so here's more of what i did on my Christmas vacation

a friend sent me a link to an article about the "growing continent of plastic garbage" in the middle of the pacific ocean (also labeled the pacific trash vortex), and then asked if i had heard about this. i hadn't and i did my usual curiosity thing and searched the interwebs far and wide. it seems to be a lot of exaggerated bunk, especially because there is a lack of any photographic evidence to support greenpeace's claims. but that's another post. one of the sites i found that addresses this trash vortex thing, along with tons of other cool science-y stuff, is called sciencepunk, and it's one of my favorite new sites. go, learn, laugh.
while i was sciencepunking away, of the many posts i loved, i really liked hugecrab.com, but beware don't go there if crawly things creep you out, but DO go there if you want to be amazed by aquatic arthropods of gigantic proportions.
and then my favorite sciencepunk video so far would have to be, because i am a snow junkie, is this gem. watch this massive steel-wheeled ironhorse of radness and be amazed.

How I Got LOST on Christmas Vacation

Alrighty, I know that the Christmas break isn't over and that many of you don't even have a "break" like I do, so I'll try not to remind you that I am on a 3 week break from school. For the most part, I have been spending my break in front of the TV. Today, my roommate Morgan busted open his shiny, new LOST season 3 boxset. I forgot how much I love LOST. LOST is AWESOME. and if you disagree I will fight you. It has been about 6 months since the LOST season finale, and the new season starts January 31st. That still seems so far away, but it's only a month. So I'll be LOSTing my way thru Christmas break, I still have 2 weeks left and gimme a call if you wanna come over and re-cap on season 3, catch up, or just wax poetic about LOST. Season 4 begins soon.Very soon.

bikes are fun: the sequel

there is a story behind that alta bike in my last post. the short version, is it's this slimmed down back to basics approach of a bike. no gear options, shifters, or frivolous stuff, just the bare minimum to get your bike on. the alta bike comes from a design collective in Norway, sadly the bike currently is only available in europeland, and it would basically double the cost to buy and have it sent here. boo. so in my search for an equivalent off the shelf options available here in the US of A i found this gem from Specialized. i think we have a winner. it's called the langster, it comes in different "city" versions, with options and colors inspired by the city or the demands of its bike ridin' population. i love the chicago version, it's matte black, and so sleek but tough lookin'. new york is my number 2.
here are the links to the whole series:
chicago
boston
london
new york
seattle

PS apparently since nobody gets anywhere in LA except via automobile, we don't get a signature version.

bikes are fun

click 'em-

alta

hug some bike

It's The Little Things

Plastic makes things taste funny. Plastic cups are for kids (or clumsy people). Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi tastes significantly better in a glass, or a ceramic mug, than in a plastic cup. Glass and stoneware are more refined than plastic. Plastic has many great uses. My preferred drink container isn't one of them.

I moved recently and was without any mugs or glass glasses for a little while, I bought some mugs and tumblers this week and it has been wonderful enjoying real flavors again. Hot chocolate is hot chocolate-ier, water is snow-melt-mountain-spring-fresh (okay maybe that's due to the new brita filter), dark carbonated beverages, of the regular and unleaded varieties, are far more gratifying. Friends, get a glass, mug or both, take the taste test and tell me you don't notice the difference. Expose your taste buds to a whole new world.

Sometimes it is the little things.

i LOVE snowboarding

"picture this" by mack dawg productions, in shops this month

"injured, injured bad"

oh, techmologee. iPod Classic edition

Just look at that sexy box o'music. It doesn't hurt that Nelly Furtado is on the screen either. I am so happy Apple finally updated the iPod line. My 5th generation iPod with video is hurtin'. Noir (that's its name) has been a good little music box, it has held my most cherished songs and allowed me to watch tv shows on the go, but it can barely live away from a power outlet. Very soon I will buy a new black 160gig iPod classic, maybe I'll call her Noir 2.0. Maybe I won't. P.S. I'm still amazed that I can carry TV shows and movies in my pocket.

just so you know

i went to disneyland today. had a bunch of fun, beat my personal best score on buzz lightyear's astroblasters and found out that i weigh 2400 tortillas. forget kilos or pounds, from now on i am declaring my weight in tortillas.

