March 21st, 2008
My incredibly simple homemade HDTV antenna.
Next February in 2009, we'll no longer have UHF and VHF analog signals. All broadcasts will be digital and people with older television sets will need a simple A/D converter. Of course my fancy flat screen is HDTV ready, so all I need is a better antenna.
I enjoy not having cable and only use my TV/DVD setup for watching my plethora of movies. But I do miss PBS shows and Nova on Sunday nights, as well as the local news. So I thought all I'd have to do is connect a set of bunny ears to the TV via a coaxial cable and I'd be set. That didn't work out so well, I barely got Channel 29 and that was it. So every once in a while I could watch Family Guy reruns that looked more like the scrambled Playboy channel. read more »
July 12th, 2007
Remember this chap? In and out of everyone's lives like a bad storm. Here's a little photoshop fun, meme-cat style. He wears so many hats, it's amazing he can keep them all straight. (Oh yeah -- that's right he can't. Not for very long anyway.) Here are a few:
- night club owner -- ie, Piccolinos -- remember he and his "business partner" from Philly are buying the Block E theater to turn into a two level downtown hotspot.
- Italian mafia -- his Philly millionaire big boss, Jake Polantra, has a private jet, gives Mario a huge cash advance and provides a network of protecting thugs.
- downtown high-roller -- from moving into the Falls across from Nye's to VIP lounging at Bellanotte's and the Annex, only Dom Pérignon and rubbing elbows with the owners will do.
- Ferrari owner -- we all saw the pics in his cell phone. Right? The Ferrari that he kept in the garage but only drove when no one was around.
- boating with Jim Caviezel -- in his cabin cruiser on the river. Another vehicle no one else got to see.
- the yellow mustang -- purchased from the dealer so he wouldn't have to risk the Ferrari. Or was that just an e x t e n d e d test drive.
- landscape contractor -- the business that was sold to invest in the night club amongst other things.
- real estate investor -- "give me $10,000 and I'll double your money in less than a year." He has so many contacts through his Philly boss and the "contracting business" that you can't lose.
- songwriter -- didn't win the "who's the new INXS band member" contest, but CBS bought his song and now he's represented by a Hollywood agent. The same one who handles Jim Belushi.
- record producer -- started Watershed Records and promised to start Joy's and Vino's career amongst others.
- fundraiser organizer -- for Autism Speaks. His band played for about a hundred close friends on New Years Eve and the event money went to fight autism. The donation was matched by KARE 11 and he was on the morning show to talk about it.
- professional bullshit artist, aka. grifter -- classic case of delusional narcissistic disorder. Will cheat and lie to friends, family and anyone else willing to listen.
Hint -- only that last one is true. Aleksey Vayner may have gotten more publicity, but Mario has more victims. If you know this guy, be forewarned, your wallet is in jeopardy.
March 4th, 2009
Even more NSFW
when clicked.
I've been spending more time in the shop lately fixing a customer's crashed spindle. So when our maintenance guy came chuckling out of the restroom he's remodeling, I just happened to be walking by. We've been busy in the shop recently tearing out old facilities and putting in new. In this case, Charlie has finished one of the shop bathrooms a week or two ago and has now moved onto the next one. Today he was pulling out the stall dividers and the ceiling tiles.
Apparently, hidden behind one of the ceiling tiles was a very dusty copy of Big Busty magazine. :) Ha ha, lol, many guffaws from those in earshot. Or as Charlie calls it, "the amateur's gynecology manual." This particular issue was from 1970 and had nearly 40 years of dust on it. But the cover still displayed the same retro styling shown in the image to the right.
Then to make this fun find even better, I was told that this is the second stash Charlie has uncovered. Hidden in the ceiling of the first remodeled bathroom was another issue of the same era of magazine, but this time with an accompanying jar of Vaseline. [shivers] uh... I guess someone was having a few extended trips to the restroom back in the 70's and reading more than the newspaper. o_0
February 11th, 2008
All kinds of sites are making fun of these New Jersey guys. Apparently, these orangies are taking over the Jersey club scene. Thank Jeebis that's far away from Minneapolis. One would think that homeland security wouldn't let these guys on a plane being suspicious that they're not in fact the same species.
I can't resist jumping on this wagon -- they're so incredibly ridiculous. Even Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer had better fashion sense. At least they wouldn't be camouflaged in a pumpkin patch.
It also goes along with the striped shirt phenomenom. Unfortunately we do have that in Minnesota. But at least it makes douchebags easier to spot. If you're a lady, please read these visual clues below so you know what to avoid. read more »
April 3rd, 2010
With the amount of beer Sarah and I go through, it made financial sense to invest in a kegerator to replace the cases of Grain Belt we go through. After all, 1 keg at $92 is better than the equivalent 7 cases of beer at a total of $112. ;) Plus there's the cool factor of finally having a tap in the bar.
