I kissed a gym (and I liked it)

As I’ve been telling pretty much everyone this week, I went to the gym. Twice. (And not just to cut through it to get to a pool either, like all my previous gym experiences).

The big push was finding a friend to go with, so that instead of there only being one fat guy in the entire place exercising, there are two, and we can talk about D&D while riding exercise bikes.

Weight rooms are a bit scary. There exist many, many different kinds of machines. (And they have a plan?) It’s hard to know without being an exercise guru what ones I should use, and when, and for how long. I stuck with bench press and overhead press since they were machines I understood. Despite there being academic fields devoted to exercise science, I’m confidant that if I keep using the bench press, lifting more weight more often, I’ll get stronger.

Cardio and exercise bike are the big things that I like. I need to work on some stamina, but that seems like a pretty easy exercise that I can do regularly and simply to lose weight and get in shape.

Of course, there’s still things about the gym that I hate. Mainly, the fact that it’s all filled with gym people. These are the people who don’t need to be there at the gym. They already look good and are in good shape. There are no other schlubs randomly at the gym trying to lose weight and get in shape because they really need it. As generally comfortable as I am with being the outcast, I see why more people don’t do this.

Additionally, locker rooms are annoying. Along the lines of there being gym people everywhere, they’re all wearing gym clothes, instead of me who just wants to get in a quick workout in my jeans after class. Plus the main danger of locker rooms: get done your workout, turn a corner, and BAM, Asian wang.

All that aside, we’re trying to make it a habit of going. So my planned workout routine is as follows:

Monday: Wii Fit after work before class (rest if no time)
Tuesday: Gym workout after class, Wii Fit test when home
Wednesday: Wii Fit after work if feeling up to it (rest otherwise)
Thursday: Gym workout after class
Friday: Wii Fit workout
Saturday: Wii Fit workout (possible gym day, maybe every other week)
Sunday: Wii Fit workout

Obviously this all changes when the semester ends… especially if I lose access to the gym when I graduate!

Audience

If there’s one thing that has been hammered into my head throughout my graduate program, it’s Audience Audience Audience. Always target your work for an appropriate audience. And “everybody” just doesn’t cut it.

Hence, I’ve found myself splitting my time between different services lately, and writing different things for each. Namely, there’s Twitter (largely filled with people I don’t know personally) and Facebook (largely people I do know personally). Sometimes I post updates to one and not the other, and sometimes I use a tool to do both. But I always think about it.

I’ve also found that as a result, I’m using this blog less (audience largely unknown, except for Danny), and del.icio.us (no audience except myself, but Facebook’s link posting has added another outlet).

No, this isn’t a “please excuse me for not posting” post (I try not to do those anymore), just an observation about web technology, which I’m always interested in.

And speaking of all this, I’m launching a new website/blog for a class project soon. I’m not anticipating ever launching it for real beyond the confines of what’s needed for class, but I think it’ll be cool.

AfterCon

This year has seen more new registrations to AfterCon, “The Big Convention In The Sky.” (That’s what their progress reports call it).

Forrie wasted little time after getting his badge getting his collection set up- WorldCon displays aren’t going to have anything on the ballroom he’s taken over. Arthur’s wondering how long he’ll have to hear fans joke “My God, it was full of stars” before the joke becomes old. (Knowing fans, not any time soon).

Gary has gotten his badge and settled in by now, and is getting in some face time with friends before setting up a string of D&D games that he’s agreed to run- after all, he finally can play for as long as he wants. Dad and Gary tell stories about sneaking into graveyards and reading Lovecraft out loud- for other, this would be awkward, considering their location, but they don’t care. Dad then tells Gary that he needs to meet Lovecraft (he’s not really into conventions, and frankly a bit weirded out by it all), before the two lapse into other topics… their families, the problems with publishers… and inevitably, as most conversations with my dad are prone to do, the Civil War.

