Learning From the Best

Last night I taught a group of 3 friends how to pick locks. By the end of the night, each and every one of them had picked every lock I owned. I was really impressed.

After that victory, I thought I'd try to teach my friend's very young brother this afternoon. Even though I didn't think he would be able to, he eventually got one of the padlocks. I was even more impressed. He then proceeded to break the pick on the next lock I gave him. opps. Oh well I suppose.

This all reminds me: I haven't given a How-To about lock picking on my blog yet. I'll create one for the next post.

Speechless

Last night I had the chance to paint the face of a mime.

So? Batman does not paint faces, you say. That's true but he's got to be an expert actor to convince people of his Bruce Wayne charade. Plus, Bruce Wayne is one of the most recognizable faces in the DCU yet he wanders around Gotham city as Matches Malone without anyone being the wiser.

Batman's makeup skills are da'bomb.

And as you can see by these pictures, mine aren't so bad either. I may not be the next Barrett Kean but it's not so bad.

I'll try to do more stagemakeup in the future sometime. I'd love to learn impersonation but I don't know how to go about learning.

P.S. Sorry for the long delay in posting. I'll post what I've been doing this month over the next few days.

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

The webcomic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal published a cartoon involving Batman that I thought you might enjoy:




Which is always followed by a follow-up comic:

Project Rooftop

Maybe if you've been reading Building Batman for a long time you've started to notice that not all the picture of Batman are canonical-ish. If there is one thing I love more than comics, it's fans taking a character and making it their own.

There's a conflict in the stories that we might call "modern myths". Maybe the biggest modern myth stories are Luke Skywalker's hero quest to save the galaxy or the paradox of an all-america savior who does no wrong while fighting the never-ending-good-fight yet is equally just a mild man who struggled for years to get the girl across the desk from him to notice. The conflict is this: as "myths" these stories must be widely owned by many people but as "modern" they are actaully copyrighted controlled material owned by someone. The less centralized Superman franchize may be more myth than Star Wars because of the army of creative people who have all added or perturbed his story in their own way over the years but it still makes me extremely happy when fans stand up and make the myths their own. It's why I check Wayne Manor everyday even though I know he only updates near holidays (come on April Fools day, come on April Fools day) and why I wish BBWW would start posting again.

AND it's why I really wanted to tell you about Project Rooftop. This is a website that hosts contests for redesigning superheroes' costumes. They were inspired by Andi Watson's Batgirl meme. With Battle for the Cowl going on in the Bat-verse, they started this contest asking for people to redesign the Batman costume for "his most likely successor, Dick". They claim they got over 100 entries (I would love to scroll through all those) and their finalists are super cool.
But they haven't just done Batman. Check-out the righthand side links to past contests and then answer me this: why is it so easy to find really cool, really good redesigns of Wonder Woman by fans but DC still fails day by day to do anything worthwhile with the character?

Hotel Hospitality

I mentioned that I'm visiting Pittsburgh right now. I brought my lock-pick set and some pad-locks with me for relaxation and fun. When I got to my hotel room, I found the little lock on the minibar. Oh ya, baby.

I had alot of trouble at first. A painful amount of trouble. I couldn't figure out what was so hard about this pitiful little lock. Was it some other kind of locking mechanism than any I had seen so far, something that looks like a tumbler but isn't? The pins were really standard looking and feeling.

The answer was no: It was a regular lock but the key turned the other way than I expected. Oh well. Once I knew that, the lock was super easy. I raked it in seconds and picked it very quickly.

I still have to present to you all how to lock-pick yourselves and I do promise to do that very soon.

Nocturnal Knight

So I made it. It's still fairly early for most Friday night parties but the people I went with were leaving so I felt justified in calling it a night.

So there's the end of it. All in all, it wasn't so much trouble. It doesn't feel healthy and I find it hard to believe that a person could cope as a useful member of the superhero community if they didn't get proper sleep.

I went out for diner with a girl and almost fell a sleep on her. She definitely noticed how tired I was and I had to tell her that I didn't sleep much but when we went out after to a more active location and were out with a large group of people whom I didn't know as well I could function well enough to not stand out.

So in conclusion:
On Tuesday I had a normal day but when it came to sleep I stayed up and only slept 4 hours before getting up on Wednesday morning. Wednesday morning was just another day. Again, I only slept 4 hours. I got up at about 7AM Thursday morning and haven't slept since. It is 11:30 Friday and I am about to go to sleep so let's say I have gone 41 hours without sleep.

Oh ya, I forgot to mention I have to be on a plane to Pittsburgh tomorrow morning at 6 A.M.

Daybreak

The sun just started to come up. I've made it through the night. I guess that means the part that requires willpower is done. Once the day officially begins, I won't have the opportunity to sleep.

The combination of staying up late and staring at a computer screen is really making my eyes water.

The worst thing is how my stomach feels. It's not queezy but it feels really gross. It's the coffee. The coffee must irritate my stomach.

