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March 13 It’s better to be alive than un-deadQuick post today. If you are a fellow D&D freak like I am, and find yourself running a campaign then your gonna love this tool. Or at least I think you will, and if not… well fine be that way. I mentioned before how I recently (ok not that recently) got into D&D and how I am now DM (Dungeon Master) for a group of my friends. To date I have mostly run canned adventures produced by Wizards of the Coast because they allow me to concentrate on the mechanics, with out coming up with the meat of the story. The pre-canned adventures are great by the way, and WOTC recently released a new 4E book called Dungeon Delve that contains 30 dungeons with little mini adventures, a great tool if you want something quick. However I’m itching to build a campaign from scratch, populate it with my own characters, and then challenge my friends to play through it. There are lots of great tools out there to help with this, and in future posts I’ll probably talk about a few of them that I find really useful. Today I want to point you too a great tool for hosting your adventure. Basically it’s a Wiki (yes I just linked to Wikipedia to explain what a Wiki is… that one’s for you Chrissy) for roll playing games. It’s super easy to build, free (they have a pay version with a few more features), and a great place to send your party members for details about up coming adventures. IT’s also a great place to store adventure log’s of recent games. The site is called Obsidian Portal. I first read about OP on a blog I frequently read called Geek Dad which is a great blog about roll playing stuff. Here’s a nice video tutorial for OP that will get you started. Here's my recently created OP wiki, it’s pretty sparse at the moment, I’ll flush it out a bit over the weekend. -Bryan March 10 Here’s to you grunting exercise dude, we salute you.Recently I’ve started going back to the gym, it’s sort of a requirement for men as we get older, we can either work out regularly, or we can let ourselves go and make a nice short career of this thing we call life. Me personally, I plan to live for ever, in order to do that I have to live with the original equipment until science catches up and makes me some new bits. So with much grumbling from my wife (making her get up at 5:30am so we can carpool to work, she’s a saint by the way) I started back into it this week. While at the gym bright and early Monday morning I was reminded of something I’ve seen before at the gym, something that always cracks me up. That would be the vast cast of character’s at the gym. There’s ape man (dude has a chest and shoulders the size of a silver back, slightly hunched forward, palms perpetually facing back, usually bald), or the spandex queen’s (women who look good, buy designer work out gear, wear makeup to work out, never sweat, and have perfected the pose and sideways glance to see if some is checking them out), hand stand guy (spontaneously does hand stands, or hand stand push up’s to show us just how strong and agile he is). Then we have the social groupies like Brittney the texting queen (can’t be bothered to actually exercise until she finishes the never ending text conversation), the board room (two or more guys having a meeting while they pretend to work out), or my favorite two guys pretending not to feel that way about each other while the pump each other up (“dude you totally killed that set”, “we are gonna be so ripped”, “hey you wanna grab a shower together”). Then we have my runner up favorite, mister poser dude who pumps out a set of pretty much any exercise, then goes over to the mirror and poses himself, often making threatening faces into the mirror, yeah dude that would scare the shit out of the bad guys in the action movie that’s running through your head. But mister poser dude looses out to my new favorite gym character. That being Grunting Exercise Dude. I first ran across G.E.D. a few months back, at that time I thought he was just a variant of M.P.D., or maybe the male equivalent of a Spandex Queen. You see he doesn’t really exercise, he instead does these strange little imitation exercises. Example: A normal pull up requires you to grasp the bar, hands shoulder width apart, start from a resting position with your arms full extended, pull your self up till your chin is parallel with the bar, lower yourself back to rest and repeat. G.E.D. does it slightly different, he starts at rest, but instead of pulling himself up so that his chin is parallel he instead pulls him self up 1 inch, lowers himself and repeats. He does this on ever exercise. Following each set he flexes all his muscles, puts on his mean face, walks over to the mirror and scowls. Some times he checks his teeth. I shit you not. Now your probably saying that’s just M.P.D., maybe the best example of it, but just M.P.D. And I would normally agree. But you see I ran across him again, and this time I was close