Be Careful What You Ask For

I swung by the GW store last night to shop for a model. I can't tell you what... that's a secret. Anyway, a friend was there and he had brought a model with him. It had apparently placed third or so in another GW store's painting competition, and his demeanor clearly showed that he thought it should have placed better. He told me that he was considering entering it into Golden Demon, and asked for my input. I was... how do I put this... diplomatically blunt. I told him what I liked about the model and I told him what I didn't like. His expression indicated that he didn't like being told what I didn't like about his model. I advised him to take a month and clean it up. He repeated the "take a month" part to himself with a sour face.

Now don't get me wrong... it wasn't a bad model. It looked good, but not competition good. I had never seen competitions models before Chicago last year, but I had seen enough photos on Cool Mini Or Not to know that my average model was not that level. I think he was expecting me to say that he had a chance for a trophy with that model. It was a good looking gaming model, but really had no chance in competition. I tried to offer helpful suggestions, mostly my rules of competitive painting. Here they are:

1. It has to look intentional - Every part of the model has to look like you intended it to look exactly as it looks. No part should look like you arrived there by accident, even if the end result looks cool.
   
2. It's not good enough - No matter what you are working on, look it over again and again to see what can be improved. Never be satisfied, but instead keep improving everything a little at a time.
   
3. If you can't do it well, don't do it - it may be a cool idea, but if you can't satisfy rule #1, then you shouldn't be doing it. This is sort of (very sort of) a Jeet Kun Do approach to painting... play to your strengths. If you're a speed skater, don't compete in the pole vault. If there's a super cool technique that you are dying to try, use it on some other models until you are good at it and then use it on a competition model.

The model I was asked to critique violated rules 1 and 2. A lot. There were numerous examples of places on the model where surfaces met indistinctly or where paint from one area seemed to be bleeding into another. I pointed out some places where tide marks from washes had formed, and I was told that boiled leather looks exactly like that. Maybe it does, who knows? To me, a painter and not an expert on boiled leather, it looked like tide marks from a wash. Maybe the judges will have more leather savvy than me. The model may have gotten first cut, but it wouldn't have won a trophy. Not even close.

I had a few models on me, so I showed my friend what I had been working on. What I got was what I gave, and that's only fair. I know the models I'm working on aren't competition models. Okay, one is a competition model but it's really only just started. I got a detailed list of what he didn't like about the model. At least one of the problems he pointed out had escaped my attention, so I'm glad he showed me. If we both walk away from yesterday better painters, then it was a good day.

I took the time to win a LotR painting competition while I was there. The only other guy to compete had to use store brushes, so it wasn't exactly an even race. Gotta give him credit for competing without his tools. Chutzpah!

So here's the dilemma for me. I'm a "pretty good" painter. Not a great painter. Most of the people who frequent the local shop are mediocre painters. A few of them just enjoy painting, but some of them want to be really good at it. They seem to turn to me for feedback on their minis, but they only want to hear how great they are. Most of the time I oblige and just tell them what I like about a particular model. Sometimes, like yesterday, I give real critique. It's seldom well received. When I met Tim Lison he not only told me what he liked about my model but what he didn't like about it. The didn't like parts were far more helpful. I didn't feel like Tim's comments were attacks or insults. Either I need to learn how to deliver critique as well as Tim or just forgo giving constructive comments altogether. "Yeah, looks great! You should so enter that into Golden Demon!" I don't know... I have a hard time saying it if I don't mean it.

GD Category Update

Current category intentions for Chicago Games Day Golden Demon:

40k single: Commissar (0% complete)
40k squad: Plague Marines or something Eldar.... not sure
40k vehicle: maybe an Ork Deffdread...
40k large:

WHFB single: Skaven Warlord (60% complete)
WHFB regiment:
WHFB large/monster: Dwarf Gyrocopter (20% complete)

LotR: Moria Goblin Shaman (10% complete)
Duel: (secret project!) (0% complete)
Youngbloods: (missed it by 25 years! shucks!)
Open: Warmaster Skaven (1% complete)

So that's SIX categories I'm planning on competing in! Six! I could easily enter something I've already painted for one of the other categories, and I'm really struggling with whether to enter 40k and whfb units. Maybe I'll hold off on those for now. Considering what I went through to enter the one model last year, even six might be a little much. Duel is going to take a lot of my energy, that's for sure!

A Day Out with Thomas

Lily, Jay and I went to Greenfield Village yesterday to attend "Day Out with Thomas." My mom and dad brought my brother's kids Daniel and Rebekah as well.

I was impressed that Thomas was an actual coal burning steam engine. Off to the left you can see my dad and Jay.

The Application of Division

My house is 950 sq. feet.

Last night my house contained:
3 x adults
2 x girls, age 9
2 x girls, age 6
1 x boy, age 5
1 x boy, age 3
1 x boy, age 18 months
1 x boy, age 2 weeks

Total: 11 humans of varying sizes
950 sq. feet / 11 people = 86.3 sq. feet per person.
I haven't decided how I'm going to use my 9.3 ft. square allocation of area. I hope mine contains the toilet. Or maybe the door.

What Finishing Last Looks Like

I participated in my local GW store's painting competition. We had 25 hours to paint the 25th anniversary model. The size of the prize was dependent on how many entries they received, ranging from a $5 gift card for 1-5 entires all the way up to a battalion box for 10 or 15 entries.

There were all of 4 entries. Last time I entered a contest there, there were 3 entries. The time before that, I was the only entry. I think I've lost interest in competing there. What they should do is have an open painting competition where you have to buy your model at the store ($20 minimum purchase on a gift card or something) and they award a prize for the winner and another prize for a random entrant. I think they'd get more participation that way.

So back to the competition that just finished... out of 4 entries I finished ... drum roll please... 4th. Hmmm. #1 was well painted, but was gloss coated (and I hates gloss coating forever.) #2 was mediocre painted, but had the whole base assembled and painted, which was a feat to behold. It really is a huge base. #3 was a clever conversion from fantasy to 40k. Then came me. I can't question the judging, but I still think mine was pretty good.

The unpainted figures, being so limited edition, are going for $40-$50 on eBay. I've listed him on eBay, so I'm curious to see if my paint job added or subtracted value from him.

Iron Man L.A. Times Review

I haven't seen Iron Man yet. I don't know when I would. I did, however, read Kenneth Turan's review on the L.A. Times web site.

Here is an excerpt. Emphasis is mine.

Traveling to Afghanistan (actually, it's nearby Lone Pine, Calif.) to demonstrate a new weapon system, Tony gets kidnapped by noticeably cranky jihadists who consider him "the most famous mass-murderer in the history of America" and want him to build them one of his "masterpieces of death" in the dank cave they've imprisoned him in.

Though his heart has been damaged by (how ironic!) shrapnel from one of the bombs his company created, Tony, it turns out, is not a man to mess with. Turning dour and serious, he fools the jihadists, who show themselves to be bears of very little brain, and constructs his first Iron Man suit, which makes him look like an especially fierce refrigerator-freezer.

Considering the number of people with whom I spoke who positively gushed about how great Transformers was, I do not intend to take any of the normal geek-squad recommendations for Iron Man. Sorry guys, but you've used up your credibility with me. Kenneth Turan, on the other hand, has gotten my attention. I will be reading his reviews in the future whether I have any interest in the film in question or not. I think it was the "(how ironic!)" part that won me over. You can almost hear the fake gasp. Nicely done, Kenneth.

