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Black Six

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Blog Entries posted by Black Six

  1. Black Six
    I know a lot of you tried to wish me Happy Birthday earlier, but it wasn't actually my birthday at that time! Well, now it is, so I figured I'd make a blog entry about it, now that I've finished activating some accounts (yes, an admin's work is never done). The official topic is here (it's the real thing folks, I promise).
     
    I hope you all have a good day on my birthday, and try not to spam too much!
  2. Black Six

    Congrats Than!

    By Black Six,

    I thought I'd dedicate a quick Blog entry to Than: Matoran of Anger, BZPower's newest Forum Leader. If I could tell you the story behind his promotion, you'd be on the floor laughing, but alas, you all are not privy to such information.
    Obviously we wouldn't have promoted Than if we weren't sure that he'd continue to do an excellent job helping out on the message boards and represent BZPower in a professional, mature, and slightly crazy manner. You earned it man!
    For everyone else, watch what you post, because if you break the rules he'll be on top of you faster than you can say "Hapori Tohu."
  3. Black Six

    And So It Goes

    By Black Six,

    I figured I should do something to get the birthday message out of my sig, since that was over a week ago.
     
    So, let's see, what happened since then. I went camping with some friends, good times spent around the campfire having fun. Then me and some other friends went and saw the Colbert Report being recorded. We actually made it on the show for a split second! Finally I went p to Connecticut for what was actually some BZPower-related business, but I can't really talk about that right now. :X It was a fun road trip though.
     
    I'll hopefully be headed down to the shore this week. With all this fun and excitement, who has time to do things like go to work or check BZP? Just kidding guys, I'll still be here, so don't think you can start goofing off.
  4. Black Six
    So as you should all know, BrickFair is coming up in August, and you and your MOCs are invited! A whole bunch of BZPower Members and Staff will be there, having fun and enjoying themselves and such. I will of course be there, and it's looking like I'm going to have some extra space in my car. So I'm making an offer to all BZPower Members out there (with some restrictions): If you live nearby or somewhere along the route I'm taking, you're welcome to come along for the ride.
     
    Restrictions:
    You must be 18 or older - I'm not going to be anyone's guardian in the unlikely event that something happens to you, sorry. You must be willing/able to chip in for gas and tolls along the way. You have to find/rent a hotel room for yourself - we can probably help with this, as there are a bunch of BZP people that are looking for roommates. You will have to put up with my music, which, as Smeag will tell you, is awesome. Unless there's more than one person, you will be the navigator. You need to be cool. Here are the two routes I am considering taking, more or less. I took the first one last year, and there are lots of tolls, which is why I'm thinking about the second even though it's a little longer: 80E -> 287S -> 95S
    80E -> 287S -> 78W -> 81S -> 15S
     
    Additionally, I'll be leaving in the early afternoon on Thursday, August 20th and returning on Monday morning, August 24th.
     
    So if you live in New Jersey, the NYC area, Eastern Pennsylvania, or even Delaware, and meet the above requirements and want to come to BrickFair, let me know!
  5. Black Six

    Moving Daze

    By Black Six,

    So, I'm taking classes this summer at my college and therefore need a room to stay in. For reasons know only to the Office of Residence Life, I can't stay in my current room, but instead need to move to another dorm. Fine, okay, whatever. So I got assigned a room a few weeks ago, as well as a date to move in on. That date was yesterday. I'm still in my old room. Seems ResLife forgot about Memorial Day, and had been planning on cleaning up rooms then, but couldn't. Since my parents came by and took my fridge yesterday (the new room is an apartment and already has one) I was stuck today in the 80 degree weather with no way to keep my milk from curdling or to keep some water cold to drink. Heck, I'm sitting on my bed right now practically sweating it's still so hot. As most of you probably know from dealing with me on BZP, I'm not one to back down, and by the end of the day (read: 9PM at night) was able to move my perishables and some other things over to the new room. Fortunately I have no classes tomorrow, and should be able to move the rest of my stuff then. Others who weren't so persuasive have to wait until the weekend.
     
    A warning to you all, no matter how nice of a school you go to, there's always bureaucratic dren to deal with. And it's always a pain; I've yet to find a school, a job, anything, where that sort of stuff never gets in the way. If anyone does, let me know so I know there's still hope.
     
