[Misc] Life Update
Work:
Work is picking up again. The calendar is quickly filling. As I usually complain, things can't just be spread out; they have to all pile up on the same weeks. But then, should I be surprised? The weather is getting nice here in Florida, finally, so it only makes sense that clients would be choosing to travel down here instead of, oh, say, Minnesota, this time of year.
We're trying out a new software system for our idea collection, and the head of the IT department has come down here to help troubleshoot anything that comes up. So far, it's doing pretty well. (I helped with bug-testing the system earlier on. I'm happy to say that I got credit for being the most diligent in finding potential problems and areas of improvement, and actually documenting errors and so forth. ;) But then, I DO have some work experience in that sort of thing, from my time with the Corporation-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named-Even-Though-It-No-Longer-Exists.)
Campaign:
The last scheduled game of our pirates campaign got cancelled because I couldn't get quorum to actually run a game. Chris ended up being too tired to drop by at all, even for just some hanging out and board games, and Koogrr had to leave early (as he'd warned me) for a holiday-related social gathering. I've talked about recruiting another player or two, but haven't actually done anything toward that end other than posting queries on boards that probably don't get nearly enough traffic for it to do any good. I've had various ideas for things to do ... but I've been too busy to put much work into that lately. Still, John Z says he's available this upcoming weekend, Chris says he'll be there, and I think Koogrr might be available, so it looks like we should be set for this weekend to pick up the Pirates game again. Looks like Moonwolf is going to be busy for the foreseeable future due to work and classes and so forth, though. (Sniffle.) But, that's the way it goes!
Game-Related Projects:
I've been doing illustrations for a Savage Worlds fan-made supplement called "Savage Wheels" - basically a post-apocalyptic Car Wars-ish set of rules, using Savage Worlds as the core. (No payment here; just a freebie thing, light effort.)
Also, I've been drawing a few "Alice in Wonderland"-inspired characters (black and white drawings) for a fan-produced Wonderland-themed supplement, though the writer is particular, and I may have to devote time to other projects instead. (There is no payment involved here, either.)
The Warcraft fan project is supposedly restarted, though updates are fairly slow in coming. I'm due to go through the documents and re-proofread them to make sure there aren't any typos. This is a bit tiresome as sometimes I make my redlines and the writers *do not incorporate them* into the next draft. In a few cases it's because the writer rejects the changes (for instance, one writer is in the UK, and wishes to use words like "colour" instead of "color" even though the rest of the document is using US English and the S&S specs call for US English as a standard for this project) - but in others, there's no acknowledgement at all. (In other words, I suspect some writers of simply not caring, not checking, even though I'm supposed to be responsible now for the proofreading.)
Oh yeah, and that's non-paid, too. My enthusiasm is low. We'll see if I get it done this weekend or thereabouts.
In other news, regarding the possibility of doing some art for Pinnacle, the opportunity to do some color art for an oriental-themed project is on hold. Another opportunity has instead arisen for me to draw some color "pirate flats" - little paper stand-up models - to be done by November 20th, for an agreed amount. I'm pretty close to halfway through that. I'll be curious to see how it all turns out. (If I don't get paid, I suppose I'll just have another freebie to post on my site, so it's not that much of an investment.) This, however, would only count as a sort of side-project for someone who works for Pinnacle, but wouldn't be published under the Pinnacle name. (The name of the company on the contract I signed is "Legion Publishing" in the UK.) There wasn't anything resembling NDA in the contract, so I can safely say that it just consists of drawing 20 very small figures. I've colored in five "common pirates," and am due to draw another five. Another sheet will have five female pirates (two of whom are based on Gwendel as my model ;) ), and I've got that about halfway colored. A final sheet will have some other characters - a Captain Hook type, a Long John Silver type - basically, "wild card" characters that a GM isn't likely to need nearly as many of as the regular pirate crew models, so it makes sense to put them on another sheet. It's fun, and though the deadline is rather close, this isn't necessarily a bad thing (provided I can keep up the pace).
