Why Johnny Can’t Reader

I don’t know how many of my readers use Google Reader, but any that do I’m sure have by now seen the popup message telling us that it will be discontinued.  I asked a good friend who works at Google (he’s on the Chrome OS team, so he’s not always a good source of information for things aside of the browser itself) why they had discontinued Google Reader.  He said that use was on decline and that many people use Twitter, and he uses Google+.

Well, I don’t use Twitter that much.  I find it’s like being in a room surrounded by a bunch of people with no personal filters talking all the time.  I can’t track the conversations.

Then there’s Google+.  It’s just not the good stream of information that I want.  I like being able to pick through the section of material that I read.  Google+ is, once again, a stream of consciousness.

So, I began looking for an alternative.  Yes I've got a little over three months, but I want to have something I’m happy with when the transition deadline hits.

I read an article on Lifehacker and then an article on Gizmodo.  So after reading those, I have decided to throw my first lot to The Old Reader.  It has the ability to link with my Google account to sign in, and then I tried to import my data from Google Reader.  Yesterday, they were swamped with import requests, and had to disable the feature.  This morning, there was an option to upload an XML file from my Google files.
If you’re in need of transferring your data, give this a shot:

First do the suggested XML download from Google Reader.  This will come in a ZIP file that you'll need to extract to a folder.

Then go to Old Reader and using the import page, upload the XML file.

Right now, I got this message, "Thank you for uploading your OPML file. We will soon start importing your subscriptions, which might take up to several hours depending on the amount of feeds you have.

There are 22218 users in the import queue ahead of you."

Why it says OPML, I don't know, but the XML file is what I used for the import.

I say good luck to you.  While I’ve writing this, my number has dropped to 22217.

Pea Soup

I got up this morning, and things looked foggy.  And then as I got ready, it just got thicker.

When it was thick enough that the lights of the office building two lots over were just a glowing blur, I decided it would be better to drive to work rather than bike to BART.

And then of course once I got to through the tunnel, it's all clear with the sun lighting up the sky behind Mt. Diablo.

I'll just have to exercise this afternoon.

"... Everything else is therefore your own problem."

So today for my third week back in the office, I rode my bike.

Man, it's dark.  Although, I will say that riding in the dark at Santa Cruz got me all kitted out for a ride through Oakland and Walnut Creek.

Riding on BART did make me think of working in San Francisco   I'm thinking of asking for a transfer to our newly opened office there.  I just prefer going that direction.  And then I wouldn't have such a long commute.  Apparently our office is in a building that you don't even have to go outside to get to from the BART station.

I think it sounds great.  Plus it can't hurt to ask.

dooooooooooo -- BEEEEEEEEEP!

So, my phone is a geek detector.  Yesterday, in my second day at the office after 6 months in the field, it rang, and one of my coworkers laughed and said, "That is a cool ringtone."

Being who I am, I have personalized the sounds of the phone, and so each one is a little slice of geekdom.  Jennifer got to enjoying my sounds so much that she asked me to find a way to personalize her phone.  It was a little harder as she has an Droid, but hers are all various sounds from R2-D2 with her ringtone being the award ceremony music from the end of "Star Wars - A New Hope".  My ringtone is the "conversation" between the technician and the alien spaceship from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".

It gets lots of good reactions.  Geeky phone techs love it when it rings.  A friend who has an apparently very geeky brother laughs and wants us to meet.

I'll have to test him on the rest of the sounds.

My incoming text sound is the wrist-com sound effect from "Babylon 5".  My missed call/voice-mail is the message waiting sound from "Babylon 5".  The rest are from the game "Portal" where I use button sounds for sending and receiving emails, and the bouncy sound for calendar reminders.

For "Portal" to be such a popular game, I'm surprised I don't get more comments on the sounds.

Still, when people do hear it, and look up with a start, I can look them in the eye and smile.

Gotcha, geek.

BTW, Mom and Dad, your ringtone is the Turret Serenade from "Portal 2".  Just because I like the sound of it.

WTF! - Shirts

I have two pairs of WTF jeans.  I've written about them once before.  Last year I got v2.0.  Below are pictures of the front and back of the two versions.

Today I got an email that WTF is doing shirts.  They're running an Indiegogo campaign to raise money for it.

When i signed up they were at $500 of $4,000, so 1/8 of the way there.  I'm hopeful.

Joy Returns to the Bay Area

I got the news today that except for one task that is dependent on warm weather, we are done in Santa Cruz, and I will be back in the office on Monday.  We're letting one of the junior scientists stay on site for next week, and I will get to be home.

Allowing for the week I took of vacation this will have been 5 1/2 months working in Santa Cruz.

I'll probably be coming down for some other work in a month or so, but it shouldn't take longer than a week to perform.

YAY!  I'm coming home!

Outlet of Creativity

So when I made my decision to not buy any new comics, I was obviously left with a little void in my life.

Over Christmas, Jennifer and I talked a little over what I could do to fill that in.  Over a day's time, the time isn't that much; we though maybe half an hour's time.  So I thought to keep it in a similar vein, I should try to do something creative for that block of time.

Delineating that block of has been the next difficult step.  I've tried to write here more, but that hasn't been happening as much as I'd like.

A decided boost has been the fact that I've taken the reins of the fantasy role-playing game for the near future.  we're presently in one of my countries, and eventually we'll be on a sailing ship where despite everyone's fears, we'll be traveling to yet another of my countries.  Then assuming the world doesn't end (no really, if the heroes fail the world will end for "Evil Shall Be Unleashed."  Oops.), we'll take a quick jaunt to the island of the Sea Elves, and after finally after a short hop to the mainland  John will take over again.

So since the first weekend of January, little slices of my day have been taken up with everything that goes on in-between the adventures.  Exploring the city they are in.  Making plans.  Buying things.  And just playing some of the little motivational sides of the characters that come out so much better in writing than in person.

Some, but not all.

So I'm fielding and returning emails from up to four people.  I could be filling in information for a conversation with the NPCs where all of the player characters are present.  Or perhaps they have... split the party (that's an inside joke for a small group, and not very helpful to people like Mom.  Mom and family: go here and here.).  When they split up, that means, I've got multiple areas of a city, or keep, or an event to describe.

Additional outlets have been map making.  I've tried several times to use computer programs, but I'm never as happy with them as I am with my own pen and paper creations.  I like to use my geology knowledge to shape the coastlines (and yes it's true, fjords are not really equatorial enough.), and lately I'm been mapping cities.  What's been fun is to give each city it's own personality.

