You’ll find as I go through these that some MINIons came really easy for me, others not so much. This was one of those easy ones. Basically the person who has this joined the group and within 24 hours I had this one done. The old school compass, the map, all made sense. If you were to look closely at the map you might notice it is a map of Middle Earth, even though “One does not simply motor into Mordor.” This MINIon probably has.
Want to know where to find a good burger in Tuscaloosa? Need to wash your clothes while driving through the Badlands? Need a banana split in the middle of nowhere? MINIon #10-4 has an encyclopedic knowledge of places, some normal, most not, and he’s always willing to help out a MINIon in need.
C’mon, you knew I had to have at least one of these…
It is amazing how many MINI Cooper owners are also fans of British TV. I have seen a few MINI Coopers decked out in various Doctor Who related graphics. It is funny when I talk to people about their design. If they have never really met me, it starts of awkward as I send doodles to them, or chat about what they might like… Some of them are pretty easy.
MINIon #0010 claims to be the actor David Tennant before he played the detective on Broadchurch… He says he’s caught in a time loop because of the “wibbly-wobbliness” of time. He tends to advise people not to blink for some strange reason.
When I first asked for numbers I knew there would be some numbers that would get snatched right away. Although many people felt I should violate the 4 digit rule, I stuck to my guns so there wouldn’t be a MINIon #007. This one is special for me because I had to do some major changes so it could fit the person who asked for the number. While MINIUSA puts on MINI Takes The States, people from all over participate. This MINIon happened to be from Canada, so I replaced the U.S. flag with the Canadian flag. Besides that being one of my first MINIons it was a little more difficult to draw with the basic MINIon anatomy the Sean Connery pose. I was able to get it down after a few tries.
MINIon #0007- is suave and debonair, an international (OK Canadian, but for most Americans that’s “like a foreign country”) MINIon of Mystery. He’s in a white dinner jacket since MINI Takes The States happens in the summer. I have heard a rumor that this MINIon might also be wearing a kilt- but due to cropping I cannot say if that is true.
As I mentioned yesterday some ideas come from specific numbers, and others just come from my fevered brain. This was one of those that popped into my brain when I first started thinking about more unique MINIon designs. I made a list of MINIon designs I wanted to create and then I made sure I found someone who might like that design. I created this one based on Speed Racer, something I fond memories of watching when I would get home from school growing up. My first experience with anime.
MINIon #0005 – Likes to drive fast (faster than they should) and while a picnic basket, small child, and chimpanzee are not in the boot, we aren’t really sure. No one really knows why they have a “G” on their shirt or an “M” on their helmet. Go MINIon #0005! Go MINIon #0005! Go MINIon #0005! Go!
As the project continued, many people gave me numbers and I worked through a specific MINIon design for them. Like I said sometimes the MINIon is based on the number, sometimes it’s based on the person, sometimes it’s just a crazy idea I had. As we travel through the Year of MINIons you’ll see just how crazy things can be inside my head.
All I can say about MINIon #3.1415926535897932384626433832 7950288419716939937510582097494459230781640628620899 86280348253421170679… is that this MINIon has always been a bit irrational. Mmmm… pie.
As I start this endeavor, you’ve probably already noticed that we skipped #0002. I did that because I haven’t created a badge for #0002. Simple enough. So it might be a good time to talk about the actual process of how I go about creating these. In 2010 a small group of MINI Cooper owners got together while on MINI Takes The States. When the event came back around in 2012 I put together a group on Facebook specifically to help us plan and organize what we would be doing. When we arrived in New Jersey, I had a a badge made for MINIons Take The States. I only had 4 of them. Our group grew with more and more people, but this was a way for us to avoid the drama and hatefulness that has become part of the Interwebs. So I decided that instead of doing a generic badge, I would create an individual badge for each member. For the most part, members get to choose their numbers and one of two things happen, either I come up with a design based on the number, or they give me a little information about what they like and I go ahead and draw from that.
MINIon #0003 was one of those requests. I did some research on San Francisco Giants uniforms and baseball bats (not being a sportsguy). MINIon #0003 is fun loving and warmhearted. I think the only thing they like more than the Giants would be their MINI… no really, they got married on MINI Takes The States in 2010. As with all the MINIons I look forward motoring together in the future, especially if I get out to the West Coast.
