Aliens, Armed Explorers, Xenobiologists, and Hammer's Slammers

by Chris

Rebel Minis has expanded both the Manth and Pangalactic Legion ranges. The Manth are joined by the Command and Heavy Weapons Pack. It includes a Commander, a Communications Specialist, two Automatic Pulse Cannon soldier, a Missile Launcher soldier, and a Galactic Peacekeeper (which is one of new favorite 15mm figures).  

Even if you aren't a Manth player, this pack would make a wonderful narrative-skirmish force. Maybe it's just the excellent paint scheme that Jason Moore gave the Peacekeeper... I see this pack as a senior diplomat/religious leader/chief-of-state with his/her/its personal bodyguard. Grab a handful of other figures from your current collection, some MDF or electrical-box buildings, and you have everything you need to play out a spaceport ambush, an embassy attack, or a mercenary or special forces hit on a high-value alien terrorist leader.

Power Armor, Sales, and Gremlins in the Machines!

Nobody can say that Brigade Models doesn't listen to their customers!

These 6mm power armor figures were sculpted by Germy and released by Brigade in 2010:

These figures made a big splash in the 6mm world. And they were noticed by our crowd, too - Brigade received numerous requests for 15mm versions. They sent the 6mm versions to veteran sculptor Martin Baker (of GZG and Rebel Minis fame, among others), along with their ideas to increase the detail and weapons variety. The finished items are now available:

SF15-005 - Power Armor (pack of 6)

SF15-005A  - Power Armour Heavy Weapons (pack of 6)

Tony Francis was kind enough to send a sample pack, but the review will have to wait until they arrive. But from the pictures, it's obvious that these are going to be very welcome figures. They have a heavier/bulkier stature than power armor from Critical Mass, GZG, and Khurasan. They could be used in lower tech settings, zero-gee environments, or even as power armor for humanoid aliens. I'm thinking of using them with my Micropanzer SAS in Berets. 

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And speaking of Brigade Models:

It’s not really summer anymore (even though the weather is as good as it’s been all year !), so it seems a bit of a misnomer, but we’re announcing Brigade Summer Sale, Part #4: Surface Action.

What this means is that for the next 9 days, running from midnight tonight until midnight on the 30th, you can get 15% off both our 6mm and 15mm SF ranges – vehicles, figures and buildings (the only thing not covered are rulebooks and the Xmarx buildings range).

I'm extremely tempted to use this sale to pick up some of the Germy-sculpted Cimexian Bugs. They're wonderfully cheesy creatures - been tempted to get some of these for some time now!

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So... ever have one of those months where every single thing in the house decides to malfunction?

The hard drive on my faithful Asus Eee PC 1000H failed about three months ago. Since then, I've been limping by on my work laptop, looking for a decent deal on a new machine. I finally discovered the Acer Outlet Store on eBay, where they sell their own refurbished items (I'm a big fan of open box/refurbished stuff - same warranty for a cheaper price). Lo and behold, there's a nice Aspire One AO722 - 11.6" screen, 4gb RAM, and a 500GB hard drive, for $245. Figuring I'd never find a better deal than that, I buy it. It comes in a few days later, and I start migrating my music, movies, and wargame files over to the new machine.

Meanwhile, we decided to reactivate cable TV at home. We originally canceled it back in January, running off of Netflix, Hulu, and our own considerable DVD collection. But between college football (my other great passion outside of science fiction) starting up, my wife discovering some new shows that she likes, and my daughter outgrowing her Nick Jr/PBS Kids collection, it seemed like a good time to turn it back on. So I stopped by the cable company to get a digital adapter for my old analog big-screen downstairs, and set up the cable outlet for a high-def cable box in the living room. All the tech had to do was stop by, hook up the cable box, and go hide in a parking lot somewhere until his next service call.

All was great for the first night. The second night, I got a bit frustrated with the tangle of AV cables and power cords behind the downstairs TV...

So I unhooked those cables, set everything aside, and set up a few shelves next to the TV to organize all the devices. Then it was the simple matter of getting verything cleaned everything up and hooked back together. 

That's when all hell broke loose.

Once reconnected, I couldn't get a cable signal to my high-speed modem or either of my TV cable boxes. I went through the very annoying troubleshooting motions of unhooking all cables and splitters, hooking each device up to the cable at the house foundation just to get a signal, then watching them not work again after putting the splitter back in. Eventually I troubleshooted to my back yard. What I found defied all powers of common sense and logic. No less than four short 6' runs of coaxial cable, hooked together with basic couplers, were between the incoming line of my property to the incoming port at my foundation wall. I removed that entire mess and replaced it with a single cable. Miracle of miracles, everything worked. I was even able to split off a fourth device, an ancient 19" tube TV in the spare room. 

