13149 days ago, I purchased my first computer.

This is four days old now, so technically, it was 13153 days ago.

Physicists mimic quantum entanglement with laser pointer to double data speeds

Anti-Islamic Counter Protest here in Corpus Christi

The Black Dot Campaign

The black dot on your hand lets professionals know that you are a really vulnerable domestic abuse survivor and that you need help, but cannot ask because your abuser is watching your every move.

Apologizing doesn't have to suck.

The Alternate Universe of Soviet Arcade Games

Using a coupon at the online store

Using coupons at the online store

Using a coupon at http://thewitsend.aliboom.com for the first time can be confusing.

What is the problem?

You find an item that you like and decide to purchase it, so you put it in the cart and enter your shiny new coupon code that is supposed to give you 20% off on your entire purchase. However; once you hit return, you find out that it didn't work.  What's up with that, are we lying to you?

Actually, no, we're not messing with you

We're not lying, promise.  The store is actually quite capable when it comes to coupons, when compared to our Etsy shop. The thing is though, you have to manually tell the system that you want to use the coupon (just the first time, it stays for your entire visit).

Here is the 'trick'

Selecting a coupon

Instead of using Return/Enter, you have to click on the "+" next to the coupon code that you've entered.

Deselecting a coupon

If you decide afterwards that you don't actually want to use a coupon, you remove it with the "x" to the right of it.

Thanks!

Your purchase at The Wits End helps provide feminine hygiene products to homeless women

We don't talk about it on the store site, but a portion of each sale is set aside to help purchase feminine hygiene products for the local (Corpus Christi, TX) homeless and women's shelters.

Tampons and sanitary pads are pretty expensive, and people don't normally think of them when they're donating items to shelters. Not thinking about them doesn't stop the need of course. I'm a guy, so I have never experienced menstruation firsthand.  However; I still have an imagination.  Just the thought of being out on the street, desperate about so many other things and then having to deal with your period, has to be very stressful.

Of course, being a small company with just a small number sales per month, we can't do a lot - but every little bit helps.

Curious about our stores?
http://thewitsend.aliboom.com
https://thewitsend.etsy.com

I admit, I cried some at this.

Best of luck to you sir

Mr.Hurt has been diagnosed with cancer. I'd like to see some episode with him as The Doctor.

New: When Gamers Were Made of Iron, and Consoles Were Made Of Wood - Atari VCS tee

This shirt is 20% off for a limited time.

OK, made of plastic meant to resemble wood - but really - stop being so technical , it was meant as a humorous comment on the ancientnousositiness (that's an official caveperson word) of the Atari Video Computer System. You can get it here.

The design; however, is apparently made of stone and wood.

A little bit about the shirts

All shirts are hand screened and are printed on demand. This shirt will generally be screened, heat set, and shipped within one to three business days of your order.

At the moment, the shirts are sourced locally; and we attempt to use Gildans or Jerzees for the heavyweight 100% cotton ones; however, we will also use heavy weight 100% cotton Hanes or Fruit of the Loom tees if that is all that is available in a particular size. You can also request Hanes Comfortsoft cotton/poly blend tees (the hues will sometimes be slightly different on these).

We can accept special requests; if you want a different color or type of shirt or ink, if you'd like the graphic (when applicable) to be a different color than the text, we'll be happy to work with you, just send us a note and let us know.

For special orders, please understand that since we currently source our tees locally, we can't guarantee the availability of a particular color in all sizes. This is normally only a problem in sizes larger than XL. In addition, for the women's fitted shirts, we currently have no control over whether the shirt will be scoop neck or v-neck. Contact us and we'll do everything we can to get you the shirt you actually desire.

Bulk Buying Options

single $12.79
2 up to 3 $12.39 per item
4 up to 6 $11.99 per item
7 up to 10 $11.59 per item
11 up to 20 $10.39 per item

http://thewitsend.aliboom.com/When_Gamers_Were_Made_of_Iron_-_Atari_VCS_tee/p3224001_14232941.aspx

I'm maneuvering a 2-ton potential weapon, why are you deliberately antagonizing me?

