View RPoL: Beyond 2012 - OOC # 39 by Admiral Hack (group 0) (2024)

GM, 12556 posts

Tue 2 Apr 2024
at 08:28

• msg #1

OOC # 39

new thread

................

so? about 12:30.. we had a hunde4rstorm, and a couple the last few nights...anyway..Big bang and all of Mine 40 went black.

I have Comsact as my internet, Cable and Land line.. and verizon for my cell... i had to use the cel to calll Penelec..they said 3:30 power would be back on... 3:38 , it came back on...sheesh.

................

Justin? Not sure of all the PCs who might not go to the ball...but there is still shoreleave.. and the After party, i have to see if anything pops up.. The Next day is free time. except for those who wish to go to the 'Playground" for the weapons showcase. the last day will be The beach party

player, 1259 posts

Tue 2 Apr 2024
at 10:12

• msg #2

OOC # 39

GM, 12558 posts

Tue 2 Apr 2024
at 11:13

• msg #3

OOC # 39

player, 11338 posts

Wed 3 Apr 2024
at 03:29

• msg #4

OOC # 39

In reply to Admiral Hack (msg # 1):

Last week, when we were hanging lights, it was just barely warm enough to NOT snow, but it rained almost all week.

Today, it was pushing 60. Day after tomorrow? Supposed to be pushing 70.

And then the weather goes to hell again for the weekend.

I saw a meme someone shared that compared Winter/Spring this year to someone losing an argument, storming out of the room, and then coming back in a few seconds later, declaring, "And another thing!!!" Very apropos...

GM, 12559 posts

Wed 3 Apr 2024
at 04:24

• msg #5

OOC # 39

yeah.. so..yesterday the thunder storm and power outage that lasted until 3:30...

today, i get a message from Penelec that they be having a 'planned outage for 4 hours , to u date equiptment"..they coudn['t do that when they fixed it?

anyway, it rained like hell, so they didn't work, supposed to happen tomorrow morning now.

Grandaughters away track meet got cancell because of heavy rains..but they had practice here., thunderstorm for the 4th night in a row,, didn't last long..BUT.. rain tomorrow, and might turn to snow,

the old saying here, is ," if you don't like the weather in western PA, wait 15 minutes."

player, 1260 posts

Wed 3 Apr 2024
at 12:39

• msg #6

OOC # 39

GM, 12560 posts

Wed 3 Apr 2024
at 15:00

• msg #7

OOC # 39

player, 792 posts

Wed 3 Apr 2024
at 17:06

• msg #8

OOC # 39

GM, 12561 posts

Wed 3 Apr 2024
at 17:22

• msg #9

OOC # 39

saw somehting like that.. It showed three frames wth some one loking out the window.

1st Frame " October to March..snow"...2nd frame. April 1st to April 2nd summer! 3rd frame " April 3rd to september 30 winter!" don't know where it was from.

player, 4711 posts

Wed 3 Apr 2024
at 19:04

• msg #10

OOC # 39

we have the seasons here too, just a bit different.

ice age winter
break up spring
mosquito summer (also called fishing season)
wet fall (also called hunting/harvest time)

player, 11339 posts

Thu 4 Apr 2024
at 06:01

• msg #11

OOC # 39

There was a meme that started making the rounds with some of my friends...Pippin asking Merry if Aragorn knew about Second Winter (after we'd FINALLY had some significant snowfall that closed down golf courses for a few weeks, and then it warmed up enough for them to be clear and open...and then it snowed again and closed them down for, like three more weeks...)

It's midnight here, and 54deg out, and should probably break 70 tomorrow...and then we're supposed to have up to an inch of snow on Saturday...and then be back in the mid-50s by Tuesday.

GM, 12562 posts

Thu 4 Apr 2024
at 11:11

• msg #12

OOC # 39

GM, 12563 posts

Thu 4 Apr 2024
at 11:32

• msg #13

OOC # 39

player, 4714 posts

Thu 4 Apr 2024
at 20:46

• msg #14

OOC # 39

GM, 12564 posts

Thu 4 Apr 2024
at 21:04

• msg #15

OOC # 39

so..track meet called off early this morning..I had to go to Lowes to get a new fridge..it was leaking water al over the kitchen.. as i left , there was a bit of sun...when i got up where we play football. snow and sleet , are enough to collect on the car making 'tick tack' sounds.., leave the store after ordering. I get home..sun is bright ... just about all 4 seasons in about 90 minute

its 37..Middle Granddaughter says it supposed to snow again.

player, 2036 posts

Thu 4 Apr 2024
at 21:51

• msg #16

OOC # 39

player, 4652 posts

Thu 4 Apr 2024
at 23:04

• msg #17

OOC # 39

GM, 12565 posts

Fri 5 Apr 2024
at 11:17

• msg #18

OOC # 39

GM, 12566 posts

Fri 5 Apr 2024
at 18:23

• msg #19

OOC # 39

we play out songs when we attack....look at this!

............................

Six Russian warplanes obliterated in huge blow to Putin’s air force
©Provided by Metro
As they approached the military base, some of the Ukrainian drones started playing a German drinking song from the 1970’s, about staying drunk for seven days. Around 20 Russian personnel were killed or wounded in the attack, RBC Ukraine reports, and another eight aircraft suffered damage

Frontline bombers – Su-24, Su-24M, and Su-34 – are known to be routinely based at the airfield. They have been used to strike at Ukraine during the war. As of 4 April, some 26 Su-34 fighters and three Su-35 warplanes were stationed at the airbase, according to OSINT reports (Picture: Social media/east2west news)

player, 2037 posts

Fri 5 Apr 2024
at 18:37

• msg #20

OOC # 39

player, 4718 posts

Fri 5 Apr 2024
at 20:24

• msg #21

OOC # 39

player, 4884 posts

Fri 5 Apr 2024
at 21:02

• msg #22

OOC # 39

GM, 12567 posts

Fri 5 Apr 2024
at 21:04

• msg #23

OOC # 39

player, 4719 posts

Fri 5 Apr 2024
at 21:08

• msg #24

OOC # 39

player, 4885 posts

Fri 5 Apr 2024
at 21:13

• msg #25

OOC # 39

Yeah that was the biggest one around here in over 20 years \o/

Yes I am safe and my family and friends are safe ty Nikki \o/

I guess I was the closest to it of our group?

GM, 12569 posts

Fri 5 Apr 2024
at 23:50

• msg #26

OOC # 39

I guess..I am western PA on your side of Pittsburgh

.............

for that You Tube think i put up..some of the parts in there, remind me of Roy given Aliens a history lesson..the speaker could be Sanri or Occui

player, 4887 posts

Sat 6 Apr 2024
at 01:16

• msg #27

OOC # 39

GM, 12570 posts

Sat 6 Apr 2024
at 01:29

• msg #28

OOC # 39

player, 4720 posts

Sat 6 Apr 2024
at 02:58

• msg #29

OOC # 39

player, 11342 posts

Sat 6 Apr 2024
at 04:25

• msg #30

OOC # 39

We had a decent quake hit Salt Lake City back in 2020 (just under four years ago, now). I was at the park...they were installing a new ride and I got picked to be part of the install crew for the facade (it's a kids' ride, so it wasn't a HUGE project...not like the one I was helping finish up last year...)

I heard the rumble and thought someone was driving some heavy equipment past the building I was in...sounded like a front-end loader or something like that. Stepped outside and nothing was there...poked my head back inside and noticed the brooms and rakes that were hanging on the wall were all swaying back and forth, and then I looked outside and the plants were all swaying, even though there was no wind...

All my friends that live in Salt Lake, proper, were freaking out about it...but if I hadn't had to be at the park early for that install project (it hit just after 7am), I would have slept right through it, very likely.

And thunderstorms are fairly common here, but the worst ones I've ever been through were in the Midwest, or down on the Navajo Reservation. I'd rank the Midwest higher, because the storms on the reservation, while VERY intense, were also usually fairly short. The one my friends and I drove through when we went back to Minnesota? That was hours of driving through some of the heaviest rain I've ever experienced, with lightning flashing from somewhere around us every few seconds. I told my friends at one point that if it started hailing, we had to pull over and look for a ditch, because it was so dark that we could have been driving straight into a tornado and wouldn't be able to see it...when the lightning provided enough light, the windows were so rain-soaked that you couldn't really make out much. My friend was basically just following the stripes in the middle of the road because he couldn't see far enough ahead to follow the road, itself.

After that, thunderstorms in this part of the country seem comparatively mild.

player, 1261 posts

Sat 6 Apr 2024
at 09:06

• msg #31

OOC # 39

The first quake I experienced was in 1984 here in Cheshire early in the morning. I seemed to dream of an earthquake and woke with the thought "But we don't get them here" only there was one. Dearly beloved was hanging out the window counting... he thought someone had dropped a nuclear device on Manchester and was watching for a flash! We are about 40 miles from Manchester. Fortunately we did not become part of a radioactive cloud!

Since then I've been in quite a few, both here and in Greece. One there - on the island of Zakynthos - happened when I was in the bath and I sat watching the bathwater slosh around and decided to stay there until all was calm again. That was about a 5.

One time dearly beloved had gone to visit a client who was having network problems. They had a split site and used a radio link across a road. He was baffled, everything seemed to be working. He called home to say he didn't know how long he'd be, and I told him to check the orientation of the antennae as there had been an earthquake the night before. He muttered about them being omnidirectional, but checked anyway and... well, that was the problem!

player, 2039 posts

Sat 6 Apr 2024
at 11:14

• msg #32

OOC # 39

GM, 12571 posts

Sat 6 Apr 2024
at 12:59

• msg #33

OOC # 39

Yep Izzy...that's what that was like here..at the time we had Big Coal trucks that were carring Rocks and dirt passed my house to the end where it was a drop off to a field near the creek.

the House shook ,( old company-mine house )..the wodd creaks , noise upstairs light people ran through the house. and I was bymyself then... aabout 5 minutes later, I'm getting texted and Checked FB because people around here didn't know, or just found out about the quake. I can only imagine being in a 'real ' one

player, 4723 posts

Sun 7 Apr 2024
at 00:18

• msg #34

OOC # 39

player, 11344 posts

Sun 7 Apr 2024
at 05:15

• msg #35

OOC # 39

The most noteworthy thing, to me, about the one here four years ago was that, as a kid and growing into my teens, I remember at least two or three significant (for our area) quakes...like, looking up from the living room floor to see hanging lamps swaying kinds of quakes. And then, for decades, there was pretty much nothing (except increasing talk from seismologists about how the lack of quakes could actually be cause for alarm, because the longer we went without one, the more likely it was to be severe when we finally had one, from all the tension built up between the tectonic plates that was accumulating as each year went by without even minor tremors.

So it was weird, after having them happen often enough as a kid that I was pretty unfazed by the quake (literally, as soon as I realized it was a quake, my brain was like, "Well...nothing to be done about it. Don't stand inside, stuff might break loose and fall, but don't go too far away from the building, because stuff might tumble off from overhead. Right here in the exterior doorway is about as safe a place as you're gonna find..."), having one that was significant, but not exactly a real property-damaging shaker (a few buildings got cracks in facades, and a few streets got cracks in the pavement...but nothing had to be reconstructed or even have serious repair work done), and having most of the people I know on FB in the area freaking out about being in an earthquake, waking up to stuff falling off shelves (light stuff, at that), feeling their car kind of shimmy as they were driving, etc. Part of me was like, "Really? It wasn't THAT bad. Unusual, sure, but have you people looked at news reports about BAD earthquakes? This was nothing..." And part of me was understanding...they have no frame of reference. Most of them are young enough that they either weren't yet born or were too young to remember Utah's last cycle of seismic activity, so they couldn't even compare this one to others in the past.

And part of me was like, "People...come on. We live ON A FAULT LINE. Quakes are gonna happen. Be glad this one just scared your aquarium fish. They've been telling us for years an earthquake was coming, and this was WAY less than what they had predicted." Sometimes being a pragmatist can cause some oddly conflicting emotional responses to situations...

GM, 12572 posts

Sun 7 Apr 2024
at 05:22

• msg #36

OOC # 39

one of my kids asked me 'where is the safest place to live.." i said 'There isn;t"

" Textas? "... I sai.. droughts , hurriances and too many texans.

"Rhode island"... I said... flooded and 'tail end Hurricanes"

Connecticut .. snow, hurricanes

Daughter is in NC.. Hurricanes..Oldest Boy.. FLA , same thing, Plus too many Florida folks

a woman who was on of mu best friends in online gaming. Mississippi.. floods, hurricanes and..where she lives, they get snow some time, about 19 years agout her pipes froze..they don't have basem*nts where she lives ..the crawel spaces become deep freezes.

we heard about Garret and the oregon fires,,,Kansas was so many tornados they made a movie about a girl and her dog....pick a state.. it has something bad.

player, 11345 posts

Sun 7 Apr 2024
at 06:29

• msg #37

OOC # 39

I was in Sweden when the big quakes hit California in the summer of '89...made the new reports over there, even, with collapsed overpasses and buildings partly destroyed. I remember one of the people I knew over there was absolutely beside herself about it...she asked me how it could happen and I pointed out that big quakes in California were not uncommon (if memory serves, this one was in the San Francisco area, but there had been other quakes down near LA a few years before, and I think another fairly serious quake hit the LA area a few years later...), and they tried to prepare for them, but there's really only so much you can prepare when the ground you're building on starts to move around relative to other parts of the same building...

"So why in the world would anyone decide to live there?"

I just kind of shrugged, and pointed out the same kind of thing you did, Don...people there ask why anyone would live in Sweden when there are parts of the country that don't even see daylight for several weeks out of the year. Japan, Taiwan, Macau...popular tourist destinations for Swedes...all have a monsoon season and get hit with storms that would level some of the buildings in Sweden. Iceland is literally an active volcano, it's just that the island has gotten large enough that there's some distance from the vents of the volcano. "Pick a place, anywhere on the planet, and there's an argument to be made for why it's not a safe place to live. They know the risks and are willing to live with them."

player, 4726 posts

Sun 7 Apr 2024
at 21:44

• msg #38

OOC # 39

Whhooo-Hooo! got blue skies and sunshine today. 43 on my porch. gorgeous!!

yesterday was on again/ off again snow-rain mix, overcast. the high was maybe 31. like today better.

player, 4659 posts

Sun 7 Apr 2024
at 22:30

• msg #39

OOC # 39

player, 4727 posts

Sun 7 Apr 2024
at 23:12

• msg #40

OOC # 39

player, 4660 posts

Sun 7 Apr 2024
at 23:57

• msg #41

OOC # 39

player, 4728 posts

Mon 8 Apr 2024
at 01:23

• msg #42

OOC # 39

player, 11346 posts

Tue 9 Apr 2024
at 03:52

• msg #43

OOC # 39

Ah, I'm back in one of my less-favorite positions at the park...the voice of pragmatism.

One of the tasks on our to-do list for this year is to repaint the stage. Sounds simple enough, right?

Well, last time they had the stage painted, they also had a clear-coat put over it, theoretically to improve the longevity of the paint (it worked fairly well, but they've been talking about repainting the stage every year since they had that done because, while it looks lovely when it's brand new, that high-gloss finish shows every scuff mark, ding, scrape, peeled-up tape mark, and any one of the dozen or so other ways you can ruin a stage floor finish to EXTREME degrees. There's a reason most theaters don't use gloss paint for their stage floors (it also throws weird light reflections, but that apparently isn't an issue with our lighting designer, although he's the only one I've worked with who's never complained about a shiny stage floor).

Last time, they put up plastic around the stage for the winter, the HVAC guys set up some big forced-air propane furnaces to heat it, and the painters took their time getting it done. The clear-coat was the big problem...it is supposed to be applied and remain at temperatures over 60F so that it can cure properly. There are only three days in the forecast for the next two weeks where the temperature is supposed to get above 60, much less stay there for the length of time the coat needs to cure (at least twelve hours before a recoat, and 24 hours before using the floor, if I recall the directions correctly). So, I have concerns about that, because we don't really have the option of putting up the plastic and heating it the same way...we have lights hanging where they attached the plastic last time. So, we may have to forego the clear-coat (or maybe find a less-durable alternative that's not so fussy about its application conditions...)

The clear-coat, itself, is a problem for more than just that reason, though...since we put a clear-coat over the last layer of paint, that's a different formula from the paint, I'm not sure if the new paint will stick to it without some kind of floor prep...scuff-sanding the floor. And nobody's said anything about that so far (I just sent an email to the entire production team to ask about it and express my concerns...), so we may be stuck with the 'slap it on and pray it sticks' approach. That's how most theaters handle their stage floors...but they also don't generally use a non-acrylic-based 'armor coat' over the paint...they just repaint the floor with a new layer of paint, and the acrylic bonds to the acrylic that was there before.

And on top of that, we're having some renovation work done to the theater, and changing the shape of the upstage wall (it currently angles out toward the audience as you get off-stage and into the wings...the stage was originally just a band-stand, and that was desirable to direct the sound of the band toward the audience, but our producer/director wants to use some magic illusions that won't fit through that off-stage opening, so they need to make it wider, and those walls aren't actually structural, so it's a relatively easy fix...) Except the park's carpenters came down and took all the wood off the stage side of the wall, discovered there was some electrical stuff in there, and put the whole project on hold until the electricians came and removed the wiring so the walls could be demolished. And that meant that, rather than just saying, 'Okay, go work on this other stuff until this is a viable option again," they basically rotated us to the bottom of the priority list. The electricians have been done for most of a week, and the carpenters haven't even come to take a look at what their next step is.

And since this project is going to result in more stage floor, we can't paint until they're done, at least with the on-stage stuff (they could do all that and then work on the rest backstage while we paint, but I'm not holding my breath...)

Now, our deadline to finish the stage floor painting? A week from now. So my email was, basically, "So, are we actually doing any sort of prep work on the floor? And that deadline isn't happening, because the carpenters are nowhere close to done and Mother Nature has decided to have seasonal weather in April this year for a change. So how do you want to proceed?" Theoretically, this was all going to be done by next week, so that the illusions that we were theoretically going to move down to the stage by now could be used on stage for early rehearsals. The illusions are still up in the Opera House (which we use as a combination rehearsal area and workshop space) because we don't want to risk them getting damaged or filled with sawdust when the carpenters are rebuilding the new wall sections. We don't have a stage curtain up yet because we don't want to fill it up with sawdust (or have the carpenters snag it with lumber they're taking out or bringing in). And once they decide they're going to start rehearsing down there, painting the stage isn't going to happen, no matter the temperature (at least, not with the clear-coat they bought.)

So, yeah. I'm just a little stressed about it. I mean, if it doesn't get painted, I'm fine with that. They actually bought all the paint for it last year, thinking they would get the painters to do it then, and it just never worked in the schedule. So I'm okay with sticking the paint back in a corner for another year and taking a more practical approach to it (like heating the space so we can paint it in the middle of winter, when NOBODY is using the stage for anything...) Or maybe getting an acrylic-based clear-coat that doesn't require days to apply and cure (I've used Polycrylic on stage floors before, quite successfully). I mean, not every project requires that you buy one of the most expensive products available to do the job (I'm still trying to figure out who decided we needed that particular clear-coat...)

