Threadless: Cool Shirts for Cool Cats

So I was in the airport earlier this week when I noticed a guy sporting a t-shirt with the best design I've seen in a long, long time. After a day of Internet investigation and some help from Flickr, I found out that the shirt came from Threadless, a lovely sort of social t-shirt
creating collective. The design, "Pandamonuim," was unfortunately sold out, but I did find a few others that I chose to buy, including "I'd Hit It" (With the Penguins) and "Loch Ness Imposter." Definitely check them out if you have a few minutes, some extra cash and a need for shiny new shirts.

On top of that, Threadless has something called "StreetTeam" going on in the background which is an extremely well implemented credit-based social marketing program. For instance, if any of you click this LINK, you'll be taken to the main page. If, once there, you decide to buy a shirt (you'd be cooler if you did) I get a few credits with which to buy more shirts. Diabolical, no?

Anyway, hope some of you get as turned on to this thing as I am.



-Al.X

Well damn...

Something crazy happened so all my little extras are gone from the page. Probably for the best anyway. I'll put the flickr badge and music list up again, but we'll see how close I can get to returning the blog to the eighth-grader-esque melange it once was.

Mines Goggles Puts on its Shiny Shoes

Two new things to mention right now:

1. - First, Alex can be cool and audioblog now, either by hosting audio through 'Springdoo' - as you can see in action for the Sudoku Samurai poem below - or by posting directly to this blog from my cell. Not that cool, but certainly cooler than the other new tidbit.

2. - Second, I added a little chat box... waaay at the bottom of the page, because the thing doesn't look good anywhere else. I had a talk with the founder, though, they're fixing it up for me as we speak. Check them out at Gabbly.com if you'd like. Anyway, if anybody... happens to be looking at Mines Goggles at the same time as somebody else - unlikely - they can talk about how amazing I am... or just leave an angry message for me to check out later.

This is what boredom in the Springs leads to... Missoula on Saturday, baby!

Poetry Corner: Sudoku Samurai

Yay for inspiration. I wrote this little beauty during finals week at Mines. Anyway, you know that Sudoku craze that's sweeping the nation? So do I. I'll be trying to make myself write poetry once I get through some romantic drama and get settled into the gorgeous city of Missoula, Montana. But for now, this is all I've got:

Sudoku Samurai

Treacherous intellectual fad!
You have created a false elite
with a mastery of the mundane
and an illusion, a false sense of
morning mathematical accomplishment.

Addition and determination,
are the sole requisite skills
to fill your cavernous maw
with the 1s, 9s, 4s, and 7s
that rightfully belong to us.

You were once a forgotten bastard,
son of the noble newspaper crossword.
And you will seep - numerically - back
into a blessed, puzzling obscurity.
But until that day, you curse the world
in your restricted tongue of numbers.

- Audio: Sudoku Samurai

Hope I haven't lost it after two years of calculus, physics, thermodynamics, and beginning volleyball. Either way, you can hear an audio clip of me reading Sudoku Samurai by following the link above. Out for now.

We work, we bleed, we eat, we sleep, the earth, the trees, we need to keep, observe, then breathe in deep, to speak these words.

This last weekend was E-Days at Mines... Maui Wow-E-Days, to be specific... and gay. Whoever was organizing this thing was an idiot, but oh well. Here's a rundown of the events:

Fireworks show - Thursday night originally, postponed until Friday. Absolutely amazing... especially since the guy lighting the ground explosions cought his leg on fire. Half sticks of dynamite going off in a football stadium are sexy, too.

Everclear concert - Friday following fireworks. Terrible live show + energy-less Mines crowd + 'giggity bitch' lead singer = sub par concert.

Mexico party - Sausage fest... as expected.

Comedians Daniel Tosh and some other guy - Hilarious. I love Daniel Tosh and the other guy was good too... "My mom's from Seattle and my dad's Catholic... so I like to fuck little boys in the rain?"

Swollen Members and Sweatshop Union concert - Sunday night. Not part of E-days, but easily the sweatiest event I've ever been to. Hosted at the Fox Theater in Boulder, this was seriously the best concert I've ever been to... except when Derek and I had to lift up a fat chick who was trying to crowd surf... my back hurts.

Mass and Energy Balances class - 8:00 a.m. Monday... plus a quiz... yay steam tables!

