Test using the New Blogger

I thought I would take a test drive of the new Blogger to see how it would affect me posting. This post is just a trial run and only has some news.

The current version of Blogger is going to be replaced at the end of June, apparently, although this been highlighted for a long time and as you'll see, or possibly already know - it doesn't work properly.

Using the new interface, I found that I can type more text than I could in the past without being unable to scroll down far enough on the page. I had to use BlogTouch to do this in the past.

The big problem is that the upload image button, the really important one, doesn't work. 

My blog is very much  a diary of what I do and holds pics of my games. It hosts a couple of downloads and an order form for my book. Like a lot of bloggers I can upload images from my iPad or iphone, taken during a game or at a show for instance. So continuing to be able to do so is a critical feature for huge numbers of users I imagine. I'm not impressed!

I had to go back to the legacy version to finish this post, but I think I will be able to keep going using Blogger for text and BlogTouch to add in the pix and general editing if things are not fixed.

So, what have I been up to in recently. After dealing with the outbreak and its impact at work I began working from home. That didn't last long and I was made redundant due to a restructure. Brilliant timing! I decided to use the time to work on something different since we were in different times. Thus started my 16th Century diversion, which started as a plan to do a local battle during the Marian Civil war and feuds between the Gordon's and other local families. It's ended up with me researching the 80 yrs war and painting enough Irish for a small army for the Tudor campaigns in Ireland!!!

Recent amazon purchase - excellent!

On the personal front my job situation turned around again a lot quicker than I expected and I start a new job last week. My wife has submitted her thesis and completed her viva and after a hectic few weeks her NHS training placement is settling down too. Suddenly I found my self with a lot more headspace and over the last week have picked up the sequel to the Sugar Islands Campaign and added bios of the British and Spanish commanders, organisation charts for both sides for Cuba & Manila and sketched out roughly some scenarios for the latter. I've also done some background on give away scenarios, like that I did for the Maroons for skirmishes with the Spanish in Georgia. 

On the actual gaming front I've been taking part in online games using Tabletop Simulator with my local club. Some of these have worked better than others. I particularly like the WW2 bombing campaign and the Chariot racing game but felt that others were too fiddly and were restricted by the game engine, internet connection and individual computers. Zoom has been used to stay in touch with my club mates and gamer chums from the area, and that's helped keep my gaming itch in check. We even managed Monday night D&D games via Zoom too. 

So what's coming up in the next few months? Well I shall be settling into my new job and won't have any international concerns or trips (which I might miss strangely enough). That means weekends and evenings will be free for the important stuff. Family and hobbies. The Spider needs woken up, taxed and serviced and I will be pushing on with the invasion of Cuba and then the Philippines. Two boxes of Wars of Religion figures need painting and there's been some discussion on 40mm shiny toy soldiers with some of my mates. Oh and I need to paint some rowers too.

Manila anyone?

With lockdown easing however I managed to get a game in the garden, observing the 2m social distancing rules of course. 

That went well, even though the Russians under "Grigory" McGee managed to take Lament Ridge. I have made the Russians 16 figure Large units but treat them as poor shots with a 12in range. Thus they can soak up the damage and in terms of men outnumber the smaller British units who get the Minie. They needed it. The Russian infantry took heavy losses as they moved across the exposed slopes. However they kept coming and brought up their guns on the flank of the British and saw off two squadrons of Hussars before firing on the infantry, but the time we ended the game it was clear the British didn't have the manpower left to force the ridge. It was a good game and great to throw some dice again after a long long time. 

I've ordered British artillery and rifle brigade! 🤣

And to bring everything right up to date I received a package of some 3d printed bell tents from my mate Graham. These really look the business and the layers are very tight and only noticeable up close. I can't wait to get them painted, they'll do great service for several armies and periods in my collection. 

Keep staying safe folks.