Weasel's Den

Edinburgh

2010-03-24T14:18:00.000-07:00

Interesting observations about London:
Everyone sure seems to be in a hurry. Maybe it's because we were there midweek and everyone was going to and from work, but it seemed that way even at night.
They don't seem to have trash bins in public areas. Even in the food court of a mall! In the Victoria train station where there are plenty of restaurant booths, etc., there's a sign saying not to litter but to give your trash to a cleaning attendant. That's fine if you can find one. I was tempted to leave garbage in a photo booth.

We took a sleeper car train to Edinburgh (pronounced Edinburra). It was a small cramped compartment, especially with all our luggage. At first I didn't think I'd be able to sleep with the strange motion but I soon dropped off. We got there around 7:30 am and made it to the hotel. It was a nice change of pace from London. Everyone seemed more relaxed here.

Sir Walter Scott's Monument

It was lovely. We decided to do a tour of Edinburgh Castle which was pretty cool. It's very old, having been built by William the Conqueror after his famous conquest. Greeting us on the way up to the castle was this William Wallace-type fellow. He was actually fairly entertaining. He wasn't officially part of the castle tour or anything, but he was raising money for leukemia so I tossed in a few coins.

Here's a few pics of the castle and grounds:

In the barrel of Mons Meg

Helping play the pipes!

Well, that's enough for now. Next stop: Dublin, Ireland!

London Part II

2010-03-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

Right, we're in Sweden now, so time to catch up a bit...

Thursday night, we had a dinner-and-show deal to see the Lion King at the Lyceum, with dinner beforehand at a restaurant called Fire & Stone. They specialized (or specialised, as they spell it cross the pond) in exotic pizzas themed for different areas of the world. Pretty decent actually!

So the next day we had booked an Evan Evans bus tour to Salisbury (there's quite a lovely Gothic cathedral there (no, it doesn't wear black lipstick and mope around a lot)), Stonehenge, and Bath.
The trip started out great although the weather looked a bit worse. (The weather had been quite good actually.) Still, the cathedral was quite amazing.

Now they warned us not to be late to return to the bus for the next section of the tour because they only had a fixed time with the driver and it would mean they'd have to take time off of another event. Well, they were serious! We must have been 1 minute late, and as we came out of the cathedral, ZOOM! off goes the bus without us! Did they take a headcount or anything. Apparently not. So here we were, stuck in Salisbury!
We wound up having to catch another local bus from Salisbury to Stonehenge, in the desperate hope of catching up with our bus there. It was a tour bus so it wasn't cheap, 22 pounds I think. Meanwhile it was raining fairly well. OK, so we wait for the bus...catch it... get to Stonehenge and see our original bus pull away just as we pull in. I jump out, bang on the side of the original bus as it's pulling away, but to no avail.
There's another bus from the same Evan Evans tour company that's there that agrees to take us on but it's leaving in a few minutes. I run around the monument taking pictures quickly, but didn't dare take too long about it. Figure I may as well get at least something out of this disaster.

We then took the other Evan Evans tour bus to Bath and finally caught up with our original tour. They seemed entirely unapologetic about it, implying it was our own fault for being late. The other tour bus driver didn't even seem to believe us that they wouldn't wait for missing people. Anyway, we didn't really feel up to going to see the Roman baths themselves by this time and were fairly hungry, so we grabbed something to eat. Alas, we had to take it to go because there wasn't enough time and we sure didn't dare risk them leaving without us this time, because they wanted us to rejoin our original bus.

As a bit of a protest, we brought our hot food on board the bus and ate it on the way back once we hit some evening London traffic, against their rules. But hey, what were they going to do at that point. I enjoyed some slightly cold fish and chips, and Aprille had her curry. No one said anything and we staggered back to our hotel.

Arr, Roaming Pirate doesn't recommend Evan Evans Tours!

London

2010-03-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

Finally got some Wi-fi and some time to post!

So after an uncomfortable red-eye to London (the flight was fine, but sitting for 10 1/2 hrs on even the most comfortable plane is, well, not comfortable), we took the Tube (or the Underground, the subway system) to our easyHotel in the Victoria area on St. Patrick's Day. Easyhotels are very small, inexpensive hotels that are very orange inside with only the most rudimentary amenities, but we figured we could save a few pounds this way and we would be out and about town most of the time anyway. It wasn't too bad really.

Here's the Roaming Pirate in front of the London Eye, a giant ferris wheel that rotates at a nice leisurely pace and gives a lovely view of all of London. And here he is from atop it looking down at Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament across the Thames.

Here's a night view of the Cannon Street Station Bridge.

The next day we explored the Tower of London. The Pirate loved this!

I'll post more later, even though by now we're in Dublin, Ireland. Stay tuned!

The Roaming... Pirate?

2010-03-16T13:50:00.000-07:00

The Roaming Pirate (special thanks to Kay) practices for his trip to Europe. (Background by Apple iMac)

Please don't sue me, Travelocity.

2010-03-14T16:27:00.000-07:00

We're taking a whirlwind tour of Europe (well, a bit of it anyway) for two weeks, leaving Tuesday evening, and arriving on St. Patty's Day afternoon in London. A couple days there, then to Edinburgh, Scotland for a couple more, then over to Dublin, Ireland, and to Frankfurt, Germany. My grandparents are from Aschaffenburg, a small town just outside there, and there's even a street named after it. Finally, on to Copenhagen and over to Malmo, Sweden to visit my wife's sister and her husband.
We'll either lose weight from all the walking around, or gain it from eating out a lot. Wish us luck, and if you have any advice, we're all ears!

