THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE #289

March 3, 2005


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 or FAX to (401) 277-9904. For Faxing, most of the time you have to call me to tell me it's coming so I can set up the FAX. Some of you have been getting bounced messages from my ISP's spam protection, if that happens to you, you can use my backup E-Mail at jfburgess of gmail.com, but I don't check that very often, so don't expect instant replies.
Web Page Address: /Postal/Zines/TAP/index.html


I've finally had the assistance of the Boardman Number and Miller Number Custodian to get the game finishing statistics for the ended games. Thanks, Tom Howell, and welcome back!!! But I've not had time to get them into TAP format, so we're going to do that next time. I'm not going to bore you all (again, for many of you) with my stories of my crashed Hard Disk, as it seems every single postal publisher is filled with these stories. Suffice it to say that my story was pleasanter than most as I lost no files and only lost about a week of time in backing up and reinstalling files and programs. I now have a fast new hard disk in my laptop. I've pushed the deadlines back a week to compensate.
Tim Haffey has started a new postal Dip szine. So far, most of the interest in it has come from non-US people. Come on, you US Postal Dippers, show your interest and get into Tim's szine (Tim also is the editor of Diplomacy World of course. Anyway, Who Do You Trust? is monthly and costs $3 per issue or $36 per year, those overseas orders cost $48 per year and he wants all subs in US funds (though of course you can use the International Subscription Exchange below to do that). Games are free. You can reach Tim at: Timothy R. Haffey, Sr., 810 53rd Avenue, Oakland, CA 94601, go sub now.
Also, Tim Snyder has the new issue of the Zine Register out. That will go up on the Pouch web site in the Postal section as soon as I get this issue all straightened out. Finally, Tom Howell has returned from his six month hiatus and so I can get a Boardman Number for my new game!!! See below. And Tom Howell's szine is back out too.


THE 2004 DIPLOMACY HOBBY AWARDS
This is the 22nd year of the Diplomacy Hobby Awards and I'm pleased and proud to continue to chair the committee (and act as treasurer for producing plaques for the winners). The rest of the committee currently consists of: Fred Davis, Gary Behnen, Melinda Holley, Jamie Dreier, Paul Kenny, Mark Stretch, and Robert Lesco. The awards given have varied over the years but currently has these five awards, the first four are awarded by voting from the entire hobby and the last Lifetime Achievement Award is determined by the Hobby Awards Committee. There were 64 voters this year, who appeared to put a great deal of effort into researching and making considered votes. All 32 nominees across the four awards are to be saluted for their efforts on behalf of the hobby. See the entire ballot at:
/Postal/Zines/TAP/2004HobbyAwardsBallot.pdf
Now to the winners:
The Don Miller Memorial Award for Meritorious Service to the Hobby for 2004 goes to Christian Shelton for developing and running the Dip BOUNCED game playing site.
The Rod Walker Award for Literary Achievement in the Hobby for 2004 goes to Manus Hand for his latest Sherlock Holmes article, "Solution to the Curious Case of the False Start", which appeared in the 2004 Spring Movement issue of The Diplomatic Pouch.
The John Koning Memorial Award for the Best Player in the Diplomacy Hobby for 2004 goes to Yann Clouet, who won the 2004 World DipCon in Birmingham, UK. He has now won this award for the second year in a row, if he wins it again next year (third year in a row) he is retired from further consideration for the award and would join the other past three time winner Gary Behnen in that honor.
The Fred Hyatt Memorial Award for the Best GamesMaster in the Diplomacy Hobby for 2004 goes to Cal White, who has done a lot of the GM work on Dip BOUNCED this year and also is well known as a Postal GM.
The Kathy Byrne Caruso Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Diplomacy Hobby is awarded irregularly by the committee in honor of Kathy Byrne Caruso, who perhaps was the greatest player in the hobby in the 1980's, who also happened to be a woman. It is named after her since she lost her battle with Cancer and was lost to the hobby forever a few years ago. Our continuing condolences go to John Caruso and their families who have to live without Kathy's powerful personality on a daily basis. The Committee did not award this last year and this year decided to give two awards.
The first Kathy Byrne Caruso Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Diplomacy Hobby is the first one we've given posthumously, to Don Turnbull. Don was editor of the first postal Diplomacy szine in the UK, Albion, back in 1969 and thus started the British postal hobby. He remained active through the 1980's and passed away recently. We will be giving his award to his widow.
The Kathy Byrne Caruso Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Diplomacy Hobby this year also goes to Buz Eddy. Buz has served the hobby well in a variety of capacities and is presently retiring from his major duties and beginning to pass off the hobby organization he formed to others. Buz primarily is receiving this award for his work on the North American Diplomacy Federation (NADF) organization and web site, but also for all his contributions to the Diplomacy Hobby over the years. He is now in the process of retiriing from the NADF and passing off duties to David Maletsky and Doug Scott.
My thanks to all the winners AND all of the nominees, who were really tremendous this year and made the choices really, really tough for all the voters and the committee.


