CrashOctopus

CrashOctopus.com

2007-03-31T18:20:00.000-04:00

I MOVED!

The CrashOctopus Blog, An Ode to Art and Beer, is now being updated at CrashOctopus.com.

Please update your bookmarks!

Thanks,
Meg

Art Blogging

2007-03-31T17:57:00.000-04:00

I began "An Ode to Art and Beer" with a few specific goals in mind. First, to rate beer - for anyone who drinks it. Second, to discuss art - for anyone who loves how-tos, WIPs, and lessons learned. There are so many "art bloggers" out there whose sole focus is showing artwork. It's a great venue to keep collectors and fans up-to-date about what you have on the easel, and to sell art. However, I focus my blog on the process of making art, not the end result.

I'm on a journey of learning. My successes and setbacks as an artist are being recorded with the hope that someone will find the information useful in their own journey. My "Links" section contains the blogs of other artists whose goals are similar - they aren't just there for the end result. That said, I would like to post more often than weekly, but time is precious. So I'm considering throwing in some completed artwork posts during the week, and continuing with the beer and "lessons learned" posts on the weekends.

My desire for constructive criticism also gave me an idea: to set up a website for all of us artists who want to improve, where we could get valuable critiques and do the same for others. That'd be the sole purpose of the site. If any of you readers are interested in participating in a site like that, please comment & let me know.

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Nathan's foray into website design introduced me to the realm of Wordpress. I have long felt restricted by the formats Blogger allows, and having built my own website, I knew I could do a lot more outside the confines of Blogger. I downloaded Wordpress and have a new blog URL: CrashOctopus.com. I've migrated all the relevant archives and comments, so it's an exact copy of the Blogger site. This site will remain as-is, but I won't post here anymore. Update your bookmarks now to see new content!

With the freedom of hosting my own blog, I'm also looking into making money with it. It will come in the form of Sponsored Links, so that whenever I talk about a particular product, I'll link to a site where you can buy it. I will also have a "Meg Recommends" page with all past product links. For example, dickblick.com has an affiliates program, and if a reader buys a product after clicking the link on my blog, I get a small cut. So, if you want to buy something at dickblick.com, doing so through CrashOctopus.com pays me. (bwahaha!) If you do, I'll bake cookies for you.

Gouache Supports, Part 1

2007-03-25T15:46:00.000-04:00

O Gouache, most versatile of mediums, bestow upon me the strength to remain calm and encouraged despite the fact that you frustrate me daily.

*sigh*

Yesterday I spent 2 or 3 hours working and reworking a simple ocean background. The gouache wasn't behaving. Or maybe I just wasn't handling it properly. But it brought to my attention that although gouache can be used on just about anything, not all supports are created equal. I was able to spend hours reworking because my support could handle a lot of abuse.

I've used gouache on a bunch of different supports. Specifically, nine, with one waiting in the wings for its debut. Ten supports are far too many to rate in one blog entry, so this week you get half of them, hence the "Part 1." I won't go into too much detail here, so if you want more info, let me know!

First: Watercolor papers. Most of the advice you'll find says to start off with watercolor paper. Good advice, but "watercolor paper" has a bunch of variation. I've tried three kinds.

Strathmore 400 Series Cold Press: I've only tried the blocks. They come in weird sizes, like 13x17". They're toothy and durable. The surface is fairly rough, and the gouache tends to puddle and granulate if too wet. It scrubs well, and can take a fair amount of abuse. The paper buckles even in block form. Strathmore's Aquarius II paper is smoother and more flexible, but although the packaging says you don't need to stretch it... it still buckles under a wash.

Work on 400 Series
Work on Aquarius

Arches Cold Press Cotton Rag: This paper holds gouache very well. I toned a piece months ago, and it stayed relatively flat. I painted over it with great success. I had to lift a few times to fix mistakes, and the toning didn't lift, just the new paint. I didn't scrub much because of the toning, but I bet the paper would handle it well. My only complaint is that it buckled a bunch... but then again, I didn't stretch it first.

Work on Arches Cold Press

Sennelier Hot Press Cotton Rag: Another great gouache support. It's a verrry smooth paper. I have a small landscape-shaped block, and although I used washes and wet-on-wet, it didn't buckle at all. The gouache responds very well to brushwork on this paper - it blends more than lifts, which is a breath of fresh air. I haven't found a downside to this one yet.

Work on Sennelier Hot Press

Bristol Board: I've worked on Strathmore 300 and 400 vellum and smooth. They're both very smooth surfaces, and work well with one opaque application of gouache. The final result looks very smooth and velvety. Bristol board can't handle washes or large applications of color - it just curls up. Because of this, I've only done a few color tests on it, so I don't have any finished works to show you.

Crescent Illustration Board: Make sure you check out the link for this one. It is an awesome matrix of all of Crescent's flavors of illo board and their compatible media. I have used #300 and #1. The #300 is single-sided, and it is nice and sturdy. It reworks pretty well, but I didn't test its scrubbing capability. It warped severely under a wash, but didn't buckle. The #1 is excellent. It warps just a tiny bit. It's very thick, so it can handle a lot. It reworks very well. Crescent rates these boards "marginal performance" with watercolor and gouache, but in my opinion, the #1 is better than the #300, and both are pretty darn good. Plus, the #1 comes in 22x30" sheets that you can cut to whatever size you like.

Work on #300
Work on #1

Well, that's it for this week. I'll post "Part 2" next month.

Left Hand Blackjack Porter

2007-03-25T15:31:00.000-04:00

Today's beer is the last of the Superbowl beers: Left Hand Blackjack Porter. It was the best of the three, although not our favorite from this brewery. It does have a cool label, though:

To help describe this beer, I'm creating a new term: the “First Taste.” It is defined as the immediate impression of the beer, and lasts for a very short time before the full flavor hits your tongue. You could also associate it with food - some foods taste strong at first, but the taste fades away to nothing by the time you've eaten the whole pint of ice cream in one sitting. Anyway, Blackjack Porter's First Taste has a lovely hint of chocolate. The overall flavor is very mild and smooth. It's a bit like Guinness, but a milder. The aftertaste is bitter and strong.

A pretty good beer, but after tasting Left Hand Milk Stout and Imperial Stout, we were expecting better.

M: 7.5
N: 7.5

Adventures in Cameraland

2007-03-18T11:06:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, I finally got up the courage to go out with my camera, local homicides be damned. It was a beautiful day - about 70 and sunny. The bulbs in my yard were blooming, and the trees were starting to bud. It had rained the night before, and the air was fresh and clean.

My SLR, two rolls of film, spare batteries, and I set off for the wooded area near our subdivision. It's mostly a thin strip of trees between backyards and a busy road. Since I tend to traipse no matter where I live, I'd already been back there several times. Last summer, I found an entire army of wild blackberries.

This time I went farther than I had before, and was richly rewarded. I found beautiful, deserted areas of woods with leaf litter so deep that I sunk in with each step. Although it had rained, the leaves and needles were so thick that when I sat on the ground, I stayed dry. I found lots of the small wonders that I usually photograph, like pinecones, flowers, and birds. The bugs were scarce, since it was so early in the season.

I broke the boundaries of the "known" and hiked off into the unknown. I got some shots of chickadees who were too mad at me to fly away - they must have had a nest nearby. I found old evidence of carnage -- piles of fur and a skull gnawed beyond recognition. I walked on and suddenly an owl lifted itself through the canopy, circled, and flew off. I think it was a Barred Owl. The only other time I've seen a wild owl was when my dad nearly hit one with the rental car while we were driving at 3am in Washington State. I saw a creek fall into an underground sinkhole and flow out 10 yards further down. I saw anthills as big as a burn barrel. I knew there were snakes around here, but I'd never seen one until today. It shook its rattleless tail at me for a few seconds before slithering into a hole in the ground. A sampling of what I saw, courtesy of Google Images:

I did get a few nice photos, but most of the beauty of the trip was in the experiences. Being outside, getting lost in nature within a mile of your house, losing 3 hours in an instant, watching birds' courtship. Seeing the things I'd never seen before.

There's beauty everywhere. It's right under our noses, but we rarely see it.

Lagunitas Imperial Stout

2007-03-18T10:46:00.000-04:00

One of the half dozen beers we bought last week was Lagunitas Imperial Stout. It wasn't available in 4- or 6-packs, only in those really huge bottles. (Well, maybe just 22 oz... but too much for one person to drink before it gets warm.) Nathan and I each got a nice-sized glass of beer from it.

It's delicious. The website has an interesting description of it, but it doesn't describe much about the beer itself. Unless you consider adjectives like "bourgeois," "belligerent," and "scary" as appropriately indicative of beer flavor. I'd describe it more as sweet, light, and fruity... for a stout. It has a tiny bitterness that doesn't linger and a pleasantly weak and short aftertaste. It is a bit bitey, but in a fresh fruity kind of way, not a "whap you in the teeth" kind of way, as kay-bot so delicately commented. It's not thick, heavy, or syrupy like so many dark beers. All in all, an excellent stout.

M: 9
N: 9

The Eyes Have It

2007-03-11T20:04:00.000-04:00

If, while arting, one chooses to portray a member of the Kingdom Animalia, chances are an eye or two will be necessary. Maybe even eight. No matter the number, a piece of art with eyes has arguably more potential for charm and emotion than other genres of art. I'm not ragging on landscapes or still lifes, but living things draw our attention and our hearts. It's why the human figure is portrayed so often. It's why we love our pet dogs and cats more than our houseplants (if we aren't N, that is. He loves his Starfruit tree "Fwang" [yes, he named it] more than just about anything).

Whether of a person, a pet, or wildlife, art with eyeballs is tough. The eyes are the key. They are the conduit between the artist and the viewer; the soul of the art. If you get them right, nearly all other mistakes can be forgiven. And if you screw them up, then forget it. It won't matter if everything else is perfect, the piece won't work. That's why some artists complete the eyes first thing, so if they screw up, they don't have much to redo.

