Moving to Wordpress

It's the end of the Second Age (the First Age being when I was at Xanga). I am leaving Blogger and taking everything to my own host and publishing my blog via Wordpress, which I am absolutely loving.

To see the new blog, please go to http://www.dmperez.com

You can update your RSS feed (all 2 of you who get this via a feed) over there, and also catch the feed for comments.

I may keep the Blogger account as a backup for now, but Wordpress is where it's at for me now. :)

The Coolest Thing I Saw In Belgium

I uploaded the Flickr gallery for the latest episode of The Gamer Traveler - Brugge, Belgium, and came across something that I had been meaning to share with geeks around the world.

Aside from all the neat places I visited in Belgium, all the wonderful historic grounds I traipsed upon, all the yummy beer I drank, the yummy chocolates I ate, and the wonderful people I met, there was one event, one surprise event, that stands out as "The Coolest Thing I Saw in Belgium (tm)".

Let me not use words, and let the pictures speak for themselves:

That thing is exactly what it looks like, a mechanical, motorized lion.

It was built by a local artist-metalworker named Kezanti who has a studio on the same street I was staying at. On our last day in Brugge, I went out for a little walk around the block, and ended up on the open-air dining area of this small restaurant two buildings down from our B&B. I saw the mechanical lion standing there, but at first I thought it was a bitchin sculpture (Brugge is the kind of town where you can see open air art displays). Then the guy stood up and turned it on and I could not hold my geekness inside.

I spoke with him a little (him in much better English than me in my horrible Dutch) and he told me this was the first time he had taken it outside the studio and was having a celebratory beer. He then stood up and proceeded to ride the mechanical lion! What's even better, I got video:

Click here and leave a comment.

Just a handful of people saw this walking work of art take its first steps, beaming artists riding atop. These are the kinds of magic moments that happen when you travel that you remember forever, the moments that you could never, in a million years, have forseen and that happen, seemingly, just for you.

Furthermore, since like two days ago there has been a flurry of comments for the video over at YouTube. I just found out why:

My video was honored as #98 in the Top Rated (This Month) in Travel & Places. Even at 98, I think it's pretty cool and it seems so does everyone else who has seen the video.

Drop by and leave a comment as well. Maybe next month I can go higher!

And THAT was "The Coolest Thing I Saw in Belgium (tm)." :-)

New Toys

I'm still waiting for the domains to transfer and the new account info to propagate across the vastness of cyberspace. In the meantime, I have been exploring all the cool new toys I have available at my new host. I have already installed Wordpress in the new site, so in a couple of days I hope to be able to transfer this blog over there (though I shudder at the thought of transfering all my posts!). They also have a laundry list of programs I can install, like php forums, Mambo, OS Commerce (if this means nothing to you, just read it as "cool toy, cool toy, cool toy"), among others. I'm excited because this will allow me to grow my web presence all across the board and on all of my projects. The upfront cost was tough (very good price, but still all upfront), but so far it looks like an awesome investment. Can't wait!

Changing Hosts

Bye bye Stargate.com, hello Bluehost.com. I finally moved my sites and hosting from Stargate, and not a moment too soon. Stargate was fine a couple years ago when all I had was my personal site, but things have grown since and their services were just not up to par, not to mention expensive in comparison. So after shopping around and asking the opinion of people more knowledgeable in this stuff than me, I went with Bluehost. Soon I'll be able to start the redesign of all my sites, including my personal blog, which will go from Blogger to Wordpress. I just gotta get through the whole moving part, which is as tedious online as it is in real life.

Save The Internet!

Save The Internet!

Happy New Year 5767!

I want to wish everyone a happy, healthy and sweet new year 5767!

L'Shanah Tovah!!!

Weird Al - White & Nerdy Video

Check the video for Weird Al's new song, White & Nerdy. You owe it to yourself and the world.

HMP In Print!

I just received the proof from Lulu.com for our first print product, a hardcopy version of No Other Gods - An Adventure for Testament. It looks awesome. I can't get over the giddyness of holding in my hands something that we created and that existed only as electronic data.