Try to imagine the organicness of some cities versus those that maybe were "planned".  Perhaps there are sweeping roads, or perhaps the city grew up around a keep.  Or maybe the city just has that fractal feeling where each block gets cut just a little smaller with an inverted shape of the larger streets.

- a **CHOKE!** Addendum

So I guess the question is, "Why?"

I think it's that we all can relate to the relief when suddenly there are people in our corner.

We know what it's like when something drives a wedge between us and the person we care about most.

We want to think that if we could, we would help someone out who just needs that little boost to achieve something so much greater.

**Choke!**

I will admit right from the start that I am a sucker for things that are meant to tug on my heart-strings.

Beat Superman to a pulp, and have him look up bloodied and beaten to lock eyes with Lois before he gets back to his feet, and I'll choke up.

Do anything to break the relationship between Lilo and Stitch, I'll probably tear up.

Have the common man stand up and take the side of the super-hero, helping him in some way be it big or small to get to his goal, and there will be a lump in my throat.

Even when I see it coming from half an hour into the movie and know the moment won't occur for another hour, it will still overwhelm me.

Of course, this is why I don't watch shows about dogs.  Benji (not my dog from school years, but the movie dog) is the only dog to live through his own movie.  Milo and Otis doesn't count; that's a buddy movie.

Obviously it doesn't matter whether or not it's live action or animation.  Apparently, I'm an easy mark for that sort of thing.

That said, I have to say that I enjoyed watching the new "Amazing Spider-Man".  I don't know if I could have handled the web-slinging and -swinging on the big screen.  The little I know of the Spider-Man mythos informed me beforehand how some things would turn out, but overall it was an entertaining evening to watch.

But who gets chocked up over a bunch of construction workers lining up a series of cranes?

Yeah... this guy.

Cinematic Connections

This past weekend, Jennifer and I were looking for something different to watch and came across the channel HDNet Movies.  It’s one of the few non-pay channels that doesn’t have commercials.

The movie that was on was Thoroughly Modern Millie, and semi-musical comedy set in the 1920s.  It was full of stars with Julie Andrews looking like she does and Mary Tyler Moore looking gorgeous as she does.  Carol Channing does her thing, and I actually recognized a song she sang from when my parents and we saw Carol Channing at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco.

One of the subplots behind the romance-seekign of Julie Andrews as the title character is a Chinese run white-slavery ring being run out of a hotel for single women.  The hotel manager and her two henchmen drug women with no family connections (basically those who won’t be missed) and ship them off to a brothel in a nearby Chinatown.

The mind-blowing thing for me was to find at the end of movie during the credits that the two men listed only as Oriental #1 and Oriental #2 were Jack Soo (best known as Nick Yemena from “Barney Miller”) and Pat Morita (who’s been in a TV show and a movie or two).  And we never recognized them during the entire 3-hour movie

Fifteen Years

Fifteen years ago, yesterday, I took a woman on a picnic.

It was a brave endeavor as it had been raining every day since the rainy season began.  And as it turned out it would for almost every day through the month of February.  But January 25, 1998 turned out to be a beautiful sunny day with big fluffy clouds all around the San Francisco Bay Area.

I took her on a visual tour of the city.  On the way in, we stopped at Treasure Island to admire the view.  We also went around to the Palace of the Legion of Honor, and up to Twin Peaks.  Then we headed down to Golden Gate Park and enjoyed what I had prepared: shrimp cocktails, pork tenderloin with rolls, and Grand Marnier chocolate mousse.  While we ate, we admired the tiny daisies growing in patches around the lawn of the park, and we were visited by a gopher who would stick its head out to watch us, and then hide when we looked at him.

After eating, we went to the Cannery, and walked around for a bit.  Then we headed back to my parents' house, with a stop at Treasure Island again to see the city all lit up for the night.

The next day, we watched the Super Bowl eating salmon with dill sauce, and before she left to go home, we had our first kiss.

Yesterday, we were in the city again, this time for a dentist appointment.  We parked in our usual spot behind Kennedy's, and walked hand in hand up Columbus to Washington Square Park.  Afterwards, we had a mid-afternoon meal at Burger Meister.  Then we drove home.

I still have a picture of that woman from that day on my desk at work.

Violence Inherent in the System

Of the past five movies that I’ve been to see in the theatre, I expected three to be violent.

Yes, “The Hobbit” was violent, but that was CG fantasy stuff.

“Skyfall” while violent, was nowhere near as extreme as the first two.

“7 Psychopaths” was more violent than I expected, but it was placed more to be surprising.  The violence itself was not too extreme.

“Gangster Squad” was no nearly as violent as I anticipated, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  The violence comes at the very beginning, and the rest is very typical movie style stuff: gunplay and fisticuffs.

“Django Unchained” was a gory splatter-fest that I almost couldn't handle.  But as many have said, it’s just too long.  The desire for it to be over just compounds with the length of the movie and the over-the-top violence.

But then what am I looking forward to seeing next?  “A Good Day to Die Hard”.

Little Things

Over the past few months, I've been trying to memorize the periodic table of the elements.

Yes, really.

It's not for any real reason, I just thought I'd pickup a personal challenge.  And it's certainly not been easy.

I've been working through it learning one lien at a time, and I've gotten stuck.

Now I'm good through Argon (18), that's three lines.  But to complete the next line I have to double the elements that I can recite.

So, I'm working on it, but we'll see.

I do have an urge to learn the etymologies of the element names now though.

Books I Read in 2012

So looking back at 2012, I apparently made some time to read.  I read 58 books in a year which makes me feel pretty good when I add it to the things I read online, not all of which are comics and jokes.

I did recently start the original Dune by Frank Herbert, and am presently halfway through.  I've been enjoying revisiting the whole arc of the Dune series, and was surprised at the writing style of Dune after not having read it for a couple decades.  I've been criticizing the prequels for jumping around in characters' heads from paragraph to paragraph, but Frank does it as much as his son and Kevin Anderson do.  SO I guess they are following his style more closely than I thought.

