SiF UK Meeting

OK, now for the write-up.
Day started off pretty bad for me. They only put two carriages on my train, so that meant everyone getting at Thornaby (including me) had to stand until we got to York. And if that wasn't bad enough, the air conditioning wasn't working and the windows weren't open. They did get opened eventually though...during a delay that cost us about 15 mins.
But once I got to York, everything got better. Went to the Railway Museum entrance, and who did I see waiting there? Chris and Eliot! So after brief greetings and catching up on where Ryan was, we went into the shop. Stayed there until about 12:00, when we thought 'Well, no one else has arrived yet, might as well go to the Station Hall'. So we did.
Eliot knows quite a bit about engines, which means I have to nod my head and speak in the affirmative a lot to try and disguise my lack of technical knowledge. I think I succeeded. Chris was too cool for that though. He just stood in quiet recognition.
After a bit, Eliot gets a phone call. Turns out Ryan and co are in the Great Hall. Oops! Quickly dashing over there, and after a bit of kerfuffle as to where they are, we notice them on top of the footbridge...the very same one we were under when we rang. In Eliot's defense, no one said look up.
So everyone got to meet each other and shake hands and that, talking 'bout each other and stuff (this is really detailed analysis, in'it?). Chris T. Xelent kept looking at me like I was mad. I'm quite sure I don't know what he was on about. No doubt he wanted his lung back.
Then Christopher showed up from nowhere and handshaking started all over again. He recognised me from my T-shirt. He's sharp as a button, that one. Then came the amazing, fantastical handing out of certificates! I feel so honoured to have recieved one! It's gonna get framed.
Then walking commenced. Walking through the galleries, seeing the many engines that were there. And many models too. So many models. Temptation to steal them was high among members. If they hadn't been cased in glass, well, the NRM would have a lot less to show off.
It was just after that point that we saw Green Arrow. Yep. And the frames of Flying Scotsman. We saw its cab at one point too, but it was nowhere near the frames, which is a bit daft IMO.
I think it was this point we high-tailed it back to the shop, and did some shopping. Some of us anyway. Then back to the Station Hall, for more trainspotting. At one point the official group photo was taken, which you can see at the forum. Ignore the fact that we all look like devilspawn though. That's just bad lighting.
After walking round for a bit we all realised we were hungry, so it was outside for barbeque. Chris Burrell, that evil boy, took the last hamburger from the grill. Fool! Thank God there were sausages, or I swear...!
Then came one of the highlights of the meeting. Sitting at a bench with a Thomas Annual and just talking. May not sound exciting, but just being with a bunch of friends, being able to discuss our interest in that little blue engine and the forum dedicated to him...man, it was just great. It was like being on a council or something, you felt important just by being there.
After that talk, it was back to the Great Hall. Ryan, Christopher, Truro, CtX and myself then went on the Simulator they have there. Travel from London to Brighton in 4 minutes. How? By travelling at 765 mph! If you've seen the video, you know how that went down. If you haven't, well...there's a reason they don't let trains go that fast.
Where next? Japan of course, to catch the Bullet Train. Then it was off to Wales to see the Tallwyn. Both were on video, of course-we don't have magic teleportation powers. Although if we did...nah, let's not dream about that.
What happened next? Er...we went back to the models, of course. Railway museum has lots of old bits of railway paraphenalia. Impossible to take in all at once, so we had to go back. Yes.
But all good things must come to an end, and so we left the museum and headed back to the station. Then back to the hotel near the station, where we said goodbye to Christopher and Chris. Having nothing much to do at the hotel, we headed back for the station, where we said goodbye to Eliot and hello to Christopher again. Strange how that worked out. The 5 remaining lads sat on a bench and watched Ryan's filming, when sadly it was time for me to go. Handshakes again (I shook more hand sthat day than I've done in me life) and a mad dash to Platform 10 from 3. Not advisable if your trousers are loose.
So that was the day in a nutshell. Fantastic time out for all. I'm really looking forward to the next meeting. Let's make it a whole weekend next time, guys. We can go camping! I'll bring the tent!

SiF UK Meeting-Aftermath

I don't know why I was so worried yesterday. Everything went spectacularly! Everyone got on like old friends, which in a way I guess we are. I'm kinda exhausted from it all, to be honest. Full write-up later. I'm still hoping yesterday's post will turn up.

