Monthly Archives: May 2013

UCS Red Five

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Why can’t an entry be about me putting together the new Red Five X-wing? So yeah here it is to tease and tantalize. UPDATE: Didn’t like the slideshow automation so I switched it back to pictures with more writing.

 

Ok. So this was something I’ve had on my towant (didn’t see this word on google so it’s my new word creation) list for some time now, pretty much as soon as I saw it was going to be offered. The box of course is big. Thankfully I meet the age requirement so I opened it up and began with the construction. Along the way I took notes on the construction process but of course those disappeared when it came to writing this up.

The box with a flash reflection

The box with a flash reflection

 

The box of goodies revealed. Three instruction manuals, stickers and numbered bags. I’ve only been into legos for a few years now and I’m plus/minus on the numbered bags. Yes they correspond well with the instructions. They do make it easier to put it together. There is a significant amount of time NOT spent sorting pieces and actually just building. I don’t know. Part of the fun was the searching around for a piece and cursing that a piece wasn’t put in the bag until that moment you find it under something else.

The pieces still in bags ready to be joined together in holy lego goodness

The pieces still in bags ready to be joined together in holy lego goodness

 

Most of the rest of these pictures are just various stages of the construction. I am amazed at how the creator, praise his name, thought to put things together to make it work. But I guess that’s why they are master builders. I’d bet they have a computer program as well for 3d modeling with the pieces and if they don’t that would be really awesome I think.

Some mechanism that will be used I'm sure.

Some mechanism that will be used I’m sure.

 

Probably for the wings only because I watched the developer video.

Probably for the wings only because I watched the developer video.

 

Ahh.. the mechanism for the wings.

Ahh.. the mechanism for the wings.

 

Another piece of the puzzle

Another piece of the puzzle

 

I like it when things come together and make sense.

I like it when things come together and make sense.

 

The rear mechanism to open and close the foils

The rear mechanism to open and close the foils

 

The full mechanism to open and close the foils.

The full mechanism to open and close the foils.

 

Just covered up now

Just covered up now

 

I realized at this point it was going to be big.

I realized at this point it was going to be big.

 

Joined together and getting all that much closer to finishing.

Joined together and getting all that much closer to finishing.

 

It's ok to turn off the targeting computer Luke I read the script.

It’s ok to turn off the targeting computer Luke I read the script.

 

I put it in the caption but putting the stickers onto this windshield kinda sucked. You really have to get it aligned right since it falls onto the other side. Maybe I just need more practice. It’s like how horrible I am putting the screen protector on my phone. As an aside, the phone had a screen protector on it with the companies logo. How about next time you (the company) make one with a second tab for a top layer that can pull the logo off when the customer buys it and the protector stays on. Huh? Please? It would save people a lot of time and dust particles.

 

I wasn't happy with how the stickers when on this 'windshield.' I would have preferred separate stickers for each pane. R2 fits in really well.

I wasn’t happy with how the stickers when on this ‘windshield.’ I would have preferred separate stickers for each pane. R2 fits in really well.

 

Even without the wings this thing was getting big. You can see that it’s already tipping back on the stand.

I like the way it sits on the stand and you can take it off easily.

I like the way it sits on the stand and you can take it off easily.

 

The foils work in a balancing action. Nice mechanism.

The foils work in a balancing action. Nice mechanism.

 

Almost ready for takeoff.

Almost ready for takeoff.

 

Lego UCS Red 5 Xwing-0145

Just twist this here knob and the wings open and close.

 

 

Need these engines. Nice detail on them.

Need these engines. Nice detail on them.

 

Well.. the engines mounted I suppose to make it go.

Well.. the engines mounted I suppose to make it go.

 

Testing foil mechanism. It works well in either direction.

Testing foil mechanism. It works well in either direction.

 

Just need some final touches for some offensive power and we're off.

Just need some final touches for some offensive power and we’re off.

 

almost there

almost there

 

The finished product but no pilot. Guess R2 will just have to hang around for a while.

The finished product but no pilot. Guess R2 will just have to hang around for a while.

 

I had to clear the Calvin and Hobbs and Farside anthologies to make room for this but it sits well next to some of my technic legos. I dig the motorcycle. It’s crazy the way some of the prices increase so quickly.

Finished X-wing. I did a slight mod on the stand to get it to stay up straight. It was back heavy and I was worried it might tip over backwards. I also didn't like the way it looked pointing up. I think it looks better now with a more stable stand and forward facing.