I'll be posting soon info on ordering.

[HMP] DaVinci Labs, Volume One: UDR-4 Arrowhead

Highmoon Media Productions, in association with Reality Deviants Publications, is proud to present the first in our new line of d20 Modern/Future support, DaVinci Labs.

DaVinci Labs is a research and development facility specializing in mechanized systems, ranging from civilian solutions to military contracts. Simplicity of design and innovative concepts are our driving force, applying these ideals to everything we produce, be it cyber-organ replacements, nanotechnology, zero-G construction systems, mecha units and systems, or orbital and sub-orbital ships.
DaVinci Labs, A Renaissance in Mechanization. (TM)

UDR-4 Arrowhead

DaVinci Labs, Volume One focuses on the UDR-4 Arrowhead mecha, providing a history of the mecha, 2 variants of the design, new weapons and equipment and suggestions for using the mecha in your own campaign as well as in the popular Dawning Star campaign setting by Blue Devil Games.

This PDF comes with a screen version and a RTF file for your convenience.

Written by: Joshua Hoade
Mecha Artwork by: Adam Dickstein
Dawning Star is a trademark of Blue Devil Games, used with permission.

RDPDVL001 - $3.95
Buy it today from RPGnow.com.

---

This is the product that almost never happened, seriously. The whole idea to start Highmoon Media Productions was due to me coming up with this series about 2 1/2 years ago. Since then, I have been trying to get it going, and for various reasons, I could never do it. I was almost resigned to have it be the product series that would break my heart (and part of my wallet, as over time I had paid for a number of pieces of mecha art to use), until David Jarvis came along.

Reality Deviants had been putting out a series of single mecha PDFs called OGL Mecha that I thought were pretty cool. On a complete whim, one of those "why not" moments, I emailed David to see if he would be interested in collaborating on a modification of his OGL Mecha series, morphing it into the brand I had already been at work to get off the ground. I explained to him my idea of DaVinci Labs, what I wanted to accomplish with it, and the plan I had for our collaboration. I honestly expected to be told that it was neat, but no, thank you. To my surprise, David loved the idea, and wanted in.

With the help of our mutual friend/freelancer/uber-helper Mark Gedak, David took the raw materials I gave him for this first issue and expanded them with excellent new material that further developed the concept of DaVinci Labs, and ended up with this awesome product. Thanks to David Jarvis and Mark Gedak, DaVinci Labs is now a reality, and my heart's happy as hell.

We are already at work on further releases, so keep an eye out for more innovation from DaVinci Labs, A Renaissance in Mechanization. (TM)

Proof Positive

The Blogthing doesn't lie:

You Belong in Amsterdam

A little old fashioned, a little modern - you're the best of both worlds. And so is Amsterdam. Whether you want to be a squatter graffiti artist or a great novelist, Amsterdam has all that you want in Europe (in one small city).

What European City Do You Belong In?

[The Gamer Traveler] Episode 04 - Brugge, Belgium

Show Notes for Episode 04 of The Gamer Traveler (As featured on the Dragon's Landing Podcast, episode 58):

Belfry Tower and canals, Brugge

Brugge, Belgium

• Brugge - Official Tourist Bureau site (English/Dutch/French/German). Info on the town, tourism, directions, guesthouse listings, events, etc.
• Wikipedia: Brugge - The Wikipedia entry for Brugge.
• Wikitravel: Brugge - The Wikitravel entry for Brugge.
• Rick Steves: Bruges - Info on Brugge from my favorite travel writer. Also check out these articles on the food, charm and beer of Brugge!
• The Gamer Traveler Flickr Gallery: Brugge - A gallery at Flickr of photos I took during our trip. You can complement these images with Foto Brugge (Press-quality official photos from the Brugge Tourism Board, only for personal use), Wikimedia Commons: Brugge, Terra Galleria: Brugge, as well as a Google Image Search.
• Map of Medieval Brugge - Perfect to use in a fantasy/historical game. Large file but worth it.
• Virtual Brugge - VR 360-degrees visuals of Brugge.
• Kwalito Bed & Brekfast - Our home during our stay in Brugge.
• Rick Steves' Amsterdam, Bruges and Brussels 2006 - My favorite travel guide, with info on Brussels.
• Rick Steves' Europe DVD: France and Benelux - Featuring an episode on Brussels.

