strongyl

Bandolier of Carrots

2009-10-10T19:47:00.002-05:00

So there is this website, Woot, that I love. They sell a thing everyday until they run out of said thing. It is usually something gadgety and always a good deal. Every couple of months they clean house and have what they call a Woot-Off. These last any where from a couple hours to several days and consist of selling things in rapid succession. Generally at the end of a Woot-Off they sell what used to be called a Bag Of Crap, but is now referred to as Random Crap. It is a bunch of "crap" from the warehouse that they throw in a box. This is the item everyone that is watching the Woot-Off is waiting for. It is only $8, and generally sells out in a minute or two.

Last year I was fortunate enough to snag a Bag Of Crap that was about 8 or 9 Sansa Mp3 players and Yanni's autobiography. This is actually quite an accomplishment as the Woot servers usually crash when the Bag Of Crap comes up and is, therefore, incredibly hard to actually buy. Nearly a year to the day later I got another Bag Of Crap and it was delivered on Friday. That is the picture you see above.

Here is a break down of what I got by quantity:

5 Button batteries
4 Jawbone wireless cellphone things
3 Swiss Army wireless presenter, things
2 Sets of in-ear headphones (only one is in the picture)
1 Set of regular earbuds with one earbud missing
1 Power cord for something
1 Pink, ugly as hell, 1Gb Mp3 player
1 Owners manual for a Plantronics headset
1 Owners manual for a Philips something
1 Dyson vacuum attachment
1 Unknown cigarette lighter charger, thing
1 Turbo Air compact blower
1 Travel Alarm
1 Mini marshmallow
1 Wallet picture holder
1 Wireless Logitech Mouse (not pictured cause I gave it to a guy at work)
1 Team Daiwa backpack

and, the Coup de Grace

1 30Gb iPod which, after a quick software restore and charge, works perfectly.

Remember I paid $8 for all of this crap.

So thanks Woot, you rock.

Pretty Pitcher

2009-09-03T08:00:00.001-05:00

Which is funny 'cause this is pretty old.

Almost There

2009-08-04T15:39:00.004-05:00

So for the last couple months I have been working on an epic 5 hour after-wedding-happy-hour-mix thing for J&B. I think it is really close to being wrapped up.

maybe.

the hardest part has been trying to balance the happy hour feel and song content. putting together 5 hours of songs and keeping them (relatively) upbeat and pro love is trickier than you would think. it might still be a little to slow for a little to long at about hour 4 but I still have a month to pull it all together.

here's a track list sample of the first hour.

Shake Your Rump -- Beastie Boys
Mas Que Nada -- Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66
Goldfinger -- Propellerheads Feat. Shirley Bassey
Go-Go Gadget Gospel -- Gnarls Barkley
Pump It Up -- Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Happy Sad -- Pizzicato Five
Tennessee -- Arrested Development
Don't Mug Yourself -- The Streets
Take On Me -- A-Ha
Groove Is In the Heart -- Deee-Lite
100 Yard Dash -- Raphael Saadiq
L´Estasi Dell´Oro -- Ennio Morricone
Organ Donor (Extended Overhaul) -- DJ Shadow
War Pigs/Luke's Wall -- Black Sabbath
New Resolution -- Heartless Bastards
Kata Rokkar -- Björk Gudmundsdóttir & Trió Gudmundar Ingólfssonar

A Quandry

2009-07-09T07:57:00.003-05:00

So this always happens when I get a great sticker or, in this case, patch. Do I have anything that I plan on keeping long enough to justify affixing something to it permanently? I still have a Guns N Roses patch from junior high because of this problem.

Back to Back

2009-07-06T18:32:00.005-05:00

So a bit ago I lamented on Twitter that I was in love with, but couldn't really afford, the new limited edition Field Notes. Apart from the all around awesomeness of the normal Field Notes books these have an extra helping of letterpress goodity. Yeah I just made that word up, what of it.

Anyway... my good friend Jeremy proved what a stand up chap he is and bought a pack for me. As always it came with some extra free stuff.

You can't really tell but that white thing on top is a Coudal sticker. They are the co-conspirators, along with the always excellent DDC, that put out all things Field Notes.

Do yourself a favor and go buy some notebooks right now.

shitchyah!

2009-06-22T13:28:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the DDC for this fantastic poster.

As always the extra stuff is as good as the thing I ordered. I especially like the Draplin Patriarch & Curse Word emblazoned sticker.

Also:

According to the label checklist I am "Just Plain Bad Ass"

Mmmmmm, fog

2009-06-22T10:48:00.000-05:00

I took this a little while ago on a really foggy morning. I think it's one of the better pictures I've taken.

This ended predictably

2009-06-08T10:29:00.000-05:00

Let me start by saying is was really hungry and wanted something more than a snickers. I should have gone with the snickers. I made it one bite into this and tried not to gag as I waited for the copious amounts of wax to dissolve in my mouth. Despite their excellent spelling, the "Flavour Bits" never had a chance.

Tryin' to keep updating, really.

2009-05-31T19:37:00.002-05:00

'Cause somebody's tired of Easter Potato

2009-05-28T14:42:00.000-05:00

mmmmmmm, coffee.

Newest addition

2009-04-16T06:31:00.001-05:00

I have sort of a collecton of Potato Heads at work. It started with the Optimus Tater and just went from there. Last night at Target I saw this gem in the clearance section. For $3 I knew I could give her a home. Plus now all my dude Potato Heads have a girl to look at. Well except for the R2D2 one, we all know he only has eyes for C-3PO.

Oh yeah, and when you push down on the Indian Jones tater it plays the Indiana Jones theme song.

Awesome.

Thanks to the DDC

2009-04-15T12:29:00.003-05:00

So I have professed my admiration for DDC in past posts on this here blog.

Wait, after checking I have only posted about them once. But I swear there were other posts I was going to do... I'll do that soon.

post

anywhooo

I am a big fan of The Draplin Design Company. I think all of the work coming out of there is top notch. I've purchased a few products from them and with every order they throw in some extra stuff. In a recent post on the DDC website it was said that with any order that day a "mystery package" of "items of intrigue" would be added.

I was hooked.

I don't have much extra money so I bought a pen. With that pen I got two extra pens and...

A super rad magnet from Japan.

