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Black Six

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Blog Entries posted by Black Six

  1. Black Six
    To get things out of the way, if you're one of the frightening large number of people I've encountered who have never seen Star Wars, this entry is not for you. Instead, go find someone who has and tell them to read this, and then they will help you watch Star Wars.
     
    Since Episode I made its way into our lives in 1999, a new issue has been raised in the land of Star Wars fandom - what is the right way to watch the movies? And furthermore, how would you show them to your kids/someone who has never seen them?
     
    I have thus far been a staunch supporter of IV, V, VI, I, II, III. This is the way the movies were released. If you watch the prequels first, it ruins the surprise of just about everything in the original trilogy. You know Darth Vader is Luke's father, you know who that crazy-sounding Muppet is, you know all about Palpatine. So better to watch the originals first, be surprised by that, and then learn more about how things got to where they were through the prequels.
     
    Others out there champion an order of I, II, III, IV, V, VI, since matches the movies' internal chronology. I can see some additional reasons behind that. If you watch the original trilogy first, you know where everything in the prequels is leading up to. You know Anakin will become Darth Vader, that Padme will die, and that Obi Wan will end up in Tatooine and Yoda on Dagobah. I argue, however, that from a cinematic perspective, the storytelling in the originals is much better and the revelations you see there are more startling than those in the prequels, which tend to be pretty heavily foreshadowed. (I mean, who didn't see that Palpatine was Darth Sidious?) Maybe my perspective is skewed though since I had seen the originals and read a lot of the books before the prequels were even announced.
     
    I was contemplating these two points of view recently, and came upon a possible compromise. Perhaps it would be too confusing for someone who has never seen the movies, but if they were able to stick with it I think it could have a lot of potential: I, IV, II, V, III, VI.
     
    Think about it.
     
    You watch The Phantom Menace; you're introduced to this little boy and Obi Wan, silly adventures occur and then there's an amazing lightsaber duel.
     
    You watch A New Hope - hey how did Obi Wan get so old all of the sudden, who is this Darth Vader character? Oh my goodness he kills that little boy from the first movie (obviously not while he's a boy, but still)?
     
    You watch Attack of the Clones. Oh hey there's that Clone War Obi Wan was just talking about. Another crazy lightsaber duel.
     
    You watch The Empire Strikes Back - WAIT! Anakin is Darth Vader? But he was just taking on the insurrectionists!?
     
    You watch Revenge of the Sith; oh, so that's what happened. Man that was a ridiculously quick fall to the dark side (sorry, it was!). Palpatine is Sidious (okay so you probably already figured that one out). Ah, so that's how all those things from IV got set into motion.
     
    Finally, you watch Return of the Jedi. Anakin redeems himself! Good wins! Teddy bears taking out trained military forces!
     
    I think it could work.
     
    Does anyone know someone we could test it on?
  2. Black Six

    Rob Is Okay

    By Black Six,

    I don't know what the big deal is. He's a nice guy I suppose, unless he's being dumb. I have no idea how Becca puts up with him though, honestly. He's just always talking, even in his sleep!
     
    Love you bud!
  4. Black Six
    So I mentioned over here about some hiccups during the upgrade. Nothing major, but it was all your fault. Yes you, the blogging populace of BZPower.
     
    Here's a quote from the IPS rep we worked with:
     
    Geez guys, you got a little carried away over here, you think?
     
    Anyway, they got through all the tags in the end, and hopefully it won't cause any problems in the future.
     
    As a result of this, however, I have changed some settings for tags:
    Maximum length per tag: 20 characters
    Maximum tags per item: 5 tags
     
    I think this should still be plenty for all your tagging needs.
     
    We're not going to implement any new rules other than the above, but please try to take it easy with the tags.
     
    Thanks!
  5. Black Six

    Castle Finale

    By Black Six,

    So I just saw the Castle Season 4 finale.
     
    Wow.
     
    Definitely don't want to spoil anything, but it was certainly a roller coaster of an episode. The ending has me excited for Season 5 and sad I have to wait all summer to find out what happens next. That, to me, is the mark of some truly great writing.
     
    I was also glad to see Tahmoh Penikett in there - he's a great actor and deserves a leading roll in something again. Maybe it's time to rewatch BSG...
  6. Black Six
    BZPower has had a Calendar for a while now. It's seen intermittent use over the years depending on how the staff feel at the time.
     
    I just discovered a new feature that must have been added with the recent upgrade - RSVPing. Now events can be created with the option to allow members to RSVP to them. So now for real life kind of meetups, or even for contests on BZPower, we can keep a running tally of who is going. To test it out, I've added two upcoming LEGO Conventions:
     
    Bricks Cascade 2012
    BrickFair 2012 VA
     
    Do you guys think this is cool/useful? Right now only Staff can create events - should we open it up to Premier Members or OBZPCs?
     
    Also, there's an option to be able to comment on events that is currently disabled. I'm not keen on enabling it (more work for the Staff), but thought I'd get everyone's input on that too.
     
    Let me know what you think!
  7. Black Six

    Pax East 2012

    By Black Six,

    It's already been nearly a week, but I'm finally getting around to making an entry about PAX East.
     
    In short, it was awesome.
     
