Dorkstock 2019: Into the Gamer-Verse

We had another amazing Dorkstock experience last weekend, with games galore and a combination of new and old faces.  I saw John Kovalic being shot multiple times at Cash ‘N Guns, ran Cartoon Frag Gold as a tournament, and spent time with friends.  The elements of a successful Dorkstock are fun, games, and hopefully Igor bars and a John Kovalic sighting.  Lest you think I’m joking, I know we had one year without Igor bars, and at least one year (Dorkstock 5.5) where we knew in advance that John wouldn’t be able to attend.

We hosted 60 games at this year’s Dorkstock, including some life-sized games in the atrium and some amazing 3D sets.  We remembered to stagger our schedules so people could eat (especially before the sugar rush of the Igor bars) and sleep, and made sure that the person closing the room at night was not opening it.  We restricted the number of hours our gamemasters could run, to make sure everybody had time to enjoy the convention.  We not only had multiple John Kovalic sightings, he ran several scheduled games, including two full tables of Cash ‘N Guns simultaneously.  And he made Igor bars!

Like last year, we walked away with notes about things we’d like to do differently and some (hopefully brilliant) ideas that we’d like to try, such as next year’s Munchkin Party, and running the costume contest on Saturday, when more people are at the convention, since it’s not scheduled to overlap with Halloween next year.  Planning begins… well, a couple days ago.

It should be noted that Dorkstock is a mini-convention, run within a larger convention.  We are amazingly grateful that Gamehole Con is willing to give us space, and constantly amazed at the variety of events available outside the Dorkstock room.  I had the opportunity to play True Dungeon again – only my second time, and the first time was over a decade ago at GenCon.  There was a huge games library and space for open gaming, as well as a lovely dealers’ hall, a paint-and-take area, and tons of other games happening.  Plus the food… in addition to several stalls inside the building (not the least of which is a local pizza place), Gamehole Con attracts several food trucks that park just outside the door, so you only have to stand out in the cold for a few minutes to get great food.

Welcome to NaNoWriMo

What? You haven’t heard of NaNoWriMo? And what’s with the weird caps distribution?  NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month.  It’s an insane endeavor to write 50,000 words in a 30 day month in that novel you’ve always said you’re going to write.  That’s just 1,667 words a day… if you break it down into bite-sized pieces, it seems more feasible.  There’s no editing during this month, just write, write, write. 

Unless you’re writing for younger readers, 50,000 isn’t a full novel.  But it’s a start, and it’s proof that you can do it.  They even have a Young Writers Program for kids who want to participate, with goals set to appropriate levels. 

I have only completed NaNoWriMo once.  No, you can’t read it, it definitely needs re-writing.  I was working part-time and barely managed it, what with everything else I had going on at the time.  Yet here I am, poised for the start of November, ready to try again while working full-time, parenting, attending karate classes, and helping to run a convention.

I have a new story idea, minimal prep behind it, and an exercise bike specifically designed to hold a laptop.  With the temperature dropping, I don’t expect to get outside much for Pokémon Go or Wizards Unite, so I’d best make good use of my bike time for writing. 

Will I succeed? I honestly have no idea. But if I don’t try, I have no chance of success at all.

Thoughts on Gather the Fortunes

Back in March, when I was reading Gather the Fortunes, I shared my review of Bryan Camp’s first book, The City of Lost Fortunes. Whenever I listen to Ghost Train by my friends at Cheshire Moon, I’m reminded of The City of Lost Fortunes… you’ll have to read it to find out why. Since I listened to the song this weekend, this pair of books was fresh in my mind. This review was published in the May 2019 issue of Booklist.

Renaissance (Renai) Raines has been dead for five years now, and to be honest, her daily afterlife is a bit dull at the start of Bryan Camp’s Gather the Fortunes. As a psychopomp, she picks a name from the special radio station that lists people dying that day in New Orleans. She works with her partner, Salvatore, alternately a raven and a dog, to collect the soul and escort it to the Gates of the Underworld. Except for her daily collection task, her life is uneventful, partially because most people don’t really notice her. That changes when a boy named Ramses St. Cyr, Renai’s pick for the day, slips free of his destined death. Renai picked the name both because a god – though she’s not sure which one – offered her a favor for looking after the boy, and because the name sparked a memory from when she was alive. As the psychopomp assigned to collect the soul, Renai finds herself embroiled in a plot between assorted supernatural beings, expanding her understanding of both the afterlife and her abilities in it. This is another page turner by Camp, accented by the periodic chapter introductions that explain beliefs across various mythologies. 

