COT2

the Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail

soothsayer — Mon, 29 Jun 2020 16:26:22 GMT

TWAT, or the Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail, is a 600 to 630 mile trail leading from the Wisconsin-Illinois border to Lake Superior, originally meant for adventure motorcycles. Okay, I can't really say meant for bikes, as this trail consists of public roads and trails, but rather it was originally organized (the trail route) for bikes. But... but... many an off road or cross country vehicle have taken to this "trail", so... Not that an off road vehicle is needed, mind you. From what I'm reading, ...

Story ideas

soothsayer — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 12:47:15 GMT

In case you missed the thread description, this thread is all about you posting your story ideas, and for the rest of the board to comment or give feedback, in an effort to further your idea. It isn't meant to be a CCW project; this is strictly so that writers can bounce ideas off of us. Also, this in no way erases my Dream a Little Dream posts in the Soothsayer Says thread. Those are purely dreams I had that would make for a good story. To start things off, here is a story idea I've been ...

In the event of an emergency

soothsayer — Tue, 17 Mar 2020 20:07:01 GMT

Am I seriously the only one that's keeping this forum alive? Show a little love here! being prepared Here it is, mid-March 2020, and this covid-19 virus, aka Wuhan Virus, aka coronavirus, has people scrambling in a panicked frenzy In the States, the first thing to disappear from the shelves was toilet paper. Toilet paper. That there's some smart thinking, people: we need to horde and buy massive quantities of ass wiping material to safeguard against a respiratory infection. Makes ...

Walk Across Lake Winnebago

soothsayer — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 15:12:31 GMT

Since 2013 (?) I've been participating in the Mackinac Bridge Walk, all but the last couple years when they changes the rules: you can't walk the full distance anymore, you can only walk halfway and turn around, and there aren't any buses to bring you back. What's the fun in that? Since then, I've been looking for something to fill that gap, something that involves walking, something scenic, something that I can say "I did that!". Found that thing last year while watching the news. That thing? ...

Gaslands

soothsayer — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 21:51:10 GMT

I remember back in the day, Shadowcrunch had a gaming idea involving Hot Wheels cars; he was developing a rules set for a Mad Max style game where you could customize cars the way you wanted, and his method at that time (for play testing( was to use improvised weapons and peel-n-stick magnets. Jump ahead 15 years or so later... Gaslands is pretty much the same thing: customized Hot Wheels / Matchbox cars race and do battle for the entertainment of the masses after a global war. The game is ...

Graphin novel list....

VaderXanth — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 16:32:36 GMT

Yarrr!!!!! Here be a list of my graphic novels. As you can see by the file names, I've been listing the year, publisher and other stuff just for my referencing. Anywho, here's what I have so far. At least on this drive.... (Oh!! please forgive the word 'FILE' before each comic.... I'm testing out a new program which prints or saves file names to disk in .txt format, hence my putting this here now.) FILE 39 MINUTES - VOLUME 1 (2013) (IMAGE TOP COW) (Digital) (Darkness-Empire).cbr FILE 75 YEARS ...

get in shape... or die

soothsayer — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 15:13:21 GMT

This thread topic replaces the previous fitness journal(s) that I've attempted over these past several years. I may refer to them just so I can compare trends, but right now, this is it. the beginning of the end This past year has been a physical hell for me: diagnosed with Stage 2 Lyme Disease, need bifocals, have waaaay to high triglyceride levels, and have officially crossed into the diabetic zone. Took the appropriate medicine to stop further advancement of Lyme, but now that I have it, ...

Conan Exiles (PS4)

soothsayer — Fri, 18 Oct 2019 14:15:55 GMT

Conan Exiles is an open world survival game that was available as a free download back in April 2019; the disc can be had at Gamestop for a little over $30... or buy it from Amazon for $20. It's also available on the PS Store for $49. This thread is not a review; my experiences with survival games is greatly limited, and so I'm hoping for this to become another tip or advice guide. I don't know if Minecraft can be considered a part of this genre or not, so besides that, I've only ...

