Random Traffic Through Nick's Brain

We have a brand spanking new Philips Sonicare UV Toothbrush Head Sanitizer to give away. I’d say “in original box” except for the fact that we used the box to wrap a Christmas present. Anyone want it before we round-file it?

• Ring of Intelligence +9. Needs to have the special power that I can give and recall it across long distances / phone lines / over the internet. Customer service reps I need to interact with would be the first beneficiaries of the give/recall functionality. I thought of calling this magic item Flowers of Algernon, but the Ring is more commonly understood.
• Potion of Patience. I probably need a lifetime supply. Maybe an IV bag? A patch? Periodic injections?

I’m looking for a D&D-like game. I’d say Rogue-like, but I want something a bit more up-to-date… not necessarily graphics, but more user-friendly when it comes to descriptions, command availability, help, etc. I tried Ancient Domains of Mystery, but the commands were too… well… command-line-y. I want ease-of-use. I’d prefer movement be done on a grid and to simply have to move into things for combat (no twitchiness required). Any suggestions, either commercial, share-ware, or free-ware?

Spent the last week in the Netherlands for work. Some thoughts:

• It’s somewhat surreal being driven everywhere in a Mercedes taxis.
• My spiritual mentor is my spiritual mentor, in part, because he has the conviction to watch girly movies despite all of his friends ribbing him about it.
• How have I missed:
  • The Amsterdam Historic Museum
  • The Oudekirk
  • The fact that the Oudekirk is dedicated to St-Nicolaas.
• Saw a Dutch painting from 1655 shows guardsmen squeezing lemon on raw oysters. 350 year-old foodies.
• Saw Sinterklaus and Svart Peter (I probably have the spelling wrong, and would rather tell you so than look it up on google… it’s that kind of night).
• Sailors / explorers must have been absolutely insane to make some of the journeys of discovery that they did.
• My favourite chocolate shop in the world is no more… out of business. Sadness.
• Last week was probably the worst week of sleep I’ve ever had. At least with Alex, I expected not to sleep. Somehow, I did everything right (hydrated, cut down on caffeine, tired myself out, etc.) and still didn’t sleep well at all.

It’s December… our social calendar is getting over-packed.