Evil Yellow Monkey

Monte Cristo, June 28

2008-06-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

I smoked a Monte Cristo today! No, not the tasty ham and cheese toasted sandwich, but a cigar in a distinctive yellow tube.

It was one of those cigars that you open, take a whiff, and instantly are transported back to those summer nights cruising in the Camaro. Some cigars do that to me, and some do not. This one definitely did. The funny thing is I don’t remember smoking a lot of Monte Cristos back then. But the aroma of that yellow tube just did it for me. Not the smoothest of cigars to smoke, but very good of course. The taste and aroma whilst smoking it was wonderful, as it is a nice cigar in its rite, although it was a bit coarse for my taste. However, I found it to be a bit high-maintenance, since I actually had to relight it halfway through. I wasn’t even taking too long between draws.

Overall, I would recommend it to friends and colleagues who have been smoking cigars for quite some time, but not to beginners. It is quite harsh for beginner palate. Of course, I’ll smoke another, if you’ve got one. :-)

Cigars

2007-11-19T22:22:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm getting back into smoking cigars, I am thinking of reviewing them on this blog.
Do you think that this would be the best place for that, or should we start an entirely new blog dedicated to those wonderful little tobacco rolls?

Either way, I smoked a Punch tonight. The best part was the glass tube that it came in. I've really been diggin' the Macanudo Hampton Courts lately.

Warm Fuzzies

2007-10-11T12:53:00.000-07:00

Check this out. I found a website called wevoke.com. This website has news stories categorized by how it makes the reader feel. Its a pretty cool idea and wish I thought of it!
Basically, there are a bunch of news articles and the readers vote on how that article makes them feel, whether angry, happy, hopeful, etc. Then you can search for articles to make you feel a certain way. So if I'm really pissed off, I can search for articles that make me angry to add fuel to the fire. Or maybe I need to calm down a bit, so I can look for articles that give me the warm fuzzies. It's fun to play around with. Give it a go when you get a chance. Me? I'm gunna read some stories about puppies and happiness pie!

mmmm...Free Stuff

2007-10-10T12:14:00.000-07:00

I came across this website the other day. It basically offers free product samples from a variety of different companies. Hey, who doesn't like free stuff? Its pretty well organized too with products ranging from baby, food, family, to the more intimate of items. Wink, wink, nudge nudge, you know what I mean? Say no more, say no more!

It's pretty cool. I'm gunna give a few products a try. Especially with a new baby. Free stuff for the kid means more play money for mom and dad!

Anyway, check it out when you get a chance.

http://www.freediot.com

Family Spooks Website

2007-10-08T11:39:00.001-07:00

Howdy all! I just created a new website. Its a site full of Halloween Costume ideas for families. Its called Family Spooks (http://familyspooks.blogspot.com). It has hundreds of costume suggestions submitted by people from all over the world! It's pretty cool. Check it out. Spread the word to friends and family. Plus, if you have a Digg account, please Digg my site to increase its visibility.

Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

Stupid Medicine!

2007-09-19T09:13:00.000-07:00

My contacts were bothering me for a couple of weeks. I couldn't put them in for more than a day before having to get rid of them. I finally went to the Dr. to get it checked out. It turns out I had a small ulcer on my cornia. Not that big of a deal, really. Basically I wasn't getting enough oxygen to my eye. Anyway, the Dr. prescribed me some eye drops. She said it was an anti-biotic/steroid solution. I went to the pharmacy to have the prescription filled. What I got back was a tiny little bottle. About half the size of a Visine bottle. The told me the bill was $35. $35!!! For eye drops??? I asked her if my insurance covered any of that. She said, yes. You have good insurance. Normally the eye drops are $90! Can you believe that? That is completely ridiculous! And I don't buy the fact they have to do R&D and that's what shoots the price of medicine up. Back in the day, sure. But nowadays, every company has R&D! Cell phones that they give away, IPods, computer games, etc! But you don't see Apple charging 10k for their products. I guess the medical industry knows they can get away with it. No wonder why the number 1 reason for bankruptcy in America is due to medical bills!

Dancing Koreans!

2007-07-12T08:08:00.000-07:00

DANCING KOREANS!

Here's a video that we'll all like. Travis, it's choreographed dancing. Ian, it's dancing Koreans!!!

...Dance, Dance, Dancing Machine.

2007-06-04T07:43:00.000-07:00

One of the funny things about World Of Warcraft is the dancing. You can type in a command and your character will just dance. Well, these dances were inspired. Check out this video for the origins of the dance! Mark will appreciate the Napoleon Dynamite reference!

I should get back into WoW. When I get my laptop, perhaps I'll create an account again.

Motivational Poster #233

2007-04-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

Bonless Girl

2007-03-27T15:05:00.000-07:00

I found this flash 'game' and added it to my Google front page. For some reason, I feel a little bad for tossing this girl around. But I can't stop! Is that wrong?

Drag the girl around, drop her and watch her fall!

Batty Bat-Bat

2007-03-23T15:20:00.000-07:00

This one made me laugh.

My First GeoCache!

2007-03-16T14:04:00.000-07:00

I wrote a little bit about the nerd sport of GeoCaching. Well, yesterday I got my GPS and went out and tried it out. What great fun! I attempted 3 on my lunch hour, but only found one. Naturally, I wrote about it in my geocaching blog. You can read about this little adventure here.

I know Mark has a GPS. You should get out and give it a whirl. I think you'd get a kick out of it. Ian also showed an interest. I hope he goes out and tries it too. I think it would be something he and his son would really enjoy. Now if I can convince Gavin to go out caching with dad. Hrmmmm.

Montana Making Me Fat?

2007-03-14T10:48:00.001-07:00

Since moving to Montana, I think I've put on about 15 pounds. It kinda sneaks up on you. Then one day you look back and ask, "What happened?"

The thing comes down to the fact that I'm cheap and lazy. Instead of making my lunch everyday, I've been buying those Banquet meals instead. I can usually get them for $1/meal. That's a great deal for lunch! Last week I was able to pick them up for 70 cents a piece. I can't even make my own lunch for $1/meal, let alone 70 cents!

