The Difference Between Men and Women

Let's say a guy named Roger is attracted to a woman named Elaine. He asks her out to a movie; she accepts; they have a pretty good time. A few nights later he asks her out to dinner, and again they enjoy themselves.

They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while neither one of them is seeing anybody else.

And then, one evening when they're driving home, a thought occurs to Elaine, and, without really thinking, she says it aloud: ''Do you realize that, as of tonight, we've been seeing each other for exactly six months?''

And then there is silence in the car. To Elaine, it seems like a very loud silence. She thinks to herself: Geez, I wonder if it bothers him that I said that. Maybe he's been feeling confined by our relationship; maybe he thinks I'm trying to push him into some kind of obligation that he doesn't want, or isn't sure of.

And Roger is thinking: Gosh. Six months.

And Elaine is thinking: But, hey, I'm not so sure I want this kind of relationship, either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I'd have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way we are, moving steadily toward . . . I mean, where are we going? Are we just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy? Are we heading toward marriage? Toward children? Toward a lifetime together? Am I ready for that level of commitment? Do I really even know this person?

And Roger is thinking: . . . so that means it was . . . let's see... February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car at the dealer's, which means . . . lemme check the odometer . . . Whoa! I am way overdue for an oil change here.

And Elaine is thinking: He's upset. I can see it on his face. Maybe I'm reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our relationship, more intimacy, more commitment; maybe he has sensed -- even before I sensed it -- that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet that's it. That's why he's so reluctant to say anything about his own feelings. He's afraid of being rejected.

And Roger is thinking: And I'm gonna have them look at the transmission again. I don't care what those morons say, it's still not shifting right. And they better not try to blame it on the cold weather this time. What cold weather? It's 87 degrees out, and this thing is shifting like a goddamn garbage truck, and I paid those incompetent thieves $600.

And Elaine is thinking: He's angry. And I don't blame him. I'd be angry, too. God, I feel so guilty, putting him through this, but I can't help the way I feel. I'm just not sure.

And Roger is thinking: They'll probably say it's only a 90-day warranty. That's exactly what they're gonna say, the scumballs.

And Elaine is thinking: maybe I'm just too idealistic, waiting for a knight to come riding up on his white horse, when I'm sitting right next to a perfectly good person, a person I enjoy being with, a person I truly do care about, a person who seems to truly care about me. A person who is in pain because of my self-centered, schoolgirl romantic fantasy.

And Roger is thinking: Warranty? They want a warranty? I'll give them a goddamn warranty. I'll take their warranty and stick it right up their.... .

"'Roger,'' Elaine says aloud.

''What?'' says Roger, startled.

''Please don't torture yourself like this,'' she says, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. ''Maybe I should never have . .Oh God, I feel so.....''

(She breaks down, sobbing.)

''What?'' says Roger.

''I'm such a fool,'' Elaine sobs. ''I mean, I know there's no knight. I really know that. It's silly. There's no knight, and there's no horse.''

''There's no horse?'' says Roger.

''You think I'm a fool, don't you?'' Elaine says.

''No!'' says Roger, glad to finally know the correct answer.

''It's just that . . . It's that I . . . I need some time,'' Elaine says.

(There is a 15-second pause while Roger, thinking as fast as he can, tries to come up with a safe response. Finally he comes up with one that he thinks might work.)

''Yes,'' he says.

(Elaine, deeply moved, touches his hand.)

''Oh, Roger, do you really feel that way?'' she says.

''What way?'' says Roger.

''That way about time,'' says Elaine.

''Oh,'' says Roger. ''Yes.''

(Elaine turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it involves a horse. At last she speaks.)

''Thank you, Roger,'' she says.

''Thank you,'' says Roger.

Then he takes her home, and she lies on her bed, a conflicted, tortured soul, and weeps until dawn, whereas when Roger gets back to his place, he opens a bag of Doritos, turns on the TV, and immediately becomes deeply involved in a rerun of a tennis match between two Czechoslovakians he never heard of.

A tiny voice in the far recesses of his mind tells him that something major was going on back there in the car. But he is pretty sure there is no way he would ever understand what, and so he figures it's better if he doesn't think about it.

The next day Elaine will call her closest friend, or perhaps two of them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours. In painstaking detail, they will analyze everything she said and everything he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every word, expression, and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering every possible ramification. They will continue to discuss this subject, off and on, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite conclusions, but never getting bored with it either.

