tcpip

You'll find me on Dreamwidth. My user name is the same.

Meanwhile, this deserves to be here.

The highlight of the past few days was attending a Lunar New Year party hosted by tabouli. It was mostly attended by her friends in Toastmasters and a writing group, which were all lovely company and with cherry conversation. I've even made a couple of new friends out of the event. Tabouli really provided a wonderful reading of "The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac", a children's book on the story of how the Lunar calendar was established and proved her ability to mimic and roleplay the sounds of the various animal characters. We were also introduced to the low-complexity party game, Taboo by Tiffany; a good vocabulary is certainly helpful. Tabouli also conducted private I Ching and Tarot readings in the course of the evening which, as useful, could prove quite insightful. Of course, the insight is provided is that such tools tap into one's unconscious. One has already been thinking deeply about a particular situation and even has an answer mapped out. The cards simply provide the bridge between conscious realisation and unconscious reflections.

On further lunar matters, I was recently alerted to a report that Adam Smith Institute has suggested selling the moon to combat global poverty. As if that's the only way to do it. It is a rather ironic argument seeming that Adam Smith was a steadfast advocate for maximum land taxation which, of course, groups like the Adam Smith Institute abuse the name and do not argue for. I rather suspect that they do not share Adam Smith's view of the legal fiction of corporate personhood, either. Such arguments for the complete privitisation of natural resources are quite antithetical to genuine capitalism, as the early economists knew, and instead, it is a type of monetary feudalism. Most modes of production start off as revolutionary, then become mainstream, and then become a fetter for future development. I would require more investigation but I suspect that capitalism is the first mode of production that actually goes backward as it develops beyond its highest point.

It has not all been fair sailing in my world, however. I have been getting some small, random, dizzy spells of late and a few of days ago one resulted in me misjudging a curb and falling to the ground. A couple of scrapes etc, and I'm otherwise fine. But then I start getting some rather bad headaches, almost like a migraine. It wasn't until late yesterday that I realised that part of my glasses was chipped, just on the periphery of my vision, which I suspect was the cause. So spare glasses are being used, new glasses have been ordered. As for the dizzy spells, I am going to see a doctor about those, but I have reason to believe that they are more psychological than physical (indeed, I hope that's the case). I learned some news last week which left me simultaneously quite uncomfortable and empty, not so much the content but rather the circumstances. I do not need to elaborate much further at this stage, but it is worth mentioning apropos that through work I've enrolled in a Mental Health First Aid course: Iatre, therapeuson seauton.

It's a little late (it almost always is) but Issue 53 of RPG Review has been released. This is a special issue on the games and settings of Iron Crown Enterprises and in memory of Terry K Amthor and Shadow World. My own contributions, apart from the editorial, of course, includes a memorial for Terry, an interview with ICE founder Pete Fenlon, and reviews of the original Rolemaster books (Arms Law, Claw Law, Spell Law, Character Law, Campaign Law), and a good part of the Cyberspace-Stalkers campaign article. As the issue was nearing conclusion I realised how much more could have been included. ICE, despite their reputation for crunchy game systems, produced a lot of quality and detailed content especially for Middle-earth Role Playing, which was barely touched upon, and I still haven't really done a thorough review of Shadow World myself - despite having run several years' worth of stories in that setting. The corpus opus of Rolemaster and its subsidiary products is simply enormous, perhaps even in the same ballpark as that of Dungeons & Dragons.

And on that note I must mention attending, in virtual form, Jo Griffith's funeral on Tuesday, As is my fashion, I watched it multiple times; the lakeside setting was quite beautiful, just as she would have wanted, and the presentations ranged from the joyful memories to the solemn present, and as they should for "the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning". That evening I made my way to Edinburgh Gardens where a group of us who had known Jo from here Melbourne days gathered with positive banter which, if I read the group properly, pretty every person present had engaged in some RPG activity with our departed friend. To quote David W. "The first time I met Jo was at an Infinite Images meeting. I asked her what she was playing. She replied she was playing Shadowrun on Monday nights, Mage on Tuesday nights, Amber on Wednesday nights, Call of Cthulhu on Thursday nights and Vampire on Friday. She made one of her faces, utterly confident in her decision. 'I like roleplaying,' she said."

