THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE #304

August 10, 2006

Produced by Jim Burgess, 664 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908-4327 USA, (401)351-0287

Accessible through Internet at burgess of world.std.com (all E-Mail addresses are reported in this format, replace the " of " with "@"; if you bounce try sending to me from another account. Some of you have been getting bounced messages from my ISP's spam protection, if that happens to you, USE my backup E-Mail at jfburgess of gmail.com!!! Don't complain that my E-Mail keeps bouncing without forwarding the bounced message to that address. Then I can forward it to the ISP help to get it dealt with.

Web Page Address: http://www.diplom.org/DipPouch/Postal/Zines/TAP/index.html

This was an extra bit late because of some unexpected events..... sorry! For next issue, I'm keeping the deadline the same, but will delay games if necessary.

I expect ALL players to be signed up on the E-Mail notification list for the szine, see below. Some of you have been complaining about this, but it is up to you to get on this list, it's easy, come ask me if you have trouble. We have another exciting issue of By the Way in this issue if everything is going as planned. We're making progress on starting new games, help fill things up, see below for more. The new regular Diplomacy game starts in THIS issue!!! Here's an announcement from subszine editor, Dave Partridge....

Dave Partridge (Mon, 14 Aug 2006 10:37:27 -0700 (PDT))

Hello All, Tinamou 62 is available on the web at:

http://www.diplom.org/DipPouch/Postal/Zines/TAP/Tinamou/Tin62/Tin62.pdf

Now's the time to sign up for Tinamou's annual Fantasy Football challenges as well. I run two very simple fantasy games, no need for complicated drafting or lots of head scratching. Just pick your favorite teams or pick a weekly winner. Rules are available at:

http://www.diplom.org/DipPouch/Postal/Zines/TAP/Tinamou/rules/NFL.htm

Join either Simple Fantasy Footbal or Weekly Winner or both. Come have some fun.

Regards, Dave, rebhuhn of rocketmail.com

The postal sub price is still $1.50 per issue in the US and Canada, with double that for other foreign subbers(or $3.00 per issue sent airmail). Players in current games and standbys will continue to get the issues for free, and future game starts (except for Nuclear Yuppie Evil Empire Diplomacy, which is free) cost $20.00 ($15.00 for a life of the game subscription and $5 for the NMR Insurance. Anyone may play in subszines for free and just jack up the issue page count. See the revised game start announcements below!

Check out the connections in the Diplomatic Pouch with all of the information you need to play Diplomacy on the Internet at: http://www.diplom.org/DipPouch/

I also have taken over the Postal port/DipPouch/Postal

and TAP on the web is there at: http://www.diplom.org/DipPouch/Postal/Zines/TAP/index.html

where the szine resides in html format. Presently, issues from #190 to the current issue are there, and I will be updating the back issues gradually someday. Also, check out Stephen Agar's more extensive efforts at: http://www.diplomacy-archive.com and http://www.diplomacy.co.uk

Peter Sullivan's subszine is out of stasis, and all the back issues can be accessed via :

http://www.burdonvale.co.uk/octopus/index.html.

Peter is now clearly back and appears in most issues! Rip Gooch and Dave Partridge had been picking up the choo-choo game slack, but Rip also has been missing in action lately, I don't have an update but he and Dave Partridge communicate. Contact Rip at xyropedes of canada.com or Dave at rebhuhn of rocketmail.com for more info on getting into choo-choo games. And Andy York has been my most frequent subszine guest lately!!!

The TAP mailing list has moved! It now is even BETTER protected than it was. I even have a bit of trouble posting to it. To post to this list, send your email to: tap of diplom.org. But this is completely moderated, it won't go out to the list unless I approve it. In general, I intend to keep traffic down to just the szine, as we've been doing and I'll put your LOCs in here. I EXPECT all players to be on this list, especially those of you who are from foreign countries!!! You need this to find out when the szine is up on the web to check in on results.

General information about the mailing list is at: http://www.diplom.org/mailman/listinfo/tap

You can sign up from there, or send E-Mails to: Tap-request of diplom.org; with the word `help' in the subject or body (don't include the quotes), and you will get back a message with instructions. You must know your password to change your options (including changing the password, itself) or to unsubscribe. Normally, Mailman will remind you of your diplom.org mailing list passwords once every month, although you can disable this if you prefer. This reminder will also include instructions on how to unsubscribe or change your account options. There is also a button on your options page that will email your current password to you. A big, big thank you for Millis Miller for setting this all up!!

THE SEARCH FOR JEFF KEY

I've been planning to put Jeff Key up here many times in the past, but someone else always made it to the list. Since we have the aborted John Beshara search, this is the time to find Jeff. I met Jeff that I remember just once, I think it was at Paul Gardner's house and one of those wild spread out cons that he used to have at his house in Vermont. But I've not heard from Jeff now in many, many years. So let's go find him! As always it is worth fifty bucks if you locate him and get him to write to me. Jeff, of course, is most famous for devising and naming the Key Lepanto game opening alliance between Austria and Italy against Turkey. For some reason, I've been seeing LOTS of Key Lepantos or aborted Key Lepantos lately. It's about time that we find Jeff and see what he's been up to.

Feel free to spend the time looking for some of the backlog. Let's get Derek, Sylvain, Steve, Ed, Tom, Bill, Gregory, and ESPECIALLY Kevin found too!!! This is a regular continuing feature of the szine and I will be introducing a new "search for" every five issues. Moreover, you can win a $25 prize for finding some previous target who went unfound in the original $50 period. That means that if Steve Heinowski or Ed Henry or Tom Hurst or Bill Quinn or Gregory Stewart or Derek Nelson or Sylvain LaRose or John Smythe is "found" from now on it is worth $25.

Winners will receive credit for Dip hobby activities that I will pay out as requested by the winner. Subscribe to szines here or abroad, run your own contests, publish a szine, finance a web page, GO TO A DIPLOMACY CONVENTION or whatever. Spend it all right away or use me as a bank to cover hobby activities for years. What must you do to win? Get me a letter to the editor for TAP from the person we're searching for.

This is very important, just finding them doesn't do it. They have to write me a letter. The final judge as to the winner of any contest will be the target himself and I reserve the right to investigate the winning entry. When you find someone I'm looking for, you should ask him to send me a letter for print that includes a verification of who "found" him.

INTERNATIONAL SUBSCRIPTION EXCHANGE NEWS

The British representative is the editor of Mission From God, John Harrington. John may be contacted at 1 Churchbury Close, Enfield, Middlesex EN1 3UW, UK.

E-Mail: fiendish of operamail.com, John.Harrington of tfeurope.com

Please include the full name and address of the foreign publisher with your order, if possible, as well as the szine title. Make your check in US dollars out to me personally or in GBP to John if you're doing things from that end. I will conduct business for Canadians as well, if I can, but prefer to deal in US dollars with them if possible, or Canadian dollars cash. To subscribe to American szines, the system works in reverse.

We have closed the European continental branch, as I think most of you had figured out.

And the ISE in Australia hadn't had much real action in recent years, and Brendan Whyte has moved on to Jerusalem!!! Brendan still produces what I find to be the most readable small szine in the worldwide hobby. Did you all realize that? Write to Brendan at his new Jerusalem address and ask him about subscribing, I'm not sure what the new deal will be. Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem 91905, ISRAEL. His travelogues are wonderful, I particularly enjoyed the recent one describing his trip to Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius and the areas around and in-between. You all know what countries those are right? He also had a wonderful experience in a few hours on Belarussian soil stuck in a border crossing.

WORLDMASTERS04 SECTION

See http://www.worldmasters.net/wm04/ for details on progress on the WORLDMASTERS04, the Semifinals have now begun. Some semifinal notables include: Egg Ferreira, Buffalo Bartalone, Lee Simpson, Joe Janbu, Sebastian Beer, Jerry Fest, Twerg O'Donnchu, Tim Sweeney, Dave Partridge, Glenn Ledder, Adam Silverman, Toby Harris, and Thomas Franke. This is one of the deepest semifinal fields for this great tournament that I've seen, with representatives from nearly all of the world's hobby communities.

It is helping now that I've joined the Yahoogroup WM04-Chat where this discussion is happening. You can join too! However, this forum has been very, very quiet, I hope it picks up with semis, maybe I'll have to start some discussion. But most of the talk that there has been has about Yann Clouet and the French Hobby's new "World Palmares Evaluation" of FTF Diplomacy Play. Of course, Yann Clouet comes out #1, further backing up winning the John Koning award, and I am 1442nd (in a tie with Mark Nelson and Tony Dickinson, among others!). This uses lots of tournament results, more than 750 of them, and really is quite comprehensive. See those rankings at: http://www.18centres.com/SPIP3/article.php3?id_article=199

DIPDOM NEWS SECTION (with letters)

Obscure and not-so-obscure ramblings on the state of the hobby and its publications, custodians, events, and individuals with no guarantee of relevance from the fertile keyboard of Jim-Bob, the E-Mail Dip world, and the rest of the postal hobby. My comments are in italics and ((double quotation marks)) like this. Bold face is used to set off each individual speaker. I should also make a note that I do edit for syntax and spelling on occasion.

The game Diplomacy is a copyrighted product owned by Hasbro and all reproductions or other use of that material in this szine is intended to be personal use and not infringe on those rights in any way. All reproductions are done at a heavy financial loss to the editor and thus are without the remotest possibility of commercial intent, except to promote THE game, the Game of Diplomacy, which you all should purchase from Hasbro or other duly licensed distributors.

Stephen Agar has matched the Hasbro rule lists and more with some of the even older rulebooks. Check these out if you like:

http://www.hasbro.com/default.asp?xcc_gameandtoyinstructions

http://www.hasbro.com/instruct/Diplomacy.PDF

http://www.hasbro.com/instruct/Diplomacy(OlderVers).PDF

Nice of them to make BOTH of these available. And all seven different US rulebooks for Diplomacy can now be found here courtesy of Stephen Agar (relatively new address for this):

http://www.diplomacy-archive.com/diplomacy_rules.htm

Check out current and back issues of Diplomacy World - Yahoogroup diplomacyworld

Also, I need any Hobby Award Nominations NOW (!!!) for:

The 2005 Don Miller Award for Meritorious Service;

The 2005 Rod Walker Award for Literature;

The 2005 John Koning Award for Player Performance;

The 2005 Fred Hyatt Award for GM Performance;

A 2005 Kathy Byrne Caruso Award for Lifetime Achievement (if warranted).

The Hobby Awards Committee is Jim Burgess (Chair and Treasurer), Fred Davis, Jr., Melinda Holley, Gary Behnen, Jamie Dreier, Paul Kenny, Mark Stretch, and Robert Lesco. I was going to publish the award ballot for this year in this issue, but I realized that I really just had to get this out first and then do that....

Diplomacy World Issue Deadlines:

Deadline Spring 2006, Issue #97: March 1, 2006

Deadline Summer 2006, Issue #98: June 1, 2006

Note that Andrew Neumann has taken over the lead editorship from Tim Haffey. Get us articles NOW!!! The March issue has been delayed but should be out shortly. That probably means that Issue #98 will be delayed until Fall.

Editorial Board for Diplomacy World:

Andrew Neumann, andrewneum of gmail.com - New Lead Executive Editor!

