Prop 8 - The Musical

Written by Marc Shaiman, the Tony-winning composer of “Hairspray” and “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.”

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Saturday Night 'Fun'

It seems like it's always something these days to keep me from the gym. First I got that little bitch of a bug that was going around. Usually I can win the fight in a day or so but this time, the bastard hung on and it took two weeks to get rid of it; all the while, no workouts. I finally kicked it to the curb and was trying to get back into the whole gym thing and then bam, this weekend threw me a major curveball.

Saturday night around 10 pm, I started to have abdominal pain. This has happened on and off for over a year now but I assumed it was just bloating since it'd go away after no more than an hour. Unfortunately, this night was different. The pain continued to get worse to the point that I figured I'd best get the professionals to look into it.

I got in my car (yeah, I know, shouldn't have driven myself) and went to the emergency room at the University of Washington Medical Center. Well, that was my second mistake of the night. It turns out that they are rather busy the night of a football game so there was no room at the inn. I checked in and spent the next two hours in the waiting area moaning in pain.

I couldn't sit for any length of time nor could I stand because the pain would hit me hard in any one position. At one point, I was crouched on the floor rocking back and forth moaning when some guy who was also waiting walked by and asked, "Are you alright dude?" Hahaha, am I alright? Of course you idget! I just love to go down to the local emergency room and moan my heart out for two hours straight just for fun! Am I alright! The only thing I could muster was an icy stare.

The problem I have with pain isn't so much the pain itself, it's the needed self control. I'm like a wounded animal. The best anyone who doesn't have some pretty potent pain killers can do is just stay out of biting range; and lord knows, I'll bite.

As time ticked away, the pain got worse and I was the only one there making a scene. I knew I wouldn't be able to sit quietly waiting for my turn so I was standing, crouching, and pacing by the entrance a little away from the actual seating area. However, I'm sure they could all hear me from there.

No one else appeared to be in pain yet I got to "politely" wait my turn. After each person’s name was called (none of whom looked to be in any pain mind you), I let out a little moan of defeat. Tick, tock, tock and tick, time slowly moved forward until there was just me and the guy who came in after me left in the waiting area.

They finally called my name after two hours of waiting. True to form, they show me to a room, gave me that little hospital gown to change into, and left.......... for another (what seemed like) ten minutes. When they did come back, they start to actually realize that I was in pain so they gave me Morphine which did absolutely nothing to help. It took them another five minutes to figure that out at which point they brought out the good stuff and solved the whole pain thing in one injection. A little side effect with this stuff was that I got real dizzy (combine that with the fact that it was now almost 2 am).

Over the next couple of hours, they took x-rays of my chest and abdomen, shot me up twice more with that pain killer (it kept wearing off), and took a CAT scan of my abdomen. Their conclusion, it’s a good chance I have an ulcer. I was released around 6 am and drove home (the third mistake of the night). I was so tired and groggy from the drugs and being up all night that I'm surprised they even left me drive. And yes, they had asked earlier how I was getting home; out of sight out of mind I guess.

Well, I made it in one piece and slept the rest of Sunday. I tried to go into work on Monday but only survived one hour before I went home sick since I had left the pain killers they prescribed to me at home. I saw my regular doctor on Tuesday and didn't even bother going into work. The doctor took some blood to test for the ulcer and will let me know. In the mean time, I get to pop a damn pill every day for 3 months now. And here I thought I was doing so well on the whole health thing. Bah!

So Wednesday I went back to work but found it hard to concentrate since my lower back, butt, and legs were hurting something fierce (probably strained them by overcompensating for the abdominal pain). And this brings us to today; feeling much better now, thank you. Even the muscles are starting to play nicely now (though, they still hurt). Hopefully this will all be history come next week so I can get my fat ass back to the gym.

Update (2008.11.21): I got the blood results back and everything was normal so no ulcer. That's good news but annoying because I still don't know what caused the pain intense enough to send me to the emergency room.

Update (2008.11.25): I just love the medical industry; it's like trying to pull teeth to get any information out of them. I was finally able to talk with my doctor's assistant today. She was the liaison between me and the doctor (guess my doctor had her ‘people’ call my ‘people’, problem is, I have no ‘people’). After two separate phone conversations, it turns out that even though the blood work was normal, it’s still a good chance I do have an ulcer. Combine that with the acid reflex issues I’ve had for many years and, according to the doc, that would be what caused the intense pain. I’m skeptical though.

Coldplay Viva La Vida

Right on Target

Over the weekend, an old friend of mine was visiting from out of town. He used to be a sniper in the Singapore Army and over the years, we've talked about going to a gun range. I've never shot a gun (with real bullets that is) so it has been one of the many things on my to-do list.

Well, Saturday, that all changed. We went to Wade's Eastside Guns in Bellevue for a bit of target practice. I was rather nervous because most everyone I've spoken to over the years commented on the recoil and how is makes your hand sore after awhile. Well, it turns out, the sound was worse than the bite. I didn't have any problem with it.

We (well, my friend actually) picked the SIG P220 which is a semi-automatic pistol that fires 9 mm bullets; very cool. If I had a local friend who wanted to shoot a lot, I'd actually look into buying my own gun (not necessarily the P220 though).

Anyway, I did rather well for my first time and yes, I brought a spend casing as well as my target home. So does this make me a God fearin', real-American, patriotic Republican now?

Tōrō Nagashi (灯籠流し), From Hiroshima to Hope

Last night, I attended the Tōrō Nagashi (灯籠流し) ceremony From Hiroshima to Hope at Green Lake. This is a Japanese lantern floating ceremony to commemorate those lost at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The lanterns are a way to guide spirits of the departed back to the other world and some believe that they represent our bodies returning to the water from which we came. The ceremony was a solemn yet beautiful occasion.

---

---

---

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

- Mahatama Gandhi

Weekend Fun Vancouver, BC

This last weekend I took the last of my planned mini-vacations. This time, the destination was Vancouver, BC. My friend Fred joined me for the trip.

Friday
We both took Friday off from work and made the drive up from Seattle. Surprisingly, there was little traffic, even at the border; it took us "only" 45 minutes to get through.

We stayed at the Sheraton Wall Centre on Burrard Street. I actually like this hotel since it’s centrally located and easy to get to. In addition, the rooms are well kept and the staff is friendly. My only complaint is that their gym is stocked with older equipment that is not very good.

After checking into the hotel, we walked to H&M since Fred wanted to get some jeans. Well, he found a pair he liked but they didn't have his size. On a whim, I tried them on and they fit so I ended up buying them. I felt rather bad about getting the same pair he wanted but I was assured that it was not a problem (we’ll see if he “accidentally” spills red wine all over them next time I wear them). After that, we checked out a couple of other shops but didn’t find any jeans Fred liked so we went back to the hotel.

That evening we met up with Derek and Doug for dinner; yup, the same Vancouver friends I met while in Portland (I think they are stalking me). As always, it's great to visit with them. After dinner, Derek had to run to a meeting so Doug, Fred, and I walked the “loop” from Davie to Denman, then on to Robson St where we continued to look for Fred’s elusive jeans. He ended up getting a pair at American Eagle Outfitters that he was OK with; he still wanted to look later for a better pair.

After the stores closed, we looped onto Burrard and stopped by the hotel so we could change into bar clothes (yeah, we’re gay). Doug still had some time before meeting back up with Derek so the three of us ended up back at the place we had dinner; only this time for drinks. After Doug left, Fred and I ended up staying there for the rest of the evening just talking and drinking. It was actually very nice.

Saturday
The next morning, Fred and I walked down to Milestone’s on Denman for breakfast. Nice place and pretty good mimosas; food’s not bad either.

