Created 70 weeks, 3 days ago

Yea, I took a break from software development and blog updates. I burned myself out a bit with my nearly-record blog/software development effort back in July. After my mother reminded me I needed to blog more while talking to her on the phone I figure I better get back to updating this little slice of heaven.

Last weekend Ashley and I spent 2 days at the first ever San Francisco Outside Lands festival in Golden Gate park. We were *very* close to the Radiohead stage and the show rocked. I love seeing these guys live. Before Radiohead, we saw Steel Pulse and Manu Chao. Google them.

The second day we saw Cake and Regina Spektor, plus we spent lots of time checking out the vendors and food/beverages. Ashley actually bought something from the dress vendor. Something hippy Not Sandalwood.

At the polo field, Microsoft had a huge main-tent there setup for the Crowdfire concept. They had setup the tent over grass and the grass had started to rot which meant the tent smelled strongly of rotten vegitation on the second day. I could have powered through it, but Ashley is scent-sensitive and we had to bail on all the Microsoft stuff. Too bad, I heard there were some cool things in there.

Sunday, we skipped the last day of the festival, and instead enjoyed our new backyard grass on a sunny Sunday. I also refactored the garage contents. In the morning, we went to see our friends at Kookez for what might amount to the last brunch. :(

So, thats what's up. This weekend I'm off to Tahoe, and I am bringing my personal computer so I can work on some fun stuff when I get inspired. Plus, I am taking some fishing poles to catch some damn fish.




Created 80 weeks, 3 days ago

It has been a while since I have subjected myself to the levels of bass at a show like I experienced last night at the Skream and Benga show at Club Mighty.



Skream and Benga are dubstep DJ/producers, and last night their duo (tag-team) show was amazing. Ario, omniscient music oracle, pointed out some of the source material when they played it, but because these guys are like, first-source producers, lots of the stuff they play has never been heard outside of their turntables.

An-ten-ae played a set too. He started with some of his latest "Dark side of the dub", got a little dancy, then returned to the evil beat just before the main act hit the stage.

Of course, like all things Club Mighty, it didn't start until late into the night. No regrets for staying out that late during the week, it was well worth it. I will remember this next time I decide to go to a show at Mighty.


Some dubstep mixes to enjoy from Kid Kameleon:

a dubstep mix:
http://www.xlr8r.com/podcast/2006/10/...

a dub mix:
http://www.xlr8r.com/podcast/2008/03/...




Created 90 weeks, 1 day ago

Anyone who knows me well has undoubtedly made some type of snarky comment about whatever retro cellphone I am currently sporting. I have been living off of old, obsolete and repaired cell phones for years, waiting for "The" mobile device to come out. It looks like I have a date with an Apple store on July 11th for a new phone.

Folks, the iPhone 2.0 iPhone 3G has been announced and hopefully you saved your federal tax-rebate for just this purchase. With gasoline as expensive as it is now, you might want to just stay home and take your calls on your new phone.

As a hobby application developer, I always wanted to open my apps to the mobile market without having to write device-specific builds. The Web as a platform gives developers this freedom on traditional computer devices, yet mobiles have basically lacked a capable web browser until the iPhone was released last year.

Without 3G access however, the original iPhone was still just a device for early (whiny) adopters and technonerds (yes, you Ashley; no not the whiny part). To me, this new iPhone seems like the device that will provide me users with web browsers fast enough to make a rich, mobile web application a reality.

---

This wouldn't be a good review for me unless I pointed out some of the upgrades from the previous model.

As Apple and I have a "tentative MacBook Pro relationship" at best right now, I have to make some guesses on the new iPhone 3G based on a few pictures and a stats page. Apple, I'll be happy to provide a more thorough review in exchange for an iPhone 3G. What the heck, I'll even forget all the MacBook Pro woes we have gone through over the last year.

Comparing the photo of the new iPhone 3G shown on the Apple iPhone page to the older model, it looks like there are some significant physical changes in the size and shape of the device. A new glossy metal case (white or black), and a non-uniform bevel. This should help you dig it out of your pocket right-side facing up.

The new bevel pretty much means a new cradle connector will need to be used in your existing docks. All new iPhone accessories and cases will need to be re-purchased as well (but it isn't like we didn't see that one coming).

The speakerphone/ringer ports appear even larger than the previous version , or else they have been relocated. I hope this is in an effort to improve the noise-cancellation quality on the speakerphone feature.

Also, because Apple is using additional carriers now, the new iPhone 3G sports a SIM slot near the bottom of the phone.





When it comes to mobile devices, one of the major features to consider is battery life. I am seldom in one place long enough to really charge a phone the same time and duration every day. Li-ion batteries work the best for this because they don't suffer from a memory effect and they hold a charge longer than other types.

With a higher bandwidth 3G chip in the new iPhone 3G, unless Apple has added some additional energy optimizations to the hardware and software, they had to increase the capacity of the batteries in order to make the iPhone 3G last as long as the original iPhone. Let's take a look at a battery life comparison chart:
 

Lastly, a slew of software improvements are due out with the 2.0 iPhone software; the most significant improvement is support for community-created applications. The iPhone camera also gets a GPS tagging feature (EXIF?) and there is a slight decrease in the base iPhone weight (by 0.1 oz). The iPhone will still be sold in an 8GB or 16GB flash-storage size.

So what is missing from this upgraded sci-fi phone?

As far as the camera goes, there is still no LED lighting and I will have to wait and see if the camera lens is more or less scratch proof with the new case. Also, Apple didn't provide a forward facing camera which means no face-to-face videoconferencing without another display.

And where is the damn A2DP that many other bluetooth providers have long-since supported. The iPhone will still be missing the ability to Copy/Paste/Select text. And finally, until the iPhone provides support for Flash binaries I consider that a missing feature. Web apps will only be 'so' rich with JavaScript support (think Flash 9 features).

Well folks, see you in line on July 11th.

technorati: iPhone3G, iPhone 3G, iPhone, 3G, comparison, Apple

Created 91 weeks, 3 days ago

Well, sure enough the Flight of the Conchords played the after-hours party for the Google I/O conference. It was a shorter set than the show last night, but that is to be expected for a corporate gig I suppose. Thanks for the great food and awesome entertainment tonight Google!


If I had a camera that worked I would have uploaded my pictures, but since it is still broken from a fall on my birthday last year, this photo from Flickr pretty much captures the view we all had. It was a very intimate show. Also noteworthy, they played "Bowie" tonight.

Was it just me or did Brett seem a little hung over Maybe all those lovely bitches and hoes kept him up last night.


technorati: Flight of the Conchords, Google IO, IO2008

Created 93 weeks, 1 day ago

Okay, just got back from the Flight of the Conchords show at the Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium. Great, fantastic, superb, hilarious comedy act.

