My Magister Militum order arrived today - huzzah!
Hypaspists, Spanish cavalry, bolt shooters, Cretan archers and Theurophoroi - plus some shield transfers.
I'll get stuck into them this evening (de-flash, prime etc.).
I was impressed by the speed of service and quality of packaging. Surdy box, lots of bubblewrap and each pack coded so you know what you've got. Plus a newsletter and announcement of the next event they're attending.
Mucho impressed with the MM boys - keep up the good work.
I may be tempted to go 10mm on the Naps as a result.
Battle Report : Punic Wars Round 8.
We had the first battle at the new venue - and very nice it was too. We had a separate room to the main bar (where there was salsa dancing going on!) and the beer and peanuts were on tap.
Nigel took control of the Cartho cavalry (more later) as Russ and I went toe-to-toe again.
For a change the Romans won initiative (against Hannibal - surely some mistake!) so I got to choose the terrain (I went for Developed, obviously) and Russ had to place his troops first.
The terrain was placed - I went for big clunking bits to stop his troops moving about, Russ for as many open elements as possible.
As he had to place his troops first, he decided to place his African spears, Scutarii and Gallic Foot fairly centrally. As a consequence I decided to keep my heavy foot away from them and moved over to my left. Russ then placed his skirmish cavalry and heavy cavalry opposite them. I therefore decided to screen my heavy foot with velites and cavalry (leaving Russ to place his skirmishers in front of his foot).
Nigel took control of the Cartho cavalry (more later) as Russ and I went toe-to-toe again.
For a change the Romans won initiative (against Hannibal - surely some mistake!) so I got to choose the terrain (I went for Developed, obviously) and Russ had to place his troops first.
The terrain was placed - I went for big clunking bits to stop his troops moving about, Russ for as many open elements as possible.
As he had to place his troops first, he decided to place his African spears, Scutarii and Gallic Foot fairly centrally. As a consequence I decided to keep my heavy foot away from them and moved over to my left. Russ then placed his skirmish cavalry and heavy cavalry opposite them. I therefore decided to screen my heavy foot with velites and cavalry (leaving Russ to place his skirmishers in front of his foot).
The battlefield. Village and enclosed fields (on my left), vineyards and gully.
The Romans lined up on the left - and the Carthaginian foot in the distance dominating the middle.
The Romans moved off with the velites and cavalry (holding the Roman right) moved forward to engage the Numidian skirmish cavalry. These moved forward in turn to engage the velites and quickly the first clash of the battle took place. At impact the Numidians had a slight advantage but Russ' dice decided to misbehave resulting in him losing 2 bases and with one BG going disrupted.
Velites and Numdian Light Horse clash
The velites made big inroads into the Numidians and soon reduced one to 2 bases (and an autobreak). As a consequence all the BG's around them had to make cohesion tests - with the other Numidian horse failing. As another velites BG got into melee contact (and the Roman cavalry swung round to attack their flank) it was looking grim for the Numidians. The Gallic and Spanish cavalry therefore moved up to support them.
On the other side some more velites and Roman cavalry swung round to attack the Numidian javelinmen. As they charged the javelinmen evaded and the Roman cavalry unfortunately bounced straight into the African spearmen (who'd started the long slog across the battlefield to get close to the Roman infantry). The Gallic foot also started making their way forward.
Cavalry vs spears is usually a bad idea - and so it proved. The Africans made short work of the cavalry and the Romans were soo routed.
Luckily for the Romans, they were inflicting similar damage on the Carthaginian cavalry. The Numidians were polished off by the velites - just in time for the remaining Roman cavalry to engage the Spanish horse - possibly in the flank. Facing the prospect of being hit in the flank or meeting the Roman infantry (slowly moving towards them) the Spaniards turned to face the Roman cavalry. But they couldn't move (being undrilled) which meant that they got charged by both cavalry and infantry.
Miraculously, the Spanish won the impact. But as soon as the melee began the Romans started to chop bits from the Spanish BG and the writing was on the wall. To make things worse, I threw double six to polish off his commander (who was fighting in the front rank). So the Spanish BG disintegrated - leaving the Gallic horse running away from the rest of the Roman army.
On the other side, some velites charged the Cartho slingers and came off second best.
By this stage, time was pressing so we called it a day. Totting up the scores we saw that another Roman victory had been secured (1BG lost to 3BG). By avoiding the African spears the Romans again gave Hannibal a bloody nose - and took the score to 6-2 in battles won.
