Tiny houses Feb 20, 2007
This New York Times article is about tiny houses, which are defined as dwellings that are less than 750 square feet.  The general idea is that more and more people are buying these almost miniature pre-made houses and setting them up on huge tracts of land.  The purpose is twofold:  To take the focus of the dwelling off the actual brick and mortar and put it on the land itself, and to whittle daily life down to a few very basic needs and desires.  Some tiny houses are essentially designer-made, with Ikea furniture, laminate flooring, and recessed lighting.  So the "nice things in life", like heat and a comfortable bed, can still be experienced.  This whole idea fits in quite nicely with my desire to own land. #lifestyle
Favorite color Feb 18, 2007
Everyone has a favorite color.  Mine is blue.  Sort of.  I like blue, but sometimes it doesn't make much sense to wear blue underwear and blue socks.  It's more like I would rather have a shirt with some blue in it than one with some green in it. 

But in practice, I don't only get things that are blue.  I've gone through several phases throughout my life, the first one I remember being around 7th grade.  I was into black, so I got black shoes and a black backpack.  Things like that.  Then all of a sudden, I decided black wasn't my color anymore, so I got into navy blue.  This lasted for most of high school.  Navy blue warmup pants.  Navy blue soccer bag.  Navy blue shorts.  Everything was navy blue. 

The older I get, the more significant I let my color choices be.  Sometime in college, I was into red/maroon.  I got a maroon notebook and a maroon hooded sweatshirt.  I even died my hair red.  Not red like RED, but more like a red tint.  I look back on pictures of that and try to convince myself it's manly to have reddish hair. 

My new favorite color is dark gray.  I have lots of gray shirts.  I just bought a gray notebook.  One of the biggest purchases of my life, my car, is charcoal gray.  My cat Nemo is dark gray.  The color of a cat's fur is pretty permanent.  I hope my interest in gray sticks around for a while. #lifestyle
Time flies Feb 9, 2007
As I was driving home yesterday, I noticed how light it was despite the time.  This means we're past the mid-point of winter.  The days are getting longer, and this is a good thing.  It's weird how fast time goes by now that I'm "old".  Seasons used to feel like years, and years like a lifetime.  Now years are like seasons, and months like weeks.  It used to feel like winter took forever to be done with, and summer was always too short.  Summer is still too short, but winter isn't all that long (I'm saying this in February; let's see what I say in May when it's still 40°).  I'm not sure if it's because I'm not in school anymore or just because each successive day accounts for a smaller percentage of my lifetime, but time seems like it's flying. #lifestyle
Clothes sizes (9) Dec 12, 2006
When I was younger, I used to buy clothes that were too big for me, thinking that my current growth rate would eventually cause the clothes to fit perfectly.  While this was true for a while, I stopped growing when I was about 16 or 17, so this trend of buying big clothes should've stopped.  It didn't.  In college, I continued to buy clothes that were too big.  Now, some 4-5 years later, I still own some of these clothes [1], and they still don't fit.  My 32 x 34 pants are still at least 2 inches too long.  I always wear a belt because all my pants are at least 1 inch too wide [2]. 

But in a surprising turn of events, I might finally be growing into my 7-year-old clothes.  But it's not because I'm growing in the vertical direction; it's because I'm "growing" in the horizontal direction.  I've reached my maximum height, so there's only one other thing that can happen:  I'll get fatter.  I'm not too concerned yet because I'm relatively active and I have a supernatural metabolism.  But I'm dreading the year 2012, which is when I'll officially be over the hill.  That's right, 30 years old.  I've been told by several people that the second you hit the age of 30 (or the age of 30 hits you), your metabolism drops from 100% to 5%, so your weight gain matches your diet.  That's my worst nightmare:  Not that I'll be fat, but that I won't be able to eat candy anymore. 

[1] I find it extremely gratifying that I'm able to wear clothes for several years before they wear out or I get sick of them.  The whole time I was growing up, I had to get new clothes and new shoes all the time.  This sounds like a good thing, but it basically meant I got a lot of cheap things and hand-me-downs that didn't fit me one way or the other.  So at any given moment, there was a good chance I was wearing my dad's old pants that were too big for me and last summer's new t-shirt which was painfully too small for me.  Nowadays, I wear my $20 jeans until they disintegrate and my $10 shirts until they literally become last decade's style.  And I'm extremely proud of that. 

