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Nareed
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January 30th, 2013 at 6:38:43 AM permalink
Quote: Doc

OK, let's not do any more shuffling of the date for the WoVCon -- I booked airline tickets for my wife and myself tonight! We will arrive in Las Vegas on Wednesday night, 5/22/13.



Barring unexpected developments, I should arrive very late on the 23rd, like 10 pm late. My plans for that day are simply to check in and go to bed. Would you like to meet for lunch or dinner on the 24th?
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Doc
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January 30th, 2013 at 7:43:29 AM permalink
Quote: Nareed

Would you like to meet for lunch or dinner on the 24th?


That should work for us. Last year, we had quite a few WoVCon people get together for Friday-night-before fun -- some for dinner, followed by some going to a play, and then a bunch playing craps at MSS. Maybe a few folks who are going to be in town a day ahead of the Con would be willing to try it this year, too.
Nareed
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January 30th, 2013 at 8:15:16 AM permalink
Quote: Doc

That should work for us. Last year, we had quite a few WoVCon people get together for Friday-night-before fun -- some for dinner, followed by some going to a play, and then a bunch playing craps at MSS. Maybe a few folks who are going to be in town a day ahead of the Con would be willing to try it this year, too.



I'm game for more MSS craps on Friday. But this being a holiday weekend and all, I expect the place to be packed worse than it was last year. If anyone else is interested, please PM me.

Now, we have no reason for a repeat trip to Fiesta Henderson, as our most esteemed EZ PGP inventor no longer deals there. But we could ambush Nick at work.
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Doc
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January 30th, 2013 at 8:22:49 AM permalink
I dropped by to speak to Nick at work downtown last year, but I am not really clear on where to look for him now, other than out running half marathons and such.
Nareed
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January 30th, 2013 at 8:30:27 AM permalink
Quote: Doc

I dropped by to speak to Nick at work downtown last year, but I am not really clear on where to look for him now, other than out running half marathons and such.



I'm a bit confused about it myself, but I could ask him.


And, in my opinion (the) Baltimore (Ravens) must be destroyed.
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teddys
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January 30th, 2013 at 8:43:25 AM permalink
Quote: Nareed

I'm a bit confused about it myself, but I could ask him.

He's working on the Strip now. I don't think he wants it known where he's employed, but he would probably tell you by PM. Or you could always walk the casino floors at each every shift and look for him. Here's a hint: you can start at Flamingo and LVB and work your way up.
"Dice, verily, are armed with goads and driving-hooks, deceiving and tormenting, causing grievous woe." -Rig Veda 10.34.4
Nareed
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January 30th, 2013 at 9:22:21 AM permalink
Quote: teddys

He's working on the Strip now. I don't think he wants it known where he's employed, but he would probably tell you by PM.



In any case, such things are always arranged by PM.


Quote:

Or you could always walk the casino floors at each every shift and look for him. Here's a hint: you can start at Flamingo and LVB and work your way up.



Please. What if I pass his station at the right shift in the right casino but exactly when he's on break? ;)

On other things, will you be joining us for lunch and gambling on the 25th?
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Nareed
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January 30th, 2013 at 1:07:23 PM permalink
BTW, here's the reference everyone's been missing:

http://diversitytomorrow.com/thread/62/33/#post3107

If you like that, you'll love what I've planned to bump the WoVCon ]I[ threads.
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DRich
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January 30th, 2013 at 2:42:39 PM permalink
Quote: Doc

Don't cancel the anniversary -- just celebrate it in Las Vegas, introducing your wife to some of your on-line friends. On the other hand, it's only a little over three hours from Big Bear Lake to Las Vegas, so if she insisted, the two of you could spend the holiday weekend at the lake and make a Saturday round trip to Vegas to join in on the WoVCon. Does your wife like to play craps?