When you look on the back of the box for the nutritional info. It says that it only has 390 Calories. Less than 1/5 of your 2000 calorie diet! That's not bad, right? Well, a closer look reveals that my meal contained 30% of my daily allowance of Fat. 30% of saturated fat! The sodium level is at 43%! Now I don't know much about health. Hell, I flunked it twice in college. But I'm pretty sure that 30% fat/meal is definitely not good!

I use to eat the Healthy Choice, Weight Watchers, and Jenny Craig. They're a lot more healthy. But at $2.50/meal on sale vs 70 cents on sale for the Banquet. The need to pinch a penny won. But, with this realization, if I feel the need to go with a pre-packaged meal, I'm gunna go with the more healthy options.

What it ultimately comes down to is making more of an effort. I gotta go back and make my own lunches again. For dinners, I gotta cut out processed foods such as Hamburger Helper, frozen meals, and the other quick fixes that are available on the market nowadays. I've gotta cook more fresh. No preservatives, no extra crap that I don't need. I always know what's in a meal. If I don't want to cook every night, just make a big-ass batch of whatever I'm cooking. Then I can have leftovers for the nights I don't want to cook. Perhaps by doing this and avoiding the cheap quick-fixes, I can shrink my own big-ass. Plus, a little more exercise wouldn't hurt either.

It's all BS!

2007-03-09T11:46:00.000-08:00

I've been watching Penn & Teller Bullshit on Showtime lately. If you ever get a chance to watch it, check it out. You have a 50/50 chance of being offended. It really doesn't matter what political leaning you are on, chances are they're thinking one of your belief's is BS. It's nice that they don't lean one way or another. They just take the common sense and often cynical approach to different ideas. I find I agree with many of the things they have to say. They are obviously against ANY organized religion, which I don't agree with. But more often than not, what they say does make sense. Check it out if you get a chance. Just be open minded. And remember who's presenting the information to you. He is a little brash, but then again, It's Penn Jillette.

Updated

2007-03-09T11:22:00.000-08:00

It might not look like it, but I updated this blog with the new templates. Now it's pretty easy to add links, widgets, etc. Just go to the Template tab and click the "Customize" button. There is also a new Tags function. This is a way to put keywords or categorize a post. Check it out.

Hopefully, I'll be able to start posting to this blog once again. The monkey has been neglected far too long. Long live our primate overlord! Amen.

The Coolest Table Ever!

2006-12-19T08:29:00.000-08:00

I came across this table. The thing is amazing. It's made by dbFletcher and it's called a Fletcher Capstan Table. Check out this video to see how it works. It will blow your mind. Since the table is made for yachts, I'm sure it costs more than most cars.

Found My First Cache!

2006-11-14T15:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I used the Google Earth to track down my first cache! (NERD!) It was in the parking lot of Costco hidden under a base cover of a lamp post. There was a small plastic container with a folded piece of paper and a pencil. I counted about 28 names on the log. I added my username (rayzir) from www.geocaching.com and date with military time. It was kinda fun. Knowing there are hidden stashes placed around the city. Unfortunately, I need a GPS to find most of them. This one was easy with the Ariel photographs provided by Google Earth.

A lot of these stashes take you on little hikes around town and in parks with really cool sites or views. I think it would be a great way to get out and get a bit of exercise. It looks like a lot of families do this for that very reason. Kids really enjoy it as most of the caches contain little toys.

I think both Ian and Mark would really like it. Especially Mark. It would be a great way to find cool places for your portraits. Plus I think it would offer a lot of photo ops.

Anyway, since blogs are free and you can have them for most anything, I naturally created a blog for my geocaching. I have one for everything else, so why not? I created it mostly to log my finds and hides. You can see it at rayzircache.blogspot.com

Games Nerds Play

2006-11-13T15:05:00.000-08:00

I was poking around one of my geeky websites (www.boardgamegeek.com) and came across someone who had the hobby of Geocaching. I looked it up and basically it's a high-tech treasure hunt. People who have GPS units will hide a treasure (cache) and log the coodinates of that treasure using their GPS unit. Then they'll post the coordinates on a website and others will try to find that treasure using their GPS unit.

It actually sounds like fun! Each cache will have a log book where you log the date when you found the cache. So over time, you'll have a bunch of people who have logged in. I guess people from all over the world log the find in the enclosed log. Often it will have little trinkets. You are expected to take a trinket and replace it with something that is equal or greater value. A small trophy, I guess. They say it's a cool way to get out and see areas where you wouldn't normally see. Often these are great views or outdoorsy type of places that you would have normally missed.

The biggest site is www.geocaching.com. Give it a try and type in your zip code. You'll be amazed how many caches are within walking distance of your house. Even Billings has a bunch of caches.

I've used Google Earth to look up the coordinates, but I haven't gone out yet. But I just might this evening. It looks like there's one in the Costco parking lot. Just to give it a whirl.

Penn Has A Podcast!

2006-10-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

Penn Jillette has a Podcast! You can subscribe via iTunes or listen to individual episodes on his podcast website:

http://penn.freefm.com/

And if you're interested in other Penn & Teller websites:

Official P&T Website:
http://www.pennandteller.com/

P&T Bullshit TV show on Showtime:
http://www.sho.com/ptbs/

The Amazing Randi (P&T's Buddy):
http://www.randi.org/

Learning is Cool!

2006-10-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

I've always liked learning new thing. Little bits of random information that I find here and there. That's why I love the internet. The great thing about internet, you can learn most anything...Like how to hack a voting machine! Here's a video so you can learn too!

How To Hack a Diebold Machine!

Is it me, or do they need to find a better voting system?

Lamp

2006-10-04T14:52:00.000-07:00

I saw this short awhile back. It always cracked me up.

RoboCop vs Terminator

2006-10-03T16:12:00.000-07:00

I've been browsing You-Tube quite a bit lately. It's a fascinating place. So much stuff and most of it is garbage. But every once and awhile you find something pretty good.

This guy is pretty impressive. He cut several films together to make this. It's pretty seamless. Check it out.

