Engineering 101

DragonCon Gaming - FYI

2009-08-06T18:39:59Z

DC gaming registration is up. Someone mentioned my games on the FATE RPG list so I'm wondering if that will get me more exposure. Looks like A-Team is going pretty quick, but I think Ghost busters will catch up.

Dragon Con Update

2009-07-21T02:05:31Z

Its that time of year again. This year I'm trying a couple new things on the gaming front, including a new system.

Ghostbusters 1884: The Case of the Soapstone Statue

One hundred years before Gozer threatened the Big Apple with destruction, a shadow falls across London. In a race against time, the members of an elite social club are faced with unraveling a series of strange occurances before it's too late.

This is a steampunk adventure in a London that could have existed in the universe of the Ghostbusters movie series. The game uses Spirit of the Century / Fate 3.0. Characters will be pregenerated. All players need is a sense of adventure. When an Antediluvian Evil from Beyond Time and Space threatens, who shalt thou summon?

The A-Team: Viva Lost Wages

In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... The A-Team.

Things are about to get hot on the Vegas strip as the A-Team is hired by a down-on-his-luck pal who is being pushed around by the Mob. Viva Lost Wages is an 80s-style adventure using a slightly modified version of the Spirit of the Century / Fate 3.0 rules set in the world of the TV show 'The A-Team'. Characters will be pregenerated and no experience is required to play. Get on the jazz and get ready for a retro good time. Don't you love it when a plan comes together?

Hope to see everyone there!

Unanswerable Questions

2009-03-11T04:40:58Z

My cousin committed suicide last night.

He was a good bit older than me (funny how quickly people become past tense) and had severe depression issues all his life. Mom had said for the last week or so that she didn't think he was doing well. His doctor was trying to get him off an old med that he was on and replace it with a new med (looks like it didn't work). He was never good at contacting the doc if things weren't going smoothly. I keep wondering if things would have worked out differently if he'd been able to talk to his doctor and ask for help.

I'm glad that my mom wasn't the one who found him. Her sister called her to help her look for him when she couldn't get him on the phone and her husband was in Atlanta for a doctor's appointment. His mom was sure that he just took his sleeping meds late and wasn't waking up. Mom said she suspected what they would find. She's got a great intuition, but she's loyal to her family so she helped her sister do what she thought was best. They tried to force the door but luckily didn't get in until his sister arrived. I really wish his mom would have called 911 and let someone else enter the house. So his older sister found him, but luckily she was able to prevent his mother from entering the house. Nobody, especially the person's mother, needs to see something like that.

I'll be in Calhoun Thursday for the funeral.

I'm going to try to take a half day tomorrow and Thursday / Friday off work. I feel like I need to be around Calhoun, just in case Mom is taking it harder than she admitted on the phone. I know they were close, he was always the person she would call if she needed help with something around the house. He changed her oil, fixed her lawn mower, cut down trees for her, etc. It was good to know she had someone she could turn to for that kind of thing, especially since I'm not really that mechanical and live as far away as I do.

I can't imagine what his mom and dad are going through. Mom said his whole family were pretty devastated. Even when you know someone is sick, you get used to things and start assuming that it can't / won't get worse. I'm sure they're all beating themselves up, asking what they could have done differently, etc. He helped them with everything, I really do wonder what they'll do without him. His mom and dad are old and not in the best of health, I pray they weather this better than I fear they will.

I don't really want to go to bed yet. Too many things just rolling around in my head, but if I don't go to bed soon I'll be even more worthless at work in the morning.

So many questions that don't have answers because the person with the answers isn't there anymore. And even if you could ask them, you probably wouldn't have gotten an answer. And then you're back to where you started.

Seems like it should be cold when something like this happens. It sneaks up on you on warm sunny days.

Getting Ready for Christmas

2008-11-30T02:44:45Z

Alison and I spent this afternoon starting to get the townhouse ready for the holidays. I think its turning out pretty well so far. Still need to do something to the mantle, but here's what we have so far:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mdthompson/Christmas2008#

The Election - My Take

2008-11-05T13:15:51Z

All I have to say is:

Ok, Hopernaut, you've got the ball. Run with it, 'cause if you drop this one...

