I'm back, alive, just a little beat up after the whole day. So, for starters: $spyed and $Heidi came to Warsaw (#5 city on the "Most Devious" list, according to $spyed - #1 is London, #2 is LA and #3 is NYC. Not a bad score, not bad at all.) and decided to hold DevMeet on Tuesday - today, that is. Among the planned attractions was a presentation of new dA features: Portfolios, Groups and new Search system (the new search is reportedly fucking wicked - I mean, where can you search images by COLOR?!). As we literally OVERRAN the place (over two hundred people came, which easily topped the number of Singapore DevMeet attendees), $spyed had to run the presentation three times, just for people's convenience.

For those who couldn't come: Portfolios are pretty useful for serious artists, like ~LeafOfSteel, ~vinegar or ~Quazarius, so they can provide an employer with a neat, organized display of their art - 10 to 18 pieces, along with a resume, viewable online at the address of their choice. There are (initially) two skins to choose from - a white one and a dark grey one.
Groups - good news: any clubs you may have probably organized will be changed into groups free of charge when the system finally goes live. #hq is the first group, just to give you an idea how it looks. The inner workings, well, you'll need to find out yourself.

OK, now shout-outs to people I've been drinking with (and not only): big-ass icon rollout!

If I forgot anyone, just let me know! It was awesome, this way or the other!

And now, technicalities. You can stop reading now if you're not interested. So: first things first, it was my idea to pinpoint the location $Heidi's photo was taken at and send a note with the street name to $spyed so he could post it on the official blog. So, yeah, it was me who got you all there without unnecessary running around the Empire Stalin Building. I'm Jerkasstic, but I saved the day.
The t-shirt I wore was designed by *Rimfrost . If someone happens to upload photos that show it clearly (there should be one on $spyed's camera, taken pretty up close), just let me know, so I can show it to her.
Also, Starforce boots' "Starcleat(TM)" soles have just as much traction as Spiderman's feet. It's awesome - I could walk across flagstones tilted some 30 degrees sideways and I didn't even start slipping.
And, final warning for the milsim beginners: be careful how you blouse your pants into your boots. Don't just pull the cord on the bottom of pant leg so it wraps tightly around your leg - I think I got some nasty marks on my right shin from tucking the pants in my boots and then tying the laces. Luckily, I can't see it through my thick fur.

Idea pile:
Cut up a bit to focus on the most important things
Michael J. West, Paranormal Investigator in: The Case of Uncle Herbert
Synopsis: a New York detective arrives to Boston to find out what really happened to his uncle, the mad scientist Herbert West.
Michael J. West, Paranormal Investigator in: Garlands of May
Synopsis: West is employed by a USAF test pilot to find out what is going on with his daughter, studying in a Maine college.
Michael J. West, Paranormal Investigator in: Dogs of August
Synopsis: Three Mafia flunkies mysteriously die, violently murdered by an unknown assailant. Their boss hires someone to find out who is responsible. But what West finds out is not exactly out of this world...
Michael J. West, Paranormal Investigator in: December Song
Synopsis: Plagued by nightmares and strange visions, West is forced to undergo a therapy in Ravencroft Asylum. While inside, he finds out even more strange things defying his view of the universe.
Bjorn Westlander, Retriever Agent in: The Adventurer
Synopsis: an introductory tale for the reboot of Bjorn's adventures - now he's an archeologist/tomb raider employed by Royal College of Magic.
Bjorn Westlander, Retriever Agent in: The Black Tower
Synopsis: Bjorn recounts his first meeting with the Talma Heyra Cabal.
Bjorn Westlander, Retriever Agent in: The Gauntlet
Synopsis: This time, Bjorn tells the tale of acquiring his magical armored gauntlet and finds out the purpose of Keys to the Kingdom.
The Beast
Synopsis: Imperial mages try to save the city of Cair Hern from a demonic entity summoned by goblins surrounding the city.
Bjorn Westlander, Retriever Agent in: The Shard
Synopsis: Bjorn seeks advice to get rid of nightmares in which his deceased lover appears.
Bad Blood
Synopsis: Our hero awakens hungover and wearing a blood-stained t-shirt. And that's not the only problem he must face...
A Strange Occurence of a Goth Girl at Nighttime
Synopsis: Michal meets a girl. She looks perfect. Michal's in trouble. She's not that perfect.
Texas Strimmer Massacre
A grizzled biker confronts a family of inbred psychopaths, trying to out-psychokill them. Saving clueless students involved. Something along the lines of "Hero of the Day".
Kurinto Itsuda in usual loadout.
Half-profile shots of my characters.
Chibi Vampires - Viola, Sara, Mike and Alicia are done, still have Kriss, Jason, Tanaka and Johannes left.
You're Safe Now - Bioshock fan art
The Seal
Character lineup from my E.G. Crackpot High School (David, Wonderboy, Snakey, Dante, Mindy, Lydia, Audrey the Plant, Sememoto & Ukeyoshi)
Edward Cullen impaled and real vampires cheering around.

<img src="http://imagegen.last.fm/Devious/recenttracks/5/Mike_West.gif">

My zioms*:
I stalk them:





We stalk each other:





They stalk me:






Real World Zioms:



[* that means "homies" in Polish]