Well after my post I got a number of offers to fix my hard drive.
I looks like for 60-75$ I can get the data pulled off of it. Which is, to me, great.
Meanwhile I have 2 dead computers and a dead laptop. So through some careful configuring I have assembled one Frankencomputer! Currently it has an 80gig drive running Ubuntu 10.04. I'd like to upgrade to Ubuntu 12 or Fedora, but I'll need a new video card and memory.
Of course I need to decided whether or not to stick with a Linux OS.
The open software scene is a bit like the OSR. I feel that the ethos are mostly the same, but I could be wrong.
Course the thing I am missing the most on a Linux-box is I can't play my Doctor Who DVDs and frankly I don't have the desire to go out there and dig up codecs and use crazy Linus-speak to install them.
My wife says I should just forget it all and just buy a new computer.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Various reminders
Spent all day in 104+ weather outside. My brain is cooked.
Here are some things I want you all to remind me about later cause they were in my clipboard so they must be important.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons_simulacrums
Need some more information on Swords & Wizardry. Anyone have some details I can use?
http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/325572-chicago-gameday-32-july-14th-sign-up-play.html
I'd love to have some more people sign up for this. It's the last time I am running Blight.
http://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2012/07/contemplating-kickstarter.html
Jason has a poll up. Give it a look-see.
Next weekend I run Ghosts of Albion: Blight om Saturday and Part two of Keep on the Shadowfell on Sunday.
Here are some things I want you all to remind me about later cause they were in my clipboard so they must be important.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons_simulacrums
Need some more information on Swords & Wizardry. Anyone have some details I can use?
http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/325572-chicago-gameday-32-july-14th-sign-up-play.html
I'd love to have some more people sign up for this. It's the last time I am running Blight.
http://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2012/07/contemplating-kickstarter.html
Jason has a poll up. Give it a look-see.
Next weekend I run Ghosts of Albion: Blight om Saturday and Part two of Keep on the Shadowfell on Sunday.
Zatannurday: Supers Unleashed
It has a lot of potential and extremely easy to learn and play.
I have a feeling though that eventually that player of this game will want more.
So here is Zatanna, stated up for Supers Unleashed.
Super Points: 100
Powers: Magic 110
Limitations: Limit, must speak backwards: -10
Archetype: Magician (like Mage, only not as stuffy).
That is it!
I told you, very simple.
Sure I could reallocate points to mental or psychic powers, but she does all that stuff with magic.
Not too bad for a $0.99 game.
Friday, July 6, 2012
You Know Something?
I had forgotten how much fun I had with D&D 4th Edition.
The kids are in bed, the wife is out seeing "Magic Mike" and I am sorting through my D&D4 collection.
I know it gets beat up a lot, especially in the OSR blog-universe, but you know what? It is still fun to play and reading it there is a lot of nods to the older editions and a lot of love. They just wanted to do their own thing.
I am really, really pleased that this is the system my son picked for his group.
The kids are in bed, the wife is out seeing "Magic Mike" and I am sorting through my D&D4 collection.
I know it gets beat up a lot, especially in the OSR blog-universe, but you know what? It is still fun to play and reading it there is a lot of nods to the older editions and a lot of love. They just wanted to do their own thing.
I am really, really pleased that this is the system my son picked for his group.
Tales of Woe
It is a sad day here at The Other Side.
My hard drive died a couple weeks ago. Normally this is a cause for panic, but I didn't because having been doing this for a while I thought I had everything backed up. Well. I didn't.
I didn't lose any of my PDFs save for maybe the most recent ones I bought since May, but I can always go back to DriveThruRPG and re-download those. My current OSR/Old-School books were in the hands of editors, so they were saved.
I did though loose all my documents for my Ghosts of Albion adventures Blight, Obsession, Wilderness and Synchronicity. I have printout of Blight and Obsession, so that isn't too bad. And I lost all my personal emails from 2011-2012.
Figuring it was the circuit board (given the errors I was getting) I worked with a company that specialized in this brand of hard drive (Seagate Barracuda) called PCB Solution.
