The Gamers Bullpen

World of Tanks, Racing game

2011-01-05T14:07:00.006-05:00

Form up a platoon and have some fun.

Official Rules.

1) Three Racing classes. T3, T5 and Unlimited. This is the highest tier vehicle you will be allowed to take. Most of the races are T3.

2) Race is Counter-Clockwise around the map.

3) Race takes the longest possible "Roadway" around the map that goes through the enemy base. (Edit: Maps and Racing courses below)

4) Stay on the road, if you have to pass, pass on the roadway or on the outside.

5) No shooting your fellow racers. If there are racers on the other team, chances are you will not see them, as you are both supposed to be racing counter clockwise. If you do see them, treat them just like in any other match (Do I shoot the fellow Gang member or the other guy?).

6) Race is Two and a half laps. Meaning twice around the map and back to the opponents flag. First one into the opponents cap area is the winner. If your still alive at that point try to win the match for your team.

7) If no one makes it the 2.5 laps, it is the racer that makes it the furthest.

8) No Bump drafting. Try not to run into your fellow racers. Chances are you will damage your own tracks anyway.

9) Stopping to let others go first, or engaging the enemy are all valid tactics in the race. So long as you get back on the course where you left it.

Now for the Race courses...

Abbey: Pretty straight forward track that goes right through the enemy base.

Cliff: You will have to leave the roadway to pass around the Enemy Flag on each lap.

El'Hallouf: Only map that really doesn't fit the race, so it becomes a cannonball run with checkpoints. You only need to loop around the enemy flag and your own to complete a "Lap". Take any path you choose.

Ensk: Southwest section is a free for all, take what ever path you choose so long as you get around Flag II. Northeast be sure to take the right turn and the longer road into the small courtyard (Where arty usually hides)

Erlenberg: Short track! Take the roadway closest to the river to complete a lap. Be sure to go around the base flags. Should a bridge become blocked, racers may continue the race, with a much shorter circuit using the middle bridge. Should two bridges become blocked...Race winner is who ever touches the tank the blocked the 2nd bridge first.
(Why not the long way? Well usually the racer 's run right into the teeth of the enemy's defense going counter clockwise around the longer path, so this makes for a better race.)

Hills: Over the island with the radio tower on it, and around the raised area in the south west corner of the map. Other than that..simple map. Watchout for the rock hiding in the bush as you exit radio tower island.

Himmelsdorf: Three buildings act as markers for the path on the west side railyard. Once you round the southern most, you are free to tak any path you want to Flag II. You may take either path up the Hill in the South East part of the map.

Kareila: You must go around the outermost rocks/ boulders for the north west part of the race.

Komarin: Simply follow the road on this one. If one of the outer bridges becomes blocked, new route is through the middle. Should two bridges become blocked, Winner is the 1st tank to touch the tank that blocked the 2nd bridge.

Lakeville: Take any path you wish through the valley of death (west side).
East side follow the outermost highroad.

Malinkova (Camperkova): Pretty straight forward. Shortcut allowed near Flag I. You can take the road by the buildings at a much greater risk, or take the long way about the windwill. No cutting through town, you got to go to the top of the hill in the North East.

Morovanka: Follow the road, Leave the road in the North east to loop around Flag I and pick it back up along the Northern edge.

Prohorovka: From Flag II, over the tracks and up the hill. Once down the hill, Choice of following the road or crosscountry to the railroad crossing. The rest is on the road.

Ruinberg: Outermost paved road. Gets a little tricky on the south side near Flag II. Once past the last building in the South east you can cross country to the N/S roadway along the east part of the map.

Sand River: Short track that will be tough to complete the 2.5 laps on. Follow the roadways, until you have to loop around behind the enemy bases, then back on the roadway.

That's it. Hope to see yah out there.

Epic Movie year...2011

2010-12-29T14:17:00.005-05:00

So is it just me or does 2011 seem to be shaping up like an Epic year for movies. Every year there are a handful of movies that I would like to see. This up coming year however seems to have well more than two handfuls.

Here is a list of the movies coming out in 2011 that I would like to see (Listed in order of release).

Season of the Witch
Ron Perlman...nuff said

The Green Hornet
Classic TV show that had Bruce Lee...

The Eagle
Romans in Scotland...

I am Number Four
First of MANY super hero movies this summer...

Drive Angry
Revenge with Fast Cars

Battle: Los Angeles
Alien invasion through the eyes of an infantry squad.

Paul
Geek movie...with the guys from Sean of the dead.

Sucker Punch
If you don't know...just click the link.

Fast Five
Vin Diesel vs Dwayne Johnson...

Thor
No wonder Kirk was a bad ass...his Dad was the God of Thunder!

Priest
Vampire movie...Maggie Q

Pirates of the Caribbean 4
Yep.

X-Men: First Class
Emma Frost...mmmmmmm

Green Lantern
How bad could it be?

Cars 2
With the kids most likely.

Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon
By myself most likely

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
With the wife....no doubt.

Captain America
Ummm...same guy that plays the Human Torch, that will make the Avengers / Fantastic Four movie....impossible.

Cowboys and Aliens
"That's cause we ain't played Cowboys vs. Aliens yet!"

The Darkest Hour
Americans trapped in Moscow during an Alien invasion.

Conan the Barbarian
The big guy from Stargate: Atlantis plays Conan, Ron Perlman too.

Moneyball
Baseball, Oakland A's...staring Brad Pitt, David Justice, Scott Hatteberg, oh and Princess Buttercup

Real Steel
Rocky meets Transformers

11-11-11
Book of Revelations: Angels Vs. Devils?

Panzer-88 (no release date yet)
Balrog vs. a German Tank crew in frozen Soviet Russia

To Quote Mater..."I'm happier than a tornado in a trailer park!"

Panzer 88 - Horror movie due out in 2011

2010-10-26T14:54:00.001-04:00

So I'm not normally one for Horror movies. Actually I never see them as I think they are stupid. This is probably due to my irrational fear of sharks, and that nothing really scares me as much as them. Anyway, I just heard about this movie, Panzer 88, that is about a German Tank crew in the Russian north, that uncovers some evil entity.

http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2010/08/23/star-wars-gary-kurtz-producer-rolls-into-horror-with-panzer88-panzer/

King Tiger vs. a Balrog....My money is on the fire deamon. Should prove interesting though.

I've probably just been playing too much World of Tanks. ;)

Having fun with World of Tanks

2010-10-07T19:37:00.002-04:00

So my spare time is going into a new game called World of Tanks.
Here are some images...

Trying out Arty...Didn't like it.

My best game to date, in the VK3002DB (Mercedes prototype that was rejected for the Panther)

See we arn't the only ones that pick on Josh. Most of the enemy team pickin on him here. (My burning wreck just in front of him.

Boom!


American tech tree and costs

Spare time with Star Trek Online

2010-07-25T21:37:00.001-04:00

So where has Rob been these days? Well you can see in my other blogs, I've been busy painting / playing 40k. But in my non-tabletop time I've been playing Star Trek Online. Pretty fun game, especially since I have the system to run it.

Anyway here are some screen shots of the game, and my jaunt through it.


USS Acadia (Constitution class)


USS Kennebec (Constitution class refit) headed out to face the Planet Killer


USS Augusta (Cheyenne Class) dodging the wrath of a Romulan Scimitar...Galaxy class wasn't so lucky.


USS Maine (Galaxy Class)


USS Ranger (Sovereign Class)

This game is perfect for someone with a family, and full time job. You can play for a hour and walk away, pick right up where you left off a week or two later.

That's all for now.

2010-05-26T18:56:00.001-04:00

Take the quiz at dicepool.com

You are a d8: You are the true adventurer! Dragons rescued, princesses slayed, and all that business while O Fortuna plays in the background. Your social calender is crammed with heroic deeds, and you've personally saved the world from ultimate destruction at least twice. You are reliable, perhaps a bit predictable, but overall a shining example of what happens when courage meets determination.

http://dicepool.com/quiz/info_8.html

Fun little Quiz making it's way around the geek net...

Pulled the Trigger.

2009-11-25T20:29:00.002-05:00

Well, I did it.

Pulled the trigger and bought the pieces to build a new computer. The Main system in the house is 7 years old. It has held up pretty well, with only one video card upgrade 3 years ago.

Here is the new system.

