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Just some off-the-cuff observations, and whatnot. Welcome, and enjoy your stay.
Saturday, August 31, 2002
Mission accomplished... Dan and I had a nice time, quiznos for lunch and an afternoon of miniatures combat. Newt was very well behaved and quite lovey to Dan. And was good about not getting on the table while we were playing.Good food and good company... no complaints, right?
I don't envy Dan’s surgery this morning. The final size of the two bits they took... a 1-inch diameter circle and a slightly smaller bit from the side of his nose. He's going to have to clean and redress it fairly often... the final close on it was decent, though. I suspect it'll heal with a very minimum of noticeable scars.
He brought me butterfinger bites, and a few new figs.. Very nice! Blizzard and quicksilver, along with some shield grunts.
He had a turkey sub, and water... I had veggie and gatorade... the pretzels were never opened, but he liked the peanuts.
Finn pissed off Kev today. Dumb dumb dumb. He's her only strong supporter....burning bridges, she is. Fury is short, memories are long.Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.... Cyndi lauper and the bookstore in the morning, art fair in the afternoon, and hanging out with Dave at night.... keeping him company while his wife and her pals have a girls' night out. I'm glad it's a long weekend ahead, so I have time to do some resting up afterwards... I want to spend some nice quality time with my sweetheart, too, on Sunday or Monday... (or both! :) )
Neat... photos from an area near my town.... small world, LJ!
My brother said that someone came by my house today when I wasn't home... no note on the door.. I wonder if Mio accepted a package for me? I'll find out tomorrow, I guess.
I got my computer desk home tonight, so I'll assemble that sometime this weekend... maybe tonight?
another "emergency". Heck, I know that I'm earning my keep, anyhow.Dale called in with a migraine, and Kev's not in to work yet, so they're coming so I can get there early. Early being between 45 and 30 minutes ahead of schedule.
Dingalings...it's not like we traffic in organs or anything that's *THAT* time-sensitive. I don't mind, though... free ride to work and I'll bug out a half-hour or so early today. Hopefully that'll translate into a half-hour more time with my sweetie before tucking her in... I suspect she's going to be sleepy after her busy day today.
See you later, dear journal!
Morning, dear journal!A great lot of energy this morning, but absent-minded...rode to the beach to take piccies, but I'd forgotten to take the camera with me... Oh well, it was nice to see the sunrise by the beach, anyhow.... it came up pretty late, right at about 7am. (I was thinking it was going to pop up about a half hour earlier.) I've decided that we need more windmills here... I think it'd be a nice addition to the solar panels on the tops of any beachfront buildings, and it could help power them, too...but not the cheesy new-style room-fan type...but the cool, old, versions, either the farm kind or my real preference, the groovy Holland 4-fin.
Looks like there's going to be rain this weekend... I hope it doesn't hurt the art fair.
President Bush's lawyers have concluded that he can attack Iraq without congressional approval because the approval given to his father in 1991 is still in effect. This decision raises another, much more frightening possibility: If anything should happen to Bush Sr., W. would find himself married to his own mother. Neither Barbara nor Laura Bush could be reached for comment. Suddenly Bush's urgent desire to repeal the estate tax makes a lot more sense. After all, who wants to have to mail 37% of their mom to the government?
Here's some pretentiousness... Lie to your wedding guests-
The fancier the cake, the more you'll pay. The average is $3 a slice. Don’t get a cake that serves everyone - buy a smaller version of the cake you love but can’t afford. After the photos, have it rolled into the kitchen "to be sliced." Your guests don’t have to know that they're getting sheet cake that costs about 50 cents a slice.
And some non-pretentiousness-
Willy Wonka: (sings with a dark and foreboding tone) "There's no earthly way of knowing which direction we are going. There's no knowing where we're rowing or which way the river's flowing. Is it raining? Is it snowing? Is a hur-ra-cane-a blowing? Not a speck of light is showing. So the danger must be growing. Are the fires of hell a-glowing? Is the grisly reaper mowing?! YES! THE DANGER MUST BE GROWING! FOR THE ROWERS KEEP ON ROWING! AND THEY'RE CERTAINLY NOT SHOWING! ANY SIGNS THAT THEY ARE SLOWING!!!"
