1Up is running a lengthy interview with Bill Roper, founder of Flagship Studios. The game company, known primarily for its Hellgate: London and Mythos titles, announced massive layoffs last month, and is now simply winding down and taking care of a few final issues. Roper gives quite a bit of detail regarding the financial machinations of a game developer and the current status of the games' code. Co-founders Max Schaefer and Travis Baldree gave a related interview recently as well. "The subscription money we did get, we all poured directly into keeping the game online, keeping it up and running. But the development demands far outstripped the revenues. There just wasn't a good contemplation early on of how that would work. It wasn't like: This is the budget that comes in every month; we'll do whatever we can do with that. We just said [that] development will get done out of the revenues, and whoever pays for development, they get paid back out of the revenues. And there wasn't really enough revenues coming in to cover the expected and required development."

Travis writes "An international collaboration of astronomers is taking a unique approach to funding their research, through an 'adopt-a-star' program. Preparing for the launch of NASA's Kepler satellite next February, the group will help characterize thousands of stars that the mission will be searching for evidence of Earth-like planets. For a small donation, early adopters get a certificate by email and updates when any planets are found around their adopted star."

Pickens writes "Inexpensive GPS devices like the Zoombak (which costs just $200 plus $10 a month) have becomes so prevalent that some people are using them routinely to keep tabs on their most precious possessions. Kathy Besa has a Zoombak attached to the collar of her 5-year-old beagle, Buddy. If Buddy wanders more than 20 feet from the house, she gets a text message on her phone that says, 'Buddy has left the premises.' The small size made possible by chip advances over the last two or three years is enabling many novel uses of GPS tracking. An art collector in New York uses one when he transports million-dollar pieces, a home builder is putting them on expensive appliances to track them if they disappear from construction sites, a drug company is using them after millions of dollars in inventory turned up missing, and a mobile phone company is hiding them in some cellphone boxes to catch thieves."

We got a little kiss and tell last night on Larry King Live (starts at 2:20). Kathy Griffin, who's been dating the Woz since August, is open and honest with her emotions: Griffin: He took my dress off at the end of the night. King: You had sex with him? Griffin: Yes. I did. And I had a billion reasons!

akintayo writes "The New York Times reports that in response to the recent brouhaha, some technology bloggers have suggested raising the level of civility on tech blogs by implementing a code of conduct. Kathy Sierra, a technology blogger and friend of O'Reilly was subjected to threats and insults from readers and other bloggers. In partial response, O'Reilly and others have proposed a code of conduct which could include restrictions like the outlawing of anonymous accounts."

Several readers have written in about the death threats and threats of sexual harm that have been directed at tech blogger Kathy Sierra. She is the author of a number of books about Java and a popular speaker at conferences. She has now stopped blogging and cancelled her appearance at eTech. She names the names of four prominent bloggers who are backers of two sites on which the threats were posted. Others in the blogosphere like Robert Scoble and Tim Bray have posted publicly in support of Sierra. Scoble in particular emphasizes the streak of misogyny that is still all too evident in the tech world. The Washington Post is also grappling with the issue of vile comment posts that flirt with illegality. One commenter on Bray's post summed it up: "The Internet used to be a university. Then it became a shopping mall. But now, it's a war zone."

BcNexus writes "According to the Associated Press, a California judge has ruled that a lawsuit brought against the Target Corporation may proceed under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The catch here is that the suit, leveled by the National Federation of the Blind, concerns the design of Target's website. Could this set a precedent and subsequent flood of lawsuits against websites? What if another design is not tractable?" From the article: "'What this means is that any place of business that provides services, such as the opportunity to buy products on a website, is now, a place of accommodation and therefore falls under the ADA,' said Kathy Wahlbin, Mindshare's Director of User Experience and expert on accessibility. 'The good news is that being compliant is not difficult nor is it expensive. And it provides the additional benefit of making accessible web sites easier for search engines to find and prioritize.'"

Edge Online has a short blurb mentioning a project at the University of California turning the Guitar Hero guitar into a real instrument. From the article: "For the final project of their Computer Audio course, University of California students Travis Chen and Sunny Chan have created Guitar Hero Hack, a plugin for sequencing software Max/MSP that lets players assign switchable banks of samples to each of the controller's buttons, utilizes its tilt switch as a way to clear current audio on any given track, and, the two hope, might be on its way to a fully functioning live instrument." His incredibly impressive demo video is well worth watching.

