Ben Olsen

Travel

ben — Mon, 09 May 2011 16:32:40 +0000

I love hiking, backpacking, yurting, biking, driving, flying, boating, exploring, beach-combing, running, bussing, training, trekking, skipping, jogging and relaxing.

I will update this page soon…

The following image is just a marker for the Wonderland Trail which is my favorite hike. It circumnavigates Mt. Rainier and is about 100 miles total. I have done the whole thing twice, the last time in just 3 days!

Balls

ben — Mon, 09 May 2011 01:10:39 +0000

One of my more obscure obsessions is collecting interesting balls. I prefer spheres that are made naturally (rocks, seeds, animal or hand made, etc…) I would love to have a dung ball from a beetle. Second to those, are ones that have an obscure or unidentifiable purpose. Next would be ones altered significantly from their original mass-production and lastly ones that are awesome. No, I do not like xmas tree ornament balls but I do enjoy some of the more obscure ornamental balls you can buy around town. Someday I would like to display my collection when it is too large to maintain at home.

Here is a picture of a ball made by the dung beetle. If you have any of these laying around, you are my hero.

Public Art

ben — Sun, 08 May 2011 06:52:36 +0000

I went to college and left with a degree titled “Subversive, Responsible, Non-commissioned, Humorous Public Art”. That was a fun couple of years. A lot of time has passed since then, but I still plot to break up the urban monotony with sneaky, site-specific, intellectual gags.

I created a bunch of fake “Land Use Action Permits” eluding to impossible projects. The power in this project is in its audience. There are only a few people whom walk down the street and actually read these boring signs. I think a lot of people ignore them because they figure another condo or parking lot is being built. I’ve proposed bottomless pits, black holes, 1000 ft tall bunnies, upside down skyscrapers and a dozen others and most people just walk right by.

Before story corps, youtube, chat-roulette and twitter, there was a portable faux fur-lined orange box with a video camera and a rack of costumes to anonymously vent and explain your life to the world. People were invited to enter the box and “say anything” to the camera while the footage from the previous day was played outside. Ah, 1999.

(Images/video soon)

I built these rotating panels that attached to posts. From the vantage point of standing in front of the panel, a photograph of what lies behind it was on one side and the same image but altered (for example: a missing tree) on the other. When you spin the panel, you see a visual illusion of the altered environment behind the panel. It’s hard to explain, but it worked and was kind of fun too.

(Images soon/video soon)

I made a bunch of ceramic noses and nailed them to telephone poles around the city. Subject to interpretation.

(Images soon)

In costume, I “cleaned” with soapy water the bricks of pioneer square for 10 hours. Others helped with various cleaning activities (sweeping, mopping, polishing, dusting…) in similar costume. We had audio recordings of the definition of the word clean playing too. The public’s hostile reactions during work hours vs. the welcoming reactions during artwalk evening were extreme. We were going to devote a monthly group performance in a similar vain to different words/concepts, but it never took off. I would love to start this up again. Contact me?

(Images/video soon)

Paintings

ben — Sat, 07 May 2011 04:09:39 +0000

Truthfully, I haven’t painted on canvas for a long time. Most of my painting these days involve cleaning up tempera and watercolor messes from young children or house paint. Not that painting a house is easy, but well, nevermind.

More paintings (and new ones hopefully!) soon.

Carpentry

ben — Sat, 07 May 2011 03:15:30 +0000

I don’t dare classify myself as a “real” carpenter. “Real” carpenters can build ships single-handed and frame buildings blind-folded. I am more of a weekend carpenter, able to make pretty much anything given the time and resources. That being said, I’ve built some nice stuff over the years and love any excuse to bring out the table saw.

Radial hottub bench and deck.

Plate rack and wainscoting (and a sweet paint job!).

Garden planters, window framing, cedar shake siding, soffit/rake repairwork, paint, trim…

In progress shot of a shed extension for a chicken coop and walk-in storage.

An unusual fence/gate.

Cakes

ben — Sat, 07 May 2011 00:26:38 +0000

I love to bake cakes! Wedding cakes, birthday cakes, cakes for no reason cakes, etc… Need a cake? Everybody needs a cake. Cake, cake, cake!

This is a 4-layer double dark chocolate toffee wedding cake. Yum!

Detail of cast dark chocolate rose petals.

35 layer chocolate hazelnut crepe birthday cake with topped candied hazelnuts.

4 layer carrot, chocolate, coconut, mocha birthday cake.

I make cupcakes too!

SysAdmin

ben — Thu, 05 May 2011 06:24:09 +0000

I have been the primary SysAdmin/Tech/IT guy for a small business for 12 years. As technology has changed and improved over the years, I have gained a wide variety of experience handling the ins and outs of the computer network. I am a Network Security Specialist and am currently earning MCITP certification. While primarily a Windows user, I dabble around with Macs and can get around Linux if needed.

I can

build, migrate and upgrade servers and workstations
troubleshoot hardware and software problems on-site and remotely
analyze and implement appropriate security measures
build, host and maintain websites
install and maintain remote access technologies

I have experience installing and maintaining:

Email: Exchange Server 2000-2010: onsite and hosted, Google Apps
Web: IIS, Apache, PHP, MySQL, HTML, CSS, Javascript, WordPress
Core: Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, File and Printer Services, Group Policy, etc…
VPN: PPTP, IPSEC, SSL/TLS, SSH
Devices: Routers, Firewalls, Printers, WiFi, PBX, Cabling, Scanners, Peripherals
Remote: RDP, GoToAssist, Logmein, VNC, Intel AMT, IP-KVM

Photography

ben — Thu, 05 May 2011 05:57:30 +0000

I love the challenge of capturing and presenting an object or moment in time. I love the decision making process involved at various stages throughout the process that can lead to so many endings, so vastly different in feeling. I love the documentary nature of photography as well as the creative abstraction it has to go through.

I’m available for portraits, weddings, product shots, really anything. Call for pricing information.
253.278.2789

Kids

ben — Thu, 05 May 2011 00:33:17 +0000

If I had to pick one part of my life that I am most content with, it is being the father of my two amazing boys. I was their at-home dad from birth to preschool and it was an incredibly challenging, yet supremely fulfilling experience. Now they are 4 and 7 and going to school while I work and being a parent is just as challenging/fulfilling as it ever was.