wolfwings | (no subject)

'What kind of Wing are you?' by. Xera
Oh! How I envy you! You got a nice life and friends
And you know how to have fun!
But just don't overdo it!

Whelp, I'm sitting here, waiting to go to work. Mark had to go take care of some bank-type stuff before we head off, so I got ready, he found out about the bank stuff, and I'm kickin' it here for a while before we head out I guess. Figured I'd find out what kinda wings I was. Damn I wish that test was 'pick many' instead of 'pick one' though. *giggles*

On other news, I've started work on some semi-pointless, but still-nifty tree models for video games. They're blatant cheats, and it shows, but they look a LOT better than most of the blatant cheats to make trees out there right now.

It's basically taking cylindrical 'slices' out of a high-res tree model in computer rendering software, then 'unwrapping' these slices to flat pictures, then 'wrapping' them around cylinders in the video game. Ends up with around 128 polygons for a 16-layer tree, which is quite low, and quite a lot of layers for the effect, it works with as few as 4 for bushes and such.

On a semi-different note, I've been bitten by the 'swing sharp things' bug again. Pulled out the pair of machettes I used to practice with, starting to clean the accumulated rust off and in general start practicing again. Don't know why, so many martial arts teach, no, rely on a single weapon, but single-weapon never feels comfortable to me. Unless I have nearly dead-equal weapons in both hands, there's a slight to extreme level of discomfort while I'm wielding them.

Yes, I'm sure some of you think I just want to be some dual-katana showoff. I hate katanas. Give me proper fencing sabres, about 30-32 inches of blade and about 6-8 inches of handle, about 6 inches of back-blade and a full-puncture double blood groove down the length of the rest of the blade starting about 1-2 inches from the back-blade.

That is my 'dream sword' for live steel. Viscious fast, perfectly able to turn from a stab to a slash and back again, and the blood grooves serve to drastically lighten the weapon without really impacting it's strength that noticably.

And no, I wouldn't have the blade damascus, or at least not that fake layered damascus that so many sword catalogs tout. I WOULD have the handle damascus-clad, with wood inlay, propably redwood, then silk-wrapped. Katana's got that dead-to-rights, even if I agree with some others that they get too much attention. Yes, they're good, but they're not the Ultimate Sword. :-)

Anyways, guess I rambled there, huh? Still no Mark, so still no work yet today either. Ah well, he'll get here eventually, I suppose. Guess I'll go bonk my head against Day of Defeat s'more, if I'm gonna get drug off to play it eventually, I may as well play it so I know the controls a little. Right now, I'm lucky to break even on kills/deaths, but I've found my knack, which I share from so MANY other games. Grenades. I have an absolute knack for lobbing arcing shots with pinpoint accuracy, including some bounce shots.

Did I mention I made levels for Quake2 specifically to practice with it's Grenade Launcher? *nods* M'kay, I'm insane. I could pick a Railgun, or a Shotgun to get good with, I learn how to kill folks in Rocket Arena with direct hits from the Grenade Launcher. Not splash damage, impact kills.

Never said I didn't have a touch of the flamboyant in me. :-)

Anyways, maybe I'll get some work done today, maybe not. Who knows at this point? *laughs* I'm off, all. And if anyone wants to call, feel free. 714-539-6547, I'll zing a quick one when I head off to work, then it'll be my cell-phone/NexTel number, which is back in my journal somewhere. >^.^<

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah, daisho style is flashy and cool, but the katana is inherently a two-handed weapon, and I never use it as anything but. It's really not the sword that's So Very Good, but the style of use for which it's curved and balanced; and that same style can be performed effectively with many other swords.

Ultimately, I'm more partial to tai chi blades—and again, it's really only the balance that matters; I've run into a good number of European swords of similar form and weight which can be used in exactly the same way.

You're pretty much dead-on accurate, hon. And I prefer something that's roughly on par with the paired-machette weighting I like so much, myself. Which is why I'd LOVE to get some light, titanium-alloy-spring-steel sabres. :-)

Tai chi swords can be quite nice though, too. They're similair to what I'm looking for, but I prefer a completely dead edge somewhere on a sword that can be safely propped against if needed. No, that's usually not a problem when using a pair of weapons, but it's still useful, being able to roll the blades back along one's arms if needed for confined fighting, etc, etc.

Then again, I don't think you've seen the style I tend to fight, which is a shifting, flowing kind of non-style. My ability to adapt is what I try to hone, over any specific skill with the blades, letting my instincts flow out and take over as much as possible.

In a way... it's a form of control for my Black Rages, letting me focus, and learn to channel the powers behind them more safely.

I know what you mean about wanting a dead edge, especially for a two-weapon style. Something akin to butterfly blades, yes? Also grok the non-style... we oughtta show off for each other sometime. :> You gonna be at Anthrocon?

I wish. Anthrocon is a perpetual no-go for me, unfortunately. Due to a very simple reason. Camp Feral. *grins*

(no subject)

Katanas

Re: Katanas

Re: Katanas

Re: Katanas