The Scrumpestuous Observer-Picayune

Scoop

2011-10-21T12:54:00.002-04:00

New York Times, you've been scooped, by the Daily Universe, no less. Here it is folks, Mormon Hipsters.

LCD Surgeon

2011-10-20T17:38:00.003-04:00

I got the latest issue of NYU Med's News & Views and noticed something funny about the surgeon in this picture. I wonder if he's wearing that ironically?

Science is cool

2011-10-05T09:48:00.002-04:00

I know what you're thinking. I'm biased. Well, of course I am. But check out this story (link) and tell me that science isn't cool. I dare you.

Again, this one came to me from Cabeza, who always provides me with a bunch of great reading material.

Oh, and make sure you watch the video on that site if you can. That guy has the scientist look down pat.

This guy is awesome

2011-10-03T09:36:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Cabeza for sending me this link. Guys like the one in this article are pretty damn awesome, if you ask me.

Comms

2011-09-20T12:52:00.003-04:00

The biggest drawback of my particular field of science is that I'm constantly isolated. I'm not in a lab, I'm in a cube, and more often than not, I'm the only occupant of my group of cubes. It's great for getting work done, but I can go days at a time where the only person-to-person interaction I have is with the waitress at the Thai restaurant by my office. And I have to pay her for that. I should have gone in to used car sales.

Best Ripping Off of a Friend's Post

2011-09-09T18:46:00.010-04:00

Before you read this, you should go over to Brigham's blog and read this, because I'm going to piggyback on his experience to share some of my experience at the fantastic Udvar-Hazy center in Virginia. If you've been following this blog, you'll notice that I've already shown you one of my favorite pics from my trip there. You'll also know that I'm an aviation nut. So, let me show you a few more.

So, first of all, they've got a Space Shuttle. I cannot tell you how excited that made me. I really could have just spent my whole time there, but there was too much to see, including this guy who decided to spacewalk in an Earth gravity environment. He's been up there for a while, and I don't think he'd going anywhere anytime soon.

This is one that I'd have missed if I hadn't taken the tour. So you know how the Air Force flies the president around in a plane but the Marines fly him around in a helicopter? I'd always wondered how that arrangement came about. Well, it's because of that helicopter in the middle. As it turns out, President Eisenhower was kind of an important guy when it comes to the history of presidential air travel. He ushered it in to the jet age (on a plane that I've been in many times). He was around when they first started using the call sign "Air Force Once" for presidential flights. And he was also approached by the Air Force about using this helicopter for shorter trips. He took a test flight and reported that the 5-seat helicopter was a bit too small for his needs (since the minimum complement of 1 pilot, 1 co-pilot, 1 secret service agent and 1 president only left 1 seat free). When the Marines heard the news, they approached the President with a "why don't you take a look at one of our Sikorskys" and the rest is history. The Marines simply had a bigger helicopter. Kind of funny how stuff like this works out.

One of Brigham's pics is of a big yellow and red Boeing plane. When I realized what this plane was, and that I'd been hearing stories about it (well, really only the one) my whole life, I got really excited. I could tell you the story, but you might as well hear it from the source, so check out this clip before you read on:

The story goes that Boeing sold a lot of 707s that day. This was the first commercial jet airliner and one of the best selling planes ever and ended up being a huge payoff for the Boeing company (who had basically bet the company on the success of this plane). Growing up as a kid in Seattle, it seemed impossible to meet someone who wasn't connected to Boeing in some way and without this plane the history of the region would be very different. So, I hope you understand why I geeked out when I saw the plane there.

There's so many other things to see at the Udvar-Hazy center, and maybe I'll put some more pics up later, but in the meantime, if you can go, you should go. Before I sign off, I'm going to rip off a bit of another one of Brigham's posts and show you one of my favorite pictures from Capitol Hill Books:

Real attention to detail at that store.

Balls!

2011-08-31T14:54:00.002-04:00

I know hipstamatic gets overused. Oh well, it's a fun app. Here's a little something from a lab mini-golf trip we took to celebrate a new job for a labmate. I played horribly. Also, I know the best way to start a "down period" on a blog is probably not by adding another post, but I've made peace with that.

Slow and steady

2011-08-31T10:25:00.003-04:00

So, I've been pretty good about blogging lately, but it's going to slow down over the next few weeks into a more manageable pattern. Hopefully I'll have some more great pics for you all, and maybe even some writing, but most of my time will be spent writing my dissertation and applying for jobs and basically trying to become more of an adult. Here's to hoping that I succeed!

Opening Night

2011-08-30T10:33:00.003-04:00

Irene passed us by and I even managed to make it out to the opening night of the US Open. Unfortunately, I think that last night might be the most I get to watch of it, due to this little thing called a dissertation that I'm writing...

Here's to Calm Skies

2011-08-26T09:15:00.001-04:00

When I was a kid, my grandpa taught me how to play horseshoes. It's the simplest of games, but amazingly addictive. This pic was taken last year in Rhode Island, where I'm headed today to wait out Irene. Here's to hoping that we all make it out safe and sound.

Just about all I saw of Cinque Terre

2011-08-25T08:26:00.000-04:00

(Too Late to) Rally Fries

2011-08-24T09:11:00.000-04:00

It's baseball season and my team is so far out of competition that it no longer matters. In those cases, you just have to sit back and enjoy the benefits of an evening at the park. In my case, I go for the garlic fries.

Blackbird

2011-08-23T08:49:00.000-04:00

Hey, it's planes again! Big surprise, I know. This time it's an SR-71 that's currently housed at the Udvar-Hazy center just outside of Washington, D.C. If you go, make sure to take the tour, it's worth it. Also, there's a space shuttle there, which is about as amazing as it gets.

This one goes out to Darren, who is a big fan of butt shots.

Don't Tell Mom...

2011-08-22T08:38:00.005-04:00

Most people reading this blog know Jenna. You can see some more shots I've taken of her on her website (the head shots, mostly). This was taken while jumping on the bed at a rental house. I don't think she does this at home.

2011-08-19T11:56:00.003-04:00

When I saw this sign on a roof in Florence, the Transformers fan in me had to take a picture. I guess those are the associations you make when you're a nerd that doesn't drink. (PS - it doesn't look so crunchy if you enlarge it)

Quonochontaug

2011-08-18T09:12:00.002-04:00

Taken a few years back in Rhode Island. Love that place.

Wonder Wheel

2011-08-17T12:45:00.001-04:00

I recently found out that my grandfather lived in NYC in 1939 and saw some of his snapshots of Coney Island. I figured I'd add to the family collection.

I sure hope they got there

2011-08-15T23:30:00.001-04:00

I sometimes don't realize how fun a picture can be until years later.

