THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE #305

September 11, 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: /Postal/Zines/TAP/index.html


Where were YOU five years ago on September 11th, as most of you remember, I was up in a plane.... stuck in Chicago for the longest three days of my life, but nothing like the experience of anyone at Ground Zero. Best wishes to everyone, and for true Peace on Earth.
The szine is late again, so I pushed deadlines back a week. Lots of orders coming in for the new Phil Reynolds Memorial game, good start!!! Let's get some of the other games started. We have Tinamou and By the WAY issues in the postal version and on the web. JOIN the 23 TUNES GAME!!! SEND ME THREE TUNES AND COMMENTARY!!!
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 has started, Spring 1901 results in the next issue!!!


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: /
I also have taken over the Postal port/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 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: /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 MARGARET GEMIGNANI
OK, now, why Margaret? Margaret, of course, is one of the most famous personalities in Dipdom, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Comic, etc. fandom. She was a nurse in the DC area, I believe, and then retired to Florida some years ago. Many people had an address for her in Fort Lauderdale (including me), but that address went missing around 1994. If you do Google searching, as I have done off and on, there is a Margaret Gemignani that contributes to the Baltimore and Ohio Historical Railroad Association, along with a husband, Gino (anyone know if that matches.... the B&O matches where she used to live... but don't tell me, use it as info to go looking yourself!!!) Margaret has a couple of mentions in the Diplomacy AtoZ and I first encountered her in the old Bernie Oaklyn Le Front szine. I think it would be fun to find her. We also have a leftover letter on Jeff Key from Mark Lew below.


Feel free to spend the time looking for some of the backlog. Let's get Jeff, 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 Jeff Key or 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.


Mark Lew (Tue, 5 Sep 2006 19:46:38 -0700)
Jim-Bob,
I confess, I never read TAP promptly and I rarely read it completely either. Today I happened to see a paragraph about the search for Jeff Key from the Aug 10 issue. The way you talk about the "Key Lepanto" makes me wonder if you've got it wrong. (Or maybe I'm remembering it wrong.)
((No, I know, but I didn't say it very well..... so why don't you explain more properly and then I'll quote from the Official Mark Berch A to Z definitions. Although, Mark Berch DOES say that Jeff originated both the Key Opening and Key Lepanto.))
As you no doubt know, plain old vanilla Lepanto is spring 01 A Rom-Apu, F Nap-Ion; fall 01 F Ion C A Apu-Tun; winter 01 build F Nap; spring 02 F Nap-Ion, F Ion-Eas; and fall 02 F Ion & F Eas C A Tun-Syr. The idea was that in spring 02 Turkey doesn't see it coming so he doesn't leave anyone in Smy or Arm, and therefore in fall the convoy to Syria can't be bounced.
The generic label "Lepanto" later came to be applied to any variation that tries to convoy an army from Tunis to somewhere in Turkey. (And I'll resist the urge to point out all the reasons why the name isn't very apt historically....)
The "Key Lepanto" was not invented directly, at least not the way I remember it. The opening that Jeff invented was the plain old Key opening that originally had nothing to do with the Lepanto. The essence of the Key opening is that in spring 01 Italy moves A Ven-Tri, and then in fall 01 A Tri moves on to Serbia. The idea here is that the A-I alliance gets one more unit into the Balkans early. Austria tries to get both Rum and Gre while Italy gets Tun and Ser. Obviously, the illusion of an A-I war helps in the diplomacy for fall 01 to trick R and/or T into leaving something insufficiently defended. Then if it works out they've got three in place to possibly pop Turkey out of Bulgaria in spring 02.
The generic label "Key" later came to be applied to any variation where Italy sends an army through Trieste with Austria's blessing.
The "Key Lepanto" is a later hybrid that tries to do both at once. Presumably the illusion of the A-I war is less effective since if Italy was really going after Austria he probably wouldn't send A Rom to Apu; but at the same time it has the common theme of getting Italy's units forward quicker in an A-I alliance, both the army in Serbia and the fleet still in Ion for the start of spring 02.
I don't know that Jeff invented the Key Lepanto. I think he just invented the Key, and then the other variations came along later. (Somewhere in a box I've got Mark Berch's lexicon of Diplomacy, which probably details all the openings and their histories.)
mdl, markdlew of earthlink.net
((You can access the full Diplomacy AtoZ on the Internet through the TAP home page. Here are some of those original definitions as written by Mark Berch, note the Key Lepanto entry was edited somewhat by others later, Mark Berch himself is welcome to chime in:))
KEY OPENING: Named by Jeff Key, the inventor, of an Italian-Austrian opening with A(Ven)-Tri-Ser (usually with Austrian support to foil A(Bul)-Ser), A(Bud)-Ser-Gre (latter with support from F(Alb)). Since Italy gets his build in Ser, he can do F(ION)-AEG/EAS. This opening is particularly valuable if Turkey opens F(Ank)-Con, since the traditional Lepanto is almost certain to be foiled. If A(Bul)-Gre is believed unlikely, Austria can step up the naval pressure on Turkey with F(Alb)-ION. Italy can readily stab Austria with A(Tri)-Vie, A(Ven)-Tri, or by gaining Turkish support for A(Apu)/F(ION)-Gre, plus A(Tri)-Alb to cut support.
KEY LEPANTO: A specific variation of the Lepanto series of Italian opening moves: A(Ven)-Tri, A(Rom)-Apu, F(Nap)-ION. The intent is A(Tri)-Ser, a Key opening without the camouflage (and risk to Austria) of A(Rom)-Ven. A(Apu) is presumably heading for Tun, thus passing up one of the main values of the Key opening. Unfortunately for agreeable Austrian players, most Italians allowed into Trieste refuse to move out in Autumn, with horrific consequences for beleaguered Austria. Consequently, despite the overwhelming popularity of the Lepanto as an opening, the Key Lepanto itself is rarely seen. If we considered the moves A(Ven)-Tri and F(Nap)-ION to be the stem of the Key Lepanto then we have the following variations: A(Rom)-Apu (Key Lepanto); A(Rom) H, (Key Lepanto, Rome Variation); A(Rom)-Nap (Key Lepanto, Naples Variation); A(Rom)-Tus (Key Lepanto, Tuscany Variation). Note that the A(Rom)-Ven move is known as the Stab Lepanto. ((this version was named by Richard Sharp.)) Devised by American player Jeff Key.


