Powerwashing and A/C #%%*@#&*@#...

Hot day, with rain forecast for the afternoon.

Plan for Day:

1. Get some sun.
2. Powerwash deck.
3. Walk dog.
4. Run errands.
5. Pack more stuff.

1. Hot and muggy by late morning, so I lay my blanket out, open the basement doors (for Cheyenne), put out her water in the shade, and soak up some rays. Car guys call -- what I need to get A/C always working will be cheaper from the dealer, a "triple pressure switch" that isn't cycling properly. No time, so I go back to the sun. Effin' car guys.

2. Now that I'm all sweaty, figure it's a good time to wash the deck. Get powerwasher lent to me, hook it up, and mix up deck wash fluid. Get it started, insert hose in deck wash, and start spraying away. Hmmm... No suds. Watch level of fluid -- it's not going down. Force of water does a pretty good job, but I need deck wash working, and I just can't get it to take. Damn.

3. Go to Starbucks after a shower for coffee. Then Cheyenne and I go to Cobb's Hill, for a walk. Sweltering, why did I take a shower again? I want to take a picture of Cheyenne in front of the cityscape, but she won't sit still. I realize I have no "poop bag," so I go back to the car to get a bunch of napkins, just in case. Luckily, she pees a lot, but no poop. Whew.



4. I hate running errands. Put Cheyenne in her crate and go. Buying more recycling bins (for games), and a little widget to plug a plumbing leak. Also need to pick up some more books on CD for the trip to/from Lancaster. Go to the library and find 3 books to take. Really sweltering outside. A/C no longer works.

5. Pack more stuff. In a few will get back to doing same.

And here, I thought summer vacation was supposed to be fun, interspersed with unfun things once in a while, not the other way around...

Countdown...

Well, the countdown to WBC begins -- I'll be getting there on Monday, as Deanna gets back in town. Separate vacations this year... I even bought Manoeuvre, as it's a Tuesday morning/afternoon tourney. I never had any interest in the game until I realized (yesterday) that I'd be able to play it on Tuesday. What the Hell, with my Millennium discount it was reasonably priced.

Of course, this also means that over the next week and a half or so, there won't be many posts here...

I know, I haven't been as "on the ball" lately as I should have been, but with all the house stuff, and the lazy days of summer, it's been tough. I will hope to get back in the groove once I return (or at least by when school starts back up -- I can't believe I just thought that, ugh!).

The Cheyenne training is going well. She's such a smart dog, and quite passive-aggressive! We're trying a "gentle leader" with her now, and this seems to correct her "pulling" problems while on a walk. Of course, it's not the solution, just a measure to be used to get there. I really, really want this girl to listen, in all situations, as her (and my) world will really open if she does. I do have a shock collar, by that's a last resort...

This dog is so damn athletic, if she'd just listen to me better, and not be so ADHD (seriously!), we could do things like agility training, frisbee competitions, flyball, whatever. But first, she needs to do EVERYTHING I tell her to, or she's not welcome...

How I wish we could just communicate in English.

On the gaming front, I've been playing a lot of C&C:Ancients via Vassal. I'm wondering if there would be any interest to set up a little "Zyzzyva" tourney using C&C:A on Vassal. I know several folks here play the game and use Vassal, so if we got 4-8 we could have some fun. I'd make a schedule so that everyone would play the same scenarios and we'd see who would come out on top. Post here (or send me an email) if you're interested. Using Skype would be a big plus, as being able to talk during games really helps. Nothing would be happening before mid-August, at the earliest, but I hope we can generate some interest.

Back to organizing crapola for me...

Not a Real Post (Vassal Gaming)...

By the way, anyone, please feel free to contact me to set up some Vassal gaming. Until WBC, I'm pretty free, and I'd love to do it.

Email is:

rwinslow{REMOVE FOR SPAM}@rochester.rr.{REMOVE FOR SPAM}com

Also, you can Skype me -- my name there on a search will just be Rob Winslow in Rochester, NY.

