Today we went out to the airforce base to greet my brother-in-law (my wife’s sister’s husband) who has returned from Kuwait after just over a year.
It was really quite a spectacle; an enormous hangar with a parade row of flags, a band blaring “Sweet Home Alabama”, firetrucks spewing gouts of water in long arcs over a slowly approaching plane, and then of course the real waterworks as fathers are united with wives and children.
We went to their home for a small lunch. The street was lined with flags all the way up to his front door. Talk about a hero’s welcome!
I have a great deal of respect for my brother-in-law. He’s such a true person, a man of high integrity.
It’s past the point of no return. The Eldar are going to happen. I have in two Falcons (which will become the chassis for Night Spinners, which are in from FW) and ten Dire Avengers.
I’ve decided against the red/orange/white color scheme and instead it’s going to be Teal (yes teal, like the ocean pic above) and White with grey and gold as accent colors, maybe working in some pale purple. The jewels are going to be a dark teal worked up to a very very light glowy color. I’ve got it all worked out.
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I think the loadout is going to be something like this:
1x Autarch on Jetbike
1x Farseer
2x Dire Avengers units in Wave Serpents
12x Rangers in two units
2x various Jetbike units with Warlocks
9x Vypers
3x War Walkers
2x Night Spinners
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I think it will be flexible, fun to play with and against.
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I have also decided to focus more on the wargaming aspect of the blog in the coming week. So expect a lot of youtube and miniatures related stuff.
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I’ll give you all a break from my heavy-handed moralizing.
[I was up from 2am to 4am this morning. I managed this post-of-dubious-value. Everything in quotes is dripping with sarcasm– and imagine an eye-roll for good measure.]
My insights: I think that most of the time people don’t understand completely where Ron Paul is going. He’s not very good at seeing his logic through, or creating a clarifying point that brings it all the way around. He does a much better job of this in his written materials.
For example in this case, in the question of the automobile industry, he talks about the liquidation of mal-investment. If a company goes under its assets don’t just disappear. People talk like the buildings and the people are just going to evaporate in a cloud of ash. They are rather picked up by new investors, things are cleaned up and a younger, leaner, fresher company picks up the mantle without all the baggage that was there before.
I liken it to the brushfires. At some point the system has to clear itself. Preventing the fires only makes it more devastating when they finally do come. Not a perfect analagy, but you get my point.
Another thing that makes my jaw hit the floor is the idea that without banks somehow no one would be able to buy a home or a car. If the banks disappeared tomorrow everyone would be living in the woods around giant ghost towns. There are different ways around it. Without huge lines of credit, customers and products would have to find different ways to connect. I think it would make prices come down. Ron Paul makes this point with regards to the Health Care sector in his book The Revolution, that before the government stepped in hospitals had motivation to make their product affordable, and worked better directly with consumers.
Same thing with cars. If the banks evaporated tomorrow, how would you get a car. Why, you would save up and buy a reasonably priced used car. Bad for the new car lot, but proportionately good for the used car lot. The resources, the money, the consumer did not evaporate, they just moved to a different sector. A job may be lost, but another job is created.
If the banks disappeared tomorrow, completely, I would cry with joy. Oh, it would suck when I had an emergency and needed a loan. Oh, waitaminit, I need to think around the problem better. How about SAVING up first and living frugally? That’s what ultimately happens when a family becomes over-extended and their credit tanks anyway.
More than half my income goes to interest and taxes. Mostly interest. I’m an idiot. Years ago, when I should have made painful decisions about my business, faced up to the pain, lived leaner, I instead went into debt to subsidize my idiot ways. The availability of easy credit prolonged the stupidity and over-spending. It’s a micro-cosm of what Ron Paul is talking about. I’ve spent the last year working to get to a point where my income is going more into the life of my family. And slowly I’m getting there. I want to get to the maximum level of efficiency there.
By the time my mortgage is done my house will have cost at least double. I will have spent ten years “building” my house (vicariously) and another ten years getting nothing, just paying interest to someone who neither built nor labored nor finished any material product. How is that a good system? Is there a better way?
I wonder, if you took a city of 20,000 people, how much of the money that is spent on housing goes to ownership (principle) and how much goes to interest? What percentage of the homes are owned outright? Are we just squatters in the land of our forefathers? It seems to me that the banks printed a bunch of paper, bought everything, and made everyone a half-slave through usury.
The banks would have you believe that without them humanity would be doomed to live in the forests in twig huts and tents. If it weren’t for them you’d have to save your whole life to buy a house. Yes, maybe you’d have to live super humbly for about ten years and buy only a modest dwelling outright. But at least it wouldn’t cost double, and your kids wouldn’t be indentured servants.