    I took the train up last Thursday, from Maryland to Boston. It was my first time on Amtrak in a few years (since BrickFest 2006) and it was a pretty good experience. Longer than flying, but less of a hassle than dealing with airports or driving all the way up. It was about seven hours, and thanks to free Wi-Fi I was even able to be somewhat productive.
     
    Once in Boston I checked into the hotel and then waited for John (Watashi Wa) to show up. We enjoyed a little taste of what Boston has to offer before meeting up with my friend AJ. At that point we headed to Cambridge for a screening of Scott Pilgrim at the Brattle Theater hosted by Harmonix, the guys that make Rock Band. I love that movie, and it was awesome seeing it on the big screen again. We then had some dinner at Bertucci's, which was quite good. Then it was time for Rock Band Night back at the theater. People went up on stage to play the game to be voted on by a panel of judges for their skill and showmanship. Our dinner ran long so we didn't get a chance to participate, unfortunately, but it was still fun.
     
    Friday was the official start of the event. There were lots of panels and such to see. I'm going to list off some of the highlights:

    Rooster Teeth Panel - we got to see some of RvB Season 10 and listen to some hilarious commentary. These guys do not disappoint.
    BioWare and Mass Effect Panel - there was a BioWare Dragon Age panel at 3PM, the Mass Effect panel was in the same theater at 4:30PM. We walked by at 2:30PM and there was already a line forming for the ME one, so we queued up. The panel was well worth it. They talked about ME3 and the end so many people complained about, and I even got to ask them a question about the testing process!
    From Lurker to Leader: A Frags to Riches Story - this was by far the smallest panel we went to, but it was still great. A bunch of prominent people from the Halo community talked about what it was like to go from being a fan to working in the gaming industry or for fan sites. I found it very insightful.

    Dinner was at Legal Harborside and was quite delicious.
     
    Then came Saturday:

    Irrational Games: Making a Monster - the guys making Bioshock: Infinite held a panel about the creation process of enemies in the game. I envy the creativity of Ken Levine.
    Major Nelson Podcast - Major Nelson, e, and lollip0p joined by special guests Stepto and Felicia Day! It's great to look behind the scenes of the people who keep Xbox Live running. Also, Felicia Day is hilarious and even funnier than I thought she could be.
    Saturday Night Concerts - oh man they were so awesome. Video Game Orchestra, Paul & Storm, Jonathan Coulton, and MC Frontalot. These are always a highlight of the event. Paul & Storm and JoCo especially put on amazing shows, and I look forward to seeing them each year. If you have the chance to see them, don't miss it!

    We got some takeout from AK's South Boston which we ate while standing in line for the concerts. Good Italian-style and deli foods if you're looking for something somewhat fast. Every time we've been there it's been busy though, so I suggest calling in or placing your order online.
     
    And last, but not least, Sunday:

    Inside Gearbox Software - I'm not going to admit to how long we had to wait in line for this panel, but we got free pizza and some codes to give us a chance to make an easter egg for either Borderlands 2 or Aliens: Colonial Marines. Both games look pretty amazing and reminded me that I need to play Borderlands 1 and actually make an effort to see the Aliens movies in their entirety.

    AJ had to leave early, but John and I went to the Atlantic Beer Garden for dinner. I had a cheeseburger stuffed with macaroni and cheese. I did not know such things existed, but it was so delicious!
     
    Obviously we spent a lot of time on the show floor too. We saw some gameplay for Assassin's Creed 3, played Rock Band Blitz, waited in line but never saw Aliens: Colonial Marines, played the new Kid Icarus (you're welcome Kohaku), visited the Rooster Teeth guys, and many others I can't remember.
     
    All in all, it was an amazing weekend with some good friends. PAX East is always a ton of fun and I'm already looking forward to next year.
  8. Black Six
    Since I have the current RPG contest on the brain, I thought that might be an appropriate topic for a Behind BZP. But first, some questions.
     
    Mailbag
    1. It's fairly close to the top, actually. That said, I can give no ETA on when things will change.
    2. They're like the staff anywhere else, except moreso. They have real lives and get busy. I can't say when they might start showing their faces more often, but I always hope it will be soon. There's always a possibility of appointing more staff, but I only do that when I see a need. As of now, I think things are getting by alright.
     
    Want to see your questions answered? PM them to me and put 'Mailbag' in the subject line.
     
    Running Contests
    I'm going to start things off by saying that running a contest is different on each subforum of BZPower, and even between hosts there will be changes. That said, I'd like to think I've been around enough and run/hand my hand in a variety of contests that I can speak to them as a whole.
     
    Contests have a long history on BZPower, dating all the way back to the early days of the BBC forum. Since then they've expanded to art, the Library, RPGs, fan-made games, LEGO creations, storyline, blogs, and, in one instance, poetry. That's a lot of variety, and it's something we're proud of and do our best to continue as the years go on.
     
    The first contest I ran was, of course, in the RPG forum. I had gotten tired of members asking me for permission to make RPGs, and decided a contest would be more fair. This is pretty different from most other contests, where the motivation is to get members to make something cool and win a prize if people like it. It helps keep the community active and pushes people to flex their creative muscles.
     
    Anyway, the first thing you do when you want to run a contest is decide to have one, quickly followed by where you want to have it. Then you need to come up with a theme, unless you're lazy and want it to be an open contest. At this point, the next step is usually to go steal the rules from the last contest of that type and tweak them until they fit what you're trying to do. After that, you have to determine how long the entry period is going to be. This varies based on the type of contest, and in some cases, like if the finalists of the contest are supposed to send their entries to BrickFair, is very time-sensitive. Careful planning is also done to avoid/give extra time when major holidays are involved.
     
