| salt cellar! |
[Sep. 18th, 2004|01:53 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  jubilant | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Something Corporate -- Hurricane | ] |
Props to my hero, Alton Brown, who took a grated cheese holder and turned it into a salt cellar! Now he’s making $15 a pop selling modified versions on his website.
Naturally, I had to have one.
Aaahhh… Alton’s Official Sodium Chloride Containment Unit…
Allow me to illustrate the use of this fine product…
Okay, that was a little quick. I’ll run it by you one more time.
Got it? Good. Moving on.
We’ve gotta fill it with something, and since I’m fresh out of horseradish, we’ll have to settle for kosher salt.
Ready to go.
Step 1:
Invert open container of kosher salt over salt cellar (make sure the lid is in its upright position!).
Steady, hand… Easy does it…
Step 2:
When cellar is approximately 2/3 full, stop pouring. If yours looks anything like the picture below, you probably didn’t screw everything up as I had expected. Congratulations. You got lucky this time.
It’s full.
Step 3:
Now, return the salt cellar’s lid to its closed position and admire your work. This step is important – it’s a thing of beauty and deserves some appreciation.
Admire for at least 15 seconds.
Commence cooking.
Yes, this new salt cellar does make me look mighty sexy! Thanks! |
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| From Ramen to... |
[Sep. 16th, 2004|01:34 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  full | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Neve -- It's Over Now | ] |
Well, for those of you who don’t know, I recently moved into an apartment. And that means…
No, not crazy drinking parties, but I’ll give you another guess…
Right! Cooking!
And after slaving away in the kitchen today for the better part of an hour, I’m ready to reveal the fruit of my efforts…
Mmmmm...
Honey ham and baby swiss with Dijon mustard and mayonnaise on fresh sourdough. Delish!
Okay, so that was last night’s dinner. Today they finally hooked up the gas for my stove, so I was ready to take on a meatier project (pun intended).
But what to cook?
Hrm...
( Okay, what’s he up to this time? (40 pictures!) -- Vegetarians, beware! ) |
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| The Obligatory Birthday Update |
[Aug. 8th, 2004|08:51 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  nostalgic | ] |
Woah. It's been a while. My last real entry was April 4 -- 4 months ago! I've decided an occasion like my birthday merits an entry though.
It's official. August 8, 2004. I'm 20. (Sounds weird to say...)
So I've been here at school all summer. x-P 12 weeks of classes! Session A and C overlap for the next couple weeks, so I've got 26 hours of class/week!
Most of the people I've met were on the 6-week plan, so they all moved out Tuesday. It's been pretty quiet around here. Besides class it's been pretty uneventful. Today I went to a little b-day dinner at BJ's with my summer roommate, Gary and another friend from the floor, Julie.
Now I'm back to just chilling and dreading my 3 hours of class tomorrow. I'll try to be more vigilant about keeping this LJ updated in the future. Plus, I wouldn't want to deprive you of my 20 some odd years of worldly wisdom and experience.
;-)
Until next time. |
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| Spring Break '04! |
[Apr. 4th, 2004|06:26 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | stoked | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Dandy Worhols -- Bohemian Like You | ] |
I don't really have time for a full journal entry, so I'll just give you a quick overview:
(The dining halls were closed during break.)
So there you have it.
THE END.
...OR IS IT???
I thought 12 days of spring break in socal with almost no one here was going to be boring...
Boy was I wrong!
I kicked off the week by heading to Disneyland with Elizabeth and Sheila and one of Sheila's friends and two of his friends, one of whom knew a guy who worked there who got us in for free (score!).
Confusing? I'd try to make it more clear with a picture of the group, but unfortunately I didn't bring my camera. However, I was able to snap this hot pic of the guide when we got back:
And here's a piece of confetti from the new Snow White musical thingy:
Enchanting, isn't it? I think it really captures the excitement I was feeling while watching the show... :::cough:::
There were a few real pics taken by the others, but I haven't been able to procure copies as yet. Suffice it to say we had a bit o' fun. Space mountain and Indiana Jones were closed, but we hit up almost every other ride. Good times.
