tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383951022024-02-03T04:11:24.458+10:00I'd Rather Be Gaming...Life. Work. Family. An Aussie Dad just trying to find time for his hobbies.Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.comBlogger621125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-67035670338153990992016-07-09T15:35:00.000+10:002016-07-09T15:35:31.422+10:00B- 17 Queen of the Skies - Mission 159 - Target: Aschersleben Aircraft Factory<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'm part of a 'Play by Forum' group at <a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/" target="_blank">BoardGameGeek </a>who play the solitaire board game <a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1032/b-17-queen-skies" target="_blank"><b>B-17: Queen of the Skies</b></a> together.<b> </b>The group is run by BGG user '<a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/user/jasta6" target="_blank">jasta6</a>'
and represents the fictional 281st Bombardment Group (Heavy). The 159th mission is an attack on the Junkers aircraft factory at Aschersleben, Germany on February 22, 1944.</div>
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This is how I went...<b><br /></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikYRlHBIvBBr1t5X3nDKMhneAEfwemKlvtjpXL8NT3nbxKEAiagReeUjP3UxYyzqXcssmwCO1nvQpjSJkMmcjaWqliQaj7pzTGuEV5CqUGyqbh4a0Y1m8gnZ4gnUP-HRY3_DyO/s1600/b17.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikYRlHBIvBBr1t5X3nDKMhneAEfwemKlvtjpXL8NT3nbxKEAiagReeUjP3UxYyzqXcssmwCO1nvQpjSJkMmcjaWqliQaj7pzTGuEV5CqUGyqbh4a0Y1m8gnZ4gnUP-HRY3_DyO/s320/b17.jpg" width="234" /></a></div>
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<br />
<b>After Action Report:</b><br />
<br />
<b>Pilot:</b> 2Lt. Christopher B. Whitman<br />
<b>B-17:</b> 'To Prussia With Love' (B-17F-65-B0 42-29711 ) (2nd Mission)<br />
<br />
<b><b>Squadron:</b></b> 153rd Bombardment Squadron, 281st Bombardment Group (Heavy)<br />
<br />
<b>MISSION:</b> 159 (This bomber 2)<br />
<b>Date: </b>Tuesday, February 22, 1944 (1 day from last mission)<br />
<b>Primary Target:</b> Aschersleben, Germany. A/I (Junkers Aircraft Factory) <br />
<b>Secondary Target:</b> None <br />
<b>Tertiary Target: </b>None <br />
<b><br />Position:</b> High<br />
<br />
<b>Crew Status: LW=0 / SW=0 / KIA=0 / FB=0 / POW=10</b><br />
<b><br />Position – Rank – Name – Missions (n) – Status </b><br />
<b>Pilot</b> – 2Lt. Christopher B. ('Toffee') Whitman (2) - POW<br />
<b>Co-Pilot </b>– 2Lt. James J. ('J.J.') Scott (2) - POW<br />
<b>Bombardier </b>– 2Lt. Matthew S. ('Payload') Kelly (2) - POW<br />
<b>Navigator </b>– 2Lt. Luke K. ('Wrong Way') Wray (2) - POW<br />
<b>Engineer </b>- MSgt. Howard D ('Wrench') Rubin (2) - POW<br />
<b>Radio Operator</b> - TSgt. Norman B. ('Mad Dog') Morgan (2) - POW<br />
<b>Ball Gunner </b>- Sgt. Ernest J. ('Serious') Reed (2) - POW<br />
<b>Port Waist</b> – Sgt. Roy M. ('Burnin') Bridges (2) - POW<br />
<b>Starboard Waist</b> - Sgt. David M. ('Deadeye') Garcia (2) - POW<br />
<b>Tail Gunner</b> - Sgt. James L. ('Back Door') Herrera (2) - POW<br />
<br />
<b>Key:</b><br />
½ = Half an Enemy A/C KIA <br />
* = 1 Enemy A/C KIA<br />
# = 5 Enemy A/C KIA<br />
<br />
<b>Bomb Run:</b> DNB<br />
<b>Bomb Drop: </b><br />
<b>Accuracy: </b><br />
<br />
<b>Enemy Fighters Encountered:</b> (KIA – 0 / Prob – 0 / Damaged – 0)<br />
<br />
<b>Claims:</b><br />
<br />
<b>B-17s Disposition:</b> The 'To Prussia With Love' was hit by flak outbound and crashed in the Netherlands.<br />
<br />
<b>Mission Debriefing:</b><br />
<br />
<b>Outbound</b><br />
<u>Zone 2:</u> No Encounters<br />
<u>Zone 3:</u> No Encounters<br />
<u>Zone 4:</u> Three Me109s that were all driven off by fighter cover.<br />
<u>Zone 5:</u> The <i>'To Prussia With Love'</i>
was hit by flak outbound over the Netherlands. The aircraft appeared
to have suffered a fire to the starboard wing fuel tank. The pilot was
seen to dive the B-17 in an effort to put out the fire but was
unsuccessful. The aircraft was then seen to fall out of control in
flames. 10 parachutes were seen to open. Presumably the entire crew
escaped safely from the aircraft and were likely captured. <br />
<br />
<b>Game notes:</b> It was only this aircraft and crew's second mission. So disappointed
to find a random sporadic flak roll outbound in Zone 5 ended up with a
fuel tank hit causing the aircraft to go down in flames. Only positive
was that the entire crew bailed out safely. Sadly, as they were over
the Netherlands they were all automatically captured and became POWs. I have submitted a request to the moderator for a replacement aircraft for Mission 160.Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-13174505943316215782016-06-11T07:50:00.000+10:002016-06-12T07:50:52.111+10:00B-17 Queen of the Skies - Mission 158 - Target: Diepholz Aerodrome<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I recently joined a 'Play by Forum' group at <a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/" target="_blank">BoardGameGeek </a>who play the solitaire board game <a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1032/b-17-queen-skies" target="_blank"><b>B-17: Queen of the Skies</b></a> together.<b> </b>The group is run by BGG user '<a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/user/jasta6" target="_blank">jasta6</a>' and represents the fictional 281st Bombardment Group (Heavy). They have completed 157 missions over the last several years. I created my B-17 '<i>To Prussia With Love</i>' and crew and was assigned to the 153rd Bombardment Squadron. My first mission was number 158 targeting an enemy aerodrome at Diepholz, Germany on February 21, 1944.<b></b></div>
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This is how I went...<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>After Action
Report:</b><br />
<br />
<b>Pilot:</b> 2Lt. Christopher B. Whitman<br />
<b>B-17:</b>
<i>'To Prussia With Love'</i> (B-17F-65-B0 42-29711 ) (1st
Mission)<br />
<br />
<b>Squadron:</b> 153rd Bombardment Squadron, 281st
Bombardment Group (Heavy)<br />
<br />
<b>MISSION: </b>158 (This bomber
1)<br />
<b>Date:</b> Monday, February 21, 1944 (1 day from last
mission)<br />
<b>Primary Target:</b> Werl, Germany. A/F ( Diepholz
Airdrome ) <br />
<b>Secondary Target:</b> Diepholz, Germany. A/F (
Diepholz Airdrome ) <br />
<b>Tertiary Target: </b>None <br />
<br />
<b>Position:</b>
Middle<br />
<br />
<b>Crew Status:</b> LW=0 / SW=0 / KIA=0 /
FB=0<br />
<br />
<b>Position – Rank – Name – Missions (n) – Status
</b><br />
<b>Pilot</b> – 2Lt. Christopher B. ('Toffee') Whitman
(1)<br />
<b>Co-Pilot</b> – 2Lt. James J. ('J.J.') Scott
(1)<br />
<b>Bombardier </b>– 2Lt. Matthew S. ('Payload') Kelly (1)
**<br />
<b>Navigator</b> – 2Lt. Luke K. ('Wrong Way') Wray (1)
*<br />
<b>Engineer</b> - MSgt. Howard D ('Wrench') Rubin (1) *<br />
<b>Radio
Operator</b> - TSgt. Norman B. ('Mad Dog') Morgan (1)<br />
<b>Ball
Gunner </b>- Sgt. Ernest J. ('Serious') Reed (1)<br />
<b>Port Waist</b>
– Sgt. Roy M. ('Burnin') Bridges (1)<br />
<b>Starboard Waist </b>-
Sgt. David M. ('Deadeye') Garcia (1)<br />
<b>Tail Gunner </b>- Sgt.
