The Tenuous Link Between Women and Warhammer For Adults...

Being, as I am, a father of a not-quite-two-year-old, I don't often get the opportunity to catch up on events down on planet earth anymore. Those of you who have already run the gauntlet of parenthood will presumably be nodding sympathetically, because you have assumed (probably quite correctly) the thing I am going to say next.

For those of you thrice damned not blessed with children, allow me to explain: the Apple of My Eye has learned to throw tantrums.

One day, everything is fine and normal. She is nothing but pure honey and everything she does results in light shining from the heavens and angels singing.

The next day? Possessed by the enraged result of the unholy union of John McEnroe and Gordon Ramsey, both experiencing acute ritalin and nicotine shortages whilst simultaneously boosting on raw glucose.

Now let it not be said that Mother Nature is not equipped with a sense of humour. The good lady is clearly well appointed in that space, for she elected to lay just one more burden on these confused and outmatched parents: the common cold.

Time for Yet-Another-F$^@ing-Growth-Opportunity!

But, its not all bad. Silver linings have been sought and silver linings have been found.

In gaming terms, it has been a very good few weeks. I have had occasion to game on two different days, in the same month, with both activities being known and sanctioned by The Minister of the Interior. You will be able to see the exploits of one of those games on this internet website over here.

"Hang on just a second there," I hear you say. "Two gaming events, without lying, and all your limbs still bend in the fashion God intended? How?"

I've finished my Christmas shopping.

No, really.

All done. I suspect this is something to do with the next evolutionary step of man - the combination of the parenthood gene and online shopping. Responsibility and accessibility resulting in survivability.

Not quite sure what I'll have to do for the other eleven months of the year, though. I'm also not entirely clear the level of expenditure is sustainable. But let's allocate the resolution of that problem to, well, a New Year's Resolution. Putting problems in a different accounting year works for big business, right?

But anyway, enough rambling. I logged on tonight with the intention of updating this blog with something I've not honestly thought about before, and therefore, clearly, neither have you.

Okay, you probably have.

That is the topic of girl nerds. That is, nerds who are female. This is different to nerds who pretend to be female (or even, females who pretend to be nerds - be warned, we can tell!) - I am specifically referring to that unknown quantity which fascinates, excites and thoroughly terrifies The Male Geek:

The Female Geek.

The Minister of the Interior is a good sort, really: she enjoys the occasional heartwarming action movie and will celebrate International Rugby with the best of them.

But, bless her cotton socks, her eyes glaze over with Not Another Nerdy Notion Disorder as soon as I try to explain the complex political situation affecting the occupants of Rivendell, or why it is that Luke is able to tell Leia where he is when he ends up hanging handless from the antennae of Cloud City, or indeed that the M41A pulse rifle is in fact based on the Thompson sub-machine gun.

And, to her credit, she did spend an entire weekend in Warhammer World with me when I attended the last GW sanctioned tournament I would ever go to, trying desperately to look like she was having fun, what with 'all that opportunity to look at the extremely interesting armies' everyone had brought.

Still, she's not a Female Geek. She won't even play Munchkin.

Yet there are some who will.

One came to my attention through the presentation of a Liebster Award. You who blog will know about these things: they circulate like funny cat videos.

I've yet to follow the rules for these things (a few have been fired across the bow), in that I've not yet nominated anyone else for one. I truly appreciate that people highlight their regard for the blog through the medium of Liebster - but I don't send them on as I don't know or understand the inner workings of the creator of Liebster and so find myself unable to credit the thing in case it was not initiated as a serious activity.

In this case, however, the sender and her other nominees where so curiously interesting, I thought I'd mention it. You will find Warhammer For Adults nestled amongst some pretty unusual bedfellows over at Dragons And Things - you know, where one might find Dragons, as well as all sorts of other things.

Go on. Take a look. Christmas might be a good time for you to get some gift ideas from Geek With Curves. Perhaps you need some advice on Anime Tattoos over at Girl Gone Geek. Or cut the crap and redevelop your blog in Devcember (not a typo) with the Steph over at Nerd Allure. Imagine their reactions when they see Warhammer For Adults in their referrer stats...

Anyway. Thanks for the award, Ruth - and thanks for some of the most fascinating time I've had on the internet to date.

Speaking of awards, I was also accorded a very special honour by Nico, who most of you might know as some sort of painting deity. He is, in fact, French, and from what I can see over on the oldhammer forum, painting is built into them on a DNA level, much like gesticulating wildly or shrugging.

Still, he is head and shoulders above his countrymen, because he has an awesome chaos army, and awesome skaven army, an awesome epic army and now, of course, a game winning champion now prosecuting his wars for him...

Thank you, Nico. You, sir, are a gentleman and a scholar. May it be that your children one day put you in the best retirement home money can buy.

In my next post, however, regular service will resume - I will take photographs of miniature things and discuss them, or possibly make up stories about them. Perhaps both. It is unlikely to include any links to fashion.

I'm sure you will be pleased.