Trench Hills Finished and Blog Birthday

 

The blog turns 8years old this month.  Time flies when you're having fun, which is why the last year dragged on and on and on...

But more on that later.  First, Trench Hills finished.  How exciting for everyone involved.  Which was just me as it was a solo project.  So, I'm excited and no one else.  

Trench Hills

If one wishes, one can see previous steps Here (Part 1) and Here (part 2).  Which are just the previous posts and not in the way back internet.  Kinda a quick project all in all, which is good because it fits my brain programmed by MTV, back when it showed actual Music Videos.  Which still gives me an edge in focus versus today's youth, which is programed by Youtube Shorts.  And in my opinion the whole... 

Lost focus there for a second.  Here are the completed hills.

taadaa!

Contruction notes following up from Part 2 are really basic and hardly worth covering.  So, I put in minimal effort to document it. 

1, Paint all the 'dirt' brown.  But don't get too concerned since it's all being covered in flock anyway.
2. paint all the wooden planks a different brown.  You do have a brown for dirt and a brown for wood right?  These can't possibly be the same brown right?
3. Coat the stairs in black paint + Modpodge.  because that's what crafters do to strengthen the foam.  I think.  I don't know, I see everyone on Youtube shorts do it.  
4. Paint individual stair stones different colors for variation.

That last step is wrong.  You should probably do that after you dry brush the gray for a stronger contrast. Don't be like me.

5. Afterward give everything a heavy drybrush in grey.
One grey for stone, and one for old wood.
You do have 2 different greys right?  Couldn't just use the same one.

When dry, give everything a black wash, and then flock away.  I wanted to ensure that these Hills matched my Quar trench table.  While creating the perfect flock mixture for the This Quar's War Trench terrain Board (Trade mark pending), Past Me made extra because he knew that Future Me wouldn't remember the mix.  Past Me stored it in a container and labeled it accordingly.

Way to Save the Day Past Me!!

Except that I used it all for this project which means that while Present Me is satisfied, Future Me will struggle with matching further projects and will blame Past me for not writing it down. So way to drop the ball Past Me.  

lastly, cut away any excess basing.
Leave just a little bit around the hill.

Now these are made for Quar gaming.  Quar being funny creatures with strange trenches..

Examples of Quar like trenches...

...which has a certain esthetic.  And I kinda, sorta, conceivably, probably, maybe, perhaps, absolutely NAILED IT.  

Especially when you stack em..

I think these came out rather nice.  Now to go do something else.  

but lastly, subject change.  

Blog Birthday

8 years is a long time.  Some of you have been following, reading, and more importantly commenting for several years now.  Thank you.  I mean it sincerely, Thanks a Bunches. 

There are other forms of media to consume besides blogs.  Namely these being Facebook, Discord, and YouTube.  These have their good points.  When you join a Facebook group or a Discord server they tend to focus on a topic / genre, like ACW gaming.  This way, all the posts are at least somewhat related to your interests.  This is an advantage over blogs as blogs tend to wander with whatever topic the author is doing or into.  Sometimes this can be beneficial, as it expands your awareness of what's out there. Maybe even leading to a new project of your own.  Though can also be boring if it's a topic that you already know you're not into.  A good example of the former is my talking about Quar, because everyone loves it and enjoys the breath of fresh air.  An example of the latter is when you blog about Warhammer or even worse, Naps.  Utter snoose.  Yawnstown, population you.  

But a big drawback to Facebook (besides all the AI slop) or Discord is what I will charitably label "the incomplete thought post' but accurately describe as "just noise posts.'   These are posts where someone puts together one 28mm miniature and takes a picture and posts "started!  I'm so excited!"  ... and that's it.  

And maybe I'm being a grouchy older guy, and I do understand the enthusiasm, but I just think "so what? what kind of Youtube short post is this?  Hit me back when you've done a unit or actually accomplished something."  

You tend not get these types of posts with blogs.  Or maybe it's self selection as I don't read blogs with that post in that style.  Blog posts tend to be 'complete thoughts' which I like better.

So with blogs you get Person focused content, and with groups you get Topic focused content.  YouTube has the same challenges and features.  Though YouTube channels tend to be Person focused rather than Topic focused.  Talking head YouTube videos (where the person looks at the camera and talks to you) aren't any better than blog posts really.   YouTube really only has an advantage when it comes to Terrain making, as seeing something done is waaaay better than a picture and a paragraph. 

And filming a game is often way better than a written AAR.  Just easier to follow and flows better.  Written AARs are hard to digest.  With written AARs I tend to just look at the pretty pictures and make some funny comment at the end.  No, not your AARs.  OBVIOUSLY, I mean everyone else's AARs.

In summary, as this has gone on long enough: If blogs tend to person focused, in that you're following the person's hobby throughout various topics, then I really appreciate the time you spend with me.

I do try to make it worth your while.  I try to make my blog posts have a beginning, middle, and an end.  I try to make them complete thoughts.  I try to make it that if the topic isn't to your liking, then at least it might illustrate how I did something or at the very least, have a chuckle. 

I reckon I got two more years until I think about the end, as 10 is a nice round number.  So, count on more blogs posts to come.  At the blistering pace of 2 or 3 a month.  Until then:

Thanks for Reading.
Double thanks for writing a comment.  Bigger thanks as it's my blog bday. You probably want to wish me a happy one.
Till next time.

A Year of Hobby Expense Report

Where was I?
no sooner did I announce to the WORLD that I was back to blogging when I was stuck down by boredom and sickness and totally lost momentum.  

Mostly sickness, mostly pneumonia.  

No matter.  I'm back above ground now, like new sprouts pushing up in a new year. And our parasocial relationship can stand the break.

But still just as just as bored.  

Now let's talk money.

Hobby Expense Report

Alternative title: Holy Sh-  How Much???!! 

Back in January of last year I had the idea that it'd be interesting (and not at all scary) to track how much money I spent on hobby stuff throughout the year.  Kinda like a New Years Resolution.  But unlike those other resolutions like diet and exercise and being nice to my children, I actually did it.  

The rules were simple: doesn't matter what was purchased, but if it was purchased for the purpose of hobby-ness then it made the list.  If the item has other uses that's all well and good, but if I got it in the first place because it was a hobby need, then hobby purchase it was.  NEED say I.  Like breathing and water.

Here is the of purchases with the initial organization just the sequence in time as I purchased things throughout the year.  

