e v i l _ b l e n d e r

Oh, where would we be without you LOL...

I can't live without my daily fix of lolcats, and now I don't know how I've lived without some lolrobots.

Brilliant!

Thanks, boing boing!

Posted by vashremix at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OK - nice toys.
Kind of wish I was 4 years old again - and someone filled my room with these:

http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/001164.php

CUBORO.
fun.

Posted by vashremix at 05:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

very funny!

from: http://xkcd.com/c149.html

Posted by vashremix at 06:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was listening to NPR this morning, as you'll usually find me doing on the weekends. As I laid in bed drifting between sleep and consciousness.. I believe I was listening to a show about religion - and I heard a fellow offer advice that I thought was rather insightful.
He said we celebrate together, and mourn alone. I'm not exactly sure why that matters, but sitting here now, it still resonates for me.
He felt that jazz taught him that, that we need to simultaneously exist in two different states. Alone, and part of a group.

Things seem to turn ugly when you try and mourn together. It's time to set aside the sorrow and simply try to celebrate together... It's strikingly similar to what we all want isn't it? Perhaps I need to wake up more - because I'm realizing that I'm still not invigorated, and alive yet.

It's time to be happy with each other.

Posted by vashremix at 09:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I just bought a 2001 Honda VT750 Shadow ACE Deluxe... I finally got it delivered on Saturday. Got my permit on Wednesday - gotta head to the DMV again and get it registered and put some plates on it.

It is a good looking bike, and a bit lighter than I had expected. I was test driving it the other day, and at first I was worried I was going to tip over. But after a couple of turns, it all started coming back to me - I thought to myself, 'it's like riding a bike!' And then realized how silly that sounded.

I don't think I'll regret purchasing it - although I have concerns about how much money it was - I mean, it was a great deal, but think of all the other things I _could_ have gotten, and now cannot. I guess if I freak out about the money and start regretting the purchase, I'll just turn around and sell it.

Live and learn as they say!

Posted by vashremix at 05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OK - got to share this with everyone, cause the video for it just made my day.

While Julia was in Japan, she bought me a can, that I'm to water, so a plant will come out, and have a message written on it.
Well... I've been watering it, and it just sprouted through overnight!

Check out the website for the product:

http://www.takaratoys.co.jp/ma-mail/

There is a _fantastic_ movie for it that explains it all... except in singing children's voices (in Japanese)... so I know nothing more than I knew before, except that these are very happy beans!

Perhaps I'll post a picture of my plant! (mine is sponsored by 'hello kitty')

It looks like a tiny little audrey doesn't it?

Who knew a plant could be cute!

Posted by vashremix at 02:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

well, they've updated movable type for me - so I'd better install it. I upgraded to Tiger over the weekend... finally. I had some dificulty moving my email - but that was because I'd upgraded to tiger, downgraded to 10.3, and just now gone back to 10.4. After some long fiddling email is now back to normal.
I tried making the css on the site look nicer... but clearly I fouled SOMETHING up! It's back to it's default. Oh well. It's not like this site makes me money... or anyone reads it for that matter.
I've decided to purchase a sound I/O device for my mac, and that will let me use my kaos pad w/ my computer music. So I'm going to do that sometime soon.

Posted by vashremix at 05:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Photos of Hurricane Katrina via flickr

normal people pictures:

http://flickr.com/photos/darrelf/38467269/in/photostream/

http://www.nola.com/hurricane/photos/gallery.ssf?cgi-bin/view_gallery.cgi/nola/view_gallery.ata?g_id=3661

Hope everyone's OK.

Posted by vashremix at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OK ---
My mate Bryce used to do these sorts of things when we were in high school. I never could really follow his explanations of how it worked... and have no idea where he learned these sorts of things back then. I don't even think the internet was a twinkle in anyone's eye at the time. But that's neither here nor there...

Pen Tricks.

Who knew?

This seems like the perfect kind of thing to fiddle with during uncomfortable situations... or just while sitting at a table... impressing the ladies! [cough cough] sorry... you couldn't here my reference to Napoleon Dynamite in the tone of my voice.

Which reminds me, I'm not sure I can spend another day without owning the new action figure. Napoleon.
Mission accomplished!

Go cougs!

Posted by vashremix at 12:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm not sure I ever fancied myself very smart with words. I have rather enjoyed some word games though. Something tells me that Julia might like this site - but you'll have to use firefox on the mac, as safari doesn't seem to work.

Language Is A Virus

(from 43folders)

Poets, dadaists, and word nerds: Rejoice:

Posted by vashremix at 09:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've just downloaded ecto again... I wish it would work with this... for some reason it keeps telling me that it can't download my files from the server. Confirm I put in the correct user name and password... did that - no joy.

