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Sunday means poptarts friends.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that over 90 lousy poptart flavors over the course of a month is excessive. Well, too bad.

Kurt has made all the posts for today, the 19th of January. Take it away Kurt!

So as most of you know the New Year brings along a slew of resolutions, proclamations, Power Teams, and many other and varied methods to improve yourself. There is a gold mine in Self help books for those people that aren’t satisfied with the way they currently perceive themselves. Now I’m extremely happy with where I am and how things are going in my life so I don’t need any of those things.
That was until last year in March as I was out spending some money on a bunch of new books to read. I usually end my shopping sprees in the humor books, cause who can’t use a good laugh? NO-ONE! Thats who. So I was rummaging and I found this book. This Book Will Change your Life . So I picked it up and didn’t even look at the inside, and purchased it. When I got home I started to leaf through it, and found it to be quite funny. Now there are 365 things to do, one each day of the year. The book is obviously making fun of all those self help books I previously mentioned, and I bet the author didn’t intend for anyone to really follow through with this. I thought it would be a fun little exercise to see if indeed this book would change my life. So I saved the book until this New Years to seriously read through it and actually do Everything that is in the book. So here goes….

Today we’re going to have a showdown of band names suggested by contributers to the 720 posts extravaganza. The will follow the basic single elimination system shown here.

Today we’ll have the initial show downs shown in dark red numbers. You’ll be able to vote for which name will proceed to the next round. A week from now we’ll have the blue showdowns. Unfortunately next week is going to be a little weird since I’ll basically have to post the day… as it passes. It’ll be an interesting test.

The end result will be the ultimate band name. Only one vote per person per round. Since I have to get 24 posts in today, round one will start right now. Enjoy!

Today is going to be super interactive.

I have recorded a bunch of different song pieces with my new PRS513 guitar. Your task is to identify the tunes. Some are alarmingly easy, others are really difficult. Not only because the songs are hard… but also because I play them poorly.

People who have lived in the same residence as me within the last year are not allowed to post answers because they probably already know all the songs that I can play.

At the time of posting this feature post, I only had 21 different rock riffs. That means there might be some pictures of my sweet guitar posted during the day too. We’ll see!

In any case, Good luck!

You’ve just experienced 20-something mike d hairstyles. And you probably thought it couldn’t get any better. Well, get ready. Today you’ll be witness to some of the best humor that came out of the 720 posts adventure.

Back in November when I took those photos, I shared them with Schenk. He then responded in kind with 24 different mustaches formed entirely out of electrical tape.

From ‘The Anchor’ to ‘The Zappa’ I think you will find many many laughs.

Enjoy!

I’d like to think that my hairstyle is iconic of my personality. While I’m not sure it’s true, my hair does have one unique characteristic.

When I’m over 20 hours or so since my last shampoo… I can mold it into whatever shape I want and it will stick.

Today you will be witness to a huge wealth of different pictures that I was able to generate on one particularly voluminous hair day.

Enjoy!

Welcome to the second edition of FreeSwim. As a reminder, FreeSwim is a day where you’re going to get a random collection of entries that don’t really fit anywhere else.

We’re going to start this free swim day off with an evolutionary showdown… so to speak.

Somehow, Schenk got his hands on some evolutionary data.

The following charts (I think there are seven) compare species in a battle royal of how many new species have been discovered within a certain period of time.

Let the games begin!!!

Wow. Tomorrow marks two weeks of nonstop posting.

Let’s celebrate with some more failed poptart flavors!!

Also, re-check out that awesome MSPaint. That sweet filling pixelation is heavenly!

Alrighty. Today’s posts will be focused entirely around travel. Most of us have done some degree of travel over our lives. Some of us (significantly) more than others. When we have the same destination over and over again it’s easy to grow comfortable with the airport terminals in various cities.

They say you’re traveling too much when you identify a city by its airport… well, let’s see who’s been traveling too much. Every hour today a new airline terminal map will appear. In the comments, take a guess as to what city it is. The answers will be posted sometime before the end of 720 posts.

Good luck!

Obviously, today is going to be filled with breakdancing videos and love stories. Specifically recaps of Tony and Paulette’s wedding and Alicia and Dwane’s wedding.

The breakdancing videos were more or less all found by Jesse. Thanks to Jesse for his sweet internet searching skillz.

Today is a special day.

Ryan Schenk has put tremendous effort forth in coming up with many quality Brevitous Gentleman’s Guides to things that we all need to know more about.

