So it's Wednesday, middle of the week, beginning of the slide into the weekend. Yay!
Except for one simple fact: the day simply will not proceed at anything resembling a decent pace. So inconsiderate, right? I mean, Monday and Tuesday at least had the decency to move along at something resembling a rate of 1 second per second, but it seems like today doesn't want to do that.
I wish I had something resembling an idea of why time seems to flow differently like this. I know that it's a human perception thing, of course time isn't actually going slower today just to spite me. But there are certainly factors leading to that perception that I don't know about, much less how to avoid and/or harness them to my satisfaction.
Maybe part of it is the simple act of observation. I mean, how much longer do the days seem as an adult rather than when we were kids? Some days seemed to go by so quick when I was spending time out playing with my friends, and now I'm here in an office, waiting on the next order to come down so I can process it all and the clock just seems to refuse to tick over.
Of course, on a larger scale the reverse seems true, too. It seems like I've only been married a few weeks, but it was nearly a year ago. I wish I could slow down my time with her, rather than speeding headlong into the future.
But, if I could control time, you'd have to call me The Doctor. And I don't have a TARDIS.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Tau Empire Experiences
Quick note to start off: got a new From the Factory Floor posted last night with a lot of upcoming July and August releases, so go and take a look!
So before my little hiatus, I had posted this about my experiences with the new Tau Empire codex. I've gotten a few more games in since then, and thought I'd update what I've discovered thus far.
First off, let's follow up with the previous point I made about the Riptide. The Riptide with Ion Cannon has some issues, but they are more than worth the points you pay for it. Almost simply by fielding a weapon that wounds MEQ and pens their armor, you have a high-threat platform, and when you add in the Nova Charge blast setting granting a Str 9 Ordnance blast, you have a strong anti-tank platform. However, this last is unreliable in most instances especially against high armor vehicles, though I've had some success against them with it. Of course, it's also worth noting that the thing is a Monstrous Creature, so it can make a melee strike at Str 10, AP 2, though I haven't had a chance to try it yet. Markerlights are a must (but then again, where aren't they in this codex?), but the Riptide is paying off.
The shift away from the almighty Railgun is telling in this edition. AV12 is now a difficult proposition for most armies, and while Tau have it better than most armies in this regard, it's not easy street by any stretch. While we can get Str 7 in abundance, glancing on 5+ isn't reliable enough to deal with an AV12 wall quickly and effectively, which Eldar can do easily without sacrificing any shooting power at all (in fact, it may even have more firepower that way than in a more balanced list!). Unfortunately, the Heavy Rail Rifle broadside is too specialized to really be useful in other situations, leaving most players trying to send waves of missiles at the enemy and hope to do enough damage.
Speaking of railguns, I enjoy using Longstrike in a Hammerhead, though I have had to cut him recently. A BS5 railgun with preferred enemy against Imperial Guard and Tank Hunter means that the Leman Russ is a goner when it shows up, but it's also incredibly useful against, say, the Vendetta with a touch of markerlight support, though my favorite is to give him Submunition rounds and watch the blobs of infantry disappear. He's fun and relatively cheap for what he brings, but I found myself cutting him due to other constraints of my list.
The Crisis suit is still king. Combining good firepower with a resilient body and mobility is just a winning combination. I've had them prove their worth multiple times, including most recently where one unit soaked up most of my opponent's firepower for a turn and a half before being eliminated and leaving the rest of my army unscathed. Outside of specific situations or list types, I really don't see Stealth teams being useful enough to steal a spot from the Crisis teams, though that still leaves both Crisis and Riptides competing for your elite spots.
To wrap up, I will note that these past few games I played reinforce my belief that an Ethereal is more than worth it these days. He's just got so much utility for a minimal investment that, so long as I'm running Fire Warriors, he'll most likely be in there. And I always run Fire Warriors.
So before my little hiatus, I had posted this about my experiences with the new Tau Empire codex. I've gotten a few more games in since then, and thought I'd update what I've discovered thus far.
First off, let's follow up with the previous point I made about the Riptide. The Riptide with Ion Cannon has some issues, but they are more than worth the points you pay for it. Almost simply by fielding a weapon that wounds MEQ and pens their armor, you have a high-threat platform, and when you add in the Nova Charge blast setting granting a Str 9 Ordnance blast, you have a strong anti-tank platform. However, this last is unreliable in most instances especially against high armor vehicles, though I've had some success against them with it. Of course, it's also worth noting that the thing is a Monstrous Creature, so it can make a melee strike at Str 10, AP 2, though I haven't had a chance to try it yet. Markerlights are a must (but then again, where aren't they in this codex?), but the Riptide is paying off.
The shift away from the almighty Railgun is telling in this edition. AV12 is now a difficult proposition for most armies, and while Tau have it better than most armies in this regard, it's not easy street by any stretch. While we can get Str 7 in abundance, glancing on 5+ isn't reliable enough to deal with an AV12 wall quickly and effectively, which Eldar can do easily without sacrificing any shooting power at all (in fact, it may even have more firepower that way than in a more balanced list!). Unfortunately, the Heavy Rail Rifle broadside is too specialized to really be useful in other situations, leaving most players trying to send waves of missiles at the enemy and hope to do enough damage.
Speaking of railguns, I enjoy using Longstrike in a Hammerhead, though I have had to cut him recently. A BS5 railgun with preferred enemy against Imperial Guard and Tank Hunter means that the Leman Russ is a goner when it shows up, but it's also incredibly useful against, say, the Vendetta with a touch of markerlight support, though my favorite is to give him Submunition rounds and watch the blobs of infantry disappear. He's fun and relatively cheap for what he brings, but I found myself cutting him due to other constraints of my list.
The Crisis suit is still king. Combining good firepower with a resilient body and mobility is just a winning combination. I've had them prove their worth multiple times, including most recently where one unit soaked up most of my opponent's firepower for a turn and a half before being eliminated and leaving the rest of my army unscathed. Outside of specific situations or list types, I really don't see Stealth teams being useful enough to steal a spot from the Crisis teams, though that still leaves both Crisis and Riptides competing for your elite spots.
To wrap up, I will note that these past few games I played reinforce my belief that an Ethereal is more than worth it these days. He's just got so much utility for a minimal investment that, so long as I'm running Fire Warriors, he'll most likely be in there. And I always run Fire Warriors.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Distractions
So, it's been a little while. I'm an awful writer, I know, no need in reminding me.
Those of you who are still here may remember my posts about worry, and how it came to an end when I got a new job. It's been fantastic and I'm loving it. However, it's changed my routine up quite a bit, leaving me without the swathes of time to kill I had at my old job. Meaning, of course, that I tend to ignore writing here in favor of other tasks.
However, I now seek to change this once more.
So, should all go according to plan (yes, I know, things never do), I'll be bringing you more blog posts as the weeks develop. Hopefully I can pick up my later this week and continue on with those, and maybe bring some other things into the mix. So, all that to say simply "watch this space" and we'll try and get things back on track.
Those of you who are still here may remember my posts about worry, and how it came to an end when I got a new job. It's been fantastic and I'm loving it. However, it's changed my routine up quite a bit, leaving me without the swathes of time to kill I had at my old job. Meaning, of course, that I tend to ignore writing here in favor of other tasks.
However, I now seek to change this once more.
So, should all go according to plan (yes, I know, things never do), I'll be bringing you more blog posts as the weeks develop. Hopefully I can pick up my later this week and continue on with those, and maybe bring some other things into the mix. So, all that to say simply "watch this space" and we'll try and get things back on track.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Dreams
Let's start with a single statement of the obvious: dreams are weird. I think we can all agree on that one. I mean, half the time you're falling from an infinite height into an eternal abyss, the other half you're standing naked in your high school speech class, am I right?
Of course, that's a gross simplification. Emphasis possibly on gross. I mean, most people don't remember many of their dreams. I know I don't. I can count the dreams I recall from my 26 years of life on one hand. Now, one was when I was a kid and just kinda strange (features Droopy the Dog and the house from Casper the Friendly Ghost - please, don't ask; I was five).
One, and probably the most disappointing, was one of those half-awake dreams, and I recall vividly watching a brand new episode of Firefly, possibly from the second season. Unfortunately, there are no new episodes of Firefly, much less a season 2, and I couldn't remember what the plot was about after I got up. Still gets me a little sad thinking about it...
The other two, however, were more significant. Each one gave me a touch of insight into my relationship with my now wife. I won't go into any details here, but I remember each one as if I lived it, even in their strange details - one took place at UAH, but the building was the church I went to back home - and learned some important things that helped me not long afterwards.
So when, this morning, I woke up suddenly to my alarm, remembering only that I'd had a very vivid dream but not having any of the content, I was a tad frustrated. Because dreams are more than just strange visions of your subconcious (though they can be that at times). They are important ways you can learn more about the world you live in, and how you should relate to it.
Of course, that's a gross simplification. Emphasis possibly on gross. I mean, most people don't remember many of their dreams. I know I don't. I can count the dreams I recall from my 26 years of life on one hand. Now, one was when I was a kid and just kinda strange (features Droopy the Dog and the house from Casper the Friendly Ghost - please, don't ask; I was five).
One, and probably the most disappointing, was one of those half-awake dreams, and I recall vividly watching a brand new episode of Firefly, possibly from the second season. Unfortunately, there are no new episodes of Firefly, much less a season 2, and I couldn't remember what the plot was about after I got up. Still gets me a little sad thinking about it...
The other two, however, were more significant. Each one gave me a touch of insight into my relationship with my now wife. I won't go into any details here, but I remember each one as if I lived it, even in their strange details - one took place at UAH, but the building was the church I went to back home - and learned some important things that helped me not long afterwards.
So when, this morning, I woke up suddenly to my alarm, remembering only that I'd had a very vivid dream but not having any of the content, I was a tad frustrated. Because dreams are more than just strange visions of your subconcious (though they can be that at times). They are important ways you can learn more about the world you live in, and how you should relate to it.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Fiction Fridays: Book Review: Prospero Burns
So, yesterday I finished a second readthrough of Dan Abnett's book Prospero Burns, part of the Horus Heresy series of books from Black Library. Set in the background of the Warhammer 40k universe, these books delve into the rich history crafted for the game, expanding upon it and showing us how we got to the grim darkness that we know and love.
Prospero Burns is actually part of a duology, a companion book to Graham McNeill's A Thousand Sons. Both tell a single story from two different sides, that story being the Scouring of Prospero. Prospero is the homeworld of the Thousand Sons Legion, an Astartes force which is able, to a man, to manifest psychic powers to such an extent that people believe it to be sorcery. In A Thousand Sons, and in fact from the known facts of the Warhammer world, we know that they have indeed delved into true sorcery, especially their Primarch Magnus the Red. As such, they are censured by the Emperor, who forbids them from practicing their magics again, and when they break that pledge the Wolves of Fenris are unleashed upon them.
