Before we do anything else, we're having a impromptu sit-down meeting with our CEO and resident ship captain, Mike Tinney, to talk about some of the future workings of our department (IPDD) and how we'll be working with CCP's Iceland office in the coming months. A lot of this is just us sitting down and catching our breath after the merger and the holiday craziness and all that noise. Also, it's us preparing for the arrival of our good friend and new co-worker, Petur, who's moving here with us early next year to continue his design and development of EVE: Second Genesis.

This was a big, important orientation thing for us, but you'd find it totally boring, so I've just jumped over an hour-long meeting in two paragraphs. Two paragraphs, of course, without a single new product name mentioned or author's name dropped, so I imagine you're bored by now. Sorry about that.

Having blown all our time before Rich's doctor appointment, we broke the meeting with the understanding that we would write our current progress reports via email. Here, then, for your amusement, are samples from the progress reports of the stars of the IPDD department:

• Chaney says: "All the art is in for Urban Legends....cover and interior." He's also working on Monster Mayhem "chits" and "victim cards." What does that mean? We're not telling. Not yet.
  
  
• Ethan says: "World of Darkness: Book of Spirits is set for editing, and in Aaron's hands. The art notes are being finished for Aileen today.
  
  "Apart from a couple of administrative details that I would like to catch up on, everything else is Changeling, as I try to get that thing done for editing by the end of the year. I should be at my computer most every day except Christmas Eve and Christmas, so we'll keep the old fingers crossed for success there. It would be nice if I could leave out a bowl of milk and let the elves finish it for me overnight on Christmas Eve, but somehow I think the little bastards would just repair my shoelaces instead."
  
  
• Brian says: "DY-NO-MITE!
  
  "Getting final art trickling in for the Exalted board game, so I'm going to
  start playing around with card design.
  
  "Looks like The Wyld certified okay on Craig's end, so just going to make
  sure he has the upload information and get that thing off to the printer.
  
  "Going to make Bax help me clean my cube since we have guests coming in
  tomorrow."
  
  
• Bax says: "Apparently, I'm cleaning Brian's damned cube and then baking cookies for when company comes tomorrow. I also have to iron my apron and put on my best pearls."
  
  
• Aileen is art directing Book of Spirits and Free Council this week.
  
  
• matt says: "i've got Scion art questions to answer, the border to tackle and wrestle into submission. And then, I get to find some fine artists to work on Damnation City, as well as write up new art submission guidelines for Vampire. (holy crap, the shift key on my keyboard works!)"
  
  
• Craig says: "Mainly going to be working on getting Urban Legends wrapped up and out the door. Everything is in for it so it shouldn't be too bad. Probably going to be staying late now that Erin is done with school (so I don't have to get home to keep the dog from peeing on piles of dirty laundry). Also will be getting together a rough for the map for the Exalted board game for Brian and owe matt a sketch by the end of the week for my illustration for Scion."
  
  
• John says: "I’ve got development of the last Scion chapter, Exalted contracting and answering all the editor’s Scion questions. I’m jumping onto questions first so the editor can wrap up chapters sooner and get them ready for Rich (and others) to read and matt to lay out."

In other news, our annual, generous gift of delicious baklava is here, so all is right with the world. Phyllo and honey, people, are good what for ails you. And by "you," I mean "me."

And that's what's what.

Current Music: The Decemberists, "The Culling of the Fold"