Roadside Picnic

Got home Wednesday night, and my cops of 7th Sea 2nd Edition was on the porch - a most happy surprise! The book is gorgeous, and I kinda wish I'd had the resources to go in for an all-the-hardbacks pledge, because it appears that there will be a graphic extending across the spines of the books.

Spent Friday morning at the MRC/LMPHW storage space at Louisville Megacavern. Lots of inventorying, stocking trailers, all that. More body bags than I cared to count. But it was a good morning, and good work.

After the cave, I headed up to Indianapolis. Got there around 3PM, linked up with my nerd-siblings, and got settled into the hotel. Clowning around, catching up, telling stories, all that. Con went well enough. Lots of excitement about the Mistborn board game (and despite my disinterest in the property, it is a lot of fun). Got a couple of new ships for X-Wing and the Shadowrun Anarchy preview. Got to see Ben and Rebecca, then we broke down the booth.

I decided to detour through Northern Kentucky and see Erin and talk about 7th Sea, so headed out on I-74. Got to the Shelbyville (Indiana) exit, and hit a hole in the road. Shouldn't have been anything worse than maybe a tire knocked off the wheel, but the impact broke the rocker arm. Got it trailered home, and the mechanic inspection was an eye-opener. His evaluation - it can be made drivable, but it'll never be highway-safe. An ungodly amount of structural rust throughout. Like, hit the rail with a hammer and watch it cleave levels of rust. So, he told the adjuster what was up, and the adjuster totaled it and wrote a check right there in Mom&Dad's driveway. Bought a Mercury Mariner this morning. Loaded up, but thirsty. I'll deal.

So, a more eventful end to the weekend than I would have liked, but maybe a blessing in disguise. I'm back in Louisville now, and all seems to be well. Going-away party for an old GSP buddy and his fiancee tonight.

Quite a few things have happened since the last update.

SPHIS accepted me into the MPH program. I get to skip the second undergraduate year, and may be awarded the Bachelor's degree anyway based on strength of work. Dr. Jacobs was impressed by the number and strength of my recommendations. Unless things go very wrong, in 21 months, I'll be a newly-minted Master of Public Health, focus to be determined.

The school is also giving me a job. It's nothing spectacular, but it does keep me in everyday contact with the entirety of the school's faculty and staff, so I'll be a familiar face to everyone. That has to be useful in a year or so when practica and other out-of-classroom work comes around.

I wound up going to GenCon, extending my streak to an even ten years. One of the volunteers had to cancel out (and with a legitimate reason, too - no McClouding this time) and The Bosses offered me his badge and room space free of charge. How could I refuse? So, I got up godawful early on Saturday and rolled up to Indy. After accepting thatn I wasn't going at all this year, my two-day visit was glorious. Saw many friends, and felt very much welcomed by my ... well, I can't really say teammates. By the Crafty staff and volunteers. Minimal loot - a K-Wing and TIE Punisher/Interdictor, as you prefer, a handful of snazzy hammer-and-sickle D6s, and a couple scoops of dice for D. Much socializing and the like. And some business, too. Tested out the four upcoming card and board games (and there is a character in one of them based on me). AF offered me some work on Spycraft 3, and I am quite flattered, but I had to decline any deadline/wordcount work. School has to come first, and back-to-back 600-level Biostatistics courses are going to test me. So, I'm going to be a consultant of sorts. Pretty exciting stuff.

Other GenCon news of note. There was some kerfuffle at the Ennies, not sure of any real details, but it sounds like the Atlas Games folks didn't acquit themselves well at all. FFG knocked many pairs of socks off with their panel. X-Wing Wave 8 was revealed, with ships/pilots/crew from Rebels at the center. The mic-drop moment came at the end, when Christianson brought up the title card to The Force Awakens, and indicated that TFA product was already on its way from overseas factories, to be revealed around September 4. We knew it would happen, but not this fast. Games Workshop had a tale of woe - while clearing customs, one of their UK staffers let slip that the group was "working a convention," not merely attending. They had no work visas, and were immediately deported. There was a skeleton crew of US-based folks covering their exhibitor presence through the weekend, and those poor guys had to have been wrecked by end of show. Pinnacle announced a Flash Gordon line for Savage Worlds. Vampire: the Masquerade 4th Edition (seriously).

