Cock-a-doodle dooooooooo! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZAPPPPPPPPPPPP
XD
July 31, 2007
July 30, 2007
The Man Who Saved Baseball is Inducted into the Hall of Fame
I caught this earlier today on ESPN, my longtime hero Cal Ripken Jr. was inducted into the baseball hall of fame today. Congradulations Cal! I always went to Camden Yards as a kid, watching your games and always cheering for my favorite team (and still my favorite team) the Baltimore Orioles. You truly saved baseball and made it something that it never was before. Whether a grand slam or a double play, you gave it your hardest and always showed up for work. You've also been an inspiration to many Minor League players and I wish you the best of luck for the future.
-Rob
-Rob
July 29, 2007
July 26, 2007
1/600 Yamato Major Progress
Got some major work done on the yamato today:
+ Finished gray coating around the non-wood decks
+ Weathered decks and hull
+ Constructed Super Structure
+ Constructed smoke stack
Instead of going with a brans spanking new Yamato I wanted to go with a weathered and (slightly) damaged one during her final battle (BEFORE she was hit with any bombs, etc). It's turning out real well and I like how it is working. The only gripe I have about the kit is a lack of locater pins but other than that, it goes together (and plastic behaves) well. I should have it done in the next few days. I thik I may stick to 1/600 and smaller ships and occasionally build 1/350 scale ones (they are getting too big!)
Also touched up the USS Constitution and I am now gluing the hull together (I am clamping it for a few days, and applying up to 5 or more coats of cement). I am happy that construction is moving along on her as well.
I don't have pictures at the moment but I will upload some tomorrow morning.
+ Finished gray coating around the non-wood decks
+ Weathered decks and hull
+ Constructed Super Structure
+ Constructed smoke stack
Instead of going with a brans spanking new Yamato I wanted to go with a weathered and (slightly) damaged one during her final battle (BEFORE she was hit with any bombs, etc). It's turning out real well and I like how it is working. The only gripe I have about the kit is a lack of locater pins but other than that, it goes together (and plastic behaves) well. I should have it done in the next few days. I thik I may stick to 1/600 and smaller ships and occasionally build 1/350 scale ones (they are getting too big!)
Also touched up the USS Constitution and I am now gluing the hull together (I am clamping it for a few days, and applying up to 5 or more coats of cement). I am happy that construction is moving along on her as well.
I don't have pictures at the moment but I will upload some tomorrow morning.
July 24, 2007
Not Much To Talk About
There isn't much to talk about: I'm working 6 days a week 8 hours a day and I rarely get time to myself anymore. I've made SLOW progress on my kits but I don't see them getting done in the near future. I have college right around the corner and I am looking forward to that. Not much of a post I'm sorry, I just don have a lot to talk about right now.
July 20, 2007
Brief Hiatus
I am so exhausted from work I am about ready to collapse. I apologize to my readers, I won't have the time to post until I get some time to do so. Hiatus until at least Monday.
-Rob
-Rob
Higurashi Collectors: Mark down 8-7-07
Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni: The second disk in the series (supposedly having episodes 6-11) will be released by Geneon on August 8th, 2007. You can preorder on Bestbuy.com or head to your DVD retailer and buy it then.
The Game of Checkers has been Cracked
By KAREN KAPLAN LA Times July 19, 2007
Original Article
After 13 years of brute-force computer analysis examining all 500 billion possible board positions, researchers announced Thursday they had solved the centuries-old game of checkers.
The result? A perfect game cannot be won or lost but will inevitably end in a draw, according to the research published in the online edition of the journal Science. The proof demonstrates that even the most skilled player can’t count on executing a cunning move designed to win — he or she can only avoid making a mistake that leads to a loss.
The complete solution to checkers marks a milestone in computing, achieving a goal that researchers had pondered since the earliest days of computers. It is not a victory of pure machine intelligence, but one based largely on rote calculating ability. The task of analyzing the game to its end was so difficult that from 1996 to 2001, researchers had to put their efforts on hold because the most powerful computers of the time weren’t up to the task. The team had up to 200 computers working full time on the problem.