Childhood Tunes

When I was a youngster I used to listen to music by means of plastic disks with little bumps that encoded the music in analog. We called them records because sounds had been recorded on them. One of these records contained a series of American folk songs, and I committed many of them to memory over time. The result of one such memorization is that I was trotted up in front of the Miller elementary school play finale to sing the verse to Irving Berlin's "Grand Old Flag" since I was the only person in that school to apparently know it. (In the parlance of songs of that era, the "verse" is a unique portion at the beginning of the song, treated more as an optional introduction nowadays.) I remember my teacher being a bit puzzled when I asked her, "Why aren't we singing the whole song?" She asserted that we were singing the whole song. I remember her astonishment when I proceeded to recite the verse for her. She immediately dragged me in to do it for the music teacher, and next thing I know I am leading the finale at the ripe old age of 7.

Anyway, I digress...

One of the songs I have had bouncing through my head for the past, oh, 30+ years or so was a story about a man walking past a dilapidated cabin wherein an old man was playing a fiddle. When the traveler advised the old man to fix the roof the old man replies, "I couldn't fix it now, on a rainy day." Maybe you already know this song. I didn't know the name until this weekend when I heard someone playing it on "Prairie Home Companion" and the song was referred to by name. It's called "The Arkansas Traveler." I've heard the tune so many times over the years, but never the name. This weekend I actually sought the lyrics and found them.

Oh once upon a time in Arkansas
An old man sat in his little cabin door,
And fiddled at a tune that he liked to hear,
A jolly old tune that he played by ear.

It was raining hard but the fiddler didn't care
He sawed away at the popular air,
Though his roof tree leaked like a water fall
That didn't seem to bother that man at all

A traveler was riding by that day,
And stopped to hear him a-practicing away
The cabin was afloat and his feet were wet,
But still the old man didn't seem to fret.

So the stranger said: "Now the way it seems to me,
You'd better mend your roof," said he.
But the old man said, as he played away:
"I couldn't mend it now, it's a rainy day."

The traveler replied: "That's all quite true,
But this, I think, is the thing for you to do;
Get busy on a day that is fair and bright,
Then pitch the old roof till it's good and tight."

But the old man kept on a-playing at his reel,
And tapped the ground with his leathery heel:
"Get along," said he, "for you give me a pain;
My cabin never leaks when it doesn't rain."

(Copied from here.) I have yet to find a vocal version with these lyrics in my intertube searchings. I'm a little shocked that the song is pretty much as I remember it. Granted, I couldn't recite all the lyrics, but I remembered the concepts and some snippets.

Teeny Little Rat

I took a little break from Rectificators late this evening to paint my first Warmaster model. Of course it's a Skaven.

Wow. Just.... wow. So much fun. I absolutely love this scale.

The fact that nobody actually plays Warmaster in my immediate area (or potentially anywhere) leaves me free to paint for fun rather than feel pressured to build an army.

Some Chicago Decisions

Okay, I've been mulling it over and I have some decisions for my Golden Demon entries:

Warhammer single figure: Skaven Lustrian Warlord
Warhammer 40k single figure: Imperial Commissar
Lord of the Rings single figure: Moria Goblin Shaman
Open Category: Warmaster Skaven characters

and if I have time....

Warhammer 40k unit: Deathguard Plague Marines
Warhammer large model: Dwarf Gyrocopter

I have some Eldar that are still catching my eye and begging to be painted for competition, so maybe things will change later.... who knows?

Heading Back to the Temperate Zone

Kevin and I are sitting in the airport waiting for our 12:30 flight from LAX to DTW. Unfortunately it's only 10:00 AM local time, and we've been here since 9:00. The laptop only has another half hour or so of power, so after that I'm reduced to reading books. Like a savage.

Speaking of Luddite pursuits, I have a big nerd confession to make. Ready? Here goes.

I'm reading an "in universe" novel series based on a game.

Shocked? Yeah, me too. I swore I would never spelunk this dark cavern. It can only lead to reading Star Wars novels, writing ST:TOS fan fiction and eventually going to cons dressed at Drizzt. I swore I'd never do it, and yet here I am. How did it happen? Angelos thrust a book into my hands and said, "Read this until about page 50, or whenever they get to all the shacks." I did. I was compelled. I read on. I'm on the second "omnibus" now, each of which collects three or four novels in one volume, so I'm officially on book five of the "Gaunt's Ghosts" saga. Nerdy? Oh, yes. It takes place in the Warhammer 40k universe. Juvenile? A little.... it has some smack of adolescent war fantasy to it. Fun? Embarrassingly so. The sad part is that I am considering reading some of the other "in universe" fiction that Games Workshop has licensed now. Yeah, the cavern is deep, but I'll only go in a little ways and I've got this canary. It's a female canary, so it should die of disgust if things get too nerdy. Unless it's into cosplay or something. I guess I never found out if the canary likes anime. Hmm.

8000 Educators Drink a Lot of Starbucks

Greetings from Anaheim, CA! I'm here for Sungard Higher Education's "Summit" conference, basically a gathering of their clients to talk about the gigantic enterprise software we are all using. There are 7500 clients and 500 Sungard employees here, and about 12 of us came from EMU. It's..... loud. There was an outing to Knott's Berry Farm amusement park last night, and I rode a few rides. I neglected riding Ghostrider, the granddaddy of wooden coasters, and I regret it now. Oh, well. You hear that Scott Short?! I was at the queue entrance to Ghostrider and I didn't ride. Ha ha!

So far I have made quite a few peer contacts, but it's hard to know who will be helpful and who will be in need of help. I'm hoping for that magical 50% mark, but who knows?

Okay, see you all on Friday.

People To Avoid Having Conversations With

Gee, I can't wait until I'm old enough to feel ways about things.

Spend Hundreds, Save $1 !!! (RETRACTED!)

So GW is having this 25th Anniversary of Warhammer army "deal." I say "deal" because it doesn't seem like much of a deal. Let's take my beloved Skaven, for example:

25th Anniversary Skaven Army Deal $260
Grey Seer
40 Clan Rats
1 Ratling Gun
40 Plague Monks
10 Plague Censer Bearers
10 Poison Wind Globadiers
2 Rat Ogres
6 Giant Rats
3 Packmasters

Now let's compare that to walking into the GW store and buying all those models right off the shelf at full retail price:

Skaven Battalion $90 (includes 40 clanrats, 20 plague monks, 2 rat orgres, 6 giant rats and 3 packmasters)
Grey Seer $12
Ratling gun $12
20 Plague Monks $35
10 Poison Wind Globadiers $60
10 Plague Censer Bearers $50
Total: $259

Wow, guys. Thanks for the dollar. On top of that, the army isn't legal! You can't field a Grey Seer in fewer than 2000 points. If you add every single option to increase the points of what comes in the box, it comes out to 1480 points maximum even including 100 points of magic items for the Grey Seer.

Also for discussion: Why would they eliminate 40k Megaforces? No, seriously. I want to know. If Sam Walton's idea had been to sell smaller quantities of items for more money, do you think he would have been successful?

RETRACTION: Captain Math here, letting all you boys and girls know that $259 is less than $260. When I posted that you save $1 on the big new box I was wrong. You spend $1 more. Now that's economics.

