tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67238217883075752532024-02-20T07:43:06.698-05:00Cybrludite's Gaming BlogCybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-58926751979034497882011-01-22T05:28:00.001-05:002011-01-22T05:28:37.758-05:00How many baboons can you take?<a href="http://theoatmeal.com/quiz/baboon_dildo"><img src="http://theoatmeal.com/img/quizzes/generated/6_48_baboons.jpg" alt="How many baboons could you take in a fight? (armed only with a giant dildo)" /></a><br /><p>Created by <a href="http://theoatmeal.com">Oatmeal</a></p>Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-86986104546298113402010-09-19T13:36:00.002-04:002010-09-19T13:44:42.352-04:00Travel weather for MadConWarm & clear down here. 30% chance of storms in Chi-town for the connecting flight, and a 40% chance in Madison. Nice & cool over the weekend, and more rain chances for everywhere on the flights back. Last time I went to a convention up there, there were serious storms over Chicago & our flight got diverted wide over the lake before coming back around to land. Major pucker-factor as this was just after 9/11, and the pilots never did tell us why we flew on past the airport & city...Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-16878811771049895742010-09-16T18:58:00.003-04:002010-09-16T19:02:06.805-04:00News of the dullNo real excuse for not having updated this in so long. Once I get my upcoming GURPS game rolling, I'm going to get back to my series on post-apoc gaming.Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-16622055345899726782009-02-14T03:17:00.003-05:002009-02-14T07:41:54.582-05:00Survivalist charactersSince I've been intermittently posting on post-apocalypse game settings, let me go on a bit about survivalist character types. I'll be speaking GURPS, but you should be able to port this to any other applicable gaming system. This post will be the "Good Guys", with the "Bad Guys" coming in a future post.<br /><br />The Gummer<br /><br /><i>Broke into the wrong God damn rec room, didn't ya you bastard!</i> <br /><br />This is the default which everyone thinks of when you say "Survivalist". Named for the Patron Saint of preparedness, Bert Gummer from <i>Tremors</i>. They tend to have average gun skills for a player character (but a wider assortment of the skills), plus Armoury (Small Arms) for Full Auto conversions, Demolition & Chemistry along with Scrounging for using "a few household chemicals in the proper proportions." NBC Suit & Survival: NBC for dealing with the after effects of The Bomb, and usually the Survival skill suitable for the local climate. Wealth and Independent Income are useful to pay for the "Food for five years, a thousand gallons of gas, air filtration, water filtration, Geiger counter. Bomb shelter!" and, of course, the wall full o' guns. A Sense of Duty of his friends and a Quirk or mild Odious Personal Habit of mistrusting the government rounds things out.<br /><br />The EDCer<br /><br /><i>You need a what? Sure, I've got something around here that'll do the trick...</i><br /><br />EDC is short for "Every Day Carry". Whatever the situation, he's probably got a gadget which will serve the purpose. There's two ways of handling this guy. For the detail oriented, you can always just list everything the dude is carrying out in their possessions. The character point based version would have a few levels of Gizmo with a 40% limitation of "Can Only Be Used For Mundane Equipment" to represent, say 3 meters of duct tape wrapped around a business card, a tube of superglue in a crush-proof container, a disposable space blanket, a pre-paid phone card, a folding titanium spork, or what have you just when it's needed most, and leaving only the big items actually listed on the sheet. It doesn't have to be the exact tool needed, just so long as it's something that will serve. ("No, no tape measure, but my multi-tool has a ruler and I've got a spool of paracord. I'll just put a knot every six inches and that should be good enough for what we need...") A likely reputation amongst co-workers and friends will be that they're the one to find when something needs fixing, and a good Odious Personal Habit is that they will carry their gear <i>everywhere</i> they go. At his wedding, his cummerbund will have more tools than Batman's utility belt and his bowtie will probably be made out of paracord. Just in case.<br /><br />The Back-To-Basics<br /><br /><i>Don't prep so you can survive the collapse. Prep so you don't even <u>notice</u> the collapse...