CKL's HotSheet

SnoutCast #103: Gamer Profiles - Jan Chong & Yar Woo, coed astronomy

2012-02-07T01:00:00.000-08:00

This week, we hear from another Gamer couple with a young child: Jan Chong and Yar Woo of coed astronomy!

[ Download mp3 - 22 MB ]

00:59 - "coeducational"
01:12 - origin of the coed team name
03:55 - Jan and the Microsoft Intern Game
05:37 - coed history
07:18 - What are your day jobs?
09:26 - applying day-job skills to puzzle hunt creation
11:31 - running short vs. long Games
16:29 - baby Charlotte
20:27 - stockpiling puzzle ideas... for the next generation?
24:07 - The End

Got a comment or question? E-mail podcast@snout.org or post at snout.org/podcast!

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "You Ruined Everything" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

Friday Flash Fiction: "Monologue Therapy"

2012-02-03T10:00:00.000-08:00

Speaking of phoning it in...

I'm good at writing dialogue. Have been since high school. That's not the problem; the problem is, I'm acutely aware of how much better I am at dialogue than at other things, like physical description or emotional arcs. And it's too easy to fall back on pages full of ostensibly witty banter, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Or maybe I should be writing stage plays.

Read "Monologue Therapy" at 512 Words or Fewer

SnoutCast #102: Of Summits and Letters

2012-01-31T01:00:00.000-08:00

In which we do a dramatic reading of the Black Letter Game's answers to our listener questions, and then a quick recap of this year's Game Control Summit: Simulcast!

[ Download mp3 - 25 MB ]

00:59 - "diplomatic"
01:20 - The Black Letter Game has answered your questions...
02:58 - Where did the name for the Black Letter Game come from?
03:41 - How many individuals are "GC" for this Game?
04:47 - How does the extreme secrecy enhance the player's experience?
05:01 - How are you playtesting the puzzles?
06:15 - How will you know this enterprise has been successful?
07:05 - GC Summit recap...
10:36 - Corey Anderson on "Running Someone Else's Game"
12:58 - Jett Jones and Bob Schaffer on re-casting the WHO Game
14:17 - Scott Blomquist on designing portable puzzles
14:50 - Linda Holman on re-running Shinteki Aquarius seven years later
16:28 - Andy Rich on simulcasting Microsoft Puzzlehunt 14
22:37 - upcoming events: volunteer for Doctor When playtest (2/11-12), Shinteki Field Trip: Disneyland (2/25), Iron Puzzler (3/3-4); more at PuzzleHuntCalendar.com
26:31 - The End

Got a comment or question? E-mail podcast@snout.org or post at snout.org/podcast!

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "Shop Vac" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

Friday Flash Fiction: "It's in There"

2012-01-27T10:00:00.000-08:00

Those three words were seared into my brain long ago. Allow me to share:

Anyway. If you're a puzzler like me, you already know that pizza can contain data; I had firsthand experience with this in The Goonies Game (2003). Elsewhere, Microsoft Puzzle Hunt A: Atlantis (February 10-11, 2007) also featured a pizza clue.

Finally, WHAT IS THAT I don't even.

Read "It's in There" at 512 Words or Fewer

SnoutCast #101: Gamer Profile - TODD ETTER, Boneless Chicken Cabaret

2012-01-24T00:48:00.000-08:00

Did you know that all of 2012's "Shinteki Puzzle of the Month" (POTM) puzzles (starting tomorrow, January 25th) will be written by Todd Etter of The Motley Fool? And all solvers can win prizes at the end of the year? It's true! But don't take our word for it--hear it from the man himself, this week on SnoutCast.