“You’ve got 500 billion pieces of hay in your haystack, and you’ve got to find the needles,” said lead researcher Jonathan Schaeffer, chairman of computer science at the University of Alberta in Canada. “How do you do it in a smart way? If you don’t, you’ll spend centuries sifting through all this data.” For checkers enthusiasts, the solving of their beloved game was met with admiration mixed with a sense of anticlimax. “We kind of knew the game was a draw anyway, though we didn’t have the scientific proof,” said Richard Beckwith, the American Checker Federation’s player representative.
David Fogel, creator of the checkers-playing program called Blondie24, said the machine’s achievement wasn’t likely to discourage the estimated 200 million people worldwide who play the game with friends, in tournaments or on the Internet. “How many people in the world can play infallible checkers? The answer is probably nobody,” Fogel said. “As long as it’s human-versus-human, it should be as fun as before.”
Still, with checkers joining tick-tack-toe, Connect Four and Qubic on the list of games that have been solved, its overall appeal — on the decline since the Great Depression — will undoubtedly take a hit, Fogel said. One likely casualty will be the 15-year-old Man-Machine Checkers Championships, said American Checker Federation President Alan Millhone. “I don’t think a human would have a chance against a computer now,” he said. The idea of a checkers-playing computer goes back at least to the 1940s, when scientists working on early mainframes began considering the meaning of machine intelligence. They focused immediately on chess, with its combination of elegance and complexity.
But some researchers decided to concentrate on the simpler game of checkers.
Although both games are played on an eight- by eight-square grid, the 12 red and 12 black checker pieces all move in the same way and are restricted to half the squares. Chess is exponentially more complicated. Chess was Schaeffer’s first love. He switched to checkers in 1989 after technology powerhouse IBM Corp. formed a team to build Deep Blue, the computer that ultimately defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997. “All the research problems are the same in checkers as in chess,” Schaeffer said. “I was intrigued because I thought checkers was solvable. I was pretty naive.”
Schaeffer’s first checkers program, Chinook, was designed to play the game, not solve it. Chinook analyzed positions, judged relative merits of different lines of play and chose moves with the biggest calculated payoff. Schaeffer’s goal was to have Chinook win a human world checkers championship. Although it essentially won the title in 1994, the victory came as a result of default. Marion Tinsley, a mathematics professor widely regarded as the greatest checkers player in history, withdrew from the competition because of illness and died eight months later of pancreatic cancer.
That left Schaeffer with only one way to prove his computer was better than Tinsley. He refocused his efforts on solving the game to demonstrate that a properly programmed computer could not be beat by a human. Because there are fewer pieces on the board at the end of the game than the beginning, the Canadian team started by constructing a database of all possible endgames, Schaeffer said. The researchers began by looking at all one-piece endings, which were obvious victories. The algorithm then figured out all the endings with two pieces and traced the outcome to a win, loss or draw. Then it moved on to calculating all the three-piece endings, and so on.
By 1996, the researchers had completed the database for endgames with up to eight pieces. But moving on to nine was beyond the ability of machines at the time. In 2001, a new generation of computers allowed the team to replicate its previous seven years of work in a single month. By the time the program worked backward to include all scenarios with any combination of 10 or fewer pieces, it had built a database of 39 trillion possible board positions, according to the paper. The next trick was to find the fastest way to get games to the point where only 10 pieces were left.
Traditionally, American checkers players begin by lining up their 12 pieces staggered across three rows, but tournament players consider this boring. Instead, they allow the three opening moves to be chosen for them, often at random. Of the roughly 300 such openings, the researchers determined that more than 100 were duplicates. Of those that remained, obvious losing paths of play were eliminated because they would never be chosen by a perfect player, Schaeffer said. Only 19 openings were needed for the proof.
The program followed each line of play for about 70 moves until only 10 pieces remained, Schaeffer said. Then they melded the databases together to complete the proof.
The entire solution includes 500,995,484,682,338,672,639 possible board configurations, according to the study, which was funded by the Canadian and Alberta governments.
Original Article
After 13 years of brute-force computer analysis examining all 500 billion possible board positions, researchers announced Thursday they had solved the centuries-old game of checkers.
