Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1034310Well, as you taught me, "Never attribute to malice what can adequately be explained by stupidity."  Or, in this case, by utter disorganization.  Umber doesn't give a shit, Moose is getting on with his life, and the others are in 3F mode -- "Fart, faint, and fall down."  Nobody is in CHARGE, and nobody wants to make a mistake, so inertia is in charge.

"The intelligence of a committee is the square root of the number of people involved."

Precisely. They thought that they would inherit a going concern, make lots of money off the vast royalties that Phil had to be getting, and be Famous People 'because they were 'Barker's Own', the elite of the gaming world. The reality, as we found out along about 1980 or so, was (and is) very different...

Quote from: Neshm hiKumala;1034324hmmm, I don't think I've ever heard of "Beside The Dark pool Of Memory". What is it?

The last one Phil started, but never finished. He got thirteen chapters into it, before his health collapsed. I also have his first Tekumel novel, some 52 pages that he started in Lucknow and never finished; he lost the manuscript, and I found it when I was sorting his papers.

Quote from: chirine ba kal;1034347There's a lull, at the moment...

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Holly Snowman! That's some serious snow storm.
Stay warm.

Quote from: chirine ba kal;1034349The last one Phil started, but never finished. He got thirteen chapters into it, before his health collapsed. I also have his first Tekumel novel, some 52 pages that he started in Lucknow and never finished; he lost the manuscript, and I found it when I was sorting his papers.

Treasures.

Are there secured electronic copies of these (super hi-res scans) to fend off the ravages of time/mold/etc.?

Quote from: Neshm hiKumala;1034393Holly Snowman! That's some serious snow storm.
Stay warm.

We've had about 13" to 15" here at the house in the past 24 hours, with another inch still falling. Winds have really picked up, which has been the issue the whole time. The poor old van does not like it when it gets wet, and while our tarp kept it running during last week's storm, the wind blew a bunch of wet snow under the van and into the engine compartment. When I shoveled it out, it would not start, so it has literally just now been towed off to the shop where they'll dry it out. The ultimate solution is heated indoor parking, so we're working on that. Der Bug is parked on the side street; we get plowed first thing, so we have to move our cars, and then I'll move it back tomorrow morning.

This kind of weather is why I get grouchy with people who want me to do convention shows for them; imagine having to move and load boxes of figures and scenery in this kind of weather, and you can probably see why I get cranky. The people who want me to do these events never seem to be around to help, oddly enough...

Quote from: Neshm hiKumala;1034394Treasures.

Are there secured electronic copies of these (super hi-res scans) to fend off the ravages of time/mold/etc.?

Agreed. I promised Phil , back in the summer of '76, that I'd be his archivist and preserve the data. I've done that, and I am - I have to say - pretty content with what we've managed to do with very limited resources.

Yes. I keep multiple digital copies of everything; The Missus, Third Daughter, and I spent the summer going through all of Phil's papers and scanning / copying literally everything. I did not keep copies of some very personal letters from his college years, as they had nothing to do with his writing or gaming. The TF has all of the originals, and I have no idea what they ever did about the mold, mildew, insects, and rot that we found when we looked at the documents. I was assured that they had "Top people" working on it, but from the various questions and e-mails that I got from them later I don't think anything's been done. Something as simple as tossing the damp pages in a freezer, but nobody wanted to take responsibility for getting the freezer or putting the pages into it.

At the moment, the archive is serving as the 'research library' for my writing my book. After that's done, I have no idea what else to do, as I'll have finished what I promised Phil I'd do for him and his creation so many years ago. I even offered a copy of the archive to the TF, at Gary Con some three years ago, but they blew me off. Apparently, the archives are of no value, as the raw data that Phil left us has to be "properly interpreted" for all of us. Me, I'd let Phil speak for himself, as he was pretty articulate, but what do I know?

>shrug<

Quote from: chirine ba kal;1034414We've had about 13" to 15" here at the house in the past 24 hours, with another inch still falling. Winds have really picked up, which has been the issue the whole time. The poor old van does not like it when it gets wet, and while our tarp kept it running during last week's storm, the wind blew a bunch of wet snow under the van and into the engine compartment. When I shoveled it out, it would not start, so it has literally just now been towed off to the shop where they'll dry it out. The ultimate solution is heated indoor parking, so we're working on that. Der Bug is parked on the side street; we get plowed first thing, so we have to move our cars, and then I'll move it back tomorrow morning.

This kind of weather is why I get grouchy with people who want me to do convention shows for them; imagine having to move and load boxes of figures and scenery in this kind of weather, and you can probably see why I get cranky. The people who want me to do these events never seem to be around to help, oddly enough...

