Real Life and What's Happening...

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I know Barnes and Noble has had a dedicated Manga section for a while.
Yes, and sometimes Angus & Robertson as well.
I am really just after some more big 'physical' bookstores, I think I miss the days of browsing in Borders
 
Back in September there was an attempted break-in to my house. No-one got in, nothing was stolen — just damage to the security doors and flyscreens, and muddy finger-marks on the glass. A crime scene officer came and tried diligently for fingerprints and trace evidence, but seemed only perfunctory in her encouraging remarks about them maybe matching something in the future.

This morning at ten o'clock a detective showed up to collect (another) statement. Apparently the person who left a trace of DNA on my balcony railing had their DNA and prints taken "in connection with another matter" and has now been charged with attempted burglary of my place, thirty-six other break-ins, and stealing twenty-four cars.

It seems to me that the most important part of my new statement of today is that I don't know him and have never invited him into my house.
 
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Yes, and sometimes Angus & Robertson as well.
I am really just after some more big 'physical' bookstores, I think I miss the days of browsing in Borders
Bah!
I miss finding second-hand copies of occult books courtesy of Archives, which then were in two digits.
Good luck with anything good or collectible under four digits now!
 
Bah!
I miss finding second-hand copies of occult books courtesy of Archives, which then were in two digits.
Good luck with anything good or collectible under four digits now!
By any chance are you referring to Archives in Charlotte St, here in Brissy?
Next to the Pancake Manor that's in the old church building.
I used to always head up there after checking out the music stores and comic/game shops in that end of town back in the late 1990s/ early 2000s. I was goping thru a bit of a WoD rpg phase back then.
Such a cool shop, totally unexpected for Brisbane, more like something found in Melbourne, London, etc
Jeez I haven't been there for almost decade, and yes funnily I did get a magic book from there years ago, I think it was a hardcover version of David Conway's 'Complete Magic Primer' or something like that. They had much valuable and more esoteric titles from memory, it was really great. Probably still is, but I just haven't frequented it for some time.

You're a local lad, or have been living in Brisbane at some stage :thumbsup:
 
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But my hands are as soft and clammy as your least-favourite relative, Uncle Touchy!
I set up my phone to use my thumbprint, then spent a couple of hours cleaning things using Cif (Jif) without gloves, so the bleach wiped out my thumbprint, so my phone refused to accept it. Fortunately, the thumbprint regenerated.
 
I set up my phone to use my thumbprint, then spent a couple of hours cleaning things using Cif (Jif) without gloves, so the bleach wiped out my thumbprint, so my phone refused to accept it. Fortunately, the thumbprint regenerated.
Hmm. I did spend some time with chemicals labelled 'avoid skin contact' all over my skin.
 
A friend of mine recently found out her partner has been cheating on her, gaslighting her and otherwise mentally abusing her and their children. He's been officially diagnosed twice by mental health professionals with no less than three personality disorders: Narcissistic, Borderline and Avoidant. What an absolute nightmare. She's now living with her children, and currently on sick leave due to CPTSS.

While talking with her I've reconfirmed that my late mother definitely had narcissistic tendencies and my father is very likely on the autism spectrum. No wonder my relationship with my father is so stand-offish and my mother's death brought unexpected feelings of relief to both me and my brother, which is not something we could ever discuss with the rest of the family.

Addendum: It often feels like narcissism is like the root of all evil, the amount of damage these people cause to those around them even after they've left or even died, and also to organisations, companies, even whole countries and the world.
 
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A friend of mine recently found out her partner has been cheating on her, gaslighting her and otherwise mentally abusing her and their children. He's been officially diagnosed twice by mental health professionals with no less than three personality disorders: Narcissistic, Borderline and Avoidant. What an absolute nightmare. She's now living with her children, and currently on sick leave due to CPTSS.