    And that was my rant for the evening. I'll let you get back to BZPower, so I can get back to my sweating, what fun...
  6. Black Six
    Intro
    It is that time of week again, time for the Weekly Update! Aren't you all so excited?
     
    Updates
    So we had some promotions tonight. Congrats to Ta-metru_defender, Turakii #1 Lavasurfer, Toa_Velox, Nuju Metru, and 55555.I have every faith that they will perform admirably on the staff. Hopefully this will keep us well-staffed for a while now.
     
    If you haven't already, go take a survey for LEGO. They value all of your feedback, just give some honest answers.
     
    Behind the scenes, the BZPower Staff has been starting to plan for BrickFair. We're going to have even more table space this year, so start building some MOCs so you can bring or send them to the Washington DC area. It's gonna be great! I hope to see a lot of you there.
     
    Mailbag

    1. No, not really.
    2. i/u
    3. Not right now.
    4. Things that make you happy.
    5. What do you mean, African or European swallow?
    6. Yes.
    7. No.
    8. The USPS is pretty darn reliable.
    9. A travel agent.
    10. Poe wrote on both.
     

    1. Yes.
    2. Yes.
    3. Pencil.
    4. Classic: probably a 1968 Shelby Mustang or a 1969 Corvette. Modern: Bugatti Veyron.
    5. 2010 Subaru Outback.
    6. They get posted in the order they're received.
    7. Ginger. And yes, I used to watch that show every morning.
     
    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 it for this week. It's time for me to go back to watching some MLG. Questions, comments, and feedback are of course always welcome. Have a great weekend!
  7. Black Six

    Star Wars

    By Black Six,

    This past week I decided to watch all of the Star Wars movies, starting with the original cuts of the Original Trilogy (OT) and then moving to the Prequel Trilogy (PT), as it should be. I'm not sure if I could handle the 'Special Edition' originals, but I may persevere through them this coming week. We'll see.
     
    As you may have already suspected, I'm firmly in the 'Original Trilogy was best and oh yeah Han shot first' camp. Watching them all in succession though, you notice the inconsistencies so much more. I will admit that parts of the OT are corny and there were some internal continuity mistakes. Also, the action sequences pretty much pale in comparison to the PT, although the action looks more real with models, puppets, etc as opposed to all the CGI. I don't see the OT as about the action though, it's about the story.
     
    That's where the PT is severely lacking. It seems a lot more disjointed with where it's going and then in the last half of Revenge of the Sith they cram in all this stuff to blatantly lead into the OT. I hated how Anakin is all confused and torn between the Jedi and Palpatine and then suddenly he's like, 'I'll serve you and kill the Jedi who are obviously all evil.' They also completely disregard all the Lucas-approved Expanded Universe (EU) that had come before. Boba Fett's origins? Nope, he's a clone. The Maw Installation and all the stories about the Death Star? Nah, they were planning that for decades. Then there's all the technology, vehicles, etc, that ends up looking like purposely dumbed down OT stuff (the shuttle missing the top wing in Revenge is the most obvious to me, but the Star Destroyers and such are also pretty bad). Shoehorning Chewbacca in there seemed unnecessary and also breaks the EU. (And why does he never chime in in the OT when Luke talks about Yoda?)
     
    That last parenthetical reference brings me to my next area of gripes - they did all this work to set up the OT with the PT, but there's still so many things that don't make sense. The one I always come to is how Obi Wan went from a pretty young man to nineteen years later looking all old and grizzled. Yoda too - he was hopping all over the place against Dooku and Palpatine. Why didn't Darth Vader recognize R2-D2 or C-3P0? Why does Obi Wan not recognize them either? Leia says she remembers her mother, but Padme died in childbirth. How is it, that in nineteen years, Jedi go from being the keepers of the peace to a myth? I'm sure if I went over things with a fine-toothed comb I could find more, but those are just the ones that jump out at me.
     
