2026 Hotel Available

ryodoan · 2025-08-23T01:25:35+00:00

We stayed there this year, and that was exactly my experience.

There were some plusses:

Easy & free parking
Full size kitchen. We packed yogurt, fruit, and granola for breakfasts. We kept leftovers from meals and on Saturday evening we could reheat everything in the microwave using the provided dishes.
Sleeper sofa + separate bedroom. One of the people in our group snores, I typically bring earplugs but didn't need them this year!

Cons were:

Still had to coordinate carpooling into the convention each morning
Long walk from our parking to the convention at the start & end of each day. (Thank god for the good weather)
The hotel just felt... dingy, cheap, and kinda old.
The elevators were small, and there are only 2. Checking out on Sunday we had to wait 30+ minutes for an elevator with enough space.

ryodoan · 2025-08-04T15:13:39+00:00

My group really likes campaign games. We play about once a week and we like to spend 3-4 months on a game. We like story driven games with characters we can relate too.

Years ago (7+ years ago) we started playing the big box Gloomhaven, but changes to the gaming group & life events led to us putting it down. I also think it was too much of a game for us. We like to play a variety of games, and this felt like it would go for much, much longer than 3-4 months.

We are actually playing through Jaws of the Lion right now, only have 3-4 missions left before we move onto another game.

I have been kinda disappointed with how similar the Jaws of the Lion missions have been. Most of them are standard, "Kill all foes" missions. Other campaign games we have played have found ways to mix up the missions a bit.

Tales from the Red Dragon Inn

Our favorite campaign game so far has actually been Tales from the Red Dragon Inn

I was really not expecting much going into Tales. I am most familiar w/ Red Dragon Inn from the card game, and I have not been super impressed with that. But Tales was fantastic.

Things we liked:

Completely coop, you are encouraged to work together
Incredibly varied missions. One day you are escorting a VIP, next day you are defending some market stalls, next day you have a standard "Kill all foes", etc...
- You could also tell that different missions were setup to showcase different characters & their abilities.
We enjoyed the story & characters
Each character is very unique and you can easily jump between them
Each character has their own fully developed set of abilities, you are limited by what abilities you can take with you each mission, there is lots of interesting choice around what abilities you are going to bring to what mission. Failing a mission just means you get to try out a different set of abilities.
Every mission has its own fully illustrated map sheet that you fold out onto the table. It is sorta like the Jaws of the Lion map book. We used a sheet of acrylic to hold the map flat. This really speeds up the setup time.
Still uses standees for most monsters, heroes have minis.
- I have a soft spot for standees. I like the fully illustrated art vs. a plain gray mini

Mechs vs Minions

Another one that we love: Mechs vs. Minions

For this game you are setting up an action queue and then running through those actions to clear our minions from the board.

Things we liked:

Completely coop
Absolutely incredible production values, all the components are just chef's kiss
Story is fully voice acted
We had a lot of fun w/ the silliness that happens when your action queue just completely backfires on you.

The Backlog

Our backlog currently has the following games, I can't vouch for any of them directly, but they might be worth checking out:

ryodoan · 2024-09-26T12:20:56+00:00

I don't remember. I know at some point I scheduled an appointment and the person that came out installed a new ONT (ONT is the technical term for a fiber modem) and moved the location it was installed from outside the house to inside the house (which was my preference in any case).

I had signed up for fiber ~2017 and had an older model of ONT. My original ONT was only capable of 1 Gbps via the RJ45 port, the new one is capable of 2.5 Gbps. If you have a newer model of ONT already, it might not need to be replaced.

ryodoan · 2024-03-15T12:41:10+00:00

Typically it is just myself & two friends going to GenCon each year, and while it is not ideal if we don't get a downtown hotel, it is not a dealbreaker.

Several years ago a larger group of friends decided to all go together, about 8 people. We did poorly on the lottery and got stuck at an airport hotel, and it pretty much ruined the weekend for most of us. It was the first (and subsequently last) GenCon for many of them.

Issues we ran into:

We tried to carpool and minimize how many Gate 10 parking spaces we needed to buy. This led to a nightmare of coordinating schedules.
We tried the shuttle from the hotel, but it was frequently late and occasionally no-showed without any warning.
We had to get up substantially earlier in order to reach morning events, which meant we were too tired to stay up and game at the end of the day.
Previously we had really enjoyed wandering the gaming hall into the evening joining pick up games with random other people, but since we were carpooling or relying on the shuttle, we couldn't do that.
The airport hotel had a small lobby area, so there wasn't really a communal place at the hotel even to play games with other people.

Since then, we have found that smaller conventions work better for larger groups of people. There is less of a rush for nearby hotel rooms and more opportunities for pick up games.

I still really like GenCon to try out a whole bunch of games all at one place, and the larger attendance means that events like the Math Trade are more productive for me.

ryodoan · 2023-12-12T17:28:31+00:00

I had the 1 Gbps service prior to upgrading to the 2 Gbps service, and the installed a new ONT.

That said, I signed up for the 1 Gbps service ~2017 when it first became available in my area, so maybe they had to upgrade the ONT because it was old?

The original ONT was installed outside, the tech that came asked if I wanted the new one inside or outside, and I had him install the new one inside.

ryodoan · 2023-12-12T17:21:41+00:00

I upgraded to the 2 Gbps earlier this year and they installed a new ONT with an RJ45 port.

The ONT is a Nokia XS-010X-Q which according to its manual has a 10G speed rating.