“Yes, without them the entire system would implode. Oh, please dear banker, save me! Provide the essentials for me! Because without you I would be totally screwed. In fact, maybe I should buy my food and clothing on credit, too!”
And what would it look like if my countrymen en masse wised up and stopped using the so-called “services” of the banks? It is after all a product and we can’t be forced to use it (nevermind that this is what’s happening indirectly through the bailouts– we have to pay back a loan through taxation– our “representatives” signing on the dotted line for the loan either from the Fed or foreigners). But back to my “no thanks to the banks” idea. What do you think that would look like? Why, the banks would howl to high heaven about how the whole system is crashing down and how everything is going to go to hell without them.
How can that possibly be? Let’s not forget the nature of this entity. It is a being that by its very nature takes more than it gives back. It takes double back, I would daresay, through the “miracle” of compound interest. When I go into a bank nowadays it gives me the creeps. Every polished desk, every marble tile, represents the sweat of some working family. I feel like I am walking on the souls of the working class.
Well, back to my business. Ever since I stopped using credit of any kind, and paying up front for everything, paying as I go, things are just peachy. I reigned in my spending to super-thrifty levels. I started paying off my debts at an aggressive pace. I bought a used car with cash up front. It has brought me peace and a measure of prosperity.
Disclaimer: I am not presenting this as exactly my viewpoint. Or saying that you should accept it as yours. I think that it is worth looking at. I am a political explorer. Ron Paul’s movement (a restoration of the American Revolution as he says) resounds with me. I am on the brink of building out on this and asking a new round of questions.
Looking back at my first year in College, I had to take American History 101 (or somesuch). I remember on the first day the professor came out and began pointing out all the great things that the government does, listing all sorts of government programs, and how we should be grateful. At the time I cocked my head a bit, since it seemed a little off topic. But now it makes sense– the relationship of universities and the government.
In my opinion, colleges are agents of the banks to enslave young people through student loans.
I was watching Colbert Report and he introduced Bob Barr (the Libertarian Candidate) as “the man who wants to shrink government to the size of a postage stamp”. That’s not fair. If the size of goverment were rolled back to the size it was twenty years ago, it would be about half it’s current size. The “postage stamp” statement skews the real issue: what is the proper role of government. Government does do some things well. This is an entirely different topic.
I have started to warm to Eric Danley’s view that there are some things (like switching to more efficient green energy perhaps) that need a nation-wide solution, and are not likely to be implemented by individual businesses. I’m still puzzling this out as best I can.
My hope is that someone will be uplifted or perhaps gain some insight.
There’s no way to make a blog entry so bland, so generic-brand, that every one of the hundreds who read it will agree. So, I’m not looking for that. I’m just putting down one man’s perspective.
Now, I am interested in hearing constructive and relevant comments from regular readers. I don’t mind putting down things that perhaps clarify or illuminate different facets.
Sometimes I’m just writing ideas, that I might not even think are right (not sure if this is the right word). If I am presenting (what I think is) an absolute, the language will reflect that.
I feel suddenly inclined to talk about marriage. I hope my comments do not come across as preachy or moralizing, but rather as a humble proffering. This is only my one perspective.
It takes careful preparation. There should be courtship and consideration. It is a matter of great seriousness because it is not just for one’s self, but for the successive generations. I think it is the woman who must exercise the greatest discretion, for she is choosing the father of her children.
People do change over the long course of a good marriage, but it’s not such a good idea to count on that. Take a close and objective look. Marriage isn’t some doofus hipster thing that is only for the entertainment of the individual. It is the foundation of society, successive generations, and the formative years of small children.
Too much physical affection can cloud one’s judgment. That is a good and wholesome part of marriage, but not everything. Perhaps likened to mortar. It’s the bricks that are important. But boy that mortar sure does hold it all together. Is that right? That makes it sound like critically important
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You’ve got to be practical and address the day-to-day items. How will the duties be divided? What are the practical goals? What about children and child-rearing? What are the basic rules of life?
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My wife and I seriously curtailed the expression of physical affection during our courtship so that we could keep our heads on straight. We decided to never be alone together. We spent a lot of time at the public park and on the front steps of our homes.
Each person is different. There are many different situations. For me, I prepared for many years, and so when I found the right woman (or a right woman) it was only nineteen days from first date to proposal. But I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that for everyone. It’s a tough call. I’d say there’s only like a one in hundred chance of any two people being really compatible for a long-term marriage. You can beat those odds by dating a hundred people and keeping careful track of what you liked and didn’t like about each one. This doesn’t have to be hot and heavy for each date-ee. It can be a brief and friendly relationship, perhaps even without any romantic tones. Just a chance to get to know someone.