    So that's my ramble for now. I really enjoy the OT thoroughly in every regard. And ignoring the connection between the two, I mostly enjoy the PT. For all the time they spent on them I just wish they could have focused more on the writing and less on the action and special effects.
  8. 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.
  9. Black Six
    So much to do and so little time. That pretty much sums me up right now. Between classes and tutoring and BZPower, I'm reminded of a bathtub with all the water emptying out the drain. I want to get at least one other story about Brickfest posted, but I don't see when I'll have the time to. In fact, there's a lot of things I want to do but haven't gotten around to yet.
     
    One thing I did manage to accomplish this past Saturday was to play some Halo. I was on Live for about an hour, then I switched over and played 343GS on Heroic on Halo: CE. I think my favorite levels in the Halo series are the first five of the original (note: this does NOT include 343GS). The Flood can be just too much of a pain. I really wish I could play Halo: CE on Live though. Every time I go back I remember the awesome power of the pistol and the great multiplayer maps that didn't make it (Chill Out, Hang 'em High, and one other whose name isn't quite BZP-safe) and everything else I loved about the first. Here's hoping the feeling comes back for Halo 3!
     
    G'nite all:
     
    Now I lay me down to sleep,
    Try to count electric sheep
    Sweet dream wishes you can keep,
    How I hate the night.
  10. Black Six
    As anticipated, Halo Evolutions took me the majority of last week to get through. That's okay though, it's a great collection. I love the twist at the end of Palace Hotel - it may be my favorite just for that. Human Weakness and The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole are also good reads. But so are the other stories, so give the whole thing a try.
     
    I started Cryptum last night, which is very different so far. I only got through a chapter, so I'll reserve my judgment for now. It's much shorter than Evolutions, so I'm hoping to have it done by the middle of the week or so and then move on to Glasslands. This is also the first book of this project that I haven't read before, so it's all new and exciting. I enjoying rereading books I read in the past, but experiencing new stories should not be avoided.
     
    Which reminds me that my copy of The Thursday War should be arriving today.
     
    Lots and lots and lots to read!
  11. Black Six
    Intro
    Enter Sandman by Metallica. Oh wait, this isn't the 'What Are You Listening To At This Very Moment?' topic, it's the Weekly Update!
     
    Updates
    I wouldn't be doing my Ambassadorial (that's such a great word) duty if I didn't remind you to check out the survey that LEGO is asking TFOLs and AFOLs to participate in. This feedback will be extremely valuable for the company and will help out us, the consumers, in the long run - it's well worth it.
     
    The fourth chapter of Riddles of the Great Beings has been released. I haven't checked the Talkback topic recently, but does anyone have an answer to my riddle? Bonus points if you do.
     
    So, a question for you guys tonight: what are your thoughts when the names of the staff members suddenly change to some random theme? Is it funny? Is it cool? Is it confusing? Is it stupid? Not like it's going to happen any time soon or anything, because that would just be silly. But I figured I'd ask.
     
    Mailbag

    1. Yes, they're aware of my involvement. At one point, in between being the appropriate age for Bionicle (in their opinion) and where I am now, they thought I was too old for it. But they've come to accept that that's not going to change. They also have realized that the people I know are legitimate and that I've made some good connections, both on BZPower and, for example, with LEGO.
    2. I don't really have a set routine. I generally try to check the forums thoroughly twice a day. Throughout the day though I'll log into the Admin Control Panel and approve accounts or just go to the main site to check PMs and other activity. Then sometimes someone will send me a link of something that needs to be addressed and that will get drawn out into doing a bunch of things.
    3. In my opinion baseball is a thoroughly boring sport, both to watch and to play.
     
    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
    Hopefully things will pick up in the next couple of weeks. Until then, thanks for bearing with me and our boring updates. (Civil War by Guns N' Roses now if you were curious.)
  12. Black Six

    Pax East 2011

    By Black Six,

    I've been meaning to talk about this for over a week now. Real life keeps getting in the way though. I probably should be doing other things even now, but PAX was just too much fun to not talk about!
     
    It started out on Thursday (3/10), which was in general a pretty un-fun day. I had to drive down to the Washington DC area in the morning for some training, then back up to Maryland in the afternoon, and then to New Jersey at night to meet up with my friend Terence. All of this was in the pouring rain. Not fun.
     
    I got there intact though, watched some TV and relaxed after the long day, and then went to bed.
     
