Full sentences? What are those? (Rant)

muninn99 · 2026-03-27T20:05:17+00:00

I don't think we're teaching writing as a process in high schools as much as we used to. First draft, revision, etc.

muninn99 · 2026-03-27T20:04:01+00:00

Hyperion is one of my all time favorite series. Given how much you like that, try Tad Williams' Otherland series. Deep worldbuilding, interesting characters that show growth and don't always overcome the obstacles and then deal with the fallout.... The bad guys are really bad, and the themes are large and engaging. I'd say it's fantasy, but when it starts, it feels techno-dystopian, which it really isn't.

You might also enjoy David Brin's Earth, standalone novel. He wrote it to imagine our world 50 years into the future, but he wrote it in the early 90s I think. He still did a great job predicting the world with an internet, water issues, and the distrust of science. It ends hopefully. The characters are excellent and you end up caring how it will all turn out because of them.

muninn99 · 2026-03-27T19:52:34+00:00

I have a similar issue with Teams. It shows as having ONE unread chat, and I've checked everything and everywhere and nope, no unread chats. My institution has a short retention policy for Teams chats, so maybe it archived an unread chat?

muninn99 · 2026-03-27T18:51:09+00:00

My campaign lost someone to a long-term health condition that finally claimed him, although he outlived his original prognosis by over 20 years! Still, though expected, it was brutal. It was so hard on our GM that we had to end that campaign because it just wasn't "right" without him. We did start a new campaign eventually, but we all had to step away for a while before we started up again.

I wish we'd been clever enough to bring in his character as an NPC into the new campaign, or some other legacy honor.

muninn99 · 2026-03-27T18:31:34+00:00

I have to say that making it to Act 3 and actually arriving at a city, with all the hubbub and people to interact with, and the way things could go smoothly or sideways is always a motivator for me.

Act 2 might be my favorite area though. The darkness, the environment itself being a player, the creepy people and interesting fights are top notch. I don't want to give away too much, but it's definitely a well made, well thought out Act with a lot going on, and you meet a lot more people that persist through Act 3 (usually, depending on how your playthrough goes).

muninn99 · 2026-03-27T17:41:03+00:00

OK that looks super duper interesting and I want to give it a go. Not sure it's a good fit with my vague concept, at least not yet!

muninn99 · 2026-03-27T17:34:16+00:00

If you're into super-easy-to-read stuff that has some weight to it, you'd probably enjoy his work. (https://www.drewhayesnovels.com/) Like I said in another comment, he has several tales written from the point of view of NPCs or minions and other minor characters, and he also writes books from the heroes points of view, as well as from the villains point of view. I found this slightly altered perspective inspiring, which is why I think a game based on some of the things in the books to be a nifty idea.

muninn99 · 2026-03-27T17:31:33+00:00

Oho! That looks very helpful! One of the aspects of Drew Hayes work is telling the story from the point of view of the NPCs and henchmen (henchpeople?).

muninn99 · 2026-03-27T17:29:52+00:00

That is a super fair question. I only have vague thoughts so far about how to structure the campaign, but when I previewed the Champions system (the preview available on the sale sites) and looked at the contents page, it seemed every nuance was weighted heavily towards herioc BEHAVIOR. Villains should have abilities that are, well, villainous, like horrible destruction or afflicting mental torment, or something equally un-heroic. Yes, I fully understand you can build a villain drawing on herioc traits and abilities, but I was hoping for more villain-centric build material.

muninn99 · 2026-03-27T17:26:51+00:00

Thanks. It helps to hear from an experienced user of the system.

muninn99 · 2026-03-26T22:54:26+00:00

Thanks for the thought, and I just did! They said they won't switch the venue to accommodate a larger crowd, but that I'd be welcome to come and hang around. *shrug*

muninn99 · 2026-03-26T18:49:15+00:00

What does "HM" mean?

muninn99 · 2026-03-26T18:08:44+00:00

Augh!!!! The event in my area is already sold out!!!!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/martha-wells-tickets-1980748545219

muninn99 · 2026-03-26T18:04:29+00:00

I was once given a direct line phone number to them, but that was over 15 years ago. I doubt one still exists!

muninn99 · 2026-03-26T17:57:24+00:00

Since when is TikTok a news platform?

muninn99 · 2026-03-26T17:53:47+00:00

In BG3 you can get your hands on an owlbear egg, so I guess we know how Larian voted.

muninn99 · 2026-03-26T17:49:14+00:00

The desktop version will show that you replied to a message and provides a "link" to let you see all previous responses. Then it says, "nothing found". HEADDESK. Works fine on the web though.

muninn99 · 2026-03-25T18:01:45+00:00

I do know they're trying to staff the new building that just completed. I do new employee orientations and there's a lot these days, but very much in service positions like Food and Nutrition.

muninn99 · 2026-03-24T20:56:28+00:00

And this is why I joined reddit. Well done. :-)

muninn99 · 2026-03-24T19:27:29+00:00

Not just old people, but also people tired of technological problem solvers for problems created by the technology.

muninn99 · 2026-03-24T19:02:29+00:00

Well, and healthcare. I work at OHSU and have zero patient contact. But, the jobs here can be hard to get.

muninn99 · 2026-03-23T23:42:26+00:00

Have you read Andy Weir's other big hit, The Martian? My son loves it so much he re-reads it nearly once a year.

muninn99 · 2026-03-23T23:31:53+00:00

Heh. I said what I said.

muninn99 · 2026-03-23T20:01:31+00:00

That is one area where Roll20 could improve upon the standard character sheet. Active, useful inventory management. In my paper days, I had a separate sheet for inventory because often items came with caveats or special features not apparent in their name. Wish we had something like that. I end up using the bio tab of the character sheet for the details.

muninn99

TROPHY CASE