Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Updated last night's post with video

Direct link to the post. I give it four out of four five stars.

2 Talked Back:

At February 6, 2009 at 9:46:00 PM CST, Blogger Matt and Lori Graber said...

Oh where...oh where...has Stan gone???????????

 

At February 8, 2009 at 1:20:00 AM CST, Blogger stan said...

Whoops...haven't been on here in a while. kind of hard when there's no more blogging from work. Also, a lot of the time has been spent reading and studying.

Still drawing every morning - but it's all been just pencil and the photo quality has been terrible. The Stanley Islands thing is still on hiatus while I draw this new thing. But then I run out of time to blog about it every morning, and then I kind of forget about it at night...

 

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draw first: 1/28/09

I tried to build on yesterday's new drawing, but I was just kind of blocked. No inspiration whatsoever. Also, I was distracted because I was also watching the early morning news to see if our company was closed due to weather (it wasn't). I hope that I can pick it back up tomorrow or scrap the isometric drawing in favor of something else. No photos today.

1 Talked Back:

At January 29, 2009 at 8:44:00 PM CST, Blogger Matt and Lori Graber said...

Ice pictures are artistic and creative.....

 

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I just knew those deep-fried mayonnaise fritters weren't the healthiest

A few weeks ago I had a blood screening done. Yesterday I got the results: High Cholesterol. As in, number-starts-with-a-2 high. So guess what. I have to eat healthier now.

I did find it a bit unusual that the number was as high as it was, because I have been using Smart Balance mayo and margarine for years now, and I’ve always had skim milk instead of 2% or whole milk. Still, I guess I have a lot of room for improvement. So I guess I’d better start making some changes. I just finished two slices of whole grain wheat bread for breakfast, and a container of fat-free yogurt (less than 5mg cholesterol). I’m still drinking only water. I’m taking this one meal at a time.

(By the way, I was only kidding about the deep-fried mayonnaise fritters. Yee-uck!)

2 Talked Back:

At January 29, 2009 at 8:43:00 PM CST, Blogger Matt and Lori Graber said...

Perhaps you will have to reconsider your baconized version of your blog? (Difficult, I know)

Our body does make it's own cholesterol (the liver). When we consume animal products, that's how we get additional cholesterol. There is good and bad cholesterol. LDL is bad, HDL is good. They should have provided you with the #'s of each, plus your triglycerides.

The main thing is you don't want your arteries clogging up with the fatty deposits.--That would be a bad thing.

I believe its a family thing, too, so, not totally your fault--it's in the genes....

 

At February 3, 2009 at 11:28:00 PM CST, Blogger Katie said...

Oh no! That's not good news. And the deep-fried mayo fritter thought almost made me hurl. YUCK is right! Stick to that salad instead of fries thing you had going for a while. I was always amazed you could pass up fries at McMenamins.

 

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Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Someone didn't do a very good job teaching him that a scale from one to five actually goes all the way to five

Just a few minutes ago on the news, there was a leading story about the ice and snow storms that have hit this whole region in the last couple of days. There was a sound clip from Gary Brooks, emergency manager for the city of Miami, Oklahoma, where he spoke about how his area rated with regard to the allocation of resources to clean up after the winter mess:

"On a scale of disaster from one to five, they look at us as being a two, with about three-quarters of an inch to an inch of frozen ice on the power lines and trees, and that would've been devastating for us. Worst case scenario, they put us at a four."


Yeah, this guy passed math class.

Also, what is the exact distiction between frozen ice and regular ice?

If I can find a link to the video tomorrow, I'l update this post so you can see the new math for yourself.

Update: Here's the video of the story segment. Brooks's brilliance begins at about 0:49. (I cannot vouch for the shelf life of this video. If it's gone, it's gone.)


If that doesn't work, try clicking here.

1 Talked Back:

At January 29, 2009 at 8:37:00 PM CST, Blogger Matt and Lori Graber said...

Classic! Good catch...--Cousin Lori

 

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draw first: New project, 1/27/09

This morning I decided to put the Stanley Islands drawing on hold and started something new. I penciled out some isometric lines to create some sort of a "rooms" type project, similar to Scott Teplin's Alphaville drawings. Am I copying Teplin? Maybe, maybe not, but who cares. It's not like I'm going to sell it or anything. It's just practice.