I don't understand why people seem to love annoying me when I am behind the wheel of a two ton weapon.

• If I am driving the speed limit in the travel lane, why do you feel that it is necessary to pass me on the right?
• Learn how to merge. Yes, the signs might say "Yield," but that does not mean you come to a dead stop for vehicles that are 300 yards up the exit ramp. For those of you that don't screech to a complete stop, quit pacing people on the exit ramp.  If you're ahead of them, don't slow down, if you're slightly behind them, don't speed up.

  

  Translated to the Corpus Christi language: "Come to a screeching  halt with absolutely no warning, because there is a remote possibility that the car 900 yards behind you on SPID might decide to use the exit ramp."

• Conversely, don't honk at me when I am in the middle lane and you come off of the exit ramp going 35MPH over the posted exit ramp speed limit and try to dart across three lanes of traffic in under 100 yards. Learn to get off one exit early if you know that you're not going to have enough room.
• Learn to use your directional signals. It is not physically strenuous, nor does it require extreme mental effort. If you are not going to learn how to use your turn signals, at least remove your bumper stickers telling me about your honor student; or telling me (a person who happens to have the mental capacity to figure out the use of turn signals) who to vote for in the upcoming elections. 

  

  You can get this bumper sticker here
• If you don't know how to manipulate your vehicle, don't drive it. Your pickup is not a bus. You don't need to slow down to 10MPH and make wide turns when you are turning right. Also, if parking your vehicle is beyond your skillset, don't drive it.
• Use the cart corrals. I am sick of pulling in to a store parking lot and having to take five carts to a corral less than twenty feet away, just so they don't get blown into someone's car door in the Corpus Christi wind.
• If you are walking across the parking lot and I'm nice enough to stop and let you cross in front of me, there is an implicit contract there. My stopping does not mean that you and your partner get to have a pleasant conversation, dawdling along while you cross the lane diagonally, taking seven times as much time to cross as necessary.

New: Start, Select, Option, System Reset - Atari 8-bit tee

Function keys? We had them way before the IBM PC Compatibles

Introductory price of $12.99 - coupon codes still apply.

So, what is this shirt about?

This shirt shows the four function keys on the Atari 8-bit computers, and those computers are listed in the bars meant to represent the "safety" on the 800, which helped keep you from accidentally pressing the System Reset button. The function keys were programmable and assigned various uses in different programs.

This shirt is available in a variety of color combinations, and you can request your own.

The basic design

Here's a close up of the bars.

Some details on the shirts

All shirts are hand screened and are printed on demand. This shirt will generally be screened, heat set, and shipped within one to three business days of your order. 

At the moment, the shirts are sourced locally; and we attempt to use Gildans or Jerzees for the heavyweight 100% cotton ones; however, we will also use heavy weight 100% cotton Hanes or Fruit of the Loom tees if that is all that is available in a particular size. You can also request Hanes Comfortsoft cotton/poly blend tees (the hues will sometimes be slightly different on these).  

We can accept special requests; if you want a different color or type of shirt or ink, if you'd like the graphic (when applicable) to be a different color than the text, we'll be happy to work with you, just send us a note and let us know. 

For special orders, please understand that since we currently source our tees locally, we can't guarantee the availability of a particular color in all sizes. This is normally only a problem in sizes larger than XL. In addition, for the women's fitted shirts, we currently have no control over whether the shirt will be scoop neck or v-neck. Contact us and we'll do everything we can to get you the shirt you actually desire.

Bulk Buying Options
single		$12.79
2 up to 3		$12.39	per item
4 up to 6		$11.99	per item
7 up to 10		$11.59	per item
11 up to 20		$10.39	per item

http://thewitsend.aliboom.com/Start,_Select,_Option,_System_Reset_-_Atari_8-bit_tee/p3224001_14211635.aspx

New: IVF/LGBTQ onesie: Mommy+Mommy+Test Tube=Me!