I don't usually do the eyes first - in fact, I often leave them until the end. I love adding the soul to a piece by working on the eyes. Leaving them until the end keeps me motivated. Often I'll think, "I'm nearly done, and this still looks like crap!" Then I fix the eyes and everything works. Some good examples of eyes that make the piece work, even though there are flaws in other areas:
Eyes that don't really work, and bring the whole piece down:
At this stage, I seriously considered changing my skin tone to pallid deathly green and writing "BRAINS!" across the top in bright red. They're all shiny from the flash, but even without that, I look like a zombie. After some good advice from WetCanvas and some plain old *looking*, I got them better. And yes, this is the dreaded self portrait in oils. It's done enough, and I'm not opening those tubes again, ever (or until I forget that I hate them, which will probably be next week).
So, eyes matter. The few portraits I've done are of people and animals I knew well, or see every day. Their eyes were very familiar. After I got a few nibbles on portrait commissions, I wondered, would I be able to get their eyes right? I don't even know these people! Hell, I can't even get my own eyes right, and I see them every day. Maybe this time, I'll do the eyes first.

Highland Oatmeal Porter

2007-03-11T11:18:00.000-04:00

So yesterday, we stocked up on six (six!!!) different kinds of beer, three of which we've never tried before. We had to buy them yesterday, because the great state of Georgia doesn't allow liquor sales on Sunday. I have never understood this rule - if you're desperate enough to be drunk for church, you've probably planned ahead.

Anyhow, this week's beer is Highland Oatmeal Porter - both bottled and on tap. We've had both versions before - the tap version at the North River Tavern and the bottle from our most favorite of liquor stores, the Beverage Resort.
The bottled beer is smooth and a tiny bit sweet. It has a medium-dark flavor, not too heavy. After the first taste, the sweetness sinks in a bit, and is then followed by a bright aftertaste that gets bitterer as you go. An interesting beer.

The tap is a bit better than the bottled version. Could be that we're biased towards freshly pulled pints as opposed to bottles that have been sitting around for who knows how long. This one is a little bright and bubbly, with the same slight tang as the bottle, but with less of the bitter ending.

Tap:
M: 8.5
N: 8.5

Bottle:
M: 8
N: 7.5

Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout

2007-03-04T17:26:00.000-05:00

When I was out of town last week, N called me just to tell me that he'd discovered the beer of his dreams. He was at Taco Mac and had just tried Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout. He wrote about his experience here. As soon as I got back, he took me there so I could try it.
It wasn't the beer of my dreams, but it was a good one. It had the odd trait of being very very smooth and still packing a kick. The flavor intesifies as you swallow, but it's smooth all the way down. As N put it, the taste sinks in. Bubbly and high gravity, but not overpowering. A very good beer.

M: 8.5
N: 10

No, I Don't Like Oil Paint

2007-03-04T15:25:00.000-05:00

Every medium I've tried has given me an accurate first impression. Sometimes my opinion evolves (see posts on my first and second attempt at pastels), but by the second try, I know how if I'll like it. And, no matter the impression, I never abandon a medium, because I'm an optimist. Also, because I paid good money for the supplies, damnit.

My very first experience with oil paints was a class I took in some woman's basement when I was ten. I have one oil painting from that class, and it's pretty good. I don't remember much, except the part when the teacher tried to help and ruined a cool textural effect I'd created. Also, there was a bully in the class. It was traumatic.

The oil painting:
My second experience with oil paints was 3 or 4 years ago. I signed up for a community oil class at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Their class selection is great, and I've taken several there. The oil class was just OK because the instructor wasn't very good. He didn't explain anything about the oil paints themselves, which made it hard for me to understand how to use them. He just said, "do what I do"... and we did, and my results were worse than the flowers I painted when I was ten:
That class left a bad taste in my mouth too. It was at least 3 years until I re-opened up those dusty tubes of oil paint. Last summer, I broke them out for the hell of it, and painted this. It was a blind three-color experiment (I picked three tubes with my eyes closed, plus limited amounts white, for my palette). It turned out just OK.

I broke them out again last week, because I had a bite on an oil commission. I needed to practice the blasted things. I decided on a self-portrait on canvas, and toned it a nice greenish blue. I had leftover blue, and being the stingy artmonger I am (see first paragraph), I decided to use it to tone something else. Wasn't enough for a mid-sized canvas, but you can't put oils on paper... hmm... ah, Claybord! I have lots of Claybord!

The only small pieces I had were Claybord smooth, which is so slick that you could slide across it in your socks if you were 2 inches tall. The Ampersand website suggests you prepare Claybord Smooth before using it with oil paint, since it has no tooth and dries so quickly. Well, I didn't want to mess with the gesso, so I didn't prepare it. And guess what... Ampersand was right.

The quick-drying part is great! Part of the reason I dislike oils is the ice-age duration you have to wait for them to dry. However, the slick part wasn't so good. Putting it on thin or thick, the stuff streaked because of the lack of tooth.
Streeeeeeak, streeeeak, streeeeak.

So yeah, I'm still working on that self-portrait, but I really don't like oils. With all respect to the wonderful Larry Elmore, who extolled their virtues, I don't think their wonderful blending ability makes up for all the annoyances. They smell funny, they require messy mediums, they don't clean with water, you can't use them on regular ol' paper, some of the accessories are toxic (dryers, turpentine), they take six months or more to dry (six months!!!), and they require varnishing. Give me good old water-based, quick-drying, non-blending gouache any day.

However, I will continue to work with them, because I paid good money for them, damnit.

Coopers Brewery Best Extra Stout

2007-02-25T15:15:00.000-05:00

The next Superbowl beer is Coopers Brewery Best Extra Stout. It's imported from Australia, and therefore costs an arm and a leg.
It doesn't taste too stouty, but it does have that bitter stout aftertaste. The aftertaste starts before you even finish swallowing, and lingers for a good long time. Don't drink it after eating anything sweet. Bleh.

The first taste is bright, with a hint of sweet, and lively. It's tangy in a pleasant way, sort of like a tart piece of fruit. It's a refreshing beer, and not as heavy as most stouts. But, since I prefer the sweeter stouts, I think there's room to improve. However... there's a kangaroo on the American bottle, so it gets coolness points.

M: 7
N: 6.5

Pastel Addiction

2007-02-25T11:31:00.000-05:00

If you remember, the last time I posted about pastels, I ragged on them pretty hard. They're messy, blocky, and not made for fine detail. In other words, they make life difficult for perfectionists. Like me, for instance. But after Bugsy, pastels started stalking me. Well, no problem, I thought... I had one sheet of pastel paper left to use, and a set of cheap chalks.

But that wasn't good enough. No, I went and bought a pad of Canson paper and 40 half-sticks of Sennelier. Each half-stick is about an inch and a half long, and costs $1. I've got the pastel monkey on my back, as all those smug pastellists said I would.

So, what I learned this week: It's a lot harder to indiscrimately throw dust everywhere when it costs more than gold. The Sennelier sticks are soft and buttery; the tactile sensation of drawing with them is hard to describe. It's like drawing with high-quality, vibrant sidewalk chalk, but instead of that harsh scraping, you can barely feel the chalk touch the paper. Smooth. But because they're so soft, they get used up quickly. With Bugsy, I'd lay down layers of chalk, rub it in, and let the dust fall. With these sticks, I don't want to waste any of it. So here's part of the background of the color study I just finished:
The tooth of the tan paper shows through because I didn't want to waste chalk. I just dusted lightly over the paper. Another area, this time of the main subject, shows the tooth full, simply because I went over it so many times, trying different colors.
Today's lesson: Art suffers if you think about how much the supplies cost. But are we in the business of being art purists, or are we in the business of being in business?

Oh, and don't ever pick up a pastel stick unless you want to be helplessly addicted for life.

Tap and Bottle

2007-02-18T12:05:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, N and I went to a bar where they had about 3 million beers on tap. Well, maybe more like 54. But either way, at most bars, if you ask for a dark beer other than Guinness on tap, they may have Newcastle, or suggest Killian's. Right.

So, needless to say, we were impressed at the North River Tavern in Sandy Springs, where they have at least half a dozen dark beers on tap. They even had a few of our favorite bottled beers. So between us, we sampled five dark beers on tap. We'd had four of them in bottles before. The differences were interesting. N discusses our experience in detail here.

I'll be rating the beers on tap as their own entities. The four we'd had already were quite different from their bottled brothers. Today's focus: Left Hand Milk Stout on tap. Sound familiar? It should; we rated it here.
Since I gave the bottled version a 10, I can't rate this any higher... but I want to. It's just as tasty as the bottle, with no bitterness at all. It's smooth, sweet, and delicious. It's hard to beat the freshness of a beer that's just been drawn, and I like this one more than the bottle because of that. It also seems a bit smoother.

I'd drive the 45 minutes in a heartbeat for this beer. It's gooood.

M: 10+ (10 bottle)
N: 9.5 (9 bottle)

The Scanner Ate My Shading

2007-02-17T20:42:00.000-05:00

In this modern world of illustration, the final product the artist delivers is often in digital format. Since I am mostly a traditional media girl, this means scanning. And to me, scanning means losing a lot of subtle detail.

Maybe it doesn't have to be this way. But with my digital toolkit, I have problems that make me pull out all my hair to distract myself from the fact that the scanner ate my shading. Again.

On the illo board, the pencils trace a delicate shaded gradient from oh-so-light (I usually do not leave bare paper) to pleasant, deep dark. The scanner reads this beautiful physical effect, gets jealous, and spits mush onto the screen. Perhaps it is trying to get me to hold it tight like I do the pencils, or is getting revenge for all those times the cat violated its space. Until I figure out what's bothering it, mush ensues:
The lightest lights look totally white, although they are ever-so-slightly tinted on paper. The darkest darks are medium grey. If I try to correct this with the scanning software or the Gimp, I can get a nice, deep dark:
But lo! The lights are still very light. Since the lovely light pencil strokes at the bottom have turned dark too, this means I lose the gradient that was so delicate in the mush version. No matter what tools I try, digital tweaking cannot achieve an effect to match the paper.

