Pleh

The Exceptionalism of Dogs

2009-10-26T21:13:00.002-05:00

I've posted before about just how different dogs are, and how they enrich our lives.

This came across my path today (on Sipsey Street), and I figured I'd share it with you.

CHEYENNE

By Catherine Moore

"Watch out! You nearly broadsided that car!"

My father yelled at me. "Can't you do anything right?"

Those words hurt worse than blows. I turned my head toward the elderly man In the seat beside me, daring me to challenge him. A lump rose in my throat as I averted my eyes. I wasn't prepared for another battle.

'I saw the car, Dad. Please don't yell at me when I'm driving.' My voice was measured and steady, sounding far calmer than I really felt.

Dad glared at me, then turned away and settled back. At home I left Dad in front of the television and went outside to collect my thoughts.

Dark, heavy clouds hung in the air with a promise of rain. The rumble of distant thunder seemed to echo my inner turmoil.

What could I do about him?

Dad had been a lumberjack in Washington and Oregon. He had enjoyed being outdoors and had reveled in pitting his strength against the forces of nature. He had entered grueling lumberjack competitions, and had placed often. The shelves in his house were filled with trophies that attested to his prowess. The years marched on relentlessly. The first time he couldn't lift a heavy log, he joked about it; but later that same day I saw him outside alone, straining to lift it. He became irritable whenever anyone teased him about his advancing age, or when he couldn't do something he had done as a younger man.

Four days after his sixty-seventh birthday, he had a heart attack. At the hospital, Dad was rushed into an operating room. He was lucky; he survived.

But something inside Dad died. His zest for life was gone. He obstinately refused to follow doctor's orders.. Suggestions and offers of help were turned aside with sarcasm and insults. The number of visitors thinned, and then finally stopped altogether. Dad was left alone.

My husband, Dick, and I asked Dad to come live with us on our small farm. We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust.

Within a week after he moved in, I regretted the invitation. It seemed nothing was satisfactory. He criticized everything I did. I became frustrated and moody. Soon I was taking my pent-up anger out on Dick. We began to bicker and argue. Alarmed, Dick sought out our pastor and explained the situation. The clergyman set up weekly counseling appointments for us. At the close of each session he prayed, asking God
To soothe Dad's troubled mind. But the months wore on and God was silent.

Something had to be done and it was up to me to do it.

The next day I sat down with the phone book and methodically called each of the mental health clinics listed in the Yellow Pages. I explained my problem to each of the sympathetic voices that answered. In vain. Just when I was giving up hope, one of the voices suddenly exclaimed, 'I just read something that might help you! Let me go get the article.' I listened as she read... The article described a remarkable study done at a nursing home. All of the patients were under treatment for chronic depression.. Yet their attitudes had improved dramatically when they were given responsibility for a dog.

I drove to the animal shelter that afternoon... After I filled out a questionnaire, a uniformed officer led me to the kennels. The odor of disinfectant stung my nostrils as I moved down the row of pens. Each contained five to seven dogs. Long-haired dogs, curly-haired dogs, black dogs, spotted dogs all jumped up, trying to reach me. I studied each one but rejected one after the other for various reasons, too big, too small, too much hair. As I neared the last pen a dog in the shadows of the far corner struggled to his feet, walked to the front of the run and sat down.

It was a pointer, one of the dog world's aristocrats. But this was a caricature of the breed. Years had etched his face and muzzle with shades of gray. His hipbones jutted out in lopsided triangles. But it was his eyes that caught and held my attention. Calm and clear, they beheld me unwaveringly.

I pointed to the dog. "Can you tell me about him?" The officer looked, then shook his head in puzzlement.

"He's a funny one. Appeared out of nowhere and sat in front of the gate. We brought him in, figuring someone would be right down to claim him, that was two weeks ago and we've heard nothing. His time is up tomorrow." He gestured helplessly.

As the words sank in I turned to the man in horror. 'You mean you're going to kill him?'

'Ma'am,' he said gently, 'that's our policy. We don't have room for every unclaimed dog.'

I looked at the pointer again. The calm brown eyes awaited my decision.

'I'll take him,' I said.

I drove home with the dog on the front seat beside me. When I reached the house I honked the horn twice. I was helping my prize out of the car when Dad shuffled onto the front porch.

"Ta-da! Look what I got for you, Dad!" I said excitedly.

Dad looked, then wrinkled his face in disgust. "If I had wanted a dog I would have gotten one. And I would have picked out a better specimen than that bag of bones. Keep it! I don't want it." Dad waved his arm scornfully and turned back toward the house.

Anger rose inside me. It squeezed together my throat muscles and pounded into my temples...

"You'd better get used to him, Dad. He's staying!" Dad ignored me. "Did you hear me, Dad?" I screamed. At those words Dad whirled angrily, his hands clenched at his sides, his eyes narrowed and blazing with hate.

We stood glaring at each other like duelists, when suddenly the pointer pulled free from my grasp. He wobbled toward my dad and sat down in front of him. Then slowly, carefully, he raised his paw.

Dad's lower jaw trembled as he stared at the uplifted paw. Confusion replaced the anger in his eyes.. The pointer waited patiently. Then Dad was on his knees hugging the animal.

It was the beginning of a warm and intimate friendship. Dad named the pointer Cheyenne . Together he and Cheyenne explored the community. They spent long hours walking down dusty lanes. They spent reflective moments on the banks of streams, angling for tasty trout. They even started to attend Sunday services together, Dad sitting in a pew and Cheyenne lying quietly at his feet.

Dad and Cheyenne were inseparable throughout the next three years. Dad's bitterness faded, and he and Cheyenne made many friends. Then late one night I was startled to feel Cheyennes cold nose burrowing through our bed covers. He had never before come into our bedroom at night. I woke Dick, put on my robe and ran into my father's room. Dad lay in his bed, his face serene. But his spirit had left quietly sometime during the night.

Two days later my shock and grief deepened when I discovered Cheyenne lying dead beside Dad's bed. I wrapped his still form in the rag rug he had slept on. As Dick and I buried him near a favorite fishing hole, I silently thanked the dog for the help he had given me in restoring Dad's peace of mind.

The morning of Dad's funeral dawned overcast and dreary. This day looks like the way I feel, I thought, as I walked down the aisle to the pews reserved for family. I was surprised to see the many friends Dad and Cheyenne had made filling the church. The pastor began his eulogy. It was a tribute to both Dad and the dog who had changed his life. And then the pastor turned to Hebrews 13:2. "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers."

"I've often thanked God for sending that angel," he said.

For me, the past dropped into place, completing a puzzle that I had not seen before: the sympathetic voice that had just read the right article.

Cheyenne's unexpected appearance at the animal shelter . . . his calm acceptance and complete devotion to my father. . and the proximity of their deaths. And suddenly I understood. I knew that God had answered my prayers after all. Life is too short for drama & petty things, so laugh hard, love truly and forgive quickly. Live While You Are Alive. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

Forgive now those who made you cry.

You might not get a second time.

Where the Hell is Matt?

2009-08-03T17:25:00.001-05:00

This went around, after Stride picked it up, and I guess that as usual I'm likely the last to pick it up. One thing that has always fascinated me as a photographer is the varied cultures you have around the world. Different peoples, dress, ways of thinking, etc. But when it comes down to some sap dancing around like a jackass, well, people of any culture can't help but to jump in.

Very well done video. I suppose my favorite are the gentlemen in Papua, New Guinea around 2:13. Cheers to Matt, keep traveling man.

200 Extras = 1,000,000 People

2009-07-24T23:47:00.003-05:00

Every now and again, a TV commercial, or a movie, or a particular image catches my eye. Often, I'm fascinated as much by what the piece of media portrays as how it was accomplished.

I'm sure most folks by now have seen the Prius commercials, where they use people in costumes to make an entire world - clouds, water, grass, trees, etc. I've been focusing on that commercial very closely, the usage of coordinated movement, the costumes, the total creation of a natural world with people as the medium. Really cool stuff.

With that in mind, I went and found a "Making Of" video for the commercial. Man I love Google/YouTube. They have some quick stats at the end, but apparently they used a grand total of 200 extras to patch together an entire jigsaw, which on completion represented 1 million people, to create the entire world that the car drives through.

Update Grande

2009-07-09T18:12:00.005-05:00

I know it's been quiet, sue me.

Lessee, in the last few months I was laid off, found a new job, and celebrated the Fourth with the dog. There's the nutshell.

The Fourth was pretty quiet. My new job is funky with holidays, so I ended up working Friday and having Monday off. That worked out well as a friend of mine is still out of work from the same layoff that got me, so we were able to hang out with a bunch of good folks and enjoy a day of gaming. As per last year, I was the only person on my street to bother to put out the flag, which I still find disappointing for some reason. At least this time I noticed a house around the corner had put up a flag mount and was flying as well.

I ended the day by taking the dog out to a field near the soccer stadium and watching Frisco's fireworks with a couple of beers and a good cigar. The pooch did great, and didn't seem phased much by the show, though I did notice she turned her head in avoidance - a great behavioral sign that she was going to stoically ignore the issue rather than freak out and confront it.

