Zack Danger’s Blog

My landlord recently upgraded her toilet and apparently they were having a two-for-one sale. There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with my old one… but who doesn’t like a new toilet?!

The new one is pretty sweet… all white and high-speed. The thing is so powerful it could probably flush a puppy or small potted plant. The only problem is that the drain on the new one is a few inches farther towards the rear than the last one.

Having the drain slightly off results in the back of the toilet actually falling a few inches away from the wall.

Okay, so a slight esthetic problem. I actually have no problem with this. It would be cool if it was against the wall, but what does it really matter? Hell, I even figure I could hide back their if I were ever to be the victim of a home invasion or something…

Yeah, that little gap doesn’t bother me one iota, except that my bathroom is already so small, those few inches effectivly put the toilet in the middle of my bathroom.

No really, there is no room in there.

Truth be told, I find the whole situation quite amussing. I especially enjoy hearing my house guests discuss how they have to contort themselves to fit on the toilet.

Here are some things I’ve noticed the past few weeks:

Halloween costumes are getting less and less creative:

And in some cases, just plain lazy:

This is just so awesome on so many levels:

And while you’re in Spencer’s, make sure to pick up this awesome lamp… at HALF OFF!!!

Now, am I the only person that had no idea Slash was black? (Not being racist… I honestly had no idea)

And while we are flipping through magazines, here’s a gem from Cosmo:

Here’s an armed stand-off with a raccoon:

I would have figured someone would have noticed the similarity between their image of ice cubes and a few rolls of frozen toilet paper:

And finally, I was trying to think of a word I could use ” ‘gravy ” at the end of. My dear friend Joanna pointed out that the phrase “Man Gravy” could be shorterent with “Ma’Gravy” if need be. Thank you Stop & Shop!

It was a slightly blurry night… as are most of the pictures. My dear friend Josh did a wonderful job capturing some of the Booth vs. Lincoln fun.

Firstly, for historical reference:

Thanks to everyone who was able to make it out!

Here’s a pro tip: Begin planning your costume now for next year now.

Sorry for the severe lack of updates… been a little busy.

This day marks some pretty fantastic awesomeness:

It was 53 years ago today Dr. Emmett Brown slipped in his bathroom and invented time travel.

Hats off to you Doc.

It’s Guy Fawkes day.

Masks off to you Guy.

Oh, and in case you didn’t hear, this man will be sworn in as our next President in January:

Seriously, how cool is this!?

Fucking. Awesome.

Moxie, the longest continuously bottled soft drink, is changing its logo.

These things are bound to happen with products from time to time… companies need to innovate to state relevant…

…but they removed the Moxie Man for Christ’s sake!

If you’d like to sign the petition, they have one here.

Worcester Wired did a piece on it that explains the outrage a little more than I could.

And if you are wondering where you’ve seen Moxie before, perhaps it was in my Taste of Bali video.

Surely you’ve gotten wind of the digital conversion which is happening in the broadcast TV industry in just four months.

If you still need some information, this informative video should help:

Keith Loutit has taken time-lapse photography and combined it with tilt-shift lenses to create some awesome films.

In a nutshell, the Tilt-Shift technique moves the lens relative to the image plain (film, sensor, etc) to create a very narrow depth of field. Generally it has the effect of making life size things look like miniatures. By combining this phenomenon with stop-motion, Keith Loutit gets this:

Bathtub III from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

I could watch this stuff all day.

(And the music certainly doesn’t hurt it.)

If this has piqued your interest in Tilt-Shift photography, make sure to check out this great NY Times animated piece by Vincent Laforet. He accompanies his images with his own audio commentary.

There is also the Tilt-Shift Miniature Fake flickr group to look at:

(This one from Houbi’s photostream.)

And last but not least, here is a music video for Thom Yorke’s “Harrowdown Hill” which incorporates the technique.

I like racing.

Not left turn, beer drinking, mullet wearing racing… that’s dumb.

I mean real racing.

Isle of Man TT

24 Hours of Le Mans

(On a side note, the late great Paul Newman finished 2nd in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979.)

Well, our great friend at the Toledo Raceway in Toledo Ohio have out done themselves.

In 2006 they decided to honor one of the most famous races (pictured above) with their own 24 hours of LeMons.

