#91 Knot Me

I think I was in 8th grade when I had to learn how to a tie a tie, most likely a knit tie in some sort Miami Vice pastel color. I learned it and stuck with it the rest of my adult life. It wasn't until today that I learned that I've been tying the "Four in Hand" knot, which I also learned is best suited for short-necked guys, which I do not have. I've been making my neck look even longer than it needed to be. Now with my new found awareness of my self-inflicted long-necking, I learned how to tie a tie in "The Windsor" knot, a knot for long-necked guys like me.

#90 Jaws of Life

What do The Who, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young and I have in common? As of today, we've all played the Jaw Harp. It's also known as the Jew's Harp, Mouth Harp, Marranzano, and about 800 other names. I remember as a kid wondering how this sound was made and have always wanted to give it a try. So turn up your sound and marvel at the breathtaking intonations of the jaw harp...

#89 Capital T for Tour

For four and a half years I was literally blocks away from our State Capital in college and never stepped foot in the Capital Building. Today I took a tour of the Wisconsin State Capital Building in Madison, Wisconsin. The tour was far more interesting than I ever thought it would be. The whole family loved it. In its maze of staircases we got to go in the Senate Chamber, Assembly Chamber, Governor's Conference Room and the Supreme Court. I'm not a big history buff but the stories behind some the areas of the building were great not to mention the whole tour was less than an hour.

#88 Book Reading

To my recollection I've never sat down and just read an entire book of the bible. I have had to read parts of it in high school but I thought today I would read an entire book from the bible, the book Matthew. It took a few hours to read mostly because it was late evening and I kept dozing off.

#87 Crack the Code

We've had an old combination lock that has been sitting around for years without being used, mostly because its been that long since I've needed one but now it's because the combination has been long forgotten. So today I cracked the code on my combination lock. Here's the catch, when I went to find the old lock I couldn't find it. So because this was my plan for the evening I had to go out and buy a brand new one, take the little combination sticker off the back without looking, and try to figure out the code. So now you're wondering, "How did I do it?" Well, let's just say you can learn just about anything on the internet, which is great if you need to find out your combination but not so great if you're the kind of person who will rob you blind.

#86 New Hart

I heard on the radio about a website called Hulu.com that has a pretty large variety of old and new tv shows that you can watch online. There's plenty of shows that I remember from my childhood like Fantasy Island, What's Happening, and Buck Rogers. So tonight I watched The Bob Newhart Show for the very first time. It aired in 1972-73 and I have very faint memories of this show as a kid, the characters are vaguely familiar to me somehow and the styles and decor are all too familiar.

#85 Soda Jerk

Once upon a time I tried homebrewing my own beer. Since then most of the equipment has been gathering dust in the basement. Now that I'm a family guy, I put some of this stuff to good use and I brewed my own root beer. It's not nearly as involved as brewing beer, but it still requires a couple weeks of waiting for the yeast to carbonate what has been bottled. It's also not the easiest thing to explain to a five and three year old they have to wait 2 weeks to try the the soda we just made.

#84 Mixed Up

It was 1982 and I was wearing tight stone-washed jeans, a polo shirt and docksiders and my mullet waved from side to side as I furiously scrambled the sides of this multicolored cube known as the The Rubiks Cube. After an hour or so I proudly held up the puzzle to reveal my accomplishment, one whole side was blue! That's about as far as I ever got. The Cube soon was forgotten and probably made it's way to a cardboard box somewhere in the basement or retired to a place where the other 100 million mixed-up cubes decided to go. Recently we bought another cube and I decided to confront this thing head-on. So today I learned how to solve the Rubik's Cube. I did it with the help of this site. Now the eighties-me can be at peace.

#83 1000

What's the highest you've ever counted to? I started thinking about it and I'm guessing my entire life I've probably never gone past two or three-hundred. The other question is "Who cares?" The answer to that is easy; Nobody except me at 11:30 at night trying to figure out if I can count to 1000 before the clock strikes midnight. Well I did. I counted to 1000 out loud. Actually it was more of a quiet whisper because everyone was already sleeping, which makes it even creepier and weird. A lot goes through your mind when you're counting to 1000, like "Why am I doing this?" or "Did I just say four hundred and fifty-three or four hundred and fifty four?" Also notable is that I realized that I could actually count and be almost asleep (588 was where I had to snap out of it) and it's also not very easy to say anything with "seven hundred and..." in front of it.

#82 My Natural Color

My Grandma (we called her Oma) would always have Easter eggs that were colored a deep rusty brown. As a kid I never thought twice about them, I just knew they were a lot different than the brightly colored ones we had. It wasn't until I was a little older that I realized she would color her eggs using yellow onion skins, the same way they had always done in Germany. So for Easter I colored eggs using natural ingredients. In order to do this you need to add the ingredients right in the water as you hard boil them. I first tried using frozen raspberries which didn't work at all. Then I used yellow onion skins combined with some tumeric to get the golden yellow colored eggs in the photo below. Then I used ground coffee to get the tan colored ones. Here's an article that I used as a guide.

