About six months ago my extended family made their way out to Las Vegas for my Uncle's 80th surprise birthday. During that trip my Aunt said that we had to come and check out their hotel room downtown. I've been downtown. Although I like going down there occasionally for the Fremont Experience (overhead show that covers a large block of Fremont St.)or cheap deals I don't remember seeing a new construction that would warrant checking out a new hotel. I was wrong.
The Golden Nugget has added a new tower and while doing so renovated a large part of their casino. When we first entered the casino I was immediately surprised. I don't think I've ever been in the Golden Nugget. All the other Casinos in the surrounding area are older and I was expecting the same. I was wrong. The atmosphere was more like a strip casino and it's easy to forget that you are downtown. We walked to about the center of the complex and entered the pool area. The pool area is surrounded by glass, so you can see it from inside the casino. I was impressed before we went outside. The pool area looked like so much fun! There's a waterfall, a more private grotto type area and an amazing three story slide that goes through a two story shark tank. The shark tank is worth checking out on its own.
The new Rush tower (where my Aunts stayed) was incredible. You would probably need to stay in a suite or villa to find a nicer room. New everything--t.v., linen, couch, bathroom area, etc... and had an amazing view of the Strip.
Needless to say I was impressed and when more relatives came into town to visit I didn't hesitate to recommend what I had seen. It didn't disappoint. It's a great combination of higher priced quality and cheap deals. You can stay inside the Golden Nugget and get an amazing steak/seafood dinner at the Chart House or walk outside to the Fremont experience and in almost all of the other casinos find a very inexpensive meal. Usually when I'm in Vegas I want both and on the strip it's harder to find.
The only negative of the trip was the location. There is a population of homeless that surround the downtown area. Inside the casino and on the Fremont experience you really don't feel it that much, but as you walk away from Fremont street it's definitely present. I never felt unsafe, but it is there.
Here's a quick video at an attempt at a review... Sorry for the poor quality of the videos, but writing a review was an afterthought. We just had such a great time that I wanted to share.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Nightfinder Mod
The term modding or mod refers to changing a Nerf gun from it's stock or original form somehow. Usually it's in reference to making the gun shoot farther, but can also mean a new paint job, changing the barrel to shoot different types of darts, etc...
There are lots of things you can do to make a gun stronger and for that reason you want to figure out why you want to do this? With some of these guns the changes you can make range from just having a few more feet of power to being able to shoot stefans (homemade darts) that can break the skin. I've been doing a little bit of everything, but most of the changes I make are for use in family wars. There are young kids, we are usually at pretty close range and all different kinds of darts being used. I don't need much more power for most guns, but stock the guns just don't seem to be as powerful as they were when I was a kid.
Two major mods for improving power:
1. Air restrictor removal--All the new nerf guns have an air restrictor that inhibits air flow, lessens the impact of the plunger (acting like a silencer) and sometimes inhibits the use of streamlines and stefan darts (homemade darts). I recommend doing this for all stock guns. For my general use this is usually all I need to do.
2. Spring Replacement or addition--Buying a stronger spring or adding another second spring. This will get you the most drastic change in power. I have two nightfinders that I modded and used a spring purchased at Ace Hardware. They are close to the strongest guns I have modded. They scare adults. Spring replacement can be tricky. You need to find a spring that fits, (compressed and uncompressed) will provide you with more power, but also still work. With more power may come the need to strengthen other parts of the gun.
Some other things that may help are lubing the plunger tube, maximizing spring compression, plugging air holes, changing barrels, etc... Not all the guns are the same, but they are very similar. Once you get a few mods under your belt it just gets easier and easier.
If you want an easy starter gun a Nerf Nightfinder would be a great place to start. It's an inexpensive gun (can be found for $5.00 or less), easily modded and is strong and accurate. If you mess it up (i would argue that would be harder to do than modding it) then you are only out $5.00 bucks. Shoot, this gun has been around so long your niece, nephew, brother, sister, etc... probably already has one that you can work with.
Here's a quick explanation of how to mod a Nightfinder.
Here's a before and after video, as well as, some other modded Nightfinders.
There are lots of things you can do to make a gun stronger and for that reason you want to figure out why you want to do this? With some of these guns the changes you can make range from just having a few more feet of power to being able to shoot stefans (homemade darts) that can break the skin. I've been doing a little bit of everything, but most of the changes I make are for use in family wars. There are young kids, we are usually at pretty close range and all different kinds of darts being used. I don't need much more power for most guns, but stock the guns just don't seem to be as powerful as they were when I was a kid.
