Doug's Workshop

Images from a battle

2011-04-20T20:53:00.002-04:00

Some time ago I engaged my buddy Josh in a skirmish game of Warlord. Undead (Necropolis) against Mercenaries. I played the Undead.

It was quite fun, even though I lost. I think the best point in the battle was when Josh's sergeant was set upon by two of my wraiths. My wraiths struck true, eliminating the sergeant, but in Warlord, figures in melee get defensive strikes. His sergeant got two, and managed to take out both wraiths as he went down. Dammit!

On the other hand, I have a perfect record in this game. Five games played . . . five games lost.

FYI, the buildings are resin and available at The Miniature Building Authority.

Cardstock Buildings from Dave Graffam

2011-04-20T20:45:00.002-04:00

I've been really bad about posting my cardstock builds. My coworkers can testify that I've turn my cubicle into Workshop Villa, complete with citizenry.

This particular building was bashed together to form a country manor, complete with herb garden.

The Annual Tax Day Post

2011-04-20T20:32:00.008-04:00

Once again, the time of year has passed when we spend hours filling out forms, digging out receipts, and hoping we did our math correctly for fear of a government-sponsored anal reaming known as a "Tax Audit."

Dear IRS,
xoxo,
Workshop

This year, I hope the significant amount of money taken from my paycheck before I even had a chance to cry over it will go towards something useful, like . . . say . . . an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System for our aircraft carriers.

I'm being followed!

2011-02-23T21:14:00.005-05:00

On Twitter.

I've recently begun embracing social networking as a means to keep up to date on some of my favorite game-related companies. Turns out some of them send out special offers via Twitter. Others announce their sales or price drops.

So, in an effort to maximize my gaming dollar, I started following Dave's Games. He's got some great pdf buildings, and I've been taking advantage of his prices. Fat Dragon Games also has Twitter-related sales. Cool enough. Troll Lord Games, too. And now I have a follower, because I followed someone and now they want to follow me.

Not that I ever expect to actually use Twitter to tweet. I mean, 140 characters? How the hell can I rant in only 140 characters? I can't post the results of game-day in less than 140 characters!

Besides, I'm having a hard enough time trying to keep this blog updated without resorting to tweeting. Stupid social media. . . .

In other news, with all this cardstock I'm printing on, my color cartridge crapped out on me. HP wants $40 for a new one. Somehow I've got to convince Mrs. Workshop that we need a new printer with continuous ink system. Now that Mrs. Workshop is working part time, I may need to devise a new saving strategy. Maybe selling blood . . . .
.

Men, women, and beef.

2011-01-31T21:18:00.001-05:00

Don't say I didn't warn you. Link is NSFA (not safe for anyone).

A Review of WorldWorks Games' Watchtower

2011-01-18T23:45:00.003-05:00

Let me start out by saying I love modeling. I've been painting miniature for 22 years; I've built my own wargames terrain and I own lots of HirstArts molds. I've even scratchbuilt a few buildings, using balsa wood, foam board, and cereal box board. I also own about a dozen Miniature Building Authority pieces.

However, since the birth of my son I haven't had nearly as much time to do all the cool stuff I've wanted to do. So, I've needed to make sacrifices. Miniatures aren't necessarily painted to the absolute best of my ability, and I've even recently purchased some closeout Rackham Wolfen as proxies for my Korbolas faction for Warlord. My GenCon fund is not building up as quickly as it did before my son was born, either, so the prospect of major terrain purchases grows dim.

Thus, when I heard about some new card terrain from WorldWorks Games, I was intrigued. They marketed it for Wyrd Miniatures' game Malifaux, but while I liked the idea of semi-modular card terrain, I didn't like how it looked on the table. But, I kept my eyes open for improvements. And so I kept visiting their website, looking at their products, and saying "Hmmm . . . you know maybe this could work . . . ."

In addition to WorldWorks, I've been looking at Fat Dragon Games, too. These two companies seem to be the leaders in this niche, and I like the looks of both their products. Fat Dragon seems "cleaner," and they claim their print-outs don't use as much ink as other companies'. Fair enough, and I'm sure I'll end up getting some stuff from them, too. But, I digress.

I purchased the Watchtower as a test piece. At $8, it's not going to break my budget, and I figured it wouldn't cost that much to print out. Indeed, at my local UPS Store, total cost was just under $10 including tax. One downside of pdf terrain is that it eats up printer ink, and since I have an HP printer with only two cartridges, that means I'd be spending at least that much money if I printed them off myself.

As a side note, I downloaded a couple free buildings in order to practice my cutting skills and make sure this was something I wanted to do before I got too far into it. The buildings don't have interiors, so they are of limited use during gaming, but they'll still be used. After all, not every building needs to be open for models to enter.

What you need:
A sharp hobby knife. I used my x-acto. And trust me, you don't want a cheap imitation.
Metal ruler (you want something with perfectly straight sides).
Cutting mat (I already had this due to my other hobby projects).
Black marker (for edging the model).
Glue. Water in your basic Elmer's will cause the paper to warp. So, either use that PVA glue sparingly, or get a glue with a low water content. I used Aleen's Quick Dry Tacky Glue.

What I downloaded: A zip file containing pdfs of the images and instructions, and a
file containing wallpapers of the watchtower. Cost: $8

Printing: After looking at the files, I realized that the floor tiles are duplicated. This allows for one image to have a 1" grid, while the other image is gridless. This shows the age of the model, as more modern pdfs have layers that can add or subtract those grids. I had thought that I could swap out the base level for a mid-level should I ever get a castle set, but the base has printed areas for the supports, which means I'd have to put more work into my kitbash than I want to right now. I copied the files onto a flash drive, duplicating the necessary walls and roof pages. WorldWorks prints on each page how many copies you need. For the three level tower with roof, 18 pages are required. It would have been nice if they posted that in their description. Sixteen pages are required if you don't print out the roof. With my 18 pdf files in hand, I walked into the UPS Store with my own cardstock, and walked out with well-printed plans. Cost: $9.50

Once I got home, I realized that the printouts were considerably darker than what is shown on my computer screen.

As I started putting the base together, I learned that edging has a bit more technique than what the forums lead you to believe. If you score your lines slightly deeper, it creates a valley that the marker can't get to. Gluing is also an acquired skill. Fiddly bits are a pain. This model is definitely an "intermediate" piece. The battlements gave me all sorts of trouble, and I ended up being about 1/16th of an inch off on one corner. Dangit. The 3-d battlements are cool, but there's gotta be an easier way of putting them together.

The floor support pieces gave me some trouble. There are enough for three levels, which is great, except there are only two levels that are needed. So, I wasted time cutting and gluing fiddly bits that aren't needed.

The support pieces that are glued to the top level also didn't line up correctly. Each is about 1/16th of an inch or so offset, so I had to break out some black paint and cover up the white edges.

The roof piece could have used better instructions, as well. You are instructed to glue a piece underneath the pointed roof, but there are no pictures that show the process.

Overall, I am fairly happy with the model. I spent the better part of four evenings putting it together, and I learned a lot about cardstock modeling. I can definitely see where I rushed the job, and there's definite problems with cardstock modeling if you go on to the next step before the glue is dry! I'm anxious to start another project, although I'm leaning towards something from Fat Dragon, as the models there are supposed to be geared towards the beginning modeler. I think WorldWorks are a bit more advanced. Not that that's bad, but it I can see it being frustrating for someone new to the hobby to get in over his head quickly.

Pictures will be posted later. Right now, I think it's time for novice cardstock modelers to go to bed!

27% of Americans are Beyond Stupid

2010-12-04T10:51:00.005-05:00

and here's why:

According to a Rasmussan poll, 27% of Americans favor a government-managed economy.

If there's one thing a study of economics can tell us, it's that government is the absolute worst place for economic decisions to be made. Government brought us the Great Depression, the Great Recession, the Housing Bubble, 99 weeks of unemployment (and those who think continued unemployment checks somehow create jobs), and outright tyranny.

The old USSR had a government managed economy, and couldn't feed it's people, despite abundant resources. There are no examples of successful economies that are managed by the government; every single one fails. Even China allows some economic freedom. Which country has a government-controlled economy? North Korea comes to mind. And we all see how fantastic that country is looking. By the way, there's a reason North Korea is known as the "Land of No Smiles."

In addition, the poll indicated that 42% of Democrats believe that the government should run the economy. That pretty much means if you are a Democrat, you are in the Party of Stupid.

The poll differentiated between complete government control of the economy and providing "helpful" programs like unemployment insurance. The 27% mentioned above are in favor of complete government control.

These people really do deserve the description "dumber 'n a bag of hammers."

I think I suffer from Stultophobia

2010-11-01T20:35:00.011-04:00

So, the company I work for sent out an email asking that its employees "self-identify" their race, their veteran status, and if we have a disability. Naturally, this is because our wonderful Imperial Federal Government needs to keep tabs on its citizens, and make sure that the company is keeping the right number of "correctly colored/specially-abled people" in the right jobs. I mean, that we aren't discriminating by actually hiring effective people who can get the job done.

One might wonder whether one would be subject to reciprocity should he decide to not self-report. Our HR department assures the reader that no such penalties will be forthcoming.

However, there was this quote I managed to pick out of the missive:

Giving employees the opportunity to self-identify is the federal government's preferred method for employers to obtain race and ethnicity information. If an employee declines to self-identify, the employer is required to obtain the race and ethnicity information either through existing employment records or through visual identification.

Translation: If you refuse, we'll simply send someone over to look at you and we'll check a box based on our assumption of what your race is. Which totally misses the point of getting away from judging people on the content of their character instead of their external physical appearance.

Charlize Theron . . .

a true African-American. I suspect she would be misidentified, although she is just about as African-American as one can get, being born on the continent of Africa to parents who were citizens of a nation in Africa, and later in her adult life became an American citizen.

Contrast that, if you will, with . . . Michelle Obama . . . no, wait, Oprah W., who was not born in Africa, who's parents weren't born in Africa, and who will, in all likelyhood, never live in Africa.

So today I'm Pacific Islander. Tomorrow I might be Alaskan Native.

For the record, I hold veterans in too much esteem to lie about my military status. But as soon as I can get some documentation that I suffer from a fear of stupid people, I'm marking myself as disabled. If you think my boss isn't paid enough money to deal with me, you're probably not alone.

The Terrain Project - a quick update

2010-10-31T20:52:00.004-04:00

Last weekend was a flurry of activity, which will be detailed here later. For the moment, pictures!

Nerdtastic

2010-10-21T22:13:00.004-04:00

The Terrain Project Part 5: Trees (version 1)

2010-09-25T22:23:00.008-04:00

Pipecleaner trees! Hey, they're cheap, they look halfway decent, and did I mention they're cheap? A pack of a hundred pipe cleaners cost something like $2.50 at a craft store. Add another buck-fifty for the inch and a half washers, and $8 for the spray paint I bought . . . and lichen. A small pack ran $5 at the craft store. But a 40% off coupon helped that.

