I.O.U.S.A.
You really should watch this. This is extremely well done.
What’s Going On at BTP
In a surge of activity, we are getting caught up. We are still booked out a reasonable amount of time, but I am sitting here twiddling my thumbs.
I am still trying to sell off a 1900 point Eldar army. It’s on the block for $475. That’s $410 worth of models with like $85 for the work of getting it ready.
I also have that huge, huge Grey Knights army which is up for refurbishment soon. I’m going to be looking for a home for that soon. The easier it is to find that person, the lower the price will be.
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I have a High Elves v Dark Elves Batrep coming up on Friday with Mike Dunn taking the “evil” side. I’ll be playing the Dark Elves. This will be a Notrep, just hap-hazardly reported.
I am looking for someone articulate to volunteer to scour the net for relevant information that I can put on our blog.
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I put a lot of political type stuff on the blog. If you have a point or counterpoint that you would like to make, please send that in. I’m likely to post it as part of the discussion. I am a political explorer. I am trying to get to the bottom of things. So far, what I’m finding at the bottom is the banks. Well, maybe something even deeper than that.
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We are playing Magic quite a bit, but still chugging along. I was afraid it would tank the productivity of the studio.
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I also have a collection of Heru, all painted, that I am not using. UPDATE: I have taken these off the block.
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I have a Batrep (fully documented) scheduled for the first Saturday in March. I’ll be playing against Janene’s Dwarfs. As usual, it will take a few days to get it all up and running.
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There is yet ANOTHER Batrep on the docket for mid-March. It will be Ultramarines vs. Whatever. With a giant push it might even be my neeeew Teal Eldar. We plan on playing a game of Aeronautica Imperialis first, and making it a related scenario.
Sarah is out on Friday, so packages will be going out on Monday.
We are not doing terrain at this time. We may start in Spring when the weather is warmer.
Jobs not Work
I was watching the Rachel Maddow show* and they were mocking some guy for saying that government projects don’t create jobs but rather just creates work. Rachel and her guest could not believe it and didn’t seem to understand his logic (are they really incapable of grasping this?). To me, what Michael Steele said makes perfect sense.
I picked this up off a related thread, and I think it provides some valuable insight:
One difference is that when you choose to buy something you support the business with your money. When the government chooses to buy something, they support the business with your money. They make the choice, not you. Another is that businesses get paid for a product or service, governments collect taxes. Government has to continue to collect more and more taxes to continue paying. Businesses increase products, prices, etc to continue paying and providing future benefits.
There was a House committe on small business jobs not long ago. Small businesses provide more jobs, make money, and pay taxes. I sincerely doubt most small business owners are rich. Some are truck drivers, some work from home, some have small store fronts. Many small businesses are moving towards bartering more, so they may not need your handout. The government may just have to learn to do without the taxes however. The underground economy may grow even if the US economy doesn’t.
At least as far as educators the jobs will likely not go away, they will create future debts for those states. So expect the states to continue hitting up the tax payer for both salaries and benefits as well as retirement for the educators.Whether you see it or not the problem with government jobs is that they are paid for by the tax payer. So if the jobs stick around our taxes go up, up, up.
The only thought I would add here would be that the government does have a role in creating infrastructure for business and “life” to take place. IE roads.
However, I have also noticed that every time I speak out against over-taxation the protest is “what about roads, police, and fire-fighters?” Which is of course improper logic. I’m not talking about those things (which are mostly paid for locally– not at the federal level). I am talking about maintaining Empire, and excesses at the federal level.
Don’t think I like the republicans so much either. Those half-wits** blew through money like drunken sailors for eight years. Literally blowing it up on the desert sands. [sarcasm on] Oh, but now they’re taking a stand against waste. Wouldn’t want to spend it domestically. [sarcasm off]
In my opinion they have lost the moral high ground. Another party will have to take up their banner.
*I voraciously consume all sorts of media from both sides of the aisle. I think they are all bought up by the Powers that Be, the Bankers. Debate is an illusion. What is real is that a HUGE chunk of the net income/work/productivity of any given household/city/country is going into the pockets of people who do not work nor produce nor (in many cases) even invest money they have earned.
What I do love are independent sources. I am a huge fan of Ron Paul. I still have his 2008 presidential run sign out in front of my house. I don’t plan on taking it down.
** I was going to say “ass-wits” or “jack-wipes” but that seemed bit non-sensical.
Valkyrie Pictures
The Valkyrie is not yet on the GW site, so to me that means release in April, maybe May with the general IG release.
