So there is going to be an election, I don’t have much to say on the matter.
But get to know your candidates and vote for the person you think would do best for your area.
But what I would like to say is that right now, the UK is broken, schools are falling apart due to dodgy concrete, the roads are full of potholes, rent is stupidly high, the cost of living is out of control and things are just broken.
So with that in mind, I think we need to make a choice on who we think is best placed to fix whats gone wrong over the past few years.
What I Am Modelling
I started out with a Mega Boss on Maw-Krusha to join my Ironjawz
I then painted up some Glaivewraith Stalkers I had sitting in a box, they were in a weird state, a bit of disreppair, no idea how I came into ownership of them, but I didn’t build them, so there was a bit of work involved, but they give me a chance to try out some new rust techniques.
I had an Amazon voucher from a redund, so I grabbed Bayonetta 3 for the Switch, just need to hunt down a copy of the second game without being ripped off now!
At the minute my servers files are all over the place, we have 13TB of space but the files are spread out randomly with some films and TV series on each drive, audio books split into 3 folders, 8 different book folders and documentaries and kids stuff spread out all over the shop!
So we are struggling with managing what’s where, and thus, we decided to expand with another 4TB of space, by adding this drive from Amazon to it
So right now I have all the films transferring into this, which should mostly fill it, the last folder is currently transferring and will need a little over 20 hours to complete the move!
Then all TV Series will be moved to the 6TB drive, and other stuff, like documentaries, kids, concerts, standup, anime etc, will move on to the original 4TB drive.
Music has already been transferred to its own dedicated 1TB drive which it’s nowhere near filling as I have still transferred barely anything of our music collection over!
That will leave a 2TB drive, which is going to store things like books, comics for which I intend to install Kavita in an attempt to do for books what AudioBookShelf is doing for audio books.
So to summarise what we have right now is
4TB HDD – Movies
6TB HDD & 1TB HDD – TV Series
1TB HDD – Music
4TB HDD – Other Media (Anime/Audiobooks/Documentaries/Kids etc)
2TB – Books/Comics
The last stuff being transferred is the final TV Series stuff from the original 4TB HDD to the 6TB HDD
The process is allowing me to do some long overdue data hygiene as well!
Long term a dedicated device for the server will happen, with bigger hard drives running in RAID and offering NAS functions, but that’s gonna happen after I decide what to do about upgrading my PC next.
I am torn between replacing the mobo, CPU and RAM and moving to an AM5 CPU, or upgrading either the GPU to a 4070 Super or perhaps even just the CPU to a 5800X3D, just got to figure out what’s gonna give the best result for my meagre £s
What I Am Modelling
I started with an Aleguzzler Gargant for the Gloomspite Gitz.
Lindsay and Megan wanted a better way to use Apple Fitness +, so we got an old and cheap, Apple TV HD, in cosmetically bad condition (but works great) from CEX
As many of you know, I am a diagnosed AuDHD person and one of the things that benefits me, is a visual list of what I need to do, but well, paper isn’t working and we have been looking for a more techy solution for a while.
We were looking at a screen just showing a .txt file for my to do list, and I spoke to Paul about it on Friday, but thinking, hey someone must have done this before, so I googled it and found a few things that would do the job.
I saw the MagicMirror 2 software, but it just wasn’t going to work due to the issues adding modules, needing to be done via terminal and I just don’t have the spoons for it right now.
So instead we are going with DAKboard, which isn’t open source and less customisable, but does the job really well.
Initially I was going to use a TV we had lying around, but well, there was an accident 🙁
So I turned to the old monitor I used for my second screen, and well, its not as good, but its done ok.
So I downloaded the DAKboard software and installed it to the SD card, after a few false starts due to the issues with a counterfeit card I got from Amazon.
I then had to wire up some new extension cables to power it, plus move a set of sockets from behind the bookcase to use with the hoover!
Had to order some specific length cables for the monitor power and the Micro HDMI to DVI needs, but now they are in, it looks a lot cleaner and is perfect for our use case
I backed a 3D Printing project, the Sci-Fi Outpost – PAY WHAT YOU WANT, which has now completed its funding cycle, and will hopefully soon deliver me some cool STLs!
What I Am Spending
I bought the Sisters of Silence I need for the first Custodes Combat Patrol, along with some paints
Last night myself, Lindsay & Megan went to the cinema to see Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, and I loved it.
Look I know it gets a lot of hated but it has always had, and always will, held a special place for me.
First up, it was the very first “new” Star Wars I ever saw in the cinema, ok I saw the Special Editions when they were released, but they don’t count cause they weren’t “new”.