    The next morning started off way too early, at four-something in the morning. A couple quick showers later and we were on the road. Thanks to Terence's friend's EZPass, we didn't have to worry about tolls and could take a more direct route. So despite the continuing rain we made good time and were in Newton, MA before ten. We parked the car, hopped on the T, and took the Green Line forever and ever. Then we switched to the Red Line, and finally to the Silver Line, which is a bizarre underground bus. I guess they were too lazy or too cheap to lay down subway tracks? Coincidentally, we stumbled across my other friend AJ and his girlfriend, who we were planning on meeting up with at PAX - very convenient. Anyway, we got to the Boston Convention and Expo Center and saw the endless horde of geeks and nerds and knew we would fit right in.
     
    After that point a lot of things started to blur. We walked around the show floor for a bit, I met up with Nate (Than the Moa), who arrived but couldn't get in since John (Watashi Wa) had his pass and was stuck in Detroit or Washington DC or some ridiculous place (had he come to Washington the night before we could have driven up together). We got in line for the Rage demo and I broke out my Settlers of Catan portable edition. We got a lot of positive comments and had a lot of fun - it made the wait fly by. The demo itself was amazing. I have no idea how they made the game look that good on the Xbox 360. We got free shirts even! We walked around the floor a little more after that, and I randomly met Louis Wu! Then we got on line for The Old Republic. And we waited. And waited. And waited. And the expo floor started closing. And the panel on Xbox Enforcement that I had wanted to see started. But we finally got in! You definitely need a lot of coordination and teamwork for TOR, and the fact that the mics on our headsets didn't work failed to help that. Nor did the fact that AJ and his girlfriend had never played an MMO before. It was still kind of fun though, but it seemed more like Star Wars wrapped around World of Warcraft than Knights of the Old Republic turned into an MMO. We didn't get to finish the demo since the expo closed - but I consider us lucky: we only waited in line for about three hours, later in the show the line could last up to six hours.
     
    We left the show and headed toward our hotel. Along the way we met up with Nate again, who had spent his time at the library and Prudential Center. We received an unpleasant surprise when the two double bed room I reserved only had a single bed. Terence and I had brought Aerobeds though and we were able to get a cot, so things mostly worked out. Somewhere around then John finally got to Boston and after much direction-giving we met up with him and had some dinner. We hung out in the hotel a bit and then after midnight, celebrated what was now John's birthday.
     
    We didn't stay up too late though, since we wanted to get to the show early. Nate, John, Terence, and I got there before the show opened and started a new game of Catan while we waited. AJ and his girlfriend, who live in Boston, didn't show up until much later, the lazy bums. When we got in, we played some Fallen Frontier (a game made by former Bungie and Harmonix employees) and then lined up to see Battlefield 3. Man that game looks amazing too, and I'm not even a fan of the series. We did some other stuff too probably, and then went to watch the Rooster Teeth panel. Those guys are a blast and so funny. After the panel we got some dinner and then went to line up for the Saturday night concerts. We got to watch Pyre Jenga, one of the Omegathon events, and then Video Game Orchestra, Paul and Storm, and Jonathan Coulton. VGO didn't disappoint this year - they gave us Zelda, played a Halo arrangement, and they even had an encore ready! Paul and Storm were a blast, they're two really funny guys. JoCo was great - he's gone electric since last year and has a 'band' now (a bassist and drummer), so even his older stuff was new. Things ended really late though, which when combined with Daylight Savings and a mile and a half walk back meant it was a realllllly long day. Oh, I got to meet e and Stepto during the concert too and got a code for a Cole plushie for my Xbox Avatar!
     
    On Sunday we slept in a bit, and managed to catch the last shuttle to the convention. We started off by signing up for the Halo tournament and then waited for that to kick off. It wasn't very well organized, but we got to talk to bsangel and get some free codes for the Defiant Map Pack. I'm glad we got something, because we were knocked out in the first round by some pros. It was a close match though at least. We hit up the show floor for a little more after that, but John had to leave to catch his flight. The rest of us played some Gears of War 3, which seemed pretty similar to the second one, but with some new weapons. Nate had to leave soon after that, and Terence and I decided we should get going so we didn't get back to New Jersey too late. We made pretty good time again, but we were dead tired and passed out pretty much right away.
     
