Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Odds-n-ends
My first cup of coffee (at the Phoenician, on Saturday) since April was not the transcendant experience I had anticipated. Possibly there was too much interference from the champagne and orange juice.
Mom & Cliff really liked the vests I brought for them from Peru, so I was pleased.
Trying to finish my self-study SANS Firewall course before the year is up. The latest lecture was two hours of intro to PKI, so I stayed awake by working on hemming some jeans.
I was planning on making a long day trip to the Chiricahuas tomorrow for a hike that I had to cancel last time I was in Willcox, but with the storm on its way and due to hit late tonight, I'm going to wait and see how Thursday
works out.
2 comments
My first cup of coffee (at the Phoenician, on Saturday) since April was not the transcendant experience I had anticipated. Possibly there was too much interference from the champagne and orange juice.
Mom & Cliff really liked the vests I brought for them from Peru, so I was pleased.
Trying to finish my self-study SANS Firewall course before the year is up. The latest lecture was two hours of intro to PKI, so I stayed awake by working on hemming some jeans.
I was planning on making a long day trip to the Chiricahuas tomorrow for a hike that I had to cancel last time I was in Willcox, but with the storm on its way and due to hit late tonight, I'm going to wait and see how Thursday
works out.
2 comments
Monday, December 27, 2004
This is the time of year when fragments of unfinished carol filks run through my head, like:
Have a jolly Crowley Christmas,
It's the Beast time of the year...
Or
Gandalf with your robe so white,
Won't you kick some butt tonight?
Or Captain Picard, TTO "Let it Snow":
Make it so, make it so, make it so!
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Had a nice unplugged holiday weekend. Mom, Cliff, and I picked up again the holiday tradition we started when he was living in Ahwatukee: going to the Phoenician for their wonderful Christmas brunch whenever the family is in Arizona for the holidays. We were surprised that there weren't more people out on the terrace; in the past it's always been at full capacity, even at the first seating, and you'd think with the beautiful bluebird weather people would want to be outside. We didn't need the propane heaters and even took our sweaters off. We also noticed that there wasn't a Santa this year.
Saturday afternoon, taking a break from lounging in the back yard, we listened to the wedding CD I'd made for Mom. When my parents were first married, the had someone record the ceremony on a reel-to-reel tape machine. At the time, there were booths in some department stores where you could make short recordings to vinyl platters, and that's what my folks did, but the music parts of the ceremony never made it onto the record - possibly because there wasn't enough room. After Dad died, Mom had the recording transferred to CD, then hunted down the sheet music and asked me to record new versions. Pat and I did that in August or Septemer, using his portable rig, and I later burned a CD with the music and the spoken parts of the ceremony in proper order. I wasn't too thrilled with my performance on The Lord's Prayer, and the original parts really show the effect of being transferred across three media, but Mom teared up over it anyway so I figure it was worth the effort.
So now everyone's home, and I'm spending my remaining week off tying up a few loose ends.
1 comments
Have a jolly Crowley Christmas,
It's the Beast time of the year...
Or
Gandalf with your robe so white,
Won't you kick some butt tonight?
Or Captain Picard, TTO "Let it Snow":
Make it so, make it so, make it so!
---------------------------
Had a nice unplugged holiday weekend. Mom, Cliff, and I picked up again the holiday tradition we started when he was living in Ahwatukee: going to the Phoenician for their wonderful Christmas brunch whenever the family is in Arizona for the holidays. We were surprised that there weren't more people out on the terrace; in the past it's always been at full capacity, even at the first seating, and you'd think with the beautiful bluebird weather people would want to be outside. We didn't need the propane heaters and even took our sweaters off. We also noticed that there wasn't a Santa this year.
Saturday afternoon, taking a break from lounging in the back yard, we listened to the wedding CD I'd made for Mom. When my parents were first married, the had someone record the ceremony on a reel-to-reel tape machine. At the time, there were booths in some department stores where you could make short recordings to vinyl platters, and that's what my folks did, but the music parts of the ceremony never made it onto the record - possibly because there wasn't enough room. After Dad died, Mom had the recording transferred to CD, then hunted down the sheet music and asked me to record new versions. Pat and I did that in August or Septemer, using his portable rig, and I later burned a CD with the music and the spoken parts of the ceremony in proper order. I wasn't too thrilled with my performance on The Lord's Prayer, and the original parts really show the effect of being transferred across three media, but Mom teared up over it anyway so I figure it was worth the effort.
So now everyone's home, and I'm spending my remaining week off tying up a few loose ends.
1 comments
Friday, December 24, 2004
Last-minute shopping?
Go to this link to make a donation to the USO phone home fund so a serviceman or servicewoman abroad can call home for the holidays.
This link is the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent, which continues to provide aid to refugee families in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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Interestingly, when I donated to the latter by credit card, my bank sent a verification message containing the string "?optedout?Iran". I know Iran is one of the countries US law forbids Americans from doing business in, but is the bank legally required to send this message? And is it sent to everyone I do business with, or was it customized for this specific charity? (I'd suspect the latter, since there's nothing in there about, for example, Cuba.)
