/site/ This is the home of the SoCal Advanced Squad Leader Club. We are a community of gamers of the ASL game system. en-gb 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 psimonsen@nospam.com hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.75.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens I just want to remind everyone that we are not meeting at Emerald Knights during the months of June and July. Luckily, JJ's Lounge in Chatsworth has agreed to host us this coming week (as well as their usual day the following week.) Please check the website for details. http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.74.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens Well, we’re going to take another crack at organizing a Club field trip for July 20th. We’re going to March Field Air Museum in Riverside:When: 12:00 PM July 20th Where: March Field Air Museum, 22550 Van Buren, Riverside CA (off Interstate 215 near Highway 60.)How Much: $10 per person The museum has 77 airplanes in its collection ranging from World War I through the Cold War. The museum includes a large hanger museum with airplane models, cut-aways and beautifully restored bi-planes. Most of the collection is located outdoors. A second hanger houses the National P-38 Museum. I have been to the March Field Air Museum several times through the years, most recently a couple of years ago with Matt Cicero and his family. Trust me, there’s lots to see. It is well worth the trip.As always, this field trip is open to SoCalASL members, their families, and guests. Our plan is to meet in the museum parking lot at noon and spend the afternoon touring the the museum. Afterward we’ll organize trip to a local restaurant for dinner. I hope you can join us! http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.73.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens This just in... Comic Con is the weekend of July 20th when we had the Field Trip to the USS Midway scheduled. We do not want to be in San Diego when Comic Con is going on. So I've pulled the Midway trip off the calendar. We'll get to the Midway, just not that weekend. Sorry about that. http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.72.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens schedule changes in June and July http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.71.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens Well, West Coast Melee XVI has gone into the books, and what an event it was!We had agreed with the hotel this year to move over to the smaller San Clemente Room to help out our long-time hotel contact, Dave Lucey and knock a couple of bucks off the bill. I arrived at noon on Thursday, right on the heels of Matt Morocco, and we were surprised to find a luncheon being served in San Clemente. I started thinking, oh crap, something has gone very wrong already. But almost immediately Dave Lucey appeared, and informed us that after rotating various groups, they’d moved us back to our good ol’ Avalon Room. It turned out to be a very fortunate thing, because we drew a post 9-11 record 46 attendees this year, and we’d have been very pressed in the smaller room.The troops started to assemble almost as soon as we had the doors open. At 3:00 PM we opened the hospitality suite and started serving up soda, beers and sandwiches. We knew we were off to a good start; by Thursday evening we had a record 26 guys playing warm-up games.West Coast Melee kicked off officially Friday morning at 9:00 AM, with guys getting paired up as soon as they walked through the door. Later on in the afternoon we launched our first mini-tournament “A River Runs Through it”, which would continue throughout the weekend and wrap up on Sunday. Rob Feinstein arrived in the early afternoon with our tres cool black shirts with our sharp new logo. By 9:00 AM Saturday we had our top 8 players paired up for the Hand-to-Hand phase of the Melee. We also launched two more mini’s: “I think I’m Turning Japanese” (love that title) and “Deluxe”. On Saturday afternoon we handed out plaques to last year’s Melee winners, then moved on to our annual meeting and elections. Since our Club Officers were running unopposed, I called for a vote to reelect the current slate of victims. Suddenly, two of our Officers, Rob Feinstein and Matt Cicero interrupted the proceeding, and called for a vote to elect yours truly “President for Life”, which quickly passed. I hadn’t expected that, but there was more to come. Dr. Feinstein then shocked me further with a presentation plaque, signed by the members present, in recognition of my 11 years as Club President, followed by a rendition by Mr. Cicero of my many accomplishments, tongue in cheek of course… like how many Super Big Boy Combos I’d consumed during my tenure. Turns out the bastards had been secretly rounding up autographs for the plaque all weekend, and I never had a clue. I was surprised and touched, to say the least. Thanks guys. Really. That plaque is already up on the wall.On Sunday morning our top 4 survivors of The Melee paired off, while games continued for the mini’s. We also launched a four-player game of the Deluxe scenario “Flame and Shell” while other guys played pick-up games. We called it a wrap at 6:00 PM.And with no further ado, the results: WCM Champion: Phil Seymour 2nd Place: Dave Deresinski3rd Place: Brandon Liesemeyer4th Place: Dan PlachtaSpecial congrats go to Phil. Those who have played him know he’s a great player, and he is often in the 8 finalists, but this is the first year he broke into the top 4, and he did it in a big