That was 2025, that was

Another year is rapidly coming to an end and joining rather more of them than I care to think about in the rear view mirror of life.  It's been a mixed year with health problems  both for myself and the esteemed Mrs E.  Mine seem to have been dealt with fairly successfully but Mrs E has appointments, potions and lotions to be attended, consumed and applied. Hopefully in that order as I'm unsure how to attend a potion!  Wargaming and modelling life has continued in the usual fashion and as usual I have reviewed the year to keep me motivated.  The key points (and I know you are gagging to know this stuff) are as follow.

The objectives I set myself were

• Complete the following DBA armies and ideally extend them to ADLG size: 
• Early Byzantine Army (its about half way there), 
• Goths (Ostro and Visi),  
• Hunnic 
• Other Germanic types (Franks, early Saxons, Lombards etc).
• Early Moors
• Finish the year with less unpainted stuff than I started with
• Rebase my 6mm British Civil war troops
• Build a couple of 2mm armies for Strength and Honour
• Play some ADLG
• Play some Strength and Honour
• Put together some sort of AI system for use in solo games

So how did I do?

The Goths, other German types and Huns can now field a m9inimum of the full 12 element DBA armies.  The other Germans achieved this by means of proxying Goths and Anglo Saxons though.  The Moors are still short of the basic DBA twelve elements but the missing figures are in the paint queue.  The Early Byzantines stalled mainly as I couldn't decide if I should buy the new Baccus figures to replace my proxy figures.  Lets call that a 3.5 from 5 score.

I finished the year with a smaller lead pile than I started it with, even with the additional figure purchases taken into account.  I started with 1,123 6mm figures and vehicles unpainted and ended with 1,080.  But during the year I had added 640 figures so the total output for the year was 683 6mm figures and vehicles.  I even reduced the world war two 6mm lead pile by a mighty eight castings!  The 25mm plus pile of shame hasn't moved although some work occurred but without anything being actually finished.  But again it is a win.

All my British Civil War figures were rebased and some unpainted ones painted and based for the first time.  I even extended the army by moving into the Thirty Year's War with new figures.  So that is a definite win.

I also created a small Russo-Japanese War naval fleet which was not on my radar for 2025, but, you know how it is, enthusiasms come (and go).

Now we come to the outright fails.  I sort of lost interest in building 2mm Strength and Honour armies partly because I saw some of Mark Backhouse's 6mm work and thought that it would be much easier to use my existing 6mm ancients for the game system.  I abandoned the solo AI system as I found a couple of existing systems that seem to have solved the issues I was getting bogged down in, not that I have bought anything as yet.

As for playing some games of Strength and Honour or ADLG.  Well what can I say I have had a very poor year for actually getting games on the table so It should come as no surprise to find I failed these objectives.  Must do better as my primary school teacher used to say.

Overall I'm happy with what I managed in 2025, I'm not getting any younger and sooner or later will have to accept that I should dial back on my hobby ambitions, but this is not that day!  So on to new objectives for 2026.

These are:

• Finish 2026 with a smaller lead pile
• Complete the following DBA armies:
• Early Byzantine
• Hunnic
• Early Moors
• Add more TYW units
• Play more games
• Add 6mm WW2 to database
• Add 6mm WW1 to the database
• Add 20mm and larger scale stuff to the database
• Add buildings, camps and other terrain to the data base

In general I want all my collection catalogued, you know just in case some has to dispose of it without my help.  I will probably not add any further DBA 6mm armies other than those listed, although I may extend some of those I already have beyond the basic DBA lists.  It seems a updated version of DBA is on the horizon and also I'm intrigued by the concepts within the new fantasy version DBF, especially the points system so I might get side tracked there.  Come on now, you know me of old, the one constant is I can never stick to a plan!

POST SCRIPT

I managed a full recount of unpainted 6mm on hand on New Year's Eve and it was slightly higher than expected at 1,143!  But the actual movement between castings added and castings completed and based still reflects a net reduction of 43 castings.  So still a win even with an extra 63 castings on hand.

Interlude

I'm trying to come to terms that Russia's leader appears to be casually suggesting that WMDs would be used if NATO gets in his way while he de-Nazifies the Ukraine.  Surely the Soviets had plenty of time to do that between 1944 and the fall of the USSR?

