Joel’s Scattered Thoughts

Bloglines can stop working properly (clicking on news sites does nothing) if you use Multizilla. Fixes are given here
and here.

Basically exit mozilla (inlcuding quickstart), add the line

user_pref(”docshell.frameloadcheck.disabled”, true);

to PREFS.JS, and restart mozilla.

Rapunsel looks like it might be interesting for Callie in a few years. We’ll see what things look like then. I figure alittle background wouldn’t hurt the kids. Toontalk is another alternative.

Shaving Matters has a discussion on shaving. I may well try the olive oil soap idea. Seems worth a shot.

Read and Pass: August 2004 has a bunch of manifestos up on their site. Looks like there should be some interesting reading there. Now I just need to actually read them.

I’d really like to start up a collection of various RPG systems. Right now, the ones that really appeal (apart from D&D and Arcana Unearthed) are:
The new World of Darkness mostly just to read - I don’t think I have it in me to run a goth game. Gamingreport.com has a good article highlighting some of the major changes in this new World of Darkness.
GURPS as I hear they have wonderful sourcebooks. I prefer my learning with a heavy dose of fun.
Toon for running silly games and maybe for the kids to try.
Paranoia XP for the joys of treachery with no hard feelings.

Home Work: Handbuilt Shelter is a photo book featuring green building and sustainable alternative architecture using natural building materials.

This might be interesting for when Jaimie and I get around to building our own home. Mind you we’ll likely go with whatever is available in our area.

(via Cool Tools)

Sounds like Monte Cook found some interesting stuff at GenCon. Now I have bunch more items I’d like to spend money on.

Magnicent Egos

Iron Wind Metals

H?kan Ackeg?rd’s Gallery :: Items has some nice item pictures.

DRM really annoys me. I have to look for sites like Shareaza to find a cracked copy that I can actually use. Sigh.

I should check out this and related sites. This way I can recapture my lost youth - or maybe just find some old games that might be worth trying agin. I really should look for a copy of Railroad Tycoon, as my 5 1/4 floppies are very dead. Evan really liked watching me play Railroad Tycoon 2, but the kids destroyed the CD.
There’s also Liberated Games

Does your spouse/significant other game with you?

My wife has known gamers since high school at least. For some reason, they didn’t let her play in their games. I finally started up a game this summer with a couple who are friends of ours. Their eldest (9 years old) intermittently joins us but sometimes gets distracted by the other kids’ activities. I’m looking forward to the kids getting older so that hopefully the players can get into character. It’s hard to get into charcter when you keep having to break up fights, boot the kids back outside, take care of bumps and scrapes, and so on.

I found the thread on D&D Movies Which Should Never Be Made amusing. (The original is on rpg.net).

My favorites:
Sense Motive and Sensibility
The Dirty D12
Phantom Fungus of the Opera
The Texas Chain Lightning Massacre
Night of The Chaotic Evil Dead
Random Encounters of The Third Kind
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of Opportunity of the Clones
Das Boots of Striding and Springing
The Scrying Game
The Charlie Brown Ooze Christmas Movie
The Demigod Father
The Good, The Bad, And The Chaotic Neutral
Undead Poet’s Society
4x Move Lola 4x Move
To Reduce a Mockingbird to -10 HP
Better Off Undead
Girrallons Gone Wild
Back to the d20 Future
Dungeonmaster and Commander
Indiana Jones and the Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil
To kill a Dire Mockingbird
Monster Manual Inc.
A Beautiful Mind Flayer
Honey I Polymorphed the Kids

Reading the description of the Explosive sink and toilet plunger makes me think that it might be useful at my place. The trouble is that I already did my Home Depot splurging last weekend.

Encounter Level / Challenge Rating / Party Strength

Here’s an approach to encounter levels that Justin would love. (Number crunching makes him happy.)

p = CR {if CR < =2} or 2^(CR/2) {if CR > 2}
EL = SIGMA(p) {if SIGMA(p) < =2} or 2 * ln (SIGMA(p))/ln(2) {if SIGMA(p) > 2}

If the group consists of PC’s instead of monsters, substitute their adjusted levels for CR.

