Now that I have red hair I am going to wear yellow. Lots and lots of yellow. Yellow is my new favorite color.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
lesson 1 in drawing: self portrait
Of course it didn't come out exactly as I saw it or as I wanted, but control of my hands/fingers is still in beginning stages. Here is the first lesson in my drawing book: to draw a self-portrait prior to learning all the fancy drawing skills, as a baseline to compare with later.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Drawing
I used to draw when I was a kid, and even some in high school and college. I never took any art classes or anything though, and I'd really like to formally learn how to draw - all the skills and techniques and stuff. I think doing all this techy stuff all day long really kind of makes me feel stunted in a way, and I decided last week that I need a creative outlet. If I could just get some fingerpaints and a 10x12 floor canvas, I could just dip my whole body in paint and do some of that crazy fun 'abstract art'. That would be awesome. In lieu of having the time, money, or supplies to do that, I bought a how-to-draw book and I'm going to sharpen up my skills. As a somewhat-embarrassing-somewhat-proud prequel, I'm gonna post on here my pre-drawing-skills drawings. These were done when I was 18.
I determined that I like to draw women, and I found some beautiful figures in fashion magazine advertisements. Here's the few I drew:
And a self-portrait of me at 18:
This one unfortunately got messed up a bit - her head looks s
mall because she's leaning back and I didn't shadow it correctly.
This one was supposed to be Julia Roberts, but I couldn't get her teeth right:
This last one I spent the most time on, and I think it's the best:
So there it is: the before-shot. Now I'll have to get to work. I really do hope this book helps.
I determined that I like to draw women, and I found some beautiful figures in fashion magazine advertisements. Here's the few I drew:
And a self-portrait of me at 18:
This one unfortunately got messed up a bit - her head looks s
mall because she's leaning back and I didn't shadow it correctly.
This one was supposed to be Julia Roberts, but I couldn't get her teeth right:
This last one I spent the most time on, and I think it's the best:
So there it is: the before-shot. Now I'll have to get to work. I really do hope this book helps.
Monday, January 19, 2009
On tattoos
I just typed 'galaxy tattoo' into google image finder and instead found this awesome Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy tattoo. It's simple yet elegant, summarizing all of the book and the answer to the Ultimate Question.
The answer: 42
The question: What do you get if you multiply 6 by 9?
The answer: 42
The question: What do you get if you multiply 6 by 9?
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
cool things
I really need to write on here more instead of just sharing links on facebook. Man it is just so easy to copy/paste the link though, without taking the time to write out a long synopsis of the link, why I think it's cool or why it's important to me.
But, I was looking on the blog of this local Wallingford store Not A Number for this mustache package they have, and as I was browsing I came across a left-handed clock.
I am left handed. I've always had trouble reading analog clocks, and a couple years ago was staring at a clock once thinking that it seemed backwards, that the numbers should really go in a counterclockwise fashion with 1 on the left (and thus switching the meanings of clockwise and counterclockwise). I am so excited that someone has made this clock! And it's only $14!!
Check it out:
I've got to get me this nonsensical sensical clock.
But, I was looking on the blog of this local Wallingford store Not A Number for this mustache package they have, and as I was browsing I came across a left-handed clock.
I am left handed. I've always had trouble reading analog clocks, and a couple years ago was staring at a clock once thinking that it seemed backwards, that the numbers should really go in a counterclockwise fashion with 1 on the left (and thus switching the meanings of clockwise and counterclockwise). I am so excited that someone has made this clock! And it's only $14!!
Check it out:
I've got to get me this nonsensical sensical clock.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
On Riding the Train
I wrote this for a friend yesterday on my much-delayed Amtrak from Williston, ND to Seattle, and liked it so much I'm going to post it here.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Derek,
I am in Spokane and it is 9:30 in the morning. That's 11:30 for you. We are now something like 7 hours behind and I just remembered that today is my 2 year anniversary of working at Boeing. I'm looking out my window at all this snow as the train is poking its way through the city. I know once we start getting out of town we'll start accelerating gradually until we max out at 70mph. I'm probably only one of a few people right now who doesn't have a neighbor - I get to take up both of these seats on the left side looking south. I figured out the trick to this and it's actually pretty easy. When I got on the train in Williston the Amtrak Woman helping people up kept reciting "If you're traveling single sit next to another single so the families and couples can sit together".