We had tickets front-center in the balcony, and it was an amazing view view. Man those guys really got it goin' on. I had originally doubted any real musical talent from these guys, but I was totally proven wrong.

If you can score tickets to the add-on show this Thursday, do it! For me, as it turns out Google has some kind of FotC event planned for the Google I/O event I am attending Wednesday and Thursday. I'll let u know what it turns out to be.

And, as always, when discussing anything FotC, I always like to link others to Bret's other famous role.


technorati: Flight+of+the+Conchords, FotC

Created 93 weeks, 2 days ago

Yup, it was great. Go see it. Ten dollars, only. Plus, they pick Keanu out of the audience each night (as they say, for a more realisitc Keanu performance).

Ashley wrote some stuff about our show on her blog.



This is your wake-up call.



Created 93 weeks, 3 days ago

Yes, I actually do covet these seats. If you buy the tickets, I'll cover the concessions. We can all sit together if you shell out for all four seats.




technorati: Spurs, Lakers, tickets

Created 94 weeks, 1 day ago

I caught a cold the last week in April and was able to shake it pretty quickly. Then friends of mine started catching the flu, and it looked like a nasty strain. It was dubbed the Noe Valley Virus because everyone sick we knew live in the City. Ario had it but seemed to have recovered in time to join us for Makerfaire two weekends ago. I doubt he was contagious when we met up (but who knows).

I don't think I caught it from him, I think I actually got it from work. A coworker of mine seems to have gotten sick the same time I did, I blame it on a taqueria that we both went to or maybe we caught it from someone we work with. What is worrying me is that another friend that no one sick has come into contact with just came down with it too. When I saw him I didn't touch him or breathe near him. Maybe it is in the water supply?

So, 7 days later I am back at work. The stages were:

Day 0: 100 degree fever - 6 hours, 99 degree fever - 6 hours, back + muscle ache
Day 1: 100 degree fever - 2 hours, 99 degree fever - 6 hours, back + muscle ache
Day 2: 99 degree fever - 4 hours, onset of raw throat, back ache
Day 3: Acid-burn throat flavor, fatigue, coughing
Day 4: Fire-burn throat, head congestion, fatigue, night coughing
Day 5: Sore throat, head congestion, fatigue, night coughing
Day 6: Sore throat, drainage, fatigue, sneezing, night coughing
Day 7: Sore throat, night coughing, phlegm

Sorry Deano, that's what you have to look forward to :/




Created 95 weeks, 2 days ago

Rush, you guys still rock. Caught the concert in Concord on Sunday, and my ears are still ringing a bit. We did see them about six months ago in Mountain view, the show was a bit different; this amphitheatre was louder and the price for beer was higher. I am constantly impressed by the lighting and media displays that Rush brings with them. The pyrotechnics were definitely louder than the R30 tour, just not as hot or as often.




Created 96 weeks, 3 days ago

Missed Ashley's DeVotchKa show because I totally got my flight times wrong. Sorry babe! Texas was great, saw lots of family and had a great time at the Hoyt wedding.

If you don't see me for a few days or a week it is because every night we have a show from here on out. Also, Ash is sick (from cousin or me). When I was out of town though, she and her cousin made some pottery so hopefully Ash will post a few pics.

Peach out folks.




Created 97 weeks, 2 days ago

Ash, Ario and I made it to Yuri's Night 2008 - A World Space Party hosted at NASA down in Mountain View. Nearly 10 hours of standing, sitting whilst listening to great electronic, dance and pop music and watching some talks relating to space in general certainly amounted to a full day. Go check out the amazing line up.

The acrobatic planes were an amazing bonus and Buzz Aldrin was present but I never got a chance to meet him. At some point, Ashley and Ario got to see some of the Astronauts teleconfrence in to say 'hello' from space! Of course, I was off checking out the hydrogen-generating flowers and the subsequent hydrogen explosions when that happened.

I got to hear Tycho play his new song The Daydream; still hoping he is working on the new album. The beer from Drake's Brewery and Bison Brewery was most excellent, however the lines were probably some of the worst I have ever experienced. I ended the night with $20 of unused beer tix, mostly because the lines were so slow. I also was really pleased with the raw, organic vittles from BARF one of the food vendors on site, the Kale chips they sold were very good.


I got some photos and will put them online when I get the opportunity, so stay tuned to that channel. Ario has his online already. Ashley is probably still working on her photos same as me.






Created 99 weeks, 3 days ago

Off to the LugRadio Live event over at the Metreon today. It falls on the same day as Yuri's Night down in Mountain View so I will be missing the last 1/2 of the LugRadio sessions today. Someone will have to fill me in on the Pyro talk, I wanted to see that. See yall around the bay area today!


Created 99 weeks, 6 days ago

If the Olympic torch survives 2008, here is what I would like to see in coming years:


2010 - The Olympic torch gauntlet

Each country selects its fastest, agile runner to outrun the throngs of angry Olympic protesters from other countries. Why not hand out medals for those runners who make it.



2012 - Olympic flaming-sword gladiator fights

1 man. 100 protesters. A sharpened-burning nimbus of Olympic hope. A fight to the finish. Can the Beast-from-the-East keep the Olympic spirit alive? Sudden death rules. Children and parking are free.


technorati: olympic, torch

Created 100 weeks, 3 days ago

Well, we decided to buy tickets to the San Francisco Outside Lands festival in August in San Francisco.

Check out the line-up:


woo hoo!



Created 100 weeks, 3 days ago

Ash and I are up in Tahoe again for the extended weekend with some friends from SF.



Created 101 weeks, 5 days ago

We had a birthday party for Ashley at the house way back at the beginning of the month. Someone made the margaritas too strong (Ashley) and we ended up pretty blitzed that weekend. I think Ash and I were already sloshed by the time everyone arrived. The last of the friends finally left around 4 AM. Ario took some photos which was cool. Thanks for showing up everyone, even Ed.





Created 103 weeks, 1 day ago

Tickets are now on sale for the Yuri's Night Bay Area party down at NASA. And TYCHO will be playing (<3).



And for those of you without a NASA close at hand, you can find or throw your own Yuri's Night party and then register the party with the Yuri's Night web site.

technorati: space, YURI, music, nasa

Created 103 weeks, 1 day ago

  upcoming.org event listing

See you there tonight or watch live: http://live.yahoo.com/flickr.

 

Created 103 weeks, 5 days ago

This was pretty good. I went because SonicLiving was sponsoring it and to see the miniset. Cool art at Harlot. Reminds me of a darker Bimbo's.



Created 105 weeks, 1 day ago

I am saddened by the passing of Gary Gygax, creator of "the quintessential geek pastime" Dungeons and Dragons. Our D&D group still meets weekly to play, and D&D has been part of my color since grade school.