Blown mind

2011-01-20T08:46:00.009-05:00

A little while ago, I had my mind blown. I had recently purchased a Miles Davis CD, and noticed that it was recorded at the CBS 30th St. Studios. Now, I know a lot of stuff gets recorded here in NYC, but since I happen to work on 30th St, I figured I'd look it up and see where this studio was located. Turns out, it is about half a block from where I work. I walk past it all the time! Here's what it looks like today:

Yeah, it's been torn down and turned in to apartments, but here's what it looked like while it was still in existence:
Basically, from what I've read, this was one of the premiere studios in the city, but mostly used for Jazz and Classical (though later on, others greats like Bob Dylan recorded here). Here's a sampling of some of the albums that were recorded (all of these I own):

As you can see, lots of Miles Davis. Pretty cool to think that I work a few yards away from where all these great albums were recorded.

Red and white and blue

2011-01-14T00:07:00.004-05:00

Apparently, I've become something of a one-trick pony, so here's a little break in the monotony. More airplane photos to follow!

Concorde

2011-01-12T00:15:00.001-05:00

I wish I could have flown on one of these. Still, being able to board it, even in retirement, is pretty cool.

Biplanes

2011-01-10T11:59:00.001-05:00

It's really hard to imagine these being effective in war time, but we really owe a lot to the early aviators.

Jet Engine

2011-01-06T11:38:00.002-05:00

It's not very often that you get to stare down a jet engine from a Blackbird.

2011-01-05T17:48:00.003-05:00

This is probably one of the biggest downers in TV history, if you watched the whole thing, that is.

O'Riley's Daughter

2011-01-05T12:30:00.000-05:00

More Museum of Flight pics (don't worry, they'll keep coming for a while). This time of a Curtiss P-40, looking mighty fearsome.

Museum Phone

2011-01-04T11:56:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite parts of the Museum of Flight is the Air Force One that they have parked there. You can go inside and see all kinds of crazy JFK/Johnson era stuff, including this phone which was used by the secretary to whomever was flying at the time. This particular plane has quite an interesting history, being the one flown by LBJ to Dallas (though he returned on another), used by Nikita Khrushcev to tour the US, and Nixon to tour China. It was the primary Air Force One from 1959-1962, but remained in the fleet until 1996.

Allies

2010-12-31T14:29:00.002-05:00

I'm trying to take more photos and get this site going again. I thought I'd start with some from one of my favorite places, the Museum of Flight in Seattle. Above: Russian Yak-9 Below: P-51D Mustang

Holidays

2010-12-31T14:11:00.002-05:00

More like The Onion every day

2010-07-27T10:28:00.004-04:00

You've probably heard about this story already, but here's the best part about it, courtesy of CNN:

This works for me on a couple of levels: #1) The bold red text really conveys the urgency and importance of this new addition to the story and #2) It's always funny talking about excrement hitting fans.

iPod game

2010-07-19T20:32:00.003-04:00

The brave souls who took a turn at the iPod game.

Breaking news! Photos on the internet!

2010-06-16T20:32:00.002-04:00

Turns out one of my photos made it's way on to the internet without me putting it there. You can read about this Ryan Hamilton guy, but really, you should take a good long look and admire my photographic skills. So go ahead and make the jump already!

Dusting off the dust

2010-06-02T09:58:00.000-04:00

Thank you, Facebook, for the targeted marketing.

We'd be dead, but I'd go down smiling

2010-04-09T13:48:00.001-04:00

Oh, it's been too long. Watch this video as an apology.

PIXELS by PATRICK JEAN.
Uploaded by onemoreprod. - Watch original web videos.

Ooohhh

2010-02-08T23:42:00.004-05:00

So, I just spent a little time watching 8 1/2, and while I can't say I understood all of it, I can say that I would very much like a pair of Guido's sunglasses. Apparently, post neorealism has the best shades. Opine if you'd like.

Seattle Trip!

2010-01-29T19:26:00.002-05:00

I enjoy a good viral self-promotion campaign. I like it when people exercise their entrepreneurial chops. I like people with gumption. And I like possibly winning a trip to see my parents. So go check out this link and maybe you can win a trip to Seattle as well!

Italy, finally (sort of)

2010-01-17T17:08:00.008-05:00

Before I launch in to the travel log posts, I wanted to show off some of my favorite photos from the trip with just some brief explanations. Like this first one, it's the Pantheon.
Some painting in the Vatican.
Also the Vatican.
Coliseum.
An arch, near the Forum.

The seal of Rome.

Santa Croce, which has a ton of famous people entombed inside.

The Arno, at night.
The Arno, at day.
Florence.
The duomo, in Florence.

Siena.
Also Siena.
Obligatory food shot #1: Gelato.
Obligatory bicycle shot: green.
Obligatory food shot #2: sandwich.

Ciao Italia!
Ciao everybody!

Oh please do watch this

2010-01-14T08:26:00.002-05:00

While my Lego castle work pales in comparison, I'm not jealous, simply because it's impossible to make me jealous of anything Lego. I only get inspired. I think most of you know the feeling.

Out of place Mormon photos

2010-01-11T11:26:00.006-05:00

Like many of you, I got my new manual for Priesthood/Relief Society hour yesterday. Also like many of you, I had to teach from it almost every Sunday on my mission and grew to love how straightforward the lessons are. And I'm glad that it got a revision and a face lift, complete with color photos(!). Most of them are great. Two of them kind of made me chuckle. Here's the first:

Taken from a lesson of the Law of Chastity, I suppose this makes sense, if you're married. If you are single, it's basically a big "neener neener nee-ner" to you from all the married folk you know. Also, he probably could have sprung for a rock, since he obviously didn't on the flowers. And now, the second picture:
This is going to be one depressing lesson. The topic, The Postmortal Spirit World. Let's examine. No dad, three depressed looking children, and a mom - in a wheelchair. Wow. As Mormons, we tend to take a pretty positive look on the life after this one, but this picture is one big downer. Props for getting bow ties into the shot though.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to using this manual for the next few, since it's a really great way to get down to the basics. And the occasional chuckle over a seemingly out of place photo ain't so bad either.

A few more one line reviews

2010-01-10T00:33:00.002-05:00

Sherlock Holmes: It's a fun time, and I highly recommend it.

Sullivan's Travels: Before Oscar season thrusts Hollywood's finest upon you, do yourself a favor and Netflix this one.

Avatar One Line Review

2010-01-08T01:09:00.001-05:00

For a three dimensional movie, there sure were a lot of two dimensional characters.

I hope I didn't just rip off some reviewer.

Black Knight Addendum

2010-01-05T17:27:00.002-05:00

This might have been a better plan of attack for our Forestmen friends.

The Black Knight's Castle.