James L. ('Back Door') Herrera (1)<br />
<br />
<b>Key:</b><br />
½ = Half an
Enemy A/C KIA <br />
* = 1 Enemy A/C KIA<br />
# = 5 Enemy A/C KIA<br />
<br />
<b>Bomb
Run:</b><br />
<b>Bomb Drop: </b>Off<br />
<b>Accuracy: </b>5%<br />
<br />
<b>Enemy
Fighters Encountered: </b>(KIA – 4 / Prob – 0 / Damaged –
1)<br />
<br />
<b>Claims:</b><br />
2Lt. Matthew. S. Kelly: 2 x Me109s<br />
2Lt.
Luke K. Wray: 1 x Fw190<br />
Msgt. Howard D. Rubin: 1 x Me109<br />
<b><br />B-17s
Disposition:</b> The <i>'To Prussia With Love'</i> landed safely with
only superficial damage. Crew and aircraft will be ready for the next
mission.<br />
<br />
<b>Peckham Points:</b> 10 points (1 x No Effect Hit
from P4 (Radio Room) [5 points], 1 x Superficial Hit from B5 [5
points])</div>
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<br />
<b>Mission Debriefing:</b><br />
<br />
The crew and I were
all eager for our first mission with the 281st and to put all our
hard training to use in defeating Hitler and bringing peace to
Europe.<br />
<br />
The weather was fine for our take off and the <i>'To
Prussian With Love'</i> quickly rose into the clear skies over
England. It was not long before we rendezvoused with the rest of the
bomber group and as we settled into formation within our new bomber
squadron, the 153rd, I silently prayed we would live up to their
motto of 'Guaranteed on time delivery!'.<br />
<br />
We were appreciative
for the outbound presence of the P38 fighter escort from the 55th
Fighter Group. For us the flight to Germany was uneventful. As we
neared the target we noted it was mostly obscured by cloud cover.
Thankfully the Pathfinders had gone in just prior to our arrival and
so we were able to make out the Diepholz aerodrome in the
distance.<br />
<br />
As we approached the target we noticed some flak but
it was very light and soon stopped. It was at this time that we were
attacked by a wave of four Me109s. Our fighter escort drew two of
them off while accurate shooting from 2Lt. Kelly and 2Lt. Wray
destroyed the remaining two Me109s.<br />
<br />
We commenced our bomb run
but were dismayed to find we were off target and the majority of our
payload missed. Our bombardier 2Lt. Kelly believed we may have done
some minor damage to the airfield.<br />
<br />
Regardless, we had stirred
up a hornets nest. As we turned for home we were jumped by two waves
of fighters, presumably from the airfield we had just bombed. The
first wave consisted of three Fw190s. P47s from the 56th Fighter
Group drove off two of the Focke-Wulfs. The remaining Fw190 was seen
to erupt in flames and fall out of control after a burst of machine
gun fire by 2Lt. Wray who was manning the starboard cheek gun.<br />
<br />
The
second wave of enemy fighters came in immediately after the first.
This time it was three Me109s. Our 'little friends' were busy
elsewhere and could not help us. The Messerschmitts came in from the
front, firing at us from head on. We were lucky that none of their
bullets hit and they did not come around for another pass.<br />
<br />
As
the <i>'To Prussia With Love'</i> crossed into the Netherlands and
Zone 6 we were intercepted by two Focke-Wulfs. One was driven off by
our fighter escort while the remaining FW190 evaded our defensive
fire and came in firing from 3 o'clock level. Thankfully he missed
and we did not see him again.<br />
<br />
Just north of Amsterdam in Zone
5 we were attacked by one Fw190 and three Me109s. Our fighter escort
failed to chase off any of the enemy aircraft but 2Lt. Kelly firing
from the nose turret managed to damage one of the Me109s. We took
hits to the Radio Room from the Fw190 but thankfully there was little
damage and Tsgt. Morgan and the radio were spared. <br />
<br />
The three
Me109s broke off contact but the Fw190 came around for a second pass.
This time he came in from 1:30 level and managed to score some
superficial hits on our fuselage. All crew who had the opportunity to
fire their machine guns did so but the wily Fw190 pilot managed to
evade. The cheeky kraut came in for a third attempt from 12 o'clock
level but thankfully missed us this time. He must have thought he had
exhausted all his luck with his three attacks because he did not make
a fourth.<br />
<br />
We entered Zone 4 and were happy to see the North
Sea far below. England was now not far away and we were all relieved
the worst was behind us. <br />
<br />
Our thoughts of home were quickly
dashed as we entered Zone 3 and were attacked by one Fw190 and two
Me109s. Unfortunately our fighter escort was unable to intercept any
of the enemy aircraft. However, 2Lt. Kelly again proved himself by
destroying one of the Me109s and I must commend Sgt. Reed who was
able to drive off the other Me109 with sustained firing from his ball
turret guns. The remaining Fw190's aim was no good and he then
disappeared.<br />
<br />
The rest of our flight was uneventful and we
landed safely at base.<br />
<br />
<b>Pilot: </b>2Lt. Christopher B.
Whitman<br />
<b>B-17:</b> <i>'To Prussia With Love'</i> (B-17F-65-B0
42-29711 )<br />
<br />
<b>Game notes: </b>Very relieved to survive our
first mission. Being in middle position and some lucky consecutive
6's on defensive fire certainly helped. The persistent Fw190 pilot in
Zone 5 inbound was an Ace. Looking forward to our next mission to
drop some further 'love' on the krauts.
</div>
Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-82614070801077899182015-07-06T09:24:00.000+10:002015-07-11T14:53:53.308+10:00Monday FootballMy mate Steve and I coordinated a day off work today during our childrens' school break for some gaming. While our wives were at work I met him at his place for a couple of games of <a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1498/paydirt" target="_blank"><b>Paydirt</b></a>. <b>Paydirt </b>is published by Avalon Hill and is a board game that simulates a game of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football" target="_blank">American football</a>, AKA gridiron. Steve's version of <b>Paydirt</b> has the team charts for all the teams in the 1991 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League" target="_blank">NFL</a> season.<br />
<br />
While my kids and his kids were happily playing Minecraft via LAN in another room, Steve and I sat down at his dining room table and randomly drew teams for our first game. Our goal is to play through all the teams in <b>Paydirt </b>once, randomly selecting them for each game. I ended up with the Washington Redskins and Steve got the Phoenix Cardinals.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFIgc5FyDYtD9fYo0JtrGEoAXgmZl3z8KCX5otpYlnO0JeREjbiB9u3m5BBgP6LaTGF_PimdTsaQWmXdue4rKvtA1m3phYaWq9Po_ukKSK1-ahzh7EGo2vqNU2Z4XKMcH4SLX0/s1600/028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFIgc5FyDYtD9fYo0JtrGEoAXgmZl3z8KCX5otpYlnO0JeREjbiB9u3m5BBgP6LaTGF_PimdTsaQWmXdue4rKvtA1m3phYaWq9Po_ukKSK1-ahzh7EGo2vqNU2Z4XKMcH4SLX0/s320/028.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paydirt</td></tr>
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<br />
This version of the <b>Paydirt </b>team charts are based on the statistics of how well the teams did during the 1991 regular season, playoffs and Super Bowl. The Redskins had a regular season 14-2 win-loss record that year and went on to win the Super Bowl in early 1992 and their team chart certainly reflected that they were the best team of that season. Steve's Cardinals only had a 4-12 win-loss record in 1991 and his team chart certainly exhibited those statistics.<br />
<br />
I won 72-7. Although there is player choice on which play to make (9 offensive plays consisting of 4 runs/5 passes, and 6 defensive formations) ultimately it comes down to dice roles and chart referencing. With evenly matched players, a very good team should invariably trounce a very bad team due to probability and their individual team chart. I guess in that way <b>Paydirt </b>could be called a good simulation.<br />
<br />
Does that make for a fun game though? I suspect casual players and those not interested in American football would not enjoy <b>Paydirt </b>where there is a very real possibility of playing a game with such mismatched teams. Steve and I do enjoy watching NFL games (him being a San Francisco '49ers fan and me a Philadelphia Eagles fan) and so playing a simulation of a game, irregardless of how mismatched the teams were, was still fun. We must have a rematch of this game in the future though.<br />
<br />
For our second game I randomly selected the LA Rams and Steve selected the San Diego Chargers. In this game our teams were fairly evenly matched with the team charts reflecting statistics in which the LA Rams had a 3-13 season and the San Diego Chargers had a 4-12 season (in other words - both equally crap teams).<br />
<br />
This was a much closer and exciting game and was won by Steve's Chargers defeating my Rams 17-14 with a last minute field goal.<br />
<br />
<br />Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-30760234200335239912015-07-04T17:11:00.000+10:002015-07-11T10:21:10.246+10:00Gaming with Grandma - 132Another Saturday morning gaming session with my mother Sue (AKA Grandma), my wife Debbie
and younger daughter Georgia (9.5 years).<br />
<br />
Today we chose <a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17693/piranha" target="_blank"><b>Piranha</b></a>, a children's dexterity game designed by Ronald Hofstatter and Arno Steinwender and published by Ravensburger.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipuvG9g3ecoDTeQTSqAujsr14PmPqGH9vNAcVsmfrLRne9ZDanksqFS8dRRFIoMBgSzLWjYajA9iS4R5Xd_LdmqNb3Q-__8ZP8wAN5LmydvPhJ3CFk1xDHKFTOw0BsKBojwWCj/s1600/Piranha.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipuvG9g3ecoDTeQTSqAujsr14PmPqGH9vNAcVsmfrLRne9ZDanksqFS8dRRFIoMBgSzLWjYajA9iS4R5Xd_LdmqNb3Q-__8ZP8wAN5LmydvPhJ3CFk1xDHKFTOw0BsKBojwWCj/s320/Piranha.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watch out for those piranhas Georgia!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The object of the game is to be the first to get rid of all your piranhas by attaching them either directly to a safari hat suspended from a fishing rod, or to the tails of other piranhas already hanging from the hat. On your turn you must attempt to place one piranha on either the hat or a piranha hanging from the hat. Any piranhas that fall during your turn causes the turn to end and the fallen piranhas to be taken into your piranha pile.<br />