Vote!

2008-11-04T14:15:23Z

Today's the big day. Everyone get out there and vote.

Some races / candidates that may be overlooked:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyQ-BMprD_8

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/a863be2b6f/vote-for-lando-calrissian-w-billy-dee-williams-from-fod-team

Halloween Wrap Up

2008-11-02T23:19:32Z

The 2008 Halloween party has now been completed. Everyone seemed to have a good time. Rock Band 2 was played, adult beverages were enjoyed, people got to catch up with friends they hadn't seen in a long time. Clean up wasn't too big a deal this time around.

Notes for next time:
- While the punch was good, make less of it.
- Costco sandwich tray was a big hit.
- Veggie tray and chips + salsa didn't seem to fly as well this year.
- 15 people vs 48 cup cakes... cup cakes win.
- Learn to make more drinks so that when told to 'Surprise me' at the bar, it will be a pleasant surprise more often than not.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T11:52:30Z

So, after running out of time / money for the costume I really wanted to do for this Halloween I still needed to dress up for the office. All the other developers were doing it and I would rather be goofy at work given the chance. So, I'm going as Code Monkey (From the song Code Monkey) and I'm pretty much wearing what I would have worn to my last job (Chucks, 'Han Shot First' t-shirt w/ a button up shirt open over it, khakis) plus a monkey mask and carrying some Tab, Fritos, Mountain Dew, and a coffee cake. I think I like costumes where I pay 4 bucks for a monkey mask and then get to wear what I want to wear and carry snacks with me.

Happy Halloween!

Contraption Insanity

2008-10-27T03:28:28Z

http://www.addictinggames.com/fantasticcontraption.html

Very addictive little game. I just finished up the free levels. I think Unpossible gave me the most trouble. I beat the last level on the first try, without really expecting the solution I whipped up to work. :D

F'ing Pancakes

2008-10-19T17:03:36Z

I almost never want pancakes. Maybe once a year, usually an impulse buy at an IHOP. But around Wednesday I was getting something out of the pantry and Mrs. Butterworth caught my eye. I'm pretty sure it was insanity from lack of carbs. I was about 1.5 weeks into Phase 1 of the South Beach diet so I hadn't had bread or sweets in over a week. Suddenly, pancakes sounded REALLY good. Mrs. Butterworth telling me how great they would be, and they're so easy to make. Just buy some mix. Add some water... what can go wrong? But I tell myself to wait. I know that I'm going to fall off the wagon this weekend, its my aunt's 75th birthday and I know the food is going to not be diet friendly. And it wasn't. But it was tasty. So last night, I find myself at the super market on the quest for sugar cubes (Can't drink absinthe without it, but that's a different story) and I end up on the pancake isle. I buy a box of mix that just requires water, just like Mrs. Butterworth said. I have some at home from making waffles a while back, but it uses oil and eggs and I don't want to fool with that for a single run at pancakes.

So I sleep in a little and roll out of bed looking forward to some tasty pancakes. Just a couple for me, Allie said she only wanted one. Everything seems to be going well until the first batter hits the pan. Seems runny. I try to push forward. Now it may be burning. I try to flip it. Its sticking. Scrape it out and plate it. Ok, that's only one. I can carry on. Once more from the top. Turn down the heat a little. Forgot the oil. Now this one is sticking too. Trying to flip this one rips it in half. Its not really brown on the bottom. Into the trash with it. Once more, with feeling. Oil this time, little more heat, add the batter. Ready... Ready... Flipping... It mostly comes out in one piece but still seems a bit burnt and the consistency seems wrong.

Walk it off. I go grab a shower and throw a load of laundry in the washer. Ok, pancakes, lets dance. Don't over mix the batter this time. Keep the pan hot, but not as hot as it was before. Use butter to grease the pan, and make sure it happens between every pancake. Number one is looking perfect. I go for the flip. Rips in half and I realize its not even brown on the bottom. Into the trash with that one. Number two goes on, not as pretty as number one, but it finishes and comes off in one piece. It ain't pretty, but its my kind of not pretty. Dump the rest of the batter in for number three. Wait a little too long to flip it. Sticks a hair, but I power through. Its burnt on the bottom. I can live with that. Me and Mrs. Butterworth can deal with a little extra carbon. Allie's on her own for breakfast / lunch / whatever the meal is when she gets out of bed.