It’s a State of Mind… I guess
So the night before, while walking back to the hotel on Davie St, we saw an interesting shirt in the window display of this little hole-in-the-wall shop. After breakfast, we headed back up the street to that shop. Some lady was fussing with the carpet and a step ladder in the entry way. When she saw us… correction, when she saw Fred looking, she quickly ushered us inside. This is where the fun began.

She introduced herself as Linda K, the proprietor of the establishment (named State of Mind), and continued talking the entire time we were there. I’ll hand it to her; she has an eye for sizes (she guessed Fred’s waist and inseam). Without missing a beat, she grabbed some jeans and told Fred to go put them on, all the while complimenting him on his model body (which he has) and that she doesn’t get very many people looking that good. Of course, her trademark complaint about Vancouver having no fashion sense made it into the mix as well; apparently, she has quite the following (complaints) on the internet. My favorite comment on that thread is, “Sounds like the clothing equivalent of the Soup Nazi. The Clothes Nazi of Davie Street......LOL!”

In the 45 minutes that she would not let us get a word in edgewise, she slammed Vancouverites (no fashion sense), gays (too stuck up to buy from her... oh, and no fashion sense), two groups of people who tried to enter the store (she shoed them away saying she was already booked up), mass produced clothes (as if everyone is rich enough to afford hand stitched clothing from Europe), the chain clothing stores on Robson Street (they sell crap), and most importantly, me (she said I had an “athletic” shape, which is code for too bulky ← just kidding, I took no offence).

She had some nice stuff that she dressed Fred in; he looked fabulous. Her mistake came in her last attempt which was this nasty pink and purple, white striped, preppy long sleeved pullover; not good at all for Fred’s personality. Yuck!

So she ends the “session” by laying out all the clothes she made Fred put on, points to each saying what they cost, then looking at Fred asking which ones he was going to buy. I had noticed earlier there were no price tags on anything so that usually indicates it’s too pricy and I was right. Fred was nice about it and said he needed time to thing about it. This got an immediate reaction from Linda ‘cause she actually did the stereotypical, “You come back tomorrow, I can’t guarantee it’ll still be here.”

If she had actually stopped talking for one second when she pulled us into the store, we would have been able to tell her our limits and that would have saved her a lot of “wasted” time.

As we walked back to Robson Street, we joked, “thanks for the free fashion advice Linda, now let’s go look for the same style but cheaper at those chain stores you mentioned.”

Shopping the Day Away
After Linda, no sales associate could live up to our expectations… ha ha. We checked out most of the stores along Robson Street as well as in the mall; still no jeans for Fred. However, I came to the conclusion that since I wore my one and only t-shirt fit for the bars the previous night, I could not wear it again this night; that would have been tacky. Also, we were scheduled to attend a fireworks party so I wanted to dress a little for it.

Now we had Fred looking for that elusive pair of jeans and me looking for some sort of shirt that was not too casual but not to dressy either; I felt like Goldie Locks. God I am so gay needing a new outfit at every turn. Well, once again, Fred to the rescue, he found a nice little polo style from Guess for me; it fit well too. Of all places, we were in Sears, can you believe it (yeah I know, how “down market” and I’m sure it sent a shiver up Linda’s back when we walk inside as well). I’m still waiting for the bill from Fred for being my fashion advisor; somehow, I don’t think I can afford his rates since he’s got a good eye.

Celebration of Light; a party!
As I have done every year for over a decade, the real reason for visiting Vancouver this fine weekend was to attend the fireworks competition. This year, a friend of Doug and Derek’s was hosting a fireworks party and did an extended invitation for Fred and myself to join. This guy is a hoot and knows how to throw a party; had tones of great food as well. Much to my disappointment (and used as the butt of many jokes), the show sucked. This night, it was the U.S.A. who was performing. Even though it was their first time in the competition, they still botched the whole thing; someone forgot to tell then that they needed to synchronize their fireworks with the music. At one point during the show, someone asked the host if he was sure he had the right radio station tuned into for the simulcast. Of course, that opened a round of laughter.

The night was a lot of fun; yes, even that crappy excuse for an attempted fireworks show by the US was fun (on a humorous side). It was nice to talk to everyone there. Finally, it got late enough that we left and headed back to the hotel to bed.

Sunday
Sunday brought no jeans search. Fred and I got up rather late, showered, packed, and grabbed breakfast at Joe’s Grill on Davie Street.

We left town early afternoon heading back to Seattle. Surprisingly, the border crossing only took about 45 minutes again. We did hit a bit of traffic around Everett but overall, the drive was pretty quick.

Conclusion
As always, I love going up for a visit to Vancouver. It’s such a friendly city. Of course, Doug and Derek are always great to visit with as well.

Overall, it was a nice relaxing trip.

Wake Up!

Wow, I don't know if it's because I had a busy weekend, the change in weather, or if I'm fighting a bug. I have had little energy the last couple of days. This all came to a head this morning when I overslept (I don't even remember turning off my alarm clock); so much for working out today. Unfortunately, tomorrow I will be on the road again so no workout there as well.

While my weight is pretty consistent at around 194 lbs these days, my body fat is still on the higher side (for my taste). I had hoped to have it down by 5% by the time this coming trip happened but instead, it's only down by about 3%; so much for those washboards.

Oh well, I still have a little over 6 months left in order to rectify that problem. I have half a mind to start bodybuilding for a competition; standing in front of a crowd in just a little posing trunk would be a great motivator (oh, the embarrassment).

Weekend Fates Portland, Oregon

Well my trip to Portland actually turned out quite well even as the fates conspired against me.

Friday Afternoon
It all started Friday afternoon; well, 1:00 pm to be exact. As indicated earlier, I took half a day off from work so that I could drive down to Portland and make it in time for dinner. So I left work and proceeded to go to the bus tunnel for my commute home. However, the gates into the tunnel were all locked. I tried another entrance a block away and it was closed up tight as well. Now I'm sweating bullets because I had less than a minute to get into the tunnel before my bus was scheduled to arrive. I found a listing that showed the street the bus would run on if the tunnel was closed and so on a whim I went to that stop instead. Even though I was late getting there, the bus was even later. I turns out that the tunnel had been evacuated and all the busses were running aboveground on their weekend routes. This put me only 10 minutes behind schedule so I was relieved.

So, I'm sitting on the bus playing around with my JasJar and one of the kids (college students) facing me from across the aisle asks about it. We all (there were three in his group) end up chatting the entire trip to the University District about the PDA as well as college classes in general. Very nice kids actually (kind of blows the stereotype that they are all punks doesn't it). It was looking to be a good weekend.

Interstate 5
I finally get home, finish packing, load up the car, stop at Starbucks for a coffee to go, and hit the freeway. No sooner do I get on the onramp then everything comes to a screeching halt. The freeway was a parking lot; it took me over 30 minutes just to get from Green Lake to downtown Seattle. Ack! It turns out there was an accident right past downtown that had backed up traffic for miles.

Traffic finally got up to speed after that but came to a halt not much farther south; another accident. Again, we crawl along until we all passed that one, got back up to speed again only to come to a halt again. This seemed to be repeated in ad nauseam. My normal 45 minute drive to Tacoma took me over 2 hours... by that time I should have been past Centralia. All the while, my mood never went south for which I am eternally grateful.

We all finally blow past the last accident and every single one of us sped along at 90 mph for most of the distance between Olympia and Kelso/Longview. Unfortunately, a state trooper entered the freeway just in front of us just before Kelso so everyone slowed down to the obligatory 70 mph. Still, even as the fates conspired against me during that drive, I didn't loose my cool.

