These first two paragraphs have changed the most in the time I've been working on the redesign of this site. What better place than your own webpage to speak your mind? But then I read the shit I've just written, and realize people won't get past the front page if it's filled with negative energy. And you, reading this right now, might very well click over to somewhere else, when you are exactly the person I want here. I joked about putting a blog right here (where's that X?), but I shouldn't joke. Since this summer, I've started writing more, and it's helped me - a lot.
So maybe I will put a blog here. It might give people an entry point if they actually want to know more. And I can toss out occasional tidbits of wisdom, wax philosophical, maybe even make a connection. Just know that reading beyond this point may include hazards. Sarcasm, yes, and also things that might change your mind. To do that you need to engage. And I welcome that. My e-mail's right over there. Oh, and one last hint: you can tell when I'm being sarcastic, just look for sentences that end with a period.
Welcome to the newest iteration of Abervon.
The name Abervon comes from an adventure campaign I’d written for a 1980s Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game that I used to run (1st Edition; was it that long ago?). Abervon was the name of the region where blood, sweat and tears (not to mention the clichés and puns) were shed on a weekly basis. In fact, my transition to adulthood was punctuated by a variety of intense roleplaying experiences, and I enjoyed the company of a lot of fine friends - only one of which I still talk to on a regular basis. Abervon is also the campaign setting that my ex-wife and I submitted to Gary Gygax so many years ago, which in turn led to our work with him on the Dangerous Journeys roleplaying game system in the late 80s. It’s pretty much to me what Greyhawk was to Gary – the center of my roleplaying universe. So, from all the possible names I could come up with for a personal domain name, Abervon was it. And it stuck.
After bouncing back and forth from Los Angeles to Atlanta and then to Huntsville, AL for a nearly ten-year gig at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, I left NASA over ten years ago, and I'm now living in Colorado. I think this is where I’m meant to be. I have almost everything I need here. And the camping is awesome!
I'm still working on writing and publishing books for Anshadar with my friends Todd King and Mike Steen. The most recent novels are a science fiction/fantasy series, based on simulation theory on a cosmic level, and they've been a lot of fun to develop and write. The newest book is called The Death Horde, and it’s the culmination of the EarthZero Evolution trilogy. It’s currently in final edit, and is scheduled for release this fall! And then all I have to do is figure out what I want to write next.
My recent passion is music. For several years now, I’ve been hosting Twisted Dave’s Mile High Show every Sunday evening from 5-9 PM (Mountain time). It’s an internet radio show, with lots of rock and roll. Stop by for a listen! And this year, I started my own internet radio station, called EarthZero Radio (named after the above trilogy) with a 24/7 automated DJ I call 'Mhyrranda' – that is, when I'm not broadcasting live.
It's been a lot of work, between setting up, adding music, building a website and making sure everything runs smoothly. I’m still spending lots of time to make it a kick-ass station; so far, I've tuned the automatic playlists, recorded some programs and sound clips tweaked it to play like, well, my own personal station. I'm quite proud of the way it's turned out, and it’s my favorite thing to listen to. Filled with clips and station breaks that range from the profound to just plain silly, my goal is to play the best music I can and have fun with it (even if I'm the only one listening to it).
Just like this site has been a lot of work. I'm hoping between this site, the new EarthZero site, and the soon to be redesigned Anshadar site, I'll have invested in something that will satisfy me. In the past year, I've been seeking something I could care about, something to fill a hole in my heart, to replace someone who is gone but never forgotten. Until recently, I had nothing this personal to feed my soul. But this is something, just like music is my panacea...
