Copper Pots and Ray Guns

These machines tattoo really sweet. The shaders also do fat outlines like butter, and the liners do grey wash in an unusually perfect and predictable fashion. Every time I sell a machine, it's like a horrible breakup. I sleep next to every one, and I try to tattoo with every one as well. If I send you your machine without tattooing with it first, it's because I can tell that it has "the magic." I needle hard rubber for an hour or so once I assemble each machine. This places much greater demand on the machine than human skin does, and I can tell how it's going to tattoo from this test. I just made my first all-steel flywheel. That's going to Ron Earhart on his new shader. I also decided that tattooing demands too much from the offset pin to make it out of brass, so those will all be steel from now on. The current tube vise style I make is very grabby and reliable. If you have a hard time loading your tubes because they are extra fat, just pry open the vise a bit(carefully!) with a screwdriver. Make sure you loosen the thumbscrew first, duh :] I can't wait til everyone has TWO of my machines so we can all get excited about this new dimension in tattooing together!

Kansas City Tattoo Convention 2010

Well, my pals Jim and Peter rolled out the red carpet for this one. I stayed at their house and had Jim's 2nd car for the whole week I stayed! This made everything soooo much easier. I was able to dive into tattoos at the convention, and was still able to have some much needed downtime in KC. The convention was really fun. A bunch of regular ol tattoo fans were waiting outside the door at opening time on Saturday! It's been a while since I've seen that sort of enthusiasm in the tattoo biz. It seemed like everyone worked and made some money this event. The Mercy Seat booth was kinda in a separate front room, and in our room at least, the vibe was awesome. I didn't get to see much of the convention because I was working at it! See you next year at the Real Deal KC Tattoo Convention.

R.I.P. Static Lounge San Diego

Dear Friends of Static, My name is Travis and for the past three years I have been the owner of Static Lounge. The club has changed drastically in that time from a live alternative music venue to a club dedicated to providing a safe, fun, and alcohol free place for San Diego's young adults. I have learned some hard lessons in the past three years but for the past year I believe we found something that San Diego desperately needed and it worked. Static was a stepping stone for those under 21. A place where young adults could go free from the influence of alcohol. A place where everyone not just those under 21 could come and learn that it is possible to have fun and to dance with out the booze. A place were everyone could come and just be themselves. For almost a year that worked and it truly was something special. In the last several months as I am sure you are all aware other 18+ events and clubs started to pop up. These places however did not provide a place free from the influence of alcohol and in my opinion did not operate within the law. These places were licensed to be restaurants so SDPD allowed them to have people in who are under 21, even though it is clear they are nightclubs. While Static still did a good job of competing with the other clubs serving alcohol, when you add in the down turn of the economy it simply wasn't enough for us to keep our doors open. I tried with all my might to find solutions. The City of San Diego, the City Council and the San Diego Police Department however did not support my effort to provide an alcohol free place for San Diego's young adults. The City council did nothing but give me the run around. The SDPD went as far as to shut me down at 10pm on July 3rd 2009 for a clerical error on my part in getting my entertainment license renewed. Yes that's right one must have the permission of the SDPD to allow customers to Dance. They even threatened to arrest me when I asked the question "Are you really going to shut down the only alcohol free night club in San Diego?"The reason my license did not get renewed on time is because they did not know what to do with a nightclub that did not have alcohol. I was even advised by a SDPD detective to bring the booze back, it would be easier he said. Almost six weeks went by before I was able to get my permit back causing me irreversible financial damage. This set back along with the economy and the competition from 18+ places serving alcohol has made it impossible for me to keep Static Lounge open. It breaks my heart to have to walk away knowing there are no other safe alternatives for those under 21 to go. I feel ashamed for my city as many of the regulars at Static were men and women in uniform. What kind of message are we sending to them when we let them fight for our county but we can't even provide them with a safe place to have fun. I have seen first hand the devastating effects of alcohol and hope that someday San Diego will wake up and see the importance of having safe alcohol free places for the young adults of this city. I am not sure what is next for me I have lost everything to keep Static open as long as we did. I may look for another city one which would support a alcohol free night club. I also would love to help someone else who might be interested in opening up something similar to Static provided it is alcohol free, maybe my hard lessons could go to some use and help pave the way. I hope the City of San Diego wakes up soon and gives their full support to any future alcohol free clubs that might open up. If you are upset about the loss of San Diego's only alcohol free night club please speak up and call your council office, call the SDPD and make your voices heard. Thank you all for your support. Regretfully, Travis

Baddest Stuff Ever Post No. 2

I gotta confess... I dropped my Palm Pixi sooo hard yesterday that I really don't deserve to own a phone. I believe it landed at such an angle as to ding up TWO corners of the phone, not just one. A lil massaging with my finger and fingernail and the dings are almost imperceptible. The phone seems unaffected! To be continued...

Baddest Stuff Ever

It occurred to me recently that the stuff in my life is the coolest stuff EVER, so I'm going to be annoying and brag about it all. I have the most amazing boss, the most amazing friends, and the most amazing girlfriend too. But this post is about STUFF. I have the Baddest car, baddest tattoo machines, baddest phone, baddest watch and other great stuff. I am truly blessed, lucky, and thankful.