[2] There's something very wrong with the variety of clothes sizes.  All my life, I've never fit into the pants that were on the shelf.  The 30s are too tight and the 32s are too loose.  The 32s are too short and the 34s are too long.  I need 31 x 33!  Why don't they make my size?  Some stores occasionally have a single pair of oddly-sized pants, but they're usually not the right odd sizes (i.e. 31 x 30 or 32 x 33).  When will I be a normal size?  I've been waiting for this my whole life. #lifestyle
Best times of the day Dec 1, 2006
I've noticed that there are a few short moments during the day that make me happy enough that, if I was a dog, I'd wag my tail.  They're not momentous occasions and probably can't be understood by anyone other than me.  The first is at exactly 8:00am, when 770AM does 2-3 minutes of actual news.  If I'm in the car and listening to something else, I'll stop what I'm doing and turn to 770 because the most useful, informative 3 minutes of my day.  Before and after, that radio station is filled with two big-headed idiots who purposely disagree about everything.  But those few short moments of actual news bring me a strange amount of simple joy.  The second time is at around 5:18pm, when Q104.3 does a little report on the stock market.  I'm not a stock market kind of guy.  I'd say my portfolio is "strong to medium strong", which means "I ain't got no portfolio".  But for whatever reason, those 2 minutes of money information is incredibly enjoyable.  Just like the morning news, I'll often stop listening to whatever else is on, and tune to 104.3. 

I realize that both of my "best times of the day" are things that happen on the radio.  I'm not sure why that is.  But I think the reason I like those particular events is that (1) they're reliable, and (2) they're short.  I always know these two things will happen at 8:00am and 5:18pm.  I've never been let down.  And getting some useful information in such a short amount of time is just awesome.  It doesn't fill the standard 30-minute time slot like a TV show, and it's not an overdone segment on African jungle rhythms played on trash cans with glass bottles like an NPR thing. #lifestyle
Sharing underwear Nov 22, 2006
It was recently brought to my attention that sharing underwear is a universally unacceptable thing.  And I fully agree.  I'm ok with letting people borrow a shirt or two.  I'm more hesitant about pants and shorts, but I'll usually give in.  Socks and undershirts might be given out reluctantly with a "Hey, it's your problem" disclaimer. 

But when it comes to underwear, there's just no acceptable reason, socially, mentally, physically, or spiritually, to let another person wear your underwear.  It just can't happen.  The borrower would be virtually unable to make it through the day.  They might accidentally slip up and say, "Hi, I'm Bob.  I'm wearing my friend's underwear.  I mean..."  Or it might just happen to be the most hot and humid day of the year.  I don't need to elaborate on that point. 

The lender of the underwear would be equally at fault.  No matter how many times you wash them, no matter how much bleach and other industrial cleaners you use, they're still the underwear your friend borrowed.  Every time you wear them after that, you'll remember.  It's not one of those things you'll conveniently forget about like the dust bunnies you swept under the refrigerator or the cookie you accidentally dropped on the floor and ate.  I think you'd be so riddled with disgust and self-loathing that you'd be unable to continue being a functional human being.  You'd have frequent mental health breakdowns.  You'd start yelling at squirrels.  You'd be unable to enter normal society again until you burned those underwear in a bonfire and publicly renounced your utter moral failure. 

In conclusion, don't let people borrow your underwear, and don't be a borrower of other people's underwear.  It's just completely unacceptable. #lifestyle
70s clothes guy (1) Oct 4, 2006
There's this guy at work whose entire wardrobe consists of clothes he purchased in the 1970s.  I never claim to be the kind of person who has much fashion sense, so I'm not really in a position to cast judgement.  But this guy is ridiculous.  His clothes aren't just a few years old or even 10-20 years old.  I have a few shirts from about 10 years ago that still fit me (if I had anything from before then, I'd be wearing children's clothes).  His clothes are a good 30 years old.  The reason I can tell the clothes are from the 70s is because they're extremely tight-fitting (and they still fit; kudos to his incredible form) and they consist of colors and patterns that are impossible to find in any type of clothing these days.  It looks like he bought everything from a thrift store, except I can tell he's the person who supplies the thrift store, not the one who shops there.  His bell-bottom dress pants flare out nicely at the bottom and almost reach the tops of his shiny little leather shoes.  His shirts are always strange combinations of light blue, pink, and yellow, and his pants are always some sort of brown or blue.  I've shopped for clothes before.  I know what's out there.  And I know there's nothing like this out there.  This guy hasn't bought new clothes since Jimmy Carter was president.  He hasn't changed his style since the last episode of the Brady Bunch.  He hasn't ... ok that's enough.  My main point is this:  We work at the same place.  Judging from his age, I would say he makes about twice as much as I do.  If I'm able to afford some new clothes every now and then, I think he should be able to as well.  It's not that there's anything wrong with old clothes or being too poor to get new clothes.  Hand-me-downs, consignment shops, and thrift stores are all great things.  But this guy has no need to be wearing 30-year-old clothes.  It's just inexcusable. #lifestyle
Home improvement Sep 25, 2006
Every time something goes wrong with my house (which is frighteningly often), I'm presented with a dilemma:  Should I pony up the money to get a professional to fix it and risk know that I'll be overcharged, or should I attempt to learn a new skill by doing it myself?  The latter pretty much always wins that battle.  I'm under this strange belief system that says that if I'm physically able to do a job/project/thing, I'll do it.  When I'm 80 and/or a quadriplegic, I'll get somebody else to do it.  If it's a question of whether I'll pay someone to climb on my roof to remove my satellite dish or do it myself, I'll do it myself.  If it's a question of digging a stump out of my backyard or hiring a company to do it with a machine, I'll do it myself (probably).  But if it'll most likely cause serious injury, death or financial loss, I'll probably shy away.  Anything electrical scares me, so I usually don't even attempt it.  I'd most likely hire a guy to cut down a tree that has a good chance of falling on my house.  But everything else is fair game, which is weird because I have no discernible skills in anything other than academics.  I'm the product of a lifetime of honors classes.  I'm useless.  I'm skinny and pale.  I don't like getting motor oil on my hands or clothes. 

