Just Like Lee Scoresby

Your HARE DAEMON represents your passive, kindhearted, and honorable nature. Though you are occasionally shy with new people, friends admire your unshakable tranquility, even in the face of chaos.

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OR



A snow leopard.

Seattle (1) FCC (0)

Hold er steady!

(time to get a tripod)

Yoav, Pip, Tori, Barak, Hillary, Chris, Mike, Joe, John and Dennis

First of all, Yoav opened for Tori Amos. His show was him, his guitar, and his sample/delay pedal. It was both refreshingly simple in its musical elements, but remarkable in its complex and layered sound. Yoav's myspace page has a few good tracks that are worth checking out. He has an EP out now, available on iTunes, and is releasing a new album in January '08.

Then, there is Tori Amos. The show was fucking amazing! My wife H is a huge fan, and was really excited when she got to hear nearly every song she wanted, culminating with her favorite song as the finale. But the show was so good that it didn't matter if we got to hear the songs we wanted or not. Pip opened the show, the rock/hardcore personality, and was so bad ass! It quickly became the best show H has ever seen (passing indigo girls at the state theater). You can actually purchase a recording of (most of) the shows on this tour. Unfortunately, the Seattle show is not on there, so we will have to remember it in our heads. Which can be even better sometimes :)

On a side note, NPR hosted a radio debate between the hopeful democratic presidential candidates on Tuesday. One thing I found tremendously interesting was the qualitative aspect of the debate. One thing I liked to hear was how each person answered the question. What I didn't like was the candidates who used the opportunity to answer the question to talk about something totally different, usually negative about others. If you're a registered dem, I'd give it a listen to prepare yourself for the primary.

One thing that still sits uneasy with me is the theory/philosophy behind voting for a democratic nominee. In theory you should vote for the candidate you think would do the best job as president. But the nature of our 2 party majority political system, the Democrat will always run against a Republican. So part or your decision is based on who you think would win against the Republican nominee. And that (in my case) is a different person than the one that I think would do the best job. So its a dilemma. Maybe we'll get to cut right down the middle of the bull's horns and get a vp who was our real first choice.

Cross Section

Yesterday was one of those days that makes the type of commuting I choose to do challenging. It was so rainy! I ended up walking in, instead of riding my bike. I feel like I have to prepare and have things ready ahead of time to bike in. It is time consuming to get everything ready. Sometimes I feel like Judge Dread or RoboCop, putting all my gear on: bike shoes first, then the cuff strap, my jacket, backpack, helmet, gloves, check the saddle bags again to make sure they're strapped, wallet, phone, keys (maybe I should put those first!), and then I'm off...

I just had a good conversation with my dad on the phone. I told him about something I'd done when I was a minor, but never told him! It was basically the first time I got drunk, which wasn't pretty (if you know the story). But it was good, he told me a few in return that I hadn't heard yet. We made plans to go out with my brother now that he's 21 (not that age has kept him from getting his 'drink on' as pearl puts it). It is pleasant when you start to relate to your parents, and they become your friends.

My boss asked me to work more today to compensate for taking christmas vacation - work more in general, not just more today - and just to get these projects done. I've been work constipated for about 2 weeks, so needless to say it will feel good to finish them. I wonder how much more I'll work to compensate for the trip I plan to take in Eurpoe this summer! Prolly quite a bit.

Goodnight. And Good Luck!

Right where they're supposed to be

Woah

Anytime you feel self conscious, check out this picture. It is likely to make you feel a little better...

This just in....

Worlds top two creepiest looking guys finally appear in the same picture...

...standing next to a picture of a boat being launched. More tonight at 11.

The Birthday Post

I just wanted to post on my birthday. I'm back in my hometown for a funeral. It is weird to travel back unexpectedly, like I didn't mentally prepare for seeing everybody. But once I did, it was great. It is really fun to spend time with family.

I turn 25 today. I do feel older, but in different ways than I expected. For instance, my birthday list consists of cooking and biking gear. And thats just one example. Stay tuned...

