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Labor pains, RPGs and Napoleonics
Kim Beazley and Kevin Rudd are squaring off. Julia Gillard will be challenging Jenny Macklin. I used to think Beazley was a good Labor leader up to the 2001 election. Since then I have been lukewarm about his abilities. Rudd seems to be a more popular and intelligent candidate and whilst Macklin is a better comrade, Gillard is more politically astute and is well known. Of course, neither Macklin or Gillard will ever be leader because they're from the Left, they're from Victoria and they're both female. Such are the factional balances.
Hopefully whoever ends up leader will pay attention to the fact that we've now spent $20 billion on the "war on terror" and, according to a recent report from University of Texas global warming is already causing mass destruction among frogs, butterflies, polar bears and penguins.
Ran Aesheba Everway on Friday night. A good session, with players now familiar with the setting, the GM (re)familiar with the mechanics, and thus opportunities for story development. The DragonQuest/Barbarian Kings game now has a name; "DragonLords" (the object of the game in its title) and I have completed the first chapter which I feel pretty happy worth. It's a alien-fantasy world that's sufficiently exotic but doesn't disobey basics of science (unlike many fantasy novels).![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tau_iota_mu_c has been most helpful in double-checking my astronomical equations and will be getting a credit.
In alternate realities in a different medium, have spent a fair bit of time in the past fortnight playing Waterloo, a genre of strategic and historical wargaming I was hitherto unfamiliar with. The game itself is extremely good; the historical research is of very high standards, the fictional scenarios are attractive "what ifs" and the game mechanics provide plausible results. Napoleonics provide some interesting historical-military lessons; Roman tactics are still useful for formation and flanking, muskets are next to useless in skirmish or small groups but devastating en masse and cavalry shouldn't ever charge up hill.
In other news, I didn't complete the 50,000 word target for NaNaWriMo (indeed, not even half), but am continuing with the novel. Prosper Australia has published an edited version of the Education Kit I wrote for them. Finally, mais oui!; French primary school children to learn wine appreciation.
Hopefully whoever ends up leader will pay attention to the fact that we've now spent $20 billion on the "war on terror" and, according to a recent report from University of Texas global warming is already causing mass destruction among frogs, butterflies, polar bears and penguins.
Ran Aesheba Everway on Friday night. A good session, with players now familiar with the setting, the GM (re)familiar with the mechanics, and thus opportunities for story development. The DragonQuest/Barbarian Kings game now has a name; "DragonLords" (the object of the game in its title) and I have completed the first chapter which I feel pretty happy worth. It's a alien-fantasy world that's sufficiently exotic but doesn't disobey basics of science (unlike many fantasy novels).
tau_iota_mu_c has been most helpful in double-checking my astronomical equations and will be getting a credit.In alternate realities in a different medium, have spent a fair bit of time in the past fortnight playing Waterloo, a genre of strategic and historical wargaming I was hitherto unfamiliar with. The game itself is extremely good; the historical research is of very high standards, the fictional scenarios are attractive "what ifs" and the game mechanics provide plausible results. Napoleonics provide some interesting historical-military lessons; Roman tactics are still useful for formation and flanking, muskets are next to useless in skirmish or small groups but devastating en masse and cavalry shouldn't ever charge up hill.
In other news, I didn't complete the 50,000 word target for NaNaWriMo (indeed, not even half), but am continuing with the novel. Prosper Australia has published an edited version of the Education Kit I wrote for them. Finally, mais oui!; French primary school children to learn wine appreciation.
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It must be a terrible life carrying such a cultural weight on one's shoulders..
I just picked up Jim McCelland's (Labor politician from Oz) biography where he mentions in the post-WWII immigration policies the ruckus caused when an Italian boy brought a 1/2 litre of wine to school as part of his lunch!
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In France, Slinkies are apparently called Zig Zags, so whenever a character called the Slinky dog over, there was a chorus of 'Zeeeeg, Zeeeeg, Zeeeeg'... It's those little differences that are interesting.
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You know, I think that's an improvement.
Makes you wonder what a "slinky" is in the French venacular tho'..
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W00t! I passed! :P
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Have you seen my latest question?
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If they spent $341 million instead of $69 million in 2001, then perhaps they would have had accurate enough intelligence to realise that WMDs were bogus back then, and saved $20B.
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Ah yes, but part of that includes kicking the Taliban which I do agree with.
Policing Australian citizens like we do is bad imo. Invading Iraq is criminal and Howard will spend time in jail for that (I hope). But being part of a UN force in the 'ghan? Fine by me.
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Gosh, that *is* hopeful!
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Well, unlike the U.S. we are signatories to the ICC...
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Which one? Brand or Swan? Or did you move away from Bomber or did Bomber move away from you? ;-)
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Wow. What did he do to earn that sort of wrath?
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Collins class submarines (which are probably a good long-term decision, but have had some bad cock-ups).
Williamstown shipyards.
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I think you would find a standard tarot deck would work just as well. It's the process, not the actual cards, that's important imo.
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That is something I noticed by the Everway vision deck; very Greco-African. Which was ideal, of course, for the game I'm running...
Fatso vs Steelman
Re: Fatso vs Steelman
It's Rudd
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200612/s1803291.htm
Waterloo & Roman Tactics
I see they also do Civilisation III - I came across c-evo the other day but I haven't tested it yet.
Re: Waterloo & Roman Tactics
I believe De Bellis Antiquitatis is popular these days. I'd like to give it a go sometime
Some very examples of games in action:
http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/~kuijt/BBDBA/index.html
Re: Waterloo & Roman Tactics
Oh! C-evo! I could play that. Heck I could even code for it, given that it's Delphi...
Re: Waterloo & Roman Tactics
Ah Civevo is MS-Windows...
Hmmm.. Maybe I can do a port with FreePascal and Lazarus..
Re: Waterloo & Roman Tactics
Re: Waterloo & Roman Tactics
Ahh, I never said I was a good coder, least of all with FreePascal/Lazarus.
Only one way to learn of course..