Two posts in a row, I find that the scythe of Thanatos has decided to fall on another friend, this time 17catherines, a sudden and unexpected event. It yet another star that has fallen, as 17catherines was also a person who was engaged with the community and friends. She had well-considered political opinions and actions, a provider of foods, and was a writer of some wonderful stories about the stations of the Paris métro. A francophone, a Shakespearean, a poet, a choir singer (and fan of musicals), filker, an avid reader of speculative fiction, a thoughtfully spiritual person. Catherine was all this and so much more to those who were close to her, and I hasten to add we weren't that close, but close enough that caseopaya and I went to her wedding to jesusandrew almost twenty years ago (we took our rats, it was that sort of gathering), and of course, the visit was returned several years later. I also recall her visiting caseopaya when she found herself in hospital and, of course, we would on occasion engage in some correspondence both worthy and amusing. Once again, I find myself reading through old journal entries that capture the spirit of the time, words in the ether holding fast in time.

In midst of these reflections, I had to continue my own life and work, of course. All grieving is personal, and I have learned over the years that my own can be awfully practical. It is not appeals to otherworldly powers that bring me solace but rather the existential considerations on the value of a productive and worthwhile life. Two days of workshops this week helping researchers how to use supercomputers so that they can make the discoveries and inventions that make our lives longer and more comfortable, followed by a day at eReseachNewZealand, where I gave a short presentation on the very topic of the need for such education and to have a formal and international certification for competency, and then followed with the first meeting of the year with my MHEd supervisor as we work through my dissertation on the economics of higher education and the delivery of online content. But as the example of 17catherine shows, the worthwhile life is not all about work (indeed, to refer to Hannah Arendt, required work must be transcended to free action), it's about what generates lasting meaning. It's about life without dead time.

"Just be kind. Kind to my boys, other people, animals, each other, the planet. We desperately need it."

These are the words of an old friend Joanna Griffith in her "Last Post". She was one of the first people I got to know when I moved to Melbourne more than 25 years ago as she headed the local RPG gaming club, Infinite Images. We were never really close friends, but we had a rapport and every encounter I had with her was one that recognised the qualities of a person who was very intelligent (she was Dr Joanna Griffith, veterinary scientist, and well-cited koala specialist - there is now a Southern Koala and Echidna Rescue Jo Griffth Research Initiative), insightful, seriously feisty, just, and also with good humour and kindness. Several months ago I had the opportunity to visit Adelaide where she lived, and of course, I wore the Infinite Images t-shirt on the visit which generated some amusement that I still had the old piece of rag. It also came with a story of some absolutely foul looks I received when wearing it in Sydney one afternoon; it was emblazoned with an RPG fourth wall joke "Don't Shoot! I'm a plot device!". Little did I know it was the day of the Port Arthur Massacre.

But the reality was that Jo was not well; metastatic terminal breast cancer. A few days ago she died, and there has been quite a notable number of posts from those who knew her well. There has even been an article in the local newspaper (paywalled, alas). For my own part, as I have found myself doing a few times in recent years, I took the opportunity for some quiet time by myself and read through her old Livejournal entries. I find it soothing to read such 'blog entries, especially from such a platform. The words written there are often of a personal, reflective nature, and express the human and emotional side well; they speak from the heart. Like others, I wish the very best for her partner Simon and for her two boys and I remind myself that she would not be one for grieving, but it would bring her greater joy if we were inspired by the example of her life. It is in that spirit I will carry my memories of Jo.

As the title implies, Janus has two faces. On the same day I was processing the loss of Jo, caseopaya received our first serious bite for our Willsmere property, mere hours after signing an agreement with an agent, which of course is very exciting in a positive sense. Talk about a day of mixed emotions. We've also had to do the paperwork for a contract for sale, and poor caseopaya has been given all sorts of stressful rigmarole from the banks for other financials, the poor dear. On another positive note, funonontheupfield dropped over last night (this is our idea of cautious social activities) and after dinner, drinks, and conversation, we joined our regular online Cyberspace game - which concluded with a rather dramatic failure at a religious-cult convention involving too many sharp pieces of cybernetics and embedded Gestalt-network chips. It was a great way to end a story arc; Jo would have understood.

After many months of COVID-19 delays, and I are finally getting around to putting our Willsmere property on the market. The Willsmere Estate is certainly a nice place to live with astounding natural surroundings and for those who have an interest in local history, the former use of the grounds and buildings as an asylum should certainly intrigue. Anyway, we're in talks with a couple of real-estate agents, and we've had a couple of nibbles of interest. It would be awesome to sell to someone we know of course, so if you're looking to buy and have deep pockets I'm sure we could come to an arrangement, right? In a manner most inappropriate for a seller (yet suggested to me by my mentor many decades ago), I am more than willing to engage in a full and frank discussion about what is wrong with the property; not much to be honest, but better if the vendor tells you than the buyer discovering it after purchase.

