Perhaps Chase would appreciate a secondary resource for people interested in his D&D campaign.

I am Supheter Iulian. I returned from a trip to [some place] representing the Baron Harken’s interests. A group of slavers intercepted my own and captured me. The kidnappers realized my value and kept me alive. Sometime later, the local Vanguard chapter reached my location at the same time monstrous spiders attacked. I ‘awoke’ to Eldrith cutting my bonds. As I wandered the camp, I strove to understand the factions present. Citric and Rayne captured the leader of the camp. It seems they demanded some ransom for his safety. A doppelganger imitated the indentured servants to steer them toward Fallcrest. Eldrith knew of more slave camps so I endeavored to liberate more fellow citizens.

We chanced upon a stone bulwark. Spa, the imitator, drew out the guards for a quick dispatch. A portcullis raised freed still more, including one who recognized me. This set off the south division’s suspicion of me, though I can not imagine why. Nevertheless, distance induced them toward Harkenwold. I assured the four that the Baron will sincerely thank them.

Citric scouted ahead of the long train of people and observed the dragon recently harrying the city. Again I saw a direct course to protect my benefactor, as I had noticed the adventurers seemed more capable than the city guards. We left the crowd in the dubious hands of the “follicle-mancer.” The dragon occupied the top of an abandoned keep. The dense snowfall empowered his own vanguard, a female who constructed snow golems and skeletons to defend the bottom two levels. She managed to escape by ‘invisibility,’ and her potential presence played heavily on our minds. The dragon had slept during these encounters but awoke as Spa triggered a trap in its horde.

The ensuing battle confronted me with my limitations more rudely than in many years. All had spent their spectacular techniques throughout the preceding day and we fought during the witching hour. We holed up in a small room to wait for the dragon to tire to no avail. It began a ritual to (likely) assume a smaller form. We pressed and ran on fumes a bit before scattering into the night. I understand Spa gave the dragon some cursed object with conflicting consequence. Citric had the foresight to steal the dragon’s flying carpet and we dejectedly returned to the amassed villagers.

Here we ended the session intending to lead the mob to safety. No binding decision emerged.

Solipsism offends yet remains seductive. My consciousness exists as a private, visceral fact and the rest only submits to indirect investigation. The solipsist has decided that shhe is the only real entity. The rest of creation only exists to the extent that shhe experiences it. There are several flavors of this perspective. I crafted a new criticism of a specific variation on Christmas Eve. I have no answer for the solipsist that merely denies all epistemological evidence as unreliable. I found fault with the idea that the solipsist is alone or has no evidence of (at least) another entity. Likely, the following parallels criticism offered by others but I suspect the approach is novel to myself.

Provisionally accept that the solipsist is a lone consciousness. Only shhe experiences the grass underfoot or that eerie visage in the mirror. But, here the experience demands that cliché: where did it all come from? Perhaps defensively, Descartes claims he dreams it all up. To suggest that existence exists objectively implies that she lives minorly, merely a thing amoung a multitude of other things. Better to suggest it springs internally. But, this does not solve the issue satisfactorily. If a barb hides in the grass and I step on it, does the pain suggest I hide a death impulse: an insincere commitment to my self-directed pleasure? Why does changing the shape in the mirror require a rote set of bodily movements (shaving, exercise)? Surely if the world were under my mental control, it would conform to my desires as easily as I can change a train of thought.

Two alternatives exist: I exist within a physical realm independent of my mental control or I am not a monad. Instead, I share my consciousness with another Aspect, one hidden from me. This aspect accomplishes the miraculous feats of creation that stuff my eyes with light and ears with voices. I wake up to the world; I do not have to actively imagine my room’s contents to return from sleep. Further, this Aspect possesses a far greater creativity and skill than the solipsist. The greatest painter or sculptor can not hold a candle to the entity that generated 32 species of Finch birds and all the rest. If I pin the solipsist to hiser premiss, the Aspect itself is conscious of the person’s consciousness. The novelty in the path of the hermit suggests it knew where to spend its efforts. Nevertheless, she can not access nor communicate with the world-building Aspect. It remains independent.

