Incomprehensible Babbling

The Great Pumpkin(s)

2006-10-31T22:33:00.000-06:00

Found a great pumpkin carving website (http://www.zombiepumpkins.com/) and decided to do up a few nice ones. I did the ghosts, Winter did the dragon. (Tweaked the colours a bit for clarity)

Happy Halloween!

Update from Rome

2006-05-17T14:59:00.000-05:00

While we were talking around outside the Coleseum today we got handed flyers for 3 different pubcrawl things, that seemt to actually be an amazing deal, except weàre too cheap to spend the money at this point (it actually seems to be a good deal, considering alcohol is basically twice as expensive at bars and resaurants compared to home), and weàre scared weàll wake up in some random ruin somewhere the next day!
Speaking of pub crawls, we were woken up by some buy in our hostel yesterday who was apparantely puking his guts out...for like 2 hours, so that was interesting :p This hostel is by far the most sketchy place that weàve stayed. It basically looked like it used to be an apartment, and they kicked the guy out 5 minutes before we got there. There were clothes in the closet and random bottles of water around the room! There was also a tiny figure out a man with a chainsaw above the mirror, we fully expected to be murded by some chainsaw maniac in the night, lol.
The trip into Rome was pretty cool though, we met up with a bunch of random Canadians and Americans and we had 16 of us travelling from one side of Italy to the other, we basically took over an entire train car. It was nice to hang out with people who speak english!

Trip Update Update from Venice, Italy

2006-05-09T11:02:00.000-05:00

Today was our second day in Venice, which is an amazing city. Yesterday we walked all around and shopped at the little glass and mask shops, the glass work is beautiful. The city itself is like nothing Iàve ever seen, today it was raining but we went anyway, and got lost for about an hour trying to find out way back to the boat we take from our campground. Luckily we decided to pull out our map after a bit of random walking, or we would have been lost forever!

Days are starting to blend together, weàre having tons of fun, but we always have to think pretty hard about what day it is, where we were yesterday, and even where we are right now!

Eurotrip 2006 - Update from Munich

2006-05-04T15:13:00.000-05:00

Finally found an internet cafe that´s cheap enough for me to type this all out!

Swizerland was amazing, we stazed (Iäm just going to ignore the kezboard errors, Iäm sure zouäll get it.) in Lucerne, which is just outside the Alps. It had an amaying view of the mountains across a huge lake. The citz was prettz small, so we walked around most of it during the daz. Imagine having small cobbled streets with buildings running down both sides, and everz building was filled with trendz clothes and food stores. It was like an amaying outdoor mall! We also went to see a giant 20 metre lion carved into some cliffs, but it was under restoration:p We could still mostlz see it, though. I was tempted to buz a swiss watch (basicallz everz store sold them), but reallz, thez werenät overlz cheap. In fact, wine in France wasnät that cheap either (although it was good).

Speaking of cheap, weäre in Munich right now, and I canät believe how cheap beer is! Thez sell it everzwhere and zou can walk around the streets with it. At one store we were in there was beer for .30 euro a bottle, which is like...42 cents! We went to Olzmpic park and sat in a beer garden drinking some sort of wheat beer called Weissbeir, which was quite tastz...although the girls didnät seem to like theirs :p

Tomorrow weäre going on a tour of the castle that thez modeled sleeping beautzäs castle after (Neuchwanstein...or thereabouts). It should be fun, itäs a bike tour and we also get to go swimming. The girls were quite insistant about visiting the ´princess castle´!

Iäll see if I canät update again sometime soon, but for now, I need some sleep!

Muay Thai Kickboxing

2006-03-02T21:27:00.000-06:00

Contrary to popular belief, there *is* more to my life than drunken partying and robot costumes. As such, this post contains no mention of alcohol, and no pictures of intoxicated party goers...I'll make up for it some other day.

A couple months ago I took up Muay Thai Kickboxing, in a bid for some sort of exercise that would also let me hit things. I can say without a doubt that Muay Thai is the most challanging physical activity that I've ever undertaken. Prior to joining, I thought I was a pretty fit guy (and I suppose I was, relatively), but when the instructor tells you to go get some water after doing the 'few things' written on the blackboard, and that turns out to be 100 pushups, crunches and squats, you quickly learn that there are vast degrees of 'in shape'.