Tim Haffey, 810 53rd Ave., Oakland, CA 94601 USA; trhaffey of aol.com - Ex-Lead Editor and Archives Editor

Jim Burgess, 664 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908-4327, USA; burgess of world.std.com - Co-Editor and Publisher

Stephen Agar, 4 Cedars Gardens, Brighton, UNITED KINGDOM BN1 6YD; stephen of stephenagar.com - Webmaster and Non-US Postal

Rick Desper, 5440 Marinelli Road, #204, Rockville, MD 20852, USA; rick_desper of yahoo.com - Demo Games

Dave Partridge, 15 Woodland Drive, Brookline, NH 03033, USA; rebhuhn of rocketmail.com - US Postal

ATTENTION: There is a new company doing a new PC Diplomacy game:

http://www.paradoxplaza.com/news.asp?ArticleID=239&Page=News

This game is out and available. You all should read the interview in the Spring 2005 movement issue of the Diplomatic Pouch (and I mean ALL!!!!!!! of you!!!!!) that I think you can find at:

http://www.diplom.org/Zine/S2005M/

Contact Susana Meza, pr of paradoxplaza.com, the PR Director for more info or if you want demos or help with a Diplomacy convention! To find out more general information on DIPLOMACY please visit www.diplomacy-pcgame.com or contact pr of paradoxplaza.com

Julian Ziesing (07.08.06 13:14)

((My Germany probably isn't any better than yours, but Julian has posted the results for last week's World DipCon, held in Berlin, Germany. I leave his original words in German, you can figure most of it out. Congratulations to Canadian Nicolas Sahuguet, the new World DipCon Champion!!! This was a VERY tough crowd, as some very good players finished well down in the standings. Gihan Bandaranaike just won ManorCon, but apparently became a target here and finished 94th!))

Der Weltmeister 2006 ist Nicolas Sahuguet aus Kanada. Der beste Nicht-Franzose ist Demis Hassabis (F�hrender nach den Runden 2, 3 und 4) auf Platz 4. Die besten Deutschsprachigen sind Georg Kotschy auf Platz 13 und Bj�rn Oberscheven auf Platz 15. Auf dem Top-Board spielten Nicolas Sahuguet (KAN), Cyrille Sevin (FRA), Demis Hassabis (UK), Vincent Carry (FRA), Fabien Grellier (FRA), Toby Harris (UK) und Shlomi Yaakobovich (Israel).

Rank Name Score

1 Nicolas Sahuguet 180,84

2 Cyrille Sevin 140,6328

3 Yann Clouet 124,937

4 Demis Hassabis 124,1559

5 Gwen Maggi 121,668

6 Vincent Carry 117,6164

7 Fabien Grellier 116,05

8 Toby Harris 113,7554

9 Ruben Sanchez 113,413

10 Shlomi Yaakobovich 107,9771

11 Frank Johansen 107,399

12 Simen Fure J�rgensen 100,645

13 Georg Kotschy 100,509

14 Nicolas Ianiri 100,154

15 Bj�rn Oberscheven 97,415

16 Timm Urschinger 94,642

17 Antoine De Schipper 94,526

18 Alex Sp�rl 94,493

19 Michel Lacroix 89,905

20 James Hardy 89,495

21 Moritz Wagner 87,973

22 Edi Birsan 86,967

23 Dieter Drobny 80,638

24 David Norman 80,135

25 Davide Cleopadre 78,562

26 Andr� Ilievics 74,181

27 Alexander Lebedev 74,042

28 France May Martel 73,541

29 Millis Miller 73,311

30 Fr�d�gone Hendrake 70,422

31 Richard Desper 69,676

32 Rob Sch�ne 69,57

33 Philippe Clavaud 69,383

34 Igor Kurt 68,818

35 Baptiste Morel 68,407

36 Fabrice Essner 68,161

37 Daniel Lester 66,789

38 Simon Bouton 65,813

39 Thom Mollinga 64,895

40 Dan Schlick 64,878

41 Andr� Ruddeck 63,948

42 Frank Oschmiansky 61,904

43 Joachim M�nch 59,967

44 Stefan Unger 58,435

45 Ren� van Rooijen 58,317

46 Michael Turzer 56,183

47 Jean-Louis Delattre 55,829

48 Nathan Barnes 51,513

49 Vincent Dias De Almeida 51,057

50 Jan Baier 49,392

51 Laurent Dumont 46,654

52 Dennis Andersson 46,628

53 William Attia 46,575

54 Wouter Duisters 45,219

55 Lionel Luthin 44,051

56 St�phane Viglielmo 43,216

57 Vick Hall 42,245

58 Oscar Dijkhoff 41,8

59 Fabian Straub 41,554

60 Kolja Szillat 41,393

61 Juho Malin 39,781

62 Tor Magne T�nnesen 39,016

63 Gerard Faber 39,013

64 Patrick Garnier 38,741

65 Emmanuel Du Pontavice 38,588

66 Keith Smith 36,723

67 James Arney 36,239

68 Leonardo Quirini 35,934

69 Lars Vatnaland 35,836

70 Tobias Matter 33,166

71 Martin Schulz 31,716

72 Benedikt Hoffmann 31,643

73 Holger Schmalle 31,579

74 Ronald Lokers 31,482

75 Frank Bacher 29,348

76 Remy Salomon 29,279

77 Mike Ward 28,958

78 Christoph Diehl 27,754

79 Raymon Pruvel 27,584

80 Laurent Jolie 27,479

81 Inbar Yaakobovich 25,977

82 Henning Kurth 25,455

83 Matt Shields 24,436

84 Ulrich Degwitz 23,972

85 Henry Bradley 23,911

86 Matthias Gliem 23,136

87 Alexander Wilk 22,69

88 John Jamieson 22,34

89 Sebastian Beer 22,291

90 Frank Oosterom 21,199

91 Sandro Sch�nherr 19,789

92 Clara Bretschneider 18,711

93 Luca Pazzaglia 18,471

94 Gihan Bandaranaike 18,424

95 Andrea Mikin Cossutta 17,323

96 Robert Hilger 16,933

97 Stefan Hagemann 15,265

98 Manuel Stephan 14,319

99 Simon Fandler 13,928

100 Herbert Bieber 12,481

101 Jan K�rschner 12,153

102 Bogislaw v. Sch�nfeldt 10,574

103 Dennis Kr�ger 8,96

104 Dirk Br�ggemann 8,903

105 Benjamin Grenier 8,671

106 Arne Senftleben 8,46

107 David Kary 8,312

108 Walther Paravicini 8,127

109 Julia Kitz 7,734

110 Martin Asal 7,308

111 Ahmet Alag�n 7,185

112 Jolle Lont 6,347

113 Mario Bradler 5,977

114 J�rg Hansen 5,785

115 Ren� Delfsma 5,755

116 Stephan Bradler 2,7

117 Bert Hofstede 2,2

118 Eve Smith 1,6

119 Dario Formigli 1,2

119 Steward Nairn 1,2

((Another Tournament Announcement....))

The biggest New Zealand Tournament of the year, The 9th Annual New Zealand Diplomacy Championships

Conquer Europe

September 9th to 10th

Westwind Cineme, 177 Riversdale Rd, Avondale, Auckland

3 Rounds over 2 Days; Detour 98f scoring ((I really like the Detour 98f scoring system that we've been using at the Boston Massacres, go check it out!!!)); $10 per round, free to new or overseas players.

Interest from UK and Australia, come on kiwis, register with me.

Will Black, wjcblack of gmail.com

((And perhaps an American???))

John Biehl (Tue, 1 Aug 2006 11:18:55 -0700)

Hi Jim, The Deadwood Con Tom Howell referred to was on June 23-25th at the Ozogs. We did play Carcassone (which I haven't won yet) - I think Eric won if my alztimers memory serves me correctly. And Tom is being too modest re: the Lord of the Rings Risk game. He was the `individual winner'. For those readers of TAP unfamiliar with this commercial version of Risk - the Lord of the Rings Risk game is actually a good design although it has only four players. However, JB's Variant (me/mine) to the rescue! As the one 3M commercial says, "We don't make it, we make it better" my game brain put together my variant version of LoTR Risk which is what we played. My variant basically combines the several ways in the rules to win with play of up to 8 players (double the fun) who have to divide equally between good & evil. For our game we had Cathy, Eric, Tom, myself and three teens, Shannon & her two friends Sidney & Daphne (they probably played 'cause of the movie). We did have some dropouts (the teens) as the game can be long (when Ring goes to Mt Doom - 24+ turns, we had something like 34). Tom was the top individual player with 24 pts (on the Evil side), Eric second at 22pts, John (me) at 20 then a tie for fourth at 12pts & two lower scores (points being scored for territories, card play & Strongholds - think Isengard, Minas Tirith, etc). As noted Good won although, if Evil wins, the game can end very quickly [one 8 player playtest game ended at 13 turns] with the right game play & dice roll. If there is one design flaw in the commercial LoTR Risk game it is having only four players (instead of six or eight) plus the rules for winning are somewhat confusing given there are three different options. The game concept and design, in my opinion (being an old Risk hound), rate an 8 out of 10. I should post my LoTR variant rules to Grognard.com (where you will already find my house/variant rules for original Risk). [Sigh - for the old days of beer, puff & pretzel - "aha, beat double sixes - damn, you lucky bastard, how'd you fluke that out!"]

John, jrb of dccnet.com

((Indeed!! Sounds neat, Cathy and Eric are among my favorite people in the whole wide world and it has been way too long since I've seen them. Gotta fix that!!! Keep with the theme, more FTF dip....))

Jeremiah Lee (Tue, 25 Jul 2006 18:08:10 -0400)

Dip at U*Con

Greetings Dippers,

This is looking forward quite a bit, but I wanted to get it out there in case plans needed to be put together in order to make it.

I'll be hosting a game (or more?) of Diplomacy at U*Con, the gaming convention held at the University of Michigan (in Ann Arbor, Michigan) each November. U*Con (http://ucon-gaming.org/) runs from November 17-19th, and the Dip game(s) will probably be held on Saturday the 18th around 10am or noon.

This will be my third year hosting a game, and hopefully we can keep the trend of more players each year moving. Prizes are awarded to the winner (gaming stuff). A day pass to the convention costs about $5-10 (I forget, and it's not posted on their site yet), plus signing up for the game is $4 (or, it was last year), so you'll pay $9-14 bucks to play a real live face to face game of Dip.

Zoomed out map to U*Con : *http://tinyurl.com/q94dy*

Zoomed in map to U*Con : *http://tinyurl.com/luw8q*

If you would like to come, please let me know. If there are enough people, I'll make sure we have multiple games set up. If you need information about places to stay, eat, or whatever, just send me an email.

U*Con is fun, even if Dip isn't there, so if you have the time, plan to spend the night and attend more than just the Dip games.

Best, Jeremiah Lee, dip of openappledumb.com

((This next one is WELL worth checking out, I really laughed at a lot of this. And there's NO feuding reminiscences (Bruce wisely kept that out!!!))

Bruce Linsey (Sat, 29 Jul 2006 09:19:51 EDT)

Hi Friends!

Today (Saturday) is my final full day as Geek of the Week on BoardgameGeek. Tomorrow I'm turning it over to my successor (and I'll return to being just a normal geek...). But the fun ain't over till it's over. Again, the discussion can be found by pasting the following path name into your web browser:

http://boardgamegeek.com/article/1001374

Even if you don't participate, there's a lot of cool stuff posted there, not all of it about games. So check it out one last time!

