Every Time I Say My Desk is ‘Peak’ Cyberpunk, I End Up Topping It

by on November 30, 2020 at 1:11 pm
Posted In: Blog



My current desk


So every few years I’ve felt the need to make an update about my ever evolving workspace, and how I (more and more) seem to be cultivating an aesthetic that screams “secondary side character in a cyberpunk story who probably gets killed off in the third act.” It’s an aesthetic I’ve been working on on purpose (well, not the getting killed off bit), but every time I declare it’s reached “peak cyberpunk” I end up outdoing it soon after anyway.

Like that 2017 update? I exceeded it in mere months.

Anyway, since I made some significant changes recently, I thought I’d post an update about my weird hole of many screens where I run The Nerd & Tie Podcast Network from. I’m not going to run through everything, but I will map out the biggest differences from 2017. The first is (obviously) the 32″ display up top, which I now use to stream media on instead of the Kindle Fire (though the Kindle Fire is still used for audio bumpers on podcasts). An Apple TV runs that, though I also have a spare Switch dock hooked up sometimes. The Linux laptop is gone (I mean I still have it though), replaced by the late-2011 13″ MacBook Pro which used to be my main personal machine. That MacBook Pro is tucked away, but displays on the relocated black monitor in the lower left.

Of course, my new main personal machine is a brand spankin’ new M1 Mac mini, which is controlled by the keyboard and trackpad that sit where my laptop used to be. I’ve expanded the physical desk (and retired the mini fridge) to support the monitor for the Mac mini. And don’t worry, Linux isn’t gone from my desk (and I mean I still use the laptop) — as you will notice one last monitor on the lower right which is hooked up to a Raspberry Pi 400. This is notably used from a different chair, as that’s my “goof around” computer, and would literally be a distraction if I was trying to use it while getting work done.

It’s funny, I bought two computers in 2020, both of which are ARM based. With a good chunk of my desk now on RISC architecture, I’m happy I can just dig out this image without context as I sign off for today…

RISC is good

View Comments

Forty.

by on September 9, 2020 at 2:04 pm
Posted In: Blog



Forty. Forty years old. It’s official, there’s no more pretending that I’m not a full ass adult.

It’s here, I’m forty.

It’s a weird thing. Like if you’d asked me growing up where I thought I’d be at this age, the life I would have pictured for myself would have been so different. I had a lot of expectations I put on myself back then, and I’m happy I defied so many of them.

I mean, seriously, twenty year old me had no idea what they were doing and had no place trying to tell forty year old me what life should be like.

My thirties were a decade of change — at thirty I had just gotten married, Crysta and I had just moved to Indiana, and I was sort of lost. I was lost for most of my twenties too. Not having a rudder was kind of my THING it feels like sometimes. I’ve spent most of my adult not really having direction. Even when we moved back to Wisconsin three years ago, it wasn’t with any purpose beyond “we like it more than Indiana.”

If the last year has taught me anything though, having “direction” is friggin’ overrated though. I know so many people whose plans were tossed overboard in the storm that is 2020, and I’ve learned to appreciate what I have so much more.

I mean yeah, it’s been stressful as shit and I’ve had a massively hard time working on creative projects (I was going to start Peregrine Lake and revive Crosarth this year — which very much did not happen), but that’s just, y’know, because we’re living in a nightmare.

But my turning 40 is not a part of that nightmare. Turning 40 is, frankly, kind of nice.

View Comments

Ten Years.

by on June 19, 2020 at 6:21 pm
Posted In: Blog



Ten years ago today I stood across from Crysta in a chapel in Glacier Hills Park in Washington County. Ten years ago we got married. Ten pretty freaking awesome years.

Right now as we buckle down during a global pandemic, every day I thank the gods that she’s the one I spend my days with. I can’t imagine going through this with anyone else at my side.

So much has changed since we got married — we’re both different people than who we were back then. But as we’ve grown, we’ve grown together. For every challenge that has come in front of us, we’ve tackled it as a team. I count myself as lucky every day because of it.

We celebrated our anniversary early back in May with a week in a cabin on a lake up near Phillips, WI — and tonight we probably won’t do anything more than order a nice delivery dinner and watch Netflix in the living room.

But any time I get to spend with Crysta is special no matter what day it is.

View Comments

So Trae — Where is Peregrine Lake?

by on April 30, 2020 at 8:18 am
Posted In: Blog



So back in December I announced my new comic Peregrine Lake would be debuting in “April 2020.” Well, it’s April 30th, and clearly nothing beyond that initial teaser image has materialized. I’ve had a lot of people asking me why it isn’t here yet, and understandably so. So that’s what I’m going to explain.

It’s not here yet because I haven’t drawn it yet.

I have a lot of Peregrine Lake written. I have scripts for the first couple of months done, the arcs planned, but I haven’t committed any panels to virtual ink. The part of the work that usually takes me the longest is actually completed. But yeah — none of it has been converted to actual comics.

And the main reason for that, frankly, is that we’ve been living in lock down during a pandemic. My mental state has been not the best. I mean, I don’t want pity — my wife Crysta and I have been both working safely from home, which is a privilege a lot of other people don’t have right now. I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining at all. The fact is though, it’s stressful, and Peregrine Lake isn’t the only thing on my plate (some of you may recall that whole podcast network I help run).

I don’t talk about it all the time, but I have an anxiety disorder and it’s literally taking all my spoons to keep up with my day job and the ongoing projects I have. So, Peregrine Lake (and the return of The Chronicles of Crosarth) have both been put on what I’m now referring to as “extended schedules.”

The original plan was to launch Peregrine Lake in April, and then hopefully return Crosarth to updates in the Summer. This is obviously no longer the plan. The new plan is to try and launch Peregrine Lake in some form in either late May or early June, and the Crosarth timeline will be evaluated some time after that.

I know this may disappoint some people, but it’s just what I can handle right now. I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy, and I’m still very excited to share this story with you.

View Comments

Super Awesome Action Heroes Second Edition Now On Sale!

by on January 24, 2020 at 3:42 pm
Posted In: Blog



So fans of our actual play podcast Stormwood & Associates know that we use a role playing game system called Super Awesome Action Heroes which I created about fourteen years ago. I’ve always teased a print edition of that manual would come out, and once we started seriously running it with Stormwood (and I started to update issues the rules had I hadn’t noticed), I started talking about a second edition.

Well, that second edition is finally here.

I’m happy to announce the release of Super Awesome Action Heroes Second Edition (how many times can I say second edition?). The rulebook is just as slim as the first edition, which is why it only costs $6.99 to buy. Characters created with the first edition rules should be 100% compatible with the new version, but some rules have been tweaked (and some Archetypes completely rewritten, removed, or added). An electronic version will eventually become available, but I haven’t decided how I’ll be putting that out yet.

I should also note that this is just the core rules, and does not include the Fantasy archetypes or the Supernatural add on. Those are still available on the official website for free, and will remain so even if they end up in a print expansion down the road too.

It’s neat!

View Comments