Raise a Ruckus

Shawn | November 29, 2007 in Journal | Comments (3)

I am in the process of buying a scooter from my friends Earl and Amy. It is a 2006 Honda Ruckus. A screaming 49 cc’s will get this little bitch going over 40 if I so choose. It gets 100 mpg or more! I’ve always wanted one and now I’m in a position where I can afford one (not to mention they are letting me pay them in installments), so I’m taking full advantage. Check out the pic, pretty snazzy eh? I’ve always been a little put off by how rounded and feminine scooters usually look, this is a great looking bike that breaks that mold! It will definitely save me some gas $$ and besides, the ladies can’t resist a fat dude on a scooter..

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Critical-Hit Deck

Shawn | November 28, 2007 in Dorktalk | Comments (1)

Tags: D&D, D20, Dungeons & Dragons, RPG

This 52 card deck from Game Mastery is proving to be a really fun addition to our group’s gaming night. It seems Paizo, former Dragon and Dungeon magazines publishers, have used their connections and made a smart move into the open source D20 accessory market. Game Mastery has been releasing modules, maps, and item cards that correspond to their release which are pretty cool too. This is a stand alone accessory that can be used in any game.

So how it works is simple, when a player confirms a critical hit, they get to draw a card. On the back of each card there are 4 results, one for each damage type (bludgeoning, piercing, slashing, and magic). The cards are fun and easy to implement in battle and provide for some interesting combat situations.

The deck introduces one mechanic called Bleed. Bleed is the loss of life or ability points each round after the crit until the character is magically healed or takes a round to perform a DC 15 heal check. I like the bleed rule, it adds another element of realism to combat. The directions included suggest a few ways to use these cards, I will be letting PC’s draw but only “bosses” and significant monsters and NPC’s can draw from the deck as far as antagonists go. The deck can have some pretty nasty outcomes so best to use it in moderation with the PC’s as the focus I find.

The cards are attractively illustrated and laid out, the freshly severed orc head splashing across the card side-up is perfect! I’m also very excited for the January release of Game Mastery’s Critical Fumble Deck, though I doubt my players are! *evil cackle*

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R.I.P. Pat Moscone

Shawn | November 27, 2007 in Journal | Comments (10)

Tags: East Millinocket, Journal, Maine Musician

So, shortly after arriving home this past weekend for Thanksgiving, I was blindsided with the news that my friend Pat Moscone had passed away. I am very sad to know that I won’t be sitting at the bar telling jokes with Pat again. He was one of the funniest guys I’ve ever met.

Everyone knew Pat. I knew him best during my mid-twenties when me and the band of hometown knuckleheads I still keep company with every now and again, practically lived at the Burnt Land Rips. He was a regular there and always drank with us and carried on after hours with us. He became a regular in our crew for a while, crashing on our couches, hanging out.

Whenever I would mention Pat, someone would invariably groan something about being “useless” or “what a bum”. I always laughed, just like he did at them. You see, these kind of comments always came straight from the mouth of a disgruntled, grizzled old yocal, someone so unhappy with his lot working at the mill that they feel they have to heckle anyone who doesn’t live the way they do. Maybe because his freedom seemed like uncertainty, which scares people. Or maybe they were jealous of his free spirit, feeling better about bashing him for being able to live the way he truly wanted because they couldn’t. (more…)

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Munchkin

Shawn | in Dorktalk | Comments (2)

Tags: D&D, games, Munchkin, RPG

I’m a little late on this one, but if you do any fantasy role-playing and don’t take it too seriously, you gotta play this game. I had a great time playing Munchkin over the Thanksgiving weekend with fellow gamer nerds Earl and Amy.

Yes Brydon, I know you’ve been screaming about this for months, you were right ok. Anyway, I plan on purchasing the basic (fantasy in this case, there are several genres) and corresponding expansion over the holiday months. My gaming group plays 3 Dragon Ante and Inn-fighting when a night runs short or we need a break, Munchkin will make another fine downtime addition.

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Killdear Project

Shawn | November 10, 2007 in Journal, Music | Comments (3)

Tags: Journal, Music

Abe Grivois (aka VIK44) and I are working on a music project and decided to call it Killdear. The name is a play on the name of a bird, the Killdeer. The Killdeer does this wounded bird act to lead predators from its eggs which I thought was pretty remarkable. What relevance does that have to the music we’re making you may ask? Absolutely nothing. I just thought it would be a cool name if we changed it up a little.

It’s a pretty somber affair so far. Deep and bassy, dark and moody, the beats follow a fairly grave pace and hover between 100 and 120 bpm and the vibe is thoughtful. Abe is writing a majority of the music, and I’m on lyrics and vocals. Some of our influences we’re channeling include Depeche Mode, Massive Attack, Russell Mills, Nine Inch Nails, The Cure, Machines of Loving Grace, Meat Beat Manifesto, among others.

We have been meeting as often as we can, working mostly on arrangement and structure right now. Abe and I have written music together before so the process is pretty smooth, especially now that we’re free of band/instrumental restrictions. I think there’s more of a sense of knowing what we’re trying to accomplish this time too, which makes things much easier. We’re both very excited about what we’ve got so far.

I will post more about the project as it comes closer to completion.

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Yet Another Reason to Love Google

Shawn | November 9, 2007 in General | Comments (0)

Tags: 411, cell phones, Google, information

Call Google 411 (1-800-GOOG411) and get connected to whatever business your looking for – free! I worked for a cell phone company for nearly 2 years and believe me folks this is huge. 411 calls cost $1.50/ea or more through most service providers. So type it into your phonebook now and thank me later. That is all.