Valhalla Now Open!

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[Read the whole thing! If you have any questions or wish to purchase a ticket contact Shawn at bluetablepainting@gmail.com or phone 801 372 8545]

Dates
In February and March of 2011, Blue Table Painting is hosting two events. The setting is a 196 acre estate twenty minutes up the canyon from Spanish Fork Utah.

You can arrive as early as Thursday 11am on February 24, and ends on Saturday February 26 at 9pm. Optional Saturday night stay (contact us for details).

The second event has the same schedule, March 24 to 26.

A ticket includes lodging, food and admission into all gaming events. Tickets are first-come-first-served. Payment options:

• Paid in full up front (check, MO, cash, or major Credit Card)
• Paid half down and half on arrival.
• Paid half down and remainder in February (spread out as you please).

You will be like our honored houseguest.

Tickets do not include airfare. Some transportation is provided gratis; we're making a few pickups at the airport and will be running shuttles from the studio in Spanish Fork to the ranch. Possibly also some trips into town if you want that.

Rooms
There are five rooms. A ticket gets you the room for the three days (two nights). There are only five tickets for rooms, and ten "event pass" tickets for a total of 16-24 guests. As you can see this is a very limited number. All rooms have a plasma TV with sattelite channels.


Room A: Chief Librarian's Chamber
This is the master bedroom of the house. It is on the main level, adjacent to the library. It has a second door that opens onto a balcony that overlooks the stone patio. It has a private bath with a jetted tub and walk-in closet. This room is double-occupancy and includes a pass for up to two people (ie food and gaming events). This ticket is $1200.
[this room already booked for February event]
[this room already booked for March event]

Room B: Inquisitor's Sanctum
This is a ground level room with a private bath. It has a outer door that leads to the Great Stone Patio. This room is double-occupancy and includes a pass for up to two people (ie food and gaming events). This ticket is $1200.

Room C: Captain's Quarters
This is a ground level room with a private bath. It has a outer door that leads to the stone patio. This room is single-occupancy only. The bathroom is adjacent but not interiorly connected. This ticket is $800.
[this room already booked for February event]

Room D: The Barracks
This is a second-story room with views overlooking the valley three directions. It is quadruple occupancy, with four single beds. So, if you want this one you get to bring up to three friends. And even more! You can have up to six people, with each additional person being +$300. This room has a private bath, plenty of closet space, and the biggest TV in the house. This ticket is $1600.

Side note: I think this is the least expensive option for a group. If you do the math it ends up being $400 per person. Plus this room is a lot of fun.

Room E: The Chapter Master's Suite
This is easily the best room in the house, basically a miniature house to itself. A miniature kitchen, washer-dryer, personal balcony, walk-in closet huge bed, plasma TV (like other rooms), and the most spectacular view in the entire house. You will be set like a king. This room is double-occupancy and includes a pass for up to two people (ie food and gaming events). You can upgrade occupancy to three people for +$300. This ticket is $1600.
[this room already booked for February event]

Common Areas
There will be plenty of wargaming tables all set with lavish terrain. There is also a game room with a billiards table. There will be one or two fridges stocked with goodies to be had at any time you like. Want to come out at 3am and make a plate stacked with delectables? Go on ahead! (just be sure to have your robe on!). A library stocked with army books.

Event Passes
You can purchase an event pass which covers you for the three days to completely participate in gaming events and eat what you want. You just have to find a place to stay down in the valley and drive up each day. Later, we will have suggestions for places to stay posted. Cost for a three-day Event Pass is $350.

Food
Kevin, a veteran of the restaurant and catering industry, is coordinating the (enormous amount of) delicious meals and snacks that will be provided throughout the event- all inclusive.

PDF Menu

Meals will be served, buffet style: Breakfast 7am - 9am, Lunch 11:30am - 1pm, Dinner 5:30pm - 7pm Snacks and Beverages will be provided throughout the event- and all hours, self-service.

