A big thanks to th folks who regularly leave comments on this blog:
- spudart
- confessions of a foodie
- sparx
- JA3
- Mark R
- Shout
Start contributing today to the unlikely moose blog and you can make this magical list! Please contain your excitement.
Subscribe
Search:
Monday July, 19, 2010
HHHHHHHow you doing?
I think it should be accepted practice that people begin emails with the first letter repeated multiple times.
I stumbled across an rather large image of Optimus Prime (movie version). Check out the 10 MB jpg here. The image is 4432 x 6922 pixels. It is 14.773 x 23.073" at 300 dpi. (That basically means you can print that image in a book or magazine at that size.) The image shown above in this post is a cropping at 100% of Prime's forefinger and some of his thumb and middle finger.
Recently the blog, 30-Year Old Cardboard, featured the 1972 Topps Traded card for HOF'er Steve Carlton. It cracks me up how Topps used the font "Stencil" for the word "TRADED" and they made the graphic extra large. It makes it seem like Carlton is like rotten eggs. Surely Carlton's expression in the photo suggests that he's not happy with this tagging.
I totally thought this word was spelled, "emminate" from the previous blog post.
em·a·nate
/ˈɛməˌneɪt/ Show Spelled [em-uh-neyt] Show IPA verb, -nat·ed, -nat·ing.
–verb (used without object)
1.
to flow out, issue, or proceed, as from a source or origin; come forth; originate.
–verb (used with object)
2.
to send forth; emit.
It's a good thing that we don't have to worry about dinosaur attacks while we work in our office buildings, schools, stores and other places of employment.
Is it just plain crazy that I want to buy a 50mm Nikon lens for under $30 on ebay? I can't find any under $60. I don't even need auto-focus. I want a pancake lens for my Nikon FE (film manual focus camera) so it'll be easier to carry around when I want to take the occasional film photo when I'm at the zoo with the kids.
I'll take a D, AF, or even an AI or AI-S. I'm a little nervous about taking an E. Anything pre-AI need not apply.
Head over to Google Maps and do a search for "Chicago". That's all. Just put in the word "Chicago". The Google map ticker is placed at Fingerhut Bakery just west of Cermak and Halsted and within spitting distance of I-90/94.
They've been around since 1895. From Fingerhut's website: Proud supplier of the finest baked goods in Chicago, featuring; wedding cakes, assorted breads and pastries, and much, much more.
A couple years ago a Google Map search for "Chicago" put the ticker at the Art Institute of Chicago. I wonder why it changed to Fingerhut.
Looking for a font similar to what's used on the United States of America Treasury Federal Reserve System's Federal Reserve Note used as legal tender for all debts, public and private otherwise known as the mighty dollar?
It's time to tweak your Fourth of July plans, for Waldo will be wandering downtown Chicago this Sunday afternoon! That's right. Get the chance to meet Waldo from the famed "Where's Waldo" book series.
"Where? How?" You might ask. Ah, you'll have to find him. It's a "Where's Waldo" book come to life and you'll be part of the scene! This time Waldo will be between the boundaries of Lake St, Michigan Av., Jackson Blvd and Lake Shore Dr. I think it'd be super cool to be in one of the buildings on Michigan Ave and take a panoramic and/or wide angle photo of the entire scene with Waldo in the photo.
The red area in the map below shows where Waldo and his counterparts, Wenda, Wizard Whitebeard, Odlaw, and Woof will be walking. The blue area shows the location of the Taste of Chicago. So it is quite possible that Waldo and friends could be making an appearance at the Taste. I suggest that if you find Waldo that you offer him a BBQ turkey leg from the Taste. I know for a fact that he will accept a Taste of Chicago food gift. How do I know this? I just so happen to work with Waldo and I asked him that very question and he is always VERY welcome to free food. He is my cubicle neighbor at my work. In fact, I took the publicity photos for this event (shown above).
Oh yea, the first 15 people to find Waldo and his four friends will win a screen-printed poster. Those posters were designed and printed by Waldo himself. I lent him the 500 watt light needed to make the silkscreen. The first person to find the crew of five will get a special, cool prize.
