I believe that EVERY game product I've ever worked on has generated a file that I call "Cuts." Each Cuts file contains all of the original text encompassing an idea I had to discard, for whatever reason. This is mainly for the purpose of back-burnering the idea, in case it becomes useful in some other product, but, before I began versioning my work, it was the easiest way for me to restore some text I had written, discarded, then later found room for. - JD

I find that I can only take Munchkin in small doses. It's not that I particularly dislike it, but that the sheer unpredictability makes it hard to feel like my strategies are actually amounting to anything. (In that regard, it's a pretty good card-based simulation of 1st Edition D&D.) In other news, I may just have to being all of my future correspondences with "in my extremely humble and unassailably correct opinion."

"Kif! I'm feeling the 'Captain's Itch'!" "I'll fetch the cream, sir ..." Heh. Good times, good times. JD

Ah. Thanks, Craig. JD

Free wifi at airports and hotels is fantastic. "Honeypot" rogue wifi networks suck in more ways than can be counted. Check out this story on lifehacker.com for some warnings about free wifi in public places: http://lifehacker.com/software/top/holiday-travel-tip--avoid-airport-honeypot-rogue-wifi-networks-223491.php JD

I rarely get insomnia, unless I'm just really, really wired. But I have some interesting "other side of the coin" stories about taking wakey-wakey pills. The best involves moving to Seattle from Indianapolis. My friend Shawn and I had driven (he in the moving van, me in my car) all day, trying to put Montana behind us, and I was feeling the fatigue of driving for so long. I signaled to Shawn (in those days before affordable cellphones) that I needed to sleep. Shawn shook his head and tapped his watch, then held up two fingers; he wanted to keep going for another couple of hours. I shot back our signal for "drink," thinking that I would pick up some high-caffeine drink to help keep me alert. Shawn agreed, and we pulled off the highway to buy snacks, gas, and soda. I took this opportunity to down a couple of No-Doz, and swill a large quantity of Mountain Dew. That should keep anyone awake, right? Back on the highway twenty minutes later, I was still finding it hard to keep my eyes open. All around us was midnight blackness, punctuated by occasional headlights. I knew we were on a mountain--we'd been traveling uphill for the last hour (and we *were* in Montana, after all)--but I didn't know how high up. Until I glanced over and saw, far, far below me, the lights of the town we'd just left. Me: can't keep eyes open. Ground: very far below. So I signaled to Shawn again: "I NEED to sleep!" Finally, he relented, and we got a hotel. I was so groggy, I wasn't sure where we were, or what hotel it was, or how we got to the room. Shawn was miffed (we were on our way to him starting his new job), but had to admit that he was getting tired, too. I staggered into the bathroom to brush my teeth ... ... and that's when the No-Doz finally kicked in. I think, looking back, that I only giggled uncontrollably for maybe half an hour, tops. It felt like all night. I'd actually taken something like 4 or 6 No-Doz, and washed it down with a liter of Mountain Dew, and the stuff had finally gotten into my system, just as Shawn was looking forward to a good night's rest. (Poor bastard.) At least I felt much more refreshed in the morning. The capper? The next night, Shawn, realizing he wasn't going to make his estimated arrival in Seattle, borrowed my No-Doz, and went through exactly the same thing--while trying to leave a phone message with his new employer telling them he was still a day's travel away. JD

Get well soon, Anne! JD

>"Well, if you saw me, I'm a pretty lousy Ninja," I said. Heh. Reminds me of something that a friend of mine said years ago. He ran my favorite local comic shop, and had somehow received a shipment of a book called "Secrets of Ninja Invisibility." One day, a customer noticed the book and flipped through it, his expression growing more skeptical with every page. "Is this book for real?" the customer asked. "Have you ever seen a ninja?" my friend asked. "Um, no," said the customer, with an air of superiority. "Well, there you go." The fact that I have not seen a ninja to this day, many, many years later, tells me that I really should've bought that book ... JD

Wow, Spider Jerusalem. Definitely a "rage against the machine" kind of character. Pity that series ended. I could've done with a few more "I Hate It Here" columns from him. Enjoy Descent, btw. Like most FFG games, I find the rules poorly organized (and sometimes a bit misleading), but I've still enjoyed it nearly every time I've played it. JD (boyfriend of regular poster Keri) jdwiker.com jediwiker.livejournal.com