On the orientability of certain Platonic solids

Following my post regarding the excellent dice bag the LA knitted for me, somebody asked me about one of the dice shown in the photos. After that question, I now present for your edification the art of reading the d4.

Below, we see two d4s; an old-style d4 in pearl, and a new-style d4 in white. Both of them are showing a result of 1.


Below, we see the same two dice. This time, however, they're showing a result of 2.


Below, once again, the same two dice, showing 3.


And finally, the same two dice, both showing a result of 4.


As you can tell, the reading method is consistent: you read the number which is upright. I personally prefer (and have more of) the old-style d4s, but I do have the new ones just in case I have a player who doesn't know how to read a d4 properly.

Of course, if they follow my blog, now they do, and so do you.

On truth

I thought I was going to stay out of US politics this election. Seems I was wrong.

Everyone in California, please go to your polling place tomorrow and make sure to vote "No" on Proposition 8. Even if it wasn't shoving discrimination into the state Constitution, it is being pushed deceptively. Schools will NOT be forced to "teach gay marriage", just as they currently don't teach marriage. Obama does NOT support Proposition 8.

Who you vote for as President is one thing, but please, whatever your politics, vote NO to discrimination, hatemongering and fearmongering.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled geeky whininess.

On the road back to health, and other subjects.

So yes, that is correct. I am much improved, health-wise, and the LA is also rather better. We're both off the chicken soup, and I'm cooking again - tonight's chicken with potato wedges went down rather nicely.

Still on the subject of health, I'm currently in the process of applying for health insurance. I honestly cannot figure out why so many citizens of the USA see this as somehow preferable to a system which allows you to see a doctor without worrying about cost. I won't say the NHS is perfect, but it is, to my mind, a damned sight better. I think that the best system would be one which keeps basic healthcare free (ie you can go see a doctor about this thing on your leg for free) but which allows for insurance and/or copayments for anything beyond "the basics". To take an example, if your appendix goes bad, "basic" is in you go, you get opened up and out comes the appendix, and they sew you back together and keep you in till you can get up and about safely, while you can if you wish pay for less invasive surgery, etc etc. "basic" vision care covers checks and basic lenses in uncool frames, but you can pay extra for contacts, nicer frames, thinner lenses and so on. I would consider universal access to healthcare to be a human right, but it's not the job of the state to support everyone's health.

I'm also applying for a credit card. Yes, Mum, I do remember what happened last time, and it's certainly NOT going to happen this time. The sad fact of the matter is that life is very difficult in the USA of modern times without a credit card and the accompanying credit rating, and so it's a good idea for me to have one, no matter that I will be using it very little. I chose which one to apply for in consultation with the LA, and it carries good interest rates, no annual fee, and some spiffs which make a great deal of sense when considered with respect to my preferences.

While the LA has been feeling under the weather, she's been continuing to knit. Her latest completed project is shown below:



Yes, that's a cabled dice bag. I have the perfect wife.

And now, I'm going to get ready for tomorrow. I have to go to the library to return some books, and to the gaming store to fill in my Consumermas wishlist. If anyone should buy me anything which is on there (and that will probably be high-dollar non-essentials such as a battlemat, maybe some minis, paint, and moar dice, rather than such things as GURPS Myth or Rippers which I would be sure to use) I will get double points for that item on my rewards account there. I'd shop at this store anyway, since it's a) got a wonderful atmosphere and b) the only gaming store in the area now, but the rewards card is icing on the delicious dice-shaped cake.

On health

So, on Tuesday I was feeling a little seedy, possibly in part because the LA's allergies continued, and when I woke up yesterday, I had what felt like a rope of mucus tying the tracheal portal of my nasal cavity to my uvula. I ended up heavily medicated, with pseudoephedrine, slow-release guaifenesin, ibuprofen and chicken soup. I was still feeling utterly wretched by bedtime, and this morning wasn't much better. I decided to treat myself for lunch, and to that end I defrosted some bacon for sandwich-making purposes.

As a result of how much that improved matters, I am declaring that my illness was in part acute hypobaconaemia.

On long-distance communication

I've heard that Stephen Fry considers the telephone an extraordinarily rude device, and I find it hard to disagree with that assessment of it. It demands our attention, it chains us to somebody else's idea of when is a good time to talk, and it forces one to make ill-considered replies to questions.

Be that as it may, we are stuck with the devices for the time, but there are methods one can use to make them more bearable.

First among these methods is learning a few simple rules. Here are some things to do with telephones:

1. Know who you expect to answer. Opening a call that you dialled with the words "Who is this?" is, in my opinion, grounds for being reported to the FCC.
2. Answer rapidly. Pretending to answer, by means of having a machine pick up and put the caller on hold, is Not Allowed.
3. Reduce reliance on automated systems. Why should I have to do the job you're paying your call centre staff to do?
4. Voice Recognition Doesn't. Automated voice recognition systems are, in my opinion, grounds for being encased in concrete and dropped into a subduction zone.
5. Speak my language. If the person at the other end speaks a different language than you were expecting, you MIGHT have the wrong number, and it would be a good idea to at least try to clear this up in the language they first spoke. If that's not possible, you might at least learn to say "Sorry, wrong number".
6. Redial doesn't correct. When you hit "redial", it dials exactly the same number, so if you got a wrong number before, it's STILL a wrong number!
7. Admit you're not perfect. We've all misdialled. Every last one of us. Don't accuse me when YOU get the number wrong.
8. Telephones get link rot too. Phone companies recycle numbers. There are only so many valid combinations. It is not the fault of the person who got the recycled number that whoever had it before failed to tell you that they no longer had it.
9. Where did you think I'd be? At four in the morning, sane people are in BED, and you should NOT be making telephone calls.
10. Not right now means exactly that. When someone says they can't talk now, please, STOP trying to talk to them.

I really want a whitelisting mechanism for telephone calls so I can only allow certain people to call me.

On the completion of another solar orbit

So, now I'm 28. What real difference does that make?

None at all, in practical terms. I'm still me, just as much as I ever was. However, taking stock of the year just past is a good idea anyway, so let's have at it.

This time last year, I was employed. Via an agency, true, but I was employed, I was earning decent money, and I was getting on with building up my finances so I could head over here.

This time last year, I was unmarried. I had been engaged over two years already, but the thought of marriage was still a "we'll do that when we can" prospect.

This time last year, I was devoid of animal companionship.

Now, I have a wife, two cats, and no job. I think I got the better end of the tradeoffs.

I'd have liked to be able to spend my birthday out taking pictures, but the antics of the cats are a good substitute.

On disappointment

The LA and I had been set to go to Hawk Hill today, for some photography, a little education and some socialising, but sadly this has had to be cancelled, as has the party we were planning to attend this evening. This means that Silas's debut in sucking at bowling has been postponed. You see, the LA has allergies, and they are being truly unkind right now. I had thought that she hadn't disturbed my sleep by sharing the bed, but as it turned out she had - to the extent that I couldn't manage to get any deep sleep that night. This resulted in my being very, very vague and unfocused the next day.

I offered to take the couch last night, but she insisted I should have the bed. It didn't feel right, but her arguments were irrefutable.

It seems I'm somewhat doomed never to get to Marin.