But like most new (cheap/poor) homeowners, I'm willing to give things a try.  And after several mildly successful projects, I've learned a few important lessons: 

1.  Everything is easy the 2nd time.  All do-it-yourself projects look so simple on the back of the box and in the Home Depot displays.  But when it comes right down to it, there's this little thing called reality.  Reality accounts for the fact that things rust over time, which means they won't be easy to take apart.  Reality has all the right tools.  Reality realizes that things break when you bang them too hard.  A single step on the back of the box could mean 45 minutes of intense physical struggling followed by 3 separate trips to Home Depot to find the right tools and parts.  And in the end, you might just end up using a hacksaw to achieve your goal.  The instruction manual tends to leave out certain aspects of reality, so first-time projects become difficult and seemingly impossible.  But after you do it once, you find out it's incredibly easy, and you become a self-certified expert. 

2.  Projects escalate and multiply.  Everything starts off with a simple idea:  "I think I'll try to fix this leaky pipe."  Upon further examination, I found that the pipe was hardly the problem.  Most of the ceiling was rotting and moldy from stagnant water dripping onto it.  After ripping the ceiling down, I found the real problem:  A rotten and leaking window sill.  Oh, and a cracked drain pipe.  Oh, and uninsulated and therefore sweating supply pipes.  Oh, and ... the list goes on.  What starts as a simple afternoon job turns into a several month overhaul.  But if you don't start it when you do, things will only get worse. 

3.  The end result is all that matters.  I usually have some sort of idea of how a certain project or task will work out in the end.  But the middle is a vast wasteland of changed plans, banged up fingers, broken tools, and bleeding head wounds.  When the project calls for "fixing a broken piece of pipe", the end result will achieve that goal, whether it involves actually fixing a broken pipe or using osmosis and black magic.  How it's done doesn't matter as much as the fact that it's done. 

4.  Hacks are great.  I wrote about this before.  Anything that can produce the end result by making life easier or by covering up mistakes is worth its weight in gold.  Things like caulk, expanding foam insulation, insulating tape, Teflon tape, silicone tape, duct tape (notice a pattern?), wood glue, molding, etc. come to mind.  Don't feel like replacing a section of drywall to fix a hole under the stove?  Load it up with some expanding foam insulation.  Something wrong with your bathroom?  Caulk to the rescue!  Bad with cutting straight edges?  Molding takes care of that.  Don't feel like using nails for the molding?  Use wood glue. #lifestyle
Girls' hats Aug 18, 2006
I've mentioned before that I'm not very fashion savvy, but that doesn't mean I don't have opinions.  One such opinion is this:  Girls' hats are stupid.  I'm not talking about the mesh baseball caps that all those stupid new-age poser-punk teens wear (though they're stupid too).  I'm talking about stylish hats that go with certain outfits.  The reason I think these are stupid is because I don't think a hat should be a fashion accessory.  When guys wear hats, they're permanent.  They'd wear the hat to a baseball game, a bar, a wedding, etc.  But girls who wear fashion hats only wear them once or twice, and then the effect wears off.  I think you should either be a hat-wearer or not.  Don't sit the fence.  Plus, girls don't do well with hat hair.  Guys can usually pull it off because their hair is short and usually isn't styled to begin with.  But girls use "brushes" and "shampoo" and "hair dryers", so it's obvious when their hair is messed up. 

One exception to this rule is old ladies at church.  For some strange reason, certain churches have a hat-matches-your-outfit requirement for older women.  I applaud that.  I even applaud it when the younger women do it.  I don't know why; it's just cool. #lifestyle
Khakis and white sneakers Aug 14, 2006
For several years now, I've been casually observing strange people (males) who wear khaki pants and white sneakers (usually high-tops).  Not that I'm in any position to make judgements about other people's fashion sense, but I doubt many people would argue that this is a very unusual and "uncool" style.  I used to see it in high school, and I figured it was a passing trend that people would eventually grow out of.  But then I saw a few people who dressed like that in college.  At that point, I figured these people would probably grow out of it the next time they bought clothes.  But later on I'd see them with brand new khaki pants and brand new white shoes. 

The bottom line here is that it just looks terrible.  I'm not a fan of white shoes to begin with.  But coupled with khaki pants or jeans with big seams at the bottom, white shoes look ridiculous.  Like I said, I'm no fashion queen king, but even I know this doesn't pass as "acceptable". #lifestyle