Honeyman 2008 is in the Books

I know, it's been too long since my last post. I've been a little busy lately. But, there are definitely some things to post about. Especially with all the news surrounding Iran lately. Man, some incredible stuff. But, anyway, I figured not a better way to get back on track by posting our video from the 4th of July camping trip to Honeyman. It's arguably, the most anticipated week of the year outside of Christmas. And this years' trip was a tribute to Nels and his singleness. Cheers to Nels and Katie. Also, you can check out my Honeyman pics here...

Walking the Streets of Downtown PDX

Thought I would share what I came across when walking the streets of the Pearl District on Saturday. I'm a DSLR beginner and am in love with my camera. If only I had some funds to get a new lens. Time will take care of that hopefully. Or maybe just throw that on the wedding gift registry? Can I do that? Anyway, I like to have my camera ready when I'm wandering Portland, there's always interesting details or architecture to shoot. I really like street art, graffiti, you know, the whole urban deal. It's kinda fascinating. So, here's a mailbox I came across. The composition isn't too great looking at it now, could have been better. But, I think it turned out alright. Love the vibrant colors and the detail of the mailbox and it's surroundings. So, there you go. Here's the link to it on my Flickr profile.

Something From the Movies

One of the blogs I hit on a daily basis, actually I find myself there a couple times a day is Notcot.org. I was on there yesterday and came across this amazing image. It was posted on Dailymail.co.uk back in early May of this year. Anyway, the pictures were taken of Chaiten Volcano in southern Chile. There's so much scientific jargon behind this volcanic phenomenon, I'm not even going to begin to try and explain. I could barely understand what I was reading in the article. Basically, I think it was a massive eruption of toxic ash which some how led to or helped create a violent electrical storm. To make matters worse, scientists thought this may lead to a catastrophic "pyroclastic flow." Don't really know what that is, but it was such that is believed to have destroyed Pompeii in AD79. Anyway, what an amazing picture. How great would it have been to be the guy to snap that pic. Not only that, but you would have been able to see it first hand. Talk about scary. Kudos to Carlos.

Just Another Day At the BES

Been a good couple of days at the old Beaverton Employee Store. I don't really have a whole lot to say for this post, but my last two shifts at the BES have definitely been interesting and fairly exciting ones. Yesterday, there was a charity auction at the Tiger Woods Center on campus (and apparently a celebrity golf tournament today) so, naturally there were some celebs browsing through the store. I was lucky enough to help out Moses Malone for a minute and later met baseball HOF'er Ozzie Smith and said what's up to Pittsburgh Steeler great, Jerome Bettis. All the while, former USC Trojan and upcoming NBA draft pick OJ Mayo was wandering around close by. Kind of cool really.

Then today, while working I spotted a pair of Nike's upcoming Lunar Racers on a pair of feet. Can't wait for these to release (July release, the first picture above is actually the Lunar Trainer. Thought it was a sweet pic. The second picture is of the Lunar Racer). They combine a pair of Nike's latest technologies Lunarlite Foam and Flywire. Anyway, lastly, I caught a guy on what looked to be the new Apple iPhone 3G. Which doesn't release until July 11th I believe. So, an interesting last two days. Fun stuff.

Top 50 Websites of 2008

So, I got some cool new stuff for you guys. I was breezing through Hypebeast yesterday, I think it was, and they were selected as one of the best websites of 2008 by Time. So, that interested me a little bit. I didn't quite realize it is such a mainstream site, or has such a large market of people behind it to be recognized by Time. Anyway, moving on, you can find the list of websites here, Time's top 50 websites for 2008. I would suggest browsing through them a bit, some real gems I hadn't stumbled across before. Only downer is, at least that I could find, is that you can't just simply view a list of the 50. You have to go from one to the next and so on. But, maybe that's just me being a bad browser. So, with that, here's a handful of sites that I've bookmarked thanks to Time and their efforts.

