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Friday saw a heck of a storm system roll through. Louisville got some strong storms but nothing really bad. Down in Somerset and London, though - tornadoes hit and tore things up something fierce. About 20 deaths across the state, dozens of homes and other buildings badly damaged or destroyed. I don't really have anyone down there anymore, but seeing videos and photos of the aftermath is unsettling.
The Family Business
Apr. 6th, 2025 03:25 pmThis weekend was the twice-or-so-yearly Hex family retreat. This time around we assembled at Lake Cumberland - and it may say something about our luck that we were at a lake on a weekend when the regional forecast called for six to twelve inches of rain along with the chance of tornadoes. We sure got the rain, and it was plenty stormy sometimes, but we had a good time playing games and eating and telling stories.
Saturday night had one of those great moments. After the second game of the day and before dinner, Josh and Leighton and I were standing on a covered deck looking over the lake. The most recent storm front had blown through, there was some light rain and wind, and just this energy. We were having a great talk, watching clouds and rain. It was unquantifiable, but it just was the best feeling.
I gave Shadowdark another shot, mostly because Josh is a heck of a GM. I'm still not sold on the game. I don't dislike it, but it's just adequate for me. DCC and OSE are better for what I want, except for OSE's Vancian spellcasting. Shadowdark's simple character classes are a selling point, but on the whole, I don't really get what the fuss is about.
I read Scalzi's When the Moon Hits Your Eye instead of playing Runequest, and damned if that wasn't a heck of a good novel. Scalzi presents an utterly ridiculous event - the Moon turning into cheese - and plays the results completely straight. I loved it.
Saturday night had one of those great moments. After the second game of the day and before dinner, Josh and Leighton and I were standing on a covered deck looking over the lake. The most recent storm front had blown through, there was some light rain and wind, and just this energy. We were having a great talk, watching clouds and rain. It was unquantifiable, but it just was the best feeling.
I gave Shadowdark another shot, mostly because Josh is a heck of a GM. I'm still not sold on the game. I don't dislike it, but it's just adequate for me. DCC and OSE are better for what I want, except for OSE's Vancian spellcasting. Shadowdark's simple character classes are a selling point, but on the whole, I don't really get what the fuss is about.
I read Scalzi's When the Moon Hits Your Eye instead of playing Runequest, and damned if that wasn't a heck of a good novel. Scalzi presents an utterly ridiculous event - the Moon turning into cheese - and plays the results completely straight. I loved it.
Valentine's Day ate the CP Red game, and that was okay. Saturday saw heavy rain and thunderstorms and that was good for lying in bed and reading. Sunday's board meeting was blessedly moved online, and weather in Florida did a number on the Daytona 500, so, hey, more reading!
Packed my duffel and took off Monday morning. Drove down to the Corvette Museum, a long-overdue visit. The very fast machines are the focus of the museum, of course, and there is plenty of space given over to the people who designed and engineered and promoted them. I found myself taken with the story of Zora and Elfi Arkus-Duntov - they were a heck of a couple, Elfi was the first Corvette Girl, and she would spell out Zora's name on her body with adhesive medical tape and go sunbathing so his name would be on her. It was a good visit.
Drove to Dad's after the museum. Spent the night with him, then lit out for Dayton early Tuesday morning. I hadn't been to the Air Force museum in several years, and while it was nice to see some of the new exhibits (a Titan 4 stack and a Su-27), I found myself kinda bored. Beautiful machines and stories, but I've seen most of them, you know? And the Presidential aircraft gallery just kept reminding me of that orange bastard, and ... ugh. Hotel was nice.
Wednesday morning, up and off to Point Pleasant for the Mothman Museum. US35 is a heck of a fast road, and would have been even faster without the winter storm I drove through. Fun visit to Point Pleasant, then headed back to Louisville. WV2 was an easy drive down to Huntington, and I-64 brought me home one more time.
Ran an errand with a friend this morning. Going to take care of some business this afternoon - taxes and car licenses and REAL ID documents. No plans for tomorrow, maybe back to BG for a train show on Saturday, then the first ALIEN session at Slur on Sunday evening. Back to work on Monday. Can't wait to see what nonsense went down while I've been gone.
That's a lie. I just don't care all that much.
Packed my duffel and took off Monday morning. Drove down to the Corvette Museum, a long-overdue visit. The very fast machines are the focus of the museum, of course, and there is plenty of space given over to the people who designed and engineered and promoted them. I found myself taken with the story of Zora and Elfi Arkus-Duntov - they were a heck of a couple, Elfi was the first Corvette Girl, and she would spell out Zora's name on her body with adhesive medical tape and go sunbathing so his name would be on her. It was a good visit.
Drove to Dad's after the museum. Spent the night with him, then lit out for Dayton early Tuesday morning. I hadn't been to the Air Force museum in several years, and while it was nice to see some of the new exhibits (a Titan 4 stack and a Su-27), I found myself kinda bored. Beautiful machines and stories, but I've seen most of them, you know? And the Presidential aircraft gallery just kept reminding me of that orange bastard, and ... ugh. Hotel was nice.
Wednesday morning, up and off to Point Pleasant for the Mothman Museum. US35 is a heck of a fast road, and would have been even faster without the winter storm I drove through. Fun visit to Point Pleasant, then headed back to Louisville. WV2 was an easy drive down to Huntington, and I-64 brought me home one more time.
Ran an errand with a friend this morning. Going to take care of some business this afternoon - taxes and car licenses and REAL ID documents. No plans for tomorrow, maybe back to BG for a train show on Saturday, then the first ALIEN session at Slur on Sunday evening. Back to work on Monday. Can't wait to see what nonsense went down while I've been gone.
