By Accident

So recently at work I've been having to export some lineweight .dxf's from CAD...and place into Illustrator for some quick visuals...a common practice in ID. An error has been occuring where the lineweight imported into Illustrator is really thick.

At first it was kind of annoying...my first action always being to select all and change the stroke down to .25. But after I looked at a few, the appeal of the fat lines grew...reminding me of the thick, vector like graffiti art found all over. The "fatness" of the lines sort of distorted most of what the product is...making it more of an abstract symbol. The cool thing is, the "symbols" were all by accident...they all were meant to be serious, precise, CAD drawings :)

I'll have to explore this more in the future...but for now here are a few quick samples:

VA Beach

Had a great weekend down in Virginia Beach. Lots of driving...but it was worth it for the nice little getaway. Thankfully the weather was awesome! Remind me to avoid driving down Route 13 around 2am...spooky! Just wish I had the stitches removed from the back in order to go swimming...both in the ocean AND pool! Driving back during sunset on the Chesapeake Bridge/Tunnel:


The sight of seeing one of my friend's new hooked-up cars got me more motivated to get something new as well. Will it ever happen...still not sure. A new little "issue" with the T2, and the a/c deciding not to work made me think harder about revamping the car collection. Really wondering what a nice droptop would be like :)



Finally shaved my head today...feels so liberating...why didn't I do this sooner. Besides a co-worker joking that I was ready for Auschwitz, I'd say the day went well.

Finally!

Jeeez, turned into a slacker again! Had some minor surgery two days ago...small incision on the back to take out a lump that apparently grew back...(I thought I had gotten rid of it 3 years ago). Oh well...6 stitches...thankfully it hasn't bothered me. Just no riding for a few days :(

So Jay came through for me in under a week to have my FEED lip painted! Awesome job too! I'm really happy with the end result. Perfect paint match...and perfect fit. Now I have two strict JDM pieces on the car that only maybe 5 others in the USA have :)

Decisions, decisions...should I take this to Va Beach this weekend? Or the civic, hmmmm

Time to Vent

Ok...so I have a problem...one that won't go away...and it drivs me nuts!!! Three years ago my scalp began to itch...no reason why. No change in diet, exercise, lack of cleanliness, stress, etc. After several visits to the dermatologist, and trying multiple perscription and over the counter shampoos/topical treatments, nothing changed. I kind of gave up and said: "you're gonna have this for the rest of your life...deal with it." Over the past three years it has come and gone...itching one day...being calm the next. On an average though, it is present every other, if not everyday. Just imagine a stinging/itching on your head everyday...every fucking day! For three years and counting!

Lately its been super bad...right now as I'm typing this...its itching. No flakes, no dandruff, no visible signs of rash, inflammation, etc. I'm really at a loss. In the past 4 months I've been to 2 new dermatologists...each with no real solution or new path to travel down...totally frustrating. The funny thing is when I have my hair colored or w/highlights, the itching sensation is lessened. Not sure if the coloring chemicals do something to neutralize with inflammation. And no, I don't believe the coloring is a factor in the itching...the first itch didn't occur until 6 months after a coloring...two haircuts and no remaining blonds left.

Recently I've been contemplating totally shaving my head...not sure if that will do anything. It would really suck if this occurs, yet no relief is found from the itching. So anyway...thats my bitch session for today...basically its been my bitch session for the last 3 years. I think my stress level has increased over that time just because this is so bothersome...just wish it would stop!!!

Should I go with the Garzelli?

Good Times

Had an awesome weekend in the city...with some amazing food as usual. Saturday night consisted of a dumpling party complete with garlic shrimp stir-fry, mozzarella/tomato salad, apricot liquor and more :) Sunday was just as good with a trip to DOK SUNI, a favorite Korean place with surprisingly, no Korean waitresses, hehe.


Even got to see a small exhibit on 57th St. by cycling photographer Graham Watson

Insert > Surface > Loft

During some research for a up-coming product at work...I came across some of the newer Pitney Bowes mail machines. While my current office and previous one both had a small "stamper" machine...I was never exposed to some of the more "wild" products they offer. And dayum...they are wild!

I guess overall, a good grouping of office electronics like laser printers, fax machines, phones, etc have a nice aggressive tone...but rarely do they have "too much" going on. Well, "try" to not have too much going on. In that I mean the styling being too busy...or fussy. These certainly are that...fussy. While I do always appreciate a nice surface treatment...and lean towards aggresive styling compared to my more conservative co-workers, these machines are a little too extreme.

The first, the DM400 resembles more an Alpine ski landscape! Its nice that there isn't a straight line anywhere to be found...and that the flowing motion is indicative of how the letters are processed. But overall...wow...a bit too many curves in too many directions.



The DM200 is a little more subtle...but along the same lines has curves going everywhere. One thing for certain...being a CAD bitch for Pitney Bowes must be very gratifying...but also a purely frustrating experience :)



Fatty Lip

After 2.5 year of sitting around...I am finally gettiny my FEED lip painted! I purchased it that long ago as a "just in case the stock lip breaks" replacement. Well, sure enough a few weeks ago I hit a possum on Rt 80. Would have loved to score another OEM replacment...but unfortunately Mazda doesn't carry that item anymore...in the US, Only in Japan...*hint hint!!!*

Did the final fitment with widening some holes last night...in preparation to give it to Jay to paint. It'll look pretty kick ass and aggressive when its done. My only worry is that its about 1.5" deeper than the stocker...so I'll be going EXTRA easy entering some parking lots. Pics below of the fitment...and a photo-chop at the bottom:





I'm so bad!

Yikes...after trying to stick to a schedule and type an entry everyday...I have failed miserably. Kind of thought I'd more time recently...but its been quite the opposite. A mix of being burned out after work...and a slow modem at home has contributed to my lackluster performance of blogging.

So anyway...sold one of my FC's...I'll miss her! 6 years, 100% reliability, and some style to boot!


Some other recent happenings:

1) Hanging out, getting blazed, and riding with the tea-baggin' king, Barrett

2) Got a company credit card! woohoo...Wacom Cintique soon? muhahahahah

3) Surpassed my savings account goal...now what to do with the dinero?!?!

more later...