The result? A perfect game cannot be won or lost but will inevitably end in a draw, according to the research published in the online edition of the journal Science. The proof demonstrates that even the most skilled player can’t count on executing a cunning move designed to win — he or she can only avoid making a mistake that leads to a loss.
The complete solution to checkers marks a milestone in computing, achieving a goal that researchers had pondered since the earliest days of computers. It is not a victory of pure machine intelligence, but one based largely on rote calculating ability. The task of analyzing the game to its end was so difficult that from 1996 to 2001, researchers had to put their efforts on hold because the most powerful computers of the time weren’t up to the task. The team had up to 200 computers working full time on the problem.
“You’ve got 500 billion pieces of hay in your haystack, and you’ve got to find the needles,” said lead researcher Jonathan Schaeffer, chairman of computer science at the University of Alberta in Canada. “How do you do it in a smart way? If you don’t, you’ll spend centuries sifting through all this data.” For checkers enthusiasts, the solving of their beloved game was met with admiration mixed with a sense of anticlimax. “We kind of knew the game was a draw anyway, though we didn’t have the scientific proof,” said Richard Beckwith, the American Checker Federation’s player representative.
David Fogel, creator of the checkers-playing program called Blondie24, said the machine’s achievement wasn’t likely to discourage the estimated 200 million people worldwide who play the game with friends, in tournaments or on the Internet. “How many people in the world can play infallible checkers? The answer is probably nobody,” Fogel said. “As long as it’s human-versus-human, it should be as fun as before.”
Still, with checkers joining tick-tack-toe, Connect Four and Qubic on the list of games that have been solved, its overall appeal — on the decline since the Great Depression — will undoubtedly take a hit, Fogel said. One likely casualty will be the 15-year-old Man-Machine Checkers Championships, said American Checker Federation President Alan Millhone. “I don’t think a human would have a chance against a computer now,” he said. The idea of a checkers-playing computer goes back at least to the 1940s, when scientists working on early mainframes began considering the meaning of machine intelligence. They focused immediately on chess, with its combination of elegance and complexity.
But some researchers decided to concentrate on the simpler game of checkers.
Although both games are played on an eight- by eight-square grid, the 12 red and 12 black checker pieces all move in the same way and are restricted to half the squares. Chess is exponentially more complicated. Chess was Schaeffer’s first love. He switched to checkers in 1989 after technology powerhouse IBM Corp. formed a team to build Deep Blue, the computer that ultimately defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997. “All the research problems are the same in checkers as in chess,” Schaeffer said. “I was intrigued because I thought checkers was solvable. I was pretty naive.”
Schaeffer’s first checkers program, Chinook, was designed to play the game, not solve it. Chinook analyzed positions, judged relative merits of different lines of play and chose moves with the biggest calculated payoff. Schaeffer’s goal was to have Chinook win a human world checkers championship. Although it essentially won the title in 1994, the victory came as a result of default. Marion Tinsley, a mathematics professor widely regarded as the greatest checkers player in history, withdrew from the competition because of illness and died eight months later of pancreatic cancer.
That left Schaeffer with only one way to prove his computer was better than Tinsley. He refocused his efforts on solving the game to demonstrate that a properly programmed computer could not be beat by a human. Because there are fewer pieces on the board at the end of the game than the beginning, the Canadian team started by constructing a database of all possible endgames, Schaeffer said. The researchers began by looking at all one-piece endings, which were obvious victories. The algorithm then figured out all the endings with two pieces and traced the outcome to a win, loss or draw. Then it moved on to calculating all the three-piece endings, and so on.
By 1996, the researchers had completed the database for endgames with up to eight pieces. But moving on to nine was beyond the ability of machines at the time. In 2001, a new generation of computers allowed the team to replicate its previous seven years of work in a single month. By the time the program worked backward to include all scenarios with any combination of 10 or fewer pieces, it had built a database of 39 trillion possible board positions, according to the paper. The next trick was to find the fastest way to get games to the point where only 10 pieces were left.
