Pedal Building Update.

I'm now working on my second DIY effects pedal. This one is the build your own clone (BYOC) 250+ (can be built as either a DOD 250 Overdrive, or as an MXR Distortion+ -- I will be building mine as a distortion+, but with a few modifications like assymetrical clipping). The enclosure they sent me did not have some of the holes drilled, so I emailed them and they said they'd send me a replacement, and that I could hang onto the extra enclosure, so that means I now have a spare enclosure. The above picture is the bare enclosure with the side holes partially drilled. Maybe this time I will not be too lazy to photograph my progress to illustrate what goes into it.

I also have some photos of the last build I did.

Here's the guts of the tremolo pedal:




Here's the lettering on the front of the pedal:



Here's the top view:



Notice: the paint job is kind of shitty. I just don't have a knack for painting I guess, but hopefully I'll get better. Also, the lettering on the top is hard to see, because I didn't think about the knobs covering up part of the lettering as I was applying it.

Legos Still Kick Ass

Legos were the shit when I was a kid, and they still are. I hope kids today are still playing with them, it'd be a shame if an awesome toy like that got wasted. This site shows some really awesome lego creations. These two examples are particularly bad ass.

How to Get Your Blood Boiling . . .

. . . and get a few chuckles in the process. This site claims to be scientific and to use "scientific evidence" to prove creationism. More accurately, however, they try to disprove and discredit evolutionary theories and evolutionary science instead of making a credible claim for their own beliefs. There is also no mention (that I could find) of flying spaghetti monsterism (or Pastafarianism for the enlightened). Interestingly, the author of the site (based on a book he also wrote) "received a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he was a National Science Foundation Fellow. He has taught college courses in physics, mathematics, and computer science". While a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering is a worthy feat, it doesn't sound to me like it makes one credible in such an area as evolutionary theory, biology, or even in creationism. Dr. Phil, douchebag as he is, at least has a Ph.D. in a field related to where he works.

Sharpening Pencils

I doubt very many people even use pencils after elementary school unless they are artists or engineers. I use them all the time and I normally prefer them to pens because I get to feel the texture of the paper better with a pencil than with a pen. Mathew James Taylor writes about the Art of Sharpening Pencils.

He discusses the different styles of pencil points, as well as the different methods of sharpening them. I personally am a fan of the "standard" point which is the first one he discusses. I am also a fan of the electric pencil sharpener mainly because it provides the speed and consistency that I like.

Creative Commons

It is possible to run a website and fill it with content without stealing. Believe it or not. This site lists over 25 sources for Creative Commons content. Two of my favorite sites are: Intratext, a digital library indexing texts over 1000 years old; and the Internet Archive with its "wayback machine" which indexes old versions of websites. That comes in really handy when you want to see what a website used to be.

Your Ideal Candidate

With so many douchebags (er. politicians) running for their respective parties' nominations, many people are probably left in the haze of which candidate best represents my own personal beliefs and interests. This quiz asks you a series of questions about political and social issues and your answers and how important that particular topic is to you are used to determine which candidate has your best interests at heart.

My results matched pretty much what I thought they would, Dennis Kucinich (see here or here). I honestly think that this dude is by far the least full of shit of all of the candidates from both parties. Still not quite green party, but decent enough. Also, this is not a political blog, but for the time being, I'm endorsing Kucinich for the democratic party nomination in 2008.

Who is yours?