Happy Easter

Have you ever wondered where Easter eggs come from? (I just couldn't help myself. I've had this image on my computer for ages and love sharing it.) Anyhoo, Happy Easter!

Friday April 6 2007

File under: holidays, pics

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on Sat 07th Apr, 2007 02:49 am PDT mmmmmmm said: cadbury eggs ************************ on Sat 07th Apr, 2007 08:25 am PDT Sweet Julie said: I am Soooo stealing this one Wren! ************************ on Sun 08th Apr, 2007 01:38 pm PDT Antonella said: I think this bunny's name is HUMPPER! ************************

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Project of the Month

One of the many benefits of all this free time I've arranged for myself is the interesting projects and experiments I've been able to play around with. I've posted about some of them before (puzzles, games, and food just to name a few). Now I would like to take the opportunity to share with you some of the environmentally related projects/experiments I've been playing around with. Conveniently, they've all been month long projects which has put me into a nice little routine. In February, I experimented with 2 ideas. Firstly, I wanted to look at my personal transportation impact, esp. regarding automobile driving. I'm a firm believer that one of the best ways to lessen our personal impact (in many cases) is to simplify. In terms of transportation, I felt like simplification is best achieved by driving less. I gave myself the ambitious goal of driving less than 10 miles a day on average. That means a trip to Bellingham on the weekend must be offset by 8 or so days of not driving at all. Over the month of February, I closely watched my miles. By the end of the month, I was slightly over. Perhaps 100 miles a week is a more achievable goal. Give it a try and let me know! The second February experiment was with home heating. With Ma in NZ, I was in control of the thermostat. As anyone who visited during that time knows, keeping it set to 63 makes an extra sweater a must. But in looking at the bill afterwards, the amount of natural gas saved was nothing to sneeze at. March's environmental project of the month was unsubscribing from catalog mailing lists. We get tons at the house that we never even look at, so I thought: save the paper, save the fuel to ship and deliver them, and save the mail carrier's back. Done and done. April's EPotM definitely falls into the experimentation category. I've decided to take a small foray into vegetarianism, at least for the month. (Those who know me know how I have wrestled with this before.) My experimental step for the month is to purchase no meat. I've got too much in the fridge to go cold turkey, and I hate seeing good food get thrown away on my behalf. But to the best of my ability, I will be doing what I can.

Wednesday April 4 2007

File under: environment

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on Wed 04th Apr, 2007 10:46 pm PDT Mom said: I'm curious about the use of the word "purchase" in this post. Is this a new form of vegetarianism where you only eat meat that someone else has purchased? ************************ on Wed 04th Apr, 2007 10:56 pm PDT Ham Hock Harry said: Dang. It looks like you'll have to put off installing that meat faucet then.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5jAKz8SFjU ************************ on Wed 04th Apr, 2007 11:54 pm PDT Horge said: No more purchases... Mmm... Sounds to me like a month of racoon burgers and roadkill sandwiches. ************************ on Wed 04th Apr, 2007 11:58 pm PDT Horge said: Otherwise, glad to hear you're becoming a nice ol' hippie in both the tree-hugging and twig-eating sense. ************************ on Thu 05th Apr, 2007 09:46 am PDT Saxtor said: Come the end of April look for Wren foraging for meat behind McD's and JitB. Freeganism at it's finest. Also, is it vegetarian if your Mom purchases the meat you consume? zing ************************ on Thu 05th Apr, 2007 05:07 pm PDT Saxtor said: That said, very good on you for doing your part and telling people about it. That is definitely a great way to get people to clue in. ************************ on Thu 05th Apr, 2007 05:58 pm PDT Andrew said: Peace man! I am a hippie! Bong, Bong! ...um. wait. i mean, meat is bad. ************************ on Thu 05th Apr, 2007 08:59 pm PDT Jule said: What have you done with Wren???? We want him backkkkk..... ************************ on Sun 08th Apr, 2007 10:51 pm PDT dave said: i'm gonna buy some meat and give it to you. ************************

