Er, oops!

Posted in Random Rants on June 27th, 2010 by VitaminZinc

Yeah, ok, so I’m the only person who visits this site regularly, and I was just updating some stuff and cropping pics when I realized I have 8 things I need to add to the site. Reviews for EIGHT things. I don’t even think I remember what I was going to say about them now. So this should be pretty epically bad. I at least have some half-assed pictures of them, so maybe they’ll jog my memory…

Hopefully, I’ll be adding them soon enough. No promises, though.

Absence!

Posted in Random Rants on January 24th, 2010 by VitaminZinc

Ok. So, I’ve gotten a few new toys. None of which I’ve given my half-ass review for yet.

I’ve been busy with school, and work, and stuff (WoW). Anyway, hopefully this weekend I’ll get around to writing some stuff up. I’ve already got pictures taken of Transformers Alternity: Optimus Prime and Fullmetal Alchemist Roy Mustang figure.

Taking pictures is usually the hardest part for me. But, now that I’m in my last semester of school (for now) it’s taking more effort to stay on top of it since I’m actually interested in this stuff and want to do well in it. Go figure.

The Semester is Dead–Long Live the Semester!

Posted in Random Rants on November 29th, 2009 by VitaminZinc

So, the semester ends in about a week and a half. That means I have to deal with the fun of finals. Being in computer technology stuff makes me sad, because they actually have finals. Back when I was in graphic design it was final projects. I could spend a week putting together the most slap-dash POS and still get at least a B. With networking, I have to kind of try because it’s all stuff I should remember. My problem is that if I’m not actively using this information over and over, then it’s forgotten. So, do I remember anything about Cisco routers for my exam? Not particularly–but that’s not what worries me. My issue is subnetting a virtual network and getting everything functioning for 20% of my grade.

And once that’s all done, I get to turn around and go back a month later to another semester. This semester may be more fun, though. I’m in a network security class that has us doing ‘war games’. We try to hack the other teams’ while we defend our networks from them. Sounds excellent. And might I say, it sounds like a fitting end to college for now since after this next semester I’ll have my Network Admin degree. And then I’ll be doubly overqualified for what I do. Wooo.

RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE, ALTERED BLOG!

Posted in Random Rants, Toy Reviews on November 15th, 2009 by VitaminZinc

I’ve seriously got nothing new to talk about here. I haven’t drawn anything. I’ve finished my workbench. That’s about it. Oh, and I put up some shelves the other day.

Recent obsession of collection is Transformers. Not the old ones, cause I can’t afford those. I’ve been getting the newer ones, which are still ridiculously expensive. I think it all started when I saw good ol’ City Commander Ultra Magnus. I had no intent on getting caught up on toys again after I finished getting through a GI Joe phase. But, damn… come on. This toy looks amazing! So, naturally, I checked into it. Apparently, you need to have Classics Ultra Magnus, which was a repaint of Optimus Prime, and was exclusive to Target. I thought to myself, “Hey… I saw these all over the place. No one wanted that crap…”

And, no one did–until Fansprojects made this add-on trailer. Now, Ultra Magnus goes for $40+. The toy itself is freakin’ gorgeous when you get this add-on. I have to give them props for making something that should have come with the figure to begin with. Even at $90, I feel like it’s completely worth it. The only downside being, you need to have Ultra Magnus (or one of the other Optimus Prime molds) for this to work. There are various armors available. They have one for Prime, and it’s in red and blue. One for Nemesis Prime, that’s grey and black, and green-ish. And then this one, which is the original.. for Ultra Magnus. I’ve seen pictures of people who have all three of them, but to me that just seems like a waste to triple-dip on the same figure.

BBTS.com is having an anniversary sale on anything that’s not a pre-order, or new. The ‘Powered Commander’ armor is on sale for $100, which is a good price. BUT, after looking at various reviews on youtube, it just doesn’t look as good. None of them look as good as the City Commander armor. So, grats to me, I just saved $100.

Now, they just need to come out with Rodimus’ Protect armor, and Springer. I think the guys at fansprojects enjoy teasing Transformer fans with info way before these things ever come out.

Workbench… and stuff.

Posted in Random Rants on May 13th, 2009 by VitaminZinc

So, I actually started something and may finish it.

Since I’m slowly but surely trying my hand at carpentry/woodworking stuff, I decided to take the plunge and try to make a workbench. So far, so good! I have a frame done. I’d have the whole thing done, but all I have is a miter saw right now. So, I had to get the friendly people at Lowe’s to cut the MDF board I wanted as the top. MDF board is pretty rough on blades as is, and I’m sure the Lowe’s saw gets used like a dirty whore, so it was really no surprise that halfway through cutting that it died. So, no workbench top for me last week. I did go back on Monday to pick up the tops, though.

So, today after work, I get to glue the two 3/4″ boards together and let that sit overnight, and hopefully, if all goes according to plan, I’ll have an awesome indestructible (not really) top for my workbench. What’s going to suck is screwing it into place. MDF isn’t known for its screw holding abilities, but I’m fairly certain if I predrill my holes, I’ll be fine. We’ll see.

