If you come through the SF Bay Area, we should meet up for a beer or something. Maybe we could even coax @Cheesy1 into joining us (but no promises, it's a bit of a drive for him).
Ah. If you've already been there, then nevermind. If you hadn't, it is definitely something worth experiencing.
--Patrick
First draft of my proposed route:
Had to move away from Colorado and Texas simply because of the hours of driving involved. 66 hours of driving over 8 days is probably not a good idea. I've reduced it down to 58 hours with key highlights including Highway 1 along the coast, SF and LV, Grand Canyon National Park + Hoover Dam, and then a relatively straight shot up through SLC home.
Had to move away from Colorado and Texas simply because of the hours of driving involved. 66 hours of driving over 8 days is probably not a good idea. I've reduced it down to 58 hours with key highlights including Highway 1 along the coast, SF and LV, Grand Canyon National Park + Hoover Dam, and then a relatively straight shot up through SLC home.
If you need help if something goes sideways, or just want to meet some nice folks, I have family in San Francisco and San Diego, whose numbers I could pass along (with their permission, obv, but they're lovely and would almost certainly say yes). It's possible my godparents will be in their house in Vegas at that time too. Anyway, if you want some contacts for emergency/emergency fun, let me know and I'll see who's around that week!
Aside from that, I'm super jealous. I've always just wanted to hop into a car, with a backpack of stuff, and... drive. I hope you have a wicked time.
Thanks Chad. I'm going to take a notebook and write a lot as I go, and just chat up everyone I run into.
As for driving, I'm not sure if I'm going to car it or motorcycle it. I think the Highway 1 drive will be fantastic on a bike as well as the desert. Problem is on my bike I won't be able to carry very much, a backpack and that's pretty much it. In my jeep, I can carry sleeping bags, tents, etc. etc. But the gas is ridiculously expensive in it. I'm leaning to the bike with a decent sized pack and just going relatively light.
Two useful websites for you.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/forum.php
Expedition Portal deals with traveling gear and tips for setting up your bike/truck, etc.
Bushcraft deals more with essential items to take with you when camping.
I made it 3 months in Europe with naught but a backpack. I recommend the lightest of travel. The notebook idea is awesome; I can hardly go anywhere without one of my eighty billion notebooks.
Also, if you generally carry an iPod/etc, to listen to music, I suggest either leaving it behind or only using it when you're alone (in bed for the or something). You're way more approachable if you're not listening to music, and I met a ton of folks on trains and in cafes who'd strike up a conversation with the obvious traveller.
I have a massive Deuter backpack that I took to France. I'll probably use that if I can keep the weight down in it. I'm going to 'cheap hotel' it instead of camp so I can avoid the usual heavier items such as tent and sleeping bag. Once I get to Vegas, I'll need a suit and tie and that's the extent of the clothing plan, hah.
The iPhone is purely for navigation, telephone and music on the bike purposes. In public, I just ramble on incessantly as @Jay can attest to.
I assume you'll be cheering for the correct team...
If you don't want to lug a suit around for just Vegas, when you make a hotel reservation for there ask if you can have something delivered. Then just send it to the hotel and send it back to yourself when you leave.
I probably will! Especially since the Edmonton minor league team is our home team: OKC Barons!
If I wasn't so dirt poor at the moment, I'd love to catch a few drinks with you guys.
I suppose. Unless you have one you like. Some people are picky about that.
Yesterday, one of the profs attached to the project for which I am the coordinator, brought in her Alberta History class. I spoke for about 20/30 mins about what research we pursue, and how we collect it, and how, in future, others will be able to do an assortment of research with it: from simple genealogical connections to more complex questions with plenty of variables (how many successful farmers were married and from a foreign country with more than six children, for example. I don't know what this would teach you, but you could do it.)
Anyway, after that, each student in the class had a short 5-10 min presentation on a homesteader they'd found in the archives. Probably my favourite part of this job is finding all the neat stories and cool letters, so seeing that from other's points of view, or learning about homesteaders I never would have otherwise come across myself... Man, it was so much fun! Plus I got to offer extra explanation or insight into things that may have confused them in their brief research, so that felt good.
It was basically a great end to a workday. I'd do that again in a second.
