Subtopic	Posts		Updated
	Archive through January 23, 2019	8		03/03 05:21pm
	Archive through July 21, 2019	25		08/05 07:02pm
	Archive through October 21, 2019	25		10/21 04:30pm
	Archive through April 13, 2021	47		04/17 06:45pm
	Archive through May 07, 2021	25		05/17 06:18pm
	Archive through June 11, 2021	25		06/17 11:21am
	Archive through July 02, 2021	25		07/14 02:22pm
	Archive through August 02, 2021	25		08/02 03:19pm
	Archive through August 23, 2021	25		08/27 12:55am
	Archive through December 22, 2022	25		01/10 01:46am
	Archive through March 02, 2023	25		03/27 10:12pm
	Archive through July 29, 2023	25		08/02 06:23pm
	Archive through October 23, 2023	25		12/06 05:11am

TUESDAY 24 OCTOBER 2023

SPP and SVC approved new Shapeways ships by Zamboni.

SPP worked on Orion MSSB, and gave SVC instructions on more ship art. SPP reviewed the R6 SSD book and sent Shawn one correction.

SVC sent a key memo on a business deal, and finished Lyran ePack 3 for FC and gave it to Jean to check.

Jean, laboring despite severe pain, did orders with Mike.

WEDNESDAY 25 OCTOBER 2023

SVC; I had a doctor appointment (routine checkup, all is well, even improving) and got nothing much done other than turning in SPP's prescriptions for renewal.

SPP had a doctor's appointment and was gone all day.

Jean is still very sick from the infection and took the day to rest. Al stayed with her.

Mike worked on inventory and orders.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, October 27, 2023 - 04:23 pm: Edit

THURSDAY 26 OCTOBER 2023
SVC: Another round of negotiations on a deal for a new product. Shawn sent the corrected page for R6 SSD book so it can be uploaded next week. I worked on Orion art. I didn't SPP's grocery run for the week. It took two hours but the court excused SPP from jury duty for the rest of his life.

SPP: Orion Ship book. Approved fourth SSD for Oct/Nov newsletter.

Jean came in despite her pain and got orders out with the help of Mike and Al.

FRIDAY 27 OCT 2023
SPP worked on Orion ship book.

I ordered Jean to stay home and recover.

Mike worked on orders and inventory.

SVC talked with a new supplier for countersheets. Conference call on the new product deal. Worked on orion art. Got SPP's prescription filled for the rest of the year.

SATURDAY 28 OCT 2023
Day of Rest.

SUNDAY 29 OCT 2023
Day of rest.

MONDAY 30 OCT 2023
Jean and Mike did orders. Jean checked the Lyran card pack 3. Jean got the R6 SSD books uploaded and the new R6 on the shopping cart.

SPP worked on Orion MSSB.

SVC got some work done on Orion MSSB art but spent most of the day arguing with SPP's bank about their screw ups and getting his car serviced.

TUESDAY 31 OCT 2023
Jean and Mike did orders.

SPP worked on Orion MSSB.

SVC did a little work on Orion MSSB art but spent most of the day at the dentist getting the new teeth installed on the implant bolts. It took 12 hours for my jaws to relax after which the new teeth fit fine.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, November 01, 2023 - 05:18 pm: Edit

WEDNESDAY 1 NOV 2023
SVC spent most of the day on the mysterious new product deal, and walking Fitbit steps with Jean, but managed to finish LYRAN PACK 3 after making Jean's final fixes. However, it won't PDF so I have to find out why.

SPP worked on Orion MSSB.

Jean and Mike did orders and Jean did accounting and checked the Lyran pack for the last two times.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, November 26, 2023 - 08:23 pm: Edit

I keep forgetting to post. In recent days, I have worked on the newsletter and on CL55 and on other stuff. Steve P has worked on the Orion MSSB. Jean and Mike got orders out. Albert helped all he could. We did release the newsletter. Jean got myself and Leanna started on joining her church. We all took a four-day weekend to rest. Thor and Odin (the bengal brothers who have destroyed my house) are getting upset at the cold weather as they are jungle cats and want 99F not 45F.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, December 06, 2023 - 05:11 am: Edit

DECEMBER 1
Jean and Mike did orders.
Steve Petrick worked on Orion MSSB.
Steve Cole took Leanna in for eye surgery.

DECEMBER 2-3
Weekend.

DECEMBER 4
Jean and Mike did orders.
Steve Petrick worked on Orion MSSB.
Steve Cole had skin cancer surgery on top of his head. Pulling the skin tight to close the hole was extremely painful and he spent the rest of the day unconscious on pain killers.

DECEMBER 5
Jean and Mike did orders.
Steve Petrick worked on Orion MSSB.
Steve Cole had more skin cancer surgery, this time on his neck, and it hurt (a lot) while the surgery from the previous day also continued to be very painful.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, December 07, 2023 - 04:14 am: Edit

DECEMBER 6 WEDNESDAY
Jean and Mike did orders. Steve Petrick worked on the orion book.
I came in for a bit but the pain from the skin cancer surgery was so intense that I was clearly going to get nothing done, so I went home. I got feeling very sick, and was running a fever. The surgeon's office said I had a surgical infection and sent me some antibiotics which put an end to the fever. I took pain pills and zoned out for the rest of the day. I don't think I'm going to make it to work Thursday.