Laurel wreaths and triumphs all round!
Cavalry vs spears is usually a bad idea - and so it proved. The Africans made short work of the cavalry and the Romans were soo routed.
The Romans get mullered as the Carthaginian slingers and Gallic Foot move around to engage the Roman infantry.
Luckily for the Romans, they were inflicting similar damage on the Carthaginian cavalry. The Numidians were polished off by the velites - just in time for the remaining Roman cavalry to engage the Spanish horse - possibly in the flank. Facing the prospect of being hit in the flank or meeting the Roman infantry (slowly moving towards them) the Spaniards turned to face the Roman cavalry. But they couldn't move (being undrilled) which meant that they got charged by both cavalry and infantry.
Spanish cavalry - surrounded and in deep trouble.
Miraculously, the Spanish won the impact. But as soon as the melee began the Romans started to chop bits from the Spanish BG and the writing was on the wall. To make things worse, I threw double six to polish off his commander (who was fighting in the front rank). So the Spanish BG disintegrated - leaving the Gallic horse running away from the rest of the Roman army.
On the other side, some velites charged the Cartho slingers and came off second best.
By this stage, time was pressing so we called it a day. Totting up the scores we saw that another Roman victory had been secured (1BG lost to 3BG). By avoiding the African spears the Romans again gave Hannibal a bloody nose - and took the score to 6-2 in battles won.
Laurel wreaths and triumphs all round!
Moodboards
Above are some moodboards from our latest exciting project working with a Manchester school who along with a school in China are hosting a forum for the promotion of Chinese. We're branding the event and have been looking into colours, patterns and all things decorative!
At last the story can be told
Whew! I've been keeping secrets for a long time. Now I can finally talk about some things that have been going on. Buckle up, because we've got a lot of ground to cover.
Both my readers will surely recall that we put our house back on the market this year after failing to sell it (twice) in 2009. Well, we thought about living there for a few more years, but that changed as soon as we found our dream house in the country. It was a foreclosure and we didn't want to miss this opportunity, so we negotiated with the bank for a couple of weeks and then signed a deal to buy it. Which was very exciting, but also terrifying, because our offer was non-contingent and we still had to sell our house in St. Paul!
I don't want to jinx anything, but I feel like we're at the point where I can finally share all of this. We officially passed the appraisal (which is what screwed us over the last time) so it looks like we will definitely be able to sell our city house. Also, as of today, we cleared the FHA inspection on the new place! Country roads, take me home.
When Will We Be Able To Build Brains Like Ours?
Image: Henrik5000From Scientific American:
Sooner than you think -- and the race has lately caused a 'catfight'.
When physicists puzzle out the workings of some new part of nature, that knowledge can be used to build devices that do amazing things -- airplanes that fly, radios that reach millions of listeners. When we come to understand how brains function, we should become able to build amazing devices with cognitive abilities -- such as cognitive cars that are better at driving than we are because they communicate with other cars and share knowledge on road conditions. In 2008, the National Academy of Engineering chose as one of its grand challenges to reverse-engineer the human brain. When will this happen? Some are predicting that the first wave of results will arrive within the decade, propelled by rapid advances in both brain science and computer science. This sounds astonishing, but it’s becoming increasingly plausible. So plausible, in fact, that the great race to reverse-engineer the brain is already triggering a dispute over historic “firsts.”
Read more ....
Scoot
Tokyo biker, originally uploaded by manganite
I've been circling the question of what to do about my motorcycle, while not riding it all along, for a couple of years now. My emotions clouded my judgment. When it comes to stuff, and whether to keep it or toss it, there's only one criterion that matters. I asked myself, "Does this make my life better?" The short answer is "no."
My father-in-law was a bit disappointed, and that was holding me back. Then I remembered that I don't have to live the way other people expect me to. I'm happy because (as one of my Twitter followees likes to say:) I do what I want, not what I think you want me to do. So I sold the bike.
The new owner is a lady my age, and it will be her first bike. Thanks to my girlish figure, she was able to fit into almost all my riding gear, and so I was able to get some extra cash for that too. As her dad rode the bike away, I felt at peace with the decision. Plus my wallet was a little heavier, and that doesn't hurt!
Game on Thursday!
Russ is back from his honeymoon so there's finally a game on this Thursday. We're going Rome vs Carthage again as my Greeks and his Persians aren't quite ready.