From a design geek perspective I love everything about this. Thanks DDC you are awesome.

cause I been busy, that's why

2009-02-17T06:32:00.004-06:00

to make up for it, here is a picture of my baby in a ridiculously awesome Katamari hat.

For those that don't remember...

Thanks to my aunt for making this for me. She also threw in some mittens and booties but I didn't get pictures of those. It is a little big, but that's just the way it is. I will get better pictures as he grows into it.

I feel like I should point out that a certain wife is totally opposed to this hat. She thinks it is too ridiculous and made sure that I was the only one in the pictures with him.

I think it is exactly ridiculous enough.

Future Son, I apologize for making you wear this hat. Hopefully when you get older you will recognize it's greatness.

Thanks Internet

2009-01-08T10:08:00.003-06:00

Today was an unusually good day for pictures from the interwebs. here is they is in no particular order.

I may or may not use this as a basis for my "look" from now on.

I don't know that I totally believe this but it's great nonetheless.

Ok so this isn't technically a picture but hilarious. I have officially fallen head over heels in love with "Get Fuzzy".

"Writing is for movie scripts. Punching is for expression." Could easily be a hugely popular shirt, methinks.

What?

2008-12-31T08:08:00.001-06:00

This is Steven Spielberg on drugs.

Any questions?

Tweet, Tweet

2008-12-27T08:09:00.003-06:00

Ok, so.

I'm not really down with most social networking sites. I even hate myself a little for typing social networking just now.

However...

I recently decided to take the plunge with Twitter and I am hooked. I think what appeals to me the most is its simplicity. It doesn't have any of the annoying MySpace ADD crap and it's not Facebook, which I dislike irrationally.

Also I can send a text message and it will show up as a tweet. That I kind of dig.

I realize that like usual I am very late to this party but here I am on Twitter if you care.

Maybe I'll set one up for my baby. That might be kind of fun.

Just because I have long hair doesn't mean I'm a girl

2008-12-18T13:08:00.001-06:00

I laughed for like 2 minutes

2008-12-11T09:04:00.003-06:00

I have enjoyed Get Fuzzy since it started and recently started following it again.

Hilarious.

I Promise

2008-12-04T07:40:00.002-06:00

This will not turn into a blog about my baby.

that is here

thank you

Back from the shop

2008-12-04T06:54:00.003-06:00

Me Mudder was nice enough to send back those old t-shirts of mine fully converted into baby sack, things.

I only have one picture so far but it is pretty rockin'

p.s. i photoshop(p)ed out the poop spots. your welcome.

H is for...

2008-11-24T12:22:00.002-06:00

Harrison

Harrison Derek Schille

Born November 23rd @ 7:40 pm (that's 1940 for you military time aficienados)

6lbs. 13oz.

20" long

The first picture is him about 20 minutes old.

The second one is form this morning.

this is not a pipe

2008-11-21T07:26:00.001-06:00

Every Day

2008-11-20T10:09:00.002-06:00

This is every day of work for me.

Way to go nature

2008-11-18T07:17:00.000-06:00

I only wish I would have had my better camera. oh well.

Don't read into this

2008-11-17T11:09:00.002-06:00

I just thought it was a clever picture.

So it goes

2008-11-11T13:11:00.001-06:00

gud spelrs welkum

2008-11-11T05:15:00.001-06:00

I'm not really sure what this is

2008-11-07T08:39:00.002-06:00

But it sure is cool. And more importantly it was the perfect height for a monitor stand.

They say talkin pictures are gonna ruin hollywood

2008-11-06T11:23:00.004-06:00

It has come to my attention that maybe not everyone knows the songs that I posted before in the Kwanamas cut list.

Here's the list again with mp3's with which to listen:

Life On Mars? - Seu Jorge
Click Me For To Listen

Skinny Love - Bon Iver
Click Me For To Listen

Freedom - Richie Havens
Click Me For To Listen

There's A Higher Power - The Louvin Brothers
Click Me For To Listen

Dickie Chalkie and Nobby - The Mekons
Click Me For To Listen

Ooh La La - Faces
Click Me For To Listen

Sally MacLennane - The Pogues
Click Me For To Listen

Water May Walk - Devendra Banhart
Click Me For To Listen

Whiffet

2008-11-06T10:18:00.001-06:00

To quote Rick James, "Cocaine's a helluva drug"

I love how scared Bowie looks in that first picture. I never thought of Garfunkel as that terrifying, but I bet Bowie knows something I don't.

Thank The Maker

2008-11-04T07:36:00.003-06:00

I am so glad that it is finally election day.
Mostly I am just tired of seeing nothing but political ads everywhere I go.

A fun fact I learned about 20 minutes late this morning:

Minnesota has a law that allows you to vote in the morning, before noon, without any penalty from you place of employ. That sure would have been nice to know before I had driven almost all the way to work.

oh well, next time.

by the way, if you like the picture at the top it is today's Shirt.Woot. It will only be for sale today, until they sell out of them. So if you want one, go now, because it's most likely to late already.

ok, that's not actually true. The shirt will be $10 until they sell out today, but you can go back tomorrow and pay $15 for it.

GO VOTE G-DARNNIT

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T12:40:00.001-05:00

I'll just post a list of all the cuts

2008-10-30T10:19:00.003-05:00

Kwanamas X is turning out to be a little heavy on the acoustic end and I can't bring myself to get rid of any of the songs. So once again I turn to you interwebs. If you could axe any of the songs from the following list, which ones would you choose?

Life On Mars? - Seu Jorge

Skinny Love - Bon Iver

Freedom - Richie Havens

There's A Higher Power - The Louvin Brothers

Dickie Chalkie and Nobby - The Mekons

Ooh La La - Faces

Sally MacLennane - The Pogues

Water May Walk - Devendra Banhart

Shhh, don't tell anyone.

2008-10-29T05:12:00.002-05:00

Here is a sneak peak at the super secret production method for the Kwanamas cases this year.

X marks the spot

2008-10-28T07:57:00.003-05:00

So the tenth anniversary of Kwanamas is coming up. As a tribute I am going to add a copy of the original tape in with the regular Kwanamas CD for this year. That's right boys and girls, three CD's for the price of one. Well not really cause it's free, but you understand what I'm saying.

anyhoo...

