Jeff Preston

Ennies!

2009-07-24T16:25:12Z

I can't believe that a few of the products I worked on, have been a participant of, contributed to have been nominated for Ennies.
That alone is the high point of my career.
Seriously. EVER.

38 years old, don't a lot of things.
THIS is the high water mark.

I am unbelievably stoked.

Reupping my LJ?

2009-07-13T17:55:58Z

Nah. Honestly I spend more time between Twitter, Facebook and my own Blogger Acct/ Website etc. LJ ends up as redundant. The nifty userpics are a neat bit, but really, that's the BIG draw for LJ to me right now, and not worth paying for. :/

Hoping to get two good pics out the door today. Tomorrow will be less than productive (wife is off tomorrow).

Racism is Dead! or not.

2009-07-08T22:46:27Z

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Pool-Boots-Kids-Who-Might-Change-the-Complexion.html

Pool Boots Kids Who Might "Change the Complexion" Campers sent packing after first visit to swim club

By KAREN ARAIZA

Updated 3:01 PM EDT, Wed, Jul 8, 2009

NBC Philadelphia

Dymire Baylor says he overheard a woman ask, "What are all these black kids doing?" when he and his freinds showed up.

More than 60 campers from Northeast Philadelphia were turned away from a private swim club and left to wonder if their race was the reason.

Pool Boots Kids Who Might "Change the Complexion"

Watch Video

Kids at Creative Steps Day Camp were thrilled to go swimming once a week at the Valley Swim Club. But after only one trip to the private club, they were...

"I heard this lady, she was like, 'Uh, what are all these black kids doing here?' She's like, 'I'm scared they might do something to my child,'" said camper Dymire Baylor.

The Creative Steps Day Camp paid more than $1900 to The Valley Swim Club. The Valley Swim Club is a private club that advertises open membership. But the campers' first visit to the pool suggested otherwise.

"When the minority children got in the pool all of the Caucasian children immediately exited the pool," Horace Gibson, parent of a day camp child, wrote in an email. "The pool attendants came and told the black children that they did not allow minorities in the club and needed the children to leave immediately."

The next day the club told the camp director that the camp's membership was being suspended and their money would be refunded.

"I said, 'The parents don't want the refund. They want a place for their children to swim,'" camp director Aetha Wright said.

Campers remain unsure why they're no longer welcome.

"They just kicked us out. And we were about to go. Had our swim things and everything," said camper Simer Burwell.

The explanation they got was either dishearteningly honest or poorly worded.

"There was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion … and the atmosphere of the club," John Duesler, President of The Valley Swim Club said in a statement.

While the parents await an apology, the camp is scrambling to find a new place for the kids to beat the summer heat.

Again...remiss.

2009-07-01T22:41:10Z

Yeah, I've been bad about keeping up with my LJ lately.
Been working a lot.

Not going to GenCon. Need to save the money for other stuff. The smart thing to do is save up for next year and Illuxcon in Nov.

Out of the 35 (turned in to 37) images to do in a month, I have 26 done and I have 8 days left. Of course I did request an extension but never heard back. I dunno if I got canned/ replaced or not.

I'm also in the midst of a couple reviews: one done, one starting tonight (well...the reading part). Courage and Honour by Graham McNeill is a good read, I recommend it. Review over at Flames Rising. I spoke with the author a bit this morning about the review. I tend to occasionally be a harsh mistress when it comes to reviews as I don't believe in sugar-coating what I write. I don't write with "stars in my eyes". While I know a lot of writers, I'm hopefully known as a fair, objective reviewer who "tells it like it is". Graham McNeill is a great guy. He's one of those creatives that pours a lot of heart and soul in to his writing, yet doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve: he wants honest reviews and forthright critique. You can't help but respect that!

There have been some tragedies of late. Some far away, some very near and dear to my heart. My heart goes out to those who have lost someone important in their lives recently. I don't handle death well.

We've had some local weirdness and drama lately as well. I think I may have been at the heart of it or caused it. In D&D terms I tend towards Lawful Stupid, and in doing so, my overwhelming disdain for talking behind someone's back and having to make sure what I say in private is also perfectly clear in public as well...well...I may have really stomped on a friend's feelings. I was a bit TOO honest in a way.

