So I have been playing ... (82). Bit long, bit dark.

Deep in the middle of dark winter I received a surprise holiday gift (thank you, Snorky!). This wasn't my first-ever Long Dark encounter - I had tagged along to some Knux's livestreams too. Still, having my hands on the real thing was way different (and some of the mechanics were not as easy to pick up as others).

My first survival attempt failed miserably and fast.

So I have been playing ... (13). Pretty colours and metaphor power.

While busy with mostly mundane matters this week (I'm about to give a few classes in a basic home safety course tomorrow and have been sorting tinned meat and biscuits for a more vivid emergency rations workshop), I also found some moments to peek into other worlds. After reaching one of my main self-set objectives in the Zone, I dared to fire up Void for the first time. So far I'd only seen a video of others playing it, and yet it looked like it might be quite "my thing". The game's elements seem simple enough, yet they've proved rather hard to master. My first play session mostly revolved around making sense of the controls and "how the world works". Failing and starting over - over and over - I've finally started picking up the mechanics and even had some feeble success moments in harnessing it. I'd say, the greatest achievement at the moment is reaching the point where I'm able to keep playing - for the very element that makes the game go on (time passing in the Void) is also the main threat to the player.


Here is the first recorded piece of that experience. (And here is where the rest of the playlist will be.)

Environmental horror meets childhood memories

I love the IO9's Secret History series. Often enough it features some of my favourite things (read: wonderful obscenery, more wonderful obscenery and even more wonderful obscenery.). Also, while I'm facts'n'date'-knowledge-disabled, I appreciate all sorts of obscure stuff that's out of the immediate "school knowledge".

And sometimes I get a moment of recognition. Today they're writing about that time China was trying to wipe out sparrows. I know this story! Not only that, I remember this story from early childhood!! My parents told me that as an example how each critter in an ecosystem is crucial to its functioning and survival. (I can't remember exactly what was the reason for the story, but I'm guessing I had said something along the lines of "I wish there were no mosquitoes")

I guess, the moral of the story is: instead of becoming one of these children...

... I became a very different beast indeed.

Competence vs. Ponies: Epilogue

So, tomorrow officially marks the beginning of my freelance career. Let's celebrate.

(Context: That is Antartctic explorer Scott. With a pony. Read about the situation and its impacts over here.) ED: And this must be where I picked up that image (pretty sure).

Competence vs. Ponies (2nd ed.)

Lately I have been rather obsessed to find out more about Scott's South Pole expedition. Especially in comparison/ contrast with Amundsen's successful expedition that incidentally didn't end up claiming the lives of his crew. Today I felt an overwhelming urge to make one of those demotivational posters for my own amusement, featuring Scott and his ponies.

I'm having even more fun with it than I expected. [Sidenote number one. Here's one of those tidbits that would find its place in the guerilla heretic learning manifesto - were I ever to write one (which I probably won't): I strongly believe that having fun is a very powerful (if not the most powerful) means of guerilla learning.]


What started out as a little innocent image search has turned into an exciting journey through strange and wondrous sites I have not met before.
First, a rather tame Scott-Amundsen race report that enlightens the background of their choices and the effect of those. I'm only interested in Scott's part though:

The plan itself should have worked. He wouldn't have beaten Amundsen, but he should have gotten down and back successfully. He had a lot of bad luck. The weather turned cold, which was the big thing, and half of the ponies that were crucial for bringing food down died early in a freak accident. The seals on the stores of fuel broke, and fuel leaked out, so they didn't have enough fuel, which contributed to them freezing to death.

But Scott also made some terrible, terrible mistakes. He planned on four people going to the pole, but then he changed his mind at the last minute. He had food and supplies for four people but ended up taking an extra person at the last minute. The guy didn't even have skis; he had to walk.

Then there is this fascinating post from Idle Words blog called Scott and Scurvy. I'm marking it down for reading later, along with the book it recommends.

And then the true fun started to kick in. In my search of ponies, I staggered upon the site called Caustic Soda. They're doing a podcast on not only Scott but a whole bunch of Doomed Expeditions! Demise, stupidity, cannibalism ... I couldn't believe my luck. [Sidenote number two. Experimenting on myself has comvinced me that gore and profanity also have prominent place in guerilla learning (and hence in heretic learning). Next time you're having difficulty memorizing some fact or a bit of grammar or whatever, find a way to associate it with private parts or bodily fluids. Seriously, try it.]


And then, to put the cherry on top, there was this site that proudly calls itself The Art of Manliness. Not only do they feature some great photos of the expedition (and ponies!), they also put Scott's ordeal to the context that got me interested in the first place. Namely, the planning and leadership matters it reflects. Now my day is complete.

ED:
I've just discovered that "guerrilla" actually spells with two R-s. Well, too bad, i'm not changing it. If anyone complains, i'll pull the non-native speaker card. Besides, no one will starve because if my misspellings. Take that, Scott!

ED2: except it does matter this time (see next post). But i'll still be gladly ignoring the misspellings that won't affect the substance and impact of a given post.