Blog du Wren

FC 23 - Sideways

I had to outsource the artwork on this comic all the way across the border. Please don't tell the IRS. My gracious host, Gabriella, from Yelapa, Mexico drew this one. (And as [almost] always, it was colored by yours truly.)

Besides being a wunnerful comic artist*, Ms. Gabriella is also a wunnerful musician. Perhaps you recall how I recounted stories of some great evenings sitting around a campfire while she did her folksy music thing on stage. Well, I neglected to pass along the link then, so I will do just that now: check out her music over at MySpace. (Oh, and if anyone knows how to set it up so songs are downloadable through the myspace music player thing, pass that info along to me and I will pass it along to her and then I will download the music and then I will put it on my .mp3 player and then I will listen to it and then I will laugh at "I'll show you mine" and then the people on the bus will look at me funny for laughing when I'm not talking to anyone.*)

Anyhoo, enjoy the comic. Enjoy your Friday. Enjoy Pi Day!

Thursday March 13 2008

File under: comic

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Happy Pi(e) Day!

I've been looking for an excuse to post this picture for almost a year now. This is a glorious fruit pie we made down in Portland with all local berries. It was delicious and beautiful!

Okay, so maybe Pi(e) Day isn't for another 2 days, but we all know what I save Friday posts for. And since today is Wednesday, unofficial crossword day, I thought I might as well go for it.

For some reason, this crossword* really took a long time and it didn't turn out awesome. It was my plan to submit this one for publication because I really like the theme, but a few of the answers weren't up to snuff*. That said, it still ain't bad so I encourage you to give it a try: Crossword - Happy Pie Day.

I also should thank Dan B. for saving me from using the answer "Radu II"*. His suggestion is quite a bit better, although still not NY Times material (which isn't his fault at all. How many things can you come up with that fit the form _ad_ _ i?)

As always, I would love your feedback (too hard, too easy, too many specific knowledge clues, etc.). Also, have a wonderful Pi Day on Friday. Bake a pie. Recite pi. Go to a Pi Sig frat party. (Oh, and for those of you who aren't following the whole Pi Day thing, check out last year's post on the subject for further enlightenment*)

Wednesday March 12 2008

File under: misc, holidays

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The Speed of Technology

I just had a wacky little thought. Since it is shaping up to be a slow blog week (good stuff to come, but not until next week), I figured I'd share. The icon that most programs use for a shortcut for saving (pictured at left) struck me as outdated. When I started thinking about it, I realized that it is so outdated, that many computer users probably don't even know what it is a picture of. When was the last time you used a 3.5" floppy?

I can't really think of anything better to replace it—maybe a folder with an arrow going in to mimic the "open" shortcut icon. And I'm not trying to complain—afterall, I know what it means. I just thought it was kind of an interesting observation.

Tuesday March 11 2008

File under: misc

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North Sound City to City Public Transportation Guide

It's been a year now that I've been without a car. And while Scoot Scoot gets me around, it isn't the most efficient thing for longer distance travel*, so I very often find myself on the bus. In fact, I'm getting to know the local area bus schedule pretty damn well–so well, in fact, that I often find myself acting as consultant to people who want to go from A to B under C circumstance.

Fancy schmany public transportation districts have websites with trip planners where you can get routes to and from anywhere in the system without having special knowledge of which routes run when, where, etc. This is what I've set out to recreate for the transportation districts in our area. You select where you want to start and where you want to go and presto, this website lays out what routes to take, as well as helpful tidbits about schedule, price, etc.

One thing that the site doesn't offer (yet) is a full timetable for each schedule. One reason is because to maintain a separate database for all these would be problematic. Whenever a company changed its schedule, things would be out of sync until I realized the problem. Another reason is because I am just one guy, and the prospect of doing a full blown trip planner (for free) was a little overwhelming.

But despite the lacking time element, my hope is that this tool will help those who want to make inroads into public transportation travel but don't know where to start. Spread the word about North Sound City to City Public Transportation Guide.

Sunday March 9 2008

File under: transportation, coding

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FC 22 - Three Piece Suit

Ever since the days of Key Club conventions*, I've always had to chuckle at the term "business casual". That qualifies as an oxymoron, right? These days I don't find myself with the occasion to be invited to business casual events much anymore* Well, only after I contracted out this comic did I really realize that it is written without a slash in between, hence the last minute addition of the "typo" portion of the caption. I think it still works.

Thanks to Deanna for the lovely drawing, as always. (I tweaked the lips a little. Please don't disown me.)

Thursday March 6 2008

File under: comic

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The Upside of Being Under the Weather

Ugh. I'm just recovering from a nasty bout with a devilish bug that had me laid up for the past couple days. Today is the first day since Saturday that I feel able to get up and move about in a semi-regular fashion, albeit with significantly less energy. I was fortunate that my particular strain was just achy muscles, headaches, fever, etc. and skipped over the whole yammying* aspect. On the whole, it wasn't a pleasant experience. All my time lying shivering in bed did allow me time to try to put a positive spin on things. Since I know a lot of others are going through a similar aguishness, I thought I might share my look-on-the-bright-side conclusions.