-$20 bouncy balls
-$16 storage tubs
-$70 more paint pens
-$68 more Quar Miniatures
-$360 more Wooden Wars
-$30 Hot Lead and Cold Steel ACW rules
-$45 Bolt Action 2nd Edition rules
-$30 Drop cloth
-$30 House paint 
-$60 Quar tractors
-$95 plastic Quar Miniatures 
-$50 Army painter dark-dip
-$47 More Quar Miniatures
-$134 Proxxon Hot Wire foam cutter.
-$17 paint brushes
-$17 balsa wood stripper
-$10 Balsa wood sheets
-$78 XPS foam
-$78 lumber
-$58 Shifting Lands Guider Pro (MDF fence for the Proxxon)
-$20 Spackle and Liquid Nails
-$20 Craft sticks
-$38 Magnetic miniature bases
-$7 Coffee stir sticks
-$25 Hydrocal plaster
-$50 Bolt Action V3 rules 
-$28 storage tub / metal sheet
-$50 more Quar Miniature
-$300 Pacificon convention
-$15 spray glue
-$20 coffee grounds
-$300 Army Painter paint set
-$72 More Quar Miniatures
-$25 Vetcon
-$40 resin fences 
-$60 Midgard heroic battle Rules
-$105 terrain making scenics from Scenic express (flock and stuff) 

And not to bury the lead, the grand total is $2,410.  

Which I am not sure how I feel about.  It's definitely more than I thought it would be at the beginning of the year (about 150% more than initial estimate) but less than a Disneyland vacation for the family. I'm sure I missed a few things here and there. I don't see spray primer on that list and I'm pretty sure I bought a can of Krylon matte Black spray primer sometime.  Or did I? 

Kinda shows that if I just stopped buying stuff for a year and just painted what I had, I could have saved a not insignificant amount of money. 

Now that I have data, I can do my best impression of Johnathan Freitag and do some maths and analytics.  or it is data?  I never know if it's data like Dah-tah or if it's data like Day-tah.  

here are some broad categories:

Money spent on....

Miniatures:

Quar: $392

Wooden Wars; $360

Rulebooks:  $185 (4 total)

Paints: $350 

Attending Conventions:  $325

Proxxon Cutter and accessories: $192

Terrain Supplies (including the trench boards):  $418.

I could go into more details I guess, but it's doesn't seem all that interesting to actually do so.  

And I have no idea if this represents a typical year of my hobby spending or maybe I was a spendthrift or maybe, even, I was incredibly restrained.  

So I'll do it again this year.  

Like last year I'll keep a little tally going on the right side of the blog.  

And then maybe next year there'll be more to talk about.  This post is just convenient online storage.  

Thanks for reading.

Double thanks for writing a comment.

Till next time.

6 Years of Blogging

Time to celebrate another blogging birthday; this time with free stuff.  

6 Years of Mostly 

Over the last 6 years there have been a total of 159 posts on this Terrible Blog, that breaks down to about 2 post a month, which is not a great commitment when you think about it. Though my posts tend to be a little on the longer side as blog posts typically go.  It's just the style I like.  I'm in love with the sound of my own keyboard.

There has been a small variety of post topics / genres that have been discussed.  I tend to focus on something for a few months at a time as I get all involved - obsessed with it, and then move on when it hits a conclusion.  Which means there are periods where it's the same main topic over and over.  Kinda like stages of development.  Here is the Age of Sail phase.  There is the Dark Ages phase.  Great, now it's a pain in the ass Star Trek phase.  

People do charts and stats in these summary posts.  I'm no different.  

This Pie Graph shows the distribution
of past blog topics.

As you can see, it's mostly just a big waste of time. Charts don't lie. Charts are not people.

Hopefully, it's been an amusing waste of time.

Blog Death

I wonder how blogs die.  Obviously they die when the person dies, but lets not be that morbid.  I think its more that people stop posting for some reason and that reason is some form of   "effort not equaling reward."  

I'm not sure what the reward of doing a free blog would be.  I feel like I blog more out of habit now than anything.  Obviously I crave admiration and recognition; but that's more to do with my incredibly long and flexible toes than my wargaming skills.  Seriously, my toes should be famous. 

I mostly like the online interaction of everyone taking turns doing show and tell.  So thanks to everyone in this little online community for making it fun and keeping this blog of Terrible Loss rolling with your interest.   

Free Stuff

Blogging has got me some free stuff over the years.  I've done some trades ups, I've won the odd contest, Jon once just gave me some ACW Zouaves.  BW once sent me a Medal.  

So to celebrate 6 years of blogging and online community; it's time to host my own blog birthday give away!  I'm rolling in cash right now after getting lucky at the Indian casinos; so the prize will be a $30 gift card to the miniature company of your choice.  That should be enough for us historical gamers to get a box of plastic troops, and you OTHER gamers one miniature from Games Workshop.  

RULES:

People can earn entries (like tickets) for doing the following and one entry will be drawn at random for the prize.  (so more entries means higher chance of winning).

1 entry for leaving a comment on this post.

1 additional entry for identifying a past post on this blog / subject that was NOT a waste of time.  Just something you enjoyed.  

1 additional entry for paying me a compliment (I am easily bribed).

1 free additional entry for all of those that are the regular commentators that do me the favor of writing a comment all the time.  Because you're the best.

Give away will run until 7/26/23. 

I hope this will be just a bit of fun.  

-Stewart

The 5 Year Bump

 This Blog of Terrible Loss is 5 years old this month.  Happy blogging birthday.  Let's talk about Blogging in general and what you can get me in specific. 

Ok, so it's not quite talking.  I'll type and you'll read but try to hear my voice in your head as you do and it will feel like talking.  I sound like a combination of Darth Vader and PeeWee Herman.

5 Years of This Nonsense

So I've been doing this for 5 years now which officially makes me an expert and perhaps, the best blogger ever.  I mean suuuure some blogs will post more often with better content and with less typos; but how many of them have a fun title like mine?     

All of them?  Are you sure?....Ok, never mind that last bit then.  but I'm still an expert. Because I say so.

The problem with blogging is that the vast majority of blog posts are what I have come to call 'look-it posts.'  As in "Look it, I painted something."  or "Look it, I played a game."  or "Look it, I bought something."  These posts are the peanut butter and jelly of blog posts; meaning that it's an easy stable that everybody eats when there is nothing better (or no time to cook).  Even in my own blog there are mainly Look-It posts.  And Look-It posts, like peanut butter and jelly, are boring.

-Wait! that's obviously an inflammatory statement meant to raise engagement in what is otherwise boring text.  Read on, I'm going somewhere with this.