    Unfortunately I couldn't sleep in too much the next day, but I only had a few hours to drive to get back to Maryland. I got home, exhausted, and then had to deal with unpacking, doing laundry, and getting ready for going back to work. I still haven't quite caught up, but the weekend was so fun it was worth it and I don't really even care.
     
    If you can ever make it to an event like this (if you're a gamer) go for it. We got to talk to some awesome people, play a lot of awesome games, and just had a good time with friends in general.
     
    I'm already looking forward to PAX East 2012!
  13. Black Six

    Weekly Update - 11/5

    By Black Six,

    Intro
    It's November already? Well, it's Friday, so that means it's time for a weekly update. Here we go!
     
    Updates
    October is done, that means a new episode of the Powercast! Go listen to us have all sorts of fun. It actually wasn't as crazy as some have been, but I think the topics were pretty interesting and hopefully informative. Also, Taped Headphones is awesome!
     
    LEGO recently announced a partnership with NASA. I look forward to seeing these sets, and I know some of you are too, based on the responses to the recent topic asking for theme ideas. This will be the fourth or fifth time LEGO has done a theme like this, and I've always enjoyed the sets they've turned out.
     
    A new chapter of The Powers that Be came out yesterday. Yay Bionicle isn't dead yet! Don't worry guys there's still some life in the old line.
     
    There's been some stuff going on amongst the Ambassadors recently. I think moving forward LEGO is going to be a lot more communicative about things. We're still working on completing our application, but we will be applying. Jim and the gang has put out a request for some other information that we're starting to collect. You may hear more about that this weekend.
     
    I think that is all I have for you for now, folks!
     
    Mailbag

    1. You have no idea.
    2. Either Father's Day or The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances
    3. The Girl in the Fireplace
    4. Blink
    5. Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead
    6. The Lodger? Maybe?
    7. That is nigh impossible. I think I'll have to go with Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead.
     
    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
    Questions, comments, and feedback are always welcome. Have a good weekend - don't forget to set your clocks back!
  15. Black Six

    Weekly Update - 11/19

    By Black Six,

    Intro
    Quick and dirty update this week. There's lots of fun to be had elsewhere!
     
    Updates
    Go vote for who you think would best represent BZPower as a LEGO Ambassador. Be sure to read the entire first post before voting. Also remember that this is the first round and that the staff will choose the final candidate.
     
    Go congratulate our newest Forum Assistant, Mysterious Minifig! I know he'll do a great job once we figure out what forums to put him in.
     
    So the Ambassador announcement was one part of what I mentioned last week. There's still one other thing that I still need to do. This weekend is going to be busy though, so we'll see.
     
    I also got some really exciting news today from one of our staff members. You guys, unfortunately, won't be able to see what it's about until December. It'll be pretty awesome though!
     
    Mailbag

    1) Would I 'jump' on it? No. Nothing on BZP ever moves that fast. I would discuss it with the other admins, then we'd test it, and then if we still thought it would be useful we'd implement it.
     
    1) I'd rather not say. It's located it lovely rural Northwest New Jersey in roughly the middle of nowhere.
    2) Knowing that the projects I'm working on will be used to help save lives.
     
    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
    Like I said, a short update this week. Lots to do. Enjoy your weekends, everybody!
  16. Black Six
    Intro
    The week really needs to stop going by so fast. How is it Friday already? I guess that means you want a Weekly Update.
     
    Updates
    Let's get some things out of the way first. From BZPower Forum Rules & Guidelines

     
    Additionally, the Administration does not consider two individuals kissing to be sexually explicit or otherwise inappropriate. Banners or other images depicting people kissing are not against BZPower's rules.
     
    Great, glad to get that out of the way.
     
    If you haven't already, go check out the results from the previous survey LEGO conducted and go share your thoughts in the new one. It's a great thing for LEGO to be constantly looking for our feedback and input to help improve their company.
     
    In some BZPower-related news, the new staff members finally have forum assignments. But take it easy on them guys and try not to break too many rules, okay? I'm sure they appreciate it.
     