I try to be tactful, and considerate, always. But at some point (in this case) I felt that my tactful words were falling on deaf ears...repeatedly...for months and when I brought it up again and was faced with anger...I fired back with both barrels, as honest and clear as crystal. I dunno. I may have went overboard a little. Thankfully we're still friends. I've since apologised for my excessive force.

I'm supposed to be running a WFRP campaign starting Sunday. May be a short run. I'm starting them at a bit of an odd angle and then seeing where they want to go with it. It's entirely up to them, it's their game, and their story. Of course after the last weird set of emails and all that...all eyes are now on me to put my money where my mouth is. Joy!

My Friday evenings are booked as well, seeing a couple dear friends on a regular schedule now for a bit of Gaming/ Dinner goodness. I know I am very much a creature of habit, and seeing people is something I have to do on a regular basis, else I'll fall back to just staying home. It's too easy to just stay home. I work at home, I live at home, I play at home, I sleep at home...I DO need to get out of the house on occasion before that weird lack of social skills sets in. Maybe it already has (see previous paragraphs).

I'll end this note with an homage to my favorite artist of ALL TIME:

That's right...Tim Bradstreet (swoon).

No LAN support for Starcraft2

2009-07-01T22:08:22Z

"Blizzard has announced that they will be dropping LAN support for Starcraft II, citing piracy and quality concerns. Instead, all multiplayer games will be hosted through their new Battle.net service. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by this move, but wasn't LAN play how the original Starcraft became popular? Blizzard said, 'More people on Battle.net means more even more resources devoted to evolving this online platform to cater to further community building and new ways to enjoy the game online. World of Warcraft is a great example of a game that has evolved beyond anyone's imagination since their Day 1 and will continue to do so to better the player experience for as long as players support the title. ... We would not take out LAN if we did not feel we could offer players something better.'"
http://games.slashdot.org/story/09/07/01/1628259/Blizzard-Confirms-No-LAN-Support-For-emStarcraft-2em?from=rss

I'm sorry, but what???
No LAN support?
Only Battle.net?

Wow.

Happy Birthday Ringo!

2009-06-24T18:20:07Z

Today is the birthday of a great guy. Mike Wieringo. He passed away in 2007. He is missed. The world is a little darker without him around. Happy Birthday man...where ever you are.

Quote of the Day

2009-06-10T20:45:30Z

"The National Government will regard it as its first and foremost duty to revive in the nation the spirit of unity and cooperation. It will preserve and defend those basic principles on which our nation has been built. It regards Christianity as the foundation of our national morality, and the family as the basis of national life."

Proclamation by the Government to the German Nation. Adolf Hitler, Berlin, 1 February 1933

Props to Todd Lockwood for the reminder of this.

Some recent sketchy stuff:

2009-06-04T16:30:53Z

WiP I started in Virginia.
another WiP I started one day.
And yet another WiP I did last weekend when I took some time to myself.

Note all are WiPs and none are completed. Unfortunately I'm driven by a number of deadlines and have little time for drawing for ME and what I want to draw. Of course, fan art doesn't pay. Still...I could draw GW stuff all day long and I'd do it for FREE (well...or almost free). I just don't have the chops to make it to THAT level.

Yet.

CBT Novels...

2009-05-29T19:21:02Z

I'm liquidating a lot of stuff around the house ($$$) and I have a big batch of CBT Novels which I'm about to put on Ebay, but I wanted to toss a line to the peeps online here first.

The Blood of Kerensky Series by Michael Stackpole $7.50
The Warrior Trilogy my Michael Stackpole $7.50
The Twilight of the Clans series. $20
The Fed-Com Civil War $30

I figure that to get these at Half-Price Books you'd pay $3-$3.50 apiece for them
I'll ask $2.50 apiece (as shown above).

If someone wanted all of them, I'd sell em for $2 apiece ($52 for the whole batch).
Shipping will probably be between $5 and $10.

Please feel free to crosspost to the CBT folks everywhere.

Knockspell Issue #2 Released!

2009-05-13T17:49:37Z

==================================================
I did the art direction on this and you won't believe the bullpen of artists I got!
==================================================

The Swords & Wizardry Storefront: http://stores.lulu.com/mythmere

Knockspell Magazine Issue #2 is now on sale at the Swords & Wizardry storefront, http://stores.lulu.com/mythmere. This issue contains dungeon design advice from both Allan Grohe and Philotomy Jurament, an adventure by Gabor Lux, and all kinds of other articles from jousting to monsters and all points in between! The art in this issue is phenomenal: artists include Jim Holloway, Liz Danforth, and others. The cover piece is "Dungeoneer," by Peter Fitzpatrick. Games covered include 0e, 1e, Swords & Wizardry, OSRIC, and other retro-clones. 86 pages.

