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Swert

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Blog Entries posted by Swert

  1. Swert
    I took some opinions I gained from people on my IM, and my limited blog comments, and I created this new revision. The old is just below it.

     



    I think I did a better job on this pass, and it looks more cohesive. I'd love it if we can find a better Missions and possible a better Saga Guides image, but I did make some major changes. In addition, I adjusted the lettering spacing so the I looks cleaner. Easier to read. I also negated almost all gray (the LEGO Black icon is staying, it's the best choice.)
     
    Comments are, again, welcome.
  2. Swert
    MakutaFest 2015 is behind us. Now, it is time to look forward.
     
    ... But while we're looking forward, let's listen back to the past : D
     
     



    Again, thank you to all the listeners, and to my TTV and BS01 co-hosts. Let's never talk about this again.
     
    ... Until next year
  4. Swert

    The Tower of Plimps

    By Swert,

    Basically, it's a ToP. It's for the Minecraft scene my studio's been building that will be at Emerald City ComiCon.
     
    And I had to fight an uphill battle just to even get this built. Seriously, nobody else knew about it except me. I'm just not regretting it at all.
     
    Also to answer a question that will be asked, we got a lot of that gold brick from both the 50th anniversary tubs and the 2x2 came in those golden ornament packs.
  6. Swert

    HS01's New MP Nav

    By Swert,

    Alright, so as mentioned on HEROsector01's main page news, we're planning to upgrade the main page to the same layout as BS01's, or close to it. One of these includes my pretty clever navigation system (yes I did actually create the concept, even if SK and Metax managed to make it all work... kudos to them, though).
     
    What comes with this navigation? An actual button grid:
     



    And if you weren't aware, BS01's main page navigation works by clicking a tile, and a menu slides from the right to the left with a list of both relevant and popular links under that subject. HS01 will have the same treatment, and I look forward to bringing it to you all.
     
    I am open to constructive criticism, and possible alternate images for the grid itself, as well as possible color changes, but the categories themselves will stay. I -might- change Saga Guides if I can get a better category there.
  7. Swert
    Dude.
     
    ... Dude.
     
    Dibs on Deadpool.
     
    Anyway, I'm happy they finally announced another superhero game, and it's even more surprising given I would expect them to release it last year when Avengers hit. I suppose it makes sense to release it when Iron Man 3 hits.
     
    I look forward to it, Fall 2013 isn't coming fast enough.
  8. Swert

    Man, Cincinnati...

    By Swert,

    It's raining like crazy over here.
     
    Oh, and it's 6 AM. I'm still on PDT mindset.
     
    HOORAY FOR REDEYE FLIGHTS!
     
    I'll be in Detroit by 11 AM their local time. So 8 AM my time.
     
    I need a nap x_x
  10. Swert
    This is basically a log of what transpired last weekend for me. Both the good... the bad... and the epic.
     
    On Friday evening, I flew out from Seattle at 11:15 PM PDT. At this point, I was awake since noon. I did not sleep on the flight, and I did not sleep again until 3 AM Sunday morning. I then arrived in Cincinnati around 6 AM EDT. From there, I waited 3 hours til 9:45 AM, where I departed towards Detroit Metro Airport.
     
    Once I touched down and collected my bag, I walked out and met up with Toa Lhikan Hordika (henceforth referred to as "TLH") and Lady Kopaka (henceforth referred to as "LK"). I then got a call out to Avohkah Tamer (henceforth referred to as "AT") and got his ETA for when we can check in at the hotel. From there, we went to TLH's parents' house. For the record, TLH was marrying Turakii (henceforth referred to as "Turakii"... redundant, I know.)
     
    Once there, we ended up with a huge downpour and thunderstorms. I got a photo taken with my phone of the aftermath between myself and TLH:
     
     
     

    We're just a bit damp... just remember that the shirt I'm wearing is LIGHT blue, and that gives you context on HOW damp.

    From there, we went to go meet back up with AT, and enjoy a wonderful day of just getting to know the real us for awhile. This lasted with a group party until like 1 AM. AT and I then went to our hotel room and crashed for 2 hours until sleep.
     
    The next day is where the big stuff happened, really. First off, I woke up and got ready for the wedding. I elected to ride with a fellow wedding attendee (he was at the same hotel as us) so AT could go do other stuff, and we got elected to go pick up a giant gorilla stuffed animal (there's a backstory to it, we shall not be repeating here) for photos for the wedding reception.
     
    This is where things took a negative tumble for a bit.
     
    On the way to the church, we were pulling in on a left turn, and we got smashed in the side by a driver coming from the opposite direction. The short story is we believe he was speeding, and we KNOW he didn't attempt to stop, and I am perfectly fine injury-wise. I have some skin abrasion on my arm, but otherwise I'm just fine.
     
