It was also only 6’ x8’ and the new one is 8’x9’. The old one was wood though and the new one a resin. This makes it a bit more tricky to hang things on the walls like we did in the old shed. I started to make a wooden table and shelves with the extra wood I used from the base but haven’t finished yet.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Been busy - part 1 - new shed
It’s been a flurry of activity this summer. My dad came over and we built a new shed. Well, more accurately, we assembled a new shed. Our old one has been getting progressively worse – with the roof becoming more leaky as the shingles warp, the door sticking as it settles into the ground, and becoming a winter home for the squirrel. The wife didn’t want to spend any more money on it however, so it has been deteriorating over the last few years.
It was also only 6’ x8’ and the new one is 8’x9’. The old one was wood though and the new one a resin. This makes it a bit more tricky to hang things on the walls like we did in the old shed. I started to make a wooden table and shelves with the extra wood I used from the base but haven’t finished yet.
It was also only 6’ x8’ and the new one is 8’x9’. The old one was wood though and the new one a resin. This makes it a bit more tricky to hang things on the walls like we did in the old shed. I started to make a wooden table and shelves with the extra wood I used from the base but haven’t finished yet.
Monday, June 24, 2013
The big and the short of it
I have recently seen figures at both ends of the scale, one very large and one small. Each one invokes a vastly different response with me.
With the new Superman film out, they have released a 31” tall action figure of the main character. It has a whopping 7 points of articulation – legs, arms, wrists, and head. While it is certainly a Super action figure, we can’t help but wonder who the market was for this. It’s so much out of scale with other figures that who would it be able to fight? A giant pillow / rock? Another 31” Superman?
It turns out they had also released a 31” figure for the last Superman movie and even a similar sized Batman so there is always that possibility. Plus, if one is heavily in to making custom figures I suppose one could, with a lot of work, change it in to a Giant-Man, Galactus, or even a Sentinel but all would take a significant amount of modification. An 18” figure or even a 12” figure would have been better in this case.
This one is a definite miss with me. Not a hero I like, way too big, and for $40 it is way too expensive. Even if it was on a super clearance – for $10, I would have to seriously consider it before getting one. Less than that, at $5, I would probably snap up a few – even though I have no use for one, at that price I would find a use for them – even as gothic scenery.
On the smaller side, there is a set of Walking Dead Horde figures at a 2” size that is perfect for army men (or my cowboy figures). The pack is 14 figures (7 each in two colors of plastic) and priced at about $25 or less than $2 a figure. While I didn’t snap them up on Tuesday when I saw them, I’m certainly going to the next chance I get. I wanted to see if my local comic book store had them first - they don't but will see if they can get them.
One pack should be enough to convey the main horde, two would be tons if I can get them cheaper. I can always add to them with hacked up and painted regular figures as needed.
With the new Superman film out, they have released a 31” tall action figure of the main character. It has a whopping 7 points of articulation – legs, arms, wrists, and head. While it is certainly a Super action figure, we can’t help but wonder who the market was for this. It’s so much out of scale with other figures that who would it be able to fight? A giant pillow / rock? Another 31” Superman?
It turns out they had also released a 31” figure for the last Superman movie and even a similar sized Batman so there is always that possibility. Plus, if one is heavily in to making custom figures I suppose one could, with a lot of work, change it in to a Giant-Man, Galactus, or even a Sentinel but all would take a significant amount of modification. An 18” figure or even a 12” figure would have been better in this case.
This one is a definite miss with me. Not a hero I like, way too big, and for $40 it is way too expensive. Even if it was on a super clearance – for $10, I would have to seriously consider it before getting one. Less than that, at $5, I would probably snap up a few – even though I have no use for one, at that price I would find a use for them – even as gothic scenery.
On the smaller side, there is a set of Walking Dead Horde figures at a 2” size that is perfect for army men (or my cowboy figures). The pack is 14 figures (7 each in two colors of plastic) and priced at about $25 or less than $2 a figure. While I didn’t snap them up on Tuesday when I saw them, I’m certainly going to the next chance I get. I wanted to see if my local comic book store had them first - they don't but will see if they can get them.
One pack should be enough to convey the main horde, two would be tons if I can get them cheaper. I can always add to them with hacked up and painted regular figures as needed.
Friday, June 7, 2013
shingles redone!
