Can De Man Scan

...a cassette deck?

2006-11-25T19:52:00.000-05:00

Us "old farts" remember the good old days before MP3's and CD's. Back when we had to "tape" our record albums onto cassettes, just so we could listen to them in our cars, or in a primitive Napster file sharing way... "taping a copy" for a buddy. Having a cassette deck in your home stereo system was a must back in the day. If it had Dolby B (and more impressively, Dolby C), auto-reverse and auto-search you had "the shit" when it came to tape decks. Akai was a well respected name in audio back in the '70's and '80's. My Akai was "decked" out (pun intended). It had a digital counter, much like a CD player, that told you how much time was left (a rarity in cassette players) . Most just told you how much of the tape you had used up. You could also close the cassette door by pressing a button as opposed to the manual method.

This was all I could scan of my Akai cassette deck

It's a shame the display doesn't show up in the scan, It's still quite impressive 20 years later.

...a swiss army knife?

2006-10-27T19:28:00.000-04:00

A present from an old girlfriend many moons ago. Unfortunately, it's not the "top of the line" of the Swiss Army family.

It turned out to be much more useful and valuable to me, than the purchaser.

I'm not bitter...nope, not me.
Although...come to think of it. She was a heartless soul-sucking bi-atch! LOL

...a computer speaker?

2006-10-14T19:43:00.000-04:00

There's five of these encircling me while sitting at my PC. So it was only a matter of time before one of them ended up on my scanner.

Was scanned lengthwise, but rotated ninety degrees.

They don't sound too bad either.

...an electronic banana?

2006-10-06T22:15:00.000-04:00

Way back in the mid '80's when I bought my first electric guitar. I needed a device to allow me to "keep it in tune." A friend suggested I use a Banana to tune my guitar.

My Banana guitar tuner

Twenty years later, I tune my guitar by ear, although my Banana still works fine.

...my new Remington shaver?

2006-10-03T21:52:00.000-04:00

After my bitchin' an' moanin' back in June about my crap Norelco rotary shaver, it was time to visit a new and improved old friend.

My Remington MS3 2000

I believe this model is a year or two old (was a very good deal buying a new one). It freakin' rules!! No more lathering up and using a bladed razor to catch bits the rotary missed. Trimming the "goat" is much easier. It is quite loud, compared to my old rotary. Maybe, that's because it's actually doing some shaving!! Remington, I shall not stray a second time.

...an egg? Part 2: Boiled

2006-09-30T21:16:00.000-04:00

Call me curious (or an idiot), but I had to scan a hard boiled egg. Just to see if there is a difference between raw and boiled.

An egg boiled for about fifteen minutes

Well to be honest, I can't tell much difference between the raw egg and boiled egg scan. Other than...it's centred a bit better.

...an egg?

2006-09-28T21:04:00.000-04:00

Peering into my fridge, looking for something to eat. I found something to scan instead.

Yeah, it's a bit off centre. Bloody thing kept rolling away!

That's a scan of a raw egg. Hmmm, I wonder if a scanned boiled egg would look different.

...new jeans?

2006-09-26T19:50:00.000-04:00

Just turned 41! Well, a week or so ago. Got two new pairs of jeans for my birthday...woohoo!

good ol' blue jeans

Actually I am quite happy about it, as my old Levi's are getting a bit threadbare.

...old Ni-Cad batteries?

2006-06-16T20:49:00.000-04:00

I yanked these worn out rechargable batteries from my shaver. They were getting very hot and had a nasty burning plastic/chemical smell going on. Never a good sign.

Ni-Cads getting naked for the scanner.

...a Norelco electric shaver?

2006-06-09T17:29:00.000-04:00

Well, after about 8 years of use. My Norelco rotary shaver finally up and died. It stopped taking a charge several years ago, so I had been using it with the AC cord. In a way i'm glad it finally bit the dust, as it could never shave as good as my previous Remington foil shaver. The Norelco just plain sucked when it came to shaving the neck and under the chin. I had to use a regular razor and shaving cream for the bits it missed. This sort of defeats the purpose of using an electric shaver in the first place...doesn't it?

The first and last rotary shaver i'll ever own.

...a coffee maker?

2006-04-22T00:58:00.000-04:00

"Java" or "the morning joe", or whatever name you call it... it's the kick start of the day.
My freshly brewed coffee is a very important part of my early morning routine.

Screw tea time...give me coffee!

...an ice cream bar?

