Sorry for the lack of posts; been a busy week!  Saturday was my birthday.  I spent the morning at the gun show.  Due to the pending house payment on Aug. 1st I was unable to go hog wild and get myself a bunch of new toys.  I picked up a few knick-knacks that were a good deal.  Later that afternoon we saw the new Batman movie with some friends.

Great flick, but I guess I don’t have to tell anyone reading this that as it has been all over the news for the last week.  Heath did a bang-up job; with due credit to the writers for giving him great material to work with.  Loved the Jokers ‘magic trick’ and his bit in the hospital dressed as a nurse!  As good as it was I am also stoked for the next installments; as we have yet to see the Riddler, Penguin, Cat Woman or Robin.  (And the Bat Cave has yet to make a full-fledged appearance either!) It seems Marvel, DC and others are starting to figure out the whole Comic Book Movie paradigm.

I just got some art back from Anthony and he continues to blow me away with his l33t i113ztr4t0r sk1llz! Worth. Every. Penny.

Played the second installment of Keep on the Shadowfell last week also.  We ran into a bit of a rule issue where on of the bad guys used a power that granted his allies temporary hit points. Several of the players thought that this would not apply to minions as they can be killed with one hit and have not real “hit point” total.  A quick search of the web indicated that they do indeed benefit from the temp hit points.  (Which is how I was leaning.)  We have one player who, for the second session in a row, has utterly failed to connect with his coolest daily power! Dude needs to buy some new dice or something.

I noticed an up-tick in sales thanks to the Christmas in July sale OBS ran.  The extra funds will go to paying Anthony for artwork.

My wife took the Basic Rider Course this weekend and is newly licensed to ride motorcycles! We went for a ride yesterday afternoon.  She needs a few more miles under her belt, so we will ride around the neighborhood and surrounding area for a bit before venturing forth onto the highways and byways on our fair state.

I stopped into my local game shop to get a copy of the new 40K game over the weekend, but they only had the collectors edition with a tri-fold cover left on the shelf; for $90! No thanks.  I’ll wait until they get a regular copy in.  My birthday is next Saturday so I may pick up a copy then.  That also happens to be the same day as the really big gun show in our area.  It’s a shame I really don’t have any money!  (Saving it all to make my first house payment on Aug. 1st!)

I left my photo ID for my job at home today, which is a real pain since all the doors to the building i work in use it as an electronic “key” to get in.  Even my office is behind a door that requires a badge and a pin number to get through.  So I have a temp badge and have to get people to let me into my own office for the day.

We’re planning to play 4E again on Thursday.  I can’t find my rule books or the module!  My wife apparently put them away somewhere while getting ready for the move, and now I can’t find them.  I’ll have to tear the place apart tonight and get ready for the game.

Got out of work late last night, so I didn’t get down to the new house until eight PM.  I did manage to get the two remaining kitchen Chairs put together as well as another piece of furniture for the bedroom.  My wife and her mother were wall-papering the bathroom down stairs.  I’ll have to work late again tonight, so I may not stay at the new house tonight but our apartment.  (Which we still have, so we are living in two different places for now.)

I sent Anthony the latest script from Chris to get it illustrated, as well as got an update on a couple other art assignments I sent over a while back.  Anthony is keeping busy with work, which is no surprise given his talent!  I expect I’ll have a few things back in a couple of weeks, but I still have  plenty of projects to work on until then.

Well, I went ahead and got the single issues of Secret Invasion yesterday. I had lunch with a friend of mine who was in the area, so we went to a great little comic shop near where I work. I picked up Secret Invasion #2-4, as well as the Death of Captain America trade and the Secret Invasion Infiltration trade. I finished the issues and the SII trade, and am half way through the Death of Captain America. Did I mention that I really enjoy comic books?

I am itching to get some more writing done and to get back to a regular release schedule. I have several ideas that I want to run with and Chris Field is working on some really cool stuff as well. More info on that soon.  I just sent his latest manuscript over to Anthony for some artwork.

I have a good friend who, through a series of events, is now between jobs and taking the time to work on a comic book project he’s been stabbing at for several years.  I have a couple of those going on as well, and want to get the scripts polished up and illustrated.  He’s got a few contacts and is currently talking to someone “in the industry”.  I hope it works out for him!

Spent the weekend working on the new house.  Its coming along nicely; we all-but finished our kitchen.  The table I got at Ikea my wife doesn’t like, so it will have to be exchanged for another one.  It’s going slower than I had hoped, but progress is being made steadily.

I got a manuscript from Chris Field for a new PDF that looks great.  I sent him some notes for an expansion we will work into either the next PDF in the series or the dead-tree compilation new material.

The new 40K edition just came out.  I haven’t picked up my copy yet but I want one soon.  I’ll be setting up a painting table in my new office.  I have two Warmachine factions (Menoth and Khador) and I want to do Space Marines and Orks for the new system as they were the first two armies I played waaay back when it was Rogue Trader. The new house is five minutes from one of the best game stores in the area, so I want to take advantage and get more gaming in.

In other good news my boss called me this morning and they are going to order me a new laptop this fiscal year instead of next.  So instead of waiting until November to get my new computer they placed the order today!  I should have a new screaming-fast laptop in a week or two. I haven’t installed the Adobe Creative Suite on my laptop cuz I knew I would be getting a new, faster one eventually. So once I get it I will have the full suite running on both my computers.  (Desktop at home and my work laptop.)  That will certainly help productivity!

