Sometime early in my electrical engineering classes back in college, I was taught about some effect wherein the _measuring_ of voltage on a circuit can cause interference, thereby changing the quantity being measured. Since I was such a bad student, I forget exactly what this syndrome is called. The point is, it applies in real life too, not just electrical circuits - people watch and listen and offer their opinions, and in doing so, they sometimes _alter_ the situation. Two examples follow:
1) The _Highlander_ television series, 1992-1997. In the beginning, it was a novel concept and very well-written, delving into the fantastic without becoming silly. Some of the early creators left the show, and somehow, some of the replacements came from the fandom world. Sometimes this would be fine, but in this case and in my opinion, they began creating the stories _they_ wanted to see, rather than ones in the original spirit of the first stories. The common excuse for something like this is "the old ideas were used up and it was time to try something new" but this is a good example of how that can go bad. It's also why some top athletes retire at the top of their game instead of trying to drag their career on too long so that people remember their last years as terrible.
2) People (parents, friends, relatives) who watch a person's relationship like hawks, offering running commentary and criticism. The person and his/her significant other are trying to do things their way and succeed, but we'll never know if they would have succeeded since their actions were influenced by the other people. the onlookers insist so strongly that something won't succeed that they end up influencing it, often so that it doesn't succeed - and then they point fingers and say "I told you so" as if it wasn't partly their fault.
On a completely unrelated note, the young lady and I just passed the 7-month mark with nary a bump in the road. She inspires me to better myself in all ways, which is one reason you're reading new stories in 2004.
On another completely unrelated note, there is a new mailing list for the new stories, but you will have to subscribe to it by sending an email to the Publisher with a subject entitled "new ADVENTURERS mailing list". No body needed.