Look, it’s the only place I have where I can put the packing list and be constantly reminded of it. iBook \* charger \* DVDs? \* memory card reader Camera \* Batteries Shadowfist cards Razor, toothbrush, toothpaste, hair bands Wrestling tapes GBA \* Games: AW II, AW, Crash, Yoshi’s Island, p’raps Warioware \* Charger Cell phone charger iPod & headphones

Some reports say that North Korea may carry out a nuclear test on September 9, the anniversary of the country’s founding, if there’s not more progress in the current standoff by then. I’m torn between believing that North Korea is willing to push the boundaries of reasonable behavior and remembering that the North Korean government is not always grounded in reality. In any case, the Washington Post reports that “Bush may give in on non-aggression.” Bush keeps denying that anything like that is on the table. We’ll see. ...

I’m reminded that the old GM notes for the Unknown USA campaign chronicled in the Dear Brother letters are — you guessed it — on the web.

Best trick for finding NPC pictures ever: [google://party+pictures](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=party pictures&btnG=Google Search)

Dear Brother #7: In which our heros go back to Washington and parley with unsavory characters.

It’s a sign of Red Sox obsession that my first reaction to this trade was “ah, the Yankees just want to rub our noses in 1986.” However, I confidently predict that if the Yankees are foolish enough to put Orosco up against the powerful Red Sox lineup, the mighty Red Sox bats will erase the memory of those awful seven games.

I’m off to Gen Con (original) soon; specifically, I’m leaving Thursday. Blogging may be sporadic during that time, or it may be frequent — it all depends on what kind of wireless access I can find in the convention center. I’ll have my laptop and — hey, why not? — my camera. In fact, I’ll set up a Typepad photo blog for those so they don’t clog things up over here. If you happen to be planning to attend Gen Con, I will be playing a metric ton load of Shadowfist and will likely be at the Z-Man Games booth off and on. I might also be at the Vivendi Games booth. Or drop me an email. ...

I’m not a Democrat; nor am I a Republican. I fall somewhere more or less on the left side of the spectrum, if you insist on a single axis. I prefer a minimalistic government, but I believe that enlightened self-interest calls for more voluntary intervention than your average libertarian advocates. I’m a capitalist. I think the optimal size of self-governed political units is fairly small. So how do you get my vote in 2004? Easy. Come out in favor of approval voting. ...

Not enough gaming today? I have more! See now the UPC Bar Code Character Generator (original), which informs me that the Johnny Cash album sitting next to my computer is a female elf with Str 14 and no other notable stats. Star Wars Galaxies is a fairly wise, cute halfling with special military training. Via One Hit At A Time. So much gaming talk. It must be Gencon coming on.

In Dear Brother #5, Mister Beulay goes to Washington. Not an epic session, but after raising Huey Long it’s nice to take a break.