iChat Video Tester

Want to see if you're iChat Video setup is working, but don't have anyone to practice with? Try adding one of the following AIM accounts to your iChat buddy list: appleu3test01, appleu3test02, or appleu3test03. (make sure they're AIM accounts, not .Mac accounts).

Once these accounts are in your budy list, you can double click on them and start a video chat. An Apple promo clip should start streaming, and with any luck, you'll see your own video showing up in an inset window. Very cool.

Feedback for a Friend

Lance is looking for feedback on his blog, Ditlog. Please give him some.

Followers of the Earth Dragon

I've posted a write-up on the Followers of the Earth Dragon to the Griffin's Crier, providing a background of the sect in Obsidian Bay, as well as write-ups on several important NPCs.

For those who don't know, the Temple of the Earth Dragon represents a sort of benign, Conan-like cult that worships a primal earth force on the Pomarj peninsula in the World of Greyhawk. Except that they may not be so benign. Or maybe they are ... that's the fun part of being a play immerse in a larger plot, you just never know, do you?

Lost and Found

One more thing about running home for lunch that's cool: finding out what Netflix DVDs arrived. Today, after finishing up my corn beef sandwhich, I browsed the mail and discovered that Disc 1 of Lost was waiting for me. Granted, I won't be able to watch it tonight because we're having a birthday dinner with the in-laws, but still, it's good to know its there.

FreedomAds.org

I've been searching for extra content to round out Radio Active -- particularly sweepers and short blurbs I can use to break up segments. Today I found a cool site offering just that -- "FreedomAds.org", which is the final web site for a libertarian ad contest from a few years ago. I wish they'd kept it current with additional clips (and made sure that the links to the brochures were all intact), but there's definitely a few audio segments that I can (and will) use on my show.

No, I'm not looking to turn Radio Active into a political diatribe, but I will entertain the occasional philosophical detour.

Yes I can...

... run home and record a podcast during my lunch break. Granted, its a shorter one, and I didn't get to actually eat lunch, but it all was doable. That's good to know, since with a napless Jordan around it can be near impossible to get one done during the day on Saturday or Sunday. The show's not up yet -- I still have some post-production and coding to do -- but short of a disaster, I should be able to get Radio Active #16 up tonight.

Day in the Life of a Gamer

Lance, a good friend, a long-running member of my Dungeons & Dragons campaign and a fellow WoW obsessive, has launched a blog of his very own, called Ditlog: day in the life of a gamer.

Lance describes himself as "a father, husband, and homeowner still trying to find time to game...", which is a quandry that I'm sure many older gamers can relate to. So check out the blog, leave a comment or two, and tell 'em Nuke sent you.

iPod nano

Excuse me while I drool.

This new iPod is pencil thin; that's not a metaphor, it really is that thin. It looks pretty nifty, but with this -- and the iPod shuffle -- I can't help but wonder if I'd accidentally destroy it by forgetting I was carrying it. I mean, with my 2G ipod, which is like a brick compared to these things, I know I'm carrying it, and even then I have to be careful not to forget.

Town Generator

Town Generator is a new Mac OS X utility for randomly generating towns and cities based on the rules in the Dungeon Master's Guide. It's off to a good start, but I really wish there was some way to get the data out of the program -- i.e. a town statblock that I could cut and paste into some other document or heck, even a printout.

The developer has a blog entry for the program where folks can leave feedback (as I'm about to do). And yes, I'll be adding this to Nuketown's Mac RPG page as soon as possible.

The Short Walk

I don't miss my commute. Not one bit.

On Monday I walked to my new job, about eight blocks and 10 minutes from my house (20 if I stop for coffee at the Cosmic Cup). It's been hellishly humid, which makes things uncomfortable, but not as uncomfortable as sitting on I-78 for an hour.

And heck, if I feel like it (like say, today) I can hang out at the coffee shop for a half hour or so, writing for Nuketown, checking up on the weather, listening to jazz, whatever.

As for the job itself, well, it's meeting and often exceeding my expectations -- cool people, cool technology, cool campus, cool college. Noticing a trend here?

Truth be told I haven't been able to really sink my teeth into the Web stuff yet, as I'm still running the meeting and paperwork gauntlets, but I've got a good idea where the challenges lie, and what I'll be tackling first.

Ayn Rand Comes to Philadelphia

Almost evertying associated with the Ayn Rand Institute seems to happen on the West Coast, since that's where it's headquarters is. But in September they're coming east, with a talk called "The State of ARI", given by Yavin Brook, the institute's executive director. It's being held at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 6 at Hilton Philadelphia City Avenue, 42000 City Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19313. For more information call (215) 879-4000.

I doubt I'll go, what with starting a new job and all, but its nice to see they'll be in the area.

WoW

What a difference a few weeks make. I've finally finished up at my old day university day job, and am enjoying a week off with my family before I start my new (and very, very, local) college day job. I had my first official function at the new job: a gathering of new faculty and staff hosted by the college's provost. It was very cool -- I got to meet a few of my co-workers, talk about the college and generally have a good time. All in all, it was an excellent experience, and proof positive I made the right decision in leaving my job of seven years.

On a geeky note, right now I'm seeking out Tinkertown in Ironforge, intent on taking the Deeprun Tram to Stormwind in order to complete a quest for my 10th level dwarf, Delven.

Yep, I'm playing World of Warcraft. I'll admit I'm slightly buzzed as I do this -- Sue's sleeping, Jordan's at the grandparents, and if there was ever a time to throw back a beer or three and play Warcraft, this is it. I'm on vacation, don't need to get up until whenever, have a ready supply of Weyebachers beer and a newly iTunes-purchased copy of The Cult: Greatest Hits; yeah, it's a pretty damn good night for gaming and drinking. Plus, as all geek dads can relate to, an opportunity like this won't come along for another six months, if then!

The Forum Speakth

The forum is coming along nicely; we've got seven members and a few active conversations, including "What are you reading now?", Dead SciFi RPGs and Radio Active Show Feedback. I expect it'll take a month or two for it to really get up to speed, but its nice to see things are picking up.

Spycraft 2.0

I'll be picking up a copy of the 2nd edition Spycraft rule book as soon as I can find one. From what I've read on Alderac's Web site and on the Spycraft Yahoo Group it looks pretty darn good: they appear to have streamlined the system nicely (gear up in 10 minutes? excellent!) while at the same time making the system generic enough to run a variety of present-day and near future adventures.

Nuketown on SCIFI.com

Nuketown's reviewed in this week's edition of SCI-FI.com's Science Fiction Weekly. Very cool.