Tanner walked slowly up the steps of the crummy apartment building on the outskirts of Sri Lanka. It was one of the last places on Earth not furnished with the cutting edge in human architecture and one of the best places to disappear. But, Tanner thought to himself, being in charge of the Protectors gave him a few allowances not afforded to an ordinary man. He finally stopped on the fourth floor landing, leaning on the wall to catch his breath. At 70, he was quite shy of his expected life span but it wasn’t the years, it was the mileage. And his was quite long indeed. He stared at the door marked 4B and gathered his strength. As he was about to knock, he heard a strange noise from inside, like a cork popping from a bottle. When the realisation hit, he quickly opened the door and walked inside. And there, a scorched pillow against one side of his head, a small caliber pistol barely hanging from one hand, Wind lay on the sofa. “You stupid old man,” Tanner said and sat down in the adjoining couch. He took the pipe out of his coat, along with his bag of tobacco. He knew this could take a while. Tanner didn’t bother timing it for more than 15 years now. But, as he expected, roughly four hours later, Wind woke up with a gasping breath of air. Tanner looked through the reports he was reading and took off his glasses. “Nice Continue Reading →
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ואני לא חושב שאני צריך להסביר יותר. אבל אם רוצים. לשם ההבהרה, לי יש סדר מועדף: אם אי אפשר להיפגש פנים אל פנים אז אני מעדיף שיחה מבוססת אינטרנט (GChat או דואל או גוגל+) כי על כל אלה אני מקבל התראה כמעט מיידית ולרוב יש לי גישה לרשת גם כשאין לי קליטת טלפון. אם לא אז הודעת טקסט ורק אז טלפון. אין טעם לנסות להשיג אותי ב-Facebook. אני בקושי בודק את זה.
Posted in No Category, Practice, Thinking Out Loud by Eran with .
This one was a long time coming. We should have all seen this coming as one of the other commanders was far to willing to throw around ballistic missiles. And this is how it unfolded. I remind you that this report is classified AMC (All Minor Cities), OFE (One Faction Eliminated) and, at least from the middle of it also TMOR (Three Missiles One Roll). I will say again, this is meant for high ranking commanders or those who will never seek adventure on a parallel Earth. For those just tuning in, the previous conflicts are available here. Satellite photography had some glitches that were fixed later on and we ended up with a lot of footage for this conflict so the thumbnail images have been shrunk. You may click on them to embiggen. I arrived first, always betting on quicker gates for the advantage. Unfortunately, the bio-hazard contamination in Indonesia has yet to be cleaned up. I really have to do something about that. Roman’s bear forces gated into his favourite town and Amir’s Mechaniker did the same. Oz’s Imperial soldiers took over Mongolia while Itamar’s Saharans, in an ironic twist of fate, chose Scandinavia as their home. Unfortunately, a satellite malfunction lost us that last photograph. The Bears were the first to move, marshaling their forces on one side of the south Atlantic link, already expecting trouble from the Mechaniker. The Saharans expended over much of Europe, choosing to capture Greenland instead of Western Europe for what could Continue Reading →
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“Knowledge is, indeed, that which, next to virtue, truly and essentially raises one man above another.” — Joseph Addison And that’s me…
Posted in Humanity, Thinking Out Loud by Eran with .
I was brought in on this assignment with a sudden call. Reporting on time, as ordered, I found out that the logistic arrangements are not complete and that I still had to wait. I hate waiting. All forces, were eventually assembled and we gated in. It is prudent to mention that all further materials are classified and if you have not the proper clearance, you might want to avoid reading. I am not responsible for the repercussions should you choose to proceed. The following report is classified AMC (All Minor Cities) and OFE (One Faction Eliminated). This is the first satellite shots of the conflict. Given command of the Imperialists, I used my favourite transport hub in Indonesia to muster our forces. Bear forces gated into South America, rendering Amir’s city useless, while Mechaniker troops blocked off Roman’s avenue by taking over East Africa. Khan forces, led by the scorned Amir stopped at Central America, ready to push into the south and apparently oblivious to the major catastrophe this might cause. Roman’s Saharans had no better place to go than separatist Russia and maybe next time he’ll learn that haste in gating in is a great advantage. Early expansion saw the Saharans take over Europe, my Imperials making the standard Australia/Southeast Asia grab, the Bears bashing their way into Khan HQ, as I expected, and Khans having nothing to do but lick their wounds and try to rebuild in Kamchatka. The Saharan’s next move was into their favourite continent of Continue Reading →
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I hate to sound like an arrogant prick but I don’t consider it ok to be late. I always try to be on time. I’ve counted spare time into every plan since I was 12, maybe sooner. And it still really bugs me that a party starts at 20:00 and I try and make it as close to 20:00 as possible but everyone else takes it as a given that when a party starts at 20:00 it doesn’t really “start” until 21:00 or even 22:00 so there’s no point in getting there early. It makes me want to have a party where the main attraction is games and if you arrive late, you won’t have an open game to join and you’ll just have to stand there and look embarrassed.
