Vanyel Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 Like the title says, I figured I've been lurking around here long enough and I should at least say hi. As a bit of insight into my personality, I'm a lazy, asthmatic, gamer with a fairly low heat tolerance level (I also tend to be fairly sarcastic for which I apologize in advance). So, of course, I thought that blacksmithing would be a fun hobby to pick up. I have read the "read this first" page and want to thank JHCC for writing it up and also a big thanks to Glenn for hosting this amazing community! Edit: I'll try not be too annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 Yes, welcome and thank you, if you have read some, I'm sure you have seen my posts advising new folks to read that thread and why. Some folks even think that's my job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 I could tell he was a troublemaker what with reading "READ THIS FIRST" first! Afore you know it he will be suggesting wearing proper PPE and *NOT* grabbing the hot end of the workpiece! Harumph! (Welcome Vanyel; am I using the right pronoun?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 Heck, I thought I was the only trouble maker...............or at least that's what the Mod's have me thinkin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 Chris; some of us have been moderated more than a decade before you joined! (Nice to have a stalking horse though...) So Vanyel, you read a lot of ML books? Or did your parents...What kind of smithing are you interested in, what smithing have you done? Sarcastic? Anybody warned you that Friday is acoming! (Seems like our skewing of threads and flights of fancy light off the afterburner on Fridays...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 I have received my share of don't do that too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanyel Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 Thanks for the welcome folks! Thomas my real name is Kelly, but I've been going by Vanyel online for at least a decade now. He's the type of character I usually try to play in RPGs and the name is rarely taken. As for the type of smithing I'm wanting to do, eventually I'd like to try knives (of course), but right now I've mostly just messed around with whatever small things that catch my attention. I've made a couple j-hooks, a towel bar, a couple fireplace pokers, and a flower for Mother's day. I also welded up a stack of quarters for mokume gane but I still need to flatten it out to see the pattern. I'm hoping to avoid the notice of the mods, but I'm sure I'll have an intracranial flatus at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 If it matters, its too late, I noticed you already, welcome to the forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 41 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: ML books I have to ask what are they? The only thing Google says is Machine Learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 Funny came right up when I searched on Vanyel ML books just now. Mercedes Lackey a prolific Fantasy author. One of my Daughters was a big fan of her work and so I've read a lot of it so we could discuss them...I generally read the books I'm sending to the grandkids now as well. With no TV it seems I get through a lot more books! So Kelly; still the correct pronoun? I hate to assume as I know a bunch of extremely talented smiths with no Y chromosome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 Oh, I didn't include Vanyel in my search parameter, my bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanyel Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 Yep, that's the right pronoun. I've read most of the Valdemar books (currently going back through the Owl Knight trilogy), along with a bunch of other fantasy/sci-fi authors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 Welcome aboard Vanyel, glad to have you. You have a penchant for satirical punishment, a player I hope? so long as we keep it clean and unmean we can USUALLY stay off the moderated list. We all get warnings when we slip. Get used to talking with Steve if you're a careless sort. He's direct not mean. What do you have for kit? I don't know how well asthma and a propane forge get along though but give me a shout if you're okay with it. Be aware they just plain CRANK our IR radiation when you open the door. I'm more a military sci fi guy but have recently taken a real liking to Larry Correia's various monster series, "Monster Hunter International" and "Hard Magic" to start though not really my genre he has an entertaining prose and they're excellent recorded books. John Ringo is another favorite author my favorite series is whatever I'm reading when asked. I think "Into The Looking Glass" might be tops but "Dark Tide Rising" is hard to beat. Of course if you're a powered combat suit fan there's the "Aldenata" series. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanyel Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 My current kit is a single burner Hell's Forge (sorry for the profanity, but it's the brand name) set up on an old anesthesia cart, a cast iron aso on a stump, 1 pair of wolf jaw tongs, and several hammers. I've also got a 4.5 inch angle grinder, a bench top drill press, and a tiny 330×10mm belt grinder. John Ringo is pretty good, The Last Centurion is a very fitting read right now. I haven't read the Dark Tide books, I figure if I want zombies I'll play any number of games that let me kill them myself. David Weber has several good series although he tends to get bogged down in the more depressing moments. Patricia Briggs is good if you like werewolves. Several of the Mechwarrior books are on my semi-yearly rereading list. I don't really have a "favorite" series I mostly just stare at the bookshelves until something catches my attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 I don't like zombies but picked up Dark tide because it was a Ringo book and I didn't read about it. Turned out I liked it. Still don't like zombie stories, shows, etc. I like RPGs but they're no replacement for a good story. Dave Weber is a favorite but if he runs out of material he waxes political and kills the enjoyment. I had to stop reading in the Honorverse and haven't really watched for anything new for a while now. Made me sad. I haven't been able to get into any of the Mechwarrior books I've cracked. If I don't finish a book it and the author tends to be off my radar. Seeing as I had the same reaction to 3 mechwarrior books the genre doesn't hold much attraction. I have a son in law who often ships me a box of books. He has a lot of author friends and bounces them off me. I feel safe in saying most are pretty sad attempts at sci fi because none of my writing is worth publication. I'm B A D at some of the important aspects of a good story but I recognize I'm bad at it so I don't do something really embarrassing like self publish and give everybody I know a copy. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanyel Posted May 28, 2020 Author Share Posted May 28, 2020 I have an aunt that self publishes horrible romances. If she hadn't disowned the rest of the family for an imagined slight it probably would have happened if she ever heard the opinions of anyone who read the things. Weber's Armageddon Reef series is pretty good though it does have a bigger focus on the politics than I would prefer. The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher are a good take on magic in modern day Chicago (don't bother with the shortlived TV adaptation, they changed just about everything but the name). I mostly was bored by the Mech books as well but Ghost of Winter, Initiation to War, By Blood Betrayed, and Roar of Honor managed to keep my attention. Probably because they're all about characters learning to work together and beat overwhelming odds with the mech combat just sort of being there. They also don't need any knowledge of the games to get into. If you do want to try them again, go with By Blood Betrayed by Blaine Lee Pardoe and Mel Odom. It's the best of the lot and is more of a mystery/thriller story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 I used to be a big "Post Apocalypse" reader; but after being diagnosed with Diabetes it lost something---perhaps it was all the diabetics dying off in the first couple of months interfered with the "What would I do in that situation?" musings. I have the same problems with "medieval themed" books as my research in how the European Middle Ages actually were made a lot of them ridiculous. Guard at Gate: "who are you and what is your business?" "I'm Grab the thief!" "Hang him." Book over. I was actually recently consulting with a person who was writing a story about a Lady riding around Europe in Viking/Carolingian times by herself, doing nefarious deeds in fairly small towns: How large is your entourage? (None.) Who's taking care of the horse? (Stabled at an Inn)---Had to point out that the inn with stables wasn't around in the dark ages in northern/western Europe. How are you sneaking around towns when everyone in there recognizes that you are an outsider? Kids are following you around...etc and so on. I suggested a lot more research on the times; another person suggested to make it a fantasy book...Turns out some of the respected authors of such books have degrees in medieval studies... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 Some authors require a greater suspension of belief to read. The fate of diabetics is covered in "Footfall or Mote"? as a choice in priorities. The fellow currently DMing out RPG sessions holds a masters in history and it's based in the 5th century British Isles a while after Rome abandoned it. Using a torch? What are you using as fuel to make it work? Oil. What kind, nope, food is too hard to come by to waste on a torch. Grease? See previous, fat is food, you're hungry. Pitch? That works but this is mostly diciduous forest, it'll take you (roll dice) days to collect enough for x torches. Rope? Rope is expensive. Etc. etc. Playing with him is really educational and guys wandering around a village carrying weapons wearing armor are almost certain to be visited by an overwhelming force of the local noble's guard. I don't care what an author does to reality so long as they follow those rules consistently. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 I don't care much what an author does to *their* reality; but I do care if they try to change how things used to work in "our" reality. The earliest mention of the Diabetic die-off after refrigeration fails that I recall was in "Alas Babylon" by Pat Frank written before 1960! (Pre Nuclear Winter.) And I think you meant "Lucifer's Hammer"; the diabetic was the fellow with all the rebuild civilization books hidden in a disused septic tank. It also had a great quote something about 'Never get a scholar angry with you for to him the fall of empires is merely a turn of the page'...I believe it's on page 529; but google won't give that to me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 It's been a long time since I read "Alas Babylon" and I don't recall mention of Diabetic die off in particular but he did cover the loss of medicine killing off droves. Now I'm going to have to pull it up on my Kindle. "Yes, "Lucifer's Hammer," Mote was entirely different story. I figured Larry and David had too many ideas, subplots, notes and such to edit out so they wrote "Footfall." They kind of fell into a pattern for a while there. Makes me wonder who "Harry Redington" is, the character is almost unaltered between the novels. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welshj Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 20 hours ago, Vanyel said: I'm hoping to avoid the notice of the mods, but I'm sure I'll have an intracranial flatus at some point. Second post in... and you fit "intracranial flatus" into a conversation?? You sure wont fit in around here... Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 Frosty, in "Alas Babylon", the protagonist's girlfriend's Mother was diabetic and dies after insulin is no longer any good. They bury her outside her totally inappropriate house and her husband and Daughter move into the protagonist's old house. The book is one of my old favorites as nobody in it are heroes with thews of ferrous steel and a background of OSS work. They are just regular people trying to do the best they can in the situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 I'm definitely going to have to read it again Thomas. I didn't used to forget that kind of detail. Darn brain must be getting full. Vanyel: Mental flatus is just fine as long as it stays intracranial, it's the extracerebral bolus that'll get ya. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 "Don't knock on wood!" It's funny but after my concussions it's easier to remember that stuff than what I was wanting to do tomorrow...my notebook is becoming my constant sidekick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 Yeah, I put shoes and socks on 2 hrs ago and keep forgetting to go get in the car. Heh, heh, heh, Got up and went to the store but forgot to send the post. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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