Despite only being there for part of the show, I was worn out when I got home this afternoon. Two very late nights in a row, so much road construction, and all of the walking and lugging that the convention involved. Worth it - I was meant to be at that place at that time. If I can, I'll be back next year. And the next and the next. Before that, though, three regionals and Origins. After the way I was welcomed in Indy, I can't not fly the flag.

Grades came in. Slight improvement over the Fall term; could have been even better, had I not darn near checked out of 430. Missed the A in Policy by a few points and managed the A in Epidemilogy by a few. Given the chance, I would not reallocate those points.

The X-Wing league's regular season is over. I lost a close match in the final cycle - my B-Wings performed as designed, delivering and enduring tremendous punishment, but against six TIE aces, they just couldn't get the win. That loss, and the results of other battles, moved me from a 3-way tie for fifth place to a 5-way tie for sixth/seventh/eight place. I beat one of the other pilots with my record, but lost to two of them, so I won't be surprised (or disappointed) if I don't make the playoff cut. This has been a heck of a lot of fun, and I've made friends during play.

Was supposed to learn to play Armada yesterday, but the fellow forgot to bring his rulebook, and neither of us had tablets with us. So, we played a couple games of X-Wing, letting me break in my YT-1300 and S&V ships. I won both matches handily - I figure my league time has made me a better player. Later on, I taught Shadows Over Camelot and learned Asgard. Asgard is very pretty and very well-designed, but I found it far more complex than I like, and ultimately a tedious experience.

I am nearly completely unexcited about GenCon. There's nothing new from us, just prototypes that will be on shelves ... sometime. The only new release I'm interested in is Force & Destiny, and I'll pick that up at one of the local stores. Was offered a spot on Fantasy Flight's team for Origins, but three weeks isn't enough lead time for me - next year, though, may be a whole other story.

Heading to the farm in a few hours. Mom&Dad have hit the road for a few days and want me to house-sit for them.

Yep, in Indianapolis. Taking a break between the Exhibitor Hall and dinner and dancing this evening.

Our little convoy assembled at the house Wednesday morning. I'd loaded the Focus with the weekend's supplies, and had my personal bags ready to go. Arrived in Indy around 1:30, checked in, and started sorting hotel assignments. This was the first hiccup of the weekend - GenCon placed us in three hotels, and all of the rooms are double/doubles, instead of the suites we expected. There was some scrambling to arrange additional bedding, and one of my bosses and I were ready to make a fast trip to Meijer or CostCo or something and get inflatable mattresses, but one of our friends (staying with the company) came through with a camping cot and two airbeds. So, hooray for Art!

On the other hand, man, seriously, screw flaky gamers. One of the new guys sent me an e-mail letting me know that he wouldn't be able to make it because of his wife's health issues. He sent it at 11AM the day before the con formally begins. We had to cancel four more tables of games because of this shithead, on top of the 10 we had already had to cancel because of the licensor throwing a wobbly. Brief anger, leading to disappointment, but ultimately not surprised. I'd had a lurking suspicion about this guy, mostly because of who recommended him to me. So, yeah, that happened. We handled it.

Oh, hey, lunch Wednesday! We got to Tavern on South and had duck wings before the Munchkin people took over the place for the weekend with their crappy game.

Wednesday night, we assembled the team, had a meeting, had a good time. Played some games and braced ourselves for the next four days.

I love working this convention, by the way. A few weeks after each year's show, I start to think that maybe I'll go as a civilian the next time, but I snap out of that soon enough. I don't know that I'd enjoy it nearly so much from the other side of the curtain now. I like my Exhibitor Badge and the access it grants me. I like having enough time scheduled with work that I don't go into decision paralysis over events I want to attend. I like having a base of operations in the hall, and handshakes and quick chats and evening pickup games with designers I admire. Heck, this morning, Michael Stackpole came by, sat down in our booth, and shared a few words. Yesterday, John Snead said it was nice to see me again. Had breakfast with Steve Kenson yesterday, and then talked with a possible licensee about using Fantasy Craft to power his newly-acquired Lxxx & xxxxL property. It's just cool.

