Surgery Successful

Thanks all for the well wishes, everyone. My dad is fine after having 2 stents put in (there were 2 blockages at 90%). He's being put on some drugs to keep this from happening again (or at least in the near future--we know how these things go sometimes and my dad isn't exactly the healthiest eater). Fortunately the whole thing was over in just over 24 hours since yesterday. He's staying overnight and must stay away from work for a week. All's well.

Healthwatch

My dad has been experiencing chest pains since the end of October. However, he never let on to anyone how bad it was. He confided in me this weekend that even eating caused him pain. "Eating a lot?" I asked. Nope, eating anything! I said he had to get himself checked out ASAP. After a quick visit to our local doctor, he was sent immediately out to Lehigh Valley to a cardiologist who then pronounced that he had the textbook signs of artery blockage. Tomorrow he's going in for heart cathaderization (sp?) in what is, I assume, a routine procedure these days. With any luck, he'll be home by nightfall no worse for wear. Take note folks, just suck it up and go to the doctor if you're having health issues. I'm certain if left untreated this would have led to my father's untimely demise and there's no reason for it. With the information age upon us, it's too easy to surf the net and self-diagnose oneself over the course of many weeks trying this and that approach when a simple chat with a physician will do the job better and faster.

As for the unexpected flurry of writing activity, Mike from Skortched 'Urf responded with some additions for my Torch pdf. I'll be making those tonight and that should be that for my first contribution to their "Adventurer Essentials" line. For Highmoon's locale project, I sent a scaling details for my map to Daniel last night. This first effort details a museum dedicated to housing relics belonging to the most vile creatures in history. The curator doesn't wish to showcase these as evil but rather promote the good deeds accomplished in reaction to those who owned these nefarious artifacts. I think I'm calling it the "Museum of Infamous Heroism."

Lastly, 80sTees.com is having a 20% off sale if you use the code "January20" when checking out. The code is good through Feb 3.

Hoards on the Market!

The book I helped usher to completion (including a first stint as art director) is now for sale. It even has a good review already! Check it out here: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=21028

I've also completed a small pdf for Skortched 'Urf Studios for their "Adventurer Essentials" line. Their first effort concentrated on holy water. I decided to come at the line with the almighty torch. The format hearkens back to Behind the Spells and if my effort is met with good vibes, I'll likely pen quite a few more pdfs for the line. I'm also working on a locales project for Highmoon Media. How did I get so busy all of a sudden?

Finally, my brother and I are embarking on a pdf journey of our own. How does the name "Tricky Mummy Productions" sound? :)

Ebay Sales

I'm planning on making a substantial payment to the credit card gods this month but can always use more in the offering plate. ;) Thus, check out my current Ebay auctions and help a brotha' out, yo. That, and it sounds like my computer is about to die (or the fan, at the very least) so there's that too.

Link: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZvantas1

Abortion and d20?

Ummmmm, okay...

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?p=3297635#post3297635

I'm not sure I could have thought of this product idea even if you'd have paid me. Maybe I'm not hip to the whole Modern scene, but would people actually want to use their precious roleplaying time exploring abortion?

Casino Trip, part III

As previously stated, I drove Linda, Kristi, and myself to Delaware Park Wed. Did my lucky streak continue? Well, there's no damned dollar sign in my entry title now is there mister smarty pants? ;) Regrettably, of the $180 I took to gamble, only $20 survived the trip. Linda and Kristi split a $150 payout and were nice enough to buy my dinner at Ruby Tuesday. In a way, I suppose, losing was good because it has broken the "need" I had developed to keep going back.

In other news, Chris Gath posted a review of Bts: Wish & Limited Wish here: http://www.enworld.org/reviews.php?do=review&reviewid=3286374

Now I'm off to find something to eat. Gotta keep it bland since something I had for lunch did NOT agree with my insides and was just forcefully expelled. It's tempting to stay home but more tempting to use that 25% off coupon for Borders. We're playing some Vampire this weekend so my Sunday is booked. Tomorrow is up in the air but I hear it's going to be pretty darned cold. Have a great weekend!

Ca$ino Trip, part II

I decided to take a drive down to Days of Knights in Newark, DE (as I had back in June). After picking up two of the Game Mastery map packs by Paizo, I bopped on over to the Delware Park Racetrack and Slots. The fever to play was still with me after Saturday's haul and I wanted to have a look at this place anyway. After parking quite far away, I entered the slots area to find a nice clean establishment. The typical bevy of old people were plunking in their coins and zipping in their dollars as I fairly jogged to find the bathroom.

Emerging refreshed and with a relaxed bladder, I took a tour of the place while dropping $40 out of the $160 I had brought. When those first two twenties gained me nothing, I decided to really hunker down and follow my own slot rules, the cardinal of which is this--look at the previous payout on the machine! The first to catch my eye was a $400 payout...at a $1 machine. Normally, I avoid the buck ones like the plague. But I still had plenty of twenties left and the payout spoke for itself. After alternating between one and two credits played, I went for three (the maximum) and won myself over 250 credits. I needed to remind myself that these were dollars now and not quarters as per usual. So I played down to an even 200 and moved on, very pleased with that turn of events.

