Winter is here...

Winter's here.  Meh, I hate the constant rain.  Cold, I don't mind so much.

Today I attended the end-of-season business meeting of my American Civil War reenacting group.  Dull, but necessary.  I participated less than my usual minimum because of lack of attendance at events last year.

We efficiently finished a little early, so I managed to visit the Game Matrix, a game store in Tacoma, Wa. I found a copy of the Players' Guide to Paths of Glory (POG). POG is what's known as a card-driven wargame.

Last half of July and through August

It's September already.  Sheesh. it's been a rough couple of months for us.

My stepson has been out of Harborview Med Center since early August.  It was rough going back and forth to Seattle.  Since he's been back home, my wife and I have been caring for him, with me managing the wound care and dressing changes.

In early August, driving back from Seattle, a guy rear-ended us. We were all fine. The traffic was really heavy, stop and go, so neither of us was going fast. The rear bumper has some biggish dings in it, but that's about it. Our airbags didn't even deploy.  The other guy's car was a lot worse off; front grill and radiator.  I called the state police and insurance.  In Washington, the law says you to report an accident if the damage is $700 or more, and that was the case with us.  It turned out that the other guy didn't have insurance, which added an addition layer of trouble.  You'd think, if you were uninsured, you might drive more carefully.

With all my medical duties, I haven't been to any reenacting events, or done any hiking  or backpacking.  Bummed about that, when I think of it.

It's been quiet at work, but will be getting busier soon.  We have Navy "regulators" coming soon, and after them, the state.  I've actually been on the waterfront, looking at our accumulation areas (posted correctly? paperwork up-to-date?).  I might actually to go aboard the NR-1 next week, that'd be interesting to see.

Gaming-wise, not much happening.
For The People (FtP):  My For The People tournament game sponsored by the Boardgame Players Association, begun in mid-June,  continues, almost done with turn 6, Fall 1862.  CSA (my side) Strategic Will is still over 110, which is good for me.  Although I am still making little errors here and there, my overall play has improved.
I was in a second tournament game as the Union, but lost that one in two turns due to a newbie error on my part.  I daresay I will find new errors to make next time.  Suffice it to say that the Union must keep a sizable garrison in DC.

I've recently picked up Unhappy King Charles, Clash of Monarchs, Thirty Years War:  Europe in Agony, and Crown of Roses.
UKC and 30YW look decent, manageable, and are two-player.  I really like the look of UKC, but don't know a soul who would play it with me.
Clash is fairly complex and may've been a mistake, we'll see.
Crown is a block card-driven game, very handsome, 2-4 players.  Having trouble with the rules, though.  My friend G. is interested, because Crown is somewhat of a reboot of Kingmaker, a classic game on the Wars of the Roses from 35 years ago.  Kingmaker has numerous play and rules problems, so we are hoping Crown is a suitable successor.

My Bike and I

Back again...

Well, another try and change of direction.

The blog name is from a line in a movie ("Everyman's War") that I though memorable and certainly true for me.  I tend to be pretty clueless. I have that phrase on my Xbox Live account as well.

My previous blog name was "KraftyDave".  That came from the New Order song, "Krafty", off the "Waiting for the Siren's Call" CD.  When I though up the name, I didn't realize that the Beasty Boys were also associated with "krafty".  Rats.  I'd rather not be be connected in any way with those w***ers.

It's July here in Washington.  The weather is warming up.  Still raining a bit, but some awfully sunny days too.  Last weekend was gorgeous; we were in Seattle at Greenlake with a lot of other folks.  I have been biking to work once or twice a week.  I miss reading on the bus, but I get to work faster. Plus, exercise. Definitely prefer wheels to feet. 

I've rediscovered my bike.  I have a Raleigh Obsession, bought in 1991 or so. My stepson gets the credit; he was the push that got me moving.  I took her for a tune-up and have been replacing accessories on the cheap.  I try to ride safely and wear a helmet and high-visibility clothing.  So far, I've been on two local rides of approximately 10 miles each, and a community bicycle ride sponsored by the West Sound Cycling Club (14 miles, or so I was told), in addition to riding to work.  I did find out that my work rides are about 4.75 miles one way. 