It’s just one more step toward doing something fun with my life that still nets me money. I figure I’ll start off small on the projects, then work my way to bigger projects–like furniture, and hopefully that whole prop business I wanted to get into, which apparently someone is already doing, and is really good at it. Go figure!

So… We meet again…

Posted in Random Rants on April 9th, 2009 by VitaminZinc

I started playing Warcraft again. Blaaarrrghhhh. I was actually doing kinda well with not playing it at all. But then I kinda got the flu. And my options were to lay in bed and sleep all damn day, or prop my head up with my arm and mindlessly click away. Granted, this was a few weeks back now. So I’ve been back in the fray of WoW for far too long. And the sad thing is, I’ve nothing better to do at all. It’s either watch Battlestar Galactica and play WoW, or do something constructive. Usually WoW wins.

But, on the rare occassion I want to be creative, I kind of end up playing with Legos. That’s right, my collecting obsession has led me to a very old, very distant friend. I never got a whole lot of Legos cause I was more into action figures–not to mention Legos have always cost an arm and a leg. But, when I was smooth enough to get my parents to get Legos, they were the awesome, huge sets that could be used for any myriad of different creations. Anyway, point being–after pulling out the Legos to sort through them, I felt the need to buy a new set. All’s well and good, cause, ya know, I buy a set like… once a year, just for kicks. Well, this time when I bought one, it made me want to buy another. And that’s when I realized I had no addicition at the time. I wasn’t playing WoW, I wasn’t throwing money at DVDs, and I wasn’t saving for anything except bills. So, I think that’s when my brain decided it was time to buy Legos.

The good news is, at least they’re somewhat more useful than an action figure. I guess I should get back to working on my portfolio sometime. Blah. Of course, I do have 4 days off in a row–every week. So, even being a complete slacker, I should be able to slowly but surely make some things. Or something.

Yeargh. Still alive.

Posted in Random Rants on January 10th, 2009 by VitaminZinc

Ok, it’s a new year. I haven’t posted shit in ages. Why? Because …I haven’t done anything. Surprise! =D

Sad truth is, I’m still playing WoW, working full time, and doing school in my spare time as a hobby. So, between all of that, I sort of read comics, and… think about artsy stuff. That’s right. I only think about it. I think “Hey, I should work on that drawing… …Oh, wait. Nevermind. That requires me to open Photoshop… Well, WoW’s open already. Guess I’ll keep doing that!”

That’s not EXACTLY how it goes, but it’s close enough. I have worked on cleaning up the Ophelia drawing some, and I’m about… 40% done on the line work. No real ETA on that.

I wish I had more boring, less addictive hobbies. I also wish Frappuccino didn’t leave some god-awful after -taste in my mouth. Seriously.

So, I’d post what I’ve got done just so I can show you (me–since I’m the only one reading this, and only as a proofread before posting) that I can draw lips that don’t look completely wrong and horrible!

In other news, Christmas was kinda boring, but good since I did get Transformers: Animated Ultra Magnus. It’s what I asked for, and it’s what I got. Can’t complain! However, I can complain about how bad the economic times are that random, homeless people who are probably on drugs think it’s ok to hang out where I work because it’s open 24/7. Let me tell you–it’s fucking stressful to know someone is there for the hell of it because it’s cold outside, and not because they want anything. I normally ask them to leave after a while, and they’re on their way, and it’s all good. But the dude I asked to leave last night was fucking out of his god damn mind. Listening to him mummble to himself when he thought no one was listening was kind of frightening–mainly because I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but I’m pretty sure I heard something about cutting off arms and legs, and then some random something about a penis. All I know is, if the guy shows up again tonight, I’m calling the cops. Fucking loiterers.

Money, money, money

Posted in Random Rants on August 11th, 2008 by VitaminZinc

Just like anyone, I have an ongoing list of things I’d like to buy. The problem I have is that at this point in my life, everything costs a fuckton of cash. I’ve got this really nice PC pieced together on newegg.com, but I lack the funds to finalize the purchase for the core hardware. I’ve already got the case and heatsink fan ready to go. Problem with this is, I need another grand to finish it off. $800 if I leave off the monitor I want.

The other thing I want is a HDTV. I have a PS3, but I’m playing it with a normal TV. It still looks nice enough, but certain things are near impossible to read in GTA4.

The last thing I want is a USS Flagg. That’s right, a Flagg. If you don’t know what that is, lemme tell you about this marvel of GI Joe toys. It’s an aircraft carrier that measure around 7.5 feet long. This mammoth of plastic was the dream of every kid–well, those that knew about it. I wasn’t really in the loop as far as Joes went, and this came out when I was like… 2 or 3, so I didn’t know about it. Thing is, I want one to finish off my collection. I collect a lot of GI Joes just cause I never had them as a kid–which is a bit silly, but I don’t like to feel like I’ve missed something, so I’m getting them as I can now.

