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Black Six

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Blog Entries posted by Black Six

  1. Black Six
    Intro
    It is Friday yet again, and, horrible ref calls aside, it's a pretty decent Friday. A perfect Friday, you might say, for an update.
     
    Updates
    Unfortunately, there's not a huge amount to update about, but I'll see what I can do.
     
    We had a review last week of a rather small and seemingly-inconsequential set. But we here at BZPower think every set is important, and hope to bring you a wide range of reviews, from large to small. So, like we said when we started reviewing non-Bionicle sets: get used to it.
     
    Speaking of non-Bionicle related stuff, the release date for LEGO Universe was announced. Mark your calendars for October 26th, because that's when the online fun starts!
     
    For even more Bionicle related news, Hero Factory sets have started to appear in the US. If you're looking to pick these guys up, start checking your local stores.
     
    Since I have nothing else for you guys, I give you this abridged chat log:

     
    Mailbag

    1. There is no real 'easy' way. If you think someone is violating the rules, however, report it. The Global Moderators have an easy way of testing such things. And before you ask, no, it's nothing we can make readily available to members.
    2. People need to be taught what a question is.
    3. I have once or twice, but not regularly.
    4. No.
    5. I enjoyed the others, but I feel like I'll wait until the DVD release on this one.
    6. I can't say I've heard about that one.
    7. Get some decent software and microphones. Then practice. We test recorded a couple episodes before we actually released one for real.
    8. No. And I don't want to know how you found that out.
    9. Sounds like corporate America.
    10. Invisibility.
    11. The thought may have crossed our minds.
    12. Yes.
    13. A Halo ring.
    14. I intend to do all the things that I would normally do, thankyouverymuch.
     
    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 things up for this week. Your mailbag questions and other comments are always welcome. Have a good weekend everyone - enjoy the World Cup!
  2. Black Six

    Something Day

    By Black Six,

    So people keep telling me today is an important day and that I need to go do certain things and think certain ways. I'm not a big fan of that and prefer making my own decisions.
     
    Anyway, that aside, today was a special day; it was cool toy day! An online toystore I came across was having a clearance sale and had some cool things in their inventory so I picked up some nice desk ornaments for work/home. First up is a mini Black Beast of Aaargh plush, which nicely compliments my mini Black Knight plush. Next in the box was a Series 2 Marcus Fenix Gears of War action figure, just in time for Gears of War 2's release on Friday. Finally, there was a Transformer, but I'm going to let you try to guess which one. I'll give you a hint even, it's Universe, none of the Movie or Animated nonsense. (If I've already told you, I'd thank you to not say.)
     
    You're never too old to play with toys! But you should already know that, this is a Lego site, after all.
  3. Black Six

    Instant Karma

    By Black Six,

    So yesterday was President's Day, and being an employee of the Federal Government it meant I had the day off. Taking advantage of this holiday when most people still have to work, I took my car in for an oil change. They had a TV on in the waiting room blasting some news channel, and before I put my earphones in I heard a report about winter weather in Wisconsin and New Jersey. I chuckled a little at this since a few friends of mine, including Than the Moa, Senjo, and Friar Tuck live in Wisconsin, and my parents and a bunch of other friends live in New Jersey. And here I was with the temperature in the 40s where they were predicting rain.
     
    Fast forward to that night, when I looked out my back door and saw that the grass was starting to get a little white. It wasn't sticking to the concrete of my patio though, so I wasn't too worried. Before going to bed though, I checked again and there was some definite accumulation. 'Darn, not again,' I thought, since last week's warm temperatures (breaking 70 on a couple of days) had finally melted away most of the snow from January.
     
    My alarm went off at far too early this morning and I decided I should check to see how much snow had fallen. There was a decent amount, but I could still see under my car so I wasn't too worried. I checked the status page of the base I worked at though, just in case, and saw they were still open. 'Nuts, so much for a delayed opening,' I muttered to myself, and made my way to the shower and then to have some breakfast.
     