    You get all your info together, pick your dates, themes, and rules, and you post it. Then you wait for people to enter. If you're lucky a Reporter will post about your contest on the front page to help make people aware of it. But mainly you wait, answering questions here and there.
     
    Then the entry period comes to a close. If you're smart, you've been updating the entry list as you go, because otherwise you have a bunch of work to do now, sifting through the entrants and making sure everyone followed the rules. It helps if you have some assistants to do some of that tedious work. (Hey, it pays to have minions.) Once all the entries are together, you do one of two things - split them up into polls or start judging. Polls is by far the easier of the two - several rounds of people picking their favorites culminating with a winner and several runners-up. Judging is a bit of a nightmare - you need to get people to help, and then hope they don't back out. Then you wait for them to go through all the entries and get back to you with their results. Overall it's necessary for things with long, intricate entries like stories. Most members aren't going to read them and would just vote randomly or based on whether they like a member or not, and that's not very fair.
     
    Congratulations to the winners! The contest is nearly done! But now comes the hardest part - prizes. Oftentimes contest hosts turn to me to ask if I can provide prizes for a contest, and usually I say yes. The problem is I tend to have a difficult time shipping them out in a prompt manner, so my apologies to all those who I still owe prizes. It's on the list of things to take care of, I swear. In the meantime, you may see us giving out more Premier Memberships as prizes, since those are a lot easier to deal with.
     
    As always, I hope you enjoyed this look behind the scenes. If you have an idea for a Behind BZP, let me know!
  9. Black Six

    Mail Call

    By Black Six,

    I've had these sitting in my inbox for a bit, and I figured before they became completely irrelevant I should do something about them.
     
    Mailbag
     
    1. Time. I really don't have the time even if I wasn't the Forum Leader over there. And not that I do a huge amount (other than reading through all the contest RPGs, dealing with reports, and running the contests - you know, little things), I haven't seen any other staffer maintain a level of activity in there that I'd be ready to hand things over to them. And yes, it is my baby.
     
    2. I would. There's a lot of great ideas that have come out of those contests.
     
    3. I'm a fan of classic fantasy, or anything that captures the mystery of 2001.
     
    4. I recently updated the sidebar here to show everyone how far behind I am with contest prizes. You have not been forgotten.
     
    5. There is most definitely a pattern, one that a few have figured out. I don't see any need to address it further.
     
    If we had multiple skins available, a menu would appear to allow you to select them (I've tested it, none of you were paying attention though).
     
    We're still working on figuring out how we're going to handle members creating skins. At this point in time it's looking like it's going to involve providing you guys with our CSS file and the important images that make up the forum. Them members will create their own, custom versions, and we'll vote to see which ones people like the best.
     
    Want to see your questions answered? PM them to me and put 'Mailbag' in the subject line.
  10. Black Six

    New Feature?

    By Black Six,

    Shhh, this is a secret. You guys are the first to hear about this, because I trust you for some honest feedback.
     
    Before the upgrade there was a 'Gallery' link that people always asked us questions about. The feature was never turned on, mainly because we were worried that hosting images on BZPower would adversely affect the performance of the site (even more). Things have changed, and now we have a new server and fewer active members.
     
    What would you think if BZPower had a gallery where you could post pictures of your MOCs, artwork, and other LEGO-related things? And what would you think if normal Members could post a certain number of images and Premier Members could post more? Would you use it? Would you keep using Brickshelf/Maj/Flickr? Would you upgrade to a Premier Membership for more pictures?
     
    I'm really interested to hear what you all think...
  11. Black Six

    Behind Bzp - Toy Fair

    By Black Six,

    Hey everyone, now that I'm all done with Toy Fair coverage I thought I would do two things. First - update my blog more regularly again. Second - talk more about Toy Fair! I just can't get away from it, can I?
     
    Behind BZP - Toy Fair
    This was the eighth year I've been invited to a part of Toy Fair by LEGO. The way they've handled the event has changed over the years. Originally they had a private show room they would give us a tour of. Then they had gala events for a couple years where they'd make big announcements. Nowadays though they get us into the expo hall early and let us take pictures and talk to the PR teams about the new sets before anyone else (well, except for the people who went to the other Toy Fairs). BZPower greatly appreciates the opportunity and will continue to go as long as we are able.
     
    So, Toy Fair 2012. No longer living int the New York metropolitan area, it's a bit more of a hassle to attend, but thankfully I still know people in the area to help make the process easier. Arriving in the greatest city in the world the Saturday before, I headed for my hotel and checked in and got settled. A short while later I headed out to a local Thai restaurant to meet up with Jim Foulds and Joe Meno. I hope you all know who Jim is by now. In case you don't know Joe, he's the owner and editor of Brick Journal magazine and a long time member of the AFOL community. Both are cool guys and total geeks so we get along quite well.
     
