Suck it Laughlin

So the Wilkinson company and myself just returned from the great barren wasteland of laughlin, which hangs precariously on the Colorado river, sandwiched right on the Nevada/Arizona border. A literal frying pan for sure. So while my lungs heal up after the 24/7 second hand smoke I realize I am quite happy with the California climate. Laughlin was still a ton of fun though. Got to tear up the river with a seadoo and terrorize rafters and the like. Good times being a jerk.

from junk, to better looking junk

So in my last post I mentioned I was working on something. Here's the follow up. I basically picked this little number up at the Santa Fe springs swap meet for 4 bucks. Guy wanted ten, but talked him down. I may have still over paid but oh well. Any who. BEFORE
AFTERI didn't really know what to do with the "Sea lion" but I thought it turned out ok. Of course A pirate needs a skull in his crest. So now all I have to do is find a place to put it on the wall. Here's to picking up the paint brush once again! hopefully my next project will be better.

Good stuff.

Finally picked up the paint brush. Haven't done that in a long time! Rest assured folks, I'll put the pictures up when I'm done. Anywho, things are going pretty good. Work at the bike shop has been pretty slow so I've gotten a good amount of time off. Been doing a ton of reading lately On an especially strange, albeit fantastic book right now. Koushun Takami's Battle Royale. I heard about it before but I only remembered it when I was strolling through Barnes and Noble. It's funny, well no it isn't. I find too much at the book store and spend too much money. As a result, my reading list is extreme. It doesn't bug me though. I love reading.

So this heat has been pretty terrible. I think so at least. I was driving to work over whatever-the-heck that bridge is that is right past the high school. I was in the far right lane and saw this dude on his bike riding towards me. Pretty peculiar since I've never before seen someone riding towards me while I was in that lane. Anywho, the heat must've driven him nuts or something because he decided to flip me off for no reason what so ever! I was pretty much taken aback. Dude? Are you being serious? I was half tempted to swerve towards him while I was leaning out the window yelling: "No! You can't do that! You better put that finger down right now!" The heat must've been getting to me too I guess.

I just realized I know/see some crazy people. For example: This one old guy who calls himself "Mike with the gotee" comes into the shop every walk and just talks about his experiences. Did you know he invented the "hang ten"? He even kicked a president out of office. It was a little known president though. You may have heard of him. (Richard Nixon) Harry S. Truman was his cousin even, and he even catered all the alcohol at John Wayne's private parties on his minesweeper turned party boat. Good times with some weird characters. Speaking of which, we should all figure out some more things to do guys.

just some stuff

Nothing really too big to report. maybe a little summer activity update to go along with kevin's.

Assassin game (season 2?) - I think we should get this going again may be and start it earlier this year. I know we ran into some problems last time because some of the participants left to college. Rest assured, that will be brought into consideration. I propose maybe a cut off date so that the game doesn't run crazy long. If more than one participants are left on that day maybe a showdown at highnoon? Might be an interesting twist in the game no? So go dust off your nerf guns (some of you need to buy some even.)

Now last year a group of us went up to big bear for a little get together. What if we do something like that again? I think it'd be a ton of fun just like last year so we should consider that. I'm just trying to figure out what we could do while we are all out of school.

some updates: I'm working! I'm a part of the family business (the legit non-lethal kind. So we are clear on that..) Come visit me at my cousin's bike shop in bellflower. Buy something or bring it in for repairs. You guys would make me very unbored. I don't really have anything interesting to say besides that. Enjoy your heatwave everyone!

Braces

Ya, I got braces...once again. Just got the top row put in today. my stupid wisdom teeth through off everything hence the braces. ontop of all of that I have to get those extracted. sheesh. My teeth hurt so I figured I'd vent on how gay the next year and a half is going to be. Go listen to the new coldplay single Viva la vida. I think it's my favorite song by them. good stuff. And while you are listening to that song, drive over to my house on friday to watch some old indiana jones goodness in all its VHS goodness. all are welcome... I kid, I can think of a lot of people I wouldn't want to be there off the top of my head. may have invited a few of them already. Better put my crowbar by the door.......

On an unrelated note, I bought the movie Diary of the dead the other day and sat down to watch it with some friends. I have to say it's my favorite zombie flick. Not only is it done through the perspective of someone video taping, it's got some pretty legit characters. I don't want to ruin it for you all, but there is a pretty cool amish guy in the flick who kicks butt? And did I mention that he is deaf?

I need Illumination!

I personally believe one of the most important things to have that people underestimate is the power and usefulness of a good flashlight. I do an honest bit of camping/doing stuff in the wilderness when I have the chance. A flashlight is always good to have when you're doing stuff outdoors. It's not too hard to think so right? They also come in handy if your car breaks down, or to just having laying around just in case the power goes out in your home or worse. Now ordinary flashlights do get the job done to the best of their abilities, but I don't think it's good enough. Cheap little flashlights you get at walmart or wherever it is you shop aren't the most durable things on the planet. If I were to label them, I'd probably call them disposable. Plastic bodies and lenses crack, bulbs burn out or shatter, batteries run out.