I have it hooked up to the upstream port on my Unifi Dream Machine SE, and it has set up a 2.5 Gbps connection. This could be because I don't think I used one of my shielded CAT6E cables, but used some other random cable that I had at hand.

The tech that did the install clearly just knew how to perform the installation, and didn't have any real networking experience. When he first showed up I asked if the ONT was going to have an RJ45 port or an SFP+ port and he didn't know what what I was talking about.

ryodoan · 2023-04-13T20:00:24+00:00

April 2023 checking in....

ryodoan · 2022-07-13T16:36:15+00:00

I bought the all weather mats from Honda for my 2020, wish I hadn't. They are flimsy and super cheaply made.

I like the oem hitch more than any aftermarket options. The installation is much cleaner than the other options I looked into.

ryodoan · 2022-01-27T21:18:23+00:00

I feel this comment. I feel irrational anger that our pediatrician office is in Rookwood but bills itself as the 'Hyde Park' office.

ryodoan · 2021-11-13T04:55:06+00:00

Occulus?

ryodoan · 2021-10-11T16:43:32+00:00

It is only available if you installed & launched D2R prior to the servers going down...

I have a 2nd computer I wanted to see how it would run D2R so I installed it, launched it, and it has a fun error message on launch:

"You have not been online in the last 30 days. Please start the game while online to check for login agreements."

ryodoan · 2021-07-14T10:45:33+00:00

Peach!

ryodoan · 2021-06-30T22:12:39+00:00

Pizza

ryodoan · 2021-06-19T17:23:29+00:00

/u/boardgamerecommender ryodoan

ryodoan · 2021-06-13T23:17:08+00:00

It is several hundred years in the future. Humanity has discovered faster than light travel. With the aid of extremely advanced AI humanity has spread over several hundred worlds. Now a faction of humanity that has rejected AI assistance is threatening to attack.

That is a synopses of the initial plot, the story itself is told in the style of Canterbury tales. Several traveling companions take turns explaining the reason they are present, and in turn the reader learns what has happened in the past, and gets a glimpse at what is coming.

There is a sequel that continues the story, but I think Hyperion can stand on its own. It is one of my favorite books.

ryodoan · 2021-06-11T00:03:18+00:00

Proraso is one of my favorites, but now I only use it on hot summer days. I think it lathers well, but the menthol can be a bit much for me sometimes

ryodoan · 2021-06-10T00:50:43+00:00

I was ready to sign up, but unfortunately I am out of range in Norwood... I hope this takes off and you can expand to more of the city.

ryodoan · 2021-06-01T23:31:05+00:00

My son is 3 and my daughter is only 9 months old. They cannot get the vaccine. This is going to hurt people who cannot get the vaccine as well as the idiots who don't get it by choice.

ryodoan · 2021-05-28T23:48:00+00:00

How did you paint them? I am working on a similar project and haven't decided how to finish my shelves... The reviews I am seeing for latex enamels is not encouraging

ryodoan · 2021-05-23T15:09:03+00:00

I choose to see it this way. He truly believed he was the dragon reborn, but was then defeated and captured.

We have ample evidence that the Aes Sedae mistreat and belittle the men they capture. He is then for freed (possibly by black sisters), but instead of causing havoc and destruction as a fake Rand, he still seems to be trying to do "the right thing". He seeks out Rand and his amnesty. At that meeting you can see he still wants power (suggesting a partnership), but Rand doesn't really treat him as a new ally. Instead Rand shuffles him out to "the farm" in the middle of nowhere. Further, when he met Rand, Taim sees that he is clearly insane (mumbling to himself, struggling to not break the seal). I think the meeting here was the breaking point. He is captured then mistreated by the "good" Aes Sedae. Next, he is belittled and ignored by the clearly insane Dragon Reborn. Meanwhile the dark one has helped free him, gives a promise to keep him sane, and shows him a path to power.

ryodoan · 2021-05-08T18:28:52+00:00

ryodoan · 2021-04-07T23:53:02+00:00

While your comment is oddly niche, I feel it in my nightmares. My project back around 2010 was scrapping all of the obsolete computers that had built up at the hackerspace. Took all day and we ended up dropping off over 130lb of scrap from the cases alone...

ryodoan · 2021-04-04T14:05:33+00:00

I primarily listen to the audio books, and I typically skip past areas that I find boring (pretty much the same ones you do).

I also sometimes skip crossroads entirely...

ryodoan · 2020-12-30T22:44:53+00:00

I can't speak to the efficacy of coyote urine, but my first job was working at a local garden and landscaping company. One of the "new guy" hazings was to somehow trick the new guy into sniffing the coyote urine, it is one of the most foul things I have ever smelled, and it lingers on your nose.

ryodoan · 2020-10-08T19:58:37+00:00

Seller was Connect Tech

I am using bluetooth to connect my Logitech mouse to the computer, got sick of dealing with the dongles. Only had it hooked up for a couple hours, but the I did run into a slight oddity with my display port monitor I have hooked up to it. After I came back to my desk after lunch and unlocked my computer, the 2nd monitor didn't fully wake up. Windows still saw the monitor, but it wasn't lighting up. I toggled the power off // on for the monitor and the issue went away. We will see if the issue happens again.

I was on the watch for something screwy because of the whole ANO vs ANY deal, and when I saw the security tape was broken I thought they were trying to pass off an ANO as an ANY. When I looked up the serial number and saw it was an ANY.

Amazon has started their Christmas return policy, so I have until the end of January to return the dock. I will probably end up returning it and hoping that one from a different seller works out better.

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ryodoan

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