We live in Las Vegas and are going out of town to Big Bear for the weekend. Besides, my wife knows lots of my online friends. She used to work at Las vegas Advisor and was the moderator for their forum.

We don't play much craps. We play Blackjack and Video Poker mainly.
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Nareed
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January 30th, 2013 at 2:52:43 PM permalink
Quote: DRich

We live in Las Vegas and are going out of town to Big Bear for the weekend.



Oh, I'm so sorry about the timing.

Still, when do you leave? We could arrange a WoVCon ][.V.][ (that's 2.5.2) or whatever you want to call it for Friday.
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DRich
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January 30th, 2013 at 3:55:14 PM permalink
Quote: Nareed

Oh, I'm so sorry about the timing.

Still, when do you leave? We could arrange a WoVCon ][.V.][ (that's 2.5.2) or whatever you want to call it for Friday.



I believe we are leaving on Thursday 5/23 after work and coming back Monday 5/27. If it doesn't work out this time, i will make sure to make the next one.
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Nareed
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January 30th, 2013 at 4:23:47 PM permalink
Quote: DRich

I believe we are leaving on Thursday 5/23 after work and coming back Monday 5/27. If it doesn't work out this time, i will make sure to make the next one.



I can't seem to hit any targets...

Still, keep tuned to this thread. Some of us are bound to stay longer. I plan to stay until at least June 5th, if not until the 8th.
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Nareed
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January 31st, 2013 at 6:41:45 AM permalink
Bump time.

Rome fact of the day: While everyone thinks of Rome in terms of the Empire, Rome was in fact a Republic until late in the 1st Century BC


Furthermore, in my opinion (the) Baltimore (Ravens) must be destroyed.
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GH
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January 31st, 2013 at 7:46:19 AM permalink
And the United States is not a Democracy, either. It too, is a Republic: "...and to the Republic for which it stands..."
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January 31st, 2013 at 8:04:52 AM permalink
Quote: GH

And the United States is not a Democracy, either. It too, is a Republic: "...and to the Republic for which it stands..."



You know, there are many parallels between the US and Rome. One of my projects when I'm done with Rome is to delve into American history. Thus far the biggest difference I've seen is that America can project power much farther than Rome could even dream of. Part of the reason is technological (Imagien Rome with ICBMs and aircraft carriers). But part must be political, contextual and cultural.


Furhtermore, in my opinion (the) Baltimore (Ravens) must be destroyed.
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GH
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January 31st, 2013 at 12:52:24 PM permalink
"Bread and Circuses" is one of my favorite Star Trek TOS episodes :)
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January 31st, 2013 at 1:06:37 PM permalink
Quote: GH

"Bread and Circuses" is one of my favorite Star Trek TOS episodes :)



Wasn't that the one with the recorded crowd sounds on a stage kind of ressembling the Colosseum?
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January 31st, 2013 at 1:08:50 PM permalink
Yeah.
Nareed
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January 31st, 2013 at 1:45:21 PM permalink
I thought so. I never liked that episode. Or the "nazi Esrth," or the "Gangster Earth." I can gladly suspend disbelief even in the face of outrageous technobabble, but "parallel development" down to customs and styles of names is utterly ridiculous.

Oh, well. Whatever works to keep the thread up and visible, ofcourse :P


And in my opinion (the) Baltimore (Ravens) must be destroyed.
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Nareed
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February 1st, 2013 at 6:50:04 AM permalink
Bump time.

Rome fact of the day: Since the early days of the Kingdom of Rome and until late in Republican times, Roman armies were constituted only in times of war (and thus were temporary). A man's place in the Legions was determined by his social position and wealth, and thus what equipment could he provide for himself. The poor were exempt from military service, as they lacked the means to contribute.