-Oh I just had to stop because I looked out the window and saw a house with a glass wall, and in it was a little girl sitting at the window/wall, waving at the train. I waved back at her, but I don't think she saw me - I think we have tinted windows.-
Anyway, so I get on the train and find two empty seats and push to the window and lay my stuff down After I get everything arranged I look over and see cardboard signs hanging above seats saying "Reserved for parties of 2". I look up at my seat and see the backside of a similar sign. So I get up, pull my sign down and put it up top where extra luggage is stored. A few minutes later the Amtrak Woman comes by to take tickets and write up little bookmarks with the three letter call sign of each person's final destination. When she gets to me she notices the sign is gone, asks what I did with it. I tell her and she puts it back, saying "That's there for a reason. You can sit here for now but when parties of 2 come you'll have to move and sit with another single". For a bit I debated on whether I should just move now and get the whole sorry mess over with, or if I should stick it out. I decided on the latter. I read some Hunter Thompson for a bit and then after a while hunkered down from some sleep- a nap at least. Now if you haven't been on a train before, these seats, when compared to an airline's, are giant. They're wider, have more leg room, the backs recline pretty far, the front bottoms come up a bit like on a recliner, and the seat in front of you has a drop down bar like a church pew for you to rest your feet on. I moved all the seats backs back, the leg rests up and the foot pews down. I grabbed my blanket and balled my sweater into a pillow and assumed the fetal position across the two chairs. Taking up two chairs is very important. So here's the key in maintaining your own row of seats: take up two seats and look like you're sleeping. When you get into a station and you hear the train stop, that's when it's prime fake-sleep time, and you can't quit until you feel the train rolling along once again. This happened a few times during the night that I heard people come on and discuss seating - couples and families too! I just kept my head down and pretended I was sleeping like the dead. People, by nature, won't want to wake you and will suffer their own discomfort before assertively asking you to move over. And I told myself that if anyone had the balls to wake me, I'd graciously move and share, but I wasn't giving up something someone wasn't really asking for. I've done that too much in the past and it's not worth it. You lose more than that polite action is worth.
For me the hardest part of all this is staying still at stops and knowing when the train is moving again. As soon as I have to stay laying down is exactly when the seats feel like the most uncomfortable ever created. It takes a lot of willpower and patience to stay still despite the numbing pain. The second part about the train moving might not make sense to someone who hasn't been on a train. I mean, on planes and automobiles of course you can tell when you've started moving. But trains are graceful. Because of their size and innumerable connected cars, they accelerate imperceptibly; the inner ear can't even sense it. And of course you can't look out the window because you're supposed to be sleeping like the dickens. So you wait for it to get bumpy. I've heard that the trains in Europe are as smooth as riding on air, but thank God the ones in the US aren't. Once I start to feel a few good jolts and sways from side to side, I know I am homefree.
And so now here I am. I made it all the way through 800 miles of Montana in a "Reserved for 2" seat and haven't had to move or share once. And now I just noticed that that fine Amtrak Woman has even removed my "Reserved for 2" sign! I am indeed the victor.
Oh Derek you should see this scene out the window. In pilot ground school they told us of a hazardous situation called Whiteout. It happens during winter in flat ares where both the ground and sky are so white you can't see the line separating them and pilots get severely disoriented if they don't keep on top of their flight instruments. That's what it looks like outside. Only occasional fence posts or trees help to mark the line between sky and snow. It is truly a remarkable sight. I am hoping that as we make our way toward Seattle the thickness of snow will decrease and give way to brown grass and pavement. I have suffered the 30 below for 2 weeks and now am looking forward to typical 40 degree Seattle weather. I'll even trade some sunshine for gray skies and mild weather. Something so I can actually feel warm again.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Derek,
I am in Spokane and it is 9:30 in the morning. That's 11:30 for you. We are now something like 7 hours behind and I just remembered that today is my 2 year anniversary of working at Boeing. I'm looking out my window at all this snow as the train is poking its way through the city. I know once we start getting out of town we'll start accelerating gradually until we max out at 70mph. I'm probably only one of a few people right now who doesn't have a neighbor - I get to take up both of these seats on the left side looking south. I figured out the trick to this and it's actually pretty easy. When I got on the train in Williston the Amtrak Woman helping people up kept reciting "If you're traveling single sit next to another single so the families and couples can sit together".