Best, Bruce, GonzoHQ of aol.com

((Some set up here..... I know NO ONE talks about "Focus on Fakes" any more (yes, Gary Coughlan, we DO remember!!!) but recently someone faked the venerable Graustark by the Founder of the Postal Feast, John Boardman. I'm not sure who did the fake, but this next guy knows, I'm pretty sure..... welcome back to the szine, the one, the only, Mark Fassio..... the best player in the world who doesn't play as much as he should. Interspersed comments I added just now, the ones in between are my responses to Mark.))

Mark Fassio (7/31/06)

Hi Boob, Thanks for the copies. I send you e-mails, but until I read the latest issue, I didn't know your system was rejecting them as part of the SPAM protection.

((I respond to pretty much anything, if you don't get through or don't think you did, try my gmail account!!!))

Anyway, thanks for the issues. I certainly don't mind if you send them but please don't make undue expense for yourself. Consider sending them to me as an expedient sidebar, at best.

((As I tell ALL you guys, I ***LIKE*** sending you the copies, even those of you I never hear from (though dropping a line once in a while always is encouraged), so I plan to keep doing it!!!))

I've semi-resurrected myself in a few PBEM venues (DipBounced is the main one) and am a SB in a game with the Duck, but I think my "Dip fire" has been suppressed into the occasional hot ember. Many reasons for it, but mostly a new phase of life - at least until the kids grow a little more and school teaching quiets down.

((That's just why I want to stay in touch!!!))

We'll see. For now I'm teaching a few novices from a Civ IV website who are learning the game, as well as playing Gunboats. Little to no pressure, and great anonymity, except for the AHIKS Dip tourney I'm in, where these old coots remember my, ahem, stabs from 4 years ago; funny, that. Anyway, not much new with me.

Did you like the April Fool's Boardman fake? Poor John; reduced to venting about mentally-ill losers faking his 'zine. Whoever faked it should be commended for style and for a forlorn attempt to resurrect the old habit of fakes.

((Yeah, as usual, I got three full pages in before I said.... wait a darn minute, I know John can go off on his anti-war causes, but THAT was just a bit.... no, it must be a fake!!! I immediately thought of Don Williams or Gary Coughlan, but I'm not sure Gary even gets Graustark any more, Williams won't admit it though.))

ANYWAY...thanks again for TAP; and best of luck with continued pubbing and gaming!

Faz, faz of wildblue.net

((Good to hear from you, especially after spending last weekend with Don Williams (he is in the area for his sister's wedding). Yes, I will keep dropping you the occasional issue, completely on my dime, I understand. I loved the Boardman fake and I'm still not sure if it was you, or Don, or the two of you in cahoots who produced it, but it did annoy the estimable Mr. Boardman. Don and I are playing in his new game there and enjoying it. My feelings on war and such lie between yours and his and as I grow older I grow to believe that these feelings are much more about each of us as individuals and our genes and history than about anything that is real. Don is talking about becoming an expatriate and "running away to Italy". He's kind of upset at me since I won't argue with him about it. I don't like a lot of things happening here in this country (on all sides), but I'm not a "running away" person. But if Don is, that could be right for him. I am pleased that you're finding teaching to work for you and that you and your family are happy there in Kentucky!!))

((ADDED: The re-estimable Mr. Williams would be upset if I didn't expand further on that comment.... yes, Don has come to my Maine summer lake house, and he has pronounced it good. And the evening and the morning were the seventh day..... I really enjoyed hosting Don, and he got to meet my grandchild Emily, and I got to show Don how to canoe without tipping over. We had a grand old time, and hope we can do it again sometime. Any of you that wander this way in the Winter can visit me in Providence, but in the Summer you want to visit me in Maine. I will let Don add something else for me to react to.... back to your irregularly scheduled Faz.))

Mark Fassio (Wed, 2 Aug 2006 19:44:15 -0400)

Hi J-B Well, I'm flattered that you'd consider this little banter worthy of TAP inclusion. Usually I consider this type of stuff just vacuous noise. But if you think it'll generate interest / chatter and make the 'zine a little bit more interesting than it already is, by all means put it in. I don't even mind including some of my more, shall we say, bellicose statements concerning JB, but that's an editor's discretion that I'll leave up to you.

((I toned you down just a bit.... anyway, the fake was postmarked in Pensacola. Pensacola is a military region, you must know people there..... and Don seems to know people there too. Don seemed to want to leave it unclear as to whether it was you or him, which is why I thought it might be a joint effort. As always, I got to the third page before I figured out it was a fake. I'm the most gullible guy on the planet on these things!!! I had some other good suspects (including fake meister Gary Coughlan), but in the end I was sure it was you or Don from hints in the document.))

As for the fake, would that it have been Gary C! I miss that lad. As for mailing location: I know many people in many places, my friend, although it IS a Navy base, and I've never been there. Brother Don is a faithful follower of omerta (the Mafia code of "honorable" silence), so we'll have to leave its authorship as a Great Unknown for now. There are several DaVinci-like codes throughout the fake (so I've been told) that might be construed as inside jokes, or references that only the "insiders" know�again, as I've been told. I myself find the photo names on pg 2 hilarious (Baldur von Schirach was the Hitler Youth Leader), as well as the pg 3 "Arrow Shaft Native Indian Foundation" reference with Isaac Hayes and Richard Roundtree (the composer and star of the black detective flick "Shaft" in the 70s). Upon closer study, many of the e-mails also have hidden/associated meanings as well. Anyway, as the Hall and Oates song says, "Some things are better left unsaid." I'm sure Don was prescient enough to point out a few clues as well �- there are tons on each page. If you have questions on any, I might be able to help. < g > Poor John: hoisted on his own petard.

While we're on that (and some of your reply thread to me): don't misunderstand my views, either-Boardman is famous for hearing but not listening. I think this President is one of the worst we've ever had, and I'm not sure what, if anything, we're gaining right now in Iraq. Having said that, I'm not sure that cutting and running, a la, 12 years of Vietnam, will do for the place. Racist as it sounds, I've yet to see a legitimate Arab government that practices "our" style of representational democracy, and I think the Arab world will forever be "developing," but never developed. Don wants to "cut and run" out of frustration, I'm sure, because he's more of the liberal Democrat than I am...yet his views and mine sometimes coincide, to both our amusement. My only pique with Boardman is that he lays a blanket, a total whitewash. On everything he disagrees with. Fake his 'zine? Sorry, 'not good enough because he hates fakes and affronts to his dignity. Six soldiers torture prisoners? The whole Army is therefore rotten....that type of illogic. I've even told John in the past that I agree on points with him, but it gets lost in the rhetoric.

((Heheheh, interesting, I think I agree with you more. I am definitely NOT a liberal Democrat, much more of a frustrated liberal Republican. You and I agree on a lot, I suspect. I definitely think we have to live with the bed we're making in the Middle East. Just 'cause it's hard doesn't excuse running away. But I do think it is funny that you get "uncomplementary copies" of Graustark. I am not so far from your views that I shouldn't be just as uncomplementary to John. Still, he did start the Diplomacy hobby and he has been doing this SOOO long that only people like me can imagine what that's like, and even I am stunned. So I forgive him a lot. And he does make me laugh, especially the tone and content of some of his wilder statements. Yes, yes, I know they're dangerous, they still make me laugh.))

** I share the frustrated Republican thing. My family were blue-collar straight-ticket Democrats for decades, as Dad was a coal miner and a union man. Back then the dems were actually decent fellow: Humphrey, Johnson, etc. The older you get, the more conservative you tend to become, but for me, when the Dems began pandering to every rainbow-coalition, union-fruitcake organization as the basis of their support, that's when I got disenchanted with them. If you count every 20th-century war before 1980, Dems were in office when they started (Wilson, FDR, Truman, JFK/LBJ, Carter in Iran). Of course, you can't BLAME these guys for bad timing, and ever SINCE Ronnie Reagan, the GOP can't show much military success (Gulf I was a "triumph without victory" and Gulf II is Quicksand, Inc). I wish there was a viable Third Party ticket, and that Teddy Roosevelt were alive to lead us, by jingo!

** The MidEast will get worse before it gets better. Imagine if the Mexicans were shooting Katyushas into Texas and Arizona every week�how long would we tolerate it before we drove on Guadalupe and Mexico City? Yet the peaceniks here decry the Israelis, who've given up land and tried a few peace offerings, and for what? I am NOT a big "pro-Israeli" kind of guy -� they're a trouble magnet, pure and simple, and I wish their nation was some island in the middle of the Pacific. Damn Brits and French created all this mess when they artificially partitioned the Ottoman Empire after WW1 and gave us this fiasco.

((Sure and shootin', and way too much shootin' about it!!! The French should do more to help clean it up.))

Having said that, Israel is fully justified in crushing whatever gets in their way if it'll mean peace in the region. Trouble is, I don't think there will ever be "peace" there. If the Israelis ever went away, then the Wahhabi Islamic sect would fight the Sunnis, who'd fight the Shiites, who'd fight the -. and on and on. Right now the world is an EXACT replay of the Temptations' 1967(?) song, "Ball of Confusion". If you haven't listened to it, play it again and see if ANYTHING's changed since then (short answer: it hasn't).

((I haven't listened to it in forever, but the words still echo in my head....))

** As for the "uncomplimentary copy" thing: I used to laugh it off, because Mr Doesn't Listen ignores my "cogent" comments and only keys on what he perceives as my bellicosity and "war-mongering." I'd send you the recent clips of his, but you'd blanch and line your hamster cage with them. That's why the fake was so good, IMO: the person took Boardmanisms from issues past, turned them on their head, and made him look foolish. As for the duration of his pubbing, Jim: yes, yes, longevity is a good thing. But I have other gamers in my Dip tourney who knew him as a young NYC gamer way back then, and found him pompous and arrogant even then. Hell, Hitler produced the VW Beetle in the 30s. Do we compliment that nutcase just because he left us a nice automotive legacy? (Ok, an extreme comparison to be sure, but I for one don't tolerate increased senility going hand-in-hand with increased pubbing longevity. Call me TomFoolish if you must, or call me petty �- just don't call me Tom Petty. I think JB has a mean streak to him at times, and he's intolerant, which, of course, makes ME seem the same for counter-ranting against him. Sigh. Better left unsaid; must keep repeating that�..

Anyway, "heavy philosophy" aside, you stick to your guns, and keep on pubbing! I don't follow soccer or baseball all that much (and issue 303 was chock full o'both, logically, given the World Cup). But I'm glad my paisani won the Cup, and there's only a few more weeks until Pittsburgh tries for Super Bowl #6. Now THAT'S worth waiting for!

((Yes, and I'm still about as little a football fan as a sports fan can be. But one of my brothers is about as huge a Steelers fan as there can be, as is my Associate Dean at Boston U., so I can't avoid Steelers mania....))

** There is a beautiful piece about the Steelers and their fans, written last year during the title run. I'm going to enclose it, below. It actually brought a knowing tear to my eye, for the fans who cheer for the black-and-gold are probably the most loyal of any diaspora who move from their original homes. I firmly believe this. My Steelers shrine at home now has a special candle lit for your brother and the Assoc Dean; stout fellows, both! You may tell them that for me.

((I will, I didn't think I could print that here, as it likely is copyrighted.))

