Jess and I just finished packing, labeling, and shipping the 3200 Ravelry T-Shirts that we sold in Sept. and Oct. Oh my god. We are never doing that again.

(Don't ask about Cafe Press - 1. I'm an ornery bastard, 2. we preferred to support a small printing business, 3. we were particular about our merchandise and 4. they charge a lot) Next time I'll look into the Shopify + Shipwire combo.

We've been working on Ravelry full time since June-ish and many folks from the press have asked us what our biggest challenges, obstacles, mistakes etc were. We didn't have a good answer until now. Seriously, this shirt thing was ridiculous.

Oh - and for Bostonites - here is a little something that I learned. Did you know that there is a 24 hour post office at South Station? They even let us back up to the loading dock on the rare nights that we arrived before 8 PM.

Damn, I had no idea that these 2 clubs were shutting the doors for a big time remodeling. Dropkick Murphys (with the Horrorpops and Everybody Out) are playing at Avalon's last night - I would have liked to send the place off with some sweat and some beer but I was too slow and scalpers got the only remaining tickets.

I hope that the new place is cool - "35,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art live music facility" sounds kinda ominous to me - I won't hold my breath.

See you all at the Middle East and the Paradise.

I like to decorate birthday cakes. They are still a little sloppy (the one below is a guinea pig, if you couldn't tell), but I get better each year. I hope to be a baddass cake man by the time that we have kids that are old enough to understand that it is their birthday. I just put some of my photos up on Flickr for all you cake voyeurs out there...

This song could very well be all over MTV and the radio - I have no idea. I'm a hermit these days - I spend all my free time working on Ravelry! Anyway - here it is: Speaker - by David Banner with Snoop, Akon, Lil Wayne. This is the clean version - the durty version is on YouTube.

Whoa - I was checking out the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim site 'cause David Banner has a cartoon about Mississippi and it looks like there is a Drinky Crow show? Nice!

Random enough for you? Gotta break the silence somehow.

Gogol Bodello has a new album - it's fun and energetic as expected. Side One Dummy has a stupid flash player with 2 free tracks. Edit: If you are in DC, Philly, NYC, Detroit, Chicago - GO TO THE SHOW. It's fun.

Tim Armstrong has a new album out. It's pretty good. here is a track. There are more at Epitaph.

There is a new one from Tiger Army. Try listening to Afterworld. More info at HellCat.

Hell, I might as well admit that I was looking forward to Reggae Gold 2007. That's out too. Don't laugh.

What are you listening to this summer?

• Words that I love to hear when they are said with a thick Boston accent: "Martha", "heart".
• 3 cool word sites: Wordie, Online Etymology Dictionary, OneLook search.
• What do you read, my lord? Words
• I'm the lyrical gangsta (word'em up)

I just put up a *ton* of screenshots of Ravelry. For all of you who have been wondering what Jess and I have been working on for the past few months...

http://www.ravelry.com/tour/peek

Enjoy!

Oh my god. How did this happen?

Today gets the prize for the this year's most enjoyable Vespa ride home from work (so far). On my way home from work, I scoot along Memorial Drive from Harvard Square to Charlestown. It's probably not the most direct route but it's a lot of fun - people are out sunning and jogging, the river is filled with sailboats, and with a good tailwind I can get up to 40 MPH (don't laugh!) ..and it's just pretty.

(Man, I *really* couldn't find a nice picture on Flickr! I did find my favorite corner - zooom! I wish my scooter went faster)

I hope that August never comes.

The secret is out! For the last few months, Jess and I have been busy building a really cool (in my humble opinion ;) site for knitters and crocheters. We aren't open to the public yet, but we are sending out plenty of beta tester invitations.

Ravelry's current front page includes a sneak peek and an invitation request form. Also, Rachel from licketyknit wrote up cool post and included a coupla screenshots.

I *really* want to write a proper post about all of this but there is SO MUCH that I want to say.

Hey all Comcast customers in the Northeast - it's not just you: something is not quite right. Flickr is among the afflicted.

New Hampshire is not having a good day.

This photo of my grandparent's home was taken this morning. My grandparents are safe and dry but the first floor of their house did not fare so well. Grampy's workshop is downstairs and I was very saddened to hear that the last few antique radios from his once grand collection are now underwater. Sigh. Damn you, nature.