-Oh I just had to stop because I looked out the window and saw a house with a glass wall, and in it was a little girl sitting at the window/wall, waving at the train. I waved back at her, but I don't think she saw me - I think we have tinted windows.-
Anyway, so I get on the train and find two empty seats and push to the window and lay my stuff down After I get everything arranged I look over and see cardboard signs hanging above seats saying "Reserved for parties of 2". I look up at my seat and see the backside of a similar sign. So I get up, pull my sign down and put it up top where extra luggage is stored. A few minutes later the Amtrak Woman comes by to take tickets and write up little bookmarks with the three letter call sign of each person's final destination. When she gets to me she notices the sign is gone, asks what I did with it. I tell her and she puts it back, saying "That's there for a reason. You can sit here for now but when parties of 2 come you'll have to move and sit with another single". For a bit I debated on whether I should just move now and get the whole sorry mess over with, or if I should stick it out. I decided on the latter. I read some Hunter Thompson for a bit and then after a while hunkered down from some sleep- a nap at least. Now if you haven't been on a train before, these seats, when compared to an airline's, are giant. They're wider, have more leg room, the backs recline pretty far, the front bottoms come up a bit like on a recliner, and the seat in front of you has a drop down bar like a church pew for you to rest your feet on. I moved all the seats backs back, the leg rests up and the foot pews down. I grabbed my blanket and balled my sweater into a pillow and assumed the fetal position across the two chairs. Taking up two chairs is very important. So here's the key in maintaining your own row of seats: take up two seats and look like you're sleeping. When you get into a station and you hear the train stop, that's when it's prime fake-sleep time, and you can't quit until you feel the train rolling along once again. This happened a few times during the night that I heard people come on and discuss seating - couples and families too! I just kept my head down and pretended I was sleeping like the dead. People, by nature, won't want to wake you and will suffer their own discomfort before assertively asking you to move over. And I told myself that if anyone had the balls to wake me, I'd graciously move and share, but I wasn't giving up something someone wasn't really asking for. I've done that too much in the past and it's not worth it. You lose more than that polite action is worth.
For me the hardest part of all this is staying still at stops and knowing when the train is moving again. As soon as I have to stay laying down is exactly when the seats feel like the most uncomfortable ever created. It takes a lot of willpower and patience to stay still despite the numbing pain. The second part about the train moving might not make sense to someone who hasn't been on a train. I mean, on planes and automobiles of course you can tell when you've started moving. But trains are graceful. Because of their size and innumerable connected cars, they accelerate imperceptibly; the inner ear can't even sense it. And of course you can't look out the window because you're supposed to be sleeping like the dickens. So you wait for it to get bumpy. I've heard that the trains in Europe are as smooth as riding on air, but thank God the ones in the US aren't. Once I start to feel a few good jolts and sways from side to side, I know I am homefree.
And so now here I am. I made it all the way through 800 miles of Montana in a "Reserved for 2" seat and haven't had to move or share once. And now I just noticed that that fine Amtrak Woman has even removed my "Reserved for 2" sign! I am indeed the victor.
Oh Derek you should see this scene out the window. In pilot ground school they told us of a hazardous situation called Whiteout. It happens during winter in flat ares where both the ground and sky are so white you can't see the line separating them and pilots get severely disoriented if they don't keep on top of their flight instruments. That's what it looks like outside. Only occasional fence posts or trees help to mark the line between sky and snow. It is truly a remarkable sight. I am hoping that as we make our way toward Seattle the thickness of snow will decrease and give way to brown grass and pavement. I have suffered the 30 below for 2 weeks and now am looking forward to typical 40 degree Seattle weather. I'll even trade some sunshine for gray skies and mild weather. Something so I can actually feel warm again.