But, hey...I've made my reservations known. We'll see how they decide to address them. The stage isn't THAT bad, it would be fine waiting another year. The paint, by itself, is pretty durable...I used the leftover paint from last time to paint the halls going into our Seance show, it had hundreds of people walk in and out of there last fall and it held up great, so JUST paint should be viable (especially if they're going to turn this into a yearly/every-other-year kind of thing). There are viable ways to proceed. Just need to have them decide which way they want to go (or not go, as the case may be.)

Anyhow...yeah. Life is good. Nothing to worry about. Right? *grin*

GM, 12573 posts

Tue 9 Apr 2024
at 03:59

• msg #44

OOC # 39

why would an rubberized covering, nit be goof? it would be good footing. it wouldn't shine. it might even be easier on the performers? I dunno...its out of my wheel house.. but i think rolling a new floor on line that every few years m would be better then the paint?

::chuckles:; some times i thing the bosses are just playigna game.." who can stump Roy! "

player, 1262 posts

Tue 9 Apr 2024
at 10:38

• msg #45

OOC # 39

Meanwhile, at the university, everything is ramping up to the year-end grading frenzy. Just setting up the final year project assessments - 2 assessors per student - which means sending some 290-odd personalised emails out telling the little darlings what to do.

Better get back to it...

GM, 12574 posts

Tue 9 Apr 2024
at 11:14

• msg #46

OOC # 39

GM, 12575 posts

Tue 9 Apr 2024
at 12:20

• msg #47

OOC # 39

player, 11347 posts

Tue 9 Apr 2024
at 23:29

• msg #48

OOC # 39

In reply to Admiral Hack (msg # 44):

The problem with a rubberized floor covering is that it often has too much friction for some of the dance moves they want to put in the show. A gloss coat makes for a hard, slick floor...which some dancers love and others don't, but you can always add rubber to the soles of the shoes of those who need more traction.

Another problem is that some of the illusions that we use are REALLY heavy (like, we made a helicopter appear on stage last year...it took four people to move that illusion around!) and the casters would chew up any sort of rubber coating you put down on the floor.

A lot of stages will use 'marley', which is a specialized rubber sheeting that they roll out for dance competitions and certain events, but it's REALLY temperamental stuff and they have a whole list of dos and don'ts you have to follow when the marley is down on the floor. It's good for a lot of dance events, though, because a lot of modern and jazz dancers perform barefoot, and it's a lot more forgiving than a hard stage floor (but they still often have to put some kind of powder on their feet so they can do some of their spins without catching on the marley.)

And I don't think they're consciously intending to stump me...it's just that they have their wish list of things to get done but they don't really think about the actual conditions on the ground when they make that list. Compared to some people, I'm getting off easy (I'm in a props-makers' group on FB and some of the props that come up in discussion when people are trying to figure out how to comply with the directors' requests are just mind-boggling...like, one from just a few days ago needed a jar full of butterflies that would fly away when the jar was opened...too many theatre directors have watched way too many movies...)

But the good news is, last night's letter got some response. The Production Manager agrees that we need to paint the stage, but might not need the clear-coat, and our department head got ahold of the carpenters and when I got there today, one of the two walls had been stripped all the way down to the studs, inside and out, and they were getting ready to start taking the wall apart. It's more progress than I've seen in a week and a half...

GM, 12576 posts

Tue 9 Apr 2024
at 23:40

• msg #49

OOC # 39

player, 4661 posts

Tue 9 Apr 2024
at 23:47

• msg #50

OOC # 39

player, 4730 posts

Wed 10 Apr 2024
at 01:05

• msg #51

OOC # 39

player, 138 posts

Wed 10 Apr 2024
at 23:05

• msg #52

OOC # 39

player, 4732 posts

Thu 11 Apr 2024
at 02:35

• msg #53

OOC # 39

we're good. RL takes priority and things happen.

I know I posted yesterday about rhe crappy weather. Sunday and Monday were very nice. Tuesday snowing, slushy, and just a bleck day. Today..It's nice out. few clouds, but lots of blue. climbed up over 45 so not as warm, but not bone chilling either.

player, 1700 posts

Thu 11 Apr 2024
at 02:54

• msg #54

OOC # 39

GM, 12577 posts

Thu 11 Apr 2024
at 11:44

• msg #55

OOC # 39

Questons on Uniforms..

working /duty will be old WWII..

https://www.bing.com/images/se...ist=0&ajaxserp=0

Khaki for NCO's and Up.

https://www.bing.com/images/se...ist=0&ajaxserp=0

player, 4733 posts

Thu 11 Apr 2024
at 20:46

• msg #56

OOC # 39

as long as there are no johdfors

my thighs are just as I like them.

player, 139 posts

Fri 12 Apr 2024
at 17:47

• msg #57

OOC # 39

player, 140 posts

Fri 12 Apr 2024
at 17:51

• msg #58

OOC # 39

player, 668 posts

Fri 12 Apr 2024
at 20:15

• msg #59

OOC # 39

player, 11349 posts

Sat 13 Apr 2024
at 06:06

• msg #60

OOC # 39

In reply to Nicole Rutledge (msg # 56):

For all that Roy quotes Patton a lot, he's not gonna start dressing like him (partly because of the style, and partly because Patton was Army and Roy's a Marine, and while they're both groundpounders, no Marine is gonna let anyone get away with calling him Army...)

As far as the timeline, Jason, the Hermes is on approach to dock with Fuji, for a brief shoreleave while the brass take care of some Fleet upkeep duties. The first event on the agenda is a formal Ball that's kind of standard practice any time Hermes puts in at a major stop (stations or planets) held by friendly (or 'friendly') forces. So, everyone's gearing up to either go to the Ball or go spend some time enjoying the resources available at Fuji which aren't available on the Hermes. (Most of SEC is going to the Ball, either because they're expected to or because they want to be there if/when the inevitable clash of personalities at these things turns into a combative confrontation. That said, they are not expected to be there unless they actually have either the rank or position to be a notable face, or they are escorting someone else who is going...in other words, your attendance is entirely up to you.)

player, 4735 posts

Sat 13 Apr 2024
at 08:10

• msg #61

OOC # 39

okay Ser.Maj.: just for you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neuqN6MgsyI

player, 1263 posts

Sat 13 Apr 2024
at 09:11

• msg #62

OOC # 39

player, 4663 posts

Sat 13 Apr 2024
at 09:14

• msg #63

OOC # 39

In reply to Nicole Rutledge (msg # 61):

Hum. sounds like an overview of the requirements AH uses to select Hermes Crew...

GM, 12578 posts

Sat 13 Apr 2024
at 11:22

• msg #64

OOC # 39

player, 141 posts

Sun 14 Apr 2024
at 00:01

• msg #65

OOC # 39

In reply to Jug (Pronounced 'Joog') (msg # 59):

Thanks

player, 11350 posts

Sun 14 Apr 2024
at 06:18

• msg #66

OOC # 39

In reply to Nicole Rutledge (msg # 61):

That was pretty awesome. Thank you. I'd heard the name before, but never the story behind why it got mentioned as often as it did.

After I watched that one, there was another one suggested about Chesty Puller, who was the most decorated US Marine on record (and still is, to the best of my knowledge.) The Medal of Honor was one of the few awards he didn't get (probably due in part to backlash about Daly getting two and nominated for a third), but he did get FIVE Navy Crosses and a Bronze Star (and several Purple Hearts). Initially enlisted as a private...retired as a three-star general. He was also documented openly arguing with a firearms instructor at the Army Infantry School about the importance of accuracy vs volume of fire, pointing out numerous battles during the American Revolution where American forces won against vastly superior numbers because of the accuracy of their gun fire. "You can't hurt 'em if you can't hit 'em," was the final point he made. (He was also, coincidentally, George Patton's cousin...) Led the American Marine forces at Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War, guiding them through an incredibly grueling fighting withdrawal that resulted in 1700 dead Americans, vs 25000 dead North Korean and Chinese (the numbers got even more lopsided when you included wounded...)

Been an interesting night of history lessons...*grin*

player, 800 posts

Sun 14 Apr 2024
at 09:19

• msg #67

OOC # 39

player, 11352 posts

Mon 15 Apr 2024
at 02:52

• msg #68

OOC # 39

I lived in Sweden for a while, and one of the people I got to know was Finnish, on extended leave from their special forces. He was INTENSELY proud of the record of the Finnish army (and also wasn't afraid to admit to people things like, "Yes, I actually could kill you with that matchstick...")

The more I learn about snipers from history and around the world, the more I develop an intense admiration for Simo Hayha (which isn't actually how his name is spelled, but my keyboard doesn't do the A with umlauts over it). Probably the most deadly sniper in history, and most of his kills were with rifles with standard iron sights and no scope. He seemed to thrive in an environment that made most people want to curl up and die from the cold. The man was made of something else...

GM, 12579 posts

Mon 15 Apr 2024
at 12:40

• msg #69

OOC # 39

player, 1264 posts

Mon 15 Apr 2024
at 17:12

• msg #70

OOC # 39

Roy, to type ä, hold down the ALT key and type 0228 on the keypad.

Now try doing that with dog paws!

player, 4738 posts

Mon 15 Apr 2024
at 21:53

• msg #71

OOC # 39

My player human wants me to tell Mila"Always knew huskies were smart"

btw, spring is almost here. my porch is reading 54F right now. officially at the airport it's 40F. nice sunny and clear blue skies. water is just flowing off the rooves (roofs?...get confused spelling that one, lol).

GM, 12580 posts

Tue 16 Apr 2024
at 01:09

• msg #72

OOC # 39

player, 4665 posts

Tue 16 Apr 2024
at 01:40

• msg #73

OOC # 39

GM, 12581 posts

Tue 16 Apr 2024
at 01:48

• msg #74

OOC # 39

player, 4666 posts

Tue 16 Apr 2024
at 02:04

• msg #75

OOC # 39

player, 11354 posts

Tue 16 Apr 2024
at 03:31

• msg #76

OOC # 39

In reply to Mila (msg # 70):

I use the character so rarely that by the time it comes up again, I will very likely have forgotten that (I'll remember that someone told me how to do it, but not the actual instructions).

In the event that I don't forget, though...two other characters that I don't know how to make and wish I did because they're commonly used in Swedish...O with an umlaut, and A with a little 'o' above it...got a 'cheat code' for those? It'd be nice to write something to my Swedish friend and actually be able to write it in proper Swedish (if I can still remember any of it...it's been 25 years since I spoke much Swedish at all, and close to 30 years since I actually had to carry on conversations with Swedes or non-Swedish Scandinavians who spoke Swedish...(one of those was an interesting challenge...a professor from Iceland who spoke Swedish with a heavy Icelandic accent...)

player, 4667 posts

Tue 16 Apr 2024
at 04:00

• msg #77

OOC # 39

GM, 12582 posts

Tue 16 Apr 2024
at 04:59

• msg #78

OOC # 39

(( i put this in the wrong game!! ))

..saw this.. In Memeory of Bo..who got killed tryign to save Sahdow on th green Moon...his aircraft was called 'Black Betty'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9P4lRmc-Ac

player, 11355 posts

Tue 16 Apr 2024
at 05:10

• msg #79

OOC # 39

Depends on the day...and sometimes even the time of day. I have a desktop at the movie theater (taking the place of the laptop I had that I got increasingly frustrated with because it kept forgetting it had wi-fi, and I would have to put it to sleep and wake it up again to restore the connection, and sometimes even have to restart it completely...) I have another laptop that I sometimes have at the theater and sometimes at home, and occasionally some other places, depending on what needs doing. And I have my phone...Samsung Galaxy S21 FE. I tend to rarely post from my phone, though, because I hate editing posts on a screen that small and my finger agility is such that I tend to require a fair bit of editing when I type on a phone screen.

The laptop is running Windows 10, the desktop Windows 11, using Chrome as a browser on both.

player, 4668 posts

Tue 16 Apr 2024
at 05:17

• msg #80

OOC # 39

In reply to Roy Spencer (msg # 79):

When using your mobile does it have a letter change capability or press and hold a letter key, several variants of the letter appear with alternate diacritics; eg à,á,â,ã,ä,å
This message was last edited by the player at 05:34, Tue 16 Apr.

player, 11356 posts

Wed 17 Apr 2024
at 01:26

• msg #81

OOC # 39

It does...so that answers the question of how to do it on my least-preferred device for typing...*grin*

Too bad they can't figure out how to make a regular computer keyboard do that...

player, 4669 posts

Wed 17 Apr 2024
at 02:09

• msg #82

OOC # 39

GM, 12583 posts

Wed 17 Apr 2024
at 02:26

• msg #83

OOC # 39

Ok... we'll be moving on to the Limos and stuff coming

Zob? if you're out there.. hop in!

player, 4671 posts

Wed 17 Apr 2024
at 03:19

• msg #84

OOC # 39

GM, 12584 posts

Wed 17 Apr 2024
at 03:47

• msg #85

OOC # 39

player, 5005 posts

Wed 17 Apr 2024
at 06:16

• msg #86

OOC # 39

In reply to Admiral Hack (msg # 83):

Sorry been a bit busy ill have a post up in the morning of heading down to the hanger dec!

Also im trying to remember how to properly roleplay my character its been quite a while!
This message was last edited by the player at 06:27, Wed 17 Apr.

player, 4741 posts

Wed 17 Apr 2024
at 06:53

• msg #87

OOC # 39

player, 1265 posts

Wed 17 Apr 2024
at 17:21

• msg #88

OOC # 39

"Yip, yip" Mila runs in wagging her tail.

Roy, go to https://www.howtotype.net/ - it will show you how to type all manner of weird diacritical marks. Worth bookmarking.

player, 807 posts

Thu 18 Apr 2024
at 20:45

• msg #89

OOC # 39

GM, 12585 posts

Thu 18 Apr 2024
at 21:42

• msg #90

OOC # 39

hey!.. I loved Fall cout 4...fall out 76 sorta sucks, buy i have been playign it for, like 5 years..i don't play it like you're suposed to.
..

anyway.. The Gulper was a bit 'differant", but they have everything , spot on, the Power armor is great..stim packs don't seem like the work the way they do in the show, but they do work..as far as people getting on their feet.

Its great.. My youngest granddaughter is 11 she plays fallout 4... i'll be here on the computer and watch, sometimes giving her 'general tips" (..hey? don't rush through there. remember you are scavaging)

but we were watchign an episode a night.. she got scared when Feral Ghouls attacked.. its great!

My olde briother called me up 3 times this week to ask me about the Lore..my 2nd oldst grandson , who still plays football with me, has be tecting me about lore and stuff.. neither of the play the games.

My son who is upstairs , streams games ...'Hunt showdown' ect ( Tiredeyebags... hit him up on you tube and give him some likes!)..anyway. he enever played fall out, he was doign Baulders Gate and a buch of others, he streams with his daughters playign Fortenight..but he just got in to the game 20.00 for Fallout 76... I think you can get in for free this week to try it.... anyway, he was impressed with the Show..AFTER..watching then show ...THEN playing

player, 810 posts

Fri 19 Apr 2024
at 17:36

• msg #91

OOC # 39

player, 4746 posts

Sun 21 Apr 2024
at 08:03

• msg #92

OOC # 39

GM, 12586 posts

Sun 21 Apr 2024
at 12:20

• msg #93

OOC # 39

GM, 12587 posts

Sun 21 Apr 2024
at 12:32

• msg #94

OOC # 39

player, 5009 posts

Tue 23 Apr 2024
at 04:33

• msg #95

OOC # 39

player, 1705 posts

Tue 23 Apr 2024
at 04:57

• msg #96

OOC # 39

player, 4750 posts

Tue 23 Apr 2024
at 05:13

• msg #97

OOC # 39

spring is almost here. Porch got up to 60 today. Not for too long but got there.
still have about a foot of snow on rooves (roofs), but roads are clear and dry. a few green shoots of grass but mostly brown.
plus the Tanana river has not gone out yet.

https://www.nenanaakiceclassic.com/

player, 11366 posts

Tue 23 Apr 2024
at 05:24

• msg #98

OOC # 39

Okay, as a general heads up...

I have NO idea what my schedule is going to end up being like for the next five or six weeks. Started dress rehearsals for a show I'm working on for the next two weeks, after that I have a week or so of REALLY intense preparation for rehearsals, and then we're in dress rehearsals at the park until the end of May. So, I may be going quiet for a while, but not right away. The show is pretty short...under two hours, including intermission, so I'll be getting away from the stage at the high school by 9:30 or so every night unless something really drastic happens. After that...it's anybody's guess how things are gonna go.

GM, 12588 posts

Tue 23 Apr 2024
at 11:08

• msg #99

OOC # 39

well? we went through this since the game starts!. Post when you can, when its comfortable for you. Its good to get the heads up so everyone knows.

.....................

One side bar? I am worried about Henry/Mila... I send a PM in my football game and did not get an answer.. i am pretty sure this is a big testing time for the students at the Player's University.

what concerns me is The P)layer's spouse had be sick before. I'm afraid that maybe things are going well?

we will drag Henry along, and hope its just the college stuff.

GM, 12589 posts

Tue 23 Apr 2024
at 15:04

• msg #100

OOC # 39

ok..good news for us..maybe not so for Henry/mila.

the player said there are like 300 projects to go through, so being swamped is a 'nice word"...sooner or later they will come out the other side...hopefully they get to enjoy the ball

player, 1266 posts

Tue 23 Apr 2024
at 17:52

• msg #101

OOC # 39

Mila runs in wagging.

290-odd project students to manage.

Immense flurry of emails - submission deadline was 23:59 last night and a LOT were burning the midnight oil and submitting at the last minute. So they are a bit punchy and upload the wrong file, forget stuff, and generally need sorting out.

The next morning that is, I was fast asleep whilst they were fretting.

Alex is doing a lot better, though, thank you for your concern.

Runs off, still wagging.

player, 5011 posts

Tue 23 Apr 2024
at 18:04

• msg #102

OOC # 39

player, 5012 posts

Tue 23 Apr 2024
at 18:11

• msg #103

OOC # 39

GM, 12590 posts

Tue 23 Apr 2024
at 18:46

• msg #104

OOC # 39

player, 1706 posts

Tue 23 Apr 2024
at 18:54

• msg #105

OOC # 39

player, 4752 posts

Tue 23 Apr 2024
at 21:02

• msg #106

OOC # 39

GM, 12591 posts

Tue 23 Apr 2024
at 22:06

• msg #107

OOC # 39

bubs have come up for the last month..on FB i have some Pics of my Late wife's magnolia tree. its the last thing she ever planted, its Massive now..frost killed the pick flowers, but she'll have another 3..maybe even for Blooms before october..took me from 11:00 until 5:30 ro cut the grass, it was high..and i had to keep charging the batteries.

