Ok so I missed Fridays post and almost missed today's, but I'll do an extra post either Tuesday or Thursday to make up.
I caught something somewhere, it could have been my sick friend, it could have been my sick relatives, it could have been from walking round in the rain the week end before last, I'm not sure where but I've a annoyingly bad cold. It's mainly in my chest but I'm starting to get the head symptoms too. I picked up some meds which the pharmacist reckoned were the best for my situation. So I've been dosing myself with them at the appropriate hours. It's the congested chest and cough that get me the most.
I knew a guy who had undergone a heart and lung transplant, he told me the worst part was bringing up someone else's phlegm. I've just been told I probably shouldn't have shared that story.
And why the hell not?!!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Come fly with me!
I love airports, I really do. Maybe it's from my childhood when we would go out to meet people coming home, or say goodbye to those leaving again and we'd usually end up getting a McDonalds on the way home. Whatever the reason I tend to get a thrill when I go to one, they always seem to have a happy energy to me anyway.
I think Kevin Smith nailed it in the establishing scene in Dogma??? If you don't remember it, here's an except from the script:
]---------------------------------[
LOKI
Now here's what I don't get about you: why do you feel the need to come
here all the time?
BARTLEBY
(off travelers)
I like to watch. This is humanity at it's best. Look at them.
**A reunited family share a group hug and move on, making way for two young
lovers to embrace and kiss passionately.**
OC BARTLEBY
All that tension, all that anger and mistrust, forgotten for one perfect
moment when they come off that plane. See those two? The guy doesn't even
know that the girl cheated on him while he was away.
OC LOKI
She did?
**Bartleby and Loki continue to watch the arrivals.**
BARTLEBY
Uh-huh. Twice. But it doesn't matter at this moment because they're both so
relieved to be with one another. I like that. I just wish they could all
feel that way more often.
]---------------------------------[
I've seen that scene played out dozens of times while I've walked through the Arrivals area. The last time, it was a girl waiting for her boyfriend, she was standing there on her mobile to him waiting for him to clear customs. And she had a couple of coffees balanced on top of each other so they could share a drink. I liked that . . . . made me a little warm and fuzzy inside.
So I'm a romantic, I'm ok with that, . . . . aren't you?
And why the hell not?!!
I think Kevin Smith nailed it in the establishing scene in Dogma??? If you don't remember it, here's an except from the script:
]---------------------------------[
LOKI
Now here's what I don't get about you: why do you feel the need to come
here all the time?
BARTLEBY
(off travelers)
I like to watch. This is humanity at it's best. Look at them.
**A reunited family share a group hug and move on, making way for two young
lovers to embrace and kiss passionately.**
OC BARTLEBY
All that tension, all that anger and mistrust, forgotten for one perfect
moment when they come off that plane. See those two? The guy doesn't even
know that the girl cheated on him while he was away.
OC LOKI
She did?
**Bartleby and Loki continue to watch the arrivals.**
BARTLEBY
Uh-huh. Twice. But it doesn't matter at this moment because they're both so
relieved to be with one another. I like that. I just wish they could all
feel that way more often.
]---------------------------------[
I've seen that scene played out dozens of times while I've walked through the Arrivals area. The last time, it was a girl waiting for her boyfriend, she was standing there on her mobile to him waiting for him to clear customs. And she had a couple of coffees balanced on top of each other so they could share a drink. I liked that . . . . made me a little warm and fuzzy inside.
So I'm a romantic, I'm ok with that, . . . . aren't you?
And why the hell not?!!
Monday, August 16, 2010
And then what happened??
First off, I didn't miss the schedule, I had most of this written yesterday but it wouldn't post. So I've added in a bit about last night.
Ok so when I last left you I was supposed to starting a gaming session . . . . but that didn't happen. After cooking our dinner, me spending a fair bit of time blogging and showing the GM an awesome Slam Poet named Taylor Mali (look him up on youtube and watch as many of his readings as you can. My top 3 are "What do teachers make?", "I'll fight you for the Library!" and "Tony Steinberg: Brave Viking Warrior" we had used up too much time and neither of us felt we would have been able to give the game anywhere near our full attention.