2010-01-04T13:27:00.007-05:00

Here's the story of the best Lego castle I've ever built. This the castle of the oppressive Black Knight, who lives in his black room in the black tower of his gray castle.
The castle is very well guarded and oppressive, starting with the dual crossbows that sit atop the highest part of the castle.
There are even internal defenses, including this trap door...
and a concealed catapult.
See? Concealed.
Here's the "dungeon," though no one ends up there very often. The Black Knight takes few prisoners.
There's no moat to speak of, but you can't have a castle without a working drawbridge. Here's the Black Knight now, returning from a hard day of oppressing the serfs.
Every day, the Black Knight spends some time atop his castle looking intimidating, in case the locals get any ideas.
See?
He can even look oppressive from the rear of his castle thanks to the big window he's got installed in his chambers.
Here's the lady of the castle. She's quite the looker, which is just the way the Black Knight likes his ladies.
There's even a castle ghost (no evil castle would be complete without it's ghost)...
who spends most of his days chasing the lady around. Incidentally, this is how she manages to keep her figure, and the Black Knight is duly grateful to the ghost for his services.
This forestman was fortunate enough to have been captured by one of the Knight's men.
This forestman, however...
was not.
In an attempt to exact revenge upon the Black Knight for the death of their fellowman, and for his oppressiveness in general, the remaining forestmen staged a poorly thought out attack on the castle.
Their frontal assault was equally poorly though out, and was quickly repelled by the catapult. Again, See? I tried to warn them.
You can't deny their bravery, however, as the leader of the forestmen fought valiantly with the Black Knight's chief protégé, the Charcoal Knight.
Sadly, this tale does not have a happy ending. The scenes were too gruesome to capture on film. The juxtaposition of so many smiling yellow faces amidst such slaughter, however, is a sight I shall not soon forget. The leader of the forestmen, being more of an archer than a swordsman, fell victim to the more than capable Charcoal Knight, while several of the forestmen were severely wounded by crossbow arrows and large flying rocks. The healthy forestmen saved who they could and fled to their hideout deep in the mystical woods to begin planning of some well thought out plans of revenge. All the while the oppressive laugh of the Black Knight rings out from his black tower and over the forested valley below...

Until next time, folks.

Patience, Buckaroo

2009-12-15T16:10:00.002-05:00

Things are super busy right now, so the Rome pics are getting delayed. Enjoy this in the meantime. I sure am.

Quick aside

2009-12-11T14:42:00.001-05:00

I can totally see this guy sitting at his computer writing these and giggling with glee.

Get prepared

2009-12-08T18:31:00.002-05:00

Yes, this blog has been neglected. But, I just got back from Europe, and since that seems to be the only time I post anything, be prepared. So far the biggest thing I've learned from my photos: I can't shoot straight for the life of me.

The Peoples in Rhode Island

2009-10-18T22:22:00.009-04:00

Spent some time in Rhode Island this last weekend, and I took my camera along. This time I figured I'd break it up into a couple of posts. This first one is mostly pictures of the people that were there, mostly taken during an apple picking session. Once I figure out what to do with the scenery shots I took, they'll go up in the second post. Enjoy.

There was some apple chucking.

These next few might need some explaining. It's called the frown wink, and apparently it's the thing to do.

She's right, you know. We all look pretty ridiculous.

Not all of us took cars.

Tradition

2009-10-17T21:12:00.000-04:00

A lot of things happened

2009-09-18T15:10:00.009-04:00

There's no point in me banging on about how I haven't posted in a while or how I can't really remember what happened when. All I know is that I've got pictures and I'll do my best to remember what they're about.

I'm going to start easy with one that I know for sure what went down. Hillary had a birthday.

Chris guarded the pizzas, while everyone brainstormed a way to get them from him. Carol looked especially focused. As soon as Abby saw the business end of my lens, things turned into a photo shoot.

Jeff even got in on the action, snapping a pic for his new line of scents.
This is the view from my boat as I arrive in America.
At some point, August perhaps, I went home to see the folks and enjoyed a game in the good seats. Unfortunately, despite traveling to the opposite side of the country, I was still surrounded by idiot Yankees fans and bankers. But the seats were nice.
This is what my home town looks like, though not all structures are covered in ivy and most have roofs.

This is the building I always think of when walking in to Carol's.

Here's that same part of town at night.Turns out, my iPhone isn't too bad at taking sunset shots.
A fact which became more apparent the day that they decided to film Ghostbusters again. Seriously, I haven't seen ominous clouds roll in in such a dramatic way in a long time. Apparently, Venkman & Co. were victorious, as we were all treated to one of the best sunsets I've seen in a long, long time.

Collin and I also went to Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, which was enjoyable. Especially when the kid from the hood rolled through, making us all aware that he didn't know what kind of %$*# this was and, in fact, did not need any of said %$*#. The Bard himself never knew such eloquence.
The Navy was in town!
I rediscovered my love for tennis.

OK, if you've made it this far, I congratulate you. This is a very bad picture of a place that always makes me laugh. If you ever take the m15 bus through Chinatown, make sure to look out for this place on Madison St. It's called the Big Plot Co. I'm not sure what it is they do, but I like to think that it has something to do with world domination. If I ever make a comic book, these guys will figure into the plot. 100% guaranteed.
And finally, speaking of comic books, I had the great pleasure to meet Tim Gunn and Phil Jimenez and get them to sign a comic book for my mom. Let me assure you, it was an interesting afternoon, highlighted by a woman getting in line wearing nothing but body paint and a thong. The line moved slowly, due to the fact that Mr. Gunn is an incredibly nice person, who seemed more than happy to listen to the entire life story of every FIT student who got in line. Apparently I was the only person in line who bought their clothes.

And unfortunately, this isn't the Bat Signal, though I think life would be better if it were. As impressive as this tribute is, I've always thought it was more touching when it was cloudy.

2009-08-10T10:46:00.003-04:00

Here's a few more pics that I forgot to include from my trip to Cape Town. My boss ate two of those pies. Enjoy.

Oh, and there's a video too.

Bummer

2009-08-08T07:30:00.001-04:00

I just woke from a dream where I was a part of a team that won the Super Bowl. I cannot tell you how disappointing reality feels right now.

The revenge of Jon Stewart

2009-07-29T09:20:00.004-04:00

I still get a lot of people coming to this site searching the phrase, "I'm no Jon Stewart." Is that a phrase that gets googled a lot?

(In case you missed it, these three posts were my lame attempt at getting my Daily Show fix during the writers strike)

This is why your colors are gross

2009-07-28T18:11:00.005-04:00

A friend of mine just got himself a fancy-pants new camera (and when I say fancy-pants, I really mean fancy-tuxedo-pants), and mentioned that Blogger had sucked the life out of his photos. That's always the joke right? You buy a nice camera, but then what goes on the net looks like it came from your Senior party disposable camera. I've been there too.