The Gamer Traveler theme music is Ragasutra from the album "All Strings Considered" by Jamie Janover and Michael Masley, and is provided courtesy of Magnatune.

The Gamer Traveler is brought to you by
Destination: Earth Travel Planners.
Helping you take the trip of a lifetime, today!

--
Posted by Daniel M. Perez to The Gamer Traveler at 9/06/2006 04:24:00 PM

On The Future of Gaming Podcasting

Ever since Gen Con, the various gaming podcasters have been having lots of conversations about the new-found legitimacy of podcasting by the industry, the lessons learned the last year, and ideas for what the future brings. At the Dragon's Landing Podcast's forums we are having various conversations about the future of gaming podcasts, especially what it will take for the new batch of podcasters to make it in the field. The following is a very long post I made with some of my thoughts. You can see the original thread here and the my post here. Lots of links have been added for convenience.

This is a very exciting time to be tuned in to the whole podcast phenomenon, in general. Specifically in gaming podcast, this goes 100 times more so, because, thanks to the early adopters who have broken ground and gained an amazing level of legitimacy, the soil is fertile now for a new crop to come up.

In many ways I see Gen Con as the turning point, and specifically the Megacast as being the Big Bang of the new era in gaming podcasts. A lot of things were said at the cast, a lot of ideas and theories and plans, that during the next year we will see put into action and be able to, very clearly, see how they had their genesis at the Megacast.

Of particular interest, for me especially, is the concept of the new batch of podcasts and the form they should take in order to thrive in the already-existing field. The general advice show has been done, and quite well, so there's no need to rehash it. It's time to become a true specialist, and take advante of the Long Tail effect.*

If you really stop to think about it, and look at the current generation (let's call them Generation Alpha, to borrow Chuck and Lonnie's new scheme), you'll find the concept of specialization has already taken place: you have Dragon's Landing Inn with general RPG advice; Gamer! The Podcasting with general LARP advice; Fist Full of Comics (and Games) going for the very obvious (and quite ignored until, and except for, them) brige of comics and games; All Games Considered doing a review show that manages not to be repetitive in a field with Paul Tevis' Have Games, Will Travel; Ogre Cave Audio Report is the only one doing industry news and commentary, something I would love to have more of; Fear the Boot seems like it's going for the general RPG advice, but they are so systematic that they manage not to be repetitive with DLI, etc.

The reason this is interesting for me in particular is because this is preciselyt the kind of thinking that led me to create The Gamer Traveler. Currently TGT plays as part of the DLI, but that was a practical decision based on my circumstances at the moment; in all other aspects, TGT is its own podcast, and I envision taking it solo in the near future as well. In terms of focus, the podcast was born out of me thinking, "How can I do a gaming podcast that is unique and niche enough to justify me making it at all?" It took a while, but I finally landed the concept. I still need to tighten up the execution, for sure, but I am very secure that I have created a product that, by its very nature, is not likely to be copied, thus assuring me an original output and space in the podcast field.

This is the same thinking that needs to go into the creation of new podcasts in our field; we need to look for specialties, things for which we feel passionate about and we can talk someone's ear off and (quite importantly) complement the existing 'casts so that we do not offer direct competition, but rather synergy.

As far as the established podcasts helping out to promote the new generation, I don't think that would be a problem. Remember at the end of the day we are not really in competition; though a listener's time is at a premium, better informing the listener about the options out there, the options that would truly maximize their listening time, creates a better listener, one that is both loyal to the community and thankful for having been exposed to cool things he/she may not have found about before. Many of the smaller PDF game publishers already do this, and the result has been better loyalty from the customers and an ever expanding pool of new people being exposed to our products.