[ Download mp3 - 27 MB ]

00:58 - "calciferous"
01:24 - behind the scenes of Boneless Chicken Cabaret's WHO Game video
02:29 - Todd's non-evil plans for Shinteki POTM
05:41 - How did you get into puzzle hunts?
09:39 - the_game@yahoogroups is, shall we say, lightly moderated these days
10:23 - assembling the team
13:24 - What's your day job?
17:54 - (actually, it was a Facebook post linking to a PDF of the puzzle)
18:43 - comparing GC experiences from different puzzle events
23:58 - final thoughts on Shinteki POTM
27:58 - The End

Got a comment or question? E-mail podcast@snout.org or post at snout.org/podcast!

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

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

Friday Flash Fiction: "H is for Horse"

2012-01-20T10:01:00.000-08:00

This week's story was brought to you by the motion pictures The Book of Eli and War Horse, the welcome letters for many conventions, and the titles of some books by Ray Bradbury.

(Also, fun fact: searching for "jesus horse" on flickr got me exactly the image I wanted. Thanks, random photographer who tagged her pics!)

Read "H is for Horse" at 512 Words or Fewer

SnoutCast #100: Community?

2012-01-17T00:48:00.000-08:00

Please help celebrate our ONE HUNDREDTH PODCAST by leaving a comment. (We're celebrating by not writing up show notes this time.) And thanks for listening!

[ Download mp3 - 29 MB ]

00:59 - "patient"
29:55 - The End

Got a comment or question? 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: "Meet Brute"

2012-01-13T10:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday the 13th, everyone! You know we're going to have three of these in 2012--which is the maximum possible in one year? Crazy! Anyway, here's a thing I wrote.

Read "Meet Brute" at 512 Words or Fewer

Repeat Presenter

2012-01-11T23:24:00.000-08:00

There's a blog post, so it must be official: I am one of the twenty people selected to present at Ignite Portland 10 on February 9th!

This will be my second Ignite talk; the first, in 2009, was a précis on puzzle hunts. This one will be a sort of companion piece to DeeAnn's 2010 overview of our 2008 road trip with our cats. (I submitted the original proposal for an earlier Ignite under the title "Travels WITHOUT Our Cats;" this time, I called it "A Homebrew Cat Feeding Robot.") But I'll do my best to make my talk interesting even to people who don't have cats, and I'm looking forward to several of the other talks, myself.

If you're in Portland, stop by and see the show! Otherwise, you'll be able to watch the videos online a few weeks later.

SnoutCast #99: Holiday Movies Recap

2012-01-10T00:48:00.000-08:00

And now for something almost, but not entirely, completely different.

[ Download mp3 - 25 MB ]

00:59 - "festive"
01:35 - send us your questions for the Black Letter Game creators! (e-mail podcast@snout.org by Friday, January 13th, 2012)
03:51 - inspired by true events: holiday movie marathon
05:12 - A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas
07:22 - Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
09:18 - War Horse
10:39 - The Descendants
11:32 - The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 vs. The Darkest Hour
13:10 - Hugo (3D)
17:27 - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
18:29 - My Week with Marilyn
20:32 - The Artist
22:11 - Young Adult
24:25 - "Unintentional Patton Oswalt Sandwich" is the name of my Kinks cover band.
29:59 - The End

Got a comment or question? E-mail podcast@snout.org or post at snout.org/podcast!

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "A Talk with George" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

Friday Flash Fiction: "A Place in Time"

2012-01-06T10:01:00.000-08:00

Did you know that the ~~Oscar bait~~ Golden Globe nominated film The Land of Blood and Honey is not the first movie Angelina Jolie has directed?

Her directorial debut was the 2007 documentary A Place in Time, which, as far as I can tell, was screened once at the Tribeca Film Festival and then pretty much disappeared. You can watch the trailer on YouTube, but that's about it.

Anyway, you can't copyright a title. Here's this week's story.

Read "A Place in Time" at 512 Words or Fewer

SnoutCast #98: 2012-Q1 Hunts Preview

2012-01-03T00:48:00.000-08:00

In which we owe a huge debt of gratitude to Dan Egnor and PuzzleHuntCalendar.com (self-plug: hear our interview with Dan in SnoutCast #76: "One Calendar To Rule Them All" )! Also: NSFW language, but you knew that.