Motherboard:
ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Processor:
Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail

Best non-liquid cooler on the market:
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
XIGMATEK XLF-F1253 120mm 4 white LED LED Case Fan - Retail
Xigmatek Intel Core i7 compatible THOR'S HAMMER HDT-S126384 CPU Cooler - Retail

Op System:
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM

Case:
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

Power Supply:
COOLER MASTER UCP RSB00-AAAAA3 1100W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Power Supply - Retail

Hard Drive:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Disc Drives:
LITE-ON Black 4X Blu-ray Disc Reader SATA Model iHOS104-08 - Retail
Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM

Video Card:
EVGA 02G-P3-1185-AR GeForce GTX 285 2GB 512-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Memory:
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Retail

New Monitor:
Acer P235Hbmid Black 23" 5ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail

Freebie:
OCZ Diesel 4GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive Model OCZUSBDSL4G - Retail

Lots of room to upgrade after this too. She can take another GTX285, or two more if I get really crazy in SLI mode. Room for 6 more GB of Ram as well. Motherboard came out this week. USB 3.0 and SATA III capable. So I can get a nice Solid state drive when the prices drop a bit.

I'll be posting pics of the assembly and finished beast.

Something Funny happened at work...

2009-06-16T18:50:00.001-04:00

Funny thing just happened at work. Most of you know I work Security at a University. Well, I'm doin my job, driving around campus and I see this guy, whom I'll refer to as Skatepunk from this point forth, on a skateboard. Skatepunk doesn't have on a helmet / pads or even a shirt. To make things even more interesting he is being pulled through the parking lot by an SUV going about 30 miles an hour.

The Driver, aka DriverDude, of the SUV sees me, and rather than stopping, drives off campus with the Skatepunk in tow. They pull into a parking lot of a business just across the street from the University. So I park the car in a position I can watch them to make sure they don't come back on campus. I got Boston Sports talk radio and a new Dunkin Donuts Large coffee cream only, I'm good for a nice long wait. After about 15 minutes, Skatepunk and DriverDude walk away from the car with the skateboard and walk into the Civic Center parking lot to "Skate". After another 10 minutes, "Artsy Granola girl who was in the SUV and doesn't want to get into trouble" starts up the SUV and drives back on campus. I've seen ArtsyGirl before, she is an art student on campus and a good kid. DriverDude and Skatepunk see her drive off and give a "Where the heck are you goin?" look with palms up. I stay where I am and watch, slowly Skatepunk and DriverDude walk back onto campus at which point I approach them. I only catch up to DriverDude as Skatepunk has decided to walk fast and keeps walking as I start talking to DriverDude who is carrying the skateboard. I explain to DriverDude that I appreciate the exuberance of youth and but there is No skateboarding on Campus especially behind SUV's going about 30 miles an hour. If your friend wants to get himself killed, that is fine with me, just don't do it on campus...too much paperwork. Ok I didn't say that last part...but I really wanted to. DriverDude is like "Oh, OK...can I carry my skateboard?" I tell him yes and let him go on his way.

I drive over to the parking lot I originally saw the Skateboard/SUV event and see the SUV with ArtsyGirl in it. I see Skatepunk and DriverDude walk toward the SUV, skateboard in hand, and they are join by "PoorBastard" who looks like he just got out of class. They stand around and talk for a bit. Skatepunk climbs on top of the SUV looks around, hops back down. ArtsyGirl, walks towards a building with books in hand, probably going to class.

PoorBastard climbs into a MiniVan, DriverDude and Skatepunk hop into the back seat. PoorBastard drives off, only Skatepunk decides that he wants to be different and fight they system by leaving his passenger door open as they are driving though the parking lot. Yeah, I don't got to follow the rules...yeah, I'm young a full of angst.

So I start up my vehicle and follow them to make sure Skatepunk doesn't jumpout at speed to do some more surfskating, ala Marty McFly. They leave campus and get to big 4 way intersection on the main roadway, door still open. I pull into the last parkinglot on campus to watch them and make sure they leave for good. PoorBastard drives through the intersection, up a hill, and past motorcycle police officer that is just off the side of the road, with the door still open. They get pulled over, and I have a good chuckle that is too good not to share.

Random Musings...

2009-04-06T21:13:00.003-04:00

Been a while since I posted here, so here is my monthly installment.

1) I've caught the painting bug. which is a very good thing. Been far too long since I've made any serious progress with my painting hobby. You can see what I've been up to over in my three army project logs.

2) The baseball season started today. I'll be a Red Sox homer and say they are the team to beat this year. They have solid pitching both starters and bullpen and they are deeeeeep, with 7 starters and 4 guys that could be closers on other teams. The lineup is solid 1-7...if 8 and 9 can have average years, the Sox will win it all again.

3) 40k is the game of choice at the moment. I've been spending my free listening to the guys over at 40k radio.com They have a weekly show that they talk for 2 hours about 40k.
http://www.40kradio.com

4) This last weekend there was probably the biggest indy 40k convention Adepticon in Chicago.
While looking over some of the images I saw the most beautiful Eldar Army I have ever seen. I now have a goal. To some day paint as well as this guy.
www.gmmstudios.com

That is all for now.

2009-03-13T22:09:00.002-04:00

Hey Folks,

I got to roll some dice today. It was nice playing a very little bit down in the bullpen. However I was a little embarased that a grand total of 1 figure on the table was completely painted.

Something must be done about this.

So I went a little nuts, and made three new blogs. One for each 40k army that I have. I plan on updating these sites as i finish painting stuff...and keeping the Gamers Bullpen blog, for everything not related to those 3 armies. I added the new links over to the right.

Enjoy,
RangerRob

Just another reason John Elway is the greatest football player...ever.

2009-02-26T16:34:00.004-05:00

I know it is the "slow" time of year for football. Never really talk much football, much more into Baseball. My favorite football player of all time is John Elway. In my opinion the greatest football player to ever play the game. He carried 3 teams to superbowls with a group of wide receivers that would barely make other clubs, only to lose the big game. Then when he finally got some help in the form of a running game, he goes on to win two. His receivers came up with a term called the "Elway Cross"...it's what they called the little cross shaped bruise the football left on them when Elway zipped a pass to them.

Anyway, I saw this article and had to share.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3930609

Years after retiring, he is still the man.

Spring is coming soon!

2009-02-13T16:21:00.002-05:00

Sounds of Spring!

I also heard to day that Takashi Saito is going to wear #24 for the Sox this year.

When I got my Sox jersey with the #24 on it...it was for Dwight Evans, my favorite Red Sox of all time. Not for Manny. Kinda Happy the Sox didn't waste any time putting putting the number back into the rotation.

Whoa...missed a month.

2008-12-02T17:44:00.003-05:00

I got to get better at keeping this thing updated. Been a while so what has Ranger Rob been up to.

I've got a couple of things on my workbench at the moment.

#1) Epic Eldar. A good friend of mine gave me an entire Epic Eldar army. I've been playing with Army builder and basing these tiny beauties. I was all excited to paint them up....when I realized I was out of primer. Do I spend $8 on a can of paint or $8 more dollars on the kids for christmas... Yeah, so the eldar got pushed to the side.

#2) Another Tac Marine Squad, and Dreadnaught for the Greenhouse Guardians. Doing quite a Mod job on the Dreadie. Using leftover parts from Leman Russes and a Land Raider to make this Dreadnaught a Quad Autocannon beast...lengthing the legs to make him taller. Might add some armor plates around the waist to give him an "Armored Kilt" look.

That's it for tabletop stuff...I'll post some pics of the dreadie when he is finished.

On the PC gaming front, pretty slow there. Been fooling around with a Free MMO called Atlantica.
I've been regularly checking the forums over at the Star Trek Online website. That game looks like it will be pretty sweet when it is released Winter 2009.

That's all for now... Hope you all had a great Turkey Day.

The Cap...

2008-10-17T14:29:00.003-04:00

So I got this new Red Sox cap last year...

Pretty different, got a lot of comments on it...

Anyway, I started wearing it to work last year during the Sox playoff run...the run where they lost 3 in a row to Cleveland. So I wear it in the night the Sox are facing elimination to Cleveland. Barry, one of the guys that works in my building and has commented on my new cap, comes into my office with a piece of paper in his hand. He picks up my cap and throws it into one of the cabinets and closes the cabinet door. He then takes a piece of tape and tapes the paper he brought in to the door of the cabinet. It read...

Rob's Doomsday Cap
DO NOT OPEN UNTIL AFTER WORLD SERIES
Not a "LUCKY" Cap!

We had a good laugh, and I left the hat in that cabinet that night...The sox Won that game, so the Cap stayed in the cabinet for the rest of the playoffs and Boston Won the World Series.

When the Sox made the playoffs this year, brought the cap in to work, put it in the same cabinet. The sign Barry had made was still hanging on the inside of the cabinet door (Musta put it there after I took the cap out last year.) Barry had a good laugh when he saw the sign, and checked for the cap.

About 10pm last night, The Sox are losing 5-0, Barry comes into my office, Opens the cabinet, takes out the cap and puts it on my head. He then says..."It's not working, we got to try something else." Then after giving up two more runs, the Sox manage to score 8 runs in 2 1/3 innings and win the game. Just happens to be the greatest comeback in a playoff game in the last 75 years.