Tuesday through Thursday I headed off to Pasadena to chill with Greg and KT. Greg drove me up and I stayed with his family for a couple nights.
On the way to P-dena!
Greg -- keep your eyes on the road! And get those glasses fixed!
We stopped by a hardware store on the way so Greg could copy some keys:
I was like a kid in a candy store. I got a sweet pair of 7in. curved jaw vice-grip pliers, a prybar, a few assorted titanium drill bits, and some screws and anchors. Score!
And speaking of hardware, I just realized I haven't shown off my new drill on the LJ yet! And what better way to do that than with a hot animation?
So frickin' hot!
Anyway, so we finally get to Greg's house. Later I complain that I don't know how to use the timer on my camera, so Greg figures it out and we test it...
He looks waaaay too excited about getting it working. Nice job, Greg.
We busted out a puzzle:
Just look at how fast we put it together! There was one piece missing at the end. Go figure.
KT stopped by later...
Check out Greg and KT both sporting trendy torn jeans! They're so hip!
On Wednesday KT drove us to Vegan Express -- her favorite sketchy lunch hangout...
Kind of a hole-in-the-wall. But the food is REALLY good. I had the pad thai noodles. More on that later.
Oh, and did I mention Greg's family grows just about every fruit you can think of in their yard?
Before I left he hooked me up with a couple blood oranges (yum!) and a bunch of kumquats (yum yum!!)...
Blood oranges!
Kumquats!
Other highlights of P-Dina:
- Saw two great (unexpectedly great) movies: Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, and School of Rock.
- Visited KT's crib and saw her cool art! Nice pottery skillz, KT!
Tonight KT and I hit up Vegan Express (again), and I got the pad thai noodles (again).
They were good.
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| This LJ is no longer on the hook!! (get it?) |
[Mar. 19th, 2004|05:34 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  accomplished | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Foo Fighters -- Come Back | ] |
I finally slept.
I was up for 41 hours straight and was running on 6 hours of sleep in 65 hours. x-P
In fact, I fell asleep writing this journal entry...
I've gotta start bustin' out the ol' C8H10N4O2:
YEAH CAFFEINE!!! Representin' are Guarana, No-Doz, and Pepsi. Sa-weet!
Check out all those warnings. Mmmmmm...
Finals week is finally upon us. Blech. I've already had my chem lab final (Tuesday morning 8AM) which went okay. Math is Sunday, Physics is Monday, and Chemistry is Wednesday.
In preparation, we've been hitting up the study lounges at night. Mostly it's good, productive study time. Take Monday night for instance. Karen, Katie, Greg, Joline, and I set up shop in the B3 lounge (represent!).
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Joline and Greg
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Me and KT
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Hard at work
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Karen thinks she can hide from her Italian homework. (It was worth a try, Karen.)
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But wait! There's more!
Then Jon came over so Karen could cut his hair into a mullet (repayment for pulling her into the pool or something). Naturally, they decided to cut it right there in the lounge. Naturally.
He could really USE a haircut
EDIT: I know Jon's eyes look really unnatural, but this was the worst red-eye I've ever seen in a photo, and I had to fix it manually in Photoshop by hand-painting the eyes. Karen later told me Jon's eyes are blue. I may fix it later. Sorry Jon.
Jon's looking a little nervous...
The lovely Karen preps the victim patient
Well, at least she LOOKS like she knows what she's doing... Nice scissors, Karen.
Success!
Greg was jealous, so Katie did his hair for him.
Check out that fro!
But wait! There's more!
Now, I know Greg may have the mad txt skilz, and I may have the mad pix skilz, but KT is certainly in a league of her own w/ her mad artz skilz. Just check out the note she wrote me Monday night just before leaving the study lounge:
Onlooker 1: Woah! What was THAT!
Onlooker 2: I don't know! Was it a bird?
Onlooker 3: No it's a plane!
Inside note:
NO! It's super Austin on my super scooter!
