• DIY,  Woodworking

    Collapsible Car Bed

    I have a tradition. Every year, I go camping along the coast from Washington State down to… however far I can get before I have to turn around and return home. Then Covid happened, and everyone’s plans got borked. This year, I was going to bring it back. Plus, now I have a dog, so it would be perfect. Just two cool dudes chilling on the beach. While camping isn’t expensive, I do have a TON of supplies. Getting everything setup, and in and out of the car, while managing a dog seemed like a lot of extra hassle. Then I found out about car camping, or stealth camping.

  • DIY,  Woodworking

    Catio

    I got Balerion when he was 12 weeks old. I wanted to be one of those cool people who walked their cats outside. It took a while, but it soon got to the point where Balerion considered himself an outdoors cat, and I was falsely imprisoning him. He constantly wanted to get out. He ripped a hole in my screen door to escape. He knocked the AC vent hose out of the way to escape. It was time to do something. A catio is basically a patio for cats. Get it? Since I rent an apartment, it couldn’t be permanent. I came up with a solution that would basically use…

  • Bad Argument,  Rant

    Intent, Interpretation, Invention

    Over the decades, particularly the last decade, society has evolved. In most cases, this is good. Progress. Enlightenment. Empathy. Certainly, there are numerous cases where the opposite has happened. Who would have thought that nazis would see a resurgence. Instead, I want to focus on the positive. Don’t worry. It’s still me. This concerns how our messages are conveyed and received by our audience. Particularly the latter.

  • DIY,  Life

    Coat of Arms

    A few years ago, I got a trademark for my logo. That’s cool and all, but it’s not really silly enough. I decided to make a coat of arms for myself. Plus, I’m not very good at vector images, so I like to do these dumb things periodically to refresh my memory. First, I needed an idea. I had thought about quartering the shield with different things that interested me. Books. Technology. Napping. Nothing really struck my inspiration bone.

  • Rant,  Review

    Real to Reel: The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy

    Welcome back to Real to Reel. Here I compare books to their live action adaptations. Last time, I compared The Count of Monte Cristo with the 2002 affront to gods and man adaptation. This time, I’m going to compare The Hunt for Red October with the 1990 film. In a way, this is the opposite of the last article. Whereas the 2002 Count of Monte Cristo was terrible, the 1990 Hunt for Red October is a great movie. Arguably better than the book.

  • Politics,  Rant

    Diversity of Thought

    Have you ever heard the phrase “like minded individuals”? I’m sure you have. It’s become a sort of buzzphrase. Anytime someone wants to join a group, they say they want to meet like minded individuals. Why do you want to go to see the sports team? “I want to meet like minded individuals.” Why do you belong to that Facebook group? “I wanted to get to know like minded individuals.” Who are you looking for on this dating website? “Sexy like minded individuals who like The Office.” When I see this, my brain automatically translates it to “closed minded individuals”.

  • Rant,  Review

    Real to Reel: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

    Welcome to a new recurring segment, where I will compare books to their live action adaptations. Today’s critique is on The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas vs the abomination that is the 2002 version with Guy Pierce and Jim Caviezel. Figures, since my name is Dantes, I should start with this. Now, I know that this book has been adapted 100s of times in various media. I’m focusing specifically on the 2002 atrocity. Hint: I hated this movie.

  • DIY,  Painting

    Hydrodipped Skateboard

    A couple of years ago, I created a longboard. It was sexy. I’m still quite proud of how it turned out. If there were one downside, it would be that it was too dark. The stain made the wood grain in the already dark wood even harder to see. For this art project, I decided to go to the opposite side of the spectrum, and go for colorful.

  • Rant,  Review

    Review: The Batman

    I, as any sane person, love the character of Batman. Some Batmans are good. Some Batmans are bad. But when given the opportunity to see a Batman, I will jump at the chance. Ten years or however long it’s been since I found out that Robert Pattinson was going to be the Batman, after Ben Afflect decided to give up the cowl, I was excited. I knew that Heath Ledger’s Joker was far better than anyone expected from the dude from 10 Things I Hate About You, so I had the same attitude of optimism for the dude from Twilight. Then I heard that the Riddler would be the main…