Coming Soon!

2010-03-08T06:05:00.001-08:00

Happy TLAPD!

2006-09-19T11:19:00.000-07:00

Honeymoon pics!

2006-08-22T17:07:00.000-07:00

Get yer mind outa the gutter. They aren't *those* kind of pictures. Anyway, since my lovely bride posted lots of wedding pics, I'll post some of our journey up the California coast.

We stayed on the Queen Mary until Sunday (the wedding was Friday) so we could spend a bit of time with visiting family, and we partook of the mighty international-style buffet they serve on Sunday mornings. This was in my fortune cookie. It's a bit blurry but it says, "The husband is the boss - if the wife allows." The Queen Mary thinks of everything - even marriage advice!

We drove up to Paso Robles (central CA north of San Luis Obispo, home of the famous Gum Wall) where they had a fine inn with hot spring-fed hot tubs in our room. Here's us being cheesy!

We were considering camping one of those days but it had been pretty hot so we scratched that idea and decided to go into San Francisco for a day. We managed to acquire a room at the last minute and headed north.

Candlestick Park (or whatever the heck they call it these days)

On the way to SF, we stopped at Black Bear Diner in Carmel (or was it Salinas?) and we picked up this little gal to help out with the driving. We named her Honey Moon.

We spent most of our time in SF here... Fisherman's Wharf!

What honeymoon would be complete without seeing bread in the shape of crabs and alligators?

After dinner, we decided to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. Mad got this pretty cool shot.

When we got to the other side, we saw this guy who we thought might want a ride back into the city, but he just stood there staring like some kind of ... you know, that thing people carve and put in parks? Well, whatever.

San Francisco Art!

Unfortunately I wasn't fast enough with my camera, but the guy circled had the most flagrant mullet we've ever seen, and keep in mind Mad has been to West Virginia.

Gratuitous pirate pic.

So we had lunch at the Sea Lion Cafe, famous because, right nearby, wads of sea lions bask on floating platforms and bark a lot. So I took lots of pictures but I won't bore you with them all. Just a couple:

Ah, but I'm skipping ahead. When we first got to SF, we thought, hey, let's go check out Alcatraz. I mean, it's right there. But upon calling, of course, they were sold out. Apparently you usually want to book a week in advance during the summer. But as I was buying a jacket (I wasn't used to being cold after that heat wave in July) there was a booth offering tickets and they could get us there on the boat tomorrow for only 10 bucks! What's the catch? Well if we were just willing to listen to a sales pitch about vacation timeshares... so we did it. Oh but we were going to have fun. We devised a plan that Mad would be a brilliant scientist whose career was cut short by a terrible car accident and was now horribly brain damaged, so she could act all crazy and blurt out whatever she wanted. We even thought of hooking up a computer and asking the MOAT for ideas, but we chickened out and just acted normal. We stuck it out and got our reward and even the 10 bucks back. Alcatraz was pretty cool; there was an audio tour and everything. So here's some pics of Alcatraz:

Me in the Big House.

Mad waits for lunch in the dining hall.

It's nice to know I can still practice art even if I commit heinous felonious acts. (which WBAGNFARB)

On the way back I got a nice shot of the Bay Bridge in the sunset. It leads to Oakland for you Raider fans.

Naturally, they tried to imprison us both, but fortunately we were wearing our Protective Hoodies of Invulnerability.

A nice shot of the city, including the Transamerica building and that funky tower thingy.

OK, well, that's about enough of San Fran. So we headed down to Monterey, and stayed at a nice B&B called Jabberwock Inn. But I didn't take any pictures of that, so you'll have to be satisfied with lots of pictures of sea life from the Aquarium:

Mmmm...jelly...

We really went native while we were there.

Look! Otters!

Weasel and Giant Furry Otter.

I couldn't resist getting a T-Shirt that had "Hairy Otter" and a spoof of Harry Potter. I didn't get a pic of it though.

Hey... hello? Oh great, everyone fell asleep with all these pictures...

Woo!

2006-07-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

Well, today's the big day! I'm not evennervousoranythingnopenotmeimjustfineeverythingwillgooffwithoutahitchyay!

Good news is there seems to be a bit of a break in the heat. Hopefully we all won't melt too badly. There is AC aboard the Queen Mary but it's 70 year old air conditioning...

Pictures later!

Whoa!

2006-07-27T13:56:00.000-07:00

I'm gettin hitched tomorrow!

In a moment, I'm headed to the Queen Mary for the rehearsal. Yay!

UPDATE: I've survived the experience. Me, the best man, and his wife were attired in pirate garb, although the wedding will be more normal. Theoretically.

Interlude: New Rules

2006-05-25T10:27:00.000-07:00

New Rule: Stop giving me that pop-up ad for Classmates.com! There's a reason you don't talk to people for 25 years. Because you don't particularly like them! Besides, I already know what the captain of the football team is doing these days: he's mowing my lawn.

New Rule: Don't eat anything that's served to you out a window unless you're a seagull. People are acting all shocked that a human finger was found in a bowl of Wendy's chili. Hey, it cost less than a dollar. What did you expect it to contain? Trout?

New Rule: Stop saying that teenage boys who have sex with their hot, blonde teachers are permanently damaged. I have a better description for these kids: lucky bastards.

New Rule: If you need to shave and you still collect baseball cards, you're gay. If you're a kid, the cards are keepsakes of your idols. If you're a grown man, they're pictures of men.