2006-04-07T09:58:00.000-04:00

Chocolate covered ice cream...yum. The TV commercial asks "what would you do for a Klondike bar"?

What would I do? Scan it, of course!!

Now give me my ice cream, dammit!!

...pizza?

2006-04-04T18:13:00.000-04:00

Not just any ol' pizza either. Those familiar with TV's Drew Carey Show, may remember his favourite pizza restaurant, Antonio's pizza.
This well-known restaurant is right down the street from me, on the strip of the neighbourhood shopping mall. Antonio's also used to have a counter in the mall's food court years ago. It has since been replaced by pizza chain Sbarro.

With pepperoni, mushroom and onions

When I first moved to the US back in 1980, Antonio's was the first pizza I ate. It still remains my favourite.

...underpants?

2006-03-30T17:58:00.000-05:00

Boxers or briefs? Strangely, this question has often popped up during conversation. Thankfully, it was the ladies asking.

The skinny on the skivvies.

Note: They were clean and I wasn't wearing them, at the time of scanning.

...a magic wand?

2006-03-27T14:21:00.000-05:00

A genuine magic wand, just like the one used by world renown magician Michael Ammar.
Unlike those cheap plastic ones, this wand is made of solid aluminum with a vinyl grip. It's perfect for storing all that, er, magical energy. It smarts if you hit yourself in the head with it too. Not that I would know anything about that, mind you.

Very dangerous in the wrong hands. You could poke an eye out!

I'm quite careful when handling this wand. Last time I waved it around in my living room...the sofa disappeared.

...a portable television?

2006-03-22T13:48:00.000-05:00

This is my portable 5" black and white televison. It was made in 1984, according to the sticker on the back. The TV still works perfectly, but I only use it during those annoying power outages that happen occasionally. The lack of use stems from the fact that it sucks the life out of 6 'D' cell batteries in about 4 hours. Not exactly economical to run.

Is this thing on?

Other than some faint retrace lines, it is apparent broadcast TV does not scan. Well, UHF channel 55 didn't, as you can clearly see.

...a floppy hat?

2006-03-20T15:02:00.000-05:00

I think I've had this Cleveland Indians floppy hat laying around for about six years or so. I even wore it once or twice. Credit card companies hand out all kinds of stuff, just for filling out their application forms. The sun was really beating down while at the baseball game, that day. I'm sure it was more than a coincidence, that the credit card reps were handing out hats for "a few minutes of your time."

Cost of beers at the game? $4.25.
Ugly hats from credit card companies on hot days? Priceless.

...baked chicken wings?

2006-03-18T17:58:00.000-05:00

45 minutes in the oven. Followed by a heavy glazing of a combined teriyaki and soy sauce mixture. My wings are ready to be eaten. But the question has to be asked... how do sauce covered chicken wings scan?

Eww, giant slugs are attacking my wings!!

The sauce on the glass made for an unappetizing look. Proving, it's better just to eat 'em than scan 'em. So, if you'll excuse me. I have to go nuke my now cold chicken wings.

...frozen chicken wings?

2006-03-17T20:19:00.000-05:00

Chicken wings, who doesn't love 'em? Deep fried and and covered in your favourite sauce. It makes my arteries harden and my mouth water at the same time. To avoid the deep frying bit, I buy my own frozen wings and throw them in the oven. Not quite as good as the pub wings, but a little less fat involved.

To the oven with you, my pretties.

...the TV remote?

2006-03-14T02:51:00.000-05:00

The epitome of laziness. The device responsible for everyday people having to carry the excess 20-30 pounds around the middle (well, ok, Mickey D's is responsible too). It's one of everyone's favourite handheld items...the TV remote.

One of my many remotes

Of course, no-one has just one remote control. To the best of my recollection, I have six remotes for the various bits of electronic crap I own. Hmmm, I'm thinking I should buy stock in the AA and AAA battery biz.

...hot dogs, with mustard and ketchup?

2006-03-10T02:44:00.000-05:00

Seeing as the hot dogs in the packages scanned so well, I thought I'd try 'em on a bun with ketchup and Stadium Mustard. Not only do they taste better out of the package, warmed up and slathered in condiments. But the scan isn't bad either.

And on the side, we have cheddar and sour cream potato chips.

'Stadium Mustard' is a brand name for a popular brown mustard made and sold in Cleveland. No Cleveland Browns football or Indians baseball game would be complete without brown mustard on a hot dog.

...a George Foreman Grill?

