Memphis trip, etc... A great way to start July...

So…  Took a long weekend trip to Memphis with my wife…  Was the first trip without the kids in a LONG time.  Had a great time, had great food, etc…  A few observations:

•    Was VERY clean and well maintained where we were.  Now, this was pretty limited to Main Street and Beale Street between the big Government complex (Federal Bldg, City Hall, Courts, etc.) and Beale itself…  Part of the clean and well maintained was due to the HIGH number of private Security personal on the ground there.  Almost every business it seemed had some or “Staff” that reminded me of our “Goon Squad” we had back working at Joe’s Brewery in the old days…  Very orderly, and the high visibility of what appeared to be competent Security staff helped that impression.
•  Beale St was pretty much like my impression of the French Quarter in New Orleans…  A lot of themed bars, most of which had window service so that you could get a drink and walk outside.  We decided not to go in to places with cover charges, and the drink prices were quite high…  Or at least they seemed that way to me, I don’t really drink anymore, so it’s been a LONG time since I last ordered myself anything in a bar other than the rare Guinness…  The crowd on Beale seemed a mix of “Frat Boys” and “Tourists” for the most part with a few more obvious local predator types mixed in…  As I mentioned above a LOT of Security, and I tend to be able to avoid issues with all of those crowds…  Am told I can project that “Just leave me alone if you want to live” feeling quite well..  Memphis PD had the street blocked off each night, so the place was very pedestrian friendly…
•  Food was AWESOME overall…  We hit “South of Beale” the first night for our first “As seen on ‘Diners, Drive-ins and Dives’” meal.  Was probably the best meal we had there.  Certainly was the best we’d had out in a VERY long time.  Their Pimento Grits (I’d have called it “Polenta” coming from a more Italian background cooking wise) were the highlight for me… 
• BBQ was REALLY good overall…  Rendezvous I thought had the best ribs I’ve had in a LONG time…  Their Brisket was also quite good.  The sauces that they had mixed well for my wife and I, so that was another winner…  Blues City Café was another place we tried…  My wife liked the ribs there better, I found them to be a bit too “fall off the bone” tender as they tended to disintegrate on me…  The lack of sauce was disturbing to me as a Yankee as well J…  She loved the fried catfish (not one of the things I like particularly, so I’ll take her word that it was among the best she’d had), and I REALLY liked their “Delta” style tamales and BBQ sausage…  Those had an excellent flavor and certainly made that meal for me…  So for me Rendezvous for the Ribs/Brisket and Blues City Café for the sides…  But certainly both were far better than anything I’d had locally in Champaign as I’ve been thinking the general BBQ quality here has been bottoming out for a long time…  Another one of those “If I can cook it better, I am unlikely to enjoy it out” things…
• The “Bass Pro Shop Pyramid” was amusing…  We visited more as tourists than shoppers…  Neat building, but the fact that the roof was leaking in several places on the 25+ floor building was a tad disturbing to me…

All in all, though we stayed in the well-marked “safe” zones for the most part it was quite nice…  Stayed at the “Sleep Inn”, quite reasonable rates, nice place and RIGHT there on Main so we could park the vehicle and walk almost everywhere… 

Took the ancient bike out for a ride last night, missing the windshield…  Got hit by my first bird…  Was riding among the cornfields and going maybe 20mph coming out of a turn, so not a big deal, but the shield would have been nice.  Also had to clean out the helmet’s screen with the bugs hitting it pretty hard…  Got to ride into work today, but looking like my last ride for a while as we reenter monsoon season here in Illinois… 

Off to play STAW at the Gopher this evening, and I have my wee fleet packed away in the bike’s saddlebags…  Should be pretty decent as I just brought the 3 biggest ships I could fit in for the Klingons and Romulans and plan to take and hold the center while avoiding the terrain effects…

Waiting on a few things at work, did not get the last few things I’d applied for, but looking out longer term…  Well, it looks like a fair number of changes are headed our way, hoping that some moves happen the way I want them to which will open the way for me to move…  Eh, no hurry, I have a good job (at least it pays fairly well), family is doing well, etc…  So, there isn’t the sense of urgency I might otherwise have, but…  I do think it is definitely time to look very seriously at changes, be they within my current organization or another at the University…  We’ll see I guess…

