tigger68

This is going to give this thread a bump, but I just found out somr more information regarding this company. When you boot up the software and enter into the program, it says, aloud..."Jumping into Hyperspace" or at least her program was configured that way. Hmmm, there are more than one position there I should probably apply for. Perhaps hanging out with the 501st isn't a bad thing to talk about with that company...

Never thought about where the clothes came from until I got involved here. As for the shoulder bell, I think it fell down his arm. oops. Must have cost too much to go back and reshoot everything. Great thread though.

Congrats Brian! You're an excellent example of the "Troopers helping Troopers" here in the FISD. Keep up the good work. I look forward to seeing more of your posts in the future!

Skater, you'll like the EA Active. (p.s. one of the collaborators is here on the FISD). I like it a lot. I've encouraged others to purchase it. If the EA Active has the 6 week challenge go for it.

WOW!!!! I may have to commission you to make mine when I go for my Elite Nova Trooper. That looks absolutely just...wow. I can hardly wait to see you with it in person...when are you going to come out and troop at this end of the state??? Huh??? We've got toys for tots coming up in November.

Yes I saw the tree house. Just wondering if there are any Ewoks around. And the slide inside the building. I'm keeping my fingers crossed right now about the job. The more I research it, the more I want to have it. Besides, I could have an office in Deneb Building, or Andromeda, or Ganymede...too bad they don't have an Outer Rim area, or Tatooine but I guess those are copyrighted.

Okay, for those of you who know me, I've been looking for full-time employment and have been for a while. Well, this week I decided to update my resume and reformat it and post it on Monster.com. That day, a recruiter for a healthcare software company emailed me (probably just a form email anyway, their search engine hit my resume and found keywords I'm sure) and said I might be a good match for one of their jobs. So I decided to research the company. It is in Wisconsin. I'm not a big fan of the cold, but I can deal with it. Second, the garrison logo has um, a farm on it. I left Idaho to get away from the stereotype of "farm girl" even though I've never lived on one. So now I'm thinking..."do I really want to apply for this job." Then I looked at their website and they describe the place. The first page has the corporate headquarters name.Corporate HeadquartersThen I got down to the dress code. I decided after seeing these two items that I definitely wanted to work there. Oh yeah, and they have 530 acres of land, including a still working farm...with cows. Wish me luck in my application. After researching the job, I think I would make a great member of their team. I'll even deal with the um, cows...No'l do you think I could borrow your "cow trooper" armor? Just so I can blend in?

Okay, the first one was just strange...the second had me laughing. Thanks for the links.

Last weekend I participated in my second troop as an ISB officer. Our Garrison went down to Warrensburg, MO for the first game of the season's street fair. We had a grand time, and had lots of kids following us around. The University of Central Missouri gave us money to dontae to Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in the name of the 70th Explorers/501st Legion which we'll be taking to them sometime in the next week, and I'll try and post pictures of the handover. Here are some pics of the event.

I remember everything. However, I think the lasting image, impression will be the picture of the three firefighters raising the American Flag at Ground Zero. I pray for peace every night, and wish it for everyone. May we never forget.

Okay everyone, here is today's informational update. Besides the fact that my new ISB tunic I just submitted for approval is now getting loose on me, I have some good websites to go for information on how to live without dieting. The first is: Overcoming Overeating A great place to start. The book I recommend with this information is currently out of print but you might be able to find it on abebooks.com or alibris.com the title is Overcoming Overeating (anyone see a pattern here? The second website is Nourishing Connections I'm not really familiar with this one, but it was recommended by my Dietician friend so I'm looking at it to find out more about it. Just remember, this is something that you need to be able to sustain for a long time (hopefully) and dieting just isn't the way to do it. I know I can't succeed dieting, for me it takes a combination of smaller portions of whatever, and intense exercise before I start to lose weight. The good thing I've noticed in the past is that once I've lost some of the weight, I can actually go about 3-4 months without working out before the weight starts to come back on...and then I get depressed, which makes me want to eat, which makes me more depressed...okay I want cheesecake... Where was I, oh yeah, so check out these websites and see what they have to say. Another good book is Intuitive Eating. So read up, study and see how this new information can change your life for the better. I'm off to find some New York Style Cheesecake...

