He gets out west for some of the cannon shoots put on by *Dangerous Dave* Cumberland, AKA *the Old Western Scrounger.*
He's had a few health and personal problems over the last year or so, which likely put a few of his activities and projects, including the not-quite-a-sequel to UC, on hold for a bit.
News/info and updates at John's website *here*. Or if you need the link later, it's posted on my FReeper profile page, linked to his name at his quote about Gurkhas, about halfway down the page.
-archy-/-