Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Novo Natal

A partir do ano que vem, comemoro o Natal no dia 27 de Setembro. Não é uma data aleatória, e acho que futuramente ela será lembrada por ter uma importância bem maior que a atual data... Eu acho! Ah, e não é o meu aniversário, diga-se de passagem.

Mas tomara que poucas pessoas comemorem o Natal nessa data, assim eu não tenho que me preocupar em enfrentar shoppings lotados na véspera do Natal.

Feliz Natal a todos! :)

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Kallisto's Diary III - Brindol

Brindol was a small city, but bigger than most of the other settlements the caravan crossed since I left my city. I can imagine around 7000 people living there. The majority of people living inside the city walls, and some fraction scattered around, living in farms. We arrived through one of the main gates, through a bridge crossing the Elsir River. It was night, and I was uncomfortably dirt, and very tired. I was too anxious to arrive there, and finally there I was...

BrindolMap of Brindol

I heard that the Silk and Spoon Inn was the best inn in the city. Ian decided to stay there with me, and later we found out that Zoltan was also there. Some of the other merchants in the caravan also got a room there. The Silk and Spoon is sponsored by the Ghallanda House, and that was a good sign. I got a single room, near Ian's room. The room was very clean, containing everything necessary for a very comfortable stay. The first thing I got after getting the room was a good and refreshing bath. Then I went to the tavern in the first floor to eat something, and then to bed...

Just the usual dreams... No sign of anything at all...

The next day I left the inn to walk around the city. I had to buy new clothes. The ones I had brought with me were already totally worn out. It took me all the morning, and part of the afternoon, to find something that suited me. I could not buy too many things, as I had just my backpack to carry my clothes. I like to wear blue and black, sometimes green or red, and black, too. I had bought with me three sets of clothes, and I had these three sets replaced in Brindol. A fancier set of clothes for the nights, mostly covered in blue and black, with some green details. And two sets of a more utilitarian nature to be used during the daytime, together with my leather armor, one black with red details, and the other one almost all covered in dark blue. If I had a horse of my own, I could buy many more clothes, and I would not have to worry about how to carry them in my backpack myself. As soon as I got the money I would buy a horse for me. I spent the rest of that day walking around the city. Nothing really exceptional. I started to wonder why I had to come to Brindol. It seemed just the usual small city. I spent the night at the Silk and Spoon's Tavern, having some fun. Ian was also there, but I have not seen Zoltan.

The people in Brindol was not so amazed to see a tiefling, so I really had no real problems while dealing with them. And most of them were really nice to me. The first impression was always an expression of awe, but after a while it was just normal. Just the usual expression of someone who have not seen a tiefling in a while, or was not expecting to see a tiefling...

The next day was just another day. Nothing worth of note happened. I spent the day walking though the city, looking for anything interesting, or a sign, something that would make my trip here have some sense, but there was nothing. I was starting to wonder about that dream, and if it was really an omen after all, or just a weird dream... I decided that if nothing happened before the caravan's departure date, I would follow the road with them, to whatever destination they have. I went to another tavern that night, the Marooned Schooner. I was not really excited that night, actually I was bored. I had the usual drinking in the tavern, while some bolder guys were trying to approach me... None of them really interesting... I was starting to miss home. I left the tavern and went back to the inn sooner than usual, much sooner, to spend some time alone with myself in my room. I slept, and I had no dreams that night.

Then came the third day in Brindol, and it was the same as the first two. Nothing really happened. I walked through the city again. Boredom was starting to fill me. I was anxious for something to happen, but I had the feeling that nothing was really supposed to happen here. The next day would be my last day in Brindol, and then I would follow the caravan again. That night I decided to have some real fun, at some other tavern. I called Ian, and he came with me to the Blue Parrot. We got a table near one of the walls. There was a group of patrons playing cards. That table would be a good place to make some money to myself, later... A while later, Zoltan entered the inn, and he sat at the bar desk. I have not seen him since the day we arrived here. I went to the bar to get some drinks, and to finally talk to Zoltan. I was decided to find out if he was really sent by my father do look after me. I asked him, if he would like to join me and Ian at our table, and he came with me to the table. I was finally starting to talk with him, when suddenly someone called Josh entered the Inn, psyched, thinking himself as the heart of the place, and just after that, the long expected sign finally came...

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Inhuman Working Conditions

Can anyone please quench the Sun? Or at least fix the AC Unit in the Astrophysics lab? It is simply impossible to work, melting inside the lab! I will have to strike until I have human working conditions again! All I wish is another Ice Age! Please? Anyone?