I went for another walk but didn't feel rejuvenated at all. All my energy is fake energy: the determination to get through the night and caffeine.

And I'm freezing! Why does being tired make me so cold?

Quarter to One

I cracked open the first bottle of Coke. Oh man.

Sugar Fiend

I came home late from work. It's about 10:30. The cool walk felt great. I was completely revitalized... Until I got into my nice warm home. Nobody is around and it is really quiet. I'm going to put on the radio despite the trouble from two nights ago.

Oh and my body is starting to ache. My back has a pain and my muscles are stiff. I'm pretty limber and don't often feel this way.

I have two bottles of coke to help me over the next two nights. I'm not convinced that the sugar will be a good idea in the long run.

Crime Doesn't Sleep

I think I take back last night's comments. I can definitely tell a difference in the quality of work I'm getting done. I'm wasting time. Things that shouldn't be difficult are taking me forever. I'm having alot of trouble with simple concepts and have notice myself slipping into thoughtless gazes. I've had 6 hours of sleep over the last two nights and I haven't even gotten to my sleepless night. Plus I still have to get through the evening.

The work day hasn't been so bad. Lots was happening and as long as I can keep my mind off my fatigue then it doesn't bother me much. I have to stay at work really late but that's ok because I'm not sure what I'll do when I go home.

Sleepless Nights

It's almost time to go start my day but I've already been up for 3 hours. I drank two pots of coffee --> I got up early so that I only got 4 hours of sleep. I think that I'm going to regret all the coffee.
I just kept drinking.

It was a rough night but luckily I had things to do. I've been working on this computer program for quite sometime and it needs to be done really soon. So I'm almost grateful for this extra time.

The worst part about staying up this late is the late night radio programs. Why do they play that kind of music? Once you get to the morning shows things improve but I think I've stick to my ipod tomorrow night.

Who Watches...?

I saw the Watchmen film today. My comment on the matter?

Rorschach uses the same lock-picking set as I do! It's the case that I noticed. He uses it when he and Dan are in Veidt's office. Watch for it in the film.


In other news, the day wasn't so bad. I was tired but I've been more drowsy and it will only get worse tonight and tomorrow.

The First Morning

I ended up getting less than four hours: I only got two. Although , I think I probably dozed in the shower for twenty minutes - when I noticed I was still there the water was cold.

It's not so bad yet. I'm drinking alot of coffee but that's not much of a problem.

Sleep Deprivation

Reasonably, Batman does not go out on patrol every single night, all night long. It's pretty unbelievable. However, he may go out most nights and he almost definitely has a completely inverted sleeping schedule. He most likely sleeps during the day and goes to work as a hero at night.

That being said, there must be times when Bruce Wayne must go out during the day.
As a playboy he can probably get away with mostly being seen at evening events but as the owner of a multi-billion dollar corporation there must be times when even the irresponsible and uninterested Bruce can't get out of a lunch or breakfast meeting.

Therefore, Batman must often but perhaps not regularly, go entire days without sleep.

This is my next experiment for Building Batman. I propose to remain awake and functional for 48 straight. It's probably pretty rare that Batman goes longer than that. An argument that he doesn't may be that he keeps his physical self in peak condition and therefore must see the value in self maintenance. That doesn't mean he sleeps long though in a crisis situation.

So here's what I think is reasonable. I'll get 4 hours of sleep between Tuesday and Wednesday (that's tonight). 4 hours between Wednesday and Thursday. I won't sleep at all Thursday night. Some friends of mine are planning to go out Friday and so I will go with them. I won't leave until the group disperses. After that I will allow myself to sleep as long as necessary.

I don't think this is very extreme and is definitely within reach.

Bike Lock and Coffee

Thank goodness that I now use coffee strategically instead of drinking a cup a day (here and here). During busy times (like now) coffee becomes a valuable ally in my war on... time.

That being said I have been able to pick a few locks when I catch a free moment. I can pick an old bike lock in under a minute. It's was no problem - probably because it was so old and has a lot of give. It is definitely the easiest one yet.

The brand new pad lock I was telling you about, is terribly frustrating. I got it that first time very quickly but have not gotten it again since! My front door still takes time but I can consistently get it.

What I need now are more old locks that I can practice on.

Does anybody have any ideas about that? I don't want to go buy 10 brand new ones because a) they're harder and b) buying 10 locks for no purpose except to pick them seems more than little wasteful.

PS You really should be keeping up to date with the_dark_cat's Welcome to Wayne Manor.

Fluke

Tonight night while watching an episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold I picked a padlock. It was pretty cool. It took me just under 7 minutes BUT I think that was a fluke since I couldn't repeat it in the duration of the show. We'll see if I can repeat it again tomorrow.

Bruce Picks Away

Here's a few pics of me picking the deadbolt of my door.

Making Mr. Miracle

Someone broke into my house yesterday.

ME, BITCHES!