A government official had to keep track of who owned how much wealth in order to keep this system working. The official was called the Censor, and his primary duty was to keep count the popualtion and what each inhabitant possesed. Later this office expanded on to other areas including public morals. The Censor could, and did, determine which men, by reason of character, could or could not remain in the Senate or run for elective offices such as Tribune or Consul. And that's where the word "censorship" is derived.
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Nareed
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February 2nd, 2013 at 5:43:34 PM permalink
Bump time (again)

Rome fact of the day: A great many legal terms throughout the West are derived from Latin. In part this is because a great deal of Western jurisprudence descends ultimately from Roman law, as Rome was the dominant power for so long. However, early Roman legal practices could be downright bizarre. For example, early on there was much debate on whether the body of Roman Law should even be published, so that it would be freely available for everyone to even know it (well, everyone literate; which at the time it was much different than it is today).

After much debate and something akin to a general strike, the Twelve Tables of Roman Law were published in the Forum for all to see, in the year 449 BC. That's about 300 hundred years after the founding of Rome.

What did these tablets say? We're not sure. The originals were lost in 390 BC when a band of Gauls sacked and burned much of Rome.
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February 4th, 2013 at 5:24:44 AM permalink
Bump

In honor of the Ravens victory and all...

The name "Caligula" is often associated with the decline and "decadence" of the Roman Empire. In actual fact, Caligula was Rome's third emperor, after Augustus and Tiberius. Rome's best times, and its worst, lay centuries in the future. This one misconception comes, I think, from the fact that there was a movie about Caligula, but none about other rotten emperors like Caracalla, Nero (surprisingly so) and Comodus. Ayway, he was murdered after 4 years on the throne. He has the dubious honor of being the first emperor so disposed of, but certainly not the last. Murder was an occupational hazard that came with the throne.

BTW, Caligula was a nickname, meaning "little army boot." It derives from the word for a Roman army boot, "caliga." How did that come about? Caligula's father Germanicus Julius Caesar was a prominent general. He took his family along on campaigns, and the Legions adopted his young son as a mascot. Among other things, young Caligula was dressed in a miniature army uniform, complete with cute little caligae, and hence the nickname. His real name was Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus; after ascending to the throne this was amended to Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus.
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teddys
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February 4th, 2013 at 6:51:11 AM permalink
Quote: Nareed

This one misconception comes, I think, from the fact that there was a movie about Caligula, but none about other rotten emperors like Caracalla, Nero (surprisingly so) and Comodus.

Gladiator was about Comodus.
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Nareed
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February 4th, 2013 at 6:58:59 AM permalink
Quote: teddys

Gladiator was about Comodus.



So I've heard.

For that matter Augustus, as Octavian, appears in "Cleopatra." But Augustus was the quintessential "good" emperor.
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Nareed
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February 5th, 2013 at 6:56:37 AM permalink
Bump time.

I need some advice for my trip.

My planned stay is between May 23rd and June 9th. That's 17 nights, which is more than I can book at any single hotel. Yet when I look up package trips on sites like Interjet and Expedia, I get quotes for that length of stay in various places.

Roughly speaking if I book a 17 night stay at the 4 Queens with Interjet, it costs me about $1,600. If I book just the flight with Interjet, then the stay directly with 4 Queens for 14 nights, plus a 3 night stay at the Golden Nugget, the price comes to $1,800.

I would prefer the former, as I odn't like the notion of packing twice and moving. But I'm worried there might be a problem booking that long a stay through a third party.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

PS Rome (short) fact of the day: The Appian Way is named after the man who managed to pull the funding and resources to build it, Appius Claudius.
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Nareed
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February 6th, 2013 at 11:03:34 AM permalink
Bump time.

Rome Fact of the Day: Constantine was Rome's first Christian emperor. He was a megalomaniacal man, who cared more for power than anything else. He schemed to overthrow the other emperors who co-ruled with him (though to be fair they were doing the same thing), until he alone ruled the Empire. In the process he amde agreements with the express intent of breaking them. He also murdered his son, Krispos, and then his wife, Fausta.