Okay, take a step back, take a deep breath and relax. I've been waiting for something like this post to come along. No, really I have. Now I can pass along some more data and solutions. First of all, yes Virginia, there really is a "diet roller-coaster" that people get on. You lose 20lbs and you gain back 50lbs. It is a scientific fact. Okay, that said, diets do not work in the long run. I'm going to repeat that...diets do not work in the long run. Depriving yourself of things you enjoy will only make you binge on them at a later date, feel guilty, so you deny yourself, binge, deny, binge....you get the picture. Let's look at something. There is a subject out there called the French Paradox. The French eat real butter, cream, and lots of it, but don't have the diet or health issues faced by Americans. Why? Simple, eating to them is well, not just a means to satisfy hunger, but an enjoyment. You heard me, enjoyment-pleasure-fun. All by sitting down and eating. If I were to say the words, Paris, France to you, what comes to mind? A sidewalk cafe where you watch the world go by? The Eiffel Tower? Lots of rich foods? Then why don't the French have a serious cholesterol or fat problem? Okay some simple answers here. 1. Portion size. Yeah, I know, you've heard it before. But it's true. The United States and other countries have increased portion sizes out of control. It is very scary. However, if we re-train ourselves we will eat the proportions we should be eating of food. It isn't that difficult. It isn't necessarily WHAT we are eating, but how much. 2. Enjoyment/relaxation. Okay, here is where it gets difficult. I want everyone to sit down to your FAVORITE dinner and before you start eating, set a time for 1 hour. You heard correctly 1 HOUR. Then you get to start eating. Oh, I forgot, you can't finish the meal until the hour is up. Uh huh, you'd better have food on your plate, and still be eating when 50 minutes have gone by. Americans on average eat in 30 minutes or less. This doesn't allow your body to receive the "I'm full" signal so you eat more than you really need. Taking your time over a meal helps to reduce the amount of food you ingest. 3. NO GUILT! So you ate a piece or two of cheesecake. So what? It isn't going to immediately kill you. (Unlike the little mint in Monty Python's the Meaning of Life but that's another story - see portion size above.) If you feel guilty, you are going to deny yourself, and when you deny yourself you tend to binge. I've got a bad feeling about that, if you binge you'll feel guilty, deny food, then binge and guess what? You'll do it all over again. This is probably the worst thing you can do to eat healthily. Indulge yourself. But, if you do have that piece of cheesecake (a particular favorite dessert of mine) then remember to eat it slowly and savor it. You'll eat less and enjoy it more. 4. Fresh is best! I know we're heading into the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere (all you S.H. people please refer back to the earlier posting about how to survive trooping in the heat, and heat injuries please!)which means for us Northerners less fresh veggies right? Okay, your local farmer's market may be closed due to the season, but that doesn't mean your local Mega-Mart (thank you Alton Brown) won't have some fresh veggies. Or you can do your work now, purchase lots of veggies and fresh freeze them, or can them yourself. That way you can dictate the sodium and sugar content of the veggies you are eating. Hidden calories there my friends. Okay, enough lecture for today. I've emailed a friend of mine who is a Nutritional Therapist and Registered Dietician who espouses diet-free living to ask for websites and recommendations. As soon as I hear back from her, I'll post them here. Remember, you are not alone my friends. We're all in this together.

Love the armor Joey! You did a great job. However, I'm noticing something wrong with this evolution package. I'm a simple imperial officer at the moment, but doesn't it say stormtrooper? I may be mistaken, isn't that TD armor????

