My mom an dad moved here to Phoenix in 1968, bringin us kids with 'em.
We came from the Great Northwest ..where 'tree' was a word to describe somethin that the first branch began about a hundred feet up.
Anything else was a 'bush' ..undergrowth .. minor stuff.
Ecologists useda say if the temperature was 10 degrees hotter the area around Portland Oregon would be a rain forest, .. Congo style .. I mean .. it rained a LOT.
There aint no 'trees' in Arizona.
Heck I even spent a year in Southeast Asia and know what a real monsoon is like,
..not this Phoenix weatherman wannabe bullshit they spout about a 'monsoon' ..
..personally I think every 'weatherman' in Arizona is an overpaid boob
..I mean, it's Hot ..or Hotter,
..with periods of Warm ..get a real job ya frikkin bums.
When I was stationed in North Carolina you could watch the wall of water
march down the street ..one side of the street would be sunny and dry,
..other side would be just bein blasted like someone tipped over a bucket.
Kathy and I would sit out on the porch an watch the lightnin show and the rain.
So ya .. I have seen the rain.
I know a bit about that whole water fallin from the sky bit.
Yesterday ..it rained in Phoenix.
First with a bit of peanut size hail, enough to leave a fine white frosting on the lawn
and make the neighbors go 'ooo - ahhh' ..they're from Mexico and I don't beleive they've ever seen hail.
I drove my son home because the water was so deep it was hittin the floor of the truck,
..and the truck has a bit of ground clearance, not one o' them lowered mickey-mouse wannabe trucks.
Really cooled off the day ..it was nice out.
About an hour later ..it frik-kin UNLOADED.
I mean it RAINED.
Water drops the size of baseballs so thick you couldn't see across the street.
Then the HAIL started.
It sounded like gunfire.
I got up and went out the front door ..
..it grew in intensity until even yelling I could not hear what Kathy was tryin to say
.. I had never seen Hail the size of golf-balls.
This was between golf ball and baseball sized..it was just BLASTING the leaves off all the trees,
..small branches rained down, it completely mulched the lawn
(hey ..no lawn mowing required for awhile..cool :)
It did a FINE job dimpling the hood and roof of the truck.
Surprised the heck out of me the windows stayed intact.
Ended up with a 'drift' of hail against the fence about a foot deep,
..a nice frosting of ice balls about 3-4 inches deep ..cars goin by (slowly)
sounded like they were drivin on bubble-wrap ..crunchy poppin sounds, loud.
The hail beat the *CRAP* out of everything ..just an awesome show.
Ima have to chat with the insurance guys when their phone isn't busy ..LOL.
-Frank
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Looking for Work, or how to stay frustrated.
Yanno ..I useda think an artist was all I needed to be.
All the rest ..software, brushes, canvas, posterboard
.. those are all tools an artist uses.
Frustrating to read job apps that require a degree and/or knowledge of a tool
.. it seems artists need not apply.
You must be 18, have 20 years of experience, a degree, know and be expert in every software tool on the planet, and oh by the way, do you speak Swahili or any of a dozen other languages? .. and get me a cup of coffee.
When I interviewed artists for hiring, I wanted to see what they had done.
I wasn't interested in the tools they used .. they had to be able to create a vision of an idea .. you know .. that whole 'art' thing.
Anyone with the passion to create can learn a tool to do so.
I want to thank Mr. Cameron for saying it was the artists at their workstations that made Avatar come alive .. it's nice to hear someone acknowledge the passion.
I had an ignorant art director tell me years ago 'well, it's CG, it's always right'
..and another 'there are no hero's here'
Every single member of a team that brings a vision to life from an idea is a hero, .. from the guy who makes sure the web is up, the guy on the phones with customers, Lead Artists, Lead Programmers, even the CEO.
I got 'under the hood' of 3d Studio in the DOS days, along with Photoshop.
It was convergent tech at it's best ..I had been doing oil-canvas, acrylic-posterboard, ink sketches ..built models growing up of just about everything,
..mostly planes and cars tho.
3d Studio/Photoshop was magic. I could build models, paint 'em, animate, blow up, smash, or setup scenes a camera never would catch. I could create worlds and everything in them. And did. For years.
Am I an environment artist? An animator? A UI guy? -shakes head in disgust-
..the fact is I do what I need to do to create the vision .. I am an artist.
I have spent months doing UI screens, more months just animating/rigging characters,
..the years added up as I created 3d shapes for world environments, even laying out entire worlds, ..painting texture maps, exploring cool/different tools ..always learning.
But .. do I know Flash? LOL, no.
Guess a set of images rendered into any format that Max supports or deBabelizer can convert to isn't good enough?
I would bet I could learn enough in a couple weeks about Flash to be considered an 'advanced user' if not 'expert' .. it's just a tool.
Do I know Maya? -sigh- ..another tool.
I did an eval of Maya long ago when the suit-dweebs were all agog about it ..it cost more than Max so it must be way better right?
Well. A summer spent in my spare time, mostly after everyone had gone home.
Polygon is still a polygon.
Takes an artist to create art, the tool is not what does it.
At the end of my eval I recommended against it
.. 3dmax allowed us to do all we needed to for real time game environments, screen shots, UI's, etc.
IMHO, Maya is a great tool. More geared to high poly modeling, some nice features, better have a decent workstation with networked rendering farm.
A Pentium 90 wouldn't cut it.. while Max was happy on a P-90 ..more or less.
(altho it did take awhile to render some of our screen shots back in the day :)
But do I know Maya? .. -sigh- I'd have to say no.
Could I use it .. learn it .. be proficient with it?
You bet.
I am an artist.
It is just a tool.
One of many.
-Frank P. 'Gray Eagle' Williamson
-lead artist on Air Warrior, Kesmai, 1995-2000
-3d artist on NASCAR 2002/2003, Papyrus, 2000-2001
-lead artist on Falcon V.0, G2 Interactive, 2001
..and lately 3d artist on SnoCross for the iPhone, 2XL Games, 2009-2010
All the rest ..software, brushes, canvas, posterboard
.. those are all tools an artist uses.
Frustrating to read job apps that require a degree and/or knowledge of a tool
.. it seems artists need not apply.
You must be 18, have 20 years of experience, a degree, know and be expert in every software tool on the planet, and oh by the way, do you speak Swahili or any of a dozen other languages? .. and get me a cup of coffee.
When I interviewed artists for hiring, I wanted to see what they had done.
I wasn't interested in the tools they used .. they had to be able to create a vision of an idea .. you know .. that whole 'art' thing.
Anyone with the passion to create can learn a tool to do so.
I want to thank Mr. Cameron for saying it was the artists at their workstations that made Avatar come alive .. it's nice to hear someone acknowledge the passion.