Klingon/Romulans for STAW, random games and motorcycle stuff to start July out

So, getting ready to play another STAW event at the Gopher next Monday… 

Klingon/Romulan Alliance

I.R.W. Avatar of Tomed (34)

Martok (6)

Cloaked Mines (3)

Ship SP: 44

Scimitar (38)

Mirok (2)

Romulan Helmsman (2)

Cloaked Mines (3)

Ship SP: 45

Negh'Var Class (28)

Donatra (4)

Ship SP: 33

Total Build SP: 120

Generated by STAW Builder

http://www.dracossoftware.com/STAWHome.html

The scenario is based on one of my favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes with Cmdr Riker being assigned to a Klingon ship as part of an “Office Exchange Program”.  Their ship and the Enterprise both pick up some bacteria that eats away their hulls until the crew of the Enterprise figures out the “cure”.  The board for the event will a grid of 12 tokens placed leaving a narrow band in the center of the board without bacteria waiting to latch onto a ship.  Oh, and your ships all start with the stuff on them, so everyone rolls at least once to take damage (50% shot) before being able to clear the token by sacrificing an action more or less…  So, Fighters and small ships are pretty much right out for this event.  I’m going with straight joisting with big ships and big damage with the plan of run up the middle where it’s clear, and use the Cloaked Mines to punish the opponent for doing the same…  Not playing subtle, and with 2 ships that can heal along with the potential 9 Dice Attack from the Scimitar, it should leave a mark.

Hockey season is over…  Really the only sport I even follow a little.  The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, and with the hard salary cap, the dismantling of the team has begun…  A real shame, but if it prevents a NY Yankee situation where one team is completely dominant in the league being able to simply buy the best players, etc…  I guess I understand, and why it is impressive for a team to win the cup consistently.  And with the Cup being the most difficult trophy to win in any sport…  Kind of sad seeing the Hawks get broken up like this, but that’s the way it works I guess…

40K is gaining speed, but not I think in a good way.  The Space Marines and Dark Angels just released new Codices.  After a quick read through, I can’t really say that there is all that much new information in them frankly.  The Marines get a bunch of new formations, which is “neat”, but this is something that could have been an inexpensive web/e-book/whatever update, not another $60 hardback book to replace one less than 2 years old.  I think that is what is bothering me so much about it, this situation is the same as my experience with the University when I got here and took Chemistry…  Professor Zumdahl (I think, been a few years) was the instructor of record, and even usually did the weekly lectures…  He also wrote the book we used, and every 3 semesters there would be a “new” version so that you’d have to buy the new version and the used ones were completely worthless.  Nothing really new in basic Chemistry in the last 50 years certainly, just book royalties for the author who was also of course the instructor…  Getting that feeling here with 40K, nothing major changing, just updates in the Marines cases, but new and expensive book to play.  So, on one hand, it beats the LONG time between books for some armies (Orks, Wolves), but trading that for the things like the new AD Mech where you need something like 3 full books to play the army?  And knowing that the books are cycling out so quickly?  Meh, I guess I’ll paint up my Wolves Legion force and get ready for 30K games…  Eventually.  Maybe.

Started painting again, my Warmachine Dwarves (Rhullic) are getting base coated…  Still have some of their light Jacks in the package, and never really DID finish any of the army, so…  It looks OK, not professionally painted, but will look decent on the table I think.  And consistent with the same colors, etc…  Might get back to playing that game eventually…  Liking how it plays, but the Attack Wing stuff is just easier to pack up and get in some pickup games, so…  Looking like STAW at Gen Con unless somehow I can get into the X-Wing event on Thursday…  That sold out quick, so not really all that much a chance, so a nice slow trip over and Friday playing STAW/wandering the center…  Guessing the girls will want to come Saturday, so keeping the day clear…  Hopefully my kilt will be back by then J…

Motorcycle is still running, but apparently we now have a monsoon season in Illinois…  But have a nice new Bluetooth device that allows some background music to be played, and it is AWESOME to have that…  An amazing gift from my patient and understanding wife J…  Workouts are starting to come along, still looking for a new job I guess...  We'll see how things work out...