Okay, I'll jump in here with my $.02 on Adkins, and other diets, dieting works to lose the weight. However, once off the diet, the weight will come back, and probably justs more. Just don't take a swing at me, I'm not saying that anyone is wrong, just wanting to make sure that the best information is provided for our group. The low glycemic index diet is a good one and if you want to make it a lifestyle change go for it. Now, that said, there is some interesting research being done within the past 3 years on dieting. One researcher in particular (I'm kind of biased he was my exercise physiology and cellular biology prof) found that higher levels of carbohydrates actually inversely affected weight in human subjects. This was particularly significant in those persons who consumed whole grains, although both whole and refined grains were studied. The citation for anyone who wants to look it up: Gaesser GA. Carbohydrate quantity and quality in relation to body mass index. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007;107:1768-1780. There are also studies that have shown the Atkins diet may affect blood vessels if followed long term. I'm not talking about the diet that Blackdog has researched which is the original Atkins diet which came out a while ago, I'm talking about the fad diet that people started following. The same study also looked at the South Beach Diet and Ornish Diet, and compared the three of them. The results were if the Atkins diet derived 50% of its caloric content from fat, it increased LDL (bad cholesterol) by an average of 15.4 points (mg/dl), the South Beach diet which derives 30% of its calories from fat reduced LDL by an average of 10.2 points, and the Ornish Diet which derives 10% of its calories from fat reduced LDL by an average of 25.5 points. Miller M, Beach V, Mangano C, et al. Comparative effects of 3 popular diets on lipids, endothelial function and biomarkers of atherothrombosis in the absence of weight loss. Study presented at: American Heart Association’s Scientific Session; Nov. 6, 2007; Orlando, Fla. I think the real thing here is to avoid processed sugars, something that Americans seem to have found essential to living. Start reading your labels on canned foods. I'll bet you'll find some sort of sweetener in them, be it High Fructose Corn Syrup, real sugar or some other processed sweetener. Okay, take my advice here, find what works for you. If you want to increase your body's sensitivity to insulin, i.e. you need less insulin to process the glycogen in your body, exercise will provide a great way to do that in conjunction with staying away from processed sugars (my own downfall). Exercise also reduces blood pressure, increases metabolism, reduces stress, makes you feel better about yourself, and you'll look better in your armor. I know the only way I lose weight and keep it off is through exercise, I can diet until I'm blue in the face, but my body will store the fat and I'll lose it, but I also lose muscle mass which is the opposite of what I want to do. Phrase for the day: MODERATION IN EATING. Okay getting off my soap box to go sweat to my Wii.

Just moved to a different area of the Imperial Military. My rank remained the same unlike poor Col. Yularen who got demoted from flag officer status in the Clone Wars to Colonel in ANH. I like the way the two-tone uniform looks, and according to our GML, we don't have another ISB in our Garrison, so I would be the first. I just can't wait until I finish losing the weight, get a full-time job so I can afford my TK, TX and TI armor. not necessarily in that order.

Okay, after reading all of these, I think I'd have to say, 1. Get out of debt. 2. Purchase the house I've been dreaming of for the past 2 years...3 bedrooms, a basement, and room for a "Hobby Room" 3. Put a "media" room in the basement of my house with surround sound, and a great projection system so I can throw really awesome movie watching parties. 4. Purchase a Porsche 911 Turbo and get a license plate that says TIE PLT...sorry FISD, we don't have any really cool transport I can drive. 5. Purchase armor for people in my garrison 6. Purchase the rights to the SW franchise...then... BUILD A STAR WARS THEME PARK! Let my imagination run amok! 1. Replica of the Tantive IV, you too can invade the ship, hunt down Leia and bring her before Vader. Shoot those rebel scum, and march them off to the detention center. 2. Replica of parts of the Death Star. Fight the rebel scum as they try and escape from the Death Star. If you are really good, they won't escape, even if it was part of the plan... 3. Lifesized replica of the Jawa Sandcrawler. Practice your shooting accuracy on this great looking if slow-moving vehile. bonus points if you nail a jawa that is runing away. 4. For those "Pathfinder" types, speeder bike rides through the forests of Endor. bonus points for every rebel scum you shoot. Extra bonus points for the little furry creatures you shoot. 5. Fly a TIE Fighter and shoot down pesky X- & Y-Wings. 6. Themed hotels: Jabba's Hut; Moisture Farm; Bespin Cloud City; Death Star Barracks; Hoth Rebel Base; Endor Ewok Village (for the kiddies); Mos Eisley, etc. Kind of like how Disney World is laid out. Okay, I guess I have to have some rides/experiences for the Rebels...they can have a battle of Yavin, if they can nail the 2 meter exhaust port they win. Perhaps a battle of Endor? How about a Clone Wars Section??? I would also donate a lot of money to Autism and Multiple Sclerosis research. A lot of money. After setting up a Trust Fund to take care of my nephew who has Autism. I guess that is all...except buy all the armor I want (TIE, NovaTrooper, ANH Storm Trooper, ESB Storm Trooper) oh and weapons.

