Shih http://www.humblest.net/shih/ He explained that the etymon for shih was a simple word in Old Chinese; the Fravashi had fallen in love with this word, and they had borrowed and adapted it when they invented Moksha. From Moksha, the concept of shih had entered into the Language-- along with thousands of other concepts and words.

'Ah, ah, I've been saving it for the proper time,' Old Father said. 'In the Language, shih is elegance in using one's knowledge. But in Moksha, this broader meaning: Shih is recognizing and making sense of different _kinds_ of knowledge. It's the most brilliant art, this ability to guage the beauties and weaknesses of different worldviews.'"

--The Broken God, David Zindell

This is where the thoughtful entries go... or at least those entries intended to be thoughtful. This is where the engineering and computer science entries go; the book reviews, fact or fiction; and even the hobby entries... because I tend to be thoughtful about my hobbies, as well. ]]> en-us 2004-05-16T22:47:11-06:00 _House of Chains_ (old review) http://www.humblest.net/archives/shih/000068.html _House of Chains: A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen_ Steve Erikson, 2002 Two Line Summary: As always, a Glen Cook/Robert Jordan hybrid, but Erikson has mastered the genre. His main theme continues to progress, as well, not... Review: Science Fiction John Novak 2004-05-16T22:47:11-06:00 Erickson's _Memories of Ice_ (old review) http://www.humblest.net/archives/shih/000067.html _Memories of Ice: A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen_ Steve Erikson, 2001 Two Line Summary: It's still a Glen Cook/Robert Jordan hybrid, but the themes that are uniquely Erikson's shine through. Quick rating: Very good, but not... Review: Science Fiction John Novak 2004-05-16T22:36:30-06:00 Erickon's _Deadhouse Gates_ (old review) http://www.humblest.net/archives/shih/000066.html _Deadhouse Gates: A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen_ Steve Erikson, 2000 Two Line Summary: This continues to be a cross between Jordan's Wheel of Time and Glen Cook's Black Company series. It's in my opinion, stronger than... Review: Science Fiction John Novak 2004-05-16T20:18:45-06:00 Erikson's _Gardens of the Moon_ (old review) http://www.humblest.net/archives/shih/000065.html _Gardens of the Moon: A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen_ Steven Erikson, 1999 Two line summary: Jordan's _Wheel of Time_ meets Cook's _Black Company_. If you lied either, or both, it's worth at least checking the back... Review: Science Fiction John Novak 2004-05-16T20:07:15-06:00 Not Enough Hours in the Day http://www.humblest.net/archives/shih/000064.html Okay, a while ago I mentioned that, despite my workload, (which has decreased, but only slightly, and is due to ramp way up within the next week) courseload, and hobbyload, I still wanted to start playing around with a gameworld... Role Playing Games John Novak 2004-05-11T21:47:01-06:00 Review: The Knight http://www.humblest.net/archives/shih/000032.html Two Line Summary: It's Gene Wolfe doing something that lokos very much like a straight fantasy adventure story. And not surprisingly, it's very good. It's also one of his more accessible works. Quick Rating: Recommended. Be warned, though, it's the... Review: Science Fiction John Novak 2004-01-24T22:32:02-06:00 Aargh http://www.humblest.net/archives/shih/000031.html Okay, look. I'm a Circuit Design Lead in the middle of a marathon-sprint of a development cycle. I started out five months behind, three and a half months ago, and I'm only two weeks behind everyone else, now. I have... John Novak 2004-01-13T23:44:57-06:00 Game WISH 75: Religion and Controversy http://www.humblest.net/archives/shih/000028.html Ginger Stampley, at Perverse Access Memory asks, in her 75th Game WISH column: A lot of neogamers I play with are uncomfortable with taking real religions and putting them into play. With all the 'Satanist' backlash against D&D that there’s... Role Playing Games John Novak 2003-12-09T23:38:11-06:00 Favorite Books http://www.humblest.net/archives/shih/000026.html The "favorite books list" meme has been going around various circles I read, probably started by Dr. Principles being annoyed by CalPundit's being annoyed by Clinton's favorite book list, then getting kicked around several groups and finally ending up with... Books John Novak 2003-12-07T23:00:41-06:00 Game WISH 74: Supplements You’d Like to See http://www.humblest.net/archives/shih/000023.html Ginger Stampley, at >a href="http://www.whiterose.org/pam/"> Perverse Access Memory asks, in her 74th Game WISH column:... Role Playing Games John Novak 2003-11-30T21:40:05-06:00 Game WISH 73: Player Driven Shifts http://www.humblest.net/archives/shih/000022.html Ginger Stampley, at Perverse Access Memory asks, in her 73rd Game WISH column: What’s the biggest PC-driven shift you’ve ever experienced in a campaign? If you were a player, what made you feel like you could successfully change the GM’s... Role Playing Games John Novak 2003-11-24T23:06:51-06:00 The Golden Transcendance http://www.humblest.net/archives/shih/000021.html Two Line Review: This volume concludes (Yes! Concludes!) the story begun in _The Golden Age_. It is a book of passion, energy, and ideas... the central most of which, alas, happens to be completely wrong because either the author, the... Review: Science Fiction John Novak 2003-11-23T12:37:52-06:00 The Phoenix Exultant http://www.humblest.net/archives/shih/000020.html Two Line Review: Uh... as a second book in a series, this one is particularly difficult to really review without spoiling the first one. Let's sum it up by saying, "Middle Book Syndrome."... Review: Science Fiction John Novak 2003-11-23T11:36:28-06:00 Review: The Golden Age http://www.humblest.net/archives/shih/000019.html John C. Wright, 2002 Two Line Review: Strange. Very strange. Unpolished, but interesting. First and foremost, let me state that this is the first in a series of two volumes. It's noted as such in the inside of the dust... Review: Science Fiction John Novak 2003-11-23T11:33:02-06:00 Game WISH 72: Character Interruptus http://www.humblest.net/archives/shih/000017.html Ginger Stampley, at Perverse Access Memory asks, in her 72nd Game WISH column: Talk about a few characters you had to stop playing before their stories felt finished. Where do you think they would have gone?... John Novak 2003-11-22T22:16:39-06:00