Pants

Well, I didn't have to wait because the new Wendy's is already open.  Like any new thing in Cranbrook everyone has to try it out, so it's been pretty busy.  I guess line ups have been out the door.  Other than not much going on here.  I'm just being lazy, so lazy in fact I've hardly even played my new 3DS I just bought.  I managed to drop off the Spin Art and I'm supposed to be meeting Willie this afternoon.  He says he'll be ready at 2pm, but we'll see.  I'm a bit doubtful.  The weather has been nice, but today it's cloudy and a bit cold.  I had to put on socks and pants.  As usual I was going through one of my many boxes of crap in the basement when I found this.

My old letter from when I won the Nirvana Aneurysm CD single from YTV News.  I like how Exan signed the exclamation point with a heart.  I'll pretend she only did that to my letter.  Haha, Cam!

Now what?

Hey!  I made it back to Cranbrook on Thursday in time for dinner.  The drive wasn't too bad and they FINALLY finished the bridge loop in the Crowsnest Pass.  The billboard says "Completed Fall 2010", but it still wasn't done last time I came home in June.  Your tax dollars at work!  Friday I didn't do much except buy a nifty magnet from the thrift store.  After my parents finished work we went over to Kootenay Lake with Logan and Avery.  The weather was nice and sunny and by Sunday afternoon when we came back my pasty white skin was a nice bright red.   It's not sunburned, just VERY red.

My dad bought Logan this little plastic kayak and I thought I would give it a try except I was a little bit over the weight limit.  You just sit on top of it in a little indented seat, you didn't actually sit inside it.  When I was inside it, the thing sat so low in the water you almost couldn't see it.  I decided it would be better if I didn't give it a try.

I'm back in Cranbrook and now have nothing really to do for the next five days.  I'll try to meet up with Willie and I need to drop off some Spin Art, but that's it.  Maybe I go to the new Wendy's and sit outside and wait for it to open.  What else is there to do in Cranbrook?

Art Fart II

First we had the Pig Wearing Sunglasses picture, then Chuck Norris, the the kitten poster, the clown painting and now Pee-Wee Herman.  Our place is turning into a regular museum of fine art.  We're going to have to start charging admission.  Oh, and spin art too.

I know nobody picked up on this but in the first spin art post I mentioned that I made 19 spin art pieces.  In the follow up post I only posted pictures of 18 spin art pictures.  The 19th piece of spin art was defective, so I had to put it down.  The paint wasn't adhering to the paper and just peeled off.  The spin art paper is coated on one side to make it more smooth.  The instructions said to put the paper coated side up and I'm just assuming this is so the paint spreads evenly over the smooth surface.   I sure hope it doesn't lead any more defective pieces of spin art.  I apologize for the 1970's not being to produce quality paper.

Just now I was packing up my stuff, so I would be ready to leave for Cranbrook after I finish my shift at work tomorrow morning.  I was sorting out the Spin Art into the "Wants" and "Not Good Enough" piles when I noticed Cara's pick had some paint chipping off.  This totally sucks, but it could be worse.  Only the ends of some of the black streaks flecked off.  Cara, if you want another one, and why wouldn't you, let me know.  Sorry!

Art Fart

Get ready to feast your eyes on the complete collection of my spin art series.  Comment if you see one you like because you'll probably end up getting one that I don't like.

I call this one "Number 7"

This one is called "????!!!!!"

This one is titled "Keep trying"

This one is called "Barf"

I call this one "Fail"

This one is titled "Splat"

This is a "Disappointment"

I call this one "It'll do"

This one is "Why doesn't this look like the ones on the box?"

This is a "Headache"

I call this one "Reject"

This is titled "Try Again"

I call this one "Dave"

This one is called "These all look lame, I just don't care anymore"

This is "Pink + Black = Lame"

This is called "The one Cam gets"

This is called "Why can't I ever do anything right?!"

This is titled "Thank God, the last one!"

You Spin Me Round (Like a Painting)

When I was at Chinook Hobby West a few weeks ago Tasco's Official Halley's Comet Watching Kit wasn't the only thing I bought.  I also bought myself a Spin Art Painter Set from Rapco!  Having no artistic talent at all, I figured a spin art set was the best way to "create" something as most of the work is done by the machine anyway.  The set including the spinner, paint, paper and frames all for only $6.99.  If I managed to screw something up it would be no big deal because it was cheap.

This thing is totally old school, gotta be late 70's.   I got to thinking that since it was so old that maybe the paints including might not be good.  As always I was right.

I took this picture after I had already shaken the paints up!  I guess they had been sitting in the box for so long that the lead had separated from the paint.  A spin art set without paint is pretty useless, so I went to Michaels to pick up some more paint.  Once I got there I end up buying a pack of paint in primary colours AND a set in neon colours because the neon ones look much cooler.  The two sets of paint set me back $17 plus the $6.99 I paid for the actual Spin Art kit.  This cheap craft kit is starting to get expensive.

Inside the box is the actual spinning thing and the black cross shaped thing holds the paper while it spins.