As I recently posted about various projects for the year including MINIon Badges so I thought I should just post one each day for the entire year… that will be 365 MINIons. Actually Cecil has an infinite number of MINIons (with an infinite number of typewriters all working on “Romeo & Juliet II: Zombies in Love). Hopefully this will prepare me for MINI Takes the States 2016 (which will hopefully be when I can attend the entire event i.e. June & July- MINIUSA hint, hint). While they will start in numerical order, I’m sure at some point they will start getting random after a few months. Want a MINIon number? I am not a liberty to discuss how a person gets a MINIon badge, so please don’t ask.
Today we start with MINIon #0001 aka Blue Leader
Blue Leader has led our merry band of MINIons since 2010 making sure that we are on the right road and stop for fuel at the right time. MINIon #0001 is responsible and takes his role seriously, although he doesn’t quite understand why Cecil doesn’t wish to lead the group (Cecil is usually asleep after a long night of being Cecil – being Cecil takes a lot out of a monkey). Blue Leader, being safety conscious wears a helmet and and is ready to take on any challenges from Moons, disguised as Space Stations, to route sheets with mistyped directions. Faithful and positive, the Force is with MINIon #0001, always.
Last year I tried to avoid making resolutions and stuck to the rather successful 30 days at a time method… except that after a month or two, I forgot to keep at it. So I attempted small changes in small increments and ended up not making that much of a change.
Accomplishments in 2014:
In 2014 I published a dead tree edition of of some of the comics on this website. I also tabled at my first con, and tabled again at a bigger con, and tabled again at another con! The result was I had fun, but really didn’t do much else. Normally at a convention I walk around (a lot) and get inspired, or made to feel guilty about how much I’m actually doing. By tabling, I’m kind of stuck in one place, and I miss out on a lot. I didn’t make that much,except selling to friends. I didn’t increase the readership of the comic that much, so I’m re thinking the whole “con” experience as a creator.
I drew a lot in 2014, not as much as I would like to, but I drew more monkeys than I care to think about. The reason was MINIons Take The States 2014. After 2012 I decided to make badges for everyone in our little group… Then I decided to have fun and draw different minion monkeys for each one. It was fun, it was challenging and I’m still doing it!
I displayed my LEGO creations at Brickworld Indy and Brickworld Chicago. I challenged myself in 2013 to build something to show my students what I could do. So I built a small section of the Deathstar trench from Star Wars. The challenging part was that I don’t really have enough bricks to build it, I borrowed some from school. THis means I can’t just build it and let it sit I have to take it apart each time… It gets a little scary as I put pieces together just before the public shows up. I was pleased with my display, but know it could be better if I could get my act together.
I triumphantly returned to the classroom! After 2 years serving in a different role I returned to the classroom this fall and am still working out exactly what has happened to education in two short years. I know I’m spending a lot more of my personal time on stuff for school, I’m wishing I had taken an Accounting or Statistics class in college since a lot of time is spent going over test data. I’m still trying new and creative things, but not as much as I’d like to.
I also joined a game group and have been playing more games which has been fun.
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Resolutions for 2015:
not really resolutions just things I want to work at and focus on in my personal life throughout the year.
1. Be less of a curmudgeon. This one comes from seeing that I’m always stressed, about school, about things I need to do, about lots of stuff. I then come across as an old guy (yes, I’m old) yelling about people on my lawn (which is in need of care). I used to be a fun guy, now I’m an adult- an adult who reads comic books, builds with LEGO and carries around a stuffed monkey, but still an adult. No need to go into detail, but I need to worry less, and enjoy life more which brings up-
2. Don’t over commit. I seem to keep making promises or taking on more and more instead of saying “no” I need to limit what I’m doing to focus on the stuff I really like. So I probably won’t be worrying about tabling at cons this year, but instead work on producing a good comic. I probably, will limit some of what I’m doing with some groups so I have time for the things that are important to me.
3. Draw more. I like to draw, it has kept me sane throughout the years, I need to draw more for fun, not because I have to, but because I want to. I always say that when your passion becomes your work you’d think you’d be happy- but in most cases you just start hating what you were once passionate about.
4. Other stuff. I’ve got a lot of little things that end up causing me to be miserable… I’m going to try to get rid of or address head on those things in order to be happier and less of a curmudgeon.
