At long last, your patience has been rewarded.
This is going to be even more verbose than normal. I would really appreciate feedback on anything that looks amiss.
Pre-turn: Micro-managing. I can't figure out why Farm6 has so few specialists, so I hire some taxmen. Which reminds me -- is it time to think about building aquaducts in our farms? 3 watered and railed grasslands will support 4 specialists and the 2gpt savings in unit support will cover the maintenance on the 'duct. Tyendenaga is at 14spt (including the 4spt waste) and building a factory. Cronetown is at 16spt (including 3spt waste) but is building an arty and does not have a factory -- so I switch it to a factory. Hire a CE in Cattaraugus, which stops growth but significantly hurries harbor, which will help growth in the long run. Ditto for Grand River.
IBT: ToE comes in. We get Communism and Fascism. Just kidding, although I am glad I checked the Science Advisor, since Bede left a little surprise for me in the way of having The Corporation selected as the next tech. I get Atomic Theory and Electronics of course. Change Bedeville to Hoover, due in 4. Salamanca: ToE >> Hospital. Scoutsville: Courthouse >> Factory.
1255 AD: Make this deal with X-Man.
Then I get Refining from Hammi for Atomix and a modest lump sum.
We don't have oil, but Persia is just asking for us to poach this one.
Switch North Pole to settler (due next turn) to do just that. Other than optional techs, we are caught up with the Persia/Bablyon glom on the top of the tech tree and still up Electronics on the bottom. Changing all taxmen to scientists and maxing out research, Steel is due in 6 at +137gpt.
IBT: Lots of WLTKDs end. Mayhem City: Factory >> Courthouse. Clever Springs: Military Academy >> Hospital. Ironically, love for the chief has morphed into admiration, as I get to expand our palace.
1260 AD: Worker moves and MMing.
IBT: Shaka and X-Man sign mutual protection pact, leading to this.
Alex begs us to help him take down Abe. I turn him away. Eotin Bay: University >> Factory. Smelly Sticks: Hospital >> Infantry. We are about to have our first metropolis. El-Amarna: Library >> Courthouse (it's close enough to be productive). North Pole: Settler >> Artillery. Waystation: Library >> Aquaduct.
1265 AD: Libs and univs coming in have shaved a turn off of Steel, now due in 3. Getting in position to poach oil from Persia.
IBT: Shaka joins the anti-Alex party. Hoover Dam comes in. Bedeville: Hoover >> Hospital. Mayhem City: Courthouse >> Infantry (not enough excess food to justify a Hospital unless we do some major tile rearranging). Abydos: Library >> Artillery.
1270 AD: Loss of Alex's dyes causes unrest in a few cities. Since I really want to stay on track to get Steel in 2 I look into hiring clowns. Turns out I can do so without slowing down any of the builds in Salamanca, Bedeville, Smelly Sticks, or Tyendenaga (the four cities about to go into disorder) so I do so. Since I'm considering declaring on Alex, I use our RoP to look around. He's defending with rifles and of course his core has got lots of jungle, which will make for slow going. He has coal but I didn't see any rail yet. The biggest challenge will be that we share such a long border. Lots of choices as to how to attack him, but I think it would make the most sense to take out his outpost in our east first, then concentrate on his core south of us while cleaning up his outlying area in our southwest as resources permit. I have a few cavs that ran out of movement while scouting in his territory, so I'll wait at least until next turn to do the deed.
IBT: Salamanca: Hospital >> Infantry. Smelly Sticks: Infantry >> Infantry. Hammi attacks Sparta halfheartedly.
1275 AD: Oil Springs founded. X-Man even railed it for us, what a nice guy. Steel is coming in next turn, but with hardly any overshoot. I change just a few scientists into taxmen to pinch every penny. Couple of cavs still trying to get out of Greece, so I will continue to hold off on declaring. We already have one metropolis (Smelly) with another couple on the way. I really want to get those dyes back pronto.
IBT: The iron deal with Abe expires. He doesn't want to pay nearly as much for it now (5gpt compared to 56) -- I think he's broke. The only other person we could sell it to is Alex, but he's even more broke. Steel comes in, and we are the first to get it. In fact, Hammi and X-Man are both willing to sell the farm to get both Steel and Electronics, despite the fact that they don't like us much. I suppose this means they aren't close to getting either one. I don't make either deal at this time. We are still making money while running at 100% science with the deals we already have. Combustion due in 6, but I might be able to shave a turn off of that when I switch those taxmen back to scientists. Harriet Bay: Hospital >> University. Mayhem City: Infantry >> Infantry. Venerable Valley: University >> Hospital (only size 7 now, but lots of food potential and not much shield potential makes this seem like the thing to do). Lurkersville: University >> Factory. Grand River: Harbor >> Artillery.