My Personal DJ

2006-09-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

I found the coolest site. It is such a brilliant idea. Basically it's a web radio station that customizes playlists based upon your tastes. Let's say I like Harry Connick, Jr. It will create a custom radio station that plays songs of Harry Connick, Jr. and those songs that sound similar to they styles of Har. This is a great tool as it allows me to explore other artists. I'm not into the music scene, so the only time I'll listen to another artist is if someone suggests them or lets me borrow their CD. Create an account so that you'll have only the music you like streamed to your computer.

Check it out at www.pandora.com

Dirty Little German Game

2006-09-05T13:46:00.001-07:00

I think I found my next game purchase. It looks awesome. Sex, drugs, rock and roll, with a touch of divine inspiration.

Called Fiese Freunde Fette Feten from the famed green-haired German designer Friedemann Friese. I've been wanting one of his games for awhile as they tend to be a bit quirky.

This description is taken from Bruno Faidutti's website.

Each player plays a character who starts the game as a teenager and then must chose the cards that will make his life take shape. He can repeat a school year and get new friends, start smoking, take part in a bible discussion group and have his first sexual intercourse during Oktoberfest � all very realistic. Every event in the life of a character has some effect on his main characteristics - tobacco addiction, alcohol addiction, drugs addiction, wealth, health, sadness, spirituality and wisdom. Excess comes at a price, though, and when a characteristic gets too high, it cancels another one � if you smoke too much, you get thin; if you get too fat, you must stop drinking; if you drink too much you lose your wisdom, and so on � once more, very realistic. During game, you can get friends, and often more, with other player�s characters. This is an important feature in the game, since what happens to you usually affects, in good or bad, your friends, and this is one of the main interaction aspect of the game.

It looks rather interesting. Especially with a few beers and the right company. Definately adult oriented, but not X rated. Check it out on the BBG.

Rumor has it that they are making an English version, but a bit more censored. Me, I'd rather have the dirty German version.

I guess I gotta figure out how to get some money together to put in another order. You'd have to find an online seller or eBay to get this.Order yours now, but don't take the last copy. That belongs to me. ;o)

Bird: With Cheesy Music

2006-08-27T14:09:00.000-07:00

I was bored the other day, so I grabbed my video camera and set it up to film birds eating at a bird feeder. (NERD!) I let the tape roll as I grabbed a beer and watched the world go by. Then something rather unexpected happened...

The first video in honor of our primate overlord. Check it out:

Slow Mo Home Depot

2006-08-25T13:46:00.000-07:00

This is pretty cool. There is this group that does Public Improv. They had 240 people visit Home Depot and shop in slow motion for 5 minutes, then freeze for 5 minutes. They had a bunch of hidden cameras to see how people would react with this strange occurrence.

Read about it and check out the video. This would have been fun to participate in!

http://www.improveverywhere.com/mission_view.php?mission_id=59

You're Killing Me!

2006-08-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

Cheese!

2006-08-14T16:24:00.000-07:00

There's a web page for everything. From odd news to misbehaving monkeys of the yellow hue. To prove this point, I have yet another website I found most humorous. It's called LongAwkwardPose.com. It's fantastic. The premise it to videotape people with your digital camera when they think they are posing for a picture. Its awesome! Check it out!

http://www.longawkwardpose.com/

Mark and I Kick It Old School Style

2006-08-11T08:20:00.000-07:00

Mark was in Billings for the last couple of weeks. He decided he wanted to go to his 10 Year High School Reunion. I guess he liked the people he went to school with. Eh, whatever it takes. It takes different strokes to move the world, I guess.

At any rate, he was able to find some time in his busy schedule to squeeze in some quality beer drinking/cigar smoking time with yours truly. It was all right. Meaning that it kicked arse. We went to good ol' Tobacco Row and got two Don Diegos. Stopped by Albertsons to get some beer (Fat Tire and some 1554...and Mark bought some domestic). We threw on some huge burgers on the grill. We just kicked it old school style! It rocked. We just hung out and BS'd all night.

We were able to hang out a bit more. We hit lunch a couple of times (including the all famous Taco Johns!). We hit the casino and Mark spent a whopping 2 bucks in the machine! Nicole did the winning for the both of us...about $70. We were going to hit Clerks 2, but it didn't happen in the end. But we were able to watch Napoleon Dynamite.

It was cool. The only thing missing is a trip to Two Dot, Montana.

I took a couple of pictures and posted them in my photo gallery. You can check them out here.

Uhhhhh....

2006-08-09T14:14:00.000-07:00

I wish I knew what to say. Ummm...wow. I think I'm amused. But I'm not sure. Maybe a touch tramatised.

Check it out. But brace yourself.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3382491587979249836

Starbucks

2006-07-28T08:41:00.000-07:00

My Aunt came over this morning to use our computer. She's from the Seattle area and didn't have her computer with her. So when she came over, being from Seattle, she brought over some Starbucks Coffee for us. Now I'm not usually a coffee drinker (almost never). I prefer to supplement my caffeine intake with sodas. Mostly diet coke, but every once and awhile, a diet Mtn. Dew. So I'm really no stranger to caffeine. But I had NO idea how much caffeine Starbucks has! This is strong stuff! I'm completely wired! Course it could be that its not any more strong, but I'm just not use to Starbucks. It's like when you're use to getting drunk with whiskey, then one night you switch to vodka. Both equally potent, but the vodka messes you up quicker because you're not use to it. Could it be the same thing with caffeine? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Oooo....Donuts!

The Master Baiter

2006-07-13T09:35:00.000-07:00

There is a phenomenon on the internet that has been around for quite a long time. The term is called Phishing. The idea is a scammer sends out a mass of emails trying to obtain bank information, pose as official governments or organizations needing your help to release money, or deal offers that are too good to be true. It comes down to con games done over the internet. Trying to release you of your hard earned money. Often these scams take place over seas (A large chunk in Nigeria). Some of these scams look pretty legit, others are pretty blatant. I'm sure you've come across these scams in your inbox and most likely just pressed the delete button without thinking too much about it.

Well, there's also another phenomenon on the internet called Baiting. It's kinda like a sport for fellow geeks on the internet. The idea of Baiting (sometimes called ScamBaiting) is to respond to these Phishing emails with interest. Once hooked, you string along the Phisher, wasting their time and resources. Hopefully keeping them distracted enough to leave real potential victims alone. It can be rather amusing, because you can get the Phishers to do all kinds of crazy stuff in order to "prove" they are legit.