So at around midnight he said he'll drop me home. I made sure I have all my gear and headed for the door when I heard him shout from upstairs "You've made a mistake!". I did a quick pat down trying to figure out if I left something up there but I couldn't think of anything missing. So I called back up to him "What did I do this time?" He made his way down the stairs and told me "I'm up now . . . . we're going dancing!" And I said ". . . . ok". We drove into town (which so the opposite direction to my house) and parked in Temple Bar to go into a Bar called the Garage.
We met up with one of the girls from earlier and were there till closing. I did get up to dance . . . but only for one or two songs. (I'm not a big dancer) I sat for a bit, chatted with my friends when they were there and watched the communal pile o'stuff when they weren't. Eventually I got home and stayed up chatting with Nazu till my folks left around 6:30am for a ferry and then I went to bed.
The rest of the weekend was less eventful, I was meeting up with some of my American relatives that are over visiting. We met up, got some pizza and then walked to The Cobblestone in Smithfield as they have a trad session that was recommended to my Cousins. We stayed for a round or two there, before heading over to Temple Bar on the insane mission of trying to find a decent pub that wasn't packed, played decent music (at a reasonable volume) and had somewhere to sit.
This proved to be a tricky task. We stopped briefly into the Auld Dubliner, ended up walking down Fleet St to Westmoreland St before doubling back up Dame St and stopping in the CitiBar for a round. After leaving the CitiBar, we tried to find a bar that one of the Girls had been in on one of her previous visits. She couldn't remember the name of it, or exactly where it was, so I had to work off of a vague description. But we were eventually successful (turned out it was the Mezz) and we got into the bar for what was our last stop of the night.
Sunday was thankfully even more relaxing. I had planned on bringing my Cousins on the Viking Splash Tour which is a fun spin round Dublin city pointing some of the historical landmarks in an ex WWII amphibious vehicle. Unfortunately the tours for Sunday were all sold out. After I rang my cousins to let them make other plans I killed some time in the City before heading home. Once I got home I just chilled, took a shower, cooked a meal and watched some movies while practicing on a Guitar. I was glad of the rest.
Monday was a hellish day in work, the phones wouldn't stop ringing and it was a constant stream of calls, though that does make for a faster day. Once I finished up I confirmed plans with my Cousins to do a session of Karaoke in the Ukiyo Bar. So there was a bit of madness (they tricked me into singing Madonna . . . . . yeaaaah tricked me, that's what happened) for an hour or two before going for a few Drinks in the International Bar.
And why the hell not?!!
Ok so when I last left you I was supposed to starting a gaming session . . . . but that didn't happen. After cooking our dinner, me spending a fair bit of time blogging and showing the GM an awesome Slam Poet named Taylor Mali (look him up on youtube and watch as many of his readings as you can. My top 3 are "What do teachers make?", "I'll fight you for the Library!" and "Tony Steinberg: Brave Viking Warrior" we had used up too much time and neither of us felt we would have been able to give the game anywhere near our full attention.
So at around midnight he said he'll drop me home. I made sure I have all my gear and headed for the door when I heard him shout from upstairs "You've made a mistake!". I did a quick pat down trying to figure out if I left something up there but I couldn't think of anything missing. So I called back up to him "What did I do this time?" He made his way down the stairs and told me "I'm up now . . . . we're going dancing!" And I said ". . . . ok". We drove into town (which so the opposite direction to my house) and parked in Temple Bar to go into a Bar called the Garage.
We met up with one of the girls from earlier and were there till closing. I did get up to dance . . . but only for one or two songs. (I'm not a big dancer) I sat for a bit, chatted with my friends when they were there and watched the communal pile o'stuff when they weren't. Eventually I got home and stayed up chatting with Nazu till my folks left around 6:30am for a ferry and then I went to bed.
The rest of the weekend was less eventful, I was meeting up with some of my American relatives that are over visiting. We met up, got some pizza and then walked to The Cobblestone in Smithfield as they have a trad session that was recommended to my Cousins. We stayed for a round or two there, before heading over to Temple Bar on the insane mission of trying to find a decent pub that wasn't packed, played decent music (at a reasonable volume) and had somewhere to sit.
This proved to be a tricky task. We stopped briefly into the Auld Dubliner, ended up walking down Fleet St to Westmoreland St before doubling back up Dame St and stopping in the CitiBar for a round. After leaving the CitiBar, we tried to find a bar that one of the Girls had been in on one of her previous visits. She couldn't remember the name of it, or exactly where it was, so I had to work off of a vague description. But we were eventually successful (turned out it was the Mezz) and we got into the bar for what was our last stop of the night.