We’re also going to have a handful of spectacular MSPaints today. Tune in regularly! This one will be awesome.

So it’s January ninth. The month is rolling along and with it, 720 posts. At this point we’ve gone through 193 posts. Soon I’ll start running out of content. But first, let’s get some interesting facts on the table.

Today is going to start with a handful of interesting facts… I think. I can’t remember if I strayed from the interesting facts to put up some random stuff that people sent me. I’m not sure.

Either way, there are some good things to learn today. I think my favorite might be Irene’s contribution (1pm EST) or Theresa’s contribution (11am EST).

The end of today will be a bunch of songs that Alicia put together. They are totally intense and extremely awesome. These songs will be a perfect prefix to tomorrow which is a day that has had my laughing for weeks.

In addition to being Jes Saint’s birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY JES SAINT!

Today is a mix of entries. I had originally hoped that I’d be able to fill the day with unique cultural and artsy gems… but very few people responded to that challenge. Instead, it’s going to be a serious mix. We’ll start off with some culture stuff and a sweet MSPaint, then we’ll introduce a few more participants in this epic adventure, and we’ll end with a few fun video links and Shaun McQuaid’s Google Seeding.

Enjoy!

Welcome to Free Swim!

Free Swim is a day of nonsequitors. There may be small themes that run for a few hours, but nothing will continue on for an entire day.

The MSPaint feature image for this particular FreeSwim session is a shark wearing a top hat and suit.

Well, it’s Sunday. And as so few people visit the website on Sunday I’m going to use every Sunday in January to discuss failed poptart flavors in the Quickthoughts column.

You’ll also see this wicked awesome MSPaint image every time. I’m so proud of it. It took virtually no time, and while the text and ’speed lines’ could certainly be cleaned up a bit… the poptart looks pretty darn amazing.

Enjoy!

If you’re joining us late you can check out all the poptart flavors here.

Today’s web content is going to be populated with a bunch of pictures of reader’s favorite t-shirts. After a few from contributors, you’ll get a mighty sampling of my favorites.

Enjoy!

if you’re joining us late and want to check out all the t-shirts. Check them out here.

I asked some of the contributors to send me a word that they liked or appreciated along with its definition. Today’s theme is ‘cool words.’ If you hate vocabulary, you may just want to come back tomorrow.

If you’re joining us late today and want to see all the wordage at once, check out all the posts here.

Welcome to the day of Recipes.

Now, this might not seem awesome to you, but don’t you worry… there are some very good recipes lined up for today. In Particular, 2am, 3pm, and 4pm are pretty darn good. Special props to Theresa for saving the day and submitting about six recipes at the last minute.

Also, because I’m bad at math, you get a bonus post today. Neat? Or excessive?

In other news there are some funky things happening with the website. Maybe it can’t handle the excessive page loads… or perhaps it is just evolving with 720. Either way, if you see something weird feel free to fire me an e-mail and I’ll see what I can do.

Rock on,
Mike D.

Side note: if you’re joining us late and want to see all the recipes. click here.

Today you will be overwhelmed with be a wealth of Disney Haikus… but they aren’t really cutesy fun disney. In fact they are all kind of twisted. While some are kind of lame (the ones I wrote) there are others that are absolutely hilarious, so keep an eye out for them.

I was surprised. My mom was really good at coming up with warped Disney Haikus.

If you’re coming in late and want to read all the entries, click here.

Hi.

So let’s see how this goes. 720 posts in a month. A single month of insane web updates. Will the internet be able to handle the onslaught? Will the readers be overwhelmed with content? Will Mike D get sick of his own website and abandon it all together? We shall see!

Today you’ll be introduced to the main players in this event. Some participated in greater quantity than others, but I love them all the same. If you’re joining us late, you can read all the entries HERE.

The Kickoff! from mikedidonato on Vimeo.

To download the kickoff video, click here:
kickoff.wmv

Thanks to everybody for being such awesome readers.

Regular posting is scheduled to return February 1st, 2008.

What a way to end the year! On Sunday, Connecticut’s Roller Girls debuted their all-star team ‘The Stepford Sabotage’ and crushed the visiting Long Island Roller Rebels in a spectacular show of speed and strategy. ‘Season’s Beatings’ was a monumental event, not only in its excitement but also in its significance. This battle for the ages was the first inter-league game hosted by Connecticut’s roller derby league, and it was an awesome sight to see. A frost in the air set the mood as crowds braved ice and winter storm warnings in order to come and cheer on their favorites. The two teams may have started friendly off the track but it seems skates can quickly turn women violent.

