TILT Arcade Machines

If you can't get the prizes... buy it. Not the prizes, the machine itself. jk.*

Not sure if they're going out of business... or they just want to make some quick cash.* Other than that, this place (TILT) at Tracy seems to have a lot of games purely based on skill rather than luck (as there are RNGs in most ticket games to determine whether it's a jackpot or near miss).

It's been a while since I've been to any places which dispensed tickets (John's, Boomer's, etc.). I've instead introduced myself to actual slots less than a month ago. I've found something in common: They both print vouchers in order to redeem them for something.

This Machine: Woah. 5 cent machines? That's new. (You still need to insert at least a quarter, but it's five plays there)

Chinese Cultural Camp: Second Year

The return of Stockton Chinese Cultural Camp - this being the second year they have done this. This image? Dennis, Bryan, and Jana doing the lion dance.

Location: Stockton Confucius Church
Duration: 1 Week (June 25-29) 8:30am-12:30pm
Cost: $75
Brief Summary: Learn about the Chinese Culture and engage in a variety of activities, ranging from using chop sticks / abacuses to learning Chinese yoyo / jump rope as well as calligraphy/brush painting, crafts/clay modeling, and folk/lion dancing.

Although it's intended for grades 1-6, who get 'camper' status (red t-shirt), anyone who wants to volunteer can consider for next year - you'll get a free camp t-shirt for helping out.

Final Performance: Friday, June 29, 2012 at 11:30am - open to the public. This video gives a summary of events there if you missed it.

Anything Else: Offical Site

Capital Division, Perler Bead Version (Final Version)

I've been in CKI for three years, and was planning to attend events for a bit of the summer, but my physical presence was cut short when rides to events were not available in my area. I had other things in mind, and the logo is one of them. This... is Capital Division.

Brief History: The original post regarding creating the CKI Logo can be found in this post.

After reaching week two with twelve plates (29x29 pegboards), I realized that when trying to create the top part of the circle, the circle itself wasn't entirely symmetrical, so the entire logo had to be redesigned with the circle being the first thing made into a 4x4 grid size, and the flag/C made last.

I also noticed that I can't build the entire logo on my desk - I ran out of space. That means moving it to another table for better lighting. But wait! There was a 3000 piece puzzle in the way (as well as ten others underneath it) so the most logical thing to do was to finish it up, and complete a goal at the same time. The project was moved and continued from there (albeit destroying most of it to compensate for downsizing the design.) Many of the materials were bought 'as needed' as it was hard to obtain all the perler bead materials at the same time (there were at most two 4 grid packs available per week, and three 1000 bead packs for a single color).

The final logo designed was completed by the third week in June. It was well received and jaw dropping at the same time.

Build Order: On the new build, the original capital division logo was resized, and edited to make the circle symmetrical. The red 'K' was built first, as well as outlines for both the capital building and the blue stripe. It is not an exact replica of the printout - some of the shades and lettering were improvised as there were no colors available for half shades, and some areas were redesigned altogether if I didn't think it looked right from a distance.

Next Steps: Several more (large scale) Perler bead projects exist in my queue:

• Zuma Blitz Gratuitous (golden) beetle.
• MCHS modern Dragon logo
• Sac State Squirrel (2011-2012, colored)
• UOP Logo
• 'Important' CKI people.

Additionally, there will be posts regarding Zombie Playground concept art (with my interpretation of how the game might look) - my cousin Jason Chan designed most of the art design for the game, and I would like to play a role in shaping it.

Stats:

• Bead Consumption: Approximately 12,000 beads.
• Cost: $72 over six weeks, with the majority of the materials bought at Joann's Fabrics. Tip: Each Sunday there's usually a coupon that discounts one item by 40%, and in some weeks, coupons are available that discount your entire order by a small amount. Take advantage of these.
• Likes: 22 (new record for non-group images)

On The Rocks: Lake Tahoe Hiking

Facing one of the largest obstacles in the history of my life in the form of hiking - Maggies Peak in Lake Tahoe, CA. Facing at least four miles and five hours to hike up this mountain in Tahoe, as well as climbing on the rocks in order to reach the top, the grand view is definitly worth it as the longest hike I've completed so far.

The goal was originally intended to be completed with Julie Ton last summer, but money issues delayed this indefinitely. I was given an opportunity to hike last month when one of my cousins were planning a hike at Tahoe in June, and took it.

Meanwhile at CKI: They have their June DCM at King's Beach in Lake Tahoe. They're way up north. And we're in the south.

Trails: Eagle Falls, Bayview

Hike Difficulty: Advanced Beginner. I've been informed that it wasn't too bad, with gradual slopes throughout the trail. My experience on this hike, however, says otherwise. There were some misleading paths and a LOT of rock steps to climb up on.

Recommended Equipment: Mosquito repellent, some water (at least 2 Liters), and some food.

Tips: Train yourself before going on this - there's around 5-6 miles that you'll have to go through, going up and down 2000 feet.

Goal Completed: #79. Go hiking somewhere with someone else. (Goal done at Lake Tahoe, with 8 others.)

3000 Pieces, 1 Month

A 3000 piece puzzle assembled within one month of buying it. That is all.

#95E. Finish at least a 3000 piece puzzle. (Goal Completed)

There were a few hitches initially - one including that the size of the puzzle is larger than the table it was built on - good thing the felt surface of the puzzle saver had enough traction to hold the pieces down, else pieces would've fallen off the sides.

This will probably be the one and only one time I build a puzzle of this size.

Keep Note: Do not attempt to store the puzzle in its rolled up form for an extended period of time - you are very likely to lose your progress upon unrolling it if it's not fully inflated and/or pieces don't interlock very well.

MCHS Greek Presentation Date Scene

The 'Date' Scene in the MCHS Class of 2008 Production "Greek Life". Which also involves a bag of dates.

Original Record Date: December 19, 2007

Personal Involvement: I am the guy's best friend in that production, and also good friends with him in real life as well.

Reminder Source: I see Triana's status update* and reminds me of this clip. The vid doesn't follow exactly what happened in that status, but it's close enough.

Capital Division (Perler Bead Version) - Week 2

Week 2 of construction of the Captal Division Logo. A large supply of beads allowed me to continue progress, but apparently I need more than this in order to finish up the top half of the logo. This is around 6,000 beads into it. Time to wait for another sale before buying more of them.

Note: Although there was positive feedback on last week's image, the majority of the people in Capital Division are not aware of this development yet.