DURING MAY the prices of Knockspell #2, Spire of Iron and Crystal (module), The S&W/0e Monster Book, and Eldritch Weirdness Compilation Books Three to One are all reduced, because we're in the middle of another lulu sales competition.

Table of Contents:
3 Editor’s Note, Matt Finch
4 Art Director’s Note, Jeff Preston
4 From Kuroth’s Quill, Allan T. Grohe, Jr.
8 The Dungeon as Mythic Underworld, Jason “Philotomy Jurament” Cone
14 The Trouble with Thieves, James Maliszewski
16 WhiteBox Thief (1): The Treasure Seeker, Rob Ragas
17 WhiteBox Thief (2): The “Standard” Thief, Salvatore Macri
18 Core Rules Thief (1): The Skillful Shadow, Salvatore Macri
20 Core Rules Thief (2), James Maliszewski
21 Thieves and Tasks, Akrasia
24 Isles on an Emerald Sea 2, Gabor Lux
31 Retro-Clones: Interviews with the Authors
36 Jousting (Optional Rules), Brendan Falconer
37 Dungeon Oddities, Michael Curtis
45 The Zocchi Experience, Matt Finch
46 The Claws of Ssur-Sparih, James Carl Boney
47 Random City Lair Generator, Sean Wills
48 Random Thieves Guild Generator, Robert Lionheart
51 The Fantasy Marketplace: Looking at Merchants Differently, Michael Shorten
55 Spell Complexity (Optional Rules), Brendan Falconer
57 Thoughts on Arnesonian Alchemy in the Original Dungeon Game, Jason Vasche
60 When is a Spell Book Much More than a Spell Book?, Brendan Falconer
62 Random Pits & Occupants, Mike Davison
63 Magic Swords & Treasure Maps, Jason “Philotomy Jurament” Cone
67 Leprechauns, David (“Sham”) Bowman
69 Why White Box?, Jim Adams
71 Surviving Old-School Dungeons, Sean Ahmed
72 Three Sorcerous Creations, James Carl Boney
77 Magic Items
78 Review: On the Road of Knives, Matt Finch
79 Masterminds & Minions, bat
82 The Bestiary
86 Classified Ads

Tales of Heresy- Review

2009-05-13T16:46:42Z

Tales of Heresy
Edited by Nick Kyme and Lindsey Priestley

Preface: I usually shy away from anthologies. Not that anthologies are inherently “bad” or anything…but it seems to me that the stories either grab you and then drop you off at the next corner, anxiously wanting MORE…or really just fail to snag you in the first place. Anthologies tend to cater to a wider variety of subjects/ interests and I know my own tastes tend to be more focused.

In spite of this, Tales of Heresy is focused enough to be fun for anyone interested in delving more in to the extremely popular Horus Heresy series.

Since each of the stories is independent, not really tying to one another in any way, I’m going to break down each short story within independently as well.

Buckle up!

Blood Games by Dan Abnett.
Here we get a good taste of what the Custodes are all about. Color me impressed! Yes, as expected…the Custodes are BAD ASS. Compare an Astartes to an Imperial Guardsman. No contest, the Astartes is far superior in every way. I think the same can be said of a comparison of a Custodes to your average Astartes. Bold bastards they are! I don’t want to give away too much here, but think of a warrior so confidant in their abilities, and so much apart from the rank and file that even Primarchs are simply “Dorn” or “Horus” instead of the reverent “Lord Primarch” or something of that nature. (Perhaps this is partly due to the hypno-training and gene-seed of Astartes as well as being the almost genetic offspring of their respective Primarchs that instills that sort of reverence in Space Marines. Hard to say as the “mere mortals” of the series also tend to be of the same reverent mindset. I digress…)

It’s nice to see politics and scheming on Holy Terra itself amid this whole saga. Imagine the massive brass of someone willing to play politics on Terra while the Emperor himself is present.

Overall…good story! I did get a little lost toward the end when things shifted a bit; I was left wondering “what the hell just happened?” and had to go back and re-read a bit in order to grasp the plot shift.
Rating: 3 of 5

Wolf at the Door by Mike Lee.
“Buveye, Wolf Lord of the Space Wolves’ Thirteenth Great Company and Commander of the 954th Expeditionary Fleet, descended the ramp of the lead Stormbird with his senior lieutenants and the champions of his Wolf Guard in tow.”

