I don't even eat bacon

Not sure why I thought this was so funny, but I did. So here we are.

It was feeding on a tumblr site that I like so no idea about where it originally came from. That's a shame, because whoever created it deserves full credit.

SSSS

Went hiking over the weekend. 9 miles over hill and dale. In some old trainers. Not a great idea; I retired (read: threw away) the shoes and socks when we got back to the car. Next time I will wear hiking boots, if for no other reason than they won't get so dirty. Saw a garter snake on the trail. Actually almost stepped on him, which would have sucked for both of us. I would have felt awful if I hurt the guy.

Special shout-out to higher education: REPOST!

This is dedicated to my peeps with higher-level degrees.

Keep pushing.

The Illustrated Guide to a PhD

Courtesy Matt Might.

It's grad season, so I am reposting this. Everything old is new again!

Sometimes the truth doesn't hurt

Sometimes I get kinda lonely when I'm single, wish I had someone to spend time with. But only sometimes, because then I notice that this is pretty much my life, more or less, except you can replace 'went to rock concerts' with 'went to gym every day'.

Credit where credit's due: First saw this on someecards, but the original lives here: http://www.carlosnaude.com/NAUDE/Inspirational_Graphic_Design.html

Someecards take on it was pretty good. They describe it as written by somebody who has forgotten what it's like to be single. I can't say being single is great all the time, but it does have its pluses. Depends on your priorities. And also on whether or not you marry a girl that gets rid of your favorite jeans. (Who would do that?)

I will not be reconstructed

I know some most of you aren't much into the motorbike stuff, so here then (as promised) is my favorite Pogues song. You might not care for that either but whatever.



Lyrics might be a bit tough to follow, so here they are:

Seen the carnival at Rome
Had the women I had the booze
All I can remember now
Is little kids without no shoes
So I saw that train
And I got on it
With a heartful of hate
And a lust for vomit
Now I'm walking on the sunnyside of the street

Stepped over bodies in Bombay
Tried to make it to the U.S.A.
Ended up in Nepal
Up on the roof with nothing at all
And I knew that day
I was going to stay
Right where I am, on the sunnyside of the street

Been in a palace, been in a jail
I just don't want to be reborn a snail
Just want to spend eternity
Right where I am, on the sunnyside of the street

As my mother wept it was then I swore
To take my life as I would a whore
I know I'm better than before
I will not be reconstructed
Just wanna stay right here
On the sunnyside of the street

Fontana (Auto Club Speedway) track day - 22 May 2011

Did another track day at Fontana. Second time there, third track day overall.

I did my first ever track day at Auto Club Speedway back in February. It was awesome but I was slow. My best lap time of the day was a really very slow 2:18. (New best time: 1:53.) One good thing about starting out slow is it's easy to make improvements, because you're slow everywhere.

In order to go faster I needed a bike that I was less afraid to drop. For safety I needed a leather onesie. (They are technically called 'one piece' suits, but I think it's funnier to call it a onesie.)

So: new to me bike (CBR600RR), some custom parts, and a new leather onesie later, I hit the track again. Things were much better and there's still lots of room for improvement, stuff to work on. So that's good.

22 May was officially a Southern CA Ducati dealer track day. I had to email a guy that works at Ducati to get on the list. There is always a wide range of speeds on manufacturer-sponsored days, because they will bring lots of guys out that wouldn't normally track their fancy 'high performance' import. As such, almost everyone I passed was on an overpriced Italian sportbike. My first track day I think I passed maybe one person, which was humbling. 

One issue with the wide range of speeds, especially in the slow group, is the huge disparity in lap times. The range of times in the next faster group was about 10 seconds, so people were running very close lap times and wouldn't hit much traffic. In the slow group, where I live, the range was 25 seconds. That is a big disparity, and it means that the faster guys were sooooo much faster than the slow people that you were always dealing with traffic.

Overall it was a good day.

Link to more pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/casey.farley/FontanaTrackDay22May2011?feat=directlink

Double up

Tired today.
Big Cheese sends this video. It's beautifully shot, and the tricks are sweet.

Went to Fontana this weekend to ride my motorcycle as fast as possible. It was faster than last time but still not very fast. I'll post pictures later.

The Twins from skatefairy on Vimeo.

Gimme yo money, indeed

Mike Huckabee, presidential candidate to be, is schilling these educational videos for your kids, apparently in an effort to help them understand the 'real America', which, as far as I can infer from these videos, is just like fake America, but disturbingly ignorant.

I did like that they featured Ben Franklin (not a president), George Washington (president, historically acknowledged as very good) and Ronald Reagan (??) in their banner pic. What do these people have in common? It's probably explained in the videos. 

