The studded tires are on my cyclocross bike and snow is imminent. It has been a slow 6 week creep towards these 20 degree mornings: first I needed a skull cap, then a head light, then had to dig out my shoe covers.  (As a side note, you pretty much need gloves most mornings in the summer up here). Now it has come to studs. Bring it on! (and please groom it for XC skiing when it comes).
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I seldom have the occasion to play Dungeons and Dragons these days (at least the more RPG centric flavor). It's actually sadly been years since I sat down and played paper and pencil D&D. It's just hard to find the time to do the preparation and time block to get folks together. Plenty of people in my age range do find the time, though I suspect my desire to ride my bike, hit the gym, watch a movie, read a book, etc. all essentially bully D&D out of the temporal room. Warhammer, skirmish games, and general board games fit my lifestyle nicely, particularly in the winter.

However, I do love to read D&D blogs. Just as I occasionally delve into online accounts of trips to the Boundary Waters, I love sparking and revisiting old memories of adventures past. This review of Beyond the Crystal Cave is fairly accurate even though I have an ultimately positive memory of the module. I ran it as a tournament back in 1992 on a random weekday when Brother Rice gave us a day off. I devised a point system that placed much more emphasis on puzzle solving rather than a body count, which fit perfectly with the module. Not everyone was pleased with the outcome, though Geoff was happy as the winner. Perhaps I'll break out my copy of Castle Ravenloft this weekend so Henry and I can envision some crystal cave styled caverns.