This half of the story is what is told in Prospero Burns. We learn about the Space Wolves Legion and how they operate as a force. The Heresy-era Wolves are incredibly different from their more modern counterparts. Where modern Space Wolves are seen as boisterous and amicable by the normal humans of the Imperium, the older force is an object of fear and terror to much of the fledgling Imperium, and even see themselves as the Emperor's Executioners. The fact that we get to see all of this through the human eyes of Kasper Hawser allows us to see the fear, but also we're allowed to get close to them and see the Rout, as they call themselves, at rest.
Abnett has always been most at home writing the 40k world through merely human eyes. Not to say that he can't write Astartes, but he has had quite a bit of experience writing the human perspective with his Gaunt's Ghosts series. This book is yet another example of how well he can write, as the main character goes through monumental changes through the book. As he becomes more and more a part of the Rout, we can see his mindset changing bit by bit, going from the aloof researcher he wanted to be at the start, to becoming the skald of Tra, a historian and storyteller to one of the Great Companies of the Rout and truly a member of them, even to the extent that the last portion of the book, which actually details the attack on Prospero itself, is told in first person as if he is telling the story to the company.
One of my favorite portions, and I will mention that there are going to be minor spoilers at this point, is how he used a single portion of text, repeated over and over, to great effect. Kasper's memories have been messed with, which is part of why he came to Fenris to study the Rout in the first place. Over much of the book, we see portions of his memory and life before he came to Fenris, but there is one memory that Kasper sees in his dreams. We see this memory multiple times, each time he wakes before it finishes, before he can turn around and see who is behind him. But each time is subtly different, until finally it features prominently in the last battle, though I won't add anymore for fear of great spoilers. Oh, and spoilers done.
All in all, Prospero Burns is a fantastic novel, and is a must for any fan of the Warhammer 40k setting. Like all good stories, it surprises us, not only with the plot points (some designed to mislead, especially those leading to the ending), but also with the exploration of who some of these organizations are. The Astartes are all shrouded in enigma for various reasons, and like much of the Horus Heresy series, this one is devoted to shedding some light upon these warriors we love to play with on the tabletop.
Prospero Burns is actually part of a duology, a companion book to Graham McNeill's A Thousand Sons. Both tell a single story from two different sides, that story being the Scouring of Prospero. Prospero is the homeworld of the Thousand Sons Legion, an Astartes force which is able, to a man, to manifest psychic powers to such an extent that people believe it to be sorcery. In A Thousand Sons, and in fact from the known facts of the Warhammer world, we know that they have indeed delved into true sorcery, especially their Primarch Magnus the Red. As such, they are censured by the Emperor, who forbids them from practicing their magics again, and when they break that pledge the Wolves of Fenris are unleashed upon them.
This half of the story is what is told in Prospero Burns. We learn about the Space Wolves Legion and how they operate as a force. The Heresy-era Wolves are incredibly different from their more modern counterparts. Where modern Space Wolves are seen as boisterous and amicable by the normal humans of the Imperium, the older force is an object of fear and terror to much of the fledgling Imperium, and even see themselves as the Emperor's Executioners. The fact that we get to see all of this through the human eyes of Kasper Hawser allows us to see the fear, but also we're allowed to get close to them and see the Rout, as they call themselves, at rest.
Abnett has always been most at home writing the 40k world through merely human eyes. Not to say that he can't write Astartes, but he has had quite a bit of experience writing the human perspective with his Gaunt's Ghosts series. This book is yet another example of how well he can write, as the main character goes through monumental changes through the book. As he becomes more and more a part of the Rout, we can see his mindset changing bit by bit, going from the aloof researcher he wanted to be at the start, to becoming the skald of Tra, a historian and storyteller to one of the Great Companies of the Rout and truly a member of them, even to the extent that the last portion of the book, which actually details the attack on Prospero itself, is told in first person as if he is telling the story to the company.
One of my favorite portions, and I will mention that there are going to be minor spoilers at this point, is how he used a single portion of text, repeated over and over, to great effect. Kasper's memories have been messed with, which is part of why he came to Fenris to study the Rout in the first place. Over much of the book, we see portions of his memory and life before he came to Fenris, but there is one memory that Kasper sees in his dreams. We see this memory multiple times, each time he wakes before it finishes, before he can turn around and see who is behind him. But each time is subtly different, until finally it features prominently in the last battle, though I won't add anymore for fear of great spoilers. Oh, and spoilers done.
All in all, Prospero Burns is a fantastic novel, and is a must for any fan of the Warhammer 40k setting. Like all good stories, it surprises us, not only with the plot points (some designed to mislead, especially those leading to the ending), but also with the exploration of who some of these organizations are. The Astartes are all shrouded in enigma for various reasons, and like much of the Horus Heresy series, this one is devoted to shedding some light upon these warriors we love to play with on the tabletop.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Thankful Thursday: Books
I like to read.
Just so we're clear, that last sentence is an understatement on the same scale as "Space is kinda big." Just ask my wife, who has banned me from getting another bookcase for a while.
Now, we're living in the age of eReaders and tablets, letting us get our books in digital form, but personally, I'm not a big fan of them. Sure, they're great for portability, there are some pretty amazing things being done with reference material in eBooks because you can include cross-references and updates to books that you just can't get with a hard copy. But I want the hard copy. There is simply something about holding the book in your hand, the feel of the page, the words on paper rather than yet another screen. I spend a lot of time staring at computer screens, I'd rather not do so to read a book, too.
When I'm reading a good book in a quiet room, I'm rarely if ever thinking about the room I'm in. Instead, I'm far away and loving it. I have been a voracious reader for most of my life, from early elementary school on through today. I mean, I ran out of books to read for class in middle school and had to work with the librarian to make up tests for other books simply so I could complete my assignments.
Whether classic authors like Orwell or more modern authors like Butcher or Abnett, I've enjoyed all sorts of books, though I'll be the first to admit I lean heavily towards fantasy and science fiction. There have been days when a good book is all that got me through the day, and you'll hardly ever find me without something to read.
Books are amazing things, and I couldn't imagine what life would be like without them.
Just so we're clear, that last sentence is an understatement on the same scale as "Space is kinda big." Just ask my wife, who has banned me from getting another bookcase for a while.
Now, we're living in the age of eReaders and tablets, letting us get our books in digital form, but personally, I'm not a big fan of them. Sure, they're great for portability, there are some pretty amazing things being done with reference material in eBooks because you can include cross-references and updates to books that you just can't get with a hard copy. But I want the hard copy. There is simply something about holding the book in your hand, the feel of the page, the words on paper rather than yet another screen. I spend a lot of time staring at computer screens, I'd rather not do so to read a book, too.
When I'm reading a good book in a quiet room, I'm rarely if ever thinking about the room I'm in. Instead, I'm far away and loving it. I have been a voracious reader for most of my life, from early elementary school on through today. I mean, I ran out of books to read for class in middle school and had to work with the librarian to make up tests for other books simply so I could complete my assignments.
Whether classic authors like Orwell or more modern authors like Butcher or Abnett, I've enjoyed all sorts of books, though I'll be the first to admit I lean heavily towards fantasy and science fiction. There have been days when a good book is all that got me through the day, and you'll hardly ever find me without something to read.
Books are amazing things, and I couldn't imagine what life would be like without them.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Thoughts and Impressions from the Tau Empire
First off: I posted a new video on YouTube! Called the Strategy Guide, it should be the first in a monthly series of videos trying to give tips to intermediate level tabletop players, learning to apply higher-order skills than just the basic rules. Go check it out, I did the voice over for it this month and even show up in a shot! Check it out if you've got five minutes.
Anyway, I finally got in a game with my new Tau, and have to say I was duly impressed with them when I finally got a few things down with them. Not everything worked as intended, though, and so we'll give the rundown here, in no particular order, of the things I have learned thus far.
Anyway, I finally got in a game with my new Tau, and have to say I was duly impressed with them when I finally got a few things down with them. Not everything worked as intended, though, and so we'll give the rundown here, in no particular order, of the things I have learned thus far.
- The Riptide has to be shepherded closely. Using the Ion Accelerator, I managed to kill precisely nothing with this model across the four turns of the game. Twice he burned himself with his own weapon, despite having to roll two 1's in a row to do that. The other two shots scattered so wildly that it was more than a little rediculous; fortunately, he didn't hit my own troops with those either. He obviously either needs to just fire the normal mode or switch to the burst cannon option, but more testing is required to see if the model is truly cursed.
- Markerlights are AMAZING when used in close concert with your men. I managed to destroy a Razorback, a combat squad and Ulrik the Slayer with only a few units because of markerlights boosting ballistic skill and the high rate of fire offered by burst cannons and Ethereal backed Fire Warriors (more on that in a minute). It's a touch tricky getting the order down right on how to fire all your markers, though, so I still need to work on my shooting order and target priority.
- Related to the markerlight note, the two flyers in this codex simply aren't worth it. They are nice little planes and have good abilities, but they compete for spots in the army with Pathfinders, which are the primary way to get markerlights in the army. Were there a way to make Pathfinders troops, we would likely see the flyers hit the table, but as it stands the opportunity cost is simply too high on them.
- Ethereals are fantastic for what they cost. 50 points nets you a 12" Ld 10 bubble to anchor your firing line with and confers Stubborn to the unit he's attached to, which are both nice abilities in and of themselves. However, he also has his Invocation of the Elements ability, which is simply amazing. I used it to good effect in this Relic game, allowing a Fire Warrior squad to move forward towards the objective, and then run and still snap fire (which my markerlights made back into normal or better shooting), getting to the objective first. Then as the eneemy closed in I could increase the output of my Fire Warriors by 50%, mopping up squads with relative ease. Definitely worth it.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Thankful Friday: CAD modelling
Okay, first off: I don't have a good excuse for missing yesterday's post. I was sleepy and couldn't concentrate on the screen in the morning, and was watching severe weather in the afternoon and evening. But here we are, so we won't worry too much about it.
Anyway, this time I'm thankful for something a little more frivolous than previous posts. Y'see, with as many models as I build, you get to know which ones are good sculpts, and which ones are bad sculpts. A bad sculpt is painful to try and get together. The pieces don't fit quite right, they come from the manufacturer warped, or sometimes even with a pristine kit, the parts just don't do what they're designed to do.
Space Marine Land Speeder, I'm looking at you here.
However, the kit I built yesterday while watching that severe weather (don't judge me, I needed something to take my mind off it) was a joy to work with. The new Tau XV109 Riptide suit is an absolute dream. Each segment - lower legs, upper legs, upper and lower arms - was individual and poseable. All I had to do was snip a couple of small support studs - which the instructions themselves recommended to be cut if you wanted to pose it like I did - and I got this thing to look amazing.
Now, GW has been using a computer aided design or CAD tool for the past several years to help design their new models, and I think this kit exemplifies what can be done with them. It was just amazing, and I can't wait to take this giant model out onto the field.
Anyway, this time I'm thankful for something a little more frivolous than previous posts. Y'see, with as many models as I build, you get to know which ones are good sculpts, and which ones are bad sculpts. A bad sculpt is painful to try and get together. The pieces don't fit quite right, they come from the manufacturer warped, or sometimes even with a pristine kit, the parts just don't do what they're designed to do.
Space Marine Land Speeder, I'm looking at you here.