I used the basic steps found here at Terragenesis. The first difference was that I started with black pipe cleaners. The second is that I used textured spray paint to coat them. This gave a rough appearance that eliminated a lot of the pipecleaners' fuzziness. The paint glooped together the fibers, so they look irregular and pretty decent.

I made the trees and glued them to the washers (you can see those in the first picture). The washers serve two purposes: first, they are heavy enough to keep the trees upright after I add the lichen as foilage. Two, they'll work with my idea of using magnets on the base so I can more the trees around as needed. More on this later.

Here are the trees after spraying:

First step was a heavy drybrush of brown (I used Americana Asphaultum, a dark brown). Yes, I know tree bark isn't usually brown. But this will be covered up later. Plus, a lot of the black base color showed through.

Then, a highlight of a grayish color. I used Folk Art's Barn Wood. I did this until I was happy with the texture. Still lots of the base black, but I like the effect.

Now, the base! Version 1 was cut from 1/8" MDF using my Dremel tool. I used some adhesive magnetic strips to attach the trees, and using a washer as a guide, sculpted around the magnets to hide the seams.
Not bad . . . .
Not bad at all!
I used craft glue (PVA, but better than Elmer's) to attach the lichen to the trunks. The bases of the trees are washed with PVA glue and sprinkled with fine talus rock. I also added in some lichen bushes for some additional cover. The base was painted with a mixture of raw umber and PVA glue, and sprinkled with flock (earth colored). Some areas got extra treatment with grass flock.

Not being content with the first version of the base, here's version 1.1. I used the Dremel again, cutting two bases. The first base was the usual, the second was smaller and has two holes cut in it that will fit the washers. I put the magnets down inside the holes, and the level is just about right . . . the washers stand a little high (about a millimeter), but I don't use up all my epoxy putty!

Here are a couple shots of the completed trees. I still have to finish the bases (hopefully that will be this week).

The Terrain Project Part 4: Final Steps

2010-09-19T21:14:00.004-04:00

I toyed with the idea of adding a picture of the mat drying . . . but that would be as exciting as watching grass grow.

Instead, here's the next step: I trimmed the edges of the mat that would touch the side boards. I actually did this with the open side, too, but it's far more important to trim these edges. Once you secure the board to the base, if there's any overlap the mat will be pushed up, and there's no way to get it down. Guess who found this out the hard way? So, a very close, tight cut to make sure there aren't going to be any ripples in the mat.

Then, I started attaching the side boards. I had previously cut them, with only one mishap due to me forgetting that a board has two ends (don't ask). Here's the lengths:
2 @ 49 1/2 inches
4 @ 24 inches

If you forget that the long sideboard is supposed to cover the ends of both smaller pieces, you end up with one at 48 3/4" . . . but I digress.

I initially attached the board to the base with a thin nail. I needed to drill out the holes where the screws would go, but it's way safer to drill both holes as one.

I used 2 1/2" screws, and put three on each short side, with five on each long side, plus one on the very ends to connect the side boards.

I had to take a break because Mrs. Workshop came home with the guppy. By the time I made it back to the project, it was dark. But that wouldn't stop me! Almost there!

I sanded the rough areas of the furring strips, along with taking off the corners that could give splinters. I'll hit the boards with the shop vac later to pick up the sawdust.

And here's the final product. Sixteen square feet of battle-ready goodness.

What I learned:
1) I probably didn't need 5/8" particle board. It's pretty heavy.
2) Patience is good. I got lucky in finding the mat at 40% off. But, if I had a little more patience I wouldn't have made the wrong cut. Plus, I could have been a little better with the drill.
3) Find good stopping points, because your wife will invariably come home in the middle of you handling the drill and want your help unloading the car.

What's next? Trees and hills. And felt rivers.

Mao Zedong vs The Black Death

2010-09-18T22:30:00.003-04:00

One of the first things that captured my attention about the Middle Ages was the capability of disease to decimate the population. The Black Death in particular. Over the course of a century, the population of Europe was reduced by 50% by the spread of the bubonic plague. The plague was brought to ports in Europe by trade, and while the effect varied by location, all of Europe was stricken. Nor did this occur all at once. The plague slowed, only to flare up years later. A quick look at Wikipedia shows that up to 200 million people died in the 14th century due to the Black Death.

Mao Zedong, the founder of the People's Republic of China, managed to kill off 45 million people in just four years (1958-1962). His "Great Leap Forward" meant that certain sacrifices had to be made. If one was too old to be an effective worker, that person would be denied food. Punishments for infractions included being forced to work during winter without clothes, parents were forced to bury their children alive. Others were doused in gasoline and set on fire.

Mao's atrocities have been known for some time, but the guys at Powerline asked how Mao's numbers compared to the Black Death. Mao did in four years what the Black Death did in 25-50.

Of course, the Black Death was caused by a certain confluence of events. Poor weather led to famine, which led to increased trade as well as weakened immune systems. The atrocity of communism is man-made. Humans sat and said "these people must be killed. These other people are of no use to us, so let them die."

Naturally, today's leftists don't want you to know the lengths they will go to in order to impose their will upon you. But they are of the same stripe as Mao.

Around the yard

2010-09-18T18:52:00.003-04:00

I've got a touch of arachnophobia. Something about critters with twice as many limbs as I have just creeps me out. Still, living out in the country means that I get to interact with spiders. They're in my barn, they're in my shed, they crawl all over the garden, and in the fall they'll try to come inside.

Today as I wandered the estate, I managed to find a funnel web spider hanging out. Nothing special, I just managed to catch him before he scooted down the tunnel. Go on, Mr. Spider. Eat all the bugs you want.

Now, if I could just find something to eat poison ivy . . . .

The Terrain Project Part 3: I didn't cut any fingers off!

2010-09-18T18:25:00.010-04:00

On a quiet afternoon, when Mrs. Workshop took the guppy to visit family, I started my game table. The initial supplies: two 2'x4' pieces of particle board, furring strips, and the Woodlands Scenics mat (summer color).

First, I cut the mat so there was a little bit of overlap on all four sides of each piece of particle board. I'll trim it up later.

Then, as per the directions on the jar of adhesive I'm using to glue the mat to the board, I primed the board. This is so the adhesive has something better to cling to than porous chips of wood.

Yes, I did both.

Once the primer was dry, I used a cheap foam brush to paint the adhesive to the board, as well as the back of each piece of mat, being careful to not get the glue on the green side of the mat, and to make sure the corners and edges of both the mat and the board were covered. I was less concerned about the center, but everything got a good covering of adhesive. I let the glue dry for a little bit, and draped the mats over the boards, smoothing with a heavy cookbook.

While I was waiting for the glue to dry (I'm going to err on the side of caution and let them sit for a couple hours, I started premeasuring the furring strips. Four pieces at 24 inches, two at 49 1/2 . . . but since I didn't do math right, I had to adjust slightly. Oh well, nothing's perfect. And having one piece at 48 3/4 with a side piece of 24 3/4 isn't going to kill anyone.

One item of note: Next time, look for thinner material. That particleboard is friggin' heavy. Perhaps thinner, with a frame on the underside of those furring strips I'm using. Wood glue + screw nail that thing down . . . yeah, I'll have to remember that for next time.

The Terrain Project Part 2: Other Supplies

2010-09-14T21:33:00.004-04:00

A quick list of other supplies I've purchased for this project:

2 packages of Blue Spruce trees (Woodland Scenics, 4 trees each) = $16
Pipe cleaners, florists wire, florists tape, lichen, washers, magnets (for homemade trees) = $11

One sheet 4'x8' pink polystyrene (1" thick) = $12
One 2'x4' sheet of 1/8" thick MDF for basing hills and trees = $3

One roll of "flagstone street" by Lemax (from Michaels, with a 50% off coupon) = $9
Hopefully with a little drybrush of grey this will work for paved village streets.

One can of "Diorama Paint" by Floquil = $6.
This is a multi-colored spray paint I plan on spraying on my felt roads to give them a unique look.

1/2 yard length each of blue and tan felt for rivers and roads = $5

I plan on explaining each choice as I reach that part of the project. Interested parties can also visit this thread at Reaper Miniatures where I'm cross-posting.

1990 Called. They Want Their Server Back.

2010-09-14T20:55:00.004-04:00

Funny thing happened yesterday. One of my teammates got a message from one of the IT guys. Apparently, our team was hogging a whole lot of space on the "shared documents" intranet site. Fully 12% of our site's allocation was devoted to our documents. Pretty impressive considering we have something like four people out of 100+.

Now, you're probably mighty impressed that four people could produce so many documents, presentations, charts, and random crap that the IT people are begging us to delete some of this stuff. You'll be less impressed to learn that we accounted for 1GB of space out of the 8GB our building was allocated.

We deleted a couple videos linked to an old presentation, freed up about 300 MB, and the IT guys were happy.

My coworker has more memory on his phone than our entire building has allocated for shared documents. Something is wrong with that. But what do I know? I don't have an MBA.

The Terrain Project Part 1: A trip to Menards

2010-09-14T20:53:00.001-04:00

I've managed to pick up a whole bunch of stuff, and will likely begin making the board this weekend.

Supplies:

2 boards (2ft x 4ft x 5/8" particle board) @ $7
3 "furring strips", 8ft long, 2"x1" @ $2.40
Wood screws (already have)

Particle board was chosen mainly for cost. I was initially looking at MDF, but the 1/4" thick sheets didn't seem like they'd stay in place well enough once on the table. The 1/2" sheets were over $8 each, and the first one I picked up had been smashed on one side. This didn't fill me with confidence as to the durability I want for storage. I really liked some sanded plywood, but each board cost $11. So, I went with particle board that is thick enough to not warp and cheap enough to not break the bank. The furring strips were purchased so that I can create a lip on the edge of the board so that dice don't roll off, and to protect against the rather sharp edges of the particle board. This should also reduce splinters.

I also bought a 50" x 100" Woodland Scenics grass mat from Hobby Lobby and a jar of vinyl adhesive that was on clearance. Total price: about $22 with tax.

Pictures will be posted as I begin construction.

The Terrain Project: Introduction

2010-09-12T22:48:00.005-04:00

So, GenCon meant that I got to play a few games that don't seem to have many players in the local area. Specifically, Reaper's Warlord game. It's a miniatures game, a skirmish-level combat game where small groups of fantasy races battle it out. Dwarves, orcs, elves, humans, demons. I really like the new version, despite the fact that there doesn't seem to be a local following.

Therefore, when a friend's children got excited about gaming at GenCon, I got excited about roping them into playing. Luckily, my friend is a cool sort of woman who doesn't mind her pre-teen sons playing with little metal figures against a crotchety old fart like me. By the way, I got pwned by a 12 year old during our first game. Dangit.

Nonetheless, I've been excited about creating a battleboard for us to game on. I already have several building from the Miniature Building Authority, so I can construct a pretty big village right now. But, playing on a kitchen table leaves a lot to be desired. It worked, but I want something bigger and better. Yes, at this point you should begin to be afraid. Mrs. Workshop was.