That's a lie. I just don't care all that much.
Rambling Man
Jan. 13th, 2025 08:13 pmTwo-and-a-half days at work last week. Didn't see my rural clients because of road conditions, and we got another snowstorm on Friday. I wasn't feeling great Friday morning and went in with the plan of sorting one client's apartment concerns out, then either WFH or taking a half-day and watching the weather from the comfort of my couch.
That didn't happen. When the weather started hitting, the powers-that-be made the sensible decision to close our offices and clinics at 1PM. All good - that fit into my plans. About 12:40 the client mentioned above called, told me he was a couple of blocks from the center and needed a way home. I told him to get to the center and I'd get him home. What should have been a 20-minute drive took a little over an hour. Okay, great, I'm only burning three hours of PTO. I headed for home.
That's when the second call of the day came in. Another client needing help. I judged that the roads weren't too dangerous yet, offered up a prayer to Max Rockatansky, and headed back out. Got him to the grocery and back, and then got my own precious self home.
And that's where I stayed for the weekend, save for a quick trip to pick up a pizza on Sunday afternoon. The second wave of snow wasn't bad, and warmer temps today melted a lot of the snow off.
Today should have been better, but it started off with putting out more of someone else's fires and progressed to wrangling one of my own and then a couple more. Tomorrow,I need to put my people (and myself) first and take care of us.
Let's see how that works out.
Ravens beat the Steelers, and that was the best thing about a good NFL Wild Card weekend. The final game of the weekend is going on right now. It was supposed to be played in LA, but some horrific fires forced a move to Phoenix, to be played in a stadium whose naming rights belong to an insurance company that canceled a load of homeowners' policies in the wildfire area last year. I guess the universe does have a sense of the absurd.
Whatever. We're doomed.
That didn't happen. When the weather started hitting, the powers-that-be made the sensible decision to close our offices and clinics at 1PM. All good - that fit into my plans. About 12:40 the client mentioned above called, told me he was a couple of blocks from the center and needed a way home. I told him to get to the center and I'd get him home. What should have been a 20-minute drive took a little over an hour. Okay, great, I'm only burning three hours of PTO. I headed for home.
That's when the second call of the day came in. Another client needing help. I judged that the roads weren't too dangerous yet, offered up a prayer to Max Rockatansky, and headed back out. Got him to the grocery and back, and then got my own precious self home.
And that's where I stayed for the weekend, save for a quick trip to pick up a pizza on Sunday afternoon. The second wave of snow wasn't bad, and warmer temps today melted a lot of the snow off.
Today should have been better, but it started off with putting out more of someone else's fires and progressed to wrangling one of my own and then a couple more. Tomorrow,I need to put my people (and myself) first and take care of us.
Let's see how that works out.
Ravens beat the Steelers, and that was the best thing about a good NFL Wild Card weekend. The final game of the weekend is going on right now. It was supposed to be played in LA, but some horrific fires forced a move to Phoenix, to be played in a stadium whose naming rights belong to an insurance company that canceled a load of homeowners' policies in the wildfire area last year. I guess the universe does have a sense of the absurd.
Whatever. We're doomed.
Philodendron
Jan. 6th, 2025 08:59 pmThe storm hit just about as forecast. Snow started around 8 yesterday morning and switched over to freezing rain in the late afternoon. Our clinics and offices were closed, and I opted to work from home - knocked out a handful of training modules. Another three inches or so of snow today, with some very cold weather coming in the next few days, and maybe more snow on Friday.
No Dragonbane tomorrow night. I'm a bit relieved, to tell the truth. The game's fun, but this final act has gone on for far too long, and the host has invited more players than the game or venue can comfortably handle - last session, there were eight players plus the GM, and while Dragonbane's pretty light and fast-moving, that many players bog things down.
Friday night's CP Red session went pretty well, and the after-action chat was great. Polled some of the players as to future plotlines, and they delivered. The Netrunner gave me the sort of thing that I can spin into a proper '70s-style political thriller, and the competent Solo told me that the person responsible for the bad reputation is her twin. The Nomad sketched out some more details on her interest in street racing stories, too. This gives me tons of material for future sessions.
No Dragonbane tomorrow night. I'm a bit relieved, to tell the truth. The game's fun, but this final act has gone on for far too long, and the host has invited more players than the game or venue can comfortably handle - last session, there were eight players plus the GM, and while Dragonbane's pretty light and fast-moving, that many players bog things down.
Friday night's CP Red session went pretty well, and the after-action chat was great. Polled some of the players as to future plotlines, and they delivered. The Netrunner gave me the sort of thing that I can spin into a proper '70s-style political thriller, and the competent Solo told me that the person responsible for the bad reputation is her twin. The Nomad sketched out some more details on her interest in street racing stories, too. This gives me tons of material for future sessions.
I Could be Wrong
Jan. 1st, 2025 08:33 pmAfter a few years of not having holidays from work, the last couple of weeks have been a little bit disorienting. Two days off in the middle of the week last week, a day-and-a-half this week and I have to remind myself that tomorrow is not Monday.
Did something for NYE for the first time in many years. Hung out with a friend from work, watching movies and playing games. We were both pretty sleepy around 11, so we agreed to call it close enough and I headed home. It was a fun evening, and sleeping in this morning was a delight.
I don't expect much to come of it, but we have a heck of a winter storm in the forecast for this weekend. Eight or nine inches of snow on Sunday and sub-freezing temperatures for several days after that. Going to get some emergency supplies, just in case. It's not like they'll go bad.
Did something for NYE for the first time in many years. Hung out with a friend from work, watching movies and playing games. We were both pretty sleepy around 11, so we agreed to call it close enough and I headed home. It was a fun evening, and sleeping in this morning was a delight.