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.


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. Actually, in an update, the Semifinal games will begin in Mid-September. I was wondering why I hadn't seen anything on progress in these games, and that's why. But the pairings have just been announced. More on that next issue!!! Thomas Franke and David Partridge are in a game together that seems on first glance to be the weakest in the rest of the players. So my first thought is that one of those two will have a slot in the finals.
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;
or
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.... and then, well, REAL SOON NOW!!!


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 that had been doing a new PC Diplomacy game:
http://www.paradoxplaza.com/news.asp?ArticleID=239&Page=News
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:
/Zine/S2005M/
I'm not sure what is going to happen now, but basically everywhere except in Russia the game pretty much failed. The AI was not good (not a huge surprise) and it just required too many updates to get it to work. Besides, it really was designed for "real time" play and everyone doesn't want that. To find out more general information on DIPLOMACY please visit www.diplomacy-pcgame.com or contact pr of paradoxplaza.com but I think it is about to wither away and die. In sum, I think that is too bad. But the hobby as a whole is going strong with thousands and thousands of Diplomacy players worldwide. REALLY!!! Speaking of worldwide, there's been a resurgeance of the Australian/New Zealand hobbies lately after three years of relative quiet. Here's an update from my teddy bear cuddly pal, Sean Colman of a statement by Phil Davies!!! This is the good side by the way, they've also been feuding over how/when to allow younger Dippers to play relative to having side games of poker and drinking to go on. As always, it is a shame when greater hobby energy translates into rule mongering and feuding. Here's to hoping that Sean and others come to their senses and focus on PLAYING and having FUN. I choose here to focus on the good plans for the future....


Forwarded by Sean Colman (Wed, 30 Aug 2006 16:45:24)
The inaugural Australian Games Expo (AGE), conducted in Albury on the Queen's Birthday Weekend of 10th & 11th June 2006, was an outstanding success.
There were in excess of 1000 attendees over the two days. Exhibitors totaled 18, with one, Mary Couzin, owner of Discovergames.com and convenor of the Chicago International Toy & Games Fair (CHiTAG) travelling from the USA.
Mike Hirtle, Vice President Research & Development from Hasbro USA also traveled from the USA to support the event. All exhibitors have indicated they will be returning next year, some requiring larger booths.
There were 95 entrants for the Sanctioned, Carcassonne & Settlers of Catan Tournaments. Complying with Spielezentrum Herne requirements, the first prizes were return airfares to Essen to enable Australia to be represented in the World Championships in October 2006. In addition, 5 nights accommodation was included for each player, in Essen.
The three Australian wholesalers, Funatical, Walrus & Carpenter & Ventura, who supplied the first prizes, have all agreed to be sponsors again in 2007.
The Diplomacy Association of Australia & New Zealand "DAANZ" (www.daanz.org.au) has decided to conduct the Annual Australian Sanctioned Championships at AGE in 2007 as well. As with Carcassonne & "Settlers" the first prize will be a return airfare to the world championships.
The plan for AGE 2007 is to aim for 40 Exhibitors, with a target of 3000 attendees.
To achieve this, advertising will be conducted in all Australian State Capitals. Hasbro Australia has agreed to be lead sponsor to help achieve these targets. Hasbro Australia and Mayfair Games have already indicated they intend to be Exhibitors.
I will be attending and exhibiting, at The Chicago International Toys & Games Fair (www.chitag.com) in November 2006, in an effort to gain further International exhibitor support. The Australian board game market, clearly has reached a maturity level, especially with the Euro style games, where an event such as this is justified and sustainable.
The 2007 Expo will encompass not only board & card games, but games of all types, including Table Top Games, Role-playing Games and Collectible Trading Card Games.
I encourage you, to take the step of being an Exhibitor at the Australian Games Expo 2007. Please take the time to visit the Expo website. www.austgamesexpo.com
I look forward to your response and discussing your involvement in the Australian Games Expo on 9th & 10th June 2007.
Convenor - Phil Davies, phil of austgamesexpo.com, www.austgamesexpo.com
Sean, sean of seropeco.com.au
((I'm probably going to get back to Australia somewhere around that time in 2008, so you can be sure I'm going to be watching for time of this event. Joakim Spangberg answered this question about PBM zines in the UK.... that Jonathan Amery asked.))


