This is my first blog post from an iPhone.

This past weekend I attended DieCon 9 in Collinsville IL. I ran a game of Stone Age for the Atomic Squash gamer group.

The setting for this year’s Spycraft LARP was a disco in a divided Berlin in 1972. I also wrote a character, a Polish businessman who would black out and lapse into a psychopathic rage.  We had about a dozen players turn out. Due to a shortage of female players, I took the role of a lady photographer for the Rolling Stone magazine. Rick R was absolutely entertaining as Andy Warhol! Amy S played a bartender who “dosed” quite a few patrons.

It was great to see friends: Tom W, the Imbodens, Amy, Cuban, Joe, Jason W, Adam, Rick R, Ron and Jason A. Good times!

In honor of Mother’s Day I decided to repost my recipe for perfect deviled eggs, a recipe which my mom loves.

Perfect Deviled Eggs

• 1 dozen eggs
• 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
• 1/3 cup Miracle Whip
• Pinch of sugar
• Splash of apple cider vinegar
• Paprika
• 6 pimento-stuffed green olives

First, put the eggs in a large pot and cover with water. Heat the water to boiling. Remove the eggs from the heat, cover and let sit 15 minutes. Now the trick is to get the eggs to stop cooking. Immerse the eggs in ice water and sit them in the fridge. This will keep the yolks nice and yellow.

Once the eggs have cooled down, remove the shells. Cut them lengthwise and dump the yolks in a mixing bowl. To the yolks add several tablespoons of Miracle Whip, a teaspoon of prepared mustard, a pinch of sugar and splash of apple cider vinegar. Mix well.

Fill the egg halfs with the yolk mixture. I find filling a sandwich bag and snipping a corner helps cut down on the mess. To complete the presentation I sprinkle on a little paprika and place an olive slice in the center of the yolk.

I modified my blog to use Wordpress. There are still some broken links and improvements I would like to make. Please be patient with the rough edges.

Another meme from Facebook..

Once, you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things. At the end, you choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you.

1. I’ve done this meme before (see previous note) but have been tagged a couple more times since I wrote the note. So here goes. Again I’m not tagging anybody even though I love reading friend’s random things.
2. I’m not what you call a morning person.
3. I wish I could play the guitar like Stevie Ray Vaughn.
4. I wonder what life would be like marooned in space aboard a spaceship with a hologram of my best buddy, a life form evolved from a cat, an android and a hyper-intelligent computer that runs the ship.
5. I took remedial reading in grade school; there I discovered my talent for computers.
6. I once met a guy whose legal name was Tiger Love. He freaked me out.
7. Books that contain over 400 pages intimidate me.
8. My favorite author is Ray Bradbury.
9. I refuse to watch movies in which Bruce Willis stars.
10. I’ve held the Daredevil’s and the Kingpin’s prop canes.
11. I’ve pushed the button at the Milwaukee convention center that reads “Push to play Polka”.
12. I know the secret phrase to enter the Safe House in Milwaukee.
13. Tony Dungy signed my Gen Con Indy badge one year.
14. I have a profile on an online dating website.
15. My father loved “The Screwtape Letters”; it’s on my book list.
16. I have so many unfinished video games that if I completed one a week, I wouldn’t finish until July.
17. I don’t understand the appeal of televised poker.
18. It seems like I spent a majority of my 20s working inside a cubicle.
19. It’s almost 2010. Where’s my rocketpack?
20. I had a high school crush on a couple Facebook friends. Of course if you’re wondering, then yes, it was totally you, darling!
21. I have a propane grill and intend one day to master the art of the BBQ.
22. I like chili esp Cincinnati-style chili.
23. I ask people about the jewelry they wear; there’s always a story there.
24. I’ve been to the Chicago Blues Festival three times; ran into the guys who run the Creepy Crawl in St Louis there one year.
25. My mailbox has 121 Mb worth of messages; just 1% of what Google mail has allocated.

A meme from Facebook..

Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you. Please play along!

1. I don’t usually participate in these things. I’m going to respond but not tag anybody new.
2. I wrote three live action role playing (LARP) games: Kobolds on a Plane, Black Tie Affair and Tabriz School of Magic.
3. My high school mascot was the Orphans.
4. I have a twin brother.
5. I have two computers and two laptops.
6. Growing up we did not have a television in my house.
7. I play the guitar but need more practice.
8. In video games I collect the shiny things.
9. I like the sounds that trains make.
10. I taught myself to play chess when I was eight.
11. I like toast without jelly and butter.
12. I hate needles.
13. I want to visit Europe, maybe parts of Ireland that were once divided as recently as 20 years ago.
14. I want to learn another foreign language, maybe Russian.
15. Televised baseball puts me to sleep.
16. I used to sing in a choir.
17. I work on my social skills.
18. Beets make me sick.
19. I think global warming is a hoax designed to prey on our fears.
20. I like Mary Ann but when I was younger I was seduced by Ginger’s shiny dress.
21. I don’t have any tattoos or piercings. Why mess with perfection?
22. I was in a church play in high school, the beginning and end of my acting career.
23. I have learned to walk around my house without the lights on.
24. In the summer between high school and college I taught nature classes at a Boy Scout camp.
25. I am a Christian who once thought the little fish that folks stick on their cars meant they bought it from a Christian car dealer.

Merry Christmas everybody! Brace yourself for 2009!