I don't expect much to come of it, but we have a heck of a winter storm in the forecast for this weekend. Eight or nine inches of snow on Sunday and sub-freezing temperatures for several days after that. Going to get some emergency supplies, just in case. It's not like they'll go bad.
About Time
Sep. 29th, 2024 04:26 pmGot the Buick back yesterday. No cooling issues and with the hub replaced, it is so quiet at speed. I probably would still be using the Impala, but the shift cable started going out, so I rigged it well enough to get it to Liberty and dropped it off.
Had a couple of those moments during the round-trip yesterday when I thought Holy cow, I am driving through what's left of a hurricane. Helene has done a number southeast of here. Asheville is isolated, only reachable by air. NCDOT said to consider all roads in the western third of the state to be closed - I-40 washed out at the Tennessee-NC line. I don't know if this will directly affect my nebulous plans to go to Spencer in November, but I'm looking at a visit to Roanoke instead.
The Dodgers locked up the NL West again, and have home field advantage throughout the National League playoffs. Hopefully that'll mean more than it did last year, when the NLCS started and they just forgot how to play baseball. On the other end of the spectrum, the White Sox are finishing the season with 121 losses, maybe 122 depending on how today's season closer goes.
Gave Alien: Romulus another viewing. My complaints stand, but it's a much better movie than I gave it credit for on the first watch.
Had a couple of those moments during the round-trip yesterday when I thought Holy cow, I am driving through what's left of a hurricane. Helene has done a number southeast of here. Asheville is isolated, only reachable by air. NCDOT said to consider all roads in the western third of the state to be closed - I-40 washed out at the Tennessee-NC line. I don't know if this will directly affect my nebulous plans to go to Spencer in November, but I'm looking at a visit to Roanoke instead.
The Dodgers locked up the NL West again, and have home field advantage throughout the National League playoffs. Hopefully that'll mean more than it did last year, when the NLCS started and they just forgot how to play baseball. On the other end of the spectrum, the White Sox are finishing the season with 121 losses, maybe 122 depending on how today's season closer goes.
Gave Alien: Romulus another viewing. My complaints stand, but it's a much better movie than I gave it credit for on the first watch.
Northern White Clouds
Aug. 4th, 2024 07:09 pmWednesday afternoon, a strong thunderstorm popped up while I was assisting a client down in Shively. It dumped a lot of water and the lightning scared the client, and all of that combined to delay my departure by about an hour. The storm knocked the heat off quite a bit, enough so that I was able to leave the car's AC off for the drive to Indy.
Thursday morning, things too off in a hurry. We're letting the Mistborn license expire, so we marked down everything we had at the booth. The last few copies of the board game went in a hurry, and the RPG products sold off quickly enough that we had to adjust the bundle pricing for those often. We had a small shipment of a new board game, Sardegna, on hand, and it sold well. Thursday's total sales came to about half of the booth's cost, and that put us all in a good vibe. Dinner at Union 50, then back to the hotel.
I slept in Friday - normally, I work morning shifts at the show, but traded with another staffer who needed the favor. Did some shopping - The Borellus Connection for The Fall of Delta Green and the core and a supplement for Outgunned. Did my afternoon shift, sold product, closed the booth.
Saturday was my day off. Tried getting into a Night's Black Agents game with some generic tickets, but no luck. Checked the event schedule and found an Unisystem-powered Dark Tower game, and was able to join that one. The GM was really good, and it was a darn good game. Got lunch at a chicken and waffles truck, then went back to the hotel for a nap. Got a FB message from a buddy asking if I would mind picking up some miniatures for him - sure, I replied. And then he sent me the list and the money - yay PayPal - and it was a doozy. About $400 for some Kingdom Death stuff - about ten models. That would pay for a LOT of BattleMechs. Then it was time for my second game of the day - Numenera. Great GM, great group of players, and we all got starter boxes for the game. I had an invitation to the Hunters Entertainment party that evening, but was tired and waved off.
This morning, breakfast with Alex before opening up the booth for the last day of my seventeenth GenCon. Brisk sales again. Less than ten copies of Sardegna left when my shift ended. Said my goodbyes, bought a softcover DCC rulebook for a co-worker, packed up the car, and headed south. Delivered the Kingdom Death stuff. Went home, unpacked, started laundry and added the new purchases to the stack of stuff to read.
Breakfast most mornings was at a caterer's tent - scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage links, little donuts, and apple butter for $10. Heck of a deal, and quite filling and tasty. Dinner at Union 50 was good. Got some pizza from Hot Box, of course.
GenCon is increasingly looking less and less like me, and I am here for this diversity. Both of my GMs this year were women. Our Buru tables drew lots of attention, as did the Tabriz prototype - Indonesian and Persian art drew people in. Lots and lots of Gaymer and flag ribbons. Such a good thing to see.
Free League announced a second edition of the Alien RPG; unrelated, they won the Ennie for Fan Favorite Publisher. God's Teeth (Delta Green) got Best Long-Form Adventure. Catalyst is leaning into the joke with a lance box of UrbanMechs - and another box of UrbanMech LAMs. This is delightfully bonkers.
I'm GenCon tired. It's a good kind of tired. I kinda want to take a nice hot bath before bed, let my feet work out the soreness. I think this is my last con of the calendar year. I may fly out west next spring for Crafty's 20th anniversary con, and there are small shows on the calendar in 2025, but this should be it for 2024. It sure was good to be back.
Thursday morning, things too off in a hurry. We're letting the Mistborn license expire, so we marked down everything we had at the booth. The last few copies of the board game went in a hurry, and the RPG products sold off quickly enough that we had to adjust the bundle pricing for those often. We had a small shipment of a new board game, Sardegna, on hand, and it sold well. Thursday's total sales came to about half of the booth's cost, and that put us all in a good vibe. Dinner at Union 50, then back to the hotel.