The reason there are so many mundane Look-it posts on a wargaming blogs is that it's reflective of what we do 90% of the time.  Buying things, painting them, and then playing with them.  And this not a bad thing, as it indicates a healthy hobby life.  

But every once in a while, we do something really cool.  We put on that BIG game, we do a cool terrain tutorial, we write a scenario, do a excellent wargame review, or we write a hit song about our love of goldfish crackers or something like that.  These are some of the better blog posts because they demonstrate something, and are inherently more interesting.  These posts provide to the online community because the posts are informational and/or inspirational; becoming a resource for others.  Posts like these are what drew me to blogs in the first place.  

I'm happy that I've done a couple of these over the years.  These posts also tend to get found more in google searches because they offer something that people are a looking for.  Over the last 5 years my top 5 most viewed posts are:

Clash of Spears Review  written in August 2020

DIY Wargame Mat written in August 2017

Forest tutorial written in August 2020

DIY Wargaming Roads written in July 2018

ACW Rule Reviews written in  Feb 2021

-The pattern? In-depth terrain construction and thoughts about wargaming rules.  Obviously no one in the wider internet really cares that I painted 10 Viking miniatures to a reasonable table standard. 

These type of posts take a lot of effort to do.   The projects are large and the posts take forever to write. To continue our food analogy; these posts are the fancy meals, the Thanksgiving Dinner of blog posts.  And I'm proud of those posts (and others like them, there are a few).  They are entertaining, informative, and make me look good; if I do say so myself.   

The kicker is: If my blog only had fancy meal posts the it might be a good resource, but blogging would not be very much fun.  As anyone who has made Thanksgiving Dinner (or any big fancy meal for a lot of people) can attest; It's a LOT of work, there is often swearing involved, usually a minor burn, and crying children.  All for the glorious presentation on the table and the meal is over in 40 mins with nothing left over but dirty dishes and general feeling of being dissatisfied.  And a tummy ache.

When I started blogging, I envisioned mostly doing fancy meal posts but quickly realized that if I stuck to those types of posts alone, there really wouldn't be much here.  There would be long periods of inactivity and no one would be able to tell if the blog was 'active' or gone 'dormant.'   It would be a nice resource for folks, but there wouldn't be much interaction.  

And to be fair, It's not like any of those top 5 posts are jaw dropping-ly good.  I'm not really an expert in anything and all my posts take the tone of  "if this mook can do it, then you can to and probably better."  The only thing that I am consistently good at is falling asleep in bed at night while my wife talks to me.  I do it ALL the time.  

I've said before that without some interaction, blogging would be too much like shouting into the void.

So I started to post more often on the mundane stuff.  The stuff I did 90% of the time.  It was easier for the blog to be 'active' (for me; 2-3 posts a months is about right).  Number of followers grew; currently at 93.  I never really know what that number signifies other than somebody liked something enough to click on the button.  Number of Blogging buddies grew and interaction increased and blogging was fun.  Turns out folks like Peanut Butter and Jelly.  Turns out I like Peanut Butter and Jelly.

As long as it's grape jelly, maybe strawberry.  Anything else is GROSS.  My wife likes raspberry and it's constant source of friction in my house.

Because We All Like PB&J

A Loooooong time ago, before my life was dominated by children, I used to be a part of some wargaming clubs.  More over, I used to actually GO to the club meetings.  2 or 3 times a months really.  Not only would we play some games but people would bring their newly painted miniatures to show off and get ohs and awes.  If meeting in a game store people would make purchases and temp others to do the same.  While playing in one game you could wander over to people playing in another and gab for a bit.  You get the idea.

I'm still part of clubs but much more of a sideline / periphery member.  I hardly ever go to any meetings.  I'm more like a fun guest star and not in the regular cast; I'm the third in the threesome.
In a lot of ways, blogging has become my on-line club.  Especially with the little network of Best Blogging Buddies where we consistently follow each others blogs by writing comments.  There are about 10 people who regularly write a comment on any piece of shit post that I write; and I routinely write comments on their posts which are works of art.  

With some of these guys; we've been doing this for YEARS.  years I say.   There's around 10 additional people who occasionally write a comment  on this blog when something strikes a cord or when life allows.  Therefore most of my posts have around 20 -30 ish comments on them (10-ish people writing a message and me replying.  I always reply, it's just good manners).  
I think this is GREAT fun and provides that interaction that I no longer get from real life (for hobbys anyway).  

I'm not trying to say that this is a LOT or a LITTLE. I see plenty of other blogs that get way more comments and actually see scores of blogs that get waaaay less.  What I'm trying to say is that blogging has become a fun way to get little wargaming-themed bursts of Dopamine from nice people; because all comments are positive (all comments I write are meant to be positive).  I've never had anyone write a comment  saying something like 'your painting sucks and your terrain is trash and you should feel bad because your life is bad!"

Plus, when you follow someone's blog for awhile you do get a kinda-sorta sense of who they are as a real person; and over time they become less like strangers on the internet but more like online pen pals.  On line club members who are sharing some fun hobby stuff.  So when they post "hey look-it, I did this thing" My first thought is "Cool bro.  Nice job.  Your hobby stuff is aces and thanks for sharing."  because Peanut Butter and jelly is not boring depending on who you eat it with.  It's not the food, it's the company.  It's not boring at all.

So to sum up; I've learned that there are basically two kinds of posts in the miniature wargaming blogging world --  RESOURCE posts that tend to get more views and LOOK-IT posts that tend to get more comments.  Any blog that can do both is probably on the right track for super blog stardom (if that's a thing). Look-it posts are much easier to do so tend to get more of them.  

But more importantly THANKS everyone who takes the time to interact, even sporadically.  I really appreciate it and more over, enjoy it.  I hope you also enjoy my lame attempts to be funny and interact on your blog.  

That'd Be A Good Place to Wrap up the Post

But I won't!  Keep it going keep it going!  It's my goal that this will be the ONLY blog post you read tonight.  Or Skim.  or just laugh at the silly memes I pulled from the internet. 

5 Years is a significant mile stone.  Now that we've talked about blogging in general lets bring up the uncomfortable subject of gifts, and what YOU can get me in specific....

You can write me a comment of course!  I just talked about how I liked them.  Just a line to say "nice job so far on this terrible blog.'  even if you haven't done so in a long time.  go on, do it.  Like and Subscribe, ring the bell, and that BS.

Or, if you really want to go above and beyond for this big occasion; write me a blog bump.  