It is our objective to provide the very best food we can. Sample menus will be available, and are subject to change without notice. If you have any special food requirements or allergies, please let us know. We'd like to be accommodating.

Gaming Events
All events will be announced solid by January 10, 2010.

There will be a tournament for 40K as well as themed events. We are emphasizing friendly play. The boards will be world-class and with plenty of space to move around. The tournament is not mandatory! You may want to just play pickup games.

Painted armies only. Games at 2000 pts.

We will have other games available like Space Hulk or Necromunda. All painted up of course. While initial events are geared to 40K, there is no reason not to play some Fantasy as well. We will have studio armies available for use (no charge of course) for casual play. The plan is to have all sorts of games up there. A lot.

We are interested in doing something different than a typical tournament where a small handful of people come out on top. We would prefer to do a spectacle with an element of storytelling. The various table represent key battlefields on a particular planet.

Prize Support
For every participant there will be a minimum of $100 retail of prize support. Plan = spread it around more than a normal tournament.

Your Hosts
The event will be hosted by Sarah and Shawn with other BTP staff coming in and out for games or to help out. Would you like to be a guest on the Morning Show?

Prepared Armies
You can bring your own army to the event. Also, if you want you can have your army done by BTP in advance and ready for you to use at the tournament. As a third option you can rent an army. We will make any army list you want for $300, just to use. If you decide to buy the army you get $350 towards it.

FAQ
You can bring your own army if you want. That will be the normal thing.
If these first two events are successful we plan on having others throughout the year.
We will have events for a variety of different game systems, notably Warhammer Fantasy.

Miscellany
We are working on internet service. But there might not be any by January. There is also no cell phone service! You will be incommunicado possibly. Well, there is a land line you can use to let people know you have arrived safely. At first, I didn't like this, but there is something to be said for peace and quiet.

Terms of Service

• We reserve the right to refuse service.
• Utah taxes may apply.
• The ticket is purchased from HollingsGate LC., the corporation under which we are running the events.
  
• You will agree to a code of conduct, which is basically "be extra courteous to others". With so few people everyone needs to be on best behavior. You are an honored houseguest and so guest-like behavior is the order of the day.
  
• For the first two events we are 18 yrs+.
• We do not serve alcohol. This is a non-smoking facility. Areas are available for smoking outside.
  
• You will not be sold to or solicited while at the event. The terrain will be for sale, inconspicuously, and you are welcome to "talk shop" with Shawn, but you won't be approached by vendors.
• Food will be provided buffet style for all meals. Snacks and beverages are included in the ticket cost and available self-service throughout the event.
  
• If on account of some act of nature or unforeseen cataclysm we can't use the main facility we should have a backup location of comparable nature OR you may be refunded the cost of the ticket.
  

Country Doctor

I came across this article about the free market and healthcare. One of the best things I have read for a while.

Bullet Points

Got in extra materials, enough to make a Space Wolf army. Also got a small Space Wolf army for sale, pics forthcoming.

Didn't quite get to the Valhalla vid/announcement, will do it Friday (today).

Gave away two armies for the giveaway thing.

Mike Lee Sworn in Today

.This is not a vid of the actual swearing in, just a taste of how awesomely versed in the Constitution Mike Lee is.

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Talkie Toaster

I passed out around 7:30pm, so tired. I just meant to take a little nap. I woke up at 1am, and started keeping up on emails. I put on a few episodes of Red Dwarf, an opiate for an overworked mind.

Valhalla Update

We have been working furiously behind the scenes. Here are some bullet points:

New schedule:
February 24-27
March 24-27

Both of those are Thursday checkin (11am at studio, 2pm arrival at Valhalla!) with departure Saturday night or Sunday morning (if you want to see yourself out-- we have the day off!).

First game board is nearing completion. It is amazing. Vids coming of that before week's over. Over 100 Orks done for scenario games. Catachans (not Blood Ravens) are the other army. That leaves a Blood Raven army ready for someone to commission (or any blood angels) just sitting here ready to go. Game board / planet theme is now Catachan.

