SCCM...

So, we're officially doing the SCCM project...  The CIO officially blessed it and we're a go to set up a test environment.  Now, I say test partly in jest as it turns out that we actually have some 4500 machines already being managed by the current edition of the software.  The new version is in beta/RC status, and it really looks like it will be an excellent thing to roll out University wide.  Not just UIUC, but across UIS and UIC as well..  Now, if Microsoft's propaganda (marketing hype, whatever) is to be believed, the upcoming version (which we'll be setting up) can handle the Windows and Mac stuff just fine.  Now, I'm mostly just hoping I'm not volunteering for WAY too much getting involved in this, but I think this will be an excellent opportunity for us all.  We'll see I guess.

Gaming, I still have quite a bit of work to get my 1000 point lest(s) ready...  Not sure which one I'll actually use when the time comes.  No real experience with a "team tournament", but this will be an excellent test for Adepticon next year.  To be completely honest I'm not sure we'll do well, but I'm more interested in just playing the game and seeing how well I can do with what I have. If we win a few, cool...  I guess I tend to overthink these things up until the point I go into "machine" mode and just let it ride.  I can think of several armies we'll have no chance whatever against, but a lot of it will depend on the match ups and luck of the dice.  I'm a bit concerned about my lack of AP 1 shooting, and since the only way I have to deal with other "Rock" units is to engage them in HtH and hope my admittedly excellent Troops can take what comes and give them back the Thunder.  And of course the Land Raider Crusader...  I REALLY like the way that is hitting the field, and my conversions are coming along...  We'll see what happens :-)...

Wow, October already...

And Steve Jobs is gone...  Real shame.  I didn't much like Apple's stuff over the last decade or so in groups...  Individual machines they are excellent, but compared "unfavorably" to a lot of the other computers I dealt with.  Warranty is still crap too, but they're a hardware company, making money selling new hardware, not extending the life of their older machines...  But looking back, I learned on the ancient Apple II's in the mid 80's.  Hardware hacking, programming, etc... 

On to gaming stuff...  Painting Terminators again...  And furiously converting more of the lads and finishing the Spartan class Land Raider Crusader I'm making...  Still not sure the exact army to field, but 10-16 Terminators along with a few vehicles...  Mostly detail work at this point, but I'll have to set them all out to get pics...

The speed of committee...

Ah, the U of I...  Everything important has to go through the layers of bureaucratic, PC, etc. silliness that have come to be entrenched as the Government of Illinois...  Hiring even Student help goes so slowly that it is painful.  This should be simple, but "This is Illinois...".  Permanent employees are a special joy and treat to try to force through the hoops.  We have the money, and the open slots...  But I'll bet they are still open this time next month.  Ah well, at least the ones I DO have already forced through are working out well...

So, gaming...  Land Raider Crusaders are insanely powerful...  I had no real idea how powerful, and as long as I remember to do everything with them, they are throwing out so much firepower that it gets overwhelming... And the squad of Deathwing rolling out of it will simply wipe whatever they hit, or at least tarpit it for the duration...  Still, for the team tournament the 3 squads of 'Wing will probably win us more games... Got some painting in last night, so I will very likely have it at least "painted" for mid October...

Late September...

Mkay, weird one...  Looking to hire, but...  Due to the weird situation here, UIUC Student for some of the positions (hourly, decent $) or what they call "Academic Hourly", meaning degree, paid hourly, no benefits, etc...  So, NOT the best situation, but an excellent "in" to the University system... 

On the rest of the "work" front, things are progressing well I think.  Still tying up some loose ends from my transition period, but things are coming together pretty well.  Ordering myself a new laptop, looking at the Dell E6520's...  i7 processor, 8G RAM, decent vid card, etc... My old 17" workhorse is about done.  4 years of lugging back and forth to work seems to be the upper limit for that hardware..  The new 15.4" frame will I think fit into the luggage on my bike, making it a bit easier to transport I think...

Gaming wise, FINALLY getting back to the basement to get the painting finished up for my Consecrator's Deathwing force to field w/ Dave out in Bloomington next Month...  3 full squads of Terminators kitted out as Assault Troops, each with a Cyclone Missile Launcher in the squad, and loads of TH/SS lads...  We'll see how well it works...

Just some WIP pics

Just a bit of the "WIP" here...  Going to be equipped with magnets for the various gun mounts so I can field either a Land Raider Crusader or the standard patten of Land Raider...  Typically the Crusader, but...  So a Spartan Class LR being built out of some of the random parts I have here...  WAY old school stuff, and something not many will have.  My ancient Wolf one still hits the field here and there, but this one will be DA (Consecrators) and BA (Fleshtearers Death Company more often than not)...

Random meetings of doom...

Lot of meetings today...  3 before 11am.  Productive, yes...  But still,"middle management"is becoming a Lot of work :-)...  Budgets to figure out, more people to hire (Students, so any folks who are Students here at UIUC and are interested in getting a job...), stupidity to deal with...  The usual :-) Oh, and after 11 there were even more... Still, stuff actually got done...  Not as much as I'd have liked to get done, but reality being what it is...

Gaming front, I need to actually choose an army for October's tournament...  I'm looking at my Deathwing more and more.  I think that the DA (Consecrators in my case) and the Wolves have a lot more  history together, so I think they might be better from a fluff perspective and with Terminator "Troops" selection, I think that we might actually win a few games...  But we'll see...

Eldar?

Mkay, not sure if I am doing this right, but playing a "substandard" army, and not the "Internet Optimized" build (Mechdar) I'm looking like I'm in the lead for the local League...  Wraithguard as my "Troops" section with Eldrad and one of the Phoenix Lords in the squad for one REALLY expensive Anvil or Rock squad.  The walk forward with Eldrad giving Fortune for the re-rolled saves, Doom, Mind War, etc...  He and the Phoenix Lord provide HtH nastiness...  Maugen Ra is awesome shooting and downright nasty in HtH, but I am thinking that Karandras (Scorpions) giving Stealth and REALLY impressive HtH abilities to the squad with 6-7 Power Fist or Scorpion Sword attacks at WS 7 is actually the stronger one...  Weird, but this army seems like it is doing amazingly well in the "Adepticon" format...  Not that my opponents actually did anything wrong I think, it is more that in the format MSU is REALLY punished with loads of kill points out on the table that are actually fairly easy to take and gain that early and likely insurmountable lead with...

Looking ahead to the remaining people in the league, the SoB that Mike plays are going to be a tough one...  Mech, Mech and more Mech...  Haven't actually read the new codex, but Mike plays it more or less like the last edition, and that was a REALLY tough army...  Joe's Chaos Marines will be a bit rough, and Ryan's Chaos Demons will be something completely different since I am not very familiar with that book...  Not sure what else remains for me to face in this league, but I'm actually fairly confident that I'll do fairly well...