    After dinner, we attempted to make our way to Burgers and Cupcakes for some dessert, but unfortunately it was closed for a private party (very private, there was only one person there). We turned around and headed uptown then until we found ourselves in Time Square, where we of course had to go to Toys 'R' Us. A word of advice - never ever buy anything there. Their prices are always jacked up, and NYC has some ridiculous sales tax. We followed that up with the Disney Store, and then made an attempt at Rockefeller Plaza to go to the LEGO Store. Unfortunately it was closed, so we resumed our attempt to find cupcakes, when we fortuitously stumbled upon the Magnolia Bakery, which deliciously satisfied our hunger. All this was interspersed with talk of LEGO, the community, and various geek topics. All in all a fun time.
     
    Sunday started way too early with breakfast at the Skylight Diner with Jim and Joe again. By seven we were at the Javits Center getting checked in. From there it was two hours of taking pictures, talking to other attendees, and taking pictures. Yes, as you saw, there were lots and lots of pictures. I chatted with the BS01 guys, Cholie and Aanchir, as well as people from some other fan sites. Everyone has their own interests and favorites, and it's nice to get different perspectives from other fans. And that's actually all there is to it. After the event I went back to my hotel and checked out, hopped back on a train, and was on my way to picture-editing land, where I would stay for far too long.
     
    One of these days we're going to get ourselves into the full event. That will allow us to walk around the whole show. From the LEGO perspective there wouldn't be much added bonus (other than more time to gain info and take pictures), but as a geek I'd love to see some of the other toys out there.
     
    I think that might have come off as more boring than I thought it would, but there you have it. If you have a better idea for a Behind BZP, post it in the comments or PM it to me.
  12. Black Six

    Busy Weekend

    By Black Six,

    Sometimes real life takes priority over BZPower, unfortunately. This weekend, starting about three hours ago, is going to be a busy one. I'm not sure if/when I'll have time to post more Toy Fair coverage, but I'll bring what I need to work on it with me just in case.
     
    I'm going to see a presentation of the play 'Shakespeare Abridged,' tonight, which I hear is hilarious. Then I'll be helping a friend move into some new digs. Then I have some other possible plans. It should be a fun time, but putting together those stories can take some time, time I may not have.
     
    I hope everyone else has a good weekend too!
  13. Black Six

    Toy Fair Pic Counts

    By Black Six,

    I'm hard at work going through the pictures I took this morning at Toy Fair. Hopefully I'll be able to post something later today. To give you an idea of the work I have to do, and also what to expect from our coverage, here's counts for the pictures I took of each theme. Please note that I'll be taking out the bad ones and the duplicates so you won't be seeing this many posted:
     
    Bricks & More: 6
    Cars: 6
    City: 33
    Creator: 12
    Dino: 16
    Duplo: 9
    Friends: 26
    Games: 10
    Hero Factory: 52
    Lord of the Rings: 58
    Minifigures: 1
    Monster Fighters: 20
    Ninjago: 46
    Racers: 5
    Spongebob: 3
    Star Wars: 46
    Super Heroes - Constraction: 10
    Super Heroes - System: 21
    Technic: 6
    Total: 386
     
    Also, you can VOTE for the pics you want to see first.
  14. Black Six
    In case you were wondering, I never said I was going to post these every Sunday.
     
    Mailbag
    1. Tough question. I might have to go with Indiana Jones, because he's awesome.
    2. Blue. No, yellllllow!
    3. 6 (See what I did there?)
     
    1. Yes.
    2. Yes.
    3. I'm a computer engineer working for the U.S. Army.
     
    fishers wins with this outstanding suggestion for a Behind BZP.
     
    Want to see your questions answered? PM them to me and put 'Mailbag' in the subject line.
     
    Being an Ambassador
    I had to go back and look it up, but I've been BZPower's Ambassador since June 2008. That's actually shorter than I expected, because it feels like I've been doing this for a while. But since I'm pretty sure that means I've been an Ambassador longer than Kelly was, I guess I'm the best person to talk on the subject.
     
    To start I'll answer fisher's questions: Our relationship with LEGO is great. You can tell this because they spend so much time hanging out with us at fan events. At BrickFair Alabama this year I'd estimate we spent at least a third of the convention time hanging out with Jim Foulds and/or Kevin Hinkle. We talked about LEGO and Bionicle, of course, but also life, the universe, and everything.
     
    There's a bunch of ways they communicate with us. Obviously there's the fan events. Then there's a set of forums LEGO uses for the Ambassadors and other fan projects. Sometimes Kevin or Jim will just email me too if there's something specific they'd like to know. They definitely listen. They want to know how BZPower is dealing with Bionicle being canceled, what we think of Hero Factory and other lines they're working on, and what we're doing to keep the spirit alive. As far as sets to review - we don't get those because I'm an Ambassador. LEGO sends us those because BZPower is still a large LEGO news and community site with a large reach.
     
    They certainly don't think we're crazy for existing. They understand how big of a line Bionicle was and is for many of us. Fun fact: Kevin Hinkle's son still plays Bionicle Heroes, so he's in the know when it comes to our universe. They want to understand what we're doing and how we're reacting and then do what they can to help the community continue to thrive.
     
    As far as the Ambassador program as a whole goes, these days it's kind of a nebulous concept. Back in the day (before I was selected) LEGO hand picked people from the community to give feedback and help give input on new LEGO themes. It was all under an NDA and very hush-hush. When I first joined, they were transitioning to a new mode of operations. There were several projects that Ambassadors could sign up for that were designed to help the community. There were also periodic calls for feedback and just general discussions with Ambassadors asking questions of LEGO.
     
