flickr favorite

Someone chose my Lego "L" as a flickr favorite!

cheap eats 2006

Willamette Week's annual Cheap Eats guide is out this week. My neighbor's place, Equinox, is on the list his year.

http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3221/7377/

Dave Cooper photo set

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davegraphics/113459528/in/set-72057594079631172/

another link from ben. thanks ben.

gapless itunes tracks

http://gapless.itunes.wanderingfocus.com/

Copy a CD (with live material, for example) to a single AAC file w/ embedded Track info for duplication with iTunes or listening truely gapless on a modern iPod.

Portland is Sin City?

From a recent Portland Tribune story:

There are three stories about Vincent Lee Wyatt that begin to separate him
from your average Multnomah County repeat offender. The one about
defecating in his pants toward the end of a resisting-arrest trial, which
brought him a mistrial. Another about breaking into his lawyer’s office at 3
a.m. to help himself to a bottle of Old Grand-Dad. And then the one about that
same lawyer —who is quite close to Wyatt and one of the few people he seems to
trust even a little — offering to buy him a one-way ticket to Alaska.

To top it off, there’s the rumor that Frank Miller’s “Sin City”
graphic-novel anti-hero Marv, especially the movie version, is based on
Wyatt.

http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=34099

[PD] CEO

Once a year

I was trying to make a list of all the fatty foods i'd only eat once a year. I only came up with 66.

1. cheeseburger
2. cheesecake
3. ice cream
4. pizza
5. donut
6. fried chicken
7. ribs
8. danish
9. carrot cake
10. milk shake
11. apple pie
12. chili cheese fries
13. snickers
14. sundae
15. onion rings
16. bacon
17. pot pie
18. french fries
19. eggs benedict
20. lasagna
21. carbonara
22. shrimp scampi
23. tempura
24. potato chips
25. pork rinds
26. fish and chips
27. root beer float
28. chili dog
29. buffalo wings
30. caesar salad
31. corn dogs
32. funnel cake
33. meatloaf
34. chicken kiev
35. chocolate bunny
36. cordon bleu
37. chocolate chip cookies
38. ice cream sandwhich
39. BLT
40. tamale
41. quesedilla
42. scone
43. croissant
44. muffin
45. meatball sub
46. italian sub
47. taquitos
48. taco salad
49. nachos
50. cobb salad
51. tankatsu
52. grilled cheese
53. guacamole
54. biscuits and gravy
55.
56. grilled cheese
57. latke
58. hash browns
59. enchiladas
60. beef stroganoff
61. curry
62. PB & J
...
334. holloween candy
...
363. pumpkin pie
364. egg nog
365. birthday cake

Movie: the Butcher Boy

I found Kim Morgan's entry for the Butcher Boy. This is a dark, dark comedy. It's funny like American soldiers being dragged through the streets of Somalia. I'm not one for dark comedy either but i completely agree with Kim's review. Maybe it's the fact that the main character isn't completely despicable and disposable that makes this movie good. It's not like you can dismiss the whole movie as something hateful and shallow that's just going for cheap laughs. Watch it, be discussed, discuss and be forewarned, it's not a happy movie.
I like this movie enough that i used to have a video tape of it but it's been misplaced after lending it out too many times.

Lego + Katamari!

A link from val!

be pedantic

We all passed college level english? Right?
This isn't a quiz, but ithink i know most of these words.

If you want bad engrish, go here.

new imac

So i'm writting this on a shiny new duo core imac. Miguel wants a tower, so i'm giving him my G5. It's kinda of a lateral move for me. I transfered all the contents using the migration manager and drive mode on the old computer. The itunes library was on the second internal drive of the G5, so when i launched itunes, it still saw the files where it expected them to be so i just changed the music folder location to the new computer and consolidated the library. Itunes moved the files and i didn't have to rebuild my index. pretty slick. Also, i moved Amelia's account from the laptop to this computer so we'll all share the office. Now i just have to move the printer and scanner from the basement and find somewhere to place them.

Monsters

Beauty and the Geek 2

OK, there's a Beauty and the Geek2 marathon starting Sunday at 7 PM. Right now it's the only show i'm making an effort to watch. The basic premise is that they pair up archetypes of geeks (a DM, a chess champion etc) with bimbos (a waitress, a beer spokes model) and they have to cross train each other to win competitions so they learn from each other. The girls have to put a computer together, the guys have to decorate a room. Maybe i relate to the geeks a little, maybe i like to see girls that know something. Anyways, it's not a mean show and the people that try to make it competitive get kicked off the show by the other players.

