After announcing the pending closure of the site, a serious virus was uploaded by someone(s). The impact on the site was devastating, and the site needed to completely dumped to prevent the virus from spreading to anyone else’s computers.

With the site down, comments, emails, and Facebook messages started coming in from RLSHs and non-RLSHs alike. Some were a bit irrational, feeling that the site’s closure meant the end of the Real Life Superhero movement, and the triumph of evil. Others were just people who frequented the site and were saddened by the loss. Some offered any assistance they could provide to save the site.

These messages did not go unheard. I began wondering if there was in fact a way the site could be saved, so I renewed the domain in hopes that I could eventually find a way. That way soon presented itself in the form of messages from a certain green ghost. Yes, this emerald cowboy rode in with the funding, and the start of a plan to resurrect the site and allow it to live on!

With a great deal of help from the original creator of Real Life Superheroes.org, we were able to rebuild most of the site over the better part of the past month with improved security and added features. Unfortunately, not everything could be saved, and most of the users will need to re-register.

The site is back! It is funded for at least the next year, and I no longer need to try to keep it running alone… there is now an Admin Team! I’ll be officially introducing them in the near future.

Together, we welcome back our returning members, and welcome all the new ones we hope to see in the future.

-The Watchman

It saddens me to announce that Real Life Superheroes will be shutting down.

I have struggled to keep it running since taking it over a year and a half ago. At that time, I knew it would be difficult for me to handle the responsibilities alone due to my busy life, and lack of knowledge and experience in running websites. I was counting on being able to find help and assembling an admin staff to assist me. Sadly, that did not happen. Few people had any interest in helping, and those who did lacked the ability.

The site has had its share of difficulties in that time, not the least of which was a complete crash which would have been prevented by an able administrator. With those troubles came a loss in stability in the site itself and the people who have used it. With all of this in mind, the decision has been made to shut it down.

It will remain up through January in order to give users time to save their content.

Thank you,

The Watchman

So…I thought about pulling the Supermobile out tonight for a road patrol or driving to St.Pete for a foot patrol.

And I thought to myself “how much have I really accomplished doing that?”  Sure I’ve had random instances over the years of being in the right place at the right time, but they’re few & far between. A car fire here, a mugging there…a drunk guy in a Hover Round here…a lady with here head busted open in a parking lot there. But for the amount of times I’ve struck oil there has been many nights of absolute boredom…or as I said it in a panel at a con a few years back “95% Boredom for one minute of sheer terror.”

So anyways I see Zimmer Barnes wrote awhile back about doing Missions instead of patrolling. I’m beginning to think this may be sound logic.

EVERY time I’ve set out with a specific mission in mind I’ve pretty much accomplished it, or figured out how to accomplish that goal for the next time.

95% of the times I’ve headed out on patrol I’ve ended up Driving around or stopping to pose for pictures with Collage girls or explaining What the Hell I’m doing dressed like this.

There might be something to this whole mission’s thing, Get specific tasks done, be it Philanthropy or Recruiting or gathering information on a known Dealer or sitting in a specific park that’s having a rash of assaults, however you roll you might be better planning it out then just jumping out the front door in your gimmick & saying “All right Evil! Here I come!”

It’s just food for thought.

OSH

-

My team mate, Superhero brought me the old sun roof off of the Supermobile. The transparent roof turned the cockpit into an oven in the Florida sunshine so he removed the Lexan roof and installed a fiberglass one. The Lexan roof came to me. I was going to sell it on Ebay Motors for some Team Justice operating capital, but there are dozens of them on there. For $50 price range!

So I was stuck with this large sheet of smoked ¼ Lexan. I offered it up as shield material. The first taker was Anonyman.

-

I started by marking out a circle on the plastic that was roughly the diameter of the length of my forearm. Any larger and it would not be practical. Regardless of what Captain America may think, a large shield is not useful.

I got a leather belt from Goodwill for a few bucks and a dowel rod from my scrap box. The belt made the elbow strap and the dowel became the hand strap. Some metallic vent tape was used to create an Anonyman logo for the front of the disk. It was a pretty easy build.

After seeing the success of the first shield, one was requested by Urban Avenger. Not wanting to duplicate past work, (I hate doing something twice) I procrastinated. I’m bad for that.

-

Eventually I did get around to starting on the build for Urban Avenger. I wanted to do something different for his shield so as not to be duplicating work. Urban has always had a thing for lighting and mask goggles. I wanted to create that effect on the shield using 3 lenses with the top one being an actual light with interchangeable color disks with his logo and such on the various disks.