The rules are simple: Teams can race whatever they want do whatever they want to do to their cars… except the price of everything must not total more than $500. The car that makes the most laps in the 24 hour period is awarded the $1,500 Grand Prize…

…in Nickels. 

 The New York Times did a nice little piece on the event.

Of course I can, it’s my site.

Every woman (and man for that matter) in the country should be incredibly insulted.

Why is any person ever selected to be VP? Because they bring something to the ticket… either a quality/trait, or a state’s vote. 

I don’t think the republican party needed the much coveted Alaskan vote, so we can rule that out. 

What traits does Sarah Palin… well, she’s a woman, and uber conservative.

I really hope no one is going to argue she’s qualified to lead. As far as I’m concerned a VP *should* be able to be President. Even if it’s considered unlikely, they are the #2, and I’d like them to be competent. I haven’t heard one person say they think she’d make a strong president.

She is very conservative, which is good for the Right to “rally” that portion of their following. There has been concern that McCain has gotten “soft” on some issues, and Palin can act as the super conservative figurehead. But this still doesn’t explain why they chose Pailin. There are plenty of other people that would fill this role just fine who have more experience or are better known.

When Palin was announced, how many people said “huh?”

I could mention the fact that shes a “Washington Outsider,” but I feel that’s a weak argument. Before Palin was announced, the Right had been attacking Obama on his lack of Washington experience. As far as I’m concerned that makes it a null case for Palin. 

So this leaves us the fact that she’s a woman… and that’s insulting. To think that anyone (and presumably women… perhaps the “Hilary Vote”) are going to vote for a candidate just because of their anatomy undermines our intelligence.

It’s like expecting me to vote for someone just because they have a penis. Infact, someone just last night tried to tell me the only reason I was voting for Obama is because he’s black. 

I was furious. 

I don’t care who you vote for… just that you pull that lever, and you do so informed.  I’m smart enough to see beyond skin color, but if the Right thinks we aren’t smart enough to see beyond sex…

In July 2007, 4 people broke into 63 year old Jose Luis Gozalez’s trailer. 

Texas law allows one to defend life and property in their home with deadly force. (Castle Doctrine)

Mr. Gonzalez was not at home at the time, but did observe the break-in occur from a neighboring building. Having been a victim of similar crime in the past, he grabbed a 16-gauge shotgun went into his trailer to confront the intruders.

Jose Luis Gonzalez

He found the 4 boys, aged 11 to 15, had broken in to “rummage for snacks and soda.” Mr. Gonzalez ordered the 4 to their knees with their hands on their head.

These are the facts of the case.

The boys testified that they began begging for forgiveness after Gonzalez hit them with the barrel of his gun and kicked them repeatedly. Gonzalaez stated that “it was a situation in which I feared for my life.” 

One of the boys, 13 year old Francisco Anguiano was then shot in the back at close range and died from his injuries. The medical examiner testified that he had two mashed Twinkies and some cookies in his pockets.

Gonzalez stated that Anguiano was “lunging at him” when he fired the gun and that ”it was a case where it was my life or theirs…” 

Jesus Soto Jr, now 16, testified that Gonzalez then ordered them at gunpoint to take Anguiano’s body outside.

After the police pressed charges against Gonzalez, a large population in Laredo became very vocal in opposition stating “the kid got what he deserved” and called for the “stop [of] the unfair prosecution.”

Just this past week, the jury of 8 men and 4 women took 3 hours to find Mr. Gonzalez not guilty of murder.

(AP Story)

First things first, I am in no way condemning the 4 boys for breaking into a home for any reason. This was wrong and illegal, but I did want to bring the case up because of the ultimate outcome. 

Now, I do believe that there should be protection under law for people to defend themselves against threats to their life and property… and that it may mean the use of deadly force to protect life.

However, from the information I’ve heard (knowing that I was not privy to the hearing), and the impression I get, I’m not so sure this situation met all the elements of the law.

Was Gonzalez in legitimate fear for his life if he was already someplace safe but thought it was okay to go into is trailer after the boys?

Moreover, Texas law states that the homeowner must not “provoke” the criminal. If Gonzalez was not in his home when he observed the 4 boys entering… did he provoke the boys when he went in after them? Would the situation have arisen had it not been for Gonzalez’s direct action? (And this doesn’t even address the testimony that Gonzalez was kicking and hitting them with the barrel of the gun while they were kneeling.)