So after shopping around, we bought a Kegerator Conversion Kit from the Beverage Factory. I also added a new 10 pound CO2 tank thinking that a bigger size would help prevent less runs to the gas company. And then later added a nice stainless drain as well. I chose the door mount kit knowing I'd be making my own faucet box to mount the handle through.
Then I began searching Craigslist for a free fridge I could haul into the basement to use. I see them on there all the time, (except, of course, when I'm actually looking for one.) Eventually, I ended up hauling in the old fridge that's been sitting outside our place for the last three years to see if it would work. After cleaning it up -- a lot -- it ran great and so I decided to use it.
In the meantime, I did find a little fridge on Craigslist for $10 that I thought would make a great soda/beer fridge. So I brought it home to discover the thermostat was faulty. I took it apart (or rather had it explode into 10 or so parts in my hand), and put it back together again after discovering the plastic dial had worn out. I fixed it, put it back together, and now the little fridge is working great keeping the extra bottled beer nice and frosty.
While waiting for the keg kit to show up, I researched various forums in which people discussed their own home keg setups. I quickly discovered that unless the faucet came right from the door, the exposed beer line would cause foamy beer as the beer would warm up in between pours. After a bit of hemming and hawing about glycerin chilling systems and the like, I decided I'd simply try it as is and see how bad the results really were. read more »
July 20th, 2009
This book is out of print, but well worth a quick read through. Published by Hallmark in 1972, Dean Walley has written in prose a near perfect summary of how a great relationship should be.
I know it's a little sappy compared to normal goobertech affair, but I think it's quite beautiful and relevant. Plus, the cheesy 70's photos are a hoot. :)
- click on the page links below to read -
August 13th, 2008
The ol' laptop has served me well for the last 4 years, but for the last few months the power port (were the cord plugs in) has been severely decrepit. It's generally necessary to fiddle and fuss and wedge something in place to keep the damn thing connected. The battery hasn't charged for years, so the 'puter doesn't go unless it's got a direct link to the 120V outlet on the wall.
So I've been putting up with it in hopes that it wouldn't get worse and trying not to bump the corner whilst working or surfing the net. Then one evening, my buddy Karl, tells me he sees this all the time. All you have to do is re-solder the plug port on the motherboard -- that made a lot of sense. Wiggling the hell out of it probably forced a reconnection that was edgy at best. Which is exactly the symptoms my laptop portrayed. But tearing into my only home-link to the online world seemed risky, so I continued to put it off.
Tonight I dove in anyway. From the pics* you can see you have to take the entire damn thing apart to get at anything. It's intimidating. Good thing HP publishes a handy "this is how to take your computer apart" step-by-step guide.
In an hour, I had the thing tore apart all over my counter. And upon inspection of the exposed power port, noticed that both the solder joint was cracked and the ground post was pushed back into the element so that it barely connected anymore. read more »
September 7th, 2007
1. Bob Ross -- "The Joy of Painting"
The king of painting shows, everyone is instantly familiar with this afro-wearing, Demerol-voiced squirrel lover. Reminding us that here, "We don't make mistakes, we make happy little accidents." And ending each show with "I'd like to wish you happy painting, and God bless my friend," with his little hand-flutter wave.
I always thoroughly enjoyed Ross's show (although I'd get irritated by the 5 minute segments of him cooing at a squirrel or baby deer.) Get back to your art, damn it! Anyone who's ever tried to paint has done their best to emulate Ross's style at least once. My early acrylics were an attempt at this, though with not nearly as nice a result.
Links: BobRoss.com, Wikipedia -- Bob Ross, IMDb -- The Joy of Painting
2. Norm Abram -- "The New Yankee Workshop"
The woodworking icon. Tim Allen's co-host, Al, on "Tooltime" wore flannel because Norm did first. (Is there anything else in his closet?) It didn't matter because he taught us the fundamentals of fine woodworking and how easy it all is when you have the best tool for the job. "And remember this. There is no other more important safety rule... [Norm points to his glasses.] ...than to wear THESE... safety glasses..."
I think my favorite Saturday morning indulgence, I'd watch Norm's show like a baptist watching the 700 Club. My own motley collection of childhood Craftsman and Dremel power tools were no match for Norm's Deltas or Milwaukees, but I did my best and certainly learned what to have in my dream-list. Lucky to grow up with a very handy woodworking Dad and excellent shop teachers, I put their tools, my own and Norm's teachings to good use and churned out many projects from 2x4's and scrap wood. And now that I've acquired that dream-list of tools, Norm's knowledge and the right materials -- the sky's the limit.
Links: The New Yankee Homepage, Wikipedia -- Norm Abram,
IMDb -- The New Yankee Workshop read more »
July 18th, 2010
I only made to one day of CON this year, but had a blast anyway. Great costumes again and lots of fun at the Team Zissou's, (freshwater chapter), pool party.
Peek at the pics.
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