Naturally, since i cut the grass today, its gonna rain tomorrow so it grows fast again.. I think i saw some Largs in my yard while i was tryign to cut.

player, 4754 posts

Wed 24 Apr 2024
at 01:55

• msg #108

OOC # 39

player, 11367 posts

Wed 24 Apr 2024
at 04:22

• msg #109

OOC # 39

I stopped by my apartment after work, before heading to the school for the show, because I needed to grab a few things. Walked back out to my car...and one of my neighbors was jogging down the block, getting his daily run in. Stopped by my car and we talked for a couple of minutes, then he said he needed to head out because he was on his way to a lacrosse match (that's apparently become a big spring-time sport in high schools in this area...) As he started jogging away, he called out, "Hope you enjoy this weather!"

I didn't have the heart to tell him I was going to spend the evening in a darkened theater, before going to ANOTHER theater to finish the night...

And tomorrow ought to be interesting. Gotta cut some unistrut so they can mount new speakers in the theater, gotta do a group phone-call about some of the items on our to-do list, the company bowling party is supposed to start at noon...it's gonna be a chaotic day (but, then again, they are all chaotic this time of year...)

All that said...I'm glad I've got my chaos to deal with, Mila, and not yours!

player, 4759 posts

Wed 24 Apr 2024
at 22:31

• msg #110

OOC # 39

GM, 12592 posts

Wed 24 Apr 2024
at 22:40

• msg #111

OOC # 39

not bad it rained..its is the low 50's now.. I had a talk with a guy yesterday, there are Dandelions scatered about my yard..he asked why i don't spray them.

I said..well? first off , I have grandkids that play in the yard, secondly, my neighbors cats come in, and hut around by the shed and my p[orch for Moles and suach... I also don't want to get rid of the dandelions ,becaus they are a source of food for the honeybees...

he said, ;don't you hate the way it looks?"

I said...by the middle of Mat there won't be hardly any, and in August when the ehat is up and the rain is scarce. my yard will be green...

Then I added, ..Green is my Favorit color..Yellow was my late wifes fav color..so..I kinda like it.

player, 4760 posts

Thu 25 Apr 2024
at 00:19

• msg #112

OOC # 39

player, 11368 posts

Thu 25 Apr 2024
at 05:12

• msg #113

OOC # 39

Well, all things considered, it was an interesting day...

I was under the impression that the phone call was going to be about how we're going to rig the kabuki drape that the director wants to use. The last time we used it was ten years ago, and the pipe that we hung it from (which was specially hung JUST for that) has now become a lighting position, so the director can't hang it there unless he wants to argue with the lighting designer about where all those lights are going to go...but he had something else come up, so it ended up being a rehash of where we all stand on our to-do lists and what needs to be highest priority...

While this was going on, I was trying to fit the metal-cutting saw blade I bought yesterday onto a saw. I was going to use it on my chop saw...but the blade is only 7" and the saw is built for a 10" blade, so it couldn't swing low enough to cut all the way through anything. So then I thought I'd try it on my cordless Dewalt circular saw...and discovered THAT was a 6" blade, so the new blade wouldn't fit inside the safety guard...

And I have a circular saw with a 7" blade on it, but I could not, for the life of me, get the blade loose (I mean, it's been sitting for years, so there's been plenty of time for the bolt to start rusting in place...) I finally ended up using an angle grinder with a cut-off wheel, which was what I'd originally set aside and then thought it might go faster with one of the other saws...

But I got all the strut sections cut, and still managed to make it to the bowling party before things got too involved (they start off with a catered pizza dinner, and I got there as the last of the people at the bowling party where going through the serving line the first time, so I slipped right in.) In the past they've always assigned people to a foursome as a team to have them bowl...this was hypothetically to encourage people to get to know people from other departments, have them spend some time with people they otherwise don't work with--and that actually does work, there are a handful of guys from the games and foods departments that I had seen around a lot but had never gotten to know, until either bowling or playing golf with them. I say hypothetically, however, because it seems like the maintenance guys always end up on teams with each other, the office people always end up on teams with each other, and senior management is always their own team...

Today, however, they gave up any pretense and just said, "Here's a game card, it gets you two games plus shoe rental. You can pick whoever you want to bowl with, but we encourage you to mix it up a little bit and get to know people you aren't always working with..." Well, being the only one from my department there, that wasn't a difficult suggestion to follow...I ended up bowling with three security people and the lady in charge of the animals department. And, ironically, I had one of the worst games of my life, followed by one of the best. The first game, I didn't get a single strike or spare, and managed a measly 63. The second game, I only had two open frames...eight pins down in both of them...and everything else was a strike or a spare. Considering this is the first time I've even opened my bag since the company bowling party last year, I was expecting more of the first game and less of the second...but I have no complaints!

Took the next couple of hours to run errands and get stuff ready for dress rehearsal tonight...made it to the school, got stuff cleaned up and straightened out...there's still an airbrush that's got some kind of feed issue that I need to get cleaned up, but otherwise, everything was working smoothly. Our zombie looked much better tonight (which made me laugh a little bit because people last night were talking about how good he looked, and the night before that, when someone else did his makeup on their own, he still looked 'good enough'...it's kind of traditional, when doing this show (Zombie Prom), to do the zombie as kind of cartoonish, "This is very obviously just green makeup that we slathered on in a hurry" type stuff, and I think the girl (one of the students in the show) kind of had that look in mind with what she was doing. While I've done the show before, I never looked at what anybody had done with past productions of it, so I've come into it both times with a pretty distinct look that's more akin to Walking Dead (without prosthetics) than Scooby Doo. So everyone's been really excited to see this very different take from what they'd been expecting. And for me, it's a nice change of pace to tackle a more elaborate makeup like this with a skilled and eager helper. She did his makeup Monday night. I came in last night, set up some stuff, and ended up doing most of his makeup, and then after rehearsal last night, we talked about what changes should be made and who was doing what, so tonight, while I was doing one thing, she was doing another, and we got a LOT more detailed and still finished up in good time to get him out to the stage well before he needed to be there.

And then texted my boss at the movie theater and said, 'Hey, I'm going to be done with the show early enough to go ahead and close for Abby tonight, so you don't need to,' which immediately won blessings upon my head...*laugh*

So, it was a full day. And a good day, in a lot of ways. Tomorrow, we hang subwoofers, and I'll be running the lift for that for at least a few hours...and then it's back to the theater again (but I need to swing by the hardware store and grab a couple of magnetic door latches and maybe some neodymium magnets to go with them. And I should probably take my screw gun...I know the school has some, but if I take mine, I know it works and I'm not concerned about whether or not they have a decent bit driver...)

For all that these last couple of weeks before the park launches into full-on rehearsal mode get ridiculously crowded and busy, I still so much enjoy working with these kids. One of the kids in this show was in the junior-high production of Fiddler on the Roof I worked on last year...she was laughing about how I had to turn her into a little old woman (she was Yenta) and people would give her grief because she never got all the makeup washed out of her hair before she went back to school the next day, so teachers and kids were teasing her about going gray...

And the fact that she's in this show...as a sophom*ore...with a significant role...really is kinda heartwarming for me, because last year, she was stressing out about auditioning to get into the Productions class at the high school, and her mom was even worse...and I kept saying, "Look...trust me, you're gonna be fine and you are MORE than ready to audition for that class." One of the reasons I do this (because none of the schools can afford to pay me anything close to market rate for a makeup artist, much less a designer who also acts as backstage crew and even occasionally does props and wardrobe work) is because working with these kids reminds me of how I felt when I finally found my way into theater and stopped feeling like I just didn't quite fit in where I was at. I love theater, and a lot of these kids do, as well, and I hope that my efforts and example boost that love for it even higher. I take a lot of pleasure in seeing that some of the kids that I've worked with through the years are still, a decade or more after they graduated, still doing theater work. It's not for everyone, and I don't begrudge anyone who decides that it's not lucrative enough or is too demanding or time-intensive...but I want to make sure that nobody I work with decides they don't want to do theater because they didn't enjoy it.

GM, 12593 posts

Thu 25 Apr 2024
at 12:24

• msg #114

OOC # 39

That's all pretty neat!. The fun working with the kids. You know , some where down the line, they'll be telling spouses, friends, of castmates about 'The Guy i knew , who helped our school company"

The Bowling things is fun, We had a Gold league i ran at Navco, for 2 years, but it died when guys ( me) kept getting laid off. I beat the Big Boss in our head to head match, everyone said i should have lost on purpose..but it did serve the purpose of getting to know folks...people i didn't like i disliked more... people i liked went the either way.. Bosses , gained respect for me, because i handled all the numbers and standings.

My Late wife didn't like to go to stuff the Union had or the post office had,, i think she didn't like lot of the people. But the Union Pic nics were fun..kids won prizes, i got to show off, and My wife got to talk to some people she ended up ,liking to talk to.

so..yeah? do that stuff, even if its just to 'drop in and say hi", then leave. its good for folks to know you , outside of things.

player, 11370 posts

Fri 26 Apr 2024
at 06:05

• msg #115

OOC # 39

I tend to skip most of the employee parties these days. They're geared to be entertaining for 14-18 year-olds, and I was long past that when I started at the park. This is one of the few things they do that I actually look forward to.

I'm sure, had I said anything about "I'm going to the bowling party", there would have been some concerned words about priorities...but when push comes to shove and the chips are down, I'm there for the long haul. Anyone who wants to complain about me leaving early, now, to go to an employee party, needs to come talk to me after lighting focus, when it's one AM and there's me, Security, and the grounds clean-up guys on the park, and that's it. Since they're all home in bed whenever we're doing that, I don't feel bad about giving up an afternoon when we're still a couple of weeks out from starting rehearsals, especially when all of the major projects on my list are things that I can't do until electricians and carpenters are done putting our space back together. Or today, when I was the one in the basket lift, almost twenty feet above the stage, balancing on the bars on the side of the basket (which we're not supposed to do...don't tell anyone...) because there's already so much crap hanging above the stage that I can't get the basket close enough to where I need to be to mount the anchor points for yet more stuff that's going to be hung (and could potentially make it impossible for us to get down a couple of our lights...that will be fun...)

I took advantage of the time that I was up there to strip out some of the old rigging (some of it, I had to, because it was in the way of what I was putting up), even though the last time we used it (five or six years ago), when I asked if I should take it down because we were unlikely to use it again and if we did, there would probably be better places to rig it, the director said, "No...we should leave it there. Just in case..." You get up to the grid over the stage (where we're hanging all the lights), and there's an absolutely revolting amount of, "No, leave it there...just in case..." Half of it, we can't even use now, because so much other stuff has been hung underneath it that we can't even get to it anymore. I understand the whole "we went to a lot of trouble to get that installed, and we could end up using it again, so keep it there" (I mean, I'm the king of "Don't throw that away, that could be really useful under the right circ*mstances!") But when you have to move it around EVERY YEAR to get it out of the way of what you ARE using, and you haven't used it in almost a decade, and it could be EASILY rigged to be reinstalled if you decided to use it...WHY IS IT STILL THERE?!!!

Yeah, I was a little frustrated today. It got even better when they wanted to use the basket lift to raise the subwoofers (the 'more crap' that I was rigging hanging points for) up into position, and I had to explain that I could barely get MYSELF in there. Throw a 4x3x3 ft box up on the edge of the basket so I can't see where I'm going and there's even LESS room to maneuver, and I seriously doubt I can do that. If the other speakers weren't already in the way...if I didn't have to dodge the antique-ish sconce lights (with legitimately antique glassware in them)...if they would get me trained on the other lift that fits in the theater--the one with an articulated arm on the end of the boom so I could get closer to the ceiling without worrying about crushing part of the main support beam around the outside of the theater...

If they would stop layering band-aid fixes on top of band-aid fixes...

But, the rigging work is almost all done. We have one in position to be hoisted up, we have pulleys and ropes rigged, we have a maintenance crew that's supposed to show up to help us hoist it tomorrow morning (we tried it tonight, and there just weren't enough of us to make it work)...so, hopefully, by noon tomorrow, it will all be done.

That was part one of the good news. Part two is, the kids did so well at rehearsal last night that the director/theatre teacher decided they didn't need to rehearse tonight, which would send them into opening night tomorrow all rested up (hopefully! We ARE talking about high school kids, after all, and that's an age group that isn't well known for wise decision making.) But I didn't end up sitting in a darkened theater tonight and almost falling asleep (again). Didn't really get rest, but I did get to run a few errands for the things I was going to fix tonight and can now fix tomorrow night instead.

But I did have to deal with the group that rented our large screen for the late (9pm) time-slot tonight. A realty group, sponsored by a realtor who specializes in buying flipped houses and then reselling them, and a bunch of the people who either flip the houses or provide services for those flipping the houses. They were WAY more interested in talking to each other than watching a movie, and a handful of them only lasted maybe five minutes inside the theater and then came out and spent the rest of the night talking in the lobby. I didn't realize how much I enjoy the solitude of a quiet lobby until they left...

player, 1267 posts

Sat 27 Apr 2024
at 10:18

• msg #116

OOC # 39

Weaves through Zob's legs and nearly trips him up.

Thank you everyone.

Much as I enjoy special effects work, theatre in general, whilst fun is not where my heart is. I'm happier with students. I beat the email to a standstill last night, and there was an unpredidented number of grateful ones from students I've dealt with, some in this recent madness, and others I've worked with over the year. Even a formal Islamic blessing from one young gentleman. Back to marking on Monday, but for now curling up with my medals website - with inpeccable timing, I've been being deluged with images for the section I'm working on just when I don't have the time to work on them...

• msg #117

OOC # 39

ok. Palindrome week!.. from 4-25-24 to 4-29-24

now? 5 points is way too much to give up for number.

BUT..... evey one take 2 points..anywhere, mix or match

Put at the bottom PD424

PM me changes.

player, 4764 posts

Sat 27 Apr 2024
at 21:04

• msg #118

OOC # 39

GM, 12594 posts

Sat 27 Apr 2024
at 21:55

• msg #119

OOC # 39

GM, 12595 posts

Sun 28 Apr 2024
at 00:53

• msg #120

OOC # 39

player, 5014 posts

Mon 29 Apr 2024
at 02:18

• msg #121

OOC # 39

GM, 12596 posts

Mon 29 Apr 2024
at 02:27

• msg #122

OOC # 39

player, 4686 posts

Mon 29 Apr 2024
at 03:28

• msg #123

OOC # 39

player, 11375 posts

Wed 1 May 2024
at 06:28

• msg #124

OOC # 39

Okay...time to sound off before my annoyances eat me into an ulcer or something...

We've known for a few months, now, that the director wants us to install some 'cool neon' (LED rope light that looks like neon light tubing, but far less fragile, less hot, and uses WAY less power)...we finally got it yesterday and it's going to be a HUGE process. He wants to run it around the front edge of several of the illusions (despite the fact that the instructional materials for it specifically say "avoid bending in sharp curves" and some of the places he wants it are just NOT friendly to electronic materials of that type. Like, the instructions use a 90deg bend as their example of DON'T...one of the places on one illusion that he wants to use it is more like...140deg...WAY tighter than a right angle bend...)

Everybody is antsy about the fact that the stage hasn't been painted yet...this, despite the fact that we haven't painted the stage in, like, three years, now, and the last time it was painted, they basically built a tent around the interior of the theater and set up forced-air heating to keep the stage warm enough for the paint, and did it in February. And every year, when they've scheduled it to be painted as part of the run-up to rehearsals, they've either got some renovation work, or the weather's too cold, or there are other projects that were higher priority...Yeah, we haven't painted the stage in a while, because we keep trying to paint it this time of year and it NEVER WORKS. So why are we still scheduling it?

The lighting designer finally got me a list of the lighting gels he wants to use (which we may or may not have in stock...he tends to use the same colors every year, but he never tells us until the last minute, so we've used up most of his default colors and I don't know if we'll have everything he wants to use this time. On top of that, he's decided that, now that we have all of the lights hung up in the ceiling of the theater, he wants to replace the gobos (design templates) in most of the moving-head lighting fixtures. Could we not have done this back in January, February, March? BEFORE we put all the lights up? When they were easily accessible and in a workshop-type space where digging into them and swapping out internals would have been a super-simple process?

So we've got two of us tackling most of these major projects...the other guy is trying to get as much of the neon work done as possible (I just facilitated it immensely due to the fact that I bought metal-cutting blades for my miter saw, so he can make clean, consistent cuts without fighting the torque and kickback of the disc grinder he started out with...) The carpenters are ALMOST done with the renovations, so I can start painting...if I can get them to stop throwing other projects in the way.

And I'm trying to work on another show while all of this is winding up (that one's fun...Zombie Prom...), so most days I have to leave by 4pm so I can get home, get food, and get to the school to get stuff ready for the show that night. I'm only doing makeup on one person (the guy who becomes the zombie), so there should be no rush for me to prep...except that the makeup is happening in the womens' dressing room so I have to get there, make sure the airbrushes are all clean and the makeup is all shaken up and ready to go, and then get out so they can get into costume for the show. And I'm having a whole lot more fun at the show than at work...but Saturday is closing, and after that, I'm up to my eyeballs until the cows come home or the last dog is dead or whatever morbid expression for 'the long haul' you want to use...

I hope this isn't the year that I finally hit the wall and just burn out on the whole process. It's been good, thus far...but suddenly getting all this extra information about the neon and how we're supposed to install it despite the fact that the director is asking for something directly contradictory to that, and having the director say something this afternoon in production meeting about "I feel like this is the tenth year that we've planned to paint the stage and run into challenges" when the challenges have all been due to scheduling the painting at the second or third least convenient time of the year...yeah. My frustration spiked tonight.

GM, 12597 posts

Wed 1 May 2024
at 13:26

• msg #125

OOC # 39

all that sounds nuts!

as far as the install goes. Is there a manufacturing rule of how they go up? If you don't do it that way, does it negate insurance?

How do they paint the stage.. rollers? spray?..spray would dry faster..right? I dunno..i never did anything that was as big as a stage!

As far as 'hitting the wall'..i can only look at my Lettercarrier career... started out great. then Postmasters and POOMs they hire ( i can only assume , the lowest IQ gets hired there)..the shine started coming off real fast. Personal stuff missed out on, workign sick and injured and dumbass Ideas from a VP who was someone's brother -in-law came up with...it wears on you.

you know what is needed, you know what you can do to make it better, or at least work.. butt some dumbass holding a cup of coffee with a dress shirt and tie says " no, you have to do it this way"

sadly,, in those years where a Wall popped up... sometimes the wall has to fall on them, before they say... like the Dog from old Bugs Bunny cartoons.."...you know sumpin' ? He's right?"

This could be a wall year for you.. just hang in there... Knute Rockne was asked one time..how he Picked his Back field , when he was at Norte Dame...he said " I got brick wall at the field.. those who go through it..are Fullbacks, those who go over it are halfbacks...and those who go around it, are Quarterbacks! "

GM, 12598 posts

Wed 1 May 2024
at 14:21

• msg #126

OOC # 39

player, 4771 posts

Wed 1 May 2024
at 19:43

• msg #127

OOC # 39

player, 11376 posts

Thu 2 May 2024
at 05:50

• msg #128

OOC # 39

We use rollers for most of the stage. There's too much potential for overspray making a mess of everything around it (plus, while it's covered, it's an outdoor stage...if the wind is blowing, the spray is going somewhere besides where you pointed the sprayer).