Traditionally, American checkers players begin by lining up their 12 pieces staggered across three rows, but tournament players consider this boring. Instead, they allow the three opening moves to be chosen for them, often at random. Of the roughly 300 such openings, the researchers determined that more than 100 were duplicates. Of those that remained, obvious losing paths of play were eliminated because they would never be chosen by a perfect player, Schaeffer said. Only 19 openings were needed for the proof.
The program followed each line of play for about 70 moves until only 10 pieces remained, Schaeffer said. Then they melded the databases together to complete the proof.
The entire solution includes 500,995,484,682,338,672,639 possible board configurations, according to the study, which was funded by the Canadian and Alberta governments.
July 19, 2007
1/600 Yamato and Musashi
I ended up going to my hobbystore the other evening for brushes when I spotted a 1/700 Musashi, and under it a Yamato. I had to buy both kits! They are made by Arii of Japan. The hulls and decks won't be the problem with these kits; the dozens of TINY gun emplacements will though! Will update when I get more.
July 12, 2007
BB62 and USS Constitution Progress
Quite a bit of work was done today on my BB-62 and USS Constitution build. I started today by masking off the deck chains and painting them gray. I am going to go back later and paint the chains themselves black (this is so the underlying area is gray). The next time I get to work on the kit (Sunday afternoon) I will mask off the rear deck and paint the wooden portion it's wooden colors. Then I need to spray a top coat, and I will try my best with micromask to hide the deck tan. Touch up the paint, paint the heli-zone, and were coral.
I also touched up the cannon line on the half piece of one of the hulls to my USS Constitution. With gloss then a flat cote, you will never see the difference. I need to paint the other half of the hull, paint the rear cabin, then carefully paint the front mast piece. Sheesh, and that isn't even the long part.
July 11, 2007
Nintendo Releasing the Wii-Zapper
Nintendo will be releasing a new device for FPS Wii Users: a gun that holds the Nunchuck and Wii-Mote as the player points at the screen to aim. The device is new and there is speculation that the device will not work well. I am all up for trying it personally, $20 in my opinion is a bit steep ($15 please? =) ) but it is worth a buy if the reviews are good.
July 9, 2007
Higurashi Kai- Season 2
Looks like 7th Expansion is starting Higurashi Season 2 finally after a year! I have been waiting for this season to come out, and I will be hunting down the videos like a hawk until they are licensed. This is a great series for the horror anime fan. Be warned: Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni contains blood, gore,extreme violence, body dismemberent and feelings of vertigo and fear!
Episode 1
Part 1- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzOrLNCeqns
Sony Drops Playstation 3 Pricetag
Caught this off of google news: (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=14605)
After months of speculation and numerous calls by industry insiders, Sony Computer Entertainment America has officially dropped the price of the 60GB PlayStation 3 $100 to $499, introducing a new 80GB model at its prior $599 MSRP. SCEA says it will introduce the $599 (CDN $659) 80GB model console in August, which will also come with a pack-in copy of Evolution Studios' racer Motorstorm. The 60GB price drop to $499 (CDN $549) is effective immediately. Sony says the new 80GB PS3, identical to the 60GB model apart from its hard drive size, is "designed to appeal to the online gaming and entertainment enthusiast, providing ample storage space to download more games and other entertainment content from PlayStation Network.
"Sony also says that by the holiday season through the end of the fiscal year, 120 first and third party PS3 titles will be released, including a number of console exclusives.A number of analysts and industry insiders have called for a drop in price in recent months, including Sega corporate director Masanao Maeda, who said "superior marketing and pricing strategy will be the key for Sony.”In June, Sony Group Chairman and CEO Howard Stringer acknowledged customer resistance to the previous price of the PlayStation 3 and indicated that the company was trying to “refine” how much more it could afford to cut the price of the console.Said SCEA president and CEO Jack Tretton, "As we move into the next phase of PS3, it's important that we continue to evaluate our product line, offering consumers the technology and features that meet their growing needs for new forms of media and the way in which it is delivered.
He added, "The introduction of the 80GB PS3, the new pricing for the current 60GB model, the availability of more than 100 new software titles this fiscal year and, finally, the expansion of services for PlayStation Network, will provide even more options for users and will help bring new consumers into the PS3 fold."