    The projects idea failed when too few of the Ambassadors were actively participating in them and LEGO was unable to provide the level of support we were expecting. So the program shifted to focus more on the discussion and feedback. A couple of times they've tried to encourage Ambassadors to start their own projects, but that's never really gotten off the ground.
     
    All the while LEGO has been letting in more Ambassadors, most of whom rarely post or give off any signs of activity. But with more people come more questions, and the LEGO Community Team doesn't have the time usually to answer everything. As a result, the program has stagnated a bit, which is why you haven't heard anything about it from me of late. LEGO assures us that they're working on things though, so we'll see.
     
    And hopefully that was elucidating, even if it wasn't as exciting as you might have thought. Remember, if you have something you'd like to see me talk about, just drop me a PM!
  15. Black Six

    Brick Bus

    By Black Six,

    So just about exactly a week ago, I found myself sitting in Casey's at the Sheraton in Birmingham, AL with Jim Foulds, Kevin Hinkle, Watashi Wa, Emzee, and Abner (an AFOL who I've met at almost every LEGO convention I've been to). In case you're not in the know, Jim and Kevin work for the LEGO Community Team. It has a different name, but they change it every six months so I don't bother remembering.
     
    We came up with the best idea.
     
    Kevin was telling us about the many times he's driven through Texas either for moves or to visit family when he was living out of state and how much 'fun' it was. (In reality he was telling us about the abandoned houses he'd see on the side of the road that he really hoped he never broke down next to one.) He also talked about how much he enjoyed driving a big moving truck while towing a car. (I think he was being sarcastic.)
     
    The logical conclusion from this was that Keven needs to drive a party bus from Connecticut (where LEGO has their US HQ) to the various fan events, picking up AFOLs along the way. He promised Gogurt and Snack Packs and Capri Suns until Jim said the budget probably couldn't afford it. So there will probably only be some cheap knockoff brands. As long as there's food though, I'm on board.
     
    I think this would be the ultimate way to get to an event - it's like the con starts before you even get there. Of course there's the downside that everyone will hate each other by the time you get to your destination, but it's a small price to pay.
     
    So who's ready to hop on the magic brick bus? I hear there will be a mariachi band on the one that goes to BrickFiesta.
  16. Black Six
    I had only one question in my inbox for a mailbag this week, so I thought I'd share that first and then go on to the topic of this entry.
     
    Mailbag
    I like how you tried to set me up for a nice Behind BZP there. Unfortunately, we outline that process very well right here in the Staff Information topic. That doesn't mean I can't use it as a springboard though.
     
    Want to see your questions answered? PM them to me and put 'Mailbag' in the subject line.
     
    Assigning Staff
    So once a potential staff member is selected, how do we know where to put them? There's actually a number of things that go into the process.
     
    First is the team they should be on - forums, blogs, news, or reference. For the latter two we usually pick out people we think would be good fits there. For Reporters we find people that write a lot, either in the blogs or the Library or just in a lot of topics. Reference Keepers need to be people who are very passionate about the story. Forum and Blog staff, however, are very similar in a lot of areas. They need to be helpful, courteous, respectful, and show a good understanding of the rules. Most times we pick someone with one team or the other in mind, but occasionally we give them the choice. Generally the deciding factor is where the member is more active, since that indicates which part of the site they like more.
     
    For forum staff (aside from Mentors), there's then another level of assignment - which forums should they be helping out in? If we've recently had a staff member retire, there are obvious gaps we're looking to fill, but sometimes we're just looking to beef up our numbers a bit.
     
    I'll start off by asking the Forum Assistant or Leader where they'd like to be. I don't want to assign someone to a forum they're not going to enjoy - it's happened in the past and usually doesn't turn out well. I also keep a giant spreadsheet: there's a column for every forum and a row for every forum staff member. I use it to not only keep track of assignments but also to gather some statistics to help figure out who should go where.
     
    Each forum obviously needs at least one Forum Leader - more active forums can get two or more. Some less active ones have them too by virtue of an Assistant getting promoted to Leader and not wanting to leave where they had been assigned. The majority of forums also have Assistants. My spreadsheet calculates the Assistant-to-Leader ratio, which ideally I'd like to be at 2 or greater, but that doesn't always happen. It should always be at least 1 though. In addition to that ratio I also look at the total number of staff in the forum. I've also recently begun keeping track of forum activity in terms of page views to get an idea of which forums are the most active and consequently should have more staff.
     
    Once I figure out which forums need staff, I need to figure out who to put where. The spreadsheet also calculates how many forums each staff member is assigned to and the average number of forums per Leader and Assistant. I try to keep these as low as possible because we obviously don't want people getting overwhelmed. Invariably though I see a few staff members asking for more work, so they'll have more assignments than most. Every now and then I'll shift people around though, just to even things out.
     
    Every time a staff member joins or leaves the team, I make a new page in the spreadsheet and update it. This lets me keep a record of the staff changes, so I can go back and look at how things have been trending over time.
     
    So I doubt that was nearly as exciting as recording the Powercast, but I wanted to share it anyway. As always, if you have an idea for something I can talk about, let me know!
  17. Black Six
    As I discussed last week, I was thinking of ending my Weekly Update series. And I am. Last week was the last one. It had become too much of recap of the news than anything substantial. You can get the same content from reading the front page.
     
