Putting the Dead in Deadline
The main project that has been taking up the better part of my spare hours for the month of October has finally been released:
Empire of the Ghouls is the third Open Design project from Wolfgang Baur. The title says is it all: there is an underground empire of the undead, with schemes, rivalries and menace aplenty for adventurers of all stripes. It’s 160 pages of art, maps and good reading.
I handled the layout and production. Unlike the Castle Shadowcrag project, I used Adobe InDesign from start to finish, and got a first-hand look at the differences between a documentation tool (Framemaker) and a layout tool (InDesign). Parts of production went more smoothly using InDesign, but those technical bits, like the linked cross-references and the auto-generated Tables of Contents and PDF bookmarks, were not.
And then there was the question of size. Those 160 pages pushed my poor little laptop to the breaking point. To generate the PDF, I had to reboot my machine and then to turn off every little application I could find; otherwise, there wasn’t enough RAM to spare.
This was an engrossing project, in terms of subject matter and technical challenge. This was the project that broke my blogging streak not once, but twice…all because of those printing delays.
I’m glad to have the finished product out to the patrons of the project. I’m looking forward to hearing what they think (although, to be fair, they really shouldn’t notice the production. They should focus on the content, if I’ve done my job correctly), to preparing a short list of changes for an updated version in a month or so, and, of course, to reading the darn thing myself!
Happy Birthday, Naomi!
You are two years old today, and you love presents!
Just minutes after you were born, you tried to grab the scissors as I was cutting the cord. You wanted to do everything by yourself then, and you still do now. And you can.
You can climb the highest jungle gym and bookcase, you can eat with a fork and a spoon, you can drink from a cup (more or less accurately), you can ask Momma for a hug, you can ask Daddy “What’s that?”, you can tackle Ben in a tickle-fight, you can run down the hill, you can wait patiently, you can colour, you can wave, you can sing “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,” you can play the xylophone, you can roar like a lion, quack like a duck, cluck like a chicken, woof like a dog, meow like a cat and trumpet like an elephant, you can hum and dance to The Backyardigans, Poko and Bo on the Go, and you can get me to do anything for you because you have me wrapped around your little finger…
…as you have since that very first day.
love,
daddy
Another Long Night
It looks like I’ve got at least a couple more late nights with just InDesign and a game manuscript to keep me company. Good thing the project is entertaining!
And then I move on to three other deadlines this week.
Plus Naomi’s actual birthday, and then Hallowe’en trick-or-treating.
I think the only break I’m taking is to watch Heroes tonight. Who will Peter find in Montreal?
I can’t wait to find out…and to see how the sets are dressed up to resemble my hometown.
Naomi Loves a Good Cake
…especially a delicious ladybug cake made with one layer of chocolate and one layer of banana. Dina has outdone herself.
Enjoy the video!
Naomi’s First 2nd Birthday Party
When you’re in the middle of it, you’d never think that you could survive a two year old girl’s birthday.
At the end of it, you realize that she had the best time, and everything is worthwhile.
Thanks to all our family and friends who made Naomi’s first 2nd party so much fun!
One party down, two more to go!
Naomi’s Birthday Celebrations Start Early
As in most schools and daycares, the teachers at Ben and Naomi’s daycare use stickers as rewards for excellent work, good behaviour or “just because.” Ben loves receiving stickers and proudly displays the latest acquisitions on his cheek, nose or wrist.
At suppertime, Ben came into the kitchen with a handful of stickers that he had removed from a Peep and the Big Wide World book. He was wearing a Peep sticker, and he gave Dina a Chirp, a Quack to me, and then he went back and gave Naomi a Jack-in-the-Box.
Naomi had never seen a sticker before, and looked confused as Ben pushed up her sleeve and then stuck the sticker on her forearm.
Then she looked at the sticker, held up her arm and said “Box!”
Then she ran down the hall, arm outstretched, laughing. It was her very first sticker, and she wanted to show it off.
Whenever the sticker fell off, she brought it back to Dina, gave her the sticker and then held out her arm excitedly.
The stickers didn’t last past suppertime, but Naomi loved it while it was there.
Yesterday’s Post Unintentionally Left Blank
Here’s a sure sign that I’ve got a lot going on this week: I forgot to post something on my blog.
Actually, that’s not true. I remembered at 11:50 PM that I had a post due. I was fighting with InDesign for a client and it took my poor, overburdened laptop 15 minutes to open Firefox and switch from InDesign.
The streak is over, but I’ll just start a new one.
Or maybe I won’t. Tomorrow looks pretty busy, too. [grin]
Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer
Sweet Kirby – they turned Silver Surfer into a Teletubby!
He looks cool, but doesn’t make sense now that Galactus is a mindless cosmic storm incapable of striking the deal that created the Herald. There’s an unassuming family comedy hidden in this picture. I wish there was more of it.
A Childhood Favourite Returned
When I was ten years old, my favourite book on Mrs. Adams’ bookshelf was a collection of stories about a judge in feudal Japan who found clever ways to solve unusual cases.
The one I remembered best featured a student, who lived over a restaurant, being sued by the restaurant owner for theft. The student claimed he only needed to eat rice, because the delicious smells from the restaurant made every bowl of rice a feast. The restaurant owner wanted to be paid. The judge ordered the student to pour coins from one hand to the other, saying that the price for the smell of food was the sound of money.
That kind legal and moral maneuvering blew my mind. I read the book over and over again in 4th grade, and then promptly forgot about it.
I started thinking about those stories again a while ago. Buying books for Ben and Naomi always makes me think of the books I used to read. A quick Google search on the phrase “sound of money” revealed the book: Ooka the Wise, by I.G. Edmonds. I tried to find the book on eBay, but to no avail.
Then I researched a little more, and learned the book was also condensed and retitled as The Case of the Marble Monster for sale as part of the Scholastic Book Club.
That was two weeks ago. The book arrived in the mail this morning.
It’s exactly as I remember it.
The Best Kind of Sunday
After a yummy restaurant brunch, we went to the park across from our home and played in the leaves. Click the photo to see the photo album.
And after lunches and naps, we went back outside to draw on the sidewalk with chalk, at Ben’s suggestion. (Those pictures are pending).