Quantcast
Channel: Blah Blah Blog
Viewing all 7431 articles
Browse latest View live

Finding studs, solving problems

0
0
The paint that we chose when we remodeled the bathroom upstairs and added laundry is lovely, for sure, but as with all non-glossy paints, it's delicate. That probably wouldn't have been an issue, but Steve likes the bathroom window. It's high up, so when he jumps up, he has to dig his back claws into the wall, which eventually collected lots of scratch marks.

We like to keep that door propped open so rather than change that, I decided to give Steve (and potentially Sam) a little help. I like this cat shelf that they have at the vet's office, but I did the measurements and realized the lower shelf would make it too easy and tempting to fool with the toilet paper roll, and moving it over would interfere with the cabinet door.

We went to the vet. Sam was less than thrilled.

So I set out to find something smaller. There's no shortage of options, but I was able to eliminate a lot of them because I didn't want anything with fabric. I don't care how easy it is to clean, I don't want to have to. Steve's fur is especially annoying. It's very sleek, so you can't really brush him, and any dark fabric surface has some of his white hairs on it.

I found a wood one that's really simple and matches the decor quite well. When it arrived I went to the hardware store for a painting kit and stud finder, grabbed a tarp from the garage, and got to work.

The leftover paint was annoying because it was an unused second can, completely full but in need of mixing. That was messy. The fresh paint and new shelf look great, though.

20190321_095804_HDR

As a homeowner it's really hard to do anything without wondering, do I have to undo it later if we sell the place? But I'd be comfortable leaving this shelf in place and putting a plant on it for a showing.

You're not seeing things, there's a light in the toilet with a motion sensor that activates if it's dark enough.

Double exposure

0
0
Inspired by a question from kazzy_cee, I set up both my time lapse cameras in the same spot facing the same direction this morning to compare results.

IMG_20190324_083109_566

The Podo is a small camera with a sticky pad that was marketed to fans of social media as a way to set up an impromptu photo booth. I like it because of its size and the waterproof case I got for it is great. But there's a dark spot in all the photos, and creating a time lapse from photos is time consuming, but not to the degree that I won't do it. It has a regular lens, so while you won't see as much of its surroundings, you don't have to deal with the warping around the edges that you get with a wide-angle lens.



The clear winner today is my Brinno Pro with its wide lens because the subject matter is a layer of cloud fluff with few details, so the more you pull out, the better everything looks. This Pro model has lots of controls that I've never learned anything about, and I should, because I usually brighten up the video in editing and that makes the lightest parts wash out.



I ordered another flexible tripod so they won't have to share next time, and that will give me more options for placement. Today's spot was pretty great, though, so I'm looking forward to trying again there.

On the way back to the car I found another camera and put it to use.

IMG_20190324_084656_800

I know for next time I can get a better picture if I step out into the road. There's only a farm and a parking lot off to the left so there's no traffic.

SchadenFriday

CATURDAY

Double exposure part deux

0
0
My alarm is set for 4am on weekdays and I don't set one on Saturday. All winter, I had my Sunday alarm at 5am, and it's now time to get up earlier. There was little time to spare when I set my cameras up yesterday, so now that alarm is set for 4:30.

The subject matter for my second camera comparison was pretty great! Too bad I screwed up. Here's the Podo.





The Brinno should look much better, with one frame per second as opposed to Brinno's five. I could tell right away when I got it into editing that I made a mistake. Somehow the Brinno was set to a ten-second interval. That's too bad, this should look much better.



Oh well. You see the fog roll in and I was in it for most of the walk.

20190331_064519

20190331_070543

20190331_070816

20190331_072123

20190331_072930_HDR

20190331_075510

I hope affordable LED wallpaper is released to market soon, I'd love to be able to make things like this and have my bedroom wall covered with it by the time I got home.

IMG_20190331_072054_108

Garrett wanted brunch at Arnie's and I finally remembered to bring a camera. Every time we go there, the sky is dramatic and I wish I did.