Sunday was thankfully even more relaxing. I had planned on bringing my Cousins on the Viking Splash Tour which is a fun spin round Dublin city pointing some of the historical landmarks in an ex WWII amphibious vehicle. Unfortunately the tours for Sunday were all sold out. After I rang my cousins to let them make other plans I killed some time in the City before heading home. Once I got home I just chilled, took a shower, cooked a meal and watched some movies while practicing on a Guitar. I was glad of the rest.
Monday was a hellish day in work, the phones wouldn't stop ringing and it was a constant stream of calls, though that does make for a faster day. Once I finished up I confirmed plans with my Cousins to do a session of Karaoke in the Ukiyo Bar. So there was a bit of madness (they tricked me into singing Madonna . . . . . yeaaaah tricked me, that's what happened) for an hour or two before going for a few Drinks in the International Bar.
And why the hell not?!!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Days since last post . . . .. 1
Ok so, so far I'm keeping on track but it's only been a day so it's not all that hard. I've had a fun day realising just how frickin' small this island is. If you don't know I live in Dublin, the glorious Capital (take that Cork!) of Ireland, the Emerald Isle if you will. Today I had planned to meet up with one of my friends before going for a quick gaming session with that awesome GM I mentioned in the last post. She was delayed due to the fantastic Bus service that we have, so I ended up meeting with the GM first and we waited for her together. Once she joined us, we went down to a small chocolate shop for a hot chocolate and ran into one of the couples we knew.
While waiting for our order, we had a great laugh talking amongst ourselves and watching the reactions of the passersby who tended to walk past at the worst possible moment (see the Coyote, law of.) and had no idea what we were talking about. . . . "The best line in Mrs. Doubtfire, 'Brace yourself Effie!'" followed by roars of laughter and a dirty look by a woman walking by. As she went on I had to look to my friends and say "I think her name was Effie?!" Cue more laughter.
One really good time later we finally finished up and went on our way. We stopped in a grocery store and picked up some fixings for Dinner before heading for the Bus. As we reached a set of traffic lights I noticed the girl standing at the lights was the girl who trained me in for my current job. She had left job just before Christmas and this was the first time I had seen her since then. We had a bit of a catch up as we waited for our bus, but she finally had to get on hers and my GM and I went back to his house.
And that's where you find me now. We've just eaten dinner and might just try get into the planned gaming session before the night is out.
And why the hell not?!!
While waiting for our order, we had a great laugh talking amongst ourselves and watching the reactions of the passersby who tended to walk past at the worst possible moment (see the Coyote, law of.) and had no idea what we were talking about. . . . "The best line in Mrs. Doubtfire, 'Brace yourself Effie!'" followed by roars of laughter and a dirty look by a woman walking by. As she went on I had to look to my friends and say "I think her name was Effie?!" Cue more laughter.
One really good time later we finally finished up and went on our way. We stopped in a grocery store and picked up some fixings for Dinner before heading for the Bus. As we reached a set of traffic lights I noticed the girl standing at the lights was the girl who trained me in for my current job. She had left job just before Christmas and this was the first time I had seen her since then. We had a bit of a catch up as we waited for our bus, but she finally had to get on hers and my GM and I went back to his house.
And that's where you find me now. We've just eaten dinner and might just try get into the planned gaming session before the night is out.
And why the hell not?!!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Back to the Blogging!!
Ok so this is the first post in . . . . I don’t know how many months . . . . apologies for the delay but let’s face it no one who reads this is actually screaming for updates. So I’ve decided push myself and post more often . . . . try to gain more readers (not that those who do aren’t appreciated) and see if I can keep to an update schedule. To that end, for the rest of the year, I’m hoping to post on Monday – Wednesday – Friday . To do this I’m probably going to bend one or two of my rules for blogging but c’est la vie.
So unfortunately over the last few months things have been Rollercoaster like for me. I got involved with a girl who was fantastic, and fun, and cute, and made of win and awesome in equal measures, and for a short time life was good. It would have been perfect if she hadn’t recently gotten out of a 10 year relationship and was actually ready to be in another relationship. Now she was completely upfront about things and I made an informed decision to continue on regardless. We had a lot of fun but eventually it got to that point where we couldn’t get that balance . . . . . . it wasn’t enough for me but it was too much for her. So things ended, as amicably as they could, and I’m still licking my wounds from it.
