Thursday Lurkabout

I wish I could go into detail about some of the strange and cool things going on at work right now, but search engines being, well…search engines, I don’t want to say anything that puts this little site in front of employer eyes.

BUT.

This is crazy. And this is cool. Don’t go near the former; definitely take advantage of the latter. (All credit for the second link goes to my colleagues; I haven’t worked on that project.)

Also, I started reading this blog in the last week or so. In addition to the great photographs and stories, I admire the writer’s candidness and honesty about situations in his life. I think that’s been missing here for awhile. Anyway, check it out. And if you need a photographer for something, consider him.

Shopping for a Cause

If you love Rosa Loves, you’ll also love Elsewares. The independent art and design site is similar to Etsy, but donates a portion of their funds to a non-profit organization, which is picked by those who purchase goods from the site.

In their words:

At checkout, every ELSEWARES customer can select from a list of nonprofit organizations we choose to support. Each customer’s selection is logged as a vote, and at the end of each quarter we divide a portion of our profits among these groups, according to the number of votes each received. It’s that simple.

I picked up this little bauble and voted for the Natural Resources Defense Fund. Go shop and give back!

Oh, my. Lots of gems today. And Chris Glass is right…a photo like this is made better by its total lack of context.

Of course, if you’ve got ideas or photo captions you’d like to share, please fire away via comments.

[Jam of the Day]: She and Him, You Really Got A Hold On Me

Elephant Dreams

What a fun night.

For dinner we (my family) went to a favorite local restaurant, Cu. Cu is a great restaurant with an eclectic cuisine and chock full of art by Bosnian graffiti artist, Paco Rosic.

Fittingly, after dinner, we went down the street to Paco’s restaurant/bar/gallery, Galleria de Paco for drinks. Galleria de Paco has garnered praise across the U.S. for Paco’s spray painted rendition of the Sistine Chapel. It was pretty incredible.

GdP is also the first restaurant in Iowa to serve (and promptly advertise) Absinthe on the menu. My dad tried a Green Fairy (the famed Absinthe drink) tonight, and it was pretty solid. (Video of the drink and photos to come.) Also solid was the art, the food, and of course, the company.  Paco himself was also enjoying a night out at the gallery, and it was nice to see the artist at play.

I’m off to bed for now, but not before I check on my dad to see if he’s hallucinating.

41 Hilarious Science Fair Projects

Oh, it hurts.

Check ‘em out, people.

[via]

I’m supremely annoyed. I busted a windshield wiper during my two hour commute this morning (two hours! Why didn’t I turn the car around and work from home? I hate myself) which didn’t exactly help matters as all the snow and slush landed on my windshield from the unplowed roads.

Sometimes I really hate Colorado. Cold weather and snow are, in tandem my arch nemesis. Throw in bumper to bumper traffic in glaring sunlight and you have officially entered my idea of Hell.

All I want in life right now is a nap. And then a long, hot shower where I can shave my legs without lopping off goosebumps right and left. I mean I shouldn’t complain because some people never even get to shave their legs ever! Which I seriously can’t fathom because it is motherf!cking uncomfortable.

On the upside, Peter has graciously offered to help me fix my busted wiper (hooray!), my mom has never been drunk enough [in public] to cause me to write something like this in the bathroom, and Cass and I are going to see The Editors tomorrow night!

[Jam of the Day]: The Editors, Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors

Things That Suck

In case you didn’t catch this month’s Wired article, 33 Things That Make Us Go Crazy, it’s worth checking out.

Out of the 33 things on their list, I most concur with:

Air travel (though I’ve really lucked out this year)
Evite (Evite is devil-f!cking-spawn and I can’t stand it)
Tomatoes (dudes, they are getting mealy and gross)
Plastic packaging (it’s a problem with someone had to create scissors to open new gadgets and toys)
Traffic (’nuff said)

Luckily for all those sucky things, there are a bunch of things that rule the school. Vote for your non-sucky items over at Wired, or give your suck/non-suck two cents via comments. I’ll start!

[Jam of the Day]: Taken by Trees, Lost and Found

Seattle Kicks Denver’s Ass?

I mean, sorta…when you put it like that.

However, calling Denver a “piece of shit” may be pushing it—and hating on Midwesterners is so very 1993.

I dig Seattle more than Denver, but the Seattleist loses points for acting like whiny dicks. Must be my Midwestern sensibility. Or maybe they’re just not getting enough sunshine.

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Creepy (Yet Intriguing) Site of the Day

Requiem for You is an Austrian firm that can produce funeral requiems upon demand.

From Springwise:

Just launched last year, Requiem for You offers services on three levels, the most basic of which is the composition of an individually tailored requiem. The firm represents a network of composers, librettists and musicians who will write an individual requiem in advance, capturing the client’s unique personality and accommodating preferences for balance among vocal, instrumental and textual components. Styles available include baroque, classical, romantic, jazz or Broadway musical, with text in German, Latin or English. A personal laudatio is also available.

[U]pon request the company can arrange a performance of the requiem, using anything from an audio presentation of the recorded version to a live performance with orchestra and choir. Prices reportedly range from EUR 20,000 for the requiem’s composition to EUR 400,000 for the all-out live performance.

I’ve been researching premiumization lately (premium products for quick status fixes), and Requiem for You fits right in.

Which begs the morbid question: Which song will you want played at your funeral? Sure, it seems creepy, but everyone has one. And if not, you should probably think about it and tell a friend. Otherwise you might get something really awful akin to some of the traditional samples on this here web site.

Share ‘em if you got ‘em in the comments.

Avalanche Airbags

Snowpulse is an airbag designed for winter sport enthusiasts at risk for being caught in avalanches.

As you can see from the photo, Snowpulse is a backpack with an airbag inside, which deploys when you get pummeled with snow. It protects your head and thorax against shock (responsible for up to 20% of avalanche-related deaths), and the bright color helps rescuers find you faster; the room the deployed airbag creates around your head also helps rescuers dig you out faster.

Pretty awesome innovation for those who can’t stay off the mountains during avalanche season. Or for those of us who are paranoid as all hell about getting caught in one. I may buy one just to wear in the car.

[via]