One site I visit several times a year is 419eater.com. This is a site where Baiters post their correspondences with Phishers for the amusement of others. It's really quite funny. You should check it out.

As I'm sure you know, there are a lot of scamming done on eBay. Here's a well documented article describing one guy's Baiting exploit. He was legitimately trying to sell a Powerbook computer on eBay and was approached by someone in London who was interested in buying it 'outside' of the eBay system (red flag). He said he wanted to use an escrow service he had an 'account' with. But things weren't measuring up and soon figured out it was a scam. So he asked his fellow geeks on www.somethingaweful.com message boards what he should do. They told him to turn the tables on this Phisher. Yup, and they helped him scam the scammer. It's a very funny article. Take time to read this. It's awesome! It's like a scene from Hackers.

Werkstatt von Travis in Hiding

2006-07-05T16:21:00.000-07:00

My woodworking blog, Werkstatt von Travis has moved and changed it's name as a part of the Federal Relocation Program. Its previous name was a bit pretentious and offended deadly mobsters on the East coast. So to avoid any 'unfortunate' accidents, I thought I'd simplify the name to byTravis.

Since I like to make all kinds of stuff, I also decided to open the blog up to other things as well. Stuff I like to make. Stuff I would like to make. And stuff that I find interesting, but probably won't make.

I'm moving the blog to a subdomain of my family website (www.justuscooks.com). It's new home on the web is now at bytravis.justuscooks.com. I'll be changing the look in the weeks to come and adding a photo gallery of the stuff I made and the stuff I'm making.

That's all. Thank you for your attention.

Teller's True Calling

2006-06-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

SomethingAwful.com does a thing called Photoshop Phriday. They suggest a theme, and photoshop gurus put something together and put it into a gallery. This one was Unwanted Soundtracks. But I might actually buy this one!

Featured on BoingBoing.net

2006-06-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

As you know, a buddy of mine and I created a website promoting the game of Cornhole. We've had a fair amount of success. We have about 40 members, and about a dozen are actively posting in the message forums. We've been getting a lot of hits for people looking for information. Our average is about 80 hits a day which isn't bad considering we are such a niche market. We are ranked #2 on Google for 'building cornhole' searches and usually on the front page of most any other cornhole related search. So we have enjoyed moderate success. Much more than we anticipated, which is a nice surprise.

But yesterday, our traffic went through the roof. According to our web tracker, most of our hits came from BoingBoing.net. This is a group like Fark.com, SomethingAwful.com or i-am-bored.com. They're basically a group that finds random stuff on the internet and posts it in their blog. They did a quick blurb about our website and in 4 hours, we got 560 hits within 4 hours of that post. Since then, we're close to 2000 hits in 16 hours of it being posted. It's starting to pop on a bunch of other blogs as well. The funny thing is, other than boingboing.net, our other top referrer is a Hungarian blog. The traffic is mostly people who pop onto our front page, look really quick and then leave. They don't explore any of the links much at all. But its fun to see our stats grow and see where our guests come from.

You can check out the boingboing.net post here.

New Poll!

2006-06-21T15:25:00.000-07:00

I got bored with the poll measuring the sinfullness of smoking. So I decided I'd add a poll on the sinfullness of drinking. Make your voice heard and cast your vote on the sidebar!

World Of Warcraft

2006-06-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

Ian sent me a free trial of World of Warcraft. It was a 10 day trial and I thought I'd take advantage of it over my birthday weekend. What a cool game. I tend to like RPG style of games where you build up your characters. I typically don't like real time games, but with WOW I didn't mind it so much. I think the cool thing about it is the professions you can have. I hope they expand the possibilities with that. So not only do you fight and build strength and collect bounty, you can also work on your professional skills. I was a miner and blacksmith. So I was allowed to make weapons and armor and sell to others (keeping the good stuff for myself). The only thing I didn't like is that after you get to a certain point, you really have to join a group to adventure with. The adventures are way too big for you to do it alone. I can see how this would be fun, but your more socially reclusive people, like myself, would rather adventure alone. I guess I didn't play long enough to explore this a bit more. I let my free trial lapse and after 10 days, my account is dead.

Am I hooked? Well, kinda. I really enjoyed the game and I really want to play more. I can really see how people can get sucked into it. But unfortunately, I don't have the attention span anymore to spend hours behind a computer to play a game. I think that is why I prefer board games (German style games). I can play a game face to face and the game is completed in less than 3 hours. But, I think I'm going to try WOW again this winter when warm weather is no longer calling my name. Being more shut in, I think I'll find a bit more time to play.

Thanks Ian for giving me the chance to try it out and showing me the ropes. I had a great time. Perhaps this winter, I can revive my character and we can pound down some orcs.

His Music Lives On!

2006-06-20T08:12:00.000-07:00

Kirk Cobain may be dead, but his music lives on. Especially in England. Check out this band doing their version of Teen Spirit. It's awesome!

http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=17602

Best TV Quote, Ever!

2006-06-19T13:13:00.000-07:00

Nicole and I recently got into Buffy The Vampire Slayer TV show. Have you seen any of these episodes? They're fantastic! We rented the first season from Netflix. We got into it so much that we didn't want to wait for Netflix to send us the next disk, so we bought seasons 2 and 3. I've been curious about it for years, but never took the time to watch an episode. It looked too cheesy and bad for me to like it. But academic critics LOVE the show. So we decided to check it out. It is really well crafted. The cast is perfectly chosen and the stories actually have commentary (from an academic standpoint) on society. Each episode is self contained and follows a basic story arch. It's a whole lot of action, a bit of spookiness, a touch of romance, with a generous dose of campiness. I love a show that doesn't take themselves too seriously.

Anyway, the point of this is that you should go rent the first season and check it out. And secondly, the best quote from a TV show, I heard from Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The character Oz (Seth Green) notices that the monkey in the Animal Crackers box has a shirt and pants.