However, the kit I built yesterday while watching that severe weather (don't judge me, I needed something to take my mind off it) was a joy to work with. The new Tau XV109 Riptide suit is an absolute dream. Each segment - lower legs, upper legs, upper and lower arms - was individual and poseable. All I had to do was snip a couple of small support studs - which the instructions themselves recommended to be cut if you wanted to pose it like I did - and I got this thing to look amazing.
Now, GW has been using a computer aided design or CAD tool for the past several years to help design their new models, and I think this kit exemplifies what can be done with them. It was just amazing, and I can't wait to take this giant model out onto the field.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Follow-up: Worry isn't worth it
So, yesterday I wrote a post about worry, and job interviews, and all that jazz. Well, first off, the Lord does work in His own ways and time, and I now have a new job! Was quite amazed and a little shocked at how fast it all happened, feels a little like a dream, but it really happened.
Which brings me to my point: all that worrying I did last week was for nothing. I was so worried that the other job would take me away from things I felt I needed to do, from things I wanted to do, and it turned out not to matter. I knew the other job would give me and Alicia more in the way of financial security, and it would have given me a little more downtime to recover, but the trade-off was just too great in my mind, which is what was making me fret over it.
But now, none of that is an issue. I truly believe the Lord was with me through it all. I was so much more confident during the interview itself, I actually didn't worry about it beforehand much. And I was hired literally less than an hour after the interview was over. I was just so blessed through the entire process that it had to be the Lord's hand involved.
So, the biggest point is: what did I learn? I learned that worry doesn't change anything, and when looks like my best option is horrible, there just may be a better one coming along the pipeline. Patience may be hard, but there's a reason why it's a virtue.
Which brings me to my point: all that worrying I did last week was for nothing. I was so worried that the other job would take me away from things I felt I needed to do, from things I wanted to do, and it turned out not to matter. I knew the other job would give me and Alicia more in the way of financial security, and it would have given me a little more downtime to recover, but the trade-off was just too great in my mind, which is what was making me fret over it.
But now, none of that is an issue. I truly believe the Lord was with me through it all. I was so much more confident during the interview itself, I actually didn't worry about it beforehand much. And I was hired literally less than an hour after the interview was over. I was just so blessed through the entire process that it had to be the Lord's hand involved.
So, the biggest point is: what did I learn? I learned that worry doesn't change anything, and when looks like my best option is horrible, there just may be a better one coming along the pipeline. Patience may be hard, but there's a reason why it's a virtue.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
I Worry Too Much...
Does anyone else hate interviews? I know I do. I've got another one today that I think is for an even better job than last week's was. Does it have it's own issues? Of course, but I think it would be better for me long term.
But to come to the point: I worry about it. I chalk it up to the fact that I think too much. Whenever something comes up, I always analyze it, try and figure out possible outcomes and how it could affect how I live my life, those around me, what have you. And, as is possibly inevitable, those scenarios are usually decently grim.
I try and be a positive person. I let the bad things roll off my shoulders whenever possible. But when I'm coming up to a big decision point - like a job interview - all I'm able to do is think and ponder and worry about it.
And that really, really bites.
Yesterday, I posted Proverbs 12:25 on my Facebook page: "Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up." Two days before, I posted a very similar passage from Luke 12. You'd think that, with all the Bible has to say about worry - in a word: don't - I'd be able to move past it. And I'm trying to, I really am.
But for now, all I can do is pray that what should be will be, and try and turn my mind off for a while. So glad that I have absolutely no downtime at my current job... wait a minute... ;)
Time to work on some more Tau lists...
But to come to the point: I worry about it. I chalk it up to the fact that I think too much. Whenever something comes up, I always analyze it, try and figure out possible outcomes and how it could affect how I live my life, those around me, what have you. And, as is possibly inevitable, those scenarios are usually decently grim.
I try and be a positive person. I let the bad things roll off my shoulders whenever possible. But when I'm coming up to a big decision point - like a job interview - all I'm able to do is think and ponder and worry about it.
And that really, really bites.
Yesterday, I posted Proverbs 12:25 on my Facebook page: "Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up." Two days before, I posted a very similar passage from Luke 12. You'd think that, with all the Bible has to say about worry - in a word: don't - I'd be able to move past it. And I'm trying to, I really am.
But for now, all I can do is pray that what should be will be, and try and turn my mind off for a while. So glad that I have absolutely no downtime at my current job... wait a minute... ;)
Time to work on some more Tau lists...
Monday, April 8, 2013
Putting Words in Your Mouth
So, I'm trying to get back to doing videos for my local gaming store, the Foundry. I did them for a long while this past fall (you can find them here) pertaining to gaming news across multiple gaming systems, such as Warhammer, Malifaux, and Flames of War, but due to work issues I stopped doing them.
When you work at 4 AM, staying up late to film a video doesn't really become high on your priority list.
But now that I'm mostly settled in, I'm trying to get back to it because I really enjoyed it. Rather than the biweekly pace I did before (when I was unemployed), I plan on doing bi-monthly videos instead so I can hopefully keep on track rather than slipping behind. However, I'm only going to do one news broadcast because, lets face it, unless I cover absolutely every company invovled in tabletop gaming, I'm not going to have enough info for a broadcast twice monthly. And since I'm doing this for a local scene, I'd rather cover what we care about rather than just adding info no one will care about.
So, to take up the slack, I'm going to start covering the finer points of tactics as taught by the masters. By masters, I don't mean top players, I'm going straight to the source: Sun-Tzu, Clauswitz, etc. While they talk about warfare on usually a much larger scale than these games are able to cover, the principles they teach are still incredibly useful.
It looks to be a lot of fun, and for this first one I'll be talking about flexibility and multi-role capability, both on the strategic and tactical scales. Got the script mostly written last night (just needs some tuning), and I hope to have it filmed and online by next Monday. Now, to figure out who to use to voice the video...
When you work at 4 AM, staying up late to film a video doesn't really become high on your priority list.
But now that I'm mostly settled in, I'm trying to get back to it because I really enjoyed it. Rather than the biweekly pace I did before (when I was unemployed), I plan on doing bi-monthly videos instead so I can hopefully keep on track rather than slipping behind. However, I'm only going to do one news broadcast because, lets face it, unless I cover absolutely every company invovled in tabletop gaming, I'm not going to have enough info for a broadcast twice monthly. And since I'm doing this for a local scene, I'd rather cover what we care about rather than just adding info no one will care about.
So, to take up the slack, I'm going to start covering the finer points of tactics as taught by the masters. By masters, I don't mean top players, I'm going straight to the source: Sun-Tzu, Clauswitz, etc. While they talk about warfare on usually a much larger scale than these games are able to cover, the principles they teach are still incredibly useful.
It looks to be a lot of fun, and for this first one I'll be talking about flexibility and multi-role capability, both on the strategic and tactical scales. Got the script mostly written last night (just needs some tuning), and I hope to have it filmed and online by next Monday. Now, to figure out who to use to voice the video...
Friday, April 5, 2013
343rd RRC: My Tau Army in Pictures
Better late than never, right? Sorry it's taken so long, but I finally got the pictures done and uploaded, and so here we are. I know I'm no master painter, and my army definitely isn't Golden Daemon worthy, but for what it's worth here we are: the 343rd Rapid Response Cadre, such as it currently stands.
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| Fire Warrior squad A with their Devilfish |
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| Shas'ui Yos'srin with his Dreadnought trophy |
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| Close up on the Devilfish for squad A |
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| Fire Warrior squad B with their own Devilfish |
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| Squad B's Devilfish |
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| Shas'ui Guid'vel with his Land Speeder trophy |
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| Fire Warrior squad C with Devilfish |
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| Squad C's Devilfish; slightly different camo colors |
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| Fire Warrior squad D with Devilfish |
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| Squad D's Devilfish is still in someone else's paint scheme :S |
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| Fire Warrior squad E; these last two do have Devilfish, but they're unpainted still |
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| ...and Fire Warrior squad F. Yes, there are 60 of the dudes. And I have 12 more I could still paint! |
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| Pathfinder Team 1; 10 man with 3 rail rifles |
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| Pathfinder Team 2; 8 man |
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| My XV15 stealth suits; have 3 more unpainted. |
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| XV25 stealth suits; prefer the 15's, so these are all I have of them |
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| Hammerhead 'Mjolnir' with two weapon options |
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| Hammerhead 'Amo-no-nuboko' with two weapon options |
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| and the Hammerhead 'Excalibur' with just the Rail Cannon, though I have another Ion Cannon I can still build |
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| My collection of painted XV8 Crisis suits; a few more lurk in my bits I could use |
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| Close up of my XV8 commander; the shield has the unit colors and the text reads '343 Recon', the old unit name |
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| My four XV88 Broadsides; one still in someone else's paint scheme |
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| Close up of my most heavily converted; still haven't finished the paintwork |
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| Shas'O R'myr from Forge World; using it as my Crisis Commander |
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| and last but not least, the Ethereal Aun'Shi |
Fiction Fridays: Tau
So here we come to another Fiction Friday! Again, we're on our Tau kick this week, so we'll keep with the theme and let's try and make some background for my Tau army, shall we?
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The 343rd Rapid Response Cadre served along the forefront of the Third Sphere expansion of the Tau Empire. Hailing from the Sa'cea sept worlds and bringing the martial tradition of their world to the new colonies, the members of this Cadre have fought in numerous engagements across numerous worlds.
Several times the cadre engaged against the forces of the Imperium's Space Marines, from numerous chapters as they sought to stop the Tau's expansion. Several warriors distinguished themselves in these engagements, such as Shas'la Guid'vel who managed to intercept and destroy a Land Speeder which was making its attack run on another squad of Fire Warriors despite the rest of his squad having been scattered by an incoming hail of bolter fire. Another, Shas'la Yos'srin, had his unit charged by one of the Astartes battlesuits called Dreadnoughts. Maneuvering behind it in the heat of battle, he was able to place a precisely aimed pulse round in its reactor core and destroyed it. Both were promoted for their heroism.
Their Shas'el, Commander Darksight, distinguished himself against the Dark Eldar. Attempting to defend a resupply post being struck by a corsair raid, Darksight found himself and his bodyguard attacked by numerous eldar upon skyboards. One, later determined to be the enemy commander, came towards Darksight in the blink of an eye, and so he was forced to fight at short range. The honorless enemy was utilizing chemical enhancements to boost his already considerable combat prowess, and seeing an opportunity Darksight ripped the control mechanism from the enemy's body. Possibly by blind luck, the drugs began to cascade into the eldar's body, killing him instantly. Their leader dead, the remainder of the Eldar vanished back into the night from whence they came.
When the Tau took control of the Imperial-held world of Taros, the 343rd served proudly, rushing from engagement to engagement as needed. Their most notable battle was against the Elysian Drop Troops attempting to take control of the capitol's water supply, coming in at the forefront of that attack. Despite heavy casualties, it was the 343rd that finished off the ill-advised attack.
After a layover on Sa'cea itself for rebuilding and retraining, a new Shas'el took over command of the Cadre, known as Commander Longstride. Favoring manouvre and rapid strike tactics even moreso than most Fire Caste do, he removed some of the more static elements of the force and retasked others, relying on his Hammerhead Gunships and Razorshark Fighters for anti-armour fighting, while his few remaining Broadsides took over as anti-air. He was also assigned one of the new XV-104 Riptide suits, and assigned it to one of his most senior pilots.