After months of speculation and numerous calls by industry insiders, Sony Computer Entertainment America has officially dropped the price of the 60GB PlayStation 3 $100 to $499, introducing a new 80GB model at its prior $599 MSRP. SCEA says it will introduce the $599 (CDN $659) 80GB model console in August, which will also come with a pack-in copy of Evolution Studios' racer Motorstorm. The 60GB price drop to $499 (CDN $549) is effective immediately. Sony says the new 80GB PS3, identical to the 60GB model apart from its hard drive size, is "designed to appeal to the online gaming and entertainment enthusiast, providing ample storage space to download more games and other entertainment content from PlayStation Network.
"Sony also says that by the holiday season through the end of the fiscal year, 120 first and third party PS3 titles will be released, including a number of console exclusives.A number of analysts and industry insiders have called for a drop in price in recent months, including Sega corporate director Masanao Maeda, who said "superior marketing and pricing strategy will be the key for Sony.”In June, Sony Group Chairman and CEO Howard Stringer acknowledged customer resistance to the previous price of the PlayStation 3 and indicated that the company was trying to “refine” how much more it could afford to cut the price of the console.Said SCEA president and CEO Jack Tretton, "As we move into the next phase of PS3, it's important that we continue to evaluate our product line, offering consumers the technology and features that meet their growing needs for new forms of media and the way in which it is delivered.
He added, "The introduction of the 80GB PS3, the new pricing for the current 60GB model, the availability of more than 100 new software titles this fiscal year and, finally, the expansion of services for PlayStation Network, will provide even more options for users and will help bring new consumers into the PS3 fold."
July 6, 2007
Base and Tallgeese III Work
I did some work today on my Tallgeese and the base to my USS Constitution build. I have a bit of advice for beginning modelers on the subjects and I think the information could provide useful.
Bases are simple to create and can add emphasis to your model, whatever it may be. Generally you want to get a base that is not smaller than the model, although with modifications it could work. If you check out my Tallgeese III gallery, you will see the kit on the prototype base. You can make bases yourself, or if you want a quick solution, head out to you local Wal*Mart, head to the arts and crafts section and you will see many kinds of wood bases. Pick up the one you want.
Once you have your base, you can do so many things to it. If you wanted to make a diorama, leave the base unsanded and untouched. Leaving it coarse can give a better adhesion when you need to glue stuff. Here are a few suggestions:
Water- Water can be very difficult to make, but they have silicon gels you can use alone with various paints to create a nice effect.
Grass/Bushes/Tree Leaves- Turf stuff from Lionel shops, nuff said.
Sand- Here is a quick solution to making sand. Get the turf stuff, then somehow grind it to a finer powder so the sand does not appear fake. Next, you can place the grinded remains in a cup, and I recommend buying a can of spray paint (Tamiya) and spraying with a combination of mixing. Spray, juggle, spray, juggle. Let it dry, then get some modeling clay, the kind that will harden. Mold it onto the base of the model as sand would appear, a hobby knife is great for making ripples. When that is hardened and dried, use some glue (I recommend elmers or preferably, a clear brand such as that tube cement) to adhere the mix to the clay. Spray flat coat on it, and after 24 hours turn it upside down to get rid of the residue. Patch up areas as necessary and boom- sand. Make sure to leave room for your model's feet (if building gundam). If you are doing a tank, an enhanced feature to the diarama are tread marks. To do these, lay down the clay then make tread-mark impressions in it. Let dry, and continue the process.
On my ships I prefer to leave a wooden base untouched (no diarama, except for waterline models). Obtaining bases for 1/350th scale and larger ships can be a difficult task. You will want a good piece of lumber (pick an easy to work with wood) 3/4" to 1" thick. If you have a proper woodshop with expensive equipment, this should not be a problem. For the little guy, this is how I make do with satisfactory results.
Locate the lumber you want at the dimensions you want. It would be best if the piece of wood were routed already. If not, head over to home depot and pick up a Dremel tool. I have the Dremel 300 and it has not let me down at 30,000+RPM. Pick up a routing bit and a kit. Ex[ect the total to be around $80.00, but this is the CHEAP solution. Attach the guide to the dremel, and you now have a guide for routing/edging/engraving/drilling. When routing, no matter what, follow these two rules.