enough to hear him… Let me paint the scene. G.E.D. is doing dips, he climbs up on the dip bar, assumes the form (good form by the way, he’s practiced) and proceeds to do his half assed version of a dip, on each up he… he makes a noise. A noise that can only be described as a grunt. Uh, um, gr, oh, ew, uh, ugh, uh, um, eh… dismount, scowl, pose. You really had to be there. It was all I could do to keep from laughing, and I wasn’t the only one. Another fellow workout person walked up to G.E.D. at this point. This person was an example of a true healthy gym user. He was in good shape, about the same height as G.E.D.. The big difference showed it’s self when he asked if he could do a set. He climbed up on the dip bar, assumed the position, then banged out 15 perfect dips. Straight out of the manual, you could have shot a commercial for bow flex. All the while G.E.D. is watching… and scowling. When mister healthy gym user finished his set he hopped down and offered the bar back to G.E.D.. He declined, scowled, and walked to the other side of the gym. :) So here’s to you Mister Grunting Exercise Dude, your not one of us, your one of them, and we salute you. -Bryan (note: Bryan is not an exercise expert, he just believes in going to the gym, working as hard as he can as quickly as he can, and the getting the hell out of the way for some one else.) March 06 I cast Magic Missle at the darkness!So sometime in the last year I came across a podcast from the guys at Penny Arcade (a website that is not all together PC, but funny none the less) about a game that up until that point I viewed with no small amount of distaste. The game in question was called Dungeon's and Dragon's.
As a child I had some exposure to D&D, but most of it was not good. The kids who played it where dorks (which I can say because I was a dork but as with most dorks I could not tell that I was one), and I was pretty sure that D&D was some how evil (thanks Sunday School). When I got to college the kids who played D&D were not only dorks, but they were drop out unwashed slackers who really needed to get a life, besides I had computer video games and the PS1, so what did I need with pen and paper.
Man was I a dork.
As it turns out the nice folks at Wizards of the Coast (a Seattle based company) had recently announced (or released) the latest edition of D&D (4E) and had asked the guys a Penny Arcade and PVP (another great online comic) to get together to play the game, and record it as a promo deal. The rest they say was history. What a fantastic game.
Little did I know where that little podcast would lead. Here we are some eight months later and I am a confirmed D&D addict. :) Addict you say? How so? Well not only have I participated in a D&D game, I have all of the current books (like nine of them), I have my own dice bag (Crown Royal of course), I've handpicked lucky dice, I have purchased multiple game play assistant tools, I've even built and painted my own miniature army (like 60 some odd figures), and I become the DM for not one but two separate groups.
Why?
Because D&D is a game of the imagination. You should be playing it, or a game like it. You should be playing it with your kids. This is like story telling come to life. An average game for my groups lasts about three hours, in that time we visit strange places, meet interesting people, and do heroic feats that none of us could do in real life. I have a friend who's going to be hosting his own game soon, he's making his own world, drawing the maps, researching terrain, and populating it with all kinds of strange and wondrous things. Another friend's son is taking an interest, he's building multiple characters, inventing back stories, and thinking about running his own game. And I want to play in them both! I can't wait to sit down and explore the world from behind the eye's of my own darkly heroic persona.
There's nothing evil about this game, it's not teaching anyone to do violence, it's tame compared to modern video games and requires way more imagination. And let's not even start about how much better it is than the movies or TV (ok so the Lord of the Ring's movies are pretty good, but the beauty of D&D is you can act out the movies!).
If you've ever had anything against D&D then I suggest you step off your stump and give it another look. Turn off the TV, grab your kids and grab one of the starter sets. You will not be disappointed.
Also if you liked the podcast I linked in the post there's a new one out now too. This one includes the same case of characters with the inclusion of Wil Wheaton (yes of Star Trek and Stand by Me) as the intern. I haven't listened yet but I hear it's as good or better than last time so enjoy.
Signed,
-The DM
I give you B.A. Baracus for President!Wow it's been a while since I wrote a blog, I apologize to my non-existent readers for letting you down and taking sooooo long to write something. I know how much everyone is waiting on bated breath for me to post...
uhum, anyway.
