2019 IPMS Nationals in Chattanooga, Part 2

When I left off, I had gone to my hotel room at the EconoLodge in East Ridge, Tennessee (https://www.choicehotels.com/tennessee/east-ridge/econo-lodge-hotels/tn614?brand=EL) at the end of Day 2 of the 2019 International Plastic Modelers' Society (IPMS/USA) (http://www.ipmsusa.org/) National Convention (http://www.ipmsusanationals.com). The event was held at the Chattanooga Convention Center (https://chattanoogaconventioncenter.org/), located 9 miles (14.5 km) from the EconoLodge.

Friday (9 August) was Day 3 of the Convention. Arriving at the Convention Center that morning, I saw some more models in the Model Room--both for the contest, and for the display-only area. The latter included several more from IPMS/Gateway (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) members, which made for a nicer display. There were quite a few chapters who displayed their models, and the items they showed were impressive enough.

I also browsed among the vendors, and made a few small purchases. There was plenty to see and plenty to buy, if you had the money to match your wish list.

The hallway was rather busy with convention and contest registration, kit raffles, and information on upcoming shows. The organizers of next year's IPMS/USA National Convention in San Marcos, Texas (http://www.nats2020.com/) had a table with information on the show and on the San Marcos area.

Just before 6 pm, I and other contest judges met to be briefed on the contest. The head of IPMS/USA's National Contest Committee went over procedures--what judges should look for and general protocol--before we formed into teams to judge the various categories. I and three other Aircraft judges--including an On the Job Trainee (OJT), a National contest rookie--were assigned to judge Biplanes 1/72 and 1/144 scales. We had 23 entries in our category to evaluate, and we meticulously examined each entry for any flaws in construction. We went through about half the entries before taking a short break for refreshments in a side room. Then we got back to work, and narrowed these entries down into the top three for the awards in this category. The top two were pretty easy to figure out, but third place came down to two entries that were close in both good and bad points. We did come to an agreement on the entry that we did award third to.

After reporting the results with the team to the contest control, I volunteered to help judge Figures I was assigned to join two others on Fantasy figures, working a split category of small scale entries--about 23 in all. After some intense evaluations, we came up with the top three in this categories. Then, we stayed to help determine Best Figure from the category winners. It came down to two entries, and one was selected after a close vote.

I then went back to the EconoLodge, arriving around Midnight. It was a long day and night, but I was happy to have done my bit for IPMS/USA in the contest judging.

I will tell about the final day in Chattanooga in my next post.

Later.

2019 IPMS Nationals in Chattanooga, Part 1

Early last Wednesday morning (7 August), I left St. Louis in my car, bound for Chattanooga, Tennessee. That was the opening day of the 2019 International Plastic Modeler's Society/USA (IPMS/USA) (http://ipmsusa.org/) National Convention (http://www.ipmsnationals.com/). After a drive of 450 miles (724 km) taking over 6.5 hours (not counting brief stops for fuel and food), I arrived at the Convention's venue, the Chattanooga Convention Center (https://chattanoogaconventioncenter.org/).

After parking in the nearby garage, I arrived at the registration desk to check in and received my convention packet. This included a t-shirt I ordered, a convention program, a decal sheet, raffle tickets, and a ticket for the closing night reception. After that, I brought my models to the contest registration area. I entered two models in the contest: one of the British nuclear submarine Turbulent, and the other of a Soviet alien craft that I entered in the Humor category. Additionally, I brought in ten models for the display-only area. I had filled out the contest registration forms before leaving St. Louis, so I got through the registration process quickly and placed my models in the appropriate areas.

Then, I began browsing among the vendors at the show. Plenty to see and to buy. I chatted with a few people I knew, including some fellow IPMS/Gateway (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) members who made the trip.

