So yeah... It would seem I just can't get enough of Upstate NY this month. heading back to the Empire State despite myself for some personal time w/ the folks and for a pseudo-interview mindshare sort of thing with a very cool project underway at my alma mater (RPI/U). More on that soon.
In the meantimes... Amelie is going as a mermaid for Halloweenee this year. She and Mommy are at our dear friends' place tonight (Beth and Arthur and girls) having holiday fun whilst I'm up in Rockville. Kinda bummerish... so it goes. Should have some pix out of L'il Lou up tomorrow.
Been diggin' on the whole Getting Thing Done org process by David Allen. Tried it for org'ing our personal finance record and I love it! Working on intgrating it into my daily process. Bit more of an effort there, but I have faith. And Midnight Inbox (goog it, already)...
Looking forward to being back at RPI if only for the weekend... get a hockey game in (Yale SUCKS!)... get a night at Holmes & Watson's in (mmmm, scotch)... and maybe land a cool job. Certainly wish the girls could've joined me... but prolly best for me to "lone wolf" it on this run -- stay in the rhythm (der rhythmus blieben!).
Anywho... try not to swallow your tongues... ciao.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
In Transitum :: The Me That You Know, He Had Some Second Thoughts...
The Sleeper has awaken...
Circles converge and collapse... Wheels turn and grind... Time moves at its pace...
The more I chose to let The Universe lead me by the nose, the more The Universe tugs me. I had an idea and then it changed... and now I have a new idea... and it is good. Fear is but a mirage in the current of time. {Insert, The Litany of Fear}
I had a dream last night about riding my bike with my daughter, Amelie... but she was older, easily 12 or 13... she looked like a blending of her mother and great-grandmother, Millie, and she was smart as a whip. We were riding with a friend of mine through the "bad part" of Church Hill and she kept reassuring me that, "It's fine, Dad... my friends are here." And so I went along with her and my friend. Along the way I saw a house that reminded me of a home from my childhood and I pulled off to investigate. It was dilapidated and falling apart... maybe the house on 414 South Main St, G'ville... Maybe the house on Morton Street, Rochester... the structure is fuzzy, but the details were clear. I wandered up the stairs into the living room on the second story (definitely Morton Street...) and I found a book in a bureau under the body of a dead rat. The book was a school text about American history circa 1980-something an full of notes in the margins about how the core text was full of shit and a lie and misguided, etc. etc. yadda yadda... As I read through the book it became clear to me that it had been annotated by many owners and one of them was writing a history of here experience being a pregnant teenager. At the back of the book between the last few pages was a white new-born's onesie with a black stain in the center of the chest... written on it in magic marker were the words "She had no idea". When I looked up from the book I could see out the front windows that my daughter and friend were being held at gunpoint by a "dark figure" and I stepped out the window and fell to the street... When he turned the gun on me I said, "You have no power over me... put it down... walk away..." and he pulled the trigger. I could feel the holes... I could hear the soft thuds in my rib cage and yet I still walked towards him. All I could see of his face was a tear streak down his ebony face. Amelie walked up to me and said, "Let me take this, Dad." and she took the book from my hands and smiled at me and my friend said, "How did you do that?"
And then I woke up and went for a bike ride and ate a really good apple from the local cheap-ass market.
I will not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little death that takes us all.
I will face my fear.
I will let it pass through me.
When I turn around my fear will be gone,
Only I will remain.
Or something like that... oh, Frank Sr. I miss you so... Your son has delivered the final chapter, but not in your words.
And so it goes.
In other news. Radiohead is just too cool for words... And Trent continues to amaze me.
Ta,
Red
Circles converge and collapse... Wheels turn and grind... Time moves at its pace...