So last year, I read the following books:

A Blink of the Screen - Terry Pratchett - *****

Cold Days - Jim Butcher - *****

Dodger - Terry Pratchett - *****

Dune: House Corrino - Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - ****

Opus: The Complete Sunday Strips from 2003-2008 - Berkeley Breathed - ****

Superman: Earth One Vol. 2 - J. Michael Straczynski & Shane Davis - *****

Superman: Earth One - J. Michael Straczynski & Shane Davis - *****

Dune: House Harkonnen - Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - ****

Dune: House Atreides - Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - ****

Fate of Worlds - Larry Niven & Edward M. Lerner - ****

Don't Panic: Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Neil Gaiman - ****

The Woman Who Died A Lot - Jasper Fforde - ****

The Apocalypse Codex - Charles Stross - ****

The Long Earth - Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter - ****

Batman: Death by Design - Chip Kidd & Dave Taylor - ****

Flex Mentallo, Man of Muscle Mystery - Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely - ****

Batman: Noel - Lee Bermejo - *****

The First Confessor (The Legend of Magda Searus) - Terry Goodkind - ****

Sisterhood of Dune - Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - ***

Batman: Earth One - Geoff Johns & Gary Frank - ****

The Battle of Corrin - Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - ***

Faces of a Martyr - Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - ***

The Machine Crusade - Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - ***

Whipping Mek - Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - ***

The Butlerian Jihad - Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - ***

Hunting Harkonnens - Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - ***

Death: The Time of You Life - Neil Gaiman - ***

Death: The High Cost of Living - Neil Gaiman - ****

The Sandman Companion - Hy Bender - ***

Sandman: Volume 10 - The Wake - Neil Gaiman - *****

Sandman: Volume 9 - The Kindly Ones - Neil Gaiman - *****

Sandman: Volume 8 - World's End - Neil Gaiman - ****

Sandman: Volume 7 - Brief Lives - Neil Gaiman - ****

Sandman: Volume 6 - Fables and Reflections - Neil Gaiman - ****

Sandman: Volume 5 - A Game of You - Neil Gaiman - ****

Sandman: Volume 4 - Season of Mists - Neil Gaiman - *****

Sandman: Volume 3 - Dream Country - Neil Gaiman - ****

Sandman: Volume 2 - The Doll's House - Neil Gaiman - ****

Sandman: Volume 1 - Preludes & Nocturnes - Neil Gaiman - ****

Bookstore Lore - Tom Lichtenberg - ***

Tough Sh*t - Kevin Smith - ****

The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman - ****

The Jungle Books - Rudyard Kipling - ****

Monster - A. Lee Martinez - ***

The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump - Harry Turtledove - ****

The Man Who Folded Himself - David Gerrold - ****

11/22/63: A Novel - Stephen King - ****

Ringworld's Children - Larry Niven - ****

The Ringworld Throne - Larry Niven - ****

The Ringworld Engineers - Larry Niven - ****

Ringworld - Larry Niven - ****

Betrayer of Worlds - Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner - ***

Protector - Larry Niven - ****

Lovecraft: The Complete Fiction - H.P. Lovecraft - ****

Rule 34 - Charles Stross - ****

Magic Slays - Ilona Andrews - ****

After the Golden Age - Carrie Vaughn - ****

Snuff - Terry Pratchett *****

BTW, this is post 1,000, so I've got that going for me as well.

Computer Learning Curve

So Wednesday night, I was doing some basic computer maintenance updating my drivers.  I installed one update that didn't work, and then did a second one that required a reboot.

And my laptop hung on the reboot, and I got an error message asking for a start-up repair disc.  I will now be keeping one in the laptop bag, because I did not have one.  I had to wait until I got home this weekend to create a disc from Jennifer's computer (I couldn't find one I had created previously).  The repair disc wasn't able to perform the repair, and my only option was to reformat and reinstall.

The bad news is that I haven’t been able to do a backup lately.  Things just haven’t been working well.  So I was a little troubled.

I borrowed Jennifer’s computer, and dove into finding a Linux boot CD/DVD with a file system program so that I could move my documents to a jump drive.  I got better than I had hoped for with Knoppix.  It had a pretty easy to use GUI, and got me connected to my wireless network.  I was able to move my user files to my NAS, and then do the reformat and reinstall thing.

My spare time this week is going to be getting rid of the junkware that came with the computer originally, and getting all of my settings back the way I liked them.

But the point is, I have all of my files to do that.

Why?

John's posted about the vagaries of global interest in his blog a couple times (I don't know the specific post).

And I've looked at my stats occasionally.

But I just have to ask: Why is this post on my birthday last year so popular?  Just to set a benchmark, it is presently at 535 hits.

The next closest is one from a chain of blogs for scientists to talk about their blogs and their take on science in science fiction.  It got cross linked for the chain, but I can't figure out why one that just talks abotu my birthday gets so much interest.

Is it the picture of maple syrup served in a shot glass?

Is it the link to the Anchor Steam bicycle jersey?

Or is it the picture of Jennifer's bike with petunias in the front basket?

Please tell me, because I'd like to know.  Maybe I can duplicate the interest.  Any maybe I could break into double digits of followers.

New Layout

I found a new layout.

This one isn't quite so crowded, and I kind of like the sidebar.

Let me know if there are any readability issues.

Wisdom

I collect things.

I used to collect comics.  I still have my collection, but it now no longer grows every week.

I used to collect unicorns, patches, hats, and at one time seedpods.  On my computer, I have two collections I keep in Word documents.

One is my collection of jokes.  I used to subscribe to many different mailing lists of jokes.  I also subscribe to Bizarre News.  I use to distill the news, taking out all the ads, and spread it around to my friends and family.  I eventually ran out of free time to do that, and also eventually whittled away my jokes emails to nothing.  Now I just add to my jokes when I come across a new one.

My other collection is one that is simply titled “Wisdom.”  It is a long list of quotes that I have found to be true, funny, and/or enlightening.  Every now and then I come across a new quote that hits me just right, and I add it to the list.  I try to attribute where I can, so that when I share them others can know where I found them.

I've cobbled this list from books, comedians, message boards, television, moves, friends, and family.
My latest addition is from Stephen Fry:  This is the point. One technology doesn’t replace another, it complements. Books are no more threatened by Kindle than stairs by elevators.

Then there is this one I just came across in the list today from Scott Adams:  The only time women are not attracted to intelligent men is when they have the option of a good looking guy who is dumber than pants on fish.

And because I do actually add quotes from my friends, this one is from John:  Welcome to R’lyeh Spaceport. Please pick up your bags as they emerge from fifth-dimensional space. Please do not stand near any ninety-degree angles. Please avoid any sentient colours. Please do not make religious offerings until you have exited the premises. Thank you and fhtagn.