There are only two preview videos so far, one for the Reagan 'Revolution', and another for World War II*. Apparently the only way to learn about how awesome Reagan was (tax cuts for the wealthy, Iran-Contra scandal, largest peacetime military buildup in world history, enormous national debt, severe cuts in social programs, and dubious - at best - economic policies) is in a cartoon. I wonder if they show how Ronnie handed over the day to day running of the country to his benefactors, the owner/operators of the military-industrial complex, and then devoted himself to taking plenty of naps (thanks to an old calendar of mine for that description). Probably not.

That's Huckabee himself making a cameo in the preview below at about 22 seconds. Hint: it's the guy that says "Gimme yo money!"



*The WWII video is awesome mostly because it depicts Nazis and closes with the kids saying, "What we see and hear isn't always what we read in books... So what? We know the truth, and that's good enough for us!" Nothing is more valuable than knowing the truth, that you know, because you know it. Hmmm... That ideology sounds familiar. Can't remember where I might have heard it before... Wait... waaaiiiit.... FOUND IT!

Genesis 19: Total Insanity

If you knew about this and didn't tell me then you're on friend probation for 2 weeks.

Anyway, here's the Professor Brothers doing a rundown on Genesis 19. Language definitely not safe for work. The awesome probably isn't work-safe, either. This might be my favorite thing to happen to the internet since the Juggernaut.

He's Karl Lagerfeld and you're not

We don't much go in for couture fashion around here. Mainly because it's expensive and I don't have that kind of discretionary income. Another reason not to become too invested is that it's all a bunch of bullshit. Yeah so are most things, but whatever.

Exhibit A-1 of the lunacy that surrounds the industry can be found in this interview with Karl Lagerfeld. You don't have to know who he is to love the crazy nonsense he spews. Fortunately, he's got a willing interview partner in this absurdity, so there's genius all over the place.

Short synopsis of the awesome here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/may/19/karl-lagerfeld-fashion-statement

My favorite:

Bruce: There's a boy who's 20 years old; you can see him on YouTube. He'd never seen Paris from the air before and they flew him over Paris in a helicopter. Then they took him to a studio and he drew the entire city. Building by building, street by street.


Karl: I can do that with the antique Greek world.

It's funny because HE'S NOT JOKING.

Full workup here (if you can stand it):
http://www.viceland.com/int/v17n3/htdocs/karl-lagerfeld-369.php#ixzz1MFgsScuz

I don't know whether I'm disgusted or just jealous. A little of both, maybe?

Responses to responses, part V

Tallboys req'd, sleeves optional

The readership asks, and I answer. Or something.

Shannon (NMSNSS), in re: my post on Portal 2 and how I loved it, says:

My daughter just finished Portal 2. See? Y'all should get married.

My reply: That is very thoughtful. Are you sure you're not just angling for some mother's day cookies?

Reader Katie makes inquiries about the cookies I made over the weekend:

Who are you making those cookies for?

 For me to stuff in my fat face. Duh. But also I may have stuffed some into boxes for shipping to points around the country. Check your mailbox starting today.

Photo is one I dug up from the archives. It makes me laugh.

Still the angels won't receive me

This song is getting a lot of airtime lately, I think on a Subaru commercial. If you're a die-hard Pogues fan then you're either bitterly annoyed that they sold the rights to this song or overjoyed that it's getting some attention.

I enjoy Dropkick Murphy's and Flogging Molly as much as the next guy, but this is better.



Best part is that's not even my favorite Pogues song. (It gets it's own post.)

The things you own, own you

The website http://the-burning-house.com/ is getting some attention on the internets. No idea if it will become huge (I'm betting yes). It's a fun idea, given how people feel about their stuff.

I enjoyed the way some of the people laid out their cherished belongings. They are beautifully presented and photographed. Also I liked the way some people opted for sentimental, and others more for a doomsday/zombie apocalypse scenario.

I'm not sure what I would bring, but I'll give it some thought and maybe pile it up and take a picture this weekend or next. Maybe. Big weekend coming up. Big.

Photo is Baby Girl helping me bake cookies. I have several of these pictures because she's always such a huge help in the kitchen. Her two special gifts are 1) laying on the floor, and 2) trying to lick my face when I crouch down to look in the oven.

Mmm... cookies.

Walking all over you

I watched this several times. It only got better.
I especially like the part at the end where he makes his escape. Judging by his outfit he's got a formal event to attend. 

It's not just me

I love burritos.

Lost some posts...

Something went awry and I lost some posts. One was still kicking around in the ether. The other one looks like it's gone for good.

The lost post was all about what an epic moron Mike Huckabee is. I don't have the energy to go into that again. Just go here if you want to cringe / laugh.

Here's the one I could find:
Original title: The dork is strong in this one

In response to query from one of the Readers: Yes, this is hard. The Portal games themselves are not very hard, but they are very fun. If you own a console, mac, or PC, then get playing. They are great fun. First Portal game is one of my all-time favorite games. Portal 2 is every bit as good.

