Scrabble Champion, Never Unseated

Hey friends,

Bad news. My grandmother, Delores Meis, died suddenly a few days ago. Thankfully, she didn't suffer and, in fact, enjoyed various activities and socializing until the very end.

One highlight of my youth was the magnificently large meals she liked to prepare for company. Mashed potatoes and gravy were my jam. And there was always more.

Another joy for young Bruce was spending one week each summer on the dairy farm she and Grandpa Meis operated. Man, those were some early mornings. And I was always blown away by how Grandma had named and could recognize each and every cow on the farm, generation after generation.

Yeah, she was a brilliant woman, not only in her ability to remember names and recognize features of nonhuman animals, but in all ways. Including her preternatural capacity to play Scrabble.

I wrote the following in 2008. Reloaded here so you can glory in her victories as much as I hope Grandma did.

Our family played a lot of games when I was a kid. I was middlin' at most, with a pretty good win-loss record on Monopoly, Life, Chess, Checkers, or what have you. However, the one game I failed to ever win a single game at was Scrabble. My mom consistently beat everyone.

Well, this failure to ever win a single game of Scrabble has stuck with me through the years. Imagine my chagrin when I discovered my ex-wife Dee was also quick with the words and that she also beat me year in and year out.

We continued to play the occasional game though. She enjoyed it at least ;-). Then one day in 2008, seemingly out of the blue, I finally beat her in Scrabble. (angelic trumpets sound)

The first thought through my head: If I can beat her, I bet I can finally beat Mom, too! Practice makes perfect, right?

Not long after, I finally had the opportunity to challenge my mom to a game of Scrabble. My mom's mom, Grandma Meis, also sat down to play.

Little did I know that my mom's Scrabble ability was learned at feet of a true master. My grandmother roundly whomped us both, twice in a row just to prove luck played no part.

In fact, during one round, I foolishly indicated that I had the perfect play in mind... instead of taking that play away from me she let me have it (a grandmother likes to dote on her grandchildren): C R A Z Y in a triple word and double letter path that netted me 66 points. I figured I had that game sewn up.

But nope. Despite spotting me my grand play, Dolores surged forward and still handily beat me and everyone else at the table, Mom, too.

I have a feeling this is one champion I'll never unseat.

And I was right.

Something A Little Different

 Hey Friends!

Yesterday Batgirl and I visited the Minnesota State Fair!

Neither one of us had ever visited a state fair before, if you can believe it. But enough people asked us if we were going to the state fair, we decided, sure, why not? Let's see what this fair thing is all about. Word on the street was that we'd be able to eat some really weird stuff, which was enough to sell me.

Here's what I noted in my workload report at MCG, since I ended up taking the day off to attend, and I figured everyone was owed an explanation:

We walked in, and later walked out, about 20 minutes both ways for Lyft drop-off and pickup, respectively. In the middle of that, we walked for three more hours on top of that during the fair itself, so lots of walking.

The dinosaur fossil exhibit was great, super-well-done, and engaging. I learned new things about dinosaurs, which given all the dinosaur exhibits I've seen (most recently at the Natural History Museum in the UK), is impressive. Especially given that this one was a pop-up exhibit at a state fair.

There were lots of people at the MN state fair. Lots.

I drank a hazy IPA called Mass-haze-steria, ate a mole taco , a porkchop on a stick, and a pretzel dog. We tried to find a few specific weird things to eat, but the lines to sample those items were too long for us to engage. Did I mention lots of people were there?

We saw some sheep being sheared, some fun scarecrow contest winners, lots of crop art, impressively huge horses, and bees.

My sunscreen didn't quite do the job.

Overall, glad to have tried something different for the day.

So yeah, it was something a little different...

Speaking of something a little different, instead of dropping another chapter of Dreamrider in the Nightland over at my Patreon, I thought I'd marry my two professional spheres of creativity by taking a piece of novel fiction and adding a dash of Cypher stats, under MCG's  Open Game License. 

Check it out (if you are one of my beloved patrons): a creature from the first chapter—an unraveler.

But There Is Rollerblading!

