Skate Deck Design

Enjoy this skate deck I designed for a competition while I was in Seattle. Unfortunately, I missed the deadline. The tiny picture that this page can display doesn't really do it justice.

Seattle, Greensburg, Kansas City, and Cincinnati

My roommate and I just hooked up the internet in our new apartment in Cincinnati, so I can finally throw a new post on here.

Leaving Seattle was an ordeal. I was working my ass off to try to prepare for a presentation that summarized all of the work I had done at T-Mobile, while simultaneously trying to get ready to fly to Greensburg, Kansas on Monday. I found out that my roommate, Evan, was in Greensburg to help rebuild the town, which had been destroyed by a massive tornado. Given my construction background, and figuring it might make sense for us to drive to Cincy together, I decided to join him for a few days to help out.

But first, I had to get out of Seattle. After recieving some duffels in the mail from my parents, I stuffed them full of my clothes: some dirty, some clean, but all smelling funny afterwards. I packed another bag with general stuff, and a backpack with my computer, some clothes changes, and toiletries. The remaining stuff I had no idea what to do with, but fortunately a friend offered to hang onto them and send them once I had arrived in Cincinnati.

Next, I had to put my car in storage. I was originally going to drive it across the country, but my parents suggested I keep it there as they would be in the area sometime in the near future. I don't really know why, but I didn't ask questions - Two cross-country trips in one year is enough for me (I had driven to and from L.A. in the winter for a co-op at K-Swiss). I found a place next to the Ballard bridge, and drove over and stored the car. I found a bus stop right next to the bridge, and waited for the bus. As usual, it did not come at the time it was supposed to, and I had just turned to begin walking when I heard it approach. I waved my arms like an idiot, but it just passed me. The driver gave me some kind of hand signal I didn't know how to interpret. This was the last of many moments with Seattle public transit that pissed me off. It was a beautiful day though, and I was hungover, so I decided just to walk home.

I stopped for some much-needed food at some place called China Box or something like that, and then continued along what I guess is Lake Union. Since I was in no hurry, I walked through Gasworks Park, which looks like something out of a steampunk illustration. In the picnic area there was what I think was a man in a ridiculous dress sitting behind a microphone while sound equipment was being set up and people stood around smoking weed.

I continued on through Fremont and paused at Troll street. After some inner deliberation based on the hill I would have to walk up, I decided to walk to the place where the bridge over my head met the earth, where there is a gigantic statue of a troll emerging from the ground below the bridge. It actually might have freaked me out if I didn't know it was there...and if it was night.

Eventually I made it home. Some people run miles and miles every day, but for me, it was a damn long walk, and hot.

After a successful presentation on Monday, and then another for the VP, I hopped into the car of a very helpful friend, and headed to SeaTac for the flight to Kansas at 2:45. The flights were pretty nice, actually. The first one had comfy seats and the second one had a bunch of characters on board. No upset babies to speak of.

Evan greeted me at the airport by pissing in the urinal next to mine without a word. We walked out of the airport, and then remembered that I didn't have my bags. After correcting that situation, we drove to Greensburg and had a beer in a small gazebo in "volunteer village." The sleeping arrangements were shipping containers divided into four sections which each contained two bunk beds.

I spent three days there, working from 8 to 5 on homes - painting, siding, and insulating. The community had come a long way since the initial tornado. My previous experience with construction had been with my dad, which I was paid for, and hated, although I'm glad that I now have that knowledge. I loved working in Greensburg, the days were beautiful and the meals were free.

On our last night there, we went into a town called Pratt to watch Kansas State play Louisville. We enjoyed some casual beers and greasy food until some of the locals started ordering rounds of Patron. After four rounds and two pitchers, we decided it might be time to leave. As we paid our bills the waitress informed us that Evan and I were the only ones who had been drinking Patron. The rest were taking shots of water...a novel trick. A fireman from Jersey who had been working with us drove us home.

I fell out of my bed that night, which I had been fearing the entire time.

The next day we worked until lunch and then prepared for the drive home. As a measure of courtesy to each other, we showered in the portable trailers that housed the bathrooms and showers. The showers had a button that you would have to press every two minutes or so to continue a very powerful and direct stream of hot water. The first time I used the shower, I wasn't prepared, and I delivered a straight shot like a pressure washer straight to the worst possible area of the body to recieve a straight shot like a pressure washer.