We finally got the roof done. We had been hoping to get it done last fall but with the constant rain and early snow we were not able to get it done before the winter. So we had some leaking in the spring melting and rains.
The company who did our roof, John Henry, had given us a quote last fall and Shan had picked out the shingles last year. When the snow was finally melting, we got back in touch with them to confirm that we still wanted to proceed.
They came and we had to pick the shingles again. Then we didn’t hear from them for a bit. One day we came home and saw flashing on out front steps – but we had no message on the machine. The boy had said that they had come by in the afternoon and had dropped off shingles on the roof.
The next day they showed up after we had left for work and by the time we had come home they were mostly done. We were very impressed with the speed and quality of the work. Even better, the quote turned out to not just be for the back part of the roof as we had thought but rather for the entire roof.
We had heavy rain since then and no leaks.
The company who did our roof, John Henry, had given us a quote last fall and Shan had picked out the shingles last year. When the snow was finally melting, we got back in touch with them to confirm that we still wanted to proceed.
They came and we had to pick the shingles again. Then we didn’t hear from them for a bit. One day we came home and saw flashing on out front steps – but we had no message on the machine. The boy had said that they had come by in the afternoon and had dropped off shingles on the roof.
The next day they showed up after we had left for work and by the time we had come home they were mostly done. We were very impressed with the speed and quality of the work. Even better, the quote turned out to not just be for the back part of the roof as we had thought but rather for the entire roof.
We had heavy rain since then and no leaks.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Your daughter can't be The Doctor - boo hoo
This gets into some of what people might consider spoilers - which is always the case when talking about a series that's been around for 50 years - some people may not have seen several years worth.
While I have watched the series since Tom Baker (and Leela) on late night PBS in the eighties, I don't consider myself an expert. I have friends who are though. I didn't follow the rest of the doctors as much but have seen episode from all the incarnations. I watched the American Doctor Who movie when it was on in 1996, and have followed the new series since they brought it back with "Rose" in 2005. I believe that, if you're not going to watch the entire series from the beginning, "Rose" is the best place to start.
It's been announced that the current actor, Matt Smith, is retiring as The Doctor on the long-lived British series Doctor Who. Some of the Internet seems to be upset that the new Doctor will not be played by a female actor. They want to know how they can tell their daughters that she can't be The Doctor but are relegated to being companions as they are female.
Well, if you have watched the series, they have had female Time Lords (Romana) and even male companions (Rory and Adric). "The Doctor" is not really a position but more of a name. It would be like saying you can have a woman be a Green Lantern but not a Hal Jordan.
People say that this answer is a cop out as, since the Time War, there are no more Time Lords. There were no more Daleks at one point due to the Time War - but that didn't last either. The Master, another Time Lord also has made appearances since then. It seems that the Time War wasn't quite as final as we were led to believe.
What to tell your daughter? How about telling her that she cannot become 'the Doctor' as she is already her own person and could no more become 'the Doctor' than she could be you or even her brother. Since neither she, nor you were (probably) born on Gallifrey, she cannot become a Time Lord as she is not already a Time Lord.
If she's more concerned about how she would like to play the Doctor, then she can, all she wants. That's what imagination is for. She could make her own videos and fanfic and be whatever doctor she wants - male or female. She can dress up as her favorite Doctor as much and go to conventions and be appreciated.
My son has dressed up as the Matt Smith Doctor and we have run into at least two other women dressed as the same Doctor, here at ComicCon and at ValleyCon. Besides Fez's being cool, Matt Smith's hair and features seem to lead itself moreso than Christopher Eccleston's did. Laurie Smith has also dressed up as a convincing Tom Baker version Doctor back in the pre-internet eighties.
If she's petulant enough to want to be The Offical Doctor on The Real TV series then you have more important issues to discuss with her - like how the world is inherently unfair and that it incredibly unlikely her, or even her brother will ever play a character that less than 20 professional actors out of a population of several billion have played.
While I have watched the series since Tom Baker (and Leela) on late night PBS in the eighties, I don't consider myself an expert. I have friends who are though. I didn't follow the rest of the doctors as much but have seen episode from all the incarnations. I watched the American Doctor Who movie when it was on in 1996, and have followed the new series since they brought it back with "Rose" in 2005. I believe that, if you're not going to watch the entire series from the beginning, "Rose" is the best place to start.
