A friend of mine has a bit of a need. Looks like her favorite group is in serious need of helpers. You could help, so check it out.

Here's what she had to say in her blog.

My group "We Love In-Depth Reviews!"  [E] urgently needs rewarders.

If you have half an hour to spare every week or so, to go through the Public Reviews page and reward truely in-depth reviews (funds provided by the group), I'd love to have you aboard.

The members of my small team are all really busy right now, which means I am basically on my own.

You don't have to review for the group. Just to check out in-depth reviews and send them Gps, with perhaps an encouraging lil comment and one of the group sigs. You'd get appointed a 24 hour slot, which you can check out within 14 days (reviews older than 14 days cannot be rewarded through there).

Any help would be so appreciated, even if it's just for a few weeks.

Looks like I have been tagged a couple times.

Hmmm... Eight things to list... *ponders*

1. I get a good laugh at my Far Side desk calendar pretty much every day.
2. I would love to have a job that has something to do with gaming (not computer gaming). I would love to work for a game publisher or run a local game shop.
3. I have parents who are planning on being roving retirees next spring. They will live out of an RV starting in the spring.
4. All I have for television viewing is a set of rabbit ears. I don't have cable or satellite television. I would waste too much time if I did.
5. I do still have all ten of my toes.
6. In the choice between psychological or gory horror movies, I pick psychological ones. They are much better.
7. I've got two brothers, both younger.
8. And, finally, I have been sucked into a ton of gaming podcasts and want an iPod so I am not tied to my laptop to listen to them.

I'm not much of a blog reader. I have just a couple I look in on once in a while. So, I am not going to go out and tag people I don't read on a regular basis.

I hope you were amused by my random facts.
 

Right after that last post I took a trip over to the Wizards of the Coast web site only to find it bogged down and not moving very well. After getting frustrated and refreshing the page a few times I noticed why it was lagging so much.

This last week, from Wednesday though Sunday, was GenCon and I didn't expect the announcement that was made. What happened there affected the web site as the news came out and spread across forums to the players of D&D.

D&D 4th Edition, or better known as 4E, is on it's way to existence!

Next May will be the first of the rulebooks, the Player's Handbook, and I plan on getting a copy. Then in June and July will be the next two of the rulebooks, the Monster Manual and the Dungeon Master's Guide.

If you are a D&D gamer and are curious about what's going on check out Gamer Zer0 on YouTube.

At first the news was unsettling that the things I like about 3.5E will go away but the editors and creators, in interviews with Gamer Zer0, have me calmed down about not wanting 4E to come out and now I am thrilled to see it. But for now I am geeked enough that I want to get a gaming group going with the version I have of the game now, and from what I've seen so far 4E will not be hard to merge into when it comes out.

If any of you are interested in what I've mentioned here check out the sites related to it all.

http://www.wizards.com/dnd
http://www.gleemax.com/articles/announcement002.html
http://www.youtube.com/user/gamerzer0

 

I think I am going to take my blog in a different direction from here.

At home I have stacks and stacks of games, but when I mention them to people they usually give me a funny look followed by a "huh?" So, what's I've decided to do was start reviewing the games I have and encourage people to try them out.

Something else I may try, seeing that I am at heart a roleplaying gamer, is to do some simple articles about roleplaying games with tips for novices and possibly experts, alike.

One thing I won't do is crunch my time too much to make sure I have a post every day. I just get sick of blogging when I try and do that.
 

I'm taking a different approach with my contests now. I want to just run them in one forum since I recycle most of the rules each time I run one, even though I change the focus nearly every time. I just got tired of all the forums in my port that just sit there now the contests are over.

So, have a look and make an entry. You have until September 16th.

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Here is a selection of photos from my UK trip. I know at least one of you has been waiting for them.

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One thing I wanted to do while in the UK was try some of those typically British things to eat. Thursday I had fish and chips from a place Kitti said was acceptable. She didn't say it was excellent but she didn't say it would cause me to drop to the ground, gasping for help. Actually, I thought it was pretty good and, on the plus side, I didn't have to have any mushy peas with it.