So, here's why it's important to make sure that photos you post to the web are assigned to the sRGB color space rather than the Adobe RGB color space that a fancy-tuxedo-pants camera might be set in (hint: because if you don't make the switch, all your colors will look washed out and gross). The reason why is more or less this: computers aren't the warm and feeling individuals that we are and instead of red-orange being red-orange it's a series of numbers (think 20,40,80 or 1,2,3). Now, you don't want numbers where there should be colors, so you must use some kind of table to decode them. Perhaps in the sRGB table 1,2,3 represents orange and in the Adobe RGB table it represents red-orange. The problem is that many browsers out there assume that all images are using the sRGB table, coloring your beautiful Adobe RGB tagged flower orange instead of it's original red-orange. Check out the examples below:

This first one was left in Adobe RGB. It's kind of washed out.
This photo was converted to sRGB. Notice the difference? It helps if you open these photos in separate tabs and switch between the two.

It turns out that some browsers (Firefox, Safari) can determine what color space is associated with the file, and assign the correct colors (in other words, they are "color managed"). If I were to give you the original JPEGs of these two shots, and you opened them in one of these browsers, they would look the same (Chrome, Opera and IE don't color manage and the photos would look different, like they do above). So, if you happen to be reading this post using Safari or Firefox and notice the difference you might be getting a little confused. Well, there's one more little point to discuss, and that is what Picasa does to your photos.

Since users of these two color managed browsers do notice the difference between the two photos above, I'm guessing that when you upload photos to Picasa (they host your Blogger photos, right?) it assumes that the photo has been tagged with the sRGB color space. So, regardless of your browser's ability to manage color spaces, Picasa has stepped in and outsmarted it by looking up the colors using the sRGB table and making your red-oranges orange. Boo. It would be nice if it left the photo as is and let the browser sort it out, but for whatever reason it doesn't. So, long story short, if you're going to post things to Blogger, make sure the photo is using sRGB before you upload it.

A little side not here - if you happen to own a Leica M8, the default color space should be sRGB, unless a previous owner has changed it. So if you happen to be taking photos in sRGB, and nothing else (like Photoshop) has reassigned the color space, I don't know what to tell you.

Oh, one more thing, if you shrink your photos down for the web, you might want to fiddle around with the Unsharp Mask, since you might have lost some of the sharpness. YMMV.

(500) Days of Clarification

2009-07-27T11:10:00.003-04:00

I really liked this movie, though I'm not sure that came through in my last post. There were just a lot of moments where I felt the guy's pain. And as Briggie pointed out, there is this one part that is so amazingly awesome that I'm hoping it happens to me some day.

Also, this was the 2nd movie in a week that contained Ingmar Bergman references that I knew, despite never having seen an Ingmar Bergman film (the other being Love and Death). Perhaps I should correct this.

(500) Days of Possible Spoiler Alerts

2009-07-23T21:43:00.002-04:00

First you make me want to fall in love. Then you cut my heart out with a Smiths CD and put the only kind of bandage on it that you could. At least you were honest about it though.

Justifiable Treason

2009-07-21T11:45:00.004-04:00

Even though I was born and bred American League, I totally would have rooted for the NL. It's only softball, right?

I got out of town

2009-07-12T17:40:00.014-04:00

Sorry folks. No awesome stories from the 4th of July like last year. Instead, here's a bunch of pictures and at least one story from a recent weekend spent in Rhode Island. Even before the we got to RI, I knew this trip was going to be great, if for nothing else than the following bumper sticker:
I've been informed another member of Red Sox nation that this bumper sticker is indeed based on fact. It didn't take long for us to get settled in and start hitting around huge rubber balls with makeshift boat oars.

See, the reason why the boat oar was constructed was because we happened to be near the ocean. See?
It happened to be really misty the afternoon we got there, which resulted in at least one pair of souls deciding to disappear into it.
Back at the cottages, I encountered one of life's greatest treasures, the chip drawer. Needless to say, there was more than enough food for the weekend.
OK, a little bit more about that oar. Justin, in his infinite wisdom, decided that the best thing to encourage unity and engender friendship was for him to make a valiant attempt at rowing out to sea in a very small inflatable raft. But don't worry, safety was on his mind and he decided to wear water wings, just in case things got rough...

... which they did.
After a bit of a regroup and a quick inspection of all materials and persons, Justin was at it again.

This time things went a little smoother, and though he wasn't able to reach that boat in the distance like he'd planned, he did manage to ride out a wave.

John was amused.
However, Jenn and her brother were not and decided that kite flying was a better use of their time.
Turns out it's a pretty serious beach, right?
And serious beaches call for serious sandcastles.
Back at the cottages, Kristian chatted it up with Alisa
and then Ashley,
but only because someone fell asleep.
And then everyone fell asleep.
And then I fell asleep and had this really strange dream (you can tell it's a dream because it's all fuzzy).
The food, however, was very real.
Lots of games were played.
Jenna mugging for the camera while playing a game #1.
Alisa and Maria discussing something very important, most likely from the Us Weekly that was floating around.

Kristian explaining how to kill a wild Scandinavian bear.
Gabe explaining why older brothers are better than younger sisters.
Prom 2009 #1...
... and #2.
Jenna mugging for the camera while playing a game #2.
As the weekend was winding to a close, all the dudes decided to gather around the grill for one last moment of bonding. Oh, and Courtney too.
And two certain girls, who may or may not have been Alisa Joy Baker and Jennifer Noel Wheeler said farewell to RI with a game of Twister.

I've got the bug...

2009-07-09T11:59:00.003-04:00

...and I really, really want to travel.

Last night I booked my usual August trip back to Seattle and something stirred inside of me. Last year at this time I was busily making arrangements to go on a few trips (maybe you heard about that) and I guess I've just got fond memories of those times. Anyway, after looking at how many frequent flyer miles I've got, I came to the conclusion that I can fly, roundtrip, to the following locations:

Canada
Mexico
The Caribbean
Hawaii
Central America
South America
Europe
Japan
Asia Zone 1 (whatever that entails)

So, I'm keeping my options open, and looking for a good time/place to wander the world a bit. I'm sure I'll keep you posted.

A horrible way to wake up.

2009-06-29T07:44:00.001-04:00

I know some people are heavy sleepers, but why do this to yourself?

Handyman D

2009-06-24T10:06:00.003-04:00

What do you do when you run out of space on your bookshelf? Add another shelf, of course.

Now, the school was kind enough to provide me with a bookshelf, meaning that I didn't buy it, nor know where to get an additional shelf. Chances are, they couldn't be had even if I did. So that meant doing the next best thing - making one. Turns out Home Depot sells individual shelves, but none in the size I needed (34"x11"). Thankfully, I'm well equipped to handle problems like this.