Games Workshop put out a battleboard of their own, and I really liked the concept. Modular plastic tiles, 2 ft by 2 ft, held together by clips so that the modules don't move. Six by four feet. Since I wanted a four by four area, their board would provide a good amount of variation. In addition, it stores fairly easily, is rugged, and expandable. You know, should I ever want an absolutely huge area to play on! The downsides, though, were enormous. First was the price. Almost $300 retail. Second, all that gets you is the molded plastic. You still need to paint the thing! And, some of the sculpting is wacky. I suppose it works for GW, but I wasn't really getting into it. Especially for $300. Oh yeah, no rivers, no extra hills (the battleboard modules have small rises sculpted into them).

Thus my brain started churning. Images of modular terrain filled my imagination. Rivers carved into the base, craggy hills rising to provide an overlook. Standing stones, ruins! I could construct a frame of 2x2's, supported by 1x2's, and place the terrain modules inside so that they wouldn't be knocked around. I even came up with a way to add hinges so that I could store the frame easily.

For the past two weeks, I made plans to buy the lumber, the MDF for the modules, the polystyrene for the hills. I tweaked the frame design, trying to find a way to get a stronger hinge. I started thinking about just how much flock I would need to cover all the modules I had envisioned.

This morning, reality hit me square in the face. I was tasked with watching Little Workshop while Mrs. Workshop went to lunch with friends. Little Workshop was tired, he cried, he couldn't get comfortable in my arms. Today was going to be the big day! Menard's was calling! And there was going to be no way I could get all the stuff I wanted while making sure my son didn't have a melt-down in the store. After our morning nap (because I napped too!), I loaded him into my truck and off we went. As I was driving, I realized there was no way I could dedicate the time to build the terrain I wanted. Gaming is fun, but my son deserves more of my time.

So I caved. Instead of Menard's, I drove to a fabric store. A half-yard of blue felt. A half yard of tan felt. For rivers and roads, repectively. I lucked out in that the store was having a half-off sale, so I managed to spend about $5.50 and get material for more roads and rivers than I will probably ever use.

I also stopped by Michael's Craft Store. They had their Christmas Village stuff out, and I found some birch trees I might pick up later. They also had a roll of rubber flagstone that may work for city streets. A quick check online showed there's a 50% off coupon, so I may not have to wait until after Christmas for some of this stuff.

As I ate dinner, I resigned myself to playing on MDF painted green. I could still do the polystyrene hills, since those smaller projects could be accomplished without interfering in my fatherly duties. But the big cool modular terrain, the rivers, the crags . . . those would have to wait. Of course, what about trees? It's a shame Michael's didn't carry the Woodland Scenics stuff like Hobby Lobby does. That 50% off coupon would come in handy. . . .

And as I was going to bed, I realized that Hobby Lobby routinely runs a 40% off coupon. I wonder if they had the large grass mats that Woodland Scenics makes . . . . A quick internet search says yes.

So I've been unable to sleep for the past two hours as my creativity has been sparked again. Creativity coupled with 40% off coupons is a scary thing for me. Mrs. Workshop agrees, and she's resigned herself to the fact that tomorrow I'll likely have a 4' x 8' mat of grass spread over our dining room table.

Never Forget

2010-09-11T00:00:00.000-04:00

We are at war.

The war started in the mid 1950's as radical Islam began to fight against the West. On September 11, 2001, our enemies made us realize we were still at war.

Despite our current president steadfastly refusing to acknowledge the war, our enemies haven't forgotten. We must not forget.

Our enemy tries to trumpet its own superiority, while even the casual observer can see that the regions where radical Islam holds power are no better than third-world nations. A once-great culture now shackles its people, leaving them in poverty and misery, while railing against the nations which are now the beacon of civilization. Even if the rest of the world holds still for a century, the Islamic world couldn't catch up.

They hate us, not because of who we are, but because of what they've become. No amount of appeasement will satisfy them. They are not interested in reconciliation, nor in the honeyed words of our president. They will always find a reason to hate us, to fight us, because their culture is inferior to our own. They stone women to death. They cut the heads off infidels. They use innocents as both shields and targets. They preach only hate and death.

Never forget.

Yo Ho Ho and a bottle . . . BOOM!

2010-08-29T11:49:00.004-04:00

Russians apparently know how to get s#!& done.

That story is from May of 2010.

Compare that to how an American judge handles the situation.

I'm not a fan of the Russian government, given its corruption, the continued adulation of Communist thugs, and its despicable disregard for the individual (although one might say the same of the US government), but I'll give them credit when it's due.
.

Gen Con Recap

2010-08-08T19:16:00.004-04:00

Phew . . . for not doing much today, it sure was a long one.

I arrived at the convention center about 12:30 to make one last pass through the dealer's area. Lyn wasn't heading out until 2, so I had some time to kill. More Miniature Building Authority stuff (ruined townhouses!). One last pass through the Reaper booth to pick up a couple paints I decided I couldn't live without.

Special kudos to Jim at Darksword Miniatures. Thanks for the swag. Anytime you need a ride, let me know. If anyone is reading the "Game of Thrones" series by George RR Martin, you should know that Darksword makes a line of miniatures representing the main characters from that series. Fantastic stuff.

Special angst to the asshat at Pagan Publishing who called me a 'cheap bastard' because I didn't buy a book that wasn't marked 50% off. Dude, your sign said "Pagan Publishing titles 50% off! Sunday Special!" That usually means that the titles that you guys publish are 50% off. You didn't have a caveat, so when I saw up Targets of Opportunity I thought it would be worth it, since I already knew I was buying Secrets of Mesoamerica. I like the Delta Green stuff, but for the love of Pete, your sign said what it said. Calling me a cheap bastard meant I didn't buy the Eyes Only book I was thinking about. Fucker.

Gen Con 2010

2010-08-07T20:14:00.001-04:00

Another Gen Con coming to a close. Lots of fun stuff this year, although I didn't buy nearly as much of it. More games.

Plus, I connected with a half-dozen other gamers in the Indy area to feed my gaming addiction. Including one who works at the same company I do.

Sheesh, small world.

The Propaganda of Incompetents

2010-08-07T20:12:00.004-04:00

Because Investors Business Daily is just plain good stuff.

Read this. All of it.

p.s. I'm sure Michelle Obama is enjoying her $345,000 vacation to Spain as the remainder of the country struggles with 9.5% unemployment. Sure glad we elected these morons to be in charge of the country. Way to go, America!

Utterly Frakking Stupid, part 2

2010-07-16T20:35:00.004-04:00

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is probably the Congresscritter with the "Most Likely to Have Vegetable Matter for Brains Award" on her mantle.

Need proof?

Now, far be it from me to say Sheila Jackson Lee is as dumb as a cucumber, but Sheila Jackson Lee is as dumb as a cucumber. A sack of mallets has more cognitive ability.

Let's hope that her opponent for the 18th Congressional District in Texas (John Faulk) wins in November, thereby preventing Ms. Dumbasacucumber from introducing all the wonderful equality provisions that Rwanda, China, and Afghanistan have for women.

Thank you, McDonalds.

2010-07-09T11:47:00.003-04:00

Here.

It's nice to see someone piss in the Center for Science in the Public Interest's coffee.

Now, if we could just find a way to use CSPI to plug the hole in the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, even the butterflies would sing. Hell, even if it didn't work, at least we'd be rid of a bunch of self-important numbskulls who don't have anything else better to do than get their panties in a bunch over a freakin' happy meal.

The CSPI isn't about science (I can attest to this, being a scientist), nor is it about the public interest (I can attest to this, as I am interested in the public). They're a group of idiots who think they know better than you how to run your life.

Now, I'm gonna go to Mickey D's for lunch.

Greetings to My New Readers!

2010-05-25T20:10:00.002-04:00

Welcome to my little corner of the web. I'm glad you made it over here, and I hope you learn something during your visit.

I do, however, have one groundrule. I appreciate comments, but please put some thought behind them. Use the gray matter that you were born with, because if you don't I'll respond in an unkind way. The great thing about my corner of the web is that it's (more or less) mine. If you want free reign to post your bat-shit crazy rants, go start your own blog. Oh, and I'm the only one who gets to swear. Except for a select few other people. How do you know if I allow you to swear? If you have been in my presence when I swore, you are allowed to swear on my blog. If you've never met me, keep the damned language rated G. Thanks.

Now, I've opened up a very few selected spots on my readership list, so if you violate my rules, act stupid, or otherwise deserve to be banished, your spot will be rescinded and given to someone more deserving. That's my way of saying "You wandered in, you're free to wander out." I fully expect that some people's heads will explode when their preconceived ideas about the world are shattered into a million shards with the blunt force of reality. If you can't handle criticism of your "unicorn fairy tale" leftist world view, best clear out now.

Still around? Cool. So, what do I talk about here? Well, there's politics and finance. There's also role-playing game stuff. The Dungeons and Dragons kind, not the fake computer game kind. How in the hell you think you're "role-playing" when the computer supplies the cut scenes, I don't know. There's also some posts about my miniatures, although these days the painting is little to none. Winter is a better time for that; less stuff to do outside! Yeah, pretty much whatever hits my fancy. Posts are irregular. Usually inflammatory. Never without a well-thought reason, thought. I know exactly why I believe what I believe, which is a damn sight better than most people.

Welcome! Click on links. I don't get revenue from this blog, so there's no advertiser to boycott. But I don't put links on my blog for no reason. Go play some games and look at some painted miniatures. Enjoy the stay, because it'll be over before you know it.

From the "What was your first clue, Sherlock?" Files

2010-05-24T23:00:00.003-04:00

Read the NY Times story. Yes, I know it's the Times. Yes, I know they can't find their backsides with both hands. Yes, I know they're a failing institution that can't figure out why their readership continues to decline ("Hey, I got an idea! I know we keep losing readers, but let's veer even more leftward! While we're at it, let's expose some secret government programs that are actually keeping bad guys from harming the United States!").

The summary: So, Euroweenies, long enamored with their leftist utopia that has allowed the unemployment rate to dwarf even the United States' unemployment rate, have possibly begun to realize that working for 30 years does NOT mean you get to live off fat government pension checks for an additional 40 years.

As Margaret Thatcher famously put it, "The trouble with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." Euroweenies have long loved their generous pensions, social hammock . . . er, safety net, and low work hours. Turns out, thought, that you can't actually survive as a country when YOU KEEP FRAKKING BORROWING MONEY WITH NO HOPE OF PAYING IT BACK!!!!

Ahem.

So, what happens when people realize the free lunch is at an end, and someone has to pick up the tab? What is the response of socialist parasites who don't contribute to the economy? Protests. "How dare they take away our benefits! How dare they make us work longer hours!"

The European model is not sustainable. You cannot continue to live on more than you produce. It's simple math.

Unfortunately, our Congresscritters and our President didn't major in math. No, they took "feel good" classes like Basket-weaving and Sociology. Math, well, that was just too darned hard.

Couple the unsustainable nature of European socialism with the fact that all the banks who loaned money to the nations partaking in this fiasco are linked. If Greece falls, all those loans go bad, which means banks don't have enough money to continue to loan money out to other European nations. Since Portugal and Spain and France depend on those loans, they'll fall, too. And more loans go bad. And more countries fall.

