Equestrian Hedgehogs

So I'm looking up "chagrin" to make sure I understand the exact meaning, right? I had recently become fond of using Answers.com because it's such a nifty patchwork of search engine, dictionary, and encyclopedia, so I went there first. The first part was pretty much what I expected, some good bits on the origins of the word, then, farther down, I find:

An evil spirit believed in by European Gypsies. It was said to have the form of a hedgehog, to be yellow in color, and to be about a foot and a half in length. Heinrich von Wlislocki stated: "I am certain, that this creature is none other than the equally demoniac being called Harginn, still believed in by the inhabitants of Northwestern India. Horses were the special prey of the Chagrin, who rode them into a state of exhaustion, like the Guecubu of Chile." ...

Wow. It's not just embarassment; it's a demonic hedgehog. How cool is that?

New Toys

Laying out RPG books with word processors was starting to drive me crazy. I started out using WordPerfect 10, but for some reason my version was producing a disturbing number of corrupted files and strange errors. The program itself may not have been responsible for this, but I switched over to OpenOffice anyway. OpenOffice is a very nice product (especially when you consider that it's free) but I was still working with a word processor and, while I can bend a word processor into something vaguely shaped like a layout program, it takes an awful lot of coaxing and prodding and screaming to get through a book-sized project.

So I figured it was time to find something that was actually made for what I was doing. The big ones, Quark and Adobe, are absurdly expensive. Also, Adobe has a long history of making software that irritates me, so I wouldn't be keen on that one even if it was affordable. Another small-press game designer recommended Serif's PagePlus, so I checked that one out. The price was reasonable, the reviews were good, and it looked from the tutorials to be pretty user-friendly. I bought it.

And I hate to sound like a commercial, but wow, it's perfect. I was making fresh progress on the Athebes layouts the same day. I was even able to pick up what I had done in OpenOffice and convert it because PagePlus opens and edits PDF files too. I'm actually enjoying myself again. Best investment I've made in a long time.

I also discovered AbiWord, which is a slimmed-down (and free) word processor that loads really fast. Nice for just writing when you've decided to do your heavy formatting work in another program.

Superwonderfulriffic Dark Chocolate

I found this chocolate at the grocery store that's like 65% cacao,
with cacao nibs mixed in on top of that, and it's the best thing ever.
It's like eating God. I'm going to go back and buy it all.

Death to the Robots!

When I first read the headline below, I saw "leader" instead of "lander."

===
Lawmakers Rebuff NASA's Plan to Kill Robotic Lunar Lander
By Brian Berger, Space News Staff Writer

Colorado Springs, Colo.—House and Senate appropriators have pushed
back against NASA's proposed termination of a planned 2011 robotic
lunar lander mission, directing the agency to spend $20 million this
year to continue work on a follow-on to the 2008 Lunar Reconnaissance
Orbiter...

http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/070416_business_monday.html

Troll Hoot

Tom's summary (with pictures) of our latest trip is posted at Kopfy's Kreche.

Three of Swords

I finally replaced the Fafhrd & Gray Mouser hardback that my friend lost all those years ago.  Only cost $3.50 - barely enough to satisfy the Loch Ness Monster - thanks to the wonders of Amazon Marketplace.  Had been wanting to read those again, and my paperback originals threaten to fall apart every time I open them.  Last night I enjoyed, "Ill Met in Lankhmar", "The Circle Curse" (basically a bridging story) and "The Jewels in the Forest" once again.  Yaay!

Trolls in the Mist

Tom summarizes our trip to Orlando in his blog at:
http://kopfy.blogspot.com/2007/02/47-hours-out-of-town.html