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THURSDAY 3 APRIL
Family lunch with my brother Steve Petrick, my sister Jean Beddow, my brother-in-law Albert Beddow, and my wife Leanna. My niece Angela was unable to make it.
I worked on fiction, the legal document to deal with the accidental property issue next door, and other matters. Steve P worked on K. Jean and Mike did orders.

FRIDAY 4 APRIL
Jean and Mike did orders. Steve P worked on K. Leanna and I took the day off to help set up the spring party for her ladies' club. It set it raining which made life fun.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, April 15, 2025 - 03:09 pm: Edit

Apparently I have been neglectful in keeping up this log. Lots of things have been going on, and the press of dealing with events kept me from actually reporting events.

SATURDAY 5 APRIL
Leanna had her women's club party. Everyone else rested.

SUNDAY 6 APRIL: Everyone rested. The church opened the new youth center with a big party with free food trucks. Turns out, the BBQ sandwiches that Leanna and I got were full of bone chunks that almost killed people.
Today was the 48th anniversary of my first phone call to Leanna. It lasted 3 hours. The first hour was more of a job interview than a blind date call; she had the attitude that if I wasn't the husband she was looking for I wasn't even going to get a chance to buy her dinner. The second and third hours were a very fun time as we explored mutual interests. We probably would have talked for 3 more hours but we both had to get to sleep and prepare for the next day of work.

MONDAY 7 APRIL
Petrick worked on the ISC book and I reminded him to focus on K. Jean and Mike did orders. Albert did a bunch of my admin work. I took most of the day off.
48 years ago: I walked into the office where Leanna worked, told her boss that I was from the gas company and needed to check with her about a leak in her home. We met briefly, and neither of us took the opportunity to bail on the blind date that night. The date was not as bad as it could have been. We went to a party for singles and left when we noticed everyone was ten to twenty years older than us. We saw a movie we don't remember and had dinner at Denny's. This year, Leanna and I had lunch at Denny's and then began a fruitless search for something fun to do. At our age we have forgotten how to have fun.

TUESDAY 8 APRIL
I took Petrick to lunch and work. Jean and Mike did orders. Albert had things to do.

WEDNESDAY 9 APRIL
We all met at Pancake Station for turkey dinners. Steve worked on K; I worked on fiction. Jean and Mike did orders.

THURSDAY 10 APRIL
I took Petrick to lunch and work. Jean and Mike did orders. Albert had plenty of my work to do.

FRIDAY 11 APRIL
Jean took Petrick to lunch, then he worked on K and she did orders with Mike. Albert played battletech at the FLGS.

SATURDAY 12 APRIL, SUNDAY 13 APRIL
Everyone rested.

MONDAY 13 APRIL
I called Petrick to pick him up for lunch but he answered to say that he was on a military transport to El Salvador with the local Amarillo contingent of MS13 and Trendy Agua or something like that. I worked on fiction, Jean and Mike on orders. Leanna made a rare office visit for the staff meeting. I finally got my replacement hearing aids just in time to prevent Leanna from filing for divorce.

TUESDAY 14 APRIL
Petrick was in El Salvador. Albert flew down to meet him and wire up the internet for the prison there. Jean and Mike did orders. I had some kind of cardiac event and spent most of the day lying flat on my back.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, April 20, 2025 - 12:40 am: Edit

WEDNESDAY APRIL 15
The cardiac event was scary but no permanent damage. I got very lightheaded as my blood pressure (probably) dropped below 70. It did take a lot out of me and I stayed home to rest.
Jean and Mike and Albert did orders.
Petrick remained in El Salvador.

THURSDAY APRIL 16
Family dinner at Pizza Planet.
I worked on the ISC book. Jean and Mike did orders. Albert reprogrammed the entire Salvadoran internet from home.

FRIDAY
Jean and Mike did orders. Albert worked on the Salvadoran postal system. Petrick remained in El Salvador.
I took Leanna to the dinosaur museum in New Mexico to celebrate the 48th anniversary of going steady.

SATURDAY 19 APRIL
Jean and Al invited Leanna and myself to a family Easter dinner. Petrick remained in El Salvador.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 - 10:50 pm: Edit

SUNDAY APRIL 20TH
Rested at Home. Petrick was [CLASSIFIED].
This would have been the 71st birthday of my brother, Christopher, but he passed from cancer more than 20 years ago.

MONDAY APRIL 21ST
Jean and Al stayed home to work on the Orion book.
Mike worked on inventory.
I took Leanna to the eye doctor for injections which meant she could not drive.
Petrick was [CLASSIFIED].

TUESDAY APRIL 22ND
Jean and Al stayed home to work on the Orion book.
Mike worked on inventory.
I took Leanna to the eye doctor for injections which meant she could not drive. I managed to get a couple of hours in the office which I spent on the ISC book.
Petrick was [CLASSIFIED].