Joakim Spangberg (24 Aug 2006 21:24:39 -0700)
Here are the ones I know is active but there are for sure several more: Borealis; Bloodstock; Greatest Hits; Hopscotch; For Whom the Die Rolls; Jamais n'est-ce pas la gare?; Minstrel; Ode; Save Your xxs For Me; To Win Just Once; The Tangerine Terror; Variable Pig; Where Is My Mind.
These might only be available by e-mail and/or on the web: Dane's Games; Devolution; The Blue Nose Special; Will It Lead to Trouble!?
Joakim, joakim of konfliktspel.com, http://www.konfliktspel.com/corps/
((That's not bad, but it does leave out a few, like Psychozine on the Web side and Alex Richardson's szine on the postal side. That's still way more than what is left in North America, as I think we're under ten at the moment where I only get four, other than this one.))


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. I've got three people in now, I need more of you. To get started, I need THREE songs, the first turn will be three songs, and then two for each of the next ten rounds. Send me three tunes now with a bit of commentary, and we'll see if people can guess who you are!!! And already there is a LOT of diversity in defining tunes and styles, so BE CREATIVE!!! I should be able to get a dozen entrants!!!


Pete Gaughan (Tue, 29 Aug 2006 08:19:59 -0700)
Jim, you faithfully continue to wave "hello" to me every issue, and I faithfully intend to write back but never do. Thanks for keeping me on the string. ((You're quite welcome, it is part of the mission around here.))
I just don't game any more. Jason B((Bergmann)) and I get together occasionally for one-on-one (when he's wrapping up a bike ride in my neighborhood) but more often for a Giants game or a business lunch. I love to know that TAP, Graustark, World DipCon, and so many other familiar names are still going strong. In fact, I'm astonished sometimes at some people's longevity (and not just Dr. John): Mark Berch in your letter column? You're searching for Jeff Key?? (Did you know that I brought Jeff Key out of retirement once already? He hadn't played in years when he attended the DipCon I TD'd in Dallas in '83.) ((Nope, didn't realize that. Then after that, he came to a few other things before disappearing again.))
Sports: My World Cup record was excellent until the semis. The biggest glitch was, I had Australia picked to beat the Italians-and didn't they, really? I picked all the quarters correctly; but I picked both semis wrong (yeah, I had the same finals prediction as Goz!). God, what a mediocre tournament; like your other readers, I hate dives even more than I hate shootouts. But this is a cultural thing; we're taught as children that it's unethical and un-macho to fake an injury or "game" the game. As long as the international game chooses to incorporate diving, the U.S. team will be second-rate.
In a lot of ways, this has been a good year for close races. The Cardinals slipped to just "good"; Alonzo and Schumacher have been almost in lockstep (even DNFing in the same race!); even Tiger needed a playoff this week. My Dodgers don't have enough to hold off San Diego, but at least they've kept the summer interesting. ((Well, you might have more in the Dodgers than you think.))
By the way, Jim: there are no liberal Republicans any more. The big-bidness theocrats don't want you, they're redefining government to prevent you from being seen or heard. You're extinct, my friend, and just haven't realized it yet.
Pete Gaughan, pgaughan of wiley.com
((Oh no, believe me, I realize it. We're going to defeat Lincoln Chafee here in Rhode Island for just that reason. We have Karl Rove and his hit squad running all over RI now defending and supporting Chafee in his primary battle. And that pretty much says it all. And that's why I'm not voting for Chafee either, even though most of his positions match up with mine. But ultimately, he has not dared to stand up for the losing positions and oppose the other Republicans to any substantive degree. He may well lose the Primary next week. At which point the Republicans will walk away from RI. But what I think will really surprise everyone is how vulnerable Olympia Snowe is in Maine. People in Maine really like Snowe, just as we here in RI like Chafee. But we can't vote for extinct dinosaurs. It just gives the other Republicans the power. After the liberal Republicans go 0 for New England, that will leave only Susan Collins from Maine (who isn't up for reelection or she would be gone too) as the only liberal Republican left in office.))


Doug Kent (Tue, 22 Aug 2006 08:09:52 -0700 (PDT))
Oh, the Red Sox...finished...nice series, eh? Now 6 1/2 back...and the Rangers are ALSO 6 1/2 back after being unable to score more than 3 runs again st Tampa Bay while Oakland came back against Tampa from an 8-0 deficit...resulting in Ted Lilly bloodying his manager's nose. What fun!
Doug, dougray30 of yahoo.com


Warren Goesle (Mon, 21 Aug 2006 22:43:39 -0500)
Hey! It's only the middle of August! Only Cubs' fans are supposed to be here in the "Bummed-Out-Bar"! What are all these people doing in here with caps that have a "B" on them?!?
Goz, wgoesle of comcast.net
((You think we were bummed on August 21, you should see us today. Most of the other sports fans around here have gone on to watch that other team that wears the funny helmets. But I'm still suffering with the Red Sox. As Dave says, and why not get the suffering over with early.))


