I got a minus in art...

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Back in elementary school, most of your classes on your report card were graded on the traditional A-F scale (but where was “E,” “E"xactly?). There were some other classes that were merely graded as Check or Check Minus or Minus. These were the non-core classes of Music, Art, and P.E.

Well, in Art I got a minus. I guess even then I was too postmodern or something like it to really be able to do art, but I was even then, and still am, excellent at dissecting Art’s meaning. That’s probably part of the reason I live in SF.

But I’ve been wanting to have a proper notebook cover. It sounds like something you should be able to buy right? Basically it’s something made of cardboard and maybe some sort of leather like covering that you slide a traditional notebook into and as you use it up replace with a notebook. Seems simple?

Well, I can’t find one, so I’m making one.

Join this need with the fact above, it’s probably not a good scene.

The great guys over at FLAX over at valencia and market really helped me out. I got a sheet of binder board (like what they make books out of) and some rubber cement. I went then over to a fabric store in the Haight-Ashbury and bought some canvas (much to the reverie of being Douglas Fairbanks Junior and jabbing my dagger into a canvas sail as I rappel down to the deck where my next pirate nemesis awaits).

After I got back from the stores I started cutting up the binder board, I’ve then wrapped each of the panels in canvas and I’m letting the adhesive dry. Once I have covered the panels I will then use another strip of canvas to create a binding for the two panels.

Once that’s done I will cover the panels with this leather-feeling stuff that is actually paper! It’s crazy. It feels just like leather, but it’s compressed paper. It’s pretty insane.

All this effort is to have basically one “creative” - forever - while the content may change.

I’ve never been much of a craftsman, I’m still not and you would know this if you saw the precision of my cuts.

…and I suppose we’re back to why I did poorly in art class…

Last night after a viral outbreak at work (ugh) I went over to my friend Jason’s brother-in-law’s place where we had a small Halloween soiree. It was a good time, but after all the moving and getting up at odd hours I was just pretty much zeroed pretty early in the evening.

So I came home.

Also while out I picked up some Xenedrine to help get my metabolism up. Much to my chagrin even with regular exercise I’m not losing weight (building muscle, that’s OK, but I need to lean up). I figure this plus The South Beach Diet will hopefully point me in the right direction. My goal is to fit into these damn jeans the way I did when I bought them.

I once read a blog entry where a guy likened Windows to himself, it bloated slowly, almost unnoticably over time and then one day it became, like him, a big blob of bloat. He then did some simple re-evaluation (moved to linux, went on a diet) and things were better.

Salon recently ran an article about Linux Hackers going nuts for the anti-Carb diets. As an occupation, I would say that we’re one of the most vulnerable for packing on the pounds. Soda as blood, coffee as ritual, fast food as fact, we gotta keep a closer eye on the waistline.

I went by SF BMW as well. Two things:

  1. They imprint their logo on the back in paint - not cool. If i had just bought an Alpina roadster I sure as hell want nothing on it that didn’t come from Bavaria or wasn’t asked for
  2. Looks like they modified the Z4 so that it’s slightly less ass-ugly. I didn’t get into the interior, I couldn’t find a salesperson that took my seriously in my GAP sweater, jeans, and vans. Their loss.

Lastly, I’m still waiting for my freaking PowerBook. Apple’s handling of their lead times is not really impressing me. Then again, you don’t expect to buy a suit off the rack either. Tailored and elegant things take time.

Speaking of, I picked up a very nice blue sportcoat yesterday. This is finishing off my clothing upgrade.