Archive for February, 2008
How to: Splash! [TASTHIB - podcast]
Feb 20th
Hey Team,
I changed things up ever so slightly this week. I like having this weekly format. It means I’m prompted to show you guys things I wouldn’t normally put out on the podcast. So, let me know what you think!
Here it is!
Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player. var WT1_1 = { params : { wmode : "opaque", allowscriptaccess : "always", allownetworking : "all", allowfullscreen : "true"}, flashvars : { file : "http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amtrekker.com%2Findex.php%3Fxspf%3Dtrue%26id%3D24", volume : "80", bufferlength : "5", controlbar : "over", 'logo.hide' : "false", shuffle : "false", playlist : "bottom"}, attr : { id : "WT1", name : "WT1"}, start : function() { swfobject.embedSWF("http://www.amtrekker.com/wp-content/uploads/player.swf", "WT1_1", "437", "522", "9.0.0", false, this.flashvars, this.params , this.attr ); } } WT1_1.start();And of course…the youtube link.
Okay, time to go check out the diggnation happenings!
I’m done.
Brett.
If you liked this educational programing then feel free to donate!
Thanks!
AKPC_IDS += "220,";
Yoga and Booboo
Feb 19th
Hey Team,
I scored another new experience yesterday! Apparently it’s this fancy new type of torture called “yoga.” (I think it’s French for “intense muscle pain.”) I wish I could have filmed some of it for this week’s podcast, I’m sure you all would have enjoyed watching the pain in my shaking limbs being telegraphed via the permanent grimace attached to my face.
Also, I should add, never in my life have I felt more mechanical. The room was filled with graceful folks of the opposite gender doing balletic (The little red squiggle says I made that word up…I say, “Fine, so be it. It’s STILL a good word.”) poses while I went on about practicing a terrible impression of a street performer with cerebral palsy doing the robot.
Still, painful or not, it was a new experience I’m glad I was a part of (read: survived). It’s probably not something I would take the time to do again. It was a little boring and I found it difficult to slow my brain down despite the careful breathing but more importantly I’ve already experienced several other ways to thoroughly embarrass myself through this trip.
For example, if I had a home and the More >
Facing Jail Time
Feb 18th
Hey Team,
I have a little exercise for you. Close your eyes and picture this (How you’re going to continue reading with your eyes closed is your own problem…let me know how it goes.):
The speedometer reads 85 mph. It’s dark…and late. Ben, the BFG (you know this one), is folded up in the passenger seat dozing off. We’ve been in the car for 10-12 hours at this point but we’re making good time. (Obviously. I mean, come on, the speedometer reads 85 mph.)
I see a cop car waiting by the side of the road off in the distance (and by “distance” I mean I saw him JUST as I past his darkened car).
“Shoot!” Before he even had time to pull out into traffic and turn his siren on I was already in the far right lane signaling toward the shoulder.
I have a couple hard and fast rules when it comes to getting pulled over. One of them is that I ALWAYS get out of the car. Maybe I’m wrong about this one but I feel like it puts you on the same level as the officer and you get to be a person instead of just a floating head that they More >
What the?!
Feb 17th
Hey Team,
Thanks everyone who wrote or called in yesterday about that wacky hacker redirecting my site! Here’s the update: Everything is ALMOST back to normal. The Forum is probably toast for the foreseeable future. And I’m thinking of making #51 “Kick the hacker’s door in, steal his computer and leave a note that says, ‘It’s tough to hack without a computer…it’s tougher to hack without hands. Don’t let it happen again. Signed, Amtrekker.’
We’ll see.
I’ve been driving for almost 24 hours now and I JUST got in to Chicago. I’m going to go curl up in a ball in Union Station and close my eyes for a few hours. Then I’ll tell you guys about what happens when an Ohio State Trooper pulls you over for going 83 mph in a 65 zone and says you have to go to jail if you can’t come up with $130.
Until then…
I’m done.
Brett.
How would YOU come up with $130 with NO notice?
Yeah, I was at a loss too.
