Radio Active #98: The Long Dark Winter

Nuketown Radio Active

The Long, Dark, Winter is upon us, and in this episode, I talk about some strategies for dealing with it. I also talk about my family’s new Seeing Eye puppy, catch up on what’s been happening over the last year or so, and geek out about my new RPG campaigns.

Nuketown News

• Welcome back – it’s only been a year!
  • If you’re hearing this, then you’ve got three more episodes to look forward to.
  • New episodes are already edited and ready to be released.
  • Let’s see how long this lasts, shall we?
• A puppy leaves, a puppy arrives
  • Steven, a male black lab and our fifth Seeing Eye puppy, went back in September. He passed his physical and is currently working with a trainer.
  • Forest, our sixth puppy, arrived Dec. 27, 2022. He’s a male golden retriever.
• Winding down as scoutmaster
  • After four years as scoutmaster of my son’s troop, I’m stepping down. I’ll still be there as an assistant scoutmaster, but my time leading the program is over. Meanwhile, NeutronLad is working on his Eagle project: building agility ladders for Seeing Eye puppies.
• Back to the Game
  • RPGs:
    • Working on the epilogue to Scales of Truth, my lunchtime science-fantasy campaign. After finally reaching the Caverns of Kazeal (and surviving the mad AI inside) Norman the Lizard returns to his library to face the judgment of his peers. Will his friends support him?
    • Gearing up for a Cyberpunk RED campaign over at the Lair of Secrets. Been reading a ton of cyberpunk (the Sprawl Trilogy by William Gibson – Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive) as well as watching cyberpunk movies (Bladerunner, Alita: Battle Angel, Cyberpunk Edge Runners)
    • Also prepping the Elemental Apocalypse, a Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition game in which the Temple of Elemental Evil rose … and was never defeated. Think Red Dawn meets Willow meets Independence Day
  • Console: Picked up Portal Companion Collection for the Switch. It’s every bit as darkly humorous as I remember.
• The Lair’s Third Level
  • The Lair of Secrets, the podcast I’m doing with David Moore, is in its third season. We’ve been talking a lot of cyberpunk this season as we gear up for a run of Cyberpunk RED.
  • We even have the Neon Library, a cyberpunk book club. First up? Johnny Mnemonic (the short story by William Gibson)
• Mastodon
  • Twitter’s dysfunction shifted into high gear over the last few weeks.
  • I created a profile at the Dice.Camp Mastodon instance. So far, it’s been more fun, more thoughtful, and more engaging than Twitter.

Winter Strategies

• Hibernation mode
  • It’s cold. It’s dark. And I just want to sleep.
  • Energy levels are low and so is motivation. When it’s dark when you get up, and dark when you come home from work, it’s harder to do more than the minimum (even though the minimum is actually quite a lot)
  • A kid in high school means someone needs to get up at 6 a.m., so I’ve been doing that … and then promptly going back to bed
• Staying Fit and Awake
  • This winter, I’m trying to get to the gym a few days a week.
    • Typically, that’s in the form of a run on the college’s indoor track.
    • That’s complicated by the fact that I strained my left-side oblique and ribs intercostal muscles (the muscles between the ribs) doing pushups in November.
    • Going to physical therapy to fix that.
    • Looking to branch out into rowing, elliptical, and strength training so I’m doing something every day
  • I’m trying to maximize my sunlight, both real and artificial
    • Walking to work (and around the neighborhood) more.
    • Digging out my sun lamp for my work office.
  • Sleep better
    • But more on that next episode…
• Stress Relief
  • Hanging out with friends more.
  • Getting a massage more than once every 3 years
  • Meditating
• Managing Effort
  • Being realistic about what I can do in a day.
    • I’ve got my family – a kid in high school, a kid in college
    • I’ve got work – and new responsibilities.
    • I’ve got my dad and his myriad doctor’s appointments
    • I’ve got scouts (though that will hopefully start taking up less time)
  • With the time I have left, what can I do?
    • Read a book
    • Read a comic book
    • Write
    • Work on RPG campaigns
    • Build model rockets (but more on that next time)
  • The key is defending time for me … that’s not at 4 a.m.

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