I am having trouble with how to make the copy.

1. Do I make an actual copy and just digitize the tape as it is?

2. Do I use the original tape but adjust the songs for volume and spacing?

3. Do I re-create the tape but in all new digital glory?

What say you interwebs?

I just realized that I totally should have worked in some sort of election banter, cause this here post is roughly like an election. Oh well, maybe next time.

I wish I had taken this picture

2008-10-27T10:32:00.003-05:00

But in order for that to be true I would have to be about 100 years old. Reason No. 348 why I would like to be immortal.

There can be only one.

outttore

2008-10-26T07:57:00.000-05:00

getting better all the time

2008-10-23T08:54:00.001-05:00

some mystical force unites as i drive home through the slow part of 35e.

dangaleat

2008-10-22T05:26:00.001-05:00

Up Nort Der

2008-10-21T14:45:00.002-05:00

I was pursuing my traffic meter thingy and noticed that there are a couple of people that come to this website regularly that I can't account for. This means people that I don't know are actually expecting me to be vigilant with this blog and keep it current. In response to this I will try harder to post something every day. It might only be a picture or some other small something but I'm lazy so that's actually a big deal for me.

Today's picture is of my new work calendar, on top of my old work calendar. It is from the Draplin Design Company. A place I heard of through the following video that near perfectly captures how I feel about most everything. Careful there are a bevy of F-bombs dropped.

America Is F*cked.......(Graphically at least) from Jess Gibson on Vimeo.

Yes Way Ted!

2008-09-22T08:40:00.003-05:00

A co-worker of mine recently brought in her old digital camera for me to fix, if possible. It turns out that she left the camera in her RV and at some point it got really hot and fried the image sensor. That kind of problem is not within my expertise to get it working again and she needed a new camera anyway. She did let me have her old camera though, and it takes pretty cool "pictures"

I haven't yet decided whether to use this power for good, or for evil.

I figured, why not

2008-09-18T07:39:00.004-05:00

The new 35W bridge opened this morning and I decided to take the long way into work and give it a try. I apologize for the realtive crappiness of the picture above. I hardly ever use this bridge and honestly didn't know it was coming up until to late. Plus it's a pretty short bridge and my camera had turned itself off.

Thoughts:

It seems much wider than the old bridge, which should help trafficwise.

The cool LED sculpture light things were... cool.

It was dark out and I couldn't really see anything.

Goodbye Dear Friends

2008-09-13T18:48:00.005-05:00

I have a fairly serious relationship with most t-shirts that I own. Nearly every shirt I have brings to mind a detailed memory. This is how I remember things best, by associating some object with the thing I want to remember. Consequently I have a hard time getting rid of things because it is like getting rid of a memory. Also when I was a kid it took me forever to clean my room because it would turn into a reminiscing session.

anyway...

I found a pattern for turning old t-shirts into baby onsie things. So now I have to go through my old memories and figure out which ones I want to turn into new memories.

So I say goodbye to these old memories.

p.s. If anyone reads ancient greek and can tell me what that blue shirt says that would be super.

Frickin Awesome or: Why the Internet Rules (sometimes)

2008-09-11T18:58:00.003-05:00

So awhile back I heard of this website, where a comic book artist by the name of DJ Coffman would draw anything you wanted for $2. Being as the 10th anniversary of Kwanamas is coming up I thought, what the hell, I'll ask this seemingly fantastic artist if he will draw the cover. For $2.

Ummm, yeah. I don't know how that could have gone any better.

Can you crochet?

2008-09-09T06:32:00.004-05:00

Ok so.

I came across this great pattern for a Katamari hat for my unborn child. The problem is that I do not crochet. I thought I had found someone that would make this for me but it turns out that they only knit. I suppose that I could try and learn, but this seems like a pretty advanced project to jump in to.

So I leave it to you interwebs. Who wants to make this hat for me? I will totally buy all the supplies, all I need is someone with skill.

Thank you in advance.

Wheels N Wings 2008

2008-09-06T15:31:00.009-05:00

Here is a small sampling of cars from Wheels N Wings from this year. In a few years this event is going to be to big to be fun anymore.

To see all of the pictures (there are quite a few) go here.

Nintendo Sheets or: Awesome Stuff I Forgot I Was Getting

2008-09-02T18:04:00.007-05:00

A bit ago a certain friend of mine emailed me and asked if I could do something with some Nintendo fabric that he found. That's one of those questions whose answer is always YES. I don't know what I will use it for just yet, but with the little boy on the way I'm sure I'll figure something out.

I ain't used a filmdy camera in forevers

2008-08-18T18:28:00.005-05:00

Film

These are a little stripey, which I attribute to the crack team of developers at Target. Doesn't really bother me so whateve.

Quickly now, ring Scotland Yard

2008-08-14T07:02:00.001-05:00

¿Que?

2008-08-12T06:39:00.001-05:00

Zebra Cake, Bread, Thing

2008-08-09T08:57:00.004-05:00

So here is the recipe as I printed it out at work. I made notes on how I thought it would be best to incorporate bananas into it. Less oil, less flour, and of course bananas. Obviously I left this at work so when I made it at home none of those things, except the bananas, happened. I ended up using the recipe as it was and just substituting the oil for 2 pureed bananas. This made for some unpredictable results.

So to get this to work you alternate spoonfuls of each batter right in the middle of the pan and they just push each other out. With each ring being roughly 3 Tablespoons, it took me about 15 minutes. Next time I think I will put the batters in piping bags.

It ended up being more like banana bread than a cake, and I had to bake it for almost an hour (i think). Looks pretty though.

As you can see my stripes aren't quite as nice as in the recipe picture. I think that my batter was probably a little runny.

Next time, add another banana or 2 and maybe another half cup of flour.

All in all it was edible and everyone at work thought it was good, so that's all that matters.

I smell a new shirt

2008-08-06T08:31:00.005-05:00

So yeah I'm pretty sure I'm obligated to put this on the back of a shirt now. Perhaps with some other gems from said film.

In other Star Wars news, Pottery Barn Kids has Star Wars sheet sets that I am currently lusting after. Surprise surprise they have been deemed "frivolous" by the better half. If these are not, in fact, necessary for life then maybe I don't need to be alive.