The problem is that while the cancers are the minor kind easily removed, they leave a hole. The hole has to be closed because on the skull there are always blood vessels in play, but the skin is already tight so pulling the hole closed creates incredible pain. This is the third time this year that I had one on my skull and the skin up there has not yet stretched to accommodate the situation so all three of them hurt when the third one went in. And I have one more to be done on 27 Dec which is in between two of the others, so stretching is going to be very painful. I was warned to expect at least a week off from work for the fourth and hopefully last one.

DECEMBER 7 2023
Basically the same report as 6 Dec. Going home to take pain killers and sleep.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, December 11, 2023 - 01:18 am: Edit

FRIDAY DECEMBER 8
I managed to get some work done despite continuing pain, creating three ship cards for the newsletter. That was going to happen for 10 Dec but due to the surgical pain will be later that week.
Jean and Mike did orders.
Steve Petrick worked on Orion MSSB.

DECEMBER 9-10, WEEKEND
Everybody rested. Due to bad weather, most people stayed in their homes. We had a tiny bit of quick-melting snow Saturday but mostly it was just cold and wet and windy.

DECEMBER 11, MONDAY
I got two whole hours of work done before I had to go attend to errands.
Steve Petrick got about that much done before his doctor appointment.
Jean and Mike and Albert got orders out.

DECEMBER 12, TUESDAY
I got some work done before I had to go run errands.
Steve Petrick had a doctor appointment.
Jean and Mike got orders out.

DECEMBER 13, WEDNESDAY
I got quite a bit of work done but had to go do Petrick's grocery shopping for the week. I stopped by Jean's church and completed the paperwork for membership.
Steve Petrick worked on Orion MSSB.
Jean and Albert dealt with a car problem.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, April 19, 2024 - 12:39 am: Edit

I have been remiss (again) and haven't made a blog entry in months. We haven't been asleep, just busy. We did a review of the company and changed some things (more later) and are getting some stuff done.

SFB: Steve Petrick has finished the Orion MSSB except for art (which I am scheduled to do all of next week). Steve has also completed the revisions of the next of the old SFB modules to be updated (more later).

F&E: The staff is reviewing where we are with things. All they want to talk about is the warbook but all I want to talk about is Civil Wars. So I told them, finish CW and we'll chat about the warbook after that.

FC: We have sent a new small thing to press. More later.

ACTASF: I have had the finished Book 3 on my desk for months without time to work on it. I asked the traditional question ("Why am I the only one who can figure out how to do page layout?") when Jean's husband Albert (who sometimes drops by the office) said "I can do that." and I said "You are hired. Get Tony to send you the updated Book Three files." It may take him a month to get that finished (it is tedious) but I can go work on art for Orion MSSB while Albert does that. Albert is also taking over most of the care and feeding of Steve Petrick so I can focus on products. Jean is also editing new packs of ACTASF roster cards that will be new releases not updates when finished May 1st.

Starmada: Mr Kast says he's back to work on RUMORS OF WARS.

Captain's Log #55; with the fiction story in the bag we can do this sometime this summer.

A mysterious water leak at the warehouse was traced to a metal rod which was stuck into the roof at an angle, causing the water to enter. Jean thinks this is a piece of pipe which some aspiring Olympic javelin thrower hurled into the air and it just happened to stick in the roof of our warehouse. I think it was a certain foreign government which is upset with things said about them on the BBS which had a satellite drop a 'rod from orbit' onto our roof.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, April 23, 2024 - 11:59 pm: Edit

UPDATE (NEW PRODUCT) 23 APRIL 2024

Federation Commander Booster #39 is back from the printers and will be available on the cart as soon as Jean does the paperwork to get it into the inventory system.

I did the first six Orion ship art pictures for the Orion MSSB today and hope to finish that project next week. However, interruptions are constant.

Steve Petrick is almost done with the next SFB update although we are still waiting for one of three companies to give us a quote on countersheet reprints.

Al is starting on ACTASF Book 3 page layout.

The F&E staff thinks they're going to drop into my office in October to do the basic set update. I have reminded them that until they get CIVIL WARS finished we won't be doing ANY rulebook updates.

I took Monday off as a mental health day. I spent about half Today running errands that somehow nobody else can accomplish.

Tomorrow I have to go have an uncomfortable conversation with the dentist and oral surgeon who did my new upper teeth and make them confront the fact that the lab which build the teeth did it wrong, causing damaged to the existing and previously just fine lower teeth. I have been complaining for months that the denture is just wrong and finally threw a loud enough fit to get an appointment. I may take a lawyer with me, or a gun. Thursday I will miss the whole day of work having the fifth skin cancer surgery in five months. Friday I will miss much of the day because Leanna volunteered me to be the one man allowed to help set up her ladies' club party, which I am not allowed to attend on Saturday. If you guys knew half of what's been happening for the last two years you'd be absolutely amazed that anything at all got finished.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, April 26, 2024 - 12:17 am: Edit

25 April: I got some work done on Orion art on Wednesday and a little on Thursday. I gave Petrick a bunch of basic hull printouts to mark up so I can turn them into the variant ships.

