throwi wrote in Former Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread: I also like Janeway from Voyager, and her blend of toughness with a caring heart.  One of my favorite Captains for sure.

My favorite also, other than the original series of course.  

Bracton,

Impressive!  Very nice desk, would love to have something like that in the house.  Maybe after my TSR collection is complete.... ha!

~throwi

cdenham wrote in Former Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:Awesome desk, btw!!

Two questions -

1. Could I suggest a general forum for threads like this one?  I wanted to ask those gathered here a question and other than this particular thread I wasn't real sure where.

2. The question - It seems like there are several here that have gone through the experience of actually trying to self publish items.  I'd love to get some of this insight and it seems like it would be helpful for others here as well.  Other than a site like Lulu, what are the options?  Printing quantities suggestions, color, art work, format?  Tons of things I'd like to pry from the fine folks here that run that gauntlet before.  Where would be a good spot to ask this without it all be by PM?

Just a thought....

Ask, and ye shall receive.

Publishing 101

There are links at toward the end to some great articles written by Guy Fullerton.  If you're looking to publish, check them out.

Just booked flights for me and the family to London in November.  My oldest son is spending his fall quarter there, and we decided to take advantage of the Thanksgiving holiday back here and show the two younger boys the Olde Country.

And, since the timing was auspicious, we are flying out the Friday before, so that we can attend the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary celebration.  Yes, we have tickets to that as well.  

I find it bizarre that the weird, cult TV show of my youth is now a popular phenomenon.  Is it possible that, someday, even D&D could be cool too, and make the cover of mainstream magazines without irony?  

Nah.  

cdenham wrote in Former Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:Awesome desk, btw!!

Two questions -

1. Could I suggest a general forum for threads like this one?  I wanted to ask those gathered here a question and other than this particular thread I wasn't real sure where.

2. The question - It seems like there are several here that have gone through the experience of actually trying to self publish items.  I'd love to get some of this insight and it seems like it would be helpful for others here as well.  Other than a site like Lulu, what are the options?  Printing quantities suggestions, color, art work, format?  Tons of things I'd like to pry from the fine folks here that run that gauntlet before.  Where would be a good spot to ask this without it all be by PM?

Just a thought....

I self publish things from my basement. It's a labor of love, but not much wealth. I have become accustomed to spiders and such and my oil lamp works well trusting that I keep it filled.
I think lulu would be easier in a lot of respects

We're probably going to see Elysium tonight.  Interesting anecdote:  Matt Damon wasn't the director's first choice for the role.  Eminem was.  But the rapper insisted that if he was in the movie, it had to be made in Detroit (his hometown).  Seems to me that using Detroit would have saved money (at least for the ground-based scenes), but I guess it was cheaper to film elsewhere.  So Damon was brought in.

Frankly, I think it would have been interesting to see Em in that role.

I use excel. I sort the items there (and have them sorted on my shelves) by Publisher, then stock number and then by item title (& description). I have fields for year (or the page number on which the item appeared in the book Heroic Worlds) for code (three page codes I came up with to describe if an item is incomplete or damaged or a pirate item etc.). As well as a field that lets me know if an item is in shrink, or a hardcover book, or digest sized or in a tube. Then I have a field for condition on a 1 to 8 scale (1 poor 2 fair 3 good 4 vg 5 fine 6 very fine 7 nm 8 mint, with 8 meaning there could be no finer copy). I have recently started a field for the price I paid for the item. Within the item title & description field (which is the biggest) I will add any pertinent details like 1st ed, 2nd pr, #3/100 Sign: Gygax PC (for personal copy of): Kask D (for Damaged, with a brief description of the damage): Spine Torn I (Incomplete. with a description of the missing items): Dice  SC (for stock code if it is an incorrect stock code, with a description of where the incorrect stock code is on the book): #9048 Top Right Cover etc. etc. I have developed these little codes to tell me everything I'd want to know about the items in my collection so that if I was at Gencon and came across something, I could determine if it is an upgrade quality wise from the one I have. The one thing I don't really track is author, which some people do. I do track anything else to distinguish an item if i need to (page count, cover color etc.). Yes this took an awfully long time to assemble (My niece was getting divorced and she and her two sons came & stayed with me for about 9 months and expert typist that she is, started the exhaustive compilation of my collection), and I have continued tweaking it.

I have three monks chained up in the basement, entering tiny, crabbed notes in Linear B on random bits of parchment of dubious origin.

Which I then proceed to lose.

Excel file with the following filter-enabled columns:

CODE, TYPE, DESCRIPTION, CONDITION, SW, PDF, CHARACTER LEVELS, LOCATION, BOX
B3, BASIC ADVENTURES, IL PALAZZO DELLA PRINCIPESSA D'ARGENTO (ITALIAN VERSION), NM, SW, N, 1-3, S224, 17

Also have pivot table worksheets for character levels and condition count.