Mute Watch

This is very fascinating watch my girlfriend bought me for Christmas last year. She bought it while it was still in development, so it just recently arrived.

The watch face is normally just blank, but when you tap it or shake it in a certain way (such as moving it into position to see it) the number light up.

You touch and hold the face of the watch to change the time, or swipe to change the function. It's pretty clever.

Also, it's charged with USB (no more watch batteries!) and instead of an alarm...it vibrates! Brilliant!

Ray Guns and a Cobra

Just a couple neat things I saw at the LA county Fair.

Soda!

As I mentioned before I love Mexican Coke. I love it so much today I went to the soda shop to buy a 6 pack of it, but they didn't have it. So instead I bought a random assortment of sodas. I can feel the diabetes just looking at them.

Electrical Storms in the Desert.

These may look big, but they were so far away we couldn't even hear the thunder. It was around 1am. Pitch black. I used a 60 sec exposure.

Walt Disney World

Tracey, a few friends, and I went to Walt Disney World in May. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the trip.

It started raining while we were in Epcot. Florida rain is very different than California rain.

The Light parade.

Tree of Life in Animal Kingdom

Watching Fireworks.

Delicious food on a Safari.

Our Hotel, the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

An AT-AT foot.

Expedition Everest.

Night Photos

A few months ago I took some photos at night in Arizona. They turned out really well so I thought I would do it in my backyard. These photos were all taken in pitch black (or as pitch black as LA can get) and between 8 and 30 seconds shutter speed. with under 400 ISO.

RISK!

One of my favorite games is RISK! I love the strategy and world domination. Only thing I don't like is how long it takes to play. A new RISK came out a few years ago with new rules, you can now complete a game in just a few hours. Which is a HUGE improvement.

The also added in Cities and Army Capitols. Which all add to the strategy of the game.

I played as Red, and early on I managed to capture Australia. Which is the easiest continent to hold.

The Blue army managed to take over North America and quickly spread it's influence to south America.

The Yellow army took over Africa and then South America, all but eliminating the green army and controlling their capitol.

As in real life, one of the most bitter battles was in the middle east.

I managed to capture and control Asia, which allowed me to spread into Europe and eventually win the game.

*My main strategy was always to leave at least 2 armies behind. It didn't really put the odds in my favor, and I would expand much slower. But when the enemy is deciding to attack or not, several territories with more than one army LOOKS daunting.

A Snail on the Move!

Fresh Mullberries

Tracey and I found a mullberry tree right around the corner from our house. So now we pick bowl full when we walk by. Who doesn't love fresh fruit?!

My First Robot

I always wanted to make a robot. So over the weekend I decided to make one. And what better than a useless robot.

Really the only thing that makes something a robot is that is has a servo and an arm. Mine looks like a box.

I bought all the pieces I need.

Got out my trusty tools.

Inspected the pieces.

Started soldering.

Now that it's all said and done...I wonder what that switch does.

Ooooh. It turns itself off.

The Turtle Pen

I love common items that work in a new and interesting way. The Turtle Pen is really just a pen, but with a very nice opening and closing mechanic.

Since I am one of the first to purchase it, I received a free aluminum container. As cool as it is, it's a bit of a hassle to have to keep taking the pen out of it.

Pen poking out with it's cute little logo.

Top.

The pen tip is retracted.

With a small pulling motion...

...The pen tip comes out. It's dome shaped like a turtle shell. The pen itself is fairly heavy, which I like. Though when the tip isn't extended, it feels a little loose. But other wise a nice pen.

Parker Butterfly open Double edge Safety Razor

For my birthday this year Tracey got me one of the coolest gifts ever. A shaving kit! It might sound boring, but it's freaking awesome. Especially since I don't use an electric razor.


The Safety Razor is made out of stainless steel.

It's called 'Butterfly' because you twist the handle to open the top. This is where you load the Double edge razor.

One really nice thing about safety razors, is the the razor replacements are dirt cheap compared to the 5 blade Gillette razors.

The full kit includes pre-shave oil, Cream, and After shave lotion.

And the Badger Hair brush. Together I get one awesome shave.