@HedgeMage, @AarthiDevanathan: I'm a bit confused - what's going into the Liasons' care packages in the end? What I saw mentioned in the chat is ballpens and possibly the tiny reminders (which seems like it'd be only for the ML themselves, rather than something they distribute to the group - which I thought was much of the point?)

I might have thought of this sooner, but if we're looking for fun freebies, here's a couple of ideas:

* The web is full of "Construct a Cliche [INSERT GENRE HERE] Story" flowcharts, some of which are pretty funny. We could maybe print modest-poster-sized versions.

* Maybe we could throw together a pamphlet (or ebook?) with lots of copies the ML could hand out. It could include particularly relevant Q&A from the site, maybe some writing exercises/warmups, maybe a couple of selected essays about writing from the interwebs (with permission, of course).

* Stickers with inspirational (or just smart-alecky) encouragement quotes. "Post this above your computer!" -type things.

...wow. HUGE list of a variety of writing links: velcro-city.co.uk/the-writing-advice-links-they-are-legion I want to look some of these up :)

@Standback hey there.

I'm in Israeli time zone, and I might not be available much in the next few hours or days for any realtime conversation,

but I'll definitely respond to anything you write, at some time lag or other :)

@Standback That's awesome. And totally understandable; I just happen to have RIDICULOUS hours. If you see me in here, ping me. Chances are, I'm around. :D

ping @AarthiDevanathan!

@Standback you rang, friend?

I'm here for some short bit now, though this communication may be terminated abruptly.

@Standback not to worry; i'm in danger of that myself.

I'm doing more work now building Sukkahs than communities, but today's is done, the wee one is asleep, and I have at least a few minutes :)

@Standback brilliant. Er, my apologies -- my knowledge of such things is rather limited. What is a Sukkah?

One of the more eccentric and glorious Jewish customs.

In the holiday of Sukkot, we spend a week practically living out of constructed... well, huts, or outdoor booths

The extent to which "living out of" varies between people - between "if you eat more than a snack you eat it in the sukkah," through "eat and sleep in the sukkah," all the way through "stay in the sukkah and do everything you can there as though it was your home."

It's one of the long Jewish holidays - 7 days, with another one-day holiday at the end - so it's an intriguing combination of "humble yourself by dwelling in a simple hut under the stars" and "eat TONS of food," which is the constant Jewish holiday fixture.

So, busy times, with vacation and family and fun :)

Aaaaand gone abruptly.

Sorry. Talk to you elsewhen.

@AarthiDevanathan: OK, now I've actually got some uninterrupted computer time. So feel free to interrupt it, and I'll be able to stick around some without vanishing. :)