Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Farewell Tour
Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains are playing their final tour in January. If you're anywhere on the East coast or Midwest, this is your last chance to see them play. They'll be in the Bronx on 1/6, Winona on 1/20, Rhinelander on 1/21, Chicago on 1/22, and a whole bunch of other places too. If you can't go, at least send Pat the Bunny $5 for a CD. I did and he sent me a nice letter back with it.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Boxing Day
I stopped by the job site on the way to work this morning. The contractor was out there picking up paving bricks in the slush and sleet. He's getting no pity from me. I got a 3 1/2 day weekend, but between the DMV, a grumpy baby, a birthday party, Xmas, and a cold bug, I didn't get much rest. I'm really looking forward to this weekend. Saturday at Key Arena in Seattle to watch Gonzaga take on Nevada, New Years Ev e in Olympia, a couple days in Portland, and then 3 or 4 days to recover at home. It's our first real vacation in almost a year and a half. It ain't Mexico, but it'll do for now.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Oats
Since my first and only trip to the emergency room a couple months ago, I've endeavored to eat healthier. The major change I've made is with breakfast, which used to be PBJ and Mt. Dew. Now I'm eating a large bowl of oatmeal with banana, and whole wheat toast sans the sugar and hydrogenated vegetable oil. It's a nice filling breakfast, but I wanted to be sure of the health benefits so I went to the only place for up-to-date accurate information, Wikipedia. There I found this passage:
Sounds like the food for me.Oatmeal has a long history in Scottish society because oats are better suited than wheat to the short, wet growing season. Hence it became the staple grain of that country, and is widely agreed to be superior to wheat in healthfulness and nutrition.
Samuel Johnson referred, disparagingly, to this in his dictionary definition for oats:
- A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.
To which his biographer, James Boswell, is said tohave retorted
- Which is why England is known for its horses and Scotland for its men.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
GRRR!
School's been out since Friday, and we had three days of sunny weather before it snowed today. So you'd think that the contractor would have taken advantage of this opportunity to fix the damn roof leak over the Gymnasium door. Right? Fine, he can do it in the snow, and he can wait to get paid until I come back from vacation. Seriously, I had an easier time getting our foster kids to do their homework, and I wasn't holding $100,000 over their heads.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Internets
I only check my "swedetranny" Gmail account every couple of weeks, and it's only recieved a few legitimate messages in the time I've had the link posted up there. However I've gotten a couple notes from people asking if I am actually a transvestite. The answer is no, at least not a very convincing one. Fortunately, the truckers at the Flying J don't seem to mind. Seriously, I picked the name because I think it's funny. I only blog for my own amusement. Kind of like public masturbation, but slightly more socially acceptable.
Also, one spammer got through the filter asking me to link to his blog about the Arab/Israeli conflict. No thanks, I've got enough problems without getting involved in that whole clusterfuck.
Also, one spammer got through the filter asking me to link to his blog about the Arab/Israeli conflict. No thanks, I've got enough problems without getting involved in that whole clusterfuck.
Leraning curve
Now that the office spent the money to buy me a lice nse for RPS to add to SketchUp*, I suppose I should learn how to use it. Especially since I really want them to upgrade my Accurender license as well.
*Oddly, Blogger's spellcheck doesn't recognize "SketchUp" as a word consideri ng they are all part of the big happy Google family. Nor does it recognize "YouTube," funny that.
*Oddly, Blogger's spellcheck doesn't recognize "SketchUp" as a word consideri ng they are all part of the big happy Google family. Nor does it recognize "YouTube," funny that.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Sun
Saturday we went bike shopping for My Love who had watched me riding with The Boy this past summer with great envy while incapacitated. First we looked at the Electra Townie and Daisy, but eventually settled on the Giant Suede. I also researched the Torker (yep, the famous '80s BMX com pany), but it just didn't have the combination of features we wanted. These bikes allow the rider to stand flat-footed while stopped.
Yesterday we cleaned the leaves and ice chunks out of the bike trailer, bundled up the kids and towed them around the neighborhood. Now I just need to upgrade my 11-year old Costco clunker. The teeth on the front rings are starting to look like a Billings, Montana truck stop prostitute.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Icons
One thing I really like about the field of architecture is that unlike many high profile careers, youth and beauty don't matter. Hell, most people still assume that I' m only an intern even though I've been licensed since I was 28. Don't just take my word for it, here are some of the biggest names in the architecture world these days:
Will Bruder
Frank Gehry
Zaha Hadid
Rem Koolhaas
Daniel Libeskind
Will Bruder
Frank Gehry
Zaha Hadid
Rem Koolhaas
Daniel LibeskindSeriously, those are some goofy looking old farts, aren't they? I feel pretty damn good about the fact that every day I get a little bit older and a little bit freakier.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Haiku Escapism
Rain falls down on snow
I wish I were in Mexico
Warm beneath the sun
Warm beneath the sun
Friday, December 08, 2006
33 Forever
Since I probably won't post between then and now, soon I'll be as old as Jesus, Alexander the Great, John Belushi and Chris Farley.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Chickens
One time while on break I wandered into the back of the building where they kept the mutant chickens: Chickens with no feet, chickens with extra feet, chickens with strange distorted heads, chickens with giant tumors all over their bodies, even some siamese twin chickens. Some were so deformed that they just looked like pink blobs with patches of feathers. I suppose it didn't matter since they all taste the same once they're ground into McNuggets.