Dave Partridge (Tue, 22 Aug 2006 05:59:20 -0700 (PDT))
Choke early, avoid the rush!
Dave, rebhuhn of rocketmail.com


Rick Desper (Tue, 22 Aug 2006 06:08:31 -0700 (PDT))
It's not really a choke if nobody thinks you're going to win, and you're not ahead in the first place. It's more like a collapse.
Rick, rick_desper of yahoo.com
((That's right, the signs were all there as the pitching staff hadn't been rallying around Lopez and Mirabelli and they'd been losing to Kansas City and Tampa Bay. I am still a fan though, hopeful until the last magic number falls. They can come back and nab the wild card as Minn/Chi/Det beat each other up. - I wrote that at the time, I still think they will fight there way back closer to the Wild Card, but we knew that all the depth on the Red Sox were rookies, and it showed when the injuries hit. To the Yankees credit, they fought their way through their injuries earlier in the season much better. Though I think it is fair to say that almost EVERYONE of consequence on the Red Sox got injured, catcher, 2nd, SS, 3rd, all three outfield positions, DH, and about half a dozen pitchers. Let's give Rick another shot, with some responses to Goz...))


Rick Desper (Tue, 29 Aug 2006 07:05:32 -0700 (PDT))
- Warren Goesle (wgoesle of comcast.net) wrote: Goz fantasy NASCAR update: I don't have this week's standings (I did great, but they're not yet posted), but as of last week in one league I'm 1st out of 67, and in the other I'm 23rd out of 516. Apparently I'm running for commissioner of the wrong sport. It appears that the Red Sox will not qualify for the playoffs in 2006, so they should run as an independent. The Cubs, of course, won't be able to collect enough signatures to qualify as an independent in 2006, but they will for "next year".
The Red Sox claim that they will be running as an independent, but they claim they will still "represent the AL". But for some reason they are trading many of their prospects to NL teams. (I'm trying to extend the Lieberman analogy. It's not quite working.)
- Warren Goesle (wgoesle of comcast.net) wrote: The Reds, at 67-65, are currently the wild-card leader in the NL. I don't think it's mathematically likely for the WC from the NL to be under .500 (not with 10 teams within 5 games), but it is possible, and it seems likely that 84 or 85 wins will do it. Note that one of the teams in contention is Colorado, whom all of us left off of our preseason picks entirely (how come we didn't note that we'd only had 4 teams in the NL West?).
Did I do NL picks? If I did, I didn't pick the complete standings. I thought I only picked the playoff teams. I believe I picked St. Louis, the Dodgers, Mets, and Braves. But I might not have picked the Mets.
- Warren Goesle (wgoesle of comcast.net) wrote: The hottest teams in both leagues right now are the Dodgers and the A's. I can't stay up late enough to watch...does anyone know how they're doing it?
The Dodgers have accumulated some decent talent over the past few years. I don't know how the As are doing it, but I think I picked them to win the division. (It's my only AL pick that looks tolerable these days.) But I might have picked the Angels. Incidentally, I see that the Red Sox have Youkilis hitting cleanup now.
*bangs head on desk*
I think they should just go whole hog with this injury thing and have Schilling and Beckett get into a knife fight (that Papelbon valiantly tries to break up). ((Soon after this, Papelbon and Schilling did go down, without the benefit of a knife fight.))
In brighter news, the Pats are destroying their opposition in the preseason. I'm thinking they'll win at least 13 games this season.
preliminary post-season award picks
AL MVP: Jeter; This is more of a prediction than who I would vote for. I would say Ortiz is ahead right now, but if he's not going to play much in September, he's got no chance of winning.
Cy Young: Santana; By a whisker over Roy Halladay.
Rookie: Papelbon; Based a lot on his early season stats, and Liriano's injury.
Manager: Leyland; Should run away with this.
NL MVP: Pujols; Beltran also a good candidate.
Cy Young: no idea; Who can you give this to? Brandon Backe? No really dominating pitcher in the NL this year. Even Gagne's not a candidate. Trevor Hoffman? Billy Wagner? Maybe somebody will pull ahead in September. Could be Oswalt or Penny or any of a number of people.
Rookie: Josh Johnson; Leading NL starters in ERA.
Manager: Willie Randolph; Also likely to run away with the award. Mangers of the Year are the easiest to pick this year.
Rick, rick_desper of yahoo.com
- Warren Goesle (wgoesle of comcast.net) wrote: Let me throw my 2 cents worth back in... Rick picked the Dodgers to win the NL West, but did not comment on the entire division. I'm not one that's big on individual awards in team sports but: Jermaine Dye has to be considered for AL MVP, and Carlos Zambrano has to be considered for NL Cy Young.