I think it's important to reflect on Murphy's law here. If your flashlight can fall out of your hand and smash into a bazillion pieces when it hits the floor, then it probably will. Apply it to whatever little delicate anatomical part of said flashlight. Those things, for the most part, aren't meant to be tough. Maglites (those big metal monsters) are the exception. Those things are pretty tough. That may be, but they aren't all too bright. You could have your maglite trained on something close by and only see everything around what you are focusing on due to the accursed halo effect. That's unacceptable I believe.

Focus is a very important factor when it comes down to emergencies/life or death situations. You need to focus on the flat tire, on the person's eyes, on that animal moving through the bushes towards you, and so forth. Flashlights are good for self defense, I would even venture better than carrying a knife or gun. (how are you going to shoot someone when you can't even see them?) now D cell maglites are pretty big lights if you have held one/own one. They are good for self defense in that respect. They are like heavy metal batons. You don't want someone close enough to have to beat them with it though.

I guess some of you may be wondering why I am lecturing you all on flashlight what not and so forth in the first place. I believe it is important stuff to know and a little bit of knowledge I'd like to pass down to you all. Awhile back I went about trying to solve these little flashlight predicaments on my own. I was very pleased with the results. If any of you have been camping with me or have just been around when I decided to show off my flashlight you know I was quite pleased with it. Due to unforeseen circumstances that particular flashlight has left my hands, so I am currently looking for a replacement. This is what I have in mind:
Pretty cool huh? I need a flashlight when I go to walk my dog around the block at night/ checking out those ever present bumps in the night, spending time outdoors, and all around fun and excitement that occurs in a period of 24 hours. Bit pricey compared to what I had before, but I think it's important to strive for excellence once in awhile. For those of you interested in a good flashlight, check out www.surefire.com A good flashlight that is pretty affordable as well is the G2 Nitrolon. (my old flashlight) around 40 dollars, come with 2 lithium batteries. I think I got free shipping from them, but I think it might have been a special. I've also seen them at Sports Chalet as well as the knife store in the cerritos mall. I'd classify them as a good investment.

What's on my shelf

In alphabetical order by last name of author. (not on my shelf, but for listing purposes. Some of my books are big.) This is a list of books that I have read/plan on reading/finishing. X is for finished, fractions for how much I've read already. Books are in the same series if not spaced.

Rob Bell

[x] Velvet Elvis

[x] Sex God

Terry Brooks

[] First King of Shannara
[x] Sword of Shannara
[x] Elfstones of Shannara
[x] Wishsong of Shannara
[x] Scions of Shannara
[x] Druid of Shannara
[x] Elf Queen of Shannara
[X] Talismans of Shannara
[x] Ilse Witch
[x] Antrax
[x] Morgawr
[x] Jarka Ruus
[x] Tanequil
[x] Straken

Dan Brown

[x] Angels and Demons
[1/3] Davinci code. (sooo boring.)

Tom Clancy

[x] Red Storm Rising

[x] Teeth of the Tiger

[3/4] Red Rabbit (I don't know why I stopped.)

Michael Crichton

[x] Prey

[] The Lost World

[] Andromeda Strain

Ted Dekker

[x] Black
[x] Red
[x] White
[x] Showdown
[x] Saint

[x] Thr3e

Daveed Gardenstein-Ross

[x] My Year inside Radical Islam

Jean Craighead George

[x] My side of the mountain

Bear Heart

[x] The Wind is my mother: The Life and teachings of a native american shaman

Homer

[x] The Iliad and The Odyssey

Brian Jacques

[x] Redwall
[x] Mattimeo
[x] Marlfox
[] Martin the Warrior

Timothy Keller

[] The Reason for God: Belief in an age of skepticism

Stephen King

[x] Cell


Harold S. Kushner

[1/2] To Life!: A celebration of Jewish being and thinking (good. I think I was working on a good fiction book so I dropped it)

C.S. Lewis

[] The Magician's Nephew (now I recall reading the whole collection when I was younger, but I'm reading them all over again, so I'm not counting the earlier reads)
[x] The Lion, the With, and the Wardrobe
[] The Horse and his boy
[x] Prince Caspian
[] The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
[] The Silver Chair
[x] The Last Battle

[x] Mere Christianity
[x] Screwtape letters
[] The Problem of Pain
[] The Great Divorce
[] Miracles
[] A Grief Observed

Eric Nylund

[x] The Fall of Reach
[x] Ghosts of Onyx

Frank Peretti

[x] The Visitation

[x] The Oath

[x] This Present Darkness
[x] Piercing the Darkness

Mary Shelley

[x] Frankenstein

Lee Strobel

[] The Case for a Creator

Bram Stoker

[x] Dracula

Well that is what I plan on reading that is on my shelf. I've read more books than just those for sure. Clearly I'm bored.