I slept in Friday - normally, I work morning shifts at the show, but traded with another staffer who needed the favor. Did some shopping - The Borellus Connection for The Fall of Delta Green and the core and a supplement for Outgunned. Did my afternoon shift, sold product, closed the booth.
Saturday was my day off. Tried getting into a Night's Black Agents game with some generic tickets, but no luck. Checked the event schedule and found an Unisystem-powered Dark Tower game, and was able to join that one. The GM was really good, and it was a darn good game. Got lunch at a chicken and waffles truck, then went back to the hotel for a nap. Got a FB message from a buddy asking if I would mind picking up some miniatures for him - sure, I replied. And then he sent me the list and the money - yay PayPal - and it was a doozy. About $400 for some Kingdom Death stuff - about ten models. That would pay for a LOT of BattleMechs. Then it was time for my second game of the day - Numenera. Great GM, great group of players, and we all got starter boxes for the game. I had an invitation to the Hunters Entertainment party that evening, but was tired and waved off.
This morning, breakfast with Alex before opening up the booth for the last day of my seventeenth GenCon. Brisk sales again. Less than ten copies of Sardegna left when my shift ended. Said my goodbyes, bought a softcover DCC rulebook for a co-worker, packed up the car, and headed south. Delivered the Kingdom Death stuff. Went home, unpacked, started laundry and added the new purchases to the stack of stuff to read.
Breakfast most mornings was at a caterer's tent - scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage links, little donuts, and apple butter for $10. Heck of a deal, and quite filling and tasty. Dinner at Union 50 was good. Got some pizza from Hot Box, of course.
GenCon is increasingly looking less and less like me, and I am here for this diversity. Both of my GMs this year were women. Our Buru tables drew lots of attention, as did the Tabriz prototype - Indonesian and Persian art drew people in. Lots and lots of Gaymer and flag ribbons. Such a good thing to see.
Free League announced a second edition of the Alien RPG; unrelated, they won the Ennie for Fan Favorite Publisher. God's Teeth (Delta Green) got Best Long-Form Adventure. Catalyst is leaning into the joke with a lance box of UrbanMechs - and another box of UrbanMech LAMs. This is delightfully bonkers.
I'm GenCon tired. It's a good kind of tired. I kinda want to take a nice hot bath before bed, let my feet work out the soreness. I think this is my last con of the calendar year. I may fly out west next spring for Crafty's 20th anniversary con, and there are small shows on the calendar in 2025, but this should be it for 2024. It sure was good to be back.
You're all I Need to get By
Jul. 6th, 2024 03:05 pmA tornado hit west Louisville on Thursday. A short-lived EF-1, on the ground for about three blocks out around Cypress Street. We have some clients in group homes over there, and I was there for visits on Wednesday afternoon. Not much damage, thankfully.
Good Cyberpunk Red session last night, with a new player dropping in. She got onboard fast and helped drive the game. I hope she sticks around.
Haven't done much of anything today. Napped a lot, got in my GT7 workout, double-checked my Charcon material - still waiting on the GM badge code to arrive. I'm chalking this up to my body telling me to get some rest, and having done so, I'm going to try to get some things done this afternoon and evening, since plans got scuttled. Let's see how that works out for me.
And I'll be darned. The Charcon code just popped up in my Gmail box.
Good Cyberpunk Red session last night, with a new player dropping in. She got onboard fast and helped drive the game. I hope she sticks around.
Haven't done much of anything today. Napped a lot, got in my GT7 workout, double-checked my Charcon material - still waiting on the GM badge code to arrive. I'm chalking this up to my body telling me to get some rest, and having done so, I'm going to try to get some things done this afternoon and evening, since plans got scuttled. Let's see how that works out for me.
And I'll be darned. The Charcon code just popped up in my Gmail box.
What we Had
Jun. 16th, 2024 04:39 pmIt is June, therefore it is hot and since I am a delicate flower I do not like it at all. During the monthly meeting for my position, the head CM always asks what our favorite thing about the current month is, and I answered nothing. There is nothing about this month that I like.
I'm at Mom&Dad's this weekend, doing Father's Day stuff with Dad. He declared that it's too hot to go to the lake, and I am just fine with that. We picked up my car yesterday morning, and the body work is just about perfect. I need to get the front end aligned soon, probably before Charcon.
Charcon! Four weeks until I head into the depths of the Appalachians for a weekend of games. And maybe a detour to Point Pleasant for some of the Mothman Museum's root beer. Gonna see some of my favorite folks, too.
Asmodee confirmed last week that development on X-Wing and Armada was at an end. This wasn't much of a surprise. AMG's indifference to Armada was maybe less damaging than their clear lack of any good ideas about X-Wing. So, after a decade of dogfighting and fleet engagements, the lines have come to their end. There's already talk about community groups continuing work, and some is already being done. A couple of folks in my Tuesday night RPG group asked about playing, and since there are some second edition squadron builders still out there, I'm going to get my collection out of the closet and play the old game again.
Did I mention that it's really hot?
I'm at Mom&Dad's this weekend, doing Father's Day stuff with Dad. He declared that it's too hot to go to the lake, and I am just fine with that. We picked up my car yesterday morning, and the body work is just about perfect. I need to get the front end aligned soon, probably before Charcon.
Charcon! Four weeks until I head into the depths of the Appalachians for a weekend of games. And maybe a detour to Point Pleasant for some of the Mothman Museum's root beer. Gonna see some of my favorite folks, too.