Meanwhile, Roger, while playing racquetball one day with a mutual friend of his and Elaine's, will pause just before serving, frown, and say:

''Norm, did Elaine ever own a horse?'

Jerry Springer, circa 2012

Crowd: Jer-ry! Jer-ry! Jer-ry!

Jerry: Today’s guests are here because they can’t agree on fundamental principles of epistemology and ontology. I’d like to welcome Todd to the show.

Todd enters from backstage.

Jerry: Hello, Todd.

Todd: Hi, Jerry.

Jerry: (reading from card) So, Todd, you're here to tell your girlfriend something. What is it?

Todd: Well, Jerry, my girlfriend Ursula and I have been going out for three years now. We did everything together. We were really inseparable. But then she discovered post-Marxist political and literary theory, and it's been nothing but fighting ever since.

Jerry: Why is that?

Todd: You see, Jerry, I’m a traditional Cartesian rationalist. I believe that the individual self, the “I” or ego is the foundation of all metaphysics. She, on the other hand, believes that the contemporary self is a socially constructed, multi-faceted subjectivity reflecting the political and economic realities of late capitalist consumerist discourse.

Crowd: Ooooohhhh!

Todd: I know! I know! Is that infantile, or what?

Jerry: So what do you want to tell her today?

Todd: I want to tell her that unless she ditches the post-modernism, we're through. I just can’t go on having a relationship with a woman who doesn’t believe I exist.

Jerry: Well, you’re going to get your chance. Here’s Ursula!

Ursula storms onstage and charges up to Todd.

Ursula: Patriarchal colonizer!

She slaps him viciously. Todd leaps up, but the security guys pull them apart before things can go any further.

Ursula: Don’t listen to him! Logic is a male hysteria! Rationality equals oppression and the silencing of marginalized voices!

Todd: The classical methodology of rational dialectic is our only road to truth! Don't try to deny it!


Ursula: You and your dialectic! That’s how it’s been through our whole relationship, Jerry. Mindless repetition of the post-Enlightenment meta-narrative. “You have to start with radical doubt, Ursula”. “Post-structuralism is just classical sceptical thought recast in the language of semiotics, Ursula”.

Crowd: Booo! Booo!

Jerry: Well, Ursula, come on. Don't you agree that the roots of contemporary neo-Leftism simply have to be sought in Enlightenment political philosophy?

Ursula: History is the discourse of powerful centrally located voices marginalizing and de-scribing the sub-altern!

Todd: See what I have to put up with? Do you know what it’s like living with someone who sees sex as a metaphoric demonstration of the anti-feminist violence implicit in the discourse of the dominant power structure? It’s terrible. She just lies there and thinks of Andrea Dworkin. That’s why we never do it any more.

Crowd: Wooooo!

Ursula: You liar! Why don't you tell them how you haven't been able to get it up for the past three months because you couldn’t decide if your penis truly had essential Being, or was simply a manifestation of Mind?

Todd: Wait a minute! Wait a minute!

Ursula: It’s true!

Jerry: Well, I don’t think we're going to solve this one right away. Our next guests are Louis and Tina. And Tina has a little confession to make!

Louis and Tina come onstage. Todd and Ursula continue bickering in the background.

Jerry: Tina, you are... (reads cards) ... an existentialist, is that right?

Tina: That’s right, Jerry. And Louis is, too.

Jerry: And what did you want to tell Louis today?

Tina: Jerry, today I want to tell him...

Jerry: Talk to Louis. Talk to him.

Crowd hushes.

Tina: Louis... I’ve loved you for a long time...

Louis: I love you, too, Tina.

Tina: Louis, you know I agree with you that existence precedes essence, but... well, I just want to tell you I've been reading Nietzsche lately, and I don't think I can agree with your egalitarian politics any more.

Crowd: Wooooo! Woooooo!

Louis: (shocked and disbelieving) Tina, this is crazy. You know that Sartre clarified all this way back in the 40's.

Tina: But he didn’t take into account Nietzsche's radical critique of democratic morality, Louis. I’m sorry. I can’t ignore the contradiction any longer!

Louis: You got these ideas from Victor, didn’t you? Didn’t you?

Tina: Don’t you bring up Victor! I only turned to him when I saw you were seeing that dominatrix! I needed a real man! An Ueber-man!

Louis: (sobbing) I couldn’t help it. It was my burden of freedom. It was too much!