He related this one to me when a coworker said:  If I say “You’re welcome,” that’s not a binding contract involving my soul in any way, is it?

And one from another friend:  Everyone’s “fifteen minutes of fame” is turning into everyone’s reality show slo-mo farewell montage.

Trust

Usually I follow Weather.com for my forecasts.

I’ve been following the Weather Channel since it was just 24 hours of Doppler radar.  On a rainy day, Dad and I could site forever, just watching the sweep of the radar change the precipitation pattern.  And if there was a tornado watch in affect?  We were rapt looking for that hook echo.

I’ve got the Weather.com app on my phone and have a couple bookmarks for my browser.

But today I get up in Santa Cruz, and I hear rain on the bathroom skylight.  I look out the window and I see rain.  What does Weather.com say?  It’s cloudy.  Cloudy until 8 this morning with the dun coming out later.

So I pull up the back-up, Wunderground.com.  Weather Underground says that it’s likely to rain until 3 PM today.  Now, yes, I’m pulling for rain because I can go home sooner, but still…  How do you get such discrepancies?

We also have a meteorologist working for PG&E who gives us periodic forecasts so that we can be prepared for days like today.

I have an acquaintance who is a meteorologist.  I met him when I bought a DSLR camera from him.  Later, I bought a tripod.  He get interviewed often by the Bay Area news shows.  I respect that there is a lot that goes into being a certified meteorologist as opposed to a weather girl in a tight top and skirt.  We all just wish we could be wrong as often as some forecasters are.

Asymptocity

Okay, so I never was really racing to post things, but lately I’ve certainly decelerated.

It’s been hard with the extreme routine of life for the past twelve weeks to come up with something new to post.

I’m still working my way through the Dune series.  I have to admit I’m excited that the next book will be back in the original series, but I’ll be taking another break in the stride to read Terry Pratchett’s new one (Dodger).

I have watched a few movies lately.  “Men in Black 3” was a fun, tight little time travel movie.  “Apollo 18” was so so.  “The Dictator” was a typical Sascha Baren Cohen movie.  “Seven Psychopaths” was a whole lot of fun.

This weekend, it sounds like I’m probably going to see “Skyfall” and we’ve got tickets for 12/14 to see ‘The Hobbit”.

Clever, You're Not

This post goes out to all if the DJs who think it is the height of comedy to play "Here Comes the Rain Again" by the Eurhythmics.

It isn't, and we're tired of it.

Just stop.

Wheels

Today I went for a bike ride.  I fear one of the last for a while unless the weather is nice on the weekends.  Sure I’ll keep riding between work and the hotel, but with the time change tonight, it’s going to be too dark in the evenings to go for a long ride in Santa Cruz.

I managed to get to the Natural Bridges Park twice, and that was cool.  Today, back at home, I made it to Costco and back in exactly an hour.  I was a great ride with minimal wind, and perfect temperature.
On my way back home, I started thinking of my past pedal powered vehicles.

I never had a Big Wheel, but I did have a little red tricycle.  I can remember riding around the subdivision with my parents.  they still talk about how I would pedal hard to keep up with them.

Then, when it was time for something better (with training wheels), I got a yellow Schwinn.  I believe it looked something like this.  Except mine was yellow.

Then, for 1976 and the bicentennial, Schwinn made a special Spirit of ‘76 version of the Stingray.

Then for my 10th birthday, I got a Raleigh Rapide 10-Speed.  I had that bike until I went to college.  And it got stolen the first week.

That year for Christmas I got a Peugeot.  (Yes, Papaw, a Poopy-Joe).  I had that one for several years until it got stolen as well.

Then dad gave me his old bike, and I rode it a little, but I never really took the time.

Then Jennifer met the owner of Citizen Chain, and got her red bike (later stolen).  A few months later (with my some of my severance money from ETIC), we bought me my bike.  It got stolen once, but I took it back, as you’ll remember.  And now, it will probably be the bike I’ll have for a long time.

Unless of course, I decide to have the guys at Citizen Chain make me up a bike special.

Good Eye, Bad Eye

Have you ever had one of those mornings when the thoughts going through your head while putting in your contacts could be used in a spy or police interrogation?

If you relax this won't go so hard on you.

Don't fight it; we'll just have to start over.

Are you trying to be difficult?

See, now wasn't that easy?

Where Was I?

I was playing Ultima V in my apartment in Sacramento, blissfully unaware.

Where were you 23 years ago?

So, Rain

The weather is what it is.  Today it was spitting rain on my ride back to the hotel.  It wasn’t much more than enough to speckle my clothes and bag.  But it did send me back to my freshman year of college.
I used to have early classes all of the time.  The chemistry or physics lab option that would fit my schedule was inevitably 7:15 or so on Tuesday and Thursday.  And for a few semesters that lab was all I had on those days.

So while living in the dorms, I would get up early, eat breakfast, go to class, and then have nothing to do other than homework for the rest of the day.  Now of course, I didn’t spend all my time schooling, so I would ride my bike.  Typically to Tower records or the mall.

One day I was riding up Watt Avenue, probably halfway to tower, and it started to rain lightly, you know, just a sprinkle.  It wasn’t any big deal, so I rode on getting slightly damp.

After my time browsing through cassettes and books, I decided to head back to campus for lunch.  And it was pouring.

Now something to remember is that I got up early enough to eat breakfast before lab.  I had a high metabolism for for most of my life, and while in school I ate constantly.  So I was eager to get back for lunch.

So I rode back to the dorm in the rain.

And when I got back, I was soaked.  This is not hyperbole; my jeans were notably heavy when I walked up to my dorm room.  I ended up laying all of my clothes out to dry on my drying rack.  (Yes, drying rack.  My T-shirts last forever because I don’t tumble dry them.)  And then I took a hot shower.

While I was in the midst of all of this, my floor-mates had seen me and asked why I was riding in the rain.  I told them what had happened, and they asked why I hadn’t called them for a ride.  Now first off, I didn’t have any of their numbers, but secondly, this was 1987/88.  There were no cell phones.  Or at least nothing truly portable.  So I said I would get their numbers and call if it ever happened again.

All this flashed through my mind today on my ride to the hotel.  That and the bit of thrill of feeling the weather on my face.

I think I owe my wife an apology for poo-pooing her desire to ride in the rain.

King or Queen

Over the past year, I have been away from my wife overnight while working more than the rest of time together combined.

Because of this, we find ways of keeping the other in our thoughts.