I also got the Romulan K6R done for SFB and FC for release in the newsletter tomorrow.

The dentist Wednesday admitted that the denture was done wrong and offered to replace it for free, which would take months of appointments. We discussed things and he offered to try a quick fix that might work. So far, it's not as bad as it has been for the last six months. I had that nasty skin cancer removed from my arm today but lost the whole day of work (except for a 15 minute staff meeting) and just came up from the pain killers long enough to check the BBS. They cut a hole that was 1.5 inches long and 0.75 inches wide out of my arm and dug kinda into the insides to get all of the roots and branches, but that should avoid chemo/radiation. The good news was they did another check of my body and nothing new has shown up in the last two weeks. That is five cancers cut out of me during Dec-April.

APRIL 26: I had a nice lunch with SPP, then went to the office. He's working on updating Module K while I worked on Orion art. I did a few Orion pictures, but mostly I did the "covers of a sort" for FC BOOSTERS 37, 38, and 39. I think the newsletter is almost done and will release it Monday.

Any of you of that mindset can say a prayer for Jean who will be having serious surgery on Monday to eliminate a very painful problem that has plagued her all year.

APRIL 27 SATURDAY: I did absolutely nothing and it felt great.

APRIL 28 SUNDAY: I rested and played Penguin Kingdom.

APRIL 29 MONDAY: Jean's surgery was successful and she is resting at home. I did the seven Orion DW art pictures for the Orion MSSB. Every time I started a new ship I found another error in the original art which had to be corrected in all of the ships done earlier today. Steve Petrick and Leanna both had doctor appointments that took hours of waiting for a 5 minute chat with the doctor. No word on SPP but all of Leanna's issues disappeared since her last appointment and her new diet and the church exercise program reduced her weight considerably. I got some good news from the church about the summer schedule. I ordered two copies of WHY ARE THERE NO CATS IN THE BIBLE, one for the pastor and one for the church library.

TUESDAY APRIL 30: I took the day off to rebuild my mental health. Leanna and I drove into town, picked up a bucket of KFC, and took it to Jean's house to check on her recovery and spare her from Albert's cooking.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, May 09, 2024 - 03:22 pm: Edit

MONDAY 6 MAY: SVC and SPP worked on Orion art. SVC did all art for which instruction had been given.

TUESDAY 7 MAY: SPP had a doctor appointment. SVC took the day off for mental health and to practice being retired.

WEDNESDAY 8 MAY: SPP worked on Module K, Orion MSSB, and ISC MSSB. SVC did preliminary work on the remaining Orion art.

THURSDAY 9 MAY: Staff meeting reviewed situation. Albert (SVC's assistant) assigned to compile a "check in list" for non-Amarillo staffers to update their projects. Newsletter sent out; next issue 10 July. (Mike West later assigned to do an SSD for this issue.) Need to hear from vendors quoting on countersheets we need. Jean reported that the Civilian and Fed ship rosters for ACTA-1.2 had been posted and the Klingons were nearly done with proofreading corrections.

After the meeting, SPP and SVC completed all 58 Orion ship graphics and all of the gunboats. We have done some of the X ships and one of the Y ships; we lack 4 X-ships and about 10 Y ships.

FRIDAY 10 MAY: It was trash day for SVC; he cleaned up all of the little non-design messes left behind as design work moved forward. SVC: Helped SPP get some bills paid. Mike West sent in the SFB version of the Selt BBL so I gave it and the older FC version to SPP for review. Got gas in my car. Emailed three companies about getting quotes on die cut counter reprints (one answered right away with hopeful news, both of the others also had good news). Updated SPP prescription list, medical emergency document, and check register. I posted the recent FYEO articles. I went to SPP's bank to fix an issue. I went to the grocery store to restock DDP and protein bars. I went through SPP's mail and answered/filed it all. I sent Simone updated versions of KC6R. I updated the product release schedule.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, May 11, 2024 - 03:51 am: Edit

You might not know that I updated the previous post each day, lots of interesting info.

SATURDAY 11 MAY 2024: The Great Squirrel Hunt. Odin and Thor were asking for their Saturday morning romp in the great outdoors, so I got dressed. When I opened the door, the three of us were only 3 feet from a big fat squirrel eating birdseed on the patio. The cats and squirrel all exploded in the first squirrel hunt the boys had ever experienced. The squirrel made it 50 feet across the yard and 25 feet up a pecan tree. The boys were inches behind him but reached only 20 feet (by actual measurement) in the tree before running out of things they could climb. After a brief standoff, the boys came down but watched the tree carefully. I brought them back inside and left a handful of peanuts for the squirrel, who came down 15 minutes later and was last seen chomping peanuts.