Workout Recap - Week of April 18, 2021
Very light week this time, because I had a few personal circumstances knock me on my ass. I think I'm basically back on track now, though, so I expect to bounce back. Monday Type: As Fast As Possible 5 sets of: 5 Pull Ups 10 Push Ups 15 Prisoner Squats Time = 5:00 Bonus: 10 bridges Not the greatest time I've ever put up for this routine, but it was a fair sight better than my last go at it, so I'll take the progress. Tuesday Type: Pass/Fail Uneven Push Ups - 1 set of 15, eac
Workout Recap - Week of April 11, 2021
Continuing with the experimental approach, I saw some gains on the bar work this week. Were they enough to stick with it? In a vacuum, yes, but the persistent fatigue in my fingers suggests that I should switch over to a different movement to focus. On the other hand, noticing that I'm carrying a little more body fat than I used to also suggests that I should go back to incorporating more timed workouts (or that I should adjust my diet to reduce calorie intake). Decisions

Factory-Hall of the Iron Shaman (Part 3)
Part 2 Last time, I learned that the Factory-Hall was actually a sort of school where the Iron Shaman was training minions, and I generated some broad details for each of the ten notable locations at the site. This time, I’ll start to put together the actual physical geometry and fill in more details. To recap, this is where things were left off: Stables Nature of the feature: A dangerous intruder or beast who has entered the site. Creature motivation: Feed on the inhabitant
Factory-Hall of the Iron Shaman (Part 2)
Part 1 Last time, some random table rolls gave me the idea for a dungeon about an infectious entity who makes Faustian deals in order to amass iron golem-like minions. This time, the dungeon itself needs some shaping. Before I make any decisions about it, I know that I want to have something cool in there. To that end, I can try to set my subconscious roiling with a random entry from The Dungeon Alphabet: “P is for Pools”: Pool is of an odd color: 6 – Orange It certainly se


Glass Noodle Casserole
I've experimented with substituting spaghetti squash in place of noodles for baked dishes before, but the change from starchy absorbent sticks to shredded vegetable fibers screws up the chemistry too much to make it a simple transition. Fortunately, sweet potato-based glass noodles are closer to being starchy absorbent sticks than they are to being shredded vegetable fibers. Their tackiness can make the mixing process a little bit trickier than it would be with traditional


Solitary TTRPG Play with Scarlet Heroes
Of late, I’ve been toying around with various approaches to solitary (i.e. GM-less/self-GM) TTRPG play. Initially, I had wanted my first post on the matter to talk about Four Against Darkness, but then I realized that I’d been giving my characters far too many chances to gain levels on accident (from a combination of trying to read too quickly and poor presentation on the default record sheets), so I’ll need more time to give an informed assessment of that game. Four Against
Workout Recap - Week of April 4, 2021
I tried something different this week. Every day started with at least ten pull ups, and I did a few more sets of them throughout the day. In return, my actual workouts were simplified. I didn't have any particular goal in mind for this, aside from just seeing how my body responds. It's been an interesting experiment, and although I haven't noticed any huge benefits yet (compared to my typical routine), I'll stick with it for another week to give it some more time. Monday
Factory-Hall of the Iron Shaman (Part 1)
I want to shake things up a bit for myself, so how about diving into some more random adventure generation? Although I enjoyed my jaunt into the way Silent Legions handles that for the Brass Fraternity series, that’s been two straight nodal investigation adventures. I think it’d be good to back to a dungeon adventure, so let me roll up 4d200 on Tome of Adventure Design’s Tables 1-1A/1-1B and see what I get: (132, 53, 56, 175): Factory-Hall of the Iron Shaman of the Orcs Tri

Hole Is Where the Heart Is
I’m hollow. This isn’t new. Nor is my awareness of it. I’ve long been content with that hollowness. I’ve found ways to be happy. But that doesn’t change the simple fact. Would I feel better if that void was filled? Asking that is like seeking a cat’s opinions on astrophysics. A person can’t imagine something that they have no frame of reference for. And yet, in moments of weakness, I sometimes try, burning time on futile thoughts. In moments of strength, I can embrace th
Workout Recap - Week of March 28, 2021
I did a lot of walking on both ends of this week, but I had some other potential plans that didn't get realized. Long story short, only four workouts this go around. I'm also feeling quite angry today. For some reason, I can't seem to communicate the difference I see between ideas and their surrounding context (when it comes to judging the added value of historical studies), so I got drawn into multiple conversations where the other side and I were both talking past each ot