I think the universe is imploding

2008-07-21T17:10:00.003-05:00

I apologize for the blurriness of this picture. I hadn't quite figured out the close up part of my new camera.

So yeah, this is a totally sealed, right out of the case, Sprite.

That is crushed and only about half full.

Weird.

Not A Musical Sub-Genre

2008-07-19T18:33:00.004-05:00

Pictures from Pan-O-Prog. This is the unfortunately named Lakeville city festival. Apparently it stands for Panorama Of Progress. If you really want, you can read a little more about it here.

Upon review of these pictures they are all of the cars at the "car show" of pan-o-prog. The inventory of this "car show" was as follows:

One-half Corvette
One-third 70's muscle cars
The Rest are pictured below

We got there at about 12:30. The parade didn't happen until 5.

Awesome Continental hardtop convertible.

Nice to see a Ferrari

I'm a sucker for a rag top Beetle

My brother has a fondness for Dusters.
Plus it's what Kurt Vonnegut drives in Breakfast Of Champions.

What are Squid Knockers?

2008-07-18T17:35:00.007-05:00

Oh wait, maybe it's SQuareDaNCeRS

These next couple shot are of a gnarly storm that blew through a couple of weeks ago. As you can see it was pretty intense.

You would think that this is from that storm, but it is actually from a completely different storm about a week later. This is looking right out my balcony.

Who knew they still put real live toys in cereal?

By the Bye (or is it Bye the By), I am super excited to see the new Batman movie.

So remember that wedding I went to? Here is a shot of the card I made for them.

June 21st, 2008

2008-06-24T13:44:00.001-05:00

The wedding of my co-worker. In pictures.

Jeff and Janelle Weddin

And then I was all like, Whoa

2008-06-17T10:16:00.002-05:00

So as most people know I am about to have a baby.

Well not me, but you know what I mean.

The requisite baby blog can be found here.

That is all.

A Foot Adventure or: To a Foot and Back Again

2008-06-14T16:18:00.005-05:00

Universe, you're alright

2008-06-13T05:28:00.002-05:00

Usually in the morning I'm a 2 snooze kind of guy. Every once in awhile I turn it off completely and then panic a half hour later when I wake up of my own accord. Today after the first snooze the radio crackled back to life with this line.

"When I wake up early in the morning, lift my head, I'm still yawning."

If anyone doesn't know what song that is you can leave now.

I kid.

That is a line from I'm Only Sleeping on Revolver, one of The Beatles best.

So because the universe felt kind enough to have that song play for me I felt obligated to rise a little early this morning. Thanks universe, you're alright.

Constant Velocity

2008-06-08T20:50:00.003-05:00

So yesterday Dad, Brother and I changed the axle shafts on the Jetta. This had to be done because my CV joints were going bad and in these modern times we live in it's really not feasible to just change the joint, so you go for the whole magilla.

Here is the wheel before we started.

Minus the wheel and tire. You can see the axle behind the brake assembly. It's that shaft looking thing underneath that curved bar... looking thing.

Dad hard at work.

Notice the lack of shaft underneath the curved bar... looking thing.

This next one is an "artsy" shot by Brother.

Do you have any grease? Yes, yes I do. Then grease me up woman.

I feel this next shot is way "artsier" than the previous "artsy" shot.

I am not really dejected. I just look that way.

All in all I would say that it was a resounding success. During the course of the day we met a very nice fellow named Tom at O'Reilly Auto Parts that saved us from buying a special tool. All we needed to do was hit her with a hammer and she would break loose.

The one thing that may be a problem is that the old driver side axle had a rubber dampening... looking thing on it and the new axle did not. I believe that because of this I now have a pretty noticeable vibration at about 4000 rpm. But with today's gas prices maybe it's better that I never rev it up that high.

Ketchup - Catsup

2008-05-17T10:23:00.005-05:00

So here is sort of a house cleaning catchup post.

With pictures.

I went to North Dakota for my Brother's 21st birthday at the end of March. North Dakota is pretty boring but "historic downtown" Grand Forks is actually alright. Tons of bars all within walking distance. Although because of this you can probably surmount how the evening ended for the brother.

I didn't take hardly any pictures but here they are.

On my way I stopped at Target for some traveling essentials and while at the register figured I would pick up some Altoids. Turns out that the Target by my house does not sell Altoids at the register anymore. I was therefore forced to go to the candy aisle and buy a 2-pack of them. WTF Target?

This is at a rest stop somewhere in No Dak. It gives you a real sense of the many and varied landscapes of the northern plains. Maybe that light pole will take me to Narnia.

End No Dak photos

FF>>

The sunrise was pretty yesterday. It's hard to take a picture while driving so this is the best I could do.

$5 + garage sale = 45's galore.

I was initially just going to buy the 3 Beatles 45's that this guy was selling but then he offered to sell me the whole magilla for $5. I figured the case was worth that to me so I bit. All the 45's are in pretty rough shape. On a scale of 1-10 I would say that the best of them is a 5 or 5.5. Also about half of them are kids books with records, but what the hell. Some of the better ones:

The Beatles
Come Together b/w Something
Yesterday b/w Act Naturally
Yellow Submarine b/w Eleanor Rigby (this one has what looks like a burn on it, sad)

Blue Swede
Hooked on a Feeling b/w Gotta Have Your Love (Awesome!!)

C.W. McCall
Convoy b/w Long Lonesome Road

Simon and Garfunkel
Mrs. Robinson b/w Old Friends/Bookends

ABBA
Take a Chance On Me b/w I'm a Marionette

Wow, it's been forever

2008-05-09T06:36:00.003-05:00

This picture has nothing to do with anything, I just like it

So I really have no excuse for my lack of posting lately.

I'm just lazy.

Plus it's way easier to post on Ten Words so that's what I've been doing.

There is a new Indiana Jones movie coming for which I am getting less and less excited. It seems to me that Lucas and Spielberg are getting a little smaltzy in their old age and boy is that bad news for Jr. In most of the articles regarding the new movie, how the old ones compare inevitably comes up. It seems that many people feel that Last Crusade is the weakest of the three existing movies.

WTF

Apart from Short Round, who at best is a lesser Baba Looey, what does Temple of Doom have that is any good? Nothing, that's what. Last Crusade on the other hand has Sean Connery and a quest for the Holy Grail. Come on.

