After the second session.

Another 5 1/2 hours. The artist is
Dave Scearce at Immortal Images.

After the first session.

I forgot to post pictures after the first tattoo session. It went for 5 1/2 hours. It hurt pretty bad
near the end. The artist is
Dave Scearce at Immortal Images.
Hmmm, I should take closer pics next time.




I have already been for my second session, but have not taken any pictures yet, waiting for things to heal
up.

The Woz

Just read an interesting interview with Steve Wozniak. He has some opinions on large software companies that I very much agree with.

To tattoo or not to tattoo...

If for some strange reason you have kept up with our blog, you may or may not have noticed that I have a few tattoos. There are pictures of a couple of them on the site for all to see. I thought it would be interesting to document my next tattoo.

I have always been fascinated with tattoos and how they are perceived by others. They have become mainstream and more tolerated over the last few years, but many people still react negatively to them.

Why?
I have to admit that being different is attractive to me. But, for me it has more to do with feeling like I have some control over the way I look. I'm overweight and I've struggled with how I look for years. Tattoo's give me a way to control my appearance. Don't get me wrong, I'm not getting tattoos for other people to look at, they are for me. I like the style of art and I love the way the art is changed by the body it's placed on. Each tattoo is a piece of art that will never be repeated. Sure, many people can get the same tattoo, but it will never look the same as it does on my skin in that location.

What about the pain?
For many it can be hard to understand why you would put your self through the pain of getting one. Trust me when I say the pain sucks. It probably doesn't hurt as much as you think it does, but it's not pleasant either. If I could get a tattoo without the pain, I would. The recovery can be worse than getting the tattoo, a few sleepless nights and a throbbing pain that lasts for several days after the tattoo. Once the work has healed you quickly forget about the pain and you get to admire how your body has changed.

What to get and where?
I'm currently working on my arms. I have decided that my next tattoo will be a half sleeve on my left arm. I choose my arms because their shape will not change too much with my weight. I can also see my arms; it's hard to see anything on your own back. The hardest part for me was the size. I've learned that small tattoos lack detail. What you can get is limited when you want it to be small. In general, the larger you go the better it will look.

What if you change your mind later?
If you aren't sure you want to get it, or your worried that you might not be happy with it in a few years, then don't do it. Tattoo removal never completely removes the tattoo. And, tattoo removal hurts worse than getting the tattoo in the first place. Don't get the work unless you are sure you want it.

It took me months and months to decide to start talking with an artist. Once I did, he took my ideas and helped me come up with something that I was happy with and that he would enjoy working on.

What will other people think? Will it affect my career?
The simple answer is many people will view your tattoo negatively. I'm constantly amazed at the difference in the way people treat me when I have tattoos exposed. Most young people do not appear to care one way or the other, although there are more likely to ask to see your tattoo or ask for information on where you got the work done. Many people will be rude or treat you as if you are untrustworthy. I can't imagine what it must have been like 10 or 20 years ago when tattoos weren't as common as they are today.

It is very likely that having a visible tattoo will affect your career at some point. I started with tattoos that were fairly easy to cover and most people never noticed them. I have become braver and I have started getting work done below the elbow. When I decided on doing a sleeve I had to think long and hard about how my employer would view it. They are very tolerant of most things and I don't have to follow any strict dress codes. I do expect to wear long sleeve shirts more often now, but I don't think there will be any real problems at work. I understand that my next employer may not be so lenient, but if a company won't hire me because I have tattoos, then I probably don't want to work there anyway.

Well anyway, I have just completed the outline on my new tattoo. There will be at least one more session, probably two, to finish it. This one is Japanese style with a demon face with a snake wrapped around it and my arm. I chose these images more for the way they look than for any of the possible meanings that can be associated with them.

Pictures on the way.

Artomat

A friend of mine recently discovered an Artomat at a local college. This is such a cool idea. They take old cigeratte machines and revamp them to despense original art. Some of the items are tiny sculptures, books, paintings, etc... Its not a very profitable way to sell your art, but it gies the artists a way to advertise to people that might normally never see their work. If I had a store I'd get one of these awesome machines right away.

Mirrormask

There is a new movie out that I have heard very little about called Mirrormask. It's written by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean. The special effects and characters are by Henson Studios. Those names alone make it worth seeing. Hope I get to see it.

This weekend

We went to the opening weekend of the Carolina Renaissance Festival It was pretty much the same as last year. I think they need to do something different with it each year, we are starting to get bored with it.

We saw Corpse Bride. It was a little too short, and it suffers from being in the shadow of Nightmare before Christmas. It was enjoyable, but it just doesn't have the charm of Nightmare.

We also saw Serenity and it was awesome. It does a great job of finishing the story that was started in the series. I really hope it does well, a sequel would be very cool.

Cool Shockwave

Stumbled on this cool Shockwave app. You create and manipulate machines that make music. It's hard to explain you just have to try it.

Dream Theater

I got the chance to introduce my Dad to Dream Theater this weekend. I bought him "Dream Theater: Live at Budokan". He seemed
to really enjoy the parts we watched. Its fun to introduce him to new stuff that I like, most of the time he likes it as well. Anyway, its the least I can do. I was very lucky to have been exposed to so much music as a kid.