Friday, January 2, 2009
New Year's Resolution
It's a new year, and a time to change things up. Before my trip from Seattle to North Dakota (which I am still on), I bought a book called This Book Will Change Your Life. I've seen it tons of times in the store, but I finally picked it up and decided that that's what I need. On the train ride I read the first few pages, and it's a 365 day guide of doing crazy shit I wouldn't do otherwise. One of the things was 'write a letter to a terrorist' and another was 'dine and ditch'. I thought, jeez I could never imagine myself doing any of these things! And then I realized that that's not good, that I need to take risks. I decided that my new year's resolution is to live boldly.
Chelsea and I drove to Fargo for New Year's Eve, and on wednesday morning we went to the Fargo mall to find her a dress. We ate in the food court, and I got some chinese food and a fortune cookie. I kept the fortune. It says: "You will make many changes before settling satisfactorily". And I wholeheartedly agree. Already I am realizing that taking the risk, being bold, is worth more than the effort put in.
Later that night I crossed one thing off the checklist in the book - I dined and ditched! I can't believe I actually did that, but in doing so realized that all of the other things in the book - whatever they may be - are attainable.
I just watched Mamma Mia with my mom and sister, and as cheesy as that movie is, it made me want to travel. So I am going to do it! I am going to save up money and vacation days, and I am going to pick a location and just go. I will force myself to be extroverted and meet people, to go places and do things out of my comfort zone. And I am going to love it.
I am really looking forward to this new year.
Chelsea and I drove to Fargo for New Year's Eve, and on wednesday morning we went to the Fargo mall to find her a dress. We ate in the food court, and I got some chinese food and a fortune cookie. I kept the fortune. It says: "You will make many changes before settling satisfactorily". And I wholeheartedly agree. Already I am realizing that taking the risk, being bold, is worth more than the effort put in.
Later that night I crossed one thing off the checklist in the book - I dined and ditched! I can't believe I actually did that, but in doing so realized that all of the other things in the book - whatever they may be - are attainable.
I just watched Mamma Mia with my mom and sister, and as cheesy as that movie is, it made me want to travel. So I am going to do it! I am going to save up money and vacation days, and I am going to pick a location and just go. I will force myself to be extroverted and meet people, to go places and do things out of my comfort zone. And I am going to love it.
I am really looking forward to this new year.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Come back, go away!
Ugh. It's been a while since I've blogged because I really haven't been in the mood. And I'm only blogging now because I'm so angry!
Here's why:
1. My only neighbor moved out yesterday. I am now even more alone than before, and now have nobody to watch my cat over christmas - I'm going to ND for 2 weeks starting next tuesday.
2. This is the real reason I'm pissed: Construction. My apartment is connected to a dentistry, and they have decided to remodel. This for some reason includes bringing tons of pipes, boards, and other shit into the area right outside my apartment door. Also, because my apartment shares a wall and outer door with the laundry room, they are coming in and out of my outer door, tracking in all sorts of dirt and leaves (into the area I had swept clean maybe two weeks ago), and they are rude. I have a huge potted plant, two longer planters filled with (now dead) flowers, and I even planted some perennials directly into the ground. Over the weekend it froze in Seattle and all the flowers fell off, but the plants are supposed to survive and the flowers should grow back next year. That is, unless some construction workers lay all of their heavy metal pipes over my flowers and flatten them. Which is, of course, what they did. And, to really put the icing on the cake, they are banging away at god knows what at all hours of the day, including waking me up at 6:30 in the morning pounding a hammer in the wall that my bedroom shares with the laundry room. It is now quarter to 6pm and they're still here, going in and out, slamming the door, talking loudly, and banging shit into other shit. I feel like I can't even be home, and I have no idea how long they'll be here!
