PlasmaFire.org

Well, when I can, that is. It seems that ever since DreamHost e-mailed me about moving my server data to a new machine, the old image gallery GridLine.PlasmaFire.org has been on the fritz with 404/database errors and is having issues with my logon information. Oh well, that’s what I get for not updating absolute paths in time; it’ll be coming down very soon anyway. The Tesla Coil Graduation Project photos need to be re-posted at a slightly-higher resolution, since many modern laptops have a standard 1280×800 resolution. No changes to Abuse.PlasmaFire.org or PSAOM.org yet due to finals week coming soon, as much as I’d want to.

Time for a non-engineering talk: there’s a lot of new artwork currently backlogged for posting, especially traditional studies, in light of a figure drawing class that myself and Catherine Lu have been taking this semester. The course has been a wonderful experience, save for a couple of assignments (collages and chalk pastel, grr), and definitely helped a lot with my mecha drawing. Looking back on how my engineering-influenced art has changed since switching from 2D schematic-style designs two years ago, it’s actually pretty reassuring: more curves, organic features, expressive lines, and a greater understanding of perspective, while depending less on tools in lieu of simpler things; I still find it far easier to generate ideas with a sketchbook, mechanical pencil, and eraser than having to pull out the drawing board or laptop and tablet. True, in reality it’s a matter of practicing, interest, trust (in the Lord, of course), and simply putting the tools to the media. This is the gist about any kind of original art, whether it’s creating from observation or delineating with no active references.

And back to reality: 4 credits of figure drawing only counts as a General Education arts course, and that’s all I can take ’till graduation! There’s a looming cloud of challenging core electrical engineering courses about to descend upon me come Fall 2009. I can feel it…the sufferings of previous EE students under Fourier Transforms, partial differential equations, and advanced electromagnetics. If this were a work of B-grade sci-fi, I’d probably write about it: “One Student In His Puny Mecha Versus Legions Of Gigantic EE Automatons Bent On Utterly Destroying Him. Year #4.” -_-‘

In other news, Tekkoshocon 2009 was fantastic (far better than last year…except for the Game Room, unfortunately), Pandora Radio is awesome (especially since Tim Westergren spoke to PSU’s Audio Engineering Society last week), and Folding for Penn State is superb (join team #1805!). What’s with me and abusing the English language using a passive voice, anyway?

On a final note: if you can, please pray for my parents, as they are currently in Taiwan for the next couple of weeks visiting friends and relatives. Returning to their home country might not be awkward even after spending several decades in the States, but in light of this my immediate family is now scattered all over the world (yes, even my sister living in NYC counts as “scattered”). Do pray that my mom and dad may enjoy their time off there and will have a safe trip home.

I decided to start the site revamp a little early, since NextGEN Gallery offered a favorable options palette. All of my previous entry’s images have been re-hosted, except for the Pop’n Music ASC project (and all other project photos in general). Some of my featured art is now up as well; just hit the Artwork link at the top of the page. Most of the pieces are fairly old except for the first 3D mecha design and the first sketchbook page, but new ones will come soon!

So when I first wrote back in October 2007 that this site would be “mostly a slice of Kevin’s life again,” I forgot to mention how sparsely the weblog would be updated. What, it’s been since April 10, 2008 since the last bit? Ah, seems it’s time to give a rundown of what’s happened over these few months. Hit “Read more” if you’re interested, but pardon the disorganization ahead…there’s a lot to talk about.

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Spring Break has ended, and it’s time to move on with the semester. Too bad most of the exams are jammed between now and the next month and a half! Quite a poor testing schedule on PSU’s part, sadly.

However, before I head off to return a certain Nikon D80 to Penn State Media Tech, the following are some photos of the Pop’n Music Arcade-Style Controller project built over winter break; read more here about the inspiration – and credits to whom it may concern – to construct such a bulky gaming device. Assuredly, it survived Setsucon 2008 quite well, and even more so the subsequent DDR and Import Gaming Nights (held by Dance Dance Maniacs and the Penn State Anime Organization, respectively). In fact, the final three photos are in-use shots from the most recent gaming night before last week’s break. Enjoy!

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Laughable given how busy school is, if I were a more avid Gunpla builder, I would’ve crossed dannychoo.com‘s sights more often. And late as I am for reading articles there, a few minutes ago I found this chart (bigger version here) comparing the heights of all sorts of well-known mecha – both real and super; it’s rather humbling for anyone who thinks a Gundam-esque machine is already tall (even the Psycho Gundam). Of course, the full-size image makes a nice wide-screen wallpaper, too.

And…it’s Spring Break for Penn State students. Time to figure out (um, finalize a decision on) what mecha to cosplay as for Otakon 2008 and study for my Differential Equations class. Let’s guess which task will be more fun!