Post a picture of yourself!

[Tycho]

I took Michelle with me on the Lynx, a War of 1812 American schooner ship that operated as a privateer conducting lightning attacks on British ships to break England's blockade of the young United States. We launched from Oceanside, California and took on two other tall ships, including the big Californian.

The tattered American flag that still waved "by the dawn's early light" after these engagements inspired Francis Scott Key to write the song that we hear every day as our National Anthem. The Lynx really flew the Star-Spangled Banner!

So I stepped up to become one of the crew and had to raise and lower the sails on my captain's orders and prepare the ship for our attack runs. We had a 3-way ship battle going on out there. I'll write up a thread about that later, but just post the pics I'm in in a post-a-picture-of-YOURSELF thread right now.

[Slicker]

Wow is that some crazy local brand of beer??? Nothing like drinking the local brew when you're away from home.

Late reply but...

Up yours!! I had several Tsing Tao's while I was there! Although those are German beers brewed in there colony...whatevs...

[Bel-Cam Jos]

Tycho! What happened to your eye? Did you shoot your eye out with your Redbeard Rider Blunderbuss with a Compass in the Stock?

[Mad Slanted Powers]

Tycho! What happened to your eye? Did you shoot your eye out with your Redbeard Rider Blunderbuss with a Compass in the Stock?

He probably tried sniffing a WED droid and one of it's many appendages poked him when he got too close.

[Tycho]

WED Droid sniffing. Very funny.

So I got the first-class experience as a San Diego Padre!

There are more pictures of me batting and in the Padres' clubhouse and locker room around the site. But here are a few more good ones.

[bobafrett]

Sweet, I love the picture of you standing near the picture of Hoffman.

Sorry I missed your call Sunday, I got it around 1 pm, my time.

[JimJamBonds]

Sweet, I love the picture of you standing near the picture of Hoffman.

They should change that picture to reflect the fact that Trevor is a Brewer.

[Bel-Cam Jos]

Here's me as Charlie Chaplin in our city's annual Founders' Day parade, on the Hollywood float. My fellow "stars" are Marilyn Monroe, Shirley Temple, Audrey Hepburn, and Mary Poppins.

[Tycho]

Looks like you had fun Bel-Cam Jos! Good costumes and nice float.

[Tycho]

Over Thanksgiving weekend, we had a re-union of much of the San Diego Star Wars crew. Except for only 1 of the girls, everyone here has a modern Star Wars collection. There are actually folks missing from my inner-circle trade group, but back in the day, we were terrorizing Targets, Wal-Marts, and Toys R Us' across San Diego. Many have moved since and it was great to party with everyone and get back together. Fun times!

(not pictured are the customizers James and Darren, my best friend Tony, Mike from GH, Dexter, and Jose - my closest inner circle in the collecting hobby.)

The group here and my trading syndicate all met at "The Toy Box," a colletor-dealer store near the area in which I still live. The store had to close in 2002 but it was an institution where many of us all met back in 1996. We used to hang out there as Jim, the owner (pictured), would get stuff from connections overseas and he was on the news when he had The Phantom Menace toys months before anyone else (though SirSteve had pictures first).

Most of us in this group had personal deals with Jim and were not getting ripped off. He has a real passion for the hobby himself and an impressive private collection at his house.

Oh man, I wish those days would have lasted a while longer - and were still there today.