Putting this up to clear off that dusty old journal, as well as notify that I'm going to try and do some more uploading in the near future. I've accumulated a bit of a backlog and I feel guilty just sitting on it, so I'm trying to better motivate myself to share the goods. Picked up Postybirb recently, so I'll be trying that out shortly, might be some tweaking/editing as I teach myself how everything works.

Alright, so I blame all of you for making it so difficult to actually choose someone for this (damn all of you for being appropriate for the role). After an hour of going from person to person and ref to ref, trying to pick someone off the cuff, I finally ended up assigning everyone a number and going with a random die roll (yes, I am a colossal nerd). Having 10 applicants (9 on the journal and 1 via telegram) and a d10 in easy reach made things simpler.

End result was a 2, which would correspond with  ndoto so congratulations to him on that (assuming he doesn't get smothered, crunched, or drowned in the experience). To everyone else, thanks for participating, I'm sorry I couldn't choose everyone, but I may do this again sometime in the future, so keep an eye out.

Wow, look at me, actually posting a journal.

Anyway, I've got a decidedly naughty macro/micro themed piece in the works, involving two amorous macros and a hapless micro 'caught in the middle'. Originally, I was just going to do 'random nameless micro', but I figure I will see who all wants to volunteer. If you're interested, go ahead and respond with a reference in this journal, maximum of two character submissions per person. If you don't have a ref, a short written reference is fine too. Not sure if I'm going to do this as a random selection, or if any certain characters particularly tickle my fancy, I'll see how many submittals I get. I'll probably leave this open for around a day before choosing.

General criteria:
- No cost to the volunteer.
- Any gender is fine.
- Any species is fine. (No humans though)
- Must be ok with being micro.
- Must not have a problem with getting 'up close and personal' with the naughty bits of both male and female macros.
- Will be looking decidedly unnerved about their predicament (it's ok, we all know you're just pretending not to enjoy yourself *wink*).
- Must be ok with the pic being gallery posted.
- It's ok to volunteer someone else, just so long as they're ok with being volunteered.
- Male macro is Draylen.
- Female macro is one of the artist's characters. I'm leaving the artist as a surprise for right now.

Any other questions, feel free to ask or note me.

So it's getting down to the wire, and I've got a bit of a conundrum. I've secured room space at VancouFur for Friday and Saturday night, but my plan at present is to get in Thursday night, leaving me without lodgings. I haven't had any luck in finding openings so far, so I figure I'll see if anyone watching me might have openings or know someone who does.

It's getting to the point where I'll take floor space even. I promise not to make a mess, or step on anyone. Or eat anyone.

Through no real substantial effort on my own part, I have finally caught up with the rest of the social media world and gotten a Twitter account. If anyone is interested in my random musings about whatever, my handle is Draylencoyote. Still debating whether or not I'll set up an after dark account for naughty stuff, but for now it'll probably limited to the occasional lewd remark.

So since I can't make AC this year due to a conflict, and RF went belly up, the next con on my schedule this year is MFF, but I really don't want to wait until next November, I decided to try something new this year (last minute) with BLFC, having heard good things about it, but I don't currently have anyone to crash with... just wanted to see if anyone had bed space to offer up. Coyote would pay his fair share, of course, and doesn't really do anything too crazy or leave a mess, so I'd like to think that I'm a decent roommate.

So, I've finally decided to work on populating my gallery with actual, you know, stuff. I've had a fair amount commissioned over the years (lord knows I'm not much of an artist myself), and most all of it is either scattered around in various artist galleries or hidden away on my hard drive. Not sure why I'm just sitting on stuff, but I figure I might as well at least get it all in one place.

I'll work on putting in a few pieces every few days as not to go all ART FLOOD on people. It'll be an even mix of clean stuff and sexy pronz, so stay tuned.

After a great length of time with my original icon, I'm finally making a change. Refresh if it doesn't show up.

Now just remember, just because the 'yote has a penchant for crunching particularly unlucky metropolises in his palm, it doesn't mean he'll do it to yours. For the moment anyway. Might still be a good idea to keep watch for devious amber eyes emerging from the night sky above. ^^

All credit goes to  Tyrnn for doing all of the hard work involved in capturing my good side.

Yup, another one coming 'round. I don't really feel any older, though I fully expect that feeling of aging to accumulate and manifest all at once when my spleen falls out or something.