Camp expands on the exciting world he presented in The City of Lost Fortunes, while keeping the storyline entirely in New Orleans. It blends the supernatural appeal of Anne Rice and Laurell K. Hamilton with the mythological lessons from Rick Riordan.

Spending time outside in the fall

Every so often, I want to spend time outside without gardening. Especially given all the mulch and bricks we’ve been hauling around. The temperature just started dropping a couple weeks ago, so the fabulous fall colors aren’t quite here yet, but pumpkins are ripe and Six Flags Great America is set up for Fright Fest, their annual Halloween celebration.

Let’s start with pumpkins… there are many pumpkin farms to choose from in the Chicagoland area, most with a corn maze of varying degrees of difficulty. Last year, we visited Abbey Farms‘ Pumpkin Daze event, which has everything from a petting zoo to a zipline to weekend movies in the dark, along with an elaborate corn maze. And, of course, pumpkins – you can select picked ones, or cut your own, with wagons strewn about to haul them. This year’s pumpkin excursion (which didn’t actually involve bringing pumpkins home… that’ll probably be in a week or two) was to Windy Acres Farm. The corn maze is smaller than at Abbey Farms (you only find your way through it, not search for specific objects within), the pumpkins are pre-picked… but there are turkeys walking around the farm, barnyard animals, assorted seasonal displays and things for kids to climb in or on, and educational information scattered throughout. Smaller children can ride the train on weekends; unfortunately, I’m too tall for it.

I’m not too tall for the rides I like at Six Flags. I do have to balance my love of rollercoasters with Cassandra’s, well, disinclination to ride any of the really big ones. That limits me to the big ones with somewhat short lines or single rider lines. Alas, The Joker was closed the day we went, but the single rider line for Goliath was only about 20 minutes… compared to the 120 minutes for the normal line. We did ride Demon together, and likely will again in the future. But my next visit to Six Flags must include Maxx Force, a new coaster that I haven’t tried… yet. As we waited in line for the Demon, we could see Maxx Force running, but we ran out of time for the day.

Started here... at the entryway fountain, decorated with skeletons and tinted red; ended here... at The Condor, a ride that raises you high and spins you around; and saving this for next time, Maxx Force, a new rollercoaster.

But I mentioned Halloween, so let’s not forget the elaborate efforts that Six Flags puts into their decorations. The fountain by the entrance is tinted red, so dark that it looks black until you walk right up to it, and has skeletons scattered throughout, coming towards you. There are headstones lining the sides, which are worth reading as you walk past. And they have several haunted attractions and shows… none of which I’ve seen, because honestly, I’m there for the rollercoasters. There are seasonal displays throughout the park, including coffins that you can lie in for photographs, and boxes interspersed in the walkways where creepy things lurk at night to spook park visitors.

As of last year, they’ve added a Holiday in the Park event through December, so I’m looking forward to seeing how they decorate for the winter holidays.

Thoughts on Kill the Farm Boy

I’ll admit, I bought this book for the title. I didn’t even read the blurb. I had skimmed a review of it before I saw it at the bookstore, so I knew it was supposed to be good.

The blurb for Kill the Farm Boy talks of the Chosen One, the Dark Lord who wishes for the Chosen One’s death… and fine cheese, a trash-talking goat, and an assassin who fears chickens, among other story hints. As silly as that sounds, it’s nothing compared to actually reading the book.

It starts when Worstley (the younger brother of Bestley) and his talking goat, Gustave, set off from their farm at the instance of a pixie.  At the sleeping castle, they encounter the fighter Fia and Argabella, the bunny bard, and then request the aid of the Dark Lord, Toby.  The adventuring party comes together on a quest to reach Grinda, the sand witch, to discover why she cast a sleeping spell over the castle and demand its removal, in order to return Argabella to her human form. 

Of course, it gets complicated, as the sleeping spell was part of larger political intricacies in the kingdom, and they must work together to overcome a combination of large and silly obstacles to the most unlikely outcome.  This book will keep you guessing and make you laugh at its oddest moments. 

Thoughts on Uncharted (Arcane America #1)

I recently reviewed Council of Fire, the second book in the Arcane America setting. This is not that review.

I occasionally receive sequels when I haven’t read the earlier books.  I once reviewed the last book of a series, though I had never heard of the series until I received the book.  This is the first time I’ve received a sequel and immediately gone out to find the previous book.