Just had to share...

Red Sox down 3-1

2008-10-16T09:52:00.002-04:00

Here we go again...Sox in an ALCS and have to play 3 must win games in a row.

Some of the Radio guys pointed out that the only guys on this team from '04 are Papi, Tek, Wake and Timlin...and they are all playing pretty bad.

I'm keeping the faith...DiceK going tonight, and he has never pitched bad in a HUGE game.

I joked that someone should Call Kevin Millar and get him to Fenway for another one of his speeches...in case he doesn't, we can use last years.

Go SOX!

Painting Battletech again...

2008-10-14T17:10:00.003-04:00

Hey Folks,

I had some spare time and when I went to paint up those new space marines...I noticed I was out of white spray primer. So I grabbed some older Battlemechs I had sitting on my "House Kurita" shelf that had been collecting dust for 3 years or so...

Wooden Crates...

2008-09-29T19:17:00.002-04:00

So I saw this article a long time ago on the internet on how to make little wooden crates for terrain. Heck if I can find it again...but it was so simple I figured I would give it a shot.

To do this you will need...

* 1" or 3/4" wooden blocks from your local craft store.
* Wooden coffee stiring sticks
* Wood glue
* Light Oak colored touch up Wood Stain marker.
* Micron black ink pen.
* small Xacto saw (although a good pair of snippers would work too)

Step one - glue the coffee sticks to the wood blocks and trim. You only need to do 5 sides, the 6th side will be the one on the table.

Step two - glue "strapping" wood and trim.
Step three - with ink pen make 2 dots at end of each piece of wood (Nails)

Step four - Stain the whole thing with your marker and your done.

How do they look?

3/4" blocks

1" blocks

Figure these will work for 40K, WWII, Western, Pirate games.

Might put a set of these on EBAY to see what I can get for them.

Latest work from the Bullpen

2008-09-29T18:53:00.002-04:00

2nd AoBR set is assembled except for the Dreadie.

For the Commander...
Lopped off the banner
Added the Skull and Iron Halo from the Terminator sgt.
added a Power Fist where the power sword was supposed to go.

For the Terminator Sgt.
lopped off the Skull and Iron halo.
added the large banner from the commander.
gave two of the reglar termies Cyclone launchers.

For the Tactical Sgt.
Lopped off the Chainsword and added a Power Fist to the Sgt.
Lopped off the head and added one of the old Beak helmets.

For the Heavy Weapon trooper...
Lopped off the missle launcher
added one of the very old Eldar Plasma Cannons (which looks quite a bit like the new marine plasma cannons.)
Added some bits to the backpack to cover up the missiles.

Greenhouse Guardians Space Marine Chapter

2008-09-10T17:15:00.004-04:00

Founding of the Greenhouse Guardians Chapter of Space Marines.

Jed was a simple man from the hills. He had worked his whole life with the soil of Terra. He knew the secrets of growing the various forms of plant life indigenous to Terra. For generations his family was responsible for the care of the Emperor’s courtyard in the gargantuan Imperial Palace. The courtyard was an impressive display of the fauna of Terra, with at least one specimen of every form of plant-life that still existed in the immense courtyard.

Jed was the head grounds keeper in charge of the over one hundred keepers of the courtyard. Each species of plant had specific rules for their care. These rules which were kept in massive Tomes called The Rules of Fauna. The tomes and passed down from generation to generation and stored a small vault in the keepers housing hidden under the center of the courtyard.

When Horus Heresy came to Terra, the keepers continued to do their work. Throughout the shelling of the Imperial Palace, Jed kept his crew busy for the work in the courtyard was never done.

Kharn the Betrayer, paced impatiently on the teleport pad, waiting for the shields protecting the Imperial Palace to fall. He and his squad would be among the first in the palace and he knew would be the first to find combat. When the shields protecting the Palace fell, an instant later Kharn and his group of Berserkers were teleported to Terra.

Seeing only green plants and trees, Kharn screamed out in rage fearing he and his squad had been teleported to the wrong location and would miss the taking of the Palace entirely.

Jed heard the scream, and sensed many new beings in his courtyard. The throaty buzz of numerous chainswords revving up to speed, confirmed his senses. The Berserkers quickly began slashing through fauna and grounds keeper alike. Jed’s quick thinking at this time secured his legacy. Jed ordered all the keepers to leave the courtyard and flee to the Marine barracks in the palace gates. Doing this had three fold impact. First the blood thirsty Berserkers were lead away from the Rules of Fauna. Second, Jed knew if the loyalist marines found the berserkers in the courtyard a firefight would ensue and destroy much of the precious fauna. Finally, by leading the Berserkers to the barracks by the gate they were being led away from the throne room and the Emperor. Jed stayed behind and using the courtyard he had lived in for all his life to mask his presence used hit and run tactics to lure the few remaining Berserkers away from the hidden entrance to the keepers housing and more importantly from the Rules of Fauna.

The keepers were slaughtered to the man in the flight to the barracks. The last falling just as the first Loyalist Marines began shooting at the Berserkers. Jed was slain as well, shot in the back as he was sprinting out the main archway of the courtyard.

The deeds of Jed and the Keepers of the Rules of Fauna were overlooked during the aftermath of Horus Hersey. The death of Horus, the Emperor becoming entombed in the Golden Throne, the loyalist Space Marines counter offensive against the forces of Chaos had the historian attention and Jed’s tale was quickly forgotten.

It was a minor clerk in the Administratum that rediscovered what happened at the courtyard. The tale reached the High Lords of Terra and after much debate, a special founding of a single chapter of space marines was ordered to represent the deeds of Jed and the keepers of the courtyard that day. Geneseed was taken from just the Librarians every chapter of Loyal Space Marines, to honor the sacrifice made to keep the Rules of Fauna safe. Historians discovered that in ancient times those that did the same work as the keepers had temples called Greenhouses where they practiced their arts. With that discovery the space marine chapter of the Greenhouse Guardians were formed, with the motto “The Keepers of the Rules”.

The new 40k Boxed set has come out, with a bunch of well made plastic minis. Josh, one of the owners of the Greenhouse has asked me to paint up the space marines from his demo box to display in the store window. I could have done one of the well known chapters of space marines, but when I was looking over the minis, I noticed how much the upward pointing arrow on the shoulderpads of the Marines looked like a monopoly house. I had to make a background story and create a space marine chapter for the store (There is over 100 chapters with only about 30 having been officially named) Here are some images of the finished minis...

The Captain

The Terminators

The Dreadnaught

The Marine squad

Good pic of the "Greenhouse" shoulderpad

The whole group...

Mike Richter...Hall of Fame!

2008-08-12T19:06:00.003-04:00

In the 90's I was a Hockey NUT. I spent one year up at Orono and after watching numerous games in person, I was hooked. I didn't really have any loyalty to the Boston Bruins, and when the NY Rangers kept drafting UMaine Players, I became a fan. Part of the reason my online nickname is Rangerrob is my being a NY Rangers Fan.

Today the US Hockey Hall of Fame announced the 2008 members. Brett Hull, was pretty freakin good. Brian Leetch was another key member of the NY Rangers when they were a powerhouse. But the name that stands out for me is Mike Richter, Goaltender for the NY Rangers. He is the reason the Rangers won the cup in '94. There was one play in the finals, Pavel Bure's penalty shot that you could just tell...if he scored, the Canucks would take the series, if he didn't the Rangers would win. Needless to say Richter stopped the shot, and the only time I felt like that since then was when Roberts stole second.

Richter is the reason the US won the Hockey world Cup in '96. He was the starting Goalie for the US in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake when they brought home the silver...and no one was beating Canada that year.

Anyway here are a couple more Mike Richter clips...enjoy.

Congrat Mike!

Latest Work in the Bullpen

2008-08-04T15:07:00.008-04:00

So I have been busy on half a dozen projects...No really, here they are.

Repainting all my Warlocks and my Farseer. They were all painted in different colored robes when I got them. I'm trying to give the army a uniform look.

The Farseer of mine never hit the table in 4th edition because of the instant death from failing a Psychic power roll, so I always took Eldrad whose toughness 4 let him take only 1 wound. 5th Edition lets the farseer get a save and take only 1 wound, so I get to use my generic Farseer again.

Troops are a must have in 5th edition 40k, I have a ton of guardians, but not too many Dire Avengers. I stripped some of my very old Guardians that had the "Dire Avenger" spartan helmets, and I'm painting them up as Dire Avengers. One of them is actually a Dire Avengers Exarch, but they all could pass for an Exarch. So If I ever have enough basic Avengers figs, I could field 6 squads...

Also stripped and repositioned my second Wraithlord. Bent the arms out to give him a more agressive pose, and used some greenstuff to give him his second weapon that they could carry with the latest Eldar Codex.