It's been announced that the current actor, Matt Smith, is retiring as The Doctor on the long-lived British series Doctor Who. Some of the Internet seems to be upset that the new Doctor will not be played by a female actor. They want to know how they can tell their daughters that she can't be The Doctor but are relegated to being companions as they are female.
Well, if you have watched the series, they have had female Time Lords (Romana) and even male companions (Rory and Adric). "The Doctor" is not really a position but more of a name. It would be like saying you can have a woman be a Green Lantern but not a Hal Jordan.
People say that this answer is a cop out as, since the Time War, there are no more Time Lords. There were no more Daleks at one point due to the Time War - but that didn't last either. The Master, another Time Lord also has made appearances since then. It seems that the Time War wasn't quite as final as we were led to believe.
What to tell your daughter? How about telling her that she cannot become 'the Doctor' as she is already her own person and could no more become 'the Doctor' than she could be you or even her brother. Since neither she, nor you were (probably) born on Gallifrey, she cannot become a Time Lord as she is not already a Time Lord.
If she's more concerned about how she would like to play the Doctor, then she can, all she wants. That's what imagination is for. She could make her own videos and fanfic and be whatever doctor she wants - male or female. She can dress up as her favorite Doctor as much and go to conventions and be appreciated.
My son has dressed up as the Matt Smith Doctor and we have run into at least two other women dressed as the same Doctor, here at ComicCon and at ValleyCon. Besides Fez's being cool, Matt Smith's hair and features seem to lead itself moreso than Christopher Eccleston's did. Laurie Smith has also dressed up as a convincing Tom Baker version Doctor back in the pre-internet eighties.
If she's petulant enough to want to be The Offical Doctor on The Real TV series then you have more important issues to discuss with her - like how the world is inherently unfair and that it incredibly unlikely her, or even her brother will ever play a character that less than 20 professional actors out of a population of several billion have played.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Summer yardwork
I’ve been busy for the last few weeks – mostly with yard work. We ended up taking two loads to the dump – the old deck, old pool and older pool tubing, and leaves. We set up the new above ground pool, a new shed, and a base for the new shed. We took down part of the chain link fence and the fenced-in area that the previous owners had for their cat.
I was also able to clean up a bit downstairs. My desk is still quite the cluttered mess, but the table beside it is now able to be used. We took the four boxes of VHS movies to storage, and dropped off some clothes, shoes, and small toys to the thrift store.
I was also able to clean up a bit downstairs. My desk is still quite the cluttered mess, but the table beside it is now able to be used. We took the four boxes of VHS movies to storage, and dropped off some clothes, shoes, and small toys to the thrift store.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
going back to the vault
Before I was even married I started picking up the Disney animated movies on VHS. I figured that I would have kids at some point and would want to share the movies with them and even if I didn't have kids I would still want to be able to see them again. Besides being pricy (usually about $25) the clamshells that the movies came in took up more space than regular movies. When we had to empty the wall unit to move it so we could update the flooring, we decided to not put them back. Unfortunately, we haven’t picked up most of them in DVD yet.
I really wanted to get the ‘classic’ Disney movies – Snow White, Cinderella, Dumbo, Robin Hood, and so on. We even got a bunch of the ‘secondary’ Disney movies but, for a while there, they were churning them out. I’m not sure I’m in any hurry to get Cinderella 2 or the extra Belle movies again.
In some ways Disney’s “vault” system works in our favor. Instead of having all the movies available all of the time, they cycle through them every few years, removing the old ones before they go on clearance (sending them ‘back to the vault’) to maintain the integrity of their pricing. While this keeps the films artificially valued high , it also helps to spread out the cost of buying the entire set.
So now I have to recollect them, because I need to have them, to share with the kids and for ourselves. It should also give us a chance to watch some of them with the kids again.
I really wanted to get the ‘classic’ Disney movies – Snow White, Cinderella, Dumbo, Robin Hood, and so on. We even got a bunch of the ‘secondary’ Disney movies but, for a while there, they were churning them out. I’m not sure I’m in any hurry to get Cinderella 2 or the extra Belle movies again.
In some ways Disney’s “vault” system works in our favor. Instead of having all the movies available all of the time, they cycle through them every few years, removing the old ones before they go on clearance (sending them ‘back to the vault’) to maintain the integrity of their pricing. While this keeps the films artificially valued high , it also helps to spread out the cost of buying the entire set.
