Corby Recommends

I can't vouch for ANYTHING in this thread on the Armour Archive, but from the pictures, these shoes look very nice, and you can't beat the price with a new piece of rattan.

Some of them look sturdy enough to fight in. Not the ones pictured here though.

Just found this and thought it useful for anyone interested in leather decoration and the peculiar instructional styles of the early 20th century in in England.

Here's the new shield! Just lacking some drying time and a couple crows.

Back on 2/25 I started my new workout. Let's see how I've progressed in a little over two months:

Then: 5 x 5 squats with a bar.
I had never done free squats before, so even though I felt silly, I just did them with the bar. Even the last set was easy, but still, I feel it in my quads today.
Now: 1 x 5 squats @ 90 lbs, 4 x 5 @ 110. Just a little sore.

Then: 3 x 5 deadlifts with a bar.
These were very straightforward and also easy. So ridiculously easy that after one set with the bar, I threw 20 lbs. on it. Still stupidly easy.
Now: 5 x @ 90 lbs and 5x 2 @ 110lbs and 5x 2 @120 lbs on the deadlift platform, which lets you lower the bar to your toes.

Then: 3 x 15 push ups.
These nearly kicked my ass. The first set of 15 was easy. The third was nearly not finished.
Now: I mix push ups in other times. Did 15 yesterday.

Then: 5 x 5 horizontal pull-ups or five sets of as many regular chin-ups or pull-ups you can crank out.
These did kick my ass. So I did 6/5/5 pull/chin ups, and then the inverted bench press came open long enough for me to finish with 2 sets of 15 horizontal pull ups.
Now: 5 full vertical pullups 4 times, 6 on the last set. Then, after the back hyperextensions, I came back and did 5 more! This is the most massive change since Feb.

Then: Skipped the back hyperextensions because I didn't know how to do them.
Now: 2 x 15 @ 35 lbs back hyperextensions, 1 x 15 @25 lbs. I'm being careful here, as I really feel it in my back muscles afterwards.

Then: 3 x 5/15 of ab exercise of choice. "Planks" were recommended.
I tried these. My oblique abdominal complained after 2 and made me stop at three. I need to figure out another way to exercise my abs.
Now: I've dropped these from my workout. I think I'm getting some ab work with the pullups, but that damn oblique ab muscle still complains when I try other stuff.

Then: After Effects: I'm moderately sore today, in a way that I didn't expect. Normally I get sore two days out from a workout. Maybe that means I'll be too stiff to move tomorrow.
Now: I get a little sore. Not bad. Just enough to know I've worked out.

Then: Weight: 196 lbs.
Now: Weight 200 lbs and all the same pants fit. Interestingly, all that weight came on in about the first 5 weeks.

It is time to revise the workout for more progress, most notably the addition of bench presses. If I keep this up, I think I may be in the best shape of my life by Pennsic!

I doubt any SCA member has trouble figuring out either what to ask for or what to get their friends and relatives who are in the SCA. But what do you tell your dubious grandmother about your hobby? Is she really going to go shop at Revival or Mad Matt's Armory online for you? Will Uncle Irving understand you want the 11th century viking buckles, not a Minnesota Vikings belt buckle?

Here are some things you can suggest to your non-SCA gift givers. You don't even need to explain why you need them!

All the stuff below would be particularly welcome to someone just getting started putting their fighting kit together.

Sliding Shorts
These are a huge improvement over normal athletic cup holders. Less chafing, and most of them come with some padding on the hips. Not enough to stop a greatsword blow, but every little bit helps. If you are buying for someone really big, there's an amazing sale at the moment on XXL mens sliding shorts. Under $9! That's cheaper than most normal cup holders.

Knee Pads
Pretty self explanatory. Big guys wear these on their elbow. Or you can just pick up some elbow pads. Even people who have been fighting a while can use these. They wear out. And in most cases, black will show less under gear than white will.