    I finished up my meal and went back upstairs to get ready for work, but decided to check one more time for a delay. I was greeted to a wonderful set of words:
     

    Your base has a delayed opening for Tues 22 Feb. We will open for normal operations at 1200 hours with liberal leave in effect. 
    They must have updated the page pretty shortly after I checked, since some people have long commutes and need to leave early, especially with inclement weather. With six free hours at my disposal I threw on some clothes and made my way out to shovel. About an hour later I was back inside where it was warm and wondering what I should do next with my morning off.
     
    I decided to write this blog entry.
     
    Moral of the story is: don't laugh at people who are getting snowed on when you aren't, but enjoy your half day even if it means there's still a lot of snow to deal with.
  4. 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.
  5. Black Six

    Milestones

    By Black Six,

    Tomorrow is August 2, 2012. That will be the eleventh anniversary of my joining BZPower.
     
    It is also the first day of BrickFair 2012 Virginia, the fifth such event held. (Congrats Todd!)
     
    BrickFair 2012 Viriginia will be the tenth AFOL fan convention that I've attended.
     
    Sunday, August 5 is my twenty-fifth birthday. A quarter-century!
     
    Monday, August 6, will mark my eleventh year as a member of the BZPower Staff.
     
    All this right after BZPower celebrated its eleventh anniversary.
     
    It's crazy to think about all that - I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it all.
     
    But I know one thing - I couldn't ask for a better group of people to celebrate it with than my friends from BZPower. I just wish more of you all could be there!
  6. Black Six

    Lamlradio #57

    By Black Six,

    So I last appeared in episode #56 of LAMLradio, the Lego talk podcast. But the conversation continued on after the show ended. All of that was recorded as well and made into the next episode of the show. I guess we talked on too much for it to be one episode, heh. Anyway, you can check it out here, and listen to us talk about sorting and storing Lego. Word on the street is that there will be another clip from our conversation in Episode #58, making a new personal record for me.
     
    I don't know if you're reading this James, but thanks for keeping on inviting me onto the show. It's almost like BZP having its own podcast except I don't have to do anything but talk for a bit about Lego.
     
    I don't suppose anyone here would like to see an official BZP podcast?
  7. Black Six
    So I bought some awesome posters back in January, but between the plaster walls of my apartment, the sticky tack, and the weight of the posters, they wouldn't stay up. So I had to put up hooks and put wire on the posters and all this other stuff to get them hung, and by that time classes had started and I was way too busy to actually do it. Now that I have a little break though, I finally have put them up on my wall, so I thought I'd share them with you guys:
     

     
    And while I'm at it I'll show off a couple of the other posters I have up here:
     

    One of the best movies ever.
     

    One of the best videogame series ever
     
    There's no flash in the first two because I wanted you to actually be able to read them. I need to get a new flash for my camera. Any suggestions?
  8. Black Six
    Intro
    Welcome to this week's update, please ensure your seat is in the full upright position and wait for a stewardess to provide your complimentary refreshments.
     
    Updates
    So, to get things out of the way, go check out more boring BrickFest pictures. Space & Military as well as Castles & Coasters went up in the past week. Seriously, there are some amazing things there, so even though the pictures are old, check them out anyway.
     
    Also, be sure to take a gander at the new Bionicle: The Legend Reborn trailer we reported on. Trailer may not be the best word, but it's still pretty awesome. Word on the street from several sources inside and out of LEGO is that the movie will not disappoint. I'm looking forward to it!
     
    After you're done click all the above links, click this one too. Give your input into the Storyline & Theories contests, either by voting or entering. There's some really amazing entries - I think the format of this contest was really cool.
     
    Speaking of contests, there's some more coming up in the next little bit, including one from a forum that has never had a contest before! Keep your eyes peeled!
     
    Mailbag

    It generally involves gentlemen's honor duels. Or just whoever gets the set first, take your pick.
     

    1. :-X
    2. Because when I got the Gamertag Black Six was unavailable.
    3. He's here, watching, always.
     
    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 almost forgot to put this! How can you have a Weekly Update with no conclusion? Madness! Anyway, leave some comments, and see you next week!
  9. Black Six

    Busybusybusy

    By Black Six,

    Short entry for tonight, since I have to get back to doing homework.
     
    College doesn't seem to get easier after the first year. In fact, it gets crazier, busier (as you can see by the title), and much harder. Who would've thought that getting an education required so much work? So let this be a warning to you all. Also, don't try to get your Bachelor's and Master's degrees at the same time, that just makes it worse.
     