By now, I had called my friend Frank (the one I was visiting) to let him know I was not going to make it for dinner. However, he said he'd wait until I got there and we'd still go eat. We were also going to meet up with some friends (Doug and Derek) who were down from Vancouver, BC. When I got a hold of them, they too said it was no problem waiting until I got there even though I suggested just meeting for drinks when I got into town. It was nice that they all still wanted to meet for dinner even though it was going to be 2 hours later than originally planned.

Portland
I pull up to Frank’s place around 7:00 pm (originally was to be 5:30 pm). It turns out that this was the weekend of the Portland International Beerfest so there was no street parking. We ended up squeezing my car in next to his in the parking garage (the spots seemed to be built only for Volkswagen Bugs I think). At one point, the driver's side of my car was less than half an inch from the column. Pretty funny actually. What is not showing in this picture is the fact that there is a concrete wall just behind where I was standing to take the shot; made it impossible to get a straight-in angle.

Friday Night
So the four of us meet up for dinner at the nice little Greek place and then went out to see some boys strip at one of the clubs. The only thing negative about the clubs in Portland is that they still smoke there. I got used to having smoke-free clubs in Seattle and Vancouver so this was an interesting experience.

Saturday
After a late night, Frank and I woke up late Saturday morning; so much for grabbing breakfast. We just walked up to Starbucks (now there’s a surprise). It turns out that Doug and Derek were sitting there drinking their coffee (my, what a small world). After a nice chat, I had to run so I could make it out to the family picnic in time.

The picnic was actually very nice. I got to talk with some cousins that I have not seen in quite awhile as well as some relatives who had come out from Montana. Normally I am not much of a “family” man but I guess as I get older, I am slowly beginning to understand the importance of family. I had originally intended to spend only 3 hours there but ended up staying past 4.

Saturday Night
That evening, all four of us met up again for dinner. This time we went to the Deschutes Brewery & Public House. The place just opened in May and is already a hit in Portland. I do have to say that of all the pubs I’ve been to, this one actually had awesome food… even their basic “pub food” was above par. It turned out to be a cliché night of great food, great company.

After dinner, we all took a walk along the riverfront. The night was warm and the stars were out. Finally, the moon rose above the horizon just as we were going to head back into downtown. By chance, I glanced up and noticed a bright light heading northeast. No flashing light on it so it was not a plane and it was too bright to be a satellite; I concluded it was the International Space Station.

Ironically, the week before I had looked up sighting possibilities in Seattle for the ISS because I wanted to take a look while the weather held out. Little did I know that by accident I would get to see it without having to stay up late or get up early. Very cool!

So after we all debated its identity and after it flew out of sight, we walked through downtown back to the clubs. More drinks and a little bit of dancing later, we parted ways.

I always enjoy spending time with Frank as well as Doug and Derek so the weekend was awesome with all of them in the same city.

Sunday
Sunday, Frank and I grabbed a late breakfast and then went up to his favorite weekend Starbucks. We sat for some time talking over coffee and the newspaper. A nice relaxing day.

I finally got on the road for the drive back to Seattle in the afternoon. The sun was out; traffic was flowing… uh, until Centralia where there were two accidents back to back. I hit more traffic just north of Olympia which lasted all the way through Tacoma. Again, my drive took more than 4 hours (it’s usually a 3 hour drive maximum).

What is up with those travel times? I’d have thought that with gas prices the way they are, there would be less people on the road; obviously not. My next trip to Portland will definitely be on the train.

What A (Nice) Difference A Day Makes

Well, today is better… yay! I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I had a last minute date last night that allowed me to move on and not stew on the past.

The date went well enough… uh, ok, better than that but I will not go into details since there are children present. Anyway, we’ll see if this continues or not.

I’m doing a half day at work today and then getting the hell out of Dodge. Other than hitting rush hour traffic in Portland this afternoon, this weekend should be pretty fun; I’m looking forward to seeing my friends down there.

One side note, I do have to attend a family picnic down there midday Saturday, but I’m sure that will be a decent gathering so it shouldn’t be a downer.

What A (Lousy) Difference A Day Makes

Yesterday I was on cloud nine coming off the climb the night before. Not any more. Today has turned out to be one big downer.

Last night I joined two friends for beer and food. Things didn’t go very well. First off, the conversation was mostly on topics I knew nothing about so I just drank in an effort to “liven” up. The only thing I ended up doing was getting sick to my stomach.

The three of us went for a walk after dinner but that faired no better. The sidewalks in that area are not build for three to walk abreast so, as usual, I was the third man out and had to walk behind. Other than the fact that it pretty much leaves me out of any conversation, trying to hear and understand what is being said from the back takes way too much concentration; all that trying to piece together the words I do hear into coherent sentences and stuff.

So combine that with a sick stomach and you get a not-so-fast walk. I kept falling behind but their pace did not slow. I only caught up when one of them would stop to look at plants along the way (which luckily he did several times). By then I was definitely feeling like a third wheel. We parted ways when they wanted to go for dessert.

Enter today. My whole mood is down now. I’ve been spending way too much time in introspection trying to figure out what I could have done differently. Obviously, my first mistake was to drink too much with the type of food I was eating. However, how does one enter a conversation they have nothing to add to? How does one take part in a conversation that they only hear bits and pieces of? It’s not in my nature to fight to be at the front of the line so I always end up in the back. Oh well, I'm sure it's all my fault (it always is).

The bottom line, though, is that I’m pissed with myself for letting all this bother me. This was a great week and was going to be a great weekend (I’m going out of town to visit some friends). I need to get my shit together so it doesn’t ruin anymore days this week. I'm hoping that by writing about it I can work through it; we'll see.

"Behold the turtle. He makes progress
only when he sticks his neck out."

- James Bryant Conant

Exit 38 - Gritscone

Fantastic! Cool! Unreal!

These are just a couple of words to express my experience last night. As mentioned earlier, a couple of us from the climbing class went up Snoqualmie to do some outdoor climbing.

One of the guys has been climbing for a year now and is really into it. He is in the Reserves and is up from Oregon doing his duty at McChord. Anyway, he took us up to Gritscone off Exit 38. This is a pretty easy rock but one has to start someplace.

One of my concerns was that my grip would not hold out but much to my surprise, my hands hardened to the task pretty quickly. That's not to say that I'm not feeling aches and pains today. Actually, my forearms are quite beside themselves at the moment.

The only downside to all of this is that I had to cut my workout down a bit today. Chest and arms were on the schedule but my forearms had a different plan. Ouch! Tomorrow will be no better since shoulders and back are on the schedule; more use of those forearms. I’ll just lower the weight like I did today and see where it goes.

I still have a hard time believing that I have come so far in a short amount of time. Usually when I pick up a new sport or hobby, it takes awhile to get up to speed. This time I attended two climbing classes, met new friends, and the got some real world experience in the mountains all within a week and one day. How unreal is that?

Climbing 201

Well, the second climbing class at REI is finished. This was an extremely fun experience though I am definitely sore today. The 201 class covered climbing techniques so we didn’t belay, we just bouldered. Belaying is when you climb up the face while tied in to a belayer; bouldering is when you climb sideways without gaining much height and not being tied in. Bouldering allows you to practice moves in such a way that you don’t have to worry about falling very far.

I have to say that this was a nice workout; I used muscles that are not generally hit in the gym. However, I was glad that I had been working out because the extra strength definitely paid off. My weak point is my grip; I can barely type this post on my keyboard right now.

Of all the things we worked on, I’d say my favorite was the Hip Roll. This is where you use your body in such a way (by rotating your hip) to make climbing through overhangs easier. It takes a little to get used to having your body parallel to the ground while hanging off an overhang with nothing but air beneath you. My grip was the first to give out so I only made it to the first hold on the vertical face past the overhang… besides, the footing on that transition was tricky… oh, and considering the fact that this was the first time I tried it, I think I did quite well.

