CERN

This is cool - a webcam at the particle accelerator that was switched on this week.

http://lhc-live.com/

Alas, you can't see the atoms whizzing around.

Five friends, Twenty four hours, Three Peaks

Some friends of mine were attempting the Three Peaks challenge - to visit the three highest peaks of England, Scotland and Wales within 24 hours. I volunteered to drive...

Friday: James arrived an hour later than planned at 10am, but we were able to pick up the car (Renault Espace, 2.0L diesel) and be on the way fairly quickly. Although it has seven seats, we took one out to give us more floor space between the middle seats - dead easy to do and we were glad we did!

I had all the car bits organised - screen wash, etc - and left all the walking stuff to the others.

I drove up to Neil's (whom you've met), just this side of Gloucester. Him and a friend, Andrew, loaded up and we went on up north, picking one person up in Birmingham (just off the motorway). We stopped for a break on the M6, and then James drove for a bit to pick up the sixth member neat Penrith. We swopped drivers again just after Glasgow, so I had the more interesting stretch up past Loch Lomond where we stopped for dinner, and then on up to Fort William. We got to the hostel just after 10:30, so not too late.

Saturday:
We were all up and about at 7am, and a short drive across to the base of Ben Nevis saw the guys off at 9am. We had arranged that I would be back at the drop point 30 minutes before the expected arrival time - which gave me four hours to kill. I went back into Fort William and parked, and had a wander around town and some breakfast. Not a great deal to see and do, but I did end up with a stowaway who was to end up sitting on the dash board for the remainder of the trip. Harry, as he became known, the hairy coo, enjoyed his tour of the UK! I filled up with fuel and checked the car over while I had a chance (first fuel stop - £85!)

I went back up to the drop point an hour before the guys were due back, and read for a bit. James and Tim got back first, after four hours, having run most of the way down the mountain. Tim got the little cooker going to make some tea, and Neil, Andrew and Nick arrived an hour later having take a slightly safer pace back down due to Neil's knee.

Although the weather had been mostly dry at the bottom, it had ben wetter higher up in the clouds. We stopped in Fort William for food, and around 3pm we were on our way (about an hour later then planned)

The leg down to Scafell Pike went well. Glasgow had been a concern as we were going through on the motorway around later afternoon, but we had a clear run. Weather cleared up for me as well, and we made good time. I broke the journey after a couple of hours, at services south of Glasgow.

We came off the M6 at Penrith, and after a quick stop for toilets, went across to Seathwaite, 8 miles south of Keswick. This put us to the north of Scafell Pike, and is one of the two popular routes for this event. The weather was pretty miserable when the guys left me at 8pm, but on th eplus side I was able to stay in a layby at the drop point instead of moving back up to the next village. Seathewaite is basically just a farm and camp site. Lovely spot - mountains on three sides and a 100ft (at least!) of waterfalls coming down behind. The guys were due back around midnight (nightfal being at 11pm) which wasn't ideal, but not a major issue.

I got some sleep, being wakened only at 11:15 by a lady looking for her colleagues (another group doing the same as us) only to surprise her when she realised she had the wrong car. We got to know several groups over the weekend, this being one, and with most people using either black MPVs or white minibuses it is easy to make a mistake in the dark. Their group turned up soon after, having turned back early due to weather.

Just after this, Neil and Andrew arrived. They had turned back early as well, with the other three continuing on. James, Tim and Nick arrived at midnight having been foiled close to the top due to the weather.

Knowing at least two other groups had also turned back meant we didn't feel too bad about not quite reaching the top, and given the safety isuses it was the right decision.

One group, known to us only as the Flora Hi Vis group (they were in two minibuses with Flora on the side, and all wore high-vis jackets so were easy to spot!) arrived half an hour after we did and were still up there when we left. The only other small group of four that we had known about returned safe, leaving on the hi-vis group (a large group who seemed to know what they were doing) and another largish group as the only ones we knew being still on Scafell.

Sunday:
Leaving Scafell at midnight meant a later drive than planned (still about an hour or so behind schedule - but we had allowed for an hour once we reached Snowdon so to start at day break). Straight down the M6, to Liverpool, and along the A55 across North Wales. At this time of night we had very little traffic(!). A quick stop off after two hours (near Liverpool) to get me some fresh air, but otherwise a good run.

