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    Saturday, July 5th, 2008
    varianor
         		9:36p
    Book Reviews
    #29* The Pelican Brief, by John Grisham. Never seen the movie. Never read the book before. (Yes, there's an argument that I'm Not As Well Read As I Should Be.) So I read it. Fun book. Fast-paced and furious. I have a theory that John Grisham novels are actually formulaic and predictable once you've read any three. There's a huge theme within them that "large law firms are evil". It smacks of an insider perspective. (Now that I momentarily paused to search on his name, I also found out that it may be a product of being a small town lawyer. I didn't know that he'd served in the House of Representatives.) The book was fun, if a little unbelievable at times.

    #30 Quicksilver, the Baroque Cycle #1, by Neil Stephenson. I really enjoyed this. I am not sure why a work of historical recreation, fleshed out with some modern words contrasted next to three hundred year old usage, and enhanced by a thoroughly enjoyable fictional protagonist, would hold my interest so much. The book has no predictable break points, making it hard to guage where I stop reading it on the bus. Yet it is compelling. Stephenson brings the 17th and early 18th centuries to life in a vivid manner. I found myself researching more than one historical person and event because of this novel.

    As it happens, I'm reading this in paperback, which is eight volumes, as opposed to hardcover, which was three oversized volumes apparently. I wasn't sure in the middle if I would go for a second volume. Now I'm sure. The only question is whether I pause to read Stephenson's Cryptonomicon first. It's mentioned in the book, and other friends noted it was excellent.

    Page Count: 426

    *I may have lost count and missed on in here. Admittedly, it has been busy.

    Current Mood: accomplished
    philreed 5:45a
    Writing . . .
    The long weekend is really helping me to relax, which has allowed me to actually write. One of the problems I've been dealing with for months now is an inability to actually write anything useful. As of this morning, I've managed to finish a few articles for a project that has remained stalled for too many months.

    I need to find a balance between office work and personal projects. As it is now, I can only write anyone of value after I've had a few days away from the office (which also means away from contact with the office; no e-mail!). That's not a very realistic arrangement.

    How do those of you with full-time jobs manage to continue work on personal projects? Is there a secret I'm just not getting?
    Friday, July 4th, 2008
    varianor
         		10:00p
    Happy Fourth of July!
    To all who served and who serve, I thank you for the safety of my family and friends.

    ~~~

    Nothing like a trip many miles to friends with a pool, food and games to spend a good chunk of the day. The weather got very nice. Kevin brought San Juan, and it was fun. Easier than Puerto Rico, it's ancestory, but also different in terms of strategy.

    The tweens were all well behaved and waterlogged from hours in the pool. (I brought one tween of my own plus a loaner.)

    Now I'm home and blogging on LJ. Think I'll turn in early too. Doesn't get too much finer than this!

    Current Mood: relaxed
    ephealy
         		4:31p
    Atomic Array 001: Colonial Gothic
    It’s the 4th of July, and I'm celebrating by launching a new podcast with Rone Barton. Entitled Atomic Array, it's about the games we love to play. In the first episode, we speak with Richard Iorio of Rogue Games.

    Visit the Atomic Array website: atomicarray.com

    I had a great time speaking with Richard, and hope you enjoy the show. Feel free to leave a comment on the site, share Atomic Array with a friend, or contact us directly. In fact, we’d love to hear what you think about Colonial Gothic. Tell us what you like (or don’t), and what you’d like to see from Rogue Games in the future.

    Atomic Array gets a nod from GeekDads on WIRED: John Baichtal was kind enough to pimp Atomic Array over at WIRED. Read the article, in which he lists a bunch of killer geekcasts.

    Help Get the Word Out: If you have an account on del.icio.us, Digg, StumbleUpon, or any social bookmarking site... please give us a nod. Thanks in advance!
    philreed 1:16p
    A lazy 4th . . .
    Some more picking up (the new office and exercise room are still works in progress). Reading a little of 40 Years of Gen Con and Engineering Dungeons. I took Gina to her horseback riding lesson (and then swung by Dragon's Lair, which was dead but the service still sucked). Now I'm either going to write (I actually finished a short project this morning, which felt good) or continue picking up.
    varianor
         		7:57a
    Three Seconds to Fall
    We watched a surveillance video that captured an accident yesterday. The video showed the claimant go up the ladder, stand on the top step (which you aren't supposed to do), then lean up and forward and start doing something with both of his hands.

    Are we surprised he fell? No we're not.