Asmodee confirmed last week that development on X-Wing and Armada was at an end. This wasn't much of a surprise. AMG's indifference to Armada was maybe less damaging than their clear lack of any good ideas about X-Wing. So, after a decade of dogfighting and fleet engagements, the lines have come to their end. There's already talk about community groups continuing work, and some is already being done. A couple of folks in my Tuesday night RPG group asked about playing, and since there are some second edition squadron builders still out there, I'm going to get my collection out of the closet and play the old game again.
Did I mention that it's really hot?
What About the Children
May. 27th, 2024 07:30 pmFriday wore me out, and driving to Liberty after work was taxing. Brought my bags into the house and planted myself in the recliner and I was asleep in a few minutes. Woke up when Dad got in, chatted with him, and went to bed. Didn't sleep as well as I wanted. Breakfast at the Bread of Life cafe, testing the Lacrosse, and visits to Mom's and Mamaw and Papaw's graves.
Some weather was threatening, so I headed back to Louisville early in the afternoon. This Buick likes to run just as much as the newer version I drove for a couple of months. It has a couple of issues to get taken care of next month, and I want to get the keyless entry and alarm sorted, but I'm pretty happy with it.
Weather went from threatening to dangerous yesterday around noon. Weather stations in lively Shively measured straight-line wind speed at 80MPH when the front came through that part of town. We got a lot of wind and rain and lightning over here, and the power went out around 12:30. I took the opportunity to nap a little while. Kaiju had power, so Slur Your Role was on. Drove over there, ran a short DCC game, went home. Saw lights on around the property and a couple of utility trucks, and power came back on in my unit a couple of minutes after l sat down. I caught some of an evening NASCAR race - and then the second stronger wave of storms starting coming in. We had the whole party for a while - severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings all throughout the area. At least two tornadoes hit the state, one about 45 miles SSW of me, the other further out in the western end of the state. Five deaths, and LG&E currently lists about 1800 outages and better than 50K customers without power right now.
Today has been quiet and very pretty and I have slept through much of it. If I wasn't asleep, I was watching The Crown on Netflix or Masters of the Air or Liaison on Apple+. Hadn't heard of the latter until it was mentioned on the Spybrary FB group, and an espionage series with Eva Green? Of course I'm watching this. Two episodes (out of six) in, and I'm hooked.
Some weather was threatening, so I headed back to Louisville early in the afternoon. This Buick likes to run just as much as the newer version I drove for a couple of months. It has a couple of issues to get taken care of next month, and I want to get the keyless entry and alarm sorted, but I'm pretty happy with it.
Weather went from threatening to dangerous yesterday around noon. Weather stations in lively Shively measured straight-line wind speed at 80MPH when the front came through that part of town. We got a lot of wind and rain and lightning over here, and the power went out around 12:30. I took the opportunity to nap a little while. Kaiju had power, so Slur Your Role was on. Drove over there, ran a short DCC game, went home. Saw lights on around the property and a couple of utility trucks, and power came back on in my unit a couple of minutes after l sat down. I caught some of an evening NASCAR race - and then the second stronger wave of storms starting coming in. We had the whole party for a while - severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings all throughout the area. At least two tornadoes hit the state, one about 45 miles SSW of me, the other further out in the western end of the state. Five deaths, and LG&E currently lists about 1800 outages and better than 50K customers without power right now.
Today has been quiet and very pretty and I have slept through much of it. If I wasn't asleep, I was watching The Crown on Netflix or Masters of the Air or Liaison on Apple+. Hadn't heard of the latter until it was mentioned on the Spybrary FB group, and an espionage series with Eva Green? Of course I'm watching this. Two episodes (out of six) in, and I'm hooked.
I do love a thunderstorm. One is rolling through right now, and it's occasionally producing thunderclaps that rattle the building. The system's spun up some severe weather down in Liberty, so I'm sure the Doberman is doing his best to force his enormous head under whatever cushion Dad's legs are presently on.
Met Dad in Lawrenceburg to swap vehicles again and talk about the Escape. Looks like the little guy is going to have to have a replacement transmission after all. I'm ... not surprised, and I'm considering a lawsuit against the idiot who tore the little SUV up. So, I'm going to pay a good mechanic for the work he's done and get documentation for the work. I'll store the Escape until I can find a suitable transmission. I've found a car that I like, and can afford and all that, so I'm going to buy it Saturday morning.
Oh, hey, Dad got some good news at his evaluation this week. The eye surgeon believes that cataract removal can be done on his right eye without any further damage to the retina. Dad's jumping at this chance, based on the success of the surgery on his left eye. That one's testing at 20/20, and Dad's ecstatic about how things have turned out. Surgery is scheduled for late June or early July, based on the results of two more evaluations. I'm so happy for him.
Met Dad in Lawrenceburg to swap vehicles again and talk about the Escape. Looks like the little guy is going to have to have a replacement transmission after all. I'm ... not surprised, and I'm considering a lawsuit against the idiot who tore the little SUV up. So, I'm going to pay a good mechanic for the work he's done and get documentation for the work. I'll store the Escape until I can find a suitable transmission. I've found a car that I like, and can afford and all that, so I'm going to buy it Saturday morning.
Oh, hey, Dad got some good news at his evaluation this week. The eye surgeon believes that cataract removal can be done on his right eye without any further damage to the retina. Dad's jumping at this chance, based on the success of the surgery on his left eye. That one's testing at 20/20, and Dad's ecstatic about how things have turned out. Surgery is scheduled for late June or early July, based on the results of two more evaluations. I'm so happy for him.