It took an half of an hour. Not more or less an half hour like less than an hour or more than a few minutes but exactly 30 minutes. That's as long as a TV show or it takes to make a decent supper or... well I'm sure you all know how long an half hour is but, but, but I'm just excited. This was my first time sitting down with them. I think I've found my calling - maybe I shouldn't be practicing to become Batman but rather should be trying to make myself an illusionist like Mr. Miracle.

Picks in the Post

I got my lock-pick set this morning. It's gorgeous. It's a 20 piece lock-pick set of from LockPickShop.com although that was my mistake - since ordering it, I found out that the maker, SouthOrd sells the exact same set for $10 cheaper than LockPickShop.

The MPXS-20 is a set of 14 picks and five torsion wrenches (there's also a key extractor - also known as tweezers). The picks come in a case which I like because it has a zipper rather than a button which most seem to have. These picks are called Slim, meaning that they are for narrow U.S. locks or European and Japanese locks. Narrower seemed like a better choice than wider to me.

The only other set that I really considered purchasing was the PXS-14 but it wasn't on sale when I ordered.

Batman Haute Couture

Masked vigilantes are en vogue this year. These cowled ladies showed off Narciso Rodriguez fall collection in New York last week. The blog Red Carpet Fashion Awards aptly identified these bucket hats as Batman-esque. I'm looking forward to high-fashion renditions of Batbelts, myself.

Suspicion

I stopped by a local locksmith's today to see if I could buy a set of picks locally instead of over the Internet. The lady who was working the shop came around from the other side of the shop. Because I'm fairly young, I made sure to use all the lingo that I knew when asking her if she had any. I asked if she had an torsion wrenches and picks for keyless entry. I was shocked at how quickly her attitude changed.

She told me, "We don't carry that kind of thing here" and when I asked her if she knew someone who might, she said "No" and returned to the other side of the store leaving me standing alone in her shop - a surprising thing to do to someone you suspect is a thieving criminal.

I've read in the Visual Guide to Lock Picking that picking a lock is not exactly the best method of fast, keyless entry. Drilling sounds easy or acid or if it's a pad lock simply cutting the BAR. That being said, I'm sure that there's a lot of superstitious cowardly thugs who could think of all kinds of crimes to commit.

Hopefully I'll tell you about bumping, shimming, skeleton keys and other keyless entry techniques beyond picking - the right tool for the job, they say.

Rolling Hitch

Good job, Plastic Man. You'll be able to sell that tape on e-bay or maybe bring it to the JLA's monthly poker nights.

It's very easy to make the clove hitch a little more secure. By wrapping the working end around the post one more time, we have a Rolling Hitch. Because this double turn reduces slipping, this knot is useful for situations where the pull is along the same direction as the post.

1) Pass the line around the post, going over the standing end once you make it around.
2) Make a second identical turn, which follows the first turn.
3) Finish the knot in the same way we finished the Clove Hitch: with a half hitch
a) Pass the line around the post on the other side of the standing end.
b) Feed the working end underneath the third loop.
5) Cinch the knot.

Clove Hitch

Sometimes a magic lasso is just the best fashion accessory that one could ask for.

Today's knot is the Clove Hitch. This is a great and super easy way to tie a line. It's so unbelievably fast.


1) Pass the line around the post or bar or whatever.
2) Pass the line around the post on the other side of the standing end.
3) Feed the working end underneath the second loop.
4) Cinch the knot.

The things that you should keep in mind are: a) leave a bit line past the knot since it might slip a touch before catching b) if wiggling the standing part will loosen this knot.

Figure of Eight Coil

You know, I don't think that this picture is the worst one I found...

I did get one thing done for Building Batman this month: I found a use for the figure eight knot. If you have a rope that you don't use very often - like the ice-batrope that goes along with the Bat-antarctic-suit or the underwater rope that goes with the Bat-diving-bell or... well you get the idea. What you need to do is coil your Batrope. But something nice like the Alpine coil (we'll learn that one someday) is more for short term. For storage you want something like the Figure Eight Coil.


1) Make the entire rope a bight (fold it in half).
2) Coil the doubled rope (the animation only shows one coil but of course you do as many as you need).
3) Wrap the working end (the bight) around the coil.
4) Once around the coil, feed the bight through the loop.
5) Pull tight and you have a coiled rope with a nice small loop to hang your batrope from.

Reach For The Sky

This is why you need to be born a millionaire to be able to become Batman. It's been more than a little while since I've posted on my blog and trust me I would have posted if I could have. My secret identity's life has been a hectic series of demands. My physical training has been off and on and I haven't developed any new skills. That being said, I was able to make an animation for a knot just now, plus I ordered a lock-pick set. It should arrive very quickly. I'm not promising that the rest of this month will be any easier on the ol' playboy persona but I will make sure to post many more knots than I have recently. And then we will be able to move on to lock-picking which promises to be very interesting although a couple of the knots that I have learned have proved useful on more than one occasion already and carrying a knot book and a piece of rope around has really entertained alot of people I meet in my day. Not many people are willing to teach me knots they know but they are often interested in trying out whatever knot I am trying to learn at the moment. Maybe knots are really a lost art.