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Coelhinho do Coração

Como comentei na minha postagem anterior, estou jogando Spore. Em Spore você começa jogando com uma criatura unicelular no meio do oceano, a criatura vai evoluindo a medida que você adquire partes de DNA de outras criaturas, até ela adquirir patas e sair finalmente dos oceanos. Logo após, sua criatura continua na sua busca pela perfeição, continua evoluindo, até que ela tenha a capacidade mental pra se tornar um ser vivo consciente, e formar uma tribo. A tribo eventualmente se desenvolve numa civilização, e esta por sua vez um dia chega ao espaço e então você tem que conquistar a Galáxia.

No meu jogo mais avançado, eu já cheguei a fase da civilização. A minha criatura mais avançada é o Coelhinho, que vive no planeta Coração. É uma criaturinha singela, fofinha, como vocês podem ver abaixo nas imagens:




Bem graciosa, não é verdade? Os Coelhinhos são uma espécie carnívora, predadora e altamente agressiva, que durante o seu processo de evolução acabou exterminando várias espécies inferiores. E assim que eles saírem do Planeta Coração, farão da Galáxia o melhor lugar do Universo, onde a única espécie permitida serão Coelhinhos...

Caso haja alguma dúvida, na face dos Coelhinhos existem tentáculos, e não chifres. Os chifres se encontram apenas no alto de suas cabeças. E aquelas coisas nos ombros são espinhos venenosos que podem ser lançados a distância. =)

Cliquem nas imagens para ampliá-las, caso assim desejem. :P

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Games for the Future (?)

Here is the list of games that I have to buy and play in my near future:

  • Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3)
  • Mass Effect (PC)
  • Bioshock (PC or PS3)
  • Little Big Planet (PS3)
  • Rock Band 2 (PS3)
  • Fallout 3 (PS3 or PC)
  • The Witcher (PC)
That is the list of games already released that I do not have. I still have to finish Assassin's Creed for my PS3, and I am kind of playing Spore for the PC too.

My first priority in that list is Fallout 3, and I guess I will give me that as a birthday present next month. :)

Of course, I will probably not be able to play all those games soon, as I have a PhD to finish, but I will use some of my almost ephemeral spare time to play something.

Actually, I also have a huge line of books to read, too...

Kallisto what?

You might be wondering - who in The Nine Hell's of Baator is Kallisto? Well... Kallisto is simply my current RPG character, and I decided to write an adventure diary to her. Inside there you will find her views about the facts that happened in her adventures. Kallisto lives in a world called Eberron, in the continent of Khorvaire, and until now, lived her life in a small undisclosed town in the country of Breland.

If you have no interest in RPG or in a Fantasy setting, you might as well just skip all the entries in Kallisto's diary, otherwise, you can keep reading as her adventures unfold. There are at least three entries in her diary, that were not written yet, but they will be written in the next few days... And she will still have a lot of stories to share with you, I hope...

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Kallisto's Diary II - Going to Brindol

The trip to Brindol took around 3 weeks, and the caravan had no problems at all during the trip. That does not reflect exactly my situation though. I am a tielfing, and a tiefling is not a common sight is most of the Khorvaire's territory, not even in the cosmopolitan country of Breland where I always lived. The fact that I have demon blood running through my veins does not mean that I am an evil person, or that I am a bad omen, as some people think. And there are many other and worse superstitious tales regarding us tieflings. Merchants are used to meet tieflings in their trips, it is unusual though. During my entire life,I had not yet met even a handful of my kin.I am not a unique person, and we tieflings once had our own great civilization. Common folk, though, are more superstitious, and usually got uneasy with in the presence of tieflings. And of course that was bound to happend with the common folk travelling with the caravan. I am proud of being a tiefling, and I don't care about what people think about us, so I decided not to hide my racial identity. I never had any problems with my racial identity, and it won't be now that I will start to hide my heritage. To make everyone's life easier I had decided to be the further I could from those suspecting folks. And I was always near some of the more open minded merchants, and some of the more accepting travellers.

