A Funny Thing Happened...

Snow

2011-06-15T19:07:00.000-07:00

My sister email me today, to let me know our family cat Snow has died. I haven't called home yet.

A few years ago she was diagnosed with feline AIDS and the veterinarians advised us to put her to sleep. But we loved her and refused. She lived 5 or 6 years longer happily and healthily, but last year her health really started to deteriorate. I saw her last week.

She was an independent spirit, even for a cat. Not really a people pet, she would play in the flowers and bushes across the street from our house, sometimes bringing home a bird or mouse she had caught and laying it on the porch (animals do that as gifts). If we were very lucky, sometimes we would get to stroke her neck or pet her fur. We could let her out and roam free, and she did so most of the time, though we could usually spot her if we looked. And she would always come back...to eat, rest and let us be with her. I loved that about her.

Bye Snow.

"Wild Roses" - Hope Sandoval

A Trip to the Gas Station

2010-10-12T16:47:00.000-07:00

The night's late, I drive to the gas station to pick up a pack of smokes. I'm standing there talking to the late-night clerk...I guess i'm a regular so i don't feel uncomfortable about small talk at times. So he's listening to the radio, some decent music so I ask, "What station is this?"

"It's a Shell station", he replys.
He starts to explain that they sell Shell gasoline and some of the products are Shell-brands.

"No" I laugh, "what's the radio station?"
"Oh, it's KROCK."

The next time someone asks him that question he'll answer "KROCK" and they will laugh and say "no I mean what is this place called?"

Some of the funniest times in life happen in gas stations. Haha.

Interesting things in August

2010-08-28T22:12:00.000-07:00

Just a couple quick things worth mentioning- mostly web related. First is this neat little discovery by a co-worker for "Hell Pizza"...and one of the first "Choose your Adventure" videos i've scene in YouTube. I'm sure we'll see a lot more of these in the future. Great idea.

The second - i'm really liking these single-page micro sites. the vertical navigation gives it it's own identity to a degree and its a faced paced experience. Plus the ones i've found use the freedom of navigation to utilize the entire page space for each section's content.

That's about it for now, as a side i've been watching "Man,Woman Wild", eating burritos and drinking a little Mike's Hard Lemonade lately. Great little mid-day snacks mini frozen burritos...I wonder if making them on your own and freezing them is a good idea.

10 minutes to write...and go!

2010-07-25T12:29:00.001-07:00

I have 10 minutes, maybe less before I burn a pizza. So just a couple of updates about a couple of really cool things. First is about a video game you should check out (even if you don't play games anymore) called "Limbo" http://www.limbogame.org/. I saw this being developed a couple years ago and have been excited to play it ever since. I guess I'll have to get the Xbox back from Matt before I can do that.

The second is a great performance free to watch on Netflix by the band "Opeth" titled "Lamentations: Live at Shepard's Bush Empire 2003". It's a two hour/two set live performance that truly stands out. Terrific transitions, wonderful guitars, key changes and unique, dark but very mellow melodies given to an energized crowd (which you can tell took the band by surprise but kept them inspired). Also, I like the fact that its uncut. You see the the band re-tuning in between songs, the crowd yelling, uncomfortable silences and all. Here it is.

Okay, pizza is done :)

It's Time for an Adventure

2010-07-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

Ever since seeing "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" as a kid the idea of visiting Devil's Tower in Wyoming has been in the back of my head. The week after next I thought to take some vacation time, so the plan is to chart out a circle (roughly) of landmarks and go visit some unique American places (similar to the movie Elizabethtown). Just driving across the countryside and having an adventure of sorts. Maybe even shooting some video along the way.

Only doing it in a week though means I'll be sticking largely to the midwest, though I'd rather go much further. It will probably all be north, east and west locations. America is a beautiful country. It's time to get out and see it again.

If you know of a cool place to visit let me know, maybe i'll get to check it out.