Does my pushing toy soldiers around on a table top make me a warmongering neo-facist running dog lackey of outmoded imperialism, I worry that perhaps it does.  Or is that the preserve of the bloke who lied through his teeth about his intentions towards the Ukraine.  How do I feel about risking a short sharp exchange of 'buckets of sunshine' to preserve an independent nation state.  I really don't know.  I grew up in the shadow of the Atom Bomb, I had hoped that was all behind us and my grandchildren could avoid that particular nightmare.  I can see what Putin hopes to gain I simply cannot fathom the depths he is prepared to risk sinking to in pursuit of his ambitions.

As I say this is an interlude normal service will be resumed shortly.

Sorry about the blogging slow down

You may have noticed a reduction in the frequency of blog posts recently.  This has been because I have found that rather than having more time after I retired, I seem to have less, quite a lot less.  Uncompleted hobby projects are stacking up and I will definitely fail to meet some of this years hobby targets partly due to loosing a couple of months either side of my heart surgery and partly because the back log of "things I will eventually get around to after I retire" (TM pending) is being addressed.  On top of which having more time has allowed me to contemplate restarting hobbies which took a back seat before retirement, which of course restricts the time available to those hobbies which were prioritised while I was still working.

I have picked up some of my musical hobbies; playing Bodhran, Mandolin and Guitar (note I said playing, not playing well) and photography.  We have even started to attend some of the acoustic music sessions in the local pubs which is a torture when I'm not allowed alcoholic beverages!  Plus we have finally gotten around to taming the contents of the garage (or in some cases simply locating them).  Trips to the local recycling centre seem to be a regular occurrence as we pare down the garage contents. Other stuff is going on Facebook market place or to the family, I mean really how many pressure washers does a man need?  On the plus side I can actually see the garage floor again, on the down side it needs painting.

Even the dogs seem to recognise that I'm not sat working from 9.00 to 5.30 and expect more and longer walks!

Hopefully things will pick up again once the back log is cleared.

Random Thoughts - A dog is for life not climate control

 I'm writing this post in a bit of annoyance.   You see this morning Mrs E was watching Good Morning Britain ( no that's not why I am annoyed) and there was an article with some 'expert' (quite probably self-appointed) Donnachadgh McCarthy on the impact of household pets on climate change (no I haven't really heard of him before either).  What annoyed me was the claim that an average dog contributes as much to climate change as two SUV cars, and a cat does as much climate change damage as a small family car!  No statistical evidence was put foward to support the claim.  So as a researcher by nature (and in some respects by profession) I went data hunting.

I started by looking for evidence of the speaker's credentials.  He is a columnist who has written green columns for a couple of newspapers and runs an environmental consultancy advising on how to green up client's businesses.  What I couldn't find online were any hints as to his credentials or qualifications.  in fact he has a minimal footprint on social media.  So while he could possess a Phd in environmental statistics on the other hand he may only have a CSE in woodworking I can't tell.  So i turned to looking for the factual basis to his claims.

The first thing I found (quite quickly) was that the initial claim comparing dogs and cats carbon footprint to cars comes from an article which was released back in 2017 and was not peer reviewed.  There was a second study (also not peer reviewed as far as I can see)  carried out at the same time which came to almost diametrically opposite findings.  Finally I found a peer reviewed paper also released in 2017 by Gregory S Okin on the 'Environmental impacts of food consumption by dogs and cats'.  This looked to be on firmer ground but only covered part of the claim the carbon cost of raising meat animals for inclusion in our pet's food chain.  A second more popularist article by the same author (it was a graphic novel layout for god's sake) included the costs of disposing of animal facies (that's dog and cat poo to you and me) and the plastic used in poo bags and toys, clays in cat litter and materials in packaging.  The first article is here if you really want to check it out Environmental impacts of food consumption by dogs and cats (plos.org)

While I'm confident that pets have a carbon footprint and that it is larger than it perhaps needs to be I still cannot see a direct proven link to equate my two dog's carbon foot print to four Chelsea Tractors.  Certainly I don't see the evidence to equate to the guest's call for a ban on dogs and cats.  The evidence does support a conclusion that smaller dogs have less impact than bigger ones (who knew!) but doesn't really look at the balancing impact of pet ownership (especially with dogs) of owners taking low carbon dog walks and other offsetting activities.  Part of the peer reviewed paper suggests that a large proportion of the meat in pet food is by products of processing for human consumption but that it shouldn't be ignored as with more processing it could be made fit for human consumption, but doesn't ask what would be the carbon cost of the additional processing.

My conclusion while this is an area worthy of research our man on Good Morning Britain is an Eco warrior jumping on the next available bandwagon to stir up debate about climate change rather than a someone who has actually considered the evidence in any great scientific detail..