While talking with her I've reconfirmed that my late mother definitely had narcissistic tendencies and my father is very likely on the autism spectrum. No wonder my relationship with my father is so stand-offish and my mother's death brought unexpected feelings of relief to both me and my brother, which is not something we could ever discuss with the rest of the family.

Addendum: It often feels like narcissism is like the root of all evil, the amount of damage these people cause to those around them even after they've left or even died, and also to organisations, companies, even whole countries and the world.

I agree that narcissism is the worst thing that's ever been unleashed on the world.

Sorry to hear about the family issues. My dad died 7 years ago, and my sister and I are still dealing with various issues that come with unresolved issues. Its helpful to have a sibling that understands (in both our cases) but you are correct that the rest of the family can't really understand what we're dealing with...
 
By any chance are you referring to Archives in Charlotte St, here in Brissy?
Next to the Pancake Manor that's in the old church building.
I used to always head up there after checking out the music stores and comic/game shops in that end of town back in the late 1990s/ early 2000s. I was goping thru a bit of a WoD rpg phase back then.
Such a cool shop, totally unexpected for Brisbane, more like something found in Melbourne, London, etc
Jeez I haven't been there for almost decade, and yes funnily I did get a magic book from there years ago, I think it was a hardcover version of David Conway's 'Complete Magic Primer' or something like that. They had much valuable and more esoteric titles from memory, it was really great. Probably still is, but I just haven't frequented it for some time.

You're a local lad, or have been living in Brisbane at some stage :thumbsup:
Born and raised, moved away in 2003.
Have visited since, but never moved back.
The old man who started that business, a Kabbalistic Jew who in turn was raised in Egypt, was a great source for occult knowledge before the internet. Not that I believe in that sort of thing, but if you’re running or writing for a certain Chaosium product… for me it was playing, occasional GM.
The writing gig for fiction came a bit later.
 
I agree that narcissism is the worst thing that's ever been unleashed on the world.

Sorry to hear about the family issues. My dad died 7 years ago, and my sister and I are still dealing with various issues that come with unresolved issues. Its helpful to have a sibling that understands (in both our cases) but you are correct that the rest of the family can't really understand what we're dealing with...
My mother died in 1998. But only after a couple of brushes with narcissists in the past 10 years or so, most notably a case of workplace bullying, and lots of subsequent reading into the topic, have I started to recognize some of the same patterns in her behaviour.

The rest of the family would likely feel offended if I were to reveal the side of our mother they never saw. Even my father, though he frequently endured her nastiness himself, is probably still mostly in denial. His autism has never been officially diagnosed and AFAIK he himself is unaware of it. She was always projecting the image of the perfect mother with the perfect family and they all love her for it. Anything or anyone challenging this image would be met with her scorn or her playing the victim.

I see the same with my friend's narcissistic partner now: they're somehow able to create a perfect mask to show the outside world and have everyone fooled.

As for parents on the autism spectrum, it's worth realizing that the sort of abuse you suffer from them as a child is unintentional, born out of the frustration and inability that stems from their condition. Still, this makes it difficult to bond properly.
 
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I'm working at a youth chemical dependency treatment facility. 99% of these kids could shine if they just worked with us instead of fighting us.
Unfortunately they're all teenagers, a majority of whom have severe trauma.
So they fight us on every little thing and it's infuriating.
But then there are moments where they get to just be kids and have fun, and it makes this job worth it.
 
I'm working at a youth chemical dependency treatment facility. 99% of these kids could shine if they just worked with us instead of fighting us.
Unfortunately they're all teenagers, a majority of whom have severe trauma.
So they fight us on every little thing and it's infuriating.
But then there are moments where they get to just be kids and have fun, and it makes this job worth it.
Trust is a bitch to earn, and it’s even more so when trust has been broken.
 
Trust is a bitch to earn, and it’s even more so when trust has been broken.
That's my main problem right now. I'm a new employee so their not inclined to trust me and on top of that I make mistakes that cause them to loose trust with me. Once this particular group has cycled through the program and a new batch comes in I will at least have a chance to start from square one.
 