So, where do I go from here? First off, by attending the classes, they gave us a coupon (one per class) for a free climb on the Pinnacle. I’ll definitely redeem those in the coming weeks. Also, a couple of us from the class are heading up Snoqualmie Pass this afternoon to do some outdoor climbing on real rocks (one of the guys has the equipment). I hope I can get a little strength back in my grip before we get there though.

Next order of business is to get some climbing shoes. Damn, there’s those shoes again; what is it with me and shoes!!!!

Climbing Up in The World

I think I have a new interest! No, not that kind; I’m still single. This one is rock climbing. Ever since REI’s flagship store was built in Seattle, their climbing Pinnacle has intrigued me. Friends who were interested as well have come and gone yet no one ever actually followed through with their promise that “we should go try it out.”

Well, enough on waiting for someone to do it with. I ventured out on my own and registered for the beginners class they offer; Climbing 101. This was Monday. What a fun activity. We learned how to tie the required knots, belaying, and other procedures as well.

Belaying is rather hard on the neck but pretty fun in and of itself. We paired off into groups of two and then one would climb while the other would belay. To give us “practice” and a feel for all aspects of belaying, the instructors had the climber intentionally fall so that the belayer could catch them. It was rather fun jumping without warning out into space halfway up the Pinnacle.

I was curious whether I’d have a problem with the height but I didn’t. While out on a mountain, I have no problem walking right up to the edge of a cliff and sitting down with my feet dangling over. However, when in the city, I would never be able to do that in a high rise… even floor to ceiling windows give me fits sometimes; very strange.

The next class is this coming Monday and will be Climbing 201. This will work on technique. I’m looking forward to it.

The Lost Bible Chapter

February 1997 Atlantic Monthly

by Ian Frazier

Laws Concerning Food and Drink; Household Principles; Lamentations of the Father

Of the beasts of the field, and of the fishes of the sea, and of all foods that are acceptable in my sight you may eat, but not in the living room. Of the hoofed animals, broiled or ground into burgers, you may eat, but not in the living room. Of the cloven-hoofed animal, plain or with cheese, you may eat, but not in the living room. Of the cereal grains, of the corn and of the wheat and of the oats, and of all the cereals that are of bright color and unknown provenance you may eat, but not in the living room. Of the quiescently frozen dessert and of all frozen after-meal treats you may eat, but absolutely not in the living room. Of the juices and other beverages, yes, even of those in sippy-cups, you may drink, but not in the living room, neither may you carry such therein. Indeed, when you reach the place where the living room carpet begins, of any food or beverage there you may not eat, neither may you drink.

But if you are sick, and are lying down and watching something, then may you eat in the living room.

And if you are seated in your high chair, or in a chair such as a greater person might use, keep your legs and feet below you as they were. Neither raise up your knees, nor place your feet upon the table, for that is an abomination to me. Yes, even when you have an interesting bandage to show, your feet upon the table are an abomination, and worthy of rebuke. Drink your milk as it is given you, neither use on it any utensils, nor fork, nor knife, nor spoon, for that is not what they are for; if you will dip your blocks in the milk, and lick it off, you will be sent away. When you have drunk, let the empty cup then remain upon the table, and do not bite it upon its edge and by your teeth hold it to your face in order to make noises in it sounding like a duck; for you will be sent away.

When you chew your food, keep your mouth closed until you have swallowed, and do not open it to show your brother or your sister what is within; I say to you, do not so, even if your brother or your sister has done the same to you. Eat your food only; do not eat that which is not food; neither seize the table between your jaws, nor use the raiment of the table to wipe your lips. I say again to you, do not touch it, but leave it as it is. And though your stick of carrot does indeed resemble a marker, draw not with it upon the table, even in pretend, for we do not do that, that is why. And though the pieces of broccoli are very like small trees, do not stand them upright to make a forest, because we do not do that, that is why. Sit just as I have told you, and do not lean to one side or the other, nor slide down until you are nearly slid away. Heed me; for if you sit like that, your hair will go into the syrup. And now behold, even as I have said, it has come to pass.

Laws Pertaining to Dessert

For we judge between the plate that is unclean and the plate that is clean, saying first, if the plate is clean, then you shall have dessert. But of the unclean plate, the laws are these: If you have eaten most of your meat, and two bites of your peas with each bite consisting of not less than three peas each, or in total six peas, eaten where I can see, and you have also eaten enough of your potatoes to fill two forks, both forkfuls eaten where I can see, then you shall have dessert. But if you eat a lesser number of peas, and yet you eat the potatoes, still you shall not have dessert; and if you eat the peas, yet leave the potatoes uneaten, you shall not have dessert, no, not even a small portion thereof. And if you try to deceive by moving the potatoes or peas around with a fork, that it may appear you have eaten what you have not, you will fall into iniquity. And I will know, and you shall have no dessert.

On Screaming

Do not scream; for it is as if you scream all the time. If you are given a plate on which two foods you do not wish to touch each other are touching each other, your voice rises up even to the ceiling, while you point to the offense with the finger of your right hand; but I say to you, scream not, only remonstrate gently with the server, that the server may correct the fault. Likewise if you receive a portion of fish from which every piece of herbal seasoning has not been scraped off, and the herbal seasoning is loathsome to you, and steeped in vileness, again I say, refrain from screaming. Though the vileness overwhelm you, and cause you a faint unto death, make not that sound from within your throat, neither cover your face, nor press your fingers to your nose. For even now I have made the fish as it should be; behold, I eat of it myself, yet do not die.

Concerning Face and Hands

Cast your countenance upward to the light, and lift your eyes to the hills, that I may more easily wash you off. For the stains are upon you; even to the very back of your head, there is rice thereon. And in the breast pocket of your garment, and upon the tie of your shoe, rice and other fragments are distributed in a manner wonderful to see. Only hold yourself still; hold still, I say. Give each finger in its turn for my examination thereof, and also each thumb. Lo, how iniquitous they appear. What I do is as it must be; and you shall not go hence until I have done.

Various Other Laws, Statutes, and Ordinances

Bite not, lest you be cast into quiet time. Neither drink of your own bath water, nor of bath water of any kind; nor rub your feet on bread, even if it be in the package; nor rub yourself against cars, nor against any building; nor eat sand.

Leave the cat alone, for what has the cat done, that you should so afflict it with tape? And hum not that humming in your nose as I read, nor stand between the light and the book. Indeed, you will drive me to madness. Nor forget what I said about the tape.

Complaints and Lamentations

O my children, you are disobedient. For when I tell you what you must do, you argue and dispute hotly even to the littlest detail; and when I do not accede, you cry out, and hit and kick. Yes, and even sometimes do you spit, and shout "stupid-head" and other blasphemies, and hit and kick the wall and the molding thereof when you are sent to the corner. And though the law teaches that no one shall be sent to the corner for more minutes than he has years of age, yet I would leave you there all day, so mighty am I in anger. But upon being sent to the corner you ask straightaway, "Can I come out?" and I reply, "No, you may not come out." And again you ask, and again I give the same reply. But when you ask again a third time, then you may come out.

Hear me, O my children, for the bills they kill me. I pay and pay again, even to the twelfth time in a year, and yet again they mount higher than before. For our health, that we may be covered, I give six hundred and twenty talents twelve times in a year; but even this covers not the fifteen hundred deductible for each member of the family within a calendar year. And yet for ordinary visits we still are not covered, nor for many medicines, nor for the teeth within our mouths. Guess not at what rage is in my mind, for surely you cannot know.

