the stuff inside my head that must get out
archives
Sun, 30 Apr 2006
essential elements of life #1 sriracha
This is the first in a series of posts dedicated to items that I find essential in my day to day activities. If you are ever looking for a gift for me, anything from these posts will do nicely.
We'll kick it off with the official website of the most delicious condiment on earth. Sriracha is more than just a hot sauce, it's one of those ingredients I find myself reaching for again and again. A delicious sauce can be made with 4 parts spicy brown mustard and 1 part sriracha. Perfect on hotdogs or for dipping eggrolls!
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Fri, 28 Apr 2006Bad haircuts and myspace.com just seem to go together. Demonbaby has made two lists comparing haircuts found on myspace with super-hair from both Marvel and DC respectively. This is very funny stuff.
Mon, 24 Apr 2006Sunday at the Maker Faire was tons of fun, and I saw tons of customers there too. I was rocking my Free Comic Book Day hat and taking pictures of all the cool stuff I saw. I was inspired by all the homebrew tech, so I came home that evening and came up with an ultra-simple LED flashlight using only one LED, a battery, a bottle cap and a bit of gaffer's tape. The result is the gafflite:
You actually don't even need the bottle cap, all of the connections are made with the gaff tape. One prong of the led is taped flat to the bottom side of the battery (make sure the longest prong is connected to the positive side of the battery). The other prong is bent so it is just out of contact. Then it's wrapped in tape and it lights up when you squeeze gently. I decided to put the whole shebang in a plastic soda bottle cap to add some structural stability, and so that it wouldn't turn on in my pocket. I then added another layer of gaff tape (truly, the adhesive tape of the gods) and the whole thing is ready to go!
I was shocked at how simple it was to make, yet how well it works. I'll try to post more details here soon, or just come into the store and I'll show you how to do it. If you don't have any gaffer's tape handy you can probably use duct tape or some other lesser grade of tape, but nothing beats the real deal!
Sun, 23 Apr 2006
maker faire day 1
I spent a good 5 hours at the Maker Faire, and I can't wait to get back there tomorrow! Everything from DIY robots to home windmills to steam-powered rc vehicles and anything else interesting you can think of! Then just when it seems like there's there's nothing left that could surprise you, you spy the Woz playing Segway polo.
There were all kinds of nutty hacked bicycles just lying around, and folks were encouraged to ride around on them. In fact, here's a picture of the one I was riding around on:
I came away with my head swimming with great ideas for wacky projects and kooky contraptions. Watch for them coming soon!
Thu, 20 Apr 2006
Remember ads like the one above? It was ususally a pirate or a hobo or something, but it was always a pitch for the Famous Artists correspondence course. You'd send for a free test that had you draw various pictures and send it in for evaluation and admission to the correspondence school. It always sort of seemed like a scam to me, but in reality it was really cool.
As for the "famous artists" who contributed chapters to the course, how's this for a list of luminaries:
- Norman Rockwell
- Rube Goldberg
- Al Capp
- Milton Caniff
- and many more...
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Wed, 19 Apr 2006
Ever wonder who the genius was to come up with the name "He-Man" as the main character in the Masters of the Universe toy line? How unoriginal can you get, right? Turns out there was a method to this mediocrity, and it was masterminded by a man named Roger Sweet.
Tue, 18 Apr 2006
Secret Wars Re-Enactment Society
Pure genius!
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Sun, 16 Apr 2006
Happy Easter!
Ever get up in the morning and wonder where the closest labyrinth to your home is? Me neither, but in case you ever do, check out this labyrinth locator. Just supply your zip code and you'll be served up with the closest maze to your home. I put in the store zip code just for a larf and I found one not even a block away from my house! Truly a-MAZE-ing. God, that's a lame joke....
Sat, 08 Apr 2006
mentos + diet coke = too much fun!
The Flintstones was the first ever prime-time animated series on television. Hanna Barbara studios wanted to expand the market for animation beyond just children's entertainment. This ad is a good example of the demographic they were trying to reach. I just wish I could find the fabled Yogi Bear Colt 45 malt liquor commercial!
Sun, 02 Apr 2006
I read about this cool LED animation project for bike wheels on Make magazine's website. It seems like a cool idea, so I may have to do this to my bike soon.
Sat, 01 Apr 2006
happy customers make me happy!
excerpted from an email from one such customer:
I am the gentleman that visited you from Humboldt county (as your friend made the joke about) and had my son with me. I have to say I appreciate you being courteous to my son. It wasn't so much the Spider-man Hero Clix (as you could have probably made a sale out of your case), but more with letting him read the trade paperbacks. He is fairly careful but people still tend to be a bit nervous with a child handling their product. Obviously the longer he is occupied, the more I could buy, but I didn't get that feeling from you. I think you were just polite.
I did enjoy your store and you were right that I did find something, but I still get excited about back issues or discounted comics. Trades are nice, but I would prefer the actual issues (just my preference). Everyone is different. Regardless, I found some at the other stores, but you were by far, the best in customer relations. Not too pushy, but available. I also thought the store had a very clean appearance (as too much propaganda can bog a store down) and the stools to invite people to really take the time to decide on a purchase or not was the first I have seen at a comic store that didn't include gaming.
Nice store location and professional web site. I actually visited your web site prior to my trip and scanned it briefly. The last thing I will mention is that you (and most of the other people in San Jose) were incredibly friendly. I come from southern California and politeness is a thing of the past. I moved to Humboldt because of the general nature of the town and the fact that there wasn't as many people.. Yet your city is very large, I still felt very comfortable there. Keep up the great service and demeanor (plus your enthusiasm) and I'm sure you won't have any problems wherever you go. Thanks again for the Hero Clix and the comics. I hope to do business with you again someday.
-Adam
I'm misting up over here! Now I just need to know if somebody sent this as an April Fool's Day joke!
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