Who did you think I was?

My 74% look-a-like was HP Lovecraft. Obviously when he was younger (paranoid eye roll)...
I'm sticking with this one though...
MyHeritage

Never think just for shits and giggles...

We Love Boobs: 2007 Seattle 3-Day

Yes we do. Team DD walked a strong 3 Day journey into the heart of south Seattle and back. 60 miles of water, nuun, pitstops, blisters, honks, stories, mountains, boob jokes and honeybuckets. The whole Seattle chapter raised 6.4 million dollars (announced at closing ceremonies) and will probably have raised even more once they can tally in all the donations.

H, K and A did an incredibly amazing job by raising a ridiculous amount of money and then willingly participated in a grueling 2.3 marathon walk. I can't even spell sykstee miles let alone walk it. One mile before the end H became incredibly dizzy, weak and shaky. A tri-med team put her in an ambulance and took her to the end with K by her side. That's a true best friend.

After making it back to the Seattle Center, H was able to rest on a cot, get some water and pee 14 times (where else is 60+ ounces of water supposed to go?) Luckily A called M and we were able to find the group in the holding area and visit them. H was feeling slightly better by show time, gathered up her strength and was able to walk out with her teammates. The closing ceremonies were emotional, heartfelt and honest. As M put it afterwards, this is how everything should be. M and I are already planning our plans for what we plan to do next year. Get ready for twenty-0 eight Seattle 3-day-ers!

On a slightly lighter note, here are some interesting links.
#1. It should be noted that I do not condone, nor condemn graffitii, nor do I know the true meaning of the words condone or condemn.
#2. This is real and real scary/crazy.

Your next anniversary gift is...

So, my coworker is traveling on business and is missing his 4th wedding anniversary. According to him, his wife did not say anything about it and waited for him to figure it out on his own. Devious...

That got me thinking... what is the 4th year anniversary gift 'supposed' to be. I thought I remembered that the first year is paper, and I'm sure there was gold in there somewhere, probably the 50th or something like that. Naturally I checked wikipedia and other internet sources.

There are 2-3 catagories for the anniversary gifting. First you have traditional (you have the american and brittish) and secondly you have the modern gifts. The fourth gift on the modern gift list is actually appliances. Which is ridiculous. Happy anniversary, here is a blender or dishwasher.

You can check out the list here. Or here.

My personal favorite is the 44th anniversary gift of groceries.

Oh, by the way a few weeks ago a German man said "gesundheit" to me when I sneezed. I thought it was appropriate.

Awesome...

The Green Machine Water

My nephew Aidan is getting this when he turns 4.5 (for the summer). I'll copy the description below.
------------------------------------------------------------

The Huffy Green Machine H20 has an oversized rear water tank with hand pump. The tank is easy to fill and shoots water over 20 feet. A firing control can be found on the joystick. The Green Machine also drives smoothly thanks to the super wide racing slick rear wheels.

Features

• Steel frame construction
• Molded seat
• Extra rear wheel pivot action for ultimate comfort
• Shoots water over 20 feet
• Extreme ride and slide action
• Rear water tank with hand pump
• Front fender mounted sprayer
• Water tank is oversized and easy to fill
• Firing control on joystick
• 16-in rubber front tire
• Super wide racing slick rear wheels

Flying Spaghetti Monster and coffee experiment #3

This is a pretty involved wikipedia article about the FSM Church. I think I could consider myself a pastafarian, or a frisbeetarian.

And now for the results of coffee experiment number 3...

A week ago I had this great idea, or what I thought would be great. When and if I get coffee I usually get something like a latte, which is by definition espresso and milk. They are usually around 3 or 4 washingtons. So my great idea, to order a single shot of 'extra hot' espresso (1 and change) and use the milk from the coffee stand to top it off. There you have it, a half price latte. In the word of Ron Burgandy, "The human torch was denied a bank loan."

The milk must be steamed. Plain and simple. The concoction was a cold acidic coffee flavored milk that tasted like chalk water mixed with citric acid. My recommendation, pay the extra buck fifty for the milk that has been warmed up. Or bring your own. Or just drink water.