"I would like the world to remember me as the guy who really enjoyed playing games and sharing his knowledge and his fun pastimes with everybody else." - Gary Gygax

Peace.

technorati: Gary Gygax, D&D

Created 105 weeks, 2 days ago

According to this website, there will be an Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival this summer in Golden Gate park with Radiohead and Tom Petty headlining.  Woo hoo. Thanks for the info Ashley.



technorati: Radiohead, music, Tom Petty, San Francisco

Created 105 weeks, 4 days ago

I just reached 100,000 airline miles with US Airways. Hooray! It equals approximately 4 flights within North America. They offer a round-the-world package at 200,000 miles. I'm going for it!

I did some searching online about this around-the-world 200,000 mile package to see what it was (because they have nothing about it on thier website) and I was happy to find this old press release from US Airways back in 2002.

---

US Airways Offers Free Space Flight in Sweepstakes

US Airways -- the world's first airline to offer space flight as part of a frequent flyer award program -- is now offering Dividend Miles members the chance to win a free sub-orbital space trip in a Sweepstakes. Additional prizes include other space-themed tours.

Under its marketing relationship with Space Adventures Ltd., US Airways will provide the Sweepstakes grand prize winner with a trip to an altitude of 62 miles or higher in a privately developed sub-orbital spacecraft, where he or she will experience weightlessness, see the Earth from space -- and earn "astronaut wings". Sub-orbital flights are expected to begin in 2004-2005.

The Sweepstakes will launch on May 1, 2002. To enter, Dividend Miles members first must register online at http://www.usairways.com/dm/spaceadventures .

Once registered, members will earn one Sweepstakes entry for each roundtrip flight on a qualifying business fare ticket with US Airways within North America (including the Caribbean), and two entries for each roundtrip qualifying business fare ticket between the U.S. and Europe. Travel must be completed by Sept. 30, 2002. Qualifying business fares include purchased First Class, Envoy Class and full fare Coach Class tickets.

Additional prizes in the Sweepstakes features other elements of US Airways' and Space Adventures' program:

First prize is a trip to the Edge of Space, flying in a MiG-25 high- performance jet at more than twice the speed of sound (Mach 2.5) and at altitudes of 80,000 feet or higher where the winner will view the blackness of space and curvature of the Earth.

Second prize is a Zero-Gravity flight for two people who will float weightlessly just like the astronauts training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia.

Third prize is a Space Shuttle launch tour, also for two people, to experience the thrill of a live countdown and launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, accompanied by an astronaut as host.

---

I wonder if this every happened? Space travel was totally supposed to be here by now. Grrrrr.

Apparently Space Adventures Ltd. is still around but it looks like they missed their 2004 estimates. I like their concept vehicles and planned space hotel though:




technorati: us+airways, miles, spaceflight, space



Created 105 weeks, 6 days ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_year

Again in 4 years! Woohoo. Gregorian calendar rules.


Created 105 weeks, 6 days ago

For the third time on this blog, I post my annual 'Gone Skiing' memo.

Off to colder places: Taos! Be back with yall again sometime next week.



technorati: skiing, outtahere

Created 107 weeks, 1 day ago

I found this on the baypiggies e-mail list:

On Saturday March 1st, Untangle and the ACCRC are organizing a massive installfest for Bay Area schools.  We are refurbishing hundreds of older/discarded computers with Ubuntu and donating them to Bay Area schools.  We need your help from Linux users installing Ubuntu at the 4 locations, which are San Francisco, Berkeley, San Mateo & Marin County.

http://www.untangle.com/installfest

I am trying to figure out how to help with the San Francisco event. That is also Ashley's birthday, but I might volunteer for morning help.


Created 107 weeks, 4 days ago

Went and saw Blade Runner / The Final Cut at the Castro last night for Lindsey's birthday...

Read the whole post on my Vox blog.


Created 107 weeks, 5 days ago

I'll let one of the ladies explain it in more detail, but the MOMA was awesome this weekend.

The Olafur Eliasson LED 360° room for all colours was awesome. It lists debut in 2002, but I don't remember LED and diffuser screen technology being that awesome back then so it might be using some newer materials these days.


Thanks for dragging me out guys, lots of fun!


Created 107 weeks, 5 days ago

technorati: Valentines, day, chumby, widget, channel

Created 108 weeks, 1 day ago

I bought two tickets to see The Breeders at Slim's. Definitely more for nostalgic reasons than the music this time around. Years ago I saw The Breeders in San Antonio at Sneakers and I *was touched* by Kim Deal when she jumped into the crowed. And then again I saw The Amps when the opened for some other band (no touching this time ).



Some good old music videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AsId-qVIb4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt5MWCwFhCI



Created 108 weeks, 4 days ago

Tonight my company Cisco/Ironport threw a black tie party down in the Mission at Foriegn Cinema. I rented a tux and Ashley bought a really nice dress and we took a limo to the event. Aaron and Shannon met us there and we had a really great time. The afterparty was a live band playing karaoke. I hope no video ever surfaces of that. More pictures on Flickr.






Created 110 weeks, 5 days ago

The gang went to see the Bodyworlds 2 exhibit down at The Tech in San Jose last night. It was insightful, amazing and gruesome. Therefore I definitely recommend it.

Give yourself about two hours to take it in. If you want to know more about each of the specimens they have on display, you will need to take the audio-tour as the plaques only give basic information about them.




Created 110 weeks, 5 days ago

Over the long weekend, Ashley, Aaron and I went to San Francisco Brewcraft where we purchased a homebrew starter kit and enough accessories to run two simultanous recipies.

The first recipe we are working is a West Coast Brown Ale, which we started on Monday. As of this afternoon, the young beer is growing nicely in the primary fermenter.

I'll have another update in a few days when we move the West Coast Brown into the secondary fermenter, and start the European Ale recipe.






technorati: homebrew, beer, ale, brewcraft

Created 111 weeks, 2 days ago

I think it could either be:

1. Adobe AIR support on the iPhone
2. AirTunes multiple speaker support in the iTunes API (oh please)
3. or indeed a flying car (we can only hope right Aaron)

technorati: Macworld, expo, 2008, apple, mac, prediction

Created 112 weeks, 3 days ago

Ario gave me the heads up on a gallery opening showcasing artwork in ANSI right here in San Francisco. We went over on Saturday night and checked it out. Awesome artwork, some gadget widgetry to scroll the ANSI pics on the LCDs to check out, and some good music.