Work has been consistent at least, I’ve been kept busy enough during office hours but nothing has left the office with me. There will always be those frustrations and tensions but I’ve been in worse working environments. While I’m not using my training or preferred skill sets (yet) at least I’ve got my time after hours that will always be “my time”. Speaking of my time let’s talk about gaming!
I’ve been having a lot of fun running an OWoD (Old World of Darkness) Werewolf game with Gogz and Dave and a couple of friends that haven’t been named yet. I like creating Characters and locations for games so I’ve had fun with this. Though I have been known to get carried away . . . . Gogz spent a couple points in the Mentor Background which gave him an NPC (Non Player Character) to contact if he ever needed help outside of the regular avenues. So I started thinking up this guy and as I was making him up I kind of went overboard on his stats and he ended up 2-3 levels higher than he should have been. But I had so much fun that I made up people he’d have known and a plot hook or two that’ll come up. So I had to tell Gogz shortly after “Em . . . Dude, you have 3 extra dots in Mentor.” Of course there were no complaints from him.
Another game I’m playing in is a Dark Heresy LARP (Live Action Role Play) which is run by a fantastic GM. Twenty months in and we’ve gone through about 8 players even more characters (one player is on his third) to the point where there’s only about 3 of the original players who are still on their original characters. It’s an espionage game set in the WarHammer 40K universe dealing with low level assets of the Inquisition. If you like to get an idea of the setting read The Eisenhorn Trilogy by Dan Abnett . . . . or the Ravenor Trilogy by Dan Abnett . . . . . pretty much anything by Dan Abnett. It’s always a fun game when you fear character death at every turn.
And from gaming we go to Conventions, much less to speak about this year. . . . . I’m counting down the days till Dragon*Con (21 if you’re interested) I don’t know much about who’ll be there this year as I’ve tried to avoid the disappointment that happens when you find out people have dropped out. One name I know will be there is Stan Lee. Only one word for that . . . . Excelsior!!! There will of course be my favourite webcomic artists (Jennie Breeden, Aaron Williams and Pete Abrams to name a few) and I’m hoping to pick up a few more sketches for my Comic Kilt.
And after Dragon*Con there will be the run up to Gaelcon! I’m not on the committee this year but I’ll still be in command of some minions **evil laugh** I don’t know what’s planned for this year but I know it’ll be awesome. More on that as it gets closer to October.
I’m going to wrap up but I’ll leave you with two pieces of advice:
1. Nothing good happens after 2am. (Yeah I heard it on “How I met your Mother” too, but it’s still good to follow)
2. Never ask a question you don’t already know the answer to.
Learn from my mistakes, because I haven’t yet.
And why the hell not?!!
So unfortunately over the last few months things have been Rollercoaster like for me. I got involved with a girl who was fantastic, and fun, and cute, and made of win and awesome in equal measures, and for a short time life was good. It would have been perfect if she hadn’t recently gotten out of a 10 year relationship and was actually ready to be in another relationship. Now she was completely upfront about things and I made an informed decision to continue on regardless. We had a lot of fun but eventually it got to that point where we couldn’t get that balance . . . . . . it wasn’t enough for me but it was too much for her. So things ended, as amicably as they could, and I’m still licking my wounds from it.
Work has been consistent at least, I’ve been kept busy enough during office hours but nothing has left the office with me. There will always be those frustrations and tensions but I’ve been in worse working environments. While I’m not using my training or preferred skill sets (yet) at least I’ve got my time after hours that will always be “my time”. Speaking of my time let’s talk about gaming!
I’ve been having a lot of fun running an OWoD (Old World of Darkness) Werewolf game with Gogz and Dave and a couple of friends that haven’t been named yet. I like creating Characters and locations for games so I’ve had fun with this. Though I have been known to get carried away . . . . Gogz spent a couple points in the Mentor Background which gave him an NPC (Non Player Character) to contact if he ever needed help outside of the regular avenues. So I started thinking up this guy and as I was making him up I kind of went overboard on his stats and he ended up 2-3 levels higher than he should have been. But I had so much fun that I made up people he’d have known and a plot hook or two that’ll come up. So I had to tell Gogz shortly after “Em . . . Dude, you have 3 extra dots in Mentor.” Of course there were no complaints from him.
