d20 = 1

E. Gary Gygax died on Tuesday aged 69.

For non-gamers, this means zip.

For gamers, it means the godfather of the hobby/modern gaming industry is dead.

Gygax was the co-creator of the UberGeek phenomenon Dungeons & Dragons. And what a phenomenon it was. Gygax created a whole new leisure activity, which captured and fostered the imaginations of millions (particularly teenage boys), spawned a huge wave of copy-cat and evolution products, and has been a driving factor in the success of a great many modern computer and video games: computerised versions of the classic D&D pen & paper mechanics still form the structures and cores of virtually all fantasy and character-driven computer games and RPG's today. Add in the piggy-back revival in fantasy literature and films, and Gygax's creation can hold its head up as an innovative and classic design that truly was ground-breaking.

Although I haven't played a RPG for decades, I am a gamer, and a lot of my interest was sparked by a set of D&D that a friend purchased and brought into school. It was the source of many happy memories and enduring friendships.

Thank you Mr. Gygax.

Timmy Mallet

My mum and dad have forced a box of my old stuff onto me -- they're decorating one of the bedrooms and are making room see. What treasures lie within?!

A signed photo of Timmy Mallet.

Shake it baby

We had a massive 5.2 ricter scale earthquake last week. I didn't feel a thing. That didn't stop the news channels having a field day covering the seismic event. The BBC News had a brilliantly edited piece that opened with the usual suspects -- man in street tells reporter that his chimney fell down, lady in street tells reporter that a roof tile landed on her car, old man says he slept through it all -- but finished with a young couple in hospital, clutching their newborn baby.

New Mum Girl: "I'd just had 'im when the earthquake struck. The bed moved and my curtains shook!"

I bet they did.