Empathy: because it could be me

A man on the street asked for a dollar.

"I got to get home," I thought, and rushed past him.

"I have a home to go to," I thought.

I went back and gave him what little cash I had.

Empathy transcends dogma, theology, ideology. Having empathy means being human.

Image Source: 

What To Say — And NOT Say — To A Homeless Person

How important is a fast reply to text messages?

My retort to this blog posting. And I'll be frank, this came out of a fight I just had with a friend who got pissy that someone hadn't responded to every single text for 12 hours.  Okay, it was just a handful, but 12 hours later, the reply came back, failed to address every single text, and it had been twelve  hours, because "No one waits 12 hours to reply to text!"  Um, yeah, for example, *I* do. Except with friends that I know have serious damage - and get pissy - about not getting fast replies. 

So, the linked post, ...

On the one hand, amusing. On the other hand, I'm not going to be a slave to the gadget in my pocket. I'm not going to sacrifice my life for async experiences, where huge chunks of time are wasted waiting for a response. If it's important, CALL ME. At least, then I have a full bandwidth conversation, in real-time, instead of splitting my focus with having to type at 1/8 the speed I can talk constantly interrupting whatever is going on around me, for example playdate with my niece or nephew at the park.

That means, if it takes me days, or never, to reply to your text message, that I'm not a fan of text messages, and it has nothing to do with how much I care about you. Text messages are convenient for async leave-me-a-message-and-I-will-reply.

Text messages are not "real-time," in any sense of the phrase. Text messages are time wasters on a scale that Faceborg can't hope to compete.

So, "what it actually means"? Not a damn thing, unless you want to measure servitude to a gadget, or servitude to people who can't be bothered to call you, or drive to meet you somewhere.

(source)

Generation Columbine: May the Pyre Long Burn

It's rare that such backlash against one agency happens so "suddenly." I suspect the true case is one of a long, slow burn.

Generation Columbine knows full well how the NRA have thrown them under the bus, with lies and promises of magical security, if only there were more guns. More guns has only ever produced more deaths.

Generation Columbine recognizes the madness of a POTUS who benefited from the NRA spending $30 million to help get him elected spending his entire first year of his administration de-funding and undermining schools and education, suddenly finding money to put more guns in schools.

Maybe it was the part about school shooting survivors counseling the #Parkland kids in real time via Twitter.

Maybe it was the eloquent Emma Gonzalez (@emma4change #emma4change) whose words were the final kerosene in the slow burning fire in the bellies of Generation Columbine - a generation who has never known a word where they didn't need to fear being murdered in school.

The pyre has been lit. May the fire long burn.

Originally published here. 

(Image source)

Fox helped create the monster they can't control

That's it!  They created the fucking monster, and then lost control of the damn thing.

Trump isn't the "creation," - he just knew how to redirect the monster like the circus ring-leader and showman charlatan he is.

I've talked about Fox News before.  Hell, I'm opposed to stupidity, and even more opposed to people playing and preying on stupidity, so of course I've talked about Fox before.

I've talked about Trump, the Charlatan stealing the mindless mob before, such as the part where the GOP lost control of the GOP to Trump.

(See also this G+ thread.)

Smell the Nazi Fart

See https://plus.google.com/+CaraEvangelista/posts/MhCL53sq29s

That's the root problem, isn't it? I bet the consistent complainer is reading the reddit forums where white assholes discuss "calling police as a way to harass people of color and get away with it." All with the goal of chasing people of color off that campus, leaving it for the snowflakes.

I'm sure part of the new Nazi agenda is using "harassment by cop" as a way to further deepen the distrust and conflict between people of color and cops.  Because, you know, cops kinda hate Nazis, too, so it's Nazis playing their enemies against each other.

The new Nazis are not all stupid, and most of them can read.  The same old problem is that the same old sociopaths are using the stupid ones as weapons.

So, yeah, the University needs to have an investigation into "chronic complaints" to protect their reputation, to protect their students, and to protect the University police, too. They need to make it clear "harassment by cop" itself is a crime.

Conquest Today

Today seems like a good day to conquer the world.

You in?

(model LouLou D'Vil)

Fiction Friday - Electric Sonika

Background and Origin:  Her place of birth was a rural village or hamlet, a tiny collection of huts and farms. She was kidnapped at an early age and raised a virtual slave, brainwashed to obedience to the cult leader, with the intention of taking over the world.

The cult leader had a way to detect latent mutsnt children.  He kidnapped her and hoped to use her as breeding stock, since her powers were very weak. The hormonal changes of pregnancy cranked her powers way up, but also altered her brain chemisty. She lost the baby, and the combined trauma shattered the conditioning and she successfully escaped the cult.

She has a  younger brother that she has lost touch with.