The trip was a very peaceful one, and after some days without incidents, people started to leave their prejudices behind and be more relaxed around me. I am good at dealing with people, and it makes me good at making friends. This skill helped me a "little" bit during the journey. I am a tiefling, but I am first a girl, and in my 18 years of life, I learned very well how to deal with most men. I also know that most men feel very attracted to me, they usually tell me that I have an exotic kind of beauty. The fact that I have a crown of horns in my head, and a tail, does not make me ugly. In fact, it quite the opposite. The fact that I am so different from most girls, make me attract men more easily than if I was just human or even elvish. This helps me a lot some times. Men, no matter if human, elven, dwarven, or whatever, are always the same, and they are always very eager to help a beautiful defenseless girl. Unfortunately, that usually does not work with the women, and most seems to like me less and less if their men start to help me too much. To gain the confidence of a woman you have to follow a different approach, and one that does not work for me all the time. Woman are much more suspicious than men, more yet when their mates did not take their eyes off me, as it usually happen.

To minimize all my problems with men and women, I chose someone to be my best friend during the trip to Brindol. A guy called Ian, a wizards as my father, and also going to Brindol. We had lots of very interesting chats about a lot of interesting subjects. He has a very deep arcane knowledge, and that is one of my favourite subjects. And he also knows a lot about history and other stuff, so he was always trying to impress me with his knowledge. It was very easy to become his friend, and I spent most of the time in the trip chating with him. He is kind of cute, but not really my type. I liked his company, and that was it. And of course, that help me with the women. At least, I was not alone, and I was not spending my free time talking with anyone else's boyfriend or husband. The women thought I was interested in him, and because of that they left me alone.

There was this other guy, Zoltan. He was the quiet type, with a very deep scar in his face. A man of few words. I got the feeling that if my father was paying someone to take a look at me, it was this guy. I got him looking at me from afar many times. Whenevert something troublesome was starting to boil near me, he was there to help sort things out. And he was also working for the merchants, as a hired guard. It was just a feeling.

I had no weird dreams during the trip, and that was very fortunate for me. It would surely arouse people's suspicious towards me. Strangely, with each passing day, I felt more connected to the stars. I started to fell that those uncontrolled powers were tamed after all. I don't know how that happened, I just felt that I could use them if I concentrate, whenever I wanted. Even feeling like that, I decided not to test if I really had such control over my powers or not... I thought Brindol would be the perfect place to test my control over my strange powers.

We passed through many small towns, and villages during the trip. And the caravan always stopped at those places for a day or two before taking the path to Darguun again. It was always good when we stopped at those civilized places. I could have some fun at night in the taverns, I could have a real bed to sleep, and the best thing was to take a good and needed bath. I got used to sleep inside tents on the cold floor with my bedroll, but I could not get used to be two or three days without a bath. Ian, always a good company during the journey, could not stay awake for a drink or two in the taverns. He always had something to eat, and drink, and always left before the party really started. I had to have my fun with the other people, with that I started to be closer to the other people in the caravan, and I always had a new friends the day after. Ian seems to be too old and grumpy sometimes, but he is a nice guy overall.

After three weeks of journey, the caravan reached Brindol. Most of the common folk that started the trip with me, left in one of those small towns. All the merchants and hired guards were already very friendly towards me. Just a few suspicious people left, and they were happy to see me finally leaving. The few clothes I had brought with me were already worn out and very dirty. I had to buy more clothes as soon as I was able. Maybe I could wash my dirty clothes and sell them somewhere. But my greatest desire after that long journey was a horse. If I had a horse I could carry a lot of clothes, and all the things a girl need to survive in the wilderness. Unfortunately, I had not enough money to buy my dreamed horse yet.

Zoltan, the strange guy, left the caravan in Brindol too. The merchants suggested the Silk and Spoon Inn, so we went there for a place to stay. We rented rooms there, and later we found out that Zoltan was also there. I was starting to get suspicious of this Zoltan guy. I had to keep my eyes open on him.

I was in Brindol after all. I had to test if my feeling about my powers were correct, and something was telling me that Brindol would be the perfect place for that. And I had to wait for a sign... After all, what was I supposed to do here in this city? I am sure something was going to happen, but what, and when? Would the sign be another dream or I would find them looking at the stars?

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Kallisto's Diary I

I always had those weird dreams, since I was a small girl, but never before they told me what to do. Even being just a dream, I knew that for some reason I had to go to that city, as I have seen in the dream. I was never so certain of anything as I was certain of that. And I could see, looking at the stars, that something was really supposed to happen.

Since my early teen years, for some strange reason, I started to discover some mysterious powers contained within me, and I knew the source of those powers were the stars, or maybe something among the stars. Strange names, words appeared in my mind, my mouth performed the eldritch utterances and what followed were small, sometimes not so small, bursts of energy, coming from my own being, or from the stars themselves. The understanding of that was far beyond my comprehension. I was just a kid, but I was never scared, and I knew that was part of me.

