5 Things on a Friday: Dokken & #Deflategate

We made it through the snowstorm, and now the weekend is almost here.  There’s even some news that’s worth talking about.

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1.  A lack of trust in society is making a lot of people sick (Columbus Dispatch)

Noted physician Jenny McCarthy
leads the anti-vaxxer movement.

The parents who are against vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella and other childhood diseases no longer are just putting their own kids at risk. By taking their unvaccinated children to the happiest place on Earth and touching off a measles outbreak at Disneyland, the anti-vaxxers put hundreds of other children in jeopardy, too.

Measles on this level hasn’t been seen in the United States since the 1970s. So far, the disease has spread to 11 states and Mexico, infecting about 70 people in less than a month. Also making a comeback: whooping cough and diphtheria…

The anti-vaxxer movement is being fueled by parents who refuse to trust government, big pharma, family physicians and decades of sound science.

The Person Next Door

This is Hannah's first short story.  I was planning to have her post it under her own author account on the blog, but I didn't get it set up over the weekend, and now it's too late.

Her assignment was to write a story using the Monomyth structure, which she and her class have been studying all year via the Percy Jackson novels.  I was really pleased with how this came out.  She did a great job with it.

D&D: Campaign and Story Structure via the Lost Mine of Phandelver

After last week's article on the Infernal Captain's Pact, I thought briefly about doing some more work on the Hellknight concept.  It would be fun to play against type.  We could build the Hellknight as an infernal oath for Paladins and perhaps also design that melee Warlock build we discussed last week, either as a Pact of the Glaive or, more likely, as a new entity pact, perhaps the Angelic Pact.

Pics from the Blizzard

I'm sure I'll have more of these as time goes on, but here are a couple I took on the walk to the hotel.

Blizzard Warning

Here is our latest storm total snow range forecast graphic. pic.twitter.com/0AN8vx7fv9
— NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) January 26, 2015

Weekend Round-Up

I know, I know.  I said Mondays were supposed to triathlon posts.

It wasn't much of training week, though.  I ran three times, including on Sunday with Sally, but none of it was particularly outstanding.  It snowed Saturday morning, and I still managed to get out and run Saturday afternoon, so I guess that's something.  It was fun, but it wasn't any kind of record or anything.  I ran, I bopped around to my tunes... That's what I do.

Fun with HeroForge

Sally and Hannah are ice-skating.  Emma and I are home making heroes with HeroForge.

Sneakatara Boatman, complete with the Crown of Pluto
(Hannah's character)

Saturday News & Notes: #Deflategate & other stories

Happy Saturday.  We're snowed in!

5 Things on a Friday: YES and Secret Wars

Happy Friday!

Does it feel like  it’s been a long week?  I only had to work four days, but I feel like it’s been a slog.

Regardless, there’s a lot to get to today.  Ready?  Here we go.

Sketch in My Notebook: Heroes

I got the idea for this story from a review of "The Mystery of Malvern Manor" over on Merric's Musings.  I don't want to explain it before the story, but after you finish, you can head over there and see what you think.  Certainly, Merric's review has been good for me.  In general, I like his site quite a bit, and more specifically, it's always nice when somebody says something nice about your writing.

This story takes place about a decade into the future from anything I've written previously about Sneax and her friends.  Sneax is a teenager in the The Priest of Loki and The Crown of Pluto.  In this story, she's in her late 20s or early 30s.

D&D 5e: Adapting the Infernal Captain's Pact

Last week, I wrote a bit about the forthcoming Princes of the Apocalypse storyline, including some mention of the “Infernal Captain’s Pact” from Dragon Magazine #369 (November 2008).  Since then, I’ve been thinking about ways to adapt the Pact to D&D’s 5th edition.

Tri Training Log: Jan. 12 to 18, 2015 (Week 2)

One of my goals for this year was to get into the gym and stay there.  So far, that's been tough.  This week was not a bad week of training, but I need to find the time and energy to add some weight-lifting to my routine, but so far, that has not been easy.

Saturday Notes: Stuff I Saw on #Twitter

Here's some stuff that caught my eye.  I started collecting it yesterday, but that may make it more random than usual rather than less.  Guess we'll see.

#Fish & #Wine Pairing via @The_Duchess25 #Winelover @winewankers pic.twitter.com/0bVvGOY4BB
— Demi Cassiani (@DemiCassiani) January 16, 2015