[ Download mp3 - 28 MB ]

00:59 - "prescient" (not "omniscient")
03:21 - "Remember when...they were sacrificing blood from their penises a lot?"
06:15 - January 10th: Puzzled Pint
10:02 - January 13th-15th: MIT Mystery Hunt (plus online "mini-recast" later)
11:25 - January 28th: Game Control Summit
15:30 - February 11th-12th: Doctor When playtest
18:09 - February 25th: Shinteki Field Trip Disneyland Redux (original event recapped in our pilot episode)
21:08 - March 3rd-4th: Iron Puzzler (hear our debrief of IP 2011)
25:37 - "Nobody had to wear a penis, thank God."
30:28 - The End

Got a comment or question? 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: "Time is Not on My Side"

2012-01-01T13:56:00.000-08:00

Better late than never, right? (He said, as he posted on Sunday the thing he should have posted on Friday. Oops. Too much holiday cheer, I guess...)

Read "Time is Not on My Side" at 512 Words or Fewer

SnoutCast #97: Neuroplasticity

2011-12-27T00:48:00.000-08:00

This is not our best podcast.

[ Download mp3 - 26 MB ]

00:59 - "brainy"
01:17 - "For a Healthy Brain in Old Age, Start Early" (NPR, January 4, 2007)
03:20 - "Stay Mentally Active" (Alzheimer's Association, 2011)
05:14 - "Nine Stubborn Brain Myths That Just Won’t Die, Debunked by Science" (Lifehacker, December 12, 2011)
08:57 - in which DeeAnn goes for walks to not step on salamanders
12:00 - Curtis attempts to define "real" and/or "meaningful"
14:22 - let's talk about engagement
16:00 - in which DeeAnn's nieces and nephews only like "fun" games
18:52 - let's talk about complexity
23:11 - IN CONCLUSION
26:47 - we love listener mail!
28:29 - The End

Got a comment or question? E-mail podcast@snout.org or post at snout.org/podcast!

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "Re: Your Brains" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

Happy Boxing Day!

2011-12-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

And here's all the news from Apartment de Snout, where the women use PCs, the men use both PCs and Macs, and the cats run Linux in Beowulf clusters.

[ Download PDF - 277 KB ]

Christmaaaaaas!!

2011-12-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

Honestly, I'm surprised someone didn't do this sooner:

(Source: Kevin David Anderson)

Hope you're all enjoying your winter holiday(s), whichever one(s) you may celebrate! DeeAnn and I will be doing our traditional Christmas Day movie marathon, this year with our friends Karin and Bryan. More on that later.

Friday Flash Fiction: "Meet Suit"

2011-12-23T10:01:00.000-08:00

This week's piece is a first-draft excerpt from a longer story which began with "Unanswered Questions."

The current draft of Lirrina's speech in that story is much shorter, because she's only a minor character. I might use a version of this spiel somewhere else, though. Because I'm probably going to write another police procedural at some point. Maybe.

And yes, the title is a pun on "meet cute." Sue me.

Read "Meet Suit" at 512 Words or Fewer

SnoutCast #96: By the Numbers

2011-12-20T00:48:00.000-08:00

Math is hard. Let's solve puzzles?

[ Download mp3 - 27 MB ]

00:59 - "statistically significant"
01:40 - compiled for Doctor When: Curtis' personal puzzlehunting history
08:56 - other statistics: regarding this very podcast!
14:48 - five minutes of disclaimers later, a top ten list
22:16 - and the #1 downloaded episode for the last 11 months...probably!
25:42 - (insert "99%" joke here)
28:31 - The End

Got a comment or question? E-mail podcast@snout.org or post at snout.org/podcast!

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "Chiron Beta Prime" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

Friday Flash Fiction: "Interview Prep"

2011-12-16T10:01:00.000-08:00

More from this year's NaNoWriMo draft, because my capacity for laziness is great. And no, this conversation is not as autobiographical as you might imagine.