SchadenFriday

CATURDAY

Tattoo plan

0
0
I got a second Starheadboy tattoo on my foot I'll share when it's healed. We got a pretty decent picture of Q-bert and Coily before it got too bloody. The red area is shiny because we touched that up.

IMG_20190405_143725_715

I was also in the shop Friday to get a tattoo from Madi, the shop apprentice. I don't know if this is customary for all shops, but they had her draw up some flash designs and let people get them for free. I really like her and was super excited to be among her first clients, but we decided to wait a bit so I'd have my appointments close together and not miss out on extra time in the pool. By the time yesterday came around, she had to start charging $20 per tattoo just to cover the supplies since so many people got tattoos from her. She'd lost track but I was number 40-something in less than a month! I was more than happy to pay it and also tipped her $60.

There was really only one tattoo in these sheets that I wanted. Can you guess it without scrolling down?

20190404_141849

It's also the first tattoo she ever did, on Jimmy, the shop owner and my main artist. Pretty awesome that we have matching tattoos now.

IMG_20190404_145248_464

Kinda wish I'd asked to keep this but at least I got a good photo.

20190404_141251~2

I've got the rest of my tattoos planned out. Subject to change, of course:

Right arm: great blue heron sleeve, might try to incorporate water or something on the lower part since the seahorse is there.
Right leg: TRON sleeve
Right foot: Possibly more Starheadboy pals
Left foot: Nostalgia bottles (Clearly Canadian, Orbitz, Crystal Pepsi)
Left leg: No theme, just a place to put everything else.

I wish fingers took tattoos better. My ideal tribute tattoo for my dad would be a ring if they did. Is it considered a tribute if they're still alive? He's still alive.

A first

0
0
Took my second trip out to Ebey Waterfront Trail on Sunday after my Live in Everett blog post about it published Thursday. I said last fall that I'd be back with Happy Trails to You in the spring, and that piece marks the spring return. So now I need to write some more of those.

I decided the previous week after barely making it to Langus in time to catch the sunrise that I'd get up at 4:30 instead of 5:00 for now on Sundays, but I woke up at 4:00 without an alarm. Ebey isn't as remote as Langus and I'm not comfortable showing up there when it's pitch black out, so I drove around for a bit on the way there. It was weird to see Marysville in the dark for the first time.

The titular first was my first time lapse there. This one's pretty subdued but I think that spot will be nice.

https://instagram.com/p/Bv9be0tFqXJ




20190407_062240

20190407_062445

20190407_062802

20190407_064003

20190407_064629

20190407_073300_HDR

SchadenFriday

CATURDAY

Almost there

0
0
It's been an extremely busy couple of weeks for me, both at work and because last night was Banh Meetup 2, the second installment of my banh mi tasting party for Live in Everett. We had maybe twice as many people over as last year, so I'm really glad I was able to recruit a lot of volunteer help. All of the sandwiches were picked up for me and Bluewater Organic Distilling was here serving up two craft cocktails they created just for us! There will be a Live in Everett TV episode and I'll write a post for the blog, but for now I'll share this great time lapse of the kitchen and dining room. I love how it shows the entire party including a little bit of teardown.

SchadenFriday

CATURDAY

No SchadenFriday/Caturday next week

0
0
We usually take a vacation late February/early March and due to various circumstances, it’s two months late this year. Plus these last couple of months have been my busiest in a long time. I’m starting my vacation Wednesday with an afternoon at the Korean spa and am releasing myself from all obligations that aren’t directly related to vacation for a full week after that.

Back! Sort of.

0
0
This year I decided to do a blog post on Live in Everett to go along with the video for Banh Meetup 2, and hoped it'd be up by the time we got back so I could post them together. It's not up yet, so I'll just share the video for now.



