Tightening the Belt
Jul/100
In June I hit a new high in my weight and was ashamed with myself over it. I was less than 10 lbs away from 300. While to myself I didn’t seem extremely overweight…I was still ashamed that I had gained that much weight. Thankfully I tend to have a positive self-image, but it was time to start making changes.
Over the past few months Amy and I have been eating more healthy and have been cutting back portions. I’m not strictly dieting, but at this point mainly just reducing my intake. It seems to be working so far.
I find that when dinner is served I’m usually grabbing the smaller plate in the cupboards and eating only one serving. I’ve cut back snacking a lot…especially in the late evening after dinner…as that’s usually when I was packing calories in.
Now, while exercise is important…I have to be honest that I really haven’t been exercising. I need to, I just haven’t gotten the motivation to devote a set amount of time each night to do it. Thankfully though, I’m urging myself closer and closer to that. I drastically want to change my circumstances…I’m tired of being who I’ve been for the last couple of years…I want to try and be a new person.
Unfortunately money is still an issue…so it keeps me from joining any sort of gym or club. But I’m going to do my best to make do with what I have.
This morning I woke up and realized I haven’t weighed myself in a few days. So as every other morning, I hopped on the scale to find that my weight is now down to 271. A whopping 25 lbs lost since June. That’s all from limiting my soda intake, regulating my snacking, and reducing my portion sizes.
I’m making a vow to myself to try to get down to 240 by December. I haven’t been feeling so great about myself lately…so this will hopefully help renew my self-esteem.
Short Circuit
Jul/100
It’s probably been at least a good 13 years since I have last seen this movie in it’s full capacity. I used to have a VHS recording of it from when it was played on TV back a long time ago. After watching the DVD this weekend I realized how much funny stuff the TV censors cut out of the movie. Nothing major, of course, just humorous jokes that I probably would have never gotten back then.
My kids watched along with me this weekend and they were actually very intrigued. Which is good because I’ve been wanting to show them that movie and it’s sequel. I tried to get them to watch the sequel a few years back…but they were too young and it didn’t interest them.
Now I’ve got them interested. 
I had forgotten that the original was actually a pretty good movie. I need to add it to my Christmas list.
Summer Events Wrap-up
Jul/101
Well, Summer is only part way over but it’s been a long couple of months. Upon recently finishing my Ghostbuster costume we’ve been setting up a bunch of events and have photo galleries for each one. Each event was fun in it’s own way.
First up we had the Midwest Haunter’s Convention 2010. This event was one I was really looking forward to. It’s the midwest’s biggest halloween and haunted house convention. They have tons of props, costumes, and animatronic goodies for your haunted house. I was a little disappointed in the actual size of the convention…it only took up a mere quarter of the large convention room, but what they had there was worth the stroll. Not to mention we trekked our way down to the food court area a few times and folks stopped us for pictures along the way. At the same time there was a video game convention going on down the hall…so there were plenty of folks walking the hallways.
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Next we had Origins Game Fair 2010, I actually thought this would be a video game convention…but turns out it was for card/table/mini gaming. Regardless, it was still cool and it took up all three large convention rooms. The main dealer room was PACKED with stuff and in the hour we spent in there we didn’t even see it all. We did get to meet and chat with Brian O’Halloran from Kevin Smith’s “Clerks” and “Clerks 2″. Afterwards we breifly made an appearance at the overly crowded Comfest across the street.
-pics coming soon-
Next up we set up a table at Westerville’s Fourth Friday event “Safety Fest” in an effort to get our name out there and try to raise some money for our upcoming AIDS walk. Unfortunately we didn’t get nearly enough traffic to raise a decent amount of donations…but we still had fun nonetheless. Didn’t get too many pics of the event…most of these were taken after a few folks had left.
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Lastly, our flagship event for the summer (for now at least) was the Doo Dah Parade 2010. Thankfully with this parade being a free event, we didn’t have to worry about registering or paperwork which made it a lot easier. It was a 2 mile walk through downtown Columbus with TONS of folks packed along the sides to watch. While we definitely weren’t the wackiest group there…folks sure did love seeing us.
Updates From My Corner of the World
Jun/100
Well, haven’t been posting too much here to my blog. Mainly just because I haven’t felt motivated to write. Anyways, here’s a recap on what’s been going on.
Things have been kicking off with the Columbus Ghostbusters. We’ve gained some new members and have been attending a few events. MARCon came around this year and we showed up on Saturday for the screening of Ghostbusters and a raffle drawing. Just this past weekend we showed up at the Midwest Haunters Convention downtown and made a pretty good impact.