Nerves

It's only my second day owning a blog, and I have nothing much to say. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
Actually, I have a lot to say. But you know when you have too many things to say that you don't know where to start? That's kinda how I feel now. I could talk about any number of things (A Scrooge McDuck videogame, why Coke tastes better out of a glass bottle, the secret of existence etc), and at some point I probably will (except that last one). But I can't right now. I'm too nervous.
Why? Well, tomorrow I'm meeting a bunch of friends for the first time. By friends I mean 'people I know on the internet'. Yeah. I mean, I think they're all great and that, but I only really know what they're like on the net. And conversely, they only know what I'm like on the net.
Anonymity is the greatest advanatage to a user on the internet, in that no one knows who you are, so you can say any old thing without fear of embarrassment. On the internet, I act nothing like I do in real life. Well, to people I don't know anyway. On the internet, I usually try to present myself as a funny guy, someone who's always kidding and stuff. In the real world, I can only do this after I get to know someone, otherwise I'm afraid they'll just give me an evil stare. Yes, I worry about things like that. Yes, I am the world's biggest dork.
So I'm worried that tomorrow everyone's gonna expect me to crack wise and make with the quips. And I'm a little nervous because I doubt that I'll be able to do that. The internet lets everyone be funnier because you can think about what you're gonna say. In real life, you can't always do that. At leats without leaving really long pauses in sentences. And no one likes those.
So yeah, sounds like I'm whining about nothing, but you know, this is my blog and all, so I'll just throw it out there. No one reads this so the next sentence is a bit redundant, but tomorrow I'll be funny. Actually, Wednesday I'll be funny. Tomorrow I'll be talking about how the meeting went.
On an unrelated note, no one at SiF has been sarcastic for ages. Come on, guys! Make with the snark already! I've got something really good for the next person who's sarcastic about something.

Legion of Super-Jerks

You know who the Legion of Super-Heroes are? They're this group of teenage heroes from the 30th Century who fight crime and injustice throughout the galaxy. Or possibly universe.
The thing about the Legion is that it's big. Really big. Like, population of most third-world countries big. That makes sense though, because they're a big agency that takes care of the galaxy/universe. I mean, you can't do that with only 20 people, can you? No, the bigger the better, really. I mean, I'd sure feel safer knowing that there are hundreds of teens watching over me whilst I sleep. Well, not if they were actually watching over me while I slept, because that would be creepy.
You know what doesn't make sense though? When they rejected heroes. See, the Legion had this admission policy that potential new recruits would be subject to approval from a council of members. It wasn't like X-Men, where any mutant can just go to Xavier's Mansion and say "I want in." The Legion initiated people based on the usefulness of their powers. So if you had, say, the power to control electricity, then you would get in, since when isn't it useful to control electricity? But if you did something like grow hair really quickly, then sorry, but you're just no use for us!
Now on the surface this may seem fair enough, because considering the number of Legionnaires there were, you wouldn't want more invading the place and reducing the amount of room available. But when you actually think about it, how fair is that?
There you are, a young boy/girl from the planet Wherever, scorned all your life on your homeworld because you were born with the ability to make walking sticks appear out of thin air (kids can be so cruel). But you're gonna show them up once and for all by becoming a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, the greatest team of superheroes in the galaxy/universe. Surely they'll appreciate your abilities, right?

"Good morning, citizen. What super power do you possess?"
"Well Lightning Lad, I have the ability to create walking sticks of various shapes and sizes from out of nowhere. Behold! *Demonstrates ability*"
"Ooh, sorry, but there's nothing really super about your power, now is there? Admission denied!"

The fools! By denying your admission, they've just denied themselves a great opportunity. What are they going to do now if they encounter an emergency where the citizens of a planet all suffer severe back injuries? How will they be able to safely walk then? Or what if one day Saturn Girl should accidentally break her leg whilst polevaulting, or whatever sport she's into? Now if they had someone who could create walking sticks for everyone, then that would just solve all their problems, wouldn't it?
Just because they're not useful all the time doesn't mean they can't be useful at all. So what if 'Save-The-Day-Instantaneously Boy' can only use his powers every third Thursday? Just let him work every third Thursday! And I'm not totally exaggerating on this either. They once turned down a girl whose powers only worked at night. So just let her work the night shift! Don't reject her for that!
Eventually though some of the rejects formed their own supergroup called 'The Legion of Substitute Heroes', but they were really only there to be laughed at. They also became the dumping ground of everyone the Legion rejected after that. "Oh, you have the ability to swim backwards? Yeah, we're not gonna use you, but go check out this team of other losers...I mean fine upstanding people." (As a sidenote, think how useful a guy who swims backwards would be. The next time they come across an underwater monster who paralyses people by looking at them, they could just say "Your turn, Backwards Swimming Lad!")
What the LoSH should have done was create the Legion of Reserve Heroes, a team that they could call on if they came upon any unexpected dilemmas. Every time something came up that required an unusual power to deal with it, they could just have the Legion of Reserve Heroes teleport someone in. You might argue they could do that now, but I betcha that the 'rejects' will be less sympathetic than the 'reserves'.
"Oh, so Brainiac 5's hip's gone out and he can't walk properly? So you want me to make him a walking stick so you don't have to buy one? Now you need me I'm supposed to jump at your command, is that it? Well screw you, Legion!"

I got a blog!

So like millions of other people on the world wide web, I now have a blog. Yeah. Take that, individuality!
I'm not going to assume you don't know who I am, because doubtless the only people who view this blog will be people who know me anyway. At any rate, that's what the user profile's for, right? So yeah, it's me, Alaric. Blogging it up with the best of them. Hope to see you along for the ride.
Hey, if I can get at least one person adding with the comments and that, I'll be happy. Because I don't have high expectations. I mean, come on, who's interested in me, right? But I need a place to write some of the thoughts that keep popping into my head that I have no place else to put. Well, there's paper and that, but who reads paper anymore? Besides, like the title suggests, I have too much free time, and this might help alleviate that.
OK, I've ran out of things to say now. So...see ya later.