Then you have the actual paper for the spin art, 19 pieces all together.  Plus the "frames" which are total crap because they're just folded lumpy paper.  The set included 19 pieces of paper, but only 3 frames.  They must think you are gonna screw up a lot and have many frame worthy pieces.  BTW, what is up with only 19 pieces of paper?  Why can't they make it a round number and give you 18 or 20?

I also had to buy a D battery to run the spin art machine.  I can't even remember the last time I bought a D battery.  The instructions also included a wiring schematic in case the wires came loose in transit.  I flipped over my machine and saw that two wires had indeed come apart!

I instantly flashed back to Electronics class in high school and pigtail wrapped those two wires like it ain't no thang!  The other two connections were pretty crappy, so I fixed them too.

Now that I got paint, a battery and the wiring is up to code it is time to get down to business...art business.  I even read the instructions and they said to put the paint on the paper first and then spin in.  Then you can add paint later as it spins.  I just thought adding paint to a spinning piece of paper was a messing waiting to happen.  I had the brainstorm to put the spin art machine inside the lid of an apple box to prevent any paint from flying out.  When I was done there was a lot less mess than I had anticipated.  Only a single drop of green paint was on the inside of the apple box, everything else stayed inside the machine.

Since I had 19 pieces of paper I decided I might as well use all the pieces, it was art madness.  Once I started I noticed my spin art didn't look like the ones on the cover of the box.  Dammit, why can't I do this?!  Some pieces I just laid down one or two colours as a base and then came back later and layered more paint hoping it would look better.  It didn't!  Once I finished up I had 19 pieces of spin art and I wasn't happy with any of them.  They just turned out "meh".  Now I'm stuck with all this lame spin art, but what am I supposed to do with it?  That said on Tuesday night I'll be posting the entire spin art collection, so if you see something you like you should let me know because you're getting one whether you want it or not!  I will sign and remark any art at request, my fees are quite reasonable.

Forget the spin art, the actual spin art machine turned out to look the coolest.  I didn't bother to wipe out the inside because it just looked too cool.

So many colours!

And then there is this thing.  I do not know what it is or what it does.  There is no mention of it in the instruction booklet.  You can see it on the cover of the box, but it's just sitting off to the side.  I still managed to make my spin art without it.

FYI

Now that summer is almost over I'm finally getting a vacation.  I finish work at 11am on Thursday then I'll be heading back to Cranbrook for a week.  Cam and Mike are you guys going to be around?  Will your parents be home?  I will probably go to Kootenay Lake on the weekend, but other than that I don't have any other plans except to "kick it".  I will be leaving my Lucky Charms towel at home!

And big post Monday night, don't miss it.

Free towel #1

I came home on Friday to find that I received one of free towels from General Mills already.  That was pretty fast considering it had said 8-10 weeks for delivery.  For some reason it was sent Fed Ex ground which seems pretty expensive for something that is free.

I opened the package and saw that I got the Lucky Charms towel.  And it sucks!  Yes, the towel looks cool, but that is about it.  The fabric is so thin and cheap, I could probably rip it in half.  Some sections of the towel you can almost see right through.  I'm not sure how good this would work at drying you off if you are wet, but it would probably dry out pretty fast.  It's like they used the same threat count as a hand towel, but enlarged the size to beach towel.  I am disappointed!  I am so glad that it was free.  Maybe if they didn't spend so much money on sending the towels Fed Ex they could've been better quality.

Useless as a towel, maybe it might make a better cape?

Update:  After work today I came home and threw my laundry in the wash, but forgot I had my crummy Lucky Charms towel in my basket.  When I took my stuff out of the washer all my colours had little white bits stuck all over them because my cheap towel had shed in the wash.  I put them in the dryer and hoped they would come off.  When it was done there was literally a pound of lint in the lint trap and it was all white.  Most of the white bits came out, but I had to throw a few items (mostly black ones) back into the wash in hopes the remaining white pieces would wash off.  Also, the towel looks a lot smaller now.

Zapped

A little while ago I went and bought myself a second Nintendo Game Boy Micro system.  The Micro was the last iteration of the Game Boy Advance system and didn't last long due to been launched only months away from the Nintendo DS.  Still it was a great handheld with a good library of games, small compact design, and bright display.

What a Game Boy Micro might look like.

I went and bought a second system because my first Micro was the Japanese limited editon version celebrating Mario's 20th anniversary.  I didn't want to end up getting it all dirty and whatnot (I'm OCD like that) so I bought a back up.  I got this one used on eBay and while it came with a USB charger, it didn't have a wall charger.  I had been using the USB charger, but decided to pick up a wall charger for it on eBay because a new one would only cost $3 and that included the charger plus shipping from China.

I finally got around to using the wall charger the other day and when I plugged in sparks were flying and there was a loud popping noise.  Luckily I survived, but more importantly so did my Micro.  Of course my cheapo charging cord from China was toast.  Damn you China!

Now I have phobia of plugging things into electrical sockets.

It snowed??

Just before lunch today a thunderstorm rolled in and dropped a bunch of hail and a downpour of rain on our part of the city.  It was nice because it cooled things off and in the afternoon it cleared up and the sun was back out.  Still when I got home there was a bunch of hail in the weeds by the back door.  Despite falling almost six hours ago the stuff was still hanging around.