Our Test Tube baby onesie is now available for babies with two mommies. 

Just a minor change, but a big one all the same. It is available immediately.

Available in various colors, and you can make special requests.

About the onesies

Screen printed on Carter's infant body suits. All body suits are printed on demand. You may request other ink colors. You may also request other body suit colors; however, they will be hand dyed and the hue may vary. Let me know what you would like in the Notes to Seller section or via a Convo and I will let you know if I can fulfill the request.

Note that in general, any special colors will have to be dyed by hand. I use Dharma Procion fiber reactive dye. Procion actually dyes the fiber, rather than laying a coat of color on the outside of it. This makes it color fast and safe, if your child decides that the clothes look yummy. 

One point to note about it though is that it only dyes natural fibers; therefore, if there are (for example) polyester threads in the garment, they won't be dyed. This actually leads to quite a nice looking effect when it happens. 

Another thing to note is that I might have to order the color that you desire, and that could add a few days to the time.

Bulk Buying Options
single		$15.99
2 up to 3		$15.49	per item
4 up to 5		$14.99	per item
6 up to 10		$14.49	per item
11 up to 20		$12.99	per item

http://thewitsend.aliboom.com/Mommy_+_Mommy_+_Test_Tube_=_Me_ivf_lgbtq_onesie/p3224001_14203778.aspx

New in the store: My Governor is an idiot and/or a pandering liar - Jade Helm tee

My Governor is an idiot and/or a pandering liar

He knows that Jade Helm 15 is just a regular military training exercise, or at least he should.

Get this shirt for an introductory price of 20% off for a limited time. Note that this shirt has no specific mention of Jade Helm 15, since the sentiment is certain to apply  a myriad of times during his term.

Available in an assortment of colors

About the shirts

All shirts are hand screened and printed on demand. This shirt will generally be screened, heat set, and shipped within one to three business days of your order. 

At the moment, the shirts are sourced locally; and we attempt to use Gildans or Jerzees for the heavyweight 100% cotton ones; however, we will also use heavy weight Hanes or Fruit of the Loom tees if that is all that is available in a particular size. You can also request Hanes Comfortsoft cotton/poly blend tees (the hues will sometimes be slightly different on these).

We can accept special requests; if you want a different color or type of shirt or ink, if you'd like the graphic (when applicable) to be a different color than the text, we'll be happy to work with you, just send us a note and let us know. 

For special orders, please understand that since we currently source our tees locally, we can't guarantee the availability of a particular color in all sizes.  This is normally only a problem in sizes larger than XL.  In addition, for the women's fitted shirts, we currently have no control over whether the shirt will be scoop neck or v-neck. Contact us and we'll do everything we can to get you the shirt you actually desire.

Bulk discounts are also available

single		$12.79
2 up to 3		$12.39	per item
4 up to 6		$11.99	per item
7 up to 10		$11.59	per item
11 up to 20		$10.39	per item

http://thewitsend.aliboom.com/My_Governor_is_an_idiot_Jade_Helm_tee/p3224001_14101973.aspx

New: I still remember my first! (with heart) Atari tees Colleen/Candy/Stella/Pam

Are you an Atari fan?  What was your first experience with Atari hardware?  If it was the Atari 400, Atari 800, Atari VCS or the Atari 5200, we have a shirt for you.

So what is this all about?

For those that aren't aware, these were the project code names for these products.  The names were derived from certain well endowed Atari employees (yeah, we won't get in to that whole bicycle thing).

Stella was the Atari VCS

The video computer system would later be redesigned and marketed as the 2600.

Pam was the Atari 5200

The 5200 was Atari's next generation console, following up on the VCS.

Candy was the Atari 400 computer

Colleen was the Atari 800 computer

Some information on the shirts

All shirts are hand screened and are printed on demand. This shirt will generally be screened, heat set, and shipped within one to three business days of your order. 

