Ken Newquist My last name, Newquist, is fairly uncommon (at least in New Jersey) so it always surprises me when I come across another member of my extended clan. It surprises me even more when said clan member has a blog that’s talking about me. Russell Newquist has a blog called, simply enough, RussBlog and he’s occasionally … Read more
It’s been a while since I posted one of these, so I figured I’d catch everyone up. StarGirl is now 15 months old, and growing like a weed … but a pretty damn cute weed. Her vocabulary remains limited to “Daddy”, “Hi!”, “Uh-oh” and something that sounds kind of like “puppy” (which she happily says … Read more
My friends and I have a problem. We’re scattered geographically and temporally, with jobs, families and commitments that keep us from gaming as much as we’d like. We’ve tried online gaming via Windows but have been disappointed every time. Poor net connections, aging hardware, and incongruent patches foiled us time and again. But the Xbox … Read more
I was driving into work on I-78 in New Jersey with the top down on my Wrangler, sipping my still-steaming hazelnut coffee and enjoying the view of the clear blue skies overhead when I heard it: the unmistakable droning of cicadas. Not just any cicadas though — the Brood X cicadas which journalists have been … Read more
WISH 95 question is (Internet Archive): How many colors do you like in your gaming? Do you prefer four-color games? Or should game morality be black and white or shades of grey, and if the latter, how many? Are “evil” characters acceptable? Does your preference depend on genre? Do your preferences affect the genres you … Read more
Maure Castle is back. The setting for Mordenkainen’s Fantastic Adventure gets the “return to” treatment in Dungeon #112 in a super-adventure penned by Robert J. Kuntz and Gary Gygax. It is truly a wonder to behold. The follow-up to the classic 1st edition module details four dungeon levels, and includes two appendixes featuring new magic … Read more
The WISH #94 question (Internet Archive): How do you handle an obnoxious character who has habits that annoy other PCs? What do you do as a fellow player/GM? What has worked and not worked for you? As other respondents to this particular WISH noted, we need to differentiate between obnoxious characters and obnoxious characters. Obnoxious characters … Read more
A few months back, I bought an Xbox, fired it up, and promptly began blasting my way through the excellent first person shooter Halo. I beat the game on its “average” level, and began working my way through the next most difficult one. It’s certainly living up to its rating, and after having been stymied … Read more
I really don’t want to get a new car. I’m completely and utterly happy with my ’98 Jeep Wrangler, and the thought of ditching it in favor of a conventional car strikes a discordant note within my very soul. Yes, the Wrangler’s soft-top occasionally leaks, and yes, the interior is filled with a dull roar … Read more
I’ve made the transition from geek to nerd. Or, as my wife likes to say, “loser”. Why? Well, you see, on Saturday my concert tickets arrived for Huey Lewis and the News. They’re going to be playing at MusikFest in Bethlehem, Pa. on August 15, 2004. I’ve been a Huey fan for decades, going back … Read more