Rick Desper (Tue, 29 Aug 2006 08:29:24 -0700 (PDT))
Oh right, Zambrano. He was the one, along with Webb (I said Backe but meant Webb) that I thought would be leading in the NL right now. But 14-5 isn't with a 3.31 ERA isn't that impressive. He'll need to finish strong.
((More than not impressive, for the National League, it downright stinks. He'd have an ERA of about 4.50 in the AL.))
Usually I expect a couple pitchers to have 17-18 wins at the beginning of September. Nobody in the NL has more than 14. Also I'm looking for an ERA below 3.00 and a WHIP below 1.20. None of the leading candidates has all of that in the NL. If Pedro Martinez were not injured the award would be his to steal with a strong September.
((That is for sure, but Pedro is doing the slow breakdown that we all knew would happen when we let him go in Boston. He's also doing an ERA point better in the NL than he would do in the AL, and he knows it!))
Jermaine Dye's had a nice season, but I don't think it's quite MVP-ish. He isn't even the scariest hitter on his own team. (Maybe he should be but I'd much rather see him at the plate in a clutch situation than Thome or Konerko.) If you want to go by hitting alone, I would take Ortiz or Manny before Dye.
((Yeah, but Manny and Ortiz have no chance, so I think Dye does have a chance.))
The MVP is a silly award in any case. It rarely goes to the best player, because lughead writers go off in an absurd re-definition of the word "valuable" which apparently includes "playing for a division winner" as well as "not a pitcher, unless we're stuck looking for a candidate". (It still annoys me that Pedro lost to Pudge in 1999.)
Rick, rick_desper of yahoo.com
((But that IS the definition of it, why not accept reality and lower your heartburn level???))
((Let's try to push the Spy Diplomacy..... here are the rules again, playing this game is FREE!!! See the questions Andy York asks at the end.))


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.


Andy York (Aug 21, 2006 08:27:01 PM)
The printed issue arrived today, so there shouldn't be too much trouble for folks in getting their orders in (presuming they read the issue and see the deadline). If so, I'll hold the game until the next deadline and just have commentary (presuming you don't mind my doing that!). ((No, I think people have been enjoying your commentary, I really liked your review of "The Illusionist"!))
Thanks for the kind words about "By The WAY". I'm trying to keep up with you! In reading the Spy Dip rules, I've some questions:
Rule 4 and 5 - though not stated explicitly, I presume spies on fleets (at sea) give reports similar to a spy on a land province. [[from one viewpoint, it makes sense to give the reports; but from another (you're at sea and have limited contact with your information gathering network), it doesn't]]
((Yes, the spies report the same way. I had three ideas that led me to that solution in building the rules. First, he's a spy on a fleet of ships, he is presumed to be spying on what the fleet captain and crew knows about what is around. The spy might pose as a cook or something on a tanker ship. Second, practical, I didn't want to make the rules too complicated around the fleets with spies. And third, it is a tradeoff, the spy gets "carted around by the fleet" in ways that the spy might not choose, so in return it gets to look. I wanted spies on fleets to be a fun thing to do.))
Rule 5Cc - from reading this, since spies can be carried by fleets of any power and "permission to board" is not required, you can sneak aboard an enemy fleet and ride it around whether the owner wants you to or not. Correct? I did note Rule 6D about capturing them. [[from the game's side, it makes sense; from a real-world aspect - how can someone really sneak on a naval fleet without being noticed]]
((See above, that's absolutely right!! The idea of capturing them is that you hunt around for Frenchmen and capture people who speak French.... on the sneaking on a fleet, I was thinking a bit more earlier nineteenth century when you have crews that are brought in. My wife and I love the Patrick O'Brien novels with Aubrey and Maturin. But also the idea that a fleet has support ships that need cooks and cleaners and people like that. The spy doesn't need to be on the flagship, perhaps he is on the coal tender shoveling coal.))
Rule 5Cc clarification - as spies may not move from a fleet "in retreat" and as the spy movement phase is before "Autumn" retreats, a spy on a fleet dislodged in Fall is stuck on it until after the Winter adjustments are completed.
((That is precisely correct. And indeed the Spy is at risk of being disbanded! That isn't especially realistic, I know, when you disband a fleet, presumably one wouldn't just sink it with all hands (including spies) aboard, but I don't believe in pure realism in rules, the variant plays better this way.))
I take it that it this will be a regular game (all players known). If you have a Press-Gunboat game in the future, keep me in mind.
-Andy, wandrew of compuserve.com
((Absolutely, this will be a regular game, I don't do Gunboat, so you'll have to look elsewhere for that. Ordinarily, I wouldn't print such a statement, since it might give a hint for a game, but I mean I ***NEVER*** do Gunboat..... I really do have an objection to it as a variant. In the E-Mail world I've achieved a bit of fame about it. I've been asked about the Wing Rules for Modern. Here they are, I can't find the Starting Positions with the Wings, can anyone help me out, I think three of the Powers start with Wings.))