The party was really great, and I can now share that we had an exciting partnership with Bluewater Organic Distilling, who provided cocktails! This was a really big win for me and I was so thrilled they said they'd do it, I was emboldened to approach lots of other people and businesses about this party and the gay bingo event we did.

After all that, I took a very necessary break and vacation. We had a great time in Los Angeles, which I liked a lot more than I thought I would.



There are tons more pictures than I could ever share here. click any pic and then up into the album if you'd like to see them.

Our rental car shuttle happened to pick us up at a spot with an iconic view.

IMG_20190425_123142_536

We stayed at a really great Airbnb right downtown, a double master bedroom apartment with secure parking that was convenient to the back gate in a very large complex. One drawback was that on our level, the deck was shared with all the apartments on our floor, but we only ever saw people walk by a couple of times. I didn't really take photos of the apartment, but I got updated foot tattoo photos. Here's the new Starheadboy pal I mentioned.

20190426_054704

We spent our first full day being shown around by Bryan AKA Mookie AKA former LJ user sillyape. He really loves it there and we had a blast.

IMG_20190426_115022_526

Among other things, we had lunch at Sonoratown, dinner at Sushi Go 55, and hit the ScienCenter inbetween, where we saw a space shuttle!

20190426_143650_HDR

I was a little surprised to see this there. I and lots of other people have/had it as an LJ icon, I had no idea it's a real toy.

20190426_151738_HDR

The next day we hit the La Brea Tar Pits, which has a pretty cool museum. I was shocked to learn they've pulled 3,000,000+ fossils from the site.

IMG_20190427_103433_769

The gift shop provided my first opportunity to buy crickets, which I've always wanted to try.

IMG_20190427_104935_104

I ate those the next day on Facebook Live.

The LA County Museum of Art is right next door, so we did that as well.

20190427_110426_HDR

Unfortunately, one of the buildings there has "Broad" in the name, so we thought we saw The Broad, and didn't realize our mistake until it was too late. But we also had our fill of museums, so we can do The Broad next time we're there.

The next day, we did the SkySpace observation deck and I rode the SkySlide. It's a quick ride, only one floor high, and your brain can't really process the experience very well. Thankfully it's cheap.

skyslide

The views from up there are amazing.

20190428_111034

And I happened to spot something I forgot I wanted to see!

20190428_111131

That red stair sculpture was the setting for a finale battle scene on Heroes which took place in NYC. When I was there, I posted asking where I could find it and learned it's in Los Angeles.

20190428_120801_HDR

From there, we rode Angels Flight.

20190428_123420_HDR

My longtime online friend Victoria (paranoiattaque) saw that and she happened to be across the street! So awesome to finally meet her.

IMG_20190428_142127_165

For our final full day, Garrett surprised me with VIP tickets to Universal Studios! It's a little surprising during the tour to see some of the stuff they've kept in their limited space. Do you remember the movie The Great Outdoors? The cabin is still there.

20190429_110529_HDR

We got to have drinks from Moe's and I think that the Simpsons ride is the best one at the park.

20190429_124922_HDR

Garrett preferred the Mummy ride because it's a real roller coaster, and I agree, that one's great too.

Waterworld was a huge flop of a movie but they still do its stunt show, which is pretty awesome.

20190429_133413_HDR

Surely you've heard of butterbeer, the signature drink from Harry Potter. It's basically cream soda with a creamier top.

20190429_150853_HDR

One of my goals in life was to stay at the Bonaventure at least once, so we did that for our final night.

20190428_120407_HDR

Dinner in their revolving lounge was great, even though the portions were too big and the table was too small.

20190429_180006_HDR

My obsession with the Bonaventure started with the movie Midnight Madness, and I was a little offended its poster wasn't included in their collection of movie posters the hotel appears in. The climax of the movie takes place in the hotel and it's mentioned over and over. The movie's final scene takes place in room 2704, so of course we had to get pictures there on the way back to our room on the 20th floor.

