June 27th, 2008 by aarondietz

They decked our rooms out with simulated natural light, and artificial windows that displayed a realistically boring 3-D outdoors.

They even gave us simulated real fake plants that looked like they were really real fake plants.

The cold smooth hum of the contemporary cooling unit was drowned out by a simulated cranky whir that made us feel at home.

We could make believe the Death Star didn’t even exist, if we wanted.

And we wanted.

June 24th, 2008 by aarondietz

It’s just silly to visit L.A. without hanging out with Jeremy:

And Carmine even joined us at a tequila bar with a similar name, and then another bar after that.

And later, the best bunch of us hit Legoland, where we saw a 4-D show. That’s FOUR dimensions, folks.

Also, the Griffith Park Observatory was sweet! (Thank you, Suzy and Rob, for putting us up and driving us around quite a bit.)

June 19th, 2008 by aarondietz

I really wish there had been camps like this when I was a kid.

(Take a look at sample projects and videos created by the kids at Cybercamps.)

I once spent a week essentially by myself in the middle of a thousand kids at Boys State, and when I was younger, I was one of the few male participants in a Girl Scout summer camp (I didn’t sing).

If there had been camps like the ones put on by Cybercamps when I was a kid, I might have actually had fun.

Yes, this blog is little more than an advertisement. But it’s for an awesome summer program. The camps are incredibly fun while actually teaching kids useful skills (Web design, Photoshop, Flash animation, computer game design, and more…).

They have programs for ages 6 through 18, so check it out and see if you know a kid that would be interested. Expensive? Yes. The kids get to use vamped up computers and they go home with amazing projects (see the above links). So, it’s expensive.

Cybercamps is, however, offering some discounts, and I’m not sure, but the promo code of aarondietz might get you something off of the discount price. Huzzah!

June 18th, 2008 by aarondietz

If you are reading this blog, then it is statistically probable that your standard of living, no matter how humble, is relatively extravagant compared to the majority of humans on this planet.

You can buy cheap goods and live in a stable shelter with working toilets and clean water to drink. You can bathe every day, and spend a portion of your income on things like movies, or alcoholic beverages.

Your quality of life is made possible by centuries of exploitation. There are entire continents fueling your consumption. The cost of your consumption is the suffering of billions.

Do not feel bad for a second.

Instead, accept that since you won the lottery with your position in life, you have a responsibility to improve the quality of life of those less fortunate than you.

Have a blog about hunger? Post it today. Find out more at Bloggers Against Hunger (BAH)

June 11th, 2008 by aarondietz

I know I’ve done this before, but on my birthday I get to post whatever I want.

These are the top 10 weirdest search phrases used to get to aarondietz.us, gathered by the Internet stats machine, no lie. Every one of these was used to get to my Web site more than once.

10. anal sex filetype:swf

9. used condom

8. hot jew

7. my palm

6. jonathan evison

5. drunk slut fiction

4. cougar catnip

3. arquivolo

2. masturbation with a brush

1. chamber of commerce

Headed to L.A. this weekend. Should be fun!

June 4th, 2008 by aarondietz

I’m torn. Are these the good times, and they’re addressing people? Or are they the sort of people who appreciate good times?

Whatever. I’m not buying the album.

Incidentally, there is new fiction on my Web site:

The Affair

Freak

June 2nd, 2008 by aarondietz

I’m sorry, Spilt, A, Lavell, and so on. I was in Portland and didn’t call. I spent the whole time moving a friend, and was only in Portland for one night.

Now, enough with the apologies. Let’s ponder these two images:

Hm….

Hey, I know–let’s all start businesses and don’t advertise them out front because that’s a good business model!

At least, it is, for a business dedicated to keeping train travel from being able to compete with air travel as a viable means of transportation. Also key is serving the world’s worst veggie burger (but I’ve mentioned that before).