 Hello friends,

How're ya'll faring with the heat dome and horrific air pollution, assuming you're anywhere in the Midwest? A few years ago, we faced a heat dome in the Seattle area—the temperature reached 113°F (45 °C). Not long after, we faced a period of wildfire smoke where the AQI was in the 300s. Made me think that maybe I wasn't in the most resilient area when thinking about future threats of climate change.

Well, I'm not sure there are many such places on the planet. Minneapolis—where Batgirl and I are currently located as of last month—has a lot going for it. But last week we got to endure the double fun of a heat dome AND AQI in the 300s. It wasn't a great week. On the other hand, I surreptitiously exchanged the MIRV 8 air filter that the apartment complex had installed in our HVAC unit with a MIRV 13 version, kept the fan running constantly, and was able to bring the air inside to an AQI under 10, which was quite a relief.

However, when not dealing with the fruits of climate change, I've been able to rollerblade along a trail that runs right next to the apartment called the Greenway. I've long been a fan, but over the last several years, circumstances kept me away. I was lucky if I got out once a year, and some years I was not lucky.

With the aforementioned Greenway's immediate adjacency, I've been rollerblading an average of two times A WEEK! It's amazing. And check out the picture--it sort of blew my mind when I first found it along the trail--a roundabout for rollerbladers (well, for bicyclists, but also rollerbladers). Friends, I've arrived :)

Rewind: Why I Like Fringe (slightly) More than X-Files

Hey folks!

Several months ago, I heard Prime had picked up the rights to do another Stargate series. Having never watched the original Stargate or the Atlantis spin-off, I was intrigued. Batgirl hadn't seen the series since it debuted in the late 90s, so she was on board for some long-term sci-fi watching, a few at a time. We're in season 9 of 10! (As an aside, I just heard Prime is no longer interested in doing a new series. Boo! Anway...)

Last night, we saw an episode with John Noble playing a small part. We both yelled, "Walter!" at the screen, because for us, John Noble's defining role was as that wild and woolly scientist on the sci-fi series Fringe. (Itself now something that debuted a while back. Sheesh, I'm sensing a threme. Anyway...) 

Science! (in the UK)

Which reminded me I once wrote a short article about Fringe and Walter, and did so by comparing it to X-Files, which I've added and updated hereafter.

 I was a big fan of the X-Files in its day. The Truth Is Out There! The first episode I saw was "Squeeze" (thanks to my friend Monte telling me there was this show I just had to see).

Many years have passed, and now I've become a big fan of Fringe. I mean, come on; coretexiphan!

At some point after watching Fringe and finishing a rewatch of X-Files, I was struck by the wide philosophical difference between the two shows. These differences influence a given plot in a noticeable, characteristic fashion (though of course outliers exist).

Both shows deal with unexplained, odd, and unlikely phenomena. In fact, I'd say it's obvious that The X-Files was a big influence on Fringe.

In the X-Files, many episodes are devoted to the idea that society can't or won't accept the Truth that Is Out There. Villains are many times scientists working in secret labs or in government facilities. Or, if scientists are not outright villains, then they are part of an uncaring establishment, hidebound in its dogmatic acceptance of the world. In fact, at one point, the FBI agent Dana Scully goes so far as to tell her partner Mulder that she's always accepted the facts that "science" has taught her, and is unwilling to accept that things might be different (which is an odd way to look at science).

In Fringe, one of the main characters is a scientist. All the crazy phenomena and odd occurrences that threaten the world in Fringe are dealt with and mediated by science and the application of reason. Sure, reason in the form of Walter Bishop, but back off, man, he's a scientist.

Thus, my comparison: The X-Files was slightly suspicious of the scientific method, while Fringe is more apt to embrace it. The X-Files is more likely to reject that science can solve the problems that beset us (problems like killer insects escaped the Pleistocene and aliens who live in black goo, granted), while Fringe usually holds that only science can save us (from parallel-dimension shape shifters and collapsing universes, sure). On The X-Files, scientists are more likely to be part of a conspiracy, while on Fringe, scientists are more likely to show us how things really are.