    Back to the forges for me...
  10. 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!
  11. Black Six
    So, here's what I've taken away from BrickFair this year. It was originally going to be a list, but that's been done by others so I thought it best to go pure-prose. This is just a first glimpse, hopefully this weekend there will be more coverage.
     
    After five events of figuring out what I should pack and what I shouldn't, my car was still jam-packed driving there and coming back. Even though I gave away a whole bunch of sets, some prototypes, and some prizes for a few contests. At least I had enough room to pick up Nukaya (after worrying that she'd been stranded on a military base) and bring her with me.
     
    It was discovered that Greyhound's purpose in life is to lull you into a false sense of security, and then break your soul when you least expect it. Then, once you're a shadow of your former self, they say, 'j/k.'
     
    Cars will turn their backs on you when you least expect it. Despite this, you should always make sure your spare tire is inflated and that you have a proper wrench to remove the bolts. Having a tire pressure gauge can come in handy too. If you ignore that advice though, make sure you have awesome friends, and a AAA card.
     
    MST3K is best watched with those you love, and with peanut butter M&Ms. And if you think the MST3K guys are funny, Smeag and Rob and Hanni are funnier (Maddison is funny too, but she was just asleep for most of it). Speaking of TV and those things, when someone asks you to bring stereo equipment, make sure it's compatible with their stereo equipment. Also you should really consider if you're going to actually use said equipment or if MP3s would work just as well.
     
    Breakfast is overrated, especially when your eating schedule is screwed up and your body has no idea what time it is. Sleep, on the other hand, is completely underated. Well, maybe not if not sleeping means you get to hang out with awesome people. Late night conversations and hanging out are so much fun. Realizing you almost forgot to post news, however, is not nearly as fun.
     
    When a convention vastly increases the amount of space for MOCs, it means you're going to need more time to take pictures. And then, when there's more people you want to hang out with, you won't have time to take pictures of everything. Despite all this, you'll still be able to take almost a thousand pictures, and then you need to spend time going through and sorting all of them.
     
    Don't volunteer to run a Texas Hold'em tournament when only one of your friends like to play poker. You can make up for it though by ditching the tournament when it's nearly done and hanging out with Steve Witt and other awesome people. Singing songs is an awesome way to spend car rides, especially when it's The Beatles. Singing Beatles songs is, in fact, a great way to spend any time.
     
    BZPower is made up of a diverse group of people, and I love them all. But sometimes people don't see eye to eye, and that makes me sad. I think we were able to work things out though, because we're all truly so awesome.
     
    That's about all I can come up with now. I could go on for a lot longer, but I have other things that need to get done. Keep your eyes peeled this weekend for some awesomeness from BrickFair!
  12. Black Six

    Weekly Update - 1/7

    By Black Six,

    Intro
    So I missed last week, sorry everyone. Company and all that. I'm back in 2011 though, and it's time to get the updates back on the rails.
     
    Updates
    We've been laying on the reviews thick and heavy. We wrapped up the 2010 heroes with a Breez review by ToM Dracone and a look at Surge by Shannara. McSmeag finally put together the remains of several reviews that were never quite finished. I had to drag him to my house and sit him down in front of a computer before he would even do that. On the 2011 front, xccj reviewed the Cursed Cobra Statue and ChocolateFrogs shared his thoughts on the Golden Staff Guardians. Those Pharaoh's Quest sets seem popular, I'm sure we'll be reviewing more. We'll also be reviewing more Hero Factory 2.0 sets soon too! Like, maybe even this weekend.
     
    Since the month ended, it was time to record a new episode of the Powercast. In an impromptu recording section, McSmeag even got me to sing. I apologize for the pain I inflicted upon your ears. It was great to hear everything you guys sent in though!
     
    On the story front - it's not dead yet! Sahmad's Tale Chapter 6 went up. I'm glad to see Greg still doing his thing. It's much appreciated.
     
    Going back to late reviews, how about some late BrickCon coverage? Better than never. And speaking of events, there's more on the way! These places really have to stop using 'Brick' in the title, but that doesn't make me less excited for Brick Fiesta!
     