At the moment, the shirts are sourced locally; and we attempt to use Gildans or Jerzees for the heavyweight 100% cotton ones; however, we will also use heavy weight 100% cotton Hanes or Fruit of the Loom tees if that is all that is available in a particular size. You can also request Hanes Comfortsoft cotton/poly blend tees (the hues will sometimes be slightly different on these).  

We can accept special requests; if you want a different color or type of shirt or ink, if you'd like the graphic (when applicable) to be a different color than the text, we'll be happy to work with you, just send us a note and let us know. 

For special orders, please understand that since we currently source our tees locally, we can't guarantee the availability of a particular color in all sizes. This is normally only a problem in sizes larger than XL. In addition, for the women's fitted shirts, we currently have no control over whether the shirt will be scoop neck or v-neck. Contact us and we'll do everything we can to get you the shirt you actually desire.

Bulk Buying Options

single $15.99

2 up to 3 $15.49 per item

4 up to 6 $14.99 per item

7 up to 10 $14.49 per item

11 up to 20 $12.99 per item

http://thewitsend.aliboom.com/I_Still_Remember_My_First_-_Atari_tee_-_ColleenCandyStellaPam/p3224001_14196762.aspx

New items: Liberal Veteran tees, all five US service branches

Available for all five branches.
Get them at Military Tees at The Wits End

The Wit's End has liberal veteran tee shirts available. Many people are under the mistaken impression that the military is one giant block of conservatives.  That is not true at all.  Admittedly, the ratio is in favor of the conservative elements, but there are a significant number of progressive military servicemembers and veterans. Part of the problem is that the conservative members are more vocal, and get most of the attention.  This leads to the more liberal elements keeping their mouths shut because they believe that they are hopelessly outnumbered. These tees help get the word out that they are not alone, there are other liberal veterans and one of them is standing right in front of them as they read the shirt.

Each shirt has three variations (Army only has two) you can choose from (using the USMC one as an example ):

Abbreviation (Not available for the Army)

Without U.S.

With U.S. (this is the default)

Are you a liberal veteran?  Do you know one? Consider getting one (or even many - bulk discounts are available) of these tees. They are currently on sale, 20% off the normal price. That makes them $12.79 for a limited time - or as low as $10.39 each for bulk orders.

The shirts are hand screened on demand.  They are available in a variety of colors and shirt types.  You can also special order your own color combinations at no additional charge (note; however, that it may add a little time to the order while I find the shirt color you desire.)

Are you looking for shirts for active duty members?  Progressive military members? Atheist military members?  We'll have those available soon - they are on our Etsy shop and we are in the process of transferring them to our online store.

Tease the Jade Helm Tin Foil Hatters with this new tee

New in the shop:I Invaded Texas With Jade Helm 15 and All I Got Was This Lousy Tee Shirt!

Currently on sale for 20% off.

Just in time for Jade Helm 15, you or your military friends can tease the Jade Helm Tin Foil Hatters. 

All shirts are hand screend and printed on demand. This shirt will generally be screened, heat set, and shipped within one to three business days of your order. 

At the moment, the shirts are sourced locally; and we attempt to use Gildans or Jerzees for the heavyweight 100% cotton ones; however, we will also use heavy weight Hanes or Fruit of the Loom tees if that is all that is available in a particular size. You can also request Hanes Comfortsoft cotton/poly blend tees (the hues will sometimes be slightly different on these).

Visit http://thewitsend.aliboom.com/I_Invaded_TX___All_I_Got_Was_This_Lousy_T-Shirt/p3224001_14101973.aspx  for additional details, and to order.

White on Gray

Black on Gray

Blue on Gray

Blue on White

Custom colors available upon request.

Will Letter For Lunch

Hand lettering signs in exchange for lunch in NYC · letterforlunch@gmail.com · homsweethom.com

Interesting concept for a business. Do you have any thoughts on this?