As is normal here in July, we're cooking at around 100 degrees. I still have my lawn service and wouldn't trade it for the world. That said, I have some nasty dead patches on the front lawn that I can't quite figure out. I'm guessing a disease/fungal infestation called "Brown Patch" and am waiting it out. Meanwhile, the backyard grass is about 8 inches high. I desperately need to man up and mow it - though excuses not to are easy to come by.

Kinda bland and boring, but then holing up to avoid spending money puts a dent in the get out and have fun finances. Everything is back on track now and I'm working on building a bigger, better financial cushion.

Why I Love Dogs

2009-05-16T09:16:00.002-05:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I really like dogs. Here is one reason why:

Very few other animals (or people for that matter) act this way. Definitely something we could all take away from this.

Refrigerator Nazis

2009-05-14T18:02:00.001-05:00

Rotten office fridge cleanup sends 7 to hospital

Now I know folks give a certain person at the office a hard time for being so on top of getting the old crap out of the refrigerator, but I think this should pretty much explain why having a "refrigerator nazi" is so important:

SAN JOSE, Calif. – An office worker cleaning a fridge full of rotten food created a smell so noxious that it sent seven co-workers to the hospital and made many others ill. Firefighters had to evacuate the AT&T building in downtown San Jose on Tuesday, after the flagrant fumes prompted someone to call 911. A hazmat team was called in.

What they found was an unplugged refrigerator that had been crammed with moldy food.

Authorities said an enterprising office worker had decided to clean it out, placing the food in a conference room while using two cleaning chemicals to scrub down the mess. The mixture of old lunches and disinfectant caused 28 people to need treatment for vomiting and nausea.

Authorities said the worker who cleaned the fridge didn't need treatment — she can't smell because of allergies.

heh, it's for your safety, really.

Of Rabbits and Swallows

2009-05-13T19:50:00.002-05:00

Before leaving for Midland for an Appleseed (more on that in a following post), I noticed a couple of Barn Swallows who had decided to make a nest under the eve in my front entryway. I noticed this because of the various and ever growing piles of bird crap all over my entryway. Not to mention the growing pile of grass and mud near the ceiling.

I knocked it down with a broom handle, while being buzzed by swallows. Buzz me eh? I then grabbed a tennis racket and started taking swings at them. Swallows are apparently smarter than that.

Fine, nest is destroyed, off to Midland.

Three days later, I come home, and there's an even bigger nest. Accompanied, of course, by two very satisfied looking swallows. I knocked it down again.

Three days later, I come home, and there's two even more satisfied looking swallows, and a nest. I used the hose on them. I felt better, and the nest was down again.

Finally, I read about how they'll tolerate people, but get very nervous when there are predators around. I let the dog out into the foyer during a rain storm when they were both sitting happily under the eve. They left, and I haven't seen them since.

Satisfied with myself, I was working from home a couple of days ago and look out my office window. There was a rabbit contentedly munching on my landscaping.

I just can't win.

Gotta Love the French

2009-05-13T17:55:00.000-05:00

Yes, they had some problems fighting wars, but they still seem to have a certain....je ne sais pas...when it comes to naval fighting.

This is the way you handle pirates.

Using the sun and naval maneuvers to outsmart them was brilliant.

Way to go guys.

Box Reduction

2009-03-27T22:04:00.002-05:00

So I've been staring at these stacks of boxes on the edges of my garage now for, oh, about 6 months. At this point, many of them have been relatively untouched for at least 5 years, some for over a decade.

Over the last couple of days, I have begun to wage war.

What do I get?

So far, 6 boxes into the shredder/trash/recycle bin. 1 box worth of keepable stuff.

I mean really, do I need junk mail from 1999? How about 1994? Wow.

On the plus side, I've found a number of old photos, letters, etc. that are great. Some from CBear, some from other friends. Even a check from a cousin for graduation (1999). I shredded that, and apologies to said cousin for not seeing it the first go round. :P

I think a trip to the Frisco Waste Disposal tomorrow to drop off 2 17" CRT monitors and an old laser printer is in order. Then....more trash to throw out!

My goal is to have one entire side of the garage free of boxes by the end of April.

Seattle, Mussells, and Beer

2009-03-16T22:07:00.007-05:00

Now those three things are something I can get behind. Of course, it was March, and March means...cold. Not just a little cold, but screaming, 14 layers on and still shivering, cold. We even got three or four inches of snow.

But I digress. I had a permit expire that you can only get in person in Washington. So the timing of the trip was rather critical. A friend of my father's Girlfriend is a Horizon pilot and was nice enough to help us out with getting up there, which saved quite a bit of money, so my father and I headed on up for a week of trying not to freeze to death.

As always, it was a joy to be in the Seattle area. Something about the trees and ocean all coming together results in an incredibly unique environment likely not found outside the Fjords of the European North. It was cold and rainy most of the time, which pre-empted much in the way of photography, but what the heck.

As the weekend approached, we had a huge wind come down the straights, bringing with it very large waves. We hit the beach near Ebey Prairie to see what we could see.

Very strong winds - at one point they felt like they were starting to pick up the back of the car a bit, and a lot of wave and sea spray wetting down the cars and the road. Naturally there were more than a few rubberneckers around. A cold front followed the transitional winds, and the following day ended up very cold and hinting of snow.

We happened to be at Coupeville on Whidbey Island during the Mussel Fest, a weekend celebration of food and local artists. I saw a sign for a studio and on a whim turned off to take the "studio tour". The artist is a local ceramics maker, and she had an excellent rendition of red and turquoise that really caught my eye. We were treated to a quick look at her studio, and she passed the time for a few minutes with us while I looked at the various pieces she had put out. I ended up making off (after paying of course) with a neat little vase to bring back for a very reasonable price.

Naturally, we spent the evening in a tent complete with lovely ladies serving beer, fresh Penn Cove Mussels coming out of a large boiling vat of very well seasoned broth, and great live folk/blues music.

By far the best photo opportunities came at the end of the trip for me. The last day I was there, we decided to head up towards Mt. Baker to see what was up there. While the pass was closed, there were a number of excellent shooting opportunities on our way up there.

We found a nice meadow with a church overlooking the mountains and a farmhouse. By far two of my favorite photos from the trip.

We finally ended up going down a road towards a closed mountain park. Lots of shots in there, but I'm still deciding on a few of them. One that immediately caught my eye on the drive back down.

A productive trip all in all, and it definitely got me relaxed again. More photos likely once I've forgotten what they were supposed to look like.

Pleh has moved!

2009-02-11T17:27:00.001-06:00

I originally created Pleh to act as a personal blog. A place where I could talk about mundane everyday crap that likely doesn't matter to anyone but myself and close friends.

What it turned into, however, was a political blog, and with recent events being what they are, there is no shortage of material in that genre!

So, I have relabeled Political Pleh as Tyranny Unleashed. You can use that link to head on over there.

Please update your links!

I will likely use this blog for its original purpose, as a personal area. Very likely it will not be updated nearly as often, but it will separate the two sources of material.

Thanks for your repeated visits! I'll see you over at the new address.

Sound the Sirens!

2009-02-11T16:14:00.000-06:00

In an early preview of typical March/April Texas weather, we were treated to a severe dryline last night about 9pm. This 1000 mile wide line of storms came complete with rotation, causing air raid sirens to sound throughout Dallas, including at my home.

Luckily, despite one section of storm that was rotating over Grapevine passing right over my house, all I was treated to was dime sized hail and torrential rain. Winds were actually surprisingly light. No damage to speak of, just some weeds caused by the warm weather that I need to kill in their infancy before they really take a set.

Now that I'm responsible for my own roof and maintenance, I'm not as happy to see the nasty storms come through as I used to be, but the rain is certainly nice. ;)

A Quick Update

2008-10-23T20:08:00.000-05:00

So, I apologize for the lack of updates recently. Quite honestly, I got to the point that between politics, the economy, and everything else, I just needed a break. One downside of actually giving a shit and taking the time to read about what is going on is that you can get pretty damned depressed about the whole thing.

Ultimately, I decided that what will be will be. As I mentioned in the previous entry (which, was fast as I was on my lunch break) I voted on Monday. This was a watershed event for me, as, for the first time in 13 years of voting, I actually pressed the screen for a Democrat for the first time EVER. Before you start panicking, it wasn't for the Messiah Obama. As mentioned, I voted for a Democrat for Senate to demonstrate that I will no longer tolerate people who wish to Nationalize and Socialize our Country at the expense of the taxpayer. I fervently hope that a 12% approval rating for Congress, combined with the recent uproar about the "bailout" will result in an oil change in Washington.

So that said, our first good cold front moved through Dallas this week. This is my favorite time of year, in that you're in the high 80's one minute, and a couple of hours later you're in the low 60's. This is usually what I call "breaking" summer. Once that first proper front rolls through in October, you're done with warm weather in North Texas for the year.

Meanwhile, I've taken up autocrossing again. My first event didn't have any other cars in my class, so I had a good opportunity to ease back into competitive driving. The most recent event saw me come up against a Chrysler Crossfire, which I handily beat by 2.7 seconds. Not bad overall, but I had some serious traction and control problems and wasn't aggressive in the right places. My handicapped time was about in the middle of the pack, so I have some work to do. Either way, it's nice to strap on the helmet and take a spin again.