-

As I was talking to him about the shield though, He told me he doesn’t really use his mask lighting any more. There goes my design plans. I decided to just put the light on it (since I already bought it) without the lenses. The light I purchased for the project is a 3 way system having a standard light, A UV setting for finding spilled fluids, (actual detective gear!) and the 3rd setting? A friggin’ Laser! Sweet.

-

After working out the details on how to do the Logo, I again used a Goodwill leather belt as the elbow strap. However UA, had stated he wanted it to be adjustable. It needed a buckle. More specifically it need a buckle that could be adjusted using only 1 hand.

Using my Dremel tool, I cut a tab shape in a square of heavy sheet metal. By folding the outer form at 1 location and the inner tab at a different location, I was able to create a double loop buckle with no moving parts. A bolt ran through the metal becomes the belt keeper. As far as I can find this is an original invention.

The front handle had to be a stable one on this build. It had to hold the barrel of the light on it. I couldn’t do it the same as the Anonyman shield. A section of “V” channel would do the trick. I beat the cold steel into shape with a heavy framing hammer. But it had powder coat on it. A soak in an acetone bath softened the powder coating enough to allow me to scrape it off with a utility knife. Some primer and Urban Avenger red and it was ready to go.

I installed it on the shield and attached light barrel to the outer edge using aircraft cable and then wrapping it with some scrap leather. I sealed the open end with a pvc pipe cap after drilling a hole in it for the wiring. I ran the wires to the emitter disk that I attached to the front of the shield using some angle braces. I then covered the wiring with some surgical tubing to keep it neat and help seal from water. I covered the connections with some leather and called it complete.

And if you are interested in seeing it in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHAFyfeFozU

Here is a longer (but still fun) video of K-9. Includes some explanations about him and cool Dr. Who music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExBTGOsjVso

Off and on for the past year I have been slowly putting together a model robot. It’s now at a stage where I don’t mind showing it off. You see there is a con coming up soon, and he is going with me.

-

He is based on K-9 from the old Doctor Who series. K-9 was a robotic-computerized tin dog on the show way back in the 70’s. That’s when I was a kid and began my long journey down the road of everything science. K-9 was, for the most part, a computer. His intellect and memory were on par or superior to The Doctor. Mans best friend as a small silver motorized computer.

He had several abilities outside of his intellect. He had a laser in his nose, sensor arrays for his ears, an interface connector that extended from his eyes, and tank treads for mobilization.

-

I have always been a fan of K-9. Two years ago I built a small replica one for Supercon in Miami. This small one was merely a mat-board shell over a small remote control car. It was a nice miniature version. But being made of mat-board, after some time it began to show a lot of wear and tear. It was time for a new full size one.

-

I found a chassis that I could use in the form of a monster truck at a garage sale. It had been left in the garage for some time and the battery boxes had corroded so it was nonfunctional. I got it for $5.00. Another $4.00 for new battery boxes from Radio Shack and a little time and solder and it was good as new.

-

And there is sat in my garage for at least 9 months. Why? Because I had already built one K-9 and did not enjoy the prospect of having to do it again. I’m not big on repetitive tasks. Then I discovered Steampunk. Steampunk allows us to re-imagine things that once were as new and different things. So I asked, “What if Doctor Who was Steampunk? What would K-9 look like then?” I began to work.

The first thing I did was remove the monster truck tires and replace them with some that looked more retro. The front ones were from a set of training wheels from a small kid’s bike. The rear wheels came from a lawn mower and I painted them in copper and gold for that retro feel. My fender design covered most of that however.

-

I then removed part of the front suspension to allow a step down in the body. I used foam-core board to build the front section inspired by a trolley train. I wrapped the foam-core body section in galvanized flashing sheet metal. I then built a cow catcher for the front out of dowels and spare parts. Flashing $14.00

-

The sheet metal was held to the foam-core sub-structure using brass nails pushed through and bent over on the inside. The nails were then glued down and allowed to dry. This created a nice effect of having it fastened together with brass rivets. It looks real cool up close. $4.00

-

A plumbing coupler was added on the sides to simulate a power take-off. A trick I learned from Aviator of Skiffytown. $8.00

-

I built a tank from a stove pipe and a 2 kettle lids from Goodwill. Less than $10.00

The rear body structure had to support the tank and hold the whole thing together. I built it from foam core as well but included a lot of internal structure for stability and strength. I then repeated the process of creating a metal skin made of flashing. I attached my tank to that structure. I later added 2 smoke stacks on the back behind the tank. Also made a spot where some vacuum tubes could be installed to help create the proper look. A Tesla coil style tail at the back of the tank creates a nice detail as well.