EDIT: Apparently I was a little slow on the draw on this one. My favoritest Skaven site had noticed more than a month earlier. ...link link...

I <3 Google Docs

No, seriously. I really do.

I keep copies of many of my important documents there. I am working on a slideshow for my upcoming painting seminar there. I'm tracking things I sell there.

I'm still not quite ready to store, oh, password or pins there. I'm not really sure how secure it all is, but anything that I wouldn't mind exposed to the public at some point is going straight to google docs.

Countdown to July 26 Games Day

I'm getting a little excited about entering Golden Demon again this year. I plan on entering at least three categories, but I still need to decide which three. Here are the models I am either actively painting or considering:

1. Warhammer Single Model: Skaven warlord (in progress)
   
2. Warhammer 40k Single Model: Commissar (purchased)
   
3. Lord of the Rings Single Model: Moria Goblin Shaman
   
4. Warhammer 40k Unit: Eldar Swooping Hawks
5. Warhammer 40k Unit: Deathguard Plague Marines
6. Warhammer 40k Unit: something Orks....
   
7. Warhammer Unit: Skaven Night Runners
8. Warhammer Unit: Snotling Swarm
   
9. Warhammer Large Model: Dwarf Gyrocopter
10. Open: Warmaster Skaven Heroes

So many choices.... and rapidly closing time.

A Guilty Verdict

Yesterday Orange Taylor III was found guilty of the murder of Laura Dickinson. It's been an ongoing saga here at EMU, and I now find myself sympathizing with Tina and Orange Taylor II, the parents of the convicted man. Their lives are as transformed as the Dickinsons' must be. Their son is going to spend life in prison. One can argue that at least their son is alive, but I'm not sure that's going to be much of a consolation to them. As far as I know they didn't do anything wrong, but they will pay for his actions for the rest of their lives. Every Christmas. Every birthday. Every wedding. Every time someone talks about grandchildren. I don't remember where I heard this, but I'm pretty sure they have practically bankrupted themselves defending their son in this trial. Regardless of whether they say they believe he is innocent or not, there has to be the nagging doubt. The evidence was just too strong. In their hearts, they have to have imagined their son killing her. I can't imagine what that is like.

One of Those Days

I couldn't find my prescription drugs this morning, so I'm wheezing right now.
I couldn't find my tennis shoes this morning so I'm wearing dress-casual shoes, which are not so comfy.
I couldn't seem to get an hour to myself to work this weekend, so the Rectificators suffered.
The radio station reported the wrong date for the charity poker tournament, so only 30 people showed up to compete.
I didn't know Seth didn't have school this week, so I had to drive him back home after trying to drop him off, and was consequently quite late for work.
I didn't realize that I had listed something on eBay at a loss, and I've already sold one and have another potential customer a little peeved at me.

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Habakkuk 3:17-18

Ah. Perspective.

Sit Deep

Alright, people. Sit back and groove for a minute.



There now. Isn't that better.

Gary Gygax

Gary Gygax, one of the creators of Dungeons and Dragons, has died. I'm saddened, as D&D shaped me a great deal as an adolescent and I have always inexorably connected him with the game. Say what you will about the pros and cons of role playing, and of this game specifically, but I loved it.

I was at the forums over at Troll Lord Games to read some tribute posts when I came across >>this<<.

One day, I'm gonna give that guy a big hug.

My New Favorite Brush: W&N S7 size 1

I bought my first size 1 Winsor and Newton Series 7 Miniature brush last week. I am amazed at how much I like using it.

The impetus for the purchase was the amazing tutorial over at MiniatureMentor.com in which Laurent Esposito uses a much larger brush than I expected for much of his work. (By the way, I cannot recommend this tutorial enough. The camera work is absolutely amazing.) I decided to give a larger brush a go to try and mimic some of his techniques. Wow! It holds so much paint, but still has that razor tip! I love it!

I picked up a series 7 size 0 and a series 7 miniature size 0 to list on my ebay store, but neither has sold despite the fact that they are the only w&n s7 size 0 brushes on all of ebay.

Oh, did I mention how disillusioned I am with ebay? A $138 sale incurs $15.44 in fees (between ebay fees and paypal fees.) A direct credit card sale with a merchant account would be around $2.76. Argh. They do get their pound of flesh, don't they?

Technology Double-take

Seldom do I get on the hype bandwagon, but if Nokia is even close to delivering on this in the next five years or so then we are going to see some pretty amazing changes.



Morph Demo Film from Nokia site
Wow.

In the Name of Economic Recovery

Dear U.S. Government,

Please send me a large check. I promise I will not save one penny of it, for the sake of economic recovery.

Your fan,
Mike

Flashback

On a bus or a taxi going through Kyoto, Japan in August 1990 I saw a club called "Pignose Jazz." The name was burned in my memory for some reason, probably because I was just starting to fall in love with jazz at that point in my life.

A quick google search yields a "talk about Kyoto" page (in Japanses) listing "Pignose" along with a couple other jazz clubs. I am oddly gratified that the place still exists, despite never having set foot in the place.

Looted Codex

GW should not have hired Orks to write their own codex.

Discrepancies in the codex so far:

1. Dakka guns are AP5 Assault 3 on the main description page and AP4 Assault 2 on the summary page.
2. Warbikez are said to have twin-linked Dakka guns on the main description page, but are listed as having Dakka guns (without the "twin-linked" indicator) on the army list.
3. Stormboyz are shown to have the "Waaagh!" special rule in their main description but do not have it in the army list section.
   

I will edit this post as more are discovered.

Skullhamma Finished... somewhat

Don't laugh. It was a two night job, and that's a lot of tank.

Skullhamma

A friend who works at the local GW store has asked me to paint the store's Ork "Skullhamma" tank. It's an interesting model insomuch as there is no official model for it. It is a conversion of an Imperial Guard Baneblade tank. It dwarfs my mostly assembled Ork Trukk! Someone else did the converting, so I'm biting my lip and ignoring all the mold lines and things that I would not have left. This is for the store, it's for fun, and I have other commission work that I need to be doing.

Coming soon! More Eldar! I finally get to paint Swooping Hawks!

Humor, Melancholy and Exasperation

Humor: Yesterday we tried to clean the dishwasher out by putting a quarter cup or so of Melaleuca's Tough and Tender into it and running it for a cycle. Problem: Tough and Tender foams. We had a mess on our hands of Bradybunchian proportion. The nice part is that everyone was cheerful and the whole family chipped in to help clean up the suds. Good times.

Melancholy: My daughter Sarah turns 9 in a couple weeks. It has occurred to me that half of her time living with us (give or take) has gone. It was too quick. I won't be ready when she's 18. I don't even want to think about it right now.

Exasperation: I don't know who keeps challenging this, but Planeswalker's Magic Bag is a real store! Angelos has worked his tail off to build that place from the ground up, and to have people continue to call his suppliers challenging the fact that it's a real store is beyond reproach. I've been to the store a couple times, and it's got a nicer games section than a lot of hobby stores I've seen, plus gaming space and a paint bar! It's in downtown Munith, a small town on its own but on a heavily traveled route, so he gets tons of visual hits from the people driving by. Angelos seems to take the whole thing in good humor, but I'm sure he's irked by these little acts of sabotage. He's growing a successful business, and somebody isn't happy about it.