    The entry period for the current RPG Contest ends tonight. Polls will be up shortly after that, so make sure you vote!
     
    Apart from those things, it's really been kind of slow. I've been trying to work on some things behind the scenes, but there hasn't been a huge amount of progress. I hope I have more to share soon, but who knows...
     
    Mailbag

    1. I like some kinds of pie.
    2. They might be told to be more careful, but I definitely wouldn't fire them.
    3. I think I'd go with good old Billy Furno.
    4. I do.
    4a. I like all sorts of different things - pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, broccoli, bacon, ham and pineapple are just a few that I like.
    5. Chocolate or some derivative thereof.
    6. Yes, any admin can ban a member.
    7. I think the last one I bought myself was the TIE Defender. I did get one of the Ninjago spinner sets at Toy Fair though.
    8. Not since Patrick Ewing retired.
    8a. Back then, it was the New York Knickerbockers.
     

    1. A Bionicle one? Probably not.
    2. Sorry, you're out of luck.
    3. I can't say I read too many comics.
    4. Sometimes it can be very stressful, but I wouldn't be here if I didn't love it.
     
    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
    Have a great weekend everybody, and remember - be excellent to each other.
  17. Black Six
    Readers of the popular webcomic xkcd will know that Randall Munroe posted a revised 'Map of Online Communities,' today. I'm not going to link to it because there's lots of things on there that we can't talk about on BZPower. There is one thing, however, that we can:
     

     
    It's not quite as awesome as if BZPower was on there, but it's still pretty sweet.
  18. Black Six

    A Quick Update

    By Black Six,

    It's been a while since I posted here, so I figured I should say something. There's not much to add, however. Between school, work, and BZPower, I'm kept pretty busy, barely even time to play Halo and such. I'm in the middle of midterms for the summer semester, so halfway there; though I wish I could say it's all going to be downhill, hehe. I'm working at a small company that designs and manufacturers control equipment for die-cast machines; it's a good job and I'm enjoying it. It's definitely better than working retail, which I've done before and loathed. It's good to think that we're only a third of the way through June, and although the past few weeks have gone by fast, there's still over two months of summer to look forward to. Recent signs suggest that I'll be attending Brickfest, so if any of you will be there too be sure to say 'Hi!' I know a few other BZP staff members will be attending as well.
     
    Well, that's all for now...
     
    ...See you space cowboy.
  19. Black Six
    Intro
    I welcome you once again to this hebdomadal update of mine. Boy do we have things to discuss. Let's get started!
     
    Updates
    As I foresaw last week, we had a set review go up - Jet Ray by Darth Vader. People don't seem to like the Ben 10 sets that much, although Pat does see some MOCing potential in the many new parts that appear in these sets.
     
    We also posted a reminder about BrickFair, if you're attending or want to send in MOCs, be sure to read it. As always, it's sure to be a great time.
     
    It was a podtastical week as well. We posted our eleventh episode of the BZPowercast, where we discuss more BrickFair, the story, and RPGs. BS01, on the other hand, interviewed Greg Farshtey. Got give them both a listen!
     
    Did I mention RPGs? IF you're a fan of those, you should check out our 18th Bionicle RPG Contest. We have a theme this time around, as an added twist. If you think you're up to the challenge, we'd love to see you enter!
     
    I think by far the biggest news this week was that we updated our signature and avatar guidelines, which you can check out right here. There's been a very vocal group of people expressing their dislike over the new guidelines, which I suppose we should have expected, but really didn't. I guess after hearing people complain for years about the confusing and restrictive rules, we thought everyone would like the way we opened things up. We should have remembered that you can't please everyone.
     
    I've yet to see any comments though that lead us to believe that there is something fundamentally wrong with the new rules - they're definitely a lot more easier to understand and allow members a lot more flexibility. And believe me, we didn't pick 800x300 out of thin air. We tried and discussed other dimensions and looked at existing signatures to make sure that very few, if any, would be breaking the rules after we made the changes. Believe it or not, even with the old rules it wasn't that hard to get close to 300 pixels tall. The only difference now is that before it was text and images and now it can be purely images. So it all comes down to personal taste. If you don't like it, I'm sorry, but I think it'll become less noticeable with time.
     