Mainly, I think I've pegged that both these shows lie on a continuum, and those points are in different locations between 'embrace science' and 'suspect science.'

I think you can probably guess--though I love both of these shows--which one I prefer.

Also, Stargate! Can't wait to get into Atlantis after we finish SG-1.

An Interruption

As regular readers of my blog and/or my Patreon may have noticed, I stopped putting up regular posts at the end of last year. That was because I had lots of things going on, one of which was an impending radical shift in my location to an as-yet-undetermined (undermined back then) location other than Washington state and the house we'd lived in since 2012.

I decided to start shedding minor bits of stress to help deal with the general stress and anxiety a move can generate. Ongoing extra writing required by my Patreon was one.

Whelp, I'm here now on the other side of that move. Batgirl and I have leaped to a new location, out of the suburbs and into the heart of a large city, where lots of interesting things are a mere walk away rather than an hour's drive. We shall see how it works out, but I have to tell you, the stress I felt—as manifest by my nightly wake-up at 3 am and worry and plan—has fallen away. Now, when I wake up at 3 am, I blink, maybe use the toilet... and go right back to sleep.

The photo is a glance at my new office workspace. The setup isn't quite finished; I might get a plant in that far corner, hang some more pictures. But it's pretty much what I've got going on for my day job, which is still my wonderful employer, MCG. 

And what about my other writing, specifically the stuff I started my Patreon for? Well, as I said, the stress of an imminent move and its aftereffects are abating. It's time to pick up the pen again and finalize the current effort: The Dreamrider in the Nightland wants its author back. It turns out I'm in a position to make that happen. 

Wish me luck!

How About A Ghoul Log This Holiday?

Hey friends,

Wishing you a peaceful year's end and celebrations in whatever way you celebrate it. Like, maybe with a yule-tide log that burns long and bright thanks to a plump arm thrown into the blaze for that little extra bit of holiday cheer. Just like your ol' friend The Ghoul from Prime's video adaptation of Fallout. In fact, you can kick back with The Ghoul as he watches the fire and listens to some trippy post-apocalypse tunes and stories by Mr. New Vegas.

Burns like a candle!

If you're like me, you've got a lot of joy out of the Fallout franchise over the years.

These days, I play Fallout 76 now and again. Really, it's a love-hate relationship: a game I hate to love. I hate to love it because it tempts me, trying to fill up free time I should probably be spending on something more creative than designing my next camp, next character build, or customized weapon with 4-star mods. On the other hand, have you seen my sweet new dinosaur-themed Christmas fishing camp? It's cool :D

But my love goes back to the beginning. In fact, there was even a time 26 years ago, in 1999 or thereabouts, when I worked directly with the brand while I was at TSR. My brush with official material was while writing a Dragon Magazine article called "Weapons of Fallout," where I had a great time converting the guns of soon-to-be-released Fallout 2 to 2E D&D Alternity stats. But good luck finding much trace of it online--at least, I just tried and came up empty-handed. So even if you wanted to see Fallout 2 weapons converted to 2E D&D Alternity (hah), you are probably out of luck, sorry.

My colleague Sean Reynolds has an even deeper connection to Fallout of yesteryear, because he worked at Interplay, directly on a new Fallout game—that never came out. Ouch.

At least my article was published, small as it was, if only to be lost through bit rot and fading memories, like a fat man's arm burning away on the fire...

We all roll on

 Hey ya'll!

Wow, did October sneak up on and then slip by you as quickly as it did for me? I think one reason time moved relatively more quickly for me was because of travel. Gameholecon 2025 in Madison, WI, was a weeklong experience that included planes and airports, setting up (then eventually packing away) the MCG lounge, running games, giving seminars and interviews, and doing a whole lot of talking with friends and gamers. Gameholecon isn't a huge convention, but it is very focused on tabletop RPGs, so if that's your bag, you might consider attending the event one of these years. 

