August 2010
3 posts
2 tags
“He would never have known the horror of really getting what he thought he...”
– The Magicians by Lev Grossman
2 tags
“It’s a funny thing about the old gods. You think that just because...”
– The Magicians by Lev Grossman
September 2009
5 posts
3 tags
Thank You, Steve Jobs
Thank you, Steve Jobs, for giving me no reason to upgrade my 1st generation iPod touch to the newly released 3rd gen model. I was afraid that if the rumors about the 3rd gen iPod touch gaining the iPhone 3GS camera (with video) had been correct, I would have been compelled to upgrade to the latest model for that feature alone. Instead, I can remain content with my trusty old iPod touch with no...
3 tags
All Good Things
Hi-ho hi-ho, it’s back to work I go… after a full week of vacation. It went by as fast as vacation time usually is wont to do, but it was time very well spent.
L and I made it a memorable by hitting PAX (not People Against Xylophones, but Penny Arcade Expo) for the first time this year. The weather in Seattle was marvelous and the convention itself was… well, it was a...
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Happy Birthday: A Look Back at One Year of Google... →
You’ve come a long way in a year, Google Chrome. Although Firefox is still my browser of choice in Mac OS X at home and on Windows at work, I use Chrome exclusively for personal browsing on Windows at home and work. The speed and the clean interface are the biggest selling points for me, though I can’t wait see where Chrome is in another year’s time. (Via Lifehacker.)
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You Weren't Supposed to Guess!
Leslie: Guess how useful I am?
Chris: Ooh! Ooh! Is it "not very"? It's "not very" isn't it?
“I’m way over there, so you can do something holy.”
– Brandon, speaking for his infernal warlock
August 2009
21 posts
2 tags
Archive Binge →
File this under something that the Internet should have had a long time ago: it’s a service that lets you subscribe to the very beginning of a webcomic’s archive and receive updates at the rate YOU choose. There are only fifteen comics to pick from right now, but there are some good ones like DM of the Rings and Wondermark. I’m going to cross my fingers and hope they add some of...
4 tags
John's Background Switcher →
Just set this up on the old PC connected to the 32” TV in our living room to display random photos from Facebook friends on the desktop. It turned out to be quite the conversation piece when we had friends over on Friday and Saturday, as everyone wanted to keep hitting the next background button to see who and what would come up next! (Oh and it’s free and works with more photos than...
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D&D 4E House Rule: Recover
In the interests of speeding up combats in the Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition campaign I am co-running, I whipped up a new house rule to try tonight.
Recover You can dig into your resolve and endurance to recover a maneuver you already spent. In game terms, you spend a healing surge to regain a power you previously expended, and you focus on defending yourself. Unlike second wind, this...
1 tag
'Reading Rainbow' Reaches Its Final Chapter →
It’s sad to see such a fantastic show (that’s been around as long as I have) going off the air. Now whose word are we going to take for it?
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Free $5 Amazon MP3 Credit →
Nab Big Kahuna Reef (for PC) for free from Amazon today and even if you don’t want the game, you’ll score a $5 credit for Amazon’s MP3 store. (Via the Cheapskate.)
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80s Animation Night
L and I had an unplanned and spontaneous 80s animated movie night. (Because well, when else were we going to have one?)
We started by continuing our recent tradition of watching a different Miyazaki film every Sunday. Tonight’s was “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”, which I hadn’t seen before. As this was one of Miyazaki’s first features (as far as I know), it...
4 tags
The Mysterious Cities of Gold Smack Down
Erin says: (Amazon.com link to The Mysterious Cities of Gold Deluxe Edition DVD set.)
Erin says: POW!!!!
Erin says: take THAT, o non-believer!!!
Dylan says: ??
Dylan says: What is this claptrap?
Erin says: CLAPTRAP!!!!
Dylan says: Did you INVENT an Amazon.com page?
Erin says: setting aside that i LOVE that you just used that word...
Erin says: NO!
Erin says: it is NOT a made-up show!!
Erin says: ka POW!!
Erin says: PROOF!
Dylan says: Ha! I'm not sure Amazon.com counts as proof!
Dylan says: It is on the Internet after all... and we know how unreliable it is!!
Erin says: ha!
Erin says: guess i'll just have to BUY it!
Erin says: and wave it in everybody's FACE!
Erin says: btw, i mentioned it to Kevin and he started singing the theme song!
Erin says: apparently he always had a crush on the main character!
Erin says: HA!
Dylan says: Sounds like you and Kevin are in CAHOOTS!