But by all means, keep believing that Socialism is a good system. It ranks right up there with the Unicornocracy, where fantasy beasts benevolently rule over us humans.

Stupid stupid stupid. Seriously, it's basic math, using the > and < signs.

Spending cannot be > than revenue for very long. Despite Obama's magic hand waving, spending more money that we have cannot lead us into prosperity. If it did, we'd be the frickin' richest nation on earth. But it can't, because reality doesn't work that way. (I know, I'm an evil hate-monger for dashing your insipid hopes that the 'Bama is anything other than an empty-suit politician.)

If you really think Socialism is the way to go, go out and run up your credit cards. Then refuse to pay the bill. That's exactly what Europe has done, and it's what the Democrats in the US are doing.

And if you are really so stupid as to run up your credit card bills, you deserve all the pain you bring onto yourself.

Tales from the Workshop Garden

2010-05-24T22:14:00.003-04:00

So, with all the new land we purchased last year, we here at Workshop Central decided to go all out with a garden. At the old house, we had a small garden, 4 plots 3' x 6'. Not too big, enough for some tomatoes, beans, a couple cucumbers, a couple squash.

But now, I have 6 rows at 25 feet long. We're gonna have tomatoes coming out our ears. Peppers, lots of cukes . . . I even planted radishes.

So, what's the big news?

Water pressure. Stupid physics . . . .

I use a soaker hose to water everything. It lets a nice drip of water get all the plants, without too much being wasted on ground that doesn't have plants. The problem is water pressure.

Okay, time to break out the science geek stuff.

The soaker hose is 150' long. I have no idea how much pressure is in the spigot, but considering it's connected to the water main, I'm guessing close to 90psi. Once the water comes out of the spigot and fills the soaker hose, the hose closest to the spigot leaks lots of water, while the hose at the end (150' away) barely gets any. Which means my radishes and carrots are getting plenty of water, while the tomatoes and beans get a trickle.

Dammit.

I spent a good couple hours on Saturday messing around with the hoses, to finally test them out on Sunday. Adjusting, fiddling, all to realize I'm gonna have to just buy a lawn sprinkler, wasting water on ground that doesn't have any plants.

Alternatively, I'll pick up a 4-way splitter to equalize the pressure in each hose.

Yeah, a post about gardening. I know. But water pressure made my life more difficult today than our Drunken Sailors . . . I mean Congress . . . so gardening gets a post.

Back to normal rants about stupid leftist parasites soon enough.

Obama Speaks on Offshore Drilling!

2010-05-24T22:09:00.003-04:00

Isn't it amazing how the Great and Powerful P-BO keeps talking without really saying anything?

Leadership on Immigration

2010-05-20T18:48:00.003-04:00

I received a special note from President Obama concerning immigration reform.

Happy Draw Mohommhed Day!

2010-05-20T00:01:00.000-04:00

So, a subset of the Muslim world demands death to those who draw their Prophet. This subset of the Muslim population gets their panties in a knot when someone disagrees with their belief that Islam is not the best thing since sliced bread, and they come out with death threats against people who dare desecrate their prophet (who consummated a marriage to a girl of 6 years old).

So, it's National Draw Mohammad Day, to show these pinheads that there are plenty of people who aren't scared of their threats, who will stand up to their bullying, and who will not submit. Not now, not ever. If you wanna play in the sandbox of civilization, you can't go around threatening to behead those you disagree with. Christians don't demand the slaughter of those who insult Christ, and by all historical data, Christ was actually a likable guy. He didn't rape girls or start wars, and certainly didn't instruct his followers to enslave their neighbors. Need proof? Do a search for current wars. You'll find that Muslim fanatics are on one or both sides of approximately 97% of the wars that are currently being fought.

My only regret is that I couldn't use bacon to make this piece of computerized art.

A Memo to the Suits

2010-05-17T21:26:00.005-04:00

A backup system that works without all the bells and whistles of a computerized, technological miracle that adds tremendous costs that your company cannot afford . . . STILL FRAKKING WORKS!

If you believe the alternative to an "analog" system (also known as shouting down the hall for help in an emergency situation) is another expensive system that you DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY FOR is the answer to your problems, you should resign your position due to your incompetence.

If you do not bother to attend your budget meetings, insist on spending money like drunken sailors on shore leave, and depend on your underlings to bear the burden of finding ways to cut costs, you should be fired. With malice.

If you have done nothing productive in the past two years to address your inflated salaries, offered solutions to budget shortfalls, or moved your fat asses onto the floor to help your teammates, you deserve a very long, painful Walk of Shame past the employees and customers you have let down.

Wait . . . Death Panels? Where?

2010-04-08T20:52:00.003-04:00

"What would you call governmental institutions that empower bureaucrats to decide when to deny medical treatment--panels, as it were, that have the authority to determine when a patient's death is necessary for the health of the fisc?"

Powerline Blog - check it out.

Also over in Hot Air . . . more commentary.

Let me summarize: Duh.

Thank you, America, for checking your brains at the door and electing this nitwit.

My Pimp Rico . . .

2010-04-08T20:47:00.004-04:00

Especially starting at about 1:25, Mrs. Workshop says this is not uncommon.

Oh, thank you, P-BO, for socialized medicine so that we can see more of this in real life.

Time to Increase the Number of Exemptions

2010-04-07T19:55:00.002-04:00

So, the IRS has figured out how to enforce that 'YOU MUST BUY HEALTH INSURANCE' law that the Party of Stupid (also known as Democrats) passed a while ago.

And so, time to up my exemptions to the max. Let's see . . . me, Mrs. Workshop, Little Workshop, plus 1 . . . yeah, four exemptions ought to do it. It'd just meant that I pay a big chunk in April instead of giving that money up willingly all year long.

Note: While the Democrats are the Party of Stupid, the Republicans are oftimes the Party of Obtuseness. Don't worry; my disdain for idiots knows no bounds.

Missile Tech

2010-04-06T21:57:00.003-04:00

So, in the previous post I mentioned the blue missiles on the wingtip racks being training missiles. Turns out they're also an older style. Visiting over to Instapinch, I saw a picture of the latest Sidewinder, the 9x. These missiles use vectored thrust, meaning the "cone" they can acquire a target in is much wider, since they don't need to rely on fins to do the steering. Older styles of Sidewinders relied on the front fins turning to guide the missile, which relied on little roller-wheels on the back fins using gyroscopic forces to tell which direction the missile was going. All very complicated.

The two guys fiddling with stuff are the ordnance crew. Red shirts take care of things that go boom. The green shirt signifies the arresting gear/catapult crew.

It's That Time of Year Again . . .

2010-04-06T21:01:00.008-04:00

Time to sweat details like "how much did I spend in child care?" and "Are those underwear I donated to Goodwill really deductible?" Fear surrounds the furious calculations, because no one wants the KGB . . . er, the IRS knocking at their door. The best part? If you were to call the IRS for help, it's likely they wouldn't be able to figure out your tax bill, either.

But no matter! Because we have universal health care! That won't kick in for FOUR YEARS! But we get to pay the taxes now!

For the record, this is what the dumb-ass politicians in Washington DC have brought upon us.
This, on top of the great unemployment rate that we're enjoying, because, you know, if we DIDN'T pass that trillion-dollar crap sandwich, we'd be worse off. Because our government's track record of forecasting this stuff has proven time and again to be 100% accurate . . . .
But, in an effort to keep my sanity when the insane are running the country (into the ground), I've come up with my yearly list of "What I Bought The Federal Government." Now, if you see the roads around my house, you know I didn't buy them asphalt or concrete, because that stuff should have been used to fill in the craters that are doing their level best to destroy my truck's supsension.

No, I'm continuing the trend of supplying the United States Military with equipment. This year, I'm contributing to the FA-18 Super Hornet Fund. Now, these are the main fighter jets of the United States Navy, replacing the venerable F-14 Tomcat. The Tomcat was the jet that was the star of the movie "Top Gun," in case you're wondering. No, Tom Cruise did not star in that movie, he was second billing to the baddest-assed Cold War bird around. Anyways, the super hornet comes in at around $55 million, which means Mrs. Workshop and I are the proud contributors of . . . 0.0345% of one jet.(The blue missiles on the wingtips are training missiles, not live-fire weapons. Just so you know.)

Last year, it was 7.62mm NATO sniper rounds. This year it's part of a jet. Much better than paying Congresscritter Hank Johnson's salary.

.

Utterly Frakking Stupid

2010-04-01T12:16:00.005-04:00

Yes, I'm describing a Congresscritter. His name is Hank Johnson, and he represents the fine voters of Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you, Atlanta, for sending your best and brightest to Washington to represent you.

Admiral Robert Willard is the poor soul subjected to the Congresscritter's stupidity. I probably would have said something like "Well, Congressman, that's why we encourage our elected representatives to visit Guam. All the hot air helps keep the island afloat." Or maybe "I understand your concern, Congressman, and that's why we've invested billions of dollars in pontoons to ensure the island does not, in fact, capsize."

To the admiral's credit, he appears caught off-guard fora brief moment, but responds with an ever-classy "We don't anticipate that."

Might want to refresh your memory with this, too.

2010-03-22T20:58:00.000-04:00

The Bill of Rights: A Transcription

The Preamble to The Bill of Rights

Congress of the United States
begun and held at the City of New-York, on
Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.

THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.

RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.

ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.

Note: The following text is a transcription of the first ten amendments to the Constitution in their original form. These amendments were ratified December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the "Bill of Rights."

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Amendment VII

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Just a reminder, since so many people forgot . . . .

2010-03-22T20:48:00.000-04:00

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Article. I.

Section. 1.

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Section. 2.

The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.

The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.

Section. 3.

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.

Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.

No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

Section. 4.

The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.

Section. 5.

Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.

Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.

Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.

Section. 6.

The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.

Section. 7.

All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States: If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.

Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.

Section. 8.

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;--And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

Section. 9.

The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.

No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another; nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.

No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

Section. 10.

No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.

No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.

Article. II.

Section. 1.

The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.

The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Section. 2.

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.

Section. 3.

He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.

Section. 4.

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Article III.

Section. 1.

The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.

Section. 2.

The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;--to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;--to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;--to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;--to Controversies between two or more States;-- between a State and Citizens of another State,--between Citizens of different States,--between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.

In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.

The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.

Section. 3.

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.

Article. IV.

Section. 1.

Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.

Section. 2.

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.

A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.

No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.

Section. 3.

New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.

The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.

Section. 4.

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic Violence.

Article. V.

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.

Article. VI.

All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

Article. VII.

The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.

The Word, "the," being interlined between the seventh and eighth Lines of the first Page, the Word "Thirty" being partly written on an Erazure in the fifteenth Line of the first Page, The Words "is tried" being interlined between the thirty second and thirty third Lines of the first Page and the Word "the" being interlined between the forty third and forty fourth Lines of the second Page.

Now I gotta go find a frikkin' Japanese DVD that's coded to my region. Sonuvabitch.

