I'm running low on time and I'm unable to do proper responses during business hours but I want to really thank everyone for their feedback on my last journal! That was some excellent information for me to consider and I seriously appreciate it! I'm going to be busy this weekend but when I get the chance to respond to each of you I shall.

Cheers!

About two years ago I purchased a Western Digital My Passport Ultra 2TB portable hard drive. It's been pretty robust and has been a LOT better than the older portable hard drives that I owned which had smaller capacity, bigger footprint, needed a power cable, and were slower to transfer as well. It's worked so well that I became complacent and committed one of the cardinal hard drive sins: I trusted it.

I should know better than this as I've had lots of experience with hard drive problems in the past ranging from drives that became corrupted due to viruses, scrambled because of power loss, data blocks that got fouled from faulty connections, to outright drive failures. As a general rule of thumb the saying goes: there are only two types of hard drives out there, those that have failed and those that are going to fail. Back in the old days I was fairly diligent about backing up my data through CD-ROM and DVD-ROM burns but the problem with that approach is that it means your data is longer immediately accessible and you have to hunt down and place the CD in the drive in order to find the files and use them again, and you might end up eventually having numerous duplicates that you can't easily identify if they're truly unique iterations or just the same file over and over again. As time went by and hard drives became larger and cheaper I tended to keep my data on a hard drive to alleviate that problem, but I would still catch myself having problems when I failed to archive things for awhile and through some glitch or stupidity (I've mistakenly deleted whole directories instead of discreet files for example).

So I went to work last Thursday and plugged my hard drive in and noticed that the drive showed up in the file explorer but the name was missing. Clicking on the drive eventually produced an error message saying that the drive was not accessible and further review showed it to be properly functional but listed as "empty" and in a "raw" formatted state. This produced the usual amount of sweats, cursing, and panic, and when I called Western Digital tech support they said I would need to reformat the drive in order to get it working again. That was remarkably unhelpful there, tech support. Thanks for nothing. This prompted me to explore my options for data recovery however, and I found out that Best Buy's Geek Squad would be able to look at the hard drive and if they couldn't fix things then they'd be able to send it to their data recovery specialists who WOULD likely be able to fix things, but at an eye-watering price of $500 (to start). I then looked up some data recovery software I could install myself and came across a couple options: https://www.easeus.com/data-recovery-software/, https://www.runtime.org/data-recovery-software.htm, and finally https://www.stellarinfo.com/windows.....fessional.php. Of these three I tried the demo versions of the first two and was GREATLY relieved to discover that both tools were able to see the contents of the hard drive and it appeared that everything onboard was still intact. The demo software even allowed me to preview some of the files and I reviewed enough things to confirm that the hard drive wasn't so much corrupted as the interface allowing the drive to be read under normal conditions with the Windows OS was compromised. My speculation is that because this drive is portable and is constantly being plugged in and unplugged that the normal means of making that "handshake" between the drive and the OS got messed up and Windows has no installed way of compensating for the issue. Fortunately the data recovery software DID have such a means of handling it, and upon reading some reviews I ended up purchasing the Stellar Data Recovery software... albeit without doing a demo test first.

Well, after installing the Stellar software I discovered that it was the one tool which required the full 6+ hour "deep scan" in order to produce a visible directory tree of my borked hard drive. Trouble was that every time the deep scan was about 95% complete the software crashed and all progress was lost. Tech support wasn't very helpful to start and kept asking me to try again, and to try it after making a clone of the hard drive and run the scan on that clone (therefore bypassing the troublesome state of the hard drive itself). The software STILL crashed, and on the fifth attempt the tech support guy was actually remotely viewing my computer desktop and confirmed that this approach wasn't going to work. He instead set up a different partition recovery and FINALLY after 7+ hours the software was able to display the same full results that the other two recovery tools had been able to do in MUCH less time. Since then I've been sloooowwwwly copying the data off the faulty hard drive into a new location and confirming that everything is properly saved and valid, so I can happily say that nothing was lost in the process, thank goodness.

So why am I posting about this? Because I want to share my struggle and let people know that A) saving anything important to you should be done in duplicate because you're gonna regret it if you lose a ton of stuff and have no backups, and B) take my advice and buy the EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard and not the Stellar Data Recovery software. While I *WAS* able to get the Stellar software to properly recover everything from my hard drive it was a painful process that involved some questionable tech support advice, and that possibly could have been avoided had I gone with the EaseUS software to begin with.