That's my main problem right now. I'm a new employee so their not inclined to trust me and on top of that I make mistakes that cause them to loose trust with me. Once this particular group has cycled through the program and a new batch comes in I will at least have a chance to start from square one.
You will do fine. It takes time and experience. Good on you for being willing.
 
I've been the victim of a cruel and senseless double standard.

Since I'm now working in a (theoretically) non-customer-facing office, there's no rule against wearing t-shirts at work. But while it's okay for the sports guy to wear his favourite team's shirt, it's somehow 'unprofessional' for me to wear one that advertises my favourite dinosaur!
 
I've been the victim of a cruel and senseless double standard.

Since I'm now working in a (theoretically) non-customer-facing office, there's no rule against wearing t-shirts at work. But while it's okay for the sports guy to wear his favourite team's shirt, it's somehow 'unprofessional' for me to wear one that advertises my favourite dinosaur!
While I appreciate the sentiment of you wearing a t-shirt with my face on it, I also tend to agree that it is somewhat weird that you wear it to work.
 
I just found one more of the places in Sofia that prove the statement "the map is not the territory" (sorry, Skarg Skarg :thumbsup:).
See, on the place where Buzludzha street crosses Neofit Rilski street, both streets have their number 24. On top of it, the entrance to Buzludzha 24 is found in a backyard which you can enter from Neofit Rilski, and the entrance to Neofit Rilski 24 is found on Buzludzha...:grin:
Of course, the numbers 24 are displayed separately on the façades. As in, you have a number, but not the street name. So you can find yourself knocking on the wrong door...
Luckily, I had an exact address, so I was able to determine that something isn't as it should be. But I was thinking about a game which just might require a roll to navigate the city if you only have a map instead of the proper detailed instructions:shade:!
 
I just found one more of the places in Sofia that prove the statement "the map is not the territory" (sorry, Skarg Skarg :thumbsup:).
See, on the place where Buzludzha street crosses Neofit Rilski street, both streets have their number 24. On top of it, the entrance to Buzludzha 24 is found in a backyard which you can enter from Neofit Rilski, and the entrance to Neofit Rilski 24 is found on Buzludzha...:grin:
Of course, the numbers 24 are displayed separately on the façades. As in, you have a number, but not the street name. So you can find yourself knocking on the wrong door...
Luckily, I had an exact address, so I was able to determine that something isn't as it should be. But I was thinking about a game which just might require a roll to navigate the city if you only have a map instead of the proper detailed instructions:shade:!
Not sure why you said sorry - that's a great example.

Navigation _IS_ the game . . . kidding, slightly.
 
Not sure why you said sorry - that's a great example.

Navigation _IS_ the game . . . kidding, slightly.
I thought that you liked stuff to be visible on the map:shock:?
Well, the map shows those streets. It doesn't show how they differ when you go there...so if some PCs go there and start knocking on the entrance bearing the number 24, on the street they're looking for, guess what's going to happen?

Other stellar examples of the same from Sofia: a street that is interrupted in more than one place (including by a park), a street that is parallel to itself, and streets which look to be crossing each othe on the map. Except one of them turns out to be passing on a bridge-like structure, while the other is passing under the bridge, and there are no damned stairs in sight to go from one to the other:shade:!
I think about our mapping discussions every time I encounter one of those, BTW:grin:!
 
I thought that you liked stuff to be visible on the map:shock:?
I like the GM to have/make maps that represent what's really in the game world . . . and to never show those to the players, because those maps help the GM track what's really in the game world. It's impossible for them to show everything, and they should get improved as the game's focus gets more detailed, but they ought to make an effort at being the most accurate and authoritative version of what the game world is.

The maps that players see, should be representations of actual (imperfect) maps in the game, and/or what they see or think they know about the game world. Those shouldn't be as accurate nor as detailed as the GM's "real" maps.

