SUNDAY
Both Steves are alive and minimally functional. We can get food and water and take our meds. That is about all. Fevers down to 99 but still dizzy, cough is miserable.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, July 31, 2023 - 07:44 am: Edit

MONDAY
Neither Steve is going to the office today. I am still coughing, running a slight temperature, suffering from dizzy spells, unable to drive, unable to focus.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, July 31, 2023 - 12:52 pm: Edit

COVID ALERT
Steve Petrick and I have both tested positive for COVID19.
Jean is sick and is being tested now. She has Covid.
ADB will be closed for a few days.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, August 01, 2023 - 09:58 am: Edit

TUESDAY
Leanna is very sick but cared for.
I am better but weak and dizzy. Will try today to make run for pharmacy to get scripts. Did that but was exhausted. I am not well enough to not be taken care of but there is no one else here.
Jean is very sick but trying to get paychecks out. Albert linked up with me on my run so I could sign them. He has escaped so far.
Steven P is better, but miserable, in quarantine, getting food and drink and meds.
Orders will go out next Monday.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, August 02, 2023 - 06:23 pm: Edit

WEDNESDAY 2 AUGUST
Recovery continues. I am gaining strength but still weak, short tempered, dizzy. I managed to work on cleaning up the kitchen for nearly an hour before collapsing in my chair. So far I have managed to eat two actually meals.
Jean is better but miserable. Al is well.
Steve Petrick is much better, eating and drinking properly. Neither Steve can take COVID meds due to our kidney issues.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, August 03, 2023 - 03:31 pm: Edit

THURSDAY 3 AUGUST
Steve Petrick says he is over it for all intents and purposes.
I seem to be over it or almost so, but I am too weak to drive to work. Leanna is much better.
Al seems healthy. Jean had to get anti-nausea meds to take the anti-virals but seems better but miserable.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, August 04, 2023 - 10:46 pm: Edit

FRIDAY 4 AUGUST
Steve Petrick is recovered and chomping at the bit to get back to work.
I am over it but weak and decided to rest this weekend. Released from quarantine I made a needed grocery run.
Leanna is over it but weak and her voice is gravelly from crud in her throat.
Jean was, this morning, miserable but better.
Al thinks he might have had a mild case or maybe none at all.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, August 07, 2023 - 04:15 pm: Edit

MONDAY 7 AUG 2023
I made it to the office but wasn't able to stay very long due to exhaustion and errands.
Steve Petrick had a dentist appointment.
Jean, Al, and Mike were working on mail order shipments.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, August 18, 2023 - 11:16 pm: Edit

FRIDAY 18 AUG 2023
This was a busy week with lots of interruptions.
Jean and Mike got orders out (Al helped).
Steve Petrick worked on the Orion book.

I worked Monday and Tuesday (getting a few hours in between errands and doctor appointments and getting my car worked on) but on Tuesday evening the oral surgeon removed the "bad bolt" from my jaw, leaving me in so much pain I took painkillers and went to bed, missing work Wednesday. I tried to come to work Thursday but the pain was too much.

Friday I actually worked all day and got some Lyran counters done that Jean is developing into a PDF product. I really needed to do the final fixes to R6 but the pain wasn't going to let me focus.

I also had to (sadly) tell an enthusiastic young man that we had no real interest in the campaign system he wanted us to print, since existing products have already exploited that market as much as can be done and we don't need a new product that just competes with existing products. Worse, he was trying to do a boardgame version of a computer game concept and no player will put up with as much paperwork and record keeping as his system would require. He wanted to invent a whole new ship production/repair/conversion system when F&E already did that. It was a hard lesson for me to learn that not everything that could be printed should be printed. Telling someone "no thanks" is a deeply sad experience for me, as I experienced the other side of it so many times from every publisher you could think of (AH, SPI, GDW, so many others) before starting JagdPanther. {Every game publisher is a game designer could could not find a publisher.} I do wish the enthusiastic designer well and hope one day something he creates will find a market.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, August 23, 2023 - 05:15 pm: Edit

MONDAY AUG 21
I did ship name certificates.
Jean and Mike did orders.
Steve Petrick worked on the Orion MSSB.

TUESDAY AUG 22
I did the last of my fixes to R6 and most of the scenario graphics. I had an appointment with my kidney doctor who pronounced me in great shape.
Jean and Mike did orders.
Steve Petrick worked on the Orion MSSB.

