Geek in a Machine Shop

Name Googling

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Thu, 10 May 2007 18:41:00 +0000

So I got bored recently and googled my name. Usually the same assortment of links comes up, but there was a new one today. Check out this page and scroll down to the bottom.

Wow

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Mon, 07 May 2007 16:49:00 +0000

So, wow. Finally a blog post on geek shop.

I'm wondering if I should keep this blog going. I seem to have almost completely lost interest in maintaining it. This is the way I am though. I hop around from project to project, rarely finishing anything along the way. For example, I'll get excited about playing piano and learning a new song for a couple weeks. Then I'll discover some cool new software, be it a game or 3D modelling or whatever, and spend all my free time with that. Or I'll think of a cool electronic thingy to build and then I'm on to that for a while. This cycle is fun, but I sometimes feel like I never accomplish anything.

There are of course other things that keep me from blogging. Swing The Mood comes to mind. Rehearsals have been going for a few weeks now and it's like having two jobs. I don't mean to say that I feel overworked, but it puts a huge dent in my free time. How else am I to pursue my project o' the week? On the plus side, the rehearsals are hella fun and the show is going to be mind blowingly good!

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I haven't been blogging because of a lack of time and I'm interested in doing other things with the time that I have. My apologies to anyone who still frequents geek shop.

Point of Interest

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 15:13:00 +0000

There are many stops of interest along Highway 1 in BC. The next time you're driving through the Fraser Canyon along that stretch with all the tunnels, stop at the Hell's Gate tunnel. There is a little cafe there called Elvis Rocks the Canyon. Just park in the parking lot, but don't bother with the cafe. There is old abandoned tunnel nearby! It runs parallel to the Hell's Gate tunnel, but it is inaccessible to vehicles now. There is small forested area right next to the new tunnel, just head into that. You'll have to climb a small hill, and then you will find what I am writing about. The tunnel is caving in. It was never built up with cement like the new tunnels are, it is carved out of the rock. The ceiling has collapsed in most places and the bottom is covered in large chunks of rock, but it is completely passable still. I could see all the way through to the other side. I did not have a flashlight with me so I didn't venture inside. I'm sorry I didn't have a camera with me, but I will the next time I visit.

Random Image Search

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 21:17:00 +0000

Here's a cool trick, go to google image search and type in something like DSC00731.jpg. Replace the 5 digit number with any number though, like DSC00276.jpg or DSC01938.jpg. I think Sony digital cameras create files beginning with DSC, so what this does is bring up an assortment of pictures from all walks of life. In one search I found pictures of the catacombs in France, a head injury, belly dancers, a chess tournament, a cruise ship, a guy dressed in a hot dog costume, the inside of a dining car on a train, penguins, etc.

In other "I'm bored, let's look at the intarweb" news, try this puzzle game. I got stuck a couple times but was able to finish the game without outside help.

i has a blog

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:06:00 +0000

Wow, so it's been over a month since I have posted. Things have been happening, so I'll go over them in point form.

I was a tree in the Wizard of Oz. We did 11 shows, and they were awesome.
I finally finished building my DDR dance pad, and it works great.
There was a party at my house on St. Patrick's day.

Wow, that doesn't look like much at all. But it's this kind of stuff that fills my days. Oh, and here's a spiffy picture from the Wizard of Oz. Those are some fine looking trees.

I've added a couple more online comics on the right side of this blog: Bang Barstal and Gunnerkrigg Court. Gunnerkrigg is certainly worth your time. It's setting is a delightfully dark and mysterious "school", the main characters are easily likable and the story has a good mixture of intrigue, fantasy/sci fi and humour. Bang Barstal is a good sci fi romp, but updates are few and far between at the moment, just like geekshop.

I'm using facebook now. It's a social networking website. If you feel inclined to sign up, add my profile to your friends list.

Weddings, Hats and More

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 17:37:00 +0000

Alanna and I drove down to Langley on Friday to see some friends get married. It was a lovely ceremony and I'm really very happy for the newlyweds, Morgan and Sandy. I met Morgan at UNBC and he is a really nice guy, and it looks like he's marrying into a wonderful family. Congratulations to you both!

We met up with Mr. and Mrs. Carbonman on Saturday. They had just flown in from Mexico that morning to see the wedding. It was nice to know that they had not been kidnapped/robbed/murdered while down south. :) I think Carbon is going to post some stories and pictures on his blog, be sure to check Carbon's Corner. They brought me back a little bottle of mezcal. There is an actual worm in the bottle.

