#31 Keep In Touch

(Translation: Today I learned how to spell my name in Braille.)

There's a great site on pbs kids that has a Braille translator as well as a Braille key. I also found a great site that has a pretty extensive history on Louis Braille, a man who at the age of 3 in 1812 injured his eye and became blind due to infection that spread to both eyes. He later went on to form a six-dot cell system for reading by touch and published his first book at the age of 20 with the new system he had perfected. I learned that the letters k-t follow the same pattern as the letters a-j with the addition of a dot in the lower left corner. It also has a system for punctuation, capitals and numbers. Here's how my first name looks in Braille (the first dot indicates the following letter is capitalized):

#30 Fast and Furious

I've never realized how many food commercials there are on television at night until this evening. I've noticed because I'm hungry, very hungry. Today I began fasting for an entire day. Actually more than a day if you start from my last meal which was dinner yesterday. For the first time in my life I think I'm starting to realize what real hunger is like. I've been drinking nothing but water all day, and not until this evening did the craving for food really hit me hard. I'm looking really forward to breakfast.

#29 Now You See it Now You Don't

Not really sure how to handle this as a new thing, I started growing a beard from Day 1. I've never had a beard because I could never get past the really scratchy stage of scruff. Always being told that once I get past that stage, the scratchiness would go away. Well it didn't. The only time I wasn't thinking about shaving it off was when I was sleeping and even then I had a couple dreams about the relief it would be getting rid of this steel wool attached to my face. The only consolation is that I received a lot of compliments on how it looked. Which leads me to believe that the more I cover up my face, the better I look. Despite that, today I officially called it a beard, said goodbye to it and shaved it off, for we shall never see each other again.

#28 Dirty Harry

I have what you call a healthy fear of firearms. I don't think I've ever seen a handgun up close and I know I've never held one. A good friend of mine who grew up hunting and whose respect for safety and responsibility I completely trust, took me to an indoor firing range called The Shooters Shop in West Allis. I was looking forward to going but definitely nervous. Dave owns a .44 Magnum, a gun that packs a pretty big wallop. He went over some instruction and took the first couple of shots. Even through protective ear ware the sound was crazy loud. It was my turn. My heart was pounding as I held the gun and I immediately noticed it was a lot heavier than I expected. Trying to get the target lined up in the crosshairs as your hands are shaking is also quite a challenge. As I pulled the trigger I can only imagine how I looked all tensed up and wincing and then bam, I shot a handgun for the first time. Wow. Incredibly powerful. After a couple more shots the jitters wore away a little and then I have to say it was pretty fun and I'm glad I gave it a shot.

#27 The Worm

In addition to seeing my 2 week old nephew Henry for the first time, my collective group of in-laws encouraged me to try something new that seemed more appropriate for a scene out of MTV's Jackass. An unopened bottle of Mezcal made an appearance with a pretty good sized worm in the bottom. Partially for pride, partially for a lack of anything new planned for today, I took the challenge. I did a shot of Mezcal and ate the worm. I was also told it didn't count if I swallowed it whole, so I had to chew it. Let's just say it was disgusting. Not so much the taste, but the popping. Unless I end up back in college again for some odd reason, I won't be doing this ever again.

#26 If the Shoe Fits

Finally the cold weather's lightened up a little and made facing the winter much more bearable. Out in my neck of the woods the Retzer Nature Center rents out snowshoes for trekking around the trails. These are the old school kind, the kind made of wood not aluminum, which made it even more appealing to me. So I went snowshoeing for the first time. The hour or so hike was a great workout, the views were awesome and the surroundings were quiet. Definitely a great hobby to take up in the winter. Lesson learned, take a back-up set of batteries for the camera. The batteries died halfway through and I wasn't able to get a full shot of myself out in the elements.

#25 Simpsonized

I realize this is fairly old news to most people but it's one of those novelty internet things I had to try because I recently heard about it. I simpsonized my family. For those of you that don't know about it, you can upload a photo of yourself and the Simpsonizer will convert you into one of Springfield's finest. With the right amount of tweaking you can get a pretty good likeness.

#24 Body Worlds

Today I went to see Gunther von Hagens' Body Worlds exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum. This exhibit features about 200 real human specimens and more than 20 whole body specimens by using a process that he invented called Plastination. The exhibit is a fascinating look at human anatomy broken down system by system. At first it's pretty eerie thinking about how these were once living people but as you start reading about the various body functions the creepiness wears off. I highly recommend seeing this if you get a chance. Photography was not allowed so these photos are courtesy of BodyWorlds.com.

#23 Bake a Cheesecake

I don't consider myself very domestic as far as baking goes. So I baked a cheesecake. It was a fairly easy recipe and I only had to ask my wife a couple questions like, where is the mixer? and when they say whipping cream, do they mean the kind you spray out of a can? (they don't) It was very easy to do, I'll let my coworkers be the guinea pigs on how it tastes.

