Thursday, May 19, 2011

Thursday Fun Post: Cheers!

Things to say while raising a glass: Cheers!

I knew a few of them, but am always happy to learn more.

Monday, May 16, 2011

We Flashy: Kickstarter project I want to fund

I enjoy biking, but am sometimes afraid to bike at night, even with my sweet KNOG Frog Lights. Fortunately folks like We Flashy are making it easier to be seen on the road. Using industrial-grade reflective material, they are designing clothing that keeps you safe on the road, while still looking hip out on the town.

Can you see me now? Good.


Follow We Flashy on Twitter

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Thursday fun link: the Sky

I can't remember if I posted a link, and can't check it due to blogger.com's interruption this week. There should be another post or two here, which will hopefully be restored once all the king's horses and all the king's men put our poor Blogger together again.

Just in case I didn't post a fun link, have a go at this:

Interactive Night Sky by Nick Risinger

I was turned onto astronomy during a trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon with my mom. Our visit happend to be concurrent with the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Club meeting, which meant dozens of telescopes were set up for anyone and everyone to look through. I stood with my binoculars next to the fancy high-tech and homemade scopes and marveled at the sky. Websites like the Photopic Sky Survey remind me that the awe I felt at thirteen-years-old didn't fade away, it's just been a bit clouded by humidity.

via Now for the Science Bit blog

Film + USB = happy

I come from a family of photographers. When my grandfather was in the Navy during WWII, he was issued a camera instead of a gun and had darkroom duty instead of cleaning detail. My father put himself through Notre Dame behind the lens and both siblings were photo editors on our high school's newspaper. Why the Murphys have an affinity for the captured image, I have no idea. All I know is that I "come by it honest".

Unfortunately for me, the age of film is ending (perhaps already gone).  I have dozens of unexposed rolls of black and white 400 film in my fridge, just waiting for me to load them into my (slightly light-leaky) camera. Though I'm regularly seen behind the viewfinder, these days it's usually my dSLR. What I really want is to combine the old with the new.

Fortunately, companies like Photojojo know how to appeal to people in my predicament with products like the USB Film Roll ($20). This 4GB jumpdrive lets people know you remember what film is even though you live in a digital world. Use it to store all the photos you aren't taking with your old camera, or digital transfers of your negatives.



Buy the USB Film Roll at the Photojojo Store!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Shower Ideas: Waterproof Notes

This is really smart:

AquaNotes sells a waterproof notepad ($7), specifically for the great ideas you come up with while showering. No more forgetting that life-changing invention that hit you while shampooing!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Thursday fun link: IN SPACE

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Ever want to know how many people are living in space? Well now you can at howmanypeopleareinspace.com. Genius name, no?

Today there are six people in space.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Wishing for an Axe.

This weekend I finally got around to the honey-dos that have been on my list since December.  The first task was to hang a screen door so that we can leave the kitchen door open once it warms up again. We purchased an 80" t-bar door ($20, Home Depot) for an 85" frame, which gives the cats enough space to come and go.  To keep the bugs out, I attached some extra screen to the foot of the door with a staple gun.

I was pretty please with myself until I realized that the door sticks in the upper corner, just enough to be annoying. We live in a fairly old home, so it's no surprise that the door frames aren't perfectly square. Hoping to trim enough wood off the door to fix the problem, I dug though the Trader Joe's tote that holds my tools and the best I came up with was fine sand paper and a box cutter. Twenty minutes later, I found myself calling for an axe.

Though I've mentioned the axes from at Best Made Company, what I really want is something smaller, such as the Swiss Camping Axe ($39). Though I'm sure the proper tool for this particular job is a plane, I think an axe would be handy around the house or, as the name implies, while camping.

Source: Garrett Wade