I had an ignorant art director tell me years ago 'well, it's CG, it's always right'
..and another 'there are no hero's here'
Every single member of a team that brings a vision to life from an idea is a hero, .. from the guy who makes sure the web is up, the guy on the phones with customers, Lead Artists, Lead Programmers, even the CEO.
I got 'under the hood' of 3d Studio in the DOS days, along with Photoshop.
It was convergent tech at it's best ..I had been doing oil-canvas, acrylic-posterboard, ink sketches ..built models growing up of just about everything,
..mostly planes and cars tho.
3d Studio/Photoshop was magic. I could build models, paint 'em, animate, blow up, smash, or setup scenes a camera never would catch. I could create worlds and everything in them. And did. For years.
Am I an environment artist? An animator? A UI guy? -shakes head in disgust-
..the fact is I do what I need to do to create the vision .. I am an artist.
I have spent months doing UI screens, more months just animating/rigging characters,
..the years added up as I created 3d shapes for world environments, even laying out entire worlds, ..painting texture maps, exploring cool/different tools ..always learning.
But .. do I know Flash? LOL, no.
Guess a set of images rendered into any format that Max supports or deBabelizer can convert to isn't good enough?
I would bet I could learn enough in a couple weeks about Flash to be considered an 'advanced user' if not 'expert' .. it's just a tool.
Do I know Maya? -sigh- ..another tool.
I did an eval of Maya long ago when the suit-dweebs were all agog about it ..it cost more than Max so it must be way better right?
Well. A summer spent in my spare time, mostly after everyone had gone home.
Polygon is still a polygon.
Takes an artist to create art, the tool is not what does it.
At the end of my eval I recommended against it
.. 3dmax allowed us to do all we needed to for real time game environments, screen shots, UI's, etc.
IMHO, Maya is a great tool. More geared to high poly modeling, some nice features, better have a decent workstation with networked rendering farm.
A Pentium 90 wouldn't cut it.. while Max was happy on a P-90 ..more or less.
(altho it did take awhile to render some of our screen shots back in the day :)
But do I know Maya? .. -sigh- I'd have to say no.
Could I use it .. learn it .. be proficient with it?
You bet.
I am an artist.
It is just a tool.
One of many.
-Frank P. 'Gray Eagle' Williamson
-lead artist on Air Warrior, Kesmai, 1995-2000
-3d artist on NASCAR 2002/2003, Papyrus, 2000-2001
-lead artist on Falcon V.0, G2 Interactive, 2001
..and lately 3d artist on SnoCross for the iPhone, 2XL Games, 2009-2010
Sunday, December 13, 2009
X-Box Forza 3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I bought the Xbox just to play this game.
o my
Ok I will take minute, ..
.. my baby blue '68 ZR-1 is sitting at LeMans, setup for class B/500 race today .. later this month I have an R2 spec race for the world championship ..think I will take out the McLaren for that one altho the Porsche is fun also..
Immersive?
If you're a gearhead like me .. .. O heck YA.
You earn cars by doing well in races, either by earning enough credits to buy one or the manufacturer awarding you a car for just plain smokin the AI.
You can paint 'em, tune em, .. soup 'em to the gills.
I have a lot more awareness of what it's like to drive one of those 1k hp twin turbo C-5's ..on the old Mulsanne Straight it showed 240mph into the braking zone,
..on that old two lane hiway it was like going lightspeed ..holy CRAP that thing is a *rocket*!!
.. I had to put a wing on it because the back tires just aren't enough
..even with the wing you cant go full throttle until 100mph or the tires just fry, and they're the biggest slicks I can hang on the back
I built a '68 blown Hemi Cuda in game .. it is unmanageable.
Wild.
Front end starts hunting badly at 160+, no front spoiler avail.
I actually took it out, went back to the 340 .. LOL
My '71 Hemi Challenger does a lot better, can actually race it at 200+ altho you have to be on top of it at every moment and it required all wheel drive to do so.
I even did a what if on a '90's Honda Civc Hatchback ..turbo charged S2000 motor, rear wheel drive,
..it's a frikkin beer can!
.. will do over 200 and it even handles well.
Like the vette tho, you cant punch it till over 100mph.
Just cant get enough bite in the back
Just got the hi sign from the pit boss, time to race,
I hope all of you and yours have a great new year
-Frank aka GE (hopin they do this one for the PC)
I bought the Xbox just to play this game.
o my
Ok I will take minute, ..
.. my baby blue '68 ZR-1 is sitting at LeMans, setup for class B/500 race today .. later this month I have an R2 spec race for the world championship ..think I will take out the McLaren for that one altho the Porsche is fun also..
Immersive?
If you're a gearhead like me .. .. O heck YA.
You earn cars by doing well in races, either by earning enough credits to buy one or the manufacturer awarding you a car for just plain smokin the AI.
You can paint 'em, tune em, .. soup 'em to the gills.
I have a lot more awareness of what it's like to drive one of those 1k hp twin turbo C-5's ..on the old Mulsanne Straight it showed 240mph into the braking zone,
..on that old two lane hiway it was like going lightspeed ..holy CRAP that thing is a *rocket*!!
.. I had to put a wing on it because the back tires just aren't enough
..even with the wing you cant go full throttle until 100mph or the tires just fry, and they're the biggest slicks I can hang on the back
I built a '68 blown Hemi Cuda in game .. it is unmanageable.
Wild.
Front end starts hunting badly at 160+, no front spoiler avail.
I actually took it out, went back to the 340 .. LOL
My '71 Hemi Challenger does a lot better, can actually race it at 200+ altho you have to be on top of it at every moment and it required all wheel drive to do so.
I even did a what if on a '90's Honda Civc Hatchback ..turbo charged S2000 motor, rear wheel drive,
..it's a frikkin beer can!
.. will do over 200 and it even handles well.
Like the vette tho, you cant punch it till over 100mph.
Just cant get enough bite in the back
Just got the hi sign from the pit boss, time to race,
I hope all of you and yours have a great new year
-Frank aka GE (hopin they do this one for the PC)
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Back to Work Slave Dog!!
I am a 3d Artist.
Been working as a Nurse for a few years ..went back to school and earned my license as an LPN and it was very worthwhile to be there for people that needed me.
Then
..local Hospitals decided they dont want LPN's anymore
..the 'big thing' is home health ..door-to-door
..driving all over hellangone beatin the crap out of your car
..dealin with all the totally clueless 'drivers' who will kill you without even knowing you are there.
You cannot pay me enough to go door-to-door.
I don't want to know the lady with 50 birds all over her house and why she is sick all the time.
Being allergic to cats, I especially don't want to go into the house if there is even one cat there.
Pass.
Oxygen tents are just not much fun.
