Thoughts On - Life and Trump (Updated)

 Hey Y'all,                                                                                                                    1st November 2024

                 Another quick update for you. I have been doing my 72 mm Vikings, the base painting is pretty well complete on them, as you cannot see much detail on that scale. I will mount them onto lolly sticks for the time being. I will be able to test the Oathmark rules with them, to see if they are to my taste before I buy the books and models. My pal Richard J, has bought the rules and the makings of an army for me to attack. (The figures he bought were 10 mm scale, my 72 mm Viking warriors were too big and did not fit. Such is life.)

 How Richard managed to paint that small is beyond me, I had a hard time painting my Vikings, compared to my usual 28 mm figures.

15th November -  We did a test game and then tried a scenario from the rules (No 4.) Which I will do a quick description of later.

I have been helping a mate who has just had her flat broken in for the second time. It is very disheartening what people will do to other people.

Regards,

Ivor Cogdell

P.S. Good luck with the Election, America. You need it, as it is going to be close. I'm rooting for Kamala Harris, but I can't vote, I am not a US citizen.

P.P.S. - Shame on you, Buzz Aldrin, for supporting Trump. I thought better of you.

18 November 2024.

P.P.P.S. After one week of being President-Elect, the Cabinet Trump has chosen is being hailed as the most incompetent ever. The Climate Change Electee is a Climate denier and is pro Oil and Gas companies.

 Only now are Trump voters realising what Trump had been promising was directly opposite to their values and needs. The stock market is crashing. ( 75% chance of a recession coming). The care packages that many of them rely on is going to be ripped up. They just did not do research into what he was actually proposing, just listened to the slogans, guessing what they meant.

Thoughts On - Alien RPG 10

 Hi Everybody,

                        Here is the latest Alien instalment for you.

30 August 2024 - Edan is in a big sample tube, but the alien refuses to "Face Hug" it, it seems scarred. The "Mother" Computer decides at that point to keep Edan for itself. Charles tries to save Edan. Rooster tried to strangle Edan. Douglas tried to save Edan from Rooster. Cobold was then told to throw a grenade into the room, by Cowboy, to kill Edan. Cobold hates kids and it was an order, so he does so.

"BOOM"!

Spanner the Robot dog got blown up, and black pus is coming out. Rooster is paralysed in the blast and loses one ear. Bishop disappeared. The Doc suffered a gouged eye and a damaged thigh. Edan's Cryo Pod is destroyed. He suffers a punctured lung and is unconscious. Douglas looses one arm. Ava - 7 Has damage to one arm. The Robot Dog develops a red eye in its forehead. Eva King has now got control of the Robot Dog through the headset. Shepherd suffers a lost leg and the snake is getting ready to attack him, but Cobalt kills the snake in the nick of time. It expells black goo.

The Robot dog starts shooting bolts at Cowboy - He gets 1 hit and takes 1 stress for the wound. Eva is coming to help. Sheperd throws a sample case at the Dog, it bounces off its armour. Cowboy gets into the Mini Gun adapted wheelchair and tried to contact the dog. (Stress has gone up to 9). But he panics and flees the area.

Officer Badog - He flees with Cowboy. Hunter the mechanic shoots at the dog and misses. Eva tries to control the dog with the head controller and fails. Ava 7 is going to bandage Rooster. The Dog reactivates. Eva gets a shock and the Controller falls off her head. The Dog shoots at Shepard.

Meanwhile, Rooster is jerked awake by someone falling against the Autodoc. Paralysed and only with hearing in only his left ear. But it is enough to hear Shepergd scream with fear outside the Auto-Doc.

He yells "What's going on out there?".

He can hear the retreating footsteps of Cowboy as he runs away in panic.

Rooster clamps his eyes tight with fear.....

