Back to it and some gaming/hobby stuff...

Great holiday weekend…  Was amazing getting almost completely away from work for so long.  THAT does not happen often for me, at least not without work piling up in my absence.  Down side, with it being Thanksgiving, I ate too much and did not exercise nearly as often as I have been…  So, time to get back on schedule.  Workout #1 for the day in already and feeling it a LOT more than I was 2 weeks ago…  Ah well, recovery times are getting much better and I am given to understand that getting BACK into shape is easier for people who once WERE in shape.  Not likely to ever get back to my pre “Ft Benning School for Belligerent Boys” shape and weight of ~210 lbs.  Which was ironically “overweight” for my height of 6’2” …  Still, maxxing out the PT test being more or less a requirement at that point was fairly easy given the VERY strict workout regimen that I was on at the time.  NOT up to working out and running in full armor yet, heck, not even running at this point, but the elliptical is getting easier.  Not subtle, I just set it to high resistance and go for “x” minutes at this point…  Probably not the recommended method, but…

Gaming wise?  WAY too much hitting all at once.  I do NOT want to overdo it with gaming as THAT would annoy my wife, and I’d prefer to avoid this condition…  Escalation tournament for X-Wing AND STAW this weekend, Armada next weekend…  With the Titan League starting back in January.  WRT the Escalation, I suspect that Imperial is the build that will be the eventual winner, but honestly I kind of find them boring to play and play against for the most part.  The “Palp/Ace” builds have evolved somewhat to include a lot of x7 Defenders…  Well, x7 Defenders with or without the Emperor are pretty powerful.  And of course the ancient TIE Swarm, especially in Escalation will be a factor.  But like I said, I find them to be pretty boring.  I COULD easily bring the TIE Defender lists and probably do quite well with them…  Assuming I didn’t just get bored mid-way through the event…  I’ll probably run S&V if I DO play in it.  The Lancer Class as the big base, likely something like N’Dru in his Z-95, Fenn Rau in his Protectorate Starfighter and fill out the rest with Y-Wings…  So, just “fun” stuff with no intention of actually winning the event.  Surprisingly I seem to do fairly well like that, and since this is just supposed to be a relaxing “hobby” thing for me, perhaps for the best.

Need to get some paint on some of the fighters though…  And maybe some practice rounds in…  But I REALLY like being able to show up with fully painted (alternate scheme) models…  Just looks better on the table for me.  NOT a thing here like the old “3 color minimum” thing with 40K in the old days where I’d simply slap some paint to get to the minimum standard in order to get into the events…  My ancient Fleshtearers in 3^rd Edition were my “competitive” army back then…  WAY overpowered and probably nowhere nearly so much fun, but won me a lot of events…  And why I quit playing back then.  But in any case, time to get back to the “hobby” aspect I guess as I continue to slowly clear out the debris in the basement of doom…  Need to get the Armada MC-80 painted and some fighter stands…  Got the Fighters base coated at least I think…  Need to finalize my list of course, but I should be able to field my “Crimson and Greys” completely painted by next weekend.

"Keep Moving, You'll Be Fine"

So, Friday was a VERY good day for me.  Pretty thoroughly reset my attitude.  Figured it was time to shrug and keep moving, I’ll be fine.  Was the advice given to me by a Drill SGT and my first Squad Leader when I was in.  Kept me going when I was in the Ft Benning School for Belligerent Boys, and probably through most of my rougher patches over the years.  Since this was just mental and nothing at all physical in some ways it was easier I guess.  Just took that moment to get me off my ass and moving again.  Still looking for another job, but time to get back to doing mine.  Keep moving, I’ll be fine.  Work on interviewing and get it through my head that I need to move beyond proving I can do everything myself if it came down to it.  Hard lesion for me, I’ve ALWAYS done “lead by example” and I do not have my people do anything I cannot or will not do.  That was just the way things worked.  Guess if I am going higher into actual “management” it is time to let go of the “Squad Leader/Platoon SGT” mentality and become a proper “officer”.  In any case, time to stand back up and get back to succeeding in my current position…

Was also my Anniversary, and THAT was really quite nice.  Still amazed my wife chose me, and working hard to justify her faith in me.

Had the “Hanger Bay” event today, went over quite well…  A dozen or so folks shewed up and we got almost everyone some decent prizes and hopefully several fun games in.  Next I guess is an Escalation event over at Titan on the 4th of December.  I’ll try to get there, but Armada the next weekend in Bloomington.  I don’t want to game TOO much, but :-)…  We’ll see I guess.

Hanger Bay in the morning...