Granted, your final product must look good when printed, so I tweak until I get the most printable version. It doesn't hold a candle to the original. I think this is a universal problem with reproductions. Someday, the genius nerds of the world will come up with a way to tame my scanner's jealousy, and when that day comes, I will lift up an offering. Maybe I'll burn the scanner.

Bridgeport Black Strap Stout

2007-02-11T12:06:00.000-05:00

One of the beers we cracked open during the Superbowl last weekend was Bridgeport Black Strap Stout. Unfortunately, none of the Superbowl beers were anything to write home about. But neither were the Superbowl Bears, ha ha. *sniffle*
Bridgeport Brewery is in Oregon. They say the name of this beer comes from black strap molasses. Having licked molasses from a bottle once, I can understand why I don't like this beer all that much. (Tasting pure molasses isn't recommended, bleh. If you're going to lick bottles, stick to syrup... or vodka.) This stout sort of tastes like chocolate bread; you know the kind - it has cocoa in it but isn't sweet. Not like chocolate muffins - which are Satan's perfect baked goods of temptation - but more like a chocolate bagel, if you can imagine that. It has a wheaty aftertaste and a small tang. Pretty boring.

M: 7
N: 5

Art Contracts

2007-02-11T11:12:00.000-05:00

This week, I drew up my first contract. I have some potential logo design work, and the client dug up a good contract example from the great vast Internets. I liked the cut of its jib, so I used it as a guide and wrote one for my business. I also created one for fine art commissions.

I haven't put it into action yet, but here are a few things I included in the contract:

Deadlines: How long I have to generate thumbnails, how long the client has to make changes to / approve thumbnails, how long I have to finish the art
Purchase Options: Original, prints, print rights (first print, one-time print, ongoing print, royalties)
Final Product: Original, prints, high-res file
Rights and Usage: Who owns what, my right to display on my website and make my own prints
Copyright
Alterations: I get dibs
Contract Agreement: can be done via e-mail
Termination: If one side or the other doesn't deliver on time, if I croak, etc.
Payment: I require half as a deposit and half when done but before I deliver the final product (i.e. I send a low-res jpg showing the final, they send money, I deliver)

I tried to cover everything that could bite me in the ass later. I used knowledge of the process that I got mostly by example; friends, art boards, and sample contracts online. I also used the Graphic Artist Guild's Guide, which is a great purchase for any artist.

I'll let you know how it goes. Comments, suggestions, additions? Anyone?

On a side note, I varnished two paintings yesterday; one on cheap board-mounted canvas and one on cheap stretched canvas. The varnish made the board warp and the canvas sag on the stretchers. I wonder if this is solvable, or yet another inevitable side effect of buying cheap supplies. People say, buy cheap stuff if you're just starting out! See what the medium is like! Great advice, but after you use the cheap stuff once, you're intimately connected with the reason why it's cheap, and you want better stuff. The problem is, you have a whole set of pastels that you've used once, and what do you do with it?

Oh yeah, I updated my website on Friday. Go visit! www.meglyman.com

Excuses and Fan Art

2007-02-04T10:40:00.000-05:00

Right, so, this week's beer rating is postponed. The thing is, I ran out of beers for which I wrote down comments, and a girl can only drink so many beers a week. I have 35 beers on my list, 23 of which are rated, but only 13 of which have comments. I started rating before I started taking notes.

The good news is that we bought 3 new beers this week: Bridgeport Black Strap Stout, Left Hand Blackjack Porter, and Cooper's Brewery Best Extra Stout. By the time the Superbowl is over, I'll have 3 new fully-commented ratings for you. And no more excuses.

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Speaking of the Superbowl, my team is in it for the first time since I was too small to care. After we moved to Chicago in '86, I became smitten, and all the time between now and then, the Bears have consistently let me down. Now they're going to Superbowl XLI, and although my hopes aren't too high, I'm proud of them for getting this far.

This is my first piece of original Fan Art. I've done things for Star Wars and Samurai Jack, but they've just been copies of stills or promo photos. This I invented on my own. It came to me shortly after it sunk in that the Bears were actually going to win the NFC championship (I was giddy with glee). It took 2 weeks to formulate and execute, and it's my first finished piece of digital art. After many hours the last two weeks, including 15 hours yesterday, it is done. It was hard. My wrist nearly fell off.

To: My favoritest team ever, da Bears
cc: Their loyal fans, at home and displaced
Subject: The Littlest Fan
Love,
Meg

link to a higher-res image: [link]

Guinness Extra Stout and Digital Art Blues

2007-01-27T22:00:00.000-05:00

Guinness Extra Stout is the lesser known relative of Guinness. You know, if Guinness were a tall, fit, handsome movie star, Extra Stout would be his short, stocky, non-famous overlooked brother. Most grocery stores around here have it. It'll be the dark-glassed, yellow bottle-capped six pack next to the Guinness. It is a short beer - the bottles are smaller. It doesn't have that fancy doohicky in the bottle to create the head, either. But it packs a punch.

It tastes just like Guinness (really, big surprise, that), but there is more of that taste in each sip. As if its flavor is denser. It's a bit stoutier, with a tang. I can't access the stupid Guinness website without getting cookies, so I haven't checked, but I think it has more alcohol than regular Guinness. A good beer to go with a meal, especially pizza. Mmmmm, pizza.

M: 6
N: 7.5

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After my in-your-face experience with pastels last week, I was ready for a break. Pastels are a very hands-on medium. After each session, I had beautifully colored dust on my hands, arms, elbows, fingers, face, and under my fingernails. I wore the same sweatshirt each time, and it'll never be the same. My nose-blowing was multicolored. There was dust all over my art table, supplies, lamps, and floor. I'm not sure if it bothered me or not; the jury's still out on whether I like using pastels. But it was enough for one week.

So, I got out my trusty tablet with intent to work on the winoctopus. Then I remembered that I promised to do new stationery for my dad's business for Christmas, which, you'll notice, was a month ago. So I began working on that. The biggest thing I've learned from it (painfully, I'll add): the GIMP is not a good tool for drawing straight lines.

I'm not sure whether Photoshop or some other non-open-source program for Mac or Windows could do it better; no experience with those. I'm a Linux girl all the way. But oy, this project had me wishing for the days when I had access to AutoCAD and Unigraphics. I would have had it done in 1/10th the time.

I could press shift to make the paintbrush tool do a straight line, but there were no detents and the line was faint, more pixels wide than the brush, and would change thickness halfway through. It was so annoying. If I didn't have my tablet, I would have given up long ago to go find new wrists, since mine would have fallen off.

Lesson: Anything with geometry will be done with good old-fashioned pencil, paper, and ruler, then scanned. My wrists will thank me.

Butte Creek Organic Porter and Artistic Courage

2007-01-21T11:45:00.000-05:00

Butte Creek Organic Porter is this week's beer. It hails from California, and reminds me of all the good things about the state - sunshine, rolling hills, and warm evenings. It is, of course, organic, which means they use no pesticides or chemicals to grow the ingredients. Its flavor is sweet, smooth, and crisp, with a light tang and aftertaste. It just goes to show that wholesome ingredients = good beer. It also proves that just because something is organic doesn't mean it has to cost an arm and a leg - it is very reasonably priced, and cheaper than a lot of the beers we've reviewed.
M: 8.5
N: 9

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I'm still working on that pastel piece from last week, but I have no new insights or complaints. So this week I'll wax philosophical.

Artistic courage is a many-faceted part of being an artist that few people discuss. I thought I had a good handle on it, until yesterday, when I made my first sales call. Oy.

The courage I do have, I apply to the works of art themselves. I'm not afraid to waste film, paint, paper, etc. I'm not afraid of an empty piece of paper - in fact, I look at it as a challenge. When something is going through an "ugly" stage, I never for a moment fear that it won't work itself out. And if it doesn't... no big deal. I've learned from the experience and improved myself as an artist.

But then there's the other part of arting - selling stuff. I'm excellent at posting things on the Internets, but lousy at promoting. And having a bunch of people you don't know "favorite" your art or photos is great, but gets you zero dollars. So I must sell myself, and that, I'm afraid of. Yesterday I called up a small store in Laurens, IA, where my family lives and the subject of many of my photos. I asked the owner if she'd be interested in selling photos of local scenes... and she was wonderful, helpful, and a joy to work with. It turned out well, as I told myself it would. But it took a long time and a lot of courage for me to make that call. This part of artistic courage is something I need to practice, and although it probably doesn't come naturally to many artists, I haven't seen much written about it. Anyone have any insights?

Left Hand Milk Stout and Pastels

2007-01-15T15:15:00.000-05:00

Left Hand Milk Stout is a delicious delicious beer. It tastes like liquid milk chocolate. Like chocolate milk, but with alcohol. Like that time we made shakes with chocolate ice cream and Kahlua, only better. Like ordering a tasty chocolate treat at the soda fountain, but beer. Oh so good.

We've tried a couple beers from Left Hand Brewing, and they're all good. My only complaint is that their website requires Flash. Bad web design practice. But this beer could atone for so many wrongs. It's like a get-out-of-jail-free card. And it came with a sticker!

M: 10
N: 9 (Stingy, no? He has given a few 10s... one is on another Left Hand beer)

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I have never before tried soft pastels (I did oil pastels once when I was, like, 8). But after seeing many great pastel works in the WetCanvas wildlife board, I picked up a cheap set of 24 and two giant toned pastel papers. I chose one of my many to-do art projects and got started with my new supplies. And I can't say that I'm enjoying it too much.