2010-02-22T20:56:00.001-05:00

My Carbon Footprint is Bigger Than Yours! And That's Okay.

2010-02-16T23:03:00.003-05:00

Why? Because I got me some offsets! HA! Suck it, greenies!

Free carbon credits! Impress your tree-hugging friends! Drive your Hummer H2 guilt-free! Keep your house at a toasty 76 degrees this winter, comfortable in the knowledge that you can simply "offset" your disgusting carbon production by a few meaningless goodwill gestures, like flying a private jet to a UN-sponsored symposium on global warming, or preaching to the little people who don't live in 10,000 square foot homes that we need to save the earth (don't worry, Obama likes his White House nice and toasty while us little people are told to put on a sweater), or driving a car to Washington DC when you could've video-conferenced and told Congress to stick it where the sun don't shine.

From the "Don't Let the Door Hit You in the Ass" Files

2010-02-15T22:52:00.003-05:00

Evan Bayh is retiring from the U.S. Senate.

I guess all that double-talk finally caught up to him.

Or maybe it was his "I don't know about national health care" face to his constituents while being a cheerleader for Obamacare behind closed doors.

There's still a small part of me that wants to think that Bayh realized he was being used by the Left, and realized it was time to quit. Especially since he rolled so easily on national health care. Hell, we didn't even get a Louisiana Purchase or a Cornhusker Kickback like those senators who held on to their convictions just long enough for a great big fat check to drop in their laps.

Still, with the deadline for signatures just days away, Democrats are probably crapping themselves trying to figure out a replacement. Not to worry, as there are plenty of people who are more that happy to spend other people's money on failed programs that will only serve to drive the citizenry to serfdom.

Maybe it was a finger in the eye of the Democratic leadership that has thrown fiscal responsibility out the window in an effort to nationalize our economy and enslave the next dozen generations with debt that they can't possibly pay off. I doubt it, but I'm not quite so jaded as to say that piece of me has died. I know, I'm an optimist for thinking that there might be a politician who hasn't sold every piece of his soul.

Come November, expect several more incumbents to be shown the door by their constituents. At least Bayh had the good sense to leave before Indiana's voters did to him what he's been doing to us.

IT People Piss Me Off

2010-02-15T22:26:00.003-05:00

So, my wife is trying to set up our computer so that she can work from home. With all the snow we've been getting, it's probably not a bad idea. Growing up in the frozen Northlands, I don't seem to have too much of a problem driving in the snow, but Hoosiers . . . they're a bit different.

Anyways, she was having some trouble accessing her work computer from our home computer. Not too weird, since most networks don't want to let just any computer log-on and hack into someone's files. Still, she needed to get onto her drives, and so called the (company name deleted) IT support folks.

She kept trying to log on, without success. After describing the issues she was seeing, they told her it sounded like she had a virus. And when the computer rebooted, there were pop-ups, which obviously shouldn't be there . . . . "Yep, sounds like you have a virus. You'll want to remove 'Superantispyware.' It's keeping you from being able to access your H drive."

Now, I don't fault my wife for not having computer skills. But the 'pop-up' that she saw was the splash screen telling the user that Superantispyware was firing up. That's all. It gets replaced by an announcement that there's an update for the program. Wow. No doubt that's a virus.

Dumb-asses.

When I rule the world, one of the laws I will implement is that tech support people must actually know what in the hell they are doing. And if you need to read from a script, you are not only fired, you're wrapped in chains and dropped in the deepest part of the ocean, so that as you sink to 36000 feet below the surface, all that pressure might force the two brain cells together and your last thought will be "Damn, I really shouldn't stuck to that job flipping burgers."

UPDATE 16FEB2010: Yeah, it was my firewall. I have the thing cranked down so tight that nothing is getting in or out without alarms going off. Unfortunately, that means that stuff has trouble, and the firewall says "nope, not gonna happen." Now I just gotta fiddle with the controls to say "Mrs. Workshop's work server is okay, Strange Russian Guy's server is bad." I so wanna call up Mrs. Workshop's tech support people and yell at them. Tell me my computer has a virus. I'll show you a virus . . . .

On The Other Hand, I'm Glad To See The Killer Back.

2010-02-13T21:54:00.002-05:00

For those who don't know, Jerry Lee Lewis was THE original Bad Boy of Rock and Roll. He once was billed below Chuck Berry, and got kinda pissed about it; at the end of his set he lit his piano on fire so he couldn't be followed. Oh, and he married the 13 year old daughter of his cousin.

No Good Will Come Of This . . . .

2010-02-13T21:43:00.002-05:00

Because Anything With Beaker is JUST PLAIN COOL!

2010-02-10T21:46:00.001-05:00

The Dishes Won't Wash Themselves

2010-02-07T20:36:00.004-05:00

I think this will be my new example as to why the socialism, that great system of government that shares misery equally, will never work.

The dishes won't wash themselves.

Special thanks goes to my friend Jacquie for the inspiration.

As the head of my house, I could command my wife (who is, by all accounts, my equal in all things marital), to wash the dishes, but I'd be punished for it. And besides, as equals we are far too busy planning our economy to do something as simple as cleaning dishes.

I could order my child (Little Workshop) to do the dishes, but he could very easily drop them. Especially since he's only four months old. Let's say Little Workshop (LW) is old enough to put dishes away. We'll make LW 18 for simplicity.

Ordering LW to do the dishes could likely result in him breaking dishes, or doing a half-assed job on cleaning them. And why not? If I were to punish LW for doing a half-assed job, he could simply take his dish-washing skills and leave.

Perhaps I should pay LW to do the dishes! But, that borders dangerously close to capitalism, so we'll add some caveats. LW will get paid to do the dishes, but I'll put a limit on the amount of money he is allowed to make from washing the dishes. Plus, he must do the dishes in precisely the right way, or he'll suffer the consequences and won't get paid. Oh, wait, this means that LW takes his skills and leaves . . . .

Okay, fine! Leave! I'll hire Eduardo to do the dishes. Of course, Eduardo doesn't have any actual skill doing the dishes, so he doesn't use hot water. Or soap. And he puts them away all wrong. But everyone with LW's skill won't come to my house, so I guess I'll have to live with half-clean dishes that may or may not be in the cupboard.

Now, extrapolate the dishwashing scenario to something important. Like, say, surgery. Do you really want a doctor operating on you who is operating on you because the government tells him "Do this or you'll be arrested?" Or do you want a doctor who isn't skilled, because the skilled doctors left to pursue other avenues of employment?

Which is worse: Using an unskilled doctor, or forcing one to perform under the threat of punishment?

.

When Nerf Guns Aren't Enough

2010-01-26T20:22:00.000-05:00

ATM Security Stuff

2010-01-22T21:47:00.002-05:00

So, tooling around the internets yields interesting tidbits of information. Linking from Bruce Schneier, here' an article about ATM skimmers.

Don't worry. Stupid is just around the corner.

2010-01-19T23:39:00.002-05:00

French bureaucrats continue to prove they shouldn't be allowed to reproduce.

Surprise, Bitches!

2010-01-19T21:42:00.005-05:00

Scott Brown has won in Massachusetts.

A 52-47 win (with 84% of the precincts counted) pretty much qualifies as a landslide, when one considers it's freakin' Massachusetts.

Edit: I removed some unkind words stating that Ted Kennedy was a drunkard. Drunkards shouldn't be insulted like that.

Edit: I removed some unkind words comparing members of a certain political party to spineless lumps of whale dung. Whale dung actually supports some microbial life, which has more intelligence than members of that certain political party.

I Do Not Choose to Be a Common Man

2010-01-01T11:37:00.001-05:00

I posted this on Jan 1 2009. It still applies, and will continue to serve as a guiding principle in 2010.

An American Creed by Dean Alfange.

I Do Not Choose to Be a Common Man

It is my right to be uncommon—if I can.

I seek opportunity—not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me.

I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed.

I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia.

I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat.

It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act for myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say, “This I have done.”

Freedom vs. Slavery

2009-12-10T06:33:00.000-05:00

From Michael Ramirez.

Because it's Friday

2009-12-04T21:09:00.000-05:00

h/t to the Evil DM.

Adventures in IT Tech Support

2009-12-04T20:48:00.004-05:00

So, Tuesday morning I was browsing through my daily webcomics, when I discovered that I couldn't get to QuestionableContent.net. Hmm, seems the internet connection was lost. Oh well, I'll just try to reload . . . to no avail.

Crap.

So, heading off to work, I imagined all the horrendous possibilities. Did I download a virus? Not that I've been to any sites that might expose me to such a thing, heavens forbid. Did my router die? Surely, I just needed to power everything down and reboot . . . .

Nope. Tuesday night was spent fiddling around to no avail. But, I figured I'd bring my work computer home Wednesday night and log on to the internet, just to check and see if the router worked. Yep, no problems there.

The router said it could see the computer, but the computer said it couldn't see the router. I ruled out a bad ethernet cord, and I ruled out the router. That meant either some weird frakking virus, or . . .? Can an ethernet port go bad?

Yes, it can. Specifically, the ethernet card can go bad. So, I wandered into our favorite big blue box store with the big yellow sign and looked for an ethernet card. $18.99 later I'm outta there. Thank you, Dynex.

Now, I'm not a computer person. I barely remember to clean the dust off the intake filter on my poor computer. The thought of performing surgery was a bit daunting. But, I took a stab at it.

Turns out, my ethernet port is mounted on the motherboard (I think). The PCI slot I popped the new network card into used to house the dial-up modem connection-thingy. Propably won't need that in the future . . . .

But, now I have a connection to the outside world! WooHoo! Mrs. Workshop is happy, too, since she can keep up on Facebook with all the people that she doesn't get a chance to see anymore since we moved out to the boonies.

Special thanks to Fred for the advice, and the offer to help should I get elbows-deep into the surgery only to discovery I don't have a clue what the hell I'm doing.

Whaddya know? I done learned something!

One of These Things is Not Like The Other

2009-11-15T02:07:00.004-05:00

So, you're a world leader meeting the Emporer of Japan.
Do you greet him like Ehud Olmert?

Or do you greet him like the King of Morocco?

Maybe you're the prime minister of Khazakstan . . .

or a dignitary from India . . .

or maybe you're VP Dick Cheney.

Perhaps you're a dignitary from Slovenia . . .

Or maybe South Korea . . .

Or maybe you're Vladimir Putin.

Okay, so maybe you're none of those people. Maybe you're an unqualified nincompoop who can't find his way out of a shoebox. Great job, Barak! By the way, you look like an ass. I can only think that Emporer Akihito is thinking "WTF??!!!"

Congratulations, America. You elected an unqualified boob to the White House.
.

That About Sums It Up

2009-11-08T07:00:00.004-05:00

How High's Unemployment, Momma?

2009-11-08T06:45:00.004-05:00

10.2% and climbing . . . .
How high's unemployment, Papa?
10.2% and climbing . . . .
We're outta money and GM's broke
President Obama is blowin' smoke
Congress is nothin' but a big ole joke
10.2% and rising.

With apologies to Johnny Cash.
h/t and all that . . . .

