Me.

Music

Intentional Living

Roleplaying Games

I've found roleplaying games to be a fantastic exercise of the imagination, not to mention a lot of other skills. More than even writing for me, because roleplaying games have rules and guidelines which you must bend your imagination to. It is therefore much more satisfying and challenging to create a roleplaying world or character because it must follow a set of principles based on the game system. A roleplaying creation must be balanced, realistic, make sense and be fair. I've always had a GM's mind, in that when I read a new game, it is designing a world that interests me, not just individual characters. However, I am usually too lazy to flesh out all my ideas, so I'm often a player as well.

One of the things I am working on right now is a game system of my own design. At the same time I am working on a world, but am trying not to make the system dependent on any one world. The system is designed for a fairly realistic fantasy gaming experience, although as I said I am trying to make the system itself as generic as possible, so that it can lend itself to other genres eventually. The system is much closer to the Storyteller systems than D&D, but doesn't really match up with either of them. It incorporates my interest in a more free-form method of character creation, mixing the class concepts - and a Success Roll system that is consistent throughout the game. The magic system also will be much more flexible than most fantasy ones, so that it can represent the magic system of any world or game master, as well as super powers, granted powers, psychic powers, or what have you.

The game world is set on a rather typical planet, although the nature of the universe is much different than most fantasy worlds. The world is populated with humans, elves, dwarves, wolfen, lizardmen, arachne and elders. Although the genre is mostly medieval, the standard of living is much higher due to magic, improved technology and skills. The wilderness is prevalent and protected, mostly by the nomadic elves, who live a 'primitive' life in every type of terrain on the planet. The dwarves are masters of the various technological arts, and live underground in deep affinity for the earth. The Elders are a race of extremely long-living beings, otherwise fairly similar to humans. Magic in this world takes many forms: studious wizards, possessed Diabolists, Witches dealing magic throught their natural components, Necromancers twisting life energy into magic, devoted ones wielding the powers of their dieties...

My friends that I've always gamed with have mostly moved off to various colleges, and we don't get a chance to get together too often. So, if you live in the Newburyport, MA area, drop me a note and perhaps we can get together. I am involved in two IRC games, running one and playing in another. They are both AD&D games, although the mechanics tend to matter less over IRC. I play in a game based around a quest and a curse, playing Trajan, a half-elf rogue interested in pulling off the biggest schemes he can. The game I run is centered around a group of characters, espionage agents for a secret society in my version of the Realms. Very different for a AD&D game. If you are interested in playing, maybe you should drop me a note.

Computing

As you can imagine from the fact that I've written my own web pages, I'm into computing. I've managed to put together a suitable computing system, despite the fact that I was stupid enough to buy a Packard Bell. DON'T BUY A PACKARD BELL! They can sue me if they want, but I'll tell everyone I know, DON'T BUY A PACKARD BELL. I've had more trouble with this thing then you can imagine. And they have been no help. Not to mention that their customer service number is a toll call to Utah.

The key to my low-budget computer philosophy, is to avoid new software. I've found that the reason I feel an overriding need to upgrade months after I buy a computer is that newer software comes out that is bigger and bulkier, and requires a bigger computer. If I can keep myself using the same software, I can be satisfied with the computer I have. I am fairly satisfied with the one I have now, and am waiting for a real revolutionary change in computers before I buy in again, which I think might happen with CD-R and DVD and similar technologies putting the computer in the center of the home. The hardest part of my quest, is holding on to old software programs, especially when I had to upgrade my hard drive, or switch computers.

The highlight of my computer is MediaOne Express. This is how I am connected to the Internet - by cable. Formerly known as Continental Cablevision's Highway1, cable access maxes out at 10 MB/sec. It is easily fifty times faster than a phone line connection. Downloading programs takes seconds. And since the Net comes over the cable, along with our TV, the phone line doesn't get tied up. I have access 24 hours a day, and that really allows me to use the Internet in new ways.

For those interested, here is a list of some of the programs that I use on my computer, linked to the sites where they are available. These are mostly Windows 95, 32 bit programs.

Favorite Author
Kurt Vonnegut

Favorite Novels
Dragonlance Trilogy, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Siddhartha, Herman Hesse
It, Stephen King

Favorite Non-Novels
Walden, Henry David Thoreau
The Pleasures of Philosophy, Will Durant

Favorite Animal
Hawk

Favorite Thinkers
Thoreau, Will Durant, Friedrich Nietzsche, Ferenc Mate

Favorite State
Vermont

Favorite Poets
Robert Frost, Anne Sexton, e.e. cummings, T.S. Eliot

Favorite Musicians
Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Ani DiFranco, Dave Matthews Band, Jewel Kilcher, Tom Waits, Thanks To Gravity

Favorite Sports
Football, Basketball

Favorite Football Team
1990 New York Giants

Favorite Season
Fall

Favorite TV Shows
Seinfeld, The Simpsons

Favorite Bumper Sticker
"Not All Who Wander Are Lost"