eResearch 2014, RPG Review 25, Rocknerd

Have been attending eResearch Australasia, certainly one of the major conferences for issues surrounding massive data, HPC, and cloud deployments in the academic context. My own presentation on Training and Education in High Performance Computing for eReseachers, which from direct discussion and retweets, was very well received with a couple of immediate international short-term requests resulting. It is of course a real problem; data is increasing in size and complexity, and processing needs HPC skills, but it's not being taught.

The twenty-fifth issue of RPG Review has been released with concentration on Dungeons & Dragons for the release of the fifth edition of that game. I am particularly taken by the interview with Dr. Lewis Pulsipher. My own major contribution is an epic ten thousand word history of Dungeons & Dragons and its publishing companies. Played a particularly creepy episode of GURPS Middle-Earth on Sunday and have started a review of The Shab-al-Hiri Roach, which should be on rpg.net fairly soon.

Rocknerd activities for The Dwarf continue unabated. My review of Pop Crimes, the Rowland S. Howard tribute of friends and associates has been published, on Saturday with a mixed response. Tonight will be attending progressive metal supergroup, The Dream Theater who are playing at The Palais. My next desired gig is classic Australian punk band, Radio Birdman, however tickets (even for industry)_are extremely short to say the least.