Put another way . . . . (thanks to Powerline Blog)

I wonder if I can get a bumper sticker of this:

I'm so glad that Hope and Change is working out so well . . . .

A Memo to the FTC

2009-11-01T08:48:00.004-05:00

With everything blowing up around the Workshop, I missed this story.

In short, the FTC wants to regulate bloggers because said bloggers might receive ad money, or product, or who the hell knows what else, and the FTC can't have unregulated bloggers out there mucking up the works.

They seem to have forgotten the First Amendment, of course.

Therefore, as a pubic service, here's my response to the Federal Trade Commission:

Fuck. You.

I can take whatever freebie, money, renumeration, compensation, or gift I want. I don't even have to tell people about it. Because you know what? I can.
.

Security and Me

2009-10-20T20:24:00.002-04:00

So, I try to be good with passwords. I don't make them particularly easy to guess, and even try to use special characters (#$&%^ and the like) when I can. While I'm not the best when it comes to computer security, I want to make it difficult enough for hackers to force-hack my stuff.

You might expect that your employer, who has a vested interest in strong passwords, would ensure that such nontraditional passwords were supported. You'd be half right.

I changed a password recently, one that links to other functions on my employer's intranet site. Let's say for fun that that password is "doug'spassword". That apostrophe is a special character, and the computer accepted that password. My intranet password then became "doug'spassword."

The only problem with that is that there was an application that wasn't updated with the latest and greatest security options, and when I tried to type in "username" and "doug'spassword" I was informed that the ' was an invalid character.

Calling our help desk, I explained the situation, which was met with some mirth. "Yeah, we've seen that problem a couple times. You have to go and change your intranet password in order to get to that application. Sorry, but we haven't updated all our systems yet."

I made sure that he understood my joy at creating a password too complicated for our multi-million dollar security system to handle, and then went and changed my password to something simpler.

Hey, at least I tried to take security seriously.

Unemployment . . . Again . . .

2009-10-02T23:53:00.003-04:00

So, the last time unemployment numbers came out, I described how I was shocked, shocked to see that unemployment was up again after the Great Obamomessiah's Grand Stimulus that put the US in hock for somewhere upwards of a trillion dollars.

Well, unemployment numbers were released today.
Yes, when government increases spending, and everyone with half a brain knows that government gets their money from taxing people, the end result is that businesses are not really looking to expand their operations and grow revenue.

Why should they? It's just going to be taken away from them by the parasites who demand health care, or retirement, or any number of other entitlements we Americans have been suckered into demanding.

Guess what? It's only going to get worse. We have a childish president who demands others sacrifice while he attends cocktail parties serving wagyu beef (at $150/lb) and flies off to Copenhagen to try to get the Olympics to select Chicago as the site of the 2016 games (despite that severa l of his associates stand to make millions on real estate deals should that happen). Thank goodness the Olympic Committee saw through at least some of the BS being hurled their way and told Obama to stuff it. Guess Obama's Chicago cronies got out-cronied by the IOC cronies.

My Son Was Born Today.

2009-10-02T12:04:00.007-04:00

Meet Little Workshop.

The Cartoon Controversy

2009-09-30T23:32:00.001-04:00

Four years ago, the Jyllands-Postern, a Danish newspaper, published several cartoons that were deemed offensive to Muslims. The paper said this was an attempt bring light to the issue of criticism of Islam and self-censorship by various parties. Muslims believe that it is forbidden to draw Muhammad, for such base action only weakens the prophet.

In fact, Islamic art is characterized by wonderful abstracts that leave current, "modern" abstract artists in the dust. Nothing is as perfect as that which God creates, so the thinking goes, so for us to try to replicate it is an affront to God.

Now, couple the belief that depicting Muhammad is an act of blasphemy with the cry-baby nature of modern Islamists, and you end up with Muslims crying out for the death of those who insult Islam.

Me, being a firm believer that the freedom of speech, believe that we should out shine the light of truth upon them.

If you want to play in the sandbox of the civilized world, you don't get to go around demanding I censor myself. You don't get to go around whining about your hurt feelings. And you certainly don't have the right to demand my head be cut off because your delicate sensibilities are hurt.

To that end, I am reposting the Muhammed cartoons. I will not submit, not now, not when you hold a sword to my throat. Some things are worth fighting for, and freedom is one of them.

Because the Pharmaceutical Industry Thrives on Innovation

2009-09-30T22:08:00.000-04:00

Why you don't mess with elk during the rut.

2009-09-28T06:59:00.002-04:00

Stupid people need to be charged by bull elks.

That's why telephoto lenses were invented, lady.
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People you meet online are still strangers

2009-09-27T21:07:00.003-04:00

File this under: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

2009-09-20T22:02:00.003-04:00

What will they think of next?

Many times, I find it better not to surf around the Interwebs, because you invariably end up stumbling on stuff that makes your brain hurt.

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Never Forget

2009-09-11T16:21:00.003-04:00

Insurance Companies and Stupidity

2009-09-11T13:50:00.004-04:00

Dear Anthem,

Yesterday, I attempted to fill a prescription that my wife requires. The medicine, which had a cost of $41.99 for 30 tablets, keeps her blood pressure under control. This is important because she had some pre-term labor. Lower blood pressure means no early child.

Now, I understand you are in the middle of a huge debate, and the future of the insurance industry pretty much hinges on ObamaCare going down in flames like it should.

But you don't help matters when you refuse to pay for a prescription that will prevent a neo-natal ICU visit. If she has the child now, you will get a bill much higher to cover the cost of NICU, and the round-the-clock care that premature babies get.

Or, you could just decide that covering the medicine is a FREAKING COST SAVING MEASURE TO PREVENT YOU FROM SHELLING OUT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN MEDICAL COSTS.

Now, to be fair, the pharmacist did a little fudging to say "yeah, we'll put you on half a dose so insurance will cover the cost. Just take the dose like your doctor prescribed."

$11 later, we had our medicine, we learned that the pharmacist is smart, and that Anthem Insurance is stupid.

In closing, I really support the medical industry. It is filled with amazingly smart, dedicated people. The insurance industry is filled with weasels, and if you guys don't get your act together, no one will cry when you are nationalized.
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Unemployment is up again. Color me shocked.

2009-09-06T07:12:00.003-04:00

I forgot to update the blog when July unemployment numbers came up. Not to worry, though. Unemployment is higher than it was then. Although you wouldn't know it from the news stories circulating. Granted, this article comes from the AP, but still . . . really guys? If it was GW Bush, you'd be all over it saying we're headed for a death spiral.

Like this. And this. And this.

So, how's that "job saving stimulus bill that we need to pass RIGHT NOW or we're all going to die" working out? Not that you could have cut everyone's federal taxes to NOTHING and had an immediate positive response. I'm kinda glad the Glorious Leader didn't do that. Cutting Federal Income Taxes to 0% would have meant the recovery happened immediately, and he'd likely be looked on as a having solved the problem. Instead, the problem got worse. Thank you, Oh Glorious Leader Obama!

The Political Scale.

2009-08-31T20:55:00.004-04:00

I've known about this site for some time. It's a great site. You answer dozens of questions, and it places you on a grid, Communism vs "neo-liberalism" and authoritarian vs fascist.
Note that pretty much all of our political leaders fall in the "authoritarian/neoliberalism" quadrant. Which says a lot about our political leaders. One might also note that there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference between our political leaders. I chalk that up to the bias of the codewriters. Of course, there is a world of difference between our current world leaders and people like Hitler and Stalin (as well as such cuddley figures as Robert Mugabe).

Where am I? Well, Milton Friedman is a pretty close neighbor . . . .

On a side note, I would caution against thinking there is a "best quadrant." The quadrant with Ghandi, for instance, would seem popular until you realize that Ghandi thought the Jews should willingly enter the gas chambers the Nazis had prepared for them. Crazy talk about "moral high ground." Meanwhile, Pope Benedict XVI is pretty close to Mamoud Abbas, but I don't recall the Pope suggesting that suicide bombing is the way to go.

Science Geek Stuff

2009-08-30T09:12:00.003-04:00

That picture is a molecule of pentacene. Full story here.

Ain't science cool?

Self Hatred

2009-08-29T23:29:00.002-04:00

I've been posting elsewhere recently, and I've come to a startling conclusion.

Those on the Left (leftists, socialists, communists, Democrats) hate themselves.

It's very bold to say such a thing, but after watching the way leftists think, it's the only logical conclusion I can make.

Examine what a leftist espouses. Every time, they wish to drag those who achieve down. Higher taxes, universal health care, social security, government programs. The answer, to a leftist, is never something that raises people up.

Why? It is because they are so low in their self esteem, so deep in their unhappiness, that those who are genuinely cheerful cause the leftist pain. A leftist, so convinced of his own inadequacy, cannot fathom that someone else may not share that inadequacy. A leftist, certain he will never amount to anything, is pained by those who do reach the next level of success. And the leftist truly hates those who do not wallow in their own self pity. Only by standing over those unfortunates does a leftist achieve any semblance of moral victory. "At least I care" is their guiding moral beacon. But they never stop to wonder what it is they care about. Their caring is selfish, centered only on their own miserable lives.

Those of us who espouse freedom and liberty know that people can only be free when they are lifted up. Victims cannot be free. The pitiful cannot be free. Those shackled by guilt at their success cannot be free. Man was not meant to wallow in base emotions. We were given the gifts of reason and free will so that we could use our abilities to rise up, to achieve.

It's a strange world when we who achieve are condemned by those still in chains of mediocrity. Even sadder are those unfortunates who poison the minds of those who desire achievement. Because I encourage effort, I have been called unChristian. Because I understand that not everyone will reach the same levels of success, I have been called racist. Because I force people to confront their own shortcomings, I have been called fascist (despite that Fascism is more strongly associated with leftists than libertarians). Because I refuse to let others steal from me, I have been called greedy.

All these insults are reflections of the leftist mind. They hate themselves, and can only project their self-hatred against others. It is the leftists who twist the words of religion to suit their own ends. Leftists are the racists, for they assume skin color is indicative of a lack of skill. Leftists, who want to control the successful, are the fascists. Leftists, who demand that others pay health care, retirement, housing . . . they are the greedy ones. These contradictions result in strong self hate, expressed by the actions the leftist displays.

Watch this when a leftist makes proclamations. You will find the evidence of self-hate. The best you can do is pity those poor unfortunates.

Dragon!

2009-08-27T07:50:00.002-04:00

My total thus far for 2009: 20 miniatures painted. As it is now August, that would mean I've been painting for 8 months. But moving the Workshop took up about 4, so let's call it 4 months of painting. That works out to about one miniature a week.

As for the miniatures I purchased at GenCon . . . at one a week, it'll take me a couple years to finish them. Of course, there's also all the minis from GenCon 08, 07, 06 . . . hell, I still have unpainted figures from when I started painting in 1988.

Spiders!

2009-08-27T07:07:00.001-04:00

Goblin!

2009-08-26T21:27:00.002-04:00

Undead!

2009-08-26T21:26:00.001-04:00

Ogre!

