November 27, 2005

Vantage Climbing

Filed under: General — mmrobins @ 11:25 pm

Nathan convinced Kim and I to go climbing at Vantage on Sunday. We were skeptical that it would be cold and miserable, but it turned out great. It was a bit cold, but not so much that climbing wasn’t fun. I was totally out of shape for climbing after not having done it for so long, and my arms were pumped after 3 climbs. We didn’t even start until 2 PM and I thought that we weren’t going to get enough in before dark, but I was about finished after the second route. My poor forearms.

Thanksgiving

November 27th, 2005
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November 20, 2005

Snowshoeing Snow Lake

Filed under: General — mmrobins @ 6:52 am

Kim, Amanda, Art and I went up to Snoqualmie pass this Saturday to snowshoe around. I started to get worried on the drive up that there would be no snow, but fortunately there was just above the pass elevation level. (more…)

November 13, 2005

Google Adsense – Done

Filed under: Technology — mmrobins @ 2:59 am

I’ve taken that Adsense Ads off my site. They haven’t earned me even a penny in weeks. They just aren’t worth having on a site with so little traffic, especially when traffic is mostly friends and family. I pretty much knew that before I started, but now at least I have a better feel for how it works. It’s a really cool advertising concept though. I was actually interested in quite a few of the ads that displayed since they were about subjects I was writing about.

Mr Beer

Filed under: General — mmrobins @ 2:05 am

I’ve just completed my first batch of Mr Beer. I’m a little disappointed with the taste of the beer, but I realize that the West Coast Pale Ale beer included with the kit that I bought isn’t the kind of beer I normally like. I like something a little richer and darker. It basically tastes like Coors Light, although after drinking a bottle I like it better than Coors Light. It’s got a nice, light, flavor and the aftertaste is very slight. (more…)

November 11, 2005

Sweeney Todd

Filed under: Culture — mmrobins @ 10:09 am

Kim wanted to purchase discount theater tickets for the musical Sweeney Todd at the 5th Avenue Theater from TicketTicket, but they didn’t sell for that show. Then she found out that if you’re 25 or under you can get good seats for just $20. Awesome deal. I wish I had known sooner. I won’t be able to take advantage of it much longer.

Gabe, Amanda and Art went with Kim and me to the show. It was a fun show to see, although not one of the best musicals I’ve seen. It was a little slow to start and I didn’t care about some of the characters (the sailor Anthony in particular, although I don’t think it was the performer’s fault, I just think it was a lame part). It picks up and gets interesting when Sweeny Todd starts killing people with his shaving razor, and then really gets weird and fun when Mrs. Lovett starts selling meat pies from Todd’s handy-work. I really like the haunting main theme of the show. I wish there was more to it. The ending is dark, but I honestly expected things to turn out even darker than they did.

The music is by Stephen Sondheim. I saw one of his other shows, Into the Woods, on Broadway in New York.

November 8, 2005

They Might be Giants

Filed under: Culture — mmrobins @ 5:24 pm

Another concert! This one at the Paramount on Monday night. I’ve always wondered how They Might Be Giants performs since they’re just two guys named John. Now I know. They have a backup band. I somehow thought it might be more exciting.

They were their own warmup act. They performed minute long songs about the venues they had been to. They’re so weird. When they came out for their second set they played just about all the songs I wanted to hear: Sun Song, Dr Worm, Particle Man, Birdhouse in your Soul. They even did Fingertips, the weird mishmash of couple second song blips at the end of Apollo 18. The only song they didn’t play that I wanted to hear was Ana Ng.

Their encore was really short. I don’t even remember what they played.

November 7, 2005

Decemberists

Filed under: Culture — mmrobins @ 3:49 am

I saw the Decemberists play in Portland this weekend at the Roseland Theatre. I first heard of the Decemberists when the lead singer, Colin Meloy, was the warmup act for the Violent Femmes, and I really liked the music. The way I understand, the band calls Portland home, although I couldn’t verify that and I know the lead singer is from Montana. Regardless, the show in Portland felt like a homecoming for the band, and the audience was really into it, especially since they were filming the show for a live DVD. There were cameras everywhere, and one was on a long boom arm that hung over the audience. (more…)

Weekend In Portland

November 7th, 2005
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November 4, 2005

Make Magazine: Technology On My Time

Filed under: Technology — mmrobins @ 2:36 am

I just received the fourth issue of Make Magazine and I’m in love. It’s a quarterly magazine, but each one is packed with enough projects and cool stuff to try that it’s more than enough for 3 months. I haven’t really even made anything that was part of one of their feature articles though. I’ve never been much of a hardware tinkerer, but I’m excited to start… Once I have the TIME! (more…)