On the Road Again

soothsayer — Mon, 13 May 2019 20:24:23 GMT

I am creating this thread preemptively. I am (hoping) to purchase a used U-Haul truck sometime this week... said purchase has been delayed for a few months, and more recently it seems it's been pushed back every week. The reason I am making this thread, in particular why it is going in the Creation category is because I am planning on modifying the truck into a sleeper / mobile office, and I hope to post pictures of what I've done. This project is going to be a big one, in that it'll last ...

Fifth Element

soothsayer — Thu, 09 May 2019 20:00:55 GMT

Not really making a discussion thread, just putting this out there: I think I may have a problem with The Fifth Element. I own it on VHS, DVD, BluRay, 4K Disc, UMD (format used by the PSP)... and as of today, laserdisc. Freaking laserdisc. I won't even be able to play it, but I got it. I honestly think I now have it on every video medium devised. *double checks* Wikipedia wrote: The original home video release of The Fifth Element took place in North America on 10 December 1997, on ...

Vacation 2019: Devils Tower

soothsayer — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 14:01:03 GMT

While glancing through some outdoorsy magazine yesterday, I stumbled upon one of those "vacation here" adverts that States tend to put out. This one was for Wyoming: had a couple wearing headlights walking through a field, stars and the Milky Way visible in a darkened sky, with Devils Tower prominently in the background. Ever since first seeing Close Encounters of the Third Kind, I've wanted to go to Devils Tower. As I grew older, I began wanting to go someplace where I could sit at night ...

Aven Colony (PS4)

soothsayer — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 15:57:58 GMT

Intro I renewed my Game Stop card last week... two weeks ago? and while I was at the store, bought a couple games, one of which was (you guessed it) Aven Colony. As I'm typing this at work, I am unable to tell you what the back of it said, but it essentially went something like this: Quote : Build and operate a colony on an alien world, and micromanage the ever-loving shit out of it Okay, maybe it didn't say things quite like that, put it made it sound to be a lot like Sim City. ...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

VaderXanth — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 01:42:08 GMT

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Zodiac Publications: heroverse

soothsayer — Mon, 03 Dec 2018 15:50:07 GMT

A while back, I contacted a couple members of this site to tell them about Marvel Unlimited, a comic book service operated by Marvel Comics akin to Netflix: pay a monthly (or annual) fee and have unlimited access to their comic book, store, and movie catalog. As I easily spend $30 every couple months on graphic novels, paying under $9 a month was a lot cheaper, so it made sense. Anywho... I've been reading an extreme amount of comics lately. Catching up on characters, reading expansive ...

Sigma 6: Punisher

soothsayer — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 14:14:54 GMT

A Real American Hero I was watching a video the other day (I've posted it below) and saw a GI Joe Sigma 6 figure that I thought would look good redone as the Punisher. (for those who might not recall, Sigma 6 was an anime styled GI Joe cartoon) Went hunting online for what I thought was "Longshot" or "Long Shot", as named in the video, but it turned out to be "Long Range". Minor inconvenience. Oddly enough, my hunting turned up nothing, at least not for the figure I was looking for. There ...

On the Road Again, part deux

soothsayer — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 14:17:49 GMT

Scooters Since being a wee young lad, I've wanted to convert a moving van into a cross country camper. An additional step with this was wanting a bus where the back door would drop as a ramp so a 4-wheeler could be driven out. I imagined anything from criminal sprees to acts of vigilantism; suppose somewhere camping may have been a thought, but who knows. With the Doghouse essentially completed, the hunt was now on for two scooters... one would work, but I wanted two so another could ride ...

Inktober

soothsayer — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 18:07:42 GMT

Last week or so, the admin of this site texted me about how he was going to participate in Inktober, and that Vader would be doing it as well. Not knowing what Inktober was, I looked it up. Turns out it is a challenge put forth by an artist, to drive himself to drawing one picture a day, every day, during the month of October, with the only stipulation being that they would be ink drawings (going over pencil images qualifies). There is no competition, just a self-motivation and a chance to ...