This is a little better than my comic collecting spree a few years back because of the fact that they don’t make GI Joes anymore (25th Anniversary doesn’t count!), so I’ll eventually be done with it. Not to mention, I don’t want all of them. I just want the vehicles I thought looked badass. There are quite a few that I thought were very boring. “It’s a jeep. Wow, great. What’s it do? 4 wheels and a gun, you say? …That’s kind of … normal. No thanks.” I was all about the massive tanks that split into multiple pieces and had escape pods, and formed bases. Stuff that wasn’t realistic in the least–but looked cool. That’s what GI Joe is to me.

So, what’s keeping me from just finishing off these purchases and being done and moving on to saving for a house of my own? Weeeeeell, I have normal bills, which takes about a third of my income. And the rest is taken by ninjas! God damn ninjas! Actually, it’s taken by large amounts of small purchases I make on stupid shit. I’ve never been in the negative, cause I do know how to manage my money extremely well. But I never seem to be able to just save money.

Which, this really cuts into my money now, cause I’m taking 4 classes this semester. Pretty sure I’m going to have to drop one just because I don’t have the time for 4 classes and a full time job. But either way, these classes I’m taking are freaking expensive! The books cost between $80 and $120 a piece. Bye-bye random spending money! I shall see you again next month!

School Books & Motivation

Posted in Art, Random Rants on August 6th, 2008 by VitaminZinc

So, my classes start in a few weeks and I decided to check and see what books I need. I can usually get them pretty cheap off Amazon–well, I used to–as a design student. Design books are pretty cheap, cause anyone can design, I guess. My networking books for this semester, by Amazon.com/college bookstore prices, would be around $350. That… is a lot of money to pay for books. It makes me sad in the wallet. I don’t mind paying for stuff, but damn, this stuff is expensive. So, I’ve decided to scour eBay in hopes of picking up some of the costlier books at a bargain price. Normally, I’m not one to do that for books–but at near $100 a piece for these books, I can’t afford that and my expensive nerd habits! I could ask my grandma for some money for the books–and she’d gladly give it to me to further my education, but that just seems wrong at this point. I have a full-time job and waste so much money that I could have saved. So I’m getting my books myself.

In other news, like I always do after updating my site–I wanted to post some artsy stuff. So, in order to post that kind of stuff, I’d need to have something new to post! I couldn’t think of a damn thing I wanted to draw. I sat here, looking for inspiration, and thought of nothing at all.

Although, my interest in nerd props has risen again. The last few weeks, I’ve been looking over stuff on how to make molds and replicating stuff like that. It’s pretty interesting stuff, and there’s way more that goes into it than I had previously thought about. It’s also way more expensive to get into than I thought. I’ve considered a few different ways of going about this–one is wooden props. But I wasn’t sure how the time vs. product thing would pan out. Plaster doesn’t seem that durable, and if I’m making props for people, I want them to last. I want them to take a beating. I’m a big fan of moving pieces, and exactness, so it’s kind of hard to think of a way to make a replica of something come out as nice as possible without a tradeoff of time. But then I start wondering… What if no one wants it? Wouldn’t that suck if I spent weeks or months working on a Wolfwood ‘Punisher’ Cross (from Trigun, ya know?) and no one was willing to pay what I wanted out of it? I guess the only way to find out is to start off small and see how it goes from there.

In other news, I’ve been playing Wii Fit everyday that I’m able for at least 30-minutes a day. I haven’t seen any real results yet, but I do feel a little better. That may just be because I stopped chugging down the caffeine everyday. Meh–we’ll see.

First! …Well, maybe not…

Posted in Random Rants on August 5th, 2008 by VitaminZinc

Ok, so it’s not really my first post here, since I did do a test one first. But, like that really matters.

I used to have a pretty extensive and drawn out site here, but honestly–no one reads this. It’s all just for my own archiving purposes. So there’s no need for all the extra trash I had sitting around. Now, it’s just a blog site. Perfect, if you ask me. Everything can be as organized as I want, it”s easy to update from anywhere, and I don’t have to worry about actually coding anything.

Normally, I’d enjoy the coding, but I don’t have time for that anymore. I barely have time to sleep, considering the amount of things I like to get done in a weekend, or in my time off from work. I really don’t have to worry too much about troubleshooting, aside from trying to get this crap to work in the first place.

I feel kinda limited by what I could do with my database with my current webhost, and I’m too stubborn to just ask them where the option is for some of the stuff. Either way, I got this thing working after about an hour of tweaking it and reading help files, etc.

I would say that I’ll be updating this more often, but we all know that’s a lie. I’ll just do it when I’m bored at work, or something else.

Also, the title, since I can’t come up with anything better at the moment, is an allusion to www.drhorrible.com ; which is an awesome musical created by Joss Whedon, and starring Neal Patrick Harris. By now, it’s probably no longer free, but I’m sure you can find a free version somewhere on the interwebz.