So ..nothin happenin in LPN-land, been out of work comin up on a year
..ima send out resume's for what I really enjoyed doing before I got tied into a startup that failed to make payroll and being an idiot I stuck it out till my savings were gone on the promises of the CEO that 'any day now' .. ya .. he still owes me over 10k that I will never see.
Grr.
I sent out hundreds of resume's ..cover letters from the heart
.. got stacks of email rejections as the months went by from all the dream game developers that I would love to work for, even some of the animation studios
..do you have any idea how much fun it would be as a car nut to work at the studio that did 'Cars' ..among so many other awesome places that just *jam.*
Kudos to Autodesk for having a program that lets you get and use a student copy of Max10 (or any of their other products) while you are unemployed!!
I could not have done this:
..which helped me sharpen my skills up after being gone so long.
The 'Crazy Horse' Mustang I did in 3d Studio long ago, the hot rod is all Max10 ..seems I can import all my old stuff and it works ok after converting the textures to mental ray capable :)
Couple months ago I saw an Ad on Craigslist (!) for an artist .. it was here in Phoenix!
I wouldn't have to move! .. oh cool they do offroad stuff ..bikes an offroad cars ..
-I started grinning-
..useda run motocross when I was much younger
..nothing I have done since matches the feeling of being so totally past 'the limit' of control ..surviving and excelling by pure muscle and reflex.
I sent in a resume ..wrote a cover letter from the heart *as usual*
..and got an email that day, followed by a phone call the very next day by the Art Director.
I mean .. WOW.
He wanted to know when it was convenient to come in.
I about exploded. Really.
Interviewed with the owner and the art director .. I felt like I was bathing in sunshine.
They said all the things I used to dream of a company doing.
Just one example: Bonus determined by effort and product
(yes.. I can get a bonus if a product does well I dont even work on
..along with earning one by what I do ..just plain WOW)
SO ..I have finished my first week+ there .. all the people there are like me.
We *jam* .. all day every day.
All the bean-counter crap I have waded through in other careers and places just does NOT apply ..here.
No time clocks, no 'fraction of hours' paid, no 'you have to work 2 weeks before you get your first couple days pay' and all the other pure BS we all endure in the 'corporate' world.
Free full medical/dental/vision .. put that in your bean-counter cap and smoke it!
They even have M&M's (plain *and* peanut) in the break room ..on the shelf.
I experience waves of contentment.
Weird.
Ima be here awhile.
Thank God.
-Frank P. 'Gray Eagle' Williamson
3d artist, 2XL Games and *jammin* once again.
Prayer Works
Been working as a Nurse for a few years ..went back to school and earned my license as an LPN and it was very worthwhile to be there for people that needed me.
Then
..local Hospitals decided they dont want LPN's anymore
..the 'big thing' is home health ..door-to-door
..driving all over hellangone beatin the crap out of your car
..dealin with all the totally clueless 'drivers' who will kill you without even knowing you are there.
You cannot pay me enough to go door-to-door.
I don't want to know the lady with 50 birds all over her house and why she is sick all the time.
Being allergic to cats, I especially don't want to go into the house if there is even one cat there.
Pass.
Oxygen tents are just not much fun.
So ..nothin happenin in LPN-land, been out of work comin up on a year
..ima send out resume's for what I really enjoyed doing before I got tied into a startup that failed to make payroll and being an idiot I stuck it out till my savings were gone on the promises of the CEO that 'any day now' .. ya .. he still owes me over 10k that I will never see.
Grr.
I sent out hundreds of resume's ..cover letters from the heart
.. got stacks of email rejections as the months went by from all the dream game developers that I would love to work for, even some of the animation studios
..do you have any idea how much fun it would be as a car nut to work at the studio that did 'Cars' ..among so many other awesome places that just *jam.*
Kudos to Autodesk for having a program that lets you get and use a student copy of Max10 (or any of their other products) while you are unemployed!!
I could not have done this:
..which helped me sharpen my skills up after being gone so long.
The 'Crazy Horse' Mustang I did in 3d Studio long ago, the hot rod is all Max10 ..seems I can import all my old stuff and it works ok after converting the textures to mental ray capable :)
Couple months ago I saw an Ad on Craigslist (!) for an artist .. it was here in Phoenix!
I wouldn't have to move! .. oh cool they do offroad stuff ..bikes an offroad cars ..
-I started grinning-
..useda run motocross when I was much younger
..nothing I have done since matches the feeling of being so totally past 'the limit' of control ..surviving and excelling by pure muscle and reflex.
I sent in a resume ..wrote a cover letter from the heart *as usual*
..and got an email that day, followed by a phone call the very next day by the Art Director.
I mean .. WOW.
He wanted to know when it was convenient to come in.
I about exploded. Really.
Interviewed with the owner and the art director .. I felt like I was bathing in sunshine.
They said all the things I used to dream of a company doing.
Just one example: Bonus determined by effort and product
(yes.. I can get a bonus if a product does well I dont even work on
..along with earning one by what I do ..just plain WOW)
SO ..I have finished my first week+ there .. all the people there are like me.
We *jam* .. all day every day.
All the bean-counter crap I have waded through in other careers and places just does NOT apply ..here.
No time clocks, no 'fraction of hours' paid, no 'you have to work 2 weeks before you get your first couple days pay' and all the other pure BS we all endure in the 'corporate' world.
Free full medical/dental/vision .. put that in your bean-counter cap and smoke it!
They even have M&M's (plain *and* peanut) in the break room ..on the shelf.
I experience waves of contentment.
Weird.
Ima be here awhile.
Thank God.
-Frank P. 'Gray Eagle' Williamson
3d artist, 2XL Games and *jammin* once again.
Prayer Works
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Make Money At Home!
Words to Live By:
'If it sounds too good to be true, it is'
and:
'There's a sucker born every minute'
These people always start with 'I am just tryin to help you'
.. yes .. they are.
Out of any money you may have.
They prey on us using the promise of decent income (even astronomical pie-in-the-sky numbers), then tell us it's a 'limited' offer.
Ch'yaa, right .. go ahead ..let the counter count down and see what it says afterward ..
..they want your money, nothing more, nothing less.
No Fee!
Free (insert whatever catch phrase they use to hook you here, ie: kit, program, video's, DvD's ..etc)!
Oh.. there's a 10 dollar shipping fee
. . then a 40 dollar fee just to see if you're serious!
..then a 'coach' calls and asks if you can invest a few hundred dollars in whatever school, retreat, phone conference, ..any straight out bull shit story they can soak you for..
..and meanwhile, setup a website on your own dime (or ads, accounts, affiliate applications, or any number of other ways to make your money go away while you waste your time)
It's too bad you cant just punch them dead in the mouth for every dollar that *you* spend after they say the 'Free' word in 'their' scam.
Can you do something about it?
Yes.
Just Say No.
NO!!