Just wondering

soothsayer — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 21:09:50 GMT

Simply a place to pose questions that pop in my head. Feel free to answer.

Dr Strange Magic

Everyone know what an AMV is? This is an Animated Music Video, a video that people piece together from various anime or other cartoon / video game sources and use as a music video. Now then, my question is this: why hasn't anyone made a Dr Strange AMV to the song Strange Magic by ELO?

Ten Minutes

soothsayer — Fri, 10 Aug 2018 16:05:46 GMT

please evacuate immediately I was reading an article in last month's Backwoodsman magazine, which was a reprint of a Popular Mechanics article from the late 50s / early 60s, in which a PM editor posed a challenge to one of the contributing authors: inbound nuclear missiles have been detected, you have ten minutes to get your family together and any items you may need to survive for an extended and unknown period of time, and then to get out of the house and on the road. This got me to thinking: ...

3D Printing

soothsayer — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 01:08:39 GMT

I know Vader has one; not too sure if 'crunch has one yet or not, but I've finally made the plunge and ordered a 3D printer. What's nice about this is that, after seeing on in action last year, the mrs was probably wanting one more than I was (and that's saying something). She was completely into the ability and freedom to make whatever you want, and the cheap costs involved. Even with the model that was being displayed, which runs between $700 and a thousand, she was "we can get one if ...

Diecast: restoration and customization

soothsayer — Tue, 19 Jun 2018 20:12:19 GMT

As I get older, I'm learning that if it's crafty or artistic, I want to do it. It seems that my list of projects or ideas is continuously expanding; and late last week, another project has been added to my list. Diecast restoration and customization. What I like about this project is that I already have most of the stuff needed, and the stuff I don't have doesn't cost a whole lot. Scratch that: there's one item I can see needing that would require a bit of looking into and a nice chunk ...

Smartphone Frustrations

soothsayer — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 14:48:13 GMT

I'm getting smartphone burn out. Or maybe its connectivity burn out. I don't know what the term is or would be, but I'm getting tired of my smartphone. Maybe it's because I sit behind a desk all day, and have access to the internet through the work computer. Maybe it's because when I'm home I'm really not using my phone other than to play a round of Scrabble against a friend. Maybe it's because if I need to look something up, I would rather do so from my laptop; if I want to read something, ...

This Old Boat

soothsayer — Wed, 30 May 2018 19:30:57 GMT

There I was, sitting in a chair in my living room Saturday morning, when the mrs comes up to me and says "did you see this on Facebook? There's a boat for sale, comes with the trailer, oars, seat cushions, and a two year registration. Asking $200." My mind jumped. $200? For a boat and trailer? That's cheaper than one of those fiberglass kayaks I've been looking at! 'Really?' I ask. "Here, I'll send you the link." A few minutes later, after receiving wife's permission and checking ...

Annual Mackinac Bridge Walk

soothsayer — Mon, 07 May 2018 18:40:38 GMT

On Monday September 1st (Labor Day), I plan on participating in the Mackinac Bridge Walk. I know, I know... that's seven months out and I shouldn't even be planning such a thing with so much time in between... but this has been something I've been wanting to do for quite a while, and by gawd I'm gonna do it! The walk begins at about 7a (Michigan's govenor has to go first); you cannot start after 11a. The walk takes approximately two hours, and there will be buses on the other side to drive ...

Soothsayer's schedule

soothsayer — Mon, 07 May 2018 18:33:44 GMT

Because the calander doesn't work as i thought it would, and due to the brilliance of the way my work schedule is handled, I thought I would post my schedule here, on a week-by-week basis. I would love to put one out for a greater amount of time, just as much as I would love to post a schedule covering more than one week, but for some reason my supervisor doesn't like to do that. I'm doing this so that we all can see what I'm working, and what days it would be possible to get in contact ...