way. Congratulations also go to Dave, Brandon and Dan for their fine performances this year. Our mini-tournaments ran throughout the weekend, and we awarded one plaque:“River Runs Through It” Champion: Fred TimmTwo other tournaments will be resolved by games arranged between the finalists: “I Think I’m Turning Japanese”: Hank W. vs. Ish Molnar “Deluxe”: Glenn Sellar vs. Eric Visnowski I will report those results when we have them. That pretty much sums it up. What a weekend! Of course, among the many games that got played there was the usual assortment of group meals featuring fatty foods, endless irreverent and inappropriate jokes and ribbing, and cascades of profanity. Just the usual stuff that makes WCM the best damn ASL event west of the Mississippi!I want to thank everyone who helped out in so many ways. In no particular order: Eric Visnowski, Mike Cirrincione and Dave Rosner, for putting together those great mini-tournaments. It's a lot of work to put those together, and it helped me greatly to have those off my "WCM to-do" list this year. Steve Thorne and his wife Julie, for helping set up the hospitality suite. Dave Nicholas for handling the plaques yet again. Rob Feinstein for arranging for our excellent black tee shirts, as well as doing the very clever artwork on my plaque. Other than Rob and Matt, I don't know who else was involved in the plot to hijack the Club elections, but to those two and their co-conspirators, you have my deepest and sincerest thanks. Paul Simonsen, for serving once again as Deputy Tournament Director, in addition to getting the website set up for reservations and pre-registrations. Matt Cicero, for handling the finances, running the club store, printing the hand-outs and posters and handling the registration desk. Eric Morton, for brining everything in his ASL kit and making it available for whoever wanted to borrow something. Dan Plachta, for being a one-man ASL outreach program this year; at least 3 of the new players who walked through the door were the result of him promoting the event at various game conventions. Last, but not at all least, I want to thank everyone who came and supported the event. Whether you came for a day or all weekend, it's just great to see you. And thanks to all those I have overlooked here, for your various contributions, from moving tables to running errands. West Coast Melee is a team effort, and without exception everyone pitches in when called upon. That attitude of cooperation is our Club's most valuable asset.As I mentioned, we set a post-9-11 record of 46 attendees, including several new players and walk-ins. Dave Lucey told me we once again broke our record for room bookings, which is important to the long-term financial health of the event. Matt doesn't have all the figures compiled, but between the higher attendance level, lower facility rental (the hotel only charged us for the smaller room) and sales of shirts, cups and dice, we'll easily be in the black. Probably by a fairly safe margin.On a personal note, I want to say again how touched and flattered I am to receive the plaque. WCM is one of the highpoints of my year, and I had blast. It was great to see so many good friends, and make some new ones as well. The group meals and never-ending stream of laughs and good fellowship are the best part of SoCalASL, and they were plentiful indeed. http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.70.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens Believe it or not, West Coast Melee XVI is only 10 days away, and all systems are go! I’m pleased to report that Dave Lucey, sales manager for Wyndham Hotel (formally Crowne Plaza), says we’re above last year’s room bookings. Our hotel contract is in and executed. Matt Cicero says at this point our pre-registrations are tracking above last year’s as well. Dave Nicholas has the plaques ordered, and Matt Cicero has the tee shirts ready to go. We have four mini-tournaments lined up with some great themes, thanks to a little help from our friends: “Micro Mini” (Eric Visnowski), “I Think I’m Turning Japanese” (Mike Cirincione), “A River Runs Through It” (Eric Visnowski), and “Deluxe” (David Rosner.) Thanks to the MMP's recent release of Journal 10, Winter Offensive Pack, Best of Friends and Rivers to the Reich, you’ll see lots of new scenarios in the Hand-to-Hand Phase scenario lists. If you’re a new player, Dave Nicholas will be on deck all weekend to run our “7-0 Leaders” Clinic. You still have time to get your pre-registration in and save a few bucks off the at-the-door registration, but time is running out. Wyndham still has rooms available, and will honor our group rate as long as they last, but again, time is running out. We’ll open the doors of the Catalina Room at noon on Thursday, February 21st, and the fun won’t stop ‘til 6:00 PM on Sunday, February 24th. It’s gonna be great! http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.69.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens I've had several people ask about how to change the dates using the on-line reservation link. Good question, its not very obvious. Here's how:Hit the yellow "Reserve" button near the bottom of the page, as if you're going to reserve all five days. Once you in the West Coast Melee choices, *then* go to the left hand column, you'll see a blue "reservations" button. That button allows you to change the dates. Some of the choices show $86 with free breakfast. I'm not sure the hotel is going to honor that, but hey, give it a try.And here's the link: http://www.wyndham.com/groupevents2012/46499_WESTCOASTMELEE/main.wnt http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.68.