mattsnyder

Layout contest 2009 kicks off

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:28:35 GMT

Luke Crane, Keith Senkowski, and Matt Snyder challenge you to create an amazing book layout during the month of June, 2009. Each participant who meets the challenge receives two free PDFs. And, the big winner of the best book design receives free RPG books, including ENnie nominee Mouse Guard.

Featured in this game design is Conspiracy of Shadows: Dirty Hands, a new edition specially created for this contest. It includes free access to art by creator Keith Senkowski.

You have all the tools you need to make a fantastic layout by June 30, 2009. Visit http://www.storiesyouplay.com/layout-contest-2009/ for full details.

Reading or not, here I come

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:42:47 GMT

Well, spring is late to the prom. It's still too cold outside for April, and I think it's fouling most everyone's mood.

I'm getting by with a couple of tricks. One is really enjoying reading again. I go in spurts, I confess. I did feel a bit less foolish when I read Goodreads.com reviews for my current read, Midnight's Children. Nearly all of the top reviews remarked how it was a slow, difficult read. True. But, so far, I think it's paying off. I'm finally tearing through chapters much more rapidly. Maybe it's the slight sinus infection funk I'm, but most nights I can't wait to go to bed and read.

Today a new Neil Young album comes out. I ordered through Amazon, so I likely won't get it until later this week, possibly next. Oh well. I've already heard about 5 tracks. Neil sounds better than he has in years so far! Later this month there's a new Bob Dylan. And, I just discovered by chance a new Black Crowes live album comes out that day, too. It's a good month for this my music tastes!

I also ordered The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss through Amazon. It arrives with the Neil Young album. It's the first new fantasy book I've picked up in over four years. Here's to hoping. I've heard good things from orin2's post a while back.

My MBA class is almost finished. This one started out strong, and then turned dreadful. It's like a bad relationship, and I want to dump the professor and all his friends, too. Not sure if I'll take a summer course. Tuition kicked up obscenely.

Work's mostly a drag as I try and fail to keep up. There aren't yet much signs of life -- no pay raises, lots of doubts about layoffs. Who knows. I'm getting pretty tired of the "at least we have a job" line. But, you know what? At least I have a job. Classmates suffered far worse -- tuition reimbursment revoked, up to 10% pay cuts. It's ugly. Boy, that makes a guy feel powerless, you know?

So, the times keep changing. The new Neil Young albums all about it. "There's a baillllout comin', but it's not for you!" Right on, Neil.

Spring ahead already!

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:39:43 GMT

Ok, see, that's how I know I'm handling stress better these days. That was the second longer LJ update I've lost in as many attempts over the last week. Normally, I'd be swearing outloud to myself. Or, better, I'd walk away from the keyboard and try to laugh it off.

Here goes the even better speed-revision:

For the second time in my life, I had the strange and distinct realization that a phase of my life was over, neatly. It happened this time while standing in line for a free burrito at Pancheros. I don't expect this to make any sense, but at least I'll remember it myself.

Canada and I had a nice vacation with the kids at Honey Creek Resort, an indoor water park at Lake Rathbun. The place was ok. The kids sure had a fine time! Canada and I enjoyed no work!

Canada's going to China for nearly three weeks in June and July! She got accepted to a study tour for teachers. She's very excited! I'm excited for her. I have to admit I'm slightly less excited at being a single dad for almost a month. It'll be the longest time we've been apart since she went to Australia before we were married.

I got a new ring, which is an odd occurence for me. It was my 10 year service gift from work. Of course, it took so long to receive that it's now nearly my 11 year service anniversary!

I am sometimes the slowest damn reader. I'm still crawling through Midnight's Children. I'm loving the book, actually. I'm just taking my time with its rich idiosyncracies. But, I'll probably "reward" myself with a guilty pleasure type read next. Hey, that trade paperback of Scalped! I haven't read yet is looking pretty good.

STR!