WEDNESDAY AUG 23
I finished the R6 scenario graphics and gave them to Steve P to check. I had the next appointment to finish the mess that became of my dental implants and was told it would be ten more weeks of soft food before we finish.
Jean and Mike did orders.
Steve Petrick worked on the Orion MSSB.
Prigozhin was killed when his plane crashed with his entire senior staff on board. Sabotage is the obvious cause.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, August 29, 2023 - 04:19 pm: Edit

MONDAY 28 AUGUST
I plowed through the usual interruptions.
I made the last fixes to R6 and gave them to Jean. I told her that R6 comes out in Sept, period, full stop, end of argument. She gave R6 back with more fixes and said "be very careful what you tell me to do."
Last Friday, Petrick did the SSD for a Klingon F5WS for the newsletter. It is a controversial design.
So today, I did the FC card for the Klingon F5WS and wrote the background. I gave it to Jean to check.
Jean and Mike did orders.
Petrick worked on the Orion MSSB.

TUESDAY 29 AUGUST
Petrick and I approved two gunboat sheets Mike West did for SFB and sent back two that Petrick would not approve.
I made the last two fixes to R6 and sent the files and the scenario graphics to Al.
Mike and Jean did orders.
Petrick worked on the Orion MSSB.

Whoever wanted the F&E maps linked to the warbook annex page; it got done.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, August 31, 2023 - 10:14 pm: Edit

WEDNESDAY 30 AUGUST 2023
I did the "demo tokens" for ACTASF and answered a bunch of email.
Petrick is working on the ISC MSSB while Albert fixes the glitch that keeps him from working on the Orion MSSB.
Jean and Mike did orders.

THURSDAY
I worked on art for R6.
Steve P kept working on Orion and ISC MSSB.
Albert fixed the problem with Orion MSSB and started working on R6, asking me for art.
Jean and Mike did orders.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, September 05, 2023 - 10:48 pm: Edit

FRIDAY 1 SEPT 2023
I answer email and filled out paperwork.
Steve Petrick worked on the Orion book.
Jean and Mike worked on orders.

SATURDAY 2 SEPT
SUNDAY 3 SEPT
MONDAY 4 SEPT
Holiday weekend. I was sick more or less the whole time with chronic sleep deprivation. I could not fall asleep and could never fully wake up.

TUESDAY 5 SEPT
I spent the day at the dentist having my implants measured and adjusted. The sleep deprivation continued. I spoke with my primary doctor who advised me not to drive and that she would sedate me in the hospital if things did not change.
Steve Petrick worked on the Orion MSSB.
Jean and Mike did orders.

WEDNESDAY 6 SEPT
Not as foggy as the last few days, reviewed submissions, ran errands.
Steve Petrick worked on the Orion MSSB.
Jean and Mike did orders.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, September 07, 2023 - 05:03 pm: Edit

THURSDAY 7 SEPT 2023
I worked on stuff for the newsletter next week. It is supposed to include one of the two R6 update books, and may be a few days later than I wanted. It will include 10 "extras" to make up for the missing newsletters from May, Jun, July, August as well as the normal extras for September. We have stuff for FC, SFB, and ACTA. I have one page left and if someone comes up with a good one-page idea for one of the other games we'll consider it.

Steve Petrick worked on the Orion MSSB.

Jean and Mike did orders.

Al starting making better progress on R6.

I regret that being sick for the last week meant I did not keep pushing Jean and Al to make R6 progress and they had too many choices of worthwhile things to do so my "command directive" that R6 comes first got forgotten without me there to pound on the table.

FRIDAY 8 SEPT 2023
I got 9 hours of chemically-induced sleep and felt great. I did a bunch of ship stuff with SPP and MW, and ran a Walmart errand for Steve, and booked him an appointment with a group that can help him next week.

Steve Petrick worked on the Orion MSSB.

Jean and Mike did orders.

SATURDAY 9 SEPT 2023
Albert came to the house to fix Leanna's printer for the sixth time. It never stays fixed and this is the third printer. The wireless system doesn't want to talk to that end of the house. I wonder if something in my gun room is jamming the signal.
Otherwise, weekend off.