[PD] Spaceman2

[PD] sketch

[PD] sketch

apple + intel = $%

So it seems that i get an apple discount now as an intel employee. I looked at the iMac and the prices were about the same as the student discount.

Product Line	Selected Examples	Discount
Third-party products	iPod accessories, mice, keyboards	4%
Consumer systems and hardware	iMac, iPod, iBook*, MacMini*	6%
Professional systems and hardware	MacBook Pro, PowerMac*, PowerBook*	8%
Service plans	AppleCare* Protection Plan	12%
Software	iLife*, iWork*	17%

Video for older ipods

It seems like the base is also an analog recorder for importing video and it has it's own battery.

Lego ABCs

[PD] Bird sketch

Dave's Long box

The infamous boob wars! A very funny comics blog for both comics readers and non-readers.

Pollo Yucateco

I found a menu with descriptions of a good place to eat by work. This is yucatan cuisine, so i'm not familar with their dishes.

cds for ipods

this is very tempting:

http://www.millenniummusic.com/trades.html

[PD] Doctor's office

So Amelia said i should take some of the drawings i had an place them in a setting, a doctor's office for example. I said that if i did, she'd have to give me a caption. Hm, i'm still waiting. Anyone else?

No vikings anywhere

It seems i'm not the only one that wants this set. It's good to know that lego is having some success.










ebay




lego.com

I also heard it mentioned on NPR's Talk of the Nation that these are hard to find, so it's not just here.

spaceman

fix broken icons and other system troubles

From the /System/Library remove the following files - "Extensions.kextcache", "Extensions.mkext", and the folder "com.apple.kernalcaches"

Then run sudo touch /System/Library/Extensions (in the Terminal) to reset the cache info.

Of Comics and Men

So I've been thinking lately about how the appeal of comics is usually couched in terms of empowerment fantasy; weak, sickly nerds' dreams of retribution and invulnerability. But i wonder if it's not that the superhero is the embodiment of a single person making a difference and so they attract the people that want to change the world . Is wanting to change the world predominately the realm of men? Or, is it that only men dream of doing it by themselves? Do only progressive liberals read comics? Sure, there are some girls that read comics, but it's usually not superheroes.

[PD] Magic Card Trade

Laura Viers

I went and saw Laura Viers at the Dig Fir Lounge a week ago friday. It might be the only show i've gone to this year, and although i've been working extra hours i made the effort to go to this show since she's someone i really like and listen to often even if i did have to go by myself. I thought i was a pretty good show although she mostly did matterial from her new album, which i hadn't heard yey. Now that i've heard it, i don't think that it's as good a Troubled by the Fire (a favorite). The Doug Fir Lounge is a nice venue; new, clean and small. Everyone sat to listen to her when she played. She commented that she felt like she was at the library at reading hour because we were all listening so attentley, but that was ok because she likes libraries. She did a one song encore where they kinda rocked out, but since she's classified as folk in itunes, you kinda have to take it for what it was: a quite vocalist playing with trying to be loud and make noise.
The opening act was the Great Lake Swimmers, which was actually one person that sounded kinda like Nick Drake ( i didn't listen that closely). He sounded pretty good. It might be worth following up on. I mentioned to someone at work about the show, and he said he goes the the Dig Fir web site just to find new acts to listen to.

Powers

So i finally got around to reading the first Powers paperback, Who killed Retrogirl and i was disappointed. Does it get better? I mean, I've thought of the whole "die young and become imortalized" thing. Also, I think i must have read part of it somewhere before too, but i don't know where. I had picked up issue 50 just because Patton Oswald answered the letter column and thought that the dialog was better in that one issue.

I thought the JLA Classified with DeMattis and McGuire had more impact. I had bought issues 4-7 at one store and having read them, i went out the next day to find the last two issues. (the first three issues were a different story)

cat box

Amelia made a outdoor cat box for a friend of hers complete with kitty design cushions.

Jane Says

Is Jane Says our generation's Stairway to Heaven?

It's the song that everyone stops to listen to and sings along to. Maybe it's just the frat boys.

Amelia's blog

Amelia started a blog! And then she actually wrote an entry!

TV or not TV?

So the TV is going to cost $485 to repair, including the in-home fee ( the set weights some 180 lbs.) The motherboard needs to be replaced and has be to ordered.