20190429_193543
20190429_193531

I realized immediately while we were there that the hallway scenes in the movie weren't filmed there. They show a standoff in a long, straight hall, and all the actual hallways are curved. If you watch the movie, you'll see the reason they chose the hotel was the glass elevators, the hallway was a minor detail to work around.

The Bonaventure has a very generous noon checkout time, so we relaxed a while before driving back to LAX and flying home. Garrett's parents picked us up so they could see our new local airport, and that's when an era ended. I almost never wear pants, and one time I do is on airplanes. Garrett makes me wear them so that in the event of a crash, my legs will be more protected from burns. I've worn the same pair of pants for maybe 15 years whenever the need arose, but they finally started to split as I climbed into the backseat of my inlaws' car. I'd say I'd miss these pants, but I hate pants, so I won't. Too bad I have to find a new pair.

IMG_20190430_195722_342

Another treat upon returning was learning that someone who was supposed to approve my contract extension at work didn't, and now my credentials have lapsed. This will put me out of commission for several days, and there's no guarantee I'll get my original email alias back when I gain access again. I've had that alias since 2009! Thankfully in the last few minutes before my access stopped working, I was able to export Outlook PST files of my inbox and "for future reference" folder. I wish I thought to get my Sent folder since I'm constantly searching there, too.

SchadenFriday

CATURDAY

Some ink and a kludge

0
0
I mentioned to Jimmy a while back that I'd like to add to my feet each time I'm there for the big back project. That's all he and I ended up doing yesterday, though, probably because he wasn't feeling great. My original plan was to add more bottles alongside the Zima one but he wanted to be able to do more detail, so we went with logos instead.

IMG_20190503_171034_104

The Abbath kewpie on the right is from Madi's new sheet of kewpies and she posted it specifically on her Instagram story saying she really wanted to do it, so I volunteered.



She's still doing almost-free tattoos at $20 a pop and it made me laugh, so I said I'd take it. Threw a $100 her way so she'd have a nice tip. I imagine apprenticing means you don't have a ton of money for a while.

Another type of artist I'm hoping to throw some money at is a woodworker/furniture builder. Sam really annoys me by using my end table as his path to join me on the love seat. He could just as easily jump straight up on the foot rest or the arm, but no, he has to come via the spot where my food and drinks go. So annoying. For years now I've wanted a custom end table to stop him. My perfect end table would have a glass wall on three sides, and a second surface higher up so my laptop would be safe from any spilled drinks. for now, I'm accomplishing the same thing with some cardboard and a TV tray.

20190502_160124

Why did I finally build this monstrosity? Because Sam was on the end table and all I wanted was to put my dinner and water down and he wouldn't move. When I tried to nudge him, he flopped instead of moving, sending remote controls and other items crashing down. I can't remember the last time I was quite so mad, so the next day I finally reached out to a furniture builder and did a little building of my own in the meantime.

It's been several days and I haven't heard back. I got several referrals on Facebook and that was only the first one, so I guess I'll just work my way down the list until I get a bite.

Mosquito season begins

0
0
It was very nice to get back to Langus today, but I think I should do Japanese Gulch the next couple of Sundays. There are just too many mosquitoes right now, and they're still unpleasant to be around even if you've sprayed yourself with repellent beforehand. It was beautiful, though.

IMG_20190505_053459_851



I'm really impressed with how long my Old Navy workout gear has lasted. I put in an order this week since I needed some new pants, and got some shorts and a thinner hoodie for summer. Didn't really need the shorts, though, the current ones still seem brand new. I've had the tights for a couple of years, too.

20190505_060009

20190505_060654

20190505_062108

20190505_062300

20190505_062435_HDR

20190505_064026

20190505_073118

20190505_073132

Unfortunately, I didn't know the lens or the case on the time lapse camera was dirty. Or something. I haven't checked it yet.

https://instagram.com/p/BxFhSddFHcU


Viewing all 7431 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images