#81 New Thing, Old Dog, New Trick

Our dog has got a few tricks that she has known since she was a puppy. Since we had kids, taking the time to teach her new things has taken the back burner. So today I taught an old dog a new trick, jumping on command. Surprisingly this took only a few short sessions and a lot of dog treats. Not too bad for an old dog, it proved she's still capable of learning things quicker than me.

#80 On Wisconsin

Today I read the Wisconsin State Constitution, instead of spending what could have been the entire day ready a pretty lengthy document, I read the Declaration of Rights. Basically this section just reflects the United States Bill of Rights. Nothing really noteworthy or interesting to really write about here. I'll just chalk this one up as going through the motions.

#79 Smart Car

About ten years ago I saw these little tiny cars all over Europe. They were the smallest car I've ever seen. Just recently they've been introduced to the United States, although slightly larger than their European counterpart. There's a waiting list of over a year to get one. So today I took a test drive in a Smart car. Thanks to the people at Bergstrom Auto for letting me drive one. The Smart car was surprisingly roomy for a guy my size, it's a 2 seater and the automated manual transmission took some getting used to. You can also change to manual mode and shift the car with the paddle shifters on the steering wheel, but my left foot kept searching for the phantom clutch on the floor as I was shifting.

#78 Myth Busting

Tis the season for coloring eggs and spring is right around the corner. In two days the vernal equinox will be upon us signifying the start of spring. This is when the sun is directly over the earth's equator and the length of day and night are about the same. This is also the day when you may start to hear that you can balance an egg on its end. The skeptic in me never believed it, so today I put my myth busting to the test, I balanced eggs on their end, two days before the vernal equinox. Truth is you can do this any day of the year. One explanation I came across was the egg has small little imperfections or bumps that act as a small little tripod if you hit it just right. I was able to make 4 of the 6 eggs stand on end. Here's Snopes take on this as well as a guy from a physics department who conducted an experiment on this topic.

#77 Mensa

I was disappointed to find out that I am in fact not a genius. I took a test from Mensa. It is actually called the Mensa Workout and is not the actual test given to qualify as a member for the elite organization. To be a member of Mensa you need to test in the top 2% of the general population. My score was 22 out of 30 for the workout.

#76 It's a Sign

Today I learned the American Sign Language alphabet. There's a couple of letters I really have to struggle to sign but I think if I continue to keep familiar with it I could probably permanantly commit it to memory.

#75 Fiesta

Tonight I went to a fundraiser for the YMCA Strong Kids program. The event had a Mexican theme with a five course meal including a couple of things I've never had before, octopus in a seafood appetizer and a cactus salad. I also have never been part of a live oral auction. I also ended up on stage as part of a pass the hat game for cash.

#74 I Can't Drive 55

Today I drove the speed limit all day. This is not an easy thing to do. There is a very powerful involuntary desire to just keep going the same speed as the other cars around you. It's also a very good way to anger a lot of people. Many dirty looks, one car rode my tail so close I could've reached back and changed his radio station, and one hand gesture, not a vulgar one, but just a "hey what's the matter with you?" kind of thing.

#73 A Little Fishy

It was another one of those days where time had simply run out and I needed something to do at 10:00 at night. I have a couple things on reserve for these type of occasions. I ate anchovies, all of them. Where have these been all my life? I liked them Sam I am! I've always looked at them as the black sheep of pizza toppings, but I think I'm willing to give it a try next time I order one.

#72 A New Language

I've always wanted to be fluent in another language. I can speak some Spanish and understand some German but I thought, what if I happen to find myself at a GenCon Convention someday (it's on my list) after drinking too much bottled water and I'm in dire need of finding a restroom? So today I learned how to speak some Klingon. Specifically, "Where is the bathroom?" or "nuqDaq 'oH puchpa''e'?" Yes, believe it or not there is an official language for Klingons, the science fictional race of aliens in Star Trek. It was created by Dr. Marc Okrand to be used in some of the Star Trek movies. And yes, if you really have the desire to be fluent, you can join the KLI or Klingon Language Institute.

#71 Sounds of Silence

Applying to be an extra in a 1930's period movie got me thinking about life back in those times, so I watched a silent movie with Buster Keaton in it called Steamboat Bill, Jr. The movie was made in 1928 about the son of a riverboat captain who comes to visit after many years away to join his father's crew. The film is a mostly a comedy, a physical comedy, with Keaton doing all the stunts. One famous scene from this movie is when the hurricane hits at the end of the movie, a side of a house falls an Keaton but he is uninjured because an open door happens to land exactly where he is standing. If you've got 71 minutes, check it out.

#70 Say Cheese

There's a very cool site from Corbis that has the coolest do-it-yourself pinhole cameras. In an effort to provide some different photography, I made my own camera. I can't say for sure that it worked, I had some real trouble manually rewinding the film and I'm not positive but I think the photos are split between the two film canisters and they may have been exposed to the light when I impatiently ripped them apart from each other. I'll have to wait and find out. Hopefully they can develop at least one of the pictures so I can post it here. Here's a couple photos of the camera.





























