Whatever happened to...?

What...no love for Branygan?

Wolvendancer proposed a couple of trades with me in January on BGG so he is still alive and playing Ameritrash games.

ubarose wrote:

Dukester's personal blog is Blogmic Encounter , but he hasn't been keeping up with it - new job and two small children. He's also one of the big dogs at Cosmic Online.

Ha! In the old days, I was a pretty constant presence at CE Online ... not so much any longer.

And, yes, the blog has been almost entirely dormant. It makes me sad, although I have a few ideas for new posts.

I've lurked at least once a week here. In fact, I've picked up some good tips from the "iOS games" thread, so thanks to everyone who posted a good find there. That's where most of my gaming is happening now: iPad, iPhone, Memoir 44 Online, etc. As you mentioned, new job, new(-ish) children, and zero time for set-up, tear-down, and rules interpretation.

Things appear to be smoothing out a bit, so I'd like to think I can get back into some of the things I enjoyed in my previous life (CE Online, posting a bit at gaming sites, etc.).

As for my break here ("We ... were ... on ... A BREAK!"), it was a conscious decision following a bit of drama. Like all internet dramas, the whole thing seems monumentally stupid a few months later. The less said, the better.

SanIlDefanso wrote:

However, I don't think I've ever come closer to having words with someone on this site as I did with him on the Lost thread several months ago.

You know what the very definition of "uncool" is? Taking a bunch of time off, then coming back and double-posting!

Anyway, as I mentioned above, I'm ashamed of some of the internet dramas I've gotten caught up in. While I'm still disappointed in LOST in a general sense, I will at least hope that I didn't make our argument personal. If it did get personal, then I offer an apology. (Sorry, don't remember the specifics ... which might be for the best).

TheDukester wrote:

SanIlDefanso wrote:

However, I don't think I've ever come closer to having words with someone on this site as I did with him on the Lost thread several months ago.

You know what the very definition of "uncool" is? Taking a bunch of time off, then coming back and double-posting!

Anyway, as I mentioned above, I'm ashamed of some of the internet dramas I've gotten caught up in. While I'm still disappointed in LOST in a general sense, I will at least hope that I didn't make our argument personal. If it did get personal, then I offer an apology. (Sorry, don't remember the specifics ... which might be for the best).

Ha, no worries dude. Just hoping you didn't drop out because of that.

I LOVE the work you do with Cosmic, so it's a shame we don't see more of you around here. I totally understand needing a break though. It's easy to get caught up in stuff, just know that you are missed.

ubarose wrote:

Glad to hear the good news about Strange Aeon. Tell him I miss him and wish we could play together again. His brother too.

Ditto this please. Some great times with him at various conventions over the years.

Feel the love in the room.

In my post on the "What do you know about FATties?" thread I alluded to the fact that all flame wars here were a weird version of foreplay.

Ha! nice. I want to flip the virtual board!!

Steve"so not an alpha dog"Avery

ubarose wrote:

Establishing dominance. AT games and therefore the Fort attracts alpha dogs. It's totally hot, but we sometimes get the virtual equivalent of flipping the board.

The Fort is more honest and transparent about its discourse and allows for disagreement and diversity of opinions. That's what is attractive about it.

TheDukester wrote:

("We ... were ... on ... A BREAK!"),

-10 AT points for a Friends reference.

But I lose 50 for catching it...

Tom Hancock is actually who directed me here from BGG.

Pretty sure wolvendancer left us. I've seen him on BGG complaining about Labyrinth. I don't miss him.

TheDukester wrote:

Anyway, as I mentioned above, I'm ashamed of some of the internet dramas I've gotten caught up in. While I'm still disappointed in LOST in a general sense, I will at least hope that I didn't make our argument personal. If it did get personal, then I offer an apology. (Sorry, don't remember the specifics ... which might be for the best).

Pfft. As a disinterested observer (thanks to having never been interested in Lost) on the various forums I frequent, I have seen more board meltdowns in threads relating to Lost than almost any other topic, including college football. That kind of says something as college football [of the U.S. variety] seems to bring out an unexpected degree of insanity from the deep recesses of the mind. Honestly, nothing could beat Lost's ability to bring out the internet drama on a web forum--and no type of community was immune as far as I could tell--ice hockey, board or video games, books, cooking, travel...whatever...it just didn't matter when it came to Lost partizan wars.

For me, though, the best madness could be found on the Widespread Panic fanboards thanks to Lost's original timeslot. Its long-standing slot on Wednesday nights seemed to coincide just perfectly with the bottoming out of serotonin levels in folks who incorporated significant amounts of Ecstasy (or any of the MDMA relatives that float around out there) into their Thursday->Sunday party activities around a weekend run of 2-4 Panic shows somewhere around the country.

It was like clockwork thanks to an "E-hangover" needing a couple of days to truly hit. You absolutely could tell who had partied a little too hard over the weekend when they hit the board Wednesday AM in a snit over some insignificant happening at work. Then, over the course of the day, you could monitor the bitchiness factor increasing all day. Then, when someone inevtiably started a Lost conversation thread [with spoilers, natch], they'd reappear on the board at midnight all pissed off that someone "deliberately spoiled" the episode they missed while crashed out on the couch. Fireworks would then, of course, ensue--and then end with a spectacular burst of Fuck-Yous all 'round. I truly looked forward to those mid-week board meltdowns. (It was also an object lesson in either the potential backlash of recreational use of mood altering drugs OR in the need to at least be smart enough to stay away from a keyboard or telephone during that 36-hour "brain happy juice" low. But, well, I guess that *is* why they call it "dope".