My underwear is 15 years old

I consider that to be quite an accomplishment. And, socks about 10 years old. Hey if they still fit…

Obviously not all of my underwear is that old, but it makes really wonder how much of what we buy really gets used to the fullest? Is the word “timeless” just a marketing scam? Because few things that still work or function well still appear to be acceptable these days.

Do I really need to raid Old Navy to be socially acceptable?

I’m one of those people who still keep t-shirts from the mid 90’s; when the music wasn’t terrible, but the cars sure were. I look scruffy, I wear cheap hats or caps and my favorite hoodie has stains and a hole.

Why do I have to get this or have to get that? Why can’t I just be comfortable in my own skin? Or am I just getting old and cranky? Which brings me to my new peeve about work…

Welcome to NYC where nobody gives a $#@%!

People like to take their sweet time on the train, when they think you’re a bum. Dagnamit, I’m not a bum! I just look like one. But if someone is wearing an expensive suit with a coat and carry a briefcase, they get to get up and move to the door even before the train stops.

So my attire isn’t, shall we say, very sophisticated compared to most other people on the train. Granted, I have far fewer zeroes in my paycheck compared to others working South of 42^nd street, but I guess I could improve in my appearance a bit.

Although, I wonder what makes them think my time isn’t as important as theirs. For all they know, I could be working to cure the credit crunch.

Yeah, you’re right… that’s a stretch.

Printable Talking (Ouija) Board

I was watching a TV movie today called “Possessed”. It was based on The Exorcist by William Blatty where a young boy plays with a Ouija board that eventually leads him to be taken over by a demon. I don’t particularly fancy these types of movies, but it had Christopher Plummer so I stuck around.

Well, I got cheated on Plummer time, but it wasn’t a total write off. It did make me think of how much people get into these types of “talking board” toys. And let’s face it, it is a toy no matter how you look at it. A piece of wood or cardboard with another wooden or cardboard base with writing on it. Why would you spend money on something like this? Surely the “spirits” are more concerned with contacting you than the quality of the board you’re allowing them to use through you.

Well here’s a few you can print off and use yourself. I wasn’t sure on other people’s tastes, so I made three versions. Mind you, “Ouija” is actually a brand name, but the concept itself is quite a bit older. The overall design is from a patent from the 1800’s so please consider these images to be in the public domain.

Minimal pattern for non-discerning spirits

Basic backdrop to not offend the departed too much

For particularly fastidious spirits who want some form of tradition.

Coffee flavoured Ebola

I’ll take a shot of that…

Besides the fact that I’ve been extremely busy for the last few days, I’m also wrangling with a certain (unnamed) bank to try and secure a loan for an apartment. So between that and the two jobs, I’m about ready to jump out a window. Is it just me or are they finding new and creative ways to avoid giving loans by flogging you with more and more questions? I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve forwarded my pay stubs and bank statements.

And heaven forbid if you don’t document every penny of income. Because I’m obviously not going to cite anything coming from my part time meth lab.

Oh, and the process repeats each time the processor changes. Apparently these people don’t talk to each other. But the really sad part is that the bank head honchos probably have dinners every night that cost more than the loan.

Did you document this income? Well, then NO LOAN FOR YOU!!

Icopod : A living dream

If anyone remembers the good ol’ days of TechTV (before it was mauled, regurgitated, re-consumed and finally defecated by G4), there was a wonderful show on called “Invent This“. It showcased the creations and personas of quirky, yet deceptively brilliant, inventors as well as the history that lead them to where they are today.

One of these inventors was Sanford Ponder, a former musician who later went on to create The Icopod or The Pod as it was often referred to. The underlying premise was to create a temporary or semi-permanent shelter for disaster relief, social gatherings or for impoverished settlements from nothing but pre-cut sections of treated cardboard.

Icopod parts awaiting assembly

That’s right… Cardboard. The theory being a lightweight assembly of repeating pieces is the most efficient and elegant way to build shelters that someone would actually want to live in.

All the sections going up

 And is it any wonder why The Pod was a smash hit at the burning man festival.

Looks mighty cozy to me.

On the series, Invent This!, Mr. Ponder goes on to envision an entire village of these pods with much more complex arrangements. The goal being to shed away what he perceives to be distracting end goals which actually detract from the quality of life one could have. I think he may be on to something.

We live in a society where we’re constantly fed our own wants. Wants that eventually become needs if only because they’ve been hammered into our psyche since the day the perception of our own existence was differentiated between “I” and “Not I”. But how much of these wants do we actually need? It’s amazing how much clarity one can achieve when one is forced to live without luxuries.

And why not live without them? How much stuff do we need to fill our lives with? How many “things” do we need to accumulate before realizing that none of it is ever enough and the high is only temporary.

That said, I think there’s a great future for products like The Pod. If they can be made permanent and more durable and safer or if a whole different class of structures can be cheaply made with the same premise, we may finally have the capability to decide what’s really important in our lives. Living in a shelter such as this makes it an absolute necesity to only keep what you need.

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Site of the Week: Materialicious

After a looong delay in posting due to other affairs, we bring in the new year here at Intentionally Left Ugly with a site that displays what I believe to be the most honest expression of progress and functionality. This is a site that can please the eyes of all beholders.

Shelter, Materials & Objects

Following the words of William Morris,

If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.

The sentiment is also remarkably similar to my programming philoshopy which ingratiated this site so much to me.