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Swert

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Blog Entries posted by Swert

  1. Swert

    I Love My Job

    By Swert,

    Have you ever gone to work, set up a laptop, sat for a few minutes to wake up, then get to work on building a sculpture in LEGO?
     
    There -is- a drawback... sifted through an old construction toy collection for cleaning... and there was 50% Mega Bloks. o_o bbl dyingofcancer.
  3. Swert
    Okay, it's not a giant list of albums as impressive as Dav's (Kyn Ace) or Makaru's (Makaru), but it's my favorites.
     
    These are listed from my personal experience and is open for debate. As usual, all Top 10 lists are open to debate, except for mine 8D (sarcasm, of course). I might make this a feature for the rest of the week, and bring it over to BS01 in my blog there, it depends on feedback.
     
    #10: Pink Floyd's Animals
    #9: Metallica's Black Album (Metallica)
    #8: The Rocky Horror Picture Show Soundtrack
    #7: The Eagles' Hotel California
    #6: Jesus Christ Superstar Soundtrack
    #5: NIN's The Downward Spiral (Halo 8)
    #4: Tool's 10,000 Days
    #3: Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here
    #2: Pink Floyd's The Wall (Many would think I'd rank this #1.)
    #1: Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon
     
    Honorable Mentions, albums I felt had good music but not to the level I liked, consist of the following albums: Pink Floyd's A Momentary Lapse of Reason, Pink Floyd's Division Bell, Nickelback's The Long Road, Tool's Lateralus, Tool's Ænima, the Across the Universe Soundtrack, and the Paint Your Wagon Soundtrack.
     
    These are my list. I accept all criticism and praise.

    -
  4. Swert
    Did I forget to mention we have grand prizes, too?
     
    These six go to ONE lucky winner.
     
    And this is only one of the two grand prizes. I didn't even photograph the second one yet.
     
    Details coming soon.
     
    Oh also, we moved MakutaFest to Aug. 5th. Same time so far.
     
    ALL PRIZES ARE COURTESY OF CITY BLOCKS, TACOMA'S LEGO ART CENTER.
  5. Swert
    For no reason whatsoever, the Staff Survivor game got overrun by BS01 staff?
     
    That'd be hilarious.
     
    Also I just got done with a huge week of work, gluing a commissioned mosaic designed from scratch. I'm tired, but I still have one more day to work on the week alone, and I have to prep for a birthday party with a Technic theme.
     
    Yes, there's some Bionicle in the pack, but not much. We also have almost every Star Wars technic droid set going towards it, too. I've gotta finish repairing the Droideka and the Pit Droid, but the others appear okay (skipping C-3PO and one of the Battle Droids we had.)
     
    Fun times.
  7. Swert
    Officially, I don't want it on BS01. So cut it out, guys
     
    And I will admit to you all now, I'm looking into getting it... elsewhere <<
     
    Just give me time, I'll have details later. Til then, chill out on it.
  8. Swert

    What's Krakalin, BZP?

    By Swert,

    No seriously, I honestly have no idea where BMan got the name. So what is it?
     
    Anyway, some things to note, since I feel it's noteworthy:
    BS01's prank was written last-minute on March 31st by a team consisting of Zo'Tomana, Cholie and myself. Kayru and BMan offered input later.
    The prank concept was about a week old. It was literally started up in a conversation between like 5 staff members. We waited until the last minute to post it.
    I actually did my part this time around (though it seems unnecessarily) to lead a misdirection on everyone. If you recall, I had two blog entries related to a 'GL01' concept, between a logo and a suggestion for one. That was the misdirection. It failed, but nobody saw our prank coming anyway. So it succeeded.
    This was the fourth worst thing I could have done. Let that one sink in for a second.
    Alternatively, I could have done the following:
    Faked evidence that Bionicle was returning (I'm seriously glad I didn't do that one, in hindsight.)
    Faked evidence that a new buildables line was coming (I was leaning towards fake Doctor Who, but that required work)
    Posted that I was acquiring BZPower (ALSO glad I didn't do that, in hindsight.)
    So to answer a question I see being asked a lot, none of the answers on the topic were legit. Basically, I sat here in a Skype call and gave 90% of the answers. Input was put in to flesh them out, so at the end I'd say about 30-40% of what you saw was from me.
     
    Oh, and there was also a deleted answer from that list. A question was asked about Jaller transporting back up to the Red Star and returning by Takutanuva. I had a wonderful answer for that I now quote:
     
    "The rest of the story takes place in Jallers head as he dies."
     
