chewykolchuk.com

I was just looking for pics on my site and I found that when I last changed the look of the site, I did some stupid crap and lost all the image galleries that I’d posted.

CRAP!

I still have the pics, and in most cases I still have the image galleries saved as a whole, so I should have them back up shortly. I haven’t gotten out and shot with my camera lately, but I’ll get off my ass and do so, and post some of those when I get that rolling again.

As Wile E. Coyote would say, “Back to the ol’ drawing board…”

Popularity: 1% [?]

I don’t know when the last time was that we spoke, but I’ve been dry since Easter. I’ve had a couple nights of excessive intake in the last month, but mostly I’ve been sober. Not to pat my own back or anything, but I’m clearly better than you.

At any rate, I saw this today and it cracked me up.

-source: www.xkcd.com

Popularity: 1% [?]

While you sit there in your cubicle, making life easier for the next person who may push the papers that you’ve just affixed your signature to, there are others out there on the fringe making life better for us all by doing things that we never dreamed would be necessary.

I was emailed this little gem by Dave W, who has found out that the fine folks at Qualcomm are doing just that.  Imagining a better world for all of us.

Awesome link here

Popularity: 4% [?]

Recently I had an interesting pair of interactions.  Both involved Daves and the space shuttle.  First, Dave W had downloaded an HD video of a recent (maybe the most recent?) shuttle launch.  It is pretty incredible.  From the water being dumped onto the ground under the launch pad to the initial spark of the engines being lit to the takeoff and subsequent delivery into space itself, it’s just awesome, in the dictionary sense of the word.  I’ve been wanting to see a shuttle launch in person for a while and that video just adds fuel to that fire.

A few days later I was telling Dave R about the video and he responded with something like, “Oh yeah, sometimes at night I’ll turn to the University of Washington channel on TV and watch them repairing satellites and spacewalking and stuff.  It’s awesome!”  Oh…well maybe I’ll have to find that channel and check it out.

Unfortunately I did.  I found not only the UW channel that broadcasts the shuttle missions, but I found the HD feed and of course I fell asleep with that feed on the TV.  Nevermind the fact that I was up until 5 or 6am watching it.  Nevermind the fact that it was all about people in marshmallow-y suits doing boring work in slow motion.  Okay sure, when you can see those wrenches up close, you realize that they are probably the coolest wrenches you’ll ever see (yes, I’ve been a mechanic and generally inquisitive person my whole life), but otherwise, it’s pretty boring and monotonous stuff.  I’ve occasionally found myself working on all-carbon bicycles that are worth $10k and when you find yourself there, you do ridiculous stuff in order to make sure you don’t dent or scratch the finish or parts.  Things like wash your hands BEFORE you start working on the bike, or take OFF your apron so that you don’t get grease stains on it…stuff like that.  But watching these guys counting the number of revolutions that they apply to each bolt while LOOSENING them?  SNOOOOOZE-O-RAMA.

So if it’s so damn boring watching these guys….OH SHIT!!! Did I mention the dialogue?  It’s like listening to a cross between an airline pilot and a surgeon and a sleepy drill instructor.  If I recall, I was hearing stuff like this:

Astronaut #1: “Bolt #1 is free, moving to Bolt #2.”

Astronaut #2: “Copy that, Bolt #1 free.”

A-1: “Megan, could you move me to my right, please?” (Megan is the person on board who operates the mechanical arm that Canadians are so fiercely protective of)

Megan: “How far please?”

A-1: “Uuuuuuuuhhhhhhh,” (of course the further the distance, the harder it is to judge exactly how far it is, right?) “uhhhhh, how about 2 feet.”

Megan: “Right 2 feet, thank you.”

A-1: “Thank you, Megan.  Okay, removing Bolt #2.”  At which point he counts off the number of turns as he’s backing the bolt out.  “One…..two…..three…..four….five.  Bolt #2 is free.”

Are you serious!?  You can find dictionary entries of prepositions that are more exciting than this stuff!

So why in the hell am I glued to the screen watching all of this?  I don’t know, my friends…..I do not know.  I guess in the end, the question is:  What was my point with this post?

Epilogue:  I fell asleep with the TV on and had weird Moonraker/action-flick dreams.

Popularity: 1% [?]

You ever heard the phrase “high school never ends”? That’s because it doesn’t. When you’re in high school, of course, you can’t wait to graduate and “start your life”. Then you go out into the world and you find that while a great many things do change, and hopefully for the better, a great many things do not.

