Dreadtober went off rather well. My Inquisitorial Sentinel model came out pretty good if I may say so myself. I don't hold myself as a model modeler, but I get the job done. For November the challenge was "Newvember," where you do something that is "New to you," so I started the development of a new modular terrain system for ship interiors. I'll be previewing that here in the new year. It's still very much a beta product right now, but I aim to release it to the public soonish.
December brings the groups third annual competition. Some of the models that are going up are amazing, leading me to believe any chance of me winning are pretty much boned- but that doesn't mean I won't try! I'm doing up a "Deathwatch" terminator Apothecary. I say "Deathwatch" because I am bringing back my first chapter, the Dark MowHawks. I sold the originals back in 2007 or so to fund a rifle. They are slowly making a return in a newer bolder flavor inspired by WWII American Armor. I like the rules for the Deathwatch, so just elected to use those. They are entirely firstborn, though I like some of the newer models abilities- but had to first born them. The only models within the entire army that will be Primaris are my Rievers- and even they are getting the "firstborn" treatment by being converted into standard (if rather eccentric looking) Proteus Killteams.
Hobby stuff out of the way, work on the War Room continues apace (pics in the next post). The replacement window pane has long since been delivered, and now I'm waiting on a warmer day to get it installed. Rafters are starting to go up, and I've secured a rather large section of carpet from my in laws. This alters the plans I had in mind as now instead of a hard wood floor, I'll be doing a carpeted floor. This will work better for reducing echoes, and help get the sound quality of the podcast up there. I'm looking at rounding all of the ceilings corners and creating a bass trap up top, as well as wall hanging bass traps using what's left over of the carpet (now, not just as carpet chunks hung on the wall- I got better ideas than that). All things considered, I should be able to dampen the noise form outside using the carpet matting to help insulate the drywall from the studs.
K-Dog and I are looking to do a year end special on the 30th. I'll do my best to get it posted NLT New Years Eve. Plans could change. Next year will be the true mark of the unofficial "4th Season." Ideally, I'll have a better system in place, and perhaps more bandwidth to play with. Right now, uploading videos at my house is a pain in the neck so I try and avoid it. Sometimes just getting an hour long podcast uploaded can take almost an hour (I've had videos less than ten minutes long take 8 hours to upload). The pains of living semi-remote. But I'll take that over the alternative of being in a city/town. All that to say I'm looking at making the podcast more enjoyable, and a little more scripted- not too much, just have points to cover and a little more direction. It's an evolving process.
Things that will be going on the background which could take time away from everything else are as follows. 1) I'm looking at changing jobs. I figured it's time to start moving up so I've applied for a few designer positions. So far, just interviews and no offers- but it's a start. 2) I've decided to pursue a Mechanical Engineering degree in the fall of next year. Not sure how that will go- funding it is going to be... Interesting- but I know it's the right move. As such, 3), I'll be sinking time over the next seven months into learning Calculus so I can attempt to test out of a level or two of those classes. Anything I can shave off will save me loots in the end, so I figure it's best to hit them up now. Needless to say, once school starts, things will get REALLY tight. Job, school, blog/podcast, family obligations, and self maintenance will eat up my time fast as a four year old eats buggers. That doesn't mean I'll stop the podcast or blog, just that it'll be tighter (hence the podcast changes I'm implementing).
Lastly, there is a website that I have been trying to get up and running. It's goal is to be a "Facebook for Veterans" with the aim of helping to tackle the suicide problem among vets. Long term I envision something that helps units throw reunions, provides help via quick react people, and a place for them to connect without having to worry about things like info-security and censorship. The problem I'm running into is that me and some of the guys have secured the domain, as well as the system we wish to use to make the site work- but no one to get it up and running. I haven't mentioned it here before because A) I don't want that site attached to this one and drug down as a result and B) though I'm technically heading it up it's not "mine." I'm VERY far behind on that site's progress (it was supposed to be up NLT June this year) so that will also take up some of my hard won time.
So, in summation, look for an episode to drop the 31st. Keep checking back, and know that I haven't given up and stopped- I just have a lot on the plate right now. More will come. This isn't done yet.
Battle Specter, out.