But Last Crusade is just a slightly different version of Raiders you say. Yeah well, the first Porsche was just a slightly different version of a Beetle, and that turned out alright.

It's early and I'm rambling a bit so I think I'll stop now.

I'd like to say I'll be better at updating but I think we all know that's a commitment I can't keep.

end of line

Zelda Shirt Pwned ZOMG

2008-02-24T14:24:00.005-06:00

So I have been working on this Legend of Zelda shirt off and on for awhile and I think it's done. I might add something to the sleeves but who knows.

Now taking orders, tell your friends and colleagues. Anything up to Super Nintendo/Genesis era I can transcribe onto a shirt.

I'm done with winter

2008-02-15T18:26:00.002-06:00

I'm tired of waking up early to start my car
I'm tired of praying that my car will start
I'm tired of not being able to take out the garbage without a coat
I'm tired of that sound that snow makes when it's really cold

I've gotten my dose of hearty for the year.

Thanks winter you have done your job, you can be done now.

blast from the past

2008-02-11T19:21:00.000-06:00

I have a pile of disks sitting next to me that pretty well chronicle computerdom. I have a little of everything. 5.25", 3.5", SuperDisks, and my favorite the Zip Disk.

Today I decided that I would go through the disks that I could and see what was on them. Mostly it was backups of various kinds of stuff I deemed worthy.

I was obsessed with this commercial when it first aired, and apparently went so far as to download it from the GAP website.

This is a desktop wallpaper from the movie 200 Cigarettes, which I actually skipped school to go see. (sorry mom and dad)

The picture at the top of the page is actually several pictures put together to re-create a painting of mine on a wall in my old art class back room. During my junior and senior years of high school if you wanted to find me I was almost always back there. I used to go buy two granola bars for lunch and then spend the time painting in that room. My sis tells me that the painting is still there. I figure when she graduates next year I'll have a look see.

Ultra Basic Cable + Syndication =

2008-01-28T18:04:00.000-06:00

Anyone that knows me knows that deep down I am a sucker for well placed marketing. I once made myself sick eating McDonald's every day because they had the Monopoly game going.

King of The Hill was the first show that T.V. forced me to watch. A few years ago my local Fox affiliate sandwiched it between The Simpsons and therefore gave me no choice but to watch it every day. I had been reluctant to watch King of The Hill until this point. I really didn't have a reason for this, I just didn't think that it would be funny. I slowly warmed to it's hillbilly hysterics and Bobby Hill has become one of my favorite characters in T.V. history.

Sometimes I get home from work early. Regardless of the time when I get home I have no desire to do anything. Sure, I probably should read or something but whatever all I want to do is kill some brain cells. There isn't really anything on until 6 but at 4:30 Reba is on. That's right, I said Reba. I was cruising the channels one day and thought, what the hell. It turns out that this show is also fairly hilarious. I'm less cool for admitting this I know...

The new show that I never thought I would like is Two and a Half Men. Again, a show I would never have watched if the T.V. hadn't forced me. I don't think it's a milestone in the history of television but it has it's moments. Like King of The Hill the little kid is what does it for me. He's a lot like Bobby Hill except real. And Duckie is funny.

Maybe I should watch less T.V.

hmm

2008-01-14T14:58:00.001-06:00

a shiny red apple for the first person to point out what is wrong with this picture from the break room at work.

LEGO has redeemed itself.

2008-01-06T16:48:00.000-06:00

There is a whole line of Indiana Jones LEGO toys that are out right now, and my god are they fantastic.

I bought the cheapest one which at $9.99 I thought was a good deal. There are three other sets that have a direct coolness to price correlation.

Now if only I had some kids to justify buying the rest of them.

thanks bagger guy at target

2008-01-04T20:50:00.001-06:00

for using a ridiculous amount of bags for my groceries

11 in all, just in case you were wondering

p.s. i dislike plastic bags immensely

Club sandwich of Crap

2007-12-10T19:23:00.001-06:00

UPDATE: I misinterpreted dear friends message and they were not as upset as I thought. Damn sarcasm.

The Turkey

On Friday a dear friend of mine left me a message that made it very clear they were quite upset with me. Nothing like starting the weekend feeling like a heal.

In a quick aside I would again like to express my deepest apologies to that person.

The Bacon

I am a jack of all trades in my companies I.T. department and when I got to work this morning I found all the monitors peppered with error messages. Fantastic. 12 hours and many near deaths later everything is back on track.

The Lettuce and Tomato

I found out today that my very favorite free thing in the whole world has to go back to work. Apparently one of the higher ups was wheeling and dealing without telling anyone and promised a customer my printing press.

Toast, Cut into fourths, and secure with toothpicks.

Coolest Free Thing Ever

2007-11-25T14:13:00.001-06:00

ok, so

I'm pretty sure that I've used that phrase several times to describe something, but as of right now this is for sure the coolest thing I have ever gotten for free.

Behold

The Vandercook No.14 Hand Proof Press

I'm not really sure what year it was made, but after some quick calculations from the serial number it's roughly circa 1945.

My place of employment was getting rid of this and it was way to cool for me to let go. Sure it's a little rusty, and ok, I don't have any type for it, but still.

So far the thing that has been most requested that I print is some sort of subversive pamphlet. I think the first one will be a decree to mandate the re-taking of your driver's test every time you renew your license.

Stand by for that.

I won't bore you with the whole story of transporting a 600 pound 50 year old printing press, but suffice it to say that the operation involved an engine lift and me almost getting squished beneath the beast.

fantastic.

Cry your pardon, sai

2007-10-26T18:28:00.001-05:00

I have been busy and apologize for the lateness of my reply.

I recently started, and stopped, working a part-time job at Target. They opened a new one practically down the road from me and I needed some extra money. I wanted it to be a wholly boring and mundane thing. Working for Target is neither of those things. I packed it in after a few scant weeks because my level of regard for the job was several steps below theirs, plus I was working way to much. They were sad to see me go but I suspect someone much less capable will fill my position in no time.

You can take this job and re-staff it.

-

Also recently...

I received this receiver for free from a co-worker who did not want it anymore. It is the newest addition to the long list of free stereo equipment I have procured over the years. The phono input and volume work perfectly so it is leagues better than my last one. The radio tuner seems to be out, but whatever. It was free.

