Today is February 14th, Valentine’s Day. Lets hope you have someone to celebrate it with, and if you don’t - then I hope you don’t want anyone to celebrate it with!

So what are you doing today?

We’ll be spending it at Mishka’s workplace. Yes, that’s right. She worked until midnight last night, had to get in by 8am this morning, but at 8pm tonight we’ll be back once more for an event called the “Tunnel Of Love”. There’s a large tunnel you can walk through with fish and such swimming back and forth - and tonight there will be tables there.
Although she didn’t manage to snag us a discount, she did tell me she personally put us down at the prime location in said tunnel - I shall bring the camera tonight and snap some shots! So we’re getting a “Unique dinner for two under a canopy of sharks” - a first for me.
Oh, and about an hour ago or so she should have been visited by a quartet to serenade her - much to her embarrassment. Well, at least I hope she did - she hasn’t called or emailed yet. I can’t wait to see the polaroid, mwahaha!

And I shall end this entry with the most appropriate news story, considering the holiday:

Internet sex auction sparks paternity row - A woman in Germany who became pregnant after an online sex auction has won a court battle to force the Web site that hosted the sale to reveal the names of the winners, so she can find out who’s the father.

So, I’m waiting for the lovely Mishka to bring me my new laptop, since DHL can’t read and apparently none of them own a cell phone. So I’m kicking around the internet and I happened upon an article called 12 essential blogwriting tips for building a  successful blog - and it got me thinking. I halfass update my main site for my photography. I have an entire domain for that, so I don’t think I need to keep it there.

Maybe it’s time I drop the photo site and instead drop in something helpful - I’ve been messing around with a few ideas, and I think I’ll just go with them and see what happens.

See, I’ve owned Pavleck.Com for 11 years now (Even though the registry says 8. I accidentally let it drop for a few months around 2000, then got it back) and I’ve been changing it here there and everywhere. I think I should see if I can’t do something interesting with it - something that takes my hobbies and puts em out there. But I dunno. We’ll see.

Some people have to re-arrange the furniture every year or so to keep things interesting, I seem to have to re-write my website every year.

As an early Valentine’s Day present, Mishka surprised me with tickets to go see John Doyle’s production of Sweeney Todd this Sunday at the State Theater. After reading many reviews, from the Pioneer Press to the Star Tribune to the Rake, one thing seemed to be certain - if you know the story ahead of time, you’ll like it. Otherwise, you’ll be a tad confused. I’ve seen the story, both in a small production years ago and the movie that just came out. My thoughts on it?

Before I tell you, I’d like to point out one reason I love Minnesota. In Uptown, we just so happen to have a salon called Sweeney Todds. I kid you not - they even have a website¹

Anyway, after sitting through Doyle’s version² of Sweeney Todd (There are many variations - here’s an overview) I have to say I quite like it!

Granted, it took me about halfway through ACT 1 to get over the corruption that Tim Burton did, but after that, I went with the flow.
Sweeney Todd normally has a very ornate stage, with lots of props - the barber chair being the focus point of the whole thing. Not only was there no barber chair, there wasn’t much of a stage either - with a large shelf in the back, loaded with lots of items - some used as props, others lit up at certain points to help you understand what’s going on.

And that is sorely needed.

If you don’t know the story of Sweeney Todd beforehand, it would be fairly difficult to follow - upstairs is nothing more then a few steps up a ladder, the bakehouse is nothing more then a door in the backstage - but if you know it, it is quite a refreshing take on it. I felt that Mrs. Lovett didn’t really start shining until the second act, but Sweeney was excellent the whole way through.
Johanna and Anthony though, I thought were the weak spots. Johanna’s voice, while very beautiful, lacked that ‘virginal’ quality to it that the character is supposed to betray. And the young Anthony wasn’t very convincing considering he had a receding hairline!

But, to be fair, considering that the actors also played all the instruments throughout the play it was totally expected that they couldn’t exactly dialin all of the parts. It would be hard to find an expert Cello player that also sang as a soprano AND was 17 years old. So I commend them!

Overall, it was done quite well - I just had to get over the Burton corruption.

1. Remove the /site/home.html part to see a horrible entry page [↩]
2. Of Sondheim’s version [↩]

So for Christmas a couple months ago, I received something I have wanted for years now - a gift certificate to ThinkGeek.Com.¹ I sat on it for a few weeks, debating on what I wanted to buy. Something really crazy, like my own DIY Neon Sign? Or maybe a super high powered green laser pointer - one who’s beam is visible 6100 meters away²?