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. Or you can 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: /
I also have taken over the Postal portion of the Pouch: http:/evel.diplom.org/DipPouch/Postal/
and TAP on the web is there at: /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 remains "in stasis", although all the back issues can be accessed via :
http://www.burdonvale.co.uk/octopus/index.html.
Peter was saying that he would be unlikely to be starting any new games in the Octopus until "at least the start of 2002." He is now hereby declared to be in official indeterminate stasis and that date is now a "whenever". In the meantime, Rip Gooch and Dave Partridge are picking up the choo-choo game slack in TAP. Contact Rip at xyropedes of canada.com or Dave at rebhuhn of rocketmail.com for more info.
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.
General information about the mailing list is at: /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 JOHN SMYTHE
I'm about to start putting some Golden Agers in here to hunt for, starting with someone who SHOULD be relatively easy to find, since he's been "around" in recent years, and then working up to some REAL, REAL hard people to find culminating in the 300th issue person whom I already have in mind. So, let's really find John, I'll be shocked if you can't do it, and it's worth fifty bucks!!! Only one more issue at the fifty buck price.
Feel free to spend the time looking for some of the backlog. Let's get 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 Kevin Tighe or Sylvain LaRose 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 added a European continental representative, most of this traffic likely will occur between Ronald Camstra (in the Netherlands) and John Harrington, but if anyone here in the US wants to get money into Euros, we'll try to help you out. Ronald Camstra can be contacted at siedler of zonnet.nl and his home address is: Wielingenplein 48, 3522 PE Utrecht, the Netherlands. But in Holland it is most common not to send checks but to transfer money by bank. Dutch people can pay directly to Postbankaccount 4652247 of Ronald Camstra in Utrecht. Since he can see the name and address of the sender in his bankreceipt, people only have to mention the name of the zine and the editorial address along with their bank order. Ronald is obviously a huge Settlers of Catan fan. If you're interested in playing that game internationally by mail, I think Ronald can help you out.
We also have reopened a branch office of the International Subscription Exchange in Australia!! Brendan Whyte, the publisher of the excellent szine Damn the Consequences will be doing the honors, taking over in some sense from John Cain, who was the Australian rep for many years. You can contact Brendan to sub to Australian szines from the US or to sub to US szines from Australia, converting Australian dollars into American ones. We are now maneuvering deals to Europe from the other reps as well. You can find Brendan Whyte at bwhyte of unimelb.edu.au (note that this is a new E-Mail address for Brendan) or by mail to send checks at: Map Collection, ERC Library, University of Melbourne, Vic 3010, AUSTRALIA. That's a relatively new address adjustment.


WORLDMASTERS02 AND WORLDMASTERS04 SECTION
WorldMasters 2002 Email Diplomacy Tournament Finals are still ongoing. Since I didn't get sufficient interest to get a team in for 04, I am back on the WorldMasters Tournament Management Committee again, I guess. See:
http://www.worldmasters.net/wm04/
for details on that, I've not seen much hype yet on the starting games, but I'll update this soon. It is helping now that I've joined the Yahoogroup WM04-Chat where this discussion is happening. You can join too! But most of the talk there has been 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 - www.diplomacyworld.org
We are back on solid track, Tim Haffey has agreed to be the Production Editor that I needed. We always need more articles, Issue #92 is out NOW!!! See my fun interview with Niclas Perez and lots of other neat stuff!!! #93 will be out as soon as I can get this issue out and get to it. If you think you should have been on that list and weren't, let me or Dave Partridge know. Help us out, write an article for a future issue!


Upcoming Diplomacy World Issue Deadlines:
Deadline Summer 2005, Issue #94: June 1, 2005
Editorial Board for Diplomacy World:
Tim Haffey, 810 53rd Ave., Oakland, CA 94601 USA; trhaffey of aol.com - Lead-Editor, Demo Game GM, and Publisher
Jim Burgess, 664 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908-4327, USA; burgess of world.std.com - Co-Editor
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


MUSIC AND MOVIES SECTION (WITH COMMENTS ON OTHER ARTS AND SOCIETY)
Tell me anything you like about the recent past in music. List a top two, a top ten, or a top 100, I don't care, just tell me something!! We're beginning to gear up for a "best of 2004" section.