The neon install gets better...they were trying to get us to nail down specific numbers of what kinds of cables we needed to do the installation earlier today. I started looking at what they were getting ready to order, and then looking at the controller unit they want to use for the stuff on the proscenium...and they don't match. I was like, "Ummm...NONE of these will do us any good for the stage. Their input doesn't match the output from the controller, so these are all useless for that particular project. Now, maybe for the illusions..."

We did get the mounting track for the biggest section of the neon installed today. The controller has two output channels, so we can hook up one other section. I laughed a little when I looked at the diagram of where the director wants neon (under ideal conditions), because there's one piece that he says he wants that there's just no good way to get control to (he wants it all under DMX control...the section in question is at the base of one side, to get a matching signal to the base on the other side we need about 40' of cable and the longest cables the manufacturer makes are 10'...) I was talking with the other guy and mentioned that I thought it was kinda ridiculous that they told us, back in January, that we would be doing this...but they didn't give us ANY kind of information about what we were working with or how it was supposed to be installed until just a couple of days ago. I mean, yeah, I get not sending all of it out then, because it was freakin' cold and I would have been really eager to find just about anything else to work on instead, especially with a deadline at the start of May. But my mind would have been mulling this over and figuring out the important questions to get answered BEFORE we even started, so we wouldn't be where we're at now, with a bunch of empty track, a bunch of LED neon, a DMX controller, and absolutely no way to get the controller hooked up to the neon. I also have to figure out where to put the controller so that we can get power and DMX to it, preferably somewhere vaguely accessible so we can program it with the right settings...

We were already pretty much maxed out on available power circuits at that part of the stage (something I've told them for the past two years)...and now we need power for two subwoofers AND the controller, AND a bunch of additional outlets for at least one of the illusions (because it uses two hydraulic motors that are currently drawing more than enough power to trip the circuit breaker, although the electricians think there's something wrong with the motors because they shouldn't be drawing that much amperage but they don't do hydraulics work so they aren't sure what the problem is...AND THEN it also needs power for a fog machine and a bunch of lights.) So I don't know how we're going to solve that...the outlets that are accessible for where they need to run power from will be running two TVs, plus the main hall lights backstage...there's only a handful of additional places we can pull power from at this point (we would have two more 20amp circuits, but when they installed the elevated stage floor about a decade ago, nobody paid any attention when I suggested that they do something to make the outlets in the old stage floor, against the upstage wall, accessible. So, they're just sitting there...power's run to them, the outlets are live, and they're in a place where we could REALLY use more power because the director and the lighting designer keep stacking more sh*t upstage that needs constant power, without taking the time to ask, "Hey, do we have power available for this?" And then we get the electricians annoyed with us because they get called in to slap together SOMETHING that will work for us, and then a couple of years later we're complaining about how their job looked even though they did three days' work in about six hours to get it done for us... *sigh*)

GM, 12599 posts

Thu 2 May 2024
at 11:15

• msg #129

OOC # 39

Man? all this stuff! When do you guys open? around here the parks will be open either Memorial day weekend, or the week before. I keep getting text as and emails from Hersey to get a 'membership" ( that's funny..i think we went there like 2 times in my life , Cross country goes there during the States weekend they are out there. )

Kennywood and Idlewild normal open for memorial day weekend..that's only a couple weeks?

player, 151 posts

Thu 2 May 2024
at 23:45

• msg #130

OOC # 39

@justin I just realized that things moved forward quicker than I though after I posted lol

Yesterday was not even able to get on to check the rpol so sorry for the latest posts

player, 4696 posts

Fri 3 May 2024
at 02:25

• msg #131

OOC # 39

In reply to Jason graves (msg # 130):

No problems. Your chatting with Corporal Gools.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:32, Fri 03 May.

player, 4772 posts

Fri 3 May 2024
at 05:56

• msg #132

OOC # 39

GM, 12600 posts

Fri 3 May 2024
at 05:59

• msg #133

OOC # 39

player, 11377 posts

Fri 3 May 2024
at 07:03

• msg #134

OOC # 39

In reply to Admiral Hack (msg # 129):

Well, the park is open on weekends, right now. We open one show Memorial Day weekend, and another show the weekend after that. Right now is the annual insane push to get all the massive projects done before rehearsals start (we never get them ALL done...)

I pulled the rip cord this morning. Got there and Macyn (the other tech guy I'm working with...I should start calling him my partner in crime or something) told me that after yesterday's phone calls where he talked with the director about needing different jumpers for the LED neon, to hook it up to the controller they had, the director suggested just cutting the default controller box off the set we had and wiring it directly to the DMX controller. And at that point, I was like, "Ummmm...we were already in the deep end of the pool, and you just tossed me into the ocean on this one. There are four wires...which may or may not match colors. If they do, it's simple...if they don't, I'm going by dead-reckoning as to which colors should be spliced together, and I am NOT comfortable with that. I don't know if hooking the wires up wrong is going to fry the whole thing, or screw up one color so we only get 66% usefulness out of it..." So they called the park electricians to come look at what needed to be done, and since Macyn's been in communication with the director for a few weeks about it now, they had him take over as point man for the neon, which freed me up to paint the off-stage walls that have also been on the overdue list for a month, now.

In the same phone call where the director offered to have Macyn head up the neon, he asked if there was anything he could do better to help facilitate things, and I mentioned that it would have been nice to have had ANY sort of information about the neon (beyond the fact that we were installing something he was calling 'neon' but wasn't really) back in January or February, because I could have studied up on it a little bit and gotten myself mentally prepared for everything we had to do, instead of getting one day's notice and a couple of PDFs (they call them 'tear sheets'...basically, the kind of information pamphlet you'd hand out at a lighting designers' convention, with practically no useful information with regards to how to install it, what kind of power allocations have to be made for it, etc...so, a couple of short steps above completely useless for what I need to do...although I didn't go into all that detail about it). He apologized...it was still in the "we'll do this if the park says yes to it" phase, but he agreed that he could have sent information about "this is something we're looking at using" instead of just leaving it hanging in Limbo. So, we'll see.

But, hey, the offstage walls are painted (except for around one doorway...I was using a paint sprayer, the doors to the backstage area are being replaced, so those doorways were wide open. I stapled plastic up around one, but I couldn't do the other without basically sealing off backstage and I'm not sad*stic enough to do that). Ten minutes with a paint roller tomorrow, and it's done. We're theoretically painting the stage floor tomorrow, as well, because this weekend is the last time that there will be nobody on the stage for a couple of days until November. If it doesn't happen now, it's not happening this year... (the floors offstage need to be painted, regardless...we had some renovations done and there are sections of the floor that are just bare plywood, at the moment, so SOME painting is gonna have to happen.)

Also found out that one of the illusions that they're planning to use this year might need a major overhaul...it uses hydraulics to elevate part of the illusion, and the hydraulic motors are running really erratically (until they blow their fuses, that is...usually when the part of the illusion is going up and about a foot to 18 inches higher than its default setting...and then it's stuck there until we replace the fuses...) The electricians came and checked out the controller box for it and couldn't find anything, but they found out that the motors are drawing WAY more power than they should be. Had some of the maintenance guys who work on hydraulics come down...and they're not positive just yet, but they think there's a very good chance that the motors are failing and that's what's causing the overloads and the erratic operation. The director just bought this illusion a few months ago (the magician who owned it before passed away), so he doesn't really know the service history of it, how well it was maintained, how well it was stored, etc (considering Macyn spent a couple of days scrubbing crystallized cat pee out of the inside of another illusion from the same magician, storage and maintenance were not high priorities...)

So, yeah...it's gonna be an interesting spring...

GM, 12601 posts

Fri 3 May 2024
at 11:26

• msg #135

OOC # 39

reminds me of an old WWII movie with an old, beat up warship going into battle. Most of the crew are new.

The captain calls down for the engine room to go ahead 1/3, and the offciers don't quite understand the limits of the vessel and Crew. But below dec the Grizzled Master chief is shouting orders and Jury ringing Pipes and sealing off leaks , to make everything sail smoothly!

Roy Just got the call..." Flank Please, Mr Curtis, if you wiil"

player, 824 posts

Fri 3 May 2024
at 11:44

• msg #136

OOC # 39

Tarja has also come over to say hi

player, 1268 posts

Fri 3 May 2024
at 17:32

• msg #137

OOC # 39

Maybe not quite as mad here, but it feels that way...

Finally got the selection process for next year's Final Year Projects started, only a couple of months after I wanted to. In January, Digital Services - who put security far before usability - moved the server the selection system lives on out of a publically-accessable part of the network, so it can only be accessed if you are on campus or using a VPN. As I have students doing their placement year as far away as Australia and Korea that's not real useful! When we asked why they said, "Security Issues" without bothering to define what those were and have been very unhelpful about sorting them out. Still haven't, so I've launched the process where it is and sent instructions on how to access it along with the regular instructions on how the system works.

All over the VPN of course, as I work from home on a permanent basis for disability reasons.

And it's peak grading season, with students rocking up to do their project presentations then expecting their reports to be marked.

Anyway, I sit at the beginning of a long weekend. I need it!

GM, 12602 posts

Fri 3 May 2024
at 18:13

• msg #138

OOC # 39

player, 11379 posts

Sat 4 May 2024
at 05:19

• msg #139

OOC # 39

In reply to Admiral Hack (msg # 135):

Oh, we're not calling for Flank Speed yet. That happens about the middle of next week, when lighting focus is done, the stage is painted (started on that, at least, and what I've done so far DOES look good), they no longer have to keep illusions out in the middle of the stage so the maintenance guys can access them, and we've started rehearsals. That's when the crunch REALLY hits.

But, yeah...the scenario you described does have a very familiar feel...

On the good news front--the park electricians are genuises (well, a couple of them are, at least!) They came and took a look at what we had for the LED neon and DMX controller, we talked with them about what we needed, they took a few things back out to the shop (working kind of under the table, because their manager had them assigned to another project but they know we're under the gun...) Rather than rigging some kind of adapter from the output from the DMX controller to the neon, they took some leftover cables (the park was going to do something similar with our wooden roller coaster, several years ago...and then, after they bought all the materials for it, realized their plan wasn't going to work and couldn't get their money back, so this stuff has been sitting in storage for most of a decade, now) and wired THOSE to the controller, so now the controller's output has cable ends on it that we can actually do something with, wired up the other end to the connector on the LED neon, and brought it all back to the stage. Now, instead of having to mount the controller somewhere within a few feet of where the neon run starts (at the top of the proscenium!), we can mount it basically anywhere that's convenient, and there are enough cables to get us anywhere we need to be from there (they brought, like, seven of those cables, which are 2m each, so three cables would reach from the floor to the very top of the proscenium...and then they said, "If you need more, just let us know, we've got a ton of 'em that we can use for anything else...")

THAT project just became so much less of a headache!

GM, 12603 posts

Sat 4 May 2024
at 13:43

• msg #140

OOC # 39

GM, 12604 posts

Sun 5 May 2024
at 01:22

• msg #141

OOC # 39

so.. was talking about a friend of my who just shut down her D&D game for , like..the 5th time..she deleted another game a few months ago..however she is thriving on the other sight, where i only pay the one game i have been in for years, and it got stuck on that site.

My DM over there asks about my games here and just for the heck of it.. i 'browsed games by Posts'

My Space game is #2 over all

football game is # 9 over all

and my fantasy game, the slowest moving of my games, is 16th

not bad, i should think!
This message was last edited by the player at 01:22, Sun 05 May.

GM, 12605 posts

Sun 5 May 2024
at 17:08

• msg #142

OOC # 39

I made a big update post.. for some i didn't add in, was because i was wait8ing for posts from PCs.

player, 11380 posts

Sun 5 May 2024
at 22:48

• msg #143

OOC # 39

Closed the show last night...I've mentioned it before, but post-show letdown is serious. Zombie Prom is a short show...we started just after 7, finished the show just before 9. They decided they weren't going to strike the set or anything that night...they still have three weeks of classes, so they've got plenty of time to do it in class, so show strike was really simple...for me, it was just emptying the siphon bottles for my airbrushes, cleaning (kind of) the brushes, and packing everything up. I was loaded up and we were leaving by 9:30 or so. I had my car unloaded by 10...

Keep in mind, I don't normally get to sleep before 1 or even 2am, so when I say I went straight to bed after unloading my car...that's WAY out of character for me. Started a YouTube video playing, fell asleep almost immediately (wasn't intending to...I had pillows propped up behind me so I was sitting up...), woke up almost two hours later, took care of the night-time necessaries and repositioned the pillows and went back to sleep.

Woke up today just before noon.

I did get almost all of the stage painted yesterday before I had to go to the show...the backstage area on the Stage Right side still needs the floor painted, but we had two illusions in that space, so it wasn't happening yesterday. But it was also a little over 70deg yesterday, and most the stage floor was visibly dry by the time I finished off the sections I COULD paint, so we should be able to hit that on the next warm day and be good to go.

The other fun thing ('fun' being used in an ironic sense, here...)? After it being 70+deg yesterday, it's SNOWING today. Not thrilled with that, hope it warms back up a bit, because we're doing lighting focus tomorrow night and it sucks being up in the basket lift when it's cold out (it sucks more being stuck down on the stage, because at least when I'm in the lift, I'm up against the ceiling where it's relatively warm.)

GM, 12606 posts

Sun 5 May 2024
at 22:55

• msg #144

OOC # 39

snow..that sounds about right. we had track meets where My kids ran through a sudden blizzard, that last 15 minus and the sun came back out. A few years ago, my fr4iends' brother died of Covid and some other things...he stayed over my houe and we threw i football around..he..um..isn't in as good as shape as me, as far as being able to run, , I tossed hi a hard liner upp the road, where there was snowand it lifted him off the ground enough for him to crasdh and burn... all i said was " See? should have done this in the yard!"

but that was like Mat 11?.. it has snowed on my B-day many times in my life..track meets..and the first Preom i took my wife to..so? yeah..Snow in may sounds about right.

player, 11381 posts

Sun 5 May 2024
at 23:10

• msg #145

OOC # 39

One of my neighbors posted something on FB about it snowing, and someone else commented, "Winter isn't REALLY over in northern Utah until it's snowed at least once during the first week of May..."

It's a little bit of an overstatement, but not by much.

I was talking on the phone with the assistant lighting designer, about prepping stuff for tomorrow night, and he kind of laughed and said, "Glad I looked at the FULL weather forecast before I packed to come out here..." If he'd dressed for yesterday's weather, he'd be absolutely miserable tomorrow night. Tomorrow's supposed to top out in the low 50s, Tuesday is supposed to be in the mid-40s...by Saturday, we're supposed to be pushing 70 again. Spring in northern Utah...

player, 11383 posts

Mon 6 May 2024
at 03:46

• msg #146

OOC # 39

player, 4775 posts

Mon 6 May 2024
at 06:21

• msg #147

OOC # 39

GM, 12607 posts

Mon 6 May 2024
at 10:58

• msg #148

OOC # 39

Oldest Grand daughter has Confrance championships to day...right now there is thick fog and supposed to rain today..they have to go over the mountian, it like a differant world there.. so maybe they'll be dry..or? it5 could be worse!

high 50's right now. It was in High 50's when we played football yesterday and rain on us.... the two younger girls ran in the rain for their Little kids Running

player, 1269 posts

Mon 6 May 2024
at 13:26

• msg #149

OOC # 39

63 degrees here (she says, counting on her paws - don't think in Farenheit) and set to get warmer over the week.

Time to consider shedding my winter coat. White fur everywhere!!!

player, 4777 posts

Mon 6 May 2024
at 19:42

• msg #150

OOC # 39

player, 11384 posts

Tue 7 May 2024
at 05:32

• msg #151

OOC # 39

And then it turned around and snowed another inch after I left last night...

I think (I hope!) we're done with it. Spent seven hours focusing lights and rewiring speakers at the stage, in not-quite-freezing temperatures...

Had the boom-lift get stuck on me in the fully-extended position, inside the theater (outdoor theater with a roof over it...) and it took us ten minutes of fiddling with it and trying this and that before we finally got it to start retracting the boom again. Asked my boss to have the park mechanics come take a look at it tomorrow because I REALLY don't want to have that happen again.

But, hey...we've got almost all of the lighting focused...there are, like, four things that need to be checked and/or fixed, overhead, and all the lights that we disconnected on the deck so we could paint need to be moved back into place (now that the carpenters are done spraying sawdust all over everything!) Need to get a curtain hung, rig a pipe for a kabuki drop, and hopefully I get a chance to paint the last section of floor backstage before the end of the week (we start rehearsals on Friday!) We made good headway!

GM, 12608 posts

Tue 7 May 2024
at 11:24

• msg #152

OOC # 39

I can see a movie scene. Montage with a song playing with a heavy drum beat of determination as a clock in the lower corner of the screen counts down!

player, 5016 posts

Tue 7 May 2024
at 21:36

• msg #153

OOC # 39

GM, 12609 posts

Tue 7 May 2024
at 21:50

• msg #154

OOC # 39

player, 1711 posts

Tue 7 May 2024
at 22:00

• msg #155

OOC # 39

GM, 12610 posts

Tue 7 May 2024
at 22:09

• msg #156

OOC # 39

almost any angel woman at the ball...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nGmvovr7VI

player, 4781 posts

Wed 8 May 2024
at 07:56

• msg #157

OOC # 39

Imagining some 6' blonde Texas gal getting on stage singing these (any one of them)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULXnAKefJ8o

any version of 'you light up my life' (they are all bad)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMUz2TNMvL0

GM, 12611 posts

Wed 8 May 2024
at 11:06

• msg #158

OOC # 39

player, 4782 posts

Thu 9 May 2024
at 00:05

• msg #159

OOC # 39

GM, 12612 posts

Thu 9 May 2024
at 00:24

• msg #160

OOC # 39

player, 1392 posts

Thu 9 May 2024
at 11:31

• msg #161

OOC # 39

GM, 12613 posts

Thu 9 May 2024
at 16:10

• msg #162

OOC # 39

utting this in my games.

Hey Folks. When i was a letterCarrier ( and our Union ..the NALC..shop steward), I had our office join in with others across the Nation ( America) for the NALC food Drive.

This Saturday is the day of the largest , one day, food drive in the world. Those in the United states should have received some form of notice in the mail. You put Canned goods and Non-perishables out for the lettercarriers to pick Up . Helpers will also be helping pick goods up for the Food banks in their area.

If you are unsure, call you Post office and ask if they are taking part, and if they aren't ..ask them why!...

before i made it to the Postoffice, i had a couple really bad years for the family with Layoffs, thanks to 'trickle down' crap. we had to use our food bank a couple times. It made me feel bad, But? I remembered where i came from..there were times we lacked Volunteered, and My late wife, Myself and my kids would gather the goods from porches and from the letter carriers trucks .

Its a great way to help those in need, in your area.....now? back to our regular scheduled RP!

player, 11387 posts

Thu 9 May 2024
at 18:40

• msg #163

OOC # 39

GM, 12614 posts

Thu 9 May 2024
at 20:11

• msg #164

OOC # 39

I never saw a good Illusion in Real life... i just wave off the stuff on TV ( a Tank vanishes , while surrounded by people ect ect)

and never been to a place where they had them.. Kennywood had some kid of show, but my late wife and I never bother to see it ,because kids wante dto do rides and games.

