Web browsing and nerdy game shit
I realized today why I don't especially like reading things on my computer. The reason is quite simple: the computer is full of distractions. It's quite a dichotomy, since the computer is also full of all the information I am looking for. Of course, by computer, I'm referring to the internet more than anything. I am so accustomed to the rapid gratification, and the ease of distraction afforded by being online that I find if very difficult to focus on something not printed on paper. I constantly want to look up something else, bring up another page in the background, double check my email for the dozenth time.
The fact is, when I want to read something, really read something, I have must have paper in my hands. It puts me in a mental state that allows for that disconnection from everything else. It makes me focus on one thing. It triggers a response in me that says "this is what I am doing now. This is not an interlude before something else."
So, I tend to wind up with piles of paper as I sift through various web files looking for things. It sort of defeats the purpose of the internet, and the economy of NOT having to print things out.
Having the internet certainly helps during the initial paring down of information, but when I have two or three things which must be read in order to figure out if one of them is what I am actually after, it must be printed, or I won't be able to concentrate.
Case in point: I've been looking for a campaign system for some of my miniatures wargames. I want to be able to play some fantasy tabletop campaigns with Renee that are interesting without being complicated. I know Games Workshop developed some stuff to go with their Warmaster game called Mighty Empires. The problem is, that incarnation of Mighty Empires was designed for 6-7 people, and does not translate down to 2 players at all well. I couldn't discern that by reading on the web, and printed out about 20 pages or so, only to find out that for my purposes the rules as published are useless.
Browsing through the excellent Warmaster Yahoo Group, I have since found some additional versions of the Mighty Empires rules, that incorporate ideas from previous incarnations of Mighty Empires, and bring them in line with a 2-3 person campaign. However, this set of rules weighs in at 60 pages, and I'm not inclined to just print them out only to find out that they fail me again. I would try to print out the sections that seem relevant to my interests, but I'm not even sure where they would be in the system (games rules typically being designed by gamers who are not very good teachers).
EDIT: Writing this post was a distraction from reading the aforementioned 60 page document. So there you have it.
The fact is, when I want to read something, really read something, I have must have paper in my hands. It puts me in a mental state that allows for that disconnection from everything else. It makes me focus on one thing. It triggers a response in me that says "this is what I am doing now. This is not an interlude before something else."
So, I tend to wind up with piles of paper as I sift through various web files looking for things. It sort of defeats the purpose of the internet, and the economy of NOT having to print things out.
Having the internet certainly helps during the initial paring down of information, but when I have two or three things which must be read in order to figure out if one of them is what I am actually after, it must be printed, or I won't be able to concentrate.
Case in point: I've been looking for a campaign system for some of my miniatures wargames. I want to be able to play some fantasy tabletop campaigns with Renee that are interesting without being complicated. I know Games Workshop developed some stuff to go with their Warmaster game called Mighty Empires. The problem is, that incarnation of Mighty Empires was designed for 6-7 people, and does not translate down to 2 players at all well. I couldn't discern that by reading on the web, and printed out about 20 pages or so, only to find out that for my purposes the rules as published are useless.
Browsing through the excellent Warmaster Yahoo Group, I have since found some additional versions of the Mighty Empires rules, that incorporate ideas from previous incarnations of Mighty Empires, and bring them in line with a 2-3 person campaign. However, this set of rules weighs in at 60 pages, and I'm not inclined to just print them out only to find out that they fail me again. I would try to print out the sections that seem relevant to my interests, but I'm not even sure where they would be in the system (games rules typically being designed by gamers who are not very good teachers).
EDIT: Writing this post was a distraction from reading the aforementioned 60 page document. So there you have it.