Lastly I'm posting this because I'm curious to hear what you technical minded folks might suggest I do with the original WD 2TB drive that caused this to happen in the first place. I really don't feel like I can trust it anymore with my data but if my speculation is correct and the data storage capability is fine and only the "handshake" process is dodgy then perhaps I can continue using it as a non-portable drive (never unplug it again). Perhaps I'll only use it for backups, or backups of backups? Or maybe a complete reformat of the drive will wipe out all lingering issues with the drive and it'll be just as robust as it was to start out with? Any advice you guys can offer will be read with interest. Thanks!

Anyhow, that's my (long winded) story. All's well that ends well.

Folks, folks, folks!

https://www.kickstarter.com/project.....childrens-book

Take a look at what Tracy did! She's got a book finished up and is looking for help in getting it published! Go put eyeballs on the project and then come back and tell  Calicougar that you wish her all the best!

I figured I'd make a post updating my convention plans for 2018. Some of you may remember my convention activity from 2012 - 2015, but in 2016 I moved from Kentucky back to Virginia and as a result I no longer have as much free time to work conventions nor am I close enough to drive to the ones I could quickly attend for a long weekend. Consequently as much as I would like to go back to Further Confusion in San Jose, Furry Weekend Atlanta, Motor City Furcon in Detroit, and Califur in Pomona I have to leave those off the list. My plan for the future however is to always attend Anthrocon in Pittsburgh and Midwest Furfest in Chicago because those are big enough I can reasonably expect to make back my costs whether driving or flying and then some besides which offsets the problem of using my PTO in order to take a working vacation.

There's going to be bit of change this year though. I didn't get any notice about when the Anthrocon dealer signups were going to be and because I was late on the draw I won't be having a dealers table at the convention and will be trying my luck at the Artists Alley area. This has me feeling a little anxious because Anthrocon is my biggest selling show of the year and if I'm unable to work all three days it's going to really cut into my ability to make the convention pay for itself. I still expect to have a good time but it's going to be the first time since 1998 that I attended and wasn't certain to be working every day. :/ The potential loss in sales at AC is what prompted me to give a closer look at Megaplex in Orlando however, and I can confirm that I'll definitely be attending that show this year. I've got my dealer's table established along with hotel reservation so only some unexpected catastrophe would interrupt my plans for MP at this point. I'm looking forward to it; I was guest of honor there in 2006 and I attended again in 2007, but budget and time issues prevented me from going back since then and I'm really keen to see what the convention is like nowadays. I'll also be arriving in Orlando the weekend prior to the convention so that I can spend some time seeing the sites because HOW CAN YOU NOT when in Orlando? Better still it looks like I'll be able to wrangle Scotty A to join me in the endeavor so if you're a fan (and you should be!) then put Megaplex on your calendar as well and stop by to see us! Cat girls? Cat girls.

Some folks already know this but I'm also on staff at Midwest Furfest (I help out with the Artist Alley crew) so it's practically a guarantee that I'll be attending that show every year, so be on the lookout for me all the time there.

The one unexpected bit of convention news for me is that I should be attending Biggest Little Furcon in Reno, NV as well. I didn't really know whether this was going to be possible until today, but it looks like I'm able to schedule a business trip to the city so that it coincides with the convention, so I'll finally be able to see this show in person. I haven't gotten formal confirmation of the business trip timing but I expect it should work and if so I'll make another post here to let people know. The one downside is that it looks like dealer's tables are already spoken for and I guess their version of Artist Alley is also alotted. This probably leaves me with nothing else to do but just be a regular attendee and not do any sales at all, but this is less of a problem than Anthrocon is because my travel arrangements are being covered as part of the business trip and this is just a side activity I'll be able to explore on my own. Still though, I may try to take on some commissions for people who will be attending BLFC so that I can deliver their work at the show. Badges? Commissions? If you're going to be attending and find this intriguing then please let me know.

One other long shot possibility goes out into 2019. I've wanted to visit Europe for years now but because I want to get out and see a LOT of Europe and not just a four day visit the cost has always been daunting. Tracy has been trying to encourage me to make plans to do Eurofurnace and I'll be giving that some consideration for 2019. She's pointed out that if I can make enough sales there I should be able to apply that to the cost of doing an actual vacation journey throughout Europe in the days / week (s?) following. That's pretty damn exciting.