2009-08-26T21:25:00.002-04:00

The spin continues . . .

2009-08-25T21:30:00.002-04:00

About the fascist health care plan currently proposed by our Glorious Leader and the Democrats.

Yahoo News, in a story highlighting the spin, says "the majority of Americans believe the myths." That would be because the "myths" that logic and common sense tell us are true.

So, what "myths" do Americans believe?

-Health care coverage will be provided for illegal immigrants. Crazy, right? Especially since all those paragraphs about how illegal immigrants won't be covered . . . oh, you mean there isn't language about that? And our government keeps trying to prevent immigration laws from being enforced? 1+1 = 2, kids.

-Wait times will increase for medical care. Crazy, right? I mean, it's not like wait times increased in Canada, the UK, or France . . . oh, wait, they did? But just because it happens in every other country with government controlled health care doesn't mean it will happen here . . . . 2+2 = 4, kids.

-The Federal Government will become involved in making personal health care decisions. Crazy, right? I mean, it's not like our president said "If there's a blue pill and a red pill, and the blue pill is half the price of the red pill and works just as well, why not pay half price for the thing that's going to make you well?" and "you just get into some very difficult moral issues” when considering whether “to give my grandmother, or everybody else’s aging grandparents or parents, a hip replacement when they’re terminally ill." And those effectiveness panels that will determine if certain medical procedures will be allowed or not? Those couldn't possibly interfere with personal health care decisions, could they? 4+4 = 8, kids.

-Insurance premiums will increase. Crazy, right? Just because the government will force insurance companies to cover all sorts of things that they may not cover now, and because insurance won't be able to be denied to anyone for preexisting conditions, there's no way our premiums would increase, could they? 8+8 = 16, kids.

Keep it up. They know the plan is flawed, and only through dedicated effort did the people of this country stand up to be bullies in Washington. We kept them from cramming fascist health care down our throats. We can win, and then we can vote these bastards out of office.

h/t to PowerLine

GenCon - Day 4: It's Over

2009-08-16T21:11:00.003-04:00

Whew! That was a fun weekend.

Minus the drunk hilljack who tried to pick a fight with me.

Total budget spent: 89%
The total was modified thanks in part to the items I had in the auction. Who knew that old D&D modules were so collectible?

I am the proud owner of several medieval buildings now. The Miniature Building Authority received a bunch of cash from me in return for several buildings. Time to start wargaming!

Darksword Miniatures continued to put out some great things, and sponsored some speedpainting competions. The miniature for the final round was Cersei, from George R.R. Martin's "A Game of Thrones." Good stuff, even if I didn't win the final round!

I managed to get in a game of Warlord, "Night of the Solstice." Very fun, with 6 players vying to complete their objectives while the townsfolk either cower or drink enough to start fighting back. The highlight was the Reven player. One of his goals was to raid the brothel for breedstock, and in order to capture the women, he had to roll anything other than mediocre. He rolled mediocre every time save one. The women fought back! And hard! I think they managed to kill 2 of this 3 orcs doing the raid. Don't mess with those women.

I also managed to pick up a dioramma - Bridge of Sorrows. This dioramma has been on my list for about 15 years, and finally I saw it and snapped it up. I have been thinking about using the new Pathfinder minis from Reaper to replace the older centaur and wizard. We'll see how that goes.

One more day off. I gotta cut the grass, get some groceries, and take care of errands that have fallen by the wayside during my time at the Convention Center.

Is it too late to start planning for next year?

GenCon - Day 2

2009-08-15T01:24:00.003-04:00

Budget spent today = 34%

GenCon - Day 1

2009-08-13T23:01:00.003-04:00

Some notes from today. Hopefully I'll remember to add details later . . . .

Lots of people, which is good. Seemed to be a good number of people buying stuff, which is good. Swag seems light this year, which is bad. I got to meet a couple new acquaintences, which is good. Fun people, especially since I really want to hang out with mini painters more than gamers sometimes. Paizo's Pathfinder game was a hit; there was a line as soon as people could get there. I'm glad, since I don't particularly want to make most of the game books I own suddenly incompatible with the new edition of D&D. Considering I've subscribed to their Adventure Path, I hope they continue in 3.x for a while. I also managed to chat with some folks at the IU school of infomatics. My only knowledge about informatics was in regards to databases. Turns out there's computer animation/modelling, games, interactivity . . . and I mentioned an idea that could likely be used as part of a master's program. Crap, this could be bad . . . .

Green Ronin's True20 Freeport adventure The Lost Island should be there tomorrow. Dangit, now I have to go back. Picked up the Warrior's Handbook and Buccaneers of Freeport.

Caught up with a couple back-issues of Knights of the Dinner Table.
Gamescience dice. Expensive, but worth it. I hope.
CMON is here, and brought the Avatars of War line. And a bunch of Enigma minis. That's gonna hurt the budget . . . .

Jen Haley's class was pretty good. I took it last year, but the topics change based on who asks questions on what to see. Gotta see about getting a pillow to support my elbows while I paint. Also got a review of a painted mini. Still have to work on bringing up highlights. I apparently forgot to highlight a part of the mini's thing (d'oh!). Need to highlight/shade gold. This probably means I need to set the "completed" mini aside for a couple days and then go back and really finish it. That was mentioned to me once before. But, "skin is good" and "hair is good" is a pretty good compliment.

Ninja Magic minis. Yay for space ships!

Reaper Minis is gonna be producing Pathfinder minis. And I got a sneak peak at the new Valeros. Awesome! Where the old mini (by Croc Games) was flat, the new one captures Paizo's iconic fighter in an action pose. I can't wait to see what they do with the other iconics.

I got to show my wife around the mini paint-and-take area, and talked with Bobby Jackson about the sculpting process. Now Mrs. Workshop is an expert . . . or at least understands where these minis come from. I told her I don't have the hard job, the sculptors do. I just slap some paint on and call it good.

Mmmm . . . fish tacos at Houlihans.

Paizo got some more money: Cheliax handbook and the Ezran mini. Yeah, Reaper will redo it, but I like the current version. I skipped over Merisiel. I like her in artwork, but the mini just doesn't scream "Paint me!"

Note to Out of the Box Games: If you run a game at GenCon, you may want to consider bringing that game so that we can buy it. Gavett's Stock Exchange is a fun, fast game, but I can't buy it from you if you leave all the copies at your warehouse. Which sucks, because I'll probably end up spending the money I would have spent on your game at Reaper or Darksword. Or Wyrd.

The WarStore is here, and has MicroArt resin bases. Pretty cool, and supposedly they'll have some more out tomorrow.

Items crossed off list: Cthulhu stuff. I'll check and see if they have Pulp Cthulhu, but the other books I was considering didn't really make the cut. Hirst Arts molds: Boy, do I want them. But, with life the way it is and will be in the near future, I won't have time to use the molds . . . so I'll have to drop them off the list this year. Kraken Editions didn't have any plinths with them, and I wasn't impressed with those available at Armorcast. Infinity minis, although nice, are too expensive. Maybe if I played more scifi games, but at $11 each (or $20 each for the cool motorcycle soldiers) I can't justify it. Carcassone (by RioGrande Games) may be off the list. I can pick up the game here in Indy for the same price as they're offering it at the convention, so I think I'll be supporting a local store instead of buying it here. They didn't have Medici or Medici vs Strozzi. Privateer Press . . . I don't think you'll be getting much money from me anytime soon. I love the steampunk stuff you've put out, but the new stuff is damned expensive, and I don't play Warmachine. Please put out more RPG stuff. But I know you won't since there' s not a good market for it.

New items: Gotta think about the game "Run Candyman, Run!" Imagine Candyland, only with bazookas . . . . Talisman is a classic, and pretty easy to play . . . . Maybe check out the "scratch and dent" games.

Spent: 16% of my GenCon budget.

Gen Con - Day 0

2009-08-12T19:24:00.004-04:00

I spent a very small amount of time today helping the mini-paint group set up. Plus, I went to pick up a few people who were flying into Indy.

I managed to get my stuff delivered to the auction ( = $30).

Parking = $3.50

If I'm lucky, I'll be able to keep track of my spending here on this blog . . . but don't count on it!

Update: I suck at Texas Hold-Em. Buy-in was in miniatures. I lost 33% of my original stake. Not horrible, but pretty bad. On the plus side, there was talk of the loser being named the Miniature Hobby Event organizer for next year's GenCon, so at least I didn't get that role!

Yes, Yes. A Thousand Times Yes.

2009-08-12T19:22:00.002-04:00

That would be John Mackey's plan for health-care reform. Mr. Mackey is the CEO of Whole Foods, and his plan is perfect.
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An Old Joke

2009-08-11T21:43:00.004-04:00

I once saw a bumper sticker that said:

Cheap
Fast
Food
Choose two

The current options for government-controlled health care can be summed up in this manner:

Choose two:
__Comprehensive Universal Coverage
__Quality and Choice
__Reduced Cost

Certainly, universal coverage and quality/choice will mean astronomical costs (and we don't have any money).

Quality/Choice and reduced cost means not everyone is covered.

And universal coverage plus reduced cost means we must sacrifice quality and choice (this is the current option proposed by P-BO and the Democrats).

If anyone tells you anything different, they're lying to you.

Dissent is No Longer Patriotic

2009-08-10T19:45:00.007-04:00

First, let's go to the Way-Back Machine. 2003, when Hillary Clinton screeched . . .

Remember that? Not that those on the Right ever called those people unpatriotic. We questioned their judgement, certainly. Still do.

More here . . . .

Bumper stickers . . . .

Editorials, moral declarations, music and video.

But no longer.

Now, we have our president asking for citizens to tattle on one another.
Quote: " If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov ."

Dissent must now be crushed, because having the Federal Government control health care is touted as the end-all be-all for our survival as a nation. Never mind that this is the same Federal Government that brought us Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Craptacular Stimulus Bill That We Really Needed But Didn't Actually Do Anything for The Economy.

Those who stand up against our government? Unamerican. Exercise your First Amendment rights? Be booted from the room. Dare stand up to union thugs? Be beaten:

All this just because over half the population has realized that the government option will lead to a single-payer option, which will have no choice but to ration health care. Especially to the older citizens. The new responsibility that our elderly will be burdened with is a duty to die, because otherwise costs will be out of control.

As for the claim that the current plan being offered won't lead to a single-payer plan, their own words can speak volumes:

Dissent. Dissent loudly. Dissent often. And keep dissenting.
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My Letter to the Editor in the Indy Star

2009-08-04T05:54:00.004-04:00

Full text:

During the debate about health-care reform, one particularly troubling aspect is never mentioned. Every country that has adopted single-payer systems has had to cut back on services offered. In other words, every country that has government-controlled health care has rationed care.

While some may say that our system now rations care, individuals may pay for any service they wish if their insurance doesn't pay for it. But under a government system, the government may outlaw such private payments. In England, it is illegal to pay for your own health care. Canada had a black-market health-care system for those who could afford it. If Canadians were caught going outside the public system, they could be prosecuted. Patients had to go to the Supreme Court to get the ability to pay for their own care.