V-day, VP Shooting, Long-Winded Engineers, and an Earth Systems Test

Valentines day... I always cry on Valentines day. Not this one, though. How could anyone cry? Seriously, it's been less than 100 hours since Vice President Dick Cheney shot a 78 year old man in the face. If that doesn't bring a smile to your face, I don't know what will.

Anyway, I haven't done one of those really bloggish blog entries lately (ever), so I thought I'd treat everybody to a nice dose of tedium. Here was my schedule for the day:

1. Impregnate no less than 4 women.
2. Wake up.
3. Fight Ninjas.
4. Shower.
5. Fight Ninjas in shower... naked.
6. Wrestle a hurricane to the ground.
7. Free Tibet
8. Release hurricane in Tibet.
9. Dictate blog entry to team of supermodels.
10. Eat a burrito.
11. Go to bed.

And for those of you still reading, here's the actual 11-step plan to a day in the life of Alex.

1. Wake up.
2. Talk to my buddy Celine.
3. Study ass off for Earth Systems exam.
4. Take Earth Systems exam.
5. Make a 1.5 hour conference call to the two most long-winded engineers ever.
6. Eat a burrito.
7. Discuss democratic development.
8. Come up with a better money-lending strategy than those used by the WTO and World Bank in 15 minutes.
9. Watch Carpenter's "The Thing" (best worst horror movie ever).
10. Watch Daily Show and Colbert report.
11. Go to bed.

And could somebody tell me how Earth Systems will help me in my career as a chemical engineer? Well, at least I know how to avoid the seven deadliest manifestations of an earthquake... Wait... Damnit! What was number 4?

Who has the time?

Not the real time... it's currently 21:59. I mean, who has the time to write "lame....... you never got any poon in yo life son...you have no idea do you lol" 27 times in the comments section of my last post? Somebody did. And that's the kind of action that'll keep America from going communist... or something. So to everybody who wants to waste a solid two minutes of their time in order to waste two seconds of mine: "Piss off!"

Just to be Trite...

People always say they want the proverbial "lady on the street but a freak in the bed." You know what? Screw that. I want a girl who's bat-shit insane with lust when we're together in public but turns into a complete prude when we end up alone. Here's how it might play out:

Alex: No, no, Sally. Could you please get your hand out of there? I'm sorry, I don't know what gets into her.

Sally: You look so hot tonight, Alex... I'm not wearing any underwear. Did you notice?

Alex: It's only three in the afternoon, Sally. And no I didn't noti - Oh, yeah, I see now. Honey, could you please pull your skirt back down?

Bank Employee: [clears throat] As you can see, option one provides you with more liquidity and -

Sally: Oh, speaking of liquid. Alex, I'm thirsty...

Alex: Then go get some - Oh my! Sally, not here.

Bank Employee: Do you two need to be alone? I could -

Alex: [zips back up] No, please. I'm sorry. We really need to get this out of the way this week.

Bank Employee: Alright... [glances at Sally]

Sally: [smiles back innocently]

Bank Employee: Option number two on the other hand would allow you to - My God!

Sally: Take me now!

Alex: Jesus, Sally! Please get down. I'm sure Mr... [looks around at nametag]... Peterson needs those papers for something.

Bank Employee: [standing] I have never... ahem... my desk... [shakes head in disbelief and leaves office]

Alex: Why do you always do this to us, Sally? [sits on desk beside Sally] Hmm... Do you think these walls are soundproof?

Sally: [putting shirt back on] I'm not sure what you mean.

Alex: You know... [does fist pump and winks]

SLAP!

-Scene-

Nice Voice, No-Voice

You know what I hate? Streptococcus bacteria - annoying little bastards. Well, I can't really blame the fact that my voice is comepletely gone of strep... since I'm not sure I'm actually sick. Whatever, though. Point is, the only way I can make myself heard is through the internet...which is sort of poetic... kind of... but mostly just lame.

Anyway, We're hoping to get the newly-revamped Volk Bouldering Club T-shirts out sometime within the next couple weeks. Here's the current design:

...Should be pretty bomb-ass, if I do say so myself. Oh, and to anyone who's taken advantage of me during my period of...not-talking-ness, trust me. I will not hesitate to kick you in the mouth.
Peace, lovers.