1. Does anybody know of a good/cheap scooter or motorcycle mechanic in the Boston area? I have a Vespa ET2 that needs a little attention. My engine is sounding less zoom-zoom and more putt-putt these days.
2. It's almost springtime here in New England, which means that it is time for me to be working in the yard. I'd like to turn the patchy mossy lawn that is behind my house into a real backyard and I want to do it quickly. I have no idea where to begin but I have a plan anyway. I figure that I can rototill the whole thing and slap down some sod which may or may not actually survive. Does anybody have experience with greenery? Am I asking for a headache?
3. I've been so busy with my Secret Project that I haven't had the time to dig for new music. What are you guys listening to lately? Send me album names and last.fm usernames!
4. Does anyone know of any sites where I can get cool stickers? I don't see anything new and interesting at places that I've used in the past (Interpunk, Diesel Sweeties and Dark Horse). I've fucked up my Macbook's palm rest and I want to cover it up....

Matt Fraction has been carefully selecting and arranging Drake-era Doom Patrol panels and uncovering the lessons within. This is really great - thanks Matt!

• Everything I needed to Learn About Comics I Learned from Arnold Drake - Part 1
• Everything I needed to Learn About Comics I Learned from Arnold Drake - Part 2
• Everything I needed to Learn About Comics I Learned from Arnold Drake - Part 3
• Everything I needed to Learn About Comics I Learned from Arnold Drake - Part 4

First - the Boston Independent Film Festival is coming soon! This is an awesome event - anyone out there who is in the area should make sure to try a few films. Every year I put a lot of time into looking up everything that is on the schedule and trying to persuade my friends to go. This time around I put a little site together as a public service. It's got the summaries, posters, trailers, ratings, and more - check it out at iff2007.com.

Next, it's been a while since I posted some MP3s. Boston boys Smoke or Fire came out with a new album on Fat Wreck Chords - here's a track called Melatonin.

Sounds like fun! (tomorrow night)

It's restaurant week in Boston! This week many of the city's fine restaurants will be serving reasonably priced prix fixe lunches and dinners. There are soo many good places to choose from. At the moment, I'm thinking about Pierrot (mm.. real french bread), Taranta (mmm.. Peruvian/Italian fusion) and Oleana (yeah right, they've *got* to be booked up by mow).

Jess and I just got back from a week in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I like tropical beach vacations because I get to relax and catch up on my reading. Here are some half ass reviews of the books that I read this time (yes, I spent much of the vacation sitting in a beach chair). I know that a few of you people have been looking for something new for your bedside table.

Low Life

by Luc Sante

Low Life is a dense, fiercely researched history of 1840-1920 Manhattan. Sante should be proud of the facts and mythology that he has collected in this volume.

I've became interested in city life during the 1800s after I read The Alienist (a long time ago) and I finally got around to picking this up. I didn't enjoy all sections equally, but I'm glad that I read it.

Recommended to anyone with an interest in history or New York City. Don't miss the author's afterword.

Fragile Things

by Neil Gaiman

I'm always excited when some new Neil Gaiman shit comes out. This collection of short stories didn't disappoint.

Favorite bits: the American Gods novella, Other People, Bitter Grounds, a Study in Emerald...

Recommended to all!

PS - read the author's notes about each story as you complete them. You'll be glad you did.

The Areas of my Expertise

by John Hodgman

(you know, the Daily Show commentator and "PC guy" in the Apple commercials)

Very silly. Fun at times, but I don't think that I'd recommend it. Although the hobo names did mix well with all the colorfully named characters in Low Life :)

Lunar Park

by Bret Easton Ellis

I hadn't read any Ellis before and I probably should have read "American Psycho" first. (It's not a sequel, it's a novel starring the author. Yeah.) For some reason, I feel guilty admitting that I liked this :)

Shitty cover.

Recommended. Try it if you like vodka.

Kingdom of Fear

by Hunter S. Thompson

Where would we be without tenacious bastards like the late Dr. Thompson? Somebody needs to keep a weird and semi-deranged eye on the cops and the president.

Watch "Where the Buffalo Roam" or "Fear and Loathing" first so that your mind's voice will have the proper stumble/mumble gait.

Try it if you like Hunter!

Altered Carbon

by Richard Morgan

Fun, action-packed cyber sci-fi. Terrible fucking cover. Terrible title too. Like an action movie - fast paced, story over writing, mild cliches. I'd read the next in the series.

A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia

by Victor Pelevin

I loved some of the stories and barely made it through others. It probably doesn't help that I'm ignorant of all things Russian. Much like Buddha's Little Finger, I think that thoughts and parts of stories will stick with me (a good thing).

