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.
Thursday: Coda
After work, I headed home to grab a few things, filled up the car, picked up SaraRules’ mom…
…and hit the road.
A shade under seven hours later, we were in Snowmass Village. We listened to The Areas of My Expertise from Price all the way to the condo. It was entertaining; SaraRules’ mom seemed to enjoy it, as well.
Tomorrow:
Namaste.
Chew on This: Food for Thought
I’ve seen a couple of links to this article today.
I can’t fathom the amount of… malice?… apathy?… evil?… that it would take to commit a crime like this.
And, from a different perspective: What about the other passengers? What goes through your head when you turn and see something like this occur mere inches from you? Or if you were the guy he smoked a cigarette with? Or the young lady he chatted up?
I’ve heard people say – and even said myself, on occasion – “People suck.”
This goes a long way to reinforcing that belief.
Stray Toasters
Thursday – 31 July 2008
Happy Birthday to
This morning has started off decently. When the alarm started up this morning, I turned it off. Then I had an amazing revelation: I didn’t want to be awake. So I rolled over and indulged in another hour’s tour of The Dreaming. It was nice. The rest of the morning prep went smoothly. I even put a load of dishes in the dishwasher and started it before walking out the door. I picked up a frozen mocha and was on my way.
And, to top it all off: I turned on the radio to find The Young Rascals’ Good Lovin’ playing.
Yep, nice way to start off an NBN Sushi Thursday.
Selah.
Wednesday: Coda
After work, I met Liz for dinner at Outback; it was nice to catch up and hang out.
I came home and opened the new brick – no Susan Richards or Spider-Woman, but I did wind up with a few new figures:
And, I now have a plethora duplicates that I need to determine how to group for sale on eBay.
Stray Toasters
Namaste.
Stray Toasters
It does, however, recognize “Target this location”
*voop*
I’ve been talking comics, movies and other assorted geekery with
“I would love to see The Dark Knight on IMAX, but the only one around here is tasked for educational purposes and only shows films like Dolphins of the Deep, Holy Fuck, It’s a Shark!, Creatures of the Deep, Here’s Some Clownfish Or Some Shit, Depths of the Deep, and Holy Fuck, It’s A Shark! in 3D.”
–Miss
Come on! You know Holy Fuck, It’s a Shark! would be a great movie. It’s what educational films would be if Douglas Adams wrote them.
Though she was quoting
By way of Schoolhouse Rock! – The Good Eleven
Wednesday – 30 July 2008
Midweek.
Coffee: Check.
Failsafe lunch: Check.
Lack of road monkeys: Check.
Hooverphonic’s 2 Wicky on iTunes: Check.
Butterscotch Krimpets for breakfast: Check.
It’s also the day that Baltimore, MD was founded.
Man… all that AND a reference from The Wiz (Broadway, not the movie), too.
Let’s get this started.
Tuesday: Coda
After work, I made haste to get to Far West Comics for the HeroClix tournament. Keith, the judge got there just after me. And no one else did. Fortunately, Matt and Nano (the store owners) were playing in the event, so it wasn’t a complete wash. I got my two boosters and pulled the following figures:
I was very pleased to pull the Dugan, Doom and Impossible Man figures… very pleased, indeed. The others were all duplicates of figures that I got in my brick. I constructed my team of:
I used a Feat card – Loner – on Dum Dum, which gave him a bonus to his defensive value. And then, we went to work.
My first match was against Matt, he also fielded four figures:
I split my force and moved to positions that afforded me decent lines of fire, while still providing cover. The first game went fairly quickly. I took out two of Matt’s pieces without losing anyone. Next up, I fought Nano. He brought
I divided my force again, but in a slightly different pattern – I remembered to array my figures in a pattern that allowed the ranged members of each team to provide cross-field support to each other. That came in pretty handy. And some really good dice rolls didn’t hurt, either. I was able to eliminate Mole Man and the Spider-Slayer and was working on taking out Spider-Man when time ran out. Once again, I was able to keep everyone on my side alive, although Kristoff took a couple of solid hits.
For going 2-0, I got an Illuminati event dial, a Nowhere to Hide battlefield condition card and a map.
After the tourney, I came home… and had a lazy evening. Me, the couch, the TV and a crossword puzzle book. Mm-hmm, that’s right. And it was good.
Stray Toasters
And that’s all.