But we get to play at the new venue (with beer and peanuts on tap!) and Nigel is also turning up. He's bringing a chest so we can store the scenery etc. safely on site.
Nigel is mainly a Naps player but he's willing to give ancients / medieval a try. We may just give him the Romans to play with and see if the string of Roman victories really are down to superior troops or (as I suspect) down to excellent generalship on my part. He is also a massive history buff, always full of interesting anecdotes and impressions from history, so it should be a good evening.
As we're driving we'll be limited to 1 pint each though (curses!).
Still - its been a long, long time between games so it will be good to get back into the saddle and walloping those pesky North Africans again.
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But we get to play at the new venue (with beer and peanuts on tap!) and Nigel is also turning up. He's bringing a chest so we can store the scenery etc. safely on site.
Nigel is mainly a Naps player but he's willing to give ancients / medieval a try. We may just give him the Romans to play with and see if the string of Roman victories really are down to superior troops or (as I suspect) down to excellent generalship on my part. He is also a massive history buff, always full of interesting anecdotes and impressions from history, so it should be a good evening.
As we're driving we'll be limited to 1 pint each though (curses!).
Still - its been a long, long time between games so it will be good to get back into the saddle and walloping those pesky North Africans again.
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Host of parcels due this week...
My order with Magister Militum is finally on its way - just received the e-mail!
Hypaspists, Cretan archers, some transfers for the shields, heavy Spanish cavalry, theuropohoroi etc. to complete the 'Greek' and Spanish armies.
Can't wait!
Given that my orders with Pendraken and Steve Barber should also be 'on their way' (I think Salute has held a lot of these up) then I should have a fun week with parcels hitting the doorstep on a frequent basis.
And my new mobile phone turned up today as well!
Hypaspists, Cretan archers, some transfers for the shields, heavy Spanish cavalry, theuropohoroi etc. to complete the 'Greek' and Spanish armies.
Can't wait!
Given that my orders with Pendraken and Steve Barber should also be 'on their way' (I think Salute has held a lot of these up) then I should have a fun week with parcels hitting the doorstep on a frequent basis.
And my new mobile phone turned up today as well!
Greek camp - centrepiece
I bought this model of Athena a long time ago - and have never really had a use for her, apart from her looking just like Mrs B (yeah, I wish!).
But with the advent of the 'Greek / Macedonian / Successor army' I thought she'd make a nice centrepiece for the Greek camp - as a massive statue. The Greeks painted their statuary in lifelike colours so I think - with a bit of artistic licence - she could do the trick.
I've used a (not finished!) Greek cavalry figure to show the scale (he's 10mm).
She hasn't got 2-tone legs - those are skin-tight boots she's wearing.
The Truth About Robots And The Uncanny Valley: Analysis
(Photo by Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)From Popular Mechanics:
An oft-cited theory in robotics, the uncanny valley, refers to that point along the chart of robot–human likeness where a robot looks and acts nearly—but not exactly—like a human. This subtle imperfection, the theory states, causes people's feelings toward robots to veer from fondness to revulsion. Here, contributing editor Erik Sofge argues that the theory is so loosely backed it is nearly useless for roboticists. For an in-depth look at the human–robot relationship, check out PM's feature story "Can Robots Be Trusted?" on stands now.
Read more ....
Japanese Government And Industry Aim For Mind-Controlled Robots And Electronics In 10 Years
Asimo Mind Control The power ... feels good Honda From Popular Science:
Japan's insatiable love for robots and mind-reading technology has converged in the form of a new government-industry partnership. That means Japanese consumers can look forward to robots and electronics controllable by thought alone within a decade, according to Agence France-Presse.
Read more ....
A Tumultuous Heart
He was brilliant, impulsive and prone to wild mood swings. One day he was up. The next day he could be in the grip of melancholia. He was intensely passionate and completely reckless. He was dissolute, hyper and intrepid. Aside from possessing the personal characteristics of a human cauldron, Lord George Gordon Byron (1788-1824) was a master poet, and his works continue to inspire generations to experiment in a neglected and often misunderstood literary form..
