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.

Movember? Is that like move to the groove?

Well, I’m sure you can move to the groove all you’d like, but, no.

But if you do, I bet you look fabulous!

Movember is this event originating in Australia that I have never, ever heard of before this week, but that I am embracing with both hands and a big ‘stache.

Are you confused? Would you like some explanation?

I’m not going to give you one.

However, I WILL say that if you’re dying to have some kind of clue before telling me I’m an idiot, you need to go here and all of your questions will be answered. 

Yes, all of your questions. You can ask Gnomer any question, and he will have an answer for you. AN answer.

Wait, you wanted a right answer? Geez, what do you want fer nuthin’… a rubber biscuit?

Those of us that are Feral are at least part cat, so is it mean of me not to satisfy your curiosity myself?

Yes, of course it is. I’m part cat, I like toying with people.

Getting back to Movember, now that you’re on board with the concept and all of your questions have been answered, I want you to know that I am throwing all of my support behind Team “Gnomes Get The Blues Too!”

Normally, I walk around completely clean shaven. That wasn’t always the case, though, as my wedding picture clearly proves.

I have to walk around clean shaven now, because the last time I grew facial hair, well, I attracted a supermodel who demanded to marry me. After we were married, she forced me to shave it all off, because she knew that other supermodels would continue to throw themselves at me if I didn’t.

It’s not that she was jealous, you understand. She just didn’t want my ego to get any bigger than it already was. :)

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

So, anyway, I’m clean shaven now and have been for years. But it’s Movember, and while I’ve never heard of it before, I care about my good buddy Gnomer, and I’m a gonna support him in his endeavors!

That means I am going to grow a moustache this month.

Or at least, I announced Saturday night that I was intending to support Gnomer and allow my facial hair to grow unfettered.

To which, Cassie replied, “No you’re not.”

I stood fast. I was adamant. I was going to grow a face full of ‘stache.

And this ain’t an idle statement, because my Bear-like nature is so powerful that if I don’t take a machete to my face every day, by the end of the weekend I start getting calls from ZZ Top asking me if I can play backup guitar on their next tour.

So Cassie resorted to reason.

She bribed me.

Seeing I was determined to show my support for Gnomer and Movember, she told me that if I DON’T grow my facial hair out, she’ll let me donate money to Gnomer’s Team. Also, she reminded me that I have to sleep sometime… and she has scissors.

Hey, whatever works, right?

And I call it reason… because extortion is such an ugly word.

Go thee and see the awesome of a brave Gnome!