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens Last Saturday's ASL Game Day at Steve Thorne's house marked the last official SoCalASL event of 2012. The year might not have been particularly good for the national economy, but it was a truly epic one for SoCalASL:West Coast Melee XV was the best attended event we’ve had in over a decade.Our 5th Annual Burning Wreck Barbecue drew 20 members and everyone enjoyed an outstanding barbecue dinner.46 different members attended at least one Game Day in 2012 and played a total of 115 scenarios.Our return to the Littlefield Museum in San Jose was the most successful SoCalASL “field trip” we’ve ever organized, drawing 18 members and guests. Our field trip to the “Yanks” and “Planes of Fame” museums drew and impressive 15 members, our second most successful “field trip” ever.We launched an event last summer that was so successful we’ve decided to make it an annual event. “SoCalASL Goes to the Range”, was surprisingly well attended with 13 members and rave reviews by everyone who was there.In other news, Club membership and event attendance continue to grow steadily. We produced and sold the first set of our special ASL dice. Thanks to the efforts of Matt Cicero, we now have our own Club store, with price discounts for or members. And after an elaborate on-line contest, we adopted a cool new logo designed by Fen Yan. In short, we got a lot done, had a lot of fun, and played a lot of ASL along the way. It wouldn't have been the year that it was without the support of so many members in so many ways. I want to extend to each of you my sincerest thanks, and best wishes in the coming year.Best Regards,-Jim AikensPresident, SoCalASL http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.67.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens November 3rd seems like a long way off. But it’s not. Our 5th Annual Burning Wreck Barbecue is only a month away and coming on quickly. Harmon Ward and the St. Crispin’s crew are ready to put together another killer barbecue meal for us. As I have previously noted, our theme for the day is “playing the big ones”. We already have a 6-player Tarawa scenario lined up, as well as a 4-player version of "Texas Flood".Two important things to remember if you’re planning to attend: 1) you have to be a member in good standing and 2) we need your pre-paid reservation in advance. Only $15 covers a day of ASL, beer and soda all day, and an awesome, all you can eat barbecue dinner.We’ve set up three different ways for you to make your reservation: 1) Starting with our Game Day at Gameology, you can sign up and pay with cash or check at any of our Monthly Game Days. 2) You can send a check made payable to Matt Cicero, Treasurer, and mail it to 25300 Corte Sombrero, Murrieta, CA 92563. 3) You can pay via PayPal. The PayPal account is Treasurer@SoCalASL.com.The registration cut-off is Sunday, October 28th.Its going to be a great time, you don't want to miss it! http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.66.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens We have run into a problem with the date of the Barbecue. Harmon Ward has informed me that an unanticipated family event will prevent him from hosting us at St. Crispin’s on October 27th. Consequently, for the first time in 16 years we will be forced to move the date of a major Club event. A quick look at the calendar makes it obvious that the only realistic alternate date is the following Saturday, November 3rd. Harmon and St. Crispin’s hall will both be available that day.My sincere apologies to those who are inconvenienced by the change. Trust me, I’m not happy about it, but it is unavoidable.All other details related to the event will remain the same, and I have revised the calendar accordingly. http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.65.2 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Paul Simonsen SoCalASL PTO Dice Pack Available http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.64.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens changing game day dates http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.63.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens A round-up of our coming programs http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.62.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens Believe it or not, West Coast Melee XV is less than two weeks away. I just want to pass along a progress report as to where we’re at, and what’s in store.I’m pleased to report that pre-registrations are solidly ahead of last year and the custom dice are selling well. The facility contract with Crowne Plaza has been signed and paid for. Dave Lucey, the hotel’s director of sales, told me today that we’re at 35 room nights booked. That’s on track to match last year’s record setting room night bookings. If you have not yet booked a hotel room, Crowne still has rooms available and will honor our group price for a few more days. If you ave trouble booking your room, please let me know.The show will start at noon on Thursday, February 23rd, and if you’re up for a little competition, we’ll get the Micro-Mini going as soon as enough guys are available. We’ll open the hospitality suite at 3:00 PM. Be sure to come up and join us for a sandwich and a beer or soda.We’ll start The Melee at 9:00 AM on Friday morning with the “Close Combat Phase”. Players will attempt to compile the best record throughout the day in open play. At some point in the morning we hold our