Tons more details forthcoming on Thursday. Vids and everything.

Horde Painting

I'm still running that horde painting special. 50-100+ figures, L3 infantry for $5 each painting.

I would also do bulk deals for the cost of models, too, if you want that. You can send models ready to paint.

Suggestions:
50+ Space Marine infantry
50+ Wyches or Kabalite Warriors
50+ Orks
50+ Gaunts

This would be absolutely great for a Warhammer Fantasy army. Nowadays you need at least 75 infantry. For a Skaven army this would be awesome because you need at least 200 figures really. You could make a beastly Warriors of Chaos force with this special. Fifty chaos warriors would be a mammoth beatstick and weigh in around a thousand points everything included. Lizardmen, Vampire Counts, Beastmen (oh man you need to do a Beastmen army), and Dwarfs would benefit particularly from this special.

Now's your chance to get your massed troops done. Heck, you could even do a combined item: like a massed Space Wolf infantry army with six Razorbacks, 36x infantry and 15x Long Fangs. I'm open to ideas.

Skaven Releases

You can order the new Skaven stuff as early as January 10, with arrival around January 15.

The Skaven spreadsheet is updated now so you can order these items, done and painted if you pleased. Or you can just email for a quote.

PS- the army give-away is concluded. I gave away the Industrial Orcs and the Ogres.

Tower-Tastic

Check out this terrain. I just stumbled on it and haven't really looked at the site, but yeeesh, amazing!

Horde Economics

[Guest Article. PS- looking for article-writers]

This article will discuss the use of hordes and their usefulness, where it starts and where it ends. Before we can dig into the depths of hordes and their use we first have to explore army composition in general. In this edition the percentages opened our eyes for things we never imagined to be possible, 2 Chaos Lords or 6 Goblin (3 of them Night Goblin) Warbosses in one army for example. But due to all the goodness it presents we don’t see the forest anymore, all the shiny trees are in the way. That’s why I advise to start with the core, that’s the thing that’s most important at least 2 sturdy blocks of core. Once I got that I move onto a general, some more core and then fill it up with what I like/want in my army. You probably think this is logical, but a lot of people don’t do this and end up with an army not beefy enough to sustain damage.

But let’s get on-topic and discuss the use of large blocks and especially hordes. The definition of a horde according to “Merriam-Webster”:

a political subdivision of central Asian nomads

a people or tribe of nomadic life

a teeming crowd or throng ; swarm

Now we know that a horde is a swarm you get the idea. According to me a block of core (in 8th edition) should be at least 30 strong, to get the most out of your attacks and ranks. If 30 is my norm, my horde is 50, I know that this 2/3 increase of the unit but it is worth it. Because when you field your guys 10 wide you get to fight with an extra rank, meaning 1st rank, 2nd rank support, 3rd rank support (and 4th if you have spears and didn’t charge). The chance that you get all 10 guys in the first rank in combat is slim, 7 is the number you will see more often, but still then you got 7*3=21 attacks (possible more if you have 2 attacks base, or a champion). Not only that, but you are likely to have more ranks (you got 4). The downside is the large footprint of the unit, it’s a unit-affecting-spell and template magnet. But since you got a lot of guys you can take some casualties and need a lot of losses before you lose 25%. And once you have lost a sustainable amount of model use your musician to make a swift-reform and go 6 or 5 wide à more ranks.

What troop types are suitable for a horde? Well that differs on taste, but what I find is that models up to 12 points per model are suited for a horde (perhaps in a quantity of 40 once nearing the 12 points). But there are of course some models that extend tremendously and are almost designed for hordes.

Goblins: WOW big surprise, small guys can’t do a lot, but small guys with 20+ attacks hurt, there got to be some 6’s in there. Downsides, low leadership and armour saves.

Skaven: The ultimate horde army, same as goblins but slightly more effective, they are cheaper and get higher LD due to their ranks. Downside low armour saves.

Orcs: Very nice, brutal, hard combat units. With shield and/or spears they are amazing, S4 (in first round of CC), T4, WS4. Downsides, low armour save and low initiative.

