Saga has a non-linear story structure. You can begin playing with any one of the eight protagonists, choose your companions and pursue different quests at will. It's quite a departure for Square, the Final Fantasy developer, though not quite so byzantine as Troike/BlackIsle's RPGs (Fallout, Torment, Arcanum). There are few dialogue branches in the game, which doesn't have especially much dialogue anyway, though I've been satisfied with its quality. However, the storyline can appear to branch by spending time in one area of the world versus another. The game guides recommend avoiding battles to see more of the game's events in one playthrough. So perhaps some subplots could turn out differently if I don't participate in them myself? I'm not quite sure, because I haven't played through yet.

Personally, it's satisfying to play a game which can frustrate my ambitions with a tricky, well-designed system of mechanics. The first few times I played this game I became quite frustrated because I assumed I could easily master it, but I realize now that Saga will not give up its secrets right away, and that's ok. I've been playing with Sif, the warrior woman from the frozen wastes, who rescued a boy prince from a shipwreck. Her first duty's always to protect her snowy homeland from the encroaching monster hordes, but she's travelled far since taking the boy back to his kingdom to report some dreadful battle. Now Sif and the boy are a team to kick ass, take names, and eventually save the world, assuming it needs saving. She doesn't know yet; she's heard some legends about this dark imprisoned god, and the prophecy of a possibly luny sorceress, but no matter. Sif knows that if there's an ass harassing good people, her's is the foot to kick it.

So for today I'm fighting the good fight in Mardias, but soon I'll have to get back to work. I intend to get a new programming job this season, and I've got another preliminary interview to look forward to next Monday.

I care about my writing. I choose words deliberately, and avoid needless expression. But knowing what would genuinely interest readers is often difficult, particularly in this context. What's interesting about my day, my interests, or my problems?

Perhaps that question is an appropriate focus for my blog. LJ provides for comments, so contribute feedback, please. A hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand ask for this: the typical human drive for contact. What is so interesting about my question? The answer seems to lie in the context.

I care about computers. I've known how to program for two decades now, and I've used the Internet for 16 years. The genial abstractions of computer science fascinate me; I'd like to return to college eventually to do graduate work. At present I teach at a computer lab & diagnosis PC's for local vets.

I care about games; both electronic and non. I watch anime, read manga, and appreciate other elements of Japanese culture such as soba noodles and Zen Buddhism. (My old alias, MacGuges, is reference to a favorite manga.)

I worry about the war and my country. I grew up here in America & can remember the warm feelings of pride I'd have on Flag Day. Yeah, I was born into the place founded on rational humanitarian principles! It saddens me what vengeance & duplicity has been done for "9/11", and I continue to donate to the Red Cross.

I enjoy conversation & fair argument; it's valuable to me to keep up my rhetorical chops. I value doubt over faith. Beliefs will happen, but confusion precedes discovery. We ought to make the most of such opportunities.

Hail Eris!