Inconspicuous

First post has been updated with new items and new prices. Take a look at the new Bluecoats, Redcoats, and Star Wars minifigs! Thanks, Inky

You've incorporated some excellent building techniques into the diorama, but as a whole it seems a tad unbalanced. The rounded shape you've created with SNOT plates is simply wonderful. Nice use of the angled plates. The exposed rafters and broken cross are also excellent touches. Having said that, the central tower seems way too dense considering the area supporting it is falling apart. If this existed in real life, I would imagine the tower would collapse right away! Also, the knights and the path they're fighting on seem a bit random. I understand that the primary focus was the roof techniques, so I think the creation would have been fine without them. Thanks for sharing!

I feel like this dialogue has become a side matter in the day's proceedings, but I feel that it's important to slowly draw it to a close anyways. I'm sorry but this statement doesn't carry any weight. All you're saying is that you'd never intentionally put yourself into your current situation. Thank you, Captain Obvious. No one in their right mind would either. Well, you unvoted within 45 minutes of voting and revoted after less than 2 hours. To me, that's not much time to consult your scum buddies, assuming they exist. That's why I still suspect it was a knee-jerk reaction without proper consultation. In my opinion, a secure scum could just as easily act insecure. Especially when they've made a big mistake.

Thanks for the long, well thought-out response. It was certainly worth the wait! Once you're under fire, you HAVE to trust your intellect - there's nothing else stopping your lynch! "Reverse psychology" might not be the best term... more like twisting words in your favor. And that's what Mafia is all about: using your words to trip up and persuade others. I think you're a more than capable player, so I'm not buying the whole "oh no I'm too helpless to defend myself, I must be innocent" defense. True. I admit, that wasn't the strongest accusation of mine. Yes, I definitely agree. And you're not stupid. That's why I was leaning towards Insecure Scum. But my point is your actions were mistakes. Your seemingly sincere and logical response has definitely weakened several of my arguments. I'm still puzzled by your strange voting pattern, so I'm keeping my vote where it is. Besides, I think it's clear that flip-flopping my vote around without a compelling reason is a bad choice.

Looks like the Pewter issue is cleared up - it really was a joke! Earlier, I considered changing my vote to make sure we lynched today, but after seeing the full conversation, I don't feel comfortable voting for Pewter. My vote for Mandel still stands.

Well it looks like the tables have turned... stupid swivel tables. Whose idea was that anyways? I always thought swivel chairs were good enough, but no. What kind of logic is that? Everyone makes mistakes. A good scum knows exactly what you just said but I would take it in a different direction. Using reverse psychology would be a much better strategy. In other words, pretending to be insecure as to appear that you don't have all the info. That's how you've been behaving - insecure. This statement could be equally true if you replace "find a scum" with "start a bandwagon". And the only difference in that case would be your allegiance. No, I don't think you're dumb. I think you made a mistake, like all humans are prone to, and are using your intelligence to gracefully cover that up. The problem for you is, actions speak louder than words. And words said ex post facto carry less weight. I know from the simulation that you're uncomfortable being scum. So to me, it seems like you tried to pull a scum move but chickened out and made the situation worse. That's why they're probably flipping out right now. You made a mistake of barking without a bite, and covered it up with a kneejerk reaction that made you seem silly. I know you like to play it safe. That's why I think you made a genuine mistake, not a calculated action. Mandel himself claims that in the simulation, he was perfectly comfortable voting for a player unlikely to be lynched. Just because his scum buddies didn't jump on board doesn't mean they aren't there. I don't know if we'll have any stronger leads at this point, so my vote will go to you for the following reasons: 1) You built a case against Gordon, but were quick to unvote. Insecurity is natural, but the quick withdrawl made the accusations seem superficial. 2) After this was pointed out, you quickly revoted. I think this was your true mistake today. The reflex didn't pay off. 3) For the rest of the day, you've had the "bunker mentality" - trying to defend your action with words. Unfortunately, actions speak louder than words, especially when the words are defensive. And the logic you've used seems clear but slightly twisted in your favor. 4) Previously, you've been insecure as scum, and if I had to describe your action today with one word, I would use "insecure". 5) If we don't get a vote together for someone, our power as a town is diminished. Vote: Timothy Mandel (Dannylonglegs) Sorry, former brother. It's nothing personal.

I'm not trying to defend him, but I could relate to your initial suspicion of PMs (I had a smiliar experience in the simulation) so I thought I'd point it out. If I was scum, I would never be stupid enough to defend my own buddy in my first post. I'm practically the b in subtle! I think it's important that we don't distract ourselves with the past roles and factions; it's already confusing enough with the name swaps! Past behavior can be a useful tool for analysis, but the previous game mechanics should be disregarded. An interesting argument. For once I actually get the reference! Any thoughts on this, Gordon?

G'mornin' everyone. Looks like we have a situation on our hands! Keep calm and carry on. My understanding is that some people like to have private conversations for the heck of it. In the dream I had last night, I was also surprised by the number of chats going on without a reason to trust each other.

Lieutenant Michelle Wheeler, reporting for duty!

What the heck did I just read? I voted for you because the blocker blocked you last night and there was no night kill. I have no idea where this alleged "picture clue upset" came into the scenario. By the way, nice try with "revealing" the scum team. I'm sure that everyone will believe your claim, especially after the Fleet Admiral confirmed that there are no clues in pictures. I bet you found that picture with yourself in it and decided to accuse the players seated around you! Seriously, there's no need to go berserk on the host and throw as many people as you can under the bus. You're dead scum - so shut up already and give us some peace around here!