Shut up about the weeds already.  We are only responsible for "maintaining" the lawn inside our fenced yard, so anything not inside that isn't our problem.

Am I cool yet?

Because look I got a cell phone!

I know I'm not cool because that phone wasn't even cool when I got it almost six years ago.  That is my OLD phone my dad bought me when I started working in Airdrie because he thought I needed a phone because I would be driving a lot.  It was "pay as you go", so I just bought air time as I needed it.  Turns out I never needed it, so I didn't use it much.  I think I texted Cam twice.  When I quit working at Airdrie I quit using the phone, so I quit putting money on it.  Eventually, the number lapsed because I didn't use it, but Telus gave it back to me for free just because they are so nice.  Then later I went to add money to it, but I couldn't remember my PIN, so I couldn't add the money and that was that.  I'm assuming the number lapsed again, but whatever.

I just started using it again because it makes a pretty good alarm clock.  When it goes off in the morning I don't have to reach all the way over to my actual alarm clock I just reach down beside my bed for the phone.  Sometimes I just put the phone right beside me on my bed.  It's loud, but I just roll over and turn it off.  Plus I can program in different alarm times and just pick what time I need to get up when I go to bed. That is nice if my schedule is different day to day, so I don't have to manually change my alarm every night like a chump.  I wonder if the iPhone has an alarm on it?

Friendly neighbourhood Keith

Haha, good clip, but the picture quality needs some work.  I would expect Cam to have a camera capable of filming in HD.  Maybe Cara messed it up?  Anyway, check out this because apparently some people think it is a friendly town, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-dgA-_51Kw&feature=related. 

Look to the stars

A couple weeks ago I went to Chinook Hobby West which sells toys, die cast cars, models and train stuff.   If you go upstairs they have a clearance section which I know you've heard about before because that's where I bought my Go-Bots Spa-C model kit.

In addition to models, die cast cars and train crap in the clearance section they also have have all kinds of craft and hobby kits.  The kits are totally old school and some of then look like they are from the 70's.  They have stuff like a rock polisher, bird house kit, macrame, decoupage, chemistry sets, painting kits and all sorts of retro stuff including the official Halley's Comet watching kit! 

All I need now is a time machine, so I can go back in time to 1985 to use it!

I actually picked this up for Avery because when you are four year old, binoculars are awesome.  It was only $4.99, so if it gets broken, and it will, it's no big deal.  In addition to the binoculars there is also a "Return of Halley's Comet" booklet, a Halley's Comet map and log book.  I love how it says "Get 7 times closer" on the box like it's going to look like it's right in front of you!  Anyway, if Avery takes good care of it he can get some use out of it in 2061.

Taste of Canada

If you're wondering exactly what that is, it's a maple leaf shaped gummy candy and it's your patriotic duty as a Canadian citizen to go out and eat one.  I found these today at 7-11 and they're actually pretty good, not sour alien head good, but still good.  The wonka factor is that these are the big 25 cent gummies.  Real men eat the bigger gummies.  My guess is the points on the leaf are too hard to do on a smaller size, so they went with the larger gummy.  They nailed it because the shape of the maple leaf is pretty recognizable.  Nice one, eh!

Rabbit

The crazed rabbit is back again!  Ever since it actually got hot here, the weird local rabbit has taken to sitting in his special "dent".  He sits in the same place every afternoon and the grass there is all dented and squished out into a rabbit shape.  The first few times I would come from work and walk by and he would just be sitting there looking all creepy.  After a while I just started to expect him to be sitting there, so I wasn't as freaked out.

 After I took his picture he jumped out of his dent.  Look out, he's on the attack!

Back in business (sort of)

A while ago I wrote about my old Bruce Lee clone website, BRUCEPLOITATION, disappearing off the web as Yahoo shut down Geocities.  I attempted to keep it going by starting a BRUCEPLOITATION blog, but that didn't pan out too well.  As usual I got lazy and didn't really update it at all except for a few times.  I have movies, DVDs, and toys to write about, I just find it hard to do.  I even wrote a DVD review, but never posted it.  I was going to add some screen captures, but my lap top won't do that and I'm too lazy to go down to the basement computer to do it.  You see my dilemma?

I got an e-mail from an old Bruceploitation reader who informed me that the old website was not dead, but still around!  Turns out the entire Geocities network was archived and BRUCEPLOITATION right along with it.  I was browsing around the site checking it out because it had been a while since I've seen it like that.  I forgot how bad it looks, but I only took one HTML web course and that was back in 1997, so it's not entirely my fault.  I also got an "Incomplete" in that class, so it's not like I passed.  I'm not sure why because I handed in the final assignment!  So the website is not very flashy, but it has some decent content and (I think) it is pretty easy to navigate.  You could go check it out and get all nostalgic, but don't!  I was reading some stuff there and noticed a few spelling and grammatical mistakes and it's driving me crazy because I can't fix them!  If you read my blog then you are probably wondering why I'm getting so worked up about spelling and grammar, but hey you gotta start sometime.