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Toy Shelves

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I had a party (you weren’t invited) last week and it gave me a good reason to clean up my toy displays and make some adjustments.
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Thanks to the decline in Disney Infinity, I went whole hog and bought about as many of these figures as I possibly could find. I’m still missing a few I’d like to get, but the two shelves I have now sport a complete Marvel and complete Star Wars collection. My toy vice has never been either of those properties, so this was a fun itch to scratch and while it is disappointing we won’t get any more of these figures (especially considering the leaks of near complete but unproduced figures) It is calming and comforting to know this collection is done and I’ll never have to buy another one. Plus if I ever decide to sell it a few years from now I’ll actually be able to get a few bucks for it. Maybe. Probably not. One of the reasons this line died is over production.

The risers were an inspired choice. This dark wood bookshelf I’ve had for a decade and was a cheapo pickup at Walmart. Since I’ve got so many figures under 6 inches it doesn’t make sense any more. I’ll replace it sooner or later, but these little shelves are supposed to be for kitchen cabinets for spices. I bought 2 sets of 2 and still have one of them in (which I’ll probably put in the spice cabinet). They’re cheap, about $17 for a set but allow the toys to sit a little higher. This is more pronounced in the Transformers shelf where I’ve got some figures that are 3-5 inches tall and others that 9-12.

IMG_5003Trying to find a theme for Transformers has been hard. About a year ago I decided I wanted to just try for (modern) figures of character from the 1986 animated movie. Additions like Devastator and the recent Galvatron help fill that out along with Bumblebee and Prime I’ve had for a decade.
So the lower shelf is a lot of characters from that movie. I tossed the 2000 DVD release on the back shelf between Prime and Galvatron to emphasize. Top shelf is a lot of bigger figures and some lineups from the comics. Clearly the combiners won’t fit on the lower shelf and Devastator, Menasor, and Superion were a big part of the Combiner Wars comic so they’re all up there. Bruticus isn’t a movie character OR a comics character but he’s the best of the combiner toys so he gets to stay. That white “Battle Core” Optimus Prime I’ll eventually get stickers to convert to a Nova Prime. Starscream is positioned center with Rattrap and Scoop, honoring what is perhaps the most bizarre re-writes of characters I’ve ever read.

Playlist

I tossed together a play list and hit shuffle for this party. We made it one song before someone turned it off and put cartoons on for the kids. Oh well. I get excited for stupid shit like this and it kind of crushed me to not listen to music. I’ve got no where else to put this so, enjoy. I just did a quickie itunes -> spotify conversion so theres probably 30 tracks that won’t work, skip around.

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5th

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Our 5th anniversary outing to six flags was amazing. A dozen roller coasters and a violent bumper car ride later, im ready for 5 more exciting years. I love you, Dawn and every day with you is as fun as this. (at Six Flags Great America)

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State of Maryland vs Zac Shipley

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I got a traffic ticket a month or so ago. I was driving on a road that had a 40 speed limit, and made a slight left turn on to another road that had a 25 limit. Naturally, I never adjusted my speed. In fact, I don’t think I even knew at the time the limit was 25. The officer who pulled me over certainly did, and I was issued a $90 fine.

I felt the fine was excessive, so I plead guilty but called for a hearing. I took the day off work. I got dressed in a shirt and tie, drove to the court house downtown. I had to use a parking garage, and was searched upon entering the building. I arrived 15 minutes early as suggested on my summons, and turned my phone off as suggested by the bailiff.

When the judge arrived, she gave a run down of the court process (when to approach, where to stand, etc). The defendants called before me all seemed in a similar position: pleading guilty and hoping for leniency. Many had excuses of stress. I feel like this a really bullshit defense, because if you can’t handle a little stress, you’re a pretty wreckless driver. Driving is more stress than the excuses some of these people came up with.

Luckily, my case was called pretty early. The judge read my charge, and I please guilty. I explained the street I was speeding on wasn’t a very well travelled road, and situated between 2 streets where the speed limit is 40. I also noted that I never felt the 40 MPH speed I normally travelled was excessive on that road, but had been careful not to repeat the infraction in the time since the ticket. She asked about my prior record, and I admitted to not having any other moving violations since 2003.

She cut my fine in half, to $45. I was now responsible for court costs, which in this case totalled $33, so $78. After paying the amount, I then had to pay a dollar for parking.

In total, I saved $11 under what I would have paid if I just mailed a check a month ago. I also missed a day of work or time with my family, since my daughter had to stay in day care while I attended this hearing.

But then I wouldn’t have a court story, would I?

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Give Me Your Face

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I let Revenge Of The Fallen play on the TV at work for a bit, and almost forgot why I hate it.

Then I saw the worst moment ever put into a movie for children, laid bare here by closed captioning.

Michael Bay says he wants the third one to be darker. Whats darker than the hero RIPPING THE FACE OFF of the villain? this shit is fucking terrible.