QuenchPad: Adios 2008!
Posted by QuenchPops | Filed under Current Events
Thanks to the 20 or 30 of you who have followed QuenchPad since it launched in June 2008. While QuenchPops and Slake are the founders and primary authors, we’ve had one or two guest authors, the band Grizzly Bear commented, and many, many talented artists and freaks alike were featured on the site. Thanks to everyone for a great year.
The following are some Google Analytics stats for Q4, when we actually started tracking y’all.
International Audience, in order of use: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Spain, Germany, Australia, France, Belgium, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, China, Austria, Netherlands, Sweden, Argentina, Finland, Poland, Thailand, South Korea, Slovenia, Croatia, El Salvador, Turkey, Greece, Romania
U.S. National Audience: See map below, biggest audience is New York (NYC specifically).
Overall usage statistics:
Average Time on each visit: 3 minutes 15 seconds
That’s all folks. See you in 2009!
Tags: 2008, 2009, adios, bush's last year thank god, quenchpad
So Real, So Miniature
Posted by QuenchPops | Filed under Art & Design
I’ve been following this technique of photography and videography for some time, so I figured it was time to QuenchPad it along with the video a friend-of-a-friend, Jeff Kaplon, brought to my attention. Props to him.
The official term for this technique is “Tilt-Shift Photography” with a more specific method being “Miniature Faking.” Basically, it’s photography or videography of real life, full scale people, cities, buildings, etc. and making them look like very small model sets, similar to those seen in our train posting.
“Metal Heart” video by Keith Loutit
Metal Heart from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.
“Helpless” by Keith Loutit:
Helpless from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.
How To do this type of “Miniature Faking”
- (Showing “Step 9″ of a Photoshop tutorial): 
City Shrinker Photography:
Tags: beached, city shrinker, keith loutit, metal heart, miniature faking, monster truck, tilt-shift
80s Holiday TV
Posted by Slake! | Filed under Off the beaten path
Check out this site for the holidays….betamaxmas.com. These folks have found shows from the 80s about christmas, music videos, etc and have put together an interactive TV to watch them on complete with working “bunny ears.” The site changes as time goes on and includes a TV guide.
Tags: 80s TV, not so current events
Trash Talkin’ the Animals
Posted by QuenchPops | Filed under Off the beaten path
This is my favorite new blog: F*ck You, Penguin. If you’re sensitive to profanity, we apologize, but this site is hilarious. It’s slogan “A blog where I tell cute animals what’s what,” here are some of the best:
Thanks for “gracing” us with your presence
I get it, Whale, you’re busy. I’ve only been on this F*CKING BOAT for three and a half hours waiting for you, and the only thing I’ve seen so far is my lunch from earlier. It’s not like you spend your entire goddamn life in the ocean, so I see why you would only come up for basically a split second… (read more)
Swan’s are natures Porsche drivers
You know, there was once an ugly duckling who got picked on all of the time by the other ducks, who couldn’t understand why the duckling was so ugly. But then it turned out that duckling wasn’t really a duck at all, but was in fact a TOTAL F*CKING DICK…. (read more)
Lions even bore themselves
I’m not really sure where this “King of the Jungle” designation came from, but honestly, that is the biggest load of horsesh*t ever…. (read more)
Tags: animals, f you penguin, trash talk
Resampled Space
Posted by QuenchPops | Filed under Art & Design, Off the beaten path
Belgian photographer Filip Dujardin makes images of unexpected buildings – that is, he “combines photographs of parts of buildings into new, fictional, architectonic structures,” Mark Magazine explains.
The resulting projects look like old factory sites in the American rust belt – Mark describes them as “informal and often dilapidated structures with unspecified functions”
Tags: architecture, BLDG, Filip Dujardin, recycled imagery, resampled space
Magic Scooter Clothing
Posted by Slake! | Filed under Yachts, Gadgets, & Bling
This crazy jacket is perfect for people that like to do dangerous stuff. Here is what Scooterwear says about it…
“Under slow rates of movement, the d3o™ CE certified (EN1621-1) pads provides maximum comfort through softness and flexibility, but when impacted at high speeds d3o™ displays excellent shock absorption as the Intelligent Molecules inside lock together, spreading the force over the whole pad.
d3o™ completely conforms to your body and remains almost invisible within your garment, but provides excellent shock absorption when you need it.”
Basically they are saying that you can run into stuff on wearing this coat, and it will change to protect your body.
While it is not very attractive, neither is a broken bone or 20 when you smash into something.
Tags: apparell, armadillo, jackets, scooters
The Worst Band in The World
Posted by Slake! | Filed under Stick it in your ear.
Before going into this, I wanted to note that when you google, “The Worst Band in The World” you get 4 hits on that phrase, followed immediately by a variety of postings about “Creed.” Thanks Google.
This song was sampled by J Dilla on his track “Workinonit.” (Below)
Here is the original track by the band 10CC.
10CC - Worst Band in The World
Tags: worst band in the world
Rovio
Posted by QuenchPops | Filed under Off the beaten path, Yachts, Gadgets, & Bling
This thing is bad ass. It’s a remote controlled web cam robot. While you sit at your desk, you can control it through a website to move around your house and shoot live video. Being a robot, I expected it to be in the thousands, but it’s only $300. Not bad if you want to keep an eye on your place, video conference in your out-of-town family on weekends, make sure your dog isn’t eating your furniture, etc. Here’s the official site and here it is for sale on Amazon.
