CV: Orlando, Fl Aug 12-15. It's going to be a hot one, for sure!!
I gave my friend Drew the $100 deposit for the condo already (four condos across the street from the convention center, 20 spots, already filling up fast). Rest is due first week of June (total $150 for the WHOLE WEEK! not per night! heeeheee). I have a little time after the holidays to get my con tickets ($120). Already posted onto several forums that I'm now in the "delivery" business for CV. Taking the RV, towing the 5X8 trailer, transporting alot of props/costumes/weapons/tools/etc. Oh, AL too. And any other droid that wants to keep him company on the long four-day road trip.
This Saturday I have the FIRST Lego Colorado Championships to go to, so I've been doing some final painting. AL is still static, but he looks good. Hopefully some of these kids can give me a clue on how to hook up my remote (another heeeheee). Back to working on AL.... hopefully on Friday I can get his battery hoses, battery boxes, and the third back-dome HP on. Still no camera, so just my great typing skills to keep everyone informed.
Until next time,
Jawa Jaka
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Chapter 3, part 12
Part 12:
Glug klunked faster back in and told Peety that it was OK to put everything back again. Oh great, will I ever get some sleep, Glug? Peety reluctantly put everything back based on his blurry photos. Glug even found and fixed a couple picture frames and had some of the photos hung nicely on the wall. Peety was a little miffed about this, but soon took a little pride in his photo works. It was starting to look like home. Home. Neither of them ever had a home before. And soon Jaka would join them in their new home.
Glug found and fixed some curtains (a pretty shimmery silvery blue fabric with tiny gold Noobian crests all over it), laid out a piece of old stained red carpet at the entrance, and pieced together a couple of chairs with some old boards and more nails. While Glug was nesting in his new house, Peety was busy organizing all the tools. Most of them he had used before during the podraces, but somehow he knew Jaka wasn't a podracer. What was Jaka up to anyway? Why did he need us droids? We're not here just to look after this crumbly shop. So, what's his plan?
Jaka did have a plan, and that was not to tell too much of his plan. If he did the Imperial troops would be ontop of him in no time, probably killing him. His first priority was to rescue AL. It was his droid now, not the Empire's. He pushed the landspeeder as fast as it would go, pretending to be a podracer, hoping he wouldn't crash. Jaka was a very cautious jawa, always planning ahead. Yet even he couldn't foresee the AT-AT's landing, and now making their way toward the crash site. Jaka knew it was only a matter of time before the Empire would get their droid back, and that would be very bad for all.
Glug klunked faster back in and told Peety that it was OK to put everything back again. Oh great, will I ever get some sleep, Glug? Peety reluctantly put everything back based on his blurry photos. Glug even found and fixed a couple picture frames and had some of the photos hung nicely on the wall. Peety was a little miffed about this, but soon took a little pride in his photo works. It was starting to look like home. Home. Neither of them ever had a home before. And soon Jaka would join them in their new home.
Glug found and fixed some curtains (a pretty shimmery silvery blue fabric with tiny gold Noobian crests all over it), laid out a piece of old stained red carpet at the entrance, and pieced together a couple of chairs with some old boards and more nails. While Glug was nesting in his new house, Peety was busy organizing all the tools. Most of them he had used before during the podraces, but somehow he knew Jaka wasn't a podracer. What was Jaka up to anyway? Why did he need us droids? We're not here just to look after this crumbly shop. So, what's his plan?
Jaka did have a plan, and that was not to tell too much of his plan. If he did the Imperial troops would be ontop of him in no time, probably killing him. His first priority was to rescue AL. It was his droid now, not the Empire's. He pushed the landspeeder as fast as it would go, pretending to be a podracer, hoping he wouldn't crash. Jaka was a very cautious jawa, always planning ahead. Yet even he couldn't foresee the AT-AT's landing, and now making their way toward the crash site. Jaka knew it was only a matter of time before the Empire would get their droid back, and that would be very bad for all.