The basic premise to the Arcane America series is that the New World has been sundered from the old with the 1759 passing of Halley’s Comet.  A mountain range has suddenly appear mid-Atlantic, preventing the passage of ships to the Old World.  More perplexing, at least to the Europeans, is the rise of magic forces.

Chronologically, the Council of Fire, written by Eric Flint and Walter H. Hunt, precedes Uncharted.  Council of Fire begins with the comet’s strike and moves throughout the explored parts of the northern hemisphere of the New World.  Uncharted, by Kevin J. Anderson and Sarah A. Hoyt, begins in 1803, following the adventures of Lewis and Clark as they seek a path to the Pacific Ocean in hopes of reestablishing contact with the Old World.

This is not the story of Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and Sacagawea that you learned in school.  They are facing a greater adversary than the natural elements and native tribes, as the land itself seems to turn against them including a surprisingly European dragon that is slaughtering natives and immigrants alike.  Fortunately, as they soon learn, they have magic on their side as well.

Good news!  There are only two books in this series (so far)… now’s a great time to start reading them.

Bricks and mulch and backache, oh my!

It’s been a busy pair of weeks here between the shed removal and preparing the garden for winter. When we demolished the shed, we found a stacks bricks hidden behind it. I couldn’t tell how many bricks there were, since the stacks were at an angle, partially because the dirt there is uneven. Some stacks were higher than others, and some bricks were fairly solidly sunk into the dirt. I hoped there would be enough to brick around the star-shaped bed in the front yard; with a solidly defined line, I’ll be able to tell when the grass and weeds begin encroaching on the mulch (as opposed to when the mulch has spilled out onto the grass).

Mission accomplished! And then some… the star used about 80 bricks, the mulberry bush another 60, and I’m now working on ringing other garden areas, such as the hibiscus plants. By the time we finished those, there may be enough bricks left to ring the peonies.

Top left: star-shaped bed with old mulch and partial circle of bricks; top right: star-shaped bed with new mulch and full circle of bricks; bottom left: mulberry bush with a small circle of mulch and weeds; bottom right: mulberry bush with new mulch and a circle of bricks

Once the bricks were in place, it was clear something else was needed… fresh mulch! Most mulched areas need refreshing at least once a year, both for look and weed suppression. I frequently stop at the city’s mulch pile for a couple buckets at a time, but I knew I needed more for this project. I had several yards of mulch delivered and am quickly distributing it across the yard, with a goal of clearing the entire pile in under two weeks. After all, it’s technically fall, and we have no way of knowing when the temperature will drop.

Guess where the backache comes in…. Hauling bricks and mulch around the yard is not light work. Fortunately, the bricks are right by the raspberries, so we can stop in-between for snacks.

Demolition!

One of my goals for the year (that I didn’t list here) was to demolish and replace the shed that came with my house.  We’ve known since we moved in that it would have to go eventually – the base board is supported by a few bricks rather than a foundation, the doors didn’t quite fit together when they closed, and one side of the roof had retained moisture to the point where it grew mushrooms along with other molds.  And that wasn’t the side where water dripped in!

When I opened the shed in the spring, I discovered that somebody had been living in it over the winter, courtesy of a hole dug through the far wall.  This, on top of the many hard to spot hornet or yellow jacket nests (all abandoned by this point) was the tipping point.  The yellow jackets were a problem the first summer here, leading to this little tidbit one morning:

“So this morning, I took a big bucket of soapy water outside after layering up really well and proceeded to totally whiff when flinging the water at the shed door.  I aimed too low.  On the plus side, I didn’t disturb any of them, so I was able to refill the bucket and try again.”

The yellow jackets had built nests on the inside of both shed doors, which made retrieving gardening supplies … nerve-wracking.  Having discovered them just after a trip to Menard’s, I looked online for options other than bug spray, and found out that soapy water adheres to their wings and prevents them from flying, even once it’s dry.  And the water dissolves the nest.

Various stages of shed demolition

Now, three summers later, we finally reached the demolition stage.  The upper left photo shows the roof after I started peeling shingles off – the wood was damaged enough it was breaking during the process.  The upper right photo was taken during the fun process involving a pry bar and sledgehammer, with a controlled approach to make sure the shed fell into the garden rather than the neighbor’s fence.  The bottom two photos are the remnants, with the smaller pieces lined up against the wall waiting for the city’s semi-annual trash day; the big pieces will take a couple people to move.  The base board will come up as well – there’s a rotted section just before the bricks.