As for the possibility of actually doing something for Pinnacle proper, I haven't heard anything back from the other Pinnacle fellow. I suppose I should ping him and see if anything's up, since he said he would get back to me ... oh ... a week ago or so? But I'm not anxious to push it while I already have plenty of things to do already. The last thing I'd want to do is to look anxious, then suddenly get a real project with a real deadline dropped in my lap, and not be able to deliver. Once I get the pirates finished, I think I'll check up on that.
Computer Stuff:
I dug out our third scanner, and no luck. See, we have this multi-purpose printer-scanner-fax thingie that I got with my "new" computer a while ago, and suddenly it doesn't work. Just says "Error Code 6500" on the display as soon as it's powered on, with a flashing "alarm" light - and it won't work, and the manual and online site have NO useful information on the significance of this number. So, I dug out the old scanner - the one that worked perfectly well before I hooked up this one - and I think I fried it. I had to dig up an AC adaptor for it, and I thought I had the right one, but it was 1.5 amps, and the specs on the device say 1.25 amps. The plug fit perfectly, of course, anyway. Nothing. Nada. Doesn't work. So, I lastly dug out the very last scanner ... or, rather, the oldest one we had, one which Gwendel had since before we got married ... and it powers up all right, but the PC won't recognize it. I went through some hoops to get updated drivers for various things, but all to naught. It might work on my old PC (since it used to), so I might have to use that ... but it'd be nice to have one functional scanner in the house that will work with any one of my computers that have internet access. Seriously.
Best Buy and Wal-Mart no longer sell flatbed scanners anymore, though - just multi-function things that can't handle anything larger than 8.5"x11". 9"x12"? Too big. Legal size? Not even a chance. I COULD pick up a scanner at the thrift store for 4 bucks, but I have the strong suspicion that a goodly number of them are fried. (This IS Orlando, lightning-strike capital of the world, after all. There's probably a REASON someone "donated" them. Why, gee, this thing doesn't work at all, but surely I should give it to a thrift store, because some hobbyist might be willing to pay several bucks for the spare parts, right?)
So ... yet another thing I'll procrastinate on. At least I can scan at work, after hours. (Huzzah!)
Halloween:
I think I'll take Gwendel out to Waterford Lakes tomorrow. I've no idea whether or not she'll dress up. We'll call up Chris and see what he's up to. Koogrr is tied up in the grand finale to the "October" online game on Sinai. (He said it'd been running for four years. Four years?! Really? Wow. Yeah, that OUGHT to be enough time to finish up a game that - virtually speaking - covers events that only take place over the course of a game month ... but then, I know how things on MUCKs usually go. I wish them luck!)
Anime:
Of the most recent series we've been checking out, I think the favorites for Gwendel and myself would be Sketchbook Full Color's {sic}, Clannad, and Minami Ke. No magic, not much "action" to speak of - mostly just slice-of-life stuff, but very cute, funny, and even thoughtful in different ways. Standard disclaimers for anime apply, however: being anime, even though these are fairly harmless series, there are still certain elements that may be objectionable. (That is, the occasional bit of off-color humor that catches one off-guard in an otherwise fairly pristine storyline.)
Oh yeah. We finally finished Seirei no Moribito (Guardian of the Sacred Spirit). Good series, lots of nicely done moments, but it felt a bit lost partway through. While I appreciate a protagonist who isn't bloodthirsty, and I feel that cackling bad guys are tiresome, there were many moments when I found myself wondering, "Why are these people at swords' points with each other? Who's the bad guy?" Rather than impressing me with the complexity of competing loyalties, it came across feeling somewhat muddled, as if the author had simply developed sympathies for characters meant to be antagonists to each other, and couldn't bring herself to make any real conflict. Not that it would have made anything any better. It just felt a bit lost, somehow, as if the author had written herself into a bit of a corner. (I know the feeling. It tends to kill any of my attempts to finish a story. I have to admire her for at least seeing things through.) I hope it does well with American licensing (which I'm sure will be happening eventually - though I don't at all expect to see it on Cartoon Network or Fox Kids).
Oops. Break over. Back to work!