1. Wear eye protection
2.) ALWAYS route RIGHT to LEFT.
Routing left to right will cause the bit to go crazy as it has no direction (it spins clockwise, if it spins counter closkwise, move left to right). Dont start at the very corner as this can cause chipping. When you get to an edge, move off of the piece of wood and rotate it. Go in the same right to left pattern, keeping the dremel and guide at all times as flat against the wood as humanly possible for the best results. When it is finished, do a bit of sanding to make sure the edges are alright. If you have a woodshop, you probably already know how to route an edge. Run the power router/router machine and get that good edge! always have a matt underneath that will grip the wood and table, causing the board not to move.
Electric sanders are great. They cost under $100 and really bring a nice appearance out on the base. I highly recommend purchasing an already planed board to your desired thickness. I start with 100 grit sandpaper, and work my way up to about 400 or so. You can go to 1000. but 400 usually suffices. When that is done, I go over the piece of wood with a paper towel to get off as much sawdust as I can. NEVER put water on the wood; thos raises the grain and you have to start all over. Select your stain if you wish to stain, you can find it at home depot for under $10. Apply your stain with left to right, right to left brush strokes WITH THE GRAIN. after 5-10mins wipe the wood down with a cloth to remove excess stain. Repeat until depth/darkness is achieved. Then you will want to seal it with a polyurathane varnish, or a "clear coat". Choose glossy, satin (recommend) or flat. Satin gives the wood an essence to it, it's not reflecting or shiny, but it will shimmer when held up to the light, and it BEAUTIFIES the wood. After that, you are ready to attach the model to the base!
Bases are simple to create and can add emphasis to your model, whatever it may be. Generally you want to get a base that is not smaller than the model, although with modifications it could work. If you check out my Tallgeese III gallery, you will see the kit on the prototype base. You can make bases yourself, or if you want a quick solution, head out to you local Wal*Mart, head to the arts and crafts section and you will see many kinds of wood bases. Pick up the one you want.
Once you have your base, you can do so many things to it. If you wanted to make a diorama, leave the base unsanded and untouched. Leaving it coarse can give a better adhesion when you need to glue stuff. Here are a few suggestions:
Water- Water can be very difficult to make, but they have silicon gels you can use alone with various paints to create a nice effect.
Grass/Bushes/Tree Leaves- Turf stuff from Lionel shops, nuff said.
Sand- Here is a quick solution to making sand. Get the turf stuff, then somehow grind it to a finer powder so the sand does not appear fake. Next, you can place the grinded remains in a cup, and I recommend buying a can of spray paint (Tamiya) and spraying with a combination of mixing. Spray, juggle, spray, juggle. Let it dry, then get some modeling clay, the kind that will harden. Mold it onto the base of the model as sand would appear, a hobby knife is great for making ripples. When that is hardened and dried, use some glue (I recommend elmers or preferably, a clear brand such as that tube cement) to adhere the mix to the clay. Spray flat coat on it, and after 24 hours turn it upside down to get rid of the residue. Patch up areas as necessary and boom- sand. Make sure to leave room for your model's feet (if building gundam). If you are doing a tank, an enhanced feature to the diarama are tread marks. To do these, lay down the clay then make tread-mark impressions in it. Let dry, and continue the process.
On my ships I prefer to leave a wooden base untouched (no diarama, except for waterline models). Obtaining bases for 1/350th scale and larger ships can be a difficult task. You will want a good piece of lumber (pick an easy to work with wood) 3/4" to 1" thick. If you have a proper woodshop with expensive equipment, this should not be a problem. For the little guy, this is how I make do with satisfactory results.
Locate the lumber you want at the dimensions you want. It would be best if the piece of wood were routed already. If not, head over to home depot and pick up a Dremel tool. I have the Dremel 300 and it has not let me down at 30,000+RPM. Pick up a routing bit and a kit. Ex[ect the total to be around $80.00, but this is the CHEAP solution. Attach the guide to the dremel, and you now have a guide for routing/edging/engraving/drilling. When routing, no matter what, follow these two rules.