If you have been bitten by one of these scams, do yourself a favor.
http://www.fbi.gov/majcases/fraud/internetschemes.htm
Read what the FBI has to say, and report them using the links on their site.
I even got my money back by copying the link and the report I filed with the FBI to the scam I got bitten by.
And I *still* get form letters in the mail,
I use my spam filter a lot.
And now and then, I come across another scam, ..like a once-hooked bass, I angle up, look at the bait shining and glinting in the water, ..and ...
..I Just Say NO!!
(and beleive me, that is the polite version)
-Frank P. 'Gray Eagle' Williamson
'If it sounds too good to be true, it is'
and:
'There's a sucker born every minute'
These people always start with 'I am just tryin to help you'
.. yes .. they are.
Out of any money you may have.
They prey on us using the promise of decent income (even astronomical pie-in-the-sky numbers), then tell us it's a 'limited' offer.
Ch'yaa, right .. go ahead ..let the counter count down and see what it says afterward ..
..they want your money, nothing more, nothing less.
No Fee!
Free (insert whatever catch phrase they use to hook you here, ie: kit, program, video's, DvD's ..etc)!
Oh.. there's a 10 dollar shipping fee
. . then a 40 dollar fee just to see if you're serious!
..then a 'coach' calls and asks if you can invest a few hundred dollars in whatever school, retreat, phone conference, ..any straight out bull shit story they can soak you for..
..and meanwhile, setup a website on your own dime (or ads, accounts, affiliate applications, or any number of other ways to make your money go away while you waste your time)
It's too bad you cant just punch them dead in the mouth for every dollar that *you* spend after they say the 'Free' word in 'their' scam.
Can you do something about it?
Yes.
Just Say No.
NO!!
If you have been bitten by one of these scams, do yourself a favor.
http://www.fbi.gov/majcases/fraud/internetschemes.htm
Read what the FBI has to say, and report them using the links on their site.
I even got my money back by copying the link and the report I filed with the FBI to the scam I got bitten by.
And I *still* get form letters in the mail,
I use my spam filter a lot.
And now and then, I come across another scam, ..like a once-hooked bass, I angle up, look at the bait shining and glinting in the water, ..and ...
..I Just Say NO!!
(and beleive me, that is the polite version)
-Frank P. 'Gray Eagle' Williamson
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Lookin for work of all things
The Corvette Palace in Texas has closed its doors.
For years one of the places you could get a truly pristine late model Vette, low miles, fully checked out. These folks went the extra mile and more to give a customer the best example of what they wanted in a Vette.
-sigh- .. Sign of the times.
It's very much not just myself that is out lookin for a job these days.
The good news is . . there are a lot of places looking for 3d artists.
You know when I was a hiring authority for 3d artists, I useda tell 'em the software is just a *tool* .. you have to be an ARTIST first.
I waded thru a lot of images created by people who were familiar with the software ..but wouldn't know art if it poked their eye out.
Always hired artists.
I have even worked for more than a few supervisors who had no idea about contrast, composition, ..heck I even had to explain distance hazing to an Art Director .. I mean.
Forget about trying to explain smoothing groups and the use thereof.
What ever happened to the premise of hiring artists to do artwork?
I read thru a dozen or so openings posted for 3d artists every week, some of which would be ideal for myself, but it appears they need someone up on the latest software??
Does it ever occur to these people that ..yes .. not only can I *learn* a tool, I can also use it to create artwork?
Then there's the jobs posted that don't want anyone that isn't local.
OK bean counters .. how effective is it to find a talent, but .. you can't afford to pay relocation
or even a plane ticket for an interview?
Excuse me? .. do you have any idea what that says about your company?
I have to wonder if they work on Pentium-90's or even 486's ..have they even gotten to windows XP yet?
Best job offer: Being hired as Lead Artist for Air Warrior by Kesmai.
It was a dream job and the early years were full of pioneering work on real-time game environments, User Interface design, implementation, ..we maxed our servers out when we went live on AOL because it was easy to get into the game .. however, air combat is *not* easy to excel at :)
The term 'baby seal' definitely applied :)
Fascinating moment: Meeting Paul Steed (Quake Lead Artist) at CGDC, findin out he was es-USAF also, we had been at some of the same places, we were doing the same things in low-poly modeling at different companies.
The difference was, he was being paid a heck of a lot more ..*nice Viper dood* :)
He said I was 'giving it away' .. but I loved the work.
Most fun at work: Dave Flamburis (Art Director at Papyrus) and I generating the fictional Coca-Cola NASCAR track for NASCAR2002 ..no restrictor plates, 250mph into the corners, massive banking, the grand stands are *huge* ..it was very cool to build it to look real, and then at the end, Coca-Cola gave Papyrus a 10k bonus because they liked what we came up with :)
(sure would have been nice to see some of that bonus myself tho, Dave)
My ideal spot would be generating a shape library with textures for a military aviation simulator for the DoD. I still have a Secret Clearance (Inactive) .. I still have the passion to build worlds.
Heck I'm even a disabled Vietnam-Era Veteran, served with the 432nd at Udorn-Thani long ago.
Next best would be any of the online role-playing games companies .. they need worlds built and everything to fill them :)
Ironic thing is .. I got out of 3d art when G2 Interactive failed and nearly bankrupted my wife and I because we hung in to the last hoping Falcon V (the game simulator) would fly.
I went back to school and became a Licensed Practical Nurse ..thinkin that would be a secure career field.
It *was* for a little over 3 years ..now the Doc says I need to get off my feets, seems my left leg isn't workin as well as it used to, so I am workin on gettin back into 3d art.
No Startups.
I am just not as adventurous as I was.
Bein broke is *no* fun.
I need more.
-GE
For years one of the places you could get a truly pristine late model Vette, low miles, fully checked out. These folks went the extra mile and more to give a customer the best example of what they wanted in a Vette.
-sigh- .. Sign of the times.
It's very much not just myself that is out lookin for a job these days.
The good news is . . there are a lot of places looking for 3d artists.
You know when I was a hiring authority for 3d artists, I useda tell 'em the software is just a *tool* .. you have to be an ARTIST first.
I waded thru a lot of images created by people who were familiar with the software ..but wouldn't know art if it poked their eye out.
Always hired artists.
I have even worked for more than a few supervisors who had no idea about contrast, composition, ..heck I even had to explain distance hazing to an Art Director .. I mean.
Forget about trying to explain smoothing groups and the use thereof.
What ever happened to the premise of hiring artists to do artwork?
I read thru a dozen or so openings posted for 3d artists every week, some of which would be ideal for myself, but it appears they need someone up on the latest software??
Does it ever occur to these people that ..yes .. not only can I *learn* a tool, I can also use it to create artwork?
Then there's the jobs posted that don't want anyone that isn't local.