Aha! Talk about a condemning reveal. The plot thickens. The blocking thing would be enough to lynch him in the first place, but his useless reactions just make the case against him even stronger! One more nail in the coffin as far as I'm concerned. Vote: Zachary Jones (Flipz) I'm amazed that something this certain has fallen into our hands! I think it's safe to trust the evidence brought forward, and if for some reason things don't turn out the way we expected, then there's always tomorrow's vote.

Awesome! One scum taken down, with no townies lost either! That's a step in the right direction. I'm curious to see how these private findings crystallize in the day thread. It sounds like we might be on the verge of finding out something big.

Of the two major conversations I've noted today, neither has led us to any grand conclusions. Granted, I wouldn't expect every single dialogue to reveal a big secret, but it seems like the arguments went out with a whimper, rather than a bang, and we've lost some momentum. I regret that I myself am unable to contribute more at the moment. I only have the time and energy to comment on a few of the day's proceedings. Can you really blame the person who asked a question for the discussion that followed? I think you've stretched your logic too far. Throwing someone under the bus is already a negative action, but coupled with poor reasoning, I can't help but raise an eyebrow. It's bad enough that the scum took out a veteran because of his previous record; we don't need any more of that improper metagaming logic being applied. I'm especially against it in this case because I haven't been around on the mafia scene lately and I have no way of confirming your suspicions. His "soul in purgatory" requested a more elegant and epic death, and his wish was granted. There's no need to analyze a joke!

Jeez. We really suck at this, don't we? I could have sworn that the two under suspicion yesterday were scumbags, but apparently we were all wrong. I need to step back and read listen more carefully. At first I thought all this chatter would be useful, but it's become so lengthy that just trying to get through it all means sacrificing a good chunk of brain power. I don't feel particularly inclined to make the discussion even more dense when I have nothing to add.

I think the fact that Robbins gave up defending himself part way through Day 1 is a sign that something is amiss. On top of that, he advocated not voting on Day 1 which is a time-tested tactic to improve our odds at voting out scum. At this point it doesn't particularly matter where my vote lands, as a decision has already been made, but I wanted to affirm that I agree with the decision made today, if it counts for anything. Vote: Ensign Peter Robbins (KingoftheZempk)

My apologies for not posting more, but I've been busy elsewhere onboard and there's been an explosion of discussion lately. Both Wright and Robbins seem suspicious to me, but I'll need to study the discussion some more to determine my vote, if voting is still open by then.

My goodness! You can't even take a nap around here with missing a good chunk of discussion. Y'all sure talk a lot, but I don't believe that it's all idle chit-chat; sometimes the most pointless conversations transform into the most meaningful ones. Even if they yield little, it's still worth having a long conversation if it gets us even a little farther. I couldn't agree more! Day 1 of these games... of life always are a challenge if you don't keep your eyes and ears open. Even if baseless accusations will earn us little gain (according to you), the fact of the matter is that little gain is still more gain than the no gain earned through pointless roleplay. Ah, but people's reactions are actual facts! They're often the only facts we'll ever get! If we wait around for an investigator to announce the entire scum team, we'll be fried more than that mac n' cheese I burnt yesterday. If you were actually scientific about it, you might realize that what may appear as saying nothing can hold a tiny scrap of evidence necessary for a vote; just take a look of the story of a Werewolf named Zed who was lynched on Day 1 after a tiny slip! It's improbable but entirely possible.

Ensign Samantha York, reporting for duty! As a navigator, I'll do my best to out-manuever the scum and keep our ship in course. No chef on board, eh? Have no fear! I make a darn good instant Mac n' Cheese. Assuming we have a microwave on board, of course. If not, there's always potato chips.

1) I've played in seven, made it to the conclusion four times, and won twice (Hogwarts and The Forest). 2) The absence of matter; the long narrow bar at the bottom of the keyboard; the final frontier; the unknown. 3) An expression equal to 4. (see also: second derivative of 2x^2) Inky

An interesting concept you've come up with! I'm sure anyone who missed the old Spiderman sets and wants a cheaper way to get a hold of them (rather than buying them from Bricklink) will find your work intriguing. I remember owning this set back in the day: despite the fact I had never really seen any Spiderman movies, I enjoyed it regardless. If I recall correctly, the set also included the Spiderman transformation - do you plan on recreating that part too? I'm curious to see what you would come up with! -Inky

I haven't posted here in a while, so I hope I haven't forgotten to record a title in my absence. Regardless, my current title is: A soda can full of BURPs - given to me after I made a similar joke in a Pirates review. Most likely given by Rufus.

Hmmm... I think this contest might lure me back into the forums for a while, since I actually have some time this summer to work on my entry. Count me in!

Thanks for featuring my photos on the blog, TalonCard! Somehow I forgot to upload one of my favorite photos with the rest, so with no further ado, my final Islander picture. Enjoy!

Hello everyone, I was lucky enough to spend my Holiday Break exploring the Big Island of Hawaii, and for fun I brought my Lego Indiana Jones along with me for some photos. The idea of taking pictures of Indy exploring the jungle originated on my trip to Costa Rica (the result of which can be found here) and I thought I'd continue the same project in the beautiful Hawaiian Islands. Posted here are my favorite photos, but please check out the full set here. With no further ado, on to the photos! Enjoy! -Inconspicuous