Stuff from June, 2005
This is the archive of tumbledry happenings that occurred on June, 2005.
Birdhouse
One of the first shots with the camera: lucky.
This is the archive of tumbledry happenings that occurred on June, 2005.
Thin, Transparent Speakers - In a couple of years, your laptop monitor could be your speakers, too.
The unbelievable folks at St. Thomas got together and got me a 200 dollar gift certificate to the Apple Store. I was absolutely blown away by this birthday gift (earlier in May), and jumped at the chance to get the music player that my ears have always dreamt of. They wrote:
We love you Alex - thanks so much fo all your help & for being so so great!! We know you really want/NEED an ipod - here’s a start! We all owe you our computer’s lives! Happy Birthday! - you are the BEST!
- Elise, Emily, Emily, Jordan, Kim, Dan, Ryan, & Tony
Where have I been, you ask? Well, first I got hammered by finals and the move out. Let me tell you something (as I probably shared last year). One of the best workouts you can possibly imagine is moving an entire dorm room worth of stuff down 8 flights (5 floors) worth of stairs. And yes, I am dumb enough to bring things like 45 pound receivers, 2 35 pound speakers, a 70 pound sub, a 35 pound computer (that still gets me), and a 50 pound sack of foam. So, let’s see, the total for the big stuff alone is … 270 pounds worth of awkward huge items. Just plain stupid I tell you, that I bring all that stuff. But it’s like people in the days of the Wild West - kill two oxen and ruin a couple wagon axles just to get a piano out into the west. Then again, I can see myself doing that, too. Must be a genetic “break your back to bring luxury items” sort of allele. I hope it’s recessive, because I wouldn’t wish it on my kids.
Indeed, you may not have heard it here first, but tumbledry will be getting a redesign. The redesign, really. This upcoming iteration is projected to take us through the next six years of online presence. Six years. Wow. Why so long? Long college years and dental school (crossing my fingers) lie ahead. Thus, the site will slowly be less and less of a digital design playground and more and more of a workhorse journal for my thoughts, hopes, dreams, and fears. The latter is really what I have always wanted it to be, but it has eluded me because of a desire to change the look. A combination of several factors have made me consider stopping this constant redesigning:
Lifetime Fitness has long been known for a questionable music playlist (Britney Spears and Savage Garden … at the gym?), but today they proved all of that bad music was just a warm up for one unbelievably inappropriate song.
While everyone was straining, grunting, and pounding through workouts, moving weights, running treadmills, and pulling those weird rubber bands in every-which direction, a song drifted over to my ears as I curled dumbells on an incline bench: Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven.”
It’s the times when you don’t have time or space to doubt yourself that your mind steps up and performs to its fullest potential. When I did not have time to consider that both Richard and Steve are taller than me and were intent on removing the ball from my control, I could drive and shoot - and get the ball through the net. If thoughts of doubt came into my head for just a fraction of a second, as they certainly did, things such as Steve stuffing the ball with a resounding “THUMPOING” and me watching it sail behind me occurred instead.
Man thinks different, steals 12000 iPods - I couldn’t help myself when writing that headline.
One of the first shots with the camera: lucky.
We had just planted these, and they looked very very happy.
A great tip for anyone starting photography: put the camera where people’s eyes usually aren’t.
Human Tetris - This is great - a guy dressed as a big Tetris piece. Genius.
Suing Everybody - The headline is “Antor Media sues everybody.” And really, it fits perfectly. “Antor Media is suing a variety of cellphone makers, including Nokia, UTStarcom, Audiovox, Kyocera, Sanyo, Sharp, NEC, RIM, Virgin Mobile, LG, palmOne and Panasonic …”
Make Magazine - Make magazine is like a “how things work” for the 21st century.
OS X on x86 machines - That is, you could make your computer both a Windows machine and a Mac machine … stunning.
The First National Bank Building was the tallest in St. Paul from 1930 until 1986. (source)
I’d like to know how this image got so sharp.
I can’t decide if I love or hate this picture: ugly or cool?
The driveway had just gotten a hydrophobic coating on it.
These have reseeded themselves from a pot we had in the backyard 14 years ago, when my grandma passed away.
They remind us of her.
You may or may not remember that one person in high school who was so involved with a single topic that any social interaction was painfully difficult. So it is with one person I know, who is in fact not in high school, but is St. Thomas’ chemistry stockroom manager. Problem is, she is not just antisocial, but extraordinarily passive aggressive. Her ability to wilt a freshman chemistry student after they request a reflux condenser without knowing the joint size is only rivalled by her ability to aggravate someone who knows what they want but is cut off by her ridiculous superiority complex.
A bit over a week ago, I intentionally skipped my first workout in 4 years. There were a couple of times during that time when I was forced to not work out - I had my wisdom teeth out once, went on two trips, but that accounted for few and far between misses of my every-other-day schedule. In fact, I do not think I missed one workout in the past 18 months. Don’t mistake that statement as laced with any notes of pride - I learned hard lessons throughout that time, hurt people, alienated others, and battled in general to balance all parts of my life. My brain was in such a rut that it thought there would be some collapse if it didn’t get a a bi-daily endorphine rush associated with 1.5-2 hours of intense weightlifting.
In the gym at 5:30am before work, I had a flashback to a decade ago in my life. Our fourth grade teacher’s name was Mr. Bowman. He was a tall man but, looking back, it seems he was prematurely aged by the Vietnam War, he walked with the posture of someone who can stand just fine but has been worn down by trauma. It was obvious, though, that his dry yet hilarious sense of humor preceded the war he experienced, and he connected with us in a more mature way than many of my high school teachers.
Oh, indeed firsts are what make our lives. Nobody really remembers the second man who walked on the moon or the second place in elections. Who wants to be Vice President, or get the silver medal? Lance Armstrong isn’t saying “I’m going to get second in my last Tour de France.”
Swim Goggles with Displays Inside - Awesome innovation. I have to learn to swim, first.
Really really really really really really high resolution pictures - Really.
Completely lucky, I love this picture.
I’m addicted to macro flower shots. They’re easy.
The photographer at work. Lol.
DRM on Chip - Crap.
Straight line winds took down trees around the neighborhood - I think this oak will survive, though.