Man, I used to love writing in high school. As long as it wasn’t something I was supposed to be writing. And now I have to force myself to write in my journal, much less on some public forum that no one reads anyway.
So its clear to me that I need some motivation. Something to make me write here everyday. Hmm….thoughts they are a churning.
December 31st, 2009
So as I sit here watching “Lie to Me” on Hulu, it occurs to me that this is Halloween. Hallo-fucking-ween. HALLOWEEN! Although I really have no interest in getting out and trick or treating, and thank God Kori’s young enough to not care, it does give me a pang of regret that I used to celebrate this holiday with a vigor only rivaled by Christmas. And yes I recognize the irony. Kori being so active makes decorating absolutely impossible, regardless of the holiday, and having her around only reminds me that I myself am no longer a child. Sadly.
October 31st, 2009
All artwork or images are the property of their respective owners.
Conduct: 1) to direct the course of, manage or control; 2) to lead or guide; 3) to serve as a medium for conveying; 3) to act as a conductor.
Only $5 for this set of 3 cards. Kind of cute, reminds me of some artist that my mom used to get cards and notepads with her work printed on them. Terrible grammar, and I don’t care.
So when I found this at first I was totally confused. What the hell is it? Is it a travel case for OCD electronic freaks? Or is it a way of inserting battery power into toys or other products? The description is pretty technical and I’m sure makes sense to electricians but I was at a loss. Then I noticed another product by this same seller, called a “Bead Tilt Sensor Kit” which looks like this:
This really didn’t clarify the situation one bit. What the fuck is it? Seriously, take just 30 seconds to figure out at least one or two things this could be (besides ugly jewelry). In the description for this product there is a link to the seller’s website; I figured I would be able to find out exactly what the hell this was all about.
Three links into the website later I have discovered Kobakant DIY Wearable Technology, which is a subpage of the Kobakant site, which is part art, part gaming, part dance, part technology and all fascinating.
This was the most surprising of my search results, and I realized that I’m still the big nerd I was in high school, which disturbs and comforts me in equally horrifying amounts.
The Honda Asimo. Robot technology. Engadget has some cool articles.
Delicious
August 24th, 2009
This week: square images with a surreal quality.
They look like aliens or something…quite freaky.
Fuzzy lights in a rainy window are some of my favorite things. Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue…
Truly gorgeous macro photography.
August 7th, 2009
Every so often I put a seemingly normal word into the Google image search and I get a really interesting array of results. This is one of those posts.
Search term: pumpkin
Pardon my French, but that’s a big fucking pumpkin.
This makes me giggle. And also think of these and this in particular.
This is a real meat patty. Its insane! Nice work on the pumpkin seeds though.
This was a contestant in a pumpkin carving contest. Something pithy about art and temporary mediums might have occurred to me a few years ago, but now I just look at it and think, “How the hell do they have that much time on their hands? They must not have kids.”
I particularly like the reuse of the pumpkin innards. I’m starting to think of more disturbing uses for them now…
One wonders how the tip those bottles into their mouths without opposable thumbs. Or hands.
And to leave you on an even more disturbing note, here’s a weird video from YouTube about Humpkin the gay pumpkin. He’s also an alcoholic. If you’re offended, be sure to take it personally.
July 31st, 2009
The difference is, its probably the only way most of you will have to keep up with her. I’m going to start doing this weekly, and try to go up from there. If you READ it and COMMENT on things, then I might be encouraged to do more with it. You never know.
As most of the people who would be reading this will already know, I never wanted to have kids. Despite this firm belief that I would never reproduce and oral contraceptives to reinforce that faith, I got pregnant anyway. Its really my mother’s fault; she always wanted me to have a grandchild for her, and she finally got her nefarious way. Oh, it’s also her fault that she’s a girl. That’s right, I put it in writing. HER FAULT. Go ahead, try to argue with me.
Anywho, we’re coming up on Kori Lynn’s first birthday, which is really surreal to me. Thank God the little brats, er, darlings don’t really separate different days like they will in a few years. I think that’s the only saving grace about this period of time.
I spent the majority of the day running around jumping through various governmental administrative hoops, which was ever so much fun. Then we went to Toys-R-Us. With Kori. For two hours. It was also her first time with shoes on, walking around. She didn’t like them, and constantly ran away from me and mom because, I can only assume, we’re the horrible people that put these terrible things on her feet, and so if she ran to another adult she can totally get them to remove them for her, please?
First, putting shoes on this kid is kind of like trying to strap C4 to a struggling cat: its dangerous, not very fun, and someone is bound to get hurt. She acts as if you’re trying to murder her, arching her back, screaming, kicking, twisting; it’s a nightmare. So after the long, long struggle to put the shoes on her, she spent a good five minutes trying to scrape them off, then finally stood with them on. She started stomping around, angrily, but then got a little happy when she realized that stomping on the floor is fun, and these things on her feet don’t make her heels sting when she puts the full force of her baby anger into her stomps. She still didn’t like it though, and kept running away from me and my mom at every opportunity and cried if we picked her up. It was hilarious, for the first 3 minutes. Then the next 27 were unbearable. Their low center of gravity must account for the surprising speed in the human offspring, because I don’t think that even in my prime I could ever have pulled off those speeds.
After putting nearly ever toy in her reach in her mouth, running from us, and screaming at the top of her lungs in a mixture of anger and happiness (which is something I notice kids do a lot…), she finally calmed down when we got into the truck, out on the street, then to the highway. Well, a little bit down the highway…ok, she screamed almost the entire way home, and that’s a long fucking drive. God I’ll be glad when crying and screaming aren’t her primary means of communication. By then of course she’ll be married and on her own…
July 28th, 2009
Trying out this new (to me) program called Windows Live Writer that is basically a blog writing program that’s free, easy to use, and modular. Exactly what I like in a free software program. Normally I’m not a fan of Microsoft programs, and I’m sure I’ll be trying out some alternatives to WLW, but for the moment, I think this is an amazing tool, and something that might actually make me keep blogging regularly.
July 7th, 2009
So you may or may not know this, but I’m the guild master of a World of Warcraft guild on the Hydraxis-US server (Horde, of course). For those who don’t have a clue what I’m talking about, a brief summation is forthcoming. For those that want to skip to the good shit, do so. Anyways, World of Warcraft is a MMORPG, or a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. What this basically means is that this is an online game that lots of other people play, and you play together. A guild is a group of people like a family that share a common interest within the game: leveling, hanging out, raiding (more on that in a minute), killing things, whatever. Depending on the game you play and the options in that game, your common goal can be pretty broad. Our guild is a group of real life friends that’s grown into a group of real life and WoW friends.
So what’s is all mean Basil? Well, I’ve managed people in different jobs and in different ways in my life, and I’ve learned a lot about people this way. One thing I’ve learned about people is that many – if not most – people are motivated by competition. I swear, make something a game or bet on it and people who never participate will be scrambling to get in. Try it with your co-workers if you don’t believe me; I’ll wait. So to increase motivation in our guild, I’ve been quietly stirring the competitive fires of our more reserved members. But I can’t give it all away as some of them are undoubtedly reading this as we speak; stay tuned for an upcoming post about it.
May 14th, 2009
Reptiles lay eggs in nests, then leave them to hatch or perish as nature sees fit. Of course they take all the precautions they can, as preserving the species is the second biggest biological imperative and a direct result of the first biological imperative, self-preservation.
Continue Reading May 7th, 2009
Kids are strange. And trust me, if you don’t have kids or aren’t around them for a great deal of time you have absolutely no idea how strange they are.
Continue Reading May 1st, 2009