Posted in Humanity, No Category, Thinking Out Loud by Eran with .
בכל המקומות שאני מחפש בהם עבודה, אני רואה המון תיאורים שונים, למה שאני מניח שהיא, אותה עבודה. רק, כל אחד מהתיאורים האלו גורמים, לפחות למראית עיני, לעבודה להישמע אחרת. וככה נוצרת סלידה מתיאורים מסויימים. תכנת (Tachnat) נשמע כאילו העבודה פשוטה ובנאלית ומונוטונית ומי שמבצע אותה הוא לא הרבה יותר מאשר מכונה הממירה קפה לקוד. תוכניתן (Tochnitan) נשמע כמו Script Kiddie, כמו מישהו שהתעסק קצת עם המיומנות ולמד לבצע כמה דברים פשוטים ולכן אפשר לתת לו כמה עבודות שחורות והוא יסתדר. לא הרבה יותר טוב מקוף עם מקלדת. מתכנת (Metachnet) נשמע כמו מישהו שזאת העבודה שלו. הוא הוכשר לעבודה הזאת במקום מסוים שמכבד את עצמו. הוא מכבד את עצמו וכנראה שיכול להתמודד עם רוב המשימות קרובות הקוד שאפשר לחשוב עליהן. עם תיאור כזה כבר אין לי בעיה. ככה אני הגדרתי את עצמי כשהתחלתי ללמוד. מפתח תוכנה (Mefate’ach Tochna) נשמע כמו מישהו שלוקח את עצמו טיפה יותר ברצינות ו/או טיפה יותר ביצירתיות מאשר מתכנת רגיל. מפתח זה גם כנראה מי שהנושא יותר קרוב לליבו ועושה את זה כי הוא אוהב את זה והיה עושה (וכנראה גם עושה את זה כרגע) גם אם לא היו משלמים לו. מהנדס תוכנה (Mehandes Tochna) נשמע כמו מישהו שהוסמך אפילו מעבר למתכנת פשוט. מישהו שלמד את היסודות והדקויות, כנראה באיזו שהיא אוניברסיטה מכובדת. הוא יודע לא רק לתכנת אלא גם ללכת קצת מעבר. זאת ההסמכה שיוצא איתה בוגר טכניון שהלך כל הדרך. זאת ההגדרה שאני מעדיף ברגע שיש לי דיפלומה יפה ביד. ארכיטקט (Architect) הוא מישהו שכבר היה מהנדס תוכנה והתעלה מעל זה. הוא כבר חושב יותר Continue Reading →
Posted in Humanity, No Category, Programming, Thinking Out Loud by Eran with .
I was called to participate again shortly after the previous engagement. This time, I was hired by the Saharan Republic. I jumped at the opportunity to work with those desert speeders. We started in Australia again while the Bears, commanded by the previous Mech commander, started in his favourite city in Africa again. The Imperialists started in north America, the Mechs in south America, in the city founded by their commander, and Khan deployed in Siberia, way too close for comfort. The Bears started with a major expansion, guarding the African-American link religiously. I employed the successful Australian/Southeast Asia grab tactic. The Imperialists floundered across north America and the Mechs took advantage of it and broke their defenses easily. Following a secretive meeting with a Khan diplomat, we concluded with a non-aggression pact that facilitated their northern expansion and our southern. They moved through the Kamchatkan peninsula and took over a significant section of northern America, narrowing Imperial control even further. The Bears, with ruthless efficiency, pushed through my forward lines and crushed a path through southeast Asia and too close to my HQ for comfort. But that left them open to Mechaniker attack and the Mechs flowed through northern Africa and decimated the Bear HQ forces. The Imperials tried to maintain control of their section of the continent but were brought to extinction by Mech and Khan forces. Bear forces diverted by trouble at home, trying to reconquer the dark continent, were still strong enough to hold down my Continue Reading →
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I was not a part of the first conflict but brought in to handle battles when the money was right. Things on the source Earth have become scarce, hot and fiercely… debated over. The offer came at the right time so I jumped on the dimensional coordinates I was given. The satellite view I got when I arrived showed an Earth already scarred by conflict. Some stragglers have already founded another holy city as well as others around the planet and the western part of what we call the United States have already been severely depleted of valuable resources. I was hired to command the Imperial forces who jumped into New Guinea. When we touched down, reports where already confirming Mechaniker forces in Africa, spewing out of the city erected there. A Bear Enclave was formed in south America, the Republic started haphazardly in North America while Khan Industries took over Iceland. The Mechaniker started by spreading over Africa and the Middle East. My first order of business was to harness local support in Australia and establish a foot hold in south east Asia. The Bears’ commander, having heard the stories about the Mechaniker general, took hold of south America and rushed into Africa, hoping to stall the previous victor from acting another land grab. The Saharan Republic, spreading thinly over north America and facing two fronts (Panama and the north sea pass), opted to invade the Kamchatkan peninsula, presenting me with an enemy in the north. Khan’s troops took Continue Reading →
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