Another game I’m playing in is a Dark Heresy LARP (Live Action Role Play) which is run by a fantastic GM. Twenty months in and we’ve gone through about 8 players even more characters (one player is on his third) to the point where there’s only about 3 of the original players who are still on their original characters. It’s an espionage game set in the WarHammer 40K universe dealing with low level assets of the Inquisition. If you like to get an idea of the setting read The Eisenhorn Trilogy by Dan Abnett . . . . or the Ravenor Trilogy by Dan Abnett . . . . . pretty much anything by Dan Abnett. It’s always a fun game when you fear character death at every turn.
And from gaming we go to Conventions, much less to speak about this year. . . . . I’m counting down the days till Dragon*Con (21 if you’re interested) I don’t know much about who’ll be there this year as I’ve tried to avoid the disappointment that happens when you find out people have dropped out. One name I know will be there is Stan Lee. Only one word for that . . . . Excelsior!!! There will of course be my favourite webcomic artists (Jennie Breeden, Aaron Williams and Pete Abrams to name a few) and I’m hoping to pick up a few more sketches for my Comic Kilt.
And after Dragon*Con there will be the run up to Gaelcon! I’m not on the committee this year but I’ll still be in command of some minions **evil laugh** I don’t know what’s planned for this year but I know it’ll be awesome. More on that as it gets closer to October.
I’m going to wrap up but I’ll leave you with two pieces of advice:
1. Nothing good happens after 2am. (Yeah I heard it on “How I met your Mother” too, but it’s still good to follow)
2. Never ask a question you don’t already know the answer to.
Learn from my mistakes, because I haven’t yet.
And why the hell not?!!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Giant Robot!!!
Thankfully this has nothing to do with Michael Bay . . . . at all!
When he first had the idea, my initial reaction was "Awesome . . . I want in." There are many websites out there were people have done it before but we were going to do it bigger and better . . . well not bigger really as it has to be in scale . . . . but definitely better. So after a couple of months I hadn't heard anymore talk about it I decided to talk to the Con Director and see what the latest on it was. His reply was "We've started a couple of months ago" to which I repeated my offer. I had two hands and was willing to do the grunt work. So he gave me the whens and wheres and the following week I tagged in.
When I got to the Assembley Yard (it sounds grander that way) I found they had started on the basic skeleton and had a rough assembly on the legs to hips. I found the size of the legs to be a little deceptive. They were a little over 1 1/2 ft. I must have looked crestfallen because they guys then showed me the model we were using as a reference. I had no idea what were actually building. I had seen some models of Titans in the Warhammer Epic range and thought it would be similiar to those . . . . what I didn't know is that the current editions only do the smaller titans, The Imperator looked monstrous compared to them. It could be roughly broken into three sections, Legs and lower body, upper body and the citadel. The Citadel was an unknown to me . . . it rested on the Imperator's hunched shoulders, and has several towers and turrets which bring the total height of it to roughly 4 1/2 ft. On top of the tallest tower there rests a (to quote my favourite Colonel, if you can't recognise the quote then get off my blog!) Big Honking SpaceGun!
So we had building sessions once a week for the months before Gaelcon but as it got closer and we realised we had more and more to do we started have more sessions when we could. Towards the end of it I had spent and entire weekend working on it except for a short break when we had to go to a Committee Meeting. But it was an Adventure and an Experience to say the least. When we started I told the lads I'd do any grunt work they needed, measure, carry, fetch, make tea . . . but I wasn't using any of the power tools. We were using MDF, foamboard, old election signs and of course a lot of GW pieces (several tanks and installations were harvested to bring us this Titan) so I was happy enough with snips, files and scalpels. By the last month I was working away on the Sander, Band Saw, Table Saw and a Rotary Power Tool that I remembered I had from the year before.
Once we had the basic structure built we started to fill out the body parts with plaster which had to be smoothed out once it dried. It was mainly used for the Legs and Head but some gaps in the Torso were also filled in. This is were the Rotary tool became a godsend. I worked on the Head to carve out the recesses for the eyes and cleaned up the jaw line nice. At this point we had the main work of the Model done all that was left to do we detail it to hell and back. Trolling through our Bitz box and a lot of findings we added more of the superficial (but awesome) details to make the Titan pop. Pipe and tubing were used to make pistons, Wheels were made into gears and then there were the guns! A lot of the guns were stock GW tank barrels but a lot of them were made from tubing and bits.