Two major mods for improving power:
1. Air restrictor removal--All the new nerf guns have an air restrictor that inhibits air flow, lessens the impact of the plunger (acting like a silencer) and sometimes inhibits the use of streamlines and stefan darts (homemade darts). I recommend doing this for all stock guns. For my general use this is usually all I need to do.
2. Spring Replacement or addition--Buying a stronger spring or adding another second spring. This will get you the most drastic change in power. I have two nightfinders that I modded and used a spring purchased at Ace Hardware. They are close to the strongest guns I have modded. They scare adults. Spring replacement can be tricky. You need to find a spring that fits, (compressed and uncompressed) will provide you with more power, but also still work. With more power may come the need to strengthen other parts of the gun.
Some other things that may help are lubing the plunger tube, maximizing spring compression, plugging air holes, changing barrels, etc... Not all the guns are the same, but they are very similar. Once you get a few mods under your belt it just gets easier and easier.
If you want an easy starter gun a Nerf Nightfinder would be a great place to start. It's an inexpensive gun (can be found for $5.00 or less), easily modded and is strong and accurate. If you mess it up (i would argue that would be harder to do than modding it) then you are only out $5.00 bucks. Shoot, this gun has been around so long your niece, nephew, brother, sister, etc... probably already has one that you can work with.
Here's a quick explanation of how to mod a Nightfinder.
Here's a before and after video, as well as, some other modded Nightfinders.
Nerf Wars
I was very lucky to grow up with a very close, large family that also likes to have fun. My Grandfather is one of nine kids who most of which have large families. My Dad is one of six kids and all of his siblings (my Aunts and Uncles) have at least one kid accept for one. Ever since I can remember my extended family have gotten together at least on two major occasions a year; at Christmas and during the summer in Lake Tahoe. The immediate family gets together as often as possible for Holidays, kids Birthdays, etc... Anyways, the point is there are a lot of us, many different age groups and we all like to have fun together!
I always go out of my way to make sure that during these meetings all the kids are having a good time. That was something my Uncles did (and still do) and I want to make sure their Family experience is as good as mine was at their age. There are some things we all go and do together like bowling, eating or amusement parks, but it's always a challenge to find something fun for everyone to do, that's kid focused, while we are just at the house. Weather permitting we try to get them outside and do something sporty, but sometimes we don't have the room or it's later in the afternoon or evening and we can't. So the focus was on trying to find something indoors that everyone can participate in without spending too much money and the answer was a nerf war!!
When I was younger on one of those trips to Lake Tahoe we rented a house where all the kids stayed together. There was this long narrow loft that we all lined up in our sleeping bags and slept at night. During the day we would build a fort on each side of the loft and shoot each other with nerf bow and arrows and arrowstorms. It was so much fun that although we had a blast going to the lake, horseback riding, etc... that we couldn't wait to get back home to have our mini wars.
We started recreating these wars and what was great was that the kids already had the guns. Nerf guns seem to be very popular presents. I glanced through my niece and nephews toys and they had about 5 to 8 different guns already. If you don't have them, they are cheap. You can get a two-pack of Nerf Nightfinders for $10.00 (5.00 each) at Big Lots. There are always sales on Nerf or other foam launchers and what's great is most of the time the non-Nerf guns are made to mimmick their Nerf counterparts so the ammunition is the same size. If they are not you can always mod it to shoot the more popular Nerf ammo (more on that in another post).
We have kids as young as two and adults in their sixties who partake in these mini battles. Basically before or after we eat someone starts pulling out the guns. A room is found where there is enough space for two sides and we start splitting up. Chairs, boxes, pillows, etc.. are found for protection and it's on! We put glasses on all the kids, because in our experience the only time people were getting hurt was a shot in the eye. A few of the Nerf guns now come packaged with goggles.
We pretty much do everything the box tells you not to. It says not to aim for the face or head--we do (usually that's the only thing that's sticking out of their protected fort area). The adults aim for head shots, but try not to do that to the kids. They say not to modify the guns--we do (the newer guns just don't have the pop that we had when I was kid so we modify them). Modified, even at close range, the eyes are the only part of the body that's really going to do some damage. Use goggles or glasses!! We don't keep an actual score, but play for the fun of hearing "Ouch, good shot!" and making sure the kids have a good time! It's a blast and here's an example of a mini war...