The classes basically consist of 45 minutes of intense cardio workout, combined with pushups, crunches, lunges, and other excerses that you can do without equipment. The second half of the class focuses on actual kickboxing skills, which are a challange in their own right. The instructor explicitly stated in the first class that there is no spiritual aspect to Muay Thai, the point is quite simple, "kick the crap out of someone". Of course, I'm not at all a violent person, but it's quite nice to know that what I'm learning can be applied, if I ever need it.

The more I do it, the more I love it. I skipped todays class (had to finish up some school work), but found myself doing a number of random excersices in my basement. I've heard that excercise is addicting, I suppose that's a good thing. Now I just need to find space for a punching bag...

Lindsay & Justin's Wedding Social Pictures

2005-11-23T15:31:00.000-06:00

Amazing social, we all wish Lindsay and Justin the best!

I've amalgamated all the party picture links onto this new handy dandy page:

http://offtopicproductions.com/Pictures/PartyPics.html

NB: I didn't caption the social pics, 280 pictures is just too much, even for me:-p

Ode to Bender

2005-10-31T14:38:00.000-06:00

First, the pictures (there you go, Arj), then the interesting story. Reverse chronological order.

Total Build Time: ~13 hours
Total Cost: ~100 dollars

So there you have it, I finally finished the costum about an hour before the Malpratice social on Saturday. I'd been up until 2am on Friday working on it and then spent another 4 hours Saturday afternoon after work.

Everything pretty much went as planned, although the drinking system was pretty much last minute and random. Pouring drinks into the funnel was pretty cool, although it did result in a rather stained shirt. People seemed to think it was neat, and started pouring in random alcohol, which probably wasn't so good for my liver.

The social was a blast though, I'm pretty sure that every person with a camera has their picture taken with me. The costume limited visiblity a fair bit though, so I really have very little idea of who I talked to all night long. Luckily I had Winter and Allison to lead me around all night and make sure I didn't fall on my back and not be able to get up:-p

At the end of the night I took the costum off and we were sitting on the stairs outside of University Center, with the costume just around a corner above us. When my brother arrived to pick us up we discovered that someone had SWIPED BENDER! Needless to say, it really sucks to lose something that I put so much work into. I suspect that the costume thief may be planning on wearing it to the Commerce Social tonight. So if you happen to be there an see a guy in my Bender costume, please feel free to punch him in the teeth (that being about the only area on the costume not covered with hard plastic). If the costume can be salvaged, so much the better.

At least it all makes a great story!

Benderific Progress

2005-10-25T21:08:00.000-05:00

Spent a couple of minutes today cutting out his mouth. I abandoned the jigsaw I used for cutting the main holes in the cans for a small knife. It's way more precise and makes a much nicer cut. There was some concern that I might cut some number of my finger off, but I avoided that handily. I've also sealed the top of the head can with some caulking, it seems to be holding nicely.

Initially, I wasn't certain I'd cut the head short enough. However, after cutting the mouth and consulting a bunch of pictures I think it's just the right size. I'm going to have to kick it into high gear to get this thing done and still squeeze in that 'course work' that my professors keep mentioning.

Next step...arm holes!

"That's no way to get 'ahead' in life."

2005-10-13T16:30:00.000-05:00

I've sealed up the top part of the paper trash bin with some caulking, hopefully it'll provide enough hold to keep it in place. I'm struggling a bit with how exactly I should attach the head. I'm thinking of using some sort of button clasps on the inside what would allow me to take it off in case my hair catches on fire or something...

I tested out the little fan I pulled out of the old computer, it ran for 4 hours on a crappy Zellers 9volt battery. I figure it should run for at least 5 on a decent battery. That puppy is going to be installed on the inside of the head to provide some circulation. I'll probably install a little switch so I can turn it off if it's too annoying. As well, I'll be rigging a red LED into the antenna so it can light up, with the aid of another switch of some kind.