Getting used to a new medium takes time. But my main problem with pastels is their chunkiness. I can't sharpen them to a point like a pencil or a paintbrush. The end is a huge square hunk. You *can* sharpen them, sure, but then half the stick has become a pile of dust that you may or may not manage to use before your cat sneezes on it.

I've finished the background by blending (pastels blend very nicely) with tissue paper, q-tips, and a sponge brush. All the dust is either worked into the paper or I've tapped it off. The subject, however, needs detail that's hard to get with a chunky tip. They say you can use Colour Shapers to push the dust into fine lines, so I'll try that... but there's always dust left over. Blow it? Tap the paper? Whatever you do, don't touch it or it comes off on your fingers.

I used the rough side of the paper because some genius put an indelible price tag on the fine side. I think the fine side would have been easier to work with. Also, pastels require a dedicated shirt. I don't think the pigment dust will ever come out of the sweatshirt I'm using. I look like a chimney sweep.

After all that, though, I can think of one good thing to say about pastels - their colors are so very bright if you don't dilute the dust. Just don't breathe on it, ever.

Guinness and Gouache Portrait WIP

2007-01-07T12:03:00.000-05:00

How could I keep a blog about dark beer and not include Guinness? When I was first introducing myself to beer in general, Guinness was the only dark beer I knew. My first pint was an entirely new experience. I won't go into the Guinness details, since most people are likely to know them already, and if not, go here.

Guinness will always have a place in my heart, but after having tasted so many other dark beers, it doesn't stand out. It's smooth, and actually quite bland compared to some. It's a drinkable beer - you can have it with dinner - as opposed to some that are an experience, or a dessert, by themselves. Rating:

M: 7
N: 7

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Gouache Portrait WIP - the last installment, I promise

This is simply a visual step-by-step of my portrait of Grandpa. Other than the toning wash, all the steps show opaque application with very little blending. The background was done with layered washes, dabbing, and a sponge. The illo board I worked on curled up after the first wash, so the photos are a bit distorted. It is also why the first picture includes a beer bottle.

And the final result: link

Stoudt's Fat Dog Imperial Oatmeal Stout and Gouache Portraits

2006-12-24T12:11:00.000-05:00

Stoudt's Fat Dog Imperial Oatmeal Stout is this week's excellent beer selection. It is excellent because there is a fat dog on each label. Also because it is sweet and delicious. Its taste is reminiscent of the perfect oatmeal cookie. One sip and the flavor fills your whole mouth. Swallow and a slight tangy aftertaste fills you with nostalgia, making you long for another mouthful. I can see how it got its name; I could drink these all day and end up 1) drunk as a dog and 2) fat as the dog on the bottle.
Ratings:

M: 9.5
N: 8.5

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Gouache Portraits

The weeks-long activity that I wrapped up last Friday encompasses all my experience with gouache portraits. Here is what I have produced:
I'm fairly happy with it, in that naive-new-to-a-medium (gouache) and -genre (portrait) way, and will probably hate it for its blatant shortcomings once I grow into a good painter. Even now, having learned from the process, there are a few things I would change.

I finally got the likeness right and transferred it to Crescent illo board. It was mounted on thin backing, and as soon as I laid down the toning wash, the board curled up. Also, the wash obscured a few of my pencil lines. Lesson 1: use thicker board. Press harder on transfer.

I mixed up the mid-range skin tones and painted those in. I wasn't careful enough and later found a few spots that were missing paint. Luckily the toning wash showed through (instead of white board). Lesson 2: Mix up more paint than you need, and keep the leftover dried-up mess handy until the very end. Also, keep each mixed color in its own well.

Once I was done, I was planning on blending some of the color "tiles" by softening the edges. I have found a tiny amount of info on the Internets about the gouache "tiling" technique, and thought I'd try it. Instead of nicely blending two adjoining tiles together, all I did was lift up the paint and make a mess. Luckily I learned Lesson #2 early, and had some paint to cover my ass. I still have no idea how tiling works. Lesson 3: Practice techniques before using them for something important. It's hard to cover mistakes in gouache.

I took photos of each step along the way. I'll post those next time... after the holidays. Merry Holidaytime, everyone!

Shiner 97 Bohemian Black Lager and Gouache Underpainting, Part 2

2006-12-17T16:59:00.000-05:00

Most of the beers I've posted have been good. Time for a disappointment. Although it is not a stout or porter, we picked up Shiner 97 Bohemian Black Lager because of the word "black." Some very good dark beers are labeled simply as "black," not stout or porter. But this beer really is a lager, and has almost no dark beer qualities. It tastes just like a light beer, but with heavy undertones. Conclusion: although it might be a good lager (I don't really know), we won't be buying it again.

M: 4
N: 4

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Gouache Underpainting, the Final Chapter

I admit to being a complete newbie when it comes to 1) painting 2) color and 3) portraits. So I really didn't know what I was doing. I chose some colors that I thought would make a good skin tone, and mixed them willy-nilly. I ended up with a color that would look good on a tropical parakeet... but I wasn't going to throw out all that paint. So forgive the ultra-tanned sheen that makes Grandpa look like he's a snorkel instructor in Tuvalu.

I attempted to paint over Left Grandpa. I mixed four values with this shade, but added some blue into the darks for a more interesting contrast. I mixed a few shades of suit and hair color as well. And I painted over.
I forgot to paint the glasses. Anyway, You can see that on the face, the underpainting didn't show through at all. I used opaque mixes for the face, and although the underpainting was a good guide, it didn't do much else. It was great to paint on something other than white, though. On the suit, I used a much more transparent mix, and the underpainting showed through.
Here are some of the techniques I used. You can see the results - not too great. Dry brush looks terrible. Add water and it gives nice texture. Scrubbing an area lifts like nobody's business.

So I learned how to make it work, but didn't much like the results. Lesson: if you make the second layer transparent enough for the underpainting to show through, it tends to lift. Therefore, my actual painting of grandpa will use a watery wash as the underpainting, so I am not painting on white. From this experiment, mostly I learned what not to do.

Terrapin Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout and Gouache Underpainting

2006-12-06T19:46:00.000-05:00

Is it just me, or are these beer names getting longer?

The Terrapin Beer Company is local to Athens, GA, and regularly sends its "limited edition" brews to the local stores. After we first tried Terrapin Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout, we fell in love with it, and were devastated when the stores discontinued it. Well, last week, it was there again! Woo!

This beer was the First Place winner at the Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting in 2005 and People's Choice winner in 2006, and for good reason. It's one of the very best beers we've tried. It's expensive, but delicious. You only get 4 for 8 bucks, but it's worth it. It tastes like a chocolatey coffee and a home-baked oatmeal cookie put together. It has no bitterness and no bad aftertaste. It's brewed with coffee. Mmmm. Therapeutic.

M: 10
N: 9.5

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Gouache Underpainting - Part 1

This was an experiment in underpainting, to learn the dos and don'ts. As such, it doesn't look very pretty. But I learned from it, and I hope you do too. Also, it's too long to post all at once.

My excellent Grandpa passed away when I was in college. He was a great man whose personality and good deeds I didn't fully learn about until people spoke at his funeral. Grandma still misses him a great deal, so I'm paiting a portrait of him for her. Do not tell Grandma or it'll ruin her birthday surprise. Thank you.
I traced Grandpa's bust onto cheap illo board with a light "table" I rigged with a desk lamp, textbooks, and a piece of glass. The outlines were very rough and simply showed the major value areas. Then I painted the values with one hue. For Left Grandpa, I mixed grey-blue and cool green. For Right Grandpa, cool red and warm green. I added white in various amounts to get a total of four values. Neither of these are a very good likeness, but that's fine, since this is a value experiment.
I liked how the values turned out. They showed the form well. Using monochrome values was very useful to me because it's what I'm used to with pencils. Even if I don't use an underpainting in the final portrait, I will use these value studies to help. They were great learning experiences in themselves.

The conclusions: next week!

Red Brick Winter Brew Double Chocolate Oatmeal Porter and the Wacom

2006-12-03T14:10:00.000-05:00

This week: the beer with the longest name ever. Or at least that we've bought.

Red Brick Winter Brew Double Chocolate Oatmeal Porter is the latest seasonal product available at our local Beverage Resort. We weren't terribly impressed. Maybe the name is long to distract the buyer from the beer's mediocrity.

Anyhow, the beer isn't very chocolatey or oatmealy. "Double chocolate" my rollerblading-damaged butt. What's that supposed to mean, anyway? It's got an unpleasant tang that smooth beers don't have, and the aftertaste is bright. Dark beers can have an aftertaste problem that I haven't really encountered with light beers... but the good dark ones avoid it. This one didn't.

M: 6
N (introduced half ratings this week): 6.5

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My new Wacom arrived this week. I am ecstatic.

But first... I have Updated the Website. I have new art, and the cool CrashOctopus hats are on sale. Need a hip holiday present? Visit meglyman.com.

Now that the plugging is over, down to business. The tablet was fairly easy to install. I'm convinced that Linux programmers make things easy for uber-nerds, but for average nerds like me it's always a bit frustrating to do things. Maybe they're ensuring that no non-nerds use it... anyway, I only had an hour of frustration before I got the thing working right; no hair-pulling. And it works beautifully!

I started my first piece of digital art. I was able to sketch, "ink," and start to color it with no problems. It took me forever and a day to get this far:

But I intend to practice to get faster. It will go like this:

N: Shouldn't you be doing X? (X = washing dishes, exercising, sleeping)
M: No... I must practice on my tablet. Practice makes perfect, right?

So, eventually I will finish it and post in on my website. And next week, I will write about underpainting in gouache. Because if I write it down today, I must put aside my new toy and do it, which will force me to finish the underpainting experiment I *need* to do now so that I can get Grandma's painting done in time to frame it and give it to her on Christmas. The end.