Wing Rules
1.A wing unit can move over both land and water spaces.
2.A wing unit can support actions in any space adjacent to the one it occupies.
3.A wing can give, receive and cut support in the same way as armies and fleets.
4.A wing unit cannot convoy or be convoyed.
5.A wing unit cannot capture an SC, but instead blockades it:
5.1.A blockade occurs when a wing unit occupies the SC of another player in a fall season.
5.2.The player who owns a blockaded SC does not count it when counting his total number of SCs.
5.3.A blockade ends as soon as the wing unit no longer occupies the SC.
5.4.Builds only take place in the winter phase, just as in games without wings.
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!!! Sean O'Donnell starts the list, who would like to join him???
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 were published recently, ask to see them if you missed them!!!
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 for anyone who was a subber to Ishkibibble to join any new game for free, but this is a ONE TIME only offer, get your request in now. It is going to expire VERY shortly. 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: 2006B, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR SPRING 1901 IS SEPTEMBER 30TH, 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 glensfallshosp.org
ENGLAND: Drew James, 3644 Whispering Woods Terrace, Baldwinsville, NY 13027
(315) 652-1956, 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, (214) 532-1418
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) Note the 2006B Boardman Number above.
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. I think I have all the relevant contact information filled in above. I do have lots of the orders in hand, with this delay, you'll have a few more weeks to interact. I fixed my brother David's E-Mail address, which I got wrong - of course.


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.
(SEAN to BOARD): If you do send me mail for Jeff please put the game name in the subject line. Also if I ever do get called into this game as a standby please consider this option null and voided. Nothing spoils a game intrigue than sending a mail to setup a stab of dear ol Seany than announcing it to me. Wouldn't you all agree? I want to figure it out not get it announced if you all follow.
(EVIL COMMANDER WORF to UNIVERSE): I encourage the destruction of the Empire. When the moment is right perhaps I can send the Evil Captain Kirk to battle Kirk for supremacy.


SPIRALS OF PARANOIA: 2005A, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR FALL 1904 IS SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2006
Summer 1904
AUSTRIA (Rauterberg): R a bul-GRE; has a BUD, a VIE, a SER, a GAL, a GRE,
a TRI, f ION.
ENGLAND (Wiedemeyer): has f NAT, a WAL, f ENG, f NWG.
FRANCE (Tretick): R f nat-CLY; has f MID, f CLY, a LVP, f IRI.
GERMANY (Ozog for Tallman): has a MUN, a HOL, a BOH, a TYO,
f NWY, a MAR, a PIC, f NTH.
ITALY (O'Donnell): has f TUS, a PIE, a VEN, f ADR.
RUSSIA (Sundstrom): R a gal-UKR; has a UKR, a SEV, a WAR, a LVN.
TURKEY (Biehl): has f AEG, f BUL(SC), f SMY.


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:
(SEAN to BOARD): Please put the game name in the subject line if you write me to get hold of Jeff.
(7 OF 9'S LOG): Help! I really screwed up! The Cardassians did not attack and have signed a peace agreement but the Starship Excelsior is now desperately out of position. Everyone seems to be attacking everyone, I hope our reconciliation with Cardassia holds...
(JEFF-WORLD): As if the economic situation was not bad enough with Ford reorganizing and the price of oil, comes news from the International Astronomical Society that the planet Pluto is being laid off. This news comes at a bad time for the Bush administration as it was being considered an alterntative location for the prisoners at Guantanimo Bay. When asked to comment, Pluto was quoted as saying, "I'm no longer a planet but I've had a great run. I've been declared the largest ice sculpture in the galaxy. My advisors say that although my days as a planet are done, I can still try to find a new career by running for Senator of the State of New York.
(JIM-BOB OPINES): Excelsior, indeed!!! And you think New York State needs more Carpetbaggers? Note the groaner triple entendres on both sides.... I don't think we need to feel sorry for Pluto since, as we all know, this means EVEN greater fame and fortune for Pluto as the planet that is no more. Can Venus or Mercury say the same??? Besides, Pluto is the god of death and the underworld, we should never have let him see the light of day in the first place. Yet more evidence that baby boomers are continuing their fantastical campaign to abolish death, Woody Allen excepted. Well, it won't work, gosh darn it, they're ALL going to die in the end. Really. As an economist, what I will find most interesting about the Ford buyouts (which will precede any layoffs) is how workers respond to the three choices they face: (1) Take a lower financial buyout and keep their medical care [this will be people who have the largest aversions to risk AND think about the future rationally]; (2) Take the higher financial buyout and give up their medical care [these will be the people that traditional economists call irrational, but really are just expressing that large amount of impatience that is growing in our population and confounding the economists who thought that we got more patient as we got older and more educated... not this group, and that's rational if that's what they really want - we can't be bailing them out later when the consequences of their choices come back to bite them in the butt!]; or (3) Take the risk of staying on and seeing if they are laid off later, the risk includes the strong possibility that they will be moved to another location (believe you me, some of my brother and sister economists will be studying the wonderful natural experiment, I'll report back later).


FLIP FLOP: 2003G, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR SPRING 1908 IS SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2006
Winter 1907
AUSTRIA (Wiedemeyer): R a rum-GAL, a rom otb; rem a nap; has f ADR, a BUD, a GAL,
a UKR, a MOS, a TRI.
ENGLAND (Schmit): rem a nwy, f por; has a BUR, a HOL, f ENG, a RUH,
f BEL, f NWG, f NTH.
FRANCE (Jeff O'Donnell): bld a par; has a PAR, a BRE, f SPA(SC), a GAS.
GERMANY (Sundstrom): R f nwy-SKA; bld a ber; has a BER, f HEL, f SWE, a DEN,
a STP, a MUN, f SKA.
TURKEY (Levinson): bld a ank, f con; has a ANK, f CON, a BUL, f ION, f ROM, a ALB,
f TYH, f BLA, a RUM, a SER.