Jerry: We’ve got someone here who might have something to add. Bring out .. Victor!

Victor enters. He walks up to Louis and sticks a finger in his face.

Victor: Louis, you’re a classic post-Christian intellectual. Weak to the core!

Louis: (through tears) You can kiss my Marxist ass, Reactionary Boy!

Victor: Herd animal!

Louis: Lackey!

Louis throws a chair at Victor; they lock horns and wrestle. The crowd goes wild. After a long struggle, the security guys pry them apart.

Jerry: Okay, okay. It's time for questions from the audience. Go ahead, sir.

Audience member: Okay, this is for Tina. Tina, I just wanna know how you can call yourself an existentialist, and still agree with Nietzsche’s doctrine of the Uebermensch. Doesn’t that imply a belief in intrinsic essences that is in direct contradiction with the fundamental principles of existentialism?

Tina: No! No! It doesn’t. We can be equal in potential, without being equal in eventual personal quality. It’s a question of Becoming, not Being.

Audience member: That’s just disguised essentialism! You’re no existentialist!

Tina: I am so!

Audience member: You’re no existentialist!

Tina: I am so an existentialist, bitch!

Ursula stands and interjects.

Ursula: What does it [bleep] matter? Existentialism is just a cover for late capitalist anti-feminism! Look at how Sartre treated Simone de Beauvoir!

Women in the crowd cheer and stomp.

Tina: [Bleep] you! Fat-ass Foucauldian ho!

Ursula: You only wish you were smart enough to understand Foucault, bitch!

Tina: You the bitch!

Ursula: No, you the bitch!

Tina: Whatever! Whatever!

Jerry: We’ll be right back with a final thought! Stay with us!

Commercial break for debt-consolidation loans, ITT Technical Institute, and Psychic Alliance Hotline.

Jerry: Hi! Welcome back. I just want to thank all our guests for being here, and say that I hope you're able to work through your differences and find happiness, if indeed happiness can be extracted from the dismal miasma of warring primal hormonal impulses we call human relationship.

(turns to the camera)

Well, we all think philosophy is just fun and games. Semiotics, deconstruction, Lacanian post-Freudian psychoanalysis, it all seems like good, clean fun. But when the heart gets involved, all our painfully acquired metaphysical insights go right out the window, and we're reduced to battling it out like rutting chimpanzees. It's not
pretty. If you're in a relationship, and differences over the fundamental principles of your respective subjectivities are making things difficult, maybe it's time to move on. Find someone new, someone who will accept you and the way your laughably limited human intelligence chooses to codify and rationalize the chaos of existence. After all, in the absence of a clear, unquestionable revelation from God, that's all we're all doing anyway. So remember: take care of yourselves - and each other.

Announcer: Be sure to tune in next time, when KKK strippers battle it out with transvestite omnisexual porn stars! Tomorrow on Springer!

((((Hat tip to Eli Guscott))))

Purim Spiel 2 - My Yellow Bus

Purim spiel parody of Mad Men

Increases in Voting Democrat Decreases Freedom

What this graph shows is at about 51 percent of a state voting for the democrats, personal and economic freedoms begin precipitously to be eroded.

source
Hat tip to Roger, the Real King of France

Gamemasters Day

Today is a day to honor your gamemasters in any of our RPGs.

It is the first anniversary of the death of Gary Gygax, one of the originators of the tabletop role-playing game genre.

Timeline shows Bush, McCain warning Dems of financial and housing crisis; meltdown

The public need to know that GW Bush and J McCain and other republicans wanted to head off the financial crisis, why B Frank and other democrats were in denial about the insolvency of Fanni Mae and Freddie Mac

Different Presidents, A Different Corps

The Marines show "a tepid response" to BH Obama, who requires the pomp of the presidential music to prove to himself he is really president, while GW Bush receives a tremendous welcome.

The Forty Deadly Sins of DMing

The 40 Deadly Sins of DMing

Author Unknown

Deadly Sin #1: Thou shalt not afflict players with thine own awe-inspiring characters.

