In the beginning, there was... Well... There just was.

I have been toying with the idea of starting up a blog for a very, very long time. I had a half-arsed attempt a few years back, on LiveJournal, but really did struggle to regiment my updates, and it just fell by the wayside. I have also had an in-house blog, over at The Ogre Stronghold, knocking on the door for 5 years now. In that time, I have managed only a handful of constructive or progressive posts, and the interest from those following it has (understandably) waned...

Well, I stumbled across a blog on here only yesterday, and I decided it was finally time to get off my backside, and finally start-up a blog. Whilst I found myself disagreeing with a few of the views on the blog, in the main I genuinely loved every update, and every topic. I found the wealth and depth of coverage to be really great, and the author to be engaging and immersing, and that is everything I wanted my blog to be. So, a quick shout out to Davey, over at The Marienburg Gazette, for being the main inspiration to have my own stab at blogging about my slice of the Geekdom.

I have identified the main reason for my previous attempts having failed, as being that I tried to focus too much on just one aspect of my "geekiness", and the focus made it difficult to sometimes find topics to post about on a regular basis. With this blog, I will keep the remit open to all of my interests, and the content will therefore be very much a "mixed bag". A few things that can be expected, but not necessarily limited to;

• Computer games of varying genres and platforms: I wouldn't say I am a pro-gamer, but I am definitely an avid gamer. I love a lot of genres, but tend to gravitate towards Action and Shooters. Some of my favourite games over the last 15 years or so, have been the Pokemon franchise, Borderlands, American McGee's Alice franchise, GTA: San Andreas and Alien: Colonial Marines (Yeah, sue me!). I own a number of consoles, with the notable exception of an Xbox 360; not something I have any intention of rectifying if I am honest.
• Tabletop Miniatures: I am an avid - bordering on obsessive - gamer, painter and collector of tabletop miniatures. I primarily have dealings with Games workshop's games, with a strong focus on the Warhammer Fantasy side of things. That said, I am branching out and dabbling in new companies and games systems, notably West Wind Productions Secrets of the Third Reich. I paint as much as my "real world" life allows, and my abilities with a paint brush really have come on leaps and bounds. I game as often as finding an opponent allows, but sadly most of my gaming comes in the form of solid TheoryHammer.
• Other "hands-on" real world games: For the last 6 months to a year, I have been toying with the concept of various board games, card games and miniature-game hybrids, but in the most half-arsed fashion. A lot of my lack of drive and motivation comes from the virtually non-existent pool of "nerds" in my local area, and these things are often a lot more fun when you have someone to share in the enthusiasm and joviality. I am very intrigued by the idea of Magic the Gathering, having well over a 1,000 cards from the last two or three expansion phases. I am also looking at X Wing, the Star Wars aerial combat game. 
• Travelling: Whilst only a moderately well-travelled person myself, I have all the aspirations and desires to travel to as many countries as is possible in the average human lifespan. I am obsessed with many foreign cultures, foods and locations, and will no doubt find myself posting pictures and write-ups of places I long to see, in my cyclical fits of wanderlust.
• Technology of all shapes and sizes: I am a self-confessed gadget freak, and am always finding myself distracted by the latest, shiny "must-haves". I have had four phones in 10 months, and am already eyeing up a fifth. I have three tablet computers, and a TV/Home Entertainment set-up that defies definition. I subscribe to a number of gadget magazines, e-zines and websites, and try to stay on top of where it's at in the world of technology. I am a bit of a Samsung fan boy, a massive proponent of the Android OS, would work for Google in a heartbeat, and long to see the downfall of the Cupertino hipster that is Apple Inc. Despite all of this, I still believe that electricity is the greatest discovery/"invention" of man, and without it, my world would truly come to a stammering halt.

Despite the above, and I am sorry for yammering on, I am sure that other things will creep in from time-to-time, but I will endeavour to keep real life stuff - jobs, family, politics and the likes - well and truly away from this blog. Indeed, it will be a "real-life free" zone.

For now,

JJ