Evan and I spent the night in Kansas City, in an area called Westport, which was surprisingly awesome. We did a little bar hop, beginning at an outdoor patio with a live band, and ending at a place wedged between two buildings that served PBR tall-boys and played hardcore punk music.

We reached Cincy on friday night. As usual for this time of year, Clifton was a mess of noise and drunkards, which is always exciting. The next day was devoted to Oktoberfest and UC v. Miami.

Now, classes are about to start and everything is about to get a lot lamer.

Overworked!

The blame for my lack of new material here can be placed squarely on the abundance of material that I'm tackling at work. I even worked on a Sunday for Christ's sake (pun optional)! Tomorrow is my last day at T-Mobile, and in an act of masochistic ambition, I agreed to present a great deal of work, including a presentation of everything that I've done over the course of my internship, and the culmination of my personal project, which has involved fashioning up some intricate prototypes.

This has been an incredible internship - I've made friends, gotten paid to take classes in 3D Modeling, learned how to use a 3D Printer, and spent four days in New York essentially just roaming about and partying. Not to mention that Seattle is pretty nice, too.

I'm trying to decide whether to fly or drive to join Evan in Kansas to help rebuild some homes for Tornado victims. I really don't know if I'm ready for another cross-country drive. I am ready to move into my nice, new apartment in Cincy, though...and I wan't to get the rest of this damn schooling out of the way. I should probably register for some classes first...

I participated in a free poker tournament last night. This served two purposes. One, it reminded me how much I like playing poker. Two, it reminded me how god-awful I am at it. You just can't go to one of these things without running into some asshole who actually knows what he's doing.

It's just about midnight now. Here's to the weekend.

The Perils of Collectivism

“USA! USA! USA! USA!” The crowd being addressed by John McCain at tonight’s convention deliberately drowns out interruptions from a group of protesters known as Code Pink. A photo montage and voice over explains to viewers at home what “country first” means.

These expressions of nationalistic pride may seem harmless, and are, in and of themselves, in fact quite benign. However, it is within the mindset that drives these somewhat meaningless chants and platitudes – and many like them throughout history – that dwells a dangerous tendency. It is the idea that the needs and desires of the group supercede that of the individual – a justification for the abuse, manipulation, and disregard of human life.

The following stories serve to illustrate my point, as sort of microcosms for the violence that can emerge from collectivism, or group-think. They are, by nature, to a lesser degree, and without clearly stated goals, but it is the human capacity and the behaviorial paradigm that I am attempting to highlight.

Critical Mass, an effort to call attention to the bicyclists’ road rights, took place in July of this year in Seattle. The event consists of a massive group of bicyclists riding on main streets, and generally having a good time. Unfortunately, after the event this year, many local cycling advocates are concerned that the event does more harm than good for relations between cyclists and motorists – primarily because of violence that occurred between one driver and a group of Critical Mass riders.

The aggressor is not clear – a cyclist who was hit by the car claims that the driver, angry and impatient that the traffic was blocked, pulled into the group of riders. The driver, on the other hand, claims that when he attempted to safely pull into traffic, the cyclists swarmed the car and began to rock it, saying that they meant to tip it. The driver stated that he revved the engine without realizing it was in gear.

Regardless of the source of fault, what occurred next is relatively clear. According to The Seattle Times,

"[The driver] was mobbed by the cyclists, who shattered his windshield and rear window, dented the sides of his car, slashed his tires and tore off his driver's side mirror. As he stepped out of the Subaru, someone smashed something hard across the back of his head. He later learned it was likely a bike lock. Doctors stapled the wound closed.”

“[The driver] said he thinks at least some of the Critical Mass riders were looking for a fight: ‘They were obviously equipped and intending to get in confrontations with motorists.’”

Occurrences like these are not terribly frequent, but certainly not unheard of. We are all familiar with the term “mob mentality.” The individual, when engaged in a group, feels empowered and compelled to do things that he/she would not do on his/her own. This is not only true exclusively with regard to violence, but it is violence that requires the most profound suspension of ethical qualms. Thus, the degree to which an individual can be transformed in this context is exemplified most abjectly in violent or destructive deeds.