The working week was a difficult one for me. Not because of the work, per se, but rather the conditions. Last week was particularly warm making a good night's sleep something of an impossibility. Yes, I do have air-conditioning, but I prefer to use it only in the most minimal amounts, partially because I have this weird sense of environmental responsibility (although I am now with a 100% renewables electricity provider) but also because I am particularly prone to terrible headaches from said devices - and even the occasional nose-bleed. More to the point, I was attending the EasyBuild user's conference which, being hosted in Europe, meant that I was getting up at 1am in the morning for a conference that finished at 6am - just in time for work. Now the sessions are all recorded on Youtube. However, I did at least make some effort to be in attendance - because on the first day they proudly announced that they now have attendees in four continents because there was a person registered from Australia. EasyBuild really has made a big difference in the installation and optimisation of HPC software, and I'll be writing up a conference report in the next few days.

Whilst I couldn't really have evenings, last weekend I did (on advisement) take the unusual opportunity to relax a bit (a temporary cool change also helped). Providing post-housing company, caseopaya and I have smashed our way through several movies, of the fantasy variety, for kids young and old. My pro-rodent bias was charmed by "The Tale of Despereaux", and surprised by many of the cast. Following this, two of the three movies in The Hobbit series, which I think are quite well done and I don't mind the elaborations to the original story. Then there was Terry Gilliam's "The Brothers Grimm", which combined visual appeal and some adult-level Python-noir comedy, and finally in great contrast, "Eragon", which is definitely for the youngsters with a plot and dialogue that really does seem like a young teenager's Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Appropriately then, the weekend also witnessed the Annual General Meeting of the RPG Review Cooperative at the Rose Hotel in Fitzroy, which was a really was a good excuse to catch up with fellow gamer friends whom I hadn't seen for a year or more. Meeting business took thirty minutes; a meal and a few drinks later and I believe a few hours had passed.

Last Thursday I completed another lap around the sun, and received numerous well-wishes on FB and elsewhere which I am most grateful for. The day was spent in the company of caseopaya as we started with a visit to Willsmere with the estate agent for a pending sale, and then in the late afternoon a visit to the Lume Van Gogh exhibition, a digital exhibition of his life and works. The animated projections across the walls and floor were quite spectacular and I've even mused on the possibility of rigging up something similar at home at a smaller scale. The following night I went out with funontheupfield and friend to the National Gallery where we had tickets courtesy of a friend whose entire family household has tested positive to coronavirus, which is a bittersweet way to get tickets, but they seem to do doing OK even if it's pretty unpleasant. The is a Channel exhibition on, which I'm pretty indifferent about, but the follow-up drinks and discussion at the local Belgian Beer Cafe was excellent. Then, to continue the rolling festivities, Liana F., came to visit on Saturday, and the following day lei_loo came by for a combined birthday event right in the middle of our respective birthdays. Having already been sufficiently well-fed at her brother's, my own offering was a giant Eton Mess Pavlova, which was pretty spectacular on a balmy summer's night, I must say.

Beyond the festivities of birthdays, however, I am saddened to hear of the death of Thich Nhat Hanh the peace activist and person who coined and is most recognised for the movement of "Engaged Buddhism", which Nhat Hanh drew upon humanistic Buddhist traditions with the direct experience of the Vietnam war and through working with Martin Luther King Jnr for civil rights. It was through strang_er that I was first introduced to this very important school of thought which, in my mind, is certainly one the most important innovations in Buddhist ethics, overcoming the danger of detachment becoming disregard and indifference. Engaged Buddhism, through mindfulness and a sense of care, manages to be mindful, loving, engaged and detached. I do confess to being rather ignorant of the metaphysics, theology, ecclesiastical polity, ecumenism, etc of Engaged Buddhism and whether it is any different at all to the mainstream. Perhaps, in honour of Thich Nhat Hanh it is something that I should make some effort toward. This entry was originally posted at https://tcpip.dreamwidth.org/331318.html.

Last weekend featured was a visit to Phillip Island, one of many holiday destinations a short trip from Melbourne city. This particular trip was with, and for, lei_loo who rather relished the idea of a short holiday away before getting back into university studies and of course has an impending birthday. It made for a very good combination of justifications for me to wrench myself away from my own work and studies. The island, of course, is rather famous for its native wildlife with swamp wallabies spotted on the first evening, after a rather playful game involving strong winds, seagulls, and fish-and-chips at the San Remo beach. The following evening was a visit to the famous evening parade of little penguins, where more than 1100 waddled past us, along with a bandicoot, and another swamp wallaby interrupting the introductory speech for good measure. Further, a daytime visit to the quite impressive Wildlife park including close encounters of the feeding kind to more free-range and very laid-back wallabies, indifferent wombats, a well-behaved cassowary, a flock of drumming, and rather forward emus, cautious Cape Barren geese, and a very charming kangaroo with a joey.

