The Redmond Menace

GenCon report

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 01:53:27 GMT

Here's the report from GenCon 2009!

Wednesday: Up bright and early to the airport for the trip. I was amazed by a TSA employee that acted friendly! It really threw me for a loop. The plane rides to Indianapolis were uneventful. We arrived around 6pm, checked into the Westin, and got a free upgrade to a corner suite! After settling in, we went to the convention center, got our bags of swag. The swag was nearly non-existent, kind of depressing really.

Thursday: I decided to skip my 10am painting class in favor of checking out the opening ceremonies and the dealer room. The opening was the usual, but once in the dealer room, I headed over to the Paizo booth and saw a mad rush for the new Pathfinder RPG. The line was around the booth and extended beyond over to the end of the hall. Longest line in the dealer room, in fact.

After that madhouse, I went to the Call of Cthulhu Masters Tournament. It was a different format this year, only 2 rounds, 6 hours each, so I'm guaranteed 6 hours of game play. In past years, they'd have three rounds of 4 hours each. Anyway, the game was set in 1817 Quebec, and the investigators are fur traders, taking canoes up the river where we find many terrible things going on. Great fun, the Chaosium crew know a thing or two about running a good game.

After the tournament, we had dinner at White Castle (note: never do this), and went to a couple seminars, notably one on medeival cooking.

Friday: First thing was a short but informative seminar on improvisational game mastering, then a Runequest/Elric RPG. The game wasn't all that great, I thought the story was too open-ended for a 2-hour game. We spent a lot of time just discussing our course of action, having too many choices. Still, it was fun to learn the rules and I had never played this before. After that, I had a speed-painting competition (doing very poorly, I might add), and some more time in the dealer room. After dinner, we got suited up and went to a Steampunk Cthulhu LARP. Pretty good game, even if there wasn't a lot of steampunk in it, aside from our costumes. I got eaten by Atlach-Nacha, in its great web, after falling into a pit. About as well as could be expected.

Saturday: I find out I didn't advance in the Call of Cthulhu tourny, so my afternoon is light. First thing: True Dungeon with Barb. I think our group this year just wasn't that bright, because we consistently failed to solve puzzles, and several of us died before the final room. We managed to win, but since I got fried by a troll wizard, I didn't get a "True Dungeon Survivor" button. I think we're done with True Dungeon, it didn't seem that different from last year, and costs a lot to go. After that, I had an introductory Settlers of Catan game, where a helper showed us how to play. I was winning for about half the game, but failed to hold onto it, and came in third by the end. Great game, though, and I'll get myself a copy soon.

After that, I went back to my room and changed into my Masque of the Red Death costume, and went over to the Pathfinder RPG seminar. I told bigfootcountry I would be there in costume, but he must have forgotten and was properly creeped out by it, along with iuztheevil and lemuriapress. Always fun to freak one's friends out. After that, met with Barb (also in costume), got dinner and went on a walking tour of downtown Indy's most "haunted" areas. In roughly 1100 degree weather. Then: the GenCon dance, where it's time to be seen in costume, and even danced some.

Sunday: Final day of the Con is usually pretty mellow. I skipped another painting class, so I could spend all my time in the dealer room, and did some game demos, searched (and failed) to find some new t-shirts, and bought some games. From there, we went home via thunderstormy Chicago, which kept us an extra two hours. I actually managed to sleep most of the way home on the plane, amazingly enough.

And that's it! This is my first GenCon where I didn't take any painting classes. I think I'm done with those, and with True Dungeon, which should make next time's scheduling much easier. It's always a lot of fun, and every year is different. I'm spending more and more time now learning new games, and playing games. And costuming, now that Barb is with me.

And here is this year's photo album, enjoy....

Avatar

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:50:07 GMT

Teaser for James (whatever happened to...?) Cameron's AVATAR.

I want to see this movie. Right now.

we're off!

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:44:30 GMT

Barb and I are on the plane to GenCon. Signing off...

Weather Bitching, Part 2

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 04:33:53 GMT

It's 99 degrees now, at 9:32pm. I think our course of action is clear: we must destroy the sun.

Computer Surgery!

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:46:23 GMT

My computer's been acting kinda crashy lately, and it seemed to coincide with the heat wave, so I figured there was a cooling issue. I opened the case the other day, and you could have fried an egg on the video card's heatsink. So today, having time on my hands, I decided to remove all the hardware in my computer that I don't use anymore. It was like a museum of obselete junk. Oh, and clean all the dust out, and crank the cooling fans to maximum speed. I'll test it now and see if it's more stable (ie, run World of Warcraft for the next 4 hours straight).

For those keeping score at home, that's a serial port adapter, a floppy disk drive, a front panel A/V controller, and a secondary video card (for running dual card mode, which never seemed to work very well). Hopefully the computer will be happier now, and I can put off upgrades for a while longer.

Obligatory Weather Post

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 05:29:59 GMT

Normal Seattle:

Current Seattle:

Yeah, it's a bit warm for my tastes.

