Hummingbird

A hummingbird just zoomed over our deck and sampled the butterfly plant. By the time I got the camera and got back to the deck, he'd zipped off in search of more palatable flowers.

Heat

At 4:37 pm it was 97.4°, with a heat index temperature of 117°. Nice and warm.

Historicon

First off, Historicon is big. Very large. I've been to larger events, but not larger gaming events. Three thousand people, over 200 game tables, over 65 vendors.

My schedule was:

• Rescue on Venus, by GASLIGHT. I arrived late due to traffic, and mostly spectated on this one. This was supposed to be a three-sided battle, with Amazons and French Foreign Legion each trying to rescue their own hostage from the lizardmen. Unbeknownst to the gamemaster, the Amazons and lizardmen made a deal, which meant the lizardmen only had to fight the Legion. The lizardmen failed to concentrate, however, attacking one section at a time instead of all at once; as a consequence they took heavy casualties from rifle and machine gun fire. Weight of numbers told, though, and the Legion was driven off. Best moment: the Legion steam tank fired a shot which knocked over the lizardman T Rex, but the mighty lizard struggled to its feet and charged the tank, destroying it in a burst of steam.
• Mars by GASLIGHT: a large action with 21 players controlling over 60 units, with a mix of HG Wells, Burroughs, and Victorian adventurers. Description at Battle Honors.
• Close Action: a fictitious naval battle between the USN and RN in 1821, with elite squadrons on both sides. One player per ship, for maximum uncertainty as to where everyone else's ships are going to try to move to--you have to maneuver realistically to avoid collisions. Description at Battle Honors.
• Look Sarge, It's the Russians: a Napoleonic battle with the Russians holding a village which our French forces needed to capture. The game rules were Look Sarge, No Charts, which is intended to have all necessary play information on the pieces, with no extra paper on the table. I commanded the French right flank, which advanced on the Russians, engaged in a little desultory combat, and both sides retreated. We rallied, advanced again, attempted to charge, recoiled, and retreated. My only consolation was that I was facing Russians who were just as fainthearted as my forces. Apparently our brigades had come to a private understanding, leaving the center and left to slug it out. It looked like the Russians would repulse our attacks, but by the end of the game, repeated assaults had gained us a foothold in the village, and our cavalry had broken the uhlans on the left.
• Battle of Barfleur: using Victory Under Sail rules, with each player controlling about eight ships. I commanded the lead squadron of the Anglo-Dutch fleet, with the French fleet and their fireships upwind of us. Whether by cunning or happenstance, the French got a good concentration of fire on a couple of my ships and cut up their rigging, and then took advantage of their greater speed by sweeping around the front of my line and attacking from both sides. The French won the scenario, although the game master said the score was closer than for the other two times he'd run the game that weekend. There are some oddities to the rules but if I were playing fleet actions, I'd seriously consider using Victory Under Sail. This game was one of the last two to finish, and we packed up at 2pm Sunday.

So a good time, and I'm definitely planning to go again next year.

Historicon schedule

Friday night: Rescue on Venus (by GASLIGHT)
Saturday morning: Mars by GASLIGHT

Saturday afternoon: probably Close Action
Saturday evening: Look, Sarge, It's the Russians (rules: Look Sarge No Charts)
Sunday Morning: Battle of Barfleur (rules: Victory under Sail)

On this day

In 1203, the Fourth Crusade captures Constantinople, which is about the same as if the Americans in World War 2 had assaulted and captured London.

In 1453, the French defeat the English at the battle of Castillon, the last battle of the Hundred Years War.

In 1918, Bolsheviks murder Tsar Nicholas II and his family.

Nola's Hummingbird Cake

We first had this cake from Gwen's aunt Nola, although the notes she provided say it was originally an American recipe.

2 cups plain flour

1.25 c sugar

0.25 tsp salt

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1tsp cinnamon

2 eggs

1 c vegetable oil

0.5 tsp vanilla

9oz crushed pineapple, undrained

1 large banana

1 mango, kiwi, other fruit

ream cheese frosting

Preheat oven to 320° F

Combine first five items in large bowl.

Using a wooden spoon, mix in eggs and oil, then vanilla, pineapple and its juice, and chopped banna.

Pour into a greased 10" cake tin and bake 45 minutes; or use two 8" tins and bake 30 minutes.

Allow to cool in tin for 10 minutes before removing.

Put on cream cheese frosting and decorate with mango or kiwifruit.

GASLIGHT

Had a solo game of GASLIGHT last night, starring Major Garnet Wooley as he and his associates take on the goblin fusiliers of the lost continent of Mu. The After Action Report is posted at Battle Honors.