1. Lying in bed is a comfort activity that many of us don't get to do often enough. Sure the shakes are bad, but pulling the covers up to your chin in the middle of the day without the feeling of guilt that you should be doing something else is a bit of a perk.

2. A forceful respite from our sometimes hectic schedules can be a great opportunity to reflect on our lives from an outside perspective. When you're in too much pain to push a broom, write thank you cards, or paint the bathroom, you will find that you have some good old fashion think-time.

3. Being sick gives you an excuse to listen to your body with open ears (for those of us that don't find ourselves doing that enough on a regular basis.) If chicken noodle soup is the only thing that sounds good, eat it. If you wanna lie in bed ALL DAY and not move, do it*.

4. For those times just before the worst of things and right after when you are able to think clearly and move your appendages slightly, but not so much your whole body, there isn't a better time to negotiate working from home. Your work will like it because you won't infect the whole office. You will get to skip out on a commute (and probably a lot of office politicking). Everyone wins.

5. The line between being too weak/incoherent to do anything constructive and being too lazy is quite fine. Bask in that laziness, if just for an afternoon. You know you want to. Trooth* is, the longer you bask in the slow life of letting your body take care of itself as it was made to do, the quicker you will return to health.

Can you think of other upsides of being under the weather.

Tuesday March 4 2008

File under: misc

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Olympic National Park

File under "Beauty within a half day's drive from home".

This past weekend, I went for a little jaunt out to Olympic National Park to visit a friend. (Ma was generous enough to leave me her car when she went out of town.) While ONP is beautiful anytime, it is even more beautiful in the rare chance there is sun. We totally lucked out with two days of semi-sun and only rain at the appropriate times when it helped set the mood.

In addition to enjoying Lake Crescent and tromping on the Olympic Discovery Adventure Trail, we headed out to Dungeness Spit in an [successful] attempt to follow the sun. Oh, and it should go without saying that geocaches were involved all around.

Overall, even though the seemingly ubiquitous sickness of late hindered out plans a little, it was a great chance to catch up with a friend, bask in nature's glory, and get away from the routine* of my life.

Sunday March 2 2008

File under: travel

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FC 21 - Pre-penny

Annie again delivers this week's comic with her unique MSPaint style. Coloring the comics that are submitted is becoming a favorite weekly task of mine. It allows me to add a little artistic input to the comic but without requiring any artistic skill. Here soon, I will work up a fancy post that shows the evolution of the process from submission to production.

This comic idea was the second one I ever came up with when I decided to start my comic series (which, as you remember, was originally only slated to run one month). No one has been brave enough to tackle it until now. I really like how it turned out and only can hope that I get the concept across well enough in the caption to do justice to the awesome drawing.

(Sorry for the late post. The internet isn't quite as accessible here in the Olympic National Park, where I am enjoying a little vacation)

Friday February 29 2008

File under: comic

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Freshly Baked Bread

Whenever I hear about someone baking his/her* own bread, two things occur to me. First, there is always some excitement and pride in his/her* voice. It seems like s/he* feels a very strong ownership not only in the product but in the process and the recipe. Second, I realize how much I like baking bread and tell myself that I simply must do that sometime soon.

Since there is no time like the present*, last night I dove in. I used the same "recipe" that I've been using for years: bloom some yeast in some warmish water, then add some salt and flour. Since this recipe relies heavily on the baker's interpretation of "some", the bread always seems to turn out a little different. One thing is always the same though; it comes out of the oven warm and always seems to make great toast*. Add a little peanut butter and homemade jam and you've got yourself a .

Someday I might branch out into fancy breads like ciabatta, challah, etc. but this time around, all I was wanting was the feel of dough beneath my palms and an aroma to fill up the house. Done and done.

Wednesday February 27 2008

File under: food

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Content du Wren

I am a student of the internet. I've learned my career skillz from it, honed my communications skillz on it, and been kept current on countless [usually pointless] cultural trends via it. As you all know from some of the projects and websites I've posted about before, my technical internet skillz are above average, if I do say so myself. An arguement could probably be made either way on my communication skillz. As for the cultural trends, I'd like to present an argument in my favor presently.

One of the things about the internet that so often boggles my mind is the amount of content that is created so frequently. Somebody is out there writing up those top ten lists, programming those addictive flash games, and compiling those LOLcat* photos. So in the interest of giving back to the internet a small portion of what it has given me, I've created these 3 bits of content. I was thinking of posting them all separately so as to try and capitalize on the fickle permalinking internet masses, but 1)none of them is good enough to warrant a solo post 2)BdW isn't really a place for non-personal, internet trend-based content (for the most part) and 3) I've got a huge affinity for the number 3*.

So, here you go, content du Wren:
Internet Memes: My take on the internet masses' take on Despair, Inc.'s take on Motivational posters.
Manliness Quiz: Quizes are all the rage on the internet. Here's mine.
Thread Voting: One of the most common links of "content" that I come across in a day is a compilation of stuff on a given topic. While it doesn't really count as content, because the true creative genius is just stolen from elsewhere, there is a bit of a organizational thought that goes into it.

Tuesday February 26 2008

File under: misc

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