In the film Dead Poets Society (1989), Robin Williams plays a private school English teacher named John Keating. In one of the more memorable scenes, Mr. Keating draws a graph on the blackboard to illustrate how the author of their poetry textbook, a certain Dr. Pritchard, measures the value of a poem based on a couple of arbitrary factors. After charting one poem using Pritchard's method, Keating looks at his class of young boys, calls the author's 'scientific' approach nonsense and implores the kids to rip out the introduction from the book. He was right. Poetry is not written for erudite scholars to over-intellectualize and systematize. It is written by and for human beings with disquieting compassion and an extraordinary sense of life and living.
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Most of our waking hours are devoted to extending careers, fulfilling personal responsibilities and the supreme task of managing relationships with calculated words. Poetry is the antithesis of these hours. Ultimately, we are not defined by our degree of education, our job title or even our friends. Rather, we are defined individually by what we have not said, what we cannot say, what we cannot have, what we cannot control and who we quietly miss at 3:25AM. It is this deeply concealed 'sacred' self that makes us unique as a human being in human history.
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Byron was nothing if not unique. While he had already developed strong feelings for at least two of his distant cousins even before the age of ten, his decision not to return to Harrow, an elite British prep school, to pursue a woman (Mary Chatsworth) was but a prelude to larger romantic campaigns in a life guided by pure passion and a penchant for living on the edge. From a tumultuous heart came tumultuous times. In his short thirty-six years, Byron had scores of intimate relationships with women, dabbled in homosexuality and may have engaged in an incestuous affair with his half-sister. By the end of his days, Byron was made a pariah by his own society. As an irrepressible libertine, however, he never backed down in love or in politics.
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In 1808 at age thirty, Byron wrote a poetic masterpiece entitled 'When We Two Parted'. Who did he pen these lines about? It does not actually matter. In the poem, Byron uses words to cultivate the human universals of loss, pain, regret and hope into a profoundly moving statement of unconquerable love and personal anguish. By savoring each word of each line, we are not only reading Byron and the experience of countless men and women throughout time, we are indeed reading ourselves.
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To celebrate National Poetry Month in the United States (April), the poem has been reproduced below.
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When We Two Parted - Lord Byron (1808)
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When we two parted
In silence and tears,
Half broken-hearted
To sever for years,
Pale grew thy cheek and cold,
Colder thy kiss;
Truly that hour foretold
Sorrow to this.
The dew of the morning
Sunk chill on my brow--
It felt like the warning
Of what I feel now.
Thy vows are all broken,
And light is thy fame;
I hear thy name spoken,
And share in its shame.
They name thee before me,
A knell to mine ear;
A shudder comes o'er me--
Why wert thou so dear?
They know not I knew thee,
Who knew thee so well--
Long, long I shall rue thee,
Too deeply to tell.
In secret we met—
In silence I grieve,
That thy heart could forget,
Thy spirit deceive
If I should meet thee
After long years,
How should I greet thee?--
With silence and tears.
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Thank you, George.
(Picture: Lord Byron)
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J Roquen
Mural Pitch for Manchester City Centre
detail
Mural designs proposal/pitch for a project in Manchester City Centre. The abstract shapes represent beams of inspiration, exploding forth and bouncing off other beams and the surroundings. The different patterns within the shapes represent different art and craft disciplines and elements of architecture in and around Manchester.
Amazon delivery today!
I spent a bit of my birthday money on two more FOG companian books - Swords and Scimitars and Wolves from the Sea.
This pretty much completes the collection as far as European ancients and medieval wargaming is concerned (I'm not that bothered about 'Biblical' ancients or the Ottoman Empire ).
So - when I get round to it - we can look at Dark Ages and the Crusades as new wargaming territory, although I think Russ really wants to try late Medieval (100YW etc.) - all those longbows and armoured knights!
So the collection now stands at:-
Rise of Rome
Immortal Fire
Storm of Arrows
Legions Triumphant
Decline and Fall
Swords and Scimitars
Wolves from the Sea
Oath of Fealty
Which I think will cover all the ancients / medieval I want to get into (although one day, the Japanese and Koreans...).
Of course, I'll also need to look into FOG Napoleonics when that arrives.
This hobby! I thought golf was bad for emptying your wallet!!!
This pretty much completes the collection as far as European ancients and medieval wargaming is concerned (I'm not that bothered about 'Biblical' ancients or the Ottoman Empire ).
So - when I get round to it - we can look at Dark Ages and the Crusades as new wargaming territory, although I think Russ really wants to try late Medieval (100YW etc.) - all those longbows and armoured knights!