A Little Down Time Painting

Over the last year I have won a few things at the Games Workshop store, mostly through random drawings and some through painting contests. The end result is that I had a few blister packs that I wouldn't normally buy or paint, so I decided to give them a go for eBay over my break. Here they are, and the pictured link to ebay.


I don't tend to paint demony things for the most part, but it was free and I figured maybe I could fleece some chaos players of a few bucks. It was a one night paint job, and the wings are scratch built. (Yes, I will use my new scratch building expertise to make a plain, blue police box!) Chaos armies, especially those of "Khorne, the Blood God" just seem like an adolescent power fantasy to me. (Yes, I realize that the whole hobby is an adolescent power fantasy. Khornate armies just take that to its embarrassing extreme.)
The Empire Warrior Priest, on the other hand, was big fun. The original figure is "Valten on warhorse" which I don't think has a lot of potential for sale, since Valten is a character from GW's summer campaign 2004. In the end of campaign write-up he was murdered by Skaven assassins (hooray for rats!) so I decided to brand him as a regular, fieldable hero and not "dead guy from three years ago." The Skaven skull that I put on the base is an homage to the original figure. The gold was done using the technique I learned from Tim Lison. I'm not much of a horse person, so I struggled a little with the coloring. Mark helped me bring the tone down to something less distracting than I had originally used.

For some reason I decided both of minis needed shields. Neither came with one. I think the shields complement them well.

Apparently I'm still alive!

First off, before I go and talk about myself, I'd like to say Welcome Home, Eric Volz. I can't imagine what the past year has been like for you, but you've had a lot of people praying for you. Your safe return is a huge relief, even for those who have never met you.

I just looked at my last post and realized that my "haven't posted in a while" post was more than a month ago!

Here, look at the pretty picture:


I think it shows a bit of improvement over the same model done in a different scheme about 8 months ago.



For some reason I feel like my pictures are looking better. Don't ask why... I don't know.

Video Interlude

I know I haven't updated in (quite) a while. I've been painting like mad, working like a dog and running around like, umm... a mad dog, I suppose.

Here is something to calm you down. It's from a few years ago, so the animation is rather dated. The story in the video is good if you have the patience to watch the whole thing.



The Wall-E trailer reminded me of this.

Hooray for Tim Lison

I met Tim Lison for the first time yesterday. If you don't know who he is, check out his award winning painting here. It's pretty phenomenal. Anyway, Tim was one of the judges in Chicago so I got a chance to get feedback from him on what went right/wrong with my giant. It's currently in the display case at the store, so Tim was able to talk very specifically about the model. Some parts of it the judges really liked but it was the little bits that were a little messy that cost me the bronze. The arm bands were one of the things he pointed out. (I struggled for ages with the gaps in the model right at the arm bands. It's no surprise that they were a limiting factor.) Tim was very encouraging and told me that if I could apply that microscopic attention to detail to fix the little things that weren't quite right then I would be bringing trophies home without question. I'm going back over to the store about 6:30 tonight and Tim said he would show me some techniques for metallic gold, a color with which I struggle. I've got a Harlequin with me to try his technique on, so hopefully I'll be able to raise the bar on these guys. I've been using a lot of gold on the shoulder pads, backpacks and weapons so I can't wait to see his techniques.

Not Surprised

Apparently Mythic Entertainment is shutting down the beta test of Warhammer Online. This post from developer Mark Jacobs explains a little of what is/isn't at the root cause.

I like computer games. No, really. I loved WoW. Like all Blizzard games, it hit the sweet spot with its intuitive interface and dramatic presentation. I played a lot of WoW. Not as much as my friends did, but a lot. I also like Warhammer, not only the tactical game or the miniatures but the overall setting and fluff. Therefore, a well done computer game set in the world of Warhammer would be a good thing for me.

That said, the demo of the massively multiplayer game "Warhammer: Age of Reckoning" (aka WAR) at Games Day was less than exciting for me. I saw people queuing up for it, and watched a bit of it on the big screen they had, but was for the most part uninspired. It looked like a WoW clone. Yippee. All intention I had of buying it evaporated that day. Now that the beta has been suspended, I am pleased to see that one of the things they are going to be doing is making WAR less like WoW. With more than 8 million subscribers WoW is a huge money maker, and I'm sure the temptation (or even pressure) to copy the interface and gameplay as exactly as possible would be intense. It makes me very happy to hear that they are giving WAR its own identity. Cautious optimism is back. Don't disappoint me, Mythic.

Oh, and there better be some pretty fantastic looking Skaven.

Grrr, I want to paint, not photograph!

I am sick of this. Are the photos good enough at this point? Will they ever be? I just want them to have the same general level as everyone else... if my models look mediocre because they are painted that way, then so be it. Trying to show people minis with poor photographs is like running the 100m dash wearing flip-flops. Hopefully I'm at "Wal-Mart brand tennis shoes" at this point.

/grr

Good + 2.1Mpixel = Mediocre

I finally decided to post the Skaven Giant on CMON. Is the photo great? Not so much. Is he doing well in the voting? Meh.

A Better Photo

I like this photo better, so I added it to the auction. Hopefully bidders will like it better too.

Horrifically busy at work and home lately. I've barely touched a brush since finishing Alastriel here. I'm eager to get back to Eldar, especially since I found my scan of the Saim Hann autrarch from the new codex, so now I can reproduce that freehand work.

CMON repost link

Before You Say "Good Enough"

I'm frustrated with photography. I can't seem to take a picture that looks like my subject, which inevitably is something I've painted. The photos just don't look like the mini. Smooth transitions in daylight become stripes in photographs. I find seeming imperfections in the photograph, then can't find them on the model.

Anyway, last night I'm taking pictures of Alastriel and finally just give up and say "good enough." I submit the ebay auction and get ready to clean up for the night. That's when I realized that one of my lamps wasn't on. Take a look at the photos. They are all lit from the right. My powers of observation just weren't on last night. I'll probably retake photos tonight, and eat the $.95 auction fee to repost the auction with the new pictures if they look better.

Another option... get one of my mini painting associates to take a picture of one of my models to see if they look just as poor. My giant from Chicago games day looks really good in the pictures on the GW site, and to my eyes it isn't remarkably better than a lot of these minis that I'm getting low-6's on.

WTS elf mage PST

Ah, good old Alastriel.

I'll paint her again in a year or two to see how much better she looks.

For now, this one's on the auction block.

CMON Link
eBay Link


Paint, paint, paint. This gave me my fantasy fix. Now, on to more 40k!

Double Goodness

My new computer arrived at work today! Two 19" LCD monitors! Once I got both monitors up and running (with my old system) I was quite pleased. A coworker asked me how they were working out. "Fine ham abounds," I answered. Wow. That's a "Kids in the Hall" drop from years ago. It surprised even me.

I am featured in "Focus EMU" this week, the online newsletter for faculty and staff, for my miniature painting. Other than a bit of exaggeration about my competition performance it is quite good. (For the record, I placed fourth in my category, not fourth overall. )
Link link! http://www.emich.edu/focus_emu/100207/miniatures.html

Coming Right Along

I painted quite a bit this weekend. It feels good to be on a roll.

From the WIP photos last post, it should be fairly clear that I spent a little more time on Alastriel than on the Autrarch. He's pretty much done, and I've started his back banner, so I'm feeling pretty good about it. The turquoise and pink harlequin is almost done, but she was up on a shelf when I took pictures and didn't feel like going to get her.