That's where we will leave it for now. Until next time,

Regards from John, Kitty, Richard and myself,

Ivor Cogdell

Thoughts On - Alien RPG 9

 Hi everybody,

                       I have found some of my alien notes, They are a bit disjointed and there is a gap since Diary entry 8. I will slot entries in as they come to my attention.

? - We explore the Air processors that are on the southern area of the planet.

? - "Nuclear Boy" fired nuclear missiles at two of the air processing plants, destroying the nuclear material that was inside, so that we could not drop a nuclear missile on him. (This was Cowboy's idea of dealing with the problem of "Nuclear Boy", We had tried three times, but they always malfunctioned for some reason).

? - While we were away, "Nuclear Boy" and "Terror Girl" have teamed up together, got into the research base next to the Alien ship, activated the Alien Nexus and went through the portal.

------------

10th May 2024 - We were exploring a WV base. We came across an Alien Queen, who we managed to kill, eventually. We came through battered and bowed, with two casualties. Dillon died with his head crushed in. Kiara died of a punctured heart. We managed to repair the Comms Array port and are now receiving signals from outside again."The Blue Hand are coming". Is that good or bad?

------------

7 June 2024 - We come across a crashed vessel. We salvaged the two Armoured Personnel Carriers, 1 week's rations, 4 hand grenades. We fix Edan's and the other's leg with an artificial one in the auto doc. We receive coordinates over the comms as to where the Blue Hand ship will land. Outside of the second nuclear blast zone.

27 June 2024 - I shoot the squid by Douglas. Everybody gets 1 stress point. Cowboy gets hit by Edan using an alien weapon (friendly fire) and loses an arm. 

6 July 2024 - One squid exploded due to multiple hits. The second squid attacks me and drags me into another room out of the line of fire. I managed to fight it off but suffered a broken knee in the process. I retreat with Cowboy and we drag him to an autodoc. Afterwards, we fix my knee.

           We lift the guards on the Blue Hand ship. We spotted an octopus nest on the way back to base. We avoid it for the time being. Ava 7, the missing synth in action, was with the Blue Hand crew. She is now making a painting of an attacking Alien Queen for the Nexus room where we have installed a weighted net above the teleport point. We hope this will disorient whoever comes through first so we can capture them more easily.

9th August 2024 - Cowboy had an artificial arm attached, it did have a flashing red LED. On further inspection, it was found to be a tracking device that had been added to the unit. We disabled it and checked for any more that were hidden, but none were found. The Blue Hand crew have a space monkey and Cowboy asks if he can use the controller helmet. Damien, the Synth Blue Hand leader agrees.

Edan builds a mini Gun into the mobile wheelchair. We are heading to the research base. We feel vibrations, The power level has been ramped up to 6, meaning the Nexus Teleporter can be activated.

There are more notes to add, but it's time for bed.

Regards one and all,

Ivor Cogdell

Thoughts on - Films Lockdown DVD (No Spoilers)

 Hi Everyone,

                      I have just seen the film Lockdown and I am sure that it would make a great plot for a science fiction adventure game or tabletop skirmish wargame at your preferred scale and rule set. Our damsel in distress, Miss X is visiting an orbiting prison, for the reason of Y. There is a jailbreak because of Z. The authorities have to send in our hero or heroes to rescue her and find where something has been hidden, otherwise he will be charged and locked up in the same jail, for doing naughty things that he is being framed for. You can do a "One Off" game or spread it over multiple game sessions as your heroes work their way through the different levels of the facility to rescue Miss X.

I saw the trailer of this film when it first came out, but I missed it at the cinema, I am so glad I finally spotted it at my local movie store. The visuals (meaning blood and gore special effects) and acting are very good. That's another reason to watch it, by the way.

Warmest regards,

Ivor Cogdell

Thoughts On - Storage

 Hi Everyone,

                       I missed the bring and buy event at Penkridge, but I have heard of a local game store in Erdington that I shall be checking out in the near future, when my pal is free to join me, as he knows its location and the nearest pub for lunch. 

