Where have you been?

I know, it's been almost six months since I have posted anything here.
What I want to do is to switch everything over to the forum's blog at http://modelcarsmag.com/forums/.
It's too hard to try to do two blogs, nonetheless one, even though I don't do that one well at all.

New Forum Software

Well, I spent the better part of an all-nighter setting up the new forum software.
The directory has changed for the location of it: it was modelcarsmag.com/forum
Now it is modelcarsmag.com/forums, with the s at the end
All of the posts, topics, and threads were converted over.
The only thing that wasn't were the avatars.
The new forum has an online calendar, individual blogs, and photo galleries for each user.
I think this software will be fantastic!
It just needs a little more tweaking to make it perfect.
Check it out and let me know what you think.

Gregg

What's the excuse now?

I know, it's been what, two months since I put anything up.
Give me a break.
NOT!
No excuses, just plain lazy, busy, forgot, tired, sore, wait, those are excuses.
Anyway, got back from a two week stint on the mainland.
Did GSL first week of May, that was a blast.
I put pics up on the site: GSL XXI Pics
That was May 6 weekend.
The following weekend, I flew out to Philly to go to the Mid-Atlantic NNL, which was a blast.
Here are the pics from the MAMA show: Mid-Atlantic NNL 2007 Pics
I showed up without telling anyone, except Ariel Hernandez who picked me up and let me crash at his house.
Just seeing the look on everyone's face was well worth the $41 bucks I spent to get there. Well, it was only from Portland to Philly, not Hawaii :-)
What?
$41 bucks to fly roundtrip to Philly?
Yes boys and girls, it's called COUPONS!!!!!!
Jairus and I got bumped last year when we went down to Puerto Rico and this was the perfect time to use mine.
The MAMA show was really good
Last time I was there was way back in `98 or so.
I actually drove to that one, from Phoenix!
That was nuts, but then, oh you know......
We had some great responses from our April issue, you know, the April Fools issue
Hope I didn't get anyone too mad at the gags in there.

Well, that's all for now.
Back to work.....

April 1

April 1, the first of April, the fool's day…need I say more? Yes, there are some things in our April issue that are gags—we have a reputation to uphold, or ruin, after all. Needless to say, I hope you have a few good laughs at some of our gags, and don’t get too mad at me when you call or write to get more information, only to receive the dreaded “What number are you trying to reach?” One of my fondest memories was after the Chrome Resin gag back in 2000 or so. I got a call from a professor down in Colorado Springs that wanted to get ahold of the company that made the Chrome Resin so he could use it in his classes at the university. He was not happy when I had to explain to him a few times that it was the April issue, April, April 1, get it? We might have lost a subscriber or reader on that one. But it was a good trick, right? Now, can we top that? I hope so!

That's an exert from the Editor's Corner for the April issue.
It shoudl be mailed already, and I hope you guys enjoy the issue, and the gags in it.
If not, well, you have my home address and phone number....

I just got back from the NNL East.
That was a blast.
I can't say thank you enough to Ariel Hernandez for being such a great friend and host over the weekend. I flew into Philly and he picked me up, giving me the local tour of Philly, treating me to some great Philly cheese steak sandwiches, parking Philly-style. That took some getting used to, I tell you what!
It was a blast though. Ariel took me to the Philly Musuem and I got to see no less than seven Picasso's, eight Monet's, and van Gogh, a few from Degas, a few from Renoir, talk about chickenskin. I have only read or seen in books these paintings, and to see them in person, wow, what an experience. If you ever get the chance to be near a museum in a big city, please, take the time to go in. It's worth the 25 bucks or so it costs. These memories will last a lifetime. Seriously, I never thought I would see in person, let alone be three inches away from some of the work of these artists. Ariel, I owe you big time for this one.

The NNL East has to be one of the best shows in the country to go to. Not only is the amount of models there mind-blowing, but the way that the show is run is like a well-oiled machine, just grinding away, getting everything done on time, with no confusion, and such a sense of management that is second to none. The Tri-State club does a great job, and my hat, or lack thereof, goes off to Tom Geiger, Ken Wakley, and the Tri-State club who spent hours, days, weeks, and months of preparation to get this show on.

There is talks ongoing about moving the show to a bigger location, and we hope that we will have some news on this soon.

Well, that's all for today
Sorry it's been a while, I'll get my okole in gear and start writing more.

Gregg

Contest Issue

The contest issue is on the press.
Sorry it was so late.
I had hoped to have it out by the first of February
It is a double issue, so that should give me a little leeway in getting caught up.
I could give you a ton of excuses of why the mag is not on time, but there is no excuse.
I'm doing the best I can, right now.
Yes, I'm having problems, but I don't want to P & M about what's going on.
If you know what I have been through, then you probably have some idea of what's going on.
So, this issue, the contest issue, is full of over 300 models, all big pictures, from shows across the country
I have made so many new friends at these shows, it is one of the fringe benefits of doing the mag.
I have also found so many talented builders, and I have features planned on many modelers for the upcoming issues.
Well, that's all for tonight.
Friday, the start of the weekend, but then, everday is a weekend for me, right?
Take care, guys, and gals.

NNL West 2007

Just got back from the NNL West in California.
I left Hawaii at 11:00 p.m. on Friday night, got in to SFO at 6:00 a.m.
Got rental car, drove straight to the show, and got everything set up.
I have to thank Steve Hinson who helped me out so much with this show.
He is a great guy, and without his help I would have been out of luck.
The show was nothing short of fantastic. Over 1100 models!!!!!!
Anthony Rios took home top honors with his incredible Scar Face 1/16 Chevy Convertible.
For a lot of my pics, check out this link: NNL West
It was a great show, and I'm so glad I went (It's been over six years since the last time)

Thursday 2-1-07

It's February 1, the contest issue is our double month issue, February-March.
It's loaded with shows from across the country, and the best one I've done yet, IMHO.
I'm having some font issues, so I hope to get that fixed before it messes up things.
The FTP site for our writers is up and running, email me for the link if anyone wants to send in files over the Internet.
Our forum is having some problems also, may have to look into another forum program.
Have to learn MySQL and PHP one of these days
That's all for now!