“The monkey's the only cookie animal that gets to wear clothes, you know that?…So, I'm wondering, do the other cookie animals feel sorta ripped? Like, is the hippo going, 'Hey, man, where are *my* pants? I have my hippo dignity!' And you know the monkey's just, (with a French accent) 'I mock you with my monkey pants!' And there's a big coup in the zoo.”

So there we have it. The best quote in television history;

“I mock you with my monkey pants!” ---Oz (Seth Green), Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Season 2, Episode 10

Diet Coke & Mentos Experiment

2006-06-15T09:54:00.000-07:00

OK. This has to be the craziest thing I've seen in a long time. Check it out.

Little Green Men

2006-05-31T11:06:00.000-07:00

I'm still searching the skies for little saucer shaped aircraft. Listening to the radio waves for little green men. Yup. I've set up another account on SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) from Berkley. It's a rather clever project that has been around for years. SETI takes data take from radio telescopes and analyze it for any unusual signals. Because there is so much data to process, they cannot keep up with it all. So instead of processing all of it by themselves, they uses other people's computers to help analyze the data. They created a screensaver, basically. When your computer is not in use, this program boots up and analyzes the data for SETI. When your data packet is done being analyzed, it automatically uploads the data to their servers and downloads a new packet. If nothing else, it's a cool screen saver as it scrolls through the data. You should check it out if you get a chance. I use to have an account years ago and I've processed a lot of data. Unfortunately, I don't remember my login information. So I had to start over. At least I'm doing my part by searching for the little green men.

Family Web Page

2006-05-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking about putting together a web page for myself/family. I'm currently using dotMac for my email and web hosting. It currently costs me about $99/year for the privilege of using their services. Granted, their services are pretty cool. They offer syncing of Macs and a lot of web life is integrated into the Mac software. With a single click, I can upload all of my pictures or videos. I can start my own blog, and an interactive web calendar. I can backup important files easily, have my own password protected FTP, and share bookmarks and addresses between computers. Nice service. But $99/ year is a good chunk of change.

As you know I'm working to develop a website for cornholeplayers.net. Doing this kinda inspires me to create my own page. It is a lot cheaper than I originally thought. About $4/month, I can have my own website with my own domain name. Not bad and it's about half the price of dotMac with 2x as much space. The reason I really wanted to use dot Mac is for the photo publishing. But Mark uses Gallery on his site that would more than be sufficient for my use. I can also integrate a blog into the web site with relative ease and host my other blogs (I have too many). I found some calendar PHP scripts that would be easy to install as well. Plus I could add a forum or any number of other odds and ends. And the best part about it, I could have as many email accounts as I need. This way Nicole doesn't need to use gmail anymore.

I guess the trick is to find a good domain name. Something I'd be happy with for a long time. It's almost like trying to decide on a tattoo. I don't want to choose something cheesy. I want something cool. But something that has meaning at the same time. I want something that would be usable for my family. I think integrating our last name would be nice.

Cookville.com
ChateaulaCook.com (Chateau la Cook)
UsCooks.com
dotCook.com
daCooks.com
CookFamily.com
TravisandNicole.com

or I can go by the old standard, evilyellowmonkey.com

More Cowbell!

2006-05-19T08:44:00.000-07:00

I haven't watched SNL for at least 5-8 years. I just never found it funny at the time. I didn't like the new casts or sketches. But the strange thing is, as I watch past episodes I discovered the show is only funny in hindsight.

I never really liked Will Ferral when he was on SNL. But on of my favorite sketches is the Cowbell sketch. Check it out here. Everybody's probably seen it. But it's worth watching again. Cracks me up.

Maybe while you're at it, you can get your Cowbell Merrit Badge.

I think I'll start TIVOing SNL again. Maybe some Mad TV as well. Then I can fast forward through the crappy sketches.

Rail Guns

2006-05-11T15:31:00.000-07:00

I think they Cyberpunk series of roleplaying games made mention of "rail guns." These were rifles that used magnets to shoot a projectile. In the world of science fiction, these were very lethal weapons. Much better than the rifles we know today. But I guess truth is stranger than fiction. I came across 2 videos on the internet on these magnetic "rail guns." Both homemade.

This first one shows this gun. I'm assuming it was made and tested in a lab. Check it out. The thing looks brutal and very powerful.

This second one is pocket sized. You can make one at home for a few bucks. It really doesn't do any damage, but I think it illustrates a way a rail gun could work. It was mostly something cool that makes you think a little bit of the possibilities.

Check them out. They're pretty cool.

Do You Cornhole?

2006-05-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

It's not what you think. Really. Let me explain.

A buddy of mine and I have just launched a new website, www.cornholeplayers.net. This new website is dedicated to the backyard/tailgate game of Cornhole. Its a game who's roots dig deep in the Midwest. The easiest way to explain it is to compare it to horseshoes. Instead of pitching chunks of iron at a spike, you toss bags filled with cornfeed onto a box platform. The goal is to try to get the bag into the hole, or at the very least, onto the platform. It sounds stupid and it probably is. But trust me, it is a lot of fun and rather addicting. And like darts and pool, it plays better with a few beers.

So what is our website about? Well, we're putting together a community of cornhole players and box/bag builders. We've included a message board section where players and builders can exchange ideas, stories, and socialize. We also have rules explanations, box and bag building tips, a box and bag gallery, cornhole news, links, as well as some cool cornhole swag.

Check it out. The website is in it's infancy, but are continually adding new content to make it the best cornhole site on the internet. So do yourself a favor, create a message board account . It's all free! You don't have to buy anything. And if you really get adventurous, post a comment or two.

One Man's Trash...

2006-04-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

I'm a sucker for garage sales. I usually drag Nicole out of bed way too early Saturday morning just so I can paw through other people's junk. We found all kinds of cool stuff, and we walked away with a few esentials. We bought a tin with penguins on it for Christmas decoration (10 Cents), a Halloween jar ($3), a play tent for my niece and nephew ($2), a croquet set ($5), a few books ($1.50), Scotland Yard board game (50 cents), a vintage Outburst board game (50 cents), 2 puzzles ($1), washer and dryer ($500).

