I’m not a huge “space” guy but my buddy Scott (not this guy) reminded me that the final space shuttle launch of Atlantis is scheduled to happen this Friday at 11:26am EST.
If all goes well, it will be the final mission for a group that’s done some pretty amazing things in the last 40 years. What I didn’t know was the amount of cuts NASA is about to make going from a team of 6000 down to around 2000 by the end of the month. Find a TV or set your DVR, interesting enough to be able to tell your grandkids you saw the last one.
It was a pleasure to be asked to be a guest on the new Creatiplicity podcast by FusionAds this past week. If you haven’t already, take time to check out the first three episodes to get the gist of what it’s all about. Hosts, Chris and Shawn, do a nice job of making you feel comfortable in a situation where many people aren’t comfortable at all – talking about yourself.
The podcast primarily focuses on the “intersection of simplicity and the creative process,” but we manage to hit on a few other fun topics as well including the Dallas Mavericks, coupons and Bed, Bath & Beyond.
A couple of things I noticed as I listened back through it all:
1. A better microphone is needed on my end if I plan on doing more of these in the future.
2. I don’t feel like I was nervous when doing the interview but the choppiness of my speaking makes me sound so. Thinking now I should carry around a tape recorder in my pocket daily to make sure that isn’t how I sound all of the time.
Thanks to Shawn and Chris for having me along, the bar has been set nice and low now for future guests. I look forward to hearing upcoming episodes and encourage you to throw it to your listening device as well if you’re into that sort of thing.
Never polled the reading audience to see how many baseball fans there are, but if you’re local (or can get here) I’ve got a pair of decent tickets to see the Texas Rangers take on the NY Mets on Friday, June 24th if you’re interested.
The Rangers are currently in 1st place in the AL West and despite a recent 2-game fail on their part at the hands of the Tigers, they look pretty good.
While I make no guarantees, there’s a 100% chance you’ll catch a home run off the bat of either Ian Kinsler or Adrian Beltre in these seats. Section 8, Row 12 face value at $30 each.
Here’s a picture from the exact seats of your viewing angle that I took the last day I played for the team. You will notice that for nine half innings, you will be getting the glorious backside view of the reigning AL MVP, Josh Hamilton. Your lady-friend will thank me.
I tried to think up a slick contest to make this a little more fun but frankly, my brain is mush and I haven’t the time to keep up with some crazy tweet-this-to-win or keep-your-hand-on-the-car deal to make it more interesting. Fact is, if you win them, you’ll actually be lucky enough just to see the game due to the reality that I might forget to give them to you between now and then.
No-brainer contest
1. Be a Rangers fan. Not a Mets fan. Everybody hates the Mets.
2. Email me or tweet me a photo of your Claw and/or Antlers. Fun pictures preferred. All G-rated please. Feel free to use your kids/pets/props or whatever else you need to win my love.
3. Be available to go to the game. I could easily throw them on StubHub for a few bucks but I wanted to give somebody else the opportunity to enjoy at no cost. There’s nothing stopping you from winning and selling them on your own other than your guilt-stricken conscience will probably eat a hole through your brain until one day where I find you lying on my doorstep grovelling for forgiveness and for me to loose the chains of your soul-crushing pain. At that point, I might consider it but it’d be a whole lot easier for you to pass them on if you end up not being able to go. Up to you.
So, if you’re in the market to see some free baseball, hit me up. Email, Comment or Tweet me your photo, if it’s good enough (or you’re the only entry) they’re yours.
#boomstick
Update: Will add any entries I receive after the click through to see what you’re up against… (more…)
Yes, it’s a post about more illustration-type stuff. No, that’s not the sole focus of this online journal but one more consecutive post might push us over the edge.
An Illustrated Guide is a fun little single-serving blog I’ve been following for a bit that serves as a mini book-review of illustrated childrens’ books. Both the concept and execution are simple and well done. It’s definitely one of those, ‘why didn’t I think of that?’ type ideas.
Each book is categorized any number of ways: digital, junior, wordy, etc and shortly described to give you just enough to consider picking up a copy for your little ones. My favorite part is the recommendation they provide at the end of each review, things like:
The perfect book for the royalist.
The perfect book for the hipster child within.
The perfect book for a pint-sized Sherlock.
The nerd in me also digs the fact that they used a little -webkit-transform coding magic as you rollover the book covers as well. In most browsers you’ll probably see the image rotate a bit but if you’ll pull it up in Safari or Chrome you get the full effect. Nerd dads unite.
Definitely an easy (and resourceful) tool to throw in your RSS feeds for those of you with little ones.
PS. While your kid will probably enjoy any of the books you get them from a site like this, their enjoyment of them would be one-hundred fold if you decided to sit down and actually read it with them. Just FYI.
My uncle Stan is somewhat of a renaissance man, he impresses me with any number of skills but his ability to survive as the only male in a house with four women has to be near the top. I’ve always known he was a great writer and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that some of my voice/stylings didn’t come from reading him.
We, as family members, were lucky enough to be able to read his musings from time-to-time but I’m glad that he’s finally decided that he’s willing to share it on a bit larger scale now.
If you grew up in the church, you will find plenty to identify with but even if you didn’t, I’ve got a feeling you’ll dig it as well.
I’d recommend subscribing to it so you don’t miss out on gems like this:
I grew up in a family of preachers. You couldn’t swing an offering plate in my house without hitting a man of the cloth. I knew early on that I was going to bring down the average of preachers in our family by quite a bit because I just didn’t have the gift.
I remember the first time I was called on to say a prayer in front of the whole church. It went something like this: ‚ÄúGod uh‚Ķbless uuuuhhhh…merica, ‚Äòtis of thee‚Ķ.unto the republic‚Ķuh‚Ķ(faster) guard, guide and direct us, Amen‚Äù. I threw that part about guard, guide and direct us in because it was always said in other people’s prayers so I knew I had to say it for my prayer to be official.
Needless to say, I tried to stay as far away from the pulpit as possible.
I’m really looking forward to see what he churns out; my only hope is that I can get him off of the Blogger platform as soon as possible.