    What was surprising was that it took three seconds for him to fall completely. The latter started tipping and went over. It seemed quick watching it, but when I checked the time stamps it was slow. Three seconds. So when people look like they're suspended in air as they go down, maybe they are!

    Current Mood: scientifical
    Thursday, July 3rd, 2008
    lemuriapress
         		7:50p
    Recovering from Origins
    I'm back in Seattle after Origins, a week-long game festival in Columbus, Ohio that represents the mid-way point of what I lovingly refer to as "convention season," which is another way of saying "the summer". By the time a dripping wet fall rears its sad face for the onset of Seattle's sunless, surreal autumnwinterspring, I always look back and wonder "where the hell did summer go? How did I miss the 4th of July? Where was I during the entire month of August?

    In the sweltering, sweaty American Midwest is where, and Origins is just the tip of the iceburg this year. Coming up in rapid succession I've got a brief trip with the family and [info]bbcaddict to Whistler, a trip to Denver for my first ever World Con (I'm on some panels!), then off to Gen Con Indy (the mothership of gaming cons) and THEN I'm going to Gen Con UK to be a featured guest. That's all by the end of next month, so while I get a nice little break here I feel like I've been through the ringer with only more ahead.

    Don't get me wrong. I'm looking forward to all of that (especially the UK part!), but it is grueling.

    I love Origins because it is not as frantic as Gen Con and I get a chance to actually _talk_ to some of the folks in the fairly tightly knit professional game publisher community. Green Ronin's art director and co-owner Hal Mangold is always good for some fun chats, and this year Ed Greenwood proved a true delight on numerous occasions.

    Thanks for picking up several volumes of Planet Stories, Ed, and for being such a crazy, perverted lunatic.

    I also had a chance to reconnect (even if briefly) with my old RPGA buddies Rick Brill and Joe Cirillo and company. I really miss gaming with those guys.

    So Origins is great for catching up with old friends. Unfortunately, one reason it is so easy to do so is that business at Origins is really slow, and from our perspective it's been getting slower year by year.

    I hear that some gaming companies did well at the show, particularly family style board game companies like Loony Labs and "built for Origins" quirky boardgame companies like Rio Grande. For us, the financial picture at the show is getting worse and worse, even while the retail and direct sales business for Paizo is getting better and better.

    It's gotten to a point that all of the "big" gaming companies (Wizards of the Coast, Wiz Kids, Upper Deck, Fantasy Flight) have already given up on the show, and suddenly we're one of the "big guys" still there. It costs a huge ton of money to get the booth and product to the show, not to mention to staff the show with six full-time employees (covering their meals and hotel and flights, of course) for a whole week (during which almost none of those employees' duties back at the office get done), and the sales just art not there, and have not really been there for the last five or so years.

    I can see why a lot of these other companies no longer attend the show, and despite my personal fondness for the convention (and the fact that I've attended 14 of the last 15 years) as a business matter I find it very difficult to justify as an expense.

    To add insult to injury, daily sales at Paizo.com (travel, food, freight budget = 0) exceeded direct sales at the convention on both Saturday and Sunday.

    The world changes beneath our feet.

    I managed to polish off two novels on the trip, Robert E. Howard's SWORD WOMAN and the Centaur Time-Lost Series edition of Arthur D. Howden Smith's GREY MAIDEN. Sadly, this edition lacks at least five of the stories in a 1929 hardcover edition, which I have subsequently ordered.

    Still listening to Megadeth. Still wish I had more time to read.

    Current Music: Megadeth: Liar
    varianor
         		9:43p
    Utah, Trendsetter State?
    The Four Day Work Week

    You have to work 10 hour days. Big deal. Done that. In exchange, you get a four day week. Wow.

    Current Mood: amazed
    blogathon_2008
    [ weofodthignen ]
         		12:00p
    I can haz !
    I get my week off, so I can do my second Blogathon! (I did it in 2006, but unofficially for schedule reasons.)

    I'll be blogging for DELTA Rescue, an animal rescue organization and no-kill shelter here in California that I have supported for many years.

    I haven't decided what to do with my entries . . . and have asked for ideas in my journal.
    Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008
    varianor
         		10:38p
    Glue
    When one takes out thin, 1/8 wide lengths of basswood, and three inch width, two foot long planks to cut down into smaller sizes and glue onto the aforementioned lengths of basswood, nowhere does it mention that you have to be finicky. Yes, finicky. When I take an inch length of that 1/8 basswood and apply wood glue, it has to go right onto the larger piece that will form the side of a box. Said piece may be a tiny bit warped. Warped. Ah well. You still have to line it up just right.