Club’s annual meeting. At that time also we’re going to present the plaques to last years’ winners. We’ll launch our first mini-tournament in the afternoon.On Saturday the players with the top 8 best records will begin the single elimination “Hand-to-Hand Phase” of The Melee. For everyone else we’ll have a couple more mini-tournaments available. The action will wrap up on Sunday with the final round of the “Hand-to-Hand Phase” and the last rounds of the Saturday mini’s, plus open play for everyone else.While all this action is going on throughout the event, we’ll have Dave Nicholas available to assist new or rusty players with our "7-0 Leaders" program. We’ll also have the map for the historical module “Slaughter at Ponyri” set up for those who haven’t seen it yet. And throughout the weekend, we’re going to have a special event: our Random Prize Giveaway. Thanks to the efforts of Scott Thompson, we have several hundred dollars in ASL products to give away. Everyone who pre-registered will receive five tickets for the Giveaway. Tickets will also be available at the door at $1 each. Periodically throughout the weekend (at pre-announced times) we’ll draw tickets for specific items, with the biggest items going late Saturday night.WCM XIV is going to be great. I hope you can join us! http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.61.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens The long-awaited pre-reg materials are now available for download. Just hit the big green button on the top of this page that says “West Coast Melee XV Info” and you’re on your way! The link to the hotel is on the flyer as well.A word about the on-line pre-reg: due to difficulties we’re having with the PayPal plug-in, you won’t be able to pre-register using the SoCalASL on line store. You’ll need to go directly through PayPal. The payment info is on the flyer.The pre-registration cut-off for both the hotel rooms and WCM is February 8th (yikes, that’s coming up pretty quickly…) Don’t delay booking a hotel room. The hotel will honor our group rate as long as they have rooms available, but they’ve been known to book out, especially on the weekday nights.Please email me at jfaikens@verizon.net if you have any questions or difficulty. http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.60.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens This coming Sunday (January 22nd) is our Club trip to the Yanks Air Museum and the Brewer Brothers Model Kit Expo at the Chino airport. Here’s the plan:10:00 AM: We’re going to meet in the Yanks Air Museum parking lot (7000 Merrill Ave., Hanger A270, Chino, CA.) We’re allowing three hours to go through the museum and take in the expo. Judging by the promo flyer, there should be something for everyone. 1:00 PM: We’re going to regroup in the Yanks parking lot, then head over to the Planes of Fame Museum (Cal Aero Drive.)5:00 PM: We’ll regroup again and head to some place for dinner. (Location to be determined.)If you go to the Yanks museum web site (www.yanksair.com) and go to their special events page, you’ll see a flyer for the expo. The cost for the Yanks museum and expo is $11, but if you print and bring a copy of the flyer, they’ll give you $2 off. The cost of the Planes of Fame Museum is also $11. So if you bring your flyer, your cost for the entire day will be $20 each. We’re breaking this event into two segments because if you have kids you might find doing both museums a bit ambitious. Also, for those who can’t make it in the morning, you can join us for the Planes of Fame museum at the appointed time. I don’t know if they’ll have a snack bar at the expo, but there’s only one restaurant at the airport, and it’s only open for breakfast and “brunch”. So I’d recommend having a big breakfast, and perhaps bring a snack.Remember, guests are very welcome to this event. Judging by the number of people who have told me they’re planning to be there, we’re expecting a pretty good size group. I hope you can join us! And don’t forget your camera. If for whatever reason you need to contact me that morning, my cell phone is 760-738-1437. See you there! http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.59.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens Well, you might be wondering why we don’t yet have the pre-registration form and flyer up on the web-site. Trust me, its coming, and fear not, West Coast Melee XV is on schedule and will certainly be our best event to date. There is a lot going on behind the scenes, so to speak, that have prevented us from launching the pre-reg phase of our flagship annual event.First, we really wanted to hold off getting our materials out until we had our new logo. As you all know, that has just been accomplished, and Fen Yan’s tank design is now our official SoCalASL logo.Second, there’s the swag. As you all know, we try to release *something* at WCM; usually a shirt, or perhaps dice cups. We departed from that last year, in recognition of the sour economy we decided to not release any swag for WCM XIV. But hey, this is number 15 and we really wanted to do something special. After a lot of debating, planning, shopping, designing and haggling, the Club will release what we hope will be the first in a series of ASL Nationality Dice. We’re talking about a set of four dice in ASL Nationality colors, with nationality emblems in place of the “1”. Matt will have the artwork on the flyer, and the dice are on order. The idea is to produce something tres cool that the Club can make a few bucks on. The cost for the pack of four dice will be $15. We have delayed