Late that afternoon, I left the Convention Center and checked into my hotel room at the EconoLodge (https://www.choicehotels.com/econo-lodge?mc=smbibiuseln&cid=Search%7CEcono_Lodge%7CUS%7CCore_Brand%7CExact%7CCPC%7CDesktop%7CEN%7CC_B_E&ag=US%7CCore%20Brand%20Exact%7CEcono%20Lodge&pmf=BING&kw=econo%20lodge&msclkid=99ef48eb46ea1ee5114115b8b5765e46&gclid=CK3LloKkguQCFQ2mZQodvtsBdw&gclsrc=ds) in East Ridge, located 9.8 miles (15.8 km) south of downtown Chattanooga. For dinner, I went to a nearby Wendy's restaurant (https://www.wendys.com/?utm_source=paid-search&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=always-on).

Early the next morning, after a complementary breakfast at the hotel, I drove to the Convention Center. There, I joined other convention attendees on a bus trip of approximately two hours to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center (https://rocketcenter.com/) in Huntsville, Alabama. This serves as a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (https://www.nasa.gov/) visitors center for the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. It was there that the Saturn V rocket used to send humans to the Moon 50 years ago were developed. We saw videos on the bus about the Saturn rockets, which helped pass the time until we arrived in Huntsville.

I viewed the Saturn V replica displayed on the center's grounds, then entered the main museum building that housed an actual Saturn V, suspended horizontally above the floor. Displays talked about the role Huntsville played in the US space program, plus full scale rocket engines and other artifacts were on display. The latter included the Apollo 16 command module Casper, which flew around the Moon in 1972, and the quarantine trailer that housed the Apollo 12 astronauts after their lunar mission in 1969.

After going through these exhibits, I shopped in the gift shop and got a snack before looking at the rest of the Center. These included several missiles and rockets displayed outdoors, a replica Space Shuttle orbiter with external tank and boosters, and a display on the Apollo Program and its impact on America. There were some young people attending Space Camp (https://www.spacecamp.com/) walking around the grounds.

After visiting another gift shop and chatting with some of the other attendees, I did selfies with an A-12 Oxcart reconnaissance aircraft parked on the premises and the Saturn V replica. We then boarded the bus to return to Chattanooga, watching videos on Moon exploration technology developed for the Apollo program.

Arriving at the Convention Center, I was invited by one of my IPMS/Gateway mates to join them for dinner at a nearby restaurant, Tupelo Honey (https://tupelohoneycafe.com/location/chattanooga/). I walked over to the venue, which serves Southern food, and joined Marion Morris and his wife, Regina; Rick Keasey; Jim Triola; Jim Victor and his wife, Debbie; and Jeff Bobela from Kansas City. We had a wonderful dinner with great conversation.

After dinner, I walked back to my car in the Convention Center's garage, and drove back to the EconoLodge.

More on the Convention in my next post.

Later.

STLFC Midweek Match Before My Trip

Much of last week was vacation time for me. After working on Monday (5 August), I was off for some serious me time. I spent that Tuesday preparing for my trip, as well as cheering on Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) in its match against Memphis 901 FC. (This match was originally scheduled for 1 June; however, lightning just before kick off and lingering storms postponed the match to this month.) It ended a 0-0 tie. Such a disappointment, as Saint Louis had opportunities to score and win, but could not. Before the match, I took in the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) tailgate. There was no food buffet that night, so I bought dinner--street tacos and Mexican fries--from the Locoz Tacoz (https://www.locoztacoz.com/) food truck parked at the stadium.

The next morning, I was off to Chattanooga. More on that in my next post.

Later.

Pool Time; Travel Preparations

Off work last Wednesday (31 July), I headed to the pool at Kennedy Recreation Complex (https://stlouisco.com/Parks-and-Recreation/Recreation-Complexes/Kennedy-Recreation-Complex) in south St. Louis County. For the first time in two years, I swam in the pool. This pool is closing for the season this coming weekend, so I wanted to take a dip while I had the chance.

After paying my fee, I entered the men's locker room to change down to my swim trunks, which I wore under my cargo shorts. After locking up my things, I walked out to the pool and entered the water near the deep end. There were a few other swimmers there, so I didn't feel crowded in the pool. Lifeguards were on duty to watch over us.