OK bean counters .. how effective is it to find a talent, but .. you can't afford to pay relocation
or even a plane ticket for an interview?
Excuse me? .. do you have any idea what that says about your company?
I have to wonder if they work on Pentium-90's or even 486's ..have they even gotten to windows XP yet?
Best job offer: Being hired as Lead Artist for Air Warrior by Kesmai.
It was a dream job and the early years were full of pioneering work on real-time game environments, User Interface design, implementation, ..we maxed our servers out when we went live on AOL because it was easy to get into the game .. however, air combat is *not* easy to excel at :)
The term 'baby seal' definitely applied :)
Fascinating moment: Meeting Paul Steed (Quake Lead Artist) at CGDC, findin out he was es-USAF also, we had been at some of the same places, we were doing the same things in low-poly modeling at different companies.
The difference was, he was being paid a heck of a lot more ..*nice Viper dood* :)
He said I was 'giving it away' .. but I loved the work.
Most fun at work: Dave Flamburis (Art Director at Papyrus) and I generating the fictional Coca-Cola NASCAR track for NASCAR2002 ..no restrictor plates, 250mph into the corners, massive banking, the grand stands are *huge* ..it was very cool to build it to look real, and then at the end, Coca-Cola gave Papyrus a 10k bonus because they liked what we came up with :)
(sure would have been nice to see some of that bonus myself tho, Dave)
My ideal spot would be generating a shape library with textures for a military aviation simulator for the DoD. I still have a Secret Clearance (Inactive) .. I still have the passion to build worlds.
Heck I'm even a disabled Vietnam-Era Veteran, served with the 432nd at Udorn-Thani long ago.
Next best would be any of the online role-playing games companies .. they need worlds built and everything to fill them :)
Ironic thing is .. I got out of 3d art when G2 Interactive failed and nearly bankrupted my wife and I because we hung in to the last hoping Falcon V (the game simulator) would fly.
I went back to school and became a Licensed Practical Nurse ..thinkin that would be a secure career field.
It *was* for a little over 3 years ..now the Doc says I need to get off my feets, seems my left leg isn't workin as well as it used to, so I am workin on gettin back into 3d art.
No Startups.
I am just not as adventurous as I was.
Bein broke is *no* fun.
I need more.
-GE
Monday, April 13, 2009
Lets talk Vette
Ok.
Wife and I got back to Phoenix a few years ago, had been drivin a Durango.. my first 4wd, it was an awesome vehicle in the snow back east and regularly pissed off the neighbors.
They'd be diggin their cars out of the snows of Massachusettes (I was a 3d artist for Papyrus on their NASCAR 2002 & 2003 back then) ..and I would go out, wipe off a spot to see out of, get in, fire that 360 Magnum up, slide it into 4wd and just blow thru the snow berm the plow had left at the end of the driveway.
However, once we settled in Phoenix (Papyrus got bought by Vivendi and they laid off a huge pack o people that had built Papyrus) ..we did not need a 4wd.
Got tired of bein pegged for airport runs, picking up people here an there basically because we had a big bloo bus.
And the gas mileage sucked.
So .. we had never owned a Corvette. I had laughed at them all the time I was growin up because the cars I drove back then were faster.
The '67 Hemi GTX 4-gear .. and the tunnel-rammed L-88 '64 Malibu .. and the 6-pac 440 stuffed into the Duster ..Vette's of the eras had a hard time hookin up, tires sucked back then.
Useda tell friends I would get a Vette when I was old and slow enough to appreciate a boulevard cruiser.
Well :)
Wife and I found CnV corvettes here in Phoenix area, they have every era of corvette covered, from C-1 to C-6 ..and some good examples to choose from. I initially was drawn to a nice '68 roadster, remembered drivin a new 427 version one fine afternoon .. scared the *crap* out of the salesman grabbin second and havin the back end step out a bit and the tach showin 6k rpm in a heartbeat as the tires fried.
Yanno .. it was a *long* time ago .. I got into it, but .. gettin out, man I just dont bend and stretch nearly as well as I did back in '68!!
So we looked at a nice red '84 coupe ..when Jack (our guide) opened the door ..and I saw that 5" frame rail, I shook my head. I am not short coupled enough to fold up enough to stuff into a C-4.
So we walked over to a black C-5 .. swoopy, looked like it was flowing through the air just sitting there, the roof was about the height of my belt buckle.
It just reached out and grabbed me, yanno? It looked like sex on wheels.
Jack opened the door, gettin in and out was cake, I can wear my *hat* even!
I was completely sold. It is a '98 ..black on black.
Now we have had the car for a few years.
It still makes me smile every time I walk out to drive it.
I have added some chrome Halibrands, a B&B exhaust (absolutely love howling up thru the gears onto an onramp an such) ..stickier, slightly bigger tires in back, and learned a lot about this black beauty. I owned it for 2 weeks before I found out the top came off .. LOL .. RTFM!!
Thru Corvetteforum.com, I found out it's a Z-51, been lowered, and has the 3.15 gears in back.
No wonder it's like drivin a go-cart :)
Ran it out at Speedworld a few times now .. I am still learnin the car, but it has run 13's and is amazingly consistent.
Gets 30mpg at 70, 24mpg around town, insurance costs within a dollar a month of what the Durango was costin us, wife says its the most comfortable car she has ever ridden in on the hi-way.. it feels glued to the road and never changes even up past 150mph -evil grin-.
Bein a black car, it taught me how to wash a car. I thought I knew .. LOL.. boy was I wrong!
This is our '98 Z-51 coupe, automatic, more fun than I expected, and cost less than a Honda Civic even. Photo was taken up top of Mt. Lemmon durin one of our ACE Corvette club runs :)
Wife and I got back to Phoenix a few years ago, had been drivin a Durango.. my first 4wd, it was an awesome vehicle in the snow back east and regularly pissed off the neighbors.
They'd be diggin their cars out of the snows of Massachusettes (I was a 3d artist for Papyrus on their NASCAR 2002 & 2003 back then) ..and I would go out, wipe off a spot to see out of, get in, fire that 360 Magnum up, slide it into 4wd and just blow thru the snow berm the plow had left at the end of the driveway.
However, once we settled in Phoenix (Papyrus got bought by Vivendi and they laid off a huge pack o people that had built Papyrus) ..we did not need a 4wd.
Got tired of bein pegged for airport runs, picking up people here an there basically because we had a big bloo bus.
And the gas mileage sucked.
So .. we had never owned a Corvette. I had laughed at them all the time I was growin up because the cars I drove back then were faster.
The '67 Hemi GTX 4-gear .. and the tunnel-rammed L-88 '64 Malibu .. and the 6-pac 440 stuffed into the Duster ..Vette's of the eras had a hard time hookin up, tires sucked back then.
Useda tell friends I would get a Vette when I was old and slow enough to appreciate a boulevard cruiser.