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 19:37:52 GMT

Some things:

bob_goat is a bastard. He's got me hooked on Mount & Blade, which is way, way too much fun. I also stayed up way, way to late last night playing it.

Valentines Day was great. We took our daughter (and much less-interested son) to the Des Moines Art Museum, where they had an exhibit on Midwest art. Saw the actual painting of American Gothic. And, I saw two Pollock paintings, which I had never seen before. I liked one a great deal. I think it was titled The Flames. I know little about him and his work (or art, for that matter), but that one captured my attention.

I've been penning some notes in my old game-design-type journals lately. Not sure they're going anywhere, but I was pretty sure that even that thaw wouldn't happen again.

I am a terribly slow reader. I think I try to do too many things with my spare time. I've been reading and absolutely loving Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. Better slow than not at all. Meanwhile, I managed to read through my class asignments of two chapters and a business review paper over the lunch hour.

Speaking of class, here's a thought. You'll never really fix those things that you're bad at. But, if you focus on things you're really good at, you're bound to make much more overall improvement. On the one hand, a no brainer. But, on the other, I know I do things like focusing on things I'm bad at thinking it'll make me better overall. That appears to be a waste of time. Instead, figure out how to deal with the things you're bad at, work around them as you have to, and then move on to your strengths. Interesting.

Sixburgh

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:26:47 GMT

So, it's been a good week. Well, actually it's been a so-so week, but the Steeler victory in the Superbowl trumps all.

You know how when people go to the doctor because of heart disease concerns, and the doctor does all this crazy stuff to test their heart? That was me watching this game. I had my terrible towel pulled tight around my neck. I ran around the house half-cheering, half-howling. My kids thought I'd gone crazy. My heart rate was double normal at any given time. Just a crazy, wonderful game. I loved it.

So, now I'm just coasting after that one. Class is consuming a bit more time. And, Canada just left today to go to Chicago to chaperone kids for the weekend. At least that snuck me into work early, and I hit the cafeteria for pancakes and bacon. So, I'm Mr. Mom. Work has a postponed holiday party tomorrow night. We do a karaoke contest every year. I'll need some Southern Comfort first.

One man band leaders

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:05:57 GMT

I had some other thoughts about my last post and indie RPG publishing. I mentioned how it was extremely difficult to publish in a way that didn't force the publisher to spend most of his or her time on his weaknesses. In pratical terms, creator-owned publishing meant very few people could publish as a team effort. Luke Crane was evidently the most successful at it, and I admire his games immensely.

There were some other problems too. One is that the ethic among us publisher was (and still is for those involved) that the creator could define his or her own success. This drew me to the effort. But, again, in practical terms, it was terribly limited, in part by the "one man band" problem I mentioned previously.

For example, suppose I define my success as selling 5,000 units within two or even three years. This would be a "good" success among most RPG publishers, which itself indicates a weakness in the effort of RPG publishing. As a creator-owned publisher, accomplishing this feat would seat me among the top 3 or top 5 publishers. It would require an extraordinary game and production. I suspect it would also limit me to a palette of game types that gamers find familiar. The likeliest candidate would be fantasy, of course. But, selling that many units for a game about, oh, WWII spies (a game I actually wanted to make, and still do to some degree) would be basically impossible in the current identified market, and a herculean effort to discover a new market.

Now, read "impossible" and "herculean" an insert the one-man band notion again. One creator working to sell his or her game under those parameters of success? It's not worth the effort, in my view. It means the amount of goodwill, networking volunteers and supporters, and volunteering to help peers would consume a large majority of one's time.

So, my thoughts then lead me to consider whether the definition of success is impractical. Maybe. But, if I assume instead that the goal is 1,000 units in that same span of time, the effort isn't much different, sadly. Certainly some people have done this. Ron Edwards has. Luke Crane has. I'm pretty sure Vincent Baker has, or is close. I think Fred Hicks has, or is close. If there are others close to this, I'm sorry for not remembering or being aware of them.

