Man that is a sick set up! You got a great monitor, if I may be so bold. Also I like the Spock head.

I do think it could use some marbles.

Yup! Spock is always near me - and he never gets old!

Monitor is fairly new - HP f2105 - I also (FINALLY) got a Spyder2 colour correction thing-a-ma-joggy too. All in all my monitoring situation is dandy now. I may be able to put off buying glasses for another year or two!

Yes, we have no marbles. There is a Small Red Buddha on my monitor though, and he appears to be holding a small RED MARBLE in a basket. Does that count?



(and PLEASE - to everyone - NO THEOLOGICAL DISCUSSION REGARDING THE BUDDHA DUDE AND THE DEEPER MEANING OF HIS MARBLE. There is ANOTHER thread going for that kinda talk!
Feel free to comment on the DUSTINESS of said Red Buhhda, or perhaps his well developed Man-Boobs. And, as always, please... no wagering!)

Queen, since ReinMan has already asked about the other two items, I am forced to resort to asking my second alternate question regarding the picture of your desk...

Who has such good taste in cigars?



Arturo Fuente 8-5-8's are a favorite in my household, which is not necessarily that impressive considering the fact that I am the only one who smokes them, unless you count my dogs when they are playing poker.

Ha ha, small world! I'm pretty keen on cigar boxes. I like the 8-5-8 box because it smells the best, and is the best size. The only time I ever actually took a puff off of a cigar, nobody told me that you're not supposed to inhale--bwah? But it was too late, and everything tasted like cigars for three days.

I'm sure it doesn't surprise you that the box is full of marbles right now. Used to have 4x6 cards...but those went the way of the dinosaur when the marble run phase started up. And speaking of, the paint is drying on three more pieces--photos and video coming soon!

Pretty good! I like the look of that first one a lot. I just took the tape off of three of these suckers...plus I have another big one. I'm actually thinking about an ebay store, too. From trying to buy supplies for these things, I have discovered how sought-after marble run toys are.

Speaking of ebay, here are not even all of the items that I'm waiting for right now. I have a problem.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6065185235&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6065185894&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6065186542&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6063648918&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5026976804&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8904561128&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8267987840&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8934347666&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

See, at the end, there's going to be a little hanging beaded curtain or bell, so that there can be some kind of "finish" to it. Also I've made, from toothpicks, a small box that can be hung on the wall independently of the painting, and it catches the marble. The idea is that they can be like Legos, these paintings. You could put one underneath another one, and have one marble travel both paintings, and then into the little basket, or just the painting with the little basket.

I tend to just give a big go-ahead to any juvenile impulse I have. Photos to follow.

hey, that interchangable idea is mine, I patented it shortly after I mentioned it to you. I'm afraid you'll have to pay royalties.

In the mail, my friend. Isn't it a school night?

School? Man, you must've been deprived during your childhood...I'm in the middle of an event commonly known as Summer vacation. In fact, i'm flying out to Mexico tomorrow, so I won't be around very much. I'm gonna get you something down there. If I find any marbles, i'll be sure to get you some.

Mexico, wow! When I was 19, I spent three weeks on horseback in Ensenada. It was soooo awesome. Don't drink the water!

heh, so everyone's said. Good thing I don't drink water. It's weird, I haven't had a glass of water for as long as I can remember....I just get it out of other drinks and my food.

Okay well don't get ice in your drinks! That's where most people go wrong.

Some progress, maybe. Sadly, the one like Tiff shopped at a lousy Jersey City hardware store and got some sealant that was really old and crappy. So two that would be finished are now in the Intensive Care Unit, conditions listed as "grave," because the sealant swelled the wood and now the marbles go flying off the tracks. It's really very sad. Here are the recent ones that I didn't screw up. Some still images:



That last one has a crazy magnet on it, so if you use a ball bearing, it gets stuck at the end:


Here are video links, if you want them. If you have your speakers on, some of them make kind of good sounds.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q2Q731igcvA
http://youtube.com/watch?v=N8Kgua-__G0
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Kh47UouaEU0

Start of something big? Maybe. Pointless phase? Maybe.

coool! I like them. Sorry to hear about the crappy wood seal. Also, i'm sorry to say that I couldn't find a single marble, or even marble-resembling object in Mexico for you. Maybe next time.

Yeah, ain't no marbles in Mexico...at least it teaches you not to take marbles for granite!

I'm here all week.

By the way, check out what THIS guy is doing!
http://cgi.ebay.com/Miniature-Glass-Marbles-by-J-R-Hooper_W0QQitemZ6066817110QQihZ009QQcategoryZ236QQtcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

He sent me a few to see if I could work with them at all...they're just exactly as amazing as they look!