Misc. Musings–October 2013

Yes Dear. Of course I love to hear all about your hobby crap.

     What up Nerds? Just sitting here on the couch watching Bama stomp Arkansas like a flaming bag of dog poop on the front porch and pondering what’s up next for Operation Get Off Your Butt.  Thought I’d think out loud and offer a few tid-bits for my seven loyal readers.

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Growing a Grognard–The Seed Has Sprouted

I need to get those counters clipped, but this is a real page turner.

I need to get those counters clipped, but this is a real page turner.   

Grog • nard  (noun)  1. An old soldier 2. Someone who enjoys playing board wargames, particularly the counter-heavy strategy games from the 1970’s & 80’s. 

     I’ve probably mentioned before how my son has embraced the gaming hobby full force.  He’s all about military stuff and thus, war games are right up his alley. He’s been tearing up the iTunes App Store looking for strategy games for his iPod Touch.  I honestly think I could break out Advanced Squad Leader and he’d be, “OK Dad, infantry and armor is great, but when do we get to the Off Board Artillery rules?”

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App of the Month: BoardGameGeek

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     I’m a bit of what’s known as a “late adopter.”  That fact surprises even me.  I’d think I’d be all over new tech, but until recently, my motto (at least one of them), “I fear change,” kept me from messing around with newfangled stuff like iPhone apps. Until, that is, I stumbled upon some great ones like BoardGameGeek’s iPhone app.

     As you know, I’m a collector.  I like to keep track of my vast empire of stuff.  Until now, I’d always done so by using a list compiled on MS Word.  The problem with that is, you have to make sure you keep up with it, updating it religiously. You forget to do it a couple times and now your inventory’s useless.  Well, for the game collector (or just the player with a bunch of titles), BoardGameGeek’s got you covered.

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Turn It Up And Rip The Knob Off! Podcasts for Nerds

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     I work inside a 100+ year old building.  I don’t know what’s in the bricks they used back then, but whatever it was, it isn’t conducive to great radio reception.  Luckily, I’ve got an office in the dungeon that I share with no one so I can pretty much listen to podcasts on my computer all day long. If you could sit and talk about your hobbies and interests for hours on end, then the next best thing while you’re shackled to your desk or stuck in traffic is firing up a podcast.

     Here’s a laundry list of eight podcasts I regularly tune in to during my mind-numbing workday… Continue reading

Designing the Nerd Cave–Game Room

     I became a gamer around 1980.  People at my mom’s office were playing something called Dungeons & Dragons and raving about how much fun they were having.  She soon bought the blue box set for my father at a local bookstore.  He had about as much interest in the game as Stephen Hawking would have in a Karaoke machine. I quickly inherited the box and was instantly hooked.

      A couple years later, I was babysitting for a couple down the street when I noticed Avalon Hill’s Squad Leader on the bookshelf.  The husband, Steve, invited me over the following Saturday to play.  Getting my head handed to me became a regular thing but I loved every minute of it.

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