Somehow, I appointed the egret as my animal.  There always seemed to be one flying or walking nearby when I was thinking about something difficult.  Having one or more around was just cool.

Jennifer has developed an association with ravens.  Somewhat from reading American Gods, but somewhat for the same reason as me with egrets.

She also has an affinity for butterflies (hence two of her tattoos).  Some of this comes from our visit to the butterfly house at The-Park-Formerly-Known-as-Marine-World, and some from the butterfly house in Key West that we visited twice while there.  She’s also had some other personal experiences with butterflies.
And then there’s dragonflies.  I find them fascinating, and like the things they hunt (mosquito larvae and, a recent find, termites).  I’ve had some close encounters with them including a big one that was sitting next to a lock at a job site one time.  Unfortunately, I don’t have that picture on my computer; it must be on the NAS at home.

But with these affinities, Jennifer and I know when the other is thinking about us.  Sometimes.

Last year when I was in Madera, there was one day when no matter where I looked for about 5 minutes, there was a butterfly swooping across my vision.  It was just as if Jennifer were waling past me saying, “Hi, honey.”  That day was the end of my stay at that job, and before I hit the road, I sent her a text saying I was on my way home.  I knew when she got the message, because while on the highway, a cloud of butterflies suddenly erupted from the flowering bushes in the median.

She had a similar experience one day at Lake Merritt.  She was thinking about me, and suddenly an egret landed on the beach n ear here and walked slowly across her vision while she was reading, seeming to make sure that she noticed it.

So yesterday I had an amazing experience with dragonflies.  We had cut down a tree a few weeks ago, and yesterday finally did some digging near it.  I think the excavator bumped it going by, but I noticed later that it was covered in winged termites.  The termites started taking to the air, and I saw two dragonflies start swooping through them, eating them on the wing.  Soon, there were at least eight dragonflies hunting through the fleeing termites.

Dragonflies and Termites

The termites are invisible, but the swooping things are the dragonflies.

And then today, I saw a butterfly flit by.  It stopped for a second on a large transformer, and I thought I’d get a picture, but it flew away.  Then it landed on the fence, so I got as many pictures of it as I could before it flew away.

It just kept opening and closing its wings in the sunlight.  I waited each time for it to open before I took the picture.  The third one is my since the wings were flattest and so the whole insect is in focus.









These aren’t with any fancy camera either.  This is just a basic, digital point-and-shoot.

Power Failure

This morning I was awakened by deafening silence at 4:20 AM.

The fan on the hotel air conditioner had shut off and so had my speakers which had been playing my white noise app. The power tried to come back on, but failed.

PG&E's webpage estimates power restoration at about 8:00 AM.

But have you ever realized how dark and quiet a hotel is without power?

I'm grateful Jennifer bought me a travel candle holder (it looks like a thick makeup compact) several years ago, and so I always have it and some tea-lights in my luggage. Of course I had to use my flashlight app on my phone to find my matches. I need to get a lighter for less smoke in the future.

I showered last night, and hair isn't a big issue since I wear a hard hat all day, but without the candle it would have been decidedly more difficult to get my contacts in.

So now I've been awake almost an hour and a half. I'm dressed; I've read my non-RSS feed comics on my phone; and I'm curious how much of a breakfast, if any, will be available from the hotel at 6:30.

Plus, one tea-light is not enough light to read by.

I guess I'll play phone games since I'm not going back to sleep.

Teeeee Veeeee

So most of the new season has started for this year in television, so let’s talk:

Go On – a new show with Matthew Perry.  Jennifer and I loved “Friends” and we’ve liked all the stuff Matthew Perry has done since.  “Studio 60” and “Mr. Sunshine” were both lots of fun.  We’re hoping this show stays around.

Grimm – Aside from the new intro which is stupid, this show is moving with continued momentum.  And after this last week, Nick shows again that his fighting skills are (while not being as good as his mom) not too shabby.

The Neighbors – We like it.  I think it has the potential to be clever and funny.  However, the stinger before the commercials has got to go.

The New Normal – We’re giving this one more episode.  We like the concept, but the message behind the concept is beginning to feel like propaganda.

How I Met Your Mother – We watched this through streaming on Netflix to catch up, and it’s cool to be watching it closer to real time.

Mike & Molly – This is mostly Jennifer’s show, but it was a fun season premiere.

Modern Family – Lots of fun once again.  I’m tired of Dylan though.

South Park – Awesome as always.

The Big Bang Theory – I must have Sheldon’s shirt showing the Kryptonese alphabet!  If you find it, share the link!

New Girl – Maintaining a high level of quirkiness.

2 Broke Girls – A little below average for a premiere, but we’ll keep watching it.

Partners – A show with potential.  I think they crammed too much into the series premiere, but its got two people we really like (Superman and Mr. Universe), so we’re hopeful.

Animal Practice – We’ve watched three shows now with Tyler Labine, and if they keep him at a certain level, this show could be really good.  Plus it follows the Julius Schwartz rule:  Everything is better with monkeys.

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Not Yet Returned

The Simpsons – That’s on tonight.  I might be awake enough to watch it after it records.

Once Upon a Time – Also on tonight.  Will probably wait until next week when I’m home again.

Suburgatory – Not sure when this one is coming back.  It’s eagerly awaited on our parts.

Whitney – We like this one.  We’re hoping it also maintains its previous levels.

The Bitch in Apartment 23 – A late starter last year, its one we really started to enjoy.

Community – please please please please please…

All Work and No Play

So, yes, I’ve been out in Santa Cruz since the day after Labor Day, going home on weekends, resting briefly, and then driving back Monday mornings.  Very early Monday mornings.  So early that I’m up before this guy.

Sometimes.

Now, we’re working long hours, but I’m keeping up my spirits while away from wife by going for bike rides.
last week, I experimented with the river trail, and went down to the Boardwalk.  I didn’t linger long as I'd forgotten a bike lock last week, but I took some pictures, and felt good.

Earlier this week, I went to the local Costco for an eye exam, and went upstream on the river trail.
Yesterday, I realized I’d been in Santa Cruz for almost three weeks, and hadn’t had any of my seafood staple: clam chowder.  So I rode down the river, along the boardwalk, and then up the pier to Andy’s Bait & Tackle Shop.

I had clam chowder in a bread bowl, and a crab cocktail without cocktail sauce.