I see no fault in defining one's success as selling 1,000 games in 2 years, possibly 3 years. I think this is a perfectly reasonable accomplishment. (I think the 5,000 is reasonable in that it makes sense, but probably isn't feasible.) But, doing so would be an extremely difficult task. It's a task that would be much, much easier with a team. Then, of course, you encounter other problems. Nearly always, you become non-creator owned. The people creating the game would not necessarily call the shots on how the business model works. That may be fine for some. I'm not sure what I'd think about it these days. There are other problems, no doubt -- probably many huge ones I've never even considered. Egos would get involved at some point, inevitably. And, how would one keep people on task? Working as a traditional publisher would, of course, remedy some of this, and then introduce a whole new slate of problems.

Just now, writing this, a little though sparked in my brain. Is it possible to create such a product as a team under the agreement of an open source type project? That is, each creative contributor takes part in the production. But, at any time thereafter, any member can do anything he or she wants with the final product. So, as egos get in the way, or creators have conflicts about business approaches, nothing stops them from doing it their own way. Interesting. I have no idea if it'd work off hand.

The Guy Who Came In From the Cold

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:30:18 GMT

I started up my newest MBA class this week. It's Management in Organizations -- a "soft" class that studies management, how to motivate people, and so on. So far, it's interesting. And, it's a welcome break from my previous class on statistics and data. That, too, was interesting and helpful to me (I had no prior formal study on the topics), but also a lot of effort.

January is the longest month, no doubt about it. In our house, we've entered that phase where we're all acclimated to the ceaseless cold -- couple weeks in a row of temps below 20 F. But, we're finally really getting worn down by it. I'm usually ok with the cold, minus that first 2 minutes sitting uncomfortably in the car. My wife is an absolute cryo-phobic. She HATES the cold, and let's me know it frequently. But, now even I'm tired of it. Enough! Here's to some balmy February days ... oh, right.

Well, I continue to watch mostly from the sidelines various kinds of Internet discussions related to politics. Also, some discussions that are inherently political, but few (if any) realize they're political in nature. I see the same patterns develop as I always have. I take a largely centrist view on most things, as I always have. I see lots of values left and right that I admire and accept. Unfortunately, I also see the same ignorance, unacceptance and dehumanization we all do in such discussions. So it goes.

I've largely removed myself from the RPG communities I participated in over the past 7 or 8 years. I miss interacting with good friends, but I don't miss the posing and the goofy arguing. I miss designing, too. I don't miss the in and out of publishing operations. I'm still not sure what lies ahead for my writing and designing in that vein. I keep tinkering with offering up 44: A Game of Automatic Horror for free online. (I have no similar plans for my other published games.) I keep thinking about other ideas and concepts. But, I've done little. I miss graphic design, too.

The primary reason I haven't participated in communities with my friends is that I've done little to no actual play in some time. As I've agreed with others all along, everything else flows from that. If you're not playing, you're not doing anything at all. Design and talk is not a substitute for the activity.

So, I've focused largely on my fiction writing. And, by focused I mean struggled, naturally.

One more thought I should record for myself: I always thought that creator-owned publishing was a fantastic thing, grounded in important values that I shared with others. But, we always did a lousy job of many aspects of publishing and even of design. All along I thought it was a waste that we had to focus on our weaknesses to make things work (I spent way more time selling and mailing stuff than I did design it; what a shame), instead of working on a team that had diverse strengths and created awesome products. We never could rectify that team effort in practice, more's the pity. It certainly has it's own downfalls, but some really great strengths too.

Steel Curtain Call

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:38:40 GMT

Despite the fact that Kurt Warner's an Iowa boy and my dad loves the guy for his hometown hero antics on the field and off, I hope my mighty Steelers crush the Cardinals offense.

We're gearing up for some kind of Superbowl party, complete with my new terrible towel and Polamalu jersey. Canada gets the "hand me down" Bettis jersey.

Can't wait for ring #6! Now that's something to hope for.