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Projects for 2015:
MINIon Badges- I will continue to work on this project because it will never go away…
More Comics- We are currently on Hiatus, because I’m re-examining exactly how I’m doing with My Geek Odyssey. I’ve got a few ideas from format, to characters, to stories. There are a number of comics I read that either are coming to an end in 2015 or you can tell the creator just isn’t into it anymore and has moved on, that is not the case here, I just feel as if I’ve gotten lost (yes, I know I have a GPS) and need to return to why I started this comic. Over the holidays I was able to pull together three possible longer format stories. But I want them to be something I am proud of, so I will take a lot more time that what I usually do to get them right.
An Educational Game- This is a project that I started years ago and never finished (one of those resolution #4 things) I’d like to get it in a playable version so I can at least see if it works.
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I hope 2015 brings you joy and happiness and whatever you want. Thank you for all your support and I promise Cecil will be back, better than ever, in a few months with daring adventures and ookerific fun.
I read a lot of times to escape. I have chosen comic books and graphic novels (you say tomato…) because I enjoy the artwork and the varied styles. Here’s what I picked up today, most of my comics picks are rated “Teen” so somewhere around a PG-13 movie (like those ratings really help). Anything I’ve marked as “All Ages” are comics I’ll bring into my classroom. I’ve removed some comics that are a bit much for most audiences could be because of themes, language, or violence. If you are looking for comics for your classroom or your child, go into a comic shop and ask and read whatever you want to buy, because only you truly know what is acceptable in your family or classroom. I’ll pick a few to elaborate on the story especially since a lot of what was in my stack are things that the average person would have no idea about. The “LEGO Variant” comics just have a different cover depicting the character as a Lego minifig I may have only picked up the comic because of that.
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The Ordinary People Change the World Series, while not specifically comics, I’m really excited to bring these into my classroom to inspire my students!
Tiny Titans Return to the Treehouse #6 of 6 (All Ages) – I really hope this continues, it’s a great series for kids with lots of inside DCU jokes for adults.
Over the Garden Wall Special #1 (All Ages)
Rocket Raccoon #5 “I am Groot” this was my winner for most amusing read in the stack.
Gotham Academy #2
Green Lantern #36 (LEGO Variant Cover)
Grayson #4 (LEGO Variant Cover)
Detective Comics #36 (LEGO Variant Cover)
Action Comics #36 (LEGO Variant Cover)
Fiction Squad #2 of 6 Detective story in fairytale land I’d almost say all ages, but the way they draw some of the female characters… not so much
Atomic Robo Knights of the Golden Circle #5 of 5 Kinda all ages – the older kids at my school enjoyed borrowing the trades and reading about Nazi zombie robots fighting a robot built by Nikola Tesla
Little Nemo Return to Slumberland #2 (All Ages) The return to the world created by Winsor McCay- a beautiful book
Penny Dora and the Wishing Box #1 (All Ages)
Rasputin #1
The Fuse #7 Detectives on a ginormous space station
Birthright #2 A young boy disappears & returns as barbarian warrior – lots of flashbacks to his time in a fantasy realm.
The Mercenary Sea # 7 1930’s adventure in a submarine – interesting artwork.
Tüki # 2 Jeff Smith’s life of a cave man
Wayward #3
Imperial #4 of 4
Tech Jacket #5
Tooth & Claw #1 Start of a massive fantasy story with animal people (which seems to be a trend in some comics) great artwork, and intriguing premise.
Velvet #8 Love this book! Moneypenny was a better spy than Bond.
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Quick Update November 9
OK just went through some of the basic pieces with the next round of “Secret, Ultimate, Final, Crisis War” being put out by Marvel and DC in the coming months… this is why I have stopped buying most “mainstream comics” I’m tired of investing time into a character just to have it squished in some marketing scheme to gain more readers. I really appreciate the folks at Comic Carnival for guiding me to new and cool titles- so I missed out on a bunch of epic universe altering crossovers. I’ve found some great titles where the creators are telling good stories. Someone asked the question “Which is important Continuity or Story?” If you are telling a good story, continuity should be a part of it. If the writers are thinking about the future they might not try some of the silly over-hyped stories that paint them into a corner so they have to reboot to fix it.
