chicken pot pies from scratch, hot toddies, and she's easy on the eyes too. i should get sick more often.

wearing shorts outside in the sun. oh what a glorious day!
i can't wait for spring to officially get here.

this is one of the more interesting things i've seen in a while. check out the clips of the story and video on cnn, then watch all of the videos on the original site, vice tv.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/08/vbs.north.korea/index.html
http://www.vbs.tv/northkorea

the project katie's working on was on cnn's home page today:
http://www.kmph-kfre.com/global/story.asp?s=11957992&hpt=T2

spooky yet interesting.
http://gizmodo.com/5465133/darpas-latest-project-synthetic-creatures-that-can-never-die

i got a jumpsuit for when i need to be gettin' dirty, or for loungin' around the house on weekends.
i got a drill for drillin'.
i got a bundaberg ginger beer for drinkin', probably the best soda i've ever had.

good news in the land of bryan today. after a couple of years of gathering dust in the garage in a half-finished edward scissorhandsian state, my home brew roomba is complete. i've wanted to build a robot since i was a kid, so i did a bit of learning and tinkering and built one. it took a bit longer than i would have liked due to "real life", but other than that i'm happy with how it turned out. now i just have to write up a project page on my site.

i like things that are old-timey, tactile, and utilitarian. a perfect example would be switches and buttons, especially in cars. they're being killed off in favor of touchscreens. sure, you can do more with a touchscreen rather than dedicated buttons, but i like the design and safety of the old fashioned way. when you're piloting two tons of metal at 70mph, always seconds from death, touchscreens require you to look away from the road to figure out where you're supposed to push. if you have one touch screen and it changes every time you go to a new function (radio, heating, video, gps, etc) there's no easy way to know exactly where to press to get the result you want without taking your eyes off the road and flipping through menus. i think ideally we would have a mix of both, and not just put everything on the touchscreen for the sake of gee-whiz technology or having a cooler car than your neighbor.
http://jalopnik.com/5444433/on-the-passing-of-buttons-and-switches

eating gumbo made by a buddy who's an authentic louisianan. wow. it's damn good. thanks elliot!