Bam.
That's the sound of my mind shifting into gear, all its parts working smoothly together. Right? Right.
I've been so tired lately but we're going to get past that.
Look how organized these cuts are.
On chores:
This weekend I had a hard time settling down to do something relaxing so I did a bunch of housework instead. Friday and Saturday I was cleaning up the basement because the forecast was for tons and rain and probable flooding. (Spoiler: There was not actually that much rain or flooding.) Yesterday I mowed most of the yard before the mower's battery ran down.
On food:
I made an Indian chickpeas/garbanzos in thick gravy recipe on Friday night. On Labor Day the weather was decent so I broke out the smoker chips on the grill to make pulled pork. I have tried a LOT of different pulled pork recipes over the years, but I'm happiest with the latest one. The secret is to spread mustard over the skin - it helps keep the rub on and melts into the pork shoulder, giving it a great crust. The actual rub is more subjective - I tend not to measure it - but I like to do two parts brown sugar, two parts paprika, one part cajun seasoning, and some salt and pepper. This time I had some mimolette pepper, which has coriander mixed in, so I used that too.
We've eaten almost all the ragu that Jill made. It was really, really good, especially with some good Parmesean cheese and different types of pasta. I'm thinking of doing some more Japanese cooking in the near future if I can get some good vegetables. I think there's a lot of similarities between Italian cooking and Japanese cooking, actually - both in some of the preferred foods (starch, seafood, fresh vegetables) and approach.
I'd also like to explore some more middle-eastern recipes, too.
On Beer:
I finally got that Irish stout bottled. I think I made it in February? It fermented for over a month and I stuck it in the keg-cooler when the weather started getting hot. So it's a ale that got lagered, basically.
If I like making beer as much as I think I do, why do I do it so rarely? This was a question that was occurring to me when bottling the beer. (By which I mean, fighting with the siphon.) Part of it is the time commitment, and this has been a very busy year. I think part of it is the distance between making the beer and drinking the beer, so they don't really feel like the same thing. They're not, in any case.
On the plus side, the stout will be carbonated when I get back from the conference.
I think the Irish stout will be fun to use to try and layer with other beers. Like the Raspberry Wheat I made up - Raspberry stout is a good combination, anyways. I have some other ideas for new recipes, too. Ginger apple cider. Also a spiced apple cider, with some pumpkin pie spices. The Mexican Hot Cocoa Porter. And, I'd like to make a batch with my dad once the hops they planted are ready to harvest.
Jen has found a martial arts class in town she really likes. Maybe Jill and I will do it. I like doing weight-lifting, but I'm not always so good at making time for it. Maybe this will force me to do so. I've tried other martial art type things - like kendo in undergrad - and never been especially good at them. But the weeaboo part of my brain is pretty excited at the idea. It's pretty cheap, too..
After backyard wrestling on Saturday, I feel sore. Still. Funny thing.
Blah blah blah apocalypse world team rocket MaoCT burning wheel blah.
Actually, I'm trying to figure logistics for the moment. We have one campaign going - Paul's D&D heavily modified game. I would like to run a game on alternate weeks. Sarah is also interested in running a game, a Dragon Age thing.
Some of my game ideas (Team Rocket) are likely to be more interesting to Sarah and Harvey than to Pat and Jen. But Pat and Jen might still want to play. And I would be willing to do a Tea Rocket game and an Apocalypse World or Burning Wheel game, but then each of my games is only going like once a month and .. headaches. I don't want anyone playing because they feel obligated rather than because they've having fun.
My ideas for games are largely the same as they have been. Except, part of the reason I had trouble focusing this weekend is that I felt really self-conscious going through "childish" things like old jRPGs or Pokemon. But at the same time, I am not ready to be a grown-up all the time yet.
There is the realization that reading/thinking about RPGs is not at all the same as running them. A lot of people think it is, but it's not at all. Fortunately I enjoy both, but most of my players have minimal interest in the reading section. Which is fine, for some systems.
On video games:
I was taking a shower this weekend and Holding out for a hero popped into my head and made me think of the end of Saints Row III. Man, that was a good game. I played a little more Skyrim this weekend too and wrapped up the faction quest. I think I'll just go ahead and finish the main quest soon.
I have Last Story now but haven't started playing it. And I finally beat Jasmine. Yeah! Defeating a little girl's beloved pets in front of her! With my animated pollution ball! Pokemon!
I read some of Oryx and Crake. I like it, but it's heavy stuff. Funny thing about post-apocalyptic stories, that way.
Also, the more I think of it, the more jRPGs have pretty apocalyptic stuff go down during the game itself. Sometimes you then fix it, but not always. Several Final Fantasies, Xenogears, Nier (well in the backstory), and Valkyrie Profile. I can't really think of a wRPG where you fail that badly during the game itself, though Fallout has it in the backstory of course.