Somebody left the sky open this morning... no walkies or bikes this morn... too much wet coming down for that! I lost power three times yesterday, just for a brief period.a very cute robots.txt file
You know, even if you think the people protesting are a bunch of hippie loons, we have a rich tradition of protest in this country. Recently, the WTO-Seattle types who prefer to use violence to get their message across have sullied it. But now, check out this video (go to about 5:10) to see protesters seemingly assaulted for no reason other than that they disagree with George Bush. I wonder how much is creative editing, and how much is negligent cops. For what it's worth... I like capitalism, and the protesters interviewed seem to be poorly informed. I wonder about mothers bringing babies to a place with armed and armored cops, too. I'd arrange for my children to be safe before going to any sort of rally.
The new crest toothpaste I've picked up doesn't seem as good to Newt as the other stuff I use.... not as minty-fresh, anyway. It doesn't seem to draw newt as quickly, but once he figures out what's going on, he's right there, just not in my face. He does still bat at the minty-floss I use, though.
I'm off to work. Until later dear journal... and special besos por mi dulce flor de amor. (I wonder how badly I butchered that Spanish?)
It's getting dark extra early... the glare was so bright that I couldn't discern the bus from any of the other assorted miscellaneous trucks on the road until it had practically passed me by. In addition, I got a little tickly sensation on my ankle waiting.. it went away after I'd adjusted my pant leg, but I'm not sure what it was... I have my suspicions, though.oh, by the way, I beat Dan in combat both times yesterday. I don't think that'll happen again... I only have successful tactics vs. him once, and then he learns form his mistakes... fortunately, he keeps me on my toes, forcing me to think up new methods each time. it's a good opponent who does that.
I had rather a scattered day at work... I had a very real need to just goof off, but had too much work on my plate to do so...even so, I caught my mind wandering quite a little bit. Flights of fancy about the coming Halloween, and plans for this weekend. Some cool happenings this go-round... Las Olas Art Fair (supposedly on of the top 100 in the country.) Though I'm not looking to get any art, the food will be tasty, and the people-watching exquisite... plus all manner of nifty craft window-shopping.
Cyndi Lauper free show Saturday 12:30-2pm at the Barnes and Noble by the Galleria.... I'm going to make a point of being there early to get a good seat, and hopefully find a few nice books too while I'm there. It's going to be an all-acoustic set... I hope that the turnout is of a respectable size, but small. It'd be neato to perhaps get an autograph... I really dug her when I was younger, though I've not heard much of her work in recent years... plus, I liked The Goonies and Vibes.
Finally, a woman I saw on the bus... just to polish off my palm piccies. ;) I don't think she knew I was doodling her.
Monday, August 26, 2002
Miscellaneous
1001AreaRugsGalore
- If you want to decorate your HeroClix interior with rugs, you can find
all sorts of designs here. Just size the preview JPEGs as desired.
AllPosters.com
- If you need to decorate your HeroClix building interiors with artwork,
you can find movie posters, popular posters, and even art prints advertised
at AllPosters.com. Just size the preview JPEGs as desired. (See the Heroix
Videaux Store for an example.)
Full-Scale
Carpentry Techniques for Miniatures - Explains how real-life
buildings are constructed, and relates that to building miniature buildings.
Uses 1/12 scale rather than 1/48 for examples, though.
Rug King
- If you want to decorate your HeroClix interior with rugs, you can find
all sorts of designs here, too. Just size the preview JPEGs as desired.
Automotive and Aviation
On Site DieCast
- Emphasizes military models. Check out their clearance
page. Remember to look for 1/48 or 1/43 scale.
Police
Car Models.com 1/43 Sale Page - 1/43 is slightly larger than
the HeroClix 1/48 scale, but if you can live with that small discrepancy,
you can get die-cast police cars here. Some are very expensive, but some
are as low as $4.
Search
eBay for 1/48 scale models or for 1:48
scale models - These searches will return both automobiles
and airplane models, plus anything else listed at 1/48 scale.
Search
eBay for 1/43 scale models or for 1:43
scale models - This will also return both automobiles and
airplance models, plus anything else listed at 1/43 scale.
Dollhouse-Oriented
Vendors
Dollhouse
Miniature Printables - Offers patterns for printable miniatures
(not unlike the cardstock miniaturies patterns elsewhere on the Heroix
web site) as well as printable dollhouse wallpapers, rugs, and so on.
Remember to work in 1/4" scale.