Plus Ken Steele and another guy from Chumby were present and they brought 4 little chumbies setup to showcase some of the ANSI with them. What a cool surprise. We chatted for a bit, but unfortunately Ken wasn't familiar with any of the widgets I had created for the Chumby developer channel. Oh well


Ario's pictures on Flickr

technorati: ANSI, art, San+Francisco, 20goto10, twentygoto10, chumby




Created 112 weeks, 4 days ago

Ash and I are driving to Texas for Christmas to see our family. 1700 miles each direction. At least this gives me a chance to catch up on some audio books during the drive. I just bought a fresh batch of Ringworld books from audible.com too, so this will be a very humorous trip.

I will also make sure Ashley does some blogging from the road. Her blog is sadly lacking in recent posts. If she doesn't start covering some of her own news, I am not responsible for "scooping" all of her content if I post about it. Plus she has like 2 or 3 gigs of images to upload to flickr.

See all of yall either after the holidays for New Years, or in Texas over Christmas.

Peace.








Created 116 weeks, 23 hours ago

The holiday spirit has hit me, right smack in the taste buds. Here are some pictures of the wonderful things I love to eat that get me in the holiday mood.


Start with the various holiday themed cupcakes made just down the street from my house at Noe Valley Bakery. Oh so delicious. This is the only time of year where I choose to get a Starbucks coffee instead of Martha's coffee. The reason: Starbucks peppermint mocha.

While idling away at work waiting for the sweet vacation days to kick in, you can find me popping Queen Anne cordials into my face. By the way, what exactly is burgundy filling? To help me relax after fighting for a coveted Noe Valley parking space when I get home, I like to crack open a locally brewed Anchor Steam Christmas ale. Its my favorite holiday tasty.

And of course, it isn't the winter season without eating some snow. Northstar, Kirkwood, Alpine Meadows, Squaw Valley. Now that I own my own ski equipment, I will try to get everywhere in Tahoe at least once this year. I hope Ashley picks up a solid hobby this winter.


technorati: holiday, Christmas, taste, Noe Valley

Created 116 weeks, 6 days ago

So, some of you have asked me for a "what we did on our vacation" post. This is a list of the most notable things we did while there.

• Ashley and I laid in the hot Jamaican sun on our beach and forgot about everything.
  
  
• We tipped over a kayak and I lost my sunglasses in the ocean.
  
  
• I had to buy new sunglasses.

Created 116 weeks, 6 days ago

While on vacation I got SCUBA certified. I met some good people while diving and plan on doing this more during the summer 2008.

I have to focus on the ski season this year and using the new skis and boots I bought last year before I take up something else.




Created 117 weeks, 2 hours ago

What a great vacation. Whew, I have to actually remember what I was doing before I left

Here are a few pictures:



Created 117 weeks, 3 days ago

Okay folks, we are outta here tonight. Off to some islands to spend some time relaxing in the sun and the surf. I personally plan on doing lots of snorkeling and diving and probably a fair amount of drinking (maybe even all at the same time).

I'm having my calls held. I've thrown out some food and water for the cat and saved him 5 cardboard boxes to entertain himself with. I really don't expect to be blogging or checking e-mail while I'm gone either.

See you in December.






Created 119 weeks, 1 day ago

I can't believe it is just one week until we will be in Jamaica. Woot!


Created 120 weeks, 4 hours ago

Got wind of the Mos Def show at Mezzanine last night so I picked up a ticket and made it around 10 PM. The place was packed, and the show was awesome. It also turns out that Mos Def was filming this show to make a DVD. Pretty cool.

technorati: Mos Def, Mezzanine, San Francisco

Created 122 weeks, 1 day ago

Wow. Ashley totally organized a surprise birthday with my best friends. Thanks Ash, Deano, Shy, Aaron and Shannon. You all rock. Your ROCKSTARS.


Created 122 weeks, 6 days ago

So Ash posted that she is going to be vacationing in Jamaica this month. Not to be outdone, I would like to announce that I too will be vacationing in Jamaica and, funny enough, at the exact same resort as her.

The vacation is the reason for this series of posts.

And also the reason why I will be missing the Google holiday party :(. Cisco it seems doesn't have a holiday party as such and we will be having instead, a party tonight (at the Exploratorium) to celebrate a recent software release and a party in January to celebrate the new year. I don't understand it, but I will at least try it out.

At least I will have Jamaica.


Created 123 weeks, 20 hours ago

Having a 5.6R earthquake party. It was a good one.


Created 123 weeks, 2 days ago

We just finished a great dinner at Kookez and we are heading out for a night on the town. C yall later!



Created 123 weeks, 6 days ago

I went to see !!! last night at Mezzanine SF. F'in awesome show!

San Francisco is still a bit warm as of late and it was a nice full moon; the perfect environment for as sweaty dance floor. !!! didn't go on till 11 PM. I left after midnight, so I don't know how long they planned on partying over a Tuesday night.


Seeing them in person made me realize how much Nic Offer looks a bit like Carrot Top (sorry Nic).




Created 128 weeks, 2 days ago

Helvetica the movie is coming back to San Francisco even before the DVD release date. It plays Oct 5-7, 2007 at the YBCA. I caught this in Spring with Ash when it was screened in San Francisco. I definitly suggest seeing it with others who enjoy movies about typeface.



Get tix @ http://www.ybca.org/tickets/production.aspx?performanceNumber=4332





Created 128 weeks, 3 days ago

Ash and I took Friday off to travel to Tahoe to see The Killers at MontBleu. This is  our favorite resort/casino in Tahoe as they have an awesome spa-room setup, they give us awesome deals and the casino has some of our favorite games.

The Killers played to a sold-out house full of VERY enthusiastic fans. I thought the fans in San Francisco were excited to see The Killers; let me just say they have nothing on the people who showed up on Friday night. It-was-amazing!

We are mid-stride in our end-of-summer music/show tour. On Thursday we saw AIR play @ Bimbos and this week we catch !!! and a bunch of LoveFestival pre/post shows at various ultra-lounges around the city.

I need another vacation already!




Created 128 weeks, 4 days ago

I am back in San Francisco and what a beautiful day it is today. While I was in New York I was missing my Martha & Brothers coffee, so I took care of that fix first thing this morning.

But that's not what today is about. Listen up people, today is actually all about the music out at the Treasure Island Festival. And even better, Ashley and I scored some VIP tix to the event. We are just minutes away from heading out there for a day full of awesome music. Thievery Corporation, Cut Chemist, DJ Shadow, Honeycut, and more!

Afterwards, we are heading to the Mighty for the ESL Music Afterhours show with NICKODEMUS and Ursula 1000! Awww yea!

I will put up some pix tomorrow on Flickr or Ash will.

Created 129 weeks, 6 days ago

Fire sure is awesome, and when you take a few uninhibited artsy types and give them access to compressed flammable gasses, watch out.