SUNDAY 10 SEPT 2023
Weekend off.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, September 11, 2023 - 05:23 pm: Edit

MONDAY 11 SEPT 2023
Staff meeting noted the need to push R6 over the finish line. Al said he would push on rulebook layout; Jean said she would get the SSDs checked.
Petrick and I went to the bus company to qualify him for handicap service.
I did the last ship for the newsletter and corrected the earlier cards. I sent Ryan the SIT for CW and TO so he can update the Feds all at once.
Jean checked R6 SSDs and had me Add the tramp steamer to the MSC.
Jean and Mike did orders.
At home, I tore a muscle in my right arm while climbing a tree to rescue Odin, causing a lot of pain and leaving the arm and hand useless for now. By midnight I could move it (slowly) enough to type and eat.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, September 14, 2023 - 05:32 pm: Edit

TUESDAY 12 SEPT 2023
Jean and Mike did orders.
Steve Petrick worked on the Orion MSSB.
I did what I could with my injured arm.

WEDNESDAY 13 SEPT 2023
Jean and Mike did orders.
Steve Petrick worked on the Orion MSSB.
My arm was feeling better but I re-injured it (twice) lifting things I should not have.

THURSDAY 14 SEPT 2023
Jean and Mike did orders.
Steve Petrick worked on the Orion MSSB.
I worked on a contract matter, updated GUNBOATS ATTACK and gave it to Jean to upload, and wrote the BIG NEWS for the newsletter.
Mike West sent in the Fed DPF and Steve Petrick marked three corrections to it and sent it back.

FRIDAY 15 SEPT 2023
Jean and Mike did orders.
Steve Petrick worked on the Orion MSSB.
I worked with Mike West and Petrick on some SSDs, and did the preliminary art for the Orion MSSB. I had a meeting with Albert who will feed Thor and Odin while Leanna and I take some time to be with each other.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, September 22, 2023 - 12:58 am: Edit

SATURDAY 16 SEPT 2023
Leanna and I attended a social function.

SUNDAY 17 SEPT 2023
Leanna and I drove to Colorado Springs for the first vacation in 3 years. On the way I tried again to conquer Capulin but didn't get as far as the first try due to altitude and poor shape. Blood pressure and pulse both soared, gasping for breath, chest pounding, I pushed on until suddenly I got tunnel vision and realized that stupidity was too big a part of valor.

MONDAY 18 SEPT 2023
Leanna and I went to the zoo, but had to go back to the hotel early due to exhaustion.
Jean and Mike did orders.
Jean, Al, and SPP worked on R6.
SPP worked on Orion MSSB.

TUESDAY 19 SEPT 2023
We drove to Garden of the Gods which is spectacular but just one major rock formation. We spent two hours driving around the park finding nothing else worth looking at. Why did they build all of those stupid roads if there was nothing to see? Plans to do Cave of the Winds were cancelled by exhaustion. I saw the Money Museum but it was smaller than my house and very underwhelming.
Jean and Mike did orders.
Jean, Al, and SPP worked on R6.
SPP worked on Orion MSSB.

WEDNESDAY 20 SEPT 2023
We tried to book a jeep tour to Pike's Peak but everyone was booked or closed. We went to Cave of the Winds but it was disappointing. Not much to see (all the same after the first 100 feet) and it was the darkest, narrowest, lowest, and least interesting of all the caverns I have seen. At least it was grossly overpriced. Then one of the Pike's Peak jeep tour guides that was booked up suggested we call one of his competitors who we had not found on the internet, and Raptours was available. We paid for Amanda to take us to the summit (14,115 feet, the highest I have ever been and still been standing on the ground) and she made the whole trip worthwhile.
Jean and Mike did orders.
Jean, Al, and SPP worked on R6.
SPP worked on Orion MSSB.

THURSDAY 21 SEPT 2023
Uneventful drive home.
Jean and Mike did orders.
Jean, Al, and SPP worked on R6.
SPP worked on Orion MSSB.

FRIDAY 22 SEPT 2023
SVC worked on ships for the newsletter.
Jean and Mike did orders.
Jean, Al, and SPP worked on R6.
SPP worked on Orion MSSB.

SATURDAY 23 SEPT
SUNDAY 24 SEPT
Everybody needed a rest. The era of 6.5-day work weeks ended with SPP's stroke almost two years ago.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, September 26, 2023 - 12:58 pm: Edit

MONDAY 25 SEPT 2023
Albert, SPP, Jean, and I met to review the final R6-2023 rulebook and marked a few corrections for Albert to make. He asked for some art which I did and sent to him. He asked for some missing rules text which SPP sent to him. I told a joke about including multiple versions of a document in Jean's "check this" pile and she smacked me in the head.
Albert then went to work on R6.
SPP went back to the Orion book.
I revised the placeholder art for the Orion book and gave it to SPP.
I fixed all of Jean's marks for the newsletter stuff. She made more marks.
Jean and Mike did orders.

