Skilled Labor

Having explored the value of unskilled labor, the question must be asked: what of skilled labor? What of the educated, the talented, and the innovative who find work plying their trade? It's all well and good to value the labors of those whose jobs are manual, tedious, and repetitive, but shouldn't the skilled workers be valued even more?

It's a fair question, and a necessary one in this capitalist society, in which value is measured by its price tag.

Unskilled Labor

I work at Fangamer, and until fairly recently the entire company was paid the same wage. From the CEO to the mailroom worker, we were all equally scrapping by, surviving by the good grace of Tucson's low cost of living.

A while back things changed a bit after we took on some fairly lucrative jobs. We're not wealthy, but we're much better off than we used to be. And as our wages rose, we finally stopped with the equal pay deal. We were to be paid according to several factors: seniority, education, teamwork, efficiency, and so on. In short, some people were to be paid more than others.

There was a concept that entered the conversation at that point. Well, that's not quite true; the concept was introduced long before, though the rule of equal pay stood fast against the idea. But when a difference in pay was introduced, the question would finally be considered:

Should we pay unskilled laborers less than skilled workers?

Camp Videogamely

Last year, here in Tucson, Arizona, I helped run a convention quite unlike any other convention before it. It was part gaming convention, part talk show, part alternate reality experience, part concert, and part summer camp.

We're doing something like it again this year, hopefully. We're kickstarting it, so whether or not it happens depends on if the project gets funded.

Today I'm going to talk briefly about why you, the person reading this, should attend this convention.

MAGfest Final Notes

With MAGfest over, I need to make some personal notes for the next time we attend:

MAGfest Atmosphere vs. PAX

I stepped into the vendor's hall this morning at around 10AM and left a little before midnight. It was a long day, but it didn't feel like it to me. I like this environment, and I like this kind of work. It's the kind of work I can simply get lost in.

It's different from PAX, still. Working a booth at PAX, it feels like there's a lot of pressure all the time. Here, not so much. I'm not really certain why, and I wish I could articulate it.

I'm a Loner, Dottie. A Rebel.

I wonder what everyone else makes of my loner nature. This is something I think about a lot when I'm working by myself.

Holiday Work Hours

It's that time again. A few days ago I worked ~16 hours in a single day, which I admit was a bit overboard. However, that's the holidays for you. There's a lot to do and not enough time in the day to do it.

So, I'm going to talk about my particular brand of self-destruction: working too hard.

My New Favorite Company

In the past week I've placed two orders through Cards Against Humanity, totaling $21 in spending. I have no idea what I'm going to get for that $21, so why did I bother? That's what I want to talk about.

An Anonymous Letter From a Kickstarter Backer, and My Response

I received an anonymous message from a Kickstarter backer today in response to our Slacker Backer program, which allows people to effectively back our project even after the campaign itself is over. He raises an interesting point, and his question warranted an honest, thoughtful response.

D&D #45: A Dying World

As Percy’s door closed and the train dove back into the fiery lake, The party got a much clearer view of their surroundings. On the other side of the lake, resembling nothing so much as a group of towering stalagmites reaching up toward the dark ceiling far above, is what can only be the city Percy had described. Lights pour out of many of the tower windows, signs of civilization.

Launching a Kickstarter

Have you ever launched a Kickstarter? Odds are that you haven't, but if you have then you understand when I say that it's one of the most stressful events in the world.

When I woke up this morning I was expecting to launch a Kickstarter, having spent all night setting the page up and giving moral support to Jeff and Steve as they finished the video. We decided to push back the launch until Monday because, if there's one thing more stressful than launching a Kickstarter, it's running one. So, we decided to take this weekend as our last restful respite of the year. The Kickstarter will be running up until around Black Friday, at which point our holiday season begins, so I'm not expecting to sleep again until January.

Anyway, let me tell you about Kickstarters.

The Dark History of Fangamer

These days, Fangamer is a nice company in which its employees are all friends with each other, we help each other out, we all get health, dental, and vision insurance, and we make enough to live fairly comfortably. None of us are starving, in other words. We still have a ways to go before we reach what Reid calls "acceptable living wages," but since most of us live in Tucson where the cost of living is very low, most of us are doing pretty alright.