Because I'm super-duper I'm going to pass my final tomorrow piece-o-cake (yellow cake that is since I don't like chocolate)
How cute! That's why I love you, KT!
But wait! There's more!
And then there were three...
Karen, Jon, and I were getting tired and bored, so we decided to take Karen up on something she'd been challenging us to for weeks...
ARM WRESTLING! GRRRRR!!
Jon and Karen go head-to-head
Oooohhh...another cool animation brought to you by the PIX MASTER!!
My turn!
Jon knew more about my digital camera than I did and took a video! I can't put it in the LJ (boo!), so you can check it out at my website if you care (it's 6.3 MB, so download to your computer before viewing).
So take that, Katie! 19 pictures, an animation, and a VIDEO! Hooah!
Peace out. |
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| Googlism... |
[Mar. 19th, 2004|05:24 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | satisfied | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Linkin Park -- KRWLNG (Reanimation) | ] |
- Austin is ON FIRE
- Austin is Going To Lay The Smack Down On You
- Austin is 20!
- Austin is bored
- Austin is country's fourth hottest job market
- Austin is a Warror at Point Guard for Falcons
- Austin is the poo
- Austin is the capital of the state of Texas
- Austin is Helping Save Lives
- Austin is looking forward to a year in federal prison
- Austin is committed to making a difference in each child's life
- Austin is Followin' a Feelin
- Austin is now Sold-Out
- Austin is under attack
- Austin is especially deserving of the award
- Austin is a town with a reputation as the Berkeley of Texas
- Austin is Watauga's Teacher of the Year
- Austin is of a hybrid environment
- Austin is described as "a hymn to the outdoors"
- Austin is unfrozen so that he may hunt down his arch-nemesis
- Austin is about 10 miles tall and 3 miles wide
- Austin is leading the pack here in the US
- Austin is considered by many to be the creator of the school of analytical jurisprudence
- Austin is a high-tech mecca
- Austin is conveniently located near many major area employers
- Austin is taking off!
- Austin is artsier, funkier, and more liberal than the rest of the state
- Austin is an assistant professor at Harvard Business School
- Austin is a hub
- Austin is a total sex god
- Austin is about to be sent back in time
- Austin is all about enjoying life's little pleasures
- Austin is going to be furious with me
- Austin is many times faster than traditional dial-up
- Austin is relatively easy
- Austin is HOT
- Austin is classically innovative
- Austin is a financially stable $4 million organization
- Austin is cool -- an oasis of liberal hippiness
- Austin is a work in progress
- Austin is home to the largest urban bat colony in North America
- Austin is an activist and webmaster based in Los Angeles
- Austin is obsessed with sex
- Austin is a little data structure library written in C
- Austin is a delightfully eclectic blend of laid-back charm and high-tech excitement
- Austin is causing some traffic delays
- Austin is staring you down
- Austin is the name of another chimpanzee
- Austin is dressed to impress!
- Austin is apparently the Live Music Capitol of the world
- Austin is the Holy Spirit of the Internet scene
- Austin is not without its enclaves of intensity, if not downright crazyness
- Austin is watching the bats fly
- Austin is beautiful, naturally
- Austin is freedom loving and incompetent
- Austin is an intriguing mix of the old and new
- Austin is liberal friendly
- Austin is considered by many to be a liberal anomaly in an otherwise conservative state
- Austin is like San Francisco and Silicon Valley in miniature, only without all the great seafood and not nearly as much yoga
- Austin is being persecuted because of his politics
- Austin is hyperactive with Attention Deficit Disorder
- Austin is the quintessential role model for all women
- Austin is a prime candidate for success
- Austin is unique and Austinites have learned to treasure it
- Austin is an opportunity to turn back the clock
- Austin is stunning with its imposing rock formations and rugged natural beauty
- Austin is mostly just interested in "shagging"
- Austin is funny, extremely funny
- Austin is a swinger, baby, yeah!
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| Oh, Joline... |
[Mar. 14th, 2004|03:02 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  annoyed | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Beck (KT's music -- I'm in her room) | ] |
Well, you've all just heard from Joline who "isn't that drunk right now".