Doug Kent (12-31-04)
Dear Jim, I realized I haven't written a decent prison update letter in a few months, so I decided I'd take advantage of this holiday weekend to let my one or two fans know what's going on in the world of B.O.P. in general, and Camp McKean in particular.
When I last wrote, I was working as an orderly in my building, in charge of the cleaning chemicals and supplies. I am no longer working there. The entire orderly sustem is one hustle after another. Inmates paying other inmates to do their jobs. Inmates paying the head orderly not to have a real job at all. I just got tired of it. ((One would think that Diplomacy skills would come in handy in this, but hey, I hear you...)) The breaking point came when the inmate who ran the chemical cage on nights and weekends was fired for some reason or other (actually, he wasn't fired, just given a more tedious orderly job). But the head orderly decided that rather than replace him, he'd change my job to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Whenever someone needed cleaning supplies, they had to come to me. 10PM? Wake me up. Weekends? It didn't matter. After a week or two of that, I'd had enough. I went to the CO in charge of orderlies on the first day when snow flurries were falling and asked to be transferred to landscaping (which in the winter is basically just shoveling snow). Little did I know how difficult it was to volunteer for what is usually a punishment duty. In the end I had to get three signatures and endure shakes of the head and comments like "what's wrong with you?" from the Admin. personnel. My boss, who I'll refer to as Burger, since that is what most inmates call him, is generally regarded as a hard ass. After he signed my transfer, one of my pals (who already worked for him) said, "Hey, Burger, that kid you just signed for? You know he's borderline Section 8?" To which I'm told he replied, "You think? Duh! He volunteered for Landscaping!"
Truth be told, changing jobs is the best thing I've done since I came to McKean. I don't mind work, it makes my day go by faster. Burger hasn't given me a single problem, because I do my job and show up on time. The snow is OK, it's the cold which can be troublesome... the other morning it was fifteen below zero until the sun came up. But I get exercise, fresh air, keep busy, I can sing while I work and nobody cares, I get paid more ($40 last month compared to $15 as an orderly), and at 2:30PM my shift is over no matter how hard it's snowing. No more being forced out of bed at 10:30 PM for a trash bag, or 6AM on a Sunday for some clean rags!
The other change in my schedule is I've started the Commercial Food Preparation Vo-Tech class here at McKean. At Allenwood, there were no Vo-Tech programs offered - the Business and Horticulture programs having been cancelled long ago. McKean still has Food Prep and a computer class, for the time being anyway. I've always loved to cook, and this gives me the opportunity to learn some large-scale and commercial aspects. Plus I spend three hours a week in an actual kitchen, which sort of reminds me what it feels like to be a human being again. It's a ten month program, and I plan to stick with it to the end at this point.
The stress levels in all B.O.P. facilities, and McKean in particular, continue to rise. This is on both the inmate and the officer side. For the staff, the biggest culprit seems to be budget constraints. The B.O.P. is being forced to make do with less money each year, while the prisoner population continues to increase. There is bound to be a breaking point somewhere, but I don't know where it is. ((Anyone dealing with domestic federal budget issues sees this. The Dept. of Veterans Affairs, where I work on one of my two jobs, is also in that same boat, though it is veteran patients increasing and their medical needs increasing. As an observer, I do think it is interesting watching everything keep ratcheting up across the government. It is the harder to measure stuff that is suffering, of course.))
For the inmates, the causes of stress are fourfold at McKean. This list does not include the general stress from the holidays, being away from our friends, families, and loved ones. Nor does it include boredom, which is rampant as usual but even more so now. There is really nothing to do here, especially in the winter. TV rooms are tiny and packed, no card or game playing is allowed, except in the Rec building (which closes at 9PM and where there are only enough tables for maybe four groups of people at once). I spend my time in my cubicle, reading or writing letters.
The first of the four problems is continued overcrowding. These buildings (Units E and F) were originally built to hold about 75 inmates each. Right now, F holds nearly 180, E closer to 170. Aside from zero privacy, constant noise, and cleanliness issues, the facilities themselves are just not sufficient. I regularly wait on line close to an hour for a phone (longer towards the beginning fo the month). That is to make a phone call of 15 minutes or less. And if nobody is home, you have no option but to go back to the end of the line. Since the phones are turned off before count times, this can really be a problem for someone like me who lives in a different time zone. Here is a typical example: Heather works until 6PM, which is 7PM here. She won't be home until around 8PM here. I have to get on line around 7PM or 7:30PM, depending on how long I estimate my wait will be. If I don't time it right, my turn comes up to early, and I go back to the end of the line.... ((I'm presuming people watch and won't let you sneak BACK a place or two in line, which would seem the logical thing to do.... I do understand that once you dial, you're stuck.)) or my turn comes too late, because around 8:30PM they shut the phones off prior to the 9PM count. Then you have to get back on line - a new line - to call. But the phones stay off until about 9:30PM, and if an inmate wasn't where they were supposed to be, some CO's "accidentally" see that the phones stay off until 10PM or later. And at 11:30PM they go off for the night. This, plus the fact that I pay 23 cents a minute for direct-dial calls (almost $70 a month if I use my full 300 minute monthly allotment) makes the phone a great sense of stress.
Of course, this doesn't even include the frequent 15 minute or longer waits for bathroom stalls during the morning (we have 6 stalls in a building of 180 inmates), or the long lines at any of the four washing machines. The point is, this place is crowded and getting more so!
The second cause of stress here is the Residential Drug and Alcohol Program (RDAP). When Allenwood cancelled their program, McKean because the only camp in the Northeast district to offer the program. Consequently, the waiting list is a major problem. The way it works is the inmates with the least number of months remaining on their sentence get in first. But people designated for the program arrive with seemingly random release dates. In general, you used to expect to start the program when you had between 27 and 24 months left to serve. Right now at McKean, it is more like 22 months or less, and growing shorter by the week. The longer it takes to get into the program, the longer it is before you get home. Inmates keep mental lists of their place in line, i.e. "I'm fifth now for the April class". When new inmates arrive, the first two questions they hear, over and over, are, "Are you here for the program?" and "How short are you?" Inmates with less than 24 months left when they arrive are referred to as "shorties" or "bumpers" (because they bump everyone down a spot on the list). As the next class approaches, stress levels increase... one by one inmates who were counting on making the upcoming roster discover they wait, consequently they'll be here a month or two longer than they thought (at least). It is an all-consuming topic of conversation, and for most of us we'd just as soon not think about it.... but we can't help it.
The third stress factor is Blakely vs. Washington State. ((Which, for any of you living in a hole, has now been decided....)) This is a case currently before the US Supreme Court, which will determine if some or all of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines are unconstitutional. The court already decided that a similar system in Washington State is unconstitutional, now it will rule of the Federal level. There are so many issues at work, a decision could have very narrow or very broad applications. Also in question is whether any such decision will apply not just to court cases, but also to plea bargains, and also whether any decision will be in any way retroactive. Personally, I doubt this case will change my sentence, but a large number of inmates (both rationally and irrationally) are putting a lot of hope and a lot of mental energy into the outcome of this case. We've been waiting for a decision since early November, and each week the tension grows. It won't end until the decision and any ramifications become public, at which point new stresses will replace them as countless inmates try to file appeals.
Finally, the latest stress exacerbation: smoking. On January 17th, 2005 all B.O.P. institutions will become smoke free. With that in mind, tobacco products (including chew) stopped being sold at commissary approximately two weeks ago. Tempers are flaring as inmates' supplies run short, and "black market" prices skyrocket. Even non-smokers like me suffer, because of the anxiety the smokers experience. I expect to see more fights, more theft, more trouble in general. Personally, it seems to me the B.O.P. could have chosen a better time of year to do this than the holidays, but nobody asked my opinion!
I guess that's all I wanted to cover this time aroudn. In football, I'm hoping the Super Bowl includes anyone but New England and Philly. Pphpht!! ((You didn't get THAT wish....)) The wild card spots aren't set yet, but I'll be rooting slightly for Green Bay, Carolina, New Orleans, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh. I just hope for some good games. Go Texas Rangers - have they signed anybody? ((Not really..... we'll see how they do.))
Best to you and yours, Doug, Unit F, 30694-177, Federal Correctional Institution McKean, PO Box 8000, Bradford, PA 16701


