Blackmoor Vituperative

Finished the RavenCon schedule. Not difficult, but more time consuming than I expected. I learned a lot, though. I can do it in half the time next year. Here is how not to do it.

Hexographer and Dungeonographer received major updates a week or two ago. If you’ve used either tool since then, you’ve probably noticed the changes.

Both tools received layout changes which reduced the number of menu items by placing buttons for many of those features in panels dedicated to those features. For example, the ability to add custom map items is now a button on the map items tab/toolbox.

There were a great many other changes, as well. You can read more about it at the Inkwell Ideas web site.

If you want a great deal on a 10″ tablet that beats the socks off of, well, anything else under $800 or more, head over to Woot. Today they have the Viewsonic G for $280, which is a great deal. It’s currently $370 on Amazon.

I have one of these and I love it. Buy it, go to xda-developers.com and install the TnTLite or Vegan ROM, and you are good to go. Working Google Market, Flash, wifi internet, the whole shebang.

Yes, you need to be a little bit of a techie to flash the ROM, but it’s not rocket science. If you can copy a file to a mini SD card, you can do it.

I have heard some people complain about “viewing angle”. I don’t know what they are talking about. The screen is gorgeous. I have no trouble seeing it. Personally, I think that’s “user error”. (Hint: the screen is the side with the shiny glass.)

And no, it does not dual boot anything: it runs Android. Awesome, awesome Android.

This is a great deal. I am tempted to buy a second one.

I feel a bit bad about putting this in the “Music” category. It does qualify, in a “no accounting for taste” sort of way.

Here I am, trying to wrap up a project that I am, I admit, more than a little behind on. (I have good reasons for that, but it’s gotten ridiculous, and I really need to get this done.) Anyway, so here I am, making a good faith effort to catch up on this, and I get sent this:

It’s a deceptively catchy tune, but not quite catchy enough to conceal the truly awful lyrics.

“Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday
Today is Friday, Friday
Tomorrow is Saturday
And Sunday comes afterwards.”

It’s almost surreal in its sheer awfulness.

“We so excited.”

Indeed.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

I am still working my way through our DVD collection. I recently started with the “D”s. There are some truly great films that start with “D”. For example, last night I watched “Darby O’Gill and the Little People”, which is likely my all-time favorite Disney movie. It wasn’t until this morning that I realized that today is St. Patrick’s Day. “Darby O’Gill” features Albert Sharpe, Sean Connery, and Janet Munro. Janet Munro also starred in The Crawling Eye, which I saw just a few days ago (it was the second-to-last of our “C” DVDs), and which is also one of my favorite movies.

The mechanical effects in “Darby O’Gill and the Little People” are simply amazing. If you get the chance, watch the DVD special feature “Little People, Big Effects”. I am still astonished by what can be achieved with forced perspective and matte paintings.

Another beautiful Richmond day. The weather was cool and nice, and the dogwoods are blooming in pink and white. Several birds, including a bright red cardinal, were at our bird feeder today. I love living here.

“It is not written that you must detest everyone who disagrees with you.”

— Chocolate Pickle

Five or six years ago, I tossed out shelves and shelves of role-playing games and sourcebooks. Many were games that I had never played: all were games that I never intended to play again. All of my 2nd edition D&D books, nearly all of my indie RPG books, all of my Hero System/Champions books — all went. I saved books for games I still played, or still wanted to play, but this was a very small pile compared to what I got rid of. I also saved a few books that, for one reason or another, were special to me.

Nobilis was one of those games. I had a first edition copy of Nobilis, and I will have it as long as I own any books at all. You see, I was there when Nobilis was written. Oh, I didn’t contribute to it. Not directly. But I was there while the author played with ideas — strange, magical ideas. And in my small, probably insignificant way, I encouraged her. And when the book was published, I bought it.

Well, Nobilis is in its third edition now. Go buy it. Even if you never play it (as I likely never shall), it is worth it. It is strange and magical, much like its author.

P.S. A special, limited-edition autographed copy is available for a limited time. I am tempted. Sorely tempted.

The US director of national intelligence, a retired Air Force general with 47 years in the intelligence business, with access to the $80-billion American spying bureaucracy, made more than a few politicians upset today. What did he do? He answered their questions, and didn’t tell them what they wanted to hear.

Watching the video of the exchange gave me flashbacks. I am glad that I no longer work in the government arena. I may not have as much responsibility, but what I do now is a lot less stressful, and a hell of a lot more honest.

There are a lot of people asking about this, and a great many sites which tell you how to set it up. They all entail copying DLL files and registering them, etc. Sadly, these methods do not work on 64-bit Windows Vista/Windows 7 or Windows 8. Here is what works:

• FastPictureViewer Codec Pack

It costs money ($10, as of this moment, but it’s usually $15).