    So I'm trying something new - 'Behind BZP' - where I'll pull back the curtain a little on the things the staff an I do. It won't be every week, but I'll be doing it as often as I can think of things. If you have something you'd like to see me talk about send me a PM and let me know.
     
    Recording the Powercast
    There's a lot that goes into recording an episode of the Powercast, which is why they're every month and not every week or something crazy like that. Let's see how it goes.
     
    My recording starts with a MXL-990 microphone, suspended by a Heil PL-2T boom arm. Be aware that I do not pay retail for any of this, I always search around for good deals. A Nady MPF-6 pop filter attaches to the boom to keep those harsh consonants from coming through too strong.
     
    The mic is plugged into an M-Audio Fast Track Ultra mixer, to which I also plug in me Sennheiser HD-380 headphones. Then the mixer plugs into my laptop (a MacBook Pro).
     
    So that's how I sound so good, but there's a lot of software involved to get everyone else on the show. Once we decide on a topic and who's involved, we use Skype to talk to each other. I record that conversation using Audio Hijack Pro.
     
    After all the segments have been recorded, I open them up with Audacity. For some reason I've yet to determine, my mic only gets recorded on the left channel while everyone else goes on both the left and right. I use Audacity to split the two channels, get rid of the right, and save it as a mono-track file. I then run it through Levelator to even out the volumes of all the different speakers and to help remove noise. This saves me from actually having to do a lot of advanced audio editing.
     
    Then I pop open Garageband. All the tracks get brought in, I cut and splice things together to get rid of awkward pauses and some of the 'ums' and 'ands' and such. This helps make the show flow better when you're listening. Around now I'll record the intro and outro pieces too. Once all the audio is in place, I add in the transitions. Then I listen through the whole thing (again) and adjust the levels so the volume doesn't change dramatically between segments. Finally, the metadata gets added and I export it into iTunes.
     
    The file then gets uploaded to BZPower, I edit the XML file with the new episode, and post a news story.
     
    Pretty simple, right?
     
    Oh, and since I still have some questions, here's a Mailbag. I'll keep doing these if you guys keep sending questions.
     
    Mailbag
    1. Hmm. I think I'd say David Tennant, even though Matt Smith is quite awesome.
    2. There've been so many they all blend together.
    3. The ponies are starting to get a little old.
    4. Lolcats for sure. Rickrolling might be my least.
    5. Nope.
    6. By definition it can't.
    7. Sure?
     
    1. Invulnerability
    2. X-ray vision
    3. Fire
     
    Want to see your questions answered? PM them to me and put 'Mailbag' in the subject line.
     
    I hope you all enjoyed that. Please let me know if you did! And let me know if there's other things you want me to discuss here.
  18. Black Six

    Weekly Update - 1/16

    By Black Six,

    Intro
    Late again. Perhaps this Sunday thing was not such a good idea.
     
    Updates
    ChocolateFrogs posted a review of Splitface, slowly whittling down our 2012 first wave set list. There's not too many more to go, and we're working on them.
     
    BrickFair Alabama went on this weekend (hence the lateness of this update) and while there Jim Foulds revealed some 2014 set info. That's right, he skipped 2013 and went to next next year. Nothing earth shattering, but it might get you thinking.
     
    Speaking of BrickFair, I got to hang out with Watashi Wa and Emzee, who were awesome as always. I unfortunately didn't find any other BZPower members in the crowds, but it was a great time nonetheless.
     
    We also got a new Lord of the Rings poster featuring Aragorn. I think we can expect more of those to keep popping up as we get closer to release.
     
    Let's see if anyone actually reads this far. I'm thinking this should be my last Weekly Update. I feel like I haven't been doing as much as I could with the format by basically regurgitating the news and not adding much else new. Obviously you guys don't seem to be big fans based on the low number of comments and small number of mailbag entries.
     
    So if I choose to stop them, I will endeavor to still post at least an entry a week about something BZPower or LEGO related, since that was kind of my purpose for starting this thing in the first place.
     
    Mailbag
    1. I'd feel like the world was out to get me.
    2. The one you guys haven't even realized yet.
    3. Yes! So sad.
    4. Hot cocoa.
    5. Somewhere in between, like ten PMs with five questions each.
     
    1. Sorry, not the area of my expertise.
     
    Hmmm, definitely not on purpose.
     
    1. Schizo Kaita did the original sketch and I colored it in.
    2. Getting to interact with all the members and with LEGO and other fan groups.
    3. Banning/punishing people.
    4. I have lots. I've posted a few in the topic Gatanui started.
    5. The Toa Nuva Blog? That's the only one I can remember reading beginning to end.
    6. Let's go with Tahu for nostalgia's sake.
     
    Want to see your questions answered? PM them to me and put 'Mailbag' in the subject line. I'll pick the few I like the best and answer them in the next update.
     
    Conclusion
    Alright, I have to get ready and then catch a plane. Have a good week everyone!
  19. Black Six

    Weekly Update - 12/18

    By Black Six,

    Intro
    Welcome back everyone, for another joyful Weekly Update. Just think, the next one I do will be on Christmas Day!
     
    Updates
    We've continued to churn out 2012 reviews for you guys. First up, Bfahome took a look at the Joker, who is a great source for purple if not much else. Then ChocolateFrogs shared his thoughts on Jawblade, who isn't too bad of a set, apparently.
     
