Posted 9:00 AM by Tim
I'm likely to not be able to keep counting the days, but the first couple weeks are always easy to do.

Tomorrow is the end of the first week.  From my goals, I'm hoping to be down to 183.  I weighed in at 184 today, so there's a chance - but not much of one.

I've noticed that by the end of the day, before dinner, I'm very low on actual energy, but very revved up with caffeine.  It's an interesting sensation.  Like I have and do not have energy to spare.

Weekends have always been the worst for my diet.  I have them slotted as rest days, so I should be hitting the lower calories, but I tend to hit them as the high calorie totals.  I have a dinner tonight which involves desserts - so this could be difficult to avoid.  But Sunday is pretty clear.  I'm going to do what I can to avoid the biggest calorie sinks.

While I'm on the subject of big calorie sinks, I went out to Boston Pizza last night.  I got their sliders, as they are apparently just over 800 calories, and that was all I had left in the daily food allotment.  I kinda regretted the decision afterwards, as a full burger would have been bigger and possibly slightly fewer calories.  Worse than that, though, was M's meal was a seven cheese ravioli, and it was both bigger and nearly half the calories of my tiny meal.

I could have had that and still had enough spare calories to put me well under the limit for the day.

Posted 2:40 PM by Tim
So I'm kinda feeling isolated. So, I figured the best plan would be to post this thought on a blog of mine nobody ever visits. Yay!

Anyway, I'll continue on with my thoughts here. So, lately, I've been finding that I want to talk with people, but there's nobody's around here at all. It's not that people aren't here, it's just that I don't know what to say in person to people. I suppose I'm just a little bit lonely.

I'm sure it'll pass.

Posted 1:55 PM by Tim
Work on the Monolith goes slowly. I was able to get a little bit of colour on it, but I'm not sure about it yet. I may end up chaging my mind.

Posted 4:34 PM by Tim
I've been meaning to update this thing. The monolith has been going very slowly. Finding the time to sit down and paint has been difficult. Feels like I shouldn't have such troubles, but there's nothing I can do to speed up the process.

I have the portal door painted, and that's about it. I figure it should take me only about a week to get the whole thing done, I just need to spend the time actually working on it. I just haven't been able to get the time to do anything about it. I am trying to make the effort though. Just need the time.

Posted 1:15 PM by Tim
News on the Monolith front. Yesterday, I picked up a can of Chaos Black spray. The weather was pretty mild last night, so I went into the garage and sprayed all the parts (other than the green plastic rods) black.

I also got on with the assembly. The colours of my Necron force is Boltgun Metal, Ultramarines Blue, Skull White, Chaos Black, and very small amounts of Goblin Green and Blood Red. On the Warriors and all other units, the guns are left Chaos Black, with Goblin Green highlights on the the blades and emitter tips. The Monolith guns are going to carry on this pattern as well. So, after they were sprayed black, the assembly was next.

Three green rods, the top and bottom, and the gun emitter tips all go together to make up the guns. I'll be adding the green on to the blades and on the recessed power lines on the big spheres that mount the guns to the main body of the 'lith.

I also put the gem together. It comes as two halves, and mine fit together pretty well. Two very small drops of plastic glue and a half minute of keeping the halves together and it was all done.

Like I had said yesterday, the base, the center post, the top and the back wall of the monolith all come together in only one configuration. Each of the other sides of the monolith can combine in a couple of places (there's a lot of play in the model on those sides as there are no guide posts). I assembled these parts, and took some pictures. I've been referring to this construction as "the gauntlet" becuase I can handle the entire model by the center post, which is quite convenient for keeping my fingers off the paint.

There are several other parts that could be attached at this point. The gem holder (and possibly the gem) on the top, the tall power arch-thing, even a couple of the top corner caps could be added without too much issue. Trouble is, each of these extra parts will get in the way of other parts that still need to be painted. The easiest plan for now will be to leave the model where it is as far as construction is concerned, and focus on getting the painting started and done.

