Sun of a Gun, the Vaselines
A late spate of bizarre wintry weather (I saw snow at the Oregon cost on Sunday morning, which would be an odd sight any day of the year) has given way to some cool but decidedly equinoctial weather here in Portland. I find myself suddenly looking forward to all the activities calling for my attention—Spring cleaning, brewing beer, preparing for the Shadowmoor prerelase and the upcoming Pro Tour Hollywood... Today I thought I'd kick back with a glass of wine and share my plans for the next few months. With musical pairings, because hey, free dummy.

Burning Airlines Give You So Much More, Brian Eno
While I'm currently writing this from a near-horizontal position on my couch, things have not slowed down in my life in any significant way. There promises to be a fair amount of travel. Next week, I return to the beautiful city of Vancouver for a wedding, and May will see me heading south to the Pro Tour. I intend to try to make to to at least one of the summer Midwest GPs, US Nationals seems likely, and if anyone from Wizards is reading this, you are free to pencil me in now for sponsorship to PT Berlin, okay? I would love (love!) to go to Grand Prix Buenos Aires, but I'm pretty sure the demand for non-Spanish-speaking gringos, even those of the Third Level, is not high.

I'm not wild about traveling these days, what with the weak dollar, high costs of airfare, personal awareness of the ridiculous carbon footprint of the Global Traveller, and long lines and crowded rows. But I sure do like seeing new places, and I'm happy to trade the costs and hassles of a personal motor vehicle for opportunities to See The World And Award It Warnings For Unsporting Conduct.

Also carrying on the forward-looking theme of this column: I've noticed that I have a lot of frequent flier miles. Undoubtedly, by the end of the year, I'll have more. It's been suggested, by my better half (and likely travel partner) that Finland in the summer might be lovely. Finnish Nationals 2009, you're on notice. Consider yourself warned.

Look Out! Soul is Back, Nation of Ulysses
From my busy perspective, prereleases arrive in a more-or-less continuous stream. It's been a long while since I was playing enough that I had time to grow weary of a set before the next arrived. I've barely had time to collect my thoughts on the last prerelease (for which Portland was somewhat understaffed, which led to some intense stresses on the head judge). But here we are, planning the next event. I'm probably going to step back somewhat and at least share the lead with another judge for the first time since the Betrayers of Kamigawa prerelease (with the exception of one prerelease I ran in Salt Lake City, I've run day one for every Portland prerelease in that period). Rumors are that we may have a high-level Wizards OP employee as our lead scorekeeper, which will be a good time. If not, I may try that role on myself. It's good to mix it up. I've been following the previews somewhat avidly, and I have a number of thoughts on the new set, which may surface in this column sometime before the prerelease.

Party Anticonformiste, Stereo Total
But before I get too wrapped up in prerelease planning... I have a thirtieth birthday party to plan. My actual birthday was last week, but I'm collaborating with a friend with a 30th coming up in June on a joint party for early May. We're planning a multi-day bash that will include, hopefully, live music, DJs, paper suits, and more fake mustaches than you can shake a hairy lip at.

Six Pack, Black Flag
Part of the party preparation is brewing beer. I recently upgraded my five-gallon stovetop setup to an outdoor, propane-fired ten-gallon system. I'm angling for two batches a month through the summer, which is, in short, a lot of darn beer. However, I'm sanguine about that outcome. It's my experience that Too Much Beer is, at best, a temporary "problem". For this event, I'm likely to brew a strong ale, something along the lines of Stone Brewing's Arrogant Bastard—for my tastes, one of the finest beers on the market—and a stout.

I have a standing fantasy that one day, US Nationals will come to Portland (it's awesome here in the summer, it really is!). When that day comes, mark my words, There Will Be Beer.

I Will Dare, the Replacements
Bringing homebrew is one of my goals for PT Hollywood; it's always nice to have something to share with the many judges who come to these events from all over the world. And as we've mentioned many times in this column, it's also always a good idea to have good, concrete goals for events, particularly big ones like the Pro Tour. My goals won't be totally pinned down until I've seen the schedule and have a good sense of the tasks I'll be assigned to, but one goal I'm already conscious of relates to the rules. We've seen numerous sizable revisions to the Penalty Guide over the last year, and like many players and judges, it's an area I've fallen somewhat behind in. No more! I intend to hit southern California with expert-level command of the PG in its current state. In fact, I'm going to lay down a challenge right here: anyone at PT Hollywood who can stump me on a PG question will receive a DCI promo judge foil for their trouble.

Nineteen in Naples, Jonathan Richmond
It's not just Magic on my mind, lately, in the gaming department. I've been attached to a number of good games, and I'm hoping to see that continue. Part of that is due to the presence, lately, of one of my best friends—who also happens to be, perhaps, my most competitive friend—who is currently exploring a move from Seattle to Portland. We've been enjoying the German board game Yinsh, a beautiful cross between Othello and Pente. I've also been following some friends playing online games of Diplomacy, a game I haven't played, but intend to soon. My in-laws were in town for about half of March, which means a steady stream of Euchre (great game). I can't help but feel that all of these things are probably good for my Magic skills in some way, though I'm not ready to be pinned down as to how. No matter, though, they all have in common that they're great fun.

Nation Writer, Unrest
The final plan for my near future that I want to tell you about is a renewed push to find new Feature Friday contributors. If you're a certified judge interested in contributing 1,200-1,500 words a month to the finest Magic publication on the planet, drop me a line: I can be reached at gmail, where my username is conform. I can also be found on the efnet IRC network, in #mtgjudge. I'm happy to supply you with more details.

Here's hoping that spring is finding each of you in the fine spirits that I am in! Until next time, keep shufflin'.