Our route took us through Bangor down to Llanberis where I dropped James and Nick off to take the safer route up alongside the railway. The others I dropped off a few miles away at the Youth Hostel on the A4086 to take the Pig Track up (although they would come back along the railway route). I waited here and got some sleep for a few hours, then moved back to Llanberis to await everyone.

No sooner had I arrived there and I had a phone call from Nick saying the three of them had reached the top and would be down in a couple of hours. James and Tim then called to say they were nearing the bottom themselves. I picked them up, then a little later fetched the others. Tired, we all went to a cafe for a big fried breakfast.

Around 11am we were on our way out of town. A quick stop for fuel (our second) was none too soon as the fuel light came on. £100.01 worth of diesel filled the tank to the brim! Heading back across the A55 we got caught in the road works near Chester (which we had blown through at 3am!) which was stop-start and took ages.

A detour into Manchester so we could drop Tim at a station, then back to Birmingham (via a detour to pick up Andrew's son and avoid the M6 delays) where we dropped Nick, Andrew and son, then dropped Nick at his home. With only James left, we had a clear run home and were back in Bristol at 6:30pm..

Kirra spoilt us rotten with a lovely cooked dinner (which we needed after all the snacks we had been eating!)

All in all a good trip. Pretty tired today, of course!

James and I dropped the Espace off this morning before I came to work. That car was great. 1,260 miles and it didn't miss a beat (or, I hasten to add, get so much as a scratch!). A little lack of guts at times with only 2L, but we did have six people and a lot of kit. We averaged 35 mpg, and 42 mph on the trip. Can't remember how much fuel we used...about 42 gallons I think. What was great was that I only paid for my hostel cost and the food - the guys split all the other costs between them as I was doing them a favour with the driving! I can see the fuel cost starting to make this event prohibitively expensive for future years.

Great fun was had by all, depsite the weather and the aches and pains!

I'm sure there will be more anecdotes in time! Alas no photos as I didn't take my camera. Some beautiful views through Scotland - I'd love to do the same trip with more time!

Left flank - two guys, thirty yards out, suppressive fire!

We went paintballing today at this place.

That was the most fun I've had since...well, it was a lot of fun.
6 scenarios, each played both ways, and a "use up the ammo" game at the end.

Scenarios were:

1) Take the helicopter. Two teams, one helicopter, the team with the most living players on board wins.

With a fogged mask, my first game was tricky. I was hit early on whilst defending the helicopter, unfortunately. Blue, however, ended up in the helicopter with four others, winning us the game.

On the flip side, I joined a large flanking force that used the brow of a hill for cover. Despite getting pretty close, we lost the game. I almost made it to the end before taking a hit to my hand (painful in the cold!)

2) Capture the huts. Take and hold as many of the six huts in the village as possible, scoring points for each live team member.

3) Medic! One team has a medic (he can 'fix' three people's kills) has to get to a set point; the other team are trying to kill him.

Painful. After successfully hitting the enemy medic with a dozen rounds from six people as he and one other team member charged in at the last moment, we thought we would try somthing different. Mob up, with the medic in the centre, point at the target point, yell loudly and run like hell, firing as we went.

Yeah, that worked well. We got a whole ten yards closer than the other team did, before meeting a hail of fire that peeled the outer members of the mob off quickly (including me, taking four hits including two to the head!).

4) Capture the flag. One flag, placed between the two teams; objective was to grab it and get it to the enemy's base.

5) Capture the base. One team has to get their medic (see above) into a base; the other team are trying to stop them.

6) Place the bomb. A bomb has to be placed on a car in a compound; other team are trying to stop them.

Manic. Flanking around seemed a good idea, until Blue, a couple of others and I were pinned. I took a hit to the leg, which was made more annoying as the guy was aiming at Kirra and I merely didn't get my ass into cover. Blue and Umesh later stormed the target, and placed the bomb - score one for the blue team!

In the return game, I was covering one flank, where the enemy decided to bring the bomb through. One thoroughly covered enemy later, and the bomb was left out in the open where we were able to re-take it.