That event was particularly fun because the whole convention was directed towards haunted houses and halloween displays. They had some really cool anamatronics and gory displays. Folks were digging seeing us there and we got stopped many times for photos. It may just be me…but I’m a sucker for having my photo taken in costume. I guess it’s just the pride of putting all the hard work into it to get noticed.
Did way more walking than I should in my shoddy combat boots. Even with padded inserts it was like walking on bare ground all day. Had a few blisters when I got home and pretty much had to stay off my feet all that night. Note to self: Get new boots.
Progress on the Ecto van is going slowly as usual. I get so ambitious with projects but always have to remember that getting the funds together to actually accomplish them is hard. Picked up my Whelen Edge 9000 light bar from a seller on Craigslist and have to mount it on the roof soon so I can get started on the rest. The deadline for July 4th weekend is nearing.
My hope is to knock out most of the work either this weekend or next. No sense leaving it all until the last minute.
Have a few events planned in the next few weeks, so all of that will keep me busy.
Get Paid to Visit Sites You Already Visit
May/100
Those who know me, I like to dabble in the “get paid to” world on the web and try out different sites that pay to do simple tasks as surveys or visiting sites. In my searches, I stumbled across this site and had to check it out.
It’s called BeRuby.com and they offer cash for visiting sites that you may already visit on a daily basis. I signed up and decided to check it out. Lo and behold, they do, and it’s legit. You can get between $0.005 to $0.01 per day for visiting sites such as Facebook, CNN, Hotmail, Yahoo, Myspace, etc. Sure, that doesn’t sound like much…but if you visit those sites every day anyways, why not get paid for it?
They have a minimum payout of $10, so it may take a bit to save up to cash out…but they do also have sites that pay to register a free account and sites that earn “cash back” if you shop through them.
It’s definitely worth a shot if you are like me and like to get free cash dropped in your paypal every few weeks. Give it a try!
Ecto-Van Progress
May/101
Well, the idea started back a few years ago when I got bored with the look of my van. It’s not much to look at and with it being as old as it is I figured it was good for an identity change until it eventually dies. I started sketching out designs on paper of what it might look like, but actual plans didn’t come to fruition until years later.
When I finally started on an actual Ghostbuster costume I figured it was time to start work on the van. My plan was to deck it out like the Ectomobile in the movies and maintian it as my daily-driver vehicle. Sure, it sounds odd to drive a Ghostbuster-themed vehicle around all day long…but people have done worse to their cars.
After my van was broken into in 2008 (I think, maybe 2009) I ended up having to replace the driver’s side door, thus breaking the “blue stripe” theme of the van. Since the blue stripe was unremovable (without removing large chunks of paint) and I didn’t have more stripes to replace on the new door, I decided to cover the entire stripe with black and yellow caution tape. This would then allow the new door to fit in with the others.
Sometime in 2009 when my plans had been mentioned by myself to friends, a buddy of mine had some “no ghost” logos printed up on magnetic backing for my van. This helped to push me further into the idea. In 2010 I added a red “fin” to the back sides of the van to tie it in with design elements of the movie car. Just last month I also added “we believe you” and a phone number in block letters to both sides of the van.
As it stands, the van still looks very bare with nothing on the top. The movie car had a rack with lights, gadgets, do-dads, and equipment on top. My new goal is to have at least a “starter rack” completed by July 4th.
Last month I purchased a Replicaprops.com sound chip that I rigged up to some switches on the dash to replicate the iconic Ectomobile siren. My current speaker setup, however, is lacking in power and it just doesn’t have enough “oomph” to sound decent. Coming in the mail today, literally, is a 12 volt 40 watt megaphone. Hopefully once that puppy is rigged up tonight, the siren should crank a lot louder. That’s one step closer to completing this project by July.
A group of friends and I are going to be walking in the Columbus Doo-Dah Parade downtown on July 4th. If I can finish my goal and complete the roof rack I hope to drive or have someone drive the van ahead of us during the parade.
I caught a lot of flak already from a certain Ghostbusters costume message board for my van looking “too junky”. My design was meant to incorporate my lack of funds to have the van repaired or repainted by sticking with a more “urban” and “gritty” look. As one friend put it, it’s going to look more like an “exterminator van”. Due to the lack of funds available to purchase a $200+ strobe lightbar for the top, I’m going to look at buying a few sets of $10 fog lights to mount on the top of the rack for a more utilitarian look.