I'm not really sure what to do with Alastriel's base. I wanted a simple platform with a step leading up to it, but I'm not really sure what to do beyond that. Some vines/moss on the platform? The platform is a little rough, so I'd like to obscure it a little. Hmmm.

Water effect tests have all been pretty resounding failures. The only thing I really got out of it was "Fabri-tac", which cures with such a huge number of bubbles (they form during curing!) that it would make a wonderful boiling cauldron effect.

Still thinking about Orks. I passed up an eBay lot that was going for about 1/3 retail cost for a pretty good sized Ork mob, so I'm not completely gone. I did order the Mad Dok figure from GW direct, since it's one of the models that is going away when their direct order changes significantly on November 1.

Edit: Wow, Alastriel looks chunky and lacking contrast in that photo. Maybe the Ott light isn't so hot for snapshots.

Two Nights in a Row?!?

Well this is an unlikely post. I not only took some WIP shots, but I worked on three separate miniatures tonight. The Autrarch is nearly complete, with the freehand on his back and the gemification of the gems as the only notable things left. The next Harlequin is... well... I haven't decided yet. Between pink, blue, black and bone I'm not sure even who she thinks she's supposed to be. Rounding out the group is the ever popular Alastriel, for a direct to eBay mini. I just wanted some fantasy stuff to paint after focusing on 40k so much.

Quick WIP Shot!

I'm trying to get into the habit of taking more WIP shots, so here's one from tonight's fun.

I'm not sure if the turquoise shirt and the blue jacket are too close. I was trying for a color scheme based on blues and greens, but it might end up with just too little contrast. Maybe if I make the jacket liner black. Hmm.....

Water Effect Test

I'm testing a two part water effect that Stef bought for me to see if it will be good for the Samurai Rhino's base. I've decided to track the test for the good of the CMON community, but I figure I'll mention it here too.

The product is "Quick Water" made by "Garden Splendor."
http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/viewthread.php?tid=22740

I suppose more WIP shots of minis while I had the camera out would have been nice. I wish I would have thought of that earlier. Whoops.

Where Did That Camera Go Again?

Anyone who comes here to see my painting will surely be frustrated by the lack of WIP photos nowadays. I seemed able to post them quite regularly in the past. One of the main barriers is the digital camera itself. I have to 1) find it, then 2) take a reasonable picture, and finally 3) take the memory card over to my computer and upload the photo. The first one can be challenging, the second one infuriating, and the third one merely tedious. It often leads to me packing up and going to bed without taking any photos whatsoever.

The Harlequins continue. It's interesting that these tiny little models are mostly done in patterns, since it is less space to freehand than most of the larger models that have solid colors. I'm getting to like them quite a bit. I'd like to make the real showpiece of the unit the Shadowseer, so he'll be getting a bit of extra attention. The Death Jesters are cool, but tend to get monochromatic paint jobs of black and white. I'll have to do some creative freehanding on the back of their long coats to match the level of the others.

I've also been working on the second Autrarch from that Eldar army box. My friend (and painting mentor) Mark showed me a technique that involves priming white, then painting straight ink onto the model before the base coat. It works really well for Ultramarines, the blue ink undercoat giving them a very vivid blue when you're done painting the ultramarines blue over it. The Autrarch has a coat of red ink now, and I'm hoping that will make the blood red that will go over it much more even and vivid.

Samurai Rhino Gen is almost done. I'm almost done with model itself, leaving only some of the basing elements to paint and the water effect to apply. I tried a little of the 2-part water effect I have at home, and I wasn't too thrilled with the result. After two days it still felt tacky, which I'm not particularly fond of. Maybe I didn't mix the two ingredients in the right proportion. I've also considered just using 2-part epoxy adhesive, but I'm afraid it might change color while curing. I currently have test setups of "Tacky Glue Quick Dry" and Beacon Adhesives "Fabri-Tac" adhesive drying on a shelf. Fabri-Tac is an acetone based adhesive that is clear, so I'm curious to see how it dries. I've used it to glue basing material, and it tends to leave long strings while you work with it, much like hot glue does.

At Least They're Consistent

One fact about little girls that you may not know... if there are dolls about, especially Barbies, the dolls are probably naked. We have bin after bin of Barbies in various states of undress.

Today I logged into World of Warcraft for no real reason. The kids play it (with the chat disabled) and I know that at one point Sarah had sold all her characters clothing and was running around in her underwear. I was chiding her about it. When I looked at the server that the girls play on I was a bit surprised to find that all of the character they have created were stripped down to their undies. They dutifully carried sword, shield and staff but apparently pants were too cumbersome.

White Dwarf.... probably not

White Dwarf 333 is out, and it has great coverage of Baltimore 2007 Games Day. All the trophy winners were pictured, but none of the honorable mentions. Next month will probably have Chicago coverage, and although I was desperately hoping that my giant would appear in White Dwarf, I have come to accept that it won't.

Next year I fully intend to come home with a trophy, so I'm sure to get a photo in White Dwarf at that point. Ambitions? Definitely. Overconfident? Perhaps. I've barely broken 7 on my best CMON entries, but that 8 is coming.... one day.

Evidence of Progress

I continue to paint! I present to you the evidence!

"The Shakes"

I have endeavored to resume lunch-time painting.

The plan is to paint things for local people (coworkers and friends) during the 30-45 minutes or so that I have to paint, or maybe for myself if I'm feeling selfish. The samurai rhino I mentioned is one of these. The Dwarfs for Bill and Skorne for Brian are also in this category.

Problem: for the last two days I've been shaking so bad at lunch that I can't paint with any level of accuracy. I don't have this problem at night, so I'm thinking it might be a lack of sugar. The doctor had warned me of the symptoms of low sugar (which my recent blood work and diet indicated might be an issue) and shaking was one of them. Maybe I need to have a little pre-lunch snack, some raisins or something, an hour before lunch. It's frustrating to sit down to paint and then not be able to.

Encroaching Weakness

For the first time ever, I am finding myself seriously drawn to starting a new army, in this case 40k Orks. I have toyed with the idea of starting a Hordes army or another Warmachine army. I have even considered starting another Warhammer Fantasy army. By far, this new pull toward 40k Orks is the strongest. The problems? #1: no money. at all. #2: I've never even played 40k! How can I be jonesing to switch 40k armies when I've never even played?!

So what about Orks attracts me? The craziness. It's what attracted me to Skaven originally. I just love the self-destructive mish-mash of Orks. The frustrating part is that it's another horde army, so creating a reasonable Ork force would require a ton of models. I should take a look and see how few models a 1500 point army could be... maybe an Orky Dreadnought or models with tricked out gear. I have to admit, I really want to paint them too.

Grrr. This hobby is harsh. Since my commission painting has become "second job" more than "hobby funding" it's been frustrating to be back at zero budget (nearly... painting expenses still have to come from commission fees.) On the plus side, I don't have a lot of time to paint my own stuff and I still own a lot of unpainted models, so I could theoretically go for an awfully long time without buying a new model for myself.

Side note: today is supposedly the 25th birthday of the smilie emoticon. :-)

WIP Photos... for once

Hey, I found the digital camera! My photography still stinks out loud, but enjoy! Both miniatures are perched majestically on a jar of P3 "Heartfire" paint. The tasteful background is a Kroger brand coffee filter that I use to wick my brushes (another TAB Stuido tip.)

