Webcam app

Does anybody know a good program for taking pictures with a webcam? Taking those beard pictures was a hassle. I used Cameroid, which is a piece of junk. Any tips?

More beard

Well, now that I've posted something else, time for more beard pictures.

This stage was fun. So fun that I'm posting loads of pictures of it. There are way more but I won't subject you to them, dear readers.

The Other Guys

Well, it seems that by advertising my blog on my Facebook page I have gained some new readers.  Just so those readers don't think that all I do is talk about my beard, I should probably have a post or two about something else before I get back to beard pictures (which are coming soon).

For my new readers, I should inform you that I really like movies.  I also really like to talk about movies.  It's like having an interesting life of your own to talk about.  Almost.

So, yesterday Kate and I went to see The Other Guys in the theater.  We were both expecting a summer seat-filler type movie.  It's got Marky Mark, so I expected him to be kind of clever and funny.  It's got Will Ferrell, so I expected some incoherent monotone yelling.  I sort of got those, but it was actually really really funny.

The movie pokes fun at some common movie cliches, like explosions only being dangerous if you are in them (ignoring the flying glass and shrapnel as well as the concussive force), the good guys being invincible, main characters all being unrealistically attractive, etc.  But they don't go so far into poking fun that they become just a parody like those stupid Scary Movie movies. 

Anyway, surprisingly good movie that I'm actually thinking of buying when it comes out.  That's how good we're talking.  The last movie I bought was Lone Star State of Mind, and that was three or four years ago.  I don't want to over-hype it, because I think one of the things that made it great was that it exceeded my low expectations, but you should check it out if you want a fun weekend movie.

Mutton Chops + Goatee + Mustache

= What?

I don't know what to call this.  Any ideas?  Leave em in the comments.

I figured the plaid shirt and Texas hat really completed the look.

As promised

Beard'd!

Fryday!

No, friends, that's not a typo.  Yesterday was not only another Friday.  It was Fryday.  Kelly brought a deep fryer which we set up in Bob's office (Thanks, Bob!), and everybody brought stuff to fry. 

We started with pretty standard stuff.  I made hush puppies (which made me really want catfish, but that's another story), Lance battered and fried mushrooms (and they were delicious), and everybody was happy.  Onion rings, stuffed jalapenos, wantons, it just kept going. 

One thing we had all heard of but never had was deep fried snickers.  I bought a pack of the Halloween size minis and threw them in the freezer, then battered and fried them.  They were delicious, but they got all melty and the oil got nasty.  So we figured maybe they weren't cold enough.  So we threw them in the -80C freezer (-112F).  Also not too successful.  I'm not sure how those carnies do it.

But at some point, we went too far.  We fried a doughnut. Not like you're thinking.  We RE-fried a doughnut.

And it was delicious.  We cut it up into 6 pieces (because that was too much power for one man to take) and each tried a piece.  I wish I had gotten a picture of everybody's faces.  Priceless.

Then, we went too far again.  We put a couple Swiss cake rolls in the -80.  Then we battered them.

And fried them.

The filling in the middle was still cool and creamy, but the outside was rich and delicious.  Amazing.  Again, too much power for any mortal man to take.

I've already sent the pictures to This Is Why You're Fat, so don't bother. 

Now let us never speak of this delightfully shameful moment again.

My hat off to Jason

Well, dear readers, today I am posting to pay tribute to a good man.  No, a great man.  Jason Lillrose.

And, before I forget, no, Mom, I haven't ignored your request for a beard picture.  I just can't find my camera.  There will be a picture before there is shaving.

Anyway, back to Jason.  Faithful readers will remember that he helped me fix Lenny, allowing me to drive all the way to Michigan.  Lenny is mostly well these days, although he is having some small problems.  Ah, old cars.  But by helping me fix Lenny, he gave me more than a car that functions; Jason gave me confidence with cars.

Recently one of my lab-pals, Rachel, has started having car trouble.  It's her power-steering.  She took it to a shop, and they told her today that this part was broken.  For those of you who don't feel like going to that link, let me just say that it is a hose and costs $30 new.  The shop told her it would cost $112 plus 3 or 4 hours of labor to fix, totaling at about $280.  I told her to call BS on it, and she did.  I'm so proud of her.  She asked them very nicely to hold off fixing it till she could get another estimate. 

While Rachel was looking for another mechanic to call, the guy called her back and said he would do it for $220.  She said that was great, but she still wanted to make another call.  A few minutes later he called again and said he could do it for $170.

So, what's all this got to do with Jason?  He taught me everything I know about cars.  Except what the little trumpet button on my steering wheel does.  I learned that one all on my own.  But mostly, he taught me to look into things a bit myself.  It sounded fishy that a hose would cost over a hundred bucks, so I went to autozone's website and spent 3 minutes to find that it only cost 30.  Not much work.  But I would never have thought to do it before Jason taught me to.

So, Jason, you have saved me thousands of dollars (literally), and now I have passed your legacy on to Rachel, who has saved $100.  Thanks, buddy!

Beards

Well, friends, I've done some serious thinking lately.  About the things in life that really matter.  Serious subjects.  Like beards.

OK, so maybe it's not one of the important things in life.  But it's still what I've been thinking about.  You see, I've been bearding it up for the last month.  A whole month, you ask in shock?  Yes, a whole month.  You see, as a nerd, I've done my research even on something as trivial and natural as growing a beard.  According to most things I can find on the interwebs, 4 weeks is really the minimum to see how your beard will look.  Something about follicles and growth cycles.

Anyway, the thing I've heard over and over for a month is "is it itchy?"  Surprisingly not.  Everyone always talks about how all beards are itchy.  But mine hasn't been itchy for weeks.  Itchiness is what has deterred so many from growing beards.  And suddenly, I had an epiphany.  Beards are like college. 

When you first decide that you want to be an accounting major or an electrical engineer or whatever, you have to take some low-level classes that are really hard.  Weed out classes.  These are often much harder than anything else you have to do in the major, and the idea is to get people who aren't dedicated to it to drop out and become English majors, where there are no hard classes ever. 

The first couple days of growing a beard are really itchy, and most men get to that stage and quit because they think it will always be itchy.  This is a lie, brothers.  It is just the weed-out phase of beard growing, trying to keep you from going on to the beauty of bearddom.

Anyway, for any of my imaginary readers dreaming of trying out a beard, just try to make it through the first 10 days or so, and it will be better.  Then make sure you shave before my father sees you.