And last week we got to enjoy Halloween (and probably about half the candy we bought for the supposed purpose of giving out to trick-or-treaters, lol). Halloween also happens to be my and Batgirl's anniversary! Unlike in years past, our celebrations remained relatively restrained this year. But in addition to the aforementioned candy theft from children that might have otherwise enjoyed it, we also took the day off from our respective employers (MCG for me, Bluetooth for Batgirl), played some of our favorite games, and enjoyed dinner out. A great start to a long weekend, in other words!

Whelp, speaking of time slipping by, from the time I wrote that last sentence to this one, nearly a week has passed. In related news, I have a new ergonomic keyboard. Hand pain, be gone! (I hope... so far, so good).

Ok, enough about me. Here's a picture I'm pretty sure that's in the public domain that relates to The Dreamrider and Starcatcher (if you happen to be one of my patrons, it also relates to something happening in a newly dropped scene from what has become my latest serial novel).

We Made It!

 Howdy ya'll!

MCG, the tabletop RPG company I'm part of, completed a crowdfunding effort over the weekend. Which means we'll release Cypher (2E) sometime next year. Not only that, the campaign enjoyed an amazing 24 hours of Overtime Mode, during which time it crossed the $1,000,000 milestone! Amazing. (And as Charles Ryan hoped, this campaign now numbers among one of just a small handful of non-licensed, non-5E campaigns to exceed $1 million in revenue). If you helped us out in any way, thank you SO VERY MUCH.

As I may have mentioned, internally we've been working on Cypher for a long time. In fact, our first design retreat, where we started throwing crazy ideas about what was possible, was in June of 2024! Not to say we weren't still working on other projects after that. I think I started (mostly) full-time working on Cypher in January of this year. And what a ride it's been! Which is why it's so doubly gratifying to see the community respond with such enthusiasm.

Thanks again. 

Cypher Character Creation Walkthrough

 Hey friends!

As some of you are well aware, I left Wizards of the Coast in 2013, ending my 4-edition run writing official Dungeons & Dragons content. Since then, I've been writing official Cypher System RPG settings, games, and adventures for MCG.

And look—I've reached a 2-edition run at MCG, because we're putting out a new edition of Cypher, which we're crowdfunding right now! (Please help us spread the word, and/or if you're interested but haven't already, pledge yourself!)

To help get out the news, MCG's designers have shot short, shareable videos of themselves answering questions like "How do you make monsters scary?" and "What's your approach to adventure design?" Well, soon enough, those videos will start appearing on various platforms, including Instagram and TikTok.

But I also shot a video of myself at my desk doing a complete character creation walkthrough for the crowdfunding effort. I think that ultimately, it will end up in the hands of the good folks at the Discord for Cypher Unlimited (the CU!), among other places.

But hey, it's my video, and I figured some of you might be interested in seeing what I've put together today, as an early preview just for ya'll, my supporters.

If you're a patron, check out this link! https://www.patreon.com/posts/rpg-character-137664288 

(If you're not, or a free follower of my Patreon, the video should be widely available in a few weeks!)

Why'd It Have To Be Tornados?

Howdy Earthlings!

A friend texted me a couple of nights ago, wondering if my mom was alright, given all the tornadoes in my hometown. Wha? Tornadoes!? News to me, but a quick search showed, yep, tornadoes where I grew up!

Here's some video by storm chaser Brandon Copic: https://youtu.be/HOWGZOHRWno?si=FQt1wMZyUJ6xPDdN 

I texted my mom to check, and thankfully, she soon texted back with confirmation that she was indeed okay. Later, she sent the picture I've associated with this post. Pretty wild, right?

You may not know it, but I have a long history with tornadoes--as does anyone raised in the Midwest, of course. But even after all this time, I still have nightmares about them. (And recurring nightmares about Bigfoot and nuclear bombs, but that's a story for another time.)

My closest brush with a tornado was when I was probably about 13. I was an altar boy, and had been promoted to "captain" of a small team of other altar boys. The upshot of that was that I was the one tasked with a little extra clean-up after each mass. Which was why I was the only one still around the church after a weekday mass concluded one summer afternoon.

As usual, after finishing up, I left the church and closed the door behind me. Then I walked out onto the church's side terrace, drawn to look at some weird clouds. Three of them had these odd, pointy funnels at the bottom. "Huh," I thought, turning away as cold rain splattered me.