Engine, Diesel, One Each

Engine, Diesel, one each….  It is very important to be specific when you are asking for something.  The Engine comment is something that I ordered back when I was in the Army.  See, we just got back from our first combat deployment and we were engaged in a major overhaul of our equipment.  Now, I got bored pretty easily and we had access to the “big book of things” that did contain pretty much EVERY thing we could possibly order.  We needed to replace the engine pack for our M-113.  Well, in reading the big book of “stuff” I did come across a listing for “Engine, Diesel, One Each”.  The 113 A2 was in fact powered by a Diesel engine.  So, it MIGHT have made sense that one could order just the engine.  You couldn’t, there was an Engine Pack with the differentials, etc…  So, I was wanting to see just how far it would go before someone caught the “error” when I ordered the Engine.  If one were to read the whole description in the book, one might have made the connection and realized that there was something else called a Diesel Engine.  A train for instance.  So…  Nothing came in for a few days, then Division HQ called our CO to let him know that, “Yes, we do have one.  Where would you like it delivered, and by the way, why does a line combat Engineer Company need a train?”…  Never did get the train J…  CO had a darn good idea who actually ordered the train, and as punishment I was promoted to the “Training NCO” for the Company… 

So, applied for a few other jobs at the University.  Things with “Director” in the job title.  Guess it is about time I actually get an actual “Management” job since I’ve actually been doing it for a few years now and have been in formal training and schooling (MS in IT).  There is a great deal of talk about a lot of the IT on Campus going to a more central model.  From my perspective iiff this is done right, it will work.  Problem is that I feel like “Big Joe”, Telly Savalis’ character from “Kelly’s Heroes” yelling at Kelly about him “counting on the Artillery to be ON TIME and ON TARGET, when they have yet to be”…  So, since there is pretty much nowhere to go in my current organization until things shake out with the new “Executive Director” for us…  If it ends up being the one I hope, then there is a possibility of moving up here…  Assuming of course I do not end up taking another position elsewhere before…  Since EVERYTHING moves at the speed of committee here…  We’ll see I guess.  I know I am a finalist for one position, and thinking my resume at least looks good for a few others… 

Gaming wise, in 40K the Space Marines are getting another new Codex…  Not really sure how much has changed really…  Free transports if you follow the Force Org chart for Companies and Demi Companies (?), so I expect there will be some broken builds involving that.   So, my Crimson Fists could hit the field again and probably have a decent chance…  Eh, I may get around to painting again soon.  The 30K Wolves I had been painting are looking pretty good, and I hear that Book 5 or the Horus Heresy series is out…  Still Wolf free, so not really all that excited about it.  So, thinking that painting and perhaps gaming cycle will begin again soon.  The basement cleaning will continue and will see about building a shared hobby space for my wife and I…

Pool opening soon…  Filter basket did not survive the winter, so that has to be replaced…  I really do not like swimming these days…  I did once, but some of my time playing Army killed that as well for me…  And looking for the weather to clear so I can ride the Silverwing again…

But all things considered, things are going quite well…

STAW, and is it June already?

So, we finished up the "Resistance is Futile" arc for STAW...  We wound up getting some more players who used to play at the game store in town that just closed...  So, 7 of us and the group is getting back up to close to where we were at our height...  I wound up running a Dominion (Cardassian) fleet since the scenario was pretty much "half the table, no terrain" with the Borg automatically attacking anything that ventured into their half...  So, a straight joust really.  I fielded:

"Shoot like Voting in Chicago"

Resource: Fleet Captain Independent (Klingon) (5)

Koranak (26)
Gul Dukat (5)
FleetCaptain (0)
Unnecessary Bloodshed (0)
Adm. Gul Madred (5)
Boheeka (1)
Breen Aide (1)
Ship SP: 43

Reklar (26)
Sar (1)
Ship SP: 27

Dominion Attack Fighters (20)
Ship SP: 20

Total Build SP: 90

Generated by STAW Builder
http://www.dracossoftware.com/STAWHome.html

The Koranak is a 5 Dice attack that is almost guaranteed to hit with all 5.  The Reklar is "just" 4 Attack, but both have 180 degree firing arcs.  Fighters are starting at a 6 Attack, are HARD to kill and are just really quite good on the table (thanks to my amazing wife for working with the Gopher to get those during the Christmas season :-))...  The build is pretty much my "A" game build, ruthless and effective.  I wound up sweeping the field in each of my 3 games, but they were all close games against pretty good opponents...  Ironically, the one ship that survived in all 3 games was the Reklar...  Not as much a threat, but solid ship.  Glad this is the last of the blind buys though, got pretty old with this round of them being ships I had no interest in...  So, won the Cardassian ship AND the Borg Cube, but traded it off to be sure that Joe got the Cardassian ship as well...  Wanted to be sure that all of the regulars who play the faction have the ship...