Funny that we just got a letter saying we've been selected as a nielsen family.

Lego store

I went to the lego store in the washington square mall. No viking sets yet. I asked, but they weren't sure if they were going to get them on the 15th of this month or the next. I assume it was this month since i think i learned about them from an ad.
The store has stuff i haven't seen for sale elsewhere like minifig keychains, shirts and bulk pieces. Actually, Toy Bliss in Pioneer Place has some bulk pieces, some which the lego store wasn't offering. I should have asked if they rotate the pieces they offer. I wanted to buy some white hinge pieces, which the weren't offering.

TV woes

So, the new 32" Sony WEGA TV i bought TWO years ago broke. Don't know what the issue is but that's the last time i buy anything from Sony.

Lego CAD

Hey, Lego i now offering CAD software for both PC and Mac! Not only can you draw designs, you can upload them and buy the pieces as a custom set.
http://shop.lego.com/Product/Factory/About.aspx

btw, i really want this set. I'll wait a few long weeks untill Fred Meyer places their lego on sale.
Forget pirates, vikings kick ass.



7018 Viking Ship challenges the Midgard Serpent

[PD] Party

meeting rstevens

SCF sketch

So, this is the sketch i got from Vera Brosgol at the Stumptown Comic Fest. I asked her if show could do a robot or a likeness, she kinda did both. She was talking about how they might move to portland so i told her the joke about the Californian, Texan and Oregonian who were out camping to illustrate the attitude towards outsiders. (but you'd be hard pressed to find a native)

A Texan, an Oregonian (or Seattle-ite), and a Californian were all on a camping trip. They're getting drunk, and they've started in to bragging about their states. The Texan says, "Hell, ah reckon the Free State of Texas is purt'near the finest state in this heyar nation." With that, he lets out a "Yeeeeeeee-Haaaaaaaaw" and tosses his half-full bottle of tequila in the air, whips out a six-gun from its holster, and blows the bottle to smithereens in mid-air. The other two cry out, "What the hell are you doing?!?? That was a perfectly good bottle of tequila!" "Aww, shucks," came the Texan's reply, "We've got plenty of tequila in Texas." Next, the Californian stands up, and says, "That was pretty gnarly, dude, but check this out!" And with that, he tosses his bottle of Napa Valley wine up in the air, pulls out a gangsta-style glock and bullseyes the bottle, sending shards of glass and wine droplets streaming down. "What'd you do that for?" say the Oregonian and Texan in unison. "Dude, it's totally copacetic. California's wine country. We've got lots of wine in California." Finally, the Oregonian stands up. He pulls up his flannel shirt and slips on his Birkenstocks and walks over to his REI backpack and pulls out a sawed off shotgun. He then takes a swig of Deschutes Black Butte Porter (a popular Microbrew) tosses the bottle in the air and shoots the Californian. The Texan is shocked, and says "What the hell'd ya do that for, son?" "Well," came the Oregonian's reply, "We've got plenty of Californians here in Oregon. Besides, I can get a nickel for recycling this bottle!"
http://ars.userfriendly.org/users/read.cgi?id=16240&tid=23605 (saved me the typing)

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Movie

Wha? The director of Shaun of the Day and Spaced wants to make a movie out of Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life? I'm a little late here since this was announced Feb 2nd. It doesn't look like it's gotten passed the "announced" stage so i doubt it will happen.

Ricky's volcano

Here's Ricky's lino-cut. I think this is from the same trip. I remember this was after we had gone to the museum of natural history in LA.

Ben recommended web comic

http://www.ingredientx.com/index.htm

brushpen

So, at the stumptown comic fest i saw that Aaron Renier was using some sort of brush pen when he was signing books. I asked him what type it was and where to get it since i knew that he lived in portland at one point.

Ricky's painting

So this is my brothers first painting. I'm guessing he was maybe 9 at the time. None of his painting after this were as good.

TV 2005

So every season there tends to be one show that i get excited about and it's the one show i try to watch. Last season it was Robot Chicken. Before that, it was Best Week Ever. There was, of cource also Good Eats, Batman animated, the Daily Show and Buffy. This season it's Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. He travels the world, eats good food and is willing to try anything, not on the basis of a dare or machimo but just being open minded and up for anything.

Sarah Silverman

the New Yorker has an arcticle about Sarah Silverman this week. She has a film that's going to play at Cinema 21 in december.

Cult of Mac

there's a Cult of Mac blog