Don Del Grande (Tue, 08 Feb 2005 19:03:26 -0800)
((Commenting on my thrown out claim that there aren't really all that many ex-Little League World Series stars now starring in MLB....))
Not necessarily true - why, the league I played in had its own Major League success story. Okay, it was only Buddy Biancalana (although he did get a World Series ring), and the team from our league never even got out of district (mainly because back then it was single elimination and our pitchers were hobbled by being one of very few leagues that outlawed pitching curve balls, because it was felt that it wrecked pitchers' arms at that age). ((Just to be clear, you are citing an example of what I was talking about, actually. I wasn't claiming that MLB players didn't play Little League when they were younger, just that signing the Little League World Series players wasn't such a good deal because the MLBers didn't get there very often.))
I wasn't aware Little League had that many problems, unless they still have the foreign-born player age certification problem. (There is one crazy rule that's always been in the Little League tournament rules: once a team plays a game, no team can protest the use of any illegal players in any previous game - otherwise, pretty much the entire tournament would have to be replayed. As a result, the year a team from the Philippines "won" the World Series only to forfeit their championship when it was revealed weeks later that they had players from multiple districts, that year's tournament became, for all intents and purposes, a USA-only event.) ((I was referring to the whole idea of taking 12 year olds and putting them into an international tournament with TV coverage and local hype. Have you ever had a local team in it? Probably you have.... well, some RI teams have been doing very well lately and the hype has really been way over the top and seems inappropriate attention and pressure for kids that young. That's what I meant.))
((In response to Goz's admonition that Kurt Busch did NOT have the NASCAR title sewn up until he completed the last lap of the last race, so he can't see where I thought he "locked it up early"....))
Actually, it could have been one position - had Jimmie Johnson won the last race instead of coming in second (worth 10 points less than first instead of five, starting in 2004), he would have won the Cup by 2 points. ((Here, Boob sticks his foot in mouth again... yeah, well, who cares? I'll stand on my Russ Rusnak Mickey Mouse shoes.))
((And then on my college basketball comments.... by the way, Providence College lost at least two more heartbreakers that they coulda, shoulda won since I wrote.... but at least Ryan Gomes is now just playing the game in front of him. I've never seen a string of bad luck in any sport in such a short period of time. At least in the Red Sox case, such heartbreaks were stretched out over decades....))
Actually, they've pretty much already determined this year's "real" NCAA men's basketball champions: whichever Big 10 team manages to host an NIT game. ((I like it, money is the only measure that counts....)) Under the NCAA's system for distributing the men's basketball money (50% is divided among the Division 1 conferences, with each conference getting 1 share out of about 750 for each team in the tournament from 1999-2004, and 1 for each win in those years, except in the Final Four and the preliminary round (the 64-65 "don't call it a play-in - the NCAA actually had play-ins the first year they went to 64" game), but if a school switches conferences, it doesn't take its already-earned shares to the new conference), each Big 10 school gets about $1.6 million. (Even the Southern conference gets $100,000 per team.) Other than that, pretty much the only way a school can make post-season basketball money is to host an NIT game (you only get expenses if you are in the NCAA tournament). Meanwhile, the teams in the women's tournament get expenses, and, er, that's it, except that host schools in the first four rounds get a percentage of the receipts as well.
- Don, del_grande of pop.earthlink.net
((Cool, and MANY Big 10 teams are going to host NIT games as it looks right now. The question is, will any of them bother to knock off Illinois? Why should they?? Just go to the NIT and rake in the bucks.))
((For those who are interested, Jamie McQuinn has set up an NCAA Tournament group again and invites all College Basketball junkie TAPites to join. See below for details, this is the one where I usually get my clock cleaned, but cleaned up BIG last year by predicting UConn's win.))


Jamie McQuinn (Fri, 04 Mar 2005 13:36:51 -0500)
NCAA Tournament - Bracket Challenge
I have put together a group on ESPN.com's ESPN Men's Tournament Challenge and invite you all to join. No smack talk from me. I'm terrible at college basketball, but it's still fun to play with others. Invite your friends. The more the merrier.
Group name: WarbirdsFan
Password: flygirlz
Helpful links:
Join the group: http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/groupinfo?groupID=1845&password=flygirlz.
ESPN Men's Tournament Challenge: http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/group?groupID=1845
Jamie, jamie4home of hotmail.com
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, Phil Reynolds, Paul Kenny, and Dan Gorham 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. Come on, help me out!!! Contact Rip Gooch directly at xyropedes of canada.com.
We have a new game start below. I am willing to open another new game if there is enough interest!!! 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.
I also am starting a game of the variant I designed, Spy Diplomacy. Signups for that are now open. I'll publish the rules shortly or you can look at them at www.variantbank.com. Bruce Edwards and Eric Ozog are signed up. I'll try to remember to punch in the rules in the next 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?
Harold Reynolds is running the game of Colonia (see elsewhere in this issue) and is interested in guest-GMing a game of Aberration. Sean O'Donnell and Brendan Whyte are interested in Aberration. Brendan and Sean BOTH need rules from Harold Reynolds.
Also, I am going to design some postal rules for Devil Take the Hindmost, and Chris Lockheardt is pulling out of that opening too, so I need two more players. Bruce Edwards 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..... it takes four and Eoghan is getting tired of waiting....
Right now, the other thing going is the Modern Diplomacy game with Wings. Bob Holt, Rick Desper, Alexander Woo, Dave Partridge, and Eric Ozog are signed up for that. I will start it when I get a full complement of players, the other Modern game is now done!


SPIRALS OF PARANOIA: 2005A, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR SPRING 1901 IS MARCH 19, 2005
Winter 1900
AUSTRIA (Robinson): has a BUD, a VIE, f TRI.
ENGLAND (Wiedemeyer): has a LVP, f LON, f EDI.
FRANCE (Tretick): has a PAR, f BRE, a MAR.
GERMANY (Tallman): has a BER, a MUN, f KIE.
ITALY (Baker): has a VEN, a ROM, f NAP.
RUSSIA (Sundstrom): has f SEV, a WAR, a MOS, f STP(SC).
TURKEY (Biehl): has a CON, f ANK, a SMY.


Addresses of the Participants
AUSTRIA: Steve Robinson, 3121 Bel Aire Road, Des Moines, IA 50310-4904,
srobinson of lightedge.com ($5)
ENGLAND: Fred Wiedemeyer, Box 92010-Meadowbrook RPO, Edmonton, ALBERTA CANADA T6T 1N1,
(780) 465-6432, wiedem of planet.eon.net
FRANCE: Buddy Tretick, 9607 Conaty Circle, Spotsylvania, VA 22553-1953, 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
ITALY: Marvin Baker, 822 W. Garner Rd., Garner, NC 27529 (919) 772-7542,
marvinrb1 of bellsouth.net
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) 591-1832 ($7); jrb of dccnet.com


Game Notes:
1) Games in TAP generally are names after songs by the band, the Mekons, and this game will not be an exception. I thought it would be fun to name this one "Spirals of Paranoia", I've meant to use that one as a game name for some time. "Spirals of Paranoia" is a song on the country punk record Retreat from Memphis. This song has a spiraling structure that builds up tension as you might expect. I was going to choose the next song on the record, "Missing You All", which is about the most depressing, lonely, isolated Delta Blues song I've ever heard.... brilliant. But we'll go with "Spirals of Paranoia". Not to say I'm trying to create anything, but this IS Diplomacy.
2) Thanks to Boardman Number Custodian, Tom Howell, we have the first Boardman Number of 2005, 2005A. Thanks for using it in correspondence with each other and with me.
3) Note Bernie's (Buddy's) E-Mail address change. I'm pretty sure you all were notified already. And ditto with Terry's phone number.


