Hello internet, what's happening... I finally got around to updating the various Drupal modules that had fallen out of date on here, and patched up Token with some event-based, well, tokens. I'll pass them upstream some point today, and perhaps they'll even be committed by someone.

So... If you've been following my cryptic and infrequently updated Twitter, you might have gotten an inkling that yes, I am once again exercising my writing "skills" and producing yet another fantasy story. It is about the quest of a young man who must do the impossible to save the god he worships.

I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity this weekend, one I'm glad I took. My mother (who is a member of two Toastmasters clubs in the London area) was attending the District 60 spring conference, and so did I. It was the first, and until I get my DTM award, the last, Toastmasters conference I've shared with Mom.

As a big thank-you for attending the Toronto launch of Visual Studio 2008, I got in the mail today a copy of Windows Vista Ultimate as well as a CD containing a bunch of Live products (including a 90-day subscription for OneCare).

Now, I just need to get a new computer, one which can run a version of Windows newer than 2000.

The best indie game development jam in the world, TOJam, is coming back for its third year. I participated in the first event in 2006 (which is where I created Alien Abduction!), but my computer died right at the beginning of the second one, last year.

For some reason, Drupal hates me. And I don't know why.

This time, the problem was with Links Package – without cause or reason it decided to change a number of the links on my links page to different URLs already on the page. It did this to more than half of them. I've since changed the URLs back to what they should be, but it's just bizarre that this would happen in the first place!

Next Saturday (that is, May 3) I'll be at GameCamp Toronto 2, to give a presentation on the IGDA Indie SIG. The next week will be spent working on the presentation so that when I'm on the stage at GameCamp, I'll wow everyone so much that they'll all join the IGDA. You can find more information on GameCamp Toronto at <http://www.gamecamptoronto.com/> or just go straight to registration.

I picked up off the wire this morning an interesting opinion piece by former Eidos president Keith Boesky. It's partially a rant, but one that I believe is right-on – risk mitigation by publishers is one of the biggest reasons (if not the biggest reason) for developer failure.