Tuesday Quiet and Gray

It is hard to write the story of Tuesday, as I just got a notification from 2600 Hacker Quarterly that they have accepted my Holmes and Watson story. It is hard to focus on writing now; I am delighted. Dear reader, I will let you know when it appears. It is usually two quarters away when I get a notification.

I tried to rise at 6:30 but managed to get going at 7. This time, I found the coffee waiting for me. For breakfast, I had a few slices of pound cake and a banana. I returned to my office and wrote the blog until 8:15. I was time-boxed as I had to get to Portland and play at Richard’s house. I showered, shaved, dressed, and got in Air VW the Gray at 8:45.

Traffic was heavy on Highway 26, the Sunset Highway, more like a parking lot than three lanes inbound, but it was more stop-and-go once inside Portland. Surprisingly, I arrived on time. There were no racing cars this time, and while there were the usual sudden lane changes, it was an uneventful trek.

We tried Tainted Grail today, another horror-based dark rewrite of the Arthurian legend. James brought the game, which he bought painted on the secondary game market. This is another dudes-on-board, all 32 mm-sized figure game. It is cooperative and complex. It has the mandatory unique iconography, which can be copyrighted. This protects the game creator, as rules and game mechanics are not protected, but art and iconography are. The art and materials unique to the game are part of the game and easily defended.

Here are the words:

“Copyright does not protect the idea for a game, its name or title, or the method or methods for playing it. Nor does copyright protect any idea, system, method, device, or trademark material involved in developing, merchandising, or playing a game.”

I played a druid who had trouble with nightmares. We wandered the map, and soon, I was almost wounded and approaching my end. I also went insane. It was slow going because I did not understand the game, and Richard, who was concerned about our chances, became a bit intense. I was frustrated because I could not understand how combat worked. While interesting, I was unhappy with the game, its dark story, and the play style. I thought it was fiddly and dragged. This is also an endless game, so we had to record everything. I took pictures. We will try it again. James has a significant investment and multiple add-ons. He is a self-declared ‘completist’ who often gets everything.

At 2ish, I was headed home with my feelings mixed. I can’t recommend this game, but I know it is highly rated. I also see lots of it for sale. More to come.

Deborah and I talked once I was home and had made lunch. I had reheated and frozen some ham and pea soup I made last week, and added more ham. I finished the blog after I rang off. Later, I would talk to Deborah before she fell asleep. It is good to start and finish our days together.

I watched another episode of “Elsbeth.” It was good and reminded me of the Columbo guest star versions, where each show focused on another area, cooking, magic, music, etc. This was the murder of a tennis star.

I decided that I had had enough of my own cooking (though the pound cake was good) and headed to Eric, my usual waiter, at BJ’s Brewhouse. There, I had a perfect ribeye steak for too much money. I added a salad. I skipped dessert but had coffee. It was a bit late, which meant little sleep until near 1 Wednesday morning. I finally took some ibuprofen, and that counteracted the caffeine. Not a good solution, but it is better than staying up until 4 and then sleeping until noon!

My 3D printer is highly temperature sensitive and will print only on warm days and nights. F**k. That explains why it works and then stops working. Richard suggests building a printing area with heat in the garage–there are many examples online. I also found a new Egloo 3D resin tank printer model with a built-in heater. Being now retired and spending most of my money on travel, having a new printer at the house seems wasteful for the price of a round-trip ticket to Detroit with some upgrades. But that FOMO takes over, and I want it (“my precious”). Instead, I will continue to buy printed items and, for the figure I want for my new character, I will buy and alter them to fit. But the FOMO rises…resist.

I did not order a printer. I am thinking of recycling mine.

I was reading Elric at BJ’s and then at home in a larger paperback.  I got this book and another (volume 2 and 3) at Curious Books for my birthday when I was in East Lansing. I was enjoying the story, though Elric does not appear in the first one.

I went to bed after doing the dishes (meaning I put them in the dishwasher and washed the large pans and knives). I also reviewed my character in the new Dungeons and Dragons 2024 rules when I could not sleep. I also searched my unpainted figures, a box of the “Vampire” pledge from years ago, filled with plastic figures. I found nothing that matched close to what I was looking for. I was amazed at how many repeats I had. I wonder how many “Vampires” and repeated add-ons were in the box!

I finally settled and slept.

Thanks for reading!