Finished X-wing. I did a slight mod on the stand to get it to stay up straight. It was back heavy and I was worried it might tip over backwards. I also didn’t like the way it looked pointing up. I think it looks better now with a more stable stand and forward facing.

 

Overall I still enjoy building these and would love to keep building more and more. It’s just where to put them all. Some of these take up quite some space. Then in the buying process I contemplate buying now to build later as prices can go up (and down) and it may get retired. I’m still upset with myself for not getting the carousel with the moving horses when I had the chance. I know others that wish they could still get an UCS Falcon without the crazy prices on it. Oh well. Perhaps one day I’ll just join a lego exchange group and just build and return.

In the related article is a 1:1 production. I don’t have a shelf for that one.

-Santa’s Fallen Angel

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MMA

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Tonight the topic of this weekends UFC MMA fight came up and another person that watches it was interested to know that two others of us also watch it. In the past I’ve tried to discuss this and many times it ends up feeling like I’m trying to defend why I watch it when I can. I know men who can’t stand it and women that yell right back at the screen.

Watching a MMA fight can be spiritual in its own way. For me this is gladiatorial. This is not a five on one situation. These are two men in a similar weight class that are going to pit skill against skill. One might be a better grappler and the maybe the other is a better striker. Each moment, strike, and breathe is important. One punch can knock the opponent off just enough to give the other an opening to literally jump onto. How well can someone handle and onslaught from a ground and pound? How strong is the chin to take blow after blow? Is your ground game good enough that if you are taken down or you take someone down that you can sink in your triangle or kamora to get yourself out. Once again a slight shift in balance or strength at right moment can shift the fight itself.

As them folk say, never leave it up to the judges. If you’ve ever watched a good matchup and you see the judges choose the one you thought obviously lost you can only imagine the feeling of the people in the cage whether in jubilation or disbelief.

Even writing about this I can feel my heart rate increasing and my blood pressure rising. The anticipation of a good matchup where they leave everything, everything in the ring. like the first bout between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar. It was so impressive they were both given contracts to fight.

From one concept a one on one fight tests your own skills and abilities. Did you train hard enough? Were you prepared? Could you adapt to a changing situation to persevere?

From a different concept just get a weapon and take out your opponent. That’s not to say there wasn’t skill in using that weapon. Just that if you have something bigger/better/whatever and the proper knowledge to use it you can win against a large group all by yourself. Something that may take a skill set completely different from a one on one fight.

Regardless. If you don’t agree with the fights, watch or don’t watch. That’s your business but just don’t bother me when I am watching. I enjoy them and will continue to enjoy watching them when I can, reveling in the feelings of the test of skills before me hoping for a good matchup and not a very one sided battle that leaves one untested.

-Santa’s Fallen Angel

cost and effect, part 2

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Return of the Money Pit

Value has its own place as a general concept but it’s hard sometimes to see why people do what they do or choose what they choose.

As a general idea/concept I can understand why we buy/obtain more than we need. I get it. You see or hear about something nice or cool and you just want it. But the part that I have trouble with is why ‘we’ buy/obtain things that we can’t afford. In same cases that is literal. You live paycheck to paycheck yet you upgrade your phone every chance you get. I am not advocating or saying that you can’t spend the money how you please but I think I don’t want to hear anymore that something else, probably more important and vital in my perception can’t be had because the money isn’t there.

Do you really need to spend $90/month on internet/cable? How about upwards of $200+/month on internet/cable/phone?

A new car every few years? The fancy car getting 15mpg when you could be driving one for half the cost and twice the mpg? Another coach/gucci purse because well because.

This also applies to eating out a lot, though sometimes one could argue you could save money by eating out instead of ‘wasting’ food at home (just throw non-meat things into the garden/compost).

I feel bad for those people on the home makeover shows or those who win a raffle for something expensive not realizing that they might be stuck with some massive tax bills that they have to pay. They couldn’t afford their current living style and now they might actually lose what little home they did have because of new bills. I don’t know if shows or raffles explains these things or not.

Dad taught that a check or credit card were essentially the same in concept. You don’t write a check if they money isn’t already in the bank and you don’t charge something unless you have the money or it really will be there when the bill needs to be paid. And it isn’t the minimum balance that needs to be paid, but the whole bill.

I’ve seen someone’s credit card statement (shown to me), the amount they still owe, and the time to pay it off with the minimums. That’s a long time and a lot of money.

I don’t know what it will take or even if ‘we’ will ever become more responsible for our own actions. I’m not talking business/corporate as they seem to be immune to many of their mistakes but as individuals honor seems to be missing more often.