Don't send one of your own really kool characters with the PCs. Avoid the temptation! Yes, yes, I know the PCs will sit in awe of the astounding skill levels and powers your totally kickbutt character has and that they will be thrilled by all the stories of the world shaking events the character has been involved with and they will be stunned by the astoundingly powerful array of magical artifacts the character has collected. But give the PCs a chance to use their own pitiful skills, pathetic powers, and mundane equipment!
If lack of players or other reasons require extra party members, run them as background, an extra Intelligence check, or just another guy to go along. Play them with character, but never allow them to make decisions that will affect the PC's. This only happens when the PC's don't see a clue that is smack DAB in their faces. Also, NPCs are always last to get the new equipment.

Corollary to #1: Thou shalt not afflict players with awe inspiring omnipotent artifacts.

Never *ever* give the players that ever-so-cool magical item you created that has all those super powers and abilities and its intelligent and can kill deities in one stroke. Regardless of who you give it to, it is going to get hideously abused at some point. Give magic to match the characters.

Deadly Sin #2: Thou shalt not forsake notation.

Never ever forget to make notes on your campaign. The worst thing a campaign/game can suffer from is lack of continuity. Things like your favorite NPC suddenly popping back to life, almost (rather suspiciously) like he never was killed at all, people who have interacted heavily with the characters not remembering them, "on-going plot lines" suddenly disappearing ("Hey, whatever happened between the Frick'll Kingdom and the Baryn Dutchy? I mean, weren't they at war?" "Oh yeah... when was that? Three, four years ago?" "Must've been four - we were drafted in xxxx RLA."), "used" potions and charged magical items having a seemingly infinite amount of uses, etc.

Deadly Sin #3: Thou shalt not run a stagnant world.

Think about changes in the setting, what is happening in the *dynamic* campaign world. Have kings been ousted? Wars fought? Dragons slain? World upheavals occurred?

Deadly Sin #4: Thou shalt not allow players to flounder.

When your players are at a total loss at what to do, fumbling in the dark, and have been so for an hour (real time), give them a clue, a helpful NPC or some such. Even if you think it's totally obvious what they should do. It might not be very realistic, but it's much more fun to actually *do* something than just to sit around. Let them sweat for a while, but if they have given up, nudge them in the right direction.

Deadly Sin #5: Thou shalt not drone endlessly.

Don't expect players to interrupt you. Some of us don't think it's very polite to interrupt people when they're talking, so don't describe the gruesome ritual of the cultists until the gory end without giving the players a chance to act. Some GM's will expect the players to shout "I'll shoot the high priest!" in the middle of a sentence.

Deadly Sin #6: Thou shalt not make little of hard-won PC abilities.

When a character has amassed enough skill/power/whatever in some area, enough to be a world-class expert and maybe enough to gloat a little -- do *not* instantly create an NPC (using more points/dice /assigning higher numbers/whatever) who is better than the PC in the PC's specialty and whose main goal in life appears to be to rub the PC's nose in that fact. Especially do not create such an NPC as a "goad" to force the PC to follow the railroad tracks of the plotline (please keep hands and feet inside the car until the plot has come to a complete stop). If a PC's earned the obscene skill, let him keep it. Trickier mobs of almost-as-good NPCs will do better anyway.

Don't constantly squash your players' dreams and ambitions in your campaigns. While adversity is a Good Thing in a role-playing environment, hopelessness, except in some VERY rare circumstances, isn't. If a player wants his character to save the nation from a great scourge, if this is even remotely within genre conventions allow the player the opportunity. (Whether he succeeds or fails should be based on her/his character's merits, but the opportunity should be provided.) If a player wants his character to be the greatest gunslinger in the Wild West, allow him the opportunity to develop the requisite skills. Do not EVER constantly introduce NPCs who are superior "just to get his goat."

Deadly Sin #7: Thou shalt not design absurdities.

Don't make your mysteries/puzzles/plots so convoluted that no one but you (the GM) can follow them. I failed to follow this rule and killed one of the best campaigns I've ever run. As Aaron Allston put it, "...clues fly like clouds of bats and pretty soon the players wander off to play video games..." Since then, my players will give me "cloud of bats"-sign if they think things are getting too Byzantine.

Deadly Sin #8: Thou shalt not allow an individual to spoil thy story.

Never allow one players actions to screw up a good story.

Deadly Sin #9: Thou shalt not place thy plot above player wishes.

Never let your precious, inflexible storyline screw up good characters. Nobody likes to be railroaded.

Railroading has gotten a bad name. There are many games out there that advertise themselves as "storytelling" that often demand that the characters don't screw things up. Killing the main bad guy in the first session is bad. GMs just need to fudge things a little to "naturally" keep the plot on track.