So, after two days of troubleshooting, I sat down with my shiny new laptop to catch up with the outside world.

Squeal. Pop. Blown hard drive. ON MY BRAND NEW COMPUTER? No way - had to be something else. So I popped the hard drive out and connected it to my desktop to check... yep, it was dead. Since it was purchased through eBay, I couldn't simply file a warranty claim... they now mandate a 14-day return policy on all items. I put the blown drive back in, repackaged the laptop, and took it to UPS.

So, farewell new laptop; we barely got to know each other. Back to the work laptop... wait, what do you mean unable to connect to preferred network? The wireless router is right across the room! I ask my wife if she's having issues... not with her phone, tablet, or laptop. Well, what about my phone? Oh, hey, it has a software update... I'll troubleshoot a bit more after it downloads. 

Hey, phones, that's a good idea. I have my wife turn on the wireless tethering on her phone, just to see if my work laptop is malfunctioning. It's not - it connects right away. My phone is back up. Same test - wireless tethering through the phone. No problem there. Okay, reboot the work laptop, the home router, and even the cable modem just for fun. Nope, still won't connect, even though it will connect with every other device in the house, and every other device can connect to the router!

By this point, I was too tired to fight anymore. I broke out the old G-speed router from storage, and daisy-chained it to the not-malfunctioning malfunctioning N-speed router. It works now. Not great, but good enough until I get a better personal laptop solution.

Wait, why was my phone now saying the battery was dead? Oh, no big deal. I just forgot to shut off the wireless tethering - that must have zapped the battery. So I recharged it and turned it back on. Four hours later... battery critically low. What the hell was in that new software update? 

At this point, I went and hid in a small room with nothing more than a candle and a book. If I touched anything else that week, my clothes dryer would probably have started making ice cubes.

Cheers,

Chris

300,000

It's truly staggering. This blog dedicated to what many gamers still see as a niche has received 300,000 page visits in just 11 months and 19 days. I think this proves to the doubters that 15mm Sci Fi is well and truly in the pipe, five by five!

In June last year Dropship Horizon was getting 20,000 hits per month. Khurasan's Federal Army releases pushed the envelop to almost 40,000 in November and now in May 2011, we are averaging 30,000 hits per month or about 1,200 per day

So who is visiting Dropship Horizon?

Well, 118,000 visits are from the United States, 82,000 from the UK, 14,000 Canada, 11,000 Australia. Germany and France 10,000 each! Then Spain, Netherlands Sweden, Poland and the rest.

And how do they get here?

Google searches outnumber referals from The Miniatures Page (TMP) by 4 to 1, then comes Tabletop Gaming News, DreamForge Games and Ambush Alley Games in that order. by far the greatest number of Google searches were for Dropship Horizon, by a factor of 10-1 over referals from other seracjes such as "15mm Sci Fi".

But what are they looking at?

My review of Osprey Publishing's Force on Force on 13th Feb this year outstrips all other posts for number of site visits. Next perhaps unsurprisingly, comes my review of Khurasan's Federal Army Infantry on 5th September. The announcement of Khurasan's HOG on 12th October comes in a close third. This is followed by 15mm.co.uk's Christmas Special Offer and then my post to say the Octopods had arrived in the post.

And what are folks looking at now?

LOL! This month Khurasan's Space Dwarves take centre stage. With a supporting cast drawn from Khurasan's Fedral Infantry RAM Mortar Team and ahem, Cap'n Amy Pond. You devils! Whilst warming in the waings are ArtCrime Productions Nationalist Infantry.

 A word from our pilot?

First of all, let me say thank you to everyone who takes time to visit and support this blog. An especial thank you to those who share a little of themselves and participate by Following, through leaving comments or emailing me directly. But my biggest thank you is to everyone who has offered their best wishes and support in what has been a dificult year for me personally with work worries and health issues.

What are my favourite set of miniatures from the last year? LOL! That would be telling. Take a look back through the posts and see which have provided me with most inspiration! However, if I had to highlight one product worthy of particular note it would have to be Eric Hotz's range of hand crafted felt game mats.

Hotz Mats: Lunar, Dirt Planet, Green Planet, Ice Planet.