Another thing we, as listeners, need to start getting used to is that the content we are being provided by these podcasters is valuable and worth money; I, for one, welcome their new attempts at laying the groundwork for ways to eventually generate a profit from their hard, hard work.

Like I said, this is a very exciting time to be a listener and a podcaster, and I can't wait to see what the future brings.

* - The short and simplified version: the Long Tail effect states that there is a potentially-endless market for uber-niche products that, while it may dwindle to a very small amount, actually never reaches zero. Read the Wikipedia article if you want a more theoretical explanation.

The Last RPG

Okay, I've seen it all. At RPGnow Edge:

Welcome to The Veggie Patch.
As you can guess, this isn't your normal role-playing game. Players aren't powerful wizards, out to discover the secrets of the universe. They aren't highly trained spies,
trying to save the world, nor do they fly around the galaxy in a space ship. They aren't even your typical hero, off saving damsels in distress.
They're vegetables.

Okay, that's it folks, the last RPG has been written. We can all stop now and move on to another hobbie or industry, there's nothing left here. :-)

Arcadia: The Wyld Hunt CCG Lot for Sale

I've put up my collection of Arcadia: The Wyld Hunt CCG up for sale on eBay. You can see the listing here.



This game was published in the early- to mid-90's by White Wolf tied to their Changeling: The Dreaming roleplaying game. It features adventures played in the fae realm of Arcadia. The game was sold in booster packs divided into Character Packs and Story Packs. To play, you select a character card, then customize it with options from the Character Pack. Once that's done, you create a playing field by laying down terrain cards. A Quest is selected, enemies and traps are laid down under various terrain cards, and off you go to complete the Quest.

Included in this lot are two card boxes, one all Character Pack cards (including the nifty, stand-up cardboard characters), and one all Story Pack cards. These cards were used in games, but are all in excellent shape. All cards are from the Wyld Hunt set.

This was cool game, but suffered from the way it was marketed. White Wolf tried to ride the CCG train, but this game would have done so much better if packaged as a boardgame with regular expansions. Even today, if I could get it complete in one box, it would be a brilliant little game.

[The Gamer Traveler] Episode 03 - Brussels, Belgium

Show Notes for Episode 03 of The Gamer Traveler (As featured on the Dragon's Landing Podcast, episode 53):

King's House on Grand Place, Brussels

Brussels, Belgium

• Brussels - Official Tourist Bureau site (English/Dutch/French). Info on the town, including directions, guesthouse listings, events, etc.
• Wikipedia: Brussels - The Wikipedia entry for Brussels.
• Rick Steves: Brussels - Info on Brussels from my favorite travel writer.
• The Gamer Traveler Flickr Gallery: Brussels - A gallery at Flickr of photos I took during our trip. You can complement these images by doing a Google Image Search.
• Map of Medieval Brussels - Perfect to use in a fantasy/historical game. Large file but worth it.
• Rick Steves' Amsterdam, Bruges and Brussels 2006 - My favorite travel guide, with info on Brussels.
• Rick Steves' Europe DVD: France and Benelux - Featuring an episode on Brussels.

The Gamer Traveler theme music is Ragasutra from the album "All Strings Considered" by Jamie Janover and Michael Masley, and is provided courtesy of Magnatune.

The Gamer Traveler is brought to you by
Destination: Earth Travel Planners.
Helping you take the trip of a lifetime, today!

--
Posted by Daniel M. Perez to The Gamer Traveler at 8/16/2006 02:10:00 PM

Changeling!!!

Life is very good!

White Wolf Announces New World of Darkness Genre for 2007: Changeling
August 12, 2006 - White Wolf is proud to announce the "5th Game" for World
of Darkness will be Changeling! As envisioned by developer Ethan Skemp, fans can
look forward to a complex setting where you character faces new challenges and
dangers not seen before in the World of Darkness.

I am already looking forward to Gen Con next year!!!

Podcast Ireland

I got an email from the Ireland Tourism Board of a contest they are running where the lucky winner wins a one-week tour of a part of Ireland (Northern Ireland, Dublin/East/Southeast, West/Southwest) with air and ground transportation, accomodations, etc. and they get to podcast their trip for the Irish Tourism Board! I sent in my application faster than I could say slainte!