Of course, the biggest problem...how am I going to DRINK in this thing?! That clearly has to be worked out soon, or the whole deal is off:-p

"We have the technology"

2005-10-12T14:58:00.000-05:00

I've been perusing various hardware and craft stores for a while now in an attempt to find everything I need for my Bender costume. So far it's going quite well; I'm only missing one major part. That being a large plastic garbage can for the body. There are a few bobbles I'll need to scrounge up (like some red LEDs for the antenna light) but I'm mostly good to go, as you can see:

Contrary to what you might think, I'm *not* going to put a computer in the costume. Instead, I'm considering extracting the CPU fan and running it on a 9volt battery to keep my head cool. I fear it's going to be quite hot in this thing... As well, I'm considering changing the arm pieces to that black plastic drainage pipe that people use to extend there gutter downspouts. The stuff I have right now is duct piping. It looks nice, but the flexibility factor isn't as great as some nice plastic would be.

I grabbed a nice profile image of Bender off the web and did a few quick things in 3ds Max and Photoshop to get some general dimensions. Basically, these are the measurments that bender would have if he stepped out of my TV and into my living room. However, I'll likely have to scale it up a bit so I can actually fit.

"Bite my shiny metal ass!"

2005-09-30T17:25:00.000-05:00

Some idle lunchroom talk let to the commerce halloween social, which led to me deciding to go as Bender from Futurama. Now, I had my doubts as to how I'd actually move and sit down in such a thing, but it's simply too great an idea to pass up.

I had a look around the net and found this guy, I'll be using his costume as a model. However, I hope to improve on it in several ways. He had to drink through a staw all night, and that just won't do. Also, I'm planning on having the end of the head antenna actually light up. I also figure it's likely to be deadly hot in that thing, so I'm going to have a go at installing one of those little fans in the head part of the costume.

It'll be interesting trying to build it, at the very least. I'll post some pictures as I get things going.

Bulls and Bears, oh my! (And other ramblings)

2005-09-15T21:39:00.000-05:00

I recently opened an investment account over at TD Waterhouse, thus enabling me to throw my money away attempting to squeeze money out of the stock market. Most likely I'll end up losing all my money, and having to sleep on the streets. I hope you'll all keep your couches open for me:-p

In any case, I've bought up some stocks in two companies. They are:

Advanced Cell Technology
and
Porta System Corp.

In the case of Porta, I'm hoping that their website won't scare customers away...but I got a fairly good tip on them, so I'll just hope for the best:-p

In other news, I was at the Theory of a Deadman concert last night at the UofM. They were awesome, I love bands that sound just as good or better in person. People with real talent deserve support, BUY THEIR ALBUM! Driver and Tupelo Honey opened for Theory. Driver was also quite good, and Tupelo was fairly good for a random band I've never heard of.

Lastly, I'm going to a dodgeball tournament this weekend. From what I hear, it's basically exactly like the movie. Should be a good time:-p

Cabin Party, The Second

2005-09-09T16:42:00.000-05:00

I neglected to post the link to the pictures from the August cabin party, where we celebrated Jenn's Bday. As such, here they be:

http://offtopicproductions.com/Pictures/cabin2005take2/

I demand people post comments on the pictures. Just scroll to the bottom of each page and you can leave comments on the individual pictures....or scathing remarks.

I'm Old.

2005-08-24T20:12:00.000-05:00

That's right, I'm officially old. I can now tell stories about "the good old days" and say, "When *I* was a boy..."

We all went out to the King's Head Pub to celebrate the fact that I've managed to go another year without killing myself with some kind of malfunctioning death ray that I'm building in my basement.

I also happen to have the same birthday as Lanna. She wore a hat to cover up her gray hair.

And now...PICTURES!

http://offtopicproductions.com/Pictures/KingsHead20th/

Spiffy New Threads

2005-08-12T19:30:00.000-05:00

Okay, maybe it's lame to write about getting a bunch of new clothes. It's really the way in which they were obtained that makes it interesting.

Appalled by the shortage of clothes in a friend of mines closet, it came about that a bunch of our mutual fashion conscious friends (of the female variety) decided to take him shopping. And of course I demanded to be let in on this little venture into the dark interior of the local mall.

My wardrobe consists almost entirely of various t-shirts. Most of which, through a series of odd coincidences currently contain come from various universities around the world. That being the case, I definitely have no problem letting a bunch of girls dress me. Obviously it would be much better to be able to pick out my own stylish clothes, but clearly that section of my brain is being used to store Simpson quotes. In any case, the goal of stylish clothes basically boils down to impressing females, so why not just skip the middle man (ie: me) and have them pick out clothes they like?