Well :)
Wife and I found CnV corvettes here in Phoenix area, they have every era of corvette covered, from C-1 to C-6 ..and some good examples to choose from. I initially was drawn to a nice '68 roadster, remembered drivin a new 427 version one fine afternoon .. scared the *crap* out of the salesman grabbin second and havin the back end step out a bit and the tach showin 6k rpm in a heartbeat as the tires fried.
Yanno .. it was a *long* time ago .. I got into it, but .. gettin out, man I just dont bend and stretch nearly as well as I did back in '68!!
So we looked at a nice red '84 coupe ..when Jack (our guide) opened the door ..and I saw that 5" frame rail, I shook my head. I am not short coupled enough to fold up enough to stuff into a C-4.
So we walked over to a black C-5 .. swoopy, looked like it was flowing through the air just sitting there, the roof was about the height of my belt buckle.
It just reached out and grabbed me, yanno? It looked like sex on wheels.
Jack opened the door, gettin in and out was cake, I can wear my *hat* even!
I was completely sold. It is a '98 ..black on black.
Now we have had the car for a few years.
It still makes me smile every time I walk out to drive it.
I have added some chrome Halibrands, a B&B exhaust (absolutely love howling up thru the gears onto an onramp an such) ..stickier, slightly bigger tires in back, and learned a lot about this black beauty. I owned it for 2 weeks before I found out the top came off .. LOL .. RTFM!!
Thru Corvetteforum.com, I found out it's a Z-51, been lowered, and has the 3.15 gears in back.
No wonder it's like drivin a go-cart :)
Ran it out at Speedworld a few times now .. I am still learnin the car, but it has run 13's and is amazingly consistent.
Gets 30mpg at 70, 24mpg around town, insurance costs within a dollar a month of what the Durango was costin us, wife says its the most comfortable car she has ever ridden in on the hi-way.. it feels glued to the road and never changes even up past 150mph -evil grin-.
Bein a black car, it taught me how to wash a car. I thought I knew .. LOL.. boy was I wrong!
This is our '98 Z-51 coupe, automatic, more fun than I expected, and cost less than a Honda Civic even. Photo was taken up top of Mt. Lemmon durin one of our ACE Corvette club runs :)
Monday, February 2, 2009
Another Day ..
Fought with Process at Home a bit about their 'guaranteed refund' ..finally took sending email to the FBI Internet Fraud site and copying my email to all the spam emails I got from their reps, but I did finally get a refund, -evil grin-.
Think it would be more 'profitable' building characters in World of Warcraft for sale, LOL.
It was a learning thing.
'If it sounds to good to be true..it probably is' proved correct once more, as a friend reminded me. He went after his dream and flies commercial now, lucky dog!
(Hope it's CAVU for yas Yippee dood!)
Let's chat about online gaming.
Now .. I play World of Warcraft, just came back to it after awhile spent in Age of Conan online, and I was there in the early days of EverQuest when there were 120 nekkid woodelves in the Greater Fay woods. You had to work a bit to get your first pair of PANTS .. ok? -grin- ..it was a bit of fun.
The Dark Side has always been players who log on just to piss off other players. It's been that way from the beginning of social interaction online. Ultima Online catered to 'Greifers' ..a name they earned. It became so prevalent in UO that our Guild became one of many that hunted them like the dogs they were.
Nowadays in World of Warcaft and many other online adventures, you can filter out most of the jerks, entirely. You will never see what they say and all their attention getting behavior is curtailed ..they cant steal your kills, train mobs to you, kill you, or even bother you. The /ignore function is *Awesome* ..along with the other mechanics of play on a Player vs Environment (PVE) server.. thank you Blizzard :)
If you really want to run a character on a Player-vs-Player server, you can have at it. Get your butt handed to you on a regular basis ..or vice versa .. as you hunt and are hunted.
The interesting thing about them is, the Greifers dont go there. Oh noo .. they show up and act a jerk and they get hammered. ROFL. I mean .. it *is* the Old West ..if you're not polite and well mannered, you will get KILLED. Then and There. Greifers do not get 'into' that at all.
They just want to mess up someone elses game, cant stand it when bein a jerk just doesn't pan out for 'em.
I always tell the idiots that constantly want to /duel (and why is it they're always 10 levels higher than I am .. thinkin it's because they suck so badly they cannot win against their own levels? -BINGO-) ..anyway.. I tell 'em to go fly Aces High. You want PvP where skill is a huge part of the deciding factor, not 'gear' .. strap on a P-51 Mustang and go find a nice Me-109 below you, just above the clouds.
Get frosty, keep yer speed up, never pull more than 4G's unless it's life or death, and fight your fight. Work the vertical, and realize that timing really is everything.
There isn't anything in the world better than workin the bandit till he is slow, saddling up with them six fifties and just blowing that bandit right outta the sky.
As Han Solo said .. "good against drones is one thing, good against people .. "
It takes awhile to learn how to fight effectively in 3 dimensions, learn the good and the bad about your plane and all the others. I have come away from historical scenarios with my hands shaking and drenched from the concentration of fighting those FW-190's in my Mustang in the high air above 25k, trying to keep them off the B-17's as they punch thru to their target.
Ya .. PvP at it's finest.
Go ahead, try and be a Greifer there.
ROFL.
Wrap yourself around the concept of 'You have been SHOT DOWN'
..the term 'baby seal' applies.
One of the greatest draws of online gaming is the people you meet. They become life long friends, people you can go to for help, ..heck I even know some who married each other.
It's the other side of the coin from the Greifer types. You end up with a circle of friends with the same interests, talk the same talk, enjoy the same things, exchange ideas, learn from ..all of it.
Well .. I am off to World of Warcraft, Stormrage server.
Fuddthoo my mage is itchin to burn somethin up, he's a Gnome firebug for sure!
-Grayeagle, aka Frank
Think it would be more 'profitable' building characters in World of Warcraft for sale, LOL.
It was a learning thing.
'If it sounds to good to be true..it probably is' proved correct once more, as a friend reminded me. He went after his dream and flies commercial now, lucky dog!
(Hope it's CAVU for yas Yippee dood!)
Let's chat about online gaming.
Now .. I play World of Warcraft, just came back to it after awhile spent in Age of Conan online, and I was there in the early days of EverQuest when there were 120 nekkid woodelves in the Greater Fay woods. You had to work a bit to get your first pair of PANTS .. ok? -grin- ..it was a bit of fun.
The Dark Side has always been players who log on just to piss off other players. It's been that way from the beginning of social interaction online. Ultima Online catered to 'Greifers' ..a name they earned. It became so prevalent in UO that our Guild became one of many that hunted them like the dogs they were.
