Today is apparently “Bird Day.”
Why is that, you ask?
A couple of reasons:
Win-Win.
This post was brought to you by the letters “B” and “X” and the number “7.”
And Morris Day, of course.
Friday – 08 August 2008
Eight-Eight-Eight.
The 2008 Summer Olympic Games have gotten under way.
Last night, I went to see The
I got home and found that I wasn’t very tired, so I puttered around the apartment for a bit. Then, I remembered that ‘Nine has been semi-lobotomized for a while and started to reinstall XP on it. Suffice if to say that it’s still dysfunctional. Around 1:00, I could tell that I was winding down, but not “sleepy,” so I got Wednesday’s still-unread comics and sprawled across the bed to read. And read I did. About 1:30, took my glasses off, to “rest my eyes for a minute.”
A few minutes after 5:00, I was apparently done resting my eyes.
It was still too early to start prepping for work, so I did the only logical thing: I finished reading my comics. That took another twenty or thirty minutes. Plenty of time to return to The Dreaming… which I did. When I finally woke up to face the day, I decided that I wasn’t in a big rush to get to the office – I have a short work day, as I put in some extra hours over the past few days – so, I lounged about for a while. It was nice.
The morning’s commute – without any input from me – was rather heavily comic-themed:
Yep, technopathy is a good thing.
And for those who weren’t aware of it: Undercover Brother began as a webcomic before being picked up and adapted into a movie.
Food for Thought: Chew on This
It’s been in the news that Morgan Freeman and his wife are preparing to divorce.
You know what?
I don’t really care.
For me, it’s like…
What affect does it – or any of the above items – have on my day-to-day life?
Zip.
Zero.
Zilch.
None at all.
At most, I could say that I feel badly that their marriage has come to an end. But, I’m Ivory Soap sure that they didn’t just wake up one morning and decide: “Hey, you know what sounds like fun? Let’s get a divorce!” It seems to me that decisions like this take some time – and soul-searching – to reach. And, if they have come to the realization that the best of their time together has passed, then I wish each of them the best of luck and hope that they find the happiness that they seek elsewhere… assuming that they haven’t achieved that level of happiness and/or satisfaction already.
Stray Toasters
Star Wars Coming to America – Watch more free videos
Namaste.
Thursday – 07 August 2008
Belated Happy Hatching Day to
After work,
We had barely gotten in the door when Kade came up to us and invited us to join him, his girlfriend Emily and Rob and Michelle K at their table. The atmosphere is rather Cheers-like. They have a full bar and offer a menu of fairly typical pub fare:
The difference is that the food is made on-site… even the bratwurst is ground and packed in the restaurant. And the food is VERY good. I had a burger with fries, chased by a Guinness (on tap!), but I tried some of Michelle’s pizza, which was quite tasty. For dessert, I had a bowl of Guinness ice cream (yes, I said “Guinness ice cream”) and a chocolate chip and pecan cookie. And the prices were rather reasonable.
All-in-all, it was a fun evening. I recommend checking out Poplar Street Pub if you’re looking for someplace different to dine and/or have a drink. Yes, being Utah it is “a private club for members;” memberships are:
After dropping off
And I slept well. Very well, indeed.
Stray Toasters
(click image to go to the accompanying CD item)
Attack the day…
Namaste.
Wednesday – 06 August 2008
Sometimes, it’s amusing to realize what it is that breaks us out of our morning doldrums and gets us ready to face the day. For me, this morning, it was remembering that I was planning on trying a fruit smoothie recipe this morning before heading to work. And I did. And It’s pretty good.
Last night’s Scion game was good. I almost got half the party killed… all because an NPC didn’t like the answer I gave to a riddle. So, a few rounds later: Sphinx: 0, Us: 1… kind of. In the process of some rather fancy bow (archery) work, it seems that
Stray Toasters
Namaste.
I spent the better part of the afternoon in the AF office today. I took care of a couple of items and wound up bringing one of the troubled kids back to the north office.
Workout
One of the benefits of being in AF, I was able to work out with Eric… and Dwim joined us, as well. Today’s routine:
Pre-workout weight: 173.2 lbs
Stray Toasters
I should probably pay some more attention to the game… as I’m being attacked by a Sphinx. Yay.
Namaste.
Tuesday – 05 August 2008
Thank you.
And now, back to your regularly-scheduled programming.
Monday – 04 August 2008
A new week is just starting… and I want it to be the weekend already. This isn’t to say that the morning has been bad. Far from it, in fact. I just find that today’s motivation is low. Despite this, I’ve already accomplished a few things and have lined up a couple of things for tomorrow.
This morning started off slowly. I turned off the main alarm… after I finally figured out what it was. I then drifted in and out of consciousness for another hour. I got up, got ready and hit the door in under 30 minutes. A quick stop for a frozen mocha jumpstart and I made my way to the office.
Stray Toasters
I think I’ll be spending part of this evening’s pre-The Middleman time trying to wrangle some of my ‘Clix extras into eBay-able lots.
/lunch
Namaste.
Sunday – 03 August 2008
This morning, I was awakened (somewhat abruptly) by SaraRules’ roommate… at 8:00; her social skills occasionally leave something to be desired. I was “a tad” annoyed, expecting to grab another hour or so of sleep before rousing, but I did manage to wind down enough to finally knock off again.