These photos are from the Friday night show Ash and I attended in West Oakland.





technorati: Fire Arts Festival

Created 138 weeks, 4 days ago

If you are in San Antonio or Austin area, go see my friend Jon Stovall and his band Transfers at Limelight on July 28th. And also, if you can see a Starchild show that same weekend, you will then have seen two of the hottest acts southern Texas has to offer.





Created 139 weeks, 10 minutes ago

Ash and I swung by the LuckyOliver party at Ace Auto (very cool place with a Life Size Mouse Trap [non-functional] on the lot). Thanks for the invite Bryan, and thanks for the beer. Good luck in year two.





technorati: LuckyOliver, micro, stock, party

Created 139 weeks, 13 hours ago

If you have 2 million dollars that you would like to donate towards a good great inflammable cause, please consider helping out Survival Research Labs and their need for a new home base.

Created 139 weeks, 1 day ago

Ash just found this Fire Arts Festival and we got tix. Look for pix after the event, or if you are going let me know.


But be warned, "A note about fire peformances: anyone attempting a spontaneous fire performance or installation within the premises will be ejected immediately."




Created 139 weeks, 3 days ago

Saw it. Tried to like it. Didn't (which surprises me too!).

I think it works well as a demo-reel for the CG company. Too bad there wasn't a story.

I would have enjoyed the movie broken up into 30 second commercials for GMC vehicles though.







Created 139 weeks, 4 days ago

Went to the show at Knockout, and it was pretty cool. Hey, if you can't see the real thing, this is just about as good as it gets.


Oh, and chickencat, I thought you were awesome.

technorati: Tatamimats, Dark Side of the Uke, chickencat

Created 139 weeks, 4 days ago

Brad and Lenora have been visiting with us since last Wednesday when they arrived for the 4th of July to stay with us for just about a week. Today I have to take them down to the airport to see them off (sniff).

Lenora has a offer from Berkley but she will probably end up at Johns Hopkins. We had to at least try and convince her to come out here before she signs on the dotted line and heads off to Baltimore.

They did lots of adventuring while here, including a climbing trip at Mt. Diablo and a finding a climbing area just up the street from the house where a HUGE natural climbing wall is located right in the middle of the city (Beaver St.). I dragged them through Chinatown and Muir Woods as well as a July 4th at the Franciscan where we had front window views of the fireworks from our dinner table (Thanks Ashley!).





Created 139 weeks, 4 days ago

Oh yea! I have been waiting to see T Y C H O for a while.



technorati: Tycho

Created 140 weeks, 6 days ago

We went to the Friday night opening of Brian Eno's 77 Million Paintings at the Yerba Buena last night. We stayed about 2 hours I guess, watching the display. FYI: everyone on acid had an even better show than us.



technorati: Brian, Eno, 77 Million Paintings, Art

Created 140 weeks, 6 days ago

Last night we went to see Rodrigo y Gabriela at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga just west of Mountain View. What a great show. They played some hit songs from their album, as well as requests that the audience made (yelled); Metallica, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and more.

I encourage you to check out the Rodrigo y Gabriela sound; their music is Mexican slash metal influenced by ... Irish music ... turned acoustic ... but not Flamenco.

As Ash will probably explain, watching a concert in a winery also leads to some pretty interesting events. We are going to return again for a Lewis Black show in August because we had a great time at the venue.



technorati: Rodrigo y Gabriela, Mountain, Winery, concert

Created 141 weeks, 23 hours ago

Well, the summer schedule is getting filled up:

• Rodrigo y Gabriela at the Saratoga Mountain Winery.
• 77 Million Paintings by Brian Eno at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
• Thievery Corporation, Cut Chemist and DJ Shadow at the Treasure Island Music Festival.
• RUSH at Shoreline
• Hopefully we make it to the Laughing Squid : Paradise Lost party. The Decade 2 party was great!
  
• The Beastie Boys in Oakland.
• July 4th with Brad and Lenora in town for a week
  
  

Expect pics now that I got myself a newfangled digital camera.

Created 142 weeks, 3 hours ago

If you have ever wondered what the story is behind the "modern" typeface Helvetica, you need to catch the Helvetica film. Ashley tried to get in to see it when it screened at SXSW in Austin this year but it was far too crowded. We managed to catch it last night and the Landmark Theatre downtown.

Gary Hustwit, the director of the film was in person to present the movie and to take questions after the screening. If you can't catch a screening, he told the audience the DVD will be releasing sometime in October.


technorati: Helvetica, film, movie, screening, San Francisco



Created 143 weeks, 1 day ago

Ashley and I are up here in Tahoe until Tuesday, we had planned on seeing the Killers but unfortunately the show was postponed until September. The weather is amazing, the water is crystal clear and the gaming is seeming to be going in our direction.

Hope everyone is having a great long weekend.

Created 145 weeks, 3 days ago

Today, we are getting cable TV installed. I am admittedly excited about this.

One year without cable wasn't hard as I know it was key in making our transition to California smooth, productive and less stressful. For me, having no television entertainment obligations was one less thing vying for my limited attention.

We returned to cable TV in full style too: Digital Video Recorder with HDMI, HBO+ and HD Package.

Bring on the boob!

technorati: cable, tv, comcast



Created 146 weeks, 4 days ago

I'm ditching Ash and heading down to Shoreline / Mountain View to see BJORK with some friends. I'm hoping for some craziness on stage.

technorati: Bjork, Shoreline

Created 146 weeks, 5 days ago

Ash and I went to Makerfaire this morning in San Mateo. Even though she was on crutches with a cast, we still took in a decent amount of events.


My favorite was watching one of the rounds of the Combots Cup at the Combots Arena, awesome stuff. To see more of what was going on this year, check out the entire schedule of events for Makerfaire 2007.

Here are some pics of the event, if you want to see more, visit my flickr site.






technorati: Makerfaire, 2007, Make, Magazine

Created 146 weeks, 5 days ago

I was looking up some info for a Vegas trip, and I came across this feature listed for the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino:

---

Monte Carlo Resort & Casino features:
...

RECREATION
...

DINING
...

ENTERTAINMENT
Lance Burton - From sleight-of-hand tricks to grand illusions, suspending disbelief is Lance Burton's forte. The world champion magician, who headlines at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino, immerses audiences in his world - a world where gloves turn to doves and burning candles appear in his hands. 
 
LOCATION & DIRECTIONS
...

---

So, I guess its cool that he possesses a world and all.. but doesn't that sound like a pretty lame world to you? Doves and candles...pshaw.

What about the world where lasers shoot out of his eyes and his enemies flee before his mighty iron fists that fly off of his arms, at which point blades suddenly appear from his wrists spinning madly as he catches flaming axes in his mouth?

