Jeez... That's not what I had in mind, and other random stuff.

I wanted to be posting here a little more often than every 6 months. I have, in my own defense, been somewhat active with Halloween props and whatnot. I finished that knock box, phantom box thingie that I had posted about many months ago! SEE =====>

I have a long list of projects, but time has been short to actually work on 'em. I hope to have more time after the 4th of July weekend.

I have amassed a few pages worth of ideas, ranging from technical to simple. I have an idea for 'wind powered' props that I hope to have some success with. I'm all about atmosphere, and the things that go bump in the night. It's normally on the windy side where I live, so rather than always fight it perhaps I can make it work for me instead. I've also got whole bunches of photos to help with other ideas.

I've been somewhat active on GoE (Garage of Evil) and even hosted at my home a 'meet n greet event' for the Wisconsin 'Dead Zone' group that spawned from GoE.

Well, I'll try to get some more details on the wind powered props up soon, with some pictures and maybe even a video (if I can finally get my hands on an iPhone 4).

Another little project

And it looks like this might be the first one I work on too:

Knocking Box

I just picked up the Picaxe controller today from Sparkfun.com and hopefully I'll have it before the holiday break. Perhaps I'll put my own little tutorial together on this, for those of us who are really beginners with this type of stuff.

Let ya know how it goes.

Formenting...

I have been looking at lots of blogs, websites, etc with a Halloween slant and many of these inspirations have a 'theme' to them. Whether it be their creations and how they make them, their style, their voice...

As I said, my inspiration... Which has me thinking about what would/could define me.

I don't know if anyone else is reading any of this, but if there is someone I have to ask. Is this something you think about? Do you work to shape that image or does it naturally define itself?

I don't know, but it's something to consider. You would think at almost 40 I would have already moved beyond this. But when I cannot sleep, these things come to me.

Sleep tight.

...And another project to add to the list

Axeworthy flying ghost. It seems pretty simple to make with an interesting effect, I have been looking into the many different versions and it appears to have the added advantage of being inexpensive.

I think this blog is becoming my 'Halloween props for 2010 wishlist'. Which isn't a bad idea, since it will then have value to me for keeping all of my ideas, etc in one place.

Here are some examples that I found and will consider in my version:

Spinman1949 over at Hauntforum has a pretty nice idea for a small motor/pulley system.

Hauntproject has a bunch of ideas/implementations all in one place.

Hauntforum has so many great ideas, I get the feeling I'll have to start putting off projects to 2011 after another month looking at stuff over there.

Now the next step is to get some of these design ideas down on paper, get some of the specs together and start prototyping. Let the fun begin.

New Header...

Well, it's been a while since I created a web graphic... But it appears I can still do it, somewhat.

I'm a big fan of Dragons, so I wanted to figure out a way to get something in there. I'm working on getting a decent graphic of my tattoo, when that is done I think I'll change this out.

Tombstones

I have been evaluating DIY tombstones for a while now... I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of most of them since they are pretty flimsy, blow away easy and aren't 'real enough'. I have considered just creating cement tombstones, but I don't know that I want to have to deal with the weight, and they would break pretty easy unless they are solid (which is more weight).

Then I thought... How about casting in foam/resin/etc for something that is solid and not so flimsy but also doesn't weigh 40 lbs. I've looked for forms/molds and I haven't found much, if anything. I'm also considering making my own and casting those...

But, then I found these. Looking pretty promising:

http://www.mostlydead.com/Tombstone-props/c1/index.html?osCsid=522b509cc0debae84b7fca097505b7c0

Not outrageously expensive, they are even 15% till the end of the week... I might give one of these a try.

Look out Halloween 2010!

I think I have a strong lead on my #1 Halloween project for this winter...

Just totally AWESOME. I've never done anything like it, but I've got time and inclination.

Now I just need to figure it out, get a prototype together to make sure I figured it right...