Friday night and I am not going out...

Sounds pretty depressing, but to be honest I'm glad to finally have a weekend whereI'm not spending half of it getting drunk or recovering from it. Saves the forty odd pounds I usually spend by the end of the night too. Going out in Aberdeen has certainly declined since I arrived over two years. Maybe its just being too familiar, maybe its just me getting older, but still it seems like less and less each week that I can be bothered to go out, and even the last few weeks when I have its more a question of me going for the sake of going rather than actually intending to have a full-blown night out.

Certainly some things have changed, the University Unions have drastically reduced in quality (ie the prices have gone up), and Liquid still seems to be the shittest experience on Earth. Okay, I admit its still one above having your genitals being run a mangle, but finishing every single fucking night there is beginning to get annoying. Anyway...

Life is actually pretty swell. Despite losing the laptop, in fact maybe BECAUSE of losing it Ive entered the most productive part of my university career. Books are read and presentations made before the three hours before the seminar! So although all that will change when I get the laptop back, I am proud to say how much work I've been able to do. I'm also actively started looking for a job. Sponging off my parents, though easy, is not very rewarding and is something I wish to put right in the near future.

In Nationstates, Ive finally been able to update the Wiki, adding stuff Ive long needed to, and been able to do work on the RP boards. However, lacking the laptop I haven't been able to do much design work. Which is a shame.

An irrelevant post really, but hey, all two readers need to know I'm alive, right?

Damn the Dr. Pepper

Well, the lack of laptop is extremely annoying, I must admit.

A couple of weeks ago I spilt a not-insignificant amount of Dr. Pepper on my 2003ish Toshiba A30, and although it still had some functionality to back-up (and it didn't catch on fire either) I obviously had it taken in for repair. I'm now stuck with the Uni's own computers and although not too bad they're not top of the line models, they lack even MS Paint and the rules about IM are very clear and very well enforced.

So that means a lot of stuff for NS has grinded to a halt. No longer am I on IRC til it returns and no new models either. Have been able to do a lot of work for my NSWiki, and have also had fun learning to sketch actual, vaguely human figures. Admittedly I'm developing a style with mangaish leanings but nonetheless it is fun and I am certain that I will be able to get some presentable efforts up soon.

Also, NS wise, I introduced a new format on my storefront for NS at http://s7.invisionfree.com/FDI, for the Tyrant class Submarine. Though the large Naval-Technology style writeups were imformative, I tend to find myself writing the same info over and over and doing a 4000+ word write-up for each model is simply not worth it anymore. The current stats can provide info for anyone who wants to know and is willing to look a little, and they can ask about specifics if they want to anyway. Given many replace a lot of the systems as well, I cant see the point of essentially repeating myself every new weapon.

Thats pretty much it for now. I've chosen my IR question, about Western Security Interventions in the Mid-East, though now I need to get the six thousand odd words of drivel in order to fill it out. Economics is fun but the groupwork is a bitch. First presentation in nine days time and counting. Should get some reading done too, really.

TTFN.

PS. Was said to hear about all the trouble with the clashes between Hogsweat's supporters and the Mod's and their own support. Its sad to see such anger over what is a bunch of pixels and code on a screen really. I still feel bad for Hogsweat, though I left my position clear in the last post. Good luck and godspeed to those who both left for good and those who decided to remain.

Harsh.....but fair.

So, the nation of Hogsweat was deleted for an accidental griefing of the region Haven. Notably, I did not learn about this for a number of days when I logged back in and discovered myself in the Rejected Realms. Not that this was a problem, given that I was leaving Haven anyway, but nonetheless a considerable shock. Having gone onto the boards, and in moderation, in particular, it seems the events surrounding the deletion are a source of much consternation and dismay, resulting in some heated debate and resulting ins everal other members leaving.

So, my own personal opinion, based on what I know and have read (and presuming some stuff, admittedly, given that I haven't seen, for instance, much of the relevant IRC conversations). At the end of the days a set of rules was created to prevent a malicious problem in the Nationstates game, a set of rules that seems to work reasonably well for the situation intended. However, as with all such rules and laws it gets far more complicated when a rare situation arises in circumstances that weren't fully considered or dismissed when being wrote. The contraversy here is that Hogsweat's actions, though breaking the rules, did not do so with malicious intent and embarked on the action for a beneficial purpose.

However, as harsh (and painful, given I consider Hogsweat a good friend) as it seems, I believe the decision was fair in the context of the game. It is a rule of the site and therefore not to implement it would be a failure of the mods. The circumstances were very unfortunate and it is hard not to feel sympathy, but to not implement regardless, cold as it sounds, would be a significant let down. Ignorance, even if here understandable, is unfortunately not excusable to the offence and at the end of the day it is better for the rest of the 100,000+ nations on the site that ALL RULES, such as they are, are obeyed without regard to status, motive or bias.

I HATE myself for saying it, though. Rest in peace, old friend, and keep well.

And one minor endnote: There is no such thing as unbiased opinions. No matter how objectionable and representative you try to be there is always a conclusion you are drawing to. You will always warm to your friends, work against your opponents and move towards a path set by your own goals. Any opinion, any blog, any action will always have a bias towards one position or another. So no claiming no 'bias' by anyone, please, its insulting to the intelligence.