The world isn't run by weapons anymore, or energy, or money. It's run by little ones and zeroes, little bits of data. It's all just electrons.

So other than some 2x4's and 2x6's I have all the required supplies to start construction. Had a few hours before my shift today, so I used it to be productive and swing by the Rona to grab everything I could possibly need.

Everything I could possibly need turned out to be a few dollars. Hopefully some of the bits and tools that I purchased can be used for future endeavors.

I didn't have enough time today to update my costs spreadsheet or grab the remaining lumber I need for the internal framing. The spreadsheet will get updated this evening and I'll pick up the remaining lumber in the late afternoon tomorrow.

All that will remain is to fire up some power tools and get cutting.

All we know is that there's still no contact with the colony, and that a xenomorph may be involved.

Well I managed to accomplish some big things today, largely with the help of J. We managed to transport my non-existent black melamine (after much searching in the lumber bay).

We also stopped at Home Depot on the way back and grabbed some 5/8" black melamine for the control panel.

'Hey where do you guys have your melamine, I'm grabbing some black 5/8's stuff.'

'Ooohhh black, yah I don't think we have that.'

'I already called ahead, you do. What aisle is your stuff in?'

It's okay, I managed to find the non-existent black 5/8" melamine without his help. Why the resistance to black? They have cherry and walnut, but they think black is odd.

Riiight.




The fourth piece of good (I'm glad I got 4 instead of 3) is messed up on one side with the melamine. I'm sure I'll use that as the back piece to the cabinet and just face it inside.



Major assembly should start this coming Saturday assuming no unforeseen complications.

J is finalizing up the control panel layout, and getting some decent plans for 2x4 frame to support the monitor.

I'm still screwed on artwork, I haven't received positive responses from the limited amount of Rampart owners, and I may be forced to change the artwork theme for the cabinet.

Later. Right now lets play Global Thermonuclear War.

I realized that I probably designed the website for a scope of people who already know what I'm talking about.

For those of you not familiar with how Mame or other emulators work:
What happens is the original circuit board of whatever game you're trying to play, is converted from a physical 'ROM' chip to software. It's a faithful exact reproduction of the original information. Mame then uses this to reproduce the game exactly as if you were playing it in the arcade. My intent is to have a cabinet that will have the controls to play as many of those games as possible.

Some of the most influential games from my youth:

Centipede. I can remember being at Owl's Nest resort in BC every summer and coming out of the lake soaking wet. I'd run into the arcade and blow a few bucks on centipede. (Probably not the safest thing).

Ms Pacman was pretty awesome as well, but I lacked the appropriate skills and usually only made it to the 3rd or 4th screen.

Gauntlet was a game that captured my imagination. One of the first games I heard in the arcade talking, I spent months recreating mazes on paper, and many hundreds of dollars playing it. It was a great cooperative game as well.

Street Fighter 2 CE. What can I say, the game that caused me to blow insane amounts of cash polishing my upper cuts and hadoukens. I can remember catching the bus with J and Coon to ride across the city to the 7-11 which was the only place in the city at the time that had it. Kids were lined out of the arcade every day, all day.

Mortal Kombat 1/2. Finishing moves, blood, gore. It was fantastic.

Saturday Night Slam Masters. This game captured me in university, and it was one of the first games that I truly dominated on. I managed to win a tournament playing it, mostly because of the 360 degree skills I had mastered playing Zangief on Street Fighter. With the character Rasta, I would make short work of my opponents.