Anyway, after that, each student in the class had a short 5-10 min presentation on a homesteader they'd found in the archives. Probably my favourite part of this job is finding all the neat stories and cool letters, so seeing that from other's points of view, or learning about homesteaders I never would have otherwise come across myself... Man, it was so much fun! Plus I got to offer extra explanation or insight into things that may have confused them in their brief research, so that felt good.
It was basically a great end to a workday. I'd do that again in a second.
I traded in my car for a new 2013 Toyota Prius. NOW I"M SAVING THE PLANET! WHAT ARE YOU SLACKERS DOING!!!
In all seriousness a lot of really cool technology, 50 combined mpg, means that I'll be saving quite a bit in gas, have a car with a good warranty, and free scheduled maintenance with a dealership 3 minutes from my place. That last fact is made all the better by the fact that I didn't purchase the car from them because they couldn't play ball nicely.
Picture of me giving the south park thanks picture to come shortly.
In all seriousness a lot of really cool technology, 50 combined mpg, means that I'll be saving quite a bit in gas, have a car with a good warranty, and free scheduled maintenance with a dealership 3 minutes from my place. That last fact is made all the better by the fact that I didn't purchase the car from them because they couldn't play ball nicely.
Picture of me giving the south park thanks picture to come shortly.
I love my wife.
Is it silhouettes?
Zappit
Staff member
Ha! No. I'm shading the flats with black on a seperate layer and turning the opacity of that layer way down.
fade
Staff member
Layers are awesome. I find the whole flatting/cut/grad approach to be slow as molasses. I did that on issue 1-2 of Fade, and it was taking 12 hours a page. My new technique is much faster, and it's fairly unique, too. I got the basic idea from a Captain America drawing I saw over on Penciljack. I don't ink anymore (because I suck at it), and I use an overlay mode layer to color the pencils directly. Then I flat with a brush on a new 30% opacity normal mode layer, and shade on a 25% opacity multiply layer using complementary colors. There's a darken layer to warm and cool for depth, and a few others for specific things.
Zappit
Staff member
I pounded out the new Supervillainous in a little over three hours today.
Sketch layer. Ink with Line Smoothing on for a bit of a brush-like feel, double that layer, and set the top one to Mutiply. I usually create a layer to place an existing panel for a color palette to keep consistency. The black layer on lower opacity cut down my shading time by half. It was great, and that will keep a more consistent shading process now.
Sketch layer. Ink with Line Smoothing on for a bit of a brush-like feel, double that layer, and set the top one to Mutiply. I usually create a layer to place an existing panel for a color palette to keep consistency. The black layer on lower opacity cut down my shading time by half. It was great, and that will keep a more consistent shading process now.
I smoked a brisket and two racks of ribs for my bro's 50th Birthday.
Pretty sure I just knocked an important meeting out of the freaking park.
I made some kick-ass Tandoori chicken and braised beef short ribs with a balsamic reduction this weekend. My weekend was full of yum.
If they took your money, they are kind of obligated to match the listed price. I'd demand some kind of compensation.
Zappit
Staff member
I only submitted the order. They didn't send a confirmation e-mail yet. That's supposed to include tax and shipping. I'd assume that's when they would take my money.
Edit: Still no confirmation, and entering the order number into the tracking system just comes back as an error. I've got a feeling the order is not even going to go through. It would just be nice to get some kind of confirmation, though.
Edit: Still no confirmation, and entering the order number into the tracking system just comes back as an error. I've got a feeling the order is not even going to go through. It would just be nice to get some kind of confirmation, though.
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Baby woke us up at 7 AM this morning. Let my wife sleep and took care of her so she can take a few extra hours of rest.
Woke up my wife at 10 AM so that she can make it to her hair and nail salon appointment (the first since giving birth).
Took care of Leyla all day until now.
Wife came home after running some extra errands and shopping some for herself.
Came home and gave me a surprise bag.
Inside are Starburst candy and The Last of Us.
Why?
Because you're an awesome husband.
I know what I'll be playing tonight.
Woke up my wife at 10 AM so that she can make it to her hair and nail salon appointment (the first since giving birth).
Took care of Leyla all day until now.
Wife came home after running some extra errands and shopping some for herself.
Came home and gave me a surprise bag.
Inside are Starburst candy and The Last of Us.
Why?
Because you're an awesome husband.
I know what I'll be playing tonight.