Simply enough, I followed these instructions for installinig a new radio, SPL, and modified CyanogenMod 6.1-RC1, and my old T-Mobile G1 is ROCKIN'! I love open-source!
The longer you run, the smaller your world becomes!
2010-11-06
Week in Review - Tapering?
It appears that I'm in a taper, again. This week has been a tough one for me. The last three weeks, I had started back on the path to building up some basic mileage; I am a distance runner for crying out loud! I encountered a few blockers this week, mostly my own fault: poor nutrition, poor sleep, and some over-training (yeah, that last one baffles me, too). It appears I've have picked up a cold, to top it all off.
One of the marked differences between this effort and my last is that I'm committed to running as close to barefoot as possible. My guidance is a book titled "ChiRunning" by Danny Dreyer. Danny's focus is on applying the principles of Tai Chi to running. Some of the key concepts are "Cotton and Steel", "fall forward" and let gravity carry you, "land underneath your knees", "shorten your stride", and "high turnover".
I am changing my stride from a heavy-heel striker to a light mid-foot to fore-foot striker. The goal is to run injury free for life! I like running far too much to risk not being able to do it into my 80's and 90's!
The odd looking Vibram Five fingers you see here, which I purchased in June, are quite comfortable, and well worth the $80! If you're following trends, you'll probably recognize these shoes, but rest-assured, I'm not simply trying to follow a trend. I'm trying to fix my stride. These shoes, and running barefoot in general, seem to force me to run "better". The principles of ChiRunning seem to fall naturally when running barefoot, whereas trying to apply this change in stride in traditional shoes is just hard!
I have noticed two things with this running style, though. The first is that my calves kill me after long runs! I've been able to build up to a seven mile run barefoot, but it leaves me limping for days afterwards. Ice, ice, and more ice certainly help, as does Ibuprophen.
The second is that I get blisters! This is more of a factor of the shoes themselves and my soft-padded feet. Over time, I've been able to build up some callouses, starting with low mileage runs and ramping it up. I can now run up to 3 miles without socks, but anything over requires me to put on the Injinji's. As winter approaches, I'll probably need one or two layers of socks anyway. Wet and snowy days are going to be a bother. Time to find a new pair of shoes for the Minnesota Winters.
Last week's Sunday run left me really sore, both in my calves, but also in my right hip. I'm exercising muscles I don't use effectively, it appears. My left hip was the problem one earlier this year, so maybe this means that this strength training is actually paying off. My left hamstring is starting to feel better, perhaps stronger. I'm just looking forward to the day when I can strap these shoes on and head out the door without worrying about aches and pains.
The pain, the fatigue, and nutrition -- fast food this week -- have all left me a bit ragged. I took Wednesday through Friday off. This doesn't get me off the hook for my Saturday core workout, but it does mean I'm going to have to reevaluate my training schedule. I'm starting to get my head out of the clouds with this pipe-dream of the Superior Sawtooth 50 by 2011. I think a more realistic goal would be 2012. Next year may be the "Year of Half's and Tri's". One solid year of building up and aggressive cross-training.
I still haven't gotten that 5k out of the way, but the Living History Farms Cross Country Race is fast approaching! I can't wait to get out and race again. Hopefully, I'll be able to get out and train more effectively for the next two weeks. Wish me luck!
One of the marked differences between this effort and my last is that I'm committed to running as close to barefoot as possible. My guidance is a book titled "ChiRunning" by Danny Dreyer. Danny's focus is on applying the principles of Tai Chi to running. Some of the key concepts are "Cotton and Steel", "fall forward" and let gravity carry you, "land underneath your knees", "shorten your stride", and "high turnover".
I am changing my stride from a heavy-heel striker to a light mid-foot to fore-foot striker. The goal is to run injury free for life! I like running far too much to risk not being able to do it into my 80's and 90's!
The odd looking Vibram Five fingers you see here, which I purchased in June, are quite comfortable, and well worth the $80! If you're following trends, you'll probably recognize these shoes, but rest-assured, I'm not simply trying to follow a trend. I'm trying to fix my stride. These shoes, and running barefoot in general, seem to force me to run "better". The principles of ChiRunning seem to fall naturally when running barefoot, whereas trying to apply this change in stride in traditional shoes is just hard!I have noticed two things with this running style, though. The first is that my calves kill me after long runs! I've been able to build up to a seven mile run barefoot, but it leaves me limping for days afterwards. Ice, ice, and more ice certainly help, as does Ibuprophen.