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April Fool

or click here to go directly to YouTube page

Saturday March 31 2007

File under: beard, video

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on Sat 31st Mar, 2007 08:51 pm PST Mom said: How did you keep such a straight face with that crazy yoddler music in the background? ************************ on Sun 01st Apr, 2007 11:15 am PDT Andrew said: ha! amusing! ************************ on Sun 01st Apr, 2007 11:35 pm PDT Saxtor said: GRRRRRR! I'm so mad I'm shaving my beard! Maybe this yodeling will lighten the mood....nope! GRRRRR! ************************ on Mon 02nd Apr, 2007 07:30 am PDT amanda said: you look older, more chiseled and i never knew you had a dimpled chin or an adam's apple. this video is great! ************************ on Mon 02nd Apr, 2007 05:50 pm PDT Jule said: I never knew you had a chin or lips! when was the last time you shaved that? ************************ on Tue 03rd Apr, 2007 12:26 am PDT Horge said: What a great prank, Wren! You really had me going... After I watched it the first time I thought you had developed the ancient art of ventriloquist-yodeling as an addition to your act of shaving with juggled knives. But then I realized it was April Fool's Day, and you hadn't really shaved at all. In fact you developed the ancient art of ventriloquist-yodeling as an addition to your act of juggling bits of hair and glue to attach to your face, and then just put the film in reverse. You clever guy, you! ************************ on Wed 04th Apr, 2007 07:24 am PDT Wren said: For more comments (from complete strangers), check out the youTube page for this video. ************************ on Wed 04th Apr, 2007 05:02 pm PDT Saxtor said: I roofled, but then I hated it.It really does go to show how widespread YouTube is. What would the circumstances be behind someone finding, and later commenting on, a few day old video of someone shaving his beard? Were there any comments on your slideshow video? Are you the next LonelyGirl14? LonelyGuy15, perhaps? ZING! ************************ on Wed 04th Apr, 2007 05:43 pm PDT Jule said: You know that looney tunes character, the friend of Marvin the martian, the red one who is only red hair and eyes? Then marvin chases him around with a razor and shaves him ? I'm just saying, you ever seen that one? ************************ on Sun 08th Apr, 2007 10:49 pm PDT dave said: how did you yodel with your mouth closed? ************************ on Wed 13th Jun, 2007 07:47 pm PDT Auntie Rose said: eeeks, what you doing there bud, trying to scare us all? ************************

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Blog Spam

As some of you noticed recently, Blog du Wren was "validated" with a barrage of blog spam. Many questions have arisen from this about why, how, etc. I thought now would be as good a time as any (better even, because I don't have anything of value to post about) to examine the phenomenon of blog spam. Wikipedia has a great write up on Spam in blogs, although it is a bit skewed towards eliminating it rather than explaining it. Basically, an automated script goes around posting comments on blogs with a link to their own site in hopes of raising their site's search engine rank. (Search engine ranking is based on how many sites link to yours, among other things.) These scripts recognize a site as a blog (or guestbook, etc.) by their format and programming (which leads to my feelings of validation because BdW is put into the same formatting/programming arena as the professional blog software packages). What has been very interesting is to see where these spam comments come from. With the IP tracking I added as part of the BdW 2.0 revamp, I have the ability to look at the comments last known transfer point. This is what I came up with: RUSSIAN FEDERATION, CHINA, INDIA, PAKISTAN, POLAND (with repeats from Russia and India). In an attempt to spare us all from this initially interesting but quickly annoying phenomenon, I tweaked the way I do comments. Since every little change I make might make everything stop working, I would appreciate if you keep your eyes open for any bugs, esp. you mac users out there. Cheers!

Friday March 30 2007

File under: blog

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on Fri 30th Mar, 2007 08:41 am PST Wren said: Oh, while coding up the new comment process, I forgot to check if it works in IE, so here it goes... (feel free to test your own browser's ability to comment by leaving your own test comment.) ************************ on Fri 30th Mar, 2007 09:06 am PST Saxtor said: Hello please, I am would liking to offer you a greatest of opportunities to obtain LEGALLY!!!!! an prescriptions of V14GGRA!! ************************ on Fri 30th Mar, 2007 02:34 pm PST jenelle said: i ate indian food today and now my spam is all blogged up. ************************ on Sat 07th Apr, 2007 10:37 am PDT Wren said: Okay, I had to change up the routine a little again because my last attempt to outsmart those pesky spammers failed. Again, if things ain't working, let me know... ************************ on Sun 08th Apr, 2007 05:38 pm PDT Wren said: Another tweak in the continuing battle against blog spammers... ************************

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Sunday

As I mentioned before, the concept of a weekend is somewhat lost on me, at least in practice. Well, I'm happy to report, I now get it! Starting last week, I am again a member of the working world. While only temporary, it is real, honest to goodness, start at 8:30, end at 4:30, make-you-tired-by-the-end-of-the-day work. The work mostly consists of lifting heavy things, for which I like to consider myself more than qualified. There is also some shoveling sand and mixing concrete thrown in for good measure. "What do I care if your lazy bones finally got some work?" you say. Well, that means slightly less frequent blog posts. While I have a few projects brewing that I am anxious to post about, I'm afraid the days of playing at the computer full time are on hold. But have no fear: I foresee my foray into the working world somewhat temporary, at least this time around. Hopefully, I will be back to doing blog worthy things in no time.