And sitting in the cinema in Ipswich with my friends all cosplaying characters, the moment the fanfare hits, was a special moment, and it was so exciting, we waited months, counting down the days, consuming as much as the early Internet reported about it, and frankly we weren’t disappointed.
I know it’s not the strongest of the movies, but if you see it for what it is, a kids film, a film made for kids to enjoy then it’s far better and more enjoyable.
It just feels like everything about it worked for me, the soundtrack is beyond epic, literally one of my favourite movie soundtracks of all time, the slow transformation of Anakins theme into the slow tease of the Imperial March, and of course Dual of the Fates, just hits hard!
The special effects might have the odd bit of roughness these days, just in one or two areas where stuff is composited, but they still hold up, the CGI is of a very high standard and the brilliance of the physical effects works so well.
The costumes are all amazing, Queen Amidala’s outfits are so extra, so extravagant and over the top, they just make her character feel so regal. Also a fun game is trying to guess when she is Kiera Knightly playing Sabé pretending to be her, and when it’s Natalie Portman. Also in the comics, Sabé has an interesting story after the Revenge of the Sith.
My favourite part though is how the lightsaber fights were improved upon, in the original trilogy, they were kind of static and a bit stiff, but since The Phantom Menace they have been elevated into real feats of athleticism with jumps and intense fighting.
Look I know it’s not a popular film in the series, but I will always enjoy watching it, and 25 years has not made it less special, if anything it’s made it more special, because I will always have a massive grin on my face when Darth Maul activates his dual bladed lightsabers.
Plus let’s not forget, the prequel era has given us some of Star Wars best media, The Clone Wars, Rebels and The Bad Batch are some of the best stuff ever made for the franchise.
Anyway, don’t at me, cause I am not gonna change my mind on this one!
Gamergate was an utter debacle; it was horrific, disgusting, and merely an excuse to abuse and harass women and minorities in the gaming industry.
It was never about ethics in gaming journalism. If you believe it was, you’re seriously mistaken and need to reconsider, basically take several seats.
At its core, it was a jilted ex-boyfriend’s revenge plot that spiralled out of control.
Following events like Race Fail and the Sad/Rabid Puppies controversies, it was a dreadful time for enthusiasts like me. All my passions, including gaming, sci-fi, and fantasy literature, felt under attack by far-right zealots.
It took me years to regain my enthusiasm for gaming as my love for it waned alongside my interest in literature.
Now, there are opportunists attempting to ignite a new Gamergate to make themselves relevant again or simply to stir up anger for profit. I refuse to let this happen again.
Take Mark Kern, for example, a once-prominent figure now irrelevant since being ousted from his company in 2013 due to his egregious behaviour.
And it’s disheartening to see creators I once admired, like Lady Decade, getting involved, which really stings.
Yet they persist, desperately seeking to spark a new “scandal”. Their efforts with Sweet Baby, who actually advised for widely praised changes in games, have failed.
They’ve targeted Stellar Blade, lauding it as “Game of the Year” material solely for its characters tits and arse and ‘jiggle physics’, blatantly ignoring the story and gameplay, they never mention that at all, so I have no idea if the game is actually any good.
Now, they’re criticising a tabletop RPG adaptation of Tomb Raider because it focuses on uncovering historical truths rather than grave-robbing. Clearly, they’ve never engaged with the Survivor Trilogy, which explores similar themes.
Furthermore, there’s constant griping about the portrayal of women in games, claiming they all should look like porn stars with heavy makeup.
Take Aloy, for example; they call her ugly when in fact, she’s stunning and lives in a post-apocalyptic world devoid of beauty salons. And Mary Jane in Spider-Man is portrayed beautifully in a realistic way.
So, if you see me confronting these chuds, know that I’m not backing down this time. This is my hobby, and these ignoramuses need to understand it’s not just a space for cis-het white men!
What I Am Modelling
Started the week with some Tyranids, specifically the Neurolictor
The Boarding Actions Terrain was finished up as well. This stuff is going to be used for my Zone Mortalis table mostly, the idea being it’s going to be the neglected and horrible service corridors of my hive
I still want to add the marketplace stuff, a gang stronghold and some promethium containers, perhaps another set of shipping containers, but for now, I am quite happy with this!
And these Dark Angels Aggressors were finished as well!
https://www.instagram.com/p/C6C9y6qI-dA
So what’s next?
Sisters Repentia x 4
Hobgrot Slittaz x 10
Drycha Hamadreth
Sneaky Snufflers x 12
Lasrifle Section c 20
Arco-Flaggents
Dark Angels Intercessors x 10
Space Wolves Infiltrators x 10 and Battle Leader in Phobos Armour
Paychophage
Mega Boss on a Maw-Krusha
What I Am Reading To
I listened to Mort by Terry Pratchett my first of the new Discworld audiobooks, a real classic story and a hell of an update with a stellar cast!