No real image today. The cell phone camera didn't really capture the pencil very well.

Monday, January 26, 2009

draw first: Stanley Islands, 1/26/09

All I did was erase my pencil lines today. There were a lot of them! There's no need to post a picture of the eraser leftovers, but if you really want to see them, you can click here.

Friday, January 23, 2009

draw first: Stanley Islands, 1/23/09

I decided that I am going to start adding buildings on most of the "properties" of the islands. Today I started penciling a few, then realized that I had a lot of erasing to do on all of the other lines first. So most of my drawing time was spent doing the opposite of drawing. I have a lot more erasing to do still, so that's probably what the next time block will consist of. I'll try to work on it this weekend.

I couldn't get a good cell-phone picture of the buildings I did draw, and I didn't have time this morning to upload the close-up from the regular camera. I'll try to do that tonight or sometime this weekend.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Would have been nice if there were a couple of Benjamins hidden in there

I have a pair of North Face pants that I’ve owned for four or five years. I absolutely love these pants – they’re comfortable, loose, and lightweight. The legs zip off above the knees to make shorts, which is very nice in the summer time. They’re also cargo pants, which of course means that there are extra pockets on the thighs.

Today at lunch I was sitting at Nicole’s desk, eating my potatoes or sandwich or whatever, and I looked at my lap and happened to notice something odd. There was a little zipper pull sticking out of a seam in a very unusual place—below the knee on the outside of the left leg. At first I thought it was just the pull for the zipper that turns the pants into shorts. But that one has a little cloth piece attached with an L on it, so that when I reassemble the pants I know which leg zips onto which side.

So I investigated a little further, and that’s when I discovered that I actually have another pocket below the left side convert-to-shorts zipper. It isn’t very big, but it could easily hold my wallet, although it wouldn’t be very practical as I would have my wallet banging against my kneecap as I walked. But there it is, another pocket.

I just want to reiterate that I have had these pants for at least four years.

draw first: Stanley Islands, 1/21/09 - 1/22/09

I wasn't able to post yesterday, because I got really busy at work, and I'm already trying to cut down or eliminate my intnerweb usage there. So it's a catch-up two-fer today:

January 21: Started the A names, ran out of time.



January 22: Finished the A, which means I finished all of the naming (unless I name the bodies of water later on).


So, what's next?

I think I am going to add things llike water ripples around the coastlines, maybe put in some boats and docks. I could probably add a few more tiny islands along the sides or even in the big open areas. I'm not sure. I may decide to do top-view buildings and properties, which would be a bit of an undertaking, but nothing I'm afraid of. After all, I'm doing this slowly, a little at a time. No need to rush or be impatient.

Let's just see what tomorrow has in store!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

draw first: Stanley Islands, 1/20/09

Yes, that's right, I didn't get up early to work on any art today. I was up extremely late last night to finish a Chapter Exam for one of my classes; and since it was the night after I stayed up really late to draw, I decided that my time was better spent trying to salvage as much rest as possible.

Tonight, after I get home from the college (I'm in the library while Nicole is in her class), I hope that I can get straight to bed and sleep hard. I really need a good, deep sleep - my back and shoulders are in pain from the lack of rest. Tomorrow morning I'll be right back in the swing of things. I'll try to finish labeling the A streets, unless I run out of names and have to find a bunch more (this does take time).

1 Talked Back:

At January 20, 2009 at 10:25:00 PM CST, Blogger Matt and Lori Graber said...

May I, perhaps, make a suggestion to be considered for an A street?
Abarognosis--an inability to judge or compare the weight of objects, particularly those held in the hand. Or perhaps, Acanthion--a point at the center of the base of the anterior nasal spine. (found in my Mosby Medical Dictionary). -Cousin Lori

 

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Monday, January 19, 2009

draw first: Stanley Islands, 1/19/09

The hardest part about the Y wasn't the curvy streets. That part was easy. No, it was trying to find enough Y names! I had to consult my huge, unabridged dictionary. And I was still running dry!

Friday, January 16, 2009

draw first: Stanley Islands, 1/16/09

Done with the T streets and bridges...only A, N and Y to go! (Y will be the hardest, with its all-curved streets. I'm saving it for last.)