But looking good for STAW at the Gopher...  X-Wing is even heading in the right direction there...  Overall looking quite good gaming wise...

Just got back from Universal Studios in FL with the family...  An excellent vacation, highly recommend if you have teenagers to entertain :-)...  Otherwise, moving along with school and job searches...  And still need to replace the windshield of the ancient Silverwing...  Looking forward to riding again at some point...

X-Wing event and STAW the next day... Oh, On Vacation now...

So, X-Wing event coming up

Kath Scarlet (Scum) — Firespray-31	38
Lone Wolf	2
Tactician	2
Inertial Dampeners	1
Engine Upgrade	4
Ship Total: 47
IG-88C — Aggressor	36
Push the Limit	3
Sensor Jammer	4
Heavy Laser Cannon	7
Inertial Dampeners	1
Autothrusters	2
Ship Total: 53
So, the plan is to have the Firespray on one flank, and the Aggressor on the other staying back for long ranged firepower. The two will meet in the middle somewhere more or less with the Aggressor being annoyingly fast I think. Kath in the Firespray hoping to lure people into her rear arc and getting 4-5 dice attacks with the Tactician and Lone Wolf bonuses… Going into the STAW event Monday, I will play Dominion I think… Have the Fighters, the Keldon class ship(s) and/or the Galor class ones. The prize ship is another Galor class, but a REALLY good one at least for the way I play that is. So, bringing my closer to “A” game with Joe and I both gunning for the Cardassian ship. We’ll see how it works out, his Dominion fleet is pretty rough to face, he favors the BB class ships, so nothing subtle, but effective. Actually on vacation now… Took almost a whole week off, something unheard of for me. Gone to the Universal Studios resort in Orlando. It is quite amazing. If you are a fan of the Harry Potter stuff like my wife and daughters (Yes, me too), then this all is a lot of fun. The package deal we got included the “Fast Pass” which is a “bypass main line” card… Not sure if it would be worth it for full price, but it was included and WELL worth it for us. Getting to just walk up to the Hulk roller coaster and be put at the front of the line made it a LOT nicer. Did not apply to say, the HP castle ride, that one everyone had to wait in line for, but we did get early admission to the parks and so we went first thing and only had a 20 minute wait or so… Expensive overall, but since it is a once in a LONG while at least thing… And the girls loved it so J…

Gaming while ill... X-Wing and STAW

So…  Playing Strategy games while ill and on Sudafed is a fail.  Got out to the Gopher to play in their X-Wing day event, decided to try out a ship I’d never flown and…  Well, apparently I chose wisely NOT riding the Silverwing in.  I got hit hard by whatever hit my amazing wife earlier…  Wound up having fun, but playing like crap.  First game I parked my big ship on an asteroid and wound up staying there for 3 turns…  Needless to say, went poorly with my Heavy Laser Cannon  out of action for so long.  The Y-Wings I flew were quite good, but rather like flying the old Vipers up against the new Cylon fighters (Yes, BSG on BBC America last night)…  Possible to do damage, but you are clearly outclassed by everything else out there…  The Aggressor was survivable.  And if I didn’t make stupid mistakes and literally fly off the board in my next two games I would have at least done well…  The Y’s did a fair amount of damage though the Range 1 limit of the Auto Blaster turret meant they have no choice but be VERY aggressive and fly right at whatever they are going after.  With the 3 Maneuvers being Green, I can make some good progress especially with an additional 1 Bank from the Engine Upgrade…  Surprisingly, I only put on of these on an Asteroid, and I got them into Range 1 of things pretty well so they were decently effective…  Not nearly top tier I think.  Neat, and fun but not something to take to a serious event.  I suspect in June when I play in the Titan event that I will be flying my more familiar Firespray if I stick with S&V, or go back to some of the more competitive Rebel builds… 