Suuuure.
Joline! You're hurting my picture-to-post ratio! (Currently at 16:10 -- 16 pics in 10 posts).
We should talk more.
(When you're sober.)
EDIT:
Make that 18:10. Hooah!
Joline drunk tipsy
Greg, Katie, and Joline -- Katie doesn't seem to be too happy that Greg was drinking tonight. Bad Greg! Bad!
EDIT:
I just realized that cup in Joline's hand looks a little suspect. It's water. It'll help her feel a little better when she wakes up in 5 hours. :-) |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 14th, 2004|03:00 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  drunk | ] |
| [ | music |
| | austin being stupid | ] |
i'm a DORK!!!!! and i suck :) |
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| My life is sooooo exciting... |
[Mar. 14th, 2004|12:02 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | pleased | ] |
| [ | music |
| | some of Karen's depressing stuff (see below) | ] |
Today I woke up at 7.
PM.
But I only got about 12 hours of sleep. I hadn't slept in a few days. But I DID get a couple hours when Ben came over and we watched "Ed Wood" with Katie and Karen.
.jpg)
Sorry Ben -- it wasn't THAT bad...
So today I went to dinner with Karen, Katie, Greg, and Jon (who I hadn't met officially before). Jon was a pretty cool guy. The topic of the scooter came up, and Jon was pretty interested, so we went back to my room to check it out. Observe.
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Greg got off to a shaky start...
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But then he started popping wheelies! Holy cow!
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Even KAREN had fun. Yes, our B3 Karen. I know. But it's true!
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Later I was in Karen's room cuz I can't go in my room cuz Kyle's girlfriend is here for the weekend. So we're listening to music, and after about half an hour, I remarked that a song she put on was a bit depressing.
Karen:
"THIS stuff is depressing you?? What about the music I was playing before? I was DYING inside! I think my soul was deteriorating..."
Haha, she's so funny!
Now she's gotta sleep, so I'm gonna go find someone else to bother.
Later.
 |
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| Karen + camera... hilarity ensues |
[Mar. 12th, 2004|06:22 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  amused | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Fatboy Slim -- Praise You | ] |
Today I convinced Karen to start a LiveJournal (username: sultrypoultree). She mostly just wants to put up pictures, so I had to promise to let her borrow my digital camera. She wanted a picture to put in her first entry, so we tried taking one... (Be patient -- it may take a while to load)
It took about half an hour to get just the right one!
Here's the best one of Karen (in my humble opinion). Doesn't her hair look nice? Yeah, I thought so too.
 |
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| The Scooter! |
[Mar. 11th, 2004|04:37 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  creative | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Oakenfold -- Ready Steady Go | ] |
Okay, for those of you who wanted the low-down on my new scooter, check it out...
It's the Go Motorboard 1500X. This baby gets up to 15mph UPHILL, and has gone at least 30 downhill (measured with my GPS) which is scary as hell -- mostly because I've never had a scooter before and my balance isn't that good. It uses regenerative breaking, which means every time you break, it recharges the battery! It was about $200 on Amazon.com after a mail-in rebate.
So I open the box, ride it down the hallway a couple times...then bust out my tools and take it apart! Sa-weet!
The only problem I ran into was a sticker over one of the screws that says "WARRANTY VOID IF REMOVED".
Hmmm...
It took about 2 seconds to remove.
It was pretty nice inside. Four 6-volt lead acid batteries (the bulk of its 22-lb. weight), some speed controller electronics, and a pair of 750 watt motors that put out a combined 1 H.P. Take a look:
The innards
Busted open
Check out these sexy motors!
The speed is controlled by "pulse width modulation" -- a fancy term for a disk with holes in it spinning through an optical sensor. I figure it'd be easy to cover up a couple of the holes to exceed the "safety limit" of 16mph (when powered). But it's pretty darn fast already so I may just forget that idea.