There is also The Guards Open Day on the 29th July 2024.

https://www.partizan.org.uk/uk-calendar

 I'm thinking of getting some terrain and a few figures, a monster or two as I am short on those in particular, possibly grabbing some Frostgrave rules. (I must check the ones I have already to avoid duplicates). On a computing matter, in the last couple of weeks I did manage to upgrade my graphics card from a Nvidia 610 to a 750 Ti.

                       I had a very quick flick through the latest wargame mags, they don't seem to stir my interest as they once did, and I am running out of storage room to keep all of my books, and plastic binders. (Does that sound familiar?).  I do have lots of lore, rules and stuff on PDF, but printer ink costs an arm and a leg, but then I don't seem to access them much on the computer. I do check them out on my mobile, but the screen is too small. Tablets do not seem to have sd card readers and decent software to match in a low price range.

                     Regarding storage, in the budget stores I have found large tubs for storing game stuff and wooden compartmental units for putting figures into. They are also very good for finding terrain ingredients, such as plastic mesh and mini battle boards. Wrapping paper does have inch squares on its reverse, this would be useful for mapping battle locations on the cheap. Notepads of course. Beads and crystals to use for markers and tokens, wooden nail files, cheap large floppy makeup brushes are ideal for your dry brushing purposes. Cocktail sticks for instant stakes. Lolly sticks can easily converted into planks or ladders.

Pop any ideas you have in the comments, please.

                      It's the Foottie Euro Cup Season again, so I will be cheering on the UK clubs. (That is usually the "Kiss of Death" for any hopes of winning). Followed next month by the Tour de France cycle race, we have a few Brits in there too, so fingers crossed for them.

                     I have seen our local game club has been posting on Facebook or Meta. That's good. Click on the Circle Battlegroup for more details if you would like to attend.

Regards all,

Ivor Cogdell

In the Wars 4 - Updated

 Hi Everyone,

                      Just a quick update read for you this time around. I am currently doing an IT Course at the local College to boost my CV. I was at an "Alestorm" concert at the O2 Academy a few days back with some mates. We had a very good night, it was a cracking session. My first time as a headbanger for quite a while. That certainly is one way to clear out the earwax! 

                       I have just caught a cold, so I am doing my work online through the Teams app and emails. As you can imagine, this is slowing me down somewhat. To put it into "gamers" speak, "An Ork has just walked in through the door, my Will is at +1, but the Con is at -2 and my sword has just been eaten by a rust monster."

                    It is doubtful that I will be attending Alumwell 2024 this year.

Take care all,

Ivor Cogdell

P.S. No, I did not make it. There is more local stuff to attend though.

Saturday 29th June 2024 - The Guards Open Day.

https://www.partizan.org.uk/uk-calendar

Thoughts On - Star Trek Discovery Season 5 Trailer - Update

 Hi Everyone,

                       This is just a quickie posting, as I am doing an IT course at the moment. I have just seen the trailer for season 5 of Star Trek - Discovery. Mike Burnam and the Star Trek Discovery crew will be bouncing all over the place, trying to find answers to a riddle or puzzle. You will be pleased to know that the characters Book and Tilly return, which is rather good. Our main resident alien, Seru gets a new job. There are lots of action scenes to look forward to, as this is the last season. The series airs in April 2024 on Disney +. 

No date as to the DVD release.

Regards all,

Ivor Cogdell

P.S.  A spin-off to this is a "Section 31" movie or TV series with Phillipa Georgiou. But you were probably aware of that. Plus, things seem to be coming together for the rebooted Star Trek IV movie, now that the ownership battle has been settled. Snippets of news were flowing more frequently on YouTube, so have a squint at the latest gossip on there, once you have finished on here.

P.P.S. As you were. The paramount sale has just gone kaput. "Secret Hideout" are being allowed to continue to do what they are doing for the moment and with possibly a contract renewal at the end of 2025.