A Quick Storm and Yard Update

2008-09-15T18:47:00.000-05:00

I realized I left ya'll hanging with with last storm post! Not very nice at all.

Ike veered a little to the East as it came North, which resulted in it passing 50 miles to the East of the Dallas Fort Worth area. I saw some gusty winds (not over 35mph), and a steady spitting rain most of the afternoon, but nothing serious at all. All the trees survived (though I admit I did snug up the support wires as the storm rolled in) and everything went well. We did have a power loss, but it was less than an hour. Not uncommon when it storms here.

So, all is well, everything is good.

The sprinkler guys came by today, and found a kink in the soaker hose on the south side of the house. This meant that the trees in the front weren't receiving the amount of water that they should have (and the tree on the end of the line got hosed....or not hosed as the case may be). They have unkinked the hose, and I'll be watching carefully to ensure the green things will get busy livin' instead of dyin'.

The "Art" of Politics

2008-09-15T17:15:00.000-05:00

So what do you do when you're running a magazine and need a photo of a Candidate for Presidential Office? Naturally, you call a known freelance photographer to head out to the candidate's location and shoot them.

What happens, though, when you choose someone who is known for a very vocal and left leaning slant to shoot a right winger? Well, were we talking about your normal freelance photographer, who knows a little something about professionalism and earning the money they're trying to make, there wouldn't be a problem. Instead, this week, the Atlantic Monthly contracted Jill Greenberg.

Jill is an avowed Democrat, and shot an image of McCain for the magazine just like she normally would. However, she then proceeded to start shooting additional, differently lit portraits for her own means. The resulting images ended up on her site. The one I have posted here is the best of them. In one, McCain has a gaping maw, red eyes, and sharp, pointed teeth, and apparent blood dripping out from around his mouth and onto his shirt. There are a few more with side lighting and other attempts to make him look unsavory and vicious.

As a part-time photographer, I understand one thing very implicitly. In portrait photography, the relationship between a photog and the person they are shooting has to be one of implicit trust and good will. You don't go into a portrait session with an eye towards humiliating your subject, or casting them in a bad light (pardon the pun). You most certainly don't then go on to crow to others about how you just pulled a giant coup and showed the world who your subject "really" is. A more unprofessional attitude, representative of someone I certainly wouldn't want to hire to photograph my worst enemy, I can't imagine. To the Atlantic Monthly's credit, they have posted an editorial response to Ms. Greenberg's childish actions.

Now, had this happened to Obama, I certainly wouldn't have blogged about it. I'll admit that. Would I have approved of her doing something similar there? I absolutely would not. That kind of behavior is, to quote a good friend of mine, the very epitomy of bush league incompetance.

One would hope that Jill's other clients will see this, and wonder if perhaps they're next. I do hope, for her sake, that she wakes up and realizes that if there is one real rule of business, it's keep your politics out of your business. I think most of us who work for ourselves or consult in any profession realize that it is folly to drive customers off by foisting your own political or religious beliefs on them. It's hard enough to attract and keep good clients as it is.

H/T to Michelle Malkin for additional info about Greenberg. Michelle has an excellent (and much better stated) writeup about this on her site as well at that link.

Panic at the Disco

2008-09-12T23:23:00.000-05:00

It all started at work today. One of the ladies sent an email that claimed her mother's boss said there would be a gasoline shortage and that you'd better fill up your tank today. I wasn't overly impressed, but rapidly realized that humans, being the dumb panicky animals that they are, coupled with a report on wholesale gasoline increasing from less than $3/gallon Tuesday to $4.85 today, that I should get the car filled up. Of course, it didn't help that I had less than a fourth of a tank left, and that wouldn't last me very many days of commuting. Just for the heck of it, I got a 5 gallon gas can and filled that too. Better too much than too little, and I can always use it in the mower if I don't end up needing it.

I leave work early on Fridays (I work through enough lunches and get enough off hours calls that I'm more than making my hours for the week), and had a leisurely fillup, and grabbed some candles on the off chance I have no power tomorrow night. I live far enough north that my power grid isn't the most stable thing on the planet, so that just made sense as well.

After getting home and letting the dog out, I realized I had run out of food for her. Back out to get dog food. Home again, and I remembered I had run out of beer. It's just not the weekend without beer.

I hopped back into the car and ran up to the local gas station. This is the only station within two or three miles of my place. The image above greeted me as I pulled in. Naturally, I felt happy and superior that I had already filled my tank up, but I was curious as to why all the cars? Talking to the clerk inside, I found out they had run out of every grade of gas earlier that day, and a tanker (you can see it in the background) had just arrived to get them some more. Everyone there was waiting for gas. Everyone. The clerk mentioned that he had been told by folks waiting that many other service stations in the area also were out of gas.

So, obviously, regional supply has been upset to some degree. Is it just a run on the gas stations by folks worried about the storm, perhaps compounded by a lack of trucks shuttling back and forth to Houston to get more gas and keep the normal supply chain running? That's fine, but a massive refinery disruption down there could seriously impact fuel availability and prices. We just don't have enough refinery capacity (let alone more places to drill in to tap domestic oil supplies) to handle emergencies thanks to Congress.

Suddenly, having a full tank and extra to spare didn't seem like such a silly idea.

Ike rolls into Dallas tomorrow. We're still expecting sustained winds at 40mph with gusts over 50, and 2-6" of rain depending on who you ask. I'll have to say that I'm happy my lot is up on a hill.

Plenty of food, ammo, batteries, water, gas, beer, and propane for the grill. I should be fine for anything short of a total breakdown of society for at least two weeks or so if necessary. If nothing else, this makes for a good exercise to see where the disaster kit is lacking.

$70 Rifle!

2008-09-11T20:54:00.000-05:00

Russian Model 91/30 - Mosin Nagant Bolt Action Rifle

Yes, she's a bolt action. Yes, she uses ammunition that isn't always all that easy to find at places like WalMart (though admittedly, you can get 7.62x54mm pretty easily through surplus sites), but this bolt action rifle won World War II for the Russians. And we all know just how screwed they were for a while.

The Mosin Nagant played a legendary role in the world, and in my opinion its time is not yet passed. Where else are you going to get an excellent, good quality, historical bolt action rifle for $70?? Heck, where else are you going to get a functional longarm for that price?

You'll need to work with an FFL to get it sent to you (this usually costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 for a transfer), but act fast if you need something with a little range and don't have a lot of scratch.

And no, I don't get any commissions for this. ;)

The End is Nigh!

2008-09-08T20:56:00.000-05:00

'Big Bang' machine to start up Wednesday

Well folks, it's been a great run, but here we are at the end of the world. On Wednesday, scientists will fire up the greatest particle accelerator ever built. Lead atoms will be smashed together somewhere near the speed of light, and according to alarmists and skeptics, will likely create a cluster of micro black holes that will form a pulsar in the middle of the planet. In a few days, we'll see a strange light coming out of the Indian Ocean, followed by tidal waves, dogs and cats living together...mass hysteria!

Alright. I don't claim to know anything about particle physics. Heck, I don't know anything about physics much at all...well....except for gravity choosing inopportune moments to exert itself by slamming me into the ground. But how often do you hear these folks come out of the woodwork with a great portent of doom and gloom and they're wrong? (Hint: The answer is "just about always".)

Oh well, I figure if they're right, and we do see light coming out of the Indian Ocean in a few days, I'll light into the Single Malt and have a helluva party to greet the world's destruction.

At least we don't have to worry about Global Warming any more. *snort*

Excellent Day

2008-09-04T20:15:00.000-05:00

In the wake of Gustav, we had some nice, cool, Canadian air pulled down into Texas today. Temperatures were right around 80, and I spent the day working from home with the window open. While the Canucks were free with their air, they did not choose to send down any beer - not that I really want any since I'm still hung over from the Roger Clyne concert last night.

While it's still too early for Fall, I expect a return to an environment closely resembling the surface of the sun (with humidity of course) within a few days. Maybe in a few more weeks.

Called about my dead tree today. The lady on the phone got a little uppity when she saw I'd been in the house for more than 90 days. I informed her that the tree in question had already perished and been replaced, and that there was obviously something wrong since the new one was now pining for the fields as well. She snippily informed me that tree replacements are one time things. I retorted that I had called them about it being only half dead three weeks ago and they assured me that it was fine, and would be right as rain (which, obviously, it is not!). If you'll recall, I had asked them to look at the irrigation system since out of three trees on the property, apparently only one of them was suicidal. I then said the magic (and quite true!) words: your representative here assured me you'd replace it if it died and to keep an eye on it.

I have an appointment with the sprinkler flunkies next week. If they'd believed me the first time, perhaps it wouldn't be costing them another tree. On the docket is a detailed check of the drip system, and a special look at the soaker hose on the foundation by my gate - I have my own little marsh back there and suspect there is a leak that's killing my water pressure and causing my tree issues.

[Insert Witty Blog Title Here]

2008-08-26T20:31:00.000-05:00

[Entertaining and Humerous Content Goes Here]

Ok, so I've had writers block.

The lawn guy has been by twice. It's still worth it to let someone else edge and mow the front lawn. Meanwhile, I had let the back yard go to the point the dog was really enjoying her shark imitation. Two ears going back and forth in the gently undulating grass, punctuated by barking her fool head off. She has remembered how much fun it is to go into the back yard and bark - at the birds, passersby, the neighbors grilling, the fence (it gets uppity some times), the grass (hey, that stuff moves!), birds, and likely at life in general. I usually run to the back door and get her inside before the neighbors call the cops.