The idea isn't that they don't HAVE free will, they do. They are just made aware of the risks involved in attempting it (and failing) are grave. They are quite free to make those 4 drive rolls you mention, and perhaps die in a fiery automobile crash, but it's up to them. Of course everyone knows that in REALITY they aren't going to do it.

Deadly Sin #10: Thou shalt not fail to meet thine own commitments.

Don't tell everyone that the next game is on a certain night. Then when everyone arrives and is all settled in and ready to go, announce that, "I really don't have anything ready for tonight. Someone else want to GM? How about a movie?"

Alternatively: "You mean it is my turn to GM? Uh-oh. I don't have anything ready...."

Tardiness. Nothing pisses off players more than having to wait for their GM to show up, or watching him read something or write something at the last minute.

Deadly Sin #11: Thou shalt not display preferential treatment.

Don't always pick out one member of the party and make the campaign center tightly around that person. Don't ignore efforts on the part of other players to carve out a niche for themselves in the campaign.

Whatever you do, don't ever display favoritism to anyone in your game! I don't care if this is your girl/boyfriend, husband/wife, best friend from waaaay back JUST DON'T DO IT! Nothing ticks off players more than a perceived bias on the GM's part for (or even against, if unjustified!) another player. If you can't be impartial, for political reasons or otherwise, in your treatment of a specific player, don't invite that player to games involving other players. If you can't leave out the player (by virtue, say, of being married to him or her), don't run games. You'll lose your players in the end anyway, so what's the point?

Special corollary: The above takes on critical importance if you find the player in question attractive.

Corollary to the corollary: Exercise extreme caution if the player's significant other is also in the party . . .

Deadly Sin #12: Thou shalt not fail to be prepared or to wing it.

Be prepared - Stay prepared. If you have to toss your plot out the window; have an alternative ready. If the players comes up with some *very* unconventional solution, be ready to handle that situation. The best laid plans of mice, men, and GM's...

Never begin a scenario by apologizing to the players. "Sorry I didn't write out character sheets for you..." or "Sorry I didn't get all the NPC stats worked out..." Either do this stuff before the game or learn to wing it during play.

Footnote to #12: The players will almost always decide to do the thing that you haven't planned for, or even considered.

If the players are going completely the wrong way, don't be afraid to turn the map around.

Deadly Sin #13: Thou shalt not overestimate thy players.

Never overestimate your players or their own estimation of their characters.

or in essence:

KNOW THY PLAYERS ...

If it seems like the GM and the players have very different ideas about the structure or direction of the campaign, there comes a point when hints and in-game information aren't enough. Take some time before or after a game session to talk about these issues, and let everyone know what everyone else thinks. This shouldn't be necessary very often, but it's worth trying if it can save a campaign from the brink of disaster.

Deadly sin #14: Thou shalt not coddle thy players.

Don't make them believe that nobody will ever die in your adventures. It takes away a lot of the fun, drama, and tension if it becomes known that you can't be killed no matter what.

Deadly sin #15: Thou shalt not sway under pressure.

Be flexible, listen to your players' suggestions, but when it comes down to it, DO NOT buckle under to player pressure when they want something unreasonable.

Deadly Sin #16: Thou shalt not permit a totally disfunctional party.

Never allow a player a character that has big problems interacting with the rest of the group. Especially if the player is a *real* roleplayer who doesn't know when to stop. Always keep the group at least marginally balanced.

Deadly Sin #17: Thou shalt not deviate greatly from thy goal.

Do NOT begin talking about other adventures/campaigns in which you've played!

We're *all* here to have fun by roleplaying. Not all of us are here to have fun by talking about television. Our primary goal is indeed to have fun, but the fun we're trying to have is roleplaying-type fun. Activities which impair roleplaying can, depending on the group, all too easily ruin this fun.

Deadly Sin #18: Thou shalt not make puppets of PCs.

Never, ever tell the players how their characters would react -- even if you DID write the adventure.

It's probably worth distinguishing the GM attempting to force how the player roleplays the character and the GM reminding the player of the campaign culture. Particularly in the first few episodes of a campaign. Or in a convention run.
Even good experienced players slip-up. The GM should feel free to question PC actions, but the player always has final say.

Deadly sin #19: Thou shalt not ignore or allow players to be ignored.

This is hard, but try to give each player *at some stage* every session your complete, full and undivided attention. This way, the quiet, polite and unassuming players get some good gaming in, and it can work wonders for the plot too.

