Question on Mari/P.E.A.C.E.

[*Albion*]

Shlama Andrew,

I know that it's still Shabbat to the West of us.

But I have a question about Mari/P.E.A.C.E.

You said that you were coming home from the P.T./Rehab place on the 20th of August (I think you said), so that would mean that within two or three days of that time that the production cycle for Mari/P.E.A.C.E. would start (August 23 or 24th??).

Is that correct?

We have been praying for your knee and will continue doing so, and I know that you have other friends who are praying for you too.

A Blessed man to have so many prayers going to the Father for you!

I'm not trying to buy from you, nor am I trying to get you to sell on Shabbat, but we've put back a certain amount for the cost of Mari/P.E.A.C.E. this month.

Could you perhaps tell us if we're talkin' about August or September for the distribution of Mari/P.E.A.C.E.??

I don't mean to be a pest Andrew, it's just so near and I keep up with each of your "updates", and it seems like we should be almost right there, into the production cycle for Mari/P.E.A.C.E.

How is your knee doing? Are you doing the Thera-Band exercises?

I learned every piece of gym equipment that helped a fractured tibia plateau, and learned how it worked, until I could do it in the dark, or blindfolded. Literally. <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/cry.gif" alt="" title="Crying" /><!-- s -->

I feel like I'm being antagonistic, I don't mean to be.......I'm just anxious about Mari!

Well, I await your answer and I know that you are doing your best (as are Baruch and Shari), and we ALL appreciate it Andrew! *Thank you*

Shlama Akhi, Albion

[Andrew Gabriel Roth]

Shlama Akhi Albion and everyone!

First, yes, I am home now from Rehab. I have been since Wednesday afternoon. All your prayers are greatly appreciated.

Second, my injury has not, except for the first 5 days when I had no computer access, significantly delayed Mari's production. Everything that Baruch and Shali have needed from me I have been able to get to them in a timely maner. Now there is nothing more for me to do except look at a pre pub hard copy, which I should have in a few days.

Third, I can tell you with confidence, as I have for months now, that while the price is not set--this is the last step, other than perhaps the cover binding--it will be under $60. I confirmed that pricing with Baruch last week. If you budget then $60 (maybe a little extra for shipping which I have no way of knowing now) you will be fine.

Fourth, of course you are not a pest at all Akhi Khabiba Albion. Your enthusiasm and constancy is a balm on my wounded body. You asking about an update on Mari is not in any way a Shabbat violation. No funds are exchanged, and I can and have answered after Shabbat, so don't worry. It's what I do with your request that determines if my domain is expanded on Shabbat.

Fifth and finally, I have not given any date within August just August itself. There have been some very minor issues since 8/9 when I was assured about this. Mari could very well be available by 8/31, or there could be the one last delay into September that I can't control: That being that the physical printer does not keep their word that we are top priority. The final digital copy is being made now, and if it is "clean" meaning there are no corrections between the digital print and the actual physical run, we will save more than $700 in penalties. For that reason, and because we are striving for as close to perfect a first edition for you and others as is humanly possible, we are basically on track but not taking any chances either. You must understand that this is now on Baruch's shoulders, and he is looking at certain options as far afield as Jerusalem, India and eve Beijing, as well as close to his home. We may get an initial small run for all of you in 2 weeks and then a larger run in China that takes 18 days to get here via ship. It's a lot of stuff, but we are getting it done.

As I said, no worries, and you are never bothering me. I was going to post this update shortly anyway. Todah rabba for your patience.

Shlama w'burkate
Andrew Gabriel Roth

[Andrew Gabriel Roth]

Shlama Akhi Rafa,

China is only a posibility for printing, and nothing is decided yet. We are looking at printing houses around the world that actually specialize in printing hundreds of millions of Bibles per year. Your other question is more to do with distribution, not where the copies originate from, but where they can be shipped to. I am pretty sure we are shipping worldwide, including South America, but I will defer to Baruch for that info when the time is right.

Shlama w'burkate
Andrew Gabriel Roth

[Andrew Gabriel Roth]

Shlama all--

Baruch just sent me a jpeg--I can't attach it here--of the raw pages of Mari/PEACE. It is now printed with three hole key punch--not obviously the form you all will have it in--but just to let you all know that it is now a physical reality and not just an abstract in pdf-land.

Here are his own words, emphases mine:

Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:12:07 -0700

Shlama Khati Shali and Akhi Andrew,

So I got to the printers on Friday morning and they told me that it would take a couple hours to "rip the file" and digitally print it so I thought this was great. I had to be at the couriers before 4 pm to do an overnight to you... so I figured I would be just drive back at lunchtime and pick up your copy.

I get back and the tech department head tells me that file is still ripping and he doesn't know how long it will take because there is no gauge on the computer but that it shouldn't be much longer. He assures me that they have the latest and fastest computers and Xerox printer and yada yada, so I go for a drive and at 3pm head back to the printers, giving me an hour to still meet the 4 pm courier. The file was still being ripped, not even one sheet had been printed... so long story short, at 5:04 pm, a few minutes after their office closed I got two copies of Mari in digital format so tomorrow I'll courier some copies to you. What I should have done was contact an on demand digital printer in your area and had it done in your local, but...it's all part of the saga of trying to get it out in short order.

Yes I did receive the revision and footnote and it has been added. I've had a hardcopy of Mari all weekend and have been flipping through the leaves and found a few boo boos, having the pages is rather invaluable, so I've been going through book by book, mostly small stuff but a nasty spelling blooper in a footnote in Mark.

So hopefully you and Shali will have copies on Tues or Wed. I had them blow up the pages to full 8 by 11 for ease of reading/proofing.
I was gone for the weekend because they are now renovating the house on the weekend so I stayed with a friend, he had a nice group of people over for a bible study and I could have sold my only digital copy for a hundred bucks to several folks. There were a few folks tugging on it so I trust this is an indication of what the future holds for Mari. <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s -->
I took a foto of the digital copy, it was much thicker than I thought but fits ok into a 3" binder so I'll pass this pic along in an email.

I'm just collecting some emails now because I've not had internet access since Friday morning.

Blessings,

Baruch

Stand by--here we go!

Shlama w'burkate
Andrew Gabriel Roth

[Christina]

We're almost there! I can't wait, I'm so excited! <!-- s:onfire: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/onfire.gif" alt=":onfire:" title="On Fire" /><!-- s:onfire: -->