Read "Interview Prep" at 512 Words or Fewer

SnoutCast #95: Gamer Profiles - JESSICA & JEFF WALLACE, SharkBait/Briny Deep

2011-12-13T00:48:00.000-08:00

Joining us this week from Seattle, Washington: Jessica and Jeff Wallace talk about how they've built their family around Gaming. Literally!

[ Download mp3 - 23 MB ]

00:59 - "kindred"
01:39 - Jessica says, "I am a Puzzle Geek."
03:31 - when Jeff met Jessica (at Microsoft)
06:12 - have puzzlehunts ever conflicted with your family life?
08:20 - Briny Deep vs. Sharkbait
09:47 - day jobs vs. GC
15:13 - the offspring
19:54 - (DeeAnn always has to tell her Halo story)
22:45 - PuzzleHuntCalendar.com and the secret puzzle cabal
24:25 - The End

Got a comment or question? E-mail podcast@snout.org or post at snout.org/podcast!

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "You Ruined Everything" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

Friday Flash Fiction: "Police Duality"

2011-12-09T10:01:00.000-08:00

It occurred to me this week that I haven't yet exercised my laziness and excerpted any part of my NaNoWriMo output from this year as a 512. So, here you go! (This bit is not particularly skiffy, but rest assured, the novel itself is quite genre-tastic.)

Read "Police Duality" at 512 Words or Fewer

SnoutCast #94: Gamer Profile - CHRIS HARRIS, The Gipper

2011-12-06T00:48:00.000-08:00

Kids, if anybody knows the solution to the How I Met Your Mother puzzle, it's probably Chris Harris.

[ Download mp3 - 26 MB ]

00:59 - "comedic"
01:43 - who were The Gipperian Advillains?
05:32 - their adorable application video for WHO Game
06:57 - how Chris stumbled into the world of puzzle hunts
11:04 - do your TV-writer day job skills overlap with The Game?
16:28 - getting the "Big Boss" involved with the WHO Game
23:10 - what is the least you can do, really?
25:06 - plug-o-rama: HIMYM; what's next?
28:06 - The End

Got a comment or question? E-mail podcast@snout.org or post at snout.org/podcast!

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "Tom Cruise Crazy" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

Friday Flash Fiction: "Parents Just Don't Understand"

2011-12-02T10:01:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am, in fact, writing my own goddamn fanfic. Because who the hell else is going to do it?

Also note that I would totally have used this picture for the illustration, if it had been properly CC-licensed. (I think the original image is featured here, but I don't speak Portuguese well enough to follow the trail back to its creator and ask permission. Oh well.)

Read "Parents Just Don't Understand" at 512 Words or Fewer

SnoutCast #93: SEAHOP Player Debrief

2011-11-29T00:48:00.000-08:00

In which Ana, Katie, Matt, Rob, and Vic tell us about playing in the 2011 Seattle Epic and Awesome Hunt O' Puzzles (SEAHOP)! (Apologies for the inferior sound quality; our dining room is not an ideal recording environment.)

[ Download mp3 - 24 MB ]

00:59 - "epic and amazing"
01:50 - the legend of SEAHOP
03:17 - comparison to other puzzle hunt events?
07:07 - memorable puzzles
13:52 - boo .NET
18:20 - the Sunday afternoon wrap-up
22:09 - did SEAHOP inspire you to (wait for it) Run More Games?
24:05 - plug-o-rama: DASH 4, Puzzled Pint (want to simulcast? E-mail gamecontrol@puzzledpint.com)
26:13 - The End

Got a comment or question? 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: "Runaways"

2011-11-25T11:11:00.000-08:00

I can neither confirm nor deny that this scene was inspired or influenced by a mash-up of The Matrix and Hanna. (Wow, that sentence had a lot of unnecessary words. Have I mentioned I'm doing NaNoWriMo?)

Read "Runaways" at 512 Words or Fewer