Surviving Skyrim

Shadowcrunch — Thu, 08 Feb 2018 15:22:48 GMT

I'm NOT starting this thread to discuss how Skyrim plays (if you don't know what Skyrim is, what's wrong with you?!). I intend to teach other travelers how to survive the wilds of the North kingdom. Heed my words! #1 - I don't care if you're level 6, a healing spell in one hand and a sword that does fire damage in the other... you are NOT ready to go toe-to-toe with a Skyrim bear. 5-1-15 NECROEDIT!!!! #skyrim

Sucker Punch, minigun samurai

soothsayer — Tue, 06 Feb 2018 22:11:01 GMT

the following post was originally posted under "costume and clothing designs, ongoing" wrote: Samurai 2018 On a different thread I wrote how I condensed and combined my two work areas so that I could see everything I have all at once / everything would be in reach. It's a lot easier keeping track of things that way, and is a little bit more motivational when you can see all your stuff, without having to stop and hunt for something. With that said, I believe I am ready to work on my last ...

Day in the Life

soothsayer — Tue, 06 Feb 2018 17:38:09 GMT

I am restructuring my little corner of things, combining everything into one thread. Seems rather silly to me to create a new thread whenever I get a new thought. And, by placing everything within one title, why, not only is it good to manage, but it's also good for the environment! So then, this here post is the opener. Everything that follows is what came before. Until something new comes along, then that will follow that which came before which had followed this. If anyone is wishing ...

Kitsune Kon 2018

soothsayer — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 16:31:51 GMT

Just learned of this today: the Kitsune Kon, which is held annually in Green Bay's KI Convention Center. It will be held Friday July 20 through Sunday July 22 in 2018. While there aren't any details for the three day event itself, a couple speakers have been scheduled: Kimberly Brooks and Paul St Peter. No idea who they are, but their bios are on the website. The basic tickets cost $20 for the weekend, with the "VIP" tickets being $25. That's not too bad. Hotel cost at the Hyatt, the ...

Wizard World Comic Con - Madison 2018

soothsayer — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 15:51:38 GMT

I was debating where this particular thread should go. Scheduled Activities? It is a scheduled event. Friendly Chat? I hope that there will eventually be some discussion. Real Life: Creation? Cosplay and subcultures galore! In the end, well, you can see I went with Scheduled. Anyway, from Friday September 21st through Sunday September 23rd, Wizard World will be holding a comic con in Madison. It will be held at the Alliant Energy Center located on 1919 Alliant Energy Center Way, Madison Wisconsin, ...

Costume and clothing designs, ongoing

soothsayer — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 15:27:30 GMT

Unlike the cosplay thread, this thread should deal with the stuff we make. Whether it be for cosplay, for every day use, or for our own pleasure, this thread should collect and showcase our costume or clothing making talents. The outfits can be of any material; paper, cloth, plastic, whatever. It can incorporate things that were store bought, but there has to be enough cosmetic changes to truly make it yours. Simply shooting a denim jacket with a shotgun to give it the 80's look does not ...

Soothsayer's fitness journal

soothsayer — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 14:35:27 GMT

I was initially going have 'crunch move my "getting into shape" thread into this forum, but I realized that it really wouldn't work so well as one is a regular thread and this is a blog... the format just wouldn't be the same. The reason for the change is that the thread has evolved from its original purpose: it went from being a group discussion / challenge to a record keeping event. Comments are still accepted and welcome. I am reposting the original thread, in its entirety, with some ...

Soothsayer's Songs

soothsayer — Tue, 02 Jan 2018 21:31:59 GMT

I love pandora.com. It allows me to pick and choose what I want to listen to, and it throws in songs and artists that I have never heard of into the mix, bringing me to a whole new level of music appreciation. With this thread, I will bring to you many of the songs that I have come to know and love, songs I normally would never have heard of. I will not be posting "oh, I've loved this song since I was 5" or other crap like that. Again, these are songs I've never heard of before, or from ...