Where is the casino with that magician. I want to stay there.

technorati: magician, Lance Burton, Vegas, entertainment

Created 149 weeks, 1 day ago

The spring snow left on the mountains out here isn't bad at all. We have had two great days of skiing. We skied Kirkwood on Friday. I ended up renting a pair of skis because I hadn't had the time to do any shopping yet. By the time we had left the slopes, everything was closed at Kirkwood and most everything in the city except for Squaw Valley Sports Shop. I inquired about some skis they had on sale and arranged to demo a pair up in Squaw on Saturday.

So I had the skis at Squaw Valley all day today. I loved them. I ate up the slopes. When we were done for the day I ended up getting a really good offer on them and went ahead and bought them. I also needed some boots and ended up with a brand new pair. Skis had been marked down 30% and boots were 40% off. I also bought a pair ski poles too.

Tomorrow I will be using the entire set while skiing for most of the day at Alpine Meadows. Ill be the guy with all black equipment except for some hot-orange (magma) ski boots.

So what I bought was Voklkl AC-3 Unlimited Titanium, Technica Diablo Magma Hiper Fit Ski boots, and a pair of Scott aluminum ski poles. I am very pleased to finally have a set of ski equipment of my own. But now, how do I get them back home on the BART?

Created 149 weeks, 5 days ago

Tomorrow I'm off on the last Tahoe skiing trip of the year. Some friends from work will be driving a carpool and we will be staying up there Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Awesome!

While this year Tahoe didn't receive nearly the snowfall that it did last winter, there is still a fair amount of good skiing left just before May rolls around. Plus, I am counting on some good ski equipment sales so I can finally get a decent pair of skis.

The plan calls for us to ski Alpine Meadows, Kirkwood, Northstar and Squaw Valley while staying in a cabin for the incredible price of just 99$ each for the entire weekend. This also gets us a lift ticket to one of the resorts and breakfast each morning. I am not sure which resort (detail will follow); this is what happens when I don't plan these things.

Check out some of these recent pics from Tahoe resorts this week:

technorati: ski, Tahoe, skiing, snow

Created 150 weeks, 17 hours ago

Tonight is the second show by Las Diciembristas that I will see in San Francisco in 6 months. Understand that tonight this show is directly opposite AIR playing at Nob Hill Masonic Center. The last Decemberists show was good, but check out what the AIR Web site has to say:

Air return for their first North American shows in three years, performing their classics and songs from their acclaimed new album "Pocket Symphony".

Three Years! Three. Years... Two. Dollars!

Created 150 weeks, 1 day ago

We went to the Killers show on Saturday. The show was electric; confetti was everywhere.

I can't believe they are still touring Sam's Town though. We have had the album for at least a year, so I was hoping for some new material but don't recall anything from the show. I absolutely will catch the Killers if they do another small gig in town.

Which by the way reminds me that there is no way I am doing General Admission at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium again. It is just too packed and the stage is not nearly high enough for that size crowd. We arrived during before the second act, Howling Bells, and got a sweet spot in the front. But if you don't time your arrival just right, good luck seeing the band from the floor in back. I remember that view from the last show we saw at Bill Graham.

technorati: killers, music, howling bells, San Francisco

Created 152 weeks, 4 days ago

Back to San Francisco we are. Everything about the trip home was smooth. Mercury was well taken care of by Peter with Fetch! Pet Care and we pick up Winston tomorrow from boarding. I know I have a huge pile of work waiting for me when I get into the office, but I take heart in the fact that we launch a great project I have been working on this coming week, so stay tuned.


technorati: San Francisco, travel, vacation

Created 155 weeks, 4 days ago

I am down in San Antonio for a few days to see family for detox, now that SXSWi 2007 is all wrapped up. It was a great experience, as always.

Some panels were better than most, and I particularly enjoyed:

The Influence of Art in Design

Keynote: Will Wright Keynote Speech

The Growth and Evolution of Microformats

See you back in San Francisco on Sunday.


technorati: sxsw, interactive, 2007, panels

Created 156 weeks, 1 day ago

I setup a Google group to share notes on the panels. Since there is no way to attend the events that happen at the same time, I want everyone to post notes on it so when I can decide on what podcasts to get post SXSW.

SXSWi 2007 Panel Notes and Feedback from Attendees Visit this group->

technorati: sxsw, sxswi, interactive, austin

Created 156 weeks, 5 days ago

Well, I have a flight to catch in an hour. My big project at McAfee wrapped at (literally) the last minute. I thought I was going to be bringing work with me, but thankfully all seems to be well in change-control land. Once the project launches either the week or SXSWi or just after I will be able to discuss it.

If anyone wants to talk about widgets, XSLT, l10n, javascript and overriding w3c xhtml dtds or other interesting web stuff, drop a line and we can meet up in Austin.

Also, I think Ash and I will be having a small party in the hotel one of the nights. You need to bring booze. Ill have the tunes and drunk laugh.


technorati: SXSW, SXSWi, interactive, austin

Created 157 weeks, 5 hours ago

Ashley and some of her Google coworkers created a SXSWi 07 schedule for Google Calendar. It is far easier to manage than the SXSW version.

technorati: SXSW, SXSWi, interactive, calendar, panels

Created 157 weeks, 1 day ago

Well I'm off skiing until next Tuesday. A 70 inch base, and possible fresh powder on Saturday!



technorati: skiing, vacation, new mexico, ruidoso, ski apache

Created 159 weeks, 2 days ago

I will be in Austin 3/9 [Friday] - 3/14 [Wednesday] for SXSW interactive. We are staying at the Radisson on Cesar Chavez. Aside from the panels and netops, who already has party plans?

technorati: SXSW, interactive, Austin, conference

Created 159 weeks, 2 days ago

I bought some flowers through 1-800-SendFTD for my sweethearts this year. I thought it very funny when I saw the charge reflected in my Bank of America account summary. Take a look for yourself:

Happy Valentines day everyone. Hope you enjoy the downers I sent you!


technorati: valentines, day, flowers, funny, 1-800-sendftd

Created 160 weeks, 1 day ago

After Ashley and her Google folks made the trip up to Squaw Valley on Tuesday, I decided to make the trip out there early Sunday morning to get in a day of skiing. They had been getting new snow since she had left on Wednesday and it was still snowing when I arrived at the park around 10:00 a.m.

The powder was lots of fun with skis but I did wish I had taken a snowboard because that is the way to enjoy that much new snow. Squaw Valley must have had about 30 inches of soft powder in some of the drains. Also the Tram was closed due to high winds. At least I got in a full day and came away with some good pics of the snow storm and resulting whiteout.

technorati: sking, tahoe, squaw valley

Created 160 weeks, 2 days ago

I lost my Canon SD400 camera in the San Francisco Bay today while sailing with our friends Carl and Pam. While I was helping set the jib and the mainsail, my camera fell out of my coat pocket, over the side of the boat and plunged into the depths along with any pictures that were on the memory card. That marks the fourth important thing that I have lost in Poseidon's waters in this lifetime. At least it is less frustrating than the time I dropped the keys to my car into the ocean.