Thanks, Boob, for the note and the 'zine copies. Keep on keepin' on.

Faz, faz of wildblue.net

((Ah, wait, I do have a letter from Don Williams, a POSTAL letter that I have to type in.... for all the rest of you, this delayed the szine a whole day to get this in, it's worth it, though. Well, I left the mushy stuff in....))

Don Williams (Call it 1900)

Dear Jim, Real quick - thanks again to you and Charlotte for a really wonderful time in Maine. Effusive I generally am not, but I must share how much I care for you both and waht tremendous friends you've been to me over these many years. I won't soon forget the Lair, Bear's Way, Emily, the Boathouse, the vicious leech attack, the wilderness, the clear water of Horne Pond, the canoe outings, Minnie, the wienie roasts, Charlotte's peach pie, Charlotte's apple pie, the waffles n' blueberries, the ham and uber-cheesy sandwiches (on oat bran bread), and the glorious, glorious heavens, abundant with stars, falling stars, constellations, and the Milky Way. Wow.... and thanks again. Please plan to come out to my home some time soon... I'd like to "try" to return the favor.

Best to you and "C", 27505 Artine Drive, Saugus, CA 91350

((Emily's the grandchild and Minnie's the cat, for the rest of it, you'll have to come visit.... and you'll never be able to show me the stars unless we go WAY out in the desert, will you? But I do appreciate the offer and will take you up on it sometime soon.))

Rick Desper (Jul 25, 2006 9:11 AM)

I posted this guessing game to the PTKS list already, so if you've seen it before, no guessing, please. I had a game at Manorcon last week where my Italy finished with 8 SCs.

The question is: which eight were they? I'll give you two hints:

1) Brian Shelden guessed 3/8

2) Forza Italia!

Rick, rick_desper of yahoo.com

((I've got some answers and my guess below, so make your guess now before reading on. Thanks..... Boston Celtics news..... Celtics were closest to getting Iverson, but Philly has decided to keep him (the Celtics really didn't have the horse that Philly wanted with enough certainty - only young guys with upside potential) and the Celtics have won the Kevin Pittsnogle "lottery" with a two year deal. While I think Pittsnogle is a project, it may allow them to trade someone else in the front line. Paul Pierce has had some minor surgery, but he should be ready for the start of the season. I'm continuing to be more and more of a Celtics fan again each season. I think the "point guards" offense will be interesting. Watch one of those lineups where they have two points, Paul Pierce at small forward, Ryan Gomes at power forward, and Al Jefferson at center. I like it....))
((OK, 8 centers, eh, I guess Spa, Por, Par, Bre, Mar, Mun, Tun, Ven))

PS: Well you're doing better than most. 6/8. (Problem is not that you omitted Rom and Nap, FWIW).

((Well, I had typed in Bel and Hol instead of Tun and Ven and then erased them thinking..... nah, he must have had SOME way to get the builds before he abandoned his home country......))

Rick Desper (7/25/06)

That would have gotten you 5/8 instead. I did manage to hold onto Tunis. Basically on the move I thought Turkey might stab me for Trieste, I blundered. I had two armies that could have defended Venice and I moved them both away, one to Vienna and the other to Munich. After that the kid playing Turkey rolled through the boot. After a year or so of trying to hold on I realized I was investing five armies to defend two SCs, and I'd have more success working with Yann (England) to take out Germany. Yann had given me Brest to keep me alive and at the end of the game he was in a bitter struggle with Richard Williams (Germany) so it was relatively easy for me to snag the German centers with English support. So the final SCs were Tun, Mar, Spa, Por, Bre, Kie, Ber, and Munich. Just like the Italian soccer team I defeated France and triumphed in Germany, but all of my people are deserting the boot! Forza Italia!

Rick, rick_desper of yahoo.com

((Ah, well, I did see that you were working with Yann (David sent the results around, I'm going to print them in TAP, so if you want to write a bit longer commentary on the Con and this game that would be fun.....). Then who sneaked in there to keep Paris?? Was that one of Richard Williams' last centers??))

PS: No, Yann had traded it with Richard before Richard eventually stabbed him. Pretty much everybody in the room kept telling Richard for years that Yann was eventually going to stab him, so he got twitchy. Yann could not defend Paris at the end of the game, so he cut my Kiel support for Munich. Basically if I wanted to keep Munich, I couldn't take Paris. And I preferred Yann keeping Paris over Tom (the young Turk) taking Munich.

((You didn't quite wipe him out even though you did take all of his home centers.))

PPS: I forget how many SCs Richard had at the end, but two of them were Warsaw and Moscow. Tom was too nice to Richard, and left him alive for too long.

((Dan Lester is playing in this new demo game that Adam Silverman is running and he is bitchin' 'cause Gihan beat him for the championship, but you and Yann (and probably Richard early) cleaned Dan Lester's clock, didn't you?? That cost him the ManorCon championship, how COULD you be so inconsiderate????))

PPPS: It wasn't that close. Gihan pretty much lapped the field. Dan thinks I attacked him in R2 because he stabbed me in R1. I don't think it was so simple as that. Part of it was because Yann was England, and I preferred working with Yann than with the people in the East. Part of it was that I tend to favor an early growth strategy for Italy in cons, and part of it was that I felt that going West would work better than going East. And sure, part of it was the feeling that no way was I going to let Dan get the better of me two games in a row. But another part of it was the feeling that I'd made a mistake in R1 letting Dan off the hook when I was A, Dan was R, and Dave Wreathall was I. We would have broken R down eventually but I ran out of patience, and Dave spooked me with an unannounced move into Tyrolia. About the con in general, it seems that the British hobby is hitting a down point. As always over here, the play level is excellent, but a lot of people are not playing any more. And it's much harder to recruit new players than it was, say, fifteen years ago because there are so many other gaming options these days. On Thursday I'm off for Vienna. Is there much more to say about Manorcon?

((How about showing the screaming masses the results??? Wow, Emeric Miszti finished FIFTH!!!))

David Norman

Here are the results of ManorCon 2006.

1 Gihan Bandaranaike 57.92 30.17 36.20 109.20

2 Dan Lester 35.49 0.30 39.54 75.18

3 Robin Walters 21.96 44.67 9.60 71.43

4 Tom Garretty 6.11 44.82 14.45 62.32

5 Emeric Miszti 14.90 29.55 22.40 59.40

6 Doug Massie 39.11 13.62 4.20 54.83

7 Yann Clouet 30.00 22.24 - 52.24

8 John Stratford 34.32 0.50 12.20 46.77

9 Dave Wreathall 9.41 37.28 - 46.69

10 Simon Hornby 20.65 23.84 - 44.49

11 Pete Wyatt 0.40 25.19 11.60 36.99

12 Rick Desper 11.96 18.73 12.20 36.91

13 Ivan Woodward 34.81 0.50 - 35.31

14 Millis Miller 0.80 0.50 21.29 22.34

15 Richard Williams 14.62 6.19 0.90 21.25

16 Emily Bache - 17.61 - 17.61

David Percik - 17.61 - 17.61

18 Geoff Kemp - 16.67 - 16.67

19 David Wigglesworth 5.75 1.00 7.03 13.28

20 John Boocock 12.54 - - 12.54

21 Richard Bolton 7.45 3.98 0.40 11.63

22 Steve Agg 0.80 10.17 0.60 11.27

23 David Buckley 7.12 - - 7.12

24 Danny Collman - 6.17 - 6.17

25 Vick Hall 5.38 0.40 - 5.78

26 Geoff Bache 4.04 - - 4.04

Chris Martin 4.04 - - 4.04

28 Andy Farnsworth 3.26 0.70 - 3.96

29 Steve Cox - 3.50 - 3.50

30 Mark Edmonds 0.40 0.70 - 1.10

31 Keith Smith 0.80 - - 0.80

David Cutcliffe - 0.80 - 0.80

33 Tony Cutcliffe 0.60 - - 0.60

34 Jeremy Tullett - 0.50 - 0.50

35 Eve Smith 0.40 - - 0.40

Board Results for round 1 ((selected results!!!))

Board 1

Austria Andy Farnsworth 1 3.26

England Keith Smith 1908 0.80

France Gihan Bandaranaike 17 57.92

Germany Steve Agg 1908 0.80

Italy Richard Bolton 4 7.45

Russia David Wigglesworth 3 5.75

Turkey Simon Hornby 9 20.65

Board 3

Austria Rick Desper 5 11.96

England Robin Walters 8 21.96

France Emeric Miszti 6 14.90

Germany Tony Cutcliffe 1906 0.60

Italy Dave Wreathall 4 9.41

Russia Dan Lester 11 35.49

Turkey Pete Wyatt 1904 0.40

Board Results for round 2

Board 2

Austria Robin Walters 14 44.67

England Gihan Bandaranaike 11 30.17

France Danny Collman 3 6.17

Germany David Cutcliffe 1908 0.80

Italy Steve Agg 5 10.17

Russia Steve Cox 1 3.50

Turkey Ivan Woodward 1905 0.50

((THIS is the game Rick was talking about!!!))

Board 3

Austria Jeremy Tullett 1905 0.50

England Yann Clouet 9 22.24

France Dan Lester 1903 0.30

Germany Richard Williams 3 6.19

Italy Rick Desper 8 18.73

Russia Mark Edmonds 1907 0.70

Turkey Tom Garretty 14 44.82

Board Results for round 3

Board 2

Austria Richard Williams 1909 0.90

England Doug Massie 1 4.20

France John Stratford 5 12.20

Germany Gihan Bandaranaike 11 36.20

Italy Emeric Miszti 8 22.40

Russia Robin Walters 4 9.60

Turkey Rick Desper 5 12.20

Best Countries: Best Austria 14 centres Robin Walters; Best England 10 centres Gihan Bandaranaike; Best France 17 centres Gihan Bandaranaike; Best Germany 13 centres Doug Massie; Best Italy 12 centres Dan Lester; Best Russia 12 centres Dave Wreathall; Best Turkey 14 centres Tom Garretty.

Most French Player (Who's not actually French) - Dan Lester - His conquering of Spain and Portugal and then his early victory celebrations led to the same result in 1903 as the French National Soccer Team - five spots later his country has been defeated by Italians.

Most American Player (Who's not actually American) - Emeric Miszti - For repeatedly attacking countries with no good reason. ((But unlike usual, Emeric actually survived and profited!!! Emeric tends to follow the Larry Peery school of playing Diplomacy.))

TD's Award (For an outstanding debut) - Tom Garretty (Age 16) - (Including topping a board containing one ex-world champion and four other previous tournament winners)

David, david of ellought.demon.co.uk

Doug Beyerlein (Tue, 1 Aug 2006 14:43:52 -0700)

Jim,

What are all of these emails trying to cast doubt on my photo of Eric Ozog? Obviously that is Eric. The fact that people don't recognize him only shows that the real Eric Ozog has been replaced by a duplicate, and not a very good one at that. These emails from people like Mark Berch (if it really is Mark Berch) only serves to demonstrate the length that these people will go to hide the truth.

((Ah, of course, and I have only met the DUPLICATE ERIC!!!))

For the record, I met Eric and Cathy before they were married and have played Diplomacy at their Forest Service residence in Verlot. It has been years since I have seen Eric so it doesn't surprise me that a duplicate has taken over Eric's identity. It probably explains why I was never invited back as I would have immediately recognized the imposter.

