Hello there!I used to be a full time VFX artist working as compositor, 3D artist, producer and supervisor.
These days I am mostly home-bound due to health reasons, so my focus is mostly on tending to my family as the resident cook and doing the occasional remote work for film and TV projects.
You can find my work history on IMDB or LinkedIn and I do have a rather old showreel on Vimeo. Apart from that, this is my online home. Feel free to get in touch via email or on Micro.blog.
I just pre-ordered myself a Feather Ruck. Grab one yourself while they are available. Only 500 of every color available for now.
On the one hand I believe AI has the potential to end humanity. On the other hand there is Audible which just recommended me the same book I just finished „based on my listening habits“. Well done robot overlords.
Then listen to this: Countdown to Superintelligence
Everyone should probably watch this: The Godfather of AI: I tried to warn them, but we‘ve already lost control
Finished reading: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells 📚
Ze:ro Praxen. 📍
Just drove in for a quick two hour emergency dialysis. Apparently my potassium was too high. So I had to weight my options. High risk of a heart attack in the night or two hours of dialysis. Though choice really. I hope I picked the right option.
Micro.blog for iOS has been updated with a bunch of bug fixes. Check out the full release notes.
This release is pretty nice. Check it out!
It’s one of those days when I do not want to go anywhere. Just stay at home and have a quiet day, reading, writing and reflecting. My wife on the other hand wishes to go on a road trip. I’ll be digging deep today!
Same here. I’m sweating profusely right now in this bloody dialysis bed. I cannot wait to get home in an hour and then it’s closed curtains and no movement for the rest of the day.
So, is the orange boys big birthday parade still happening or does the weather still say „na canceled“?
Meta AI-App stellt private Unterhaltungen im öffentlichen Feed dar
Well done Meta. Once again trampling all over users privacy. Just like we know you.
It turns out I suck at playing Go. I have no foresight at all about what is going to happen in the later stages of the game and then usually get taken for 50 points at once.
Ze:ro Praxen. 📍
Another day, another dialysis session. And once again four hours of lying still in the heat. You can believe that I’m drenched in sweat afterwards. 🙁
I finally have port forwarding working on my Mac mini running Sequoia. Turns out the firewall resisted my attempts to open a port. Not even when configuring APF manually. So I had to resort to turning off the system firewall and installing LittleSnitch. Sometimes 3rd party simply is best.
Why Call of Cthulhu Beats D&D at Actually Getting Played
Let’s be honest about something. How many D&D campaigns have you started that never finished?
I’m talking about those epic adventures that were supposed to take your characters from level 1 to 20. The ones that petered out somewhere around level 6. The campaign notes gathering dust on your hard drive.
There’s a reason for this. And it’s not that your group lacks commitment.
The Year-Long D&D Commitment Problem
Here’s what nobody tells you when you crack open that shiny new D&D adventure book. Curse of Strahd will eat 22-26 sessions of your life. Tomb of Annihilation demands 26-35 sessions. Even the humble Lost Mines of Phandelver - the “beginner” adventure - clocks in at 30-50 hours of gameplay.
That’s 6 months to 2 years of regular weekly sessions. For one campaign.
Think about your last group text trying to schedule a session. Now imagine doing that every week for two years straight. While keeping the same characters alive. And remembering what happened in session 12 when you’re now on session 31.
No wonder most D&D campaigns die a slow death around the third month.
CoC: Complete Stories in Bite-Sized Chunks
Call of Cthulhu takes a completely different approach. Most scenarios are designed to wrap up in 3-4 hours total.
Not 3-4 hours per session for months on end. Three to four hours. Period. Done. Complete story with beginning, middle, and satisfying conclusion.
“The Haunting” - the classic starter scenario - takes about 4-6 hours. You can literally run this on a Saturday afternoon and have investigators discover cosmic horror, face an impossible choice, and either save the day or go insane trying. All before dinner.
Compare that to starting Curse of Strahd knowing you’re signing up for half a year of consistent scheduling. Which one sounds more doable for your actual life?
Why D&D Became a Commitment Sport
Don’t get me wrong. D&D’s design isn’t accidental. The level 1-20 progression system demands long story arcs. You need time to grow from “I swing my sword” to “I cast Meteor Swarm and reshape the battlefield.”
Published D&D adventures are built around this. They’re designed as months-long investments. Epic journeys that require sustained character development and party dynamics.
But here’s the thing. Somewhere along the way, the hobby developed this expectation that “real” D&D means year-long campaigns. That shorter adventures are just warm-ups for the main event.
This turned D&D into a commitment sport. Like training for a marathon when you just wanted to go for a jog.
The Beautiful Efficiency of Horror
Call of Cthulhu works differently because horror works differently.
Investigation has a natural story structure. Investigators find clues. Clues lead to revelations. Revelations lead to confrontation with cosmic horror. Confrontation leads to resolution (or madness).
This arc fits perfectly into 3-4 hours. The tension builds, reaches a climax, and resolves. No need for seventeen sessions of character development. The story is the star, not the character sheet.
Plus, let’s talk about character mortality. In CoC, investigators die. Or go insane. Or both. This isn’t a bug - it’s a feature. It creates natural endpoints to stories.
Unlike D&D, where characters grow stronger and more attached over dozens of sessions, CoC investigators are fragile. This makes shorter commitments not just possible, but inevitable.