Monday, November 2, 2009
SW Concert: A Real Treat
I just can't seem to keep up with this blog, darnit! LOL
Anyway, AL is still in pieces in the back of my car. He's going back to his room this Friday if it doesn't snow again. I did get his room and most of the garage cleaned out. Still can't park my car in the garage, too much stuff!
With my very busy schedule in October, I managed to find the time and money to go to the SW in Concert. My friend Drew scored big with a private box seat that held 20 enthusiastic fans. The only problem was a very large speaker hanging from the rafters blocking the upper right corner of the screen, not bad but annoying. The laser light show, displays, Anthony Daniels' great since of humor as the narrator, and the themes surrounding each played piece made up for that one little problem. I would definitely see it again. I now have to search ebay for that awesome R2-D2 bag, a very accurate image of him made completely out of instruments. My friend Kathy bought a very cute t-shirt of Leia holding a flute like her pistol. The program guide was awesome with full color page layouts with a great centerfold. I just wasn't going to pay the horrendous price for them, but ebay might have something (at least the tote bag).
What made the concert so much fun was the R2 Central group joining us. Brad, Syrena, Moose, and Jen made the long drive out west to see it with us. After the concert the five of us went to Casa Bonita, a mexican restaurant with cliff divers, caves, waterfalls, and a really cool haunted house. Jen couldn't believe her eyes! The Mariachi band played a cool happy birthday song for Brad, Syrena and I got stuffed on sopapillas, and Moose, well, he just was in awe of the whole experience, like a little kid in a candy store. Afterwards they took me home and I got to show them the house, the overcrowded garage, and AL's room. I think that was Jen's favorite room ("wow, ooooh, aahh, cool, etc...").
The whole experience was just lovely. I wish I can go back to Omaha next week for Nebraskon, but gotta save money for CV! And if they plan CV right, we'll be hitting DragonCon either the weekend before or after CV. Two major cons on the same trip!! Can AL handle it?
Until next time,
Jawa Jaka
This is an awesome picture of the light show, originally posted on the Mountain Garrison galleries. I'm sorry to say, I don't know who took it...
Go to www.mg501.com to see more great pictures.
Anyway, AL is still in pieces in the back of my car. He's going back to his room this Friday if it doesn't snow again. I did get his room and most of the garage cleaned out. Still can't park my car in the garage, too much stuff!
With my very busy schedule in October, I managed to find the time and money to go to the SW in Concert. My friend Drew scored big with a private box seat that held 20 enthusiastic fans. The only problem was a very large speaker hanging from the rafters blocking the upper right corner of the screen, not bad but annoying. The laser light show, displays, Anthony Daniels' great since of humor as the narrator, and the themes surrounding each played piece made up for that one little problem. I would definitely see it again. I now have to search ebay for that awesome R2-D2 bag, a very accurate image of him made completely out of instruments. My friend Kathy bought a very cute t-shirt of Leia holding a flute like her pistol. The program guide was awesome with full color page layouts with a great centerfold. I just wasn't going to pay the horrendous price for them, but ebay might have something (at least the tote bag).
What made the concert so much fun was the R2 Central group joining us. Brad, Syrena, Moose, and Jen made the long drive out west to see it with us. After the concert the five of us went to Casa Bonita, a mexican restaurant with cliff divers, caves, waterfalls, and a really cool haunted house. Jen couldn't believe her eyes! The Mariachi band played a cool happy birthday song for Brad, Syrena and I got stuffed on sopapillas, and Moose, well, he just was in awe of the whole experience, like a little kid in a candy store. Afterwards they took me home and I got to show them the house, the overcrowded garage, and AL's room. I think that was Jen's favorite room ("wow, ooooh, aahh, cool, etc...").