Also made up some Battletech scale buildings, using scrap plastic I had on my workbench. Some are from Flames of War blisters. The "Power Generator" / Tower is the heating element from a dead hair dryer.

Finally, three projects on my other workbench... Just finished up my "Plexiglass" river. Those are the blue pieces on the table. I will be making a "How To..." entry on www.greenhousegamesonline.com that explains how to make this simple and effective river terrain. Next is the Powerstation, the grey terrain piece with the smoke stacks, used a CD bundle case, fan from the hair dryer mentioned above, container that holds staples for a copy machine, and the plastic that held the cookies from a girlscout cookie box. The box of wood pieces is my starting some Trenches from a article over at Bell of Lost Souls: http://belloflostsouls.blogspot.com/2007/07/terrain-workshop-trenches-and.html

Finally, one of the Eldar Dire Avengers that I am painting up does not have a helmet. When I went to get get some flesh paint, way too much came out. So I grabbed five of the Ogryns from my Imperial Guard army. Also seen here are some Epic Eldar Knights and an Old 40K Eldar Ghost Warrior I plan on using as WraithGuard.

More to come...

Thanks for the Memories, Manny.

2008-07-31T16:52:00.004-04:00

Ok, Manny just got traded to the Dodgers. Guess the Front office finally had enough with his antics. Sox REALLY gave up a lot to get Manny out of town.

Cost to Boston...
Manny...
Paying the rest of Manny's contract this year, 7Mill...
Brandon Moss, a good outfielder...
Craig Hansen, Reliever that has a mid 90's fastball that couldn't get his stuff together in Boston.

Boston Gets...
Jason Bay. NL Rookie of the Year in 04. Has hit 22 homers this year. At least he is signed through next year. Looks like a righthanded JD Drew with a little more power.

Really think this is addition by subtraction. AL teams across the land are dancing knowing the modern day Marris and Mantle just got split up.

Thanks for the two world series Manny, I'll miss yah.

Now I have to explain to my Daughter why one of her favorite players isn't a Red Sox any more. :(

New Greenhouse Games website

2008-07-24T18:48:00.003-04:00

So about 3 years ago I took an online HTML class while working toward my bachelors degree. Learned the basics and that is about it. Today I put those basic skills to use and built my second website. The first was a little something I put together for Brian, My father-in-law, when he was running for the State House seat in Yarmouth.
I know the owners of a small tabeltop game store in Garniner, and one of them asked if I could build them a webpage. Here it is...

www.greenhousegamesonline.com

It needs some work, I plan on adding more links and pics in the future.

more later,
Webmaster Rob

The Bullpen Upgrade...

2008-07-17T15:27:00.003-04:00

When I built my gaming table close to ten years ago, I had a plan. It was a simple 6' x 4' table, standard size for most Games Workshop games. The plan was to build a second table exactly the same, so they could be placed side by side for an 8' by 6' gaming space.

Well I had a little bit of time over the last couple weeks, and some birthday cash that needed to be spent. One trip to Home Depot later I had all the supplies I needed to Clone my original table. Here are some pics of the tables put together.

I was unable to locate the "outside carpeting" that I used to cover my first table so I'm using an old roll of model train paper turf for now. Plan is to buy some new covering for both tables so they match.

Not the best pics in the world. I added my two Warhammer 40K armies to help show the size. Yeah I have a LOT of painting to do.

Why I like Warhammer 40K...

2008-07-16T12:58:00.004-04:00

Ok, been a little busy, mostly with the birth of my Son, Max. Partially with the constuction of another gaming table for the bullpen...pic to come soon.

But this post is about Warhammer 40K. It is one of the tabletop games I play. Science fiction game where armies of 50 to 100+ battle. Each game takes a 2-4 hours to play. Many different races and armies to chose from. My army of Choice is the Eldar (space elves). Ancient, mysterious, powerful, but fragile. Well THQ is coming out with another computer game base on Warhammer 40k...usually these games focus on the Space Marines (men) or the Orks. But in the newest trailer the Eldar show up...just had to share.

Dawn of War II trailer

OMG!

2008-06-29T19:17:00.000-04:00

Papelbon and Manny (the other one)...FTW!

Rob's Wargaming background.

2008-06-26T19:16:00.010-04:00

I've hinted at my love for tabletop games, but have yet to really write anything about them. I figure it is about time I get started.

My wargaming experience started in the early 80's at Larsen's hobby store in Waterville, Maine. I was a young kid and Mom brought me into the store to get some minis to use while playing D&D. There was a group of guys playing some kind of game on a huge table covered with minis. Believe it was house rule system called Hack and Slash, about as simple a game as there was. Rather than leaving the store with just a couple of minis, I left with about 20 dwarves and a war elephant.

My wargaming is probably 25% Historical, 25% Fantasy and 50% Sci-Fi. My first “wargame” that I bought was 6th Fleet in the late 80’s, think I bought it shortly after I saw Top Gun. It was a "Modern" navy game set in the Mediterranean about 1985 and played using counters. I went through the AD&D phase but got off before 2nd edition, the “Magic” phase, the Board game phase, The anything but Magic Card game phase, etc…

The conventions up at Hinkley were the first that I remember going to. There I met the group a guys, and a couple of life long friends Joel and Josh. I also have been to a few conventions at USM and UMF, playing Wes Decamos’ WWII naval ship game whenever possible. Really fun game using Model WWII ships on a gym floor, and you have to guess ranges to shoot the other ships. I’ve made the trip to Historicon in Pennsylvania a couple of times, with Joel and Josh, and had a really great time.
Currently, I’m a game rep for Catalyst Game Labs. What does that mean? I run official Battletech Events for them. Probably the work I was most proud of was the once a month Carver V Battletech Campaign I had going down at the Greenhouse. But that is a story for another day.

EDIT: Found some links to the After Action reports of the Carver V campaign.
For your viewing pleasure...
Mission #9
Mission #10
Mission #11
Mission #12

Real life has curtailed my gaming as of late and I am lucky to get one game in every couple of months. So most of my time is spent surfing forums of various games, watching for after action reports. I am working on another Battletech Campaign, Painting my Warhammer 40K Eldar and looking at those old Warhammer Quest boxes that are collecting dust in the bullpen.

Added Online Comics

2008-06-25T18:05:00.002-04:00

Took a little time today and added a list of my favorite Online comic strips.

These are comics that I have discovered over the years. Most of them have something to do with gaming. Wanted to have one place that had the links, never knowing what computer I will be using any given day.

Later,
Rob

The nWo

2008-06-24T11:02:00.004-04:00

Yeah, so what is the deal with the nWo theme music? Let me start out by saying I know wrestling is fake. I no longer watch wrestling and it has probably been 8 years since I felt I had to tune in every monday night. I guess I was always more interested in the prematch taunting/speaches. Wrestling has been called a soap opera for men. I always thought of it as a stage production with stuntmen. I mean these guys and gals have to remember their lines or adlib, usually to a live audience. Then do a pretty intense acrobatic sequence without actually hurting the other guy or gal.

Anyway, My favorite "wrestler" was Kevin Nash. Really big guy, mostly a bad guy throughout his career. He made a name for himself as "Diesel" in the WWF during the early 90's, even getting to be WWF champion for a year. Anyway his contract with the WWF was up and he and his good friend Scott Hall signed new contracts with rival orginization WCW. So on Monday night Scott Hall shows up on WCW, pretending to be coming over from the WWF starting an invasion/War between the two main Wrestling shows. Kevin Nash shows up two weeks later and they challenge the WCW to bring their best three guys to the next big Pay Per View event. Hall and Nash kept their third guy a secret and even fought most of the match two on three. The following video is the end of that match and shows the forming of the nWo (New World Order) and kicked off the greatest storyline in the history of wrestling.

So that doesn't really explain why the nWo theme is the first song listed. Well, I couldn't really really choose one song or band to have the top spot, so I thought the first song should be "Entry" music, like a wrestler coming to the ring, or a closer coming out of the bullpen to close the game in the 9th. I almost went with "Walk" by Pantera...Which would have been my entry music If I had the arm and talent to be a big league closer. No song on this list gets me an instant adrenaline rush like "Walk" does, I know not a good title for a relief pitcher. Anyway, rambling, back to the story. I was thinking entry music for the top spot and there was only one entry song that could be considered. The one that when I heard I knew I was going to be entertained.

nWo, 4 life.

Ranger Rob Radio....

2008-05-30T18:33:00.003-04:00

Hey Folks,

I have done the last major addition to the IMEEM Ranger Rob Radio station. Sure I will tweek it here and there...but it is done for the most part. I recommend opening it in a standalone player, for some reason about half the songs only play a 30 second preview clip if you play it here on this page, but in stand alone all the songs play fully. I strongly suggest shuffle play to get the best effect, and the NWO theme song is a story for another day...but it is first for a reason.