</i><br /><br />It'll be a bit hard to work them into the game as a PC, unless it actually <i>is</i> an End Of The World game, but they can make for an interesting helpful NPC, and even a fun red herring. These are the folks who're preparing for the collapse by learning how to make do without all the modern conveniences. Basically, give them the appropriate rural, craft, and mechanical skills for Tech Levels 5 and 6. (roughly the Colonial Era through WWII for non-GURPS speakers) As for the red herring bit, picture the confusion of a PC who has passed out in the boondocks due to wounds or weather exposure, and comes to in a building which looks like something out of <i>Oh Brother, Where Art Thou</i>... This also works for folks who're part of historical re-enactment and Living History goups. Just roll the Tech Level of the skills back further and possibly add melee weapon Sport forms for the SCA types.<br /><br />The Woods Walker<br /><br /><i>There is no bad weather. There's only inadequate clothing.</i><br /><br />Named for a well-respected poster on the <a href="http://www.zombiehunters.org/forum">Zombie Squad</a> forums, this archetype would be a Ranger in a swords and sorcery game. Hiking, Navigation (Land), Knot Tying, and Survival for their home climate at high levels. In a cinematic setting, they'd have very high Tracking and Guns (Rifle), and maybe even Zen Marksmanship.Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-74205336739307247642009-02-03T08:29:00.004-05:002009-02-03T08:31:16.127-05:00Open letter to spammersIf you're going to keep sending me emails from January 18, 2038, could you include something useful, like say next week's Powerball numbers, or the biggest sports upsets of the next five years? Just a thought...Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-89738292233369812892008-10-25T04:47:00.002-04:002008-10-25T05:22:13.703-04:00You all wake up in cell with no idea how you got there...Only slightly less hackneyed than "You all meet in a tavern..." for a campaign start. It's used mainly to annoy the folks who go into great detail about the specific gear with which their character is equipped. ("My character carries an Springfield GI Model 1911A1 with Trijicon sights, a 20 lb recoil spring, full-length guide rod, Swinson trigger, Wilson beaver-tail grip safety, damascus steel commander-style from STI, and a Gunsite lo-ride safety." "Actually, Bob, your character is wearing the same prison rags as everyone else, and isn't packing so much as an improvised shiv. You have no idea how you got here.") While discussing this at the start of a friend's Star Wars game recently, Jason said, "Yeah, you notice it's never 'You wake up at, say, a fancy dinner party...'" This started the gears turning in my head, and got a terrified reaction from my buddy D when I said, "You know, that'd be the perfect start if I ever run a GURPS: Illuminati game." Think about it. Your characters are typical Joe or Sarah Sixpacks who suddenly wake to find themselves in tuxes or ball gowns and domino masks in very swank digs and a bunch of similarly attired folks and the casual conversation around them involves things like, "Yes, we'll be discussing the Reptoid situation with Mr. Johnson after the ritual. "His" work on the web has been nearly effective as his previous jazz guitar playing in advancing their cause, don't you think? And talk about hiding in plain sight!"Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-63918106692597839392008-10-14T06:07:00.006-04:002010-03-03T05:10:31.181-05:00The Omnivore's One Hundred<a href="http://twowheeledmadwoman.blogspot.com/2008/09/omnivores-hundred.html">Omnivore's One Hundred</a><br /><br />1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.<br />2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.<br />3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. <br />4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/ linking to your results.<br /><br /><br />The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:<br />1. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Venison</span><br />2. Nettle tea<br />3. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Huevos rancheros</span><br />4. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Steak tartare</span><br />5. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Crocodile</span> (if alligator counts)<br />6. Black pudding<br />7. C<span style="font-weight:bold;">heese fondue</span><br />8. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Carp</span><br />9. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Borscht</span><br />10. Baba ghanoush<br />11. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Calamari</span><br />12. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Pho</span><br />13. <span style="font-weight:bold;">PB&J sandwich</span><br />14. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Aloo gobi</span><br />15. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Hot dog from a street cart</span><br />16. Epoisses<br />17. Black truffle<br />18. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Fruit wine made from something other than grapes</span><br />19. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Steamed pork buns</span><br />20. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Pistachio ice cream</span><br />21. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Heirloom tomatoes</span><br />22. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Fresh wild berries</span><br />23. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Foie gras</span><br />24. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Rice and beans</span><br />25. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Brawn, or head cheese</span><br />26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper<br />27. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Dulce de leche</span><br />28. <strike>Oysters</strike><br />29. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Baklava</span><br />30. Bagna cauda<br />31. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Wasabi peas</span><br />32. <strike>Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl</strike> (Or any other bowl, for that matter)<br />33. Salted lassi (Sounds good, though)<br />34. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Sauerkraut</span><br />35. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Root beer float</span><br />36. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Cognac with a fat cigar</span><br />37. Clotted cream tea<br />38. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Vodka jelly/Jell-O</span><br />39. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Gumbo</span> (Dude! I'm from New Orleans! Of course I've eaten gumbo!)<br />40. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Oxtail</span><br />41. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Curried goat</span><br />42. Whole insects<br />43. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Phaal</span><br />44. Goat’s milk<br />45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more (Only half that price, alas...)<br />46. Fugu<br />47. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Chicken tikka masala</span><br />48. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Eel</span><br />49. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut</span><br />50. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Sea urchin</span><br />51. Prickly pear<br />52. Umeboshi<br />53. Abalone<br />54. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Paneer</span><br />55. <span style="font-weight:bold;">McDonald’s Big Mac Meal</span><br />56. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Spaetzle</span><br />57. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Dirty gin martini</span><br />58. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Beer above 8% ABV</span><br />59. Poutine<br />60. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Carob chips</span><br />61. <span style="font-weight:bold;">S’mores</span><br />62. Sweetbreads<br />63. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Kaolin</span> (Via Kaopectate)<br />64. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Currywurst</span><br />65. Durian<br />66. Frogs’ legs<br />67. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake</span> (All of the above, actually...)<br />68. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Haggis</span><br />69. Fried plantain<br />70. Chitterlings, or andouillette<br />71. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Gazpacho</span><br />72. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Caviar</span> and blini<br />73. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Louche absinthe</span><br />74. Gjetost, or brunost<br />75. <strike>Roadkill</strike><br />76. Baijiu<br />77. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Hostess Fruit Pie</span><br />78. <strike>Snail</strike><br />79. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Lapsang souchong</span><br />80. Bellini<br />81. Tom yum<br />82. Eggs Benedict (But I do make a decent Eggs Sardou)<br />83. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Pocky</span><br />84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.<br />85. Kobe beef<br />86. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Hare</span><br />87. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Goulash</span><br />88. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Flowers</span><br />89. Horse <br />90. Criollo chocolate<br />91. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Spam</span><br />92. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Soft shell crab</span><br />93. Rose harissa (No, but I'm going to have to try it)<br />94. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Catfish</span><br />95. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Mole poblano</span><br />96. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Bagel</span> and lox<br />97. Lobster Thermidor <br />98. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Polenta</span><br />99. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee</span><br />100. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Snake</span><br /><br />63%, assuming half credit on two of them, and some of the ones I've missed are on account of having not heard of them before.Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-64392175975816386252008-10-03T21:38:00.002-04:002008-10-03T21:39:00.930-04:00Of all the gin joints in all the world...<p><em>Your result for The Classic Leading Man Test...</em></p><h4>Humphrey Bogart</h4><p style="text-align:center"><img src="http://is1.okcupid.com/users/850/490/8504912322575776397/mt1124722603.jpg" width="" height="" /></p><br /> <div>You're the original man of honor, rough and tough but willing to stick your neck out when you need to, despite what you might say to the contrary. You're a complex character full of spit and vinegar, but with a soft heart and a tender streak that you try to hide. There's usually a complicated dame in the picture, someone who sees the real you behind all the tough talk and can dish it out as well as you can. You're not easy to get next to, but when you find the right partner, you're caring and loyal to a fault. A big fault. But you take it on the chin and move on, nursing your pain inside and maintaining your armor...until the next dame walks in. Or possibly the same dame, and of all the gin joints in all the world, it had to be yours. Co-stars include Ingrid Bergman and Lauren Bacall, hot chicks with problems.<br /><p><br />Find out what kind of classic dame you'd make by taking the <br /><a href="http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=4621123663119520922">Classic Dames Test</a>.</div><p><a href="http://www.helloquizzy.com/tests/the-classic-leading-man-test">Take The Classic Leading Man Test</a> at <a href="http://www.helloquizzy.com/"><b style="color:#131313"><span style="color:#ac000c">H</span>ello<span style="color:#ac000c">Q</span>uizzy</b></a></p>Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-73439323081327449692008-09-22T00:54:00.000-04:002008-09-22T00:55:13.974-04:00Two Reptiods Enter, One Reptoid Leaves!<a style=" background: #000 url(http://www.bunkbeds.net/velociraptor/img/badge.jpg) no-repeat 0 0; display: block; width: 322px; height: 157px; text-align: center; padding-top: 150px; text-decoration: none; font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 30px; color: #ff9900; " href="http://www.bunkbeds.net/velociraptor/"> <span style="display: none;">I could survive for</span> 1 minute, 38 seconds <span style="display: none;">chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor</span> </a>Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-20881713869863365042008-09-08T02:24:00.006-04:002008-09-09T08:08:14.106-04:00The Golden HordeNo, we're not talking about Genghis Khan's crew. The Golden Horde is a term used on some preparedness boards for the mass of evacuees from major population centers once the SHTF. Think of all the resources that a city uses in a typical day, plus the gasoline needed to fill the tank of most every privately owned car in the place. Now imagine trying to fill that need with the contents of small town convenience stores within a hundred mile radius of that city. You no doubt heard of shortages along the evacuation routes back in '05 for Katrina & Rita, and again last week for Gustav. Ok, imagine that instead of New Orleans or Houston, it's every city in the US that's being emptied. Now add a mushroom cloud, UFOs, or a mob of zombies in their rear-view mirrors and watch the road rage turn lethal. That convenience store's last box of diapers could end up the subject of bidding, deal making, or outright violence.<br /><br />It's not just upstanding suburban citizens in this mass migration. You're also going to be having all manner of thugs and junkies fleeing whatever it is that's being fled from. And even if you aren't one, you can sure that you'll be suspected of being such if you fit the profile in the locals' minds. During such an evacuation, double any negative reaction penalties that characters might have, if they're the sort that the locals might notice. (Not so much for appearance, unless it's specified as "creepy". Very definitely for things like low Social Status or being a member of a Minority Group.)