The whole experience was just lovely. I wish I can go back to Omaha next week for Nebraskon, but gotta save money for CV! And if they plan CV right, we'll be hitting DragonCon either the weekend before or after CV. Two major cons on the same trip!! Can AL handle it?
Until next time,
Jawa Jaka
This is an awesome picture of the light show, originally posted on the Mountain Garrison galleries. I'm sorry to say, I don't know who took it...
Go to www.mg501.com to see more great pictures.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
So, it's been a while. Went to Bubonicon the last weekend of August, but still no camera. There was some mass confusion on where AL was suppose to go. For a few hours on Friday he ended up in the main hallway where con-goers could take pics. Since the hotel is right next to the airport, quite a few airline pilots came in through the side door where AL was standing. One pilot lamented to his co-pilot "I should replace you with him!" as he was pointing to AL. Everyone had fun with him until the "con people" (those in charge) asked me politely to remove him. I requested to keep him there in the hallway until the 501st shows up. They finally showed up about 7:00pm, hauling AL on a hotel cart at about 8:00pm to the 501st room, which was locked most of the time (great security, but lousy if you want to show off your droid).
Bubonicon was very much like Mile Hi con, a literary convention with lots of local writers and comic book artists. The theme was "zombie", and it seemed if you weren't in a zombie or steampunk or steampunked zombie costume, you weren't getting into the costume contest. Steampunk was all the rage with these guys. The Trekkies and SW fans basically stayed to themselves in their suites.
Things didn't pick up for me until the Droid Hunt Saturday afternoon. I had heard about it, but never seen one in action. I stayed with AL in the 501st con suite where the hunt was taking place and kinda helped as much as possible. Quite a few people in the hunt stopped to ask about AL and the R2BC. One 501st member asked a bunch of questions and took lots of pics. I found out he was one of those that approves costumes, so I asked him a bunch of questions. I wish I could remember his name, nice guy. Seems my jawa outfit is almost ready according to him (based on a couple lousy pictures). I also got a very strong idea from my friend Lionel to do an Imperial Officer uniform. It's not an easy costume, but one I can do. One female showed a lot of interest in building her own R2, but is leaning towards an R5. She took my card and the only R2BC brochure I had left (gotta print out some more of those), very serious about it. Some others showed interest but didn't want to spend any money. If I have just one new R2BC recruit then I did my job at a con. Seems I might have done it quite well at this con, and I didn't even have a table or was displayed at the actually con!
Met so many of the ALB 501st, all of them very nice and very excited to have AL as part of their droid hunt. I was glad to help out. If I go again it's because of them, not the con. I go to cons to hang out with those that are true scifi fans, not zombied vampirical literary types. But alas, with C5 coming up fast (next year, they say), I probably won't be able to afford it again next year. We'll see.....
Parts installed the week of Bubonicon:
shoulder horseshoes
shoulder details
foot details
step-drilled out larger holes for braided hoses (learned how to use step-drill bit, yipeee!)
drilled in holes and screwed on radar eye (so I didn't have to hot-glue it on anymore)
David Shaw's new power couplers
Wayne Orr's side vents
Ordered the second half of JEDI controller, and a "learn to solder" kit. Already got a soldering iron, now it's time to practice.
I think the booster covers were on and radar eye screwed on for Osfest, but I did realign the eye and redrilled/rescrewed on the eye. So, you see I have been working on AL, little by little. Still unpacking his room, though. Boy, dad and grandpa had lots of tools....
Until next time,
Jawa Jaka
Bubonicon was very much like Mile Hi con, a literary convention with lots of local writers and comic book artists. The theme was "zombie", and it seemed if you weren't in a zombie or steampunk or steampunked zombie costume, you weren't getting into the costume contest. Steampunk was all the rage with these guys. The Trekkies and SW fans basically stayed to themselves in their suites.