And finally after all of this work we still had to Paint it. Painting occured in three stages, Basecoats and General tones on the night before Gaelcon's setup day, Layering, Corrections and clean up during the setup day and then some more detailing and fine touch ups during the Gaelcon weekend.
We had advertised the Titan as an event at Gaelcon saying it would take on all comers but noone actually was brave enough to try. (We were certain it would still be standing at the End) It was also made known that the Finished Titan was to be included in the Gaelcon Charity Auction and that the Con Director was determined to win it. (Rookie mistake and you hate to see it done!) So a lot of people were bidding strictly to pump the price up and put him through the wringer. In the end he got it for €800. (That's over $1,100 american) And it now resides in his bed room, defending it from the forces of Chaos and probably scaring one or two of the girls he brings home.
So we can say we've built an Imperial Emporor Class Imperator Titan, what did you do with your summer? This year we're threatening to build a Chaos Imperator (Not the Con Director though . . . he has his own Titan which he loves very much but towards the end of the build there were times were he was sick of looking at it. So he said he was definitly out if we do.) and then at the next Gaelcon have to the Titans at opposite ends of the table blasting away at each other while the crowds eggs them on.
And why the hell not?!!
I've finally gotten round to updating after the New Year. (I've have no Net Access at home at the moment thanks to our ISP) The only thing I left off from the Half Year Review is the construction of a Giant Robot and now it get a post all of it's own. (Photos to follow)
As part of Gaelcon (See last post) our Con Director had the brilliant idea of building a Imperator Titan in Warhammer 40K scale. If your not familiar with the game, most of the models are called miniatures and for good reason. They're small, you can fit armies of them on the dinner table and the Vehicals can fit in the palm of your hand. This would not . . . in game it's a towering engine of destruction, a self contained, mobile, heavily armoured giant robot designed and built solely to destroy it's enemies. Roughly 100ft tall with starship weaponry, it is devestating to those standing in it's way. (I have nerdgasms just thinking about them)When he first had the idea, my initial reaction was "Awesome . . . I want in." There are many websites out there were people have done it before but we were going to do it bigger and better . . . well not bigger really as it has to be in scale . . . . but definitely better. So after a couple of months I hadn't heard anymore talk about it I decided to talk to the Con Director and see what the latest on it was. His reply was "We've started a couple of months ago" to which I repeated my offer. I had two hands and was willing to do the grunt work. So he gave me the whens and wheres and the following week I tagged in.
When I got to the Assembley Yard (it sounds grander that way) I found they had started on the basic skeleton and had a rough assembly on the legs to hips. I found the size of the legs to be a little deceptive. They were a little over 1 1/2 ft. I must have looked crestfallen because they guys then showed me the model we were using as a reference. I had no idea what were actually building. I had seen some models of Titans in the Warhammer Epic range and thought it would be similiar to those . . . . what I didn't know is that the current editions only do the smaller titans, The Imperator looked monstrous compared to them. It could be roughly broken into three sections, Legs and lower body, upper body and the citadel. The Citadel was an unknown to me . . . it rested on the Imperator's hunched shoulders, and has several towers and turrets which bring the total height of it to roughly 4 1/2 ft. On top of the tallest tower there rests a (to quote my favourite Colonel, if you can't recognise the quote then get off my blog!) Big Honking SpaceGun!
So we had building sessions once a week for the months before Gaelcon but as it got closer and we realised we had more and more to do we started have more sessions when we could. Towards the end of it I had spent and entire weekend working on it except for a short break when we had to go to a Committee Meeting. But it was an Adventure and an Experience to say the least. When we started I told the lads I'd do any grunt work they needed, measure, carry, fetch, make tea . . . but I wasn't using any of the power tools. We were using MDF, foamboard, old election signs and of course a lot of GW pieces (several tanks and installations were harvested to bring us this Titan) so I was happy enough with snips, files and scalpels. By the last month I was working away on the Sander, Band Saw, Table Saw and a Rotary Power Tool that I remembered I had from the year before.
Once we had the basic structure built we started to fill out the body parts with plaster which had to be smoothed out once it dried. It was mainly used for the Legs and Head but some gaps in the Torso were also filled in. This is were the Rotary tool became a godsend. I worked on the Head to carve out the recesses for the eyes and cleaned up the jaw line nice. At this point we had the main work of the Model done all that was left to do we detail it to hell and back. Trolling through our Bitz box and a lot of findings we added more of the superficial (but awesome) details to make the Titan pop. Pipe and tubing were used to make pistons, Wheels were made into gears and then there were the guns! A lot of the guns were stock GW tank barrels but a lot of them were made from tubing and bits.
