MERP - #charactercreationchallenge
J.R.R. Tolkien was born on January 3rd in 1892, and I always tip a glass of mead to honor him. This year, Middle Earth Role Playing (aka MERP). Yes, plenty...
Classified - #charactercreationchallenge
Victory Games released the licensed James Bond 007 - Role Playing in Her Majesties Secret Service in 1983. This was not game designer Gerald Christopher...
D&D 5E - #charactercreationchallenge
The 5th edition of D&D is the most recent in a long line, dating back to the 1970s. I've played in and run games as a Dungeon Master in this edition and many...
31 December 2020 - 99 books out of 100
Before the pandemic, my plan this year was to finish up some series that I've started over the last 12 years. Anything before that it is time to start from...
31 December 2019 - 100 books in 2019
My goal in 2019 was to read a good chunk of the books on my "to be read" shelf, which had nearly 200 books (fiction and non-fiction) at the start of 2019. I...
31 December 2018 - 102 books in 2018
Another year, more travels, both for work and pleasure. The bucket list item this year was my first visit to London. Among items seen there were the Elgin...
Censorship
I’d like to explore some common ground on censorship, specifically on social media platforms. Is this a legitimate complaint? Possibly - but a lot of this...
31 December 2017 - 102 books in 2017
It was a year for traveling to Europe (twice) and Canada (twice), and despite the current administration, I returned each time. Along the way I read a lot of...
31 December 2016 - 120 books in 2016
Does anybody write facebook notes anymore? Does anyone read them? (editor's note - few did, and facebook shuttered notes in 2020) This year I traveled for...
31 December 2015 - 125 Books read in 2015
In 2015 I went to Europe twice, both times on business. For each of these trips I brought Sherlock Holmes with me, and managed to finish the series - and...
31 December 2014 - 101 books read in 2014
(editor’s note - man, facebook pulled the trigger fast on notes. This was tough to find! There will be 5 more of these “throwback” posts in the next few...
The US Constitution
The United States is defined by the constitution and amendments, which includes the bill of rights. The document was originally created by descendents of...
Collaboration
I recently finished reading a good book about Quantum physics, Richard Feynman, and John Wheeler. You can read my review on goodreads, but I bring it up here...
10 November 2020
First substantive newsletter - welcome new subscribers :) I was asked by the publisher to read The Math's Fix and give a review. This also means I wrote more...
The Tidings backstory
Hello, and tidings from Thom! Two things spurred me to create an email newsletter - sage advice from writer Robin Sloan (Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore and...
31 December 2013 - 120 books in 2013
Fifth active year on goodreads (now a part of Amazon) and third year of being active in their reading challenge....
31 December 2012 - 118 books in 2012
Another year, another 118 books read. That's a lot, but I blame the library for having a contest this summer - every 3 books read were an entry. I didn't...
31 December 2011 - 85 books in 2011
Another year, another 85 books read. I use GoodReads to track my books read, and here's what I found. Categories courtesy of Powell's; Dewey Decimal because...
31 December 2010 - 100 books in 2010
100 books! I won't probably reach this plateau again until I retire. I used GoodReads to track books read this year, and here's what I found - in Dewey...
31 December 2009 - 80 Books (or thereabout) in 2009
I used WeRead to track books read this year, and here's what I found. Categories courtesy of Powell's; Dewey Decimal because that's what the local library...
16 June 2009 - Fifteen books that will always stick with you
Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Sans umlauts and other foreign...