The second is that I get blisters! This is more of a factor of the shoes themselves and my soft-padded feet. Over time, I've been able to build up some callouses, starting with low mileage runs and ramping it up. I can now run up to 3 miles without socks, but anything over requires me to put on the Injinji's. As winter approaches, I'll probably need one or two layers of socks anyway. Wet and snowy days are going to be a bother. Time to find a new pair of shoes for the Minnesota Winters.
Last week's Sunday run left me really sore, both in my calves, but also in my right hip. I'm exercising muscles I don't use effectively, it appears. My left hip was the problem one earlier this year, so maybe this means that this strength training is actually paying off. My left hamstring is starting to feel better, perhaps stronger. I'm just looking forward to the day when I can strap these shoes on and head out the door without worrying about aches and pains.
The pain, the fatigue, and nutrition -- fast food this week -- have all left me a bit ragged. I took Wednesday through Friday off. This doesn't get me off the hook for my Saturday core workout, but it does mean I'm going to have to reevaluate my training schedule. I'm starting to get my head out of the clouds with this pipe-dream of the Superior Sawtooth 50 by 2011. I think a more realistic goal would be 2012. Next year may be the "Year of Half's and Tri's". One solid year of building up and aggressive cross-training.
I still haven't gotten that 5k out of the way, but the Living History Farms Cross Country Race is fast approaching! I can't wait to get out and race again. Hopefully, I'll be able to get out and train more effectively for the next two weeks. Wish me luck!
Runs with d6's: Gaming
Runs with d6's: Gaming: "I'm big into table-top games! Yes, big! My sophomore year in college, a group of friends introduced me to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd..."
2010-10-31
Possible Rune Magic for GURPS - Thoughts
As some of you may know or guess by the title of my blog, I'm a big fan of table-top role playing games such as GURPS1 and Dungeons and Dragons;2 I've been playing such games for years. Recently, my cousin Dwayne expressed interest in playing in a Mage campaign in a fantasy setting with a special interest in a character that practiced Rune Magic. Although there are published rule options for Rune Magic in GURPS and possibly D&D, I have not yet obtained these alternate rules. I thought I might take a stab at the mechanics to support Dwayne's view of how the ritual of casting might happen and with what I know of Runes in general.
Runes are letters in a real-world alphabet Germanic in origin that predates the adoption of the Latin alphabet. There are a number of versions of these alphabets tied to different Germanic cultures and times, and the Elder Futhark, the Younger Futhark, and Anglo-Saxon Runes are commonly referenced. Cultures typically handed down the meaning and use of runes through poetry known as Rune Poems. These meanings were used to apply Runes not only for use in literature but also in divination rituals and magic.
By in large, magic in GURPS is handled through an advantage called Magery, which can be purchased in levels for character points. It accounts for the character's ability to cast magical effects, which are considered extraordinary compared to the average human. Different levels of Magery can be purchased to represent power and accessibility to certain spells. Spells are learned as Skills, which describe the difficulty for casting, the spell's affects, duration, range, prerequisite skills that the character must also have, and cost to cast. In general, GURPS magic does not distinguish on the style of play or source of magic. The spells available to a magic user are the same for a cleric, someone who receives this ability through the favor of the divine, a mage, someone trained to cast magic through ritual, or a sorcerer, someone who simply "knows" how to perform magic.
To be a Rune Mage in GURPS may simply involve describing your character as drawing runes, or calling out their names, perhaps using a piece of wood, a coin, or some other object that represents the rune while casting the spells. You would still purchase Magery and the spell skills as defined, and fulfill the prerequisite ladder to have access to more advanced spells.
Random Draw!
The problem with this approach arises with how Dwayne wanted his character to use runes, to have a bag of inscribed runes from which he randomly draws at the time of casting, trusting in the gods to provide the tools to defeat his enemies. For example, the runic mage Egill draws the three runes while in combat with a group of giants: Uruz (ᚢ), Raido (ᚱ), and Isaz (ᛁ). These runes might represent strength or the ox, travel, and ice. Perhaps the spell effect would be to call forth a giant oxen made of ice, who can charge the giants at exceptional speeds. The challenges here are interpreting the runes, then deciding what scope of affect the mage has ability or access to cast. If the mage has no experiencing in summoning, then Uruz might simply represent an increase in personal strength and speed.
So, we've raised two concerns: meaning and affect. Now, what about cost to cast? Access to individual runes themselves? Time to prepare? Action to activate? How do you translate the above action into dice rolls? Arg! A simple concept can quickly become complicated. Hmm... "trusting in the gods". Problem solved, it's GM choice! I do think there's a mechanism that can be defined here, but it will take some thought...
