F*$£*&^ B!$*&!£ Windows

Thursday 16th February 2017 - Microsoft

That kind, considerate and ever thoughtful company Microsoft forcibly installed its Anniversary Update on my computer late on Thursday evening.  On Friday morning I came down to find the machine still on.

Getting onto the Internet, sending passwords, etc has now become a nightmare.  The whole system is completely slugged.  It feels like I am back on dial-up.  There is, of course, no news as to when this American Giant will sort out its own mess.


Saturday 18th February 2017 - WDW

I didn't go and nobody has told what went on.  As there is no meeting on Monday (20th) I will have to wait until next Monday (27th) to find out.


Monday  20th February 2017

Luckily for me I have another computer with Linux (Ubuntu 16.10) as the primary operating system.   I am migrating everything I can to this machine even though it is only 32 bit.  It might be possible to dual boot my 64 bit computer if I can get Windows 10 make some room (another nasty Windows trick).  Meanwhile I will struggle on in the Microsoft  midden.


Thursday 23rd February 2017 

My other hobby - Folk Dancing - has been taking up my time this week - Monday at Great Preston (nr Castleford); Tuesday calling at Sherburn in Elmet and Wednesday at Barnsley.  Will be sharing the calling on Friday at Wrenthorpe (Wakefield) as well.

No commitments next week so maybe, just maybe, I can fit in some wargaming!  I can only hope.

Just One of Those Weeks!

Monday 13th February 2017 - WDW

King of the Battlefield - French v French (7YW)
Baroque (Impetus) - Montrose v Covenanters - Auldearn 1645
DBMM - Later Achaemenid Persian v Chiang & Ti

DBM - NW American v Anglo-Norman - setup by 18.30 hrs - finish at 19.58 hrs.  The Welsh ally threw a '1' at the start so it sat back and watched proceedings.  The flank march came on first round and its general promptly threw another '1'.  On paper this should have been a walk-over for the Anglo-Normans. Good dice on the NWA side and sluggish response on ours meant that we lost one command and then the Welsh changed sides. I cannot disclose which individual threw both poor dice!!!

Footnote:  didn't know if I would attend WDW this evening after attending the funeral of a close friend.  Really brings home human mortality.


Tuesday 14th February 2017

Having been loaned a copy of "Lion Rampant" I could compare it to "The Pikeman's Lament" (which I purchased at Vapnartak).  The two rule sets are pretty similar - same mechanisms with some period-specific fine tuning.  With LR in my hot stickies I could check out the references in QR (see last posting) and make sense of them.

I have no doubt that a 'primary' set plus supplements could have been produced but applaud Osprey for not going down that particular road with the 'Mersey' books.


Wednesday 15th February 2017

Managed to slap some basic colours on my Incas & Vikings before it got too cold and my fingers turned white.  Not fooled by the sun streaming through the window either. 


Thursday 16th February 2017 - HS2

Going to a traveling show of HS2.  Don't quite know what to expect - it could just be all propaganda.  Strongly opposed to a vanity project which will only benefit London (AGAIN).

Another footnote:  struggling to log out after posting.  Since Microsoft forced the 'Anniversary Update' upon me my internet connection has been slugged.  Will have to resurrect my old 32 bit machine so that I can use Linux again.....or spend yet more time trying to figure out how to get Windows to share......sigh!!!!!

 

Quetzalcoatl Rampant

........I couldn't resist an unpronounceable title.


Sunday 5th February 2017 - Vapnartak, York

Well it took me less than an hour to reach the venue and parking was straightforward (if muddy).  Entry was free for an old codger (£5 for the working aged). As usual there were plenty of stalls including a number of 15mm manufacturers.  It was also pretty crowded.

My haul included "The Pikeman's Lament" skirmish rules (Osprey) plus 44 Viking blades (Magister Militum & Museum Miniatures).  The only 'plastics' I found were the expensive Perry models plus odd items on the selling tables.

So what were my impressions of the show?  Retrenchment was my feeling.  Ranges seem to have shrunk and continue to do so (this applies to all the shows that I have been to in the past year).  Perhaps this is a reflection of Britain's current economic malaise!

Still probably the best show in the North but.....they really need to sort out the 'Bring & Buy" (throughput is awful).


Monday 6th February - WDW

"The Men Who Would Be Kings" - Colonial bash between Mahdists and Egyptian/Brits.  As expected the Egyptians got a pasting (including the Sudanese) but the Brits also suffered a bloody nose.  
"Cry Havoc" - Ian had discovered some (long forgotten) sets in his loft.  A 3-handed scenario was played out to the pleasure of all.
DBM - Later Carthaginian v Polybian Roman.  Another drawn game but the Roman left and centre were in trouble.


Tuesday 7th February

Whilst meandering through the Internet I discovered  Quetzalcoatl Rampant:

It is a variant on Daniel Mersey's "Lion Rampant"
http://ilivewithcats.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/quetzalcoatl-rampant.html

As regular readers will know I have tried out a number of rule sets for warfare in the New World without being really taken with any of them.  This 'new' set looks interesting but doesn't fit into any of the basing systems that I use.  For "DBA in the New World" my 20mm figures are on 40mm x 40mm bases with 5 (warriors) or 3 (skirmishers) models on them.  My 15mm figures are currently on standard DBM-type bases with a 40mm frontage and various depths.  QR wants individuals with 6 or 12 to a company. 

Some of the club members play "Impetus" or "Baroque" with sabot bases. Integral are small, raised, squares to house tiny dice.  Casualties are not removed directly but indicated by the die.  It seems to work well.  Maybe I can use something similar!

Vapnartak on Sunday

Monday 30th January 2017 - WDW

Baroque ECW - a straight Royalists v Parliamentarians battle (the over-priviledged v the miseries)
Star Wars (Imperial Assault) on cardboard terrain.
Honshu (card game) - this is one I have played before
DBM - Serbian v Hungarian.  I thought that I had broken Chris' command only to find that I had placed some of my casualties in the wrong column.  The result was that one of my (Serbian) commands broke shortly followed by another.  Chris was within one element of breaking.  An 'early bath' at 21.10 hrs.


Thursday 2nd February - DBA in the New World

I finally got around to putting together a Tarascan army list.  It's based upon the Fog lists in "Blood and Gold" plus "Cities of Gold".  I compared the bases total to the DNW Aztecs then reduced it to 30% to make it comparable.  Before the Spanish turned up the Tarascans were getting the better of their enemies and gaining territory on them.

TARASCAN


2 to 11         Tiacham             Bd(S)        5
7 to 48         Archers              Sh(O)        3
0 to 4          Slingers               Sk             2
0 to 11         Archers               Sk            2

Example 75 pts Armies

Tarascan                                                             Aztec:

6 x Tiacham      Bd(S)  @  5  =   30                 8 x Warriors        Bd(S)  @   5   =   40
12 x Archers     Sh(O)  @  3  =   36                 10 x Warriors      Bd(O)  @   3  =   30
2 x Slingers       Sk       @   2  =   4                  2 x Slingers         Sk        @   2  =   4
2 x Archers       Sk       @   2  =   4

Comparing the two combatants it would seem that the Aztecs will have a 'walk-over'!  I will have to play it out  and see. Maybe upgrading the archers to Sh(S) would better reflect their reputation as the supreme bowmen in the area!