Postcards from the Spanish Main

Greetings to all my friends and minions, especially those who are both. This is the Evil Overlord, taking a few minutes to kick back, pour himself a rootbeer float, and spout meaningless drivel. Drivel is a fun word...

Okay, first off the news. There really isn't much news. Business at the shop has been lousy this week, but I don't feel like panicking yet. There's a parade on Saturday, and I wouldn't be surprised if the business from that doesn't make up for the entire week by itself. The phone company is evil, but most of you knew that already. They're sticking us with an enormous bill for all the services the previous owners had but never used. Seriously, why would a chip shop need two phone lines, voicemail, caller ID (when the phone doesn't even support it), and a host of other crud? And of course since I didn't know about it, I didn't know to cancel all that. Feh... At least if I go under I can use it as a launchpad to get myself into a good job with one of the foodservice companies, I've noticed that all their reps have had restaurant management experience at some point or another. Anyway, it's a thought.

Also, I got my copy of Harry Potter First Blood Part 6 Friday night. Yes, I went to the mall at midnight, it was actually kinda fun. There was a fair amount of pretty girls around, and while I'm never the type to actually strike up a conversation I do enjoy the scenery. Also ran into a pack of Leavitts (Thom knows who they are), and we gave each other heck while standing in line. Anyhoo, I read the majority of the book at the market the next day, and had it finished by late afternoon. This week I've been rereading it to make sure I caught everything... Anyhoo, I'm not gonna go into much detail unless I know the person I'm talking to has read it, but let me just say that wow, Harry's life stinks. He's not a self-pity rageboy like the year before, but he still has a bad habit for obsessive behavior. Plus the hormones have really kicked in all around, which makes life interesting. Anyway, to me the book feels like setup for the end of the series more than a self-contained story, but there's nothing wrong with that. I'm just sorry I'm gonna have to wait another two years to see whether things are really what I think they're gonna be... Book 7's gonna be one heck of a ride...

Anyhoo, I just got done playing Pirates of the Spanish Main. I've sunk more money into it (which I probably shouldn't have, but too late now), and I've got a big enough flotilla that I can set up a pretty good game with whoever wants to play. I set up a three-way game between England, Spain, and France earlier, with a few homebrew elements to keep things interesting. Here's a few things I've learned:

*Ramming a five-master is never a good idea, especially when you're significantly smaller than it. And most everyone is...
*Tricked out with the right crewmen, a zippy little yacht is something to be feared. At least until something hits it.
*Moving fogbanks make close-quarter slugfests very interesting.
*Building a fortress on an island isn't worth squat if no one will come near it.
*Putting all three base islands on the same side of the board tends to result in a lot of ship battles and very little treasure hunting.
*I just love it when things go kablooey.
*If a particular ship changes hands more than twice in the course of a single game, you're probably doing something wrong.
*Shipwrights, helmsmen, and captains are your friends.
*Crimson Angel would be a great name for a rock band.
*This is what happens when demented people play with powerful toys...
*I really want rules for creating my own ships & crew.

Congrats to Thom on finding a buyer for his house. I hope he finds a new one before he has to move out... Maybe after he moves, there'll be a one-week period where I can safely come visit him before his two furry beasts shed enough fur at the new place to be toxic... No, I'm not talking about any of his kids, so hush.

Heh, I always seem to do long posts every now and then rather than short ones regularly. Does anyone care? I thought not.