THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE #340

August 26, 2013


Jim Burgess, 664 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908-4327 USA, (401)351-0287, jfburgess of gmail.com


E-MAIL/WEB ONLY ISSUE! PDF will be available on the website. We also are being reproduced in Eternal Sunshine.


Web Page Address: /Postal/Zines/TAP/index.html


Some of you are still not on the E-Mail list for this szine, I keep trying to sign you up, please accept the offer! I am being a bit more systematic about that right now. I am going ahead and finishing all the games here, and then we will see. There is interest in a NEW regular Diplomacy game and a Breaking Away game. Sign up, let's see if we can get seven for Dip and six for Breaking Away!
This issue continues the szine/subszine inversion. As most of you know, this thing began as a ßubszine" to Terry Tallman's North Sealth, West George, then became its own szine with a host of subszines. The subszines remaining will appear as sub-subszines to our new flipflopped home in Doug Kent's Eternal Sunshine. Doug's incessant nagging is not keeping us on schedule, but will make it so we will charge forward and finish the remaining games that I have in here. After that, we'll see how it goes and what I do next. I'd like to keep writing and doing some game GMing. You all should see first what I actually do.
For production, in addition to the HTML's of each separate product on the web page, I will also have a PDF that you can print of the entire subszine (including my famous handdrawn maps!). You can just print the maps if you like, but remember maps are for pikers anyway, you don't need no steenkin' maps, keep them up in your head where they belong. I don't think there are very many people I owe money, but if you think I owe you money, just ask and I will pay. ONE GROUP that is definitely owed money is the players with NMR insurance. NMR insurance still continues, I will still call you for it, and when your game ends, I will refund the money.
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.


THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE LETTERS SECTION
((Tempest in a Teapot 2013 is North American DipCon this year in the Washington, DC area October 11-13 at the Sheraton Silver Spring Hotel in Maryland. Some of the luminaries on the docket to be there include Chris Martin, Steve Cooley, Heath Davis-Gardner, Adam Sigal, Jim O'Kelley, Matt Shields, Mike Hall, Rob Premus, and Robert Rousse. There are three rounds, one Friday night, one Saturday morning (NOT Saturday night), and Sunday morning. The ptks.org web site is currently having some problems, but I've reported it. And you can check out the Facebook site at: https://www.facebook.com/events/322812321175481/ For more details, contact Rick Desper, see below.))
((For upcoming cons around the world: /Face/cons/index.php, but note that some of the Americans have stopped posting the tournaments there. Shame, shame, shame... The Diplomacy World deadline is coming up on October 1, 2013, please think about writing some articles for us, especially if you went to World DipCon in Paris!!! More on that below.))


Warren Goesle (Wed, 31 Jul 2013 08:37:14 -0500)
Just to take you back to 3/28/13...
From: Goesle, Warren
Sent: Thursday, March 28, 2013 2:24 PM
Subject: That time again...
What if they gave a baseball season and Summer decided to not show up?
The good news is that it looks like we could be talking about the Bruins and Blackhawks well into June.
The bad news is that they might be able to play the Stanley Cup Finals in outdoor games at Wrigley and Fenway. Actually, given the Cubs' and Red Sox' predicted fortunes that might be good news.
So where do we start this year?
Goz, warrengoesle of wowway.com
I only bring this up because the second line might be the only prediction I get right all year.
So today's question to the Red Sox fans is: just why do you think Jake Peavy is the answer to any question that Boston has? He's one pitch from having the arm and career being over.
Goz, warrengoesle of wowway.com
((The answer is that it is a MINOR deal for Boston, where they didn't give up anything they wanted to keep. You all know buy low and sell high? Well, Jose Iglesias will NEVER be worth as much as he is right now, while he still has a season long decent batting average. Everyone here knows it wasn't just a "temporary slump" he was in, but what he is batting now is what he is. The early season hits were such an amazing sequence of luck and good bounces as NEVER will be seen in baseball again. The Red Sox pulled a steal, and of course the REAL story of the week is Biogenesis, and the fact that Detroit's shortstop will be out for 50 games. Iglesias will make all the plays in the field and define a new line.... remember the Mendoza line? Well, the Iglesias line might be .100!))
((So, on the other side, Peavy just needs to pitch for a while so Workman can shore up the bullpen for the Sox (where he is better suited) until other pitchers are ready. I would say if Peavy gets them to September, it's an all even deal, the rest is gravy. I expect a decent amount of gravy, but if you're right, it's still a good deal for the Red Sox.))
((ARod should take his medicine and go home....))


