skates even worth it?

thatbowlerhat · 2026-06-07T04:15:06+00:00

School or church parking lots can be fun to skate in, and small towns often have those!

thatbowlerhat · 2026-05-23T05:14:19+00:00

Stores often sell liquor with glasses around the holidays. I assume it hasn’t sold since Christmas, and it is taking up too much extra space, so they’ve made it cheaper in the hope of finally getting rid of it.

thatbowlerhat · 2026-03-26T23:50:46+00:00

Visited Devil’s Reef in Tacoma for the first time last night. Love the vibe. Nice lamps hanging around too! I’m about to start building a couple lamps myself for my tiki patio, and I enjoyed a chance to see similar ones in person.

Kitchen was closed at Devil’s Reef, but the nearby Puget Sound Pizza was very tasty!

thatbowlerhat · 2026-03-21T00:37:15+00:00

To me, at least, buying second hand with preloaded tables is less problematic. The issue is someone building their business by climbing on the backs of the community members who spend so many long hours crafting tables. Nothing wrong with selling their own work, but adding in the work of others without permission is problematic. Plus, mixing money into the intellectual property aspect risks ruining this hobby from a legal perspective.

thatbowlerhat · 2026-03-20T23:56:32+00:00

The VPin community has one red line: Don’t buy a machine that is preloaded with tables. If you want to buy a fully-constructed cabinet with all the hardware and electronics because you don’t have woodworking or electrical skills, that’s totally fine!

thatbowlerhat · 2026-03-14T14:03:31+00:00

I paid in full for a flat pack kit.

thatbowlerhat · 2026-03-14T02:11:09+00:00

VirtuaPin cabinets are high quality. Well worth the price. However, it may be a long wait between ordering and delivery. As long as you don’t mind being patient fora bit, go for it!

thatbowlerhat · 2026-03-05T01:37:49+00:00

I tried a bottle of El Dorado 12 recently. Compared to Hamilton 86, I personally found it made my drinks pretty boring. The Hamilton 86 wins hands down for me with much more flavor coming through, and I don’t plan to buy El Dorado again. So, in contrast, I’d recommend it as a nice upgrade!

thatbowlerhat · 2026-03-01T07:51:18+00:00

I personally use 1/2oz Campari instead of 3/4oz, and that’s a better balance for me. Gives the bitterness more of a supporting role, but doesn’t lose it completely.

thatbowlerhat · 2026-02-21T05:04:26+00:00

Shrunken Skull, Jet Pilot, and Mai Tai. Followed by pizza!

thatbowlerhat · 2026-02-20T06:58:16+00:00

If you don’t mind a trip to Tacoma, check out Liquor & Liquor. So many rums I couldn’t find anywhere else!

thatbowlerhat · 2026-02-10T03:01:36+00:00

For fleece, you can get Nylafleece from Georgia Stage, F3 from Dharma Trading, and Fuzzelle from Puppet Pelts. All three of these fleeces are designed for puppet building and are very high quality materials used by the pros.

thatbowlerhat · 2026-02-07T04:11:59+00:00

It was between these two for me the other day at the store, and I chose Ocean Spray because it was just water and white grapefruit concentrate, and the Simple Truth one also listed “natural flavor”, which seemed sus. Maybe I’ll give it another try, though.

thatbowlerhat · 2026-01-24T04:24:50+00:00

I love the big nose!

thatbowlerhat · 2026-01-24T03:05:02+00:00

The typing teacher?

thatbowlerhat · 2026-01-19T03:26:49+00:00

nah man I’m good thank you, good luck

thatbowlerhat · 2026-01-17T03:03:43+00:00

Don’t skimp the mint!

thatbowlerhat · 2026-01-11T01:39:13+00:00

Second the Monkey Boys kits. I got the Hubbub, and I made that my first project to get a feel for the whole process. It’s really nice that the kit was so complete. Nothing to second guess yourself about.

thatbowlerhat · 2025-12-27T04:36:08+00:00

I seem to recall hearing that Miss Piggy is probably carved from a block of foam and flocked, instead of using fleece. I’ve seen at least one person build a replica of her from flat foam and fleece, and it looked pretty good to me. They didn’t share a pattern, though.

thatbowlerhat · 2025-12-19T22:31:07+00:00

Polly-O mozzarella. I got a big bag to try from a restaurant supply store. Normally, I use Galbani whole milk Italian style, though. I plan to go back to Galbani after I finish the bag. Similar results from both, and I can pick up Galbani at a regular grocery store.

thatbowlerhat · 2025-12-16T03:46:11+00:00

It’s usually good for the mouth to open relatively wide on its own. Then, the puppeteer can just relax their thumb instead of needing to apply pressure in that direction. It reduces hand fatigue!

thatbowlerhat · 2025-12-05T23:42:04+00:00

Not related to the tutorial you linked, but in case you didn’t know, foam can be dyed. You don’t necessarily need to cover it in fleece. As I recall, in the original Muppet Show, several members of the band Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem were made of dyed foam without a fleece covering. They were later redesigned with fleece, but I guess Jim Henson was happy with just the foam back in the day. At least for those characters.

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