The bricks?  Yes, those came with the house too, hidden behind the shed… who knows how long they’ve been stored there.  I have plans for them, though not for the rolled up fencing that’s entangled with raspberries at the moment.

Brookfield ZooRunRun 2019

It’s five-thirty on a Sunday morning. I woke before my alarm, pre-heated the oven, and showered before feeding the cats. In fact, the oven beeps to tell me it hit three-fifty as I walk back into the kitchen surrounded by the offended felines. I grab the tray of sausage biscuits – prepped the night before – from the fridge, shove them in the oven, and move towards the cat food.

It’s six-twenty when we hit the road, ten minutes earlier than planned. We drive towards a brilliant sunrise, but don’t take a photo because we know a phone camera from a moving vehicle won’t do it justice.

The packet pick-up runs until seven-thirty; we arrive just after seven. We park in our preferred area, the Lions section, and pick up our t-shirts and race bibs. There are people warming up in the parking lot as we drive in, but many others haven’t arrived yet. We change into our race shirts and drop our original shirts in the car before walking into the zoo itself.

I do my morning hip stretches on the floor of the Discovery Center, then we visit the promotional tables. If we had just picked up the Off the Eaten Path samples, I would have shoved them in my DuPage Medical Group ladybug bag. But Nicor Gas has energy saving kits for current customers, and I do actually want to replace my showerhead… so we walk back out to the car because the bag has gotten heavy.  We skip the spin a wheel opportunities at the Cane’s and White Sox booths; I’m not a fan of either and the lines were long.

If you’ve entered Brookfield Zoo through the North Gate, you know it’s an extensive walk just to get from the gate to the parking lot. It was seven-thirty-five by this point, still most of an hour until the race started, and the theoretically closed packet pick-up has a huge line.  We visit the bathroom and move towards the line-up, stopping at one booth we missed before.  At this point, constant motion is key, so we’re fidgeting and semi-dancing to the music blaring over the speakers.  Eventually, we move into the corral for the 12 minutes per mile and up group, the next to last group to start, just before the people with strollers.

Ten minutes after the official start time, our corral launches through the arch, bib sensors recording our individual starts.  We start at a jog to get out of the crowd, then slow to a fast walk around the curve.  We hold that fast walk in the light rain until the final stretch, as we come around the corner by the snow leopards and start to run the final leg.  We’re both jogging until she sees me pull ahead; she sprints forward and I get stuck behind a stroller, grinning as she beats me to the finish line by at least ten seconds.  We both accept the proffered water, banana, and Kind bar, and eventually decide that the line is too long for exact times; my watch says we walked the course in about fifty minutes.

It’s early enough that the zoo is largely deserted, so we head to Wild Encounters to meet the goats, wallabies, and parakeets.  After all, part of the point of participating in the ZooRunRun is that we like the zoo. 

Indoor trees filled with parakeets in a variety of colors.

Home maintenance decisions

Owning a home thrusts you into a constant process of making difficult decisions. When a problem starts, do you fix it yourself or call a professional? Do you repair it or replace it?

At times, that decision is obvious.  When I bought this house, I knew the windows would need replacing.  None of them were broken, they were just an older model of casement windows that weren’t particularly good at insulating the house.  Newer windows are all double-paned, and the frames are meant to last longer.  Additionally, the casement windows were a pain to open – I had to remove the screen, unlatch the window, push it open, then put the screen back in. 

This summer, my dryer stopped spinning.  Looking at the notes from my home inspection (always get one before buying a house!), it stated that the washer and dryer were dated and should be replaced at some point.  While I debated between a replacement and repair, I improvised a stand for my clothesline and started air drying my clothes again.  The dryer has since been repaired – the belt had broken, which isn’t a terrible expensive repair – and when I had my water softener serviced for the year, that guy commented that you can’t get durable machines like my washer and dryer anymore.  That made me feel better about my decision to repair them. 

On the other hand, I have a wooden door out the side of my attached garage with a crack in it.  And while it’s neat to look at the light shining through it and make Doctor Who references, come winter it will reduce the efficiency of the heater in the garage.  The garage is home to my washer, dryer, well pressure tank, full-size freezer, hot water heater, and boiler, plus occasionally my car, so maintaining a proper temperature in the winter is somewhat essential.  So that’s on the replacement list. 

Meanwhile, the lock on my front door just needed a bit of WD-40 when the key wouldn’t go all the way in.  It’s a never-ending process of updating the house, the garden, or both, along with deciding whether to do it yourself or hire a professional.