They part ways- after all, there’s plenty of time to catch up at the con later- and my dad moves on to catch up with other old friends, or just whomever will listen. He runs into someone near the art show. Just as they are about to start talking, there’s a loud shout from nearby: “KHAAAAAAAN!” It seems the media portion of the convention has just gotten a new guest, and being fans, there was only one way to greet him.

He complains about those media fans (and ESPECIALLY those Trekkies), but not because he’s really bothered by it- complaining is just what he does. After all, if there is one man who could find something to complain about there, it is my dad.

I enjoy gates, eyes, and long walks on the beach

You Scored as Yog-Sothoth You are Yog-Sothoth! You are a know all, you know too much perhaps, but you hate people knowing your business unless that is you want to gossip or share it with a close friend. Youre also rather snoopy to get the knowledge you aquire! Yog-Sothoth 85% Nyarlathotep 70% Hastur 50% Cthulhu 50% Shub Niggurath 45% Nodens 40% Azathoth 40%

Which Elder God are you?

Goodbye, Infinity

I mentally classify years in much the same way that my friends had taken to classifying Balticons: “The Year of Drama” “The Year of Hunger” etc. This year does not get a nice classification, I can tell you that. It started poorly (literally an hour after the year began, it already started to suck) and mostly stayed fairly cruddy.

Here are some good things that happened this year, though:

• I traveled frequently. February was the D&D Experience, which was my first taste of 4e, and also what really catapulted Critical Hits to its currents heights (and sustained thanks to Danny any my other writers putting out great content). March was a trip to Florida to attend a wedding with Melinda (chronicled by me in nerdish fashion, but also in photographs). April was the annual Gathering trip to Columbus, which I have considerably mixed feelings about in retrospect. May was Balticon, which was somewhat subdued and involved very little of the convention itself, but I did enjoy a bunch of games of Tales of the Arabian Nights. June was Origins which allowed me to see (and play D&D with) college friends I hadn’t seen in a while, though like much of this year, I found myself embroiled in Edition War. July was 48 Hour Film Project, which even though we came in 20 minutes over deadline, I still consider a success thanks to the quality of the end product. August was GenCon, which was great for meeting new friends (who I had only emailed or message before), not so great for sleeping, spending, or actually playing games. Even though I was somewhat down on GenCon thanks to previous experiences, it might have been my favorite convention this year (with Origins also being in contention). September was Baltimore Comic-Con, a decidedly “meh” experience- I missed a few of the creators I wanted to meet, though getting to meet Darwyn Cooke was a huge plus for me. October and November featured no trips or cons, which is fortunate (as you’ll see), and for December, I leave for Miami (Florida, not University for once) in a few hours.
• My Spring ‘08 semester featured Magazine Writing, a useful and fun class with an awesome professor. Most likely, my writing portfolio will contain more pieces from this class than any other class. It also sits as my favorite class from my time in the Publications Design program.
• At the beginning of the year, I left Fedex Kinko’s (which is no longer named that) to start my new job, which I quite enjoy. Obviously, it also pays a lot better than my old job. My friend Kristin was instrumental in helping me get the job, and I can’t thank her enough.
• I was (twice) cleared of having cancer and instead just have very annoying medical issues.
• Get Bit! was positively reviewed by Tom Vasel and Scott Nicholson, two reviewers I respect very highly. The game breached the top 2000 for a time on Boardgamegeek, and currently sits just outside 2000.
• I, with lots of help, launched the RPG Bloggers Network. Though it’s had some serious hiccups at various times, I’m very happy on all the praise it’s gotten, and looking forward to making it better and better in the new year.
• I concluded my 3.5 game mostly successfully (final battle was something of a trainwreck, but it also made me swear off 3.5) and launched my 4e game which has been chugging along since June, with no end in sight.
• TV was really excellent this year. Both the stuff that I made an effort to watch new every week and the stuff that I finally got to see after being told how good it was. Off the top of my head: House, The Office, 30 Rock, Pushing Daisies, Journeyman, Chuck, Life on Mars, some of Battlestar Galatcia, some of Heroes.
• Two TMBG shows in one year, both awesome! Jacksonville, Florida show featured new stuff and old favorite I had never seen performed live, DC Flood show was Flood!
• With my income up, I bought a lot of stuff. Seriously, I had gone a long time scraping by with whatever clothes I needed and whatever equipment was absolutely necessary (plus a dedicated entertainment budget). Even as I try not to be someone driven by money, it’s very nice to not have to stress out about every single medication I buy.