TUESDAY 26 SEPT 2023
I got the newsletter stuff done and sent to Simone.
Al got the R6 rulebook done but then Jean discovered that the margins were not offset for hole punching, which exposed other issues and Al finally finished the book so late in the day it will be uploaded tomorrow.
Steve P worked on the R6 SSD book and the Orion book.
Jean worked on orders, accounting, royalties, and so forth.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, September 27, 2023 - 11:30 pm: Edit

WEDNESDAY 27 SEPT 2023
This was not a good day.
Steve Petrick had signed up at the retirement building he lives in to get a flu shot. The nurse giving him the shot thought something looked bad and had him carted 100 yards down the hallway into another building which is the retirement center clinic. They determined he had a massive infection, bordering on blood poisoning. They treated the unhealed wound, shot him full of anti-biotics, and ordered him to stay home from work until Monday.
Jean reported that a scanner issue had delayed the uploading of the revised R6 rulebook until tomorrow, and that the 24-year-old office refrigerator had died.
I got a call from the bank about a security issue that will take me several hours to solve, only part of which got done today.
I got a call that the doctor had sent a new prescription for me to an off-the-beaten-path pharmacy and I needed to go get it.
All of that sent me on a series of frantic errands gathering supplies for Steve Petrick, putting Leanna on the case of finding a new refrigerator, talking with Albert about finalizing R6, getting those prescriptions (which were NOT ready for pick up as I had been assured), and dealing with a bank more obsessed with paperwork than customer money. I suffered a major stress attack by late in the day but fortunately Wolfie was there to get me through it. I got very little actual ADB work done today (about 5 minutes).
Jean and Mike got orders out.
To signal the end of a horrible day, the temporary denture bolted to my head broke, making it difficult to eat. This won't change for 10 days until the permanent one arrives from the lab. (Ten days later I was told I would have to wait 14 more days.)

THURSDAY 28 SEPT 2023
I spent the day on errands, going to the bank, buying a new office refrigerator, picking up and delivering prescriptions, and so forth.
Al and Mike got the new refrigerator put in place and sent the old one out for the scrap metal dealers to pick up.
Jean and Al got R6 uploaded (I hope).
Jan and Mike got orders out.
Steve P stayed home to rest from the infection caused by his mistake a week ago.
I suffered another stress attack (weak, dizzy, fever, various other effects) but like Wednesday it went away after half an hour of laying down.

FRIDAY 29 SEPT
We got the banking issue fixed so the thieves cannot try again to steal money.
Jean and Mike did orders.
Steve Petrick rested at home from the infection.
Leanna and I got our flu shots for the year.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, October 04, 2023 - 02:03 pm: Edit

SATURDAY 30 SEPT
A day of rest for all. Albert and I had a meeting to discuss re-establishing some protocols and procedures to be sure that when the design team finishes a product everyone else has their part done too.

SUNDAY 1 OCT
A day of rest.

MONDAY 2 OCT
Jean worked all day, into the dark, getting stuff done that had deadlines, such as taxes, bills, royalties, and paychecks.
SVC worked to support Jean's efforts.
SPP finished the R6 SSD book cover. He worked on the Orion MSSB.
Jean tried to upload R6 revised rulebook but ran into issues of things that didn't work or were not finished.
Mike and Jean got orders out.
Albert worked on R6.

TUESDAY 3 OCT
Jean worked getting R6 revised rulebook uploaded, stuff for the September newsletter, and Mike helped with orders.
SVC supported Jean's efforts.
SPP worked on the Orion MSSB.

WEDNESDAY 4 OCT
Jean and Al were off.
SPP worked on the Orion MSSB.
SVC worked on admin tasks that had been ignored while getting the newsletter ready and R6 rulebook uploaded.
Mike worked on inventory restocks.

THURSDAY 5 OCT
Jean and Al were off.
SPP worked on the Orion MSSB.
SVC worked on admin tasks that had been ignored while getting the newsletter ready and R6 rulebook uploaded. He had two interesting conversations, one of which might solve a chronic component shortage, the other might launch a new product line.
Mike worked on inventory restocks.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, October 13, 2023 - 04:40 pm: Edit

FRIDAY 6 OCTOBER
Jean and Albert were out of town.
Mike got orders out and did restocks.
Steve Petrick worked on Orion MSSB.
Steve Cole tried to work on the Lyran card pack 3 but ran into a problem requiring the entire product to be redesigned.

