Landchark

So I somehow got myself to this site:

http://icanhascheezburger.com/

and the moment the page loaded, I threw up a little bit.

I mean, geez, this is just not funny:

Then, before I left the site I noticed that there is a counter saying that there was over 1000 people on that site. Are you kidding me? There are that many people that not only find that crap funny, but had to have been searching for it? I mean, how many people actually live in Branson, MO?

What do they search for? “Stupid cat poses with moronic captions” must be a big google search keyword. The end is near, folks. When “wuz dat noisez? I wetted mah bedz againz” becomes the popular form of humor, it is time to load up on the bottled water and head to the hills, because civilization is at an end.

If this is how things are going, is Yakov Smirnoff going to make a huge comeback next?
“In mother Russia, cats make funny sayings about YOU!”

I’m just waiting for the “O RLY” owl to swoop out of the sky and feast upon these cats.

I can see the caption now:
“O HALP! A HUNGRIZ OWLZ0R IZ SNRFING MY STUPIDZ HED!”

Tags: , Dumb Interweb, lolcatz, yakov smirnoff // 1 Comment »

It is finished. At least, as finished as it is going to be since it still needs chip rails made and attached.

Where did I leave off. In our last episode, we left our hero with a craps table with no trim, no inside finishing done, things not painted and only one rail padded. A dire predicament indeed.

I made the second padded rail and painted all the exposed wood (see part 8 on the making of the rail). Then moved it down to the K2 lounge (basement) to put it into use.

It sat like that as I worked on various other projects until I found out I was going to be filmed for a new HGTV show called “Man Land”. That lit the fire under my butt to get this thing finished.

So here’s what I did:

Added some side trim pieces to cover the staples in the upholstered outside of the tub. Just some simple pine trim half round, painted gloss black, and attached with finishing nails.

After my previous experiences, I gave up on the idea of having a curved mirror and just cut a cheap ($2.50 on sale) full length mirror to fit. Glued it in place, done and done. I surrounded the mirror with the self stick vinyl tile I used on the other side of the inside of the tub. Looks pretty slick. In these photos, the flash really reflects off the white edges of the tile, but in person, you can hardly see the edges after i went over them with a black Sharpie.

The biggest dilemma was how to trim the curved top of the sides of the tub. I debated using everything from rubber door seal to vacuum cleaner hose, but nothing seemed to work. Either it didn’t fit right or it didn’t look right. Ended up slapping on some more of that self stick vinyl tile and it actually turned out pretty good. Gives it a good finish and shows off the curve nicely.

All in all, it was a fun project. Took way too long, but that’s how it goes. I’m happy with the result, even without the chip rail. Plus it’s been a lot of fun to play on.

Now if I could just find the perfect betting system…

Tags: , build, craps, craps table // 28 Comments »

Well, I finally did it. I finally realized my life long dream of being on a segment of a reality design show on HGTV.

Alright, I admit it, my real life long dream was to own an ice machine, but now I can say that I have been on TV. Well, not actually been on TV yet, but filmed for a show that will be on TV.

Let’s start from the beginning. There is going to be a new show premiering next fall on HGTV called Man Land. A researcher from the show saw photos on this site and contacted me. Long story short, they decided to come out and shoot my basement for a segment on the show.

They showed up and we did the shoot. It was quite an experience. A little glimpse into the magic of Hollywood. From what I can tell this magic is mostly created by doing things repeatedly, but from different camera angles.

They filmed for about 10 hours or so, and they said that all gets edited down to 7 minutes of TV time. So we’ll see how many of my witty comments get left in and don’t end up on the cutting room floor. They did a shot of my dogs, a stafford and a bulldog, playing poker with the host, so now there is a pool going as to who gets more airtime, me or my dogs.

We didn’t get paid or get any prizes for doing the show. The thrill of being on television and bringing entertainment and joy to millions of home viewers was payment enough for me. They did get me to promise on camera that I will next start to remodel the bathroom, so in a sense, my wife won a prize.

I did get a framed picture of the Man Land logo that I got to hang on my wall. The only way to get one of these things is to be on the show and be inducted into the “Man Land Nation”. That, or wait a few months when they start showing up on eBay. I think I’ll hold on to mine.

Tags: , Dumb TV, hgtv, man land // 7 Comments »

I have discovered the ultimate addition to the basement bar : an icemaker.

got myself one of these baby’s for Christmas and never again will I have to make that mid-party trip to the gas station to get an overpriced, underfilled bag of ice that I drop and rip open on the way out of the trunk and spill half the ice in the driveway.

Magic Chef - Counter Top Ice Maker . the thing makes no more noise than a compact fridge and fits neatly under my blackjack table . yet it can spit out a tray of ice every 7-8 minutes from the moment you turn it on.
the beast kept up with my new years party of 10 people with no problem. never had to wait for a cube.

there’s a lot of moving parts in there, and i’m sure it will die approx. 15 seconds after the 1 year warranty runs out, but i’m going to use the heck out of it until then (sorry for the coarse language there, i’m just THAT excited).

next on the list: running water.
dare to dream.

Tags: , bar, basement bar, ice // 1 Comment »

So i finally got it (mostly) done. (Is a project like this ever really “done”?)

The basement casino is open for business.

Breif history:

When we moved into the house, there was nothing down there. Just a big open box with the concrete foundation walls on all sides. Staircase coming down in the middle, furnace & water heater on one side, laundry washer & dryer on the other.

This last spring, I, with the help of my dear ol’ pop, put up drywall walls to create some rooms. Walled off a furnace room, and also a laundry room.

These photos were taken Sept 25, 2006.

I posted those, so you can see what has happened in a very short time span, considering it’s only been one mere mortal working on it.

So, without any further ado, chadd’s new basement casino:

Welcome to the k2 Lounge!

Bar

New Bottle shelves (added Nov 22 2006)

Beer Tap (added july 2007)

Blackjack table

Craps

Poker

Entertainment center

Home Theater PC (added march 2008)

Jukebox (added april 2008)

Random shots

There’s still a lot to do. Need more art on the walls, need to add kegerator behind the bar [update: wall beer tap added], add a sink behind the bar, add a couple bookshelves, trim out the drywall, start/finish the downstairs bathroom in the laundry room. Should keep me occupied for a while.

In the meantime, it’s done enough to be usable, my own little piece of Vegas in my basement. And, after the first party we had down there last week, I think it will work out well. But, i think i might have to initiate taking a rake from the poker table, or else i’m going to have to send back that volcano for the front yard and the flamingos for the back.

Tags: , basement bar, blackjack, craps, home casino, home theater, htpc, jukebox, k2 lounge, pinball, poker // 22 Comments »