I suppose this set is nice enough for new collectors or fans of the game series, or something ... I'm not overly impressed with them, however. Episode I Battle Droids repainted? Wow. Great job, Hasbro!

My room is pretty weird right now, in terms of decoration. The vast majority of the ones I have hanging up are from a small, high quality collection of reproduction Soviet Political Posters. I also have a few Star Wars posters, as well as a few different maps (Hurricane Evac routes, New Mexico), and some random sketches/odds and ends which amuse me. Honestly, my walls are pretty bare ... I mostly watch Television and read in my room, so the decoration of my walls beyond a minimal "Hey, I live here!" point isn't really an issue for me. Oh! I also have two United States flags in my room, though only one is actually on the wall.

I forgot to mention that I'm in the market for a few new posters. I really wouldn't mind having a few from some of the old Presidential candidates whom I never had a chance to support (alas, being a late 20th century birth!) like Goldwater, or Eisenhower.

McQuarrie + Fritz Lang + Star Wars Figure = a combination between the following emoticons...  /  /  / and 

Seriously, well played! Thanks for making me regret my decision to sit C4 out.




(Damn. I'ma need someone to pick me up a few... someone like Kevin, maybe?)

Eins has yet to arrive in South Carolina. Everywhere I go, I am greeted by thousands of Final 22 figures who, seemingly, have just arrived themselves. I need my fix!

I've been collecting various pieces of militaria for a couple of years now, with my primary focus being on the two main players of the Cold War, The United States and Soviet Union. I've also got a decent amount of pre- and post-Cold War US surplus and issued stuff, however. Just this weekend, whilst searching through thrift, I discovered an original US Army Air Corps flight jacket... and scored it for a mere $8!  Needless to say, I was thrilled.

It really depends on where your area of interest is. If you're into dress and parade uniforms primarily, then the hobby can be rather expensive. Equipment, too, can be rather expensive. However, regular jackets and awards are pretty common and cheap (unless they're foreign... as a forewarning, shipping from Central Asia and Russia is KILLER).

You should absolutely get involved in this hobby however. Owning and perserving bits of history, especially bits in which you've a vested intellectual interests, is damn near religious and never disappoints.

I can recall a time when I relished bashing Phillip Wise and his netly dominions on a regular basis. I can also remember going there during certain points of 2004 with the express purpose of trolling, and committing douchebaggery (a policy which, actually, was a dismal failure as I recall it). However, eventually it just became such a tired shtick and subject that I just became callous to the goings-on there. I mean, RS is just a hyperinflated collecting site with a piss-poor and vindictive management. There are plenty of equally ridiculous sites which exist in vastness of Teh Internets. Directly involving yourself on its forums without concrete causation is an exercise in insanity, and serves only to expose you to absolute anarchy, swindlers, and the überannoying pseudo-intellectualism of Wuhers.

An analogy: RS is somewhat like Iraq- an overly populated and fracas prone republic located at the epicenter of a long decayed civilization* with an ineffective, thuggish government. So long as I have access to their photoarchives for reference, and so long as they don't somehow interfere with my collecting interests, I really couldn't careless what happens there. However, displaced members of the community and "expats" certainly have justification to hold a grudge, IMO.

*Said civilization, I guess, being the one which existed during the short era of union betwenn the BHC and RS forums in 2002. Its analog being that of the Caliphates... maybe? Yeah, a stretch, ich weiß. 

Yesterday's system has left thus far left at least 20 people dead across the Southeastern United States and Mid Mississippi Valley. Unfortunately, it looks like the highest concentration of fatalities came from Enterprise, Alabama where an as of yet unrated tornado plowed through the town and then the local high school during the first half of the outbreak. The SPC's preliminary storm reports currently put the total around 15, making up approximately 75% of yesterday's storm related deaths.

However, all of this could have been much worse. The two PDS watches which were issued yesterday for much of the South did not have the widespread severe weather that was forecast. Weak instability, combined with convective inhibation due to on-going precip, prevented many storms from reaching severe levels.

By around 6:00 PM Central, the squall line along the Pacific Front had formed just to the east of Birmingham, and then proceeded to make it's push to the Atlantic Coast. Georiga, north of I-20, was largely spared from any severe weather. Similarily, northern South Carolina was largely spared. However, a secondary bout of severe weather did break out in the eastern Carolinas overnight, producing numerous reports of damaging winds.

Here's the 10 AM Central Day 1 Convective Outlook from yesterday. Astoundingly high probabilities... typically "High Risk" areas are only deliniated once or twice per year. To borrow/steal a phrase, yesterday was indeed a "Particuarly Dangerous Situation".

Other Links:
1 March 2007 storm reports
The Tennesse-Alabama-Gulf Coast PDS Watch
The Georigia PDS watch