Idlewild is smaller, and thier shows are singing , dancing with some jokes , so it would be neat to see something like that in Real life.

player, 4784 posts

Thu 9 May 2024
at 22:41

• msg #165

OOC # 39

Happy Birthday Don!!! from all the monkeys in your jungle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8XRtNltvT8

GM, 12615 posts

Fri 10 May 2024
at 01:08

• msg #166

OOC # 39

player, 11389 posts

Fri 10 May 2024
at 05:38

• msg #167

OOC # 39

Well...were it any other night of the week...or almost any other week this year...I'd already be home. We had a rental for one of our screens in the late slot, a no-show for another, and the third ended about 40 minutes ago, so I could have closed up shop and gone home. I've closed up shop...

But I still have a movie to finish copying from the hard drive, and then to the other screens (I think I'll just leave the servers powered up tonight and shut off all the lamps on the projectors, rather than stay until 3 am...) and another movie (Dune 2, so, a LONG movie which means a large movie file) that's copying to all the other screens. Were it another week of the year, I would have already done all of this...or I would have been able to take the time, earlier, to come in and start everything copying so it would be done by now.

But we're having an interesting time at work. Spent the day trying to troubleshoot yet another illusion that the director got from the magician who died. We were in the middle of working on it when his all-purpose-mechanic-type guy started griping about no documentation, no video, no information on what was supposed to work and how, and said the director should call the guy up and demand some answers. And Macyn and I both kinda grimaced, and said, "Well...he's dead."

"The magician's dead?"

"Yeah. And the guy who built the illusion for him retired, like, twenty-five years ago and doesn't do this stuff anymore."

"There's no one who knows this thing?"

"Well...Tim (one of the contractors that the director works with on refurbishing a lot of his illusions) was the magician's tech assistant for a while...but that was a LONG time ago. He's told us almost everything he remembers about it..."

Sometimes, when I stop and think about it, my job really does create some absolutely ridiculous scenarios...

GM, 12616 posts

Fri 10 May 2024
at 13:00

• msg #168

OOC # 39

That sounds like a situation comedy or even a cartoon..." the Guys dead" " the other guys retired 1.4 of a centry ago"

You need to write all this down, and write a book, Titled "So you want to work at an amusment park.."

GM, 12617 posts

Sun 12 May 2024
at 11:23

• msg #169

OOC # 39

putting this in all my games

Happy Mothers day to all the mothers out there, as well as the single Dads , who must be mothers!. Take time to recognize them on this special day!

player, 2067 posts

Sun 12 May 2024
at 12:34

• msg #170

OOC # 39

player, 11392 posts

Wed 15 May 2024
at 06:46

• msg #171

OOC # 39

Well, today was an exercise in frustration...

One of the illusions we're using this year was a recent purchase, and when the director bought it, he paid someone to refurbish it. It looks great...but it has some mechanical issues. One of them is a little latch on the inside...it's supposed to hold two doors closed. When we got the illusion, the latch was positioned in such a way that NEITHER door could close, much less be held shut by it. One of the first tasks I got when we kicked into high gear on show prep was repositioning that latch...

When the director called the guy who did the refurb, and asked why he got something that so obviously did NOT work, the refurb guy basically said, "Hey, I just made it look pretty, I didn't fix anything..." So, I moved the latch...but overcompensated, and while it wouldn't stop the doors from closing, it wouldn't hold them. So, we moved it again, to where we thought it needed to be...and it kept interfering with one of the doors.

So, today, they asked me to replace it with a barrel-bolt latch. Simple mechanism, should have been a very brief, simple job...emphasis on "should have been..."

I spent all afternoon and a good chunk of the evening working on that damn thing. Got the bolt section mounted on one door, went to attach the receiver to the other door, and found out the gap between the doors was big enough that the bolt wouldn't fully engage. Thought I could get away with building a backing plate that would extend into the gap and let me mount the receiver right next to the bolt. Spent WAY too much time on fabricating that, got it done, but the whole latch assembly in place (I put pop rivets through the holes to hold it in place until I knew...otherwise, I would have wasted even MORE time). Found out that, with nothing solid to hold onto, the barrel bolt latch was useless...you hold the doors closed, slide the bolt, let go of the doors, and they both swing open together and the bolt slides right out of the receiver....

So, I had to reconfigure and reposition AGAIN the original latch mechanism. I wasn't working on it non-stop...but I feel like I spent five or six hours on what should have been a ten-minute fix, and the final solution was just a position and minor hardware adjustment of what it started out with. Beating my head against the proverbial wall...

GM, 12619 posts

Wed 15 May 2024
at 08:20

• msg #172

OOC # 39

That'[s the Most scary words to ever say.

"this shouldn't take long"....or.." just a few minutes"

player, 4792 posts

Wed 15 May 2024
at 21:12

• msg #173

OOC # 39

player, 4705 posts

Wed 15 May 2024
at 21:36

• msg #174

OOC # 39

GM, 12620 posts

Wed 15 May 2024
at 23:36

• msg #175

OOC # 39

"WTF!"......"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"..."NO! NOT THTA ONE!"

there are a few.

player, 4911 posts

Wed 15 May 2024
at 23:39

• msg #176

OOC # 39

GM, 12621 posts

Wed 15 May 2024
at 23:55

• msg #177

OOC # 39

:;chuckles:: I used to mutter , under my breath... 'ffffffuuuccckkk." when something i didn't like, or stupid happened.

the first time me and my late wife saw the Movie 'Major league"... Ricky Vaugn got Glasses and everyone was looking at him ... Coach was was smiling... the achololic older pitcher said he has a pair just like that.. the catcher smiled and said..'seeing's the most important thing"

Westly Snipes shook his head and said " its not that important!"

The Ricky looks in the mirror and says.... ' Fffffuuuucckk" real softly.

My wife says ..'he's you!"

player, 4794 posts

Thu 16 May 2024
at 02:40

• msg #178

OOC # 39

player, 11393 posts

Thu 16 May 2024
at 05:53

• msg #179

OOC # 39

I try to be selective about when I use certain profanity, so there were a lot of times yesterday that I caught myself at "motherf..." as I was trying to figure the stupid thing out.

And, just to prove that you can never predict what I'm going to be doing on any given day...as I was getting ready to leave for work, the production manager texted me, to inform me that the Sign Shop had requested my help, and that what they were doing was a higher priority than anything they had on the list for me...so I was being loaned out for the day.

Turned out, I was still working on the show...they're making a big sign with the show name, and my job was to assemble clear acrylic letters (about 15-18 inches tall) in the way they wanted them displayed (there were two of each letter in the title...connected with clear acrylic spacers about 4" long...this is all CNC-cut 1/2" thick clear polycarbonate...) Spent eight hours doing that...finished, thanks to the guy from the tool crib downstairs coming up at what would normally be the end of his shift and doing one part of the process so I could focus on the other part. And then I spent another two hours helping clean up the theater because the park is open during the day tomorrow for school groups. I don't know if it's tendonitis or arthritis, but both thumbs hurt, and I found out that CNC-cut polycarbonate can give you very nasty paper-cut-style injuries.

But they're done, and that puts the sign shop ahead of schedule on that particular project...

GM, 12622 posts

Thu 16 May 2024
at 11:16

• msg #180

OOC # 39

so, Roy? the other guy had to help you after his shift was ended?...did you work past your shift as well?

Never saw letters like that close up or handled them But I imagine, if they are newer, they would have Sharp edges from the molds?

player, 1270 posts

Thu 16 May 2024
at 16:24

• msg #181

OOC # 39

I feel fir you - once in the distant past I made a shop sign for a friend, backlit acrylic letters...

Never again. That sort of craft is NOT my thing!

player, 4795 posts

Fri 17 May 2024
at 06:16

• msg #182

OOC # 39

finally got some plants for my new deck and therapy
so been singing this all day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVkMoXTlrrI

player, 11395 posts

Fri 17 May 2024
at 07:07

• msg #183

OOC # 39

In reply to Admiral Hack (msg # 180):

Well, my shift was scheduled to be until 10:30 pm with the option to stay later if production meeting ran long, so, no, I didn't stay after my shift.

His shift also started 4 hours earlier than mine did...

And it's been a LONG time since anyone would have tried making letters like that with molds. CNC machines have been around for decades, and before that, they probably would have used a band saw or something similar to cut clean edges on multiple layers at the same time (limited somewhat by the weight of the material you're cutting, but there are ways to minimize those problems, too...) I was cutting some ABS pipe with a bandsaw tonight (had to install some plumbing for the output of a fog machine on one of the illusions) and ABS can get a pretty crisp edge from cutting, as well...but a bandsaw is nowhere near the precision of CNC and laser cutters.

GM, 12623 posts

Fri 17 May 2024
at 11:39

• msg #184

OOC # 39

only 'in person' cutters like that i saw , was the plasma torch we had at the factory i worked at. It was Class 1, which meant it was a top tier skill to have..i never went near it.. one wrong cut ( you had to set the automation)..and 100's of Thousands of dollar would go down the drain...

it was weird waiting 8 torch nozzles cutting 1 inch plate, under water. like some odd looking Spiralgraph...The funny thing is , the guy who ran it, couldn't play a intellivison, let along run a computer machine..but they learned...and yes, some of them would flick the machine on and read a magazine or do busy work..and look up to find out they started it 1/4 inch to the right...

so? i have never seen a machine like you talk of!

player, 11397 posts

Sat 18 May 2024
at 05:25

• msg #185

OOC # 39

I had heard of them...my brother used to make furniture and was trained to run one. But I never actually saw one until they got this one at the park. The CNC machine doesn't actually make the full cut in one pass...it's like a mill or a router, but computer controlled so it's repeating exactly the same moves, over and over again, slightly deeper each time, until it cuts all the way through.

I haven't seen the laser cutter yet, but I'm pretty sure I saw the letters that were cut with it before it broke down. The CNC machine, cutting polycarbonate, leaves a hazy, almost frosted finish and a very sharp edge. But a few of the letters had a clear edge and slightly rounded corners at the cuts (they wouldn't have given me my not-a-paper-cut), because the heat from the laser lets all the tiny little jagged edges that the CNC cutter would leave (which is why the edges were frosted) melt just enough to flow into each other so you get a clear, clean edge that is like looking through ice, sort of...

player, 11400 posts

Sun 19 May 2024
at 06:08

• msg #186

OOC # 39

And in further "I'm doing what today?" news...I spent a couple of hours, a couple of days ago, changing out cables on a lighting control for some LED-neon tape (lack of research on the director's part...he ordered LED tape from one company, a DMX-capable controller from another company, but didn't bother to look into how one connects to the other...luckily, between extra parts that had been delivered and an old project at the park that got changed after the initial purchases of equipment had come in, the park electricians were able to cobble together a way to use some cables they had in storage to get our problem cleared up...but they only modified one controller, and a handful of connector cables. So, I copied their work on the one to make the other viable for us). Today, I finished getting it installed and connected it to some LED tape that Macyn had run around the front edge of the stage...

Except when Macyn laid it out, he was envisioning power coming from the other side of the stage. So I had to peel up all of it, flip it around, tape it back down, and then get it connected to the controller. But it worked! And as I moved on to another project, I heard a loud sound from the stage and a bunch of startled cries, looked up to see the choreographer looking in my direction with a distressed look on her face, before she called my name with an equally distressed voice...

They broke a cable on one of the illusions (one that was built back in 1992, one of the ones with the dubious history...) We broke the other one when we first started working on trying to refurbish it, so I already knew, more or less, how to fix it...but I was NOT expecting to replace a cable today (or any day, really). But I got my 'miracle worker' status refreshed...it broke just before they went on their dinner break, I had it fixed almost an hour before they got back...had to make a couple of tweaks to get it dialed in, but yeah...they lost maybe ten or fifteen minutes of rehearsal time over it, and she was thinking it would be down for an entire day. Figured out what happened and how to make sure it didn't happen again. Five years ago, I'd have been like, "Ummm...well, I ~think~ I might be able to figure it out, but it's really outside my skill range..."

Told a few people, "I did NOT have 'stringing a new cable in Death Drill on my bingo card for today!"

--Also found out a few more details about the 'dubious circ*mstances' under which the former owner had perished...that illusion and its brother have a whole soap-opera backstory all their own! The owner lived in Vegas, was doing shows there, and decided he was going to relocate to Branson, MO, and negotiated the sale of his house. Before he moved, he was found dead, partially consumed by a tiger that had escaped from the tiger habitat he maintained...and the guy he'd arranged to sell the house to claimed that, since the paperwork had already been signed, the property and everything on it was his (and it was nobody else's business whether he had paid or not, since the only other party to the contract was dead and therefore couldn't contest the claim). The magician's family decided it wasn't worth fighting over the house...but they donated all the tigers to zoos and animal parks, and they loaded up all of the illusions and put them in storage...and then apparently endured years of shady magicians coming out of the woodwork and offering them, like, $20,000 for ALL of the stuff (having someone build just one of these illusions would easily be a $50,000+ prospect, and while they didn't know what fair market value was for all of it, they did know that these guys were trying to rip them off...)

They reached out to the guy who used to work with the magician, basically doing all the kinds of weird repairs and improvements that come up (a more intricate and advanced version of what I do) and asked if he knew anyone working in magic who wouldn't try to screw them over on it...and he suggested our director...who, when contacted, told them he couldn't afford to pay them fair market value for it, but did offer them SIGNIFICANTLY more than anyone else had...between that, and wanting the illusions to be back on stage again, they made the sale. So, the one I fixed tonight was involved in at least two lawsuits brought by David Copperfield (the first was against the guy who made it, because Copperfield didn't want him building illusions for anyone else--the guy basically said, "Screw you, I've got enough money, I'm not making illusions for ANYONE. So there!" That ended that lawsuit (Copperfield nominally won, because the guy stopped making illusions for other people...but it cost Copperfield his primary illusion-builder). The second lawsuit was against the magician, claiming that the illusion was a copy of one of Copperfield's...didn't hold up in court, Copperfield's used a gigantic buzzsaw blade and this one uses a steel auger, and Copperfield cuts himself in two and then puts himself back together, where in this one, the magician has the auger run through him, and then the box opens up to reveal that he's not there and he reappears somewhere else in the theater.)

And I'll admit...there's an odd sense of satisfaction to taking this 32-year-old piece of history and getting it back in good operating order again. It's a really cool illusion, and it is at the same time one of the most complex and one of the simplest pieces we've done. I told the techs, the first day, "Working on a show like this...you will never watch a magic show the same way again. You may not realize how they're doing the bit, but you recognize the bit, and instead of being impressed with the 'magic', you become impressed (or annoyed) with the skill (or lack thereof) they display in performing it.

player, 1271 posts

Sun 19 May 2024
at 12:11

• msg #187

OOC # 39

GM, 12624 posts

Sun 19 May 2024
at 12:53

• msg #188

OOC # 39

didn't get a chance to read Roys post..i'll read it when i come homw.

Football for me..then later one the Girls Last race for the Healthy Kids running thng..Gwen ( 2nd oldest) can lock up a 1st place trophy..the little one is 5th in her age group.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

one question..check you sheets?... Did i evcer award the medlas for Paradise. It was broguht up to me by Nikki... i can tell my ther NPCs who have sheets, be cause i ad them on ( example : (2) two Gold stars ..ect ect

Let me know, because i want them out there, ..if you record them, they are on your Unirom.

Thanks...see you all later

• msg #189

OOC # 39

GM, 12625 posts

Sun 19 May 2024
at 16:48

• msg #190

OOC # 39

wow? That Illusion stuff is convoluted ! Copperfield is a bit of a dick for worrying about that and screwing over a guy ( and thus other people ), because he's a diva

I would have like to see the guy get on TV and have a show " this is how illusions work' and display all of Copperfield's tricks!

player, 4708 posts

Sun 19 May 2024
at 22:05

• msg #191

OOC # 39

player, 11401 posts

Mon 20 May 2024
at 05:48

• msg #192

OOC # 39

In reply to Admiral Hack (msg # 190):

Through our director, I've ended up overhearing conversations from a few people who work in the industry...apparently, Copperfield really is kind of a dick, over all...one of those guys who, because he made so many illusions so big, and was the first to make them widely seen (he used to do TV specials every couple of years), thinks he's the hottest ticket in magic...it's his world and the rest of us are there to watch him do magic in it, basically. Criss Angel is kind of the same way (we used an illusion a couple of years ago that our director bought from Angel...he had very explicit instructions on how to do it, even though some of those instructions seemed to actually weaken the overall illusion. We were talking about it last week and I stated that I still think that Angel sold a deliberately inferior version, so it was kind of like advertising for him..."Criss Angel does this illusion in his shows!" except his version looks better because there aren't things that don't work right, seemingly by design. Our director looked at me for a minute and kinda smiled and said, "You might be right about that...it's something he would do...")

If you ever get the chance, catch Piff the Magic Dragon. He's apparently one of the nicest guys working in professional magic today, and he's got such a tongue-in-cheek delivery...there's a few vids of him on YouTube--his appearances on Penn and Teller's Fool Us, I think there was an appearance on America's Got Talent (even though he's originally British), and an hour-long video called "Reptile Dysfunction" that features a lot of clips from his act, along with him doing bits with people around Vegas. Got to see his show last summer and enjoyed it immensely.

GM, 12626 posts

Mon 20 May 2024
at 11:22

• msg #193

OOC # 39

Its funny who some of those people get? They get to where they are with help of other people, and of course, people enjoying the shows . stunts, the way the play ect ect.

But then turn on the 'little people' and brown nosed the money.

without thinking of one off hand, there a re Movies i won't watch, because of a man/woman who are dicks or bitches..they don't care, of course. It just makes me feel good they don't get my money, or a tick of the TV ratings.

In your case, you have to work with them, or around them, its not a fun thing.

player, 4709 posts

Tue 21 May 2024
at 20:36

• msg #194

OOC # 39

Hum... Is Tarja pushing MI suits

This message was last edited by the player at 20:37, Tue 21 May.

GM, 12627 posts

Tue 21 May 2024
at 20:50

• msg #195

OOC # 39

well..you are part right... Tarja is pushing AI..to have a unit., so far we had a couple wash outs.

the person whi is talkign to Roy is Annikki..a NPC , that Tarja went through me to have for the PG

player, 4710 posts

Tue 21 May 2024
at 20:54

• msg #196

OOC # 39

In reply to Admiral Hack (msg # 195):

Thanks AH,

Without a NPC name in the post it's easy to think otherwise.

GM, 12628 posts

Tue 21 May 2024
at 21:01

• msg #197

OOC # 39

player, 4800 posts

Tue 21 May 2024
at 22:13

• msg #198

OOC # 39

GM, 12629 posts

Wed 22 May 2024
at 01:42

• msg #199

OOC # 39

I guess, when Nikki retires she can go to Paradise, and buy some Angel Cattle, and figure out how to make them work like angel silk

player, 4711 posts

Wed 22 May 2024
at 02:29

• msg #200

OOC # 39

In reply to Admiral Hack (msg # 199):

Ahha... So the origins of flying Cows will be Paradise.

