Wednesday, November 16, 2011

another yearbook quote

I found this today while looking through some images. From a middle school yearbook from 1977 someone wrote:

I hope you get hit by a car and get spread over a 50ft area of pavement and they have to scrape up your guts with a putty knife. Let's have a good year!
Your friend
Rex

P.S. Should I?
Should he what? That's what I want to know. Who knows what he was talking about...

Another yearbook from around the same time, and it belonged to a girl. All of the messages written inside started with the phrase "I don't know you very well." Which kinda made me feel sad for her. Why did she get all these semi strangers to sign her book?

This makes me wonder, since most of these books are on loan, how did these people lose their yearbooks? Did they donate them to a library or archive? Why would you give up a yearbook? Interesting. 

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

year books

At work we are finishing up a big year book project. We scan and photograph yearbooks for genealogical purposes. Big project. Lots of yearbooks dating back over a hundred years. After we import all those images we have to QA each book.

While I was looking through some of the images, it becomes obvious that many of these books once belonged to someone. I can read the short messages people write to their friends. Most of it is the same stuff that you see written down all the time: "Thanks for being a friend. Have a good summer. etc. etc." I've found some long and heartfelt letters between people in serious relationships. One yearbook around 1942 said something like "Strange how this war is tearing our world apart. Victory is in sight, and after everything is over we'll have to get back together again." Serious stuff. If I have time, I try and track down the photo of the owner of the book... Kinda makes all those little notes fit into some sort of context.

I've even found old photos tucked into some of the books. For example: I was taking photos of a very old yearbook from around 1917-1918 and I found a tiny photo of a man dressed in a military uniform. I couldn't tell if that person was one of students from the yearbook, but I assumed it was. On the back was scribbled in fountain pen "Give this to Eleanor". Maybe the book belonged to Eleanor. Who knows.

These brief messages in time are all that are left of some of these people. I'm sure many of them are long dead and forgotten. Who knows what else I'll find?

Monday, November 7, 2011

code talker

My son almost talks. Not really though. It's more of an energetic babble. He's only about 16 months old, so I don't know when he'll start forming sentences like "I need more money dad." or "can I borrow the keys to the car?".

I keep wondering when will be a good time to introduce him to movies, music, and video games. I don't know how "involved" a parent I should be when forcing awesome stuff down his throat. I liked some of the stuff my dad likes, but I ended up figuring it all out on my own. Who knows. I guess we'll see in time.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Crazy stuff.

I didn't think that I'd usually fall into the crowd that buys into special editions of things... even if they're the same thing they already have. For example: all those different color, or special edition game consoles that come out every so often. Did anyone get the Pokemon Edition N64? What about the new Battlefield 3 Xbox 360? Do I really need a red Wii? Things like that make me laugh at the morons that fall into that trap. They're just making money off of you! Your hard earned money!

Then I saw this:


Its the special edition wii classic controller that was bundled with copies of Monster Hunter G. Only available in Japan, this little blue controller is kinda hard to come by by itself, unless you buy the bundle. Ugh. I want it. I don't know why, but I want it.

Lame!
Here's the box for the upcoming Monster Hunter Tri G with included Circle Stick, for the 3DS. I've heard that the new Circle Stick thing is really light, almost in a cheap way, but it make holding the 3DS kinda nice. It adds right and left triggers buttons, and contours the hand in more of a console controller fashion. It takes a AA battery to operate.

Monster Hunter Tri G is an updated and expanded version of Tri, and it looks pretty awesome.


Still haven't heard any news on Monster Hunter 4 which is also for the 3DS. Crossing my fingers that they get localized for North American release.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

chiptune

Anamanaguchi - Airbrushed (RAC Mix)

I like this remix because it integrates non electronic instruments with chiptune. Anamanaguchi is known for their punk rock style Nintendo music, but I think that this remix shows how it doesn't have to be repetitive mindless techno all the time. This track also slows everything down. Anamanaguchi's stuff is often too fast paced, and you just feel tired after a while... if more musicians would just slow the tempo down it would make for an easier listening experience.

I think the Gameboy sound is getting old. I like it, but artists need to explore different sound chips. The popularity of chiptunes have increased a ton in the past 5 or so years, I'm wondering what new directions the genre will take. Try a Sega Master System or an Amiga or Commodore 64. Even the NES sounds awesome, but I don't think enough people use it for their chiptune work. Maybe the hardware is just getting too hard to find these days. Maybe the circuit bending crowd will have to take over hardware manipulation in the future.

