Friday, November 20, 2009

A note on Star Trek [Spoiler Warning]

The following contains a sudo-spoiler. I'm going to keep as much of the info out of it as I can about the setup, and it isn't exactly a surprise.

There is an explosion at the end of the movie that comes from behind the Enterprise and then pushes the ship forward. I didn't take note of the sound as the explosion is enveloping their ship the last two times I watched it. Having seen it again, I noticed something that i hope was intentional. The sound rises in frequency as they are hit by more of the inner part of the blast then drops frequency as they emerge through the outer shell of the blast. I think that this is the vibration of the plasma against the hull going up as the got closer to the inner part of the blast. The speed of its rise is slower because they are going the same direction and have slowed how fast the higher frequency plasma can reach them. Then, as they reach the point where the blast is collapsing on itself, they swiftly pass through the now retreating plasma. Now, I use plasma cause that's the only way I could easily explain the giant ball of glowy 'splosion, but I think my theory is sound. I have to assume from the movie's faithfulness to the silence of space that this is the case and that they are just showing the kind of detail that makes a movie as immersive as this one has been.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

I was thinking about car insurance

If your passenger tries to stab you, and the resulting dodge causes you to drive the car into a river, would the insurance company have to pay for damage? If so, under what part of the policy would that be?

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Adulthood

Do age and experience an adult make? Experience, yes. Age, I'm thinking no. I just had a meeting for which I prepared a list of itemized questions and printed out a reference document. The older men were cutting up, laughing, and joking. One got up and left to go get a free cookie. Now, none of this bothers me, I think its great that people in an office setting can maintain their spirits, especially in this kind of business climate. The thing that gets me is that the following thought almost stopped me mid-step on the way back to my desk.

My time raiding in World of Warcraft has prepared me to have fun and mess around until that scheduled time, then its business (raid) time. I stay focused, diligently get through what is needed, then after all is said and done, I can allow myself to relax and hang out again...
RAIDING has made me an effective participant in meetings!


And I've noticed other things that have helped me in the office jungle that are strange to say out loud:

  • 3.5 Edition character sheets make time sheets seem simple. Note: Dwarf character sheets still scare me.
  • Having ran several small raiding guilds, I already have experience scheduling meeting times that best fit everyone's schedule. Note: There will always be someone from the East coast and someone from the West coast, and both will want to raid at 8pm their time...
  • Remembering requirements for projects is almost identical to keeping track of my remaining prerequisites before I get to take up a prestige class. Note: I always feel guilty dumping a level into sorcerer on a fighter, but a breath weapon is always a good decision.
  • Deadlines turn a project into a timed quest.
  • Grinding rep has taught me not to attack members of the rep faction I'm grinding with. Note: No AoEs in or near your cubical please.
  • The customer, manager, employee dynamic is a lot like the developer, dungeon master, player dynamic. The developer tells us how they think we should play it, the dungeon master makes up house rules to try and make that suggestion work, and the player decides not to enter the cave, but instead find the nearest tavern and drink. Note: I think I forgot to wrap up that metaphor.

I'm pretty sure that I could have simply played video games in the presence of other gamers for four years and be as prepared for the workplace as I am now. That being said, I have made great use of what I learned in technical writing classes, so don't fully discount that college place.