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) Lots of press, lots of changes, what now for this game year??? No draw proposals yet, that's for sure.


Press:
(SEAN-PETTY DICTATOR (UNCLE JEFFY POOH)): Laughing out loud. I still can't believe that it took so long for you to realize that was me.
(SEAN to BOARD): If you do write me to get hold of Jeff, so he resembles having an e-mail please make sure to put the game name in the subject line. Thanks.
(JEFF O'DONNELL to WORLD): Not only is Jim's brother David very welcome to the Phil Reynolds game, I'm confused why anyone would comment about possible conflict of interest in this situation or when I'm in any game with my nephew Sean. There is no conflict of interest because there is no real money involved. My feeling is that Jim could add his own name ((It would be REALLY hard for me to GM a game and play in at the same time, not COMPLETELY impossible, but really hard.)) or the names of any number of friends, and or relatives and I'd be happy to play, in fact, I don't think who is playing should be a factor in the decision to ro not to play.
(DARTH VADER to DARTH SIDIUS): Sooner or later, we will finish this in the traditions of the Sith as Apprentice kills their master for supremacy.
(RUSSIAN UNDERGROUND to ENGLAND): What happened?
(RUSSIAN O'DONNELL-RUSSIAN O'DONNELL): Russia sucks.
(STAR TREK PRESS): Captain's Log "Hopeful". We thought we were all dead, instead we ahve withour Ferengi allies achieved a major victory over the Romulans. We are commissioning a new troop transport and our Ferengi allies are adding to their force. The Romulans have been forced to decommission two unknown ships.
S: Spock to Captain Kirk.
K: Report.
S: I have interesting news. Our Ferengi allies are not rally Ferengi after all.
K: Really! I thought we changed them from Federation to Ferengi!
S: So did I, but our victory over the Romulans revealed prison exchanges that showed them to be Andorian. The Andorians were aided by an unknown alien group currently at war with the Children of Tomari.
K: The Tomarians scare me. Agreed, but for the moment all we cna hope is that they don't engage us...
(SEAN-BOARD): My guess for England's removals. R F Bel and R F Ech. My second choice is R F Por and R F Bel. Note if it's not my first choice. I guess wrong..... ((You're pretty close to completely wrong.... you're not inside Karl's head. I hope that isn't what your Uncle was assuming...))
(FRANCE to WORLD): France is building! This is not a drill, repeat, this is not a drill...
(SEAN-PETTY DICTATOR PART 2): What can I say? You taught me well. Did you not teach me when in doubt attack your enemy or something? Didn't you also teach me that when you are losing attempt to obliterate units even though I do try to do that while I'm winning to. Didn't you also teach me to the best of your ability that this is a game of deception; therefore, words are meaningless? Finally, didn't you teach me to always woot for myself? (I don't recall needing a mentor there.) Oh, there is one more thing that you taught me. I'll tell you what. I give you my word as a Diplomacy player that I will not encourage Karl (England) of Flip Flop to wipe you out, and I further give my word as a Diplomacy player not to encourage anyone else to attack the Petty Dicator.
(JEFF to SEAN): It doesn't matter that I'm Russia in Phil Reynolds, Russia still sucks! (Deal with it!)
(SEAN-THE BOARD): Attack France! ((Sean, if I don't print this now, I'm going to misplace it, so I think we'll go with it here.))
(FLIP FLOP ENDGAME STATEMENT RUSSIA): I have to start by saying congratulations to a game well played. I made a couple of mistakes. Has anyone seen the movie Zulu? It's essentially what I did. I went out to meet the loins and got carved up. My other major mistake was not managing a peace in the southern border. My third mistake coincides with the first. I should have allied with Germany opposed to putting everything into being able to steal England as an ally from France. It was fun though learning the lesson that I should have known all along.
My strategy was to form an E/R/T without directly forming a triple alliance. I wanted to form R/T to have a strong alliance even though I shouldn't have made the mistake of not really trying to allow Austria into the alliance. I tried discouraging this triple which may have been yet another mistake. What can I say, I didn't play that alliance very well.
My strategy was based on trying to anticipate what Jeff was planning. In a one on one game with Jeff (France) I know that R/T and E/F is an even counter alliance unless Turkey's standard build included F Smy opposed to Ank, or France starts with a fleet in Mar.
I figured France would be encouraging a E/F alliance, so I should encourage a counter alliance, but I misscalculated how to handle my southern borders wanting a R/A/T alliance. Since I openly opposed the alliance with Turkey, I'd have to say that's my second largest mistake. It's most likely what encouraged wiping me out even though I did try getting Austria to fight Germany and Italy. This would have allowed Turkey into a dominant naval policy and hopefully reach the Mid stalemate line with all possible speed. Neither strategy here worked. Meanwhile, English and Russian diplomacy apparently broke down. I was counting on being able to steal England away from France, and I wanted to begin negotiations in this regard before England was fully engaged with Germany. What I had in mind was blitz Germany, and aid England into France while A/T batters Italy and I'm able to breach the Germany stalemate line. I focused on the attempt to get England to attack France after Germany fell even though I wasn't asking for anything. Being the largest starting power, I thought if need be the offer of France likely Spa, Por, Par, Bre, Bel, and Mar. England didn't engage Germany as I hoped. I offered Stp as a peace offering, but I neglecting my southern border trying to gain England against France, and A/T launched an offensive against Russia inevitably leaving me with every border hostile to Russia. This left me allyless and going down. My strategy to counter and destroy E/F inevitably failed. Russia fell not long later. Maybe, I'll have better luck in the next game. Good game.