I always go out of my way to make sure that during these meetings all the kids are having a good time. That was something my Uncles did (and still do) and I want to make sure their Family experience is as good as mine was at their age. There are some things we all go and do together like bowling, eating or amusement parks, but it's always a challenge to find something fun for everyone to do, that's kid focused, while we are just at the house. Weather permitting we try to get them outside and do something sporty, but sometimes we don't have the room or it's later in the afternoon or evening and we can't. So the focus was on trying to find something indoors that everyone can participate in without spending too much money and the answer was a nerf war!!
When I was younger on one of those trips to Lake Tahoe we rented a house where all the kids stayed together. There was this long narrow loft that we all lined up in our sleeping bags and slept at night. During the day we would build a fort on each side of the loft and shoot each other with nerf bow and arrows and arrowstorms. It was so much fun that although we had a blast going to the lake, horseback riding, etc... that we couldn't wait to get back home to have our mini wars.
We started recreating these wars and what was great was that the kids already had the guns. Nerf guns seem to be very popular presents. I glanced through my niece and nephews toys and they had about 5 to 8 different guns already. If you don't have them, they are cheap. You can get a two-pack of Nerf Nightfinders for $10.00 (5.00 each) at Big Lots. There are always sales on Nerf or other foam launchers and what's great is most of the time the non-Nerf guns are made to mimmick their Nerf counterparts so the ammunition is the same size. If they are not you can always mod it to shoot the more popular Nerf ammo (more on that in another post).
We have kids as young as two and adults in their sixties who partake in these mini battles. Basically before or after we eat someone starts pulling out the guns. A room is found where there is enough space for two sides and we start splitting up. Chairs, boxes, pillows, etc.. are found for protection and it's on! We put glasses on all the kids, because in our experience the only time people were getting hurt was a shot in the eye. A few of the Nerf guns now come packaged with goggles.
We pretty much do everything the box tells you not to. It says not to aim for the face or head--we do (usually that's the only thing that's sticking out of their protected fort area). The adults aim for head shots, but try not to do that to the kids. They say not to modify the guns--we do (the newer guns just don't have the pop that we had when I was kid so we modify them). Modified, even at close range, the eyes are the only part of the body that's really going to do some damage. Use goggles or glasses!! We don't keep an actual score, but play for the fun of hearing "Ouch, good shot!" and making sure the kids have a good time! It's a blast and here's an example of a mini war...
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Ultrazone "The Ultimate Laser Adventure"
Hello everyone!!! I created this blog site as a way to share all of the fun stuff I've been able to do and will do in the future. I think it's only fitting to start with the name that I created for this site. Shadowuz was developed from playing lasertag. Yes lasertag. I know what you're thinking... "Been there, done that. Yeah, yeah, black lights and shooting each other. No big deal." Well maybe or maybe not. Ultrazone was the name of the franchise. From the first moment I put on one of their packs I was hooked. I had played other systems, but there was something about it that immediately grabbed me and wouldn't let go. Maybe it was how solid the pack felt once strapped in and ready to go when other systems felt like toys or how the laser fit so perfectly in both hands. Maybe it was how the arenas were so well built while others looked like someones home in a failed attempt at a Halloween haunted house. Maybe it was the people--the employees and members (or regulars) who you could tell also loved it. There was something and I couldn't get my fill.
I played and played until I too became a member. Membership had the reward of giving yourself an alias or nickname that you would be known by. My alias was S H A D O W. All caps, spaces in between. I played more and more until I was spending so much time and money at the Sherman Oaks site the only reasonable thing to do would be to work there and get free games. I kept working and playing and made the site team (at that time every Ultrazone site had their own team). I kept playing and played in national tournaments, won huge trophies and didn't stop until I was one of the best. The different sites became homes away from home. We all knew each other, probably hated each other at first, then over time, developed respect and strong friendships that have lasted years. We were/are zoneheads.
So that's where shadowuz was developed. A reminder of all the fun had through playing Ultrazone lasertag.