SATURDAY 7 OCTOBER, SUNDAY 8 OCTOBER
Days of rest.

MONDAY 9 OCTOBER THROUGH FRIDAY 13 OCTOBER
Jean and Albert were out of town.
Mike got orders out and did restocks.
Steve Petrick worked on Orion MSSB.
Steve Cole tried to do some work but ended up spending the entire week on errands that took five times as long as they should have. Tried to do Petrick parking pass but after two hours at DMV was told that the doctor did the paperwork wrong and I had to start over. Various things with getting Steve Petrick's bank account transferred, all of which took days longer than justified. Went to get medical stuff Steve Petrick needs to deal with a minor injury, involving three stops and four hours. Tried to get forms done to get Steve Petrick permanently removed from jury duty but after two entire days walking back and forth in government offices I was told the doctor did the forms wrong and I could start over if/when the doctor did the forms correctly. After two false starts and a non-printing printer and a printer expert who could not figure out that the paper door had to be open for it to work I got all of the various income tax forms filed before the final deadline. Two grocery shopping trips turned into five trips due to "supply chain issues" meaning no store had everything I needed.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, October 14, 2023 - 11:25 pm: Edit

SATURDAY 14 OCTOBER 2023
Jean, Albert, Leanna, and I drove four hours to the Midland Observatory to watch the total annular "ring of fire" eclipse. It was a breathtaking sight. It never really got dark. The event marked something of a passage in that previously I had been the one to write almost all of the operational plans for almost anything. This trip was entirely planned by Albert and I was able to shed a whole lot of stress during the day.
Steve Petrick stayed home, not wanting to risk any injury that far from home.

SUNDAY 15 OCTOBER 2023
Day of much needed rest.

MONDAY 16 OCTOBER 2023
Jean and Mike did orders.
Steve P worked on the Orion MSSB.
I lost the afternoon to a dental appointment which (again) failed to meet the promise that my dental implant ordeal was over and my new teeth installed. Instead I am told "two more weeks" of soft food.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, October 18, 2023 - 01:34 am: Edit

TUESDAY 17 OCT 2023
Staff meeting went over what we're all working on. SPP & Jean were making a minor fix to the R6 SSD book. Albert helped Mike do orders. I managed to get through the government maze and get Steve Petrick a handicap parking placard so anyone driving him somewhere can get him close to the door. Steve Petrick worked on the Orion book.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, October 23, 2023 - 12:52 pm: Edit

WEDNESDAY 18 OCT
SVC: I made a round of bank deposits at various banks. I spoke with the CL55 artist. I turned over the guy doing the computer game to Albert. I did the light raider art for Petrick. I made SPP's grocery run for the week. I spoke with Jean about a component reprint, made a decision, and put her in charge of it.
Steve P worked on the Orion book.
Jean and Mike worked on orders.
Albert helped in the warehouse and talked with the computer guy.

THURSDAY 19 OCT
SVC: I lost almost the entire day to getting the gas leaks fixed at my house, but I did get the light raider art back from SPP because I had them facing the wrong direction.
Steve P worked on the Orion book.
Jean and Mike worked on orders.
Albert helped in the warehouse.

FRIDAY 20 OCT
SVC: I sent the stuff for the newsletter to Simone; we will release a double Oct-Nov issue on 10 Nov. I spoke with Mike West about ships for the newsletter. I did about 80% of the Lyran card pack. I fixed the light raider art.
Steve P worked on the Orion book.
Jean and Mike worked on orders.

SATURDAY 21 OCT
I drove Leanna 100 miles so she could attend a party for women her age.

SUNDAY 22 OCT
Everybody rested.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, October 23, 2023 - 04:50 pm: Edit

MONDAY 23 OCTOBER
SVC: Answered email, posted FYEO, reviewed Zamboni shapeways ships and sent him comments, did some Orion art for SPP, did the Lyran MPE for card pack 3, set up topics for two Mike West SFB SSD products, reviewed Mike West ships for newsletter and send corrections.
SPP: Worked on Orion MSSB, reviewed newsletter ships, reviewed Zamboni ships, reviewed MPE.
Jean: taken home by Albert due to painful dental issue.
Mike West: worked on orders and restocks.