<br />
We all enjoyed the tension of trying to correctly place the piranhas and the laughs when another player caused piranhas to fall. It was a tight battle but Deb eventually took the win.Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-26806238949334268152015-06-08T19:13:00.001+10:002015-07-11T10:23:30.652+10:00Gaming with Grandma - 131Another Saturday morning gaming session with my mother Sue (AKA Grandma), wife Debbie
and two daughters, Maddie (almost 14!) and Georgia (9.5).<br />
<br />
Our first game of the morning <a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/320/scrabble" target="_blank"><b>Scrabble</b></a>. The players were me, Grandma, Maddie & Georgia. This game is an oldie but a goodie and one we all enjoy. Final scores were Grandma 157, Maddie 128, Wayne 121 & Georgia 39.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYF2Yn_trfbSIglvAkFYiNIiIoNHnrXAAOLiko0-Xz_rR5ONwl0yTMkXLus24ArYVTFESx_3zBJgGGjTPRqLSwm8K1bmVpSNi21AzgP63SAAE7GC31ztUBp4sI9d4wb840pv7J/s1600/Scrabble+6+June+2015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYF2Yn_trfbSIglvAkFYiNIiIoNHnrXAAOLiko0-Xz_rR5ONwl0yTMkXLus24ArYVTFESx_3zBJgGGjTPRqLSwm8K1bmVpSNi21AzgP63SAAE7GC31ztUBp4sI9d4wb840pv7J/s320/Scrabble+6+June+2015.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scrabble</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
For our second game we were joined by my wife Deb, so we now had five players. <a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/11231/snorta" target="_blank"><b>Snorta!</b></a> is a fun memory party game in which everyone is given a cute plastic animal which is shown to the other players then hidden in a little barn. Various animal cards are played by each player one at a time in a separate pile in front of them. When two matching animal cards appear those two players must then make the sound of the animal of the other player. The first person to make the sound is the winner. The loser takes all the cards from both piles and adds them to their hand. The first player to play all their cards wins the game.<br />
<br />
<br />
This game is a lot of fun and there was much laughter. Maddie was even in tears at one stage she was laughing that hard. We played three games with me winning two and Georgia winning one.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn87wcyj5tC3qo7sjSyKM6MUYjRaAh0pFm3BEIsfoP7F4jm5oWFhRtFDMxk8GSYXlrjnJE_8OT1f9UX08rG8sTjXe37R97eZnIeDb-2RvL2l6uxp8Na-JhHbGMYQDN8EjLxctg/s1600/Snorta+6+June+2015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn87wcyj5tC3qo7sjSyKM6MUYjRaAh0pFm3BEIsfoP7F4jm5oWFhRtFDMxk8GSYXlrjnJE_8OT1f9UX08rG8sTjXe37R97eZnIeDb-2RvL2l6uxp8Na-JhHbGMYQDN8EjLxctg/s320/Snorta+6+June+2015.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snorta!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-36119001322346430622015-05-31T09:26:00.001+10:002015-06-06T12:37:43.962+10:00Mad Max: Fury Road<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
I saw <b>Mad Max: Fury Road</b> last night. I don't know whether to call the movie insanely intense or intensely insane, but what a ride!. Regardless, it has inspired me to get back to an old project of scratch building post-apocalyptic miniature vehicles for rule sets such as Car Wars, Gorkamorka or Axle & Alloys. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYISqsJOKYCvQDC0xpBZMCbh1wdvPPDwL4RkOi88rJOzHVzFnEpj5V3kUDoXlBfPiDaOKYg1AuvozXALIzh0bsrt_dqV5r5GNa9byYbfTrm2VeDl565gcbYdoVNamkEC9rdgK/s1600/Mad+Max+Fury+Road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYISqsJOKYCvQDC0xpBZMCbh1wdvPPDwL4RkOi88rJOzHVzFnEpj5V3kUDoXlBfPiDaOKYg1AuvozXALIzh0bsrt_dqV5r5GNa9byYbfTrm2VeDl565gcbYdoVNamkEC9rdgK/s400/Mad+Max+Fury+Road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-17006739298967952692014-12-31T23:29:00.000+10:002015-05-30T13:44:34.101+10:002014 - My year of gaming<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-402922815266272487" itemprop="description articleBody">
Looking back over 2014 I note that the time I've spent gaming has mostly been taken up by playing the early access PC game DayZ Standalone which was released in December 2013. As a result of this the number of my boardgame plays during 2014 have certainly suffered. I'm not necessarily saddened by this as it is good to try new things and I have thoroughly enjoyed the time spent playing DayZ. I've played DayZ so much, almost on a daily basis, that I've ceased logging plays of the game.</div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-402922815266272487" itemprop="description articleBody">
</div>
Here is a list of tabletop games I played in 2014. I was particularly pleased to get in some plays of Memoir '44 and Commands & Colors: Ancients.<br />
<br />
<table class="forum_table" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/8946/coda">Coda</a>
</td>
<td>6
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/7473/drag-strip">Drag Strip!</a>
</td>
<td>6
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2452/jenga">Jenga</a>
</td>
<td>5
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/10630/memoir-44">Memoir '44</a>
</td>
<td>5
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3059/rebound">Rebound</a>
</td>
<td>5
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/12692/gloom">Gloom</a>
</td>
<td>4
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/39861/memoir-44-campaign-book-volume-1">Memoir '44: Campaign Book Volume 1</a>
</td>
<td>4
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/90/star-wars-episode-1-clash-lightsabers">Star Wars: Episode 1 – Clash of the Lightsabers</a>
</td>
<td>4
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13123/500">500</a>
</td>
<td>3
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2453/blokus">Blokus</a>
</td>
<td>3
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1126/car-wars-card-game">Car Wars: The Card Game</a>
</td>
<td>3
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/59946/dungeons-dragons-castle-ravenloft-board-game">Dungeons & Dragons: Castle Ravenloft Board Game</a>
</td>
<td>3
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/7854/yinsh">YINSH</a>
</td>
<td>3
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/14105/commands-colors-ancients">Commands & Colors: Ancients</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/172/sale">For Sale</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1307/haunted-castle">Haunted Castle</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3404/legend-landlock">The Legend of Landlock</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/77423/lord-rings-card-game">The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1927/munchkin">Munchkin</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/132717/words-friends">Words with Friends</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/760/battle-line">Battle Line</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3084/buccaneer">Buccaneer</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/826/cartagena">Cartagena</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3242/clash-gladiators">Clash of the Gladiators</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17025/friday-13th">Friday the 13th</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/37654/gloom-unfortunate-expeditions">Gloom: Unfortunate Expeditions</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/18207/gloom-unhappy-homes">Gloom: Unhappy Homes</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/149327/gloom-unquiet-dead">Gloom: Unquiet Dead</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/25621/gloom-unwelcome-guests">Gloom: Unwelcome Guests</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/116/guillotine">Guillotine</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6351/gulo-gulo">Gulo Gulo</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/31005/heroscape-expansion-set-defenders-kinsland">Heroscape Expansion Set: Defenders of Kinsland</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/15155/heroscape-expansion-set-malliddons-prophecy">Heroscape Expansion Set: Malliddon's Prophecy </a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/16694/heroscape-expansion-set-orms-return">Heroscape Expansion Set: Orm's Return </a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/42350/heroscape-expansion-set-road-forgotten-forest">Heroscape Expansion Set: Road to the Forgotten Forest</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/22507/heroscape-expansion-set-thoras-vengeance">Heroscape Expansion Set: Thora's Vengeance</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/15825/heroscape-expansion-set-utgars-rage">Heroscape Expansion Set: Utgar's Rage </a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/11170/heroscape-master-set-rise-valkyrie">Heroscape Master Set: Rise of the Valkyrie</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/533/labyrinth-card-game">Labyrinth: The Card Game</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/18833/lord-rings-confrontation-deluxe-edition">Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation (Deluxe Edition)</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/42188/make-n-break-challenge">Make 'n' Break CHALLENGE</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/19245/memoir-44-eastern-front">Memoir '44: Eastern Front</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/14254/pitchcar-mini">PitchCar Mini</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/28086/risk-express">Risk Express</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/23890/der-schwarze-pirat">Der schwarze Pirat</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3284/star-wars-epic-duels">Star Wars: Epic Duels</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/398/wildlife-safari">Wildlife Safari</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-15117874989373764142014-02-01T12:43:00.002+10:002014-02-01T12:46:18.700+10:00Gaming with Grandma - 130Another Saturday morning gaming session with my mother Sue (AKA Grandma), and elder daughter, Maddie (12).<br />
<br />