But alas, I decided on something much more practical - I bought a Victorinox Cybertool 41³- a new Swiss Army knife. I’ve carried one for years, and although it comes in handy a lot, I wanted something with a bit more utility. Sure, I could get a multi-tool, but they tend to be huge and I much prefer something I can carry in my pocket.

Now looking at the picture, it doesn’t look that big, right? In fact, if you read the specs it doesn’t sound that big either - 3 1/2″ long, 1 1/4″ wide and 3/4″ high. But trust me, as far as Swiss Army knives are concerned, it’s friggin huge. Here’s a comparison between it and my old one.

⁴

Pretty big difference, eh? Here’s a ruler so you can see it a little better - my new one is over twice the width of my old one!

So what do I think of it? Well, after a few months it’s beginning to feel as natural as my old one. It’s a tad heavier, of course, and things are a lot closer together so it can be a tad tougher to open⁵ but other then that it has the same quality feel to it as the knife I’ve carried for 10 years now.

About the name - it’s called the ‘Cybertool 41′ because it contains 41 tools, and the ‘non-standard’ ones are customized to working on PC, servers, and other computer equipment. It features all the usuals, but then throws in a few new ones - like a driver with all the most popular Torx and Posidrive bits you’ll find, as well as a DIP switch setter (Really. I don’t know when I’ve seen a dip switch used in the past 5 years - kids these days have it so easy, pfft!⁶ )

All in all, I’m quite happy to have it now. And I feel secure in the fact that I know I’ll be able to survive in a datacenter, in the dead sea, or anywhere in between. Les Stroud would be proud of me⁷.

1. Seriously, I’ve wanted a gift cert to there for 9 years now! [↩]
2. That’s over 3 and a half friggin miles! [↩]
3. Here’s the link from SwissArmy.Com [↩]
4. Why the hell can’t I ever get photos to line up like I want them too. Screw you Wordpress. [↩]
5. Of course, it might also be because it’s new and doesn’t have that worn in feel to it [↩]
6. Seriously, I just built a new PC 3 months ago - not a DIP switch to be found, ANYWHERE. It’s so easy, it’s stupid [↩]
7. And I <3 Survivorman [↩]

Seriously, I have zero patience. Last Friday I ordered a brand new beautiful XPS laptop from Dell. They still aren’t done building it. I want it now.

A smattering of links for you, the people who mean the world to me!

Wait until you see the closet! - Real estate agent shows a home to a prospective buyer, only to find the current owner dead in the walk-in closet. Hung himself with his belt, Tim Gunn must have been pretty hard on him.

Mario ’staches - The many mustaches of Mario

Playable Paper Super Mario - No, not super paper mario, Super Mario made of paper. You’ll love it.

Time travel, Russia has it - YouTube link of a Russia Today piece, two Russian scientists are about to re-create the Big Bang on a slightly smaller scale - may lead the way to real time travel. No plutonium required, but a 27km long atom smasher is.

Pavleck.NET - I finally opened up Pavleck.net. You don’t really care, cause you can’t see anything.

Ordering a Pizza in 2020 - The ACLU shows you just how it might end up looking when you order a pizza 12 years from now if our privacy laws keep getting decimated. Not so much devastating as funny.

Send $5.01 to Obama - February 12th is Lincoln’s birthday, celebrate by sending Barack Obama $5.01¹

You never know! - Tom Jones has insured his chest hair with Lloyds of London for 7 million dollars.

That’s it for now, because I doubt I can top Tom Jones!

1. Lincoln is featured both on the $5 bill and the penny [↩]

Ah, the internet, what can you teach us today? HowCast, started by several ex-googlers who worked on YouTube and Google Video, aim to show us the how to on all kinds of things - string em together and you get a complete weekend - check it out!

First, how to make yourself irresistible to women:

Then, how to make a killer dirty martini:

After that, go and get yourself laid:

If that was successful, then the next morning you’ll probably need to figure out how to get rid of her:

Or, if that didn’t work, you might need to take some ‘drastic’ measures:

Huzzah, Internet!

Just so you can save the date, it will be held on October 24th, 2008 - that’s 2^10 for anyone interested¹. We’ve just confirmed and contracts are being drawn up for both the wedding and reception to be held at the Elements Cafe area of the Science Museum of Minnesota. We’ve got the band and the food lined up.

It’s coming together - albeit pricey, but I demand an open tap!²

1. And why I chose that date, swear to God [↩]
2. Complete open bar was… way to friggin pricey! [↩]