Category Archives: Idle Musings

If its not too important or it does not fit anywhere else there its in this category. What crosses my mind? Who knows…not me that is for sure!

A Week Until the End of the World?

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Well we have one week to live.  The long extinct Mayan culture of South America predicted the end of the world on the 21st of December of this year.  So am I giving away my worldly goods, quitting work, running for the hills, going on a crime spree, carving out a kingdom of dirt…no.  I am sure that we will all still be here come the 22nd of the month.  What interests me more is the typically human hysteria around this even and all the other ‘end of the world’ doom sayers.  I bet few have read the theory on why the world will end and the frankly bonkers logic of the Mayans for what would cause all of our ends.  Check the link in this post if you want to know more.

Essentially it is another case of ancient papers and sacred texts being mistranslated.  An ending of the world really should read ‘a big change in mankind or in the way society functions’ but as always it finishes up being ‘look out for that ruddy big rock falling out of the sky’.  Change a word here or there and the meaning goes totally left of field without a lot of effort…I write fiction for a living trust me on this.  I have all the books that Erich von Daniken wrote and they are excellent works of fiction (awesome for wargaming potential by the way!) but they are not real, just a sideways look at history.  I put this event into the same category.

I could end on a crass little comment about predicting the future and not seeing the arrival of the Spanish but hey…I am not one to anger the gods.  See you in a week!

GBS

Patrick Moore dies today aged 89

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It’s a sad day for me today as the world’s most famous astronomer has died.  Patrick Moore died just after noon today at home, peacefully, aged 89.  I watched The Sky At Night right up to this year beginning as a lad some near thirty years ago.  Moore had his critics and some even accused him of being barmy at times too, but this never bothered me as he was ALWAYS about the science and to say passionate about a subject for so long is very inspiring.  This brings the run of the sky at night to an end as the longest running programme anywhere on TV with the same presenter (being on since 1957 ).  His death sees another part of that generation lost to us all.  That generation of the 1940’s, 1950’s who believed that science could solve anything and that the stars were our right and proper future.

Patrick Moore, to people my age, also has a place in our hearts as the Gamesmaster in the seminal 1990’s TV programme of the same name.  Moving there from science to science fiction.

A sad day indeed.

GBS

Reading with total Abbadon

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Two new titles from the postman!

Sorry for the bad pun title but I could not resist it.  I came home this week to find a wee package waiting for me from Amazon (too lazy or busy to get to the bookshop, you decide which) containing two titles from my ‘wanna read’ list.  I treated myself for the extra hours I had put in on Slaughterloo Redux over the last month and am now faced with the choice of which to read first.  I actually want to read both so I might try and read them at the same time, having done this already with a novel and a history book over a couple of days.  So what are they?

Times Arrow by Jonathan Green.

Times Arrow is the elventh novel in the Pax Brittania series by Abbadon.  Set in an alternate universe it is fantasy fun adventure in a British Empire which steam dominates the globe.  This is the eight book (yes I own all of them) with the hero Ulysses Quicksilver who could quite easily have been a member of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen taking on the hun, the foe, the alien and the monstrous for Queen and Empire.  The plot of this one concerns Paris, murder and a trip to the Moon.  Streampunk adventure of the highest order.  While the plot alone makes me want to read it, as a writer, what also interests me is that this tale was actually penned in three separate parts and published on Kindle before this paperback edition was collected.  I would recommend starting with Unnatural History though as its the first one.

Ironclad Prophecy by Pat Kelleher.

This is the second book in what is now three for Pat Kelleher placed in the ‘No Mans World’ setting.  I have the first one and Ironclad Prophecy has been out for a while but I wanted to read them in order so I got this one when I saw an advert for The Alleyman which follows it in the series.  Essentially the plot concerns the infamous 13th Battalion of the Pennine Fusiliers who simply vanished leaving a huge crater while fighting on the western front in WW1.  A mine you suppose…nope, they have been transported to an alien world where all manner of creepies wait for them.  The premise interested me as original and entertaining plus the author puts it across as a true tale by way of ‘letters and accounts’ from the period and a hush up by the British top brass.  Again begin with the first one Blackhand Gang, otherwise it will make no sense!

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I might not get around to posting reviews of these titles due to time constraints but I should be able to put a micro review in the comments below…perhaps that will work.  Anyhoo…if this catches your interest go out and get reading with total abbadon!

GBS

Rain Stops Play – November 2012

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Well no work at the office for me today.  Having started off on my normal journey the weather during the night, high wind and heavy rain,  became more apparent with fallen branches and debris and puddles on the road.  But I was not prepared for what came next.  Up in the hills outside Girvan the puddles got deeper and larger and then…well it stopped being funny.  The river that runs near the road had burst its banks and I was forced to turn back!

As you can see in the images (sorry no picture of the blocked bridge that actually stopped me as I had to turn about for the big truck and other cars to turn about too) the sheer volume of water was huge.  I hope to return to work upon the morrow.  Bad weather is nothing new for Ayrshire and we do get way more than our share of rain but this was rather more than normal even for the winter.  Especially since it only began at 8pm last night.

Anyhow.  I shall work on at home but it does mean that the two dozen or so of you who are waiting for emails and calls from the ‘official email and phone’ will have to wait…since I cannot get to them!  Sorry!

Rain Stops Play

GBS

Two Mad Weeks and a new Postage Image

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Self Gratifying…only a bit!

Two weeks ago I posted about an offer that 15mm.co.uk was putting on that would give free postage on all orders for any address in the whole world.  That would be on an order for anything or any number of orders too…which as it turned out was just as well!  I am knackered and rather sweaty from the extra effort!