A blog bump is when you use your blog to highlight someone else's blog.  So that your audience can be directed over here to my blog and I CAN STEAL THEM.  

But maybe that will increase the exposure of this Terrible Blog and I'll get a few more folks leaving comments regularly which will mean I'll leave comments on their posts and we'll all get a little more interaction.  Which should increase the fun for everyone. But don't feel like you have to,  

--I don't want to come across that I am chasing comments or likes.  I do care a little bit as I just said I think it's fun; but I don't care so much that I'm up late at night worrying about my view count.  I also don't have any ads or monetary investment in this blog or some strange youtube-ish algorithm that I need to face.  But I will say that MOST of the people that have become Best Blogging Buddies / Online Club Members are the ones I have found mentioned on someone's blog I was already following.  The post went "hey check out so and so blog because he is ONE OF US."  And so I do.  I write a comment like "Hi, I wandered over here from X's blog.  Nice place you got here."  and they would reply "welcome to my parlor Fly" and so it begins.   

Now It's Really Time to Stop

I agree.  Thanks for sticking with this long wall of text.  I hope it was thought provoking and entertaining.  I'll be back *soon* to say 'look-it, I painted some Vikings.'  

Thanks for reading.

Double thanks for writing a comment.

Triple thanks if you do the BUMP.  Be sure to let me know so I send you flowers.

Now, What Was I Doing Again?

 Oh that's right: Awesome Miniature Wargaming Blogging!  I knew it was something really important like that....

Absence Makes the Heart

Hi there internet friends.  I've been distracted for awhile and I have hope that you have missed my unique style of prose and witty commentary.  Probably not, but lie to me all the same because I have a delicate ego that can't take much rejection.  It's what my wife does... 

 I'm still sad from the rejection from that time I tried out for American Idol, and America's Got Talent, and America's Funniest Home Videos...

To make up for the lack of utterly free content over the last 2ish months, this promises to be a longer post today.  Unfortunately most of it is very boring...

But first:

Blogging Issues:

Everyone seems to get to have an issue with the new blogger software, and this one is mine.

Even though  I haven't writing posts I've been trying to keep up to date with all of yours, which is something that I enjoy.  But I was struggling to leave comments as is my usual behavior as I kept getting this error after I hit publish...

Screen shot from the phone of the annoying error...

And my witty insightful comment would just DISAPPEAR into the unknown ether.   I would try to write the comment again and get the error again, and you get the idea.  Then because I am lazy and lack free time I would give up.  Or if I did keep trying (because I really like you) the comment would get shorter and shorter because my thumbs would tire of pecking it out over and over again; so a several sentence comment with a funny joke would be reduced to "nice job" when it finally went through.  

I don't really know why it's happening, but I'm hoping it will just sort itself out over time and I don't have to do anything.  I love doing nothing.  I already have SO many things in my life that require maintenance: house, car, my growing waist, work, children....  

Good news; I have noticed that it's starting to happen less often.  I think.

SO if you have noticed that I was commenting on your blog and suddenly stopped or drastically decreased; that is the reason.  Either that or you stopped commenting on my blog so I stopped on yours because I am small petty vindictive man....but it's a new year so I'll try to grow up a bit.  

But more likely the error or simply a lack of time as I've also been very distracted lately...

Distracted by Nicknames

The main reason for being absent for the last 2 months is because I've been too busy trying to come up with a nickname for my newest child: born in early December, Son #3.  

All of my children have nicknames.  Daughter #1 (age 7) is known as 'The Terror' because of her constant bad attitude.  I don't know where it comes from because I certainly don't have a poor attitude, But it's like I have my very own Nature Vs Nurture experiment going on.  Son #1 is mostly called 'The Angel' and sometimes called 'The Ghost' because he died as a baby.  He was born sick and passed away in our arms; and when he is called the Ghost it is because we are 'The Haunted.'   

Son #2 (age 2) is called 'The Destructor' because he knocks over, spills, or breaks almost anything he gets his hands on.  In fact he recently broke our large screen TV when he threw a $3 plastic dinosaur at it.  HARD, apparently.  I was in another room feeding the baby while the wife was in the shower when my daughter came in and told me that "he threw it at the TV and it suddenly turned off....."

This newborn Son #3 needs a nickname; So far I've been trying out 'The Surprise' or perhaps 'The Added Complication,' which sounds right; being that I am in my mid-forties and some would say that was too old to be having babies.  It certainly wasn't something I was planning. Certainly not during a pandemic.  

The only good reason for a mid 40s male to have a newborn baby is because he has a new wife 15-20 years younger than him who didn't have kids of her own but promised to do all the work...

Which is NOT the case here.

Just as well though, I don't really have the energy for that sort of relationship...  

Though it does melt your heart when they fall asleep on you

Of course the above is the Glamour pic for social media when the little guy is a month old.  The reality of a newborn is more like this....

Zombie Dad

The Current State of Play 

(WARNING: Self indulgent analysis ahead):

It's been interesting times hasn't it? (damn that Chinese curse).  Last year in 2020 I managed to get in 12 actual games.  13 if you count me making my in-laws and wife play Pandemic the board game on New Years Eve (which I got as an awesome Christmas gift).   They did have fun. I should play boardgames more often. 

One might think that 12 games is a respectable number in a year with COVID, stay at home orders, game cancellations of all kinds, pregnancy (which made us take the stay at home orders very seriously, and sometimes it feels like no one else does), homeschooling, and etc...  but the thing is; 12 games is also my number from the year before in 2019, when none of that stuff was present.  What gives? 

It's the lack of attending wargame conventions for both years.  In 2019 I was just double booked on convention weekends with family events and of course in 2020 it was Covid that cancelled all the conventions.  But this shows that I have a pattern on relying on game conventions to get in the majority of my time actually playing games.  So instead of having a regular game day / night with the same regular people (more or less);  I do getaway weekends where I play games with acquaintances or strangers (nice as they are).  I would like to be a Regular Gamer, but it seems I am more of an Occasional Gamer.  I wonder if this says anything about me that I don't really have a regular game group?  I don't think I'm particularly unfriendly or stinky that I wouldn't be invited to such things.   

Naaah, that can't be it.  So instead I blame the children; thieves of time that they are. 

Because the thing is; A gaming opportunity has to be SPECIAL enough to warrant time spent away from the family during the weekends because they all rely on me.  I'm not trying to complain too much (but I am a liiitttle bit) because it's nice to be needed and part of a whole.  I think it reflects a phase of life.  People talk a lot about the hobby being grey (as in mainly old dudes) but I suspect that it's not so much a factor of the age of the gamer but the age of the gamer's children.   When you have young children, your time is not your own.  