That alone should be enough to get your blood pumping. It’s really great to see these guys in action in this period. This is one of the stories I’d love to see much more of. Honestly, I’m not a fan of the Space Puppies at all (a big Thousand Sons fan myself) but Mike Lee really has them DOWN!
I can’t WAIT for Prospero Burns.

This is a brilliant little tale of unconventional warfare, Astartes-Style! I loved “seeing” the Space Wolves covered in mud and grime. Mike Lee gets the Space Marines down and dirty and fighting a hit and run battle and shows that even Astartes are breakable. It’s a very gritty tale that finishes strong and true to the “Grim Future” we all love and expect.
Rating: 4 of 5

Scions of the Storm by Anthony Reynolds
A Word Bearers tale that starts a little slow, but finishes strong. The slowness at the beginning is forgivable as the author is setting the tone for what was to come, and the events preceding the story (The Emperor pimp-slapping Lorgar for his continued religiosity) are HUGE.

We get to see the exact shift from absolutely fanatic loyalist to dire traitor in one short story and it’s beautiful to see. You really get the depth of emotion and a feeling of dread from the actions and reactions of the Primarch Lorgar and those around him (Note: the BL team has done a wonderful job in demonizing First Captain Erebus. You can’t help but hate that guy.) Overall it’s good, a little battle-heavy but still a fun read.
Rating: 3 of 5

The Voice by James Swallow
I was very pleased to see the return of the Sisters of Silence and Amendera Kendel. This is a sneaky and solid piece that really catches you unaware. In my opinion it’s one of the strongest pieces of the anthology.
Swallow captures the creepy Ghost Ship feel as well as illustrating the animosity between two powerful women as well as their zeal in dealing with “Heresy”. Actually at this period, the very term “Heresy” carries religious overtones that would almost seem out of place…but knowing a bit of the pre-history of the Sisters of Battle, Ecclesiarchy and Ordo Hereticus…you can somewhat see this coming (and it’s a beautiful/ terrible thing to behold). I won’t spoil it for you…just read it.
Rating: 4 of 5

Call of the Lion by Gav Thorpe
This tale does a fine job of illuminating the tragedy of the First Legion and most of the other Legio Astartes to a greater or lesser degree: The Legions were formed up on Terra and later united with their Primarchs, creating a divide between the Old School and the often favored New Breed of Astartes. This is an underlying theme that bridges almost all the Horus Heresy Space Marine novels and it is played out rather clearly here. I think part of the reason the contracts between Old and New Astartes is so stark in the First Legion: Dark Angels is due to a bit of paranoia within their Primarch Lion El’Jonson.

Of course there is more than a bit of arrogance and hubris on the part of the Calibanite Captain Belath and a bit of almost mamby-pamby softness to the Terran Captain Astelan which wouldn’t feel as such if the story were longer and detailed more of the hard-earned temperance of the latter.

It’s easy to see where all this is leading (and while Descent of Angels is my least favorite of the series so far, I still enjoyed it, and am now looking forward to Fallen Angels.)
Rating: 3 of 5

The Last Church by Graham McNeill
You can’t help but feel for Uriah Olathaire in this short story. The entire thing is like watching a train wreck. To a certain degree you know what’s coming, but you are still affixed to the scene, unable to break away, drawn in to the emotional web of the author.

I cannot express the power of this short tale. I will tell you that not one bolter round is expended. Still the message is gripping (as a matter of fact I just got stuck re-reading it yet again as I was writing this) and the argument so relevant to the series (and in my opinion almost as relevant today as well) you can't put it down.
Rating: 5 of 5

After Desh’ea by Matthew Farrer
Kharn and the War Hounds (World Eaters) meet Angron, their Primarch. Honestly, it seemed like a tale of HULK SMASH versus Kharn “You are my Primarch, I won’t fight you”. Fans of the World Eaters will likely love it. I couldn’t get the image of a bat-shit crazy Incredible Hulk/ Angron out of my head. It fits: I can’t deny that.
Rating: 2 of 5

Overall, I enjoyed the anthology. It was a good smattering of tales from all over the Warhammer 40,000 universe, set in the period of epic civil strife known forever as the Horus Heresy.
Overall Rating: 3.4 of 5

Wow...where have I been?

