admin – Page 5 – The World According to Mike

TARDIS

The garden arbor and its gate would need to be rebuilt.

Becky made an offhand comment, “It’s too bad you can’t make it look like a TARDIS.”

Oh yeah? Challenge accepted!”

In the fall of 2020, my electrical utility provider sent a person to my door to let me know that the garden enclosure in the backyard was too close to the electrical box, and if they were to ever need to get into the box, the enclosure would be in their way. I told him… Continue reading Garden Box

Mike Marchi’s Dark Conspiracy

Shadows that live in corners. Shapes that rip and tear. As the veil between our world and darker realms begin to weaken, things slip through into our dimension. Dark things. The world of Dark Conspiracy is a dark, alternate future set not far from where our world sits. In my version of Dark Conspiracy, the… Continue reading Mike Marchi’s Dark Conspiracy

The Relation-ship

As long-time gamer and sci-fi fan, I’ve long thought about what entices me the most about this genre, and why I prefer some properties to others. -Mike

Days of Thunder

March 28, 2020 Last night, Chicago experienced one of our first thunderstorms. It was mild, as spring showers go, with only a half hour of good rumbles. Rory (pictured here as a composed figure in the right) has developed, in his advanced age, an aversion to loud noises. And as the elder role model has… Continue reading Days of Thunder

Mongoose Traveller 2nd Edition

Traveller: The New Era Campaign

(Mega)Traveller/Dark Conspiracy Crossover

Traveller eventually gave way to MegaTraveller, and I soon had a group of players in the real world gaming on a fairly regular basis. The MegaTraveller campaign eventually reached a point where the players were on a very long mission that had degenerated into little more than deciding where to jump next, and seeing if… Continue reading (Mega)Traveller/Dark Conspiracy Crossover

Classic Traveller Campaign

Mike Marchi’s TRAVELLER

These words adorned the box of the first (some would say the only) real science fiction role-playing game. I was introduced to Traveller in the fall of 1980. I was a sophomore in high school and was riding the activity bus home after school. A small group of us rolled up quick characters, and played… Continue reading Mike Marchi’s TRAVELLER

Stories

Hawaii 2024 - The Voyage Home

Date: February 17, 2024

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<Details Coming Soon> [< prev] [top] [0] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] We may not have seen it all, but we came pretty darn close! [< prev] [top] [0] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

Hawaii 2024 - Kona Coffee

Date: February 16, 2024

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<Coming Soon> [< prev] [top] [next >][0] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [< prev] [top] [next >][0] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

Hawaii 2024 - Goats, Kona, and the Great Bag Hunt

Date: February 15, 2024

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Stop me if you've heard this one before. You pack a couple suitcases for vacation, and you stress out about coming in under the magical 50 pound bag limit. So you pack two suitcases. One is 40 pounds. The other is 48 pounds. That leaves you some room for some souvenirs on the way home. Right? Nope. [< prev] [top] [next >][0] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] But first we woke up and sat out on the deck sipping coffee, and watching as a giant ... uh ... flock? herd? goatisserie? ... um group of goats came down from the golf course fairway, and started munching on the decorative plants in the condo yard. Anyway, back to the luggage issue... I don't know if you realize this, but sweatshirts are heavier than t-shirts. And ...

Hawaii 2024 - Valentine's Day

Date: February 14, 2024

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Valentine's Day had one planned event. Dinner at Ulu Ocean Grill - a beachfront restaurant at the Four Seasons resort. We went a little early to check out the vastly overpriced shopping at the resort. Then we moved to the bar to have a few drinks while we waited for the restaurant to open. The surf was up, and we watched the sea for any sign of whales. There were a few splashing about, but we didn't get any really good shots of them. The weather was beautiful, and we were all dressed in the best clothes we had brought with us... or bought during the trip. Becky work the pearl pendant we found in Kona that first day of shopping. I wore my fine hat, and my new shirt. The company was merry. The food was delicious. There was one item on the ...

Hawaii 2024 - Akaka Falls

Date: February 13, 2024

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The Big Island has eight distinct climate types (out of a possible 13). There was still one that was missing from our tour of the island. We were missing the tropical / rainforest. And if you want to see that, you need to cross over Kohala and follow the north-eastern coast to Hilo. [< prev] [top] [next >][0] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] The shores on this side are steep and cut with deep crevasses down to the sea. The trees and plant life are thick. The predominant color is green. Unlike the western, leeward side of the island, it rains daily. Those rains provide runoff for a number of impressive waterfalls. And that was our target for the afternoon. Akaka Falls. We headed up through Waimea, over the back of Kohala and picked ...