    Mailbag

    Yes.
    Yes.
    Not so much.
     

    1. Right now I'm waiting for paperwork to go through so I can start work.
    2. I've never seen an episode of LOST.
    3. You can't handle the truth!
    4. I try not to dwell in the past.
    5. You have no idea.
     

    1. I own an Xbox 360.
    2. Not anything recent.
    3. Yes, a Subaru Outback.
    4. Classic Rock.
    5. I'm probably biased towards the Xbox 360.
    6. Immensely.
    7. I watch pretty much everything on Hulu.
    8. I'm a fan of Firefox.
    9. Mac OS X all the way.
    10. In theaters? Iron Man 2. Seen? The Prestige.
     
    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 that cleared things up in a simple and informative manner (like our new sig rules ). Questions and comments are always welcome, of course. Have a good weekend all!
  20. Black Six
    Intro
    I missed last week - sorry everyone. I was busy at PAX East, which was amazing, and something I'm still trying to recover from. But I'm here to give you guys an update, at least.
     
    Updates
    We've had a couple reviews for you recently - Comrade Gato shared his thoughts on Ice Dragon Attack and xccj took a look at Nitroblast. They're two pretty different sets - we like to give you some variety here at BZP. We don't have any reviews in the pipeline currently, but there's a lot of sets out there that I'm sure we'll take a look at this year.
     
    If you're into stories and games, RPG Contest #21 is going on right now. There's still time to enter your RPG and see how it fares. There hasn't been a lot of entries thus far, which means everyone who enters stands a pretty good chance!
     
    That was the fun stuff. On the other side of the coin, we announced a new LEGO policy that is going into affect. Yes it will have an impact on everyone on BZPower. Yes the Administration is working as best as we can to adapt to it. Everyone is very busy though, so changes take some time to go into effect.
     
    We had some promotions a few weeks ago too. I still need to assign the new Assistants some forums, but I have things mostly mapped out and should have time to do that this weekend I hope. Then someone will have to train them to ensure they don't break the site. If you're lucky, we'll use one of your topics as our guinea pig.
     
    Mailbag

    1. Yep.
    2a. 2003
    2b. 2001
    3. The ability to slow down time - there's not enough hours in a day!
    4. That's a tough one - The Shawshank Redemption is one of my favorites if not the favorite.
    5. A woodchuck would chuck ten pecks of wood, if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
     

    1. There's no actual list, but we do try to notice people who are helping a lot and keep them in mind when someone steps down. There's usually a lot of discussion between me and Tufi to decide on the best candidates.
    2. Not often.
    3. I love that I get to interact with so many LEGO fans on BZPower and other LEGO communities.
    4. Iced tea.
     
    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
    Trying to get back into the swing of things over here; please bear with me. Until then - have a great weekend everyone! Questions and comments are always encouraged.
  21. 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!
  22. Black Six

    Weekly Update - 1/14

    By Black Six,

    Intro
    I'm back again, dear readers, for another weekly update. Next week's update may be iffy, so cherish this one while it's here!
     
    Updates
    The reviews keep on coming! Arpy reviewed Jetbug and xccj took a look at Scarab Attack. What's with all the insects? We should have at least one more review this weekend, so keep your eyes peeled. Here's a hint: it's from a super-popular licensed theme.
     
    If you haven't already, you should take this survey from LEGO. Be sure to leave your comments in the Talkback thread so I can send it back to LEGO so they can improve the experience in the future.
     
    If you like telling stories or playing games, you should read about the BZPRPG reboot. Friar Tuck and the others have been putting a lot of time and effort into this and I'm a fan of the direction it's going. Everyone is welcome to join, so check it out!
     
    Mailbag

    1. I've only really seen the first, ninth, tenth, and eleventh doctors, so I can't make a well-informed decision. Out of those though, David Tennant is my favorite.
    2. Martha Jones or Amy Pond, I would say.
    3. They're all awesome.
    4. I was never a fan of Donna Noble. Her personality always grated on me.
    5. I love mailbag love from everyone.
     