WEDNESDAY APRIL 23RD
I had another cardiac event just after midnight, took meds for it and slept until noon. Then I went to the office and worked on the ISC book and CIVIL WARS.
Jean and Mike did orders. Albert worked with me on some admin stuff I would have had to do otherwise.
Petrick was [CLASSIFIED] and we were seriously worried about him.

THURSDAY APRIL 24TH
Having gotten permission under Hippa, we announced that Steve Petrick had in fact been in and out of the hospital most of this year, and that he very nearly died on Tuesday but pulled through.
I worked on Civil Wars and on the ISC book.
Jean, Albert, and Mike did orders.

FRIDAY APRIL 25TH
I took the day off for errands.
Jean and Mike did orders.
Petrick was in guarded but improving condition.
Albert was working on battle technology.

SATURDAY APRIL 26TH
Everone took the day off to rest. I drove to town to visit the comic/game store of an old friend, having just heard on Friday that he had suffered a devastating stroke but came in to the store on Saturdays in a wheelchair to meet old friends, but today was not a day he did that.
I went to Albert's favorite game store and could not even find it (despite having seen it on google earth from top view). Worse, I was driving across the parking lot of another business (that wasn't in business) and drove through a puddle that was ten feet wide and I assumed a few inches deep. Turns out under the puddle was a huge hole in the pavement full of mud that might as well have been quicksand. I had to call roadside assistance and pay $150 to get my car pulled out of the hole. Then I went to my favorite lunch place and had to wait 30 minutes to order because two guys were trying to order takeout dinners for their crew, every dinner had special instructions, and every dinner involved at least two phone calls to clarify what they wanted, plus the guys who ordered the food checked the orders and discovered that in two cases they had failed to give the instructions properly and the dinners had to be made over, one of them twice.
It was not a super day.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, May 05, 2025 - 04:36 pm: Edit

I got behind posting again. Sigh. I don't remember all the details, but Albert got ACTA3 ready for Jean to proofread, Jean finished proofreading R8 and we sent a copy to Petrick, I did the Lyran Civil War scenario for Civil Wars and gave it to Jean who marked it up and gave it back. I'm sure other stuff happened. I finished my work on the ISC book. Steve Petrick got out of the hospital.

Monday 5 MAY Steve Petrick was working at home and getting stronger. We decided not to bring him to the office as it is cold and wet outside with a stiff wind and we didn't need him to get a cold, or pneumonia, or fall down and break something. With Albert's help I fixed the mess with my email so it works again. I took Steve a good lunch and we discussed a fiction story he was reviewing. I assigned him to create a how-to list for updates to an SFB module. Jean gave me the financial report from last week, and it shows we are gaining. Jean and Mike did orders. Albert did Steve Petrick’s grocery shopping.

TUESDAY 6 May
It was raining and cold so we decided that Steve P needed to stay home. I took him a big lunch with enough leftover to have supper. He gave me his update an SFB module. At the office later, I typed it up and printed him a copy to review. With nine and a half modules yet to be updated and given the time element and Steve’s health, we are going to farm out some of the updates. Jean sent him a print of the Orion book for final review. I got very sick during lunch and went to the office to take a nap, but still had time to write a fiction report to the author of that story, which may turn out to be one third of an entire novel. Jean and Mike did orders. Albert went to meet with Steve Petrick’s visiting nurse to update his status and appointment list.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, May 12, 2025 - 04:15 pm: Edit

WEDNESDAY 7 MAY
I took Steve Petrick to lunch and we went to the office for the day. Steve Petrick worked on Module K update. I worked on civil wars, captain's log, and other things. Jean and Mike did orders.

THURSDAY 8 MAY
Steve Petrick stayed home to review the Orion MSSB. I had my annual checkup and was found to still be alive for the time being. Jean and Mike did orders.
Today was the 48th anniversary of my engagement to Leanna. After we negotiated the house we would build, we went to her duplex and worked out the family budget, leaving it on the table. I remarked that since we were getting married we should have fallen in love first. She replied "We did that."

FRIDAY 9 MAY
Steve Petrick stayed home to review the Orion MSSB. Jean and Mike did orders. Leanna and I drove to Caprock Canyons State Park (we had never been there) to see the official Texas herd of buffalo and have a nice lunch in of all places an antique store. Gotta love small town Texas.
Today was the 48th anniversary of the first time Leanna and I official spoke the words "I love you" to each other. It was also the 48th anniversary of the day that Leanna's mother walked into her apartment before Leanna got home from work and found "Stephen & Leanna family budget" laying on the dining room table. I am sure that when Leanna got there they had an interesting conversation.

