Freedom!

Yesterday, I finished the last of my Spycraft 2.0 contributions, only 8000 words over my allotted amount. Huzzah! But there's no rest for the wicked, and I've immediately launched into the development of Ten Thousand Bullets on a full-time basis (at least, in a part-time way). Things are finally looking up for the elusive Project X. More on that as things gel up.

Espionage, fo' rizzle?
Gizoogle is the shizzle. Just check out this search for Spycraft. I can't wait to see the Ten Thousand Bullets translation :)

And speaking of the D-O-double-G, you see...
All wannabe pimps and players would do well to get theyself a copy of Pimp: The Backhanding, which looks absolutely hysterical. For a taste, check out the Valentine's Day Card generator. Best quote is from Crack: "Flowers? You know we can't smoke flowers, baby!"

The Curse

No kidding, I think Spycraft 2.0 has tried to kill the Design Team. I have been spending this week sitting on my couch recovering from a minor surgery; Scott and Pat have caught the Martian Death Flu; and Clayton got very sick after New Year's. And this doesn't even include all the other colds, injuries and other random stuff that's been happening to us over the last few months.

So is it worth it, you ask?

Absolutely. 2.0 is freakin' glorious. I am so happy with it - in spite of the months of discussion and changes and arguements and hard work and all that other stuff that comes with a project of this magnitude - I can hardly contain myself. If I didn't have to finish Project X in the next few months, I would say this summer can't come soon enough.

Coming out of the dark
I'm finally getting out from under other assignments and onto Ten Thousand Bullets, which can only be a good thing. My enthusiasm is way up, the team is almost ready to go, and I am happily chipping away at the bedrock for the project. Judging from what many of you have been talking about wanting from Spycraft in the forum over the last month, I would say Ten Thousand Bullets will fill many of your needs quite well, while equipping you with some stuff you haven't asked for but should really, really like. Heh heh.

Battlegrounds
Apparently, the last 1.0 book, Battlegrounds, is out at stores - which is about a month earlier than I ever thought it would be. There are missions set in Afghanistan, Vietnam, Bosnia (my section), Columbia/South American cocaine producing countries, a post-apocalyptic scenario, and the obligatory crunchy bits covering WMDs, battlefield events, long-term gearing up, wear and tear and other nifty stuff for use after the bomb.

People seem to like it pretty well, and despite our hard work to make it all fit in there, there was some cut material. I'm going to talk to Pat and see if it is going to be included in the next few issues of The Informant - if not, I may slap the missions I wrote that got cut into the blog here for you all to use.

Go Bucs!

Last night, I saw what might have been the most exciting basketball game I've seen in the last 10 years - between my alma mater Beloit College and 11 year leading NCAA scorer and conference rival Grinnell. It was the first televised Division III sports event ever to appear on national TV, and as usual, Beloit was considered the underdog (we were just a gallery to show off Grinnell's amazing offensive game using "The System", which subs so many players that it looks more like hockey than basketball).

I was lucky enough to see the game with 30 other fellow alums and parents at a local sports pub, and the atmosphere was electric. Grinnell depends on running their opponents into the ground by keeping fresh legs on the court, putting up 5 times the shots of their opponent, and playing the law of averages with the 3 point game - run and gun basketball at its finest, which is the best kind to watch. It's all about tempo, but Beloit managed not only to keep this team that scores an average of 131 points a game to 87 points, they also managed to lead 40 out of 45 minutes, in spite of dozens of bad calls (literally) and very generous allowances by the refs to the home Grinnell team.

Coach Cecil Youngblood, burgeoning star player Hinz and the rest of the Bucs not only didn't get crushed this game, they outthought, outplayed, and outlasted the opposition against overwhelming odds. Whatever I may think sometimes about my college experience - that it was too esoteric, or that I should have gone to someplace that looks better on my resume - this game reminded me that the little guy can come out ahead, and that quality always defeats quantity. Being around my fellow alums and seeing how well all of us are doing in our lives, I think that rule applies to us all. So cheers to you, Beloit and our champion Bucs, who, if they don't win a title, will certainly remain heroes for all of us scattered around the world.

Save John Adam!

Terrorism has many faces, and claims its victims without mercy or discrimination. Take, for instance, the case of Cpl. John "SpecOps Cody" Adam. He was recently posted on an Islamist website that threatened (like many of us have in the past) to behead him if the US did not accede to their demands.

Look at the steely, almost unfeeling resolve on brave John's face as they point his own M4 at his head from off-camera. Though his garments are ruffled, he seems unflapped - truly, he is a statuesque monument to American bravery and synthetic know-how. But even John's patented Kung Fu GripTM cannot free him . For the sake of action figures everywhere, we must act quickly.

Of course, if they do cut his head off, you can probably pop it right back on again, like Barbie.