...or reference! After preparing much of this post, I decided to splurge and pick up Phil Masters' "Thaumatology" for GURPS 4th Edition. In it, he describes a Symbolic Magic system that uses runes in pretty much the same manner I outlined above. Cost is determined by what the rune represents: noun, verb, and scope. Affects are defined by combining runes, as listed above. Definitely worth it. It also turned out that Dwayne wasn't really interested in a random-draw casting, rather more structured. I think we have a good fit!
Divination
Another part of rune magic is divination. This type of use generally departs from the magic systems established by gaming systems. A divination example could be taken directly from many of the published Rune books in the Alternative section of book stores. There's almost no reason to further explore the ritualistic aspects of this for gaming purposes. Essentially, a diviner forms a question in his or her mind to ask the gods or goddesses and casts either a set number or the entire lot of runes within a circle, upon an animal skin, or other sanctified ground. Different casting patterns are used for different purposes or types of questions, and the runes are interpreted by the diviner. From a game mechanics point of view, the only thing important here are the Magery ability and a Divination skill.
All in all, I think a Runic Mage is entirely workable.
Footnotes
Runes are letters in a real-world alphabet Germanic in origin that predates the adoption of the Latin alphabet. There are a number of versions of these alphabets tied to different Germanic cultures and times, and the Elder Futhark, the Younger Futhark, and Anglo-Saxon Runes are commonly referenced. Cultures typically handed down the meaning and use of runes through poetry known as Rune Poems. These meanings were used to apply Runes not only for use in literature but also in divination rituals and magic.
By in large, magic in GURPS is handled through an advantage called Magery, which can be purchased in levels for character points. It accounts for the character's ability to cast magical effects, which are considered extraordinary compared to the average human. Different levels of Magery can be purchased to represent power and accessibility to certain spells. Spells are learned as Skills, which describe the difficulty for casting, the spell's affects, duration, range, prerequisite skills that the character must also have, and cost to cast. In general, GURPS magic does not distinguish on the style of play or source of magic. The spells available to a magic user are the same for a cleric, someone who receives this ability through the favor of the divine, a mage, someone trained to cast magic through ritual, or a sorcerer, someone who simply "knows" how to perform magic.
To be a Rune Mage in GURPS may simply involve describing your character as drawing runes, or calling out their names, perhaps using a piece of wood, a coin, or some other object that represents the rune while casting the spells. You would still purchase Magery and the spell skills as defined, and fulfill the prerequisite ladder to have access to more advanced spells.
Random Draw!
The problem with this approach arises with how Dwayne wanted his character to use runes, to have a bag of inscribed runes from which he randomly draws at the time of casting, trusting in the gods to provide the tools to defeat his enemies. For example, the runic mage Egill draws the three runes while in combat with a group of giants: Uruz (ᚢ), Raido (ᚱ), and Isaz (ᛁ). These runes might represent strength or the ox, travel, and ice. Perhaps the spell effect would be to call forth a giant oxen made of ice, who can charge the giants at exceptional speeds. The challenges here are interpreting the runes, then deciding what scope of affect the mage has ability or access to cast. If the mage has no experiencing in summoning, then Uruz might simply represent an increase in personal strength and speed.
So, we've raised two concerns: meaning and affect. Now, what about cost to cast? Access to individual runes themselves? Time to prepare? Action to activate? How do you translate the above action into dice rolls? Arg! A simple concept can quickly become complicated. Hmm... "trusting in the gods". Problem solved, it's GM choice! I do think there's a mechanism that can be defined here, but it will take some thought...
...or reference! After preparing much of this post, I decided to splurge and pick up Phil Masters' "Thaumatology" for GURPS 4th Edition. In it, he describes a Symbolic Magic system that uses runes in pretty much the same manner I outlined above. Cost is determined by what the rune represents: noun, verb, and scope. Affects are defined by combining runes, as listed above. Definitely worth it. It also turned out that Dwayne wasn't really interested in a random-draw casting, rather more structured. I think we have a good fit!
Divination
Another part of rune magic is divination. This type of use generally departs from the magic systems established by gaming systems. A divination example could be taken directly from many of the published Rune books in the Alternative section of book stores. There's almost no reason to further explore the ritualistic aspects of this for gaming purposes. Essentially, a diviner forms a question in his or her mind to ask the gods or goddesses and casts either a set number or the entire lot of runes within a circle, upon an animal skin, or other sanctified ground. Different casting patterns are used for different purposes or types of questions, and the runes are interpreted by the diviner. From a game mechanics point of view, the only thing important here are the Magery ability and a Divination skill.
All in all, I think a Runic Mage is entirely workable.
Footnotes
- Generic Universal Role Playing System by Steve Jackson Games.
- Dungeons and Dragons was originally created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson for TSR. It is now owned by Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro.http://sjgames.com/gurps/books/thaumatology/
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