Sporadic Meanderings

I wanted to drop a line to let you all know about a new blog Kenn and I started, dubbed Sporadic Meanderings.  This will chronicle a project we started at the beginning of this spring, in which Kenn and I will section-hike all of the Appalachian Trail in New England.   This summer, we will focus on Connecticut, then move on to Massachusetts and beyond.  We will try to update after each hike with pictures, impressions and so-on.  Keep an eye out and enjoy! 

The Running List

As is customary at the year's beginning, I made a "resolution" to lose some weight.

Several years ago, I got a job manning the helpdesk at an ISP in California.  Thus, sitting at a desk for a living spelled the downfall of my physique, and I began to gain weight at a slow but alarming rate.  I was up 40 lbs. from my prior weight by the time I left California, and it continued to increase after taking one tech job after another.

I had tried some exercise plans in the past, but none really seemed to do the trick.  Even the Couch to 5k plan, with which I recently had more success, wasn't enough to stave off the spare tire forming around my middle.  With that, I resolved at the beginning of 2011 to lose 35 lbs before July 1st.

I don't need to expound too many details, but I started the Cto5K plan again, and this time, I was able to complete it.  I've never been a fan of running, even in my peak physical condition at the end of high school, when i was active in martial arts.  But damn it all, I did it.  I was able to run a 5k.  It felt awesome.  That may not seem like much of a run to those seasoned athletes out there, but to me, this was a milestone...so to speak. (A 5-kilometer-stone?)

I've change my diet somewhat, bringing in fewer calories and whatnot, but I think one of the biggest factors in my ability to complete the plan was a well-tested and proven playlist of running tunes.  As I said, I had tried this plan in the past, and each time I made small tweaks to the list to give optimum push to complete each segment.  The following is a list of the songs on the list (Not all the songs on my list are there, but I have provided one from each artist on the list that stands out above their other selections):

• Not Alone - All That Remains
• Anthem (We Are The Fire) - Trivium
• Training Montage - Northern Kings
• Revolution Deathsquad - Dragonforce
• Take This Oath - Killswitch Engage
• Kids Who Wanna Play With The Dead - Lordi
• The Judas Kiss - Metallica
• Keep Quiet - The Protomen
• Paper Tigers - Thrice
• Time To Rock - Astral Doors
• Out On The Streets - Bang Camaro
• Reborn - Stone Sour
• Own Little World - Celldweller
• Beatiful Things - Andain
• Joe Strummer - Cowboy Mouth
• Professional Killer - KMFDM
• Metal Dance - The Megas
• Give It All - Rise Against
• Stranger Than Fiction - Bad Company

And last on the list, the song that always worked; The one song that - no matter how exhausted, fed-up and ready-to-die I became - would pull me closer to my goal with fervor and determination:

• My Land - Sonata Arctica

I'm not sure what exactly about that song does it for me, but I know it works.

This little bit of prideful exposition may or may not help you - or someone you know - build a playlist that will make the transition from the couch to the trail (or treadmill), but I can at least hope that it was entertaining in some way.  Regardless if these songs are used for running, lifting, riding, driving or just sitting around playing Burnout, I hope they're of some use.

As a side note, since the beginning of my resolution, I've dropped 20 lbs.  Suck on that,desk job.

Mastering My First Dungeon: Wizard's On Fire

Last night was my first D&D game as Dungeon Master.  I have always wanted to run a game of my own, and in the lingering fever that is Post-PAX depression, my friends pushed me into finally doing it.

Of course, the friends that are involved all live in different states, so an in-person game was not an option.  Instead, we used a host of computer tools to play an online game.  RPTools has a bunch of great tools for running a game online, of which I used MapTool for the majority of the game itself, and InitTool to keep track of character and mob initiative.

We had some trouble getting MapTool accessible on my own network from the internet, so we resorted to created a VPN through Hamachi, which made everything work swimmingly.

Of course, playing a (virtual) table-top RPG would be no fun at all without face-to-face contact between the players and myself, so we set up ooVoo without webcams and mics.  Honestly, I can't imagine playing this game without the webcams.  All together, the tech tools we used gave us all the feeling of an old-school, pen-and-paper RPG, complete with all the inside jokes, innuendo and not-so-subtle jibes, all while hundreds of miles away from each other.  Except for Kenn, of course.  He's right up the road.

Overall, the response from my players (Ah, I love saying that. My players...) was good.  Shayne hasn't played an RPG in years - and had never worked with 4e before - so he has a bit of a learning curve to overcome.  He seems to have gotten the hang of his rogue pretty quickly.  While Dennis' wizard spent several rounds on fire, he was still able to pull off a few well-placed magic missiles.  Kenn's warlord really ran the show, pushing and pulling folks this way and that, and giving the rogue just the right amount of support to lay waste to the group of kobolds who were unfortunate enough to ambush the party.  You can witness the bloody field of carnage in the picture above.

Being my first DM'ing experience, I did decide to run a pre-made module, rather than develop my own story. I'd rather get used to the nuts and bolts of running a game before trying to muddy the waters with my own imaginings.  If we can make it through this adventure in one piece, I may then subject my players to the wild torments of my own making.

We're scheduled to play the next round a week from now.  Oh, the places you'll go, my friends...

A Quick Note...

I want to wish a very happy birthday to my beautiful wife, Beth.  I love you!

My First Sugru Project

After reading an article on Lifehacker, I decided to build a phone mount for my car using a binder clip and rubber band.  I worked well enough, though I didn't take the time to wrap the wire arms in thread, as outlined in the instructions.  I found that, without the thread to add friction to the mount, my phone slid out from the grips too easily.  The thread solution seemed like a bit of a hassle, and I didn't have any thread handy anyway.

My solution? Sugru!

If you haven't been introduced to the wonders of Sugru, please take the time to check out the link above.

sugru is like modeling clay when you take it from its pack. Once it's exposed to air, it cures to a tough flexible silicone overnight using the moisture in the air. Working time = 30 mins. Cure time = 24hrs (3-5 mm deep)

The Sugru pads on the arms should provide plenty of friction to keep the phone from sliding out.  This will, of course, take a day or so to cure, so I won't be able to test this until later this week.

Anyone else have a cool Sugru hack to show off?

A Deluge (Unexpected?)

As you can see in the image above, Connecticut - and much of the New England - was hit with a sudden blast of wintry weather, including up to 26" of snow in some places.  Our own apartment complex saw about 24".  That's two feet!

Merry Christmas, Cthulhu!

Just a little poem I wrote in honor of the season. Happy Holidays, everyone!

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Merry Christmas, Cthulhu!

‘Twas a cold Christmas night in R’lyeh so deep,
And something disturbed Cthulhu’s long sleep.
He heard something strange coming down from the sky,
A jingly sound, and he had to know why.

He crawled from his keep, slinging gunk from his wings,
And rose to the surface, to get a good look at things.
Nothing was there, Cthulhu saw in dismay,
And was ready to descend, when he heard someone say,

“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
Cthulhu craned his head up, to behold such a sight.
A red sleigh pulled by beasts emerged from a cloud,
With a fat man on board, who was calling aloud.

They flew through the sky, heading north at great speed,
And soon they were gone. What a strange night, indeed!
“Christmas? What’s that?” Cthulhu thought in his head.
“I must know this great power!” to himself, he said.

...