2009-05-13T02:14:17Z

Okay, so I have been working a lot...and it looks like it's not about to stop anytime soon.
Three contracts starting now and ending approx July 8th coming out to something like 35 images to get done between now and then.
Have I mentioned that I love my job?

Got a couple reviews submitted to Flames Rising (finally).
Previews here:
Mechanicum by Graham McNeill
Shadowrealm by Paul S. Kemp
Forthcoming reviews:
Dawn of War II by Chris Roberson
Tales of Heresy (anthology)
Heroes of the Space Marines (anthology)

I'll be on the road to MD, DC and VA between Thursday this week and Tuesday next.

Big surprise...

2009-03-12T14:55:19Z

D&D Home Page - What Class Are You? - Build A Character - D&D Compendium

So Friday...

2009-03-05T14:19:23Z

Who's going?

Hero/ Villain of the Week: Nightcrawler

2009-03-04T22:35:23Z

New community created:

http://community.livejournal.com/weekly_heroes

Laptop. Mac or Windows? DECISION!

2009-02-20T13:45:20Z

I'm going to hold off until Spring or most likely Summer. I intend to get a Mac. I've used OSX as well as 9, I can wrangle it well enough to get around and do what I need to as well as do limited troubleshooting (networking issues).

I don't need (NEED) it today, and rushing in to anything like a thousand dollar-ish purchase is a bad idea. I have time, I'll save my pennies till the new OS version comes out, bugs are sorted out, SW is updated and all.

Thanks to EVERYONE who replied.

Laptop. Mac or Windows?

2009-02-19T22:00:44Z

One of this year's business purchases (funded via tax return) is going to be a laptop.

I need it to do the following:
Run Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign well. (CS3, req's added below)

My first thought is to get a Powerbook or some other version of Mac.

My second thought is to get a Windows-based system.

Please, even if you don't usually pay attention to my posts, I would like input on this from all sectors.

Mac OS

Multi-core Intel processors required. (Photoshop Extended, Illustrator, Flash Professional, After Effects Professional are Universal Binary and also work on Power PC G4 or G5 processors), OnLocation CS3 is a Windows application and may be used with Boot Camp.
Mac OS X v. 10.4.9
1GB of RAM or more recommended for DV; 2 GB of RAM or more recommended for HDV and HD; more RAM recommended when running multiple applications
25.5 GB of available hard-disk space to install all components (up to 1 GB of additional free space may be required during installation)
Dedicated 7200 RPM hard drive for DV and HDV editing; striped disk array storage (RAID 0) for HD, SCSI disk subsystem preferred
1280x1024 monitor resolution with 32-bit video card; Adobe recommended graphics card for GPU-accelerated playback; For OpenGL support: OpenGL 1.4 capable graphics card with at least 64 MB of VRAM for some 3D features in Photoshop Extended; Adobe After Effects supported OpenGL 2.0 card (Nvidia recommended)
DVD-ROM drive
Blu-ray burner required for Blu-ray disc creation
SuperDrive required for DVD creation
Core Audio -compatible sound card
QuickTime 7.1.5 software required to use QuickTime features
Internet or phone connection required for product activation
Broadband Internet connection required for Adobe Stock Photos* and other services

* Online services, including, but not limited to, Adobe® Stock Photos and Adobe® Acrobat® Connect™, may not be available in all countries, languages, and currencies. Availability of services is subject to change. Use of online services is governed by terms and conditions of a separate agreement and may be subject to additional fees. For details, visit www.adobe.com.

Baaaaaaa.

2009-02-19T00:24:19Z

Looted from cartoon_goblin .
I'm pretty sure I've done this before, but...what the hell, I'm all about repeating memes.

-Describe me in one word... just one single word. Positive or negative.

-Leave your word in a comment before looking at what words others have used.

-Then copy and paste the meme to your journal to find out how people will describe you when limited to one word.

Earlier today...

2009-02-13T00:14:56Z

I took a half day because I had a lot of errands to run. So the first half, from about 7am to 2pm was this coloration:

Working music...

2009-02-12T15:09:32Z

My pal envertigo sucked me in to blip.fm
I'm a sheep.

I listen to music while I work, and variety is good.
Enjoy!

http://blip.fm/profile/TeamPreston/playlist

Pin-up art

2009-02-12T05:06:35Z

I realized after submitting for a pin-up art gig...that I have no pin-up girl illustrations as examples.

