Moving to Getting-Handsy.com

Hello Everyone!

I have created a new official website, Getting-Handsy.com.  

I have moved everything over to this new site, and will plan on only updating that.  So head over there and check it out!

Thanks!!!!

- Zach

Drones/UAVs and Exemption 333

Drones/UAVs

Recently our insurance agency has jumped feet first into the Drone/UAV insurance market.  It's new and exciting, and from the sounds of things, only going to get bigger in the near future!

(I've heard that the estimate for drones being sold during Christmas will be over 1 million...)

We decided that since we were insuring these UAVs, that we should at least have one.

First we looked at building our own.  There are tons of parts and kits out there, so we went looking for a professional who might be able to tell us more about it.  We ended up at a local hobby store, Hobby Haven.  They gave us tons of options if we just wanted to buy the parts, but also said if we were looking to just get into drone flying, that it might be easier and cheaper to buy a pre-assembled beginner-type drone.

Then they asked an important question, "what do you want to do with the drone?"

We hadn't really thought about it.  We just wanted one to say we had one.  Were we just going to fly it in our back yard for fun?  Did we want to First Person View race (google/youtube it, you won't be disappointed)?  Or did we want to take pictures and videos?  Those are the main 3 things we had considered, and each requires a different type of drone.

We decided that we would start with a picture/video drone and go from there.  We picked up a Yuneec Typhoon Q500 4K.

My father and I with the new Typhoon

Quick first flight of our Typhoon

The Typhoon is on the pricier side, running about $1300 or so, but that's because it comes with a number of safety features (button to return it "home", smart/follow mode, etc) and a camera that can take professional pictures and video.  Our thought was that if we wanted to get into the commercial side of drone use, then we needed a drone that was capable of fulfilling those requirements, and the Typhoon met them.  

Which leads us to...

Commercial Use and Exemption 333

The FAA is the Federal Aviation Administration.  They are the governmental agency that regulates and oversees our (the U.S.A.'s) skies.  Because Drones/UAVs fly in the sky, they have to be regulated by the FAA, and for the last number of years the FAA has been trying to come up with rules for UAVs.  Technically UAVs fall under the hobby, model aircraft rules that are already on the books, but since UAVs are a hot topic, it seems like the FAA has decided to make new rules specifically for these.

There seems to be a lot of confusion, frustration, anger, etc when talking about the FAA's proposed (or lack there of) rules for UAVs.  I'm not going to get into that, but what I will say is that currently in order to do commercial operations (such as photography with the intent to sell photos) "legally" with a drone, you must use the Commercial rules for regular Aircraft.  

This leads to some problems because, if you didn't know, drones are NOT large manned aircraft.  Most drones are no where near the size of regular aircraft; they don't run on the same fuel; they don't require a pilot riding in the drone...and the differences continue from there.  Because of these differences, if a person/company wants to use a drone for commercial operations, they must file for an Exemption to the Aircraft rules (commonly known as Exemption 333).  

Our Experience

Once we acquired our drone, we decided we might as well go through this Exemption process, as many of our clients have.  That way we would know what they went through, and if we so chose, we could use our drone commercially as well.  I took an afternoon at work to try and figure out what we needed to do to file our exemption.  After about 3 or 4 hours of research, I had written our company name and address....that is all I could figure out.  It is a complicated process, and completely based on regular Aviation/Aircraft.  

We ended up sending our information to a lawyer that my father had done a UAV Podcast with,  Enrico Schaefer, of Dronelaw.pro, who specializes in the Exemption 333 process.  They asked us some questions, and then put together the whole thing.  Currently, our exemption is awaiting approval, which they say can take anywhere from 60 - 180 days to just acknowledge, let alone approve (or something like).

Again, it's a long complicated process and it helped having someone who specializes in providing the information the FAA is looking for.

My Biggest Complaint

The main complaint I have with the current rules for commercial UAV operations is that you must have a pilot's license.  This affects me personally, which is probably why it's the biggest problem I have with it.  

I don't have a pilot's license.  I have never wanted to fly regular aircraft.  It's not my thing...but drones look fun, and they are much cheaper to own than an actual aircraft.  Also, with my years of experience playing video games, I felt like I wouldn't have a problem flying them...and I haven't.  I'm not saying I'm a professional UAV pilot by any means, but I flew it for 15 mins for the first flight, and didn't crash....didn't have any close calls...nothing.  It was super simple.  In the 2-3 weeks we've owned it, I've flown about 45 mins (not a whole lot, ya, but the batteries only last 15 mins).  All the flights we have made so far have been with high winds, and we haven't had any problems at all.

My point is, why do you need Private Pilot experience to fly a UAV?  It doesn't make sense.  The only crossover, that I can find, is not based on skill, but based on rules.  If you are a Private Pilot, you should know the rules of the US Airspace.  That is something I don't know, but could easily google if I needed to.  But besides that, any kid who plays Mario Cart, or a First Person Shooter can fly one of these drones.  The requirement is a big joke...but anyway...