But he defunded all pagan temples, including the Pantheon, and he insted funded new and existing Christian churches. So he is remembered as Constantine the Great.

It's too bad Sulla missed him by almost 500 years...
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February 7th, 2013 at 7:28:55 AM permalink
Bump time.

Rome fact of the day: It's widely thought that the Roman Empire fell at some point. This si true, although it's more complicated than that. But Rome didn't fall just once. In fact the Roman Monarchy fell, then the Repuiblic Fell, then one kind of Empire fell, and so on. While these events mostly involved revolutions, they did change the course of history. Because Rome wasn't then taken over by others, nor did it fall apart, the ultimate fall of the Empire is seen differently.

The fall of the Republic was rather spectacular in its own way. Ironically, one factor that led to the fall, or that at least influenced its course, was the attempts by Sulla, the last great Roman Republican, to preserve the Republic. The hallmark of Republican Roman government was a limit on executive power, achieved by investing executive authority on two Consuls, who ruled jointly for only one year. There were limits on how often a man could be elected Consul as well. Naturally some men got around the law or simply ignored it.

Sulla, in an attempt to restore the Republic to its former glory, wound up amassing a great deal of power for himself. Then he proclaimed "Do as I say, not as I do." Of course the most ambitious men wanted to do as Sulla had done, not as he said. Especially when Sulla named himself Dictator For Life, that raised a great many would-be emualtors (to be fair, Sulla eventually resigned). And this led to the eventual rise of Julius Caesar (formally Gaius Julius Caesar; "Julius" is his family name), and his successor Octavian, who ended up as Rome's first emperor.

At another point, the Empire even split four ways, but that's a different story.
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Nareed
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February 8th, 2013 at 7:46:15 AM permalink
Bump time.

I would like to schedule a smaller get together Friday 24th May, perhaps early in the afternoon (say around 3 pm or so) at MSS for craps, should anyone be interested. That's on keeping, more or less, with the tradition established in WoVCon 1.5. Let's call this one WoVCon ][.V

Last year we did this suring the evening. But as this year it's on a holiday weekend, I figure conditions will be better earlier in the day. My reasoning is that most people coming to Vegas for the weekend will arrive later in the day (but then, the best laid plans and all that...)



Roman Fact of the Day: After succeeding Constantius II, Julian the Apostate tried to revive paganism in the Empire and to bury Christianity. He also tried some other reforms, including removing the emperor's connection to divinity established by Diocletian (and maintained by the Christian emperors). By this time such ideas were seen as too radical, and faced a hard road.

Julian had both the will and the intelligence to fine tune his policies and seek to see them through. Unfortunately he was killed after about one and a half years in power, during an ill-conceived invasion of the Sassanid Empire (formerly the Parthian Empire, formerly the Persian Empire).

If I ever write an alternate history, this seems like a fine point of departure.
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teddys
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February 8th, 2013 at 7:49:21 AM permalink
Quote: Nareed

If I ever write an alternate history, this seems like a fine point of departure.


Not that you couldn't do better. And it's not really an alternate history, either.
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Nareed
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February 8th, 2013 at 8:00:43 AM permalink
Quote: teddys

Not that you couldn't do better. And it's not really an alternate history, either.



I'll have to look it up.

In some ways it would be easier to write a short, short prelude with the POD, then move the action centuries into the future. Science fiction being my focus, I'd make Julian's continued survival the thing that prevented the Dark Ages and let us develop advanced science and technology earlier.

The possibilities are good. Imagine either 1) America being discovered as a result of an attempted transatlantic flight, or 2) to borrow from Mike Duncan "[..]we'd all be teleporting to our jobs in a parallel universe [by this time]."

The thing is not to just re-write hsitory as it happened, more or less, but with different people and/or in different locales.

BTW borrowing PODs is commoner than dirt in alternate history. A very popular one is "What if the South had won the Civil War."
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AcesAndEights
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February 8th, 2013 at 11:06:22 AM permalink
Quote: Nareed

I would like to schedule a smaller get together Friday 24th May, perhaps early in the afternoon (say around 3 pm or so) at MSS for craps, should anyone be interested. That's on keeping, more or less, with the tradition established in WoVCon 1.5. Let's call this one WoVCon ][.V

Last year we did this suring the evening. But as this year it's on a holiday weekend, I figure conditions will be better earlier in the day. My reasoning is that most people coming to Vegas for the weekend will arrive later in the day (but then, the best laid plans and all that...)


That sounds good - I'll be around.

Quote: Nareed

BTW borrowing PODs is commoner than dirt in alternate history. A very popular one is "What if the South had won the Civil War."


This one is pretty good. I can't remember if I've watched the whole thing, but parts of it for sure.
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Doc
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February 8th, 2013 at 12:15:23 PM permalink
Quote: Nareed

I would like to schedule a smaller get together Friday 24th May, perhaps early in the afternoon (say around 3 pm or so) at MSS for craps, should anyone be interested.


It's on my calendar.
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February 8th, 2013 at 1:49:51 PM permalink
Quote: AcesAndEights

That sounds good - I'll be around.



Great!

Pelase PM me your cellphone number. I need to check because I've heard there have been changes, but very likley I'll have to resort to texting like last year.

I do still have Doc's numbre from last WoVCon
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February 8th, 2013 at 5:21:18 PM permalink
Quote: Nareed

This one misconception comes, I think, from the fact that there was a movie about Caligula, but none about other rotten emperors like Caracalla, Nero (surprisingly so) and Comodus.

1951's Quo Vadis stars Peter Ustinov as Nero.
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February 8th, 2013 at 5:33:39 PM permalink
Quote: teddys

Not that you couldn't do better. And it's not really an alternate history, either.



BTW, it seems to me Gore Vidal would have been more interested either in Hadrian or Elagabalus.
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February 8th, 2013 at 5:38:23 PM permalink
Quote: paisiello

1951's Quo Vadis stars Peter Ustinov as Nero.



I'd no idea...

I've heard of it, but nothing more. I should look it up.
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February 9th, 2013 at 7:02:19 AM permalink
Bump

Rome fact of the day: Many emperors, after ruling solo, bequeathed the throne to two or more of their sons to rule jointly. While there are good reasons for this, no group of siblings managed to co-rule the empire for long before one decided to turn on the other(s). By far the worst offender has to be Caracalla, who had his brother, Getta, killed right in front of their mother.

Some brothers did co-rule effectively, but not when they inherited the throne. For example Valerian I and his brother Valens. After being named emperor in between dynasties, Valerian named his brother co-emperor.
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February 11th, 2013 at 6:57:55 AM permalink
Bump.

For all their civilized sophistication, for the time, and legal traditions, Imperial Rome never set down laws or even rules to determine Imperial succession. It was up to each emperor to name a successor in time. Some took this responsibility more seriously than others. Some lacked the time to name a successor ro the inclination to do so. So when an emperor died without leaving a successor, often the matter was settled by civil war. You would think the eldest male heir would take the throne, and that was indeed the case sometimes. But often an emperor would have no sons, and the heirs of emperors meeting their end at the point of a dagger often were assasinated as well.

There was a stretch from Nerva to Marcu Aurelius called the period of the Five Good Emperors. In each case, every sitting emperor was forced to choose a successor by reason of merit, and the results were quite good. The line went Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. The latter did have a son to leave the throne to. His name was Comodus. Edward Gibbon, in his monumental work "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," traces the beginning of decline to Comodus' ascencion to the throne.
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MrV
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February 11th, 2013 at 6:00:22 PM permalink
So then, what activities are planned, and when / where?

Thinking about flying in for that weekend: always good to associate a name with a face.
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February 11th, 2013 at 7:05:33 PM permalink
Quote: MrV

So then, what activities are planned, and when / where?