Press:
(SMILING BERNIE'S HOUSE OF JIHAD): (a little guy in a green and purple plaid suit strolls out onto the lot, comes into camera range and starts smiling and talking, the suit looks like golf clothing on drugs, very bad drugs)
"Hi, Smiling Bernie here at Smiling Bernie's House of Jihad. We are having a special this week on Crusades! I know what you are saying to yourself, `Bernie, How can I afford a Crusade to liberate the Holy Land in the Spring of 1901?' And the Holy Lands are not even part of the game??? Here at Smiling Bernie's House of Jihad we will work with you to free the Holy Land EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT ON THE MAP!!!!! How do we do it you ask???
"Here at Smiling Bernie's we don't let little details like the edge of the board stop us from putting YOU in the dots you want. Pack up those units, head east, and when you get to Turkey my boys and I will have figured out a way to help you free the Holy Land from those infidel TURKS! Yes, you heard me right! The real Infidel's are the Turks!!!
"Smiling B, you are asking me, how can the Turk's be the Infidels when everyone knows the Froggy Peoples were sent hammed, spammed and freeze dried by the boat load to fight in a lot of the same terrain GWyah is stomping around today? We back our promises with my extremely LOW FIB RATE!!!
"The Froggy at Smiling Bernie's House of Jihad and Waffle Barn is the most honest Dip player this side of New York! We never fib so we can pass the dots on to you!!!
"And unlike certain players from the Great White North we stand behind every dot we promise you. Actually we stand behind YOU as YOU grab every dot we ever promised you after you get to the south eastern corner of the board. (By the way, while you are bent that way could you pick up that soap???)"
(A LITTLE NUNNERY ON THE FRANCO/ITALIAN BORDER): The head nun looks to her second in command, "You say the newest sister is named Brother Bernard???"
(PARIS MID-NIGHT POST-ITS REVIEW): Under the light of complete darkness, the entire French fleet slipped out of the docks in Brest. That olive oil sure does make things slippery, so much that we use a straw to drink olive oil from puddles of dog spray.
While moving westward, all ears were listening to the north. Was that a British sailboat we heard in the tides of London? Perhaps. Okay, guys, man the guns and be at the ready.
Now, then, back to Paris, where the night ladies [as in `lad' ies] [or as in `laid' ease] were huddled at every doorway, waiting for some guy named "John" to come their way, flash a lot of money, take them to bed, and then flash a badge. Same ol' same ol'.
A word of warning to the olive oil industry, you know where. If you are occupying the Piedmont at dawn, we will turn all of our nit-wits sailor in your direction, and then do an about face and run like hell.
We all wonder where our friend Dwayne Shreve went to.
(BOOB to WORLD OF DWAYNE SHREVE): Dwayne won't let me mail the szine to him any more, I would, but he won't let me.....
(A BACK BOOTH IN JOHN'S ANKARA WAFFLE BARN): The French are invading where in '01?????
(BERNIE'S HOUSECON REPORT): I was playing across the board at my house, playing England. France said he wanted a non-aggression treaty and I agreed. France opened into the Channel in Spring 1901, setting up his army for a convoy.
I told Italy and Germany that France had lied, and France agreed he lied. How can you trust what he says? Germany wanted to know exactly which centers he would get.
So, I said to Germany, "If we ally as a team and take out France, I will share his centers with you, and you will get -- " Opps! The 15 minutes for diplomacy gong [my oven timer] went off, so the rules state you can not even wince or blink after the gong. You have 2 minutes to get in your orders.
So, Italy and Germany attacked France and put him into a bad position, losing Marseilles, Belgium, and Burgundy. However, I attacked Germany and took two centers from him, not losing to France, who did not write his orders properly to make the convoy.
Germany says, "Hey, you lied. You attacked me instead of France." I replied that I did not lie. I said that "If we ally as a team ... ", and we obviously did not ally as a team since I attacked you.
Yes, I keep my word. Make sure you are up to knowing the English = language.
(A BACK BOOTH IN THE QUEEN'S ROYAL CHIP AND WAFFLE SHOP): He wants us to invade WHERE in '01?????
(BOOB to WHICH WHO WHERE): Ummm, hey if I'm confused.....
(THE ROYAL AUSTRIAN WAFFLE WORKS AND WANKER FORGES): Yah, that works for us!!!!!
(BOOB to AUSTRIA): I can't imagine you are any LESS confused than I am!
(THE KAISER'S RUBBER DUCKY POND AND WAFFLE WORKS): He wants us to invade WHERE in '01?????
(BOOB to WAFFLERS): Just how many waffles DO we have in this game???
(THE TSAR'S MAGICAL MUSHROOM WAFFLE WORKS): Well DUH man.
(THE POPE): (Cough) I ... will ...(wheeze) ... continue ... to ...waffles?
(THE FRENCH ACADEMY OF PSYCHIC MIND WASHING AND MENTAL DETERGENT TESTING): Test Result Number 927-Patient is still consumed with Turkey Sandwiches rather than marching east, southeast or due south. Add some Vodka and retest.


FLIP FLOP: 2003G, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR SPRING 1904 IS MARCH 19TH, 2005
Winter 1903
AUSTRIA (Wiedemeyer): bld a tri, a vie; has a TRI, a VIE, a BUD, a ALB, a MOS,
a WAR, a SER, f GRE.
ENGLAND (Schmit): bld f lvp; has f LVP, a BEL, f ENG, f NWY, f NTH, a STP.
FRANCE (Jeff O'Donnell): R f bel otb; has f SPA(SC), a PAR, f MID,
a MAR, a GAS.
GERMANY (Sundstrom): R f den-HEL; has a MUN, a BER, a RUH, f HEL.
ITALY (Williams): rem a bur; has f ION, f GOL, f WES, a PIE.
RUSSIA (Sean O'Donnell): rem f bal, a den; has a SIL.
TURKEY (Levinson): bld a con; has a CON, f AEG, f BLA, a SEV, a BUL.