Anyway, not a whole lot to say beyond that. Going off to have cake now. ^^

So I got a call from my mom this week. She told me that the middle school where she works is cleaning out a bunch of it's old science lab stuff, and that a fair amount of it was Technic Lego kits from the mid 90s... nothing complete (it's all meant to tech basic mechanical systems to students) but a lot of basic parts. Since all of this was classified as 'old junk' by the school district, she told me that if I wanted any of it, it was mine. Being still a Lego-maniac at heart, I said go for it.

She brought by the stacks of aging boxes (many held together with duct tape) and I went through all of it. Lots of good Lego bits, things to fit into the 'spare parts' category.

However, the real find was not the Technic kits. The real find was the three big boxes at the bottom of the stack. Three big boxes with 80's print and pictures, and big lettering saying 'Capsela' on it. I literally started giggling gleefully.

For those who don't know, Capsela was a building toy from the 1980s and 1990s, with clear plastic capsules that contained various functionalities (electric motor, gear reduction, wheels, propellers, etc, read this for more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsela). As a kid, I'd had only the most basic kit (the manual was a horrible tease... it had instructions for ALL of the things that could be built, even if your basic kit didn't have all of those parts, so all you could do was look longingly at the hovercraft or super robot instructions that you couldn't build because your kit didn't have the impeller module or double battery case). Still, I'd had a lot of fun with it, and I couldn't help but get a little nostalgic.

Going through the kits from the middle school (dated 1990 on all three boxes), I was surprised to find most of the parts intact and in relatively good condition. All of the kits were master-level, so they had everything (except for a few missing bits), so hovercrafts and super-robots are now all within easy reach. One of the kits was even a special programmable version, complete with a floppy disk for use on any Commodore 64 computer... all of the programmable electronic components were still sealed in plastic, and as far I can tell, were never used. I dug out some AA batteries and tested all of the electric motor capsules, expecting some of them to be choppy or malfunctioning after however long in storage, but all of them powered right up with healthy whirring noises. Just goes to show how well toys were made back then.

Anyway, I basically spent a few hours just playing around with the various mechanical bits and pieces, thinking back to all of the submarines and race-cars I built with my old kit (texted mom to ask her if we still had it anywhere... hopefully it never ended up in the garage sale pile). I also thought back and wondered it all that time snapping modules together helped me get into engineering and put me where I am now. But, enough wistful flashbacks. I've got three kits worth of mechanical parts to combine into some ultimate construction... be on the lookout for some maniacal coyote trying to take over the world with some mechanical doom robot powered by AA batteries, simple toggle switches, and a few propellers just for the hell of it.

Well, it's that time of year again, another coyote birthday. For at least another 6 minutes or so, local time. Kind of sucked having to work "non-mandatory" overtime today of all days, but getting together with friends for Friday gaming did make it better.

No cake yet, that comes tomorrow with family. ^^

Yup, going to be out this week on vacation to Japan (parents actually extended the invitation to go with them on one of their international excursions this time), been looking forward to this trip for awhile. Not looking to the very, very long flight across a whole lot of water, but I think the end result will be worth it.

Mainly doing Tokyo, with two days up in Matsumoto (couldn't fit in Kyoto with just 1 week). To those I normally chat with, I'll probably be a little less prevalent than usual (much to the relief/disappointment of some ^^).

Will have a post-vacation report when I get back. Hold down the fort while I'm gone.

...and Curiosity has landed safely on Mars. All of the time, all of the funding issues, the voyage through the endless void, and the harrowing landing using a system that would have Rube Goldberg face-palming, after all that, the wheels are in the dirt. It's a good day for space exploration, and its a good day for the engineers at NASA and JPL.

Now, to quote a certain Mr. Johnson, "Let's go do some science."

So... long and short of it, no AC for the 'yote this year. I didn't realize that the con was falling onto Father's Day weekend until I went to get registered. Dad called me a few weekends ago to let me know that he'd made campsite reservations for the 15th (at the time I didn't think this was a problem). I actually try to maintain good relations with my parents, and got some hinting from mom along the lines of "Your father is really looking forward to this trip" which, in her language translates to "You will be present for this trip or so help me I will guilt trip you about it for the next twenty years".

So, yeah, maybe next year I guess. Might try to do MFF to make up for things.

Watch this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XAJEDJJ_Bo

...then make it happen.

Please?

Took a little trip down to Borders today to check out their going out of business sale, see if there were any good books left for cheap, and what do I find?

Macgyver, Season 1: $10

If anyone needs me, I'll be in front of the TV for the next day or so, basking in the only instance where a mullet is both acceptable and awesome.

