Pilot's Log

The prospect of vacation travel meant a change in footwear--"athletic" shoes to replace the sneakers that fell apart around Christmas last year.



Breaking them in now. Expect to be someplace other than Rather Manor sometime this week.

Bought a new pair of shoes today at the Bass Outlet in Belz Mall at Pigeon Forge. List price: $110; marked down to: $20. They're sturdy, comfortable and a little classier than my usual sneakerage.

*) The Hot Wheels Batwing from the 1989 Batman movie.

*) Scenemaster/Life-Like HO Scale "Coupe Cars", "Pickup Trucks" and "American Autos" so I can equip my "Billy Joe's Boys" militant force for Flames Of War/I Ain't Been Shot Mum. I also want scans of Battlefront's vehicle assembly instruction sheets so I know what "bits" I should buy to properly homologate my machines. And proper rulesbooks for the games of course.

*) The book about early Spitfires I saw at one of the hobby stores I shop at. The owner/manager of the shop is offering me a 30% discount as a local IPMS club member, so the deal looks pretty enticing...and I have the Spitfire project to build for the Reviewer Corps very soon.

*) A pair of normal walking-around shoes and a pair of steel-toe shoes for Tech School.

*) New longjohns.

*) A video camera...Radio Shack put a circular out today and one of the compact ones looked very reasonable. The public TV program Make has plans and instructions for a DIY "steadycam" rig. Very intriguing.

*) DVD four-in-one cases. All the better for consolidating my collection and replacing broken cases.

Hey.

As today, tomorrow and Sunday are a statewide tax holiday on apparel, today I went to Sevierville and bought a new pair of sneakers (again) at the same place where I got those lemons of sneakers in November. I got the brand that I trust, tho'. So this pair should last me.

I'm starting my process of composing a proposed "army" for Flames of War (the tabletop wargame). Part of me wants to have an Armored Rifles team, part wants a Cavalry Recon Troop. I read that the current version of the Recon Troop list has some flaws in it that may have to be corrected in the near future. I can't really get going till I actually read the books and can get more firm information.

What I hope to do is have an army that can handle as many different kinds of missions as possible as cheaply as possible. I don't want to buy a load of pieces I realize I don't need, or coversely have too few of something vital.

In the process of this search, my researchaholism came into full relief. You see...

Many years ago, when we were living in Florida, my cousin's then-girlfriend rented a room at our house for about a year. She gave me an Army regimental insignia pin that I kept ever since, and I took the opportunity to look up the regiment's history overnight. Just to see if I could base my own army on that regiment.

It turned out good news/bad news. Good news, yes, that unit was deployed and saw action in WW2 Europe. Bad news--they were heavy artillery! (Which can't be played in Flames of War.)

Bah. It's a shame that I can't find a way to use my powers to support myself financially.

FP

"This is not my shoes!--This is y'all's shoes!"--Little Richard, in a cell phone ad from a few years ago.

Finally bought myself a pair of new sneakers, as I had been wearing the same pair for far too long and had been ruminating the issue for months. The pair that these replace took me to Florida and Indianapolis, and were falling apart. Got the newbies at the Payless in Sevierville, which was also an excuse for me to visit the Golden Eagle souvenir store in the same plaza.

Sevierville is going to "launch" Winterfest with a kickoff party at City Hall tonight. Way too early for my taste.

No birds, no bees, no flowers, no trees.
No wonder. November--Benny Hill.

FP