We are also familiar with the concept of the provocation of violence. We have been raised to look for one source of culpability. One must only look as far as a kindergarten classroom to hear the words “he/she started it!” Most human beings are reasonable enough to at least superficially seek justification for acts of violence – the juiced-up and obnoxious guy at the bar with the flirtatious girlfriend, the rioters in the wake of a tragedy, and, as seen at St. Paul’s recent GOP convention, opportunistic protesters.

“ST. PAUL, Minn. - Protesters attacked delegates, smashed windows, punctured car tires and threw bottles Monday, a violent counterpoint to an otherwise peaceful anti-war march at the Republican National Convention. Police wielding pepper spray arrested at least 56 people…

…Members of the Connecticut delegation said they were attacked by protesters when they got off their bus near the Xcel Center, KMSP-TV reported. Delegate Rob Simmons told the station that a group of protesters came toward his delegation and tried to rip the credentials off their necks and sprayed them with a toxic substance that burned their eyes and stained their clothes.”

Amy Forliti, Sept. 1

Associated Press

I am not one to defend (riot) police, as they are often at least as if not more guilty of the same type of crime. Perhaps not with regard to property destruction, but certainly in seizing on an opportunity to use violence and force in what might have been peaceful assembly, sometimes not even bothering in provocation. However, it would to me seem foolish to assume that these ‘protesters’ did not arrive with the intention to behave this way.

For some reason, however, it tends to go unnoticed that this phenomenon can be accurately extrapolated to include much larger populations, and much loftier goals. In the case of nationalism, it often manifests itself in asserting the “higher ground,” that there is a greater cause, that the ends justify the means. Though the variables may differ, the behavior is the same, as is too often the outcome for those who intervene or are targeted, in much more atrocious terms, of course.

Obviously, there is nothing inherently wrong with associating with like-minded individuals, or grouping together to accomplish something beyond the capacity of an individual. Indeed, many things in life necessitate this. It is when the group comes together to accomplish something that violates your personal morals that you must ask yourself, “would I be doing this if I were on my own, and would I like others to do the same to me?” Perhaps more importantly, “is being a member of this group, or society, or nation, something that I should take pride in?” After all, many of the greatest crimes against humanity have been perpetrated to the sound of thunderous ovation.

Chair Design Photos

This entire evening (technically now last night) was devoted to putting together a new process book for the chair I built last quarter. Here are some fresh photos:

Welcome

Greetings from what will become my perpetual soapbox. If you were confined to only this dark corner of the internets, what you may eventually see is a series of musings on society, politics, and daily life, manifesting themselves in a variety of manners. These include, but are not limited to: rants, narratives, bland recounts, and fully-developed and coherent thoughts. I also intend to include the odd graphic or other artistic nugget.

The foundation of my political philosophy is best put into words by Stefan Molyneux (www.freedomainradio.com). After much deliberation I have settled firmly upon the ideology of Voluntaryism after a prodigious amount of self-education in the pursuit of truth. Voluntaryism lacks any of the contradictions that run rampant in other political ideologies, and offers practical and ethical solutions and prescriptions for a free society, which are so glaringly absent in said ideologies (that of Mr. Marx in particular). I do, however, have my own perspective, from whence I will obviously be speaking. I will do my best to remain consistent, although empirical evidence suggests I may do otherwise.

"Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely"

We've all heard this saying before, but what does it mean? My understanding is that when a person who finds him/herself in a position of power, in this case something resembling omnipotence, the individual will always betray any principles he/she might have had in favor of sculpting a world that conforms to his/her ideal.

I was clicking around the message boards of my Facebook groups, and I came across a thread that discussed how the presidential candidates may or may not have been "corrupted by Washington." The absurdity of this discussion hit me all at once, my conclusion served to validate the ideology I espouse.

Absolute power does not corrupt, corrupt people SEEK absolute power. This is why the state always grows ever more vast, bureaucratic, and oppressive. Does no one question how it came to be that a hypothetical entity arrived upon this power? What is the nature of power? If it is the ability to manipulate the lives of other people and use force to ensure the power-wielder's will is done, isn't it kind of implicit that this person is corrupt to begin with?

The solution is not to legitimize these "positions of power." Let's be honest with ourselves, does anyone truly still believe in the idea of Plato's "philosopher-king?" Do we really expect benevolence and virtue of our political masters? And if there are people that still cling to this fantasy, does historical evidence have no bearing on their mental faculties?