Too busy to think

I'm swamped at work - the new semester starts next Monday and, just like every other year, everyone realizes that they need everything at the last minute. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining - I love my job, more than ever, but it's wearing me out. The last two and a half weeks (is it only Monday??) I get home and crash, I can maybe stay conscious for a movie, but that's about it. I can't wait for the semester to actually start so that I can breathe again!

But that's not what I set out to share. This is:

Two of my favorite musicians - David Byrne and Brian Eno - have collaborated again, thirty years after their first incredible collaboration. I've been listening to this as much I could all day and it's great. Everyone that came into the office asked what it was - they were all really digging it.

AND David Bryne is coming to Kansas City in October! I missed him last time he was in town - I'm not going to make that mistake again!

Vancake

If you didn't already know, I have a soft spot in my heart for vintage VW's - Ghias, Vans, Squarebacks, Things, but particularly Beetles. I have an extensive collection of toy VWs, mostly Bugs, only a portion of which I have the room to display. Someday I hope to photograph my collection and post it. We just buy a beautiful new display case which lives in our front entry so several more of my friends can live out in the open. They love sharing the space with Maura's robots too!

The observant amongst you will notice that the walls are a different color. It's a bad picture taken at night with a flash, so the color's not 100% accurate but you get the idea. We did that last weekend, it needed new paint and we decided to go with something a little different.

However, none of that was what I really set out to write about. What I wanted to share with you was this:

From the original post:

Volkswagen parts specialist Just Kampers teamed up with artist Andy Saunders to produce the World’s Lowest VW Bus – also known as the Camper. The 3-foot (1 meter) tall VW Bus entitled "Vancake" that’s fully road legal was created by Saunders and his team in just three days during this past weekend’s (July 18 to 20) Bug Jam festival at the UK’s Santa Pod Raceway. Apart from lowering the roof the team also applied a custom paint job and an electric sunroof.

I love seeing the modifications people have made to their classic VWs. It's great to see them restored to their original condition, but some of the mods are very creative and fun!

One Hundred Pushups

Maura and I quit the gym we had been going to - a good friend of mine had an unfortunate interaction with the owner (I won't provide details, but the owner could have handled the situation better), and in all honesty, we hadn't been in a while. A couple weeks ago a ran across www.hundredpushups.com and lacking any other physical exercise, we decided to try it. It's a progressive pushup training program, each week you are required, and able to do a few more, until after the sixth week, you should be able to one hundred pushups in one go, with no breaks. I managed to do twenty-five in the initial test, which surprised me. At the end of the first week I did sixty-three with breaks.

We just started our second week and I definitely feel a difference. Right after doing them my arms feel like jelly, but the pain I felt when I first started, which lasted for a few days, is gone. I don't hurt at all after a new set.

I realize that it's far from a complete workout regimen, but it's a start.

Spore!

Electronic Arts will soon be releasing Spore by game designer Will Wright (creator of such titles as Sim City and Sims). Today, as a way to get people addicted, they released the Spore Creature Creator and it's very cool. I've wasted (XX) hours playing with it today!

Meet Yarfla, one of my Spore Creatures

You can create creatures using all sorts of parts, body colors, and by stretching the pieces around to liking. Then you can move him around a test area and take snapshots! The full game will be much more complex, involving the survival and evolution of your species. If the Creature Creator is any indication, I can't wait to see it!

I made a couple of different creatures and took some candid shots of them in action. Check them out! And then go download the Creature Creator, the demo is free!

My Debut Album

I found the instructions on the net, so I can't claim anything here, but it was kind of fun! I might have to do another one!

1. Go to a random Wikipedia entry:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
   The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2. Go to Random quotations:
   http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
   The last four words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
3. Go to flickr's "explore the last seven days":
   http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
   Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

Put it all together, that's your debut album.

Here's what I came up with: