Episode 544: A Sacred and Blessed Choice

Real Life:  How silly is Devon? According to him, not at all. But his big toe pain might argue otherwise. The jury is still out. Steven took a blacksmithing class, and it turns out, there's a whole process to it. Safety docs? Check. Appropriate clothing? Check. Payment going to the blacksmithing museum? Very cool. His first project? A letter opener—definitely not a shiv. (Side note: Can you just carry knives around? What if you're being particularly menacing?) Good news: Steven is now a Level One Blacksmith and qualifies for the Level Two class! There's even talk of a blacksmithing tournament and chili cookoff. Speaking of knives… does everyone remember sock knives? On a more serious note, Ben reflects on the passing of his neighbor, Ronna, and the challenge of timing at the end of life. A moment to acknowledge those we lose and the impact they have.   Future or Now:  Ben's Dive into the Desktop Metaphor Ben took us down a philosophical rabbit hole about the desktop metaphor in computing. How does it relate to capitalism? How did William Gibson envision computing? Are there better metaphors we should be using? If you want to dig deeper, here's some background reading: History of the Graphical User Interface Xerox PARC and DNLS from 1968 Liber Indigo - Metaphysical Prisoners of the Desktop MercuryOS and Jason Yuan's vision Steven's Reaction: Uh…what? Steven, caught off guard, tried to process it all. But then he found an interesting study: link. The question is: Are its findings really about gender differences, or are they tied more to familial and societal roles? Let's just say, we have some thoughts about the methodology. Book Club (But Make It TTRPG): Next Week's Read: Burning Chrome by William Gibson We had to shift things around this week since Ben had a family emergency. But next week, we're diving into Burning Chrome by William Gibson. Get ready for some cyberpunk goodness! Mothership: A Sci-Fi Horror TTRPG Review Instead of discussing books, we reviewed Mothership, the sci-fi horror RPG that Steven ran, with Devon as a player. Here's the rundown: The setup: A distress call leads the crew to a ship. The dilemma: Follow company orders or investigate the alien presence? The experience: Mystery, clues, and big decisions. The result: Devon said he'd play again—high praise! If you're into sci-fi horror with a heavy dose of corporate greed and existential dread, Mothership might be worth checking out. That's it for this week! As always, let us know your thoughts, and we'll see you next time for Burning Chrome and more weird, wonderful discussions.