((Wait, but I also met Eric before he was married to Cathy, and he DIDN'T look like that, you're trying to fool us!!!))

It is my theory that the real Eric Ozog was abducted by the U.S. Forest Service as part of their program to replace pro-environment employees with clear cut clones. CCCs have been instrumental in destroying the forests east of Granite Falls. Fortunately the CCCs are not of the highest quality and some forest still remains. But until the real Eric Ozog returns to stop the massive waste and destruction by the USFS we are all at risk. Therefore, I hope that you will join me in the search for the real Eric Ozog. Go to FindtheRealEricOzog.org for more details.

Doug Beyerlein, beyerlein of clearcreeksolutions.com

((No, I must be wrong, this has the ring of truth, after all it refers to a web site for details.))

MUSIC AND MOVIES SECTION (WITH COMMENTS ON OTHER ARTS AND SOCIETY)

I want to pick up the music commentary again and run a "23 tunes" contest here (stolen blatantly from Mark Wightman and the late lamented The Sprouts of Wrath. You send me 23 tunes and five or six lines of commentary on each. I print them with comments from me 2-3 at a time and then YOU have to guess who submitted each set of tunes for that issue. I give "bonus points" for quality and subtract points for really lame selections. Mark, forget how the scoring goes, one point for each person you guess right each issue, correct? To enter, you can send them 2-3 at a time, or you can send me the whole list of 23 tunes. But I think we should be able to get at least ten people playing. I have an advance commitment from Brad Wilson to be in, so this should be FUN. When we're done, whoever wins I'll try to figure out how to make a CD of tunes from the list for them. If anyone would like to send me a tape or CD of their 23 (which was the original point) that would be great, but I don't intend to require that. I will be playing in the sense that I'll be putting 23 tunes in, and you have to guess me, but I obviously won't score points. I'll start things up in a couple of issues once I have enough entrants.

Doug Kent (Tue, 1 Aug 2006 07:45:02 -0700 (PDT))

Think anyone has an interest in my 5 or 6 copy-boxes full of old zines?

((I don't know, let's ask.... it seems to me that these offers have not resulted in huge outpourings of interest, but you never know.))

The Rangers suck, doing their August fade as always. I can't really complain about the moves they made before the deadline, whether or not they get Carlos Lee to resign. Coco Cordero was not going to be picked up for next year at the cost of his contract, Nix is done, and Mench was an average player who hasn't done anything offensively except for that 7-day span where he hit 7 home runs. I just wish we had tried to shift into SELL mode to unload somebody like Padilla who leaves at the end of the year...the more prospects we could pick up the better.

Doug, dougray30 of yahoo.com

((It indeed does look like the Rangers are doomed to third place at this point. My Red Sox also are struggling, so are my Giants..... but they WILL come back!!!))

John Biehl (Wed, 2 Aug 2006 10:43:42 -0700)

Jim, My parting opinions on the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Although there was exciting `football' played, this World Cup got close to having the fewest goals scored (the perennial knock on the game-not enough goals). Football purists would, of course, retort this is the way it's supposed to be. So no surprise then that the eventual winner, Italy, had the #1 ranked goalie and probably the #1 defence, as well. They did get the breaks and played well as a team. My main complaint on the Italian win is now the rest of the world has to listen to Italian bragging for the next four years. I agree with those TAP readers who say yellow cards should be handed out more readily on dives. Also, FIFA must do away with the shoot out for determining wins. What a crock! I say `play on' till a real goal is scored because one eventually will be. The argument that the players will tire is nonsense - this affects each team equally. Perhaps additional substitutions into extra time could be considered. In conclusion, I found there were four controversial games that affected this World Cup. Three of them were shoot outs and the other was decided on a penalty kick. The penalty kick game was the Italian win over Australia (a blatantly bad call by the referee - the Aussies got jobbed on that one and wouldn't it have been interesting if the Aussies had won, eh?). That call (other than the idiot Referee in the Eng/Por game) was probably the worst of the tournament. The three games decided by the shoot out were all important games - they were two Quarterfinals, Arg vs Ger, Eng vs Por and the Final itself, Fra vs Ita (I do not include the penalty kick win of Fra over Por since the call was legit - more legit anyway than the call on the Aussies). Looking at these shoot outs one sees six of the football powers matched up and pretty much even in talent, heart, etc. Personally, I was glad to see Brazil exit early (eat some humble pie Brazil - tho I do like their attacking style of play), as like Italy, those two groups of fans think they are better footballers than anyone else. If this was the case they'd win all the time, which (haha Italy & Brazil) they don't. So, in my opinion, this `artificial' way to end the game via a shoot out is a travesty to the way the game is actually played. Play on till the winner is scored! For this reason alone, the 2006 World Cup failed to deliver real football results.

John, jrb of dccnet.com

Warren Goesle (Sun, 23 Jul 2006 00:07:38 -0500)

So it appears that the Tour de France will be won by an American named "Floyd". Does he have Goober, Barney and Howard Sprague for teammates? And how much does this piss off the French? ((Well, as we now know apparently it did piss off the French and this has been rescinded. And since Floyd speaks no French, at least Lance could speak French. The French are not pleased that they can't mount a French challenger. It has been unpredictable, perhaps this last day will yet have some drama, even though it usually is all ceremonial.))

I have determined that the Cubs need to replace their owner, general manager, manager (probably), groundskeeper and trainer, get 2 starters, 1 middle reliever, 2 outfielders and 2 or 3 clutch hitters, and then I'll have a team to root for. I'm thinking that this shouldn't take longer than 98 years to accomplish. Bring on football. At least my NASCAR fantasy team is doing well (16th out of 516).

Goz, wgoesle of comcast.net

((Hey, Goz, there is always hope, 98 years is a long time, you don't sound much like a Cubs fan, for whom the fun is in the despair.... What be football and NASCAR??? ;-) It does look like Baseball (sans Cubs) is scoping out some exciting races (and will make for low trade deadline action). The White Sox are coming back to the pack and the Tigers continue to be for real. So the two Sox teams, the Twins, the Yankees and the Blue Jays are five teams fighting for two playoff spots. I think that will continue for the rest of the season, with the two Sox teams the favorites and the only potential to accelerate to safer climes. Plus all four West teams are in the hunt. The NL is similar, except the Mets are the team "for real". Then you have a host of East/Central teams fighting for two spots and the West is a race. My Giants are in first place. And yes, the Shea Hey Kid is a bit of a jerk, but at least he's now in Willie Mays' ballpark with Barry Bonds. Yes, Shea Hillenbrand will surely reclaim his Shea Hey Kid nickname he had with the Red Sox now.))

Rick Desper (Sun, 23 Jul 2006 16:14:48 -0700 (PDT))

This totally snuck up on me. I was at Manorcon this past weekend, will be in Vienna next weekend for the Austrian con, and then to Berlin for WDC. The Cubs had two very promising young starters, before Dusty drove them into the ground.

Jim-Bob, Football is a game that people play over here with eleven players per side, a "pitch" with a goal at each end, and an inflated sphere that everybody kicks around trying to get it into the goal. Everybody runs around for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win. (Though this year the Italians managed to break that rule.)

NASCAR is one of these bizarre competitive automobile driving organizations that never requires its drivers to turn their cars to the right. "Links fahren" is how the Germans describe it. For me it's F1 or nothing (but mostly it's nothing).

The other teams need to hope that the Twins don't make the playoffs. Santana plus Liriano is pretty scary. I'm not scared by the erratic Blue Jays, who seem to need a lot more pitching. The Yankees have the same problem, but worse. I'd lean to thinking it will be the two Sox teams. But none of the AL West teams is particularly good.

The Mets are for real. To tempt fate, I have officially announced that the Braves cannot possibly make the playoffs. (This is much stronger than my feelings about the Yankees). St. Louis is also for real. The rest of the NL is pathetic. There are 10 NL teams below .500. The AL has been crushing them in Interleague competition.

Rick, rick_desper of yahoo.com

Dave Partridge (July 24, 2006, I think....)

Hey, winning the World Series every 98 years is an accomplishment to be proud of. We know! I flipped through channels this weekend and there was the end of some NASCAR race. They had just set records for the most cautions (19 I think) and the most laps under caution (over 100 in a 250 lap race). Seems to me that they're trying to learn from futbol's world wide popularity. Long periods of nothing happening interspersed with short periods of action. Of course NASCAR's action involves car wrecks and futbol only has shots on goal. You know, I bet the Chiropracters of America would sponser fan seating right in the middle of the track....

Dave, rebhuhn of rocketmail.com

((I may have to reconsider my sports allegiances. IS the point to have long periods of nothing with short periods of action??? If so, what sports accomplish this? Surely, baseball has been accused of this. And so has the "other kind of football". It seems that hockey, with the new rule changes increasing the action and moving away from the soccer-like neutral zone trap is moving in the "right way", but only basketball accomplishes this goal..... yet, people complain about it too..... am I missing some "perfect sport" that I should pledge allegiance to???))

Warren Goesle (Tue, 25 Jul 2006 07:37:56 -0500)

To take these recent points as best as I can...

Jim-Bob raises a good point (boy, I've never typed THAT before!). What do we want out of sports viewing? Or maybe what do we want out of our sports? If we're looking for continuous excitement with no letup we'll look a long time, unless we're watching bullfighting or SportsCenter. If we're looking for scoring chances at every turn, then there's more choices. As Jim-Bob points out we have both hockey (the NEW NHL) and basketball on any level, plus a few others. I would submit Arena Football for nomination into that club, as the game I saw several years ago was 66-63, a total of points not always matched in that arena by the NBA games played there, and they could and would score from everywhere on the field. Hockey scores less, but there are a fair amount of chances, and a lot of action now that it no longer looks like...er...the NBA.

I was going to submit for the masses an event that's hard to put into a sound bite, so let me just say that the longest I was ever on my feet continuously giong crazy at a sporting event was the first 3 minutes of a sprint car race held on a 3/8 mile dirt track (note: make sure you're sitting upwind if you go) where the first 4 drivers swapped the lead every lap. Unfortunately, at about lap 10 the leader caught the back of the pack and disappeared, so the last 30 laps was kinda dull.

But where do you sustain that emotion and sports viewing "high" for that long, or longer? And is that really what you want? Note that I have no answer for that last one. Is there a sociologist in the house?

The NASCAR race that Dave alludes to was held this past Saturday at Martinsville, and was NASCAR's AAA (Busch series) league's weekly event (note: what other sports get their top minor league televised live every week?), this week held at a track that's too small to hold all 43 cars on it (if you spaced them out evenly, there would only be 40 feet in between each car, so my old Driver's Ed instructor would say that they shouldn't go more than 20mph there). In contrast, the main event for the weekend was held at a 2.5 mile track (Pocono), where there's plenty of room unless you're Tony Stewart (or getting passed by him). Which one makes better viewing? Again, I don't have an answer to that.

As for comparing NASCAR and F1, having worked with a chap who was born & raised in England and a die-hard F1 fan, my determination is, in his words, "it's what you were brought up on". I can see the positives for both, and I can see the attractions for both. I would love a return to the glory days of F1 where you could actually overtake another driver if you had a better car, but that would require a lot of rule changes that would take the technology out of F1, which is it's whole reason for being. NASCAR "dumbs down" the car so that you can have the picture that I showed my F1 friend once, where 2 cars were side-by-side for the win with a lap to go, and neither driver was in the top 20 in points. "It's what you were brought up on". Now that I think on it, we had the same discussions/conclusions on football/futbol.

