Friday Flash Fiction: "Temporal Mechanics"

I seriously considered using this image as the "illustration" for this week's story, but I didn't think anybody would get it.

Read "Temporal Mechanics" at 512 Words or Fewer

Yeah, Mom, That's Me Too

On page 146 of this month's (May 2012) WIRED Magazine:



I believe I was the only Bay Area WHO helper costumed in a bow tie, as shown below. (The "Chen" mentioned in the next sentence is Crystal. No relation. I know, it's a bit confusing. You'll get over it.)

From WHO Game Bay Area re-cast

You can read more about the actual, not-so-brief berating in Larry Hosken's WHO Game write-up (skip down to "What the Yelling was About"). Good times.

The WIRED article should be online soon. It's a decent "highlight reel" of the WHO Game Bay Area re-cast, mostly written from a player's perspective. I'm not sure it fully captures the spirit of The Game, but I'm still happy to see our peculiar little hobby getting more mainstream exposure.

UPDATE: You can now read the complete Wired article online.

SnoutCast #114: "A Model Growth Connector"

This week, we chat with Allen Cohn and Erik Stuart, two of the ringleaders behind The Doctor When Game. As usual, bragging rights (no pun intended, RICH) to the first person who leaves a comment explaining what the title of this episode means.

(And stay tuned after our ending theme song--Samuel L. Jackson does not make an appearance, but we still think it's a pretty amusing anecdote.)


[ Download mp3 - 28 MB ]

00:59 - "chronological"
01:28 - who was on Doctor When GC? (see also: credits page)
03:17 - instigation, I mean inspiration
09:38 - did GC achieve their goals?
14:16 - FYI: Doctor When was not originally conceived as an overnight Game
17:58 - recruiting actors and others
22:06 - how was it, running two Game weekends back to back?
24:47 - what's next?
29:28 - (looking for The Game in all the wrong places)
30:16 - The End

Tell us we're wrong on the Internet! E-mail podcast@snout.org or post at snout.org/podcast.

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "The Future Soon" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

   

Friday Flash Fiction: "Scrying is Believing"

I have been sick this week, but I did manage to start expanding last week's 512 into a longer story. Here's an abbreviated scene from that new piece.

Read "Scrying is Believing" at 512 Words or Fewer

SnoutCast #113: Money!

In which we don't actually talk about the named topic. What else is new?


[ Download mp3 - 28 MB ]

00:59 - "financial"
01:09 - WarTron update: why May 20th for applications?
13:01 - Money! (Sort of.)
19:28 - what does Snout GC not pay for, pre-Game?
28:53 - so... what else is going on?
30:18 - The End

Tell us we're wrong on the Internet! E-mail podcast@snout.org or post at snout.org/podcast.

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "Ikea" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

 

Friday Flash Fiction: "Making Waves"

What would you get if you crossed The Hunt for Red October with H.P. Lovecraft? And maybe set it in the same world as "Godwin's Law?" Possibly something like this.

Read "Making Waves" at 512 Words or Fewer

SnoutCast #112: Time!

In which we reflect upon our respective experiences as player and GC helper in Doctor When.


[ Download mp3 - 27 MB ]

00:59 - "extemporaneous"
01:37 - WARTRON up front
02:24 - participating in Doctor When
03:50 - DeeAnn advocates sleeping on the job
06:59 - Curtis's funny stories...
07:13 - ...Matt: "Where's my laptop?"
08:04 - ...Rob: "This is unsolvable!"
10:41 - ...Katie: riding in cars with bros
13:16 - sleeping on the ground? not so great
14:08 - GC monologuing
17:44 - using "time outs"
22:05 - tracking teams
24:22 - mmm... pie...
26:59 - upcoming events: DASH 4, Shinteki Decathlon 7, more at PuzzleHuntCalendar.com
28:07 - build your own Cat Feeding Robot!
29:23 - The End

Tell us we're wrong on the Internet! E-mail podcast@snout.org or post at snout.org/podcast.

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "Mandelbrot Set" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

 

Friday Flash Fiction: "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel"

With apologies to Robert A. Heinlein.

Read "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel" at 512 Words or Fewer

SnoutCast #111: 2012-Q2 Hunts Preview

Time marches on, and the puzzle hunts just keep on comin'!


[ Download mp3 - 23 MB ]

00:59 - "provident"
03:57 - April 6th: University of South Carolina Puzzle Hunt
05:13 - April 10th: Puzzled Pint, Mastermind Pub Hunt
06:51 - April 21st: BAPHL 5 (and April 14th: P&A Magazine)
08:58 - April 28th: DASH 4
12:35 - May 12th & 19th: Shinteki Decathlon 7
14:37 - And now a word about volunteering
18:01 - June 2nd: BANG 33: A Charity BANG
19:07 - New idea? Try it; people might like it!
24:15 - The End

Tell us we're wrong on the Internet! E-mail podcast@snout.org or post at snout.org/podcast.

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "The Future Soon" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]