Chaos Marauders, probably THE best unit in the in game. With a certain build that is… Give them flails and the Mark of Khorne, (in a unit of 30 they are 6 points per piece if the unit gets bigger less due to the Mark.) A basic lay-out, WS 4, I4, frenzy (2 attacks in first rank) and S5 in first round of CC. I call this build the “Meat grinder”.

There are of course many more that are suited very well… (Gors, Empire halberdiers, Skeletons (VC & TK), Zombies, Ghouls, men-at-arms.

And many many more which I haven’t delved into yet. You can of course try yourself and unit size and choice of unit is always something personal.

Another nice feature of hordes is that when you start losing a lot of models and your ranks get touched, you just need to combat reform back to 5 files and you got the double of your ranks, meaning you probably are steadfast, and there is not a thing as nice as being steadfast, that’s what makes tiny models (goblins and skaven slaves) viable. Because it doesn’t matter if you lose 8 slaves to that ogres as long as you can get at least 1 wound on them you are grinding them down on the long term because you aren’t going anywhere. Another nice feature is that you can use big inexpensive units such as 60 slaves or goblins to tie up your opponent, just throw it in front of their hardest hitting unit you couldn’t hurt anyway and he will be fighting it for a while, all the more time for you to finish the rest of his army and come out ahead in victory points.

If you liked my article, got any comments, want to ask me something or whatever else let it know ;-)

M. Versteeg

BTP correspondent from the Netherlands

Useless Lump

One sick kid (G) and a little daughter stayed at home with me while the rest of the fam went to church. I was a complete lump. A useless sack.

I finished reading Color of Magic. I watched like five movies. Just laying in bed.

My wife is doing some kind of veggies-only cleanse so I'm on board with that about 30% just because I'm lazy and won't make my own food. Tamie has spoiled me.

2010 Retrospective part 02

2010 was an eventful year. In fact, 2008 and 2009 were years of earthquakes for me in life as well.

Earlier this year I was elected as a Precinct Chair, which is like an unpaid mini-congressperson in some ways. I went to multiple political conventions and was part of an upheaval in which a belleweather Republican senator (B. Bennett) was unseated and a more constitutionalist-type was put in his place (Mike Lee).

My wife and I were called as Cub Scout leaders with all the attendant planning and training.

I read the Book of Romans for the first time. With understanding. The X = 1 of the universe is the mercy and condescension of God, not the obedience nor goodness of man. My prayers used to begin with "I'm sorry" and now they begin with "Thank you".

Blue Table Painting took over the downstairs. I became 20% more jaded and practical. I realized that I can't impose my high hopes on others. Some people just want to do their work and collect a check. And that's OK. Each person is different and has a different approach to life and happiness.

I am looking forward to 2011. I wonder what new and wonderful things lay ahead.

Rincewind Lives!

I took a rare day off yesterday, Thursday. I went to the Discovery Museum with my lovely family where we spent most of the day. It's more of an amusement park type thing for kids, not so much a museum. It's a really great place to go. It was quite crowded, though.

Willow glommed on to this blue toy spoon and tried to take it from other kids. It's all she could think about.

We went to lunch at Thai Phoon, my fave restaurant up there. We had popcorn shrimp, Pad Thai and some two sorts of unusual soups. About this time I got an ice-pick headache which intensified as we went to the bookstore. I picked up Colour of Magic, the first of the Discworld books, still stocked two deep twenty-seven years after being written. That's outstanding longevity.

By the time the sun set and we arrived at Tamie's sister's house I was fit to be laid to rest, and the two women did just that, settling me into a guest bed with some water, bread and painkillers. I fell into a black sleep with the murmur of all the kids playing downstairs.

Late that night we tunneled through the icy darkness towards home, my wife muttering and cursing as she strained over the wheel, staring at the road between a pair of black gloves. What a delight to be back in my warm Rabbit Burrow, watching Colour of Magic on Netflix for the fifth time.