The voice module on the back is meant to approximate the control panel of the original K-9. It is a working USB /clock/radio/mp3 player. The 8 gig on board sd card has a set of prerecorded voice responses that I can activate with the remote. It came in a wooden box, which I disassembled and rebuilt into the structure you see, made from foam-core and sheet metal again. Amazon. $14.00

The neck is a foam-core inner shape around a large section of all-thread. It was then wrapped in nylon and spray painted black. Incidentally that is the same way I built the smaller versions neck. That’s the only process that I repeated.

-

The head is built to closely resemble the original K-9. This was mapped out using Autocad software and each section printed onto paper at full size. The paper was then cut and used as a template to shape the foam-core precisely. After building the foam-core head I placed the barrel of a replica civil war era Ball and Powder revolver in the nose section. This replaces his laser. After skinning the head with metal I placed the sides of the gun, showing the mechanism, on the forward part of the nose. The air soft gun I used came from Amazon as well. $12.00

-

The eyes were made from some scrap plexiglass. The 2 antenna ears were speaker covers from the voice module. And a Steampunk monocle magnifier for $4.00 to top it all off.

Building a custom one-off RC robot: $71.00

Having the most awesome K-9 on the planet: Priceless

I’m finally getting a few moments to write.  Ever since the weekend of Superheroes Anonymous 5, there has been a virtual whirlwind of activity surrounding me, keeping me from writing my blog. A good deal of it is tech related so I will relay a few details to you about it.

First I want to talk to you about technology abuse. This is directly related to this blog. It seems there is some new spider software that seeks out blog comment areas and automatically dumps comments containing links to other sites that sell bull sh!t that people are trying to scam a buck from. I have gotten at least 75 of these comments in the last 3 months!

Do you see any spam links in my comments? No. That’s because I moderate all my comments. If you send me a BS comment it will go straight into the trash. So don’t bother. Because it aint happenin’!

That is an example of improper use of technology.

Now that is out of the way, I’ll let you know what I been up to.

Project EON:

Project EON was pushed to the back burner for some time due to a shift in my work schedule and the accompanying free time restrictions. Now that the holidays are behind us, I should start to have a bit more free time to work on the Mach 2 skeleton.

The Skeleton needs a strong foundation at the ankles. This is the crucial point for maintaining balance and stable safe operation of the Mach 2 and Mach 3 systems.

This is an example of the safe use of technology

The Website:

I oversaw the design and layout of the new Team Justice website. www.teamjusticecharity.org. It features a donation area and swag store. The donation area has been a constant and growing source of funds for various immediate needs issues for helping families and children with pressing financial problems. The swag store features gadgets, fan gear, tee-shirts and other items.

The site was programmed and maintained by Kapes. She set it up though her company AVS Productions that has been making fine internet websites for over a decade. She also has Team Justice officially partnered with the Humane Society of Pinellas! As a result Team Justice is being asked to appear at an upcoming Humane Society event.

This is an example of the proper use of technology.

The Robot:

I have been frantically building a robot superstructure over a modified, re-purposed radio control monster truck that I got at a rummage sale. I love rummage sales.  Anyway, it is to be debuted at Megacon in Orlando in the middle of February. This is 6 weeks earlier than I thought it was going to be. So I have been hustling to complete it.
When Miss. Fit was in town I showed it off a bit in its unfinished state. It’s not really a Hero gadget, though it could be adapted as a search drone. Mostly it’s just something I am building for fun.

An example of a fun use of technology.

I want to take this opportunity to introduce myself to those who do not know me. I am The Watchman. I am a husband, father, brother, and son. I am a man who cares about humanity and the world around him. For years, I have been what is commonly called a Real Life Superhero (RLSH), and now, I have become the administrator of this website. With this change, there will be other changes made over time, though the spirit in which this site was created will remain.

The man formerly known as Zetaman, after retiring as a RLSH, passed this site on to me. More recently, he completely removed himself from this site. He believes there are too many bad feelings between him and others to remain, feeling that it would hinder the growth of this site and the RLSH sub-culture as a whole.

The RLSH sub-culture is fluid. It is always changing. It is always in motion, even when it seems to be standing still. There are many people who feel we have not gotten anywhere. However, in many ways, we are much different than we were just a few short years ago. Some of these changes have been for the better, while others have been for the worse. Still, we continue on, searching for a better world and a brighter tomorrow.