Little bit about my taste in music. Many of you will say I have none, which is fine to each their own. For the most part I would label my favorite music style as "Hard Rock / Heavy Metal". My first concert was Sting in 1987 I think. Not exactly Hard rock, but I made it to plenty of "Hair band" concerts down at OOB or the Civic Center.

I stopped listening to music for a while when the Seattle music scene took off. Nirvana and Pearl Jam were not my cup of tea, I tried, but just could not get into them. I was already into Seattle bands, namely Queensryche and Jimmy Hendrix, so I was a little miffed by being sold the "NEW" music scene when I had been listening to it for years already. Then Sports talk radio hit the airwaves and that was the nail in the coffin, for music for me. I can't remember the last album I bought for myself.

The last couple of years I have started listening again. I have come around to some of the Seattle music of the 90's. Evansence is probably the only "newer" band that I would pay money to see in concert. I get chills listening to Amy Lee from Evansence sing. Vocals are the most important aspect of what I am drawn to for music that I like. Geoff Tate of Queensryche, Freddie Mercury of Queen, Rob Halford of Judas Priest, all are amazing singers who have incredible range.

So what were the requirements to make the cut to Ranger Rob Radio? To take the science out of it...I had to like the band and the song. So I am all over the place with my music, From Judas Priest to Johnny Cash to the Police to The Dropkick Murphys.

All of this is to say...If yah want tunes while reading the site, the option is there for yah.

The Bullpen...ok Basement.

2008-05-08T19:28:00.003-04:00

A big part of my life has been tabletop games. I'll roll dice with just about anyone playing just about anything. Over the years I have collected quite a few games, minatures and rule sets. Eventually I built myself a little place in the basement to play these games, with a 4' x 6' self built table. Here are some pics of the Gamers Bullpen.

The Bullpen...I have a few of boards that I can slap on top of the table to represent different terrain (Black for space games, Blue for Naval games, Tan for desert games...)

Here is the primary mini storage place...Warhammer 40k stuff straight ahead, Battletech in the "fish" rack to the right.

Pic of my primary Eldar force...yeah each of the shelves slide out making the cabinet awesome for holding minis.

My latest finished minis...lots more unpainted stuff to get to.

That is all for now...

Foxes of UMA

2008-05-07T17:44:00.001-04:00

I love spring. One of the few advantages of working security at a university is the first few hot days of spring. The winter coats are shed and you can see many shapely forms walking around campus. I was able to take a picture of some of these heavenly vixens crossing the Quad. Now before you folks get upset, Yes I am quite happily married. In fact, my wife has seen the pics and thinks that they are “Cute”. Just had to share…

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/rmarden/Vixens_of_UMA.jpg

Lord of the Red Sox 14, The Battle of Jacobs Field

2008-04-23T17:19:00.003-04:00

OK...Stop right there...If you want to read "The Lord of the Red Sox" from the beginning, click over on "April" to the right...then select the first Lord of the Red Sox...otherwise you will be reading them backwards. Ok back to the story...

The Sox are down 2 games to 1 against Cleveland with Wakefield taking the mound. I had not done a Lord of the Red Sox post since Game 1 of the ALDS. Feeling the pressure I figured it couldn't hurt...well the Sox lost this one too, falling behind three games to one. The rest is history... But this was the last of the Lord of the Red Sox posts.

"The Lord of the Red Sox" mojo presents…

The Battle of Jabobs Field

Scene: The Sox arrive at Jacobs Field down two games to one. They need a victory to avoid a very difficult situation.

Lowell, BigPapi, Lugo and Mirabelli step from the dugout to do some pre-game stretching.

The Indians are in front of their dugout, and Sizemore notices the four Sox players.
Sizemore: (to Hafner and Lofton) Hey watch this.

Sizemore: Come out and Play. You will never see Fenway again this year.

Lugo: Be assured the Halls of Fenway will sound again with the roar of the Nation.

BigPapi: (to Lowell) They don’t know who is pitching for us tonight do they?

Lowell: (Smirks, and turns to the dugout) You ready?

King of the Knuckle: (Steps on to the field) We Will WIN!

Sizemore: Oh Crap…

King of the Knuckle: (Takes the mound and is totally unhitable by any of the Indians batters for 8 strong innings.)

Papelbon: (Closes out the Ninth) Have fun with Beckett in the next game boys…oh yeah and See Yah in Fenway!

Lord of the Red Sox 13, The One Ring

2008-04-23T16:42:00.004-04:00

So the playoffs were starting and I was running out of material. Ellsbury got cast as Galadriel, mostly due to the man-crush everyone in New England had on him.

Short entry, playing off the intro from the Lord of the Rings.

"The One Ring"

Ellsbury: It began with the forging of the Great Rings, awarded for Championships of years past.
Colorado seeks their first great ring and has never knows its power.
One has been given to Anaheim, Arizona and Philly, all who long to return to their once attained glory.
Two were given to the Cubs and Cleveland, a time very long ago and mostly forgotten.
Six were given to the Red Sox of Boston with the most recent awarded for the greatest comeback in the history of sport.
And Twenty-six, Twenty-six were gifted to the Yankees of New York, who spend above all others in their attempts to obtain the ring.

For within these rings is bound the glory and deeds of that season. But the value of those rings lessened, for a new ring has been made. In the grand halls of Cooperstown, the Dark Lord Selig forged a 2007 World Series Ring, whose value is beyond all others. For baseball fans honor the bearer of the current Ring. One Ring to rule them all. One by one, the teams of Major League Baseball fell to the power of the ring. But there are eight who remain, victory is near, the Great ring is within their grasp. The power of the ring has a will of its own. It betrays teams to their doom, and rewards fans of the faithful. With just eleven victories, the ring will ensnare a new bearer. The time is now Red Sox Nation, arise players of Boston, Arise and...
WIN!

Lord of the Red Sox 12, A Red Sox Day

2008-04-23T13:47:00.004-04:00

So the Sox had won homefield throughout the playoffs, and this was the last post of the regular season. This was more of a kickoff posting for the playoffs and a farewell to the other members of the sandbox. So I said to heck with the tiny pics. After this game the Sons of Sam Horn guys decided they were keeping the sandbox open for the playoffs.

Well gang, it has been a blast. This is the last game thread of the regular season for the Lurkers.

This game is....how can I say this...meaningless. We have gotten everything we asked for out of the regular season from the Red Sox. Best record, homefield throughout, AL victory in the All-Star game. On top of that everyone seems to be getting hot at the same time. Things look really good.

Not much to post about for this game, except maybe some of your favorite memories from the regular season.

I have enjoyed making my "Lord of the Red Sox" mojo posts, and I apologize to those with Dial-up. I agree with most of you that yesterdays was the best one, and impossible to beat. I wish we could continue through the playoffs...but it is what it is. So without further delay...

"The Lord of the Red Sox" mojo presents...

"A Red Sox Day!"

Scene: Red Sox Dugout, just before the start of game 1 of the ALDS

Schilling: Red Sox Nation prepare for battle! Beckett. You get the ball in game one. DiceK, You take Game Two. I'll take game three in Anaheim. The rest of you, Defense will rule the playoffs! Arise! Arise, Players of Boston! Opposing players shall be shaken, bats shall be splintered! A Pitching day... a Red Sox day... ere the sun rises!

[Schilling runs past the players, hitting their gloves with his fist as he goes]
Schilling: Play now!... Play now!... Play! Play to Victory and the World Series!

[Schilling puts on his ballcap and turns to face the Angels dugout]
Schilling: Win!
Red Sox: [echoing] Win!

Schilling: Win!
Red Sox: [echoing] Win!

Schilling: WIN!
Red Sox: WIN!
(Sox take the field for game 1 of the ALDS, with the support of all of Red Sox Nation)

Lord of the Red Sox 11, I am No Reliever

2008-04-23T13:17:00.003-04:00

So the Sox, Win and the Yanks lose to Baltimore and the Sox are AL East Champs. Good times. Over at Sons of Sam Horn there are two groups; the members, and those in the sandbox. I was one of those in the sandbox having not gotten my membership yet. There was a chance the Sandbox was going to be shut down for the playoffs, so I was now under a time constraint to get out my better stories I was saving for the playoffs. Which leads to what many have told me was the best of the Lord of the Red Sox entries.

"The Lord of the Red Sox" Mojo presents…

I Am No Reliever!

Scene: Fenway Park, the near future, ALCS, Game 6, Sox vs. Yanks. Sox are ahead in the series 3-2. The bullpen is spent after have been gone deep to in games 3,4,and 5. 7th Inning, Schilling has pitched well but is far past 100 pitches. Sox leads 5-2. Two on, One out...