#22 Body Fat

After yesterday's meal of Spam, it was only fitting that I took a body fat analysis test. The test is done by holding on to a hand held device that sends a very weak electrical current through your body. This method is known as Bioelectrical Impedance and is considered to be fairly accurate. For a guy my height, weight and age the normal range is 8-20 percent body fat. I came in at 21.8. Maybe tomorrow I'll try liposuction.

#21 SPAM

Not the unsolicited e-mail kind of Spam, but the unsolicited meat kind. Perhaps at the bottom of the processed food chain or at the top of it depending on what you like, Spam has been around since 1937 and even played a role in WWII as part of the k-rations for soldiers. I've generally avoided foods that retain the shape of the can that they came out of, but today I made an exception and I ate SPAM. The presentation and texture did not exceed my expectations but I have to say that the taste did. Simply put, it tastes like ham. If you're really interested in eating it here's some recipes.

#20 Mars Cheese Castle

It seemed only fitting that on a day when the entire state of Wisconsin was gearing up for the Green Bay Packers game, that I visited the Mars Cheese Castle. What is it? Well like it or not, it's sort of the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign for our state located near the Wisconsin-Illinois border on Interstate-94. I've always been curious about what exactly is on the inside of this towering roadside landmark. I learned that it is in fact, many things. In addition to having a gigantic selection of cheeses, it's a gift shop, an art gallery, a restaurant, a grocery and a cocktail lounge. We purchased a couple blocks of cheese and then sat down to a lunch of bratwurst and grilled cheese as the sounds of Neil Diamond played over the speakers. Just living the dream.

#19 Wood Carving

Six years ago I bought a wood carving kit and a block of tupelo wood. I had every intention of using it but it's been sitting in the basement untouched ever since. With the help of my son, we sketched out a design and I carved a piece of wood into a tiki idol (he added a tongue and feathers to the sketch)

#18 French Braid

Up to this point, all the hair duties for my daughter have unofficially been my wife's responsibility. I can barely even take care of my own hair, much less somebody else's. So today I learned how to french braid my daughter's hair. What I really learned is that you need to grow a third hand to do this the right way. I also learned that my manual dexterity is below a chimp's when it comes to braiding hair. After several attempts and several moments of completely losing my patience, I had something that kind of resembled a french braid. (which I learned is different from a regular braid) I think my wife and I would both agree that things should remain status quo.

#17 Sudoku

Sudoku, the puzzle craze that has taken over the world. I kept hearing this word for the past year or so and never paid much attention to what it was. But then it became unavoidable, books, ads, even celebrities were mentioning the game. If you're living in a cave like I was, it's a Japanese logic game in which the objective is to fill a 9 x 9 grid so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3 x 3 boxes contains the digits from 1 to 9, only one time each. The grid is partially completed before you start. So today, I completed my first Sudoku puzzle. It took me forty minutes to solve this puzzle, I have no idea if that's good. I can see how these can be addicting.

#16 Tattoo You

I work with a girl named Rosana who in her spare time moonlights as a tattoo artist. No, I didn't get a tattoo, but she offered to teach me how to do it. So I learned how to give a tattoo – on a grapefruit. She said the texture is similar to human skin and that's how she practiced the art. So I made a stencil, transferred it to the willing grapefruit and began inking away. I can say after giving this a try I have a real appreciation for what she does. The tools are awkward and top heavy, and to be able to do the types of tattoos she does is a real talent. Now all I need is a volunteer to try it for real.

#15 Mass Transit

I drive forty minutes every day to work in Milwaukee by car, today I took the bus to work. This required leaving my home a half hour earlier so I could drive 10 minutes to a Park & Ride lot and then spend the next 55 minutes packed in a bus that didn't seem to have the heat on, all for $6.50 round trip. I nearly missed the bus going home because it looked completely different than the bus I took going to work and the electronic sign out front said it was going from Milwaukee to Chicago, definitely not the direction I was headed. By chance I happened to see a small printed sign shoved toward the bottom of the dashboard that said OW1 which sounded faintly familiar. I stepped in the bus just as the door was closing and asked the driver if it was going my direction, and it was. Homeward bound.

#14 Ebay

For years I've had this really cool vintage metal Star Trek thermos just sitting in my basement. I did some research and found that it was a pretty old item. It was made in 1968, and originally part of a domed metal Star Trek lunchbox. Since I had no use for it and no real attachment to it, I put my first item up for sale on ebay. I'm not really sure of the true value, but I guess I'll see what it goes for a week from today. Here's a link to the actual listing.

#13 Homemade Ice Cream

Today we made homemade ice cream. We were given this ice cream ball as a gift from my parents, first you pack the outer chamber with ice and rock salt. On the inner chamber you add 1 pint of half and half, sugar and vanilla extract. Then you throw the ball around and shake for about 25 minutes. open it up and you have ice cream! You can get the same result by using two ziploc bags. Here's a recipe and instructions on how to do it. About half of it had the consistency of a shake, but the taste was great!