Well, I guess the dollar machines were calling me beause I spied another decent payout at two machines near the entrance. Instead of using my $200 voucher (and risk losing its contents), I decided to play through the rest of my cash since even if I used it all I'd still be ahead. Lady luck continued to watch over me as this $1 machine hit for over 250 credits again! This time, I played to the 250, cashed out, and moved to the next machine on my right. After a precious few spins, it hit for over 100! The woman a few machines down spared me a glare. I turned and nodded knowlingly to her. :)

At the end of about an hour's worth of slot playing, my twenties were gone but my vouchers totaled $550!! Will my luck continue next week or even tonight (I purchased some Powerball tickets because, what the hell?)?! Wish me luck!

And for a bit of rpg news, friend and fellow freelancer Mike Ferguson has mentioned me in his own entry about 2007 over at Musings (see link on the right since I'm web challenged). I wish him luck on his resolutions and hope to see him quite a bit at our gaming table this year.

Ca$ino Trip!

After work on Saturday, I decided to travel to Atlantic City with my parents, Scot, and Zlatka (the machines were calling to me). After walking a bit and having some dinner and ice cream, my parents broke away to walk around while the remaining trio went into Caesars. Zlaty was unfortunate enough to get a clogged printer at a Wheel of Fortune $1 slot. There was still $7 left to cash out so we waiting 20 minutes or so for an attendant. I had spent $20 by this time and we had a limited window of time for gambling. After moving over to Ballys, I went straight for the machine which hit for $70 last time. Sure enough, it hit again for me at around the same payout.

After playing down to $50 the three of us moved over to the Wild West part of Ballys. Scot and Zlaty played a machine while I went across the aisle. After only a few minutes my voucher had shrunk to $30. Things weren't looking good (although I was really only down $10 by this point). My gambling companions had moved a few machines down from me; Scot racking up a few bucks on a "Crystal 5s" 25-cent machine. I moved to watch while Zlaty sat beside him "bringing him luck."

After a minute or two, the machine showed one of its "x5" faces and two matching bars. Instant $80! Scot decided that was good enough for them and prepared to leave. I said, "Are you sure you don't want to keep playing?" Since this machine had displayed a propensity for hitting, I felt certain the streak would continue. Scot declined so I said, "Well, I'm sure as hell going to play!"

I sat down and like a three pulls later (betting max each time of course), the machine showed two "x5"s and a double bar! The $$ indicator shot up and didn't stop! Scot and I were trying to figure out what I would win. When the amount did stop, I had hit just above $400. Not too shabby and I guess I really did feel the place calling to me. Despite a strong desire to stay, we immediately cashed out and went home. Smart move this time but Linda and I have already planned a trip back to AC next Wed. We'll see if the same machine hits again and if we can show restraint.

Thoughts for 2007

Not much to report here on the 'ol FR. I'm kicking around some ideas I can submit to Ronin Arts or Adamant Ent. while catching up on my reading. Our Spycraft game was a howling success and I can say I laughed until I cried. There really isn't much of a better way to ring in the new year than with a game with good friends (and relatives as well in this case!). Twice I though agent Gray Squirrel was a goner but I managed to survive.

Now we look to the year of 2007. Since I smashed my crystal ball back in 2001, there's no way to predict what will come. As I just mentioned, I've got some pdf ideas rattling around in the 'ol brainbox. Wouldn't mind doing some more adventure work for Goodman Games (still waiting to here on that open call from Sept!) either. Do I have any desire to break into the "big leagues" yet? Nah, I'm happy enough as a hobbylancer without busting my butt to do work for WotC (if such a thing were even possible). That said, an article with Dragon would be nice but getting proposals through the email shield I'm convinced Paizo has in place is daunting to say the least. Every proposal to them has either been rejected (I can live with that) or not even responded to. That's frustrating and damned inconsiderate.

With hobbylancing recently at an all time low, perhaps I can turn my creative juices to my group's gaming and my planar campaign. I'm even now brainstorming for the campaign's season finale. When last we left our heroes, they had defeated the Cult of Chaos and returned home...but something has gone terribly wrong. Emerging from the glyph gate, the group witnessed a Sigil in ruins as if from a great war. I don't want to give to many hints, but the finale has to do with an alternate timeline which picks up where one of TSR's edition-spanning adventure's leaves off. If you're thinking of a certain villanous god missing two body parts that you're on the right track. ;)

But back to '07. Besides what I might create, there's a couple items still to be published. Hoards from DQG, Behind the Spells print collection from Ronin Arts, and A Matter of Faith from Highmoon. There are some items I wouldn't mind returning to before 4th edition rears its ugly head including:

*Guide to Illusionary Characters--D&D meets holograms. Rules for creating and playing an illusionary PC.

*Invasion: Freeport--This adventure, with the able assistance of Brad, is in complete outline form. Perhaps I can breath life back into it and see if Phil is interested in publishing it. I'm certain Gareth would be if Phil declines. If memory serves, I got the go-ahead and then decided to wait for GR's announcement as to what they were doing with the setting.

*Temporality introduction adventure--To help spur awareness of my time travel book, an intro adventure to using its components seems in order. I started sketching a plot last week.

*Foul Locales redux--One of my creative loves continues to be locations for d20. I almost started a series based on Ed Bourelle's tiles but we never seemed to get off the ground. If only I had some cartography skills, then I could present a finished product to a pdf publisher. I suppose I can just ask if they'd be willing to hire one for this proposed series.

That's all I can think of at the moment. A semi-ambitious schedule considering my recent bout of creative dryness. With any luck, at least two of these will come to pass in 2007.