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Things I Tweeted The Week of 2010-04-25

Ryan Tow — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 08:49:00 +0000

Really glad that I'm enjoying a nice quiet night away from the crowds. #notathillsonginDSM #
I just ousted @andyfjellman as the mayor of HyVee on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/7km2Oq #
Pleasant surprise of the day – running into @jakebouma , @bmick , and @cynnamonbrown about the town. #
Prep for the bevy of @westwindchurch Connection Group tweeps and nontweeps who will arrive at the House of Tow in the next hour or so. #
Even though I've had #3dsmax 2011 installed for a couple weeks, I've finally got pending work tidied up enough that I'm diving in today. #
I'm a sucker for soundboards – this may be my favorite ever. http://bit.ly/bsYCjX #
Happy hour here now |Crappy stuff for sale on Woot |
Hope for bag of crap |
#woot #haiku #
Today will be a day of speed-modeling in #3dsmax – if all goes well, I should have a nice pretty building model by day's end. focustime. #
After tonight I'm on the downhill path to 70 yrs old. #
Thanks for the birthday wishes everyone!! I'm awfully blessed to have so many great friends from every corner of my life! #
My dog has no shame. http://twitpic.com/1i20ao #

Things I Tweeted The Week of 2010-04-18

Ryan Tow — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 08:49:00 +0000

Thanks to the wonder of pollen, I feel and sound like my nose has been sealed with two very efficient cork stoppers. #
<– This is a representation of my thoughts on my taxation. #
Since sunflower seeds weren't hard enough to eat, I picked up some pumpkin seeds. #
Billy Jean is my lover. #songprequels #
This weekend marks the return of the smoker, 2010. Pork shoulders and briskets and turkeys, oh my!! #
Hit me, baby, for the first time. #songprequels #
Piano Lesson Man #songprequels #
She tried the door, but it was locked, and decided to see if she could get in a window. #songprequels #shirtlesstravis #
Today's #3dsmax #wip – child care center – quick and dirty exterior rendering: http://tweetphoto.com/18535798 #
Pink Floyd – "I could use some novacaine, doctor." #songprequels #
Slavebird #songprequels #
Trying to find a good contractor to put a patio in our backyard is a harder task than I expected. Any suggestions? #
Got told by an Urbandale police officer today "we can do this the easy way or the hard way." He was asking me to move my car. Srsly? #
Today, everyone in my family except me has things going on. My role? Bus driver. Three cheers! #
Charcoal is lit, pork shoulder is thawed, chunks of applewood at the ready. Should be a porktacular day for smoking! #

Things I Tweeted The Week of 2010-04-11

Ryan Tow — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 08:49:00 +0000

Christus Dominus hodie resurrexit! #
Got a co-officemate today in @beauherring – aside from the glare from his head, its a pleasant experience. #
I just unlocked the "Explorer" badge on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/c08Vhw #
Looks like we're adopting a bearded dragon. @futura may now commence his uncontrolled giggling. #insidejokesforformerroomates #
Survived five unruly cub scouts. #
Jack Bauer with Kara Thrace in a chokehold. 24 saves the best for last. #
Like a giddy kid on Christmas, downloaded and now installing my just-released copy of #3dsmax 2011 #
My son just bum rushed a squirrel. The squirrel was definitely not prepared for that. #
Check this video out — Pixels by patrick Jean – Invasion pixels : geek tetris pacman ! http://youtu.be/qASf5DEN_c4 #
Lizard lady: http://twitpic.com/1e65×2 #
There are some very very angry squirrels in my backyard. #
In the yard with my dad and his chainsaw, playing lumberjack, and it's o.k. #
I've successfully devestated all of the kids' favorite climbing trees. #

