Website Updates

In the last two weeks, I have made quite a few updates. Three reviews for Iron Buffalo Gaming and Coffee, and one for the 2005 Serenity RPG. 

For my next three/four reviews, I will be going down a fantasy run. I finally obtained a copy of  Sanctuary from the 1980s. This book is a collection of three different books of short stories that take place in the Thieves' World setting. This book is very different from the 2003 novel of the same name. This will be three different reviews of each book: Thieves' World, Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn, and Shadows of Sanctuary. 

This series of books was created by Robert Lynn Asprin as a shared universe. The authors of the stories used the same city as the settling and created their characters to exist there. It was a simple and ingenious idea that has been used for many other books.  

<EDITED 8/16/2025 - AMAZON HAS REINSTATED MY AFFILIATE ACCOUNT. CLICK HERE FOR THE HAPPY UPDATE>

There has been another change behind the scenes. I have lost my Amazon Affiliate Ads. The reason for this is rather simple, as much as it is baffling. The Affiliate system is not meant to be a personal or friends and family discount. By using social media, including responding to comments on the blog itself, Amazon has taken the point of view that those interactions make us friends and family or perhaps business associates. 

Ok, sure. I'll accept that. So the Amazon Ads are no more. 

<BACK TO ORIGINAL POST>

As a replacement, you will see different ads for groups like Abe Books and DriveThruRPG. Since I am not doing web stats anymore, it won't be obvious what that means. Actually, it means very little. I receive the lion's share of income from DriveThruRPG. By a factor of 10 over Amazon. I don't know why this ever came to be, as Amazon is such a big company. I guess the answer is this blog is 90% about games and 10% about all things that come from Amazon. 

The second item comes about from my sharing of my collection of Bandai Star Wars models. This collection of 1:144 scale models used to retail for about $9.99. At the end of 2021, the sets became unavailable and the prices in the secondary market, such as Amazon skyrocketed. 

I have recently spotted these sets back at physical retailers with a more modest price bump of $2.00, or $11.99. The main physical retailer for these sets in my area is Hobby Lobby. Hobby Lobby frequently has sales at 40% off, which makes them the cheapest source for these sets. 

If you are looking for these sets online, both HobbyLobby.com and The Big Bad Toy Store. I haven't really noticed these models elsewhere, but if you know another source, let me know in the comments. 

Hobby Lobby, when running a sale, seems to have the best prices, even if you order online and pay to ship. However, The Big Bad Toy Store has a special web feature that is kind of special. You can select items and place them in "My Pile of Loot" to be shipped at a future date. I find this is handy when ordering items on preorder, alongside products that are currently available. This option saves on shipping. 

I am also starting a new job tomorrow. I suspect that I will be quiet for a while, until I get my feet back under me.