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, 1452 Seville Dr. #3, Green Bay, WI 54302-5559, (920) 469-5981,
diplomacy of new.rr.com ($5)
FRANCE: Jeff O'Donnell, 402 Middle Ave., Elyria, OH 44035-5728,
(440) 322-2920 or (440) 225-9203 (cell)
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, 1, allee des Marniquets, 78430 Louveciennes FRANCE, don't need phone,
levinson7 of hotmail.com ($5)


Game Notes:
1) Get orders for spring in quickly, sorry for the short turnaround, I'll delay the game if I have to, but try to get them in. Thanks!


Press:
(JEFF to SEAN): We are both right! Both Russia and France do, in fact, suck!
(SEAN to JEFF AND THE REST): Well, this game was a complete disaster, plan and execution wise, for me, lol.
(MUNICH-WORLD): Hofbrauhaus is reclaimed! Liters of beer fill the streets (ever so briefly before they are quaffed). Germany is again willing to consider any and all offers, although we might not remember what we promised last night in the cruel morning light.
(STAR TREK PRESS, EPISODE 8, "ALL GOOD THINGS", A CONVERSATION, KIRK AND SPOCK):
K - Have you had any luck in transforming us back to human form?
S - Truthfully, Captain, I don't have a clue. Furthermore, what's the point? Our Klingon "allies" have been virtually destroyed, we just lost the Ferengi Starship "Bad Deal", and we are under attack by the Perpendicular Universe Federation, the intelligent, although not so trustworthy, Tribbles, and an unknown Vulcan like race. Our own universe according to sensor logs never existed, although we keep receiving this silly message from Q informing us of the Federation defeat. ((Yeah, we finally dealt with that this issue, with some prodding and assistance from the Boardman/Miller Number Custodian, Tom Howell.)) We surrender! OK?! The one ally we do have, the Children of Tamari, are too far away to help us, and sensor logs indicate that they are also under attack by the Tribbles and some other race we believe to be the Breen. The only good news is that the Tribbles have overextended themselves. They lost a Starbase in a deal with the now restored Federation and are not going to have the resources to maneuver all their starships. They are ripe for invasion. If the Breen had any sense, they would attack.
(Lt. Uhura interrupts...)
U - Captain Kirk!
K - What have you got?
U - I analyzed the communication array from the "Bad Deal" before she was destroyed. All hands escaped in escape pods and they have identified the Vulcan like race that attacked us.
K - Who are they?
U - (with dramatic hesitation)... ROMULANS!!! (bad dramatic Trek music in the background)
(JEFF O'DONNELL to WORLD): So, let me get this straight. Italy attacks Germany, then France, and now Turkey. It's only Winter of '03. There are only two more countries he can attack. Oh well, I hope you guys like French wine (I'm buyin').
(JEFF O'DONNELL to KARL SCHMIT): How could you! After all we've been through together!


I CAN'T FIND MY MONEY!: 2001F, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR WINTER 1909 IS MARCH 19, 2005
THE DUE DATE FOR SPRING 1910 IS APRIL 9, 2005
Fall 1909
AUSTRIA (Parker): f ADR-apu, a tyo-VEN, a rum-BUL, a TUS S a ven-rom, a ven-ROM,
a SEV-arm, a ALB S f gre, a SER S a rum-bul, a STP h, f GRE S a rum-bul.
ENGLAND (Kinney): a LON h, a EDI h, f nth s a lon (d r:yor,nwg,ska,otb).
FRANCE (Kent): a mar-PIE, a bur-MAR, a pic-WAL, f ENG C a pic-wal, f mid-WES.
GERMANY (Wilson): f hel-NTH, a ber-MUN, f HOL S a bel, a BEL S a mun-bur,
a DEN h, a mun-BUR, f NWY S f hel-nth, a RUH S a bel.
ITALY (Gardner): NMR, MIKE BARNO CALLED AS STANDBY; a rom h (d r:nap,otb),
f ION h, a APU h.
TURKEY (Miller): NMR, PAUL RAUTERBERG CALLED AS STANDBY; f AEG h, a ARM h, a SMY h,
f bul(sc) h (d r:con,otb).


Supply Center Chart
AUSTRIA (Parker): TRI,BUD,VIE,ser,rum, (has 10, bld 3)
war,mos,stp,sev,ven,rom,bul,gre
ENGLAND (Kinney): LON,LVP,EDI (has 2 or 3, bld 1(r:otb) or even)
FRANCE (Kent): PAR,MAR,spa,por,BRE (has 5, even)
GERMANY (Wilson): KIE,BER,hol,den,bel,MUN,swe, (has 8, even)
nwy
ITALY (Gardner): NAP,tun (has 2 or 3, even(r:otb) or rem 1)
TURKEY (Miller): ANK,SMY,CON (has 3 or 4, even(r:otb) or rem 1)
Neutral: none (Total=34)


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: Douglas Kent - Unit F, #30694-177, Federal Correctional Institution McKean,
PO Box 8000, Bradford, PA 16701
GERMANY: Kevin Wilson, 18623 Santa Maria Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70809, 225-751-3857,
ckevinw of aol.com
ITALY: Heath Gardner, 1510 W. Friendly Ave., Greensboro, NC 27403-1207
metaphorman of gmail.com
ITALY: Standby is Mike Barno, 634 Dawson Hill Road, Spencer, NY 14883
mpbarno of lightlink.com
RUSSIA: Rick Desper, 5440 Marinelli Road, #204, Rockville, MD 20852
(301) 977-7691, rick_desper of yahoo.com
TURKEY: Tim Miller, 258 New Mark Esplanade, Rockville, MD 20850,
tim of webjudge.net
TURKEY: Standby is Paul Rauterberg, 3116 W. American Dr., Greenfield, WI 53221,
(414) 281-2339 (E-Mail) trauterberg of wi.rr.com
GM: Jim-Bob Burgess, 664 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908-4327, +1 401-351-0287
burgess of world.std.com


Game Notes:
1) I think it is time to call standbys for Italy and Turkey. I don't have orders in from either one, and I don't have current phone numbers for them to call them. I've E-Mailed repeatedly..... I hope they return, but thanks to Mike Barno (Italy) and Paul Rauterberg (Turkey) in advance for being loyal standbys!
2) Also, a concession to Austria and an AFG draw are proposed. Please vote with your spring orders. NMRs or no votes veto the proposals.