After a couple hours at the mall which felt distinctly like What Not to Wear (...not that I watch that...ya) I came out of the ordeal with a minor slew of new stuff. Apparently I now have pants that can be dressed "up or down". Of course, it wasn't explain to me how this mystical transition is conducted, so I'll just assume they go with everything. I've also discovered that the colour brown is not as evil as I had previously assumed.

I'll be heading off to Kelowna, British Columbia early Sunday morning to visit my grandparents for a week. Hopefully I can make good use of my new digital camera and take some decent photos of mountains or something. More likely they'll end up being uninteresting, blurry photos of the inside of the camera case...but whatever :-p

Cheers.

More Pixels Than You!

2005-08-02T17:58:00.000-05:00

I've just gone out and bought a BenQ DC E53 digital camera, which I'm quite excited about. 5 megapixels, a huge LCD display and rather more money than I intended to spend should keep me busy for a while!

Of course, compared to Scott I'm just some kind of a lame photography poser...but I intend to try my hand at it. I'm not serious enough to go out and buy a digital SLR (like a sexy Rebel XT) but I figure I can get in some good practice with this camera. In honour of this occasion I decided to test out the macro and took a picture of random flower in my back yard. (Photoshopped it a bit.)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

2005-08-01T21:05:00.000-05:00

The rest of this post shall be smattered with spoilers, so anyone who hasn't seen this movie should go out and do so...right now.

I should start by saying that I haven't read the book; a crime, I know. I've always been a huge fan of the previous translation to the tv screen, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, so that's mostly what I'm basing my opinions on. I found this new version to be more than a match for the 1971 version. The basic storyboard is the same, but they've used a lot of computer generated effects and sets to make the whole thing bigger and with more grandeur. The chocolate factory has been transformed into something that you can *believe* is the size of a small city.

They also did a rather nice job with the characters, who I think managed to be much more interesting and animated than in the old movie. Grandpa Joe was particularly good and perfect for the part. The one bit that I wasn't really on board with were the Umpa Lumpas. They had a single small spanish man Umpa Lumpa which they then cloned dozens of times using cg. It was a bit odd.

I'd heard that this version was going to be darker than the original, but overall I found it to be lighter and more based in (semi) reality. The background provided about Wonka's life was excellent, and of course Depp did an excellent job.

And now of course I have to provide a completely misleading rating of of 5, which probably means nothing unless you have the exact same taste in movies. Here goes:

3.5/5

Hmm, I don't think I'll rate things in stars...maybe I can do a rating in some kind of tasty dessert. 3.5/5 pies?

Drinking Games

2005-07-30T01:52:00.000-05:00

Tonight I have learned what I consider to be the most excellent drinking game in my repitour of such games.

Basically, every card is assigned a random rule. For example, Queen means everyone with blue eyes takes a drink. 4 means you have to start a story, every person says one word of the story but first must repeat all the previous words that everyone else has contributed. If you fail, you drink.

Another random card entitles the person who flips it to create a rule. For example, someone may create a rule which says nobody can point at a person, or say a persons' name. If they do, they drink. Essentially the game consists of each person flipping over a card in the deck and carrying out the action assigned to that specific card. The rules can be completely stupid and are often made up on the spot before the game begins.

My favorite one of the night was this: The 4 card was the "Create a Rule" card. One of the rules introduced was that before you took a drink you had to remove a 'tiny man' from the rim of your glass and place him in a safe spot, you then had to replace him when you were done drinking. Very, very odd, but it made for a good time. The game got a bit hard when people introduced rules prohibiting everyone from using names, pointing, or saying 'you'.

I hope that made some sense...I need sleep.

Cabin Party - 2005

2005-07-27T16:33:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we held what is most certainly the most awesome party which I have ever attended. Our cabin was dedicated to drunken games and stupidity for an entire weekend. Seeing as most people are probably unable to remember most of it, I've scanned in the pictures Jenn and I took. I compiled them with Keegan's picture and have posted them all in a photo album, you can even leave comments (clever, no?)!

http://offtopicproductions.com/Pictures/cabin2005/album/

Test of the Public Blogging System

2005-07-19T23:21:00.000-05:00

This is a test of the Public Blogging System. In the event of a real emergency, you'd already be dead.