cleverly disguised as a responsible adult

My morning commute is twice as long from the new house as it was from the rental. Since all of the additional time is taken up by picturesque two-lane highway winding through rural Wisconsin, I see no problem with this. I listen to my book on CD, drink my coffee, and work on getting my brain on-line for the day.

One of the farms that I drive past has a flock of smallish goats. I'd guess there are around 20 of them in the pasture. Occasionally, there will be a herding dog of some kind keeping them in line, but most of the time supervision of the goats is left to the two llamas in the field. They keep an eye on the goats and everyone seems to be getting along just fine.

The last couple of mornings, there have been two big brown birds in the field with the goats and the llamas. They look sort of like herons, but I'm not sure on the exact species. The first day I saw them, they were hanging out and looked like they were maybe at the wrong truck stop, but would be moving on shortly.

Today, the dog was herding the goats and the llamas were herding the birds. It was kind of bizarre to watch the birds awkwardly hop away from the llamas to go in the same direction as the flock of goats.

There's a story there, but I'm not sure what exactly it might be.

Every weekday morning I get up, take the dog for a walk, then sit with my computer and my light box for 20 minutes while having a bowl of Cheerios. Then it's a shower and head to work. I do this same thing every day because patterns make me happy.

In light of that, this made me laugh.

Swiped from mearn4d10, because I'm in need of amusement today.

Ask any of my characters for advice, and they will provide it, advice columnist style. Your problems or fictional characters' problems both welcome. Management is not responsible for the results of following said advice.

Some options, but those who have gamed with me have met other NPCs or PCs who I may have forgotten this morning.


Kess - Nomadic druid. Probably one of the nicest, best listeners around. (D&D 3.5)

Baker - Starship mechanic whose main hope is to one day turn herself into an android. She prefers machines to humans. You have been warned. (Star Wars)

Dr Rina Von Stash - Mad alchemist. After being kicked out of University for "breaking the laws that govern nature and man", she's vowed revenge. She doesn't have a good grip on the concepts of "reality" and "morality". (GURPS)

C.J. - Olympic-caliber athlete in biathlon, does mountain search and rescue for a day job. Having an Aztec god for a parent, she's down with human sacrifice. (Scion)

Faith - Hellbred paladin. She doesn't remember what she did in her previous life, but she's determined to atone for it, going out in a blaze of glory if possible. (D&D 3.5)

Neri - Human avenger devoted to the Raven Queen. Exactly as bloodthirsty as that implies. (D&D 4)


EDIT: Added characters based on comments
Casem - Young man from vaguely Arabic culture. Can turn just about any situation into a profitable one. Just don't ask him what you should do with troublesome female relatives. (NPC, GURPS)