So come to find out that mowing extra tall green grass results in extra brown short grass. I'll endeavour to keep it shorter and therefore greener. It's still full and healthy, it just doesn't like getting too much cut off at once.

I've lost the same tree again in the front yard. I still suspect the drip system, though the sprinkler guys have pronounced it sound. I'll raise Cain again and get it replaced, we'll see if I can kill a third one. Meanwhile, despite assurances that the problem is indeed not that part of the drip system, the other front tree and the back tree both look spectacularly alive, green, with lots of new growth. Never underestimate the ability of morons to ignore obvious logical conclusions.

Meanwhile I played my first soccer game last weekend. I got whistled for obstruction, which was entertaining because I had no idea what that meant. I'm going to have to do some reading as no one has been able to adequately explain to me yet how I'm supposed to "cover that guy", and yet "play the ball" at the same time. The entire point, I thought, was to be in a position to intercept the ball on a pass - yet I'm told that's obstruction. It's an interesting dichotomy, and I look forward to getting whistled until I get the balance figured out. We lost 5-3, but the other team seemed to have its act together better than we did, and for the most part the officiating seemed pretty fair.

The field, meanwhile, was more like a treated sewage swamp than a pitch. Apparently no one had discussed the schedule with the groundskeepers (we're at a different field since our normal fields are closed for maintenance for a while) and they heavily watered the pitch that morning with treated waste water. We were sinking in up to the ankles in the center, and everyone but the wingers looked like they'd had a good roll in the mud by the time we finished. With all the holes and the soggy, smelly morass, we're probably pretty lucky nobody broke an ankle.

So, a quick update for now. Gotta figure out how to smash that writer's block and get back into the swing of things. Of course, you realize, breaking the writer's block will involve more political stuff. Luckily for everyone, trying to watch even short snatches of the Democratic National Convention (gag) has been extremely nauseating, so I don't have much to rail about there. I'm sure there's a lot of lying, pandering, and empty platitudes being exclaimed from the rafters though. Remember - a slick smile and a nice suit do not a President make. Read between the lines, behind the scenes, and do your research before heading to the ballot box.

Cricket Found

2008-08-06T08:22:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update. As you may have seen from my Twitter Feed, I located said cricket last night sitting on the door frame to the master bathroom right as I was getting ready for bed. Not sure if he was there last night the entire time, but he was a very large (silver dollar sized) green grasshopper, who apparently can chirp just like a cricket. I got a glass tumbler and trapped him, and then gleefully thought of all of the mean things I could do for retribution.

After some nice fantasies including microwaves and fire, I bowed to karmatic concerns and threw him out the back door to go forth and prosper (or go forth TO Prosper if he so pleases).

Boy did I sleep well last night...

The Cricket Must Die

2008-08-05T21:30:00.000-05:00

Awful night of sleep last night. About 1am, a cricket started chirping in the room. To make things worse, every time I lifted my head to turn an ear back and forth to narrow in on it, it stopped. I tried sitting on the floor...it wouldn't start again. Naturally, the minute I tried to go back to sleep and was nodding off, the incessant screeching would start again.

By 3am, and after a couple of hours of fitful dozing (complete with half awake dreams of people angry with me for not stopping the stinking thing), and after two full blown searches of the room and master bath, I gave up and beat a tactical retreat to the living room. I crashed on the sofa until the alarm went off at 5:40.

I'll not be so lenient tonight. If he wants to battle, I'll make it a war.

Ugh.

On the athletic front, I had my second soccer practice on Sunday evening. The temperature was a balmy 106, with a humidity induced heat index of 112. Despite drinking a litre and a half of water, plus a 16oz Gatorade, and 32oz of Lemonade on the way home, I was still dehydrated. Practice so far has consisted of mainly 8 on 8 scrimmages, with half the teams on both sides wheezing and simply watching the ball roll by with a half-interested look on their face. This week felt a lot better than last week, despite the heat, and I expect I'll come up the curve rapidly. Next week's practice is going to be running drills. That should be about as entertaining as sawing a limb off with no anesthesia.

I got an email this afternoon from the Co-Ed group advertising a free soccer clinic with some players from FC Dallas, our local Major League Soccer team. Naturally, Gary and I figured that they'd have some of the 2nd or 3rd string folks there to help us run some drills and work on skills, but both of us are out of shape and need the practice, so off we went.

The temperature was a much more bearable 101, and the looming remnants of Tropical Storm Eduardo provided a 15mph or so breeze which helped to keep the heat down.

Shortly after getting ready, we were all very impressed to see three starting members of FCD, and a brand new player all coming on to the field. It was a ton of fun working with some of FC Dallas' best players, and their ball handling was impressive.

All in all, a great way to work out.

Now, to go find that freaking cricket....

Sanity Returns...

2008-08-04T21:01:00.000-05:00

So here I am on Saturday morning, at about 9am. People familiar with my sleeping patterns may be a little shocked that I was showing my face prior to 1pm, however, since taking up 7a-4p hours to avoid traffic, I find myself much more inclined to getting up earlier on the weekends.

The mission this Saturday - mow the lawn.

I opened the garage, and strode forth with my trusty +4 Edger of Massive Grass Destruction. Immediately I was hit with a blowtorch...sweat immediately popped out of every pore. Undaunted, I took a look around. Hmm...this would be a lot easier if I could actually comprehend where the edge of the pavement ends and the grass begins. I've obviously let this go on far far too long. Not to be deterred, I proceeded to make massive amounts of salad. The grass flew, the sparks flew, the concrete chunks followed the sparks, the weeds flew, the crabgrass....well....it held on to life. That stuff is tough.

Fifteen minutes later, I have the driveway done (if you can call a meandering line roughly following the edges of the concrete, with tufts of grass still mockingly hanging out on the pavement done), and part of the front sidewalk completed. I'm now completely soaked in sweat, did I mention that Dallas has rivalled the surface of the sun for the last week?, and I still have 50 more yards of edging to do.

Naturally, I did what any reasonably sane person would have done. I said f#%$ it and went back inside the air conditioned house. Game over.

One fun thing about Texas in the summer is the legion of grass cutters that descend upon the neighborhood throughout the week. It's kind of like a bunch of SWAT teams whose sole job is to come screeching up to a house in a swirling cloud of exhaust and rubber smoke, descend upon the yard in a screeching, howling mass of noise and flying greenery, and within 15 minutes, poof! Back into the netherworld, leaving a nicely trimmed, mowed, edged, and blown yard. They even move trashcans out to where the garbage truck can get to them if they're blocking the can.

Naturally, I, sitting inside my home watching this think....hrm. Sit inside and watch people do my yard....or do my yard. Hmm.

A little background. I have a very lovely lot. In fact, the lot is what sold me the house. While most homes in my neighborhood have about 4 feet of space on one side for the back gate, and 6 inches on the other, all nice and flat, with a nice little square of lawn out front and back for maintenance, I, in my infinite wisdom, chose a corner lot. On a hill. With an 8 foot retaining wall on one end. I have almost 6 feet of space at the gate side, and 15 or so on the other side before the retaining wall. It's a beautiful, large lot. However, the top of it is all mine, and the bottom of it including the nice meandering sidewalk is also my responsbility. On a hill. Did I mention the hill?

The lot sold me the property. I still love the lot. I do not, however, like mowing the lot. Trying to shove a mower up a steep incline, not so fun. Not all that bad when it's in the mid-80's out, but when you're talking 105, it's downright torture.

So. One side effect of the legions of lawn care specialists is that you end up with at least three or four flyers/business cards stuck on your door each week. This number goes up by an order of magnitude when your property is starting to resemble the wild remote Great Plains. They range from incredibly misspelled (4 Year Experiance, maintenance, cut grass, tress etc.) to lovely color jobs. Sanity returned. I called one of the more professional looking ones (heck, it even had the word "professional" on the front of it) and had the guy out. I told him I could handle the back yard, but the front yard and all of its edging were his. No problem, $40/month for two visits.

Lessee....$40 per month not to have to mow and edge the front yard (the back isn't really a problem, plus I rather like to keep the padlock on the gate). No brainer. Sold.

I suppose once I get my trimmer fixed up (still need to ghetto rig it) it won't be so bad. But at the least, I need someone to get on top of the nasty edging problem I'm seeing right now, and my Arizona experience involves rock farming...no grass.

Worth it?? We'll see on Friday.

I Waited 10 Days....

2008-07-23T20:27:00.000-05:00

...and all I got was this stinking blog post.

So I realize I just went a little over a week without an update, and then I throw a bunch of anti-victimization stuff at you. I've likely just scared off half of the folks at work that have viewed this blog approximately once. They probably think I'm crazy, but then, they likely thought that before they read my blog, so I think I'm par for the course.

My father has been torturing me with stories of derring do up on Whidbey Island. You know, the best place to be in the summer, complete with lovely trees, clean air, and 70 degree highs. *sigh* My only consolation is that he is enjoying that lovely weather by scraping the moss off of the house and priming and painting. At least he has his friend Tom there to keep him out of trouble......then again we are talking about Tom here....