Despite the loss of a fine digital camera, I enjoyed a great sail. The wind was blowing solidly from the East which means we could cut up the bay from Brisbane at about 6 knots and we only once had to tack across to reach Golden Gate. We had a quick lunch at "The Ramp" before we headed back.

I posted a few pics that I took with Ashley's SLR but you will have to wait for her to post her other pictures to see how fun the trip was.

Now what camera should I get to replace the SD400. I loved the size and the speed, but the quality was not quite what I wanted. Anyone? Suggestions?

technorati: sailing, San Francisco, camera

Created 163 weeks, 4 days ago

This weekend-of-backups (~20 DVDs) makes it an annual tradition for me. I performed a similar backup last year around this time and it saved my butt when I moved from San Antonio to San Francisco.

It turns out a few of my hard drives didn't travel as well as I had. They were totally unrecoverable. To my credit, I was diligent in performing a full digital-life backup last year around this time so recovery was quick and painless.

Before last year, I was not as meticulous as backing up as I should have been. I also made some poor decisions on hard drive manufacturers. I had three Western Digital hard drives critically fail and I lost a significant portion of a music collection and some newer builds for projects I was working on.

There was also an incident years ago where I was helping Brad with his computer and we(I) accidentally formatted his hard drive. Trust me, performing a restore is a thousand-times easier than recovering a formatted or faulty disc.

I also supplement this once-a-year backup with several incremental backups on my most important data throughout the year so I don't have 12 months of loss if I do have a failure.

If you haven't backed up in a while, I urge you to backup your most important data right this moment. You might also want to read this article reviewing the quality of different blank DVD media by digitalFAQ.com before you purchase any more blanks.




technorati: backup, DVD, annual tradition

Created 164 weeks, 5 days ago

I got back late last night from Tahoe. During the two-day trip we skied Alpine Meadows and Homewood. Here are some of the pictures I took that I liked.



technorati: Skiing, Tahoe, Homewood, Alpine Meadows

Created 165 weeks, 4 days ago

I am waiting for the sports store next door to open as I post this from a little coffee shop in Tahoe City. I drove up to Tahoe last night to stay at this house that one of my coworkers rents every year for her friends and family to stay. I got in about an hour late (there was very heavy traffic up here) and everyone was already asleep. I turned the door knob on the front door to see if it was unlocked and sure enough it was. I brought my stuff in, saw that there was a couch that no one was sleeping on and I crashed out on it.

I was the first to wake up this morning. I didn't recognize anyone as they started to wake up. I started introducing myself and made sure that I had slept in the right house. Turns out all is well, I got the house number right.

Well, the sports store is about to open. Ill post more pics from "Alpine" tonight where we are going skiing.

Created 165 weeks, 6 days ago

Winston is back after the surgery to fix his ears. He is in for a long recovery. I particularly like the bald head they gave him at the vet . Thanks everyone who stopped by to wish him good luck and good health.



technorati: Winston, dog, surgery

Created 165 weeks, 6 days ago

This will not be a post concerning resolutions and things I want to get finished this year. I did that last year; some good that did, bleh. Instead a fun little post and a list of "first in 2007".

The year started around 10 AM. A hangover from NYE celebrations made me sleep in a bit later than I thought I would when I set the alarms for the ungodly hour of 8 AM the night before. We watched TV pretty much all day; football and movies. I wanted to get some mowing done in the backyard but it never happened. I think the dog is eating the mushrooms growing back there because he was a bit sick today.

Without being too infomercial, I want you to know I am SO EXCITED for these next 365 days. I have some big things planned in my life that will come to fruition in 2007 for I have seen it in the bones.

I urge you to stay tuned to me this year; for my initiative is high, my armor is repaired and my mana is fully restored. Also, I am thinking of renaming my blog this year, the current one is too 2004. First candidate - John Forsythe : Eats, Shoots & Leaves.


First in 2007

First song I woke up to in my head in 2007:
Know what I'm doin' - Birdman & Lil' Wayne


First 'cognisant thought' of 2007:
Shit, the dog needs out.

First beverage in 2007:
Martha Bros. LBC (large black coffee)

First food in 2007:
Potato crisps and Ash's homemade dip

First DVD to watch in 2007:
3 Kings (I hadn't seen it yet)

First illegal download of 2007:
MP3 : Evan Dando - Misfits cover : Skulls



technorati: 2007, firsts, awesome, future

Created 166 weeks, 3 days ago

technorati: new years, 2007, movie

Created 166 weeks, 4 days ago

Created 167 weeks, 5 days ago

The x-mas tree is erect, the lights are strung(out) and the stockings are hung. This is the time of year that I usually like to wind down, buy myself a good Atari game and a order a new cassette tape.

I hope everyone is having a holly, jolly holiday this year. Don't forget to give Stunta Claus a big shout out cause he's gonna be rollin' through yo' hood soon an' ya had bettah recognize. You know das right!

technorati: Christmas, holidays, Stunta, Claus

Created 168 weeks, 6 days ago

Friday night was the Google holiday party - "Googolympus ". It was lots of fun, good food and great drinks (anyone from the old gig will hopefully appreciate that). The hydraulic lowrider show by the Impalas Car Club was my favorite. The set was extremely well done. It was like a live-action video game, say from Grand Theft Auto or the like. This week is my companies holiday party. Look for pics from that next weekend.

Pics from Googolympus:


technorati: Googolympus

Created 170 weeks, 4 days ago

This year, we met my fathers side of the family at Disney world. One night at Disney World Magic Kingdom Park, I asked my cousin how fast she could eat cotton candy.

This is what happened:



How fast can you eat cotton candy on Vimeo



Created 170 weeks, 6 days ago

Well, we are about to jaunt down the street to check out Tenacious D.

technorati: tenacious d

Created 172 weeks, 3 days ago

Its a strange thing, 30. It kinda sneaked up on me, which is suprising seeing as how it has been at the back of my mind all year. After an introspective sappy 'what does all of this mean' kinda evening I am happy to say that I find myself astonished at all the stuff I have seen and done in the last 9 or 10 years (since reaching full self-awareness of course).

Most importantly I have my parents to thank for installing within me the drive to live life fully (in 1976 prices, I am sure that cost a bundle), my sister who is my original and best friend, and to all my friends and lovers for giving me the opportunity to learn, and in turn, live my life with compassion, love and companionship. Without you I wouldn't be who I am today.

Created 175 weeks, 1 day ago

Off to see LB with Cut Chemist and Pigeon John at this little venue just up the street called The Independent. I think it was the same time last year I saw them up in Austin at The Parish. Lyrics Born shows are thrilling. Just hours away now, I don't know how long I can hold my funk.