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The stomach problem is gone now, except for some excessively gurgley guts. Mom & Cliff are arriving in about half an hour; I've been tracking their flight via the Alaska Airlines site, tres cool.
0 comments
Go to this link to make a donation to the USO phone home fund so a serviceman or servicewoman abroad can call home for the holidays.
This link is the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent, which continues to provide aid to refugee families in Afghanistan and Iraq.
--------------
Interestingly, when I donated to the latter by credit card, my bank sent a verification message containing the string "?optedout?Iran". I know Iran is one of the countries US law forbids Americans from doing business in, but is the bank legally required to send this message? And is it sent to everyone I do business with, or was it customized for this specific charity? (I'd suspect the latter, since there's nothing in there about, for example, Cuba.)
---------------
The stomach problem is gone now, except for some excessively gurgley guts. Mom & Cliff are arriving in about half an hour; I've been tracking their flight via the Alaska Airlines site, tres cool.
0 comments
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
What a revoltin' development this is...
I spent last night periodically waking up to vomit. It can't possibly have been the curry - it didn't have time to go bad - but out it goes anyway; I couldn't get much more than a little bread and fruit juice down today. Whatever the hell this is, it had better clear out by Christmas.
1 comments
I spent last night periodically waking up to vomit. It can't possibly have been the curry - it didn't have time to go bad - but out it goes anyway; I couldn't get much more than a little bread and fruit juice down today. Whatever the hell this is, it had better clear out by Christmas.
1 comments
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Tom Tuerff and I played Fiddler's Dream on Friday; we sounded really good together and despite the usual, smaller Friday audience, the tips were quite generous. (Thanks guys!) I felt on top of my game for the first time in ages. As an experiment, we devoted the entire middle set to covers and actually filled the time without exhausting our setlist. I don't know why we don't perform together more often - oh yeah, Tom lives halfway to Flagstaff.
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The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition DVD boxset arrived yesterday; I haven't cracked the shrink-wrap yet because I got home late late after Lumenarias at the DBG and dinner at Udupi Cafe. Excuse me while I switch into uber-geek mode.
Some of the reviews I've read criticize the film version of Gandalf's confrontation with the Witch-King, because Gandalf is technically a Maia and should've been able to kick the ass of any mere servant of Sauron's. If this a weakness, however, it's not a weakness of the film. LOTR the film is based on LOTR the book, not the Silmarilian, and there's nothing in the book's story (or appendices) to indicate that Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast the Brown (aka Sir Appearing-on-Pages-336-38) are equals of Sauron. In fact, in the passage with Radagast, Gandalf himself says, "..even the Wise [wizards] might fear to withstand the Nine, when they are gathered together under their fell chieftain." The concept of the wizards as Maiar, only one step below the Valar in power, has the feeling of a late addition meant to better fit the LOTR story into the Silmarillion - much in the same way that Tolkien re-wrote the Hobbit to make it a better prequel to LOTR. Bilbo still slips the One Ring on and off with impunity, and the wood-elves and goblins bear only a passing resemblance to the Eldar and the orcs.
If you consider Gandalf as Maia, then the entire storyline of LOTR unfolds differently; would, for example, a semidivine being really only barely survive a fight with a Balrog? The discrepancy is there, but it's Tolkien's, and Jackson shouldn't be blamed for going with the characterization given in LOTR vs. the Silmarillion.
1 comments
--------------------
The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition DVD boxset arrived yesterday; I haven't cracked the shrink-wrap yet because I got home late late after Lumenarias at the DBG and dinner at Udupi Cafe. Excuse me while I switch into uber-geek mode.
Some of the reviews I've read criticize the film version of Gandalf's confrontation with the Witch-King, because Gandalf is technically a Maia and should've been able to kick the ass of any mere servant of Sauron's. If this a weakness, however, it's not a weakness of the film. LOTR the film is based on LOTR the book, not the Silmarilian, and there's nothing in the book's story (or appendices) to indicate that Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast the Brown (aka Sir Appearing-on-Pages-336-38) are equals of Sauron. In fact, in the passage with Radagast, Gandalf himself says, "..even the Wise [wizards] might fear to withstand the Nine, when they are gathered together under their fell chieftain." The concept of the wizards as Maiar, only one step below the Valar in power, has the feeling of a late addition meant to better fit the LOTR story into the Silmarillion - much in the same way that Tolkien re-wrote the Hobbit to make it a better prequel to LOTR. Bilbo still slips the One Ring on and off with impunity, and the wood-elves and goblins bear only a passing resemblance to the Eldar and the orcs.
If you consider Gandalf as Maia, then the entire storyline of LOTR unfolds differently; would, for example, a semidivine being really only barely survive a fight with a Balrog? The discrepancy is there, but it's Tolkien's, and Jackson shouldn't be blamed for going with the characterization given in LOTR vs. the Silmarillion.
1 comments
Saturday, December 18, 2004
Rawhide Western Town recently announced that they were pulling up stakes after an aeon as a Scottsdale tourist icon. Creeping urban sprawl has been crowding their current digs, so they're moving to a more open area - the casino/hotel complex on the Gila River Reservation south of Ahwatukee. The casinos - which I have mixed feelings about - have really changed the landscape of metro-tribal relations since the Pima Road standoff in the 80's, which is when I first came to Arizona.