    I'd like to announce that we are introducing the 'widget' as the official currency of BZPower. Whatever makes them happy I guess? Yes, I might suggest that they get some help. Poor planning on the part of the set designers. That's like saying BZPower currently stands for, 'Black Six Zone Power.' Actually, that's not a half-bad idea... Builds with LEGO brick and watches soap operas. To each their own. No, sorry. Orbital bombardments only. It'll be in dry dock. I plan on being at Milliways. Nope, sorry. What's 'beaf'? I'd like to be, under the sea, in an octopus' garden, in the shade. That is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
    The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
    Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
    And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
    No more; and by a sleep to say we end
    The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
    That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
    Devoutly to be wish'd.
    Only the good die young. Because they don't know any better. It was sick of people asking which came first. Because you're bored, probably. 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. I'm tired and have a lot to do. It's okay though, because I'm kind of on vacation right now! Have a good weekend everyone!
  23. Black Six

    Mass Effect 2

    By Black Six,

    I beat Mass Effect 2 tonight (yay, less than a month!). I thoroughly enjoyed the game and will definitely be playing through it again in the future. While at first I wasn't sure how I liked the toned-down RPG nature of it, it definitely grew on me. There are still some things I would have liked to see back, but oh well.
     
    My two biggest gripes are scanning planets (soooo tedious) and the difficulty in getting money. In the original game you could easily but every weapon from every vendor, which may not be realistic, but at least you know you can if you want to. In the sequel, I wasn't even able to scrounge up enough cash to buy all the upgrades that I wanted, and that just doesn't seem right if you ask me.
     
    As far as the ending goes, I really like the 'big reveal,' and the final mission, but it kind of felt like it was lacking compared to the first. There was a much lesser sense of urgency and importance without the council and the huge fleets involved. Shepard was just like, 'it's ok, I got this,' and then we went home. I did like the resolution with the Illusive man though, it sets the stage up well for the third game. In fact, I think that's where my dissatisfaction comes from. The first can definitely be a standalone experience, but the second seems like it requires the first and third to hold it up. I'm sure I'll love the final game too, but I wouldn't have minded if it was a bit more independent. I guess it was a lot like Halo 2 that way (except without playing as the Arbiter).
     
    Anyway, next up is finishing up Dragon Age: Origins, and then on to Bioshock 2!
  24. Black Six

    Motivation

    By Black Six,

    I've been lacking motivation lately, the ever-growing pile of work (including BrickFest coverage) is quite disheartening. It makes me want to procrastinate even more. It's not a good cycle to be caught in.
     
    To quote Freddie, "I want to break free!"
     
    So yeah, if someone asks you some day if you want to be an Admin at a large website, say no (unless it'll be a full time paid job).
  25. Black Six

    Weekly Update - 1/28

    By Black Six,

    Intro
    Hey everyone, it's Friday, I think. It's the last Friday in January, even. That means it's time for the last Weekly Update of the first month of the new year! That should be exciting or something.
     
    Updates
    Man, things have been really slow. Toy Fair is coming up soon though, and that's sure to pick things up around here.
     
    Meanwhile, DeeVee and Sisen reviewed Fire Lord - the biggest 2011 Hero Factory set out currently. Shortly afterward, xccj shared his thoughts on the Skull Motorbike, an entirely different sort of set, but still fun. We'll have more reviews at some point, but it's not looking like any this weekend. I could always we wrong though.
     
    In other news, those of you in Alabama and the rest of the South are in luck! BrickFair is coming to Birmingham in 2012! It's great to see my favorite event expanding, and while I don't know if I'll be attending, I'm sure it'll be fun. The timing is a bit early - I know there's not many winter events, but right after New Years may make it difficult for some to attend. We'll see!
     
    At some point last year I was talking about plans for BZPower, plans that have yet to come to fruition. The holiday season slowed things down a lot, but those are over now. I need to get things rolling again, but really need to find the time and motivation to do so. Any help would be appreciated guys.
     
    Mailbag

    1. Many, many times. They are fun.
    2. Think of it like Brickshelf or Flickr, but on BZPower. It's offline because we're worried about the server being able to handle it.
    3. I think they're both kind of silly, honestly.
     
    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 all I have for this week. I look forward to your comments and questions and whatever else you want to throw at me. Have a great weekend guys - see you next week!
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