And finally after all of this work we still had to Paint it. Painting occured in three stages, Basecoats and General tones on the night before Gaelcon's setup day, Layering, Corrections and clean up during the setup day and then some more detailing and fine touch ups during the Gaelcon weekend.
We had advertised the Titan as an event at Gaelcon saying it would take on all comers but noone actually was brave enough to try. (We were certain it would still be standing at the End) It was also made known that the Finished Titan was to be included in the Gaelcon Charity Auction and that the Con Director was determined to win it. (Rookie mistake and you hate to see it done!) So a lot of people were bidding strictly to pump the price up and put him through the wringer. In the end he got it for €800. (That's over $1,100 american) And it now resides in his bed room, defending it from the forces of Chaos and probably scaring one or two of the girls he brings home.
So we can say we've built an Imperial Emporor Class Imperator Titan, what did you do with your summer? This year we're threatening to build a Chaos Imperator (Not the Con Director though . . . he has his own Titan which he loves very much but towards the end of the build there were times were he was sick of looking at it. So he said he was definitly out if we do.) and then at the next Gaelcon have to the Titans at opposite ends of the table blasting away at each other while the crowds eggs them on.
And why the hell not?!!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Half the year in review.
Okay the two posts before this are from the middle of June and the end of October respectively, and this one is being posted on the last day of the year.
That is some bad storytelling. . . . . so I have some apologising to do. I don't know how much really applies as most of the people who see this know the full story but I'm going to pretend there are more people who read this than those who subscribe (though there is one subscriber who I don't think I know in the 'verse!) and explain for those hypothetical readers.
1. First of all I was always told "Don't post bad news ". . . no one wants to hear it and I'll be honest I don't like writing it sooo there. I had to wait till I new how it ended. I had a bit of trouble job wise and was very nervous about it. (Don't worry it all ends well I promise) At start of July we got told that there would be a restructuring of the company I worked for and that there would have to be some layoffs. My team was to be affected with nearly half the positions being reduced. We all had to re-interview for our positions (I hate interviews) and for a week or two I wasn't sure if I wanted to apply for it. I was only there on a fixed term contract and had no major obligations financially whereas several of the team had just gotten mortgages or were planning weddings (or in one case both) so I felt they could do without the extra competition.
But I was convinced by several of my colleagues to make the attempt, that way if I was successful I would at least have the option of saying no. So I applied and I interviewed and I was nervous for a good couple of weeks till I found out one way or the other. Unfortunately by the end of August I found out I wouldn't have the option. (Again it all works out ok) I didn't get to keep my role but in my defence everyone I was interviewing against was doing the same job but for much longer so I don't feel too bad. So I'd have to look for a new job. I had a few other things (Conventions mainly . . . some travel) to deal with before my contract ran out so I wasn't going to focus on that till November. Then at the start of October positions were advertised for the Parent company of the one I work for and these would just have to be applied for, no interview required yay! So I applied and had to wait another few days before I finally got word back but I got it so Yaaaaaaaaay!
I'm doing the same job just in a different office and it works out handier in a lot of ways. Last 3 words on the matter: Life is Good!
2. Life is what happens in between: yeah so things got very hectic for me between July and November with a couple of conventions to hit, another trip to the states and the building of a Robot Model.
Starting with the conventions, I was the Staff Manager for Gaelcon this year so I was responsible for recruiting staff and organising the chain gangs . . . I mean, sweat shops . . . no that's not it . . . ah yes I have it now, Production Parties required before the actual con. Also as one of the Committee for the con I did my best to make it to other cons and promote Gaelcon were I could. To that end I was at, Warpcon, Leprecon, Emeraldcitycomicon, Itzacon, Dragon*Con, Confess and Octocon talking up Gaelcon, collecting items for the Charity Auction and in general trying to make people see Gaelcon as the place of Awesomness that it is. In fact I spent most of Confess and Octocon folding flyers for Gaelcon and only got to play one or two games at both cons.
