Brickblog » Friends & Family

Country Mouse

kayakermanmike — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:39:00 +0000

I have a friend… O.K, I’ll wait for the laughing to die down.

I have a talented friend… Yes, yes peanut gallery, settle down. This means you too PSU peeps…

I have a talented friend who is working at getting published. She currently teaches English in a town in Maine I’m familiar with, and I’m guessing is a daily challenge. She has always had a far better command of the English Language then anyone I ever knew, and yet was always friendly and down to Earth. I remember, before time and distance took it’s toll, how we would all sit and listen as she would tell a story about anything one of use would make sound mundane. We would anxiously await the conclusion, and when it came, often an uproar of laughter ensued.

Recently, with some apprehension, she joined the blogsphere. Taking a tip from a now retired literary advisor she knows , ‘Country Mouse’ forged forward with her own blog. You eagle eyed visitors will note I added a link to the blogroll yesterday, but I wanted to bring more attention to her blog, http://magrendel.blogspot.com/.

And for those of you suspect of this post, given that it is April 1st, no foolsies, this is legit, and I’m trying to give a friend that ole’ Brickblog bump. So this goes out to my one visitor out there, click through and check out her writing!

Notes to Marquis. . .

kayakermanmike — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:47:36 +0000

O.K., I know you’ve seen him over there in the blogroll, but if you haven’t gone to his site, this is a friendly push to do so. He’s been doing some really cool Macro Photography at home lately. He tells me he’s employing a food dehydrator to get some of these specimens to their current condition.

The Pear might be my favorite so far, but he’s got some excellent stuff going on with other photos too. Check out his blog, regularly updated with I presume his favorite shots, then follow any link to go check out what he has ‘hidden’ away on flickr.

Keep up the good work Marquis!

Belated. . .

kayakermanmike — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 20:49:51 +0000

I’d make a horrible Dad. I know it. Know why? Got any clues? Well, in 2006 on 10-25 at 9:57 P.M. I posted my first article here on Brickblog. Why, I remember when this blog was still in diapers, I was excited to get 1 visit after posting oh so many articles. To date, I’m up to 4,694 visits since I installed Google Analytics (November 9, 2006) to track such things. Truly amazing. What’s even scarrier is when I analyze what kinds of articles bring people to my site, I see when you search for d40 vs d70 my site comes up #1 in google.

So lets think back to what brought this blog to life. . .

Oh thats right, those damn raccoons. They’re still around, in fact I had great fun, ehr, I mean I was left no other option, then to shoot one a couple weeks ago with my paintball gun while I had the electric fence repurposed on the garden for the summer.

But of course, I wouldn’t be here with such an audience if it wasn’t for my peeps. Those folks that both read my insane ramblings, and those that link to my blog. So since I can’t thank every single one of you by name, I’ll be certain to report out what Wordpress tells me are the good folks linking to my site.

Thanks!

Via Truck

kayakermanmike — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 01:33:21 +0000

I’ve got some great friends, some unfortunately, I’ve never met in person. It never occurred to me when one of them asked me for my address, what they may be up to. When I returned to the office today from a conference I was surprised by an odd box siting in my cube. Not one to jump to conclusions, I didn’t immediately call the bomb squad.

On closer inspection, I realized that it was from the sender “PU Joint Subcomittee on Inter-Campus SNK Proliferation” I couldn’t wait to open it and see what the PUSOICSNKP had sent me! My boss thought it was Lego, but I knew it would be better, and I was right. I was sent several useful items, that no geek could live without, the most important of all, caffeinated beverage. Behold, the glorious bounty, Arr.

The address label, typed, because computer folks can’t write. You wouldn’t be able to understand it.

Layer 00: They’ll regret so hastily giving up such a fine treasure as a authentic Microsoft Intellimouse PS2. That’s some classic architecture there. Also useful, coffee filters to make some Java while reading a timeless book on Director! Also included, the envelope from a parking violation. . . Yes I did check it to see if there was a ticket inside. ;-)

Layer 01: Lets see if I have the lingo down. . . More gr8 reading material!

Layer 02: After finishing the previous layer, it didn’t take a dummy to see a gift guide, I wonder if someone is hinting at something here. . .

Layer 03: I was on to the next layer in a flash.

Layer 04: I drew a blank on the significance of layer 04.

Layer 05:Then I realized that a drive blank had to make way for precious cargo.

Post Crazy

kayakermanmike — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:50:38 +0000

Lunch Break update: Sorry for the lack of updates over the last few weeks. Over the past 2 months we (my wife and I) have either been on the road, or had house guests every weekend culminating in Amanda and I going to completely different states for weddings. Now I’m not complaining, far from it. I’ve had a great time seeing family and watching or being involved with two beautiful wedding ceremonies. As fall settles in, so should a more ‘regular’ routine. Amanda is back to (grad) school which means we have to be around a little more so she can do her homework. It also means I can get back to those projects I started 2mos ago and dropped like hot potatoes. For now, please enjoy a few photos I’ve taken.

Every year Mom brings us Japanese lanterns from her garden. We’ve had to walk down to the garden in the past to stop tourists from cutting some. For some reason, they think they can just walk on to the property and start cutting. . .

Ha! I’ll be sleeping on the couch for this one! Redneck Sexy. . . Be careful to remember to brush your teeth and finish your coffee before putting on your dress for a wedding. Then you won’t end up looking like this. ;-)

Friends Eric and Liz (next in the schedule for marriage [congrats!]) enjoy a peaceful moment before Dave and Julie’s ceremony

I’ve been playing around with lighting and such lately. In this long exposure, I painted the word hi with my LED key chain flashlight.

Welcome

kayakermanmike — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 21:57:43 +0000

Well, here it is. One small step for communication with the world, one giant leap for less free time. A long while back, I had thought about starting a blog mainly for showcasing my creations of the brick. Being a web developer I had grand visions of creating my own blog tool. . . Right. The cobbler’s children are barefoot.

Fast forward a year or two. My buddy over at spiralbound.net and I were talking about my continuing war with the raccoons (more on that later). He noted that I should start a blog, tell the world you know? Well, I guess it struck a chord. I’m going to give it a shot and see if I stay true to it. I promise, no sappy “dear diary” entries. Well, no serious ones anyway.