Back in Seattle, growing up, my Dad and I had a bit of a Sunday afternoon tradition: watching home repair shows on PBS. Not all my experience is academic either. I've built cabins, reroofed houses, remodeled bathrooms and even built an outhouse once. So, happy to put these skills to work again, I pulled out my saw and began to cover the floor of my little Manhattan apartment in sawdust.
A few cuts later and I've got a new shelf. As you can see, it doesn't exactly match, but that's not the point. The point is that through use of manliness and tools I was able to bring a little more order to my universe and reestablish myself as master of my domain.
Manly mission accomplished, I'd say!

Hooray

2009-06-22T07:40:00.002-04:00

Finally, an ACLU case I can get behind. Did I mention I bought an iPhone 3Gs? Well, I did. TSA employee's better be watching out!

I now have a reason to go to Tokyo

2009-06-16T11:19:00.004-04:00

So, I'm not a Gundam afficionado (I think I've made my interests pretty clear lately), but I can't tell you how cool I think it is that there's now a giant robot watching over Tokyo. What took so long?
Check out the rest of the photos over at Pink Tentacle. Please do it. They're awesome.

Also: a barrel monster and proof that nothing is above the awesome power of Scandinavian Design.

The skinny on those Beatles Boxes

2009-06-16T10:59:00.005-04:00

Anyone willing to bet on how much the new Beatles remasters box set is going to go for in the US? Here's a few numbers to get you started:

The UK Beatles store has it listed at £199, or roughly $327, at current prime rates, which averages to ~$23/album. Ouch.
Pre-ordering the individual albums from Amazon puts the grand total at $213.86 before whatever taxes you'll be charged are added in.
If the US price were identical to the UK price, you'd have to discount the box set ~35% to make it the same price as the albums individually. However, the box set includes a DVD and who knows what else, so there will be some kind of premium involved.
The mono box set rings up at £210, or $345. Youch!
The UK list prices and the US list prices match up fairly well, with the single albums being about $1 more in the US, and the double albums being about $3 cheaper. Grand total ~$6 more expensive in the US at current exchange rates.

OK, I've done the legwork for you. Go ahead and make your wagers. I'm guessing it will list for $275-$300, and Amazon will have it for ~$250.

The fall of Williamsburg

2009-06-08T08:18:00.003-04:00

Looks like Williamsburg is having a bit of a rude awakening. Perhaps some of them will have some luck with this.

Caveat emptor

2009-06-04T13:36:00.004-04:00

I consider myself to be a fairly savvy online shopper, but this time it seems I've been burned. The culprit: Alibris.com. This site serves as a broker for a ton of online dealers, and while looking for a recently unavailable title, I stumbled across a copy here. Turns out I should have done more research. It's hard to say whether the broker or the seller is to blame (I'm reserving my judgement), but with policies where they "ask your patience" when a book hasn't arrived by the quoted time, I'm leaning towards the broker. And if you've tried to get a place in NYC you'll know that brokers tend to be the bad guys. Maybe I'm biased.

So here I am, 2 weeks after the shipping date, 4 days passed the quoted deliver by date, still waiting on a book shipped to me via USPS Standard from Brooklyn. I'm never gonna see that book. And I'm doubtful if I'm ever going to see my money again. I don't know what sort of legar recourse exists to protect a consumer in a situation like this (I'm inclined to believe there is none), but surely a company that would like to maintain a good reputation should have some sort of options to keep the customer happy. Alibris, on the other hand, asks that you wait 30 days from the time of shipment before you contact customer service, and if the internets are to be believed, I've got a snowball's chance at getting my money back.

All told, I'm only out less than $20, which is a cost I can absorb, but I'll be damned if I think they deserve that money more than I do if this book isn't here past those 30 mandatory days of waiting. And from here on out, I'm placing my faith in Amazon's A-to-Z guarantee.

The great comic read of 2009, part 2

2009-06-02T23:16:00.005-04:00

OK folks, here's part two of my adventures in nerdery.

The Ultimates - If you like comic book movies, you'll like The Ultimates. Thumbs up.

Marvels - I really liked this one. My only complaint is how abruptly the book ended, but maybe that's the point.

Death of the Stacys - This is where the events covered in Spider-Man: Blue actually happened. These old comics... they're great, but I sure am glad that superheroes don't explain their every move anymore. Borrow, don't buy.

Wolverine by Claremont and Miller - I had a pog with the cover of the first issue of this mini-series on it. I think I even bought a special hard plastic pog case to put it in because even then I'd heard how great this story was. And it is great, if you don't mind the two hokey X-Men issues they added to the end of it.

Longshot - So bizzare. This is a really strange mini-series. Fun in many ways, and I do like the character once he joined the X-Men, but the dialogue in this one is a bit too spacey even for me.

God Loves, Man Kills - Short, to the point, and excellently illustrated, this graphic novel is a pretty dang good read. Pretty classic X-Men themes (alienation, bigotry, etc). Recommended.

All Star Superman, Vol. 1 - Oh man. This title is so good. The dialogue can be a bit too sparse, but it pretty much sums up everything about Superman that made me smile as a kid.

The Dark Knight Returns - The classic. I hadn't read it before now. I'm not going to lie, some of this is really brutal, to the point where I had to take breaks when reading it, but it's so well crafted that after a brief respite I was back in to it again. A seriously well told story.

Batman: Hush - Interesting read. Not too much of a mystery, really, but I'm a sucker for Jim Lee artwork. Have been since I was a kid. Worth a read, but there are better Batman stories out there (Dark Knight Returns, The Long Halloween, Year One).

Batman: The Killing Joke - Interesting book. Read it as a kid, but forgot a ton of it. Worth a borrow.

Don't worry, there's a gripping finale to this trio of posts still to come. Excited, aren't you?

Mission accomplished

2009-06-02T17:13:00.003-04:00

Folks, I'm really trying to get this blog back on track. And this might not be the post that does it, but since today I achieved a big milestone in my (apparently very underachieving) life, I figured I'd share. I finally found an affordable copy of Condorman on DVD.
Seriously, this was one of my faves as a kid. Oh, it's a real zinger of a movie. The Phantom of the Opera flies around in spandex (well kinda). So it's not a real cinema gem, but when you're 8, that doesn't really matter. Point is, Disney decided to release it in their "just as great as Columbia House" DVD program, and lots of copies are appearing on the web, completely free of the entanglement of monthly automatic shipments. Lucky me.

The great comic read of 2009, part 1

2009-05-12T20:33:00.004-04:00

I've been reading a lot of comics lately. This is a troubling bit of info because it simultaneously means that I've got a lot of room for a woman in my life right now, and that I stand very little chance of filling that room. Hrrrm...