SATURDAY 10 MAY & SUNDAY 11 MAY
Everybody rested.

MONDAY 12 MAY
Steve Petrick was in the hospital but reviewing the Orion book. Jean and Michael did orders. Albert did some of my admin work. I finished the Lyran Civil War scenario and sent it to the staff.

TUESDAY 13 MAY and WEDNESDAY 14 MAY
Steve Petrick was in the hospital. Jean and Michael did orders. I worked on new products.

THURSDAY 15 MAY
The company picnic.

FRIDAY 16 MAY
Family meeting to discuss Petrick’s future.

SATURDAY 17 MAY and SUNDAY 18 MAY
Everybody rested

MONDAY 18 MAY 2025
Jean and Mike did orders. Albert and I worked on the paperwork to get Steve Petrick out of the hospital and into a living space that can take proper care of him after his bout with pneumonia. I spent an hour on the phone with my financial advisor doing a move-money form that should have taken 3 minutes.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, May 25, 2025 - 05:11 am: Edit

TUESDAY 19 MAY through SATURDAY 24 MAY
It's been a blur of activity around here and I lost track of what happened on which day. We got Petrick out of the hospital and into a long-term care facility that will take care of him until there is a space open at the Texas Veterans home which will cost a lot less. The nutritionist didn't get the word in time and tried to poison Steve with onions and Chinese food.
I got my new car (Xena) and almost instantly hated the computer system and the car, but by the end of the week they had rebooted the computer and it was working swell.
Leanna and I went by Steve's old place and picked up things he will need at the new one. Later, we spent three hours packing up his books and his kitchen stuff for storage. Albert is going to move the furniture to storage tomorrow.
I got the Sapphire Crown 3 tournament running at started registration on the Sapphire Star 19 event.
Jean and Mike did a bunch of orders.
Albert got involved in a home renovation job and mistakenly hired the plumbers who used to work for Richard Nixon.
Our prayers went to Joe Biden and his family as he faces cancer that doesn't have a good outcome, just a delaying action.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, May 31, 2025 - 11:26 pm: Edit

EVENTS 25-31 MAY 2025
We all spend the Sunday and holiday Monday moving Steve P's stuff out of his apartment and into storage.
Jean and Mike did orders.
Leanna and I drove to Dallas, saw the Perot Museum, attended the lecture by Zahi Hawass, and saw a show at Medieval Times.
We had a good time, although one one particular day there were five girls (maybe 17, maybe 24, dunno) running around in bikinis (which needed twice as much cloth) taking selfies and videos. At one point I was waiting for the elevator and when it opened they were all inside. They made room for me but I told them I would take the next one. I didn't want to be trapped in a 6x8 steel box with five girls wearing bikinis and be falsely accused of Lord knows what.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, June 11, 2025 - 02:30 pm: Edit

STEVE PETRICK UPDATE: Steve has been in the VA hospital for over a week, starting dialysis treatments. Its rough going for him, but he is in feisty spirits.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, June 11, 2025 - 02:32 pm: Edit

UPDATE 1-10 JUNE: I have been working on the tournament, new products, my own health and Leanna's (routine but time consuming stuff), Petrick's business affairs, and a new joint venture deal. Jean and Mike have kept orders flowing. Albert has been busy with a home renovation project.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, June 30, 2025 - 09:06 pm: Edit

JUNE 30: I had a productive day of small tasks and projects.
I connected with Ken Kazinski on the SFB update program.
I conferred with Mike West on the SSD upgrade project and the FC fighters attack project.
I had a nice chat about AI and the company future with my old friend Ken Burnside.
I finally cracked into Petrick’s computer to get some SSDs.
I had a nice chat with Jessica Orsini about some SSD ideas she had.
I sent a customer an SSD he had lost.
I sent the F&E guys an update on Civil Wars.
I spoke with Steve Petrick on some SSD problems.
I sent Mike West and Jessica one of Petrick's SSDs to see if they can open and edit his files.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, July 01, 2025 - 04:39 pm: Edit

JULY 1: An interesting day.
Gary Carney and Nick Samaras are starting on the Omega Campaign Compatibility project. Well, every journey of ten thousand miles begins with a single step. Right now they're looking at BATS and trying to invent a phaser-4.

I sent the F&E Staff a bunch of old rulebooks they asked for, mostly the previous generation (2000-2006). The generation before that is buried so deep in the archive disks we might never find it.

Turns out Mike West and Jessica Orsini can both open and edit Petrick's DESKPAINT SSD files. Good. Mike is working on the update checklist. Jessica is buried in work but might join the team later. I also sent Norman Dizon a sample SSD to see if he can open and edit Petrick's files. We don't know yet how long it would take to update a book, so we don't know if Mike will need help or not.

Nice chat with Ken Kazinski about SFB staff projects.