I think my favorite thing we got was a pipe stand with four pipes. Supposable it's circa World War 2, or so they say. We got it for $5. We thought it would look cool on a bookshelf.. The stand almost looks home made. The drawer is made out of 1/4" plywood which had some tear out from a table saw (which indicates an amateur, perhaps). There were also glue marks at the joints, which I wouldn't expect from a professional. I took it home, cleaned it up and it looks great. I wonder who it belonged to. Who made the stand? I wonder if all 4 pipes were his. If he smoked thme on a regular basis. They were pretty well caked. What did he smoke? It's kinda interesting to think about some of those kinds of things. Not that it matters, I guess. It still looks great on my bookshelf.

Hey, that Grill took my Rib!

2006-04-21T10:16:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if you know it or not, but I like to grill during the summer. Last night I decided I'd try to cook ribs. We found a good deal for a rack of spare ribs for $6. How can I pass this up?

I've never done this before, so it was quite an adventure. The problem is, you can't simply go on the internet and find a simple recipe for cooking ribs. This is due to the fact that people who like to cook ribs REALLY like to cook ribs. So all of the recipes you find on the internet take a week to prepare with super complicated rubs and marinades and sauces. You can't find a recipe that says, "cook it for so long and throw some bottled sauce on it and call it good." So I basically had to make it up myself. I don't want to brag or anything, but they were FANTASTIC!

There are two ways people cook ribs. The first is to precook the ribs, then finish it off on the grill. The other way is to slowly cook it on the grill for two plus hours.

Here's how I did it:

First, I decided to precook them the night before, then throw them on the grill when I got home from work the next day. I cut up a whole white onion into wedges and threw them into a deep fry pan. Then I took a whole bulb of garlic and threw in whole pealed cloves (all of them). I cut the rack in half and placed it on top of the onions and garlic. I poured a 24oz can of Bud Light over everything. I covered the pan and simmered it for about an hour and a half.

After I was done cooking, I pulled it out and scraped off any stowaway onions or garlic and let it rest for 10 minutes. After that was done, I put the ribs in a baking dish, and poured an entire bottle of BBQ sauce over it. I took care to brush it over the entire rack of ribs. I covered it and put it into the fridge over night, letting it marinade.

When I got home the next day, I removed the ribs and reserved the leftover sauce. It's a good idea to bring the leftover sauce to a slow boil to kill any bacteria. Then I preheated the grill. Because BBQ sauce burns pretty easily, I made sure to grill it with indirect heat. The best way to do that is to turn off the middle burner on a 3 burner grill Place the ribs over the turned off burner. Make sure to rotate the ribs, flip them over, and of course baste them with the leftover BBQ sauce on a regular basis (about every 5-10 minutes). I cooked them for about 40 minutes. Take them from the grill, let them rest for 10 minutes, then dig on in!

Free Breast Exams!!

2006-04-20T19:17:00.000-07:00

Check this guy out. He went door to door in Florida offering free breast exams to women in the neighborhood. He claimed to be a doctor. Of course he was arrested after only two exams. The lady got suspicious when he did her exam without wearing rubber gloves.

I would think that most people would get suspicious when he shows up on the doorstep offering free breast exams, but maybe that's just me.

I Got Wood

2006-04-14T16:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I decided to create another blog. We'll see if it sticks or not. I'm calling it Werkstatt von Travis. It's a rough German translation of Workshop of Travis (thanks google translator!). Anyway, I'm trying to get into woodworking and this is a blog chronicaling my journey through this uncharted territory. It might be good for a laugh or a 'What the fark' moment. We'll see. Anyway, check it out. I got a link on the side panel. Add yourself to the frappr. Also, add yourself to this frappr too, while you're at it.

Just a Heads Up

2006-04-14T16:09:00.000-07:00

Just so you know. I bought another cigar today. A Partagas Perfecto. There's a very good chance that I'll smoke it on Saturday. Perhaps wash it down with a beer. A bottle of 1554, to be exact (a Brussels style black ale from the New Belgium brewing company...fantastic).

Good Friday, Business as Normal

2006-04-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

Well, its Good Friday today, and I'm at work. I guess people don't think that Good Friday is a real holiday anymore. It seems Easter is hardly even worth celebrating. Are Christian holidays are slowly disappearing? I guess it's more PC to not give Good Friday off than it is to have it off. Christian holiday put aside, if nothing else, the Easter weekend is a time (like Thanksgiving) where families can get together and be with one another. I would think by that fact alone, Easter weekend would be a bigger deal. Or is families un-PC too?

Return Of The Star Wars Kid

2006-04-07T16:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't know if you remember this or not. But a year or two back, a highschool kid was made famous by some his classmates. He borrowed a videocamera from the AV department, then proceeded to videotape himself pretending to be a Jedi Master. Unfortunately, he left the tape in the camera which was later found. These kids watched the tape and thought it was hilarious. They doctored it up with some sound and visual fx and posted it on the internet for all to see. This video became HUGE. Unfortunately, the poor kid was tormented everywhere he went. Anyway, the kid's parents filed a lawsuit against the kids who put the tape onto he internet and finally won. He walked away with $351k in damages. It's become a landmark case for 'cyber bullying' as they called it.

The irony is, when the news broke about the results of the lawsuit, it seems everybody tried to redownload it. I know I certainly did. Sites hosting this videos are being pinged to death from downloaders. Many sites already pulled the videos and any reference to the Star Wars Kid. I'm not sure if they are afraid that they will be sued too, or if its because of court order or if it is because they don't want so many people out there messing up their bandwidth.

What seemed like a harmless prank snowballed into something major. I feel bad for the Star Wars Kid, because I do believe he was negatively affected. It's hard to be the butt of a joke. But on the other hand, how were the other kids suppose to know. If I found that video, I'd probably find it funny and probably do the same thing, not thinking of the consequences. I would think it was all in the name of good fun. That's the highschooler's mindset.

I would definitely feel bad if I truly hurt someone and try to rectify the situation as much as I can. But in this day of instant distribution, there's not much you can do. It's so easy to lose control of this monster and it takes on a life of it's own. Even without you prodding it along. Technology is definitely shrinking the world.

