Radio Active #61: Leopard, 4th Edition, Secret Lairs, Google Code, Kobold Quarterly

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Radio Active PodcastRadio Active returns to its somewhat regular schedule as I talk about family visits, getting more sleep, hacking Moodle and trying out Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.

In Netheads, I talk about getting a sneak peak at D&D 4th Edition through already-released products like the Book of Nine Swords, discover a new Secret Lair for masterminds and minions to hang out in, and experiment with Google Code. Finally I have a review of the new print magazine Kobold Quarterly, which just may be the Dragon replacement that gamers are looking for.

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Show Notes

  • Nuketown News
    • My sister Kristen visited for a couple of days, bringing her 20 month old daughter and 4 month old son. T’was a lot of fun, and the kids got along pretty well. It’s always a blast seeing NeutronLad and his cousin together; they’re so close in age, and it’s interesting to see how they’re developing, what they’re interested in, how they interact, etc. My younger nephew cute as a button.
    • Unfortunately, Sue and NeutronLad came down with the stomach flew after Kris left (thankfully her family didn’t get it) which led to a sickness siege at our house over the weekend
    • Early January was was hectic because of a “hack/doc” fest we had at the day job. The idea was we’d get a bunch of programmers and instructional technologists together from various colleges, then work on real code projects for Moodle.
    • First time we’ve done something like this, and it was a blast – my job is usually solitary, working on my own projects, lost in my own code (or more likely, someone elses) so it was great to be able to brainstorm and work on stuff with people who all spoke the same language.
    • I’ve converted my home MacBook Pro to Mac OS 10.5 Leopard.
    • Loving Spaces. Being able to throw windows into different spaces and then quickly moving between them is very efficient, and greatly enhances my workflow. Experimenting with a window for code, window for browsing, window for terminal.
    • Problems with Mac & Sleep. Not sure why it has trouble waking up sometimes.
    • Stacks don’t display lists, awkward for folder with large collections of icons.
    • Family Visits and Disease Vectors.
    • Moodle Hack/Doc Fest
    • Leopard Shows its Spots
    • New Posts
  • Promo: Geek Acres
  • Netheads
    • Talks about the 4E-like aspects of Star Wars Saga Edition, Book of Nine Swords and Complete Mage.
    • Interesting how their primary concern is extending the game, while ours is trying to balance things against core.
    • I’m now playing a SwordSage from Book of Nine Swords in our resurrected Dark City game; I’ll hopefully have a review of the book later this month.
    • D&D Podcast: You May Already by Playing 4th Edition
    • Google Code
    • Secret Lair Podcast
      • “The Secret Lair is a podcast and blog which follows the real life “adventures” of Kris Johnson and Chris Miller. From the safety of the Lair, they will plan grand travels, trick unsuspecting victims into recorded interviews, plot the downfall of David Moore1, project manage their goal of tri-county domination2 and…frankly…talk about what catches their attention.” — from the site’s intro blurb
      • Recently talked about their month-long info detox project, what movies they’ve been watching, what books they’re looking at, and horrors of living with the familiy plague.
      • www.thesecretlair.com
      • thesecretlair.ning.com
  • Promo: SFF Audio
  • Magazine Review: Kobold Quarterly
    • http://www.koboldquarterly.com
    • A quarterly print publication dedicated to d20 fantasy gaming
    • I’ve been looking for a replacement for the print edition of Dragon Magazine. Yes, the new online version is out, but it doesn’t have the tangible nature of a print mag. And I’m annoyed with Wizards.
    • Kobold Quarterly is stepping into the Dragon void with a pro zine published by Wulfgang Bauer and featuring some of the big names in gaming, such as Keith Baker and Skip Williams .
    • It’s got an old-school Dragon feel — think issues 150-200 — with lots of small press ads.
    • Focused on fantasy d20 content (which may disappoint some truly old school D&D fans). Offerings are familiar, including:
      • Princes in Hell
      • Ecology of the Lich
      • Sage Advice (Ask the Kobold)
    • Also includes interviews (#3 had Ed Greenwood) and features (such as how to run a Noir game by Keith Baker, and Star and Shadow magic by Wolfgang.
    • I’d love to see more of the Dungeon content folded in, specifically campaign workshop columns and the “100 things” features. Getting there wtih their “dangers doors” article, which is exactly what I used to get Dungeon for.
    • Print subscription includes PDF; the PDF usually arrives first. The print copy was simply bound, heavy-grade paper with two staples. The center two pages of the magazine came out as the staples gave way, but a little surgey will fix that — I’m just happy to have something to put on my shelf.
    • PDF looks good, and I like how it includes the ads — truth be told, I miss the ads in Dragon.
    • To learn more about Wolfgang and Kobold Quarterly, listen to Cannon Puncture’s interview with him in show #28.
  • Promo: Geek Label Podcast
    • http://www.geeklabel.com
  • Outro

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