It's too bad too - I'm kind of sick of using the web interface to Movable Type.

ecto was nicer when I tried it out before -- now I'm just ticking down it's 15 day time limit again getting nowhere.

I take it all back! I fired off an email to the developer, and before I had time to even look for a reply - I got a reply with the fix... and it was something mis-configured on my server! So BIG thank you to ecto, and it's developer. Maybe I'll actually use it enough to justify paying for it!

Posted by vashremix at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wow, more dreams. Very weird ones last night. I'm not sure how to describe them. Some kind of capture the flag game that was done vertically up a cliff between my team and the football team from high school - who showed up at the prom in their football jackets and greasy hair.
The antagonist was Josh Davis - I think that's what his name was. It's funny to see someone from 13 years ago in a dream, and suddenly be every bit as intimidated as if you were back in High School again.
I did mock his hair cut though. That was unlike anything I would have done in high school! :) He had a greasy mullet going. pretty funny now to look back and see how silly he looked.
He was the bees knees for the girlies though. They thought he was something else. He was always mean to me though. So I never much cared for him.
I wonder what he's up to now. Wonder if being the star basketball player paid off big for him? Somehow I doubt it. Bullies seem to make great cops though. Or criminals. Maybe he sells stocks on Wall Street. Truth is though - I don't really care what he does now.
I just find it interesting that he was in my dream last night. And of all things - cheating.
Perhaps it was the book I was looking at yesterday in the bookstore - explaining the abundance of cheating in American society. Showing how our American 'have it all' culture essentially expects us to cheat in order to get ahead. A pretty interesting read. Perhaps I should have bought it to spend more time with the idea.
It did manage to make sense some of the experiences I'd been through. So for that it was useful.
A cliff? at a prom? with guns? What in the world was I thinking about last night?!

Posted by vashremix at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ChangeThis :: How To Be Creative

Hugh MacLeod MacLeod, an advertising executive and popular blogger with a flair for the creative, gives his 26 tried-and-true tips for being truly creative. Each point illustrated by a cartoon drawn by the author himself.

If you've ever felt the draw to do something creative but just haven't been able to pull it together, you'll love this manifesto.

Yeah, I've been there - I would imagine everyone has at one time or another. I think if you don't find yourself there at times, you're not really alive.

I enjoy reading things that explain abstract ideas. How to be creative. How to feel better about yourself. Am I a self-help junkie? Perhaps at times I am. But you'd be missing out if you don't take a look at the above "book". Hey, it's a FREE pdf file for crying out loud. There's no excuse!

Besides his blog is one I really admire. I know he works in the same industry as me! :)

Posted by vashremix at 12:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'll admit it... I have no idea why this is the case. I have so many dreams about trains. I'll often be riding on a train - one that's got 'issues' and people can't get to where they are going as quickly as they want to. But the trains never look like the subways I ride or the commuter trains I ride. They're nicer inside. The stations are places I've never been. The tracks are often under construction, or falling apart.
Last night I was taking pictures out the window - and the window actually opened so I was able to get great views of stations and buildings and factories as we rode by. I took tons of pictures with my lomo cameras. I even dropped the film off for development. I tried to purchase a peppermint patty 'fun size' for 15 cents but it was 16 and I didn't have the extra penny.
But what about these trains?
Why am I always traveling? Why do I get 'lost'? and why can't I find my way around some of the bigger stations? the tracks change and trains arrive on different ones than they seem like they should.
The views are beautiful on the train. Of course, beautiful to me is often rather industrial. I love seeing the beams that hold structures together. Like bridges. They fascinate me in real life. In my dreams they don't cease their fascination.
I know that I've been thinking about my lomo cameras lately - and wishing I was taking more pictures with them. I think they're incredibly cool. I figure that is why they were in the dream... but the train...
always different trains, and different train rides, and different locations, and places I've never been, but am somehow expected to know, and when I don't think about where I am I just get to where I'm trying to go - but when I stop and think, I realize I have no idea where I am.
I'm usually with someone else. Sometimes it's Julia, sometimes it's people I don't know in my real life - but I'm clearly good friends with them in my dream.
I wonder who they are?
Why the trains? What do trains mean?
They take me from one place to another... that seems far too simple though. A journey - but I wonder why my internal fascination with them is. Dreams are either my brain trying to tell me something, or a piece to a puzzle I'm currently trying to figure out usually. Sometimes I've thought they were some form of inspiration - but I'm having trouble believing that lately. Of course, that doesn't mean it's not true... It's just not something I'll look to first for the answer.
In my real life - I would like to go to where theese trains take me.
I'd like to see these places, and wander around like I am in the dream. The cities are marvelous and enormous. Full of life and vibrancy. Full of life.