In Conclusion

So long story short: drones are fun, working with the FAA is not fun.

If you have a chance to fly a drone, do it.  It's been a fun experience, and I am actually looking forward to getting a second Drone for racing (First Person View is neat!).

This isn't technically FPV, but as close as I can get currently

- Zach

2D Animation and Roleplaying games

So it's been awhile....longer than I had planned... but I swear I have been doing some productive stuff!  Well somewhat productive...

First off, I have been dabbling in the art of 2D animation.  I figured out that Photoshop includes an animation feature!  I have no idea how to use it, but I'm working at it!  I made a couple of "quick" videos.  Here is a guy waving...this is the first one I did, so it is super terrible...

The next one is a box with a secret in it:

My plan is to continue making little animation and hopefully get a bit more detail in them.  As I said before, these are pretty rough and terrible.

The next thing that has happened recently is a group of my friends and I have started playing a Roleplaying game called Deadlands.  It is an old west, steam punk type of setting, and it should be pretty fun.  We're meeting every other week or so and my plan is to animate our sessions.  Should lead to some fun and interesting stories.

I haven't had a chance to get through the whole session yet, but I was able to get a little "intro" video put together.  It's mostly about the setting and area we are starting in.  It's a little slow, but once we get into the actual playing of the game, it gets pretty good (I know...because it was fun to play).

Welp that does it for this addition of.....whatever this is....so keep an eye out for more bad ass animations :-D

- Zach

Popsicle sticks and car shows

For the last 2 weekends I have had to go to car shows for work...

Now first off, I'm not real big into cars, let alone old cars...ya sure, I deal with them a lot because we insure collector cars at work (the reason for working the car show), but they aren't like a passion of mine.

Secondly, I'm not really big on crowds of people, or talking to strangers in general.  I can, it's just not my preferred method of communication.  I would much rather sit at the office and answer emails.

Third, it's hot, and I hate sweating in public...well all the time.  I'm a bit self conscious, so it just doesn't help my overall anxiety of being around people I don't know, then add on feeling gross.

But anyway, so I've had to go to these car shows recently and it's screwed up my weekend schedule, and I'm sad.  I haven't really had any time to do any drawing or nerdy stuff lately.  I'm falling behind in my imaginary schedule of completing my comic, and/or doing anything else productive that could lead to some sort of career doing my hobbies.

However, I did get a quick video put together on making Popsicle stick fences, so that is pretty cool.  They are just simple little fence sections that can be used as fences in tabletop games.  It's not a very long video, and they are really easy to make, so check it out:

Well that's all I have for the moment, but as my schedule starts to get back to normal, I will hopefully have more stuff to show.

Until then,

- Zach

Motivation and Distractions

I have a hard time getting anything productive done at home....

With netflix, video games, friends, cats, internet, etc etc, there's just so much I can do besides doing work, art, or anything even somewhat productive.  I'm trying harder to prioritize, but after working 8-10 hours at my day job, it's hard to motivate myself to then go draw and do more "work"...which is actually weird/stupid to say because it's not like I'm being paid for my arts and crafts, so it's actually not work, it's a hobby.

The idea is that I would eventually be paid to do art because it is something I enjoy doing, but at this time it feels like a chore.  I know if I want to get anywhere that I need to continue to work at it and continue to grow as an artist.  And that probably means I'll need to sacrifice some of the gaming and friend time in order to pursue this potential opportunity....I just have to do it now.

I have been having some success with being more productive by changing the scenery and getting away from my house.  I have been going out on the weekends and hanging out at Panera, or this new cafe called Main Street Cafe.  Both are about the same style, lots of tables, no servers, just pick up your food at the counter and go do your thing.  It is pretty perfect for me.  I just sit around with my headphones in and draw.  I have gotten a decent amount accomplished lately while doing this.

It also has the added bonus of people randomly coming up to you and talking to you about what you are doing...which is kind of nice.  It might bug some people, but I don't mind.  In my head a lot of my work is sub par.  I have a hard time telling how good my art is because I see stuff online, and just wish I could be as great as some of the artists that I follow, but I forget that I actually am at least mildly competent in the area of art.  I did go to school for it, so I should know something about it, right?

Anyway, it puts in in perspective for me.  Example, I was sitting working on a comic page the other day, and I just didn't think it looked right.  It wasn't perfect...maybe you get that feeling, too.  While I was sitting there, sulking in my own imperfection, an employee walked up and said, "Wow, that's really good.  Are you a professional?".....It sort of took me by surprise because what I saw was a mess of errors and disproportionate figures, but she saw something that was good enough to be done by a professional artist.

I guess my point is, there is always going to be someone better than me.  They have more experience, more training, more drive to accomplish, but on the other hand, there's also someone "worse" than me: the people that haven't even started.  So I guess as long as I am moving forward with my art, then I am doing well!

Welp, to conclude, I was able to get a little actual drawing done.  I penciled and inked the first page to another story (I'm kind of all over trying to figure out what I want to move forward with).