For I will come to you at the first of the month and at the fifteenth of the month with the bills and a great whining and moan. And when the month of taxes comes, I will decry the wrong and unfairness of it, and mourn with wine and ashtrays, and rend my receipts. And you shall remember that I am that I am: before, after, and until you are twenty-one. Hear me then, and avoid me in my wrath, O children of me.

World Machine 2

One of my many interests is cartography; I love maps. An offshoot of this is an interest in “designing” my own terrain from small valleys all the way up to entire worlds. I guess you could say I like playing god (okay, so I’m a megalomaniac).

There are many software packages out there that aid this design. One such program is called World Machine. This program uses complex algorithms to produce realistic terrain features. The author of this software is about to release his second version of it with greatly expanded features. I am excited to test this out since it looks like I’ll be able to more easily design multiple landscapes to the detail that my anal retentiveness requires and seamlessly combine them to make a realistic continent and even world.

I’ve been watching his progress for over a year and now the end is almost here. July 4th is his release date; this is going to be fantastic!

(Almost) Live From Mars

Now this is amazing! The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter snapped this lovely shot of the Phoenix Lander parachuting to the surface of Mars. Technology these days, very cool!

Check out the box in the lower left of the image, you can clearly make out the chute as well as the Lander underneath.

Source: Astonomy Picture of the Day

45 Second Hang Time

It's a bird!

It's a plane!

No! It's a... fish?

Imelda, Green Lake's Queen of Shoes

Believe it or not, I actually got off my lazy ass and ran Green Lake both Saturday and Sunday. Admittedly, it was a difficult task to start both days but the bottom line is that I actually did it. There was one snag though, but it didn’t rear its ugly head until Sunday.

Saturday went quite well actually. It was sunny and warm enough to run just with shorts and a T-shirt (No, I’m in no shape to be running with my shirt off; too much Jell-O underneath still. Women would be screaming, children would be crying, and the guys would just plain laugh). Anyway, like I said, the sun was out so I got to wear my cool prescription sun glasses… and yes, I’m blind as a bat without my glasses.

The run went well and I finished it with a sprint to the end. Lukily, I got there just in time to go past a guy on a road bike. Nice looking chap with red and white biking shorts on; yum. Of course I didn’t turn and look [cruise] as I went by since I’m still somewhat of a closet case when it comes to public places other than Capitol Hill.

So, Sunday comes along without the sun. “Fine,” I say, “but you’re still doing the run!” Since the sun was not out, I didn’t wear the sun glasses and I hate exercising with my regular glasses on so I figured that I’d just do the run without eyewear at all. I looked rather funny trying to get my voice high enough for use in echolocation. Only an eighth of the way into the run was when I noticed that the Extensor Digitorum Longus Tendons* (shown here circled in blue) in my left foot were hurting. I managed to finish the run but still, the foot hurt. On top of that, I couldn’t see if there was any nice eye candy to view either.

Today I was doing some cardio at the gym and once again, my foot was killing me. I figure that my shoes are probably not the best for running so I think I need to buy yet another pair. I’m beginning to feel like Imelda Marcos.

*No, I'm not that smart. I looked up the tendons online.

The End… Again

All right, this is actually getting a little scary. Once again, I had a dream last night (yeah, I know, we all do… every night…). However, this was another end-of-days type dream.

This time, I was on a bus. Suddenly, there was a shared knowledge that the second coming was going to happen in 45 minutes. The bus finally reached its destination at about 10 minutes ‘till the end. Everyone got up to get off the bus but I stayed in my seat (similar to when an aircraft gets to the gate, everyone stands in the aisle waiting to get off but I stay in my seat until the line starts to move). Anyway, I let everyone get off before I stood up (there was one other guy who did the same).

Outside, we all stood looking at the point in the sky where the second coming was going to “happen” as if the sky was going to open up and allow what ever to come through. Part of me was wondering about what alien was manipulating us into thinking this was divine but the other part of me was actually considering the possibility that indeed, this was the second coming as spoken of in religious text; it still seemed fishy though. Either way, it was scary.

Anyway, the minutes ticked off all the while anticipation and dread of what was to come filled the crowd. One minute ‘til,… 30 seconds,… 10, 9,… "Here it comes" 6, 5,… and then I woke up.

I’m starting to wonder why this poor excuse for a brain is choosing to dream about the end. This is the second dream of similar topic in a month. Logically, the Christian god I was brainwashed into believing in as a kid does not (and cannot) exist; too many contradictions. Illogically, I still wonder sometimes.

There should be a law against fucking up kids at such a young age like that.

Competitive Success: VR

Saturday morning I found myself in a competition. This was a race to the finish line with some twists.

The race started in the mountainous terrain of the Himalayas from the low elevations up to the higher ones. I did rather well considering my past record of ability (or lack thereof) to run any distance without feeling it even at sea level. Anyway, by the time I got to the next portion of the race, I was third overall.

At this point, the race continued into a tower where we had to climb a ladder. I was unsure if I was to bring the tools I had with me or not so I asked. Luckily, I didn't have to take the pickaxe and shovel with me (they were heavy steel and that would have slowed me down). The race officials told me that I could put them in my car... yeah right, my car was at the bottom of the mountain so I just set them against the outside wall of the tower and ran back in to the ladder. While I was doing all this, I lost my position to another guy with black curly hair.

So I get back inside the tower and crawl into the compartment where the ladder was. This turned out to be some sort of piping/wiring trunk that went up to the next level some 100 feet up. I was fortunate that I still had enough energy so I climbed the entire distance just with my arms allowing my legs to rest limply underneath me. I think I did a personal best time on that climb as well.

The second level of the tower turned into a big warehouse space with boxes and stuff forming a sort of maze. By this time, I could see (but not see) two guys in front of me so I followed their trail making up time at a full run dodging through the course.

I finally come to a room that was at one side of the warehouse and could hear the scramble of the guys on the metal roof overhead. The trail, a white extension cord, led to a window so I jumped out and scrambled up to the roof with ease. The metal was pretty slippery and one misstep would have seen me slide off and fall the long distance to the ground. I navigated it superbly and made it to the top of the curved roof in no time flat.

The two guys were nowhere to be seen but I notice that there was an open skylight a ways off so I ran over and jumped through it. This put me back near the ladder that I had climbed up earlier. Great, I lost the trail. I start to look around for a direction to run and come to a room with monitors, computers, and people in it.

I walk up to Pamela Landy but before I can speak, she hands me a PLR-16 Pistol. Don’t ask me how I knew what it was since I’ve never seen that in real life; kinda scary actually that my subconscious knew though, and yes, it looked just like that in the dream (if you hadn't figured it out by now, this is a recount of a dream I had Saturday morning). Anyway, she hands the pistol to me and tells me that I am number two behind Mr. Architecture guy. It turns out that the room I happened upon was the start of the next stage of the competition and only the first two competitors to find it would move on to the final phase.

On the monitors were live and recorded camera feeds of some members of the mob. I was to locate Mr. Architecture guy and team up with him. The two of us would then hunt down and take out those members. How this was to result in one winner I don’t know because it’s at this point that I woke up (3:38 AM PST).

Now that was one exciting dream where I actually had an abundance of energy. Usually, I can barely run and stay ahead of danger but this time, I actively sought it out.

Fucked Up!

Here we are again! Frankly I’m starting to get a little pissed off about the whole thing. The weather is starting to turn around; hey, they are even predicting 71° tomorrow (that’s Fahrenheit not Celsius), I’m getting damn close to five days at the gym again, I even have a cool new Fossil watch to wear out and about, but what does this cheep knock off of a brain that rents out the space between my ears do? get down and depressed. BASTARD! KNOCK IT OFF!

It seems that the cycles are getting shorter and shorter where not a week goes by without feeling melancholy now. Summer is just around the corner and I cannot afford to get sick (depressed) again.