I'm cack-handed when it comes to terrain and Eric's mats provide an instant, versatile gaming surface that's inexpensive, easy to store and quick to set up. Plus you can use them regardless of whose miniatures your own. The range of Sci Fi mats now includes Lunar Lanscape, Dirt Planet, Green Planet and Ice Planet. The flexibility this provides together with the options for coming with and without craters, or being double-sided is simply outstanding. A real boon to the 15mm Sci Fi gaming community.
  
I hope you've enjoyed being along for the ride and will continue aboard the Dropship in the year ahead. Believe me, the game is anything but over man!

Cheers

Mark 

Life, Work, the Universe......Eurovision

 

Saturday night is 'date' night. The one night a week, we put aside whatever we are doing to have quality time together. And whether we stay in or go out, we treat it as a..... date.

But this saturday was Eurovision (Fanfare of trumpets). Eurovision has a special place in our hearts and usually one of our group of friends hosts a Eurovision party - basically, an excuse to have a BBQ, a drink or three and shout at the telly.

No parties this year so we had our own and decided to make the most of it. Dressing up in Bond tux for me, and Mrs H sported her best Breakfast at Tiffany's little black dress. Let me tell you, she outdid Lena in her little black number and that's saying something.

Now don't groan when I mention Eurovision. It's how you choose to approach these things in life and we choose to view it as a hoot.  I mean, it's the Eurofighter of the TV music world and about as relevant today as Spanish Influenza. Not to be taken seriously, eEurovision nevertheless is a brilliant drinking game and a chance once a year to rate some European totty.

Lena, the German contestant and last years's winner. My god, that girls smoulders. It was like watching Kate Beckinsale being naughty on screen. Her song? Who cares.

Our joint favourite of the night, was the madcap, literally, Moldavan entry (pictured above). I can only explain the performance as Buck Rogers in the C25th does punk! We loved them and the monocycling 'Dita von Tease' thing they had going on.

It was a great evening. No, our evening, sod Eurovision. And H. put on a night that outdid everyone on stage.

Cheers

Mark

Life, Work, the Universe.... The Apprentice

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The Dropship Alienz Kraftwerkz gmbh downed tools this evening to watch the opening episode of The Apprentice.

Another year, another rum bunch. Strangely more photogenic this year...mmmmm. And yes, once again, I can predict the first person out the door before they've even got their jackets off.

Do I care who wins? Not a jot. This is an hour a week where I can actually enjoy someone else having a new arsehole torn in them (self-inflicted wound in my book).

Train crash TV at it's best (or should that be worst).

Cheers

Mark

SUNRAY DOWN.....

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A build up in episodes this week culminated in an event occuring during the consultation with my doctor this morning. Best possible timing! As a result, being packed off to see a Neurologist at ARI pronto.

Carronade in Falkirk tomorrow is out of the question now. But, in good spirits.

Mark

Lock Stock and Two Smokin' Tiaras

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 Never mind the pomp and ceremony.....

Kate and Pippa
    

WOW!

 Right! I'm off to paint me Bond........

Cheers

Mark
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SUNRAY DOWN..... Again

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Collapsed again. This time home alone. A little bit scary for that but actually very helpful, as I was able to experience, mentally note and subsequently record what happened and the way I felt.

It bagan with a feeling like a slinky spring going from the back of my head, along the top of my cranium till it compressed against my forehead just above my brow. At that point I couldnt focus on anything, not blurred, just couldnt focus on anything I looked at. I took a step forward and the ground rushed up to meet me in a way I can only describe as being like the scene in INCEPTION, where Paris folds up and over.

I still had this compression feeling in my head but remained conscious and checked myself over. Nothing hurt from the fall, breathing ok, heart ok, pulse a little slow (but I'm no expert). Lying on my back the ceiling was rocking back and forth in a figure of '8' motion. I rolled over carefully and pulled my knees up to my chest.  As I lifted my head about 18" off the ground, everything suddenly felt like I was at sea and I simply keeled over onto my side.

At that point I decided to remain calm and wait it out. I was lying in front of the living room window and my only concern was giving Postie a fright (luckily I was fully clothed, so not that big a fright!). After 10 or so minutes I was able to get on my feet but had to hold onto furniture, door jams etc for about an hour afterwards.


 Been to the Vets. Further tests. Going again this morning. The whole thing is bloody weird. Nevertheless,  Master Chef is maintaining a watching brief on me. Good bloke. I'll keep you posted.