I feel like I'm in the midst of cabin fever even though I've done plenty of journeys lately. I think the real thing is that I miss being able to go out and travel like I did from 2012 to 2016. Having a full-time job is awesome for finances but really sucks with the limits on available free time. I want to get out and drive for hours and see things!

Blink-and-you'll-miss-it, but Dragon's Lair appears in the trailer for Wreck-It Ralph 2 as one of the games in Litwack's Arcade. I'm impressed as having a Don Bluth production so specifically referenced in a Disney movie brings up some awkward history between the studios. Still, Dragon's Lair is such a big landmark in early arcades that it just feels so RIGHT to have one of those machines in the arcade settting.

I wish I could say that I'm as excited for the movie as this little reference though. I *LOVED* the first movie and I was so pleased to hear that a new one being made but this trailer just leaves me feeling let down. The story premise of the first one was really compelling... I *got* it right from the start and I believed in the story throughout and it built up right to the end with such a satisfying closure. This new one though... the trailer doesn't tell me anything about what the story is going to be about at all. Ralph and Vanelope just go out into the internet and visit different websites and games and we get to laugh at the absurdity of it all. Sooo.... it's just like the experience of browsing the internet you're doing right now while reading my journal here. The movie is going to be a meta-ode to time wasting?

I say this in jest of course... I really expect there to be a good story to go along with this, I'm just not seeing any evidence of that story in the trailer.

Back in the era before .mp3 files became a thing I would listen to .mod and the various alternative versions of tracker based music on my computer. Compared with CD and radio music MOD files had a very different sound to them, -low bit-rate samples, computer synth based melodies, and tracks which could be very, very amateurish sounding. But like anything there would be tracks that were really impressive and transcended the limitations and became something that stood on its own as equally entertaining and long lasting as anything that you could find in other formats. Years ago I converted my favorite MOD files to mp3 so that I could listen to them on my phone and this week I've put the playlist up again and have been kicking it like it was 1995 all over again.

That's what brings me to the question of this journal: how many other people out there still listen to MOD files? And if you do what are some that you'd recommend as crossing that boundary of being enjoyable to listen even today?

Here's a couple of my favorites:

https://modarchive.org/index.php?request=view_by_moduleid&query=47034

https://modarchive.org/index.php?request=view_by_moduleid&query=47092

https://youtu.be/YKyB51o9AJg?t=3m7s (this was my introduction to MOD music via an Amiga computer at Babbages around 1990)

https://modarchive.org/index.php?request=view_by_moduleid&query=44366

https://modarchive.org/index.php?request=view_by_moduleid&query=48923 (instantly familiar to Bejeweled players)

https://modarchive.org/index.php?request=view_by_moduleid&query=70356

https://modarchive.org/index.php?request=view_by_moduleid&query=169093

https://modarchive.org/index.php?request=view_by_moduleid&query=149794

https://modarchive.org/index.php?request=view_by_moduleid&query=36447 (this was the music I used to accompany my first animation demo reel!)


Cheers y'all. I'm enjoying the music here.

Hi, I'm Brian and pizza is my spirit animal. Especially Chicago deep dish.

Hope to see you folks in attendance at MFF this weekend. I'll be doing my usual thing of anchoring a table in Artist's Alley with  Calicougar although it'll be a new experience this year since the whole thing is moving out of the hotel and into the convention space (meaning instead of 4 individual AA rooms there'll be one big one). I should be easy enough to find and will be in the room all weekend long so stop by for visit, -I love chatting with people! I'll be selling prints, stickers, original art, and commissions. As a heads up, if you like any of my recent uploads that were done with real media I'll be bringing those with me for sale. It'll be fun!

From May through July I was working on a game project that was my baby, -the first game that was going to have my fingerprints and art design all over it and an ambitious visual presentation that would merit attention at trade shows. I'd learned a lot in the process about the use of After Effects and the technical aspects of configuring the art assets into a package that could be read by the game engine (a new hat for me to wear professionally) and as of about a week ago the game had gotten all the programming bugs fixed and was set to enter formal testing in order to be commercially released in September.