<br /><br />This sort of encounter works anyplace you've got population centers, hinterlands, and something to cause the former to empty into the latter. Perhaps the semi-obscure smuggling port your characters operate from could be unexpectedly filled to the brim with refugees fleeing a shift in the battle lines. Now you've got to get that questionable cargo from the storage facility to the docks without running afoul of either the enhanced security presence or the desperate refugees. In the fifties or sixties, flying saucers or giant radioactive dinosaurs could be curb-stomping the cities. A rouge nano-weapon could send streetwise cyberpunks scrambling to the sticks. <span style="font-style:italic;">The Dark Knight</span> had the threats of a facially scarred madman emptying out Gotham. A minor "Ooops" on the part of the Mage Guild might force the thieves & merchants of a city into the countryside, as could a steampunk mad scientist's latest creation. <br /><br />It could also factor into a character's backhistory, either as a victimized local, or an ordinary citizen who had to do unthinkable things to escape from Doomedville after the traffic ground to a halt.<br /><br />UPDATE: A post from <a href="http://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2008/08/lessons-learned-from-hurricanes-katrina.html">Bayou Renaissance Man</a> on real world examples of the Golden Horde during Katrina & Rita.Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-48867683992118316912008-09-05T00:57:00.002-04:002008-09-05T00:59:30.391-04:00BackLooks like me & mine all made out ok with the storm. If you want to help out those who weren't as lucky as I was, contact <a href="http://www.redcross.org/">these</a> fine people.Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-4920337912640268962008-08-27T00:53:00.000-04:002008-08-27T00:58:05.844-04:00Oh, no. Not again.<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v236/Cybrludite/?action=view¤t=plotsystemmodels_NT_2008_7_atlantic.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/Cybrludite/plotsystemmodels_NT_2008_7_atlantic.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-81733190768045451062008-08-25T12:22:00.002-04:002008-08-25T12:26:34.520-04:001,000th visitorI was going to congratulate my 1,000th visitor, but checking the IP addy, it was me hitting it from my cell phone. Ooops. Congrats, then, to my 1,001st visitor, who came here via google.uk looking for inspirational gaming music. (I appear to be the number two hit for that search)Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-85746827341181304322008-08-23T06:03:00.001-04:002008-08-23T06:03:32.221-04:00Maybe I can hide from the zombies on the moon...<a href="http://www.oneplusyou.com/bb/moon" style="display: block; background: #333 url('http://www.oneplusyou.com/bb/img/moon/badge.jpg') no-repeat; width: 320px; height: 90px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 35px; color: #fff; text-decoration: none; text-align: center; padding-top: 110px; ">72%</a><div>Created by OnePlusYou - <a href="http://www.oneplusyou.com">Online Dating Site</a></div>Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-45891061330013534682008-08-23T05:35:00.003-04:002008-08-23T05:35:33.856-04:00Clearly, I need to work on that...<a href="http://www.oneplusyou.com/bb/zombie" style="color: #fff; text-decoration: none; display: block; width: 385px; height: 209px; padding-top: 35px; background: url(http://www.oneplusyou.com/q/img/bb_badges/zombie.jpg) no-repeat; font-family: Times New Roman, sans-serif; font-size: 60px; text-align: center;"><span style="display: block;">69%</span></a><p>Created by OnePlusYou - <a href="http://www.oneplusyou.com">Online Dating Service</a></p>Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-85237546356363803472008-08-23T05:14:00.002-04:002008-08-23T05:27:00.074-04:00What I did on my summer vacation...At least the last week or so, I've had an actual excuse for not posting. I've been attending <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Emergency_Response_Team">CERT</a> classes in the evening before work. On the plus side, I'll be able to add <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NIMS">NIMS-100</a> & CPR certification to my resume once we're done. Add in being best man at a buddy's wedding, construction work around the apartment complex while I'm trying to sleep, and a few dates here & there (Including a few second dates, no less. How'd that happen?), you can see why the bloggage has slipped so much. Doesn't help that, other than the Revoke The Games link over in the sidebar, I've been keeping this blog politics free. Got plenty I could say on that subject... Maybe I'll write up the CERT training in GURPS 4th Ed. once we're done.Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-3207973341498077202008-05-24T01:48:00.004-04:002008-05-24T17:18:34.969-04:00Robert Asprin (1946-2008)Bob passed away Thursday. The folks coming to pick him up to go to a con found him dead on his couch with a sci-fi novel in his hand. (As a fan, can you imagine a better way to go?) Details at <a href="http://www.sfwa.org/news/2008/rasprin.htm">SFWA</a>. I met Bob at Midsouthcon last year. Hell of a nice guy. He's gonna be missed.