It's a new year and tons of stuff is happening or has happened since my last post. We have a new president (Who'd have thought that my prediction of B.A. Baracus aka Barak Obama would come true), I got married , and took up a new hobby.
And now for a brief message about change.
A new president. I am one of the people that voted for our new president. I did so because it was time for a change, it was time for the USA to send a message to the rest of the world that we could pick a president not based on the color of his skin, or money in his (or his family's) pockets, but on the values and hope of change that he would bring. But that's the issue. All I hear from his die hard supporters is how much the world will change now that he's in charge. <dramatic pause as I look around the world> Doesn't look that changed to me, but maybe I just can't see the change from here. WTF people, he's not a super hero, he's not the mythical savior of our country, and he's not the evil overlord who's going to destroy everything. He's a man, with an idea. Change has to come from us. Sure you can blame a lot of our current problems on Bush (leaving out which Bush cause that's kind of the point) but you can also blame a lot of them on Clinton, and I wouldn't hesitate to look back at Ronnie "Ray Gun" Reagan or the "Peanut" President Carter for some of our problems. The point being that these men all had ideas (both good and bad), virtues, and faults, but what has become of our country is not just their fault, it's ours. You can blame the economy on big bad banks making horrible loan decisions, but we are the ones who asked for the loans. We the people of the United States of America need to work together to make things better. We took a step in the right direction by electing Obama, but if we do not make good decisions then he will make bad ones for us. WE HAVE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for our lives, and lively hood. Only then will we see change.
Ok wow, not sure where that came from. In my next post I'll take it back down a notch and talk about something fun.
-One for Change February 01 Deadly SayingsI am a regular reader of Scott Adam's blog as most of you know, well today he had several good ones. This was my favorite: http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2008/02/bad-things-to-s.html I personally hate:
How about you? -Bryan Politics and Porn NamesThere was a Seinfeld episode that talked featured a conversation between the cast about what would there "Porn Name" be if they worked in the business. I think George had the best one when he said his name would be "Buck Naked". Your probably wondering why I am bringing this up, and what it could possibly have to do with Politics. Well that's easy, today I decided to pick a candidate to back in the up coming presidential race based on there name. Sure I could take a close look at there records, watch countless video and read billions (and billions) of articles on there views, but really what would that accomplish? Probably just a head ache. What's in a name? Names tend to invoke first impressions, when you heard Indiana Jones for the first time you probably didn't think he was an accountant. Flash Gordon sounds like a football player, and Holli Wood really does sound like she would if she could. How many times have you picked a restaurant based on the name, or pre-judged a movie (Phantom Menace... wait that's a bad example) based on the name. I've even been known on occasion to avoid saying someone's name because it's a real tongue twister. This brings me back to the subject of politics, I wonder how many people, if they where really being honest with themselves base some or all of there choice on the name of the candidate. You think I am off base here? How about the rumor that's been going around the Barack Obama is a "radical Muslim", hell my own mom fell for that one. Why is it believable? Is it because of his skin color? Maybe, but even more so it's probably because of his name. SO with that in mind what about some of the other's. Hillary Clinton (vote: maybe): Let's just get this out of the way from the start, when I hear Clinton I have decidedly naughty thoughts, all though congress would tell us that I'm not thinking about sex. :) All I know is she better never wear a blue dress for a speech, or smoke a cigar for that matter. And what about Hillary, I get two pictures in my head there, one is of Hillary Swank (also naughty if you ask me), and for some reason an elementary school teacher, which makes for a disturbing combination. Mike Gravel (vote: no): I'm sorry but anyone who has the word grave in there name is not getting a vote from me, and I would imagine it will give our retirees second thoughts as well. Mike Huckabee (vote: maybe): I'm really on the fence on Huckalberry here, I mean on one hand I am reminded of Huckleberry Fin, which while being a great book, doesn't make for a character that I want running the country. On the other