William Brand

That's by far my favorite picture.

This is what the guy in the background is thinking... "Drat...Mister Tignor has a better mug than mine."

No apology necessary. People have just used the phrase some three times this week and personally I don't want it attached to the crew.

I actually don't like the phrase and I cringe a little every time someone uses it. The crew was formed, not by cast-offs of other crews, but in mutual accord to create a long term presence at the Fort Taylor Pirate Fest. That phrase has a 'dregs' sound to it that isn't fair to those individuals that proudly joined together under our standard. While it is true that we accept new recruits that come from other crews or no crews at all, this acceptance is period. Sailors signed aboard for work where and when they could get it, no matter their past service or previous allegiances. We are the crew of the Brig Sloop Mercury. Step up and sign aboard.

When did I say that?

Excellent. A demonstration of such tools and the purposes of them would be a very welcome addition to our crew.

I wasn't so much surprised that they think the firing of cannon might be a safety issue, but that I hadn't given it much thought until now. After all, every other part of the fort has suffered from age and erosion, so why not the ramparts where the cannon have always been. Now that I think of it, with Lawrence's larger and larger cannons year to year the issue was bound to come forward eventually, so I would rather have it now than later. Especially if the safety inspection can prove that the fort can take the weight and vibrations now and for years to come. Besides, we still get to shoot at one another.

Thank you for the concise information. None of these changes come as any surprise to me and many of us here, as they've been anticipated in speculative threads and in discussion about the growing pains of the festival itself, so most of us are already on the same page. The cannon fire on the fort was a bit of surprise, but all other issues seem to stem from legitimate concerns touching safety and management of the park itself. Thank you for keeping us updated.

Aaaaaand...that's the other reason you won't see many people there. Most people don't even know it exists. I'll explain. The Ward Room is not a Pub wide chat application. It was set up as a chat room for the use of the writers of the Watch Dog project. However, it has also been offered as a substitute for the Pub chat on numerous occasions since the Pub's own text-based chat application went down back in 2006. Some people outside the Watch Dog project frequent it, but not many. As always, all are welcome... http://www.the-watchdog.com/Chat/

Done.

That's because people are trying out all of the bells and whistles here.

The New Posts issue is on the list of things to fix. There are a few settings here and there that are being toyed with and examined. Stynky will have it all up and running very soon. In the meantime, let me just say that this interface seems a lot more user friendly. I'm liking it.

I'll take forty...NO SIXTY! NO ONE HUN... (claps hands over mouth and falls over having a fit)

The Count of Monte Cristo. Unabridged.

The most boring potato chips ever.

All kidding aside...well...not all kidding. After all the 'Captain' of the Mercury is a kind of tongue-in-cheek enigma. It was decided a long time ago that there isn't any captain of the Mercury. Or rather, there is a captain but everyone has a different answer about where he is and why he's never about. At PIP, the 'Captain' is always somewhere else. The proverbial ghost captain. Me, I'm the Quartermaster. A few people of the crew have suggested various roles they might play from abs to carpenter. Mission has played his part as the captive doctor as well as it could be played, and has suggested harm to every member of the crew in one form or another under the guise of a healer and with the deadpan of a true re-enactor.

You're who?

Very nice. That is an excellent little table for events.

Pictures...?