But, since misery loves company, and I've got plenty of room for that right now, here's a short recap of some of the titles I've devoured:

DC: The New Frontier - Fantastic book, really great artwork. Imagine the Super Friends thrown in to reality, down to the pajama-like uni's and drawn by a follower of Jack Kirby. Having loved comics from a kid, there's something really satisfying about all of this.

Spider-Man: Blue - The first of several books on this list by the creative team of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, wherein Spidey relives the events preceding the death of his then-girlfriend, Gwen Stacy. Remember her? She was the cute blonde in Spider-Man 3 who enjoyed a happier fate than her penciled counterpart. This is a character piece, moved along by a lot of inner monologue, so don't expect a lot of butt kicking. Overall, I'd recommend it.

Superman: For Tomorrow - Um... I don't really read a lot of monthly comic books anymore. I prefer miniseries, because there's less commitment and they're pretty much self-contained. As much as I loved the pithy footnotes from the editor that provided the roadmap to backstories, I don't love them now. Or I wouldn't, if they still existed. But, this story needs them. I shouldn't have to go to Wikipedia to figure out what is going on. I bought this mainly on the strength of the artwork (Jim Lee, a childhood hero), but the storyline is a bit confusing. My recommendation: don't bother.

Superman For All Seasons - I wanted to finish off this installment (yes, there will be more) with a Superman story that is about as far removed from For Tomorrow as you'll find in this list. Another Loeb/Sale collaboration, For All Seasons is about as pure a Superman story as you could imagine, and is one of those rare occurrences where all the elements play an equal role in telling the story, all the way from the writer to the colorist and on down. I read somewhere that a reviewer faulted this book for not having enough action. I'm guessing that reviewer is also the kid who said that he didn't get what was so great about Super Mario 3 since the graphics were so bad. Well, I guess you can't please them all...

Tune in, same bat-time(ish), same bat channel for more rambling thoughts on things you're most likely only mildly interested in.

Boring...

2009-05-12T15:30:00.002-04:00

Has my life been boring lately, or what? Turns out all I've got to report are these two semi-humorous photos. Enjoy.

Please Mr. Kemper?

2009-05-11T15:43:00.002-04:00

Looks like my favorite Root Beer company has a few new flavors out. I wonder if the good old folks at Thomas Kemper will send me some... I'd be happy to give them my opinion. I'm not holding my breath, though. They've been pretty nice to me already. Hopefully they'll have some of he stuff when I head back home for the annual summer visit.

Notes from the L Train

2009-05-08T11:48:00.000-04:00

Funny. I just hope they don't bang my shins with that on the subway.

Burgers

2009-05-06T00:04:00.002-04:00

Now I like a good burger, and I like a healthy conversation about the best burgers in town, but I don't think I'd try to have one of those conversations with one of the guys from this article. It's interesting to hear their thoughts on some of the burgers I've had around town - I agree with them about Rare (I'm not a fan of the too-big-for-your-mouth burger), I can't say anything about Peter Luger other than that I know a lot of people who will disagree with the fact that it's a disappointing steak house. And as for Burger Joint and Shake Shack (they ranked the first one high and the second one low) well, let's just say that my last few Burger Joint trips haven't matched the experience of going the first time and that I think they're putting a bit of a "sell-out" label on the Shake Shack. But then again, what do I know?

Oh man, oh man, oh man...

2009-05-01T13:35:00.003-04:00

Channeling Lincoln

2009-04-20T17:01:00.005-04:00

A while back, Jeff decided to celebrate Lincoln's 200th and was kind enough to invite me to hone my photographic skills. Here's the results, good, bad and ugly. I'll let you decide.

To the ladies who were there: you are lovely, but the pictures of you all were bizarre and I didn't do anything with them. Sorry. Jeffrey has copies and maybe they will show up over there.

May I have the "explicit" version please?

2009-04-08T13:53:00.002-04:00

After downloading all of the Conference MP3s and deciding that it would be easier to manage them if they were in my podcast directory, I've noticed that the Church marks their podcasts with the "clean" flag in iTunes. I wonder if they realize that this suggests that there might be an "explicit" version as well.

I want my conference with the "shucks!" in place!!

Sometimes my history teacher was like this (maybe)

2009-04-06T18:23:00.003-04:00

Some of my friends are working on a little project, but it looks like they might have some competition.

Note 1: There is some strong language, so consider yourselves warned.
Note 2: Yes, I'm coming late to the game on this one, but I'm still gonna share.

Final bits with penguins, mostly

2009-04-01T16:38:00.000-04:00

Last day. Sunday. Since I wasn't in Church, I spent some time with other people in suits.

The penguins have some pretty nice digs. So do the humans.

Truth be told, watching penguins is not much fun. What was more fun was getting to drive on the wrong side of the road for a bit until we got to our breakfast locale, where I sat on the patio eating my muesli and fruit and watched this:
After breakfast the boss man caught his plane back to NYC, and Alpna and I headed over to the aquarium. For such an amazing place, Cape Town's aquarium was a downer.
We still had about 24 hours left in Africa, but I'm not going to lie, I was tired. The rest of the trip was spent either haggling with street vendors or sipping hot chocolate in street cafes. After a month of traveling to different parts of the world, I was ready to go home. I almost can't believe that I had the chance to visit such an amazingly beautiful place, but since I've got the pictures to prove it, I guess I will.

Middle bits with whales

2009-03-31T16:50:00.000-04:00

Cape Town was the trip that just kept getting better. Saturday (I think it was Saturday) we headed off to Hermanus to watch some whales.

Even without the whales there's plenty to see.

I mentioned before that we flipped out seeing a whale from really far away. Turns out in Hermanus, if you go at the right time you can see lots of whales really close up.

That's the boss man trying to catch a whale with an iPhone. Pretty sure iHarpoon isn't in the app store yet.

I had a blast photographing whales for hours on end, but I also had some fun photographing the whale watchers as well.

Even The Stig got in on the action, apparently.
After a hard day spent with the whales we continued along the coast while the sun set.
Eventually we found a beach and planted ourselves. The place was really nice, with some mist rolling in from off the water.

Eventually, the sky set on fire, and we made the drive back home.

Middle bit with plants

2009-03-30T15:50:00.000-04:00

All rested from the day before, we decided to head up Table Mountain. We took the easy route.
I didn't manage to get many pictures that would be of general interest to anyone while I was up there, but the view was spectacular, and I wish I'd had more time to explore, but because of schedules and plane flights, the trip up was a quick one. I never made it to this beach either.

After we rode back down to the parking lot, we headed towards Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. People talk about the botanical gardens in New York, and impressive as they may be, I've never been to a botanical garden like this one. The setting alone raises it to a whole other level. The gardens nestled right up against Table Mountain, and with you back to what bit of the city you can see there is no reason to believe you aren't in Eden. We arrived in the late afternoon and stayed until they practically kicked us out. I suppose that's what happens when you get 3 biologists on a field trip to see plants. I don't know many of the names of what I photographed, but I will fill in what I do know. No idea what this is.
But this is a Fire Lily.
And I think we all know what this is.