Bad things of 2008 will not be posted, both in accordance with my golden rule of blogging and because I snuck some complaints into my best of.

Other miscellaneous year-end wrap-ups:

You can check out my music charts for the year if you’re interested in what/who I was listening to this year. Short answer: Vampire Weekend is the best new band I’ve heard in a long time and an instant favorite. Runner-up: I’m sad Self isn’t around anymore but glad they finally re-launched their site that allowed me to legally download much of their work. Honorable Mention: Postal Service needs to come out with another album. (I’ll be compiling a “Dave’s Best of 2008″ mix CD, which I’ll post the contents of when I’m done).

Favorite games of the year are mostly pretty obvious: D&D 4e, Dominion, Rock Band 1/2. Secret Project EMR-35 of Andy’s saw a lot of play, and will almost certainly enter my top 10 games when it’s finally released. And Werewolf has seen something of a renaissance lately, for reasons that I hope to disclose publicly soon.

This year also sees me growing increasingly dissatisfied with my Centro and Palm OS, and increasingly jealous of the iPhone. Yet, I cannot logically switch yet. Dammit.

I think that’s all I want to commit to the Internet’s collective memory about this year. Catch everyone in the far flung future of Twenty Oh Nine…

Blargh^3

Grades are finally in. Typography, the class I struggled the most with (and spent the most time on) was a B, which was what I was expecting. Fine.

An A- in a class I felt was a slam dunk is annoying- especially when I gave a special presentation to the class about game design. (No one else gave a special presentation).

And a B+ in an insulting class with a terrible professor is just… well, insulting. I didn’t miss a single class. I hit every deadline for homework (of which there was plenty). I consistently demonstrated knowledge of the subject matter. I even attended the worthless field trip where the professor decided that it wasn’t worthwhile to discuss the place we attended. Is that B+ work? Come on!

Sounds like, for the first time ever, I’m going to be appealing a grade.

Advice that applies both to D&D and the Internet

“It only takes one troll to start a flame war.”

Some thoughts on laser tag

I played laser tag last Saturday for my birthday with 13 of my closest friends. I enjoyed the hell out of it, despite some last minute discouragement of “have fun killing 12 year olds.”

…Of course, it turned it that is what we were doing, as we were combined with a birthday party. It takes 42 people to fill up a game. Despite that, I really, really enjoyed it, and would go again as soon as someone else suggested it.

Laser tag seems to engender two discussions:

1. The type of game play and course 

The course where we went was excellent, with all kinds of multileveled parts, places to hide, bases, choke points, etc. Game play was fairly standard, with some power-ups at random times to spice things up even more. It was “free roaming” which means you weren’t constrained to one side, which I prefer. It was also automatic recharge after getting “killed”, which has some issues. It’s fairly standard for laser tag, but I think I prefer the ones where you have to retreat to recharge. I would also enjoy “halo-style” where you have to actively not be taking fire (behind cover) for a while to recharge.

2. Paint Ball

“Adult Laser Tag” is apparently Paint Ball. I’ve never played it. However, I know I enjoy being able to be “killed” and jump back into the game, which isn’t the case with paint ball as I understand it. The pain-factor of being shot isn’t as big a turn-off as it previously was, though this is a dealbreaker for some friends of mine. And there are people who take it waaay too seriously. There are some of those in laser tag too, but they’re easier to ignore.

I would certainly like to try paint ball (provided no one playing took it too seriously), but it’s much harder to get together than laser tag. 

Of course, I’m also an adult now with an income who could just buy his own laser tag set and stage games wherever he wants. Hmmmm…