1. Wear eye protection
2.) ALWAYS route RIGHT to LEFT.
Routing left to right will cause the bit to go crazy as it has no direction (it spins clockwise, if it spins counter closkwise, move left to right). Dont start at the very corner as this can cause chipping. When you get to an edge, move off of the piece of wood and rotate it. Go in the same right to left pattern, keeping the dremel and guide at all times as flat against the wood as humanly possible for the best results. When it is finished, do a bit of sanding to make sure the edges are alright. If you have a woodshop, you probably already know how to route an edge. Run the power router/router machine and get that good edge! always have a matt underneath that will grip the wood and table, causing the board not to move.
Electric sanders are great. They cost under $100 and really bring a nice appearance out on the base. I highly recommend purchasing an already planed board to your desired thickness. I start with 100 grit sandpaper, and work my way up to about 400 or so. You can go to 1000. but 400 usually suffices. When that is done, I go over the piece of wood with a paper towel to get off as much sawdust as I can. NEVER put water on the wood; thos raises the grain and you have to start all over. Select your stain if you wish to stain, you can find it at home depot for under $10. Apply your stain with left to right, right to left brush strokes WITH THE GRAIN. after 5-10mins wipe the wood down with a cloth to remove excess stain. Repeat until depth/darkness is achieved. Then you will want to seal it with a polyurathane varnish, or a "clear coat". Choose glossy, satin (recommend) or flat. Satin gives the wood an essence to it, it's not reflecting or shiny, but it will shimmer when held up to the light, and it BEAUTIFIES the wood. After that, you are ready to attach the model to the base!
Mask off the area you want to paint, and what I do is run a round toothpick around the tape (not the pointed side) to seal that edge tight. I use a very fine brush for smaller detail work such as the tallgeese head. I use scotch's automotive tape as it is tacky, yet removes with nothing left behind. Apply SMALL amounts of paint with small objects. If it doesnt look right, its OK. Keep
adding in layers, this prevents seepage under the tape. Let dry for an hour for small detail work.
Pulling away the tape: the end result.
Oh no! seems a little bit of paint seeped under the tape. Not to worry, a hobby knife will take care of that. If you dont want to risk damaging your model, Mask the painted area (go with a tape with less tack as to not rip of the paint) and sand the area smooth with 600 to 1000 grit sandpaper. Sand until desired result.
July 5, 2007
Annual Hot Dog Eating Competition
Looks like it came down to USA vs. Japan! The challenger Joey "Jaws" Chestnut was now up against the Hot Dog eating MONSTER, Kobayashi "Tsunami" Takeru. The latest results of the Nathan's Hot Dog eating competition has left people in awe as Joey Chestnut defeats a 6 year record by Kobayashi to hold the new World Record for the amount of hot dogs eaten in 12 minutes, 66 hotdogs and the buns. Doing the math, that is approximatly one hotdog every 12 seconds 0_0.
I read up on how Kobayashi competes; he works out so that his daily calorie intake (5000+) does not store as fat. He also has a way to settle the hotdogs lower into his stomach. He eats his hotdogs, then puts the buns in water/sprite to huff them down. Joey managed to down 66 hotdogs. How these guys do it amazes me, it HAS to mess up their insides later down the road. Great job Joey! I have seen Takeru before (in 2006), and that guy can EAT 0_0
July 3, 2007
SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron
This is the stuff that made 90's Cartoons (and Cartoon Network for that matter) so great. Shows like SWAT Kats became insanely popular, but sadly dropped for new cartoons after a 2 year run. The cartoon ran for two seasons at a total of 23-24 episodes. I watched this show as a kid, and loved every second of it. It was an actual quality cartoon. It was fun, it was entertaining, it WAS a saturday morning/sunday afternoon chilling cartoon. It's an absolute shame
1) It was never rleased on DVD
2) It was cancelled for "changes" to programming
There were a few good shows after that, but it was a down-hill crawl from there. Check out the episodes on Youtube.
July 1, 2007
Trooper Shenannigans from Danny Choo
Found this on DannyChoo.com's site, this is absoloutly awesome! ^^. If you like Star Wars, you will enjoy this. Off to work with me!
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