So the collection now stands at:-
Rise of Rome
Immortal Fire
Storm of Arrows
Legions Triumphant
Decline and Fall
Swords and Scimitars
Wolves from the Sea
Oath of Fealty
Which I think will cover all the ancients / medieval I want to get into (although one day, the Japanese and Koreans...).
Of course, I'll also need to look into FOG Napoleonics when that arrives.
This hobby! I thought golf was bad for emptying your wallet!!!
South Korea Developing Underwater Search-and-Rescue Robot Crawlers
Underwater swimmers and crawlers could speed up rescue efforts for incidents such as the recent sinking of a South Korean Navy frigate.From Popular Science:
South Korea's flock of robotic teachers look and sound goofy, but the nation is deadly serious about its latest project: developing aquatic robots by 2016 which can swim and crawl their way across the seafloor several miles down for search and rescue purposes, according to the Korea Times.
Read more ....
Imperfect Archivist
I'm under no illusions about my audience for this blog; I know that its primary reader is myself. That's true now but especially in the future. So my goal is to keep a history of fatherhood that is both worthy of re-reading and as comprehensive as possible.Ideally I would like to chronicle every aspect of Natalie's life. A post for each new word, first step, and precious moment. Natalie will do something adorable and I'll think, "that needs to go on the blog right away," but real life is rarely that convenient.
So I do the best I can, capturing snippets of information with minutes of stolen time, snapshots of a young girl's development. Here she is doing the "gigga gigga" dance. It is her interpretation of "Hold Still (Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Go)" from Yo Gabba Gabba... the cutest thing of all time of the day.
We All Scream
iceblingtruck, originally uploaded by don gelato a.k.a iceblingking
My latest craze is making ice cream. I could eat ice cream every day, and it's fun to make, so there's no lack of motivation to keep churning it out. The first batch of French vanilla was a revelation. So rich and creamy.
I tried this Fresh Mint Ice Cream Recipe which sounded interesting because it involved making crème fraîche, which is a fancy sour cream. The crème fraîche came out alright but I couldn't see how a sour cream base was going to make a delicious, sweet, ice cream. As it turned out, it didn't. It was just a frozen, mint-flavored, sour cream blob.
My two recent successes were Rocky Road + Irish Whiskey. I could double the batch for the latter recipe and still easily fit into our KitchenAid ice cream maker. I am in love with that thing. It may be the best appliance we've ever bought.
The 'Greeks' are saved
I spent an hour last night restoring the battered Greeks after they tumbled down the stairs. Mainly superficial damage, thankfully. A lesson learned.
I spent another hour cracking on with the Greek light cavalry and am nearing completion on these. Just tack, shields and javelin tips to finish.
Then its on to the Companions and command bases. And the 'Greek' army (aka Macedonians, Ptolemaics, Seleucids, Syracusan etc.) will be pretty much done - with the exception of psoili, peltasts, some more theurophoroi, a couple of BG's of hoplites, some allied horse archers, some....
I spent another hour cracking on with the Greek light cavalry and am nearing completion on these. Just tack, shields and javelin tips to finish.
Then its on to the Companions and command bases. And the 'Greek' army (aka Macedonians, Ptolemaics, Seleucids, Syracusan etc.) will be pretty much done - with the exception of psoili, peltasts, some more theurophoroi, a couple of BG's of hoplites, some allied horse archers, some....
A True Minnesotan
Now that we're having great Spring weather, Natalie wants to spend every waking minute outside. Chasing bubbles, making chalk drawings on the patio furniture, stomping the strawberry plants; there's no end of fun activities. When we bring her inside she cries, "out!" "Shoe!" (as in, "put back on my").At the end of the day, she has dirty hands and scraped knees, and I'm proud to see her making the most of it. It's a joy to watch her explore her world.
Supercomputers Map Pathogens As They Emerge And Evolve
A screenshot from a Supramap study of avian influenza, with red lines representing the spread of drug-resistant strains and the white lines drug susceptible strains. Credit: Ohio Supercomputing CenterFrom Cosmos:
BRISBANE: Instead of simply focussing on human infections, infectious disease researchers can now track the complex interactions, movement and evolution of the pathogens themselves using supercomputers.
The researchers are using a new program called Supramap, which operates on the computing systems at Ohio State University and the Ohio Supercomputer Center.
Read more ....
Steve Barber Models - more 10mm Ancients on the way!