Deadly Sin #20: Thou shalt not reward pushy players.

Below are solutions:

1. If a GM doesn't want the PCs to be methodical and "slow," don't give them non-action characters
2. If you don't want people to examine doors, LEAVE THEM OPEN
3. Give players a chance to react to other PC actions, especially when they would be in close quarters. (I should have been able to stop the pushy PC)
4. Remind players that there are other PCs in the area who are watching them or at least in speaking range. The 3 PCs were in the car. One suddenly got out and walked away without saying a word. Yeah, right! The other PCs would have AT LEAST said, "Going somewhere?"
   
5. Don't reward a pushy player with treasure/info because he "took action and got the game going" (this is what the GM later said). It will only alienate the players who are roleplaying their characters.
6. If you want "the game to get going", simply compress time and don't ask the players for detailed actions. Say things like, "You don't find anything" and "After searching several different areas you have come to the following conclusion..."

Deadly Sin #21: Thou shalt not tolerate disruptive players.

When you have a disruptive player who, in the face of repeated warnings, goes out of his way to make completely anti-social characters who go off and do their own thing, do not invite this player back to the game. What you will find happening, nine times out of ten, is that your good, fun-to-game-with players will leave for greener pastures and you will wind up with the dysfunctional players.

Deadly Sin #22: Thou shalt not allow friendships to be torn asunder.

Do not let your games break up friendships. If two people who get along well in ordinary circumstances constantly bicker in game sessions, separate the two. If you want to game with both of them, run two campaigns and keep the antagonists in eparate campaigns. If you haven't got time for that, talk things over with the antagonists (individually!) and explain why you're dropping one of them from the game. If you fail to heed this advice, you will be responsible for a broken friendship and a completely unenjoyable campaign.

Don't be afraid to *stifle* party friction where it's starting to interfere with the *players*... Probably best to stifle both ways, unless you want to suggest that one player leave.

Deadly Sin #23: Thou shalt not allow newbies to flounder.

Don't ever invite newbies to your campaigns and then leave them high and dry. If you bring in a newbie, shower him with attention. He's already feeling the odd man out because he doesn't have the gaming history that his fellow players have. If you want to keep him, you're going to have to ensure that he feels welcome and worthwhile.

Deadly Sin #24: Thou shalt not use player psych lims againsd them.

Never use players' real-life "psych lims" against them. If one of your friends has a real problem with homosexuality, the game is not a good venue for forcing him to confront that problem (unless you're a REALLY talented GM *and* EXTREMELY good friends). If one of your players doesn't like romantic entanglements, this is the wrong player to force into an in-character romance. If one of your players has real problems with racism, this is not a good theme to throw into the game.

Deadly Sin #25: Thou shalt not overpower characters.

Don't overpower the characters. Twice now in an AD&D game I've accidentally stomped the PCs with ill-chosen adversaries. The reason is that I've never played in, or run a game that lasted this long. The PCs all have characters of a power level I'm not used to. Be careful and test the strengths and weaknesses of the players so you don't slaughter them by accident.

Deadly Sin #26: Thou shalt not permit the undesirable.

The GM should never allow anything into his campaign that he doesn't want there.

Deadly Sin #27: Thou shalt not over detail.

When people start asking, "Do you want some popcorn? I'll make a soda run," you've probably over detailed your GM notes.

Deadly Sin #28: Thou shalt not fail to provide a challenge.

Same GM above, what me and the other players referred to as the "God Squad". Simply put all of the major NPCs, and most of the PCs had very powerful abilities so much so that we were able to go stomping through what ever encounters that he through at us with very little in the way of a challenge.

Deadly Sin #29: Thou shalt not be flighty in creation.

Killing off the campaign just as it getting interesting. Same GM as above but he abruptly changed from RQ to Cyberpunk 20.20, to Star Trek (In this one we saw what was coming a mile away and the players killed that one off in one session), to Stormbringer (In that one he sent us on a dimension hopping campaign. It got to be chore for me, and I just stopped playing in it. He was my roommate at the time but that's another horror story......), to Call of Cthulhu, well you get the idea......

Deadly Sin #30: Thou shalt not fail to enjoy thy self.