The game of choice today was <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3242/clash-of-the-gladiators" target="_blank"><b>Clash of the Gladiators</b></a>, a game I acquired in an Australian <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/" target="_blank">BoardGameGeek</a> math trade in May 2008. Sadly, this game has languished, unplayed, on my game shelf since that date. This morning would be our first play of this <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/2/reiner-knizia" target="_blank">Reiner Knizia</a> designed game.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzbjhkRjyzQJWXQlGzNW7JWDzG9DCAypCAxWIkFiMFMI4NTKgZTYJyZ_GCdbqOgkm3_U81KgkGyRdXnVDKoYaMl0KKzvShyxY22pNZYeFiwEOw0ytWBdCfKjCzN73gEHItr21/s1600/Clash+of+the+Gladiators.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzbjhkRjyzQJWXQlGzNW7JWDzG9DCAypCAxWIkFiMFMI4NTKgZTYJyZ_GCdbqOgkm3_U81KgkGyRdXnVDKoYaMl0KKzvShyxY22pNZYeFiwEOw0ytWBdCfKjCzN73gEHItr21/s1600/Clash+of+the+Gladiators.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Clash of the Gladiators</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Clash of the Gladiators</b> is a game for two to five players. Players select from five different types of gladiators to create a team of four gladiators. Each type of gladiator (spear holder, net caster, swordsman, prong bearer and shield carrier) have different effects on combat. The number of gladiator teams a player may field is based on the number of players in the game (2-3 players four teams each, 4-5 players three teams each).<br />
<br />
The object of the game is to kill opposing gladiators and animals. The game ends when only one player has gladiators on the board at which time the points are calculated. Points are granted for all opposing gladiators and animals you have killed (gladiators = 1 point each, animals = 2 points each) and the player with the most points is the winner.<br />
<br />
The rules are fairly simple and once players become familiar with the combat effects of each type of gladiator, the battles also play out quickly.<br />
<br />
We had a fun game and although I was the first player to lose all my gladiators, there is a great rule that allows a player to continue playing (and gaining points) by using the animals to attack the remaining players.<br />
<br />
Final scores were Maddie and I sharing the win with 21 points each, and Grandma with 15 points.Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-82212820529803569202013-12-31T23:59:00.000+10:002014-02-01T13:28:44.281+10:002013 - My year of gaming<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-402922815266272487" itemprop="description articleBody">
The majority of my gaming over this year has certainly been video games. Unfortunately my board game plays have fallen, partly due to my mother only visiting on alternate Saturdays, and partly due to my own board game burnout.</div>
<br />
Here is a combined list of video and board games I played in 2013.<br />
<br />
<table class="forum_table" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogameexpansion/82590/arma-ii-operation-arrowhead">ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead</a>
</td>
<td>46
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/111920/grand-theft-auto-v">Grand Theft Auto V</a>
</td>
<td>25
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/81960/minecraft">Minecraft</a>
</td>
<td>12
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/77210/the-lord-of-the-rings-online-shadows-of-angmar">The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar</a>
</td>
<td>8
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2593/pass-the-pigs">Pass the Pigs</a>
</td>
<td>7
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/635/formula-motor-racing">Formula Motor Racing</a>
</td>
<td>6
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/123076/the-last-of-us">The Last of Us</a>
</td>
<td>5
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/107198/battlefield-3">Battlefield 3</a>
</td>
<td>4
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/42188/make-n-break-challenge">Make 'n' Break CHALLENGE</a>
</td>
<td>4
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1307/haunted-castle">Haunted Castle</a>
</td>
<td>3
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2452/jenga">Jenga</a>
</td>
<td>3
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2821/uno-stacko">UNO Stacko</a>
</td>
<td>3
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/16395/blokus-duo">Blokus Duo</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/28089/chateau-roquefort">Château Roquefort</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6351/gulo-gulo">Gulo Gulo</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/14254/pitchcar-mini">PitchCar Mini</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5697/reiner-knizias-amazing-flea-circus">Reiner Knizia's Amazing Flea Circus</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogameexpansion/132258/blood-bowl-chaos-edition">Blood Bowl: Chaos Edition</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/826/cartagena">Cartagena</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/8946/coda">Coda</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/65244/forbidden-island">Forbidden Island</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/8203/hey-thats-my-fish">Hey, That's My Fish!</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2569/pick-picknic">Pick Picknic</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/31545/pow-wow">Pow Wow</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6738/quicksand">Quicksand</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/23890/der-schwarze-pirat">Der schwarze Pirat</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/33383/wobbally">WobBally</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Happy New Year and good gaming to all for 2014! Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-40936533607763114602012-12-31T23:59:00.000+10:002014-02-01T13:20:28.089+10:002012 - My year of gaming<h2 class="date-header">
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The majority of my gaming over this year has shifted from board games to
video games. 2011 was the first year I decided to record the plays of
video games via the <a href="http://videogamegeek.com/">VideoGameGeek</a> website. The method I choose to record my plays was
that if I played a specific video game on a particular day I would
record only a single play, regardless if I played the game for 5 minutes
or 5 hours. This allows me to easily track how much I use a game on a
daily basis over the full year. </div>
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Here is a combined list of video and board games I played in 2012.<br />
<br />
<table class="forum_table" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogameexpansion/82590/arma-ii-operation-arrowhead">ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead</a>
</td>
<td>58
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/81960/minecraft">Minecraft</a>
</td>
<td>42
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/77210/the-lord-of-the-rings-online-shadows-of-angmar">The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar</a>
</td>
<td>40
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/107198/battlefield-3">Battlefield 3</a>
</td>
<td>20
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2593/pass-the-pigs">Pass the Pigs</a>
</td>
<td>19
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/78353/just-cause-2">Just Cause 2</a>
</td>
<td>11
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/112672/max-payne-3">Max Payne 3</a>
</td>
<td>9
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/73521/grand-theft-auto-iv">Grand Theft Auto IV</a>
</td>
<td>8
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogameexpansion/130720/call-of-duty-black-ops-ii">Call of Duty: Black Ops II</a>
</td>
<td>5
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/78014/call-of-duty-black-ops">Call of Duty: Black Ops</a>
</td>
<td>4
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2569/pick-picknic">Pick Picknic</a>
</td>
<td>4
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/75892/alien-swarm">Alien Swarm</a>
</td>
<td>3
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/71030/diablo-ii">Diablo II</a>
</td>
<td>3
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/389/die-mauer">Die Mauer</a>
</td>
<td>3
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/14254/pitchcar-mini">PitchCar Mini</a>
</td>
<td>3
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3586/sherlock">Sherlock</a>
</td>
<td>3
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1219/the-amazeing-labyrinth">The aMAZEing Labyrinth</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/70631/battlefield-bad-company-2">Battlefield: Bad Company 2</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/99594/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3">Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/80457/gran-turismo-5">Gran Turismo 5</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1307/haunted-castle">Haunted Castle</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/77320/portal-2">Portal 2</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/28086/risk-express">Risk Express</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/23890/der-schwarze-pirat">Der schwarze Pirat</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13/the-settlers-of-catan">The Settlers of Catan</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/11231/snorta">Snorta!