7) Use the ammo...1), but once killed you return to a 'regenerate point', the marshal wipes the paint off and back you go, until you are out of ammo.

This was fun...I holed up in the tail of the helicopter and sniped, with the enemy unaware I was there at all. Plenty of other targets around me, but alas I ran out of ammo too quickly!

All in all great fun. Right now, however, I can hardly walk as my joints are stiffening up! No painful bruises, though.

We're planning on going again for Blue's birthday in April, if anyone wants to join us!

From the Front Line

Apoc game was great fun on Friday. Hard work, given only four of us (one staff) had much of an idea of the rules in a game involving 12 people.

We were each allowed about 1,500 points, which gave me the Line Breaker and Suppression Force formations (each with three tanks) plus a Land Raider and Lt. Smithers flying CAP. I was on one flank, with Imperial Guard tanks next. Opposite was a Necron force including three Monoliths. Details of the rest of the battlefield are sketchy!

We managed to immobilised one monolith on the first turn, and I then spent the next six turns killing necron warriors only to have them jump back to their feet. I think I must have killed (numerically) the entire squad four times over.

Top moments:

1. Lt. Smithers in his Thunderbolt arriving on turn 2 and unloading all weapons (including four bombs) onto the Necrons, causing 25 wounding hits and 20 kills. Gotta love restricted deployment space! The fact that the five surviving troops (floaty things) blew him and his Thunderbolt to smithereens immediately after, and most of the kills passed their "we'll be back" roll was by and by. Damn Shiny Model Syndrome!

2. Our team's Baneblade parking itself on one of the objectives (a building) after I had been given strict instructions not to fire the Vindicators in that direction in case I destroyed the building by mistake.

3. The enemy Baneblade losing it's primary weapon every turn to our shooting, only for it to remain stationary and repair it in the following turn. I'm not sure it got a shot off in the entire game.

4. My two Leman Russ tanks (donated to the enemy as one very little chap didn't have any models but wanted to join in) blowing a Deathwing Terminator squad (not mine, thankfully) to hell and gone on the first turn. Suffice to say, the little chap enjoyed the game - especially as the tanks survived.

5. The Thunderbolt being allowed to return (one of our side had to go home, leaving us with a couple hundred points down). Lt. Jones proceeded to do exactly as well as Smithers, only was able to then survive the last two turns.

6. On the last turn, we tried to take out all the remaining necron warriors so that they wouldn't get a WBB roll. Alas, we killed all but one. The squad took fire from the Thunderbolt, three whirlwinds, a Baneblade, two Land Raiders and a Vindicator, so the little fella was lucky!

7. My Land Speeder, after making an all-or-nothing dash to take an objective, weathering fire from two monoliths(!) before being shot down by the last few necron warriors that had just gotten to their feet...

I think the game ended with one objective in enemy hands (the one the Speeder almost took), with two contested.

Shooter of the match was not to Lt. Smithers, however. The Baneblade killed 35 'nids on the first turn with it's salvo.

The game took about 3 hours, and started around 17:00 and I think most people enjoyed themselves.

From the Front Line

Following the release of the much hyped Apocalypse supplement (for fielding really, really big armies in Warhammer 40,000), one of the models available caught my eye.

There's now more opportunity to field aircraft than before, and the Thunderbolt Ground attack aircraft used by the Imperial Navy caught my eye. Okay, the Thunderhawk Gunship did too, but we'll come to that later.

Whilst thinking how great these would be (just as a cool model, in addition to being useful in the game), and knowing full well that the Forge World model was well outside my budget, I happened across a set of templates for scratch building one.

Scratch building means just that; building the model from scratch, using whatever materials are available/suitable/can be begged borrowed or scrounged from sources. Not something I have done in a few years, my only experience being a couple of Ork tanks many years ago that were made from cereal packet card.

So, armed with the templates, some plastic card, a tool box and plenty of TV time over Christmas I was able to put the first model together over the last couple of weeks.

The end result was better than I had hoped. After 20 hours effort, I had something that, admittedly, wasn't as detailed as the Forge World model, but was more than adequate. I was pleased when I got some positive comments when I took it up to the GW store to work on it some more.