I've been so tired lately but we're going to get past that.
Look how organized these cuts are.
On chores:
This weekend I had a hard time settling down to do something relaxing so I did a bunch of housework instead. Friday and Saturday I was cleaning up the basement because the forecast was for tons and rain and probable flooding. (Spoiler: There was not actually that much rain or flooding.) Yesterday I mowed most of the yard before the mower's battery ran down.
On food:
I made an Indian chickpeas/garbanzos in thick gravy recipe on Friday night. On Labor Day the weather was decent so I broke out the smoker chips on the grill to make pulled pork. I have tried a LOT of different pulled pork recipes over the years, but I'm happiest with the latest one. The secret is to spread mustard over the skin - it helps keep the rub on and melts into the pork shoulder, giving it a great crust. The actual rub is more subjective - I tend not to measure it - but I like to do two parts brown sugar, two parts paprika, one part cajun seasoning, and some salt and pepper. This time I had some mimolette pepper, which has coriander mixed in, so I used that too.
We've eaten almost all the ragu that Jill made. It was really, really good, especially with some good Parmesean cheese and different types of pasta. I'm thinking of doing some more Japanese cooking in the near future if I can get some good vegetables. I think there's a lot of similarities between Italian cooking and Japanese cooking, actually - both in some of the preferred foods (starch, seafood, fresh vegetables) and approach.
I'd also like to explore some more middle-eastern recipes, too.
On Beer:
I finally got that Irish stout bottled. I think I made it in February? It fermented for over a month and I stuck it in the keg-cooler when the weather started getting hot. So it's a ale that got lagered, basically.
If I like making beer as much as I think I do, why do I do it so rarely? This was a question that was occurring to me when bottling the beer. (By which I mean, fighting with the siphon.) Part of it is the time commitment, and this has been a very busy year. I think part of it is the distance between making the beer and drinking the beer, so they don't really feel like the same thing. They're not, in any case.
On the plus side, the stout will be carbonated when I get back from the conference.
I think the Irish stout will be fun to use to try and layer with other beers. Like the Raspberry Wheat I made up - Raspberry stout is a good combination, anyways. I have some other ideas for new recipes, too. Ginger apple cider. Also a spiced apple cider, with some pumpkin pie spices. The Mexican Hot Cocoa Porter. And, I'd like to make a batch with my dad once the hops they planted are ready to harvest.
Jen has found a martial arts class in town she really likes. Maybe Jill and I will do it. I like doing weight-lifting, but I'm not always so good at making time for it. Maybe this will force me to do so. I've tried other martial art type things - like kendo in undergrad - and never been especially good at them. But the weeaboo part of my brain is pretty excited at the idea. It's pretty cheap, too..
After backyard wrestling on Saturday, I feel sore. Still. Funny thing.
Blah blah blah apocalypse world team rocket MaoCT burning wheel blah.
Actually, I'm trying to figure logistics for the moment. We have one campaign going - Paul's D&D heavily modified game. I would like to run a game on alternate weeks. Sarah is also interested in running a game, a Dragon Age thing.
Some of my game ideas (Team Rocket) are likely to be more interesting to Sarah and Harvey than to Pat and Jen. But Pat and Jen might still want to play. And I would be willing to do a Tea Rocket game and an Apocalypse World or Burning Wheel game, but then each of my games is only going like once a month and .. headaches. I don't want anyone playing because they feel obligated rather than because they've having fun.
My ideas for games are largely the same as they have been. Except, part of the reason I had trouble focusing this weekend is that I felt really self-conscious going through "childish" things like old jRPGs or Pokemon. But at the same time, I am not ready to be a grown-up all the time yet.
There is the realization that reading/thinking about RPGs is not at all the same as running them. A lot of people think it is, but it's not at all. Fortunately I enjoy both, but most of my players have minimal interest in the reading section. Which is fine, for some systems.
On video games:
I was taking a shower this weekend and Holding out for a hero popped into my head and made me think of the end of Saints Row III. Man, that was a good game. I played a little more Skyrim this weekend too and wrapped up the faction quest. I think I'll just go ahead and finish the main quest soon.
I have Last Story now but haven't started playing it. And I finally beat Jasmine. Yeah! Defeating a little girl's beloved pets in front of her! With my animated pollution ball! Pokemon!
I read some of Oryx and Crake. I like it, but it's heavy stuff. Funny thing about post-apocalyptic stories, that way.
Also, the more I think of it, the more jRPGs have pretty apocalyptic stuff go down during the game itself. Sometimes you then fix it, but not always. Several Final Fantasies, Xenogears, Nier (well in the backstory), and Valkyrie Profile. I can't really think of a wRPG where you fail that badly during the game itself, though Fallout has it in the backstory of course.