Good/Bad

Good:
Aviation, architecture, creativity, the four seasons (not the hotel), dreams, cantaloupe, oranges, the sun, the moon, the ocean, the desert, Blue Bell ice cream, friends, family, my wife, baseball, art, Jim Carrey, boobs, steak, Mexican food, air, water, raspberries, Orange Cat, Allie, time, literature, leather, wood, metal, bonsai trees, bobsledding, logos, aquariums, the beach, happiness, laughter, humor, good moods, good times, music, guitars, whiskey, a beating heart, inquisitiveness, curiosity, wonder, awe, love, loving, being loved, old cars, chrome, exploration, knowledge, Jaws, sloths, heavy metal, cranberry juice, the smell of rain in the desert, yesterday, today, tomorrow, right now, redwood trees, half-dome, rain, laser light shows, lawn chairs, homemade kites, the food chain, cancer research, breathing, three-on-the-tree transmissions, dirt, good people doing good things for good reasons, anti-lock brakes, airbags, birds, George Washington, Henry Ford, HPD, walruses, SRV, the Comal River, Texas and everything in it, desire, Greek mythology, Dr. Sevier's English class, lions, tigers, bears, oh my, green grass, blue skies, thunderclouds, the crack of lightning and the roar of thunder, everything in it's right place, order, Hanauma Bay, huma huma nuka nuka apaua, that little taco stand in Cabo, power tools, Japanese maple trees, the patterns created by light shining through crystal or a stained glass window, relaxation, calmness, serenity, peacefulness, the side boob, black & white movies, watching Casablanca on new years eve, macaroni & cheese, frogs, toads, shooting stars, full moons, clever design, modern design, intelligence, James Bond, root beer floats, optimism, ...

Bad:
homeless animals, people who are mean to animals, people who turn the corner in a hallway w/out thinking that someone else might be coming around the corner, traffic, boredom, apathy, greed, peas, cooked liver, hair dryers (the noise), leaf blowers (the noise), soy milk, roaches, bad smells, mean people, bad people, The Exorcist, The Dark Crystal, no love, Obama, McCain, Bush, smelly people, anger, hate, lack of common sense, disrespect, stomach pains, ingrown toenails, insect bites, toothaches, little league football coaches, ...

NObama

Say what you will, but I think Obama made a mistake--I completely disagree with his statement:


"Instead of worrying about immigrants learning English, America should be teaching its children Spanish." And no, Obama, it's not "It’s embarrassing when Europeans come over here, they all speak English, they speak French, they speak German. And then we go over to Europe and all we can say is merci beaucoup..."

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/07/09/obama-your-kids-should-learn-spanish/


But that's just me.

Dali, Me, and the Other Me

This was written a while ago, just haven’t had the time to put it up--

So, we’re at Conchi’s place a few weeks ago. Cool Ranch (a.k.a. Stacy Q) brings this mammoth of a book about astrology and birthdays. Not the month-by-month kind, but one that narrows it down to each day. We ended up reading each other’s supposedly-accurate horoscopes, raising our eyebrows at what sounded true and shouting “bah” in disgust to what sounded untrue. Now, I don’t entirely believe in horoscopes and such, just so you know. I think a 3^rd of it could be true, another 3^rd of it could be mere coincidence, and the final 3^rd consists of us manipulating scenarios to match what the horoscope says. For example, let’s say your horoscope says you’re bad with money. Instead of someone (whoever is reading it) thinking of your smart money management skills, such as how you contribute regularly to an IRA or research every major purchase to ensure your getting the best deal for your money, they will remember the one time you lost $300 at a slot machine or spent $500 on some stupid internet scam. Therefore, you’re suddenly bad with money. Catch my drift?

My birthday is May 11^th. What interests me is not so much of what my horoscope says about me, but the similarities between myself and another May 11^th born person, Salvadore Dali. Dali has long been one of my favorite artists, if not my favorite. I love the surreal infused realism (or realistic infused surrealism) that he brings to a work of art and the though that it provokes. While listening to my horoscope being read I couldn’t help but subconsciously relate them to Dali and I don’t know why. A Dali painting or sculpture has never awed me, and that’s not a bad thing. Art does not necessarily have to “awe” to be good. When I would look through books of Dali’s work for the first time (and time and time again) I somehow felt like I already knew it--and I think that’s why I am attracted to his work. Moving on…

After listening to my horoscope read aloud I started to wonder if it was really true. It said that May 11^th born persons are creative and that if allowed, their fantasies can run wild if not kept in check. Dali was not kept in check, and neither am I on occasion. Now, I’m not implying that May 11^th born persons are naturally surrealist painters, but that ‘fantasies’ is a very general term. In fact, when I draw I prefer realism…go figure. But, my thoughts can go astray now and then and I sometimes have to bring myself back down to earth. I get one idea or thought, which leads to another, and another, and so on. I have this constant urge to create something…anything! The same went for Dali. He had to go beyond the canvas. He would decorate dinner tables with live sea urchins and pull up to events in cars filled with broccoli. He invented his own language and made a record on how to speak it (I think…). This is Me, and if you know me, I think you’ll agree.

So, is it true? Or is it coincidence? What about the other May 11^th-ers? Maybe they posses some of the other traits often attributed to those born under the Taurus umbrella. I suppose I don’t know enough about them to comment. Maybe they’re all like me (I hope not). As for the Other Me, well, there was whole other set of traits that I neglected to mention, all of which are supposed to paint an accurate picture of someone born on May 11^th. I say “Other Me” because, in my opinion, they were not “Me.” These traits are those that fall into my coincidence or scenario manipulating categories. I did go to school with a girl who shared my birthday, and she was nothing like me. Or Dali. Perhaps she is like the Other Me, and I’m like the Other Her. Make sense?

Goodbye 20's, hello 30's

Well, i'm 30 now--and it doesn't really feel all that different. Sure I was dreading it for a while (like everyone else), but the closer I became the more I was willing to accept it. At one point I was almost looking forward to it. My motto for my 30's is to "stop thinking about what I want to do and to start doing it." In other words, i'm a thinker and a planner. There's always something on my mind--whether it be something I want to build, something I want to experience, or something I want to do. If you see me looking like i'm doing nothing and i'm staring off into space, chances are i'm contemplating something. Some idea. Some notion. Some...question. So, to kickstart my 30's I did something I never thought possible--well, possible, yes, I just didn't deem it doable right now. But I did it anyway and it was surprisingly easy--for my 30th birthday I bought a house.













It's a standard 3-bed, 2-bath and it has a blue garage! Awesome, I know. I finally have the ultimate project--something to keep me busy when i'm not. I told Niki on a Wednesday night that I wanted to buy a house. She said OK (although i'm not sure if she was really taking me seriously or not, considering we've been looking and talking about it for over a year). Anyway, I pulled up several homes in our price range on har.com and told her to pick from one. The one bought is the only house we've BOTH agreed on spanning our entire search. She said "yeah, I like it " and proceeded to take a shower. Little did she know that as soon as I heard the water turn on I began filling out an application for a mortgage pre-approval.

I'll omit the details and cut to the chase. Basically, we looked at it online on Wednesday, got pre-approved for a mortgage on Thursday and celebrated with sushi at Blue Fish House, looked at it in person on Friday, had an offer in that night, ironed out the details on Saturday and had a contract later that night. I almost vomited several times in the process. It was all happening so fast and making me very anxious, but worth it. It's a huge step for me, as I don't always accept change well. But I did it, and it's done. We'll close on June 3rd and i'll officially be a homeowner.

If you think that you can't do it, trust me, you can.

Rotation for April 2008

Still trying to keep up with some sort of weekly/monthly rotation post:

Oasis - (Complete Catalog)
The Black Keys - Magic Potion
James Taylor - Greatest Hits
Frank Sinatra - (some greatest hits collection)
Snoop Dogg - Doggystyle

***
Magic Potion is one of the few recently released albums i've been listening to lately. New music just bores me lately...hence the other four artists on my list. I am looking forward to the new Oasis album though and i'm positive that it will be just as good as their others...well, hopefully.

OctoFuzz

Here's a guitar pedal I built -- it has some pretty nasty fuzz:

(Click image for a larger version)

Finally!

Rotation for the month of November

I'd like to have a "rotation of the week" kind of post, but I've been listening to the same shit for about a month now, so here's my top five for November:

Duran Duran - Greatest Hits
Brad Paisley - Mud on the Tires
Silversun Pickups - Carnavas
She Wants Revenge - This is Forever
Elvis - 30 #1 Hits

Sorry, no details this week.

This is how it's gonna happen:

I've noticed that people start putting out their holiday decorations earlier and earlier each year. I noticed quite a few around the 30th of October this year. Last year, I saw quite a few around the 10th or so of November. I remember when some people waited until at least the day after Thanksgiving, most waiting until the 1st of December (which is completely acceptable). Next year it will be before Halloween, and so on. I'm thinking that it will happen earlier and earlier every year until we are eventually putting up our holiday decorations the day after we take them down in January.

So if you need a guide for when to set out your holiday decorations I have made the following schedule for the next 15 years since people can't seem to wait (this applies to both residential and businesses, although businesses are allowed to start a few days early).

Schedule:
2008 - Oct. 15th
2009 - Oct. 5th
2010 - Sept. 25th
2011 - Sept. 15th
2012 - Sept. 5th
2013 - Aug. 25th
2014 - Aug. 15th
2015 - Aug. 5th
2016 - Jul. 25th
2017 - Jul. 15th
2018 - Jul. 5th
2019 - Jun. 25th
2020 - Jun. 15th
2021 - Jun. 5th

January 4th, 2036: Take down x-mas stuff from 2035 holiday season
January 5th, 2036: Put up x-mas stuff for the 2036 holiday season
Jan. - Dec. 2037 - holiday season, 24/7/265!

More space art

Here's my latest...it's some sort of nebula system. I'm still working on the technicality of it (i.e. would this be a natural occurrence in space?) Anyway--if you like it, click the image for a larger wallpaper version (1024x768).
More to come.