Here the solipsist has three options: stipulate an objective reality, class the experience creating aspect as an unassailable aspect of his personality (as the subconscious), or class the entity as external to his consciousness (perhaps as god). All the options collapse the philosophy by granting the existence of external reality or an externally created reality. The monopoly on consciousness is broken. To accept the second or third option posits the post-solipsist as a second-class mind dependent upon the unknown Other for sight. Only embracing a ‘democratically’ experienced universe recovers the post-solipsist’s sovereignty. I invoke democracy because an objective existence that produced this consciousness highly likely will spawn another under similar conditions.

I admit this version of solipsism only exists as an academic opponent rather than a ‘cult’ amongst us. The exercise though serves as preparation for an enemy I have not yet eviscerated equally. You can find it in George Orwell’s 1984 and The Matrix. How does one disarm the entity creating reality or an entity simulating reality ‘perfectly?’

The New Year signals two financial decisions for me. First, I received my W-2 form in the mail despite the three months remaining before another new tax year. (Second, my luxury allowance returns, but I’ll write about that tomorrow.) Because I work for the city of Anaheim, this may represent the federal government’s indirect plea for early tax filings. Comparing with private employees will bear out that conclusion, but I have another indicator. In earlier January, I received a booklet on how to fill out the 1040 tax form by mail. The subtle ‘support’ could be a ploy to speed tax payments and fund the bailout. I recall a headline that the government had asked some banks to front some of the money, but admit I did not read the article.

Whatever the reason, tax season enables a far more important decision: how much shall I deposit into my IRA? The intuitive answer is the full 5,000 dollars. In these next three months I suspect anxiety about the bailout, quarterly reports, and Obama’s administration could retard stock inflation at least below the prices I paid a year ago. If so, I would be remiss in ignoring the advice I so fervently impressed on this audience: take advantage of the deflation in a bear market. However, my mother is making shooing noises at me, not loudly or earnestly, but as a long-term warning. I am too old to act as a tax credit for either parent and will shortly no longer derive any medical coverage from their work. Both warn that I had best either secure full-time employment or sprint through the university before doing the same. Neither wants my long-term liability or expense (in a medical emergency) if I am not going to establish my own independence.

That suggests that I a) should be way more gregarious and evaluate people at school as potential roommates, and b) increase my liquid savings. While I can withdraw money from my IRA for my first home purchase, otherwise it is sealed until I am seventy-five. My earlier flirtations with CDs at least had eventual liquidity. I doubt they will throw me on the street any time soon (though they legally can at any time). If nothing else, I could begin paying rent to either one but that demands either another part-time job or a full-time replacement. Much as revealing my worth publicly invites unwanted attention, I have less than ten thousand in the bank. If I put five into my IRA, the far future benefit will be great because of current deflation, but a dire present demands flexibility. If I need to pay for an apartment down payment (2000?), it would be criminal to have retired my savings.

Luckily, I needn’t worry too intensely. I learned that I can deposit money at any time – during the 2009 tax year – into my IRA. Cheap stocks suggest urgency, but the self-fulfilling prophesy of a protracted recession gives me a reasonable buffer. In the end, I will probably sacrifice between one thousand and four (if I secure full-time employment).

I found out something nice about my IRA despite my anxiety. I called E*Trade and asked if I the capital gains category staggers with each individual stock purchase in my IRA throughout the year. The representative told me I do not pay any annual taxes on the value until I receive a distribution. In retrospect, this is obvious. The sale of a security represents income, a stale sale is a lesser taxed income. Despite receiving dividends from my portfolio, it does not represent income to me even though I can use it to rebalance my portfolio at any time of the year. I am tickled pink; the only fee I have to pay for the account are sales commissions. While that gave a momentary temptation to day trade, I know that is a sure way to waste my money. The paper value loss of this year does not faze me because I am not relying on distributions for my livelihood. But, paying thirteen dollar commissions every time does eat real money every time. Plus, if I wait until I deposit into the account, I can pay for one round of purchases rather than two (with the dividends, then the deposit). While I know how to rationalize faith in that person’s answer, I need to corroborate it. Perhaps my mother knows people who play in tax law. Highly likely: she is an auditor.