Mint.com
A sweet, and FREE, finance software for personal use. Not only is it way awesome, it's so easy to setup. Takes no time at all. Just input some of your numbers and accounts and what not, then you're good to go. The design is superb. Very simple and easy to follow. Their attention to detail is great for free software. I've always wanted to record and watch my transactions, categorize them, lay out my spending trends, and break it down into different time intervals. I guess that's the nerd in me when it comes to numbers and statistics. Anyway, now with Mint, I can rely on them for this great data. And, as a bonus, I get to be reminded of just how much money I put toward school loans and that hole I'm eagerly awaiting to climb out of. So, check it out. I recommend it for sure.

Colourlovers.com
This one might not be to applicable for everyone out there. But, as a designer, it's awesome. I've looked for a site like this before, but never got lucky enough to come across one. It's basically a place that deals with color trends and gives people who use color for who knows what a world of their own in color. It's updated regularly with information and examples of how color is used in the real world. You can find out what's hot and what's not, find inspiration for your use of color by searching, sorting, filtering through tons of data. And, can also create and share your own ideas. Pretty dang cool. So helpful. So, from palettes to patterns, to colors and color trends; you got it all. Make sure you check out this awesome resource, of course, only if any of this applies to you. Which, I'm sure, in many ways it does. Might be of some help picking out wedding colors? You see.

Digitalvaults.org
Here you can view more than 1,200 national archives. I'm a bigtime history guy, so naturally this is pretty sweet. Not only is all the information, documents, and images great; but the site is put together so well. It makes you even more excited to browse through our history.

And, a few more...
Apartmenttherapy.com
Digg.com
Petfinder.com

The image I used for this post was taken from Flickr user, Stick-A-Thing _ _ _S_____A_____T. This reminds me of a complete creative breakdown and the desire to go no further on a project. Just wanting to give up. Great times.

Quandary with the Apple iPhone 3G

So, this past Monday Apple announced an updated version of their iPhone, the iPhone 3G. Now, just by looking at it there's not too much of a difference. Very minor aesthetic changes were might. It's slightly thinner and comes with a black or white casing on the back. Those are really the most notable tweaks implemented, visually. But, the fact that it is now 3G-capable is cool enough by itself. This basically means you've got much faster access to the net, I think something like approximately 2.8 times more snappy than the EDGE network. Also, 3G allows you to surf the net while you're on a call, if the situation ever was to arise. Another new feature is the assisted-GPS which leads to cool stuff like geotagging, finding your location, driving directions and much more. Other big selling points were the 2.0 update firmware, Microsoft Exchange Activesync, and better battery life.

But, here's the real dilemma. I'm not with AT&T currently. I used to be with AT&T, and it was a horrible experience. The only thing I have to justify how bad it was, was that we were kinda lost in the whole AT&T to Cingular to AT&T process. We just had absolutely the worst customer service and reception was far inferior to that of Verizon. Maybe because we were still on the old towers and hadn't switched over. Anyway. Regardless of that, all my friends are on Verizon and I have absolutely no reason to switch over. I've been nothing short of pure happiness with my current service. So, is it worth the switch?

Second, the cutting of the price for the new iPhone 3G is quite tempting. That's also what's kinda luring me in. $199 for 8G and $299 for 16G. At first sight, I was so excited. But, then, reading that AT&T bumped it's 3G data plan by $10, which for the two year contract would make $240-thus kinda wiping out the initial $200 savings you would get when purchasing the phone.

So, it's definitely something to think about I guess. But, really, do I currently find myself in a career calling for the need of a smart phone? Nope, not yet. Do I really have the money to pay for this added expense monthly? Probably not needed. And, it would only be a matter of time before that terrifying first-drop would occur. Then it's game over.

Final thought, for $200 I don't think you can buy a better phone. Especially if you're a satisfied AT&T customer. This wouldn't be such an issue if Verizon had some halfway decent phones. Might have to wait and see on the Blackberry Bold when it comes.

News Concerning the Middle East, Education

Obama clarifies united Jerusalem comment
June 6, 2008, The Jerusalem Post
When I saw that Obama proclaimed that Jerusalem must remain the Israeli capital and that it must stay undivided, I got a little bit excited. I'm not lying. With all the things that I'm not so hot about concerning Obama, and with some of the ideas and beliefs that people close to him stand for (speaking to do with his council on foreign policy), this seemed to be a step in the wright... I mean, right direction. But, this glimmer of hope didn't last for long, when not even days later, a campaign adviser neatly clarified just exactly what Mr. Obama was implying when making these statements. Anyway, it's all good though. Things happen for a reason, and I tell you what, neither John McCain or Obama are going to save this country from the path that lay ahead of us. So, I'll leave you with this tid-bit of wisdom, "It is what it is."