I do suggest, if you have never had it, go out and order some Indian food. It's incredible! She had me try that Friday evening and if I had a shop in my area I would order it pretty often. We steered away from any of the blazing hot stuff seeing as I was an Indian food virgin and she didn't want to break me in with any of the strong stuff. We had a rogan josh with pilau rice and chipatis. I think I could have gone with it a bit spicier but it was amazing food. It's also one of those foods you don't get yelled at for playing with using your fingers.

Friday we went to Ingleton Falls. It's a 5.5 mile walk, up one river, across a couple fields and back down another river. The falls are all along the waterways and both sides seem to have completely different characters. I also am not sure I would even call them rivers. They are more like overgrown streams that could sweep a person along, kicking and screaming. Anyway, I'll post photos of these falls and rapids tonight.

That night I was really getting hit with the fact that I would be heading back to the US in a couple days. I'd be in Manchester near the airport Saturday night and on the plane Sunday. It was the last night at the cottage with Kitti and I knew I was going to really miss her the following day even though we would spend a good bit of it together. I just hate seeing the end of a vacation come on like that.

So, Saturday came around and we went to a park up in Burnley to feed the squirrels peanuts. It was a relaxing day and we chatted like we had been all week but I think both of us knew we would have to say goodbye soon. Well, at least the squirrels were thrilled to see us. They were fearless! They came up onto the paths to get the peanuts. One even took one from Kitti's hand though not out of her hand like she said she had done in the past. It just pulled it from between her fingers then made a mad dash for the nearest tree to hide behind and eat.

Burnley park is one of those places you should find mentioned in her blog which made it really cool to see in person. That was one of the great things about the trip. I got to see all those places she talks to me about. A couple times it felt a bit surreal but the rest of the week I was just amazed at it all.

There was only one adventure left for me and that would be the trip home. The flight from Manchester went well enough though I got to the airport at the wrong terminal and had to walk at least a mile to the one I needed. The place was jam packed with people going on vacation while I was returning home. I guess that weekend was the beginning of school holidays and families were traveling everywhere.

The layover in Philly was way too tight. I thought I would miss my plane but after running across that airport, through customs and through the passport terminals I arrived at my gate to find out it was a half hour late in boarding. I thought I was saved until I got to Pittsburgh and found my luggage didn't make the trip with me. It went on the next flight which was in the morning. They were really good about getting it to me though it did take a good bit of Memorial Day.

Now I just sit here at my desk at work typing this up and wishing I could have stayed there or wishing I could have brought Kitti back with me. It's a bit of a bummer knowing we have roughly 3500 miles between us again.
 

After the trip into Manchester we took the day off. Tuesday we made a quiet day to get used to the area and all that. Walking around Skipton again, we stumbled into a small museum of historical items. Then Kitti had me try a sausage roll, which I thought was really tasty. I've never had one before.

Other than that, and making chili later on, we didn't do much that day. It was very nice though.

Wednesday we went on to check out Aysgarth where there are a string of three falls. The top was the one used in the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. I didn't expect it to look much like I remembered from the movie but it really did. Most of the time producers edit their films so much you can't even link them with where they were filmed. This one was very recognizable.

The day was also really nice. There were only a couple clouds in the sky and the air was not too cold. It made for a great day to walk along the river and chat about everything that came to mind.

One thing Kitti was hoping for was an airplane to go by. That set of falls is near an airforce base and they do training over the area. She really loves those planes and helicopters so was hoping to spot one. When we got to the lowest, and in my opinion, the most impressive of the falls, we heard that hum off in the sky. It sounded like the noise was just past the trees from us and it was definitely too far out past them for us to see the plane. So, we know there was one but we couldn't get a photo of it.

Once done at the falls, and after munching a little, we drove on to Bolton Castle. Now, that's a really cool castle. It's nothing like Skipton Castle in that it looked to be an earlier design with square corners and part of the structure had collapsed. It only had a small portion renovated for a shop and restaurant. The rest was left in the condition it had been in for hundreds of years though that made the place a bit damp when exploring it's many levels.

The next day we set off to meet Sherri . I had a rough idea of where we were heading and an address from calling her a couple days before, but like all places in the UK, getting there is another matter entirely. I think we went around the city center of Halifax a couple times before we spotted where the route we needed to take went. And at one point I ended up heading into a parking deck and thought I would turn around to head back to the road I thought I was on. That's when I scraped the hubcap of the rental car. I don't even think they noticed it when I dropped the car off at the end of the trip.

