I've been more-or-less offline the last few weeks, and probably will be until mid-July. The quick update:

( The list. )

The geek wants out.D&D 4th Edition was announced recently, and the books will be out in the spring. Anyone interested in a 4th edition campaign? An actual sit-down-at-the-table-and-order-pizza thing every couple of weeks or so ( Read more... )

Finished This Is Your Brain on Music, from which I've been pulling things lately. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in how the brain processes music (you know who you are), though I found it to be a thick, chewy read of the "absorb a chapter and think about it for a few days" variety. Quite a lot to ponder, and some new vocabulary if ( ( Read more... )

Almost finished with World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. It's basically a collection of (very) short stories that tell the story of the war, each from a different person's perspective. The author really does some interesting characterizations, and while some of the stories aren't much more than that, others capture the horror of the ( Read more... )

Master of Orion 3: Did anyone ever figure out how to make this game playable and enjoyable? It's been a couple of years now, so someone must have, right? If not, is there anything else that scratches that turn-based conquer-the-universe itch? I really wanted to enjoy MOO3, but it just never happened.

Dungeons & Dragons Online: It's out now, ( Read more... )

Hypothesis for more thought: Gaming and Perceptual Control Theory

( Games of Identity and internal control systems )

About six years ago, I picked up a computer game that my friends had been raving about - EverQuest. It wasn't the first Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG, or as C. pronounces it, "More Pig"), but it defined the genre.

Six years ago in context: I was single, occasionally dating but not seriously. I had a well-paying IT job ( Read more... )

I heat up, I can't cool down
You got me spinnin'
'Round and 'round
'Round and 'round and 'round it goes
Where it stops nobody knowsAfter my appointment this morning with the Dr. High Geek Optometrist and the Most Gorgeous Optician in the World, I finally have a new pair of glasses on order to replace my currently broken pair. Hopefully I'll get ( Read more... )

December was primarily a month of Slack. Call it recharging, call it hibernation, call it celebrating the holidays... whatever. I caught up on my sleep, indulged myself with enjoyable frivolities, and got very little work done of any sort. I call it Slack, and it was good. Time to move on.

( Whoooosh... )