The Missing Key to Tomorrow and Yesterday

 

Golden Hour Hydrant Crossing

 

Granddad's Partsman Award

I was straightening out some things at Mom's place while she's in the hospital, and I stumbled across this plaque. I've seen it before, of course, and I'm pretty sure Dad told me what his father's award-winning idea was . . . but I've forgotten. Sometimes it feels like some of the most important memories slip away. Was this one of them? I'll never know. 

 

Frustrated Scavenger

I was in an ill temper today (my present normal), and so this annoying bird received not a scrap. Now I feel guilty. 
 

A Most Valuable Coin

A couple of weeks ago--which now feels like a lifetime--Mom and I went to Co-Op after one of her medical appointments. While she waited in the car, I went in to get her some lemonade and Sprite. When I returned, she said "I have a present for you." It was this coin, the first doubloon with King Charles III on the obverse. She knows I have a small collection of coins, so she saved it the last time she received change from a store by herself. 

Mom is not doing so well now, but after her last six-week hospital stay, she returned home and had a pretty good most-of-June. We were planning what to do for Mom's 83rd birthday when she had to be hospitalized again. Sylvia and I went to visit her today, and it was a hard visit; Mom's cancer has left her confused and not herself, and she demanded we leave after we were there about 20 minutes. 

But I know that's not Mom talking; it's the disease. I still have hope there are more lucid moments, and moments of happiness, to come. In the meantime, I'm very glad for this keepsake, which symbolizes how Mom always took care of us. 

Stealth Sky Fighter

I figure Diana probably has a secret police force, and I'm sure they fly around in something dark and sinister. I didn't put landing gear on this one; instead, I'll mount it on a clear flying stand. 
 

Another Visitor Sky Fighter

I'm getting better at painting the Visitor symbols. 
 

CARTEL1

"We shouldn't park here," Sean said. 
 

Bold Bunny Bush Blog

Super Mutant Suicider Fumbles the Ball

Well, really I fumbled the ball as this guy's painter. The base looks okay, but the mutant itself is rather undistinguished, messy, and too dark. 
 

Gold Plated Synth

 

We’ll Be Right Back

Copse and Robbers

 

Wildfire Copse

 

Jungle Copse

 

Copse

Using the trees Jeff printed for me and some other odds and ends, I created a copse suitable for use as wargaming or roleplaying terrain. 
 

Half Baked Halo

 

Spun Unspun

Thoughts whirl like
All the space stuff caught in the event horizon of a singularity
Splash and fuss spinning around the nothing at the centre
 

A Visual Metaphor

 

Harper's Dry Goods

Transforming the glasses wipes into a roof and walls for Harper's Dry Goods wasn't as difficult or messy as I expected. 

I guess it's kind of neat that you can see the frame through the walls and roof. Did dry goods buildings in the old west ever use cloth for walls or floors? Maybe it helped coffee grounds and the like stay dry . . . 

Please don't steal our dry goods! 

Dry Goods, Roofless

I have assembled Harper's Dry Goods for my Old West town, but there's something missing--the roof (and walls). The kit came with three packs of glasses wipes, which I'm supposed to coat in white glue and then spread over the roof and wall frames. That's going to be a messy job, but if I do it right, I may wind up with something more interesting than the typical wooden slats seen on other Old West buildings. 
 

A Red Barn

I put together this MDF barn kit but found the colour unappealing. Barns should be red, but I didn't want to use acrylic paint for fear I'd cover up the lines etched into the MDF that make it appear as though the barn is made of boards. Instead, I used ink wash. You can see the boards, but my application of the wash isn't exactly even. Good enough for tabletop play, though. 

 

Unconscionable

Today Alberta's UCP government announced most Albertans will have to pay for COVID-19 vaccinations starting this fall.

The government claims this is because over half of Alberta's supply wasn't used over the last couple of years. This isn't surprising, since premier Smith's government has consistently downplayed the severity of COVID-19 and refuses to properly publicize the availability of COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots.

Currently, Alberta has the highest rate of measles cases (per capita) in Canada. This is what happens when a government abdicates its responsibility to debunk anti-vaxxers and instead implicitly supports anti-vax messages through its policies. 

Anti-science, anti-intellectual, anti-vax thinking has brought measles back from the brink of extinction--a disease that can cause death and permanent disability. 

Just like COVID-19. 

Sylvia and I can and will pay for our booster shots. We have that privilege. But what about the majority of Albertans, living paycheque to paycheque, who can't afford a shot expected to cost over $100? I guess they'll just have to take their chances. 

And of course this makes life even more difficult and hazardous for the small minority of people who legitimately cannot be vaccinated for health reasons. These people are usually protected by herd immunity, but Alberta's COVID-19 vaccination rate has dropped down to around 13 percent. Herd immunity requires over 90% of any given population to be vaccinated to protect those who cannot be vaccinated. 

The UCP's decision to charge people for a life-saving vaccine could very well sicken and even kill scores of people. It will likely place immense strain on our already overworked health care providers.

Unconscionable. 

The Landscape of my Mind This Year

Creativity utterly shot. This world, I tell you . . . 
 

Hardware Store Interior

Having built several Old West buildings, I've now started using various odds and ends to give the interior spaces a little verisimilitude. The interior of this hardware store features some extra sledgehammers from Fallout: Wasteland Warfare and a collection of odds and ends left over from a variety of miniature kits.