Introducing My Next Tattoo

I got my first tattoo on my first wedding anniversary with Maura. I've been trying to decide what to do for my second the moment I walked out the door of Exile Tattoo. I've toyed with various ideas - cephalopods, skulls/bones, mechanical parts, etc. and couldn't really decide on anything. I also knew I wanted to have one of the many talented artists I know create it, but everything was up in the air until the Two Headed Beast approached me about coding their website.

The Two Headed Beast is Chris and Mirna Stubbs, two very talented artists, a designer (Chris), and an illustrator (Mirna). I told them I would code their site in trade for a tattoo design. Chris had designed some tattoos for himself and I have to admit that I was a little jealous. I explained my initial to Chris and after some design and critique back and forth, this is my next tattoo:

The Cephaskelamech!

Yesterday we met with Chet at Mercy Seat and I have a tentative date set to start inking! He seems excited to work on Chris' designs, yesterday he said "It's not worth doing if it's not a challenge". It should take between six to eight hours in at least two sessions to complete.

In an email today, Chris sent me some fundraising ideas to fund our tattoos. They cracked me up and I had to add a few of my own! He's getting one soon as well, after having designed mine, he went to work on an idea he's been mulling around for a while for himself - Chris' Tattoo. They're both pretty big and very detailed, they're not going to be cheap.

His list:

• temporary lawn service: "grass for tats" (I call weed wacking)
• donate blood. it will be symbolic of the needle in the arm thing.
• 1st Fridays we claim a corner and give crash courses in web design/ photoshop on our laptops.
• shoe shine stand
• donate sperm... okay no
• a non-violent bank robbery achieved through the annoyance of begging
• counterfeit with bills that have subliminally printed the phrase "thanks for the tat honey"

I added a few more:

• we sell advertising space on our bodies and get logos,etc tattooed in various places. Price depends on size and location...
• scooter delivery service, delivering small items, not scooters
• sell body parts, obviously not ones we’re having tattooed. Do we really need two of everything?
• sell our hair for wigs and paint brushes, it’s big money and if there’s one thing I have in abundance, it’s hair!

I'm excited to have such an original piece on my arm (the left one) - Chris did such a great job synthesizing some of my favorite things.

Spicy Coconut Shrimp Soup

Maura's had a pretty bad cold all week, so although we had reservations for a nice Valentine's Day dinner on Saturday night, we cancelled them and stayed in. Instead we made an incredibly tasty soup. It's very quick and easy, but so full of flavor! A few of you asked for the recipe after I tweeted about it so here you go! By the way, this recipe is from Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2009 cookbook - everything we've made from these books has been super tasty and good for you too!

Spicy Coconut Shrimp Soup

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon red curry paste (use more if you like spicy! I used 1/2 tsp. and it still wasn't terribly spicy)
• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Preparation

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil.
2. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.
3. Stir in coconut milk; cook 2 minutes or until hot.
4. Add shrimp to pan; cook 3 minutes or until shrimp are done.
5. Remove pan from heat; stir in onions, basil, and juice.

Serve and enjoy!

Oh Oh It's Magic!

After days of calling to check if my local Apple Store had the new Magic Mice in stock, I finally got a positive response: "Yes, we have a few in stock."

I rushed out to my car, quickly drove (following all applicable traffic laws) to the Apple Store, walked in the door, barely responding to the warm greetings of the friendly Apple staff, headed straight to the peripheral section - lo and behold, an entire stack of beautifully packaged Magic Mice/Mouses.

I've been using this mouse for roughly two hours. Visually, it is beautiful. If it can be said of a computer peripheral, this is one sexy mouse.

It's got a very solid feel and the low profile is very comfortable. Scrolling with it feels like it should be counterintuitive, but it isn't "Wait, there's no scroll wheel, oh yeah, that doesn't matter." It scrolls just like you expect it to, even better because it has a momentum option which is just like the iphone scrolling - you don't have to work as hard. I've been using the smart and powerful SmartScroll to supplement my scrolling needs, and will continue to do so, since it still works well with my laptop's trackpad. Two fingered swiping for navigation works better than I expected, since it takes only a very light touch - you won't be moving the mouse every time you swipe.

The only downside I see so far is the fact that it has no extra buttons like the old Mighty Mouse or countless other third party brands. If you were using those for Space, the Dashboard, etc., you will have to revert to using the keyboard. Although, since the Magic Mouse is a touch sensitive device, Apple could add more gestures/finger actions later through software updates.

I'll admit that I'm a bit of a Apple/gadget junkie, I just bought Wacom's Bamboo Pen and Touch a couple of weeks ago, but I really like this mouse. Sometimes I wish Apple would quit making such cool stuff. Well, no, no I don't.

Blogging, Scooting, etc.

I know, I know. Yet another post about post (in)frequency. I'll make no excuses; I've neglected this blog for several months. I guess it's a combination of Twitter, free time, and Winter blahs. Strangely enough, now that I'm starting to get motivated again, I'm also about to get really busy with the web dev thing. I have two bids due by the end of the week, one site about to ramp up to the final stages, and another site coming up very soon. Not to mention updates to current sites getting our OWN site up and running. I'm excited, honored, and nervous about all of this. I still can't believe I actually get paid to do this stuff, it started out as a hobby.

In other news, I've finally joined the exciting world of scooters. I bought a 2002 Genuine Stella. Here she is:

I also bought a bright orange helmet:

I've been wanting one for a while. I don't work far from home and it seems a little wasteful to drive a car every day. Beside, it's a blast! I'm having a hard time parking it when I get to work, I just want to keep riding! The second day I had it I rode it out to my mom's in Prairie Village, down State Line. I guess I took to it like a fish IN water - I can't believe I waited this long to get one! The Stella is based on the older style of scooters, all metal - very solid with a manual transmission and a 150cc engine. She'll get up to 70mph or so.

Fontcase - beautiful font management for Mac

Check out my review on the awesome design blog pica-n-pixel