One thing I need to keep reminding myself is to be patient in the assembly of this model. I keep wanting to add the sides on as quickly as possible, and I just know that's a bad idea. Until the guns are done, adding the side on just makes painting them more difficult. After all, I need to heavily coat the mounting balls with sealant to ensure the paint won't rub off from friction with the rest of the model. I figure that the entire model should take me a couple of weeks to fully finish. That's suiting for a model of this size and complexity.

Posted 10:11 AM by Tim
The Dark Crusade. This is an official Games Workshop event, and my local (closest) store is holding a few events there. I'm thinking of joining. All I need is some painted minis and time to play. I think I can do that.

I'm thinking I'll play Dark Eldar. It'll give me a reason to paint up 1500 points. I've already got a couple hundred points painted, so it shouldn't be too much work to get the rest of it done. Hopefully not too much work, anyway.

Posted 9:52 AM by Tim
One of the few things I had wanted for myself this Christmas as a Necron Monolith for Warhammer 40K. It's a pretty big model, and carries an equally large pricetag. I didn't really expect anyone to get it for me, and assumed that I'd have to set aside some cash in the first couple of months to afford one for myself. The boyz had a different idea, however. They pooled their cash and waited for the right moment (when there was a good discount) and nabbed one for me. Sweet!

I've just started the process of building the model. I really want to do a good job on it, because it's going to draw a lot of attention on the table. A model that large just can't be ignored.

The first thing I noticed about the model is it's sheer size. It's about as big as a Rhino square, and tall enough to give an upended Land Raider a run for it's money. It also has a lot of pieces. A lot. There's at least 56 parts to the model kit, if you count each of the green rods seperately. Even if you don't, there's still at least 40.

I spent a good part of last night clipping and adjusting and generally ensuring that the kit would be ready for assembly. This is one model that needs parts to be test fit before even touching the glue. In the kit I have, two of the side walls are warped. These are, unfortunately, the front, and one of the side pieces. Getting them wrangled to fit together should be an interesting exercise.

The instructions show that the model should be assembled by attaching the center colum to the base, the top to the center column, and both the sides to the top and base. Trouble is, there's no reference points on the model to ensure proper fitting of all the parts. However, the back and top have a reference notch, so they will fit together in only one alignment. When doing the assembly myself, I am going to start with the back and center post, not with the sides. I feel this will give the model some starting rigidity, and will hopefully ensure a proper joining of all parts.

I've been asked (by one of the boyz) to take pictures of the build as I go. I think I can accomodate that. If I ever figure out where to host them, I'll be sure to post a link.

Posted 8:59 AM by Tim
I've got a couple of topics to kick off the year, so I'll make a couple of posts today. First up: Me and my weight.

Last year, I made a resolution to lose weight. I was 206 at the time. On the first of 2006, I weighed 191. A loss of 15 pounds. Not too bad, really. It's less than I was hoping to lose, but it's another step further along the weight loss journey.

This year, I'm just as focused to lose weight, but I'm setting the goals a little higher. I'm looking to get down to 160 pounds. I'd be happy to be anywhere between 160 and 170 though.

I'm bound to mention my progress as the year goes on, but it'll probably be mostly on another blog elsewhere.

Posted 9:05 PM by Tim
What can I say? Painting's been impossibly slow lately. No time, no inclination, too much to do elsewhere and elsewhen. Just how things have been.

I've put the Slaaneshi's down for a minute, and I've been working on the Land Speeder. It's going slow. I tried to do a nice, multi-layered red (Brown-red, deep red, red, bright red), but realized that I didn't want bright red, I wanted dark red. So I'm retooling towards that... It's starting to look like the 'speeder will take me far longer than I want. I just feel like I should drop everything and get back to the EC and back to the way I was painting. I'm nearly ready to call "proper" painting a failure, and move on with where I was before. But, something in me just keeps telling me to push on with what I'm doing....

Suppose I might as well, it's not like either Marine force is going to reach playable soon.