After the wedding the four of us went exploring. We visited a Toy Store that the Carbons frequent regularly. After that we went out to Fort Langley, which is where the reception took place. We were early so we explored the town. We had a snack at a 50's style diner, and we also found a very cool hat shop. I bought Alanna a cute pink hat, and I found a fedora for the 1940's musical show I'll be in this summer. I love it, it looks very sharp. Now all I need is a pinstripe suit.

I was asked more than a few times about my dance pad. I didn't realize there were so many people keeping track of my progress. Just like I always say when asked, it's 99% done! But seriously, when I got a Wii I completely stopped working on it. I got back to it earlier this month, and now all I have to is route a cable and install a connector. It's like, 1 maybe 2 hours of work. I'll find the time. :)

TV

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 18:36:00 +0000

My sister and I used to watch some really weird shit on TV when we were kids. Sure, there was the usual Saturday morning crap like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Rainbow Bright, 100 Huntley Street, GI Joe, Transformers, Jem, Ron Jeremy's Super Happy Funhouse, etc. But I hazily remember watching some absolutely strange stuff on the Knowledge Network, BC's public education broadcaster.

Supergran was a British show about this decrepit old lady who had super strength and a magic bicycle. She also has the power to smell like mothballs and Bengay. I remember little about this show, except for perhaps the theme song which STILL gets stuck in my head to this day. In the episode I remember, there was a huge house that some guy was driving around town. Apparently this was a bad thing.

Another gooder was an animated show called Simon about a kid who would draw rubbish on his chalkboard at home. Then on his walk to school all his creations would become real on the other side of a fence. So he'd skip over the fence and play around with his chalkboard friends. This one had a catchy theme song too, another one stuck in my head. It's worth mentioning that Mike Meyers stole the theme song from this show for one of his retarded characters on Saturday Night Live. Click the link above to watch an episode of Simon on YouTube!

Rainbow, unbelievably, has a dedicated official website. This was a British Mr. Dressup rip-off. The host of the show was a twat, but thankfully Rainbow featured a wonderful puppet character named Zippy, a puppet who had a zipper for a mouth. I remember Zippy because he was a total asshole most of the time. He was sort of like Oscar the grouch. The best part was that the host of the show would zip up his mouth whenever he'd start lipping off. Thankfully this show did NOT have a memorable theme song. Click here for the YouTube dirt!

Back when I actually watched these shows I remember thinking they were really weird. I certainly remember more about these shows than I do about the Transformers though. I think the Transformers were robots that ate ener-Johns, and could transform into major kitchen appliances.

Celebrity Similarity?

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 19:19:00 +0000

A while ago a waitress at Boston Pizza told me I look like James Spader, an actor on Boston Legal. Here's a gallery for reference. I really don't see any similarity except for maybe the eyes. He has my slothful half closed eyelids look. I can't find a good pic of myself for comparison, sorry.

Has anyone else been told they look like a famous person? I sure don't get that very often. The only other time I can remember is being told I look like James Van Der Beek, star of Dawson's Creek. Hm, two James look-a-likes! I sense a CONSPIRACY. I bet I was a beta clone in the secret James project! Once they perfected the James DNA sequence, my memory was wiped and I was re-branded as a Donald. Yeah.

Fun With Pixels

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 17:25:00 +0000

I've discovered something called Isometric Pixel Art. There are some great examples of this on the web. I modelled my bedroom using this technique, here it is!

I really like the way this picture turned out. There's a bit of a trick in doing this kind of style but it's not complicated. There's a wonderful tutorial here. I had fun drawing this out, I think I'll make more.

I'm a Tree

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 18:32:00 +0000

Hi all. Sorry I haven't posted in a bazillion years. My bad. Christmas was awesome, New Year's also awesome. I hope everyone enjoyed the Holidays like I did.

Rehearsals have started for The Wizard of Oz. I don't remember if I wrote about this or not, but I auditioned. I was sorta thinking that I would make a nice scarecrow. The part I got? Tree! An apple tree to be specific. I'm not disappointed that I didn't get a bigger role. Being a tree is going to be great. The group of guys who are playing trees are funny and upbeat, in other words we're a bunch of clowns. Apparently we're going to either be on stage or chillin' with the audience for the entire show. We're always around! How cool is that? Plus we've got a scene where we throw apples at Dorothy and make lame tree jokes. I may be going out on a "limb" here, but I think you should all pack your "trunks" and "leaf" your house to come see the Wizard of Oz the first week of March.

I'm wondering what kind of tree costumes we'll get. Here's what I'm thinking:

I could so see myself in this, minus the hairy ankles.

The Right Way to Peel a Christmas Orange: EXPOSED

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 19:38:00 +0000

The time has come to reveal the awful truth behind an old post here on Geekshop. A year ago today, I posted a how-to article on peeling a Christmas orange. The idea was simple: remove the orange peel in a single piece. However, when I peeled the orange for the 5th and final picture the peel broke into two pieces! I faked the photo and hoped that nobody would discover my crime. I'll wait a moment while you come to grips with this horrifying reality.

(The orange is cleverly placed to hide the horrible truth!)

(Here is an illustration of what actually happened that day)

I have kept this dark secret with me for a full year now, agonizing over the injustice to you, my readers! I apologize to you all. Now go eat an orange however the hell you want to. Merry Christmas!

Cuteness courtesy of YouTube

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 17:17:00 +0000

Check out what appears to be an extra puffy Gund stuffy puppy (heh) trying to stay awake.

Wacky Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 16:51:00 +0000

I did lots of stuff this weekend. I had two rehearsals for the nutcracker, two Christmas parties and went Christmas shopping in Prince George. Alanna went to PG with me and we stayed over Friday night with CarbonMan and Peanut. Thanks to our little trip I'm mostly finished my Christmas shopping. Woohoo! It was nice hangin' with Carbon and Co. again too, I wish we had more time there. On a positive note we played some Wii, that was fun. I hadn't ever tried any multiplayer Wii games until this weekend.

On Friday the four of us were in EB Games just looking around. They had a Wii kiosk and a PlayStation 3 kiosk setup. The contrast between the two is amusing. The Wii setup is white and glows light blue, and the PS3 setup is black and glows red. It was like Heaven and Hell meeting each other on the field of battle, which happened to be a game store. I've played Wii before so I decided to embrace the dark side and stood before the mighty Sony altar. The temperature was staggering, and I could smell boiling sulphur.

Through the haze of heat I could make out a display, it was some kind of motorcycle game, and I was racing through a desert with a few other vehicles. The graphics did look pretty nice, but there was something wrong with the sound. There was only music, no sound effects. I paused the game and enabled the tilt sensors in the controller. After unpausing the sound started working! Also, the tilt sensors in the controller aren't bad. Now here's the best part. I wasn't exactly doing well in the game, and I kept crashing. Well the PS3 decided to follow my example and crashed. The sucker froze right up! Now I know you're thinking that the PS3 is new hardware and the bugs have yet to be worked out, but I think this wasn't a crash at all, it's a feature. The PS3 is designed to be the ~~God~~ Satan of your living room. Therefore, it will make decisions for you, such as when you should stop playing it. I believe that this PS3 felt my inward leanings towards Nintendo and deemed me unworthy to wield the ~~hallowed~~ cursed sixaxis controller. It also left a pentagram shape seared on my right palm. What a fantastic first impression. I totally want a PS3 now!

Pimped out bicycles

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 20:10:00 +0000

If you can think of something impossibly weird and/or stupid, it's likely that somewhere on this planet it has been done. For example, check out these bikes.

The Worst of MySpace: Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 22:28:00 +0000

A few months ago CarbonMan wrote a little post about MySpace entitled MySpace.com: The unshaven, malformed ass of the Internet. I couldn't agree more with his post! In fact, it has inspired me to start a new series of posts here on Geek in a Machine Shop. I'm going to call it The Worst of MySpace! In this series I will root out horrendous pages on MySpace and link to them. Then we can all have a good "point and laugh" session in the comments. Also, I've come up with the following scoring system. MySpace pages start with a score of 0. For breaking each of the following rules, the page gets -1 point. Therefore, 0 is the best possible score and -10 is the worst.

- Bad text/background colour combination
- Poor grammar/spelling
- Lame profile name/photo
- Retarded images
- Bad music playing
- Gaudy gif/flash animations
- "I hate my life" or "I'm going to kill myself"
- Inside references/jokes
- Broken images/music
- Excessive profanity/sexual references

Ready? Here we go!

Today's Worst of MySpace breaks one of the cardinal rules of website design: Ensure that viewers can actually read your page! The epilepsy inducing background prevents us from reading the riveting dialogue, for example: "hola...bitch..i love yooh so much but if yooh want our relationtion to be continued than comment my fuckin pictuers or something!!!!" Well, maybe the background choice isn't so bad after all.