I slept in late, to 9:15am. I've been nagging Shannon and Sarah to get in by 9:30am so it doesn't look good when I'm not there. Nonetheless, I indulged in a breakfast of oatmeal and a pear before heading out. The day flew by. I actually took quite a bit of video, but I'm not ready to put that up, so apologies to the Youtube channel fans. I'm trying to set up a batrep for tomorrow but everyone is otherwise occupied. I find the holidays to be a giant pain getting things done.

I had a dream last night where the name of a person, first middle and last, was clearly spelled out on a piece of paper. Apparently no one with this exact name exists, but it turns out that it is an anagram for something quite meaningful. I was puzzling this over at about 4am this morning. That's all I can say at this time.

Things are mostly caught up at the studio, but still a bit behind on painting. That said, next week we should rocket out of the gate. We spent a goodly part of the day working out the details of the first Valhalla Event on January 27. Final details are coming in the next few days. Notably, we are allowing half down and half in February (yes, even after you have actually come out!). This should give some budgetary wiggle room for those that want to come out but are spent from the Holidays. The first table should be done by this coming week, we have a LOT of work to do. 6000 points of Orks are out of assembly and ready to paint right now. 3000 points of Blood Ravens are being assembled right now, they're about a third done.

For those waiting for some work on the give-away, we went over all the finalists today and decided. We're actually giving out two or three armies!

In other notable news, I picked up a flat screen monitor off Craigslist super cheap and now my operation at home is pretty sweet.

I think that's it. I hope everyone is having a good holiday. I am ever so grateful for all the support and good vibes I get from the blog and youtube channel. It's a source of perpetual pleasant surprise. And so I thank YOU ever so much.

PS- I know it's been pretty light on the gaming stuff, that will change after the new year.

Coming Spring

I had a dream last night. I was in a forest where spring was going to come soon. New saplings had been wrapped in rolls of grey-blue cloth and I was sent to plant them in anticipation of the event. I heard a voice saying "after 5000 years". I saw an Elven King with a leafy crown riding a white horse making his way through, as if he were surveying the progress of the Great New Spring.

There was music, too! In Dreams.

As a side note, I've found if fall asleep with my headphones in and a movie going it disrupts the dreaming process, like static interference.

The Sword of Justice

The Sword of Justice:

Is very sharp.
Should only be picked up with clean hands.
Cuts both ways.
Often impales someone that perhaps you did not originally intend.
Is not fit for mortals.
Is a scalpel-sharp instrument best left to the able hands and eyes of God Himself.

The law of the universe is that if you deal Retribution on your fellow-man, you yourself are called to account by the same standard. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Sinners like me have to be careful.

__________________
Retraction: I think a few posts ago I said that I eat $4000 of food a month. This is obviously incorrect. I think I meant to say $400 a month. I'm not sure exactly what it is.

Food, Inc.

One of my fave armies we've done: the Imperial Guard Strike Force. It's veterans made from space marine scouts.

While you were sleeping, a lame duck congress, like a disgruntled employee who's been fired but still has access to company computers, passed the so-called Food Safety Bill in a most sneaky way. They slipped it into a military appropriations bill HR 3082. It gives the FDA sweeping powers over your food and clamps down on any farm making over $500K a year. Did I say "make"? I meant "gross" which at the profit margin, if any, of a typical family farm is almost no margin at all.

I hope you like eating genetically modified food. The Feds now control the food supply.

Like a mean little piranha, I'm going to do something about it. I'm going to take a bite out of big agriculture and stop going out to fast food and Snickers bars. I've had it with corn syrup. I'm also going to change my food-buying habits. According to my calculations I eat at least $4000 of food a year. I'm going to redirect that money as local and organic as possible. As usual, Federal intervention will have unintended consequences. My prediction: this will see the rise of micro-farming.