Things I Tweeted The Week of 2010-04-04

Ryan Tow — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 08:49:00 +0000

Oh, hey, allergies. Today's the day? Really? Couldn't even wait till April Fool's? I shall fight you with one little pill. I shall win. #
I have hiccups. Last time, they lasted 48 hours. Here's to hoping they don't stick around. #
Is it a bad sign or a good sign when I can't abide a typo in a Photoshop layer name in a document that only I will ever see? #
Just saw two geese, walking around on the roof of Aspen Athletic on Hickman. Geese on the roof? Seriously? Must be an April Fools thing. #
Just got about 30 seconds into a phone call that started with "Hey, amigo" before I finally said "um . . I think you've got the wrong #" #
What 10 year old thinks to cover the optical sensor on a mouse as an April Fool's prank? The daughter of this proud #geekdad #fb #
A pretty concise description of what it is I do all day in my work: http://xkcd.com/722/ #fb #
Drop-in visit by @atow3212 at the office – always a treat. #
Wondering how long before I see some uber-fanboy jogging with an iPad strapped to his arm. #
An inordinate amount of detritus that formerly resided in our attic now resides on the curb, awaiting spring cleanup day in WDM. #

Things I Tweeted The Week of 2010-03-28

Ryan Tow — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 08:49:00 +0000

Was reminded today of the time I wrote a great song on the piano, but it turned out to be "Love Comes Walking In" by Van Halen. Oops. #
Wall of motion-activated robot babies at Target. Super creepy. http://twitpic.com/1a3muv #
I just unlocked the "Local" badge on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/a38Dp9 #
Anyone who lives in both the mac and pc worlds have any ideas on a way to export an iPhoto library, w/ an event-based folder structure? #
Since I already buy my own individual health insurance and know what my costs are – can I be exempted from paying for everyone else's? #fb #
At a table with four tweeps and some killer bunnies. http://twitpic.com/1ac2e2 #
The number of hours I've logged in Photoshop over the years would probably make my head explode if known. #
It's dress like an Olympian day in the second grade. http://twitpic.com/1atdfn #
So I stumbled into the knowledge that there was a beer called "Tou" brewed in the town in Norway my fam came from, Tau. http://is.gd/aYCbP #
RT @DamonLindelof: Did you like Ab Aeterno? Check THIS out. http://bit.ly/agWyVS – LOST fans – mustsee! #
Today is the day that I finish the task that I don't like, that i've put off, that isn't going away until I finish it. Time to do it. #
Do not utter the words "rasberry beret" unless you intend to have the song stuck in your head all day. Off to see Mr McGee. #fb #

Things I Tweeted The Week of 2010-03-21

Ryan Tow — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 08:49:00 +0000

First flowers on the block!! Good job, @shanatow !! http://twitpic.com/18lkfx #
I was not emotionally prepared for the brutal intensity of the Subway at the Kaleidoscope at the Hub in Downtown Des Moines. #fb #
RT @DamonLindelof: Recon. Verb. To con again. #LOST #
Just decided, along with @dianestarkey, that regardless of the validity of family lore, we're claiming the Kimrey side of the fam as Irish. #
This URL tells you everything you need to know. http://www.military.com/news/article/could-airborne-bears-catch-bin-laden.html #
Behold, the harbinger of spring: http://twitpic.com/19c1dq #fb #
My five year old's proficiency at singing Taylor Swift songs is pretty ridiculous. May have to shoot some video to prove it. #
A lazy, destination-free Saturday is a wonderful thing. Getting my food-nerd on, doing a garlic-stuffed beef roast in the oven. Nom. #
Half of the brackets in the nation just collapsed in shock. How about those Panthers!! K who? #fb #

Site Assessment

Ryan Tow — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:31:49 +0000

I tweeted the other day that I found my yard. For those of you not living in the upper midwest, you may not realize that we had a LOT of snow on the ground this year. From the 5th of December until basically the 5th of March, I never got a look at my yard, save for the snow cover.

Yesterday, I actually walked out into my yard for the first time in those three months. Did so again this morning, this time making a cursory inspection of things, starting to determine all the things I’ll need to get done in the next month or so. Here’s what I learned.

The dog is hard on the yard. There is, shall we say, a substantial amount of evidence scattered about the yard as to the presence of our dog this winter.
As a corollary to point #1, the dog was very hard on one of my downspouts. I think she thought it was the lair of a delicious squirrel and as such tried to extract the tasty rodent. This led to a slight incursion of moisture into our basement. Thankfully, I have home repair skills, and I made what should be the permanent repair to said downspout.
My garden makes me sad in March. Oh, how I long to walk barefoot to my garden on a humid night and bring back approximately eight thousand dollars worth of fresh basil. Alas, the salad days, as they were, are still months away.
The fence gate that I thought I properly engineered? I failed gate engineering. It requires a pretty substantial rebuild.
I have a surface grade problem at my foundation. Also, I need to get some ground cover going to mitigate erosion.