Oh yea, and I went to see The Decemberists on Thursday. They were good too. But between you and me, Lyrics Born is the show I have been waiting for .

technorati: Lyrics Born, The Independent

Created 176 weeks, 5 days ago

We are all fans of the older Queensrÿche music, don't deny it. So it makes sense that when they come to town for a show, you pick up tickets and go. Nothing like having those older rockers ballad you silly while you chug down glass after glass of beer. Seriously though, I am excited about seeing them again. I know I will have to deal with some of the newer music, but when they start up some of the older songs... watch off!

Not as big a fan as this guy though.

technorati: Queensrÿche


Created 178 weeks, 2 days ago

I went to a great party last night at Yahoo! building C for the del.icio.us 3rd birthday party. There were some famous faces there, and we met 1/2 the support staff of Flickr before we left. Thanks for the really great BBQ (it really WAS good) and beers and free t-shirts. I liked Joshua Schachter's 'thanks for coming speech'. It pretty much went: "Thanks...for coming and celebrating with us." Then everyone got back to mingling and drinking. To the point man!

Pics of the event:
http://flickr.com/photos/laughingsquid/260373790/in/photostream/

technorati: del.icio.us, party, Yahoo

Created 179 weeks, 2 days ago

How is it possible that I am going to see so much live music lately? Well Ashley picked up some tickets to Download Festival 2006 from someone at G this week and it that means Saturday is now Beck, Muse and company.

Created 180 weeks, 2 hours ago

As you can probably tell, the fall concert season has started early for me.

After an awesome show on Saturday night with Prefuse 73 and the Hit+Run crew, we follow it up with an evening with Ratatat.

http://www.myspace.com/ratatatmusic

Rawr!

technorati: Ratatat, Great American Music Hall, San Francisco


Created 181 weeks, 4 days ago

Maybe it was a condition of where or how I lived in San Antonio, but I don't remember having this many awesome music shows in such a small span of time. I would go to Austin for some of these shows, but getting there and back was a pain. Or else these bands where there just for a music festival and you had to pay through the a$$ to get tickets to see them.

These are the shows I will attend just until November starts! I can't wait to see what my queue look like towards the end of the year.

Prefuse 73, Ratatat, Queensryche!

Awesome.

technorati: upcoming, ratatat, queensryche, prefuse 73


Created 183 weeks, 1 day ago

Wow, what a show. The shows title was GHOSTLY SCENES of INFERNAL DESECRATION. After watching I know why. Tons of robots spewing fire, destroying things and running amok, what more could you ask for.

also, check out these post-event reports and info stories:

http://news.com.com/2300-1043_3-6105432-1.html?tag=ne.gall.pg

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4609876

Technorati surival research labs SRL zero one
Del.icio.us surival research labs SRL zero one

Created 186 weeks, 6 days ago

Since everyone else important seemed to be talking about how old their hugely successful web sites were, I thought I would take time to acknowledge the coming-of-age of a lesser known web site.

My domain livemetal.com, the root domain for much of my Web foundation-building experience turns 10 years old tomorrow.

Through those ten years it has been a site for web services, freelance programming, computer sales e-commerce and even a brief foray into the world of streaming music [before ipods and blogs]. After each adventure it again transforms into a landing page that showcases some of the things I am interested in (it attracts even more spam with each reincarnation too).

This last incarnation lasted a little longer than I would have liked. I treated it like a cat over holiday by leaving it a huge pile of food and a deep bowl of water. I had things come up.....man.

So happy birthday root domain of mine. And in your 10th year know that you will become something else really cool [I have plans for you].

Created 187 weeks, 1 day ago

I found out I got tickets for the next Saturday A's game in Oakland at the McAfee Stadium (A's vs TOR [im guessing this is Torono Blue Jays]). Owners box tickets. Swweeeeeet.

 

I am an upbeat pill today!

 

Created 190 weeks, 1 day ago

Well, the Radiohead show at Berkeley was awesome! They had a few technical difficulties with some of the speakers or some feedback. Aside from that, the natural fog made for some amazing lighting effects, and the perfect center location for the acoustics made the concert memorable. They are playing again tonight at the Greek Theatre.

Created 193 weeks, 5 days ago

So, heading to the Radiohead show tonight in Berkeley. Everyone keeps saying the venue is so awesome. Without seeing it, I am comparing it to the sunken gardens theatre in San Antonio. Ill give you a better description after the show tomorrow.

The seats are in the inner ring left-center of the stage. It is an open-air theatre so I don't think there are going to be any bad seats.

The show starts at 7:30. I haven't ever seen Thom Yorke in concert so I am kinda excited about the show. Hurray!

*Update day of concert: Well... I didn't have any Radiohead albums at work. So I am listening to Def Leppard in anticpation of tonights show.

Created 194 weeks, 13 hours ago

If you are interested and you act quickly, here is what I am selling:

WorldMarket Sophia Sectional Sofa - Sage Green - faux suede - $600
http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/fur/156124034.html

WorldMarket Solid Wood Table / Custom Table Pad / 6 Solid wood chairs - $800
http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/fur/156114384.html

Samsung 20 inch TV with remote - $25
http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/ele/156070587.html

Black and Decker Electric Edger - $40
http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/hsh/156140464.html

BOWFLEX Power Pro XTL - and dumbells - $450
http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/spo/156138789.html

Ikea Storage System with TV shelf and Cabinet Doors - Brand New! - $70
http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/fur/156134341.html

 Cool, everything claimed. Thanks everyone.

Created 201 weeks, 3 days ago

Finally I can park back in my garage. Making a few $$ didn't suck either, but I think I might have ended up with more than I was selling in the end: I couldn't let some of my childhood artifacts go after all :(

Created 209 weeks, 5 days ago

Tomorrow I am having a garage sale. It will probably be held in my garage as the weather looks like it is going to be nasty. I will mostly selling stuff from my sisters house as she is moving, but I might throw in a few things like some EL under-lit keyboards and maybe an old optical mouse or two. I hope the weather stays clear until noon, then it can rain.

Created 212 weeks, 5 hours ago

Again to the parish nightclub. Lyrics Born was the headliner, and Pigeon John opened up for them. The music was kicking and the lyrics were lickin. I actually had only heard just small selections of Lyrics Born before the concert, and now that I have enjoyed them in concert, I will add a few songs to my playlists.

Rome on HBO is kicking-ass. I am really caught up in it lately. Also, this Sunday's Curb Your Enthusiasm was finally funny; The season didn't start strong with me.

At some point I need to get out there and mow my grass, its getting shaggy. I'm sure the homeowners association is ready to send me a letter demanding that I cut it. :(






Created 229 weeks, 4 days ago