Smiley Tank

Below are things that fix bad moods:

Little Kid and Lobsters

Smart Bears

Post-Its

Guy Photographs Himself Everyday for 17 Years

Green Landing

Lil’ Jukebox Hero

30,000 Dominoes

Hurricane Bear

Office Meltdown

Awareness Test

 

Guide to catching a solar eclipse

Solar eclipses happen more often than I thought and people get to see them all the time. Turns out it’s not that simple and you probably won’t get there unless you are in the right place at the right time or you follow around a guy like this. NASA is kind enough to help us realize we’ll probably miss the next one with their page on the subject. WIRED helps put it into perspective. China will be getting a good one on Aug 1st – if you’re in the area then, go check it out and let me know if it’s worth it.

If you’re like me, you don’t have a lot of time to venture out to remote areas nowhere near your house, so let’s just watch a video of the 2006 Turkey sighting and pretend we’re there. I’m sure it does justice:

 

- Squash

 

Really Fat Monkeys

Yep. Fat monkeys. Apparently, our Japanese friends are ignoring the signs that tell them to not feed them. Now they are grotesquely overweight.

Story here.

 

 

 

Video here:

 

 

-Squash

 

Because this would change everything for California…

from laist.com:

“There is an initiative in the works that could end up on the November ballot that allows for marijuana to be sold to anyone, and anywhere that already sells alcohol. Its being called The Inalienable Rights Enforcement Initiative. From the full text of the measure:

This initiative will amend the Constitution of California to defend and safeguard the inalienable rights of the People against infringement by governments and corporations, providing for the lawful growth, sale, and possession of marijuana. Marijuana will be taxed through a system of stamps and licenses–a $5 stamp will be required for the sale of an eighth ounce of marijuana and a $50 annual license will be required for the growth of one marijuana plant. To protect participants and encourage participation in the system, such licenses and stamps will be available anonymously in stores where marijuana is sold.”

 

Theoretically, this could help stimulate the economy by providing jobs for people who would be selling pot. Not my first thought on how to make us more productive but, whatever.

Since you brought it up, here’s another interesting story:

- Squash

 

German Bunker Discovered In Garden

I just came across this story about a guy who discovered a German bunker in his garden. Hard to believe it has gone unnoticed for so long, but lots of pieces come together as this guy (I think his name is Conrad) starts digging further into the mystery. Apparently he was told that there may be a bunker of some sort, but was unconfirmed. So naturally, one thing leads to another and serious cash is dished out to bring in excavation and the whole works. Creepy at times, but a history buff’s delight.

BBC Report on Garden Bunker:

This is his blog, but start from the beginning of the story here and try to follow the chain of events.

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* Another of my favorite blog-thread-stories is this bike journey across Angola. Very long (will take about an hour to get through), but is addicting and kind of moving in parts. Found from Bread & Circuses.

- Squash
squash@bolognaandsquash.com

 

Cooling & Heating

 

-Squash
squash@bolognaandsquash.com

 

Wii Love It

We were fortunate enough to receive the gift of a Nintendo Wii a few months ago and it has turned out to be quite enjoyable. While we cannot deny the fact that video games in general are simply fun, we typically reject the idea of ever owning a gaming system merely due to the fact that it is a huge waste of time and makes you fat and cross-eyed. But after playing with my brother-in-law on his, we were immediately sold on the Wii.

The best thing about it is that most games require you to stand up and use all or most of your body using a wireless Wii-mote. We have actually had nights of constant activity and motion that result in dripping sweat and a morning after of sore muscles. However, I say most games because there are still those that can be done sitting on your butt, such as the ever-addicting classic, Mario Kart.

With the need to move around and our commitment to staying active, the Wii has truly been a gift as well as an answer to those lazy nights or rainy days that would normally been spent on the couch watching tv (or reading, I guess). To further our guilt-free gaming, when the budget allows, we plan to invest in the diverting exercise that is Wii Fit. Just look at the link – for $175, our ROI will be found in our BMI and blood pressure.

Nintendo has had it’s moments through the last couple decades, competing with likes of Playstation & Xbox, but seems to be on top again and is creating a new market of their own. Here’s a fun interview with the video game kingpin, Shigeru Miyamoto (from wired.com):

“As the creator of Donkey Kong, he revolutionized the form, using tiny pixelated characters to tell dramatic stories. With Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, he was widely credited with revitalizing the American games industry after the Atari crash — not to mention directly inspiring a generation of young game designers. And just when it seemed the 55-year-old Kyoto native was past his prime, he spearheaded the development of the Nintendo DS and Wii, which shot his company back to the top of the business.”
Full Article

- Squash
squash@bolognaandsquash.com

 

Home: Shutting Up & Making It Happen With Flying Rubber

In a self-response to the previous posting on the suburbs and missing my hometown, I guiltfully owe this neighborhood due credit. I still miss Austin and definitely still want to eventually surround ourselves with ample outdoor activity, but in the midst of my bitching, my wife kicked my butt (with love) and reminded me that we’re here - we can either complain about it and wish we were somewhere else, or we can do with what we’ve got and try to get outside, in whatever capacity that may entail.

With that, I would like to take a moment to publicly endorse one of the greatest products on the retail market: Aerobie. Everyone had the day off yesterday and the concensus was, “we will be outside today”. Conveniently, there is a big ol’ grass patch waiting for us across the street. This wonderful flying ring has been our fresh air magnet for nearly 6 years now and I am grateful that our family is physically healthy, able and athletic enough to still enjoy it. It is not a frisbee. Your ordinary frisbee can kiss the Aerobie’s neon-orange/yellow/pink butt.

The Guiness World Record distance thrown with the bendable polycarbonate-centered rubber 13″ Pro Ring is 1,333 feet/406 meters, set by Erin Hemmings. It can go really far.