And, finally, when I'm on CSW, my name will show at the bottom of the screen, ready to accept IMs!

Hope to get some games lined up!

Vassal...

Yesterday, I played 2 Command & Colors: Ancients games on Vassal -- Gabiene (A Successors Battle) with Marc Grad and Ilipa (Carthage vs. Rome in Spain) with Scott Courtney. For both games, Skype was used, so it really was just like playing FTF...

The C&C:A set is very intuitive and easy to use. Being able to chat with the guy you're playing with in real time adds to the experience, quite nicely.

I know that my machine is low on RAM, and this often presents a problem, but it didn't yesterday (and one of these days I'll update my computer, dammit!).

Anyway, had a lot of fun playing, and if anyone reading this is up for a Vassal game (and it doesn't have to be C&C:A!), please drop me a line.

Now, to see if I can pick up a game for this evening...

The Consimworld Crowd...

Now that I've been off CSW as a "blogger" for the past 5 1/2 months (like quitting smoking, we keep track!), I look back at how that site operates with a more jaundiced eye, and I really don't like a lot of what I see. And, quite frankly, while I was sometimes part of the problem, it feels good to be cleansed of that.

Ya see, when I started on CSW, it was for fun. I got into a few "tiffs" with folks, the most notable being when I joked that I "pirated boardgames" and 2 guys thought I was serious -- so I played it up, they got embarrassed, and a little online "battle" erupted. We'd go back to my blog and joke about the humor-less ones, and all have a good laugh. But that quickly grew tiresome, and I did my best to mend fences. When I started blog #2, it was to help me with the pain I was feeling over Gypsy's illness, and I only invited friends. Some of them took "shots" at others, but I refrained, as I wanted to be above that kind of nonsense -- if you think someone's a dick, say it to their face. There was an incident where a guy was an ass to me on the Wilderness War folder, so I banned him, and we had a go-round. But I later relented and let him back, choosing to, instead, just ignore his postings. I really was completely fed-up with the bickering and the idiots.

Fast forward to today, and so many places on CSW are just folks bitching about other folks. It's very petty, and the site is getting worse than ever. Now, I have good friends on CSW, including ones I've made because of CSW, and I don't want to lose that. But the site is often hard to take, and that's a shame, for it had the chance to be a wonderful wargaming site -- and in some areas it still is, but in others it's just fallen into being part of the rude, "I can act like a jerk online" 'Net.

I'm sorry I was a part of that, even for a short time, and I'm glad I'm not, anymore. I've also fallen out of the "in" group on CSW, something that gives me a good chuckle -- when I was posting more and didn't care if I was abrasive I was somehow more "popular." Now I'm just a voice in the wilderness, and I like it that way.

My hope is that more folders on CSW can be like Peter Bogdasarian's excellent blog -- maybe a pipe-dream, but we can hope now, can't we?

Franco, Go Away...

Just say NO!

Bill and I finished up our 2nd game of Espana 1936 last evening. Bill won, as the Republicans, so that side is 2-0 so far -- in spite of the fact that most reports say the Nationalists are favored, you can't win with the Republicans, etc. We've found that the Republicans can make spoiling attacks to keep the Nationalists from advancing, plus their 2 offensive cards (assuming you get them) will really work to gum up the works.

In hindsight, our game was close, and if I had one more turn both Toledo and Madrid would have fallen. As it was, they held, and WWII began early.

Excellent game, and I hope to get a write up of our first 6 turns up some time (I forgot to write down the last four).

But it will have to be a day when it's not as nice as it is now. I think I'll go expose my ghastly white skin to some rays, then take Cheyenne out for some fun.

And I've still got this dreaded house work hanging over my head...

Fun and Busy Days...

