this ridiculous mess of a backlog

enviro/architech/random: the urban cactus is a very interesting looking housing project.  seems like everyone gets a really nice balcony.  can i live there?

machines: theo jansen's strange skeletal, insect-like machines that walk, scurry and creep along using wind power.  creepy and fascinating.

photography: red-hot filthy library smut.  which translates to mean, photos of really cool libraries

that are just... wow.

backlogged deliciousness from my kitchen:  more testing of the naughty curry recipes.  this time mindy and i made pineapple couscous.  yum.  and it was easy.

then dana and i made this really complexly spiced (though easy to prepare), delicious dish called nepali creamy almond 'chicken'.  it may be a good idea next time to try and keep an eye on the cardamom pods.  bitind down on one of those is intense!

last night i made the naughty curry kitchen's version of 'chicken' makhani: spicy comfort food.  i think i am becoming a spice addict.  the house still smells warm and amazingly tasty.

more to come.  (i can't help myself)

on a non-indian-spiced tangent: this shrimp and tomatoes over soft polenta looks damn good.

deliciousness delivery!: mindy brought me chinese baked goods!  man!  custard things and various yummy buns.  i wish cinci was a real city and had chinese bakeries.  mmmmmmm.... pineapple buns!

they went well with the toasted head cabernet i picked up.

randomness: gnomes??

wireless: necessary expense i my life, but i can't say that i am particularly thrilled with what my provider offers, or any of the normal providers for that matter.  so, i got really excited when i read about earth tones on ecogeek:

"Well, what if a communications company cared about more than profit.  As long as we're dreaming, what if they gave 100% of their profit to environmental organizations.  Earth Tones, a very unique internet and phone company, does exactly that.  Their bills come on 100% recycled paper, but they strongly encourage you to use their electronic billing service.  Their wireless handsets are all recycled and they will even recycle your old wireless phone for free."

the rate plans weren't bad and their coverage map was impressive.  i would probably switch over, but their only downfall seems to be a lack of text messaging plans.  you have to pay per text.  that just won't work for me.  worth checking out, though.

belated halloween fun: fully functional transformer costume!

costume construction:  better late than never to post these photos?  it was really fun putting these costumes together.

i cut up an old pair of pajamas and used them as a pattern for my fur pants

much careful measurement, and scientifical testing went into the construction of sara's Bat Cape.

dyani's masterpiece in the works.  this photo shows her sewing the feather trim onto Flaming Gay Robin's cape.

things i want to do: i want to make soap.  i am thoroughly unimpressed with most of the fragrances

added to soap available these days.  i don't want to smell like a fruit salad.  i

do not want to smell like a bouquet of flowers.  i do not want to smell like whatever this 'rain' smell or this 'fresh' smell or this 'mountain breaze' smell is.  i want to smell like earthy things.  twigs.  rosemary.  dirt.  saw dust.  leather.  roasted almonds.  tomato vines.  cedar.  eucalytus leaves.

i found a site that has melt and pour soap making supplies and instructions.  now i just need to find the time, and some spare funs, and just the right smells.

other thing i want to do: i also want to make mittens.  my hands are cold!  some fuzzy black mittens would be just the thing.  someone should show me how to knit.  i have looked for instructions, but i don't know that anything can replace the real live example.

toy for mac users: quicksilver.  it is hard to describe what this program does other than to say that it gives you efficient, easy, immediate access to the farthest buried areas of your computer with just a few keystrokes.  just download it and test it out using the quick tutorial by this guy dan dickinson.

wtf?: the backlog also includes pzizz, a bizarre (and ridiculously priced) piece of napping software.  that's right.  a computer program to assist you in napping.  i never knew it was complicated enough to warrant that

smart playlists:  sure, i knew they existed and it seemed like they could be useful theoretically, but i don't think i really understood how they could help me tame a somewhat large (and growing) music library, such as mine.  check out this.  and then this.

on the topic of music:  do you have old cds that you haven't listed to in a million years and will probably never listen to again?  do you have hesitation/opposition/disinterest/guilt in obtaining music via illegal means?  maybe you should look at what lala is doing.  you list the (unscratched, playable) cds that you want to get rid of, and create a wish list of cds that you would rather have.  they provide the shipping supplies.  someone wants a cd you have, you can send it to them.  someone has a cd on your wish list, it will ship to you for $1 and a small shipping fee.  it is like a used record store, only online.  my only complaint about their set-up is that when discs on your list become available, they just ship.  no confirmation function.  the only thing limiting that frequency is whether you have been sending discs out and whether you are on 'vacation' mode.

home construction:  ran across one of my old bookmarks for this couple who have outfitted their house with a number of overhead walkways and cat ziaed ceiling-level doors between rooms.  highly colorful, and downright genius.  check out the cat house.

fredo viola video:  for that beautiful track, the sad song.

stenciling words: written on the city is a collection of stenciled text.  fantastic.

we didn't do text, but: dana and i sketched and cut a stencil of some fluffed topped grasses and then stenciled a bit in the basement of her house.  i think it turned out pretty well for a first attempt.

the hipster pda:  the simplicity.  it is almost too much.

letter writing guilt:  i am supposed to be sending snail mail to yifat and ellen, but i end up sending nothing, or big bursting at the seams envelopes.  one day i googled letter writing club on a whim and found this discussion.  people were really baffled by the idea:

"Ok, let me get this straight.  A whole bunch of (20-something) people get together in the evening at a location to engage with the lost art of hand correspondence (or, alternatively, to engage with the lost craft of typewriting) while consuming cookies that somebody baked, and drinking no-coffee/not-beer.  And it's oversubscribed.  Are there bands, too?  It sounds almost frighteningly "hip"."

another article about this group had a photo of the place.  i want to play too!  and look at all of those carefully crammed in filing cabinets!  ebay typewriters are not too pricey, but they refuse to list shipping costs, and who knows where you would get ribbons for these archaic machines.

valence video: when i stumbled across this video, i didn't have the attention span to read and see what it was about, but it looks quite cool.

this ridiculous mess: of random stuff that is probably only of interest to me, was brought to you by the letter U.