Once past Halifax the remainder of the trip was simple. The only thing was, we had a couple things we needed done before setting off in the morning, so we didn't get out until late into the afternoon.

The neighborhood Sherri lived in was cool if not much different than American subdivisions, and for every cat we spotted Kitti just wanted to hop out and give it a hug. She really loves her animals!

Visiting another W.com member was really cool. I was able to meet a few of them last summer at the convention but it was great to see Kitti meet another one of us, and an American at that. She had a lovely time and I think the rock she received from Sherri's daughter did too. Too bad we couldn't stay too long. I didn't want to try and learn to deal with British roads after dark seeing that they make you drive on the wrong side of the road there.

I don't know if I was driving Kitti crazy with getting up earlier in the morning than she was used to but she didn't seem to be complaining even as the week was coming close to an end. We both seemed to dread the end of vacation coming. I just wanted to stay there longer, or take her back home with me if I couldn't stay longer. I think parting was beginning to hit me early. A week is just not long enough to have for vacation, especially one I had been looking forward to for a long time.

The end of the trip will be posted shortly, so keep your eyes open for it.
 

When looking for a place for us to stay during the week I looked into several options and the best one that came up was to rent a cottage. It was more personal than anything else and it gave each of us the ability to retreat to our own space if we needed, seeing that we are both pretty quiet people who like our own private time to read and such.

The other thing I liked about where we stayed was that it was in a tiny village central to many of the things we wanted to do during the week with the exception of a trip to Manchester on Monday. It was nice being out in the countryside and having all the open space around and all the um... sheep.

They were everywhere! Thousands and thousands!! I was beginning to believe there had been a sheep invasion in the UK and it will be only a short time before the States start seeing ships encroaching on its shores carrying an invasion force of the fuzzy things. At least they didn't stink up the place like the cows do around where I live.

One thing we did do on Saturday was exchange a few gifts we had been holding onto for one another. Now we both have some new reading material to last for a while, though she will go through them faster than I will. She reads much faster than I do.I even think swapping gifts gave us something to begin to break the ice. You would have thought we had just met and hadn't had the history together that we do, but that's what it seemed like. The awkwardness soon melted away. I think it had to do a lot with how sweet Kitti is. She had me constantly grinning and feeling on top of the world.

One thing Kitti mentioned in the post she sent back with me was a note about spiders, or rather that the cottage we stayed in was called "spider cottage" by past renters. There was a book with lists of things like local restaurants and rules for the cottage but it also had written notes from past renters. They all seemed to love the place but many of them spoke of monster spiders.

I think it was just the first night there were spiders on her ceiling so I got the opportunity to go spider hunting. I think I got the one of greatest concern or, at least, I think I scared it off well enough we didn't see it back again through the rest of the week. There were also a couple tiny ones in the bathroom but they were quickly removed before upsetting my feline tour guide.

My room didn't seem to have any live spiders though it did have plenty of cobwebs in the peek ceiling and a couple dead spiders stuck in them. So, no big deal for me. I've lived with spiders in the past and none of it bothered me.

Sunday we went into Skipton, the town at the southern end of the Yorkshire Dales, to check out what was around us. We did a little shopping and had a nice evening planning out a couple things for later in the week over pasta. I could tell we were going to have a great week together.

In Skipton we stopped at Skipton Castle. It is a castle she had seen a couple times and had described to me a couple times in the past years. It was great to see the place she had told me about. When her family had made a trip to see her last year, at least I think it was last year, she had a great time with her sis there. I was just amazed at how small the place was and how many people the plaques said the castle housed in emergency times. It must have been really crowded!

The castle was in restored order and even had some of it cut off from the public. That portion looked like it was still lived in. I couldn't help imagining what it would be like to live there. The place even started some ideas for future stories that I might work on soon as well.

Kitti, before the trip, had looked for things to do in Manchester that I might like to do and she spotted a Doctor Who expo going on at the Museum of Science and Industry. I know she is not really into sci-fi and had never seen a single episode of Doctor Who, but she seemed to have a great time seeing me get all geeked about being there.