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I definitely recommend making a list of “must haves” and a list of “dealbreakers”. That your future spouse have the same fundamental beliefs is a must. People think that love conquers all, but be careful, things that don’t seem important while gallavanting around town like two star-crossed lovers are of critical importance at 2am when the baby is crying.
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Then, of course, there’s the time to just quit your hem-hawing and just do it. There’s never a perfect time.
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The piece of paper does matter. Sometimes the die-hard commitment is what sees it through when times are bad.
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I remember being afraid of marriage for a while. I had heard how bad it was. That it was some kind of ordeal. My experience has been the exact opposite. Sure, there’s some arguments and bickering, but the general undercurrent is very pleasing.
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I was greatly, immensely benefited by being LDS and following that formula before and after getting married. A “Mormon” wedding in a temple is short, sweet, and uncomplicated. It is extremely quiet. Two people kneel across an altar and clasp hands. I think it’s about ten minutes for the whole thing. I loved it.
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Also, it never hurts to talk to your parents. They might know a thing or two about it. Or maybe not. But at least listen.
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There is a gracious and kind God in Heaven. Anyone can call on Him for help and enlightenment. Most certainly in the all-important issue of creating a happy, stable and lasting marriage.
Pic: a Luna Wolf space marine. We’re doing an enormous army of these. It’s a great color scheme.
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Today was surreal. I got up at 1:30am, spark awake, and stayed up until about 3:00am. This can’t be healthy. My seven year old son didn’t have any clean school clothes. But we found some at last. He’s got a lot of book smarts, but not a lot of common sense. He’s got good intuition when it comes to math– he logics things out neatly. Like his dad.
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I got to spend some time with him, though, driving him to school. I like to spend time with my kids.
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I was alone at the studio most of today. Thursdays are a sort of Bermuda Triangle. Not many people. I’ve got a new guy back in assembly helping out for this week. He plays Magic, so we started a four-way tournament just for kicks.
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I got a lot done, though. When people are around I lag because I want to shoot the bull and chat everyone up as they pass by. No one escapes the “cheerful greeting”.
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Baby is healthy and pink and making cute baby noises, approximating speech in a way. She is starting to track us with her eyes. She’s happy and calm. I can’t imagine what it’s like to take a newborn to daycare. Is there even such a thing? I’d live in a one-bedroom apartment with all six of us before making Tamie go work while the kids are institutionalized. Har. Well, I guess the older kids go to school!
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Some stuff for my Eldar came in. And Vypers are en route. It’s going to be fun. I’m still mulling all sorts of color schemes.
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I am still booking projects for February. There are still two slots open. Two sweet slots!
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What else?
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The weather warmed up today. It melted about half of the massive sheets of ice that form a stubborn lattice over the entire city.
As you know, I am a fan of the Eldar as well. And I have to say that Jetbikes are a viable troops choice to be certain. In fact, I rarely ever play a game that doesn’t have some element of a “Speed is Life” style (Dire Avengers in Serpents, or Jetbike squadrons).
As to whether or not they will fit in your army…that depends. I will try to offer my insights and then, coupled with your own experiences, you can make an informed decision.
In my experience, jetbikes cannot go racing up the middle of the board. EVER. Just because they have better toughness and armor than a regular guardian does not mean you should use them as shock troops. Be prepared t osacrifice a turn (or two) of fire to maneuver into position. This was a lesson that took me a while to really use. And I still fall into the “Shoot Every Turn” trap.
At the very minimum, I take 4 Jetbikes in a squadron: 2 ‘regular’ bikers, a shuriken cannon biker, and a warlock. With the new edition, conceal is a waste (your armor is better, and there’s turbo boosting if you really need it). I tend to go with Embolden. This means you are more likely to pass morale checks for casualties, and will make taking a wound less catastrophic (You are taking a test every time someone crashes).
As you go up in numbers, you can substitute powers for the warlock (though Embolden is always a good default). Destructor can be a big surprise for your opponent when you drop a heavy flamer equivalent in their laps. And enhance can really turn the tide if you decide to assault (Not recommended, but has been useful for me in the past. I still think conceal is bogus on jetbikes.
I tend to go with 6 jetbikes + warlock, or 9 jetbikes + warlock, depending on the rest of my force. I tend to bring a jetbike farseer and either another farseer on jetbike, or an autarch on jetbike. The Farseer allowing re-roll saves, and dooming a target squad is brutal (could you imagine if Guide increased BS instead of re-rolls?. OUCH!).