Cheers

Mark
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Life, Work, the Universe...... SUNRAY DOWN

I suffered a collapse at work yesterday and was taken to A&E by ambulance. Glad to report that I'm fine and was released later in the day. Heart, blood pressure etc, OK, but I'm still feeling a little out of sorts.

The care I received from the paramedics, nurses and doctores was first class, and I can't praise enough the colleagues at work who came to my aid when I suddenly went down and looked after me until the paramedics arrived.


I can't say I was worried or scared at anytime, or that it has been a 'shock'. On the contrary I was overcome by a sense of deep calm and serenity. I seemed to feel distanced as if viewing everything from down a long corridor. 

This 'event' has provided me with a good heads up on both where I am with my hobby and where I want to be going forward. Nothing profound. I feel a need just now to lift my boots from the streets and alleyways of New Grozny or whatever you want to call it. Put aside my companies of 15mm Grav armour and with my new WTFN (Why The Fuck Not) Engine, reach for everything that is fantastical and awe inspiring about space, time and continuum. Reliving through the medium of tabletop miniatures the Sci Fi books I loved so much as an early teen such as EE Doc Smith's Galactic Patrol with but a twist of Mass Effect thrown in.

 

GALACTIC PATROL?

Blue Moon 15mm Sci Fi

15ALN-112 Nova Patrol
  

 Work is going to be stressful over the next two months as I bring the various high profile project streams to reality. So let's concentrate on 15mm retro Sci Fi adventures from the starlogs of the Galactic Patrol, the rap sheets of Precinct 13 in downtown Mudd Eisley or pulled from the sub-ether waves of the Bermondsy Cluster.

Will be resting up for a few days before getting back fully in the saddle.

Cheers

Mark

Life, Work, the Universe...... Hanging On. Just

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My carefully planned, honed and nurtured project streams are coming together like motorcycle racers on the last bend, but the end of year financial scramble is threatening to unseat everything.

Never mind. One of my suppliers has offered to set me up to go freelance and make use of products from their cloud architecture. A great opportunity, but you know, I want to bring in the big bacon with these projects before I cut myself loose. . I want to see my projects through  and ensure the delivery of the year on year benefits that they will generate.

Yeah of course it will be great for the CV going forward, but I sincerely want to walk away proud of a job well done. In all truth, it's not the delivery but the barriers, and those have been mostly human that I've had to overcome which I'll be most proud of.

I picked up a classic game from my school days on Ebay at the end of last week - SPELLMAKER. I bought the original at Games Workshop, Dalling Road not long after it opened. I remember it was a frosty saturday morning. I had taken an E3 into Chiswick and walked the mile or so to Hammersmith. Spellmaker repayed every step of that joruney there and back.

Heather played it with me a couple of times on saturday night. It wasn't just a great laugh but also provided some inspiration. Kick starting several new pathways in my old head. My thanks to Bob Cordery for setting me off on the search for this classic.

Cheers

Mark

Mein Computer ist Gersnappen

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Das computermachinen ist derbrukkensnappen.

No excuses to prevent me painting now as the Xbox360 turned to toast as well last week with the 'Ring of Death'.

Gave me an opportunity to read at least and I managed to complete a Zombie apocalypse novel, DAY TO DAY ARMAGEDDON by JL Bourne, in just a few nights. Presented in a diary format it's a very good read. Get's a bit samey, but hey, it's a diary, "Dear Diary, Monday. Zombies"... nevertheless I was gripped as I felt it was a 'realistic' portrayal and I could easily imagine myself in the protagonist's shoes. And, as I read through the book I was continually conjuring mental images from Apocalypse Z. Maybe time to look out Undead States of America by UberGoober Games again.

Cheers

Mark

Life, Work......Oh Sod It!

I was having a good day. Turned round a deteriorating situation at work where everyone was getting their arses kicked, through standing my ground in a meeting with senior management. I countered every attempt to put the brakes on resolving the corporate priority with carefully constructed argument, backed by fact, all put together in the last 24 hours.

Finally I got a grudging acceptance. The parting shot from the most senior executive was "well you'll need to get go ahead from my team" to which I was able to reply with confidence - "As key stakeholders I spoke to them this morning, walked them through my draft strategy and they were behind it." Nothing left to be said. Result!

And subsequently tomorrow starts with a 7.30am meeting, another at 8.30....... but I'm happy that I managed to drive through such a positive outcome for the organisation, and at the end of the day, one for me too on a personal level.

Got home this evening to find that my laptop has been turned into a pile of scrap by the latest Microsoft update. Have wasted an entire evening unsuccessfully trying to solve the problem. Luckily though, bit by bit, each time it restarted I managed to save my data onto the E: drive before it froze again. Grrrr! Time to rebuild anyway but just don't need it.