We also checked out an awesome sci-fi/comic book shop. It took up two whole floors of a shop. Very cool if you like anything sci-fi or fantasy related! After that we walked on to a shop she wanted to find again that had some hilarious tee shirts. It was a small shop in a five story building of other shops. It was wall to wall alternative and gothic. There were shops with black clothing adorned by straps and zippers to places that do piercings or funky hairstyles; places with latex outfits and platform shoes to clothes with such bright colors that could blind a person. It was a great place to wander through for hours and I can see why she liked it.

Oh! We then, before heading back to the car, stopped into a Lush shop. The scents were all over. It was a cool place. They had all sorts of things out for touching and smelling. I can really see why she loves their shops as well. If you are curious what Lush is check out this link.

http://www.lush.com

As for this post, I think I am going to save it now. I'll be back to post some more.
 

I had the best vacation in the world last week. If I could have made it run into this week I would have, but alas I wasn't able to. *sigh*

The trip started with a comment from Kittiara near the beginning of the month and after that getting ready all became a blur, well, not when I was going through the waiting for the 18th, but now that it's over and I am home. This whole month just went way too fast.

The 18th was flight day. I left from Pittsburgh in the later afternoon on my first leg of the trip to Manchester. The layover was going to be about 2 hours in Philly and I soon learned that 2 hours in the Philly airport is just not a safe amount of time to make it from one plane to the other. I should have gone with the plan for a 4 hour layover, but oh well. Live and learn... the hard way. It was one of the worst runs I have had to make. For one, I was in a strange airport, and I was also on a trip that had me really nervous.

I don't really get nervous flying at all but this trip had me all jumpy. I was flying to see someone I had been close to for a long while and we were going to go adventuring through the wilds of England.

I don't really remember what made the layover turn out so short but it did and I had to run from gate B4 to gate A25. It seemed like I ran a mile while lugging my carry-on with laptop and a jacket I didn't need to wear here in the States. The funny thing is, though I'm sure most travelers would not find it funny, is how the more in trouble you are with time, the more people get in your way. I guess it's one of those Murphy's Laws or something.

The next adventure I had was right after landing in Manchester. I had no problem finding my way through the passport line or finding my luggage or even getting my cash converted from dollars to pounds. The thing I did have problems with was my car rental. Once I found the Hertz office (small room with a counter at one end) I found out they had the wrong type of car reserved for me. It was a manual and I didn't quite feel like learning to drive a manual along with trying to remember to stay on the left side of the road. It would not have turned out pretty. They looked for another car, an automatic, in the size class I reserved but couldn't find one. Then they decided to upgrade me for free. That was all well and good but I hadn't taken into account one thing. The roads are tiny!

Once I had my car, a Mercedes, I took off at the blazing speed of 5 miles per hour out of the parking deck and was immediately confronted with a roundabout. I knew they existed, but who was the brilliant person to throw one at me that soon!! Then I ended up on the freeway. I think I got lost a few times getting around Manchester on my way to Kitti's home to get her but I'm not entirely sure. I did eventually make it there and even got to where we were planning to meet earlier than we planned.

So, by this point I am very nervous. I mean, this is Kitti I am meeting, someone I have wanted to meet in person for a few years. It was all happening very fast though it seemed that time was a bit warped by then.

That's not all that was warped. The weather was rainy on the day I got there and, unlike usual UK weather, it would turn out to be a dry week with a good bit of sun. It didn't start raining again until the day I left for home on the 27th. I guess it's been raining like normal since then. Having the sunny, or rather not rainy, weather made it easy for the two of us to get out and do things pretty much all week.

The rest of the day Saturday I tried to stay awake to beat any jet lag I may end up with. I wanted to at least stay up until sundown, having been up since Friday morning in Ohio.

That first day we settled in where we were staying and tried to make conversation though everything had a somewhat awkward feel to it. I was hoping it would not be like that all week, us not knowing how to be around one another. It was good to see it wouldn't be like that once a couple days passed. We settled in together like the friends I knew we had been since we met online. It was awesome!

Well, that's how the week began. More will be posted tonight. I think I am just reprocessing it in my head as I type, so you may get more detail than I planned. ... but any potential juicy details will be edited out. So, don't poke me too much for them.