The Hope is Dope

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:03:24 GMT

I've focused at work to get things organized and do a better job with strategy for sites I manage. Day to day, it's a spinning plates routine as I try to manage multiple sites' marketing efforts and production and advertsing and ... But, the effects have been paying off for the most part. It's still a mad scramble most days, but it's less frustrating.

I missed the inauguration hoopla yesterday. I was working and having lunch with that beautiful blonde, Mrs. Snyder. Still, I caught Obama's speech in full on the drive home on NPR. It was a good speech. It was a bit more down in the dirt, thankfully. I'm still waiting to figure out what it is this guy will specifically do. Up to now, I think he's been a cipher, a rorshach. People see what they want to see in him. It's been less about him as a policy maker than it is about them (us) as idealists of all stripes. That got him elected, but it could very turn sour when people realize that their idea and his reality don't match. Time will tell.

Anyway, I did like this bit particulary:

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

I liked it, but I'm skeptical we'll heed.

As for focusing on writing, I've slipped already some. I'm still working on a piece that I'll try to farm around to small markets. I just need to inject a little excitement into it, and finish it up.

You cold as ice!

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:21:44 GMT

Dave's recovering well enough. I visited him for lunch, and he was pretty goofy from his Vicadin.

We've had a strange development on the age-old house front. Out of the blue, a Realtor called me up and asked me if someone could look at my house. I was pretty puzzled, as we took it off the market over three months ago. But, we figured what the heck, and the woman interested in it saw it twice. Still waiting to hear back if she's interested.

It's official -- in March, my old hometown and college pals and I (Dave too) are having a "reunion." We've reserved a lakeside cabin, and we'll spend the weekend reminiscing and probably geeking out. Chatter abounds of a D&D marathon session for kicks. I've got an idea or two for that.

Picked up DMZ trade paperback today. I read writer Brian Wood's Northlanders in trade a couple weeks ago, and it knocked my socks off. Now, I want to see what his DMZ's all about.

Dave's Thumb's Blues

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 21:17:09 GMT

We had a great weekend, but my brother Dave didn't. He's was making some cabinets with a large router bit called a shaper. It's the thing that makes cabinet doors have cool countours and bevels and such. Basically, it's a heavy damn rotating blade. The thing flew out of the router and through his thumb tip. Yes, through.

He was kicking himself (metaphorically) for disfiguring himself (literally!). His left thumb tip may or may not heal. I hope it does. We all kind of joked how he's worried about playing Xbox games! Mostly a joke. He really does enjoy video games. We used to call him Rain Man when he was a kid because he was so good at them. I feel really bad for him. Hope his thumb will be ok!

Meanwhile, the Mrs. and I went out Saturday night to the comedy club with Christine (her old co-worker) and her husband, Reid. The comedians were good -- Canada especially enjoyed the Australian headliner. He was good. I liked the local guy emcee'ing.

Sunday it was the Steelers showing up the Chargers, thus guaranteeing me butterflies as my beloved Steelers play their own rivals, the Ravens, for the AFC Championship. One more game to Superbowl hopes? I never would have believed it if you told me in August. Then again, I would have bet good money the Arizona Cardinals would NOT be in contention either! Weird year.

Cup o' Mike (Mignola)

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 15:12:19 GMT

My company laid off 250 people out of 3,400 yesterday. It was ugly. My job's ok, as is my department. It's a media company, and one of the magazines I work with (I help manage their website) closed entirely. I've been here 10 years, and it was the worst round I've seen. I hope like hell things get better soon.

For a treat tbhis morning, I stopped at Cup O' Kryptonite, a local coffee store / comic shop, for a hot chocolate. I'm not much of a coffee drinker. It's a neat place, and I've been going there more recently. It's right on my commute, so it's an easy stop. I picked up a Hellboy TPB -- The Chained Coffin and Others.

When I walked in to the building with my Hellboy tucked under my arm, I got to thinking about what someone would say if they saw it. What kind of conversation would happen? No one saw it, but the the curiousity occupied my brain.