I worked with Kevin to find a new board for this drive and in truth my hopes were high, even if he felt (and he did tell all this upfront) that my drive might be further gone that I thought it was. Undaunted I picked up their repair kit and got it in a couple of days. It easy easy to do as long as you have no fear of cranking open your computer or drives. I got it in installed and slapped it into a new external drive enclosure and ... nothing.
I worked on a few other tricks I have picked over the years. Back in the day I ran the official usenet alt.sys.pc-clone.gatewat2000 FAQ, so I consider myself a bit smarter than the average bear in this respect. But if there is one thing I have learned, there is always someone smarter. And it will take someone smarter than me to fix this one.
Here is what I have learned (and should known already):
1. It doesn't matter how much you back up. Back up more.
2. Stop buying Seagate drives. Every single one has died on me and took much valued data with it.
So that is what I know.
I do want to publicly thank Kevin at PCB Solution. He really went above and beyond the call of duty to help me.
My hard drive died a couple weeks ago. Normally this is a cause for panic, but I didn't because having been doing this for a while I thought I had everything backed up. Well. I didn't.
I didn't lose any of my PDFs save for maybe the most recent ones I bought since May, but I can always go back to DriveThruRPG and re-download those. My current OSR/Old-School books were in the hands of editors, so they were saved.
I did though loose all my documents for my Ghosts of Albion adventures Blight, Obsession, Wilderness and Synchronicity. I have printout of Blight and Obsession, so that isn't too bad. And I lost all my personal emails from 2011-2012.
Figuring it was the circuit board (given the errors I was getting) I worked with a company that specialized in this brand of hard drive (Seagate Barracuda) called PCB Solution.
I worked with Kevin to find a new board for this drive and in truth my hopes were high, even if he felt (and he did tell all this upfront) that my drive might be further gone that I thought it was. Undaunted I picked up their repair kit and got it in a couple of days. It easy easy to do as long as you have no fear of cranking open your computer or drives. I got it in installed and slapped it into a new external drive enclosure and ... nothing.
I worked on a few other tricks I have picked over the years. Back in the day I ran the official usenet alt.sys.pc-clone.gatewat2000 FAQ, so I consider myself a bit smarter than the average bear in this respect. But if there is one thing I have learned, there is always someone smarter. And it will take someone smarter than me to fix this one.
Here is what I have learned (and should known already):
1. It doesn't matter how much you back up. Back up more.
2. Stop buying Seagate drives. Every single one has died on me and took much valued data with it.
So that is what I know.
I do want to publicly thank Kevin at PCB Solution. He really went above and beyond the call of duty to help me.
OSR Links and Call for Editors
Here are some links and news for all OSR fans out there.
First, I want to repeat that Jason Vey of Elf Lair Games has a poll up.
http://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2012/07/contemplating-kickstarter.html
Howling Tower, the blog of long time vet Steve Winter has both an article up at Kobold Quarterly, http://www.koboldquarterly.com/k/front-page13022.php and listing of some of the best free OSR products, http://www.howlingtower.com/p/old-school-renaissance-resources.html.
Also we need some editors to expand this Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons_simulacrums
This article is about all the D&D clones, near clones and other such games we love in the OSR.
Please be sure to include any external and third-party refs.
First, I want to repeat that Jason Vey of Elf Lair Games has a poll up.
http://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2012/07/contemplating-kickstarter.html
Howling Tower, the blog of long time vet Steve Winter has both an article up at Kobold Quarterly, http://www.koboldquarterly.com/k/front-page13022.php and listing of some of the best free OSR products, http://www.howlingtower.com/p/old-school-renaissance-resources.html.
Also we need some editors to expand this Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons_simulacrums
This article is about all the D&D clones, near clones and other such games we love in the OSR.
Please be sure to include any external and third-party refs.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
EN World Game Day
Please don't forget that if you are in the Chicago area come by and play Ghosts of Albion with the author (that would be me)!
http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/325572-chicago-gameday-32-july-14th-sign-up-play.html
Saturday July 14, 2012.
http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/325572-chicago-gameday-32-july-14th-sign-up-play.html
Saturday July 14, 2012.
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