After SaraRules and her mother got up, the three of us had breakfast and proceeded to lounge away the morning and early afternoon. I started packing the car around 2:00 and we hit the road about 3:15.
396 miles and six-and-a-half hours later, we were back in the Land Behind the Zion Curtain. The drive was good and pleasantly uneventful.
Although it was a relatively short trip, it was a great deal of fun and a pleasant change of pace.
Stray Toasters
And that’s a wrap.
Namaste.
Saturday: Coda
An Evening of Words and Music: Condoleeza Rice turned out to be a very nice affair. It was a joint venture between the Aspen Music Festival and School and The Aspen Institute. Dr. Rice and her interviewer, Walter Isaacson, were introduced by former Secretary of State Madeline Albright.
Dr. Albright pointed out a very interesting item: Her father, Josef Korbel, was not only one of the professors under whom Dr. Rice studied while at the University of Denver, he was also her mentor on her doctoral thesis. Despite differences in political ideologies, Dr. Albright referred to Dr. Rice as “my sister.” Anecdotally, Dr. Albright recounted how she had called upon Dr. Rice to be a potential advisor to then-Democratic presidential nominee, Michael Dukakis. Dr Rice then informed her,”…but I’m a Republican now.” A shocked Dr. Albright retorted with: “How could you be..?! We had the same father!” It was a kind, warm – and surprisingly witty – introduction.
Dr. Rice and Mr. Isaacson took the stage and proceeded to talk for the next 30 – 40 minutes. I had worried that the discussion might turn into a pulpit from which Dr. Rice might try to quietly (or even not-so-quietly) talk up the current administration’s policies. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could not have been more off-base. Yes, the discussion focused mostly on political matters, but I found Dr. Rice to be fairly candid and willing to discuss the topics and issues – not the party politics. This was also true when the discussion turned from interviewer/interviewee to an open mike Q&A session. The first question she fielded was from a gentleman from Bangladesh who attempted to call her on the carpet about the U.S.’ energy policies, with regard to the Kyoto Protocols. Dr. Rice gently corrected a couple of misunderstood points and then elaborated on the United States’ position… and also why India and China, which the man had cited as being on board with the terms of the protocols, were not being held to the same standards. On another occasion, a topic was brought up by Mr. Isaacson; Dr. Rice started to answer the question… and then paused to elaborate on exactly what it was to which they were referring. When the Q&A was over, Dr. Rice left the stage to a standing ovation.
After an intermission, during which time the interview area was broken down and music stands and a piano were brought out, the Sybarite Chamber Players took the stage. They were a string quintet who performed two modern pieces:
The pieces were brief but highlighted the performers abilities nicely.
A small set change later, Dr. Rice – an alumna of the Apsen Music School – took the stage again, with a string quartet comprised of: Lydia Bunn (viola), Ken Hamao (violin), Aleisha Verner (cello) and Eric Wong (violin). The quintet then performed pieces by Johannes Brahms, Dr. Rice’s favorite composer, and Antonin Dvorak:
Dr. Rice is an adept pianist. She noted during the interview that she changed her major from Music (Piano) to International Relations after returning from the Aspen Music School, saying that she had observed eleven- and twelve-year-olds performing pieces that they had spent hours (or a couple of days) learning, whereas it took her weeks to master the piece(s) she was attempting to play. The string players were also very accomplished with their respective instruments. After they were finished performing, the crowd responded with another standing ovation.
We returned to SaraRules’ condo to change clothes and to get a quick bite to eat. Then, we headed into Glenwood Springs. Our objective was to visit the grave of John Henry Holliday, best known to many as Doc Holliday. What we didn’t know was that the graveyard was at the end of a half-mile uphill hike. We estimate that the elevation changed at least three-hundred (300) feet in that half-mile. (Google Maps seems to bear this out.) But, the three of us made the trek and explored the graveyard until we found the grave… sort of: There is a memorial marker in the graveyard (pictures). As explained here, the cemetary changed ownership in 1939 and some of the cemetary records – including where Doc Holliday was buried – were lost.
We trekked back down the mountain and back into town for dinner at The Bayou, a cajun restaurant that SaraRules had discovered and then we headed back to Snowmass Village.
All-in-all, it was a fun, adventure-filled day.
Saturday – 02 August 2008
Last night, SaraRules, her mother and I headed into Aspen and saw the Aspen Chamber Symphony – conducted by David Zinman and featuring Andreas Haefliger on piano – perform Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, op. 15 (1854-59) and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, op. 55, ‘Eroica’ (1803). We had tickets to sit inside the Benedict Music Tent, but opted to sit out on the lawn and make a picnic of it. The entire experience was quite fun.
We came back home and hung out for a while before, SaraRules’ mom called it an evening. At that point, SaraRules and I decided to watch Reign Over Me, starring Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler. I’m not the biggest Adam Sandler fan, but I think that he did an excellent job in this roll.
Today has been lazy, but we’re about to head back into Aspen to hear An Evening of Words and Music with Condoleeza Rice. Yes, that Condoleeza Rice.
And after that… we’re off to visit Doc Holliday’s grave site.
*zoom*
Friday – 01 August 2008
Sun: Check
Coffee: Check.
Breakfast: Check.
Logged into work systems: Check (after taking too long to remember the proper credentials).
Happy Birthday to
Stray Toasters
I’m not sure if it’s the connection in the condo or what, but the ‘tubes are being ludicrously slow. And it’s getting a little irritating.
Namaste.