The Grid

Allergies

2013-09-25T18:31:00.003-04:00

I hear so much shit about gluten being awful lately. I have news for you. It isn't, in fact, it is not only delicious, but awesome as well.

So many people shit on gluten because they think they have celiacs disease or that they are allergic to it. If that is the case then why aren't people with bee allergies on massive campaigns to find bee alternatives.
Or lactose intolerant people flooding the streets preaching the dangers of milk. It has been sogging your cereal for years sheeple! Soy based alternatives on the other hand will leave your cereal crunchy for hours. Know what, I am pretty sure Hitler drank milk and i bet he liked bees.

Work In Progress

2013-07-31T09:39:00.000-04:00

This is a Screw Art Portrait done in a similar style to the California based artist Andrew Myers.

In total there are 6,451 screws.

This is a commission and the portrait is of the customers grandmother. I also did the grandmother on the other side of her family in a string art fashion.

Both of these still need the borders done as well as frames.

It should be noted that this is my first time painting.

Some other wood projects

2013-04-22T10:54:00.001-04:00

I am thinking about mass producing these. Someone commissioned me to make a set of 6 for them and I had enough wood left over to make 3 other sets. I think they are pretty damn neat.

They sell online for 50 bucks plus shipping and handling but these ones that I make I feel are somewhat more detailed. I make each one by hand so it takes me a while but each pipe is half rounded like a real die whereas most ones I have seen are just flat ground.

I am also going to design a carrying bag for them. If you would like to purchase a set from me just leave a comment or contact me through this site (if I have a contact setup) Once I get a handle on my process I will organize a separate site for things.

I am thinking $45 for a set of 6 with bag, plus shipping and handling which is to be determined.

I also made this shop sign as a gift for a friend. I got the idea from someone who posted on a site I visit. This was the first time I ever tried hand carving letters and I was pleased with the results considering I only had a stanley fat max 3/4in bench chisel.

I am also willing to custom make shop signs to order, prices can be determined per project.

So if anyone wants to commission me to build them something just reply and we can start a dialogue. I am going on 3 years out of work due to my disability and the financial stress is enough to kill me. I am really not healthy enough to be doing this but Social Security has denied me and taken their sweet blessed time doing it so they have kinda forced my hand. It is either this or I don't eat.

String art commission.

2013-04-21T19:03:00.002-04:00

So, an extremely good friend of mine is a very talented hair stylist who opened her own shop a few years ago. She came to me to commission two pieces of art to go in her hair studio, One of her grandmother and one of her great grandmother. I think on both her mother and fathers side respectively. After toying around with a few mediums for a looong time, I decided to do it like this.

It is an MDF backer board and 1.5 inch nails with black and pink thread. This was my first project in this style and I had a lot of fun. I still have another portrait to do but I think it will be in another style.

If I had to do it again I would paint the background first.

The farther back you are the better it looks.

Woodworking, sculpting and burning

2013-04-16T08:58:00.002-04:00

I sold my first commissioned piece of furniture. It was not supposed to be anything really special so the materials list consisted of just Pressure Treated Pine. The more I did to it the more conscious it became. It didn't end up perfect but it was much more than I had planned.

Just an outdoor potting bench

I hand crafted some details on the L-brackets.

The clients initials along with her husband.

Taken from as far back as I could stand in my shop.

Remember, I am available to work on commission.

My cherry is broken. I present Casey Jones

2012-10-27T08:34:00.001-04:00

This is the first mask I have ever made. I have no idea whether I followed the proper procedure or even a coherent procedure but all in all I am very proud of my final piece and so is the person I made it for.

I doubt this work would stand up against that of a professionals but I really need to learn to stop trying to compare my work with others. There will always be someone better than I am all I can do is try and learn from each experience.

With that I present to you most of my experience in making this mask. (commentary will be below the pics)

The sculpt is out of WED clay and it sits on a store bought costume hockey mask. In retrospect the mask was unnecessary.

Made the box ready for the next step, then decided to add some scarring.

Said scarring.

Used silicone RTV to capture detail. I also was using Bondo to construct the actual mask and I was not sure if rubber or latex would hold up to it. Plus it peels right off.