Fucking pancakes.

Invasion U.S.A.

2008-10-10T02:08:18Z

Chuck Norris vs. Russians terrorists in the only movie I've seen where the preferred weapon at any range is a LAW rocket.

Need I say more?

Meme Time

2008-10-03T03:09:42Z

Swiped this meme from waterdaughter:

My challenge to you is: Assemble a superteam from your various fandoms.
Your team must consist of the following:

(1) Team Leader (could be anyone, but must have good leadership skills!)
(1) Warrior (Ronon, Faith, Hercules)
(1) Smartypants (House, Giles, Hermione)
(1) Hottie (Brian Kinney, John Sheppard, Amanda)
(1) Comic Relief (Frannie Vecchio, Wash, Xander)

All your superteam members must be from DIFFERENT fandoms. I will count SG1/SGA and Buffy/Angel as different fandoms, as well as Marvel and DC, but I'm not going to split Marvel and DC into all *their* different fandoms; this meme would be way too easy if you could just fill all the slots with different superpowered people.

Whether your team has a 'theme' (all girls! all Brits! etc.) and their scope-- whether they fight vampires, serial killers, invading aliens or work to prevent littering-- is up to you. *G*

Team 1
"They Still Call Me Bruce..."
1) Team Leader - Elvis (Bubba Ho-Tep)
2) Warrior - Brisco County Jr. (The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.)
3) Smartypants - Ash (Army of Darkness)
4) Hottie - The Daring Dragoon (Jack of all Trades)
5) Comic Relief - Sam Axe (Burn Notice)

Team 2
1) Team Leader - Captain America
2) Warrior - John McClane
3) Smartypants - Dr. Egon Spengler
4) Hottie - Leeloo
5) Comic Relief - Captain Jack Sparrow

Weekend Update

2008-09-28T21:44:10Z

So most of the weekend has been a blur of cold medicine and a hacking cough, but Allie and I did manage to help Ryan get moved into his new apartment Saturday. Afterwards the moving crew hung out and chatted over pizza at Blue Moon pizza, which was fun.

This afternoon I finally decided I had to go on the quest for gas. I had about a quarter of a tank after the moving and while this could have gotten me to and from work one day and probably back to the office one other day, I decided to see if I could find some gas. Luckily the BP and the Racetrack up the road from me had some. The RaceTrack had lower prices, but the line was huge and wrapped onto the interstate off ramp (Delk Rd). The BP at Terrell Mill and Powers Ferry was a little pricier but the line was shorter and just wrapped onto Terrell Mill, so I went for that. 40 mins later, being forced to prepay due to a credit card reader malfunction, I left with 3/4 a tank of gas. Should get me through the week and hopefully things will be straightened out by that point.

This insanity over gas has lead me to realize that I really want to live closer to my work. Mass transit would also be a nice option, but this is Atlanta and I don't see that changing a whole lot.

Now if I can just get rid of the remnants of this cold.

Pondering Con Gaming

2008-09-07T15:52:45Z

So it seems that having a final is falling out of fashion. This year, the only people doing it were the guys I know in ATL that run games, and one random guy. I'm tempted to not run a final next year, but it seems traditional. I've always had pretty good turn out (and sometimes really awesome turn out) but the final rarely seems as polished as the early round (which makes sense because I don't play test it, and I don't try to script it quite as hard.).

Guess I have a whole year to figure out what I want to do.

As for the game for next year, I've got some rough ideas. Something a little more BPRD / steam punk is what's rattling around. I also had a rough idea for a little space opera adventure, but its very rough at this point.

The Future...

2008-09-05T02:15:29Z

Is...

DELICIOUS!

So says Microsoft.
So say we all.

And oddly, this does make me feel better about Vista.

Post-Con Update

2008-09-03T02:36:03Z

Another Dragon Con has come and gone. As always, it seemed to go by in a blur of gaming, hanging out, and people watching. I feel like I did very little outside of the gaming area, but still filled up the weekend.

