Pirates

I make an excellent pirate and I won the Best Pirate prize at my sister’s party to prove it! This is me slitting my friend’s throat. (I’d rather just blur the face than have to later take down pictures when folks object.) I slit many a throat that night. Good times.




The best part of the costume, though, was my peg leg. I managed to bandage up my leg behind me and attach a peg to my knee that I could actually walk on. From the front it looks completely convincing and I got some gasps from a couple fiends.








Some more pics just for fun.


















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I had all that pirate fun on just a can and a half of beer. My drinking habits just aren’t what they used to be—and that’s a good thing. It’s not so much that I’m making a conscious effort to drink less; it’s just that I don’t really feel like it. I hope this kind of from-the-inside-out change denotes a lasting change of heart. After all, from the heart the mouth speaks. It’s merely lip service without a concomitant change of heart.

I’m a work in progress….

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I fixed my violin, the one I mentioned in the last post. I wound up using an old guitar string instead of the traditional catgut, though I suspect it’ll eventually break since it isn’t as strong. A string from a bass guitar or viola would work better. I’ll keep an eye out for one.

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You can often buy a new printer for the cost of a replacement ink cartridge. Printers are disposable and cheaply made, so even if you manage to bypass manufacturers’ ploys to thwart the refilling of cartridges (which is getting more difficult), you’re still left with a crappy printer prone to clogged printing heads, worn rollers and worn photoreceptor drums.

I got so frustrated a couple weeks ago that I threw away all my printers and decided to try another approach: buy an older, used office printer. I was surprised at how amazingly cheap they are and how plentiful and cheap the parts and consumables are. I got an HP Laserjet 5si printer with internal Ethernet print spooler, duplexer (double sided printing) and three thousand page capacity (prints 11 x 17!) for $160. This is cheaper than many of the cheapest (and total pieces of garbage) desktop laser printers available. The toner will only cost me about a fifth of a penny per page. Best of all, the thing is built like a tank. I know because the first thing I did was take it apart for a thorough cleaning, inspection and lubrication. Amazing.