Gillian and I spent last weekend in Denver with Chris and Kathleen, it had been just over a year since we had gone out and it was great to see them, meet their new dog and catch up. Sadly this is not a post about the time we spent in Colorado. This is a post about the day leading up to and the day proceeding that wonderful trip which was in contrast just awful.
Archive for the ‘Rants’ Category
Then, The Wheel Didn’t Fall Off
January 22, 2010Automotive Design
January 9, 2010
The 2010 North American International Auto Show starts on Monday. I have never gone, and I am not going this year, but I would like to ramble incoherently on the topic of automotive design…you have been warned.
Frost Year in Review
January 2, 2010So Christmas has come and gone, here in the Midwest it was a cold, windy, snowy… mess frankly. I feel as if I spent more time fighting the snow and worrying whether or not I would be able to get the car out of the driveway, then I did enjoying friends and family. Don’t get me wrong, Gillian and I did enjoy the time we spent with everyone but the weather just made everything more difficult, but I digress.
Christmas Letter…In Process
December 22, 2009I just finished mailing out most of my Christmas cards, yes it is the middle of the day and I should be working. I would not be surprised if some of you get an empty envelope or two Christmas cards, lucky you. The actual letter will be up shortly, hopefully before Christmas, maybe this year we can just consider it a New Years letter. Either way, it most likely will not be worth the wait.
I’m Big in France
November 21, 2009I got an interesting e-mail yesterday from the web master of a French website, Rue89.com. They were asking permission to use one of my pictures from Flickr, the picture of my crossed hockey sticks tattoo. I make a habit of marking all my pictures, that do not have people in them, as Creative Commons, meaning anyone can use them for free as long as I am credited. Here is the e-mail,
Hello
as the webmaster of the french information website
Rue89.com, I would like to use one of your pictures I found
in the Creative Commons category, meaning it can be used for
free.
The picture is “Crossed hockey stick tatoo”.
Should its publication on our website annoy you, I will
remove the photo as soon as you ask me to.
Many thanks in advance for your understanding.
Marie-Sophi
I went to the website to see what they where using my picture for, here is the link
The site is all in French but using the google translator I found that it is a story about two hockey players in love, two male hockey players in love! So yea, there is a picture of my should as the header of a story about two gay French hockey players…awesome?!? I actually don’t have a problem with this at all, I think it is hilarious. I haven’t translated the entire story yet, but feel free to. Also, notice they did credit me for the picture at the bottom. I was going to title this post “French Gays Love My Sticks” but I didn’t want to give away the punchline.
UPDATE: Now, my other tattoo is famous
Gillian On Ice
October 29, 2009
So I bought Gillian some equipment so she could play in an adults beginner league in Kearney, we showed up, I helped her get on all of the equipment, we got out on the ice, and guess what…she is pretty damn good! It is really quite irritating, Gillian tends to excel at most things; SCUBA, rugby, swimming, horseback riding, painting, cooking, cake decorating, convincing me to remodel the kitchen, and now she can add ice hockey to her arsenal. Now I’m not saying she is going to be on the next USA Woman’s Olympic Hockey Team, but for a sport that is fundamentally ridiculous she does very well.
Let’s face it, hockey is a sport where you strap knifes to you feet, step out onto a frozen pond with walls and hit a rubber disk with funny looking stick…ridiculous. Hockey also has a huge learning curve, you have to be able to move forward, backwards, and stop all while balancing on two, 1/8 inch blades. Then once you figure out the basics of moving there is stick handling, passing, shooting, checking, and rules like off-sides and icing, but I digress.
Gillian already knew how to skate, though it had been many years since she had done it, I was impressed with her switching from skating forward to backwards without falling on her ass. Stopping on the other hand was a bit trickier, the problem with learning how to skate at “open skates” is that you never have to stop you just skate in circles, or ovals, then try to get off the ice without falling. So after a little coaching; keep your knees bent, keep your head up, throw your hip, Keep Your Knees Bent, she got the hang of it, at least enough to keep her from sliding into the boards.
The funniest part is watching everyone else around her. Like with all sports, Gillian plays aggressively, she is also the smallest person on the ice, so when she goes charging at the other team to get the puck they don’t really know what to do. Every time she falls, even if no one is around her, you hear someone say “oh, sorry, are you ok?” After a few more games and a little more coaching I think they are going to stop being so nice to her, because they won’t have too. She even scored a goal last games! The Goalie wasn’t in the net, but it still counts.
Interesting Couple of Weeks
September 28, 2009It has been an interesting couple of weeks. There was the SL 500 parked at Wal-Mart, which just seems wrong to me. I keep scaring myself with my own hat and jacket at work. Then we got this crazy postcard in the mall. I mean really, mountains in Nebraska? I guess the dragon and the goat with seven laser eyes is also kind of odd. The good part is the “Pastor” put his picture on the back so I know if I see him, that he is crazy and I should be leaving.
We also had Olive knock the dog treats off the counter into her water bowl, destroying the bowl. Of course all she wants is her damn dinner! Then there is Gordie, who is so fixated on the ball he doesn’t realize he has a leaf stuck to his nose.
There is a bit of news too. Gillian has decided she wants to learn to play hockey…so I went on a shopping spree. I bought all her equipment without her actually being there, so I think I did a pretty damn good job, the breezers might be a little small but they will work. Gillian’s first game/practice is tonight! I think I am more excited then she is.
I haven’t heard anything about the eBay Motors Master Contest yet. I don’t think I won, the winner was supposed to be notified on Sept. 23 and it will be announced Oct. 1st.
Oh and one more thing, I just realized I have been doing this blog thing for over a year.
eBay Motors Master
September 10, 2009The eBay Motors Master is a contest though eBay Motors with the grand prize being $2500 eBay Motors shopping spree and a free trip to the SEMA show in Las Vegas. This is my entry , please rate my video, 20% off the score is based off rating the other 80% is based on a panel of judges and you could also win $1000 to eBay motors. I will be posting a bloopers reel later.
Viva Mexico!
August 25, 2009
As many of you know, because we booked the trip almost a year ago, Gillian and I and Santi and Sarah and Chris and Kathleen spent last week at a resort in Tulum, Mexico. Yes, we got the band back together and went on another tour.
The four days we spent in Mexico started with drinking beer in the back of a van, because it is legal in Mexico, I assume. The all inclusive resort had two pools, five restaurants, 3 bars including a swim up bar, a beautiful beach and, as Gillian wont let us forget, an ocean trampoline. The first day and a half we spent relaxing and drinking colorfully cocktails, I liked the Mango Daiquiris. Thursday was repelling, zip lining and a tour of the Mayan ruins of Tulum. Friday morning we went snorkeling at a ref near the resort. The snorkeling was great, the boat ride back where I turned ghost white an nearly hurled my all inclusive breakfast into the ocean, was less than amusing…for me. Despite us all getting sunburns,mainly Sarah, Santi and Chris, we all had a excellent time.
Gillian and I didn’t buy any souvenirs but I did come home with a very cliche cause of “stomach problems”.
Viva Mexico!
Awesome Hat!?!
August 3, 2009
So I bought this and I think it is awesome and I think I can pull it off, but there is a few problems with it. I can’t wear it to work, because this is not the kind of hat you wear to design farm machinery. I also have some concerns about wearing it when we go out, because this is the kind of hat frequently worn by douchebags. I don’t consider myself a douchebag, so I must be careful not to be too obnoxious while wearing the hat. I do think the beard adds some credibility to my not-douchebagedness… right?
Frozenrobot 