Tags: gadget, robot, rovio, web cam, wi-fi, wifi, wowwee
Dungen
Posted by QuenchPops | Filed under Stick it in your ear.
Swedish psychedlia, Dungen sounds like one of those great groups from the 70s like Jethro Tull or Jefferson Airplane, but this song “Det Tar Did” on their most recent album “4″ just came out this fall and has a hint of Os Mutantes. Frontman Gustav Ejstes does everything on his own, but has a full live band. Bra jobbat Dungen!
Tags: dungen, Gustav Ejstes, psychedelic rock, sweden, swedish
Smokin’ Model Railroad (RR) Setups
Posted by QuenchPops | Filed under Art & Design, Off the beaten path
I’m a closet model RR train geek. My Dad kept an “O” Scale set in our basement that smelled like oil, rust, mildew, and reminded me of my childhood during the end of the Cold War. We broke it out every now and then between the age of 6 and 12, but it always ended up back in a box because of its hugeness, weight, and constant requirement to keep it oiled. I eventually built a table and “N” Scale Set in my early teens but like most projects at that age, nothing of significance came to fruition. Still, every Christmas I get an itch to build a whole setup again and this year when I finally did get back into the hobby by buying a 60’s Lionel HO Union Pacific full train kit on eBay for $15.00, I decided I’m completely coming out of the closet that is model trains. It’s only a matter of time that I carpenter another table and build a full setup. In the meantime, I’m using these as the greatest inspiration for the limitless, insane possibilities of this gloriously geeky hobby (what a geeky thing to say):
Bronx, New York Botanical Garden:
Chicago Museum of Science & Industry, The Great Train Story:
Skip forward to 0:45 -
Greeley Freight Station Museum:
Worlds Best Model Railroad - Greeley Freight Station Museum from Skip Weythman on Vimeo.
Northlandz, biggest one around:
Some ridiculous dude’s explanation of the whole process. Don’t read it… Just skim it.
The scale (size) differences in model RR (largest to smallest):
Basically scales refer to the ratio of the model train to an actual gigantic 15-foot tall, human hauling engine, cars, caboose, etc…
O Scale
Name originally was ‘0′ (zero), ‘1′ through ‘6′ were already in use for larger scales. In the US, this is frequently a considered a ‘toy train’ scale rather than for scale modelers. However, though toy trains use this gauge, they are often nowhere near scale.
HO Scale
This is the most popular model railway scale in the world (except in the United Kingdom). The name is derived from “Half O” and the Normen Europäischer Modelleisenbahnen (NEM) define the scale as exactly 1:87, the US NMRA as 1:87.1 (3.5 mm : 1 ft).
N Scale
As with 1:160 N scale below, the name is derived from its Nine millimeter track gauge, but the scale is a slightly larger at 2 1/16th mm = 1 foot.
Tags: Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, cold war, geeks, Greeley Freight Station Museum, HO scale, N scale, Northlandz, O scale, The Great Train Story, trains
Coldplay Are Thieves
Posted by QuenchPops | Filed under Current Events, Stick it in your ear.
Not that I like Joe Satriani, but come on… They are gonna get their asses sued and they are going to lose.
From Pitchfork: “According to Reuters (via Billboard.com), virtuoso guitarist Joe Satriani filed a lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles federal court claiming “Viva la Vida” contains “substantial original portions” of his 2004 instrumental tune ‘If I Could Fly’. Satriani wants a jury trial, damages, and “any and all profits” from the song. Which would be a hell of a lot.”
Tags: coldplay, copyright infringement, joe satriani, stealing, stupid guitarists, stupid pop music
Soup Season - It’s CHOWDAH!! Say it Frenchy
Posted by Slake! | Filed under Food Glorious Food
When the weather gets cold, your body demands soup…and bacon. This one has both. Here is a recipe for New England Clam Chowder. We reccomend making this one day ahead of time because it gets better the next day.
**if you like this a bit thicker, you can replace the half and half with heavy cream and add a bit more flour.
• 3 8-ounce bottles clam juice
• 1 pound russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 3 slices bacon, finely chopped
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 1/4 cups chopped celery with leaves (about 2 large stalks)
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 6 6 1/2-ounce cans chopped clams, drained, juices reserved
• 1 1/4 cups half and half
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
Preparation
Bring bottled clam juice and potatoes to boil in heavy large saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until bacon begins to brown, about 8 minutes. Add onions, celery, garlic and bay leaf and sauté until vegetables soften, about 6 minutes. Stir in flour and cook 2 minutes (do not allow flour to brown). Gradually whisk in reserved juices from clams. Add potato mixture, clams, half and half and hot pepper sauce. Simmer chowder 5 minutes to blend flavors, stirring frequently. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated. Bring to simmer before serving.)
Tags: bacon, chowder, clam juice!
Quench Pad is a pile of fun garbage. It’s valuable garbage found around the web and occassionally in our author’s own lives. It’s here to inspire, disgust, make you laugh, and maybe even make you buy (for that really cool shit we’re linking to). Check back often or add our RSS feed to your list of news feeds, as we’ll be updating more and more regularly now that the site has officially launched. Drink up.