Expanding the Geek Tree, 2014 Edition

The starship Vengeance, the xenomorph, and the hover DeLorian from Back to the Future.

Another Christmas, another couple of ornaments for the Geek Tree. This year sees three new ornaments join the fleet: the U.S.S. Vengeance from Star Trek Into Darkness, the xenomorph from Alien, and the flying DeLorean from Back to the Future, Part II. There’s also a string of TARDIS Christmas tree lights; they are too bulky … Read more

Write – A Markdown App for Mac

A screenshot of Write, a Markdown app. It features a right-hand nav bar containing document folders, a pane listing recent documents, and and editing window.

About a year ago I became a Markdown convert. It’s a simple markup language that’s meant to make web documents readable and scannable. It’s plaintext with a few niceties added in, and I’ve been using it to write most of my work notes and Nuketown articles since Fall 2014.

Game Day: Contemplating the Mini Dungeon

A hand-drawn map depicting a series of interconnected caverns.

Five years ago, I wrote about the dangers of the mega dungeon. Now my group has returned to Dungeons & Dragons, and I’m contemplating the role of dungeons in the campaign. Time has shown that the folks in my group aren’t big fans of mega dungeons, but I think we still enjoy the challenge of … Read more

Top of the Pile: Axis, Saga, Captain Marvel

A line-up of super villains.

The comic book pile has grown large over the last few weeks, partly because I was busy with family and work, partly because I knew I’d have time to catch up during Christmas week. Topping it is Marvel’s crossover event Axis, in which the Red Skull (augmented by Charles Xavier’s brain … I kid you not) tries to take over the world.

Geeky Christmas Vacation 2014

Oversized dice with dungeon maps on them sit atop an RPG manual. Nearby is a stack of comic books.

Christmas Vacation is finally here. After long days and longer nights of working to make sure everything got done before I left the office, it’s Christmas Eve, the college is closed, and I think I can relax. I’m off from December 24 through January 4, and we’ve got all manner of family fun planned, including watching Guardians of the Galaxy with my parents (something the kids are eager to do) and some family skiing (which I’m eager to do).

On Colds, Insomnia, and Green Arrow

It’s the night before the night before Christmas … and I have a cold. It seems to be a fast moving cold — it hit me yesterday afternoon, and made last night miserable, but today I’m half human and I expect to return to the species full tomorrow. The cold meant I crashed on the … Read more