Press:
(F-G): Thanks for writing, and for giving me a reason to write back.
(F-E): Enjoying the fall in Wales. Just a short vacation.
(F-A): If you write too, maybe I can be your puppet instead. Or not.


SOMETHING TO BE SCARED OF: 2001D, Regular Diplomacy
THE GAME IS OVER - EFG DRAW AGREED TO BY ALL PARTIES


Addresses of the Participants
AUSTRIA: Doug Kent
ENGLAND: Matt Sundstrom, 1760 Robincrest Lane South, Glenview, IL 60025, (847) 729-1882 ($5)
Matt.Sundstrom of bbdoch.com or mattandzoe of earthlink.net
FRANCE: James Alan (Jim) Tretick, 1383 Canterbury Way Potomac, MD 20854, (301) 279-0803 ($4)
jatretick of comcast.net
GERMANY: Don Williams, 27505 Artine Drive, Saugus, CA 91350, (661) 297-3947 ($3)
wllmsfmly of earthlink.net or dwilliams of fontana.org
ITALY: Mike Barno, 634 Dawson Hill Road, Spencer, NY 14883
mpbarno of lightlink.com
RUSSIA: Paul Rauterberg, 3116 W. American Dr., Greenfield, WI 53221,
(414) 281-2339 (E-Mail) trauterberg of wi.rr.com
TURKEY: Sean O'Donnell, 1044 Wellfleet Drive, Grafton, OH 44044, (440) 926-0230
sean_o_donnell of hotmail.com or seanfodonnell of yahoo.com


Game Notes:
1)




FANTASTIC VOYAGE: 1999K, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR END GAME STATEMENTS EXTENDED
Five Way AEGRT Draw Declared!


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: John Biehl, #8 - 11530 84th Avenue, Delta, BRITISH COLUMBIA, V4C 2M1 CANADA,
(604) 591-1832 ($7); jrb of dccnet.com
FRANCE: Rick Davis, 2420 West Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95407, (707) 544-5201,
redavis914 of aol.com
GERMANY: Bob Osuch, 19137 Midland Avenue, Mokena, IL 60448, (708) 478-3885
ROsuch4082 of aol.com
ITALY: Terry Tallman, PO Box 782, Clinton, WA 98236, (360) 710 9613, cell (360) 710-9613 ($2)
terryt of whidbey.net
RUSSIA: Buddy Tretick, 9607 Conaty Circle, Spotsylvania, VA 22553, (540) 582-2356 (E-Mail)
batretick of earthlink.net
TURKEY: Vince Lutterbie, 1021 Stonehaven, Marshall, MO 65340-2837, (660) 886-7354
melvin4852 of sbcglobal.net


Game Notes:
1)


End Game Statements:


SECRETS: 1999D, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR FALL 1918 IS MARCH 19TH, 2005
Summer 1918
ENGLAND (Brosius): has f LON, a GAS, f NAO, a KIE,
f MID, f ENG, f HOL, f POR.
FRANCE (Sasseville): f MAR, f SPA(SC), a MUN, a BUR.
GERMANY (Barno): has a ANK.
RUSSIA (Reynolds): has a MOS, a LVN, a BER, f BAL,
a STP, a PRU.
TURKEY (Linsey): has a ARM, a UKR, a WAR, f WES, a SEV, f GOL, a SIL,
a GAL, f NAF, f AEG, a TYO, f PIE, a BUL, a BOH.


Addresses of the Participants
ENGLAND: Eric Brosius, 53 Bird Street, Needham, MA 02492
eric.brosius of comcast.net
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
mpbarno of lightlink.com
RUSSIA: Phil Reynolds, 2896 Oak Street, Sarasota, FL 34237, (813) 953-6952
preyno of yahoo.com
TURKEY: Bruce Linsey, PO Box 234, Kinderhook, NY 12106
GonzoHQ of aol.com


Game Notes:
1) The FREGT draw is rejected and then reproposed. I had no complaint, so I've granted a request that we go back to where we were on the voting, which was this: (1) Some of you have "perpetual draw votes on this proposal on file", those are still in force; (2) Some of you do not and have been voting every season, for you if you FAIL to vote it counts as a yes vote for this proposal. If we get to a situation where no centers change hands for three game years, then we can go to the next step, which will require everyone to vote every season, no perpetual draw votes. And failure to vote would be a yes. The upcoming Fall 1918 is that point. Even if Turkey is missing TWO of its home centers in Winter 1918, I think we are still going to advance to the next level of voting, which is that perpetual draw votes will no longer be allowed with failure to vote equalling a yes. If any other significant movement or centers change hands then that will be another story, of course. This does NOT mean the game will just be ended by the GM, it just means someone must veto the draw every turn.


Press:


FINDING THE COMMUNITY: Breaking Away, Designer's Rules
MISTAKE LAST TIME: Sand replenished with a 5, I miscounted!
THE DUE DATE FOR TURN 13 IS MARCH 19TH, 2005
Turn 12
96 (replenish with a 3) Lisa
95 (replenish with a 4) Hearts
94 (replenish with a 5) Clubs
93 (no replenishment) Empty
92 (no replenishment) Empty
91 (no replenishment) Empty
90 (replenish with a 3) Franklin
89 (no replenishment) Empty
88 (no replenishment) Empty
87 (no replenishment) Empty
86 (replenish with a 3) Edmond, El Vez
85 (replenish with a 5) Diamonds
84 (no replenishment) Empty
83 (replenish with a 3) Paige (2), Clay (1)
82 (replenish with a 5) Carl Sagan
81 (replenish with a 6) James, Geri Lee Lewis, Johnny Peso
-S-P-R-I-N-T- -F-I-N-I-S-H- -L-I-N-E-
80 (replenish with a 9) Frederick
79 (replenish with a 10) Sand
78 (replenish with a 11) Wade, Spades
77 (replenish with a 13) Homer
76 (replenish with a 14) Marge
75 (replenish with a 15) Pebble
74 (no replenishment) Empty
73 (no replenishment) Empty
72 (no replenishment) Empty
71 (replenish with a 3) Bart
70 (no replenishment) Empty
69 (replenish with a 3) Zedd
68 (no replenishment) Empty
67 (no replenishment) Empty
66 (no replenishment) Empty
65 (no replenishment) Empty
64 (no replenishment) Empty
63 (replenish with a 3) Omega, Silt