After dinner, I walked my bike up to the sea lion viewing holes, and got some pictures.  Then I went to the end of the pier and watched the pods of sea lions come in and leave.  I was also treated to an alder male showing off. 

I stayed for most of the sunset, and had some fun there as well.

Below are some of the better pictures.

It's Like a Donut

I have an astigmatism.  I found this out today.

I've been struggling with distance vision attached with contact lenses for a couple years.  Near vision is no problem, but distance has been legible, but fuzzy.

Today, I got a bit of an explanation, and new contacts.

I was told they were toric lenses.  I asked if that was based off of torus, and she just repeated that they were toric.  It just goes to show that simply because you're a doctor does not mean you've learned everything there is to know about topology (and going by my Chrome spellchecker, neither do the people at Google).

Clarification for those who didn't keep up with three dimensional figures in math, go here.

The lenses are not cut from a sphere, so they have a definite up and down.  When I put them in, while there is no specifically different feel, my distance vision si still fuzzy.  But as I blink and the lenses settle into position, distance clarified.

So my eyes are almost the same prescription, but they require a different bit of toroidal (another word Chrome doesn't recognize) section to fix my sight.

The Adventure Begins

Today is day one of the excavation project in Santa Cruz.

it was a difficult farewell this morning, and weekends are going to be precious.  Yes, even with football starting.

The bright side is the accrual of hotel bonus points, and eventually a vacation with which to use them.

Some day.

Tattoo Time

This weekend, I got more work on my back piece.  Phil continues to amaze me with his interpretation of color and style.

He finished the exhaust pretty quickly, and so with the rest of the time he added in the black of space.  I had really had all that I could take after that, so he’ll color in the voids with stars and nebulae next time.

Well, you know...

The spheroidal hydrogen fusion furnace which we orbit seemed exceptionally productive of visible light photons this morning.

But it was surely nice to spend the night in my own bed.

Recently I've read a few comic hardbacks.  Two were Batman graphic novels and one was a collection of a four-issue mini-series.

Last night I read Batman: Death by Design.  The story was pretty good, but I had trouble placing when exactly ti was taking place.  It seemed like it was the 20s or 30s, but every now and then the technology or the dialogue seemed modern.  The art was incredible, and when I read at the end of the book that it was all done with pencil and graphite with computers only used to add color and glow effects, I was pretty blown away.

Another I have recently read and I thoroughly enjoyed was Batman: Noel.  Again some incredible artwork, but the story was what I enjoyed so much in this one.  First off, let me say that this book was set aside with the pile of comics that I had net been reading, so that's why it's a little out of date.  It was a retelling of A Christmas Carol with Batman as Scrooge.  Now, yes, it does sound kind of corny, but it was creatively done, and very entertaining.  Plus it had both Superman and the Joker in it, so that gave it an additional boost too.

And finally, I recently read the collected Flex Mentallo.  To preface, this is a book written by Grant Morrison; surreal doesn't begin to describe it.  Even the introduction is made up.  Upon hearing the title and seeing the cover, Jennifer asked me if it was about a muscleman with mental powers, and I said, essentially, yes.  When he flexes different muscles, specific powers are activated.  But that's just the glaze on a huge mix of Morrison fruitcake.  Oh, did I mention Flex Mentallo came as a spin-off from Morrison's run on The Doom Patrol?  If that doesn't tell you what to expect, then nothing will.  It is definitely a book that will require multiple readings.  I enjoyed it, but it was a lot to absorb.

Flashbacks

I re-experienced two things that week that threw my mind back in time:  Lava soap and a Master combination lock (and that lock on the home page is the lock that I got).

We got some Lava soap for the office down in Santa Cruz where we’ll be working for a few months.  the first strange bit was that it was in pump form, so I wasn’t expecting the scent.  But the scent was exactly the same as I remembered.  And I remembered it from 40 years ago.  My Dad’s father was a mechanic.  He worked on cars before they ad computers in them.  And so he had oil and grease worked into his fingers all the time.  And the bathroom at Granny’s always had a bar of Lava soap for Papaw to clean his hands.

The combination lock almost sent me back as far because I used to use one to lock my bicycle up at elementary school.  I remember drilling those three numbers into my head so that I would not forget them.  Later, I got another one because the old one had died due to rain and grit.  The second combination lock had a number that by the time I got it had actual significance: 0-18-12.  The War of 1812 was a fun war to learn about in school, so the number stuck. It makes me wish I still had the lock.

Why Physics, Why?

So I go out to a gathering with Jennifer, and what grabs my attention?

People danicibg? No.

The food? Okay, a little.

How about the play of fire across the metal mesh of the patio heater? Oh, absolutely.

I was fascinated with the parts of the mesh that would turn orange with the flame played across it and then fade to dark when the flame moved away.

Okay, so I've never been much of a dancer. Yes, I have actively avoided it sometimes, but tonight a release before the beginning of a long term field job might have been nice.

Still not into it though.

Everything Ends

So recently, I have come to a conclusion: I really dislike DC Comics New 52.

I don't care for the changes in the costumes.  The lines and such that have been added to most of the heroes are reminiscent of the plethora of belts that were given to heroes and villains in the 80s and 90s.

I don't like the stories.  They aren't grabbing me like they used to.

And it really bothers me that DC got rid of so much of their history.  I know that some of these complaints may echo the feelings of others after the Crisis in 1985.  Then, they rebooted most of the heroes, got rid of a few, and moved on.  But I had been reading the old comics of and on before that, and I enjoyed the new stuff which eventually shifted back tot he old stuff again.  Kind of.

So, I've stopped collecting.

If there is another big change, I may look into it, but I'll read the reviews before I decide.

I am continuing with some of the hardback stuff.  I just got Batman: Earth One, and really enjoyed it, and I've preordered the second volume of Superman: Earth One.  Some might say that I'm contradicting myself because of the added lines in the costumes in these books, but the lines are seams and such that show up with the higher detail of the art.

Jennifer is curious to see what I'll do with the extra time now that I used to put into reading comics.  It's a good question.  Maybe, I'll get back into painting miniatures; I haven't really done much of that since the move.

Truly a Rum Weekend

So, the acceleration of social gatherings for the summer truly kicked in this weekend.

Friday evening, Jennifer and I met a group of friends at Forbidden Island in Alameda.  We ended up being there until a little after midnight.  I drove, and so got to enjoy only a small portion of the drinks.  We did share around a Virgin Sacrifice (flaming bowl for 6 with sprinkled cinnamon), and had a grand old time.  One of the couples said they were having an open house on Sunday for their new home in San Mateo, so that gave us something to do Sunday afternoon.