Remember that the GM has the right to have as much fun as the players. I've seen too many games where the task of the GM is a chore rather than fun. While I will be the first to admit that game mastering is work, it should not be a burden. If some aspect of the game is making the GM unhappy, he should change it. Problems I have seen include, frustration with poor players, never getting a chance to play a character, or boredom with the current game. If a GM has any of these problems the only solution is to change it and change it quick. Find new players, coerce a player into being the GM for a while, or try a new game. If you don't correct the problem the whole playing experience will be a real bummer.

Deadly Sin #31: Thou shalt not neglect detail.

Don't let the characters forget about their real world connections. The little stuff helps make the players 3D. Checked voice-mail lately, there's a missed clue. How're the relatives, there's a missed plot or two. Are they up-to-date on their spaceship payments? They can't all be motivated by just greed.

Deadly Sin #32: Thou shalt not overemphasize unimportant details.

Don't get bogged down in the details. Who cares if the PCs haven't visited the John in weeks? Who cares about the effects of wind resistance on Mars vs Earth? If the players don't, and its not real important to the plot, drop it.

Deadly Sin #33: Thou shalt not permit unfeeling characters.

Don't let players get away with unfeeling characters unless they're built that way. What's the law have to say about privacy and mind reading? How do the PC feel about the super stud/babe their cruzin with?

How about all the innocents on the planet they just nuked from orbit? Or the thousands of Kobald babies they killed just for the experience? Don't laugh! You've been there.

Deadly Sin #34: Thou shalt not fail to disclose rules before they're applied.

Don't surprise players with as yet undisclosed rulings without letting them reconsider their actions. Bad GMs do this all the time. As a GM myself, I unwittingly think others will rule as I would. I run my characters accordingly and expect the GM to let me know when there's an important difference. I don't have to agree with the GM, I just want a chance to act according to their rules BEFORE they kill me/hit someone "in the line of fire"/critically fail.

Deadly Sin #35: Thou shalt not permit minority rule.

Don't let the minority rule. Aggressive players that run roughshod over the others should be dealt with. Others will expect to be catered to to the exclusion of all others. Deal with these problem players in a firm but fair way. Insist on the public support of unhappy players, it's their game too.

Deadly Sin #36: Thou shalt not ban character death.

Don't be afraid to let characters die. Occasional character death retains a sense of mortality.

Deadly Sin #37: Thou shalt not ban party friction.

Don't be afraid of party friction, even when it might mean character death.

Corollary to #37: Don't let player friction dominate the game either.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of immature players out there who seem to derive pleasure from killing other party members (either because it's a power trip, or they like sowing discord, or they like the attention, or whatever). If handled maturely and skillfully and legitimately within the context of the game, this can work out. However, I've yet to see anyone who could play it this way, and I've found that there is nothing else that is more destructive to a game. If one of your players is trying to off another player he better have a damn good reason for doing so.

Literally, don't let players get away with murder unless they cover their tracks well. PCs and NPCs are likely to have friends, relatives, and associates that care about how they died. In many settings, the authorities will also want to know. Magic, psi, and advanced forensics can make it tough to get away with murder.
Don't ever let a player run a new character out to revenge the death of his previously murdered PC. This is not always obvious when the new character is introduced. Talk to the offending player if it starts to become a problem. Remind them of what it would be like for them if the tables were turned.

Don't hold the game up for squabbling characters. If they want to squabble during an important bit, well they'll miss it while the other players are having fun. Penalize them if they're not paying attention to their surroundings. Most PC friction can be run without involving the rest of the party or the GM, so let them have at it. If the rest of the party gets involved, well then everyone is having fun and its ok to spend some time on it.

Deadly Sin #38: Thou shalt not follow rules blindly.

Do not do the following: Trust the rules. If the rules say it, it must be right. Always follow them to the letter; the game was designed that way. Even if it seems odd at the time, the designers are sure to have taken into account all possible factors. Even the house rules that you added three years after the game was published.

Do the following: If the rules don't fit, make up a new one. Write it down to keep things consistent (and probably loose it) and build a massive set of optional//house rules.

Deadly Sin #39: Thou shalt not be afraid to fudge a die roll.

Deadly Sin #40: Thou shalt not kill to soon.

Never kill any player character too early in the piece. Even if they do something stupid. Fudge the rolls if you have to.
Kill a PC early in the game ONLY to illustrate:

1. the ease or resurrection or reincarnation
2. the vital role of ghosts or other undead or something else along similar lines.

Hypocrisy, Dilbert Style