Addresses of the Participants - Their Team and Their Cards
TEAM 1 (Rick Desper): rick_desper of yahoo.com (39 points)
Team Name: Team Springfield
A: Homer Simpson (7) 7 11 7 13
B: Marge Simpson (5) 8 3 14
C: Bart Simpson (4) 11 3 3
D: Lisa Simpson (3) 4 3 3
Total Replenishments: 22+63+46+13+15+29+21+17+25+17+18+33 = 329
TEAM 2 (Bruce Edwards): kactusjak of ntlworld.com (2 points)
Team Name: Last Again
A: Zedd (3) 3 4 3
B: Omega (3) 4 4 3
C: Paige (3) 5 6 3
D: James (6) 3 3 6
Total Replenishments: 16+37+29+25+12+13+26+24+21+18+16+15 = 252
TEAM 3 (Tom Howell): off-the-shelf of olympus.net (1 point)
Team Name: The Soils; Manager: Boulder
A: Clay (4) 15 7 7 3
B: Silt (3) 3 4 3
C: Sand (5) 20 4 10
D: Pebble (3) 21 9 15
Total Replenishments: 17+62+63+25+12+13+12+29+27+21+17+31 = 329
TEAM 4 (Dennis Menear): dmenear of wirefire.com (9 points)
Team Name: The Firm
A: Edmond (3) 3 3 3 3
B: Franklin (3) 4 4 3
C: Frederick (9) 4 5 9
D: Wade (6) 4 3 11
Total Replenishments: 12+28+32+35+38+25+24+17+29+21+15+26 = 302
TEAM 5 (David Partridge): rebhuhn of rocketmail.com (24 points)
Team Name: It's In The Cards; Manager: The Joker
A: Spades (3) 9 15 3 11
B: Hearts (13) 6 4 4
C: Diamonds (4) 3 5 5
D: Clubs (6) 3 3 5
Total Replenishments: 17+55+51+25+30+24+26+20+34+15+15+25 = 337
TEAM 6 (Karl Schmit): diplomacy of new.rr.com (3 points)
Team Name: 25 Dollar Quartet
A: Carl Sagan (4) 3 15 8 5
B: El Vez (9) 15 11 3
C: Geri Lee Lewis (12) 9 8 6
D: Johnny Peso (12) 1 8 6
Total Replenishments: 12+37+22+44+16+27+28+27+32+39+33+20 = 337


Game Notes:
1) The rules are on the TAP website in the Tinamou section. Ask if you have any questions. Press is VERY welcome!!!
2) Up above in parentheses is the card you played to get to where you are in the field. The replenishment card is the last card in your list. Be careful to note that the card you played (the one in parentheses) is not available for you, for next turn. Just for fun, I'm going to keep track of total replenishment, by turn, which is a rough measure of how the teams are doing. Of course, it is lining up to get across the sprint and final lines in the right places that really counts. We can calculate an "efficiency score" later, which will be the ratio of scoring points per replenishment. If I'm predicting how the future of this will come out, a 10% score will be really tremendous for this measure (note that Rick still is ahead of this pace). Also, note that four of the teams are within eight replenishment points of each other, two ties each at 337 and 329. Note that one 337 and one 329 replenisher has a lot of points, and one of each doesn't. It will be interesting to see which approach works best on the way to the Finish Line. Ride on!!!


Press:
(BART - > ZEDD): so long, suckah!
(BOOB to BART): I would have bet against it, but you might well be leaving him in the dust with that tricky move....
(ZEDD > BOOB): Because the last will be first and the first will be last!! Trouble is Omega was never good at Scripture!! Anyway, can I stop pedalling now?? I really should get Omega out of the... erm... Silt!!
(BOOB to ZEDD): Let's see... that's a bit trickier. But can anyone catch THEM?!?!
(GRANDPA SIMPSON - > GM): I think I can catch up to Omega and Silt! Let me just get started! (falls asleep)
(BOOB to GRAMPS): I was going to let you get started, but it's best to let sleeping dogs lie....
(HOMER - > MARGE): Look, a 7-11!
(APU - > HOMER): Hey! I thought you only shopped at Kwik-e-Mart!
(BOOB SHOPPETH NOT): Eh?


FEAR AND WHISKEY: 1998Ers31, Modern Diplomacy
CONCESSION TO UKRAINE PASSES - CONGRATULATIONS TO DAVE!!!


Addresses of the Participants
BRITAIN: Kurt Ozog, 391 Wilmington Drive, Bartlett, IL 60103, (630) 837-2813
ozricozog of yahoo.com
EGYPT: Jeff O'Donnell, 402 Middle Ave., Elyri, OH 44035-5728, (440) 322-2920
or (440) 225-9203 (cell) ($2)
FRANCE: Harry Andruschak ($5) Tapmdfrance of aol.com
GERMANY: Paul Rauterberg, 3116 W. American Dr., Greenfield, WI 53221, (414) 281-2339 (E-Mail)
trauterberg of wi.rr.com
ITALY: Eric Ozog, PO Box 1138, Granite Falls, WA 98252-1138, (360) 691-4264 ($3)
ElfEric of Juno.com
POLAND: Roland Sasseville, Jr., 38 Bucklin Street, Pawtucket, RI 02861, (401) 481-4280 ($5)
roland6 of home.com and ICQ: 40565030
RUSSIA: Randy Ellis
SPAIN: Sean O'Donnell, 1044 Wellfleet Drive, Grafton, OH 44044, (440) 926-0230 ($3)
sean_o_donnell of hotmail.com or seanfodonnell of yahoo.com
TURKEY: Kent Pollard, 1541 W. San Jose, Fresno, CA 93711, (209) 225-0957 ($10)
UKRAINE: Dave Partridge, 15 Woodland Drive, Brookline, NH 03033 ($8)
rebhuhn of rocketmail.com




Personal Note to You:


File translated from TEX by TTH, version 3.35.
On 12 Mar 2005, 22:19.