A fundamental strategy is you divide your enemies and unite your friends. We are uniting our enemies and dividing our friends. That is not a strategy for success.

Zbigniew brzezinski -- Former National Security Adviser

Life in the new office is good. Still haven’t found everything, that comes of shoving the remnants of a 20 person office into a two person office, but that short commute is great. I can run home for lunch (literally!)and have a lot more time for things. I’d forgotten how nice it is to not commute!

Kids soccer is just starting and I’ll be coaching my son again. Saturdays in the fall are just for soccer. Two kids games, then my own game in the afternoon. Guess who gets to pick what we do on Sunday? I love the sport and it’s become a year round occupation for me as we have some excellent indoor facilities nearby. I still follow football but I sure wouldn’t want my kids to play it. And I track the Red Sox but I don’t want my kids playing baseball either, I don’t want to have to sit through the games!

Gunboat with press: Four signed up so far. Reconfirm for me if you are interested in this.

Perestroika Diplomacy: Add an economic twist to the classic game. Centers generate revenue, armies and fleets must be maintained, and treasuries can be sacked! Rules are available on request.

Signed up: Art Schleinkofer, Phil Reynolds, Harold Reynolds, Karl Schmit, Graham Wilson

Standard Diplomacy: That’s it, the one and only original

Signed up: Fred Wiedermeyer, Hank Alme, Cary Nichols, Graham Wilson, Karl Muller

Just the results please: Don’t really know what to call this one as I just came up with it. Perhaps it’s been tried before. The twist for this variant is that each season only the ending unit positions are published, not the orders. You’ll know who went where, but not who helped whom, or want may have been tried unsuccessfully.

Signed up: Phil Reynolds, Doug Kent, Graham Wilson

A new game for 3-4 players. Manager your factory and build your products, but beware, increased production means more waste, and if you aren’t careful you’ll find that working in a sludge pit affects your productivity and the bottom line.

Game Opening: Jim Tretick, Graham Wilson. Need 2 more.

Railway Rivals: New Game: Ukraine. (Map on website)

Signed up: Michael Pargman, Conrad von Metzke, need more!

Outpost:

Sign up for the next game to start when the current one finishes.

Snowball fighting: Current game is over. Anyone interested in another go? 3 signed up so far

Signed up: Tom Howell

Sopwith: Snoopy just started. I’ll start taking names now for the next game if anyone’s interested.

Reader’s Choice: I’m open to anything, just send me the rules and if I think I can run it, I’ll offer it.

Langford fires the rocket boosters and blasts to the front. Greece and Babette make a small break, but no one is catching him. Still a fairly large pelleton hanging together, and then the group of six, who are riding for pride but have no chance to score. No surprise as Tom garners the highest replacement cards. Should be an interesting finish!

BOOB to Frank and George: Hello!!! What about me?? Kramer is lining up with Tjinder, isn't he?? What a crowd on 91, too bad we're only giving Howell's Camilla the points!!

BOOB to Elaine: If you played your three, you GOT another three.... you have to play your 12 SOMETIME! Next time would be good....

BOOB to Dans: Langford has guaranteed the victory, 20 points are mine!!! You pikers....

BOOB to GM: "Caution to the win" was a typo, but BETTER

than what I meant!

GM to BOOB: Two points for serendipity.

BOOB to ROME: Thank you for the 10, another 10 please!

BOOB to Dans: You are going to play those big cards SOMETIME, aren't you??

BOOB to GM: Barone can too get something.... the back six

are out for SURE, that leaves 18 players to get the 8 scoring slots. Dagmar and Abigail can be beaten by Barone for sure too. And Singh has no real chance (Cutler will score...). And Frank is SUCH a horrible manager that we count all four of them out. Ooopps, the probably puts Barone about 10th. Take it back, you're right, I get 35 plus whatever Cutler scores.

GM – BOOB: Yup, and that means the question is what can Rick and Tom grab. Should be interesting.

BARNO to DESPER: Found on planetspace.de: "Microsoft is not the Borg collective. The Borg collective has got proper networking."

(BARNO SAW THIS ANALYSIS ON GROKLAW): "Round1: SCOG started fast with a lot of movement, copyright claims, millions of lines of code, but not landing any solid shots. IBM content to parry and look for openings.

Round2: IBM picks up the pace, demanding evidence. SCOG, unable to respond, is backed to the ropes and reduced to swinging wildly then clinching and holding on to buy time. SCOG tries to rally by amending claims, but flaws in their defense are becoming apparent. After motion to compel by IBM, the referee orders SCOG to produce with specificity.

SCOG unable to respond.

Round3: IBM attacks hard. Counterclaim #10 is a stiff jab/uppercut combination which IBM follows up with a hard left hook in the form of a motion for PSJ [Partial Summary Judgement] on copyright claims. SCOG flails wildly, trying to fend IBM off with overlength memos and low blows about discovery abuse. IBM pounds away at the copyright claims,

and the referee again orders SCOG to comply. Returning to the corner at the bell, SCOG appeared dazed, mumbling incoherently about "good faith".

Round4: As SCOG tries to feint newly discovered infringements and more overlength memos, IBM blocks the shots with motions to strike, and counters with well placed shots to the head, exposing SCOG's misdirection and lack of evidence. SCOG still clinching and holding on. Suddenly, just before the bell to end the round, IBM switches tactics and deliveres a solid combination to the body with a motion for

PSJ on the contract claims.

We're now in the corner between rounds. IBM is looking confident, fit and fresh.

The SCOG cornerman is pulling his hair out and frantically dumping ice into SCOG's shorts, as Darl, dazed and confused babbles aimlessly about their 25 years of dedicated UNIX service and getting the facts to the jury...

My prediction: a couple more rounds max. This ain't gonna go the distance."

:Black Bottomed Girls (Brendan Whyte) 5 points

Homegrown Evil (Mike Barno) 0 points

Thin Bottomed Girls (Tom Howell) 24 points

Manager: Edith

The Four Kingdoms of Daniel Chapter Seven (Eric Brosius) 8 points

The Front Men (Jim Burgess) 15 points

Manager: Ian Curtis

The Team About Nothing (Rick Desper) 26 points

Manager: Frank Costanza

We’ve got treachery. We’ve got misorders. We’ve got center swaps. We’ve got Diplomacy! As expected, Italy and France swap centers. France stabs Germany for a net gain however. Austria’s misorder is costly, as Turkey seems to have been reading his mail and takes Greece. That’s useful for Turkey as Russia slides south. Russia and England swap centers as well, although this one seems a bit friendlier than the one in the southwest.

.Please note the new address for Russia!

Austria: f gre – alb, ion, OTB

*England builds one due to a destroyed unit.