Amateur Radio Desk Complete!

I've finished the rolltop desk that I started restoration work on this weekend.

Long story short, I needed a real place to put my amateur radio equipment. It's been perched on a short bookshelf behind my desk for months now. Before that it was in the living room on an end table beside my easy chair. Neither were great set-ups, of course. Now I've got a proper place for my radio station to stay, and I can protect it from dancing cats with the roll-down top. Here's the desk in its place:



As you can see, I've already got some amateur radio paraphernalia on the walls around the desk. A world map formerly owned by KA6C (sk) passed on to me by George, KG6LSB along with a really cool collection of KA6C's QSL cards (which will be taking up residence in this desk.) The clock is not atomic, but it's set to within a minute of GMT so that I can keep track of world time properly. I have my old completion certificates, including one of my code completion certificates from the 70s, and my three licenses on the wall as well (KD6KGV, AG6HU, and my present call, W8BIT.)

Today the oil should be dry enough for me to start fitting out the desk with power strip and a mass of equipment, so it'll never look this nice again. Until I put the top down. That's the nice thing about a roll top desk.

I will probably have to wait until next week to route my antenna cables into the house through the crawlspace and up through the floor under the desk. I won't be able to get to it today, and we've got weather blowing in tomorrow and through the weekend. Fortunately the desk is next to the window where my temporary feedthrough brings the cables in, so I'll be able to operate until I get the cables re-routed through the new feedthrough.

Wooden Wars at DunDraCon 37

Yesterday I wrote about arriving at DunDraCon 37 and visiting the Flying Buffalo Booth. Today I'm going to jump ahead a good way into my time at the con.

Every con has a surprise discovery somewhere in it. For me, for this con, it was Wooden Wars. Wooden Wars is a simple miniature game that uses laser-cut wooden soldiers and a combat resolution system that uses both contact between units and thrown rubber balls as the basis for determining losses. It's a nicely updated version of H.G. Wells' Little Wars. Since the artillery used in Little Wars isn't available in toy shops today, the rubber balls stand in as a replacement.

My daughter managing Queen Victoria's Robots on the surface of Venus. They come to a bloody end in the next turn, when a unit of V-Rex riding Dragoons charges them after they come out from behind their cigar box revetment onto the open field to support their own unit of cavalry.

Kickstarted
The game was designed by Thomas Foss, who ran a successful Kickstarter project to improve his ability to produce the game pieces. He started with Napoleonics, and has since expanded into Victorian fantasy pieces such as the robotic infantry and steel dinosaur riders.

The pieces are beautifully made and well designed. The maker, Thomas Foss, is presently fulfilling the orders from his Kickstarter backers, and hopes to open his store next month. He's on Facebook, though I'm not (not yet--every day adds another reason I should probably bite the bullet and sign up.) He's also got a blog at Skull and Crown here on Blogger. I'll be watching closely for the opening of his store.

My daughter had a great time playing the game, and we had a great time watching (we went off and attended a couple of talks while she was playing, it was harder to pin us down to one thing at the con, but we can't wait for our chance to play.) It's one of those games that looks like as much fun as it is, making it a great game for spectators as well as players.

Acts of Dog
One rule that stood out to me in a quick review of the rule book was the rule on "Acts of Dog", where any pieces upset by the actions of pets (of any species) are treated as destroyed for the game. So, if things are going poorly for your side, you can always call in Fido or Fluffy. Assuming there's more of their soldiers on the field than yours, chances are in your favor. And if it happens that your remaining units become hors de chat rather than the enemy, at least you've had a quick and relatively face-saving end to the game so that you can get on with another.

I can't wait to play Wooden Wars with our local gaming group.

I think it'll be a big hit.

Exotic Feline Breeding Compound, Rosamond, California

The EFBC has been a favorite destination as well as a favorite charity of ours for many years. We love cats, and love the way this place is run. It's privately funded and run by a great bunch of people who treat their animals excellently. Likewise, they're committed to a most laudable cause, saving large cat species from extinction by building strong breeding stock in captivity.

One of the EFBC's wonderful cats. Shapur, a very rare Persian Leopard.

Many of the cats there are on display, so you can enjoy them and learn more about them. Volunteer opportunities are plentiful, I wish I lived close enough or could visit more regularly. I don't mind cleaning out cat boxes of any size. ;)

Several times a year the Exotic Feline Breeding Compound holds evening tours where more of the center is opened to the (over 18) visitors. They're called Twilight Tours. Once a year a fundraiser called The Feline Follies is held, where guests can not only enjoy a wonderful dinner, buy art, and purchase items at auction, but they also get to enjoy the company of select "outreach" members of the cat community as well as other animals brought in for the event. There's nothing like getting to sit with a big cat, or have an "outreach trainee" cub cling to your arm.

One half of the EFBC's breeding pair of Snow Leopards, Anny

If you can possibly visit, do so. Even if you can't, check them out on the web, enjoy the great cat pictures (no bars on theirs, I have to stand outside the enclosure so I've got bars in mine.) You can help them care for the cats by shopping online through their website, buying items from their gift shop, or using their Amazon link when you shop.

http://www.wildcatzoo.org/