Hump day

[altivo]

With no humping, no camels, and no whales. But that's how it usually goes. The machine I was updating yesterday made it to the end and has been installed now, so that's done. My simulated zoo does have camels, but no whales so far. In fact, it has now acquired lions, tigers, elephants, and rhinos. The red pandas, however, are not cooperating. I need them to produce an offspring or two, but they just keep eating their bamboo shoots and staring at me. I'm at a point where the only way to the next level is by breeding another two or three endangered species. It's all set up, but will take an indeterminate amount of time. Meanwhile, things just keep ticking over and the excess income goes into the bank. They should have investment options. ;p It occurs to me that the zookeepers and groundskeepers probably should have a pay increase due by now, and that hasn't been brought up. The price of vacant land adjacent to the zoo has risen tenfold, from $500 an acre to $5000 an acre. I'm sure it will keep going up. Part of that must represent a rising cost of living and/or inflation, which means the zoo staff should be rioting for more pay by now. $60 a day for selling hot dogs or souvenirs isn't bad at first, but it can't stay that level forever. I need to check and see if there are inflationary changes in the price of the various animals' feed. I'll bet not, but there should be.

Listened to Kyell and K.M. some more, and I'm really leaning toward a New England but not Boston influence on Kyell's speech patterns. It seems so unlikely, but that's what I'm hearing. Unless he deliberately adopted some Maine/Vermont mannerisms at some point, I have to conclude that he lived in that area early in life. It's especially prominent in words like "ears" and "hear" and the way he almost always drops the "g" and the end of "-ing" words so they end in "in'". That last can also be heard in other places, but with a somewhat different intonation. I usually trust my ears, but this is so unexpected I almost hesitate to say it.

Gary's got a sore throat and cold now, so he may not go in to Chicago tomorrow. If he'll rest, that's probably OK. I only work a half day on Thursday, so I can still do the chores and stuff as I normally do that day.

Listening to those podcasts is making me want to write, but I need to finish fiber things now in time for show deadlines. The nållbinding scarf must be finished by a week from Saturday. Two partially finished weaving projects need to be done by the 27th or so.

Comments

[hrrunka]

drops the "g" and the end of "-ing" words so they end in "in'"

That's very common round here. I even catch myself doin' it occasionally...

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Gods, I love British place names. You just can't beat Pratt's Bottom. ;p Nor Leaves Green, Bromley Common, and Chislehurst. *toothy grin*

Yes, I think dropping the final "g" was actually fashionable over there a hundred years ago. Dorothy Sayers had Lord Peter doing it, and I'm sure he wouldn't have learnt that in school or from his family, don't ya know. XD

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Red pandas are very cute :) Do my eyes deceive me..is Mr Grumps the horse playing computer games?

[marzolan.livejournal.com]

no, he's playing facebook games. much worse.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

It's hardly a game. There's no competitive aspect or player interaction. More of an elementary simulation thing. I admit I did look into the more elaborate "real" PC game on which it seems to be modeled. Zoo Tycoon is still available on Ebay and in other places for under $20. But they obviously ruined the realism in that by adding dinosaurs and unicorns and stuff, and having the animals break loose and attack people. That's why I generally do not play computer games. They're all about violence and absurdity.

I have played games once in a great while. I like puzzles and intellectual challenges. I just have no interest in all the hacking and blood, nor in accumulating "spoils" or whatever, so the popular online stuff has no appeal. I've never bothered with the console action stuff at all. No interest, any more than I cared for pinball machines or their electronic offspring.

The only relatively modern PC games that have held my attention for long were Lemmings and the simulation toys like Sim Earth or Railroad Tycoon.

[marzolan.livejournal.com]

I was of course joking. I have no room to talk about people playing games, even on facebook.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Oh, the joke was obvious. But there is a valid point underneath it too, because I make plenty of disparaging remarks about computer gaming.

Do I play with the computer? Sure I do, a lot. I just don't use commercial game software to do it. I run emulations of other hardware all the time, as you've surely seen me reporting. I use it for amateur radio activities, which are really little but entertainment. As far as that goes, my writing, which takes up a substantial chunk of my computer usage, is certainly not a profitable venture. It's an amusement.

Commercial games, whenever I look at them, seem really immature and juvenile. They are all about gratuitous violence in one form or another, or greed, or thrill seeking. Usually all three at once. Like chocolate, that stuff has just never worked for me at all.

A couple of people have taken great pains to "show" me World of Warcraft. I am greatly impressed with the graphic artwork that goes into it. I am even more greatly repulsed by the nature of the actual play.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

The red panda now is confirmed pregnant. Birth due in 9 weeks. ;p

The African penguins laid two eggs overnight as well, so the next level is in sight...