First up is an Eldar Harlequin, in all his deadly space clown glory. He looks pretty cool (in person anyway... roll eyes) but I just don't think he's tacky enough for a Harlequin. The next one will have to be over the top.





Next up we have the very beginning of a Skaven Lustrian Warlord, which will be one of my competition entries for next year. I really wanted the base to go up and forward, leaving room for detail in front of and below the warlord. This seems to work well.

Space Clowns and Rhinos and Rats! (oh my!)

I've been painting lately. Painting like mad. I'd love to show you a picture, but I can never seem to find the digital camera when I'm done at night.

Space Clowns: I've been working on Eldar Harlequins for a commission job. I tried the ubiquitous diamond pattern for the first time last night, and it seemed to turn out pretty good. My challenge will be to paint them garish enough.

Rhino: I tried the primer/Future mixture that Tracy from TAB Studio (aka Tab Stuido) recommended in her very cool video tutorial, and I love the finish it gave him. Now I need to paint him, paint the base and add the water effect. This is going to be so cool.

Rats: "Build unto me a base of ridiculous proportion!" commanded the Skaven Lustrian warlord. And so I did. This fellow will be my entry into the "Warhammer Single Figure" category at Games Day next year.

Speaking of Games Day, I think I'm going to try entering four categories. Warhammer single figure (the aforementioned rat), Warhammer large model (Ogre Tyrant), 40k unit (either an Ork Big Mek and Mekboy bodyguard or a Techmarine and servitors), and .... I'm still undecided on the fourth category. 40k single figure is tempting (maybe an Ork warboss or a converted Space Marine sergeant) but Warhammer unit interests me too (Skaven Night Runners or Goblin Squig Hoppers.) Even Lord of the Rings single figure is tempting. Given the number of figures I'll already have to paint for the models I've already decided on, Warhammer unit might be too many to realistically paint to competition quality. Then again, I did the giant in four weeks, and he included two extra figures perched on him. First things first: warhammer single, warhammer large model, 40k unit. Once those are done I'll see where the mood takes me.

Soft Metal and Nightmare

Two things. I'll only need a sec.

#1: Lead is soft. I realized just how soft when I accidentally drilled through the foot of aforementioned Samurai Rhino. I have a certain ritualistic number of turns that I give the pin-vise when drilling holes for pinning, and far before reaching that number I had completely impaled his foot. Oops.

#2: Remember those nightmares of showing up for a final exam and not knowing anything about the class? I had the opposite of that one last night. When my alarm went off I hit snooze and went back to sleep, without really realizing it. I then dreamed that I dragged myself out of bed and struggled through getting ready for work. When the alarm went off again I had to deal with the realization that I still needed to get up, even though I felt like I had just gone through the whole ordeal. I hit snooze again, and the whole scene repeated itself! When snooze woke me again, I finally roused myself enough to turn off the alarm and get myself going. It wasn't quite as difficult dragging my carcass around the house as it had been in my two dreams, but it still felt like a drag. So that's a first for me... waking up from an unpleasant dream to a less pleasant reality.

Okay, I lied. One more thing. Maybe I didn't make the Journeyman Warcaster's picture small enough to be a good test, but she's getting savaged on CMON right now.

Basing a Samurai Rhino

About a year ago, a friend at work asked me to paint a mini for him, "Gen" from the comic Usagi Yojimbo. I'd heard of the comic, but didn't know anything about Gen, an anthropomorphic rhino. Up until today, he had been mounted on a 40x40mm GW base, awaiting his turn. Today, something snapped, and I decided to rebase him. I molded stones from green stuff and placed them on the base strategically, then molded a tiny turtle as well. I will use the masking tape method that Jeremie spoke of in his Games Day seminar to make a little river effect, with Gen running over the stones and the turtle submerged. It is the most unique base I've tried yet, and I hope it turns out. The mini is out of production and I want to do it justice. I also wouldn't mind getting a few mid-7's on CMON. Right now, I'm the self proclaimed "King of Mid-6."

I chose to upload the Journeyman Warcaster to CMON, altered as well as I could for presentation. As a psychological experiment, the pic is rather small (by my standards.) I know she'd get low scores if I posted her large, but I'm curious if people will vote higher for a smaller photo. I don't really have more photography opportunities, as the piece has already shipped to the owner.

EDIT: I realized that the jpg image I had submitted was badly marred with compression artifacts. I re-edited the photo, included a rear shot and resubmitted. The original version was at 5.9 with about 30 votes. I'm curious to see how the new one does, since it's 350 pixels wide (as opposed to 300), in better focus, and includes another view.

Struggles, Hopefully of the Temporary Variety

I struggle with not only digital photography, but the manipulation required to make it reasonably presentable online. I really liked the way this Cygnar Journeyman Warcaster turned out, but for the life of me I can't figure out how to do it any justice with a photo. I'll crack the code on it one day.

In other news, we're still not bug free. After treatment it takes a few days before you know if you got them all. It's very frustrating, and the psychosomatic itching is terrible.

Bug Hunt

You haven't lived until the children of your neighborhood contract head lice. In terms of psychosomatic itching, it's much worse than finding fleas on a pet. In terms of actual treatment, it's long and arduous, especially for girls with thick hair.

They are so small that every untreated surface is suspect, every fabric item a potential carrier. I will never view a movie theater seat with the same reckless abandon. I constantly wonder how long it will be before my kids are re-infested, potentially as the little parasites make their way around the neighborhood again.

I suppose the challenge will be to avoid going all Monk about the whole thing. It really creeps me out though. Really.

Your Gastroenterologist called. Eat more.

Y'all sick of hearing about my health issues yet? Didn't think so!

Yesterday was my gastroenterology appointment, in which a nurse practitioner looked me over and explained the ramifications of my "fatty liver disease." The condition is fairly common, and the nurse explained that it was the third highest reason for people needing liver transplants, behind hepatitis and alcoholism induced cirrhosis. She was caught a bit flat footed when I asked her if she knew the proportions of the top three. Third place certainly sounds impressive, and certainly would be at, for instance, the Olympics. In terms of causation, it might mean that it is at the root 2% of all transplants, behind hepatitis at 61% and alcoholism at 36%. (Attention internet: the previous sentence was a hypothetical. I better not see someone actually using those statistics somewhere like they are facts. If you are going to spuriously collect fun facts from my blog, please use this one: By the year 2035, the only fuel our vehicles will require will be the bottled awesome of a battle between ninjas and Godzilla. On the moon.)

Anyway, back to the point. I got on a real scale at the gastroenterologist, which read 196. Okay, I had assumed it would be lower by now, but it probably only shows that my aunt and uncle's scale was reading a bit low. I received hearty congratulations from both the nurse practitioner and doctor for dropping the weight I have (24 lbs.) then received a warning from the nurse telling me that I could actually contribute to my fatty liver by eating so little. Whoops. She advised me, based on my height, to eat no fewer than 1500 calories a day. Considering that I had been aiming for 1000 to 1200 per day (with the occasional foray into slightly higher) I don't think I'll have much trouble doing 1500. In fact, it pretty much means I can eat exactly what I was eating plus a bowl of ice cream in the evening. Viva la gastroenterology!