</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2821/uno-stacko">UNO Stacko</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/81681/arma-ii">ArmA II</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/68361/batman-arkham-asylum">Batman: Arkham Asylum</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4390/carcassonne-hunters-and-gatherers">Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/826/cartagena">Cartagena</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/28089/chateau-roquefort">Château Roquefort</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/77207/dungeons-dragons-online">Dungeons & Dragons Online</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/635/formula-motor-racing">Formula Motor Racing</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/115628/gotham-city-impostors">Gotham City Impostors</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/70524/half-life-2">Half-Life 2</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/31005/heroscape-expansion-set-defenders-of-kinsland">Heroscape Expansion Set: Defenders of Kinsland</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/15155/heroscape-expansion-set-malliddons-prophecy">Heroscape Expansion Set: Malliddon's Prophecy </a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/42350/heroscape-expansion-set-road-to-the-forgotten-fore">Heroscape Expansion Set: Road to the Forgotten Forest</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/22507/heroscape-expansion-set-thoras-vengeance">Heroscape Expansion Set: Thora's Vengeance</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/30977/heroscape-expansion-set-ticalla-jungle">Heroscape Expansion Set: Ticalla Jungle</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/15825/heroscape-expansion-set-utgars-rage">Heroscape Expansion Set: Utgar's Rage </a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/11170/heroscape-master-set-rise-of-the-valkyrie">Heroscape Master Set: Rise of the Valkyrie</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/27976/heroscape-master-set-swarm-of-the-marro">Heroscape Master Set: Swarm of the Marro</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/87311/just-dance-2">Just Dance 2</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/823/lord-of-the-rings">Lord of the Rings</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/121312/microsoft-flight">Microsoft Flight</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/12942/no-thanks">No Thanks!</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/71413/samba-de-amigo">Samba De Amigo</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/320/scrabble">Scrabble</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/503/through-the-desert">Through the Desert</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/300/tutankhamen">Tutankhamen</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/70966/wii-sports-resort">Wii Sports Resort</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table class="forum_table"><tbody>
<tr><td><table class="forum_table"><tbody>
<tr><td></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead </b>was certainly my most played PC video game
over the course of 2012. The main reason for this was to play the DayZ mod for this game. DayZ is a zombie survival game which I find so much fun to play.<br />
<br />
<b>Minecraft</b> was another game I spent a lot of time playing in 2012
on PC. This game was a lot of fun playing multiplayer with my daughters Maddie and Georgia.<br />
<br />
<b>Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar</b> or LOTRO is a great PC game that Maddie and I play together online. <br />
<br />
<br />
Happy New Year and good gaming to all for 2013! </td>
<td></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-85800150514389642262012-12-26T19:36:00.000+10:002012-12-30T07:54:21.142+10:00The Hobbit - A Long Awaited Viewing<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903624/" target="_blank"><b>The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey</b></a> was released on 14 December 2012 but unfortunately here in Australia we had to wait a further 12 days until it opened on Boxing Day 26 December 2012.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY18aZy0YQM_Gj1Ma3YnQcs8yMDO5NVNhd7I78Pq8pVojGLlDnzpBBXY2PmJaeEatm7lr_tIdTxbaoGorFKCUS8aXv7xh0Li41n9lhcx48pMOjY0rjhL_JDlwLPbR52TwO725H/s1600/Hobbit+Maddie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY18aZy0YQM_Gj1Ma3YnQcs8yMDO5NVNhd7I78Pq8pVojGLlDnzpBBXY2PmJaeEatm7lr_tIdTxbaoGorFKCUS8aXv7xh0Li41n9lhcx48pMOjY0rjhL_JDlwLPbR52TwO725H/s320/Hobbit+Maddie.JPG" width="311" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Gandalf and a hobbit girl</span></div>
<br />
My wife had pre-booked tickets for me and Maddie (our family's two LOTR fans) to see the first session on Boxing Day at our local cinema. The version of The Hobbit we saw was the 3D and 48 frames per second (FPS) version.<br />
<br />
It was wonderful to return to Peter Jackson's version of Middle-Earth after almost a decade. We both very much enjoyed the film and can't wait for the next one in the trilogy to be released in a years time.<br />
<br />
There were some reports in the media of people not liking the higher frame rate, however I found no problem with the 48 FPS frame rate. <br />
<br />
Roll on December 2013 for <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1170358/" target="_blank"><b>The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug</b></a>.Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-89322334913295173322012-07-14T17:36:00.001+10:002012-12-30T07:54:08.903+10:00Gaming with Grandma - 129Another Saturday morning gaming session with my mother Sue (AKA Grandma), wife Debbie
and two daughters, Maddie (11) and Georgia (6.5).<br />
<br />
The game we played today was <b><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4390/carcassonne-hunters-and-gatherers" target="_blank">Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers</a></b>. I'm trying to introduce the girls to more grown up games and this game is recommended for 8 years and up. As this was the first game for Maddie and Georgia, on their respective turns I explained the options and benefits for their tile placement and let them choose where to place it. In fact we were all involved in advising on tile placement on each turn. Maddie found the game not that interesting (despite eventually winning) and Georgia found it all a little too complex. Grandma and Debbie picked it up fairly quickly and enjoyed the game play.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxru3Cs4YYvE1Qhd-H6Lg9pRf4ZUePM2CTirGy_S-viJfp0hBSBHJwsCMTiF3AEsDGeYzobFjg-4YqJCB3uIiCyc4Ie1XHomlsPwkIEM7dZYRE4w6rN4FUhJP3fYOfYKAJW0C5/s1600/hg.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxru3Cs4YYvE1Qhd-H6Lg9pRf4ZUePM2CTirGy_S-viJfp0hBSBHJwsCMTiF3AEsDGeYzobFjg-4YqJCB3uIiCyc4Ie1XHomlsPwkIEM7dZYRE4w6rN4FUhJP3fYOfYKAJW0C5/s320/hg.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Final scores were Maddie 72, Wayne 64, Georgia 61, Grandma 58 and Debbie 40.Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-3959885210406728102012-07-07T19:36:00.000+10:002012-07-08T07:48:18.088+10:00Gaming with Grandma - 128Another Saturday morning gaming session with my mother Sue (AKA Grandma) and two daughters, Maddie (11) and Georgia (6.5). Our special guest today was my wife Debbie (AKA Mummy) who normally works most weekends but is currently recovering from recent surgery and was able to join us as a 5th player.<br />
<br />
Our first game today was a game I'd been wanting to play since I received in a <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/" target="_blank">BoardGameGeek</a> Math Trade back in 2008. <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/389/die-mauer" target="_blank"><b>Die Mauer</b></a> (translated as 'The Wall' in German) is a game in which each player is given a matching set of 7 wooden pieces (a tower, a gate and 5 wall pieces of different lengths) which they hold hidden in their hand. On a turn, players secretly select a single piece and all reveal at the same time. Depending on what type and the number of pieces revealed, as well as who is the Master Builder for that round (an orange piece that is rotated to the left player at the end of each round), determines the effect of building on that round. There are a couple of simple building restrictions and we all picked this game up after a few quick rounds, with the exception of Georgia who at 6 years old struggled a little bit.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNiqbnVGzpYfHKtloP3rFOeaQX-vfonanVE33zWFE14zhPRLh-WgaenIAy4Doa-xcFYvDQawut3yh548YVnDHU54rOwEvuGm292gTL2hZdXLqj5G0NKgVVg0jVqYt9tfg08Kag/s1600/Die+Mauer.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNiqbnVGzpYfHKtloP3rFOeaQX-vfonanVE33zWFE14zhPRLh-WgaenIAy4Doa-xcFYvDQawut3yh548YVnDHU54rOwEvuGm292gTL2hZdXLqj5G0NKgVVg0jVqYt9tfg08Kag/s320/Die+Mauer.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
We played three rounds. Final scores were 1st Wayne - 16, 2nd Grandma - 17, 3rd Debbie - 26, 4th Maddie - 30 and 5th Georgia - 53. I should point out that although I won overall, Grandma did win two of the three rounds but just missed out on taking 1st place overall when final scores were calculated. All the adults enjoyed this game but the kids weren't that enamoured. This would be a good pub or camping game and only needs a small flat surface.<br />
<br />
Because Georgia came last we let her choose the next game. She chose <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2569/pick-picknic" target="_blank"><b>Pick Picknic</b></a>. In this game players are dealt a hand of cards representing either fowl or foxes of differing numerical strengths. A playing area of 6 boards is laid out representing the enclosures of 6 types of fowl. Each round a single coloured wooden cube is randomly deposited on each board. These cubes are in three colours of differing values (green = 1, blue = 2, and yellow = 3) and are the victory points players are attempting to acquire. Each turn players secretly choose a card from their hand and all then reveal at the same time. Depending on what type of card (fowl or fox), and how many are played on a specific board, determines the outcome of the round. Foxes eat fowls and this is another way players can acquire victory points.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjby6iiQnWDoTYVo7i1y9f-quABY74cBjYLgin30lIxQZOeSOU0bFj8X6u9qr4FLDdYASTjINlDznxlAaO9YEAPTiNq0R5h0a-n2KhMvQ9WZKYk5DTIz6qPcF0GMY47uQ8Azntr/s1600/Pick+Picknic.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjby6iiQnWDoTYVo7i1y9f-quABY74cBjYLgin30lIxQZOeSOU0bFj8X6u9qr4FLDdYASTjINlDznxlAaO9YEAPTiNq0R5h0a-n2KhMvQ9WZKYk5DTIz6qPcF0GMY47uQ8Azntr/s320/Pick+Picknic.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The mechanics of this game are similar to <b>Die Mauer</b> but perhaps more thematically suited to children. That's not to say adults can't enjoy this game, and I find it's a great game for parents and children to play together.<br />
<br />
Final scores were 1st Debbie - 58, 2nd Wayne - 36, 3rd Georgia - 35, 4th Maddie - 28 and 5th Grandma - 9. It was great to see Deb win and Georgia so close to beating me for 2nd place.
