One last Halloween entry!

Mike as the Invisible Man.

Happy Halloween everybody!

Here’s the deal. It’s Halloween. I thought I’d try something a little different and see what happens. I’m going to start a story. It is your job to finish it in either a horrific or humorous manner. That way when we’re done we’ll have a single beginning, and as many different endings as possible. So let’s get started!

The Arbor

Jonathan had been waiting at the bus stop for at least an hour. It was Halloween night and he’d just come from a costume party. He had dressed as Jack Black. It didn’t go over too well… no one could identify him without asking who he was first. Despondent, he left the party early hoping to grab the bus and be home by midnight.

And now it was quarter to twelve and there was no sign of a bus. He cursed, turned, and started walking home. It was a long walk, but nothing he hadn’t done before.

His feet ached. It was all he could think about. He stared at his feet as he walked forward, oblivious of anything else. After a while of mindlessly walking, he looked up and realized he was lost. The clear night had fogged over and he couldn’t see much beyond a single city block. There was a grape Arbor off the side of the sidewalk.

He paused. If this Arbor led into Mirror Lake Park, he could probably cut through and get home without wasting any time going back…

His feet still ached.

He groaned and walked through the arbor. He wasn’t 50 strides into the park when the fog got very dense. he lost the path and started aimless walking through 6 inches of fallen leaves. The shuffling of his feet through the leaves was loud. “Jonathan…”

He stopped. Did someone just say his name?

…

Your job is to take it from here! Conclude the story in your own unique way in the comments. Hopefully we’ll get a couple people to give it a shot and we’ll have a handful of fun Halloween conclusions. Good luck!

Atlanta is beautiful right now. The weather is absolutely perfect.

At this very moment I am sitting in my above average hotel room enjoying some quiet time before a monster presentation that I will be giving tomorrow. I have practiced it through and through, and I have great hopes for mastery.

Oh man! I just got the phone call for dinner! Gotta run!

Ryan Schenk found this gem:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2-IczA0e0o

So last night, we decided to see if I could kick a marshmallow that was tossed towards me.

We also decided to videotape it.

Check it out.

Now, it should be known that I thought there would only be three marshmallows. Also, these marshmallows were slightly stale. And when you CHUCK a marshmallow at someone else’s face… it hurts.

Two more entries…. and they are… puntastic.

Mic D.

Mike B.

Here’s a step by step how-to on shining shoes with shoe polish.

Step 1: Get your materials!

For this particular shoe shining adventure, I have my lame worn brown shoes, a container of Kiwi brown shoe polish, a horse hair brush, a soft cloth, and a polish applicator.

Notice the front of the shoe and how it has been worn down and lost color.

Step 2: Clean the shoe. Apply Polish.

Run a damp towel over the shoes and wipe away any dirt. Then apply some polish with the applicator. It’s best to start at the heel of the shoe and work forward.

Step 3: Let it dry.

This photo shoes the shoes after one coat of polish as they eagerly await the shining process.

Step 4: Shine ‘em up!

This next picture shows the difference between a shined shoe and an unshined shoe. The shoe on the right has been buffed for maximum brilliance. The shoe on the left remains lackluster and weak.

Step 5: Apply another coat!

If you’re feeling ambitious, you can apply another light coat and then use a soft cloth for extra shine!

The end product:

It’s fall BACK! here I am thinking I was going to LOSE an hour of sleep and now instead I get to be mattress bound for an EXTRA hour.

this is joy in it’s simplest form.

Taishan!

I’m relatively happy at the moment. And while I’m not sure why, it probably has a lot to do with a hearty rock climbing session last night. Jesse and I worked laps. What a rush.

In just 20-30 minutes our hands were reduced to silly putty… barely able to hold onto a grip the size of a telephone handset. Our forearms pumped and expanded to near Popeye proportions.

When you do laps usually by the last few your mind isn’t really thinking much. Instead, your body just performs the moves. It’s crazy.

I’m headed to Atlanta, Georgia for a week long exposition. I should be returning next Thursday evening… at which point I’ll probably just get up and leave for a week in Texas. I will do what I can to post regularly or semi-regularly.

Two more entries!!

Milk D

Leprechaun D

I got my Dynamics midterm back last night. I got a 13/35. That’s about a 37%

Not too shabby if you ask me!!

In other news Sander was here at work a little late last night and, following my lead, turned some music on and hit the intercom button. Moments later “Aces high” by Iron Maiden was shaking the shop floor and Sander was Rocking out!

Unfortunately, Sander wasn’t the only one in the building.

It’s unlikely the other engineers who were working late and fighting deadlines appreciated the Heavy Metal interlude.

Woo! Another submission! This one is good too.

Mildly Evil Mike D.

My previous cell phone number has been canceled.

If you’d like the new number, fire me an e-mail at:
mikedidonato AT gmail DOT com

My desk has surface chaos.

At any point in time there is a wide spread of papers and forms muddled in with post-its and catalogs on my desk. But with just a little shuffling, the notes and drawings can be pulled into piles and neatness appears. Underneath the skin deep mayhem, everything is relatively organized.

Perhaps I’m just trying to rationalize my heinous working environment.

New rule! Every day, before I leave for lunch, I’m going to fix up the desk area.

How would you rate your desk?

Last night we made dinner. THIS was the dinner we made.

your job (it’s not too tough) is to guess the theme.

The answer may be in the comments!

yes!!!

Mike D. as Clean D!

Any more Halloween submissions out there?

Please take a close look at the album cover below.

This is the album Back to Indiana & Looking Through Windows, which, in addition to being a mildly creepy title, has six people on the front.

Six. not Five.

So who is this ellusive sixth Jackson?

I think Shaun McQuaid might be mildly disappointed in today’s post. Yes… yes… I waited all day… but finally I’m getting my act together and am posting the weekend update. So here it is:

Climbing at Cathole
a post by mike d.

Sunday was a perfect fall day.

Jesse, Devin, and I took advantage of it by heading over to Cathole Pass in Meriden CT. We set up the rope on two routes that I have mentioned previously: Saturday Night Special and Millions of Dead Dogs.

After a comfortable warm up on Saturday Night Special, we started working on MoDD. I think I have decided that, of those climbs in CT that I have climbed, this Dead Dogs route is my favorite outdoor climb in CT.

Cathole is especially fun because it’s a very exposed cliff. Anytime while you’re climbing you can glance off to the right and get a beautiful view of the fall awesomeness. Anyway, back to the route.

What makes this route fun, in my opinion, is the top. The last 20 feet or so, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, is covered in Razor Crimps. This time, I climbed the route with my camera and took a sweet photo.

So amazing! Here are more pictures from Sunday!

Overall a pretty stellar day, though chilly at times. I look forward to our return to this spot.

I think we all kind of expected this one to follow the last.

Mike D as Master Chef

TWO MORE ENTRIES!

Mike D as Motofone!

Mike D as Master Chief!

a weekend update is in the works. stay tuned

mike d: Jesse, what’s been your weirdest dream?
Jesse: … probably the one with Mr. Spaghetti face. where this chick was totally making out with a plate of spaghetti that thought he was sooo sexy… in a hot tub no less.