This is a tough one to answer. A Stormtrooper rarely hits their target (according to some), but a Red Shirt always seems to die. However, Red Shirts aren’t known for missing shots, just getting killed all the time.
Yet, as a Stormtrooper I’m serving a corrupt, fascist empire. As a Red Shirt I’m serving a democratic Federation. Yet logic would tell me to choose Stormtrooper and quickly defect as the survival rate might be higher. But then I would most likely live life on the run.
My answer would be: Redshirt. I would probably be able to borrow or steal someone’s colored shirt that is different, and possibly survive, or avoid the away mission all together.
I always have been. I used to envy people who read quickly, devouring books in a single day or thick epic fantasy stories over a weekend. But it’s okay that I’m slow, and there are many reasons why.
1) Time. With ADHD, I struggle to sit and stay focused for long periods. I get distracted easily, and the slightest thing can pull my mind away.
2) I’m just slow. My average reading pace with proper comprehension is about 171 words per minute. Most people come in at around 250 words. That means if I read for a full hour, I can get through about 10,260 words. So a typical 100,000-word novel will take me about ten dedicated hours of reading time.
3) Priority. I have a lot going on in life and wear many different hats. So sitting down to read is much more complicated than it was fifteen years ago.
However, I’ve learned a few tricks to help me read more.
1) I’ve learned to read in ten-minute chunks, which has helped. If I can carve about ten minutes here and ten minutes there, I’ve seen a vast improvement in the number of books I can consume.
2) Audiobooks. I had to learn to listen to books. It didn’t come naturally. A great narrator can hold me for hours if need be. But I stress the “Great Narrator” part. I can consume more through audio than I used to. So I tend to devour them more now. I want publishing to get it together and learn to bundle ebooks and audio at a discounted price. They would make a fortune.
3) Stop worrying about how much everyone else is reading. Reading isn’t a sport, it’s entertainment, it’s for enjoyment, it’s for disconnecting from an already chaotic world. I don’t need to keep up with everyone else. So, I don’t care if so and so has read ten more books than me this year. Good for them.
I’m a slow reader. Maybe you are too. Guess what? That’s okay. Just dive in and learn to enjoy.
I’ve wanted to play some RPG a lot lately, but with everything else I already have going on, it’s one of those things listed under “I’ll get to one day.” But I saw this on Twitter (and Scalzi himself even posted his ranking on his blog yesterday), and I figured a couple of writer buddies (Josh Smith, Josh Hardt, and Liberty Hardt) would enjoy this. So, what is your RPG stats ranked from 1 thru 6…? Mine are below!
1- Charisma
I like to be in charge, and I like my ideas to be the ones everyone agrees with. This could be good or bad. I would make a great cult leader.
2-Dexterity
I have decent reflexes and I’m pretty agile when I need to be. I feel like this should come in at number two.
3- Wisdom
I feel like I’m pretty perceptive and have a pretty good tune with the world around me.
4- Constitution
I could easily swap this out with number three and probably should, but they are sort of even. I’m not tough in the rugged masculine way, but I have a high level of endurance. I can go for several hours and often have difficulty stopping to take a break when I’m in the middle of something.
5- Strength
Okay, definitely on the low side. I don’t have a stunning physical appearance. And while I’m in decent shape, if you need me to move a tree on our path to fight a horde of Orcs, I’m not your guy.
6- Intelligence
I don’t have a high level of intelligence. I’m a common sense guy and I have an average level of smarts. But if you need someone to do trig on our quest, you’re out of luck.
I’d be curious to hear how others rank themselves. Comment below and let me know
Some days I wonder if I’m getting old. I once enjoyed my coffee, all fixed up with different types of foam, syrup, and creamers. You know, the ones with those fancy names made by baristas I’m not cool enough to run in circles with. These days I much prefer a simple coffee, one that feels a little less chaotic.
I’ve discovered it has a much better and more refined taste whendumbed down. Even my coffee mugs seem simple. I now prefer an old plain diner mug to the one loaded with words and crazy graphics.
Maybe I’m getting boring.
Maybe I’m just a little reminiscent or enjoy specific memories. Like those of my grandmother sitting at a kitchen table with her Bible opened and a mug of coffee, adding nothing but just a touch of half and half.
Or maybe I prefer simplicity in my life now. I’m not sure. Maybe I’m exactly what some reading this are thinking – He’s strange.
I’ve cut my time back on social media to only a few calculated minutes here and there, trying to escape the noise, returning to a more straightforward method of just blogging my thoughts.
Simplicity, I think, might be my word for the year, which is weird to say because I’ve never considered making a word my word for the year. Yet here I am doing the very thing I’ve mocked or thought to be stupid in the past.
One thing is for sure. I’ve hit a level of productivity and production I haven’t seen in a year, and a lot of it has to do with cutting out the toxic, the chaos, and the noise that endlessly surrounds us.
Simplicity- it isn’t easy to achieve but necessary to endure.
Maybe some people are right. Perhaps I am just a little strange after all.
Geeky Dads Talk About Geeky Things Season Two Episode 1 – 11
We’ll be launching season two of the podcast on Feb 7th. It will still be the same raw, low-production format as it’s been. I’m excited to have some old and new friends joining us to chat about geeky stuff. Just a few dads and a few honorary geeky moms sitting around geeking out a bit.
Below is a list of the first 11 episodes. Please note: This isn’t the order they will be released. I hope you’ll tune in and join us each week.
Jason Joyner will join me as we chat about our Top 5 MCU Films. I’ve just finished a rewatch of all the movies up through Endgame with my kids, so many of these films were fresh on my mind.
Andrew Swearingen and I continue our discussion of 80’s films by launching into our Top 5 Movies from 1984
Amanda Trumpower will be coming on the show to talk about graphic novels for kids and her upcoming Middle-Grade release, Power Pup.
Ashley Johnson (My wife) will join me from our Kitchen table as we both Geek out about the Netflix show Wednesday.
Kerry Nietz and I will chat about Genre Mashups, including his series Amish Vampires, Zombies, and Werewolves in space. We’ll dive into some great films that have done this well.
Josh Smith and I did an episode in season one on our top five video games. Skyrim was a game on his list I had not played, but I decided to give it a shot. So we’ll dive into some of our favorite quests during this discussion.
Becky Dean is a close writing buddy, and she has a brand new Science Fiction series releasing this year. So she and I will dive into space pirates and her series.
Andrew Swearingen approached me about doing an episode centered around Crazy Fan Theories that make sense. How could I say no to this one?
Ted Atchley, my partner when it comes to all things Star Wars, returns to chat it up about Bad Batch season 2.
Randy Streu is a great friend and a voice narrator. If you’re looking for podcast, ads copy to be read, or an audio narrator, I can’t help but recommend him. He and I will chat about all things Zombies. A genre that I love.
And finally- My favorite episode of the year will be my oldest son, Miles (aka Hobbit 1). He will be joining me to talk about Godzilla.
I’ve already started lining guests up for April, May, and June. I’m super excited about all the different guests and topics we’ll explore over the next several months.
PS: If you have a topic for the show you think we should chat about, or if you would like to come on. Let me know. Geekydadsgeekythings@gmail.com