None of these are really giant issues. The thing is, when you have a piece of paper that says “Bachelor of Landscape Architecture”, there really isn’t any excuse for any of this other than laziness. I’m pretty well beyond the pressure to have my yard look beautiful, but I’d at least like it to not be falling apart.

Things I Tweeted The Week of 2010-03-14

Ryan Tow — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 08:49:00 +0000

First-ever prize wins at the school carnival raffle, and each kid won something! #
The wisdom of @kevintow that five items in a sack lunch makes for a feast – completely true. #
Listening to my son try and give our hydrophobic dog a bath is one of the funniest things I've heard in a LONG time. #fb #
Dropping the van off at Des Moines Imports – time to play spin the wheel of is the repair under warranty. I'm optimistic. #
Duran Duran telling me that "Some Like It Hot" on the musak in the lounge. Does that infer that some prefer it lukewarm or even chilly? #fb #
I just got the Mac Heist bundle. 7 fantastic Mac apps worth $260+ for only $19.95 and got 3 great bonus apps free! http://bit.ly/heist-it #
Hey, I found my yard! #fb #
Alright, second blog post of the day – some finished #3dsmax rendering work, with pretty pictures and details. http://bit.ly/bRYHzS #
I discovered last weekend that I'm exceptionally good at creating a pinewood derby car that finishes right in the middle of the field. #
My photography habit has pretty much been dead since last summer. That bums me out. Time for a rectification situation. #
Today is a win. One contract signed, two blog posts written, a gamble that I took might pay off, I found my yard, and my wife is amazing. #
Here's what my desk looked like three years ago. http://bit.ly/9XE5pn – only objects still on my desk: trackball, coffeecup, lamp. #
Hoping that #teamcoco hits up Des Moines on 5/17 midway between MSP and KC. Bonus – its our anniversary. Think @shanatow would go for it? #
My smoker is now free from the clutches of winter and snow. Time to put the hurt on some meat! #
Just drove back from lunch – looks like Walnut Creek at 128th St (Clive) is right at its banks and starting to come out. #iowafloods #
TMBG's "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" just came up on shuffle in iTunes. This bodes very well for the rest of my day. #fb #
RT @woot: More info on Woot Happy Hour: http://j.mp/9tkbOE ETA ~1 hour #
A little #woot happy hour happening – mini woot-off – http://woot.com/happyhour #
I just got some FREE music from Revealed – a band my good friend @iowaadam is in. You can d/l it here: https://www.noisetrade.com/revealed #
Obsessing over cover art thanks to picking up CoverScout from @MacHeist #

Recent Work – Institutional Animation

Ryan Tow — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:53:32 +0000

Here’s some recent work I did – worked with the architect and interior designer of this space to help visualize what a proposed tenant build-out of a space would look like.

Fun stuff. This is a great example of finding the sweet spot of complexity and technical challenge, and blending it with the budget and timeline that the client has. We could have put 400% more time and budget into it, and gotten decent results, but the client wouldn’t have been able to afford it, and we would have had 100% less revenue from the project.

That being said, here is this nice little interior fly-through.

IHOPU Animation Proof02 from Ryan Tow on Vimeo.

Family Portraits

Ryan Tow — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:12:43 +0000

Last Saturday, we had family pictures taken. Nice, relaxed, outdoorsy, family pictures. Took a little over an hour.

This took pretty much all the kids had, in terms of good behavior. By the end, we were reverting to the “smile or you’ll be punished” method of taking pictures. The thing is, how did families get PAINTINGS of their kids 200 years ago? To get a kid to sit still long enough to be painted? No wonder nobody was smiling.

We had to promise the kids we wouldn’t do it again for a long time.

Nobody likes having their pictures taken. Everyone likes seeing the pictures.