There was some fun for the two-legged animals as well, including the pleasures of a midnight picnic overlooking Western Port as a full moon danced on the water's surface (which, so romantically, led to a discussion of Philippine outrigger ferries at scale and the Carrington Event), multiple visits to different beaches for a bit of a dip, and even a visit to the Go-Kart track which, quite charmingly, is a reduced-scale version of the neighbouring Grand Prix track. I may have been a bit bored by the second lap, but apparently still managed to post surprisingly good times. It must have been the imagining that it was a game of Supertuxkart that kept me going. Somehow I also managed to finish number 1 for the diamond league in Duolingo whilst on holiday as well (although I had plenty of opportunities as lei_loo played Ingress). With the holiday over, I am "recharged" (I took a day's "pandemic recharge leave") and rather enjoying getting back to work. This entry was originally posted at https://tcpip.dreamwidth.org/331049.html.

For three days last week, I attended HPCAsia (remotely, of course) which, true to most conferences of this ilk, concentrated on the application of some of the world's most powerful computing systems (the world's number #1 in Tokyo) to the sort of mathematical and scientific problems that require it. It is pleasing that the ACM has published proceedings that will be free for the next two weeks. Due to the nature of my own role, I am particularly interested in new system and chip architectures, especially when people try some interesting heterogeneous combinations (e.g., FPGAs and GPUs for astrophysics). Appropriately, my work has tapped me on the shoulder to produce a short comparison in HPC systems between Intel and AMD which I'll do with some wry amusement - following the International Supercomputing Conference in 2018, I made suggestions of looking at this following the EU's lead; "And the turtle did indeed move". I also announced on Friday four HPC training workshops with a new one on "High Performance and Parallel Python on HPC", somewhat of a necessity as so many of the current generation use Python by default and the fact it's not exactly famous for performance.

Most of my evenings have been spent working on the upcoming issue of RPG Review and our AGM for the end of the month. In honour of Terry K Amthor, we're doing a special edition on ICE games and settings and I've been plodding my way composing an article to "fix" the magic system used in Middle-Earth Role-Playing for that setting. MERP was derived from Rolemaster, and Rolemaster was, by default, set in a highly visually magical setting of Amthor's Shadow World, whereas in Tolkien most magical expressions were somewhat more subtle and naturalistic. On another related matter I've been picking up just a few items to add to my RPG collection; when I conducted a sizeable sell-off two years ago to donate to Médecins Sans Frontières for their coronavirus efforts, I sold off some items that I probably should have kept as mementoes. Re-acquiring such items does look like it will somewhat more expensive than my notoriously generous pricing, but of course, I have the option to be more selective. All in good time, and this weekend I'm spending a short holiday at Phillip Island. This entry was originally posted at https://tcpip.dreamwidth.org/330927.html.

Early in the week I dropped into the local public vaccination clinic and picked up my booster shot (Moderna; mixing it up a bit and the queue was shorter). The Royal Exhibition Building is World Heritage-listed for good reason; it's quite beautiful and was Australia's first parliament. Of course, in the current omicron environment, it does seem that the eastern states have all but decided to ignore health institute warnings from just a few weeks ago that we could hit up to 200K cases per day by the end of the month. Of course, our Prime Minister of Marketing pointed that this was on the upper edge of their estimates. Not that he's done anything at all about it, or will. Appropriately, a good portion of the last days of 2021 and early 2022 was spent in discussion with an associate professor of psychology at a polytechnic in the United States who so happens to have some pretty interesting views on coronavirus and vaccines. I have finally compiled the discussion in essay form, for prosperity, "Education is an Imperfect Vaccine" as an example of how ideological selection biases cloud

Yesterday caseopaya ventured out to Willsmere as we were getting the last bit of scrubbing of the place done; it's been painted and plastered, it has been gardened, it has a new oven and cooktop, the electrics have been fixed, and now it's finally ready to go on sale. If anyone has an interest in buying our property (located on the grounds of the old Kew Asylum) you know how to contact us. The evening prior we watched "Don't Look Up" which are far as allegory and satire goes is not what one would call subtle, but is nevertheless a thoroughly appropriate commentary on the vacuous commentary and discussion that one finds on most mass or social media. A few days prior we had ventured out to The Astor to see Coen's "The Trag^H^H^H^HScottish Play", which reminded me of a 1950s style, accentuated with its black and white filming, but also with the dialogue of Shakespeare (rather like Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet" from the mid-90s). This entry was originally posted at https://tcpip.dreamwidth.org/330524.html.