However, this was not always the case. Fangamer had its act together by the time I came to Tucson, but I've heard stories of a Time Before, when life was difficult and every month was a struggle.

A Different Sort of Terrorism

Last week, after months of logistics, we finally launched the Gaming's Feminist Illuminati shirt on Fangamer. Most of the delay in its release involved a long sampling process as we received and ordered a variety of different types of shirts that we've never carried before, but in the last few days leading up to the launch we spent some time shoring up our defenses. We had witnessed first-hand gaming's anti-feminist cabal attacking high-profile people for their support of women in gaming, and now we were potentially inviting that wrath upon ourselves.

We were all at least a bit worried, some of us more than others. Still, we braced for impact, set up two-layer verifications on most of our accounts, and hit the launch button.

Selflessness is Selfishness

Two things about that title: first, selflessness is not always selfishness. It's kind of a conditional thing. Second, selfishness in this context is not a bad thing.

What I mean is that sometimes being selfless can lead to long term gains after short-term losses while being selfish can lead to long-term losses after short-term gains.

Wait, let me start over.

D&D Session #43: Dead Ma'ari

Last session ended with the arrival of a familiar face aboard the party's airship. Just as the party was about to enter the Gate heading toward the Realm of Stone, a tall, gangly man named Miles appeared. Miles was chamberlain to Mal, who was a prince in the Realm of Air. Mal's true father, a powerful wizard, switched Mal with the newborn child of a king and queen. Mal's father planned to use Mal to take over the human kingdoms, but was thwarted by the Hot Water Party.

Kirtan kidnapped Mal and brought the cunning child to the Nexus, along with the Hot Water Party. However, apparently Mal's true mother, a powerful wizard in her own right, wishes for her son to be returned to her. Miles is searching for Mal on her behalf.

Also, Miles is a Ma'ari demigod, though he doesn't really act the part.

Mailroom Day

Today, and every Thursday, is my Mailroom Day. It's a concept I came up with to diversify the workload in Fangamer's mailroom, and I think it's been going well. More or less. It was implemented near the beginning of the year, so I think it's time to take stock of its efficacy.

The Wedding of Lindsay and Lindsay's Boyfriend

As much as I would love to continue the in-joke of just always referring to Dan as "Lindsay's Boyfriend," I'm going to refrain since unaware readers might get the impression that I'm not that familiar with Dan. Suffice to say, even though I've known both Lindsay and Dan for about the same amount of time, and even though Dan is one of my relatively small number of co-workers, Jeff and I enjoy referring to him as "Lindsay's Boyfriend" because we find it funny. In fact, Jeff managed to work that joke into his announcements today at their wedding.

I spent most of my day at that wedding today, and it was definitely the funnest wedding I've ever attended. The question is, was it an inherently fun wedding? Or are all weddings really fun if you actually know the people involved and most of the people there? I'm inclined to think it's a little of both.

Internet Activism II

Last time I starting talking about Internet controversies and whether or not it's worth getting involved with them. I went over some of the repercussions of getting involved in these things (some people really, REALLY hate Anthony Burch, apparently), the specific risks of taking these positions as a company, and started talking about the efficacy of Internet activism.

Specifically, I mentioned that, to be honest, Internet arguments have, in fact, changed my mind about things before. I don't think it's a totally pointless exercise.

Internet Activism I

Recently I and several other Fangamers received tweets about our connection to Comcept (the Mighty No. 9 folks), specifically because apparently they were hoping to boycott Comcept for a day? Or something? I'm not sure. Very likely it was just a small faction of the larger Gamergate movement that doesn't really understand how to boycott properly. We haven't heard anything about it since, so I assume they finished their tiny, ineffective boycott and moved on without involving us.

Still, between that and the Gaming Feminist Illuminati shirt that we'll be offering in our store soon, I've been thinking a lot about activism, especially as it relates to Internet activity. Should I be vocal about where I stand on a subject? What are the repercussions if I do? Will it have any effect? Are there consequences for staying silent? I'm not sure, but I have a few observations so far.

D&D Reference: Rune Guide

Just one more blog post for my D&D group, then we'll get back to my regular types of blog posts.

This is a guide with information on the runic tattoos the party has earned, as well as details on how these things work.