I CAN'T FIND MY MONEY!: 2001F, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR WINTER 1913 IS SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2006
THE DUE DATE FOR SPRING 1914 IS OCTOBER 21ST, 2006
Fall 1913
AUSTRIA (Parker): NMR, NO STANDBY CALLED; f ADR h, f TUN h, f TYH h, a WAR h, a LVN h,
f EAS h, a PIE h, a CON h, a VIE h, a VEN h, a ARM h, a SMY h, a TRI h, a MOS h, f AEG h.
FRANCE (Kent): f BRE S a par-gas, a PAR-gas, f MID s a par-gas, f WES-spa(sc).
GERMANY (Wilson): a MUN h, f ENG C a lon-pic, f BEL S a lon-pic, a BUR S a gas-par,
f LVP h, a SPA s f por, f POR S a spa, a lon-PIC, a STP h, a MAR S a spa,
f NAO-mid, a GAS-par.
TURKEY (Miller): a SYR h, a ANK h.


Supply Center Chart
AUSTRIA (Parker): TRI,BUD,VIE,ser,rum,nap, (has 15, bld 1)
war,mos,sev,ven,rom,bul,gre,smy,con,tun
FRANCE (Kent): PAR,BRE (has 4, rem 2)
GERMANY (Wilson): KIE,BER,hol,den,bel,MUN,swe, (has 12, bld 2 (PLAYS ONE SHORT))
nwy,mar,edi,lon,spa,por,stp,lvp
TURKEY (Miller): ANK (has 2, 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: 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 GAFT draw proposal is defeated and amazingly, the GA-GA sallies forth again. If you have finally become GA-GA over this game, vote yes to this with your Winter orders. If you fail to vote, as usual, you veto the proposal. Oh wait, we also have the GAFT reproposed, you can vote on that with the same restrictions. People occasionally ask me what happens if two draws pass, it always is the SMALLER draw that is the final result when that happens.
2) I did talk to Vern, and he submitted orders for the other game, but he didn't submit orders here. So all his units hold, but I can't believe he wants to walk away from the game. As always, though, even though I'm not calling a standby now, he has to get orders in for Winter, and his build, or else I will replace him.


Press:


SECRETS: 1999D, Regular Diplomacy
THE NEW DUE DATE FOR WINTER 1921 IS SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2006
THE NEW DUE DATE FOR SPRING 1922 IS OCTOBER 21ST, 2006
Fall 1921
ENGLAND (Kent): f ENG S f nth, a GAS S FRENCH f mar, f NAO S f mid,
a kie s RUSSIAN a ber-mun (nso; d r:ruh,otb), f MID s FRENCH f spa(sc), f NTH h,
f HOL S a kie, f POR S FRENCH f spa(sc).
FRANCE (Sasseville): f MAR s f spa(sc), f SPA(SC) s f mar, a par-BUR.
GERMANY (Barno): a BUL h.
RUSSIA (Parker): f NWY S f hel-nth, a WAR h, a swe-DEN, a BER S a den-kie,
f HEL-nth, a den-KIE, a PRU S a ber.
TURKEY (Linsey): a ARM h, f AEG h, a sev-RUM, a GAL S a sil, a SIL S a mun, f WES-spa(sc),
a UKR S a sev-rum, f GOL S f wes-spa(sc), a MUN S RUSSIAN a den-kie, a TRI h (uno), f NAF-mid,
f ion-TYH, a TYO S a mun, f PIE-mar, a BOH S a sil, a vie-tri (nsu).


Supply Center Chart
ENGLAND (Kent): LON,LVP,EDI,bre,por,bel,hol (has 7 or 8, even(r:otb) or rem 1)
FRANCE (Sasseville): PAR,MAR,spa (has 3, even)
GERMANY (Barno): con,bul (has 1, PLAYS ONE SHORT)
RUSSIA (Parker): MOS,STP,nwy,swe,den,ber,WAR,kie (has 7, bld 1)
TURKEY (Linsey): ANK,SMY,rum,gre, (has 15, rem 1)
bud,nap,ven,tun,sev,rom,tri,vie,ser,mun
Neutral: none (Total=34)


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
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) There are no current proposals at the moment.


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 TEX by TTH, version 3.30.
On 18 Sep 2006, 20:20.