So far the rebuilt 343rd remains untested. However, while the 3rd Sphere Expansion may have halted temporarily, rest assured that it will start up again soon, and the 343rd will be there at the forefront. Whether at a new world, or in the defense of old holdings, they will do their duty.
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The 343rd Rapid Response Cadre served along the forefront of the Third Sphere expansion of the Tau Empire. Hailing from the Sa'cea sept worlds and bringing the martial tradition of their world to the new colonies, the members of this Cadre have fought in numerous engagements across numerous worlds.
Several times the cadre engaged against the forces of the Imperium's Space Marines, from numerous chapters as they sought to stop the Tau's expansion. Several warriors distinguished themselves in these engagements, such as Shas'la Guid'vel who managed to intercept and destroy a Land Speeder which was making its attack run on another squad of Fire Warriors despite the rest of his squad having been scattered by an incoming hail of bolter fire. Another, Shas'la Yos'srin, had his unit charged by one of the Astartes battlesuits called Dreadnoughts. Maneuvering behind it in the heat of battle, he was able to place a precisely aimed pulse round in its reactor core and destroyed it. Both were promoted for their heroism.
Their Shas'el, Commander Darksight, distinguished himself against the Dark Eldar. Attempting to defend a resupply post being struck by a corsair raid, Darksight found himself and his bodyguard attacked by numerous eldar upon skyboards. One, later determined to be the enemy commander, came towards Darksight in the blink of an eye, and so he was forced to fight at short range. The honorless enemy was utilizing chemical enhancements to boost his already considerable combat prowess, and seeing an opportunity Darksight ripped the control mechanism from the enemy's body. Possibly by blind luck, the drugs began to cascade into the eldar's body, killing him instantly. Their leader dead, the remainder of the Eldar vanished back into the night from whence they came.
When the Tau took control of the Imperial-held world of Taros, the 343rd served proudly, rushing from engagement to engagement as needed. Their most notable battle was against the Elysian Drop Troops attempting to take control of the capitol's water supply, coming in at the forefront of that attack. Despite heavy casualties, it was the 343rd that finished off the ill-advised attack.
After a layover on Sa'cea itself for rebuilding and retraining, a new Shas'el took over command of the Cadre, known as Commander Longstride. Favoring manouvre and rapid strike tactics even moreso than most Fire Caste do, he removed some of the more static elements of the force and retasked others, relying on his Hammerhead Gunships and Razorshark Fighters for anti-armour fighting, while his few remaining Broadsides took over as anti-air. He was also assigned one of the new XV-104 Riptide suits, and assigned it to one of his most senior pilots.
So far the rebuilt 343rd remains untested. However, while the 3rd Sphere Expansion may have halted temporarily, rest assured that it will start up again soon, and the 343rd will be there at the forefront. Whether at a new world, or in the defense of old holdings, they will do their duty.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Thankful Thursday: Opportunity Knockin'
First off, an editor's note: I had every intention of doing a post with army pictures yesterday, but was unable to do so due to other commitments and the need to actually be rested before a job interview today. So many apologies, but I shall get that post completed this afternoon if all goes well.
So, speaking of that job interview we come to my weekly Thankful Thursday, where today it's gotta be Opportunity. Y'see, I work in the television industry. You may think "Oh, wow, you're on TV? That must be so awesome and give you a great paycheck!"
You'd be wrong. Very wrong.
I work on the production side, doing the morning shift at a local tv station. So what I get instead are long hours, odd hours, stressful moments of sheer terror when things don't quite go as planned, and a dismal paycheck as a reward. But television is something I've always wanted to do, something that I enjoy. I find it rewarding to put a production together, and when it comes together successfully.
I've volunteered with the television ministry at local churches wherever I've been since I was in middle school, and that's where I picked up the bug. Being a part of something like that is an amazing thing, being able to send the service out across the air to wherever it may need to go, to whomever needs to hear it. And to be honest, media ministry is where my heart lies, but working in tv news is great training, discovering what it takes to make a truly exceptional broadcast day in and day out.
Now, because of that dismal paycheck, I wouldn't be able to do this if I was living on my own. But my wife is an amazing woman as I've already discussed, and we make do like we are now. I don't know how we do it, but she's keeping the books in order and making sure we don't starve. I know it's stressful on her, and I don't thank her enough for it, but she's letting me pursue my dreams, and so I really need to thank her again when I get home.
But now I've got an interview for another job here at the station, one that's full time, pays more, gives me benefits, the works. The hours still bite, and it's still not an amazing paycheck, but it's something. Hopefully it's a stepping stone onto something else, or maybe the Lord has something better in mind for later. But for now, I'm simply thankful for the opportunity to try, and for everything He's done to make it happen.
So, speaking of that job interview we come to my weekly Thankful Thursday, where today it's gotta be Opportunity. Y'see, I work in the television industry. You may think "Oh, wow, you're on TV? That must be so awesome and give you a great paycheck!"
You'd be wrong. Very wrong.
I work on the production side, doing the morning shift at a local tv station. So what I get instead are long hours, odd hours, stressful moments of sheer terror when things don't quite go as planned, and a dismal paycheck as a reward. But television is something I've always wanted to do, something that I enjoy. I find it rewarding to put a production together, and when it comes together successfully.
I've volunteered with the television ministry at local churches wherever I've been since I was in middle school, and that's where I picked up the bug. Being a part of something like that is an amazing thing, being able to send the service out across the air to wherever it may need to go, to whomever needs to hear it. And to be honest, media ministry is where my heart lies, but working in tv news is great training, discovering what it takes to make a truly exceptional broadcast day in and day out.
Now, because of that dismal paycheck, I wouldn't be able to do this if I was living on my own. But my wife is an amazing woman as I've already discussed, and we make do like we are now. I don't know how we do it, but she's keeping the books in order and making sure we don't starve. I know it's stressful on her, and I don't thank her enough for it, but she's letting me pursue my dreams, and so I really need to thank her again when I get home.
But now I've got an interview for another job here at the station, one that's full time, pays more, gives me benefits, the works. The hours still bite, and it's still not an amazing paycheck, but it's something. Hopefully it's a stepping stone onto something else, or maybe the Lord has something better in mind for later. But for now, I'm simply thankful for the opportunity to try, and for everything He's done to make it happen.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Release Week!
Because as I kinda mentioned last week, one of my favorite armies, the Tau Empire, release this week. And man, am I excited.
The previous book was released in 2006 (I started playing the next year) at a time when the codicies were mostly just the army lists, a few pages of pictures and maybe a couple pages of fluff, or storyline. So while the Tau race is always described as an energetic and vibrant young species in contrast to the elder human Imperium and the ancient Eldar, comparatively little is known about the Tau culture.
Modern codices, on the other hand, are over a hundred pages, about half of which is fluff. While I expect a decent amount of story that we've already seen in the previous book, I'm looking forward to finally getting to know a little more about the Empire. From what I've heard, there is a large dose of Imperial China and Japan in how they operate, which pleases me to no end.
One key difference, however, is how they fight. While most cultures favor short range, hand-to-hand combat as the more honorable and more dignified, the Tau turn that on its head. They see hand-to-hand as something bestial, a form of combat practiced by animals and those who are more like them. Ranged combat is the preferred method, the method practiced by civilized societies and by honorable men (if you'll forgive the general use of the term).
So like I said, I'm really excited to get the new fluff, in addition to the new rules. Tomorrow, I think I'll take some pictures of my Tau army as it stands now, and post them for you to see. Stay tuned! You'll get to see my painting skills next.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Tactical Concepts
So currently I'm playing my Alpha Legion army for a 40k campaign, though I plan on taking it to tournaments as well. The cornerstone of my army is the special character Huron Blackheart, though I'm personally re-visualizing him as Alpharius, the leader of my warband rather than using the background supplied in the book. But that's not really relevant here.
A lot of people frown on using special characters, and for the most part I would agree. Much of what they do can be done just as well and cheaper by a regular HQ choice. Huron really isn't that great in combat and could be replaced on that score by a Khorne Lord and be cheaper and better. And while some may look at his familiar and the ability to get access to the Divination school of psychic powers as a boon, it's far too random to be useful. Instead, there is a single ability that makes me take him every time.
He comes with the Master of Deception warlord trait standard rather than rolling for it.
Now, there are some really rather decent warlord traits available to Chaos generals, but for my money this has got to be one of the best. At the beginning of each game, I get to designate d3 infantry units as Infiltrators. Now, for an infantry heavy army, d3 may not sound like much, but it's the fact that I get to pick them at the start of the game rather than during listbuilding that makes this so incredible. I offer a quote:
"To know the enemy but not yourself is only halfway to victory. To know yourself but not the enemy is only halfway to victory. To know the enemy and yourself but not the terrain is only halfway to victory. One who knows these things shall not be endangered in a thousand engagements."
By letting me designate my infiltrators after I've seen the enemy and the terrain, I give myself a tactical advantage. Is he bringing heavy tanks? I can designate my Obliterators and site them appropriately. Infantry hordes? I can bring my flamers to bear quickly. Is he running Ravenwing and looking to shove his bikes in my face turn 1? I can put a sacrificial unit forward to buy time to respond.
And then, of course, there are the implications of infiltrate itself, just letting me deploy those units after my opponent finishes his deployment, even if I went first. Did he deploy a major threat in my weak side? I can deploy to strengthen that side and stop his ambitions. Did he deploy forward, hoping to capitalize on a mistake I made? I can try and correct that.
When most people look at infiltrate, they see the rules for how far forward they can place their men. And to be honest, I did too at first, and lost a couple games because of it. Now, while I'm far from being able to really embody the quote above from Sun Tzu, I think that using Huron like this will definitely give me an edge against most opponents, and should make my games a lot closer than they used to be.
Though what I'm going to do against a Necron Air Force I still have no clue.
A lot of people frown on using special characters, and for the most part I would agree. Much of what they do can be done just as well and cheaper by a regular HQ choice. Huron really isn't that great in combat and could be replaced on that score by a Khorne Lord and be cheaper and better. And while some may look at his familiar and the ability to get access to the Divination school of psychic powers as a boon, it's far too random to be useful. Instead, there is a single ability that makes me take him every time.
He comes with the Master of Deception warlord trait standard rather than rolling for it.
Now, there are some really rather decent warlord traits available to Chaos generals, but for my money this has got to be one of the best. At the beginning of each game, I get to designate d3 infantry units as Infiltrators. Now, for an infantry heavy army, d3 may not sound like much, but it's the fact that I get to pick them at the start of the game rather than during listbuilding that makes this so incredible. I offer a quote:
"To know the enemy but not yourself is only halfway to victory. To know yourself but not the enemy is only halfway to victory. To know the enemy and yourself but not the terrain is only halfway to victory. One who knows these things shall not be endangered in a thousand engagements."