I weirdly find it far easier to listen to the Discworld books than read them, dunno what it is, but the structure just seems to work better in audio, for myself that is!
And that was a game in which we both thought I would be tabled by turn 3, but I managed to keep it going and survived the whole game, still a major loss!
Think I am gonna win the leagues wooden spoon!!!
What Video Games I Am Playing
Not much this week, Megan is anxiously waiting on something so I have leant them my Steam Deck to help distract them, they are mostly using it to play Disney Dreamlight Valley, on my Xbox profile I might add!
I love my Stormcast Eternals army, I mean its really fun to play with and I actually love the theme of the army, especially as I play Celestial Vindicators and their colour scheme is amazing.
My favourite chamber, is Sacrosanct and well, GW have announced that 80% of my army is being squatted, which is a real bummer.
Ok the old school Liberators look like they will be fine with the new rules, but so much of my army, seemingly isn’t going to have a Thunderstrike replacement, so yeah pretty bummed out.
It just is quite dishartneing that an army I put my heart and soul into, has lasted barly 6 years before being yeeted.
Its got me feeling really down about AoS 4.0, like I am probably gonna skip the launch box, cause honestly, I am not sure if I buy it, how long those models will be useable for.
Had a game of Horus Heresy with Russel on Friday night, we played Strike and Fade, and I lost 7-3, could have gotten a draw but alas my Terminators just failed to get to the objective in the last turn!
I also bought myself Ghost of Tsushima for PS5, I have been hunting for it, at a reasonable price for a while, and it was on sale at the local Argos, so I leapt on it!
Due to family issues, one wasn’t published this month, but I plan to upload two in April, starting with T’au vs Adepta Sororitas and followed by Dark Angels vs Daemons of Chaos
Its been a tough few weeks, we have had a death in the family and some other stuff that’s caused some challenges
I have been feeling my depression quite deep and its really doing a number on my life, I am really finding it very hard to even leave the house.
I know I need to try harder, so I am going to try and have a better month in April now that the worst is behind us, I mean that is all I can do right, just keep going and try to be better.
I had a particularly bad instance of doing my normal rushing ahead last week, and it hurt some of my friends, so I need to watch myself and keep an eye on my tendency to just rush ahead and not stop to check things are sound.
I am organising a Heresy event as part of my getting back on top of things, and tickets sold out right away, gonna try and have my Zone Mortalis table finished by then so I can set it up and try and convince someone to come play on it with me whilst I EO.
I finally finished sorting out all the metadata on the Audio Book Shelf server, and oh my word, that was a lot of stuff to deal with!
I still have to sort out the authors and series, but we will get there!
I am currently uploading my BBC Doctor Who audio books, which is a sizable pile, still need to buy The Church on Ruby Road by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson, which is the latest release, might spend my next Audible token on it!
What I Am Modelling
Its been a bit of a weird period of time, but I have painted up two squads of Vigilors for my Celestial Vindicators.
I also listened to Lazarus: Enmity’s Edge by Gary Kloster which was pretty good, but I kinda expected the bad guy to turn out to be a Fallen, but it wasn’t and that was still cool. It actually humanised the Dark Angels quite a bit.
What Video Games I Am Playing
Finished up with Yakuza 0, and I have to admit, the story was phenomenal, really good.
I also sold my old iPhone 12 and was able to afford to buy the Solar Auxilia Battlegroup as a result, which you would have seen the unboxing for video earlier.
About a month ago, I realized that the geniuses behind Audio Book Shelf had released a native Windows version of the application. Until then, I had been running it in a Docker install. However, this method was slow and could only allocate 2GB of RAM, greatly impacting performance.
So, I decided to switch from Docker to the Windows version. Unfortunately, this transition resulted in the loss of all metadata due to differences in how Linux and Windows file structures operate.
Consequently, I find myself having to re-add all the metadata. While this isn’t an issue for much of the content, as Audio Book Shelf can scrape data from Audible, it’s a manual task for Big Finish, which constitutes the majority of my collection. Thus, it’s quite time-consuming.
Currently, I’ve managed to complete the metadata for all titles up to those beginning with ‘O’. Although it’s taking time, the effort will certainly be worth it.
Furthermore, I’ve adjusted settings so that metadata is now stored with the files rather than in a central database. This change aims to prevent similar issues in the future, particularly if I decide to switch my server back to Linux from Windows.
What I Am Modelling
I started off by painting a Loonboss on a Giant Cave Squig for my Gloomspite Gitz