I need to correct Jim-Bob on another point (ah, we're back to normal), in that the fun for a Cubs' fan is NOT "in the despair", but in the hope. This differs from Red Sox Nation, who appear to believe either that they're entitled to win every year or believe that they HAVE won every year, final standings notwithstanding. Cubs fans will sit in the bleachers in April with a sign saying "Wait 'Til Next Year" and mean it. It doesn't mean they're despondent, it means that better times are just around the corner. (Again: is there a sociologist in the house?) Early this year (I think it was the second weekend) the Cubs went into St. Louis and took all 3 from the Cards. I opined to a die-hard that that would, unfortunately, be in the top 5 of highlights for the Cubs this year (and he agreed). 100 games in I'm starting to wonder if it won't be #1 (Barrett punching Pierzynski isn't close, despite what many think). It doesn't mean I'm going to stop drinking the Kool-Aid, it just means I have a more realistic assessment of my team's chances this year than RSN usually has.

Gotta go. In case you hadn't heard I've been laid off, and so I'm chasing new employment (2 interviews coming up in the next week), which is taking WAY too much time away from my sports.

Goz, wgoesle of comcast.net

Brendan Whyte (Thu, 03 Aug 2006 16:16:00)

Zine arrived 3 days ago. Re your comments on gerrymander.

It's quite easy to eliminate. You simply have a rule that no electorate can have a perimeter:area ratio of more than X. Then you argue over the value of X. The main issue then becomes what to do about islands off the coast, and the simplest answer is to use standard baselines then.

Another option is to use the boundaries of subdivisions that already exist: counties. Just divide the state into X number of electorates by grouping the counties.

((You're presuming that someone actually sincerely wants to solve the problem. A major part of it is that no one really does.))

This raises a problem of equal populations: do the electorates have to have equal populations? Most countries allow a variation of maybe 5 or 10%. In Queensland rural electorates are allowed significantly smaller populations than urban ones simply because the rural ones are so big, that it would otherwise no give them any true LOCAL representation. It also makes it easier for the member to get around his electorate if it isn't too massive. And so access to one's member is played off against a smaller electoral population. Compare an inner city electorate where all the population is within walking distance of their member's office, to a massive rural electorate where the office may be several hours away by plane, assuming you can fly direct! To claim that all electorate MUST have the same population to make voting fair, is to overlook significant differences in physical geography, infrastructure etc that limit access within electorates, and so act as a proxy discrimination.

Of course the best solution is to remove electorates entirely and have members at large. Australia does this for the Senate: each state supplies X number of senators as a whole. all senators represent the whole state. Easy, and fairer proportionally too.

Finally one other option is to get rid of your upper house altogether. New Zealand did it. Queensland did it. Is a bicameral legislature actually necessary?

[But don't use the word bicameral too freely: I tried to use it in a game of hangman with an ex-girlfriend and she considered it cheating to use such weird words, and never played with me again! ]

Brendan, bwhyte of mscc.huji.ac.il

((But I LIKE the word bicameral, so I intend to keep using it!!! I've been promising to reprint the Spy Diplomacy rules for ages, at risk of actually getting enough people to start a game, here they are..... this is MY variant, guys....))

SPY DIPLOMACY (Variant, revised Dec. 1986)

by Jim Burgess

Rules:

1) Unless otherwise specified, the standard rules of Diplomacy apply.

2) Players receive adjudications for their own armies and fleets, but not the armies and fleets of other powers. Similarly, each player sees only his or her own section of the supply center chart.

3) In addition to the standard units, an unit called a ßpy" is added.

A) Each of the seven powers begins with a spy in each home supply center.

B) Spies are supplied only by home supply centers (i.e. Russia may have as many as four spies at a time while other powers are limited to a maximum of three).

C) Spies are "built" and "disbanded" in Winter seasons at the same time as other units.

D) There is no limit to the number of spies that may be present in any province and spies may be "stacked" with armies or fleets (exceptions are listed in Rule 6).

4) Spy Reports

A) Spies report the location and nationality of armies and fleets in the province they occupy and all adjacent provinces immediately following the standard Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall seasons (i.e. just prior to the spy movement seasons). Spies can differentiate between units in retreat and successful attackers when two units öccupy" a province.

B) Spies also report the nationality of spies in the province they occupy and the presence (but not nationality) of spies in adjacent provinces at the same time.

5) Movement of Spies

A) Spy movement follows the collection of spy reports, so orders to spies may be made conditional on any information gathered by spies on opposing troop movements or the adjudication of one's own units.

B) Spies move after each of the following standard seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall (note that all spy movements PRECEDE Autumn retreats), beginning with Winter 1900.

C) Spies move as armies do with the following exceptions:

a) Spy movements cannot be stood off by movements of any other unit.

b) Spies may be convoyed by fleets of any power during any of the four movement seasons for spies. The convoy orders for fleets in these seasons must be ordered by their owner in the usual fashion or else the spy convoy movement fails of execution. Fleet convoy orders for spies may be made in addition to regular Spring and Fall moves (note, however, that the fleets themselves never move during spy movement seasons).

c) Spies may also be "picked up" and carried by fleets of any power. Embarkation and debarkation are moves that must be made during a spy movement season and "permission to board" is not required. Embarkation consists of a movement from a land province to an adjacent sea province containing a fleet. Debarkation consists of a movement from a sea province containing a fleet to an adjacent land province. A spy may not ßwitch fleets in midstream". Once boarded, a spy may only get off by debarking. After boarding a fleet, the spy moves with the fleet during regular movement. A spy may not debark from a fleet awaiting retreat (e.g. if a fleet carrying a spy is dislodged in Spring, the spy may not debark until the spy movement season following the standard Summer retreat season).

6) Spy Mortality

A) This rule will outline the circumstances under which spies may be captured or killed. Spies may be disbanded in Winter seasons at the same time as other units to meet the requirement that a power may not have more spies than the number of currently held home supply centers and spies are annihilated when they are on board a fleet that retreats off the board. Otherwise, spies may only be removed from the board (there is no difference in the game between capturing and killing a spy, but players should feel free to delineate between the two states in writing press) immediately following the four spy movement seasons.

B) Spies killed or captured in a given season do not submit written spy reports for that season, though their final movement may have been made conditional on that spy report. Players may never know for sure how a spy was lost, just as in real life.

C) Spies are "killed" by being assassinated by other spies. When a spy moves, he or she may attempt an assassination, specifying the nationality of spies to be executed if discovered. Each spy may hunt for only one nationality in each of the four seasons. The following rules and examples will govern the adjudication of assassinations:

a) A spy may attempt an assassination without moving (for instance if the target is in the same province). In this case, any spies of the target nationality that end the spy movement phase in that province are assassinated with one exception. If the spy attempting the stationary assassination is himself or herself assassinated by a moving assassin then that spy assassinates no one in that season (not even a potential target other than the one that assassinates that spy).

b) A spy attempting a moving assassination (may include a move of embarkation or debarkation from a fleet) is always successful in assassinating spies of the target nationality that finish the spy movement phase in the province that the spy moves to. This makes "mutual assassinations" possible.

c) Example: French spy is on board a French fleet in the Channel. An English spy is in London. Both powers specify assassination attempts against the spies of the other. If the English spy embarks on the French fleet in the channel (remember that embarkation does not require the permission of the fleet being boarded) and the French spy doesn't move, the French spy is killed, but the English spy isn't (he may be immediateIy captured, however, see part D). If a German spy is also on board and the French spy tried to assassinate the German spy, that operation would fail as well. If the French spy debarks to London at the same time, the two spies "pass in the night" and neither is killed.

D) Spies are "captured" by opposing armies and fleets. Players may attempt to capture spies, specifying the nationality of spies to be captured if discovered. Each army and fleet on the board may search for spies of one nationality in each of the four seasons. The following rules and examples will govern the adjudication of attempts to capture spies:

a) Players may specify a nationality to be hunted separately for each unit or they may issue blanket searches to be applied to all units.

b) At the end of the spy movement phase, any spies of the nationality specified in the same province are captured (for example, if the French player specifies a hunt for English spies on their Channel fleet in the above example, then the English spy is captured).

c) Players are informed when they successfully capture an opposing spy. Note that the öwner" of the spy, however, is not informed of the capture. Communication just is cut. This rule is the only exception to the generaI rule that armies and fleets are blind. It is possible to play the game without allowing capture of spies by armies and fleets if one wishes to allow freer movement of spies (i.e. RuIe D may be ignored).

7) It is suggested that the game be adjudicated in four separate seasons in the following order:

A) Spring: (for Spring 1901 this sequence is preceded by a spy movement phase (no spy reports are necessary) followed by assassinations or captures)

a) Standard movement by fleets and armies, adjudication reported only for one's own units

b) Spy report phase, spies collect information

c) Spy movement phase, spies move according to Rule 4

d) Spy assassination and capture phase

B) Summer:

a) Standard retreats by fleets and armies, adjudication reported only for one's own units

b) Spy report phase, spies collect information

c) Spy movement phase, spies move according to Rule 4

d) Spy assassination and capture phase

C) Fall:

a) Standard movement by fleets and armies, adjudication reported only for one's own units

b) Spy report phase, spies collect information

c) Spy movement phase, spies move according to Rule 4

d) Spy assassination and capture phase

D) Winter:

a) Standard Autumn retreats by fleets and armies, adjudication reported only for one's own units

b) Standard Winter builds and removals, also applies to spies

c) Spy report phase, spies collect information

d) Spy movement phase, spies move according to Rule 4

e) Spy assassination and capture phase

These rules have been produced by Jim Burgess (with helpful comments from Bernie Oaklyn and Dick Martin). Permission is granted to reproduce and use these rules without restrictions. The author would be interested to hear any comments and criticisms regarding any aspect of the play of this variant. The rules have been deposited with the North American Variant Bank. They are also available from the author for the cost of postage or free by E-Mail.

THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE GAMES SECTION

"So I called up George and he called up Jim, I said let's make a deal.

He said he'd talk to him. Gonna start a church where you can save yourself,

You can make some noise, When you've got no choice...

You told me useful things, what people think of me, I guess I should thank you.

It's true, then I agree... I'm all alone, I've got no choice,

I'm all alone, I've got no choice."

From "Got No Choice" by the incomparable Mark Cutler, from the CD Mark Cutler and Useful Things.

If you want to submit orders, press, or letters by E-Mail, you can find me through the Internet system at "burgess of world.std.com". If anyone has an interest in having an E-Mail address listed so people can negotiate with you by computer, just let me know. FAX orders to (401) 277-9904 if you let me know in advance to be sure the fax machine is set up.

I am continuing to note cut or failed support orders with a small "s" instead of a capital "S". This will make it easier on the E-Mailed version of the szine to see what happened, since the italics don't show there. The italics DO show on the web page just fine.

Standby lists:

Mike Barno, Dick Martin, Brad Wilson, Jack McHugh, Glenn Petroski, Steve Emmert, Mark Kinney, Vince Lutterbie, Eric Brosius, Paul Rauterberg, Bob Osuch, Doug Kent, Sean O'Donnell, Vern Parker, Heath Gardner, Paul Kenny, and Jeff O'Donnell stand by for regular Diplomacy.

