IQ Light

IQ stands for Interlocking Quadrilaterals because it is made up of several of the exact same shape which lock together. There's a few different designs you can make with the same shape. The 30 piece light is the most common. They have kits you can buy but i just traced and cut out the shape out of old mylar plans that work was throwing out. Here's the shape of the pieces and what it should look like when you're done. A few of the possible shapes All 30 cut out
1st row
2nd row 4th row All done, notice i have the youtube video on the tv in the background. I had to watch 2 different instructions a few times before i figured out how to put it together. The 30 piece was hard enough, i can't imagine putting the 120 piece light together.

More Baseball...Less Haircuts

While cleaning out some boxes from the basement i found some old pictures of when i was little.

There is a theme to all of these pictures:
# 1 is that i loved baseball.
# 2 is that i hated getting haircuts...i still do.

So this is me playing t-ball at Bulman Elementary.
I mean come on, what's not to love about this? I'm happy, i got my mitt, i'm on my electric police trike and i'm wearing the shortest short shorts you've ever seen. Just lovin' life.

This year i was apparently really fired up for Halloween. Things to notice: the awesome green carpet, the actual karate kid headband and the MSU football in the background. There's no doubt that i scored some serious candy that night.

Baseball again at Bulman. And ya that's my dad running along side me. He always used to help coach in baseball and hockey. I'm pretty sure those were my gray Kangaroo velcro shoes with the zipper pocket on the side.
Blank stare...name tag...yep my first day of school. You can tell how happy i was to go and to have my picture taken.
More t-ball in the backyard. I like the look of the huge patch on the one knee.
And here you go people, my 3rd birthday. Han Solo, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, R2D2 and yes even Lando Calrissian. Apparently i was too busy playing with my Star Wars toys to go get a haircut, but look how happy i was.

Still in the Closet...haaaaaaayyy

I had been meaning to build shelves in my closet for over a year now. It turns out that this was the day. It took about 5 hours and i still have to paint everything white.
And no i didn't go with HOOKS. It didn't work for Jerry Seinfeld and the virgin and it didn't work for me.

Crazy people at Meijer

So now that i'm at home a lot during the week i get to go to Meijer any time of day. For example, Tuesday at noon. At this time of day most normal people are working at their jobs. That means that the only people there are me and the crazies.

The obvious crazy person is: the lady who thinks she is the only one who exists on the planet.
She is clearly recognized by leaving her cart in the exact center of the aisle while looking for groceries. Usually staring intently at the ingredients in a pickle jar.

The first time i came upon her i kindly say "excuse me" as i narrowly squeeze by her. Then two aisles later there she is again hogging up the entire row with her cart, this time i "accidentally" bang my cart into hers saying "oh sorry i didn't see your cart there, even though it was taking up the entire aisle" hoping she will get the message. But she won't.

I then realized that i too somehow become crazy when i shop there. I find myself talking out loud about the price of frozen foods and how ridiculous the prices are. Saying "a buck o eight for a frozen geno's pizza... f-that, i think i'll be waiting for the 88 cent sale next week thank you very much" And not just thinking that in my head but quite literally saying that out loud.
My trips to Meijer on a weekday afternoon become a people watching, price checking, field trip from the insane asylum for me.

"LADY, if you leave that cart in the middle of the aisle ONE more time i swear, i'm gonna smash it so hard there will be pickle juice everywhere... i'm not even joking"
Have a nice day!

Jackson again...

Back to Jackson one more time this year. Ya i got poison sumac again all over my arms and legs, ya i got to hang out with donkeys, which by the way i could have bought, according to the farmer for $200. We also found an abandoned house that had some funny records from the 70's and a motorcycle exactly like the one i have, a 1972 honda cb500. Went to the Milan drag way one friday night and i almost brought a stray cat home that was living in the spare tire of our trailer. It was quite a trip.

Oh ya and the day before i was sent out of town i was made part-time by my company. Now that i'm back it's gonna be time to start getting that government money back i've been paying for all these years.

i found my new best friend
whoa there buddy, back up a little

uh no...that's not a "fanny pack" it's a hydration waist pack for your information. i asked, $200 and one of these donkeys could be living in my back yard right now.




what are the odds, the exact same bike as mine, too bad it was rusted solid

come on ladies... i mean if this record doesn't make you want to be a swinger i don't know what will


cutting through the wheat fields early in the morning

praying mantis

milan dragway on a friday is the coolest place in michigan. it was super fun

driving through a soy bean field with the truck

the stray cat coming to get some roast beef that i had been feeding it

aaahhhhhhh!

2 concerts in 2 weeks

Yep i'm super cool. One week going to Arts Beats and Eats in Pontiac to see Puddle of Mudd. Because we had VIP passes we got to sit in basically the front row. It was totally awesome. Then the next week i saw Darius Rucker aka. Hootie at DTE aka. Pine Knob.
That officially brings the total number of concerts i have ever attended up to 4.

I am retarded

Well as it turns out ... according to B. Dalton Bookstore, the books i am currently reading are officially at "kids" level.

While trying to find the final book of Percy Jackson and the Olympians i had a little trouble. It wasn't in the Science Fiction section, not even Young Adult. It was in the section marked "Kids"
I was so ashamed.

So if any of you feel like discussing a great book you just read, know that my comprehension level falls somewhere between Dr. Seuss and some book about a teenage girl who falls in love with a vampire.

How did i ever graduate college??

Squirrels -1

Well there's one less squirrel in my backyard.

License to kill squirrels ... by the goverment of the United Nations

Last week i noticed 3 cobs of corn were missing. It was a squirrel that lives in the tree in my back yard. Then the other day i saw him eating another corn cob on a tree branch.

I plan on shooting him in his sleep. Don't worry ... he's been warned!!

Bit the corn stalk in half

Here he is eating the corn on a tree branch, mocking me...he knows what he's doing.

I feel exactly like Carl from Caddyshack.If you need me i'll be in my garage. It's time to fall back on superior firepower and superior intelligence. Goodbye varmint-kong...

Always Sunny

Now i know i told some of you last year to watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, saying it was a great show. It just so happened that the episode everyone seemed to watch turned out to be their worst episode ever. This thursday at 10pm on FX is the start of the new season. So give it another chance, it's a real funny show that no one knows about.
Alright Katy, in response to your comment, watch this and tell me you didn't laugh

Kitchen Stuff

I've eaten at Boston's Restaurant a few times and ordered their crispy fish-taco. It's really good so i tried making it. Here's what theirs looks like.
They use feta cheese which i didn't have so i used blue cheese. Then i cut up lettuce and tomatoes which i got from the garden

I also added Russian Dressing, Thousand Island Dressing and onions. It was pretty good.


I also painted the table legs, i think the color was metallic brown.

Exhausted

Only a small rusted exhaust came with the mower motor. It's really loud and might anger neighbors, so i tried making a new, quieter one.

There's many types of exhaust styles. There are high-tech noise cancellation mufflers, but the one i chose, which was also the simplest to make was just a straight baffled design. That's where the inner pipe is drilled out and insulation is wrapped between that and the outer shell.

Here's an example of the basic ideas i tried to follow
After removing the old exhaust i connected steel plumbing pipes.

Here's what the inner pipe looked like after i drilled out the holes
Then wrapped it with steel wool and fiber glass

Here it is on the mower. I'm still working on it because it's still pretty loud.