blackjohn

I'll trade you wind for snow. Stinkin' wind... blew my front door practically off it hinges... knocked the pane of glass out... but somehow the glass didn't break...

Wow. I tuned in at just the right time!

Sweet! And I agree, I think you made the right choice. Me... I've seriously considered looking for a spontoon so I can be a proper officer if/when I ever give up piracy and settle down to live the life of a captain of Maryland militia.

Ummmm... yes! It's sort of "all of the above." From my point of view as the casual observer, it takes most of its inspiration from movies like First Men on the Moon and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I don't know if any of the founders of steampunk literature would admit to it, but considering they are our contemporaries, I suspect those films (and others like them) figured predominately in their childhoods as they did in ours. Or, barring that, the original sources... Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and possibly to a lesser extent ERB. It hopped to the gaming world first via Space:1889 and then GURPS Steampunk (at the time I really despised the term steampunk, and during playtest tried like hell to convince the author to change the title, which is why I figure I didn't get playtest credit in that book... yeah... sour grapes... ). At the time of its printing, GURPS Steampunk was on the cutting edge. The amount of steampunk activity 10 years ago was nil compared to what you can find today.

Assuming they keep it on the same weekend as originally planned, if you are there, I will do my utmost best to show up for Sunday.

I was under the impression it is a go, with the caveat that they aren't sure if the weekend will be changed. Of course, once it was canceled, the missus asked me if she could go to scout school that Saturday, and now that she has signed up and paid her dues, the best outlook for me is a one day Sunday event. Assuming the weekend doesn't change. (and now, back to hacking away at the new pc... finally have 99% of the files moved... and the email rigged...)

Bingo. That's the book. Picked it up at the Smithsonian American History gift shop decades ago.

Sorry to hear about the loss of your job. As a fellow cartographer, if there is anything I can do... I don't know if you are interested in relocating, but there is always a chance we'll be hiring in the future. So if you don't mind living in the DC area...

http://www.piratebrethren.com/french/frenchbelts01.jpg (huzzah for me! I have a new home pc! hence... I haven't been online lately)

Last night I climbed on my exercise machine for the first since getting Lyme Disease. I've been in near-constant pain ever since getting that stinkin' disease, and now I'm at the point where I'm going to see if exercise will chase it away...

Yep! That's the one I'm thinking about. Sorry Brit.Privateer.

Have you ever read Bernal Diaz's account of the Conquest of Mexico? Fascinating. I never got around to finishing it, but the stuff I remember reading was incredible.

Right. I wasn't sure about which to read when/if I do, so I'll take your advice. Every aside in LotR was just icing! It give the story depth. Ymmv, of course. I think that's one of my (many) complaints about the movie, it just wasn't able to convey the sense of history that the books were able to convey. So, I don't suppose you liked The Silmarillion then, did you?

Why yes, yes I do. I'm fairly certain I'd like this one. I know I've contemplated reading it at least once. And if it is anything like Angels & Demons or The Davinci Code, then I'm sure I'd give it two thumbs up.

Was that one the had some kind of fancy page functions... you know, like you'd click on a double fold and it would unfold... or maybe I'm imagining things too... maybe I'll go look on the Pirate Brethren forum...

The Pirates Constructable card game? Yep! That's a blast! Unfortunately, Wizkids has sorta gone under. They were owned by Topps, and Topps decided to pull the plug to save some money. But that doesn't change the fact that is is one helluva fun game. I seem to recall there's a thread or two about it somewhere in this here pub.

(has a mental image of Mary Diamond and Mr. Mary Diamond fighting kungfu style throughout the house ala Inspector Clouseau and Kato... cool!) My apologies too... we now return you to your regularly scheduled program, "Men Who Love Expensive Shoes."

What would The Bard say...?!?!?

A much belated Many Happy Returns Mr. T!

You have bamboo floors?!?!? How cool is that!!!

Three cheers for Hurricano!

Not generally one for starting birthday threads (unless I need to up my recently fallen post count! ) I happened to notice your name in today's very long list of names, sooooo... Many Happy Returns!

I'm suddenly reminded of the time I walked across my brand new hardwood floors while wearing hobnailed shoes... I double-dog dare any of you who are brave and/or skilled enough to pull the nails from the heels and replace them with wooden pegs. Or... add an extra layer to the bottom using wooded pegs.

So were you at work when it all went down? I'm just curious if you were what sort of thoughts were running through your head there in your tower at JFK?

hey man, one piece at a time... keep on truckin'!