The ultimate question for those who support government control our health-care system is this: Why should anyone have to go to get an MRI?

Do Not Hire Trina Thompson.

2009-08-03T13:36:00.002-04:00

Because she has already demonstrated she cannot accept responsibility for her actions.

Suing your school because they didn't get a job for you?

Yeah, you'll have employers lined up for blocks.

Today's college graduates: "Dumber than a bag of hammers."
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Finally, a new miniature!

2009-07-26T12:03:00.005-04:00

To take a break from the political rants, here's the first miniature I painted since taking a break due to the move . . . .
From Reaper, 3405 Black Orc Hero.

I'll call him "tabletop plus" quality. Definitely not by best, but still fun to paint.

I'm really enjoying sculpts by Tre Manor. Over-muscled, brutal-looking figures. Lots of muscle detail. He's selling his own minis over at Red Box Games.

On another gaming front, GenCon looms! I'm excited, since I've got a bunch of money burning a hole in my pocket. Dozens of miniatures will likely be purchased, as well as RPG supplements and board games (like Carcassone and Cold War).

All told, about 34,000 games will descend upon Indianapolis in a fit of geekiness, nerdiness, and downright dorkitude. The Colts are still going to try to have a pre-season game against the Vikings that weekend. Hopefully, they've learned that booking hotel rooms in advance is a good plan. On the other hand, I'll laugh myself silly if they goof it up again ( like when the Jets came here several years ago), and the Vikings need to stay at a Super-8 up in Lafayette.
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For Fred

2009-07-18T22:18:00.001-04:00

I found some pre-production sketches of Voyager.
Check out ScienceFictionModels.com for more pictures.

Even More Adventures in Irony.

2009-07-18T19:46:00.006-04:00

So, I am pretty peeved off about the Federal Government spending money that doesn't even exist like drunken sailors on shore leave.

I even contacted my two senators about it. I haven't heard anything from Senator Richard Lugar, but I did get two very nice messages back from Senator Evan Bayh.

The first one contained this paragraph:

It disturbs me that the Federal Government borrows billions each year from foreign creditors, such as the Chinese and Japanese central banks. The growing indebtedness of our country to our competitors raises troubling questions about America's independence and the ability of foreign countries to influence our economic and trade policies in ways that might not be in our national interest.

and this:

For these reasons, it is imperative that we spend every taxpayer dollar wisely. In January, I supported a resolution of disapproval regarding the release of the second half of the funds for the Troubled Asset Relief Program from the Treasury. It concerns me that these funds may have been used improperly, rather than to stabilize our banking system as intended. It is now more important than ever that our government demonstrate the accountability that we taxpayers deserve.

Oh yeah, there's this, too:

I was also one of two Democrats to vote against the Fiscal Year 2010 congressional budget resolution due to its lack of fiscal restraint. At a time when so many American families are tightening their belts to make ends meet, Congress should be equally committed to living within its means. The budget I opposed projected an unsustainable level of deficits spending. The national debt today stands at over $11 trillion and is projected to reach $17 trillion by 2014 under this budget. We cannot pass that burden on to our children and grandchildren.

Got all that? Sure sounds like Senator Bayh is very concerned about all that money we're spending . . . .

So, here's how the second message starts off:

I strongly supported President Obama's $789 billon economic recovery plan, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was enacted on February 17, 2009. While this legislation is not perfect, it does make job creation and tax relief for the middle class top priorities. It is critical that the government play an active role in stimulating the economy to keep thousands of businesses from failing and millions of people from losing their jobs.

What? I thought you just said . . . .

The economic recovery plan provides more than $17 billion in funding for biomedical research, public health, and other health-related programs within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is an important contribution to Indiana's premier life sciences sector. Specifically, ARRA provides $10 billion to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for biomedical research and extramural research facilities; $2 billion for the modernization of health records and health information technology (HIT); $500 million for health center grants and HIT acquisition; more than $1 billion for comparative effectiveness research; $1.5 billion for health center renovation and repair; $500 million for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and other health workforce programs; and $1 billion for disease prevention.

Wait a minute, I coulda swore your first message was all about fiscal responsibility . . . .

I have confidence that the economic recovery plan will continue to save and create jobs in Indiana and around our country, improve our transportation system and existing infrastructure, and eventually improve the quality of health care for Americans. Please rest assured that I will keep your views regarding health care funding in mind as Congress debates these important issues.

Seriously, Senator. W. T. F?

Sounds like someone's fixin' to get a phone call from me soon.

More Adventures in Irony.

2009-07-18T19:38:00.002-04:00

The Kindle is supposed to be the "next big thing" in books. An electronic book, capable of storing your entire library, allowing you to read great classics anywhere.

Until a publisher decides he doesn't really want electronic copies out there, and convinces Amazon.com to yank them back.

The best part? Amazon yanked freaking Animal Farm and 1984, both by George Orwell.

Now, not that I'm a smart-ass or anything, but if someone were to go to another site in another country where Orwell's works have passed into the public domain, who am I to stop them? Naturally, I would never, ever link to such a site. That would be wrong. But as they say, some wrongs are more equal than others. :)

http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/o/orwell/george/

Vacations are good things

2009-07-16T22:12:00.004-04:00

No, that's not me. That's Jeff. But I was taking the picture, if that makes you feel better.

I went up to the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Very nice and peaceful (minus the niece and nephew). I didn't get as much fishing in as I had wanted. The mornings just didn't lend themselves to getting up at the buttcrack of dawn. We did manage to get out to a river once, where we found thousands of crayfish, but only about 3 fish. None of which we caught. The river (part of the Rainbow Flowage) was beautiful, with lots of boulders providing a picturesque landscape. But, the river flowed too slowly to crave out deep ruts and holes that could have provided shelter for smallmouth. Oh well, guess I'll just have to keep trying here in Indy!

But, I did get a few shots of eagles. There was a hunting perch where these two eagles sat, keeping an eye out for food.

That's about as good as my camera can do. Beautiful, and fun to watch. I managed to see them pluck a couple fish out of the lake. They did better than we did.

More miniature pictures coming someday. As soon as I can figure out how to work my camera again. I hid the setting notes somewhere . . . .
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Obama's Recovery Plan - Even Higher Unemployment!

2009-07-02T21:13:00.004-04:00

Continued from here . . . .

Now, this is the projected number, not the actual number (the guys over at Innocent Bystanders are on it, though).

Unemployment increased AGAIN!!! Despite the Glorious Leader Obama's plan to Bankrupt Us All.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

And these numbers don't include what will happen when the Cap and Tax carbon emission debacle . . . er . . . plan goes through. Or Universal Health Care That Will Mean You Die Sooner. Or the necessary tax increases to pay for all our wonderful government services that the Glorious Leader Obama will provide for us.

For the record, what do you think the media would be saying if these unemployment numbers occurred under George W. Bush? Instead of "Unemployment lower than expected" we'd be seeing "Economy worsens to historic proportions."

If the economy keeps getting worse at a slower rate, we'll soon be up to 10% unemployment. No doubt our ruling class will proclaim that it would have been so much worse if we were fiscally responsible.

Bastards.

Wandering the 'Net

2009-06-30T23:03:00.001-04:00

visited 28 states (56%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

Don't ask . . . .
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The New Workshop

2009-06-30T22:06:00.012-04:00

It's about time I got these pictures up.

First, the Old Workshop. Taken back just before we started moving. Notice the fact that my computer screen is sitting right in front of my painting area. Notice my keyboard pushed aside to make room for my latest projects.

I painted this way for 2 years.

And this is the New Workshop. My drawing table, lovingly toted from Michigan to Colorado to Texas to Indiana, with plenty of room to put paints and half-painted miniatures. Heck, I probably have enough to set up my camera if I cleared the minis off the work area!

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My computer now sits off in another corner of my room, allowing me to focus my attention on the miniatures in front of me.

My Workshop also holds most of my reading material and all of my game books. The closet is filled with unpainted metal and other totes I have yet to unpack.

I did manage to buy one of those plastic hang-from-the-door shoe racks. My basing supplies, primers, and finishing sprays go there.

I've still got a little ways to go before the room is up to my high standards . . . but it's good enough that I can start painting. It feels good to get a brush back in my hands. Now, of course, I have to relearn all the stuff I forgot over the intervening three months.

About 6 weeks to GenCon! I gotta get practicing.
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Why Government-Run Health Care Fails

2009-06-29T23:10:00.009-04:00

Economics 101

Every single item and service on the planet responds to the Law of Supply and Demand. The food we eat, the home we live in, the labor we provide, the cost of each of these is governed by this law. Even the air we breathe. Don't believe me? Try SCUBA diving, being 100 feet below the surface, and running out of air. How much would you pay for a fresh tank? At that point, demand has far outstripped supply, leading to a rapid increase in price.

Separately, the curves for Supply and Demand of any given product look like this. Combined, the point at which they intersect is the price we pay for any given item or service.

Now, what P-BO and the Democrats want to do is lower that price to make health care "more affordable." Like this:
Looks good, right? Who could possibly be against such a benevolent use of the government's coercive powers? Well, the effect of that will mean the supply and demand curve will change to meet this new price point. Since supply will be unchanged (there won't be a rush to build hospitals, or an increase in funding medical research since now there's no money in such endeavors), that means the demand curve will adjust . . . like so:
Notice how the new demand shifts from "5" to "7." Demand increases when there's no way the price can go up. Consumers see this as "value." Why not get the supersize meal when it doesn't cost you anything more? A car dealership offering a used Ford or a new Cadillac for the same price will find itself sold out of Cadillacs.

But remember, there's no increase in supply, which means longer waiting lines, full hospitals, and doctors making less money because now they have to see patients but can't increase their prices to meet this new demand. And so, the inevitable happens.

Government, having modified the price to increase demand, now has to limit Supply to bring the curves back in line. This means rationing services. Cutting off chemotherapy treatments for patients deemed unlikely to recover. Refusing to cover medication that doesn't meet government standards for efficacy. Never mind that people respond well to it, if the demand outstrips supply, the supply MUST be limited.

This wild idea is borne out by the fact that every single country with nationalized health care has rationed that care! That means the government is telling people "No, you can't get that surgery" "Your chemo will have to wait" and "We don't cover 'lifestyle' illnesses anymore."

Congratulations, America. I hope you get what you deserve.

Go Navy.

2009-06-28T22:22:00.003-04:00

I realized something as I was playing around on the 'net tonight.

Mrs. Workshop's and my new house sits on about 5 acres of land. That's more than the flight deck on a Nimitz class aircraft carrier. In other words, pilots land their aircraft on something smaller than my yard every day.

Holy Crap. Something the size of my pasture sees more air traffic than some airports.
The above picture is a daily exercise (twice daily if evening/night flight operations are scheduled) aboard an aircraft carrier, the "foreign object and debris" walk (FOD). Anyone not involved in something vital gets to get up and walk the flight deck from one end to the other, looking for anything that could cause a multi-million dollar jet engine to suddenly not work. A loose nut, a piece of rubber, anything . . . .And that's all for tonight. Goodnight!