Cheers

Mark

Life, Work, The Universe...... Options

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Remember the options appraisal? Well it's still rumbling on.

Today it all came round in a big circle. I am asked.....

"Why haven't we addressed the biggest corporate priority issue?"

"You have me doing an Options Appraisal?"

"Why are you doing an Options Appraisal?"

"That was my question when you gave it to me"


"So you haven't addressed the corporate priority?"

"No. Your priority was for me to do an Options Appraisal" -  on the solution I had already come to after a fully scoped, analysed and measured options appraisal of my own and had been prepared to implement three weeks ago to solve the corporate priority.

"Our priority now is to solve the corporate priority"

Thank F***!

I'm going to start on some marshy/swamp terrain tonight. Well, I've been in one at work for the last 3 weeks....

Cheers

Mark 

Best Wishes

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Heather and I just want to send our best wishes to all our followers in New Zealand. We hope neither you nor your families have not been effected by this morning's natural disaster (GMT).

All the best
Mark & Heather

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Catching Up

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I've been dipping into WIRED FOR WAR by PW Singer. Good book about the digitisation of combat in the C21st. Lot's of food for thought and very apt for Tomorrow's War.

MINDSTAR RISING by Peter F Hamilton has arrived in the post and made it to my book pile. But not much further.

Master Chef  has pre-ordered his own hardback copy of Force on Force from Amazon, and made use of Critical Mass Games' sale to order half a dozen buildings. I'll be placing my own order this weekend to extend downtown Mudd Eisley.

Great thing is, I've found Critical Mass Games range of buildings to be suitable for 20mm Near Future/Sci Fi too. I'm quietly impressed by the range of dynamic yet still human poses created by Matt at Elheim. His recent releases span the gap from Moderns to Near Future or even mid-tech Sci Fi Troopers and easily transpose from Force on Force to Tomorrows War.

 The three figures from the left of the new SF Team pictures below, also make good post apocalyptic survivors and the two in the centre are dripping with PA character.

I'm not interested in Afghanistan at all, but both Maff and I see gaming parallels with Jerry Pournelle's epic FUTURE HISTORY. Talking of Pournelle, searching for a post apocalyptic background, I found it in LUCIFER'S  HAMMER, which can be melded with Twighlight 2000 and played with both Force on Force and Battlefield Evolution: Modern Combat. Of course I want to add a Zombie twist. But I wonder whether starving crazed, cannablistic humans will be just as effective and somehat more horrifying.

Cheers

Mark

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......This is the BBC

Got to quickly brainstorm this Tomorrrows' War  idea whilst it's running round my head. London....post apocalypse, the city is shattered and lays in twisted, toxic ruin.

Dirty bombs - London 2012 Olympics -  famine - civil unrest - breakdown of law and order - Twilight 2000 - blah-di-blah.....

The survivors and remnants of miltary units are now coalesced into the shell of formations, communities and allegiance based on old Football Clubs (seriously).

Stadiums become fortresses.........

Arrrrggghhh!!! Can't get London Calling sung by The Clash out of my head!

"A nuclear error, but I have no fear
Cause London is drowning and I, I live by the riverrrrrrr"

Mark
     

Life, Work, The Universe...... Merry Christmas

 If Star Trek did Christmas!

"Captain Kirk! Sulu's been on the Cranberry Sherry again!"

"Phasers to Stunning Mr Sulu!"

"Mistletoe? Illogical Commander"

"Warp slactor......"

"Warf flactor, hic!......"

"Fuck it, Impulse power Mr Sulu"

Have a great Christmas. Safe journey. Enjoy!

Cheers

Mark & Heather

Life, Work, The Universe...... The Snow of Ages

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With Heather home safe, the trains messed up, lorries jack-knifed on the A90, and we took the day off. Despite clearing the Landy in the early hours of the morning - just in case immediate dust-off was required and I had to go rescue the taxi party - I had to clear snow from my windscreen again, with a shovel!

This is the Dropship valley looking NorthNorthEast. We live just off camera to the right of the trees in the middle foreground. To the left you see the gateway to the glens.

The photo was taken in the lee of a Roman camp. I always go a bit Fall of the Roman Empire when the countryside looks like this.

A slight turn to the east and we have the lair of the Ice Giant. These hills tell of an ancient land and have 'faces' as distinctive to me as any on Mount Rushmore. High Kings lived and died beneath their peaks eg Kenneth II. They really impress upon you how ancient this land is and conjur tales of Black Douglas, Beowulf and Grendel.