Dream Theater also has a new album out called "Octavarium"

Goings on

Several cool things happening:

• Heroes Convention June 24 - 26.


• Comic Con July 14-17, Not going but wish I was. Lots of exclusive toy releases.


• Kid Robot just released Dunny Series 2. I have one case on the way, and I might get more.


• Check out the SaverBeans Screensaver SDK its all Java and creates true Windows ScreenSavers.

Updates

Updated the website code:

• Added picture counts to the pictures page.


• Added several new pictures to the clay section of the pictures page.

Updates

Updated the website code:

• Turned caching on for the Link pages.


• Turned caching on for the picture pages.


• Tweaked how images and categories are displayed on the picture pages.


• Changed categories around for the clay section.

Wootini

I have taken a major plunge into the world of Designer toys.
I have a nice collection growing and I'm doing all I can to learn about the scene and whats cool. A huge help is the fact that one of the few
stores for this kind of thing is only a couple of hours away. Wootini is a great store
in Carrboro, NC. They just opened a newly expanded store complete with gallery space. If your in the area, you should take the time to stop by.
They are very friendly and knowledgable, and who knows what cool new things you'll learn about while your there.

Toys, wonderful toys.

We took a trip to Wootini today. I am now in possesion of several wonderful new collector toys. I even managed to snag a polymer clay figure, its a My Guys one of a kind. We are now in the market for a large display case for these and other items we collect and make.

Claying around

Here for your perusal are the latest images I have uploaded to the clay section of the pictures:

Kwazy Rabbit

Here's a little kwazy rabbit I made tonight.



I really like the look of the designer toys on the site I linked earlier today (Kidrobot).

Toys for the win

A friend just introduced me to the world of "Urban vinyl Toys". You have to check out the cool stuff they have at
Kidrobot. I can't wait for my order to arrive.

On The Big Screen

We saw Sin City this weekend. Pretty cool movie. Lisa isn't as impressed with it as I am. I thought the stories
were cool, and man, it really looked like a comic book.

We are both frothing at the mouth waiting for the next Starwars movie. It's going to be freaking amazing.

What did you do this weekend?

Updated the look of the website this weekend. Some of the images need to be cleaned up, and I think that we still
need more color on the page, but I think I like it.

Website To-Do:

• More color.


• Clean up the section header images.


• Add permanent links to individual news entries.


• Add link to bookmarks file on the links page. Makes it easier for people to import our bookmarks.


• Cache pictures xml file to improve performance.


• Trim whitespace out of picture descriptions.


• Add ability to comment on news entries.


• Add user system - to control who can reply.


• Complete webcam page.

Miscellaneous

L sent me a link to David Byrne's website. His blog entries are all kinds of interesting. But, the thing I liked the most was his streaming playlist. A really varied list of songs from all over the place.

Looks like TIVO is starting to test fast-forward advertisements. We have not seen this yet on our setup, but I'm sure we will soon. Not sure how I feel about this yet, I think I might start building my own Myth TV system.


Current Music: Joan Armatrading - I'm Lucky

Site stuff

Trying to come up with a new look for the site. All the same info will be here, I just want to change the
color scheme and the layout. I hope to have an update in the next week or two.

Other things on the site to-do list:

• Change the navigation links near the top to show page N of X instead of post numbers.


• Add a new layout for the webcam page and start updating the webcam again.


• More automated updating of the site for us.


• possibly add comments to our news updates. Requires some form of user validation.

News

R.I.P. Paul Hester - Crowded House drummer found dead.

PSP

I broke down and got myself a PSP. Super cool little gadget.
I give it a 9 out of 10 on the scale of geekiness. We only have a few games for it. So far Lumines has been the most fun. Very addictive tetris like puzzle game.

Website Changes

We just activated the first part of the new site. We have rewritten most of the site in JSP. After some more clean up, we will be changing the look.

If you notice any problems, send us an email.

Clay update

Added some new clay images:

Been a while

Nothing much to report. Life is good. Work is work. I'm trying to learn to play Guitar. It's not easy for me. I'm gonna try my best anyway. Maybe this time next year I'll be able to actually play a chord or two and keep time with the beat. Damn my fingers hurt.

I recently made a polymer clay box with a mosaic pattern on it. I'll try to post some pictures later in the week.

I have also started working on a couple of polymer clay masks.

I'm really itching to get a new Tattoo. I can't decide on what to get, it's hard to decide on an image that will be a part of you for the rest of your life.

Current Music: CSN - "Anything At All"

Welcome to 2005

Toys:

• I finally got an embossing gun for use with Polymer clay. I had a problem with a sculpture I did for a friend and the embossing gun made the whole process much easier.



• I got a Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra MP3 player for XMas. 60gig of MP3's ready to go. I just wish I had a Car stereo that had an audio input that was compatible.



• I also got a great present from Lisa. It Made Sense at the Time: Selected Sketches by Ursula Vernon



• My friend Eric got me The Dark Knight Returns and The Watchmen. Awesome comics!

We are working on a redesign for the website again. Not sure what the new site is going to look like yet, but the code will most likely be Java. Don't expect it to happen quick. Hopefully, we will be able to phase in bits and pieces over the next month or two. It really all depends on me getting off my duff and doing the work.


Current Music: Split Enz "I Hope I Never"