Schill: (looks over to see who is coming to bat)

Damon: (Swoops towards the field, with Jeter on deck.)

Schill: Crap, he's got my number tonight. I can get him though.

Damon: (Steps into the batters box having gone 2-2 today with a Homer, Double and a walk.)

Tito: TIME! (Slow walks to mound…waves his left hand at the bullpen) Good game Schill.

Schill: Thanks. (Hands ball to Tito, walks to dugout)

Lester: Oh boy...Here we go.

Lester: (Takes the mound.)

Damon: (On the first pitch sends a line drive right back at Lester who snags it on the fly…the runners retreat to their bags.)

Lester: Two Down.

Jeter: (Steps into batters box, arches back…)

Lester: (First pitch, Swinging Strike One.)

Lester: (Second pitch, Swinging Strike Two)

Lester: (Third Pitch, Long Drive to Left….but sails foul missing Fisk's Pole by about two feet.) Whew that was close.

Jeter: (Leans out of the box and shouts out to Lester.) Fool, No Red Sox reliever can strike out the Captain of the Yankees.

Lester: I am no Reliever! (Throws pitch)

Jeter: (Strike Three. LOOKING!)

Jeter: NOooooooooo!

Coco: (Fist Pumps) YEAH!

(The Yanks never made it to the ALCS, The Sox went on to face just as big a challenge in Cleveland)

Lord of the Red Sox 10, Close the Door

2008-04-23T12:55:00.002-04:00

Over at Sons of Sam Horn, one person starts the "Game" thread and as long as the Sox keep winning it is considered good luck for that person to start the next game thread...until the Sox lose. A few of the other posters there asked me If I would start up the next Game thread. I was honored and gladly took up the challenge...with what I think is the worst of my Lord of the Red Sox stories.

I had this image in my head of Papelbon walking over to Gagne and just saying WTF Dude! Okajima had also become such a key member of this team, I had to add him to a story. So here it is...

Two games up on the Yanks...with Three to go.

Matchup...
MIN: K. Slowey (4-0, 4.57)
BOS: D. Matsuzaka (14-12, 4.48)

"The Lord of the Red Sox" Mojo presents...

Close the Door

Scene: Fenway Park Bullpen. Tito has called a meeting of the entire pitching staff.

Tito: We have to win two of the next three games to take the AL East. I know we can do it. I feel real real good about our chances. So here is the game plan. Dice, I just need 6 strong innings out of you..no more, no less.

DiceK: I can do that.

Tito: Okie, I’m gonna need you to lock down the 7th for us.

Okie-Jima: Yep.

Tito: Gagne, the 8th is yours.

Gagne: Yes Master, Precious will do as you ask.

Tito: Paps you will wrap it up for us.

Papelbon: Can do Chief.

Tito: Ok lets do it…

(As everyone is leaving…)

Papelbon: Hey Gagne, got a second.

(As Gagne comes over, Paps grabs him and slams him against a wall)

Papelbon: I don't know what's gotten into your head. But we need you to come through for us tonight.

Papelbon: If you screw this thing up tonight. I'm gonna show you first hand what we did to the gators that stumbled into the bullpen back in Louisaina. Are we clear?

Gagne: Yesss, Precious would never do anything to hurt the Red Sox.

Papelbon: Good, now lets WIN this freakin thing!

(and they did)

Lord of the Red Sox 9, Change of Plan

2008-04-23T12:13:00.003-04:00

Well, the Sox had all but clinched the AL East at this point. They kept winning, and the whole point of the Lord of the Red Sox storyline was to lose the AL East and take the wild card. So I had to changes to make in the story. Then looking at what pictures to use it struck me how much the wall of Helmsdeep looked like the Green Monster at Fenway. Mount Doom was already cast as Yankee stadium, so I figured I would put both settings into this one story...

"The Lord of the Red Sox" mojo presents...

Change of Plan

Scene: Fenway Park, Monster seats.

Lowell: It was nice of Tito to give us the day off.

Lugo: Well, to stick with our plan of taking the Wild Card we have to tank a couple of games. These seats are pretty sweet too.

Lowell: Best seats in the majors.

BigPapi: My seat won't go up any higher. I cannot see a thing.

Lugo: Shall I describe the game for you, or would you like me to find you a box?

Meanwhile….
Scene: Yankee Stadium, Third level bleachers, first row overlooking the field.

Pedrioa: We made it, Youk. Now all we have to do is drop the AL East Ring and the Wild Card will be ours.

[Pedroia holds the ring over the railing]

Youk: Go on! Now! Throw it in!

[Pedroia stares at the ring, and thinks]

Youk: What are you waiting for? Just let it go!

[Pedroia turns an looks at Sam]

Pedroia: The Ring is ours. @#&% the Wild Card. You know this will come down the Yankees and us. You know it's going to go 7 games. Would you rather play game 7 in this hell hole or back in Fenway?

Youk: uh…Fenway…What the hell were we thinking?

Pedroia: I don't know, let's go, I've got a phone call to make.

Back at Fenway…

Tito: (Comes out on the field in his League approved uniform and shouts up to the Monster seats) CHANGE OF PLAN BOYS, GET YOUR ASSES DOWN HERE, WE ARE GONNA TAKE THE AL EAST!!!!

Lugo: Sweet!

BigPapi: Let me at them!

Lowell: Wait a minute, who is pitching tonight?

Beckett: Don’t worry guys, I got this one…and we will WIN!

(of course the Sox lose this game. I was thinking I would take a break from the Lord of the Red Sox Mojo, but no...)

Lord fo the Red Sox 8, Know your Role, Rookie!

2008-04-23T12:00:00.002-04:00

The Sox kept winning, and onward rolled the Lord of the Red Sox Mojo. Lester was due to pitch in his last start before being moved to the bullpen for the playoffs. Later Wake strained something and was unable to pitch in the world series so Lester got his start. I had almost cast Lester as Farimir...but there was a major scene with Eowyn that I had rolling about in my head, and Lester fit that story better...

"Lord of the Red Sox" Mojo presents...

Know your role rookie!

Lester: Damn it! Lowell! I just heard I'm being moved to the bullpen for the playoffs.

Lowell: That is an honorable role.

Lester: This is because I'm a......rookie isn't it.

Lowell: OK, now you're just being silly.

Lester: To sit there, not knowing if and when I will be called upon. I'm not even sure of what situation I'll be brought in for. What kind of renown is that?

Lowell: My Lad, there may come a time for valor without renown. Who will Red Sox Nation look to should we need help early in a game?

Lester: Let me start. I know I can win a game for us.

Lowell: It's not my call. Look at it this way. I know you were not here in '04, heck neither was I. But who played one of the biggest parts in that playoff run. Derek Freakin' Lowe.

D-Lowe: Huh?

Lowell: (Ignores D-Lowe) Start the playoffs in the Bullpen and ends up being the only player in the history of the game to win all 3 clinching playoff games. Go to the pen, we'll call on yah when we need yah.

Lester: Mm---okay.

Lowell: But Tonight we need your best stuff in order to keep the pressure on the Yankees.

Lester puts on ball cap.

Lester: Do not worry...for tonight we will WIN!

Lord of the Red Sox 7, The King of Fenway

2008-04-22T21:02:00.003-04:00

The Red Sox kept winning games so "The Lord of the Red Sox" post I was making became a sort of "Mojo" over in the Sons of Sam Horn Sandbox. I had to keep posting. It was Schilling's turn to pitch, so it was time to introduce him as Theoden. Schilling was also coming back from some down time mid summer, after that awesome 1 hitter against Oakland. As chance would have it his opponent this night would be Oakland again...whose mascot is an elephant, which I had to tie into the story. Grima Wormtounge also had been cast...

"Lord of the Red Sox" mojo presents...

The King of Fenway

Scene: Looking to get Schilling’s pitching back on track for the playoffs, Varitek, Lowell, Lugo and BigPapi walk out to the bullpen. When they arrive they find Schilling looking out of shape and not in his uniform, with a dark figure by his side.

Clemens: My friend, Varitek the Captain is coming. He is a herald of woe.

Tek: The velocity of your fastball is somewhat lessened of late, Schilling the Blogger.

Clemens: He is not welcome here.

Schilling: Why should I welcome you Varitek Pitch-caller?

Clemens: A Just question my friend. Late is the time in the season when this group comes for your aid. Career enders I call them. Save your arm for seasons to come…

Tek: Be silent! Keep your slick tounge behind your teeth. I have not fought through a broken elbow and a hitting slump to bandy crooked words with a Texas Conman. I saw you pitch in the World Baseball classic…you have nothing left in your arm and only poisonous words spew from your lips.

Clemens: Curt, I’ve only ever thought of you. I turned your career around. I taught you the split finger fastball. If you listen to me and save your arm, you can pitch 4 or 5 more years just like me.