I've spent the last week roasting in the heat, conducting a continued war on the weeds attacking my yard, learning that I need to put down more fire ant killer (ouch), and tormenting my neighbors by being *that guy* who stalks around his yard with no shirt on, muttering at the air and glaring at nothing in particular. Some of you may know that one of the two trees in my front yard died not too long ago. I had it replaced under warranty, but the new one started drying out as well, despite my changing the drip system for a twice daily soak. I immediately got suspicious and found and fixed two leaks in the drip line (both from over exuberant yard care "specialists" and cable installation technicians - or pot-smoking college kids in the lingo of the "biz"). I have the sprinkler folks coming out on Friday to give it a looksee, and am soaking the tree manually with the hose in the mean time.

My loan was sold to Countrywide. I'm not sure if it's a good or a bad thing, but they adjusted the escrow rate for my property taxes, so there's a little extra cash flow to use to stabilize the financial front, which, while doing fine, could be doing better. Just means I need to drum up more side work and not spend too much money dining out, which is a favorite past-time of mine.

On the patriotic front (thought you were going to get away from that in this post weren't ya?), I was also the only person who put up an American Flag for July 4th, within three streets (and the guy three streets over is an ex-Marine who flies his flag every day). I spent the previous weekend mounting the flag holders on the house. I am mounting in brick, so I did the right thing, went down to Home Depot, and got a masonry drill bit the correct size. I then learned an important lesson. I was killing myself trying to drill the hole. I'm thinking "I intentionally purchased a nice corded VSR Hammer Drill for just this purpose - why is this so hard?!?" When drilling masonry, or anything for that matter, it's pretty important that you have the drill set to drill IN, not OUT. Bugger. I managed to melt one of the two bits in the size I needed, but the remaining 7 holes were like butter. So there I am, the morning of July 4th, standing in front of the house (shirtless of course, gotta keep up appearances), and look up and down the street. Not a flag in sight. Not quite sure what this country is coming to. I seem to remember growing up that at least half the houses on our street flew their flags on such an important holiday. Just to drive the point home, I flew the Old Navy Jack next to Old Glory. Don't Tread On Me indeed. And to further make my point, I flew them both Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Take that!

So, now that I've established myself as the neighborhood "Peace Through Superior Firepower" nut...errr....I mean advocate, I've finished the effect by ensuring my grill regularly emits large amounts of carcinogens formerly contained in various meats, at least three times a week. I've been getting a lot of use out of it, chicken, bratwurst, steak, hamburgers, mmm.

Luckily, I'm offsetting the red meat fest with regular trips to the gym for strength training. Yeah yeah, it's not cardio or endurance, but I keep my sets close enough that my heart rate is running at a solid cardio rate for at least 30 minutes, which should do just the trick. I'm hoping to start playing soccer with a friend's over 30 men's team a little later this year. It sounds like they have some openings, and I figure I'll get in shape faster by doing something fun while exercising than staring at a wall on a treadmill. Meanwhile, I'm actually in the best shape I've been in since...well...since I swam competitvely as a little kid. My waist size is pretty much back to what it was in college, and the beer gut is melting off in a very visible and motivating way. Sweet.

So what have I been up to? Really, tending the lawn, grilling, ducking blog posts, getting some client work turned out for extra scratch, lifting weights, using a garden hose, and working my rear end off at Pursuant in the hopes I'll still be gainfully employed with them next year. ;)

Hope all is well with the rest of you!

Reception - Indian Style

2008-07-13T21:44:00.000-05:00

In the ongoing saga of Gary and Zeena's wedding, I bring you...the reception!!!

Dallas has a Bollywood Movie Theatre. It's an interesting place where you can treat yourself to Indian movies and food. Oddly enough, most of the staff is from Mexico. But I digress.

After finding out that the dress of the occasion was Indian Formal, I went down to a local clothing shop with Marc, a long time friend of Gary, and picked up a Kurta to wear.

I arrived at the reception a little early to scout the room and get my gear set up. Apparently a relative of Zeena's was keen on shooting the reception, so I gladly bowed out and decided to go simple and shoot art shots for the evening. The relative ended up hiring a pro, though he was more of the old school than the new school of wedding photography. He ended up setting up two studio strobes with white translucent umbrellas, and lit the dance floor only - this tied him to the dance floor mainly, but I'll admit he did get nice lighting over there. He was using a couple of Pocket Wizards (radio slaves), and offered to flip the system over to straight out slave, but I declined as I wanted to remain set up to drag my shutter.

So here I am, walking up to a Bollywood Movie Theatre, in a Kurta. This would be similar to me walking into a teppan-yake restaurant in a kimono. Quite a few people pointing and whispering to their dates.

There is a lot to be said for reading the invitation. It said that Indian Dress was a must (naturally, I didn't read it, and was surprised at the airport coming back from Mexico when someone asked if I had gone and gotten my clothes yet). I was originally worried that there would only be a few folks there dressed up, but it turned out that probably 75% of the people there were dressed similarly. It was an excellently colorful event.

I did have a great laugh. One of Zeena's Aunts took it upon herself to ensure that everyone was dressed "properly". She was grabbing people left and right and "helping" them with their costumes. When one of my co-workers showed up, she took one look at his wife, said something to the effect of "no no no", and hauled her off to the bathroom for a complete re-wrapping. I still get a good chuckle out of that.

All in all it was an excellent evening. There was some very nice Indian food to be had, and everyone had a great time. There was quite a bit of dancing on everyone's part. Some folks surprised me with the...voracity...of their dancing. Ya'll know who you are, and good for you for enjoying yourselves. ;)

You didn't think I was going to finish out without a shot of me were you? This is what happens when someone you trust just enough to hold your camera (that doesn't have a neck strap and is irreplacable on your current budget) demands they have a shot of you. :)

Fire Ants 3, Me...well...

2008-07-02T18:36:00.000-05:00

Where has the time gone? I've been pretty much working on the yard and around the house for the last week or so. With the retaining walls, and being a corner lot, there is a lot more to do to keep the yard in good shape. This is coupled with the cable guy cutting my drip system while burying the cable. I had a lot of muddy fun fixing that.

Anyhow, some updates coming soon, for now, you'll have to content yourself with the archive. :)

Predictive Vision

2008-06-19T20:56:00.000-05:00

Key to Optical Illusions Discovered

You can click the title above to see the article on FoxNews.

As many of you know, I generally regard myself as a Buddhist. Generally, Buddhists feel that their environment (reality) is a direct product of their own thoughts and consciousness. One interesting side effect is that a talented Buddhist understands at all times that it is not their environment that is, for example, making them angry - they themselves are creating the anger in reaction to the environment. They are choosing to react with anger to something that they are perceiving in a way that may be entirely different from the person standing next to them. The well practiced Buddhist is able to shed anger quickly (or more ideally: avoid it entirely) by understanding inherently that things are what they are, and there is no avoiding the lows as well as the highs.

Not too long ago, I was introduced to meta physics, a very interesting branch of Science/Mathematics that has observed that a particle will actually change its behavior when it is being observed (kinda sounds like that famous old koan: "If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear, does it still make a sound?").

As I understand it, to the meta physicist, when matter is not being observed, it can coexist simultaneously in all its different probabilities. Only when it is actually observed does it take on a particular path of probability; to wit - it can be affected by our expectations of what it *should* be doing. What an interesting path of science to follow generally the tenets of a thousand plus year old religion.

So, what does all of this have to do with the article above? If we really are extrapolating the future to account for "lag" between our eyes receiving input and the decoding of that information in the brain, there are some really truly startling opportunities for thought. Naturally, some people must be better at this extrapolation than others - perhaps reflexes are affected by the brain's ability to account for that lag time. Does a good and vivid imagination, or a good aptitude for logic play a role in our ability to increase the accuracy of our extrapolation and therefore decrease our reaction times? Can this effect play a role in mental health?

Seeing as how Buddhism holds that reality is truly what we think it to be (and no, this does not mean an enlightened Buddhist can defy gravity because he/she refuses to believe it exists), meta physics says that reality is fluid and formless unless directly observed, and we actually "see" dimly into the future, I think there are some very interesting thought paths to follow.

All in all, some really fun stuff. I hope there might be more research into this effect in the near future.

Apres Party

2008-06-19T20:08:00.000-05:00

If you're keeping track, this is Mexico post #4 of 4. Less to say here, so we'll be focusing more on the photos.

After a successful and well received ceremony, the group retired to the nicest restaurant on the property for the reception. The cake was cut, and I'm sure we were a little too loud for some of the other patrons. They'll live. ;)

Once the reception was over, those of us still feeling lively decided to go into town to the Blue Parrot for their fire dancing show. I'll have to admit, riding in the cab I was figuring on a pretty tame evening, however, I was very surprised by the fire dancers. There were a bunch of them, and they were very good. I only had the Sony with me, and no tripod (didn't even pack it this time - don't know why it is that I never use it if I pack it and always want it if I don't) but a few of the images did a great job of representing the show:

While the drinks were incredibly expensive, it really was a great evening.

More Futbol of course the following day, and Gary, his parents and brother, JD and myself all had a good time drinking the free alcohol and yelling loudly at the referees.

