Take it from two ol' snowfriends, the holidays are better with loved ones by your side.

Illustrated by myself, and animated by Josh Lieske.

Since we’re in the thick of winter, I thought I’d dig up a little something from summer. This is Mr. Alex Smith, producer extraordinaire, showing off another one of his talents out on Lake Washington during Seattle’s Seafair. Unfortunately moments after swimming out of frame, poor Alex was hit by one of the hydroplane raceboats. This one to be exact.

I’m a little bummed out I wasn’t able to use a tripod (or have been a little steadier) to keep the loop a little smoother, but what the hell. It’s just for fun.

Last week I bought a fancy new camera, and this is the first thing I decided to do with it. Although to be honest, I didn’t take the picture of the shark.

Hopefully there’s only more to come.

The city never sleeps. Therefore the chopper team at Channel 9 News never sleeps. Years ago they punched in their time cards, and since then, they’ve never punched out. They are your eye in the sky 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365.25 days a year. Even those days you wish you didn’t know what was going on in the world, they are pumping your brain full of the most up-to-the-second, action-packed news you can handle.

This thing would probably make a great back-scratcher. Or at least some sort of cat toy.

For the past six years I’ve been cutting my own hair, and during that time I’ve also been trying to persuade my friends to do the same. Unfortunately, no one has taken me up on this proposition. Although what’s the worst that can happen? Sure, you might screw up and look funny for a few weeks, but the trill of failure is what makes cutting your own hair fun and exciting. Luckily, the stakes aren’t that high. And should things go awry, you can buy yourself a stylish new hat or wig with the money you’ve saved.

On a side note, if you ever notice my hair to be uneven or choppy in the back, do the right thing and please let me know. It’s hard to see back there, and I must cut solely on skill and intuition.

At least two laws were broken to make this. Unfortunately, snapping pictures while driving (what I like to call “autotography”) is too much fun to worry about any of that.

Nearly everyday for the past three years I’ve driven over the Alaskan Way Viaduct for one reason or another. Work, the airport, whatever. But no matter what the reason, and despite all the worries it will collapse the next time a hummingbird lands on it, I actually like driving on the Viaduct. Especially heading north when you get that great top view of all the buildings in downtown Seattle, and can lookout over the Sound to catch a glimpse of the Olympic Mountains. Last year Hyundai even used a shot from here for a Super Bowl spot (starts at :38). The drive south is also nice as it takes you into SoDo, right past Safeco Field.

So no matter if it collapses tomorrow or they tear it down in a few years, my little slice of the Viaduct can live on forever in this digital world.