Gaming-wise, not much going on.  As I said in a previous post, I play wargames, card games, board games, Xbox, and computer. I also said before that yeah, I know wargames aren't PC, but I've been playing them most of my life and can't won't quit. The last games I have played are Paths of Glory (PoG), Pandemic, and  For The People (FtP).  PoG and FtP are card-driven (meaning that card play and card management regulate the game) two-player wargames about the First World War and the American Civil War respectively.  I now dig card-driven games (CDGs) very much. Card-play in FtP, for example, adds political events to the game that otherwise wouldn't be mentioned.  You hear from Copperheads and Quantrill's Raiders, for example.  Plus, generals are rated for their political weight. The other decent strategic Civil War game, The Civil War (Victory Games), is an awesome game and does an excellent job with the military side, but has no political dimension.

I am at present playing in an online "For The People" tournament sponsored by the Boardgame Players Association. The game I am in has just gotten started; we just finished the first turn. The tournament starts off "Swiss" which means that for the first round, everyone plays two games, one as Union, one as Reb.  Opponents are randomly assigned and we play different people for each game. I am right now in Turn two (summer 1861) of my first tourney game. Like I said earlier, the guy I am playing has way more experience, well, 18 games, whereas I haven't even finished a game yet.

I am also playing FTP with H. S., a friend of mine.  That game we started months ago, March maybe?  We have made it to Spring 1863, played a turn a night.  It's been a learning game.  I had never played FtP before , and H. S. has never played a wargame.  I'm the Union, and finally making progress.  He pretty effectively stymied me, by putting an ironclad and 2 divisions of troops in New Orleans and later playing the Baltimore revolt card (didn't see THAT coming!).

Another post

These days, the only two Xbox games I am playing are Minecraft and Borderlands 2.

Minecraft is all about building and exploring.  I've played the PC version as well.

BL2 is pretty much all violence.

I keep saying I'll post and never do. So here goes.
I'm late 40's, live in Washington, and work for the Navy.
My interests include (but are not limited to) reading, gaming, hiking, music, and American Civil War Reenacting.
If you know anything about the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory, I'm an INTP.

More detail then: my work. My office handles regulatory business: permits, environmental fees, training, oversight of haz waste operations. My part of that is training and fees. Boring but essential to the Shipyard. I tend to talk and think in acronyms (a side-effect of my job), so please bear with me.

Reading: I always have at least one book in progress, and sometimes two or three. Right now, two: Singularity Sky (SF) and Physics of the Impossible (nonfiction science). Both are good. I also read history, general fiction, and westerns. As for magazines, we subscribe to The Week, which is awesome. when I post, I'll try to say something about what I'm reading.

Gaming: I play wargames, card games, board games, Xbox, and computer. Yeah, I know wargames aren't PC, but I've been playing them most of my life and can't quit. The last games I have played are Combat Commander: Europe (CC:E) and Fallout 3. CCE is card-driven (meaning that card play and card management regulate the game); I'm still not sure I dig card-driven games (CDGs), but the jury is still out. Fallout 3 is a hoot; I'm lousy at it, but it is fun looking at the world in the game.

Hiking: I only get to hike a couple of times a year. If it were just up to me, I go out a lot more, but my wife and stepdaughter take up most of my time. I will write about the trips we make. Last summer my friend Greg, his kids, my stepson Ed and I went to Shi Shi Beach in Olympic National Park. Good trip, although quite wet; it rained hard on the second day.

Music: I prefer alternative rock, but also listen to classical, traditional Irish and Scottish, and even some old school rap (thanks, Ed!). My favorite band has to be New Order, but I like so much other music, it'd be difficult to list it all. I splurged this past fall and bought over a dozen CDs: mostly 80's that I have in vinyl, but also contemporary folks like the Muffs, the Long Winters, and the Killers

My stepdaughter is developmentally disabled; she's a dear, but a lot of work.

Don't have much time tonight, but will be making regular postings, for real. It'll be about who I am, what I do, and what's going on. Stay tuned, rocket rangers.