Lyric of the day number 4.3:

[Chali 2na]
Yeahhh, your majesty, word flash photography
Third class economy, blade slashed your artery
Nerve gassed anatomy, blurred past dramatically

Another Day

It's been a few weeks since I have written, and I pretty sure that nobody reads this. I have this grand idea that there are some people out there, reading and waiting for a new post. I'm guessing that is my main target audience, the "non-existants". I wouldn't want to keep those people waiting, so I guess I better write. I'll try to avoid an nonexistent army writing me nasty emails telling me that I'm too cool to talk to my fans now that I'm not famous.

I don't feel like I have anything meaningful to write about. Just the mundanities of life, like missing my bus. And going out for coffee and reading books and watching movies. And inventing new words like 'mundanities'. I think I'll submit to urbandictionary.com.

I missed my bus today. Then I got overpriced coffee from a coffee stand where young women dress scantily clad and serve you overpriced coffee. I guess I was paying for the low cut shirt. Today must have been "Winged Wednesday" because they were dressed as angels. Angels would never show that much cleavage, and I found them very unconvincing. I was catching the bus at the corner where a few months ago, a woman was pinned to a light pole with a dump truck. All the flowers and cards were gone.

The bus I managed to catch had a faulty transmission. And it stalled a bunch of times and I was late coming into work. By late, I mean later than 2 hours early, which is usually when I go in.

Let me leave you with this thought. Gouda is a yellowish Dutch cheese named after the city of Gouda.

Action Jeans

What movie is this from?

I know we've only known each other four weeks and three days, but to me it seems like nine weeks and five days. The first day seemed like a week and the second day seemed like five days. And the third day seemed like a week again and the fourth day seemed like eight days. And the fifth day you went to see your mother and that seemed just like a day, and then you came back and later on the sixth day, in the evening, when we saw each other, that started seeming like two days, so in the evening it seemed like two days spilling over into the next day and that started seeming like four days, so at the end of the sixth day on into the seventh day, it seemed like a total of five days. And the sixth day seemed like a week and a half. I have it written down, but I can show it to you tomorrow if you want to see it.

By the way...

I dare you to listen to the song Everyday Love by the Rascal Flatts and not be happy. Country at its be- pop-st.

And you should know about this. Live Earth

I should read more books.

They're that good...

Too few music gets better with time. The Weakerthans are an exception to that statement, that I am only mildly aware of, even after memorizing the majority of their music. What I am about to prove is that the Weakerthans are one of the most creative lyricists of our generation. I mean, I can't even spell lyricists without the help of google. That is not really the point though. Perhaps I have a thing for obscure references, like the way Dennis Miller rants. It blows me away when I understand something after years of thinking that I know it, more specifically with regard to music. It is always fun to find out the world is bigger than you thought.

I'm reading A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. Chapter 9: The Arrow of Time has the following passage:

"Suppose...that the universe should finish up in a state of high order but that it didn't matter what state it started in. At early times the universe would probably be in a disordered state. This would mean that disorder would decrease with time. You would see broken cups gathering themselves together and jumping back onto the table. However, any human beings who were observing the cups would be living in a universe in which disorder decreased with time. … That is, they would remember events in the future and not remember events in their past. When the cup was broken, they would remember it being on the table, but when it was on the table, they would not remember it being on the floor."

The rest of the chapter goes on like this, basically explaining the details about if this is could be true for another universe, and will our universe (which is expanding) ever slow down and then start to collapse. And if it does, will time reverse in this way, will we experience things the way he explains it etc...

And now, I'm going to bring it home. The lyrics to the Weakerthans song, "Time's Arrow"

So you watch the sunrise sinking
And she's talking in her sleep
A dream of how alone she was
Tomorrow when you keep
All those promises to someone
In a mirror you will find
At your parents' house in 1989.

Terrorized by the ruling party: calendars and commas.
Small request, could we please turn around?