The dork is strong in this one

More clever tricks in Portal 2.

In response to query from one of the Readers: Yes, this is hard. The Portal games themselves are not very hard, but they are very fun. If you own a console, mac, or PC, then get playing. They are great fun. First Portal game is one of my all-time favorite games. Portal 2 is every bit as good.

Good times

Was all set to share a story about this other thing but I decided it wasn't much of a story. So.

More well-crafted pop from The Weepies.

FYI: the song doesn't feel so short if you just play it twice in a row. Or three times. (Don't judge me.) It's got 1.6 million views on youtube, but that's probably the same 800 people listening to it over and over again.

No need to kick me when I'm down

Plenty of other choices in stock, if you're into that (I wasn't)

Monday is the longest day of my week. You care.
Anyway, I went to the grocery late, as per usual, because that's when I get home. Had to pick up some milk and whatever, and I figured I'd treat myself to a delicious cookie snack for dessert in the shape of Mother's Taffy cookies.

Bonus that the cookies were on sale, bust that they were all gone. As in, all of them. Someone came in and crushed the whole lot. On top of that, some enterprising soul decided to use the empty spot to pile up a coupon for milk, to eat with the cookies. Meanie.

"All you need is time, a pen and some paper." And talent. Lots of talent.

This was originally over on a moto website I enjoy, but it's not exclusive and it's smart, funny, and well produced so I'm reposting it here.

I very much enjoy comic books (this shocks you), so interviews with comic book artists always fascinate me. He uses the words I quoted in the title of this post (without the 'talent' part), as though any person could sit down and start making brilliant pictures. If that were true I'd be able to paint you a picture for real, instead of just a picture with words.

Happy mom's day

I hope you had a good Mother's Day.

Sweet Katie asked where her mother's day cookies were this year. I had to disappoint for now because I didn't make any (yet). I'll probably put some together this weekend and get them in the mail next week. Depends on the weather. I did make a birthday cake for a couple friends that shared a birthday. I made my mom's 70's-era recipe Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bundt cake. It's famous for being embarrassingly easy to make and very tasty. Also noteworthy because it's the only thing I make from a package, as per the 70's era recipe.

Big Cheese made a rare Southern CA visit so I took him to yoga with me. Good times.

Unrelated: enjoyed this song from The Weepies. 2 minutes of pop delicious.
I like for you to have something to listen to while you do your reading.

Visual aids

Been pondering making some charts to tell a better story here in the blogosphere. Here's some early efforts, via the Venn diagram.

Also, if you're a PS3 owner, Sony really let you down. Sony's new motto for their network is "The first month is free, but the rest are gonna cost you."

The internet delivers, again

The key here is how sad the sandwich owner looks, and how happy the (not hungry) guy looks.


Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Photos tell the story, and some perspective

Couple good photos circulating after the recent death of that guy.

FWIW: I thought all the celebrating was embarrassing, insofar as I feel anything when large groups of people that live in the same country as me do something inane. bin Laden's death is analogous to shoveling a big pile of shit: a necessary job, but once done you wash your hands clean, take satisfaction in a difficult job well done and move on.

No need for chants of USA, wild celebration on college campuses, etc. No need for sports columnists to weigh in with long essays about 'what it means' (Peter King is okay when he writes about sports, and consistently awful otherwise).

In my opinion, a better reaction would be a sober moment of reflection, a few minutes to meditate on the families of the victims of 9/11, and the families affected by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the emotional and physical hardships they have endured. Maybe a prayer, if you're into that.

9/11 was a terrible tragedy, but bin Laden's death does not warrant celebration. He was directly responsible for the death of maybe 4,000 people (indirectly, tens of thousands more, which was his stated intention); that sounds like a lot, but it isn't. More than 4,000 Americans die every MONTH in traffic accidents. I don't see anybody dancing in the streets when we buckle up our seat belts.

Tardcat update: participant feedback

Told my friend's GF that she made and the tardcat made the blog (she was underwhelmed). I explained how I felt badly for her that she wanted a friend and companion and instead she got Tardcat. She made a sad face and said, "Well, she's special, and we just have to learn to love her in other ways." I laughed.

I need a portal gun

I've got a busy schedule. The weights aren't going to lift themselves, people. And yoga is good for you. If I'm not busy doing something awesome like racing motorcycles around a track then I'm probably out somewhere being awesome, as when I spent my Sunday morning checking out all the pretty girls cheering on the runners and supporting my friends that ran the OC Marathon. I had to get up early but it was worth it. Had to be there for my peeps!

In my (limited) spare time I enjoy some xbox360 gaming. I've been ambling through Portal 2, and it is awesome. It's a game to savor and enjoy. Then you can rush through it at light speed, tossing cubes hither and thither, as below.



Crazy, huh?