Let me know if you want on or off these lists, especially OFF. Standbies get the szine for free and receive my personal thanks.

GAME OPENING INFORMATION

We've got lots of openings in the subszines, check them out!!! Especially, contact Rip Gooch for Railway Rivals, see Rip's subszine elsewhere in most issues of TAP. Contact Rip Gooch directly at xyropedes of canada.com and try to entice him to return. Rip has been a bit missing in action lately, but I am assured that he SHALL return.

I'm ready to start a new Breaking Away game, who's interested??? Challenge David Partridge again as he is in, so are Brendan Whyte and Alexander Woo. I also am giving a free spot to Eric Martin. Anyone else? Rick Desper is in too. That leaves us looking for ONE more spot, can I convince someone to take that now??? Please, please, I'd like to get toward starting that next issue!!!

I am willing to open another new game of REGULAR Diplomacy if there is enough interest!!! I have seven I'm putting in this game, and I think there was even more interest for another game (starting with Sean O'Donnell - Sean and Jeff both wanted into this game, but I decided to put Jeff in since Jeff gave me a preference list first. We have Marc Ellinger (pd), Drew James (pd),Don Williams (pd), John Crow, Fred Wiedemeyer, David Burgess, and Jeff O'Donnell. For truth in advertising, David is my brother, but I will be scrupulously fair in GMing things and if in doubt, will call on an ombudsman... or just rule against Dave.... that's fair, right??? ;-) This game starts below in THIS issue.

Also, is there any interest in another game of Nuclear Yuppie Evil Empire 7x7 Dip? I know it may be getting tired, but I really like it. We have Karl Schmit and Sean O'Donnell on the list, let's get seven!! It's FREE!!!

I also am starting a game of the variant I designed, Spy Diplomacy. Signups for that are now open. Bruce Edwards and Eric Ozog are signed up. The rules are published in THIS VERY ISSUE!!!

John Harrington is offering to guest GM a game of Office Politics. Any interest in that?? Let me or John know! Jody McCullough and Bruce Edwards are interested, anyone else?

And since Colonia is over, Harold Reynolds is looking to start something else.

Also, I am going to design some postal rules for Devil Take the Hindmost, and we have an opening here: Bruce Edwards, Mike Barno, and Eoghan Barry are signed up. Postal rules from me will be forthcoming shortly, on my never ending to-do list. I will get them in SOON! I'm more likely to get these things started if I see some interest..... I've GOT to do this now, Eoghan is getting tired of waiting....

Right now, the other thing going is the Modern Diplomacy game with Wings. Sean O'Donnell, Jeff O'Donnell, Steve Koehler, Art Schleinkofer, Bob Holt, Rick Desper, Alexander Woo, and Dave Partridge are signed up for that. I will start it when I get a full complement of players, we only need TWO more!

TAKING OVER ISHKIBIBBLE'S REGULAR DIPLOMACY GAMES ((NOT))

Last chance is gone here, these games never really got going all that far in the first place. And I really couldn't get back more than one player in each game and it seemed silly to get that many standbys. Any of you old Ishkibibbleites want to play in a new game start?? Or should I just drop the free subs I've been giving you all?? Your choice. Anyone who was a subber to Ishkibibble may join any new game for free, but this is a ONE TIME only offer, get your request in now. Marc Ellinger and Fred Wiedemeyer already have taken us up on this request. Come on, let me call by name who qualifies for this deal..... Karl Schmit, John Power, Tim Snyder, Dave Partridge, Graham Wilson, and Kevin Wilson. I especially would like to fill the Modern Diplomacy game that Dave Partridge already is in.

THE PHIL REYNOLDS MEMORIAL: 2006??, Regular Diplomacy

THE DUE DATE FOR SPRING 1901 IS SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2006

Winter 1900

AUSTRIA (Burgess): has a BUD, a VIE, f TRI,

ENGLAND (James): has a LVP, f LON, f EDI.

FRANCE (Williams): has f BRE, a PAR, a MAR.

GERMANY (Ellinger): has a MUN, f KIE, a BER.

ITALY (Crow): has a VEN, a ROM, f NAP.

RUSSIA (O'Donnell): has a WAR, f SEV, a MOS, f STP(SC).

TURKEY (Wiedemeyer): has f ANK, a CON, a SMY.

Addresses of the Participants

AUSTRIA: David Burgess, 101 Laurel Lane, Queensbury, NY 12804

(518) 761-6687, dburgess of glensfallshospital.org

ENGLAND: Drew James, 3644 Whispering Woods Terrace, Baldwinsville, NY 13027

kjames01 of twcny.rr.com

FRANCE: Don Williams, 27505 Artine Drive, Saugus, CA 91350, (661) 297-3947,

wllmsfmly of earthlink.net or dwilliams of fontana.org ($5)

GERMANY: Marc Ellinger, 751 Turnberry Drive, Jefferson City, MO 65109

ellingermc of aol.com

ITALY: John Crow, 824 Kinwest Parkway #101, Irving, TX 75063

RUSSIA: Jeff O'Donnell, 402 Middle Ave., Elyria, OH 44035-5728,

(440) 322-2920 or (440) 225-9203 (cell, as late as midnight Eastern)

TURKEY: Fred Wiedemeyer, Box 92010-Meadowbrook RPO, Edmonton, ALBERTA

CANADA T6T 1N1, (780) 465-6432, wiedem of planet.eon.net

Game Notes:

1) Welcome to our newest regular Dip game. David is my brother, but I've decided to let him play here after debating it back and forth for awhile. You can see how unbiased I can be to start as he ended up with Austria in the Random Draw, and there he stays. John Crow and Drew James are returning after relatively long absences from the Dip Scene, welcome back!!! Jeff, Don, and Fred have been in lots of games here recently. And Marc is a recipient of one of the Phil Reynolds memorial slots. I thought it would be a good tribute to name this the Phil Reynolds Memorial.

2) Mr. Howell, may we please have a 2006 Boardman Number? Thank you.

3) John Crow and Jeff O'Donnell are NOT on-line, I don't believe. But both enjoy getting cell phone calls about the game, I believe. Otherwise, you'll have to work out your own ways of communicating. Can I fill in missing contact information, please???

Press:

(JEFF O'DONNELL to JIM AND EVERYONE ELSE): Anyone who wants to contact me by going on-line and contacting my nephew Sean O'Donnell may do so. I will get the message.

SPIRALS OF PARANOIA: 2005A, Regular Diplomacy

THE DUE DATE FOR SUMMER 1904 IS AUGUST 26TH, 2006

THE DUE DATE FOR FALL 1904 IS SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2006

Spring 1904

AUSTRIA (Rauterberg): a BUD S a rum-gal, a VIE S a tri-tyo, a SER-rum, a rum-GAL, a bul s a ser-rum (d r:gre,otb),

a TRI-tyo, f gre-ION.

ENGLAND (Wiedemeyer): f lvp-NAT, a WAL-bre, f ENG C a wal-bre, f NWG S f lvp-nat.

FRANCE (Tretick): f MID-bre, f nat S a cly-lvp (d r:cly,otb), a cly-LVP, f IRI-wal.

GERMANY (Ozog for Tallman): a MUN S a tyo, a kie-HOL, a sil-BOH, a TYO s a mar-pie,

f swe-NWY, a MAR-pie, a PIC-bre, f den-NTH.

ITALY (O'Donnell): f TUS S a ven-pie, a ven-PIE, a apu-VEN, f ion-ADR.

RUSSIA (Sundstrom): a gal s a sev-rum (d r:sil,ukr,otb), a SEV-rum,

a ukr-WAR, a stp-LVN.

TURKEY (Biehl): f AEG S f con-bul(sc), f con-BUL(SC), f SMY S f aeg.

Addresses of the Participants

AUSTRIA: Paul Rauterberg, 3116 W. American Dr., Greenfield, WI 53221,

(414) 281-2339 (E-Mail) trauterberg of wi.rr.com

ENGLAND: Fred Wiedemeyer, Box 92010-Meadowbrook RPO, Edmonton, ALBERTA CANADA T6T 1N1,

(780) 465-6432, wiedem of planet.eon.net

FRANCE: Buddy Tretick, 5023 Sewell's Pointe Way, Fredericksburg, VA 22407, (540) 898-3386

cell (540) 226-5571 (E-Mail) berniebuddy32 of aol.com

GERMANY: Terry Tallman, PO Box 782, Clinton, WA 98236, (360) 331-5698 ($2)

terryt of whidbey.net

GERMANY: Temporary Standby is Eric Ozog, PO Box 1138, Granite Falls, WA 98252-1138,

(360) 691-4264, ElfEric of Juno.com

ITALY: Jeff O'Donnell, 402 Middle Ave., Elyria, OH 44035-5728,

(440) 322-2920 or (440) 225-9203 (cell, as late as midnight Eastern)

RUSSIA: Matt Sundstrom, 1760 Robincrest Lane South, Glenview, IL 60025, (847) 729-1882,

Matt.Sundstrom of bbdoch.com or mattandzoe of earthlink.net

TURKEY: John Biehl, #8 - 11530 84th Avenue, Delta, BRITISH COLUMBIA, V4C 2M1 CANADA,

(604) 816-0460 (cell) ($7); jrb of dccnet.com

Game Notes:

1) Terry is still having some medical problems, Eric Ozog is continuing to negotiate and submit orders for Terry. Eric originally brought Terry into the Diplomacy hobby all those many years ago, and so I'm glad he's agreed to do this.

Press:

(WORLD to JOHN BIEHL): What is your phone number???? ((See above. He must have heard you....))

(TREK PRESS): 7 of 9 Log; Captain Pike has been removed, I am now in command. This will be a challenge as I am new to this alternative reality. ((The first set of orders isn't half bad....))

I just received a message from the Klingons. This is unusual because there are no Klingons in this universe. The Nosican Commander sent Commander Worf a compic meant for me, except that he sent it to the wrong universe. (I wonder if I can blame "Q"??? Assuming he's not dead!.... ((I ain't dead yet....)) Worf was nice enough to send the message back to me through one of my Borg sensors. I really appreciate Mr. Worf's effort, especially when you consider the Klingons got wiped out in my last reality as a direct result of his alliance to the Federation. Note to Nosican Commander: this is the Federation, not the Klingon Empire.

P.S. Later that day. I have received a direct communique from the Nosicans. The problem is we have been unable to figure out how to communicate directly within the Nosican communications net. Lt. Uhura has not figured out how to get through. I can only hope they contact us again.

(BERLIN - > MOSCOW): We need to work on those communication skills!

(MOS-BUD): I figured I was down to four and was being attacked, so "playing defense" seemed appropriate.

(BUDAPEST to MUNICH): You know, we would have given Rum back to Russia without a shot fired if you hadn't ordered him to take it. Your move to Tyr last Spring may have changed the whole dynamic of this game.

(MATT'S MUSHROOM WORKS): I'm not sure who to trust, so I'll just blame the mushrooms. Maybe we all should.

(CONSTANTINOPLE (APR 1, 1904)): Sultan Hatas I reclined on his divan and partook of his hookah. He spoke to his Vizier, "Divine providence has surrounded us with enemies of a nefarious nature. A curse on them all. May Allah protect us and we, ourselves, since we are alone in a sea of infidels."