Then you whisper your arrival
walking backwards to the door.
Wonder briefly what it is you're hesitating for.
All the streets lie down, deserted
in the darkest part of night,
To lead you through the evening to the light.

Pulled along in the tender grip of watches and ellipses.
Small request. Could we please turn around?

My heart is like a marching band...

My new favorite song is Morris Brown by Outkast. I've been singing it all freakin day.

Fireworks in Kenmore were pretty good, short but sweet. It was ridiculously easy to just walk down the trail to the park and sit on a blanket. We took many pictures. Some of the fireworks. My friend Matt and I created a portal to infinity! Don't look too long. I also own all the rights to this image below, I have a patent on the design. I'm working on getting a picture from the other side. Here's what it looks like from our dimension.

More to come on the design and application of this portal. We're going camping tomorrow, in the Cascadies!

Happy Effing Fourth of July Everybody

Well, well, well. I just finished play 2 hours of frisbe in Wallingford in 80 degree weather. As I am writing this, I totally got distracted because there was a track that came on randomly through iTunes, a Eminem freestyle at the rap olympics (who knew?). Anyway, it was really good. That dude can rhyme, on time, just fine.

Here is the part of the blog where I shamelessly plug my wife and help her anyway I can. She and a friend are walking in a Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. It is basically a 60 mile walk (20 per day) to raise awareness and money to help the fight against breast cancer. She has her own blog, which I will put a link to on the right side of the window here. If you can donate, I would recommend it. Each volunteer must raise $2400 to participate in the walk. Think of how good you'll feel afterwards.

She is going through a lot to do this walk. Its quite incredible! I'm sure you get to see pictures and read stories of training and blisters (which she has many of). And I know she would appreciate your support :)

Signing off now, going to make a quiche"louie style". (See recipe below)

"louie style" quiche
1. Make a regular quiche but don't put milk and/or cream in it.
2. Eat it.

Having a great time!

This is me on vacation! If it looks like fun, thats cus it is.

Shahi Paneer and Veggie Chips

Woah, I just found a font named trebuchet. I wonder if this font is capable of launching objects of significant mass for hundreds of feet?

So, today I'm eating Shahi Paneer, which is a wonderful indian dish. Except this kind of shahi paneer is microwaveable and has the 'life' sucked out of it. But, if it is any consolation, the veggie chips more than make up for it. Damn.

Music for the people.

• Blue Scholars
• "I draw words out of pens like swords out of sheaves
  Humidity intervene, now I’m high on God’s speed"
• Joe Firstman
• " if you don't steal all the goddamn covers,
  you're gonna be alright with me."

1408: 9 skulls out of 10

I have a few off topic comments that I'd like to write out. I've decided not to tell anyone about this blog. My intention is to not shove it down the collective throat. This blog, right now, is for me. If you enjoy reading it, then that is excellent. If not, that is just as excellent. I'm not trying to keep it secret!

And now, for our feature presentation. Cue Halloween theme song...

I thought the movie was good. Yep it's that simple. I was expecting something good, and I thought it really delivered. I always hesitate to say things like this about a movie. Being a fan of direct experience, go see it yourself and make up your own mind. I don't like when jump into the story without asking me if I want to know. So, if you don't want to know more about the movie at this point, I'd hit the red x in the upper right hand side of the window...



Ok, now that everyone else is gone...if you like scary movies, go see this. John Cusak brings a refreshing take on the typically type cast lead role. In general, the movie does a great job of keeping you in the story. It has enough of a side plot to connect you to the characters, and enough freaky shit to satisfy that paranormal desire that people who like scary movies have. Best movie I've seen in a while. If you see it, post back what you think of the ending...

In the beginning...

If you haven't guessed already, I decided, once again to start a blog. I tried once before, but always felt that in order to post something that it must be fantastic. So here is my attempt at writing some things from my life. There will be things that I think other people will enjoy, and probably some other stuff that some people could care less about. Being an engineer I keep saying to myself, "What is the purpose of this blog?". And to that question I have no answer. Yet...