David Partridge (Wed, 31 Jul 2013 11:04:00 -0700 (PDT))
Wasn"t ARod taking his medicine the cause of the problem? 
Dave, rebhuhn of rocketmail.com
((Baddda BUMP!))


Warren Goesle (Wed, 31 Jul 2013 13:04:55 -0500)
Not according to the MLB drug testing procedures.
Goz, warrengoesle of wowway.com


Rick Desper (Wed, 31 Jul 2013 12:13:53 -0700 (PDT))
I was thinking of posting an email looking back at pre-season predictions.
Jim is correct about the Peavy trade.  The Red Sox are selling high.   I would add that I think that there's a chance that, in the long run, Iglesias becomes as valuable of a SS as Vizquel or Ozzie, both of whom improved their batting as their careers progressed (esp. Vizquel).   I think the low prediction would be that he'll have a Rey Ordones type of career, brilliant glove but no hitting.   I suspect he'll be in the middle.   He probably won't ever have a 3-month stretch of hitting .400 again, but if he hits .250 he's a legitimate major league SS, given his glove.
As for Peavy, who knows what he'll bring?  I definitely (and excusably) did not anticipate John Lackey pitching better this season than he ever had since joining the Red Sox.   That and a few other things have the Sox far ahead of where I had put them in the preseason.   The Rays are about where I thought they would be, as are the Tigers.   I drank the Kool-Aid with the Angels, but I would not have anticipated how well the A's are playing this season.  
Right now the playoffs look like: Rays, Sox, Tigers, As, and somebody else, probably O's or Indians.  
My big mistake in the NL was overrating the Nationals.   After underrating their ability to win games with a weak offense last season, I thought they had found some formula.   So the weak offense is hurting them, one year later.   Don't follow the NL much, but it looks like the Braves, Reds, and Cardinals are about what I expected, while the Pirates are much better than anyone might have thought.
Who else is there?  Giants?  Dodgers? Puig is a revelation, obviously, but aside from that I don't have much to say.   Only one team from the West since the Central is so strong this year.   Can't remember who I picked in the West: probably the Giants, and that's definitely a collapse I didn't foresee.   But then again, I mostly ignore the NL (except for any radio chatter about the Nats that I pick up.)
Finally, please come to Tempest for Dipcon in October.  
Rick, rick_desper of yahoo.com
((I'll do an update on the Iglesias/Peavy deal closer to publication date, the very first evidence is that Jose already got one hit (a typical bloop single) for Detroit and Peavy starts tonight for the Red Sox.))
((I'm revisiting my predictions, mostly not doing too badly. I should have put money on them, I'd be in line to win pretty big.))
((AL East: I had it right but didn't predict the Blue Jays quite down far enough. I actually still think I could be completely correct here as the Blue Jays might make a late run to get to third and I won't be surprised if the Rays win and the Red Sox have the wild card.))
((AL Central: I completely nailed this division so far, Cleveland won't quite get to the Wild Card.))
((AL West: Like pretty much everyone else, I thought the A's would be good, but not quite that good, and thought the Angels wouldn't be this bad.))
((NL East: Again, I completely nailed this division, including the regression of the Nationals.))
((NL Central: I had most of this (the Cardinals surprisingly doing well) but didn't quite have the Pirates doing THIS well. That's the surprise of the year so far.))
((NL West: So, early in the year, I had this right, but NOW? My Giants' team collapse has been really disappointing, and I was completely wrong about Lincecum doing a huge comeback. So, other than the Giants, who it was stupid to predict to repeat, I'm in good shape on my playoff predictions..... now Detroit vs. Atlanta, if we leave out the Giants. And I like the Red Sox better actually to beat Detroit.))
((Bryce Harper is still going to be a superstar, but is slowed a bit in his development this year. And PED suspensions are about to be announced. I wish they would get them over with, so we can move on, with ARod joining Manny in Taiwan or something.))
((PUBLICATION TIME UPDATE: Iglesias has batted .286 for Detroit (with a flurry of his trademark bloop hits in the last week to catch up), and Peavy is 2-1 with a 3.31 ERA and a WHIP under 1.00. You tell me... I think it is clear so far and will be more clear by the end of the season. I wasn't quite right on the Iglesias line yet though.))