 

Random Thoughts #9 - Tee totally and totally tea

 It has been a funny old year and it doesn't show any intention of changing.  Who knew that a health crisis would develop so rapidly and have such wide ranging impacts.  My main outdoor hobby historical re-enacting simply hasn't happened this season and because I have an underlying health problem I haven't been into the office since late February either.  As a result my social interactions have been limited, to put it mildly.  No wargaming shows, no Monday Night Gaming (on a Tuesday), no friends around to the house, no going away for re-enactment weekends and worst of all (or possibly best of all) no booze.  I'm not a big drinker (for a given value of big) it's not like I'm down the pub every night, or even most nights, but I do like a social pint when there is an event to go to, like a gig or a folk night and I do like to go to the beer tent on Sealed Knot weekends to catch up with old friends.  However part of the underlying health problem means I was prescribed new medication and I positively, definitely cannot consume alcohol while on this stuff!

Here's the really weird thing though I haven't missed the demon drink.  I tried some of the alcohol free alternatives and although some are actually very good indeed (I'm looking at you Heineken 0% Lager), but it turns out that I'd rather have a cup of tea.  It seems that I don't miss the booze so much as the company that goes with having a few drinks.  

At the start of lockdown I started to put weight on, like many others, but with the lack of alcohol and going on a low carb diet (which is made easier without the sugar content of Rum n Coke) I have in the last two weeks regained my pre lockdown weight.  All I have to do next is get rid of the rest of what I had put on over the last decade, which turns out to be rather more than I like to admit (cough...two stones...cough).  It would be easier if I was allowed to go to the gym (really, I'm not lying) or do vigorous exercise (I'm really not meant to) so I just have to rely on will power to get the pounds off.  But at least I don't have to worry about post pub munchies anymore.  It turns out that sugar is more addictive than booze!

Hello My Name is Elenderil and I'm a chocoholic!

Random Thoughts #8 - Anticipation isn't what I hoped it would be

The offending article, or should that be tempting?

Mrs E has been the sole shopper during the coronavirus lockdown period as I have tried to avoid contact with the general populace.  She is of the opinion that this is due not so much caused by social distancing as by anti-social tendencies!  So, not having been within the mystic portals of our local Tesco supermarket for some month's you can imagine my surprise when she brought home hot cross buns, in August!

Now I'm not complaining about being the recipient of nice toasted hot cross bun at all, I like a hot cross bun in it's season. Having them available all year round did make me wonder about the nature of anticipation though.  Once upon a time a hot cross bun was a seasonal delicacy available and enjoyed in the month or so before Easter and then gone for the rest of the year.  There was a delicious anticipation in knowing that the season of cinnamony and fruited goodness was about to dawn.  That is now denied to us but were they the better for being a limited availability treat or is a year around taste of springtime a welcome bonus and anticipation can go hang?

Anticipation or no, I will be eating these all year around, just don't get me started on adding chocolate chips in place of the fruit.  Biting into one those abominations when expecting fruit and spice and getting what is a sort of second rate chocolate brioche really does ruin the anticipation! 

Random Thoughts # 7 - a shopping frenzy

New boy's toys have been purchased this last week.  It was my birthday last weekend (65th if you really must know) and some pension lump sums fell due.  Most is already earmarked for work on the house and garden but there was some left over for fripperies.  Accordingly, I was treated to a new gas barbeque by Mrs E as a birthday present (it seems I have been a very good boy this year).  This has been a bit of a revelation in outdoor cooking terms.  So much less mess if using gas only, but with a dual fuel capability.  Which means I can use charcoal if the whim takes me.  I already have a shopping list of accessories I'd like to add including a cast iron griddle plate and a second charcoal tray.  It's time to extend my barbeque repertoire to extend beyond burgers, sausages and kebabs because this baby will do oven cooking too if I close the hood.

Of more interest to blog readers I also bought a new PC to replace the Windows 7 machine that currently falls over everytime I try to transfer a file between applications.  I opted for another Acer as the last one lasted so well.

This got me to thinking about the nature of shopping frenzies, that's the local term here at Elenderil Towers for engaging in comfort shopping for things you probably don't really need.  Its a hunter gatherer thing isn't it.  Set deep in the genes bequeathed to us by our early hominid ancestors is a need to grab and to hold on to things that seem to make us safer and more comfortable.  Many years ago I studied marketing and I recall Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, a theory describing the psychological basis of human motivation (Look it up it really is a thing).  Briefly it says that there are a set of ascending needs that drive us humans.  As we fulfill one set we then start to work on the next.  Those needs start with basic survival like food and water move onto security needs like shelter and become increasingly aspirational as the lower needs are meet.  Finally, we reach self-actualisation needs and before you ask, no I'm not really sure what those are either, but I'm pretty sure new computers and gas barbeques are right up there somewhere!