The Good Life

2006-04-07T14:11:00.000-07:00

Well, it's summertime once again. Which means spending my time on the patio with a cigar and a beer and watching life go by. I am very excited today, because I bought my first cigar of the summer. I went over to Tobacco Row today (just down the block from where I work) and walked into their humidor. Ahhhh....man I missed that. I haven't been in a walk-in humidor in YEARS. It was a beautiful thing. Plus, to top it all off, they expanded their humidor. Now it's about twice as big as it use to be. Maybe a tish bit bigger. Very nice selection. They had a whole slew of new cigar brands I have never tried. I can't decide if I want to branch out a bit or stick to the tried and true from the ol' school days. I'll probably stick to my brands for now.

Someday, when I get better at woodworking, I'm gunna build my own humidor. Just a tiny little one that holds 4 or so cigars. I don't need on of those huge ones. I don't smoke that many cigars. But I wouldn't mind having a small stash of cigars on hand, just in case I feel like enjoying life for an hour or so.

Now I gotta get you guys down here so we can enjoy a cigar on my patio. I'll even throw in a few grilled burgers. You in?

Sick of Netflix!

2006-04-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

So I have been a member of Netflix for about 2 years now. Since I moved back to Montana, their service suuuuux. Our distribution house is in Denver. If we mail back our movie on Monday, they won't get around to shipping the movie until Friday. Last time it actually took a week and a half to ship the movie. It should NOT take that long to get to Denver. I figure 2 days to mail, one day to process, and 2 days to ship. I should get it by Friday! When I was in LA, we'd get our Movies in about 3 days. That includes mailing, them processing, and them mailing out our movie and us having it in our hands. It was beautiful. We always had movies to watch for the weekend. Nowadays, I'd be lucky to get 3 movies a month. I've heard others have the same problem. When you are new, your service is awesome. But after awhile, you're service gets progressively worse. They must put you on an "Old User, Bad Service" list or something. I'd quite the service, but they do have obscure titles that you can't get locally. Nicole likes a lot of British TV comedies, and you certainly won't find those in Billings Montana. We might look into Blockbuster. They are getting big enough with the internet rentals, they might have the selection we want now. But we spent so much time putting together our queue list. Blockbuster should put together a way of getting our cue list off Netflix. If they do, I'd switch over now.

Art and Life

2006-03-28T09:42:00.000-08:00

I was thinking of getting back into painting. I think. Last night, I had this huge desire to pick up a pencil and draw. I sat there for about an hour or so just drawing and whatnot. I forgot how great it was to have a creative outlet. I remember when I was younger, I was so much more creative than I am now. I seen the world in a different way. Now that I'm older, I see things in a more rigid way. I'm more concerned with paying the bills, keeping up with chores and other life responsibilities. I'm not longer creating art. Mark use to take these great art photographs. Layne use to create music (I listened to his music last night while I drew). Ian use to build these worlds for role playing. I think I must have the artist mentality that I have denied for so many years. The real trick is to balance art with real life. It's a fine line. I should try to walk it.

Oooo....that was introspective. Makes me sound smart or something. 'Course we all know better.

Fear of Girls

2006-03-26T07:29:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you may have seen this. I think it's been floating around the internet for a little bit. But here's a short mocumentry on Role Players. I figured you'd enjoy this one, Ian. It cracks me up.

Check it out at http://www.compfused.com/directlink/1243/

Illegal Immigration is no longer Legal?

2006-03-25T21:02:00.000-08:00

So did you hear about the recent proposed legislation making it more illegal to hire illegal immigrants? (Read about it here) I say "more illegal" because apparently no law enforcement agency has ever been cracking down on illegal immigration. Some protesters are saying that the legislation is "inhumane."

WHAT!?

The legislation makes it illegal for an employer to take a tax exemption for workers who are in the country illegally, and therefore pay no income taxes, and for whom no payroll taxes are paid.
Is that inhumane? The legislation also makes a provision to verify identification by a government agency to allow for wire transfers of money. This is where it can possibly hurt illegals. The main reason many sneak into the country is to make lots of money and wire it back home to the family.

But is it inhumane? I don't think so.
I've seen first-hand how hard-working these immigrants are. They only want to do a good job and collect their pay at the end of the week. I can't fault them for that. But I also know people who are here legally and have the same work ethic, but pay taxes.

There is a reason they call it "illegal immigration." The idea is that it is illegal. But on the other side of that, since there is such a thing as illegal immigration, that means that it is possible to perform LEGAL immigration. Is it fair to the people who work hard to come to this country legally if you just make it easy as that to come in illegally? The 9/11 perpetrators got into this country easily because we are so lax on illegal immigration and not verifying identity of people coming to this country.

That's the point.

If we let the hard-working Mexican people in, we have to let the conniving terrorists in, because we can't offend them to check that they are who they say they are and ask them why they are here first.

Can I go to prison after my drink?

2006-03-22T15:59:00.000-08:00

So, now I hear it's illegal to be drunk in a bar. Yup, police in San Antonio Texas are raiding bars and arresting the drunks. The charge? Being drunk in a bar! I wonder if they had to do a stakeout before moving in. 'Course chances of you actually finding a drunk person in a bar is pretty good. Kinda like shooting fish in a barrel. Where's the challenge? Wouldn't it be more fun to chase down real criminals and hit them with a stick?

When do you get to join in the fun, Ian? Would you have to arrest yourself if you have a couple of beers watching the game? If I were you, I'd let you go.

Well, you can read the article here. I found it amusing in it's absurdity.

True Rappers Yo!

2006-03-20T14:07:00.000-08:00

These two guys crack me up. They made a spoof of SNL's Lazy Sunday called Lazy Muncie. Give it a look, I think you will agree, these two guys are representing YO!

-Ian

http://www.lazymuncie.com/

My opinion doesn't count.

2006-03-20T13:05:00.000-08:00

I try to stay out of anything remotely political. Mostly because I try to shelter myself from anything remotely newsworthy. Does this make me ignorant and uninformed? Yup. Do I mind it so much? Not really. I try not to pass much judgment or make political statements because I am so uninformed. I like to know all sides of the issues being discussed before I decide for myself whether I agree or disagree. There are always arguments...errr...heated discussion on pro-Bush vs anti-Bush. Where do I stand? Well, I guess I really don't like the guy too much. He doesn't strike me as the most intelligent person out there (certainly not enough to run a country). He is clever in the fact he's good at surrounding himself with people to do the work for him so he can take the credit. A skill I have yet to master. I guess I'm just a very suspicious person. But it looks to me as if he and his family made a fortune by the actions Dubya made during his administration. It doesn't look like much of anything he did really benefited the people he represents. 'Course I'm probably talking out of my arse (which is what ignorant people do).

