Radio Active #103: The Sandwich Generation

A sandwich cut into two halves.

At 51, with a kid in college and another in high school, I’m firmly in the Sandwich Generation (and have been for years). These are the folks who find themselves caring for kids and providing support for their older parents. In this episode, I talk about my experiences and offer advice for others in a … Read more

Back on the Trail (2023 Edition)

A pair of rail road ties heads toward blackened trees. Golden grass fills the lower portion of the photo, while the top is dominated by the light green of new growth

After a year away from backpacking, I hit the trail again with a two-day hike in Wharton State Forest in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. Wharton’s become the go-to destination for introductory backpacking hikes in NeutronLad’s troop – it’s flat and well-screened by the ubiquitous pines. Throw in some cedar ponds, a meandering brook, … Read more

Follow Me to Dice.Camp!

A screenshot of my Dice.camp profile, including a recent post about Mutant Crawl Classics.

Dice.Camp is a Mastodon-based alternative to Twitter built around role-playing games. With Elon Musk’s chaotic neutral leadership style playing havoc with Twitter on a daily basis, many of my online friends have migrated to this and other Mastodon-based social media alternatives. You can find me there as @nukehavoc. I also post frequent updates for the … Read more

A Messy Bullet Journal is a Happy Bullet Journal

A messed up bullet journal, with the heading repeatedly crossed out

I started bullet journaling in 2018. Periodically, while working on my journal in public, people will say “I always wanted to bullet journal, but I’m afraid of messing it up.” Or “I have the perfect notebook at home, but I’ll never use it because I don’t want to ruin it.” I tell them … it’s ok … Read more

Geek Christmas Tree 2022 – Star Wars

An X-Wing Fighter in a Christmas Tree. The cockpit glows blue.

Behold the firepower of this fully armed and operational Geek Tree! Continuing Nuketown’s new tradition of themed Geek Trees (because I have way too many geeky ornaments), this year, I went with a Star Wars theme. It features 48 ornaments ranging from Luke Skywalker (1997) to Obi-Wan Kenobi (2021). The geek tree itself is a 9-foot tall narrow artificial tree … Read more

Getting Ready for Puppy “F”

A Golden Retriever puppy sleeps with his head on a yellow Labrador Retriever

My family started raising Seeing Eye puppies in 2014. We get the pups when they’re seven weeks old and then spend a year teaching them basic obedience and socialization. They go back to the Seeing Eye at around 14-16 months old, where they get a physical and (hopefully) complete their training to become guide dogs … Read more

The Quest to Improve Nuketown’s Core Web Vitals

A graph depicting Nuketown's progress with Core Web Vitals, going from red (poor) in September to Green (good) in December

I started publishing Nuketown in 1996. I started using Google Analytics with Nuketown in 2006. In those early days of the site, Nuketown would get hundreds of page views a day, sometimes hitting a thousand. Over time, traffic declined significantly, partly because I posted less (ok, a lot less), and partly because the rules of … Read more

MEPACon, Fall 2022

Rulebooks for Dungeon Crawl Classics and Gaslands Reloaded

After too many years away, I’m headed back to my regional gaming convention, MEPACon. Held in the Poconos for many years, the convention moved to the Lehigh Valley for Fall 2022. It’s now 15 minutes from my house instead of 50, which means I can easily commute back and forth. The convention runs November 11-13, 2022 … Read more