It's been pretty crazy here in the TC. This would be pretty annoying but normal for December-February, but mid-April it is downright aberrant. Of course people have made plans assuming it was spring. My folks had their kitchen redone, and bled their pipes so they could reroute the heating. A guy at my A.A. had a joint replaced. And the misses and I scheduled movers for yesterday. Special props to College Muscle Movers of Minneapolis, they got all our stuff moved from Bloomington to Minneapolis and up a hill and into the new place without any damage or injury.

Sorry to hear people are fair weather friends with regard to helping with the demonstrations. I guess I could help you load, but that really doesn't help on the other end of the journey. :-P

Quote from: Willie the Duck;1034423It's been pretty crazy here in the TC. This would be pretty annoying but normal for December-February, but mid-April it is downright aberrant. Of course people have made plans assuming it was spring. My folks had their kitchen redone, and bled their pipes so they could reroute the heating. A guy at my A.A. had a joint replaced. And the misses and I scheduled movers for yesterday. Special props to College Muscle Movers of Minneapolis, they got all our stuff moved from Bloomington to Minneapolis and up a hill and into the new place without any damage or injury.

Sorry to hear people are fair weather friends with regard to helping with the demonstrations. I guess I could help you load, but that really doesn't help on the other end of the journey. :-P

Agreed! I don't mind this kind of thing in the winter, but in the spring it is indeed downright nasty. Fifth Daughter's move has been delayed yet again, but as she's down to one load we have the room space back to move things into. (Half the mannequin fleet is now in there, and it does look kinds odd...) Due to my health issues, I'm pretty exhausted after all the digging; luckily, at work I have all sorts of mighty and powerful machinery to do the hard stuff. Here at the house, my little electric snowblower was just plain out-classed by the heavy wet snow, so it was back to being the banjo brigade for the day. Der Bug is a joy to drive in this stuff; I went out for supplies during a lull, and had no issues over and above a little wheel-slip at intersections.

College Movers are the folks I suggested to Fifth Daughter and The Boyfriend, but I got ignored. Sigh. :rolleyes:

Thanks for the kind offer, by the way. What I've gotten tired of are the people who are all over me to run games for them, and then promise to help with the logistics - and then never show up. When we got to the point where it was me (with my brain surgery) and a good friend (with triple bypass surgery) doing all the heavy lifting out of the basement and into the van, I took a long hard look at things and stopped being Mister Nice Chirine.

(And Oh! The Weeping! The Wailing! I was being A Big Poopy-Butt!!!)

Some things never change, do they.

Go to their clans and demand shamtla. Nothing worse than people wanting stuff done but are only willing to watch it get done. Or worse, not even watch it get done.

Speaking of people that should be impaled, where are people impaled? Outside the city gates? Along the road? Town square? How long are they left up? Is it a ceremonial thing, done in a special place with the bodies coming down quickly to be returned to their clans or is it like Rome with them being put on display and left up?

Quote from: chirine ba kal;1034426Agreed! I don't mind this kind of thing in the winter, but in the spring it is indeed downright nasty. Fifth Daughter's move has been delayed yet again, but as she's down to one load we have the room space back to move things into. (Half the mannequin fleet is now in there, and it does look kinds odd...) Due to my health issues, I'm pretty exhausted after all the digging; luckily, at work I have all sorts of mighty and powerful machinery to do the hard stuff. Here at the house, my little electric snowblower was just plain out-classed by the heavy wet snow, so it was back to being the banjo brigade for the day. Der Bug is a joy to drive in this stuff; I went out for supplies during a lull, and had no issues over and above a little wheel-slip at intersections.

I tried to keep up with the snow on Saturday for the movers*, and it was not happening. Otherwise, it was readily doable to shovel there, at the place we were moving from, and at my folks'. The only real problem is that my good gloves were packed away (so again, example of how this would have been a trivial annoyance for most of the city in December), which made the experience uncomfortable, but so what. As to vehicles, my folks have a Tiguan with 4wd, it does fine. I made the mistake of saying "how many days a year do I really need to drive in snow?" and buying a otherwise sensible sedan. Every corner where the plow-lines cross I am praying I don't have to come to a stop because of traffic. :-P
*They have their own insurance and I always keep a $2m umbrella policy, but all it would take is the two of them falling while moving a file cabinet or the like.

QuoteThanks for the kind offer, by the way.

