View From the Bushes

Well, I fixed the caching problem with the NPC, so the treasure percentage should now work correctly, which is good, since by most accounts it's the feature that people appreciate the most. I personally think it's one of the coolest things we did with the Xenogenic System. Certainly it was one of the most difficult, but often there isn't a direct correlation between coolness and difficulty. In fact, to the frustration of many a programmer, there is more often than not an inverse correlation between how much a feature is appreciated and how difficult it was to implement.

I went to a play last night, though it wasn't technically a play, it was actually a musical revue featuring the songs of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller called Smokey Joe's Cafe. It was quite entertaining, unlike the last time we went, lots of really good songs, but what stuck with me the most from last night was hearing that Robert Peterson had died. Not so much that he had died, but the body of work he accumulated, the enormous outpouring of sympathy and the scheduling of a special memorial service at the theater. It would be nice to have such an impact.

One of the things occupying my time right now is the search for a second car. For quite a while I've gotten by with only one, but it's quickly becoming apparent that that's not going to work much longer. So far I've looked at two cars, and both of them had fairly serious mechanical problems. Today I had my mechanic look at an '86 VW Jetta (which I wouldn't have been considering at all if I hadn't talked the guy down $300). It had split boots on the front axle, a radiator leak and needed a new timing belt. In any case, the search continues; I'll keep you posted.

Carpe Diem Quam Minimum Credula Postero
Ross