hand I am reminded of a line Val Kilmer once said, "I'm your huckeberry" which while I love the line, makes me think of yokels and good old boys, and I think maybe we've had enough of that over the last few years. John McCain (vote: maybe): McCain has a great name, it's powerful, rolls off the tounge, makes you think yeah, he'd do a good job, plus I'll bet he would stand up well in a fight. Which as you know is how most guys make a decision when lacking any other context. Namely who would win in a fight between Captain Kirk and person X. So why not a yes vote? Well I'll get to that in a minute, but first lets look at a few more. Ron Paul (vote: no): Wow, I know it's not the same, but when I read Ron Paul all I think of is RuPaul, nough said. Mitt Romney (vote: no): I'm sorry but Mitt? Come on are you serious? Get a grown up name, and come back in four. And those are just the major candidates, when you expand your search to the independants and third parties you get gold. We have Don J. Grundmann (sounds like a frat boy), Diane Bealle (reminds me of Jessica, mmmm tasty), Kent Mesplay (I think we are in enough of a mess all ready, sorry Kent), Kat Swift (good stripper name... nough said). Daniel Imperato (he's either coming from the dark side, or prepairing for impeachment, neither is good), Steve Kubby (Kubby's your buddy, not your president), and Wayne Allyn Root (we all ready talked about graves, roots are not much better) and that's just a sample of whats out there. So after all that, who would I pick, well that's easy. My pick for president is good old Barack Obama, I mean when I here Barack I am reminded of B. A. Baracus which you have to admit puts a smile on your face. And if you through all these names in the ring, in a huge steel cage death match, you have to admit that B. A. would totally win. So based on nothing more than a name, Obama would get my vote. Oh I would be remise to not add this, and I realize that this whole essay is based on the power of names, but I have to bring up one other candidate. Namely Frank Moore. Frank has a pretty good name, not powerful, not bringing up anything to bad. But this picture cracks me up, so I will end with it.
(How could you not vote for this man?) -Bryan January 30 Strange things you read in the (online) paperA while back I got fed up with the news paper. I was paying too much for a paper full of crap that realistically I only read part of the funnies and part of the sports page. And when I did read more of it, the articles where pretty much trash. Oh and speaking of trash, have you ever noticed the amount of trash that is generated in a weeks worth of new papers? Even if you recycle (I do) it's a lot. So I instead decided to cancel my new paper subscription, and find an alternative to read with my morning coffee. I decided to use www.live.com as my new news paper. I populated the site with interesting blogs, of course I started with what I was reading in the paper news paper, namely sports blogs, and blogs for the comic strips that I liked. This lead to other sports blogs, and the blogs for some of the creators of said comics (Scott Adam's from Dilbert is a great example), and even to blogs from people like Wil Wheaton (Ensign Wesley Crusher DIE DIE DIE) who I think is a great writer and representative of the geek in all of us. Of course the problem is, not all of these blogs update daily, and sometimes they are just plain broken. So I am always on the look out for content to add. (If you have a favorite blog send your suggestion to me please :)) So every now and again I will search the NET for a specific topic (movies, motorcycles, or science) and add a bunch of them to my page, then over a couple weeks time I will weed out the ones that do not perform well. All of this is leading to my most recent quest. Namely Science blogs. I added blogs for PopSci, and Popular Mechanics, I even added a Blog for Jay Leno's Garage. However the specific blog I wanted to talk about today is called ScienceBlogs Select. This blog is supposed to troll the NET looking for interesting Science type papers and blog post, and so far appears to have a lot of stuffy crap I'll never read. However it does update often, and I have found a couple of interesting articles to read. That is until today. Today this came across the blog: A Good Poop - Which from the name you would think is a pretty obvious news story, and one that of course I would read. :) And you would not be wrong (at least about the I would read it part) What it is actually about appears to be medical publications, more specifically shocking and disturbing medical publications. An example you ask? Of course, here you go. All I can say is ouch. -Bryan January 29 Apparently I'm just a drifter at heartOver the weekend I picked up a copy of Burn Out Paradise. I've been a long time fan of the Burn Out series and have eagerly awaited the new version. Over all I am very pleased with this game. It's not perfect, but what is. The bad: 