I feel like I should do more. I'm not into miniatures, and I'm not big on Cons, but I should do something. As I kinda alluded to on the how to play a supergenius thread, I'm doing a lot better in life than I 1) deserve, and 2) ever thought I'd have 14 1/2 years after scrapping my drunk ass off the ground and trying to figure out what kind of life I could salvage. I should probably be out there doing something helpful with my community (however that is defined).

QuoteWhat I've gotten tired of are the people who are all over me to run games for them, and then promise to help with the logistics - and then never show up. When we got to the point where it was me (with my brain surgery) and a good friend (with triple bypass surgery) doing all the heavy lifting out of the basement and into the van, I took a long hard look at things and stopped being Mister Nice Chirine.

(And Oh! The Weeping! The Wailing! I was being A Big Poopy-Butt!!!)

There is nothing worse than people wanting something from you, but then not making it easy for you to do it for them. The old adage of 'that boy coulda used a stint in the army,' is probably not the case, but everybody ought to have to do something that require coordinating, managing, logistics, or whatnot.

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1034436Some things never change, do they.

No, they don't, and it's gotten quite old.

Quote from: Big Andy;1034508Go to their clans and demand shamtla. Nothing worse than people wanting stuff done but are only willing to watch it get done. Or worse, not even watch it get done.

Speaking of people that should be impaled, where are people impaled? Outside the city gates? Along the road? Town square? How long are they left up? Is it a ceremonial thing, done in a special place with the bodies coming down quickly to be returned to their clans or is it like Rome with them being put on display and left up?

Agreed; as I said, it's gotten old being stood up by people.

Outside the city gates, normally, and then left there to rot. It's not done in town, due to the stigma of the execution (and the mess), but the bodies are left as a warning to others. It's done with ceremony, but not the good kind; the clan does not get - or want - the body back, due to the very negative connotations involved. Now, having said that, see also "Deeds" for instances where a change in regime in Avanthar produced some pardons for the executed, and they did finally get a decent funeral.

Quote from: Willie the Duck;1034532I tried to keep up with the snow on Saturday for the movers*, and it was not happening. Otherwise, it was readily doable to shovel there, at the place we were moving from, and at my folks'. The only real problem is that my good gloves were packed away (so again, example of how this would have been a trivial annoyance for most of the city in December), which made the experience uncomfortable, but so what. As to vehicles, my folks have a Tiguan with 4wd, it does fine. I made the mistake of saying "how many days a year do I really need to drive in snow?" and buying a otherwise sensible sedan. Every corner where the plow-lines cross I am praying I don't have to come to a stop because of traffic. :-P
*They have their own insurance and I always keep a $2m umbrella policy, but all it would take is the two of them falling while moving a file cabinet or the like.

I feel like I should do more. I'm not into miniatures, and I'm not big on Cons, but I should do something. As I kinda alluded to on the how to play a supergenius thread, I'm doing a lot better in life than I 1) deserve, and 2) ever thought I'd have 14 1/2 years after scrapping my drunk ass off the ground and trying to figure out what kind of life I could salvage. I should probably be out there doing something helpful with my community (however that is defined).

There is nothing worse than people wanting something from you, but then not making it easy for you to do it for them. The old adage of 'that boy coulda used a stint in the army,' is probably not the case, but everybody ought to have to do something that require coordinating, managing, logistics, or whatnot.

Agreed; it was a mess getting Der bug out of the ice this morning at 5 am - I got woken up by somebody getting stuck on an ice ridge such as you describe - but after I got it unstuck everything was fine. The van, out at our mechanics', started just fine this afternoon and continues to baffle everyone.

It is appreciated, I assure you. Because of the issues I've had with people, I'm moving away from a 'public gaming' model and moving to a more 'trade show' style where I do events that invite me and which will be as low an impact on me as possible like what I'm doing for Free RPG Day. As an effort at 'outreach', that seems to be more cost effective then the model we used to apply back in the day and up until very recently. I nevr thought I'd have to have a 'loss prevention policy' in place, but that's the way things have gone lately. For which I am very sad...

Agreed; I used to provide a lot of people with a lot of help, but that's gone by the wayside after the vast majority of them couldn't even be bothered to say 'thank you'. Quite a few of the people I've known couldn't organize their way out of a wet paper bag, let along book a hotel room in advance...

Since we touched on Korrúkka, the delightfully lazy shady Priest of Ksarul from Lords of Tsamra and Okkuru, the shifty former slave/translator from Flamesong, and since Harry Anderson (who in his youth was a street magician/con artist) just died made me think of it, could an out and out con artist work in the Five Empires? Could you pull of scams like from The Sting or selling some rube the Golden Gate Bridge to Avanthar or similar? Not just with regards to legalities, but with regards to Noble Action.