2017 Recap

Bryan Lott published on
14 min, 2707 words

Like other blogs, I'm doing "2017 in review".  It gives me something to blog about and might jump start a new habit of writing more often.  Daily blogging would be fantastic but I'd like to start with something reasonable, monthly or maybe weekly and work up from there...

Note, after writing this it completely changed my perspective on how 2017 went for me.  When I originally started I was feeling pretty shitty about 2017 and hoping that 2018 is better.  Yeah, there was a lot of negativity in 2017 but personally there was a lot of good in there too.  Funny how things get put into perspective sometimes.

Games Played

Board/Tabletop

  • Unearth
    • Fantastic "light" board game for up to 4 players that plays in about 45 minutes or so.  Make sure to read the rules closely as our first game left us feeling a bit "WTF?"
    • Great for introducing parents and family members to a board game that's not one of the U.S. classics (Clue, Monopoly, etc).
  • Numenera
    • There's going to be a lot about this in the RPG section, but I can't say enough for how much this game has changed my life for the better.

Video

  • Divinity Original Sin
    • My new favorite game.  Really great classic role-playing game (CRPG) with what seem to be meaningful choices, a crafting system, magic, freedom of character creation and pathing, etc.  Feels close to D&D which is pretty much what I've been looking for.
  • Path of Exile
    • Think Diablo II, but better, and free.  Definitely worth a couple hours to figure out if you like it or not.
  • Crosscode
    • Feels like playing a realtime-combat JRPG MMO, but it's a single-player game.  Fantastic for the anti-social types that want to solo a cute MMO.
  • Turmoil
    • Great little time-waster with surprising depth (no pun intended LOL!)
  • Running With Rifles
    • Great time-waster, can be a bit frustrating at points, but the initial campaign is pretty long and engaging as are several of the player-created campaigns.
  • Rebel Galaxy
    • This game has one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in a game.  Feels like a wonderful mashup of Firefly, Cowboy Bebop, and soloing Eve: Online.  I only wish the storyline was a bit longer and you could spend more time with the higher level ships.

Books Read/Listened To

Fiction

  • Promise of Blood (Powder Mage #1)
    • Really engaging story so far, I'm about 7 chapters or so in and can't stop reading.
  • Engineering Infinity
    • First few stories were really amazing, the next ones I seem to have gotten bogged down in.  Will maybe try this again once I finish the first Powder Mage book.
  • Legends of the Nameless Dwarf: The Complete Saga
    • Haven't touched this since I finished the first book toward the startof the year.  The worldbuilding is interesting but seems a little disjointed for my taste.  I'll likely come back to it at some point.
  • The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicles #1)
    • The prose of this book is amazing but I find that it sometimes gets in the way of a story that's not incredibly interesting to me.  I'm more interested in the nested way the stories are being told (The author is telling the story of a storyteller telling a story about himself who also sometimes tells a story).
  • Vurt
    • If you can handle the (sometimes very) mature themes in here, it's a fun, wild ride.
  • Norse Mythology
    • First book on Norse mythology that I've actually finished.  If I remember correctly, this one was an audiobook read by the author.
  • Priest (Ratcatchers #1)
    • Matthew Colville, if you don't know that name, you probably don't play any tabletop role playing games (TTRPGs). He has a fantastic youtube channel devoted to nothing but and is engaging and fun to listen to. I originally bought this book as well as Thief to support him and it was surprisingly good. If I remember correctly there are a few very minor editing mistakes but I highly recommend it.
  • Thief (Ratcatchers #2)
    • The only bad thing about the Ratcatchers #2 is there isn't a #3 yet!!!
  • The Night Clave
    • Great Numenera novel, required reading for Numenera GM's in my opinion.
  • Myth of the Maker
    • To be honest, I never finished this one. The Strange is an interesting concept but I just can't get into it for some reason.