An hour later, we are across the valley and in the shadow of the hills in the top photo, looking East(ish). The geography is unsurprisingly glacial. Geology shows that the great glacier came down the North Sea and turned SW to carve out the valley. Our village is in the middle foreground and behind those hills, a bare 10 minutes as the crow flies, is the sea.

By Friday there were no trains at all. I dug out my elderly neighbours and helped others clear snow to allow them to get to work or pick up their 'messages'. The local Council have been doing a great job even though it's an impossible task with snow falling every half hour or so.

If I was to go out and take photos today, all you would see is a blanket of white - the last vestiges of green have all but disappeared from the land. But I'm staying indoors to 5S my study and just catch up with myself.

Cheers

Mark

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Life, Work, The Universe...... White Stuff

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2" of snow and the country descends into chaos. Every year it's a shock - "My god! White stuff!" Of course it's not as simple as that. But the point is, why can't we as a nation plan to mitigate it where possible and accept that for a couple of days, life might not be as normal. Couple of days I said - that doesn't mean panic buying at the Co-op! It's all about a sense of proportion and preparedness.

 

This is our winter wonderland on Saturday

 Saturday Evening!

 Sunday Evening!

Tuesday! Hills, what hills?

Haven't seen them since Sunday lunchtime

Why didn't I collect Star Wars action figures? Right now, that snow in the garden could make a great Hoth battlefield!

Time to raid Forbidden Planet in Aberdeen!

4" of snow fell in an hour on Saturday evening and we now have about a foot outside with drifts up to three feet. Heather has been away on business in Oxford and caught up in the resulting travel chaos. She finally walked through the door at 2am this morning - making the last plane to Aberdeen, which touched down bang on midnight. My thanks go to the anonymous ex-Bootneck taxi driver who braved blizzard and an icy but deserted dual carriageway to bring her home. I cleared the Freelander around 1am, in case I had to meet them half way, but thanks to her driver, Heather only had to walk the final hundred yards to return home safe.

Cheers

Mark

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Life, Work, The Universe...... Panic in the County Hall

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Panic in the County Hall 
Look out, listen can you hear it. 
Whitehall (got us) up against a wall. 
Up against the wall...

Well it's not so much panic as rising hysteria.  George Osborne's Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) trickles down to me as a telephone call at lunchtime..... "Hello Mark, I don't want to to put you on the spot, BUT, how much money will your Online (self service) Widget  Project save over the next 5 years?" Tell me now, Now NOW!

"If current parameters and assumptions remain valid by the end of 5 years, then £40k per month over that period."

"Sooooo, one could say that in addition we are looking at cutting the organisation wide administration and stationery expenditure by 10%!"


"One could, but I never said that".......


In fact the Online Widget Project has struck an impasse. I need to purchase a processing module for the Widget software that will allow us to automate workflows across the organisation and make £40k per month savings. I negotiated with the suppliers to get £10k of development work thrown into the £30K package for free.


I have to go to committee, get the approval of the head of legal, head of finance, corporate director and finally have the project scored, rated and approved before I can go ahead.......two months have gone by, £80K potential savings plus vicarious efficiency benefits lost and the suppliers getting tetchy whilst this process drags on........ I have to laugh at the mountains of red tape I have to go through to be able to reduce the red tape.


I can't help but find it all a farce. I'm not surprised managers find it easier to simply topslice the headcount by x percent, leaving behind all the inefficiencies and inconsistencies in the system......smoke and mirrors, smoke and mirrors for the press and public. Really, don't get me started!


Meanwhile someone at work must have read the blog and got confused about the type of strategy I'm interested in as this week I'm asked to deliver a strategy for an enterprise wide solution in just 2 days. From the moment I'm up in the morning to stepping off the train at home, my brain is whirring, leaving me exhausted by evening. I also have a sneaking feeling that the person requesting the strategy will pass it off as their work - a lot of that going on right now.


Despite being knackered by Friday, I end the week satisfied  with myself. Writing a new Project Brief, including scope, objectives, communications plan and risk register in a single day. Oh if only it were that simple.....6 months of  googling, telephone calls, visits to other organisations, teeth pulling workshops; investigating processes, procedures, policies, legislation, kickbacks due to organisational culture, before I'm able to sit down and bring it all together in one day.


However, after all that, if you want Online (self service) Widgets, I'm your man.

Cheers

Mark

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