So, something I've noticed from time to time: People putting up a journal entry saying 'Hey, I have a new account!'... and then immediately disabling their current account, meaning noone can read the journal to find the new account.

So, just a friendly reminder for those of you who actually follow me. If you are going to make a new account to get a new name and disable the old one, give the people following you a bit of time to actually READ that journal post about your new account before you disable the old one.

...watch him as he trolls.

https://youtu.be/BD-fWMYcHXk

http://nyxbastet.tumblr.com/post/11.....s-mad-max-once

Glorious!

So, as those of you who are into gaming likely already know, Valve is going to allow people to have the option to sell mods they make for games, starting with Skyrim. This has had the obvious reaction of everyone flipping the nearest table they can find.

My thoughts on the matter? Well, I've been involved in the flight sim community fairly heavily since the early to mid 90's. The concept of 'payware' is not new to me, and has been around in said community for about 20-ish years that I can remember. It has resulted in some individuals going full time making aircraft and scenery of a quality that often surpasses that of the original assets in the sims themselves. It has also resulted in less than reputable types popping up trying to rip people off.

Through all that, the regular modder community remained, continuing to pop out stuff for free, for the fun of it, sometimes with a level of quality that rivals the payware stuff.

Are paid mods going to be the end of the world? No, no they wont. But in the short term, assuming it doesn't get smothered in the crib, its going to be a massive shakeup of the dynamics most gamers are used to.

If only this was a pilot for a Marek Steele anime. If only...

It is, apparently, a thing.

In other news, the Rocket Raccoon Rule-34 clock has officially begun. So get crackin'!

I know, cliche as all hell among furries. But I never claimed to be creative all the time ^.^

Those wacky gits at Steam have decided to let everyone get a full copy of Left 4 Dead 2 today on steam.

Even if it aint your thing, a free game is still a free game ^.^

So, I'm a space sim fan, and have been waiting very impatiently for X-Rebirth. While waiting, I managed to come across the artwork of the ship that the player will be flying, the 'Pride of Albion', also known as the 'Albion Skunk'.

http://extreme.pcgameshardware.de/a.....rth-albion.jpg

Note the top right. That is the actual nose-art that will be on the ship in the game!

...

Dont suppose anyone could figure out who drew it ^.^

Some of you may know that I am a Mech Warrior and Battletech fan. Been playing the games ever since that cartoon showed up back in the 90's! So, imagine how happy I was to learn of an MMO based on that universe.

Fun fun in big stampy robots!

Well, I wasnt the only one. There was also a young girl among the ranks in that game named Sarah. May not of been the best at it, but she was always out there having fun trying.

Sadly, Sarah is no longer in this world, having fallen victim of cancer. When this was brought to the community's attention, the outpouring of support was immeasurable! There was also an idea that kept being tossed about, again and again: Make 'hero' version of Sarah's favorite mech, the Jenner, in her honor.

And it has been done! They are now selling these things for $10 a pop, with the entirety of the proceeds going to cancer research. Best $10 I've spent thus far ^.^

mwomercs.com/sarah

So, I get back from being in the desert for six months and whats the first thing I do? Drive down to Tampa with the top down...


The right side of my body is now the same shade of red as my 'vette :P

For you fans of Chris Roberts' games (Wing Commander, Star Lancer, Free Lancer), make sure you check out robertsspaceindustries.com (the access code is, of course, 42). He's going to be announcing is next big project this Wednesday, and if you register before the timer runs down you get an electronic 'golden ticket'. Noone knows what the ticket is for yet, but it cant hurt ^.^

... when the fecal matter hits the ventilation system.

An interesting story here, but first a trip in the Way-Back. About 11 years ago, I was sitting in Aviation Maintenance school with this motley crew of classmates from all walks of life. One of which was a former construction worker or contractor from New Jersey. He was relating to us how, if something is dropped or falls, they were taught not to yell 'heads up', but instead 'headache'. Reason being, when most people hear 'heads up', they do exactly that, look around to see what is going on, before reacting. Where as if you see something falling and dont want people squished, you want them to react now. So, 'headache' became synonymous with 'run like hell or you're gonna die'. Supposedly any job working with equipment on-high uses this protocol.

Flash forward to the other day, me and a few others from my shop were in the process of erecting a portable doppler weather radar in our test yard. The radar unit itself is about 140lbs in a 3' by 4' radome, that sits atop a 30' telescoping mast. The mast is extended with a tire-pump connected to the base, and stayed by four sets of guy-ropes.

One thing I dont like about this radar, is that you can only tighten down the lower most set of guy-ropes to start. THEN you need to pump it all the way to the top in order to tighten down the rest, the mast virtually free-standing until then.

So here we are, got the mast pumped all the way up, and are working on the third set of ropes, when -something- happened. I dont know if the wind got it, or one of us yanked on one of the ropes, but the mast twisted at its base and started to topple over.

My first two reactions were simultaneous: I ran over to the side opposite the mast was tilting to help another guy with trying to slow or stop it's fall by pulling on the ropes, and at the same time starting barking out 'HEADACHE' at the top of my lungs.

11 years since I was told that context for the term, and I cant recall any time I ever had to think about it. And yet when it was most appropriate, I didnt think about it and just remembered.

As for the radar, we managed to save it after getting EVERYONE in our building to manhandle it upright so we could retract the mast again. $500,000 catastrophe averted.

Still, odd the things you remember out of no-where when the situation needs it.

Ya know, I should probably update this thing more often. What with my last journal post being from last year and all :P

Back and forth. Back and Forth. Across the date line I go.

I swear to god, at this rate I'll have eight days worth of jetlag...

So, last week I found out I was going to need to head over to the Big Island (Properly known as the Island of Hawai'i), and that I, and a bunch of people that get paid a lot more than me, were going to be riding in an Army UH-60 Blackhawk.

I snapped some pictures along the way but, sadly, the quality is not what I expected. I put the best of them in scraps for those that are curious, but I seriously need to see about getting a real camera.

Other than lousy pictures, it was a fun ride. Hanging your head out the window like a dog on a road-trip is just as fun in a helicopter as it is in a truck. Perhaps more-so as there is a lot more view if you look down!

Minnieshoof sez my page was blank, so now I went and made a liar of hir ^..^

Now, lets see if I can get anything more graphical posted here at some point...