Sunday March 25 2007

File under: work

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on Sun 25th Mar, 2007 05:12 pm PSTtravel ahjc search iat:\\n virginia-travel said: travel ahjc search iat:\\n virginia-travel ************************ on Sun 25th Mar, 2007 06:03 pm PST Saxtor said: I think I should make mention of this momentous occasion...blogspam on a homebrewed blog! I am personally rather surprised! ************************ on Sun 25th Mar, 2007 08:53 pm PST Antonella said: Hey! Maybe a trip to Virgin is in your future post super-man temp-job. ************************ on Mon 26th Mar, 2007 08:36 am PST me said: will you be traveling to the old dominion? heard there's some rad stuff going on in her neighbor in the old state line- state. ************************ on Mon 26th Mar, 2007 04:22 pm PST Wren said: Oh how I've waited for this day. It really makes me feel like I am a real blogger. Blogspam on my very own homebrew blog. I can't tell you how happy it makes me. Oh, wait, it's annoying. I'll dive into fixing it as soon as I get a chance. But they are a tricky bunch: waiting until I have a job and less time to play with these things before they start messing with me. ************************ on Mon 26th Mar, 2007 09:02 pm PST Mom said: What??? travel to Virgin?? Old Dominion? I'm confused, maybe I'm too old for Blogspeak. ************************ on Tue 27th Mar, 2007 03:43 pm PST Saxtor said: Oh, that's okay Marg. Just so long as you remember to fprot your tarball after transcoding your terraflops, you'll do fine. ************************ on Tue 27th Mar, 2007 06:06 pm PST Jule said: Old dominion, Old line state, I love state nicknames. For the record, those states are Virginia and Maryland. Did you know? Wyoming is the "Equality state", for giving women the right to vote first (and they were the first to take it away thereafter). Washington is the "I am cold and bitter cause my furnace died state" cause they have a bunch of junky rentals in their state. ************************ on Wed 28th Mar, 2007 06:30 am PST Chris said: Yeah, and Texas is the "If you don't own a gun you must be a liberal-loving-Hillary-supporting incovenient truth homosexual" state, although it wouldn't all fit on the quarter. ************************ on Wed 28th Mar, 2007 09:02 pm PST Blogspam Jule said: Hi! Great site! You are greatest blogger of all time. I really liked your last post. Stock in Jule Inc. on the rise. 500% profit guaranteed. Aggressive buy recommended. Send checks to: Jule Inc. at above link. ************************ on Wed 28th Mar, 2007 10:33 pm PST Horge said: As an honest to goodness Texan, I feel I must clarify something. We tried to get all that to fit on a quarter. We really wanted "If you don't own a gun OR WANT TO ORDER A SALAD WITHOUT A SIDE OF 72oz. STEAK, THEN you must be a liberal-loving-Hillary-supporting incovenient truth homosexual". But that definitely didn't fit. We suggested a larger coin for it, based on our state motto "everything's bigger in Texas", but the darn Yanks running the Mint said some hogwash about "all quarters must be the same size". Dag-nabbed bureaucrats! ************************ on Thu 29th Mar, 2007 09:54 am PST Wren said: In the name of fixing blog spam, I've updated a few things. Let's see if this works... ************************

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Re-Taste of Anacortes

Once again, we (Amanda and I), accompanied by Marg, hit the town for the Taste of Anacortes. Like last time, it was a blast. Good food, a night on the town, and a little class (enough class that I felt out-classed, but we all know how much class that takes...). Sadly, this was the last Taste of the year. Here's hoping that they do it again next year! For all of you who didn't get to experience it all, here's what was served: The Store: A smattering of hors d'oeuvres all made from ingredients available at the Store. They included asparagus with a chardonnay mustard sauce, cherry tomatoes stuffed with blue cheese, prawn with "green" tampanade and caper, snow peas piped with egg salad, and a couple of breads with some sauce. Il Posto: Chicken wrapped with something served over polenta with gravy. Yummy! Randy's Pier 36: Battered and fried calamari strips served with aioli and lemon. El Jinete: Pollo al crema and rice. Cheesecake Cafe: Chocolate truffle cheesecake and shortbread cookies with pink frosting.