So, I am irate. This totally sucks. I hate my apartment. :(
Here's why:
1. My only neighbor moved out yesterday. I am now even more alone than before, and now have nobody to watch my cat over christmas - I'm going to ND for 2 weeks starting next tuesday.
2. This is the real reason I'm pissed: Construction. My apartment is connected to a dentistry, and they have decided to remodel. This for some reason includes bringing tons of pipes, boards, and other shit into the area right outside my apartment door. Also, because my apartment shares a wall and outer door with the laundry room, they are coming in and out of my outer door, tracking in all sorts of dirt and leaves (into the area I had swept clean maybe two weeks ago), and they are rude. I have a huge potted plant, two longer planters filled with (now dead) flowers, and I even planted some perennials directly into the ground. Over the weekend it froze in Seattle and all the flowers fell off, but the plants are supposed to survive and the flowers should grow back next year. That is, unless some construction workers lay all of their heavy metal pipes over my flowers and flatten them. Which is, of course, what they did. And, to really put the icing on the cake, they are banging away at god knows what at all hours of the day, including waking me up at 6:30 in the morning pounding a hammer in the wall that my bedroom shares with the laundry room. It is now quarter to 6pm and they're still here, going in and out, slamming the door, talking loudly, and banging shit into other shit. I feel like I can't even be home, and I have no idea how long they'll be here!
So, I am irate. This totally sucks. I hate my apartment. :(
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Bureaucracy is Broken
Bureaucracy: that lovely system wherein you wait in line, fill out document A, B and C, submit to Line 1, then in return receive documents D, E, and F, and start all over again. Just to buy a gallon of milk.
Our government runs on this system. It eats this shit up. And yet they refuse to give me a receipt. What?!
I applied for a passport yesterday. I get reimbursed for the expense from my job because it is required for work. I created a business expense document, and part of that bureaucratic process is submitting receipts. After searching through my documentation, I found that the Department of State issued me no such receipt. At first I thought they would just send it in the mail when i receive my passport, but after calling their 1-800 number and pressing '0' multiple times, I talked to a representative who informed me that I will be receiving no such thing. What?! You're the government. How can you not give me a receipt?
I call bullshit on bureaucracy.
Our government runs on this system. It eats this shit up. And yet they refuse to give me a receipt. What?!
I applied for a passport yesterday. I get reimbursed for the expense from my job because it is required for work. I created a business expense document, and part of that bureaucratic process is submitting receipts. After searching through my documentation, I found that the Department of State issued me no such receipt. At first I thought they would just send it in the mail when i receive my passport, but after calling their 1-800 number and pressing '0' multiple times, I talked to a representative who informed me that I will be receiving no such thing. What?! You're the government. How can you not give me a receipt?
I call bullshit on bureaucracy.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
technology is cool
I was looking for this creepy 1970's video of spores and fungus that I saw as a sophomore in highschool during biology class, and I instead found an awesome concept video on a device that deciphers signals sent to your vocal chords from your brain, determines what you are about to say, and then does other things after that point - one application was to make voiceless phonecalls, another was to control a wheelchair. This is the company. This is the article I saw.
I am totally blown away by this and inspired by what people in my field are doing. I should be doing something more like this.
From their website (theaudio.com):
I am totally blown away by this and inspired by what people in my field are doing. I should be doing something more like this.
From their website (theaudio.com):
"By interfacing near the source of vocal production, the Audeo has the potential to restore communication to people who are unable to speak. The proposed solution is a featherweight wireless device resting over the vocal cords capable of transmitting neurological information from the brain. Using data analysis, this information can be processed into synthesized speech or a menu selection capable of conveying the basic necessities of human life.
Current Applications of the Audeo:
Speech – After a recent breakthrough, we have developed a method to exceed individual words and have shown the ability to produce continuous speech with high accuracy from the neurological signals.
Wheelchair Control – By incorporating the Audeo with additional hardware, we have successfully controlled a wheelchair without the need of physical movement. To see the wheelchair in action, watch the wheelchair demonstration."
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