By letting me designate my infiltrators after I've seen the enemy and the terrain, I give myself a tactical advantage. Is he bringing heavy tanks? I can designate my Obliterators and site them appropriately. Infantry hordes? I can bring my flamers to bear quickly. Is he running Ravenwing and looking to shove his bikes in my face turn 1? I can put a sacrificial unit forward to buy time to respond.
And then, of course, there are the implications of infiltrate itself, just letting me deploy those units after my opponent finishes his deployment, even if I went first. Did he deploy a major threat in my weak side? I can deploy to strengthen that side and stop his ambitions. Did he deploy forward, hoping to capitalize on a mistake I made? I can try and correct that.
When most people look at infiltrate, they see the rules for how far forward they can place their men. And to be honest, I did too at first, and lost a couple games because of it. Now, while I'm far from being able to really embody the quote above from Sun Tzu, I think that using Huron like this will definitely give me an edge against most opponents, and should make my games a lot closer than they used to be.
Though what I'm going to do against a Necron Air Force I still have no clue.
Saturday, March 30, 2013
What is in a name?
So, I bet some of you are wondering just what's up with the name of the blog. Void Missives? I mean, seriously, how pretentious can I sound, right?
Well, I chose the name for a couple of reasons. First up, I didn't really make the blog for any particular reason other than to try and shake out the mental cobwebs and get me writing for at least a little bit every day. May not be the fiction I'd like, may not be the length I'd like or even the quality, but I just need to actually put some words to the page every day. So Void Missives stands for the fact that I really didn't have any need for someone else to read these: letters (missives) sent out to the void, rather than a person.
Then I also knew that there would be some days when I really didn't have much to say, but I'm trying to say something anyway. Like today, I would guess. So Void Missives covers that another way: letters with no point, and so are void.
And then, because there's always a geeky angle, we come back to Warhammer. Messages sent back and forth between the planets of the Imperium are sent via astropaths, people who connect with each other psychically across the Warp. While it's not canon anywhere I've seen, I thought that Void Missives would be a nice, poetic way to describe the letters sent back and forth between the planets.
And so there you have it. Never just one meaning when three will do, right?
Well, I chose the name for a couple of reasons. First up, I didn't really make the blog for any particular reason other than to try and shake out the mental cobwebs and get me writing for at least a little bit every day. May not be the fiction I'd like, may not be the length I'd like or even the quality, but I just need to actually put some words to the page every day. So Void Missives stands for the fact that I really didn't have any need for someone else to read these: letters (missives) sent out to the void, rather than a person.
Then I also knew that there would be some days when I really didn't have much to say, but I'm trying to say something anyway. Like today, I would guess. So Void Missives covers that another way: letters with no point, and so are void.
And then, because there's always a geeky angle, we come back to Warhammer. Messages sent back and forth between the planets of the Imperium are sent via astropaths, people who connect with each other psychically across the Warp. While it's not canon anywhere I've seen, I thought that Void Missives would be a nice, poetic way to describe the letters sent back and forth between the planets.
And so there you have it. Never just one meaning when three will do, right?
Friday, March 29, 2013
Fiction Fridays: Scene Study
Today I'm gonna give a shot to writing something original. Just a quick scene, nothing too in depth. Hopefully I can get something going with it, but feel free to tell me if I'm failing.
He stood at the window, watching the sun rose across the horizon, the waves crashing against the stone below. Is this what they were watching last? he wondered as he just took in the beauty of it for a moment, trying to dispell the darkness that he knew was behind him.
"Detective?" one of the technicians asked from behind him, breaking the spell. "Is everything alright?"
Jon turned around to look at the young woman. "No, it's not. If everything were alright, after all, I wouldn't be needed here." At the woman's confused look, he forced a smile on his face and set a hand on her shoulder. "But to answer your question: yes, I'm fine. Just woolgathering, is all. Shall we begin, then?"
She nodded, a spark returning to her blue eyes as she led the older man back towards the scene. Her fellow technicians were already photographing and documenting everything, though they had been careful not to move anything as yet. Jon still needed to do his sweep and see what could be found. So he started like he always did: with the bodies. "So what do we know so far?" he asked the girl as he knelt down beside them.
"Two victims, obviously," she said. "Male is one Timothy Dallop, age 23 and owns the apartment. Female is Jennifer Tews, age 21. Doorman remembers seeing them both come in last night, ID'd the woman as the girlfriend, as if their, ah, situation didn't fill that in already."
Jon looked at her from where he stood beside the bed, the naked bodies lying on it partially covered by the sheets. "Yes," he said simply. "Fairly obvious. Please continue," he asked as he resumed his examinations.
"No obvious cause of death," she resumed, "no weapons found in the apartment." She fidgeted nervously for a moment before adding in a rush, "This is another one of those, isn't it? The murders you've been investigating?"
Jon looked at her and shook his head. "Too early to tell. Could just be a double suicide, maybe a murder-suicide. Still need to run down a lot of information before we can make that conclusion." He stood up and circled the bed. "Though to be honest, who would swallow a poison and then immediately hop into bed with someone? Who called it in?"
"The doorman," the technician supplied. "It being a Tuesday and all, he noticed when Mr. Dallop didn't come down in time for work as he does every day, and so got curious. He tried to ring up here, but got no answer. He eventually came up and tried the door, which was locked. That's when he called us."
Jon rubbed his chin as he began to walk out of the bedroom into the rest of the meager apartment. "So a locked door, two dead bodies, and yet another mystery," he said as much to himself as to the girl. "Julie, I think this is just the start of another long week."
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He stood at the window, watching the sun rose across the horizon, the waves crashing against the stone below. Is this what they were watching last? he wondered as he just took in the beauty of it for a moment, trying to dispell the darkness that he knew was behind him.
"Detective?" one of the technicians asked from behind him, breaking the spell. "Is everything alright?"
Jon turned around to look at the young woman. "No, it's not. If everything were alright, after all, I wouldn't be needed here." At the woman's confused look, he forced a smile on his face and set a hand on her shoulder. "But to answer your question: yes, I'm fine. Just woolgathering, is all. Shall we begin, then?"
She nodded, a spark returning to her blue eyes as she led the older man back towards the scene. Her fellow technicians were already photographing and documenting everything, though they had been careful not to move anything as yet. Jon still needed to do his sweep and see what could be found. So he started like he always did: with the bodies. "So what do we know so far?" he asked the girl as he knelt down beside them.
"Two victims, obviously," she said. "Male is one Timothy Dallop, age 23 and owns the apartment. Female is Jennifer Tews, age 21. Doorman remembers seeing them both come in last night, ID'd the woman as the girlfriend, as if their, ah, situation didn't fill that in already."
Jon looked at her from where he stood beside the bed, the naked bodies lying on it partially covered by the sheets. "Yes," he said simply. "Fairly obvious. Please continue," he asked as he resumed his examinations.
"No obvious cause of death," she resumed, "no weapons found in the apartment." She fidgeted nervously for a moment before adding in a rush, "This is another one of those, isn't it? The murders you've been investigating?"
Jon looked at her and shook his head. "Too early to tell. Could just be a double suicide, maybe a murder-suicide. Still need to run down a lot of information before we can make that conclusion." He stood up and circled the bed. "Though to be honest, who would swallow a poison and then immediately hop into bed with someone? Who called it in?"
"The doorman," the technician supplied. "It being a Tuesday and all, he noticed when Mr. Dallop didn't come down in time for work as he does every day, and so got curious. He tried to ring up here, but got no answer. He eventually came up and tried the door, which was locked. That's when he called us."
Jon rubbed his chin as he began to walk out of the bedroom into the rest of the meager apartment. "So a locked door, two dead bodies, and yet another mystery," he said as much to himself as to the girl. "Julie, I think this is just the start of another long week."
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Thankful Thursdays: Here comes the Sun
As a preface: I'm normally a night person. When I wasn't working a job that required me to be at work and ready to go at 4 AM, I would routinely stay up until midnight or 1 AM, though 11 PM to midnight was more usual. I enjoy the night quite a bit. However, I am still extremely thankful for the Sun and the fact that it has finally started to come out more now that we're into Spring.
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| (c) Royalty-free/CORBIS |
Now, quite obviously the Sun is awesome. I mean, it just sits up there giving out free energy to anyone who wants some. I mean, how nice is that? Of course, this mostly comes to us in the form of light and heat, so take of that what you will. But still, nice!
Okay, sorry, gotta a little facetious there. Apologies.
I am really grateful for it, though. After the long and dreary winter, getting back in the sun is a pleasure. There really is something to the notion that the change from winter to spring is revitalizing to the human body. Not only do I feel better after a bit in the sun, but I'm generally happier afterwards as well.
Even just getting the sunlight in the apartment is nice. Makes it feel more open and just generally better. I know, I'm being really descriptive, but I think you all know what I mean. It's such an emotional lift, to feel the natural warmth on you after a long winter that just seems like it'll hold on forever.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Warhammer - Other Armies
So, I've talked about Warhammer in general, but I haven't really talked about my favorite part yet: the stories you can tell. Now, it's fully possible to buy, build, paint, and play an army and not really look at it as anything more than a tool to play the game with. For lack of another term, I'm gonna call it New Deck Syndrome, as it's really more akin to a card gaming mindset.
In a card game, you build and tear apart decks with impunity, restructuring it to deal with perceived meta and your own whims at any time. Warhammer armies are much harder to do that with, at least unless you have a sizable collection. And besides, with as much time as you have to invest in each figure, it can be a lot of fun to build up stories around them, and the army as a whole. So with that in mind, I'll give you a brief overview of each of my armies and their role in the world as a whole.
First up is my very first army, my Tau. They represent the 343rd Rapid Interdiction Cadre, filling a niche in the Tau forces akin to mobile reserves. An armored force consisting of infantry, tanks, and battlesuits in a mixed force, they are designed to be rapidly deployed to trouble spots and tip the balance in the Tau's favor. Every unit is designed to be completely mobile, and each element complement the others, creating overlapping fire heavy enough to bring down any target. Several units have distinguished themselves, with two Fire Warrior Shas'ui (sergeants) carrying trophies for bringing down particularly troublesome targets that honestly they had no business being able to deal with. As well, one of my Crisis Suit units carries a trophy for winning a hand-to-hand engagement against an opponent that should have destroyed him easily. Seasoned but having been on the back lines for quite some time, they're looking forward to some reinforcements and getting back into the thick of things with the new codex release.
Next up we come to my Imperial Guard army. Designated the 1st T'ros Gue'vesa Armored Regiment, they are somewhat different from most Guard armies in that they are not actually Imperial. They work alongside the Tau Empire, having been born and raised under their auspices on previously conquered worlds and believing in their concept of the Greater Good. Outfitted mostly with surplus stock captured when the Empire took their worlds (the primary of which is T'ros, a world detailed in one of Forge World's Imperial Armour book 3, and gives the unit its name) augmented with a few Tau elements and joined by a few Fire Warriors to assist. They have successfully defended the Empire for a couple years for me now, starting not long after the new IG codex, though they languished for a while as I tried to piece them together (and also got distracted by a Blood Angel army that never really took off and is now supplying parts for my next army).