I decided it's really strange how much I work and go home and the people I spend hours and hours with know very little about me, and I know little about them. As people. What a world.

Flurrious

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:33:26 GMT

Snow's coming down again. It manages to pretty up the abandoned lot outside the north windows at work. I guess I don't mind winter too much. My wife hates it.

My next MBA class starts up here soon. I'm nowhere near ready for it. I'm too spoiled with my free time since the last class. It'll be another 12 weeks of cramming so I can have weekends.

I've got a stash of X-mas money to buy myself something. I've got enough Xbox addictions to last a while (Fable II, I'm looking at you), and an even longer queue of books to read (<i>Midnight's Children</i>, I'm your slave for at least 3 months at this slow rate). Time to save for a rainy day. Or maybe a snowy one.

Does anyone out there ever get that feeling that you're onto a creative idea, but you can't for the life of you figure out what? Like it's playing hide and seek, and you're it? That's me, right now.

Viva la Resolution

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 19:15:02 GMT

Just had lunch at Gazali's with two beautiful blondes. That'd be the wife, Canada, and daughter Kate. It's Canada's favorite -- she loves the Gyro. I had a garlic chicken pita.

Now, it's back to work for a 1-day stint until the weekend. Looking forward to taking it easy tonight. I've been playing Fable II on Xbox 360. It's incredible, though not without teeny flaws.

New Year's Resolution: Get at least one piece of original fiction published. That should be achievable. I'm not trying to get a short story slot in the New Yorker. I'm aiming initially at online zines.

The Best of List for 2008

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:10:01 GMT

Stuff that made the 2008 enjoyable for me, even if some of it came out before 2008!

The best book I read:
A Gentleman's Game (my review) by Greg Rucka ruckawriter

Runners up:
1. Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon
2. Captain Alatriste by Arturo Perez-Reverte

The best graphic novel I read:
Northlanders: Sven the Returned by Brian Wood and Davide Gianfelice

Runners up:
1. Queen & Country: The Definitive Edition Vol. 1 by Greg Rucka ruckawriter, Steve Rolston, Brian Hurtt, and Leandro Fernandez.
2. Queen & Country: The Definitive Edition Vol. 2 by Greg Rucka ruckawriter, Greg Rucka, Jason Alexander, Carla Speed McNeil, and Mike Hawthorne.

The best movie I saw:
No Country for Old Men directed by Joel and

Runners up:
1. The Dark Knight directed by Christopher Nolan
2. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford directed by Andrew Dominik

The best album I listened to:
Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 by Bob Dylan

Runners up:
1. Warpaint by The Black Crowes
2. Let it Bleed by The ROlling Stones.

The best concert I saw:
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss at Red Rocks.

Runner up:
The Black Crowes at the Val Air ballroom

The best food I ate:
Beef brisket at The Flying Mango in Des Moines

Runner up
Johnny & Mike's Pizza in Carlisle

The best role-playing game I played:
3:16 by Gregor Hutton

The best sports game I saw:
Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Penn State Nittany Lions football

Runners up
1. Chicago White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals
2. Pittburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens, wk 15

The best video game I played:
Call of Duty 4

Runners up:
1. Fallout 3
2. Gears of War

The best story I wrote!
Molly McScowl and Her Birthday Adventure

Eve-ning

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:17:50 GMT

I posted some pics of our new countertops on my Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5206079&id=581090108

Quite a difference.

Tonight we're settling in for a kids' New Years w/ Dave and Danielle. They're going to move to Pennsylvania or Michigan in a few months, depending on where Danielle gets residency. They'll be gone at least 4 years for that. So, we aim to spend as much time with them and Thomas as possible.

Here's a happy 2009 for everyone reading. Make the most of your year! I'll do the same.

Wake me when it's 2009

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 22:14:57 GMT

I'm at work today, but I managed to have a long vacation for Christmas. We had a great holiday. The kids are already addicted to the new Wii -- Mario Party and Animal Crossing are big hits.