    Mailbag

    1. It was a very good year.
    2. In retrospect, the first thing I did was wake up and remember how much fun I had saying goodbye to 2010 with my friends.
    3. We have lots of ideas for BZPower, I hope we can implement some of them.
    4. It's a tough call between BrickFair and Labor Day - both were great times.
     
    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
    Welcome everyone to 2011, I hope it turns out to be a great year. It's already off to an amazing start and I can't wait to see where it goes!
  13. Black Six
    Intro
    It's a late update this week, but that's because I've been so busy with BZPower stuff!
     
    Updates
    So I heard it's like, our anniversary or something. Nine years is crazy, right? It boggles my mind to think that our site has been going on and thriving for this long - our members really are amazing, even though they whine and complain a bit. We wouldn't be here without you!
     
    We like to try to celebrate things in as big a way as possible on our anniversary. Of course that means Premier perks! This year, it also means a giveaway of Cryoshell CDs that aren't available in the US (or most countries) - and they're signed even! It also means we're changing the way that we're doing reporting on BZPower. I'm hoping for some positive feedback, but I'm sure someone will find something they don't like. I'm also hoping the next episode of the BZPowercast will be up before the Anniversary week is over. We also had another even larger project that we were working on, but it didn't quite pan out. I think it's too big to wait until next year though, so hopefully later this year you'll see some bigger changes on BZPower.
     
    On the Bionicle front, a new serial started up on BionicleStory.com. I'm glad to see things are still progressing there.
     
    In other news, Toa_Velox submitted his first review, Hero Factory set Preston Stormer. For a change, I don't think there will be a review this weekend, at least not from me.
     
    The San Diego Comic-Con is going on now, and LEGO has been there in a big way. I'm just going to list all of our coverage:
    Event Overview Star Wars Cube Dudes Obi-Wan's Starfighter Revealed I wish someone from the staff could have made it there, but it was not meant to be. Maybe next time!
     
    I think that's about all I've got (wasn't that enough?).
     
    Mailbag
    No questions this week. Everyone must be too busy blogging.
     
    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 hope everyone is enjoying the anniversary, I know it's a lot of effort for some of us to get things to go as smooth as possible. Have a good weekend everyone, and keep enjoying BZPower!
  14. Black Six
    Intro
    Man, so what even happened this week? I don't even know, so I think I'm going to let some other people talk for a change instead. (Like Keanu, who is here and says HI!)
     
    Hey guys. This is totes DeeVee and Nukaya Cloud Fire. We are totes tag-teaming this entry for Mandrew. Why? Because we have the touch! We have the poweeeerr!
     
    Updates
     
    First things first, there's this awesome topic you should post in. Don't look at me like that.
     
    Gatanui did a review of Hero Factory's TV series, episode one! In the first episode, Anakin's all "Hey, I'm ten or something, look at me drive this podracer! Imma gonna be a Jedi someday! Hoor-wait, who's this clearly older and out of the proper age range queen I'm going to marry??" And then Harry's all, "I'm a wizard? And I'm going to wizarding school? That's crazytalk! My parents died in a car crash", so Hagrid's all "CAR CRASH! How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal!" And then Peter Parker gets bit by a radioactive pony, and with great powers comes great responsibilit-HAY. Anyways, it's a really interesting review, so go check it out!
     
    In other news, the person of some place did something and something happened and oh look LEGO and kitties and PONIESSS.
     
    On top of that, there were a bunch of promotions this week. Which is cool. Fresh meat is always tender, delicate, and oh so tasty. I usually dice it, and gently roast it, before letting it soak in a delicious concoction that is too awesome to describe. I am grateful to have Aaron added to my minion staff. He will be a good one. Though Nukaya is still my favourite. The rest of you, get to work! :angry:
     
    Also: KEANU REEVES.
     
    I'M BATMAN.
     
    No, I'm Batman.
     
    RACHEL RAY.
     
    RACHEL RAY IS BATMAN.
     
    No, I'm Batman! :angry:
     
    COOKING WITH RACHEL RAYBATMAN.
     
    I am okay with this?
     
    RAYRAYRAYRAYRAYRAYRAYRAY. BATMAN.
     
    Ray -is- Christian Bale. I can't believe I forgot this!
     