That said I liked Douglas Adams explanation of how those same drives works because it seems to describe how we really think.  The progression goes something like this:

• Will something eat me today?
• Will I eat something today?
• What do I want to eat today?
• Who shall I eat with today?
• Where shall we eat today?
• Where do I want to be seen eating today?

That seems to sum up a lot of the human experience, it made me smile and it kind of ties back to the gas barbeque.

In other news, here in the UK the lockdown relaxes a further stage in the morning.  Pubs and hairdressers reopen and social distancing is reduced to 1 metre.  To be fair neither one of those is really going to tempt me as I don't have much hair left and I can't drink alcohol at the moment!  But it does seem more important than ever to suggest that you all try to stay safe out there.

Random Thoughts # 6 - Time for a new computer?

There is a question mark in the post title because I'm not certain that the current PC has fully outlived it's usefulness or if it's just that bits of it and the operating system that have.  The PC is ten years old and still does 95% of what I need it for with no problems.  The areas where it is showing it's age are the operating system and an annoying file handling problem.

My computer is a little more modern than this, really it is! (Babbage's Difference Engine)

The machine runs Windows 7 and support ended earlier this year.  So no more security updates or software patches.  I tried to upgrade to Windows 10 but for some reason the hardware or the software doesn't want to install it.  Which is annoying as the actual hardware is still fine for everything I want the computer to do, with the exception of the other fault.  When ever I try to move a file between applications I get the dreaded blue screen of death and a memory overflow error message.  So I can't move images between the PC and blogger and if I try to embed a file into an email the system crashes.

I can't complain I suppose 10 years is a good run in PC terms, I don't think any of my previous machines have lasted anywhere close to this long.  Thinking back we got our first family PC back in 1999 which was a purpose built machine to get the sound and graphics and internet we wanted to play online computer games.  It was a big old beast running Windows 95 or 98, with a dial up modem that would drop out after an hour, or it may have been two, the point being that Internet access was rationed back then before broadband and fibre.  In the end we paid extra to have a commercial BT internet connection that didn't time out!

Remember this?  Internet connections got faster......eventually

Since then we have progressed to a two computer household, plus a couple of tablets and the ubiquitous smartphones so I don't think bandwidth is the limiting factor any more.  After that first machine I have run a couple of desktops; an HP and a MESH neither of them came near to the Acer I'm currently sat typing on, in reliability.  When we bought this one we spent what was needed to get as near to a state of the art home machine as possible and it has paid off.  What is strange though is that given the speed with which my earlier machines became obsolete so little in the design specifications have moved on in the last decade.  Yes the tech inside has changed to become more efficient but in general the results that tech generates are pretty much the same, either that or what I want from a PC hasn't moved on much in the last decade.  What has changed beyond all recognition is the infrastructure.  Net connections just happen as soon as the PC is turned on no more long waits while a modem dials in, no more data limits, no more time outs.  I'm not sure how I coped back in the day.

I suppose I will have to bite the bullet and buy a new PC.  It just goes against my frugal Northern mindset to have to replace something when it is still doing 95% of what I want!

Random Thoughts # 5 - Blog Not Found

One of my favourite blogs has gone.  The Jolly Broom Man's blog '1642 and all that' is no more, I just get a 'This blog has been removed' message.  It started as a blog covering an English Civil War campaign and went on from there.  There were some side splittingly funny posts about living as an English ex-pat in rural France and other side trips into history and other wargaming periods.  Postings had slowed down of late as JBM had been forced to move back to the UK following Brexit.  I'm hoping JBM is OK and that he will pop up again in due course, some of those tales of rural France could brighten up the gloomiest of days and I was awaiting his take on life in his new home in South Wales with interest.

I suppose that this just goes to show the impermanence of blogging, which unlike a book which can be reread, leaves no footprint behind.  Once a blog goes that's it (unless you dear reader know better) and it can't be revisited.  The connection to the author goes with it.