New Rule: Ladies, leave your eyebrows alone. Here's how much men care about your eyebrows: do you have two of them? Okay, we're done.

New Rule: There's no such thing as flavored water. There's a whole aisle of this crap at the supermarket - water, but without that watery taste. Sorry, but flavored water is called a soft drink. You want flavored water? Pour some scotch over ice and let it melt. That's your flavored water.

New Rule: Stop f***ing with old people. Target is introducing a redesigned pill bottle that's square, with a bigger label. And, the top is now the bottom. And by the time grandpa figures out how to open it, his ass will be in the morgue. Congratulations, Target, you just solved the Social Security crisis.

New Rule: The more complicated the Starbucks order, the bigger the asshole. If you walk into a Starbucks and order a "decaf grande half-soy, half-low fat, iced vanilla, double-shot, gingerbread cappuccino, extra dry, light ice, with one Sweet-n'-Low and one NutraSweet," . ooh, you're a huge asshole.

New Rule: I'm not the cashier! By the time I look up from sliding my card, entering my PIN number, pressing "Enter," verifying the amount, deciding, no, I don't want cash back, and pressing "Enter" again, the kid who is supposed to be ringing me up is standing there eating my Almond Joy.

New Rule: Just because your tattoo has Chinese characters in it doesn't make you spiritual. It's right above the crack of your ass. And it actually translates to "beef with broccoli." The last time you did anything spiritual, you were praying to God you weren't pregnant. You're not spiritual. You're just high.

New Rule: Competitive eating isn't a sport. It's one of the seven deadly sins. ESPN recently televised the US Open of Competitive Eating, because watching those athletes at the poker table was just too damned exciting. What's next, competitive farting? Oh wait. They're already doing that. It's called "The Howard Stern Show."

New Rule: I don't need a bigger mega M&M. If I'm extra hungry for M&Ms, I'll go nuts and eat two.

New Rule: If you're going to insist on making movies based on crappy, old television shows, then you have to give everyone in the Cineplex a remote so we can see what's playing on the other screens. Let's remember the reason something was a television show in the first place is that the idea wasn't good enough to be a movie.

New Rule: No more gift registries. You know, it used to be just for weddings. Now it's for babies and new homes and graduations from rehab. Picking out the stuff you want and having other people buy it for you isn't gift giving, it's the white people version of looting.

New Rule (and this one is long overdue): No more bathroom attendants! After I zip up, some guy is offering me a towel and a mint like I just had sex with George Michael. I can't even tell if he's supposed to be there, or just some freak with a fetish. Don't want to be on your webcam, Dude. I just want to wash my hands.

New Rule: When I ask how old your toddler is, I don't need to know in months. Not "27 Months." "He's two," will do just fine. He's not a cheese. And I didn't really care in the first place.

Heinzing!

2006-05-19T11:10:00.000-07:00

I'm waiting for Mad to arrive so we can whisk ourselves off to the airport to go to Virginia and get her all graduated. Technically, she's already graduated but this is the fun ceremony part where you get to wear a board on your head. (Who started that anyway?)

OOps, here she is now. Time to go!

Take a quick moment..

2006-05-05T16:06:00.000-07:00

I know I'm behind regarding the RBR events last weekend, sorry. I'll have some pics up soon.

In the meantime, go here and take a moment to send a message to children suffering from cancer. It doesn't cost a penny, just a few seconds of your time. Face it, you're just goofing off and reading my blog anyway. Now if your boss comes up and asks what you're doing, you can tell them you're helping suffering children. Like they could fire you for that.

Stay tuned!

2006-04-28T14:56:00.000-07:00

Saturday (tomorrow) will be an exciting day. Aprille and I are off to UCLA to see Dave and the other Rock Bottom Remainders, and other author-type persons. Also, I'm hoping to head over to the nearby Hammer Museum where I can a) do some research for an art history paper I need to write, and b) see Terry Jones speak. Hopefully he won't be naked, but I wouldn't put it past him.

Ren Faire 06 (part 2)

2006-04-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

Now with pics!

Me and Mad looking all Scottishy. How embarassing; my sporran is open!

A troll examines his fingers while a child looks on nervously.

Everyone loves a parade!

Singers!

Huzzah for the evil Saxon knight! (he really wasn't that evil, and he sucked)

Mad and Polly!

God shave the Queen!

Polly being vain while LHM lecherously grabs her butt while Mad prepares to wrathfully beat him over the head.

Mad thinks I look silly in a dress.

Multitudinous visible ramparts are a chief attraction of the Ren Faire for guys, but Polly discovers a good reason for women to attend as well.

Ren Faire 06! (part 1)

2006-04-17T14:12:00.000-07:00

My lovely fiancé Mad and I went to the Renaissance Faire this Saturday with a gaggle of my friends and we met Polly and LHM there. Pictures will be forthcoming. Sorry, guys, but Polly didn't elect to attire herself in rampart-enhancing period garb, although Mad did attire herself pretty nicely out of scraps of material I had lying about in under an hour. Er, that is, she attired herself in under an hour, not that the scraps of material were somehow lying under an hour. Oh, you know what I mean.

In other news, later this evening, I have an art history midterm. *gulp*

Hope everyone had a happy Easter!

Happy New Year!

2006-02-23T14:36:00.000-08:00

Wow, I didn't realize I hadn't posted anything all year! Guess I've been busy...