So, running a Hanger Bay event tomorrow and I’ve narrowed it down to the 2 lists I’m bringing.  My ARC list and the Lancer/Jumpmaster.  Since I cannot use ANYTHING across both builds it gets interesting building the Squadrons…  Should be fun though.  The ARC list is pretty simple and effective.  The Lancer/Jumpmaster is…  Well, weird.  Both are just fun.  We’ll see how they play I guess…

ARCx2Biggs2 (100)

Norra Wexley — ARC-170	29
Push the Limit	3
Nien Nunb	1
R2-D2	4
Vectored Thrusters	2
Alliance Overhaul	0
Ship Total: 39
Thane Kyrell — ARC-170	26
Tactician	2
R3-A2	2
Vectored Thrusters	2
Alliance Overhaul	0
Ship Total: 32
Biggs Darklighter — X-Wing	25
Plasma Torpedoes	3
R4-D6	1
Integrated Astromech	0
Ship Total: 29

And:

Lancer/Dengar (100)

Asajj Ventress — Lancer-class Pursuit Craft	37
Lone Wolf	2
K4 Security Droid	3
Rigged Cargo Chute	1
Engine Upgrade	4
Shadow Caster	3
Ship Total: 50
Dengar — JumpMaster 5000	33
Predator	3
Zuckuss	1
Unhinged Astromech	1
Punishing One	12
Ship Total: 50

Workouts are continuing.  Got the Elliptical back up and getting that worked back into the routine to get back to running in the long term.  Weights are still the main focus at the moment.  Getting my strength back.  So far with the diet and exercise I’m down 25 pounds…  Not a bad start, just another 40 or so to actually get back into shape… 

Recovering ancient rifles…  Looking to pick up another motorcycle, though by trading one or both of my current bikes and/or a number of firearms…

Eye surgery looking like next month.  That should be fun.  Those injuries do have a way of catching up to us it would seem…

Hanger Bay (X-Wing) practice runs...

Looking at running a fairly weird build today in a practice run for the event Saturday… 

FennKavilBumpmaster (100)

Fenn Rau — Protectorate Starfighter	28
Push the Limit	3
Autothrusters	2
Concord Dawn Protector	1
Ship Total: 34
Kavil — Y-Wing	24
Predator	3
Autoblaster Turret	2
Bomb Loadout	0
Unhinged Astromech	1
Seismic Charges	2
Engine Upgrade	4
Ship Total: 36
Contracted Scout — JumpMaster 5000	25
Trick Shot	0
Intelligence Agent	1
Unhinged Astromech	1
Black Market Slicer Tools	1
Anti-Pursuit Lasers	2
Ship Total: 30

I WAS going to use Snap Shot, but the restriction of it being in Arc means that it will be something I think that gets very little use here.  So, I’ll get in some testing with this build.  NOT sure what to bring Saturday though… 

With the “Distinct Rule” in effect, I cannot repeat ANYTHING.  So, PTL for instance…   Does bring me to one of the points about some of the upgrades perhaps being TOO good.  Given how often you see PTL in the top builds, the extra Action every turn is pretty darn powerful and at 3 Points not really all that expensive.  NOT unique either, so you can easily get in 2-3 in a Squadron…  Might be time to change it, but really it is NOT nearly so powerful as the Emperor for instance.  Or the Zucuss crew card…  1 point to force re-rolls on Agility Dice?  Pretty darn powerful…  But in any case, it does seem that FFG is taking careful notes and adjusting things as time goes on to balance the game and keep it there.  Compared to pretty much every other gaming company has failed at this if they even bothered to try?  I think the huge and growing tournament scene and the fact that for the most part, FFG can “print its own money” when releasing things and the fact that Retailers cannot keep it on their shelves answers that…  Look at the 40K tournament scene these days and good luck doing so…  From its height in the 5^th Edition there does seem to be a LOT fewer events and attendance at those?  Of course, I have not played in several editions myself, so I could well simply be missing it.  Privateer Press with their Warmachine/Hordes have a good scene going, but not I think nearly as large as the others.  Locally it is pretty big, but hell, we had a HUGE Confrontation scene back in the day…  Heard rumors of that coming back, so we’ll see…  But in any case, we’ll see …

Back on target, FFG seems to be growing and maintaining the balance of their game…  With Disney making movies every year now and expanding things in all directions it seems that this product will have a VERY long life and a popular game well into the future if they continue as they have up to now.

As I said, testing for the Hanger Bay Event Saturday…  Tried my TIE Defender/Bomber list and was able to successfully fly BOTH Defenders into a combination of mines and a tiny rock to kill them BOTH in a single turn…  To be fair, they were damaged heavily, but still…  Went from easy cleanup with me losing maybe one ship to just lose with my dialing in 3 Hard rather than 3 Bank as I thought I had…  Lesson learned J  And why we practice…

Another week, Armada and X-Wing today...

