redneck fun

SUNDAY   SUNDAY SUNDAY
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY TOO… BUT I WAS WORKING…

IT’S MONSTER JAM!

AT THE FRESNO FAIRGROUNDS!

GRAVE DIGGER, NINJA TURTLE,
AND FOUR OTHERS I DIDN’T REALLY KNOW OR CARE ABOUT…

SIX GIANT, NEEDLESSLY LOUD
AND OVERPOWERED MACHINES

DRIVING BACK AND FORTH FOR A FEW HOURS
RUNNING CRAP OVER
IN A SPECTACLE THAT YOU JUST WISH YOU COULD TAKE PART IN
BUT CAN’T!!!

YOU’LL PAY FOR THE WHOLE SEAT

BUT YOU’LL ONLY NEED THE EDGE!!!

my dad is a genius

I’m surprised to say that myself, but let me explain. Here’s my current dilemma: as I’m looking at houses, I’ll come across a listing that’s in my price range and looks pretty good, but halfway through the information it casually mention it’s got a pool – so it’s instantly off the list. I mention this to him in passing, and without pause he comes up with the prefect solution - “drain it, build a roof over it, and turn it into a bomb shelter.” I was literally stunned with how ridiculous and awesome the idea was. Maybe I shouldn’t be so quick with the vetoes…

random photo of the day

handy home hunting links

The internet is a damn useful tool for me right now since I’m looking for a house… so I figured I’d toss up the sites I’ve been using for my research (because in a day or two I’ll forget the url).

Movoto has an easy map based search with a nice basic overview page (I like the adjustable map that prints on one page with the listing info for quick scouting).
Zillow helps by letting me check all home value estimates on a map, and has directional birds eye views to find out what kind of neighborhood the home is in is in.
Trulia has the most detailed listing info and pictures, with direct link to Realtor site listings.

Sure, a lot of the features overlap, and I find it’s easiest to just highlight an address and right click to search google maps to pinpoint the area, but the three together are rather helpful.

lost in translation

While I have no idea what they actually wrote, at least they got my flickr link right! Below is a screen cap off the ELLEgirl Korea website, the result of an off-handed interview I gave by email back in January about possibly using some of my toy pics in an issue. Randomness abound. I love it.

Stage 1: Completed

With yesterday being all about pranks and nonsense I figured this could wait a day if I wanted anyone to believe me, but I managed to get off my couch and into my bank where I procured the true catalyst for buying a house: a pre-approval letter. Now I’m not just looking, I’m hunting for a house. My house.  Exciting!

The essentials on my checklist is a 3 bed/1-2 bathroom house (no condos or townhouses or divided buildings or anything) with over 1000 sq feet, a garage, and not a huge yard. And it can’t be in some ghetto ass neighborhood where I won’t be comfortable (that cuts out like 3/4 of town ). Now the features I’m hoping to find within those constraints are some good sized trees around the place, central heating and air, and hardwood floors throughout. Oh, and no pool. If I can find something like that I’ll be happy. Listings get bonus points if they have a covered patio, porch, or carport.

Of course condition and layout make a difference, but this is just the first tier triage selection… If it doesn’t make that initial list, I don’t want to even bother looking at it. I’ve already found a pile to look into that are in my price range and pass the checklist. Now I just have to narrow the field…

minimalism: redux

Flickr prank 2.0 – trying to get a pure white image into Explore. It worked last year, but can we do it again?

^ There really is a picture there, I swear it.