I don’t generally read single issues of comic books any more.  I try to get the trade paperbacks when they come out.  The other day I found a local comic book shop near my new house and stopped in to check it out.  I liked it a lot, and picked up the new issue of the Ultimates, which is about the only one I read monthly any more.  I also got Secret Invasion #1 the Directors Cut; which included the script by Bendis in the back and some extra art and stuff.  I have to say, I love what Bendis has been doing with the Marvel Universe.  From Daredevil to the New Avengers he does know how to shake some s*$% up.  I loved Secret Invasion #1.  I am so tempted to go get all the issues that are out so far and read them, but then I put them away in the comic box and they never get looked at again.  That’s why I like the trades.  You can grab one off the shelf and read through it without worrying about it going from Near Mint to Good after you spill soda on it while your reading.  I picked up the trade for the very first TMNT comic the other day at the used book store.  I loved the TMNT when I was in high school, long before they were a silly cartoon or a hoaky movie franchise.  Old-School B&W TMNT laying the smackdown on the Foot.  Good times.

I dodged a bullet yesterday cuz I thought I had lost the key to my new motorcycle.  I have already been to three places trying to get copies made because I knew I only had one key, but no one had any Yamaha blanks.  So when I couldn’t find it I thought I would have to have a locksmith come out.  I called around and they wanted between $250 and $300 to do it.  Ouch!  I did find the key, and hit a Yamaha dealer near our new house after work yesterday and had three copies made.

I jotted down a couple of notes for some new RPG ideas, a setting idea as well as several PDF topics. I note with interest what Kenzer & Co. is doing; they are releasing 4E product without using the GSL.  Adamant has announced they will follow suit.  I may do the same if for no other reason than to thumb my nose at such a stupid license.

I am itching to get back to publishing.  I’ll get Wizards of Shadowfell out this weekend.  I should be able to work on it tonight when I get home.  I am excited to begin work on some dead-tree-print products as well.

BitzBox.com isn’t getting much love.  It is getting good hits, but not many people posting ads as of yet.  If you have stuff to buy/sell/trade or that you want, please head over and post a few ads.

My “To-Do” list has become endless.  Such is life.  Worked on the house more last night.  Got some small parts (replacement fairing bolts, the current ones are a mis-match of various fasteners) to put on the new motorcycle. I also need to reupholster the seat as it has a couple of small tears.

I have scored some really great deals via Craigslist the past week.  Sunday my wife and I hit Ikea for some lunch (Sweedish meatballs!) and some ideas.  I saw a small kitchen island/cart with a butcher block top that would look great in the new kitchen.  We were just looking, so we didn’t buy anything.  Well, yesterday I searched Craigslist and found one for like a third of the cost of the cart at Ikea.  My wife and I went into DC last night to look at it, and it is bigger than the one we saw at Ikea cuz it has two leafs that fold up to double the work space.  We scored that and a small TV for the kitchen for $35.00!  I am going to have to sand and re-finish the top, clean the base really well and I think we are going to paint the base white to match the kitchen.  Add that stuff to the to-do list.

I’ve been giving some thought to where we go for the next year.  I am planning out the Omens of Armageddon adventure arc which will be 12-18 modules for the D20 Modern rule set.  The Pandora Project is on deck as well as the compilation of the Adventurer Essentials line into a hard copy.  That obviously entails finishing several items that are currently absent.  (Ten foot pole anyone?)  I also have two or three projects that I want to do but its too early to start spilling details just yet. Plenty to keep me busy. Once we finish the main level we move upstairs where I can start putting the new office together.

Spent all weekend painting, interlaced with cleaning and sanding of course.  The kitchen, living room and dining room (really the same big room) are 95% painted.  My wife and her mom will be hanging some wallpaper on Friday to finish the main living area.  The rest of the house just needs a coat of white paint to spruce it up.

But who cares about that?  On the publishing front I have traded a few emails with Chris Field about putting a couple of the ISBN numbers  I purchased to good use.  Among other things we are planning a hard copy of the complete Adventurer Essentials line.  More details on that to follow.

I’ve been spending most of my free time prepping the new house for a coat or two of paint.  That’s our big plan for the 4th of July weekend; sanding, cleaning & painting!  I was hunting out some deals on Craigslist for stuff we need.  I picked up a brand new kitchen sink faucet for $40.00 that was selling online for over $100.  I also scored a shop vac really cheap and will be going to look at a halogen work light this afternoon.

I am very glad to see the light at them end of the tunnel as far as the house goes.  After this weekend we should be ready to move stuff in.  I’ll get the office set up and have a place from which to run my publishing empire! I suspect my wife will move into the new palce this weekend, while I will be at our old place for the rest of the month.  We’ll shuttle all our stuff to the new place in several trips.

Not to worry, I will get several releases out this month!  Wizards of Shadowfell are almost done, and I have a few other PDF’s on deck.

Now that I have a house to pay for I am putting my publishing and other ventures into high gear.

Well, we finally did it.  I got a call yesterday and the settlement was at 1:00pm.  An hour or so later we had the keys to our new house!

Went to Home Depot last night and got a bunch of stuff for painting the house like drop cloths,  rollers, caulk, caulk gun, mops, brushes, spackle, sanders etc.

Now comes the scary part: paying for the house!