     
     

    The gorilla in the truck, pre-accident. No photo exists of the aftermath, I was too traumatized by it (as you could well imagine).


    Coming from this low, we could only go up from there.
     
    Anyway, wedding happened, then reception, finally got to the end of the evening where AT and I sat and watched YouTube by hooking my laptop up to the HDMI of the hotel TV and tethering to his phone's 4G connection (who needs hotel TV? YOUTUBES!)
     
    The next day, we all arrived at TLH's parents' house to pick up LK and go to the airport. TLH, Turakii, LK and I were flying out that day to respective places, they went to Washington DC, I went to the real Washington. Keeping in mind at this point I was terrified of EVERY SINGLE DRIVER IN MICHIGAN NOT NAMED TLH OR RELATED, this trip to the airport was less than thrilling.
     
    After lunch at the airport, I walked all the way down to the gate I was departing from, after a heartfelt moment of hugs and goodbyes for us. I then snapped a photo of the happy couple before I left.
     
     
     

    Why must she photobomb me when departing? Now I'll never remember her for not being non-photobombing.

    On the flight back, I just cruised by and watched the tops of clouds and lands. It was a memorable flight, and I landed safely (much smoother than the one in Cincinnati, I might add) and took a bus back to Lakewood.
     
    All in all, a wonderful little trip, though I think I made them promise me I didn't have to do the car accident bit over again if I go back that way. It's a shame I couldn't go to BrickFair (I worked the very next day, and Dan's already making sure I won't forget it) but I'm sure everyone going will be happy there.
     
    Plus, I got to witness the beginning of a new chapter for two people. I'll take that over a convention every single time, no questions asked. I'm sure I am not the only one in this mindset.
  11. Swert
    Hey everyone, I'm happy to announce that HS01 is -finally- ready to upgrade the main page to mimic BS01's in terms of navigation and content.
     
    Aside from some cosmetic changes, the navigation is now fully functioning (or will be when it's posted anyway) and I plan to show off these features in the near future in a blog entry or topic (for both sites, cause apparently nobody uses it on BS01 that I am aware of, simply because nobody knows it's there).
     
    In non BS01 and HS01 news, I get to work five days this week, including an event on Thursday. We're setting up our five foot diameter Death Star and some other minor things for the client, and it's an interactive model. We already have 95% of the model ready to go, we just need to assemble it on site, then work on decorating it. I then help tear part of it down that night, leave it for the next day when we go back up and tear it all down (it's about 4 hours of tear down and proper packing.)
     
    ... Man, I did not realize how busy I'd be until just then x_x
  12. Swert

    So that was a thing.

    By Swert,

    Maybe next year, when I say "I'm tired from working six weeks on a project under a strict deadline" someone will listen when they remember back to when I used both Toa V and Derpy Hooves to basically do absolutely nothing all day with.
     
    That is all. Thank you and have a nice April 2nd.
  13. Swert
    So I'm sure by now many of you saw those spiffy BZP staff shirts being worn by BZP staff. Cool shirts right?
     
    ... Yeah, I'm not a fan of custom shirts.
     
    But I do want custom BS01 hats
     
    So who'd be down with buying one if I got a bulk sale of 'em? Like maybe a limited run of 20?
     
    (I'm still thinking about them, this is preliminary)
  14. Swert
    Hey guys, got something great for all the Hero Factory fans out there. While BZPower was getting its forums upgraded, we had a chance to contact Elmer Damaso to have him draw a particular "expanded universe" character. As you know, Mr. Damaso is the artist of the Hero Factory comics found in the LEGO Magazines and online. Having him draw a character who doesn't have a comic form was pretty exciting, especially for those at HS01. While he was drawing this character, we got contact details from Mr. Damaso about the group that colors for the Hero Factory comics, Digital Art Chefs. After obtaining the final version from Mr. Damaso, we commissioned DAC to color the artwork.
     
    Now, on behalf of the HS01 Staff, I would like to present Merrick Fortis 3.0:
     

     
     



     
     
    Source: Exclusive Artwork: Merrick Fortis 3.0
  16. 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
  17. Swert
    So I should disclose, I have too much stuff. Like seriously, -too much stuff-. For about 10 years I only had one big shelf to work with. It wasn't nearly good enough to display anything with. So, now that I can officially say I am old enough to have whatever I desire, I bought 3 brand new bookcases for my room.
     
    Basically, I cleaned up my room. Shocker for me, really.
     
    Link to OneDrive folder (public for all, read only, no login required)
     
    I took 9 photos in total, each showing one section of the bookcase in total. The last photo in the folder was taken after I made some minor changes, but was taken so you could see all of it relative to each other.
     