Let's start with Monday morning. I was up bright an early for an hour or two then went back to sleep. Sound lazy? Bright and early means 1:30am. I am now using an agenda book to plan out my days, like on my mission, and Monday was an absolute insanity. Nevertheless, I cleared the list and got it all in order. It's clear now that I need to have a more rigid schedule at the studio with people arriving at certain times, and not play it as loosely as I have in the past.

I read this brilliant article by genius author Terry Pratchett entitled Why Gandalf Never Married. Pratchett missed my teenage reading years I'm sorry to say, I think I would have enjoyed him very much.

Recently, I've been thinking about a core philosophy of mine: to grasp the enjoyment of life while still alive. This comes from two sources. The first is a conversation I had with my Dad in late 2003. We were up in the mountains above my beloved Ashland, on the balcony of a massive log home overlooking the ancient pines. He was dying of cancer just a few months to live, so in a way this was like his death bed (I called it his "death recliner" as that was where he was sitting while I took notes as if by dictation). He pointed to his new truck and said he waited his whole life to buy that truck, and to retire and now that it happened he was going to die. He urged me to not wait around to live life, but to seize it. A sort of carpe diem speech. Well, not really a speech as he was a get-to-the-point kind of guy and said it all in two sentences.

The second source is my study of monetary policy. When the government is inflating the money supply so much that it outpaces the return from investment then it's time to consume. Eat that money before its value slides. Put another way, if inflation is at 10% and your best return for saving/investing your money is 5% then you're better off just eating it up. Grab it and stuff it in your mouth before the Feds steal it from you. Make no mistake: it is theft. By stealth or force. Solution: allow competing hard currencies; commodity money. I would love to pay my workers in cash. Nowadays that is called "under the table". I propose banishing the table itself. If there are no taxes (ie the Central Govt is funded entirely by alternative revenues such as tariffs) then there is no IRS, no record-keeping, no accountants to pay at $75 an hour. All those resources are freed into the real economy. I dream of that day. It's what I want as a citizen-voter.

But I digress. I now have a growing force of Ork boyz, about fifty at this time. They are being painted up for the first event at Valhalla in late January. One of the scenarios we're working on involves a horde of Ork boyz. I've got about three bins chock full of all the stuff that needs to be painted up. I'm trying to get Cameroon and Josephus clear of their regular painting duties and get them on terrain again.

It's time to buy your ticket! The January event is about a third full at this time.

A Batrep with IG vs DE is being planned for tomorrow. I also have plans to get a better camera (still a ways off).

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[Reader comment on this post]

BTW, I just read the new blog post; it was awesome. I find your writing style very enjoyable. Rather than a long drawn out dialogue on a single track subject with the good points sprinkled in here and there, it's a series of quick, dense, and satisfying 'shorts' addressing a wide range of topics throughout the post. Very fitting to my reading style and how my brain processes information.

When I was young they tried to tell me I had ADD.... :\ It's the most fake B.S. "condition" I've ever learned of, of which I'm fairly sure was invented for doctors to use to get that sweet methylphenidate prescription. I digress, however, I think a lot of kids have the capacity to absorb a lot of dense information and not only understand it, but retain it. Just not enough of them for the gov. to consider changing our outdated public school teaching format. Previously being a teacher (of younger children I believe?), i'm curious what your thoughts on that are?

Back to your blog though, as much as I too disapprove of the Federal Dumb A**'s new bill, as a closet optimist I can only hope that it becomes the catalyst that finally gets people doing the things you've talked about:

"stop going out to fast food and Snickers bars. I've had it with corn syrup. I'm also going to change my food-buying habits. According to my calculations I eat at least $4000 of food a year. I'm going to redirect that money as local and organic as possible."

My wife and I for years now have tried to find small, organic, 'homestead' based CSA's for our source of food (the kind that gross < weeks =" $1976/">

I also am hope full that more people will start micro farming as well. As a test this spring i took a 4' x 4' patch of normal lawn and cut out the grass (sort of like what a sod cutter would do). I planted 6 bell pepper plants, a tomato plant, an eggplant, and a crook neck squash. My test was to see how little I could prep the spot and how little attention I could give the plants, but still get a yield (to disprove the common statement "I don't have the time or energy to make a garden"). I mixed in only a little paydirt and set a timer for the water... I've made at least 4-5 gallons of pasta sauce, have had squash or eggplant with dinner more times than I care to remember, and am STILL getting peppers.