Thinking about flying in for that weekend: always good to associate a name with a face.



You should definitely come out! The last Cons have been fun & low-key. There's usually a lunch & trivia contest, followed by gambling. We've done poker & blackjack/craps in the past. That part is tricky, because not everyone plays poker, but we don't all fit at a BJ table, either.

There are also usually at least a couple less-official get togethers while everyone is in town. I think we're calling Friday's craps game WovCon ][.5, and I'd be surprised if we didn't do something together saturday night and/or sunday as well.
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Nareed
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February 11th, 2013 at 8:19:20 PM permalink
Quote: rdw4potus

You should definitely come out! The last Cons have been fun & low-key. There's usually a lunch & trivia contest, followed by gambling. We've done poker & blackjack/craps in the past. That part is tricky, because not everyone plays poker, but we don't all fit at a BJ table, either.



Since this will be a holiday weekend, gambling's going to be tough. I'll definitely pick a place that takes reservations for lunch. but unless there's at elast one whale attending, I don't think any aplce on the Strip will reserve a table at the casino....

Quote:

I think we're calling Friday's craps game WovCon ][.5,



More like WoVCon ][.V :P


Quote:

and I'd be surprised if we didn't do something together saturday night and/or sunday as well.



Last year we hunted down Dan and failed to play his game while he dealt it... I don't see how we can top that this year.

On the other hand, I'm free as a lark for the whole weekend and 2 weeks after that. So just propose away.
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paisiello
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February 11th, 2013 at 10:39:33 PM permalink
When is the Wiz attending again?
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February 12th, 2013 at 4:30:38 AM permalink
Quote: paisiello

When is the Wiz attending again?



May 25th.

BTW, since he's attending you'll all be spared questions about Ancient Rome in the trivia contest...
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February 12th, 2013 at 4:42:10 PM permalink
Rome fact of the day:

While the title "Caesar" refers to the heir to the throne rather than the emperor, it has stayed in use to denote an emperor or a high functionary with little or no accountability, and/or a lot of power. Of course with linguistic and pronouncibility changes. The titles "Kaiser" and "Tzar" derive from "Caesar." So does the American use of "Czar."

BTW, the "correct" pronunciation of "Caesar" is something like "Kaeesar." English speakers are not alone in mispronouncing it. In Spanish the name wound up as "Cesar."
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MrV
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February 12th, 2013 at 5:34:32 PM permalink
What time and where will the wiz be in attendance?
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Nareed
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February 12th, 2013 at 7:48:57 PM permalink
Quote: MrV

What time and where will the wiz be in attendance?



A WoVCon is just lunch and a gambling session. If anything can be set up before or after, all the better.

In this case the Wizard has said he'll be there for Lunch and Gambling on may 25th at noon, place yet to be determined.
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MrV
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February 12th, 2013 at 7:54:56 PM permalink
Thank you.

I wondered if it was anything like the Jooooooone soiree that the casinoboys at the old AVLV board put on.

Lots of planned activities.
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Nareed
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February 13th, 2013 at 3:27:20 PM permalink
Rome fact of the day:

I won't be able to keep this up until May...

Since the early days of Rome it was common for political leaders to also lead the Kingdom, Republic or Empire into battle. This practice persisted for a very long time. Imagine these days the US president donning body armor, carrying a rifle and leading his troops at the front (I know). Of course, even in early times it wasn't always that the King, Consul, Proconsul, Procurator or Emperor could be at every active front, or fight every battle. There were generals for that, too. But even martially inexperienced men like Claudius led troops in war. The practice began to die out in the time of Constantine, although some emperors afterwards persisted in it from time to time (especially thos who had been soldiers).

For all this, it was extremely rare for an Emperor, Consul, et al to die in battle or to be taken prisoner. Except in times of civil war. In those times fights were commonly to the death, or ended when one claimant to the throne commited suicide. Few who raised the banner of revolt were allowed to live, or were inclined to allow a deposed ruler to live.