Well, the map shows those streets. It doesn't show how they differ when you go there...so if some PCs go there and start knocking on the entrance bearing the number 24, on the street they're looking for, guess what's going to happen?
Yeah, that's a great example of a fun map vs gameworld type of situation. I love stuff like that. The PCs think they have a detailed map, go to the address, the GM rolls and describes what they notice, and they may or may not go to the right number 24. If they do go to the right 24, but don't notice that there's a wrong 24, then the next time they tell an NPC to go to 24, the NPC will also need to roll to see where they actually go to - and the lovable gameworld-map-based hilarity ensues!

The players shouldn't expect their maps to be particularly accurate or detailed, unless they're playing a modern game, or their PCs have really good knowledge or charts of a city.

Even so, there can be exceptions even in modern games and with modern navigation systems, as for example you just described.

For another example, I know a street in Seattle where if I tell Google Maps to navigate a course going north on that street, it'll tell me to turn left and then right at every intersection, to stay on the same straight street. It's been that way for over a year . . .

So, in a chaotic medieval fantasy world, good luck to PCs who expect to have an accurate map.

I have a player who wrote a song about buying inaccurate maps, getting their maps crumpled up with their gold in their backpacks, etc.

Other stellar examples of the same from Sofia: a street that is interrupted in more than one place (including by a park), a street that is parallel to itself, and streets which look to be crossing each othe on the map. Except one of them turns out to be passing on a bridge-like structure, while the other is passing under the bridge, and there are no damned stairs in sight to go from one to the other:shade:!
Awesome! I now want to visit Sofia!

I think about our mapping discussions every time I encounter one of those, BTW:grin:!
Nice!
 
I like the GM to have/make maps that represent what's really in the game world . . . and to never show those to the players, because those maps help the GM track what's really in the game world. It's impossible for them to show everything, and they should get improved as the game's focus gets more detailed, but they ought to make an effort at being the most accurate and authoritative version of what the game world is.

The maps that players see, should be representations of actual (imperfect) maps in the game, and/or what they see or think they know about the game world. Those shouldn't be as accurate nor as detailed as the GM's "real" maps.


Yeah, that's a great example of a fun map vs gameworld type of situation. I love stuff like that. The PCs think they have a detailed map, go to the address, the GM rolls and describes what they notice, and they may or may not go to the right number 24. If they do go to the right 24, but don't notice that there's a wrong 24, then the next time they tell an NPC to go to 24, the NPC will also need to roll to see where they actually go to - and the lovable gameworld-map-based hilarity ensues!

The players shouldn't expect their maps to be particularly accurate or detailed, unless they're playing a modern game, or their PCs have really good knowledge or charts of a city.

Even so, there can be exceptions even in modern games and with modern navigation systems, as for example you just described.

For another example, I know a street in Seattle where if I tell Google Maps to navigate a course going north on that street, it'll tell me to turn left and then right at every intersection, to stay on the same straight street. It's been that way for over a year . . .

So, in a chaotic medieval fantasy world, good luck to PCs who expect to have an accurate map.

I have a player who wrote a song about buying inaccurate maps, getting their maps crumpled up with their gold in their backpacks, etc.
OK, man, then it seems our last argument about maps has only applied to tactical maps (i.e. the "those take too long to set up and I can't be expected to lug them around" part of the argument). But the above is exactly what I expect from a Referee, and what I do myself.
Except there's never a written map outside of my head, because I can't draw. But that's totally due to my own inability...if I was better at it, I probably would draw them:shade:.

Awesome! I now want to visit Sofia!
Great! If you do, let me know. One of the game clubs here offers homemade* mead, we can play there:grin:!

*As in, one of the owners makes it. So they basically have mead on tap.
I'll let you know the next time I encounter an example like this, then. Never hurts to learn new ideas for confusing those players:devil:!
 