I still don't like the bill... but perhaps something good (inadvertently) will come of it. I could go on but you're a busy man. My point is that the blog is great (both the content and the format).

Thank you,
David S.
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More comments

I hope that this is not inappropriate of me to email you here, but I was not able to post on the blogspot..

Yes the Nazis would be proud of the Food Safety Bill, also known as bill S-510 before they trojan horsed it in to HR-3082. I hope everyone starts cultivating their own micro farms. "Permaculture" farms may be the way to go. Also, try to get heirloom seeds..

Shawn I think that's spot-on what you said about getting rid of "the table", so to speak, and paying your employees directly in cash. I support you 100% (although that's easy for me to say because I don't own a business). It's so refreshing to hear a business owner such as yourself speak out on these topics. It's often difficult to bring these subjects up without immediately being labeled as a "conspiracy theorist".

There is nothing theoretical about how criminal the Fed is. Here is s clip of Alan Greenspan admitting that the Federal Reserve is NOT part of the U.S. government and that there is no government agency that can over-rule their actions..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QkmLnNEvdU&feature=related

Cheers,

- J.J.

Back in the Saddle

It's 1:30am and I'm smacking those emails around. I was asleep since 9pm or so. Can't wait to get back to the studio and get going on a new working week.

Normal business hours. Ready whenever you are. Contact me at bluetablepainting@gmail.com for any matter.

At this particular moment I'm watching The Color of Magic.

The Shiv

I picked up this list off www.yesthetruthhurts.com It looks like an absolute ton of fun to play.

Duke. 150 points.

Trueborn, 3 with 2 blasters. 66.
Venom, Splinterx2, 65.
131
Trueborn, 3 with 2 blasters. 66.
Venom, Splinterx2, 65.
131
Trueborn, 3 with 2 blasters. 66.
Venom, Splinterx2, 65.
131

5 Warriors, Blaster, Sybarite with Blast Pistol. 85
Venom, Splinterx2, 65.
150
5 Warriors, Blaster, Sybarite with Blast Pistol. 85
Venom, Splinterx2, 65.
150
5 Warriors, Blaster, Sybarite with Blast Pistol. 85
Venom, Splinterx2, 65.
150
5 Warriors, Blaster, Sybarite with Blast Pistol. 85
Venom, Splinterx2, 65.
150
5 Warriors, Blaster, Sybarite with Blast Pistol. 85
Venom, Splinterx2, 65.
150

5 Warriors, Blaster. 60
Venom, Splinterx2, 65.
125

Scourges, 5 with 2 Heat Lances: 134
Scourges, 5 with 2 Haywire Blasters: 130

Ravager, 3 Lances: 105.
Ravager, 3 Lances: 105.
Ravager, 3 Lances: 105.

Total: 1997

Notes: So 9 Venoms that drop double blast units in your face, backed by Scourges and Ravagers for focused anti-tank into select units. What are the haywire blasters for? Smartasses with immune to melta and/or lance weapons vehicles. lol

Obviously, Duke goes with the Warrior unit without a Sybarite (he comes with a Blast Pistol).

Deep strike it all, demech the enemy, and if he doesn’t have mech…oh boy, 9 Venoms and a large number of warriors and scourges with poisoned weapons everywhere.

Aftermath

Christmas day was the usual thing. We kept it relatively simple, mostly useful gifts like clothes with just two things per child that they wanted. Fortunately, our kids are still young enough (2,5,9,11) to still be impressed by simple things. I think I spent at least twelve hours just laying around. I didn't realize how exhausted I am from working so much. My body just soaked up the relaxation. I actually slept probably five hours on and off during the day.

The angel at the top of the tree was lop-sided. I though I heard her say "how do I get out of this chicken-**** outfit?"