This weekend however two of the higher-ups at the corporate office spent time testing the game and decided that it needed a lot of changes in the art style. The reason being is that my game differed too much from the original game it was based off of. Unfortunately nobody ever gave any art direction that it was *supposed* to have visual callbacks. Throughout the weeks of feedback sessions by the main studio folks in Reno the dialogue was approving and focused on making the art look as best as it could within the direction that I was taking. Needless to say this sudden change in direction is pretty astonishing and has me scratching my head, mainly because the formal deadline for delivery had already passed due to programming bugs, hardware configurations, and various other testing issues that had to be ironed out. So now at the 13th hour the art design needs to be changed? I accept that such a decision wasn't made idly and the rationale for it is above my pay grade, but ehhhh... if it's THAT important I wish it had been communicated before all the effort had been put forth to make something different in the first place. At least I have the satisfaction of knowing that all the people over in Reno were supportive of the art direction and they're caught off guard by this as well and extended their apologies.

It's not the first time I've had to go through this, but it is the first time where nearly all of the art development and direction was a result of my vision and not someone else's.

]:/

Check it out:

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/8322159/

Scotty's fast, entertaining, affordable, and absolutely worth your time to check out!

There's a game I've been playing recently called Dreadnought that's currently in open beta but will remain free-to-play once it's fully released. I run it on PC and have been having a lot of fun but I'm curious to learn if there's anyone else here who has given it a shot. I'd like to try playing with teammates rather than random pick-up-games.

Here's the link to the site where you can get access:

https://www.greybox.com/dreadnought/en/

For a quick summary of what the game is, think of the climax to the movie Star Trek 2 where you had two giant starships maneuvering through an environment not unlike submarine warfare in an attempt to get the drop on each other. Shots were fired and damage scored until the killing blow is made. Dreadnought plays out just like that only with a team of 8 ships versus another team of 8 and each player can select a ship from several different classes that determines your relative firepower, agility, and defense. Games are pretty quick lasting 10 minutes or so and it doesn't take too long to get up to speed on the mechanics.

Let me know if you do play or would like to!

It's a little old at this point, but it's always awesome to see animation artists going to town in high silly style.

Behold: Spider-Man Re-Animate!

https://vimeo.com/floobynooby/spidermanreanimate

I've been pretty busy with things since getting back home from Anthrocon last weekend, so this feels a little late in writing.

I want to thank everyone who took the time to stop by my table to talk, shop, just look, and otherwise provide evidence that this convention is always worth my time in attending. I've said it before many times but it bears repeating that I view myself as less of an artist and more of an entertainer with my art skills. While I always strive to improve my skill the real goal I have in mind is to produce something that engages and resonates with the audience. Sometimes that audience ends up only being the one person who specifically commissioned it, but hopefully the work will elicit a measure of enjoyment from other people who see it. Truly the price that I put on my commissions is only part of the motivation, -getting to see the genuine positive reactions of people at the conventions is a huge reason why I keep doing this year after year and why I share so much on this website. Thank you. You folks are what keep me going.

In total I can't say that Anthrocon was in any way notably different than in previous years, but that's mostly because of the way I experience it. I end up spending less and less time leaving my table to go see the rest of the convention so what the convention really represents for me is the chance to interact with all the people who think enough of my work to stop at my table. I wish that the convention lasted a day longer so that I would feel less pressure to keep working while the dealer's room is open. There were a lot of people I would have liked to spend time talking to who are also limited to their personal tables and I regret not getting to see them at all or to have only limited conversations when they were up and passing by my table. There's just too many cool people to see! I did enjoy getting to interact with Jeff and the Sofawolf people again, and meeting up with John, Lanny, Derrick, Gideon is always a treat. Robert was a quality roommate who was a lifesaver with lunch deliveries! Hanging out at Buca with Roz and Scotty was great too and reminded me of old times back in California.

And Scotty, -DID YOU ALL CATCH SCOTTY?!?! What a treat to see him again in person at a convention! I had a part to play in getting him to come in the first place and so I would have felt really guilty if he'd come away from the experience feeling like he'd wasted his time and money, and I'm delighted that it worked out positively. Thank you all for the attention you'd shown, -I have my fingers crossed that he'll choose to make a return visit to AC or some other event I'll also be able to participate in. YA DID GOOD!

By the way Scotty, -"What's with all those cat girls??"

If I could change one thing about AC it would be to somehow fix those abysmal elevator lines. I know with the crowds there's only so much you can do, but when I timed my wait at 21 minutes that's really excessive and is enough to prompt me to consider finding a different hotel altogether.

Whatever. The elevators nor the lack of sleep (I'd work until 4am then get up at 8am to get back to the dealer's room table) could interfere with my enjoyment of drawing for people. Thanks to everyone who stuck with me on Sunday as I was reduced to sometimes babbling during conversations because of sleep stupor.