2011 was predicted by some to be “The Year of the Superheroes”. I do not believe that, and frankly, would have been disappointed had that been the case. The phrase implies the reaching of the peak, and typically,  peaks are followed by decline. I do not believe we have yet reached the peak. No, I believe we are still far from it. We have a great deal of potential yet to be uncovered. What we lack is unity.

There are many different kinds of RLSHs. There are crime-fighters, social activists, charity warriors, environmentalists, social commentators, and those who try it all. Some embrace the superhero terms and imagery, while others are less than pleased with them. Regardless of personal missions, opinions, methods, and motives, we are all a part of something BIG. Yet, too many of us cannot seem to get over ourselves as individuals or small groups.

I can remember a time when squabbles and differences between us were handled quietly, out of the public eye, in order to allow us a chance at the heroic and inspirational images we wished to project. Now, there is no secret that this “community” of ours is full of fighting and drama. Online comment sections and forums are bursting with ridicule, arguing, and flame wars from within. Many of us try to avoid this behavior, but it seems to follow us around. The feuding and hatred has driven too many of us away from what could become a great movement, and it has proven to onlookers that we are no better than much of what we claim to fight against. Even as some of us fight to prove to people we are serious when we are accused of being ridiculous, more of us seem to go out of their way to prove them right.

I realize a large number of people feel we cannot be organized or united, and there are too many differences between us to unite. I believed that for a time. However, I am no longer content to worry only about local matters. The world does not end at my back door. What affects the world affects me. What happens with one of us can affect us all. We are creative individuals who tend not to conform, but I’m not being unrealistic. We do not need to agree with everything everybody else says or does, and there are many more ways to get things done than what we do ourselves. We do not necessarily have to change our own missions and methods, and we do not need to lose ourselves to be a part of something bigger. We can still disagree, but it is time to turn to healthy debates that maintain respect rather than being hostile.  It’s not that we need to become some giant organization filled with rules and regulations, but we do need to put aside petty differences and focus on what we have in common. All this unity requires is that we lay down our egos, open our minds to new ideas, and have respect for each other, as well as for ourselves.

I don’t think this has been the year of superheroes at all, and I am not looking for that year to come. Instead, I am looking to the future; I am looking toward a new era. I believe that era can begin now. Therefore, I am using this opportunity to do what I can to bring RLSHs together to grow this sub-culture into the great movement it has the potential to be.

However we may each go about it, we are all trying to make this world a better place, and that will only happen together. I am extending a hand to each and every one of you. I hope that each of you can get past the egos and differences, and learn to work side by side, even if our own mission is not quite the same. I am asking that we try a new way, and hopefully each of you will extend your hands as well. Let’s look to the future and welcome a new era for Real Life Superheroes. If we want the world to be better, we must be better.  Let it begin now…

Five years ago, Superheroes Anonymous launched the first large scale meeting of Real Life Superheroes. Since then we’ve been able to help over 5,000 homeless people, do missions all over the world including hospital visitations, public safety patrols, workshops and we have been featured in over 200 publications (such as NYT, CNN, FOX, BBC, 60 Minutes) from over 45 countries with a message of inspiration and empowerment.Following the launch of our first event, we visited New Orleans and rebuilt with Habitat for Humanity where Mayor Nagin declared it “The Day of the Superheroes,” in New Bedford, MA we had a benefit concert for a homeless shelter and lifesaving and self-defense courses and last year in Portland we Raced for the Cure against breast cancer and gave blood with the Oregon Red Cross.

This year, we’re giving back to the city where it all started: New York. We are holding a giant event during the weekend of October 28-30th that will incorporate the best of of the charitable, fun and community-outreach programs that we have been involved with in the years past.

About Year Five
Superheroes Anonymous Year Five is an event taking place in New York City from Friday Oct 28th culminating on Sunday, October 30th, 2011. Real Life Superheroes will convene from around the world, promoting public acts of charity and community outreach through workshops, classes, patrols, a benefit concert and a press conference. Superheroes Anonymous Year Five will globally empower people all over and support our goal of saving the world.

www.superheroesanonymous.com

www.facebook.com/superherolife

www.twitter.com/superherolife

Learn more: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=235279253178244

But I am going to tell you about cars first. Anyone who owns any type of car should have it on a regular maintenance schedule. All too often I see people who have a limited budget, purchase a vehicle that is right at the edge of what they can afford. They don’t include maintenance as part of the operating costs of the car. As a result the car degrades and you wind up with a really large paperweight that you are making payments on. Not an effective use of funding. Also you will look real silly in your gimmick trying to fix a leaky radiator by the side of the road.