I placed an order with Steve Barber the other day and had a chat with him a couple of times. He said the order would be delayed as he's going to Salute 2010 - which he's looking forward to but is a lot of work and preparation.
During the chat, Steve said that he's definitely going to produce more 10mm ancients - he's just thinking about which period(s) and troop types to go for. These will be released in the summer.
His figures are quality and quite cheap (£3.00 for 10 foot, £3.50 for 9-10 mounted) so I'm looking forward to seeing what he comes out with.
Given that he already does Imperial Romans he may look at Republican Rome vs Carthage or Macedonians vs Persians. But time will tell.
Here's his 10mm Parthians (although he does a variety of scales and periods). I love the detail and variation. Of course, having to paint 7BG's of horse archers may change my mind!
You can visit Steve's site here.
During the chat, Steve said that he's definitely going to produce more 10mm ancients - he's just thinking about which period(s) and troop types to go for. These will be released in the summer.
His figures are quality and quite cheap (£3.00 for 10 foot, £3.50 for 9-10 mounted) so I'm looking forward to seeing what he comes out with.
Given that he already does Imperial Romans he may look at Republican Rome vs Carthage or Macedonians vs Persians. But time will tell.
Here's his 10mm Parthians (although he does a variety of scales and periods). I love the detail and variation. Of course, having to paint 7BG's of horse archers may change my mind!
You can visit Steve's site here.
#@!$$##?@!!!!!
I've just gone and dropped the box containing all my Greeks! I blame the wife who was yagging away in my ear about something as I was coming down the stairs. I was trying to carry a few boards as well and as I turned to listen to what she was yapping about (some bloody nonsense about a painting she's bought) the box slipped out.
Although all my models have magnetised bases, a good dunk on the ground will test that bond to the utmost.
Opening up the box revealed my worst fears - a big jumble of figures with bent spears (mainly pikes and lances), some chipped paint and a lot of flock knocked off in the impact. Luckily no spears were broken although some felt very flimsy as I tried to bend them back into shape.
As I'm untangling the mess, Mrs B comes over for a look.
"Oh dear - are you toy soldiers broken?" (I'll give her 'toy soldiers')
"Yes - that was the thump you heard as I was coming down the stairs while you were telling me that riveting story about the picture"
"Never mind - no harm done" (errr - apart from the hours I'm going to need to fix the damage)
She then chooses this exact moment to try to pluck a stray grey hair from the back of my head. Now imagine that she's - say - dropped a plate on the floor and is trying to pick up the peices. Would YOU choose that moment to tug hairs out of her head? No - because you have common sense. Not Mrs B though...
"That's coming out" - tug, tug, tug "Oh, missed it" tug tug tug etc.
She then waves the offending hair under my nose saying "Plenty more where that came from, plenty more where that came from.." while I'm trying to extricate the figures gently from the mess.
My response - short, sharp and succinct - meant she left the room immediately (albeit in a massive huff) leaving me to survey the carnage alone.
Women! Can't live with them....can't live with them.
Although all my models have magnetised bases, a good dunk on the ground will test that bond to the utmost.
Opening up the box revealed my worst fears - a big jumble of figures with bent spears (mainly pikes and lances), some chipped paint and a lot of flock knocked off in the impact. Luckily no spears were broken although some felt very flimsy as I tried to bend them back into shape.
As I'm untangling the mess, Mrs B comes over for a look.
"Oh dear - are you toy soldiers broken?" (I'll give her 'toy soldiers')
"Yes - that was the thump you heard as I was coming down the stairs while you were telling me that riveting story about the picture"
"Never mind - no harm done" (errr - apart from the hours I'm going to need to fix the damage)
She then chooses this exact moment to try to pluck a stray grey hair from the back of my head. Now imagine that she's - say - dropped a plate on the floor and is trying to pick up the peices. Would YOU choose that moment to tug hairs out of her head? No - because you have common sense. Not Mrs B though...
"That's coming out" - tug, tug, tug "Oh, missed it" tug tug tug etc.
She then waves the offending hair under my nose saying "Plenty more where that came from, plenty more where that came from.." while I'm trying to extricate the figures gently from the mess.
My response - short, sharp and succinct - meant she left the room immediately (albeit in a massive huff) leaving me to survey the carnage alone.
Women! Can't live with them....can't live with them.
Painting Tally 2010 updated
Click here for the latest view. I've added in the 'birthday lead' - all those Parthians!
