Allessandro the Protector Our adventure began on May 8, 2024 and ended one year later on May 28, 2025. It was a great year of gaming once a week on Wednesday nights. Allessandro, aka Alice is a Goliath from Bryn Shander, but he travelled to Waterdeep, Baldur’s Gate, and other places along the Sword Coast where his religious studies led him to becoming a Paladin of Helm with the ambition to be a member of the order of the Vigilant Eyes of the God. ...
I made it to the 5.3 mile marker on the Silver Comet trail for a total skate of just over 11 miles.I am having so much fun skating. I wrote an initial post that talked about my history with skating, all the different type of skating I have done and the skates I have owned, but wow was it a long-winded mess. So here is the short version. ...
I bought these books from Amazon and read them on my Kindle Paperwhite. Written by N. K. Jemisin the Broken Earth Trilogy includes the books The Fifth Season, The Obelisk Gate, and The Stone Sky. What caught my attention about these books and the author is that all 3 books won the Hugo Award for Best Novel. Think about that for a second, all 3 books in the trilogy won Best Novel Hugo awards, 2016, 2017, and 2018. They also won a lot of other awards, but for one author to win 3 years in a row is amazing. ...
I listened to Infinite 1 and 2 written by Jeremy Robinson and narrated by R.C. Bray using the Audible app on my iPhone. I liked the first book, but the second book… not so much. Infinite Publisher’s Summary Searching for a new home…. The Galahad, a faster-than-light spacecraft, carries 50 scientists and engineers on a mission to prepare Kepler 452b, Earth’s nearest habitable neighbor at 1400 light years away. With Earth no longer habitable and the Mars colony slowly failing, they are humanity’s best hope. After 10 years in a failed cryogenic bed – body asleep, mind awake – William Chanokh’s torture comes to an end as the fog clears, the hatch opens, and his friend and fellow hacker, Tom, greets him…by stabbing a screwdriver into his heart. This is the first time William dies. It is not the last. When he wakes from death, William discovers that all but one crew member – Capria Dixon – is either dead at Tom’s hands, or has escaped to the surface of Kepler 452b. This dire situation is made worse when Tom attacks again – and is killed. Driven mad by a rare reaction to extended cryo-sleep, Tom hacked the Galahad’s navigation system and locked the ship on a faster-than-light journey through the universe, destination: nowhere. Ever. Mysteriously immortal, William is taken on a journey with no end, where he encounters solitary desperation, strange and violent lifeforms, a forbidden love, and the nature of reality itself. …he discovers the infinite. Jeremy Robinson, the master of fast-paced and highly original stories seamlessly blending elements of horror, science fiction, and thrillers, tackles his most ambitious subject matter to date: reality itself. An amalgam of the works of J.J. Abrams and Ridley Scott, Infinite is a bold science fiction novel exploring the vastness of space and a man’s desire to exist, find love, and alter the course of his life. ©2017 Jeremy Robinson (P)2017 Jeremy Robinson ...
I wanted to document why I have decided to buy the Roland Fantom 8 for my current needs in learning to play the piano and having fun making goofy music for myself, so here it is. Keep in mind that I have not received it yet and don’t expect to have it until late July. The main reason is the keybed, the “88 Key (PHA-50 Wood and Plastic Hybrid Structure, with Escapement and Ebony/Ivory Feel, channel aftertouch)” feels amazing to me. When I compare it to the other keyboards, I have had access to the downward force required is medium heavy, the bottoming out is a good thunk without being mushy or hard, and the return is fast enough to almost stick to my finger. ...
In March Roland announced the Fantom 0, typically pronounced Fantom “Oh”, a lighter and less expensive version of their flagship Fantom series of synthesizer workstations. I had been very happily playing the Novation SL when I saw a video with the Fantom 0 and wow, it blew me away. Up until this point I had never heard of the Roland Fantom or Fantom 0. I didn’t know that Roland made workstation keyboards with Ableton integration. ...
Late last year I decided I wanted to learn how to play the Piano and to create some music. After a reasonable amount of research, a lot of research, I picked Ableton as my Digital Audio Workflow (DAW) and that led me to buying a Novation Launchkey 61 MK3. Novation Launchkey 61 MK3 The main features that lead me to buying the Launchkey began with its Ableton Live integration. The quality of the really surprised me for a $250 keyboard, the keys are very “synthy” meaning plasticy and springy. But for the price, 61 keys, 16 pads, 9 faders, 8 knobs, transpose controls, a good sequencer, and arpeggiator it is pretty amazing. ...
I found myself using my 1st generation iPod Pro 12.9” from 2015 and 5th generation iPad from 2017 a lot and decided it was about time to upgrade. I am using the iPad for: Read books from Amazon using the Kindle app and technical books with the O’Reilly app Write notes and manage tasks with Obsidian Read comic books with ComiXology, the Marvel app, YAC Reader, and Smart Comics Web Surfing with Chrome Email with Fastmail Reading Reddit Watching videos using various streaming services A game here and there, primarily Pinball, Chess, Solitaire, and Soduku And other Internet “stuff” None of these require a “Pro” iPad, but I have learned from my experience with the 1st generation iPad Pro that in an Apple product, a Pro device will be useful longer than the non-Pro version. We go through an iPad about every 2 years with our son, he doesn’t abuse them, but they get used 18 hours or so a day which really stresses out the battery causing it to begin to fail after about 2 years. ...
What is a Modular Synth From Thomann.de: Simply put, a modular synthesizer is an electronic musical instrument that consists of a multitude of different components (modules) that are used and combined to create electronic sounds. The individual modules are connected via cables (patch cables), switches, sliders and patch panels. In this way, a large number of connection options and permutations are possible. It is important to know that the parameters of analog synthesizer modules can be controlled by Control Voltage (CV). ...
The Roach is another superhero story by Rhett C. Bruno and I really like this one. The Roach is a likable character with all kinds of flaws and the characters around him are interesting and add a lot to the story. Publisher’s Summary A string of killings. An identity stolen. Only he can find the truth. Reese Roberts was the guardian of Iron City. Its fearless protector. The only one willing to do whatever it takes…until he was shot on the streets and left paralyzed from the waist down. Now, the vigilante known as the Roach has disappeared. Faded into legend. It’s been years since Reese could take on crime and clean up the streets. He’s a shriveled old drunk, living like a hermit and waiting for his life to end. All that’s left to do is wallow in the mistakes that led him here. To wonder if he went too far. But when a copycat steals his suit and takes justice into his own hands, a new killer emerges, leaving brutal messages behind. He wants to eliminate the Roach for good this time. It’s time for Reese to re-emerge from his shell and fight back. Who else can stop the flurry of killings? Definitely not the corrupt police department. Iron City needs the Roach again. Only, this time, he’ll need to save it without his legs. ©2020 Aethon Books (P)2020 Podium Audio I rate The Roach an 8 out 10 and recommend it to anyone looking for a good superhero story.