The step you do not see is the plaster being poured over the cured silicone to give the mold rigidity. This was after everything was cured and the box removed and excess silicone removed.

The plaster backing.

The two pieces side by side purely for visuals.

Here is a pic showing how much silicone I had to trim. This is because it leaked under the clay form during the pour. A mistake I have learned from.

Filled in the mold with bondo. I intentionally used a large amount of hardener so I could have it begin setting while I was moving it around thinking I would be able to push it about to make a thin layer as it hardened. I was wrong, it hardens not gradually but almost instantaneously when it is ready. In the future I will use less hardener and work the viscous natural material around a bit longer.

I actually had already done a fair amount of sanding on this and then just set it back in place for a photo.

Getting cleaner.

And cleaner.

And paint and straps are done.

Couldn't decide which lighting looked better.

In the end there are a few things I would have done differently. I would have loved to be able to degas my liquids but I do not poses the equipment. I think I should spend more time on the initial sculpt, though I was on a time crunch I do think it is better to have a high quality smooth master then to try to sand everything out of the final.

Overall I am very pleased with my first piece, I hope someday to be able to produce the quality work of people like Volpin Props but until I have more work and practice those days are long ahead of me.

If you would like a custom piece please contact me, my prices will reflect that of someone who is not quite yet a professional, but I am not giving the stuff away either.

Thank you all for reading.

Simple Art

2012-08-31T12:52:00.001-04:00

Sometimes it's the simplest ideas that yield he most intriguing results.

Case in point, one of my most recent artistic projects.

I saw this on a site called Pinterest. I simply shaved a bunch of Crayons with a lemon zester, placed the shavings on a canvas, covered with waxed paper and ironed on the lowest setting.

Voila:

Bit of a glare but I assure you it looks pretty damn nice in person. I especially like the way the wax paper leaves ripples behind.

Try it for yourself

Is anything really interesting?

2012-07-21T15:59:00.001-04:00

For the purposes of this posting I am going to be excluding any kind of scientific discoveries and revelations. I find that most everything science can offer us brings us closer to the edge of supernatural. However, for this I will be speaking of only things that are known right now to be of paranormal origin.

I have always considered myself a "believer", as a child and young adult I was fascinated with the idea that otherworldly things such as ghosts, demons and extraterrestrials could be among us on this planet. Everything I looked at I viewed with the eyes of a child willing to believe that something deeper lurked behind our surface observations. Every single thing brought me joy because nothing was impossible, I wanted to, and did, believe that there was the absolute possibility that strange things could be explained by supernatural phenomenon.

Then something happened. I became obsessed with knowledge. I educated myself about every topic I could get my hands on. I even sought out the facts and science behind some of the most amazing things that had always held my interest before. I looked into all kinds of ghost sightings and UFO footage desperately trying to tie in the science behind them and prove definitively that some things defied earthly explanations.

Sadly, I could not. Every story, every rumor seemed to lead to a reasonable and logical earthly explanation. Either things were flat out hoaxes or simply misidentified natural occurences. My child like enthusiasm toward the paranormal quickly turned to intense skepticism. I felt like a large part of my background and upbringing was slowly dying away and being replaced by a cynical and boring adult.

Things that I once would have looked at and whole heartedly believe was occult or supernatural were now viewed as simple airplane lights misidentified or electro magnetic interference or just flat out lies. Everything had a mundane explanation. The more I would seek out something to prove me wrong the more my bright eyed optimism turned to distrust and anger toward the people attempting to pass these things off as anything but normal.

Nowadays I hate the person I have become. I truly believe that there is nothing about our world that is interesting. Extraterrestrials may exist (and i believe they do) but I am convinced that they are not visiting us. Ghosts are not real, every instance of such sightings is easily explained away by either rational thought or scientific analysis. Perhaps some creatures like bigfoot exist, but even if they did it is just a creature based on normal physics and life. My once firm belief in the occult turned to a distrust of the practitioners and a feeling that anyone with half a brain could easily see that it was all garbage.

I think people want to believe there is more to life and that is why they believe this stuff. They know in a deep part of themselves that this stuff isn't real but they want so badly to believe that there is something more that they find themselves believing in things that they know they shouldn't.