Yep, survived another year. Not exactly a wild party going on this time, but I did get a weekend with family, and a chance to catch up on some sleep, so at least there's that. Regardless, happy birthday to me. ^^

Started this morning with a few coughs, elevated through the work day to congestion and coughing, and now I'm feeling that whole chills and all-over weakness feeling...

I don't get sick often, but when I do... bleh. See how I feel in the morning when it comes to making the run to work or not...

Had chicken soup for dinner, taking some Airborne, popping some Sudafed, and going to try and get some sleep.

Sold off my '94 BMW 525 this evening, and I guess watching it drive away for the last time got me a little choked up. I loved that car, but she was starting to show her 160,000 mile age (especially on the exterior) and the deal on the replacement I'd had my eye on was too good to pass up.

Maybe I'm weird. I know cars are just machines that are supposed to get us from Point A to Point B, but all the ones I've owned seem to develop personalities and I guess I just get attached to them. The Beemer may not have looked like much, but when I sat in the driver's seat, I just felt like I belonged there.

It's also a little depressing to see how in recent years BMW has moved away from making affordable cars that will last to 300,000 miles to making unaffordable boxes of luxury that put style over engineering. The way of the world I suppose...

Fingers are crossed on bonding with the replacement.

Ok, so had an interesting day today. I work in the weights and measures group at a large aviation firm, which means predicting weights and CGs, making sure suppliers don't overshoot their targets, and so forth. It's a lot of computer models and spreadsheets for the most part, not much grunt work. Until today.

I get a message just after lunch that some externally supplied pneumatic valves have arrived out at the plant, four full ship-sets (that means you have enough of each valve to build four airplanes), and the request comes through to go out and actually put them on a scale to make sure the supplier met their targets. Trips out to the factory to actually weigh parts aren't unusual for me. I actually kind of like it out there, feels so much more alive than an office block with all of us eggheads at computers, the sounds of rivet guns, forklifts, and the smell of hydraulic fluid.

Ok, now I'm just waxing philosophy. Continuing.

Anyway, I note back that I can take care of those valves. I grab the spec sheet for the components and the scale and hoof it out to the plant. I find the valves all crated up in a neat little stack, let the staff know who I am and what I'm doing, and then get to work. Little do I know what I'm getting into.

After opening the first crate, I find out just how big these valves are. It takes most of my oomph to haul the first one out of it's box, pull the plastic wrap off of it, remove the shipping caps, and wrestle it onto the scale. I then do all of that in reverse to get it back into it's box. I then REPEAT the process for the other two valves in the ship set. I then repeat ALL of that for the next three ship sets. It takes me an hour or so and ends with a total of twelve valves weighed, and by the time I get the last one put back in it's box and put back away, I feel like I've just spent a day at the gym. At least I got some good data out of it, even if the experience has turned my arms to jello.

So I finish my day and come home. Pick up the mail. There's a letter stamped with the IRS seal. Immediately, I wince. I was very careful in filing my own taxes this year, re-did all the math twice, had my dad look over all of it, before mailing it in, expecting a modest refund. I open the envelope.

Inside is a paragraph of bureaucratic blah-blah-blah, but I finally get to the point about half a page in. To paraphrase, it reads, "The IRS has reviewed your income tax filing and noted you are eligible for the 'Making Work Pay' credit which you did not file for. Accordingly, we have included the credit with your refund." It turns out they added $400 to my refund for, simply put, having a steady job.

I'm wondering if I've been warped to some parallel universe where the IRS isn't supposedly some bottom-line bureaucracy hidden away in a faceless office building somewhere.

Oh, and yesterday was my birthday. Survived another year. Went out for a nice dinner and had a couple glasses of VERY good wine. Which is saying something, coming from me, given that my vintner's pallet consists of being able to tell the difference between a red and a white.

...or close enough. One day late, spent most of the actual birthday-day giving the old computer box a good purge, flush, and sweep of all the accumulated crud it's collected. Woo.

Still, not too bad. Survived another year, reached the quarter-century mark and all the parts are working. Got to see family again and all, went out with friends, had cake. Life is good. ^^

Ok, so maybe Gold Group's last flight at the Battle of Yavin didn't turn out so hot, but at least the Fine Molds Y-Wing model turned out looking pretty nice. Linked shots below.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ionfly.....00/3434935611/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ionfly.....00/3434935871/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ionfly.....00/3434936127/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ionfly.....00/3434936357/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ionfly.....00/3434936645/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ionfly.....00/3434936837/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ionfly.....00/3434937203/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ionfly.....00/3435742190/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ionfly.....00/3434937561/

Fine Molds really did their homework on this one, the details are nice and crisp, the paint scheme and decals are accurate, and, best of all, the parts come together really well. I had to putty one seam, and that was it. Everything else either came together or was covered over. Having a good fit makes things so much less frustrating.

