What!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you mean, "not in word list!"

Sunstones in the news

From HelpfulGM: Scientists Think They Have Found The Mythical ‘Sunstone’ Vikings Used To Navigate Warships.

I had no idea that these things were real!

Ice Cream Break

A very important part of scripting is to take an occasional ice cream break.  I am taking mine now (albeit a very, very late one).  I am making slow progress on my new tool – having found a seldom-used script which is similar in function – and I felt it was time to reward myself for this afternoon's work.

I am making a conscious effort to avoid dripping chocolate ice cream all over my new keyboard.

Gaming Gear

I broke my last keyboard (the G key was permanently depressed) as well as my mouse (the scroll wheel would not scroll), so I went out today and dropped $100 on some new Logitech equipment: I treated myself to a G105 keyboard and a G100s mouse.

I've always like Logitech and I have had good experiences with their gear (with the exception of G330 headset: there was some interference with the volume knob, so I often heard static – but I digress).  I bought the keyboard and mouse at a local computer store, and while I stood in the checkout line I saw something troubling printed on the bottom of the boxes: the system requirements for both peripherals was Microsoft Windows system 7 and up – no mention at all about Macintosh compatibility.  I was feeling lucky and took a gamble (or I was too lazy to leave the checkout line, pick one) and made the purchases anyways, with the thought that I could return them if I was unable to use them.

Before opening any of the boxes or breaking any of the seals, I went onto the Logitech website and, much to my delight, discovered that – at the very end of the list of operating systems supported for their gaming mice and keyboards – was the Mac OS X download link.  I now have a programmable keyboard and mouse, and I can record keystrokes on-the-fly and save them to a hotkey.  This has some wild and awesome potential for me when I am running spur-of-the-moment invasions.

There are two features missing from this keyboard: (1) it lacks USB ports.  This is unfortunate, and it was a feature that was on my "must have" list (which I completely forgot to check while shopping).  And missing feature (2) is the Macintosh command key.  It's a Windows keyboard, so I must instead use the Windows key when I want to command-click or command-key something.  This Windows key is in a different layout position than what I am accustomed to using, so I find myself ascending a bit of a learning curve (the Mac keyboard layout is, from left to right, control, option and then command; the Windows layout is control, Window and alt).  So I need to remember if I want to type option-G, then I need to instead type alt-G – using the third modifier button instead of the second button.

But boy, does it feel nice to have working equipment again.  Now that I know that much of the Logitech gaming gear is supported on the Mac, I almost regret not buying the super-deluxe versions of both keyboards and mice (one mouse had 20 customizable buttons, while another had small weights which could be added as to customize the feel of the mouse).

I suppose I now have something to look forward to when I break the new equipment!

How YOU doin'?

It's been a while since I've made any comments here on my blog.  Like, exactly one year to the day.

I had a nice chat this weekend in the Fairgrounds.  The point of my chat was basically "it's summertime, a lot of GMs are away on vacation, so do not expect much in terms of content for updates."  I am included in that group of summer frolickers: I have been traveling and will continue to do so through the beginning of Labor Day.

But as soon as the words left my mouth within that Fairgrounds chat -- "yeah, don't expect much from me" -- I was subsequently inspired by some of the players and I find myself fervently scripting and designing.

So much for that summer break!

Plenty of Nothing

Real life has whisked me away from my focus on Clan Lord (and I admit that what little free time I have has been spent putting out fires).

I have no materials going in for V762, but I hope to have a lot for V765.

Heel Draggin'

My heels.  I'm draggin' 'em.

Truthfully, that is a little misleading.  Pesky real life has been demanding more of my attention as of late which in turn is restricting time for my projects.  My delivery deadline for V738 is next Friday; I will need to review my list of projects and determine what (realistically) can be delivered by this deadline.

I dream of one day having a thematic update, as practiced in Team Fortress 2.  How cool would it be to see "The Mystic Fireball Update"?  (And before you ask: no, there are no plans for a Mystic Fireball Update.)

I like the idea of a thematic update, and wish to make it one of my project goals.  It's challenging to reach my goals when my heel are draggin'!

Eggnog? More Like EggNOD!

This is the time of year for eggnog.

A personal bit of information about myself: I love my eggnog, and I simply can not resist sneaking a cup after dinner.  And after lunch.  And before breakfast.



I shall be relieved when the season is over and I can no longer buy eggnog.  My cholesterol-clogged arteries hurt.

