David's Boring Blog

 I am struggling to find something to write about for tonight's post. I spoiled myself. I wrote posts out so that I had four or five weeks worth of content all scheduled and ready. Life started catching up with me and I allowed my lead to dwindle down until I am back to writing posts the day before they are "due." The funny thing is that I have been so tempted to skip a post date.  I justify this in all sorts of ways. My readers are few and rarely comment or post. If I let myself miss one post it isn't that big a deal. It is likely that no one would even notice. I don't have subscribers.  Then reality hits. No offense to those of you who do read my posts, but I don't do this for you. I am not pandering to an audience. I am writing for me. It is a forum to practice my narrative voice. The blog is the place where I can work a bit on this hobby and it doesn't just mold away to nothing in the closed pages of a journal or sit silently on a cloud drive to eventu

My last post was all about what I carry around with me when going out. I didn't get into too many specifics. As an example, if we talk about just carrying my phone it comes with a set of wires and accessories. Here is a break down: iPhone 14 Pro Max Charging Cable  Charging Block (Transformer) AirPods & Case Charging Cable for AirPods Apple Watch Charging Block (Transformer) Charging Cable for Apple Watch Extra Watch Band Casely PowerPod PowerPod Charging Cable Chrome Industries Tech Pouch That break down is illustrative because each thing in the kit has a specific purpose. If I am out for the afternoon there is a good chance I won't need to charge my phone. If I do, I will use the PowerPod first. Were I to end up unexpectedly out overnight or longer, I want the ability to recharge everything. The watch needs a special cord. The phone and AirPods both work on a lightning cable, but I bring extra because redundancy is preparedness.  Don't worry. This post is not more abo

I really love working on my every day carry load out. I started writing about my history with various bags here.  I then revisited the topic a little later looking at power banks and knives in great detail in talking about "missing pieces." You can read that here.  Some recent changes to my routine, and a few upcoming trips, have me revisiting what I carry with me on a daily basis.  I decided that the easiest way to lay out this post was to layout the things in my bag.  I have purchased and discarded or resold several backpacks since those two original posts. The High Sierra that I am carrying daily isn't perfect, but until I find a similar capacity bag that I can add on to it will have to work. I have wasted a few hundred dollars trying to make various molle systems function as well. They get close, but I always feel like Goldilocks. This bag is too big. This bag is too small. No bag has been just right. That leads to compromise.  There is the majority of my gear. Depend

 I got really nostalgic for my iPod days while writing the appropriately titled The iPod Reminiscence . I did not even get into my great little iPod shuffle, but the side effect that post had on me was to realize that I have a better music experience in my home office than I do in the car, on a hike, or while out and about. Things were not always thus. Once I crushed the thrones of the world beneath my sandaled feet and I had my songs and playlists neatly organized. At least half of that last sentence is either an outright lie or extreme exaggeration.  I have tried on various sound solutions because I do love music. I have my digital music library redundantly backed up because I have lost it a few times and needed to go through the effort of recovery and rebuilding. At home I like having my iTunes all configured on my Surface. I have all the important albums set up as playlists for quick access. I have my favorite songs Loved. I used skip counts and play counts to sort and organize. It

 1996 and 1997 were interesting years for me musically. I can still hear those years both on the radio and through the Sony CD player I would come to regret installing in my 1972 Chevelle. I was honestly riding around with some fantastic albums that mostly came out in '94 and '95. We will get there in a minute as I try to paint a bit of a musical tableau of the time. The radio sounded very different than what I was choosing to play for myself. These would turn out to be the years where I would find the courage to love music that other people would make fun of me for.  I am no musical historian by any means. I have lived through a ton of music I loved. As a kid I was happy hearing Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, MC Hammer, and all sorts of other pop type music. In the car with my Mom we were listening to the adult contemporary station and I liked the music rather a lot. When picking out music for myself my tastes varied a bit. I leaned into Poison, Warrant, Def Leppard, and Gu

 I am a bit preoccupied with the history of Dungeons and Dragons. By that I include the birth and development of Pathfinder and several other systems. Under the actual D&D umbrella of products there are (at least) five editions spanning more years than I have been alive. That is where part of my fascination comes in. What adventures were those early players having? What did their fantasy worlds look like? Was it a simpler time to roll dice with friends or were the early explorers of this new medium of play discovering all the complexity that modern games provide? For the majority of the time I have been gaming the early adventures were only in the hands of aging collectors who rarely parted with them. I could read about the original Tomb of Horrors or Temple of Elemental Evil. I could even get modern modules inspired by these and other original creations. For some reason this lacked the authenticity of the original printed material. Honestly, I wanted TSR and later WotC to print 2n

 The way I run my TTRPG is evolving. I suspect I am behind the times. Some of that is intentional. I have yet to dip my toes into a virtual table top even though I can imagine it will enhance and sweeten some of the things I am going to write about. I cannot imagine that having a group show up with tablets and laptops for game would be my favorite thing. I am starting to DM with digital books and tools with an eye on that future state.  I am going to take a look back at how TTRPGs have changed partly as an exercise to think through where I have been and where I am going and partly because nostalgia can be fun.  Those High School AD&D Games My D&D paper and pencil experiences really started in my sophomore year of high school. The game didn't contribute to my failing Mrs. Davis Biology class, but it certainly did not help. The guy I sat with and I made friends over his bag full of AD&D books. He spent most of the class running a solo game for me where I played a Lizardma

 Jalapeno Popper Dip  Ingredients  10 slices of Bacon 8 ounces of cream cheese, softened 1/3 cup of mayonnaise 1 teaspoon garlic powder 2 minced jalapenos 1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar 1 1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack  Kosher Salt to taste Fresh Crushed Black Pepper to Taste Instructions  Set your oven to 350 Prepare bacon slices to crispy doneness and crumble  Stir together cream cheese, mayo, sour cream, garlic powder, bacon (holding back some for topping), jalapeno, and one cup of each type of cheese transfer to an onion safe skillet or baking dish top with remaining bacon and cheeses Bake at 350 until cheeses is melted and golden brown ~ 15 minutes Serve with tortilla chips I decided to spoil my players for Sunday's D&D game. I have kept the group small as I am easing back into my game running skills, and I feel some obligation to be a good host and run a solid game. In that spirit I had already decided to toss on my spicy meatballs. That recipe will wait for another post. I w

 I am pretty proud of myself. I did not eat any fast food in 2023 until 3 February. I don't have any particular goal or resolution tied to that. I have just been generally trying to eat healthier. Avoiding spins through the drive thru helps both the diet and the wallet. I also get a bit of pleasure when I update my finances at the end of the month and see that category empty.  The sad part of that is that I ended up running through McDonald's. I am not in any way above the golden arches. There are somethings that come along with the experience I do not enjoy. No matter what you order you are going to pay more than the food is worth. There is no financial value in the transaction. When you add that the nutritional values skew toward toxic (ok, that is intentional hyperbole) I would most always rather go anywhere else.  The service is slow at every location. I am always amazed when I pull up and there is a line. There most always is which is what allows McDonald's to have pis