Don't be fooled. These are ducks.

See what I mean about being Edenic?

I'm pretty sure these next three are Proteas, which are the national flower.

Smutspad: Less racy than you'd think.
After exhausting ourselves at the gardens, we headed back to our crash pad, the Daddy Longlegs, which is a pretty cool place to stay, considering that each room is done up by a different local artist.

And I slept and dreamed of being in a peaceful field somewhere.

Whales tomorrow folks, so stay tuned.

Early bits with zebras

2009-03-29T15:00:00.000-04:00

The first few days of Africa were spent in a conference, so not much to report there, unless of course you want to hear the story about the tribal leader that interrupted our meetings making claims that we could have cured HIV/AIDS a long time ago and that we were trying to keep his people down and steal their riches. There you go. Non boring highlight of the week. One of the nights of the conference is always a fancy dinner, so this year it was off to Stellenbosch for dinner in a tent.
Dinner consisted of the craziest buffet I've ever taken part in, with all kinds of tagine dishes and crazy vegetables. Good stuff really, but too dark to photograph, so you'll just have to trust me. Following dinner we were treated to a traditional dance-off, proving that movies like "You Got Served" are nothing short of culturally accurate.

Everybody wins! Time to gather round the fire barrel.
One of the main features of Cape Town is Table Mountain. It's basically a big mesa, with a flat top you can walk around on. Because of it's proximity to the ocean, clouds gather at the top of it quite a lot. The guidebooks led us to believe that the locals call this the "tablecloth" of the mountain, but empirical studies proved inconclusive on the matter. Seeing the cloud cover spill off the top and evaporate is a cool effect, especially considering how low the mountain is and how close to the clouds you get.
After the conference was over, we had about 5 hours with some of our colleagues to explore Cape Point. The drive down was fantastic, and we freaked out when we saw a whale as we were driving along. Turns out we shouldn't have freaked so much, since whales are about as abundant as rats in Cape Town at this time of the year. More on that later.
Arriving at Cape Point.
Cape town has some of the most amazing flora. Much much more on that later.

This is Cape Point, which is one of the southernmost points in Africa. To the left of here is the Cape of Good Hope, which I'm sure we all learned about in school. Couldn't find a good pic, though, so you'll just have to use your imagination or come to my apartment some time.
One of the professors I traveled with convinced us all to take a hike out to the farthest point they will let regular people go. It was seriously windy, to the point of feeling about a gust away from ending up in the drink. It's an amazing feeling once you are there. I almost felt like I was at the tip of the world. All I could see was ocean and cloud and this golden haze caused by the lowering sun hitting the mist. I've rarely been to a place where I've felt the grandeur of nature more than I have there. If you've got $2,500 or so laying around, there's no reason why you shouldn't go to Cape town.

Looking back up towards Simon's Town.

Remember those Zebras I saw before? Here's a few more.
OK, enough of that. Amazing plants tomorrow, I think.

Finally...

2009-03-24T21:20:00.008-04:00

...I'm getting around to posting about my Cape Town trip. Took me long enough.
Obviously this is London, not Africa. We (I) decided it would be nice to break up the journey with a 22 hour layover in London, so after arriving at Heathrow and spending most of the night awake in a Japanese-style pod hotel in the airport, we took the Tube and arrived in Westminster around 8 AM. The whole place was dead (it was a Sunday morning), but that made for some good light and some nice pics.

Looks like I got beat to this shot. Who knew?

"Whitby & Co., for all your 3D pince-nez needs."

To our surprise, there was some kind of half-marathon running that day, so we followed them all the way down to Buckingham Palace.
I'm not going to lie, the palace did not impress. But considering our final destination, I took an interest in this column. And considering its beauty, I took an interest in this gate.

A little bit of Autumn before I headed off to Spring.
At some point, we ended up on Bond St. where I found this little work of art on the way into someones car park. It made me chuckle and I thought I'd share.
I love 747s. I have I mentioned that I have a scale model of the prototype on my bookshelf at home? And that I've seen it in real life? So, naturally, I was excited to see the specimen that was going to help me add a third continent to my passport.

More to come soon (pics are uploaded already, so I've got no excuse).

Who doesn't love a dunk?

2009-03-22T21:13:00.003-04:00

Maybe it's March Madness. Maybe I just like dunks. But this could be really fun, and I'm keeping an eye on it. It's got potential.

Obamacket? Can I do that?

2009-03-18T17:12:00.001-04:00

Pres. Obama has BYU going to the second round. I sure as heck don't. But it's pretty cool that he's got a bracket going. Check it out.

#302 - Beatles Musings

2009-03-15T01:38:00.003-04:00

- Of the 3 versions of "Let It Be" that I've currently got in my collection:

The album version is the one where I wish they'd open the solo section up a little more for George.
The single version is the one I grew up hearing.
The naked version is by far the best version.

- "Here Comes the Sun" and "Good Day Sunshine" will always be associated with my hometown Oldies station playing one or both of them on sunny days. For a kid that grew up in Seattle, that's an association with a really good feeling.

- "When I'm Sixty-Four" made me want to learn the clarinet, so I guess you could say The Beatles were one of my early musical influences.

#301

2009-03-12T22:06:00.001-04:00

McDonald's really has started skimping on the hot fudge in their sundaes. Lame.

#300

2009-02-24T20:05:00.004-05:00

I've been buying music again and I'd love to tell you more about it. But, looking over what I've bought, I realize that long conversations about it would be pretty much ground already covered, except for maybe two things. First, I've really liked the new Animal Collective album, Merriweather Post Pavilion. It's a bit what I'd imagine Brooklyn would be like if it woke up one morning and decided to become Africa. Check it out, if you're in to that kind of thing. And second, the new War Child compilation Heroes is pretty decent. Basically, a bunch of stars (David Bowie, Iggy Pop, et al) chose artists to cover one of their songs and if you buy it the money goes to war affected children. Needy kids nonetheless, I wouldn't go as far as to buy the whole thing ("Search and Destroy," sadly not that good). Here's what I would recommend though:

"Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat"/Beck
"Heroes"/TV On the Radio
"Straight to Hell"/Lily Allen
"Transmission"/Hot Chip
"Do the Strand"/Scissor Sisters

The Scissor Sisters track is the standout of the bunch, at least for now. I could see it getting some playtime at a house party or two.

Oh, and this is post #300. I originally thought about doing something bigger than this, but why bother?

Dunk

2009-02-18T13:49:00.001-05:00

Whether you're a basketball fan or not, this is ridiculously cool.