You will get better over time, but will no doubt get a full workout chasing the thing down across a much needed large [football, soccer... baseball too small] field. Some site the ring as having many disadvantages, such as being sensitive to wind, being hard to control, going “too far”… this is true if you are simply wanting to play catch with something at close range. However, I find these “cons” to be my favortie aspects. If you are out of shape and do not like to run, dive or jump, you probably won’t enjoy it. That being said, you may want to go get one then. Once again, it is no doubt a workout.

These guys also seem to enjoy it as much as we do, but still the video does no justice:

Once again, I endorse this crazy-fun ring along with Aerobie’s other products. These are mostly sport toys, but apparently (and news to this avid fan) they cover their bases nicely with some other stuff:

 

 

 

- Squash
squash@bolognaandsquash.com

 

Distance has a way of making [many things] understandable…

 Home is not where you live but where they understand you.  ~Christian Morgenstern

Where thou art – that – is Home.  ~Emily Dickinson

While I agree with both of these, it seems that one negates the other when I think about our current place of residence. The first is not entirely applicable as I am with my beautiful family here, but together as one, I think we can say together that Houston/Sugar Land is not very “us”, in style or interest. And while “home” will always be where the four of us are, our surroundings, the setting of our current adventure, is less than adventurous. It is safe, it is quaint, it is flat. It is the suburbs in every meaning of the word.

 

The suburbs in themselves are not bad and were created by our grandparents’ peers with the best of intentions. Hell, we moved here. Our motivation was, of course, our children in an attempt to provide them with a safe environment with a school of respectable standards. And that it is, so I hate to sound ungrateful or even unhappy with Sugar Land.  They have done some great man-made things around here that beautify the area without being obnoxious:

 

 So to give credit to our ‘hood and quit bitching about it, there are many pros to our place of dwelling. Nonetheless, however, we have concluded that our next home will be in a place that jives with our interests a bit more. Our interests primarily being the outdoors. Coming from Austin, we’ve realized how dependent/spoiled we were on the vast array of nature at our fingertips. We currently need to drive at least an hour to enjoy true recreational outdoor goodness (there is one place we frequent, but no swimming with the gators).

 

We definitely took Austin for granted in the 25 years we (me) lived there. Sometimes it takes being deprived of something to understand how much it means to you. In reflection of my hometown, an ode to Austin, the things I love[d] about the greatest place in Texas:

 

•  The Greenbelt: wherever you are in Austin, the Greenbelt is 15 minutes or less away. Open to the public with at least 17 access points, the best of the hill country and Colorado tributaries can be experienced via foot, bike, dog or swim.  This is possibly my favorite thing to do in Austin: take a hike with the Mrs., the dog and a six pack through a rocky path in the woods and stop to relax for a few hours by the rapids and swimming holes. I can think of nothing on God’s green Earth that I enjoy more.

 

• Water: There are numerous lakes/bodies of water to indulge the inner-water-baby. Town Lake, or the recently renamed “Lady Bird Lake”, is actually just the Colorado River but is treated as just a great place to swim, boat, kayak, camp, right in the middle of the city. Many good memories there. Like getting married at the 360 over-look. Lake Travis is my favorite, with loads of camping spots.

 

• Camping: You can camp just about everywhere in Austin. One could easily survive quite peacefully and “respectably” throughout the city and still function in the infinite camping possibilities. I may or may not have a dear friend who did such a thing. My favorite camping spots in the greater area include, but are not limited to: Krause Springs, Sandy Creek, Pace Bend Park, Emma Long Metropolitan Park, Turkey Bend, Inks Lake and Enchanted Rock.

 

 

• The City: If you’ve been to Austin, you know what I’m talking about. Yes, there’s Sixth Street, but once you’re done with college or with bar-hopping, it only gets better. Any time of the day welcomes a great stroll through the blocks of coffee shops, restaurants, shops, record stores and interesting people. My favorite spots in the city include: the Warehouse District, SoCo, The Drag, the parks (Waterloo Park, Pease Park, Zilker Park, Adam’s Hemphill Park – this is where my marriage was ‘locked-in’), University of Texas and Red River District.

 

• The People: Yes, Austin is weird. Okay, we’ve heard that. But maybe, most other cities are weird. It’s an artistic town and artists are typically regarded by the mainstream as weird. There are those who are undoubtedly strange and the overpopulated homeless doesn’t help rid the stereotype. But what a better place to be homeless if that’s path you ‘choose’. What I do like about the people of Austin: they are artistic, they are polite (see the difference in traffic as seen in Dallas & Houston – blinkers work in Austin. People will let you through. Stoned or not, no one is in a hurry quite like those of other big Texas cities), they say hello on the street… in general there are more smiles. If that is weird, then yes, please keep it that way.

 

• The Music: Indeed it is the live music capital of the world, but going along with the people, music seems to be appreciated on a much different level than any other city I’ve visited. Not sure where to begin with the list of bands that came from/thrived in Austin: Spoon, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ghostland Observatory, Voxtrot, Sound Team, Bob Schneider, Permakids, Willie Nelson, Endochine, Haunting Oboe Music… the list goes on with those who have came and those still to come. And of course, with the television show and mega-festival, Austin City Limits has helped put the city on the musical map. If you like music, just start walking around and you’ll find something you like.

Austin, I miss thee. Thanks for being a great place to grow up. See you soon.

Sugar Land… yeah, thanks.

- Squash
squash@bolognaandsquash.com

 

 

Must Get Outside, Fast

I feel like I have both Jaundice and Atrophy from life between the ‘burbs and the city of stinky concrete. It’s difficult for me to go outside in 100 degree heat when there’s nothing particularly exciting to do. Nothing like this:

I really, really need one of those.

Squash