I'm going to overwrite the text digitally later, but at least it's a start on a new idea.

- Zach

Deadzone: Marauders

My new Deadzone faction video is up for the Mighty Space Ork Marauders....or just Marauders as they call them.  The video shows all of the models I received in my Deadzone kickstarter box for the Marauders.  Check it out!

Don't forget to checkout the other videos I have done for the other factions of Deadzone.  The only one we have left is the Enforcers, and they are pretty badass looking.  Keep an eye out for the next video.

Thanks!!

- Zach

Heroes of the Storm

Hello again!

So lately my friends and I have been playing Heroes of the Storm (HotS), a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) from Blizzard, the company who created Diablo, Starcraft and Warcraft.

Synopsis

It basically takes characters from each of their universes and puts them together so you fight can on teams of 5 to try and destroy the other team's base.  That is pretty much the standard MOBA style, 2 teams fighting to destroy the other team, but after that is where HotS sort of expands and becomes unique.

Maps

Typically most MOBAs I have played have 1, maybe 2, different maps.  And the main differences between the maps are typically aesthetic differences.  I will agree that League of Legends has a second map that actually changes gameplay, the capture and defend tower one.....I can't remember the name of it at this time.  Smite also has the Arena which adds in a portal rather than destroying a base.  But anyway, HotS has a number of different maps and each map has different...let's call them "map objectives".  While the overall idea is still to destroy the other team's base, each map has a different way of doing it.

Example: there is one map where you travel underground to collect skeleton skulls, and once all of the skulls have been collected, each team summons a golem whose power is based on how many skulls your team collected.  The golems then head to the opposing teams base to destroy it.  If you can get all of the skulls, then your golem is much harder to kill and leads to lots of base destruction.

Currently, I believe there are 7 different maps, each with its own unique objectives.  Typically your team has to work together to achieve these map objectives because if you don't, the other team will work together and just completely destroy you.

With 7 maps it has been rare to play the same one back to back.  There are of course some maps I enjoy more than others, but for the most part it has been a fun experience.

Differences to "Regular" MOBAs

A couple other differences with HotS compared to the other MOBAs I have played:

There is no shop or buying items in the match...this is a pretty big change.  Most MOBAs are about killing creeps, gaining money, then spending money on items to enhance your character.  In HotS, there is only experience and talents gained at certain levels.  The big thing about experience, is that your team gains experience together.  Meaning if one player gets behind, the whole team gets behind, but it also means that if someone is doing well, everyone is doing a little better.  This is another reason why it is a big deal to work as a team.

Talents are different abilities or enhancements that you get to choose at certain levels and are different depending on the character/hero you are playing as.  Examples would be like increasing the damage of a certain spell, or being able to cast a shield now in addition to your normal 4 spells.  I basically pick talents that enhance my play style.  So if I like using a certain spell, I will pick talents that empower that specific spell over another.

There really isn't any last hitting.  Last hitting meaning you are the one to deal the killing blow to a minion/creep.  Basically in HotS you get experience just for being around things that die, so it is important to have people by dying creeps a lot of the time, otherwise you will fall behind in experience.

There are also some talents that say kill a certain number of things to get increased damage, but I'm not sure if you have to actually kill said things, or if you just had to damage them in a certain amount of time.

Another interesting difference is that when you play a hero, you gain experience outside of the match itself.  This goes towards that specific hero's level.  Raising a hero's level unlocks variation skin colors, mount colors, and sometimes gives you gold, which is the currency you buy new heroes with (if you don't want to spend real money).

Mo' Money, Mo' Heroes

The only real problem I have with HotS is how expensive it is to buy heroes with real money.  In League of Legends and Smite, I had no problem spending a couple of dollars here and there for cool skins or new champions, but in HotS, Blizzard is really trying to make their money back....Champions and skins cost between like $10-$15.  Sometimes there are sales for $5 but they seem to be on the cheaper heroes anyway.  That is expensive as hell, and unless something changes I don't plan on spending any real money on this game.

Also, most decent champions are between 7,000 and 10,000 gold, the in-game currency that you gain from playing matches.  You get 30 gold per win, and 20 per loss.....that is about 230 games, if you win them all, to get one 7000 gold (mid range) hero.

There are other ways to gain a little gold, and you really have to do them if you want to get anywhere.  There are "daily quests" that will say "play 3 games as a Warcraft Hero and get 300 gold".  It has seemed like it is typically play "A" amount of games and get "Ax100" gold.  Most quests have netted me between 200-300 extra gold, which is great...but still not enough.

And because of this, then you want to buy the heroes with real money because it takes so long to grind the gold for them....but then you are back to the expensive as hell part, and it is a vicious circle.

Conclusion

So in the end, I think Heroes of the Storm is a nice change of pace from the typical MOBAs I have played, and since it is Free To Play, I encourage everyone who enjoys League of Legend type MOBAs to at least try it.  But I don't know if I would invest much real money into it because it is so expensive.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

- Zach