AKPC_IDS += "217,";
Be Wary of VD
Feb 15th
Hey Team,
I LOVE movies. I’ve always enjoyed going to the movies. If I have nothing to do and I get kind of bored, I go watch a movie. There are quite a few people out there that get kind of skittish about going to see a flick alone but more often than not, I prefer it.
However, it turns out that watching a movie alone on the average Wednesday afternoon and watching a movie alone on Valentine’s Day are two VERY different propositions. Suddenly being that guy sitting there alone with his one chair buffer on either side takes on a whole different tone.
I put myself in other people’s shoes everyday. I’m constantly thinking to myself, “How would another person approach this situation?” Or, “What was that chicks motivation for biting the head off that pigeon?” Unfortunately, that was bad practice for yesterday.
I know for a fact that if I were out at a movie on a Valentine’s Day date and I saw a dude sitting by himself watching ANY movie I would almost definitely pity him. (I hate the idea of anyone ever pitying me.) Now add to the equation that one of the movies I watched More >
Amtrekker vs. Fire [podcast]
Feb 13th
Hey Team,
I mentioned how cool Heather and Spence Babcock were already…and I thanked Taylor Jones for setting it all up. But I just did it again. Ha! So there.
I literally spent hours with them learning about various aspects of “not dying in the woods” but when push came to shove I couldn’t cram all that info into a ten-minute long podcast. So, enjoy my frustrations as you watch me attempt to test out my new found survival skills!
Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player. var WT2_2 = { params : { wmode : "opaque", allowscriptaccess : "always", allownetworking : "all", allowfullscreen : "true"}, flashvars : { file : "http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amtrekker.com%2Findex.php%3Fxspf%3Dtrue%26id%3D25", volume : "80", bufferlength : "5", controlbar : "over", 'logo.hide' : "false", shuffle : "false", playlist : "bottom"}, attr : { id : "WT2", name : "WT2"}, start : function() { swfobject.embedSWF("http://www.amtrekker.com/wp-content/uploads/player.swf", "WT2_2", "437", "522", "9.0.0", false, this.flashvars, this.params , this.attr ); } } WT2_2.start();And if you click here it’ll take you to that fun for all youtube version.
Thanks for all the support team! How do you feel about this new Wednesday schedule? Not only have I managed the miracle of keeping up with it but today’s is More >
The Brain Treadmill
Feb 11th
Hey Team,
I’m not afraid to say that I’m getting a little frustrated. It seems people don’t drive west during February. It’s too expensive to take the train and frankly my budget is tight enough that I’m not even sure I want to spring for the bus, so I’ve been trying to find rideshares and the like on craigslist.
There ARE people that are going west…eventually. But I hate thinking of sitting around for four or five days just waiting for something to happen. I don’t like to sit still. I like to go. I like to feel productive. Sadly productivity is an ill-defined word in my head. I could sit right here on this couch for two weeks with Charley in my lap and still not catch up with all the behind the scenes work I should be doing. I could sit RIGHT ON THIS SPOT and be more productive than I’ve been to date on this trip.
However, for some reason I would feel much MORE productive if I were on a bus to a place I’ve never been before in the LOOSE hopes that I would be able to find something to cross off the list. I understand there is a More >
Go West Young Man
Feb 10th
Hey Team,
I’ve still been bumming around trying to decide if I want to see the Colbert Report while I’m in the area (they don’t film Friday, Saturday or Sunday) but I’m getting very antsy and would just as soon wait until April when I have to be in New Jersey for the fastest roller coaster in the country. (Remember that good old-fashioned Amtrekker failure?)
So now the “smart(ish)” thing to do would be to head south and take care of some things I have lined up in Florida and Georgia and get out of the cold weather. But I’m actually leaning towards going west. Diggnation is having a live show in St. Louis on the 20th and I’m sure you all know that Alex Albrecht, one of the costars on Diggnation, is also one of the Totally Rad Show guys who have done nothing but help me out time after time, no questions asked on this trip.
So my question is this: Does anyone hanging out between New York and St. Louis over the next week have anything we can cross off together?!
Fun times!
I’m done.
Brett.
Brett.
Only YOU can help prevent failure!
Listen to Smokey kids.
AKPC_IDS += "212,"; More >