I also have acquired another delicious free thing from work, but you will have to wait to see that.

-

Very recently...

These are pictures I took of this eve's sun set. Pretty crazy stuff.

After adjusting the levels of that last one a little...

Blame it on Dan

2007-10-14T15:22:00.000-05:00

I have never really been a sports person. I was on the tennis team in 7th and 8th grade, and once I played a football game. That's about it. A few years ago, my good friend Dan and I found ourselves temporarily confined to the bustling metropolis of Laramie, Wy. This shirt sums up my feelings on Wyoming perfectly.

anyway...

It was just Dan and I in a very small dorm "room." So doing as dudes do, we played a lot of video games while drinking copious amounts of alcohol. To digress just once more, I discovered my favorite beer, Fat Tire*, while we were there. This was one of the good things that happened while in Wyoming.

anyway...

Dan is a big fan of the John Madden games, and just EA Sports games in general. I liked Madden on the Genesis, but hadn't really played since then. When I say "played" I mean "pushed buttons and sometimes didn't suck." I wasn't any better initially but Dan helped me out with the mechanics of football and eventually it was fun to play. I don't think I ever beat him, but at least I knew why.

So know I like football. Sort of. I like college football more, but the NFL is ok, I guess.

At any rate I was watching the Vikings/Bears game today. Well the last quarter of the Vikings/Bears game actually. I think the Vikings were up by at least a touchdown when I stated watching. This surprised me enough to warrant my attention, if only briefly. I'm not going to give you a blow by blow cause I'm not good at that, suffice it to say the game ended with a career long kick by the Vikings to win 31-34. All in all a fantastic end to a game.

So know I like football. Sort of.

I don't really know how to feel about that.

* incidentally Fat Tire recently became available in my area, but it's not as good after the truck ride.

It's sewn up, I think

2007-09-16T18:43:00.000-05:00

Following is the final list for Kwanamas this year. Maybe.

Radar Love - Golden Earring
Blow My Only - Soul Coughing
This Is the Day - The The
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - Eurythmics
Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows - Lesley Gore
Sea of Love - Phil Phillips
Such Great Heights - Iron & Wine
Sons & Daughters - The Decemberists
Standing In The Way Of Control - The Gossip
I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
Extraordinary Machine - Fiona Apple
Overkill - Colin Hay
Cantina Band - John Williams
Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap
Sugar Town - Nancy Sinatra
Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley
Fade Into You - Mazzy Star

I apologise for not using any of the fine suggestions. I'm selfish, what can I say?

The only song I am having trouble with is Cantina Band. It's really hard to find a good place for that.

If I were a girl

2007-09-16T18:13:00.000-05:00

This poem would make more sense, but whateve...

In
My
Body
Ovaries
Produce
Endless
Destruction

a quick plug

2007-09-10T11:29:00.001-05:00

i have a couple blogs i would like to share.

First is one by me a few other like minded-citezens that is called Ten Words. We review things in ten words. What things you ask, well pretty much anything. Go there and find out.

second is a pretty fantastic video game blog that I stumbled across, Play This Thing!. It reviews a usually downloadable game each day. So far they have been pretty cool. DEFCON is perhaps the most disturbing that I've seen, but it's also kind of like the game from War Games so that's awesome.

that is all, go forth and interweb.

Wheels N Wings - 2007

2007-09-09T15:06:00.000-05:00

Motorbooks is a mail-order book store that has it's warehouse in Osceola, Wisconsin. Every year they throw open the doors and have a ginormous sale and, an accompanying car/aircraft show, called Wheels & Wings. I swear it used to be Wings & Wheels but it doesn't matter. The car show has a pretty decent mix, especially for the size. I have been to this show a few times before but this year was for sure the biggest.

Pictures follow:

Map of my trekking. Blue = In, Green = Out.

A nice mini, on a hill where all the minis always are cleverly called "Mini-Hill"

1973 ABC Tricar

I didn't take a picture of this from the back (cause I'm dumb)

SAAB 95, I didn't check what year but I'll guess '74. When my brother, dad and I were here a couple years ago we talked with the owner of this car a little. I think he ended up beating us that year for best swedish car at the show.

This is the crowd of people that gathered and tried to figure out what the hell it was.

Jams and Jellies

'Cause Jeremy had one for awhile.

I took this picture right before I was eaten.

1927 - Studebaker, Dictator

I'm not really sure what the deal was with this, and didn't want to ask Jim-Bob about it.

AMC, Marlin

1989 - Shelby, CSX

1985 - Dodge, GLH. That stands for "Goes Like Hell"

De Loreans in flight.

MMMM, Lunch Time.

This picture is for Dustin

This isn't a real Dino and the guy that owned this car was a complete tool. Notice the "Special Features"

Porsche makes a fine automobile.

Kwanamas & 89.3

2007-09-05T17:05:00.001-05:00

As I have mentioned previously I love the radio station 89.3.

That's on your FM dial.

I say without hyperbole that this is the best radio station ever.

As proof of its awesomeness I submit this three song set from today:

4:38 Iron & Wine - Carried Home

4:44 Golden Earring - Radar Love

4:50 Wolfmother - Woman

I have been really contemplating that Golden Earring song for the Kwanamas CD this year. It's fairly long, clocking in at 6:25, and has a pretty crazy "jam" section in the middle. But now that Mary Lucia has thrown down the gauntlet and dared me, I feel obligated to keep it on the list.

My boss has a band named codger, and on their website is a pretty hilarious Mary Lucia Shrine. It's still pretty new but you should go look anyway.

Separated at Birth?

2007-08-20T18:51:00.001-05:00

Matthew Barney

Apple Mighty Mouse Package

Think about it.

p.s. on reviewing songs for Kwanamas this year I fell more in love with Iron & Wine's cover of Such Great Heights. It is so awesome it makes me hurt.

p.p.s. why isn't separated spelled seperated. like maintenance should be maintainence. stupid english.

It'a finally happened

2007-08-13T18:09:00.001-05:00

So every year since 1998 I have been making mix tapes for my friends as end of the year presents. I made up a holiday called Kwanamas that (sort of) incorporates Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas. So really it should be spelled Kwanumas, or something, but whatever it's my holiday so I can spell it anyway I want.