    In big LEGO news, a partnership with Warner Brothers was announced which means Lord of the Rings and Hobbit sets in 2012! I have a lot to say about this, but you'll have to wait until the Powercast to hear it.
     
    Another new theme we can expect to see next year is LEGO Friends, which will be targeted at girls in the same way that Belville and Scala were. I can already see some lengthy discussions on this one.
     
    LEGO also officially unveiled ReBrick, a social bookmarking site that has a lot of potential. Be sure to check it out.
     
    On the BZPower side, the last to promotions were announced. Join us in welcoming our new reporters, William (Tolkien) and Micah (Kakaru)! It's great to have them on the team and it's be even greater when they can actually post news.
     
    The next episode of the Powercast is underway already, which is pretty far ahead of schedule for us compared to the norm. Thanks everyone who recorded with me today. It's already shaping up to be a long show.
     
    Mailbag
    Mailbag is empty this week.
     
    Want to see your questions answered? PM them to me and put 'Mailbag' in the subject line. I'll pick the few I like the best and answer them in the next update.
     
    Conclusion
    I think that's enough for this week. Hopefully next week will feature more reviews, but I'm not sure what else we'll have in store. Thanks for reading!
  20. Black Six

    Respect The Staff

    By Black Six,

    From the Rules & Guidelines:
     
    This goes for every section of the site. Recently, I've seen instances of our Blog Staff not receiving the respect they deserve. If they make a judgement call and you disagree with it, it does not mean you should make an entry complaining about it or throwing veiled insults around. Feel free to contact them and ask about it, or contact myself or another Administrator.
     
    If I continue to see this kind of behavior happening, you can expect Proto Energy and blog privileges to be removed.
     
    Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.
  21. Black Six

    Wet Mane Fad

    By Black Six,

    Alright, time to clear some things up.
     
    If you have heard anything to the contrary, unhear it. Pictures of ponies from the TV show, 'My Little Pony,' including 'wet mane' images, are not banned on BZPower, so long as they abide by BZPower rules.
     
    The content of pictures, as well as captions or comments relating to them, can make any image inappropriate. This site is not the place for sexual content or themes, so keep that off the site.
     
    I apologize for any of the confusion that arose in the past few days, it was not our intention to mislead anyone. I hope this puts things to rest.
     
    That said, the reactions I've seen in some blogs have been very disappointing. I would like to say that those entries and comments only made the situation worse, and that it was a well-worded, polite PM that brought all of this to my full attention and caused me to address it now. Please everyone, be respectful and courteous - it gets you much further on BZPower and in life.
  22. Black Six

    Weekly Update - 12/11

    By Black Six,

    Intro
    Another week, another update. Come, see what I have in store. (Hint: it's probably not that exciting.)
     
    Updates
    2012 sets are here! LEGO has sent us some of the constraction sets for next year and Bfahome has started reviewing them for you all! Check out the Toxic Reapa and Evo reviews. Don't worry, there will be more coming up!
     
    There's a bunch of contests going on that you should check out. We've got CoT Short Stories Contest #2: The Christmas Connection if you like to write, SBC Contest #1: Imitation Is The Sincerest Form Of Mocery if you like to build, and RPG Contest #22 if you're just plain awesome.
     
    We still have two promotions coming up soon too, so keep your eyes peeled for those!
     
    In other news, LEGO gave us some info on the upcoming LDD Update. Seems like a good move on their part, and I look forward to seeing what parts become available.
     
    Mailbag
    No questions this week!
     
    Want to see your questions answered? PM them to me and put 'Mailbag' in the subject line. I'll pick the few I like the best and answer them in the next update.
     
    Conclusion
    And that wraps it up for this week. Yay I got it posted with plenty of time this week. Hope you all had a great weekend so far, enjoy your football or other Sunday activities!
  23. Black Six

    Weekly Update - 12/4

    By Black Six,

    Intro
    Well I suppose Sunday is working out a little better in that I can put off writing this until the last minute. Wait I'm pretty sure that's not a good thing.
     
    Updates
    We posted another set review. This one also dates back to BrickFair (that's when I bought the Bucket Truck) and comes in the form of a video. It's an inside look into the craziness that goes on at events like BrickFair.
     
    Episode 29 of the BZPowercast went live earlier this week. I had a good time recording this one, and love the song McSmeag recorded for us. Give it a listen!
     
    The 22nd RPG Forum Contest has started. Please go make an entry and submit it. The more the merrier.
     
    Finally, some of the promotions I talked about last time happened. Congrats to -Windrider-, Ziko, Erebus, and Eeko! There's still two more to come, just waiting on some information so I can get them all processed.
     
    Mailbag
    1. I got to play a few weeks ago - it was tons of fun!
    2. Republic, of course!
    3. I only played as the Jedi Consular, but I think I might go with a Smuggler when the game comes out.
     
    1. Recording a podcast while on the run from law enforcement would certainly make things more interesting.
    2. I'm a fan of wing nuts.
    3. Pineapple tree?
    4. Man, don't talk to me about football today.
    5. Blue I guess?
    6. The Marianas Trench?
    7. I'd guess not.
    8. One where I have a driver to drive it for me. Perhaps a Maybach.
    9. What are you talking about?
    10. Thank goodness.
     