Santa and the Mrs. brought me a new Troy Polamalu Steelers jersey just in time for the playoffs. And, I got a bunch of great reads: The Steel Wave, The Sun Over Breda, Player Piano. And, my dad snuck in a great looking read called Treason's River. He's into naval fiction. I only admire from afar (read: I don't read it, but am intrigued). He got me this one, assuring me I'd love it. I hate to admit to my wife, but it was my favorite present because he thought of me. It really meant a lot to me. That poor bastard of an author has a lot to live up to now! ;)

I also got a couple Xbox 360 games -- Gears of War 2 Fable II. It's the year of sequels, which is ok. So far, the games are jaw-droppingly cool.

Today, Lowe's contractor's installed our new countertops. While they didn't make it in time for our annual X-mas Eve party at our house, Canada assures me they are amazing. I can't wait to see them. I had enough bad attitude after tearing out the terribly ugly ceramic tile tops last night.

Can I just add, good riddance to 2008? Here's to a great 2009!

Gentlemen of the Road review on my "other" blog

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 03:43:56 GMT

I just posted my review of Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon on my blog Riverwords.

http://www.riverwords.net/2008/12/17/gentlemen-of-the-road-review/

Holidaze

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 02:32:29 GMT

Here's an attempt to catch up my LiveJournal.

LIfe's chugging along. At home, things are good. The kids are increasingly excited for Christmas. They run around the house, Riggs usually in Batman or Darth Vaders costume, hollering about something or another. Well, in between Xbox and Club Penguin playing. I managed to get most of my shopping done. And, I've got lots of vacation coming up through Christmas day that will give me plenty of time to prepare.

Work's going ok -- better than it was. We moved to the new building at work, which is much nicer. Underground parking ain't too bad, either.

I've been focusing on fiction writing. I'm working on a genre piece now -- a sword 'n sorcery style story. I'd like to get a few short stories written and a few of them published. I've been searching over some possible publications to submit to. Black Gate looks like a good fit, but a note there says they aren't currently accepting submissions. I'll figure something out.

My wife and I went to see the Black Crowes last week. Good show, but not nearly as impressive as the previous time I saw them. They played a couple tunes that surprised me.

Sunday, I went to lunch with old pals Flash and Willie. We had a good time talking about things -- in fact, I think that gathering inspired my new fiction work. It's like I rediscovered my love for fantasy through their enthusiasm.

I completed my tough MBA class for the fall in mid November. It's been extremely nice to have more free time since then. My new class starts up in mid-January. I'll be properly admitted student by then -- truly a Hawkey once again!

What day is it? October

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:51:55 GMT

Sedatives from biopsy finally wearing off. Feel like the ass end of theTijuana branch of Live Liver Donors.

I stab at thee!

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:00:29 GMT

Last night in my statistics class we learned about about rejecting the null hypothesis or failing to reject the null hypothesis and how that all works. At least it made more sense than distinguishing between the sample standard deviation and the standard deviation of the sampling distribution. Yes, that sentence is correct.

Friday morning, I get the rare pleasure of visiting the hospital so they can aim at my liver with an ultrasound machine and then stick a fucking needle in my chest to take a teeny piece of my liver to look at under a microscope. Basically, so they can confirm that "Yep, you're fine." In otherwords, so they can fail to reject the null hypothesis.

"Mr. Snyder, we have said for over 8 years that your liver is probably fine. Now, we're statistically sure that it is, indeed, fine! You're fine. Thank you for letting us stick a needle in your chest and for letting us charge you and your insurance company over five hundred dollars. Also, we apologize in advance if you internally bleed. You'll be fine."

Isn't wonderful how the week all snaps together!? At least I got a Dell laptop out coming my way. Can't wait for that little gadget.

Also cool: Bob Dylan's new double album of unreleased tracks from 1989 to right about now. Maybe if I turn it up real loud I'll ignore that whole needle thing.

Did I mention the needle?