    Mailbag

    1. Trolls are pretty cool, especially kid trolls trying to save the world. (This doesn't make sense??)
    2. No.
    3. No. (Or maybe he does, and doesn't want to say??)
    4. Maybe when the big change happens. (Oh man. Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes....)
    5. Nah, I like my name. (I like you )
     

    1. Sure.
    2. Pat and Maddison are pretty cool.
    3. I love both!!1!!11! (Awwwwwwwwww.)
    4. The Fox and the Hound! It is a great movie that offers a fascinating treatise on the nature of friendships, especially as seen through the eyes of those who are 'natural enemies' and set to oppose one another by every force in the world. Of course, as it is wont to do, love through friendship and understanding shines through, through the youngest generation, allowing for a change of heart in even the most gruff and stuck in the mud old fogies!
     
    Also, I weep manly tears of manliness when the voiceover at the very end says "And we'll always be friends forever, won't we." "Yeah, forever."
     
    (OHMIGOD ME TOO! And they are MANLY tears of MANLINESS!)
     
    (It's SADORABLE.)
     
    5. Why yes, I am a handsome devil, who is always fighting off the ladies, none of whom I am interested in, because it is obvious they are only attracted to my physically robust, gruff, yet clearly sensitive outer exterior! I would prefer a woman who is intelligent, and sees me for myself, so I wait until that perfect moment she strikes, like a Cobra!
     
    A Cobra of love!
     
    (COBRA COMMANDER)
     
    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. (or send it via snail mail or owl post. He's not picky)
     
    Conclusion
    I'm really afraid of what you just had to read (wait, what why?), but hopefully it wasn't too scarring (KITTIES. AND THOMAS O'MALLEY THE ALLEY CAT). See you all next week!
     
    Also, remember kids when left alone for 5-10 hours, finches will begin to resemble Oliver Sacks! Have a nice day!
  15. Black Six

    Bzpower T-shirts?

    By Black Six,

    I mentioned the possibility of BZPower T-Shirts at Brickfest, would anyone who knows they are attending be interested in one of these? If you're not attending, would you like to see BZPower sell T-Shirts online? The old Cafepress store is still floating around somewhere, but these would probably be nicer and newer. I was thinking of a simple design, a blue similar to the BZP Classic skin, with a small Hapori Tohu on the left chest with 'BZPower' underneath. There is the possibility of customization with your name on the back, but that increases the price quite a bit. If we want to have them at BF, I'd need to know in advance so I can have them made and you'd need to pay up front. Beyond that you would have to order and pay, then when we get a large enough number of orders, we'd get the shirts and then ship them out. The prices go down the more shirts you order, so the more interest the less cost.
    Leave a comment or PM me with suggestions, questions, comments, etc.
  16. Black Six

    Lamlradio #58

    By Black Six,

    So, word on the street was right and I did have a brief appearance on another episode of LAMLradio, the Lego talk podcast. You can listen to Episode #58, which, while claiming to talk about Lego and politics, is really more about how the economy is affecting Lego prices and trends we may see in the future. It's pretty interesting stuff.
     
    So, in my last entry I mentioned the idea of a potential BZPower podcast. What kind of stuff would you like to see in such a thing?
  17. Black Six

    Rpg Contest #3

    By Black Six,

    So, it's almost time for the second round of voting, and I've yet to decide how I'm going to sett it up. That's why I'm asking you guys to see what you think.
     
    My first option is to have the top three entries from each poll go on to the semis, just like last time. Also like last time, all the first place winners would go into one poll, the second place into another, and the third place into the last; five entries in each. Then, from the semis to the finals, the top four first place, top three second place, and top three third place entries would progress to the final poll. The top three in this poll would be the winners.
     
    The other option is to have the top FOUR entries from each category go on to the semis. With this setup, however, there would be only two polls, with ten entries in each. The problem here is how to decide which entries go into which poll. My three option would be first and second & third and fourth, first and third & second and fourth, and first and fourth & second and third. All of these have disadvantages that would make them somewhat unfair, so it is difficult to decide which to choose. Whatever the choice there, the top six entries from the poll with the first place entries would progress, and the top four from the other.
     