<br />
<br />Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-31889386226251636792012-07-06T16:31:00.001+10:002012-07-08T07:45:59.780+10:00The Hobbit - It's a Wrap!Principle photography has now finished on the set of The Hobbit films according to Peter Jackson's Facebook page.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="http://www-images.theonering.org/torwp/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/PJ-Hobbit-Wrap.jpg" height="300" src="http://www-images.theonering.org/torwp/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/PJ-Hobbit-Wrap.jpg" width="400" /><br />
<br />
I eagerly await the first of the two films, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903624/" target="_blank">The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey</a>, which will be released on 14 December 2012.Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-60874706293064601722012-06-25T19:35:00.000+10:002012-06-25T19:39:48.574+10:00The C WordI'll never forget the moment my wife rang me at work in late April this year to tearfully tell me that she had received the results of recent medical examination - cancer had been found in her bowel. <br />
<br />
The last couple of months have been pretty surreal for our family. We have tried to remain positive, take one day at a time and just focus on doing what we need to do. I've taken time off work to support my wife and look after our two children.<br />
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My wife has now had surgery to remove the specific section of her colon, she has spent time recovering in hospital and is now home with us again. The best news of all, and such a relief, is that further tests have shown that the cancer was caught early and most importantly has not spread.<br />
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So there you go, a little unexpected road bump on our journey through life that is now thankfully behind us.Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-308633699093318022012-04-21T18:55:00.000+10:002012-04-22T19:20:10.420+10:00Gaming with Grandma - 127Another Saturday gaming session with my mother (AKA Grandma) and daughters Maddie (10) and Georgia (6). This morning we played three board games.<br />
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Our first game was <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/14254/pitchcar-mini" target="_blank"><b>PitchCar Mini</b></a> and it was chosen by Georgia. The girls wanted to have teams so it was Maddie and Georgia vs Grandma and me.<br />
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It was an exciting 3 lap race with the lead changing several times. We use a house rule where if a player is in last place after their flick, they can take a second flick. We find this works well and keeps everyone in with a chance. The final scores were 1st Georgia, 2nd Wayne, 3rd Grandma and 4th Maddie.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB7VqaSV-zMEmP35gUZqyx0Aibflr2DOBiCQ7Vo5VRKuRUByonl97fDWGM90lsmCpTNSTM7bUuA8WnRRz2iFGS-7N698qiGj_360CFMxgPqk4-ZjNW7QNjDhO5NULHAFRwv5cz/s1600/Pitchcar210412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB7VqaSV-zMEmP35gUZqyx0Aibflr2DOBiCQ7Vo5VRKuRUByonl97fDWGM90lsmCpTNSTM7bUuA8WnRRz2iFGS-7N698qiGj_360CFMxgPqk4-ZjNW7QNjDhO5NULHAFRwv5cz/s320/Pitchcar210412.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">PitchCar Mini</span></div>
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The second game was <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/23890/der-schwarze-pirat" target="_blank"><b>Der schwarze Pirat</b></a> (The Black Pirate). In this game players use a rubber bellows to blow wooden ships around the board in search of golden treasure on the many islands. This is a game we all enjoy and everyone gets to talk like a pirate. Final scores were 1st Grandma with 13 gold, 2nd Wayne with 9 gold, 3rd Maddie with 8 gold and 4th Georgia with 6 gold.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgcbiNaDOMptjXigrxFktlQucr7atT9rQLLSOc7z4fHPcJFBxlhY8Y0T-wAqVkEtK04lIRLbAW85QSk4USjj85Rl6WTDrm_IOonwOnkShsQlN2PHdmk-RMpeOllcK9LJHz3mRd/s1600/Pirat210412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgcbiNaDOMptjXigrxFktlQucr7atT9rQLLSOc7z4fHPcJFBxlhY8Y0T-wAqVkEtK04lIRLbAW85QSk4USjj85Rl6WTDrm_IOonwOnkShsQlN2PHdmk-RMpeOllcK9LJHz3mRd/s320/Pirat210412.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Der schwarze Pirat </span></div>
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Our final game of the morning was <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/28089/chateau-roquefort" target="_blank"><b>Burg Appenzell</b></a> (AKA Chateau Roquefort). In this game players have 4 mice each to scamper under the roofs of the castle in search of cheese. This is a game which uses action points to move, run or slide a piece of ceiling tile. The sliding mechanic allows you to move pieces of the board horizontally and vertically which adds to the strategy. This was the first time Georgia has played this game and she soon got the hang of it. Both girls were leading for the majority of the time but I made a quick burst at the end to claim my 4th piece of cheese and the sweet (or should that be cheesy) victory. Final scores were 1st Wayne with 4 pieces of cheese, 2nd Maddie and Georgia with 3 cheeses each and 4th Grandma with 1 piece of cheese.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuuel9qnNVYmgGuQgFnECPccZI8o4h2GaMWxu5wBDw56YOxQKXJFdfXg6MFV9Uk06I-raVyTDH_JGcwcKmFCJ8ypvFpHvESbTY69kTpoQ-4QKtSkaCi6Jvxzf-Bd7j6Ka0iP_d/s1600/Burg210412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuuel9qnNVYmgGuQgFnECPccZI8o4h2GaMWxu5wBDw56YOxQKXJFdfXg6MFV9Uk06I-raVyTDH_JGcwcKmFCJ8ypvFpHvESbTY69kTpoQ-4QKtSkaCi6Jvxzf-Bd7j6Ka0iP_d/s320/Burg210412.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Burg Appenzell</span></div>
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<br />Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-41153597646243460232012-02-10T10:54:00.003+10:002012-02-10T10:54:39.195+10:00The Fellowship - 1These are plastic 25mm miniatures from Games Workshop's Lord of the Rings line. They are the Fellowship models from the Mines of Moria boxed set which was released in 2005.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnVvgFcwiKDDVyLrZa8owk5z5yvEZVmbo362dtDZIIHMaYJKUVEAP__MgoM1o9Evgz6uEcHFnHeVMqrMCIy7eGLjca3t_8H6TKCkTIU9Q0esrCMQvoXhQVqece-HKqqtkksDbh/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnVvgFcwiKDDVyLrZa8owk5z5yvEZVmbo362dtDZIIHMaYJKUVEAP__MgoM1o9Evgz6uEcHFnHeVMqrMCIy7eGLjca3t_8H6TKCkTIU9Q0esrCMQvoXhQVqece-HKqqtkksDbh/s320/002.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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These are pre-owned models that I won on eBay a couple of years ago. I've stripped them of their previous paint jobs and cleaned off any excess mold lines that were still remaining. I've also washed them and glued on a base of sand. The next step will be to spray paint them with an undercoat of black paint.<br />
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<br />Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-44528300292473288152012-01-27T15:20:00.003+10:002012-01-28T17:54:00.402+10:00Warriors of Rohan - 1<br />
It's been over 10 months since I did any work on my miniature wargame hobby. Back in March 2010 I <a href="http://ozvortex.blogspot.com/2010/03/simple-green-plastic-test-results.html">stripped the paint</a> off 13 Warriors of Rohan I'd won on eBay. Today was a planned day off work so I bought a new CFL bulb for my desk lamp and started preparing the miniatures for painting.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9Dr5KLNzAMlG79CU4NLyIfgjCbB3yytJ9BuKPzxNIsrH8ya5OAyPEeWZsgI4Fmun9cqEPUhhqEPF06SJNfLSm9BMS7lumUMxla1OIugzhmIXAcp9kWhIcqBUfryGuHhE85Kl/s1600/rohan+warriors.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9Dr5KLNzAMlG79CU4NLyIfgjCbB3yytJ9BuKPzxNIsrH8ya5OAyPEeWZsgI4Fmun9cqEPUhhqEPF06SJNfLSm9BMS7lumUMxla1OIugzhmIXAcp9kWhIcqBUfryGuHhE85Kl/s320/rohan+warriors.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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These are plastic miniatures and are 25mm scale. After washing them in soapy water and drying them off I pulled out my trusty craft blade and cleaned off any flash I could see. I then did some minor conversions. One of the spearmen had a broken spear so I removed the remaining shaft, cut off and repositioned his right arm, inserted an axe I'd made earlier, removed his shield, and in his left hand inserted a metal wire to be used as a banner pole. The other conversion I did was to remove the plastic arrow from one of the archers and replace it with a thin piece of wire.<br />