Giving Thanks

It is Thanksgiving Day here in the States.  As I work on some Bawkmas related projects, I am thankful that I can take an existing script – one that other GMs have worked upon to perfect – and gut it and h4x it and create a new purpose for it.

Other things for which I am grateful:

• Having good health
• Having employment in such a crappy economy
• Having good family and friends
• Having the opportunity to make Clan Lord a funner place

 If you are traveling this holiday weekend, then please travel safely!

Bellyaching

My neighborhood is unpredictable on Halloween evening.  Some years I receive a swarm of trick-or-treaters, and some years I receive none.  My prediction this year was for a busy evening, and I went to my local wholesale warehouse club and purchased a pallet-o-candy.

By the evening's end I had a total of three groups of kids visit me: two large groups of children and one small group of teenagers.  This leaves me with a pallet-o-candy – minus a handful of candy bars – just within arm's reach from my computer desk.

As I rewrite my embarrassingly bad script, I find myself reaching over and OM NOM NOMing a candy bar in between lines of scripting.  I have a lot of lines to rewrite, and I think I have one candy bar to match each line of code.

My pancreas is crying.

Laser Tag

I went to a birthday party on Saturday.  The party was basically "dine out at a local Mexican restaurant, drink some sangria and margaritas, and then play a round of indoor laser tag at a nearby gaming facility."

I had never played laser tag, but I have played nearly 2k hours of Team Fortress 2 – and that's almost like playing laser tag, right?  I figured that I would be an instant expert at this game and that I would dominate the playing field.

PRO TIP: One's mediocre computer gaming skills does not translate well into real world settings.  I had enough team-versus-team online gaming experience to check around corners and to watch my back when moving around the map, but boy-howdy I had zero gaming experience on dealing with swarming, screeching children.  The kids' tactic was a basic wolf-pack "surround and pound the adults!" and as one of our base's few adult defenders, I got seriously pwn3d.

I had a blast (pardon the pun), and look forward to playing again soon.  Although their RED team crushed my BLU team, I can boast that I had the high score for my team.  That's right: I was able to out-gun the children on my team.  Maybe my mediocre computer gaming skills accounted for something!

The Cooldown

For a while I had been a scripting fool.  I had been alternately focusing upon three different quests.  One is very close to being complete.

But then summer happened, and I now find my attention elsewhere.  My To Do list continues to grow, but right now I'm experiencing a Clan Lord cooldown.

I'll return to scripting "soon!"

Another Day AFK

Today was another day spent away from the computer.  I expect to get some CL work done on Sunday.

I have another large RL project that will probably begin this upcoming week, and my available CL time will reduce accordingly.  This will be a large project, too.  Oy.

Spending Time

I spent the evening away from the computer, so I did not do any development for Clan Lord this evening.  Instead I spent the evening playing table top games with friends.  It was a great way to spend the evening.

So Far Away

An unexpected RL project has dropped into my figurative lap.  Therefore I expect to be AFK from CL work for the next couple of days.

O, Clan Lord!  You are so far away from me.

Yappy, Unplugged

Today I stayed away from my computer and allowed myself to decompress from my previous two weeks.  I simply could not bring myself to look at a computer monitor.

Dirty Dishes

I was AFK all day today, and therefore was unable to touch any of my CL projects.  My RL project is drawing to its conclusion, and my untouched CL projects are on my mind much like a growing pile of unwashed dishes stacked within a small sink.  They need to get done, and I want to do them sooner rather than later.

And I don't want "soon" to be the Clan Lord kind of "soon!"

WTB: Gold Pocket Watch

Today was one of those days.  You know the kind: the leave-home-early-arrive-home-late kind of days.  Today was one of those days where I simply ran out of time.

I have jokingly suggested that I should clone myself, but I think that a more practical solution to finding time is to get a time-stopping pocket watch.

Craig's List needs a better selection of affordable magic watches.

Two Races, One Goal

This is a week where I enter two home stretches: both my CL and RL projects are due on Friday.  Two projects, independent of each other, hurtling forward and destined to collide!

That sounds like the premise of a disaster film.

5/7 Efficiency

This evening started well enough.  It was my intention to spend tonight outlining the design for my Next Big Quest.  I had been thinking about it all day and had some ideas that I wished to develop.  Tonight was also the opening official game of the NFL season (American football).  Instead spending my evening yelling at my computer (something that I frequently do while scripting), I instead spent the evening yelling at my television.

I worry that my Clan Lord productivity is going to suffer on Thursdays and Sundays.