Time to get back to cleaning and to increasing the things in the donation pile. Less sometimes is more.

-Santa’s Fallen Angel

cost and effect, part 1

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Money.

What images already start to form in your mind? Do you see coins? Dollars? Hundred dollar bills?

In the book Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein the main character describes money as an incredible idea. The book is great by the way and is very buddhist to me if you catch the message. I digress.

Can we truly define money? It’s linen with the backing of.. umm.. the gold in fort knox?

Part of the issue with money is the very very subjective idea of what something’s value is. As them folk, me in this case, say, “To the dying man water is worth much but to the drowning man he would gladly give it away.” (May 14th 0025, SFA)

Money is the short pocketable form of barter.. kinda. Old world style, you make someone a rocking chair and they pay you with lots of fruits and veggies or something like that. Now you just get something in your pocket or electronically on a statement.

We place our own values on things all the time. Do you really need to spend millions of dollars to have a private flight into orbit? How about being able to not have to decide between medicine for your child or dinner for the family? In the similar water analogy, the rich person may, or may not, be wasting enough food to feed said family and going into orbit sure won’t help them at all.

$1.99. It’s not $2.00. That’s too much. But you see that #1 and almost forget about the 0.99. They do it at the gas pumps. If you’re not sure just take a few moments next time and look closer at the prices.

We can also be tricked into the value of things. Retail price $1,000. On sale for $100.  Doesn’t it matter what it is? Not really. Most people I think would at least take a look to see what the great deal is. Amazon is great with showing the retail price that isn’t even the price in the store sometimes and then showing the percent off. Get’s your attention fast enough you might buy it without doing a price comparison.

We use money on a daily basis. We love it and we hate it.

As they say, “Money is the root of all evil,” I’d say evil is the root of all evil and money can be used like anything of potential power, for good or for evil.

Until part 2 where I shift thoughts,

-Santa’s Fallen Angel

 

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A Movie Post: Iron Man 3

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I saw Iron Man 3 this morning.

I can honestly say that Iron Man 1 (or just Iron Man) ranks as one of my all time favorites. I loved the dialogue and the character interactions. I think they did a great job. I loved the sarcasm from Jarvis. Anyway. Moving on.

Iron Man 2. Sorry. I had to pause as a shudder passed through me. It wasn’t horrible. It just wasn’t great. I do like the switch in Rhody (did I spell that right?). He might be smaller now but  Don seems more badass. There were definitely parts of the movie I thought were well done mainly the section where he figures out the new element and goes through that process. The flying and fighting were ok. The SHIELD stuff was meh. The characters delved into a new depth which I think may have caused others to not like the movie as much. I appreciate the depth and assumed it would be leading somewhere. Maybe that’s why I like a lot of the independent and foreign films.

Now Iron Man 3. I saw this in 3D. It wasn’t a gimmicky 3D as far as I could tell. It worked for me. I would have to see it in 2D to really tell if there was a difference but I’m fine for now. This wasn’t as good as the first one. But it was MUCH better than the second. Once again Downey Jr brings life to Iron Man. He is Iron Man. I can’t really see anyone else playing him now if he doesn’t sign up for a fourth one. I believe he did say he will do Avengers 2. We have a little more depth into the characters as basic sequel development will lead to. There were nice plot twists I didn’t see coming and I always appreciate not being able to anticipate where an american movie is headed. (Another reason I like independent and foreign films). I liked seeing Pepper become more of a badass herself and while she still had badass moments I’m hoping that a number four does get made and her role continues its expansion. At times there did appear to be more overt product placement and it was glaring and distracting for me at least.

So overall a good film. I’m glad I jumped at the last second to run and see it at 9:15 this morning. That’s really a great time actually. Very few people there and you can show up ‘late’, meaning all the time the trailers take up at the beginning. 15 minutes late and I still had several to sit through. I think there were maybe seven people in the theater. It worked for me. As a note, for non-3D films since those usually carry the discounts, the first showing of the day can be downright cheap and worth that extra early slot to see it. Just sayin’.

-Santa’s Fallen Angel

 

benefit of the doubt

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We hear this phrase often. We teach it to kids. It’s in the legal system. We give the defendant the benefit of the doubt, presume/assume a well intention/innocence before thinking it is a bad intention/guilty.