Lawson Creek Vanilla Cream Stout and ... Art stuff

2006-11-26T16:08:00.000-05:00

Lawson Creek Vanilla Cream Stout is this week's beer. It's redeeming value is its availability; it can be found in most Kroger stores. And while it is vanilla-ish, its flavor is slightly bitter. Not the sweetest beer. It is quite tangy and has a creamy aftertaste, which can get annoying. But for a fairly cheap, available stout, it's not toooo bad.

M: 5
N: 6

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Art has been neglected this past week due to the holiday and the parents' visit. However, I have a few tidbits to share:

1. My tablet is on its way! It should arrive on my birthday and provide me with much distraction at a time when I can't afford to be distracted. Grandpa's portrait isn't going to paint itself by Christmas.

2. Using a light projector to trace photos is not foolproof. I traced Grandpa's photo with it (to enlarge for the canvas) and it didn't turn out very well. Movement of the projector and the paper didn't help. Also, the photo is larger than the 3x3" square in the projector, so I had to move it around on the photo and try to line it up with what I'd already traced. Lesson: tracing a large photo isn't really any easier than using a good old grid.

3. My ma hasn't painted in a year, and she comes and paints three little postcards, teaching me lots about how to use gouache, which she's never used before. Mas are great.

4. Sculpting with two-part epoxy is fun. I shall post on this later when I have learned more.

That is all.

Bison Chocolate Stout and Gouache

2006-11-19T11:56:00.000-05:00

Welcome from sunny, cool Georgia.

Last weekend N brought home a repeat favorite, Bison Chocolate Stout. The first place we tried this beer was at a Ted's Montana Grill. I gave my beer order first, and N followed with the same, and then every other person at the table ordered one... except the other girl. Anyhow, it was good enough to pick up at the Beverage Resort a few times since then.

Bison Chocolate Stout is fairly unique. Other stouts often make me think, "Tastes similar to stout X." But this one doesn't remind me of any other beers. It tastes very much like dark chocolate. The cocoa flavor is a bit bitter, just like a Hershey's Dark. But it also has a nice bite and tang. Overall, a unique, chocolately, well-rounded beer. Ratings:

N: 8
M: 8

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I use gouache. A little-known type of paint, gouache (pronounced "gwash") is an ornery, interesting medium. It's essentially opaque watercolor. The cheap gouaches are simply watercolors with chalk added, and the good ones just have more pigment (slightly coarser than watercolors). Many artists haven't heard of it, or if they have, they say, "why on earth are you starting with that??" They know that it's a difficult paint to work with... but it can also do amazing things. I chose it because my favorite wildlife painter Carl Brenders uses it. Google him and you'll see what can be done with gouache. I have prints of his hanging in my home that people always mistake for photographs.

But a good artist can do wonders with any medium, so once I tried my gouache I found out just how good Brenders is. Gouache is unfriendly. Handprint.com (a great watercolor website) says that the word "gouache" is derived from the Italian for "mud," which is very fitting.

Gouache can be used like watercolors, in wash form. It gives neat texture effects because of its coarse pigment. It can also be used thick, with only a little water added or straight from the tube. Either way, the most difficult thing about using it is its tendency to lift. Good for correcting, bad for layering. Layering can work, but if you scrub, it'll lift all the layers of paint below and turn into mud. It also gets streaky.

My example: a recent painting of a cat. This photo shows a work-in-progress.
If you're wondering why the cat has only one eye, it's because I'm honoring my sweet little devil, Kali:
Anyhow, notice the ugly, dead-looking strip to the right of the window frame. That had been layered in several washes, initially the same orange-ish color as the rest of the wall, then in blue for shadow. I scrubbed too much. It looked like crap, so I got it wet and lifted the paint off (blue-ish stripe):
I didn't pay much attention to whether the colors I was mixing were both warm or both cool, which added to the mess. The strip to the far right looks OK. The brownish strip between the two looks like mud. Bleh. Here's a view of how washes can work:
The green is a single color wash and the red is a layered mix. Both look fine.

Then there's the opaque applications. These can look good if the paint consistency is right and you do it in one pass (see purple below, notice difference between red wash and purple opaque):
But if you go over an opaque area again with another opaque application, even if it's totally dry, you'll probably get a mess. I used the same color to go over another purple area again, and it turned streaky, lifted some of the paint, and sort of un-mixed (see blue smudge):
This may also say something about my mixing abilities. Anyhow, gouache has this lovely property that the more paint you put on an already-painted wet area, the lighter it gets. No matter how much you have on your brush, painting into a wet opaque area lifts. Like trying to write over a dry-erase mark on a whiteboard. Frustrating.

Lesson: Play with gouache to learn it. Wait for it to dry to touch it up. Learn from mistakes. Don't get frustrated. After all, artists have done fabulous things with gouache. And once you've mastered it, everything else will be easy. You might also be 300 years old by then, but hey.

Young's Oatmeal Stout and Wacom

2006-11-13T18:50:00.000-05:00

First, I must say... GO BEARS!

Now, this week's beer: Young's Oatmeal Stout. To begin, I bring you the following quotation from Wikipedia:

"Oatmeal stout has more body than standard stout, and is smoother, slightly sweeter, and typically higher in alcohol. The flavor is roasted and malty, with almost no noticeable bitterness, and a texture some describe as "chewy" or "silky" due to the oats; oats contribute significantly to the protein content of the beer. Oatmeal stout was, in the past, often recommended as a restorative drink for invalids."

So, that's how an oatmeal stout is supposed to taste. And most that we try do have those good oatmeal-y qualities. But Young's is lacking. It may have body, but the tanginess overwhelms. It is bubbly and bright and not very smooth or sweet. Malty, yes... but that isn't always a good thing. It is slightly bitter, not particularly chewy, and not good for much except washing down pizza.

At least it has protein. And... invalids??

N rating: 5
M rating: 4

p.s. I couldn't find a good link for Young's Oatmeal Stout, but google it and you'll find it. Here's a link for the last beer (I edited that post too): Xingu

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On to the Wacom. I've been tinkering with the idea of trying digital art recently. With my newfound desire to explore color comes a desire to try all different kinds of media, digital included. The itch got worse when I had a dream about drawing on a graphics tablet. So I'm looking into getting one. You know, follow your dreams and all that.

First, I must mention that I've done a few little arty things and photo touch-ups with the GIMP (cool free graphics software) and the mouse. That did not make my wrists happy. In fact, they howled in pain, bewildered by the unwarranted punishment. So if I want to keep it up, I need a tablet. Wacom is a popular brand, so I looked at their website. Great features and all that, quite expensive (as expected), and no Linux support (also as expected). Sigh.

Of course, the Linux community being as rockin' as it is, there is Linux support for all sorts of graphics tablets, Wacom included. It just isn't done by Wacom. It's done by lovable programmers who sit at their desks, basking in the glow of their monitors, with no thanks other than the satisfaction that they've once again thwarted the strangle-hold of the Large Personal Computing Corporations with Free Software.

So here's to you wonderful geeks: thanks for making all my periphals work. I love Linux, and I couldn't do it without you. My search for the perfect graphics tablet continues. <3

The South

2006-11-10T20:26:00.000-05:00

I would just like to note that it reached 81F here today. I would also like to state that it is November 10.

This is how it should be.

That is all.

Sad

2006-11-09T10:59:00.000-05:00

Goodbye, Uncle Oie. I'm going to miss you.

Tequila and Con on the Cob

2006-11-06T21:38:00.000-05:00

This weekend didn't involve any beer. *gasp* There was tequila instead - far too much of it. Back to beer next week.

The 2nd Annual Con on the Cob
COTC an awesome fantasy/art/gaming convention in Akron, OH. We just returned, worn out and happy. I learned a great deal about how art and conventions interact, so I'll bestow upon you my learnings:

1. Mat, bag, & tag your art and layout your panels beforehand. Leave room to move things around, since your panel may be a slightly different size than expected. Also, the available attachment points may be spread out.

2. Bring your own binder clips or S-clips and tape. Bring every supply you think you might need, just in case.

3. If you have a lot of art, fill out the bid sheets before you arrive.

4. Get there early for a good spot (if it hasn't been decided for you).

5. Hanging up a sign that says "prints available" doesn't help much; you must go around telling people. Everybody. Multiple times. When someone says they like your art, say thanks, and oh by the way, I have prints for sale! And have them with you at all times.

6. Give out oodles of business cards.

7. Wearing your merchandise helps sell it.

8. Listen to people's suggestions.

9. Participate in as many art events as you can.

10. Be friendly to everyone.

11. Party and canoodle with other artists.

12. Art trades foster camaraderie.

OK, now comes the bragging. N and I were introduced to miniature painting, which we both enjoyed immensely due to its brainless, soothing nature. He painted two little tiny dudes with teeth:
and I re-painted a larger undead tree model that came with a miniatures starter set I won at the raffle table:
We both entered the miniatures painting contest, and I won best "large size" entry (of two whole entries) and N won best non-human AND best-of-show miniature! He won a highly esteemed Corny award!!

I participated in both the Quick Draw and Iron Artist competitions with many talented artists, including the illustrious Mr. Jeff Easley. My foam flaming cowboy salamander was a flop (literally - it kept falling over), but it gave me a painting idea (props to Andy Hopp for the concept idea... oh, and for organizing the whole kickass convention and all). My CrashOctopus hats were a hit, and I sold some art! I sold two of the three "cute animals that begin with A" originals, as well as prints of said cuteness, and one pencil original. And the kicker - I won the Fan Favorite Corny Award! Everyone who attended could vote on their favorite, and 'twas me by a small margin. I couldn't believe it. It made this convention even more rockin' and I think Sunday was the best day ever. So far. I love you guys!!

And the best part: I got an original "butt print" from groovy artist Tony "Buns Of" Steele. Rock on.