    One final thing, I'm going to try something new in the Semifinal Polls. I'm going to call it a 'Referendum,' since it's somewhat similar to the political process of the same name. Some of you know (and have responded) to the couple of questions I posed in the RPG Contest #3 topic. Similar questions will appear in poll form in each of the Semis, with a variety of options. Hopefully this will allow us to improve upon the RPG Contest for #4.
     
    Questions? Comments? Go!
  18. Black Six

    New App To Play With

    By Black Six,

    So I was looking through my blog settings recently and noticed something about being able to turn on support for metaweblog clients or some crazy thing like that and I got curious. Apparently, with the right program and some fidgeting with the settings you can use an external program to add entries to your BZPower Blog.
     
    I'm testing this right now with MarsEdit for Mac OS X. It seems ok, and possibly more convenient than making the entry on BZPower. I haven't been able to find a way to set categories yet, and don't know how BBCode will work (here, let's test underline) but I'm all for experimenting a little.
     
    So we'll see how it goes.
  19. Black Six
    Intro
    I suppose it is that time again. I'll have to tear myself away from the Halo: Reach Beta for a bit to write some things up for you guys. Here we go!
     
    Updates
    It's going to be interesting finding stuff to talk about now. All the major story updates are done and gone, so Bionicle news is going to be hard to come by. You guys are going to have to accept that we're going to be posting more general LEGO stuff on the front page. Such is life.
     
    Speaking of which, Jason posted a set review earlier this week, the Toy Story set Wood and Buzz to the Rescue. You may not be a fan of our non-Bionicle reviews, but those are what's out there. I hope to post another review this weekend, since I have some more free time now.
     
    Free time means that one of our projects, that we had hoped to announce a while ago but was stalled, has started moving again. We've been working on testing things out to make sure we don't break anything before it happens. I'm sure when it does there's going to be some complaining, but really we think it's for the best and that it will make it easier for us to moderate things and easier for you to follow the rules.
     
    After that, it'll be on to an even older project that had fallen by the wayside a while back. I'll love it if/when that can come to fruition.
     
    I think that's about all I have for now, I look forward to being able to share some more details.
     
    Mailbag
    After last week, I guess no one wanted to send in another monstrous list. I guess maybe I should start spreading them out so I don't have as many droughts like this.
     
    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
    Anyway, back to the Beta for me. Enjoy your weekend and leave your questions and comments here, as always.
  20. Black Six
    Intro
    We've definitely hit a slow period here on BZPower, slow news, slow updates, slow server. Oh wait, that's been going on for a while. Anyway, thanks for joining us for yet another Weekly Update.
     
    Updates
    Thanks for all your input in the spoiler policy poll. Bones and the rest of the Reference Team have been poring over the results to come up with a unified spoiler policy that will be implemented in the future. You will follow it or face the penalties, which have yet to be determined.
     
    So BBC Contest #49 voting has finally started, and the final round is here. We apologize for the delay, but unfortunately things have been quite hectic for Tufi and Kex recently, forcing the longish delay.
     
    So yeah, there definitely are going to be some interesting staff changes coming up. Just to get you guessing, someone may leave and others will stay. *Insert tension and drama.*
     
    Mailbag

    Yes, you should still get yours, along with everyone else that was asked for an address.
     
    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 so another week is wrapped up. Come back next week after something interesting has hopefully happened!
  21. Black Six

    Weekly Update - 12/26

    By Black Six,

    Intro
    I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, I know mine was pretty good. But now it's back to business.
     
    Updates
    So the 2009 sets have been appearing in stores, so get out there and pick them up if you're a fan. We already have reviewed one of the sets, and have two more in the pipe that should be posted in the coming days, as soon as I have some free time.
     
    Next up, the long-running project finally came to an end (for all intent and purposes). The new rank images are here! It took hours upon hours upon hours just for me to upload the pictures, add the ranks, and change all the post counts. That doesn't include the time Takuta Nui spent keeping the list of new ranks updated for me, all the discussions amongst the staff over the names of each rank and the appropriate images, and most importantly, the time all the staff put in to making the actual images. It really was a whole team effort and in the end I'm proud f the results, even if it did take us a long time. Truth be told, there's actually a couple images that we still have to finish, but I don't think anyone is getting to those anytime soon.
     