Sure, I would definitely repaint my van with a nice clean white gloss if I had the money required to do such a thing. At the time being however, I’m just trying to make ends meet and work with what I have. It’s at least better than having nothing! The equipment can always be removed at a later time and the paint can be applied and reinstall everything. That will then give me the chance to update the logos and lettering for a nicer set.
Columbus AIDS Walk
Apr/100
This July, myself and others from the Columbus Ghostbusters will be participating in the Columbus AIDS Walk down at the Franklin Park Conservatory. Our group’s goal is to try and raise $500, but any little bit helps.
If you have a moment, please consider donating to our group via clicking HERE. Thanks!
Ghostbustin’
Apr/100
Last weekend I got together with a couple of my buddies as part of the newly formed “Columbus Ghostbusters” group. We were invited out by the Ohio 501st Garrison to attend a charity auction for the non-profit organization Child Care Choices. They were having a Hollywood-themed event.
We all had a fun time and took photos with some of the attendees while hanging out with the Star Wars costumers and Spider-man. We all headed over to an attached bistro and bar Club 55 afterward to have a good meal and a fun time listening to blaring 80’s music. Even got up front and did the “Ghostbuster shuffle” in our jumpsuits in front of the crowd.
Here are some pics from the event:
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Surveyhead DONE
Mar/100
Finally, after my last post regarding Surveyhead I got a message in my email last night stating that my final $2 has been approved and I can now cash out. Now I just have to wait 4 weeks (or more according to a coworker) before they deposit my $25.
Young Mentality
Mar/101
Ok, I’m going to go off now and make myself sound like a bitter old man…but I just can’t stand it sometimes. Please note that this post does not apply to ALL under 18 folks, but a majority of them, yes. It is my blog, however, so I can voice my opinions freely.
I’ve been noticing over the past few years that 90% of folks under the age of 18 in the costuming world don’t EVER want to take advice at all.
For instance, just this weekend I had stumbled across a thread on the Ghostbuster forum where someone had purchased a Studio Creations shell for their proton pack, just like I had. I felt somewhat drawn to help the person with tips since I had built my pack from the same shell and ran into little snags here and there. The first thing I notice is that he attached his booster to his shell using what I believe is solely Bondo.
Firstly, Bondo is not a “bonding agent” as the name might suggest. It’s a gap filler. I see too many folks who try to use Bondo to glue things and it just will never work. Bondo hardens into a form of styrene plastic, but it is not flexible and therefore will crack if put in an area that moves. It’s also annoying to sand. Most people will put on way too much and then spend hours sanding it down only to give up and leave lumps of it unsanded and paint over it. Because of this…I tend to use it very sparingly.
Now, whether or not this guy actually glued his booster onto the pack at all…I’m not sure. But I know for a fact he used bondo on it near the bottom. One issue was that he had already primed the pack before he did this. I’ve found that sometimes Bondo and primer don’t get along. Regardless of that, he put the Bondo in an area that will be very hard to sand and he used a whole lot of it.
Now for the critique, which he did indeed as for in his original post. I mentioned how I had simply cut my booster to match the angle of the pack (so it sits flush against an angled surface) and then I used screws to attach the booster from the inside of the shell. I held it in place, flipped the shell over and ran 2-3 screws through the back. Took me a total time of about 2 minutes.
His response was that he “didn’t own a drill and don’t have time to do that”. Yet, you have hours to sand all the Bondo you slapped on there?
I saw the response and decided to check his profile to see if he filled out his age…and sure enough he’s a 15 year old kid.
What I find is that like 90% of under-18 folks tend not to listen to critiques. Here’s a hint…WE’RE NOT TRYING TO RUN YOUR LIFE. We’re just offering tips to help you avoid issues along the way. I see it all the time on my Mandalorian forum as well. The young folks never want to take advice and always have some sort of excuse as to why they can’t or won’t do what is suggested. Like I said, we’re not trying to tell them how to live…we are just offering advice to help avoid issues that we ran into when doing the same thing.
Is it like a right of passage to get to adulthood or something that they have to avoid advice and screw up on their own?
I left the Ghostbuster kid with one final piece of advice to invest in or borrow a drill and wished him well on his build, but I feel I will most likely not bother with helping him anymore. Instead I’ll sit back and watch as he doesn’t sand all his bondo down, it cracks when he bumps it trying to install the booster frame, and pretty much falls off after that.