I want proof. I want to see a ghost. I want to witness strange lights in the sky that can not be explained. I have nothing but time now due to my disability and I want so badly to prove myself wrong. I don't want it so badly that I am willing to believe something that is not true but I want proof.

Have you ever seen proof of the supernatural? Do you have video or photographic evidence? If so, show me or tell me about it in the comments.

I Post Because I Care

2012-05-10T08:48:00.003-04:00

...about myself!

One thing never ceases to amaze me. Bejeweled Blitz is such a simple game but one can employ a seemingly endless amount of tactics and strategies to maximize your score in the 60 seconds you have to match some gems.

I often wonder if there is a secret lab over at Popcap where they have every possible gem grid type laid out and every possible move you could make calculated and mapped on some super computer and they use it to cross reference our gaming performance to narrow down and zero in on the worlds greatest analytical minds.

Then I wonder if all the strategies that people employee are really just bullshit and the game and it's makers intended it to rely solely on speed and chance.

...Tell me, do you play? What strategies do you use? What other seemingly simple games do you know of that have a deep strategic user infrastructure?

My Social Life

2012-05-08T08:53:00.001-04:00

I sometimes wish I had more of a social life so that I could take better advantage of the many features my Google Calendar has to offer.

As of now I just enter peoples birthdays that I don't even speak to or know and sync up as many holidays as I can find.

I will even go so far as to enter minor events that I have already done just so I can complete them and have it look like it isn't an empty month.

...Take out trash! -DONE.

New Speaker Designs

2012-05-05T14:49:00.000-04:00

I am in the process of designing and building some surrounds for the theater system I have been working on. So far I have only taken pencil to paper and some wire no saw to wood just yet.

Here are some pictures of the process.

Latest and greatest. Custom Chess Board and Pieces

2012-04-25T12:33:00.000-04:00

I decided one day, on a whim, without having finished any of my previous projects that I was going to make myself a nice custom chess set.

I grade a hunk of scrap wood and started whittling away little chunks with my slightly dull knife. After an hour or two I had a minor epiphany and thought that if I did it out of clay I would end up having to make significantly fewer.

So only two hours into my newest project which cut in front of all others I was already looking for shortcuts.

Either way, I am having fun. None of the pieces are done. What you see in the pictures that follow are ideas that I am playing around with. I thought if I sculpted a normal chess piece and then manipulated it I would better be able to "pull" the new character from the clay. It is slow going but since it is for me I am in no hurry.

Crafts

2012-03-20T10:52:00.000-04:00

Sometimes, when I am checking out some hardcore pornography I stop and wonder what kind of crafts are on pinterest. Then I go check them out and forget I was about to jack off.

Crayon Sculpts

2011-12-19T14:42:00.000-05:00

I made this!

2011-12-12T17:36:00.000-05:00

I have completely given up on trying to maintain any kind of regular posting routine.

Today my power went out while the utility men were working on the poles outside of my house. I thought they were shutting my power off. After 2 years of being jobless and waiting for social security I have finally run completely out of money. Natural I found this out in the most inconvenient way possible, while checking out in WaWa 3 days ago. My account today officially stands at -67.38.

So since I could not use the computer I switched desks and grabbed an X-acto and an orange crayon. Never having attempted a feat such as this I picked something simple.

A Pumpkin.

I had a difficult time taking the picture. As if that wasn't enough after getting it displayable I realized that others may not realize it is a crayon and think "the fuck is this lousy pumpkin looking thing?"

I still didn't much care for the picture, plus the more I looked at the photo the more I thought about how unimpressive it looked as a photo. Up close in person it appeared much cooler but hey whatchagonado.

Remember, I did this in the somewhat dark during a power outage. i want to do more now, it was pretty fun. Perhaps next I can do a strawberry, or even just put some leaves and vines around the base of this one?!

Bacon Lube and Desperation

2011-11-16T10:39:00.001-05:00

I became irritated with the questions being posted in Omegle's spy mode. After the last question of "why doesn't my cam work on Omegle" I decided to take action.

This was too funny not to share

2011-11-09T09:45:00.000-05:00

I have been in need of a good laugh lately. This fell into my lap and seemed to do the trick.

Halloween and spell check

2011-10-16T16:06:00.000-04:00

OK, So as one can see from my history, I am not well. In fact, I am dying.