So, another week…  It  is a “No” on the TS job, but so far no one has actually said anything at my level.  Mkay, I’m getting more serious about my workouts and weight loss silliness…  Down almost 20 lbs. so far, which tells me that I was WAY out of shape there.  Strength level Is good, almost back to where I was when I was in…  So, muscle mass is replacing fat.  SLOW weight loss, but since the last two times I tried this it ended “poorly” with a broken ankle and a heart attack…  This time I am going a LOT slower.  The workouts themselves are getting progressively easier and I can actually see the results in both muscle mass increase and simple weight loss.  Loads of water being consumed as well…  Old survival training NCOs would be thrilled at the levels I am consuming.  One big thing the Fitbit helped with is pointing out just how many of my calories were consumed via beverage.  Large Mocha?  450-500 calories.  Medium shake?  Just over 1000.  Didn’t bother to look at anything alcohol as I’m still more or less “not drinking”…  A Guinness or Dragon’s Milk for special occasions is about it.  THAT has helped my weight loss a LOT.  I am finding I get more aggressive and generally angry while I am hungry and sore/pumped up from workouts all the time.  NOT as bad as when I was playing Army or bouncing (no ephedra now), but to me it IS noticeable.  Good thing I stay quiet more often than not…

Back on to gaming…  Armada this evening to get in a league game before next week’s League Day.  Still have to run the list I ran last time, but not real problem…  Is a “fun” list more than anything.  I need to keep my bomber wings near the Carrier to stay effective, but none of my ships have the raw staying power of the Imperial Star Destroyers…  My next iteration will address that a bit, and bring in more ships as Escorts to threaten Enemy fighters and protect my own.  And of course the way activations work in this game it is a HUGE advantage to simply have more ships on the field.  Finding uses for the “less used” fighters the Rebels have and I have to say they are surprisingly good at what they are designed to do.  The Scurrg H-6 Heavy Bomber IS just that…  A heavy bomber.  It kind of sucks dogfighting, but with the right support these days, it is terrifying against a light Fighter cover or a Ship.

Gaming this afternoon (over lunch) with Tony to get in some practice with the new stuff…  Haven’t decided what I’ll fly, either:

SC2Y (100)

Asajj Ventress — Lancer-class Pursuit Craft	37
Push the Limit	3
K4 Security Droid	3
Black Market Slicer Tools	1
Rigged Cargo Chute	1
Gyroscopic Targeting	2
Shadow Caster	3
Ship Total: 50
Syndicate Thug — Y-Wing	18
Twin Laser Turret	6
Unhinged Astromech	1
Ship Total: 25
Syndicate Thug — Y-Wing	18
Twin Laser Turret	6
Unhinged Astromech	1
Ship Total: 25

Or

ARCx2Biggs2 (100)

Norra Wexley — ARC-170	29
Push the Limit	3
Nien Nunb	1
R2-D2	4
Vectored Thrusters	2
Alliance Overhaul	0
Ship Total: 39
Thane Kyrell — ARC-170	26
Tactician	2
R3-A2	2
Vectored Thrusters	2
Alliance Overhaul	0
Ship Total: 32
Biggs Darklighter — X-Wing	25
Plasma Torpedoes	3
R4-D6	1
Integrated Astromech	0
Ship Total: 29

Both are solid but very different…  Gearing up for a Hanger Bay event, not sure if we enforce the new rules or not…  I’ll ask the lads…

Thinking about Leadership, Oh and X-Wing event 19 November at the Gopher!