Posted by vashremix at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OK - how could I _not_ post this link! Before you do anything else, you've got to take a look at possibly the world's best stereo... ever.
I don't know how I can live knowing that it exists somewhere not near me.
Perhaps something about the 50's, 60's sci-fi look of things just looks like the future to me.
On another note I'm now officially addicted to listening to audio blogs.
For a couple of weeks I was addicted to NewsFire for a while now. It's a fantastic RSS reader for the mac. I know there's also Net News Wire, and some others, but I just like how NewsFire looks. One thing it doesn't seem to do though is deal with podcasts well.
What's a podcast? Just a short audio message attached to the RSS feed.
At first I thought this was fluffy, silly stuff. Turns out though, now I really enjoy listening to some of the feeds. Engadget has a good cast about every week or so. And I was just listening to some iTunes Apple Scripts casts and totally dug it. Which surprised me, because I thought -- why on earth would I want to _listen_ about something technical. Turns out it's even easier for me to understand something when I hear it than when I read it.
Not sure why... just seems to work that way.
So, now I think I can't get enough pod casts. More funny please! that's the important part - enought ranting and raving and hating is on regular radio. I'm sick of that crap. Hook me up with funny please. Not morning show-stupid humor, just funny. I don't need to be shocked - hit me with a funny story, and I'll be very quick to laugh.

Posted by vashremix at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have seen the future, and it is Madagascar Institute. Check out the Broadway style movie... sheer brilliance.
I often sit around and wonder why people don't do this kind of thing - and then I go and find someone who indeed does just this.
WOW.
All I can say is wow.

I think I need to join the institute.
Besides, the danger level looks extrordinarily fun.

Posted by vashremix at 12:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OK -- Instant Messaging over wifi. Doesn't sound too exciting does it? Now do it without the computer and it's keyboard. Mmmmmm.... sounding better? How about Zip It?
Funny name - neat idea.
_I_ couldn't stand the idea of owning one - but that's cause I hate to communicate via IM - unlike the rest of the world and my friends - but just looking at this causes me to re-think my position.
I still want a Palm that's mostly keyboard like that - but I might just buy this as a preasant for someone I know who can't stop IMing.
Hard to know if I should feed the habit though :)

Posted by vashremix at 11:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ah, refreshing....
stumble on over to submedia and have some fun. It's rather like a big old F-U to everyone. Punk out.

It's gotten me wondering how possible it _would_ be to run my car on vegetable diesel fuel. nah, I'm still waiting for hydrogen powered cars please.

Posted by vashremix at 05:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Perhaps the 'leftovers' category ought to be re-named. Perhaps I just need a new category - something like PE#1 or fight the power - for now leftovers will suffice.
Was watching PBS the other night - how strange! I was missing out on the broadcast's Prime Time hour - how dare I?! Managed to see half of this show: frontline: is wal-mart good for america?: watch the full program online | PBS
It was surprising information. Follow the link - watch it online for yourself.

I remember Frontline doing another show about marketing and entertainment companies (all 4 of them(?)). Can't quite find the link to IT online though. Maybe someone can help me out there.

EDIT --> check out The Merchants of Cool" do it before you think you know anything about what's hip and dope in the world today. But since it's 2 years old - just insert a J-LO, Brittnay, (either) Simpson girl. The companies haven't changed _that_ much!

So over at engadget on the ipod cast they had some suggestions on how to 'fight the powers of walmart,' or beat them at their own game.
1-don't buy anything that's not at their 'low price'
2-use a credit card that offers some sort of percentage back
3-don't walk in the door of walmart

For me it's always been #3 --- previously to my dismay actually. There's not a walmart here for miles, or I guess if I was willing to drive an hour away I think there's one in Poughkeepsie. But I'm not willing to drive an hour for almost anything. Not with the price of gas as it is anyways.
I had always felt I was missing out on some really great secret as I'd see walmart's in WI, UT, or VI - they were GI-NORMOUS! You can get anything there... anything. So, when I was back at home, I longed for a Walmart near my house.
Well, now I'm glad there's NOT one near by.

Thank goodness businesses only have "the consumer's" best interest in mind!

Posted by vashremix at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I hate spam.
I know I'm not alone in this hatred. In fact I know _everyone_ hates it. I can't think of anyone who doesn't. I would think even the makers of Cialis would be embarassed by the amount of pimping that all the spammers do for them. Of course, I'm not sure which is worse - the spam or those TV commercials! 'when the time is right...' give me a break.
When will there be _truth_ in advertising? 'too old to get it up?...' Somehow the FCC might object to the truth. hmmmm.... what can you do? nothing!
So, the spammers got more clever and can now spam Movable Type comments.
Guess it was time I got Movable Type updated. Now I'm not really loving the templates... guess some tweaking is in order.

