Kendall Giles

Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons, has died:

Gygax always enjoyed hearing from the game's legion of devoted fans, many of whom would stop by the family's home in Lake Geneva, about 55 miles southwest of Milwaukee, his wife said. Despite his declining health, he hosted weekly games of Dungeons & Dragons as recently as January, she said.

"It really meant a lot to him to hear from people from over the years about how he helped them become a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, what he gave them," Gygax said. "He really enjoyed that."

As I write, more homages to Gary are coming in:

• BBC
• CNET
• Salon
• Boing Boing
• io9

For me, playing Dungeons and Dragons started in middle school, and we used the first set of rulebooks - a volume of three stapled pamphlets that came in a small white box: "Rules for Fantastic Medieval Wargame Campaigns Playable with Paper and Pencil and Miniature Figures." D&D's 4th edition is set to come out this year.

"Critical hit!"

We played for hours, day and night, learning to explore, expand our minds, marshal creativity, develop problem solving skills, dream, love, live. We entered tournaments, designed campaigns, read, and learned about history, culture, and how the world worked.

We laughed. We cried. Relationships with girlfriends who hated it didn't work out; we married the girlfriends who loved it. We realized that the potential of the world was limited only by our imaginations.

Even now, throughout my travels, I still meet people, young and old, who cut their teeth on Dungeons and Dragons. With a knowing nod, we share a common bond. An instant party, of a different kind.

So I lift a horn of mead to Gary Gygax --- to the power of imagination, and to many adventures ahead!

Technorati Tags: culture, living

When a colleague invited me to a recent birthday party for her one year old son, I was not sure what to give as a gift, until I happened onto the Build A Bear Workshop store.

The way the store works is that, you guessed it, you build a bear or stuffed animal.

First, you get to choose the type of stuffed animal you want to build - the classic teddy bear, or a bunny rabbit, or a baby chick. The animal you picked is essentially just the skin - no stuffing is in it yet.

Then, you go over to a large machine with a rotating arm that fluffs up the stuffing, kind of like a large cotton candy machine. When you step on a lever, the stuffing shoots out of a nozzle and the store attendant directs this into the animal skin, filling the body with stuffing, kind of like a reverse vacuum cleaner. You get to choose how stuffed you want the animal to be. You also get to insert a sound chip if you want, and you also get to insert a tiny plush heart. The attendant then closes the hole in the back of the skin and you have a new friend ready to go home with you.

But you might want some clothes for your new friend!

The store carries a wide variety of outfits, and most are interchangeable no matter what animal type you picked out. I chose a Buzz Lightyear space suit, though if I was going to keep the bear for myself I would have chosen the Harley Davidson motorcycle jacket.

If you give your new friend a name, they will print off a birth certificate, and you are on your way home with a relatively inexpensive, customized gift.

The store also has an online bearville where kids can enter information about their bear, play games, watch little movies, etc. I could see how a child would find the whole process very entertaining, and the parents might like the ability to customize the gift as well.

Technorati Tags: culture

I just thought these links might be of interest for those wanting to decorate eggs, perhaps using your computer:

• with Mathematica: http://www.kathryncramer.com/kathryn_cramer/2008/03/who-among-you-a.html
• ovals and egg curves: http://www.mathematische-basteleien.de/eggcurves.htm

Technorati Tags: culture, spirit

It is sometimes interesting to investigate history a little in order to determine the context of modern events.

Take Easter, for example.

While many Christians view Easter as the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, Easter as a religious event goes back much farther than that.

"Easter" comes from the ancient Germanic Goddess of spring, nature, and renewal, Eostre, or Ostara. This Goddess was symbolized by the hare and eggs, for reproduction and fertility during a time of year when the Germanic folk celebrated the coming warmth of spring and the planting of new crops, at a time marked by the Spring Equinox.

People would often color these Easter eggs, give them as gifts, eat them for good luck, and even hang them from trees to welcome good spirits:

The display and gift-giving of colored eggs was a common springtime practice among ancient Saxons, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Egyptians, and other pagan peoples.

This celebration continues today as the Ostara Rite, or Easter, though the Christians have adjusted the storyline a bit.

Even the Easter Bunny comes from the ancient Germanic religions:

Germans brought the legend of the Easter rabbit to America, though Easter itself wasn't widely celebrated in America until after the Civil War.

So give thanks to Eostre by coloring an egg (and you can refer to a previous post on some egg coloring ideas for the computationally inclined), eating a chocolate bunny, and welcoming the warmth of spring. These rituals are much more traditional than you might have previously thought.

Technorati Tags: culture, spirit

WHEN: Saturday, May 10th, 2008

One hundred thousand welcomes to Maryland's Scottish Event! Enjoy bagpipes, Scottish and Irish dancing, shopping, traditional food and afternoon tea. Watch kilted, professional Highland athletes compete for victory - tossing trees and throwing heavy weights. Enjoy bagpipe music as you stroll through Vendor's Row featuring Celtic goods and delicious foods from across the pond and America as well. Free genealogy service will be available as well, with over 30 clans on hand to further assist and educate about your family's heritage and tartan.

For more information, go to their website: http://www.sasmm.com/celtic_festival.htm

Technorati Tags: culture, living, spirit

I couldn't resist, on this St. Patrick's Day:

here's Danny Boy, as sung by Beaker, Swedish Chef, and Animal.

Technorati Tags: culture

Yesterday was a little busier than normal. In the morning I gave a research talk, "Text analysis with Iterative Denoising," at the spring meeting of the International Biometric Society, Eastern North American Region.

The conference was in Arlington, Virginia and my hotel was overlooking the Reagan National Airport. In the photo below (taken on a cloudy morning), you can see some of the airport structures, and just above the horizon you can see a plane taking off.

Immediately after presenting I rushed to Baltimore for a research meeting. I was interested to see some of the changes to campus since the last time I was there. This building below, just south of Garland Hall, is completely new, and serves as the university's new visitor center. That whole area used to be a gravel parking lot where I parked when on campus. Below the field is a new 600 car underground parking garage.

After my meeting, it was back to Richmond, and grading papers and preparing lectures awaited my return.

Technorati Tags: academia, living, virginia

The wonderful folks at Synthesize.us have made a Star Trek theme for the Nokia N810, so now it has an LCARS display just like those PADD tablets they use on Enterprise:

Energize!

Technorati Tags: culture, technology

I've uploaded Part 1 Chapter 5 of Beowulf.

Technorati Tags: culture