2006-10-30T19:53:00.000-05:00

In the name of all music that is good, please take a moment to thank your favorite deity that Maynard James Keenan did not choose a career in opera.

Xingu and Scanning Slide FIlm

2006-10-29T18:05:00.000-05:00

Let's start with a good one. Xingu is one of my favorites. It's a Brazilian "black beer" that has a light, sweet taste. It's medium-bodied, but doesn't leave that heavy, filmy feel in your mouth like most dark beers. It's very smooth, no tang, and almost no aftertaste (you know, the bitter one that comes with most stouts & porters). Ratings (10 = I'd be happy if I died right now, 1 = nearly yakked):

M: 10
N: 8

I should note that the "I'd be happy if I died right now" sensation wore off after the beer was gone.

(edit: link to Xingu)

***

This weekend has been an adventure in scanning slide film. I bought the fancy scanner that would do it well (Epson 4990 Photo). It's a great scanner. However, the quality of the scanner is only as good as the software that you use with it (and vice versa). So... it came with Photoshop elements, which of course doesn't work in Linux. The program I found, xsane, is a very good substitute. It doesn't auto-crop the slides, but it scans transparencies well. The color correction, however, sucks pumpkins. Big ones. It illuminates the slides fairly well, but everything looks all magenta, so it took hours to correct them all. And there were a few great slides I cut out of my portfolio because I couldn't get the damned scanned file to look like the slide.

The lesson: Ask the lab to scan them onto a CD for you. It's worth the extra five bucks. Believe me. It's nice to know I could do it myself if I had to, but it's just not worth the effort... and they do it better anyway.

Targderwear

2006-10-27T09:11:00.000-04:00

I am never ever again buying unders at Target. Ever. They might say "Hanes," but really, they're Hanes' Target version, and working for GE has taught me how that works.

One month ago I bought 6 pair. All six were individually labeled as the same size. 3 fit, 3 were too small. Of the 3 that fit, one unraveled after the first wash. One sprouted a large hole after 3 washes. That leaves one pair, out of six, that survived one month.

GrrrrRRRRRRRRrrrrr.

What does this have to do with beer and art? It's hard to enjoy your beer and be productively creative when you're wearing defective underwear.

An Ode to Art and Beer

2006-10-26T19:26:00.000-04:00

Beer. No, not just beer. I have to be more specific. Dark beer? Hmm... Slightly better.

The imbibish part of this blog will focus on said beverage. I cannot stand the light-colored swill that passes for beer in this country. N and I drink (and rate) only beers that have the words "stout," "porter," or "dark" in the title and are chocolaty-brown in color. My snooty beer preference I blame entirely on my dad, who thoroughly enjoys dark beers. He also enjoys just about any kind of food put in front of him, and never met a piece of pie he didn't like, and I blame those traits on him, too.

So, beer. N and I buy a new kind every time we visit the Beverage Resort (complete with a waterfall and plastic tropical trees), and their selection changes every time. Each new beer gets a 1 (bad) to 10 (kickass) rating from me and from Nathan, and a brief description, if we aren't too beer-ed up to remember it. Generally, we don't get toasted on this stuff - it's too good to waste by forgetting. And we bring this ranking to you, for your enjoyment of fine dark beer, and to help us remember what we've tried and what we'd rather not buy ever again.

The other half of the blog: art. I have recently discovered that I desperately want to explore the world of art as it exists beyond backgroundless pencil drawings. Within the last 6 months or so, I've bought paper, board, claybord, gouache, paintbrushes, palettes, canvases, and pastels, to name a few, in an attempt to explore the world of color. Henceforth come my mis-adventurous relationship with art, put down in electrons to help both you and me. Here's to my ability to make horrible art mistakes so you don't have to.

Please Hold

2006-07-29T17:54:00.000-04:00

This rambling journal isn't doing anything.

I will pick a focus and try to make this blog useful to more people than just me. Please hold while I choose the topic.

Commitment

2006-07-21T07:38:00.000-04:00

N and I aren’t married, or even engaged. However, we have more shared commitments than you can shake a stick at. As if the shared water, gas, electric, internet, and mortgage payments and the joint checking account weren’t enough, now we’re merging our wireless plans. Now that’s commitment.

Survival

2006-07-19T11:36:00.000-04:00

I'm tired. Very. Therefore, I don't want to go to the gym. Why should I go? Because I'll turn into a lardass if I don't. Why? It's all about survival.

As Quinn has articulated, we have an ass-backwards way to survive. What do we need to live? Technically, only food, water, and shelter from the potentially damaging elements (like weather). Where to get these? Water comes from the tap, and although the water-purifier salesman proved there's a lot of bad stuff in it, I'd still rather drink it than the rainwater that (rarely) sits in puddles in my backyard. Food comes from the garden. However, splitting the daily pickings of 5 slug-eaten berries, 3 black beans, and a tiny pepper between two people isn't going to cut it. So I buy food. Need money to buy food, water, and the land where my garden grows.

So I go to work. Being a supposedly smart and well-educated person, I sit at a desk for at least 8 hours a day. Sit. Type. Mouse. When I get up to pee, my butt is usually numb. My wrists are falling apart because of it. Also, I have to go to the gym and exercise so that I don't become unhealthy and live the rest of my shortened life in pain. Gym and doctor also cost money.
So here's how we survive: we work in a sedentary way for most of the day to get money. We spend money on improving our health at the gym and doctor. We spend money on food, water, and shelter. Does anyone notice the middleman? Anyone?

My plan is to get rid of that middleman. I want to change work-money-survive to work-survive. I'll grow and raise my food. I'll live somewhere the water is clean (good luck with that). I'll build my shelter. I won't need to go to the gym, because my work will not include sitting on my ass all day. Why do we do things the more complicated way, with the middle man?

Don't tell me... I know. And it's depressing.

Training

2006-07-10T12:14:00.000-04:00

In Florida. Yay!

Rat Race

2006-07-07T07:02:00.000-04:00

Recently I have been wondering how people of intelligence put their brains to use. First, do they feel an obligation to society or humanity to use their intelligence? Or is the allegiance to their families, or to themselves? I suppose some don't use it at all. But if I can use myself as a guideline, I'd guess that needing to challenge the mind is a compulsion, and if you don't, you can't even watch TV without getting fidgety and wondering why there isn't anything to DO. But I digress.

Assuming people want to use their brains, how do they fulfill their own expectations? Most people I've encountered in corporate America (admittedly not many) are content lending their brains to the company in exchange for pay and benefits. To them, this fulfills obligations to themselves, their family, and society. But it's so temporary. I am proud to be part of the greater project on which I'm working, as is everyone around me. But in 100 years, who's going to care? It'll be ancient technology by then. Our pride won't fade over the years, but others' respect will.

Why do I care, since *now* is what matters? It makes me feel less reluctant to reliquish my hold on the rat race. Sure, what I do is fun and way better than engineering gear teeth, but the only real reason I keep it up is the compensation. I still have pride in my work, but it will not keep me tied to this lifestyle.

Dusty

2006-07-06T15:02:00.000-04:00

Whew. Back. Back from sorting, sneezing, sorting, petting excessive amounts of hair off the old dog, and sorting. Twas fun. Oakbrook Terrace has the best fireworks EVER.

The dog's left eye is bulging out of its socket, all red, and officially gross. But she's still really cute. Amazing! She can't see out of it, and can't even close it while she's sleeping. So now she reminds me of the cat, who also can only see out of her right eye. Weird.

Coaster

2006-06-29T20:46:00.000-04:00

We had a blast at Six Flags today. Rode all the non-wood coasters. I am definitely getting too old to do that. I felt like crap and had to take a nap afterwards to recover. Granted, part of that may be the standing in the sun in 90-degree high humidity weather. Still, it was worth it. Yay, roller coasters!

Gods

2006-06-26T19:53:00.000-04:00

My goal someday is to combine my gods Dinero and Gouache into one, namely, Gouanero. That just sounds like a shit wrangler, but hey, if the shoe fits...

It's raining again. Yay!

One large ant convulsing on my office carpet equals two hours of entertainment for the cat.

The Sky Loves Us

2006-06-25T16:50:00.000-04:00

It is raining! It's wonderful and humid and cool. The raindrops are fat as garden spiders. I can hear the plants gulping water and going "ahhhhhh." Yay, our new garden won't die!

Also, why do I always always want to paint or doodle instead of doing pencil work that pays? I'm beginning to think I may not be cut out for commissions...

The Felicitous Feline

2006-06-21T19:44:00.000-04:00

The cat is skittish. A loud noise or quick movement will cause her to start and run off, sometimes with a pause to look at the perpetrator with utmost contempt. Maybe she was traumatized as a kitten.

But... there is one step on the stairs to the second floor where she doesn't. It's like that step is an alternate dimension... the Step of Invincibility. When she's on it, not even the loudest, most abrupt, most geez-I-nearly-stepped-on-the-cat-and-killed-it action will make her move, or even flinch.

Cats are weird.

Runway of dreams

2006-06-19T13:19:00.000-04:00

I do my best to distance myself from my job, so that I don't turn into another corporate zombie. I do a fairly good job. But last night I kept waking up after nightmares ridden with anxiety - and they were all about work. Sure, today was a big day (Fred is airborne!), but geez... the two I remember most are 1) sleeping through the whole day, missing it entirely and 2) getting on board to find they'd replaced the monitor, and I had to make sure they weren't going anywhere until I fixed it with my tweaker.

I never got this stressed out over exams...

Noise

2006-06-18T10:47:00.000-04:00

So I try for dozens of hours to get Gallery working on my website. So many people use it and the results look great. So I try and struggle and nothing is working quite right. Finally I figure out that my server has PHP safe mode enabled and Gallery can't work with safe mode. So I e-mail Delta Web Hosting to have them disable it - but they won't. LET'S MAKE IT HARD FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON, SHALL WE? MWAHAHAHA!