Non-fiction

  • Coders at Work
    • I've made it through the first interview at this point and it's engaging enough to keep reading once I make the time for non-fiction.
  • Extreme Ownership
    • Really made me take a hard look at leadership, my own role in failures, and what kind of leader I want to aspire to be.
  • Rework
    • Bunch of good tidbits in here, even for people that may not be running their own business.
  • The Passionate Programmer
    • Some of this book, I had an initially negative reaction to.  Mostly the "think like a business person" stuff.  In my "perfect" world, I'd just be writing code.  The business world doesn't follow the same logical rules I'm used to thinking in, which makes it rather difficult for me.  Thus, it's a learning opportunity.
  • The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains
    • Frightening book.  This is the one book this year that terrified me for the future of not only my own brain but the brains of the IT industry as well as for the developed (and soon enough developing) world.
    • Inspired me to read more, both paper books as well as on Kindle and listen to more.
  • Where Good Ideas Come From
    • Great audiobook for my now ~2 hour daily commute. Engaging enough to keep your interest, but not so engaging that you forget you're driving!
  • How We Got to Now
    • Same as the above, another great audiobook for a commute.
  • The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
    • Required reading, in my opinion, for anyone that says "yes" to too many things.
  • The Design of Everyday Things
    • Haven't finished this one yet, but it's already fascinating.

Tabletop Role-Playing Game (TTRPG)

I read a lot of RPG books, not necessarily because I'm going to play that particular setting/game/etc, but because it might provide a new perspective on how to better run a particular situation, give me inspiration, or offer another tool I can throw in my GM's toolbox (clocks from Blades in the Dark as one example).

This is what I can remember I've read this year.  It's been a lot...

  • Ryuutama
    • I've seen it described as Miyazaki-meets-Oregon-Trail.  Great RPG focused on the journey of a character and the stories they tell.  Definitely worth a read even if you never play it as inspiration for how to make the journeys of your character/player richer.
  • Cypher System
    • Numenera
      • Jade Colossus: Ruins of Prior Worlds
        • I'm not sure if this counts as a setting book but it definitely expands the setting of Numenera providing an interesting large structure to explore and set adventures in.  More than that, it provides a "ruin" generator that's fantastic (and is screaming for someone to create an online generator).  Great book, well worth purchasing.
      • Shadewalker
        • Looks to be a great one-shot adventure and one for getting new players up and running.  It's small enough that it can be placed pretty much anywhere in the Ninth World and would be easy to continue on from.
      • Ninth World Bestiary 2
        • To be honest, there wasn't a whole lot here.  I love the idea of bestiaries as inspiration and to give you more and varied creatures to throw at players.  The thing is, Numenera isn't supposed to be heavily combat focused and a lot of the creatures seem to be targets to swing at, not encounters to be role-played.
      • In Alternate Dimensions
        • Have already used The Whispering World alternate reality for my ongoing campaign and it's worked out incredibly well.  Would definitely recommend if you're interested in ramping up the Weird factor.
      • Character Options 2
        • Fantastic.  I'd consider this a must-buy along with Character Options 1.  Adds new player classes and a ton of other options.
    • Unmasked
      • Retro 80's setting, Superhero RPG.
      • To be honest, other than it being a cypher system setting, nothing else appeals to me in this book.  It's definitely a lot different than what was represented in the Kickstarter and I'm disappointed.  That being said, there are a ton of reviews I've read online about how people love the setting and gameplay so more power to 'em.  It's just not for me.
    • Predation
      • Seems like a great setting and provides some very interesting options for companion beasties.  The roleplaying potential here is fantastic as the beasties are all played by someone who isn't their human companion.  They also come with personalities and numerous other fun tidbits.
    • Expanded Worlds
      • To be honest, this one was pretty meh for me.  I'm sure I'll mine it for info if I get bored with Numenera and want to world build.
    • Vurt
      • This setting book is gorgeous and jam-packed full of information, inspiration, and details about Manchester.
      • Best of all, it seems like it's written in the Gamecat's voice, so I was reading it in that voice (from the audiobook) the entire time.  I highly recommend this, kittlings.
      • Having read the novel I was glad to see the sex-focused bits of the Vurt world entirely optional or turned down a bit.  If your gaming group can handle it, great, but I haven't even heard of one that can.
  • Blades in the Dark
    • Interesting system and world wrapped into a book that's a little disjointed. I'd recommend it for more experienced GM's and players as it's at best a morally ambiguous setting and game play with the potential to experience a lot of interesting and potentially uncomfortable situations.
    • As a GM the "clocks" mechanic is very interesting and one that I'll likely steal for any other game I end up running.
  • Dungeon World
    • Haven't played this yet, but it looks to be a great system for new players and GM's. It provides a limited list of "moves" for both the GM and the players and yet provides a ridiculous amount of freedom inside those moves.
  • Paranoia
    • Would love to play this in the future, not much to say here other than the "secret traitor" bit is definitely interesting.