Mick Strandt (1950 - 2017)

VaderXanth — Sun, 31 Dec 2017 03:32:53 GMT

Our Father has passed today at 12:22am. His battle is over and now he can rest.

Creating a Secret Organization

soothsayer — Thu, 16 Nov 2017 16:00:21 GMT

I'm once again blowing the dust off an old idea of mine, a secret organization similar to Cobra Command or Hydra... or on a smaller scale, like the Department of Paranormal Activity or MIB. This organization was going to be the unifying factor in all of my comic book or story ideas, so that I could place everything within the same universe even though the characters or stories may seem totally unrelated. Right now, I'm breaking things down in order to see what this organization would need in ...

Bolt Action

soothsayer — Mon, 23 Oct 2017 20:18:54 GMT

A friend of mine, known to most people here (alias "Chip Guy" or "Grover"), has been playing Bolt Action for quite some time, a 28mm historical gaming system based in World War II. He's been trying to get me to play off and on over the years, but I didn't want to get into yet another miniatures game. This past weekend, Vader and I went down to Green Bay to do some window shopping. I wanted to get some modeling ideas, and just mainly to see what is available. Saw quite a bit, but the thing ...

cheap alternatives

soothsayer — Fri, 22 Sep 2017 20:04:05 GMT

You know, I really don't like the phrase "on budget" or "under budget". People are going to buy what they want, what they like. I'm just creating this thread so that we have a common area where we can post crafting cost savings. Forget the fact that we're all adults with spouses and families and bills, and that we have limited disposable income; look at this thread more along the lines of, "why should I be paying $15 for this when I can spend $5 on something comparable like that?" We ...

Riding the Storm Out

soothsayer — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 13:26:15 GMT

Riding the Storm Out or "house insurance is a wonky affair" Back on June 11 2017, my house was nearly struck by a tree, missing the kitchen by a couple feet. Instead of hitting the house, it got caught up in the powerline, bending the pole leading into the house along the roof, pulling the line tight against the edge of the roof, going under the tree, and then from the tree the line was tight leading back up to the power pole in the back yard. Line did not snap, and was still live. I ...

HeroClix

soothsayer — Thu, 31 Aug 2017 15:10:05 GMT

I'm... frustrated. Keep in mind I am not frustrated at anyone in particular (or general), I am frustrated at miniature gaming in general. The short answer would appear to be that I'm a sucker, that I'm prone to buy something because it's "neat". The long answer? 1. Games Workshop. The models aren't cheap, the rules keep on getting revamped every year, and by time your codex comes out and you upgrade, boom, the rules change. I started collecting my 40K stuff at 3rd edition, and yes, that was ...

Scratchbuild: Timber Wolf

soothsayer — Mon, 28 Aug 2017 15:28:30 GMT

While this was originally within a thread entitled Make a Mecha, I thought it best to delete that particular thread and start a new one, considering that that thread was intended to be a generic catch all as far as mecha builds go, but it quickly became something more specific once I figured out what I was going to build. I apologize for the confusion. A few days ago, I had posted that I was going to scratchbuild one of my favorite Battletech mecha, the Madcat, and that this was going to be ...

Mass Effect: Andromeda (PS4)

soothsayer — Thu, 10 Aug 2017 13:02:18 GMT

Is it odd or out of place to write a review of a game months after it has been released? *shrugs* TIME According to the above image, I've put in 77 hours. Seems about right. Note that most of those hours were spent performing side missions, as the actual main story probably takes only a few hours. Okay, maybe a little longer than that... but know that you probably could complete the main story in one good family free day. There was no sense of urgency or importance to get the main mission ...

Nerf Gun Customization

soothsayer — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 14:49:49 GMT

Nerf Gun Customization 40K builds Lately, Vader and I have been discussing the latest edition of Warhammer 40,000, otherwise known simply as 40K. Within those discussions, I made mention on how we should make customized Nerf guns for our respected armies, to which Vader agreed. Note that this isn't a challenge, or if it is, it wasn't intended to be. I merely suggested this as a means to get me motivated to do something with my collection of Nerf and other toy guns, originally purchased so ...