My wife made a potato, cheese and sausage casserole in the morning. We picked on that all day long. About a third of it had just the sausage eaten off the top by one of the kids. I ate horribly-- orange sticks, chocolate, pistachios, eggos, cheeseball, toblerone, and egg nog. Blergh.

I watched about twenty episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist. My wife and I also watched two romantic comedies. It was my idea, not my usual thing. About a Boy and Outsourced. I also took in a documentary about genetically modified food. I don't think I'm going to eat anything from Monsanto again. Or McDonalds. No more fast food for me. It's horrid.

Sunday was more of the same except a better diet. And Church which was awesome. The Elder's Quorum lesson was about "What's Important"; balancing God, family, professional and personal life. It made me wonder if I wasn't biting off more than I could chew by starting a second company (to run the Valhalla project). That lasted about one minute. It's television that's going to take the hit.

I talked with Tamie about my goal of getting home at 6pm tops every night. We also need to eat together as a family most nights. We also made a list of healthy foods that I like and will eat to be fresh and accessible.

Easy foods

Soups
Vegetable soup
Yellow peppers
Radishes
Pears
Cucumbers (prepared in something)
Sandwich fixins
Pita
Mediterranean stuff
Potatoes (red), healthy potato salad
Artichoke hearts
Artichokes
Corn on the cob
Edamame yumay
Carrots
Shepherd's Pie
Sprouts for sandwiches
Grapes
Bananas
Apricots
Plums

Fruit Salad?
FISH!
Pasta

Eve

It's Christmas Eve and everything is slow. I stayed at home today, only visiting the studio briefly to get my new monitor and take it home. That monitor was a gift from Skymarshall Anonymo.

I'm watching Full Metal Alchemist all the way through again. I watched it in 2005 or so and so I forgot most of the episodes. Now my kids are old enough to appreciate it, though I have to "parentally guide" them. A good part of the day I was lazing about and

My wife and I went out to run some local errands and had a lovely time. We very much enjoy each other's company. We picked up candy for stockings and a few needed items of clothing. Sounds simple, but it was really wonderful. Just to be with my wife, hold the door open for her, and talk with her while taking the road home.

I had a dream last night that I was reading a book of poems. I remember one line, in reference to autumn leaves:
Here they come, scorched and tumbling

My overwhelming sense right now is one of gratitude. I view my life in Utah as a type of afterlife, a paradise. It's so beautiful and all is going so well. How fortunate I am to have a good marriage, that's really the beating heart of happiness. And four beautiful healthy children.

I would like to thank you, oh reader, for taking time to make our life part of yours. I am ever so grateful and surprised that Blue Table has been so successful. You don't know how far the ripples go. I provide many jobs and many people can hold their heads high up as free men (and women) who provide a durable good. I don't talk about it much, but a lot of the money ends up in charitable work. So thank you so much for patronizing our business. You are the life blood.

I have a Ron Paul 2008 sign in my front yard. Here Ron Paul talks a lick of sense.

Through fractional reserve banking (ie counterfeiting 90% of the money loaned out) the banks have effectively defrauded me out of two years of my working life. Am I angry? No. The Good Lord has taken care of me and reimbursed me manifold and blessed me abundantly. For every dollar I am robbed, I get two as a "child of heaven". Every dollar I give away I think there is a return of five to one. I have great concern for my brothers in the banking system. I want to stop this system so they are not bitten in this life and the next for their fraud.

Today I watched a small documentary on the Congo. An exporter, when confronted with the inhuman conditions of the miners, defended himself by saying that what he was doing was legal. Just because it's legal doesn't mean it's right.

Maybe there are some things that are illegal that are right.

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Remember, canned goods are the poor man's gold. Or any hard consumable good, even tooth paste or chocolate bars. You can even liquidate their value on your own in hard times. Toilet paper even holds value against inflation. Look for sales every time you go to the store.

I also advise leaving off bad habits like cigarettes or cola.