http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/26/3 ... costs.html
Another reason not to have a social media account.
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

CARMAGEDDEON: REINCARNATION, BITCHES!
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

Just got the word - Aaron Allston passed away at VisionCon in Missouri from heart failure. 

Aaron Allston wrote the Wraith Squadron Star Wars novels. He was also an incredibly prolific game supplement writer. If you've ever played ANYTHING from Hero Games, then you have Aaron to thank for much of the flavor text, advice on RP and how to construct a good Superhero RPG scenario. He was also prominent in some other games that I can't think of at the moment. 

I'm feeling as gutpunched over this as I was over John M. Ford's passing. I met Aaron a couple of times at Dallas cons. And he was the hoopiest of froods. 

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/6-S ... 273906.phpYou have 6 dirty cops... now you have to see how far the rot goes. Precinct, division. These guys would not have gotten far with higher ups looking the other way. Expect a manhunt..or witch hunt to get underway. And were was Internal Affairs in this? And expect multi million dollar lawsuits also. Some lawyers have eyes already going ka-ching$$$! over this.
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

Got this in the mail yesterday

It is with some regret that I am announcing the Rankings HQ miniature gaming rankings web site is shutting down.

As you know I made a public announcement recently that unless adequate funds could be raised I would be winding it up and despite some willing supporters out there at the end of the day not enough users were willing to part with $10 to keep the site going.

Thanks to those that supported!



I would like to take this opportunity to thank those of you that decided to support RHQ with a donation. I appreciate it.

As promised in my previous email all money will be refunded since I am shutting the site down.

I wish everyone the best in their gaming pursuits as I look forward to taking a break from running rankings, tournaments and masters events after 15 years! It has been a rewarding experience as well as a hard slog.

Regards,

Andrew Galea

Let me explain the background on this in regards to Flames of War:

Prior to the 2008 season, Battlefront (Flames of War maker) tournament system worked like this. A player participates in his local tournament and if he places high enough, he qualifies for the Nationals. Of which there was only one. There were a few problems with that system. The Nationals was held in Lancaster Pennsylvania, which hard to get to if you live west of  the Mississippi. To qualify, you had to chase tournaments until you do qualify. And of course, the casual gamer can't compete, which drew a lot of complaints. And it was a pain for the events coordinator to keep track of who was qualified are not. The event coordinator was also an arsehole in my dealings with him.

So to rectify that situation, Battlefront decided to change the system.  One, the qualification was eliminated. Anyone can enter the Nationals. Two, there are now 4 Nationals, each in the East, middle section, texas and west coast of the U.S. Three the winners of those tournaments and anyone ranked in the top 18 are invited to the Masters tournament. They would be the top dogs. To be invited to it and wear the green shirt makes you a big dog in our circle.

So, how do you keep track of those who played and ranking them? Meet Andrew Galea, founder of RHQ. BF announced that they would be using his site. Using his site has two advantages. It frees up the tournament director from having to do it (and enabled Battlefront to eventually removed that position) and since the players do not have to pay, no problem from that quarter.

So what happens when you have a bunch of competitive, obsessive-compulsive, anal gamers in a game system where you compete  for an artificially generated number? Where you have a bunch of middle age men suddenly decide to re-live the worse moments grade school or high school? All I can say is that the back-stabbing and shenanigans was something else. And this was over a green T-shirt mind you. I heard the 40k tournament system was even worse, since money was involved. It feels like a scene out of "Lord of the Flies" at times.

Well, last month Andrew emailed those in the system and stated he needed financial support. He  needed $10 dollars from at least half the community members to keep things going. I put in my 10 bucks. I was ranked 65th out of about 1756. There was one more in the 50-100 range who placed in money. There were definitely none in the top 50. You would had thought that those with the most to lose would had been more than willing to pony up 10 bucks. Maybe more. These guys chase tournaments all over the country. They have money to spend.

I got a call from the guy who is 4th and he was moaning about RHQ shutting down. I asked him how much he paid when Andrew emailed everyone. Deafening silence. And then he whined he didn't see the email. I told him that I paid. And you get what you paid for.

Battlefront's tournament structure in the U.S just went down the tubes. The West Coast tournament might not happen ( disagreement with the local gaming group). Now the ranking structure is gone. I am now laughing at the those whose raise d'tre for all those backstabbing and shenanigans just went bye-bye.  Now we wait and see what sort of tournament structure comes up.
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

Harold Ramis, writer, director and actor -- possibly best remembered as Egon in Ghostbusters -- Harold Ramis has passed away.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

I'll just leave this here.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/201 ... urvey-says

Compare and contrast:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockwell_B-1_Lancerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-160
I can has retcon please?  Besides: If Jet had been involved with the project one of the first things she would have looked at was Russian designs for their... sturdy man-machine interfaces.  Besides, unless I'm mistaken the Tupolev seems to have the actual interior space Knightsaber 1 would need.

One of the new anime series this winter season is definitely making an impact. It reminds me a bit of Excel Saga.
If you're curious about what it takes to conquer the world, take a look at World Conquest: Zvezda Plot (crunchy roll) (hulu)

...specifically, I'm looking for good apps for my 7" tablet I bought with Christmas money.
I already have Kingston Office, and a barcode scanner, and even a radio scanner (network streaming type). I'm open to a lot of things, but I'd specifically like a GPS program, a good sketch program that doesn't come from Autodesk and works with a stylus, and a really good offline map program. Anything past that would be gravy as far as I'm concerned.
Do note that one of my requirements is "will work when I'm not internet connected". If a program will say, "sorry, I need to load ads, you can't use me right now", it's a deal breaker. Ditto for anything that mandates I allow it to actively report my location to others.
--

"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor