Sotaku's Xanga

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:54:01 GMT

I believe I've caught the skiing bug. I'm sitting here at work looking at the rising temps through the week with a slightly hyperextended elbow, bruised tailbone (that one's from snowboarding), and feeling generally tired and I just put in a request to make it a half day so I can get one more day in before it all goes away.

What's wrong with me?

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:42:42 GMT

Funny how even after changing houses a few times, leaving the window open in the spring for a couple days makes your house smell the same. I always associated the smell with my room at my parents house but have since learned that that smell is more about Indiana than the house I'm in (as Texas and Maine have smells all their own). With the unseasonably warm weather we're having right now my window has been open in my study and what it smells like makes me a little crazy. Gives me itchy hands and feet. Makes me want to do things and go places. It's pretty awesome.

"We'll call it the Schwan." Or: "Terry the tiger says they're GOOOOOOD"

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 06:05:37 GMT

I heard from an old co-worker today that one of my good friends Erik had died in a car accident last Tues after graduating (I believe with his masters in lit). Since then I've been taking account of just how much he contributed to who I am today. It's daunting. Erik was an amazing guy. Unbelievably charming, witty, funny, and intelligent. I met him when he was assigned to me as my "Co-op" student at Subaru. I cursed the thought of being stuck with some pimple faced know nothing kid (mind you I was 18 at the time, haha). Instead I gained an amazing friend - who btw was ~6 years older than me. While I taught him how to troubleshoot computers and networks he taught me a lot about people and just being a great person to chat with.

We hung out often - far past his co-op. I celebrated many firsts with Erik. First time eating sushi, he helped me find the first beer I'd ever enjoyed (likewise, first, martini, scotch, congac, and IPA (favorite style of beer) were enjoyed with him), first time sitting in with a band, first time playing in a flowershop (haha), first game of golf, first game of speed golf, first Japanese steakhouse, and many many others. His hospitality was remarkable - able to take a slew of people who had never met and make a fantastic dinner party out of it. Erik was in many ways the glue. I don't know that I've known a nicer, more enjoyable person.

Now comes the difficult part where I have to wrap my head around not being able to enjoy that person again.

Roller Boogie Boogaloo

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:29:09 GMT

Yesssssss. You simply must subscribe to the Roller Boogie Audio Successory of the Day mailing list. Everyday a new piece of roller boogie funk in your mailbox. Listening to something from the break'n soundtrack right now and my day just got 108x better.

How can you say no to these guys?

I know I can't.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:55:54 GMT

A fantastic Birthday!

Rachel really, really, really outdid herself. Ruth's Chris steakhouse (been wanting to try it since I was like 12) where I had Kobe steak for the first time (been wanting to try it since I was in Texas), Clocky (been wanting one since it was a MIT Media Lab project), and Three Floyds Fantabulous Resplendance (didn't even know you could get it outside the brewery! And I thought it didn't even exist any more even if you did go there!). Not to mention I think I have Ice Cream Cake somewhere in this house (I'm stuffed though).

I'm grinning like a fool. Thanks babe!

She has some pictures over at her place.

PS - Clocky's alarm sounds like R2D2 from Hell. I don't know how long it'll be until I just throw it. lol

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:53:42 GMT

Late to the party; I found this strangely inspiring.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Poland nearly destroyed me - I love the Poles.

In other news, I've quit my job and accepted a new one that I start at in a week. Crazy times. I'm both a bit sad and extremely excited at the change. I've lived and breathed this job for the last year, and it's time for a change but I'll definitely miss the people.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:23:55 GMT

Om nom nom nom... Rachel made homemade muffins yesterday for Raissa's birthday and they're amazing. I just ate the last one after clearing out a 3rd of them yesterday.

Anyway, I think I'm due for an update there.

Been a crazy couple weeks - launching ~3 sites and 3 servers this week after not launching anything for nearly a year at work, birthdays, projects, it's crazy. Hopefully now I can cut out this work 10-12hr day crap. My coworkers are telling me to take a long weekend. I think I may. I don't know if I've ever taking a long weekend to do nothing/catch up on personal projects.

Work is taking up entirely too much of my time lately, burning me out really. I love what I do, but you know, you hit a point and it just starts to grind. So I've turned to a lot of personal projects. Picked up this excellent book called "Making Things Talk". It's about networking physical objects - usually using the Arduino or a similar project. Just a fantastic book. There's something about the whole DIY/MAKE scene that just exudes joy. It makes for great reading, and I totally get it.

In a similar vein, I'm working on getting a DorkBot chapter started here in Indy. Not sure where to start, probably fliers around the engineering school and art school. It's sort of an odd niche but I think there has to be at least 5 other people who'd be up for a DIY electronics/art knitting club of sorts.

Maybe it's just spring but I feel a little bit like a fog has lifted of sorts. I feel like I've been mindlessly churning away for months. I finally feel like getting back to design, art, and crap like that. That makes me happy.

Ok, off to shed the neck beard.

This one goes out to my coug...

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:31:48 GMT

Three months out of the year, I have my own personal cougar I'm married to. Today (the 14th) begins that 3 months. Rachel thinks 27 means she's old, I see no sense in that. That's absurd. Bah.

Bah is what I say when something is absurd.

Anyway, a couple weeks ago she did something for me that Jenny did for her husband, and it pretty much rocked. I'm still finding things on that list that make me grin like a fool.

So now, it's my turn!

100 Reasons I love Rachel

1. She has an infectious smile, particularly when it's so big that it shows off her cheek bones
2. Her voice when she sings - it's beautiful
3. How she fills our house with music for that matter
4. Her sense of style. Even if I don't get it the first go around all of the time in the end I always see that she nails it.
5. The fact that she's such an ass kicker at work - they once mentioned she should go after an exec position. They're absolutely right. She freaking executes.
6. She has a beautiful neck and collar bones
7. She has a fantastic sense of humor. She makes me laugh, often.
8. The fact that she's a "Farker"
9. That she'll kick back and have a cigar and some liquor neat with me.
10. That she'll watch football, have a beer, and eat hot wings.
11. A fantastic lover. Seriously.
12. How she listens to me even when I'm rambling on about some inane thing I saw on the internet (haha)
13. How she rips me to shreds in games of logic, or puzzle games (even though it may look like I'm frustrated - I'm really proud too)
14. How much she loves the outdoors
15. She dreams with me
16. How responsible she is with money
17. How well spoken she is
18. How well written she is!
19. Playing games with her on our DSes
20. Traveling with her is awesome
21. Not afraid to try new and exotic foods
22. She is an amazing hostess
23. A safe and sane driver (even if I give her a hard time sometimes)
24. The fact that she sews
25. She's an excellent cook, coming up with some awesome new dishes
26. How well she can draw, photoshop, and illustrate
27. She's stupidly comfortable with and very good at coordinating colors.
28. The way her head feels on my chest
29. The way my arms feel around her
30. The way her hand feels in mine
31. The fact that when I made her eat with chopsticks even though she didn't know how she immediately picked it up
32. She's not afraid to dive into something she hasn't done
33. She makes our house look beeeeeautiful (both in the amazing decorating job she does and in how she maintains it)
34. How she made a CD to give to her family as a christmas gift.
35. That she lived on her own at 16 and totally pulled it off
36. She could honestly do what ever she wanted to do in life.
37. She bought me a humidor for a birthday present
38. Isn't afraid of hard work
39. Looks hot in glasses.
40. Looks hot in skirts...mmmmmmmm...
41. Looks hot in pretty much everything for that matter
42. Gives amazing massages
43. She's a fantastic coordinator - whether it's our wedding, getting our foster license, or buying/selling a house she tends to outpace everyone around her
44. She's awesomely goofy at times.
45. She stocked my humidor for me last christmas...
46. The Christmas before she got me a flight yoke, even though I know the idea of me ever taking flight lessons scares her
47. She also comes out to autocrosses to watch me run though I know it can make her nervous (esp with cars spinning out and all of that)
48. I know if I said "Let's live in X crazy place", she'd be totally down
49. She supported my butt while I was in college being irresponsible. =P
50. She's not afraid to jump into new and crazy projects
51. She bought me the geeky but really fun Settlers of Catan - and plays too
52. She's good at chess
53. She's very detailed and thorough
54. She keeps her self in great shape and eats what's good for her - even when I'm screaming "Buuuuuurger" over my gut
55. She loves me despite the gut, chest hair, bald spot, and general falling apartness =P
56. Whenever Maine is mentioned she gets this misty faraway look. She knows where her home is and she loves it.
57. She puts up with my insane pickiness. Seriously, I'm downright prissy sometimes... but she's awesome about it
58. She knows how to make *my* coffee just right
59. She supports my hobbies regardless of if they're something she's into
60. She once set up a Birthday scavenger hunt for me in Texas while she was in Maine that included Sue, Layne, Boyd, and many other friends (and I think a dead mouse from eating too many chocolate covered espresso beans at Layne and Sue's house, thought that may have been another time) which culminated in a Russian Lomo camera.
61. She loves mind games and puzzles. And she's rather good at them too.
62. She's insane at Puzzle Fighter. Insane.
63. She'll make nearly yearly trips to Cedar Point and other amusement parks, even though I'm pretty sure she's not half the coaster nut I am.
64. When I ran my first Mini Marathon she trekked all over downtown Indy in heels to find me a flower. I think she had worse blisters than I did.
65. A few weeks later she presented me with my race bib and medal framed.
66 The next year she ran it with me (I've been missing her this year during training)
67. She's not afraid of a bloody steak (even when I make `em too salty)
68. She loves my family, esp my dad
69. When we first saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind we were both so similarly moved that neither of us could do anything but drive to the nearest park and sit staring over the river for a long time
70. She picked out (unknowing at the time) the most beautiful and unique engagement ring
71. Not afraid to dig into a plate of ribs
72. She has an awesome red guitar (and makes up songs on the fly that are hilarious)
73. She looks great with short hair, and long hair
74. She's a natural blonde
75. Knows how to pamper me (see the guide on dealing with a grumpy Brandon, just reading that helped me unwind)
76. When we were looking for houses she was relentless in her search finding us a great one, and then coordinating nearly every facet of the transaction (honestly I barely had to do anything)
77. She makes these great smiley and frowny faces that she sends to me when we're fighting or she's having a really, really bad day
78. She doesn't give me a hard time about the stack of doors in the garage that I should have installed ages ago (they're my arch nemesis)
79. She understand how important and close to my heart gaming is (It's silly isn't it? but it is...)
80. She has nice toe cleavage
81. The other cleavage is pretty hot too.
82. I love that she won't kill me for the previous two... merely maim.
83. We played DS and did tequila shots by the fireplace on our honeymoon
84. She makes me feel hot.
85. She understands my need to hole up for a bit
86. She likes the beer I make... often more than I do.
87. She listens to me when I talk about really, really geeky stuff at the end of my day.
88. We bowl - complete with smokey adjacent lanes and pitchers of beer. None of this kiddy bowling.
89. Similarly, we mini-golf. This on the other hand is the kiddy stuff. But it's awesome.
90. She plays rock band with me - and freaking rocks vocals (the only 100% Performance was by her on Expert no less)
91. She loves Jesus.
92. She knows how to canoe
93. Every year we go to this little Christmas tree farm outside my home town and pick out a tree. I would have never started doing that without her.
94. Best Christmas stockings in the history of mankind. Seriously redefined it for me.
95. One valentines day when I was in Maine she woke me up with a scavenger hunt that had me running all over the house, finding home made red boxes, cards and all sorts of things.
96. She's a sudoku ninja.
98. She's a blazingly fast reader
99. She has the sort of classic beauty that will only get deeper and richer as she gets older
100. Indeed there's no one I'd rather find at either end of my day

(Happy Birthday Rachel!)

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:06:52 GMT

Freaking hilarious: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/

(and often stingingly true)

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 18:59:37 GMT

I came across the *best* article today in my email:

How to Make a Less Grumpy Brandon
By Rachel Ferguson

It happens to all of us from time to time. You wake up in the morning and your Brandon is fine, but by midday something is amiss…perhaps it’s hunger, perhaps it’s exhaustion, or maybe it’s just a good old-fashioned bad mood. Whatever the cause- there is good news! There is always a way to make your Brandon less grumpy. Just follow these simple steps.

Before your Brandon gets home, change into something comfortable, but revealing…like that shirt that makes him stare at your boobies
When your Brandon gets home from work, give him a few minutes to stomp around. Don’t say anything. He just needs to decompress
After about 10 minutes, tell your Brandon to lay down and rub his back for him. Careful! Brandons can be ticklish!
Ply him with alcohol. Nothing is sure to make your Brandon happier than a tall glass of beer…or, if beer cannot be found, Vodka can do the trick
Once the alcohol has set in, offer him dinner. I would suggest something in the way of comfort foods. From my experience, many Brandons enjoy a Five Guys burger from time to time
Once dinner is over, give him room again. You may find your Brandon just needs some time to play video games or hole up in his study. This is normal and should not be taken as an indication that he is angry with you.
Give him some good kisses before bedtime and, if you can, try to coax him into bed a little early to get some rest. Brandons achieve optimal performance after a good night’s sleep.

Hopefully these simple steps will help you enjoy your Brandon, even when he’s having a bad day. Remember, you’re lucky to have one, so take good care of him!

There's been a great stint of articles by this author recently. This one had me seeing double with happiness for quite a while...