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After that I dabbled some PVA glue on the surface of the bases and sprinkled some sand/gravel over the top. I'll leave the miniatures to dry overnight and the next step will be to undercoat them with spray paint.<br />
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I find this part of the hobby relaxing and it was all the more enjoyable while listening to the Lord of the Rings movie soundtracks. <br />
<br />Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-23873473659499137802012-01-15T14:23:00.001+10:002012-01-15T14:23:32.410+10:00Brisbane Short-necked Turtle<br />
This is a Brisbane Short-necked Turtle that I spotted in a local creek near where I live. I took these photos on 14 March 2009. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQkt9GBcuzF5qNVj7jjM9oO6-jbVT7EpCFBBEb6BxCsqs1R6GsPtPr4HcP0yV_6t9GERVgQGCo4xXC_fbLp0JMjSh1-xqBgAbsWRkxrdDdc7GWcP1F0J8yFWz9FhXX52qAZKJb/s1600/Turtle05.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQkt9GBcuzF5qNVj7jjM9oO6-jbVT7EpCFBBEb6BxCsqs1R6GsPtPr4HcP0yV_6t9GERVgQGCo4xXC_fbLp0JMjSh1-xqBgAbsWRkxrdDdc7GWcP1F0J8yFWz9FhXX52qAZKJb/s320/Turtle05.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqp1t1kiPaiIygbU1qKKxQqqtmAoSxPg32XqRbhxG5WdL78oWWue2b47U2oogcHc1tSIcFQpiXG15WWXBoizvlSSoz1BmklTdrTdsCv2GEAf1D7dSpZVE9Aqb569totwa_IafH/s1600/Turtle04.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqp1t1kiPaiIygbU1qKKxQqqtmAoSxPg32XqRbhxG5WdL78oWWue2b47U2oogcHc1tSIcFQpiXG15WWXBoizvlSSoz1BmklTdrTdsCv2GEAf1D7dSpZVE9Aqb569totwa_IafH/s320/Turtle04.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Brisbane Short-necked Turtle (<i>Emydura signata)</i> is a freshwater species that inhabits standing water bodies and permanent slow-moving streams. Its
carapace (upper shell) is approximately 20-23 cm long. A distinguishing feature of this turtle is that it has a white
stripe along the side of its face.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-pvHa9oUvpD64XFNmrrsqQb634kk1p0iJfWVCA3t_lGe-uqkghDEVWmdKLDTzmGWv8lN51AYgYN4Cv4eX_9kJd6a6JBlDVaMaftRQBXjgJoxHQT1-iA77IKOSsSOyPHCD-H36/s1600/Turtle03.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-pvHa9oUvpD64XFNmrrsqQb634kk1p0iJfWVCA3t_lGe-uqkghDEVWmdKLDTzmGWv8lN51AYgYN4Cv4eX_9kJd6a6JBlDVaMaftRQBXjgJoxHQT1-iA77IKOSsSOyPHCD-H36/s320/Turtle03.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBkbukvZdkyqRNNh4Dy3LshK791itrDU8XHh9ULV4gFDbMzdB6S24VdLNjkVqr_U3PLXnwiGPeFpxJtBTeVXkvncz8GILh4G4j1b3VzUXvu_OELdKgAFS8slBRHP6sdqH6pZ9H/s1600/Turtle02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBkbukvZdkyqRNNh4Dy3LshK791itrDU8XHh9ULV4gFDbMzdB6S24VdLNjkVqr_U3PLXnwiGPeFpxJtBTeVXkvncz8GILh4G4j1b3VzUXvu_OELdKgAFS8slBRHP6sdqH6pZ9H/s320/Turtle02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This particular turtle has its shell coated with algae, giving it excellent camouflage. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdj2pYZinfP3D8S3ik81WqpwaSyXHEjlTZfYLQjMmp4lc4h0g2t4zUF98KT_OfDWb29tHxRq2jNIfbv-F7C29sZHvGIL1pn9twO__PsI0DHScevZcRKeqox24QUYW-P1-czUhI/s1600/Turtle01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdj2pYZinfP3D8S3ik81WqpwaSyXHEjlTZfYLQjMmp4lc4h0g2t4zUF98KT_OfDWb29tHxRq2jNIfbv-F7C29sZHvGIL1pn9twO__PsI0DHScevZcRKeqox24QUYW-P1-czUhI/s320/Turtle01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-4029228152662724872011-12-31T23:39:00.000+10:002012-01-01T07:43:34.002+10:002011 - My year of gamingThe majority of my gaming over this year has shifted from board games to video games. 2011 was the first year I decided to record the plays of video games via the <a href="http://videogamegeek.com/">VideoGameGeek</a> website. It's a bit more difficult to record what constitutes an actual play of a video game. The method I chose to record my plays was that if I played a specific video game on a particular day I would record only a single play, regardless if I played the game for 5 minutes or 5 hours. This allows me to easily track how much I use a game on a daily basis over the full year. For example, I played <b>Call of Duty: Black Ops</b> over 30.4% of the days in 2011.<br />
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Here's a combined list of video and board games I played in 2011.<br />
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<table class="forum_table"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/78014/call-of-duty-black-ops">Call of Duty: Black Ops</a>
</td>
<td><b>111</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/81960/minecraft">Minecraft</a>
</td>
<td><b>78</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/68422/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2">Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2</a>
</td>
<td><b>27</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/107198/battlefield-3">Battlefield 3</a>
</td>
<td><b>25</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/68878/uncharted-2-among-thieves">Uncharted 2: Among Thieves</a>
</td>
<td><b>16</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/99594/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3">Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3</a>
</td>
<td><b>14</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/68779/assassins-creed-ii">Assassin's Creed II</a>
</td>
<td><b>13</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/73590/call-of-duty-world-at-war">Call of Duty: World at War</a>
</td>
<td><b>13</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/65244/forbidden-island">Forbidden Island</a>
</td>
<td><b>6</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/71824/red-dead-redemption">Red Dead Redemption</a>
</td>
<td><b>6</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/68361/batman-arkham-asylum">Batman: Arkham Asylum</a>
</td>
<td><b>5</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/68421/call-of-duty-4-modern-warfare">Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare</a>
</td>
<td><b>5</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/70139/mario-kart-wii">Mario Kart Wii</a>
</td>
<td><b>5</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/68877/uncharted-drakes-fortune">Uncharted: Drake's Fortune</a>
</td>
<td><b>5</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/71801/littlebigplanet">LittleBIGPlanet</a>
</td>
<td><b>3</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/68427/portal">Portal</a>
</td>
<td><b>3</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/62222/commands-colors-napoleonics">Commands & Colors: Napoleonics</a>
</td>
<td><b>2</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1307/haunted-castle">Haunted Castle</a>
</td>
<td><b>2</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1406/monopoly">Monopoly</a>
</td>
<td><b>2</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/23890/der-schwarze-pirat">Der schwarze Pirat</a>
</td>
<td><b>2</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/95612/terminator-salvation">Terminator Salvation</a>
</td>
<td><b>2</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/73768/wii-fit">Wii Fit</a>
</td>
<td><b>2</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/760/battle-line">Battle Line</a>
</td>
<td><b>1</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/84656/battlefield-1943">Battlefield 1943</a>
</td>
<td><b>1</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/72257/burnout-paradise">Burnout Paradise</a>
</td>
<td><b>1</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/85399/dead-nation">Dead Nation</a>
</td>
<td><b>1</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/172/for-sale">For Sale</a>
</td>
<td><b>1</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/73649/gears-of-war-2">Gears of War 2</a>
</td>
<td><b>1</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/70524/half-life-2">Half-Life 2</a>