Things didn't pick up for me until the Droid Hunt Saturday afternoon. I had heard about it, but never seen one in action. I stayed with AL in the 501st con suite where the hunt was taking place and kinda helped as much as possible. Quite a few people in the hunt stopped to ask about AL and the R2BC. One 501st member asked a bunch of questions and took lots of pics. I found out he was one of those that approves costumes, so I asked him a bunch of questions. I wish I could remember his name, nice guy. Seems my jawa outfit is almost ready according to him (based on a couple lousy pictures). I also got a very strong idea from my friend Lionel to do an Imperial Officer uniform. It's not an easy costume, but one I can do. One female showed a lot of interest in building her own R2, but is leaning towards an R5. She took my card and the only R2BC brochure I had left (gotta print out some more of those), very serious about it. Some others showed interest but didn't want to spend any money. If I have just one new R2BC recruit then I did my job at a con. Seems I might have done it quite well at this con, and I didn't even have a table or was displayed at the actually con!
Met so many of the ALB 501st, all of them very nice and very excited to have AL as part of their droid hunt. I was glad to help out. If I go again it's because of them, not the con. I go to cons to hang out with those that are true scifi fans, not zombied vampirical literary types. But alas, with C5 coming up fast (next year, they say), I probably won't be able to afford it again next year. We'll see.....
Parts installed the week of Bubonicon:
shoulder horseshoes
shoulder details
foot details
step-drilled out larger holes for braided hoses (learned how to use step-drill bit, yipeee!)
drilled in holes and screwed on radar eye (so I didn't have to hot-glue it on anymore)
David Shaw's new power couplers
Wayne Orr's side vents
Ordered the second half of JEDI controller, and a "learn to solder" kit. Already got a soldering iron, now it's time to practice.
I think the booster covers were on and radar eye screwed on for Osfest, but I did realign the eye and redrilled/rescrewed on the eye. So, you see I have been working on AL, little by little. Still unpacking his room, though. Boy, dad and grandpa had lots of tools....
Until next time,
Jawa Jaka
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Osfest 2009
I had one of the greatest times of my life this past weekend. About a dozen droids, including a T3 from Kansas City, MO were present. Patches looked great, and PD is coming along nicely (see pics on http://www.r2-cm.com/). Not one, but TWO K.I.T.T. cars were there, fully functional and talking to each other. Brad Edmonds (http://r2k2000.blogspot.com/), builder of the K.I.T.T. from seasons 1 and 2 from the original series, let me sit in his car. I could feel the power (well, almost).
Both panels on Sunday were fantastic. The first was just lining up our droids on the stage and talking about our droids, answering questions, letting the audience pick our brains, etc. Later in the day, on LC's request, I gave a 45 min presentation on R2-KT. It was in the boardroom and seemed to be quite crowded. I was pretty satisfied with the power point presentation, but would like to tweek it for future talks.
Usually I don't go to any panels except the ones I'm involved with. This year was not the case. Since it was the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing (has it been that long?) I decided to go to as many panels on the topic of space exploration as I could. Two of them was presented by a lovely woman named Bridgette who is heavily involved with the Cassini project. That's the probe studying Saturn and it's moons. Yep, they found another moon, one that looked like a lemon with a lengthwise seam. That picture woke me up!!! So, I got myself lots of Saturn moon trading cards and bookmarks, and learned lots about Saturn, my favorite planet. What girl wouldn't want a ring like that?! A third panel was on heavy model rocketry by the local model rocket builders. Long time ago, in high school, I too was in a local model rocket club. I sure miss it. Of course, I didn't launch anything like a 1/3 scale Delta rocket like these guys. These rockets were massive!!
I missed out on the Star Wars plot lines panel, mainly because I was too busy getting ready for the costume contest. Ahhh, the costume contest! Disco Padme! We even found the Disco Star Wars music to go with it! And I danced on stage! Moose later said he would never look at me in the same light again.... I sometimes crack myself up.