Real Talk: What This Means for Your Gaming Group
You know what’s great about running “The Haunting” on a Saturday night? Everyone leaves satisfied. Complete story. Full experience. No cliffhangers requiring next week’s session to resolve.
Compare that to starting Descent into Avernus and knowing you’re committing to 30-40 sessions. That’s almost a year of weekly gaming. Miss a few sessions and you’re lost. Have one player move away and the whole campaign crumbles.
CoC scenarios are perfect for:
- Groups with busy schedules
- Players who want variety in their gaming
- Anyone who’s tired of unfinished campaigns
- New players who don’t want to commit to months of sessions
You can run “The Dead Boarder” in 2 hours. “The Necropolis” takes 1-2 hours max. These aren’t abbreviated experiences - they’re complete horror stories with full narrative arcs.
Ready to Try Some Cosmic Horror?
If you’re tired of D&D campaigns that never reach their conclusions, give Call of Cthulhu a shot.
Start with “The Haunting” from the starter set. Four hours. Complete experience. Your players will face cosmic horror, make impossible choices, and either triumph or face the consequences of meddling with forces beyond human comprehension.
All in one evening.
The best part? When it’s over, it’s actually over. Your group will have experienced a complete story from beginning to end. No scheduling next week’s session to find out what happens. No wondering if this campaign will join the graveyard of unfinished adventures.
Just the satisfaction of a story well told. And maybe, just maybe, investigators who lived to tell the tale.
Though honestly, where’s the fun in that?
Have you experienced the curse of unfinished D&D campaigns? Or found success with shorter RPG formats? Share your horror stories (gaming or otherwise) in the comments below.
Not exactly what I expected to see in a cab that is mostly booked by geriatric dialysis patients. 😂 #nsfw
Post by @caseyliss@mastodon.social
Okay, this “Haptic Trailer"—when viewed on your iPhone—is pretty great.
That was a fun experience indeed. (When viewed on iPhone in landscape mode.)
I need a new flat cap (newsboy cap) after my wife tried to do me a favor and put my old one in the washing machine. It now fits my son perfectly. So at least he’s happy.
Trading Freedom for Efficiency: My Journey from PD to HD
After my kidney surgery, everything changed. I had to switch from peritoneal dialysis (PD) to hemodialysis (HD). PD is the type where you dialyze at home through your abdomen. HD is what most people picture - sitting in a clinic hooked to a machine.
I didn’t have a choice in this. The surgery made the decision for me.
What I Miss Most About PD
I miss my nights. With PD, I just hooked up before bed. The machine worked while I slept. Eight hours of gentle, continuous cleaning. No alarms, no nurses, no commute.
I could roll over. I could get up for water. I could live.
Now that freedom is gone. PD was like a gentle stream cleaning my blood all night. HD feels like a pressure washer blasting through me. Both work, but one lets you forget you’re sick.
Understanding Ultrafiltration
Let me explain ultrafiltration. It’s just a fancy word for removing extra fluid. Your kidneys normally do this when you pee. Dialysis has to do it artificially.
With PD, I could remove about twice as much fluid. The peritoneum - that’s your abdominal lining - acts like a filter. Glucose in the dialysis fluid pulls water from your blood. It’s osmosis, really.
HD uses pressure instead. It forces fluid out through an artificial membrane. It works, but there’s a limit. Push too hard and you cramp. Your blood pressure drops. You feel awful.
The HD Reality
Four hours. That’s what HD demands from me. Four hours of complete stillness every two days.
Try lying perfectly still for four hours. Your arm with the needles can’t move. One wrong shift and alarms scream. Blood might leak. The nurses rush over.
My back aches after two hours. My legs want to stretch. My mind goes crazy with boredom. I watch the clock like it’s my enemy.
Some people sleep through it. I can’t. I just lie there, waiting.
What HD Does Better
I have to be fair here. HD removes phosphate and potassium like a champion. These minerals build up when your kidneys fail. Too much potassium stops your heart. Too much phosphate destroys your bones.
HD clears them efficiently. Three times a week, boom - levels drop. With PD, it was always a struggle. I took binders with every meal. I avoided certain foods.
So yes, HD has its advantages. But at what cost?
The Trade-Off I’d Make
Give me back my PD tomorrow. I’ll take the phosphate binders. I’ll skip the bananas and potatoes. I’ll manage the potassium myself.
What good is efficient toxin removal if it steals your life? I’d rather have good days with some dietary restrictions. HD gives me perfect labs and exhausting treatment days.
Quality of life matters. Being able to work matters. Traveling without planning around clinics matters. Sleeping in your own bed every night matters.
I’d make that trade in a heartbeat.
Looking Forward
My doctors say I might return to PD eventually. The surgical site needs to heal completely first. I’m counting the days.
If you’re choosing between PD and HD, think beyond the medical numbers. Consider your lifestyle. Value your independence. Ask about all your options.
HD works well for many people. Some prefer the structure. Some like not managing their own care. That’s valid too.
But for me? I just want my nights back. I want to wake up dialyzed, not exhausted. I want treatment that fits my life, not life that fits my treatment.
Until then, I’ll endure my four-hour sessions. I’ll appreciate what HD does well. But I’ll keep hoping for the day I can go home again.
Remember: every patient is different. What works for me might not work for you. Always discuss your options with your nephrologist.