She has experienced the following important events:

• She made a friend, a teacher, religious advisor or mentor. They are not particularly important in the grand scheme of things, but had devastating impact on her life;
• She performed a vital task for a religious figure and they are in your debt. The third in command of the cult that raised her;
• Dhe became indebted to a group and must repay them in some way, financial or otherwise;
• She suffered a major financial loss, losing almost everything;
• Oops, pregnancy! She left your partner behind.  The 

Combat Tactics: She has an aggressive offense, reveling in the adrenaline rush of her own powers. She usually doesn't run for cover until she's been hit once or twice, then survival instincts might override adrenaline.

She loves to screw with her enemies’ heads, so grabs control of any electrical Gear as soon as she identifies it. The fact her control power isn't obvious adds to the confusion.

Personality Traits: She is impulsive and temperamental, so rarely stays employed long, despite her power. She spends money as fast as she gets it.

Appearance: 5’7”, 135 lbs, completely hairless.

Powers: She can generate and manipulate electricity.

Notes: Model Nadya Sonika. Character by I. A. Riley, January, 2018

This should be pretty obvious. The artwork inspired the character, then I maxed out Lightning Control, using the leftover CP to even more max out Lightning Control.

Electric Sonika - Mighty Protectors

Strength 14 (Carrying Capacity 192 lbs., Basic HTH d6)
Endurance 18 (Save 11, Heal 2.8)
Agility 12 (Save 11)
Intelligence 10 (Save 10)
Cool 16 (Save 11, Initiative d6+1)

Hit Points 15
Power 74
Physical Defense 1
Mental Defense 0
Move 15
Inventing Points 5
Wealth d4
Luck 10-
Weight x lbs.
Total Cost 70 + 100 - 20 = Total

Powers
Heightened Attack: Damage +1 all attacks (2.5 CP)
Heightened Expertise: Attack +2 all attacks (7.5 CP)
Lightning Control:
* Electrical Bolt: Damage 3d8, Range 36”, PR=4 (22.5), Modifiers: Armor Piercing 5 (+7.5) (30 CP);
* Electrical Field: Damage d6+d8, PR=1 per use (30 CP);
* Gear Control: Target Save @ -9, Range 36”, PR=4 (20), Modifiers: Silent Gear Control (+5), Unobvious (+5) (30 CP)

Gear

Booster Pack - Energy: Power +20 (10), Modifiers: Gear (-5) (5 iCP)

Weaknesses
Compulsion: The rush of adrenaline causes her to feel a powerful and irrational need to blow something up any time she expends more than 20 Power in less than a minute (Uncommon, Cool Save to resist) (-10 CP)
Nemesis: She is hunted by law enforcement, members of her old cult, amd various enemies of that same cult, who don't care that she has left (-10 CP)

Combat Summary
Initiative: d6+1
Unarmed: Attack 16-, Damage d6+2 (avg 5.5)
Electrical Bolt: Attack 16-, Damage 3d8+1 (avg 14.5)
Gear Control: Attack 15-, Effect Save @ -10

Boilerplate

Document Copyright (C) 2018 by I. A. Riley. All rights reserved. Portions Copyright others; no attempt is made to infringe upon their rights.

Mighty Protectors and the Monkey House Games logo are trademarks owned by Monkey House Games, ©2017 Monkey House Games. All rights reserved. Made in the U.S.A.

Sourcebooks Marvel Superheroes Advanced Set (TSR, 1986), Realms of Magic (Kim Eastland, TSR, 1986), The Ultimate Powers Book (David E. Martin, TSR, 1987), 4C System (Michael Hammes, Philip Reed, 2007).

Random backstory generator - http://www.pbegames.com/lifepath/ .

Random name generator - http://www.behindthename.com/random/ .

Random job generator - http://writingexercises.co.uk/random-job-generator.php .

Random personality trait generator - http://writingexercises.co.uk/random-character-traits-generator.php .

Random height/weight generator - http://tower.newcenturycomputers.net/hwcalc.html .
(see also http://www.healthchecksystems.com/heightweightchart.htm )

Male. Nerd. Snowflakes. - Please Grow Up

Ah, male nerd snowflakes.  

"Oh, no! A male comic book villain is now played by a woman in the movie!  Fucking Feminazis ruin all my childhood nerdboy memories!"

Really?  Seriously, snowflake, if you're that sensitive, the problem is not with the people who made the film, manchild: the problem is you.

Ugh.

(Source Original Post)

And then, when you read the comments on the OP, it becomes even more clear, that it's a nerdboy problem, because Ghost was an Iron Man villain, so

"Oooooh, horror!  They ported an Iron Man villain into an Ant Man movie and ruined the movie before I've even seen it!"

Oh, for fuck's sake.  Grow up.

On a final note:

I am so fucking seeing this movie in theaters :-)

My ego just 'splodey head

Okay, hang on, hang on.

I - ME - just got used as a selling point for a G+ Community.

Now, in fairness, Micha Crispinder does run a cool G+ Community, so if you have half a brain, and your head is outside your ass, give it a looksie.

Oh, I think I need a lie down before my ego goes me all 'splodey head :-)