Anyways, just busy at work I guess and now school's started again and I'm taking 3 classes (2 in art history, and 1 in figure drawing. I get to look at nekkid people and draw em). Plus there's some kind of wedding thing going on in the future that I'm planning. OK, that Mad and I are planning. OK, that she's planning and I'm helping out. OK, that she's planning, and I'm occasionally nodding and saying, "Sure that sounds great."

Not much else to report. I'll try to post again this month. :)

Happy Holidays!

2005-12-28T13:46:00.000-08:00

(Ok, so it's a bit late for some holidays but I think there's still a couple days left in Hannukah and Kwanzaa so neener)

On Christmas Day, I went down to Carlsbad to visit family with Mad and that was much fun. We put together a gingerbread house from a kit with some of the kiddos and ate a lot and then watched "Elf." Much hilarity!

Mad is most wonderful. She got me Season 1 of the Muppet Show, the DVD of Dave Barry's Guide to Guys (quite hilarious, but too short in my opinion. Even so... go get it!), and a telescope! Yes, an actual telescope! Wow! Granted, here in L.A., there's a lot of light pollution, but you can still peek at some close objects. We put it together and peeked at a couple stars. Lately, it's been kind of cloudy, but I want to check out the moon and maybe Mars. Anyway, Aprille's the greatest. She spoils me! :)

Anyway, for New Year's Weekend, we're driving up to San Luis Obispo for a weekend getaway thingy.

Deathtöngue: Pimples from Hell

2005-12-21T20:35:00.000-08:00

Here's my last Graphic Design assignment: Create a CD trifold thingy. I chose to do Berke Breathed's Deathtöngue (later renamed Billy and the Boingers) album from his Bloom County strip ca. 1986.

Dave Barry for President!

2005-12-21T20:32:00.000-08:00

Here at last is the T-shirt design. I'm sending a pair of T-shirts to Dave and Judi.

Pig!

2005-12-21T11:27:00.000-08:00

Saw it on Higgy's blog, so I just had to do it. You should do it too!

Draw yerself a Pig!
It will reveal secrets of your innermost psyche!

Whoo!

2005-12-21T10:54:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm done with another semester of school at East Los Angeles College. In the Spring, I'll be going back to Los Angeles Community College, because it's closer to work and I won't have to mangle my work schedule. I got an A in Graphic Design I, and I think an A in Drawing II, maybe an A-. However, the teacher liked some of my stuff enough to put it in next semester's student art show. She picked my final project where I drew a portion of my cluttery bedroom, mostly a big bookcase, and a color picture we did in class with pastels (an interesting medium; very messy). Also she picked my teapots, which I didn't think were all that good. I would have chosen my self-portrait (see below) but hey, whatever. Anyway, I took some pictures, and I'll post em once I get em downloaded. Also, of course, I'll post the Dave Barry for Prez T-shirt design as well as my CD cover: "Deathtöngue: Pimples from Hell."

OK, I better behave and get offline.

Self-portraits...

2005-11-27T21:42:00.000-08:00

Here's a couple self-portraits I made recently. The first one we started by drawing a skull and then trying to put our face over it. So I look sort of gaunt in that one. It came out kind of Van Gogh-y (although not nearly so talented of course). I like how the second one turned out though. Yes, my nose *is* that huge. Small colonies of rodents have been known to take up residence in there. I haven't figured out how to charge rent though.

Hey!

2005-11-18T09:01:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been blogless lately. They're crackin down on internet use at work so I have to behave. Sheesh, I suppose next they're going to expect me to work or something. Don't they realize I'm a government employee? I think I should call the union...

Anyway, my next project is to design a T-shirt. I think I'll try to contact Dave and Judi and see if they'll let me design the new Dave for Prez shirt. Whaddya think? I was thinking the new slogan could be "A booger in every nose." I'll try to keep you updated.

OK, I better get offa here.

Halloween!

2005-11-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

OK, so I'm a bit late....

But here I am, the Jedi Dork, with a little help from Photoshop.

Mad and I attempted to meet some friends in West Hollywood, but we got started late, and the traffic was nightmarish and we never quite made it. Nevertheless, we saw some pretty wacky costumed persons. Next time, I'll just have to skip class and a chunk of work.

Also, in my graphic design class, our midterm was to design a logo for our own graphic design company. We worked out on paper three potential logos, then selected one to develop in Illustrator. Class is only a bit over 2 hours to do this. I got an A, but he liked everyone's jobs so much that we all got A's. What a guy.

It's time the world knew...

2005-10-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

Yes, everyone reveres Superman. He stands for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. He's the world's greatest superhero.

Nope, he's a dick.

(found in the forum of the webcomic Bigger Than Cheeses - thanks, "hominid" from the UK)

Pics by the buttload IV

2005-10-22T11:14:00.000-07:00

OK, well, Sunday morning and we have a nice brunch before heading out. Higgy's pic of this is better as it includes Mad and I standing under this sign, but I wanted to get the "Chocolate Heaven."

And that's it! Whee!

Pics by the buttload III

2005-10-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

By the way, in case you didn't know, you can click on the pics for larger versions.

Now it's Saturday. We had gone to Gilley's for bullriding but I didn't get any pics of that. See Higgy's blog (there should be a linky thing over there on the right --->) for some pics of that. He had the amazing stealth cam and could get away with it. So, this is the next morning. Polly and Mad went to get all lady-pampered at the spa and Higgy went off with the Meyersons so it was just me and the Light Haired Guy (who's hair wasn't really all that light; it seemed a kind of average brown to me, but that's just my 2 cents.)