(JEFF O'DONNELL to JIM AND EVERYONE ELSE): Anyone who wants to contact me by going on-line and contacting my nephew Sean O'Donnell may do so. I will get the message.

FLIP FLOP: 2003G, Regular Diplomacy

THE DUE DATE FOR WINTER 1907 IS AUGUST 26TH, 2006

THE DUE DATE FOR SPRING 1908 IS SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2006

Fall 1907

AUSTRIA (Wiedemeyer): f ADR-alb, a BUD-ser, a rum-sev (d r:gal,otb), a NAP-apu,

a rom-apu (d r:ven,otb), a UKR S a rum-sev, a MOS S GERMAN a lvn-stp, a TRI s a bud-ser.

ENGLAND (Schmit): a bel-BUR, a HOL S a ruh-kie, f ENG S f nth, f POR-spa(sc), a RUH-kie,

f pic-BEL, f NWG S a stp-nwy, f NTH S a stp-nwy, a stp-NWY.

FRANCE (Jeff O'Donnell): a BRE S a gas, f SPA(SC)-por, a GAS S a bre.

GERMANY (Sundstrom): f HEL-den, f SWE S f nwy, a DEN-kie, a lvn-STP,

a MUN S a den-kie, f nwy s a lvn-stp (d r:bar,ska,otb).

TURKEY (Levinson): a BUL S a sev-rum, f ION-nap, f tus-ROM, a ALB-tri,

f TYH S f tus-rom, f BLA S a sev-rum, a sev-RUM, a SER s a alb-tri.

Supply Center Chart

AUSTRIA (Wiedemeyer):

TRI,VIE,BUD,ven,nap,mos

(has 6 or 7 or 8, even(2 r:otb) or

rem 1(1 r:otb) or 2)

ENGLAND (Schmit):

EDI,LVP,LON,nwy,bel,hol,por

(has 9, rem 2)

FRANCE (Jeff O'Donnell):

PAR,MAR,spa,bre

(has 3, bld 1)

GERMANY (Sundstrom):

KIE,BER,MUN,den,swe,war,stp

(has 5 or 6, bld 2(r:otb) or 1)

TURKEY (Levinson):

ANK,SMY,CON,bul,sev,ser,gre,

(has 8, bld 2)

tun,rom,rum

Neutral:

none

(Total=34)

Addresses of the Participants

AUSTRIA: Fred Wiedemeyer, Box 92010-Meadowbrook RPO, Edmonton, ALBERTA CANADA T6T 1N1,

(780) 465-6432, wiedem of planet.eon.net

ENGLAND: Karl Schmit, 1509 O'Keefe Road, DePere, WI 54115, (920) 338-8402,

diplomacy of new.rr.com ($4)

FRANCE: Jeff O'Donnell, 402 Middle Ave., Elyria, OH 44035-5728,

(440) 322-2920 or (440) 225-9203 (cell, as late as midnight Eastern)

GERMANY: Matt Sundstrom, 1760 Robincrest Lane South, Glenview, IL 60025, (847) 729-1882,

Matt.Sundstrom of bbdoch.com or mattandzoe of earthlink.net

ITALY: Don Williams, 27505 Artine Drive, Saugus, CA 91350, (661) 297-3947,

wllmsfmly of earthlink.net or dwilliams of fontana.org

RUSSIA: Sean O'Donnell, 1044 Wellfleet Drive, Grafton, OH 44044, (440) 926-0230,

sean_o_donnell of hotmail.com

TURKEY: Alexandre Levinson, Beeklaan 504, 2562BP Den Haag THE NETHERLANDS, don't need phone,

levinson7 of hotmail.com ($5)

Game Notes:

1) Alex is moving to A Bur-Hol, or something like that, skipping over the Ruhr or Belgium. His new postal address is noted above.

Press:

(STAR TREK PRESS): Captain Kirk's Log; Mr. Spock has confirmed "Q" is re-forming our original universe. We are going to use the same duplication protomatter device to attempt to enter this universe. The only question is, will we get through or will our duplicates? ((Q Hint: This Universe will have something to do with Phil Reynolds.)) We will never actually know for sure..... (later that day) I just received a disturbing report from Mr. Spock. He says he has analyzed the telemetry required to enter our old universe and he has determined that there are no Klingons in that universe. "Bummer!" Spock says I should blame "Q". (("Q" never takes no blame for nuttin. If Klingons are missing, then that's the way it "should be".)) Oh well, Mr. Worf sucks anyway, so what's the difference? Maybe if one of the alien groups falters, "Q" will allow the Klingons in. Time will tell. At least I'm in, and really that's all that matters.....

(PETTY DICTATOR to SEAN O'DONNELL): I'm just not feelin' the love!.....

(TREK PRESS II): A conversation between Kirk (K) and Spock (S).

S: Captain, I've discovered something troubling about the new universe that we are attempting to enter.

K: What's the problem, other than no Klingons?

S: This universe is actually not a duplicate of our original universe like I first thought. It is actually a duplicate of this universe with an alternate reality.

K: This universe!

S: There's more. Our scans have picked up a "Q" signature in the new universe.

K: What exactly are you saying?!?!

S: One of the Alien groups in the new universe is being run by a member of the "Q" continuum.

((Q: Not true, not true. Any such assertion is patently false. Any such alleged individual has had ALL powers (and I mean ALL powers which might be deemed to devolve on members of the "Q" Continuum) removed prior to entering said universe. There will be NO monkey business, maybe some finch business, but no monkey business in this Continuum.))

S CONTINUED: Apparently he is lowering himself to the level of our "insect-like existence" to see if he can compete with us humanoid to humanoid.

K: Spock! This makes no sense to me. This is "Star Trek!" The Original Series! THere aren't supposed to BE any "Q's" until Next Generation! It's not fair!

S: You didn't complain when 7 of 9 was here. She's supposed to be in Voyager. Besides, this is "Star Trek: Alternate Reality".

K: Good point. Do you think we can trust this "Q" not to use his "powers" to his advantage?

((Q always uses our powers to OUR advantage, but there ain't no Q powers in the powers in this Continuum or any other in this szineness space.))

S: I think so, Captain. "Q's" pattern so far has been that he is twisted, but not necessarily dishonest. I think we can trust him.

K: So what do we call this "Q"?

S: "Q".

K: But that is what we call OUR "Q".

S: They are all called "Q".

K: We have to call him something else.

S: How about "Q2"?

K: No, that's too unimpressive. I know! We'll call him "QII"!

S: You don't like "Q2", but you do like "QII"???

K: Yeah! The Roman numeral adds a certain amount of class to the Super Bowl, and it kinda sings!....

S: I will never understand humans.

K: Do you think "QII" will be a Red Sox fan?

S: Unknown.

((Not Red to be sure, perhaps he has been known to be something of an Orange fan....))

S CONTINUED: Captain? What if he turns out to be a Yankee fan?

K: Then we invade first chance we get!

S: As you wish....

(JEFF O'DONNELL to JIM AND EVERYONE ELSE): Anyone who wants to contact me by going on-line and contacting my nephew Sean O'Donnell may do so. I will get the message.

I CAN'T FIND MY MONEY!: 2001F, Regular Diplomacy

THE DUE DATE FOR FALL 1913 IS AUGUST 26TH, 2006

Summer 1913

AUSTRIA (Parker): has f ADR, f TUN, f TYH, a WAR, a LVN,

f EAS, a PIE, a CON, a VIE, a VEN, a ARM, a SMY, a TRI, a MOS, f AEG.

FRANCE (Kent): has f BRE, a PAR, f MID, f WES.

GERMANY (Wilson): has a MUN, f ENG, f BEL, a BUR, f LVP, a SPA, f POR, a LON,

a STP, a MAR, f NAO, a GAS.

TURKEY (Miller): R a arm-SYR, a con-ANK; has a SYR, a ANK.

Addresses of the Participants

AUSTRIA: Vern Parker, 337 Winter Hill Place, Powell, OH 43065, (614) 402-5139

VernDip of aol.com is preferred

ENGLAND: Mark Kinney, 4830 Westport Road, Apt D, Louisville KY 40222

alberich of iglou.com

FRANCE: Doug Kent, 11111 Woodmeadow Pkwy #2327, Dallas, TX 75228

dougray30 of yahoo.com

GERMANY: Kevin Wilson, 18623 Santa Maria Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70809, 225-751-3857,

ckevinw1 of cox.net

ITALY: Formerly was Heath Gardner, metaphorman of gmail.com

ITALY: Mike Barno, 634 Dawson Hill Road, Spencer, NY 14883

mpbarno of lightlink.com

RUSSIA: Rick Desper,

rick_desper of yahoo.com

TURKEY: Tim Miller, 258 New Mark Esplanade, Rockville, MD 20850,

tim of webjudge.net

GM: Jim-Bob Burgess, 664 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908-4327, +1 401-351-0287

burgess of world.std.com

Game Notes:

1) The GA-GA draw proposal and concession to Turkey are both defeated. A DIAS GAFT draw is now proposed. Please vote with your Fall orders. If you fail to vote, it cannot pass.

Press:

SECRETS: 1999D, Regular Diplomacy

THE NEW DUE DATE FOR FALL 1921 IS AUGUST 26TH, 2006

Summer 1921

ENGLAND (Kent): has f ENG, a GAS, f NAO, a KIE, f MID, f NTH, f HOL, f POR.

FRANCE (Sasseville): has f MAR, f SPA(SC), a PAR.

GERMANY (Barno): has a BUL.

RUSSIA (Parker): has f NWY, a WAR, a SWE, a BER, f HEL, a DEN, a PRU.

TURKEY (Linsey): has a ARM, f AEG, a SEV, a GAL, a SIL, f WES,

a UKR, f GOL, a MUN, a TRI, f NAF, f ION, a TYO, f PIE, a BOH.

Addresses of the Participants

ENGLAND: Doug Kent, 11111 Woodmeadow Pkwy #2327, Dallas, TX 75228

dougray30 of yahoo.com

FRANCE: Roland Sasseville, Jr., 38 Bucklin Street, Pawtucket, RI 02861, (401) 481-4280 ($0)

roland6 of cox.net and ICQ: 40565030

GERMANY: Mike Barno, 634 Dawson Hill Road, Spencer, NY 14883, (607) 589-4906

mpbarno of lightlink.com

RUSSIA: Vern Parker, 337 Winter Hill Place, Powell, OH 43065, (614) 402-5139

VernDip of aol.com is preferred

TURKEY: Bruce Linsey, PO Box 234, Kinderhook, NY 12106

GonzoHQ of aol.com

Game Notes:

1) The ET Phone Home draw is rejected again. We now have a proposal for an FGR, this is one of the combinations that I've never figured out a good way to phrase. Here's the best I can do, vote for GRF or be a GRF. If you fail to vote, it cannot pass.

Press:

FINDING THE COMMUNITY: Breaking Away, Designer's Rules

CONGRATULATIONS TO RICK DESPER WHO HUNG ON FOR THE VICTORY!!!

Game Notes:

1) The rules are on the TAP website in the Tinamou section. Ask if you have any questions. New game start in this, who wants to play again (or for the first time)??? We have five signed up so far, see the list in the game opening section. I want to start this up soon, so sign up!!! Can I twist arms on just ONE more of you to join???

Press:

Personal Note to You:

File translated from T_EX by T_TH, version 3.30.
On 16 Aug 2006, 20:46.