Saturday, I went for a bike ride, and then we headed out to the Sorrells for their annual Tiki Party.  Jennifer drove for that one, but since our hosts backed down their drink portions to match recipes from mixes, so no one overdid.  There were lots of people there from all around, and it was really great to see some of those we only see at the parties because they live so far away.

Sunday, Jennifer and I decided on going for a ride, and we planned to go to T-Rex for brunch.  We were out a little early, and thought we would ride out and hit brunch on the way back.  Then we remembered that way out at the end of our ride is the Boilerhouse Restaurant in Richmond.  So we had brunch there with bottomless mimosas.  The nice long ride burned off the alcohol and a lot of the food, so we were all set for the open house.

At the open house we met a lot of new people, and will likely see them again as some live close by, and others have invited us to events.

I'm going to need more rest if my social calendar keeps filling up.

Apatite and Appetite

So, yesterday was a day to visit the dentist.  I worked through lunch, and left the office early.  I drove to BART near home, rode into San Francisco, and walked to Washington Square Park Dental.  We started going there about a year ago when they had a 2 for 1 Groupon.  They use a great x-ray machine that is handheld, USB connected to a computer, and doses you with about 1/5 of the amount of radiation as the typical x-ray machine.  The doctors and hygienists are fun and friendly, and we've really enjoyed it.  Plus it provides for an afternoon/evening in the city.

Our dentist recommended an amazing restaurant for us when we told him we were looking for someplace to eat.  He said to go to Don Pisto's at Union and Grant.

He suggested we try the pork chop, but we ended up with a seafood evening.  The food is designed to be shared, and we did.  I had the salmon sashimi and Jennifer had the prawns ceviche of which we shared one piece each.  Then for our main course we had lobster burritos.  They provided  us with a lobster cut down the middle, and bowls of butter, rice, beans, and red sauce.  We each had one burrito with half a tail, and tonight we're having claws.

And if you go, either make a reservation, or be there at 5:30 when they open.  It filled up fast!  And this was Tuesday.

Oh, I almost forgot.  For a drink we had their margaritas which are made with agave wine (fermented, not distilled).  So amazingly fresh.

The Mundane and A Celebration

So, it’s been a couple weeks, but not a lot has been going on. Work and such.

This last weekend was great as I celebrated my birthday with my wife and friends.

I got to work a half day after a 15 hour workday on Wednesday. Upon arriving home, Jennifer had presents for me to open and an incredible made from scratch chocolate cake that she was just finishing icing. We put Theo cocoa nibs on top or added excellence.

Jennifer and I then drove into the city, and after parking in our secret location, we had a beer at Kennedy’s (I’d link to it, but they’ve apparently got some malware associated with their fav.ico). Then we met John and Steve at E Tutti Qua.

That night we went to the Kabuki to the “The Dark Knight Rises”, and finished the evening at Local Edition. Again, the two best things about the Kabuki are that you can drink in the theater and they have reserved seating. Local Edition was louder than the first time we had gone. Apparently it’s been discovered. The drink of choice? The Laphroaig Project. (And I just found the recipe.)

Saturday, Jennifer, John, and I went tasting at St. George Spirits in Alameda. When we hit the island, I played “The Ballad of Hangar One” for Jennifer and John. They have a bourbon blend (Breaking and Entering Bourbon) they’ve made from bourbon distilleries all over Kentucky. The tasting room has been remodeled again, and it’s gorgeous. Plus we got dog tags for tasting. Then we had lunch at Picante in Berkeley where we all entirely too much food, and finally went tasting again at Takara Sake. John used a gift certificate we’d given him for his birthday last year, and I got a bottle of sparkling sake that I look forward to trying the next time we bring sushi home.

Then we went back to our place, and had more cake, and after John went home, Jennifer and I took a nap.
The future is hazy as to when I’ll be heading to Santa Cruz for the next excavation, but it will probably start in the middle of August.

Why Did We Move?

So, I successfully rode my back to and from work yesterday, arriving safely home a sweaty mess.

Why?

Well, first of all, I’m still getting back into bicycling shape.  I lost some of my stamina after the accident and then having my bike stolen.  Things are getting better though.

Second of all, there’s this whole reason why living near the water is awesome.  Large bodies of water act as temperature buffers for the air around them.

It was in the mid-90s when I left Walnut Creek yesterday.  The BART car I chose to ride on had no air conditioning.  And it was about 75 degrees when I got off the train in Oakland.

A difference of 20 degrees is quite a shock when you step directly from one to another.

I have to say, I love my home.

Safe at Home

The ride home went just fine today.

I will repeat tomorrow.

Halfway There

So, it’s a new week, and after a little trip to Lodi for work yesterday, I decided I’d ride my bike for the rest of this week.

It even seemed auspicious when driving home yesterday the freeway sign said that Tuesday (today) was a “Spare the Air” day.

So, I’m here at work after two bike jaunts separated by a BART ride.

Now I just need supportive thoughts (and a safer route than last time) to get me home.

Pizza Cupcakes

So, Monday I came across this photo article.

I told Jennifer about it, and she said we just had to try it.  So we made it, and tonight, I made it again.
We went to Trader Joe’s and got their ready-made pizza dough and sauce, some hot Italian sausage, mushrooms, olives, and mozzarella cheese.

When we got home, we browned the sausage and mushrooms, and mixed them with the pizza sauce and added some of the grated cheese into the mix.

Then we cut the dough into circles, and after rubbing the muffin tin with grape seed oil, we packed the meet and sauce into the dough.


The olives are for Jennifer.  Then we added cheese on top, and cooked at 425 F.

After 15 minutes, they are gorgeous, and delicious.



They come out of the tins surprisingly easy.

Comics are Still Gay

So at the beginning of the month, I posted this article on the hype of homosexuals in comics all because of making Alan Scott the new version of the original Green Lantern gay.

Today, I read this article from Comics Alliance.  I'm proud of myself for naming as many as I did in the DC Universe, but I totally flaked on DC's peripheral titles.

Midnighter and Apollo?  Totally blanked on.  But they were originally created as a homosexual spoof on Batman and Superman.

And I didn't even think of the gay characters in Sandman or The Invisibles.

Still, it just goes to show that making Alan Scott gay was simply pandering.

iTunes Top 25

So this evening I was reading this article on Gizmodo, and I just had to look at my top 25 tracks on iTunes with the number of plays.