Anyhoo...

I was working on the CD for this year and I finally had a song on the list that I had already used. In my defense it was one from the very first Kwanamas (which is the only one that is actually a tape) and it was Supernova, which is an awesome song that I recently re-fell-in-love with.

Here is the list for this year so far, in no particular order:

Radar Love - Golden Earring
Sunshine Lollipops - Lesley Gore
Hide & Seek - Imogen Heap
Such Great Heights - Iron & Wine
Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics
Sea of Love - Phil Phillips
Sugar Town - Nancy Sinatra
How Soon Is Now? - The Smiths
Cantina Song - Star Wars
This Is The Day - The The
Standing In The Way Of Control - The Gossip
I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor

If any of the four people that read this have any suggestions I would love to hear them. I'm starting to have trouble thinking of enough awesome songs to fill a whole CD.

Thank you, come again.

2007-07-21T21:39:00.000-05:00

My constant struggle not to hate Microsoft

2007-07-12T09:29:00.000-05:00

ok, so

At work we have two depatments, graphics and customer service. All of the graphics kids work on Mac's, while the customer service folks have remote terminals that use a Windows machine. While computers are never perfect and both systems have their quirks I, with only a slight bias, can say that Mac's are definitley easier to mantain and use in general.

Here is a perfect example.

When you send an email these days you generally only type the first couple letters of the persons name and then the computer will give you a list of names that it thinks you want. This is generally awesome, but what happens if say you type a name in wrong and then it gets in your list. So instead of sending to macs.are.awesome@yeahtheyare.com it will go to mac.are.awesome@yeahtheyare.com because that was the last address you typed in that starts with "mac".

On a Mac all you do is right click on the address after you type it in and select "Remove from Previous Recipients List", done.

With Windows you have to edit the frickin registry file and delete the whole history it has for Outlook.

This is what I have to say to Microsoft.

UPDATE: I guess you can just highlight the contact in Outlook and then hit the Delete key to get rid of it from the list. Previously I was using the Backspace key, instead of the actual Delete. I forget that Windows makes a distinction between the two. I still am leaning towards hating Microsoft though.

Seriously? Did this happen?

2007-07-02T20:02:00.000-05:00

Un-fucking-believable. That is the only thing I can say. Lewis Libby had his sentenced commuted by the president today. I guess you can do anything you want as long as you are friends with the "cool" kids.

Read this article for something a little more eloquent. I know it's hard to believe that anyone is more eloquent than I, but give these guys a try, I think they are here to stay.

A resounding, meh.

2007-06-24T20:08:00.000-05:00

So Back To The 50's was at the state fairgrounds today and all in all it was pretty boring. The 50's is always heavy with standard American cars, 57 Chevy's, shoebox Ford's, Deuce Coupes, that sort of thing. Usually there are enough interesting cars to keep it worthwhile, but not this weekend. To play the other side, Saturday is the good day and I went on Sunday so that I could go to the swap meet.

I'll start with the coolest car I saw. This is a completely restored DKW. I forgot to check the year, but I'm going to guess mid to late 50's. When it started this car was just the body and it was in pretty rough shape. It's nice to see someone bring a car back from the brink.

I like this next one because it's a convertible truck. It's the only one that I have ever seen.

I'm just a sucker for small cars.

Notice the cool old a/c unit on the next car. As far as I know you just stuff this thing with ice and the air is forced through it into the cabin.

I'll have a side of gastric by-pass surgery

2007-06-24T20:04:00.000-05:00

This may be my favorite picture ever

2007-06-10T19:48:00.000-05:00

go here to find out more

Golden Earring

2007-06-07T19:41:00.001-05:00

I bought a driving set for my PS2 and received it recently.

It was only $35 so my expectations were in line with that price.

It is pretty touchy, but it has a sensitivity setting that I think I will play with to fine tune. If worse comes to worse I can probably take the guts out of a better wheel and install them in this one.

- -

I stopped at a garage sale on a whim today and found a brand new video game.

It was $2 which I thought was a little high, but I payed it anyway.

I got's me a new printing unit

2007-06-07T19:27:00.000-05:00

I bought a new printer recently and I thought it would make a good blog post to show the process. I have three different operating systems in my house, and had planned on using them both.

Story as follows.

Here is the new printer/scanner/thing. It's a Canon and seems pretty good.

Next is a newish MacBook. It's a bare bones first generation 1.83 Ghz.

I also have an IBM ThinkPad running Ubuntu, a Linux operating system. I'm not sure on the specs for the ThinkPad, I think it has a Pentium 4 at like 800Mhz.

Also have a Sony Vaio with Windows XP. It's a Pentium 3 at 400Mhz, roughly.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a Mac guy through and through. My love started with the Apple IIe and hasn't stopped since. I expect the Mac to have the easiest installation and the Linux box to have the hardest.

To get the printer to work on the Mac I did the following things:

1. plugged in the power to the printer, and powered it on.
2. plugged the USB cable into the Mac.

I checked in the printer control panel and there it was.

I love Mac's.

Next I was going to try the Linux machine, but I couldn't remember my login information so I couldn't use it.

I hate Windows and didn't want to subject myself to that torture.

in conclusion:

Buy a Mac.

so it's been awhile

2007-06-07T18:38:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in awhile. No particular reason, I'm just lazy.

Someone at work brought in Jolly Ranchers and I noticed that some were blue. I made a comment to the person who brought them in and she said that the flavor for that one was Blue Rape. An unfortunate mashing of two flavors, Blue Raspberry and Grape. I then went and took this picture to email to her.

This next picture is a Lotus Elise that I saw on the road.

That's all it's just a rad car.

A little further down the freeway I drove by this truck. From what I could see, these were sauna's. I couldn't tell if they were actually old beer kegs or not but they were pretty great either way.

14:59

2007-04-28T08:45:00.000-05:00

So

The Current is doing this thing next week where they are just playing requests for a whole day. They also have this other thing where you can upload a 15 or 30 second spot for them to use as a bumper during that day. I apparently was one of the first people to upload a spot, because they are using it on the radio in a promo for the event. If you want to listen to my submission just follow this --------->link.

Also if you listen to The Current regularly you will probably hear it on there. So now I'm famous (kind of), but don't worry I'll always remember the little people.