Warren Goesle (Mon, 5 Aug 2013 19:34:23 -0400 (EDT))
Joke running around Chicago media for tonight's game with the Yankees playing the White Sox...
A-Rod is playing 3rd, batting 4th and pleading the 5th.
Goz, warrengoesle of wowway.com
((ARod can't seem to decide if he is being silent or talking. I can't seem to care.))


DIPLOMACY WORLD CUP TOURNAMENT IS ONGOING - YOU CAN STILL JOIN!
This is the latest incarnation of this team based tournament. I am helping to lead the Nor'Easter team for people in the Northeast part of the United States. https://www.facebook.com/groups/123795024327261/ is the Facebook page for the event.
And you can sign up for the Tournament at: http://aqmn.asciiking.com/. Other US regional teams are the ones in the Pacific, Dixie, and Chicago. Its unique aspect, that is proving to be a bit distorting but in interesting ways, is its "solo only" feature. You advance from the preliminaries to the finals only by soloing, and then need solos in the finals against the other soloists. Though this started in January, it probably will be going on for at least two years, and there is PLENTY of time to jump in. As usual, for those who know me well, I screwed up my first game and allowed a solo to someone from team US. I still don't have a solo in over three decades, but maybe I can do it in my next game. Yes, in C-Diplo, you can easily throw games, and in this format you can do it. I wonder why people like to drop the levels of the game in this way. It fascinates me. But in the finals of this tournament, it shouldn't happen, should it?
So, really, come join, it is being operated on a web-assisted Judge platform that is really pretty easy to use. Ask me if you have any questions. There is about to be a huge uptick in games starting as September approaches in a few days. My game is waiting for more players to start, won't you come join me???
THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE GAMES SECTION
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. Since I'm not postal mailing the szine any more, I've dropped back to just reporting the disguised E-Mail addresses. As someone notes, if you need some more contact information, go back to past issues or ask me.
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, 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 given the new policies.


GAME OPENING INFORMATION
I'm going to start the game opening list over. Under the new regime, who wants to play?
DIPLOMACY: First off, another regular Diplomacy game is open. Spencer Sawyer, Doug Kent and Brad Wilson are in, anyone else?
BREAKING AWAY: Also, a new Breaking Away game is open. Currently Andy York, Rick Desper, David Burgess, and Brendan Whyte are on board. Doug Kent might be willing to play to fill it out. I'm going to dig up six people to do this next time, be one of them! This is the game I really like running and want to start another one. It's easy, very low maintenance.


THE PHIL REYNOLDS MEMORIAL: 2006B, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR FALL 1908 IS SEPTEMBER 14TH, 2013
Summer 1908 and Spring 1908 Correction
AUSTRIA (Burgess): has f AEG, a RUM, a VIE, a BUD, f ION, a SER.
ENGLAND (James): has f NWG, a LON, a YOR, a SWE, f NTH, f TYH, f NWY, a KIE,
f NAP, f BAL.
FRANCE (Williams): has a BUR, a PIE, f WES, a MUN, f GOL, a TYO.
ITALY (Crow): has a ALB.
RUSSIA (Gardner TAKES OVER for Barno): SPRING: a STP h; has a STP, a UKR, a SEV,
a WAR, a BER, f SMY, a SIL, f GRE, f GOB.


E-Mail Addresses of the Participants
AUSTRIA: David Burgess, burgesscd of roadrunner.com or dburgess of glensfallshosp.org
ENGLAND: Drew James, kjames01 of twcny.rr.com or karelanddrew of gmail.com
FRANCE: Don Williams, wllmsfmly of earthlink.net or dwilliams of fontana.org ($5)
GERMANY: Marc Ellinger, mellinger of blitzbardgett.com
ITALY: John Crow, johnny.crow of hotmail.com
RUSSIA: Mike Barno, mpbarno of gmail.com; RESIGNS
RUSSIA STANDBY: Heath Gardner (aka Heath Davis-Gardner), heath.gardner of gmail.com
TURKEY: Fred Wiedemeyer, wiedem of telus.net or wiedem of shaw.ca


Game Notes:
1) There seems to be a fairly wide range of coordination this turn, I wonder what's next. We're up and running again. Any interest in joining the new game? Or maybe the new Breaking Away game? But then, maybe we're NOT going to keep going...
2) The EF two-way draw is voted down. A five way DIAS is proposed and Mike votes for it as he resigns. If everyone else accepts it, the game will end with Summer.
3) I left Mike's a STP off the map by accident last season. I did have an order to hold, so hold it did, now we see it on the list and map. Not related to this at all, Mike has asked to resign for personal reasons. We'll miss him, thanks for playing, Mike, and hope all goes well for you! If we go on, Heath Davis-Gardner is called as a standby. Map is in last issue, just add the St.Pete army.