</td>
<td><b>1</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/699/heroquest">HeroQuest</a>
</td>
<td><b>1</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/8203/hey-thats-my-fish">Hey, That's My Fish!</a>
</td>
<td><b>1</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/271/its-mine">It's Mine!</a>
</td>
<td><b>1</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/77210/the-lord-of-the-rings-online-shadows-of-angmar">The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar</a>
</td>
<td><b>1</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/14254/pitchcar-mini">PitchCar Mini</a>
</td>
<td><b>1</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/84032/r-u-s-e">R.U.S.E.</a>
</td>
<td><b>1</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/19384/snail-game">Snail Game</a>
</td>
<td><b>1</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/69005/super-smash-bros">Super Smash Bros.</a>
</td>
<td><b>1</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/79318/vegas-stakes">Vegas Stakes</a>
</td>
<td><b>1</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/71331/wii-play">Wii Play</a>
</td>
<td><b>1</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/68798/wii-sports">Wii Sports</a>
</td>
<td><b>1</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/videogame/70966/wii-sports-resort">Wii Sports Resort</a>
</td>
<td><b>1</b>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>Call of Duty: Black Ops</b> was certainly my most utilised video game over the course of 2011. This was due to the accessible online multiplayer gameplay as well as many enjoyable evenings spent playing the excellent Black Ops Zombie maps with my brother.<br />
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<b>Minecraft</b> was another game I spent a lot of time playing in 2011 on PC. This game was a lot of fun playing single player as well as multiplayer with my daughter Maddie.<br />
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Other gaming highlights for me in 2011 were playing and completing <b>Uncharted 2: Drake's Fortune</b>, <b>Assassin's Creed 2</b> and <b>Portal</b>. I also recently obtained <b>Battlefield 3</b> which has quickly become my First Person Shooter (FPS) of choice, quickly racking up 25 plays in just over 6 weeks.<br />
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Happy New Year and good gaming to all for 2012! <br />
<br />Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-84591203811920489652011-12-22T20:02:00.003+10:002011-12-22T20:02:51.904+10:00The cake is a lie...<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal_%28video_game%29"><b>Portal</b></a> is a 2007 single-player first-person puzzle-platform video game that was developed by Valve Corporation. <br />
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On and off over the last three days my 10 year old daughter Maddie and I have played this excellent, mind-burning game on our PS3. Although I used the controller while Maddie watched, we were effectively playing together. Maddie offered many smart ideas for us to progress and if she was not with me I would have taken a lot longer to finish, if at all.<br />
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We made a pact at the beginning that we wouldn't cheat by looking for tips on the Internet and I'm proud to say we successfully completed the game this morning.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Q8UgkVpE5ly9dHd9xbBNbRdxVQmqaFNpfl1K4DxfP3mNdg5xIe7p7bOZG5Dq76OPrgwbd-onLCbzHNHnDxov51eHOffcaBzA0sJzIoHIfuU1HYegsC30WneEd3oqgwa5iXUK/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Q8UgkVpE5ly9dHd9xbBNbRdxVQmqaFNpfl1K4DxfP3mNdg5xIe7p7bOZG5Dq76OPrgwbd-onLCbzHNHnDxov51eHOffcaBzA0sJzIoHIfuU1HYegsC30WneEd3oqgwa5iXUK/s320/010.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The cake is a lie...</span></div>Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-77431752329853997752011-12-21T16:31:00.001+10:002011-12-21T16:31:41.932+10:00The first trailer for The HobbitThe first trailer for The Hobbit is now online!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JTSoD4BBCJc?feature=player_embedded" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-58866977420704855652011-12-01T18:21:00.001+10:002011-12-01T18:30:43.788+10:00The Hobbit - 1 year to go<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuC5KkyQdTgNIucfxruBuW5Q18ZimbKVw4TB675hnldrQ_mBpnW3xUDQXQKk4rNh2zzWRBx7G5hNV-QkiH9XxnH95KFEyx11kUHAXhupjfBnxEti6Bmm6WYiqb0tYabWnZU8w4/s1600/hobbitposter1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuC5KkyQdTgNIucfxruBuW5Q18ZimbKVw4TB675hnldrQ_mBpnW3xUDQXQKk4rNh2zzWRBx7G5hNV-QkiH9XxnH95KFEyx11kUHAXhupjfBnxEti6Bmm6WYiqb0tYabWnZU8w4/s320/hobbitposter1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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They're filming <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hobbit">The Hobbit</a> on location in New Zealand at the moment. I'm very excited and can't wait for the December 2012 release of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903624/">The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey</a>, the first of the two parts of The Hobbit film.Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-14079321392657695202011-11-25T18:40:00.001+10:002011-11-25T19:11:48.487+10:00Echidna<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short-beaked_echidna">short-beaked echidna</a>, also known as a spiny anteater because of its diet of ants and termites. I spotted this echidna on the side of the road while holidaying in northern New South Wales back on 24 August 2011. I just had to stop to take some photos.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">They roll into a defensive ball when they feel threatened</span></div>
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The echidna is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotremes">monotreme</a>, a mammal that lays eggs as opposed to giving birth to live young. Among living mammals only the platypus and the echidna are monotremes and both are indigenous to Australia and New Guinea.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4WWX-aLDivHYjiEsH4PXhzCKiGXqtdMz3Z00plaXTastENOhb5X6ZWedqdK5CnJ8tRKePhLPFTnrzoJNUQzIrshG_Jd0PA_CpBJ6PXuJlqXPREZBVcLzC1PUvYf6sVOT-xWZc/s1600/echidna2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4WWX-aLDivHYjiEsH4PXhzCKiGXqtdMz3Z00plaXTastENOhb5X6ZWedqdK5CnJ8tRKePhLPFTnrzoJNUQzIrshG_Jd0PA_CpBJ6PXuJlqXPREZBVcLzC1PUvYf6sVOT-xWZc/s320/echidna2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">You can see the face in this photo </span></div>
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Did you know that male echidnas have a four-headed penis? During mating, the heads on one side "shut down" and do not grow in
size; the other two are used to release semen into the female's
two-branched reproductive tract. The heads used are swapped each time
the mammal copulates. Fascinating.<br />
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It's not often one gets the chance to get this close to an echidna in the wild so I felt quite privileged. <br />
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Oh, and before you ask, I didn't roll him over to check out his four-headed penis.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbbH-kTd_cx14iwZWr3QTmr8pEEYJ3E3khCfgk6J6caM-dEKzxA7osSiYdDHNxunhbZb6TZIWReI7SUmDv5dSCCpXIgkSHvo6TGoEm7AbgZn_8ZpV2jHqiw9NeH-N3AeXVpWF7/s1600/echidna1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38395102.post-81034621580158344872011-11-19T21:30:00.000+10:002014-02-01T13:29:41.866+10:00MinecraftToday the full version of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minecraft"><b>Minecraft</b></a> was released. It was originally released as an alpha on 17 May 2009, then with a beta version on 20 December 2011, and we first downloaded it on 21 March 2011. We (Maddie and I) have had many enjoyable hours playing this game.<br />
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Maddie spent most of the day playing on our online server with her friends. <br />
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<br />Ozvortexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09618671150305566433noreply@blogger.com0