This event is also being sponsored by Classic Media Distribution Ltd. Those are the folks that own the rights to Where's Waldo. They supplied my co-worker with the official Waldo costume.
What's a True Chicago Hot Dog? Forget the mustard, onion, sweet pickle relish, dill pickle, tomato, sea salt and pickled sport peppers.
The True Chicago Hot Dog's toppings are meat, more meat, and at least one cheese. After all, Chicago was the meat packing capital of the world. It is still debatable if the cheese is a necessary ingredient.
The example shown above was consumed on June 21, 2010. It is a turkey dog wrapped in american cheese wrapped in bologna with shredded barbecue chicken with macaroni and cheese on top.
Feel free to enjoy a True Chicago hot dog this July 4th weekend!
The True Chicago Dot Dog is an off-shoot of the Elmhurst Dog which I invented in February 2008 which is a turkey dog wrapped in american cheese nestled in a white bun with BBQ pork. The True Chicago Hot Dog doesn't have to have BBQ Pork or american cheese. It only needs two meat toppings and at least one cheese topping.
My family loves visiting the Brookfield Zoo. However, the Brookfield Zoo really needs to put up a sign showing how long a child's arm needs to be in order to pet the stingrays at the Stingray Bay exhibit. My three year old daughter wasn't even close to being able to pet the stingrays (actually cownose rays). She was laying on her belly on the concrete landing with no luck.
Don't get me wrong. It was still a good experience for her to be able to SEE stingrays that close, but touching them was impossible. I was able to touch two stingrays and report to my daughter that they "feel slimy". So education was served, but I was rather disappointed that my daughter had no chance to touch the stingrays when a large portion of their marketing blitz outside the Stingray Bay is focused on petting the rays. We're members of the zoo and it cost us 3 bucks to get in.
I'd say that kids would have to be at least four or five years old to be able to touch the stingrays. And because a fair amount of patience is required to wait for a ray to come your way amongst the large crowd around the tank, it's probably better suited for kids a minimum age of 9 or 10.
Separate admission fee applies:
$4 Adults (non-members)
$2 Seniors 65 and over (non-members)
$2 Children 3 to 11 (non-members)
$2 Adults (members)
$1 Seniors 65 and over (members)
$1 Children 3 to 11 (members)
FREE for children under 3
Prior to my family's visit to Brookfield Zoo yesterday I experienced great soreness from sanding my deck the prior weekend. My wife had a great idea. Zoos should offer golf carts to patrons. I like this idea. I like it very much.
However, there must be regulations for golf carts at zoos. No regulations would result in traffic jams on the walkways. So I suggest that golf carts be available only to people who have spent 10+ hours in the prior weekend sanding their decks. There; that pretty much would mean that myself and maybe a couple other dopes would be seen trekking around the zoo in a golf cart.
I'll give you one good reason why Americans don't like soccer. We get beat by small unknown nations which is really, really sad. I was curious to learn more about Ghana, the country that knocked the United States out of the 2010 World Cup. So I went to wikipedia. Here's some highlights:
Ghana is the second largest producer of cocoa in the world. Think about that one, Hershey fans.
Lake Volta, the largest artificial lake in the world by surface area, is in Ghana.
Ghana was the first African nation below the Sahara Desert to gain independence from colonial rule in 1957.
The United Kingdom ruled Ghana from 1896-1957. It was called "Gold Coast". There was lots of gold in Ghana.
Ghana was plundered for its gold from European nations dating back to the 15th century. Major invading European nations through the centuries have been Portugal, Holland, United Kingdom, Denmark, and Sweden.
Ghana is geographically closer to the "center" of the world than any other country even though the actual center, (0°, 0°) is located in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 382 miles south of Accra, Ghana, in the Gulf of Guinea.
The Ghana flag: RED - blood shed towards independence. GOLD - mineral wealth. GREEN - rich agriculture. BLACK STAR - African emancipation.
Ghana has a population of about 24 million. It is home to more than 100 different ethnic groups. Ghana has not seen the kind of ethnic conflict that has created civil wars in many other African countries.
The official language is English; however, most Ghanaians also speak at least one local language.
Textiles are important in Ghanaian culture for traditional and modern means through its varied symbolism.