Monday, September 26, 2011

tiny lands


I've been drawing some things lately... some things for my wife's school stuff and other things just doodling around on the computer. I've got a tiny Wacom tablet that I've been using, and I like to experiment in photoshop. If I'm on the computer and something comes to me I usually try and sketch it down. 

I've been making tiny lands for a while now. I've almost hit 50 posts, and that's something that surprises me. I've never really been able to keep a project going that long. I guess the small nature of tiny lands is what makes it so appealing to me. I can think of a landscape and draw it out quickly. And I've got a small book of all the landscapes I've made over the past two years... so its nice to look back and see how I've improved over time. I think I want to make a book when I feel like I have enough that are print worthy. That sounds like a nice thing to do. 

But now I'm torn. Because the entire vibe of tiny lands was to physically draw on sticky notes, and somehow the act of drawing on actual paper is what made it what it was. I've become more involved drawing on the computer for other things... it seemed only natural to try a tiny lands out digitally. My first effort is pictured above, and it looks great. Do I take tiny lands in a digital direction? Should I stop actually drawing them? I don't know. Just a thought. 


Sunday, August 21, 2011

another blog


Can you have too many blogs? Not if you want to compartmentalize everything you do. I started another blog to document all the crap it takes to finish old video games. I'm taking a page from the Japanese show " Game Center CX" where this guy forces himself to play old games. I don't do that, but I like the way they keep track of all his statistics every time he plays. Things like "86th attempt" flash in the upper corner of the screen... or after a cut scene the announcer says that he's been playing the same level for the last four hours.

That got me thinking. How many times do I die before I win? How long does it take? How many game overs? I've started tracking that information as I try to conquer old video games. I can't wait to see the data. I'm sure it will explain how bad I actually am at video games...

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

ebooks or whatever

Borders is going out of business. Lots of folks laud this as the continued downward spiral of printed media in general... Newspapers are doomed and books will soon follow with the amount of electronic devices, phones, tablets and whatever else that can hold thousands of books. Bookstores are losing customers as more and more people either download their reading material or find other ways to circumvent the system. But do people actually read anymore?

I've been reading stuff on my iPad since I got it, but for some reason I've never really been able to read a complete novel on it. Up until a few days ago I wasn't exactly sure why. There are tons of apps that let you read crap on Apple devices. I've even looked at my mom's kindle and thought that it was pretty awesome too. What's kept me back?

I think reading off a screen messes with my eyes... There are modes to decrease the brightness, nightmodes, and such... but it still doesn't get rid of the fact that I'm starting at a screen. Just doesn't feel right for some reason. That's probably where the Kindle wins over an iPad I guess. But if there are pictures or illustrations, the iPad is the ultimate device.

Do I miss the page "feel" of a real book? Not really. When you turn the pages while reading a book you do eventually have more pages on one side as you hold it. It's kind of a visual indicator of how far you are and how many more pages are left by gauging the thickness of the remainder. On a screen all you see is a fraction like "125/258". So even after reading for a while I don't have the same indication of what's left that I get from holding a physical book in my hand.

Even with all those problems the best thing about reading stuff on a tablet or whatever is that you have the option to store tons of books on it. I have more books than I'll ever read, and with the available amount of electronic books increasing everyday, that will never change. So I guess I'm set for an awkward night out or while stuck on a bus, train, or plane. Who knows. I like being able to have entire series of books without worrying about a missing volume that I can't find somewhere. I like reading books series all at once, once all of them are out. It's just easier that way.

All that being said, I finally finished a novel "cover to cover" (I guess) on my iPad. It was ok.

Could electronic devices make books more interactive and a better reading experience? Yes.

Has it happened yet? Nope. I'm still waiting.

Friday, July 15, 2011

self portraits

 I found some drawings I made not too long ago. They are self portraits while I worked away at my old job. 
 They all generally reflect an attitude of boredom and frustration I felt at the time. 

This last picture defines the many different moods one can feel during the day. There's a range of emotions felt based on the how things change from minute to minute. I suppose its just electricity and chemicals mixing around in the brain.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

running

I ran another 5k yesterday. It was the biggest 5k I've ever ran, with thousands of people running and thousands of people passing me by. It was hot and I wasn't sure how I would do because I haven't been able to "train" for it. Who trains for a 5k? With all the stuff that I've been doing around here, I haven't been able to get out and run like I wanted to.