In all I estimate that this equates to some 1,300 unpainted figures. And there are some left over from current armies - including loads of velites.
So much to do....so little time.
In all I estimate that this equates to some 1,300 unpainted figures. And there are some left over from current armies - including loads of velites.
So much to do....so little time.
Supercomputers Map Pathogens As They Emerge And Evolve
A screenshot from a Supramap study of avian influenza, with red lines representing the spread of drug-resistant strains and the white lines drug susceptible strains. Credit: Ohio Supercomputing CenterFrom Cosmos:
BRISBANE: Instead of simply focussing on human infections, infectious disease researchers can now track the complex interactions, movement and evolution of the pathogens themselves using supercomputers.
The researchers are using a new program called Supramap, which operates on the computing systems at Ohio State University and the Ohio Supercomputer Center.
Read more ....
New venue for wargaming!
We used to play at the local tennis club's clubhouse during the winter (as it wasn't being used) but as Spring has come we've had to look elsewhere.
An occasional guest player (usually for Napoleonics but he's getting the ancients bug) has found us a new venue. Its a sports and social club on the seedier side of town but we have a choice of rooms (including a huge venue room), there is a bar and - best of all - no charge!
We have to buy a couple of drinks each night, but that's no hardship.
Russ is moving the boards and scenery in on his return from his honeymoon (a couple of weeks time).
So we're thinking of setting up a local club to get more people involved and playing so we can have some bigger battles and enjoy the social side as well.
Photos when we've 'moved in'
An occasional guest player (usually for Napoleonics but he's getting the ancients bug) has found us a new venue. Its a sports and social club on the seedier side of town but we have a choice of rooms (including a huge venue room), there is a bar and - best of all - no charge!
We have to buy a couple of drinks each night, but that's no hardship.
Russ is moving the boards and scenery in on his return from his honeymoon (a couple of weeks time).
So we're thinking of setting up a local club to get more people involved and playing so we can have some bigger battles and enjoy the social side as well.
Photos when we've 'moved in'
Birthday purchases
It was my birthday recently. Mrs Phil and relatives all gave me money so I could buy the figures I need to complete my armies (so far).
So I've been sending orders out today for the following:-
Magister Militum
Theurophoroi (for the Achaian army as well as any Hellenistic Greek)
Hypaspists (for the Macedonian army)
Bolt Throwers (for various - always wanted to try some artillery)
Spanish Heavy Cavalry and Cavalry (to finish off my Spanish army)
plus some transfers for the hoplites and pikemen's shields.
Pendraken
Hoplites - to add to the ones I've already produced but which can double as pedities extraodinarii and lots of other 'offensive spearmen' types
'Spartan' Hoplites (mainly for the Syracusan and earlier Greek armies)
Light Greek cavalry (for Macedonians / Seleucids etc.)
Persian Spearmen (to represent general 'Eastern' militia / spearmen such as Parthians, Skythians etc.)
Steve Barber Models
Early German warband (to add to the Gallic army but can also double as galatians)
Early German command
Early German cavalry (to add a bit more variety to my Gallic cavalry)
Parthian Cataphracts (can also double as Skythian, Armenians,
Parthian Horse achers (which can also double as Saka, Skythian, Bactrian, Sogdian etc.)
Parthian command (because I need some 'eastern' commanders
Parthian foot archers (double as Sarmatians, Successors, etc.)
Nubian light horse (to support my Romans but also act as general mounted skirmishers for a few different armies).
As I'm still painting my Macedonian cavalry this is another bunch of lead that will need the paint slapping on but I thought it best to get them now rather than wait.
The other good thing about this (and 10mm in general) is that troops can be easily intermingled (not so easy with 28mm1) to help form different armies. As a consequence we will have a significant variety of battles to fight - rather than just the same two sides fighting all the time.
I think that I can now field something like 25+ different FOG armies - together with Russ' figures we could probably field c. 30 armies!
In 28mm (and even 15mm) this would have cost us a small fortune but for 10mm the overall cost comes in at around £300 - or £10 an army. The other advantage of 10mm!
So I've been sending orders out today for the following:-
Magister Militum
Theurophoroi (for the Achaian army as well as any Hellenistic Greek)
Hypaspists (for the Macedonian army)
Bolt Throwers (for various - always wanted to try some artillery)
Spanish Heavy Cavalry and Cavalry (to finish off my Spanish army)
plus some transfers for the hoplites and pikemen's shields.