All of that to say that it looks like 2021 is gonna be another lack luster year for gaming; COVID is still hanging out, now there are even more children, I'm gonna have to move houses which is always a big project, etc...   

That's not to say that I never get out to a club game or over to a friend's house for a game, it's just a rare occasion.  Before COVID, I would also host games at my place but that is not an option for awhile; as the wife was adamant that we could have no guests while pregnant and is just as adamant that we should have no guests with a newborn.  Which makes sense of course.  It's just kind of a bummer. 

So at least for the short term foreseeable future there will be little miniature wargaming opportunities.  Which really puts a damper on my painting motivation because I am solidly one of those 'paint to play' people.  Left to my own devices I wouldn't paint anything just for the sake of painting it.  

It's not that I hate painting; it's a means to an end for me, and without the End (ie, The Wargame) the means lacks substance.  It's like exercise, I don't like working out just for the sake of it; it's the end result I'm after, and the ability to eat hotdogs and pizza guilt free.  

Course, it's been forever since I've actually exercised, it's just an example.  I still eat the pizza and hotdogs though.   

What to Do?   Adapt and Plan

Or is it Plan and Adapt? 

Production Plan: Of course I'm gonna keep painting / working on stuff.  But as time is limited I'm  just gonna break down things into micro projects and one at a time.  Simple projects would be better (most wargaming stuff is simple anyway, it's not a particularly hard hobby to have).  Work on one small item of terrain instead of 3, paint 4 figures instead of 16; that sort of thing.  Ideally this will still see stuff getting completed and aid my mental health /motivation as I'll see progress.  With no big upcoming game event to guide my painting goals, smaller projects will allow me to jump around easier without making the desk too cluttered.  Because I hate clutter.  Clutter is an old enemy of mine.  

Gaming Plan:  Obviously I'm gonna have to rely on solo gaming for awhile.  Though I really only like solo gaming when I'm trying out new rules and want to see how they work on the actual table.  Rules read one way, and sometimes play another.  Plus the set up and tear down of a  miniature game with all the terrain and whatnot is Suuuuuuch a pain in the ass when you're just doing it for yourself.  

It's kinda like cooking; when you're making a meal for your whole family then you'll cook something nice, but if you're just feeding yourself you end up with PB&J or chicken nuggets. 

Given that I am always in a time crunch I also need something that I am able to set up and take down in an evening.  Which turns me to board gaming.  I did some research for good solo games and stumbled upon Journeys in Middle Earth by Fantasy Flight.   Which is billed as an Adventure game set in Middle Earth.

 

So after a day of being Super Husband and Daddy, when everyone was tucked into bed and the wife settled with a hot drink and a Netflix movie (to promptly fall asleep to) ,  I told her I was gonna try the game out and go on adventure.

 

Playing on my kitchen table

 

I won’t go into too much detail about the game itself (not unless you ask); since you can find such info if you wish.  But I did find it to be very fun and so far have played the first two adventures.  Each adventure plays in an evening (2 -3 hours) and the whole game is run through the app so I have no idea what is gonna happen next, so it’s quite engaging.   It’s my first time playing a game that is run by a computer which kinda makes me sound old. 

 Who knows, this might even inspire me to paint some of the LOTR lead pile....

And There We Have It

After 6 weeks at home with the new baby, I'm back at work and we're all settling down into the new routine.  Ideally I'll be able to spend an hour or 2 a week at the hobby desk and the occasional weekend night going on a boardgame adventure.  I'm currently working on some ACW stuff for famed ACWruary month which is just a week away.  Shouldn't be too long before my next post which will feature actual miniature wargaming content; unlike this post which reads like diary.  But since I'm a BIG strong man I'll call it Journal.  A JOURNAL!  

Thanks for reading, and being at all interested in my little goings on.  

Blog birthday; 3 years of Terrible Loss

Let's celebrate with some funky fresh beats..

"keep it going keep it going keep it going full STEAM

Stewie B (that's me) on the blogging SCENE

I'm not fat, but I'm not LEAN

I like to write about war-game-ING

Here I am with a brand new POST

Read it with some jam and TOAST

Not one to brag, not one to BOAST

3 years down and let's make the MOST...

...of it."  

I'm like a long lost Beastie Boy.  Really long lost...

3 Years of Blogging

That seemed to go fast, I must be getting older.  End of July is the blog birthday; 3 years is not a terribly long time compared to other blogs but I'm still new enough to the blogging world that it's a worthy benchmark to celebrate.  I imagine it's like being married; during the early years you celebrate each little anniversary but once you've been married for a decade or so you only celebrate the significant milestones.  But unlike marriage you can quit blogging as soon as it gets too fat and bossy, go find yourself a young new blog with enough energy to take care of the children so you can have more hobby time ......  I got distracted.  

As I have before, I like to spend the blog birthday talking my blogging experience. 

Blogging has become very much part of my routine now, and I have found that it really improves my enjoyment of the hobby.  Mainly because it provides a way to interact with others about miniature wargaming and share thoughts, projects, opinions, information, and etc.. It's that wargame club mentality that I talked about before.  For me it's a big tent and everyone is welcome.

It also helps me feel more engaged in my hobby.  There is a drive to actually get stuff painted and posted.  And during those periods where there isn't much time for painting due to work and family, there a fun opinion and review posts to write that help keep me motivated and feeling involved.  

I think that everyone who writes a blog wants people to read it.  I know I do, otherwise I would just write my little thoughts down in my secret diary that I keep under the bed.  So I am pleased that in 3 years the blog has 62 followers; that's about 60 more than I thought it would ever have.  Course I don't think that means 62 people actually read the blog (I mean there blogs on my follow list that I don't read much anymore....no, not you, not YOUR blog, I mean those other blogs).  

And I have no idea if 62 followers over 3 years is a respectable number or not. 

I’ve been periodically looking at the stats that blogger provides; and I’ve figured out that a new post reaches over 100 hits in about a week and a half.  I feel that is a fair number.  Older posts have higher numbers as time goes on.  The number also goes up if I link to forum like TMP which I do every once in a while if I think it’s especially interesting.  These numbers might be influenced by bots, but I like to think that 100 ish people check out the blog on a consistent basis.  Gives me the warm fuzzes. 

At the time of writing this blog of A Terrible Loss of Lead and Wealth has generated 63,691 views.  The top 3 posts are 

DIY Wargame mat

Hail Caesar Sheildwall Supplement Review

DIY wargame roads (and fields)

I just find that interesting, just goes to show what people are searching for in google. 