So I go to check if older versions of Gallery work in safe mode, only to find that their web page is down. Sigh. Looks like I'll probably have to switch hosting services, since mine is retarded (they also don't allow telnet).

Oh yeah, Happy Dad's Day!

Speaking of which, will someone of the class Aves please mate with that mockingbird already? He sits on the same light pole day and night, yelling in sexual frustration. Someone put him out of his misery. Please.

Convenience

2006-06-16T10:26:00.000-04:00

We are a culture of convenience. In going about our daily activites, there are hard ways and easy ways. We usually choose the easy option. It's rare when there isn't one. In theory, it makes life better, more restful, and more productive.

But what about when choosing the easy path is damaging? Sure, it takes a fraction of the time to drive to the store than to walk, but driving requires more energy, and the energy comes from unrenewable oil rather than renewable food. Does anyone else find it ironic that many of us sit at our desks all day, then pay our hard-earned money to go to the gym to get some activity? It seems to me that this is an "easy" way that's damaging, or maybe more accurately, it's the hard way. Why not just work in your garden to feed yourself? Because cable TV doesn't grow in the backyard.

Our president has just announced the formation of a new marine sanctuary. That's good. But he also has plans to destroy parts of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. That's bad. Why pick and choose? Because the ANWR has oil, and Hawaii does not. It's easy to form a refuge when you're protecting something that doesn't interfere with your other agendas.

It's extremely strange that supporters of the intelligent design theory think their agenda should be taught with equal seriousness as the theory of evolution because, they say, evolution is only a theory. And yet they "believe" in the theory of gravitation with no qualms. The evidence is equally compelling for both, hence their equal scientific classification as "theories." Why not dispute gravitation? Because the bible doesn't have phrases like "And God created man, and man could float."

Oh well.

Junkie

2006-06-14T07:07:00.000-04:00

It's official - I'm a junkie. I'm sore all over, have two slightly swollen ankles, nearly bit off my tongue, and my entire big toe is a mutilated blood blister... but these are mere annoyances. It's so fun. We lost umpteen-million... to one. Yes, we actually scored. Woo! Big improvement over the first game. Plus, I played pretty well until we hit ~70 minutes, cuz with no girl subs, we were dragging. But you can't beat the thrill, the rare brilliant moments of strategy, the race, the feel of the ball on your shoe. I'm hooked... again. Ankle gods help me.

Colored Pencils...

2006-06-12T12:33:00.000-04:00

Don't ever stay sharp. Sigh. Not like I'll get a chance to use them today... why'd I sign up for soccer again? Oh yeah, I thought it was a one-night-a-week thing. Stupid me.

Sore

2006-06-09T07:46:00.000-04:00

Possible Scenario:
Wednesday: play soccer for the first time in a year.
Thursday: be sore.
Friday: be really sore.

Better Scenario:
Wednesday: play soccer for the first time in a year.
Thursday: be sore, but lift weights anyway.
Friday: be less sore than yesterday.

Isn't the body great? If you treat it well, it returns the favor 10-fold. If you treat it poorly, it still tries its best and usually works well enough. It's the most robust machine ever. However, I still think I'm getting too old for this.

Date

2006-06-07T10:24:00.000-04:00

So yesterday was 6/6/06. The world didn't end. Imagine that.

Although the TV news is generally worthless drivel, yesterday was particularly bad, because they kept mentioning the date and how it relates to a passage in the bible, and to movies, and to cults, and to zealots, and to creepy kids... I bet people alive in the years 1006 and 0006 didn't have to deal with all that crap.

2006-06-06T08:11:00.000-04:00

Did you know...

The ant always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.*

What I want to know - who's been getting ants drunk and why wasn't I involved?? If someone got paid to envision and perform this experiment, I'm in the wrong profession.

*http://www.weird-websites.com/justweird/strange-animal-facts-weird-animals.htm

Homeowner Tip #1

2006-06-05T17:37:00.000-04:00

Make sure your dryer vent isn't clogged. Check regularly.

Symptoms: damp clothes, little or no lint in the trap.

Possible result: fire, and mild irritation when you put on damp underwear.

Challenge: crawling through the attic in 120 degree sauna-heat (may want to save this one for winter), plowing through mountains of fluffy irritant-laden insulation to find where the big silver tube connects to the outside vent. But it's worth it when you don't have to run your dryer 3 times to get dry socks.

Rain

2006-06-04T16:45:00.000-04:00

Is June allowed to be 52F and rainy? In Boston? No, can't possibly be... unless you happen to be on vacation in Boston for two days, in which case it's beautiful and sunny (as it should be) for weeks before and after those two days.

We come back still slightly damp to a beautiful sunny 80F day here in Georgia, water the garden, and it promptly clouds up, rains for 10 seconds, and quits. Like usual. Good thing we watered.

Nesting

2006-05-30T20:21:00.000-04:00

We have a cardinal nest in our yard! It's in a small tree, at eye height. I think it's the same pair that got through building an entire nest on our porch before they realized that the big ugly mammals come out there every day. So they moved to the tree, which the big ugly mammals only pass every other day. I walked by it with the hose today, yelling to N about the mockingbirds that are putting holes in our garage, and the mama cardinal flew off in a huff and yelled at me for the next half hour. I am properly chastized, and will no longer walk by yelling about anything, since I can't be sure if it was the noise that offended her or the subject matter.

2006-05-29T15:22:00.000-04:00

Finally, a weekend of productivity. Woo.

Asymmetry

2006-05-26T09:44:00.000-04:00

Found out today that my left leg is 1/4" longer than my right. Hmm. Wonder if that's natural, or has to do with me breaking all those bones in my right foot?

Masochism, or Fun?

2006-05-24T19:17:00.000-04:00

I thought I'd given up soccer. It kept hurting me, resulting in jammed fingers and ankles that are twice as old as the rest of me. Haven't played since I moved a year ago. (It's been a whole year? Really?)

But I just signed up for a league. I'm paying money to do it. I must be addicted; there's no other explanation. Soccer junkie.

Also, I found out today that having an ex-Marine drill sargeant yell at you while bench pressing makes you work a lot harder. Now my muscles hurt way more than usual. Yay. I wonder if I can rent his services every time I lift...

Evening of Weird

2006-05-23T20:27:00.000-04:00

I imagine, with dismay, the faces of the people I work with if they knew that the height of my frustration today was expressed with the following phrase: "Damnit, why don't I have any pictures of aardvark feet?"

Not Enough Time

2006-05-23T07:33:00.000-04:00

I can't blame the job. Sure, I have to work extra hours sometimes, but that's OK with me. It's a great job, pays well, good benefits, and keeps me interested. But once it's over, there just aren't enough hours in the day.

Arting is hard. Fitting it into spurts of 1.5 hours after dinner and before bed makes it harder. I just want to start in the morning and go all day. But I can't, not even on weekends, because of the chores.

Cut into working out - no. The older I get, the more spoiled my body becomes. It can no longer tolerate with grace a half-pizza before bed. If I don't work out, I get more tired, punchy, and hungry for crap food. Work out, crave chicken. Don't work out, crave ice cream. Hmm. Health is way up there on my priority list, just after money, since I'm stuck with this body for a while.

Cut into sleep - maybe. But it couldn't last long; when I'm short on sleep, my mind starts spacing out. If I'm running on only a few hours, then in the afternoon I'll start losing chunks of consciousness. My eyes are open, but my brain is out to lunch. I guess it's making up for all those luscious hours of sleep during which it would have gotten its usual allotment of blanking out. Still, it's a technique I could try... Beware of the sleep-deprived woman with gouache under her fingernails, coming to your area this Friday afternoon.

Moot Controversies

2006-05-21T16:44:00.000-04:00

Saw the Da Vinci Code. OK movie, certainly not Tom Hanks' best, and Ian McKellen, as usual, stole the show.

Seeing the movie reminded me of the fact that the novel stirred up so much controversy about the "Truth." There are several reasons that I think this novel and movie are not controversial. First: It's fiction. Second: Even if a living relative of Mary M. could be proven with DNA, there's no way to connect that to Jesus, since we're lacking his DNA. Third: So what if there is a descendant of Jesus? To me, that doesn't suggest anything about his divinity or lack thereof. According to what did get in the Bible, God had a son, so why couldn't his son have a heir? Some say Jesus was divine, and so exempt from the flesh and its associated temptations. But he was born, died, ate, slept, defecated, and performed the general body functions required for life. Why not reproduce? Why does that one act exempt him from divinity? I don't get the issue. Of course, I'm not very impassioned about the divinity of that particular person, so maybe I'm too distanced from the issue to let zeal get in the way of reason.

Could Be Worse

2006-05-19T08:41:00.000-04:00

I think I will adopt this as my art motto. Actually, I live most of my life by that motto. Helps me stay sane through frustration, despair, and testing. OK, maybe it doesn't really help with that last one, since it isn't true...

Pustular

2006-05-19T06:43:00.000-04:00

Don't ever ask anyone how their canker sore is doing, because you may get the response above.

Banana

2006-05-18T18:38:00.000-04:00

This morning, my breakfast was accompanied by a banana that had just passed into the land of Ripeness by crossing its northern border, the river Greenish. Had I not interrupted its journey, it would have continued heading south, developing ever-enlarging freckles from exposure to the sun. Eventually, it would have melted into a black puddle of odiferous goo, so I rescued it from a fate worse than death. Really.

Testing... testing... testing... tessss... tinnng...

2006-05-17T09:58:00.000-04:00

How could I possibly have been naive enough to think it wasn't going to get any worse? How could I have thought it would be slightly organized or mildly reasonable? How could I have expected to do actual testing every time I get dressed up for it? Not that I mind.. the flight suit is comfortable, although the boots leave something to be desired.