    I think this one was a tossup to keep or remove. Obviously the entire list screamed prank, but leaving this one in would have seal it away. BMan decided to remove it. I think it's best we did, but I still feel good to share it.
     
    Now think about that one for a second: 2004-2010, all in Jaller's head as he slips into a coma. I think it'd make for a doozy of a theory, don't you agree?
     
    (I could write a whole blog entry on that one alone, too. I just might.)
     
    Anyway, prank over. Glad you guys enjoyed it. Please forward all pitchfork and torch assaults to my new home, Dorek's house. Kthx.
  12. Swert
    Since it worked so well last time, I decided to do it this time.
     
    Again, THIS LIST IS OPEN FOR DEBATE. Please do complain that I didn't add rappers. I dare ya Also again, this is based on my experience, not on any "facts." Also, these are all Rock only, if I start using more out of that genre, the list is harder, and the Honorable Mentions is longer.
     
    #10: Nirvana
    #9: Guns N' Roses
    #8: Sublime
    #7: Foo Fighters
    #6: Beatles
    #5: Beach Boys
    #4: Metallica
    #3: A Perfect Circle
    #2: Tool
    #1: Pink Floyd (DSOM-Wall)
     
    Honorable Mentions: Ozzy Osbourne, Floyd Post-Waters, Beastie Boys (pre-00's), Nickelback, Creed (They were very decent, trust me), Audioslave, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam (got all the Seattle mainstream rock out of the way...), Calling the Kettle (Shoutout to you, Dav!), Billy Joel (He's rock, nobody better correct me xD), Paul McCartney and the Wings (Rather good), Led Zeppelin (If I do a top 10 Best songs, a few of their songs might make it on the list), NIN, Godsmack, Disturbed, and many more.
     
    Again, criticism and praise welcome.

    -
  13. Swert
    So, it's taken me some time to realize it, but HS01's practically a ghost town.
     
    So I have an idea that just might work.
     
    ... Allowing Fan-created HF related content on HS01 under a new prefix (probably Fanon: or something)
     
    What do you guys think? And please don't just post something silly like "What's HS01" and "Who cares?" because that HARDLY helps me at this point.
     
    In fact, anybody who does will have their post removed by me. I have given my warning.
     
    (Now watch the entire blog staff beat me to the floor for making such a warning XD)
  14. Swert

    Lemons

    By Swert,

    Alright, I've been thinking...When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade! Make life take the lemons back! GET MAD! I DON'T WANT YOUR STUPID LEMONS! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THESE?!? DEMAND TO SEE LIFE'S MANAGER! MAKE LIFE RUE THE DAY IT THOUGHT IT COULD GIVE SWERT JOHNSON LEMONS! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!? I'M THE MAN WHO'S GOING TO BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN! WITH THE LEMONS! I'M GOING TO GET MY ENGINEERS TO INVENT A COMBUSTIBLE LEMON THAT BURNS YOUR HOUSE DOWN!
     
    And yes, I'm bored I should play Halo: Reach.
  15. Swert
    It is done.
     
     



    1) Yes, I know I'm missing misprints and other rarities. Most notably missing is the European Copper Huna and more premium items (24k Gold Hau for example).
     
    2) Also of note, I have some 02-03 masks in this list, including the gold Avohkii, Nuparu's orange Pakari, the gold Vahi, the MEK and Kraahkan, but they're in my collection so I count them.
     
    3) I don't currently have plans to go get Kanohi Nuva, Krana or Kraata; I might consider the Kanoka, but those are super hard to get just right.
     
    So yeah, that's 2 months' work. Just in time, too.
  17. Swert
    So, in 2006, I was very poor. This is to expected, I was still in high school. I couldn't afford to buy the good sets like (at the time) the popular Batman line sets. What did I miss out on, one might wonder. Well, the biggie I have is Nightwing the figure. He was only available in the Arkham Asylum set, #7785. He is probably one of the rarest figures I have ever laid eyes on in that particular series. I'd put him rarer than some of the others, especially since he was not re-released in the Batman II/DC Comics series.
     
    Now, my goal is simple. I must obtain my own Nightwing figure. TO VARIOUS ONLINE STORES!
     
    Oh wait... he's like averaging $40-$70 USD. Huh.
     
    Okay, so I'll bypass it... I'll just buy the torso, use black legs I have, get the head and hair...
     
