Back in the Saddle.

One of my favorite hobbies a few years ago was playing racing sims. My first experience at any type of online gaming was racing online in the game Grand Prix Legends.

Grand Prix Legends (GPL) is a simulation racing game that was released in 1998 by Sierra. It never was successful in terms of sales, in part because of its ultra-realistic driving physics and steep learning curve. It caught on in the sim racing community however, and is still being modded and played today. What made GPL unique was that it simulated Formula One racing of 1967, when the cars were little more than rolling gas tanks, and drivers such as Jim Clark, Graham Hill, and Jackie Stewart were household names even in the US.

In the last few years, a dedicated team of modders have expanded on GPL, introducing revised, more accurate physics models, and car sets to depict the cars from 1965 and the first winged cars of 1969. More mods are in the works, including one which represents Formula One of 1937, the heyday of Mercedes and Auto Union.

I recently decided to get back into sim racing and joined in an online race this morning. I must say I didn't realize how much I'd missed it. The guys I raced with back in the day are still going strong, and eagerly welcomed me back. My skills haven't deteriorated as much as I feared, and I placed a respectable third out of eight drivers, even though I did not have a good setup for my car. I even had a couple of "Oh Wow!" moments which brought back memories of some of my more exciting races. One was an awesome power slide around the first corner (pictured at the top of this post), and the other was when I threaded the needle between two spinning cars (below).

If you like driving or racing games, GPL can still be found online for next to nothing. It's a classic of the genre, and like all classics, it is timeless. There is a vigorous community of guys ready and willing to help out and welcome newcomers. Grab a copy, get a wheel and pedals, and give it a spin! See you on track.

To Write, or not to Write.

That is the question that I am preoccupying myself with lately. I don't mean this blog; it will continue as long as you, dear reader, visit this site. I have had an idea in my head for the past couple of years about a story, and I'm trying to decide if I should attempt to write it down.

It started out as a concept for a Neverwinter Nights adventure module, and I've even written some notes about characters and plot, and started construction on the module. The project stalled, and has not been worked on since, but the story still flits around my head. It strikes me as a good story, and if you'll permit me, I'll share a brief synopsis with you.

It is a fantasy story, set in a world of my own design. this world is gradually becoming what I can only describe as 'real' -- that is, magic is ceasing to function, the pantheon of fantasy gods has been replaced by monotheism, and the fantastical monsters like goblins and trolls are no more. In this setting I trace the story of the final adventure of a knight, the leader of an ancient Order, respected by all in the kingdom. The knight is an orc, the last of a rare breed of good, honorable creatures. We find him in his middle years, preoccupied with memories of past adventures and consumed by current duties. The discovery of a remnant of his people sends him on a quest to explore the very nature of the world he lives in, and pits him against agents of the old gods at war with the new god. At the end, he is presented with a choice - to let the world continue as it is, or to restore the fantasy of old. In the game module, this choice is up to the player, so I will not reveal here the choice as I would make it, on the chance that I ever do finish the module.

But the story won't go away. As you know, I am a Christian, and I believe much could be said with this story. I am intimidated though, by the fact that I've never been good at fiction: my one example is a fan fiction story about Star Wars. I'm not a trained writer, though many of you have had kind things to say about my writing. Well, dear reader, I await your input. Should I, or should I not?

The World in my Pocket.

Some of you have commented positively on the pictures I have posted here. I would very much like to take the credit for them, but unfortunately the continuance of peaceful relations at home compel me to give credit where it is due. My wife Alicia took almost all of these pictures here with our simple Sony digital. If you like them, you can find more examples at her photo blog, The World in my Pocket. Visit and leave her a comment or two, if you would be so kind.

Ego forbids me from relinquishing all the glory, so I will say that some of them are mine, but though I can't remember which ones, they are assuredly any of lesser quality.

The Holy Grail.

One of my hobbies is building model cars. I like watching a scale automobile take shape in my hands as all the pieces come together. Looking at the completed cars on my shelf bring back memories of similar cars I saw growing up or at shows. It's also the only way I will ever own a certain type of car. I also occasionally build a model of a subject that someone else likes and give the model to that person. But I have something in common with nearly every other model builder: the Holy Grail project.

Every modeler has a project that for them would be the culmination of their efforts, either in skill or subject. For most it is a subject that has never been produced in kit form, or one that is so rare it is almost never seen anymore. Most of the subjects are something that mean a great deal to the individual modeler; mine is no exception.

The subject of my holy grail project is a 1976 Plymouth Fury Salon. My mom had one of these cars when I was little, and it was probably my favorite family car from my childhood. It was the same model used by many police departments during those years, and it had power as well as looks. For years I've wanted to build a model of that car, but no kits were available. The closest was a 1978 Dodge Monaco, which has the correct body, but until recently was out of production. MPC did a kit of the 1975 Road Runner, which was based on the Fury, but that kit has never been reissued.

Fortune struck about a year ago, however, as I found a promotional model of the 75 Road Runner on eBay for a bargain price. I had already acquired a 78 Monaco (reissued as the Joker Goon Car), and a 1974 Plymouth GTX. All that remained was a kit to provide a suitable chassis, which I found in the form of the 1971 Charger.

Now I find myself intimidated. It has come to the point, and I have everything I need. I sit and look at the kit boxes on my shelf, imagining just what processes I need to go through to assemble my dream. It will involve learning some new skills, such as mold-making and casting, as well as modifying parts and scratch building. I think I'm ready, yet the boxes sit there, staring back at me. So many modelers never reach this point, yet here I am. Will I be successful? It's time to find out.