Now

What I’m currently doing, feeling, and thinking about…

I’m wrapping up season two of my Absurd Encounters game. The system is mostly good, but needs some more flavorful weirdness and specific playbook balancing. Not sure if I’ll run a third season yet, as that will likely depend on what the finale looks like. The Connect the Dots move has proven an interesting challenge to the players so far, and I get the sense that it should be better emphasized as a core part of the gameplay loop.

While continuing preparations for an Ultraviolet Grasslands campaign, I put together a tiny OSR-inspired hack, Violet Slice, which I’m actually pretty proud of. It does a much better job of grouping ideas in a streamlined way than my previous project, Hundred Lite—though there are very obvious similarities. My only concern is that it lends itself maybe a little too heavily to OSR games, and specifically fantasy-styled campaigns. Funnily enough, that’s generally my least preferred setting, so I plan on trying out the ruleset in other settings to gauge its broader appeal. Still, for UVG, it should work really well.

I bought a Ninja Slushi machine for myself as an early birthday present, and it’s been amazing as we’ve hit mid-90s here in southern New Mexico. Some frozen margaritas on my back patio watching the sun set is magical. Now, if only we could get some monsoons this summer…

Also for my birthday at the end of this month, I’m going to be taking a reasonably long road trip to places I haven’t been. I’ve been out of the photography habit for too long, so I’m hoping to revitalize that interest once again. I have so many photos I still need to edit and upload here from years past that it’s a bit overwhelming to think about. Maybe with vacation time I’ll push myself to do that.

Updated June 2, 2025.