Tuesday evening, Nels Thompson came by and we played 2 Combat Commander scenarios from the randomly generated section. First up, we went my German company attacking his Soviet company. Line units all around, and I advanced too slowly (mainly because he was killing me!) and ran out of time, losing big. Next game saw me draw an elite Russian detachment attacking his line German detachment. I made better advances here, and ended up winning, after a lot of brutal house-to house fighting. Nels lives in Buffalo but works in Rochester, so he crashed here. A fun evening.

Next morning, Bob Titran comes by, and we decide to play Command & Colors: Ancients. First we do a Successors battle, Gabiene, twice. Bob crushed me in the first game, killing my elephants early and having them trample my infantry. I came back in the second. We moved onto Gaugamela, and Bob wanted the Persians. Alexander's companion cavalry was like a panzer army, and the Persians were soon decimated. I offered to switch sides (this one looks too easy for the Macedonians, for my tastes), but Bob wanted to try Darius again, and though it was a closer, Alexander still came out ahead. We finished with my Romans (I was Caesar!) invading Britain. The legions were met at the shore by brave warriors, and almost driven back, but the line stiffened and I got a couple very lucky rolls, so Rome got its foothold in the British Isles!

I had to run and take Cheyenne to her private lesson, and the skies opened up. Man, but it rained hard. Bob was caught in it going back to Grand Island, glad he made it safely!

Then, in the early evening, Nels calls and wonders if I'm up for more gaming. Of course, I say, but I need a quick nap first (forgot to mention Deanna called in the wee hours of the morning to let me know she was safely in Seattle, so I didn't sleep well), so I crashed for 30 minutes, and Nels came by around 8:00. We did another random scenario, and I decided that I was going for a platoon, hoping to be the defender. Well, we got a 1941 German vs. British scenario on a hilly map, so we decided it was Crete, and Germans vs. Kiwis. Nels went for the company, so I was really outnumbered. I did pick up prepared minefields and a lot of wire, to try and slow his advance. Luckily for me, the Germans didn't get any artillery. Well, this was a real tense one, as I felt I was always on the verge of losing (either via surrender, since I had so few units, or by Nels breaking through and getting exit VPs).The game ended on Turn 7, just in time for me! The minefields did their job, and the New Zealanders were tough, winning all 3 melees they got into. This was one of the most fun CC games I've played -- so tense for a small defending force vs. overwhelming odds. Thank God for mines and wire...

Waiting for the German Onslaught...

Tonight, Bill Peeck comes by to finish up our Espana 1936 game. Now, if it will only stop raining...

Deanna On Vacation...

Well, she and they are flying out to Spokane, as I type. It's just Cheyenne and me, and I won't see her again for 19 days (when I return from WBC). I've got a lot to do around the house, and a lot to think about (how's that for cagey?). On the up side, I truly love my dog and plan to spend a lot of time training her and having fun with her. I really want to get this girl into some canine athletics -- she's as fast as greased lightning, and can jump like a frog -- but she has to listen better first, much better.

On the gaming front, Nels Thompson is coming by this evening for some Combat Commander. Nels currently lives in Barfalo and works in Crotchester, so he's crashing here tonight after gaming. Always happy to put my buds up when there's room!

Other than that, more Espana 1936 with Bill Peeck on Thursday, and I continue to fool around with some solitaire Warriors of God. Gaming life be good, with WBC less than 2 weeks away...

Unsettling...

Of course, the proverbial sh*t's hit the fan since Saturday evening, so things have been very unsettled around here. Just have to deal with some private issues that really need to stay private, at least for the time being.

I'll see if I can't get a better report up in a day or 2.

I promise I'll try, and I hate to neglect my little corner of the Web, here...

Game Day at Millennium...

Sorry to be off for a couple days -- though I can't say I minded!

Went to Millennium today. Played 1 game of Warriors of God and 5 scenarios of Command & Colors: Ancients.

Didn't have a great day winning percentage, but had fun, never the less. Went out to dinner (and drinks) with Mike afterwards at J.B. Quimby's. Overall, a nice day, and know I owe y'all a report on something!

I promise I'll be more attentive!