GM, 12630 posts

Wed 22 May 2024
at 02:36

• msg #201

OOC # 39

player, 4712 posts

Wed 22 May 2024
at 03:00

• msg #202

OOC # 39

In reply to Admiral Hack (msg # 201):

Exactly.

player, 4801 posts

Wed 22 May 2024
at 03:49

• msg #203

OOC # 39

player, 4713 posts

Wed 22 May 2024
at 04:51

• msg #204

OOC # 39

In reply to Nicole Rutledge (msg # 203):

I think they spiked your drink.

player, 4802 posts

Wed 22 May 2024
at 05:07

• msg #205

OOC # 39

player, 4714 posts

Wed 22 May 2024
at 05:19

• msg #206

OOC # 39

In reply to Nicole Rutledge (msg # 205):

Humm.. If Justin, provided a bottle of Grandfather would he be able to wrangle a sampling invite?

;^)

player, 11403 posts

Wed 22 May 2024
at 08:41

• msg #207

OOC # 39

Okay, I've gotta say it again...our contractors are AWESOME. We were scheduled to do a fine-tuning light focus tonight (at the lighting designer's suggestion, for the date...) When I tried to find out earlier today what time to tell the contractors to show up, I got some evasion that ended up being, "Well, I haven't really had a chance to see the lights when it's not full daylight, and I'd like that, and a little time to think about it, before I finalize any focus points." (Which is fair, and I'd rather go that route than have a 'final' focus and then have him ask to change five or six things a couple of days later...)

So I told the contractors, 'If you get here around 8:30, everyone will be back from dinner. I'm not sure how much focusing we'll actually do tonight, but I know we need to reconfigure the LED wall display for sure...hopefully, that won't be the only thing we need you to do...'

Well, they were working on something else up in the area earlier in the day, so by the time they got my text, they were already done with that and already in the area...so they came early. And promptly solved a problem that I'd all but given up on (we had already changed our video wall layout, due to slowly dwindling numbers of operational LED panels...we bought the hardware to change it even more...from a 6 wide by 5 high array to 7 wide by 4 high, but the mounting bars that we had on hand all had eye bolts threaded and then welded to the top, so we couldn't use them. They cut through the welds and got the eyebolts unscrewed, so we could mount the correct hardware). Jumped right in without a second of "Well, that's not really what we're here to do" or anything like that. Got that done, got the seventh 'stick' of LED panels assembled and wired in, and started looking at how to reconfigure the controller to send the signal correctly. Found out the software we needed only runs on a Windows system--everything there, including all of the laptops people had for whatever they were doing, were all Macs...so I left the park, ran to the theater, grabbed my laptop and headed back, and they got the software downloaded and figured out how to get it to do what we needed it to do, we spent a bunch of time fiddling with settings to get it looking right...

The director had earlier said, "If you can't get that carrier for the LED panels taken care of, let's just skip it for this year and we'll figure it out later." Now, he's got his seventh column of LED panels, everything checked out okay with the lights (aside from two lights that...well, one randomly reset itself, somehow...one of the contractors helped me wrestle a ladder out into the house and set it up so I could climb up and check them and that light just suddenly started working again after I bumped a couple of controls. I don't even remember changing any settings on it, but suddenly, it was doing what it was supposed to. The other light was just plain old dead...I disconnected the power cord from one of his neighbors that was working and hooked that up to the light, and got a whole lotta nuthin'...so, we'll have to take that one down and swap another in its place (I think I actually have one or two of those that didn't get used in the plot...I'll have to check on that tomorrow!)

But they came in, as they always do, and busted their butts to make me look like I can accomplish damn near anything the director puts on my list. And they never make a big deal about it. And when I said that we'd likely actually be doing focusing tomorrow night, one guy was like, "Well, I'm booked..." and the other one immediately said, "I'm not..." Just, truly, great people to work with. Still remember the first day I found out we'd hired them, specifically--my boss had told me they'd found new contractors (because the guys we used the year before had been a MASSIVE disappointment--they'd hung lights for a couple of things for us, for Halloween, and we had to go back through and do a LOT of clean-up to get things really presentable...), but didn't say who they were. When I saw their vehicle parked in front of the theater, I recognized the name--they have done a lot of rigging work for various events that I've worked on through the years, and while I never got to know them there, the company name definitely had a reputation for giving you quality work, no matter how large or small the job...and they do some BIG jobs (the head of the company has worked on the Superbowl halftime show for, like, the better part of a decade, now.) Unlike some guys we've hired in the past, they didn't come in and say, 'Oh, you need to upgrade this, and this, and you should buy a bunch more of these, and that equipment is crap..." They came in and said, "Okay...what have you got? Let's figure out how to make it work the best way we can..."

And any time they come lend a hand, I walk away feeling really great about what we've accomplished in the time they were there.

player, 4803 posts

Wed 22 May 2024
at 10:43

• msg #208

OOC # 39

In reply to Justin Kase (msg # 206):

You keep you grandfather in a bottle? lol

Is he a genie? if he finds out in story you could possibly get that invite... only Anteela, Harry, and Lizzy knows she has it and only Anteela has tried it. Harry almost did but she had gotten shots and if she drank any her stomach would have been ripped free of lining.

player, 4716 posts

Wed 22 May 2024
at 12:41

• msg #209

OOC # 39

In reply to Nicole Rutledge (msg # 208):

It's a Port.

player, 4717 posts

Thu 23 May 2024
at 02:29

• msg #210

OOC # 39

GM, 12631 posts

Fri 24 May 2024
at 02:39

• msg #211

OOC # 39

Shadow's first Ball.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...5160EE&index=252

player, 4806 posts

Fri 24 May 2024
at 04:31

• msg #212

OOC # 39

player, 848 posts

Fri 24 May 2024
at 06:03

• msg #213

OOC # 39

player, 4720 posts

Fri 24 May 2024
at 06:12

• msg #214

OOC # 39

In reply to Tarja Vanska (msg # 213):

Considering.

GM, 12632 posts

Fri 24 May 2024
at 11:06

• msg #215

OOC # 39

yeah 5mm is for personnel, maybe smaller vehicles , Like Vans , cars, cycles ,maybe some of the heavy trucks . There isn't much worry about punching through Ships hauls , unless its a sloop..maybe a corvette..Tenders are even armored , because to the scrap they pick up.

Depending on the make up of buildings, 5 MM could get through some walls, and the thinner Metaglass.

we use 50 cal MGs on the shuttles, they have AP and HP rounds to knock down or wound fighters

our Fighters have heavy Pulse on the wings ( current fighters) and Gatling cannons with 37 MM hard ammo runs with..whatever mix is loaded Ap , HP and Thermite ..they Punch trough the armor designed for Fighter class Heavy Pulse... Cap ship class Heavy Pulse will make fighters vanish

Metaglass on ships and fighters are thick, Fighters can only take so much, as do Shuttles.., The Hermes and Empire Cap ships have windows , a few feet thick..Carrier staions have their 'half domes'.. Yards thick.

anyway..that is the rundown.. Since this was tarja's develpement with some oversight from me...I am assuming the minimissles are made for damaging , heavier things

player, 849 posts

Fri 24 May 2024
at 11:36

• msg #216

OOC # 39

GM, 12633 posts

Fri 24 May 2024
at 14:06

• msg #217

OOC # 39

Nikki?

https://www.bing.com/search?q=...&bep_csid=158246

player, 4808 posts

Fri 24 May 2024
at 20:44

• msg #218

OOC # 39

player, 4809 posts

Fri 24 May 2024
at 20:46

• msg #219

OOC # 39

player, 11406 posts

Sat 25 May 2024
at 04:39

• msg #220

OOC # 39

In reply to Tarja Vanska (msg # 213):

I don't have any problem with where you got it from. But 5mm is .20 caliber (an inch is 25.4 mm, one fifth of an inch is .20...) That's basically BB-gun ammo. The rounds, unless they are MASSIVELY density-enhanced, just don't have enough mass to actually carry any force to penetrate a target. That's great, if you're shooting at extremely fragile EVA suits, but not much use against anything else. The armor is firing high-velocity pellet guns, basically. One of the big selling points for a .45 ACP (sidearm) round is it has a lot of mass (as bullets go), and applying a little basic physics...Force equals Mass x Velocity. If you cut the mass down to almost nothing, you have to REALLY ramp up the velocity to compensate, or else just accept the fact that you're hitting with minimal force. The .45 is a heavy bullet, so it doesn't need to travel as fast to deliver the same force at impact. The .223/5.56 round that is currently NATO standard is what Roy described, being intended to wound, rather than kill, and they're also not very ballistically stable...there's a reason almost all the sniper rifles and competition shooting rifles are .30cal or heavier...the bullets have enough mass to remain stable against the wind resistance at trans-sonic speeds, which you need for distance shooting. The 9mm became a widely accepted utility round because it's a good combination of mass and velocity...lighter than a .45, so it doesn't need as much force to send a round down the barrel and therefore doesn't cause as much recoil, but still heavy enough to readily convince someone to lay down and die when they get hit by it.

Pre-Korea, standard US military doctrine was 'teach them how to shoot effectively with a round heavy enough to kill the enemy'. After Japanese human wave attacks in WWII, and Chinese and North Korean human waves in the Korean War, the doctrine shifted...there was less focus on marksmanship and more reliance on volume of fire (which is why US forces stopped using bolt-action and semi-auto rifles and changed over to assault rifles with full-auto options). The average infantryman wasn't trained to shoot any further than 300 yds, really, and 'spray and pray' was regarded as a viable firing tactic, with the intention being to tie up as many enemy troops as possible by either wounding them or occupying others with moving the wounded. But snipers shunned the new assault rifles and stuck with .308 rifles (generally) or converted .30cal M14s because they couldn't afford to screw around with dubious long-range ballistics and also needed their target dead with the first round.

If you're duplicating Vietnam/post-Vietnam tactics and hoping to tie up enemy forces with lots of wounded to deal with, high-velocity 5mm might work. If you're trying to make a lot of dead enemy troops on the battlefield (especially when they're in armor, or they are significantly larger than human sized, like Tank Demons, Largrans, and a lot of Creshians), 5mm is a peashooter that can't carry enough force to penetrate decent armor. Look on YouTube and see if you can find a .223 or 5.56 round that penetrates steel plate (which isn't even technically armor, because it isn't alloyed the way armor plate is), and consider that those rounds are appreciably heavier than a 5mm round would be.

That is why Roy doesn't like the 5mm (which I SWEAR I've seen listed as 4mm in posts, somewhere, but I can't find them, but it doesn't matter, the complaint is the same). The Expanse may have had some logical explanation for using it...but as a legitimate, fighting-on-the-ground caliber, it's practically useless.

GM, 12634 posts

Sat 25 May 2024
at 04:59

• msg #221

OOC # 39

we had this with Garrat , when the when the pooch screwed their assassination of Lady V. Everything was set up for the new PC guy sniper to take her out.. 3 hits in one day at the same time..should have been perfect...but..we only got two..for whatever reason, they decided to fly over the top and use a Mini gun to shoot up the Mansion, and i deemed the roof over the patio couldn't be penetrated...

in the end after , many, many PMs i made the ruling and it changed the whole course of the game, since Lady V escaped. It changed the flow of the game, but there have been dozens of swings in this game, and if a GM can shift on the run...maybe shouldn't be the GM...

If they had a 50 cal..or a 37MM Gatlin..that would have been different...

player, 76 posts

Sat 25 May 2024
at 09:39

• msg #222

OOC # 39

GM, 12635 posts

Sat 25 May 2024
at 14:12

• msg #223

OOC # 39

thanks for checking in!.... if you want, we are at the Ball..Angel would have picked out an AngelSilk dress that The Captain provides for every ball( and you get to keep)

you can drop in there.

if you aren't ready, that's fine, just jump in when you are.

player, 4915 posts

Sat 25 May 2024
at 16:35

• msg #224

OOC # 39

GM, 12636 posts

Sat 25 May 2024
at 16:41

• msg #225

OOC # 39

player, 4814 posts

Sat 25 May 2024
at 21:59

• msg #226

OOC # 39

It's cool Angela. Been there and done that. recently too. Just glad you're with us.

Lizzy... have fun being Miss Popularity.

me...I'm going to stay here and just hot dog and potato salad it.

GM, 12637 posts

Sun 26 May 2024
at 00:29

• msg #227

OOC # 39

Holiday weekend , i am thinking folks are going to be busy. I'm not sure what we are doing here, Regardless i will be on in the mornings and at night, so post as you will.

have fun celebrate... for us in the US.. this Holiday is to remember those who fell giving all for their country.

player, 4815 posts

Sun 26 May 2024
at 04:59

• msg #228

OOC # 39

player, 1272 posts

Sun 26 May 2024
at 16:15

• msg #229

OOC # 39

The good news is that we also have a holiday weekend, one of the legacy Christian ones (Whitsun).

The bad news is that my dearly beloved is in the hospital again, this time for a severe bout of dizziness & confusion. Appears to have been a massive drop in blood pressure, so they are trying to find out what caused it. He's back in his right mind now and his blood pressure is where it should be.

AND... the EMTs pretty much trashed the house getting him out. So my long weekend will be spent tidying up the mess!

GM, 12638 posts

Sun 26 May 2024
at 16:34

• msg #230

OOC # 39

player, 62 posts

Sun 26 May 2024
at 16:36

• msg #231

OOC # 39

they should come in and help since they made the mess

also where am I at in the game, did I die?

player, 534 posts

Sun 26 May 2024
at 16:55

• msg #232

OOC # 39

GM, 12639 posts

Sun 26 May 2024
at 17:13

• msg #233

OOC # 39

player, 77 posts

Sun 26 May 2024
at 17:27

• msg #234

OOC # 39

shush now I'm trying to design a dress for someone that doesnt wear dresses and cant think with all this talking

XD

player, 5017 posts

Sun 26 May 2024
at 18:15

• msg #235

OOC # 39

GM, 12640 posts

Sun 26 May 2024
at 19:19

• msg #236

OOC # 39

player, 4817 posts

Sun 26 May 2024
at 20:43

• msg #237

OOC # 39

player, 165 posts

Mon 27 May 2024
at 11:14

• msg #238

OOC # 39

player, 4917 posts

Tue 28 May 2024
at 04:56

• msg #239

OOC # 39

player, 11409 posts

Tue 28 May 2024
at 06:31

• msg #240

OOC # 39

*deep breaths* It's the last week of this...one show opened Saturday, the other opens this weekend...and then life settles back into a more normal rhythm for me...

I think I'm gonna sleep for three days when I finally get a day off again...

GM, 12641 posts

Tue 28 May 2024
at 11:02

• msg #241

OOC # 39

player, 536 posts

Wed 29 May 2024
at 05:47

• msg #242

OOC # 39

I am giving up for tonight, had a NA-CE post all done and hit post and 502 error and lost it all.

I will post NA-CE, Meari and Sam tomorrow if Zob doesn't post by then.

player, 4723 posts

Wed 29 May 2024
at 06:17

• msg #243

OOC # 39

In reply to NA-CE (msg # 242):

Cringe; sorry to read that.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 06:18, Wed 29 May.

player, 11411 posts

Wed 29 May 2024
at 10:01

• msg #244

OOC # 39

I REALLY wish our director was one of those "If it isn't ready by opening, we're not going to do it," directors. I just spent the last five...no, six hours working on a light-up sign that he had built for the show. It should have been finished before we hung lights, so it could be hung at the same time as everything else. I have no idea when he ordered it...but we got it today, four days after the show it's for opened. We had no specs for it, so very little way to prepare for it...and it is NOT small. 18ft long and about 18" tall, "SMOKE 7 MIRRORS" in two layers of clear plexiglas with LED "neon" tubing around the outside of one layer. It's hefty. It's also hanging on a steel pipe (apparently, when I emailed the department managers about getting an aluminum pipe, everyone assumed someone else was working on it because when I sent a follow-up last night, everyone panicked...and since the park had steel on hand...even though it's a larger diameter than we asked for...that's what we ended up with.) I've got about half the weight we need to counter-weight the line, on hand at the park...

Someone from maintenance decided they needed the same boom lift that we did...even though the ride they're using it to work on has all the possible work finished until the next shipment of parts arrives from overseas in two weeks. And just to make sure that the lift didn't get away from them, they parked a crane right behind it...a crane that only three people on the park are authorized to operate. So we were stuck working from ladders (which is the only thing that actually turned out to be easier than I had expected).

When we got all our rigging points figured out, we discovered that one of the ceiling joists we were anchored to showed an alarming amount of lateral flexion when we got weight on the line. It's something we can compensate for...but when you find out about it at midnight, there's not a lot you can do with it. The lighting designer gave us unclear instructions about how to deal with the lights that were going to be in the way. At 1am, the contractors declared we'd gone as far as we could...we had already discussed them coming back on Thursday night (when we found out the lift wasn't available), so they'll get the equipment we need to properly counterweight the line and I can get the board we need to brace the joist, and we can hopefully get the sign working...

But the longer we worked on it, the more annoyed I got that this MASSIVE project got dumped into the mix AFTER the last second. They're halfway through figuring out lighting for the other show, there's pretty much nowhere backstage to put the sign, even if you disassemble it into its three sections...the whole thing is screaming "THIS IS A BAD DECISION TO PURSUE" in my head but I also know if I make the arguments with the production team, I'm gonna get shot down. So I'm just gonna keep my mouth shut and get it done to the best of my abilities, and let THEM figure out the glaring logistical issues of where does the sign live and how do we not destroy the theater in the process of hanging it (I emailed an update when we called it a night on the sign, and explained the two major safety issues behind us stopping where we did).

And then, after the contractors left (because they'd been working on stuff ALL DAY before they came to the park), I still had to swap out a bunch of lights for the lighting designer (who said something that low-grade pissed me off...since the lights that he had me hang forty-something of won't be available during the Halloween show because they'll be used at another stage (full outdoors, no cover, and they're weather-proofed so they can get rained on), he's trying to not use them for the summer shows...and the first couple of times I heard him say that, I was like, "Yeah, makes sense..." And the more I thought about it, the more I found myself asking, "Then why the hell are they being used in the first place?!!"

And I'm tired and hungry and cranky. And needed to get this off my chest. Thanks for listening!

GM, 12642 posts

Wed 29 May 2024
at 11:42

• msg #245

OOC # 39

::chuckles:: I have to tell you Roy? You have to have a Massive Mod is 'patience '. When i was steward i used to wire out on Supervisors and PMs who tried to have 'something works" that couldn't..or wave a paper with a bunch of Numbers that said 'no over time, because the computer said so!"

I read these things and Picture the scenes in my head, wondering why some of these folks haven't go the 'Roy ' treatment at the end of the stupidity

...........

NA-CE... I had that happen to me in the football game... massive post with the Agent talkign to Sage..and i lost it.. i reported later. but i left alot out

GM, 12643 posts

Wed 29 May 2024
at 14:47

• msg #246

OOC # 39

ok.. suggestion until, whatever is going on, stops.