<br /><br />*UPDATE* An unofficial wake will be held tomorrow night, Sunday the 25th, at Fahy's in the French Quarter, 540 Burgundy. 9pm 'til.Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-51189438501212581522008-05-08T02:24:00.002-04:002008-05-08T05:42:05.238-04:00Meme-ishnessPicket up a meme from Chris regarding <a href="http://anarchangel.blogspot.com/2008/05/few-random-things-about-me.html">a few random things about myself</a>. I'm skipping the health stuff & answering the rest of it broken down into categories.<br /><br />Collections: Boomsticks, costuming props (some overlap there due to being a Browncoat...), slowly rebuilding my roleplaying game & movie collections.<br /><br />Hats: A couple of ball caps, still haven't gotten around to replacing my western hat or getting a cavalier hat for the ren-faire costume I plan on doing.<br /><br />Jewelry: Except for my Mjolnir, I don't wear jewelry. And even that is worn inside my shirt unless I'm in Viking garb. I don't even wear a watch.<br /><br />First real book: The first non-kiddie book I clearly remember reading was John Gardner's "Grendel". When I was eight. Kind of a WTF moment for me back in the day. I'm sure there were others. I may have gotten my hands on Blish's Trek novelizations earlier, but that's the first one that really stuck with me.<br /><br />Favorites<br /><br />Food: Bacon. Baconbaconbaconbaconbacon... <br /><br />Colors: Dark green & earth tones.<br /><br />Song: Depending on my mood, either "March of Cambreadth" by Heather Alexander (The bagpiped version off of the album "Midsummer") or "Paint It Black" by The Rolling Stones. If I'm in a rare mushy sort of mood, then "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel or "Time Stand Still" by Rush will get the nod.<br /><br />Poem: Gotta be something from Kipling. "Recessional", "Grave Of The Hundred Head", "The 'eathen", "Helen All Alone"... too many to choose from. It's horribly cliche' to say so, but Shakespeare's Sonnet XVIII ranks up there as well. I mean, really, how can you top that final couplet?<br /><br />Movie: Gotta agree with Chris that "The Princess Bride" is my favorite.<br /><br />Book: Mu<br /><br />Soft drink: Dr. Pepper, which I make a point of NOT keeping on hand, lest I end up even rounder than I am already. Even worse, I discovered the Dublin, Tx version of Dr. Pepper on a recent trip to Austin. Twitch, twitch... <br /><br />Coffee: CDM. Brewed strong. Black.<br /><br />Coffee mug: Right now it would either be the big blue one labeled "Evil Overlord" I picked up at Gulf War XV, or the "Warning: Contains Polonium-210 in liquid suspension" mug I got from <a href="http://unitednuclear.com/">United Nuclear</a>.<br /><br />Favorite beer: Shifts around a bit, but currently Eel River's <a href="http://www.eelriverbrewing.com/triple-ex.html">Triple Exultation</a>. 9.7% by volume is a Good Thing.<br /><br />Hard liquor: Laphroaig <a href="http://www.laphroaig.com/whiskies/quarter_cask/index.asp?expanded=quarter_cask">Quarter Cask</a>. (Heh. The spell checker's first suggestion for "Laphroaig" is "Aphrodisiac"...)As far as booze I can afford on a regular basis, <a href="http://www.titos-vodka.com/titos.html">Tito's Vodka</a> from Austin, of all places. Try it and you'll be amazed that this stuff goes for about $15 a fifth.<br /><br />Wine: Not much of a wine drinker. Only one I've found that I can stand the taste of is Tokej Azou. At $40 per half-liter, it's not a regular indulgence of mine.<br /><br />Ice Cream: Either coffee or dulce de leche.<br /><br />Dessert: Again, Chris has good taste. Creme Brulee. Either I'm not as picky about it as he is, or we've just got better access to folks who know how to make it right here in New Orleans.<br /><br />Cake: White cake with my family's recipe for chocolate frosting .<br /><br />Favorite place: Chincoteague, Va. Heck, you could say the entirety of the Va. Eastern Shore.Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-27599472687336617712008-04-04T06:00:00.001-04:002008-04-04T06:00:44.218-04:00A man's gotta know his limits...<a href="http://www.justsayhi.com/bb/fight5" style="display: block; background: url(http://assets.justsayhi.com/badges/570/182/fight5.rizle3yq9a.jpg) no-repeat; width: 296px; height: 84px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 42px; color: #fff; text-decoration: none; text-align: center; padding-top: 145px;">30</a><p></p>Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-73353848155465827282008-03-20T03:52:00.002-04:002008-03-20T03:54:51.920-04:00And then there was none...The last of the giants of Sci-Fi passed away yesterday. Arthur C. Clarke passed away in Sri Lanka at the age of 90.Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-71151128253787739272008-03-05T08:25:00.001-05:002008-03-05T08:27:44.651-05:001d4+1 minutes of silence...<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/05/arts/05gygax.html?ref=arts">Gary Gygax</a>, pretty much the inventer of the whole roleplaying hobby passed away yesterday.Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-71980653952783614032008-02-20T06:35:00.002-05:002008-02-20T06:35:55.578-05:00Clearly I need to cuss more...<a href="http://www.justsayhi.com/bb/blog_rating"><img style="border: none;" src="http://assets.justsayhi.com/badges/319/785/rated_pg.8yu5rxbo3t.jpg" alt="" /></a><p></p>Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-89304079838561335952008-01-05T05:45:00.000-05:002008-01-05T05:50:46.438-05:00New linksColor me rather (pleasantly, I might add) suprised to find I'm linked to by Jay Manifold over at <a href="http://avoyagetoarcturus.blogspot.com/">Voyage To Arcturus</a>. From the link title on his end, it would appear that he had been linked to atleast one previous incarnation of this blog. <br /><br />I've also updated the link to Karen's blog. Unfortunately, blogger doesn't like the strike tag in the formating areas of the blog, so I couldn't properly show the name change.Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-27430780009323052682007-11-14T18:31:00.000-05:002007-11-14T18:33:58.973-05:00BusyUp to my ass in alligators at the moment due to a promotion at work and then having my replacement quit and having to do double-duty. (triple, if you count training my new replacement) Free ice cream to resume once I have a chance to catch my breath.Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6723821788307575253.post-24545133675295625072007-09-24T13:30:00.000-04:002007-09-24T13:31:43.178-04:00Societal CollapseOne of the primary motivators of the “Back To Nature” types in the early Seventies was the belief that Western Civilization was going to collapse under its own weight. Society was hitting near-Roman levels of decadence and fans of Edward Gibbons were certain that Welfare & Prime Time were the new Bread & Circuses. A subset of this crowd was mindful of the original Rome’s Visigoth problem, added some modern-day pilums to their preparations, and became the first “survivalists”. Doesn’t seem like much of a game setting, though. How can the machine grinding slowly to a stop make for thrilling adventures? Sounds pretty boring, right?<br /><br /><i>“On the roads, it was a White Line Nightmare…”</i><br /><br />Mel Gibson’s bank accounts would politely beg to disagree. The movie “Mad Max” was set near the tail end of just such a collapse. The courts were useless, the citizens were apathetic, and the cops were becoming little more than leather-clad vigilantes. With no law enforcement, the economy began to grind to a halt as interstate shipping was choked off by the gangs. This can be transplanted to any comparatively desolate location that has access to some nearby city to base the PCs out of. The Texas Panhandle. The Jersey Barrens. Tony Hillerman fans could run such a game with the PCs operating out of Shiprock having the Navajo Tribal Police in the role of The Bronze, with Joe Leaphorn as FiFi and Jim Chee as Max.<br /><br />Another way of working this would be to have the PCs to be down on their luck in a dying city. As Jerry Pournelle will tell you, no country is more than three meals from a revolution. A modern city has little in the way of food reserves. If the grain trains don’t roll, then people get hungry. Unlike the Economic Collapse scenario where the PC might not have the money to buy food, in this case there’s no food to buy with that money. (A much nastier situation…) At full population, a typical American city has about a 2-3 day supply of food on store shelves and in warehouses. Perhaps a bit less nowadays, given the use of “just in time” shipping. This sort of consideration is the basis of the open road scenarios in Car Wars. “You have to get these trailers full of canned goods to Cincinnati, or folks are going to starve!” Or the PCs could be in Cinci the day when only half the trucks make it, causing food riots to break out. <br /><br />This is another setting that you can use to torture gun-bunnies. With supply-chain disruptions like this, ammo that has to be special ordered is going to evaporate pretty quickly. In generic terms, special ammo types (match grade, hot loads, frangible bullets, AP, uncommon calibers) just aren’t going to be available very often and either hollowpoints (for handguns & military calibers) or FMJ (for hunting rifle calibers) are going to be scarce. They won’t be irreplaceable, as things haven’t gotten that bad yet, but they’ll have to think hard before just opening up on folks with their preferred wonder-weapon.Cybrluditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.com0