Nowadays in World of Warcaft and many other online adventures, you can filter out most of the jerks, entirely. You will never see what they say and all their attention getting behavior is curtailed ..they cant steal your kills, train mobs to you, kill you, or even bother you. The /ignore function is *Awesome* ..along with the other mechanics of play on a Player vs Environment (PVE) server.. thank you Blizzard :)
If you really want to run a character on a Player-vs-Player server, you can have at it. Get your butt handed to you on a regular basis ..or vice versa .. as you hunt and are hunted.
The interesting thing about them is, the Greifers dont go there. Oh noo .. they show up and act a jerk and they get hammered. ROFL. I mean .. it *is* the Old West ..if you're not polite and well mannered, you will get KILLED. Then and There. Greifers do not get 'into' that at all.
They just want to mess up someone elses game, cant stand it when bein a jerk just doesn't pan out for 'em.
I always tell the idiots that constantly want to /duel (and why is it they're always 10 levels higher than I am .. thinkin it's because they suck so badly they cannot win against their own levels? -BINGO-) ..anyway.. I tell 'em to go fly Aces High. You want PvP where skill is a huge part of the deciding factor, not 'gear' .. strap on a P-51 Mustang and go find a nice Me-109 below you, just above the clouds.
Get frosty, keep yer speed up, never pull more than 4G's unless it's life or death, and fight your fight. Work the vertical, and realize that timing really is everything.
There isn't anything in the world better than workin the bandit till he is slow, saddling up with them six fifties and just blowing that bandit right outta the sky.
As Han Solo said .. "good against drones is one thing, good against people .. "
It takes awhile to learn how to fight effectively in 3 dimensions, learn the good and the bad about your plane and all the others. I have come away from historical scenarios with my hands shaking and drenched from the concentration of fighting those FW-190's in my Mustang in the high air above 25k, trying to keep them off the B-17's as they punch thru to their target.
Ya .. PvP at it's finest.
Go ahead, try and be a Greifer there.
ROFL.
Wrap yourself around the concept of 'You have been SHOT DOWN'
..the term 'baby seal' applies.
One of the greatest draws of online gaming is the people you meet. They become life long friends, people you can go to for help, ..heck I even know some who married each other.
It's the other side of the coin from the Greifer types. You end up with a circle of friends with the same interests, talk the same talk, enjoy the same things, exchange ideas, learn from ..all of it.
Well .. I am off to World of Warcraft, Stormrage server.
Fuddthoo my mage is itchin to burn somethin up, he's a Gnome firebug for sure!
-Grayeagle, aka Frank
Monday, December 29, 2008
Process at Home ..ya .. right.
Ok.
So I got roped into trying Sara Angel's (if that is her real name) 'Process at Home' system for 197 dollars. The idea of processing rebates at home in my spare time appealed to me, and according to her site people do actually make a bit of spare change doin it.
(ya .. right)
Once into her 'module 1' .. I was offered an automated process to setup a website to sell products from. ??
What does this have to do with processing rebates at home?
Flag goes up .. this isn't what I signed up for.
Ohh kayy .. since I am a dweeb, I went ahead and signed up for it.
It was a mistake.
I had to come up with a business name, put out another 40 bucks or so, and quick like a bunny was pointed at Go-Daddy dot com to come up with a domain name.
Go-Daddy was easy to use and in a jiffy, I was thru that process and 'my' website was up to sell other people's products.
Huh?
This started feeling like a bad dream.
I get to the step in 'module 1' to watch the videos .. another flag, it's all about selling other people's products and some of the video's didn't WORK,
..umm -raises hand- .. I did not come here to be in SALES ok?
Ok .. I got an email on the 2nd or 3rd day, pep talk from 'Angel' herself, she used the 'commitment' word. Grr. I hate when they do that.
I buckled down to the task of advertising other peoples products and really gave it a try. I know I know, economy is in the toilet, Christmas is here, no one has any spare to spend on anything, I mean ..even I was broke ..I had gas money for the car and that was IT and I was lucky to have THAT.
-sigh-
I am beginning to rant.
The 'system' is NOT processing rebates at home.
That's like saying selling cars is a business of counting hundreds of dollars of your money. No mention of what it takes to sell a car, what your commission is, and all the other details that go into being a car salesman.
At this point I started feeling ripped off.
I stopped after 7 days of setting up sites, paydotcom, clickbank, scrambling to get affiliated here and there and everywhere, and now I am getting email spammed from every get rich quick scheme all these guys that know 'Angel' want to 'sell me'
(to put it mildly)
I feel like I have chummed for sharks.
Where's my 12 gauge?
I need a bigger boat.
I am in the process of cancelling, asking for refunds, and backtracking all the 'stuff' and undoing everything today. Wife is on the warpath, we are both done with *THIS* .. did you know, there is an FBI Internet Fraud unit?
-evil grin-
I do.
Now.
It's not just for the letters from Nigerian Senators.
The good .. I learned about blogging. I like it.
I like Google's blog spot.
I can clutter it up with *MY* stuff, and decide who else's stuff I want on it.
The bad.. there are a lot of theives and liars out there.
It's like wading through a sewer hoping your hip-waders are high enough and proof enough to see you to the other side.
I especially like the customer service calls where the guy in India interrupts you while you are trying to answer his questions to ask another question.. I am rapidly developing a 'system' of my own .. I talk to them like I would my grandson ..
..he's two and it takes him a little while to comprehend also.
Hope your New Year *ROCKS* .. later I am gonna have to log onto World of Warcraft an shoot somethin with my Dwarf Hunter.
(Dwarf with a gun, .. what's not to like?)
Yes.. I cancelled my Age of Conan Online account, went back to World of Warcraft.
I actually missed it. The Ozzie Osborn commercials .. he really 'has' been on the crazy train for longer and *is* the Prince of Darkness ..cracked me UP!!
-GE
So I got roped into trying Sara Angel's (if that is her real name) 'Process at Home' system for 197 dollars. The idea of processing rebates at home in my spare time appealed to me, and according to her site people do actually make a bit of spare change doin it.
(ya .. right)
Once into her 'module 1' .. I was offered an automated process to setup a website to sell products from. ??
What does this have to do with processing rebates at home?
Flag goes up .. this isn't what I signed up for.
Ohh kayy .. since I am a dweeb, I went ahead and signed up for it.
It was a mistake.
I had to come up with a business name, put out another 40 bucks or so, and quick like a bunny was pointed at Go-Daddy dot com to come up with a domain name.
Go-Daddy was easy to use and in a jiffy, I was thru that process and 'my' website was up to sell other people's products.
Huh?
This started feeling like a bad dream.
I get to the step in 'module 1' to watch the videos .. another flag, it's all about selling other people's products and some of the video's didn't WORK,
..umm -raises hand- .. I did not come here to be in SALES ok?