Not my best work EVER, but for a few hours of work from start to finish, it's about the best I can do.

Old School Playlist

2009-02-11T19:19:05Z

Knockspell Magazine #1 Released!

2009-02-09T18:26:48Z

http://www.lulu.com/content/6025029

Knockspell Magazine for old school RPGs like OD&D/ S&W, AD&D/ OSRIC, Labyrinth Lord, Tunnels and Trolls, etc.

This is the PDF version. A print version is upcoming.

Look at that cover!
That just SCREAMS old school rpg!

More on CB etc.

2009-02-06T18:31:58Z

Article here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/20090206/en_movies_eo/98799

An excerpt:

Christian Bale Apologizes for "Potty Mouth," "Unexcusable" Rant

Gina Serpe Gina Serpe 29 mins ago

Los Angeles (E! Online) – There are at least two men with whom Christian Bale is not professionally done: Los Angeles DJs Kevin and Bean.

After a week of unrelenting press coverage in the wake of his leaked onset rant, Bale unexpectedly chose to break his silence over the incident on KROQ radio's popular morning show, taking full responsibility for his Terminator: Salvation explosion.

"It's been a miserable week for me," Bale told hosts Kevin Ryder and Gene "Bean" Baxter. "Listen, I know I have a potty mouth; everybody knows this now.

"The thing that I really want to stress is I have no confusion whatsoever. I was out of order beyond belief. I was way out of order. I acted like a punk. I regret that.

"There is nobody that has heard that tape that's been hit harder by it than me. I make no excuses for it. It is unexcusable. I hope that that is absolutely clear."
<snipped>

=========================

A little bit of faith is restored. I may be naive, but I'll take it at face value.
I have my own issues when it comes to abuse: verbal or otherwise. Bad history. Without replaying the sob story of my childhood, let it suffice to say I'm sensitive to the issue.

It may matter little to some, but a sincere apology goes a long way. Is it sincere? I'm taking it that way. I'll assume the best.

I figure in life we can either assume the best or the worst about people. I prefer to assume the best until proven otherwise. Most of the time at least.
My own sensitivity about this brought a out a bit of the worst in me as well.

On the stalker-y nature of Facebook, Twitter and Social Media

2009-02-05T20:31:18Z

Is it just me or does Facebook, Twitter and a lot of other similar sites make it seem easy for the stalker types to latch on to you?
A lot of this Social Networking stuff is scary. Yay, connect with bajillions of complete strangers!

I don't know you. You don't know me.
We're "friends" on Livejournal, or Facebook or "Following" on Twitter (sounds suspiciously like stalking to me) but do you know anything about me?

Yes, I do memes like every other worker bee out there. I could be totally making shit up. For all anyone knows I could be some freak-o psych-o stalker guy looking to show up on your doorstep ala The Guild (season one).

I'm torn between interest and revulsion. It's kind of like watching a train wreck.

Now as I've said in my profile and said to people online (of which every bit could be a patent lie) I'm an illustrator, and I work from home. It's a lonely job and I don't get the same human interaction with...humans that other folks do by working in a...work place. Anyhow. Communicating with people online is appealing.

In addition, for my work I absolutely NEED to network with other people in my industry as well as related industries. Hell, for my work, ANY geek is a part of my industry or "My Industry IS Geekdom."

Geekdom these days also includes a lot of this social networking techie stuff. I get that.

The realization struck me (again) this morning as I'm blathering away about personal details on a public site to pretty much anyone with an internet connection...hey, this is kind of scary.

I little scary for me...should be damn scary for people who actually have followers. Celebrity-types (of one kind or another) with excess of tens of thousands of followers...wow, that's kinda crazy. (Celebrity-types, IE...not me.)

Many of the people I connect with online, I fully intend to hang out with at conventions, do work with as collaborators, etc. In general these are people I can easily see myself raising a glass of expensive brew at GenCon or Comic-Con or a late night game of D&D at ODDcon. No problem. But I don't really KNOW these people do I? Some folks you really don't want to meet offline. (On that same note, some of the coolest folks I've met have started out as online friends, Thank you Deep Resonance, Bulldrek and eventually Dumpshock).

I hope people think twice about what they post online.
If you have kids, I hope you think twice before sharing info with strangers. We don't know who all is watching.

Is this paranoia setting in?