Of course, all these numbers are kinda meaningless overall since I could get all the traffic in the world and there’s no profit from it.  Because in the end, I’m all about them dollars. Least I still like the name of the blog.  It's kinda funny and kinda sad, just like me.  

But I am sincerely pleased that the number of comments that each post generates has gone up over the years; averaging these days at around 24 comments (well 12 comments, as the other 12 are me replying).  And the number of what I call “Symbiotic Blogging Relationships” has also increased.    This is the circle of bloggers that regularly leave comments on my blog and I return the favor by regularly leaving comments on their blog; creating a circle of mutual encouragement.  These I like best.  As Norm has pointed out correctly (and I usually take almost everything Norm says as correct); it’d be impossible to comment on everything and every post that you come across in the wild world of the internet.  It would just take too much time, and there is SO much stuff out there.  For free even.  So I take it as a real compliment when someone bothers to leave a comment here.  Even if just a short one, because time is what really matters in this life.  To the people who give me their time, it seems fair for me to give them mine.  I do enjoy reading other people's blogs and leaving comments.  And it doesn’t even really matter so much what the blog content is, as I kinda like all things miniature wargaming (and board gaming).  But what I love is the interaction and making online friendships.  So to all you Best Blogging Buddies out there, old and new, thank you for your encouragement.  It can be weird to think that some of you have been online friends for years now, and we’ve never met.  We might never meet, and it would be my loss.

The only (slightly) negative to blogging is that I feel a self imposed pressure in two areas:

1) That I want to post regularly.  When someone stumbles onto the blog I want them to see that the blog is active and being updated.  I think people are more likely to follow a blog if they see that it's still producing content.  2-3 times a month is not an onerous schedule (especially because more often than not it's two times) but it can be hard to keep up.  If too long goes by without a post I begin to feel neglectful.  It's kinda like exercise where if you skip it too much you get out of the habit.  Except blogging is better than exercise because it doesn't involve getting out of breath and sweaty.  It's not that I don;t have plenty of topics in my brain.  There are a ton of topics out there.  Which leads me to number 2..

2) That I want each post to be good.  "Good" is subjective of course.  After 3 years I'm still defining my winning formula for 'a good blog post but I got the basic format nailed down.  I like my posts to be a little longer than a typical post but not too long.  I want included some humor, some pretty pics, some format with a beginning, a middle and an end.  Sometimes include some personal information so that you see I'm human and you'll want to be my friend.  I want good editing and few typos.  I want a positive feel.  I would love it if each post was interesting and had something to say.  

I know I am over thinking it.  It's just a silly wargaming blog.  But that's part of the fun.  We're all responsible grown ups with a silly hobby and spending time talking about it together.  Especially during these stressful times of pandemic and unrest I hope this blog is a pleasant distraction.  

So...But No Wargaming Content in this Post Then? 

 

Course not, it's much too late for that.  Wargaming content shall resume shortly.  Thank you for celebrating 3 years of blogging with me.  I think I'm out of the rookie blogger phase and into the next, whatever that might be called.  

Thank you for your time and thanks for reading. 

 

2019 Year End Summary

"Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories."

-Deborah Kerr



December

December, the last year of the month, and the time one usually takes to look back at the year and see what's been done.

Overall: I've had a decent, if a little lack luster, year of miniature wargaming.  Not as active in my hobby as I would of liked to be, however I had some big stuff going on in life which took up a lot of spare time.  Mainly to do with my father; selling the house in southern CA where I grew up, then his funeral, and then everything that follows.  Not that it was all sad, I also took two long family trips that were a lot of fun and celebrated my 10 year wedding anniversary with a vacation.  Time well spent, just spent doing other things as life would have it.  Plus as kids get older they get more active, and you have to, you know, take them to go do things or they just end up destroying the house (worse then they already do).


There is a price to pay for everything, and that price is time. 

Accomplishments!

Back in January, I posted a bunch of goals for the year.  This is a silly practice in hindsight.  So instead of going over each one and giving a pass or fail, let's instead focus on the positives.

I played 13 games this year, which I track in that little box over on the right that you can see if you view the blog in the web version versus the mobile.  13 is well short of my goal of 24, but what can you do?  I know there are some people who would of loved to reach 13, so I best be grateful.  Especially because a several of those games took place over a 'wargaming weekend' where I played 2 days in a row, which is kinda like a mini vacation.  In that light I've had  a banner year for vacations!

I only attended one convention this year, while I usually attend 2 or even 3, so that lack of gaming hurt the bottom line.  It was because I was double booked on those weekends.  One convention I missed because I went with the wife to a convention of her own to keep her company.  It was for cookie decorating, as I've mentioned she's big into decorating cookies.  Another I missed due to a wedding.  Next year will be free and clear from such commitments.

Big Winners

The ACW was the biggest winner this year as I played 4 ACW games and even managed to paint up some more troop stands and some terrain.  This is hardly surprising as I've mentioned that the ACW is fav-vor-writ. 

Wargaming genres are kinda like children; you love them all but there's always one that you love a little more than the rest.

Second place big winner is The Lord of the Rings.  Two games of that were plated out of the 3 I hosted (I hosted LOTR games at a convention and for one session no one showed up to play, probably because I had been eating nachos all weekend and had the thick cheese oozing from my pores). 

However LOTR is the big production-wise winner as I painted up around 50 miniatures for it, 1 troll, and made around 6 totally-kick-ass terrain items out of the Hirst Arts blocks for Osgiliath. 

You can tell from this post..
that I like a good meme.

3rd place is the Age of Sail.  I played two game of AoS (using Post Captain rules) and constructed 2 ships.  This happened early in the year and then the genre just languished as I got distracted by LOTR.  But I love these little ships.  what I ought to do is start reading some AoS fiction again, because readingaa genre almost always triggers miniature painting. 

Biggest Winner

Two goals that I did set out for the year that was to play a variety of games and to have fun while doing it.   Accomplished that! 

 I also enjoyed reading the blogs of others; leaving comments and reading the responses, and being part of the online community of super bloggers.  Here's to another year and more to come.


So who has two thumbs and is the biggest winner because people like you take time to read this blog..

Belated Blog Birthday

now where was I?  Oh yes, writing a wargame blog...

Two Years of A Terrible Loss

While I was away attending to family stuff and doing precious little hobbyness, the blog turned two years old.  Just goes to show that no matter what you are doing, time still passes. 

See?  There it went again.