The rain continued, and we spent quite a bit of time talking in various groups. The waitstaff was excellent in allowing us to permanently take over a table in the Mexican Buffet Palapa, and we had some amazing drink service for the time we were there.

We left Mexico exhausted but, at least in my case, relaxed. All in all an excellent trip and one I'd definitely do again.

American Empanada

2008-06-16T13:29:00.000-05:00

A little late, but here is your next Mexican installment (I'll likely post a prologue in the next few days - you'll just have to take 'em out of order :) For those keeping score, this will be #3 of 4, the previous entry was #2 ).

When last we left our seasoned adventurer, I was headed off for a day of snorkeling and bumming at the beach. It's a well known fact amongst my legion of fans (all two of you) that I take to the sun about like a nest of blood sucking vampires - that is to say with a loud boiling sound followed by my skin melting off (think Indiana Jones and the Ark of the Covenant). So naturally, I liberally covered myself with ever trusty Bullfrog sunblock. More on that later.

So! All greased...I mean slathered up, time for fun!

I grabbed my trusty dive gear to go snorkeling. Thinking of all the cool stuff we'd see, Gary and I went flippering out off the beach. "Oh look!" says I, "sand!". And more sand......and more sand. No fish, no corals, no man eating Great Whites, just sand. Then, a drunk moron on a jetski tried his best to mow us down - three times. I decided it was time to head in before I became a hood ornament on a Ponga or something.

On the bright side, I saw a sandbar about 30 yards off of the beach. About three feet deep, and with nice waves breaking over it. Naturally it would be fun to stand on the bar and screw around in the surf. Unfortunately, *this* bar didn't serve drinks. I ended up spending an hour or two talking to various Merchant/Rivers relatives while laughing hard as various waves knocked us over. There was also an occasional pathetically laughable body surfing attempt. We came up with an excellent business plan involving scantily clad waitresses bringing drinks out in sealed cups. Might try to get that one off the ground next year - we're talking to the investors now.

All that talk of drinks got us thirsty, so it was time to head back up to the small army of chairs that family and friends had taken over right at the edge of the tideline. After getting my lovely 32oz mug re-filled with strawberry daiquiri that was about 3/4 rum and 1/4 everything not-rum (always tip your bartender very well - first thing on arrival), I settled into a reclining chair to enjoy the view...which after a bit included some lovely looking storm clouds. There is something a little sad about an entire beach full of people in bathing suits running full tilt for shelter in the rain. I mean...we're in swim suits, and most of us are already wet from swimming in the ocean. hmm.....

Anyhow, after another couple of rain delays, it was time for dinner. I was feeling pretty crispy, but I'd put on Bullfrog, I'm sure I was just fine.

Not so much.

The next morning I looked like a nice, crispy, American Empanada (you know, crispy and white with red splattered all over?). Apparently the half bottle of ancient looking Bullfrog I'd poured into the almost empty newer bottle wasn't exactly good any more. I had little spots and smears where some of the active ingredient was still....well....active, but for the most part I was fully lobsterized. Nice.

So here I am on the wedding day with shoulders that don't like a t-shirt on them! Weather - overcast. Not great, but it'll work, and I'm thinking that there will be less of a differential between the light levels under the palapa where the ceremony is to take place, and the beach/ocean stretching off beyond it. Seeing as how all I have left to do is to grow some pincers and antennae to complete the effect, cloudy or not I wisely remained under a palapa with a book in a lawn chair throughout the morning - at least right up until about 2pm when the skies opened up in a deluge. I know I saw a crusty old looking dude with a beard and a barge full of animals go by the hotel windows cackling. Really not good.

A job's a job though, so I grabbed my gear from the nice, 70 degree A/C'd room and headed off down to the Bride's room to start shooting the prep shots. With my shoulders in such a condition, naturally it was just lovely to throw on a strap from a 20lb camera bag, and another strap across the neck with another 5lbs of camera body and flash on it. Then scooting hither and yon shooting. Luckily, I focus enough when I shoot that I didn't feel it all that much (boy did I pay later though).

Did I mention the camera gear was all at a nice, dry, 70 degrees?? Yeah. The moment I pulled it all out at the bride's hotel room, everything fogged over well and good. I managed to defrost the 24mm prime enough to shoot for a bit (luckily the body seemed to be ok internally), and then ended up using the hotel's hairdryer to warm all of the other lenses up - that worked a treat.

The site for the wedding was right outside of the window, and we watched a poor hotel employee running around with a squeegee and unsuccessfully trying to keep chairs and decorations attached and righted - he was having a miserable time of it. Finally, the decision was made to move the entire thing indoors. The hotel did an excellent job of setting up a whole room without reusing any of the soaked equipment from outside. However, that meant a much more challenging environment for me to shoot in - dim fluorescent lighting instead of nice outdoor shade. Did I mention that due to the hectic reschedule I landed in the room the moment I had to start shooting? Pleh.

One thing to always remember - trust your proven setups. Don't second guess, don't be a moron, just trust your proven setups. I really don't know why I second guess my setup and then find out after shooting half of an event that the old staid and true results in better photos.

An excellent ceremony, and the conclusion of days two and three. More to come soon. Seriously! Check back in a couple of days - you don't want to miss the fire dancers.

Greetings from the Riviera Maya

2008-06-10T09:30:00.000-05:00

Ahh, the Yucatan Peninsula, hot, steamy (and a little rainy), but a ton of fun. I'm down in Playa Del Carmen for Gary River's Wedding (take 2). What can I say, white sand beaches, palm trees, and all the food/alcohol you can possibly want (and we're trying hard to get our money's worth). The resort is huge, somewhere along the lines of a half mile deep off the beach, and about 300yds wide. The main features are palapas, with adobe-esque buildings housing the various rooms. The staff and facilities are quite nice.

Despite being in an all-inclusive resort, we've gone into town a couple of times to hit Gary's favorite mojito bar - called Bourbon Street oddly enough. Incredibly excellent drinks.

Meanwhile, the Euro2008 Futbol tournament is on, so most of the bars are filled with fans of the various countries in the afternoons. Yesterday, we got to watch a bar full of Italians look incredibly dejected as a very underdog Dutch team kicked the crap out of them - 3 or 4 to zip. The Dutch were ecstatic.

Other than that, we're spending a lot of time on the beach, and are definitely having fun. Many beautiful women wandering around, and there are a ton of Europeans - definitely an international destination.

Just about time to go snorkeling. Viva Mexico!

The Old 97s

2008-06-06T12:58:00.000-05:00

I was processing some of the photos from our product launch in early May (yeah, I'm that far behind and I only did these because the company needed them for a video they're putting together) today and figured I'd share a few with you.

The launch was designed more for shooting video than for a live audience (though we did a lot of the shooting with a live audience of employees, friends, and family in attendance for effect). The capstone of the evening was Rhett Miller of the Old '97s who performed an excellent solo set for us. The Old 97's have a new CD out which is absolutely killer, I highly recommend it to my more relaxed music listeners. Here are a few of my favorite images of Rhett:

A Sea of Boxes

2008-06-03T12:06:00.000-05:00

Yesterday saw another car trip from the old to the new, again with the car packed full of stuff. I have a fair portion of the garage filled with boxes (yes, the car still fits), and have decided that nothing not worth keeping will make it through the door into the house. The rubbish bin is perfectly close to help prevent that. I figure when I get back from Mexico I'll start that process.

Meanwhile, I started the first bit of yardwork yesterday. There are green leafy weeds in certain areas, I managed to pull about four large handfuls worth before it got too dark to dodge the two or three dog cookies (or landmines) that are out there. I also started analyzing the sprinkler system as I didn't like the dryness of the grass out front, or the dryness of one of the trees. I really need to make my main Home Depot run and get a garden hose and some fertilizer.

Sarina settled in well. I got home to find her her normal self, tail wagging and waiting for her chewstick. She spent the rest of the evening sleeping on the floor, I think she's still tired from yesterday.

One more carload and an apartment cleaning and I think I'm done with the actual moving phase. I'm really not looking forward to figuring out where to stow all the stuff - I'm definitely going to have to visit Ikea sooner rather than later for some shelves and other organizational bits.

Update of a Massive Proportion

2008-06-01T16:55:00.000-05:00

Wow, I haven't had time to even think or do anything more than shuttle....crap (man, I need a garage sale already) back and forth. A quick timeline:

On Wednesday, I got a call at 11am stating that the last window was just going in. I ran over to the house, and happily signed off on the final few repairs that were remaining. A phone call to the sales office, however, damped my spirits as they announced that since the mortgage company hadn't gotten the needed papers to the title company, they wouldn't even consider closing me on Wednesday. Period.

A quick call to the mortgage company revealed that the title company had had an issue and hadn't gotten the mortgage company they papers they needed. After a full blown heart attack, followed by some dire toned discussions with all three of them, I determined that in reality, the title and mortgage companies were working hard and well together, it was the sales office that was causing me the issues. I spent the next two days fending off the sales office's attempts to pin anything and everything on the mortgage company.

Wednesday afternoon I finally got the call I was waiting for - the closing had been scheduled for 11am on Thursday.