It was like some state fair freak show except that instead of the sounds of carny barkers and screaming kids on the midway there was just a low ominous drone of rustling and clucking.
Hell if I know why, but I still eat chicken from the store.
Farm
Anyway, my point is that there are a few aspects that I wish I had not lost. The main one is knowing what I eat. I mean, knowing the food on a personal level as in name, markings, habits, that sort of stuff. This might be disturbing to people who grew up isolated from the land, but I find that most urbanized people have a unnaturally detached relationship with their food. I can even understand why so many urbanites are choosing to become vegetarian. Industrial feedlots are pretty disgusting when you think about it. Then again, peek behind the scenes at a Green Giant plant, and you'd probably become a breathetarian.
Mmmm... I could sure go for a fillet of Sleepy, some of Bald Eagle's eggs, and a few crisp strips of Uncle Henry on the side.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Requiem
I talk a lot of shit. Either you know that already or had an inkling that I'm full of it. Not long ago I made a comment that I was looking for a new hobby. I ruled out a sports car or a mistress. I suppose my reasoning was that both tend to be expensive and would require a lot of time spent fiddling around with a filthy undercarriage. Not to mention that I felt a certain sense of loyalty to both my car and my wife. And while the latter gets better with every passing day, the former was approaching the point where I knew I would have to replace her.
Still, I really liked that little car. The G-O was the most dependable car I've ever owned. Aside from regular maintenance items like brakes, tires, belts, and (in this part of the country) windshields, she's only needed two repairs, a clutch and a voltage regulator in over eight years of service. It's not like I babied her either. I put over 20,000 miles on her every year, waited 5,000 miles between oil changes, cold started her every morning, filled her tank with the cheapest regular I could find, and never parked her in a garage. She responded with excellent gas mileage and never so much as a cough or sputter. People made fun of me for driving a Geo, at least until gas prices shot up, but I always had the last laugh when they would tell me how their penis-compensation rig was broken down, again. I loved that car. I even looked up the factory where it was built: the GM/Toyota NUMMI plant in Fremont, California, and discovered that they now build the Pontiac Vibe. I figured that would be the eventual replacement vehicle. That or a big old Crown Vic, just 'cause I'm a fan of the Ford V8 (different story).
Then the Subaru Impreza 2-door came along. The price was right, and it had a hundred thousand fewer miles. Now, this ain't exactly a sports car with a 2200cc engine and a 4-speed slush-box, but it sure feels like one. It looks pretty sharp, and handles like a slot car under any condition with it's combination of light weight, decent power (compared to the G-O), and All-Wheel-Drive. I still mock people who think they neeeed four-wheel-drive in the winter. I got along fine for the better part of two decades without it, but it sure makes driving in the snow and rain more fun. If this is the stock version, then I can really understand the appeal of the WRX, my new dream car. Preferably the wagon so I don't look like a total rice-racer douchebag. So my thanks and apologies go out to the fine folks of UAW Local 2244. I've enjoyed your handiwork, but now I must move on.
Fortunately, I was spared the pain of selling the old girl to some idiot kid who'd just wreck it. One of my friends had hit a deer shortly after I bought the 'Ru, and he needed a car to get through the winter. Just watch, he'll probably still be driving her long after my new sporty little coupe meets the crusher.
Still, I really liked that little car. The G-O was the most dependable car I've ever owned. Aside from regular maintenance items like brakes, tires, belts, and (in this part of the country) windshields, she's only needed two repairs, a clutch and a voltage regulator in over eight years of service. It's not like I babied her either. I put over 20,000 miles on her every year, waited 5,000 miles between oil changes, cold started her every morning, filled her tank with the cheapest regular I could find, and never parked her in a garage. She responded with excellent gas mileage and never so much as a cough or sputter. People made fun of me for driving a Geo, at least until gas prices shot up, but I always had the last laugh when they would tell me how their penis-compensation rig was broken down, again. I loved that car. I even looked up the factory where it was built: the GM/Toyota NUMMI plant in Fremont, California, and discovered that they now build the Pontiac Vibe. I figured that would be the eventual replacement vehicle. That or a big old Crown Vic, just 'cause I'm a fan of the Ford V8 (different story).
Then the Subaru Impreza 2-door came along. The price was right, and it had a hundred thousand fewer miles. Now, this ain't exactly a sports car with a 2200cc engine and a 4-speed slush-box, but it sure feels like one. It looks pretty sharp, and handles like a slot car under any condition with it's combination of light weight, decent power (compared to the G-O), and All-Wheel-Drive. I still mock people who think they neeeed four-wheel-drive in the winter. I got along fine for the better part of two decades without it, but it sure makes driving in the snow and rain more fun. If this is the stock version, then I can really understand the appeal of the WRX, my new dream car. Preferably the wagon so I don't look like a total rice-racer douchebag. So my thanks and apologies go out to the fine folks of UAW Local 2244. I've enjoyed your handiwork, but now I must move on.
Fortunately, I was spared the pain of selling the old girl to some idiot kid who'd just wreck it. One of my friends had hit a deer shortly after I bought the 'Ru, and he needed a car to get through the winter. Just watch, he'll probably still be driving her long after my new sporty little coupe meets the crusher.