I keep hoping one day that this idea is actually taken to heart. I’m not talking about full blown naivety and trust everything that people say and do. We aren’t that enlightened. I think it’s fine to take someone at face value to start with and using questions, experience, or other evidence, get a better sense of what is going on. What I am saying is that why do we constantly presume that what was said or done was ill intentioned before even trying to see it another way? I think sometimes I live with my blinders on too much trying to see the good in people. I try but other people sure make it a lot harder to KEEP them on.

Now with a random person you play it by ear as above. You take what they say and you pass it through your filters. We do profile and stereotype people. We do it each and every day to each and every person we meet. But we can still keep an open mind.

This brings me to another thought. The people you know. I’m not talking about the people you see every so often or just say hello to. This is for the people you see outside of work. You call or text or email or go to events with. Those people are probably even friends.

So what bugs me and I have a hard time understanding is why those people, assuming you are worth trusting, will assume something you said or did was with malintention instead of stopping for a moment and saying, “hmm.. this person is usually nice. maybe i misunderstood something.” Of course this goes back to other posts and thoughts that in general people suck at communication. But now I wonder about these people and sometimes I feel really bad for them. Have they had a life and continue to have this life where maybe they can’t trust people? Where they were wronged so many times or so deeply that they choose to no longer want to see good?

Recently I asked someone that I thought trusted me if they were planning on coming to trivia again. I have a group of friends I go with frequently but we were going to be taking a break for a few weeks. This someone has been once. Just once but expressed an interest in coming back sometime. The following are my message and the response I got back.

ME:”honest question: are you ever planning on coming to trivia again? just asking to know if I should tell you when we aren’t going to be there.”

THEM:”Honest response: you don’t have to invite me to things if it is irritating.”

I didn’t think I had said something bad. And yes, while I do see that I could have worded it differently, I thought my intention, whatever their perception, was clear in what I did say. I didn’t want this person showing up and finding out we weren’t there. If others read this and think otherwise, I’d like to know. From my end the kicker is that I don’t think I ever treated this person badly before or lied or ever was intentionally rude. And although I tried to say these things, alas I have not heard back yet.

It does bother me thinking that this person’s first response was to assume I was irritated with them. I try and be open and honest with people and continue to realize people just aren’t able to handle it. Unfortunately, I have a hard time not being honest. You try and think good about others and you forget that other people may not think good things first.

I had a similar honesty situation also recently. (I have a lot of these in general by the way. I’m just pulling these two out.) There was a potential opportunity to catch up with someone and I voiced an honest concern. The immediate response back was a presumption that my honest thought was a recognition or perception of a problem instead of the actual statement I made of being aware that issues might come up.

Why and how to people go through life like this? This automatic assumption that people, including those people you know and hopefully trust, are meaning something bad when they talk to you. Do a certain degree I really don’t understand it. I’m actually trying to and it’s frustrating. If you try and keep an open mind about the possibilites in life, how do you then go about closing your mind? Like many people I know in my heart that there have been times I have been accused of something I didn’t do. We all know that pain inside, I hope. That idea that you know you didn’t do it or say it and now the situation is getting out of hand. Maybe at some point the truth surfaces and people try and apologize or make amends.

It’s that type of situation that SHOULD force people to try and keep an open mind afterwards. Maybe what you perceived as an angry or hurtful statement from the person you are communicating with didn’t really mean you thought. How much heartache could be saved if we just took a few moments to stop and ask what they really meant? That best friend of yours… the one you got angry with… if they are normally saying rude and mean things, then sure, they probably did again but if they are almost 100% of the time nice and pleasant and they said something you thought wasn’t nice and pleasant then I implore you to react in a new way.

STOP

DROP (THE CLOSE MINDED THOUGHT)

LISTEN (WITH AN OPEN MIND)

Those few seconds of pause might mean the difference between the real meaning of what they said and weeks of anger. I’m not saying they didn’t slip from 100% with their first mean words. They may have. But if you have that open mind added with your experience maybe they are going through some deep shit so bad that they lashed out. If you stopped for that pause and thought, “this isn’t like this person. maybe there is something else going on,” the world might start becoming a better place and you might start becoming a better person.

So no, I will probably not try and become close minded again. I will continue to try and stay open minded and honest to myself and others even when they don’t know what do with it. I will continue to hope they people won’t always look for a deeper meaning in honest/truthful statements. I will continue to stay frustrated not understanding why people (especially the ones I care about) will presume a negative meaning instead of pausing to review any past interactions to see if they make sense with what they know from before. I will continue to hope that one day one person will read one thing I’ve written and be changed for the better.

May we seek the divine within us to become more enlightened.

Namaste.

-Santa’s Fallen Angel