Update: Here are a couple of the photos that I took with the camera, very blurry but it worked!

#69 Netflix

Today I signed up for Netflix. I got the idea from another new thing a day blogger called "I've Never" who had a Netflix related thing today. I'm guessing renting movies this way might be the perfect solution for us. We don't like dragging the entire family out to the rental store, returning the movie the next day is a "not it" kind of race to avoid doing it, and I think my wife and I have a mutual uncertainty that, if given the task of picking out a movie, neither of us will come back with a movie that both of us are interested in. At least that's how I see it.

#68 Skydeck

Our family was in Chicago to visit the Shedd Aquarium today and afterwards my son and I took the opportunity to visit the top of the tallest building in the United States. So today I went to the Skydeck at the top of the Sears Tower. First you watch a short movie on the history of the Sears Tower and then you go through an airport-like security system before you take the elevator up 1,353 feet above Chicago. The view was great, especially since we got up there as the sun was starting to set.

#67 Public Enemy

This spring and summer in Wisconsin they will be shooting a movie called Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp about the American bank robber John Dillinger in the 1930's. They announced that they will be holding a casting call for extras for in Milwaukee. So today I applied to be an extra in a movie. Along with about 1000 other people I made the brutal 3 hour wait in line outside in the freezing cold. I don't think I've ever been that cold before. They asked that you show up wearing a dark suit and overcoat, the women were asked to wear dresses, which made for an even more painful experience for the women. Once inside, they take a large group and explain the pains of being an extra and if you're not willing to have your hair cut you probably shouldn't be here. From there you branch off into different lines where they take a card with all your info, like clothing sizes, height, skills, bicycle?, nationality etc... then you get a number that you hold up and they take your mugshot. That's it. We were told the director Michael Mann goes through each of the photos and handpicks the extras himself, if picked we'll get a call. On a very cool side note, Mark Borchardt from American Movie was a few people in front of me in line. If you haven't seen this documentary about his struggle as an independent filmmaker I strongly recommend it.

#66 Calatrava

I've been to Santiago Calatrava's expansion to the Milwaukee Art Museum a number of times but I have never seen the wing-like feature called the Brise Soleil open and close. So today I watched the Brise Soleil open and close. Everyday at noon, weather permitting, the art museum opens and closes the wings. The function of the wings is to act as a sun screen to the glass enclosed reception hall. If you haven't been here to see it I recommend doing so, it is truly one of the more unique architectural buildings we have in this country.

#65 Flipbook

Today I made a flipbook animation. It took a lot longer than I expected and the post it pad kept breaking apart so it's a little choppy.

#64 Rumor Has It...

Okay for this new thing today I will need the help of everyone who reads this entry, and it's up to everyone to decide if it violates their own personal ethics, today I am officially starting a rumor. This will be the birthplace of some brand new disinformation and if everyone passes it on to a couple of people, maybe it will get some legs, maybe even the urban legend busting site snopes will get wind of it, who knows. Now in thinking of what rumor to start I've thought carefully about not damaging anyones reputation and to make it vague enough so it doesn't point to anyone in particular. So here it goes:

At this Summer's Olympics in Beijing, a major athletic shoe company is planning to unveil an athletic shoe that has been proven to increase an individual athlete's speed by 1-3% guaranteed. This technology will change modern day athletics as we know it. Plans are in the works to make this shoe available for consumers later in the fall.

There you have it, it's out there. Now go spread the word.

#63 QVC

At times I've found myself stopping on one of those home shopping channels for a few seconds and getting drawn into whatever they may be selling, and then I wake up from the hypnotic trance they put me in and I ask, "do I really need that many screwdrivers? or do I need a 12 month supply of orange citrus cleaner? Well, today I bought something from the QVC shopping channel. I normally would not have done this but I needed something new I could do at home and those set of 2 vacuum packable underbed storage totes were just calling my name. Who knows maybe I got duped into thinking I could fit 12 winter jackets into such a small space, after all it was today's special value.

#62 Boogie Man

The night before I tried surfing at the Kalahari Resort, Today I went boogie boarding. This was a little easier to do than the surfing. You start out by standing at the top of the "wave" ledge and dive forward with the boogie board underneath you. At first your momentum takes you all the way to the bottom but then the current takes you back to the middle of the wave. That's the easy part. The hard part is trying to get onto your knees after that. It took a couple of tries but eventually I was able to get on my knees and try directing the board back and forth. I should have a photo in a couple days from a friend who was there with her camera. Definitely another highlight of this project!

#61 Surf's Up

Our family went to the Kalahari Resort in the Wisconsin Dells this weekend with a bunch of other families that we know and had a great time in its gigantic indoor waterpark. It was the first time we had been to this resort and among all the cool water slides and wave pool was an attraction called the FlowRider. It's basically a surf pool that rushes 50,000 gallons of water a minute underneath you to create a five foot ocean-like wave. So today I tried surfing indoors. This was an absolute blast! It took about four attempts to get myself to be able to stand my ground for more than 5-8 seconds without losing control. The video below was my second attempt.