Anyway, we decide to get all wild and debaucherous and hit the Gameworks arcade and M&M store. Woooo! Look out Vegas, we're gettin' crazy in here!

So, as we walk through the MGM Grand, I notice a lion and snap off a quick picture. He was sleeping. Lions do that a lot.

Here's the M&M store's famous Wall O' M&M's. They have every color imaginable for the low low price of $30/5 lbs, i.e. 6 bucks a pound. Oh well. I went crazy anyway.

So later, we met up with everyone else for dinner at Margaritaville, where I lei'd Mad right there in public!

An astonishly tall pirate. ARRR! (I told him I really looked up to him and I was nearly keelhauled for that.)

After a while, a volcano goes off and a bikini-clad girl gets pooped out of the volcano and slides down into a giant blender of margaritas, then gets fished out by a giant fishhook where she dances and spins around until you expect her to vomit in an amazing circular pattern, but somehow she holds in it and continues dancing without falling over. Here's a couple pics. Some came out wonky.

(like I said, I'm a crappy photographer)

After dinner, we notice an interesting statue. Mad stares interestedly while Polly compares herself...

Wheee! So we head back to our room and Mad steals my camera and takes this lovely BoogerCam shot of me.

(well, that was probably more of me than anyone needed to see)

Cute pic of Polly and Higgy:

We decide that since we've molested female statuary, it's time to find some male statuary to molest. So we go in search of Ceramic Dick (which of course WBAGNFARB). But first, Mad must spank Polly with a shoe.

LHG doesn't want to go, so we leave him behind. My super secret spy cam catches Polly and Higgy holding hands outside. (OK, so they we're really laughing at pics on his stealth cam, but it sounds more interesting and scandalous my way)

Statuary molesting is a fine art, and you can't just fondle the first statue you come across. So Polly had to choose just the right statue. Here we see her perusing the various Adonis-like statues that adorn the front of Caesar's Palace. "Oooh, THAT one!" Higgy approves.

Mad and I stayed in the car while Polly and Higgy went statue-molesting. Here's the last unmolested statue in Vegas, which despite what the sign says, is probably not of Gladys Knight:

That was about it for that evening. I end with this mysterious picture.

The effect of drinking a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is like having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick.
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Pics by the buttload II

2005-10-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

Vegas baby! These are Friday's pics.

On the road! Some desert scenery:

Mad a-drivin' thru the desert:

The world's tallest thermometer at the Bun Boy in Baker, CA. Some people consider this the first place to bet en route from L.A. to Vegas. Sorry the picture is so crappy but there was a vehicle between us and the thermometer so I had to snap one on the fly. As you can probably guess, I'm no great photographer.

We arrive safely and Polly and Mad give a toast while we await seating at the Buca del Beppo restaurant. I probably spelled that wrong. Light Haired Guy hides behind Polly and chats it up with the Meyersons in the background.

It's time to pick up Higgy and we couldn't help notice the rather obscene "Mating Aircraft" logo at Las Vegas Int'l Airport. Oh well, what happens in Vegas...

Everyone looks solemn as we realize everyone forgot to stop at an ATM and we wonder who will have to stay and do dishes. (Just kidding of course) From left to right, Mad, Jeff & Jackie Meyerson, LHG, Polly, and Higgy. I'm the one behind the camera.

My lovely fiancé proves the formula on her shirt to be true.

Polly and I take pictures of each other:

Pics by the buttload I

2005-10-22T09:45:00.000-07:00

First, here's Aprille and I doing the Walk for Hope a couple weeks ago:

Since there's gonna be lots of pictures, I'll put them into different entries.

Let's give a warm welcome to The Rock Bottom Remainders!

2005-10-18T15:19:00.000-07:00

OK, I just realized I had my little flash drive with me, and fortunately I'd already made a jpeg of my project so I can go ahead and post it. (It looks a lot better in Illustrator but oh well...)

You'll probably immediately notice that the people in the picture aren't actually the Rock Bottom Remainders. Unfortunately, we were only allowed to use pictures from the image library on the school computer and no internet images (because of the low 72 dpi resolution of all web pictures), so I had to make do with this image of random businessy-people.

The first ticket is supposed to be done "static" style, i.e. everything in neat boxes and very basic shapes while the second one is "dynamic:" strange shapes and curves and such-like. One isn't considered to be "better" than the other, it just depends on your application.

Anyway, before you laugh that I only had the price at $1.98, consider that they usually play at bookfairs for free admission. If you get a chance to see them, they're a hoot!

Sign of the Apocalypse #2038

2005-10-18T15:01:00.000-07:00

Rick Moranis, Country Musician

Go ahead, listen to some of the tracks, I dare you.

Coming soon: Vegas pics and the ticket.

Coming soon...

2005-10-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

My latest project for my Graphic Design class was to design a pair of tickets to some kind of event, or museum, or what-have-you. Naturally I crafted two tickets to the Rock Bottom Remainders. I'll put em up tomorrow evening.

Also thanks to everyone who donated for our Walk for Hope. We raised over $300!

EDIT: It's not too late...

iHop

2005-10-05T19:29:00.000-07:00

Since I finished my project a little early, I thought I'd have a little fun with Illustrator and Photoshop. Yes, I'm posting from class. Shhhhh!

Please donate!

2005-10-04T11:01:00.000-07:00

As October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, my lovely fiancé Aprille and I will be participating in the City of Hope Walk for Hope to cure breast cancer. If you'd like to support us with a donation, here's our easy to remember donations page.

Thanks for listening and don't forget to tip your waitress. Boogers.