If I eat candy, guess what?  I get zits.  I’m 38 and I thought for sure in high school that one day I’d never have to deal with pimples ever again, dammit!  WRONG!

Did you know that even though you may have reached the age of 21, it’s still really easy to get busted for drinking?  It is.  I’m not saying this due to personal experience, but it’s been proven to me time and again that it is very true.  I have friends who have DUIs, I’ve worked with people who have to have a drink or two at lunch while on the job, stuff like that.  Don’t get me wrong, a drink or twelve can be good fun, but there’s a time for everything.  But I digress…

The reason for this post is that I’m sitting in a bar in my neighborhood, doing some computing.  I’ve lived in the neighborhood for 5 years and I’m only now discovering this place.  It’s amazing!  It’s a combination book store, coffee shop, wifi joint and there’s a bar downstairs!  Where have I been all these years?  Oh yeah…nevermind.  So here I am, and I notice that there are a pair of 20something girls to my left.  They’re talking about boys.  And on my right is a pair of 60something girls…talking about boys.  It’s kinda funny, but it just goes to show.  You could be 15 and twitterpated or you could be 65 and twitterpated, it doesn’t really matter.

Popularity: 1% [?]

I saw a tutorial on how to make those cool shiny buttons that you see all over the web that usually say BUY NOW, or BLOW UP YOUR NEIGHBOR and whatnot. As is always the case, I went overboard and made buttons for my site of all different colors, which isn’t necessarily bad. After all, you must practice until you get it right. At this point, I have the steps memorized for this particular technique, so now I’m experimenting with color to see what I like in my site’s current design. One of the many Daves that I know is particularly fond of orange, so that’s what I’m trying today. I thought of the Seahawks color scheme and my high school colors, as well as the Detroit Lions colors and all kinds of stuff, so don’t be surprised if you see the header, nav buttons and footer in some godawful scheme that makes you wanna puke. As with everything, I’m bound to beat this to death until I get bored and then find a happy medium and am able to utilize the technique in a judicious manner.

Popularity: 1% [?]

source: http://imageshack.us/

Popularity: 1% [?]

Extra special awesome happy funtime thanks to Dudeman for going 100 miles out of his way to deliver the Nutter Butter Beater to me yesterday. I tuned it up this morning, and…oh my goodness. I know it’s only a $10 bike, but I’m such a bike snob that I’m going to be required to purchase the following items to get it to Satisfactory Condition: new brake calipers, as the ones on the bike are so utterly worthless that it feels as though you actually SPEED UP when you grab a handfull of brakes (yeah – not so much to my liking) and a new pair of shifters – these ones are the Hi-Tech Thumb-Breaking models and require so much torque to shift gears that I may not be able to hitch-hike ever again. After that, if I feel particularly uppity, I might replace the BB/cranks, and possibly the seatpost/saddle combo, but those aren’t necessary for Living The Good Life, as I intend to do on this sweet ride.

The only thing left is to give it a good name. No, I’m not going to give it a human name like stupid people are prone to giving their cars/trucks (sorry to everybody I know, since EVERYBODY I know gives STUPID human names to their vehicles)… No, I mean some kind of play on the Nutter Butter theme. Some possible names include: Nutter Butter Blaster, Nutter Butter Beater, Nabisco Speeder, The Smoothie…you get the idea. If you feel like commenting and leaving possible names for me, please do so. In the meantime, bask in the glory that is The Nutter Butter Piece of Crap!

Popularity: 8% [?]

If you have been anywhere near me in the last 3 months, you’re probably sick and tired of hearing about Mastodon. Obviously they’re my new favorite band, and I’ve been listening to their new disc, Crack the Skye, non-stop ever since it came out in March. Or, rather, ever since my special-edition pre-ordered copy showed up 2 weeks after the release date, but that’s another topic for another time!

ANYWAY…what is this alert that concerns the righteously killer band from Atlanta called Mastodon, you ask? Well, they’re going to be on Letterman on Friday the 15th. !!! But…but that’s THIS Friday!

Yes it is. Stay at home on Friday night and watch Letterman at 11:30pm if you live on the West Coast.

That’s all.

Popularity: 2% [?]

While clicking away at random just now, I found myself at this site.  There is some world class hilarity to be found in some of your own text interactions with folks out there, and here’s an entire site devoted to just that.  I give you….texts from last night!

Popularity: 3% [?]