Finished deck, with a few of the strips used to shape the hull on the starboard side. Deck is sanded pretty good. The parts underneath are a false keel that defines the side profile of the ship, crossmembers that define the rough shape of the hull, a stern plate that defines the shape of the stern, and some bolsters at the bow on the false keel that broaden the bow a bit so you have a better surface to form the bow shape.



Getting these side strakes on is HARD. Or rather, doing it WELL is HARD. The port side is better, but you're not supposed to be looking at the port side right now. As far as I can tell, once you have some experience, this goes easier. But, this DOES form the shape of the hull.



This is the complete (base) port hull. It's white because I coated it with wood putty and sanded it down three times. The starboard side will take more work than this, because there are more, bigger holes and rougher fits. Once the starboard hull matches the port hull, the gunwale pieces will be installed and matched to the hull, and then there are a few places where I'll use the base strakes to fill some gaps or thicken some things up. Then the actual hull will be applied with mahogany strips the same thickness as the base hull strips. Supposedly, having the hull fully shaped will allow the mahogany strakes to be fitted to the hull with proper fit and finish. BUT, the good news is I'll be painting this model anyway, rather than leaving it raw wood and staining it. I've already got a paint kit for 19th Century United States Revenue Service cutters. Although honestly, it's basically the same paint scheme as U.S. warships: black with a white stripe just below the gunwales.

One of my favorite singe moments in any anime ever...



This is right at the end of the last episode. It's a good show, but the final half of the last episode is heart-breaking, while the final minute pays for all. This moment starts the final minute.

This is the official 10 Year Anniversary version:

Going from 40 to 50 seems to be the worst philosophically, to me...although I get the feeling Wonderduck may argue that everything bad really starts at 50.

But I can most certainly assure you that the personal decade that started in 2013 has been by far the worst decade of the five I've been involved in. (Yes, I know that actually started a year before I turned 40. It probably adds up somewhere depending on how you look at the math.)

I spent my birthday's eve at the hospital, scared to death that my wife was in the middle of a stroke or a fit triggered by a heart attack (she's at risk, as am I.) Halfway to the hospital her symptoms evolved and it started sounding more like a sudden-onset severe migraine that had triggered some other symptoms. When the Dr. saw her in the ER, he zeroed in on her neck pain and asked if she had experienced any sudden trauma recently, at which point we both remembered she was in a near-wreck on Friday. It's easy to forget stuff like that when you AVOID the collision, but she hit the brakes so hard she hit her head on the steering wheel. One muscle-relaxer later and she's fine.

Fun times. Could have been so much worse.

All the kids showed up at the hospital. The two biological ones and the three emotionally adopted ones. That was nice. I mean, they live 5 minutes away, but they get so busy so fast when they move out on their own. The youngest is still at home, on her way to 19 this year, and she had to deal with the initial stages of what looked like a stroke while my wife was driving home. I'm sure that was scary as hell. I tend to be a problem solver and get overrun by math and strategy when problems occur.

So I guess this is my emotional release.

Go buy Wonderduck some good ramen. He needs to eat.

There is nudity. Below the fold.

You guys that have read my garbage for a while know that I sometimes do music reviews...mainly of an artist or an album (you know, the way music reviews used to be done). I've been thinking of doing the seminal/phenomenal/niche hit which was T'Pau's self-titled album. That was the one with Heart and Soul on it.

Calling T'Pau a pop group doesn't cut it. That first album is utterly unique. But I don't really know what it *IS*.

Other than a puzzle, of course.

Gonna have to think on this one a bit.

Makoto-sensei from Rakujitsu no Pathos.

Original pic was from the cover of Volume Two. Had to isolate the figure, clean up, then edit out the title which was overlayed across the cover. I'm not thrilled with the colors here, and will probably create some more versions. This is just the best that popped up tonight.

Rakujitsu no Pathos (Pathos of the Setting Sun) is by the famous manga-ka Tsuyatsuya. He normally creates sexually explicit manga about big-breasted older (early 30's) women screwing around with younger (19 - 26) men. (Japan, amirite?) Rakujitsu no Pathos is about big-breasted Makoto-sensei who discovers a former student from her brief teaching career is now a recently published manga artist (he draws big-breasted older women screwing around with younger men) and lives next door to the apartment her and her new much-older (45-ish) husband have moved into. Makoto-sensei is sexually frustrated from her unfulfilling older husband, and Aki-kun (the former student) has had a crush on Sensei since he met her. They proceed to have a "will they/won't they" affair. Departing from style, Tsuyatsuya is making this one all about teasing and frustration. There is no sex so far, and very little explicit content. However, the pages bleed hormones and sexual frustration. The two leads want nothing more than to get downright primitive with each other, and are either frustrated by circumstances, chance, or their own feelings of guilt and embarrassment.

It's tremendous fun. It's like that rare soft-core porn movie that you keep telling people is really a good movie that they should watch! (Shannon Whirry made a couple of those...speaking of someone who really needs to be targeted on this image blog...finding HD images of her is almost impossible, though...)

You should read it! It's available in...places....

I need to remember to ask Don if he's ever played one.