I have been remiss...

I usually acknowledge the new joins to my blog.  By usually I mean, of course, the one other month that I've done it.  I forgot the other day, when I was doing my monthly retrospective but now that I've remembered I want to give appropriate props.

Seven new people joined my followers this month.  This probably seems quite trivial to most readers but here's the thing; these are the first followers I have that I don't actually know in person.  I started the blog for my own edification.  It helps me stay focused and motivated and to track my changing interests.  It keeps all of my hobby stuff in one place.  I can look at my painting over time, I can see how my interests change.  All of the blogs I like to follow are in one place, allowing me to quickly see what has been updated.  The blog served a bonus purpose of giving me somewhere to put battle reports from our local club.  Prior to this month all of my followers were people I actually game with.  The fact that others have shown interest is flattering but it also increases the pressure I put on myself to actually try to put up quality content.  This is a good thing, of course.

The first person to join (actually the last day of February, but I'm running the show here and can do what I want) is Lee Hadley of Big Lee's Miniature Adventures.  I've really enjoyed Lee's blog.  He has a wry sense of humor, a variety of interests and, awesomely, lives close enough to the Bovington Tank Museum to visit it. Go visit his blog and watch the video of the Tiger tank driving around; it's pure gold.



The next follower was Anibal Invictus, who's blog, Gaming with TooFatLardies is very entertaining and has some really splendid pictures.  His club's months long Stalingrad game, in particular, looks like it was an amazing experience.  Anibal is a Spanish speaker by birth, so his English language blog is even more impressive to me, at least as a linguistically challenged American.

Next up is TamsinP.  Her blog Wargaming Girl, chronicles her adventures in 15mm; something I find truly baffling.  I started following her blog just to try and figure out why people like 15mm.  I keep following it because of her irreverent humor and her remarkable ability to pick blogs for her blog roll that I find interesting.  When I can't sleep at night and don't feel like being productive, I got to Tamsin's blog and surf her blog roll.  I've found some real gems there, some of which have made it onto my roll.

Fourth is the Angry Lurker.   Another 15mm gamer, his humor and "tell it like it is blogging" are always good entertainment.  I'm also enjoying watching the forces of Franonia expand.  Now if only they could actually get into a fight, that would be something.  Looking at his minis I can almost see the attraction of 15mm.  That's saying something indeed.

Finally is Hendrid of ALBAtwo Warblog.  I enjoy the breadth of his interests from Warhammer to historicals to awesome art.  He puts a lot of research into his work and it shows.  With a lot of historical gaming there just isn't a lot of information on uniforms or flags.  Hendrid can make a good case for why he chose what he chose.  That's good enough for me.

There were a couple of others who joined who don't seem to have blogs.  I appreciate their company here.

I'm going to make honorable mention here of another blog.  Frontline Gamer consistently puts up great posts.  I discovered his site through one of his reviews of terrain.  I got hooked and read the whole thing.  It took the better part of two weeks.  His articles are always well written, (more impressive given that he is dyslexic) but also, which is more compelling to me, very well thought out.  It's obvious that he puts a great deal of thought and analysis into his writing, (especially analysis, see here for more on that).  I'm always pleased when I see this blog at the top of my blog roll.

So, there's a shout out to my new followers and their, truly, enjoyable blogs.  A little bit about the way I have laid out my blog.  The colors are dull as dirt, I know it.  I haven't figured out how to make something more presentable; it's on the to do list but not near the top.  The Fora that are listed are the ones that I like to visit.  That's why they are there.  The same goes for the blog roll.  I read each and every blog on there every time it is updated.  I also go to some of these blogs and hit their blog lists because I know they have good (meaning similar to mine) taste in what they read.  If the blog is on here it's because I enjoy it and it makes me happy.

The useful links section is really three different types of links.  Some are manufacturers that I have bought from and recommend.  Some are manufacturers that I intend to buy from.  That experience will determine if they stay on the list or not.  Some are online resources, maps, flags, stats, whatever.   Really, this section is a place for me to keep all of the sites that I want to be able to find and are gaming related.  Eventually, everyone on there will be on there because they are someone I have done business with and I can recommend them.  That is not the case right now.  If you have questions, ask me and I'll clear it up.  It hasn't been an issue to date, so I haven't sorted it in any meaningful way, other than putting GW at the bottom. 

Below that are my stats on models bought/assembled/painted.  I don't actually expect anyone else to be interested in this.  That's why it is at the bottom of the page.  I'm keeping it there for my edification.  It helps my motivation to see progress and since that is one of the main reasons I keep this blog, to motivate myself, this is on here.  On a side note, I'm one of those people who likes to keep track of stuff.  I like "meaningless anniversaries".  I want to look back on a year and see how much I did.  I put my workouts into a spread sheet, for goodness sake.  This section feeds that part of my soul that loves soulless stats.

Below that is the traffic counters.  These make me happy because I like maps and flags.  So now I have a zoomable, revolving globe with dots on it.  How can that not be totally awesome.  I also have flags to show the countries of my visitors.  Also very cool. 

A final note.  I started this blog back in 2009.  I posted a bit and a little bit more in 2010.  Then I found out I was going to Afghanistan and between quality time with the family, training, and then deploying, I made the decision to stop the blog.  I started it back up in January, when I got home.  It is doing what I want it to.  It's keeping me focused, allowing me to track my progress and allowing me to share my hobby with my like minded friends.  The fact that some of those friends are now people on the internet that I've never met is an added, and unexpected, bonus which I find very gratifying.

So, for those of you who joined my site, thanks very much.  I'm touched.  For those of you who take the time to read what I write but didn't join, thank you to you as well.  I'm glad I was able to entertain you for awhile.