I was thinking of a way I could use this to my advantage. Normally, when I get down, I just sit at home and turn inwards… maybe I should “punish” myself with a long run every time I get down. At that rate, I’d be running almost everyday.

Unfortunately, the fitness issues are not the root cause and taking care of them is just treating the symptoms and not the disease. I still have not figured out what the disease is though.

Signs and Portents

This morning I experienced an unusual set of dreams; something I really don't recall having before. They started out as your run-of-the-mill dream but then moved into more of an Armageddon style. I'll pick it up there.

The setting was a city or town laid out similar to some European towns with steep narrow streets... we were at a gas station in some sort of SUV/mini van type car. My sister pointed out an interesting cloud formation so we all looked up. It was in the shape of a skeletal hand. Soon, more shapes appeared in the form of skulls. At first, we thought it was just a coincidental act of nature but then noticed that new puffs of cloud were being created as we watched (similar to when someone takes a drag on a cigarette and then blows out the smoke).

Anxiety starts to take hold of everyone just as a new form appears. This time, it was streams of smoke that divided into multiple branches, each one ending in a blue spark similar to a small firework. This started repeating itself all over the sky with the skulls continuing to appear in the background. Pretty weird eh?

Anyway, being the realist that I am, I get on my cell phone and start chatting with a friend analyzing what we were seeing and how it was really being done; in other words scientific, not spiritual. The only solution I can remember that we talked about was that it was holographic. All the while, I'm walking down one of the steep streets in the town with lots of other people in market booths, in doorways, or just milling about talking about the sky.

I finally come to a square that seemed to be at the edge of town with a view of Mt St Helens. It's then that I notice the volcano was about to erupt since its crater was entirely filled in as if a bubble of magma had pushed up the crater floor to its original, pre-1980 eruption height. Soon the bubble burst and flung rocks, lava, and ash into the sky.

I knew I was dead since we were too close and rocks were falling all around us so I just stood and watched debating on whether I should film it with my cell phone camera. It's then that I noticed some of the rocks were alive and had loosely formed monstrous humanoid shapes, all walking around...

...beep, beep, beep went my alarm clock.

Fashionably Gay Shoes

You've heard of a bad hair day? Lord knows, I've had my share. But have you ever heard of a bad clothes day? If one exists, it happened to me today.

After showering at the gym, I put my clothes on and started to fuss with my hair in the mirror. This is the point where I notice one of my sleeves (it was a short sleeved Polo shirt) had several large holes between the trim and the rest of the sleeve. Yikes, how tacky.

I did my best as a typical guy and put tape on the inside to close it up as best I could. During my lunch break, I went shopping at Nordstrom where I found a nice replacement shirt. But wait one minute, this shirt was nice enough that it no longer went with the black tennis shoes I was wearing (yes, my sense of fashion is rather lacking most of the time). Well, now I had to upgrade my shoes. I finally found a pair at Macys that I liked.

With bags in hand, I walked back to work thinking about other combination of clothes that I could wear. Suddenly, I noticed that I was thinking I had to get a pair of shoes to fit this outfit, and another to fit that outfit.... WHAA!!! Since when am I interested in shoes?!

Oh my god, I'm turning gay... oh, never mind.

Battlestar Galactica The Last Supper

Alright, this is WAY cool! The SciFi Channel has this picture on its site. Even though Season 3 was rather lacking, I am looking forward to the last season. We'll see how it goes.

Early Morning Success

Enough of this kicking myself when I'm down; it's time to point out a bright spot in an otherwise gray bit of posts.

Friday, I had a conference call that started at 7:30 in the morning. Normally, I am on the bus heading to the gym at that time, still over an hour away from actually going to work. Well, determination won out and I made it to the gym at 6:15. I bet you noticed that the universe came to a complete halt on Friday. That's because the universe was totally in awe at my early morning waking and couldn’t stop staring. *grin*

See, not everything is bad, I just find it easier to bitch about the bad stuff than compliment myself on the good (yes, I was raised religious; original sin and all that guilt).

Talk Is Way Too Cheap

All that talk about the weeks conspiring to keep me from the gym and what do I do? Sleep in this morning. Bah! I think my momentum is definitely slowing way down.

It's been a relatively good past 6 months but now I'm not seeing any changes. I appear to have plateaued in recent weeks. In fact, to me, it seems that old Michelin around my waist is actually getting larger; so much for a six pack. All this is combines to suck the enthusiasm out of the whole exercise thing and threatens to usher in an onslaught of depression.

Not to be left out, I discovered my brain has concocted an additional lovely disorder designed to compliment the plateau. It seems that guys I’m interesting in don’t even see me; they are looking at the other guy. Where’s my cross?

Yup, you read right. Somehow, in my twisted screwed up brain, I think that just because I’ve gone from 220 lbs down to 200 lbs and increased the size of my biceps, guys should immediately be falling all over themselves asking me out on dates.

I think it’s time to go look into electroshock therapy.

Silly Rat, Crunches Are For Abdominals

It seems that every week conspires to keep me at only four days in the gym. This week was no different.

It all started last Friday when I was working legs at the gym. I pulled some weight off the rack and start to do straight leg deadlifts since these offer a great stretched position for the hamstrings... well, on my second rep, I noticed my form was all wrong and I was actually curling my back on the lift (think the part of an abdominal crunch where you lower your neck and shoulder blades back to the floor again; only standing). OK, fine, I noted it and continued with the determination to fix the bad form on the next rep. You'd think I'd listen to myself after all this time, but "no," what do I do but repeat the same bad form.

I knew it didn't bode well for me. Sure enough, Saturday, my back told me in no uncertain terms that it quit; nice sharp pain in the mid part. After icing it all weekend, the muscles figured they had punished me enough and stopped their little jihad.

Just to be safe, I gave myself another day off to let the muscles fully forget that I was not nice to them... today was the first day back.

Note to self: Remember the notes to self.

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. "

- Helen Keller

Shadow In Shadow by Alex Mukensnable

This is an awesome view of the lunar eclipse as seen from Hawai'i within the shadow cast by Mauna Kea on the distant atmosphere. I found it on Astronomy Picture of the Day.

And the full movie from Alex's site. Very nice.

Shadow In Shadow from Alex Mukensnable on Vimeo.

Mount St. Helens Dome Growth

This was in the paper last Friday; a cool video showing three years of dome growth at Mount St. Helens.

This Time I Am Not A Blond

Yuck!

Unfortunately I appear to be fighting a bug. This one is different than I've had in a long time and apparently it's what is going around these days; my boss had it and now I do.

The weird part is that this one does not have the usual symptoms I am used to. This time, I have no energy, have dizzy spells (not to be confused with ditsy; I am always ditsy), and have a nasty headache. Yesterday, I was so tired and dizzy that I left work early and went home to get some rest. Literally within two minutes of getting in bed, I was asleep.

This morning I felt better but thought it would not be in my best interest to go work out so I skipped that in favor of another hour's sleep. I hope to go back to the gym tomorrow.

According to my boss, around 2 pm today I'll start to feel run down again and in another two days, it'll hit me hard (at least that is what he went through). I am not looking forward to that and hopefully I can stave off the full effects of this one.

Of Abandonment and Dreams

Well, this morning was rather tasking. I woke myself up with a whimper.

It turns out I had another dream about my long dead cat Reggie. This time (yes, I've had several now), I was in an alley trying to find something I had accidentally thrown away in the trash. So as I'm rummaging through the trash bin, some lady walks by and ends up picking up one of the stray cats (there were two that I was aware of in the dream)... anyway, the cat starts to hiss at the other one as the lady draws near me. It's then that I notice that I recognize the cat, it was Reggie and he was scared. I held out my hand and he sniffed it and calmed down; he still recognized me.