My next convention on the horizon is Midwest Furfest in Chicago. I hope to see a bunch of you there as well.

Cheers!

I'm here in Pittsburgh having breakfast with Scotty A and will be shortly making my way over to the dealers room to set up and begin a marathon three days of drawing! It still awes and fills me with delight that I can spend the weekend having people pay me to draw the kinds of fun things that got me motivated to be an artist in the first place. Thank you to everyone in advance for the continued entertainment this show provides! I hope y'all have as much fun as I will!

I've been doing a lot of streaming lately but mostly in a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing so that I have an escape plan if I decide I just want to do something else instead, but I just became aware that a friend of mine will be broadcasting a radio drama on Thursday night of "The Adventures of Rick Deckard" which is a performance he and a group of friends put on a few years ago at the Los Angeles sci-fi convention LosCon. The premise is to imagine the 1982 movie Blade Runner as if it were created in 1948 and performed live on the radio with famous actors of the period like Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Vincent Price, etc playing the roles instead of the actors we know from the movie. Creative sound foley is used throughout and the whole thing comes together in greatly entertaining fashion. You can read up more on this yourself at kryptonradio.com/2017/06/19/54179/ and listen for yourself this Thursday.

However if you want you can tune into my art stream at https://picarto.tv/ToonFoxTV on Thursday at 10pm EST and I'll be listening to it while I draw. I'll probably start my stream at 8 or 9pm but the radio broadcast will be an additional source of fun for the night.

See you guys there!

I want to give a confirmation that I'll be attending Anthrocon at the end of the month along with my wife  Calicougar and together WE SHALL BE UNSTOPPABLE. Look for us at table E19, which happens to be right next to table E18 where none other than Scotty Arsenault will be attending as well. WHOOOOOAAAHH! *hushed awe* Scotty hasn't been to a convention in at least a decade so if you have wanted to meet him, see his art in person, and BUY THINGS like his gratitude and LOYALTY then by gum now's the time to do something about it! I'll be there at the table rooted to the spot from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon selling original art, vinyl vehicle stickers along with a whole bunch of new standard stickers (rhinos, wolves, ferrets, dogs, cats, warthogs, foxes, and heavy ordnance), prints, and heck, how about some magnets of this lass? http://www.furaffinity.net/view/14029015/ Of course I'll be doing commissions for badges and sketches (pencil, ink, marker), -take a look at my recent uploads and you'll see exactly what to expect.

Tracy will be doing likewise and Scotty, well, Scottyman does whatever a Scotty can. Wealth and fame he's ignored. Action is his reward. Maybe if you guys behave well we can get him to make a return trip in the future??!?

I hope to see a whole bunch of you guys there. If you know me I love talking and visiting with people so please don't hesitate to say hello!

If the first coaster I linked to in the previous journal wasn't enough now there's a second which is even more in depth! Not really much of a "thrilling" coaster experience but it's above and beyond as a you-are-there recreation of the movie by way of a moving ride. Amazing work!

https://youtu.be/CJHsQhR5PUE

Holy cats!

https://youtu.be/q3iHTQR-xOk

As is usually the case lately I've been away doing life things, most recently travelling to Florida for my daughter's Spring Break, but I've actually got a little something I can show about my day-to-day job. Emphasis on "little":

https://www.superhitsjackpots.com/

I work at a company developing art assets for class 2 casino slot machines (which is the industry designation for Indian reservation tribal gaming, aka: not Las Vegas, etc.). Consequently there's not a lot I can show of my work since it's #1) not particularly relevant to the FA audience, and #2) is usually wrapped up with physical slot machine cabinets and gameplay. However if you click on the link above you can see a public promotion of a new product line I've been involved with "$uper Hit$ Jackpot$" (a title which I'll agree looks pretty garish in the wrong font).

I won't personally be attending TFF this coming weekend, but my wife  Calicougar will, and you can read a bit about that here: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/8124478/

I hope you guys will have fun there and will take the time to chat with her and see what she's brought. She'll be trying to obtain an Artist's Alley table so she should be able to do custom art too, -she's good and she's fast!

Ohmygod is it ever annoying to try looking up an old post on Twitter! I thought I could just click on the media posts and see a thumbnail for every image shared but noooooooo... I have to scroll through every post before and wait for things to load and maaaaannnnn I'm not even through 2016 yet and what I want to find is in 2015!