Passionately, part 2

I've previously mentioned an old Atari 8-bit computer program that played a song called "Passionately." Friday I found a pristine copy of the disk image, complete with original author credits and correct lyrics.

Now my goal is to capture it for submission to youtube. The only copy of Passionately there currently is a copy in which someone had hacked the Atari binary to change some of the lyrics to profanity and change the author credit. A coworker has a license for a video capture program called.... hmm, I can't remember the name right now. He uses it to capture WoW video. Anyway I tried a little on Friday to capture it, but the emulator always stutters at some point and ruins the recording. I've deleted a lot of crap from my hard drive and defragged in the hopes that writing the lengthy AVI file to a bunch of different areas of the hard drive is what was causing the stutter. In any case, we should have a new, perfect copy of Passionately to see soon. Stay tuned!

What? A Painting Post?!?

Here is my latest WIP, a Cygnar Journeyman Warcaster pictured in front of my glass of ice water. There's something about the way the Ott light and my camera interact that makes the metallics look really chunky. I'm using the fallback position of all mini-painters on this one: it looks better in person.

I've had a lot of problems with momentum lately, feeling like I just can't get anything done. I don't know if I can call it painters' block since it's more a function of having the energy to get started than of not knowing where to go. Getting this mini to the state she is in a few days has helped restore my spirit. I also finished and delivered a Reaper Shadow Dragon that a family friend wanted to give to her father for his birthday. Apparently he was quite pleased.

After this figure I'm going to try very hard to get back on my 5 night schedule, painting certain types of work on certain nights and devoting an entire night per week to either my own painting or perhaps playing. I have a lot of backlog and I need to get disciplined if I'm going to start shipping product again.

Executive Summary

Some of my coworkers are big fans of emutalk.org. I'm not.

For those of you who might consider wading through the endless tirade of pompous naivety there, might I offer this succinct alternative.

That's pretty much all you need to know.

My Fifteen Minutes

Apparently my little hobby is unique enough that the little Staff/Faculty newspaper here at EMU is running a story on me. I had a lengthy interview with someone doing an internship there yesterday afternoon, and I still need to meet with the university photographer so he can take a picture of me and my work.

The fact that I didn't actually win anything in Chicago didn't seem to phase them.

In other news, Brian and I played Warmachine last night after many months of hiatus. I was over at his place at almost exactly 7:00 PM, and left his place at 1:45 AM. Yikes, am I tired right now. Of course his Khador won against my Menites in the 750 point game, but it was the closest to beating him that I have come in a year. (Did I not mention previously that I stink at these games? I'm pretty sure I did.) The highlight of the game for me was when, after his Man o' War Drakhun (basically a huge armored guy on a huge armored horse) charged in and killed my warcaster (The Harbinger of Menoth) I decided to charge him with the 4 model choir that was hanging out near her before her demise. "The choir are enraged that you killed their beloved Harbinger, and they charge you," I said. Brian looked at me in disbelief. When the dice had stopped, the lowly choir had killed the elite Drakhun. I will never again underestimate the power of the choir or the fun of inventing narrative as you play tactical games. I guess you come up with meta games like that when you lose every stinking time. It's still fun.

Progressive to Me: Get Lost

We've had Progressive Auto Insurance for years now, but I'm a little ticked with them right now. Three years ago, when our van was almost exactly three years old, Stef got in a little accident, and the hood of the van was replaced. Over the course of the next three years, the hood has been very susceptible to stone chips, and has been developing large, deep gaps in the paint, all the way down to the metal. Our local Progressive rep in Livonia, Jason, asserts that this is normal wear and tear for a hood. I am skeptical. Never have a I seen long cracks in the paint emanating from the spot of a stone chip, or from the front corners of a hood. The old hood looked really good right up until the accident, and I would think the new hood would look pretty much the same at this point. Nope, according to them this series of deep cracks is perfectly normal, despite the fact that it occurs nowhere else on the vehicle, or for that matter on any vehicle I have ever owned.

At this point Progressive has used up my customer loyalty. If I can find cheaper insurance elsewhere I'm jumping ship. I pay for insurance so that I can get my car fixed correctly when something happens, not poorly fixed and then discarded. Add to this the fact that the van's CD player wouldn't work after the accident and they flatly refused to fix it, and you'll see why I'm at the end of my patience. I'm paying for a service and I'm not getting the service. Bye bye, Progressive Auto Insurance.

Wait a Minute....

Today The Morning Show had a segment on college murder cover-ups. I was not surprised to hear them talk about EMU's recent tragedy and the administrative debacle surrounding it, but what did surprise me was something said by Robert Dickinson, the father of slain student Laura. He recounted gathering the family and driving to EMU after hearing the news of his daughter's death. He then said he was told by the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner that there was no indication of foul play. Not an EMU source, but a Washtenaw County source, the same source that a report on the incident would claim as having reported to EMU sources that there was potential foul play. So now I'm at a loss of whom to believe. It occurs to me that if the medical examiner had told Robert Dickinson that there was no foul play, couldn't he also have told EMU authorities the same? I mean, isn't that the medical examiner's job to make those kinds of determinations? I know EMU has taken a lot of flak for not informing the campus of what happened, but for the first time I'm starting to wonder if it was the medical examiner who was the source of the controversy. I don't think anyone at EMU can realistically be expected to do the job of the medical examiner, and whether or not the situation looked like foul play to the untrained eye isn't the same as an official finding of foul play.

Looks like there's more of this story yet to unfold.

EDIT: Contrast this to the story from WZZM where Robert Dickinson says "We were told the night they found Laura that there was no foul play. Even when the medical examiner's report said foul-play suspected." All this time I had assumed the we were told meant we were told by EMU, when I now see that it might possibly mean we were told by the medical examiner.

Willpower

Saturday I went to a family reunion for my dad's side of the tree. While there I noticed a large scale under the claw-footed tub, and realized that this was my first real opportunity to weigh myself since beginning my diet on July 23. I had originally planned on waiting until my next appointment with my regular doctor (September 5) to find out my progress, and for a minute or so I debated whether to just wait or go ahead and step on the scale. In the end, instant gratification won out and I stepped onto the scale .... 195! I had lost 25 lbs. in the past month! I was elated.

I have now set my final goal at 170, a full 50 lbs. less than I weighed in July. I'm hoping that another 2-3 months will get me there. The gratifying part is that it's working, and I think there are a few keys to my success so far. It would probably be more appropriate to talk about this after I had reached (and maintained) my eventual goal, but I feel like blabbing now.

Portion Control. The whole key for me has been a change in attitude toward what a reasonable meal quantity consists of. Once you get yourself accustomed to the amount of food that comprises 1000-1200 calories a day, 2000 calories in a day feels like a gi-normous binge in sheer volume. Getting used to stopping at the point where I would be just getting started previously took an act of will. I don't know if it's physical or psychological, but I don't really have the shut off when it comes to food. I could/can eat until I'm physically uncomfortable and still want to eat more. It's especially difficult in fast food places where the meals consist of a number of small, inexpensive items. Taco Bell is the primary example of this. I order way too much food, then eat all of it. Well, I used to anyway. Nowadays I can safely get one or two small items (after carefully consulting the nutrition guide) that still leave enough room in my remaining calorie allowance for a reasonable dinner.