    What do you mean the hairpiece is $10-$33?! THE HEAD'S HOW MUCH AND SOLD FROM WHERE?! AND THE TORSO-
     
    Okay, forget this. So, as I no doubt have said in the past, I work in a LEGO art studio. Okay, so no problem, check our stock in the back... Oh hey, like 10-12 Nightwing torsos! Epic. Grabbed legs too so I didn't need to dig any out.
     
    So now it's on to the head and hair... Oh wait, we have the hair. Sweet. Wait, it's the only one in the shop. Not so sweet. Okay, so leave that. I can find a better one for him later I suppose. Yeah, long hair in black, found that already pretty cheap (didn't buy yet.) So that leaves my head, right? Still expensive and only sold in two stores I found. So, I'm going to forego accuracy and go with a newer Robin head, which uses a similar mask but not the same. I'm fine with this. Also LEGO recently released 3 stud lightsaber blade (bar) elements in trans light blue, so I'd switch to those instead for accuracy to the set.
     
    Okay, so now I have that all done, right? Nope, cause I'm too broke to buy it still. Go figure. Anyway, the long story short, I have a Nightwing torso and legs. That's pretty much it.
     
    As for Red Hood, I decided to not make him using a Deadpool head, I'm going to be painting or affixing something to another red head to make him, I think. Or something. That way I can have both fight it out in an epic layout eventually.
     
    Sorry for the long blog rant, but I figure SOMEONE is bound to read it. TL;DR: I'm a geek.
  18. Swert
    So, this is more or less an open letter to my friends and people who I talk to all the time: I like Microsoft products.
     
    Don't leave the blog just yet. I'll explain myself.
     
    While growing up, I had many devices in my life. The company did not matter, because they had their plus and minuses across the board. I had VCRs I can't remember the company name of, I have had a few DVD players of similar status, TVs of non-namebrand companies, computers of only the Swert brand (I helped build the family computers, it's only until recent that I didn't; more on that in a moment) and plenty of media players ranging from MP3, CD and even cassette tape (I'm old school 8D).
     
    These days? You have a brand name product. You -have- to. I have chosen the one I prefer to buy from, as you may have done as well. It doesn't bother me you may have bought an Apple device (or been given one as a gift), do you know what really bothers me about them?
     
    You're bragging about it.
     
    Yes, I get my Zune HD doesn't have Angry Birds. This is because all the apps on the Zune are free. FREE. Yours cost $0.99, true, but I can get a similar game for free if someone develops one. And considering the device supports XNA, it's possible for someone to develop one. You don't need to rub it into my face I can't play this game, it doesn't bother me.
     
    And don't think you Google fans can escape this rant blog entry. I use Gmail, I also used to use Google itself. I chose to use Bing instead. I also don't buy into the whole Chromebook theory of cloud computing; I like local storage over cloud storage, especially given how often cloud has gone down for various companies, Microsoft included.
     
    And yes, I will also accept MS "fanboys" need to chill out as well. I'm not talking people worse than me, I will include myself in this. I have a passion for the company, because I felt it very easy to develop for the platforms they put out. On top of that, I love all of my devices from them so far: Xbox 360, Windows 7, Zune HD, Zune Pass, Hotmail, Windows Live, the list can go on. I do, however, accept that I need to be more subtle about my love for the products I buy and use. However, I feel I should mention this to people who know me:
     
    I don't use only Microsoft.
     
    I have a phone, it's from Samsung. Not even WP7. I have a laptop, made by HP. My desktop? Dell. I happily use all of these and many more without problems.
     
    So now I ask this: Why such hatred towards one specific company? I include myself in this rhetorical question. I admit it, I dislike Apple; I don't like their business practices, I think their products are overpriced, and I wouldn't be caught dead playing my music on iTunes, or browsing with Safari on my PCs. I have absolutely no problems with you guys using them, though.
     
    As for Google? Anti-trust lawsuit, anyone?
     
    So, in other words, I dislike the company itself. I never dislike the product they make. I'll admit it, the iPhone is a lovely piece of technology. The screen is sharp, it does its job, it won't lag up when it's in vanilla mode, and so forth. On the other spectrum, Android is a fine OS, so long as you don't modify it from here to the moon and back fifty million times, which incidentially is what the OEMs do. Where do the flaws lie in these two technologies? For one, the hardware on the iPhone is updated once a year, and you're "expected" to keep up or you're a nobody. The Android OS keeps fragmenting itself further with newer and newer user interface changes and updates, plus the hardware is not the same across the board, so stuff tends to break. By the time Android 5.0 comes out, I predict the only ones that will update with it are from this year alone. I'm predicting the 2009-2010 series of phones won't even be able to upgrade, if they can't already to 4.0. At least Apple solved that by keeping the hardware limited, but it's still a lot of hardware.
     
