Random Thoughts

Why do people think it's ok to pile junk at the end of their driveway and put up a sign that says "FREE". I don't want your junk. I don't want to look at your junk. Stop being lazy and throw the shit away.

According to 'science' if I compile a list of C++ keywords and write a program that randomly puts them together, in a few billion years (give or take a few eons) I will have developed the most sophisticated computer program ever imagined. Of course, I would have to press the 'run' button. Would that make me the Creator?

I recently purchased two pairs of jeans (different brands). Both have the same waist size (32) but when I hold them up next to each other, one waist is clearly larger than the other. Which one is actually 32?

Why do I wear a medium in some shirts and a large in other shirts? Can we not have an agreed upon standard for shirt dimensions?

More of my Bike Path...

I've decided to add another image of my bike path to work (courtesy of Google Earth).

At this intersection, I turn right and trek between holes 1,2 and 3-9 of the Newport Beach Golf Course. If I look to my left, I can watch people putting on #2. On my right, they are teeing off at #3.

If you look carefully, you will notice the runway to John Wayne airport at the top of image.

On Being Thankful

I try to be thankful. However, sometimes I get so busy (i.e. stressed) and caught up with work that I forget about those things for which I should be thankful.

1. I have no debt
2. I have a new car
3. I have a home worth more than 2x what I paid for it
4. I work for myself
5. I wear shorts to work and can ride my bike there
6. I have a beautiful girlfriend that loves me
7. I have a nice family and two healthy parents
8. I can play guitar
9. I live minutes from the beach and enjoy great weather year round
10. I am in great health

When I list them, I can really see that I have nothing to complain about. Then why DO I complain sometimes? Why do I let everday stress completely overtake my mood? Is it because I strive for perfection? Is it because I worry about what might happen instead of enjoying what IS happening?

Until I figure it out, I will just try to be thankful. I think Jaclyn will like me much better that way.

Speaking of riding my bike, with the help of modern technology you can see part of the path I take to work. This portion of my trip leads me through Upper Newport Bay. Going this direction, I get to enjoy the cool, fresh, morning breeze, enjoy the sounds of nature, and see the sunrise over the mountains.

Welcome to the "O.C." Video Game

Oh boy!

A video game based upon the "ultra-trendy" community in which I live and work.

The O.C. Video Game

Just when my weekends were getting lame and boring, I can now live the fantasy life I dream of via this fantastic piece of gaming technology. Thank you, thank you!

Blogger Apathy

I have not been writing much lately. I have had so much on my mind that I cannot bring myself to sit down and write about it. That is the odd part. We have these blogs so we can put our thoughs to "paper" in the hopes of reaping the theraputic benefits. I suppose that I am not in the mood for therapy. Or maybe I'm just lazy.

When did life get so complicated? Sometimes I wish that I could be one of those guys that just shows up to work, does his time, and then goes home to work on his own projects.

When you work for yourself, your business is your life. That's the choice you make. If it is not your life, you will not be in business very long. You hope that the freedom to carve you own path outweighs the worry and hard work.

My sister's in-laws were visiting them once. When asked how her trip was going, her mother-in-law replied "I'm sleeping through the night and having regular bowel movements, so everything is ok".

Sometimes (on mornings such as this one), I wish life was a just little simpler.

No Chicken

My dad has not eaten chicken since April of 1957.

The man doesn't eat chicken.

He's chicken intolerant.

He doesn't eat turkey either.

When I was young, my mom once tried to sneak some ground turkey into our spaghetti sauce.

She was found out.

My dad and I had BBQ sandwiches for dinner that evening.

Two Kinds of People

There two kinds of people in this world:

Those who listen to me and go on to live happy, healthy lives and those who don't and live to regret it.

Fallen Heroes

My heroes are beginning to fail me (all except my Dad of course). I am not sure if it because they are changing or I am changing.

Last night, Jaclyn and I went to the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach to see my musical idol Jay Farrar and his band Son Volt.

After a seven year hiatus, Son Volt reformed and released a new record entitled Okemah and the Melody of Riot. The reason I emphasize reform is due to the fact that the original band is no longer together.

Unfortunately, I was less than awe-inspired by last night's performance.

From Memphis to New Orleans, in and out of railroad dreams, you're out there in scenes passing by..

Don't get me wrong. They played great and the music was better than 99% of anything else that you hear. But, I found myself thinking of the long drive home and trying to convince myself that it is ok to leave early because I have gotten my money's worth.

My apathy is the exact opposite reaction to the first time I saw Son Volt live. While the anxious anticipation of seeing the band whose music so moved me was enough to make me sleepless the night before, the reward of seeing them take the stage brought tears to my eyes. It saddens me that seeing them live does not have the same effect it once had on me.

Put whiskey on the wounds, salt the glass and say good-bye..

Perhaps I have become calloused as I have seen Jay perform several times over the past few years. Perhaps I now know too much about the man from watching interviews and reading articles. When all I knew of Jay Farrar was his music, he was bigger than life. His picturesqe lyrics and masterful songwriting could completely capture a moment in time that I could relive over and over again by simply inserting a CD into my stereo.

This legend who has managed to evoke emotional responses from me that I never knew existed, I now see as human with all the faults and fallibility that come with the package. Is that a bad thing? I don't think so.

Here for now, transient tommorrow. We're all living proof that nothing lasts..

It does make me realize that another era of my life has passed. I may never have that same excitement again that I once had, but I will always have the music. The music that continues to move me. The music that gets me through times both good and bad...

When we're all passed over, the rhythm of the river will remain..

Gloom, Despair...

... and agony on me.

Living on Blind Hope..

... again.

BARRELING ALONG
DRUG TEST
ON-LINE
FREE AIR TIME
TOBACCO BILL
PENTAGON WASTE
HIGHWAY MONEY
PEACE
STALEMATE
NO DANCING ALLOWED
THE WAY OF THE TRANSGRESSOR IS HARD

Missing in Action

MIA. That's me. No posts for nearly a week. It isn't that I do not have anything to say. Actually, it is quite the contrary. There is so much to say that I cannot imagine fitting it all into a single blog entry.

Once again, humanity has disappointed me. Maybe some among us did evolve from the primordial cesspool. Given some of the behavior on display in New Orleans last week, I cannot help but wonder if society just isn't meant for some people. Seeing so many make a bad situation worse was eerily similar to Lord of the Flies.

To exacerbate the issues, several "leaders of color" began hurling their now-too-common charges of racism at the National Guard, the Bush administration and everyone they felt purposely disenfranchised the Black community from the rescue efforts. One hip-hop star (oh how I hate typing that)) went as far to say that President Bush "doesn't care about Black people". Others said that "America doesn't understand Black people". You don't think this victim attitude permeates the inner fabric of society? Just today, Jaclyn had to endure listening to an older Black man gives his unsolicited opinion on the rescue efforts. Almost verbatim, he repeated the same untruthful and divisive rantings of the supposed "leaders" of the Black community.

What makes it worse is the free pass these people get from the major news outlets. They can say anything they want (no matter how outlandish) and Katie Couric just sits there and smiles, nodding her little pointy head.

In the meantime, donations are pouring in by the hundreds of millions of dollars given by Americans of all colors. That is how we do it in America. Now matter how hard these fools try to divide us and pit one class against the other, Americans always come through for one another when it counts.