Artwork!

2005-09-28T15:57:00.000-07:00

There's a neat website for artists to post their artwork called www.deviantart.com, so I went ahead and signed up. There's traditional art, digital art, even poetry and prose. Just about any kind of visual art you can think of. It's quite a little community, and hey, it's free. (You can pay too and get some kind of extra perks, but I didn't do that.) Anyway, I finally got around to posting up some stuff for everyone to enjoy and it's where I'll be putting stuff in the future. Here's my page: The Weasel's DeviantArt Page

Sorry if some of it's hard to see. I'm fiddling with some of the images to make them clearer.

Here's something I drew yesterday in class (or, technically, just outside of class):

Off to Graphic Design...

BIG HONKING ANNOUNCEMENT!

2005-09-26T10:01:00.000-07:00

Holy crap, the weasel done got engaged!

Early Saturday afternoon (Mad's birthday), I proposed marriage to Aprille and, inexplicably, she said yes. I was as nervous as a ... well, weasel, but I did it anyway. Being the geek I am, I couldn't just ask her straight out. When I gave her a birthday card, there was a note inside telling her to seek her fortune in the refrigerator. In the fridge was a fortune cookie. There it said to go find her fat cat. Around Cody's neck was a ribbon with another note saying to play that whole "He loves me, he loves me not" game with a flower. It was supposed to end with "he loves me not" and then I got on my knees and handed her her new kitten which had both the ring and the last flower petal on it, but somewhere the petal fell off and the kitten ran away because I was too nervous to hold him, but I guess it was the thought that counted. So, um, we just wanted you to know. Now if we can just get Dave Barry to perform the ceremony... ;)

Anyway, I can scarely believe it myself. Every so often I find myself saying to myself, "wow... I'm engaged!" and grinning like a goober. But I'm happy and she's happy and this is good. We haven't set any kind of dates yet, or determined the details of where and who and how yet, but it's enough to know it will happen.

Wheeee!

Happy MOATie Love Day!

2005-09-23T09:45:00.000-07:00

Today is so named on Joshkr's calendar (thanks Josh!) because this is the day one year ago exactly that I met Aprille at a Costco somewhere out in Duarte (I think). The occasion was, of course, a Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson book signing of Peter and the Starcatchers. At the time, of course, I had no idea we would end up together but who can say what life has in store for us? Anyway, I couldn't be happier. She's an amazing wonderful woman who has touched my life in all the best ways. She's gorgeous, brilliant, funny, sweet, kind, and for some reason she even puts up with me. I couldn't ask for anyone better to have come into my life. I love you, my mad scientist!

Yarrr!!!

2005-09-19T14:24:00.000-07:00

Today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, me hearties! So scrape off them barnacles and practice yer swagger, or I'll be keelhaulin' ye!

Here be Dave Barry's article on the subject, penned about three years ago:

If ye be havin' trouble, try this piratey filter.

Now go shiver some timbers or some such.

It's official!

2005-09-16T10:49:00.000-07:00

Pure Dork
43 % Nerd, 34% Geek, 65% Dork

For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored better than half in Dork, earning you the title of: Pure Dork. Like our friends Napoleon Dynamite & co.

It's not as though you were some whiz-kid in school. Oh, sure, you probably did okay in some classes, but were probably awful in others. Certainly most people thought you were smarter than you thought yourself to be. And it's not that you have some overriding passion, like computers or Star Trek that sets you apart for the crowd, though you likely share some interest in some of those sorts of things. You just like to be yourself, and want to express yourself for who you are.

And, really, there's nothing wrong with that. Being who you are often invites scorn, and so it's a difficult thing in a world that rewards conformity. Be proud of your dorkiness, for often it's just another word for individuality. (I'd vote for you!)

Congratulations!

Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

EDITED: Thanks to Trillian, who got it from Bismuth, who got it from a suspicious moose. (Suspicious Moose WBAGNFARB)

Classes

2005-09-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

Well, so far I'm enjoying them, although my Graphic Design course surprised me by saying there's a lab an hour before class. (This wasn't noted in the course catalog) So I'm having to finagle around with my job hours in order to make it.

I got my first assignment in Drawing II graded. We were instructed to draw a chair. So I did. It got an A. Wheee! It's too big to scan so I'll have to take a picture of it and then post it.

My first real assignment in GD I is to design two tickets, as in concert tickets or tickets to a zoo or museum or whatever, using Adobe Illustrator which we barely know how to use. One will be "static" and the other "dynamic" but will otherwise use the same elements. Should be fun. I think I'll make mine tickets to see the Rock Bottom Remainders. I thought about using the Seminal Fluids but that might be a bit much.

Random blatherings

2005-09-09T12:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I seem to be peeling a bit from my sunburn last weekend. Where? On the insides of my elbows. That's a new one.

Meanwhile my poor puppy dog has really gnawed one of his paws bad. I'll have to take him to the vet this weekend. The meds they've given him before don't seem to really help. Tonight, I'll wash his paws good, maybe a bit of rubbing alcohol, and put some kind of bandages on to keep him from worrying at it. Poor guy.

In other news, apparently my Graphic Design course has a lab attached to it. It wasn't mentioned in the catalog, so the entire class had to add it. Unfortunately it's an hour before the regular course which means I'll have to do some finagling with my work schedule. And my boss has been out sick for the last week or so. Well, we'll see what happens there.