3 B-Wings make for a pretty decent force…

Blue Squadron Pilot — B-Wing	22
Fire-Control System	2
Heavy Laser Cannon	7
Ship Total: 31
Blue Squadron Pilot — B-Wing	22
Fire-Control System	2
Heavy Laser Cannon	7
Ship Total: 31
Ten Numb — B-Wing	31
Veteran Instincts	1
Fire-Control System	2
"Mangler" Cannon	4
Ship Total: 38

Have another STAW event coming up, and unfortunately, the prize ship is a REALLY good Dominion ship…  So, Joe and I will both be gunning for it.  Getting bigger crowds in so will have to bring my “A” game I guess…  Have a LOT of ships fortunately, so fleet building should be interesting…  Federation or Dominion I think.  Played Klingons and Romulans most recently.  Will see if the Fed Fighters come in to the Gopher, else the Dominion it will be.  I think the fighter Squadron, a Keldon and a Galor make for the basis.  Joe tends toward the Battleships (BB).  So, my ships will be more maneuverable but his hit like…  Well, Battleships.  And can take a hit like one as well.  My ships will move well and hit hard, just not quite as hard nor can I survive the big hits as well.  The Fighters though…  Those are the wild card that I think can tip it my way.  We’ll see, Joe know hit fleet well and it will be tough…  And of course there are new players showing up which is great…  In general J…  We’ll see, already have the USS Hood, so the Fed builds might be a thing with stuff no one else local has yet…

Gen Con plans, GI reflections and Motorcycle fun...

So, apparently I was late signing up for the Gen Con X-wing stuff, I thought they were doing Thursday AND Friday qualifiers for a Saturday final, so was going to get in on Friday…  Nope, Thursday qualifiers and with us travelling on Thursday not going to try to get on the wait list.  Signed up for an early morning tournament last year and travelling with the family is…  Well, a LOT different than by myself or with a few other Ex-GI buddies able to realistically get up and on the road at “oh dark”.  But going there with the family is a LOT more fun in so many other ways, so NOT a bad thing in any way…  Just have to recognize the limits beforehand and avoid the stress of trying to travel quickly and keep a schedule with a bunch of people who have NO interest in being ON a schedule J…  So, guessing I’ll be playing STAW…  I suppose my Dwarves could come out and play for Warmachine, but thinking I’d get stomped pretty hard there playing a “thematic” force like Dwarves rather than a “We’re just here to kill shit” force…

Got me thinking a bit…  Guessing a lot of people think I’m a bit strange with the way I interact with others.  I do not in general make friends easily or get too close to  people. Over the years, starting mostly around the time I joined the Army, I wound up losing a lot of my friends.  We did not lose anyone on either of my “combat deployments”, but not long after that we started.  Honestly, given what we did then and after I am more than a little surprised ANY of us survived.  In any case, kind of a defense mechanism I guess, keeping people at a bit of a distance because they were likely to die in a bit anyway, so no real point getting to know them.  Am told it comes across as arrogance at times.  And that was pretty much where I was when I got out, so not a real stretch J…  There was also the whole CID infiltrating our units when I was in Germany that tended to breed a real distrust between the old timers and the new guys.  Was NOT effective finding drugs or whatever they were looking for, but it was VERY effective at destroying unit morale in any unit getting replacements.  When a guy shows up with pressed and starched uniforms, highly polished boots, combat patches and claims to have been an Engineer or Grunt for years…  Without ever getting dirty?  No.  Little things that just stick out to someone who has been doing this for a while…  Was another reason we really did not need to NOT get close to anyone else.  “I’ve got all the friends I need” J…  Might have been something I’d heard working with folks on the other side of the war against crime… 

Oh, and this happened last week:

Glad I was heading home at an odd time, wearing the helmet/leather jacket/gloves and have my reflexes still…  Caught the piece as it broke free in the cross wind.  35 year old Plexiglas and a strong wind…  Well, the Wind won looks like J…  Took the rest of the shield off and looking for a replacement now…  Just does not feel right riding without the big shield to hide behind, so I guess I've gotten soft in my old age J…