Paper Bumblebee

as seen on Engadget: here is a little something for the Transformer fans. even if you hated the Michael Bay movie, you've got to give this guy props for building a scale model of the new Bumblebee out of KFC buckets and custard cake cartons.

whimsy

on a lark, i did some cheap redecorating of this blog. and by cheap, i mean i only used the predesigned stuff -- none of that fancy html/xml/php/javascript stuff.

the colour scheme is more neutral; white and grey and black match with pretty much everything on your (the reader's) setup. i shrank the font size because i like it that way and i don't respect the visually impaired (use Opera to zoom if you need to). i moved the sidebar to the left because the template i picked had it there. i changed the header text to something less russian -- brownie points to whoever actually could tell what that old header line (Это курам на смех) means, or where it was used prominently.

tags

i finally got around to posting up a list of the tags i use for my posts. i was about to manually enter them when i found that blogger can do it for you; thanks, blogger!

in the process of tagging all my old posts -- which i will eventually get around to completing -- i reread some old stuff. some of it was cryptic and required a bit of detective work to decipher what i was saying. some of it cracked me up; boy, i used to be really funny. all of it reminded me of who i used to be and hinted at who i am to become. by golly there is a lot of stuff i tag as nerd.

comfort zone

do you know how rhinos mark their territory? they take a big dump and then kick it to spread it around. people are like rhinos.

i shared this before at the last Aletheia Winter Retreat, coincidentally where i made this sign.

normally, at church/fellowship overnight events (camps, retreats, etc), i don't have to -- how do i put this politely? -- evacuate my colon drop a dookie plug the plumbing shed some weight. this happens without any conscious effort.

for one weekend, my body will instinctively know that there is no comfortable seat to make my deposit, and thus closes up shop. it doesn't matter how many vegetables go in, nothing comes out. walk into my house and i'll shoot for the nearest porcelain.

at Aletheia Winter Retreat, i finally felt comfortable enough to sink some treasure -- in the bathroom with the door that did not lock no less. it wasn't a big deal, just a mild psychological breakthrough. during the campfire sharing time, after most people had done the serious stuff, sharing about loneliness and finding God or whatever, i told them about my catharsis and how it was an indicator of how close to them i felt. i'm not sure they were comfortable enough with me to hear it in such candid terms, but when you're comfortable you can put yourself out there like that without a care.

i knew i was comfortable in Longlac because after the first night, i inaugurated the bowl upstairs. by the second week, we were so comfortable with each other that we didn't mind other people listening in on our symphonies (at least the three guys had no problem with it). dude, some people have rhythm. no duets though (out of courtesy).

candid camera / a startling revelation

i must be so annoying =D

i recently reacquired the password to my second flickr account. since i am so gainfully unemployed, and since i've been such a shutterbug as of late, i thought i'd get off my lazy rump and start uploading. only about 40% of my shots make it online (blurries and pointless shots stay on my hard drive), so i'm learning to shoot more and decide what's good or not later.

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today, i picked up tiffany c. from her house to go to church early because that's just how the schedule worked out. the first thing she said was, "my sister said you looked 14."

this would explain why the younger ladies latch onto me, and why the ones my age are much less inclined to do so (they have higher standards).

a few months ago, i was catching up with a friend whom i had slightly lost contact with. she told me that if i ever wanted a girlfriend, i would have to bolster my reputation with the parents age group at church and appear more mature. this was followed by the awkward reveal that she used to have a huge crush on me; i am denser than a yuletide fruitcake log.

obviously, i don't think very lowly of myself, so my immediate reaction was, "hey, i'm plenty mature" as a good poop joke flitted through my mind. this was followed closely by, "why do i have to perform for them? is this some sort of dog show?"

of course, i understand that maturity in a man ups his attractiveness four-fold -- who wouldn't want to be attractive? but i will not go out and pretend to be more mature in front of others because that is immature; it is tantamount to slathering a layer cake of makeup on to appear beautiful, glitzing up to appear wealthy and wearing platform shoes to appear tall.