Thursday, January 15, 2009

draw first: Stanley Islands, 1/15/09

Finished the S streets this morning. Although now I wish I'd seen Matt and Lori's blog post about the new Oregon postage stamp before I finished - I could have made a Sesquicentennial Street!

2 Talked Back:

At January 16, 2009 at 12:41:00 AM CST, Blogger Katie said...

This is pretty cool! What possessed you? I like it. It reminds of those fun things I'd find in a store like Finnegan's or on a really cool puzzle. You are so creative.

P.S. I was missing you this week. Hope all is well and you had a good Christmas!

 

At January 16, 2009 at 12:07:00 PM CST, Blogger Nicole said...

Haha...I was commenting on another friend's blog, and it made me fill out one of those Captcha things with the funky letters. The one Blogger happened to give me was "dingl" and I immediately thought of you.

P.S. This thing rocks!

 

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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

draw first: Stanley Islands, 1/14/09

As I noted on the Flickr page, I have made two "mistakes" with naming the E streets. The first one was that I accidentally duplicated a street name (with a slight variation). But seeing as how the streets are Existence and Existential, I think it's kind of a funny error. I almost added Exist and Existing, but decided against it.

The second, more obvious, blunder was that I have two different street types for the same named street. On the longer streets, like the ones that define the borders of the letters, I often repeat the street name, just like it's done on an atlas. However, this time, I accidentally turned a Parkway into a Boulevard. Again, the name of the street itself is ironic: Equality.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Yes, I'm that weird guy who always likes to find the half-popped kernals of popcorn at the bottom of the bag


...but I'm not extreme enough to want to eat fully unpopped ones.

A few minutes ago I was trying to remember the name of this snack that I had shared a few times with then-roommate Scott back in the 90's, and then I remembered it (which means I eventually found it on Google): PopNots!

This is a snack that consists only of those half-popped kernals, salted or seasoned, and they are obviously way crunchier than regular popcorn. Admittedly, they did have a slightly burnt aftertaste, but they were still one of my favorite snacks of the past. Unfortunately, the closest place I can buy them, according to their website, is more than 60 miles away in Springfield.

I want some PopNots!

2 Talked Back:

At January 13, 2009 at 3:51:00 PM CST, Blogger Scott said...

I almost forgot about those PopNots!
I think the half popped popcorn at the bottom of the bag is the best part.

 

At January 13, 2009 at 9:56:00 PM CST, Blogger Matt and Lori Graber said...

Yikes, this just screams "dental bill".....

 

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draw first: Stanley Islands, 1/13/09

I began naming E streets today. I had made a list of names that I could use, but have already used all of those - and I still need about 65 more! So I will be coming up with a bunch more today.

By the way, did anyone notice the "red circle d" icon I added to the blog last night? Look in the address bar. If you don't see it there, try adding this blog to your Favorites or Bookmarks.

Monday, January 12, 2009

draw first: Stanley Islands, 1/12/09

I just finished the street naming for L today.

Friday, January 09, 2009

I'll stick with just Stan, maybe Stanley

Pablo Picasso's full name, according to Wikipedia, was Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso.

He must have needed two or three business cards just to hold his name!

draw first: Stanley Islands, 1/9/09

Kind of hard to see, but I've finished the coastline around all of the letters, and now begun to start labeling the streets within.

Thursday, January 08, 2009

The students wondered why there were exam tables instead of regular desks

This class sounds....uncomfortable:



I think when I get around to taking my math class, I'll look for something else.

draw first

Since I gave my failed 2008 art commitment a title, I decided that I should name this year's thing as well. I have called it draw first, and it's in all-lowercase to symbolize a more humble approach to the endeavor. I am not going to put as much pressure on myself to create and post a finished product every day. That killed me last year, especially as the weather got warmer and I found myself wanting to do other things. I am also not going to catalog every art piece that I do, like I did last year. For one thing, I may not even finish everything that I start. Also, I may take weeks and weeks just to finish one project, especially if I set it aside to work on something else. I may start multiple projects at once. I may take a whole week and just doodle in my sketchbook. It's up to me. My only real commitment is to get up early every weekday and draw something (I will consider weekends optional, just because sometimes there are other plans that come first).

So now let's take a look at what I have so far. I have tried to remember to at least take a photo of or scan whatever I do, in order to be accountable for the daily commitment. I didn't start this until January 5, because I spent New Year's weekend staying up ridiculously late every night playing Xbox games.