It turns out that the backstory (yes, I get complicated dreams sometimes) of the dream was that I had to give Reggie away for some reason. But I also deduced that the new owners had abandoned him and so he was a stray now. It broke my heart in the dream to where I started to whimper thus waking me up with tears in my eyes.

I wonder when/if time will smooth this one over since obviously my subconscious still has issues regarding Reggie.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I typically do not pay attention to Valentines Day since only once in my life have I actually been dating someone when the day arrives. Even then, our relationship was on the fritz so it really wasn’t a romantic day after all.

Anyway, I saw this on the Astronomy Picture of the Day site and thought it was pretty cool; see, I do have a romantic streak; I just don’t have anyone to show it to. Yeah, I know, poor me.

I’ll just reproduce what they wrote below.

Long Stem Rosette

Explanation: The Rosette Nebula (aka NGC 2237) is not the only cosmic cloud of gas and dust to evoke the imagery of flowers. But it is the one most often suggested as a suitable astronomy image for Valentine's Day. Of the many excellent Rosette Nebula pictures submitted to APOD editors, this view seemed most appropriate, with a long stem of glowing hydrogen gas in the region included in the composition. At the edge of a large molecular cloud in Monoceros, some 5,000 light years away, the petals of this rose are actually a stellar nursery whose lovely, symmetric shape is sculpted by the winds and radiation from its central cluster of hot young stars. The stars in the energetic cluster, cataloged as NGC 2244, are only a few million years old, while the central cavity in the Rosette Nebula is about 50 light-years in diameter. Happy Valentine's Day!

Twelve Months and Counting: On The Road to 40

Well, today is the big day. We are now exactly 12 months away from the finish line. In other words, this is the final lap on The Road to 40. Boy do I need to pick up the pace.

I have to say that while I have made some advances in my fitness level, I am still very far away from where I need to be. Grant it, by adding six-pack abs into the mix after I started on this road, I kind of moved the goalpost back a bit. But still, I would like to attain that goal by this summer’s Vancouver, BC trip though. Unfortunately, time’s a wastin’ and I ain’t moving very fast. My cursed muffin top is not going to go away on its own.

I definitely need to “kick it up a notch” with this whole fitness lifestyle. That means I need to get the nutrition under tight control, increase weights in my workouts at the gym, and add back that (in)famous Green Lake run (read “cardio”) that I “started” (and then stopped) late last year.

A struggling Muffin Top’s work is never done. Wish me luck; I need all that I can get.

Do they still offer full frontal lobotomies?

The older I get, the more there is a desire for ignorance. My tendency is to over analyze everything to the point where I get angry or depressed. Many times I find myself desiring the simple life (no relation to Paris Hilton) where I do not see the unpleasantness of people and situations; where I don't have expectations that require effort on anyone's part including my own. Life is too short to always be taken so seriously. Besides, who wants to be around someone who is always a downer?

Therein lays the problem. You get down so people don’t want to hang around you. This leads to a lack of friends to do things with so you get even more down. Now even more people don’t want to hang around you. Anyone see a trend here? Pretty stupid isn’t it? If it’s not body fat, it’s mental fat. Why am I so challenged all the time?

Anyway, this leads me back to my original question; do they still offer full frontal lobotomies? Maybe there are some drugs that will make me happy all the time… oh wait, alcohol does a good job with that. The only problem with getting drunk is that you have to come down sometime; I want to stay floating above the fray.

Gotta love those Monks!

Saturday some friends and I met for dinner at Quinn’s on Capitol Hill. This place is relatively new and has an assortment of expensive beers. Of these, my favorite was a Trappist Ale.

I can’t help but wonder if it’s my favorite because after only three of them I was quite happily drunk. Times like those are when I miss living on the hill and stumbling home drunk off my ass. Now days I have to sober up before driving home.

It takes a long time to sober up if I’m not out dancing the night away and last night was no different. Unfortunately, there was no dancing since one of the pair I was with does not care for the clubs and if his boyfriend had gone with me, there’d have been hell to pay when he got home. But, like a good friend, he helped me walk it off until I was sober.

Mmm… Trappist Ale!

Good Friends, Good Snow, Good Skiing

Yesterday, some friends and I headed up to Crystal Mountain for fun on the slopes. The four of us were evenly matched into pairs where our skiing capabilities are concerned. Dan and Fred are advanced skiers while Becky (Dan’s girlfriend) and I are beginners.

Dan and Fred helped Becky and I for the first half of the day giving us pointers on the Bunny Slope. Before lunch, we ventured onto the harder runs for awhile until finally giving Dan and Fred their leave so they could enjoy the black diamonds while Becky and I worked on the greens.

What a fun time! We ended up skiing past 4:30 into the night skiing portion of the day. This is the first that I’ve ever night skied and it was pretty cool.

After we wrapped it up for the night, we ended up meeting with some friends of Dan who had an RV parked up there for the weekend. After some beer and good conversation, we finally took our leave and drove back to Seattle.

I enjoyed the trip and want to do it again this season. Sooner or later, I have to get my skill level up and the only way to do that is practice.

Let the buying begin It’s only plastic afterall!

Now that I’ve my computer up and running, my eye is starting to look for other wonderful geeky toys. Of the current possibilities, one is actually justifiable while the other is pure entertainment.

Canon LiDE 600F
This, my friends is a pretty cool scanner. I have always been on the lookout for a scanner that will copy photographic negatives yet also do a good job with standard scanning as well. Many of the reviews I have read on this seems to indicate that it is actually a good unit. On top of it all, this baby is powered via the USB cord so no extra power cords are required. Once my tax return arrives, I’m taking this one home.

Belkin n52 TE Tournament Edition
Now something for the gaming geek in me. This game pad is actually an upgrade for one I already own. Yup, I have the n52 SpeedPad and I love it. But this one is definitely an upgrade if not just for the pretty blue back lighting! Hey, I’m easily amused. Besides, it matches the blue case lighting on my new computer!

Yellowstone National Park Live Web Cam

This is a webcam live from Yellowstone National Park. Most of the time it should be aimed at the Old Faithful Geyser. I caught the last eruption that occurred at 10:58 AM PST today; pretty cool. If you watch it long enough, you'll see lots of people and animals including Bison walk by.

The video might take a little time to buffer so be patient. Also, you might get an ActiveX request since I'm using "x-mplayer2" (basically an embedded Windows Media Player).

Oh, and one final item, while this post is on the front page, I'd suggest that if you still have dial up, don’t get upset if you don't get any video at all. Time to upgrade.



Edit (February 14, 2008): It looks like the feed changes paths periodically so once this moves off my front page, I will not be updating it (all you'll get is a blank screen). In that case, just use the link at the top to visit their site and see the camera from there.

Robin Williams on Golf

One Year

The passing of a friend closes one path and opens another. Whether one chooses to take that new path or wonder aimlessly at the trailhead is not always an easy choice. Some of us, to quote Elton John, “fall by the wayside and some of us soar to the stars.”

I find that I have started on the new path that was opened when Reggie died but am not walking very fast. Luckily, while I have not soared to the stars, I have not entirely fallen by the wayside either. It is a difficult path but one that must be followed not only for my sanity but also for my health.

I know it’s stupid to have so much emotion wrapped up in a pet but after living with that pet for 14 years, one becomes attached. When they pass on, a hole is left that is hard to fill especially if one lives alone. I have tried to occupy my time so that the rough edges of that hole are smoothed; I have attempted to “move on.” However, sometimes I feel guilty that I have “moved on” and do not think of him every day; a rather vicious cycle.