So, yeah, on to Thursday. Finished booth setup, with the new layout I'd pushed for. Much better product presentation, more security and comfort for my staff. Fast dashes to some vendors (I got a Rebel Aces set, so will be hankering for some X-Wing action real soon). And then the VIGs. And sales began. And at 10, the rush of attendees. Meeting and greeting, all the good stuff. Nice coffee flask from ACD Distribution.

We have dinner with our convention staff and a few others on Thursday night. This year, dinner was followed by a meeting with the managers of our host restaurant, with the hopes of arranging a different kind of convention presence for 2015 and after. We're abandoning the traditional large event schedule after this year. We're big enough to fill up our events with players, but not so big that we can reliably and easily fill up the required GM slots. Next year, we're going to partner with a couple of other similarly-sized publishers and rent the restaurant's largest private room for two or three nights, hosting open gaming nights. Food and drink sales will go against our rental costs, and it's not unlikely that our visitors will effectively pay for the facility. It's exciting, and I think it'll work better for us than the traditional process.

More games, more people, more fun on Friday. Handled some little problems with event materials. Played Star Wars: Age of Rebellion in the afternoon and some board and card game prototypes late into the night. Had a moment that reminded me of why I love this con - looked around, and there was about half of my team, some friends and partners, and groups of other folks, sitting/lying around the third-floor lobby of the JW Marriott, playing games and hanging out and having a good time. It was kinda magical.

Traded my booth-credit-acquired books for a fantasy setting guide this morning. Worked the booth. Debated buying Last Night on Earth. Lunch, errands, then back to the hotel to recharge. Watching football fans stream into Lucas Oil Stadium for a Colts game. Arranging meets with friends for dinner and going dancing and stuff. The show's over tomorrow; in 24 hours, I'll be back home.

UofL approved my appeal for financial aid. I'll have to maintain a GPA a full point lower than the goal I'm setting for myself to keep the money coming in - so help me, if I fail at that, my next reasonable step is to sneak onto the Kennedy Bridge some evening and experience deceleration trauma.

But I won't fail.

A Malaysian Airlines 777 was shot down yesterday while flying over eastern Ukraine. From the look of things, it was brought down by a SAM, fired by Russian-backed separatists or, worse, Russian forces just outside Ukraine's borders. I figure it's a terrible mistake, more Iran Air 655 than JAL 007, but that's just some dude's take. 298 deaths, including about 100 researchers and activists on their way to the 2014 AIDS Congress in Australia. Hell of a loss.

Christ, I've been working on this entry for three hours. Skype calls are going fast and furious.

We're a month out from GenCon, and true to tradition, things have been thrown into the air. Unsurprising, but disappointing, one of my GMs has bailed out. He's now blacklisted permanently, and while I understand that life does get in the way, I won't have time to be forgiving for a month or so. Also, there has been a blowup with a licensor, and I'm going to have to cancel nearly a fifth of our events. We're not pleased, but these are signs that our plans for big changes in how we conduct our GenCon operations are steps in the right direction.

19 days until the summer McJob is over. I got my conversion papers last week (convert from staffing company employee to regular); I'll probably file the appropriate paperwork to make a better mark in case I need to go through the agency again, and I just about bet that I'll give my outta-here notice within a day or two of the process being completed.

Whatever. In 38 days, I'll be in class again. Onward, forward, upward.

The last of my grandfather's siblings died Tuesday morning (February 4). Harvey and I had a polite, if distant, relationship; I was much closer to and fonder of Paul and Frank. Joanne, his daughter, has had a very rough time with this. Her husband died about a month ago. Heck of a thing to have to deal with.

I almost skipped out on the funeral because of a nasty cold. Started hitting me Tuesday afternoon, and by Thursday night I was in sad-ass shape. Slept for a few hours after the funeral, and got back to Lexington alright. My father, still full of surprises, handed me a medium-sized box as I was leaving his home; with a sort-of sheepish smile, he said simply, "I bought half of a cow." So now I've got stash of steaks and ground beef from a small family farm in my refrigerator and freezer. Never a dull moment.