OK, man, then it seems our last argument about maps has only applied to tactical maps (i.e. the "those take too long to set up and I can't be expected to lug them around" part of the argument). But the above is exactly what I expect from a Referee, and what I do myself.
Except there's never a written map outside of my head, because I can't draw. But that's totally due to my own inability...if I was better at it, I probably would draw them:shade:.
Practice makes perfect. My first maps were quite crude, and had impossible river systems and other silliness. Also a good reason not to show them to the players! ;-) And to improve them later on. My original campaign still has some places I'd like to get around to doing map revisions on.

What many GMs do, is borrow existing maps, though they rarely seem to get away with things like their clever idea to use the Greek peninsula turned at an angle and at a different scale, as players tend to see through that instantly, even when they have a crude player-facing map.

Great! If you do, let me know. One of the game clubs here offers homemade* mead, we can play there:grin:!

*As in, one of the owners makes it. So they basically have mead on tap.
That sounds great, thanks! If I'm ever headed that way, I'll let you know!

I'll let you know the next time I encounter an example like this, then. Never hurts to learn new ideas for confusing those players:devil:!
Yes. Speaking of which, Google Maps also has trouble with the third dimension, which can also trip up PCs trying to use maps:

In one case, it told me to walk across a railroad in Pompeii, but while the street it wanted me to use is on both sides of the rail, it doesn't know that the railroad is elevated, and there's a 10-meter drop off on the far side of the rail line. Like your bridge example, no stairs or access (I think there was also a fence).

In another case, in San Francisco, it told me to turn onto the highway that runs through Nob Hill . . . but that highway is underground, with no access from the surface.
 
Practice makes perfect. My first maps were quite crude, and had impossible river systems and other silliness. Also a good reason not to show them to the players! ;-) And to improve them later on. My original campaign still has some places I'd like to get around to doing map revisions on.
I think you're misunderstanding the root of the problem. It's not that I don't know what to put on a map. I can't draw...period. It's not "I can't draw maps", it's "I fully expect 10yo kids to draw better".

What many GMs do, is borrow existing maps, though they rarely seem to get away with things like their clever idea to use the Greek peninsula turned at an angle and at a different scale, as players tend to see through that instantly, even when they have a crude player-facing map.
Yeah, I just re-purpose maps from other games instead.

That sounds great, thanks! If I'm ever headed that way, I'll let you know!
Hope you'd have the time, then:thumbsup:!
Yes. Speaking of which, Google Maps also has trouble with the third dimension, which can also trip up PCs trying to use maps:

In one case, it told me to walk across a railroad in Pompeii, but while the street it wanted me to use is on both sides of the rail, it doesn't know that the railroad is elevated, and there's a 10-meter drop off on the far side of the rail line. Like your bridge example, no stairs or access (I think there was also a fence).

In another case, in San Francisco, it told me to turn onto the highway that runs through Nob Hill . . . but that highway is underground, with no access from the surface.
Yeah, that's a nice one. Especially the San Francisco part is hilarious:grin:!
 
I'm off to the hospital in a few minutes. Heart surgery scheduled for tomorrow.
If you haven't read from me in a week, I probably have forgotten about you lot.
Or left my phone charger at home, or bad reception in my room.
Or ALL CAPS GUY CAME BY.

Edit: the stress when 2 nurses ask you to strip and then proceed to shave you from the neck down to your ankles. "Could you spread your legs a bit please? A bit more..."
 
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I'm off to the hospital in a few minutes. Heart surgery scheduled for tomorrow.
If you haven't read from me in a week, I probably have forgotten about you lot.
Or left my phone charger at home, or bad reception in my room.
Or ALL CAPS GUY CAME BY.

Edit: the stress when 2 nurses ask you to strip and then proceed to shave you from the neck down to your ankles. "Could you spread your legs a bit please? A bit more..."
Now we have witnesses who will testify that Godfather Punk Godfather Punk has a heart!
 
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