1. Static-X – Ostegolation – 18
2. James M. Venable – Going Away Party (Clerks 2) – 17
3. The Devil’s Song – Marcy’s Playground – 17
4. My Chemical Romance – It’s Not a Fashion Statement, It’s a Deathwish – 17
5. The Bloodhound Gang – No Hard Feelings – 16
6. Jason Mewes – Jay’s Chant (Clerks) – 16
7. Good Charlotte – Complicated – 16
8. Jonathon Coulton – IKEA – 16
9. Wings – Baby’s Request – 16
10. Billy Idol – Plastic Jesus – 15
11. Breaking Benjamin – Polyamorous – 15
12. Breaking Benjamin – Firefly – 15
13. Def Leppard – 10538 Overture – 15
14. Good Charlotte – Boys and Girls – 15
15. Jeremy Irons – Be Prepared (Lion King) – 15
16. Jim Sturgess – I’ve Just Seen a Face (Across the Universe) – 15
17. Joe Satriani – Raspberry Jam Delta-V – 15
18. Jonathon Coulton – Code Monkey – 15
19. The Offspring – She’s Got Issues – 15
20. The Pointer Sisters – Be There (Beverly Hills Cop II) – 15
21. The Pussycat Dolls – Lights, Camera, Action – 15
22. Sum 41 – Fat Lip – 15
23. Van Halen – Get Up – 15
24. 30 Seconds to Mars – Oblivion – 15
25. The All-American Rejects – Real World – 14

And this all works out pretty well except that #25 times with a bunch of other songs with 14 plays but gets this spot because of alphabetical sorting by artist.

The pint of the article, based on a comedian’s tweet is that many people might be embarrassed by the songs in their top 25 plays.

I’m not really embarrassed, more intrigued by which ones made it.

Strangely enough, “Be Prepared”, will actually go up in the list because I heard it on my iPod about half an hour ago.

Also another odd thought, is that I “discovered” Breaking Benjamin from the song “Firefly” when I was looking for the title song (by Joss Whedon) for the TV show “Firefly”.
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And one additional odd discovery is that I have never tagged “Firefly" before.
Of that, I am embarrassed.  Or possibly ashamed.

Whoosh

So I woke up this morning full of hope.  At 7 AM the weather listed the wind as “Still”.  Cool.

So I read my comics, and some of my news, had cinnamon toast, and then got ready for a ride.

By then the weather had it up to 9 mph.  By the time I got to the trail, it was back up into the teens.

So I decided I would turn around at Golden Gate Fields.  However, when I got there, I couldn’t deny myself the thrill of a speedy downhill, so I worked my way to the top and back of the parking lot, enjoyed the zoom downhill, and then slogged back home with the strong crosswind.

I ended with 10.2 miles today, so I ‘m just short of 35 miles for the weekend.  Maybe next weekend, I can make it to Craneway.

Walk, Run, Bike

So I’ve been on crutches many times in my life. (Relax, I’m fine.)

The first time was when I was 7, when I got a fracture in my lower leg from an accident involving a lawn aerator.

Then it seemed for the next few years of elementary school, I was suffering from an bacterial inflammation (if memory serves) in my hip joints that would alternate, and I’d be on crutches because it hurt so much to walk.

I was fine until after high school when on a trip to Germany and Austria with the local youth orchestra I jumped down some stairs, fell, and tore a ligament in my left ankle.

The same thing would happen later in college but to my right ankle.

It was when it happened in college, that I really began to miss walking on my own.  And running.  And bicycling.  Probably what made me miss it the most was that I was away from home with no one to care for me except my roommate and an ex-girlfriend who I got back together with because of her taking care of me.

This week, my job in Lodi finished a day early, and so Friday when I got home, I changed clothes and went for a bike ride.  If it wasn't been for the crosswind in the teens, I probably could have gone further, but I only made it to what Jennifer and I call Costco Point.  That’s about 15 miles round trip.  Today I did 19 miles stopping just before the Richmond shoreline park trail.  Same crosswind.

When I got home, my expense check was in, and I was too tired to get on my bike again and head to the bank.  So I rested, had lunch, and then walked along the Emeryville path to the bank. 

On the way back, I remembered a psychology class I had been taking for general education.  One of the questions we asked in it was “what is something people take for granted every day.”  I was on crutches at the time after the fall, and I said, “Walking.”

On the job site, I walk every day.  I walk around checking the perimeter.  I walk back and forth from task to task, checking on the other geologists, engineers, and/or scientists to make sure they are on track, on task, on schedule.  I should really track some day how much walking around I do during the day.

Tomorrow, I’m going for another ride to see if I can make it to Craneway Pavilion.  No matter how windy it is, and no matter how far I end of riding, I know I’ll enjoy it.

Pick a Color

So, when you were a kid, what color was dirt?  Brown, right?  and you used your Crayola brown crayon to color it.
Now let many years pass.
You’ve been through college.  You've worked for nearly a decade and a half.  And at work, you use the Munsell Soil Color Chart when describing the color of soil in boring logs.
Okay, maybe you don’t, but I do.
Oh yeah, that’s something else you learn in school; it’s soil not dirt.  People get all kinds of upset about that.
Now, the purpose of the Munsell is to allow anyone who should be looking at your soil descriptions in the future, will know that the soil was about the color of the chip on a specific page at the designated grid location.
So, today with my trusty, nearly-$300 book of colors, I’m describing soil.  Many were dark grayish brown.  A few were dark yellowish brown.  But a good quarter of them were…

BROWN.

To sum up: 9 years of college, 14 years of work experience, and I’m officially describing the soil as brown.
But I am getting paid to do it, so I guess that’s all right.

Not Much to Say

I've been busy lately with work, travelling for work, bike thefts, and stuff and sundry.  I couldn't not write about this though.

Today my Grandmother passed away.

Read my Mom's post.

Maybe I'll be able to say more later.

Did I Fall Asleep?

I got some more tattoo work done today.
The artist had an iPad he’s started using for reference images and colors.  We pulled up the post I did after I decided on the color.  And then I pulled up the one with the baby rocket on the cover.
And then, he got to work.
He used some lidocaine on the work he was doing, and it was mostly numb for the second hour.  I got kind of meditative, and zoned out for a bit of the work.
I’m very happy with how it’s going.  I’ll be going back in August for a longer session for the rocket exhaust and the shading of space.