Get a car that is well under your budget levels. A running used Camry is going to be a lot more super than mustang that is up on blocks in your back yard.

My team-mate Superhero has The Supermobile. A tricked out custom built Corvette Stingray. It’s mean, fast, scary fun to ride in, and spends a lot of time (and money) in the shop. Is it worth it? If you can afford it, yes. But take a realistic look at what you are doing as an RLSH, before purchasing something like this. As with everything else about the community, try to not be all starry eyed when investing in transport.

 Now that I have said the preachy part, I will tell you about some cool little transportation gadgets that are available.

A new arrival on the scene is a sort of cross between a skate board and a motorcycle. Called The Shocker.

Motocross Board

It’s available for pre-order now. The price is between $1700 and $3000 Depending on which model you want.

The Roamboard is an electric powered motorized skateboard.

Roam Board

The Roamboard starts at $2500 for a basic model and run to $3000 for a custom.

And since we are checking out cool skateboard evolutions and crossovers, what if you crossed a skateboard with a tank? The DTV Shredder

 The Shredder

This little monster will cost you about $4000.  It is still in the pre-order phase but should be available by spring of 2012.

* * * *

]]> http://reallifesuperheroes.org/tutorials/there-and-back-again/feed/ 0 http://reallifesuperheroes.org/tutorials/whats-in-your-utility-belt/ http://reallifesuperheroes.org/tutorials/whats-in-your-utility-belt/#comments Sun, 04 Sep 2011 15:53:27 +0000 Artisteroi http://311.90 Weapons. Everybody wants weapons. Stun guns, real guns, batons, staffs, knives, swords. Flame Throwers?

Holy Nazi Frog Men! There must be a war going on in every back alley in the world? Is there? Have you asked yourself that question? Are you being realistic about what you will encounter on the streets? Or are you still pretending just a little bit?

If you are carrying a sword around on the streets you are pretending. “It’s just decorative.” Then why do you need it? “To make the costume look authentic” Ahh, you’re a cosplayer.. “I’m an RLSH!” No you’re not. You are lying to yourself and those around you.

I saw a video of the great Phoenix Jones. There is no denying that he is the most visible of us. The one most recognized by the public. And the one who is “setting the bar” by which we will all be judged. Unfortunately.

Anyway here he was on camera attending to an injured civilian. The man was lying prone on the ground. Bleeding from an injury to his temple. Phoenix Jones was dancing around in concern, seemingly confused. Then he calls to someone off camera for towels.  PJ is not carrying a first aid kit.

Bullet resistant vest? Check.

Stun Gun Baton? Check?

Thousands of dollars worth of custom made costume? Check.

Public Relations camera guy? Check.

First aid kit? Who needs it!…

I have no beef with PJ personally. I don’t even know him. This is not a PJ blog. This is a “What you need to have with you on patrol” blog. We should all be setting a good example. We should all be setting a much better example than that video of Phoenix Jones is setting.

Your number 1 priority, the number 1 reason to be an RLSH is to help people. Regardless of your ultimate mission you are there to help. The best way to help people is to be prepared. Training comes first. Then the gear.

Can’t afford the training? Volunteer some time to the Red Cross. They offer first aid training, CPR classes, and other life saving procedure classes. And they will teach you about the Good Samaritan Laws in your area. Free to volunteers. Free! No excuses not to do it. Go there now!

>>American Red Cross<<

If you are an RLSH to help people, then put in some of that time at the Red Cross. Look at it as patrol time. If you are not willing to volunteer your time doing that, you should be questioning your reasons for being an RLSH. We are not here to fight, we are here to help.

After you have a bit of training, and hopefully some real world understanding, then you can get these items for your utility belt. These are essential.

The Gadgets you should have with you always:

1. Get a first aid kit. Know how to use it.
2. Carry a cell phone to call for help. Always call for help first.
3. Carry a camera to make a visual record of events
4. Carry a flashlight to see in the dark areas.

Notice there are no weapons on that list. All weapons are optional. All of them. You don’t “need” any of them.

Are weapons helpful? In certain circumstances, yes. But those circumstances are a lot more rare, than someone needing first aid. Saving a life is going to make you a lot more of a hero, than fighting off a team of Nazi Frog Men.