I think it in the end it paid off as this years Gaelcon was fantastic. The new venue was great, the games seemed to get great reviews (I didn't get round to actually playing though I still had a blast) in general people seemed to be having a lot of fun which is pretty much the only reason we do it. So I call it a success. My staff (Yes they're mine . . . . you can't have them!) were just fantastic to the point that I didn't need to flog a single one of them. (which did disappoint one or two of them) I had walked around for the convention with a Nerf gun in one hand and a whip in the other. (Remember where there's a will there's a way . . . where there's a whip there's a quicker way) So if you guys are reading this . . . . and I know at least 3 of you do . . . . . once again a Big Huge THANK YOU!! Also some thanks to those of you who weren't staff, but still did throw in for the heavy lifting, entertainment of guests, etc etc you know who you are (unless you suffer form Multiple Personality Disorder, in which case you won't) but thanks again.
Now on to my Trip State Side.
Those of you who have read this regularly (back when I posted regularly) would recall my posts on my Triple Threat Trip . . .. if you haven't go search the older posts for April and read them. . .. go do it now! seriously, I'll wait till you get back.
ok you all caught up? Good! Any way after all the excitement of EmeraldCityComiCon (Loves it sooo much) I spent a lot of time looking at photos of other cons on Jennie Breeden's site (www.thedevilspanties.com finish reading this then go check out her site . . . that's an order!) and after a while I got the crazy notion to make my way out to another Con she'd be at. It would be a little saner as It'd be a trip just to the con and back no other side trips or the possibility of getting arrested like last time (See I bet if you didn't read the older posts your curious now aren't you . . . go quick, I'll be here when you get back) so looking at the list of cons she was going to attend, I decided to go to Dragon*Con. It looked like the most fun . . . I don't know why . . . maybe it was the Kabuki twins . . . maybe it was Dragon*Con Goddess . . . . it might have been the KiltBlowings. (What's a KiltBlowing you say . . . well it's pretty self explanitory, you take a guy in a kilt add a cute girl with a leafblower . . . . . you know what Jennie has drawn several diagrams that do it better justice, once again goto www.thedevilspanties.com and check them out. just finish reading this first 'kay!)
So I bought a ticket for the Con, booked flights and a hotel . . . oh yeah then I asked for time off work for it (Thanks Chief) and started my countdown till September. During one of my chats with Nazu I mentioned I was going to go to Dragon*Con and she said she'd try make it down as well . . . . so it was going to be twice as awesome as I had originally thought. In preperation for the trip I made sure to pick up lots of Chocolate to bring with me (Re-Affirming my name as the Irish Candyman!) and had to empty part of my planned case to make room. So I had packed the essentials, you know Kilts, Candy, Sketchbooks and just had enough room to pack some Tshirts and socks. Once I got to Atlanta I was really glad I was going to be Kilted for the entire weekend . . . . Atlanta is hot! I had no idea it was as far south as it is. Nazu and my flights were within an hour of each other so I waited till she landed and we got a Taxi together to the Hotel.
I'm not going to go into major detail on these . .. just google Dragon*Con Kiltblowing and you'll find sooo much documented evidence of the proceedings. Also remember how I said there was less chance of being arrested . . . weeeeeeell Sunday did have a cop involved. (Here' Jennies version of the story . .. http://jenniebreeden.livejournal.com/20860.html ) That's her story and I'm sticking to it. Nazu and I were the ones doing the show that kept the crowds entertained wile Jennie was talking her wait out of Jail.
Celebrities seen and spoken to: soo many people nowhere near enough time, Jennie B, Aaron Williams, Lar DeSouza & Ryan Sohmer (These people are Celebrities to me if you disagree then get off my blog I don't want you here . . . . go on, get! .. .. ..
have they gone? ok I'll continue Patrick Stewart (He signed a picture for Nazu and said Hi to us. 3 seconds of interaction that'll be sear into our Psyches for all time!) Doug Bradley, Malcolm McDowell, Mary McDonnell, Dirk Benedict, Barry Bostwick, Claudia Black, Felicia Day, und so weiter . . . Every one was great and so nice, expecially Claudia Black for not being weirded out when I offered her candie that I pulled out of my Kilt. Made my day.
That's 2 cons in a row that I got to hand with Jennie afterwards (Makes me feel special . . . . and tingly down there.) and then after all was said and done I went back to my hotel room . . . . alone. (That's the awwww moment right there, if you didn't go awww you're heartless!)
And that's all I'm going to post right now. In the Morning which will be my start to the New Year I'll finish the rest.
And why the hell not!?!!!
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