We Don't Give up Now
Jan. 17th, 2024 03:57 pmAnd we find ourselves already halfway through January. We're enduring a heck of a cold snap - it's presently 25F, up from single digits this morning. There's a winter weather advisory, quite nebulous, for the next 48 hours or so. There are a couple of inches of snow on the ground here already, and the upcoming system may bring another couple of inches and a little bit of ice. This may complicate tomorrow's planned run to Georgetown to return some items from a mcjob.
RiverCityCon went off well, according to every report I've seen. Better than 500 individual attendees, good vendor sales, plenty of games. I would have liked to have seen the con put up more pictures of the RPG space - and by that, I mean any - pictures, but what can you do.
I guess I'm back on the Crafty GenCon team. Whoever I'm working for in early August can do without me for a few days. There are a couple of other events between now and then that I'm planning for, and, well...
The past few weeks have been pretty godsdamned dark. A lot of time spent with the kinds of thoughts that might get a person a 72-hour visit to a hospital. Making plans for cons, for seeing friends at them - for whatever reason, that's what my mind latched onto to give me some kind of hope, the will to power through and acknowledge that I'll get through the current circumstance. Things won't be what I had hoped for and dreamed of, but I can make the best of them. There is some light, even if I have to look for it.
RiverCityCon went off well, according to every report I've seen. Better than 500 individual attendees, good vendor sales, plenty of games. I would have liked to have seen the con put up more pictures of the RPG space - and by that, I mean any - pictures, but what can you do.
I guess I'm back on the Crafty GenCon team. Whoever I'm working for in early August can do without me for a few days. There are a couple of other events between now and then that I'm planning for, and, well...
The past few weeks have been pretty godsdamned dark. A lot of time spent with the kinds of thoughts that might get a person a 72-hour visit to a hospital. Making plans for cons, for seeing friends at them - for whatever reason, that's what my mind latched onto to give me some kind of hope, the will to power through and acknowledge that I'll get through the current circumstance. Things won't be what I had hoped for and dreamed of, but I can make the best of them. There is some light, even if I have to look for it.
Strong Enough
Dec. 12th, 2023 08:12 pmSaturday night was the annual big-ass LeNoue holiday party. I went up to Lexington a couple of hours early to see Ben Parks for the first time since Lexicon. A good hour and change catching up and just hanging out with one of my brothers-by-choice.
He's living in the same apartment complex I lived in before moving to Louisville, and the place has since seen a big remodel. It's gated now - just theater, since the exit gate is always open - and the units are dolled up a little. Being there spun up some memories - I was pretty happy in the place, really. It ... goddamn it, it felt like home.
The time to head down to Southpoint came soon enough. The LeNoues are lovely people, and always welcoming to someone who is just a friend of their son-in-law. Lots of food, the friends from Transy and that circle.
It was an exciting night, weatherwise. Powerful storms down in Tennessee and western Kentucky. A couple of F2 tornadoes hit around Clarksville. The parents of a friend from UK saw some damage in their neighborhood, but nothing worse than power loss at their home. We got a lot of heavy rain, started hitting on my drive home. The neighborhood is about a mile south of Man-O-War, and at that time of night, getting from there to Danville is about half-an-hour. In the rain that night, it took me a little over 45 minutes. Never quite got to the point where I felt the need to get off the road, and I was glad to see things calm down about the time I got to Danville.
Sunday was nice. Slept late, got up later. NFL games, napping, reading. It was a quiet afternoon and evening, and I sure appreciated it after the socializing and heavy weather on Saturday. Got a call from SCC this afternoon to schedule a second interview - there's tomorrow afternoon locked down. Let's see what happens.
He's living in the same apartment complex I lived in before moving to Louisville, and the place has since seen a big remodel. It's gated now - just theater, since the exit gate is always open - and the units are dolled up a little. Being there spun up some memories - I was pretty happy in the place, really. It ... goddamn it, it felt like home.
The time to head down to Southpoint came soon enough. The LeNoues are lovely people, and always welcoming to someone who is just a friend of their son-in-law. Lots of food, the friends from Transy and that circle.
It was an exciting night, weatherwise. Powerful storms down in Tennessee and western Kentucky. A couple of F2 tornadoes hit around Clarksville. The parents of a friend from UK saw some damage in their neighborhood, but nothing worse than power loss at their home. We got a lot of heavy rain, started hitting on my drive home. The neighborhood is about a mile south of Man-O-War, and at that time of night, getting from there to Danville is about half-an-hour. In the rain that night, it took me a little over 45 minutes. Never quite got to the point where I felt the need to get off the road, and I was glad to see things calm down about the time I got to Danville.
Sunday was nice. Slept late, got up later. NFL games, napping, reading. It was a quiet afternoon and evening, and I sure appreciated it after the socializing and heavy weather on Saturday. Got a call from SCC this afternoon to schedule a second interview - there's tomorrow afternoon locked down. Let's see what happens.
The Baddest Man Alive
Aug. 30th, 2023 08:23 pmHad a couple of good game sessions over the weekend - Delta Green on Friday and Old School Essentials on Sunday. The little community in the Somerset store is becoming a good group of friends, and they're helping me handle this self-imposed exile.
Sadly, that's about all I remember of the weekend. Well, watched a little pre-season football with Dad. I wasn't drunk or anything, I just didn't do anything, and wasn't very happy with myself. I guess I read some, wrote a tiny bit, watched hurricane forecasts. Not much else.
The storm, Idalia, hit Florida pretty hard between Tampa and the panhandle, then shot across southeastern Georgia and into South Carolina. I have a few people down that way, and as far as I know, everyone's okay. I'll still keep an eye on reports for a day or two.
The third episode of Ahsoka was heavy on action, but it felt like half of an episode.
I need to get a haircut, and that'll probably happen tomorrow morning. Right now, that's what's passing for excitement of any kind.