As for my most recent army, I'm fielding a task force of the Alpha Legion. One of the original Legiones Astartes, the Alpha Legion were essentially spymasters and saboteurs without peer. Rather than engage in a head-to-head battle, even though they were quite skilled at them and more than capable (they are still Space Marines, after all), they preferred to fight their battles behind the scenes. Late in the Heresy, they were recruited by an alien force called the Cabal to defeat Chaos once and for all by ensuring Horus defeated the Emperor. Obviously, that didn't happen. However, I believe that the Alpha Legion, though labelled Excommunicate Tratoris, still fight the good fight against Chaos, trying to manipulate both sides to a final conflict and ensure that even if the Imperium doesn't survive (after ten thousand years, I doubt they have much love or need for what the Emperor's vision has become), humanity will emerge victorious and endure. As such, I employ every trick in the Chaos Codex's arsenal to help me adapt and overcome any obstacle my opponent can throw at me.
So there you have it. There are the armies I currently play in Warhammer 40k. I do have a few other forces for other systems, but for the most part I don't really use them much, and haven't gone much beyond a basic force. As such, they really don't have stories to tell yet, though one day they just might.
Stay tuned tomorrow: Thankful Thursday will be back for round 2!
In a card game, you build and tear apart decks with impunity, restructuring it to deal with perceived meta and your own whims at any time. Warhammer armies are much harder to do that with, at least unless you have a sizable collection. And besides, with as much time as you have to invest in each figure, it can be a lot of fun to build up stories around them, and the army as a whole. So with that in mind, I'll give you a brief overview of each of my armies and their role in the world as a whole.
First up is my very first army, my Tau. They represent the 343rd Rapid Interdiction Cadre, filling a niche in the Tau forces akin to mobile reserves. An armored force consisting of infantry, tanks, and battlesuits in a mixed force, they are designed to be rapidly deployed to trouble spots and tip the balance in the Tau's favor. Every unit is designed to be completely mobile, and each element complement the others, creating overlapping fire heavy enough to bring down any target. Several units have distinguished themselves, with two Fire Warrior Shas'ui (sergeants) carrying trophies for bringing down particularly troublesome targets that honestly they had no business being able to deal with. As well, one of my Crisis Suit units carries a trophy for winning a hand-to-hand engagement against an opponent that should have destroyed him easily. Seasoned but having been on the back lines for quite some time, they're looking forward to some reinforcements and getting back into the thick of things with the new codex release.
Next up we come to my Imperial Guard army. Designated the 1st T'ros Gue'vesa Armored Regiment, they are somewhat different from most Guard armies in that they are not actually Imperial. They work alongside the Tau Empire, having been born and raised under their auspices on previously conquered worlds and believing in their concept of the Greater Good. Outfitted mostly with surplus stock captured when the Empire took their worlds (the primary of which is T'ros, a world detailed in one of Forge World's Imperial Armour book 3, and gives the unit its name) augmented with a few Tau elements and joined by a few Fire Warriors to assist. They have successfully defended the Empire for a couple years for me now, starting not long after the new IG codex, though they languished for a while as I tried to piece them together (and also got distracted by a Blood Angel army that never really took off and is now supplying parts for my next army).
As for my most recent army, I'm fielding a task force of the Alpha Legion. One of the original Legiones Astartes, the Alpha Legion were essentially spymasters and saboteurs without peer. Rather than engage in a head-to-head battle, even though they were quite skilled at them and more than capable (they are still Space Marines, after all), they preferred to fight their battles behind the scenes. Late in the Heresy, they were recruited by an alien force called the Cabal to defeat Chaos once and for all by ensuring Horus defeated the Emperor. Obviously, that didn't happen. However, I believe that the Alpha Legion, though labelled Excommunicate Tratoris, still fight the good fight against Chaos, trying to manipulate both sides to a final conflict and ensure that even if the Imperium doesn't survive (after ten thousand years, I doubt they have much love or need for what the Emperor's vision has become), humanity will emerge victorious and endure. As such, I employ every trick in the Chaos Codex's arsenal to help me adapt and overcome any obstacle my opponent can throw at me.
So there you have it. There are the armies I currently play in Warhammer 40k. I do have a few other forces for other systems, but for the most part I don't really use them much, and haven't gone much beyond a basic force. As such, they really don't have stories to tell yet, though one day they just might.
Stay tuned tomorrow: Thankful Thursday will be back for round 2!
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Emotional Responses
I am such a nerd. I freely admit this to any and all who might think to question the fact, not that I think my readers would question it. I am not only a fan of Star Trek and Star Wars, but I also count myself as a Whovian, a fan of BBC's Doctor Who. It's an amazing show that defines a completely different spectrum of science fiction than the other franchises I mentioned, using or ignoring the actual "science" parts in favor of a storyline that is one part children's fantasy, one part complex characters and characterizations, and one part running. Well, maybe two parts running. Well, maybe more. There's a lot of running.
But more to the point, I've recently gotten my wife hooked on it as well, and as we're rewatching the show, I'm realizing just how sad some of the best episodes are. When the Ninth Doctor left, she cried even though she didn't really like him. Just last night, we watched the last episode with Rose Tyler, and she cried. We had started with the Eleventh Doctor, and when we finally watched the midseason closer of series 7 and saw the Ponds leave the show, we both cried. (Yes, I'll admit it. If you didn't cry, you very well could be a dalek.)
So I'm just trying to figure out now, is this a part of how humanity works? Why do we consider stories that can make us weep like that to be superior? I mean, I may be making my wife cry with Doctor Who, but she has openly admitted that she enjoys the show.
It could be that we simply enjoy finding works that can make us feel emotions that deeply. After all, we don't cry for poorly-written characters or badly-executed stories; only detailed stories will do. But by that logic, we should be happy for characters that do well, and shouldn't that be a more desirable outcome, a better way to do stories? You don't want your audience to walk away from your work in tears, do you?
But that would make for a boring story. Who would like a story where the main character is happy all the way throughout? After all, it is in the darkest times that we find out who we are. Conflict and yes, tragedy, define us in ways we can't even name. In the end, I guess the question kind of answers itself: we enjoy these types of stories, the ones that don't always end well, because they are unquestionably human stories. Every life has its ups and downs. And while we may not see the ups very often in our stories (though Doctor Who does have many of them, thank goodness), we come together over the downs because each and every one of us has been there.
I'll just have to remember to keep a box of tissues at hand next time we watch the good Doctor. For my wife, I mean. Yeah...
But more to the point, I've recently gotten my wife hooked on it as well, and as we're rewatching the show, I'm realizing just how sad some of the best episodes are. When the Ninth Doctor left, she cried even though she didn't really like him. Just last night, we watched the last episode with Rose Tyler, and she cried. We had started with the Eleventh Doctor, and when we finally watched the midseason closer of series 7 and saw the Ponds leave the show, we both cried. (Yes, I'll admit it. If you didn't cry, you very well could be a dalek.)
So I'm just trying to figure out now, is this a part of how humanity works? Why do we consider stories that can make us weep like that to be superior? I mean, I may be making my wife cry with Doctor Who, but she has openly admitted that she enjoys the show.
It could be that we simply enjoy finding works that can make us feel emotions that deeply. After all, we don't cry for poorly-written characters or badly-executed stories; only detailed stories will do. But by that logic, we should be happy for characters that do well, and shouldn't that be a more desirable outcome, a better way to do stories? You don't want your audience to walk away from your work in tears, do you?
But that would make for a boring story. Who would like a story where the main character is happy all the way throughout? After all, it is in the darkest times that we find out who we are. Conflict and yes, tragedy, define us in ways we can't even name. In the end, I guess the question kind of answers itself: we enjoy these types of stories, the ones that don't always end well, because they are unquestionably human stories. Every life has its ups and downs. And while we may not see the ups very often in our stories (though Doctor Who does have many of them, thank goodness), we come together over the downs because each and every one of us has been there.
I'll just have to remember to keep a box of tissues at hand next time we watch the good Doctor. For my wife, I mean. Yeah...
Monday, March 25, 2013
Spring
Ah, Spring. That wonderful time when everything blooms, new life springs forth from the earth and relieves the barren wastes of winter, banishing all thought of snow and ice in exchange for the sunshine and beauty that will be summer.
Well, in theory, anyway. This spring has so far been colder than the end of winter was, and with all the pollen in the air I could never really enjoy spring anyway. But that's neither here nor there (I promise, I haven't resorted to the weather already in this blog!)
This past weekend, my wife and I spent most of our time doing that dreaded thing that happens every spring in every house: spring cleaning. Just as the earth banishes the clutter of winter, so must we in our own homes. We put up new curtains, a new bookcase, got out new bedding, rearranged a room, and took out quite a bit of trash, and it made me realize just how much junk we accumulate in today's society.
I swear, every time I turn around there are new things to buy, new gadgets and accessories to look at and purchase. We just seem to be a space-filling culture: if there are more nooks and crannies that we can fill, we will. Makes me glad that we had the foresight to protect certain areas of wilderness, lest we build them over completely.
Of course, I'm a prime culprit - I collect little plastic army men for crying out loud. But maybe I should try more to moderate it, and keep it under control. Still more cleaning to do, so we'll see what happens next.
Well, in theory, anyway. This spring has so far been colder than the end of winter was, and with all the pollen in the air I could never really enjoy spring anyway. But that's neither here nor there (I promise, I haven't resorted to the weather already in this blog!)
This past weekend, my wife and I spent most of our time doing that dreaded thing that happens every spring in every house: spring cleaning. Just as the earth banishes the clutter of winter, so must we in our own homes. We put up new curtains, a new bookcase, got out new bedding, rearranged a room, and took out quite a bit of trash, and it made me realize just how much junk we accumulate in today's society.
I swear, every time I turn around there are new things to buy, new gadgets and accessories to look at and purchase. We just seem to be a space-filling culture: if there are more nooks and crannies that we can fill, we will. Makes me glad that we had the foresight to protect certain areas of wilderness, lest we build them over completely.
Of course, I'm a prime culprit - I collect little plastic army men for crying out loud. But maybe I should try more to moderate it, and keep it under control. Still more cleaning to do, so we'll see what happens next.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Luck be a Lady Tonight
So, I'm playing in my friend Raymond's Warhammer campaign at the moment, bringing my Alpha Legion into the region of space we're fighting over to conquer and manipulate in the name of Alpharius, my Primarch and lord. Been getting a lot of games in recently, and there's really been one common thread to all of them.
I've gotten really, really lucky.
Now, before you say it: yes, Warhammer is a dice game. All wins really come down to luck, don't they? Well, not usually. Quite a bit of strategy can be employed, and there are plenty of ways to mitigate the dice and make them not a factor. Whether it be sheer weight of fire you provide against your opponent, the strength of your guns, what have you. And most good lists will do their best to do this.
So I'm not entirely sure what it says about me, my army list, and my playstyle that the last three games I've played have been decided because of one die roll: Random Game Length. This roll happens at the end of Turn 5, and has a 2/3 chance to take the game to Turn 6, and then one on that turn has a 1/3 chance to bring the game to Turn 7, which is definitely the last turn.
