D&D Encounters

About a month ago Matt , Jihee, Trina, and I got to be in a D&D video promoting their in-store play program, D&D Encounters. The shoot was fun. I mean, all I had to do was play D&D with some of the R&D people that work on the game, and do a short interview.

The end results look pretty good. And if I can somehow make this even slightly moped related, watch for Matt wearing a Creatures shirt in the interview.

Warmachine Con

This weekend my friend Dan and I attended Lock & Load Fest, the first Warmachine con in the country. Warmachine is a Seattle-produced miniatures game that's seen a huge boost in popularity in the past few years. Free from any of that pesky role-playing, it's boiled down to just skirmishing where you smash armies against each other, in an attempt to kill the opposing unit leader. Think of it like chess, but with magic-wielding casters and steampunk robots.

Yeah, its probably more nerdy than D&D. I started playing a few months ago, and its been mildly addictive.

The best part of the con was getting to play on some amazing custom terrain in the free play area. Dan and I battled each other in a snowy village, and in a mineshaft.


























































































A few other tables.

...In which our hero embarks on an adventure

Hey folks. I'm back. I took a break from the blog. I figure getting married is a good enough reason to be busy.

The wedding was really nice, and a lot of fun. People ask me what my favorite part was. It was the part where everything went as planned. Steph did an amazing job planning the event, and I'm glad everything went smoothly and everyone had a great time.




















My mom and two of my sisters flew out for the day.














And my best friend/man, Chris came out for a week.














This kinda sums it up:
















And so do these:

































































A week later was the honeymoon. A trip to my childhood stomping ground, Newport RI. No real itinerary, other than seeing the sights and relaxing.

We saw huge mansions,















And rocky cliffs along the Atlantic,















and the house I lived in when I was twelve.















When I was four (circa 1979), I had really long hair, and would always run past this barber shop because I was convinced if the barbers saw me they would pull me inside and force a reasonable haircut on me.















Unfortunately some of my childhood memories didn't quite live up. My favorite milkshakes as a kid are no longer made with real ice cream, nor was my favorite flavor, mint chocolate chip still available. Some things should stay in the past.




















I drowned my sorrows with a regional microbrew at the oldest tavern in America.




















And saw an old tower built by vikings.




















In short; my life rules.

Reality Is Broken

This is a really fantastic book on why gaming is important. I'm about half way through, and I've learned a lot. It's really given me a different perspective on why gaming isn't a waste of time, and how it makes our lives richer, and makes us better people. I highly recommend it to anyone, gamer or not.

If you don't read the book (which you probably won't) at least check out this TED presentation that the author did. She makes a lot of the same points she makes in the book, although much more abbreviated. It's inspiring stuff.

Big fat strikes again

This makes the third Puch swing arm I've destroyed in six years. Two stock and now this aftermarket one finally bit the dust after about 3 years.

At least I caught this one (or had it pointed out to me by Hucker Steve) before it completely broke while I was riding, like the last two did.

Game of Thrones

I had been waiting for this new HBO show to premiere for a few months now, and it certainly didn't disappoint. Around 7:30 last night I hit up a torrent search, and the first episode had just been uploaded. 45 minutes later it was playing through my Xbox. I love technology.

This is excellent fantasy for people that aren't really into fantasy. Looking forward to next weeks episode.