According to the CIA World Factbook, religious divisions are as follows: Christian 68.8%, Muslim 15.9%, Traditional African beliefs 8.5%.
The media of Ghana is one of the most free in Africa, and had previously undergone a series of government overthrows by military leaders and periods of severe restriction.
The adult literacy rate in Ghana was 65% in 2007 , with males at 71.7% and females at 58.3%.
If you ask me, there's some corrupt grapes in Ghana. About 28% of the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day even though Ghana remains one of the world's top gold producers and cocoa producers. An oilfield of about 3 billion barrels of oil was found in 2007 and Ghana stands to cash in later in 2010. We'll see just how the people of Ghana benefits from this.
I just watched G.I. Joe: The Movie, 1987. It's probably been about 20 years since I last saw it. Overall, it holds up pretty well once you get over the silliness of all the Cobra-la worms. Though the core idea that Cobra-la's organic nature plays a contrast to today's cold technology is fun to think about.
And I completely forgot that the movie revealed that Cobra Commander was not human, but rather a nobleman of Golobulus's Cobra-la underworld and that he was sent by Golobulus to form the Cobra army and overtake the world. Crazy stuff I tell you. The movie also revealed Cobra Commander's face! He had like 8 eyes!
Nemesis Enforcer was pretty freakin' cool, too. Mercer, too (the Cobra Viber defector who was in Sgt. Slaughter's Renegades).
So many people herald the Dyson vacuums for their supposedly beautiful design. I think they're ugly. They look so awkward and clunky. Perhaps people think they look cool for the Dyson's attempt at looking industrial. These machines miss that mark. They look more cartoonish than industrial.
–noun
1. the appearance or semblance of truth; likelihood; probability: The play lacked verisimilitude.
2. something, as an assertion, having merely the appearance of truth.
If an über famous person wants some privacy in public, they should just wear a mask of themselves in public. Who would ever expect Bill Clinton to wear a Bill Clinton mask in public?
Never use exact change in a vending machine. You never know what coins will come your way when getting change from a vending machine. (Side note: I have never received a buffalo nickel from a vending machine, but it'd sure be sweet.)
I just purchased 110 two-cent Washington cancel-marked stamps (1894-1898) for $4.04 (shipping included) on ebay.
It's a wonderfully classic stamp. A stamp that surely today's 2-cent stamp could learn from. I'm not sure what I'll do with all them. They'll find their way into a piece of art somehow. The obvious approach is to use them to form a word or shape. They could find their way as a partial background treatment for a drawing. I dunno yet. I'll have to wait to get them in my hands.
One and two cent stamps are so important because the Post Office is constantly raising prices and everyone is forced to use these incredibly ugly stamps with their old stamps to compensate for the new cost to mail via First Class.
No 42 cent stamp in existence looks good with a lamp or necklace stamp next to it. Not a single one. What was the Post Office thinking? One and two cent stamps should be the most simple stamps possible. They appear on envelopes only because they have to. They serve as an accent to the featured stamp. So the Post Office decides to do the exact opposite with these two hideous stamps.
Tiffany 1 cent stamp
There's only one place where Tiffany lamps make sense. That's a richly decorated library with sumptuous dark hardwood. Any where else and these lamps look overdone, especially on a one-cent stamp.
Navajo Necklace 2 cent stamp
This is just the ugliest stamp ever produced. The shapes in the necklaces are grotesque. The odd forms are obnoxiously exaggerated by the tight cropping and strong contrast between the necklace and black background. And the color palette is just plain tacky and dated. Ugliest stamp ever.
Yes, the ad will look strange from inside the park, and it will also look very strange from the outside for a different reason. The Toyota logo and all the individual letters in "TOYOTA" are very palindromic meaning they are very symmetrical and look exactly the same when they are flipped. The result is a sign that says "ATOYOT".
Perhaps Cubs fans should come up with a meaning for the word "atoyot". Maybe home runs that leave the park should be call "atoyot" cuz you look up at the atoyot sign to see balls leaving the yard. And when a home run goes through one of the "O"s in the atoyot sign, it will be called a bulls-eye-atoyot home run.