Finished another Aku last night. Want to start another. Why must I keep wanting to paint things I sholdn't sell? Learning lots about brush control, gouache consistency, and straight lines. Oh, and how to cover up mistakes. =)

Wanderers Guild

2006-05-15T20:49:00.000-04:00

The beach party and business meeting was a blast. The camaraderie and friendships alone are worth joining the WG for, let alone the cool art and writing. Go Wanderers Guild!

RRRRG

2006-05-10T07:58:00.000-04:00

Sometimes life hates me. What can you do but slog through it until vacation? And repeat?

Stick Driving

2006-05-08T20:55:00.000-04:00

N let me drive his brand-spankin-new car. Woo!

I drove stick once before - thanks, Stu, for the lesson. Now I'm really going to learn how to do it. It's not too hard, just need to get the feel of the clutch. Clutch? What is this "clutch" you speak of?

We tooled around the parking lot and I didn't hit anything. He let me drive home. It went fairly well. As N said, "we're still alive and the car is in one piece." Success!

Yareeee

2006-05-06T16:06:00.000-04:00

We are now a two-Toyota household. And mine's bigger, with a whopping 4 cylinders and 1.8L engine. And I get the worse gas mileage now.

No more red gas-hogging beast, yay! Sure, our first date was in it, but it leaked all over the garage floor, made funny noises, its stereo volume could only be increased, and its huge doors were the bane of my dent-free existence. And now I can walk to the garage-house door without brushing up against a long-snouted, dirty car.

Yaris means "spear" or something in Japanese. Let the short-nosed "spear" jokes begin!

Endless Amusement

2006-05-05T09:26:00.000-04:00

Church sign: THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD. WHO'S YOURS?
Me: I'm not a sheep.

How to Make Money

2006-05-04T17:05:00.000-04:00

Every time I see those "bling" rims, I am astounded anew at the propensity of our society to buy useless material things. Not only will they buy it, they will pay exorbident percentages of their hard-earned* paycheck on it. WHY?

A conversation would go something like this:
Me: You spent money on that. (Points at rims)
Random Bling Guy: Yes.
Me: That.
RBG: Yep.
Me: WHY?
RBG: It's cool.

This is my best guess at a reason. But I need a better idea of the real reason, because if I figure out why people spend tons of money on worthless crap, then I can get rich doing it. The best I've come up with yet is a kitty litter scoop with smaller holes, because let's face it, the cat pee never stays in that nice little clump they show in commercials. It breaks into itty bits of wet litter that are many times larger than one grain, but small enough to fit through the holes in any existing commercial scooper. But I haven't had the gumption to fabricate one yet, likely because the prototype would require a soldering iron.

* This is a guess. It could be easily- or non-earned money, but hard-earned is much more grievous.

Multiple Personalities

2006-05-03T12:21:00.000-04:00

It occurred to me today that while I know pretty well who I am, there's no way I could define it, in words or otherwise. I'm sure everyone else has this problem to some degree, except perhaps the people who have no clue who they are but think they do and describe themselves in a few sentences.

I used to think there was the true "me," and all the other "mes" were variations on a theme, modifying myself to fit the circumstances and company. The true me was the alone me - perhaps because I don't have talk to myself. Now I'm thinking that "me" is the conglomerate, clumsy balance of all the subtle shades of me. None is truer than the other. Some shades I like better than others, but they aren't truer because of that. And one would potentially go insane trying to describe or even list all the shades, much less their interaction.

In that light, one could not use the excuse "I wasn't myself" anymore. You are always what you are. What you do shows how you worship, despite the words you use to describe your religions.

This all came about because I don't much like the interacting-with-people-at-work "me," having to exchange pleasantries and pointless small talk with people I don't know and with whom I have nothing real to talk about. If I worked somewhere else, where the only people around were my coworkers, that'd be great. But every day here I see faces I've never seen before, and they inevitably mutter "hi" or ask how I'm doing. I doubt they care, but I feel obligated to answer in a reciprocately uncaring "fine," lest they be offended. I suppose it smoothes things over for everyone, but I find it unnecessarily stressful. Sometimes it would be more convenient to be invisible - imagine the stressless bliss and the hilarious things you'd get to see. Well, I see hilarious things all the time, but they're mostly in my head.

Web Design is Hard

2006-05-02T09:10:00.000-04:00

Sure, anyone can type a few HTML tags and make a simple website, but you want multiple easily-updated pages, oy. Maybe I'm hardheaded, but I'm not going to spend money on a top-of-the-line web design program, even if I have to do the coding myself. Besides, Linux stuff is generally free software, and although they have some good tools out there, nothing does exactly what I want. I can't complain. But I sure am frustrated. I'm starting to think that web designers aren't overpaid. Maybe if I learn enough and like it, I can contract my services... hmm...

Practice Air Shows Rock

2006-04-29T15:27:00.000-04:00

What's even cooler than going to a free air show and watching the Blue Angels perform? Going to the practice airshow the day before. Why?

1. No traffic
2. You get a lot closer to the runway
3. The Angels come screaming 200 ft. over your head
4. No traffic
5. You don't have to listen to the announcer
6. You can sit in an air-conditioned car - if you have a ramp pass
7. You can see fighters at 15K ft. against a sunny blue sky, whereas today was cloudy
8. You can see the wings flex and the condensation form during those gut-wrenching turns
9. Afterburners
10. No traffic

Aku, My Hero

2006-04-28T07:26:00.000-04:00

Cartoon villians aren't supposed to be unbearably adorable or make grown women giggle. Cartoons more than real villians, I suppose, but still...

Aku is adorable and dreamy, and unequivocally my favorite villian. I like him better than Samurai Jack. Someday Jack will get Aku, and all will be right with the world... but until then, I will giggle girlishly at the green, red, and black villian that has captured my heart.

I must paint him. Again. And again. My fan art has never before left the realm of Star Wars, so I'm a bit trepid... but also excited. I need to practice gouache on some subject or another, so why not him?

They Fodded My Car!

2006-04-25T20:58:00.000-04:00

Funny story...

Ever since I took my beautiful car in for its 30000 mile checkup, it's been squeaking. I thought maybe it was some new thing they installed, but after 4000 more miles, it was still going on. A coworker who is insanely knowledgable about an insanely huge number of things came to visit last week. He said the sound was a belt, and it shouldn't be doing that.

Took my car in today, needed a new belt and tensioner. Had to wait 2 hours, but it was still under warranty, yay. Left feelin' fine.

Driving home from work, I heard strange car noises. I glanced at the guy in the old minivan behind me, thinking "wow, he's got a noisy vehicle." The problem is, he turns right and I turn left... and the sound turns left too. Hmm. Rattling. I think, "Did they leave a wrench in there? I'd be funny if they did. FOD, ha ha." After a stop sign on a hill, it got worse. I pulled into the empty Haitian church parking lot, left the engine running, and popped the hood. Sticking my head in, I find the belt noisy again, rrg.

Then I see it. A flashlight that looks sorta like a cop's radar gun. On the new belt. I pull it out in disgust and throw it on the ground. The belt is now quiet. The idler has a nice new shiny streak in it. I pick up the flashlight, which is incidentally still on, and turn it over. It's only half-there. The 1/2" thick rubber structure has been totally obliterated by the belt rubbing against it. The belt apparently didn't feel that was sufficient, though, and also tore into the circuit board, leaving two wires naked and flattened. It tried to eat a capacitor too, but that held up.

I call the dealership, they say... come back, let's have a look. I gave them back their flashlight, and they give me an impromptu coupon for a free oil change (written on the back of a business card). At least the new belt didn't get damaged...

Today's Rant

2006-04-24T19:54:00.000-04:00

The Doc said my wisdom teeth were healing fine. Great. When do they stop hurting?

I spent a good deal of time weedwhacking after work. I love weedwhacking. There's something very satisfying about whacking, pulling, or otherwise destroying unwanted plants. It's sort of sadistic, I know. My only excuse is that my dad pulls weeds with a vengeance and taught us to do it at an early age.

Well, the GrassHog and I got at least a dozen mosquito bites, from those lovely blue-with-white-stripes she-vampires that love our yard. Sigh. First of the season, too, so they swelled up and look like raisins.

And now I have to figure out how to get my outgoing e-mail to work. It's been befuddling me for months, but now that I'm in Linux, I need it to work. I musta spent too much time last week worshipping the orange-wire-instrumentation gods and not enough with the SMTP gods.

Live from Linux

2006-04-23T12:05:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, amidst promises of free software, I successfully installed Linux on my unsuspecting Gateway. Aside from the fact that Ubuntu seems to be warring with my wireless card, it's pretty nifty! I had trouble installing my scanner, since it's a new model, but the great Linux online helpers fixed that for me. I also can't get stuff from Money2002 ported over... but Nathan found a way around that. Incidentally, he's my Linux hero. I never would have tried it if he hadn't suggested it, tried it first, and helped me install everything. In return, I'm doing his laundry and cooking his lunches this week.

Now off to rollerblade.

The Tornado Siren Quandary

2006-04-21T13:08:00.000-04:00

I had trouble falling asleep during a storm last night because of the storms 2 weeks ago. Those storms produced not one, but two tornados in my county, and other than a few half-awake minutes going "fzqbh?," I slept blissfully through the entire thing. I woke up because the wind was noisy, thought I maybe heard a siren, told myself to stop scaring myself, and slept soundly again.

This, after 4 years of living right across the street from one of those blasted sirens. Every time it stormed, I'd brace myself (for hours at a time), waiting for it to go off. It was so loud I couldn't think. The worst part was the waiting. It's very stressful sitting on the edge of your sofa or lying in bed, waiting for the moment when the silence is suddenly shattered by the ear-piercing wail. Adrenaline flows. I'm surprised I didn't give myself a heart attack.

So which is worse, not hearing the siren and maybe getting blown away blissfully in your sleep, or jittering through dozens of false alarms and giving yourself a stress-induced heart attack?