Posted by vashremix at 04:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ah, the joys of NYC. Hurry up and eat! Get out of here!
But hey, what you gonna do. I just eat quickly thankyouverymuch. Guess It's a bit of of sign theme for now. I took a couple of others on the way to the train. Yes, you heard me right... I broke the law and photographed _inside_ grand central terminal. Of the trains no less. Guess when I get my butt dragged into court for committing terrorist-like actions they can quote my blog. I still hate seeing all the army folks patrolling my commute every day. "The land of the free," they say. I'm just glad I don't live in a police state. Can't wait to see what the city's like during the Republican National Convention. You just know it's going to be a mess. Can't wait.

Saw a good movie tonight. "The Corporation" was a very interesting movie. I don't know I agree with the "hilarious" review.

Want to read something fun? Check out this juicy bit from corpwatch.org

"Another media triumph Rendon brags about was the manipulation of media during the actual conflict. "If any of you either participated in the liberation of Kuwait City ... or if you watched it on television, you would have seen hundreds of Kuwaitis waving small American flags. Did you ever stop to wonder how the people of Kuwait City, after being held hostage for seven long and painful months, were able to get hand-held American flags? And for that matter, the flags of other coalition countries? Well, you now know the answer. That was one of my jobs," he told a National Security Conference in 1998."

Oh boy. Don't you just love life?

Posted by vashremix at 12:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's amazing to me what some small things can do for a person. Good things make such a difference. Niceness... what more could you ask for?
Thank you Julia. I love your poem.
It means so much to me, and you mean the world to me.

Posted by vashremix at 12:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

well - time to get this thing back to life. Moved a hard-drive's image over to a new(er) computer - lost some prefs... got to get ecto back working again.

Something will happen soon. I can just feel it.
I'm hoping to spend more time being creative - and less time being frozen. I just picked up a fantastic book called Developing digital short films. It's been a great read so far - and in some ways has made me feel like I'm back in film school. I felt way more creative then. Perhaps it's just the advertising business that bums me out. No knocking JLH - I mean she's cute and all - and this was even fun to cut. But the politics involved... enough already. Shouldn't name names now should I?

So, for giggles I think I'll start posting some of my photoblogs. Starting today. Ouch, I say.

Well - now that's a post that can help get things kicked off now isn't it?
See you soon.

Posted by vashremix at 11:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I like Movable Type just fine. I think it's a pretty simple way of getting info from my brain to the web relatively quickly. I wish there were some sort of auto-html-ing it would do for me. Apparently it would if I were on windows. I try not to be as much as possible. Nothing wrong with them... I just don't care for them. For now I'll keep posting off of my mac, until I get around to trying out linux (again) on my PC. There is an app for the mac called ecto that looks like it will help me out in the mean time. I've never liked trying to remember the AHREF stuff in my head all the time. I've got way too many acronyms floating around in there anyways.

MIDI stuff - SMPTE stuff - enough already.

listening to:
Mo' Fire by BAD COMPANY - )EIB(

You know what.... I ordered some EIB and Andy C stuff off of amazon a couple of weeks ago, and haven't gotten it yet! Guess that's what us cheapies get for choosing the "Super Saver" shipping. Want to listen to the albums now... not 4 weeks from now!

Posted by vashremix at 04:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've decided that it's going to be tricky managing 2 different journals... for lack of a better word. I already write in a journal in the morning for about an hour every day (that I can). However, that one I intend to burn before anyone besides me would read it. This one I know has the potential to be read, although most likely it's only me reading it. I'll try to keep my internal thoughts out of this journal... but I may not always achieve that goal. Guess there's no point thinking too hard about it. It will just be what it is.

I still want to tweak the look of the evilblender site. It's a bit sparce. I'd like to put up some graphics, and have a decent looking css design. I was shocked... well... disgusted when I saw this site on a windows machine. Trebuchet MS looks awful on a PC. I need to find a nice sans-serif font that looks ok smallish on both a pc and mac. So far it's looking like Verdana may be the winner. It's a pity you can't choose your own fonts and embed them into a web page.

Posted by vashremix at 05:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Finally, Movable Type seems to be installed correctly and working well enough to actually _start_ posting! It's been quite a while that I've been meaning to get this up and running... years actually. Well... it's a start.
I'm intending to upload pictures, music, tips, or anything else I've managed to learn. It's basicly a place for me to share stuff I've learned. So other folks don't have to deal with learning things the hard way all the time.
Guess we'll see how it goes.

Posted by vashremix at 06:50 PM | Permalink