Try Buddha's Little Finger first. It's good.

Shuck Unmasked

by Rick Smith, Tania Menesse

Funny, cute, clever but not my cup o tea.

Sandman (book 1)

by Neil Gaiman

Really - I hadn't read it yet. No joke.

I liked it, of course, but I have a feeling that the best issues are still out there in one of the other million volumes.

Max just joined the club. Everybody say "Hello, Max!". I sent him my list of essential Mac apps:

• Growl : SO ESSENTIAL! Unobtrusive status messages, Supported by many apps. See screenshots.
• iTerm : Tabbed terminal. Woohoo!
• Textmate : Awesome text editor for all languages. Costs $$.
• Gimp.app : You know.
• Adium X : Great IM client
• Boot Camp or Parallels : Dual boot or awesome virtual machine software?
• Handbrake : Rip DVDs
• Quicksilver : It's a cult. Start here: http://www.43folders.com/category/quicksilver
• Fink : I tend to just ./configure ; make ; make install instead.
• Transmission : No frills Bittorrent

My morning commute was pretty hectic today. Sullivan station was flooded with cops, emergency vehicles, news vans and confused bus drivers. No one really knew what was going on. Was it a bomb? Were there hostages in the station? Why couldn't we stand at our usual bus stops?

Later on, we found out what had happened. The Globe reported "Sullivan Square Object Neutralized!" I know that I shouldn't laugh, but I snorted a little when I pictured the bomb squad detonating wacky Aqua Teen paraphernelia.

Man, my grandparents and other newspaper readers from a different generation will think that things have gone horribly wrong when they read the headlines tonight. Here is one journalists's (accurate) summary of the program: "The show follows the misadventures of a carton of french fries, a milkshake and a wad of hamburger meat who live together in a run-down suburban house."

(Oh - and don't tell anyone that these surprise packages went unnoticed for 2 weeks)

...Chris just sent me this link, it's got a few funny pics: http://blog.lolzllc.com/2007/01/bombs-in-boston-actually-ads-for-adult-swim. Umm. soo, these were actually not bundled up or obscured in any way? They were obviously that weird green pixel guy from Aqua Teen that has been on a couple big billboards lately? That's embarrassing :(

I just noticed Amazon's new aStore thingy. aStore lets you create your own mini bookstore of things which sell through Amazon and earn you a commission.

This seems like a *really* cool thing for creators. Kelly Sue and Fraction have one set up and stocked with their books and comics. I'd like to see more artists, writers, and musicians with mini-stores on their websites. If you know that you are interested in a particular creator then a little well organized store is much easier to browse than Amazon's Big Tangle. And of course, it's good to send that little cut of of the proceeds back to its Mom or Dad.

• Coding in Ruby is fun (lots of smiles when I see thoughtful design and guessable APIs) and the code just looks nice
• Working with Rails is fun for the same reasons - there are lots of little features that make me smile
• Useful and enjoyable little libraries like hpricot
• ActiveRecord takes care of the monkey brain SQL so that I don't have to
• Prototype and Scriptaculous helpers - rich user interfaces with less mess and drudgery
• Haml markup is clean and pretty
• Capistrano! Deployment is a breeze (with a little help from ActiveRecord migrations)

I've made a list of a few of the things that I liked in 2006. Restaurant names are linked to Yelp - check 'em out if you live in the Boston area. (Dear Yelp, your URLs are ugly)

Ethnic Food

Greek. I like the friendly people at Desfina and the chicken souvlaki at Greek Corner II

Restaurant, nice

Oleana on Hampshire St, Cambridge

Restaurant, take out

Punjabi Dhaba in Inman Square, Cambridge [yelp]

Wine store

The Wine and Cheese Cask in Somerville, MA

Wines

White: Sauvignon Blanc, Red: Cotes du Rhone

Cocktail

Manhattan

Book

"Air or Have, Not Have" by Geoff Ryman, I didn't read much this year :(

Comic

hm.. tough one. I guess I'd have to say Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith's "Fell". Pick up the first graphic novel in March - only $10 at Amazon

Website

del.icio.us. I use the bookmarking, searching by tag, and http://del.icio.us/popular daily.

Software

Omnigraffle, the storyboard/publishing/design swiss army knife for Macs

TV show

erm. none I guess. "Heroes" had my attention for a little while.

Movie

Did any really great films come out this year?

Album

"Orphans", Tom Wait's 3 disc collection of songs that "fell behind the stove while making dinner". Anti records has 3 free tracks. *really good*