One of the best part of this trip was the two friends I was traveling with. Drew taught me and his wife, Krys, how to drive the RV. A lot different driving a 35 foot beast. At one point Krys decided to "talk" to the beast, and came up with a name for it, one that it liked apparently. It's now Lady Blaze (it's also a female RV apparently, and likes to blaze a trail). I like it, too. We arrived behind the hotel late Thursday evening, got Lady Blaze all set up, and went to bed early. The next morning Drew and I had all of AL's tools and parts on the table under the awning trying to put his wheels on. Friday afternoon the R2 Central group found us outside the RV door working in what has to be the most unique traveling astromech lab. I love my RV!!
For a wrap-up party we all went to Brad's house for a pool party and BBQ. I went with Moose to help unload the droids at his house, while Drew drove the RV to Brad's. After some good food, pool antics, and just great fun, Lady Blaze got back on the road home, stopping at a rest stop somewhere to get some rest before reaching home Monday evening. All three of us were wiped out, a sign of a really great con.
Unfortunately, the pivot on the mirror of my camera sensor is broken and will cost a great deal to repair, not to mention the time to get the part. As a result I didn't have my camera. You can see pics at http://www.r2-cm.com/ and http://r2k2000.blogspot.com/. I believe there are a few at http://www.r2-nu.com/ as well. Our group photog, Denny, should have a lot up soon if not already. I'll edit this post as soon as I remember his website. In the meantime, here is one I stole from one of the mentioned sites. We now have three lady builders in the R2 Central with a fourth really wanting to start soon. Now I just got to find the time to drive out to Omaha again for one of their build days, maybe one of Brad's electronic workshop.
Jen (Moose's girlfriend), me and AL, and Serena (Brad's wife)
AL's next event: October 24th and 25th, Star Wars Fan Days, Plano, TX. Gotta meet Don Bies.
Until next time,
Jawa Jaka
Edit: OK, I found Denny's blog with a few pics: http://falcon-one-photo.blogspot.com/. It's now in AL's Friends list.
Both panels on Sunday were fantastic. The first was just lining up our droids on the stage and talking about our droids, answering questions, letting the audience pick our brains, etc. Later in the day, on LC's request, I gave a 45 min presentation on R2-KT. It was in the boardroom and seemed to be quite crowded. I was pretty satisfied with the power point presentation, but would like to tweek it for future talks.
Usually I don't go to any panels except the ones I'm involved with. This year was not the case. Since it was the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing (has it been that long?) I decided to go to as many panels on the topic of space exploration as I could. Two of them was presented by a lovely woman named Bridgette who is heavily involved with the Cassini project. That's the probe studying Saturn and it's moons. Yep, they found another moon, one that looked like a lemon with a lengthwise seam. That picture woke me up!!! So, I got myself lots of Saturn moon trading cards and bookmarks, and learned lots about Saturn, my favorite planet. What girl wouldn't want a ring like that?! A third panel was on heavy model rocketry by the local model rocket builders. Long time ago, in high school, I too was in a local model rocket club. I sure miss it. Of course, I didn't launch anything like a 1/3 scale Delta rocket like these guys. These rockets were massive!!
I missed out on the Star Wars plot lines panel, mainly because I was too busy getting ready for the costume contest. Ahhh, the costume contest! Disco Padme! We even found the Disco Star Wars music to go with it! And I danced on stage! Moose later said he would never look at me in the same light again.... I sometimes crack myself up.
One of the best part of this trip was the two friends I was traveling with. Drew taught me and his wife, Krys, how to drive the RV. A lot different driving a 35 foot beast. At one point Krys decided to "talk" to the beast, and came up with a name for it, one that it liked apparently. It's now Lady Blaze (it's also a female RV apparently, and likes to blaze a trail). I like it, too. We arrived behind the hotel late Thursday evening, got Lady Blaze all set up, and went to bed early. The next morning Drew and I had all of AL's tools and parts on the table under the awning trying to put his wheels on. Friday afternoon the R2 Central group found us outside the RV door working in what has to be the most unique traveling astromech lab. I love my RV!!