Today marks one year since that fateful snowy day. What a difference a year makes but I do miss him and the moment of his death is still fresh in my mind.

Rest in peace my friend.

A Bit Slow

I had to laugh today. All of a sudden, a memory from my distant past came to mind. You see, I’m a nerd and was definitely one in Junior High School as well. I love to design space ships as much as the next Poindexter and did so back then as well. Well, one day I was sitting with a fellow nerd in the locker room showing him a design I came up with and drew somewhat of a crowd. Before I knew it, the coach came by and looked over everyone’s shoulder to see my design; or so I thought.

My little (really late) epiphany about that incident is that most likely the coach was making sure I was not showing everyone some girly magazine I swiped from my father’s stash (not that my father had one).

A real Roll On The Floor Laughing My Ass Off moment today. Talk about dense. It took me over 20 years to figure that one out. It’s amazing that I made it past High School.

Obsession v2.0.3

Hmmm…

I forgot how having new toys makes me obsessive. This whole week I have been up past midnight and every hour at work I have the overwhelming desire to leave and go home to play on the computer.

Yes, the missed workout on Tuesday was because I stayed up late all weekend. However, the missing workout (that will be) tomorrow (Friday) will be due to the fact I have a short business trip that day.

Conservative pastor urges buying Microsoft stock to fight its gay rights efforts

Ya gotta love our local insane asylum inmate Ken Hutcherson. I swear this guy is gay; he has the MO. His obsession with homosexuality is getting tiresome.

Ken Hutcherson is a swindler. This little “buy-up” of Microsoft stock sound suspiciously like “If I don’t receive 200 million shares of Microsoft stock by June, God will call me home;” in other words, something straight out of the Oral Roberts playbook.

These extreme religious leaders are doing so much harm to their faith that if I believed in Satan I would be sure that they have sold their souls to him; sounds much like the Nazgûl in Lord of the Rings.

From the interview, “When asked why he's putting so much effort into this new venture, he said, ‘God will judge us one day, and I want to do everything it takes for him not to judge us on my watch.’”

Wow, now Ken thinks he can stave off the second coming while he is alive; that’s very presumptuous as well as sacrilege. He thinks he can influence God.

Ken, meet Lucifer… oh, I see you already “know” each other.

Computer Build Update 2.0

So the new system is up and running. Except for one problem that required a hot fix from Microsoft (will talk about a little later), everything has gone smoothly.

Earlier I mentioned there were some issues that still needed to be addressed. Those, along with the results, are listed below:

1. Attempt to get the second HD working,

Doh, turns out that the power cable was not connected. All is well now.


2. Attempt to see if I can get the CPU fan more secure,

Did my best, I think it’s in there to stay. If not, you’ll hear about it via a major rant.


3. Install the card reader that should arrive today,

The installation was easy. Well, except it took me a bit of trial and error to figure out how the case 3.5 slot adaptor worked. I finally found a diagram that showed the correct way…

“Me see pretty picture and make boxy thing fit good.”


4. Reattach the SATA drives to different ports (the OS HD is currently on SATA port 3, I want it on 1) … yeah, I know, very anal of me,

Yup, I actually did that. Both hard drives are now on SATA 1 and 2 (as it should be).


5. Do a little bit more cable management since some are too close to some fans for my comfort,

I was actually able to get more cables out of the way so it’s less messy in there now.


6. Re-clock my memory (factory settings are worse than what it's rated at),

This was surprisingly easy. The BIOS is very user friendly (well, at least to me).


7. Figure out if I can get Vista to see all 4GB of memory (don’t think so),

Never really looked into this.


8. Figure out exactly where I'm putting the case in my room,

The computer is exactly (to the nearest centimeter) where I want it. OK, just kidding about the centimeter; I’m not THAT anal!


9. Do external cable management for all the wires of the 3 PCs (time to pull out that old KVM until I get everything I want off of the oldest computer (it's a P3) so I can give it away),

Well, maybe I am THAT anal. I spent much of Saturday underneath the desk getting all the cables rolled, twisted, coiled, tied off, routed, wound, and installed so that they were all neat and tidy.


10. Install all the software and transfer files to the new machine,

I am still in the process of getting all the software installed.


11. Clean up the mess in the living room (I assembled it there and the place looks like a tornado hit).

Except for the coffee table, much of the living room is now clean.

Well, there you have it. The list is mostly complete.

As mentioned earlier, I had to get a hot fix from Microsoft. This was an issue with the way Vista manages memory. I’ll spare you the details but let’s just say that when I was running Everquest II (yup, I play games; isn’t that what life is all about?)… Anyway, I cranked the quality settings in the game up and ran around in game checking out how my system handled it. Around 20 minutes later, the game crashes and gives me an error stating “Application ran out of memory when requesting 2048592 (limit 2048)….” I was directed to the hot fix from the game’s tech support. Initial test seem to show that it works though I have not tested it for any length of time.

And So It Begins

One year ago today was the beginning of the end. This was the date that I took Reggie to the vet out of concern for his health since he had not been eating much for several days before.

Tomorrow will be the 6th which last year fell on a Saturday. I woke up to find that Reggie did not have control of his hind legs so I rushed him to the emergency vet. For six more days, he stayed overnight until he was stable enough to be sent home. I was fortunate to be able to take that Friday off from work so I got a long weekend with him.

At 3:55 AM in the morning on Tuesday, January 16th, Reggie died. What horrible way to spend the beginning days of 2007.

While these same days of 2008 will be painful reminders of last year, I hope that they will also bring a positive outlook for the coming year. We all have our crosses to bear, this is one of mine.

Computer Build Update

It took me awhile to install everything into the case last night. Unfortunately I started out trying to do "proper" cable management; what a pain. The GPU is so big that you really can't manage all of the cables well. However, the tangle that they are currently in has an artistic component so it does not bother me.

I am a little concerned about the CPU fan since I am not sure that it is properly seated but I didn't want to push too hard and crack the mobo. Two of the attachments are in, but the other side is where I am not sure. I think I can remove it and reseat it which I might try to do. I definitely do not want that thing coming loose and falling on the GPU; it'd pretty much be endgame at that point.

Other than that, the only other thing I had to guess on (the documentation SUCKED!) was where to attach the ground wire from the power supply. It said attach to the mobo and gave a tiny picture so I guessed, unscrewed one of the mobo attachment screws, and put the gound wire between the screw head and the washer. I think that is right.

Once everything was in, I hooked it up to the externals and it worked from the start (YEAH!). However, when installing Vista I got a BSoD (Blue Screen of Death) so I removed one of the memory modules and was able to install Vista with 2GB. Once that was done, I reinstalled the remaining card as well as connected the second HD.

Vista only recognizes 3.25GB memory (I think the 768Mb graphic card has sequestered the rest) and the second HD is not recognized in the BIOS.

So, tonight and this weekend I get to...

1. Attempt to get the second HD working,


2. Attempt to see if I can get the CPU fan more secure,


3. Install the card reader that should arrive today,


4. Reattach the SATA drives to different ports (the OS HD is currently on SATA port 3, I want it on 1) … yeah, I know, very anal of me,


5. Do a little bit more cable management since some are too close to some fans for my comfort,


6. Re-clock my memory (factory settings are worse than what it's rated at),


7. Figure out if I can get Vista to see all 4GB of memory (don’t think so),


8. Figure out exactly where I'm putting the case in my room,


9. Do external cable management for all the wires of the 3 PCs (time to pull out that old KVM until I get everything I want off of the oldest computer (it's a P3) so I can give it away),


10. Install all the software and transfer files to the new machine,


11. Clean up the mess in the living room (I assembled it there and the place looks like a tornado hit).

... and anything else that comes up.

Oh, and finally, I need to get some sleep.