iTabletop has a Second Programmer - 2.0 Beta Oct 31st

Just over a month before the release of the iTabletop 2.0 Beta. With the help of a second programmer I am very hopeful they will hit their release date.

I was going to drag my gaming group into FG2, but with iTabletop's 2.0 release closing in I'd like to use the live video / voice that is integrated into the software. I know the lads love these types of features, and the all in one gaming package of iTabletop 2.0 should be a very good fit.

On a side note, the C&C FG2 game i was in is on track for am October 10th resurrection, but it looks like we've lost half the group at least. It might be a lost cause, but I'll give it a shot in two weeks.

DDO - The semi-free MMORPG

I know they bill DDO as free these days, but its only really free until 4th level, or unless you get extremely lucky or are willing to grind alot. Still, the old group got together for a session last tuesday and we had a blast. They lightened up the quests / adventures for the newbs and made it a much more enjoyable experience in general. I hope this new model of income generation works for Turbine, as the new life in a stale game has done wonders for DDO gameplay.

Spent a few hours playing with my son today... still wish I could convince hime to roleplay in the traditional sense, but for now this is fun as is ;)

Geek Dating - Scarier then You Thought

If you've been anywhere near the enworld.org website over the last couple of weeks, one of the biggest advertisers has been a geek dating site - http://www.gk2gk.com/

I always thought it would have been cool to have dated a fellow geek / gaming type girl when I was younger. Having looked through the site I am very glad the girls I dated had no idea how big a geek I was. Holy crap but there are some scary sites on that site.

I'm a geek, but I'm also a cop, a father, a boyfriend... gainfully employed for over 20 years. Maybe my sights are set a bit higher at this point in my life, but the only reason to work that site is... eh, if I have to spell it out I'm as bad as those that would.

Troll Barnes and Noble or Borders Books. Go to eHarmony or Match.com. For the love of all that's holy, please, don't geek date via a geek site ;)

The Return of Semi-Regular Gaming

Looks Like D&D Online will be returning to my weekly gaming habits tomorrow with the start of weekly DDO gaming sessions.

Then we get the very irregular C&C game returning to the occasional saturday nite in October. We will see how many of the old group return to the game that's been on hiatus since the end of May.

I also announced to my "crew" of mmorpg'ers / old face to face rpg group my intention to run a game using the yet to be released iTabletop 2 software in November.

Woot! ;)

Old School Sampler PDF Bundle

Yes, I'm lifting this from Lamentations of the Flame Princess. I doubt Jim minds all that much ;)

Brave Halfling Publishing's OSRIC adventure People of the Pit by Alphonso Warden
Expeditious Retreat Press' OSRIC adventure The Lost Keys of Solitude by Joseph Browning and Suzi Yee
Goblinoid Games' Labyrinth Lord adventure Idol of the Orcs by James Boney
LotFP's adventure for oldschool system in particular Death Frost Doom by... Jim

Listen up. Its good, quality gaming at a discounted price. It's hard to go wrong.

Here's the RPGNow link: Old School Sampler PDF Bundle

In Between Games... Gaming Purgatory

Still not participating in a regular FG2 game. The recently canceled C&C game may be resurrected as a once a month campaign, but I'm not sure how much of the old group will make the transition.

Looks like Aion is the new MMORPG of choice for my gaming group. Will probably take the plunge for 2 subs for the kid and I. It not easy being the father of a fellow gamer... and it aint cheap either ;)

I've been reading the latest issue of Fight On! (issue 6 I believe) on my DX and it reads really well, both visually on the DX and in the quality of the articles. They announced a fiction contest which I MIGHT decide to participate in. I am brainstorming in my spare time to come up with a concept. I have until the end of October but need to get myself in gear if I want to have any kind of a shot.

Astak Pocket Pro - In Hand and Testing

My Astak Pocket Pro arrived bright and early at 915 in the morning yesterday. Its a good thing I over slept and adjusted my plans, or I would have missed the delivery.

First things first, you get alot for your $199... E-Reader, case, headphones, wrist strap, USB cord, AC adapter for USB cord, even a screw driver to open the battery compartment if you want to swap batteries.

As for how well it works as a book reader: I've tried different formats and so far so good, although there are some formats where I wish the font size change was more gradual.

PDFs work better then I expected for a 5" screen (I haven't looked at many yet). The PDF reflow isn't as bad as I expected, but it saves itself from messing up charts by not reflowing pages with charts on them. This can mean a page with a chart is displayed in such a small pitch size as to be nearly unreadable. I'll r need to give this a real workout.

Astak Pocket Pro has Shipped

My Astak Pocket Pro has shipped, but FedEx is supposed to make a Saturday delivery, but I won't be home most of the day, damn it!

At best it looks like I won't see it until Tuesday. I'm anxious to see how well it handles my RPG PDFs. I'd never give up my Kindle DX, but for portability the Astak Pocket Pro looks like it will have a real edge.