Ok .. I got an email on the 2nd or 3rd day, pep talk from 'Angel' herself, she used the 'commitment' word. Grr. I hate when they do that.
I buckled down to the task of advertising other peoples products and really gave it a try. I know I know, economy is in the toilet, Christmas is here, no one has any spare to spend on anything, I mean ..even I was broke ..I had gas money for the car and that was IT and I was lucky to have THAT.
-sigh-
I am beginning to rant.
The 'system' is NOT processing rebates at home.
That's like saying selling cars is a business of counting hundreds of dollars of your money. No mention of what it takes to sell a car, what your commission is, and all the other details that go into being a car salesman.
At this point I started feeling ripped off.
I stopped after 7 days of setting up sites, paydotcom, clickbank, scrambling to get affiliated here and there and everywhere, and now I am getting email spammed from every get rich quick scheme all these guys that know 'Angel' want to 'sell me'
(to put it mildly)
I feel like I have chummed for sharks.
Where's my 12 gauge?
I need a bigger boat.
I am in the process of cancelling, asking for refunds, and backtracking all the 'stuff' and undoing everything today. Wife is on the warpath, we are both done with *THIS* .. did you know, there is an FBI Internet Fraud unit?
-evil grin-
I do.
Now.
It's not just for the letters from Nigerian Senators.
The good .. I learned about blogging. I like it.
I like Google's blog spot.
I can clutter it up with *MY* stuff, and decide who else's stuff I want on it.
The bad.. there are a lot of theives and liars out there.
It's like wading through a sewer hoping your hip-waders are high enough and proof enough to see you to the other side.
I especially like the customer service calls where the guy in India interrupts you while you are trying to answer his questions to ask another question.. I am rapidly developing a 'system' of my own .. I talk to them like I would my grandson ..
..he's two and it takes him a little while to comprehend also.
Hope your New Year *ROCKS* .. later I am gonna have to log onto World of Warcraft an shoot somethin with my Dwarf Hunter.
(Dwarf with a gun, .. what's not to like?)
Yes.. I cancelled my Age of Conan Online account, went back to World of Warcraft.
I actually missed it. The Ozzie Osborn commercials .. he really 'has' been on the crazy train for longer and *is* the Prince of Darkness ..cracked me UP!!
-GE
Friday, December 19, 2008
The 'Cruise'
'Looks up from the screen'
Oh MAN .. it's 6AM already!! .. I need *SLEEP*!!
Happen to you now an then?
Did that last nite, I got 'sucked in' runnin into Tokyo Bay in early 1944 in my Balao Sub ..'Run Silent Run Deep' got nothin on me :) (altho I enjoyed Clark Gable in all his roles, this one was a paradigm of Clark Gable)
The game you ask?
Silent Hunter 4 by Ubisoft.
I think Kathy is gonna keel me quick one of these days for doin that whole 'stay up all nite' just playing a 'Game!'
Of course, it beats our early years of marriage, when I useda go 'cruise' Friday and Saturday nites. She hated it most nites.
Finally talked her into comin along, years *that* took!
Ahh .. 'The Cruise' ..
I always loved the cars and the people that ran 'em were a fascinating mix.
Will have to write about the Types I ran across, that would make a whole series in itself :)
The outright pleasure of listening to the highly syncopated mechanical music and base that goes right through your middle .. the Hemi, the Rat, the Mouse ... aye.
I was there.
Central Avenue, Phoenix.
Summer of '69, many returns there over the years when I was home on leave from the USAF.
Sad to see the demise of Cruising as we used to know it.
Van Nuys Blvd,
Man I would have loved to live there, only made it down there rarely,
..it was a SHOW every time.
Fremont Street, Las Vegas.
I did a burnout stationary with line lock on right there on the cobblestones just to stop that nimrod in his QuadraJet equipped Trans-Am eggin me on to race off every lite!
...NO ..
Your Trans-Am was NOT up to any task my 440 Duster could put to YOU :)
You couldn't see across 4 lanes at the stoplight when I finished,
..got a standing ovation and more than a few 'Day-YUM, now THAT's a BURNOUT!'
.. and the two cops at the McDonalds both gave me thumbs up :)
My '71 Duster, 440 powered, didn't play nice with others, FUN!
Built, Painted, Welded on, Lettered, Bracket Raced for almost 20 years, Cruised here an there an everywhere by me :)
Was always a good time, now and then you would hear about someone gettin their car really messed up, usually doin something extremely stupid.
Sometimes they'd get messed up themselves.
Darwin at Work.
I thought I was Invulnerable.
The Fact that I am still here Proves It -grin-
-GE
Oh MAN .. it's 6AM already!! .. I need *SLEEP*!!
Happen to you now an then?
Did that last nite, I got 'sucked in' runnin into Tokyo Bay in early 1944 in my Balao Sub ..'Run Silent Run Deep' got nothin on me :) (altho I enjoyed Clark Gable in all his roles, this one was a paradigm of Clark Gable)
The game you ask?
Silent Hunter 4 by Ubisoft.
I think Kathy is gonna keel me quick one of these days for doin that whole 'stay up all nite' just playing a 'Game!'
Of course, it beats our early years of marriage, when I useda go 'cruise' Friday and Saturday nites. She hated it most nites.
Finally talked her into comin along, years *that* took!
Ahh .. 'The Cruise' ..
I always loved the cars and the people that ran 'em were a fascinating mix.
Will have to write about the Types I ran across, that would make a whole series in itself :)
The outright pleasure of listening to the highly syncopated mechanical music and base that goes right through your middle .. the Hemi, the Rat, the Mouse ... aye.
I was there.
Central Avenue, Phoenix.
Summer of '69, many returns there over the years when I was home on leave from the USAF.
Sad to see the demise of Cruising as we used to know it.
Van Nuys Blvd,
Man I would have loved to live there, only made it down there rarely,
..it was a SHOW every time.
Fremont Street, Las Vegas.
I did a burnout stationary with line lock on right there on the cobblestones just to stop that nimrod in his QuadraJet equipped Trans-Am eggin me on to race off every lite!
...NO ..
Your Trans-Am was NOT up to any task my 440 Duster could put to YOU :)
You couldn't see across 4 lanes at the stoplight when I finished,
..got a standing ovation and more than a few 'Day-YUM, now THAT's a BURNOUT!'
.. and the two cops at the McDonalds both gave me thumbs up :)
My '71 Duster, 440 powered, didn't play nice with others, FUN!
Built, Painted, Welded on, Lettered, Bracket Raced for almost 20 years, Cruised here an there an everywhere by me :)
Was always a good time, now and then you would hear about someone gettin their car really messed up, usually doin something extremely stupid.
Sometimes they'd get messed up themselves.
Darwin at Work.
I thought I was Invulnerable.
The Fact that I am still here Proves It -grin-
-GE
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