Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Pics soon, Ninjas now!
For those of you expecting travel pics... well, they're currently making their way from my camera to my computer, but they're not here yet. Soon. Very soon.
What I'm lacking in photos, I'm going to try to make up for in ninjas. Did I mention that before I left for Hungary I had this really crazy weekend where all kinds of people visited me, including a surprise visit from my friend Whitney who was kind enough to tell me buying a Nintendo DS would be a good idea? Probably not, but it happened.
And so the hunt for games was on. New Super Mario Bros.? Sounds great! Mario Kart DS? Excellent! Worms?! Amazing! But there is one game that has become my favorite: N+. Admittedly, I'm not breaking any news. This game has been around (on the web) for a while. I'll spare you the review, but I can't spare you this comparison: this game is the Junior Bacon Cheeseburger of video games - simple, cheap, satisfying, and oh so bacony. But I haven't told you what it's about yet, have I? Well, let me break it down for you.
What I'm lacking in photos, I'm going to try to make up for in ninjas. Did I mention that before I left for Hungary I had this really crazy weekend where all kinds of people visited me, including a surprise visit from my friend Whitney who was kind enough to tell me buying a Nintendo DS would be a good idea? Probably not, but it happened.
And so the hunt for games was on. New Super Mario Bros.? Sounds great! Mario Kart DS? Excellent! Worms?! Amazing! But there is one game that has become my favorite: N+. Admittedly, I'm not breaking any news. This game has been around (on the web) for a while. I'll spare you the review, but I can't spare you this comparison: this game is the Junior Bacon Cheeseburger of video games - simple, cheap, satisfying, and oh so bacony. But I haven't told you what it's about yet, have I? Well, let me break it down for you.- You are a ninja.
- You love gold.
- Things are trying to kill you.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Vacation Over
I'm back, and I hope to have some great photos and stories to share from Budapest, but for now, I've got some catching up to do...
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
Swing your hips from side to side...
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Tribute
I take great pleasure in identifying myself a New Yorker, but it is with greatest respect that today I defer to those who lived through such a horrible event in our history. My prayers are with those who have lost because of it.
Monday, September 08, 2008
The Darcy List: Baby Names
Editor's note: The views expressed in this post aren't necessarily mine, even though I wrote them. I was pretty tired.
I'm adding something to my Darcy List: silly baby names. Now, I realize that this might be something of a touchy subject. Let me assure you, I'm not talking about your baby's name. No no. Your baby's name is perfectly fine. It's all those other people who give weird baby names that I'm talking about. Anyway, now that we've got that cleared up...
I'm not a fan of the creative baby naming fad that seems to be so popular nowadays. Somehow I just can't bring myself to saddle a kid with a slap bracelet of a name. I could rant more, but this article does it better than I could, so I'll defer to it. I had planned on showing you some hard data about the rise of "creative" names, but I got lazy. You can go here and find all the data you want. It's actually a pretty fun tool to play with. Here's a small example though. I've always felt that us Mormons are especially susceptible to this phenomenon (c'mon, we've all met a Verl or a LaDean), so I'm going to hit you with some of the Utah 2007 highlights:
Boys:
Boys:
I'm adding something to my Darcy List: silly baby names. Now, I realize that this might be something of a touchy subject. Let me assure you, I'm not talking about your baby's name. No no. Your baby's name is perfectly fine. It's all those other people who give weird baby names that I'm talking about. Anyway, now that we've got that cleared up...
I'm not a fan of the creative baby naming fad that seems to be so popular nowadays. Somehow I just can't bring myself to saddle a kid with a slap bracelet of a name. I could rant more, but this article does it better than I could, so I'll defer to it. I had planned on showing you some hard data about the rise of "creative" names, but I got lazy. You can go here and find all the data you want. It's actually a pretty fun tool to play with. Here's a small example though. I've always felt that us Mormons are especially susceptible to this phenomenon (c'mon, we've all met a Verl or a LaDean), so I'm going to hit you with some of the Utah 2007 highlights:
Boys:
- #7 Mason. Sorry, that's a surname.
- #28 Jaxon. x ≠ ck.
- #46 Jayden. Only if you're a girl.
- #51 Braxton. Another surname.
- #64 Gage. Sounds like rail thickness, but it's another doggone surname. Ugh.
- #74 Ryker. Was he born with a manly beard?
- #77 Boston. Lovely city, horrible name.
- #90 Bridger. Stop with the surnames!
- #7 Brooklyn. Lovely borough, horrible name.
- #10 Madison. Lovely street... yeah, you got the pattern.
- #68 Aspen. Let's just chock that one up to bad memories.
- #69 Makayla. Nope.
- #70 Rylee. Nope.
- #81. Brinley. Nope.
- #85 Brynlee. Ditto.
Boys:
- Jack
- Matthew
- James
- Katharine (Kate)
- Margaret (Maggie)
- Caroline
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Hitchcock sale!
Any Hitchcock fans out there? In an attempt to grown my collection of Hitch flicks in the cheapest possible manner, I've ended up with a few doubles that I'm looking to sell. 