Been thinking about leadership in general recently.  Over the course of the last few months’ things have gone “poorly” WRT leadership at work.  I keep finding that when I inadvertently apply my personal standards to others most typically leads to disappointment.  Me, I learned my leadership style in the Army.  SSG Mike Brown was my first Squad Leader.  First thing he said to me when I met him was “Don’t unpack your shit, we’re deploying to Saudi”.  My reply was “Do I have time to go grab a beer, or are we leaving now?”  He said I’d fit in just fine.  He was someone who didn’t talk much and he was a REALLY big proponent of leading by example.  He came over from the 82nd and really missed the whole “Airborne” thing…  Probably why I was fairly intent on doing that myself.  But in any case he did things like carry one of the M-16/203’s.  His reasoning was that he wanted the extra firepower, knew he could put the rounds where he wanted them and we used the Smoke grenades to mark for fire, etc. so he could more accurately direct the Squad’s firepower onto target…  But it also had the effect of letting EVERYONE know that he was willing (and able) to carry the extra load and that he was not asking his people to do anything that he was not doing himself.  I was comfortable carrying the other one because I also knew I could put the round exactly where I needed it to go, and I didn’t mind carrying the heavier rifle.  My 203 wound up being a big part why I got my Catch-22 award (Bronze Star).  Some advantages to being bigger and stronger…  But in any case, I learned that you do things in a certain way.  You don’t eat until your people have been fed.  You don’t sleep until your people already have.  And you do everything you can to protect your people, no matter what.  That is NOT the case I am finding here.  Mind, I do everything I can to protect my people, I just no longer have as many.  Glad some are finding jobs elsewhere, but at this point the environment I am finding myself in is pretty toxic environment.  I took a day off Wednesday and got some work done around the house. And clear my head a bit.  Helped, I spent yesterday at an IT conference.  Got a LOT of impromptu “meetings” in with the various other IT folks there, including almost all of my contacts in the End Point Management groups…  We’re all in a holding pattern, with one of the teams actively resisting the “Power Plant” thing because there is no one they trust up there.  Shame, they DO all trust me, but I’m not there so…  We’ll see how this all plays out I guess.  Kind of hard dealing with the pointed questions of why I was not in certain meetings recently…  Not sure how best to answer those questions as I am waiting to have my current position, or better yet my next position “clarify” my role in this area.  Right now, especially after receiving official reprimands about my activities in this area, I’m not doing much publicly…  Still doing what I need to do in order to actually DO my own job of course, just being quiet about it.  So, Chaotic Good for me, per usual…

Gaming, need to get in some more practice games.  I have some solid builds I think will do well…  But not entirely sure what fits best for me…  The ARC-170 build I think.  Not plug and play, but I think it has a chance against most things.  TIE Defenders will be an issue, but…  Well, they are an issue for most things, so…  S&V I have some strong contenders…  We’ll see what I end up flying I guess…


Oh, the casual “Hanger Bay” event is 19 November at the Armored Gopher!  Come on by if you can…

Work, Workouts and X-Wing coming up...

Not a whole lot happening here at the moment…  Well, not ENTIRELY true, came off yet another long and busy weekend, work is still grinding along…  Waiting on word for the job I interviewed for.  But that was a while ago, so “I am concerned”.  Kind of important to get someone there ASAP, and while I feel I would make the best choice, surprisingly that was NOT one of the questions :-).  So, kind of a holding pattern as I wait…  And am deciding how much of the “additional duties and responsibilities” I intend to simply stop doing if/when I do not get that other job.  STILL no word on the “title correction” either, but I’m still (slightly) hopeful that is a problem they get to deal with when they rehire for my current position.  But as of now?  On paper I’m NOT a manager in any way, shape or form so not entirely sure how much of that I intend to continue doing.  I nominated one of my people for a big award, we’ll see…  Guessing my organization failed to do the same for any of its people, but I do feel like I need to at least TRY to get something for my people.  Eh, we’ll see what happens.

Mostly just working out and watching what I eat.  Shifted back to drinking mostly just water.  More exercise, thinking it is about time to get more “gym time” in.  Reaching some plateaus with my “prison style” workouts, so thinking that at the least time on the elliptical in the basement will do me good.   Pretty sure I’m not up to running yet.  Knees and ankle are sore from the sheer number of stairs I climb in a normal day.  On the plus side, the Gunn kilt actually fit correctly for the first time.  Not a traditional one, so snaps and the belt for the most part, but previously I was never actually able to fasten all of the snaps correctly.  Had to break out an ancient belt for my suit as well as the one I got for it originally is not really usable.  Had to do the emergency hole punch to get it tight enough to work for Angela’s wedding, and that is too loose again in the month or so since.  Stronger now than I have been in a very long time…  That’s good I guess, but I find myself having to filter out a lot of my older “slightly more aggressive” responses these days.  Weapons training helps some, but I suspect frustration at work will be the longer term change I need to make.

Armada is “interesting”, STILL need to get in another game, might try to get out this week or next, but next League day is the 12^th, so need it done before then.

Got in another test game with my S&V X-Wing squadron…  Liking that and looks like that will be one I bring on the 19^th for the “Hanger Bay” event.  This is a lot like the older PP system where you bring 2 lists and decide at the table which one you will use for that round when you see what your opponent has.  Makes it more interesting if you build something that is strong against some things but REALLY weak against others.  At least in theory, both of my lists are fairly solid “take on anything” lists…  Looking like the Lancer for the S&V list and ARC-170’s for the Rebel list…  Nothing too fancy, just good solid ships…  But just about to create the event on Facebook, so...