The devil's in the details

2009-02-15T21:39:00.003-05:00

You know how when you go to natural history museums they are usually filled with things like this?
Turns out at the American Museum of Natural History, if you pay attention, it might be a little more interesting.

Jeff and I both had the same thought when looking at this diagram - the Japanese invented Lucha Libre.
Beads are nice, but I wanna know where Mandarin keeps his rings!

Time on Hands

2009-02-14T20:44:00.002-05:00

I may not have a Valentine, but I've sure got one of the most organized iTunes libraries you'll ever see, and that warms my heart almost as much.

This is why...

2009-02-11T23:30:00.002-05:00

I was going to post a glib one liner about how I'm still disappointed that it's "Hall and Oates" rather than "Haulin' Oats," but then I came across this blog posting from the New York Times. I could go on and on about how the system is backwards (and it is), and how hard it can be at times for a scientist in an old field to accept the work of a scientist in a young field, but that would be boring. Let me just say that the way the system is set up now (at BYU, the head of one of my labs paid an electricity bill to the school from his grant money, even after the school took ~50% of his grant money before he got it) makes it real hard to be a prof. Trust me, this is reason #1 why I don't want to go in to academia.

Where am I going with this?

2009-02-04T12:08:00.006-05:00

My musical life can be divided into two distinct parts. Part one is trying to grow my Jazz collection (140 albums plus odds and ends). Part two is everything else (roughly the same size plus tons of singles).

These two halves are at odds with each other.

The first part is well thought out, organized and makes me incredibly dull during conversations about music. I know what my next purchases are going to be and why. The second part is a scattershot collection of bits and pieces. Strange explorations and dead ends with a few good strong veins of interest. However, it appears that I'll always be that guy who signals a band's change from cool to corporate. I'm just waiting for Pitchfork to block my IP address.

So, what's the point in telling you all this? Well, I've got $13 in iTunes credit, and I'm open to suggestions. Here's a list of recent purchases to get the ball rolling:

Singles
Human - The Killers
E-Pro - Beck
La Mer - Charles Trenet
Ready for the Floor - Hot Chip
Ophelia - The Band

Albums
Parallel Lines - Blondie
In Ghost Colours - Cut Copy
Let it Die - Feist
LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem

2009's got an early candidate

2009-02-03T09:06:00.002-05:00

Proving yet again that nothing can't be done with Legos.

I get asked this question more than you'd think

2009-01-12T23:29:00.005-05:00

Here's an article that I'd consider giving a read:

"Book Is Rallying Resistance to the Antivaccine Crusade"

I was surprised the first few times I was asked my opinion on the matter. I suppose I shouldn't have been, given my area of study. Who knew that biology was such a hot topic at parties? Anyway, in an attempt to allow more time at parties for other topics, I thought I'd quickly share my thoughts on the Autism/Vaccination controversy.

I feel obligated to start off by telling you that I am not an expert in immunology. I am a biologist, and because of the project I happen to be working on at the moment, I've had to learn some basic immunology. So, perhaps it's my ignorance in the field talking, but according to what I understand, I just don't see the link between vaccinations and autism. My heart goes out the the parents and families of children with Autism, but if I might be frank, I believe that a trend toward not vaccinating children is a dangerous one. As the number of unvaccinated individuals in a population grows so does that population's risk for infection. Viruses then have a chance at becoming endemic (sustained) in a population, as is the case with measles in the UK.

It cannot be easy to be the parent of an autistic child. Not being a father myself, I can only guess at what the deisre to protect a child must be like. But, as a scientist, I do trust the research that has been done. When the time comes, I feel that the public and private rewards of vaccination far outweigh whatever potential risk there might be.

For a more authoritative view on the matter, feel free to follow this link.

Our Country Needs More of This

2009-01-09T18:37:00.002-05:00

While we're talking about Lionel

2009-01-06T17:05:00.001-05:00

Found this while trying to find a clip of Fiona Bruce slapping Jeremy Clarkson (which I couldn't find).

http://www.topgear.com/us/videos/more/three-wheel-richie

Ooooh! What a feeling!

2009-01-06T16:07:00.005-05:00

This video had a huge effect on my childhood. I mean, he wasn't just dancing. He was dancing on the ceiling. I envied that man's skills.

Warning: I take no responsibility for any ill effects from watching the whole video.

Also: It's hard to tell from the video, but does Lionel Ritchie's jheri curl stylings extend to his mustache? Comments are open.

Love/Hate

2009-01-01T17:39:00.002-05:00

Got together with some friends today for brunch at Clinton St. Baking Company. My verdict: Unbelievably good bacon and grits, unbelievably rude hostess - even by NYC standards.

For a more appetizing view, go here.

Have I mentioned my internet is slow?

2008-12-31T19:13:00.002-05:00

P.S. - Brigham wanted this post to be about him. He's slow too, I guess.

Apologies

2008-12-23T01:43:00.002-05:00

Remember how I keep promising to show you pictures from Africa? Yeah, about that...

The plan was to spend my break going through them, making up for my photographic ineptitude with Photoshop and post them here. In retrospect, it was a great plan, especially considering the white stuff that won't stop falling from the sky. Too bad someone decide to make their Christmas merrier by stealing my laptop. So, the long and short of it is, it's going to be a bit longer until I get those photos up. Sorry. In the meantime, Happy Holidays to you all!

Change of Plans

2008-12-13T12:14:00.005-05:00

Bet you thought I was going to write about Africa, right? Sorry dudes. For the moment I'm in Chicago, enjoying the hospitality of JayMoo and Skates, and thought I might as well tell you about it now. Plus their internet is way faster than mine.

So, here's the story so far. Chicago rocks. Wrigleyville has this little place that rocks.

Ate lunch at Murphy's Red Hots. I like their philosophy...
... and their dogs. Memo to NYC hot dogs: you suck.
We finally ended up at the Field Museum, where we saw Sue and celebrated La Dia de la Virgen by going to the Aztec World exhibt (no photos allowed).
The gems exhibit was kinda weak, but this stone was cool.
Jeff did his best slave impression but couldn't move this stone block. I'm guessing his Egyptian Overloards would be pissed.
Sorry aquarium. You look cool, but not cool enough.
Chicago, you are an amazingly clean city. Your skyline is cool too.

Roar!
Giordano's for dinner. NY pizza, I love you, but I'm letting you know right now that I've been unfaithful, and I feel no remorse. She is my out of town mistress, and you'd better get used to that.
More adventures today, so stay tuned.

La Jolla

2008-12-12T20:00:00.000-05:00

Every so often I get to go to La Jolla for training near the Scripps Institute. As far as places for training go, I feel pretty lucky. Who wouldn't with views like these?

Next up: South Africa.