1. Lets just get this out of the way right off the bat. Where is crash mode? I realize they changed the model to an open environment (which I love) but why take away the best part of the franchise? Crash mode was the meat and potato's of Burn Out. Sure Paradise has some great crash physics, but I miss tumbling my car into on coming traffic to create horrendous amounts of damage. I hope the makers (Criterion and EA) pay attention to the fans and release an update that adds crash modes back in. 2. Downloadable cars. I play on the Xbox 360 platform, live screams downloadable everything for games. Can we please please please have downloadable versions of our cars, I will gladly spend money on this... 3. Motorcycles. Burn out has always been about cars, I get that. But the physics engine, insane speed, and eye candy of this game scream motorcycles. Can we please please please have some motorcycles, I will gladly spend money on this as well... The good: 1. Drifting. It is so easy to drift in this game, and each car does it a bit differently. I think Criterion did a great job on this, sure I don't think it's realistic, and I don't think the guard rail will be as forgiving in real life, but that's not the point. It puts a smile on my face when I tap the breaks at some insane speed and watch my car slide side ways around a corner. 2. Jumps. First you can jump off an insane number of things, then the slow motion shot of your car sailing through the air, and the incredible damage caused when you don't land it right. Not to mention the pulling the e-brake to spin off a jump, or the barrel rolls. I don't think they could have done it better. 3. Marked man. Probably my favorite race mode. If your in the right car it's a blast to try and stay alive. The state of my car doesn't make a lot of sense to me, I mean until the game tells me my damage level, it's hard form me to know what it is. Am I almost totaled, all most perfect? Why does me T-boning a parked car, or getting taken down not end the race? Who cares, it's still fun. 4. Road rage. Ok I take it back, road rage is my favorite event, man I love racing through the city taking out the other drivers. Crash up derbies at it's best. 5. While on the subject, I love taking out the random drivers the game keeps sending in. It's a great model for unlocking cars. I kinda wish it wouldn't tell me, and that they would just show up and attack me. Oh and they could be a bit tougher. 6. Free driving. While the two race types above and the take down mode are fun, my favorite thing about this game is the fact that you can just drive around Paradise city and do what ever you want. I particularly like driving on the west side of the city in the mountains. There are not as many cars there, the roads lend them selves to speed and drifting, and there are some insane jumps. There are a few things they could improve in this game, but over all it's well worth your $60. Pick it up, send me an email with your Live handle and we can arrange some mayhem. -Bryan January 28 Lots of Flickr'n going onMade a bunch of updates to Flickr, if your a friend or family you have access to pretty much everything. If your not well there's a few up there for you as well.
Shot from our suite in Vancouver BC between Xmas and New Years. If you want friend access shoot me an email with your flickr account name and I will see what I an do. -Bryan She Did It!Last week Michelle finally took the plunge. We have spent months shopping, going to different stores, doing test rides, research, all of which cumulated in a battle between two very different bikes. Well I am happy to say we have a winner! Still no name for the beast, all though I like suggestions like "dragon", "draco", or even "trouble" are fitting. With out further delay:
And yes I took the shot. :) More shots here: Bryan's Flickr Page -Bryan January 18 Boom there it is!Well I guess it's about time I actually utilized this space. Don't know how often I will update it, but I'll make an attempt to do it at least weekly. I may even point people to it. :)
I added a couple of photo sets, one for Grace (the hog, aka "The Paint Shaker"), and one for the Green Hornet (the honda, aka "The Green Machine"). If you would like to see more photo's visit my flickr page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/18656784@N00/). You can also see more detailed photo's of my bike projects up on my website http://twistedhighside.com/.
I think Michelle may actually purchase a bike before to long, I am super excited for her, she has really progressed as a rider, an now just needs a ride of her own so that she will feel that connection and comfort that comes from knowing it's her own. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we can go test ride a few bikes.
The wedding comes along at it's own pace, still no date, when we know the world will know, until then stop asking. :)
Not to much else going on.
Later,
-Bryan |
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