For example, if your party consists of 5 members, level 4, 4, 5, 7, 10, then the total party is equivalent to EL 11.66. An appropriate challenge would be EL 7.66.

To get a fairly precise answer, you need a calculator that can raise a number to an arbitrary power (X ^ Y) and can take natural logs (ln). Windows contains such a calculator under Programs, Accessories (but you need to switch it from a “Standard” calculator to a “Scientific” one). If you’d rather not wrestle with advanced functions like this, you can get an approximate answer by using basic arithmetic as described below.

Here is a step by step procedure:

1. For each member of the group, compute how many power points it is worth. If the CR or ECL is <= 2, then the points equal the CR or ECL. If the CR or ECL is greater, then the points equal 2 ^ (CR/2), or 2 ^ (ECL/2). Or you can use this chart:

CR or ECL 2 or less = CR or ECL
CR or ECL 3 = 2.8
CR or ECL 4 = 4
CR or ECL 5 = 5.7
CR or ECL 6 = 8
CR or ECL 7 = 11.3
CR or ECL 8 = 16
CR or ECL 9 = 22.6
CR or ECL 10 = 32
CR or ECL 11 = 45.3
CR or ECL 12 = 64
CR or ECL 13 = 90.6
CR or ECL 14 = 128
CR or ECL 15 = 181
CR or ECL 16 = 256
CR or ECL 17 = 362
CR or ECL 18 = 512
CR or ECL 19 = 724
CR or ECL 20 = 1024

(If the group consists of monsters, use CR; if it consists of PC’s, use ECL).

2. Add up all of the points for the group. Call this P.

3. The EL of the entire group (if encountered as monsters) is equal to 2 * ln(P)/ln(2) {Exception: if P is 2 or less, then the EL equals P}. Or, use the chart in reverse. For instance, a group with 600 pts would be somewhere between EL 18 and EL 19.

4. To find the EL of an “appropriate encounter” for a group of PC’s, divide P by four before plugging it into the formula described in (3). Or, divide P by four before consulting the
chart. For instance, 600/4 = 150 pts, which is somewhere between EL 14 and EL 15.

Example:

The party consists of a Clr 5, Rog 6, Sor 6. The points are 5.7, 8, and 8. The total points are 21.7. According to the chart, this is very close to EL 9; using the formula results in EL 8.88.

One quarter of 21.7 is 5.425, which is nearly EL 5 (or 4.88, using the formula). This means that the party has roughly the same power as a party of four 4.88-th level characters. An appropriate encounter will be EL 4.88; a difficult encounter will be EL 6.88; and a deadly encounter will be EL
8.88.

{Joel Note:
Appropriate (Party EL - 4) approximately 15 of these = 1 level
Difficult (Party EL - 2) approximately 8 of these = 1 level
Deadly (Party EL) approximately 4 of these = 1 level
}

Suppose you want a normal encounter that includes two ogres, both CR 2. Since two ogres are EL 4 (4 pts), you’ll want to add 0.88 more points. This can be achieved by adding an orc (CR 1/2 = 0.5 pts) and two kobolds (CR 1/6 = 0.17 pts each).

I know that sometime in the not too distant future, I will be asked/required to develop an app for Tone Ag’s iPAQ. These might be useful tools.
eMbedded Visual Tools 3.0 - 2002 Edition

Microsoft SQL Server: SQL Server CE Home

This list of thirty-eight dishonest tricks which are commonly used in argument, with the methods of overcoming them looks fascinating. I find it hard to evaluate arguments on the fly. Even when dealing with written arguments I really have to be paying attention to spots tricks like this being used. This could be a very useful checklist. (via Boing Boing)

Atari Announces Neverwinter Nights 2 so I can expect never to see my wife again. I was all excited about getting Neverwinter when it first came out, but as my home computer is rather slow, I never even made it through the first one. Jaimie has finished the first and the third and is now working on finishing the second one. (She wanted a high-level character so we bought Hordes of the Underdark second.)

Yet another book that I really should read. I’m finding it hard to read even a couple of books a week these days. Some weeks I hardly read one. That may sound like a lot, but I’m more used to going through a book a day or so. I’m really hoping that as the kids get older, I’ll have more time for reading again. Without the sleep deprivation, I may even be able to wrap my mind around complex topics.