The more I chose to let The Universe lead me by the nose, the more The Universe tugs me. I had an idea and then it changed... and now I have a new idea... and it is good. Fear is but a mirage in the current of time. {Insert, The Litany of Fear}
I had a dream last night about riding my bike with my daughter, Amelie... but she was older, easily 12 or 13... she looked like a blending of her mother and great-grandmother, Millie, and she was smart as a whip. We were riding with a friend of mine through the "bad part" of Church Hill and she kept reassuring me that, "It's fine, Dad... my friends are here." And so I went along with her and my friend. Along the way I saw a house that reminded me of a home from my childhood and I pulled off to investigate. It was dilapidated and falling apart... maybe the house on 414 South Main St, G'ville... Maybe the house on Morton Street, Rochester... the structure is fuzzy, but the details were clear. I wandered up the stairs into the living room on the second story (definitely Morton Street...) and I found a book in a bureau under the body of a dead rat. The book was a school text about American history circa 1980-something an full of notes in the margins about how the core text was full of shit and a lie and misguided, etc. etc. yadda yadda... As I read through the book it became clear to me that it had been annotated by many owners and one of them was writing a history of here experience being a pregnant teenager. At the back of the book between the last few pages was a white new-born's onesie with a black stain in the center of the chest... written on it in magic marker were the words "She had no idea". When I looked up from the book I could see out the front windows that my daughter and friend were being held at gunpoint by a "dark figure" and I stepped out the window and fell to the street... When he turned the gun on me I said, "You have no power over me... put it down... walk away..." and he pulled the trigger. I could feel the holes... I could hear the soft thuds in my rib cage and yet I still walked towards him. All I could see of his face was a tear streak down his ebony face. Amelie walked up to me and said, "Let me take this, Dad." and she took the book from my hands and smiled at me and my friend said, "How did you do that?"
And then I woke up and went for a bike ride and ate a really good apple from the local cheap-ass market.
I will not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little death that takes us all.
I will face my fear.
I will let it pass through me.
When I turn around my fear will be gone,
Only I will remain.
Or something like that... oh, Frank Sr. I miss you so... Your son has delivered the final chapter, but not in your words.
And so it goes.
In other news. Radiohead is just too cool for words... And Trent continues to amaze me.
Ta,
Red
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Mea Familia :: The Second Time is a Charm
My sis's second wedding was yesterday and me and the girls had a great time. Despite it being in Little Falls, NY (which I'm convinced was inspirational to Richard Russo's outstanding, Pulitzer winning "Empire Falls") the locale was the very beautiful Beardsly Castle. The weather was a bit on the unseasonably hot side (80F in October? No such thing as climate chaos/global warming...), but Neek's set the start time at 11am (!!!) which in retrospect was excellent timing as a near tropical depression-like storm front rolled in ~5pm and ruined the outdoor setting for the evening wedding party. The DJ was Johny-on-the-Spot with the tunes and schedule and the food was some of the best we've ever had at a wedding (roast beast w/ fried onions, chicken in cream sauce, homemade style mac-n-cheese, garlic mashers, and rice pilaf... all served family-style... G-licious!).
Maia and Amelie were the life of the dance floor! At one point LaeLae decided she no longer wanted to have her (torn, grass-stained) stockings on anymore and smack in the middle of the dance floor she plopped down, pulled 'em off and tossed them over her head onto an nearby table... that's my little girl... 8^)
All and all, it was a great time and we had the opportunity to catch up with a good number of our extended LAVALee family and my new bro-in-law's family (welcommen!). Maia and an old friend of ours ("little Jenny Yates" all growned up) totally hit it off and I imagine will be developing a long and fruitful friendship at a distance... a circular life-ellipsis of cosmic proportions, IMOHO.
To Monique and BJ, we wish you all the best and are very excited for both of you and the family you've already made in your sphere of love. May The Universe always smile upon you guys.
Today we're hanging on my old stomping grounds at RPI... Checking out all the changes over the past ~7 years since I was last on campus and catching up with old friends who still haven't reach TEV (Troy Escape Velocity). Amelie also needs to get a taste of life in Troy if she thinks she's going to live up to her Daddee's expectations for her to be a "Super Geek Chick" (no pressure, Snugs... none at all...). She's such a cool kid... despite the few fits we've had, just a joy to travel with and have as our little companion (it helps that everyone she meets adores her).
Anywho... over and out... don't try this at home... the beginning is near.
Currently reading: The Universe in a Single Atom, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops, The FairTax Book, and Sixty Days and Counting.
Maia and Amelie were the life of the dance floor! At one point LaeLae decided she no longer wanted to have her (torn, grass-stained) stockings on anymore and smack in the middle of the dance floor she plopped down, pulled 'em off and tossed them over her head onto an nearby table... that's my little girl... 8^)
All and all, it was a great time and we had the opportunity to catch up with a good number of our extended LAVALee family and my new bro-in-law's family (welcommen!). Maia and an old friend of ours ("little Jenny Yates" all growned up) totally hit it off and I imagine will be developing a long and fruitful friendship at a distance... a circular life-ellipsis of cosmic proportions, IMOHO.
To Monique and BJ, we wish you all the best and are very excited for both of you and the family you've already made in your sphere of love. May The Universe always smile upon you guys.