In a completely unrelated subject, let's talk about Alec Baldwin.

Everyone is blowing his comments way out of proportion. As much as people hate it, (most) celebrities are regular people too. Regular people get mad at their kids, and yell at them. Anyone that grew up without their parent's losing their temper and calling them names, probably didn't have much fun as a kid.

The worst part I feel is that Kim Basinger felt the need to release this voicemail to the media. As the "adults" in the situation Alec and Kim should know better than to use their child as a weapon against each other.

end of line.

Crescent Fresh

2007-04-26T09:04:00.000-05:00

Sifl & Olly was a show that aired on MTV in the late 90's. I absolutely loved it and watched it religiously. Thanks to the miracle that is YouTube I have found it again. The above episode is just all in all a pretty good one. The movies below explain what Crescent Fresh is, plus some other stuff.

So far it has not been released on DVD, but there is a petition that you can sign to bring it back. I remember signing a similar petition to bring back Sailor Moon many years ago. I figure this petition will have roughly the same affect.

Enjoy.

I love bulk email

2007-04-23T20:49:00.000-05:00

quaint Yes, vanity boat is a weakness cuddly indeed. But fight pride -- whmultiply Yes, indeed, stop cried Mrs. dig sowed Bennet, offended by his I am fat shoe kick by no cause means of opinion, I assure you, saidYou escape pack are dancing shore with the only smite handsome girl in the Monte Cristo calm raised his note include eyes, back but he could not seeAre you mine sped not a snatch Christian?

heh, heh, allllright

2007-04-20T07:42:00.000-05:00

So it goes

2007-04-12T07:40:00.000-05:00

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

1922 - 2007

I am really sad about this. His books truly changed my perspective on life.

Kurt is up in heaven now.

*

So I was thinkin

2007-04-11T17:15:00.000-05:00

I had two ideas concurrently about a movie today, and I thought I would share them.

What if you had a movie and you billed it as the most boring movie you have ever seen, except for the last 5 minutes. It might be hard to make this as a full length feature but I think it could be fun. So now, what if you make everyone that sees it sign a confidentiality agreement. I don't know how feasible that is, but it would help with the hype.

Have the opening shot of the movie be from inside a pedestrian tunnel in a subway, preferably a really long tunnel. Off in the distance, quite and indistinct, you hear some music. As the shot progresses it moves forward through the tunnel and towards the music. The shot, of course, ends on the musician but I think that the acoustics of a tunnel would make this sound pretty cool.

By the way, the first picture is one of two that I took in Grand Forks last weekend. As you can tell it was a pretty good time. I wonder why my shirt is on backwards?

Here is the other one I took.

This is on the way to the hotel. Right before a very nice Police Officer gave Dustin and I a ride the rest of the way. That was very cool of him.

This last one is of the weather today. Happy April everyone.

le geek se chic

2007-04-04T17:12:00.000-05:00

So there is a guy that I work with who is equally crazy about Transformers and he brought in his vintage Metroplex today. Man is it sweet.

You are probably saying ,"Wow it sure would be cool if he still had the box and all that stuff."
It sure would.

Here it is standing next to my new Transformer. Metroplex would kick his ass.

When I put a spike into my vein

2007-04-02T18:05:00.000-05:00

This video is my new drug of choice. I find myself waking up morning after morning with this song running through my head. Amy Winehouse is a Brit, and has a fairly heavy accent when she talks, but lordie can she sing. It makes me yearn for music that is this much fun.
Watch the back-up singers dance.
Classic.

I don't know if they are in this clip, but the backing band on her new CD are (or is?) The Dap Kings, of Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings fame.

I tried to get tickets for her upcoming show at the Varsity, but they appear to have sold out. After doing a little more research I have come to realize that she is quite popular, and that I have come to this party very late. This doesn't really bother me but just once I would like to know about something as soon as it happens, not after it's been happening for years, or months.

p.s. could she be any sexier?

ahhhh geek out

2007-03-31T22:05:00.000-05:00

I bought a new Transformers toy yesterday.
They have a new line that are essentially remakes of some of the original toys.
The one that I bought was Jetfire.
This toy has rekindled my love for toys.

This last picture is one of all the Transformers that both Joel and I bought. Joel bought Rodimus, Ultra Magnus, and the jet at the bottom of the picture. I can't recall it's name.

There was anther set that we didn't get that was Optimus Prime and Megatron as a tank. It was pretty cool, but you can only take so many home.

As soon as we got back from Target we both tore into our packaging, and started playing with them immediately. If someone would have walked in right then they probably could have smelled the geekiness.

It was fantastic.

I don't know either, but my brother does

2007-03-26T16:37:00.000-05:00

My brother has a thrift store that he always finds the greatest stuff at. It is Valu Thrift in Maplewood, maybe. I'm not really sure where it is. I recently went there and this is what I found. These are video game cartridges for the Channel F system, by Fairchild electronics. From what I found out this is the first "programmable" system. This means that instead of a collection of jumpers on the cartridge it has an actual programed ROM. I doubt I will ever find a Channel F to play these on but for 49 cents a piece I couldn't pass them up.

unnecessary miscellany

2007-03-11T17:11:00.000-05:00

Had a pretty good second-hand day today. These first two pictures are of a record by the "band" Sigue Sigue Sputnik. As near as I can tell is comprised solely of "re-mixes" of other songs. It's from 1986 so I guess maybe this was still a novel enough idea to warrant a whole record. The $8 I spent on it was probably a little excessive but I couldn't possibly have passed it up.

Apparently this "band" is still in existence. Go here to see more.

This next record is from a band that I heard about on 89.3. Which for anyone who doesn't know is the greatest radio station ever.

Awhile back one of the DJ's mentioned this band and how they used to be a pretty cool band and now they were getting back together, and how cool that was. Here is the wiki for them.

I always feel a little dirty when I use Wikipedia as a legitimate source of information, but it's just so damn easy.

Next is a control center for an Amgard secrity system. Some people might say, "Amgard that sound an awful lot like a product that would be sold exclusively by the Amway corporation."

Those people would be correct.

Shhh don't tell anyone.

This battery looks like it is brand new.

Man the 80's were great. You could by a home security system from the privacy of your own home. This must be like agoraphobic porn.