update: Disney's California Adventure has a Mission Tortilla Factory that's where I learned I weigh twothousandfourhundredtortillas. And Darcy has me wondering, how much I weigh in burritos, or toast...

oh, techmologee. keep the change.

so anyone who knows me well knows i dislike putting stuff in my pockets. i know pockets are there to hold stuff but i just hate overstuffed pockets. even more, i hate jingly-jangly stuff in my pockets, keys, but mainly COINS.
i told you that story to tell you this one.
i like technology. uh, no. i LOVE technology. there has to be something in the male genetic makeup that causes this techno-lust. my latest techno-crush is on the treat vending machines at school. why? i no longer have to keep change in my pocket or backpack. thanks to modern techmologee the goodie boxes take credit and debit cards now. oh how sweet it is. one sweet step closer to a coin less utopia.
now if i can just get my apartment complex to install card swipers on the washers and dryers.

WELCOME TO THE BAZOOKA SALOON

it is high time to get rid of my blog title.
as a kid i always wanted a bazooka of my very own, but everyone kept telling me i'd shoot my eye out.
i also wanted to be a cowboy and hang out at a saloon, not for the booze and the whores, but just to be able to say "i'm going to the saloon".
that led to the title bazooka saloon. two of my favorite words combined for your reading pleasure.
enjoy. careful what you shoot at in here, it might shoot back.
see? i'm still a dork

shh, the 800 lb gorilla is IN the room

yeah, it's here and the funny thing is no one "wants" to talk about it but everyone does!
the same theories are floated, the same rants are belched, and the same pledges to resolve or surrender are made.
what am i talking about?
yup, relationships and that dating thing. there is a veritable cornucopia of blogs out there with numerous posts dedicated, for better or worse, to the subject of dating, relationships and those mysterious members of the opposite sex. but i have to say my thing.
long story short, since moving to orange county, in the few limited social engagements i have attended, i have found that the dating discussion is just as alive and kicking (notice i didn't say 'well') as it is in LA. having participated in more than my fair share of these discussions, again for better or worse, i am all too familiar with the many assumptions, misconceptions and blame-shifting we are ALL guilty of. i bring this all up not as a complaint but to share the actions of a friend, whom shall remain nameless yet deserves the credit-i think- for making some change happen.
late one evening after watching lost or playing guitar hero or seeing a movie that none of the girls were interested in, the guys were hanging out somewhere. the dating talk started, and one guy simply said something like "i'm done talking about it..." but it wasn't a compliant, it was the preamble to his basic plan of action. he had decided we could all, boys and girls, talk ALL we want, but things were NOT going to change until two simple things occurred.
first, guys need to ask girls out. plain and simple.
second, girls need to say 'yes'. plain and simple.
and with that a sort of challenge was issued. not like a wager, not a "hey i bet i can get a date before you can", just a legitimate-"start asking, start dating and it'll happen"
want proof it works? go visit the ward i came from. i think my friend's simple actions spoke FAR louder than all the endless months of our talking and when i left LA i felt as though i were the only one NOT dating, but that was deliberate because i was moving, but i did suddenly feel like it was easier to do the asking. and it seemed like the girls were saying yes.
it ain't easy, but it is SIMPLE.
we've made this whole process too damn complicated, i have heard all the reasons, the pros and cons, the horror stories, the success stories. i'll still hypothesize, discuss, and have dr.laura moments, there is comfort in talking about the things that give us anxiety, but when it comes down to it, i gotta ask, and she's gotta say yes. it isn't a guarantee but it's a start.

blogging, how bad can it get?

have i successfully lost any and all attention once paid to my blog? i have definitely contributed more to the blogosphere through my comments on OTHER blogs than i have in content on my own blog. boo. i should change that. i will. maybe.

a quick update tonight and then i'll put some pretty pictures up tomorrow, get this wagon train aheadin' in the right di-rection.

yup, i moved to huntington beach.
yup, i ride my bike almost everyday, and i hope that makes keith paugh jealous.
yup, i live 3 blocks from the beach and as dan might say, 'it's pretty much the most awesome thing ever'.
yup, i miss my LA friends, i love them dearly and i'm happy they are so busy dating that they don't have time to miss me.
yup, i am going back to school to study industrial design at art institute, and
nope, i do not miss LA traffic ONE BIT!

