I still don’t feel as if I’m in the swing of normal life yet. The long weekend didn’t help, although I must admit I enjoyed having it. I need a whole bunch of work days and evenings to do the stuff I normally do to get back into the rhythm of life (and if those last three words make you think of Sammy Davis, Jr., you have seen way too many movies and know way too much about musicals). (By the way, I do have a Sammy Davis riff or two, but I’m saving them for when I run out of more au courant stuff. Unless the demand from the VCA is overwhelming…)
I popped over to WTF for a second to try to get back into the same old same old, but the cacophony there was pretty overwhelming. They’re into their second-by-second camp-reportage mode, the sort of stuff only a parent could love, and even then, it would have to be one hell of a child-starved parent. Knowing the ilk of most of these debaters as I do, and having a sense of their parents, most of the adults are happy to get rid of them for a couple of weeks, and aside from a general sense of knowledge that they are alive and safe, forget pretty quickly that their offspring even exist as they spend a couple of weeks wining and dining themselves and acting childless again. That is, of course, what summer camps of any sort are all about. They are not, repeat not, for the benefit of the child. If it were legal, most parents would simply opt for locking the young ’uns in the basement for a couple of months with a TV and a couple of comic books, given the fact that this is no doubt the cheapest summer option, and then going about their blissful adult existences in happy ignorance of the little devils. Throw them a box of White Castle burgers every day or two, and what more do they need? Unfortunately, 21st Century childcare etiquette demands slightly more of a hands-on approach. Which makes most adults long for the good old days of the 15th Century, when as soon as a kid was old enough to hold a hoe, you had him where you wanted him, and that was the end of it until he died of old age a few months later. Ah, the good old days.
I did get another Noscast up. I need to get going with Caveman again (I’m halfway through editing part 2), and decide about Fast Freddy (I hate to waste all that reading time I spent on the old dork without getting some mileage out of it), and increase Nostrum production, not to mention various new horizons. For instance, Horaceman, the superhero without any superpowers, got me on to The Postmodern Condition, about which more as I work my way through it (although—spot check—so far, so good). I’m also considering a better microphone. The one I have now sounds okay, but it picks up T and P sounds and turns them into amateurish pops and clicks that are, shall we say, on the unmellifluous side. I heard the Blue Snowball on the Maccast podcast, and was really impressed. It’s a USB-in (some mics require a pre-amp or mixer, and I just don’t want to get that involved, as I’m already running out of room in my chez office: the table is covered with about three layers of things to do as it is, plus 2 computers, endless boxes for this, that and the other—there won’t be room for me or Tik pronounced teek in there if I add anything else.) I’ll probably decide by the end of today which one to get.
For those keeping score, Tik pronounced teek had a few days of mature, sane growth earlier this week. Unfortunately, last night he had a relapse, and he’s now more demented than ever. Poor poor pitiful long-suffering Pip just soldiers on as the attacks continue. Some day, I tell him. Some day. Maybe we should just give Tik one of those 15th Century hoes.
There is some blowback on the Modest Novice front worth mentioning. I mean, it really is a good idea and I really want to do it, and now Jonathan who also really wants to do it is making another push. The real issue for the MHL is the CFL on two counts. First, the October CFL contest would, in the normal course of events, run the Sept-Oct topic. Modest Novice would require a rules change to add a second novice topic, whether or not it ran simultaneously with the NFL topic du jour, not to mention the complicated, but manageable, tabbing of the event (complicated tabbing of multiple topics is one of the reasons the Modest Novice was shot down). The second count is, if one sizeable faction doesn’t want to do it, and there is overlap among the factions, do we want to set up an internecine conflict? As I said in my announcement of the Modest Novice not being put into place, these are parlous times for LD; I wonder if we want or need a lot of fighting inside the tent. But if it’s that good an idea, would we be punishing future LDers for the sake of minor political peace? Tough calls all around. I’m communicating with Jonathan and O’C on these issues; I’ll also be asking Joe V to chime in (I gather he’s out there with Uncle Wiggly herding a couple of hundred happy campers through their paces) as it affects Scarswegians probably as mightily as anyone.
Finally, there’s the old Legion of Doom. I have been remiss in my poster boy duties, but I’m about ready to dive back in. I’ve heard from one big tournament, and I now need to start working. I’ve decided among myself which tournament to go for next. I promise you, you’re going to love it!
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