So, watching the underdogs, a team that is geographically the closest NFL team to me in Portland, OR, beat the marrow out of the bones of the Broncos was kind of fun. Good for Seattle and I do hope it is a start of a legacy (thus putting the final nail in the NE Patriots legacy... screw them and Brady too).
I do like Manning as a human being though and feel bad for him as a human should feel bad and have some sympathy. Manning is a great QB and equally great man. He will be remembered decades from now as one of the greats.
On a side note - I'm not sure who I heard this from, it may have been 80's era Madden, but a good way to shut out all the excuses your opponent and their fans may have to say about your victory is to beat them by 35 points.
Other than an afternoon and evening of Superbowl this weekend I had, as mentioned in a prior post, other things to do.
Saturday afternoon was a meeting for the Regia/Viking historical re-creation group I am a part of. We met and showed off some of our Xmas loot we gathered and things we made. We talked about some bumps in making other things like tunics and such. We shared links to websites and resources of gear and info. I learned that I could take my old Squire's belt from the SCA and split it into 2 new belts - saving me $ on leather. An SCA Squire belt is red in color and that would not detract from any authenticity issues, though I think I am going to just dye it dark brown anyways. The 2 belts will go with the buckles I picked up from local artisan Torfin Torgulsson and his Etsy site Bronzehammer:
Bronzehammer on Etsy
I plan to have a "working" every day belt and a fancy "dress" belt.
Cory, our leader thus far as he's the guy that built this group up and holds the meetings and knows the most showed us his longbow he picked up as some of us showed interest in archery. He said he needed a linen bowstring and that's something I can make as I have done a few in my time. I'm glad I can provide a service.
After that meeting we went to my friend Mike "Chibbs"'s birthday party. We got there around 6 PM and stayed until 9:30. I drank a wiskey and ate some tamales. Half the party then broke off to play a card game while Justin and I BSed at the dinner table with the women. I like doing that, sitting around a table that has some snacks on it and BSing with no goal in mind for a few hours.
Sunday morning was some breakfast at home and then we paid a visit to our friends Carrie and Mathew in Vancouver. Mathew had cut me some MDF board into 8" and 5" circles. This is to be used as "basing" for wargaming terrain. More sizes and shapes will come later. I had asked him to do this if I supplied the MDF board - he has access to water jet cutters.
My inspiration is from the myriad of UK/EU/AU/NZ companies that make nice laser-cut terrain bases out of thin MDF board. I'd buy from them as the prices are very reasonable until you get to the shipping to the US part. What would cost an Aussie $20US would cost me $45 or $50. Laser cut MDF terrain base boards like this are not available in the US at all. Not even on some craft-market level. The best I saw were cake bases (with foil coating) that were too expensive and too thick (1/4").
One may ask "Why is this?" and even "Make them yourself with simple tools." Well, here is the theory that Spencer and I thought up.
Here in the US our goal in life is to buy a house and have a family in it. It is "The American Dream" and kind of the basis of our economy. In mainstream thought it is thought of as "abnormal" to not want to buy or have bought a home by a certain age. This is how it is in America.
This house you buy usually comes with extra space so as to have "craft space" to do things in. A Garage, basement, shed, extra room, et al. Some people have the space to set up a black smith shop while others have an extra room for sewing projects. Us Americans are expected to have this ability though - to make something in our freetime. We have industries that support this like giant stores like Home Depot where you can buy shop-level band saws and drill presses. Most homes will have a garage so one can do their own oil changes on your car and build a bird house in with a simple bench and tool area and some saw horse.
I don't have the above, I live in an apartment. I can do some things like paint minis, modify a small item with my Dremel tool, make a belt, or sew. I cannot cut large amounts of material like MDF or pine 2x4s at home. A lot of Americans can though. What I would need in a "home shop" to do the above would be a bench mounted jigsaw or some such. Maybe the space and (weather providing) some saw horses to hook up a cutting bit on my Dremel and tear it up outside on the bark dust in the space between the sidewalk and my apartment.
In UK/EU/AU/NZ/Etc. the philosophy is different. (BTW, this is not a who is better piece). A lot of people live in apartments or very small homes. Having "shop space" is probably not high up on the priority list there for a lot of folks. This is assumption of course, UK/AU/EU/NZ/Etc friends feel free to correct me. Putting out a dozen 9"x6" kidney shaped MDF bases for some war gaming woods may not be a cost effective thing to do on your own so some company with a laser cutter has a market niche they can fill.
Anyways, I bought some 4'x6' 1/8th inch MDF boards from Home Depot for $7 a sheet and gave them to Mathew and he water jet cut the circles for me. We might do more in the future as need arises.
We were doing that favorite thing of mine, sitting around a table and BSing. He has some projects lined up he may need my help with as do I. We then talked about business and how it has gained interest to 2 working stiffs like us. Neither of us are educated more than 12th grade. Neither of us really think we can achieve more than that classic education wise. Mathew does have a keen interest and insight on business as I have an interest in the minutiae.
For me it's about being a good consumer. A lot of my hobbies and interests are supported by the small niche business and, in turn, I want to support them. I know buying from them is a major step but I also would like to learn about how they do things so I can, maybe, help out in other ways. At the least learn how my dollar can be maximized by them.
So me and Mathew are talking and I bring up a blog I read called Quest for Fun:
Quest for Fun
It's run by the owner of a game store in Concord, CA (I was stationed there once!) called Black Diamond Games. It's a rather successful store and reading the blog may give you a clue as to why. We were talking about basic small business concepts like:
1) Sell what people want.
2) Don't try to sell what YOU like.
3) The concept of "build it and they will come" is kind of BS and should read "build what they want and will be cost effective and they will come".
That said, some of the games I play right now just don't benefit any game store. A lot of DIY stuff going on and stuff I need that no niche hobby store should be carrying in their right minds. I have this on my mind as I am going to be talking to one of my own FLGSs about holding a Saga demo. I'm looking for the sweet spot in why any local store should carry the game and components for it. It's just not geared to be a product stocked by an FLGS in my opinion.
Up later this week - Friday night was Saga night at Spencers. I lose again:(
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