Last week I had my last session on my dragon tattoo. I love it!

Here are some photos of the tattoo as it was being created and the final version.

The weather around Seattle is getting cooler. I’ve started a few fires in my wood stove already. As I was watching the fire burn last night, I thought about how much I like the Ecofan my mom got me for Christmas last year.
The fan sits on top of my wood stove and blows air out into the room. Best of all, it requires no external electricity and no batteries!

The fan uses the thermoelectric effect to generate electricity. This means that you have to place the fan near the edge of your stove so one side of the fan is slightly cooler than the other. One neat feature is if the fan gets too hot, a bimetallic strip on the bottom will curl up causing the fan to tilt. This allows air to circulate under the fan.

The fan does not make a sound. It is completely quiet. Also, it is not spinning fast enough to hurt you if you happen to stick a finger into it. I would say it is safe around kids but your kids shouldn’t be that close to your wood stove.

If you have a wood stove and you don’t have a wood stove fan, then you need to get one of these fans!

Police police police police police. Right?

Tattoos fascinate me. I enjoy watching the various tattoo related reality shows on TV. I was a big fan of “Miami Ink” on the Discovery Channel. My Tivo was set to save “LA Ink” but I stopped recording it when the show became more about drama in the shop and less about the tattoos. While watching Miami Ink, I decided if I got a tattoo, I wanted a dragon and I wanted it on my arm so I could easily see it. The scariest part for me when thinking about getting a tattoo was finding a good artist. I knew I wanted a fairly large one and I wanted it to look good.

My life has gone through some big changes in the last year. If you want details, send me an e-mail and I will fill you in. As a result, I have a girlfriend, Jessie, who has tattoos. She has been working with Erin Weymeyer in Bremerton, WA. I went with Jessie to one of her appointments with Erin. Erin impressed me. After Jessie mentioned that I wanted a dragon tattoo, Erin did some research and created a drawing for me.

Four weeks ago Erin tattooed the outline of the dragon on my left forearm.

Hopefully in a week or so Erin can add the color. I am excited to see the completed tattoo. I will post photos when it is finished.

I am playing around with mobile bar codes (2D bar codes or QR codes).

A man defends his bird feeder with a slinky. This video is fascinating to watch as the squirrel modifies its technique. In the end, the squirrel will win.

How fast can you do your multiplication tables? Do you have your multiplication facts memorized or do you do a lot of addition?

Put yourself to the test and try out my Multiplication Speed Test.