Comicon 2016

Today, R2 (dressed as the red R5-D4) and I joined fellow R2 Builders Thomas Roeoesli, William Miyamoto, Michael McMaster, Chris Romines and Mike Senna and their droids, as we hosted the first ever R2 Builders panel at San Diego Comicon.

We were joined by special guest and fellow R2 Builder Lee Towersey, who, along with Oliver Steeples, built the R2 units and other droids for The Force Awakens.



The day started out by meeting up in a nearby parking lot to load the droids in a U-Haul truck for the trip to the loading dock at the San Diego Convention Center. Mike Senna helped to secure the droids for a safe trip.



All loaded and ready to go!



The droids arrived safe and sound, and we unloaded. Big thanks to Thomas for arranging this special unload so that we did not have to drive the droids through a crowd of 100,000 people.



Our panel was scheduled from 12:00pm-1:00pm (sandwiched by a lot of children's programming).



Shortly before our panel was to start, we moved our droids from a staging room to the presentation room.



At 12:00pm we got started, and discussed how the club works and how we build our droids. We had a full room, with lots of smiles and laughs as we went. Mike Senna demonstrated his BB-8, while William Miyamoto demonstrated his Baby-8.









After taking some questions, we left a little time for our special guest, Lee Towersey. Lee told his amazing story of how he went from fan to crew member on a Star Wars film. That story never gets old.



We wrapped up the panel with a selfie before heading out to allow time for the next panel to set up.



We drove and human-rickshawed the droids back to the truck, and wrapped up for the day.




And finally, apropos of nothing, here is some high art we saw at the restaurant we went to afterward.



We all had a great time, and I wouldn't mind doing it again. Thank you to my friend Kelvin for taking many of the pictures.

Discovery Science Center Visit - Summer 2016

Today R2 and I joined several other droid builders for the Discovery Science Center's Engineering Week, in Santa Ana CA. We were joined by builders Matthew, Maddy, Robert, and Aaron.



The people in attendance had a nice time visiting with us and the droids. As always, kids got somewhat grabby.




At 12:30pm the audience assembled for our presentation.



I gave the main part of the talk, so I don't have any pictures of that. For the Q&A, we all participated.




Everyone had a good time, and I'm sure we'll be back.

Rosemead 4th of July Parade - 2016

Today and for the second year in a row, R2 participated in the city of Rosemead, CA's 4th of July Parade. I had his automated flag wave going again.



We were joined by over 100 members of the 501st and Rebel Legions, and the city even built a float for R2 to ride on.



Around 10;45am we got started. People were lined up and down the parade route, taking pictures, waving to the characters, and wishing us a happy Independence Day.





When we reached the last few hundred feet of the parade route, I got out of the pickup truck that was pulling the trailer and took a few pics.





Everyone had a great time, and I hope R2 can be in a parade again next year.

Roy's 50th Birthday

Tonight R2 helped celebrate Roy Powers' 50th birthday, along with friends and family.



Paul Thompson brought Treadwell.



Stormtrooper William Miyamoto guided guests into the ballroom hosting the party.



Michael McMaster recently routed off the tip of one finger, and slammed 300 pounds down on the other. Two down, eight to go!



It was an 80s-themed party, with deserts I hadn't eaten in decades. Lemon Zingers and Ding Dongs!



Each table had a theme. In a move of blasphemy, we were assigned the Freaks and Geeks table. We mutinied, and stole the centerpieces from the Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back tables.



Everyone had a great time. Happy Birthday Roy!

Irvine High School Swim Team Banquet

Tonight was Irvine High School's annual end-of-the-season banquet and awards ceremony for their boy's swim team. My life-long friend Kelvin has a son on the team, and it turns out the swim coach is a huge Star Wars fan, so I was asked to have R2 make a surprise appearance toward the end of the festivities.

The banquet was well attended, with over 100 people present.



In the meantime, R2 hid incognito in the kitchen.



Toward the end of the evening, I affixed the gift card that R2 was to present to the coach on his upper utility arm, as we prepared to make our surprise entrance.



And pleasantly surprised they were! Everyone was delighted to see R2 roll in and present the gift card, especially the coach.





That was fun, I'm glad R2 was able to bring some extra happiness to the event.

City of Cypress Police Department Open House

Today R2 helped the City of Cypress CA's police department out with their open house.



Fellow R2 Builder and Ham Radio operator Chris Romines' droid is in a state of disassembly, so I pinch hit for Chris's R2-A1.



R2 hung out at the booth, which provided a shady spot for the kids to attack him.




Don't droid and drive, and don't drink and drive.



Everyone had a good time, and I'm glad I could help out.

CHOC Visit

Today, R2 celebrated Star Wars Day with not one, not two, but three events! Up first, a visit to Childrens Hospital Orange County, along with members of the 501st and Rebel Legion.



As is usually the case with hospital visits, pictures with the patients are restricted without clearance, but suffice it to say that our room-to-room visits and interaction in the activity rooms were a big hit. And the staff always loves seeing the characters.




We wrapped up our visit around noon, and R2 and I were off to our next appearance, about 50 miles up the road at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

Visit to CHLA

R2 joined several members of the 501st and Rebel Legion, as he made his second stop on his 3-event day on Star Wars Day at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.



The hospital was very strict about pictures, so I was only able to get a group photo before the visit the young patients.



We had a good 2 hours or so interacting with the kids, and they had a great time visiting with the characters. I wrapped up around 4:15pm, and it was off to my third event of the day, back in Orange County. Two hours of traffic awaited...

Charity Fundraiser

This evening R2 wrapped up his 3-event triple-header with a visit to TGIFriday's, in Westminster, CA. They were celebrating Star Wars day with a charitable fundraiser. Twenty percent of the day's proceeds were being donated to Ronald McDonald Charities, where they help kids with cancer go to camp, among other good causes.




I was joined by Margo Apostlos, who played an Ewok in Return of the Jedi. She was presented with a big thank-you cake, and it was good!



People lined up for pictures with R2 as soon as I arrived.



The restaurant staff really got into it, decorating the whole restaurant, and dressing up.





R2 annoyed this couple, that were trying to enjoy a quiet evening. But they're used to it, being my parents and all.



It was quite a successful fundraiser, and everyone enjoyed themselves.