Mirror, Mirror

Show of hands, how many of you have ever stood in front of a mirror and given yourself a little pep talk? Maybe it went a little something like this:


Do they work for you guys? Maybe mine do a little. Mostly, I just look at my reflection, get geared up, and laugh at myself. That makes me feel loads better. As much as I could stand there and say, "Yeah man, you got this," or "You DA MAN brah. You. DA. MAN." Praise is always more effective when it comes from someone else. A friend of mine will soon move across the country, this prompted me to make a parting gift that would serve as a constant reminder of what I thought of said friend.

I call it, "Mirror, Mirror."

Behold the making thereof:

First, you take a mirror:

The you cut a stencil out of vinyl to stick to the mirror, I practiced on paper first to get it right:

Next, apply the vinyl stencils to the mirror, then cover the stencil area generously with glass etching cream. Do not get it anywhere else, or it will etch any glass it touches:

Wait about 5 minutes, then wash the cream off quickly with flowing water, peal off the stencils, and voila:

Here's an action shot, enjoy:

Sick on My Day Off...

I seem to have enjoyed yesterday's inclement weather a bit too much. I think I've caught a nasty cold.

So today I feel like this:

Poor guy...

But it is my day off, so I'm gonna pretend that I feel like this:

I feel better already.

I Am Seriously Considering the Following Scenario:

1. I go to a thrift store.
2. I buy a cheap black suit, white shirt, and black tie.
3. I get myself done up all nice and stuff in the new second-hand gear.
4. I wear tennis shoes with the suit.
5. I go to the gym, smile at every one, then proceed to the second floor.
6. I smile at the friendly people on the treadmills, who think, "Who is this well-dressed man?"
7. I step onto a treadmill, set it to a speed of 8, and run like a crazy person until the entire suit is soaked with sweat (about 10-15 minutes).
8. I step off of the treadmill, and produce a small hanky from my coat, which I use to wipe my brow slightly.
9. I Adjust my tie, re-tuck my shirt, then turn and calmly walk out the door.

I'm not into cars, but I'd get into a few of these, if you know what I mean.

I am a man by the strict definition of my gender. Also because I have an unhealthy lust for saw dust... There are a few "manly" things that I just haven't ever been able to get into though, like watching sports, or being interested in cars.

I've never seen a car as anything more than a piece of transportation. I like a car that I can fit in, and is spacious, and has a good stereo. That's it. I've never really cared about brands or motors or anything. My wife is much better at identifying cars than I am. Her dream is an "Audi A4," whatever that is. If I'm asked to identify a car, I will say, "That is a pickup truck," or "That is a sedan," or "That is a hideous beast." So I went on happy in my ignorance to automotive beauty, until I saw this one car, in this one movie, I thought, "Now that is a nice piece of machinery... Mmm... Yes, very nice indeed."

That is when I realized that my disinterest in cars was due to the fact that all cars that are not in a sci fi movie are boring. So now I'm into cars, and here is a list of the ones that I would like to collect:

1. The Delorean from Back to the Future II.

It must have the Mr. Fusion upgrade, I don't wanna have to lie to terrorists for plutonium. Also, it must really take me back in time to Hill Valley in 1955.

2. Optimus Prime

The semi itself is cool. I'd throw a mini hot tub in there and a flat screen, then he could transform into a giant robot and kill all the pidgeons in my back yard. I HATE those rat-birds.

3. The Ecto-1

Nothing says "Hi, my name is Josh, and I like to party," better than rolling up in one of these, sirens blaring. Then you can let a few ghosts out and party like it's 1984.

4. The Batmobile

I'm partial to the 1989 Michael Keaton vehicle, but I'd take any of the three. Especially the 1989 one. You know, the one in the middle there, from 1989...

5. The Rolls Royce Phantom

Ah yes... and yes. Let's get slightly more real for a minute shall we? Real because this is a real car, slightly less real, because I will never, ever afford it. This is the car that I saw that made me think,  "Now that is a nice piece of machinery... Mmm... Yes, very nice indeed." This is my dream car. The car that if I could have any real car in the world, I would have this car. It is the Rolls Royce Phantom. Driven by Nicholas Cage in The Sorcerer's Apprentice. It is oh, so beautiful, and now, it is one of only three cars that I can name by sight. 

The other two cars that I can name by sight are the Dodge Caravan, and the Toyota Sienna.

GLaDOS, The Potato.

My favorite games on the planet are Portal and Portal 2. I love the challenging puzzles, I love the story, and I love the humor. If you haven't played Portal, you should, it's great. The main evil entity in the series is GLaDOS, a sentient computer who lives to carry out testing for the Aperture Science Laboratory's "enrichment center." After completing some testing in part 1, GLaDOS tries to kill you, but you hunt her down and destroy (or deactivate) her. In part 2, she gets reactivated, but shortly after beginning tests again, she is replaced by another evil computer, named Wheatley, who then places GLaDOS into a potato battery:


The point of telling you all that is so that you would understand what I'm talking about when I told you that I made a plush, talking GLaDOS potato.
Here she is:

And here's mine:

I do hope they make a part 3.