July 29, 2023



Today we visited Floyd, a small town in southwestern Virginia that is known for its natural beauty, arts and crafts, and music scene. We had a lot of fun exploring the town and enjoying its local flavor.

We started our day by going to the Floyd Farmers Market, where we bought some homemade pastries and some drinking vinegar from the friendly vendors. We also enjoyed listening to some live music by a local band that played bluegrass and folk tunes. The market is a great place to experience the culture and community of Floyd.

Next, we went to the Floyd Country Store, which is a historic landmark that sells old-fashioned candy, ice cream, books, and music. The store also hosts the Friday Night Jamboree, which is a popular event for old-time string band and bluegrass music. People of all ages come to dance, sing, and have fun.

I can’t wait to come back and explore more of its attractions sometime soon.

#floydva #farmersmarket #saturday #july292023

Mrs makes best meatloaf

Last night’s supper made with mostly our farm share from @leap4localfood – corn off the cob Mexican street style, and vegetarian meatloaf, made with salsa from the tomatoes, with some of the other veggies mixed in too, for good measure!

Super extra delicious.

#farmshare #meatloaf #corn #yummy #roanokeva

I was wondering where he was.

Hey guys, remember me?

Hello again.

Doing more straightening in the garage and on the Salon (red room? Game room?) And I stumbled upon this little guy. Probably one of my favorite mixed onell builds, with a side of a vest taken from Playmobil Marty Mcfly (I think?)

I like the idea of this droid using a thigh piece as his head, and I stole the idea for “fist as pelvis piece” from @little.bot , I think. The powder blue reminds me of my first car, the ol’ Grand Torino 4 door, hardtop. (Not a 2 door Red like on starsky and hutch)

Good to see this little guy back out and about. All I have to do now is continue to unpack items, and no doubly Sisto and Harold will appear soon enough.

#onelldesign #glyos #glyoscompatible #modulartoys #howdy #playmobil #toystagram #toyphotography #375inch

Aaron Stack X-51 Machine Man

The X-Program was a top secret military project that aimed to create sophisticated, combat ready androids that could replicate human thought processes.  Fifty-one of these androids were built, each possessing an advanced positronic central processor as well as a host of offensive and defensive capabilities.

Dr. Abel Stack was one of the lead scientists on the project and he posited that the only way in which an artificial intelligence could truly be taught to think independently was to raise it as though it were a human.  He took home the android model X-51 and cared for it as though it were his son, teaching it the differences between right and wrong and offering it love and nurturance.   

Stack’s hypothesis proved accurate, X-51 cultivated sentience and showed compassion and sympathy towards others.  The remaining fifty androids, those that were denied this special attention each became aggressive and began to attack the staff.  These androids were equipped with a self destruct feature and they were each destroyed before they could hurt anyone.  Dr. Stack had removed the self destruct mechanism  from X-51 yet it accidentally blew up, critically injuring the scientist.  With his dying words, Dr. Stack named X-51 ‘Aaron Stack’ and compelled him to live his life and find his own destiny.  

Hunted by the military, X-51 was able to make modifications to his form to remain hidden and pass as human.  He additionally updated his functioning, greatly increasing his capabilities.  He would go on to have numerous adventures as the superhero known as ‘‘Machine Man,’ all whilst trying find his place as an android in a human world.  He would go on to join the West Coast Avengers as well as the main Avengers.  

X-51’s artificial sentience intrigued the godly, intergalactic beings known as The Celestials.  These entities took in X-51 and offered him the opportunity to survey the cosmos and better understand the meaning of existence at their side.  He agreed and ventured off with the Celestials.  

When X-51 left with The Celestials, a replica was left in his place.  This android possessed all of the original’s memories and believed himself to be one and the same with the original.  Unlike his predecessor, however, this new X-51 is sardonic and irascible, possessing the attitude that androids are superior to humans.  He somehow ended up an operative of the Beyond Corporation, acting as a member of the hero team, NextWave.  He later assisted ARMOR in fending off a breach from an alternate reality populated by zombies and has additionally acted as a member of the Avengers Initiative and Deadpool’s Mercs for Money.  

Both iterations of X-51 have maintained a turbulent romance with the fellow synthetic being, Jocasta.  The android hero first appeared in the pages of 2001: A Space Odyssey Vol 2 #8 (1977).   

AT logo again

Speaking of the Appalachian Trail / Adventure Team connection I mentioned earlier, there is also the Steve Rude drawing of Machine Man / X-51 / Aaron Stack that also has the logo for something that I don’t otherwise recognise. (I usually think of him in an all purple jumpsuit and chrome look, or red with white stripes.

I have always liked Machine Man’s design, a sucker for a modular android. (See also ROM: Spaceknight or Cliff Steele) and generally prefer him with his human mask, but the face beneath is something lovely too, like Ultron or Dr Doom’s mask.

#AT #appalachiantrail #adventureteamgijoe #aaronstack #x51 #machineman #steverude #jackkirby #2001aspaceodyssey #marvelcomics #randomthoughts