I can’t believe how good this kit looks. I am amazed that they made a Stompa. I wonder what is next. Here are my predictions:
First, the things that are made will coincide with the release of new armies. I’ve heard that Space Wolves are coming out later this year, but I can’t imagine what kit would come out for them on that same scale.
I’m going to take a stab and say the next large kit will be a Tyranid type. Those are some of the hottest FW items.
Here’s the rumored release schedule from http://www.warseer.com/ .
Jan —- Ork Stormboyz, Nobz, Gretchin, Battlewagon, and Characters
Feb — Lizardmen
Mar– – Apocalypse stuff Stompa/Shadowsword
Apr — War of the Ring
May —- Imperial guard
June — Empire Greatswords, Archers, and Steam Tank (+ some LotR stuff)
July —- Planet strike. Not Space Wolves. Not Missions book.
Aug —- Elves for LOR
Sept — Possible Space hulk re-release
Oct — –Space wolves?
Nov —- Beasts of chaos
Dec—- Nothing?
Early 2010
-Dark Eldar
Other 2009 releases:
– Plastic Valkyrie
– Eldar Bikes
– Plastic Daemon Prince
– Assorted Collector’s Range/Bitz Packs
2010 Releases
– Dark Eldar
– Blood Angels
– Tyranids
– Inquisition
Dead Sexy Beast
For your viewing pleasure, the new plastic Baneblade variant kit.
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Does anyone know the names/number/stats of these? I’d love to post it.
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Retail cost is $95. BTP client cost is $76. Assembly $95. Painting $130.
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For March we’re having a special: $79 assembly, $79 painting. Four slots open for this. That’s $243 delivered in the US (+$16 overseas) for a finished product delivered to your door.
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If you let us paint it how we want, cost is $10 less. That’s Artistic License.
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Contact me at bluetablepainting@gmail.com to set this up.
Willow
Here’s a picture of my newborn daughter. She’s about eight weeks old.
This dress was hand-made by Tamie’s mother.
Extraordinary Times call for Extraordinary Measures
You can be sure that when you hear that phrase that the little guy is about to get worked over. Of course, this is nothing new.
Here are two opposites, presented for your consideration.
The first is an address put out today by Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve Chairman (?). I should note that the “Federal” Reserve is a private organization.
2) I tried to look up a certain book on Wikipedia and it is notably absent, but I found this article:
Griffin enrolled in the College for Financial Planning in Denver, Colorado.[16] He became a Certified Financial Planner in 1989, and described the U.S. money system in his 1993 movie and 1994 book on the Federal Reserve System, The Creature from Jekyll Island.[1] This popular book[17][18] has been a business bestseller;[19][20] it has been reprinted in Japanese, 2005, and German, 2006. The book also influenced Ron Paul during the writing of a chapter on money and the Federal Reserve in Paul’s New York Times number-one bestseller, The Revolution: A Manifesto, which recommended Griffin’s book on its “Reading List for a Free and Prosperous America”.[21]
The title is his depiction of a November 1910 meeting at Jekyll Island, Georgia, of seven bankers and economic policymakers who represented the financial elite of the western world.[22][23] The meeting was recounted by Forbes founder B. C. Forbes in 1916, and recalled by participant Frank Vanderlip as “the actual conception of what eventually became the Federal Reserve System”.[24]
Griffin argued against the debt-based fiat money system on several grounds, stating that it devours individual prosperity through inflation and it is used to perpetuate war. He also described the framework by which central bankers have been observed to underwrite both sides of an ongoing war or revolution.[25] Griffin says that the United Nations, the Council on Foreign Relations and the World Bank are working to destroy American sovereignty through a system of world military and financial control, and argues for United States withdrawal from the United Nations.[10]
Edward Flaherty, an academic economist[26] described Griffin’s description of the secret meeting on Jekyll Island as “conspiratorial”, an “amateurish take on history” and “highly suspect”.[27] Griffin responded to Flaherty’s analysis on his website by stating that Flaherty has grouped the book with other publications and has effectively labeled any criticism of the Federal Reserve as the result of a conspiracy theory.[28]
Griffin’s dreams of a free-market, private-money system superior to the Fed caused economist Bernard von NotHaus to deploy such a system in 1998. Griffin states that von NotHaus’s private silver certificates, known as Liberty Dollars, are “real money”.[29]
Here is something I came up with about the book. I have not made my way through it entirely.