The bout launched into action with CT’s Pearl Jammer up against Long Island’s C-Roll. Pearl, the leading scorer for CT, started it off right pulling in a quick four points for the girls in green. Sabotage’s Pam Terror, a whirlwind of dynamite, followed suit against Summer Slam. The Stepford Sabotage, with her early lead, seemed poised for victory from the onset. But C-Roll fought back and showed the locals that these Roller Rebels would not go down easy. The third jam saw C-Roll pull 10 points against 0 for the Stepford Sabotage. It was this jam that gave CT a personal introduction to Long Island’s Captain Morgan. The only thing more menacing than her ability to keep the Sabotage at bay is her evil eye… which, rumor has it, can bring the toughest rollergirl shaking to her knees.

The CT roller girls rotated Doomcake into the jamming spot followed by Tina Colada. In the same way that cake and frozen drinks send you into a wild sugar high, Doomcake and Tina Colada left the audience in a dizzy coma; their sweet moves came at a good time: CT wasn’t risking wearing out there jammers. Instead the team threw skater after skater into the mix. The Roller Rebels with only 11 players (one of which, Trixie Timebomb, was hurt early on) were getting worn down. By the end of the first period the Stepford Sabotage had a commanding lead of 39 to 17.

Peekaboom!’s Skate. Up close and personal.

The second period roared with remarkable strategy and defense. The blockers barricaded their opponents with relentless energy and power. Eleanor Bruisevelt, Peekaboom!, and Miz Con SepJen were doing wonders at keeping Long Island Jammers C-Roll, Regine Bull, and Amaretto Sourpuss back. At the same time, Captain Morgan and Anna Tramp were holding back the CT Jammers with smooth skill and prowess. Jam after Jam came up scoreless. When the Jammers did break free of the pack they did so neck and neck, an invigorating derby ensued and all eyes were on the Jammers.

The period ended on a down note as Black Cherry took a bad spill. She clawed her way off the track in heavy pain where she waited grimacing until the EMT’s could come to her aid. Once Cherry left the track the Roller Rebels showed no mercy as Captain Morgan improved her reputation for brutality with a fantastic knock down of jammer Tina Colada.

Stepford’s Mascot, Dead End Cupcake (with butcher knife), anxiously watches the bout beside M.C. Hitman Hank

The final period saw even point scoring by both teams until the 6th jam of the period. Pearl Jammer took her place at her starting line next to Ragine Bull. The whistle chirped once, and the pack was off… it chirped again and the two jammers took to an all out sprint. The Stepford Sabotage had Parker Poison, Peekaboom!, Violet Riot, and Elenor Bruisevelt up front. As Pearl approached, her teammates opened the path for her and then immediately locked Regina Bull down. She was stuck behind the girls in green. Meanwhile Pearl skated viciously around the pink clad Roller Rebels, not once… not twice… but three times. Only once before in CT roller derby history has a roller girl succeeded in a triple grand slam against her rival. This 15 to nothing jam put the Stepford Sabotage up 91 to 43 with only minutes remaining. The girls cheered at their success, but the action was far from over.

Doomcake and Black Cherry skating to victory

Not three jams later, a series of penalties left Stepford in a dangerous situation. Pearl Jammer was up again, but her only defensewoman was Revengela. Long Island’s Summer Slam had an opportunity to take back points. Despite being the the only lonely green shirt in a sea of pink, Revengela was not intimidated. If anything, her bloodlust was only amplified. Summer Slam began her trip around the track. Revengela started hard and did an admirable job at keeping Slam back and getting Pearl through. Slam only got around once before the penalties expired and the Stepford Girls stormed the track again.

The last jam saw C-Roll in her prime. C-Roll had been pushed to her limit with an ABSURD 19 Jams under her belt. Despite this, she still pulled in 10 more points for her team in the final jam. The refs watched carefully. As Miz Con Sepjen slammed into yet another unexpecting Roller Rebel, a ref called her out on Tripping. Miz Con SepJen’s eyes glowed with Fury and she exploded back at the ref. She brazenly refused to leave the track. The ref, fed up, threw his hand in the air and ejected her from the game. Complete insubordination is not taken lightly. As Miz left the track she raised her hands to the crowds and encouraged them to cheer for her teammates still in the battle. The crowd exploded in cheers. It was an extremely entertaining display of defiance. The refs were fools to mess with Miz. Her crowd appeal is said to rival that of Bono.