A while ago I had the chance to attend Miles Ahead Performance Driving School at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was an interesting experience I shared with Sue. We don’t share well. Yesterday Cecil & I had the chance to repeat the experience with the new, new, new MINI Cooper S (MINI Cooper folks know it as the “F56”).
It was cold yesterday and for those in midwest know it had rained the night before ruining trick or treating for bazillions of kids. I arrived at the Motor Speedway and noticed that Miles Ahead had moved their location into a suit overlooking the main straightaway. As before there were MINIs parked in lines with drivers names on the roof. I ran into Dallas (everyone in the MINI community knows Dallas- he owns a tie dyed Clubman and spend his time going from MINI even to MINI event.) and we started catching up on his latest adventures. The class started with the basic introductions who our instructors were going to be, how the car works, and the shape of the day. The majority of people attending were MINI owners, but not everyone. Since the program has been around a bit, the group seemed to be filled with more normal people, not the hardcore enthusiasts I remember from my first go around.
The morning was split into three parts: the skidpad focusing on oversteer and understeer, a portion of the road course with turning, downshifting and braking, and another section focusing on the racing line. We were split into three groups some cars had two passengers so they would trade off.
The Skidpad
Miles ahead has outfitted one MINI with a lift that picks up the back end causing you to drift. Stephan Gregoire has you learn to control your sliding around until hopfully you can drift in a circle. One of the key parts is to fight instinct and not reduce power. If you do you’ll start to spin. Ted Woemer then would take you out and show you what happens when the front tire lose grip and how to correct it, which is almost the exact opposite. In that case you slow down (not braking just coasting) until the car regain control.
Braking, Downshifting, and Apex Turning
After a quick break we headed out to the road course with Dan Clark and learned when to brake and some basic apex turning then ending by stopping in a box defined by cones on the track. This was when we first used the paddle shifters. The MINI I was driving was a new F56, yes, it was an automatic which actually made it easier to focus on the driving, but it also had paddle shifters. Basically, buttons on the steering wheel to change gears. In the pas the MINIs paddle shifters have been a push pull kind of thing the new ones work just like a race car- right is upshift, left is downshift. The only thing that was weird (I was probably doing it wrong) was the box you were supposed to stop in, was close enough to the turn that I wasn’t going that fast to really test out the brakes. The last time I did Miles Ahead one of the exercises was to go as fast as you could, and then slam on the brakes. Both exercises have there place, but I’m guessing I was doing doing something wrong since I think I didn’t coast into the box once out of numerous tries.
The Racing Line
After another quick break we headed to the road course again, this time with Pippa Mann to learn the racing line. This was a basic follow the leader exercise with the lead car being the instructor and the car behind her switch out after each lap. This is where it gets scary, and fun. While you aren’t going as fast as you could (or should) you are still turning a lot faster than you ever would on your normal daily drive. We practiced apex turning and braking as we drove a section of the road course.
Lunch
Lunch was nice and a great time to talk to the other students. Dallas and I talked up MINI events especially MTTS 2016, MINIs on the Dragon, and next year’s MINIs on the Mack. We all chatted about how we ended up with a MINI and how much we really can’t see why we would drive anything else. Then a quick overview of the afternoon- autocross and road course driving time. We’d been divided into two groups and while one was on the autocross the other would be on the road course which had been changed from the morning configuration. While we were at lunch Go Pro cameras were added to our car for some in car video. I really need to get one of my own or at least take some time to get the general idea on how to use one. The cameras were turned on and ran for about 2 hours before the battery went dead and it looks like the exposure setting was great for filming the inside of the car, but not much of the outside. Still I have some video of me driving around which is a bonus.
The Autocross
We started off with some practice time on the autocross to see how the course was laid out. For those who don’t know and autocross is basically drawing on a parking lot and then defined by cones. My first experience was in 2006 and I DNF’d (Did Not Finish) any of my runs the first day, because I had read the cones wrong and turned left instead of right on every run. When Sue and I did Miles Ahead, I let Sue take the autocross, this time I had to face down those demons and actually try. We spent one part practicing with a follow the leader just to get the feel of the course. We would come back later to actually race, the best time out of two runs.
The Road Course
Compared to the autocross the road course seemed like it was an open field. We followed the leader for lap upon lap. There were two groups one with Pippa and the other with Dan we gave each other enough time between runs and after Sue’s experience I felt really bad each time I got close to the car in front of me. The first time we took the course one way, the second time (after the timed autocross) we did it going the other way.