I can say that the stars, then the dreams, and finally those powers help me define who I am, or better, who I was by that time. Of course, my bloodline, my family and friends also helped to define myself, but the weird is what sets you apart from the pack.

After that dream, I got the revelation that my path would start at the city of Brindol, but that was not the only revelation I got that night. When I awoke I knew my real name was not to be used for a while. Something inside me told me that your real name was not a given name, but a name earned by yourself. Kallisto was the name my mother had chosen to me before I was born, when she was still alive, as my father always told me. And I always loved that name. My friends always called me Silver, though. So it was not so difficult to choose another alias. And after the dream I started to use the name of Silver. The name Kallisto was kept only in my identification and traveling papers, and the true name I earn is still lost among the unknown stars.

I had to find where was this city before departing, and after looking for information on the countless books in my father's library, I discovered it was in Darguun. I always thought about the day when I would leave my home, and my father, and start a life of my own, exploring the world, but I never thought my first stop would be in Darguun. I expected something like Aundair, the Eldeen Reaches, or even Zilargo, but never Darguun. The unexpected was always funnier and more interesting than the carefully planned. I started to made the preparations, hidden from the watchful eyes of my father. I knew it was very difficult to hide something from a wizard inside his own house, and my father was a very experienced one, but I tried it anyway. But the day after I started to prepare my things, he came to me to talk about my strange behavior of lately.

He always knew about the dreams, and the stars, and those weird powers, and that seemed to scare him a little bit. But he also knew it was part of me. When I told him about Brindol, he knew I was meant to go there. Coincidently, he had just met some merchants, part of a caravan that had just arrived at our town, and they were heading that way. That struck him as an omen. Of course, it was not so easy, as it seemed to be. I had to convince him, that I would stay safe, and I had to promise that I would not look for trouble, and if a dire situation arise I would leave the city immediately, and go back home. He did not think I was ready, but he knew he could not convince me otherwise. After all, once he was my age, too. And I am sure he paid someone in the caravan to keep an eye on me. I love my father, and I knew that he just wanted to be sure that nothing bad would happen to his only daughter.

I spent the last two days in my village, with my father during the day. He kept telling stories about his days of adventures, and about what to do, and what never do in case of danger. He covered so many situations that I could barely remember most of them. He was always a good father, and I miss him. The nights I spent with my friends, drinking, eating and singing at the local tavern. I will never forget those days.

The life of near ignorance of the world was gone. Before me was my path, a path I was not so sure was under my control, and a path that I did not know where would lead me... A path that would lead me to a far away city, in the middle of a unknown country... Brindol...

The caravan left my town in Breland, heading east to Darguun, five days after that revealing dream... Brindol was also near the Mournlands, a place covered by mistery, death, chaos, and decay... Was I ready for this trip? I was anxious, excited, but there was also fear... I was alone for the first time in my life... Would those uncontrolled powers help me if I need them?

Monday, October 6, 2008

Estagnação mental e um talvez qualquer

Um mês sem escrever aqui, e o mundo está acabando. Economia mundial em crise, na próxima terça começa a invasão alienígena, e meu doutorado estagnado. O LHC está parado, e parou antes da primeira colisão. Muito sem graça. Nenhum buraco-negro foi criado para destruir o planeta, agora só no início do ano que vem. Vamos ver se a economia colapsa de vez, e logo, porque aí não precisamos esperar mais 6 meses para o fim do mundo. Ou que esses aliens apareçam mesmo e cheguem pra criar Caos no planeta.

Como podem notar, estou perdendo a paciência pra chegada do Apocalipse! :P

Jogando Half-Life 2 - Episode 2, ainda lendo Grande Sertão: Veredas.

Amanhã tenho uma prova didática para professor substituto no CEFET. Salário baixo, três matérias da matemática (Cálculo I, Cálculo III e Equações Diferenciais A), pra começar semana que vem, dando de 3 a 4 aulas por dia. Resumindo, ou me mato preparando e dando aulas, ganhando quase nada, ou continuo meu doutorado. A escolha é meio óbvia. Acho que nem vou aparecer lá amanhã pra perder meu tempo. E teria que apresentar uma aula de uns 20 minutos sobre Séries de Taylor. Prefiro dar prioridade pro meu programa que não funciona, e esperar um cataclisma...

Está na hora do mundo ficar cyberpunk de verdade.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Sobre Tapetes de Banheiro

Eu nunca nem percebi que tapetes de banheiro têm frente e verso. A única finalidade do tapete pra mim é não deixar o chão do banheiro molhar assim que você sai do banho. Quando ele está pendurado no box, eu o puxo, jogo no chão e arrasto com o pé até mais ou menos a entrada/saída do box, e é isso aí. Depois do banho, piso nele, pego a toalha, e me enxugo sobre o aparato de tecido supracitado.