Dad asked if I was okay this morning, concerned, I guess, that I wasn't as talkative as I sometimes am. I just told him that I didn't have anything to talk about, and that's true enough. Alongside that, I didn't want to talk, because I don't know if I'd be able to shut up before I said something that would, I don't know, go too far or reveal too much or lead to more questions or something.
Sadly, that's about all I remember of the weekend. Well, watched a little pre-season football with Dad. I wasn't drunk or anything, I just didn't do anything, and wasn't very happy with myself. I guess I read some, wrote a tiny bit, watched hurricane forecasts. Not much else.
The storm, Idalia, hit Florida pretty hard between Tampa and the panhandle, then shot across southeastern Georgia and into South Carolina. I have a few people down that way, and as far as I know, everyone's okay. I'll still keep an eye on reports for a day or two.
The third episode of Ahsoka was heavy on action, but it felt like half of an episode.
I need to get a haircut, and that'll probably happen tomorrow morning. Right now, that's what's passing for excitement of any kind.
Dad asked if I was okay this morning, concerned, I guess, that I wasn't as talkative as I sometimes am. I just told him that I didn't have anything to talk about, and that's true enough. Alongside that, I didn't want to talk, because I don't know if I'd be able to shut up before I said something that would, I don't know, go too far or reveal too much or lead to more questions or something.
Looking Through Patient Eyes
Aug. 24th, 2023 07:21 pmThe Cyberpunk Red demo went really well. Three players, and they got into things quickly. Had a funny moment when a customer passed by and asked about the big battle map I had out on the table. He asked if the characters were low-level, and seemed just gobsmacked when I told him that the game didn't have levels.
The week's been uneventful, notable only for the heat. Heat indices have gone over 100F; at 7:35PM, we're sitting at 86F, indexed to 97. The two window units have struggled, and I haven't slept all that well. Stormy weather is forecast for tomorrow evening, and that'll help. For a little while.
As I'm writing this, an ex-POTUS is being processed at a jail in Fulton County, Georgia. Lots to, well, process here. In my interested layman's opinion, Georgia has a solid case against the miserable bastard - state-level charges, a stack of evidence, and what looks like some co-defendants flipping. Gods, I hope the fucker faces real consequences.
Got around to watching Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Pretty good, and a solid sendoff for much of the cast. Great soundtrack, unsurprisingly, and it's put In the Meantime on repeat in my head, and I am fine with that.
Even better - the first two episodes of Star Wars: Ahsoka. It, so far, feels very much like a continuation of Rebels - Hera and Chopper and Sabine are front-and-center, and Clancy Brown put in an appearance. I have the feeling that Sabine is going to just going to steal the show out from under everyone.
The week's been uneventful, notable only for the heat. Heat indices have gone over 100F; at 7:35PM, we're sitting at 86F, indexed to 97. The two window units have struggled, and I haven't slept all that well. Stormy weather is forecast for tomorrow evening, and that'll help. For a little while.
As I'm writing this, an ex-POTUS is being processed at a jail in Fulton County, Georgia. Lots to, well, process here. In my interested layman's opinion, Georgia has a solid case against the miserable bastard - state-level charges, a stack of evidence, and what looks like some co-defendants flipping. Gods, I hope the fucker faces real consequences.
Got around to watching Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Pretty good, and a solid sendoff for much of the cast. Great soundtrack, unsurprisingly, and it's put In the Meantime on repeat in my head, and I am fine with that.
Even better - the first two episodes of Star Wars: Ahsoka. It, so far, feels very much like a continuation of Rebels - Hera and Chopper and Sabine are front-and-center, and Clancy Brown put in an appearance. I have the feeling that Sabine is going to just going to steal the show out from under everyone.
Five Get Over Excited
Jul. 5th, 2023 02:22 pmI hadn't really planned to, but I wound up going to Liberty's Independence Day to-do last night. Went prepared, of course - collapsing keyboard, chair, drinks in the backpack. I set up at the courthouse, close enough to hear the bands but past the real edge of the crowd. The closing band was good, the fireworks show also good. Getting out of the Ag Center's parking area was a goat rodeo, so I found somewhere out of the way - a trend, as you can see - and waited until the fleet of cars and trucks and SUVs and brodozers was gone. Drove home listening to Peter Gabriel at an obscene volume.
More stormy weather today. I encountered the microest of microbursts this morning, an utter deluge of a storm maybe 25 yards across. Another very small cell blew through a few minutes ago - a very brief blast of rain and thunder.
I'm going to be social again tonight, I guess. Dad's church is having a midweek fish fry; as good(ish) Protestants, none of this Fridays-during-Lent stuff. I'll go, I'll eat, I'll mostly keep to myself. All will be well. Tomorrow will probably be another story. He wants to go to the lake, and I'm neutral on the idea. If some of his friends invite themselves along, I'll come down with a case of something. I just don't trust 'em, and it's not something Dad can understand.
Charcon's coming up in a hurry. One of my games is sold out, the other is at 50 percent. I'm signed up for Mothership, and I'm looking forward to that. I'm looking forward to the whole weekend, really. Even going to detour through Point Pleasant on my way home to visit the Mothman Museum and some other places around there.
More stormy weather today. I encountered the microest of microbursts this morning, an utter deluge of a storm maybe 25 yards across. Another very small cell blew through a few minutes ago - a very brief blast of rain and thunder.
I'm going to be social again tonight, I guess. Dad's church is having a midweek fish fry; as good(ish) Protestants, none of this Fridays-during-Lent stuff. I'll go, I'll eat, I'll mostly keep to myself. All will be well. Tomorrow will probably be another story. He wants to go to the lake, and I'm neutral on the idea. If some of his friends invite themselves along, I'll come down with a case of something. I just don't trust 'em, and it's not something Dad can understand.