It was good seeing people that I don't get to see very often, and some only at Con.

This was the final run of my Doc Coleman and the All Stars game. Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun with the character switching and temporal shenanigans. I wish I'd been a little more on my game for the final, I had to go to cut scene to end it instead of letting the players play out the entire story. I hope I did a good wrap up. Next year... who knows! I have some ideas.

I didn't do any costuming this year. I was going to be a part of the Zombie Hunters group, but the lack of zombies and a weak costume made me back out at the last minute. I already have a couple costume ideas for Con next year. Hopefully I'll get the cash / time to pull it off.

I think this Con was better organized / spread out than previous years. The registration lines were huge, but moving pretty quick. The crowds seemed as thick as always, but it never seemed like there was a problem moving around between events. Staying at the Hilton was cool, but seemed a little off the beaten path.

Hopefully I'll see everyone again next year!

Doc Coleman Vs The Time Police

2008-08-04T00:39:22Z

I now have the twist.

Dragon Con - Gaming!

2008-07-16T02:55:55Z

Its almost that time again! Apparently gaming tickets are available and going fast. Almost have one sold out session already. Here's to hoping the Coleman saga goes out with a bang!

Its Coming

2008-05-22T02:02:34Z

Doc Coleman and the Time Police

The Nazis have been defeated. The future has been saved. As a reward Doc’s been slapped in irons by the Time Police and the band has been scattered across the timeline and left for dead. It’s time for some old friends to get the band back together for one last gig to keep the music alive. They’ve saved the whole damn free world. This time, they have to save themselves. Before it was business; now it’s personal. Get ready for some two-fisted pulp action using the Savage Worlds rules system. Characters are pregenerated, and all you need is a sense of adventure and a fistful of dice.

Random Coolness

2008-05-16T02:05:55Z

This is just too freakin' cool:

Fusion Man

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-24T15:39:51Z

Merry Christmas to all! I'm off to Calhoun to spend Christmas with Mom. Been cooking all day yesterday. We're doing Greek food for our normal family get together. Cooking enough pastitsio / mousaka / souvlaki for 40 people turned out to be a whole day affair! I just now finished wrapping presents.

I know I've been slacking posting to my LJ. I'll make a big life update post after Christmas. Not that much has been going on.

Hope everyone has a happy and safe Christmas.

Halloween Party Pics

2007-10-28T21:21:15Z

Here are the pics from the Halloween party. Apparently Jen's blonde wig became a very popular prop toward the end of the evening. I think it worked for me, maybe I'll do my hair like that.

Halloween Party Update

2007-10-28T20:49:47Z

The party went quite well. There was a good turn out. Much food. Not quite as much drinking as last year (I think that's an okay thing). Guitar Hero was fun even though GH3 did not arrive in time. Karaoke was a big hit. I'll try to post some pics later today. I've been relaxing most of the day. Not really hung over so much as just exhausted. The last guests left at 4:00AM so things ran a little late.

Randome note: Guys, invest in shirts with snaps. The uge to rip them open is apparently undeniable in a lot of women.

Townhouse Update

2007-09-24T04:00:18Z

Here are some pics of my townhouse. These are the 'before' pics. Mostly showcasing issues that I wanted to work on. Hopefully they at least show the details of the place well enough.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mdthompson/TownhouseBefore

I've been fighting the good fight for removing the paint on the fire place.

The oldest AC has been replaced.

The plumber is coming sometime this week to work up a quote for repairing the tub.

I need to call a contractor to look into the window issues.

After that there is replacing the appliances, but most of the other items are things that can be repaired / replaced once I'm already moved in. Painting and window covers are pretty high on my list. Its easier to paint before anything is in the place.

An Experiment in the Bizzare

2007-09-24T02:31:42Z

Place an Apple Power Book in your lap, have a friend do the same. Now reach over (while keeping one hand on your laptop) and rub your friends arm lightly with the back of your hand. There's definitly some sort of electric field generated, or something... it feels like the other person is vibratin. But if you break the circuit (remove contact with the laptops) the effect goes away.

Random weirdness brought to you by a lazy Sunday night.