Blog du Wren

What is it

One of my favorite non-personal blogs, Neatorama, has a sometimes feature of "What is it?". It is exactly what you might imagine: from pictures, you gotta decide what it is.

There has been an it lying around our house for a while that has us quite perplexed. I've done some research as to what it is, but have so far been thwarted. Then I figured, why not open it up to everyone to play along. Here are some pictures: , , . If you can't tell from the picture, the logo reads "Rex" with "Made in Finland" below. The metal spikes on the inside are angled downwards and towards the upturned tip. The two tags read "105208, $4.00" in handwritten script and "Devil's Thumb, $4.00", neither of which I think have anything to do with it's origin.

Anyway, if anyone thinks they've got a clue to what it is, post it in the comments. If you have a source to prove you're right, you will be reigning champion...OF THE WORLD*!

(I know the title/headline to this post should have a question mark, but whoever wrote this crappy blog software doesn't properly encode headlines, so it will have to remain an implied question mark.)

Saturday July 12 2008

File under: misc, contest

Toggle Comments (4)

comment?

FC 40 - That Darn Economy

It's funny how there are whole sub-cultures out there that, if you aren't exposed to them, you know nothing about, but when you find yourself aware of them, you notice them everywhere. I guess that is all part of expanding your mind-brain. But that's just an aside.

This week's comic is a product Paint Shop Pro 5.0 with yours truly at the helm. I feel like my technical skillz with the program are improving, which is nice. While I can't compete with the photoshop masters out there, I'm figuring out quicker and easier ways to accomplish the tasks I want (distorting, tweaking coloring on only a portion of an image, etc. etc.). Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

(P.S. Sean, this comic is mostly for you. I figure you might get a chuckle even if no one else does.)

Friday July 11 2008

File under: comic

Toggle Comments (2)

comment?

Mathematical Mythbusting

Two occasions recently have had me pondering the speed of sound. The first such occasion was a lightening storm, of which we have very few here in the rain shadow of the Cascades. Lightening and thunder filled the sky all evening and into the night. Secondly, as I mentioned in my previous post, I watched the fireworks from a significant distance, which had an influence not only on the volume of the bang, but also on the delay.

In talking to people (esp. about the lightening, although I don't see what it wouldn't also apply to the fireworks), the rule of 1 second between sight and sound equals one mile of distance to said sight was oft cited. I myself used this rule in my early days. This time around, however, I got a little curious about that rule of thumb and wanted to run the numbers. Perhaps to your surprise, the rule isn't so accurate. Observe*:

Givens
Speed of Sound	S_s = 761 mph (or .2 miles per second)
Speed of Light	S_c = 670,616,629 mph (or 186,282 miles per second)
System of equations
Time it takes light to reach you	t_c = d/S_c
Time it takes sound to reach you	t_s = d/S_s
Time elapsed between light and sound	t_e = t_s -t_c
Solving
Solving for t_c	t_c = t_s - t_e
Replacing for t_c and t_s	d/S_s - t_e = d/S_c
Moving stuff around	d/S_s - d/S_c = t_e
Factoring for d	d(1/S_s - 1/S_c) = t_e
Solve for d	d = t_e / (1/S_s - 1/S_c)
Plugging givens back in (using miles per second)	d = t_e / (5 - .000001*)

This shows that instead of every one second between lightening and thunder equating to one mile, every 5 seconds equals to a mile. So next time you hear that thunder 5 seconds after the lightening, don't go rushing outside thinking you've got a 5 mile buffer because it's a lot closer than you think.

Thursday July 10 2008

File under: misc

Toggle Comments (6)

comment?

Kayamping

After trying to talk people into it for years*, I finally had success in finding someone to go kayak camping with*. was the location (about an hour paddle from South Harbor Park). July 4th was the date. From our perch on the rocks, we could see the whole valley lighting off their tributes to America. The highlight, and what we positioned ourselves for, was the Anacortes display, which, as always, didn't disappoint. Watching the fireworks from such a distance and surrounded by such natural beauty was a great new experience. No deafening booms and no car alarms were just a few of the perks.

Not only was the fireworks watching good times, but the camping was good times as well. was Frito chili pie and corn. Pre-fireworks entertainment was and [further*] exploration of the island. Other than the wicked headwind and broken rudder [again...] on the paddle home, had a grand old time.

Monday July 7 2008

File under: Anacortes, misc

Toggle Comments (4)

comment?

Quote for Monday 3

"I began to enjoy the exhilarating delight of traveling, a life of desire, gratification, and liberty."
-Jules Verne in A Journey to the Center of the Earth

Monday July 7 2008

File under: quote

comment?

Green Juggling in the Parade

Last year, I posted about Anacortes's 4th of July Parade, the quintessential small town parade. The big highlight for me was the Beat the Heat group who marched to advocate living a lighter impact life specifically through less carbon emissions. This year, since I've become a member(ish) of the group, I decided to walk with them and effectively restart my annual tradition of juggling in the parade.