Our showcase site today also features a pile of stupid pictures. Look, it's a picture of a t-shirt with something funny on it! Hahaha! It says "Got Milk", and her boobs are big! That is delightfully amusing! Along with a handful of other transgressions, this site gets a score of -4.

If anyone feels like trolling MySpace, feel free to email me links to particularly ugly pages. If they're bad enough they'll be showcased here. I'm especially eager to find that perfect(ly awful) -10 page!

Big ol' Update

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 16:02:00 +0000

I moved this weekend, I'm now living in a 4 bedroom house with one of my co-workers and two other roommates. So far so good. I've been getting along fine with everyone, and it's a decent place to live. They have a dog, a labrador puppy. She jumps up on the couch, chews everything in sight, and is generally a pain in the neck. She's cute though, and I love dogs. I'll just keep my stuff out of her sights. Last night I found her with a plastic container of parmesan cheese on the couch. She'd chewed the lid off and was licking the parmesan out of the container and watching TV.

Zelda: Twilight Princess continues to amaze me. Last night Alanna and I completed a desert dungeon to get the Twilight Mirror, and the boss battle was amazing. It's one of those video game moments I won't ever forget about. I know, I'm a geek! Still though, if you've got a Wii, you've got to have this game.

I'm going to be in a local production of The Nutcracker. I won't be wearing tights, thank God. I'm in the first act only as a random relative at the Christmas party. I don't have to do much dancing. I'll venture a guess and say that the show is going to be great! And not just because I'm in it.

Two weekends ago they held auditions for the next Kersley Musical Theatre Production: The Wizard of Oz. I have the prestigious role of an angry tree. Remember that scene in the movie where the trees are throwing apples at Dorothy and the Scarecrow? Well that'll be me. Apparently I will be interacting with the audience a fair amount before and during the shows, sounds like fun.

Oh, and it's -29C in Quesnel right now. Yow.

And check out Wii Have A Problem, a website dedicated to making fun of those who can't hold onto the Wii controller and damage their TV/themselves/friends.

Wii Attack

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 16:39:00 +0000

So I got a Wii yesterday, even though I said I wouldn't. All I can say is that powerful external forces were at work on my brain. These forces convinced me that I did need a Wii ASAP. Getting the Wii was an ordeal, but I didn't have to camp outside WalMart to get it. There were some folks camped outside the local WallyWorld for 22 hours. These are people that can be called Nintendo Fanboys.

My and my posse were on the verge of camping out overnight. We were outside the store with the fanboys at about 10pm on Saturday. The fanboys were quite funny. One guy that had been there since Saturday morning told us about how a car pulled up earlier in the day and the occupants asked him, "Are you homeless?" At around 10:30pm a manager came out with tickets which entitled us to buy a Wii within the next 24 hours. No camping for us. Some Fanboys decided to stay, we got our tickets and went home to get some sleep. In the morning we re-joined the partially frozen Nintendo fans and lined up. The WallyWorld employees were ready for us and organized the process very well. Buying a Wii was a simple procedure. Success!

The Wii is great, I love playing it. If you're a video game fan, this system is a must-try. If you're not a gamer try it anyways. You'll be surprised.

Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 16:20:00 +0000

It was my Birthday on Monday (and Muggs' birthday too!) I got some neat junk this year. Alanna made me a slanket, which is like a blanket with sleeves. Check the link to see why this is a good thing. I also got a Leatherman tool from my aunt and cousins, a real nice one. Muggs sent me a spiffy jacket. And of course I got some cash too, which will go towards buying a Nintendo Wii.

I didn't pre-order a Wii. The Wii will be around for a while, I don't need to get one right when they come out (which is on Sunday). Sometimes I get caught up in the hype and buying one on Sunday seems very important to me. My brain goes "ZOMG WII GET A WII ON WII SUNDAY!! A WII!!11ONE" But then I come around and realize it's just a game system, not a necessity.

In other news I'll probably be moving into another place in town here. It's a house and I'll have three roommates, one of which I work with. I saw the place yesterday, it seems nice. Two bathrooms, lotsa space, washer, dryer, foosball table, all the important things. Cheap rent, too.

In other other news, I got a raise at work, and a promise that I'll get full benefits. Yow! I guess they like me here. Which means I should probably stop blogging and get back to work. ;)

Dance Pad: Closer to Completion

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 07:03:00 +0000

The USB dance pad brain WORKS!