Anonymous Coward writes "A librarian at Brandeis University forced the FBI to obtain a warrant to seize computers used to send threats. From the article: 'Federal Bureau of Investigation agents tried to seize 30 of the library's computers without a warrant, saying someone had used the library's Internet connection to send the threat to Brandeis. But the library director, Kathy Glick-Weil, told the agents they could not take the machines unless they got a warrant first. Newton's mayor, David Cohen, backed Ms. Glick-Weil up. After a brief standoff, FBI officials relented and sought a warrant from a judge.'"

Table-top Roleplaying has had a big year. There have been a number of important releases from several of the well-known product lines. Sales and turnout from August's Gen Con Indianapolis event would tend to suggest that the downturn the industry has experienced recently is a temporary problem. That's good news for Wizards of the Coast's well known Dungeons and Dragons line and the FanPro published Shadowrun campaign setting. Both are heavy hitters in the world of Table-top gaming, and today I have details and opinions on what you can expect in your Friendly Local Gaming Store from the latter half of the year. Read on for a hardcore dose of nerd.

Kathy Travis is known as the most adorable girlfriend of Suze Orman, a financial expert. It was revealed in an interview that Kathy and Suze maintain a strong relationship between ...

A little about me: www.typepad.com/waynekidsblog/travisnj

NEW YORK -- Financial guru and best-selling author Suze Orman says she wishes she could marry her partner Kathy Travis, partly because it would save them both a lot of money.

Kathy and her husband David Travis met on a tennis court- truly a love match. They have a teenage son Reid Garver Travis. The Travis’ recently moved back into their home which ...

Searching For Kathy and Travis ... Kathy leaves behind a new community formed in the aftermath of her accident.

KATHY (TRAVIS) MILLER, Lincoln Christian, Athlete (1991) Athlete. Bottom line in the outstanding high school track career for Kathy Travis:

Kathy, Travis and Liza

KATHY GARVER(-TRAVIS) Kathy Garver-TravisAKA: Kathleen Marie Allison Garver Kathy Garver Kathie Garver Cathy Garver Cathie Garver-TravisBorn:

If you are an agent or speaking bureau please contact Kathy Travis, Managing Director Brand Innovation, to review the particulars of your event.

Our local radio station will play alot of Randy's old songs but I still haven't heard any of his new songs being played so I play the cd along with others if I want to hear the new

Legislative candidate Ken Haar has a gorilla-sized thorn in his side. The powerful Nebraska Right to Life Political Action Committee has announced it will work to defeat Haar ...

Means and Two Bulls to meet in Oglala president race (170) Early OST election results show Means, Two Bulls, Yellow Bird-Steele (140) Target's closure slaps mall wing (127) Leaked ...

Individuals: Ross Frankenberg, Barrington, 68; Joe Carlson, St. Viator, 69; Michael Hermanson, New Trier, 69; Dan Stringfellow, St. Viator, 70; Johannes Seemann, Hersey, 72 ...

The 19-inch baby weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces. Maternal grandparents are thomas and Jodene Tomes of Sierra Vista. Paternal grandparents are Keith and Wenda Boucher of Marana, Ariz ...

Terri Kaye Kirkland always said she would go as far as her horses would take her. And her horses - Ali, Ace and Atom - took the Billings cowgirl very far. The three, primarily Ali ...

Greater Romulus Chamber of Commerce Business Luncheon, Tuesday at Embassy Suites Detroit Metropolitan Airport, 8600 Wickham, Romulus. Topic: “Importance of trade policy ...

DJ AM was spotted for his first night out, just four weeks after the plane crash that left him severely burned and scarred -- and Adam told paps he felt "blessed." The celebrity ...

1. Jared Reddy (M) 14:28; Stephen Wahome (L) 14:47; 3. Mike Giardina (L) 15:03; 4. Tyler Sullivan (M) 15:06; (5) Moe KaiKai (L); (6) Andrew Stammatopulos (M) 15:12; (7) Justin ...

4-H RECOGNITION WEEK was closed out last Sunday with the annual program. Many 4-Hers and friends of 4-H were recognized for all their achievements throughout the year. The award ...

With many readers expressing their opinions on Lisa Marie Presley and husband Michael Lockwood 's choices of Harper and Finley for their new fraternal twin daughters , we spoke to ...