The thing with bloggers is that over a period you can build a mental picture of the person behind the keyboard without ever actually knowing them and that image may have no relation to that person's reality.  I know JBM had very similar interests to me based upon the blog and as far as I recall had worked in the same general area of business I do. But that is all I know, so it's quite strange that the blog vanishing should feel like a friend has gone missing.  Hopefully it's just a temporary glitch or perhaps frustration with the new Blogger interface (which I am desperately trying to avoid having to use).  So if you are reading this JBM let the blogosphere know how you are with a comment.

One of these days I suppose I may have to write an 'If you are reading this I'm dead' blog post with instructions for someone to push the publish button on my behalf as necessary.  I'd like to think it might be appreciated by my readers, or not..........as if I will care by that point!.

Random thoughts # 4 - A grand day out

As lockdown starts to lift and we are allowed to travel more Mrs E and I took a short drive to the nearby village of Alkborough   It sits atop of the river cliff looking down over the confluence (good word that eh?) of the  rivers Trent, Ouse and the Humber.  Its a tiny place but with a couple of interesting historical facts associated with it.  There is a medieval turf maze known as Julian's Bower possibly of Roman age but more likely to be post conquest.  There is a local legend that three of the four Knights who murdered Thomas a Becket hid in the village and helped renovate the church as part of their penance.

Julian’s Bower Plaque

If that isn't sufficiently interesting in the ECW there was a Royalist garrison which built an artillery fort below the village on Alkborough Flats to control the entrance to the Trent and the river route to Newark.  The garrisoned the village and when the Parliamentary garrison from Brigg and Barton upon Humber (which included Sir John Meldrum's dragoons) were despatched to dislodge them, they took cover behind the stone walls of the churchyard.  Another local legend has it that when the Parliamentarian dragoons attempted to storm the gate into the churchyard they were held by a single Royalist who was a giant of a man, who fought on despite serious wounds and had to be brought down by musket fire. One of those village tales you might think, but when the church was being renovated before the second world war the flagstones inside the church were lifted and the skeleton of a man who was over 7 feet tall was allegedly found.  How accurate this may be I don't know but there is evidence for musket damage to the church walls.

Panarama at Julian’s Bower looking over the Trent

This was the first time I have gone outside Barton upon Humber, the town I live, in since the middle of March and only the third time out of the house in that time other than the short daily dog walk as exercise.  We took a walk to the maze grabbed a couple of pictures and then drove home again.  \Well there is only so much excitement a man can take you know!

The view from Alkborough looking out over the Flats

Random Thoughts #3 - Reading choices during lockdown

Lockdown and a couple of long Bank Holiday weekends has allowed me to catch up on some reading.  It's been a mix of rereading  old favourites and trying out some new material.

I read a lot of science fiction and have done since I was a teenager.  I started out on the books I could find in the local library, children's Science Fiction and once I had read everything the children's section had to offer I moved onto the adult shelves.  Some of the children's science fiction was complete tosh, more fantasy than science others were more rooted in actual physics.  After that I moved onto adult SF with paperback reprints of the greats of the post war science fiction scene Clarke, Heinlein Poul Andersen Asimov and their contemporaries mixed with the newer writers of the late sixties onwards like Larry Niven.

He didn't just write Biggles! (by the way this is tosh!)

That gave me a taste for slightly harder edged SF with at least some connection to actual science although I do like a good page turner in the tradition of 'Space Opera' stories from the golden age.  I am currently working my way through the Expanse series. I have enjoyed the Amazon TV version and as I will probably have to wait another year for the next series thought I should try the books.  They came well recommended and so far they haven't failed to keep me turning pages (well actually scrolling through screens).

Well worth a read especially if you enjoyed the TV version

My other current reading is a new set of rules, well new to me anyway.  'Dahlgren and Columbiad' by David Manley.  These are quick play Naval rules for the Ironclad era 1860 to 1885.  I had been toying with doing ACW ironclads for a while and Jim Jackman's excellent blog 'Jims Wargames Workbench' tipped me over the edge.  His blog can be found here http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.com/ .

The rules look really easy to use and are simple to read through so I suspect that I will be buying some teeny tiny ironclads from Tumbling Dice in the very near future.

So that's it for this post Remember stay safe and be alert, as the man said ...'We need lerts'

Random Thoughts #2 - home thoughts from, well, home

With this period of enforced lockdown restricting access to news (when was the last time there was anything of substance reported that wasn't Covid-19 related) I have begun to realise how life must have been before the mass media.  While I still turn on the news I don't actually miss the lack of the details of latest events in some far flung ex-outpost of empire or the inability of some people to realise that shooting large numbers of other people is not a sure fire way to solve problems.  I suppose it's the curse of news programmes having a set length, they have to find something to fill the bulletin with even if it's pure drivel (or Donald Trump as it is more commonly termed around here).