Of course, I'm planning on making a few other changes. The lock-nut that secures the handlebars in the extended position sometimes jiggles loose driving over rough surfaces. It's quite clinky and noisy, so I'm getting some teflon thread-sealant tape (the kind plumbers use on pipes) to keep the nut tight on the threads.
The power switch under the board will be moved up between the handlebars and will replaced by a key switch (sort of like a car). That way I could leave it unattended for a bit and not have to worry about anyone speeding off with it (or my suitemates riding it without asking). The motors pretty much stop the wheel from turning when it's unpowered. That requires drilling a bunch of holes in the frame for the switch and the wires, which is why I need the cordless drill and titanium bits.
The key-switch: a high-security 7-pin tumbler lock
The throttle is a spring-return squeeze switch on the right handlebar that is held with a finger. It just uses a simple potentiometer, so I'm considering moving it inside the handlebar and creating some kind of motorcycle-like throttle. This would require significant cutting into the frame, however...
The ride can be a bit bumpy at times, so I'm also debating creating a suspension for the handlebars with a heavy-duty spring. This would also require significant cutting, and possibly welding. It seems kinda risky and I don't have access to a welder (yet), so I'll probably put off doing that for a while.
So that's the Project O' The Month. Between the scooter, drill, bits, key switch, wire, and soldering equipment it'll probably run me about $500, but I figure it's a good investment because I like mechanical engineering and stuff, and it'll make a sweet ride to and from class, plus I'll be able to use the drill for other projects.
Let me know what you think! :-) |
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| hey all |
[Mar. 11th, 2004|02:55 am] |
| [ | music |
| | Rage Against The Machine -- Sleep Now In The Fire | ] |
Just chillin' in Jeff's room "doing math homework".
I actually just spent the last hour cleaning up my computer: taking old crap off my desktop, uninstalling programs I don't need anymore, and organizing my Start menu icons.
Fun stuff.
For those of you who were complaining about me only having a picture of a drill, here's what I think of you...
That'll teach ya. |
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| aha! |
[Mar. 10th, 2004|06:32 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  nerdy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Eve 6 -- Hokis | ] |
I know what this journal is missing!...
Pictures!
Well there she is...the beautiful 18v Milwaukee cordless drill with an amazing 495 in/lbs. of torque, a 1/2" chuck, and a reversible battery pack! Score!
Plus Amazon.com has $25 off tools this month (which covers the 16-bit Dewalt pilot-point drill bit set I bought), AND free shipping! What more could a guy want? |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 10th, 2004|01:42 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  lethargic | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Staind -- Suffer | ] |
Well the last lab today went well apart from me messing up horribly and wasting the first half-hour (the stupid bottle was mislabeled -- how was I supposed to know??).
I'm going to bed now (by which I mean stay up another 4 hours doing random, worthless crap).
Oh, and Greg -- two words:
Comeback tour, buddy...comeback tour.
...and racquetball.
That is all. |
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| whew... |
[Mar. 9th, 2004|09:05 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  exhausted | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Foo Fighters -- Learn to Fly | ] |
I swear chem lab lecture is on a different level of boring than anything else I've ever experienced. But the funny thing is, I actually like the lab! WTF? I know, seriously. I ordinarily hate anything having anything to do with chemistry, but I've found the actual hands-on stuff quite bearable, even enjoyable.
So anyway, our last lab will be tonight at 6:30 -- I may ride my new scooter, but I'd feel kinda bad leaving Jeff behind so I might scratch that. Until then, blissful sleep! Per usual I was up all night last night again doing useless crap like setting up this LiveJournal.
Oh, and my second pass enrollment was at 6:30 this morning. Fun stuff. But I have the best schedule of all the quarters so far. The next math class, physics and physics lab, and MAE20 -- my first real engineering class! Hooah! And the best part is...no chem! I'm stoked. |
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| Hooah! |
[Mar. 9th, 2004|07:18 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | geeky | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Rage Against The Machine -- Roll Right | ] |
Well, I've finally got one of these journals. I was inspired last night while posting comments to Katie's journal.
We'll see how long it lasts.
Off to chem lab lecture. x-P |
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