-end transmission-

dir-tay jenga

remember that game that disappeared that night on that trip? so did my camera...

anthropologicalitically

so i went shopping today on the 3rd street promenade. though it was nowhere near as busy as i thought it would be for a holiday weekend, there was NO SHORTAGE of the usual whackos, performers, "artists"(and i use that term VERY loosely) and street preachers.

it was one of the later whom interested me the most today. this guy was standing by a planter on the corner of Santa Monica and 3rd, i've seen him several times before, in this same spot, usually rambling on about one of his many conspiracy theories. he can be quite entertaining. today though i could make very little sense of his commentary. he was saying something about people believing in Christ and then one choice word sprang from his toothless mouth, "anthropologicalitically". i don't know what that means, but it's an awesome amalgamation. he might have been wanting to say either politically, or anthropologically and got tongue tied, twice.
or, given his geographical proximity to, he could have been calling upon the name of the Lord to curse Anthropologie(sorry girls, i know how you likes the anthropologie). wait, wouldn't that be anthropologicagraphically? :)

LOST? the answer is yes

(WARNING! potential SPOILER territory if you haven't yet watched the Lost season finale!)
Yes, It was so good
Yes, I will download the Lost season finale from iTunes in the morning and watch it 47 times
Yes, I am as confused as ever
Yes, Kate is as hot as ever
Yes, I am not sure how I feel about everything, particularly the ending
Yes, I am distraught that the hobbit bought it
Yes, Locke is back
Yes, were I Jack, I would've snapped Ben's creepy little neck
Yes, I want to talk about Lost all the way till January when we get new episodes, so go ahead, comments, questions, concerns, theories, let's hear them all

musique du jour - oh, dolores edition

the new dolores o'riordan album came out today. i highly recommend you check it out. i love the cranberries and i love dolores' voice. btw, the link takes you to itunes.

hair do, hair don't

for as much as i fret about my hair length, one might think i was a hair stylist or loosing my hair or a complete narcissist. i'm not any, okay maybe the tiniest bit narcissistic...long story short, i just cut my hair a couple weeks ago after letting it grow for 7 or so months, i just can't do the long hair thing like i once could, and i like it. but i can't help, nor understand why it is that EVERY time i see Jack from Lost or Brangelina in Mr.& Mrs. Smith, it makes me want break out the clippers and join the (short)hair club for men. has hollywood really brainwashed me? do i honestly think i'll get more ladylove if i look like these guys, or at least my hair looks like their hair? no. no?
each time i see these guys and think "i should buzz my head again" it's really just a visual reminder that having a buzzcut is kinda cool, it's super low maintenance, i use WAY less hair product, it's REALLY difficult to have a bad hair day, it's cooler in the hot summer sun, and it shows off the scar i got in that barfight(read: jumpin' on the bed when i was 6 and bounced into the windowsill). right? ri-ight?
the next time you see me, you might have to thank( and ladies read: think of me as) one of the following men

what is that?!

so if you are paying any attention, you have noticed i have lagged in my blogging duties. i've spent plenty of time reading other peoples' blogs, but mine has remained "without update" for a while now. sorry.

okay apologies outta the way, on to it. so this may seem like just a surf post on the surface but if you take the time to read some of the pdf's that are available off this site i am linking this post to, you'll discover that there is more to it than just some beautifully unique looking surfboards. i was gonna write this whole thing about this little obsession i have with design, and my current faves in the industrial design world but, well i'm a tad lazy and i want you to spend the time reading about these boards that i think are so friggin' cool.