For a wrap-up party we all went to Brad's house for a pool party and BBQ. I went with Moose to help unload the droids at his house, while Drew drove the RV to Brad's. After some good food, pool antics, and just great fun, Lady Blaze got back on the road home, stopping at a rest stop somewhere to get some rest before reaching home Monday evening. All three of us were wiped out, a sign of a really great con.
Unfortunately, the pivot on the mirror of my camera sensor is broken and will cost a great deal to repair, not to mention the time to get the part. As a result I didn't have my camera. You can see pics at http://www.r2-cm.com/ and http://r2k2000.blogspot.com/. I believe there are a few at http://www.r2-nu.com/ as well. Our group photog, Denny, should have a lot up soon if not already. I'll edit this post as soon as I remember his website. In the meantime, here is one I stole from one of the mentioned sites. We now have three lady builders in the R2 Central with a fourth really wanting to start soon. Now I just got to find the time to drive out to Omaha again for one of their build days, maybe one of Brad's electronic workshop.
Jen (Moose's girlfriend), me and AL, and Serena (Brad's wife)
AL's next event: October 24th and 25th, Star Wars Fan Days, Plano, TX. Gotta meet Don Bies.
Until next time,
Jawa Jaka
Edit: OK, I found Denny's blog with a few pics: http://falcon-one-photo.blogspot.com/. It's now in AL's Friends list.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Center Vents
Disclaimer: Camera needs professional cleaning, so NO teasing about hair/dust/etc on my photos.
I've been lagging in the blogging world as I continue to make my big move. Everything's in the house, just need lots of time to unpack. Meanwhile, I worked on my center vents. I took 80 grit sand paper to get the watermark dullness out of the Waterset vents. Then I used a medium course sand paper with my dremel to sand it down even further. A little polish paste with fine 180 grit on my dremel made them shiny! The louves had to be sanded down a bit to make them fit in the surround (more discussion on this on the astromech.net boards since I'm not the only one with a fitting problem). After getting everything fitted together, I used aluminum foil tape (found in the duct tape section) to tape everything together. You have to really look hard to see the tape, and I don't think anyone will look that closely, except other R2 builders, and they probably don't care....
Left, not sanded. Right, sanded. BIG difference.
Side view of how they go on the droid. You can really see the difference.
Bottom vent fitted and taped together. Not bad using foil tape...
Next week I'll be in Omaha for Osfest. I'm trying to make the big push to get AL walking/rolling. This weekend I'll definitely put in the R/C and hopefully I can get the Big Lots wheels to fit into the motor mounts. Wish me luck!
Until next time,
Jawa Jaka
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
FCBD 2009
I think this sign says it all! It was a previlage to hang out with Cal and the rest of the 501st up at Time Warps Comics in Boulder, CO. Once again, AL was a HUGE success as he was the only astromech there. Cal did bring his mouse droid (we dubbed him Rover) to keep AL company. Even though it was pouring rain all day, we had so much fun, even doing a bit of socializing out of costume at the ice cream shop around the corner (just to celebrate a little).
Lots of comic books. AL and I snatched five.
Since Time Warp is kinda off street, some of the 501st went to the street to wave people to the shop. Lots of honking....
The store manager helped AL keep dry (for a few minutes anyway).
Standing guard....
After considerable time under the eaves to keep dry, taking numerous pictures with adoring fans, he finally got his free comic book, a Star Wars one of course!
He held onto that comic for dear life! He was so proud of it....
He shared it with his new friend, Rover.
"AL wants to know if you got your free comic book, honey."
"What do we do with this little thing?" "Ah, just shoot him" Poor Rover!
Everyone had a good time, even the manager.
I actually put on a helmet for the first time. Tight fit, but looks good. AL was still holding onto that darn comic book, even at the end of the day.
Until next time,
Jawa Jaka
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