Each image links to its respective Flickr page.

January 5:


January 6: No photo taken, but I did get up early to work on the project.

January 7:


January 8:


This project is called Stanley Islands. If you follow the link to January 5 on Flickr, you can read a little bit what about it is.

1 Talked Back:

At January 8, 2009 at 8:15:00 PM CST, Blogger Matt and Lori Graber said...

This looks like a fun project...

 

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Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Perhaps the housing crisis had something to do with a ridiculously long-torsoed deer dispensing finincial advice

Every time I see one of those stupid Flash ads for LowerMyBills.com, I roll my eyes and think to myself, who in their right mind actually responds to these? What on Earth does a dancing cowboy or a bobblehead Obama bouncing in front of fireworks have to do with refinincing a mortgage? And why would anybody make any financial decision concerning more than $100,000 based upon an ad that they did not look for, but happened to see while they were checking out some other completely unrelated website? "Gee, I just wanted to check IMDb to read about Martin Lawrence's latest movie, but this cartoon dinosaur with state abbreviations all over its body has convinced me to seriously consider refiniancing my $250,000 McMansion with a company I've never heard of. Thanks cartoon dinosaur!"

Well, I just ran across a blog that has attempted to answer this very question. It hasn't been updated in about a year, but there are a lot of funny, sarcastic posts devoted just to these ridiculous ads. Check it out, it's called Lower My Bills Ad Watch.

Oh, here's that long-torsoed deer.

Monday, January 05, 2009

Squeamish

Tomorrow, I'm supposed to get my blood drawn for a general health screening. I am not looking forward to this, and the reason is that my blood is not being collected by finger pricking, which is what I would prefer. No, this is going to be by sticking a needle in my arm and sucking the blood out of my veins.

Let me tell you, having somebody jab something sharp into my body, even in the clinical sense, is not high on my list of favorite activities. I would probably rank it near the bottom, somewhere between Violent Train Accident and Delivering a Speech About the Benefits of Needlepoint to a Room Full of Angry, Grown-Up, Bicycle-Chain-Wielding Playground Bullies.

By the way, this is also the reason why I have never given blood to the Red Cross. The reward of a delicious cookie isn't enough to make up for the horror that is venipuncture.

This is also why I have never gotten a tattoo, even though I have wanted the image of Knight Rider jumping over a helicopter on my back ever since I started writing this sentence.

Update: Everything went okay. They found the vein on the first try, and the needle was a lot skinnier than I imagined. Oh, and they gave me a free Knight Rider tattoo! Okay, not really.

1 Talked Back:

At January 5, 2009 at 6:11:00 PM CST, Blogger Matt and Lori Graber said...

Then don't look!!!

Just give them your arm and let them get it done :)

Advice, make sure you are hydrated--so they can find the vein faster/easier.

If you feel hot/faintish or sweaty like you're gonna faint, please let them know that you aren't feeling well so they can lie you down ASAP. In fact, let them know you are a wimp and to just hit you over the head and get it over with (he-he-he). LOL
-Cousin, "almost a nurse", Lori

 

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I wonder if they wear their clothes backwards like Kris Kross

Along the Victoria/New South Wales border in Australia, there are two towns that are about 7 kilometers or 4 miles apart. What makes these towns unique is that their names are reverse spellings of each other: Nangiloc and Colignan.

I haven't been able to determine what made the founders of these towns decide to name their towns this way, but I can imagine that it started with one town, then maybe something got some citizens angry and they moved a few kilometers along the Murray River. Spitefully, they decided that they wanted to be the complete opposite of the town they left, thus the reverse spelling of the new name.

(By the way, I'm always happy for an opportunity to work in a Kris Kross reference. Their ridiculous trend of wearing all of their clothes backwards provides a veritable fount of humor.)

2 Talked Back:

At January 5, 2009 at 10:57:00 AM CST, Blogger Coley said...

They wore everything backwards, right? Except, I noticed in the photo that Kris (or is it Kross) still wore his watch on his left hand like a normal person. I guess he wasn't fully dedicated to being 'opposite'.

 

At January 5, 2009 at 11:09:00 AM CST, Blogger stan said...

He had a special way of telling the time simply by looking at the wrist strap. He was like the Crocodile Dundee of teenage rap stars.

 

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