Copy your posts. so if you get hit with the 502 thing, al you have to do is refresh and past..I lost 4 posts, across my 3 games 2 of them big ones.. i saved to others by having them copied.

player, 4921 posts

Wed 29 May 2024
at 21:54

• msg #247

OOC # 39

player, 11413 posts

Thu 30 May 2024
at 09:08

• msg #248

OOC # 39

In reply to Admiral Hack (msg # 245):

It's because most of their ideas actually turn out really well. And our director/producer used to work in the film industry (actually won an honorary Oscar for technical achievements because the company he was with invented a special kind of camera system...), so he's used to directors making ridiculous, implausible requests and having them fulfilled (because they only need to last as long as it takes to finish shooting that scene). He's still learning some of the hard realities of theatrical production...stuff like, "Yes, you CAN, in fact, make a costume that's entirely covered with pieces of plexiglas mirror...but your performers can barely move in it, much less dance..."

Consider it as being akin to the number of times Hack has sent Roy into a hot combat zone with almost no intel at all on enemy troop numbers, armaments, defenses, etc...Roy's generally like, "Well...this is gonna suck, but he hasn't steered me wrong yet, so embrace the suck and make it happen..."

player, 11414 posts

Thu 30 May 2024
at 09:36

• msg #249

OOC # 39

In reply to Admiral Hack (msg # 246):

It just got me, too...finished typing, hit post out of habit, and before I even had a chance to think, "Uh oh...I shoulda..." there was the 502.

It's late, I'm tired...I'm going to bed. I'll try and compose something again tomorrow...

GM, 12644 posts

Thu 30 May 2024
at 13:33

• msg #250

OOC # 39

ok folks here's the plan for right now.

for the BAll.....

I want to have Roy's actions first... Dusk and NPCs involved will follow as will the NPCs on the other side.

I have Jason's move

Justin has to clarify his.

...................

Nikki.. you would just be reaching the stage.. i want your stuff after the fight.

.............

Izzy and Lizzy, unless you charge over to the fight, You two can RP as you will.. The LT will be getting a Visit soon
..........

Everyone else can post..I need Roys actions before we continue with the fight 'area'

..................

Copy your posts so you can reports them, until all this 502 gateway crap is over.. I know some of you post from work, and on phones.. but try not to have this stop you from posting.

player, 859 posts

Thu 30 May 2024
at 17:44

• msg #251

OOC # 39

player, 4822 posts

Thu 30 May 2024
at 22:25

• msg #252

OOC # 39

for a big ole brawl I'll have them switch music to this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG0rGm3OlyM

GM, 12645 posts

Thu 30 May 2024
at 22:44

• msg #253

OOC # 39

player, 2342 posts

Thu 30 May 2024
at 22:47

• msg #254

OOC # 39

player, 11416 posts

Thu 30 May 2024
at 23:44

• msg #255

OOC # 39

GM, 12646 posts

Thu 30 May 2024
at 23:50

• msg #256

OOC # 39

player, 4726 posts

Thu 30 May 2024
at 23:56

• msg #257

OOC # 39

In reply to Admiral Hack (msg # 256):

Unusual display from an attempted copy

<html>
<head><title>502 Bad Gateway</title></head>
<body>

<h1>502 Bad Gateway</h1>

nginx/1.19.4

</body>
</html>
<!-- a padding to disable MSIE and Chrome friendly error page -->
<!-- a padding to disable MSIE and Chrome friendly error page -->
<!-- a padding to disable MSIE and Chrome friendly error page -->
<!-- a padding to disable MSIE and Chrome friendly error page -->
<!-- a padding to disable MSIE and Chrome friendly error page -->
<!-- a padding to disable MSIE and Chrome friendly error page -->

GM, 12647 posts

Fri 31 May 2024
at 02:19

• msg #258

OOC # 39

Justin, when i type out my post, i copy it so that the colors and such will show up.

I have never seen that display before? that is truly odd ( at least to me)

GM, 12648 posts

Fri 31 May 2024
at 02:27

• msg #259

OOC # 39

Ok., Just read the ball posts.. we have all the PCs accounted for..depedning what Roy does next, will tell me what some of the PCs do.

Nikki, once the fight has settled down, continue with your stage post..

player, 4824 posts

Fri 31 May 2024
at 04:29

• msg #260

OOC # 39

player, 11417 posts

Fri 31 May 2024
at 09:18

• msg #261

OOC # 39

So, I lied a bit. I'm here, but it's REALLY late and I'm tired, so I'm not posting anything tonight (I'm pretty sure I would fall asleep at the keyboard if I tried). But we're ALMOST done. Tomorrow night is final dress. Stuff isn't done exactly the way everyone wanted it done...but it's done (I got an earful from the lighting designer last night because I misunderstood him about the way we were supposed to rig the sign that's been the proverbial boil on my ass all week...then he calmed down and they looked at it under the lights and he had me raise the sign about a foot and he was okay with it...) Hold it together for one more day, and then the shows are open and we hopefully are done with all the huge gotta-be-done-two-hours-ago projects and can get back to things like trying to put together the lighting storage area they created but haven't emptied all of the costumes out of yet...

(That was another interesting conversation...lighting designer asked about getting some gels and found out that we didn't keep any of it down at the stage anymore. He asked me why, and I said, "They're trying to get rid of all the stuff that we don't use backstage, and that all ended up on the list, even though we use it every time we change lights and this is the ONLY place we ever use any of it." So then he asked who 'they' are, and I listed off the producer/director, operations manager, production manager...all the people who make decisions about stuff like that without ever having worked with it so they don't understand why it should just live at the stage. He wasn't real pleased with the explanation, but realized that it was completely out of my hands...I expect he's gonna have a word or two with the producer and I wouldn't be surprised if I end up having to move all of that stuff back down there...)

GM, 12649 posts

Fri 31 May 2024
at 11:21

• msg #262

OOC # 39

;chuckles:: well, Roy.... sorta reminds me of an old Vaudeville skit. All you need is some one singing " yes, we have no bananas, we have no bananas today"

.................
Skaald put this on the forums ..

We monitor everything using techniques patented by Santa himself ! And I'm glad someone can make sense of the traceroute - I just know that timeouts are bad. :>

All I can tell you is that we've sent the details of the problem on to jase and we're waiting for him to check, advise, contact the hosting service etc etc. When there's more news either he or we will let you know OR it'll have all been fixed up first, and 502/504 will just be a bad memory to scare first level PCs with ("you call that a Slow spell ?!!).

player, 686 posts

Fri 31 May 2024
at 23:42

• msg #263

OOC # 39

atleast no cream pies on the desert table... yet!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGVRvMTUGvg

or classically

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDJQ7zn3-2g

player, 11418 posts

Sat 1 Jun 2024
at 09:29

• msg #264

OOC # 39

Okay, the last night of rehearsals is done. I won't say everything is set in stone...I mean, we got the light-up sign for the other show four days after they opened...but since the lighting designer, choreographers, and director are all leaving town this weekend, things should be pretty stable for a while.

But this season is putting up a fight to the bitter end. One of our illusions has a bunch of DMX-controlled LED 'neon' on it...the DMX controllers are 12v units, I think? Or 24...either way, each one had its own power supply mounted on top of the illusion. Someone managed to crash the illusion into something overhead and totally demolished one of them, and bent up the case on the other pretty badly. The director had me get him the make and model information, and ordered a replacement for the dead one.

It got here a couple of days ago. And there has been constant talk about getting it installed...but tonight was kinda do-or-die time. So, while the lighting designer was going through and making some tweaks and finalizing the timing on his program, I got on a 12' tall ladder and started performing surgery...because the power supplies were mounted to a metal plate that I had to remove so I could get rid of the carcass of the destroyed supply and make room for the new one. And because literally nothing can be easy on any of these things, I had to have someone stand inside the illusion with a wrench to hold the nylon lock-nut while I turned the screws. Then I had to jockey the stupid plate around so I could get a screwdriver underneath it because they used more ny-locks when mounting the power supplies...

Got those loose, managed to get the functional one bent back into something vaguely resembling the right shape, put it back on the board, hooked up the wires to the other, when to put it on the board...and discovered that they have changed the dimensions on these things over the years, and the new one is both taller and longer than the one it's replacing (same width, though...), so none of the screw holes lined up right. Rather than agonize over trying to drill new holes, I cheated...gaff-taped the new supply to the back of the old one.

Then I went to power it all up...and only one of the controllers would power up at all, and that was only in a quick surge and then it would fade out. Unplugged them, disconnected power to the new power supply, plugged them back in, and the OTHER controller came on just fine. Figured maybe it was a bad controller, then, so I swapped which controller was hooked up to that power supply, figuring that if it didn't power up or it powered up weird, I'd have my culprit...as I'm in the process of this, the lighting designer decided they'd done everything they could, and rather than sit there and breathe down my neck, waiting for me to finish, they were gonna go back to their hotel room, get some sleep, and come in early tomorrow to finish making their tweaks specific to that item.

So, I plug it in...and rather than give me some weird display or surging power-up sequence like it was doing before, it fired right up. So, I hooked up the other controller to the new power supply, connected a power line to that one, and plugged it in again...both worked perfectly.

Now, I freely admit, I'm no electrician. I understand the barebones mechanics of its operating principles, I can rough-calculate the amperage load on a line, and sometimes I can even manage to troubleshoot some simple problems with a lot of trial and error and a multimeter. But I'm pretty sure that just swapping power supplies should NOT have solved whatever the problem was. But it did. Sometimes I hate lighting gear...

GM, 12650 posts

Sat 1 Jun 2024
at 12:31

• msg #265

OOC # 39

wow? I am embarrassed by having my neighbor ( used to be a biker, and is always fixing bikes and working on his car..its his thing)...to fix the tire on one granddaughter's bike...

the Tire and tube my sone bought.. were packed in little boxes.. The tire was twisted into a ball a tad bigger then a softball, in a box. Never saw that before in my life... My neighbor hadn't either..but in about 20 minutes there was a happy kid riding her bike..I paid him with a soda and a Pizza!.

There you are working on this stuff with power flowing through it, that folks are going to see ( or not see)... You are Like a Mcgiver guy!
This message was last edited by the player at 12:33, Sat 01 June.

player, 81 posts

Sat 1 Jun 2024
at 13:02

• msg #266

OOC # 39

player, 861 posts

Sat 1 Jun 2024
at 13:51

• msg #267

OOC # 39

GM, 12651 posts

Sat 1 Jun 2024
at 14:56

• msg #268

OOC # 39

player, 4727 posts

Sat 1 Jun 2024
at 15:01

• msg #269

OOC # 39

GM, 12652 posts

Sat 1 Jun 2024
at 15:24

• msg #270

OOC # 39

146 K !!

Rules for 146k Bonus.

1... 2 Pts for abilities. Mix or match

2....4 points to spehers, no more then 2, in any one slot

3...Make changes and PM me with changes

4...put 146K at the bottom of your sheet

5...make changes by June 9th

6...Thank you all for being part of this world and helping it stay alive! we are the #1 posting gane in Scifi...and Number 2 over all, of any games.

player, 4825 posts

Sat 1 Jun 2024
at 18:50

• msg #271

OOC # 39

player, 4826 posts

Sat 1 Jun 2024
at 19:05

• msg #272

OOC # 39

GM, 12653 posts

Sat 1 Jun 2024
at 22:32

• msg #273

OOC # 39

back in the Day, we had tons of Blackberry bushed that grew up along the Power lines..every in the year my kids were teens?..... We got Gallon Milk jugs or ice tea jugs, cleaned the out and saved the, then. you could go into the berries and thorns ( provided you dressed right). and pick with both hands.. and just drop them into the jug, , we put out belts through the handles so the jugs wouldn't fall, and if you slipped, you didn't lose any berries.., when we got home, Just used a razor knife to cut the top off so we could spill the berries into strainers for cleaning..

Then we would have Balck berry pie ...Muffins and jelly..also ate some on ice cream or cereal.

bastards sprayed the power lines and the bushes don't grow well anymore, the few places there are Berries , everyone knows.

player, 11419 posts

Sun 2 Jun 2024
at 07:45

• msg #274

OOC # 39

Interestingly enough, when we had the first cast meeting with the magic show cast this year, and they were introducing the production staff, they got around to me and Macyn. The producer/director was trying to clarify which one of us should field what kinds of issues, and said, "So, I would say, go to Macyn with construction-type issues and set pieces that need to be fixed or reworked...go to Curtis with more...MacGyver-y type stuff..."

I've gotta tear into a fog machine and see if I can figure out why it's not fogging anymore...I'm hoping it's just some kind of internal fuse that got blown (it was on one of the illusions with the really colorful background story, so there's no knowing for sure just how old it is, and I'm not even sure if the company that made it still provides support for it...) First, though, I've gotta finish getting things in good running order for the show. I spent the breaks between shows today dressing cables, tacking down all the extra power and control cables running to stuff on stage so that we didn't have a whole tangled mess of cables sitting upstage of the set pieces.

But we're open! It's now a matter of keeping things rolling smoothly, and I get to have a little breather, now...I'm planning on sleeping in tomorrow, going in mid-afternoon, and working on clearing up stuff backstage to try and get everything there running more smoothly the way we want them to go, long-term...get my toolboxes moved back to my workshop area, get the bits and pieces of stuff that we don't need at the stage out of the way, and get that non-functioning fog machine into the shop and start some diagnostics on it. We'll see how long I last before I run out of steam and call it a night...

player, 4728 posts

Sun 2 Jun 2024
at 08:59

• msg #275

OOC # 39

GM, 12654 posts

Sun 2 Jun 2024
at 12:37

• msg #276

OOC # 39

player, 170 posts

Tue 4 Jun 2024
at 14:10

• msg #277

OOC # 39

GM, 12655 posts

Tue 4 Jun 2024
at 14:25

• msg #278

OOC # 39

it is sad... in my neighborhod, I live in the house that i grew up in, we got it after my father passed, my brother and i made a deal..i had a half a double..thishouse is one big hosue ( both sides of a double that we have doors through and an open upstairs..)... anyway.. my brother got 'his half" of the money from when i sold my house..he.....at the signing.. bumped it up by 1000.00. knowing i couldn't back out.. I just nodded. My wife didn't even come to the signing, she was angry but unlaughed.."..we just got 12 rooms instead of 6, for 1000.00?"

anyway, its a corner lot, and all the people around me ( i'm at the bottom of the street near ..what used to be..a playground, now its just paves and some grass for throwing footballs around,

My next door neighbor died, he was a couple years younger them me... the guy on the other side of hishouse, both he and his wife passed decades ago..across the street a Guy passed, he was there since i was alive..,,and across the street one house up, another Caol Miner passed, who sued to go fishing with me and my dad.

all those folks had someone,,,, My neighbor's wife was down in maryland, getting a home set up, for them to move to , but he never made it... the other guy had kids around here, but they didn't come around as much as they should.

In the end? It sad when most people pass...some people you are glad to see them go. But , for the most part, those older folks..its not cool when they are by themselves.

player, 171 posts

Tue 4 Jun 2024
at 15:09

• msg #279

OOC # 39

GM, 12656 posts

Tue 4 Jun 2024
at 19:34

• msg #280

OOC # 39

Just saw this as I was doing some house cleaning on the site...

Congrates Lizzy ( June 2nd ) 2019

Niki ( jumne 8th )2018

for their GAme Birthday..

Lizzy has had two players, and no one who wasn't there, can tell when the change took place...

Thanks for staying with the game!

player, 4830 posts

Tue 4 Jun 2024
at 21:30

• msg #281

OOC # 39

been a wonderful, fun 6 years.

side note.... Zob recently hit 5000 posts. Lizzy, Nikki, and Justin are about to hit 5000 each very soon... and Doc Christie is close as well.

GM, 12657 posts

Tue 4 Jun 2024
at 21:35

• msg #282

OOC # 39

player, 11423 posts

Wed 5 Jun 2024
at 02:06

• msg #283

OOC # 39

I sometimes wonder if I'm gonna end up being one of those old & alone guys. I've got great neighbors, so I'm not worried too much about it...but I remember having a bout with influenza about a decade ago and realizing, in my semi-feverish state, that I could die and it would literally be days before anyone thought to look for me. This time of year, that's less likely to happen...people are expecting me to be at the park or at the movie theater (or both, but luckily, not at the same time) so if I didn't turn up, phone calls would be made and texts would be sent and if enough of them went unanswered, people would be checking in on me. But during the off-season? Yeah, if I died in my sleep on Thursday night after I finished at the movie theater, it could conceivably be five days before anyone got worried that I wasn't showing up.

Tonight's my first night back at the movie theater, and it's interesting how many things just felt like I'd never left, and how many things felt strange and awkward because I was so out of practice...

I can also tell that the school year is over, because the last time I worked Tuesday night, we had maybe 40 people total for our early shows...tonight, I think we had that many people for our two smaller theaters combined, and close to 150 people for our big theater. Definite change in peoples' movie-going habits when their kids don't have to be ready for school the next morning!

GM, 12658 posts

Wed 5 Jun 2024
at 02:28

• msg #284

OOC # 39

for special days, Mothers day, our anniversary, Wifes B-day. we would all go to the Movies, we had a plan, we would go out on Sundays and eat at Applebee's, or red Lobster, as soon as they opened. Other folks were in church, then we would go to the first Movie times we wanted, and it was cheaper then after lunch times..so..we woud get relaxing early lunch, go to the Movies for cheaper, then go hope and have Cake or whatever.

so? yeah, its neat once the leash is off, after school ends!

..................

I like to look at the 'lists' on the main pageof my computer... one was ' 'facts you don't want to know"

One, was 'if you die alone, but you have pets.. Cats, Rodents and dogs will eat your body, if they run out of food."

GM, 12659 posts

Wed 5 Jun 2024
at 04:29

• msg #285

OOC # 39

ok? this is on me? I thought Nikki had something planned for the Pilots, and it would take place after the fight was done.

Shadow's 'hury up' thing was just because he wanted to get off the floor ( RP thing)

I am sorry if i screwed something up...but we will move on.

player, 4831 posts

Wed 5 Jun 2024
at 04:40

• msg #286

OOC # 39

GM, 12660 posts

Wed 5 Jun 2024
at 04:45

• msg #287

OOC # 39

player, 4833 posts

Wed 5 Jun 2024
at 05:22

• msg #288

OOC # 39

got something to make you smile

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlWcz1aFds0

GM, 12661 posts

Wed 5 Jun 2024
at 11:52

• msg #289

OOC # 39

GM, 12662 posts

Wed 5 Jun 2024
at 15:42

• msg #290

OOC # 39

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...&ei=287#image=15

above is a slide show of my oldest Son's Aircraft carrier..My son is a plank member for being with it as they decommissioned it..i have the Plank certificate in our Living room

player, 11425 posts

Wed 5 Jun 2024
at 18:18

• msg #291

OOC # 39

I hope this isn't going to happen every time the shows get a day off...

Last night--first show back, the dry cleaners missed a dress and two pairs of pants that we dropped off and had to rush-deliver them to the park.