Slept through most of the morning. Store-brand Dayquil-equivalent has been a gift from the chemical gods. Got a little bit of sinus pressure and attendant headache sticking around, but the coughing and sneezing are gone, and the very painful sore throat has been reduced to a barely-noticeable tickle. Should you ever have the chance to have coughing and sneezing fits bad enough to make your ribs hurt, I can't recommend taking it.

GenCon prep kicked off this week. Including the seminars, we've got 54 events on the schedule this year, promoting three game lines. Mistborn gets a much-needed expansion, and we're launching a new closed-end line. Spycraft Third gets support, but the game itself isn't ready for release yet. I'm in the process of recruiting the volunteer team (again), hopefully with less last-minute drama than last year.

Little Wizards continues to sell well.

Lots and lots of walking and standing causing foot pain. Hot tub curing said pain very quickly.

Mac Genie and Scout's Treats: still delicious.

Hobomancer won the silver Ennie!

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GenCon's slogan is "The Best Four Days in Gaming," and that's become increasingly inaccurate in recent years. Events have been spilling over into Wednesday for several years, and the con just keeps growing.

(BTW, posting from the phone. Apologies for formatting errors.)

ST's issues with his kid's flight were resolved and we met him in Louisville. Lot of road work in southern Indiana. Made it to Indy without incident, linked up with the bosses and some other volunteers. Missed the baseball game, unfortunately. Okay lunch at Tilted Kilt, which is pretty much Hooter's with plaid microskirts and a larger menu. Started meeting and greeting our new volunteers, all of whom seem to be good folks, very much Crafty's kind of people.

Staff meeting, quick Spycraft Third game, and I turned in around 1AM. Stressful morning and some hotel billing issues and having to be ON!! for a few hours tapped me out.

Now it's Thursday morning. Going over to the Exhibit Hall in an hour or so to finish setup and pick up a couple of items ahead of the huddled masses and the big spenders (Exhibitors > VIGs) and get ready for the rush.

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My trusty Taurus went into semi-retirement last weekend. I'd been looking at a replacement for a while, tested a few here and there, and pretty much out of the blue one of my preferred options appeared. Much like my ol' pal Hephaestus, this is really a great workaday vehicle - a Focus ZTW. Pale green, pretty nicely equipped, and after about 300 miles and four days, I'm pretty taken with it. Easy to drive, very comfortable, and offers a prodigious amount of cargo space with the rear seats folded down.

I guess the little wagon will get its first real road test next weekend. Initial plans were for four of us from Lexington to ride to GenCon together, but a combination of factors is forcing a change. Looks like the West Coast head office is going to have quite a bit of material printed here - banners, signs, convention game material - and that plus 20 man-days of clothes and other convention accoutrements will probably be more than the originally-planned vehicle can handle. I'll get the Focus serviced Saturday morning and I guess we'll light out for Indy on Wednesday.

I'm about as prepared as I'm going to get for the con. My duties don't require much in the way of materials and front-loading, so it's mostly a matter of knowing our product line and handling any crises that arise. I've got a few items on my shopping list and my event locations and times in my phone. Going to see some friends, make some new ones, and have a good time.

Basketball bores the everloving hell out of me. Around here, that makes me something of a pariah, as UK basketball is something of a religion. Being utterly disinterested when you're surrounded by a largely fannish population has some occasional advantages, though - like the office emptying out on Friday afternoon. Looks like I'll have that again on Thursday, which is pretty alright, too, since I'm off Friday of the coming week.

Saw John Carter yesterday. It's a darn good movie, enjoyable, fun, beautiful, and full of adventure. And likely to be a commercial flop because of studio infighting and a piss-poor, if I'm being kind, advertising campaign. Go see this while you have the chance.

I've been drawn, briefly, back into World of Warcraft. There's some kind of resurrection promo, giving free Cataclysm content and a boost to 80th level and a few other goodies. I figure I'll run around for a couple of months and hang it up again when the prepaid play time card I bought expires.

I'm currently reading Resurrection Day, by Brendan DuBois. It's a very good read so far, a murder mystery set in an America still suffering the effects of the war brought on by the Cuban Missile Crisis. DuBois is an award-winning mystery writer and his craft really shows in this one. Recommended.

Auditioning a prospective GM for GenCon this week, and I'm ... not hopeful. Still looking to recruit a couple for the show.