What a fortnight it has been for the company.  It turned out that thanks to email campaigns, website promotion, blogging posts and word of mouth that not only was order volume up by a large degree but we also sold items from every single range we have including codes so odd that we do not keep them in regular stock.  Customers placed two, three, four orders across a week or more and we had orders from half the nations of the world.  Most of the orders were as normal from UK, Europe and North America but there were a whole load from Australia and New Zealand (as I had predicted).  While it will be another week until all the orders placed are sent out I think we dealt really well and the majority of orders went out in our normal two day turnaround right up to the start of this week when the strain started to show.  Even so that is still a fast turnaround and as one email said ‘dear 15mm.co.uk I live in Illinois and my order from you in the UK arrived before my order on the same day from a company in this state!‘.

I do not yet know if economically it made sense to make this promotion as numbers are still to be crunched but in sheer number of orders it can be concluded that wargamers love getting free postage more than any one single promotion on a range or a percentage discount on product codes across the website.  If it did make business sense and I think it might well turn out to have then we may make this offer again during the festive season.

As an aside there were several emails and one phone call that I took during the offer that asked if we took credit cards (we do) and if we charged different postage rates normally by world region (we do not).  This set me thinking that perhaps the existing postage image on the header of 15mm.co.uk might be out of date or a little confusing so donning my virtual design hat I put together a new one.  You can see it above.  It is bright, clear and easy to understand conveying the idea of postage and telling of the flat worldwide rate. Below it are the standard icons for Paypal and all the major credit cards.  We will see if it makes a difference.

GBS

Ammo-Pak Gift from Canada!

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I can’t shoot ’em, I ate all ma ammo!

A few weeks ago (yes, that is how far behind I am running on posts!) my very good friend of long standing, Edward Jackson, artist for Flintloque sent me a gift which he had picked up for me in Canada while he was there.  Now Edward is a very smart and fine fellow and not for him the typical t-shirt or baseball cap…oh no.  This was going to be something different and themed to what he knows I love…cartridge and shotte!

A pack of Sutler Cyrus’ Original War of 1812 Bicentennial Ammo-Pak Cartridge Candy.  As you can see from the above image it has several items in it.  Hard Candy Musket Balls which look like gobstoppers, Black Powder Candy which might well be crackly or such and lastly the cartridge itself which is a fruit flavoured cylinder of powder.  Yum!  As I have a head cold just now I will not be eating it for a while, as what would be the point if I could not taste it.  Lastly a little nodding head Moose which is not part of the pack but is great fun and will join my shelf of holiday gift permanence which already has American, Japanese, French, Portuguese, Indian and a few other nation’s trinkets in its ranks.

Thank you for the gift Edward!

GBS

Now on Gravatar

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Since I began using WordPress it has occurred to me on occasion that some peoples comments on my posts have a little picture next to their name while the majority, including my own, do not.  As it was not a priority I just left it alone but a couple of days ago while speaking to my best buddy Jim Brittain I mentioned it and he, being a master of all things tech, explained to me about Gravatar.  Gravatar is free and very easy to use.  Just create an account with your email address, choose an image you like, give it five minutes and the job is done.

So I now have an image next to my comments on the blog and wherever else I post too.  My chosen picture is one that Sam Croes did for me for use in the Ion Age setting or for my own use…a Nox Trooper of the Shia Khan Empire.

GBS

 

GBS is not AWOL

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I am still here people!  Yes, I have not posted or blogged or replied to most of my email for a week until now but really it’s not my fault!  Well…mainly not my fault.  Normal service will resume later today with more on Rob Alderman’s Undead Todoroni and then a few more choice and interesting posts.  The reasons…well long and boring really but I have been working on a few things for the far future along with family matters that have kept me from the keyboard and under the grinding stone.

A couple of the messages have asked me how I manage to do all that I do and stay reasonably normal….answer…not sure…perhaps I ain’t that normal!

GBS

Free Postage – The Quest of all Wargamers?

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Does this image make Wargamers Happy?

At the end of this week 15mm.co.uk will be acting on input from a large group of wargamers all over the world who have been asking, cajoling, begging and so on for a ‘free shipping’ promotion on the website.  All of these messages basically came as feedback to our two months of ‘one week offers’ which while on the website were mainly distributed through Mailchimp as HTML emails.  This offer was suggested on almost all of the messages that came back to me.  Based on this I have been thinking that perhaps ‘free shipping’ is the number one wish for wargamers, especially those far from the UK such as in Australia  and New Zealand, even though 15mm.co.uk has the same basic postage rate for all regions.

As everyone knows I like to aid wargamers where possible so it will be interesting to see what reaction 15mm.co.uk has to this offer.  Will it increase order volume, will it mean more orders from far flung places or will wargamers not take to the this offer preferring a deal such as those on certain miniatures or ranges as I have been organising through Mailchimp.

If you are reading this and have an opinion on this offer then please do comment or email me directly.

GBS

Ellie Goulding – Anything Could Happen

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I thought I would try a micro posting, so here we go.  Today while working I have had one track on You Tube on repeat and that track is the excellent ‘Anything Could Happen’ by Ellie Goulding.  This ethereal track is new and well worth a listen.  It makes me smile as so often now popular music is the same rubbish over and over but this is more like what I normally listen to (big fan of the Psych Rock of the 1960’s) and it is catchy as hell.  So the link is below to the video…give it a try.  Am I right or wrong that this is a top track?

GBS