releasing the pre-reg forms until we had the pricing locked in with the manufacturer.Sadly, there will be a downside to this. Although the dice are on order with the manufacturer, and you’ll be able to order them when you pre-register, they will not be in our hands until the middle of March. Matt will have the artwork on the flyer, so you can what you’re ordering, and man, I think these things are going to be the coolest upgrade to your ASL set since Stephan discovered the box-box trays at the Container Store. Assuming these are as well received as we think they’ll be, we plan to release more dice sets in coming years. Really, only our imagination limits what we can do for future releases.The pre-reg info should be up in the next few days, and I’ll make an announcement as soon as it is ready to go. In the meantime, be sure to save the dates (February 23rd to the 26th) you don’t what to miss our biggest Club-wide event yet! http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.58.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens And the winner is: Design #1 SoCalASL Tank (black & white lettering.) Congratulations to Fen Yan, the winning designer.I want to extend a very sincere thanks and a round of applauds to all four of our designers:Fen Yan: Design #1 “SoCalASL Tank (b & w lettering)”, Design #2 “Southern California Tank and Design” and Design #3 “SoCalASL Tank (all white text)”; Eric Visnowski: Design #4 “California Republic Tank” and #8 “California Image”;Rob Feinstein: Design #5 “I want you to roll low” and #6 “Soldier Riding Bear”;Mike Cirrincione: Design #7 “Come and mix it up”.All eight designs were clever, original and well received. You guys rock!I also want to thank the members who took the time to vote. As I previously reported, all of the designs received votes in the first round, though there were three pretty clear favorites. In the second round the vote was very close, and it literally came down to the last few hours before the deadline. Again, congratulations Fen! http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.57.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens Well the votes are in, and I want to thank everyone (and there are a lot of you) who took the time to provide your input. All of the designs received votes, but as I anticipated, there were 3 designs that clearly stood out in the voting. In fact, each of the 3 winners received more votes than the 3 highest scoring non-winning designs *combined*. And the winners are:Design #1 (SoCal Tank with Black and white text)Design #4 (California Republic Tank)and Design #5 (I want you to roll low)I would like you all to vote again, but restrict your choice to one of these three designs. And this time you can only vote for one of the three (no second preference.) We can use the same procedure as the previous round; you can vote directly off the website using the mechanism Paul has set up. Or you can email me directly, whichever is easier for you. The cut-off for this round of voting will end at 6:00 PM Sunday. I will announce the winner on Sunday evening. http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.56.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens Greeting All,Because we had a delay getting the process to work properly, I have extended the deadline to Thursday, January 5th. Please make your selection by then. http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.55.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens Ok, Paul has loaded the logo choices onto the website. Hit the Gallery tab along the top of this page (just under the green WCM button.) You’ll see several photo albums; one marked “Logo Choices”.I’m going to allow everyone to make up to 2 choices (1st preference, 2nd preference.) If you make two choices, be sure to clarify which is your 1st preference and which is the 2nd. (I’m going to score two points for a 1st preference, one for a 2nd.) You can follow the directions that Paul has set up to vote. Or you can email me directly at jfaikens@verizon.net. You only have to list the number 1 - 8, not the title. The voting will remain open through Wednesday, January 4th.Please make sure you login in to the website first. Once logged in, please go here http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.54.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens Due to popular demand, we’ve lined up a couple more W.W.II history trips in the next few months for those who might be interested. These trips are open to SoCalASL members and non-member friends and family who might be interested:Where: Yanks Air Museum at the Chino AirportWhen: 10:00 AM Sunday, January 22nd, 2012We’ve talked about going to the Planes of Fame air museum at Chino Airport for quite some time. As it turns out there are two museums there, and the Yanks Air Museum is hosting the 14th Annual Model Kit Expo. The Expo will include model exhibits, vendor tables, re-enactments, a military vehicle display, W.W. II veteran’s symposium, HMGS miniatures, and a lot more, in addition to all the cool stuff in the museums. The plan is to hit both museums on the same day, hence the somewhat early start time. The entry price for the Yanks Museum and expo will be $11 per person. There will be an additional charge for the Planes of Fame air museum. We’ll let you know beforehand what that will be. This should be a great trip; local, family friendly and easy to attend. We’re expecting a pretty sizable turnout for this.And the drum-roll please...We’ve nailed down a definite day for our long-awaited return to the Military Vehicle Technology Museum (aka “The Littlefield Museum”.) Where: The Military Vehicle Technology Museum (aka “The Littlefield Museum”) near San Jose, CAWhen: Saturday, March 31st, 1:00 PM tour.We’ve booked the 1:00 PM tour on March 31st, 2012. Last time almost everyone flew into the San Jose airport that morning, then took rental cars to the museum (which is only about 30 minutes away.) We flew back to So.Cal. on the last return flight the same day. We will probably follow that same pattern again this time, though some might like to make the 14 hour round-trip drive, or drive up, stay over, return on Sunday. I will keep an eye on the airfares and keep everyone informed as we move closer to the event. In the meantime, save the date. You don't want to miss this trip! http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.53.