I'll have to take back my gas rant because a) it could be worse; at least I have a home and a vehicle and a job, unlike those poor folks in Katrina's wake, and b) Southern California isn't actually the highest in the country any more. We're still around $3 and if you look hard, you can find $2.89. Other areas are well over $3. Strange, but I can't complain.

I actually have a bit of homework. I have to draw a chair, and I have to find some ads from magazines. Nothing too tricky I think.

For Halloween, I've decided I want to be a total geek and be a Jedi. I'm going for the Qui-Gon (Liam Neeson) look since I'm somewhat tall, have the long hair and facial hair. I'm growing out the beard.

I'm hungry...

Back to School

2005-09-06T14:47:00.000-07:00

Well, today is the first day of my second semester in my amazing adventures in community college. I'm taking two classes (I don't think I could handle any more while working full time): Drawing II and Graphic Design I. Basically they're slightly advanced versions of the two class I took in the spring (Drawing I and Basic Two-Dimensional Design). Instead of taking these classes at Los Angeles City College which is quite near where I work, I'm taking these at East Los Angeles College which is quite near where I live. LACC didn't offer these classes at the right times or I would have gone there instead. Fortunately they're part of the same community college district so they should all be transferable. It will take forever to get any kind of degree at this rate, but what can you do? Anyway, my first day is tonight after work. Whee!

Saturday, Aprille and I went to go see the Long Beach Blues Festival which took place in a large field on the campus of Cal State Long Beach. It was lots of fun. We got nicely sunburned but we munched on fruit and cheese and other goodies in the grass. It was kind of an early birthday present. A wonderful weekend was had by all.

Gas rant

2005-08-30T09:35:00.000-07:00

Gah, between the hurricane and the approach of Labor Day weekend, gas prices have shot up some more. The cheapest around here is $2.80/gallon (2038 hectares/decade) now and one station near my house is $3.05. That's for regular unleaded, not Super Deluxe Techron™ Premium with Splenda. But I guess I can't complain since many other countries are paying way more. Even so, I think my next vehicle will be a Schwinn.

Um, that's all. I'm not a very good ranter.

Well it's about time, eh?

2005-08-29T15:16:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm back. In fact, I've been back in California since Friday, just after 9 am when the plane descended into that yellowish haze that blankets Los Angeles like some kind of nasty blanketty thing. I've just been lazy and hadn't really gotten onto the net much. In fact I haven't really looked at the Dave blog yet because there are probably 2913843 new posts since the 16th. Anyway, now that I'm back at work, I can finally post away. (Your tax dollars at work!)

Anyway, my legions of adoring fans and blogreaders are no doubt wondering how the trip was, so here I shall endeavor to relate the whirlwind events that took place.

First I got up about 3:30 am. (Coincidentally I got up at 3:30 am coming back too. Hmmm.) I dressed and showered and got all my bags and stuff ready. I said goodbye to Ozzy and waited for the Super Shuttle to arrive. Naturally it was late. But no worries; they always pick you up way too early for the flight anyway. Next time I'm going to lie about what time my flight is so I don't have to sit around the airport for hours, enjoying a $10 Burger King breakfast. Anyway, enough about air travel... I got to Richmond, VA that afternoon where I was scooped up (not literally; that would require a fair sized scooper) by my love, the Mad Scientist and we were off to visit her aunt whose name I've already forgotten because I'm terrible about names. I mostly remember their adorable Basset Hound puppy. You may think of Basset Hounds as being lazy droopy dogs that lie under porches all day, but apparently they aren't like that as puppies. This guy wanted to play! I didn't get any pictures unfortunately. In fact, I didn't get nearly enough pictures of this whole vacation. Oh well.

Anyway, later that evening we headed back to Mad's place back in Chester. Oh I should point out that it was in the 90s or 100s and very humid. My poor deserty skin didn't know what to do. Apparently because of the sudden surplus of moisture, it tried to sweat it all back out again. Anyway, her father works in the evenings driving trucks so he was already gone for the evening. And her sister and hubby were already off to New York arranging to move there for some crazy reason. I did meet her dad's girlfriend so that was nice.

So the next day we were off to Baltimore! Mad has a friend from college there with a new baby who was quite adorable. It was the first time I'd really seen those skinny city houses that they always show on TV when they take place on the east coast. They look way too small on the outside but inside it's as if it's in another dimension and suddenly there's plenty of room. Anyway, we couldn't stick around too long because we were off to ... Washington DC to meet a bunch more bloglits! We wound up going to a pretty nice cafe-like place. I think they all tried to ditch me because when I went in search of an ATM, they all conveniently went upstairs and found a table. But I found em! Cos I'm a weasel.

The food was delicious and the waiter was quite amusing with his presentations of various dishes. Those cheesy potato things were good along with the crab cakes... mmmm... That was, I believe, the only day that I did not have a pasta dish. I was going for a record there, but unfortunately I broke it yesterday when I had ham sammiches for dinner. So cancel the call to the Guinness Book. Everyone was nice and funny and there were no coconut bras or penguin thongs to my surprise. Well, I suppose some of you may have been wearing them underneath your ordinary clothes but I didn't check.

Anyway, after that, we were back to Virginia, but it was pretty late, so again, I missed meeting daddy. But finally, on Friday (19th) I got to meet him. He seems like a pretty cool guy, very down to earth, and he didn't chase me out of the house with a shotgun* so I guess he thinks I'm ok too. I didn't see much of Chester but it looks like a nice little Virginia town. It was very green. And hot.

*He does have bullets in his car however. No sign of an actual firearm, but bullets, yes. I suppose he could threaten to throw them very hard at any attacker.