    Want to see your questions answered? PM them to me and put 'Mailbag' in the subject line. I'll pick the few I like the best and answer them in the next update.
     
    Conclusion
    Okay, that's all I have time for this week. See you all in seven days or so!
  24. Black Six

    Weekly Update - 11/27

    By Black Six,

    Intro
    Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving! Anyway, Fridays have just not been my day for updates, so I'm moving my Weekly Update to Sunday, the last day of my week. Hopefully this will work out better...
     
    Updates
    I've been reminded to remind you all about Short Story Contest #8! There's still time to enter or to volunteer to be a judge. Check it out!
     
    In even bigger site news, we updated the main page! Yay! There's still some stuff to be done, like the hot topics and Member Spotlight. I don't know how they're configured though, so it means either me poking things or getting Kelly to find time to help. We'll see which comes first.
     
    We had another set review again! By me even! Go read my review of 8071 Bucket Truck. Here's a scoop - I actually have a pile of sets here in my office that I've been meaning to review. Time permitting I'd like to get through them by the end of the year. We'll see how it goes!
     
    In other scoop-like news, recording for the next Powercast began today. You can expect it to be posted by Wednesday. We had a long, long discussion about some stuff tonight that I think was fun and informative. So keep your ears peeled.
     
    In a final gift of not-heard-elsewhere news, there are going to be some promotions in the coming week. I think there will be six all total. Guess who it's going to be and you could win an imaginary gold star! And the pride at knowing you're a good judge of character.
     
    Mailbag
    I didn't eat a huge amount. I was definitely full for the rest of the day, but there was no distending of my belly.
     
    With that, I'm not planning any additional exercise to make up for what I ate on Thanksgiving.
     
    Want to see your questions answered? PM them to me and put 'Mailbag' in the subject line. I'll pick the few I like the best and answer them in the next update.
     
    Conclusion
    I think that was a pretty good update, don't you? Clearly I have a bunch of BZPower stuff to do this week, plus real life, so let me go get back to it!
  25. Black Six

    Weekly Update - 11/18

    By Black Six,

    Intro
    The forums are up this Friday! Woo! That means I have to do my Weekly Update though, which is almost like work. But not though, because I get to talk about cool stuff. See if you agree!
     
    Updates
    LEGO passed on news of an interactive store display at the LEGO store in Chicago. It seems similar to the technology used by the Xbox Kinect, where you can control the virtual world with your physical body. Seems worth checking out if you're in the area.
     
    If you're not near Chicagoland, maybe you're close to San Francisco, where you can build a giant LEGO Santa Yoda this weekend. I've never been to one of these building events, but I hear they're lots of fun.
     
    Word on the street is that LEGO has brought back the Ninjago TV series for a second season. The line seems to be selling really well, appearing on some 'must-have' holiday toy lists. So it's a no-brainer for LEGO to bring it back in a big way again next year.
     
    On the constraction front, the upcoming 2012 Hero Factory sets have appeared on Amazon.de. We've seen images and heard about them before, but this is the first look at the packaging I've seen. The new canisters look really interesting, although sometimes I wish LEGO would spend more time on the products than the boxes. That said, these sets look to be really varied, which is great. Not sure how I feel about the launchers returning to the majority of the sets, especially when it's not even anything new and cool. I'm looking forward to some of our reviewers getting their hands on these so they can share their impressions with all of you.
     
    The first wave of updates to the front page are almost done. There's just a few slight tweaks and it'll be ready. I don't know if I'll have time this weekend to copy all the files and rename all the things that need to be renamed though. Before Thanksgiving - I promise!
     
    Mailbag
    1. I really think the forums are pretty nice as they are. I think it's the rest of the site that we need to focus on, like the Set Database, the front page, etc. Obviously there's some changes we'd like to make to the forums, like the word filter, but I wouldn't call those features.
    2. I really can't keep any of them straight in my head to tell you.
    3. We're really not actively going after new members. There's still a somewhat steady stream of people joining, and we're continuing to broaden our scope to cover the whole of the LEGO fandom. I think when the superhero constraction sets come out we may see a spike in mebership.
    4. To each their own - I'm not really a fan.
     
    1. Probably the new Moderator Control Panel - it helps me keep apprised of all the reports coming in. After that it would be the new PM layout perhaps.
    2. I think the only movie I saw this summer was Lion King in 3D - it's a great movie and the 3D amazingly didn't ruin it.
    3. It's very tragic that he died so soon, his influence on technology will surely be felt. I wish the best to his family and friends.
     
    He's been very busy with the real world. Hopefully he'll be back when things calm down for him.
     
    1. Calm down. I definitely overreacted a few times when I started taking the reigns after Ninjo left. It's hard to not take things personally. I feel like I've improved a lot over the past - darn it's almost been six years.
    2. We're still getting new members joining daily, so we're most certainly not dead. I was very pleased to see how many member came back after the downtime.
    3. Thought about it? I ran it for a while, way back in the day. If I didn't have to spend as much time running things then yes, there's a chance I'd join.
     
    Want to see your questions answered? PM them to me and put 'Mailbag' in the subject line. I'll pick the few I like the best and answer them in the next update.
     
    Conclusion
    That's all I have time for today (wasn't it enough?). Enjoy your weekend everyone, and talk to you on the forums!
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