Originally published at T E X A R R A K I S. You can comment here or there.

 Let's take a brief look at the news of the hour!

Wow, journalism at it's finest. Is this what it's gotten to? A day of minor frustrations for people trying to smoothly use Facebook for their weekend social ritual, as opposed to their hourly screen based socialized ritual. I'm glad the news is keeping us informed about how a potentially good day on Facebook was ruined for millions of Facebook users. 

Hmmm, Google seems to be getting a little too . . . real for my taste. I'm starting to feel a little bit . . . surrounded.

Dear Mortals,
The internet will make you smarter! Well, it's PROBABLY not making you stupid. The internet is just making our brains . . . different. Not dumb. Here's some energy. Sorry about Facebook Saturday. See you tomorrow!
Yours truly,
The internet

And finally the most interesting news item. Actually it's not a news item at all,
just something i did by accident as I was making all these screen craptures.

the infinite hallway

Originally published at T E X A R R A K I S. You can comment here or there.

Originally published at T E X A R R A K I S. You can comment here or there.

 As we march closer and closer to our leaving date (which is now determined to be somewhere in between March 22nd and April 1st), we're really starting to get close to the wire, and will try to give you regular, weekly (at least) updates on our progress.

• You can’t direct the wind, but you can adjust your sails.
  FOR ALL WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED MONEY, or bought t-shirts from us, either in person or through the website, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! We have raised $790 so far towards our fundraising goal of $5000 (separate from the money we are raising through working full time). We assure you, this money is not going to waste, it is all accounted for. After a meeting last night, we decided to make our first purchase using this money;
  A MALLARD WIND LOW WIND GENERATOR
  
  This beautiful thing is hand built in Arizona. It cost us $469, shipping, extended warranty and weatherproofing combined. It draws in 4 watts at 5 mile per hour wind speeds, and over 900 watts at 35 mph, and everything else inbetween. There is a regular wind where we're going, (averaged at around 10 - 20 miles per hour). THIS IS ALL THANKS TO YOU, our WONDERFUL contributors, no matter how much you contributed, part of your contribution has gone into this. Rest assured, we will not waste a single penny that is received through contributions, so please consider helping us out, and we'll show you exactly how the money is spent. For the wind generator, we still need to purchase inverters, regulators, a buss bar, and batteries for our battery banks. DONATE TO OUR PROJECT TODAY!!!
• THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG
  We have been researching the idea of getting chickens. At first, this seemed kind of like something we would decide on after months already existing down there, but the more we look into it, the more appealing it is to us to start out almost as soon as we can with chickens. They are easy and inexpensive to take care of, and if we had 15 of them, we could easily get a dozen eggs every. single. day. This would go a long way towards feeding ourselves!
• FIRST AID CLASSES
  For any of you nervous about us dieing out in the middle of the desert, you can breath slightly easier. Before heading down, at least a few of us will get certified by the Red Cross in first aid.
• TRAILER TROUBLES
  We're unsure if my truck will be able to actually haul the trailer the entire way down to our land. Unless we purchase a new truck, or find someone with a larger truck willing to drive it down (we could help subsidize the extra gas money the trailer would require). If you know anybody that could do this, let us know! We would still love to bring it down, it just seems improbable with the vehicles we have at our disposal at the moment :/ .
• YARD SAILING
  It will be early in the season to be sure, but sometime in mid-March we will be having a large yard sale, as we try to expel all of our extra stuff that we have no need or desire for any longer. We'll keep you posted with a date for this.

This is all we got for you at the moment. Thank you for your interest. Consider donating a few bucks! AND THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS!!

FOR THE WEDGE! FOR THE VERY WEDGE!!!

Originally published at T E X A R R A K I S. You can comment here or there.

OTHERWISE KNOWN AS, reason #4711 I am moving to the desert. As posted on the b0st0n livejournal community.

Hello. This is my twenty-eighth winter in Boston. I know how it goes. I know how to be warm, in spite of frigid temperatures. It's true. I'll show you how, in this guide which cleverly mixes capitalization and normal speak. I hope you enjoy it.