SPIRALS OF PARANOIA: 2005A, Regular Diplomacy
THREE WAY DRAW DECLARED BETWEEN FRANCE, GERMANY AND RUSSIA


Final Supply Center Chart
FRANCE (Tretick): PAR,BRE,MAR,spa,lvp,lon, (has 9)
por,tun,nap
GERMANY (Ozog/Tallman): KIE,BER,MUN,hol,den,bel,swe, (has 14)
vie,rom,bud,ven,tri,ser,edi
RUSSIA (Sundstrom): WAR,STP,SEV,MOS,rum,ank,con, (has 11)
smy,nwy,gre,bul
Neutral: none (Total=34)


E-Mail Addresses of the Participants
AUSTRIA: Paul Rauterberg, paul.rauterberg of att.net
ENGLAND: Fred Wiedemeyer, wiedem of telus.net or wiedem of shaw.ca
FRANCE: Buddy Tretick, 5023 Sewell's Pointe Way, Fredericksburg, VA 22407
FRANCE: Temporary Standby is Jim Tretick, jtretick of gmail.com
GERMANY: Terry Tallman, ($2) terryt of whidbey.net
GERMANY: Temporary Standby is Eric Ozog, ElfEric of Juno.com
ITALY: Doug Kent, dougray30 of yahoo.com
RUSSIA: Matt Sundstrom, mattandzoe of earthlink.net
TURKEY: Vince Lutterbie, melvin4852 of sbcglobal.net


Game Notes:
1) We had two medical replacements, as Buddy's son Jim (who some of us played with many years ago as James Alan) was playing for Buddy as Eric was playing for Terry.
2) This one sort of ground to a three way draw. Thanks to everyone who played. Endgame statements still are welcome, I haven't received any yet and ran out of time. I'll print the SC chart for sure next time.


LAST WORD: World DipCon was held in Paris last weekend, and it was great fun being on Facebook and watching it play out game by game over the weekend. Of course, they still play that damnable C-Diplo over there, with the resulting last turns play to grab centers. As usual that played out in spades leading to the top board and the WDC Championship this year:
world-diplomacy-database.com/php/results/tournament_class.php?id_tournament=1413
presents all the details of the results. The top board ended up with Frenchmen Diplomacy superstars Cyrille Sevin and Gwen Maggi, also French newcomers Rene Van Rooijen and Pascal Maguy. Fellow Economist, Native Frenchman, and current Canadian Nicolas Sahuguet. Those were the Francophones, then we had two stellar native English speakers, perhaps the two best in the world, Edi Birsan from the US and Toby Harris from the UK. My bet prior to the tournament had been on Toby. Well, you know the way C-Diplo comes down to the last season. It could have been Toby, playing Germany, or Cyrille, playing France, but not Edi, playing England. It reminded me of the last time I played at WDC in Paris, where Edi played Kingmaker. Edi chose Cyrille, and Cyrille is now a three-time WDC champion. Toby tells me "Brian Dennehy Lives!", he must be terribly disappointed. Of course, the worst part is that MY prediction was wrong. But I still think Toby is the player I'd most want to go to war with, though Edi and Cyrille are great. By the way, over on the other side of the board, Nicolas Sahuguet was playing Austria and he also came up just short. In the unforgiving C-Diplo, Cyrille had 7 centers and Toby and Nicolas had 6. Give me Belgium or give me death!!! Anyway, I really wish I had been there, I will go back to Paris to play Diplomacy again one of these years.
The final last word is that Don Williams, as always, has his birthday precisely one month before mine, so he gets to turn 56 first this Thursday, wish him the best and most happy one!


File translated from TEX by TTH, version 3.85.
On 27 Aug 2013, 07:44.