So my first game would have been a win for my opponent on 5, a tie on 6, and I finally won on 7. My second game was only won by me because the game ended on 5, I would have lost everyone I had on the table had it gone to 6. And my latest game again was only won because the game went to turn 7.
I'm not sure if I need to change my tactics or my list, though I'm thinking a higher concentration of firepower is required, as I ran much the same list in games one and three with much the same result. The second game had a one-off fun list, so I'm not sure if it really tells me much. I'll have to do some experimentation and see what I can come up with.
At some point this week I'll post some army lists and compare what we've got. Stay tuned, if ye be interested.
I've gotten really, really lucky.
Now, before you say it: yes, Warhammer is a dice game. All wins really come down to luck, don't they? Well, not usually. Quite a bit of strategy can be employed, and there are plenty of ways to mitigate the dice and make them not a factor. Whether it be sheer weight of fire you provide against your opponent, the strength of your guns, what have you. And most good lists will do their best to do this.
So I'm not entirely sure what it says about me, my army list, and my playstyle that the last three games I've played have been decided because of one die roll: Random Game Length. This roll happens at the end of Turn 5, and has a 2/3 chance to take the game to Turn 6, and then one on that turn has a 1/3 chance to bring the game to Turn 7, which is definitely the last turn.
So my first game would have been a win for my opponent on 5, a tie on 6, and I finally won on 7. My second game was only won by me because the game ended on 5, I would have lost everyone I had on the table had it gone to 6. And my latest game again was only won because the game went to turn 7.
I'm not sure if I need to change my tactics or my list, though I'm thinking a higher concentration of firepower is required, as I ran much the same list in games one and three with much the same result. The second game had a one-off fun list, so I'm not sure if it really tells me much. I'll have to do some experimentation and see what I can come up with.
At some point this week I'll post some army lists and compare what we've got. Stay tuned, if ye be interested.
Friday, March 22, 2013
Fiction Fridays: The Dresden Files
May as well start a second series of posts to go along with the previous ones, and for the sake of alliteration we shall go with Fiction Fridays. Every Friday, I'll do my best to either bring you a book review or, if I'm feeling froggy, a short piece of fiction I've written myself.Written by Jim Butcher, the Dresden Files as of this writing consists of 14 novels and numerous short stories (which are for the most part helpfully contained in one book called Side Jobs) and can seem like a daunting storyline to jump into. But I believe it's more than worth it for anyone who's a fan of hardboiled detectives, supernatural weirdness, or even if you just need a good laugh mixed with a good story.
Harry Dresden is a wizard. He is also a private detective living and working in Chicago. In point of fact, he's listed in the yellow pages under "Wizard". The series revolves around his various cases (in fact, at several points the books are referred to as 'case files'), whether he got them from a mortal or from some of the other supernatural players in his world.
And boy, is it filled with supernatural players. There are werewolves, faeries big and small (though don't call them faeires to their faces; they prefer to be called the Fae if you need a generic term), angels and demons, creatures from Outside, and of course vampires. Three seperate types of vampire, in point of fact.
While the books all take place in Chicago, the books avoid feeling like these things are happening there arbitrarily, as would be so easy in these types of stories. Butcher does a fantastic job of making sure we know that things are happening worldwide - the Red Court of vampires controls and preys on most of Latin and South America, for example, and the White Council of wizards' security forces are stationed around the globe and always busy. More than that, though, he gives concrete reasons why things seem to come to a head around Chicago, as well, though I won't delve into those reasons here for fear of spoilers.
These books are definitely detective drama, each one narrated by Harry in first person just like a hardboiled detective should do, and considering some of the subject matter covered they should definitely be treated as such. After all, murder is a frequent occurance in any detective story, and the focus of one story is something that amounts to a mental rape. However, the darkness is constantly leavened by humor. Harry is a very snarky person and even uses it as a fear response, returning sarcasm for threats leveled against him by creatures that he has no business fighting, much less beating as he so often does.
For example, in one of the most recent books he's visited by the Archangel Uriel (yes, an archangel visits him, and on good terms no less). He nicknames him Mr. Sunshine. Of course, this is after he nicknames the Denarians - an order of people that have, more or less willingly, joined themselves to fallen angels bound within the thirty denarii coins that Judas received as payment - the Nickelheads. And let's not even go into the running gag of buildings setting on fire around him - to the point where one of the books starts with the line "The building was on fire, and it wasn't my fault."
I swear, I had to put the book back down for several minutes after reading that line.
But in addition to all of this, one of my favorite things is that one of the secondary characters named Michael Carpenter. He is one of the Knights of the Cross, an order of warriors that fight against the Denarians in particular, and other supernatural evils in general, wielding three swords that have nails worked into the hilts. Specifically, the three nails from the Cross. Everyone who wields one is called by God, most often receiving a visit from the Archangel Michael who presents them with the sword. Michael is a rarity in fiction, a Christian who is not portrayed as a joke or as someone who is ignorant or what have you. He is a strong character who's faith in God and Christ is evident for all to see. He is a caring father, a loving husband, highly respected by all who meet him - even his enemies. This isn't to say he's perfect; in one story someone kidnaps his daughter, and his fury is very real and he's only stopped by a soft word from Harry. In all, he's an incredibly human character, a strong Christian man who is nonetheless flawed, just like we all are.
Now, be aware that these books read like popcorn. Butcher is very good at the art of leading, taking you so smoothly from one chapter to the next that you don't even realize that the "one more chapter" you were going for just became about five. I love these books, and would recommend them to anyone who might enjoy the genre. And if you're not sure if you would or wouldn't, pick up Storm Front and give it a try.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Thankful Thursdays: Family
So, I'm going to steal a page from my sister over at Quad Deuce Design and start a (hopefully) weekly series. Every Thursday, I'm going to tell you about something I'm thankful for, whether it be something big and grand such as family or being Christian, or something mundane like a book or even that cup of coffee I had that morning. But, beginnings are times to take the greatest of care, so we'll start of big.
I have the best family in the world. You're entitled to your own opinion, of course, but that doesn't change mine. They are all just incredibly awesome.
Since I metioned her already, I'll start with my sister, Marianne. A couple years older than me, she's a graphic designer with a publishing company up in Nashville, and is one of the most caring people you will ever meet. She is friendly despite several hardships she's been through recently, and is a strong Christian despite (or maybe in spite, or even because of) all that has happened. She's always busy, however, as she runs a stationery company on the side, Quad Deuce Design. She does awesome work, though; there's a reason we used her for my wedding not so long ago!
Next we'll come to my dad, Thomas. He is simply put the strongest man I know. Not in a physical sense, but in the ways that matter. He was always a pillar we could hold on to when troubles came when we were younger, strong in his faith. He did the best he could to help raise Marianne and me right, and I at least think he did a pretty good job. Enough so that when the worst happened, we were able to help support him as much as he supported us.
My mom, Theresa, died in 2009. I'll never forget how I felt when dad called me early that Sunday morning and told me. But that doesn't overshadow the memories I have of one of the kindest women you'll ever meet. My friends as we grew up all called her "Mama Callis", becuase she was a mom to them as much as to me, always being there for us and with us when she was able. She loved to give of herself, volunteering when she could, bringing food to the sick or even just as gifts from time to time because she loved it. I miss her dearly, but know that she's watching and caring for me still.
More recently, I've got someone else I can call family: my beautiful wife Alicia. We met at college, working in the same office on campus for a while. She is so kind and sweet, and a wonderful cook. She makes me feel better when I'm down, keeps me sane when I'm trying to fall apart, and keeps me honest when I don't do things I said I would. I love her so much, and sometimes still can't quite believe that she said yes.
So, anywho, there you have it: my family is amazing, and I can't believe how blessed I am to call them mine.
I have the best family in the world. You're entitled to your own opinion, of course, but that doesn't change mine. They are all just incredibly awesome.
Since I metioned her already, I'll start with my sister, Marianne. A couple years older than me, she's a graphic designer with a publishing company up in Nashville, and is one of the most caring people you will ever meet. She is friendly despite several hardships she's been through recently, and is a strong Christian despite (or maybe in spite, or even because of) all that has happened. She's always busy, however, as she runs a stationery company on the side, Quad Deuce Design. She does awesome work, though; there's a reason we used her for my wedding not so long ago!
Next we'll come to my dad, Thomas. He is simply put the strongest man I know. Not in a physical sense, but in the ways that matter. He was always a pillar we could hold on to when troubles came when we were younger, strong in his faith. He did the best he could to help raise Marianne and me right, and I at least think he did a pretty good job. Enough so that when the worst happened, we were able to help support him as much as he supported us.
My mom, Theresa, died in 2009. I'll never forget how I felt when dad called me early that Sunday morning and told me. But that doesn't overshadow the memories I have of one of the kindest women you'll ever meet. My friends as we grew up all called her "Mama Callis", becuase she was a mom to them as much as to me, always being there for us and with us when she was able. She loved to give of herself, volunteering when she could, bringing food to the sick or even just as gifts from time to time because she loved it. I miss her dearly, but know that she's watching and caring for me still.
More recently, I've got someone else I can call family: my beautiful wife Alicia. We met at college, working in the same office on campus for a while. She is so kind and sweet, and a wonderful cook. She makes me feel better when I'm down, keeps me sane when I'm trying to fall apart, and keeps me honest when I don't do things I said I would. I love her so much, and sometimes still can't quite believe that she said yes.
So, anywho, there you have it: my family is amazing, and I can't believe how blessed I am to call them mine.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Conundrum
So I've kinda gone off on a Warhammer tangent, haven't I? Time to swing back around to all that other stuff I promised in that first post.
Ever since I was a kid, I've considered myself a writer. I'm pretty decent at it; not New York Times Bestseller level, maybe, but I'm not bad. I have a knack for storytelling that could only have been given by God. Even now, when I think of who and what I am, one of the first words to come to mind is 'writer'.
So I find myself bothered by the fact that I haven't written a word of fiction in weeks.
I know why it is. Working an early morning shift leaves me exhausted when I get home, and I struggle between work, trying to spend as much time as I can with my wonderful new wife, and still have something resembling a social life. I just don't get a chance to sit down and write like I want to. I even have a story half-finished that I need to complete for a submission deadline. I just can't motivate myself to get it done.
So why am I sitting here doing a blog when I should be doing that, you ask? Because I'm trying to set up habits. If I can make myself write for a little while every day, even about something so meta as writing, then maybe I can discipline myself to get my stories finished. To tell what it is I want to tell. Because if I wait on the mood, I'm going to be waiting a long, long time.
Or at least until I get a job not on the freakishly early shift.
Ever since I was a kid, I've considered myself a writer. I'm pretty decent at it; not New York Times Bestseller level, maybe, but I'm not bad. I have a knack for storytelling that could only have been given by God. Even now, when I think of who and what I am, one of the first words to come to mind is 'writer'.
So I find myself bothered by the fact that I haven't written a word of fiction in weeks.
I know why it is. Working an early morning shift leaves me exhausted when I get home, and I struggle between work, trying to spend as much time as I can with my wonderful new wife, and still have something resembling a social life. I just don't get a chance to sit down and write like I want to. I even have a story half-finished that I need to complete for a submission deadline. I just can't motivate myself to get it done.
