Russell & Kimmy

Happy Palindrome Day!

Russell — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 02:00:44 +0000

Happy Palindrome Day; for all of those who are confused no it’s not about the former Republican VP candidate but rather it is a date that is both the same forwards and backwards or 01022010. Here at home we really didn’t care it was Palindrome Day; what really really were glad about was our complete lack of plans. You see we are getting old and after two nights of partying, drinking, and game playing we are thankful to be home, not at work, sitting on our bums.

Well I sat on my bum.

Kimmy on the other hand was busying painting my custom Settlers of Catan tiles. For those of you who have no clue what Settlers of Catan is, you make me sad. I suggest you Google it. I really like the game but have two complaints, 1) I do not win near enough and 2) the tiles and edging become warped as they are cardboard. This pisses me and Kimmy off for some reason, but my wife in a fit of brilliance had all the tiles plus the expansion cut out on fiber board. As soon as she is done painting them I am going to mount them on felt and then gloat that I have the most unique and lovely set of Settlers of Catan.

So far she’s gotten the deserts, clay, wheat, and stone painted. Once she finishes out the forest tiles and paints the boarders I’ll be posting a few more pictures.

Until then happy New Years and don’t pick on the stupid people.

Here be Dragons!

Russell — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:00:36 +0000

I’ve always wanted a dragon ….

When I was little I always used to fantasize about owning my very own fire breathing dragon. I would have called him Trogdor and we would have flown around gleefully burning up the country side and striking terror into those obnoxious kids living around the block. Sadly I didn’t hear about the name Trogdor until college and dragon’s don’t exist (once again modern geneticist have failed me).

Necromancer7 is no geneticist but he is really good at making things out of Legos. A Lego dragon may not be as cool as a real dragon but it is pretty cool and it is much cooler than no dragon.

[Necromancer7'sFlickr Stream via Gizmodo]

Monday Continued

Russell — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:00:50 +0000

Alcatraz is one of those things that was natural and then it was man-made and then it is starting the swing toward natural again. With out a doubt all of the pictures we took while in San Fransisco; most were of Alcatraz. It could be the solitary nature of the island appealed to us, or maybe it was the simple architecture & the history, or perhaps there was something just artistic about an old place slowly growing old while the gleaming hustle and bustle of a slick modern San Fransisco was just a mile away, a ferry ride away, and a world away.

What ever the reason Kimmy and I found fascination in Alcatraz. She became obsessed with the water tower and the plant life. My obsession drifted toward the burned out social club, the burned out warden’s house and the light house. I honestly could have spent an entire 8 hour day there and I often cursed my lack of camera, the plethora of tourists, and occasionally the Park Service for not having the entire island available (some of the island had been torn down, some was undergoing restoration and a part I am convinced they had no clue what to do with it. Despite my lack of a truly awesome camera I managed to snap a few good pictures, luckily the place was photogenic. Unlike some other things (one of which could have used a really good shave).

But if you are ever in San Fransisco; before you leave your heart there I recommend that you take a trip to Alcatraz. Plan on spending 3 hours there; take the audio tour and remember, when you get off the boat and everyone goes right … go left, assuming it isn’t nesting season for the sea gulls. But most important take your camera, snap a lot of pictures and be prepared for the island’s rugged and crumbling beauty to grow on you.

Monday Re-Dux

Russell — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:00:06 +0000

Last Monday was a whirlwind of activity. Kimmy and I wandered down to Pier 39 too ohhh and aahhh at all the sights. Little did we realize that Pier 39 was full of free loading bums.

At any rate we amused our selves by hanging out at the tourist trap that is Pier 39 watching the sea lions, the sea gulls, the sea and dining at the nicely over priced Hard Rock Cafe. High price, lots of stuff on the walls, okay food. One of those places you eat at just to say you were there.

We also found out it’s a bit of a hike from Pier 1 to Pier 39. But we had time to kill before we wandered over to Alcatraz.

Hmmm … things seen and done

Russell — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:49:55 +0000

Darn it all I did so many things last week that it’s hard to keep everything straight. At any rate last Sunday found Kimmy and I in sunny yet cool San Fransisco with nothing to do, So we headed on down to the Museum of Modern Art. Disclaimer! Russell really kind of despises modern art and thinks most of it is crap, he will at any turn belittle, besmirch and bemoan Modern Art ….. wait is bemoan the word I want to use? End Disclaimer So we entered the MoMA and I had high hopes. The entrance is grand and modern and clean and impressive …. all the things that make me happy in my metaphorical architectural pants. After that I was sad … so sad; and it wasn’t because I had to walk up stairs. No most of the paintings were crap, most of the displays were rubish and a lot of the artists need to be beaten with a sack of doorknobs. I understand that modern art is trying to push the envelope but really … can’t you push the envelope and make it good?

Is that too much to ask for?

At least the top floor had a rather freaky catwalk you got to walk over, some interesting sculptures and ….

Waldo!

Finding that sneaky bastard made my day. In fact it gave me the power of 10 Russell’s plus 2. After that I had the power to walk up to China Town; after a brief stop at a nearby park to listen to Salsa music and to watch a few couples dance. Then we went to China Town … well actually we went to Subway because we were hungry and breakfast was really expensive but after Subway I swear we went to China Town.

China Town is a bit different, I’ve been very few places where I was in the minority but for about 8 blocks I was the outsider. A strange and odd experience.