TTRPG's

Critical Role!

Having listened to the Critical Role podcast for a good portion of this year's commutes into and home from work, Matt is a GM god and has become someone that I can look up to, honestly. He's humble, interesting, engaging, talented, and has a lot of life wisdom.

The rest of the cast is similarly amazing and has likely been responsible for a good portion of the uptick in people playing D&D and other RPGs.

Critical Role has been such a positive influence on me that I started running my own Numenera campaign and so far it's been a resounding success. We've played approximately every 2 weeks for a good portion of the year now and one of my players has been inspired to run their own game! It's awesome to see one of your players take the GM's mantle and run with it! I'm currently playing in that game now and while she has a different style than myself, it's an awesome game!

Another interesting side effect of playing Numenera is that my woodshop/workshop area is much improved and organized.  Stay with me on this one.

I was looking for a good way to thank my players for sticking with me for the past however long we've bee playing as I GM'd my first real campaign.  After a lot of browsing on Reddit, YouTube, and others I decided to get them a set of dice boxes.  But, me being me, I can't just buy something.  It has to have a personal touch somehow.  So, I ended up going down the route of buying some cheap boxes from a craft store.  Then I set to work sanding, distressing, finishing, staining, and felting the boxes.

Before I could do this, however, I needed a space to work in.  The logical space was my "workshop", or better known as "the place where we put shit when we don't know what to do with it."  Que a 4 hour cleanup, organization, and trash music-montage.  Is the workspace perfect?  Hell no.  The better question is: "Is it functional enough?"  The answer to that one is a resounding yes.  I was able to finish the boxes and give them as gifts (along with dice) to my players.

So, not only was I able to start 2 different projects (boxes and workshop cleanup), I was actually able to finish them as well!  Nothing feels better to me than a project started and finished.

Colorado 4x4 Rescue and Recovery (CO4x4RnR)

This year I joined a 4x4 non-profit.  Their (our) focus is person and vehicle extraction in the Colorado high country.  Specifically on Forest Service roads and Jeep trails.

My first recovery happened at the end of January.  I went on as a "ride-along" to see if it was for me and to get my feet wet.  Well, the next month I spent close to $8,000 in upgrades to my Jeep to get it ready for recoveries.  Talk about jumping in with both feet!  In training and gear alone this year, I've probably spent over $10,000.  I can also say that the 20+ recoveries I've been on have saved our clients well over that amount, possibly many times.  On one recovery alone, the client was quoted $7,000 from a commercial towing company.

Since that time I've joined the newly-formed SAR-ES (Search and Rescue - Emergency Support) group inside CO4x4RnR, learned Wilderness First Aid (WFA), taken 2 separate recovery skills classes, gained at least one 4x4 mentor, and made some great friends.  It's also gotten me out in nature more in one year than in the past 10 years combined.  That alone was worth it for my mental health.

Another project I was able to finish was the installation of some amber warning lights.  They're currently installed in a temporary-but-functional sense which for now is good enough.  That seems to be a theme for the past year and especially the last couple of months.  "Perfect is the enemy of the good."  So, don't try to make things perfect.  Instead, make them good enough and get. them. done.

New Job

On top of everything else, I also started a new job. Having gotten fed up with the lack of progress in my previous job as well as rats leaving what started to feel like a sinking ship, I looked for and found a new job within about a month. Changing jobs has always been stressful for me as I'm sure it is for many people. Thankfully, the new company has a much healthier culture, one where they're not likely to lay off people or sell a good portion of the company on what feels like a whim.

There are a few warning signs with the new company but as a rule, I don't talk about my current employer publicly, so my strategy right now is to adopt a wait-and-see approach. What that means is that I keep working as hard as I can to do my job right and if the company fails me, or a better opportunity arises, well, I'll move on to another.

Sadly the days of working for a company for 10+ years are far behind us, especially in the tech industry. Don't get me wrong, if I found the right company, I'd stick with them until whatever retirement looks like in 20+ years. The problem is I don't know that company even exists.

Summary

So, to sum up, personally I've had a fantastic year. I'm hoping and working toward 2018 being even better. Some things that are on my list:

  • Do more functional programming, preferably getting paid to do it!
  • Read more books, fiction and non-fiction, especially the dead-tree variety.
  • Play more games! Specifically tabletop games (RPG or not) with friends. The human connection is hard to beat.