SerialBeggar

Do they light up like case fans?

The NY Lottery website is showing Mega Millions at $640 Million now.



As for what I'd do:

1) I'd start by being mum about it until I've done some research. None of this dancing in the streets and being a spectacle. Unfortunately, with this big a prize, it's unlikely that I could wait out the interest of the general population. In fact, it would only fuel the suspense.

2) Check with a lawyer on if I can possibly claim the prize without revealing myself. I really don't want to be a big target. Yeah, I know that'd probably be a "no" because the Lottery Officials can't let this PR opportunity go out with dud. Still, I'd at least have the lawyer press the Officials to not release my name and address (or even neighborhood name), and maybe allow me to be in disguise during the press conference.

3) Check with an accountant to see how I can protect the monies. Trusts have been bandied about, but I don't have any knowledge of how they work, so I'll need to learn. I have a fair grasp on investing, so I can probably manage some of the money by myself.

4) Depending on how much the Lottery Officials will insist that I reveal about myself, I may arrange for my immediate family to be somewhere else for the next month or so just before revealing myself. That is, move them and myself out of our current abodes. If necessary, we may have to abandon our homes. Yes, this may sound extreme, but once I have the monies, we will probably be upgrading our living arrangements anyway. Plus having some paranoia is healthy.

5) Once things are settled, I'd quit my job and spend some time finding a nicer place to live, probably in a different state. This will, of course, have a nice room for my computer. At the moment, I don't envision buying a new computer just yet because my current one is still doing ok. I'd definitely get new furniture, so I can be comfortable with the extra playtime.

6) I do agree with the popular sentiment to sponsor some Player Summits to other parts of the world with most of Paragon Studios attending. Of course, I'd defer to Black Pebble to decide when these would occur to ensure there is enough worthy news to present at these outings. In conjunction to the Summit, I'd also sponsor a contest for maybe 2-3 dozen players to be flown out to these Summit locations too, so we can have a decent international meet-and-greet.

7) I'd sponsor a 1-month VIP upgrade sweepstakes for Free and Premium players. The players would have to submit a sweepstakes entry via the forum. I hope this would be a subtle encouragement for more players to participate in the forums. Maybe have this happen on a bi-monthly schedule for a couple of dozen winners each.

8) I'd sponsor an annual sweepstakes with a couple of dozen moderately to high end gaming rigs as prizes available to only to VIPs who have subscribed fully during the previous year. Maybe have a tie in with a computer magazine for one of their "dream builds" issues.

That's all I can think of right now.

Pick up a copy of Maximum PC magazine. Every issue includes a step by step run through of a desktop build or upgrade.

The Wentworths and Black Markets are so empty nowadays. On the other hand, the Universities seem to have more traffic.


Note: there's also /vault.

Wow, I never noticed this. I guess that's the downside of flying.

Speaking of Patrica Briggs, I have a video of her appearance at last year's NYC Comic Con panel featuring female SF/F writers if you would like to view it.

And while I'm at it, here's the panel featuring some male SF writers.

I concur with the recommendation of the Monster Hunter series.

In addition, Larry Correia's new series The Grimnoir Chronicles is also good. There are only 2 books so far: "Hard Magic" and "Spellbound". The story involves magic in an alternate post-WWII US setting, but you could easily reinterpret the "magics" as a super powers.


The last time someone asked for recommendations, someone mentioned the Cassandra Kresnov series by Joel Sheperd: "Crossover", "Breakaway" and "Killswitch". I had seen them before in Borders. I was really attracted to the cover art. But after skimming the first couple of pages of the first book, I was turned off due to my impression of his writing style. Well, I was too hasty. After the recommendation here, I had the opportunity to pick them up during Border's going out of business sale and discovered that his writing is really good. Now, I highly recommend them to you.

The nose of the (blue) hand gun, ie the stem and the rings assembly, looks too chunky to me. How about scaling that part down to be 2/3rds relative to the gun's body?