Last update of 2011: a second silo rises

I turned up a second Laphroaig container and made a few refinements to the design. The support struts are now simpler, the ladders between levels are rather better, and the tread-plate and so on for the levels looks a lot nicer. The mid point and near-top levels can both hold a little more than 10 models with one inch bases, and one can fit seven or more models onto the actual top. With something as tall as a Laphroaig container, one has a hair under 12" of height to play with, and the teetotaller's equivalent, a tube of Pringles, is just over 10" tall. One could actually add in several levels, and end up with two or three times more playing space than is usual. I'm going to look into making some other bits of terrain with multiple levels like this. The most obvious use of terrain such as this, of course, is to create new firing lanes and block off others in skirmish games, but that is not the only use. If you have a large contingent of infantry, a piece of terrain like this allows one to concentrate it in a much smaller area of table. I'm quite keen on having an Apocalypse battle where I can just stick the infantry somewhere and shoot it, while focusing on moving the vehicles around.

Anyway, I've also decided to review an old series I was quite keen on back in the day, Ally McBeal. I'll go into more detail on that in future. For now I'll just remark that I was a fan of it back in the '90s, bought the boxed set the other year, only to discover that it wasn't quite what I remembered: there was more (melo-)drama than comedy. I wasn't happy dealing with that sort of emotional stuff back then, but earlier today I thought I'd give it another go, being rather sunnier in disposition this year! Indeed, I'm not fleeing in fear this time! :-D I'm quite enjoying it. In fact, I have just realised why I watched it at the time, and why it's appealing now. The titular heroine doesn't really know what the devil is going on or where she's going. It was comforting back then to know someone else had no idea what they were about.

Granted, it didn't do much to help! I doubt anyone who has lived through those vexing teenage years will disagree with the remark that a single TV show is going to sort out all the confusion in one's head at that age. Still, I was quite a lovesick sort of chap back then, and maybe it does one good to have a fictional character who (rather implausibly) shares one's ability to screw up everything. :-D Of course, my problem back then was as much  a total lack of confidence as an utter ignorance of what to say. Today it's more the latter. This is the last day of the year, and those of you familiar with Roman mythology will know that our month January is so named for the literally two-faced god Janus, who gazed forward and backward simultaneously. So it seems appropriate that as I cast my mind back to those rather bleak teenage years I know with utter certainty that things will only get better this year. In fact, I would be prepared to lay odds that this year will be my best year yet. I know what I need to do. I have excellent options ahead of me. I have confidence and self-belief up the wazoo, and I have family and friends who love me. Or at least tolerate me from time to time! I don't know for sure what this year will bring, but I do know that it will be the best yet.

This is my last post of the year. In a little while I shall head off to Sheffield, where I shall be ringing in the New Year with some good friends. I hope all of you have as good an evening ahead of you! Happy New Year to you all, and may it be as good for you as I anticipate it will be for me!