    Next up, please don't forget our Leaked Image Policy. Pictures of the summer 2009 sets have been leaked and they do not belong on BZPower.
     
    Of course, what update would be complete without telling you to vote in the RPG Contest #12 Final Poll The Beatles. It has an awesome name, you should check it out.
     
    We have another small project we're working on that affects mainly the staff, but should have a visible impact on the site.
     
    That's about it for now though.
     
    Mailbag

    This topic, while a bit old, is still a good guide to what we look for when picking staff.
     

    Being an admin is hard work, 'nuff said.
    Yes there are buttons.
    We have an Administrator Control Panel that allows us to do that.
    Most things we do with topics and posts are done with buttons and such normal members can't see. Everything else is done in the control panel.
     
    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
    So that's about it for now. Things are probably going to be pretty slow, except for set reviews. So keep an eye out for those and check back next week!
  22. Black Six

    Weekly Update - 2/26

    By Black Six,

    Intro
    Since most of my time tonight has been spent on the mailbag, you don't get anything else in this weekly update.
     
    Updates
    Just kidding!
     
    We wrapped up our Toy Fair coverage this week, looking at Bionicle, Ben 10, some Hero Factory, the rest of Hero Factory, and some games and LEGO Universe. I hope you all enjoyed it. I know Yannick and I did.
     
    Another set review was posted this week; Bfahome reviewed the Wreck Raider to some mixed reactions. Get used to it guys. We'll still talk about Bionicle as much as possible, but we have to branch out a little.
     
    There were a bunch of story updates too, so many I'm not going to link to them all. Check out our main page for more details.
     
    Some podcast recording was also done yesterday, expect to see the episode go up over the weekend. It's probably going to be another long one, unless I edit all the good stuff out again.
     
    Finally, we've been progressing on making some changes to a certain part of the rules, but don't hold your breaths, since it will probably take a while before you guys see something as a result.
     
    Mailbag

    1) Because they're afraid and/or they hate me.
    2) I think the sets have promise. The story will likely be lackluster though.
    3) Probably not, but then again I didn't buy that many Bionicle sets in recent years either.
    4) There are some really great ones.
    5) You mean Toy Fair? Amazing.
    6) Oddly productive.
    7) More or less.
    8) The Toa Nuva.
    9) Who said anything happened to them?
    10) It's an interesting theme. I don't like this year's sets too much, the colors are garish.

    11) None.
    12) More or less.
    13) Kanoka or maybe Zamor.
    14) No, not really.
    15) Nope.
    16) Um, fine, I guess?
    17) Not really. It's mainly a lot of work.
    18) The Dark Blue and White Mirus are pretty awesome.
    19) The only Zelda game I've played all the way through is A Link to the Past DX. It was fun.
    20) Amazon, usually.

    21) I don't think I've ever read one.
    22) See above.
    23) Hard choice. Possibly the Mask of Light comic - much better than the movie.
    24) Tahu.
    25) Yes, then I realized I'm not a great builder.
    26) No.
    27) All my base are belong to me.
    28) Not gonna ask...
    29) Many times.
    30) I think they're all equally corny.

    31) I knew you were going to say that.
    32) Science fiction.
    33) No.
    34) No idea.
    35) For as long as I can remember.
    36) Yay?
    37) Yes, I usually have a bottle with me at all times.
    38) No, but I breathe.
    39) See #28.
    40) Yes, at least a dozen people.

    41) Better than no questions?
    42) What is the question?
    44) Ketchup.
    45) Ketchup.
    46) Ketchup.
    47) I like to think so. Some people might say otherwise though.
    48) The same color I have now.
    49) No idea.
    50) See above.

    51) Nope.
    52) Never.
    53) Who doesn't?
    54) Unfortunately.
    55) RPG, of course.
    56) Oddly enough.
    57) So far? None.
    58) Tahu Stars.
    59) LEGO? No idea. Bionicle? Tahu.
    60) Not particularly.

    61) My first car.
    62) Yes.
    63) LEGO Star Wars and Bionicle Heroes.
    64) Eh.
    65) No.
    66) That's on right now? Burn Notice. Ever? Farscape.
    67) SyFy (still hate the name though).
    68) He seems like a swell chap.
    69) You mean other than spending all my free time running BZPower? Oh wait...
    70) I lost track.