With every post I'm gonna try to add a video clip. All of the other reasons I listed were part of the reason I was initially hooked to Ultrazone, but this clip shows what kept me going. The ultrazone packs were the only ones I had ever played with that you could stand off right next to another person when your lights were off. The lasers were accurate, not wide-spread and you only had 1 shot a second in an advanced game. Instead of running away and trying to hide I would be right up on you. When the pack was ready to come back on it would make a sound and the lights would come on almost simultaneously. In that moment it was a test of skill who could make a move to position their body so that your opponent would miss (shoot your arm, head, etc.. and not the lights on your pack) and you could land a shot on their pack. Covering your lights intentionally was cheating and not allowed. There were gray areas. In the motion of firing if you extended your arms across your chest it wasn't called. There were those who outright cheated and those who perfected the art of speed and motion of firing. If you were one of the best you didn't outright cheat, but you were damn close. This clip was some of the best west coast players and some cheaters of the time standing off in the lobby of the Alhambra Ultrazone site and showing off a little for the camera. Please understand that this is not the inside of an arena. The real games are in a real arena in black light with bases. In every one of those real games you would find the best players in the same area of the arena doing this and trying to prove they were the best by beating the best. Thanks to shade for the editing and putting together an amazing video even though you were also one of the best and deserved to be playing, not filming.
If you live in Southern California and are interested in playing Ultrazone then play in Sherman Oaks. Especially if you want to have a birthday party or special event! The site owner Mark is an amazing, nice man. He was in charge of running almost every major tournament I was in over the years and took over the Sherman Oaks site. Those tournaments weren't cheap and the players weren't rich. Every once in awhile a zonehead wouldn't have all the money for entry fees, etc... but if Mark was around he would find a way to get that kid playing. There's also a site in Alhambra and one in San Diego.
Url for the Sherman Oaks Site
http://www.zonehead.com/
I have to warn you that the packs have changed a bit since this was filmed. It's still a fun game, but the newer version packs shoot a more wide spread laser that doesn' t miss. It's more of a battle who can pull the trigger first and it's one of the reasons I'm almost fully retired. Almost.
I played and played until I too became a member. Membership had the reward of giving yourself an alias or nickname that you would be known by. My alias was S H A D O W. All caps, spaces in between. I played more and more until I was spending so much time and money at the Sherman Oaks site the only reasonable thing to do would be to work there and get free games. I kept working and playing and made the site team (at that time every Ultrazone site had their own team). I kept playing and played in national tournaments, won huge trophies and didn't stop until I was one of the best. The different sites became homes away from home. We all knew each other, probably hated each other at first, then over time, developed respect and strong friendships that have lasted years. We were/are zoneheads.
So that's where shadowuz was developed. A reminder of all the fun had through playing Ultrazone lasertag.
With every post I'm gonna try to add a video clip. All of the other reasons I listed were part of the reason I was initially hooked to Ultrazone, but this clip shows what kept me going. The ultrazone packs were the only ones I had ever played with that you could stand off right next to another person when your lights were off. The lasers were accurate, not wide-spread and you only had 1 shot a second in an advanced game. Instead of running away and trying to hide I would be right up on you. When the pack was ready to come back on it would make a sound and the lights would come on almost simultaneously. In that moment it was a test of skill who could make a move to position their body so that your opponent would miss (shoot your arm, head, etc.. and not the lights on your pack) and you could land a shot on their pack. Covering your lights intentionally was cheating and not allowed. There were gray areas. In the motion of firing if you extended your arms across your chest it wasn't called. There were those who outright cheated and those who perfected the art of speed and motion of firing. If you were one of the best you didn't outright cheat, but you were damn close. This clip was some of the best west coast players and some cheaters of the time standing off in the lobby of the Alhambra Ultrazone site and showing off a little for the camera. Please understand that this is not the inside of an arena. The real games are in a real arena in black light with bases. In every one of those real games you would find the best players in the same area of the arena doing this and trying to prove they were the best by beating the best. Thanks to shade for the editing and putting together an amazing video even though you were also one of the best and deserved to be playing, not filming.
If you live in Southern California and are interested in playing Ultrazone then play in Sherman Oaks. Especially if you want to have a birthday party or special event! The site owner Mark is an amazing, nice man. He was in charge of running almost every major tournament I was in over the years and took over the Sherman Oaks site. Those tournaments weren't cheap and the players weren't rich. Every once in awhile a zonehead wouldn't have all the money for entry fees, etc... but if Mark was around he would find a way to get that kid playing. There's also a site in Alhambra and one in San Diego.
Url for the Sherman Oaks Site
http://www.zonehead.com/
I have to warn you that the packs have changed a bit since this was filmed. It's still a fun game, but the newer version packs shoot a more wide spread laser that doesn' t miss. It's more of a battle who can pull the trigger first and it's one of the reasons I'm almost fully retired. Almost.
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