So now I have to recollect them, because I need to have them, to share with the kids and for ourselves. It should also give us a chance to watch some of them with the kids again.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Books read - January to April 2013
Jan
Time-Life Books: The Old West – The Indians by Benjamin Capps
Codex Eldar 4th edition by Phil Kelly
The Best of Instructables: DIY Projects from the World’s Biggest Show & Tell – Volume 1 by MAKE Magazine
Better Homes and Gardens Halloween pumpkin & parties: 101 spooktacular ideas by Better Homes and Gardens Books
Time-Life Books: The Old West – The Soldiers by David Nevin
Geek Dad: awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share by Ken Denmead
The Geek Dad’s guide to weekend fun: cool hacks, Cutting-Edge games, and more awesome Projects for the Whole Family by Ken Denmead
Microcrafts: Tiny Treasures to Make and Share by Margaret McGuire, Alicia Kachmar, Katie Hatz and friends
Feb
Warhammer Armies: Dogs of War by Nigel Stillman with Rick Priestley & Tuomas Piriren
Time-Life Books: The Old West – The Forty-Niners by William Weber Johnson
The Star Wars Craft Book by Bonnie Burton
Knitmare on Elm Street: 20 projects that go Bump in the Night by Hannah Simpson
A Ghastly-Good Halloween: 201 Spooktacular Recipes, Crafts & Decorating Ideas by Gooseberry Patch
A Store Like No Other – Eaton’s of Winnipeg by Russ Gourluck
Every Day is an Athiest Holiday! By Penn Jillette
Time-Life Books: The Old West – The Pioneers by Huston Horn
The Mammoth Book of Street Art edited by Jake
Mar
Blown Covers – New Yorker Covers you were never meant to see by Francoise Mouly
Subway Art: 25th Anniversary Edition by Martha Cooper + Henry Chalfant
Maphead by Ken Jennings
Warhammer Armies: Vampire Counts (5th edition) by Tuomas Pirinen & Alessio Cavatore
Brainiac – Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs by Ken Jennings
Makers: The New Industrial Revolution by Chris Anderson
Apr
The Big-Ass Book of Crafts by Mark Montano
James May’s Lego House by James May
Time-Life Books: The Old West – The Indians by Benjamin Capps
Codex Eldar 4th edition by Phil Kelly
The Best of Instructables: DIY Projects from the World’s Biggest Show & Tell – Volume 1 by MAKE Magazine
Better Homes and Gardens Halloween pumpkin & parties: 101 spooktacular ideas by Better Homes and Gardens Books
Time-Life Books: The Old West – The Soldiers by David Nevin
Geek Dad: awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share by Ken Denmead
The Geek Dad’s guide to weekend fun: cool hacks, Cutting-Edge games, and more awesome Projects for the Whole Family by Ken Denmead
Microcrafts: Tiny Treasures to Make and Share by Margaret McGuire, Alicia Kachmar, Katie Hatz and friends
Feb
Warhammer Armies: Dogs of War by Nigel Stillman with Rick Priestley & Tuomas Piriren
Time-Life Books: The Old West – The Forty-Niners by William Weber Johnson
The Star Wars Craft Book by Bonnie Burton
Knitmare on Elm Street: 20 projects that go Bump in the Night by Hannah Simpson
A Ghastly-Good Halloween: 201 Spooktacular Recipes, Crafts & Decorating Ideas by Gooseberry Patch
A Store Like No Other – Eaton’s of Winnipeg by Russ Gourluck
Every Day is an Athiest Holiday! By Penn Jillette
Time-Life Books: The Old West – The Pioneers by Huston Horn
The Mammoth Book of Street Art edited by Jake
Mar
Blown Covers – New Yorker Covers you were never meant to see by Francoise Mouly
Subway Art: 25th Anniversary Edition by Martha Cooper + Henry Chalfant
Maphead by Ken Jennings
Warhammer Armies: Vampire Counts (5th edition) by Tuomas Pirinen & Alessio Cavatore
Brainiac – Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs by Ken Jennings
Makers: The New Industrial Revolution by Chris Anderson
Apr
The Big-Ass Book of Crafts by Mark Montano
James May’s Lego House by James May
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