BigPapi: Didn’t I see Manny take you yard at the 2004 All-Star game...In your Home park? Didn’t you give up 6 runs in the first inning, in a game they were giving you some lifetime award for being a great pitcher? I’d be quiet if I were you.

Tek: Free your mind from the web of lies Clemens has spread. Help lead Red Sox Nation to another world series. Your path back to greatness is on the mound in Fenway.

Schilling: (takes a deep breath and the glossy look leaves his eyes)

Schilling: Begone from here Clemens Fork-tounge!

Lowell and Lugo grab Clemens and throw him out of Fenway.

Lowell: One, Two, Three…Heave!

Clemens: EEEEEeeeeeee!

Lugo: Damn, that fat bastard was heavy!

Tek: You would remember your old strength if you put on your uniform.

Schilling gets dressed.

Schilling: So who am I pitching against tonight?

Oakland Athletics: EEeRungh!!!

Schilling: The Arm of Great38 will pitch one last time in Fenway before the playoffs….and we shall WIN!

Lord of the Red Sox 6, Gagne

2008-04-22T20:43:00.004-04:00

One of the most interesting stories of the 2007 Red Sox was their "Trade Deadline" move of acquiring Eric Gagne. Gagne did nothing, zip, zero, zilch, nada for the Sox in his first 4 starts, blowing 4 saves, giving up quite a few homers. There was only one character in the Lord of the Rings that what I feel was a perfect match for Gagne...

Many of you should have seen this one coming a mile away.

Scene: Red Sox Dugout after last night's game, only Varitek and Pedroia remain with everyone else having retired to the locker room.

Pedroia: Someone is lurking about the Bullpen…

Tek: It's the creature Gagne, he has been following us since Fenway.

Pedroia: That freakin' guy? It's a pity Theo didn't cut him when he had the chance.

Tek: Pity? It was pity that stayed Theo's hand. Many that play deserve to be released. Some that are released deserve to play. Do not be too eager to mess with the roster. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gagne has some part to play yet, for good or ill before this is over. The pity of Theo may rule the fate of many.

Meanwhile in the Bullpen…Gagne is having a heart to heart with himself.

Gagne-2007: We wants it, we needs it. Must be the closer. They stole it from us. Sneaky little Red Sox. Wicked, tricksy, false!

Gagne-2003: No. Not the Red Sox!

Gagne-2007: Yes, precious, false! They will not let you pitch with the game on the line ever again.

Gagne-2003: The Red Sox are our friends! I can still contribute!

Gagne-2007: You don't have any friends; nobody likes you!

Gagne-2003: I'm not listening... I'm not listening...

Gagne-2007: You're ERA's 7.88 since joining them and you can't find the plate.

Gagne-2003: No!

Gagne-2007: *Four blown saves in Four chances*

Gagne-2003: Go away!

Gagne-2007: "Go away?"

[Gagne-2007 laughs as Gagne-2003 begins crying]

Gagne-2003: I hate you, I hate you.

Gagne-2007: Where would you be without me? I saved us! It was me! We got out of that hell hole in Texas because of me!

Gagne-2003: [stops crying] Not anymore.

Gagne-2007: What did you say?

Gagne-2003: The Red Sox looks after us now. We don't need you anymore.

Gagne-2007: What?

Gagne-2003: Leave now, and never come back!

Gagne-2007: No!

Gagne-2003: Leave now, and never come back!

Gagne-2007 screams in frustration

Gagne-2003: LEAVE! NOW! AND NEVER COME BACK!

[Gagne-2007 vanishes]

Gagne-2003: [looks around] We told him to go away... and away he goes, Precious! Gone, gone, gone! Gagne IS FREE!

(OK, maybe a little wishful thinking on my part, that the 2003 Gagne will show up for the playoffs. But one can dream can't one?)

Lord of the Red Sox 5, The Paths of the Knuckle

2008-04-22T20:05:00.003-04:00

So the Red sox win again on Sept. 22nd, clinching a Playoff spot. Very dramatic win, Gagne blows yet another save in the 8th, Tek and Lugo go deep in the 9th to tieing and go ahead runs. Wake's turn to pitch and Mirabelli had missed a few games but was coming back for this game...which brings us to...

The Paths of the Knuckle

Scene: Red Sox Locker room, During last nights playoff clinching celebration.

Lowell: We clinched a playoff spot, thanks to some timely hitting.

BigPapi: A Defensive Shortstop that hits the game winning RBI When a DH can not, I’ll never hear the end of it.

Lowell: We still need to align our pitching for the playoffs. We must seek out Wakefield and show him that Mirabelli is ready to play.

Lugo, BigPapi and Lowell carrying a very large sack, travel through a long forgotten access tunnel from the locker room to the visiting bullpen.

King of the Knuckle: The Pitchers do not suffer the Batters to pass through here.

Lowell: You will suffer me. I summon you to take your place in the playoff rotation.

King of the Knuckle: None but Mirabelli may command me!

Lowell reaches into the large sack he is carrying and pulls out…

Mirabelli: SHWING!

King of the Knuckle: That catcher was broken!

Lowell: He has been re-made.

Lowell: Pitch for us. Regain your honor. What say you? WHAT SAY YOU?!

King of the Knuckle: We will WIN!

Lord of the Red Sox 4, Last March of the Red Sox

2008-04-22T19:34:00.003-04:00

So when I started this crazy Lord of the Red Sox thing I had a method to my madness in assigning the roles. The 9 members of the Fellowship were going to be the 9 batters in the sox lineup, and other major characters in the movie would be the starting pitchers, with minor roles going to bench / bullpen players. Schilling had to be Theoden...the once proud King of Rohan. That being the case Eomer had to be Beckett. Treebeard was a major player in the movie so he had to be a starter, I had plans for Wake (King of the Dead) and Lester (Eowyn) so that left Dice-K. The major villians of the Lord of the Rings were assigned to Yankee players and coaches, Sauron was Steinbrenner, Saruman was Torre, The Witch King was Jeter...
The Sox had won the prior nights game against Tampa, and as long as the Sox were winning I had to continue...
Ok back to the story...

Last March of the Red Sox

Scene: Red Sox locker room before tonight’s game. Lowell, Papi and Lugo are standing together talking and Beckett walks over.

Beckett: What did you three, a DH, Third-baseman and Shortstop do to score so many runs last night. Speak quickly!

BigPapi: Tell me your secrets Pitch-master and I shall tell you mine.

Beckett: I’d strike you out easy, were we facing each other.

Lugo: I’d steal second before your first strike fell in.

Lowell: Lugo enough! We are all friends here with a common goal. (To Beckett) We put some hits together and knocked a couple out of the park it’s that simple. We are on a long journey, but need all of our bats to perform. I sent Coco over too talk to Manny and see if he would play tonight. Now I can’t find either of them…have you seen them?

BigPapi: Two guys. One with dreads and the other with a Half-fro. Have yah seen ‘em?

Beckett: I too busy remembering last nights pitching. We slaughtered them to the man. No, but I’ve been all around the locker room, they are not here.

Meanwhile in the Red Sox Bullpen. Manny and Coco are talking to Dice-K about tonight’s game, as Dice-K is glancing through the sports section of the local paper.

Manny: So by taking the Wild Card and not the AL East, we will be sure of winning the World Series. The closer we are to being eliminated, the better we will play. It’s the last thing the Yankees will expect.

Coco: Are you mad? We need Dice-K to start pitching better to secure the Wild Card. If he doesn’t, we will be caught for sure.

Dice-K: I always like coming south, feels like pitching in Japan. Although all I read about in the sports section is the HGH stuff.

Manny: You know half the Yankees are on the stuff, right?

Dice-K: What! Some of those players were my friends. Guys I had known from little league.

Manny: I’m sorry Dice-K.

Dice-K: TORRE! A Manager should know better! There is no curse in Japanese, Spanish or the many tongues of English for this treachery.

The rest of the Red Sox bullpen pitchers pack up their gear and head to the dugout.

Manny: Hey why you guys leaving?

Coco: Where are they going?

Dice-K: They have to save their arms for the Yankees. My business is with Tampa Bay tonight, with a complete game and a shut out.

Dice-K: Hroom, hm, come my friends. The Red Sox are going to war! We shall not stop until we are World Series Champs! The last march of the Red Sox!

Lord of the Red Sox 3, The Mines of Tropicana

2008-04-22T19:10:00.005-04:00

Continuation of the 2007 Red Sox story that I tied to the Lord of the Rings. Sox were starting a 3 game series in Tampa Bay.

We last left our heroes as they were leaving Fenway park. Pedroia had taken the burden of carrying the Ring of the AL East and hopes to deliver it to Yankee Stadium. The Evil power of the AL East leader has caused the Red Sox to stop hitting and player after player has gotten hurt. The Council of Francona decided the best course would be to forfit the Ring of the AL East, take the Wild Card and win the World Series far from home.

