NEWSFLASH -- Major Map Correction

NEWSFLASH -- Major Map Correction

"It was all the fault of a drunken cartographer" is the official version released today by the Principality of Saxe-Bearstein.

The actual borders of Saxe-Bearstein are not at all what was drawn on maps. Indeed the Principality is much larger than previously indicated -- it, in fact, occupies that area once known as "Bohemia" instead of a tiny corner of Saxony.

That's right, Saxe-Bearstein is what was once known as "Bohemia".

If any further proof beyond the statement of Furst Bruno V of the the von Ursas is needed, please note that one of their premiere regiments is named von Urquell in honor of the family that brews Pilsner Urquell . . . and Pilsen is deep in western Saxe-Bearstein.

. . . .

(Okay, upon consideration of the amount of land needed to have the size of army I have planned, the over-crowded nature of that Saxony corner and the "history" and culture of Saxe-Bearstein, Bohemia seems a much better choice for my imaginary country's location.)


-- Jeff of New Saxe-Bearstein

New Recruits Arrive --

Yes, the good news is that the RSM95 recruits have arrived. I've not had as much of a chance to review them as we've also had people over helping us get moved in. We now have about 70% of the stuff we had in storage now here in the house.

Notice that I did not even come close to claiming that we've even made much of a dent in unpacking it. I've got a couple of hundred boxes stacked against walls in my game-room-to-be. But at least they are here and not in storage any more.

Hopefully we will be able to get the rest of the stuff out of storage this next week. But even with what little unpacking we've managed, my wife and I can't believe that we have this much "stuff". Still it is fun to open boxes and find things that we haven't seen in almost two years.

Needless to say, my "game time" has been severely curtailed. I've not been able to spend much time online either. However, I see that the "Emperor and Elector" group blog now has 13 member countries. I wish that I had more time to spend there.

Oh yes, the RSM boys. I got enough for two new line infantry units (now six total), as well as another Heavy Horse unit, Dragoon unit and Hussar unit (making a total of two each -- as well as the Horse Grenadier Guard). I also added some Jagers and Grenzers and a pair of light guns (as well as some limbers). So I've pretty much got most of the troops for Saxe-Bearstein.

Next I'll have to get some for those vile Stagonians. Now, what else do I need to do? Oh yes, paint them.


-- Jeff

A Morning at Murdock's --

First let me thank all of you who wished me better health. I'm feeling a lot better than I was, but as Murdock can testify, I've still got a wicked persistent cough.

I finally had a bit of free time and there was supposed to be some "Hordes of the Things" being played at Murdock's this morning, so I drove up there. It was exactly 30 minutes from my door to his . . . a big change from the two and an half hours I had to budget when I had to take the ferry.

As it turned out, due to Mother's Day and a few other developments, no one else was able to make it. So the two of us mainly worked on other projects and talked about various gaming subjects.

Much of our discussions (naturally) revolved around the "Wars for Arcadian Glory". I was able to explain some of the newer facets of the rules I'm writing. We also got into a discussion on our "grand overview" concept of our battles merely being a small side-show for the great wars between the Emperor and the Elector.

Now our plan has been (and continues to be) one that will allow new players to join either side with very small forces. Anyway, while discussing this, Murdock had a brainstorm.

We certainly have not worked out all of the details . . . well, let's be honest here . . . we haven't worked out any details. But his idea was that there are numerous 18th century bloggers out there . . . many of whom have no opponents . . . his thought (which I like) was to see if we could find some way to incorporate a number of you into this overall "Emperor vs Elector" conflict.

He had a number of ideas . . . some of which he might blog about . . . but my basic question is "who might be interested in participating in such a campaign?"

Obviously battles would have to be fought where they could; and we (or others) would have to "proxy" your various forces.

I should point out that neither Murdock nor I have any intention of being either the Emperor or Elector . . . indeed, we sort of envision someone out their in "internetland" taking those roles . . . or perhaps a committee of advisors for each "grand monarch".

It is possible to have a blog with multiple posters (not just comments) . . . and that is what Murdock envisioned. A space where insults could be traded and events related. This would not replace any of our individual blogs, but would be a "communal blog" that supplements our various blogs.

Oh yes, the way we see it, any of our small countries would be completely free to switch sides at any time.

Is anyone interested?


-- Jeff of Saxe-Bearstein

I'm Semi-Back (sort of) --

Well we are now in our new home . . . sort of. Finally got our bed delivered yesterday (I was sleeping on a couch) . . . but much remains to be done. We are still waiting on our kitchen refrigerator and a lot of our bedroom furniture -- not to mention all of the things that we are finding we need to buy.

Right now the only things in my gorgeous "game-room-to-be" are a couch and a "bar fridge" (for beverages).

I've temporarily rigged up my wife's computer in our computer room . . . of course, to get online, I've got a long telephone cord stretched out the door, across the foyer, past a bathroom and the stairs down to the game room and into a phone jack in the kitchen.

This is obviously a very short term solution.

None of my figures are here yet (and probably won't be for another week or two).

However, I did get an email from Richard at DPC to let me know that my newest RSM95 recruits are on the way. So, depending upon how long it takes them to get through Canada Customs, I will soon have some new toys.

The bad news is that the stresses of this move have left me rather ill. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow -- my wife is worried that my bronchitis may have turned into pneumonia. I do know that I'm wheezing a lot and have some trouble with even the slightest exertion.

But I can still think about wargaming . . . which is what I've been doing (when not sleeping or coughing).


-- Jeff

Move Update & Quiz --

Well, today we move our king-size bed, our freezer, diswasher and the computers to our beautiful new home and we will finally be (mostly) "moved in".

Oh, yes . . . I promised you a quiz . . . so here it is:

There are outlets everywhere (my game room has eleven double plugs), the house also has at least six TV cable outlets, the entire house (including the bathrooms) is wired for sound . . . and every room in the house except one has a telephone jack. Now, guess which room we have set aside for our computer room?

Bingo! The one with no telephone jack.

Fortunately a friend says that it shouldn't be hard for us to get setup for wireless ADSL. Now I'm not a very technically savvy guy -- but if he can do that, great! But it does mean that I might well be off-line for longer than expected.

Never fear. I have not abandoned this blog . . . but I'm not sure how soon I'll be back online. As soon as this gets posted, I'll dismantle the computer and pack it up for transport to our new home . . . where it might have to sit in a box for a while . . . *sigh* . . . but I shall return!


-- Jeff of Saxe-Bearstein