2006-03-08T05:37:00.000-05:00

The famous lean, mean grilling machine. Whether you use it for cooking burgers or for home security, it will knock the fat out of your food and the tar out of unsuspecting burglars.

Also makes for a fine doorstop

This bad boy fell off my kitchen counter and put a big dent in my floor, while only chipping a small piece of the porcelain-like substance off of the grill!

...fish and chips?

2006-03-06T17:00:00.000-05:00

It seems I gotta keep that stereotype going! lol! Of course, not all British people eat fish and chips. But i'm sure the majority in the UK eat them from time to time. One thing I can guarantee...when they do have fish and chips, they don't scan them first!!

My mum cut the chips and battered the fish herself, these were the leftovers I took home.

...a scanner?

2006-03-02T16:13:00.000-05:00

My old Mustek scanner which I had for about three years. Although, if memory serves, I may have only used it a few dozen times, before the bulb burnt out.

Hopefully, I get more than a few dozen scans out of my HP4070, or this blog won't last long. Was that cheering I heard?

...a toaster toasting?

2006-02-28T08:20:00.000-05:00

A four slice toaster with three slices of bread. It was actually toasting while I did the scan. Unfortunately, the image didn't pick up the red heating elements as I had hoped. You can see a slight glow in the empty slot, however.

In case you're wondering...I only had three slices of bread left. Otherwise, I would have used four.

...knockers?

2006-02-26T15:56:00.000-05:00

The doors and hallways in my apartment building are being repainted. The painters had to remove the knockers from the doors of my apartment (I have two entrances). So a good chance for a scan and a cheap laugh all in one post. Both door knockers look the same so I only scanned one.

I did do a bit of editing to change the number. Paranoid...moi?

...hot dogs?

2006-02-23T03:44:00.000-05:00

Once in a while, the supermarket has a buy one get one free, on my favourite beef weiners.

Mmmm... tube steaks, just add ketchup and stadium mustard!

...a Fender Stratocaster?

2006-02-21T03:44:00.000-05:00

Well... not all once I can't!!
Guitars are very big at one end and mighty skinny at the other. Today, you get part of the big end. The Stratocaster is an icon in rock 'n roll and most people can picture it's design in their mind.

I bought this guitar ten years ago. Being a big fan of Eric Clapton should explain my choice of colour scheme. It's a genuine US made Strat. None of them cheap imported versions!

...old lettuce?

2006-02-18T19:19:00.000-05:00

It's amazing how quickly one can forget about the produce that is inhabiting the lower shelf of the refrigerator. This lettuce has seen better days... about 3 weeks ago.

My, what a lovely shade of brown

...the toilet brush?

2006-02-16T12:47:00.000-05:00

I like to keep my throne in pristine condition, but at an arm's length. I present the lowly toilet brush.

The unretouched scan

After a quick run through Paint Shop Pro

Note to self: Remember to clean scanner glass before any future food scans.

...lunch? Mmm... beans.

2006-02-15T17:20:00.000-05:00

(Repost)

I made myself lunch and was sitting down at my computer desk to eat. Well, with me sitting so close to the scanner and starting the new scanning category yesterday, it seemed like an obvious opportunity.

Here you have it...scanned baked beans on toast!

I tried to hold the scanner far enough away so the condensation from the hot beans wouldn't fog the glass. As a result it came out a bit dark, so I lightened up the picture a little. I still had some condensation, but it was my lunch and I prefer my baked beans above room temperature.

...bologna?

2006-02-15T17:15:00.000-05:00

This is a repost from my "Running on Empty..." blog.

While making myself a bologna and cheese sandwich, I wondered how bologna would turn out after a ride on my hardly used scanner.

Hmm, not bad. Although I didn't notice them greyish bits until AFTER I ate the sandwich.

The winds of change

2006-02-15T16:44:00.000-05:00

After several months of neglect, I have decided to delete all the previous entries and start anew.

I came up with this silly idea when I wondered how scanned bologna would look and posted the picture on my other blog. With limited web space for images on that site, this blog seemed to be the solution.

The blog now will follow my endeavours into scanning various different things and posting the results, using an HP 4070 scanner. Obviously, some items will be much too big to scan, so only pieces of these items will be posted.
Don't worry, no pictures of butt-cheeks or any other part of my central region will be scanned.

It really isn't about just scanning, it's the idea behind each item that is scanned. For example, the visual of me dragging a desktop computer with scanner around an apartment trying to scan a chair leg, is just as important as the resulting image.