• PRE-WINTER COLD TRAINING; In the months leading up to winter, it is important to remain as cold as you can. This way, when it's actually cold and not a balmy 30 - 40 degrees, you will be prepared. The whole point is to be shivering and freezing early, so later when it is ACTUALLY cold, you will barely feel it.
  • Going out for a minute? Wear a t-shirt and shorts.
  • Sleep with your windows open, unless the outdoor temperature reaches below 25 degrees.
  • If you drive, do so with the windows open.
  • Don't wear a hat unless it dips below 20 degrees.
• LAYERS; It is important that you look like a hobo. The more like a hobo you appear, the warmer you will be. You will know when this effect has been achieved when you notice no one sits next to you any longer on public transportation.
  • TSHIRT
  • THERMAL
  • BUTTON DOWN SHIRT
  • SWEATER/SWEATSHIRT
  • HOODIE
  • WAIST-LENGTH JACKET SUITABLE TO FALL/SPRING
  • LONG WOOL COAT
  • LONG UNDERWEAR OVER REGULAR SIZED UNDERWEAR
• WARMING ACCESSORIES;
  • BOOTS - I mean come on what century is this?? IT'S 2010 PEOPLE THERE'S NO REASON TO NOT WEAR BOOTS
  • FINGERLESS GLOVES - So you're actually able to function in the real world.
  • CONSTANT HOT CUPS OF COFFEE WITHOUT DE-WARMING SLEEVE - This is to counteract the negative effects fingerless gloves will have on your fingertips.
  • LONG MATTY HAIR  - Stop getting haircuts in September, barely ever wash your hair, this will give your hair a nice mat feeling that will help lock in warmth.
  • A HAT - Make sure this is long enough to cover your ears.
  • FUZZY SOCKS - When the garment district has their 50% off sale, completely buy out their selection of fuzzy, feminine socks.
  • BEER - Try to make sure you have at least a slight buzz at all moments where it is not inappropriate to do so.
  • SMOKE CIGARETTES - This warms your insides and helps you feel bad ass, which brings me to the next topic;
• WARMING ATTITUDE/BEHAVIOR;
  • Never complain about how cold it is, but complain about others who do complain
  • Rub into everyone's faces about how not cold you are
  • Always face the wind, avoid shelters (for instance at bus stops) because you can handle it

THERE! I hope you have enjoyed this guide. I spent fifteen minutes working on it.

Originally published at T E X A R R A K I S. You can comment here or there.

a few tasty concepts that can be rolled into one:

DIY SOLAR PANELS MADE OUT OF BROKEN SOLAR CELLS

these things are amazing. after doing some quick research on ebay, i am pretty sure we will be able to produce 100 - 200 watts of power for under $100. compared to the alternatives (60 watt solar panels starting at $300, 50 - 400 watt (depending on windspeed) wind generators starting at $300). it's beautiful, the potential to turn nearly every flat surface into a solar panel is here now, using broken but still usable chunks of broken solar cells. every structure, could serve as a power plant. i've ordered a small bag of thirty 1 - 2 inch solar cell chunks off ebay for like eight bucks, so we can actually try this out soon. there will be pictures.

ALSO, in the wake of switzerland banning minarets from it's landscape, i have been reading about minarets. well, i'm exaggerating there, it makes it sound as if i've been doing actual research. i just mean i read the wikipedia article on minarets. it is a fascinating article, and i recommend it. but there was one particular line, which caught my attention:

THAT IS ALL.

Originally published at T E X A R R A K I S. You can comment here or there.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, we received a nother one hundred dollars in donations! THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!

Unrelated; here is a song created by myself, and our associate, Mr. Benjamin MetalGod Hammerschmidt, in the basement.

Originally published at T E X A R R A K I S. You can comment here or there.

Originally published at T E X A R R A K I S. You can comment here or there.

WELCOME to the eBay auction that could change your life! What we have for you here today is pretty excellent. It is a Constant Temperature Anemometer! You probably know what that is. Kind of like how I know what it is too. So, now that we've established that we, top tiered intelligent people know exactly what a Constant Temperature Anemometer is, allow me to illuminate those who do not know what it is.
<!--break-->
CONSTANT TEMPERATURE ANEMOMETER; let's break that down a bit.

CONSTANT = CHANGELESS
TEMPERATURE = THE DEGREE OF HOTNESS OR COLDNESS OF A BODY OR ENVIRONMENT
ANEMOMETER = A GAUGE FOR RECORDING THE SPEED AND DIRECTION OF WIND

There. there's your goddamned description, ok???

SO, as I said in the video, I got this from a prominent university in Boston, who were discarding it because they brought a brand new one. They assured me it works, however I am selling this product AS IS because it has not been tested by me.

SO LISTEN UP CONSTANT TEMPERATURE ANEMOMETER HOME ENTHUSIASTS, BID STRONG ON THIS BABY, I EXPECT A MASSIVE BIDDING WAR. ALSO, I SHOULD NOTE THIS THING IS A BEAST OF A MACHINE, AND ALTHOUGH I HATE HIGH SHIPPING RATES, I AM FORCED TO CHARGE A FLAT SHIPPING AND HANDLING RATE OF $40 (FORTY) DOLLARS. THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING.

YOU SHOULD PROBABLY BID THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON THIS ITEM.
 

All proceeds from this auction will go to help fund the T E X A R R A K I S PROJECT.

Originally published at T E X A R R A K I S. You can comment here or there.

I think trying to configure the shopping cart on texarrakis takes about as long as it would take to make thirty t-shirts. oh well, it's done now! BEHOLD, INTERNET PEOPLE, A TSHIRT OFFERING FOR YOU!

we ran out of tshirts to test on for a model tshirt, so for now this is the model. IT WILL NOT BE UPSIDE DOWN, UNLESS YOU REQUEST IT AS SUCH. CHECK IT OUT.

Originally published at T E X A R R A K I S. You can comment here or there.

wow, doesn't this look like fun!

EXACTLY what i always want in a party; cops everywhere, art & craft, halloween stories,much more, and  treats bags, all on the delightful setting of a third floor gymnasium! fanstastic! i don't want to miss out on this one, the same way i missed out on the thrilling RON BURTON TRAINING VILLAGE RETREAT, also offered by the Boston Police Department in June!