So why am I sitting here doing a blog when I should be doing that, you ask? Because I'm trying to set up habits. If I can make myself write for a little while every day, even about something so meta as writing, then maybe I can discipline myself to get my stories finished. To tell what it is I want to tell. Because if I wait on the mood, I'm going to be waiting a long, long time.
Or at least until I get a job not on the freakishly early shift.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Policy Changes: Stepping Backwards
So news broke yesterday that Games Worshop is changing their sales policies for their affiliated stores.
Now, a few days ago word filtered down that they were forbidding bits sales, where retailers would take boxes and break them open to sell just the individual pieces. This is usally a godsend for converters and gamers alike, as the kits rarely come with enough bits to make every single option that a unit has. For example, the Space Marine Devestator kit comes with five bodies and a selection of the heavy weapons they are allowed to take. But while they can take four heavy weapons in any combination, there are not four of any heavy weapon in the box. At most there are two of two different varities. So bits resellers were filling a need there.
Now, were GW to get into selling bits themselves, this change would merely be annoying rather than punishing, but no such word has filtered down from corporate. And then we find ourselves with the latest change: no online sales allowed.
Previously, they had prevented independent retailers from using a cart-based system to do online sales, which is bad enough. But to keep a good-sized chunk of your market share (especially here in the States) from selling online at all in this digital age? It's sheer lunacy.
Online sales continue to grow and grow, making up about 8% of total retail sales this year. While that may not seem like much, it's still over $250 billion, and for much of the country this would be the only way GW would get their products sold. Many places in the country aren't supported by a retail store that sells Warhammer, much less by an official GW store (the closest ones to me are the Battle Bunker in Memphis or the store in Atlanta). So if they were interested in GW's products, they would have to order online, and with GW's prices still rising even in this recession, most people are just going to turn away and not purchase anything rather than going to GW's site.
Sure, the addicted among us (me included) still would purchase if that was the only way we could, but the point is to generate new business, correct? They should be helping faciltate that, and online sales really help that.
All in all, GW seems to a tale of two companies: the games studio that is making an amazing product that more people should play, and the corporate people who seem determined to make sure that no one can.
Now, a few days ago word filtered down that they were forbidding bits sales, where retailers would take boxes and break them open to sell just the individual pieces. This is usally a godsend for converters and gamers alike, as the kits rarely come with enough bits to make every single option that a unit has. For example, the Space Marine Devestator kit comes with five bodies and a selection of the heavy weapons they are allowed to take. But while they can take four heavy weapons in any combination, there are not four of any heavy weapon in the box. At most there are two of two different varities. So bits resellers were filling a need there.
Now, were GW to get into selling bits themselves, this change would merely be annoying rather than punishing, but no such word has filtered down from corporate. And then we find ourselves with the latest change: no online sales allowed.
Previously, they had prevented independent retailers from using a cart-based system to do online sales, which is bad enough. But to keep a good-sized chunk of your market share (especially here in the States) from selling online at all in this digital age? It's sheer lunacy.
Online sales continue to grow and grow, making up about 8% of total retail sales this year. While that may not seem like much, it's still over $250 billion, and for much of the country this would be the only way GW would get their products sold. Many places in the country aren't supported by a retail store that sells Warhammer, much less by an official GW store (the closest ones to me are the Battle Bunker in Memphis or the store in Atlanta). So if they were interested in GW's products, they would have to order online, and with GW's prices still rising even in this recession, most people are just going to turn away and not purchase anything rather than going to GW's site.
Sure, the addicted among us (me included) still would purchase if that was the only way we could, but the point is to generate new business, correct? They should be helping faciltate that, and online sales really help that.
All in all, GW seems to a tale of two companies: the games studio that is making an amazing product that more people should play, and the corporate people who seem determined to make sure that no one can.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Incoming! Tau Empire
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So I mentioned in my last post the Tau, one of the races in Warhammer 40k. I am, to say the least, quite thrilled and excited to see these guys getting some new releases finally.
Some background on how GW works their releases: Typically, several times a year they will release a Codex for an army, containing all the rules for a specific army and usually with several model kits alongside them.
Now, since there are only a small number of armies (something like 15 at this point), and they usually produce 3-4 Codices per year (think that's the proper plural there...), obviously they have to be reprinting them every so often. And you'd be right: rereleases usually contain a number of tweaks to point costs and options, as well as new units necessitating new models.
And so here we are: the new Tau Empire codex releases April 6th, and I am really, really excited about it.
The Tau Empire got their last book in 2006, in the days of 4th Edition. While 7 years may not seem like that long, in that time both Chaos Space Marines and Chaos Daemons have gotten two releases, two new editions of the core ruleset have come out, and my entire tenure with the game has been after that point. Only the Black Templars and the Eldar have codices older, and the Eldar only by a few months.
The Tau were my first army, and I loved them when I first started. They're really the closest thing that the setting has to "the good guys", a status they get because they'll give you the chance to join their empire before they kill you, and they only attack when they have a reason. Granted, that reason could be "we really want your planet", but at least they don't attack indiscriminately like some factions do. Any other setting and they would certainly be The Evil Empire, but in 40k they wind up the good guys.
Anyway, back to the release: we're finally seeing flyers for the Tau, something which was previously only covered by GW's specialty shop Forge World (which, while they make awesome products, are way too expensive even if the listed price wasn't in British Pounds instead of American Dollars). The pic above is the one that sold me on them: I am definitely excited about picking up a couple of them, along with a gigantic mechanized suit, the Riptide. The Tau were always known for their Crisis suits, mechs that gave them great weapons platforms. This one, however, dwarfs the Crisis teams and looks to be spectacular.
All in all, I gotta say that I'm really, really excited and can't wait for the next couple weeks to be here already.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Warhammer - My intro
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| My tank has more guns than yours... |
To put it bluntly and succinctly, I play games with plastic army men.
It's much more complicated than that, of course, but if I wanted to boil it down, that's the bottom line.
The game consists basically of two separate steps: building and painting your army, and then actually playing the game. The first is a lot of work and money (the tank pictured took several hours to paint as it stands, and I still have a lot of things I really need to do to it before I can really consider it complete), but can be a lot of fun. Games Workshop, the game's maker, produces a wide range of kits that have some truly exquisite detail for how small most models are (maybe an inch or two high for most of them, though obviously tanks are bigger), and a master painter can do some truly exceptional things with them. I am not a master painter. I can still do some really fun things with the models, but I'll never win any awards for mine.
Actually playing the game is where the most fun is, however. Two players would bring their armies, balanced against each other through a point-buy system (each model is worth a certain number of points against a limit agreed upon by the players), and proceed to throw dice at each other until one player wins.
Not actually at each other, mind. That would just be painful. Through a series of die rolls, everything from movement through dense terrain, shooting effectiveness, or even the morale of your soldiers can be determined. Once you get the rules, it's a lot of fun.
The setting is what makes the game work for me, however. It's set in the year 40,000 (convenient, huh?), where the Imperium of Mankind has spread to the four corners of the galaxy, and is locked in an unending war against the forces of Chaos, the primordial forces of destruction and decay that seek to bring the galaxy to a burning ruin. There are also many alien forces, such as the war-loving hooligan Orks, the holier-than-thou space elf Eldar and their evil kin Dark Eldar, and the "we're the not-quite-as-bad" blue space communist Tau Empire.
The background is really fleshed out and detailed, so much so that Games Workshop has an entire division called the Black Library that publishes novels based on it, which are some really good books to read if you enjoy military sci-fi, even if you've never played the games.
But there you have the basics of Warhammer 40k. Next time, I'll delve into some more of the game, though what exactly I'll talk about I'll leave a mystery for now. ;)
Friday, March 15, 2013
Time Travel of the Mundane Variety
I'm a sci-fi fan, so time travel is something I'm very familiar with (though tenses still give me trouble; English was not meant to handle causal loops!). Unfortunately, I don't get to have any of the fun variety in real life.
Nope, we've just go the mundane type: travelling to the future at a rate of one second per second.
This week has been one where I've just needed a few more hours here and there, to try and keep myself on track. Between things that need doing around the house, trying to get in time with friends, that little thing called work (which happens for me at stupid o'clock in the morning), and trying to make sure I'm rested enough for it all, I just haven't been able to get it all done. And of course, stealing an hour of my weekend from me didn't help, government mandated Daylight Savings.
Hopefully tonight will be better, though it's still a busy day. Training on a new system at church for the Sunday morning service broadcast will be fun and interesting, and I need to get a few things done at home since it's a nice day. Hopefully I'll be awake enough to get it all done.
And hopefully I can get myself on a schedule of doing the blog like I promised I would in that first post. Or even ahead.
Though let's not be crazy.
Nope, we've just go the mundane type: travelling to the future at a rate of one second per second.
This week has been one where I've just needed a few more hours here and there, to try and keep myself on track. Between things that need doing around the house, trying to get in time with friends, that little thing called work (which happens for me at stupid o'clock in the morning), and trying to make sure I'm rested enough for it all, I just haven't been able to get it all done. And of course, stealing an hour of my weekend from me didn't help, government mandated Daylight Savings.
Hopefully tonight will be better, though it's still a busy day. Training on a new system at church for the Sunday morning service broadcast will be fun and interesting, and I need to get a few things done at home since it's a nice day. Hopefully I'll be awake enough to get it all done.
And hopefully I can get myself on a schedule of doing the blog like I promised I would in that first post. Or even ahead.
Though let's not be crazy.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Beginnings
So I'm sure I'm only one of... well, probably tens of thousands that have done this these days, but that doesn't really matter. After all, I'm not them, and just because a thing has been done before doesn't mean it doesn't have merit. So here we are.
My name's Matthew, and this will be a blog for me. There's no set theme, other than the things I like. The only schedule I'm reaching for is that I'm going to try and post every day. And hopefully every day will see something interesting pop up here for people to read and enjoy.
So I guess that begs a question: If this blog will be about what I'm interested in, what am I interested in? Well, I'm a sci-fi/fantasy nerd, a bibliophile and movie-lover, and I enjoy gaming of many various kinds. I'm a writer and videographer, I've got a weird sense of humor, and perhaps most importantly I'm a Christian. So you may find everything on here from a movie review to a wargame army list, from a book review to a rant on politics or morality. If I get motivated, you may even find a short story or a video on here.
So there you have it, folks. It's gonna be a fun ride, I hope.
Hold on tight.
My name's Matthew, and this will be a blog for me. There's no set theme, other than the things I like. The only schedule I'm reaching for is that I'm going to try and post every day. And hopefully every day will see something interesting pop up here for people to read and enjoy.
So I guess that begs a question: If this blog will be about what I'm interested in, what am I interested in? Well, I'm a sci-fi/fantasy nerd, a bibliophile and movie-lover, and I enjoy gaming of many various kinds. I'm a writer and videographer, I've got a weird sense of humor, and perhaps most importantly I'm a Christian. So you may find everything on here from a movie review to a wargame army list, from a book review to a rant on politics or morality. If I get motivated, you may even find a short story or a video on here.
So there you have it, folks. It's gonna be a fun ride, I hope.
Hold on tight.
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