Today we're hanging on my old stomping grounds at RPI... Checking out all the changes over the past ~7 years since I was last on campus and catching up with old friends who still haven't reach TEV (Troy Escape Velocity). Amelie also needs to get a taste of life in Troy if she thinks she's going to live up to her Daddee's expectations for her to be a "Super Geek Chick" (no pressure, Snugs... none at all...). She's such a cool kid... despite the few fits we've had, just a joy to travel with and have as our little companion (it helps that everyone she meets adores her).
Anywho... over and out... don't try this at home... the beginning is near.
Currently reading: The Universe in a Single Atom, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops, The FairTax Book, and Sixty Days and Counting.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Bad Parts :: Here goes the backbone, just don't call me 'spineless'...
Stupid cartilage... Torqued my back out on Sunday carrying milkcrates full of books out of our Hobbit-hole of an attic. My friend, diazapam, is doing the trick for alleviating the side effects of the "ever-compressing disc". Sigh... Bad parts...
Speaking of which, I'm in the process of rehabilitating and IBM ThinkPad T40 (one of my favorite laptops next to the MacBook Pro) and it just astounds me that Lenovo would make such a beautiful machine so prone to power-related failures. Basically, it can't charge it's battery or power the system because something went to toast in the charge circuit... which is built DIRECTLY on the motherboard of this little wonder. So, a $20USD subsystem failing will cost you $300USD to replace the whole MB and pretty much a full rebuild of the machine. For $400 I can buy a fully refurbished one on eBay... Bad parts...
The upside of the nerve pinching incident is that all of Maia's and my "important" books have migrated into more appropriate places in our home than, say, the attic. It'll be nice to have a full floor to ceiling bookshelf with a bound timeline of my literary adventures over the past 30+ years. Was quite excited by finding my Dune collection as well as my original Space Shuttle Operations Manual from circa 1983.
Anywho... shame on you Apple... Shame On YOU! Now go back to your little technology paradise, Mr. iJobs, and think about what you've done to all those sad Macophiles you hosed this past week.
Enough... time to go play with Seam...
Speaking of which, I'm in the process of rehabilitating and IBM ThinkPad T40 (one of my favorite laptops next to the MacBook Pro) and it just astounds me that Lenovo would make such a beautiful machine so prone to power-related failures. Basically, it can't charge it's battery or power the system because something went to toast in the charge circuit... which is built DIRECTLY on the motherboard of this little wonder. So, a $20USD subsystem failing will cost you $300USD to replace the whole MB and pretty much a full rebuild of the machine. For $400 I can buy a fully refurbished one on eBay... Bad parts...
The upside of the nerve pinching incident is that all of Maia's and my "important" books have migrated into more appropriate places in our home than, say, the attic. It'll be nice to have a full floor to ceiling bookshelf with a bound timeline of my literary adventures over the past 30+ years. Was quite excited by finding my Dune collection as well as my original Space Shuttle Operations Manual from circa 1983.
Anywho... shame on you Apple... Shame On YOU! Now go back to your little technology paradise, Mr. iJobs, and think about what you've done to all those sad Macophiles you hosed this past week.
Enough... time to go play with Seam...
Friday, September 28, 2007
Morning Meditations :: Children of The Universe
The time has come for us to stop caring about our differences and embrace our similarities...
We are children of The Universe... from it we were born and to it we will return... the time we have in these bodies is simply The Universe expressing itself in a material form bound by entropy and expressed in chaotic order.
Our race is Human Being... our purpose is perpetuation... our collective spirit is greater than the sum of our individual spirit.
Today I will reach out to someone I don't know, someone I've lost along the way, and to all of those I know and love.
Tomorrow I will do it all again, only this time different.
Peace, Love, Understanding... The rest is shit and will return to The Universe for recycling.
We are children of The Universe... from it we were born and to it we will return... the time we have in these bodies is simply The Universe expressing itself in a material form bound by entropy and expressed in chaotic order.
Our race is Human Being... our purpose is perpetuation... our collective spirit is greater than the sum of our individual spirit.
Today I will reach out to someone I don't know, someone I've lost along the way, and to all of those I know and love.
Tomorrow I will do it all again, only this time different.
Peace, Love, Understanding... The rest is shit and will return to The Universe for recycling.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Scratching from Start...
So yeah... it's been a while...
Things change and yet nothing changes...
Was using livejournal but found it to be more like a myspace wannabe... saw myspace was rather terrified by the look-at-me teendom taste... So, blogger it is until I come up with some thing better.
More soon... the gears are churning.
Things change and yet nothing changes...
Was using livejournal but found it to be more like a myspace wannabe... saw myspace was rather terrified by the look-at-me teendom taste... So, blogger it is until I come up with some thing better.
More soon... the gears are churning.
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