Erin says: CAHOOTS!
Dylan says: Trying to pull the metaphorical wool over my eyes!
Erin says: again, kudos on the word use!
Erin says: but NO!
Erin says: no cahoots!!
Dylan says: Also, according to Wikipedia, this show ran from May 1, 1982 - September 5, 1983. I was like 3 months old when it went off the air.
Dylan says: So there's no wonder that I doubt the veracity of your claim!
Erin says: ha!
Dylan says: Anything that existed before I was born has doubtful veracity.
Erin says: just because you were too busy getting your gross motor skills under control to verify the existence of a television program,
Erin says: doesn't mean it didn't exist, DYLAN!
Dylan says: Oh snap!!
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Masterwork in D&D 4E
SlyFlourish: #dnd question: Is it assumed that +4 armor is Masterwork? Do DMs give out +4 Warplate instead of +4 Plate all the time or is it special?
gregbilsland: @SlyFlourish Always give out the highest masterwork available for that level. The math assumes this.
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Recipe for a Perfect Wednesday Night
Dine on left-over homemade chicken caesar pitas with the last two episodes of season two of the brilliantly funny Flight of the Conchords.
Following dinner, finish watching Miyazaki’s epic Castle in the Sky (on a library DVD that actually works this time) while baking fresh oatmeal raisin cookies.
Walk off dinner and dessert with a stroll around the neighborhood and local elementary...
3 tags
Save Against Embarassment
Ray: So I accidentally drop my implement, but because I'm in the corner, no one notices...
Chris: Actually, everyone can make perception checks to see if they notice.
Rest of the Party:
Ray: Woohoo!
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Dungeons, Dragons and Sesame Street
Ray: Tonight's session was sponsored by the number 1 and the letters WTF?
3 tags
WatchRobot Chicken and D&D are two great tastes that taste great together. (Via Chris.)
How Is America Going to End? →
“The result: a collection of 144 potential causes of America’s future death.” A whole slew of apocalyptic choices for the red-white-and-blue, from the serious to the hilarious. “China unloads U.S. Treasurys” worries me, but maybe the “Robot Overlords” will get to us first.
App Shopper: iPhone Apps, Deals and Discovery →
I love the website design and if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, the price tracking of applications is pretty darn useful.
July 2009
40 posts
How to Avoid Ads in Gmail →
The sponsored links in Gmail don’t really bother me that much, but I might just have to try this technique. Especially if including “These words are designed to kill advertisements” in a signature really does work. (Via waxy.org)
There's a... er... Twilight MMO coming... →
“Because absolutely no license goes unturned these days, we’ve gotten word that there will, indeed, be a Twilight MMO.”
I’m honestly terrified. (Via alchemy_gryph)
Cartoon-Off: Dinosaur Comics →
Apparently July is National Dinosaur Month? In honor of that, enjoy this New Yorker cartoon-off with Ryan North of Dinosaur Comics (one of my favorite webcomics that is arguably more often hilarious than the sometimes good XKCD).
Harry Potter and the Tremendous F***-up →
“There’s a lot of villains in the Harry Potter series. They are young and old, male and female, human and otherwise, magical and muggle. They range from indolent and reformable pests to soul-sucking embodiments of death personified. Not all of them set out to be bad. Some are good people who made bad choices; some are power-mad petty bureaucrats. But if you want to pick out the single...
Some E-Books Are More Equal Than Others →
Amazon can make e-books disappear from Kindles? That is all kinds of crazy. I fear this may end up happening when video games become 100% digitally distributed.
Now With Comments!
Yes, this blog finally has a feature that every other blog in the known universe has: comments! Thanks to Disqus, I’ve jury-rigged comments with Tumblr. Just click the NOTES or + sign next to each post to go to the comment page and share your insights and/or inanities.
Why the #$%! Do We Swear? For Pain Relief →
“Bad language could be good for you, a new study shows. For the first time, psychologists have found that swearing may serve an important function in relieving pain.”
Now if only swearing was a method of transportation, we would never need pain-killers or fossil fuels again. Swearing would be the #$%! ultimate alternative energy source!
“Happy Birthday Dylan!!! Throw a leg over for us, will ya?”
– my stepbrother Jeff (for my birthday)
Nintendo Plans Low Priced Wii Fit Plus →
New Owly Shirts →
The most adorable shirt I own is hands down my green classic Owly shirt that L got me for Christmas last year. But I mist admit, the new Owly Kids shirt looks pretty darn cute too. (Maybe it’s a good thing for my testosterone that I’m too big/adult to wear it.)