jeremiah's blog

At a school fundraiser this afternoon and the fire department...

2012-05-19T23:38:00Z

At a school fundraiser this afternoon and the fire department showed up… Absolute pandemonium.

Dungeon Masters Guide(Advanced Dungeons and Dragons)

2012-05-19T07:23:00Z

Dungeon Masters Guide(Advanced Dungeons and Dragons)

This is thick, though not necessarily physically so: very small type written in language that is very hard to read linearly. That said, this tome is absolutely FILLED with bits of gaming wisdom.

I've never actually been able to pick this up and read it from start to finish due to the dry, rambling language used. I've skimmed through it though more times than I can count, going over some sections more than others.

This combination of reading difficulty mixed with my only being able to skim the material has given the book an almost magical quality: I've found that I can pretty reliably pick the book up, open it to a section I'm interested in reading about, and be almost assured that I'll read something I haven't read before (or don't remember reading). Quite frequently this "new" section will have some pearl of wisdom embedded in it that I've never seen before. I'd swear Gygax somehow cast a spell on the book ("Book of Infinite Wisdom"?).

Also, the Appendices are a gold mine. TONS of tables mixed with information that any fan of these types of games would love (Appendix N, looking at you).

I easily rate this 5 stars as a book that I love and hold dear. But as a gaming reference I find this a bit harder to rate. I know I could bookmark the sections I need to know, but part of the charm of playing this version of D&D is in how loose it plays. Why bother then?

Dominion | Play Details | BoardGameGeek

2012-05-12T21:35:00Z

Dominion | Play Details | BoardGameGeek:

Two losses against Kel after the two youngest went to bed Friday night. Got my butt handed to me both games… Both games had a really interesting mix of cards on the table, and I think I tried too many different things at once in both games. Fun though.

One more of the hawk, from our perspective on the ground.

2012-05-06T15:50:00Z

One more of the hawk, from our perspective on the ground.

Took the girls on an adventure to see the hawk nest this...

2012-05-05T20:50:00Z

Took the girls on an adventure to see the hawk nest this afternoon on campus. Had Kel take a screenshot of us from the webcam’s perspective, that’s us on the ground.

via Hawkcam — SSEC

2012-05-03T13:38:00Z

via Hawkcam — SSEC

Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1)

2012-05-02T23:17:00Z

Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1)

I've been meaning to read this for years now, having heard so many great things about it.

Ender's Game has been really hard for me to rate. I thought the story was good, a classic sci-fi war novel with a great moral. I liked the characters as they were very believable (for the most part). The science was interesting and I enjoyed that they left most to the imagination. The action was also portrayed well. All that said, nothing really stands out as being "exceptional" when I think back on it. Really good, yes, but not exceptional. Maybe I've been spoiled by more recent sci-fi/fantasy (Old Man's War, Hunger Games).

Overall a good sci-fi story and a fun ride. Liked it.

The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes

2012-05-02T23:16:00Z

The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes

I finished this awhile ago but haven't had time to write a review.

I really liked this and wished I would have read it sooner (Kel is a fan and told me to read it years ago). A lot trippier than I thought it'd be, the story follows Morpheus, otherwise known as "Dream" or "The Sandman", as he's accidently imprisoned by a sorceror attempting to capture Death. With Dream imprisoned, humanity's sanity begins to suffer...

I thought the story got a lot better as it went on, with the last story being especially awesome (the story with Death). I was also very surprised that these stories take place in the same "universe" as both John Constantine and the Justice League (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, etc.).

I really like this world/character that Gaiman has created and am looking forward to reading more.

Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 (Mouse Guard, #1)

2012-05-02T23:15:00Z

Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 (Mouse Guard, #1)

Went to the library with the girls and picked this up on a whim.

I had heard good things about this series and I wasn't dissapointed. This is a great fantasy story that can be read by kids and yet still has a very gritty feel to it that keeps the story very tense.

It is very obvious that the author has put considerable time thinking about the different aspects of a mouse's life in this world. This world, though no different from our own beyond anthropomorphic animals, is very dangerous for mice. The book does a fantastic job of conveying a sense that danger lurks around every corner.

Although the art does an excellent job in helping to give the world a gritty feeling, there were several times I found it really hard to distinguish between certain mice. That said, each mouse has a ton of character making me both grow attached to each and causing the story to become that much more tense as they're constantly threatened.

The author has crafted an incredible little world for these mice to live in. Great book.

officialssay: We apologize for the departure from our standard...

2012-04-27T18:38:00Z

officialssay:

We apologize for the departure from our standard format, but a space shuttle just flew by our window and we thought you’d like to see. (Photo by Al Shaw)

Which finger did you hurt kiddo?

2012-04-21T21:38:00Z

Which finger did you hurt kiddo?

The author of a webcomic I follow recently got to go on a zero-g...

2012-04-16T18:04:00Z

The author of a webcomic I follow recently got to go on a zero-g flight and did an incredible comic on his experience: The Bouletcorp » 22 SECONDS.

The rest of his stuff is pretty good as well, highly suggest it.

Stone Age | Play Details | BoardGameGeek

2012-04-16T14:38:00Z

Stone Age | Play Details | BoardGameGeek:

Played with Kel after the kids went to bed on Friday night. I got crushed. I thought I was off to a really good start and then I got way to complacent, letting Kel get cards I knew were really good for her. I can’t remember the final score, but it was somewhere on the order of 260 to 180.