It's almost like we have moved backwards in time to the long ago days of my childhood.  The skies are bluer, the birds sing more loudly and sound travels without being drowned out by the incessant rumble of passing, planes, trains and automobiles.  All that is missing is the sound of passing Blackpool trams in the distance and I could be back in Anchorsholme, in my grandparent's garden in the early 1960s.  For me at least the pace of life has slowed too, as I'm working from home, so no mad rush to get to the office, no worries about travel delays and very few frantic calls from clients.  I'm begining to see the attractions of my retirement next year.

Strangely I don't seem to have as much free time though.  The absence of work related time loss means we (that's Mrs E and I) have the time to take on those bigger jobs around the house and garden we had put off until we had enough time to start and finish them at one go.  So the extra free time bizarrely means I have less free time for the things I spent that time doing before.  The real bonus is that Mrs E and I haven't spent such a long and uninterrupted period of time together since we were students.  I don't disappear for a couple of days at a time to go to visit clients  and we are both home all day everyday.  It's a wonder she hasn't done me some serious harm for being underfoot all the time (only joking).

Even George and Barney seem to be enjoying us being at home all the time. Although they are not getting as many walks as before they are getting more time with their favourite humans.  We get time to play with them in the garden and if we are doing gardening things they amble around out there taking in the smells and hoping to catch a hedgehog (which we disapprove of much to their disgust) or a small crunchy rodent.  George has signed up as apprentice hole digger, he will move up to journeymen status once he learns to dig where we actually want a hole.

George (L) and Barney (R) say stay indoors like this.

While the cause of this temporary slow down is not a thing to be happy about in any way, shape of form, if you look hard enough there are some silver linings.  With clouds as dark as these it would be horrible if there weren't.

Stay safe everyone and I hope you and yours are all virus free.

Hitting a minor landmark

Just for clarity this is not about traffic accidents, I would have to be allowed outside for that to happen!  No I have finally crawled above 20,000 pageviews.  It only took 104 posts and seven years.  I make that an average of 192 views a post or about 2,850 views a year.  which sounds a lot until you look at the stats for some of the blogs I read.  I still haven't managed to reach a huge number of followers either, clearly I have a select and discerning readership.

The most popular posts were a bit of a mixture.  The 'how to make' and 'how to paint' posts are right up there often with several hundred hits, although they take a while to to build to those numbers. Product reviews and game scenarios are also popular and tend to build up hits much more quickly but to fall away rapidly too.  I suppose I should do more of those things.  What it shows is that there are some core interests that do bring people to the page.

Putting a link on to The Miniatures Page always brings in a good number of hits surprisingly rather more than similar links from Facebook.   Perhaps I should start spamming more forums?

The good news is that this was never about my becoming a web celebrity (good thing really) but more of it being an outlet for my gaming thoughts and obsessions.  Given that I'm a gamer in his 60's sat typing in a back bedroom on a topic that is never going to set the world on fire I think I'm probably doing OK.  So here is to the next 20,000 hits.  I suspect this post will not generate many of them!

Random thoughts

Wargaming and time and motion studies
I was recently reminded by a friend that wargames rules are essentially time and motion studies in practice.  That thought has crossed my mind from time to time in the past but I never really gave it serious thought before.  Many years ago I studied some of the social aspects of industrial working methods.  This brought up the rise of time and motion studies and their use to create more profitable work flows by increasing the speed at which things are done or reducing the number of people who are required to carry out a process.  Having been on the receiving end of time and motion reviews I'm not a huge fan as it usually results in everyone having to do more for the same pay or someone losing their job.   However, the rise of time and motion analysis also seems to coincide with the rise of wargaming as a hobby for people outside of a military context.  Which leads me to wonder if there is a link?  After all wargames rules are a measure of how much violence a set number of  of people can do to another in a defined period of time, how far they can move in that same period and what factors exist to vary the outcomes.  We add other imponderables like command and control which still part of the same time and motion equation really and morale, which isn't.

It's always the morale rules that cause me trouble as it isn't easy to create valid statistical models.  I suppose that is because we are dealing with the psychology of an emotion. Primarily fear in our case coupled with the impact of the herd instinct on group behaviour.

So what do we think, when we are gaming are we avatars of heroic warriors or canny commanders, or are we really channelling a bloke in a long brown coat clutching a clipboard and stopwatch?