So, the next morning, we were back to the airport. Or rather, airports. I left from Richmond and Mad left from um... some other airport. She was using frequent flier miles and had to pretty much take whatever flights they gave her, and I couldn't get on those same flights without paying through the nose, so I just tried to get ones that were close. So, off to Dallas, TX, to meet my dad and stepmom.

We both had to stop in Atlanta, but alas I was taking off for Dallas by the time she arrived. Oh well. Oh yes, and on that day, the air conditioning in possibly the entire airport was not working. Everyone was fanning themselves, including employees. I found a vending machine and got a Coke and an ice cream sandwich. I think it was a plot by the Coca-Cola corporation (based in Atlanta) to get everyone to buy more Coke. It worked. Anyway, we finally made it to Dallas. My dad picked us both up. It worked out pretty well since Delta and Air Tran were very close to each other.

My dad actually lives in Irving, which is slightly northwest of Dallas and is the home of the Cowboys Stadium (unless it's the Viagra Pepsi Budweiser Office Depot Stadium; who can keep up?) It was pretty hot there too. It was pretty much 100° F all the time give or take a couple degrees. It wasn't quite as humid as VA, but it was still much more humid than CA. And it doesn't have the sense to cool off at night either. It could be 8 pm and still 99 outside. Fortunately my folks have decent AC in the house. They also have 3 dogs and 2 cats. Two Shelties named Vanna (short for Savannah) and Shel (Michelle), and one old fat weinerdog named Jackie (inexplicably nicknamed Toots). The cats are both shy, one is a grey cat named Missy, the other is a black and white one named Inky. Inky mostly stays outdoors though, only occasionally wandering in. I don't understand why a big fluffy cat would want to be outside in that heat, but whatever!

We didn't do too much except watch a whole lot of TV. We did go bowling one afternoon, but my dad has a bit of bursitis. I'm not sure how he'll manage when his leagues start up soon. I'm just glad his ticker is ok for the moment. (But that's another story) We also helped him put up a couple ceiling fans in the patio out back. So we didn't exactly see the sights of Texas but oh well. It was too hot anyway. The important thing is they seemed to like Aprille. (What's not to like?)

So, Friday the 26th at 3:30 am, we got up and headed to the airport again and flew home. I flew direct from Dallas to LAX, leaving at 8:00 am and arriving at 9:20 am. Mad flew from DFW to Milwaukee, then Milwaukee to John Wayne airport in Orange County. (much closer to her home). Her flight left nearly two hours earlier than mine, but needless to say, she got home much later. Moose were involved.

There you have it. I do have a few pictures, but I haven't downloaded them yet. I did get a shot of the Pentagon as we drove by, and of course I have some DC Bloglit pics too. OK, I should get some actual work done now I suppose.

Vacation!

2005-08-16T08:50:00.000-07:00

Well, tomorrow at this time I'll be in the air winging my way toward Virginia to meet the Mad Scientist family. I'm kinda nervous, but I'm looking forward to it anyway. Plus I'll be meeting a buttload of bloglits.* I'm taking a Supershuttle to the airport, which means they'll be picking me up at 4:10 am even though the flight is at 7:20 am and the airport is an hour away in bad traffic. Oh well. I can snooze on the plane.

Invariably I'll forget to pack something important. Hopefully it's not my underwear.

*a good name for a rock band?

Happy Friday!

2005-08-12T10:19:00.000-07:00

Well, it's another Friday at work. For those who don't know, I work as a Senior Typist Clerk (hey, I used to be merely an Intermediate Typist Clerk) at the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.* This is just a fancy name for paper pusher. I'm basically clerical support staff. I work in the TAR or Treatment Authorization Request Unit, although these days we're calling it the Medi-Cal Inpatient Consolidation Unit. Can you tell this is a governmental agency yet? Anyway, various providers want the County to pay for their patients and we try to convince them to go stuff themselves.

But basically, I'm trying to get all caught up and even a bit ahead, since I'll be on vacation for a week and a half. How am I doing at that? Well, I'm here blogging, so ah, not so good.

In other news, my dog Ozymandius is wearing goofy looking shoes because he keeps chewing at his paws. The vet says its likely an allergic reaction, but if he stops biting at his feet, then maybe the drugs will heal it.

I saw Stealth with some friends last night, and it wasn't as awful as I feared it might be. It wasn't great, but it was a decent mindless action flick. I'd just like to think if we ever successfully develop true artificial intelligence, the first thing we do with it would NOT be to stick it in a warplane and have it go around killing people. But hey, maybe that's just the hippie liberal in me.

Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy this moose.

*Motto: "It takes one to know one."

Howdy!

2005-08-11T17:00:00.000-07:00

Well, everyone else got one, so I guess it's my turn. I don't expect this blog will be nearly as exciting as the others, but I didn't want to feel left out. I actually used to have a livejournal but I eventually got bored with it and just recently cancelled it. I also have myspace, which is highly addictive. I even made one for my dog, for heaven's sake. But, perhaps this blog will be a bit more serious and have actual happenings in my life. Yeah, sure, who am I kidding?

Things to look forward to: An account of my upcoming trip to Virginia to meet the lovely Mad Scientist's family, and then on to Texas to visit my dad with her. OK, that sentence was tortured but I hope I conveyed the idea anyway, because I'm too lazy to fix it. Since I probably won't have computer access for the trip, I'll try to get my thoughts on paper and then transfer things when I return.

For now, enjoy your coffee and I'll post again later.