Stranded Spinner dolphin I came across during a Kemp's Ridley patrol

A set of my photos on Flickr

I do volunteer Kemp's Ridley sea turtle patrols for the National Parks Service's Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery at Padre Island National Seashore. April 17th of 2010 was the tail end of a very  stormy few days.  During my patrol, I came upon a stranded spinner dolphin.  I called the Seashore and they sent some personnel and they also called the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network.  They also contacted another patroller who was about a mile away, she happened to have some towels with her.  We kept her (the dolphin) warm, wet and calm while waiting about 20-30 minutes for the professionals to arrive; it took a little while because they had been involved in Earth Day activities.  Unfortunately, she wasn't able to recover, though she had excellent care; she died three days later.

These are some photographs that I took at the time. There are descriptions of what is going on in most of the photographs.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/qnr/sets/72157623878383410/

Care to donate a few satoshi? It would really help.

The Etsy shop is back up

Visit us at https://thewitsend.etsy.com or at our online store at http://thewitsend.aliboom.com - there are slightly different selections at the two stores.

Dyeing some infant bodysuits today, how I do it.

You may not be aware of it, but The Wits End is a small, family owned business. We operate out of our house and do not maintain any stock of tee and onesie blanks, for both financial and logistical reasons. To be honest, that's not entirely accurate since I will sometimes buy a few common colors in a couple of sizes if the local craft stores are having a sale. In addition, the onesies are sold in groups of five. However; in general, if someone needs a particular color and size of shirt or infant bodysuit,I have to go in to town and buy it for the order.

Today I needed a black 9 month onesie for a Starstuff order:

I Am Made of Starstuff infant bodysuit, yellow on black.

You can't find bodysuits in a solid color here in Corpus Christi. There is one craft store that sells them in pink, blue, and black - but we don't get those because they shrink quite a lot and have a strange shape in general; plus, to be honest, we don't agree with their politics and don't shop there. Besides, we just prefer the quality of Carter's infant bodysuits.

I checked the storage area in the garage to see if I had any black 9 month onesies; I didn't, so that meant that I was going to have to dye one. I use Dharma Procion fiber reactive dyes. Procion dyes dye the fabric strands themselves, rather than just laying a coat of dye over the outside of the strand. This makes them very colorfast, and also safe, if someone's child decides that their clothing looks particularly tasty on any individual day. One issue with the Procion dyes is that they only dye natural fibers. If the item has polyester threads, the threads will not dye. This isn't necessarily bad, because it tends to give a nice look, like the onesie has a trim.

Dyeing properly is a very involved and time consuming process, therefore I never dye only one item. I'll usually select about a pound of tee shirts, onesies, and perhaps some personal items. Today I grabbed a pound of bodysuits, so that I would have some black ones ready for future orders.

The first step is to get some salt. Salt is necessary because both the fabric and the dye are negatively charged and repel each other. The salt alleviates this. Black dye, and in general any dye that contains red needs a lot of salt; about twice as much as other colors do. I needed six cups of salt for a pound of onesies. I use fifty pound bags of water softener pellets for salt. It isn't iodized, and it is simply salt, with no minerals or additives. You may have noticed that I said pellets. The salt needs to be dissolved in warm water, not an easy thing with rock hard pellets.  I keep a blender only used for crafts to chop the pellets up. Extremely noisy and hard on the blender (I've been through a couple now), but it works. For info, all of the items used in dyeing are only used for crafts.  I have them marked and kept separately. 

The next step is to paste up some dye. Basically, just adding some water to four tablespoons of black dye powder and mashing it up to create a paste. Since this is black, and black is notoriously hard to do properly, I add a tablespoon of urea. This is also why I used four tablespoons of dye, because it is black - normally, I would only need one tablespoon for a pound of fabric. Urea helps dissolve the dye, and is also a humectant, which helps attract the dye to the water in the fabric. You might be saying: "Ewwww, urea? Isn't that from urine?" Well, yes, it is, but the urea used in this process isn't made from urine, but is instead synthesized from natural gas.  The pasted up dye goes in to the urea, which has been dissolved in about a cup of warm water and is thoroughly mixed together. This mixture is then put into the tote that I use for dyeing, and then I add about three gallons of warm water and the dissolved salt.