Roman commanders at all levels, but specially at the highest, employed bodyguards in battle. This is emminently sensible. Losing a commander in battle is bad enough. Losing a political leader and a commander is worse. Losing an emperor might mean civil war, too. The commander's tent at a Legion's camp was called "Praetorium," and hence the name "Praetorian Guard" for the Emperor's bodyguards.
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Nareed
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February 14th, 2013 at 7:48:37 AM permalink
Not-quite-Rome fact of the day:

In school I got the impression of a succession of civilizations in antiquity. You had, in order, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Phoenicia, Persia, Greece, and finally Rome. one after the other, with some overlapping.

In fact some of these really did overlap a lot. Phoenicia's erstwhile colony, Carthage, nearly took over Rome. At the same time, post-Alexander Greece also was causing Rome some problems. Persia had morphed into the Parthian Empire, which was every bit as powerful in its way as Rome, at the same time as Rome. Egypt was thriving under a Greek monarchy (the Ptolemies).

By the close of the second century AD, Rome had conquered or absorbed all of Greece, Carthage and its colonies in Africa and Europe, and Egypt as well. Persia remained, as noted, the major power just east of the Roman Empire (it would morph to the Sassanid Empire, though). I'm less certain what happened to Phoenicia, but all it sterritory wound up either under Rome or Persia (Syria, Lebanon, Judea, etc).

In short, I had lousy ancient history teachers, and I'd failed until now to learn more about it. In contrast I had a wonderful modern history teacher (roughly from the Renaissance to the present).
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Nareed
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February 15th, 2013 at 6:57:44 AM permalink
Rome fact of the day: The Triumph.

Going back to the early days of the Republic, a victorious general, often one or both of the Consuls for that year, was often awarded a Triumph to celebrate his victory.

This involved a grand entrance into the city, with the general riding a charriot or a big steed, a parade down Rome to cheering throngs, and games, banquets and lots of wine.

Of course the general's troops, family, servants and assorted politicians would parade as well. Priosners, especially high ranking ones like kings, were displayed in chains along the route. Also displayed were war trophies, captured treasure, floats depicting scenes of battle, and any exotic animals found in the course of the campaign (if any were found). It was a grand time and the poeple loved it. It is said a slave or minor functionary would ride or walk along the victorious general and would keep saying "Remember thou art mortal."

The prestige gained by being awarded a Triumph was so great, the powers that be tried to use the scheduling of one to deny Julius Caesar a chance at a Consulship. Caesar chose power over prestige, which is not entirely irrational. When Sulla resulted triumphant in a civil war, his young and brilliant general Pompey insisted on a Triumph of his own. Sulla granted it, but would mock the younger man by sarcastically caling him "Pompey Magnus" meaning "Pompey the Great." A few decades later Pompey would be the last bastion of the Republic against Caesar.

In Imperial times, before the custom died out, Emperors were not shy granting themselves Triumphs, even when they had not led forces in the field or accomplished much more than to scare a barbarian band away. Yet the most worthless of this type of Triumph was orchestrated by Caligula. The Emperor ordered an invasion of Britania, see, but all he did was disembark some men on the beach, order them to collect some shells, and then headed back home. He then anounced they had won a great victory against Neptune, God of the Sea, and awarded himself a Triumph. The seahells were displayed as war booty (I kid you not).

Why the Roman Empire didn't fall out of sheer shame then and there, only goes to prove you can't die of shame.

I'm not too certain whether latter emperors celebrated Triumphs. But some went a step further and built monuments to their victories. Thus you get the Triumphal Arches, and great big columns, like Trajan's Column, with carvings and frieses of battle scenes and other important moments in history. Napoleon eventually emulated this practice. The Corsican emperor of France, though, was a first class general and a fairly good ruler all told.
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