Catherine, I have been a "handler", "wrangler", "photographer" etc. at almost every troop I've done. It has only been the last couple of troops where I have done it wearing a uniform. In our garrison, most officers end up doing handler duty and you can really give a great glare wearing an Imperial Uniform. That said, our last troop we would have been literally up the creek without a paddle if we hadn't had one of the best handlers I've ever seen, and he is also a TK. With approximately 4,000-5,000 people at the event, if he hadn't directed traffic, and helped keep kids away from our "green room" door, we would have been in deep trouble. If you can't get a 501st shirt, at least try and wear something Star Wars. That way you can be more readily associated with the group. Also be prepared to take many many pictures. The more pictures the better. You may not know which ones turn out at the time. Candids are sometimes better than the posed pictures. And yes, asking to make sure if the TKs or other armored characters are hot, feeling dizzy, or need water is a good thing. Be prepared to direct traffic, help them up and down curbs, stairs, etc. Remember they can't see a thing in that helmet, and there were never truer words spoken on celluloid. Lenses fog up, and at our last troop our Vader couldn't see anything but a blur, so the contrast between my cream tunic and black gloves was what he was using as a visual guide for where to walk. As a handler you can make yourself invaluable to your garrison, and incredibly welcome at all trooping events.

Okay, here are some pictures of me in my new uniform. I know this is late, but I had to get the pictures from others, because I forgot my own camera. Never again.

Last Saturday I was part of the 70th Explorer Garrison that trooped at the Great Overland Stage Railroad Festival in Topeka, KS. They have a SW exhibit (most of the items donated by the 70th Explorers) and we also had Darryl Woods who is a licensed Lucasfilm artist doing caricatures for free. Yes, the R2D2 moved, beeped, squacked and made the kids go nuts. Lots of fun, but it was VERY VERY HOT! Even indoors because once the temp reached 97 outside, everyone came inside and it overwhelmed the poor A/C system. Three of the people trooping are TKs from the FISD here on the boards, although one had to get out of armor due to discomfort. I premiered my new ISB uniform which I'm also going to post down in the non-TK costume forums since I finally got pictures from those in attendance. Enjoy!

wow, we've really evolved with our humor in 30 years...or is it we are stuck there because of the movies???? Cause and effect? Either way it is a sheep joke, BAAAAAAD. But still funny.

Okay, sorry about the links not working. I'm going to try and get Charlie to post them here, or send them to me in an email so I can post them. I'm having issues downloading off facebook to my computer, so I'll see what I can do. I apologize, I usually bring my own camera to events, but I ran out the door running late for this one, and forgot it on my bed, sitting next to where my bag had been. I'll try and get them posted ASAP tonight. thanks for everyone's patience.

Hey guys, I finished my second officer's tunic. Yeah, I know, I need to work out harder so I can get my TK, TX and TIE done (but I also need the funds), but I promise as soon as I will look decent in the armor and I have the funds, I'm all over it. I didn't have my camera at the event because I forgot it at home so I'm going to post a link to some of the pictures on facebook. Sorry about that. Hopefully Charlie Brown will be posting some here on the Tour of Duty Topic. Anyway, here's my ISB Imperial Officer (and yes, I know the wings aren't canon, but I'm a pilot in another life ) Small Group pic Which Button do I push??? or Vader's lenses are all fogged up. Group Shot

As a photographer/handler for my garrison, I haven't found any problem with posting the pictures on Flickr or Photobucket, or even Facebook as long as the people aren't tagged there hasn't been a problem.

Scott, you were Steve's Good Samaritan that day! Maybe we should add "All for One and One for All!" to our Troopers Helping Troopers motto. This story is what I always have felt the FISD was all about. Good job! Glad to see it turned out all right.