Breaking Bad Habits
As Dallas commented I probably ran through an set of tires, which is not a good thing. It means I was being too aggressive, coming into corners too fast. It’s something I know I need to work on and I think I’m getting better at, but probably not. When Stephan Gregoire drove the autocross they pointed out it was full throttle, full braking, and no coasting. I was close, but it just felt wrong to lose all that speed, unfortunately you lose more speed by screeching your tires.
The New New New MINI
The steering wheel with the speedometer/tachometer cluster on top. The lights on the right side of the speedometer are the fuel gauge
I’ve had a chance to drive the F56 a couple times as a loaner and have really liked the experience, but spending a full day in one on a race course takes it to a new level. First things first, the seats… Wow! Having owned five MINIs from a classic to the Roadster- I love the seats in the F56. The grab ahold of you and don’t let go. They’re like a Baymax hug. I still love my roadster, but the F56 seats are fantastic.
When I first learned that Miles Ahead would be using automatic transmission MINIs I was disappointed. And the first time I went and drove their JCW R56 there was a definite lag in the transmission when we tried to accelerate to quickly. Not the case in the F56. Having driven both the Cooper and Cooper S both were quick off the blocks (remarkably so in the case of the “Justa” Cooper). The paddle shifters in the past have also been a disappointment, this new generation are great and I can see why people would want them. While I spent most of the afternoon in “Sport Mode” some of the morning was spent in “Normal” and while there was a difference (burble, burble) both were fun.
As with any new design there are a few things that make you scratch your head- some interior changes made sense and others I’m just trying to figure out the logic behind them. Moving the window controls, kinda makes sense, so that they can appeal to a larger market, they needed to be in the “normal” location, the same with the door locks (interesting for a company that talks about being “not normal”). Putting the speedometer above the steering wheel again- in a “normal” location. The tachometer off to the side is a little weird, but most “normal drivers” don’t use the tachometer. The buttons on the steering wheel- Why did they flip them? On my R59 the right side is cruise control and left is radio, on the F56 these are reversed and I don’t see why. That and the location of the gas cap, why move it from the driver’s side to the passenger side, does that really matter?
The center column with the the screen (turned off) and the a/c controls (yes, dual zone)
All the bells, whistles, flashing lights would seem to get annoying after awhile, but actually I think they are there to entertain the passengers so the driver can focus on driving. When I got into the F56 the first thing I did was turn off the screen. I know there is a purpose for it, but I was there to drive and I felt it would be distracting. I see myself doing something similar when I end up buying an F56 and slowly adding back the tech one step at a time. Watching my video from the autocross I saw how the circle of lights actually were my tachometer, but while driving, I didn’t notice a thing. As a techie kind of guy I look forward to discovering all the technology in the F56, all cars are turning driving into a video game… hopefully I’ll make it onto the leaderboard.
With the nitpicking done, as with any changes to the MINI (remember the original R56 weird & confusing center column?) these are things you get used to as you drive the car and soon you’ll be complaining that they are “ruining the brand” for some other reason. It’s still a MINI, it’s still fun to drive (if not more fun to drive).
So What Do You Really Think?
I’ve been to a couple “performance driving schools” and taken away good practices from each. I really do think that if you own a MINI you should consider Miles Ahead as a way to learn from experts in a safe environment what your car is capable of doing. They also have classes for new drivers on safe driving- If you have a kid who just got their driver’s license, no matter what car they drive consider sending them. I know I would (but Hemi isn’t going to be driving anytime soon).
The F56 has once again raised the bar, while it has some quirky things (what MINI doesn’t?) I’m not going to complain when I get one as a loaner. Hopefully the F59 will be announced around the time I make the last payment on my R59.
Cecil is still not happy with the loss of the “ginormous” cupholder/monkey seat that used to be in the R53. He says the loss of that feature has “ruined the brand”
You’ll find as I go through these that some MINIons came really easy for me, others not so much. This was one of those easy ones. Basically the person who has this joined the group and within 24 hours I had this one done. The old school compass, the map, all made sense. If you were to look closely at the map you might notice it is a map of Middle Earth, even though “One does not simply motor into Mordor.” This MINIon probably has.
