All in all it pays little attention to the ways things ought to be done, just as I do in my real life. Still I like the look and structure quite a bit, and I like how I can sensibly add content in the form of directories to the site. If I was smart I would have the script fo all of this automatically, but as it is most of the links and folders are added manually. The new posts and archives are generated dynamically, as are the pictures in the photos folder (from flickr) and the files in the graphics folder from a folder on my site. The good thing about all of this, as user unfriendly as it s, is that it is pretty easy to understand for anybody coming across it, not that a normal blog wouldn’t be easy to understand.

What do you think?

The No-Action Figures

(click the above image to see all the images in the photo set)

Lobot THM
The first in our collection is our ever present lead character, Lobot THM. This figure was the first one made and was a kind of test case. Hopefully there will be a version two with the computer on the head in three dimensions. (Click the names to download the file to cut out and fold your very own figures, make sure you print in landscape. Probably easiest to save the image to your computer and print from there rather than out of the browser, but you do whatever you want. I’m not the boss of you.).

Bendon Bunyard
This figure looks surprisingly like Bendon. So much so that my daughter correctly identified him when seeing the figure. Note the fine detail of the watch and pen. (Also this photograph represents the figure before a number of improvements were made.)

Freddie
Speaking of the daughter, here is a test case that I made by applying photographs to the template. In this one I also modified the body template to be in the shape of a dress. It came out pretty well.

Big E
This classic figure has all of the features you would expect to find with E, including the sunglasses and belt-buckle. A future version may have a microphone included.

Bob King
This figure is accurate down to the nicotine stains in the mustache, and the shamrocks on the sleeves. Check out the bill on the hat.

Iribarney
Last but not least comes this menacing figure wearing the traditional medallion to protect his spirit, or some equally crazy shit.

That’s it. Now get to cutting. I promise more of these in the future, and if you have any requests, send them my way.

Up next for the art department is a complete redesign of this site. It promises to be less useful, but at least more interesting than this current boring template.

See you… In the FUTURE!

Want to spread the word? Try something like the following:

The question I’m asked most frequently by people I see infrequently is, “have you done anything new on the house?” and the answer is no. We don’t do anything on it at all, at least not recently. The reason is that the next jobs all require some outlay of money that we don’t seem to have. Meanwhile we spend money at a regular rate on other things we need far less, so I suppose we are to blame for our own situation.

I paid my quarterlies. That’s interesting, to nobody.

I’m planning another trip to Walt Disney World. Ditto the above on relative interest.

I did recently get a physical exam that showed I was in pretty good health. My liver works at a slightly reduced capacity, but it is within acceptable parameters for life, so there is that. What does this mean for you? I may well be around for a while to enthrall you with posts of this compelling nature.

Projects (A.K.A. Things to be planned and not completed):

Learn to play piano and guitar.
I have a cheap guitar and cheap keyboard, and have gotten some software to help me learn to play. This is not so much so I can entertain at all the parties I host, but rather so that I can expand the music education of my child. I am relatively certain that I can not depend on the school system for this.

Learn to program in Objective-C for the iPhone (and Mac for that matter).
I am one of the eighty-six billion people who are signed up as iPhone developers, though in my case it means very little since I have no experience in these areas. I have a book and the SDK though, so I may be making a stab very soon.

Get Organized.
I almost had a breakthrough where I got the whole house clean and organized, but now I seem to have let it slip backwards again. I must redouble my efforts.

So that’s me. Stop me if you’ve heard this.

When you have a child you hear a lot about television, and toys. Specifically how much, if any television, and the sort of learning toys or active toys that are appropriate for children. For the most part I would like to tell all those who have advice about these things to blot it out their ass (though I will be offering my own opinion here, duh. I should point out though that I have already blown it out my own ass, saving a step in the whole process. No need to thank me).

First television, or at least the television that was. I am not currently trying to keep my baby away from television, though I also don’t watch dumb-ass baby shows (with minor exceptions(Classical Baby).), so the baby has little interest in the television (though she loves end credits, for some reason). I do find most of the modern kids shows to be mind numbing, and there will be no Barney or the like going on in this house, but that isn’t to say that all things that were ever televised for kids is bad, and in some cases I think that having watched them I am a better person. several of these stick out so clearly in my mind that I think they are part of how I am today, good or bad. Thinking that I am good, however, these are the things I will expose my child to, in hopes that she develops memories of them like I have.

Schoolhouse Rock
There are a large number of these on the internet, but a few leap out as my favorites:

My Hero Zero

Three is a Magic Number

Conjunction Junction

Interjections!

Sesame Street
Have you watched any new Sesame Street episodes? They suck. Elmo should be beaten to death with a tire iron, for example. The classic episodes have a wealth of good stuff, though, and these are just a few of my fond memories from childhood.

Rubber Duckie

Pinball (favorite of all)

Ladybugs’ Picnic

The Alligator King

Commercials
I have always thought that most of the best of television was in the commercials, and here are some of my favorites from over the years.

I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing

Tootsie Pop (3!)

Tootsie Roll

I’m a Pepper

Mean Joe Green

Macintosh

Two All Beef Patties

Toys
Let me first say that I hate toys that make noise. I think they stifle the child by doing the work of the imagination are are just entertainment devices. I think that some of the educational toys are fine, but that for the most part they have a short useful life. I’m not sure if my girl child will react to toys in the same way as I did when I was a child, but I can only judge my own memories. When I think back, it wasn’t the flashing lights and real sound robot that was my favorite but rather some other classics.

Tinker Toys
I always wanted more of these than I had, and I never really got good at building with them, but loved them al the same.

Lincoln Logs
I actually already bought these for my daughter, and I played with them now, and enjoyed it. I am going to have to get more though because you need a lot of them if you want to build more than a simple building.

Erector Set
I never had one of these as a child, but wanted one, and now I am not an engineer, so I blame the fact that I was erector setless.

Legos
One can never have too many legos. Duplo or other large blocks are worthless though.

Barbie
I admit that I have never really played with Barbie, as I am all man, but they seem like a good toy, and it will encourage my daughter to be skinny and pretty at any cost

G.I.Joe
The big G.I. Joe is the perfect compliment to any Barbie doll, as he can go off and kill the enemy by day and return to Barbie’s home cooked meal in the evening.

I know that girls may not tend towards playing war, but even now I look at this Amazon search result and get excited.

Let the brainwashing commence.

I’ll pause while you deal with the shock of this revelation.

However, all is not dark on the health horizon. I joined the YMCA a few weeks ago, and have actually been getting in some weight workouts with a personal trainer. I don’t really need the trainer to concoct a workout for me, as I have a pretty good understanding of what needs to be done to get results from a workout. My problem has always been with motivation, and a trainer is a great way to help with that. Normally I would just stop after I got a little tired, but the trainer is there to make sure I finish the sets I need to get in. And, since I have already paid, I haven’t missed a training session yet. I am responsible for my own cardio, and so that area has been lagging behind, even though it is the easiest for me. I do plan on getting it in each day this week, and forever after that. It was funny the first day with the trainer. I was doing curls with like eight or ten pound dumbbells, like a woman, I thought. If it was weight for a woman, then I am a woman because the next day it was real trouble to move my arms properly. I am responding quickly so far though, and have had less trouble than at first, though my weights are still pretty light. Focus on form first, though, and worry about the weight later.

I hope to reduce my body fat to that of ground chuck before too long. Mmm, hamburger.

This, my friends, is how I roll.