back story - months ago, whilst reading an issue of dwell i stumbled across an article about a designer, his wife and kid and the home they built in nor cal somewhere. i liked the house, but a particular photo caught my eye. it was a picture of the home's kitchen and hanging on a wall was this amazing elephant grey longboard with a lifevest orange something or rather going on at the nose of the board. i had NEVER seen anything like it. the feeling i had? i immediately got excited about surfing that board (or thinking about surfing that board)in a way i hadn't been excited about something in months, i know, kinda silly huh? the closing paragraph of the article mentioned the homeowner was developing his own line of surfboards, and that was about it. i had to learn more, i had very little info to go on. i had the guy's name and website, which was under construction. i frequented the site less and less, ultimately forgetting about that crazy board.
then about a month back, i thought i saw a similar board strapped atop a car in venice, i tried to catch up and ask the driver how he got one, but alas LA traffic prevented it. then the very next day the new issue of surfer's journal arrived at the shop and low and behold, it included an article about Thomas Meyerhoffer and his emotion evoking boards. basically, i love when something gives me that kid in a candy store level of excitement, i hope you enjoy thomas' boards as much as i have. i WILL own one someday. take the time to go to his site, look around, click the surfboards link and read up.

STAND UP!

so this is my newest toy, it's called a stand up surfboard. "aren't all surfboards ones you stand up on?" you ask. well yeah, but this is different, it's technically a stand up paddle surfboard or what they are calling SUP (stand up paddle) or SUB (stand up board). it's kinda a new twist on an ancient royal sport, yeah i said royal.
some history, very abridged, back in the brief time between when ol' whitey first landed on the beautiful hawaiian isles and when the following exploiters, i mean explorers, attempted to westernize, or i guess at that time religify (catholify? eurofy?) the "heathen aborigines" they were treated to the spectacle of scantily clad (sometimes fully nude) hawaiian royalty doing their water walking thing. as much as most surfers would love to tell you that the explorers were amped on the surfing they were witnessing, think about that fact that these sailors had been at sea for a pretty long time, put yourself in their shoes now, you land in this tropical paradise, the natives are friendly, they can cook a mean pig in the ground, they slide huge logs on waves and they like to play naked. what's not to like? sign me up.
ok i have just totally bastardized the history of the hawaiian people, and i hope they don't hold it against me, once i have had sometime on my new board, i will post pictures and stories about just how much fun it is, and just how much it is kicking my butt.
go check out these sites, they paint way better pictures of what stand up is all about.
paddle hawaii
standup paddles

surf

i suck at surfing, but i love it. these guys don't suck.taj

damo

benji

read about it. watch it. check it.

home, someday

this house is here in west village somewhere, i found it in dwell. as much as i love surfer mag i spend way more time reading about modern homes, modern home building, modern prefab homes and i find most of it in dwell magazine. go read and change your mind about "cold, unfriendly" modern design. better yet go subscribe. and no i'm not getting paid to advertise, i feel that's important to say because i do know some blog's are little more than another advertising outlet.

sociology interests me, i often wonder about socialization, the things we accept as normal, why we think one thing is nice and something else is bad, why this is pretty or that is ugly. modern design fascinates me, i am drawn to the clean lines, simple forms and the ever increasing responsibility towards and concern for our environment. i am definitely not a tree hugger, but i recycle (usually when it isn't too inconvenient, just being honest), use enviro-friendly cleaning supplies, but i could do more. we all could. where am i going with this? well i am always taken aback by people who talk about waste and recycling and being eco-conscious and how we should all drive hybrids but never give a second thought to things like what light bulbs we use, how we use(or abuse) our ever decreasing resource of open land, the buildings we spend so much time in at work or at home. dwell attempts to educate us all, awaken us to the truth of life in a modern world. i like things that make me think, stir my creativity. most of us hope to own a home someday, maybe soon. i'm just throwing some options out there. am i saying sub-division urban sprawl is bad? maybe. i definitely don't like the look of copycat houses laid neatly in rows and columns. most people would be surprised to find just how many options there are for owning a home, and how much choice there is. for some it comes down to what so many of us think a house should look like. others have budgetary restrictions guiding their choices. whatever it is, take some time, in the very least you'll see some cool homes, rad furniture and maybe even learn stuff.

colour

get ready

so in the coming days i will get this baby up a running chock full of proper time-wasters. g'night

prologue

i earnestly, though reluctantly, want "so surf dork" to reflect my personality and showcase many of the varied and eclectic things that excite me about our world. i want this to be fun but i am conscious of how serious some people treat blogs and that makes me a tad nervous. in other words, read this blog with a grain of salt(or while eating chips and salsa). enjoy