Brought to you by the letter F

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 01:55:49 GMT

I hereby strike the following from my vocabulary:

Fail, Full of Fail, etc. -- Ees nice. I lika sex! I lika you! God. Enough already.
FTW, For The Win, Full of Win, etc. -- Smug bullshit. Win the Internet? What? Grow up.
I CAN HAZ CHEEZBURGER? -- Every time you do that cat caption garbage, I throw up a little in my mouth.
Literally -- It's called slang. It's fun, I guess. Also, you literally don't use that work right, dumbasses. I literally want you to stop using it that way.
Intarweb -- Intartarded. See also: Intertubes. Do not pass Go fuck yourself.
NOM -- What are you, a fucking Muppet extra? Shuddap.
PEW PEW PEW -- Laser beam sounds? Maybe next we can try the Spock finger thing. Sit on yours, ok?
PWN, PWNED -- You're a boner, pwner. Stop it.
Rawr -- What the hell is it with the internet and cat freaks? They smell like cat piss. Fuck cats. Fuck you.
Sexxorz, Roxxorz -- Dumborz. Just say "That's great!" Or "Cool." Or "I liked it a lot." Or "I can't express my enthusiasm like a grwn upprz."
Shizzle, the shizzle, for shizzle, etc. -- Snoop Dog was cool when I was cool. And that was a long time ago. You are no longer cool when you fucking TYPE that crap.
Teh [anything], teh sex, etc. -- Tihs is teheoretically stupid. No, wait, it's actually stupid.

If you knew, you'd know

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:25:49 GMT

Starting school

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:00:56 GMT

I survived GenCon 2008. It was a good time -- got to spend a lot of time with long-distance pals. As usual, I got far too little sleep.

I was busy helping with the Ashcan Front, which means I didn't spend too much time selling my games. I sold a few books, but I'd like to get more focused next year to make the expense worthwhile! Still, the ashcans this year were an exciting line up. Jared sold a ton of his Dark Pages. Darcy Burgess had a good thing going with Black Cadillacs, and Julia Ellingboe mostly captivated people with her erotic Japanese prints (ok, some parents shuffled the kids right out of there!).

Riggs had his first-ever day of school today. Canada couldn't make it, so I sent her some pictures. He was fearless.

Yesterday was Kate's first day of third grade. She got a colorful planner notebook from her teacher. She spent over an hour doodling in and filling out, including drawing cartoons of stick people doing the character counts things -- a person helping pick up trash, a student telling another "good job" and bunches of others. She's too good! She'll wear that thing out by October! It's perfect for her.

I've got my own schooling starting next week. I'm back to my third class for my MBA program. This one's Data and Decisions, and word is it's the toughest class around. Lots of data and spreadsheets and statistics. Oh my.

As usual, no movement on the house. We keep having showings, then silence. I don't think it'll ever sell until we pump a few thousand more bucks of equity into the damn thing. So it goes. I think we've got a flying critter in the basement that fell down from the roof exhause pipe. But, now I can't find the thing. I saw it flying out of the corner of my eye. And, it made one hell of a racket when it fell in the middle of the night Monday. Woke me up from a dead sleep.

Can't wait for football to start. I think I'll pick up Madden 2008 for my Xbox360 tonight.

Sunburn at the 19th hole

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 18:02:09 GMT

Yesterday was the 29th annual RIP Open. It's a golf tournament my dad organizes with friends, and it's a big tradition for us. I golfed pretty well considering the last time I did so was the 28th annual RIP Open. Last year, my team was the winner. This year, we didn't win, but we had a good time. I managed to burn my neck and arms pretty bad. Here's to hoping it doesn't do my usual allergic reaction thing, aka the Itch That Will Not Die.

Today, we're off to celebrate Mom's birthday. We got her the Alison Krauss and Robert Plant CD, but now we're thinking maybe we did that for Christmas! Oh well, we'll see.

I just all-but finished the German translation for a friend's RPG book. That's round 3 of 3, which was the longest job I've taken on. It's probably my last for a while, too.