Wow, it's been nearly a year since I posted a blog entry. Not a very good blogger, am I? 8^) Guess I've just been too busy / haven't thought of much to say. So, what am I up to? I've had computer issues. Been working on an RPG website. Taking care of my daughter. Working, and having a transition there. Playing RPGs. Playing Facebook games. 8^) Knitting, etc.
So, to elaborate on the above... At some point in the last year, my Powerbook G4 essentially lost its built-in display. The screen will come on, but very quickly it will start flickering and then go out. If you look closely, the image is still there -- it's the backlight that's dying. I took it in to the local Apple Store and they said it was the power inverter going. Unfortunately, it was a bit too expensive to get it fixed. Fortunately, I had a "backup" Windows laptop which has now become my primary computer. I took the Powerbook to our library and hooked it up to a monitor, and it works just fine. It's just not very portable now...
KatieBeth is getting so big now. I haven't been taking many pictures lately, unfortunately, and what I have, I haven't gotten around to posting yet. I'll try to get those up soon. (I have them pretty much all ready, but haven't gotten around to uploading.)
She's talking more and more. She knows a lot of signs, but has a number of (mostly approximate) words too. Of course, some of her words sound an awful lot like others: "ba" is a) Grandpa, b) ball, c) bottle, d) balloon, among other things. 8^)
You may have seen some of the knitting-related pictures I've posted to the site recently. (Only a couple of them hit the front page -- I didn't figure everybody needed to see my pictures of yarn balls. 8^) After a nearly half-year hiatus, I've picked up my needles again. The hiatus was caused by a tricky project I was making for my wife -- a cabled mug cozy, that I found the pattern for online. It was going pretty well, until I got to the part where I was supposed to pick up some stitches to start knitting the bottom. I started having trouble picking up the stitches -- it was a kind-of loose yarn, and dark-colored, which made it tough for me to figure out where the stitches were to pick up. So I started picking it up less and less. The mug cozy was originally supposed to be a Christms present from me to juu; I didn't manage to finish it by Christmas, though, so then it became a Birthday present; I didn't make that either.
I finally managed to get myself to sit down and concentrate on it when we had a couple of friends over, and juu ended up teaching one of them to knit. I'm not sure why, but that got me inspired to try again, and I managed to get the stitches all picked up. After that, finishing the cozy went pretty quickly.
So, once I finished that, I started up the second sock of a pair I finished the first sock of before starting the cozy. I got about 60% of the way through that second sock, but then ended up leaving it at a friend's house, who lives about 2 hours away, and has gone up north for a couple of weeks. So, I've started on another pair of socks (I have a bit of a backlog of sock yarn I've accumulated). This pair is actually going a bit better than that previous pair anyway. I think I may have to chalk the previous pair up as a "practice project" -- I'm sure they're going to be wearable and comfortable, but the first one is pretty loose in a couple places. My perfectionist tendencies prevent me from considering them a true success. 8^)
In the gaming world, I've been running and playing in several roleplaying games. Sometime around the time I last blogged, I think, I joined up with a couple of games my brother was involved with online -- he and some people he met on a NWN persistent world have been doing regular D&D 3.5 online for a while, and he talked me into joining up. They meet Tuesday evenings, and rotate between three different campaigns -- juu and I are both involved in one, I'm in another, but neither of us are currently in the third. (I originally was, but I had to drop out because of time restrictions.)
In addition, we've added a Saturday afternoon session, where we are mostly alternating between a Pathfinder RPG playtest game I'm running, and a D&D 4th Edition game that one of the other people is running. (juu and I are taking occasional weeks off to go up to that friend's house for an in-person game -- that's where I left the socks. 8^) juujika and I also have a 1:1 game going, that I'm DMing, as well as another PfRPG game with her dad. These last two are pretty much "when we get a chance" games, but it still adds up to a lot of gaming.
I've also been working on a RPG materials website of my own. It's mostly a way for me to "publish" some game materials I've come up with myself, but I'm kind-of hoping to eventually make it more than just a personal showcase. Eventually, I'm hoping to be able to make some money from it, and possibly break into RPG design. But that's probably a ways off. 8^) You can find the site at: http://estuary.wildspace.com/
My work situation has changed since last year, too. I got let go from the contract gig at the ad agency I was working at from about April last year to March this year. Fortunately, shortly after leaving there I heard from a former co-worker who had his own company that needed a programmer. So, I'm currently working from home, doing web programming. It's nice to not have to rush out the door to get to an office at a specific time, plus I'm sure I'm saving money on gas and lunches. 8^)
(Don't worry, boss, if you're reading this -- I'm writing this after I finished for the day today. 8^)
I forget if I've mentioned this before now, but I am on Facebook. I have a "badge" on my profile page here, so you can use that to find me there if you are also on Facebook. I try to limit the number of Facebook applications/games I get involved with, but I do have a few favorites: Packrat, Hero World, and D&D Tiny Adventures I think would be my top 3.
That's all I can think of to post right now. I'll try to come back a little sooner next time. 8^)