I'm BLUE

[Master Bluespike74]

Forgot one of the videos.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz8npV1UlSU" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz8npV1UlSU</a>

[Master Bluespike74]

Ok, Crossing has inspired me to use this area as a journal as well. 

Finally got some positive news.  I have a new job located 15 minutes from my front door.  I have never had a job that did not require me to drive 35+ minutes to work.  I really don't know how to react.  Childcare is gonna be easier and I'll have more time to work at my dojo on my Blackbelt.  The test is set for March of 2013.  I am also using the extra pay that I am receiving to pick up a grab bag saber every couple of months. 

The more consistent schedule also means more time for family and forum. 

Have a wonderful time and happy sabering.

[Wolfknight]

Thats awesome Blue spike! Glad to hear the good news! 

[Solinus]

Blue, first of all, I want you to know how very sorry I am to have read about your troubles over the last couple of months. You are one of the most prominent members here in the Ultra Sabers community, and one of the people I consider to be a friend. I am so very happy to hear of the good news as well, including the job.

What are you doing for work? What do you think so far? Are the people nice?

One last thing: Again, I am so sorry to have had to read about your troubles. Even more so, I'm sorry that I was gone and was not here to lend my support. I watched your videos, and yes, I am still working on my video project. I need to find a way to download the videos to my computer, which I am having a hard time doing.

[Master Bluespike74]

@Wolf:  Thanks
@Solinus:  I know you had things going on too.  Even if the words aren't spoken, I know we got each others backs!  Still working in the Lab.  Like the honesty of administration much better than my last job.  They have been extremely nice.  Plus, they love lightsabers.

[Solinus]

You know it bro!

And the fact that they like lightsabers ... well ... maybe it was meant to be. I don't believe in fate or destiny. It all sounds so dramatic. But the term "meant to be" seems a little easier to grasp. Maybe you were meant to walk the road you did, so that you can end up where you are.  Which is what sounds like a great place to work and talk about lightsabers. Maybe you can bring some of your co-workers to the site and introduce them to this AWESOME community!

[ChaosMidge]

Dear you.

I am incredibly thrilled by the fact that you judged Yu-Gi-Oh competitions. Seriously. I just got back into the game and nobody around where I live (or even at my school) is entertained by the game anymore.
I attended Geek Kon in Madison just a few weeks ago, but missed the tournament that they held. =( Disappointing, but not much you can do about it. However, I did purchase some rather nice cards from a vender that go well with some of my decks.

 Thought I'd let ya know. ^__^
 

 Sincerely,
 Midge

[Master Bluespike74]

@ Midge,

I think that theft and the constant changing of the game rules and the constant reprinting of cards are what caused the problems.  I truly believe that it will never be as great a game as Magic the Gathering is.  It did have potential but now if you cannot shell out $5000 every six months, you cannot stay competitive.  Just 6 years ago, you could have a good time and have a really decent deck for about $250. 

The funny thing is that when you spend $5000 for prizes that amount to $5, you are getting scammed.  The MTG crowds get some really great prizes.

I suggest that you go my route and join the ranks of saber collecting and get some folks to join to create a saber club in your area. 

[ChaosMidge]

Blue: Hey, sabers are a much better investment overall, I believe. I might check around and see if there already is a saber club in Madison. It would be a fun thing to join when I'm not as busy as I am now. =)

[Solinus]

I actually play Magic: The Gathering. It's a great game. You don't need to shell out $250 bucks for a great deck. Now, they release pre-built decks called Event Decks, that you can take into a tournament and be expected to do reasonably well with. The decks are built by the people at Wizards and some of the top players in the world.

Pre-release for Return to Ravnica is coming soon, and I am excited.

[Master Bluespike74]

I agree with you on that Sol.  I really hate that in 2004 I did not agree to be a judge for MTG rather than Yugioh.  Might have actually gotten some stuff during that time that might have encouraged me to play the MTG on a regular basis. 

At one time, I would see the same Yugioh Players for years with the same style decks with just a little added adjustments.  It was about $250 to get started took about $20 a year to keep your deck up to date with the changing lists.  Hard to come by cards were immediately placed on a list where you could only run one per deck keeping the secondary markets in check. 

In 2008 the company that owned the game at the time make a short run booster box called Phantom of Darkness with highly over powered cards and refused to limit them.  Secondary market prices for cards were in the thousands of dollars.  As a result, thefts became common place at events.  I was witness to assaults and personally saw kids getting criminal records for showing up with weapons to the events for either the purposes of stealing or protecting cards.  Fortunately, there was never an incident of shooting.  Only one stabbing across the USA for a 2 year period.

There was a legal battle in 2010 that resulted in the company that printed the comics suing the American company and getting the card game in their control.  There solution was to reprint everything to increase sales and then they changed the rules so that things became so chaotic that people I had known were playing from 2004 decided to drop the game entirely in 2011.  In 2012, I know of 5 guys of 100 that still play the game and only 1 of those 5 guys does so competitively.

My last Judges rule book that was sent to me informed me how to look at the placement of commas in the writing, how to look at the use of the word "and" in the writing to know how to rule.  For the older players, the had to provide pictures of the reprinted cards if they bought their cards prior to 2010.  This was so that judges would know how to rule properly. 

In the initial days, if you came to a tournament with a card printed in another country, you could not play it.  Now you can get a card in any language and use it and if the judge doesn't know the language, you cannot count on the ruling going in your favor.  (It should be noted that I am not trying to Xenophobic.  Cards printed in Japan, Germany, Mexico, and USA do not have the same pictures on a card called "Monster Reborn" so unless you know the art variants by heart, you won't be effective.) 

The only thing a judge could expect was hotel accomodations that did not exceed $100 and you get a single card worth maybe $1.  In the peak of the game, judges received travel allowance of $250, you got a game mat that had "Tournament Judge" written on it, and you received 1/2 booster box of your choice.  Some organizers were nice enough to give the judges a discount on a Secret Rarity card from their shop. 

I know the post was long but just wanted to give an accurate account of why the game was appealing to me at one time and no longer is from a judges standpoint.  I know from a player's standpoint, Magic the Gathering offers tournaments with prizes in the thousands of dollars and players have been around for many many years.

[ChaosMidge]

Holy crap... I've never really been interested in doing it competitively, just sorta playing the game... I had no idea there was such... What's the word... I'm just going to go with complexity, even though that's not the right word, to the game. I was just into the show when I was younger and enjoyed collecting the cards. =/ If I ever decide to get serious about card competitions, I'll check out MTG.

I'M GONNA STICK TO SABERS FOR NOW!!

[Master Bluespike74]

Holy crap... I've never really been interested in doing it competitively, just sorta playing the game... I had no idea there was such... What's the word... I'm just going to go with complexity, even though that's not the right word, to the game. I was just into the show when I was younger and enjoyed collecting the cards. =/ If I ever decide to get serious about card competitions, I'll check out MTG.

I'M GONNA STICK TO SABERS FOR NOW!!

Smartest move you will ever make.

[Master Bluespike74]

Forum Update:

I have settled into my new job.  I have to work every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night 13 hour shifts.  I do not have Internet access so I'll only be on the forums on Mondays through Thursdays.  If you need me for anything, just send a PM.  I read my PM's first so that is the quickest way I will respond. 

[Solinus]

Glad to hear it bud. Was wondering how things were going for you...