Journal Entries

I need to do homework.

I just keep checking h2g2 and the MST3K Review message boards, though.

I don't even have any replies to my dozens of active messages! What's taking everyone else so long to post?

Oh, well. Maybe this is a sign that I should turn to my reading journal.

Discuss this Journal entry [13]

Latest reply: Dec 9, 2003

CLI Declassification Project

As is our practice, we'll occasionally declassify lab notes here around CLI. Normally we don't bother to classify our notes, but sometimes we will just for the fun of it. Other times it's to prevent the government from learning that we're practically a ticking time-bomb that, through sheer luck, has avoided exploding roughly eight times this week alone. And when that happens.....well, if the nuclear winter doesn't get to you, the radiation-resistant mutants and biotoxins will probably devour the planet. Oh, and due to our constant tamperings with otherworldly incidents, we've had to bury a few dangerous devices that, if used incorrectly, might unleash hordes of demons, or one particularly powerful demon, or monsters that can act as gateways to let demons through, or sentient computer programs that somehow turned into demons, or....we've had to stop a lot of demons in our time. We don't even go out looking for them, I've got no idea how they keep popping up. They're almost as frequent as the "final" epic battles between good and evil that we're constantly getting hurled into. I swear, every dark wizard or great daemon or chaotic entity of pure evil thoughts seems to think that he or she is evil's last stand. Believe me, I'd be perfectly fine with that! But no, evil just keeps coming back for more. Stupid evil....

As I was saying, this is just a declassification of a previously classified bit of lab notes. Why choose this one to unclassify? Well, unlike others, it probably won't hurt people if they ever learn (compared to some of the stuff that we've publically announced, this one's pretty quaint, actually). Also, it provides a bit of historical context for h2g2, as I was wearing the suit that it discusses when I suggested to VestBoy that h2g2 create a superhero organization (which eventually came to be called CHOPPERS).

Why did we classify this one? Well, you got me. We used to spin a giant wheel that would tell us which ones to classify, and the wheel must've landed on this one. I wonder where we put that wheel....probably in the warehouse somewhere. I'll have to get it out again for old times' sake.
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CLI LAB NOTES
SESSION #00007xx
SUBJECT: The Green Jester Suit

Okay, Affy speaking. I've finally taken off the Green Jester Suit. I only put it on because I'm at a masquerade party in another forum. Just wish that there were better rules for this "I can be anywhere on h2g2 at a time" thing that seems to have developped in the forum conversations these days. Eomando put it to use when she didn't know which route to take up a mountain, but aside from that it's just a nuisance.

Anyway, as stated in our previous notes, The Green Jester Suit is a meshing of projects that we've developed at CLI, and a mask that we found on an archaeological dig. The mask itself had the "essence" of an entity in it, but (in an unusual twist for items that contain parts of their previous owners) there was no mind. There were only mannerisms, habbits, appreciations, etc. There was also a good deal of magical power, but we were never able to tap it with just the mask alone. A person's face might be able to tap the power, but a hyper-charged face can't do much without a body. Please note that this was before anyone had ever met, seen, or heard of FACE. So we developped the Green Jester Suit, so named because the mask was green and eerily similar to those of Jesters as depicted in certain paintings, and also because the mask was green (hence our decision to make the suit itself green).

Now, it isn't at this time known just how much of what happened was through the mask's powers or through the suit's powers. But when I put on that costume, I was capable of acting in ways I couldn't before. For instance, I created a small world for myself called "Backstage H2G2." I was able to simply open the thin air before me (it turned into a door when I reached for the invisible knob), step through, and find myself in....well, in Backstage H2G2. It looked a good deal like I was behind the scenes of a stage play, and countless doors stretched out in every direction. I could then use the doors to head to pretty much anywhere in h2g2 that I chose.

The mask also made me speak in rhyme and act....well, act like a Jester. In fact, it wasn't unlike the legendary Last Jester of the Flathead Dynasty on Zork. Perhaps this mask was an artifact left from that time period.

Oh, well. Having worn the suit for a while and removed it, I can report that I acted very, very strangely. I even magically teleported into the Atelier to "warn Affy and Garius" to stop tinkering with the space/time continuum. I can only assume that I was referring to my own actions in the suit.