So I ran. I started off ok, and then started to taper off around mile 2. the first mile was great, but after that I run out of steam. It happens every time. I feel like I can keep going, but I just start to slow down. Everyone started to pass me. I'm just not a good runner.

I did cut off a minute from my PR though, which doesn't sound like much but considering  how bad my PR actually is, but I think it was pretty good. There was a hill towards the finish and that slowed me down. If the course was a little flatter, I think that I would have taken more time off.

It looks like I end up cutting between thirty seconds to a minute every time I run a 5k. If I keep up at that pace and keep working at it, it will just take me fifteen more 5ks to run competitively. Is it mathematical? I don't know. And I need to run faster. About twice as fast as I do right now.

We'll see how I do next year.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Summer Time

small list of stuff I want to do this summer:

1. Go camping somewhere. Build a fire. Cook something and eat it. Come back home smelling like camp fire smoke.

2. Metal detect stuff. I want to find treasure... one quarter at a time. There are some specific places I plan to visit.

3. Go around town and take pictures of stuff. I've got a camera... why not? I've got a list of things I want to shoot. It might be cool.

4. Read some books.... and actually finish them. Working on Terry Brooks' Sword of Shannara series. A Revolutionary war book. Archaeology textbook. A Roman history book. A Lewis and Clark journal.... and the list goes on.

5. More tiny lands. I like where this is going. If only I were a little more consistent to my posting schedule.

6. Get a job. I'm applying. I'm just waiting for someone to actually call me back. I'm available. really.

7. Celebrate my 5th anniversary. I don't know what we're going to do, but I think it will be awesome.

8. Build something (To be determined).

9. Run more 5ks. Beat my PR.

10. Make music. For reals.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

more of the same

I'm working on some tiny lands right now. I'm getting more ambitious with it... because I'm kinda bored drawing the same things over and over.

I'm probably half way done cleaning off my desk so I can start a small music project that I've been twittering about over there. The biggest obstacle to any music project has always been a messy desk and video games. With a few final things out of the way, I should be able to hook up some syths, my gameboy, bass, and iPad into my mixer and see what happens. If anyone reads this blog wants to hear some older stuff I made years ago you can tab over to whitehairboy.tumblr.com and there are a few of my latest (ahem) tunes there.

Other than that... I went to DI and picked up a nice putter. Kevin is putting together a Master's Tournament at the local mini golf place. Winner gets a GREEN JACKET. I've set up my indoor course in preparation.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Hey

Having my blog marked private meant that it was even private from me... Blah blah blah.

So it isn't anymore. But I can't guarantee that i'll blog as often as I used to.

I've been working on tiny lands, and given the simple nature of sticky note art, I've been able to keep up a steady Monday, Wednesday, Friday posting schedule. We'll see how it goes.

Fixing stuff around the house. Going to put in flooring and refinish my kitchen cupboards. Can't wait.

Working on an awesome podcast this week. Go to desertbears.com for our latest 'casts.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

birfday

I had a great birthday. Natalie surprised me by taking the day off of work and we went to the zoo. It was awesome. I got a chance to take some pictures of some funny animals. Some of them turned out pretty awesome.

I think we were lucky that many of the animals were active, or being fed when we were there. Sometimes you go to the zoo and all you see is a tail sticking out from a rock, and a sign explaining what the animal should look like in its natural habitat. I feel bad that the zoo is so small for some of these animals. They need room to run!

My birthday was awesome. Camden had lots of fun looking at the animals. Natalie and I went out to eat and had a great day. I love my family.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

quick note.

Working on a blog here.

I set my ipod to shuffle, and I'm surprised to hear the results. I'll usually listen to random stuff until I hear something that I like. This time it was Yes. Progressive rock. Freaking awesome.

Been drawing some doodles that I probably will never scan in, but they look very Hanna Barbera-esque. I like the cartoony way that those old characters from the 1960's looked.

Now in all seriousness:

I wrote this blog entry on Feb. 04 but I didn't have the guts to post it.

"I feel like I should be writing music... but my guitar is in a million pieces. I have great ideas, but I can never seem to find enough time to act on them.