    Then you have to scrounge on the bench for the clamps. Don't overclamp! Don't underclamp either. Once it's mostly clamped, you still have to fiddledink with the tweezers or your fingers and make sure everything is lined up. Then you tighten the rest of the way. A piece of thin wood to go between said clamp and said box side is a good idea too for making the pressure more uniform along the edge.

    Guess what?

    When you remove the clamps, the piece will still be crooked. Ever so slightly crooked. No matter what you do. If you stood there with a shotgun, pointed it at the wood, and threatened it, be prepared for a blank stare. That goes against your grain? Oh well.

    Fortunately, 42 years have prepared me for this. Do I rant, rave, scream, shout and throw? Nope. I shrug, finish taking off the clamps, and measure out the back of the box. Oh wait. Did I say box? I meant elevator. A two inch long by one inch deep and two inch high elevator. If all goes well, I'll be able to raise and lower pewter figurines a distance of inches.

    Inches!

    Mwuh-ha-ha!

    Current Mood: sticky
    philreed 7:35p
    Another convention update . . .
    In addition to Essen, I'll also be going to PAX in August. While I'll be very busy with Munchkin Quest, it would be very wrong if I didn't get to enjoy a meal with some of the Seattle crowd.
    varianor
         		1:06p
    Three Things Challenge
    Yoinked from various LJ friends, all of whom actually looked at this meme timely. Unlike moi.

    The Challenge:
    - Post 3 things you've done in your lifetime that you don't think anybody else on your friends list has done.
    - See if anybody else responds with "I've done that." If they have, you need to add another!(2.b., 2.c., etc...)
    - Have your friends cut & paste this into their journal to see what unique things they've done in their life.

    1. Located my grandmother’s half brother that she never knew that she had. (And he didn’t either, sort of.)
    2. Gotten appointed as the pretend co-ruler of a pretend place, and gotten many lovely *real* gifts for it.
    3. Had my father give me my high school diploma. At that point two-thirds of the class realized that we were related. We had all attending the school for four years.

    Current Mood: distracted
    philreed 6:50a
    Essen . . .
    The decision has been made, as of yesterday, so I'm going to the Essen show in October. Should be a lot of fun.
    Tuesday, July 1st, 2008
    varianor
         		11:32p
    Canada Day
    Happy birthday to our neighbors to the north. I know so many Canadians these days. You're all such kewl folks. Which is even more impressive given how cold it gets up there. I used to ski a lot. The Canadians were the folks who enjoyed skiing on ice.
    wickedthought
         		10:43a
    HotB: The Pre-Order PDF
    Looks like all the downloads are messing up senduit. please continue trying!
    I also sent a secondary link to the list. See if that works.


    Ladies and Gentlemen,

    I present the Houses of the Blooded pre-release PDF.

    This .pdf is yours. Use it as you wish. Share it with friends if you like. The only thing I ask is that you do not post it in a public forum or make it generally available.

    I want to thank you for your leap of confidence. I hope Houses of the Blooded lives up to (and exceeds) your expectations.

    All you have to do is click on the link provided and begin downloading the .pdf. This is a preliminary pdf. The cover is not included. Your full download/bonus material is forthcoming.

    As for the hard copy, I'm going to print next week. The printers inform me we'll have about a 2 week turn around. The books will be in the warehouse ready to ship by then.

    Again, thank you for your patronage and support. I've never had so much fun working on a project. I hope it shows. If you have any questions, problems or comments, please feel free to let me know.



    Take care,

    John W.
    ______

    If you pre-ordered the book and did not receive this e-mail, comment below, e-mail me, whatever. I'll get you the link asap.
     
    philreed 9:14a
    Stressed . . .
    I'm especially stressed out today, and frustrated, as I deal with tugs from every direction. It's a good thing this is a short week or else I'd probably go crazy. Office game day on Thursday. Holiday on Friday.

    And, best of all, vacation is just a three weeks away. I'm ready for the time off.
    Monday, June 30th, 2008
    blogathon_2008
    [ sylverice2 ]
         		10:07p
    Hello all. This will be my second Blogathon, and I'll be at my writing journal this time - [info]sylverwriter. I blog for the International Myeloma Foundation (my reason can be found here), and instead of just doing random posts, I'll be doing prompts for fandoms. One post, one fandom, no repeats. (Leave me prompts!)