Thursday morning rolled around, and the final numbers for closing came in - excellent. I got the cashiers check from the bank and went down. Kathy Jean and her husband Frank met me at the title office and I signed a lot of paperwork. By 1pm I was waiting on funding, and by 3:30p I got the call that my keys were released. Sweet.

I loaded up the car with the first batch of crap to inflict on the new place, and headed down to the sales office. The entire way I was expecting to have a problem when I arrived. I figured that the sales office would with-hold the keys for 24 hours for some imagined contractual slight. Luckily, they weren't willing to see a full blown melt down on my part (by this time I was literally at the end of my rope - I was ready and willing to go nuclear on anyone attempting to stand in my way) and gave me my keys and garage door remotes.

The locks on the house were actually kind of interesting. While under construction, all the houses that are currently being worked on have locks on them that are set to a construction mode. All of them use the same key (wish I had known that earlier - there were a few houses nearing completion around me I would have liked to have toured hehe). When you take the real key for the lock and insert/turn it for the first time, the tumblers are all toggled by a pin and drop down into their proper configuration. The lady at the sales office was nice enough to let me bring one of the sets of construction keys with me so I could verify that each lock was now rekeyed. Everything there went well.

What then ensued was 72 hours of constant running back and forth. Getting the alarm activated and monitored, cable tv install, appliance deliveries, and all the while running carloads of garbage (where the devil did all of this stuff come from???) back and forth.

Finally today, the movers came to handle the big stuff. Everything went very smoothly, and they even managed to keep my half destroyed office desk from degenerating too much farther. Hopefully when the dust all settles I'll be able to replace it with another bargain basement particleboard mess.

So, now we come to the present. The dog is passed out on the carpet in the entryway. I have all of the ultra-valuables transferred (rule #1 for me is that the important stuff stays with me in whatever place I'm living in - this is coupled with rule #2 which states that I don't move until the bed does) and I'm down to maybe one or two car loads of stuff left in the old place. After a good cleaning, I'll turn the keys over to the apartment complex on Wednesday.

For the rest of the week, I need to acquire lawn maintenance tools, 8 billion more little things that you need to get a house working properly, and then I need to apply said lawn maintenance tools along with fertilizer and a good weeding to the property. Then it's off to the Mexican Riviera for a week to celebrate Gary's wedding.

Good thing I'm not busy or anything.

Closing Time?? No Senor, Manana.

2008-05-27T14:15:00.000-05:00

Wow! Very impressive.

The Title company never sent the Mortgage company the documents they needed. Manana.
The window dudes showed up on Friday.....with the wrong windows. Manana.
The vet sent me home with the wrong bag of food, had to turn around (paying tolls all the way of course) and go back to exchange it.

What a great day. *sigh*

Manana. Maybe manana...

Umm...What is Going On?

2008-05-27T08:14:00.000-05:00

Alright, here we sit on theoretical closing day.......and I have no idea what the schedule is.

The salesman appears to be the most out of the loop - I'm getting some different information on closing from the title company (which closed early on Friday - or at least stopped answering the phones at 3pm), the mortgage company, and the sales office. Mortgage seemed pretty sure we'd be able to close today anyhow.

That is, assuming of course, that the window company figures out that sending windows out the front door with scratches in between the panes is not likely pass muster. Last I heard on Friday we were still waiting on them to get their kiesters in gear and send out two new panes. Without that, I may not be able to close anyways. We're still not signed off with construction - and worse, things will get very busy a little later this week over at Title since it is month end.

So, at the moment - worst case - I know I'll need to head up to the house today to sign off, over to the Title Company to close (for those not in the know, the Title Company's location is roughly the distance/travel time it takes to get to Phoenix from Tucson - and it's not even all the way to Fort Worth - Dallas is a huge place). Did I mention that the dog is still in boarding?? Yup! Gotta get her picked up today as well. Of course, I still have to get the cashiers check for the closing costs/down payment from the bank.

Last second scheduling for the win. It's times like this that I'm incredibly glad I have project management skills. :P

My Kingdom for Windows!

2008-05-23T13:46:00.000-05:00

And no, I don't mean the operating system.

Went through the motions of a final walkthrough today, and we would have been done save for a couple of window panes that Frank noticed were scratched on the inside. Unfortunately, the vendor wasn't being very cooperative with the construction manager, so Tuesday (hopefully it will be Tuesday) will be that much more busy, with my having to verify a couple of more things before signing off on the house and closing.

Meanwhile, underwriting at the mortgage company is dragging its feet, leaving me in limbo with an actual closing appointment. Grr.

It's a good thing I'm going away for the weekend, I desperately need to unwind.

Fix it!

2008-05-22T12:34:00.000-05:00

Forwarded the roofer's report to the builder, they have agreed to make it good. I cautioned them against just sealing the exposed nail heads with sealant and requested that the pierced shingles be completely replaced and redone correctly.

I'm still waiting to hear that financing cleared the writers at the mortgage company. There shouldn't be any problem with that, but I am working against a deadline of today with the Title Company to ensure I close on time (Tuesday).

Tomorrow will be the signoff walkthrough. Hopefully the builder has made good on everything or we may be delaying closing.

Meanwhile, it's up to the lake this weekend for GRiv's bachelor party. Should be a lot of fun. I went to WalMart yesterday and picked up a bunch of burgers, some brats, chips, all kinds of stuff I have not been eating for health reasons. Should be a real blast.

Small Hiccup

2008-05-20T20:05:00.000-05:00

Not the best news. After finding out that some friends had some serious damage to their roof from a recent hail storm (about 4-6 weeks ago I believe it was), I decided to have a roofer go out and look at the roof on the house today. He said that the roof in general was in good shape, with the exception of a number of exposed nails in various areas (which can cause leaks later), the shingles around the fireplace chimney were poorly installed, and there were some definite dents in the area around the garage/front door. Hopefully the builder can correct these issues before close.

Walk Through Complete

2008-05-20T17:14:00.000-05:00

Spent a couple of hours going through the house with Kathy-Jean and her husband Frank, and a representative of the builder. Kathy and Frank did a great job of finding some of the little detail issues that I didn't see on my first and second look.

All in all, the property is in good shape. I'm sending a roofer out today to check the roof to make sure it is still good after those recent hail storms that we had. The builder, meanwhile, has some work to do with the grade by the fence, a number of small texture deficiencies, and a few spots where some sanding and touch-up will be required.

With luck, I'll go back and sign off on the changes on Friday.

Stand By for Inspection!

2008-05-19T21:15:00.000-05:00

The finalized kitchen.

Here we are! It's May 19th, and tomorrow it is time for the final walk through. I took a visit on Saturday and took my time going through the property, figuring on having a leisurely stroll through letting my eyes wander rather than feeling rushed with representatives from the builder on hand. All in all, things looked pretty good. The paint and texturing seemed to be in good shape, everything was clean and wiped down.

The living room - facing the kitchen.

I did notice a few things, such as the brand new marsh in the back yard near the gate, the back fence has a pole that needs to be dug up and re-set, little things mainly.

The master bedroom.

I've already scoped Home Depot for some fans for the Office and Master Bedroom - the two places I usually need them the most. Now I need to find a new desk for the office - the movers destroyed the one I use now, and its poor particle board self is barely standing now, let alone making it through another move. Utilities are all lined up, cable installation and movers are scheduled, and I should be funded in the next day or so - everything seems to be dropping into place.

The office.

So tomorrow, we inspect! Next week, with luck, I move in. I found myself weeding a property I didn't own - again. I figured it would be easier to weed before getting into the tight schedule of packing and moving (in between a trip to the lake and a trip to Mexico no less). The weeds are holding out for now, but a few hard fought frontal assaults significantly weakened their lines. They seem to have allied with a ton of ants - I'll address that with some biological weapons the first chance I get. The yard will submit...oh yes...it will submit.

This weekend is the bachelor party for Gary's wedding....which happened last week as you may have read. Leave it to GRiv to get everything bass ackwards. A trip up north to Lake Texoma is in order, with some interludes of beer and barbeques, followed by passing out in tents in the 90 degree heat. Should be a blast.

Morris Sr. vs. Airline Flight Schedules - FAIL

2008-05-15T12:35:00.000-05:00

So here we were thinking we were going to be able to hang out this evening for a bit. Garry 3 thought he had a three hour layover here in Dallas on his way....somewhere else (has he spent more than 3 days at home in the last year???). Unfortunately, the evil airlines once again befuddled him as to the times their aircraft come and go.

This all started back in 2004 or so, when we were flying Alaskan standby out of Seattle. At 5:00am, the poor ticket agent stared blankly at us as we insisted on getting on the 7:30am flight. She insisted for a few minutes there was no 7:30am flight, and we demanded to get on it anyways. After a couple of minutes of this, she smiled and said we were on the 7:30 flight. Great!

After getting our body cavity searches with TSA (the joys of standby flying - may as well just wear a turban and scream Allah u Akbar while mooning the security staff - you'll get the same treatment) we walked up to our gate and looked at the departure board. Washington Dulles it proudly displayed. hmm. A quick check of our tickets indicated that we were on....the 7:30pm flight out of Seattle. I think we finally got onto an airplane going in the right direction at about Noon. Not too bad.