Let's Talk A Little About Blogging

Traditionally, on the blog birthday I've written mostly about the experience of blogging.  This has an ancient history of going ALL the way back to   1 year ago, so it's too late to change it now.  I'm committed.  Also writing about blogging in general is also in the hopes that it will be entertaining, because its a different topic than the standard blog topics of "I painted this.." or "I played that.."     especially since I haven't done neither painting or playing in awhile. 


I've found that my time spent blogging has dropped.  Some of that is due to being busy with the Real Life (as boring as it is) and some of it is my interest has decreased.  Over the 2 years I've started following many, many blogs  but truth be told; it's just kinda hard to keep up with them all.  Most of the time now I'll look at my blog list and read the title and if it catches my interest then I'll read on, otherwise I'll ignore it.  I'm still glad that I followed their blog in the first place, I just won't read every post.  Of course there are some blogs that I read every post no matter what, mainly because I like the person writing the blog, or we have one of those symbiotic relationships where we are always commenting and reading each other's blogs.  I should get more of those.  It's a BBB...
Blogging Best Buddies.

Anyway. When I read anything, I'm still likely to leave a comment though unless they're someone I know who doesn't respond to comments,  then I usually won't bother. 

-side bar:  responding to comments:

There are many acceptable ways but the most general ones are to write a reply to each comment which takes awhile, or write a general reply to all the comments (like "thanks everyone!") at the end of all the comments, or SOMETHING.  In general I just like an interaction.  It doesn't even have to be every time, just sometimes. 

but back to the topic:

Comments are still my favorite thing about blogging.  It's the interaction that makes blogging a social experience and a post worth posting, otherwise one might as well write their blog articles in a secret journal which is kept under the bed with other writings of super secret private thoughts, never to see the light of day.  Like when I was in high school and had a secrete notebook called "Stew loves Jennifer" and was full of my seductive love moves that one day I was gonna try out for reals...

She never knew what she was missing..

2 Years is Not Really a Long Time, Or is It?  

2 years into this blogging business and some of the novelty has definitely worn off, which I think has lead to a decrease in actual posts.  Of course, some of that decrease is also due to the real fact that  I'm having a pretty lousy year with regards to hobbyness; with hobby and play time taking a back seat to real life concerns for long periods at a time.  But Ive already moaned about that enough.  I guess on the bright side,  it makes one feel very Adult.  I'm adulting all over the place and getting stuff done like crazy.  Yet, I never seem to find enough time to mow the lawn...

Not really my lawn but a very close approximation

But at this two year mark into this blogging madness; I'll also take the opportunity now to say Thank You to everyone who comes by to read this amateur production.  And a Super Thank You (which is more powerful than a regular thank you, able to leap tall buildings..) to everyone that leaves a comment at the end, even once in awhile.  It's all very gratifying.

Nothing says Thank You like the Buddy Christ.

And I see the blog has reached a whooping 50 followers in the last 2 years, which is about 43 and a half more than I thought it would ever have when I installed the 'follower' plug in.   That includes the people I paid to follow me and the family members that follow out of familial obligation.
That's an obvious fib, I've told no family about the blog.

AND!  Just in case all the above sounded too negative;  Overall I still enjoy blogging and have found it to be a great way to make a few new friends and have an online community.  I find other people's blogs to be a wealth of humor, ingenuity, hobby gems, and a great way to relax for a few minutes during these busy times. 

My biggest hope for my own blog is that it will prove to be the same for someone else.

But How About Some Wargame Stuff After all

I'm hoping to squeeeeeeze in some more games before the year is out.  Traditionally the last quarter of the year is hard for me to get in much gaming mainly due to the wife working on weekends leaving me in charge of The Terror and The Destructor (also known as Daughter #1 and Son #2, ages 6 and 1.5).


But, I've managed to move a small mountain and cleared the schedule in order to game on  9/14.  It's my annual appearance at the SHMWClub.  I swear I make it to a club meeting about half as much as I make it to the gym. 

I know my troops will be in the CSA Corps under Hood.
Looks like an easy victory.

I'm excited because it's an ACW game ( I LOOOOVE me the ACW) and using the Brigade Fire and Fury rules which I own but have not played.  Game is set during the Battle of Chickamauga.  Should be fun.  "Chickamauga" after all was translated to mean "River of Blood."
Seems that most Native American words translated to something terrible during the ACW.

WIP shots, not all Orcs are pictured, because pics of
black primed Orcs are booooring.

I was able to  return to the paint desk late in August, and right now I'm grinding my way through 30-freaking-6 (that's 36) figures of Morannon Orcs for the LOTR games (I LOOOOVE me some LOTR).  These are the stronger, better armored orcs that assaulted Minas Tirith as opposed to the normal strength, normal armored orcs who also likely assaulted Minas Tirith. 

These miniatures make up the core evil force in several of the Gondor at War scenarios, so getting them done will be a big step toward more cool LOTR games, taking me closer to being the LOTR magnate that I aspire to be.

Wrapping Up

With life returning more to normal the blog posts should increase.  I thank everyone for their support and well wishes.  Lets all have a great last quarter of the year!  Thanks for reading. 

Endings and Beginnings 2018: part 1- year wrap up

Love is life's end, but never ending. Love is life's wealth, but never spent.

Love's life's reward, rewarded in rewarding.

---Herbet Spencer

I Grow Self Reflective at the End of the Year 

Like most people, I've had a very busy and emotional end of the year full of celebrations, fights with the family, stress, responsibility, success, forgiveness, and Love.  For all parts of life, it's the people in it that matter.
And now iIt's come to that time of year again, where bloggers write year end summaries, and who am I to buck the trend?  I am so put upon...  Actually I like these type of posts and read them with gusto, so naturally I'll take the opportunity to write one myself.  I suspect most bloggers feel this way. 

This blog of Terrible Loss has been around for over a year now, Which means the blog has been around long enough that I get to look back at last year and see if I accomplished any of the goals that I foolishly committed to the internets.  Let's see if I'm in for some stunning success or slanderous shame.... there is no middle ground. 

Don't bother going back and reading the "goals of 2018" post, it's not that good.  But I've copy & pasted those 3 goals to this post for easy access.  Let us read on...

Evaluations:

The first goal of 2018 concerned blogging in general, in which I wrote:

2018 goal #1: Blogging:

1) Continue to blog as long as it's enjoyable and rewarding; probably re-evaluate every few months or so.  The plan is to post 2-3 times a month.  There's some self imposed pressure to "have something to say or show" for each blog post.  There definitely seems to be a link between being more productive at the hobbydesk and writing about it.  