1280 AD: I can't get Combustion any sooner than 6 turns, so I dial science down to 90% and push lux up to 10% to pacify our larger cities. I convert the clowns in those towns to scientists (which don't make any difference at the moment, but since all the specialists we have allow us to be very precise in preventing overrun, I might as well go all out for now). What the hell -- I decide to declare on Alex. Hurry a couple of settlers in Asyut and Waystation to re-settle after I raze some of Alex's core. I intend to keep the cities farther from Athens. In the process of taking Herakleia with obsolete Mounties, an elite one promotes. Since tanks are around the corner, perhaps this guy can wait to become a tank army. Sadly, one of his hoplites takes down a cav, but I take and keep the city, putting the Greek citizen to work on a temple. Lose a guerilla taking out a rifle near Niagara Falls despite redlining him first with cannons. Move into position near Troy, Knossos, and Marathon. Alex's lack of horses allows me to be more aggressive near our mutual border.
IBT: The lux trade with Shaka expires and he wants more this time around. I decide to part with SciMeth for the spices and gems (and some chump change).
X-Man wants a MPP and RoP, but I turn him down. Hammi takes Sparta
. Lose a Mountie on defense (he was capturing workers). Salamanca gets polluted, also: Infantry >> Infantry. Bedeville: Hospital >> University. Smelly Sticks: Infantry >> Infantry. Asyut: Settler >> Settler. Tyendenaga: Factory >> Artillery. Waystation: Settler >> Settler.
1285 AD: Take and raze Knossos, losing a guerilla and a cav. Then Marathon, losing a cav. Take and keep Troy, as it's pretty far from Athens and I should be able to keep a healthy garrison there and who knows if X-Man has a settler waiting to take the spot if I leave it open. Auto-raze Halicarnassus, losing 3 cavs.
IBT: Lose a cav on defense and a short stack of cannons that I will take right back -- Alex just moved them for me. Mayhem City: Infantry >> Infantry. Clever Springs: Hospital >> University. The people are clamoring for Battlefield Medicine. Doesn't seem like we fight often enough to make it worth the investment, but what do others think? Kiohero: Library >> Aquaduct.
1290 AD: Found Our Knossos >> Temple. Take out a longbowman standing on our stack of cannons and move them into position near Ephesus. Make a suicide run on Corinth, losing a cav and killing the only rifle guarding the city -- just a longbowman for now but I've got no attacks left. War weariness threatens the calm in a few of our larger cities -- I switch scientists in those towns back to clowns and hire Lurkersville's first specialist (a scientist) to stave off civil disorder. Lose a cav and promote an infantry taking out a rifle near Niagara Falls. Lose an infantry taking (and keeping) Thessalonica, start a temple. Continue to fine tune builds.
IBT: Shaka and Abe kiss and make up. Salamanca: Infantry >> Infantry. Smelly Sticks: Infantry >> Infantry. Panama City: Courthouse >> Marketplace (needs the happiness help -- it will never be very productive but could get pretty large if we want it to).
1295 AD: Clever Springs grows to 13 and needs a clown, so I reassign a scientist. Found Our Halicarnassus on the spot of the original one, get it to work on a temple. Raze Corinth -- Hammi will surely get a settler there before we can but I didn't want to tie down my forces with a garrison. Guerilla promotes taking out stray rifle.
Summary: Troops poised to take out Zariqum, Argos, Pharsalos, and Ephesus in the next couple of turns. Asyut and Waystation making settlers to re-settle Greek core, with one due up next turn and the other in 3. I've been using Salamanca, Smelly Sticks, and Mayhem City to pump out infantry -- I figured cavs will soon be obsolete, don't upgrade, and their movement advantage is negated in the Greek jungles anyway. We have a leader in Salamanca that I was saving to make a tank army but do with him as you see fit. Tyendenaga is caught up on buildings for now, so I was using it to make artillery at a faster pace than our corrupt lands (no barracks there and I didn't see the need to build one). Combustion in 3, with enough overrun to make some decent coin on the last turn. War weariness is starting to become a factor but is currently managable with a few clowns in our larger cities. We still have a monopoly on Steel and Electronics, either of which we could trade to Hammi for his new dyes once he re-roads around Sparta. You'll notice that I picked up Fascism as a kicker in an earlier deal but not Communism or Espionage. That was an accident on my part -- I thought I would trade Atomix to X-Man for The Corporation + gold and one of the three (Fascism as it turned out) and to Hammi for the other two and whatever gold he could spare. But when I got The Corp I saw they both had Refining and that changed the equation. I now realize I should have got one that would do us some good in the first deal with X-Man (there has been some talk of switching to Communism and Espionage is always nice). On the other hand, since we are currently maintaining a tech lead there is no need to steal techs and not enough coin anyway since we are self-researching. We can obviously get either or both from any of our friendly neighbors whenever we would like to. I think that covers almost everything. Territory pics to follow.
Ye Olde Save
If possible, I'd like to have time for discussion and then play my set before the weekend ends.
) [edit: found one] 
move there Brad, BTW. If I read your log right capturing a Greek slave cost a stack of cav and some artillery. True you got the peashooters back but if there had been a city waiting ti receive them you might not have) 
However, I've just learned how to do this and need the practice, so it's a good learning experience. I felt the same way the first time someone on this board suggested I actually manage all my workers. 
Combustion came in right on the nose.
Can we talk about it now Professor Bede? Pretty please with 
on top.