Bah!

Blogger is really cheesing me off right now. I moved my blog to their "beta" thing because it promised all these great new features. But now I have to sign in twice anytime I want to post anything. I also can't leave comments on other Blogger blogs like I used to. I don't show up as a Blogger user. So I sign in, get sent to the beta sign in, sign in again, go back to the blog to comment and guess what? I'm not signed in. Yeah I may be keeping this thing but I don't plan on using it for a while. Not until all this stupid beta crap gets fixed.

Where have I been?

Haven't posted here in a little over a week. Which isn't really that long but it is the longest I've gone between posts here. So what have I been up to? Well I'll tell ya. If you remember I mentioned about a month ago getting an invite to the Vox blogging service. Last week they announced a contest to design banners for their site. So I made one that wasn't that great so I had to make another and another. I ended up making sixteen of them. I only posted fourteen though, two didn't make the cut. I got a few good comments on them, and have been meeting some cool people there. It has the makings of a nice community. The url is here. I probably will be blogging my life over there mostly if you want to know what's up. I plan on keeping this blog too but making it something less personal. At least that's what I'm thinking now. That could change.

I like to do drawings.

I've been doing these ballpoint drawings on 3x5 cards lately. I did the first one because I needed a bookmark. Ok, I didn't NEED a bookmark. I have plenty. I wanted to make a bookmark so I did. Anyway here they are.

The hair she is a cut!

Well here is the new hairdo.

Juggling with the nephews.

(Back yard Casa de Bolt. Uncle Jason watches 18 month old Porter while Frodo, aka Mr Stinky, frolics about. Walking around in the back yard Uncle Jason steps on a half eaten apple. Moments later Porter has picked up the apple and is eating it.)

Uncle Jason: No Porter that's yucky. (Takes apple and throws it into the garden.)
Porter: Eee (Looks at Uncle Jason as if he has been told he will never have chocolate ever again.)
Uncle Jason: Let me get you a good one. (Approaches apple tree. Noticing that the apples are just about palm-size he picks three.)
Uncle Jason: Watch this Porter. (Proceeds to juggle the apples. Porter smiles, then holds out his hand wanting his apple. Uncle Jason hands him the apple dejected at the nephew's lack of interest in the juggling. He sits and begins to juggle two apples with one hand. Enter three year old Heston.)
Heston: What are you doing?
Uncle Jason: Juggling. (Heston watches enthralled.)
Heston: Do it with your other hand.
Uncle Jason: I can't.
Heston: Why? (Pronounced Whyuh.)
Uncle Jason: I'm no good with the left hand.
Heston: Why?
Uncle Jason: I'm right handed.
Heston: Why?
Uncle Jason: I was born that way.
Heston: Why?
Uncle Jason: (Sighs and smiles.) Just because ok. Hey go get me another apple.
Heston: Ok. (Runs full out to the tree. Uncle Jason slowly stands and begins to follow. Heston returns with an apple.)
Uncle Jason: (Waves his arms and puts on his best dramatic voice.) Give me some room.
Heston: Ok. Come on Porter. (Runs to the back fence, turns to watch Uncle Jason and pushes his back into the fence to give as much room as possible. Uncle Jason begins to juggle. Porter oblivious to the entertainment charges his older brother and rams him. Heston unfazed continues to watch the juggling. Enter Papa Bolt checking his tomatoes.)
Heston: (Running up to Uncle Jason.) Let me try. Can I try coach? (Papa Bolt and Uncle Jason smile.)
Uncle Jason: (Hands the apples to Heston.) Sure. (Heston throws each apple one at a time into the air as high as he can letting them fall to the ground.)
Heston: Look I'm juggling.
Uncle Jason & Papa Bolt: Yeah! (Heston continues his juggling for a minute or two. Papa Bolt exits.)
Heston: (Hands the apples back to Uncle Jason) Juggle them high coach.
Uncle Jason: Alrighty. (Throws the apples ten feet into the air. He has difficulty keeping them all in the air at the same time while throwing them so high. Focused on the apples high above, Uncle Jason runs into Porter nearly knocking him down and treading on him.)
Uncle Jason: Whoa Porter! (Grabs Porter in a hug.) You ok? (Porter nods and smiles.) Ok that's enough juggling.

Disclaimer: The above is in no way a documentary account of what happened. The number of "whys" may have been exaggerated for comedic effect. Brother Dustin, his friend Ben, Ben's girlfriend Rachel, were all present for some of Uncle Jason's and Heston's juggling, but since the scene had gone on long enough the author thought he should cut that bit out. Also, the author was focused on keeping fruit flying in the air so may have missed other items of interest.

Poll time: Should I cut my hair off?

It's come that time again when I have the desire to take the clippers to my head and remove the shrubbery that is now my hair. As some of you may know, I get this itch every 12-20 months. Buzz! The hair is off, and then there is the year or so waiting for it regrow, only to cut it off again when it starts bugging me. This seems to have been the cycle for the last six years. I am now heading into month 17 of the latest round of growth. So the question for you dearest readers is this, what should I do with my hair?

A. Continue the tradition and break out the clippers.
B. Get a "normal" haircut for once.
C. Let it grow for another 12 months.

For a frame of reference I give you the following picture taken about two months ago.



Let the voting begin!

Cleaning can lead to odd finds.

Whilst cleaning up some boxes that have sat in the living room for far too long I came across some "treasures." There was a fifty pack of blank CD's, a USB toy microscope, a brand new LAN card, miles of cable, and a very nice backpack Mark misplaced sometime ago. Also found: a used up compact, some slippers, and two crochet hooks, all of which he got when his grandmother died. It was rather an eclectic mix of odds and ends that made the evening's work actually enjoyable. I couldn't wait to see what was in the next box.

By far my favorite find was the set of books that were behind the boxes. They are Mark's and have been here since we moved in, but I never really noticed them before. Each book is bound in brown cloth with gold lettering. The lettering, however, is pretty well worn off. That's why I had only noticed them before as a brown mass of book spine. It wasn't until I was down on the floor removing the boxes in front of them that I could see them for what they were—a time capsule from the past.

The whole bottom shelf of a bookcase is lined with these books. They are all part of a set published in 1924 entitled The Outline of Knowledge. The knowledge outlined appears to cover the whole range of human thought. Take the first volume is Evolution and Romance Through the Ages. As far as I can tell the first half of it explains evolution up to the coming of man. The second half then tries "to make the actual human life of the past understandable and interesting from the romantic angle." And this is only the first book! There are books on philosophy, religion, all the sciences of the time, poetry, art. A little of everything from everything. All the stuff that was considered knowledge. Or at least everything J. A. Richards, the editor, considered knowledge. I can't wait to thumb through all this stuff.

It's crazy how the more books I read the number books I want to read grows exponentially. When will there be an end? When I am finished.

Make a billboard for McDonald's.

I came across this on Treehugger . In protest to McDonald's putting toy Hummers in their Happy Meals a parody website Ronald McHummer has been created. On it you can make fake McDonald's billboards like the one above. They also have a form email you can send to the president of the company complaining about the promotion.