2) Continue to promote the blog some; mainly by linking it on forums like TMP and such, and leaving comments on other's bogs.  I don't feel the need to promote every post, especially if it's just me saying "hey look, I painted something at a mediocre skill level!"  But if I am gonna put effort into writing and posting it follows that I want to increase readership. 

Did you follow a link from TMP to get here?  Then the plan is ALREADY working!"


          I count 33 posts of delicious wargaming content over the last year (that's not counting posts that say things like Happy Halloween and nothing else).  That's 2.75 posts a month on average.  I think that is pretty good for me and probably represents close to my maximum, even factoring in the break from blogging I took when Son #2 was born. I didn't really take a break on purpose but was forced into blog silence by sleep deprivation.
For you people who write greats post almost weekly, I'm in awe of how you could be so prolific and productive.  I think my fingers would fall off if I tried to write that much.  But having some sort of publication schedule for this blog is important to me, as I think people are more excited / into blogs that post on a regular basis.  Plus, one of the main reasons of blogging in the first place is to build and be part of some sort of online community and to that one needs regular attendance (so to speak).

Followers on this blog are up to 41!  If I was smarter person I would of recorded what it was at the end of last year so I could see how much that increased, but I'm not that smart (luckily I make up for lack of brains with my good looks and razor wit).  I'm convinced that number of followers means something but not sure what.  And I'm sure that only blogs like this one with small numbers of followers think anything about it at all.  : )

I have promoted the blog on TMP on occasion, but I've generally found that the BEST way to promote my blog is to be active on other people blogs.  To which end the number of blogs that I have started to follow has increased tremendously again, and I try to leave comments where-ever I go in the blog-a-sphere, though of course there are my favorites because I can tell that you are "my kind of gamer.'  Just like my blog is certainly one of your most favorites EVER (don't tell me otherwise, let me live in ignorance).

 SIDE DISCUSSION: Blog lists:
By the way; this is how I organize myself for blogs, as I see it rarely discussed and I wonder if I am different.  If I'm following your blog I'll certainly add it to the list that appears here on the right side of the screen (if you are looking at the web version versus mobile).  I have it set to show 25 at a time.  When you update your blog it'll shoot to the top of the list.  Then later on while I am enjoying some alcohol or other substances at the end of the day and goofing off on my phone I'll go through the blog list and read the updated posts.

Anyways...Evaluation for blogging:  STUNNING SUCCESS.


The next goal of 2018 concerned gaming, as in games played:

2018 Goal #2: Gaming:I'm going to set a gaming goal of having 24 "gaming experiences" throughout the year, which averages to 2 games a month.  Some months will have more, some less.... The idea is to just play enough games to feel like I actually have a hobby of wargaming....

                 Speaking of the web version of the blog, also on the right side is a box that tracks games played of 2018.  There are rules of course to what counts as a game: namely it has be be for a least an hour and either involve miniatures or be a boardgame that made for adults, so games of disney princess Candyland, Sorry!, and Monoply Jr.  with Daughter #1 don't count (though are important).
I see 24 entries in that box so it looks like I just barely made it, and that's with almost no gaming since October.  So the lesson is: get your games in while you can.

Evaluation for Gaming:  STUNNING SUCCESS.


And Finally; like all wargame blogs, we have a bit about what was painted in the last year.  I talked about 4 areas at the beginning of the year and it makes sense that we'll grade each separately don't you think?  (and even if you don't think it makes sense I'll do it anyway; kinda like in a  marriage).

Goal #3 of 2018: Production:

-ACW: Currently each army is around 120 bases strong, and I'd like to increase that to 150 each so slightly bigger games can be played; this will also mean that I'll need some more markers for things like being disordered, low on ammo, generals on horseback, command stands,  etc..., 

           Evaluation: SLANDEROUS SHAME.  I didn't do this.  I blame getting distracted with the big Lord of the Rings ruins terrain project for the last part of the year versus painting miniatures.  

Age of Sail:  I want at least 4 more ships, making 8 total.  Then that genre can be called "complete."  (for now)

         I am tempted to cut myself some slack here.  People who have been following the blog and care about ships already know that the ships that I do have very heavily damaged not once, but twice! (see HERE and HERE  if you are inclined).  So I could give myself partial credit since I've definately made and remade enough ships to bring the count up to 8 ships.  But we're grading with all or nothing here and there are only 6 complete ships at the end of the year...
Evaluation: SLANDEROUS SHAME.

Terrain: first comes the miniatures, then comes the terrain.  Really I want just to make the ACW battlefields POP, and I like a  good looking game.  And for any other 15/18mm mass battles that I want to take on in the future.  So I have some ideas for 15mm roads, MORE snake rail fences, some bases with multiple trees on them for easy "Woods," more fields, and some houses / buildings.

       Hmmm, I did a good job on terrain this year looking back at the old posts of varying quality...
I did make a lot of roads and fields: see THIS AWESOME POST
I made lots of snake rail fences: see THIS OTHER AWESOME POST
and some woods: see THIS OTHER OTHER AWESOME POST

I like make terrain more than I like painting miniatures..
evaluation: STUNNING SUCCESS

Generic casualty markers/trackers: I have several games that I like that instead of removing figures you add a casualty tracker, that counts up as the unit takes damage.  Games such as Hail Caesar, Sword and Spear, Picket's Charge, and Sharpe Practice 2.  I don't have a good way of doing it and just leave a dice behind the unit, and I want something prettier.

Evaluation: SLANDEROUS SHAME.  didn't even do this.  the reason is simple: for the past year I never even played a game of Hail Caesar, Sword and Spear, Pickett's Charge, or SP2.  It's these darn other games that are so sexy that took my time.

So Overall...(and enough text already..) 

That's a score of 3 to 3;  Even Stevens.    Just shows that in all things I strive for mediocrity. 

for the success, I shall award myself an 'i'm awesome' meme..

for the failure,  I am punished with a shame meme

NAH! it's more a reflection of how good I am at predicting my future behavior than my year of wargaming.  and while life has it's hardships, I've very much enjoyed this hobby and blogging about it.  I really love this hobby and wargaming, and I'm ever grateful for being exposed to it and able to do it as often as I am.  

And thank you to everyone over the last year who has read the blog and left a comment.  Thank you for being a part of the online community (and making me feel more important than I am).   Thank you to everyone I gamed with; your company is excellent and the highlight of my month.  Thank you to my family for another year.. of everything.

Till next time.