    I'm blogging with a team (their posts can be found here and here).
    blogathon_2008
    [ surreal_prose ]
         		9:10p
    Blogging for Autism Speaks
    Hi! I'm Jessi, my blogathon journal is [info]surreal_prose, and this is my first blogathon! I will be blogging for Autism Speaks and my donation page is here.

    I'm really not sure what I'll be writing exactly yet, I may just end up relying on prompts from friends or whatever muse decides to smack me upside the head :) I am lucky enough to have an awesome team that I will be blogging with this year and I'm looking forward to raising money for a cause that is very close to me as well as supporting fellow blogathon-ers :)
    blogathon_2008
    [ avidreader514 ]
         		8:19p
    New Logo, Poster and URL
    The fundraising is kicking into high gear. While I was designing a poster for my son's daycare, I realized I needed a simple URL to drive sponsors to my site.

    Here it is: www.steve-blogathon.com.
    ephealy
         		2:18p
    Chiprovsky Gold Mine
    I went to a museum in Chiprovsky, Bulgaria. They had the coolest model of an old gold mine operation. Check out the images, below.

    Images: Taken 26 June 2008 (click to enlarge)

    blogathon_2008
    [ thesilentpoet ]
         		3:29p
    Hi! *waves*

    My name is Stefanie, and my livejournal is [info]thesilentpoet. This will be second year participating in Blogathon, and once again, I will be blogging for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. You can find my donation page here.

    Once again, I will be doing 48 posts of flash fiction. A list of my fandoms is here. Any prompts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. (Any prompts can either be left at the linked entry in my journal, or here. Todah rabah! - Thank you!)

    As noted in the entry, this year there will be a theme: post-apocalyptic, but not just in the sense of the end of the world, but a world. General, personal, physical. That moment where something or everything changes. The tipping over, where something ends, and another thing begins.

    If when you do donate, you could please forward your receipt to me, I would greatly appreciate it.)

    Thank you. I'll see you all July 26th, 9 AM.
    wickedthought
         		11:12a
    Play Dirty: The Dirty Dungeon

    This is what happens when someone calls me a rail road GM.
    (PS: If you're gonna be running D&D in the near future, you may want to pay attention to this one.)
    ephealy
         		5:45a
    Chiprovski Monastery
    "St. Ivan Rilsky"

    In the western Stara Planina, on the banks of the Chiprovska Ogosta River, sits the Chiprovski monastery. Founded during the First Bulgarian Kingdom (10th century), it was one of the bases from which Christianity and Slavonic writing spread throughout ancient Bulgaria. Ever since, this compound has been a center for literary, educational and revolutionary activity.

    Destroyed in 1837, the current form was created by hieromonks Dionysius and Gerasim from Berkovitsa. The tower-ossuary was built at this time, and holds the remains of Bulgarian revolutionaries who perished in the Chiprovsti rebellion.

    The church is a one-nave three-concha building, with an octathedral cupola and places for singers. It houses many valuable items, one of which is a throne Gospel with silver repousse cover - a gift from the Russian emperor Paul I.

    Some Bulgarians believe that the cloister has mysterious healing powers.

    Images: Taken 26 June 2008 (click to enlarge)

    Sunday, June 29th, 2008
    varianor
         		6:44p
    Recluttering
    Is almost complete. I made my third trip to the storage space of the day just a few minutes ago. What piles of stuff we now have! Hooray.

    There is a sort of nostalgia element to this of "Wow, I had no idea that we had one of those." I am hopeful that we will get rid of a lot of it. Now we can eliminate a fixed cost that the rising food and gas prices was making a big nuisance. (Yes, it means pushing back selling the house. It ain't happening this year.)

    Stay tuned. We may have some upcoming giveaways.
    wickedthought
         		3:19p
    Looking for Cover/Layout Staff for Cat 2.0
    I'm currently working on a second edition of Cat: A Little Game about Little Heroes.

    I am looking for a cover artist and a layout person. I would prefer someone who could handle both tasks.

    The book will be 6" x 9", B&W interior, no bleed.

    I will be paying a competitve wage (competitve indie wage) for the cover and layout. I have specific notions about layout and cover and a plan for the cover matching further WD releases.

    Please send me your resume (at johnjwick at gee mail daht com) if you would like to be considered for this position.

    WARNING: You will be trying to fill the shoes of the Indefatigable Daniel Solis. I have high expectations.
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