Now it is time to add the onesies. The onesies have been pre-washed in some detergent especially made for dyeing, to get all of the sizing and oils out. I wet them thoroughly before adding them to the tote one at a time. Wetting them first keeps them from getting uneven splotches. The onesies get stirred gently for about twenty minutes, and then I add dissolved soda ash in small amounts over a fifteen minute period. The soda ash is a dye fixative and makes the dye job permanent. Following the addition of the soda ash, I'll continue to stir the onesies for an additional hour, since black is a deep color and needs more time.

The onesies then get rinsed until the water runs clear, and I follow this up by washing them and giving them an extra long rinse cycle, followed by a trip through the drier.  The onesie is now ready to be screened and heat set.

Custom hand screened QR code tee shirts

https://www.etsy.com/listing/110845581/custom-hand-screened-qr-code-tee-shirts

You get the QR code and one line of text, printed on either the front or the back of the shirt. 
Only $22.00 for a completely customized shirt.

 

You can request custom shirt colors.

• Run a sociological experiment to see how many people will actually scan your shirt.
• Be your own business card.
• Advertise your web site.
• Wear your phone number or email address at the club.
• Speak your mind freely but discretely.
• Wear your biography (up to about 3,000 alpha-numeric characters) on your chest. Note; however, that older phones won't be able to read something that large, so you might want to do some editing of your life story down to around 300 characters :D.
• Say something; be it clever, pithy, groundbreaking or just plain insane.... Whatever you want.

Are you worried about censorship or offending my delicate sensibilities? Don't be; short of inciting people to physical violence, and within the range of what my QR code generator will accept (i.e., words with accented characters might not work), I'm pretty open to anything.

The shirts are hand-screened. You can request that the code be printed on either the front or the back of the shirt. One line of text (60 characters maximum) is included (if desired) and can be used as you like. Print your business name perhaps, or a note that says "SCAN ME!" - whatever you'd like. 

There is no up-charge for shirts larger than XL or for tees/baby dolls for females. 

Use the "Notes to seller box to request:

• Size and type (male/female) of they're not otherwise listed.
• Shirt color not listed (QR code must be black).
• Whether you want the code printed on the front or the back of the shirt.
• Text for the plain text line (if you desire one).
• Text for the QR code. Please ensure that the text is exactly as you want it to appear. I am not able to guess whether typos or grammatical errors are deliberately included for effect.

Get it for only $22.00: https://www.etsy.com/listing/110845581/custom-hand-screened-qr-code-tee-shirts

the good word groundswell: Progress Eagle Concept Imagines Zero-Emissions Air...

It's a triple decker zero emissions plane that can carry 800 people. The designer expects it by 2030 or so.  I love the concept, but I highly doubt that we will see anything like that within that time frame.

the good word groundswell: Progress Eagle Concept Imagines Zero-Emissions Air...: As reported by SlashGear : We’ve seen a number of vehicular concepts, but some have turned their sights to the sky and envisioned what th...

102 y/o Dancer Sees Herself on Film for the First Time

It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)

Alice Barker is 102 years old, was a famous dancer in the 30s, but never saw herself on screen until now.

Lots of new items in the store

The process of transferring items from the Etsy shop over to our new online store continues.  In addition, there are a number of items unique to the store.

We'd love to have you stop on by, visit us at http://thewitsend.aliboom.com.

Have any questions, comments, or requests for designs?  Just leave a comment.

Here are just a few of the most recently added items:

Perfect for both secular and intact friendly familes

This one is mixed case

Note this is all upper-case

Modula-2 is awesome

That would be Werner, not Walt

Their consoles were great, but their computers were awesome

A little play on words