The Mines of Tropicana

Pedroia: Tek, is our next series home or away?

Tek: Away. In Tampa Bay.

BigPapi: Soon Master Lugo, you will enjoy the fabled ground rules of Tropicana Field as a visiting player. Walkways overhead that are in play, Lighting fast Astroturf, and empty seats as far as the eye can see.

The Red Sox make the trip safely, but find themselves locked out of the Tropicana Field visitor's entrance. They forgot the secret password they were to say in order to gain access. Why they only gave the password to Manny escapes everyone.

Tek: I once knew every type of fruit in all the tounges of Spanish, English and Japaneese.

Manny: What are you going to do then?

Tek: Have Theo trade you to Tampa and sneak in when they take you Manny! That will at least give me a little peace and quite from foolish questions…

Pedroia: It's a riddle. "Speak, Juice, and enter." What is that really bitter kind of juice that explains how we have been playing as of late?

Tek: Lemon? (The door opens for the players)

As they enter the Trop…Rocco Baldelli rushes the door attempting to get back into the park, having been long ago been discarded by the Devil Rays.

Rocco: RRAAAAARRWWW!

The Red Sox manage to close the door before Rocco can enter the building.

The team gets dressed and takes the field noticing the lack of fans…

JD Drew: This is no Ballpark. It's a tomb.

The Sox watch the Rays take batting practice and are impressed.

JD Drew: They have a potential MVP!

CarlCrawford: RRAAARRRWWW!

BigPapi: Let them Come. There is one DH yet in Tropicana who still can hit those walkways.

Tek: Be on your guard. There are Younger and fouler things than an impressive lineup in the deep places of Tampa. Who is pitching for them tonight?

Kazmir: RRRAAARRRWWW!

Tek: Lead them on Lowell. The end of the season is near.

Lowell: Huh?

Tek: Home Runs are no more use here! (Tek leaves the team and approaches Kazmir)

Tek: You can not win! I am the captain of the Red Sox, Leader of Team USA. The leftie curveball will not avail you! Power of Switch-Hitting! Go back to the Bullpen! You Shall Not WIN!

(Tek looks back at the rest of the Sox)

Tek: WIN, you fools!

Lord of the Red Sox 2, The Council of Francona

2008-04-22T18:13:00.003-04:00

The Council of Francona

Scene: Fenway Park, Red Sox locker room. Tito has assembled the non-pitchers on the team to discuss the lack of scoring runs down the stretch.

Tito: “Players from distant lands, friends of old you have been summoned here to answer the threat of the Yankees. Our season stands upon the brink of destruction, none can escape it. You will unite or you will fall. Each of us is bound to this fate, this one doom. Bring forth the ring, Pedroia.”

(Pedroia brings forth a 2007 AL East Division Ring.)

JD Drew: “So it is true. In a dream saw, The skies to the south grow dark, But in New England a pale light lingered. Red Sox Nation cried out “The Doom is at Hand, The Yankees are going to Win the AL East.” JD Drew reaches for the ring. “The AL East…”

Lowell: DREW!!

Tek: One run is all they score. One run behind them. One run and then no more. And out of playoffs find them.

Tito: Never before has anyone dared speak of our lack of scoring runs here in the locker room.

Tek: I do not ask for pardon, Tito, but the truth must come out. The AL East is too much of a burden for us, we can’t hope to Win the World Series if we focus on winning the AL East. Focus on making the playoff, aligning our rotation, and we will start hitting the ball again.

JD Drew: The AL East is a gift. Why not use the AL East to take home field advantage? Let us use it against the Yankees.

Lowell: We can not win it all as a Division winner. Only the Wild Card can win the World Series. It is a curse and by holding the AL East we can’t score more than one run a game.

JD Drew: And what would a Salary dump throw-in know about the Wild Card?

Lugo: This is no mere Salary dump thrown-in. Lowell was on a Wild Card World Series Champion, and he is the only one that has been hitting all year long. He has carried this team to where it is now. You owe him your allegiance.

JD Drew: Whatever…

Tek: Lowell is right. We can not win the AL East.

Tito: You only have one choice, The Yankees must win the AL East.

BigPapi: Then what are we waiting for? (He pick up his bat, Tosses the ring in the air and swings at it, hoping to hit it all the way to Yankee Stadium. However he misses the ring and falls over hurting his knee.)

Tito: The AL East ring has cursed us so we can't hit anything, and our players are getting injured. The Ring must be taken deep into New York and dropped into Yankee Stadium. Only then will we take the Wild Card and win the World Series. One of you must do this.

JD Drew: One does not simply walk into Yankee Stadium and win a playoff series. The black gates are guarded by an evil that does not sleep. The great eye of Steinbrenner is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with foul-mouthed smelly Yankee fans. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with a team of All-Stars could you do this it is folly.

Lugo: Have you heard nothing Tito has said? The AL East Division Ring must be forfeit so we can win the World Series.

BigPapi: And I suppose you think you’re the one to do it? I’ve seen your “Bling” collection, you wouldn’t give up the ring. Never trust a fast shortstop!

JD Drew: And if we don’t win the division series? What happens when the Yankees make it to the World Series.

(All the veteran players start to agrue with each other about the wild card idea)

Pedrioa: I Will Take It! I’ll bring the AL East Ring to Yankees Stadium then win the Division on the road…But I don’t know the way.

Tek: My dear Pedrioa. Rookies really are amazing players. You can learn all there is to know about their ways in a month, and yet after a whole season they can still surprise you.

Lowell: If by my clutch hitting or contract year motivation I can help you, I will.

Lugo: And you’ll have my glove…

BigPapi: And my bat!

JD Drew: If this is the will of the team, I’ll go along with it. You bear the weight of Red Sox Nation little one.

Youk: HEY! Pedrioa isn’t going anywhere without Me!

Tito: No, indeed. It is hardly possible to keep you off a roster, even when you are a walking ball magnet and have been hit by more pitches than anyone here.

Coco: Hey, We’re coming too!

Manny: Yeah, You’ll need players with great defensive range who always run out grounders to short!

Coco: Well that leaves you out Manny.

Lord of the Red Sox

2008-04-22T17:50:00.005-04:00

Mid September of 2007, the Boston Red Sox were in a funk...The Yankees were gaining rapidly and the lead in the AL east was down to about 3 games. It was an off night for the Sox, and I was over at the Sons of Sam Horn website (A page for Diehard Sox fans to hang). The "gameday" tread was asking for folks to post stupid stuff, and I was inspired. Everyone had done the Yankee Empire vs. Red Sox Rebels Star Wars thing...but I thought what if I brought the Yankee / Red Sox thing over to the Lord of the Rings. Well this was the first post...

Scene…Tito's office, Tito and Varitek are discussing the teams lack of hitting and their current predicament as they look through the office window at Pedrioa.

Tito: He still has hope.

Varitek: He wasn't here in '04.

Tito: And yet, to have come so far, still bearing the hope of winning it all, the rookie has shown extraordinary resilience to a slump.

Varitek: It is a burden he should never have had to bear. We can ask no more of Pedrioa.

Tito: Tek, the Yankees are rolling. Steinbrenner has his eye is fixed on Fenway. Jeter the Witch King and the rest of the Nine are coming for the AL East Division Ring.

Varitek: By foul craft, Torre has injected much of his team with HGH. An unnatural team that has covered great distance in the standings in just the last month. They are only a game and a half behind us.

Tito: We do not have the bats to keep up with the Yankee lineup. Tek, the AL East cannot stay here. The team is falling apart. We can't hit the freakin' ball, but Red Sox Nation is desperate for an AL East pennant. The team must decide now how turn this thing around, and prevent the Yankees from getting the Ring.

Varitek: It is in the Veteran's that we must place our hope.

Tito: Veterans? The Veterans are weak. The Blood of Schilling's sock is all but spent, its pride and dignity forgotten. All those players that won a series before do not have the desire the rookies do. There's no clutch hits left in the veterans. The hits are scattered, divided, meaningless.

Varitek: There is one who could unite them. One who could be World Series MVP with his bat.

Stay tuned for…

The Council of Francona.

Joining the rest of the Online world.

2008-04-22T17:38:00.002-04:00

Ok, ok...

I finally broke down and started a Blog. With the passing of my old online hangout of the Greenhouse games forums, I figured I would start a place where I could post thoughts, Family stuff, Gaming stuff, Red Sox stuff, Movies stuff etc.

I also wanted a place to archive some of my old posts in other forums...most notably My Lord of the Red Sox posts from 2007, my Carver V Battletech campaign posts from 2006 and My 40K / Battletech painting projects.

Here goes nothing...