Interesting Bit of Research

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:15:47 GMT

I was using Google yesterday to estimate popularity of various TLDs (top-level domains), and came across this:

South Korean websites

North Korean websites

Housewarming

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:25:51 GMT

Yesterday, sefue and I had our housewarming party! It was a great success, if I do say so myself. About 20 guests showed up, and I cooked hamburgers and hot dogs on the gas grill, while Barb ran the house. After bbq, we had ice cream, courtesy of my friend Rob and his genius (Cold Comforts ice cream, not yet found in your local stores), and played Apples to Apples. The last guests left around 11pm, and I was about to fall asleep on the couch in front of them. Good times!

I completely forgot to take pictures during most of the party, being so busy, but here are a few.

SIFF, week 4 + summary

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:15:11 GMT

Well that was a lazy weekend. I had 5 movies scheduled and saw 2 of them. I think I'd hit my limit early and should probably buy fewer tickets next year.

The Spy and the Sparrow *** 1/2 Really good movie, not as much spy stuff as I'd hoped, but good nevertheless.

Once Upon a Time in the West Probably my favorite western, after The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, and one of the best films of all time. Fun fact: I've never met a woman that liked it. I've put it on for three different girlfriends, and all three either fell asleep or wandered away.

Summary!

Best Documentary: The Yes Men Fix the World. Funny, the first movie I saw this year was my favorite. Maybe I should have quit when I was ahead.

Best Fiction Movie: The Hurt Locker. I hope this gets a wide release, it deserves to be seen.

Pretty good year, all around. I saw a few clunkers, but there's no avoiding that. I think it was a good idea to skip the secret festival, it gives me a lot more flexibility in making my schedule. Now that SIFF is over, it feels like summer has begun. That means one thing: time to start getting ready for GenCon!

Today's Accomplishment

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:27:04 GMT

I can take the rest of the day off now (click for World of Warcraft goodness)

WoW Question

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 05:26:04 GMT

Hey all-I recently started playing World of Warcraft again, and was wondering if there's any need for resistance gear anymore. I've got a ton of fire, nature & shadow gear in my bank, and it'd be great to get rid of it all if I'm never going to use it.

Of course, it'd make me sad since I never used my nature gear (I made it all in preparation for AQ40, but my guild at the time failed to progress). But my bank is too crowded, and any gold from vendoring the stuff would be welcome.

SIFF, week 3

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 04:44:34 GMT

Whoops, almost forgot my update. Only saw 2 movies this week, being busy on Saturday with the D&D.

Finding Bliss * Ugh, when will I learn? You know a movie is weak when I'm distracted by inept makeup.

Humpday *** 1/2 Really good movie, but probably will go nowhere due to the subject matter.

Last few days of SIFF coming up!

Hot!

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:07:53 GMT

It's supposed to get up to 88 degrees today at my house. I foresee much use of my basement lair in the near future, where it's nice and cool.

SIFF, week 2

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:39:01 GMT

Bit of a drop in movie quality this week, but not every week can have The Third Man. Or can it?

The Beast Stalker *** Pretty good Hong Kong cops-and-robbers flick, marred by a plot that's full of convenient coincidences.

The Hurt Locker **** I really dug this movie about a team of bomb-defusers in Iraq. It's as stressful as it sounds.

Downloading Nancy * 1/2 Bleagh. I just didn't buy any of this, but maybe that's because I've got a lot of experience with internet dating.

Food, Inc. **** Really well-made documentary, kind of a film version of Fast Food Nation crossed with The Omnivore's Dilemma.

I'm only seeing three movies this weekend, since D&D is on Saturday. Wish me luck!

More House Pics

Tue, 26 May 2009 03:02:28 GMT

Pics of the house are up on Flickr, now that we've settled in and made it our home. Along with my "hilarious" commentary. Check it out!

SIFF, week 1

Mon, 25 May 2009 03:59:37 GMT

One weekend and six movies down. Here are some quick reviews (zero to 4 stars):

The Yes Men Fix the World: **** Really cool documentary about a team of troublemakers that is entertaining, funny and enlightening. Could my first SIFF movie be the best? It's a great start, alright.

Spring Breakdown * Wow, talk about contrasts. This alleged comedy wasn't funny at all, just sad.

We Live in Public **** Another extremely interesting documentary, this time about a washed-up dot.com millionaire and his disturbing experiments.

The Third Man "I never knew the old Vienna before the war with its Strauss music, its glamour and easy charm. Constantinople suited me better." Best film noir ever.

Bluebeard ** Meh. A dull retelling of an old story, nothing new here.

The Cove ***1/2 Horrifically effective documentary about the dolphin industry (both capturing for Seaworld, etc, and for meat) in Japan.

Grill

Fri, 22 May 2009 02:44:20 GMT

So I finally got to use my gas grill again tonight. First time since, oh, mid-2005, when I had it on my balcony in Issaquah. It had been in my (big) closet for the last few years in my old apartment, and now is out on the back patio where it shall be used as much as possible. The original propane tank is nearly full, I didn't get much use out of it at the time....bigger issues took priority, I suppose.

