Hey peeps!

        I was wondering if anyone was able to pre-order the recently solicited Hot Toys Iron Man Mark VII battle damaged version. I must have blinked and it was sold out. Im looking to secure one so, if anyone has an extra on pre-order that they would consider selling or trading for original art, please drop me a line!

Thanks!

~T~

Hey peeps!

For all of you Chris Stevens fans out there, head on over to my CAF page to check out the new batch of paintings we have for sale. These things move fast so get em' while the gettins' good. You can e-mail me at tdog10000@aol.com with orders or any questions.

[link]

Best!

~T~

Just trying to figure out how to nominate a Daily Deviation.

Thanks!

-T-

Hey peeps!

         One of my numerous addictions is art books. I buy everything I can get my hands on. Once in a while something really exceptional comes along and I just had to sing its praises. Last year Dave and Greg over at Creature Box started at Kickstarter project for their art book, "CreatureBox: The Monster Volume". To say they were successful in their endeavor would be putting it mildly. I just got my book in the mail yesterday and havent been able to put it down. Its just pure fun. Even the packaging is well-thought-out, a part of the overall experience. Im not sure how many of these are still available but I put my personal resounding stamp of approval on this awesome book! Go getcha' one!

     Thanks to Dave and Greg for a great product and also for my little extra "something special"! Cant wait for the next project!

~TiM~

Hey peeps~

       It appears that my Facebook account was hijacked yesterday. Somehow someone got a hold of a password and wreaked havoc on some of my accounts. I seem to have things locked down but my Facebook account was totally taken over. The criminal not only changed my user name and password but also the e-mail address associated with the account. This means that most of the check and balances they have in place there are useless because, if I attempt to change the password, it will be sent to the criminals account! Seems like a small hole in the security system. Anyway, I was finally able to lock down the account ("temporarily" was the term they used) and work my way to a page that asked me to scan and send my photo ID so that they could review it and confirm it was me. Thats the last thing I heard.

      My question is whether any of you have dealt with something like this. Do you have any experience with how FB works in these matters? Im wondering if Ill have to wait hours, days, weeks, etc. Hell, Im wondering if theyll even bother to follow up. Its a pretty helpless feeling and, naturally, the fine folks at Facebook make it all but impossible to communicate directly with a human being.

    Any and all input is welcome.

Thanks!

~T~

Hey peeps!

          I just wanted to give a shout out to one of our own, Wayne Chin , and thank him for his help with solving some lingering issues with my MAC. Wayne is a friggin' genius and can work remotely. I have yet to have an issue he hasn't been able to solve. If you're ever in a bind, here's his contact information:

Wayne Chin
Certified Macintosh Specialist
------------------------
Dr. Mac Complete Computer Services
for the Greater Vancouver Area
------------------------
[link]
wayne@drmac.ca
------------------------
778-233-1815

          He comes with my stamp of approval!

~T~

Another birthday and, once again, I find myself overwhelmed and humbled by all the well-wishes. Im so thankful for all my friends and fans. You honor me. Thanks to each and every one of you for taking the time to think of me today. Much love to all!

Hey peeps!

           If you haven't already heard about it, you might want to check out the new book called POSTER ART of the DISNEY parks. If youre a fan of design, classic retro graphics, Disney, or just plain awesome art, you'll want to check this out. I know Stuart Ng is selling them. Not sure if he's sold out yet. Best darn book I've come across in a while!

Peace!

~T~

Hey peeps!

        I'm guessing that most of you here are already well aware of  phenom and fan-fave', Chris Stevens . For those of you who aren't, be sure to stop by his page for a treat.

        Im happy to announce that, as of now, Ill be helping Chris with the sales of his artwork. No, I am NOT becoming an art dealer (not that theres anything wrong with that 8), just helping a good friend by doing something I already enjoy.

          With that said, feel free to stop by my gallery room on my CAF page for scans and details. Everything is priced to move. Along with some gorgeous published Marvel covers, theres a couple of really cool oil paintings as well. Check it out!

         [link]

  Thanks and best!

~T~

I just thought I'd follow up on my previous two journal entries and let everyone know that I finally decided on and ordered a camera. I opted for the Nikon D5100! Some of the other bridge cameras that I was considering, while technically what I needed right now, didn't have enough room for growth for the long term. I felt the Nikon D5100 was a good balance of entry level ease-of-use and long term room for more advanced photography. I'm really excited about my new purchase and can't wait to give it a test drive.

Once again, I want to thank each and every one of you who took the time to help me out. I've learned a LOT!

Best!

-T-

First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who took the time to help me out with this. As I suspected, there was a ton of great advice. I spent a lot of time yesterday pondering your input and researching your suggestions.

There are a couple of very tempting higher end cameras but, after reading up on them, there seems to be a significant learning curve as well as amazing features that might be lost on me in terms of my limited needs. I'm a bit hesitant to buy a Ferrarri just to drive to the grocery store.

One camera in particular that has caught my eye is the Fujifilm hs30 exr FinPix. It's a bridge camera and seems to have a lot of great features and quality for the price. My only two concerns are its ability to handle low-light situations and it's ability to capture action shots. I realize it's not the best at either of these, hence the price, but wanted to know if it's still good enough at both for an amateur like me. I don't mind buying something that's not necessarily cutting edge technology but I also don't want to get something that's on the verge of being obsolete. If any of you have experience with this camera I'd love to hear the pros' and cons'.

As always, so much for taking the time to help!

-T-

Hey peeps!

I know there are a ton of highly talented photographers here in our community so I wanted to avail myself of the resource and seek some advice on getting a new camera. Basically, I'm looking for something relatively high end (but not crazy) that easy to use, intuitive for a beginner. I'd like it to be good for point-and-click, high speed, able to capture motion really well, works well in low light as well as normal settings, and can shoot in black and white as well as color. It doesn't have to be compact. Larger cameras with zoom lenses are fine. In essence, I just want the best camera I can get for ease of use and versatility for at or under around

I appreciate any and all input!