Charcon's coming up in a hurry. One of my games is sold out, the other is at 50 percent. I'm signed up for Mothership, and I'm looking forward to that. I'm looking forward to the whole weekend, really. Even going to detour through Point Pleasant on my way home to visit the Mothman Museum and some other places around there.
We sure enough got some rain. A few branches down here at the farm; trees down at a church just down the road, and an EF-1 tornado about eight miles from here. Very exciting. On top of that, the storms washed out much of the smoke from the ongoing Canadian wildfires, and the air is the clearest it's been in a week.
Tomorrow's Independence Day, and I don't know if there's much I'm up to celebrating, what with the Supreme Court's recent and ongoing fuckery. It's hard to acknowledge any kind of legitimacy in these black-robed warlocks.
Got my PDF copy of the Old Gods of Appalachia RPG this morning. Haven't done much more than skim it today; I do like what I've seen and I expect I'll run a session or two of this one sometime.
I've got the core of my Cyberpunk Red group back on board, and a couple of folks in mind to take the places of the players I didn't invite back. I'll probably keep parts of the previous story going, and mix in most of the stories from Tales of the Red.
Tomorrow's Independence Day, and I don't know if there's much I'm up to celebrating, what with the Supreme Court's recent and ongoing fuckery. It's hard to acknowledge any kind of legitimacy in these black-robed warlocks.
Got my PDF copy of the Old Gods of Appalachia RPG this morning. Haven't done much more than skim it today; I do like what I've seen and I expect I'll run a session or two of this one sometime.
I've got the core of my Cyberpunk Red group back on board, and a couple of folks in mind to take the places of the players I didn't invite back. I'll probably keep parts of the previous story going, and mix in most of the stories from Tales of the Red.
Clap Your Hands
Jul. 1st, 2023 11:37 amThe train club held a bonus operating session Thursday evening, and since I was fighting off boredom (and mind-weasels) with whatever weapon I could get my hands on, I made another trip to Jeffersonville with my trusty and freshly-repaired Dash 8. I drew a short and super-easy job - light run out of the yard, pick up two cars at one customer and four others at three customers on the same spur, then deliver those to another yard. Quick and simple, and I picked up a passenger run to finish up the evening. I get a kick out of the CSX Dash 8 pulling a passenger train - Amtrak's Genesis locomotives are Dash 8s with a streamlined carbody, so mechanically this is no big deal. Drove home, detoured into Shelbyville for a rare stop at McDonald's, and got home around 11:30. Dad texted me while I was refuel, asking if I was okay, and since I didn't want to lie to him, I replied that I was safe.
Friday was kind of a waste. Stormy weather, so that was nice. No Delta Green, as the store was hosting a PFLAG event. I watched some streaming stuff, had some trouble sleeping, laid in bed listening to podcasts.
There's distant thunder to the west-southwest, and I'm hoping for another rainstorm. There's been a lot of rain here over the past few days; some flooding, even. I want to go do something, but again, all of my friends are two hours away and I've spent a lot of time on the road this week. Wanderlust will get the best of me tomorrow, I figure.
There are the flashes of lightning and thunderclaps I wanted. I'm going to go sit on the porch and take this one in for a little while.
Friday was kind of a waste. Stormy weather, so that was nice. No Delta Green, as the store was hosting a PFLAG event. I watched some streaming stuff, had some trouble sleeping, laid in bed listening to podcasts.
There's distant thunder to the west-southwest, and I'm hoping for another rainstorm. There's been a lot of rain here over the past few days; some flooding, even. I want to go do something, but again, all of my friends are two hours away and I've spent a lot of time on the road this week. Wanderlust will get the best of me tomorrow, I figure.
There are the flashes of lightning and thunderclaps I wanted. I'm going to go sit on the porch and take this one in for a little while.
Mad About You
Jun. 14th, 2023 09:42 amSunday was a good day. Drove up to Louisville in the early afternoon, met former housemate for a late lunch, then headed over to Kaiju for gaming. The last tickets to my game sold early Sunday morning, so I had a full table! And it was, as far as I can remember, the first time I had more women than men. We had a heck of a time, proper Alien body horror, character conflict and death.
Getting out of Louisville was a little bit of a trial thanks to my unfamiliarity with the Oak Street area, heavy weather, and road construction. The rain and wind backed off about the time I got to Simpsonville, with a brief return south of Danville. I had a great time, but gods, it was good to get home and into bed. Long day.
After four days of having to be socially "on" to a greater or lesser degree, I was looking forward to a quiet Monday to recharge, and I got it.
Yesterday saw a little expedition over to a restaurant in Lincoln County, a place that some folks on a railfan group I follow spoke highly of. The parking lot was full of Norfolk Southern vehicles when we got there, and I took that as a sign equivalent to a lot full of tractor-trailers. The food was really good, and I found out that the restaurant's owner is a woman who worked with my mom for several years.
Getting out of Louisville was a little bit of a trial thanks to my unfamiliarity with the Oak Street area, heavy weather, and road construction. The rain and wind backed off about the time I got to Simpsonville, with a brief return south of Danville. I had a great time, but gods, it was good to get home and into bed. Long day.
After four days of having to be socially "on" to a greater or lesser degree, I was looking forward to a quiet Monday to recharge, and I got it.
Yesterday saw a little expedition over to a restaurant in Lincoln County, a place that some folks on a railfan group I follow spoke highly of. The parking lot was full of Norfolk Southern vehicles when we got there, and I took that as a sign equivalent to a lot full of tractor-trailers. The food was really good, and I found out that the restaurant's owner is a woman who worked with my mom for several years.