Know what? Dying hurts.

I sometimes tend to eat through pain meds like candy, not the greatest thing for me I know but talk to me when your body is on fire and you can't think straight.

Why am I mentioning this and what does it have to do with the subject? I don't care. However, I do have an appointment on Monday (Tomorrow) with a pain doc to make some adjustments and hopefully get myself back on a routine that involves not feeling like I am being pulled apart by a gorilla twenty four hours a day. If that happens, sometime on Tuesday I will begin planning out this years Halloween costume. It will involve building and such so there are bound to be pictures and if things work out it should put me back on track for posting, so all 3 of my Taiwan visitors looking for nude Selena Gomez pics have something to read.

As for spell check, well, if I didn't use it the post would be titled halow3en costo,,me planni!nng/

Well, when a person hurts, life sucks. When you don't, not so much.

Oh by the way. I was recently turned on to a new artist. New in the sense that I just heard of her, so for all I know she could have just appeared.

Have a listen.

Banner by Brillantines

OK, it is not by Brilliantines, it is by Lights Poxleitner, you have to visit her stuff. I only grabbed this version because her new stuff is clipped. For good reason, she is independent (to a degree) and this kind of stuff could hurt. So please if you like go enjoy.

What is so important, you ask?

2011-09-19T09:19:00.000-04:00

What was it that could possibly have kept me from regularly contributing to my site for soooo long?

Well, dying comes to mind, thankfully I have not. Not yet at least, but damn if the universe isn't trying.

Yes, again I felt the cold grip of death pulling at my arm and again I have outrun him.

But, there is another, one other thing that also kept me away.

EvE Online.

I used to play it a lot then illness strikes and for some reason I stopped. So I recently started up again and found that it now consumes about 18 of my 24 hours in the day.

The game is written about quite a bit on many different websites and all of them tell a different story about how to play and what it's about. If you have ever spent any amount of time in game you know why that is. So I offer this:

I have always lacked a direction with this page and honestly, that is ok with me. Now, however I think I will be writing about the game, my experiences in it, some helpful advice, as well as some developments of my own that I created to assist me in my Capsuleer career.

So sit back, pull your shorts up and prepare for a itty bitty glimpse of introspect from a game I know barely anything about after 2 years of play.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt2 Read at your own Risk

2011-07-17T13:23:00.000-04:00

Just saw this movie yesterday.

*I did as best I could to get my words out without spoilers but if you have not read the books then you may not want to read this. The next 2 paragraphs are safe but after that you have been warned.*

I am not reviewing it. No one should ever be making a living reviewing movies for content, at least that is my take on things. Couldn't tell you how much I disagree with everyone who has ever given an opinion regarding anything as subjective as cinema.

What this is, will simply serve as my thoughts on my experience. This is the only Potter film I have seen in the theater. I saw it in 3d, there were really only one or two scenes that really took advantage of the 3d element and they seemed to be afterthoughts. But I have no regrets. If you don't mind the glasses and the extra price go for it.

I was somewhat sad throughout the entire film, every passing moment knowing that I was closing in on the last scene of the franchise that I would ever see. I almost wanted to leave before it was over simply so I could prolong the end. My son grew up with this series, though he didn't start reading it until about Order of the Phoenix due to his age and reading ability and to some extent, his interest in books. Once he started though he couldn't stop. Knowing now that there is no more to see is kinda really saddening me. It's nothing new to me however, the end of stories like this often leave me clenched up, withered and feeling like I have nothing left to look forward to, I always say there will never be another movie/story/something that will equal it, then I remember that I said it many times before.

The movie tied up a lot of questions I had about certain things, it opened up the opportunity for me to discuss certain things that I knew with people who didn't know and it also opened up something that I half expected but wasn't fully prepared for.

Questions.

I am not talking about the questions that everyone is asking right now regarding Harry's paternal issues. I think that was intentionally inserted into the movie to raise confusion, or it was just a poorly executed tactic on showing that particular evolution of a certain character.

I am talking about Voldemort. I am glad they wrapped up the big questions regarding him and Harry, but what I was really hoping for was an explanation as to HOW and WHY Voldemort became who he became. Sure, he is super evil and wants to control everyone and everything, but why?