Council: Mongtomery schools cave to pressue with Islam book
June 7, 2008, The Examiner
This really isn't surprising is it? I mean, it's not like it hasn't been happening all around us for years now. Schools (now, it's not necessarily the schools themselves that do this completely, but it's just easier to say that than textbook manufacturers, school boards, or other educational organizations. So, I will just use that term for now.) have been slowly cutting the truth out of politically/culturally "controversial" topics, or not even that controversial for that matter sometimes. But, it's really a said situation. To see what students across America more often that not are being taught in the classrooms. I mean, you have the ever present butting of heads with evolution versus creation or the truth surrounding fundamental Islam. But, you see more and more the truth about the founding of our nation and it's history being skewed. Anyway, that's that. Not really a huge deal, just an interesting article that I stumbled across.

A Bit on the Lighter Side

So, I figured, I'm starting to see a pattern. Middle East News. Shoes. Middle East News. Shoes. That's about all I've covered over the past several posts. So, it's time to turn over a new leaf. Time to get a little more personal and a little more light hearted. So, here we go. Let's give it a try.

After watching some of the Yankees game yesterday and getting lunch at Panera, I realized two things. One. You know when you have this great piece of bread that would be so delicious with some good butter, but you make your way to get some and come to find out the only butter available is that in the little packet/container that's been kept cold and when you open it up you find it seemingly to familiar to a rock. You then proceed and try spreading it on your bread and it's nothing short of a disaster. Eh. Such a horrible feeling. You're so close to such a great addition to your lunch. Yet you're so far away because of this irritating piece of butter. Putting this all aside, you know it's good bread when after finishing you still want more regardless of the problematic butter situation. Enough said about that though.

Second. I've taken notice that New York Yankee slugger Jason Giambi, for some unknown reason, has decided to rock such a bad mustache that even Tom Selleck would be terrified. And the fact he hit a walk-off bomb against the Blue Jays today makes it so much better. Eh. Compounding the issue, it was hit off of Blue Jays closer BJ Ryan to give him the loss and three earned runs in the brief appearance. Who happens to be on one of my fantasy teams. Awesome.

The Tanakh- 656 and the Quran- 0

Temple Mount '100% Islamic'
June 1, 2008, World Net Daily
I'm not going to say anything about this one here. Except throw up a two quotes both used in the article. The first is from the Palestinian President's Chief of Staff and the second is taken from the chief Palestinian Justice, one of the most influential Muslim leaders in Israel. So, check the article out, it's not too long. With that said, here we go.

"Jerusalem is Muslim. The blessed Al Aqsa mosque and Harem Al Sharif (Temple Mount) is 100 percent Muslim. The Israelis are playing with fire when they threaten Al Aqsa with digging that is taking place." and...

"Israel started since 1967 making archeological digs to show Jewish signs to prove the relationship between Judaism and the city and they found nothing. There is no Jewish connection to Israel before the Jews invaded in the 1880s," said Tamimi.
"About these so-called two Temples, they never existed, certainly not at the [Temple Mount]."

(Deep Sigh)

The Swoosh and Piet Mondrian

A new release from Nike SB, the Dunk Low Premium, Piet Mondrian edition, is looking pretty fresh. I haven't been onboard with too many of the recent dunk releases, but this one is sweet. Too bad it's limited to a select number of Nike SB retailers, and needing a size 14 doesn't help the cause either.

Just in case you're not one with much study in the history of design, I'll clue you in real quick. And, I mean quick. You might be better off to Wiki him. Anyway, Piet Mondrian was a renown dutch artist that played a very influential role in the De Stijl art movement which stood in the early 1900's. Then he would make familiar the term Neo-Plasticism. And so on and so forth... Grid-based paintings with the use of primary colors ended up being his calling card and, thus, the Mondrian edition Nike Dunk Low Premium.

Picture again made possible by our Sweedish friends at Caliroots.com