home

  • Kids and Carpentry…

    Kids and Carpentry…

    …in which I talk about how I’m a terrible carpenter, but that doesn’t matter when you’re only 7 years old.

    This weekend, Ansel wanted to do a woodworking project. You see, at his request, we bought him some tools for Christmas. Not toy tools either, but real, kid sized tools. I don’t do a lot of projects around the house, but with the occasional inspiration, or infrequent maintenance, I do have the tools out now and again. Often enough, it would seem, that Ansel wanted to get his own set.

    Hard at Work

    So when I asked Ansel what he wanted to do this weekend, he said he wanted to build something out of wood. I said, “Okay, but we can’t just ‘build something,’ we need to have an idea about what we’re building.” He gave it some thought and decided that he wanted to build a toy. Well, no surprises there. I asked him to be more specific and really think about what he wanted to make. He ultimately decided he wanted to build a toy boat.


  • Fiasco in the Funhouse…

    Fiasco in the Funhouse…

    …in which I rise from the dead and share some more gaming material.

    This past weekend was ReaperCon 2013. I’ve been attending ReaperCon for three years now, primarily for the gaming, but secondarily, for the metal trade. For the past two years, I’ve actually been a volunteer game master. And in this role, I’ve used this forum to introduce people to Fisaco!

    Fiasco! is an unconventional role playing game that is, by design, a one shot story that attempts to simulate great movies of ambition gone sideways. Movies like Fargo and Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels are about normal, everyday people who find themselves in a rapidly decaying situation in which they struggle to get out alive, and often fail. Jason Morningstar wrote Fiasco! in an attempt to capture that same feeling in a loosely structured role playing framework. I was immediately intrigued and petrified by the entire concept of a fully improvisational, unguided, free form game. But after several sessions with close friends, I have decided that this is an experience that everyone should try at least once. And this led me to volunteer my services at ReaperCon.


  • It’s Character Building…

    It’s Character Building…

    …in which I talk a little about the new Marvel Heroic Roleplaying system, and present my first character build.

    Honestly, this is less of a blog and more of an excuse to publish my build of Havok for my upcoming game of the new Margaret Weis Productions Marvel Heroic Roleplaying game. And to that effect, I’m going to cut to the chase and post the datafile first since I suspect/hope that’s what most visitors will be looking for.


  • Four Hundred and Twenty Six Days…

    … in which I talk about my future mode of transportation.

    So, it’s not something I ever really talked about before. It never seemed like something that would ever really happen, so it kind of lived in the dark recesses of my mind – covered in cobwebs, dusted over with discarded thoughts, and long forgotten. But due to a series of events and realizations, it was dragged back out into the light and cleaned up a little, and now I can’t stop thinking about it. Part of it is an argument for efficiency, part of it is a longing for adventure, and yes, there’s a bit of jealously in there, too. The matters of how and why are inconsequential, since it has already been decided and a date has been set. In four hundred and twenty six days, I will have a motorcycle.


  • My Vision of the Future Remains Unchanged…

    My Vision of the Future Remains Unchanged…

    …in which I talk about my recent discoveries behind my double vision.

    So,  a while back, I spoke at length about how of late I’ve been suffering from double vision. I mentioned how I would be going to a new doctor to see if they had any better ideas on how to correct this vision impairment. I did some research and ended up discarding all the suggestions and referrals that were offered to me and instead went with a Ophthalmologist here in town. The office actually has two Ophthalmologists and an Optometrist, so I thought it sounded like a professional decision. It’s been a little over two months since my initial visit and a lot of exciting and bittersweet facts have been revealed to me.


  • Finding the Path…

    …in which I talk about Pathfinder and role-playing in general.

    So, it’s no secret to anyone that I play and love role-playing games. I’ve been playing D&D in some fashion or another for the past 24  years, starting with a game at lunch in the 5th grade. I still remember how terrible that game was. We only played once and it was a chaotic mess of pre-teen imagination and fantasized gore. That didn’t dissuade me from the game, rather, from that I saw potential for something so much better. With story, and better understanding of the mechanics, there could be something so much greater. It would be years, however, until I discovered that potential.


  • The Trouble with Temporal Manipulation…

    …in which I talk about the futility of regret.

    Wow, so time has been really weird lately. Pretty much the entire month of January slipped by without me even noticing. A combination of rabid sickness, the start of the new semester, a new Pathfinder game, and Skyrim all piled up and devoured my time. Days and weeks raced by until it was all of a sudden February. Even yesterday kind of got lost as we finally got our UNT W-2 forms and were able to file our taxes. Things have been slowing down though, so maybe I’ll be able to get back into a normal time stream. Nevertheless, I digress from my intended topic of the day, a thought that occurs to me often, but most recently while mowing the lawn last weekend. I’m talking about regrets.


  • I Used to Write a Weekly Blog…

    I Used to Write a Weekly Blog…

    …but I’ve been busy.


  • Waiting for Life…

    Waiting for Life…

    …in which I talk about the “real world,” and what that means to me.

    Every now and then I take a look at my life and try to decide if I’m “grown up.” I’m not talking about age or maturity, or even my place in society, but grown up in the child-like vision of “when I grow up.” I honestly can’t remember any of the concepts I had of myself grown up, from when I was a child, but I can’t imagine that this is what I saw. But then again, who idolizes themselves sitting in an office all day managing a computer lab and maintaining a college website?


  • Eyestrain Or Not…

    Eyestrain Or Not…

    …in which I talk about some problems I’ve been suffering with my eyes, lately.

    And by lately, I mean the last couple of years. I try not to attribute it back to the year that I wore glasses with the wrong prescription, but it almost seems like too much of a coincidence that I got my prescription “fixed” and the almost constant eyestrain started. I’ve had my prescription checked and updated several times since then, and things never seem to get better, but I think I’m probably getting ahead of myself. Lets back up a little bit.


December 2024
S M T W T F S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031