See, before the land was purchased for the Scottsdale section of Loop 101, the Salt River-Pima Reservation used to extend further west than it does now - in fact the entire northbound lane of Pima Road, which was THE north-south commuter route in the east Valley, lay on land that was leased by the City of Scottsdale from the Tribal government. This lease ran out sometime in the early 80's. It had been an extremely long-term lease - something like 50 years - so the Tribe understandably wanted a rent increase on the new lease. Heads were butted, and after a year's negotiations and no new lease, the Tribal Police shut down the northbound lane of Pima Road. The City of Scottsdale immediately sprung into action - by making the remaining one lane of Pima southbound in the morning and northbound in the evening. My memory is hazy on exactly how long this arrangement dragged on before a new lease was finally signed. But with the development going on on the Res these days, it's hard to imagine something this lame happening today.
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Fun Peruvian fact:
We didn't see cats in cities like Cuzco, where packs of dogs roam the streets, but we did encounter them in more rural areas, including the floating reed islands of Lake Titicaca!
2 comments
See, before the land was purchased for the Scottsdale section of Loop 101, the Salt River-Pima Reservation used to extend further west than it does now - in fact the entire northbound lane of Pima Road, which was THE north-south commuter route in the east Valley, lay on land that was leased by the City of Scottsdale from the Tribal government. This lease ran out sometime in the early 80's. It had been an extremely long-term lease - something like 50 years - so the Tribe understandably wanted a rent increase on the new lease. Heads were butted, and after a year's negotiations and no new lease, the Tribal Police shut down the northbound lane of Pima Road. The City of Scottsdale immediately sprung into action - by making the remaining one lane of Pima southbound in the morning and northbound in the evening. My memory is hazy on exactly how long this arrangement dragged on before a new lease was finally signed. But with the development going on on the Res these days, it's hard to imagine something this lame happening today.
-------------------------
Fun Peruvian fact:
We didn't see cats in cities like Cuzco, where packs of dogs roam the streets, but we did encounter them in more rural areas, including the floating reed islands of Lake Titicaca!
2 comments
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Getting my pics up on Ophoto has turned out to be a long and excruciating process over my noisy dial-up, so if you want to see them before the end of the year you'll just have to drop by my house - sorry. I spent some time this weekend getting caught up on mail - bills etc. - and getting the holiday decorations up. Peaseblossom's gotten rather pudgy in my absence, no doubt from sneaking Omega's food behind the sitter's back, so she's on slightly reduced rations this week. Gee, this is an exciting post. Well, basically trying to get the place ready for Mom & Cliff's visit in another week & a half.
2 comments
2 comments
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
I initially wasn't going to vent my PVFM (Post-Vacation Foul Mood) here, but then I figured what's a blog for, so here it is: Mesa is cold, dark, damp, and drizzley. There's no food in the house. While I was gone, some neighborhood kid rode their bike through my front yard, smashing the easter lily cacti. Work still sucks. And worst of all:
There are many shops in Cuzco that will download your camera's memory card to CD, so you can clear it and go on snapping. I'm sure that most of them are fine compentant businesses where you don't need to hover over the person's shoulder like a hawk, making sure they do the job right. The shop I chose was not. Upon arriving home, I discovered that they had only downloaded the first 60 photos - meaning that the 200 or so I took at Pisac and on the Inca Trail are gone forever. Yes, I should've found some way to check the disc in Cuzco, thank you very much, Captain Hindsight. While I was sobbing brokenly over my keyboard yesterday morning, the cats came in and told me they loved me very much. It would be nice to think they were sympathetic, but they were probably just looking for a lap.
So... what's to do? I can incorporate my fellow Inca Trailer's photos into my slide show - thank the Holy Ones for email and photo sharing. I'm also going to jot down a written account of my experience on the Trail, which I'll expand and eventaully post either here or over on my main website.
I really did have a great time, guys. That's why it's so hard coming back down.
1 comments
There are many shops in Cuzco that will download your camera's memory card to CD, so you can clear it and go on snapping. I'm sure that most of them are fine compentant businesses where you don't need to hover over the person's shoulder like a hawk, making sure they do the job right. The shop I chose was not. Upon arriving home, I discovered that they had only downloaded the first 60 photos - meaning that the 200 or so I took at Pisac and on the Inca Trail are gone forever. Yes, I should've found some way to check the disc in Cuzco, thank you very much, Captain Hindsight. While I was sobbing brokenly over my keyboard yesterday morning, the cats came in and told me they loved me very much. It would be nice to think they were sympathetic, but they were probably just looking for a lap.
So... what's to do? I can incorporate my fellow Inca Trailer's photos into my slide show - thank the Holy Ones for email and photo sharing. I'm also going to jot down a written account of my experience on the Trail, which I'll expand and eventaully post either here or over on my main website.
I really did have a great time, guys. That's why it's so hard coming back down.
1 comments