Wednesday March 21 2007

File under: food, Anacortes

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on Thu 22nd Mar, 2007 08:27 am PST amanda said: i liked The Store the best! it was pretty cool to have the option to buy and make all of the hors d'oeuvres myself (mmmmm, smokey chardonnay mustard) ************************ on Thu 22nd Mar, 2007 11:25 am PST Sweet Julie said: Pictures? Pictures, Wren-Wren?! ************************

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More Word Games

Speaking of word-nerdiness, working on Another Word Game started me on a slippery slope of word games, both playing them and creating them. The two latest games are offshoots of AWG, but different enough to be fun in their own right. BUNGLE: Essentially, this combines Boggle game play, Scrabble scoring, and the tile replacement of Another Word Game. Oh, and it's timed. Like AWG, this is written in Java. WORDOMANIA Based on the popular (and addictive) clickomania game, this is a puzzle word game similar to AWG. The object is to use as many of the initial tiles as possible. When one is used, it disappears and everything above it drops down. Once an entire column is used, everything to the right of it will slide left. This is written in Javascript, so even if Bungle and AWG didn't work, this should (although with a slightly higher chance for browser non-compatibility). Check out the screen shot. Thanks again to those folks that helped work the kinks out by taking the time to test these. If you have any questions or encounter any bugs, let me know.

Sunday March 18 2007

File under: games, coding

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on Mon 19th Mar, 2007 06:32 am PST cardboard said: openttd wren openttd ************************ on Mon 19th Mar, 2007 09:23 am PST Saxtor said: FOR SERIOUS! ************************ on Mon 19th Mar, 2007 09:25 am PST Chris said: Seriously, I care about you Wren, you need help. I think you should try going for a full day without using any words over three syllables before it's too late. Although, I guess that's just another word game challange for you. It may be too late. At least spend some quality time with Jule or Andrew, that oughtta help a little. ************************ on Mon 19th Mar, 2007 05:11 pm PST Andrew said: dude. words are for nerds. ************************ on Mon 19th Mar, 2007 07:06 pm PST Jule said: Hey, I recent you're complement! ************************ on Wed 21st Mar, 2007 01:38 pm PST amanda said: wordomania doesn't rank high scores, it ranks low scores. ************************ on Fri 23rd Mar, 2007 07:38 am PST Wren said: Thanks to everyone who has played these games. It has been so much fun watching the high score list. Almost too fun, some might say. ************************ on Fri 23rd Mar, 2007 07:33 pm PST Mom said: Hey, Wren, wait just a minute. Are you out there watching us closet Bungle players? How do you know about those high scores? I didn't post mine because I didn't want to discourage any of you young'uns. ************************

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Simpsons plus Word-nerdiness equals Happy Wren

The keen eyes of a friend found this recently and knew I needed to see it. From 1995, Lisa in Wordland is a comic featuring many beloved Simpsons characters and much word-nerdiness. It is even more pertinent, as I have been thinking of word play [almost] non-stop for the past week or so. Some of the priceless phrases: "If bombastic periphrastic grandiloquence be the music of life, then rattle on, I say. Rattle on!" courtesy of Sideshow Bob. Or maybe you prefer palindromes (from Otto, of course): "Tired nude man in a pajama I am. A japan I named under it." But since a picture is worth 1000 words check these out.

Thursday March 15 2007

File under: misc

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on Thu 15th Mar, 2007 08:44 pm PST Antonella/ -lil tee said: Eye just knew this was for ewe. ************************ on Thu 16th Mar, 2007 06:55 1m PST jule said: go hang a salami, I'm a lasagna hog. by the way, that is a palindrome, not a description of my eating habits, although, I am sure many will disagree ************************ on Thu 16th Mar, 2007 10:09 1m PST saxtor said: That is an awesome palindromemordnilap emosewa na si tahT ************************ on Thu 16th Mar, 2007 12:33 pm PST amanda said: RELEVANT ************************ on Mon 19th Mar, 2007 12:23 am PST Horge said: If you're into palindromes, you ought to give a listen to Weird Al's song "Bob" off of the album "Poodle Hat". The whole song (http://www.alsongs.com/index.cfm?view=alsong&songnumber=170) is just a bunch of palindromes, which he sings like Bob Dylan... I just introduced my girlfriend to Al's zaniness and she loves it! ************************

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Pi Day!

Whew! That was a close one. One of my favorite holidays of the year almost slipped right by me without me knowing. I guess that is what happens when the calendar industry is involved in a conspiracy against it. March 14 or 3/14. Get it? 3.14. Like the ratio between the diameter and circumference of a circle. Totally awesome. What is the best way to celebrate Pi Day? Well, first, you gotta eat some pie. Yes, I know it is spelled differently, but I don't questions the traditions that are passed down through the ages. Secondly, you should add one digit to your personal knowledge of pi. If 3.14 is all you know, annex a 15 to the end. For everyone else, here's a helpful start: 3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510 (that was from memory, thank you very much, except for the bold 71 that I missed. I guess I am slipping in my old age.)

