Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in SD's LiveJournal:

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Sunday, November 1st, 2009
10:10 pm	If anybody out there is doing NaNoWriMo, it'd be great if you could add me as a buddy at http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/435527. I'm certain I know more than two people participating this year. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, October 3rd, 2009
12:54 am	Scribblenauts woo! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, July 31st, 2009
1:43 pm	Today I hit 11111 points on Kongregate. (Comment on this)
Sunday, July 5th, 2009
8:33 pm	Gyar, Otakon is in like four seconds. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
2:05 pm	I didn't realize quite how creepy Pandora was until I created a station. All I gave it was the following information: I like Billy Joel. I like Scissor Sisters. I do not like the Beatles' "In My Life". With that, it sent me the following songs: The Killers, Somebody Told Me (already on my playlist) The Dandy Warhols, Bohemian Like You (already on my playlist) Daft Punk, Harder Better Faster Stronger (already on my playlist) The Beatles, Twist and Shot (no thanks, but good try) Gnarls Barkley, Crazy (not on my playlist, but it should be) Madonna, Like a Prayer (already on my playlist) Up until now, I actually thought my music choices were somewhat eclectic, but it turns out they're apparently real similar. I'm currently debating throwing in some Hammerfall to see how it responds. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, May 11th, 2009
10:57 am	Now that I'm getting a lot deeper into 4th edition, I've found myself noticing a few things about the system, how it's built, and how it's balanced. I've been maintaining a file of quick-reference information like what classes have what roles and what skills and so forth, much like I was in 3rd but more detailed. This morning, it was a fairly quick task to compile it all into some cute summary tables, which have been rather enlightening. ( Read more... ) The takeaway points I (as a DM) got from this exercise: - Use monsters that target Reflex, avoid monsters that target Will - Use mobile monsters with energy resistance, because most parties have trouble reacting to it - Use stealthy or tricky monsters with caution, because their effectiveness is limited - Give away far more light armor as treasure than heavy armor The takeaway points I (as a player) got from this exercise: - Have a higher Reflex defense than I think I should - Carry a crossbow, thrown weapon, or Captain America shield - Focus on things other than Perception and Insight, because everybody else has that too. - Wear heavy armor for less competition in dividing loot (Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009
9:30 pm	If there's anybody who hasn't pre-registered for Otakon, it's open now. You should do it, especially if you're staying in our hotel room and didn't last year. I'm just saying. (Comment on this)
Monday, April 6th, 2009
12:22 pm	My Filebox is ending in May, so if anybody has cute hosting suggestions, I'd be up for it. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
7:30 am	April Desktop Theme Ueki (not Uecker) in Earth-Friendly Green (Comment on this)
Friday, February 27th, 2009
8:53 pm	I've gone over quite a few last looks this past week. You know, when you're moving out of an empty apartment, or room, or cubicle, it's that point when you glance over, either to make sure you have everything or just to see, and you verify that you haven't left anything there. When you make sure that your presence has been eliminated from some area, confirming the work you've done over hours or days or weeks to make it that way. You put all of your effort into making it look like you were never even there, so that it's prepared for the next person as though it was fresh, and you just leave. No matter how often I move, I never get used to that last look. (Comment on this)
Monday, February 16th, 2009
7:08 pm	Just call me Dr. Zoidberg, because I'm a homeowner. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, February 12th, 2009
10:54 pm	I plan to be at the store this Saturday afternoon, signing autographs and doing photos. (Comment on this)
Thursday, February 5th, 2009
10:14 pm	This man is playing this man in the upcoming Street Fighter movie. I thought you'd like to know so you don't have to bother getting excited over it. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, February 1st, 2009
12:04 am	February Desktop Theme Yuna in Pink A week from now, I'll be arguing about window blinds. It's a bit terrifying. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
10:40 pm	So tonight for fun I wrote 16 pages of VB code. (Comment on this)
Sunday, January 25th, 2009
11:01 pm	While I relish the opportunity to disappoint people, this is a little upsetting. ( Read more... ) (Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
9:25 pm	Well, swear word (Comment on this)
6:42 pm	Last night I had a dream that I was too excited about something to go to sleep, so I'm not sure how to interpret these things any more. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 20th, 2009
2:41 pm	4th Edition Encounter Calculator v0.1 For anybody who hasn't read the DMG, 4th Edition doesn't use Encounter Levels any more. Instead, each encounter has a budget of experience points based on the number of players and their level. Each creature is worth a certain amount of experience points, and the budget is filled with these. For example, a Level 3 character is worth 150 points, so the encounter budget for four L3 characters is 600 points. A zombie is an L2 creature worth 125 points, so an appropriate encounter for the party is four zombies (500 points) and 100 extra points of other creatures (I suggest four decrepit skeletons, 25 points each, to fit the undead theme). There's a reason behind what creature is worth what amount; all creatures of a given level are worth the same amount, except for Elite creatures (twice standard cost and more powerful), Solo creatures (five times standard cost, so named because one of them is an appropriate encounter for five characters of the same level), and Minions (1/4 standard cost, because they can only take one hit). Regardless, it a fair amount of math, and until you get things memorized, you'll want the three charts (in two books) that lay it all out. In a particularly "screw that noise" mood, I've whipped up an Excel sheet that takes the party level and number of players to give you the budget. Then, give it a creature name and a number (like "Zombie" and "4"), and it will tell you how much that creature will cut into your budget. The experience tables are listed on a separate table that's just a big sack of numbers, and every creature in the Monster Manual is an acceptable value. Future updates would include fixing minor issues (there are two "Unicorn"s), adding the traps from the DMG, and allowing for some leniency in naming creatures. Currently, typing "Blue Slaad" will confuse it morbidly, and giving it the full name "Blue Slaad (Talon Slaad)" will work. The workaround is obvious (code FALSE as the fourth VLOOKUP parameter to disallow returns for inexact matching), but that will just tell you "This name is incorrect", not give it a closer match. The easy solution is to include validation against a list, but that list will have to go on the face worksheet due to Excel restrictions, meaning any new creatures will have to be added twice, and that's ugly. So it's currently entirely functional, but not wholly user-friendly until I work out some kinks. (Comment on this)
Sunday, January 18th, 2009
10:39 pm	The Dragon Campaign ended about as well as it could have for the rather rushed ending, so now I get to set my sights on my next campaign, the one I'll be running in Blacksburg. I've gotten it down to a few choices, and things are leaning real hard toward the "the players don't care as long as they can game" option, so I may have the opportunity to run something I enjoy running. It's an unusual feeling, really, seeing how long it's been since I've done anything with more than a skeleton party. (1 Comment |Comment on this)