Based on the list you have in your blog, I would keep the night spinners hidden (obviously) Put the dire avengers in wave serpents, get a jetbike farseer, and fill up your troops slots with jetbikes. I would kit out my war walkers with multi-shot weapons (Scatter lasers are a favorite, but I tend to equip mine with Scatter laser/Starcannon) and have them outflank your opponent. (And get juicy side armor) Vypers should have long range weapons or high rate of fire weapons (the dual shuri-cannon load isn’t as effective anymore) So I would go with missile launchers for range (and the blast not almost guaranteed to hit SOMETHING) or shuriken cannon to keep em cheap. (Speaking of: I had an idea for a vyper with an underslung turret. Take the Shuri-cannon turret from a wave serpent/falcon and mounting it underneath the vyper (where the normal turret goes. Would it fit?)
I hope this helped a little bit, and that I didn’t tell you something you already know. 🙂
Very Respectfully, –Josh
Here’s a follow up:
The 60mm base only becomes a problem in urban fights. I tend to have the bikes at various altitudes to allow them to bunch up (Thanks for the doweling btw) and it allows for a much larger spread when your opponent is ‘shooting through’ your unit. (though I’m not sure how reliable that might be with “True Line of Sight” and its interpretations). Deployment can be a problem, but after you get to move, you should be ok. Plus, under the new 5th ed rules, you can choose which units are in reserve (re-read the missions and the reserve rules and you’ll see it) So coming in from the table sides can be a devastating tactic (especially shuriken cannons into tasty side armor)
From my understanding, in 5th ed, turbo-boosting bikes give a cover save instead of invulnerable. So if you are turbo boosting, your cover save is better than conceal, if you are not your armor save is better than conceal. And if you are trying to avoid lascannons, plasma guns, and other high AP weapons, using ‘real’ cover will likely be more readily available and offer a better save than conceal. I would spend my points elsewhere.
Jetbikes in 5th edition are great for the last minute objective snatching. They are more maneuverable in avoiding assaults and putting fire on specific targets (Isolate and destroy). With outflank and their outright speed they can be pretty good at getting to softer targets. A lot of my opinions are based on theoryhammer because I have only played a small number of games since 5th ed.
We made a Forge World order yesterday. It was a personal thing, not so much for the studio. Renn picked up some Death Korps mortars to round out his army, and I picked up a few Night Spinners.
I also ordered a Lord Hexeris, just because that model is so cool. I have a massive Grey Knights army coming in, which we are going to refurbish and upgrade, and I thought he would make a great HQ for that. Here’s what’s in it:
GKT Hero with storm bolter 1 GKT Hero with psycannon 1 GKT with psycannons 4 GKT BC with psycannons 4 GKT with incinerator 1 GKT with TH+SS 1 GKT with storm bolters 12 GK with psycannons 8 GK with incinerators 5 GK with stormbolters 55 GK Justicars 8
Inquisitor with psycannon 1 Inquisitor Cortez with retinue 1 Eversor assassin 1 death cult assassins 3
Dreadnought with various arms 3 CC Dreadnought with AC 1
As you can see this isn’t a small army. It’s a lot of Grey Knights. Anyway, you can look forward to that as a studio project. If anyone is interested, send out a line now.
OK, let’s talk about Eldar. This will be like my sixth army of Eldar since starting 40K in 1996. I am still really torn about what to field in it. Eldar have so many great units: evocative, colorful, interesting, and deadly.
I’m not so interested in what is good. I want modelling opportunities and an army that is both fun to play and a challenge to play against. Here’s what I have incoming soon:
6x grav tanks of various types
2x Night Spinner turrets
9x Vypers (got some great conversion ideas for these)
2x units of Dire Avengers
What else should I get?
Definitely going to put in a unit of three War Walkers. I’ve wanted for some time now to try fielding NINE of them in an army. Just to see how a marine army takes 36 star cannons shots in a turn.
My big problem is what to use as Troops choices. I really like Jetbikes. With a Warlock are they any good?
In other news: a rare and coveted Painter slot has opened up at the studio. I’ve interviewed about twenty people this week. It’s grueling. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like it. It’s great to meet new people and I am absolutely blown away by the level of talent that is showing up. It’s agonizing to narrow it down. I should have it settled in about a week. But you will all not meet the new artist until 3-6 months from now.
The time involved with this process is what has kept me from both blog and youtube this week.
When I was in South America I saw something that made my heart break.
Stray dogs would get infested with ticks. Whole carpets of them that would breed on them until they formed bulbous grey patches of them all over their bodies. I was told that eventually the dog would lay down and die.
The problem is that they creatures take and take from their host, and unless something is done to remove them, the poor dog will grow ever weaker.
The only solution is a whole body tick-removal bath.