Wednesday March 14 2007

File under: holidays

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on Wed 14th Mar, 2007 09:40 am PST Saxtor said: I meant to ask you last night if you're making a pie this year. My fruit juice sweetened apple pie last year was a hit, but I just don't have the time this year. ************************ on Wed 14th Mar, 2007 10:52 am PST amanda said: what about the other constants holidays? like 2/9 for 2.99792458x10^8, the speed of light? to be celebrated with melted ice cream. or 8/3 for 8.314, the gas constant and celebrate with balloons? or 9/8 for the 9.807 acceleration of gravity and celebrate with juggling? i mean, if you want an excuse to party, don't limit yourself with pi! ************************ on Wed 14th Mar, 2007 11:25 am PST SaxtorsBoss said: Too bad Evan doesn't have an oven in his office. He could finally take a break from all the blog commenting and do something more useful and delicious. ************************ on Wed 14th Mar, 2007 01:11 pm PST Ryan Walters said: As an alternate time-waster, you could figure out what year pi was calculated to the place of your personal pi knowledge (PPK). That way, if you are one of the few remaining after the global thermonuclear war, you'll be able to estimate how much humanity can catch back up via your PPK. ************************ on Wed 14th Mar, 2007 06:14 pm PST Cousin Sonya said: Today is Lauren's Birthday, you should feel so privledged to be related to a Pi Day Girl! ************************ on Fri 16th Mar, 2007 01:44 pm PST Chris said: Man, I'm disappointed Wren, I thought you were hardcore. Any good mathematician and computer scientist knows the only true pi day worth celebrating is OCT 26 07. Figure that one out and drinks are on me. ************************

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Poopy Duck

"Uncle Wren, can I have a poopy?" "Not until after you finish your supper." We all have our holiday traditions. Some are holdovers from when we were kids. Some we start when we start our own families. Some holiday traditions just sort of happen. I'm glad to see that the Poopy Duck tradition has made its way to a third generation of the Studer/Schultz clan. Of all the holiday traditions I've known, Poopy Duck is far and away my favorite. Poopy is a crocheted duck who poops jelly beans. He makes his appearance about this time every year, a month or so before Easter. Visitors, both child and adult, are a bit apprehensive about the concept of eating candy coming out the back end of a duck, but they quickly overcome it. If you think you can handle it, stop by Chez du Wren and give ole Poopy a try.

Monday March 12 2007

File under: holidays

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on Mon 12th Mar, 2007 03:22 pm PST jenelle said: oh, i had a little ducky and it wouldn't lay an egg so i poured hot jelly up n down her leg oh the little ducky hollared and the little ducky begged and the little ducky laid me a jelly... bean... egg? ************************ on Mon 12th Mar, 2007 04:23 pm PST cardboard said: ohhh yea all hail the claypool, that and the poopy duck...woot woot ************************ on Mon 12th Mar, 2007 07:08 pm PST Sweet Julie said: YOU said poopy! haha ************************ on Mon 12th Mar, 2007 07:27 pm PST Mom said: There are 2 things that my children will fight over when I am gone--the cheese slicer and Poopy Duck. I'm working on finding 3 of the cheese slicers but I need serious help multipying Mr. Poopy. Please fellow Bloggers, I'm on my virtual knees--is there a crochet wizard out there in blogland who can replicate this most artful and useful creation? It was given to us by a devout Mormon woman from Salt Lake City back in the early 80's. It could have been part of a special ritual, maybe? ************************ on Tue 13th Mar, 2007 04:56 am PST Chris said: Well, I've got three sets of neighbors who are all Mormon, I'll see what I can do about penetrating their inner circle; if I must sacrafice my soul for jelly beans so be it! ************************ on Tue 13th Mar, 2007 09:14 am PST Saxtor said: It may seem blasphemous to the Studer/Schultz household, but the famous Poopy Duck apparently goes by an alias: Turd Bird. I did a google search for "jelly bean duck" and came up with a bunch of patterns, including this one with a picture: http://crafterscommunity.com/view/21/Crochet_Jelly_Bean_Duck ************************ on Tue 13th Mar, 2007 09:10 pm PST Sean said: Lately my poopy's the same colors as Poopy Duck's ************************ on Wed 14th Mar, 2007 06:18 pm PST Cousin Sonya said: whoa! For a moment I thought that was from the good ole Studer clan...I was starting to feel a little left out! ************************

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