Tempos atrás, percebi que de repente, havia dois tapetes pendurados sobre o box. Pensei comigo mesmo que devia ser porque a parede onde se encontram as toalhas ficavam a mais de dois passos do box, e o segundo tapete era pra fazer uma ponte até a parede, para não molhar o chão. E desde então é o que eu sempre faço. Um pequeno caminho de tapetes até as toalhas.

Não é que eu estava errado. A finalidade não é essa, e ontem descobri o porquê dos dois tapetes. Segundo o que me foi dito, um dos tapetes é o tapete da minha irmã, que não gosta que eu o use, porque eu o uso ao contrário, do lado errado!!!! E o tapete fica molhado do lado errado!!!! Mal sabe ela que eu uso os dois tapetes ao mesmo tempo!

Pelamordedeus!!! Convenhamos, tapetes, como objetos praticamente bidimensionais e permeáveis, quando se molha uma de suas superfícies, automaticamente se molha a outra! Eu mal percebo a diferença entre o lado da frente e o lado de trás do tapete, na realidade, eu nem sei diferenciar os dois lados. Pra mim é tudo igual! Como alguém pode ser tão chato a ponto de reclamar que se usou o tapete do banheiro com a superfície errada voltada para cima, ou pior, que se molhou a superfícies errada de um tapete de banheiro!??? Será que também tem a posição certa para que ele seja usado? Com o lado menor totalmente paralelo ao vidro do box, e exatos 33,5 cm de distância do mesmo!? Será que esses fatores dependem do tamanho, cor e estilo do tapete? Alguém sabe de algum curso onde se ensina como colocar um tapete no banheiro!? E alguém sabe de alguma maneira de se molhar apenas um dos lados do tapete!? Talvez esse seja meu real problema!!

Só faltam colocarem uma etiquetinha, dizendo qual dos tapetes eu, como um ignorante sobre o uso de tapetes de banheiro, devo utilizar!

De qualquer forma, continuarei utilizando os dois tapetes para fazer a "pontezinha" até as toalhas, enquanto não faço um curso que me ensine os procedimentos corretos que devem ser adotados com os tapetes de banheiro.

Qualquer informação elucidativa sobre tais, agora misteriosos, objetos é muito bem vinda! :P

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira

Li o livro "Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira" em julho. Inicialmente me assustei com o modo de escrita do autor, José Saramago. Como português, ele utilizou o Português de Portugal, que é bem diferente do nosso Português no Brasil, mas nada que faça o livro incompreesível, só diferente. Aprendi um monte de palavras novas com o livro. Os diálogos sempre ficam dentro dos parágrafos, separados entre si e do texto do parágrafo apenas por vírgulas. É meio confuso no início, mas depois que se acostuma a leitura fica fluida.

A estória é bem interessante. De repente, ocorre uma epidemia de cegueira, pessoas começam a ficar cegas do nada, e a epidemia se espalha por todo um país. As pessoas têm que reaprender a viver cegas. O governo com medo da epidemia, isola todas as pessoas que adquirem a cegueira, presas e vigiadas constantemente dentro de um prédio, mas mesmo assim a epidemia não é contida. O autor narra os fatos que ocorrem dentro do prédio onde os primeiros cegos foram colocados de quarentena. Dentro do prédio, a esposa de um dos cegos se faz de cega para não deixar o marido, mas enxerga tudo o que ocorre. E ela começa a notar toda a degradação que vai ocorrendo enquanto o tempo passa dentro do prédio. As pessoas se tornando cada vez menos racionais, e animalescas.

O livro é chocante muitas vezes, e cheio de escatologias, mas não deixa de ser muito bom. Realismo fantástico. Diferente. E mostra que não existe uma grande diferença entre humanos e animais, e que a linha que divide os dois grupos é muito tênue, e quase imperceptível.

Eu ainda penso sobre o que exatamente o autor quis passar com o livro, mas ainda não cheguei a nenhuma conclusão. Parece que esta semana estréia o filme nos cinemas, e acho que é uma boa assistir, talvez eu pegue algo que não peguei durante a leitura, e consiga chegar a alguma conclusão.

Agora, criei vergonha na cara, e estou lendo Grande Sertão: Veredas - Guimarães Rosa. Apesar da leitura meio difícil estou gostando muito!