Dollhouse-Miniatures.com
1/4" scale catalog - By no means the best online catalog
in the world, but they do have flooring papers and wallpapers. You might
even find the online JPEG previews as useful as the physical papers.
Jim's
Printable Minis - Offers patterns for printable miniatures
(not unlike the cardstock miniaturies patterns elsewhere on the Heroix
web site) as well as printable dollhouse wallpapers, rugs, and so on.
This link leads to the 1/4" scale page, but you could also use the
1/2" or 1" scale miniatures simply by reducing them to 50% (1/2"
scale) or 25% (1" scale) of their original size.
Miniatures.com
- Has shopping functions as well as information. Features a free online
book, Everything
You Wanted to Know about Dollhouses but Didn't Know Who to Ask,
which has some good tips on building scale buildings.
Search
eBay for "dollhouse miniature scale" - Remember
that you are looking for 1/4" scale items.
Railroad-Oriented Vendors
Oakridge
Hobbies - O Scale - Offerings include structural components
like beams and girders; building decorations like staircases, shutters,
windows, doors, chimneys, skylights, ladders; textured styrene and plastic
sheets for realistic brick, stone, metal, vinyl, and wood exteriors; dollhouse
furniture including kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, dining room, living room,
and other types of furniture; kits for building entire buildings; dollhouse
wallpaper for interiors; lots of accessories including vending machines,
pool tables, cement mixers, forklifts, musical instruments, playground
equipment; asphalt, concrete, and water-type mats for terrain; ready-made
foliage; and the list could go on. Oakridge has something for every scene,
but don't expect it to be inexpensive.
Valley
Model Trains O Scale - Wide selection from multiple manufacturers.
Take a special look at the Evergreen
Hill Designs detail parts, Model
Tech Studios detail parts and Model
Tech roofing, Plastruct
Inc. rock and stone exterior sheets, Schomberg
Scale Models detail parts.
Search
eBay for "o scale" items - Much of what you will
get will be buildings and railroad cars, but sometimes you will find useful
accessories.
Miniature
Scales in Other Hobbies
Tabletop gaming is by no means the only hobby where accurate scale models
are appreciated. The most notable hobbies that revolve around scale models,
other than tabletop gaming, are model railroading, automotive and aviation
modeling, and dollhouse making. By learning a little bit more about these
hobbies and their terminology, tabletop gamers can more easily find appropriately
scaled miniatures to dress up a HeroClix combat diorama. Various hobbies
use different ways of referring to scale. Once you learn how these references
work, you can easily determine whether a particular set of, say, dollhouse
furniture might be appropriate for your 3D supervillain hideout.
1/48 or 1:48 - Some hobby modelers use the notation
"1/48" or "1:48" to denote the appropriate scale for
HeroClix miniatures. This notation means exactly what the fraction seems
to suggest. Items in 1/48 scale are modeled at 1/48 of their "actual"
size. HeroClix miniatures depict people about 6' or 72" tall as figures
1.5" tall; notice that 72"/48 = 1.5". The "1/48"
or "1:48" notation is often seen used for automotive and aviation
models. (Note: Many automobile models are also made in 1/43 scale. In
1/48 scale, 1.5" represents 72"; in 1/43 scale, 1.5" represents
64.5". If you can live with that very small difference, you can use
1/43 scale automobile models in your HeroClix settings. Note that standard
Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars are in a smaller scale and can vary quite
a bit. On my shelf are a Ford Mustang in 1/61 scale and a TV news van
in 1/73 scale, for example. These are too small to be realistic in HeroClix
settings.)
O gauge or O scale - Model railroad scales are usually
indicated by letters. Most people have heard of HO-scale trains. There
is also an O scale in which items are modeled at 1/48 of their "real-world"
size. Thus O-scale (or O-gauge) miniatures from the model railroading
industry work very well in HeroClix settings. (However, most model railroading
accessories are rather expensive.)
1/4" scale - In dollhouse modeling terminology,
scale is usually indicated by citing the number of inches need to represent
one real-world foot. Thus, to dollhouse hobbyists, 1/4" scale uses
1/4" to represent 1'. This is exactly the HeroClix-appropriate scale
of 1.5" (6/4") = 6'. Most dollhouses are built in a larger scale,
1/2" = 1' or 1" = 1', but there are products and resources available
for 1/4" dollhouse modeling that could also be used for dressing
up HeroClix scenes.
a lovely way to urinate on spammers.
