Saturday, August 30, 2008

Guess Who's in the Paper?

Clicky here to see Unpaving Paradise press coverage!

PAX Notes

PAX is good times, my friends, good times.

Yesterday all we really caught was the concert, but since Freezepop was playing, that was enough. They started with Brainpower, played a song that is now my favorite stalker song ever (Stakeout?), and then their hand-held synth guy played a version of the National Anthem that would make Steve Rogers proud (if you don't know who that is, you don't read enough comic books).

Synth pop romance moment: when Freezepop slowed things down (with Lying Next to Me, I believe), they were greeted with a sea of electronic stars - everyone whipped out their cell phone or handheld and lit them up. It was nerdily gorgeous, and made me very happy.

Cons: none really, except that hardly anybody dances at geek concerts, so I was kind of alone on that one. Though my boyfriend thought I was cute.

Today was much more action packed. I got to sit in on a Female Gaming Communities panel. The message was that girls kick ass at gaming, but that gamer girls had to create all-female communities because there were a bunch of stupid asshole guys who didn't get that. There are plenty of cool supportive guys, but apparently they weren't as obnoxiously vocal.

Other than that, I ran into friends, played a little Rock Band, and wandered around a lot. I'll be heading back to catch tonight's concert (highlight: The Minibosses!) and maybe watch some nerdy movies. More later :)

Thursday, August 28, 2008

This is what happens when you spend too much time on the internet

I should have called this post "The Dark Side of User-Created Content".




The worst part is that I made this one myself. ICanHasCheezburger.com has a lolcat builder where you can add the evil captions to the adorable pictures.

User-created content. I has it.

Goats Clear the Way

My roommate was the first one to tell me about this and the one who took this picture - this is a herd of goats clearing out weeds on the side of the Interstate 5 freeway. I've heard of goats being used to clear land, especially of blackberries, but this is the first time I've heard of it done in the middle of Seattle. I just wish I could have seen them.

Nerd Fest 2008!

Guess who has a 3 day pass to the Penny Arcade Expo? I do!

I should also be able to report on it for Associated Content, so you can read about my nerdy, nerdy exploits in journalistic detail.

Oh joy!

Junk raft crosses the Pacific!


This is awesome! Two guys crossed to Hawaii on a raft made of plastic junk and the fuselage of a Cesna. Even cooler - they met up with someone who was crossing the Pacific by rowboat part of the way through to get extra rations. Damns. That is cool.

"Raft Made of Plastic Bottles Crosses Pacific"

Monday, August 25, 2008

Rice Boy, a graphic novel

You can find some neat things if you spend too much time on the internet. That's how I found Rice Boy, an online graphic novel by Evan Dahm. I finally got a chance to finish it today...it's really good. It's an epic story of a tiny little white nubby looking person called Rice Boy who goes on a quest to save his world. And the art is incredible.

Here's the link to the main page of the site: http://riceboy.jho-tan.com/
Evan Dahm has started work on "Order of Tales" - same world, but centuries before the plot of Rice Boy. It looks to be just as good.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Home again


I got home on Monday, which meant I got to have Tuesday off with the wonderful boyfriend. This was very, very nice after 5 days away (and most of them driving, eck).

SolFest was good times, though. Lots of good workshops, gorgeous grounds, and they had real bathrooms with relatively short lines, considering the crowds. The people that were there were really cool too - everybody was pretty mellow considering it was beastly hot and crowded. The major downside was the heat: 105 the first day and somewhere in the 90s the rest of the time

I had forgotten how hot it got in California in the summer after spending six years in a town where everyone flips out if it gets to the 70s. I rediscovered the glory of iced tea and I say unto you - a wet bandanna around my neck was my hope and my salvation. Those two things were basically all that was keeping me from heat stroke, and they worked damn well, too.

Ok, links of the day:

+ The Solar Living Institute, hosts and inventers of SolFest: www.solarliving.org
+ One of the most ridiculous news stories I have ever seen:
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/offbeat-news/giant-poo-goes-on-rampage-in-swiss-capital/1717

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Road Trip!

Last week I finally realized that I was going on vacation really soon. This week I keep thinking "Holy crap! I'm going on a road trip!"

A friend of mine and I have been planning to go to SolFest for months. We signed up for volunteer shifts, got our camping spot reserved, and figured out a ride. Then we kind of forgot about it...until last week. At which point, we said the aforementioned "holy crap!"

Yep - my idea of a good vacation is driving for two days down to California, roughing it and working for free at a hippie festival, and then driving two days back home. What can I say, I'm a sucker for free green workshops and yoga. I also learned my lesson from my last roadtrip through the Pacific Northwest: bring your damn iPod. There is exactly crap to listen to on the radio once you get past Portland or so.

So, if you like hippie/eco stuff as much as I do: http://www.solarliving.org/display.asp?catid=17

Yay! Energy Audit!

A nice lady from City Light came by today to do an energy audit for the office I work at. We're in the middle of a "green office" effort, and so we called City Light in to see if they could give us any energy saving tips (coughturnoffyourdamncomputersatnightcough). And it was free, and if we spend any money on their recommendations, they can give us rebates. Woot!

Anyway...we got the idea from Resource Venture, a website that is run by the City of Seattle. They have a whole "Green Your Office" section with all kinds of resources for, you know, greening your office: http://www.resourceventure.org/. It'll save you a whole lot of time if you want to go on a sustainability kick at work.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Japanese Tea Ceremony at the Arboretum

I finally got the chance to take part in the Arboretum's Japanese Tea Ceremony. They hold them during the summer in their tea house, and a couple of my friends and I have wanted to go since we found out about it.

It was a very peaceful and contemplative experience. Every move was choreagraphed, and has been for centuries. I'm pretty sure that this wasn't the most elaborate tea ceremony ever held, but after taking part, I begin to understand all the aesthetics, culture, and philososphy bound up with the tea.

I think the season's almost over, but you might still be able to buy tickets before they stop doing ceremonies for the year: http://www.seattle.gov/parks/parkspaces/japanesegarden/Tea.htm. The schedule at this site says they finished in June, but since I just went yesterday, I know they've extended the schedule. Give them a call to find out when the next one is and to buy tickets.

Guess who's been published?

www.associatedcontent.com/article/945801/seattle_capitol_hill_community_rallies.html

This is what happens when you spend to much time on the internet...you get suckered into creating content. I needed to write about the fundraising for the John and Summit park anyway, but you'll note that I was motivated by the promise of a couple of bucks and the thrill of getting my story on the interweb.

no, seriously, it saves energy!

I was looking at the blog templates and trying to choose one when I remember something. A while ago I found a site that advertised a search engine that used a black screen instead of a white one in order to save energy. Seriously, somebody made that. That's the reason I chose the black template. So remember kids - when you read this blog you're helping to prevent global warming.