Unlike last year when I suffered a knee injury that prevented me from walking properly and driving long distances I'm in good shape for making the trip to Midwest Furfest this week in Chicago. I've been looking forward to it for a long time now and I hope I'll get to see all the familiar faces and enjoy some good time and company.

For those who didn't read my previous journal, I'm now back to working fulltime and so MFF and Anthrocon are likely to be my only two convention appearances going forth. It's been a great experience getting to attend upwards of six conventions a year (Further Confusion, Furry Weekend Atlanta, Motor City Furcon, Califur, Anthrocon, and Midwest Furfest) but now that I'm back working fulltime I can't spend my vacation time doing that many conventions anymore, so if you wanted to meet up and chat, MFF and AC are where I'll be.

I'm going to be situated in the G-rated Artist's Alley for the entirety of the operating hours, so it should be easy to find me unless I make a quick break to see what's going on in the other rooms. I'll be taking commissions as usual (pencil / ink / color sketches and badges) and I'll also have my vehicle stickers and the "Shock & Awe" stickers some of you may have seen. In addition I always have with me a collection of original art from the numerous Funday Pawpet show artjams and the fun sketch doodles that I've just recently been uploading. If you're one of the few who still buy art prints I'll have some of those on offer as well. I aim to entertain so please stop by and feel free to chat and visit, -it's a huge pleasure of mine to meet new people.

I'm going to be arriving in Chicago on Thursday morning and will be staying through until Monday afternoon. I usually end up working on my daily homework from dinner hours until 3am so I probably won't be able to visit much in the evening, but if you've got my contact information and want to meet and visit give me a buzz.

Beyond that, I hope everyone has a grand time and I look forward to seeing y'all!

https://sketchfab.com/models/8225d4.....536b441b350cb1

Whoah!

This is just a quick overview of the things that have been happening in my life lately.

End of May: Traveled with my daughter to Los Angeles for the month of June.

Early June: Attended Califur.

Mid June: Went house sitting with Tracy and Samantha first at the sister-in-law's place in Alameda, then for a week in Grass Valley at the aunt & uncle-in-laws.

Mid June: Received the formal offer to be re-hired at my old company in Virginia (now under new management).

Late June: Formally hired!!!

Early July: Returned to Kentucky and immediately drove to Pittsburgh for Anthrocon.

Post AC: Immediately after Anthrocon drove to Virginia to begin looking for a place to move into. Spent a week in town and found a good place for a (sort of) good price. It's the nicest place I've ever called my own and I'm very much looking forward to moving in.

Most of July onwards: lots of logistical wrangling between applying for the townhome rental in Virginia, signing the lease, contacting utilities, and the biggest headache of all: working out the details of the relocation. The company is paying for the relocation but because there's stuff being transported from both Los Angeles and Kentucky it's a challenge to coordinate, to say nothing about the fact that July is the busiest month for moving vans and there just isn't any available trucks until mid August.

End of July: A confluence of opportunities arose to allow me to meet Tracy and Samantha in Reno, NV on their cross country drive from Los Angeles to Kentucky (and later to Virginia). I flew out to Reno last Tuesday and met them on Wednesday morning. Since then we've driven through the Great Basin National Park where I saw the once-in-a-lifetime BRILLIANT view of the re-entry burnup of the Chinese rocket booster, Grand Junction, CO, Aspen, CO, Denver, CO, and today arriving in Junction City, KS. Tomorrow we'll be arriving in St. Louis, MS, and on Tuesday we'll pass through Illinois, Indiana, and finally Kentucky. Friday is the first date for the movers to arrive picking up our stuff for the move to Virginia.

Needless to say it's been a very busy time and I'm doing well in keeping my sanity about myself while trying to get all the rest of this stuff dealt with. The scheduled window of delivery for our stuff in Virginia is August 11 - 19th and then we'll have to unpack everything and get settled. Hopefully by September we'll be finally calmed down again.

...and that's the news. Carry on!

Who has been or is going to FA United? I had thought about trying to attend but it looks like I'm not going to be in the area after all when it's going on and I'd like to hear what folks who have attended thought of the experience. As a dealer I'd be most interested to hear whether the dealer's room is well attended and if folks go with the intention of buying stuff or if this show is one where people are there to party, meet with other friends, or show off their costumes.

I highly doubt I'll be able to go this year, but if it stays in Herndon, VA next year then I'll definitely plan on stopping by and maybe get a table to sell at as well.