Today--got a phone call a little over an hour ago that the sign that's been a thorn in my side for the last two weeks was only lighting up two-thirds of the sign. I got herejust before the first show started, so I haven't been able to check it, but they took it down completely for the show.

The fog machine that's essential to the function of the first illusion didn't get switched on, so no fog and an appearance in the illusion, they just wheeled it rather anticlimactically offstage.

Two minutes before they're supposed to be in places for the start of the show, the singer announced that she couldn't find her pants. We had five pairs of pants from the wash we did that never got tagged with who was wearing them, so they'd been left sitting aside (I thought they got sorted out before I got here, or I'd have planned to get here earlier and get it sorted then...)

I've been here for a little over half an hour already, and wasn't scheduled to be here for another hour, yet...I'm thrilled with the day, so far...

player, 4834 posts

Wed 5 Jun 2024
at 19:31

• msg #292

OOC # 39

thought you'd like the fact mailmen fought the Nazis. and now they fight for our freedom from Karens.

GM, 12663 posts

Wed 5 Jun 2024
at 20:20

• msg #293

OOC # 39

player, 11426 posts

Thu 6 Jun 2024
at 06:24

• msg #294

OOC # 39

They don't need a special phone. Almost everyone on the tech side of our department has my phone number, they just grab their own phone and call...

I was gonna post something tonight, but internet access is offline for the whole theater (thanks, Comcast...glad I wasn't trying to download anything urgent!) so I'm fumblingvthrough this on my phone. I may or may not get something posted before tomorrow night...

player, 1273 posts

Sat 8 Jun 2024
at 19:04

• msg #295

OOC # 39

Mila runs in wagging her tail.

He's home!!!!

GM, 12664 posts

Sat 8 Jun 2024
at 19:24

• msg #296

OOC # 39

player, 4841 posts

Sat 8 Jun 2024
at 20:46

• msg #297

OOC # 39

player, 870 posts

Sun 9 Jun 2024
at 07:59

• msg #298

OOC # 39

player, 1274 posts

Sun 9 Jun 2024
at 11:05

• msg #299

OOC # 39

GM, 12665 posts

Sun 9 Jun 2024
at 12:30

• msg #300

OOC # 39

very neat? Have fun!

Mila? You are a Pup!

player, 871 posts

Sun 9 Jun 2024
at 13:57

• msg #301

OOC # 39

I’m stopping in a holiday cottage outside of Craignuire, and I’m in Tobermory enjoying a pint as we speak. With any luck the weather will stay like this.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:27, Sun 09 June.

player, 549 posts

Sun 9 Jun 2024
at 21:58

• msg #302

OOC # 39

GM, 12666 posts

Sun 9 Jun 2024
at 22:03

• msg #303

OOC # 39

yeah..they are only supposed to protect med techs and wounded...and if a Med tech place ( tent, building ect) were attacked

its my twist on 'concienstious Objectors '.... Earth is drafting folks for the SSN and earth Bound Armies, to fight ..well? Us?

for the ESN, thus far we have volunteers..some folks try to escape their training saying they don't want to kill..The ESN makes them Guardians. Thus forcing them to protect people and getting something back for the training they wasted.

player, 873 posts

Mon 10 Jun 2024
at 08:30

• msg #304

OOC # 39

player, 4730 posts

Mon 10 Jun 2024
at 11:33

• msg #305

OOC # 39

GM, 12667 posts

Mon 10 Jun 2024
at 12:42

• msg #306

OOC # 39

yeah? That's the thing about this game world. We slowly see that many of the myths we have learned about , are caused by alien, interactions.

as far as ideals go? The NPCs, PCs involved have to 'get with the program'... if they were trained and refused to fight, and do not accept Guardian service, then they are sent to the Delta Colonies as laborers and such.

Thye Horrors of the war, is meant to have people understand , that its a war of survival...on , many levels.

player, 172 posts

Mon 10 Jun 2024
at 14:34

• msg #307

OOC # 39

GM, 12668 posts

Mon 10 Jun 2024
at 14:42

• msg #308

OOC # 39

when my son's house burned down, and he, his kids and his 2nd wife had to stay her///she was a n animal nut..BUT..she never wanted to care for them. me and the granddaughters had to take care of stuff, i was bitching..ALOT..because she was a pig as far was ruining my home... we had the whole 'flea thing' ebcause of her cats and Ferrets.. the por dog, who was my Son's had to suffer.... we set off the bomabs down the basem*nt,, and they i used flea spray on the rugs , and then used the Rug shampo machine.

It took a week before there were no longer creatures..and i saved alot of money and time...the good thing is my Son divorced her after he caught her talking with someone she was cheating on him with.

that was good, except i have everyone here now...I wouldn't let them bring the animals ( son's dog died at thier house)..every...single..one ..of her 'pets' died , because of, lack of care.

anyway..when your down with the Bug Bombing. make user you take care of the floors, to get anything that might be hiding.

player, 874 posts

Mon 10 Jun 2024
at 18:13

• msg #309

OOC # 39

True…my only observation would be is that we have a lot of satellite images of Earth but there are still people that insist the world is flat despite all the evidence to the contrary.

As for fleas yeah I can sympathise, we had a bit of an infestation several years back to the point where I would walk across my bedroom carpet and have six of the blighters on each leg! Liberal use of flea powder eventually sorted it out.

player, 5018 posts

Mon 10 Jun 2024
at 19:20

• msg #310

OOC # 39

player, 4843 posts

Mon 10 Jun 2024
at 19:25

• msg #311

OOC # 39

player, 4844 posts

Mon 10 Jun 2024
at 19:27

• msg #312

OOC # 39

player, 1717 posts

Mon 10 Jun 2024
at 19:35

• msg #313

OOC # 39

player, 11430 posts

Tue 11 Jun 2024
at 05:15

• msg #314

OOC # 39

So, today might be the first day that I actually regret being the de facto technical director for our department...it's a situation that couldn't have been avoided, it was such a fluke incident that none of us have ever heard of anything of the sort ever happening before, but...

We have a bunch of light bars on the floor, along the upstage wall. Yesterday, as they were moving one of the illusions, it bumped into the lights, and at the same time, a flashlight fell off the illusion and apparently hit a light...nobody who was there could say for sure what happened, but there was a pop, and a few sparks, and a couple of circuit breakers tripped...and when they got the breakers reset, there were six of those lights that don't work anymore, plus the LED neon on the illusion. Since we don't know for sure how it happened, we can't really set up safeguards to prevent it from happening again...

But after a day of poking around and testing stuff, that one flash of bad luck/absent mindedness/whatever resulted in one damaged DMX splitter (1ch input, 4ch output...one channel is dead), 2 damaged DMX controllers (the little stupid things on top of the illusion that I had to stay late the one night and get the power supplies in good working order again--they power up but don't respond to controls from the lighting console), and six lights (also will power up but are otherwise useless...aside from the control panel showing that power's running to them, they don't do anything at all). The good news is, it could have been much worse...our contractor pushed to get our lighting rig set up so that we had a splitter for every lighting position, with individual channels used for each location or type of lights...because of that, we only lost six lights, where if this had happened even just last year, we could have potentially lost everything we had on our upstage wall--instead of six lights, we would have lost eighteen of those particular lights, plus potentially another 10-15 more of other varieties.

But, as a TD, this is a nightmare scenario...

GM, 12669 posts

Tue 11 Jun 2024
at 10:10

• msg #315

OOC # 39

That's nuts. Its sounds like 'final destination' stuff. I can see the 'overload though". When i worked as a Laborer, for the guy i coached with, i had to crawled up into the roof of this VA Hosptial. massive beams i had to crawl under , and we were cleaning out asbestos.. since i was a smaller and thin ( at the time) guy,,i was the lucky one who had to do the crawling.. i get 50 yards from the 5x6 hole i had to crawl up through, and some one Bumped the cables for the trouble lights. there was a pop and all the light bulbs blew.

Every thing was pitch black.., I called down for light but they couldn't hear me... some i had to crawl back, it took 30 minutes to find my way back...some dumbass from the Hospital drcied it was a good thing to shut the trap door, and that cut into the cable and shorted out all the lights?

so..over load?..or feed back?

player, 876 posts

Tue 11 Jun 2024
at 18:57

• msg #316

OOC # 39

GM, 12670 posts

Tue 11 Jun 2024
at 19:45

• msg #317

OOC # 39

player, 173 posts

Tue 11 Jun 2024
at 20:26

• msg #318

OOC # 39

In reply to Admiral Hack (msg # 308):

Well bug bombing done we have all hard wood floors so just have to wash all the linen and such spent a majority of today working on the kitchen which is probably one of the worst areas in the house right now but I am far from done and with me having a seizure disorder I can only do so much at one time so things are slow going but it will get there I may be slow on posting for a while as I am spending a vast majority of my time on all this cleaning and it definitely wears me the hell out

GM, 12671 posts

Tue 11 Jun 2024
at 22:45

• msg #319

OOC # 39

player, 11431 posts

Wed 12 Jun 2024
at 01:55

• msg #320

OOC # 39

In reply to Admiral Hack (msg # 315):
I was basically talking my way through it last night (in an email to our contractor, since it was his DMX splitter that was damaged), and a thought dawned on me that, if I'm right, explains everything (and also puts the responsibility for the incident back on the director, since he was the one who rewired the fans on the illusion)...

There are two large and two small fans in the back side panels of the illusion, as well as two large fans in the top (by 'large', I mean they're about 1' in diameter, so actually not all that large, as fans go, but they're the large ones on the illusion). The wiring, when he got the illusion, was a somewhat nightmarish mass of twisted connections and electrical tape...he bought a junction box and some wire nuts and put it all together...but he said he wasn't running any power to the fans at the top. And I didn't think about it when I had the junction box open, but it's entirely possible that there are actually lines running to the top fans that got twisted into the connections with the rest.

Now, IF that is the case...one of the issues I found when I was looking at the illusion a couple of night ago was the power connections for one of the top fans were not connected to ANYTHING...they were just dangling. They could easily have touched each other (which would pop that circuit breaker), or one of them could have been resting on or bumped against the metal frame of the illusion (which is RIGHT underneath where the connectors were hanging). If the live connector was touching the frame...the illusion is on rubber tires, on a wood stage, so there's nothing for the circuit to ground to...even if the stage hands were touching it, they're on the same wood floor, in rubber-soled shoes, so they wouldn't ground it. But if it bumped one of those lights on the floor...which have a metal frame and outer case...THAT would complete the circuit and send voltage through the lights in places they weren't designed to have voltage...which would run about 10-20x more current through the DMX connections than they're designed to handle. And that would do pretty much what happened to the lights, as well as tripping circuit breakers (could potentially be worse if the two circuits were on different legs of the breaker panel, as I understand it, because you would then have 240v instead of 120v running through it, but that would require both live wires to be touching conductive surfaces and the lights should NOT be wired that way.

So, I'm gonna check that tomorrow. If I'm right, it solves the problem. If I'm wrong, the connections will be redone with something a LOT safer and more secure than a wire nut (I got some 5-lead lever-nut wire connectors, which is one lead in and one lead to each of the four fans that we WANT operational...and if the other two fans happened to get wired in to all of that, their leads will be hanging safely insulated from any other power connections. And I will feel MUCH better about that junction box on the back of the illusion...even though it's plastic and therefore, nominally, completely safe (unless a hot wire hits one of the screws mounting the box to the illusion...)

There's also a chance that the DMX controllers are actually okay, but the LED Neon they controlled got fried...that stuff is temperamental. But, we'll see.

GM, 12672 posts

Wed 12 Jun 2024
at 03:10

• msg #321

OOC # 39

player, 11432 posts

Wed 12 Jun 2024
at 05:03

• msg #322

OOC # 39

This stuff is like a rope-light, almost, except it's LED tape with a diffuser tube molded over it, so its cross-section is almost keyhole-shaped. We have a bunch of it up on our proscenium, around the lip of the stage, and on some of the other illusions, but this stuff was already wired into this one. I don't know if it's the same kind of stuff as the other...but the other stuff was freakin' temperamental and at one point, we chucked about forty feet of it straight in the trash because it just wasn't working...it would light up, but erratically and not in the color we wanted when we could get it to change color...

I REALLY hope it's the controllers, because replacing all the neon would make me kinda want to shoot myself...

player, 11434 posts

Wed 12 Jun 2024
at 20:13

• msg #323

OOC # 39

GM, 12673 posts

Wed 12 Jun 2024
at 20:20

• msg #324

OOC # 39

player, 11435 posts

Wed 12 Jun 2024
at 21:00

• msg #325

OOC # 39

No, I don't need to replace anything. The two fans at the top, which I'd been told had no power running to them, did in fact have power running to them. At least one of them had loose connectors that were just dangling in the air above the all-metal frame, and could very easily have been resting on it or could have bounced to touch it, and electrified the whole frame, so when it bumped the lights, they grounded the circuit and everything got 120v in places that weren't designed for it.

Those two lines are now disconnected and capped at the junction box, so it doesn't matter whether the connectors at the top are secure or not. The other four fans run normally. And it took me all of maybe ten minutes to fix it, once I knew what I was looking for.

Now I need to email an update...and I'll probably email the director separately on it, so I'm not calling him out for having screwed it up in front of the rest of the production team.

But the important thing is, it won't happen again.

GM, 12674 posts

Wed 12 Jun 2024
at 21:38

• msg #326

OOC # 39

player, 4733 posts

Wed 12 Jun 2024
at 22:12

• msg #327

OOC # 39

In reply to Admiral Hack (msg # 326):

Sorry he can't, my noggins too far away to reach.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:13, Wed 12 June.

GM, 12675 posts

Wed 12 Jun 2024
at 23:23

• msg #328

OOC # 39

player, 11436 posts

Fri 14 Jun 2024
at 02:09

• msg #329

OOC # 39

And in today's "What's going to go wrong this time?" files...

I ended up going into work about 45 minutes earlier than I'd planned, because someone left the sprinklers on in the planters next to the building where our Seance show is located...the outer walls of the building are cinder block, you leave sprinklers on long enough and the water percolates through the soil in the planters and then through the cinder block walls on the building, so our control room floor had gotten saturated and I had to move almost everything out so they could have carpet cleaners come in and clean it all up...
.
And then our third magic show of the day ended fifteen minutes early because part of an illusion wouldn't move. They bring it on stage with that part in the down position, raise it to the up position, over the course of the illusion performance it returns to the down position, and then they move it back off stage...you literally can't take it off stage with that part in the up position. So, they called the show, ushered the audience out, and then we moved out on stage and started looking at it. It was actually a stupidly simple thing...there's a limit switch that shuts off the motor when that part comes all the way down...and somehow, it had gotten stuck BEYOND the down position, so the moving part thought it already was down. Pushed it back into position (praying that it hadn't been broken and would still shut the motor down when the piece was down), and ran a test cycle. Worked perfectly.

But, yeah...I literally never know what I'm going to end up working on from one day to the next!

GM, 12676 posts

Fri 14 Jun 2024
at 02:13

• msg #330

OOC # 39

player, 11438 posts

Fri 14 Jun 2024
at 07:13

• msg #331

OOC # 39

That's one of the reasons I enjoy my career...there's a constant stream of new challenges to conquer, new skills to learn, and new problems to solve. When I told my mom that I was seriously considering theater as a career, she asked if I thought that was a wise choice (it was a fair question, I'd announced my interest in about seven other career fields during my college career and interest in them waned within a couple of months, if not sooner...) I told her, "This is the first thing I've done since high school that has held my attention for more than six months...I think that's significant!" (I was nearly 30, at that point, so that tells you how many things I'd tried and gotten bored with).

Here I am, nearly 30 years later, and I'm still doing it and still finding new things about it that surprise and delight (and annoy and frustrate) me.

GM, 12677 posts

Fri 14 Jun 2024
at 12:59

• msg #332

OOC # 39

player, 1275 posts

Fri 14 Jun 2024
at 13:07

• msg #333

OOC # 39

Just as I love being an academic... but could do without grading papers.

Back to freshman ethics...

player, 4855 posts

Sat 15 Jun 2024
at 00:15

• msg #334

OOC # 39

player, 4735 posts

Sat 15 Jun 2024
at 00:54

• msg #335

OOC # 39

In reply to Nicole Rutledge (msg # 334):

Especially if it's with red ink.

player, 11439 posts

Sat 15 Jun 2024
at 05:04

• msg #336

OOC # 39

Today was a little old and a little new...doing wardrobe stuff because the person who was supposed to be doing wardrobe forgot to check her online schedule, but considering some of the stuff that needed to be fixed, I'm glad I was the one fixing it because I'm pretty sure I won't have to fix it again later.

And then getting acquainted with the sound board for our evening show...I'm covering for the sound tech this coming Tuesday (and again in July). I've run sound before...but it was AGES ago (like, four or five years, now, I think), and our sound system has had a hefty overhaul since then (still using the same board, and a lot of the same hardware...but it's been massively reconfigured) and a lot of the details of how to run the board have changed (even if I still remembered them). So, it's something new, sort of...

player, 1276 posts

Sat 15 Jun 2024
at 11:24

• msg #337

OOC # 39

player, 4856 posts

Sat 15 Jun 2024
at 23:07

• msg #338

OOC # 39

GM, 12678 posts

Sun 16 Jun 2024
at 05:09

• msg #339

OOC # 39

putting this up in all my games.

Happy father's day to those who are fathers.. if you have a good relationship with your father. make sure to remember him..phone call..dinner whatever.. If they have passed on , remember the good stuff.

Also, If your Mom was a single mom and had to do Dad stuff as well.. let her know with a greeting or a visit as well.

player, 1277 posts

Sun 16 Jun 2024
at 09:03

• msg #340

OOC # 39

I was ambidextrous... but I cannot form letters normally with the left hand any more either. Oddly, I can still write numbers normally with it!

I keep the right hand from locking up entirely with some worry beads, nice ones from Greece, and have taken up lockpicking to regain some measure of dexterity.

player, 4857 posts

Sun 16 Jun 2024
at 10:19

• msg #341

OOC # 39

player, 4736 posts

Mon 17 Jun 2024
at 22:15

• msg #342

OOC # 39

GM, 12679 posts

Mon 17 Jun 2024
at 22:57

• msg #343

OOC # 39

not this one.... Annikki is a 'dress' and came off relatively trusdtworth..Annikki doesn't have an Angel silk. so she's getting two..Traci is getting a second one..ostly because of Si.

Gools ma dMitts got to go to the ball, and got a dress , they're doing quiteb nice for non-coms.

player, 4737 posts

Tue 18 Jun 2024
at 02:33

• msg #344

OOC # 39

player, 175 posts

Tue 18 Jun 2024
at 19:33

• msg #345

OOC # 39

player, 4859 posts

Tue 18 Jun 2024
at 19:42

• msg #346

OOC # 39

Jason... It's later in the evening, most have gone to the Fuji Condos for Shadows after party party. A bit more casual and 97% Hermes folk and some guests. Plus it's kinda interchangeable with Hacks VIP Party (both rooftop)..

on another front... that mirror monolith is back in the news. It's outside Vegas now.

player, 11443 posts

Wed 19 Jun 2024
at 06:07

• msg #347

OOC # 39