Pendraken
Hoplites - to add to the ones I've already produced but which can double as pedities extraodinarii and lots of other 'offensive spearmen' types
'Spartan' Hoplites (mainly for the Syracusan and earlier Greek armies)
Light Greek cavalry (for Macedonians / Seleucids etc.)
Persian Spearmen (to represent general 'Eastern' militia / spearmen such as Parthians, Skythians etc.)
Steve Barber Models
Early German warband (to add to the Gallic army but can also double as galatians)
Early German command
Early German cavalry (to add a bit more variety to my Gallic cavalry)
Parthian Cataphracts (can also double as Skythian, Armenians,
Parthian Horse achers (which can also double as Saka, Skythian, Bactrian, Sogdian etc.)
Parthian command (because I need some 'eastern' commanders
Parthian foot archers (double as Sarmatians, Successors, etc.)
Nubian light horse (to support my Romans but also act as general mounted skirmishers for a few different armies).
As I'm still painting my Macedonian cavalry this is another bunch of lead that will need the paint slapping on but I thought it best to get them now rather than wait.
The other good thing about this (and 10mm in general) is that troops can be easily intermingled (not so easy with 28mm1) to help form different armies. As a consequence we will have a significant variety of battles to fight - rather than just the same two sides fighting all the time.
I think that I can now field something like 25+ different FOG armies - together with Russ' figures we could probably field c. 30 armies!
In 28mm (and even 15mm) this would have cost us a small fortune but for 10mm the overall cost comes in at around £300 - or £10 an army. The other advantage of 10mm!
The Sacred Number Of Enki
More than 7,000 years ago, Sumerian civilization thrived across Mesopotamia. An agricultural system had been developed to sustain life continuously for the first time in human history, and its inhabitants created an elaborate pantheon of gods to explain natural wonders and the phenomenon of death..
One of their most revered deities, who also appears as 'Ea' in Babylon and Akkad, was 'Enki'. Beyond ancient Mesopotamia, the legends surrounding Enki have resonated through the biblical era (both Old and New Testaments) and still impact our world today. While few know his name, Enki is an inescapable part of the 21st century.
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Projecting his daunting reputation from the Persian Gulf, Enki, often translated as 'Lord of the Earth', had a penchant for beer and women - female relatives in particular. Despite lapses into being a rakish sot, he managed to be regarded as the god of intelligence, crafts and creation as well. As was the case with most pre-Judaic deities, the gods of ancient Egypt, Greece and Sumer usually possessed both supernatural and human (flawed) characteristics.
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Ultimately, Enki became something of a savior by defeating the nefarious designs of his wicked half-brother Enlil. In a word, Enlil wanted to end the human experiment and unleashed a series of natural disasters (i.e. famine, drought etc.) upon Mesopotamia. Enki responded by educating his people on using effective countermeasures (i.e. irrigation to beat drought) to survive Enlil's onslaught.
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When Enlil discovered that his macabre plans failed to materialize, he called a meeting of the gods (of which he was the king) and decided to flood the world out of existence. When Enki got word of his half-brother's latest machination, he is said to have told a man named Atrahasis to build a vessel large enough to hold out through a deluge. Sound familiar?
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Hence, the notions of a god 'saving' humanity from a dark figure and the world-ending, catastrophic flood depicted in the legends of Enki seem to comprise the roots of later Judeo-Christian history and theological accounts.
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Beyond these stories, it is interesting to note that Enki was often simply referred to as '40', and his number was considered sacred within Sumerian tradition. As '40' appears more often in the Christian Bible than any other number (i.e. Noah's flood lasted for 'forty days and forty nights', Jesus spent forty days fasting in the desert, Forty days passed between Jesus' resurrection and ascension etc.), the Sumerian '40' of Enki still lives on at least two widely practiced religions today.
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Hopefully, scholars will be able to make further progress in linking the intellectual and theological currents of Sumer and Ancient Egypt to Judaism and Christianity. In the meantime, students of history, religion and archaeology should continue to delve into the world of the first civilization - Sumer - where '40' never looked so good.
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(Pictograph: Enki - with the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers coming out of his shoulders respectively. Enki was also known as the 'God of Replenishment')
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J Roquen
City Cottage Designs
Identity design and promotional materials for City Cottage, a company specialising in self sufficiency courses.
