The Bear family and I are afk, vacationing at the Walt Disney World Resorts.

Sadly, the blog shall be quite quiet while we’re gone.

This vacation shit is hard work. For those of you who know me well, it should come as no surprise that we have theorycrafted the optimum multi park timeline to gain the most fun without wasted resources.

So far, we’ve nailed the objectives, but the blister boss is taking multiple tries (and nightly lotion) to down, and we experienced our first wipe when Cassie was so stubborn she made herself pass out.

True story, I thought she had died right there in animation class at Hollywood Studios this morning.

Side note, Cassie says the EMTs at Hollywood Studios are very cranky people.

Anyway, stories are what you get when life happens, and we’re in some interesting ones.

I am not idle, this is a working holiday. I am diligently gathering research data for the most epicest Big bear Butt post ever seen.

When the post goes live, I’m not exaggerating when I say it will draw millions of pagehits all on its own.

Millions.

It might also bring jail time, I’ve still got to check on that.

Still. Millions.

To use a favorite movie quote, “You just let your imagination run riot.”

In the meantime, if you find you miss your daily dose of Bear, you can find me on Twitter, I’m on it each day until the phone dies.

Just look for @bigbearbutt and follow the bacon jokes. You can’t miss me.

For all of you who have served in the American Armed Forces, doing your part to protect and defend our country, our honor and our way of life, please accept my thanks and my gratitude.

I’ve been in the service myself, and I’m going to take a moment for a ‘no shitter’.

When following the news, I can remember so well that it can seem like nobody really cares, they just say they do.

You look at the headlines, and it’s all about crowds of squatters demanding something or other, democrats and republicans fighting over control of the country like two dogs worrying both ends of the same bone, millions of people without jobs or a means of income being reduced to a bullet point stat for purposes of debate, talking heads arguing over who America should invade next, or police for the next couple of decades, and all sorts of other ”WTF” stuff to wade through.

Craziness.

Sometimes it feels like Veterans Day is just another opportunity for people who 364 days out of the year couldn’t give a shit less about you to stand up and wave the flag and say “Oh yeah, I’m patriotic, love those troops! You go, guys and gals! Give ‘em hell!”

It can seem like that, and maybe in a lot of cases it is that way.

All I can tell you is, from one veteran to another, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you, one and all, for your service.

I don’t care why you chose to enlist in the armed forces. It does not matter, at the end of the day, whether you enlisted for benefits, a steady job in an uncertain economy, educational opportunities, world travel, adventure, to live the dream, or from a genuine desire to serve the country that gave you birth and preserve the freedoms we hold dear.

It doesn’t matter, because once you’re in, you’re in. As my Drill Instructor once told me (okay, shouted at me), there are no White Marines, Black Marines, Red, Yellow, Brown or Purple Marines, there are only Green Marines. Wherever you came from, whatever originally brought you together, you made that commitment.

What does matter in the end is that you stepped forward and you have done or are doing your part for the benefit of us all, and because of the combined efforts of each and every single one of you, I and my family continue to enjoy the freedoms we possess.

It is thanks to you that the conditions in America exist that give me the opportunity to have this website, and to continue speaking my mind EXACTLY how *I* choose to do it, without repression or censorship. I enjoy my freedom of personal expression thanks directly to you and the continued efforts of all veterans.

So, thank you. Thank you all very much.

And remember… when I go off the rails here, this website is all your fault.

Tesh has taken up the challenge, and crafted the ultimate Ring of Power™.

Or at least, the ultimate Ring of Furry Feral Druid Pride.

Yes, I said Furry. We’re Druids. Get over it. SOME of us are even Taurens, so if you can’t at least handle the label with humor, dare I say “let it slide like water off a Manatee-forms back”, then you’re in the wrong end of the class pool.

Tesh has opened a new Shapeways store, called Tish Tosh Tesh Toys (I love that name), and has presented us with several different Feral Druid ring designs.

One of these rings is exactly, EXACTLY, how I envisioned the ring I wanted to design… except a little better, because it has our Druid shoulder markings on each side of the claw design;

It’s amazing! And on Shapeways, when made out of Stainless Steel, it’s only $23.00!

Now, at this time it is only on there at size 11. I do not know what size my finger is, but it’s unlikely to be 11. I ain’t that lucky. But Tesh tells me he is going to be adding more ring sizes soon.

I think if we ask nicely, he may also add the option to have it made out of other materials… I don’t know what the options are exactly, and I know I will buy the stainless version so I can wear it without worrying about breaking or chipping it, but it seems to me you can have things made of other materials, some colored. Perhaps a Night Elf purple or Tauren brown version are possible.

 Still…. behold the power of creation!

And if Tesh acts fast, it is entirely possible that some lucky Druids could be seen wearing one of Teshs rings at Blizzcon! Talk about a head turner, eh?

In other Tish Tosh Tesh related news, one of the things he intends to create and place for sale on his Shapeways store are Zomblobs! figures for a tabletop game version of his game design.

Just sayin’, this ain’t a one-shot store for a one day wonder novelty item that will quickly and quietly fade away. Tesh has plans. Exciting, imaginative plans. I’m really looking forward to seeing where his vision will carry me next.

You remember that post a few days ago, where I laid out my son’s wish for a special kind of pet?

Well, Tesh, being the master of video game art that he is, with sidelines in Mad Science and Fun Stuffs, took that as a challenge.

I hereby present to you his interpretation of that dream!

Upon seeing that, my son said, “Wow, that’s even BETTER than I imagined!”

High praise, but I agree. That’s just amazing.

If you think that is good, though, you should see some of the other creations he’s done, and hey, why not go buy A Kingdom for Keflings, and play a game that is infused with his artistic genius?

There will be a shirt soon, since as usual, I want to wear shirts with Tesh’s art on them, and he won’t start his own store. But it’ll have to be after this weekend, since right now I’m at the North American Discworld Convention in Madison, Wisconsin, and I’ll be taking pictures, livetweeting and having fun basking near the brilliance of Sir Terry Pratchett.

Well, truthfully I’ll be spending my time having fun meeting other fans of the works of Sir Terry, but I’m sure he’ll be in the building somewhere.

If you happen to be near Madison, Wisconsin, you ought to come down, I hear they have one day passes. I’m going to be there all of Friday and Saturday, so maybe you’ll see me there! And, you know, be able to throw fruit at me or something.

I wish you all a very merry Christmas morning, wherever you may be.

May you all find yourselves safe and sound and full of hope, and if you are not home with the ones you love, may you be held close in their hearts and be home to see them soon.

In the spirit of sharing Christmas wishes on a blog, I leave you with this message of the day, in a form we can recognize all too well.

Again, Merry Christmas to you all, and God bless you and keep you safe from harm.