When the buzzer sounded the final score stood at 106 to 61. Pearl brought home a grand total of 45 points. C-Roll stood in for the most jams, Ragine Bull snagged the most penalties (14).

Next up for the Roller Rebels is some relaxation. Their season has ended. The CT Roller Girls will be back at it on January 27th as their season starts with a show down between the Elm City Bone Crushers and the Widowmakers. To get more information check out CTRolleryDerby.com

My mom made me a quilt.

She’s not entirely proud of it as she claims that the quilting itself is not as majestic as she’d like it to be. But I helped her a bit with the design and I think it turned out awesome.

The quilt is made up of 100 small squares. Each side is 10 squares long and there is a thing black border that ostracizes the outer row of squares. A royal pink and white pattern divides up the background and then 8 black squares are placed in a seemingly random patter across the quilt.

However, there is nothing random about the placement of these black squares. In fact, the placements are quite specific.

Can you figure it out? And can you guess the name of the quilt?

(if I’ve already told you… please refrain from this mini fun contest)

From a eating standpoint, last week was rather intense. There was the huge Brazilian barbecue, the Chinese food with Jocelyn, the little irish pub with Cindy and the gang, and the horribly overpriced 14 dollar veggie wraps at the McCormick center.

With all this great eating out, it’s no surprise that upon getting back to CT one of the things I wanted to do most was have some good home cookin’.

On Saturday, Shaun L. and I attacked some Asian cuisine.

While Shaun fired through a Thai Chicken Vegetable Salad shown above, I worked on a Vietnamese Fried Rice (shown below)

General Rock Climbing Food Rating?
Salad = 5.9+ toprope
Refreshing and fulfilling… but it took awhile to set up.

Rice: = 5.6- toprope
Not only did this take awhile to setup… the end result was extremely salty. Tony, Paulette, and Michael didn’t have too hard of a time eating it… but both Shaun and I were overwhelmed with sodium chloride.

THEN, as if that wasn’t enough. Sunday evening Pete came over to do a little work on a Mechanical Engineering project and I decided to throw together a spicy chicken soup with dumplings and bake a quick bread.

I’m particularly pleased with the bread. I am notoriously bad at making bread, so I followed this recipe EXACT. Even to the point where the instructions said “spoon the mixture into the pan” and, instead of pouring directly, we used a spoon.

And actually, it came out great. It’s a honey bread and required 20 minutes of thorough beating in the Kitchen Aid… which we feared didn’t have any beaters… but they were found in time for bread making.

The chicken soup was just a quick “throw whatever we had” into a pot with some jalapeño seeds and some tobasco… and BANG. Spicy chicken soup.

Soup Rock climbing food rating: 5.8
I had a bit too much broth. But the dumplings were A+

(fanny farmer’s) Honey Bread: 5.10c
Awesome! Easy! Fast! The whole thing took about an hour and 20 minutes, which, in the world of breads is Super!

So! After a week of glorious food on the road, I get a weekend of glorious food at the house. Follow that with Thanksgiving? well… I think that’s as close to bliss as one can get.

At lunch this week Jocelyn and I were talking about text fonts and cities. The question is: If you had to choose a font to describe a city in its entirety, what font would you choose? Let’s take a look at Hartford, first we’ll start simply by describing the city, then we’ll try to find a font that screams ‘Hartford’

Hartford has a lot of insurance companies. Not many people live in the city and it’s about as far as you can get from ‘college town.’ It’s reasonably clean and seems to be a growing city. It has a good museum scene. It’s somewhat modern but it’s kind of tough to drive around. The public transportation is poor at best, but there’s a decent amount of parking.

Now for fonts… start by checking out this monster image of fonts:

now… think Hartford.

Hartford is too modern for a Times New Roman and too formal to be anywhere near Wingdings. Courier New isn’t a bad choice, but I think Hartford has enough complexity to it to escape the burdensome scenario where each letter takes up the exact same number of longitudinal pixels.* And obviously, Hartford is not a script font.

Then there’s Ariel. Not a bad choice really, it doesn’t have any serifs (I don’t think Hartford is quite worthy of serifs). It might be just a tad bit too boring for Hartford. It shouldn’t be a bold or italicized font. Century is too classy. Helvetica… Helvetica could work. So could Raavi.

I think I prefer Raavi.

What font do you think best describes your city?

*there’s a word for this type of font. Anyone know it?