I doubt I’ve posted since the re-loaded wedding this summer,

we’ve been busy playing catchup on all the farm stuff we let sit while preparing for and escaping from the festivities this summer… and we’re still dragging our heels here and there on getting pictures up from said extravaganza.

That, and setting up for the sale or refinance of my house in Front Royal… if anyone wants to buy a house in an awesome riding area; send me a PM. It’s right about 5 miles from the BRP in FR and on the AT.

Been a strange year. I’ve ridden horses more than motorcycles this year, but had adventures on both. Been blessed to meet people and ride on some farms with trails and scenery that take your breath away, and had both horse and bike riding through Antietam battlefield.

About the only thing I can possibly think of to complain about… my commute is too short… although really, really fun… to ride to work. It takes longer to get suited up than it does to get to the office. 5 miles. 6 minutes including the trip down the driveway. But on the weekends, fun can be had in all points of the compass.

So, with running a farm and all, I’ve been pretty much lurking via iphone in downtime between feeding and fun,

Friesians and Fords,

horses and iron,

Belgians and Belg…

Our best to all,

Mark & Kirsten

From the AP newswire this morning…. someone who truly changed the way things are done and added another path where none previously existed…

link
Dungeons & Dragons Co-Creator Dies at 69

By EMILY FREDRIX
Associated Press Writer

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Gary Gygax, who co-created the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons and is widely seen as the father of the role-playing games, died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva. He was 69. He had been suffering from health problems for several years, including an abdominal aneurysm, said his wife, Gail Gygax.

Gygax and Dave Arneson developed Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 using medieval characters and mythical creatures. The game known for its oddly shaped dice became a hit, particularly among teenage boys, and eventually was turned into video games, books and movies.

Gygax always enjoyed hearing from the game’s legion of devoted fans, many of whom would stop by the family’s home in Lake Geneva, about 55 miles southwest of Milwaukee, his wife said. Despite his declining health, he hosted weekly games of Dungeons & Dragons as recently as January, she said.

“It really meant a lot to him to hear from people from over the years about how he helped them become a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, what he gave them,” Gail Gygax said. “He really enjoyed that.”

Dungeons & Dragons players create fictional characters and carry out their adventures with the help of complicated rules. The quintessential geek pastime, it spawned a wealth of copycat games and later inspired a whole genre of computer games that’s still growing in popularity.

Born Ernest Gary Gygax, he grew up in Chicago and moved to Lake Geneva at the age of 8. Gygax’s father, a Swiss immigrant who played violin in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, read fantasy books to his only son and hooked him on the genre, Gail Gygax said.

Gygax dropped out of high school but took anthropology classes at the University of Chicago for a while, she said. He was working as an insurance underwriter in the 1960s, when he began playing war-themed board games.

But Gygax wanted to create a game that involved more fantasy. To free up time to work on that, he left the insurance business and became a shoe repairman, she said.

Gygax also was a prolific writer and wrote dozens of fantasy books, including the Greyhawk series of adventure novels.

Gary Sandelin, 32, a Manhattan attorney, said his weekly Dungeons & Dragons game will be a bit sadder on Wednesday night because of Gygax’s passing. The beauty of the game is that it’s never quite the same, he said.

Funeral arrangements are pending. Besides his wife, Gygax is survived by six children.

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

I’m not a huge fan of violence. but this story on CNN rocks! Apparently a bunch of bendejos decided to rob a biker bar… with a bunch of bikes out front. 50 vs 3. Wonder who won that one. Proof that 1%’ers can be good guys too :=)

But if you look closely at the last part… looks like the bingo club is ever more fierce and terrible about their meetings being interrupted!

Cheers to all our friends down under! Rubber side down, guys!

Mark

Had a great morning moving round bales around the pastures for the big furries. Also got to wrap a heavy chain around around a trough and drag it around to it’s new home. “So they lashed the home with ropes and dragged it…” (The Shipping News) I forgot how much fun can be had with tractors!!! Now, if it were just a tad bit warmer than 11 degrees when I turned the key…

In other news, the various web projects have been starting to bear fruit. The new and improved Farm page on WV Horse Trainer is bearing some fruit, getting itself indexed in the engines, and generating some leads for Kirsten. We’re getting some interest on the Natural Horse Training Methods blog as well from colleges around the world. It’s a nice little pat on the back for both of us… me for the sites, her for the content. Huzzah! We’re both looking forward to spinning up even bigger, even better projects…

Best to all,

Mark

Also getting some neat website affiliates for the other sites. Intend to continue to have fun along the way :=)

We had a wonderful, candle-lit ceremony in garb and are actively engaged in planning a much larger extravaganza this summer…

Twuu Wuuv…

Mark

For the last 20 or so years, if I ever wanted to really work out, or have a formal garb occasion, or in any size, way, shape or form hold in my hands a real sword… I’ve had to borrow one.

This, soon, will no longer be the case. I have, based on lots of first-hand experience with them, decided that the time has finally come for me to commission a blade made by the Master Bladesmith, Jim Hrisoulas… Atar, the blacksmith of legend at Faire…

I have commissioned a cable sword, first of it’s kind to come out of his shop, after many, many daggers.

Today I recieved the first in a series of pictures as my blade is forged. Today’s task was to remove the protective coating on the cable strands prepatory to the welding of the cable:

which must first be done by disassembling and then heating and scrubbing the bundled cables. It is from these humbling beginnings:

That will issue forth one of the finest swords a man could hope for.

Part two, coming soon!

Best,

Mark

But tired now, must sleep. 3am come early…

Victory!

1) OpenSSH. I admin enough remote servers that if I had SSH of some form it would greatly increase the iPhone’s long-term utility

2) Some sort of Multichat aggregator client. Yahoo, MSN Messenger, AIM, etc..

3) xchat. It’s the only irc client I want

4) A 24 hour, daylight display world clock. The kind that costs 6000$ for an on-the-wall kind.

5) Thunderbird. It’s more forgiving.

6) Firefox. It remembers my fields.

That’s a good list for now.