Dance Pad: Nearing Completion!

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 01:43:00 +0000

It's not entirely finished, but damn close! All of the light/sensor assemblies for the pads are working, as you can see in the video. They're very bright and easily visible in light and dark environments. The front arrow looks wonky, but that's because they aren't fastened down under the lexan yet. I'm excited! There are only a few details left to finish and it will be complete.

Domain Name Blues

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 22:23:00 +0000

I've been thinking about registering a domain and getting some hosting. It's not hard to find cheap reliable hosting these days and it would be nice to have a website to mess around with. The problem is choosing a domain name, I really don't know what to pick. I've thought about transferring the 'geekshop' name from this blog but it sounds too much like an online store. Also I'm getting tired of the LazerSlug moniker so I don't want www.lazerslug.net.

As far as content goes, I would host this blog on my site instead of on blogspot. I would post pictures and data relating to projects (ie. dance pad). I would have pictures and videos and stuff. Nothing really fancy.

So what I'm asking for is suggestions for a good domain name. You can use this site to determine if a domain name is available or not. I am partial to .net, but I suppose a .com would be ok. It should reflect my personality. Those of you who know what I'm like will have fun with this.

P.S. www.hugedork.net is already taken.

Haiku for Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 19:04:00 +0000

You are halloween
Sinister pumpkin visage
Haunting my doorstep

Advertising to the Senses

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 20:57:00 +0000

Last time I was in WalMart and saw one of those people giving free food samples in the aisle, it made me think about advertising and the way humans perceive the world. The lady handing out food samples is advertising a product through our sense of taste. It got me thinking, because I don't usually consider advertising to go beyond our sense of sight and hearing. You see ads on posters, billboards, TV, the internet, and you hear ads on the radio, television, etc. and now I realize that you can taste an advertisement too.

That leaves two other senses untouched by advertisements, right? The senses of smell and touch. However, advertisers attack these fronts of our perception as well. Have you ever noticed how you can smell McDonalds out in the WalMart parking lot? Don't think for a second that the pervasive aroma is unintentional. And touch? I can think of at least three methods that advertisers use that assault our fingertips. I'll leave it to the readers to think of tactile advertising methods and post them in the comments.

This train of thought has increased my critical thinking of advertising, which is certainly good for me. People need to be aware of how corporations are trying to get their money.

Weekend? What weekend?

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 15:31:00 +0000

Man have I ever been busy these past few days! On Friday the Fabulous 50's group got together again and did the show at the Legion. Let me tell you, those Legion types are a bunch of rowdy drunks! But they sure make an awesome audience. They loved us!

On Saturday the church had a garage sale so Alanna and I helped out there. The church raised over $900 by selling a fair amount of "treasures". We also put some effort into the dance pad on Saturday as well, Alanna helped me mount all of the LED lights.

I haven't mentioned this on my blog before (I think), but I am on the board of Quesnel Live Arts and we had our first show of the season on Saturday. Ballet Kelowna put on a wonderful show (if you're into that sort of thing) to a sold out theatre! QLA has the tradition of inviting the performers to a small party after the show so I had a chance to meet the dancers and their director. They are a very talented and dedicated group and QLA was lucky to have them come for a show.

On Sunday after church I drove to Prince George with Alanna and her family to collect her belongings in the apartment that she never had the chance to move in to. The pharmacy tech program she was enrolled in was cancelled only four days before it was scheduled to start. Apparently there weren't enough students enrolled in the program. So Sunday was spent moving furniture. We had dinner with CarbonMan and Co. and collected tickets for the Barenaked Ladies concert on Feb. 4, sweet.

So yeah, it had it's moments but this weekend was too busy to be called a weekend.

The Night of the Living Corn Maze

noreply@blogger.com (LazerSlug) — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 19:36:00 +0000

So last night myself and few brave adventurers (pictured above) went to conquer the local corn maze OF DOOM. If you've never been in a maze of, well, maise, this is what it looks like inside:

There are children running around everywhere, screaming and yelling and generally having a great time. Dare I say they are indeed Children of the Corn! Oh, and there are also BOOGEY MEN in the corn, waiting to scare the living daylights from your soul! We managed to capture a photo of one boogey man before he knew we were upon him. Ah, the irony of surprising a boogey man!

I'll leave it up to Alanna to describe the haunted house. It's story is too horrific for this lowly PG-13 rated blog to describe!