    Yes, I know nobody will even be down here to read this line, so I'll just wrap up with a tl;dr section:
     
    tl;dr: Let's all stop being biased towards one end of the spectrum, and accept each other for them, not their tech. I have a Zune, I want a WP7, friends have iTouches and iPhones, I want a W8 Tablet, they want iPads and maybe Android tablets, let's all just get along anyway.
     
    ... Though as soon as W8 comes out, HS01 Metro app. You know it's gonna happen 8D
  19. Swert
    I must stop blagging soon enough, but I must ask the question before the day is out.
     
    What happened to Concept Albums? Seriously, it seemed like every single mainstream band put out one of these puppies every 4-5 years, and now it's rarer than a decent Generation One Pokémon card.
     
    Let's be honest, would you rather listen to 12 songs with barely any connection to each other, or 12 songs which tell a story of either love, hate, anger, passion, peace, war, anything? I mean, come on artists of the world. Nine Inch Nails/Trent Reznor's still doing it, and he's making good money.
     
    Also, remember when Green Day made one in 2004? They made very good money. In fact, so good they're probably still living on the sales very comfortably.
     
    Now granted, those bands who did it were very Classic Rock based, and the current generation has very little patience for story telling. It's one of the reasons we've got movies based on action and less talking. Now, this isn't to say a very -bad- thing, but I know for a fact it's not very good for those who enjoy reading a book or enjoying a lovely story being acted out, and not just guns blaring. And again, this isn't to say I hate guns blaring, and I'm losing track of focus here.
     
    I'm pretty sure people wouldn't mind seeing Concept Albums anymore in a more widespread fashion. Imagine what kind of money could be made on it after the album's done. Roger Waters was, at last check, writing a Broadway musical based on The Wall, a very famous concept album. Trent Reznor once mentioned that he was going to make a sequel to Year Zero soon, and that he also wanted to bring the album to the big screen, taking another feather from the cap of Pink Floyd when they made The Wall with their music. 10 Bucks says they ask Bob Geldof to star in it.
     
    I'm also pretty sure people would buy these albums and enjoy them. I mean, sure they buy singles and all that, which also bring in money, but which would get you more money, buying an album or buying a music download? That's the question before the board. Record Labels would call out Album, consumers (us) would ask Music Download. I'd gladly support Concept Albums coming back IF they were written in a way that it'd be awesome and could be converted into at least 2 forms of outside media afterwards, be it movies, a TV series, a book, a play/musical, or even a remix (Like Year Zero Remixed)

    -
  21. Swert
    This image currently represents a specific system I came up with. For one, gives me an excuse to show off my Lantern Corps symbols. Second, it is tracking the rings I have purchased via many sources. Basically speaking, DC Comics' Collectibles division (formerly known as DC Direct) released nine rings and lantern "power batteries" as collectibles in 2011.
     
    I'm now collecting each one, or will attempt to.
     
    My image above tracks what I now own (or will own very shortly, due to purchases). So far, it's White Lantern, Blue Lantern, and Indigo Tribe. My next purchase would be Green Lantern, however the only price I saw for it was $179 on the -low- end, so I'm going to have to postpone theirs until a later date, or go hunting through my closest comic book stores for one. I'm not desperate for one yet, but if I buy the remaining 5 first, then I might feel the need to own the last one.
     
    TL;DR version: Swert is definitely a geek. We knew that.
  22. Swert
    I -really- want to get a game going eventually, and I've never felt comfortable playing random games online with people I don't know.
     
    So, I'm inviting the users with Gold XBL membership on the 360 to play. I know there's at least 5 of us around here.
     
    Any takers?
  25. Swert
    So, I get to Bellevue around 11:20 AM today. I visited the Bellevue Square mall and went to the best store in the building... THE MICROSOFT STORE!
     
    ... And then the LEGO Store. 20 minutes later, Dorek arrived.
     
    We didn't stick around in there for long. We bought the boss' stuff, like 2 Helm's Deeps, a Monster Fighter Haunted House, a small Friends set for parts, and so forth. I picked out the Vampyre Hearse set, and I bought Dorek a minifig series 8 (the pirate.)
     
    After early brunch, we took off back for Tacoma and I disassembled more of the island of Mata Nui. Thanks goes out to my demolition team from BrickCon (Jason, Micah, the Rileys, and Andrewlox/Katie tag-team) for getting to where I can actually start sorting it. This will day... days x_x
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