I'd made it just a couple of steps back toward the door when the sirens went off. I probably jumped a foot. As I ascended, my panicked thought was, "Nuclear bomb siren!" But as I came down, I recognized the sound: it was a tornado warning, and "OMG THOSE WERE FUNNEL CLOUDS AND I WAS RIGHT UNDER THEM."

So I ran to the door, yanked on it, thinking—

The door was locked. Of course it was. I'd closed it as I left, automatically locking it. Oh shiiiiiit.

Well, I beat on the door and screamed for someone to let me in, but Father Wolf and the housekeeper had already descended into the church's basement. (Actually, the residence was downstairs.) 

So, I just locked my arms through the door handle and turned around to see what was going on behind me. Everything in front of me went white with howling rain, spotted with darker flashing shapes of debris, mostly tree branches whipping past. I think I kept yelling for someone to let me in, but the tornado's scream smothered everything.

After what seemed like a half hour, the white haze faded. I could see the terrace and across the way again, under rain descending vertically like rain is supposed to, rather than being whipped into a froth in a tornado's touchdown-halo. Yep, quite a mess. 

But I was no worse for wear. Something about where I was standing in the doorway had completely protected me from the flying debris or being sucked out into the haze.

About two minutes after that, the door slammed open and Father Wolf burst out,  as wide-eyed and scared as I've ever seen anyone look. My Mom had just called to ask him if I was alright, you see. 

Luckily, I was. I got to enjoy a nice meal with Father Wolf and his housekeeper in their cozy downstairs residence while we waited for my parents to come pick me up.

In the end, I was fine. And I came out of it with a good story to tell. 

But I still sometimes dream of tornadoes.

Teeth filled and feeling fine!

Heya friends!

I'm chagrined to report that my 57-year record of never having a cavity is now broken.  During my annual dental exam a couple of weeks ago, two "occlusions" were discovered. My dentist told me I can technically continue to say I've never had cavities because occlusions are sorta like pre-cavities. (He was just being nice—these were more like small cavities.)

Photo by H Hagi on Unsplash

He asked if something in my diet had lately changed. Like, was I suddenly drinking sugar sodas every day? Nope, nothing like that. Well, we talked about it and came up with one hypothesis.

About 2 years ago, wanting to trim my plastic waste, I switched to dry toothpaste bits. They arrive in a glass jar instead of a plastic tube, and the refills come in compostable bags. Cool, right? The thing is, they also use hydroxyapatite instead of fluoride. I hadn't even thought about it; I just assumed they had fluoride.  So, my dentist speculates that my switch to those could be the culprit, as the research to support that hydroxyapatite is as good as fluoride in preventing tooth decay is lacking. Oops.

Anyway, I just got back from another visit to the dentist with two new fillings with the latest generation of composite. My dentist says no one will ever be able to tell I've had cavities... except other dentists. (Oh, and now all ya'll.)

Now, as it happens, one of the main characters in my novel, The Dreamrider in the Nightland, is also about to learn about a cavity. But more of one in reality than in his mouth.

There Will Be Days Like This

 Hey friends,

There are days and then there are days, am I right? By that, I mean there are less-than-good days when enough goes wrong that you begin to notice, and half your attempts to recognize and fix those things accomplish the opposite.

But let's focus on the things that did go right today. I walked my dog. I hugged my partner. I ate some yummy leftovers for lunch. I wrote some words (good ones, I think, but that's subjective from my POV, obviously). And I got to exercise, as I do most days, because I'm addicted to the endorphins. Today, I was on the elliptical in my office.

I also listened to (off and on, but mostly while I was exercising on the elliptical) more of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. I'm not sure I'd have picked it up on my own, but Batgirl recommended it, and the core concept of "about friendship, love, and video games" was enough to get me started. It's a great book, I recommend you try it, and yes, it qualifies as another thing that went right today.

On the whole, maybe I should put today in the column of things that went mostly right. Either way, tomorrow's another day. And tomorrow, and tomorrow...

Sorry, couldn't resist.