Not really sure what I'm going to build next. I have a boxed up Polar Lights USS Enterprise A (The thing is massive. The warp nacelles are about as long as my arm) and the fact that the Fine Molds Y-wing went together so well has me eying their X-wing. I'm also toying with the idea of trying my first real scratchbuild, making a little palm size version of the Team Fortress 2 payload bomb cart.

Ah well. Food for thought.

Finally finished a new styrene model and, given a new digital camera, I figured I'd test it out. I'll post these on my Flickr account and link rather than upload here, as I don't want to draw any ire on posting stuff that isn't really furry art.

Anyhoo, I present Reliant, from Star Trek II:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ionfly.....00/3249141199/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ionfly.....00/3249968754/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ionfly.....00/3249968616/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ionfly.....00/3249140823/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ionfly.....00/3249968344/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ionfly.....00/3249968222/

I won't lie, this one was a pain to build. ERTL didn't put much effort into making sure seams lined up, and there were a lot of gaps that needed to be puttied, clamped, and sanded before they looked right, and the paint guide was all wrong; I found myself watching through the movie again and pausing selected scenes to hold up paint swatches next to the TV.

All in all, despite the effort, I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out, and when the decals went on, that's when it really went from blah to not-half bad.

And today's word of the day is Khan. The word of the day should always be shouted real loud to get the point across...


Next project: The fine-molds Y-wing.

So I had an interesting thing happen this week.

It begins with me at my computer at work, working on whatever I happened to be working on. My manager drops by my desk, which is a rarity in itself (he's a nice guy, but just lacks a personality) and asks me to speak to him in his office.

This sets off the alarm bells in my head. I've only been with the company two years, and even though there have been announcements about how there will not be any layoffs, the economy taking a nosedive sows plenty of doubt about my chances.

Swallowing hard, I close up what I'm working with and make my way over to my boss's office. He has me sit down and pulls a sheet of paper out of his desk drawer.

Of course, I'm sweating bullets by this point.

He clears his throat and says, "Effective immediately..."

Mental translation: ...crap.

"...you are promoted to Level 2 engineer."

It takes a few moments for my brain to reboot itself, but I manage the spiel of thank-yous and how much my time at the company means and how I'm trying to work as hard as everyone else to pull my share blah blah blah.

So yeah, something new to put on the business card, if I actually had one. I'm still doing the same work, but slightly higher pay grade (not going to say no to that).

So yeah, I'm in a bit better mood now. ^^

INCREASE TO LVL 2 ENGINEER
+0 HP
+0 MP
+0 BASE ATTACK BONUS
+0 DESK SIZE
+0 OWN OFFICE
+1 STAMINA (For sitting through more meetings without falling asleep)
+1 COFFEE POWER
+10 NUMBERS PULLED FROM AIR SKILL
+10 RESUME SCORE

YOU RECIEVE 2371 GP AND A MYTHRIL PLATE MAIL

So, yeah, Memorial Day weekend was a blast for me. It may seem a little dull to actually spend a vacation with family, of all things, but the fact that it was in Las Vegas more than made up for it.

Saturday consisted of mainly just wandering around the strip, which was fun, but the fact that it was a holiday weekend meant every Casino around had the stakes in their table games cranked all the way up to one first born per game. I confess, I love Casino Blackjack, but when the minimum bet is twenty bucks, it loses it's appeal pretty fast, so hence there was very little gambling done. Caught the Penn and Teller performance that night at the Rio, which was awesome (I had an aisle seat, but unfortunately was not selected as a volunteer to be sawed in half or crossbow-ed or anything).

As for Sunday, it was mainly taken up by a Grand Canyon helicopter tour (why did my parents never spend money on stuff like this when I actually lived at home?). On looking at the pictures I took, half of the backdrops look like fake Hollywood replicas, but meh.

Monday involved a lot of stuff being crammed in before I had to catch a flight home, so I made something of a quick trip by the Hilton Star Trek Experience... yes, I'm a Trekkie... and I ended up walking out with a six-pack of Romulan Ale, which I'll definetely be bringing along to AC if I can hold off on actually drinking any of it. Just managed to squeeze in the New York, New York rollercoaster... wasn't as good as doing it at night, but I figure it was worth it. Even managed to find a couple of $5 tables that I won about $15 bucks at. Didn't lose, so it works for me.

And now back to another (slightly shorter) week of work.