I have heard that Rowling is being very coy about another book, if she does write something new with regards to this series I hope it focuses on Tom Riddle as a child and his relationship with Dumbledore and then the surrounding issues with Severus Snape. That would be my personal curiosity satisificator.

The Dark Knight Rises

2011-07-12T13:07:00.000-04:00

I am truly frustrated.

The current project I am working on is graphics for a game. I can not release anything from it and it is consuming almost all my time which leaves me with little to share. I am thinking of uploading some photos of some old inventions that I did years ago. I don't know if I have complete photo sets though so we'll see how it plays out.

In the meantime I came across this while searching reddit.

The Dark Knight Rises

Clown Shoe

2011-07-07T17:08:00.000-04:00

Epic

That was the very last thing ever recorded by members of my old band. Of course by recorded I am referring to our little setup in my living room my guitarist and I (drummer) used to put rough tracks on disk and send to our singer who lived about 3 hours away.

We would get together a couple times a week and come up with ideas and every so often one of them would be deemed decent enough to turn into a song. Sometimes we would just record the entire session of us getting together then go back and listen to excerpts and find riffs or beats that sounded interesting then talk it over and piece them into a rough track that we would rehearse 2 or 3 times then we would do our best to record it so we could send it off for modification by the vocalist. He would listen to the track and send me an email back with comments corresponding to times within the song where he would need changes. Once a month he would make the trek down to see us and we would hold a marathon rehearsal to actually practice the songs with his lyrics in place and hope that all the changes were correct.

It wasn't always done this way.

When we first started we all lived withing a few miles of each other. I was the oldest, had a steady job and a family, they were all seniors in high school. They found me at a point when I had given up on being in bands. I was sick of the attitudes, the constant ideology that we had to hit it big. I was settled into a more modest goal, I wanted to make music for myself.

When these guys found me I was not interested in playing in a band at all. They kind of threw their demo onto my desk, I refused to even take it. After a few days, I had a colleague of mine give it a listen on his way to get us coffee. When he returned he would not comment on the quality or the talent, of which he would normally never hold his opinion back, instead he merely said "You should listen to it."

Well, it had something about it. Wasn't great, wasn't terrible. I called them up and we started a band.

In the beginning things were pretty normal, we had a practice schedule and a plans to record our own demo which we eventually did. My only regret really is that we didn't pool our money together and book time in a studio and get a decent 5 song ep out.

We ended up having a set list of about 12 songs, all of which were around 5 - 7 minutes. The song linked at the top was eventually turned into a full fledged song, and it ended up being of of my favorites and a crowd favorite, but it was never recorded properly beyond what you hear now. Also, when I was digging around my hard drive looking for other songs I realized the my actual favorite song that we did, which was written rather late in our career was never even recorded at all beyond the scratch guitar track.

I had some really good times playing with those guys despite the age difference but I am rather glad I don't deal with it anymore. Damn I do miss making music though.

From my tears a new page will be born

2011-07-06T11:04:00.000-04:00

Never go to a website with a massive user base and ask a public question about what they think might be wrong with your web page. While I believe the answers are generally intended to help, some lack the grace to deliver the news in a delicate manner.

Having said that, I think I am going to do a little design Feng shui.

My vain concerns regarding Google+

2011-07-03T15:51:00.000-04:00

So far I am really enjoying Google+

There has been a bit of a stir around the online forums as to whether or not it is going to suffer the same fate as the Wave project. Some think that Wave failed because of its' limited beta user base, others believe it to be because Wave lacked a clear cut direction, even more seem to think it was because Wave wanted to be an email killer when the reality was that people were all to happy using email the way it is. Most likely they all have a bit of truth.

Google+ seems set up from the start with several of those concerns aggressively tackled. The purpose is clear, Kill Facebook, or rather provide a social network where the users can decide their own level of privacy, security and friendships and are given a clear cut way to exit entirely. The user base, while small at the moment appears to be set up on an infinite invite level. At first there appeared to be a clear "invite friends" icon for early adopters now it seems that simple adding friends to your "circle" and mentioning them in a post generates a notification email to the friend allowing them to get in.

Which is what brings me to my concern.