Thanks!

-T-

Hey peeps!

        Every now and then one stumbles on a high quality small business that exceeds expectations. I believe strongly in rewarding businesses like this by word-of-mouth and shouting my endorsements from the roof-tops (so I hang out on roof-tops a lot....what of it?).

       Ive got a lot of collectibles and some of them require higher end accommodations other than just shelf space. I recently stumbled on a great company on line called SPECIALTY PLASTICS. They specialize in acrylic display cases of all types. Whats great is that they have a customize feature that allows you to create the dimensions of the display you require. It will give you the cost on the web site but, for custom orders, you have to e-mail them directly to place the order.

      The prices are competitive and the turn-around from order to doorstep is about a week (at least mine was)! Cant beat that.

      Anyhoo', Ill be using them often and wanted to share my enthusiasm with you collectors out there. You can find them at:
[link]
      And, in case youre wondering, I dont know them and have no affiliation with them whatsoever. This is just a good old fashion endorsement.

Best!

~T~

Hey peeps!

     If youre looking for a top notch affordable sketch, head on over and check out my good buddy, John Beatty's , latest journal entry:

[link]

I own some of John's sketches so I can vouch for the quality. He does NOT disappoint!

Best!

~T~

So I just got back from Heroes Con and am finally recovered from 4 nights of mayhem and madness. Im getting too old to be staying up drinking until 5 am. I had an amazing time as always. Many of my best buds were, a family reunion of sorts. It always re-energizes me to see them. They know who they are.

Just prior to the show, my 6 year old son, Laine, mentioned to me that he wanted to start his own original art sketchbook, something he could take around to artists at shows and get sketches......"like daddy does". Imagine my surprise and utter joy at the idea! Anyone who knows me knows my passion for original art. Ive already been aware of my sons interest and notable artistic ability but I wasnt sure if he got the concept of what it was I was doing in terms of collecting originals.

Seeing as how Laine has an obsession with Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean, doing a Capt Jack themed sketchbook seemed like a no-brainer. Its also a fun idea, not your typical Batman/Wolverine, that so many of us get asked to do. Its something a lot of artists can really have fun with. So I got him a book and off to the show we went. I managed to help him get on about 5 sketch lists at the show but only one person was able to come through (the book was tied up most of the weekend with someone who wasnt able to get to it. It happens.) , Andrew Robinson . Andrew absolutely knocked our socks off with what he did. I cant think of a better piece to start out his book with! And Andrew also happens to be one of my dearest friends. I really like the idea of starting out my sons books with contributions from some of my closest buddies. Anyway, the attached photo is Laine seconds after he saw his drawing. The look on his face says it all.

Thank you, Andrew, for making my sons day and my weekend. He'll always remember this as his first!

~T~

Hey peeps! My buddy, Wayne Chin is looking to take on some commission work so I thought Id post a link to his latest journal entry with the details. Also, if you have any MAC computer needs, he's the man!

[link]

Best!

~T~

Hey peeps!

         So I recently did something stupid. I decided to fiddle around with MINECRAFT just for shits and giggles. Any of you who play know how addictive it is. Now I know as well. What Im wondering is if theres some sort of guide book I can buy IN BOOK FORM. All of the books Ive found on Amazon are KINDLE downloads. I havent been able to find a single paper book and Id really like to buy one.

        Im wide open to any and all suggestions. Im a total noob' but Im totally hooked!

Thanks!

~T~

I just wanted to thank everyone who responded to my last journal entry about the e-mail issues I was having on my MAC. As it turns out, it wasn't any of the suggested issues. After spending a good amount of time with me over the course of the last two days, our very own was able to find the solution in the form of two little corrupted PFiles in my Mail program. Not sure what caused it but, once discovered, it was an instant fix.

My hat goes off to my good buddy, Wayne and to all the rest of you who took the time to try and help!

~T~

Hey peeps! I'm currently having some e-mail issues and I'm hoping there's someone out there who might be able to help me. I'm on a MAC and I use AOL as my e-mail carrier. I know, I know. I'm not looking for 20 comments about how bad AOL sucks. I know this. It's been my e-mail address for almost 20 years and I just don't want to have to go through the hassle of changing it and all of the headaches revolving around updating my contact info' with a gazillion people and accounts.

With that said, here's the issue. I'm having trouble sending and receiving e-mails on my home MAC only. The e-mails are sending but its taking forever. Furthermore, I'm not receiving e-mails in my in box. I am getting everything just fine on my IPAD and IPhone. The issue is with my home MAC only. I keep getting a notification that states:

<Mail has undone actions on some messages so that you can redo the actions while online. Mail has saved other messages in mailbox "On My Mac" in "On My Mac" so that you can complete the actions while online.

Additional information: The connection to the server "imap.aol.com" on port 993 timed out.>

I've checked my settings and everything seems to be in order. Nothing has changed at all. I can't figure out why things have suddenly changed while my settings are exactly the same. I have no idea why the connection is timing out. Ive rebooted my wireless router in the house, rebooted the computer multiple times. Im at a loss. I checked on line and found reference to this same issue but no answers.

Id be eternally grateful for any help!

Thanks and best!

~T~

Hey peeps!

       So Im looking to get a really nice, high end lamp for my drafting table. I dont have a problem paying a little more for something high quality and aesthetically pleasing. It needs to clamp to my desk and I REALLY want to find one that holds its positioning. I work at a steep angle and those typical spring mechanisms just suck. Feel free to throw me any and all recommendations. THANKS!!

~T~