Availability. As odd as it sounds, having predictable food options easily available to me has helped tremendously. I know that for lunch I'm going to get a Wendy's small chili, and it will be 220 calories. Every now and again, when I feel especially hungry at lunch, I supplement with a side salad, adding another 40-50 calories. It appeals to my frugality (at $1.26 it's the cheapest lunch this side of ramen) and leaves me enough calories to eat whatever I cook for dinner. If I had to pack a lunch I know I would likely pack (and eat) too much food, and the calorie count would be harder to control.

Accountability. I have told enough people about what I am doing that I cannot reasonably deviate from it without being confronted about my excess. At home it's easier to munch and nibble without really keeping track of what I'm eating, and that can lead to uncontrolled intake if I'm not especially careful. It is also incumbent on me to produce the results my doctor has recommended, which helps with the delayed gratification aspect.

Perspective. While at family camp, I decided to make the adult banquet dinner on Friday night a "Diet Free Zone" and eat whatever I wanted. For two days I anticipated how great everything would taste, and how good it would feel to each a steak and a baked potato, and even a dessert! In the end I was disappointed, not because the food was bad but because my memory of food was so much better. I was full after a fairly modest amount eaten, and the taste just wasn't as extraordinary as I was expecting. I had been initially afraid that any return to rich foods would made continuation of my diet nearly impossible, but that has not been the case. I have since afforded myself very small, occasional portions of ice cream or popcorn, keeping rigorous track of portion and calorie count of course, since then. I love food, but doesn't mean I'll enjoy it more if I eat a lot of it. I'm also getting more concerned about my health (gasp! a nearly 40-year old who suddenly is concerned about his health! Unprecedented!) and would like to feel good as I continue to age.

Two things that have helped a great deal are my brother's gastric bypass surgery and my friend Bill's "popcorn diet" concept. The popcorn diet is just a psychology trick. Bill really likes popcorn, so he tells himself, "If I eat a small dinner I can have popcorn later!" Typically, though, the popcorn gets forgotten as the evening continues. This attitude of "not forbidden, just not a high priority" has helped me control dinner time intake. I had a chance to spend a few meals around my brother after his surgery, and was amazed at how small the portions were that he could comfortably eat. That, in essence, was the bulk of how the surgery worked for him. He was stuffed to the point of feeling sick after only a few tablespoons of food, so his caloric intake was dramatically reduced. Maybe there's more to it than that, but it seemed that simple to me. I thought, "Well, I can just eat meals like a gastric bypass patient does, and that will achieve the same effect without going under the knife." I haven't gone to quite the same dramatic portion changes, and I have been wary about entering starvation mode, but the premise seems to have been correct.

Anyway, I'll look forward to a big, fat load of ridicule if I falter from my goals now that I've made my methods transparent.

Less vs. Fewer

Okay, people. I'm tired of this. You can talk about how much of something there is, or you can talk about how many of something there are, but you can't mix the terms.

Less refers to a decrease (either qualitative or quantitative) of a singular collective. I feel less happy. There is less pollution. I ate less than normal.

Fewer refers to a decrease in the quantifiable members of a set. We have fewer employees. I ate fewer calories than normal. I have received fewer emails since the server crashed.

I just sat through a two hour meeting to which the words whom and fewer were apparently not invited. I really like this language, and while I may not always be its best advocate I certainly find some of its misuses to be grating.

Back to Work!

We're back! It was great! Etc, etc...

I moved offices Friday before going on vacation, in anticipation of our team (web) switching offices with the DBA team. Now that switch has been put on hold, so I'm stranded with the DBA's for a while. They comprise a number of my regular friends here, but I still feel isolated from my team.

Painting has re-commenced! Man, I need to make this more of a painting blog and less of a diary.

Weight loss! I have no idea how much I weigh now, but I do weigh less. Taking various people's advice into consideration, I did a little research on what "starvation mode" typically comprises, and am well above the accepted starvation range at 1000-1200 calories per day. Again, I can't really quantify how much I have lost but I'm clearly losing it, as evidenced by belt notch utilization. I'd like to say I feel better, but my recently discovered enlarged spleen is just a bit uncomfortable (rather like having a side-stitch most of the time.) I plan on getting a weight reading on 9/5 when I return to the doctor, and not before then.

Family Camp Time Again

Well, we're off to family camp tomorrow. I plan on taking my paints, just like last year, but I don't know if I'll get to use them.

Things I like about family camp:

• 24 hour coffee
• no dogs
• I don't have to cook
• in-depth bible study
• no dogs

The one thing I just can't seem to do at family camp is relax. A lot of the things that people like to do to relax just end up stressing me out.

Phantom Itch

I had a little dentistry done today, namely a crown and a filling replacement. The teeth in question were adjacent to each other, so the amount of anesthesia used was enough to make half my face numb for six hours. The problem came about 6:00 PM, when I experienced an itch on my lip. I went to scratch, but the spot where I thought the itch was located was still numb. I could have scratched until I bled and I wouldn't have felt a thing! It was, without exception, the most frustrating itch I have ever experienced. I could touch the very spot of the itch, and yet I couldn't scratch it.

Posthumous Advice

A manager got laid off here last week. Today, the department secretary and the person who acts as office manager were cleaning out her office as I walked by. At least a year before her departure, on a bulletin board next to the door, the ex-occupant of the office had posted a quote.

It is wise to keep in mind that neither success nor failure is ever final.
--Roger Babson

I'm sure that this seems wise as long as you are not suffering that sort of failure in this sort of economy. By this economy, I mean Michigan. It's bad here. It also might be unfair to brand it as failure, since it was an economically driven layoff. I'm sure it feels like failure. It would to me.

"Medical Week" continues for me. Yesterday I got fitted with an "event monitor" that I will be using to record unusual cardiac activity over the next 30 days. Honestly, I think my doctor was a bit alarmist setting me up with this thing. The sorts of issues I was having were tied inexorably to eating, and my current diet has kept the issues at bay for the past three weeks. I'm still experiencing the heartbeat increase, but the forceful pounding I was feeling is pretty much gone. It irritates me just a tad that I'm going to have to wear electrodes during the week we are at family camp. That's what I get for complaining, I suppose.

Visible!

Hopefully GW won't crush me for linking an image from their site.

My giant is posted on the GW website! It's on the Chicago Games Day 2007 coverage page, in "Honorable Mentions Page 2."

So check it out and say, "Hey! I know the guy who painted that!"

Impatient

Bear with my while I pace the floor awaiting the GW news site to be updated with more photos. I desperately want to see my giant there, and nearly a week after games day the irrational impatience is killing me. It's uncharacteristic of me, or at least I would like to think it is. It takes time to prepare photos for web display, and there were an awful lot of great models that got photographed.

Please enjoy the pretty flowers while we wait.

Off topic, my "get less fat" crusade has been going quite well. I've managed to stay at about 1000 calories a day and maintain daily brisk walks without a significant amount of hunger or regret. When I think about all the food I have decided not to eat in the past 11 days it gives me a startling realization of how many calories I was actually taking in per day. I wonder if there is a maximum caloric absorption limit, after which any potential calories you have ingested just pass through untouched. That theory is the only dubious rationale I can imagine to explain why I don't weigh 500 lbs. Family Camp is Aug. 11-19, and eating small portions when I have a buffet available three meals a day will be a challenge. Hopefully Stef can give me a little willpower nudge if needed.