NaBloPoMo 2016-29 (Penultimate)

I slept horribly last night, but as I’m still awake, I apparently got enough sleep. I went to bed, did some reading, tried to sleep and had some really anxious thoughts run through my head, and then tried to do some more reading. I finally got to sleep around 2AM, but I was up to go to the bathroom a lot more than usual, and had some weird dreams. Even still, once my alarm clock went off, I was awake and that was that.

Beyond that, I again have nothing new to report. No work, just chores, and tomorrow will be more of the same. I probably should have opted out of NaBloPoMo this year, but I had no way of knowing how much I’d end up distracted from posting.

And with that, I’m done for tonight.

Later.

NaBloPoMo 2016-28

Another kinda nothing day. Worked only 5 hours. Came home and helped out a little with the lawn Christmas decorations. Visited Mom. Watched Supergirl (with it’s weak connection to the rest of the crossover). Now.

Thirty-four words is all I can come up with right now. I’m grasping for more, and there’s really nothing more I want to write about. I feel like I have major writer’s block, but really, I just haven’t been doing anything gaming related, which is the focus of the blog.

That’s all. I refuse to keep fighting this today.

Later.

NaBloPoMo 2016-27

I’ve really nothing to write about tonight.

I dug a little deeper into the Moorcock book, and it reads like it was written by a 15-year-old (which it was). I was in bed in the wee hours, slept until late in the morning when the Christmas decorating woke me up indirectly. I went shopping, came home, took care of a few chores, and spent the evening dinking around with my laptop. Not really productive today.

I have to say, I feel with all the tumult of this year, I’ll be glad when this month (and year) are over. I just haven’t been particularly focused on this project. The deaths and illnesses have been a cause of that distraction, as has the prospect of running a game in a couple of weeks. The election only added to the confusion. It just seems my mind has been under assault by reality all month.

So, that’s it for tonight. I work tomorrow, and I have laundry to finish, so I’m done.

Later.

NaBloPoMo 2016-25, 26

Yesterday, after visiting Mom and a quick stop at HTU to pick up the new White Dwarf, I went and hung out with the Framily. After dinner, we watched some Doctor Who, particularly the episodes The Day of the Doctor, The Time of the Doctor, and Deep Breath. These were the transition episodes between Matt Smith’s Doctor and Peter Capaldi’s Doctor. What stands out for me is the care they take of their universe and the use of recurring characters and species. Like Star Trek, the writers have a setting they curate, not just a collection of weird stuff they string together. I really enjoyed seeing the strings in those episodes that connected to other episodes I’d seen here and there. Good stuff.

When I got home, I had received a paperback I’d bought on eBay. It’s available from Paizo: Sojan the Swordsman & Under the Warrior Star. I bought it for the Sojan the Swordsman portion, as that was authored by Michael Moorcock. I read the stories years ago, but I didn’t have a paper copy anywhere. In fact, I thought they’d been serialized in the Kane of Old Mars books I read in college, but the set I purchased earlier this year did not include the Sojan stories.

The novels include an introduction by the publisher of Paizo discussing the development of the “sword and planet” sub-genre. All in all, it kinda makes me want to run a sword and planet game. In fact, the StarSea has some connection to that sub-genre. Just what I need, another campaign idea…

Today, I spent some time over at the Framily’s. We all went to dinner, and then to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Very entertaining. And somewhat inspiring. It answered some the questions someone familiar with the Harry Potter series might have about how the Wizarding World, like why magic is hidden from muggles. And since there is more interaction between wizards and muggles, there is a certain Mage the Ascension feel to the whole thing, even though Paradox has no place in that world. I could see using this movie as the basis for a campaign.

So, that’s the recap of the past couple of days. Later.

NaBloPoMo 2016-24

Happy Thanksgiving!

A few days ago, while taking the dogs out, I noticed a couple of tubs of stuff left behind by Roger were teetering. As I actually had a day off, I cleaned those bins out. It’s amazing what people will pack, and how they’ll pack it when they’re in a rush. A musical recorder/flute case without a recorder. Two crock pots amongst clothes, as well as camping gear. The mind boggles.

Mom was able to come home for Thanksgiving dinner tonight. Once I get her back, I’m planning on doing a little work on some minis I bought a couple of months ago, and that’s my night. No work tomorrow (so far), so I’ll spend most of the day with the framily.

That’s all for now. Later.

NaBloPoMo 2016-23

Drove up to Hayward today for work. Going in wasn’t bad, but coming out was horrible. All totaled, an exhausting trip.

Special order for the GM Kit for Fantasy Age came in. Yay!

I found an affordable copy of one of Michael Moorcock’s early novels on eBay. It should have been here today, as the tracking number shows it’s been in town since Tuesday morning. But for whatever reason, they didn’t get it out today. 😦

That’s it, really. Later.