Leather Work Gloves
These wear out from half gauntlets, gauntlets and tent set up with distressing regularity. I go through two or three pair a year.

Duffel Bags
You can go with something cheap and basic, but for a nice upgrade, a leather duffel comes very very close to looking like a period case. 

Foldit Carts
I've mentioned these before. Not as cool as a period-looking cart, but cheaper and easier to pack than almost any other option. So very very handy at Pennsic or any big war. 

Things I would never think to recommend because I'm not an expert: Sewing machines, embroidery hoops, knitting needles, that kind of stuff.

This is from Darkwood Armory's shop, last week.

Boring pic, but I'm excited! Caleb is coming up on Friday to crash with us prior to Holiday Faire, and he thinks he'll have the new helm with him.

This Portable Tankless Water Heater is much smaller, uses the same propane tanks, and is actually designed to do what most Pennsic camps want it to do, unlike a big tank water heater.

I'm not suggesting we get rid of what we have that works, but maybe other camps who are revising or creating their shower system could use something like this. If we didn't have a solution already, this would seem a no brainer.

Then again, is it worth the cost to stop having to haul that big thing around? The owners (Roland and Theo, I think) might be able to sell the old tank for more than one of these costs!

On the other hand, we might need three of them: one for each shower, and one for the sink. Other camps might need less.

I just signed up for Twitter as sircorby.

Theoretically, this will automatically be posted to my livejournal, if not delaflamme.org.

I'll use this for major events of the day at the war, like "arrived without trauma or drama," "really stupid hot," "raining tomcats and hoehandles," "broke my femur in the bridge battle," "garlic chicken bread bowl for lunch," "Atlantia kicked everyone's ass," "left site for beer and the 1:15 Dark Knight in Butler," and so on.

Hell, that could almost be my whole war right there. Hopefully not the femur stuff.

Oh, and PACKING IS DONE!!!!!!!

To calm Isabel and hopefully not annoy Thjora, I thought I'd mention that my Pennsic prep has gone pretty smoothly. Last night I painted the gold onto the Best Shield in the World, and also finished covering the cute little heavy T6 shield blank Alan gave me. (Don't be too shocked: First, it is the heaviest piece of T6 I've ever seen, and second, it is probably just going to be a loaner.) Philip was over this weekend and used his amazing helicopter repair skills to properly re-fiberglas the Best Shield. Here's a pic of it after repair and before recovering.

This shield is two years old. I'd thought it was three. But in any case, it has proven to be remarkably durable. Yes, I wish its shape was slightly different, and I wish it was slightly smaller. Those are my errors, not Reynard's! He does amazing work, and I hope I'll always be fighting with one of his shields. Rigid shields have spoiled me. When I had to use my old aluminum one this past spring, I hated it. So wobbly when it gets hit.

Tonight, hopefully Lewis is coming over to help with reapplication of the crows, and I'll get the green chief painted.

Perhaps we'll debate what to paint on the new little T6er too. Otherwise, things remaining undone that must be done before we leave:

1. Tie new loops for the tent. No biggie.
2. Paint war standard poles. An hour or so.
3. Old Camail attached to Phrygian Helm. Could wait 'til the war.
4. Reattach camail to demi-helm. Ditto.
5. Print out SCA biz cards for Thjora and me. Done shortly. Yay for a slack job.
6. Shopping, because Thjora has enough to do.
7. Put some plants in the ground.
8. Air in the cart tires.
9. Pack

It Will Be Done.

This started out as a comment on Clare's LJ, but then I realized it would be worth noting here.

Currently reading:

"Who Really Runs The World?: The War Between Globalization and Democracy" (Thom Burnett, Alex Games)
After that, I'd like to chew through this, which came highly recommended by stringmonkey:

"Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA" (Tim Weiner)
And for fun, sometime this summer I'd like to finally get around to this, which I have somehow missed all these years. Apparently it is a fundamental part of my SF education:

"Ender's Game" (Orson Scott Card)

What are you reading? What do you want to read this summer?