01/26/14 12:28 - ID#58618

Arduino New Years Ball

I fucking hate the Arduino. I spent a good chunk of yesterday trying to make the distance based LED ball for the ball drop, where the LEDs on it would change color as the ball got lower. Everything was working great until I had it all hooked up and on the ball, when the distance sensor died. I didn't bave time to try anythi g else, so instead I just had to used a lame preprogrammed pattern.

The LEDs looked cool but I am glad (e:mike) destroyed the ball for me.

Permalink: Arduino_New_Years_Ball.html
Words: 98
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 01/26/14 12:28

Category: birthdays

01/26/14 12:04 - ID#58616

Paul's B-day

(e:paul)'s party was amazing. I even made it past 2:30 for once since I stuck to wine.

Wine, cured ham and a sharp spinning slicer - perfect combination

Blue Steel

Badonk!

Permalink: Paul_s_B_day.html
Words: 88
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 01/26/14 12:30

Category: going out

01/25/14 02:19 - ID#58611

Saddy Hardcore II

After work, while (e:paul) and (e:xandra) had their car/mall fiasco, (e:terry) and I went and got Ethiopian with (e:yesthatcasey). I loved the food at Gatur's.

Then after we went home, I had truffle cake before we hesded out again. We all went for margaritas for Caroline's birthday at Don Tequilas. The big matagarita tube was like drinking sugar syrup, so sick. Afterwards we were going to head to a house party, but an actual dog decided to upstag Paul after he heard about his Doggy hat.

We ended up at saddy hardcore night at Underground with (e:robert). It was still pretty fun, but I can't wait for real happy hardcore dancing at Ohm or Rainbow Rink next week.

The atmosphere was so romantic at Underground that Alex and Robert got engaged.

Permalink: Saddy_Hardcore_II.html
Words: 145
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 01/25/14 02:20

Category: food

01/25/14 11:10 - ID#58609

Chocolate Truffle Cake

(e:terry) and I made this flourless chocolate truffle cake for (e:Paul)'s birthday. I thought I would write it down with modifications if we ever wanted to make it again. The fanciest cake I've ever made.

1 bag semisweet chocolate chips
7 squares unsweetened 100% cacao
3 eggs, 3 whites
2 sticks butter
3/4 cup sugar

We followed these

directions minus the water bath and it worked out fine. We served it with a seedless raspberry sauce and Sweet Jenny's sweet cream ice cream.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease one 10 inch round cake pan and set aside.
In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the water, salt and sugar. Stir until completely dissolved and set aside.
Either in the top half of a double boiler or in a microwave oven melt the bittersweet chocolate. Pour the chocolate into the bowl of an electric mixer.
Cut the butter into pieces and beat the butter into the chocolate, 1 piece at a time. Beat in the hot sugar-water. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Have a pan larger than the cake pan ready, put the cake pan in the larger pan and fill the pan with boiling water halfway up the sides of the cake pan.
Bake cake in the water bath at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 45 minutes. The center will still look wet. Chill cake overnight in the pan. To unmold, dip the bottom of the cake pan in hot water for 10 seconds and invert onto a serving plate.

Permalink: Chocolate_Truffle_Cake.html
Words: 276
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 01/25/14 12:49

Category: birthdays

01/23/14 09:51 - ID#58602

Happy birthday Paul!

Late but happy birthday Paul!
I love you and hope that your birthday was amazing, and your party this weekend is even better. Here's to many more years!
I'll leave the write up about the bougie bday to you.

Permalink: Happy_birthday_Paul_.html
Words: 41
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 01/23/14 10:09

Category: health

01/21/14 10:30 - ID#58598

More blood pressure

Also caught up in the health records trend, I am very happy with my resting heart rate but no so thrilled with my blood pressure. Prehypertension is now defined as 120 and my readings have been consistently over in the mid 120s or low 130s over 70s and 80s.

Some of it is mentally stressing about it, but I can't figure out what else would be contributing to it. I exercise, eat alright, am not too stressed and am generally pretty healthy.

Google tells me poor sleep quality (and I assume length) leads to persistent hypertension. If anything I think that may be it. I usually average 6 hours or less except weekends.

Permalink: More_blood_pressure.html
Words: 125
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 01/22/14 12:29

Category: work

01/21/14 08:59 - ID#58593

We'll be counting cars

I'm sitting out in Orchard Park sprawl counting traffic for a study today. 7 hours counting cars, 4 in the office. It seems crazy but my company doesn't have enough automated counters for the study. (e:terry) and I think it'd be possible to come up with a cheaper/better device.

Definitely not as nice as it was in the summer but at least I have a data plan now, lol.

The cops just came up to me because I guess I look shady sitting in a parking lot.

Permalink: We_ll_be_counting_cars.html
Words: 90
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 01/21/14 09:02

Category: music

01/21/14 08:48 - ID#58592

Erica's open mic at Nietzsche's

Yesterday (e:czarkasm) undid her belt at Nietzsche's and sang at the open mic night. I'm not super muscial but I definitely thought she was one of the best (throat lady notwithstanding). She did four songs, I recorded her cover of Titanium.

Hopefully you're all regular now, Erica.

Permalink: Erica_s_open_mic_at_Nietzsche_s.html
Words: 62
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 01/21/14 08:48

Category: movies

01/21/14 08:16 - ID#58591

Wolf of Wall Street

Sunday we watched The Wolf of Wall Street. Basically it was about Jordan Belfort

and a bunch of scummy stockbrokers who became rich off insider trading and other scams.

The movie itself was well made. Leo was an amazing actor and the plot itself was ridic. I don't think the movie ended well because it glamorized them a bunch, but I guess they got off pretty easy in real life too, right? They even freaking put Jordan Belfort in the movie. It's so messed up that you can fraud and cheat, and then sell the story and have a movie made about it. They even advertise his motivational speaking company at the end, as if he is somehow redeemed.

Afterwards and the whole next day, I felt so repulsed by the movie. Not just by how disgusting and corrupt the characters in the movie were, but how much I worry about money. Obviously our motivations are different (doing coke in a Ferrari vs paying student loans) but I still feel so disgusted by any sort of greed. I have everything I could ever want or need, so money should be the last thing on my mind. It feels so selfish and I hate our cultural obsession with it.

Permalink: Wolf_of_Wall_Street.html
Words: 216
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 01/21/14 11:33

Category: dancing

01/21/14 07:57 - ID#58590

Lindsay and Carrie's birthday

Saturday night (e:paul) (e:terry), (e:xandra) and I headed out to Casa di Pizza for Lindsay and Carrie's birthday party. Casa was fun, we hung out there for a bit before going to Torro.

After we headed out to Toro for dancing since it was across the street. I had fun dancing, but the music was only okay and I definitely agree with (e:paul) about the crowd being way too bro/Long Island. I stepped on a guy's shoe by accident and he wanted to fight. Never going there again. Some of my friends started getting sloppy so we finished the night there. Paul got us Casa pizza which seemed to be so amazing at the time.