At the moment, the engines are the only things to be finished, and then I can paint it.

The plan at the moment is to get the first model completely painted, then think about making two more for a squadron. A couple of people asked me how much I would charge to make them models...not sure if that is something I would want to do given the time needed. Effort aside, total cost for the model was about £5.

Anyway, below are some extracts from emails with a friend on using the Thunderbolt in games, mostly for me to keep somewhere for future reference.

Can you imagine fielding several squadrons as a significant chunk of an Apocalypse army? It would sure confuse those with all-tank armies, as they'd be mostly hitting on sixes :) And nailing Baneblades is always satisfying... How many pintle-mounted weapons can people field?

Okay, it only works until people cotton on to the hydra...

Anyway, as for the scale, yours is close to the images in Imperial Armour, I guess, but those don't seem to be to any particular scale as the Marauder seems to be too small in there. I haven't compared the scales in Apocalypse with models I know to comment, as it seems more likely it's a little off. I mean, GW could never consistently scale titans, so the smaller stuff could be anything. I think both our models are okay - there's not much difference between them really, and looking at things like F-15 Eagles, there is a lot of machine around the pilot. Essentially, the scales irrelevant though, as it's not like the model will be making use of cover, and range is nominally taken to the base*.

When shooting at tanks they use the rear (possibly side?) armour value (weaker armour on the top!), so even the autocannon stand a chance at getting through AV12 with that many shots. Void shields are AV12 any way, so they would be pretty good at knocking those down at the very least. Get close enough and those void shields don't work anyway. A squadron of three may not kill a Baneblade in one turn, but they could do some serious damage to it.

Add a bomb load, and they are going to eat horde armies and light armour for breakfast. Rhinos, Chimera, Trukks etc? Nailing the Whirlwind's spotter Land Speeder? Taking out indirect-fire batteries? Knocking out Hammerheads (damn Tau!)?

Aimed at a unit of light armour, the hits are going to be distributed evenly, so with 7 shots, something is going to go. Being able to get into a position to target heavy weapon squads as well will be easier - targets that would not normally be closest to the ground-based units.

Also factor in the psychology on the enemy player - something fairly killy that they can't hit back at easily is going to really wind them up! I suspect an awful lot of fire power aimed at them, which lets everything else survive another turn or two.

Admittedly they are no good for taking and holding objectives, but they would be good for clearing the objective prior to making a ground assault, just like in real life.

And, since most people won't be fielding aircraft or dedicated AAA, most things won't be able to target them. Most pintle mounted weapons are storm bolters or stubbers, and are low strength (although AV10 is still possible). As flyers they only suffer Glancing hits in any case due to the high speed.

Oops

From the BBC

Clarkson stung after bank prank

TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson has lost money after publishing his bank details in his newspaper column.
The Top Gear host revealed his account numbers after rubbishing the furore over the loss of 25 million people's personal details on two computer discs.

He wanted to prove the story was a fuss about nothing.

But Clarkson admitted he was "wrong" after discovered a reader had used the details to create a £500 direct debit to the charity Diabetes UK.

Clarkson published details of his Barclays account in the Sun newspaper, including his account number and sort code. He even told people how to find out his address.

"All you'll be able to do with them is put money into my account. Not take it out. Honestly, I've never known such a palaver about nothing," he told readers.

But he was proved wrong, as the 47-year-old wrote in his Sunday Times column.

"I opened my bank statement this morning to find out that someone has set up a direct debit which automatically takes £500 from my account," he said.

"The bank cannot find out who did this because of the Data Protection Act and they cannot stop it from happening again.

"I was wrong and I have been punished for my mistake."

Police were called in to search for the two discs, which contained the entire database of child benefit claimants and apparently got lost in the post in October 2007.

They were posted from HM Revenue and Customs offices in Tyne and Wear, but never turned up at their destination - the National Audit Office.

The loss, which led to an apology from Prime Minister Gordon Brown, created fears of identity fraud.

Clarkson now says of the case: "Contrary to what I said at the time, we must go after the idiots who lost the discs and stick cocktail sticks in their eyes until they beg for mercy."