There's a lot to learn from this suit, I'm sure. But we don't know how to persue. That, plus we've got that big retail sale opening tomorrow, and we accidentally printed a bunch of coupons that give people far too much off. We'll be placing the Green Jester Suit into storage for a while.

END OF REPORT

Discuss this Journal entry [4]

Latest reply: Dec 5, 2003

The Dilemma

Due to a financial situation, I am not permitted to spend money on stuff for me. Instead, this money must go towards food, gasoline, and college expenses (The latter are, thankfully, well within my financial means, it's the first two that are making me angry).

SO, the obvious question: I'm going to break this rule and buy something for myself, like the selfish little moron I am. But I think I should limit it to one (1) item. What should it be?

A new MST3K DVD Collection? Or possibly a Nintendo GameCube?

And before anyone suggests it, a Playstation is NOT an option. I can finally have Sonic and Mario on the same system, and I'm not going to miss that opportunity with my next purchase of a console.

And no, I won't buy a DVD collection other than one for MST3K. Best Brains International deserves my support (and yours, too!)

And with that, I think that my user space will finally be formatted correctly again.

*Takes a bow*

Discuss this Journal entry [3]

Latest reply: Dec 1, 2003

If faith was a driveway, this might be a seak-coating....I have no idea what that means....

You know, for years when I enter religious debates with people, I either get into a winning or losing position, as is the case with such binary decision options. When I'm in the winning position, the "wild card" that almost invariably gets tossed at me is "Well, why believe the Bible instead of any other document?"

The answer's always been something hollow like "it just makes more sense to me", or some other stupid line that really doesn't help to defend my case logically.

However, I just came from a really interesting informational meeting that's changed my answer.

Now, it seems that after The Bible, the Illiad is the most "protected" piece of ancient literature around. Amazingly, there were a total of 643 copies of the Illiad around for copying, and that there was only a (roughly) 500 year gap from the original story to the first "true" copies (I've yet to check on the definition of the word "true" in this case, mind you). Based on this, the Illiad isn't too unreliable when compared to most other ancient texts.

The Bible, though, seems to come from approximately 24,000 copies with only a 25 year gap. 25 years is, if you ask me, enough time for people to look over the text and say, "Wait, that's not how it happened, I remember it differently."

Addmittedly, I suspect that the number 24,000 was misleading. Being a much bigger book(s) than the Illiad, it probably boils down to W many original copies of the Bible, X many original copies of the Greek New Testament, Y many original copies of the book written in Aramaic, Z many original copies of the Old Testament in its original Hebrew as a whole, Theta many copies of the original Books Of The Law, Omega many copies of the original Book Of Job, Alpha number of Paul's letters still lying around, etc. But still, the margin of error between Illiad and Bible is, at the very poorest, persuasive in the Bible's favor.

I should really look into reading this book by some guy. I think his name was Josh McDowell and that his book is "A Ready Defense". He knew for certain that "....if a Christian had a brain cell it would die of loneliness," and decided to prove Christianity to be incorrect and illogical once and for all. A few years later after he had spent his time looking at the facts and debating with any Christian that he could, he decided to abandon his project and become a Christian himself. When I can look over his book, I'll be able to double check his sources for myself.

The whole thing reminds me of C. S. Lewis who claimed to have "become a Christian kicking and screaming." I've always appreciated Lewis' sense of humor.

What's this? The temperature's rising. I feel a flame coming....

Discuss this Journal entry [4]

Latest reply: Nov 30, 2003

Friendly Reunions

Day after Thanksgiving, I meet with two friends because we're all on a break from college. Now, one of these two guys I still saw from time to time (we both go to the same place), but the other one I hadn't seen or heard from in months, so it was fun catching up.

The best part, though, was our planning session. The three of us always enjoyed making independent films and things, and often the writing sessions were more memorable than any other activity.

But man, we went crazy with this one! We just said, "Come up with some story ideas for this project", and we just started unloading the weirdest stuff! I can't even remember some of it now. It's a good thing we were writing it all down....

BTW, the project was called Cursed Shield Of Trouble. If you ever see an episode for download on the Internet, know that Afgncaap5 might have been involved with it in a small way.

Heh-heh-heh....I love dropping names....

Discuss this Journal entry [1]

Latest reply: Nov 30, 2003


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Afgncaap5

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