Halloween 2017

As he does pretty much every year, R2 helped me hand out Halloween candy in the garage again this year, along with the Mouse Droid.



We only had about 30 trick-or-treaters, a little slower than usual, but they all enjoyed meeting the droids.



Do doubt we'll be out again next year.

Stan Lee's LA Comicon 2017 - Day 2

Today was Day 2 for me (and Day 3 for most everyone else) of Stan Lee's LA Comicon at the Los Angeles Convention Center.



WALL•E paid a visit to Baby-8.



I heard the unmistakable gravely voice of Stan Lee himself, and took a picture from a distance of the video board above the main stage where he was appearing.



Meanwhile at the booth, we were plenty busy.




The red carpet BB-8 that Disney keeps was on display, so our droids each went up for a picture with it. For this convention, I am trying out a new omni-wheel center foot, along with a new steel foot shell. (It performed well.)



We also surrounded the Disney BB-8 with our Mouse Droids.



Michael McMaster debuted his new comb-over, courtesy of William Miyamoto's pony tail.



Also, this thing walked by.



We wrapped up the day with a group hug. Well, some of us did. Others of us did not.



It's always great seeing our fellow builders, and meeting and greeting attendees. I'm looking forward to the next one.

Stan Lee's LA Comicon 2017 - Day 1

Today was day #1 (well, day 2 for most everyone else) at Stan Lee's LA Comicon at the Los Angeles Convention Center. I joined many of the R2 Builders and BB-8 Builders and Mouse Droid Builders and WALL•E builders (luckily, we are mostly the same people) for the fun.

I'm testing out a brand new center foot with a pair of omniwheels, along with a new steel center foot shell that isn't quite finished yet. I'll be interested to see how the omniwheels perform.



Just a few of the people that were waiting to get in at show opening. Thank goodness for exhibitor badges.



The booth was constantly busy.



At one point some of us ventured out with our Mouse Droids to have a little fun with them on the slick floor.



A little later in the day, a few of us roamed around the show floor with our droids. Naturally we had to stop several times for photo ops.



We also took the obligatory group picture. Somehow we managed to misplace Michael McMaster, but he was with us too. Thank you to Amy Senna for the photo.



I took off a little early to catch game 4 of the World Series, but we'll be back at it again tomorrow.

Trunk or Treat at St. Mark's

Today R2 helped put a little Star Wars into St. Mark's Episcopal Church's Trunk or Treat Halloween event, in Downey, CA.



Someone I know was decorating their truck with a Star Wars theme, complete with a ping pong ball toss game into the Death Star, and R2 was there to greet and delight the visitors.



I didn't take many pics, but the kids (and adults) appreciated R2 being there, and everyone had a good time.

Discovery Cube Spooky Science Visit 2017

Today R2 made a short visit to the Discovery Cube in Santa Ana, CA, for their Spooky Science weekend.



R2 interacted with guests of all ages in the brief time we were able to visit.




He also interacted with some large rats.



Everyone enjoyed meeting R2, and I'm sure we'll be back sooner or later.

R2LA XIV

Today was the 14th annual R2LA event, and the 12th one I've attended. We had more droids and more participants than ever before, with some 60+ droids of all kinds, and over 100 people in attendance, many having traveled from other states!



We started off the day at 9:00am with The Breakfast Show, which is a webcast that basically consists of a Mike Senna/Michael McMaster stream-of-semi-conciousness. At one point, McMaster fed a chicken that was perched on Senna's shoulder a chunk of donut from his own mouth. That pretty much sums up The Breakfast Show.



Around 10:00am setup began. Mike has a very nice canopy system that provides shade for the large backyard, so we hoisted that, and set up tables and chairs.




At 11:00am, the event officially kicked off, and we went live on r2la.com. Droids invaded, and it got crowded fast.






The Star Wars Show came by to record some of the event, you can see the segment here, around the 7:27 mark:





For reasons that are difficult to ascertain, the Northwest guys are fascinated by my plant stand (or are at least pretending to be). So my plant stand was a guest of honor, while they poured over it for measurements.




In the afternoon we all went out front for the group picture.



As it started to get dark, we took to the street to race and crash mouse droids. I didn't have the heart to destroy mine just yet, so it sat on the sidelines. Chris Ellerby in particular did a beautiful job with sounds and undercarriage lights, including a police siren and red and blue lights so he could pull over reckless mice.



Around 10:00pm we started cleaning up outdoors and moved indoors for a little while longer, as the crowd started to dwindle and the droids headed home.



It was another wonderful event, and a big thank you go to Mike and Amy Senna for hosting this year after year. It really is something special.

The full photo set is here.

Star Wars Day at the Corona Public Library 2017

Today R2 joined lots of other Star Wars characters for the Corona Public Library's Star Wars Day.



Lots of people showed up to meet the characters and get pictures with them.







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

Star Wars Night at Angel Stadium 2017

Tonight was the 3rd annual Star Wars Night at Angel Stadium, and R2 joined many members of various Star Wars clubs to help commemorate the occasion.



Matthew Henricks joined me as my wrangler/photographer, while Gordon Tarpley joined in as C-3PO.

R2 and C-3PO posed for fans that lined up to take pictures before the game at the stadium's Music Garden. Always great to see these two characters together.



Lots of other characters were available for pre-game pictures as well.






A little before game time, some of the characters were invited to walk the warning track along the perimeter of the field. R2 and C-3PO were among them.




Just as we were about to start our walk, C-3PO and Darth Vader were invited to escort the person throwing the first pitch to the mound, so Gordon got to hang around, while R2 continued his lap around the field.




R2 managed to stave off loneliness, however.



After the third inning, several of the characters participated in the steal-a-base contest, along the 3rd base line. R2 hung back a bit since he's not quite as quick as the two-legged characters.



The characters mingled with fans during the 6th and 7th innings for photos on one of the concourses.



Some of the characters walked the warning track during the 7th inning stretch, but we all agreed that R2 might be a bit too slow to do the trip, and I don't want to be famous for holding up a major league baseball game. Thus, it was time for us to wrap up, and I headed on home as the Angels secured a 7-4 victory. R2's record is now 1-2 with the Angels. He has some catching up to do.

The full photoset is here. Many thanks to Matthew Henricks for taking most of the photos.