The Great Escape

November 26th, 2006

Artie has learned to unlock the pet door. Note he checks to see if I’ve left, then he unlocks the top bolt and moves it up a bit, then nudges it fully open with his nose from the bottom. Patches gets to escape as well.

Garden Lawns and Garden Gnomes

November 4th, 2006

Well, okay an Orc. Sort of.

Made an Animatronic Orc for Halloween. At first I sculpted something that looks like:
IMG_0177.JPG IMG_0178.JPG
I didn’t like how that turned out so I used a reference photo to base some of the features on. I was still going for a slightly cute yet creepy style though and the (unpainted) end result ended up looking like this:
Reference Photo IMG_0192.JPG.
You can see more pictures here.

I also decided enough was enough after over a year of my landlord not really moving on my backyard to just plant some seed myself. You can see some images from about a week after planting in my album:
projects/lawn/

It’s now grown out quite a bit and I’ve mowed it once already. I’ll apply some weed and feed soon and take some more pictures.

Mr Rogers getting funding for PBS

November 4th, 2006

I don’t want this page to become a big list of videos I find on the internet, but this one really means a lot to me. In an earlier post I mentioned that Fred Rogers was one of my personal heroes. Well this is the major reason why.

You can feel him breakdown the gruff and impatient John O. Pastore until he sees the importance of PBS.

Also, in the Sony BetaMax Case he was a chief proponent of fair use. Without him, we might not have PBS or the fair use right to time shifting.

Some public stations, as well as commercial stations, program the “Neighborhood” at hours when some children cannot use it … I have always felt that with the advent of all of this new technology that allows people to tape the “Neighborhood” off-the-air, and I’m speaking for the “Neighborhood” because that’s what I produce, that they then become much more active in the programming of their family’s television life. Very frankly, I am opposed to people being programmed by others. My whole approach in broadcasting has always been “You are an important person just the way you are. You can make healthy decisions.” Maybe I’m going on too long, but I just feel that anything that allows a person to be more active in the control of his or her life, in a healthy way, is important.

—Frederick Rogers

Michael J Fox Interview

October 27th, 2006

Chimp that plays Ms. Pacman

October 19th, 2006

Important People

October 1st, 2006

There are few actually important people to my life that I don’t know personally. The news is full of a bunch of celebrities and politicians who are, in general, pretty damned interchangeable. If any one of these were hit by a bus, my life would be relatively unchanged. Is this sort of an egocentric measure of a persons importance? Yes. I sat around trying to think of who it was I don’t know that are kind of irreplaceable.

Steve Irwin: This guy was a unique person, and it is he who started me down this line of reasoning. Conservation took a big hit when he died, and there will never be another Steve Irwin.

Ryan C Gordon: Without Ryan, a vast number of ports would not exist. Google Earth and a crap load of video games for instance. SDL would probably be bitrotting right now too.

Fred Rogers: Fred Rogers helped us gain fair use for the VCR and funding for PBS. I suppose at the time of his passing, he wasn’t contributing as much as he had previously, but as one of my personal heroes, he’s making the list.

I’m drawing a blank, if you can come up with some other unique people that affect our lives, please comment. I’ll try to update this post with new entries.

I Hate Artie

August 1st, 2006

08-01-06
And on an unrelated note, I need a new couch.

AKKAOA UKC Dog Show

July 25th, 2006

events/akkaoa06/

events/akkaoa06/ribbons
Yup, best of variety and reserve best male in his very first show!

Anaheim WiFi

July 6th, 2006

How could I not have heard about this!?

EarthLink’s quest to rule the metropolitan airwaves is pushing ahead unabated, as they were just chosen to blanket Anaheim, CA with cozy WiFi, closely following their deal with Philly, and on the same day that their proposal to compete with Google for the San Francisco contract was unveiled. According to EarthLink, Tropos Networks’ MetroMesh wireless routers, situated on lampposts throughout the city, will provide the backbone of Anaheim’s 50-square-mile network. Once their two-square-mile proof of concept network is approved, EarthLink expects to have the entire project complete by the end of next year.

I’ve been a big fan of municipal internet service for years. Anaheim is particularly suited towards it, with a huge tourist population, and the convention center which services many trade shows. Anaheim has a long history of doing it’s own thing, with our own electricity and trash service which is the cheapest in the state.

South Park Dog Whisperer

June 22nd, 2006

Tsst
There’s just so much that is cool about this picture.

Gardunos

June 17th, 2006

06-17-06

Three Amigos Revisited

June 12th, 2006

06-12-06

A Blast from the Past

May 6th, 2006

05-05-06
On the way back from Vegas, there was a Bob’s Big Boy. Some may remember these places from their youth, all but gone. Apparently, a company has purchased the brand name and is attempting to revive it.

Muppets take Vegas

May 4th, 2006

05-04-06
I am perhaps a bit unhealthfully preoccupied with puppets. I watched Sesame Street until I was far older than the target demographic. So when I saw Avenue Q was playing at the Wynn, I knew I had to go see it. Yes, Avenue Q is a parody of Sesame Street. Oddly, the advertisements make no mention of this fact anywhere, to perhaps “surprise” you. It was pretty good, and the puppeteering was a lot better than I would have expected from people who are probably not long time puppeteers. I recommend it! I snapped this shot of the stage before it began. That lady standing up was not happy.

Artie’s Cousins

May 3rd, 2006

05-03-06
These lions look an awful lot like a certain dog when they’re sleeping.

Who’s Happiest?

April 30th, 2006

04-30-06
Patches of course! He is always ecstatic to visit the boys.

Orange County Pet Expo

April 23rd, 2006

04-23-06
Had a lot of fun at the Pet Expo. There was an Alaskan Klee Kai booth which, of course, was the most popular breed booth there. Here’s a photo of a blue eyed champion. I’m definitely going to try to go again next year and participate in the booth.

Nuclear Power

April 16th, 2006

This article by one of the founders Greenpeace echos my views almost exactly.

Camping the Door

April 3rd, 2006

04-03-06