They ask for a 250-word or less entry telling them why you'd the a good choice, and here's my entry:

Ireland calls to me like a siren; it always has. I visited Ireland for my honeymoon in 2002 and have been yearning to return, to experience the beauty of the land and the warmth of the people once again, to relive those happy memories, and create new ones along the way. Though I loved the whole island, I particularly long to return to the West, to wander Dingle’s pubs and lose myself in witty craic, to smell the sweet scent of burning peat, to drink a real Guinness like only the Irish know how to pour. It was in Dingle that we spent the bulk of our honeymoon, and where I left a little piece of my heart. I wrote an online journal of our trip to Ireland, and four years later, I still get emails from people who have read it and tell me they have fallen in love with the land as well, and from those getting ready to go thanking me for increasing their enthusiasm for their trip. I will talk to anyone about the wonders of Ireland, in person, by phone, by email, and if chosen, then by podcast as well. I already produce a short podcast called “The Gamer Traveler” and Ireland is on my list of upcoming topics. An opportunity like this would be fantastic to generate new content and truly be a chance to tell the world how much I love Ireland and why I think everyone should visit, too.

It's a bit on the dramatic side, but it is all true.
Who knows, maybe something good will come my way!

It Hit The Fan And Landed All On Me

Boy, I am the cosmic shitbucket right now. I am at my mother-in-law's and someone broke the driver-side rear passenger window of my car and stole my laptop bag, which was inside the car, behind the driver's seat.

Not all is bad, though; my laptop computer was inside the house at the moment, so the most precious item that would normally have been inside the bag is safe and sound. I did lose, however, the power cord (which I had just bought about a month ago after my cat bit through the original one), a Dell network card, my Palmpilot, my two checkbooks (personal and Highmoon Media Productions account) and (and this hurts so much) my Holland/Belgium travel journal and my personal daily journal. Somewhere in Miami, some asshole has my personal thoughts of my recent trip and my most intimate thoughts ranging from the day of my wedding 'till just two days ago.

The cops came and took all the pertinent information, and CSI also came by, but as expected, there were no fingerprints, given they just smashed the glass, reached in and took the bag. And I heard it all happen, too.

I am so mad right it's not even funny.

I do thank G-d that the computer is safe and sound, but the loss of my journals feels like a dagger plunged straight into my heart.

My one hope is that they will have realized there is nothing of value inside the bag (they can take the Palmpilot and the network card for all I care) and threw the bag out the window somewhere, and that maybe, just maybe, I can recover what is truly important.

Argh.

When You Chose A Domain...

People really need to pay attention when they choose a domain name. These are all real:

• A site called ‘Who Represents‘ where you can find the name of the agent that represents a celebrity. Their domain name (wait for it) is www.whorepresents.com
• Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views at www.expertsexchange.com
• Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island at www.penisland.net
• Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at www.therapistfinder.com
• Then of course, there’s the Italian Power Generator Company at www.powergenitalia.com
• And now, we have the Mole Station Native Nursery, based in New South Wales: www.molestationnursery.com
• If you’re looking for computer software, there’s always www.ipanywhere.com
• Welcome to the First Cumming Methodist Church. Their website is www.cummingfirst.com
• Then, of course, there’s these brainless art designers, and their whacky website: www.speedofart.com
• Want to holiday in Lake Tahoe? Try their brochure website at www.gotahoe.com

Queen of Baking

There was a Bake Off today at my wife's work (Telemundo Network) and she decided to enter. Last night she prepared a scrumptious Maple Cake from a recipe she got in Nigella Lawson's Feast. She had done this cake twice before, once for my birthday, and I can attest to how delicious it is (it falls in the sinful category).

She just called me to tell me she won the Bake Off!!! :-)

The prize, unfortunately, is a gift certificate to a really expensive restaurant that we cannot eat at because it isn't kosher, so she'll see what she does with it. But bragging rights, those are all hers (and her department, too, since they were all cheering for her, given they know full well how good her baked goods are).