Since just juggling wouldn't really make any sense in the context of beating the heat, I had to get a creative. My solution: themed juggling . And for those who couldn't really tell what the idea was, I made a little I wore on my back. While I don't think anyone really got it*, people seemed to at least enjoy the juggling.

The point of the exercise was as much to have fun both in the artistic endeavor of creating the clubs and walking in the parade as it was to influence/get people to think. I think the whole thing can be called a success.

Thanks to Gretchen, Ma, and Ron for a while I walked.

Saturday July 5 2008

File under: juggling, Anacortes

Toggle Comments (2)

comment?

FC 39 - For the Birds

This comic is for bird nerds*. If you aren't a bird nerd, you probably won't get it, at least not right off the bat. Maybe you will. I don't know you. For the non-bird nerds in the audience, I've left a bit of an explanation in the comments section below.

I really like how this one turned out, both graphically and otherwise. It feels good when a mini-project comes together so nicely (even if it did take way longer than it should have). Maybe one of these days I will do a comic out on paper. Perhaps it would allow me to be less finicky about details and technical conundrums (anti-aliasing vs. non) and complete a comic in less than 4 hours. For now, however, I enjoy my Paint Shop Pro 5.0. Besides, you would not want to see my free hand interpretation of a bald eagle.

Thursday July 3 2008

File under: comic

Toggle Comments (6)

comment?

Web Project Olio

To keep myself sane in between periods of travel, I find myself getting involved in quite a number of computer/web projects. While I know not all of them are super exciting, I figured if I compiled them all into one post, it might pass muster on the interesting scale.

Firstly, I've just finalized creation of a website for Jai Guitars, a guitar refinishing project run by friend, frisbee great, and occasional BdW commenter Joe. I think the site turned out great and was a lot of fun to make. Check it out, and if you end up ordering a guitar, tell him you heard about it on BdW.

Other projects I've been dinking with:

I'm helping out the Elect Bill Turner campaign by maintaining their website. It is my first involvement with a political campaign and I think it will prove to be eye opening*.
After it initially getting a fair amount of press, I'm continuing to update North Sound Transit Guide. Recently, I added Frequently Requested Routes (fully planned routes mostly between Seattle and major North Sound cities), a feature that I think should be very useful. I hope to be adding more features soon.
I threw together this little game for Luke (of Sponsor My Loans, Blog About Beer, and Real World Really)*. It's about as hokey as web browser games can get, but also kind of fun. I think he's putting it together for his boss or something, so if you happen to pass through Portland, Maine, don't go advertising it from rooftops.
I continue to work towards getting a crossword published. I've submitted two for publication but haven't heard back. If you want to check out the new ones, they can be found on the games page. (I'm told these latest ones are both better and easier than the first couple, so if you tried before and were dissuaded, think about having another look.)

I've got a few other projects in the works including adding a new product to troothpicks.com*, a face-lift/added feature set for BdW*, and maybe another small business website or two to add to my resume. If you've got some web related project you've been pondering, maybe I can help. Have your people call my people.

Thursday July 3 2008

File under: work, coding

Toggle Comments (2)

comment?

Quote for Monday 2

"Give me slow food and fast internet!"

Monday June 30 2008

File under: quote

Toggle Comments (2)

comment?

Phototastic

I like having pictures of where I've been and what I've done. Who doesn't? As for actually taking them (getting people all lined up, making sure there are batteries in the camera, etc.), that's another story. Esp. when traveling, I really try to force myself to take as many pictures as I can because I know I will appreciate it later. This blog has been a great help in the motivation category on that front. (It is also worth noting that I've had many great people contribute their photos of shared experiences to this blog and for that I'm quite grateful.)

But those are more documentary type photos. Rarely do I think I capture something that can stand on its own without explanation or context. I'm slowly learning the art of photography, or at least producing pictures that I like, and as my skill grows, my interest grows. Someday I will have a photo that I will like well enough to enlarge, have framed, and put on my wall*.

Speaking of fancy photography, my friend and your fellow BdW reader Sweet Julie has a photo in the finals of Nikon's Big Deal Photo Contest*. It is a great photo and worth checking out. Winners of the contest get a fancy new camera, so share the love and go vote!

(Yeah, so this post was a combination of having little going on in my world and wanting to help a friend win a free camera. If you've got a cause you want promoted to the throngs* of BdW readers, send it my way.)

Sunday June 29 2008

File under: misc

Toggle Comments (7)

comment?

< Previous Page Next Page >

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 .............25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112

Name:
URL: (optional)
Comment:
speak yer peace

Name:
URL: (optional)
Comment:
speak yer peace

Name:
URL: (optional)
Comment:
speak yer peace

Name:
URL: (optional)
Comment:
speak yer peace

Name:
URL: (optional)
Comment:
speak yer peace