I was there for about 1.75 hours, mostly swimming. However, I did get out of the water two times to relax for a few minutes in one of the lounge chairs near the pool. It wasn't too warm and was mostly sunny, and the cool water felt good.

Last weekend included getting some items for my vacation trip to Chattanooga this week for the IPMS/USA National Convention (http://www.ipmsnationals.com/), which runs tomorrow through Saturday. These items included a larger memory card for my camera, a camera battery charger, and a power strip with surge protection. These were purchased at Best Buy (https://www.bestbuy.com/?ref=212&loc=BM01&msclkid=155ac6441eb910be92869b0d960d2922&ds_rl=1266837&gclid=CKSghtS07uMCFSmkZQoda7wIVw&gclsrc=ds) in Mehlville. I plan to shoot many photos on this trip of the convention, including those for the IPMS/Gateway Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/IPMSGateway/?eid=ARCK7Pjm-t6TUI9FNkulyzJmD_-xbIwv98G5Eyu1SKbHC1U59sSKeF1GNCbwumKFeVQXICF6M9eXN9bR) and the club's newsletter, The Arch Scaler News. Looking forward to the trip. I'll post on that event after I get back to St. Louis.

Before I hit the road, I'll be at World Wide Technology Soccer Park (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/stadium) for the rescheduled match tonight between Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) and Memphis 901 FC. This match was originally scheduled for 1 June; however, lightning in the vicinity just before kick off and subsequent stormy weather postponed the match until now. Weather should be much better tonight.

Later.

Last Weekend: A New Computer, Soccer, and Beer

I finally pulled the trigger on a new laptop computer last weekend. A week before, I visited Micro Center (https://www.microcenter.com/) in Brentwood, where I browsed among its extensive selection of laptops. There was one particular model I was most interested in, an Aspire 5 from Acer (https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/home), which has greater capabilities than the older Acer Aspire I have had for the last eight years. During my lunch break on Friday (26 July), I went onto Micro Center's website and reserved an Aspire 5. It was waiting for me when I came to the store after work. After paying for the computer, I took it home and began to set it up. It is still a work in progress, but I really like this new laptop so far. Not only is it more capable than my old one (particularly in having twice the memory and a solid state hard drive), but also that it's slightly smaller and lighter. I will appreciate that when I have to lug it around.

I spent much of Saturday at home getting my files (documents and images especially) transferred from my old laptop to my new one, via my external hard drive.

That night, I was at World Wide Technology Soccer Park (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/soccerpark) to cheer on Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) in USL Championship (https://www.uslsoccer.com/usl-championship) play against Bethlehem Steel FC. As usual, it began at the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) tailgate in the parking lot. They had a nachos buffet bar for dinner, which was good. I selected both pork rinds and nacho chips, which I topped with ground beef and sour cream. All washed down with Schlafly (http://www.schlafly.com/) Ale d'Or from the tailgate trailer tap.

We then marched into the stadium for the match. It was a good night for the home side, as Saint Louis FC won, 3-nil, their first win in league play in three months. Hopefully, this will be the start of a comeback effort for our club.

Yesterday (28 July) afternoon was spent in downtown Clayton. I met with others from Single in the City Meetup group (https://www.meetup.com/STLSingleInTheCity/) for Beer Geek Fest at Craft Beer Cellar (https://clayton.craftbeercellar.com/), a tasting event with beers from 28 breweries around the country. We first met next door at The Posh Nosh Deli (http://www.poshnoshdeli.com/), where I had lunch: The Rebecca sandwich with chips and soda. Then, we began to sample away. It was most interesting to try out different beers from craft breweries located around the St. Louis area and from around the country. I had samples from 23 beers in about 2.5 hours there, all of which I logged onto the Untappd (https://untappd.com/) app on my smartphone. It was fun chatting with the others in the group while we talked about the beers we sampled or wanted to sample.

After spending time at the event, I walked to World News Ltd (https://newsstands.cmac.ws/world-news-ltd-clayton/1800/), where I bought two magazines, then walked to the nearby Starbucks (https://www.starbucks.com/) for an iced coffee while I read the magazines. After that, I walked to my car and drove home.

Later.