The last thing I thought I needed was another social network for me to ignore. I resisted MySpace until my band grew to the point we needed more exposure, then Facebook was just the next evolution as MySpace careened down its self destructive CSS spiral. I was never really excited about signing up for either but as with almost all Google projects it would appear as if I can't jump in fast enough. Also, just like previous limited entry Google projects people are whirling themselves into a semen covered circlejerk frenzy to get in on this one.

The ferocity with which people are pursuing these invites is astonishing. People see Google+ app on your phone and they are willing to give you a handjob in the middle of the street for an invite. It would appear as if Google has stumbled upon the electronic equivalent of heroin.

So how do I wield this new divine power I have been given? Do I make those around me dual to the death in gladiator style battles, the winner being the one I bestow an invite upon? Do I send them out freely like a benevolent god, graciously raining down gifts upon those who are in my circles to begin with and ask for nothing in return?

My last rainfall

2011-07-01T17:42:00.000-04:00

I have been debating for a number of days whether or not I should post this. My reasons for not wanting to would probably make sense only to me but they are there none the less.

We had a rather interesting Rainstorm a few days back. It was the kind of storm that could really take you back to a different point in your life. It was interesting because not only because of the Forecast but because of the events that transpired during the rainfall. The forecast was calling for some pretty severe storms, but when the rain started all we got was about 10 minutes or so of Semi heavy Rain and it then it stops. I had already shutdown the computer and air conditioning in preparation for a massive storm so after the little rain subsided I turned the air back on. Instead of jumping back on the computer I decided to do a little vacuuming and left the PC off.

Ten minutes or so pass after the Rain had stopped and I heard a huge clap of thunder, I mean obnoxiously loud house rumbling thunder, no lightning flash though just the thunder. I figured the storm had hit to the north and I was hearing a particularly bad strike from far off. A few more minutes pass by and the sun appears to be trying to poke its way through the clouds. Thinking nothing of it, I go back to vacuuming and my son continues to play Halo in the living room as he has been the entire time.

I would say after about five minutes after the thunder the power just suddenly shuts off. I thought I blew the breaker with the vacuum somehow, after all, it was no longer storming. A quick check in another room and a text from a friend assures me that the power is out throughout the neighborhood. My son tends to get a little frightened in these scenarios, he enjoys them after a bit but the sudden darkness and overwhelming sense that no one is there gets to him at first. I went into the living room with him, now regretting my choice to do housework with the lack of air conditioning.

Three minutes of no power was all I needed to realize that it was not coming back on anytime soon. It was also around that time I started to hear the familiar pinging of raindrops against the windows followed by the darkening of the afternoon sky. We opened up both widows for the cross breeze and settled into my recliner and started thinking of ways to pass the time.

During a previous power outage we had made up a game called flashlight eye spy, neither one of us could remember the rules so we just made up new ones. Every So often I would peer out the window across the room and although I see this sight every day it seemed to have taken on a new form that afternoon. The wind gently sweeping the lush green leaves of the tree directly outside the window, the rainfall washing over the leaves giving them a beautifully vivid green glow, the sound of the rain hitting the leaves and the windows and the passing cars, it all came together to paint a brand new portrait that would be forever etched into my memory.

And the smell! As soon as the smell hit me I was brought back to a time in my youth that I could never forget. Things were simpler then. I was staring out of my second story bedroom window, peering out into a tree as the spring rain was dancing among its leaves and the breeze was kissing my cheek and the wonderful grey of the sky was painting the canvas that would become my adolescent life.

I was hesitant to retell this tale on my blog because I am dying. I have said it before. I am not trying to capture sympathy but I think this knowledge is important for the story. I have not told my son how sick I really am. He only knows that something keeps me from working, but since it keeps me around him all the time he rarely has a reason to question it.

At that moment though. With him and me playing our games and the rainfall having triggered my fondest of memories, I pulled him close to me and asked him to quietly look out the window. I then told him that today would forever live on in our memories. I went into some more detail regarding things that are between just the two of us.

The power remained off for about two more hours. During that time we talked and played games and had a great time, So much So that when the power came back on we were both a little disappointed.

I have had a lot of memories that have brought me much joy throughout my life, but when I am at the end of my journey it will be this memory that will be my final thought.