Its really hard to explain how weird I feel sometimes. I have a hard time focusing. It feels like I'm being torn in many directions and I can't dedicate enough time to one thing at a time. Or when I do find a way to focus on something, it becomes my focus for days. When I start something I rarely finish. I have four or five books on my desk that I've started or plan to start and I can't do it. I just can't do it.

I lose track of time too. I can be watching tv or trying to fix something in my office and before I know it three or four hours have flown by without anything to show for it. I feel like I'm losing to the clock. Days are going by too fast and time itself is something that I can't seem to hold on to. And for some reason, last year it seemed like it was getting worse.

I wonder how long it will take me to put my guitar back together?"

Tomorrow I'm going to see someone about (what I suspect to be) ADD. I've looked at the symptoms and I've been in denial... saying "This is how I've always been" or "I don't want them to change me." or whatever. I've struggled with really weird things all of my life, and while some may blame laziness, or fears, or other things... I think something else might be going on here. I feel like I need help, and my wife has urged me to do this. I honestly haven't really thought about it, I kinda want to just show up so I don't over-think this.



Tuesday, March 1, 2011

crap

I can't sleep because I keep thinking about all those job interviews I screwed up because I was nervous or just too excited to be there. I tend to say awesomely stupid things in interviews and then hear back a few days later that I "wasn't selected" or "we went with another candidate" or something to that effect. I don't know what my deal is, and I have only myself to blame really.

I missed a job that would have probably fixed everything a while back... and it still bugs me. Things would really be different now, but I guess I'll never know.

I'm finally getting over my sickness. Geez, it's been like two weeks of feeling like a zombie.

Now I'm just waiting.

Friday, February 25, 2011

watch



The Vernal Equinox.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

whoa

I've been sick.

I was let go.

Now I'm at home.

Go to tinylands.blogspot.com to see landscapes that I drew when I had a job.

I'll be posting some small drawings there.

Post-its.

Friday, January 21, 2011

blog

Bloggering from work. I don't even care if big brother is watching.

I'm tired.

The suits at work showed up this morning. They're the kind of guys that get paid way too much for what they do, and they spend the rest of their time chainsmoking or getting their butts kissed. Big deal you collect cars. I collect magic cards and NES games. I can't wait for all of this lame business at work to end, I'm really stressed out about whether or not I'll even have this stupid job anymore. I'm still waiting to hear back from everyone else I applied to.

It gets discouraging when I bomb interviews. I feel awesome and confident, but thinking back I wonder what the crap I was saying back there. I remember physically biting my tongue to keep myself from rambling. If there was a rewind/erase button I would have pushed it by now.

So I'm starting to lie on job applications. See if that will increase the odds a little. I've been told that it is the only way to get around some of the automated gatekeeper programs that filter out crap applications. Problem is with the sheer volume of applications I send, that I forget what jobs I've applied for, if they ever get back to me. Still kinda sucks when I get those automated rejection letters. No, what really sucks is "Although you were not selected for this particular position, we encourage you to continue checking back and to apply for other jobs for which you qualify. Best wishes for your success." What the heck kind of #$%*@ is that?

I've been stripping the paint off of my electric guitar. I'm going to paint it orange. The chemical process has made the old paint a sticky toxic mess, like gross melted marshmallow sludge. While I had my doubts, the stuff actually worked, but I've got a huge mess to clean up. Ugh. I have to reconnect all the wires later... which means I'll probably screw it up. oh well. I haven't soldered anything in a while, so I'm probably a little rusty. It isn't rocket science.

I'm repainting my guitar so I can start another attempt at the RPM challenge. February is the month to make and record an album, much like November was for novel writing (I didn't finish my book, but I managed to write a lot). I've had some ideas for music for a long time... but besides a few demos and small recordings, I haven't really done much for about... geez... three or four years now? crap. Stay tuned.

I'm still tired.

Head over to desertbears.com if you want to listen to our podcast about stuff. We talk about weird crap. I think it is kinda funny.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Stuff

I've been too lazy to blogger.

Having fun with nat and camden.

Working on a podcast with garit and mark.

Going to paint my guitar orange.

Looking for a new job.

Going to apply to grad school.

Too much nintendo is a bad thing. Need a break.

Hope to have fun over this long weekend. Should be awesome.

Tired.... So sleepy....