"If the Warlock fails the intimidate check, let the Bard help

(To the tune of Camp Town Races)

Party Bard: This guy’s gonna eat your soul, doo-dah, doo-dah…"

Have you guys seen Out of Context D&D Quotes?


Seriously hilarious stuff. I miss gaming with you all.

Specs

Foxes-Don't stop me now

Favourite singer on my favourite show.

The events in Ottawa yesterday were frightening and tragic. I can't imagine the chaos in that kind of uncertain situation, the fear when hearing gunshots in a place you consider safe, and the vulnerability in the air afterward. Two people are dead and we have many more questions than answers.

We also have a story that syncs with a prevailing narrative and fits well into our current foreign policy and domestic security policy discussion (by coincidence, the bill being brought forward in parliament yesterday was about expanding CSIS's foreign intelligence powers.) There was already talk after the tragic killing of a soldier in Quebec on Monday about how Canada's role in Syria and Iraq affects our security at home.

But what are we really discussing? We look at the religion of the two people involved this week, but mostly because we're primed to do so. And without a discussion of the real impact that focussing on that has on an already alienated population in our country.

And are we missing the real picture here? These attacks are not 20 ideologically committed men, moving to the country in a slowly building plan over many years and executing a coordinated attack which kills thousands and destroys iconic buildings. These are two individuals carrying out actions on a small scale which cannot be considered to be strategic or coordinated. So what is more likely? That they are part of a global conspiracy, or that they are individuals who lack social and mental health supports? Are we missing the real problem by focussing on the politically present issue?

I don't know. But I'd hate to turn every parliamentary building in the country into a fortress, and further "randomly screen" every "muslim-looking" person in this country because a mentally ill person reached his tipping point, while ignoring the failure of our mental health system to help the people it needs to help. And it's a sickening thought to consider that our foreign policy response may lead to the deaths of hundreds or thousands of people in the middle east because we cannot face up to the real causes of our problems here.

Specs

I think something can be arranged, Tony is also in town. If need be we can use my place.

Hello! So I know this is extremely last minute, but we'll be in Edmonton this weekend. Would anyone be up for hanging out Saturday night after 9:00 p.m.? We miss you guys!

Specs

Continuing a theme:

The “Custom Managed Audiences” tool works like this: A campaign or group uses its own list of potential voters (or buys one from a state authority or private vendor) and uploads it to Facebook. The company then matches the names to its user base through databases managed by companies, such as Acxiom, that specialize in collecting information about individuals. This process effectively combines the electoral information it already knows about voters with their Facebook profiles: likes, group memberships, issues or even favorites. The process anonymizes the users’ personal identifiers but retains enough information to enable campaigns to target well-defined groups.