    Basically yeah, it's a pretty spiffy setup for me, and I'm happy with it. I just wish I had more shelving to make room for some of the newer sets coming my way (Eyeing buying myself ECTO-1, and I also spotted the new Eiffel Tower, plus I plan to buy Wyldstyle's motorcycle set in March.)
  18. Swert
    So, I mentioned before in my ignored blog post that I wanted to build Mata Nui the island. Xccj and I discussed it, Dan Parker and I discussed it, and we're ALL on the same page to get this done...
     
    in March.
     
    Now why do you, the reader, care?
     
    Cause at some point, we will be asking for fan-submitted Mata Nui System-Based locations. YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO MAIL ANYTHING TO US. We are going to have as much material as we can muster for this project, and so long as you provide good photos or instructions, we can rebuild it. If you are like me, with limited material -at home-, feel free to use LDD Extended. We don't need it immediately, we're nowhere near ready for anything at all yet. The scale we're looking at in total (for now) is 10 32x32 stud baseplates in length, 6 baseplates in width, and maybe 2 plates in height from the baseplate up (this figure is flexible for now). It'll be a sculpture, not a mosaic.
     
    When we do ask for models (Feel free to build a few now) we'll tell you. Meantime, the following are already taken by either myself, Xccj, Dan Parker or someone I have asked:
    Ga-Koro Naho Falls (with the Kaukau mask, Gali's)
    Po-Wahi's Six Toa mask statues
    Mangai (We'll handle it )
    Toa figures (Dan has an idea for them, we'll most likely have a few models.)

    Now, the earliest we can even begin to plan this is November. I myself can't even begin to build towards it in the shop until January, maybe December of this year. We also have plans for Kini-Nui, but will welcome all suggestions
     
     
     
    Please, we ask if you do build in LDD Extended, build using known actual parts. For example, if it's tan in your photo, but no tan exists, we can't use it. Also, if it's a premium part with a premium color, assume we may not have it. That's sad, but we can adapt it. (Example: Dark Red may look nice in Ta-Koro, but we can use regular red too.)
     
    I hope to have more information for you all soon, but for now keep it in mind.
  19. Swert
    One guess.
     
    So given Microsoft just lowered the price of the Xbox One back on Saturday, I decided to pick up an Assassin's Creed Unity Kinect-less bundle, $350. It didn't occur to me when I got it they also planned to give me AC4 as a bonus, which given I already had it on the 360 was a nice plus.
     
    I then proceeded to buy Fibbage for $6 and Minecraft XBO edition for $5.
     
    ... So basically, I spent almost $400 (with tax) on a brand new console, 4 games, and basically a multipurpose controller (I found I could use my phone charging cable to connect it to my laptop, so YAY BORDERLANDS CONTROLLER <3) and I still have Lego Batman 3 coming in next week.
     
    ... Aaand an almost booked solid two months of work, of which I won't see much time in any of these games much before the weekends anyway. Sigh.
  20. 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.
  21. Swert
    So, I fell down on the sidewalk (rainy day, slipped and fell), scraped up my right knee, possibly hit my head and gained a concussion (major headache all day), and still got up and put in a six-hour work day.
     
    With a bleeding knee, and a concussion.
     
    And then I went in today as well.
     
    That's dedication right there, folks. The Swert WILL NOT DIE.
  22. Swert
    So this week, I the opportunity to participate in interviewing a friend of mine. That'll get posted online within the week, so I'll be sure to share it. It's pretty relevant to BZP, actually.
     
    In the other news, I've been working a bit more slowly since the Minewell project was finished, and so I've gained some time back to myself. I took the opportunity to rent and watch The Hobbit #2, then starting Lego The Hobbit. Didn't go too far into that yet, but it's already leaps and bounds ahead of The Lego Movie The Videogame in terms of navigation and stuff. Yes game, I'd love to have a map. Yes game, I'd love to have you mark where stuff is for me. Thank you.
     
    So yeah, basically more boring stuff for me, except that interview. Woo.
  23. Swert

    It's Here

    By Swert,

    The Wall - Experience Edition and The Wall - Immersion Edition.
     
    I've got Experience on my computer already (<3 you, Zune Pass) and I might just consider Immersion eventually. It'd be worth it some day.
  24. Swert
    So now I'm left with a dilemma, really.
     
    I'm quickly coming up on my sister's graduation (on saturday). I wanna design a congratulations card for her.
     
    What should go in it? XD (And do not fear, she does not even glance at BZP... or even BS01. Nothing said here will be read by her.)
     
    Also IWANNASELLYOUAHAT
  25. Swert
    When hist'ry wrought an archive new
    From tale, from code in Wiki Blue
    For knowledge, this, we worked upon.
    Continue now, EDIT ON!
     



     
    I sincerely wish to thank Inferna Firesword, for being an awesome person. Oh, and for my rings The Nuparu Inika claw was given to me in 2011 at BrickCon. The second is a custom for me I commissioned.
     
    And now it's mine.
     
    (Special thanks to Tomana for writing the Wiki Lantern Oath. YOU ROCK BUDDY!)
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