The two movies in question are 1950's Stage Fright and 1954's Dial M for Murder. Chances are good that you know as much as I do about Stage Fright, which is to say, nothing. Don't worry, I'm not trying to pawn it off on anyone, it's just that someone goofed and put two copies in my box set (luckily I already own the missing title). I'm sure I'll have glowing reviews for you all soon enough. Dial M is another matter altogether. I can recommend it without reservation as a great movie, even amongst the canon of Hitchcock films. I'm not looking to make a profit off of these, so I'm selling them cheap. Here's the info:
Stage Fright.....................$5.50
Dial M for Murder...........$5.50
$5.50?! Well... not quite. If I can't hand deliver them to you, I will tack on the price of an envelope and postage, but still, pretty dang cheap. And if I can had deliver them to you, it's just $5.50. Contact me if you're interested.
The two movies in question are 1950's Stage Fright and 1954's Dial M for Murder. Chances are good that you know as much as I do about Stage Fright, which is to say, nothing. Don't worry, I'm not trying to pawn it off on anyone, it's just that someone goofed and put two copies in my box set (luckily I already own the missing title). I'm sure I'll have glowing reviews for you all soon enough. Dial M is another matter altogether. I can recommend it without reservation as a great movie, even amongst the canon of Hitchcock films. I'm not looking to make a profit off of these, so I'm selling them cheap. Here's the info:
Stage Fright.....................$5.50
Dial M for Murder...........$5.50
$5.50?! Well... not quite. If I can't hand deliver them to you, I will tack on the price of an envelope and postage, but still, pretty dang cheap. And if I can had deliver them to you, it's just $5.50. Contact me if you're interested.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Random bites
Two things:
#1: Last night I saw a man speaking in Japanese to his dog. My initial thought: "Silly man, dogs don't speak Japanese!" And the follow up, "Silly David, Japanese dogs speak Japanese." I am such an idiot.
#2: My mom (a lifelong Republican) has just informed me that my uncle (also a Republican) has found the genealogical line connecting their side of the family to Barak Obama. Not what he was looking for, I can assure you. I'm waiting for the data before I put my skepticism away on this one.
#1: Last night I saw a man speaking in Japanese to his dog. My initial thought: "Silly man, dogs don't speak Japanese!" And the follow up, "Silly David, Japanese dogs speak Japanese." I am such an idiot.
#2: My mom (a lifelong Republican) has just informed me that my uncle (also a Republican) has found the genealogical line connecting their side of the family to Barak Obama. Not what he was looking for, I can assure you. I'm waiting for the data before I put my skepticism away on this one.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Seattle, part one
As promised, stories from Seattle. First up, the Pacific Science Center. One of my faves as a kid (I actually slept over here twice in elementary school), I think it's seen better days. But, it's still the coolest basic science themed attraction I've been to. And they've got 2 IMAX theaters! 2!
They've also got massive squirt guns that teach kids about the scientific definition of work. Much more satisfying than the explanation I got in physics class.
Magnetic tracks for getting ball bearings from point A to point B. They would have been fun, if the ball bearing would actually stay on. Still, we gave it a shot and had a pretty good time of it.
Apparently the worlds largest electric guitar, made appropriately enough by a company called Big Guitars. I don't know how they can back this claim up, though I don't think anyone is going to challenge it any time soon.
The Science Center also has a butterflyarium where regular joes can, for a moment, enter a magical world of lepidopterian delights. One even landed on my hat. The only bummer of the experience was the warning on the way in that we watch our step, as the butterflies like to land on the path, leaving me with images of crushed butterflies throughout the experience.
You haven't really experienced Tic-Tac-Toe until you've used a giant robotic arm to crush your opponent. Looks like these kids are headed toward a cat's game to me.
My nephew performing the famous gyrosopic bike wheel experiment (one of my faves).
I know, this was a fairly cruddy post. Maybe it's because the Science Center didn't live up to my expectation. Probably just nostalgia kicking in. More to follow.
They've also got massive squirt guns that teach kids about the scientific definition of work. Much more satisfying than the explanation I got in physics class.
Magnetic tracks for getting ball bearings from point A to point B. They would have been fun, if the ball bearing would actually stay on. Still, we gave it a shot and had a pretty good time of it.
Apparently the worlds largest electric guitar, made appropriately enough by a company called Big Guitars. I don't know how they can back this claim up, though I don't think anyone is going to challenge it any time soon.
The Science Center also has a butterflyarium where regular joes can, for a moment, enter a magical world of lepidopterian delights. One even landed on my hat. The only bummer of the experience was the warning on the way in that we watch our step, as the butterflies like to land on the path, leaving me with images of crushed butterflies throughout the experience.
You haven't really experienced Tic-Tac-Toe until you've used a giant robotic arm to crush your opponent. Looks like these kids are headed toward a cat's game to me.
My nephew performing the famous gyrosopic bike wheel experiment (one of my faves).
I know, this was a fairly cruddy post. Maybe it's because the Science Center didn't live up to my expectation. Probably just nostalgia kicking in. More to follow.
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