Fast forward back to today. We're both getting excited about getting a few hours to explore some exciting bars near the airport tonight during a 3 hour layover and...oops. There is only a 45min layover. Not nearly enough to do more than sprint for your next gate when you're talking about negotiating the couple of square miles of airport terminals we have here in Dallas. Ahh well.

The upside is that there looks to be a layover on the way back that will work (the time has been checked and double checked), so hopefully we'll be raising a beer or three on Sunday when he comes back through.

Off to the Lake: With a Hitch

2008-05-12T21:17:00.000-05:00

Spent Saturday and Sunday down at Cedar Creek Reservoir with the dog. The intent was the first of a few marriage ceremonies for Gary and Zeena, two good friends of mine. The wedding was attended by Gary and Zeena's friends, Gary's family, and Zeena's father, via cell phone from Kuwait. The wedding was officiated by Mitchell, a co-worker and friend of ours.

On Saturday, I loaded up a cooler full of beer, tossed the dog into the car (she likes to ride in the passenger seat)
and headed south to the Lake. After a few hours of drinking and merriment, and getting Sarina used to playing nice with her littermate: Audie Murphy (Gary and Zeena adopted one of Scott's other puppies when I got Sarina), we got the show on the road. As you can see, it was a very formal affair, with shorts and t-shirts the norm. They even saved money on shoe rentals. A niece acted as a ring-baroness, and Audie acted as the best...err...mog.

Audie and Sarina keeping everyone company.

Zeena and Gary exchanging rings.

Mitchell performed an excellent service, and all with a cell phone on speakerphone sitting in his Bible, allowing Zeena's father to hear the ceremony.

Sarina and Audie had a great time swimming in the channel. It was Sarina's first time at a lake, and she had a lot of fun snapping at the waves and running back and forth in the shallow areas. A rousing game of fetch the tennis ball had both dogs scrambling to swim out into the channel as well. As I type this, she is still happily sleeping on the floor.

Thanks to Gary and Zeena for sharing their day. Now we're all looking forward to Playa Del Carmen in the Mexican Riviera early next month, where the wedding festivities will continue.

Walk On By...

2008-05-05T15:45:00.000-05:00

Alrighty, walk through is scheduled for the 20th. That's where I get to look for problems and demand they get fixed before I take possession the following week. I wonder if they'll freak out when I show up with a level?

Meanwhile, a visit to the house yesterday allowed me to see the built-in appliances installed. I ended up upgrading to the stainless steel option, mainly due to the extra bells and whistles that came as part of the appliance upgrade (more options for baking, nuking, and dish scrubbing). The dishwasher, stove, and microwave are now in and hooked up. One oddity was that the door to the oven was in the master closet. I'm still trying to figure that one out. Hopefully it will be attached next weekend so I can do some interior shots.

The carpet pad feels nice, and the colors are all coming together very nicely. I'll have to remember to thank Kathy-Jean (my Realtor) for helping me out with that. Looks like there are a few small finishing details, including a final cleaning to go. All the lights were hooked up and working, and the A/C was on. The return vents in every room actually had the entire house feeling incredibly nice and evenly cooled. First order of business, though, will be a ceiling fan for the master bedroom - I use mine too much in the apartment in the summer to not have one (the ceiling fan option was way overpriced for what they were giving you so I made the decision to do it myself after move-in).

Everything is coming together very nicely. We're definitely in the home stretch.

Mortgage Samba

2008-05-01T08:43:00.000-05:00

Ahh, the joys of a fluctuating market, with people bandying about the "inflation" word, and loan officers salivating for even the slightest possibility of someone with decent credit getting a loan with them.

This week is/was "finance the house week". The players were 4 mortgage companies versus me. It really was kind of like buying a car on a grand scale, with loan officers maneuvering to get as much as they could from me, and me maneuvering not to pay any more than I had to.

A few days ago, I found out that the "incentives" offered by the builder for using their mortgage company were actually being passed through in the form of a higher interest rate. The entire week the builder's mortgage company's rates were a half a point higher than any other quote I was getting from other companies. While the builder's company offered to match offers in writing, I really felt that it was in poor taste to claim they were covering the owner's title policy when in reality I was going to be paying for it for the next 30 years. That caused a trust issue with me, and I decided that match it or not, I wasn't going to allow them any further opportunities to try and slide one by me.

As luck would have it, a friend/co-worker here at work has a sister who has been in the mortgage business for over 20 years. He mentioned that she has worked deals for most of his family and other friends. I called her up and was immediately blown away by her energetic demeanor, great attitude, and zest for her work. She immediately pointed out the various spots in the builder's good faith estimate that were padded and/or high, and despite my having to pay the owner's title policy (for not using the builder's mortgage company, which, by the way, is a RESPA violation and a half), got me a lower closing funds total, a lower origination fee, and a better interest rate than anyone else was offering at that fee level. She also calmed down a few panic attacks on my part from bad information being fed to me by a couple of the other companies (oh, you need to close near the end of May?? It's going to be tight! pfah). Success!

If anyone needs a mortgage in Texas, let me know and I'll get you her information.

Grass, but not the "good" kind.

2008-04-27T22:21:00.000-05:00

Pretty full week for the house. I now have carpet, bermuda sod, trees, bushes, gutters, weeds, and a fence. Ok, I pulled most of the weeds that I saw, so the yard now features fewer weeds than before. I think I'll likely ninja-fertilize everything next weekend - that way I can have really BIG weeds to pull.

So what's left? Not entirely sure actually. Unless they haven't insulated the ceiling yet, all that is left to do is install the range, microwave, and dishwasher. They also need to apply the faux stain to the front door. After that, everything pauses until the scheduled finish-out walk through. Wonder who will cut the grass until closing?

This week is mortgage seeking week. :P Suppose everything would run a lot smoother if I actually paid for it.

Yay Appliances!

2008-04-25T16:14:00.000-05:00

Alrighty! A nice Earth Day sale at BestBuy (I spent the whole week railing at anyone that would listen about how much crap Earth Day is - not to mention all the preachy, whiny, crap science OHNOES WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE! documentaries that Earth Day entails), coupled with the ability to choose a delivery date (end of May anyone?), and free shipping (yeehaw) has netted me the washer, dryer, and refrigerator I'm going to need at the new place.

Monday will be 30 days out from closing, so I'll start interest rate shopping for mortgages on that day as well. Inflation has been killing me somewhat lately, so we'll see how that goes. :P

Now, is time for weekend! Weekend is time for much merriment and beer.

House Overview

2008-04-21T18:53:00.000-05:00

I was told I hadn't posted a detailed shot this week. So here you go!

Don't forget that you can click to view the photo in a larger format.

The real construction update.

2008-04-20T22:28:00.000-05:00

Alright! We had some good rain drift through last week as part of our normal annual rough storm season. For those of you that don't live in Dallas, the springtime is when we have our highest incidence of nasty storms, some of which produce tornadoes. While the week before last saw a very powerful system roll through at 4am, with very large hail, last week was more of a good, hard rain. Either way, it looks like most of the filler levelling soil was washed off of the lot. They'll get that fixed up soon.

As mentioned below, this week saw the finishing out of the plumbing, electrical, and alarm sockets, switches, faucets, etc. Also making its first appearance - lights on the ceilings, the coach and flood lights on the outside, vents, and the air conditioning unit. The posts for the fence have been placed as well. A visit to the construction office to pick up my keys also resulting in me making a firm appointment for May 27th to close - we're now official!

As you can see in the photo below, the kitchen is still missing the appliances.

The tile floor is actually a bit darker than it appears in the photo, for now there is a patina of dirt and drywall/Spackle dust.

The lamp hangs over what will be the dining area, which in this floorplan is in the kitchen. Shouldn't be a problem for me, since normally my eating companion is the dog, and she doesn't care if I sit at the table or in front of the TV (ok, she likely prefers in front of the TV, since there is a higher chance of something falling for her to eat).

Here is a quick close up of the counter and backsplash to give you an idea of the colors there. The counters are laminate, but the pattern looks very good. The counter edges are also beveled, which adds a very nice finishing touch.

Yay AC

2008-04-18T12:44:00.000-05:00

Got an automated email from the builder today - looks like my A/C and Heating is installed, along with the various fixtures, like faucets, electric sockets and switches, grates (no ingrates thankfully), etc.

Frankly, I'm wondering what they're going to do for the next month short of landscaping and carpet.

Construction Update

2008-04-12T16:47:00.000-05:00

Went by the house today. We're at a point in construction where they're locking the doors, so I wasn't able to go in. Looks like they have the tile on the floors, the tile back splash is in, so are the kitchen cabinets and counters.

Last weekend I saw that they had the texturing done on the walls, and all the baseboards and trim done. The stone surround on the fireplace is complete and looking nice.

The Construction Manager has said that this week will be getting the wiring finished out (installing the outlets, switches, etc), as well as the HVAC guys installing the air conditioner and the various vents and grates. We're still on track for a final walk through on May 20th, and closing on the 27th.

Some photos from last weekend:
Living Room Facing the Kitchen:

The Kitchen facing the front door:

First post!

2008-04-12T11:18:00.000-05:00

Ok, going to try out this blogging thing. My main concern will be keeping up with it, and having something interesting to say (that is to say interesting to people other than my mom - hi mom).

I'm currently building a house just north of Dallas, and expect that for at least the next month, I'll provide construction updates here to interested parties.