Baddest Stuff Ever Post No. 1

The Palm Pixi is the most intuitive device I've ever used. I was cracking up when I first used it. It's really like they saw me coming, and got this thing ready for me. I guess that's true since I had the Centro before that, and the Treo before that. But wow, the Pre navigation with no slide-open... it's like the Centro on speed. I'm glad I skipped the Pre and went straight to the Pixi.

So far I have ruined the screen protector by getting dust under it while applying it, spattered rainwater from squeegeeing my car window on it, and left it sitting in a lil puddle of Madacide sanitizing solution. Dear New Phone, please forgive my clumsiness. You rule.

Pets and Biohazardous Cross-Contamination

I am not a pet owner. I don't like cages, for me or any animal. Perhaps I will own a farm one day, and then we'll see about ADOPTING a pet. I'm not perfect, but I do make an effort to enforce my ethics in a heartfelt way.

When you get sick, or infected, bad companies profit. By "bad companies" I mean those companies that sell you medicines that don't work, or medicines that work poorly while filling up your body with (more) toxic bullshit.

Animals play with poo, and then they play with you...

Your pets bring bacteria and viruses into your life. You probably don't address this because of the social stigma that's associated with "sick" or "infected." Your relationship with your pet is soooo sacred to you that you simply can't imagine the spectre of medical misinformation and ignorance creeping into your life through your pet.

Guess what? Americans are primarily IGNORANT GERM COOKERS providing a guaranteed income for various crooked power structures. When your cat brings new strains of staph into your home, for example, the medical establishment laughs all the way to the bank. Hospitals are just waiting for you to bring in the new strain and trade illnesses with other sick people.

You can still keep your pet, and be safe from germs. For example, SOVEREIGN SILVER(www.natural-immunogenics.com) is safe for you AND your pet to consume. It works great as a topical antimicrobial(for paws and noses) and is safe to ingest in large quantities. The best thing about this product, however, is that you HARDLY HAVE TO USE ANY.

Colloidal silver is just one answer to the pet/biohazard issue. G.S.E. is another great germ killer that you dilute and apply anywhere. Use both of these products on yourself and your pets and keep your home safe.

Remember... animals play with poo, and then they play with you... take the extra steps people...

Obvious Dating Requirements

I've become aware that I've let people slide on some ethical issues concerning dating. So whenever I date someone again, I will be able to refer them to this blog post, in the case of any confusion about these issues.

1) If you like me enough to sleep with me, and if you think you are having feelings for me, be advised that you will soon introduce me to your parents, and closest friends, and ANY AND ALL ex boyfriends you may still be "friends" with. I will allow you to get through all this at your own pace, but please know AND ACKNOWLEDGE that it will be one of my priorities. If you won't introduce me to your loved ones and ex's that you're still "friends" with, please know that I'm just sleeping with you, and that you can't expect anything more out of me. I don't care what your excuse is. Parade me around your life in front of everyone, or just shut up and take your clothes off. This will apply within a few weeks after we have the "talk" and decide we are going to date exclusively. You must say yes to this unconditionally with no exceptions.

2) If I tell you I don't like the chemistry you're having with your new male friend, you must immediately cut him off, unless there is money involved. Again, this only applies to you if you're trying to date me or get anything out of me other than sex. NO NEW FRIENDS is how I say it. You don't need more male friends. I uphold this policy for my girlfriends, and expect the same in return. Including when you're drunk. No excuses, ever. If there is money involved, I may tolerate a new male friend in your life, but you have to be pretty much all over me in front of any man I notice you have chemistry with.

3) CHEER ME ON in my projects and endeavors, even if it means you can't see me as often as you'd like. DON'T BE DEAD WEIGHT or baggage for me, or I will drop you immediately. Never whine about the time I spend being creative. CHEER ME ON like you're my fan. I'll do the same for you, as an obvious matter of ethics.

4) UNCHECK AUTO-ARGUE. When a female's auto-argue feature is turned on, it's a turnoff. What the fuck are you talking to me for, if you want to naysay, backtalk and argue in every other conversation? This isn't the Mesa College Debate Team. Shut up and test drive my ideas sometimes. Or go away.

5) DRESS UP FOR ME MORE THAN YOU DRESS UP FOR ANYONE ELSE, except maybe the judge. People can really be idiots about this. It seems obvious to me. The longer I date someone, the MORE I try to dress nice, smell nice etc. Is this hard to figure out?

6) Be professionally standoffish with my male friends, and get to know my female ones. I will reciprocate.

I hope I can show this list to a female someday and have her say "That all sounds right to me! I expect the same so I'll do all that for you!"

In short:
1) Introduce me to everyone.
2) No new male friends(unless money is involved).
3) Cheer me on.
4) Stop pointless arguing.
5) Dress up for me.
6) Don't get too close to my male friends.

It's not rocket science, people...

In case you're wondering if I'm a chauvanist, I'm not. I want a woman to have her own things going on that have nothing to do with me. I want a woman to be healthy, empowered, free...... and very into me, and very into showing it.