NaBloPoMo 2016-21, 22

I work one of the shops yesterday. Sometimes the fleet distribution drivers need to sub for an office hiker; yesterday was one of those days. I got some (most) of my re-read of Fantasy Age complete while waiting around for driving work.

Today I was chase driver most of the day. That means I picked up the others when they delivered cars, or took them to the location they needed to pick up at. That means I have to focus on driving and I can’t listen to podcasts.

I work again tomorrow. I’ll finally have a good sized paycheck again, as I’ve worked three days on this pay period. I think tomorrow will be on the next paycheck (and yeah, that will be four days this period) or they’ll estimate and pay us the underpay on the next pay check.

Anyway, I’m doing a lot of driving with little time for anything creative. Which means I’ve got nothing right now.

Later.

NaBloPoMo 2016-18, 19, 20

Friday was work, a brief stop at HTU, and then pizza and Star Trek Beyond at the Framily’s. I also learned one of our neighbors died, this week. Let me quote myself from Facebook:

Years ago, the young man across the street was up in Yosemite with his friends. He fell from a considerable height that day, fracturing his upper spine and becoming a quadriplegic. His life was altered forever.

Danny made the best of it. He loved motorcycles, but being unable to ride anymore, so he created on his parents’ land (that he inherited once they passed) a museum for flat-track racing memorabilia. Small donations and an event every May helped support him over the years. He was a good friend to Dad and was the one who noticed Dad’s hadn’t been coming or going when he fell ill before his death, and let us use the museum for Dad’s memorial service.

Over the past few months, diabetes, bladder cancer, and other issues related to his paralysis wore away at his body. A few weeks ago, I came home late to see an ambulance at Danny’s place. He never came home.

Danny died this week. Danny was the unofficial one-man neighborhood watch. He spent good chunks of the day (when it wasn’t rainy) out in front of the museum, and those rare rainy days in it. It is truly strange to think he won’t be out there, keeping an eye on the neighborhood.

Rest In Peace, Danny Rouitt.

My sister told me while I was at HTU, but when I wrote this, my emotions got to me. Star Trek was a much needed relief. The first trailer had us questioning where they were going with things, as it looked like a Vin Diesel action movie, not a Star Trek movie. But the writers delivered a nice, nuanced story (although I knew the big reveal ahead of time, as I’d seen some interviews back when it was out in the theatres), with the right balance of humor, action and thoughtfulness to make it a nice ride. I think they’ve been taking notes from Marvel.

Yesterday was pretty boring, with a lot of sitting and waiting to go visit Mom so we could tell her about Danny. He’d been an inspiration for her when she first went into renal failure, so we expected her to be very upset. she took the news very well, saying she’d noticed she hadn’t seen him when she was out for a long time. After that, I went over to the Framily’s and hung out. After dinner, we went to Target and picked up some stuff, and then sat and watched talk shows until I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. I finally woke up and got myself awake enough to drive just about the Boy and his dad got home from a band event in Stockton (about two hours north of Fresno).

On the way home, I was listening to an interview with the creator of Murders & Acquisitions, and he mentioned that, as part of his mechanics, as a way of forcing his players to use his version of Fate Points, he built a point cap into his system. Once you are at full, you can’t gain more. Like Fate Points and Cypher XP, they are meant as an immediately expendable resource. I’m not sure it is a great idea for my game, as you’ll need to accumulate points to actually improve in the long run, as I plan on using a multiplier. For example, to raise your character’s Strength from 2 to 3 might cost (current STR x 8 [not actual number]) 16 XP. If the player has a cap of 8, They won’t be able to raise their Strength (or anything else) and the game stagnates. It’s something to think about. I might just be something more appropriate for Fate and not relevant to my system.

Today has been short, including sleeping in (I got home and in bed around 3AM), another visit to Mom, and procrastinating on going to Costco to find out if I can replace my broken phone. I dropped it Thursday (face down into gravel) and cracked the screen. Not so bad I can’t still use it, but enough to be annoying. I just wanted a day of not running, to be honest.

So, I think I’m done for today. Later.

NaBloPoMo 2016-17

GAH! I’m at that point where I’m tired, but wired on Mountain Dew so I’m not crashing.

Today was a long day of work followed by what turned out to be our penultimate D&D 4e game. Which I’m fine with, as it gives me more time to review the Fantasy Age rules.

Working tomorrow, so I’m out for tonight. Later.

NaBloPoMo 2016-16

Had the day off, but spent it catching up on email. I’ve developed a bad habit of checking it only about once a week, and a couple of boxes had a couple of weeks.

Did some job browsing, too. Chewed up a lot of time looking at jobs I was under qualified for.

Squeezed in reading a couple of blog posts of someone out there building a variation on the Star Wars setting that seemed similar to the StarSea kinda of track, but had links to a couple of Rob Donahue posts, rich are always enlightening.

That’s it for today. Later.