I suppose I should read the news more often. Watch CNN a bit more. Then I can come to a debate better armed. Will I do that? Doubtful. I'm not really all that motivated. I'm sure Ian and Mark have some strong opinions, though. Go ahead and post them. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts. I'll do my best to make smart ass remarks, because that's what the uniformed do best. Fire away.

Jesus with a gun!

2006-03-19T23:45:00.000-08:00

Being a religious guy and also liking guns, I fell in love with this picture. Whatcha gonna do when Jesus comes for you! Think before you sin you sinners.

-Ian

Evil Monkey with a Gun

2006-03-19T21:12:00.000-08:00

Oooo...new graphic. I added a graphic to the top screen. I think it looks cool. If you guys have any better ideas, lemme know. BTW...the little tag line under the graphic can be changed. Just go under the settings tab and change it to whatever you want. It'll ask to republish, just republish the index, and you'll be fine. Change it daily, change it often, change it for the good of mankind.

Napoleon Dynamite

2006-03-19T20:23:00.000-08:00

Just watched Napoleon Dynamite yet again...Boy, that guy can dance. All thanks to D-Qwon and his dance video. Thank God I voted for Pedro! And yes, I would like some Glamour Shots by Deb.

Word.

Cigars, Beer and P&T

2006-03-19T19:13:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd post a few pix from my bachelor party. No real reason other than because I want to. I can honestly say that was the coolest night. Drink a few brews, smoke a few cigars, BS with friends and watch Penn & Teller do their thing, live on stage. Plus being able to meet them after the show also kicks arse. We didn't get a stripper....other than Ian, that is. Life couldn't get any better. (Other than getting married the next day! Hi Hon!)

Blogging is neat!

2006-03-19T18:35:00.000-08:00

While waiting for “World of Warcraft” server queue to boot up so I can play, all I can think is my dear friend Travis aka “Happy Feet” has created a blog monster. Me I’m proud to say, even though three of us are the only ones who will read it, I still think it is quite nifty. Also as a note of interest, I just pulled my Miller Lite (cause I’m fat) out of the fridge and my is it good. Thanks Travis, you are a true fiend (not a spelling mistake). Yet another thing for me to do to anger my wife.

"Ghetto Toes"

2006-03-19T08:17:00.000-08:00

You know I never went to my senior prom, but if I did, I would of wanted to go with "Ghetto Toes". America is a great country.

Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'em!

2006-03-17T16:13:00.000-08:00

I figured I'd post this mostly for Ian's benifit. Being a huge rap fan as he is. You can check out the one and only MC Hammer's blog. See what's new in the world of the Hammer. Last I heard, he was a pastor in a church. But who knows. Man, I should dig out some of his old tapes (yes, I said tapes!). I've always been a big fan of "Can't Touch This." I got the moves down and everything.

dah, da da da, dah da, dah da. Can't touch this...

Cheap Travel

2006-03-16T16:56:00.000-08:00

Have you guys seen this? It's Google Earth. Download the program. It's free. It'll blow your mind. You can check out most any area on earth with satellite photos. I played with this for hours today day. It's like traveling, but cheaper. I bookmarked a few places of interest. I think you can just click the links if you have Google Earth downloaded. If not, just type in the coordinates in the brackets and it'll take you to that location. Try it out. It kinda freaks me out a bit, but I'm fascinated by it at the same time.

My House [45°47'35.90"N, 108°35'13.33"W]
My Apartment when I lived in LA [34° 5'50.20"N, 118°20'3.32"W]
The Rat and Parrot, a pub I frequented while I lived in London [51°30'28.54"N, 0°18'18.07"W]
Tower Bridge in London [51°30'21.54"N, 0° 4'32.47"W]
The White House [ 38°53'51.58"N 77° 2'11.63"W]
Niagra Falls [43° 4'36.87"N, 79° 4'29.19"W]
Mount Rushmore [43°52'44.19"N, 103°27'36.08"W]

I think it has better photos of city areas. I assume they catalog those areas more than rural areas. I tried going to Stonehenge and Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, but the images are so poor that you can't see anything. Which is really too bad, because these are the places I'm interested in.

If you guys get a chance, post some of your own coordinates. Oh, I also added a Frappr map on the side bar. Go ahead and add yourself while you're at it.

Messing with the code.

2006-03-14T20:58:00.000-08:00

Well, I added a bunch of crap to the blog. It's mostly for my own amusement. Sometimes I get carried away with this kind of stuff. I probably cluttered it up with junk that doesn't need to be there. Anyway, I added a poll to the sidebar as well as a subscription form so people can keep up with our ramblings (assuming they want to step into our world). I also added a hit counter at the bottom of the sidebar. Let me know if you want login information to the polls or hit counter tracking sites or anything else for that matter.

Until then, it looks as if I'm the only one posting. Where are ya Marx? I was looking forward to seeing a post all day. I got home and there was nothing. If this keeps up, I'll have to post nude pictures of myself to boost traffic. Hrmmm....actually, that might be counter productive.

Well, I think I'm done playing with the site for the day. I might work on some graphics to pretty up the place.

All prais the Evil Yellow Monkey.

Don't Beat The Monkey

2006-03-13T19:03:00.000-08:00

It's been often said that there is no room for evil monkeys in this world. Nor room for yellow monkeys. And certainly no room for evil yellow monkeys. But you know what I have to say about that? I actually don't have much of an opinion on that matter. So I digress.

Perhaps I'll tell you the purpose of this blog instead. The purpose of this blog is to have a blog without a purpose. And what better way to approach a blog such as this, than to have contributors. A panel of experts who have no real ability or direction. Their insightfulness on things that really don't matter will numb your mind so that the things that really matter no longer matter. The goal is to spread ignorant bliss to the well informed.