Tonight's dinner was chicken breasts, which I had brined and tasted yummy. Starting off slow, but I think I'll do something more elaborate with a whole chicken on Monday. And Barb's chest freezer downstairs is full of beef from her dad's ranch...just waiting.

This summer's gonna rawk!

SIFF

Thu, 14 May 2009 03:50:38 GMT

Here's my SIFF schedule for this year. If you see something that looks good, join me! I'm not attending the Secret Festival this year, too many disappointments in the last few years to make it worthwhile. Anyway, movie times are

The Yes Men Fix the World
Screening : 5/23/2009 11:00 AM
Venue : Neptune Theatre

Spring Breakdown
Screening : 5/23/2009 4:15 PM
Venue : Neptune Theatre

We Live in Public
Screening : 5/23/2009 7:00 PM
Venue : Neptune Theatre

The Third Man
Screening : 5/24/2009 11:00 AM
Venue : Harvard Exit

Bluebeard
Screening : 5/24/2009 1:30 PM
Venue : Egyptian Theatre

The Cove
Screening : 5/24/2009 3:45 PM
Venue : Egyptian Theatre

Moon
Screening : 5/26/2009 7:00 PM
Venue : Egyptian Theatre

The Beast Stalker
Screening : 5/30/2009 11:00 AM
Venue : Uptown Cinema

The Hurt Locker
Screening : 5/30/2009 4:00 PM
Venue : Uptown Cinema

Apron Strings
Screening : 5/30/2009 7:00 PM
Venue : Uptown Cinema

The Maid
Screening : 5/31/2009 1:15 PM
Venue : Pacific Place Cinema

Downloading Nancy
Screening : 5/31/2009 4:00 PM
Venue : Harvard Exit

Food, Inc.
Screening : 5/31/2009 7:00 PM
Venue : Egyptian Theatre

Finding Bliss
Screening : 6/7/2009 11:00 AM
Venue : Pacific Place Cinema

Humpday
Screening : 6/7/2009 1:30 PM
Venue : Egyptian Theatre

The Spy and the Sparrow
Screening : 6/13/2009 11:00 AM
Venue : Egyptian Theatre

Once Upon a Time in the West
Screening : 6/13/2009 1:30 PM
Venue : Harvard Exit

Everyone Else
Screening : 6/13/2009 5:00 PM
Venue : Harvard Exit

Involuntary
Screening : 6/14/2009 3:30 PM
Venue : SIFF Cinema

The Hills Run Red
Screening : 6/14/2009 6:30 PM
Venue : SIFF Cinema

Moving Weekend Continues...

Mon, 11 May 2009 02:39:41 GMT

Barb moved in today, and things went rather smoothly. I hid in my office for most of the time, unpacking my painting gear. The furniture is all more-or-less where it's going to stay, and it looks darned good. We're taking tomorrow off work, and will make a big grocery run, and probably a trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond or the local equivalent for supplies.

So we're officially living together! Housewarming will commence around late June, I think.

Moved!

Sat, 09 May 2009 18:01:10 GMT

Well, I was moved in yesterday, but I have internets now. Things are coming together, the kitchen stuff is mostly put away, bedroom is usable, tv, etc are working. My office is a mess, and my tall bookcase wouldn't fit in there, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to unpack my books (I'll trade bookcases with Barb, when she moves in). And I've already met one neighbor!

Now: off to the Cinerama for STAR TREK.

Moving Day

Fri, 08 May 2009 15:05:02 GMT

It's time! I'm surrounded by boxes, and my last form of diversion available is my laptop and cable modem. I've got an hour before the movers arrive, so I'm going to take a few trips down to my car with stuff I don't want anyone but me to touch (computer stuff, mostly). Hopefully I'll be back online tomorrow, when the cable guy arrives at the new house. It's gonna be a long day.

New House Pics, Part 2

Wed, 06 May 2009 02:22:14 GMT

As promised, here are some more pics of the new house, this time with exterior shots! It's in the same Flickr set, the new ones start right after the picture of Barb and me on the porch.

House Pics

Mon, 04 May 2009 04:06:07 GMT

Barb and I dropped off the first rent check the other day, and took some pics of the new house. Have a look!

Moving day is Friday, for me, Sunday for Barb. I'm just about done packing, but I ran out of boxes and need a few more. I've accumulated a lot of kitchen stuff in the last two and half years. And my comics are fully alphabetized, bagged and boarded for the first time...since I moved to Redmond.

This is a good test for a relationship, since moving is such an awful experience, and we're both willing to go through with it, right? :)

Swine Flu

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 04:21:37 GMT

Curious about swine flu's probable source? Here's a horrifying article that sheds some light.

Boss Hog

Moving Day Approaches

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:37:23 GMT

About two weeks before moving day (May 8th). I'm looking forward to:

-Using my gas grill (it's been in the closet for 2.5 years)
-Not hearing my belligerent neighbor yell at his kids
-Having my own garage
-Living in a neighborhood where I feel safe walking after dark
-Being unpacked
-Having stuff delivered to my front door
-Having a shorter drive to friends south of town
-Seeing Barb at the beginning and end of every day