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens One of the things the Club Officers would like to accomplish in the coming weeks is the design of a new Club logo. We know there are a lot of very talented people in our Club. So we thought it might be interesting to run a logo design competition, open to the membership. Here’s how it would work:1. The competition is open to anyone, Club member or not, ASL player or not. 2. Anyone can submit any number of designs they’d like. 3. The design cannot incorporate any currently copy-righted material or image. 4. The final accepted design would be the property of SoCalASL. 5. The design cannot, for lack of a better term, be overtly obscene or otherwise unacceptable. We’d like to be able to use it in respectable family-oriented venues. 6. All submissions must be emailed to me at jfaikens@verizon.net by January 1, 2012. Once we have the submissions, we’ll post them on our website, where players will have a week to check them out and submit their vote. The vote will be a blind ballot; members will not know the author of the designs, nor will the designer know who voted for which design (except for Paul and I, who will keep this information completely confidential.)The winner of the design contest will receive a complimentary full registration to WCM XV and 2012 Club membership. http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.52.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens We’re into the final count-down for the 4th Annual Burning Wreck Barbecue. Everything is set and ready to roll.Our official start time will be 9:00 am, but some of us will be there a little early to help set up, so feel free to get there a little ahead of that time if you’d like. If you don’t have a game lined up, please try to arrive as close to the start time as you can manage. I want to complete the pairings as soon as possible.As always, we will have the Club coolers filled with cold soda and beer all day. Dinner is scheduled for 6:00 pm. I have not scheduled any specific lunch; we’re on our own for that. There are several fast-food options in the area, and I’ll leave it up to the individual games to break at their convenience.Our dinner menu is: barbecue pork ribs and chicken, salad, mashed potatoes, coleslaw and rolls. We will set up and serve dinner right there in the hall.We’re going to wrap this up at 11:00 pm so our hosts can get home to their families. I’m really excited about this. See you Saturday morning! http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.51.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens I am pleased to report that we have secured a new game store venue for our San Diego Game Days thanks to Kevin Legge: “At Ease Games” 12373 Poway Road, Poway, CA 92064. Ron Kent is the owner and a friend of Kevin. I took the opportunity to drop by the store on Wednesday and speak to Ron, who is a super-nice guy and happy to host us. As for the location I’ll just say that if I were asked to dream up an ideal game day venue, it would look very much like At Ease Games. The store is about the same size as the old Artifex store in Mira Mesa (2000 SF). He has 9 six foot banquet tables in the rear of the store, with plenty of room, plenty of light and AC. There are also a half dozen large Warhammer tables and numerous display cases and shelves. The store is open from 10:00 am to 10 pm.Our inaugural meeting is scheduled for a Saturday, October 29th at 10:00 am. He already has us on the calendar. Beginning in November we will resume our 4th Saturday schedule at this location.On behalf of the Club, I want to thank Steve Thorne (and his wife Julie) for stepping in to host us while we looked for a permanent venue. Thanks also to Kevin Legge, for helping us secure this excellent new venue. I hope you can join us! http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.50.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens no meeting in october http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.49.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens Ok, Paul has the PayPal link up on the website. Look at the Club Store on the lower left of the home page. If you’re a member, you’ll see it. If not you’ll need to make your dues current first.If you’re not a fan of PayPal you can drop a check in the mail, or pay me directly at one of the Game Days. The cut-off for registration is October 16th. We picked up 7 registrations last Saturday at Emerald Knights; off to a good start! http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.48.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Paul Simonsen it is in place http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.47.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens I’m sorry to report that we have to cancel the San Diego Game Day this month. We’re going to try again on September 24th. http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.45.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens Greetings ASL Fans;This coming weekend we have 5th Saturday; one of those rare dates when we don’t have a Game Day scheduled somewhere. But fear not: at the request of some of our die-hard members I’ve arranged to hold a Special Edition Game Day this coming Saturday at Gameology. Come and join us at noon in Montclair for our usual Game Day format.See you there!-Jim http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.44.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens July San diego Game Day cancelled http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.43.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens We're swapping the E.K. and S.D Game Day dates. http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.42.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens delayed until 1:00 http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.41.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens E.K. to charge http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.40.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens We have a new location for the San Diego Game Day http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.39.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens San Diego Game Days http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.38.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens Tankland on Saturday http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.36.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens Trip to Tankland in El Monte http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.35.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens new game day schedule http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.34.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens Blair's video http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.33.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens game day schedule through August, 2011. http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.32.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens West Coast Melee XIV is in the record books http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.31.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens I have received a note from Jon Meyer, owner/manager of The Realm in Brea. Starting this month (February) they will be holding Warhammer tournaments on the 3rd Saturday of each month. Because their table space is fairly limited, they will not be able to continue to host us on that Saturday. As you know, our other Saturdays have on-going events scheduled. So at this point, we’re going to put our 3rd Saturday ASL Game Day in Brea on hiatus until further notice, beginning with this month. Jon was kind enough to offer his store for our use on other Saturdays (barring conflicts with other groups) on an as-needed basis if we can give him some notice. For example, on the occasional 5th Saturday that occurs in some months, or if another of our venues becomes unavailable. http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.30.1 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens Greetings All,First, a reminder: the West Coast Melee XIV hotel reservation and pre-registration cut-off is Thursday, February 10th. Second, a short progress report: The final contracts have been signed and the facility is paid for. Crowne Plaza is ready to roll. Pre-registrations are coming in slightly ahead of last year. I have the scenario lists (mini-tournaments and Melee) just about completed. I have taken advantage of all the new material that’s come out in the last year; you’re going to see a lot of newer scenarios on those lists. In short, things are shaping up nicely and we’re expecting an excellent turnout.Be sure to get your registrations and reservations in before the deadline!Regards,Jim http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.29.4 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Paul Simonsen Well, Everything should be all ready. The green link above should give you all the information you need to find out about the largest and best ASL tournament in the West. You can mail in your check and pre-reg form from the above banner link or you can use the online shopping cart to make your payment via credit card or Paypal.Also do not forget to take advantage of our group rate at the Irvine Crowne Plaza by reserving your room at: http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cp/1/en/advancedsearch?whichtype=room&roomResult=none&hotelCode=laxiv&quickRes=city&_GPC=WC7&checkInDate=24&checkOutMonthYear=012011&checkInMonthYear=012011&checkOutDate=27&_requestid=914710 Get registering and we look forward to seeing you at the Melee![Submitted by Paul Simonsen] http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.28.3 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens SoCalASL holiday schedule and beyond http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.27.3 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens November 13th meeting canceled. http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.26.3 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens We have to change Red Barricades project for October and November http://www.socalasl.com/site/news.php?item.25.3 2013-06-19T19:22:44-05:00 Jim Aikens The 3rd Annual Burning Wreck BBQ was a huge success.