Casserole!

soothsayer — Mon, 17 Jul 2017 12:57:15 GMT

First, I want to say that this isn't a from scratch recipe. I've made those, what with the base and the flour for the sauce and whatnot. Those are pretty good. But no, what this is is my casserole recipes, what I came up with. What You'll Need 1. First, what you'll need is one of the larger 13x9 glass casserole dishes 2. Two to Three cups of meat. Diced. Not loosely put in the cup, but kinda pressed, just not compacted. 3. Two cups of shredded cheese 4. Two cans of condensed soup; has ...

Zodiac Publications, characters

soothsayer — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 03:26:08 GMT

Those who know me know that I've been bouncing the idea of my own comic book universe for quite some time, under the Zodiac Publications banner. They also know that I have several dozen characters thought up and designed, along with massive storylines... just not on paper. I've made a few attempts over the years to fix this, but, well... a lot of stuff has happened over those same years. I don't want my dream to die, so something has to change. Running with an idea sparked by a different ...

Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters

soothsayer — Wed, 21 Jun 2017 02:05:19 GMT

Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters Star Control. Oh, how can words describe it? I'm sure the wikipedia can explain it, but what are you really getting out of it? Here, allow me to try... It's a game involving diplomatic relations, planet harvesting, mineral gathering, biological capturing, space travel, space combat, problem solving, and artifact gathering. Oh, and universe saving. Without revealing too much, you captain an alien vessel in an attempt to amass an armada of space ...

Playstation 4

soothsayer — Wed, 17 May 2017 21:14:10 GMT

After so many years of waiting, of waiting for the bugs to be worked out of the system and then waiting for the Playstation 4.5 (officially called "Playstation 4 Pro"), the wait is almost over. Almost. I've only a couple more days to go on this, as it releases on November 10. So why did I wait? Why didn't I just jump on the current Playstation 4 and save myself $100? A massively expanded hard drive... 1TB. Quicker and improved graphics processing. 4K visual output. Forward compatibility ...

Streaming Services

soothsayer — Mon, 27 Feb 2017 15:36:17 GMT

Disclaimer: For the sake of this review and post, I will be discussing Sling TV and why I went with that, in comparison to other services. My needs or wants might differ from yours. Feel free to add your thoughts or opinions! ... Over the course of a week, I was testing an on air antenna, to judge reception quality throughout the day to see if making the switch from the cable company's local package ($25) to free digital reception was worth it, as we would like to have local news ...

Game ideas and mechanics

Shadowcrunch — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 13:46:07 GMT

I know game ideas have been touched on elsewhere in the forum, but I would like to keep things semi contained in one area, so when I'm feeling focused, I can zwoop right to where I need to be. Like I said, this section is supposed to be helping me compile thoughts as I continue through my course. At some point, I will track down the aforementioned other threads and try moving them here. Anyway, my reason for this particular post is to try to figure out (and maybe get feedback on) a train ...

Udemy Course Section 3

Shadowcrunch — Sun, 12 Feb 2017 09:58:54 GMT

Just noting some thoughts. I'm working on my Udemy course for learning C++ in the context of making games using the Unreal engine, and at section 3 things start to get more moresome. But right away at the start of the section, as the instructor starts to lay out our plan for the whole section, I start asking myself questions. The plan is to learn how to combine C++ and the Unreal Engine (UE) starting with a classic "escape the room" game. The Concept as described by Instructor Ben: 1. The core ...

I never saw this in a game...

Shadowcrunch — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 01:16:27 GMT

Okay, going along with creation and design, I had some ideas that I realized I've never seen (that I can remember) in any game before... some are ideas that are so obvious it's like "why the hell haven;t they done this yet?!" For example, my old idea that you spend so much time in a tunnel system, when you come out your vision is glared to almost nothing since you're not used to the sun, UNLESS you have and equip sunglasses! Like, DUH... why haven't I seen that yet?! So my first big doozy ...