    72) Too long.
    73) I'm well aware.
    74) They were very varied.
    75) No.
    76) I never would have guessed.
    77) Sure.
    78) I did back in the day. Haven't played any games in years.
    79) It's a pretty cool theme.
    80) No sadly.

    81) The United States.
    82) New Jersey (for now).
    86) The Makuta.
    89) I used to watch the TV show and I've read some comics.
    90) Farscape.

    91) No.
    92) See above.
    93) Yes.
    94) A Canon SX10 IS.
    95) My living room.
    96) I'm their son.
    97) Unununium.
    98) I'm more of an Xbox person.
    99) I skipped some.
     
    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
    Back to the grind for me. (I wish that meant the Dragon Age level grind, but I have other stuff I should probably do.) Questions, comments, and feedback are always welcome. Have a great weekend!
  23. Black Six
    Somehow over the past few years I've accumulated a bunch of Nerf guns that have been taking up a lot of space. I'm looking to remedy that issue by getting rid of some. Most of the below were bought used, but they all work and I've cleaned them all up to the best of my ability (in some cases that includes taking them apart and running the plastic pieces through the dishwasher). I've removed the air restrictors from several of the spring guns. No ammo is included.
     
    UPDATE: The Titan, Hornet, and orange Hyperfire have been sold. All the rest are still available.
     
    Make an offer, I'm really open to anything. Just note that you'll also be paying for shipping on top of whatever you offer.
     
    Thanks!
     

  24. Black Six

    Weekly Update - 4/9

    By Black Six,

    Intro
    Is it Friday yet? Oh, it is! Shoot, that means I need to crank out a Weekly Update!
     
    Updates
    So we have some awesome contests going on that you should check out:
    Blog Contest #2 - I talked about this with Nukaya in the last Powercast. If you like to travel or think about faraway places, you should make a cool blog theme and enter this.
    BBCC #58 - For reals, this time. It's sad to think that many of you weren't alive in the 80s. You have my condolences. They were awesome. Also, you make me feel old.
    Comedies Contest #4 - I don't know what possessed our Comedies staff to want to do this, but they did. Please, don't be too rough on them, they do their jobs better if they're not too mentally scarred.
     
    Behind the scenes stuff is getting pushed back. It's all Kelly's fault, don't blame me. If you want to see some progress, you should PM him and tell him to get around to replying to my emails (I'm only half-serious about that).
     
    Also, BrickFair is getting closer, planning and such is beginning to start and gears are turning. It should be an amazingly awesome event - I hope to see some of you there!
     
    Mailbag

    1. a ) That's me.
    b ) No, Schizo Kaita did. I colored it in though. (I can do arts!)
    2. What shenanigans?
    3. No as part of any teams, no.
    4. I generally pass out around midnight or so.
    5. Never.
    6. Blue.
    7. Chocolate.
    8. Well, they always deserve it, but I wouldn't say it's really a 'fun' thing.
    9. My car (well, it's not all mine yet).
    10. In about a minute.
    11. Probably, and lots of people will buy it and it won't be very good.
    12. TIE Fighter.
    12. I played LEGO Island way back in the day. (Someone needs to learn to count.)
    13. That's a really hard one. I might have to go with the Crystal Explorer Sub. I have lots of good memories of that set.
    14. New Mexico.
    15. No.
    16. Yes.
    17. Scooby Doo.
    18. Fun.
    19. Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more.
    20. Flight would be cool, but teleportation would be a lot more useful. I think the best though, would be a regenerative healing factor, a-la Wolverine.
     

    Yes. It sits next to my desk. I print the complaints out, crumple them up, and throw them in there. It's in geosynchronous orbit.Sorry, but no. Don't look at me. Now how'd that get there? Depends on the pie. I think we've been over this. No. 1. I think we have a corporate advertiser in our midst.
    2. No.
    3. Pencil.
    4. I don't know if I ever have. If I did it wasn't for very long.
     
    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 about it for this week. Questions, comments, feedback, and more are always welcome. Have a good weekend!
  25. 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!
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