ROAR!

I recently bought a shirt from shirt.woot.com - and I am quite pleased with transaction.


It's tyrannosaurus rex wearing a parka! Jurassic Park...a.

How was I supposed to not buy this shirt??

Dorable

What's a dorable, you ask?

Oliver the Koala.


Get it? a dorable? adorable? ha ha ha oh, I'm amazing. But seriously, I would like a baby koala for my birthday, please. See more pictures of Oliver here.

To A Rich Benefactor

Returning from a Common Swift gig in Kenosha on the night of September 26th, I discovered my apartment had been entered and burgled. At first, I thought that Greg's dog Lucy had just gotten rambunctious and overturned the couch cushions, but it quickly became clear that she couldn't have done the same to my clothes dresser...and with her amusingly large paws, I can't imagine that she'd find a lot of value in taking two of Greg's laptops and my keyboard. That's right - for the first time since birth, there is no piano in my house.

(On a side note, my old roommate Mike Schroeder has described the burglar as "Felonious Punk" - I had asked who steals a piano. He is a sick man.)

It's become clear over the last month that I can't go too much longer without some form of piano - I've been on the road doing archaeology the last three weeks, which minimizes the loss somewhat, but more and more often I've been getting a quick urge to play something. It usually takes 2-3 seconds before I remember that all I have is a piano bench and a music stand.

If anybody found $30,000 on the sidewalk and wants to help me out, go read this article. Then give that money to a responsible charity or something.

But seriously - that piano sounds amazing. Dear Santa...

Typing in Cheese

I think it was back when I was taking Geography 370 (Introduction to Cartography) that I first heard of a typeface promising to save the user 15-20% in ink and toner by creating small holes in the characters (a swiss cheese effect.) I partly forgot about it, seeing as how I don't really spend much at all on toner or ink...but the idea lodged itself somewhere in the trivia-encrusted recesses of my mind. Lately I thought about it again, and found this. Ecofont probably won't help any of you guys that much; I doubt any of my readers print in such massive quantities to make it economically meaningful.

Even if Ecofont won't help me that much, it is nice to think that there's a typeface in the world that can be described as cheese-like...not counting fontina.

Oh man...that's terrible.

Rule 3

Thomas B. Marlow is back with perhaps his most controversial rule to date.

Rule 3: Temporal Limits on Pie Consumption, or When Not to Eat Certain Pies.

There is an undeniable link between certain times of the year and what pies are eligible to be eaten. Sometimes, as in the case of strawberry-based pies, the link is primarily agricultural. Fresh ripe strawberries are tops - if you can somehow manage to not eat them while you're making your pie, props to you. Other limits are based more on aesthetics rather than, you know, logic. Regardless of my motivations for determing the vagarities of Pie Law, Marlow's Laws are not to be debated.

There are several pieces of information that jump out from this primitive graphic. First, I think it's clear that under no circumstances is it ever okay to eat Banana Cream Pie. Gross. It would be much preferable to just eat a cream pie and a banana separately. Come on.

Pumpkin Pie is acceptable - even suggested - from October 1st until December 1st.

Apple Pie immediately before Pumpkin, Pecan immediately after...these are all logical.

Cherry Pie is to be eaten on a family vacation to Door County, Wisconsin in mid-August. Otherwise, pass.

Blueberries are gross, but I can almost understand eating them in a patriotic-themed pie around Independence Day. Maybe.

If you wanted to twist my arm, I could probably be convinced to make Pecan Pie a year-round item.

Theban Mapping Project

A Warning: What is about to follow will probably make you groan.


So, Mother's Day is this Sunday. In honor of all of our moms out there, I decided to write a brief post highlighting one of the coolest maps I've seen. Why post this now? Because the map is of the Valley of the Kings...FULL OF MUMMIES!!!!

Well, it used to be. They're probably gone now. If you're still reading, you obviously aren't scared of terrible jokes. Honestly, if you read this blog at all, you probably don't mind them too much. Anyway - the site is just a beautiful, fascinating, and informative map of the Theban Valley. Pharoahs buried here include a bunch of Rameses (1-7, 9-11), a couple Setys, Hatsheput, and Tutankhamen. Seriously, it's an awesome site. Who didn't want to find an awesome Egyptian tomb when they were a kid? Take a look around here. It's worth it.