It's gonna be a good year...

Listen and receive pleasure.

The new Walkmen album is available for $5 online.

It is magnificent, unsurprisingly.

End is near.......run!

Apologies to the very few loyal readers for whom I have produced nothing to read for the last 7 weeks. Things have been fine, but summer does not tie me to my motherboard like it does during the school year. Hence fewer electronic posts have been possible. But I've been sending mental vibes out there like CRAZY. That must count for something. Tonight, however, I am climbing back onto the saddle and issuing forth the first post for July 2008, a month that is practically in the grave as I type.

There has been accomplishment and progress since I last wrote here. There has also been boredom, but less so than the former. Work is pleasant, I received some good feedback from people. That feedback did, however, come to me over the course of a firm sponsored happy hour during which staff were freely downing pints. That is fine, though. I do not discard even drunken compliments, if they come from the right people that is.


These are the three employees from the AT&T store who I watch take many smoke breaks during the week. This bench is what I look at from my second floor office window. I've seen a wide variety of antics go on around this piece of standardized street furniture.

This weekend I traveled to the bowels of the Beaver State to carry out a family task of enormous proportions. Both emotionally and physically it wore me out. Typically disbanded family members traveled to and spent a night in Maupin, population 411. During the summer Maupin's population doubles because of its river rafting infrastructure and related private enterprises along the Deschutes River. We were in Maupin for other reasons, but the rafters were still funny to watch. People lose all their senses of control once they jump on a raft and cinch up a lifejacket, it seems.


Here the family takes a stroll down Macks Canyon.

The past weekend I ventured to Washington, DC. There, I visited with many loving friends, got some professional assistance, acted as mosquito bait, and forgot to take enough pictures. All in all a fine journey. Here are some of the few pics from that escapade.


My hair is going a little wacko but otherwise fine pic of me and Amanda.


An amazing beech tree at Dumbarton Oaks.


Hand-carved stone statue with water feature @ DOaks.

This coming weekend I have a visitor in town and that makes me very happy. There will be fun and adventures. The following weekend the birthday train heads north to Canada where hopefully mother will not mope too much about the value of the US dollar.

Then the summer is over and I have to return to Berkeley to resume my life of serfdom. So it be.

So, it's been a while....

Ten days since my last post, I hope no one is dying out there...

Much has happened in the Portland universe since my last update. First, 34th Avenue is the home to a new dog. Meet Oscar. He is okay. But he is too needy right now for my tastes. Odds are he will settle down. Sarah seems quite pleased but is increasingly anxious over it.


This is my mother, me, and the pooch du-jour.

Second, I got some big cheap sunglasses (see photo). They fit me but they are too bug like. Only $9.99 at Walgreens, though. My other ones, new as of April, were ruined when I spilled a drop of Zap-a-Gap on the lens. Try to get THAT one out with baking soda....

Third, work is going fine. I need to be proactive and save all my work samples I've been producing as I go. It's gonna be a pain in the ass to figure out where I saved all that junk a few weeks down the road.

Fourth, I must eat at many restaurants this week:
Thursday: Vindahlo
Next Thursday: Farm Cafe
Next Friday: Grolla

Lastly, there is a carfreeportland conference going on in town right now. I dropped by the keynotes on Tuesday and ran into Meggs. It was terrifying! Leave it to me to run into that dude in a conference ballroom of 600 people.

That's all for now. This weekend, I play auntie.

Some typical Portland weekend

1. Play Friday night pool at some smoky bar on SE Hawthorne
2. Go running with Matty!!!

3. See a high school graduation in rural Oregon (Mt. Angel - home of Oregon's Oktoberfest)

4. Walk Hard on video at Mamma's
5. Shopped at Powell's and Fred's

A vacation back home

I've planned a fun outting for July! Hooray. I am making a homecoming to our nation's capital on July 17. I got a pretty damn cheap ticket, too, the result of playing a vicious waiting game the last two weeks with the discount online ticket sellers.

The bad news is that I have to use Delta, so heaven knows if I'll even GET there. And if I arrive, will I find myself at the arrival gate clad in a frumpy navy blue cardigan and bunchy walking shorts? It is the risk one takes for cheap airfare.

Initial plans are as follows:
1. Visit with my old roommate Amanda;
2. Visit the Wilson Center and see George Seay;
3. Go to Dumbarton Oaks on Friday July 18 from 3-6, take photos, and watercolor;
4. See Jean Paul; and
5. Do some fun runs around town...

In between now and mid July I'll be working hard, losing my vision staring at CAD files, and enjoying my downtown Portland commute.

DC real estate monster

Apparently the sub-prime mortgage crisis has not impacted the neighborhood I lived in when I called home 20009. My roommate Amanda, bless her heart, found this realtor web site for the apartment (now a condo) we used to share up until I moved in 2004.

The building was sold a couple months before I moved to Berkeley in 2004. Current tenants had an option to buy their units cheap and undergo a year plus of renovations. We bailed and went our separate ways. I think I could have bought the unit for around $150K. Today, the same unit is listed for $429K, and the improvements look surface level. Take the photo tour. My bedroom (one of the last photos) still looks uninhabitable and awkward.

Health note

Cholesterol is 170, with LDL under 100 and HDL over 45. Triglyceride levels are also in check. What is your lipid health?

I am fully convinced that this health status is the result of my Omega-3 overload that I've been enjoying for the last 3 years. There is magic in bottles!

Health status at this very moment is questionable. I spent the morning serving LAEP families mimosas and drinking a healthy amount of sparkling wine myself. I came home at 2 and slept until just a few moments ago. I have to find my second wind as I have a bar to show up to at 8:30. I should go outside and walk around a little bit. My blood feel like molasses.

Making up for lost time; cholesterol

I have been more or less off school for the last week. Our final review was last Thursday from 10am-3pm. The day was hot and steamy and so we suffered in agony in Wurster's ground floor lobby while being jabbed and made fun of by local Bay Area design personalities. It was a fitting end to a rather ridiculous 8 week project that focused on the UC Berkeley West Gate.

Since then I have been under forced bed rest. My only diversions have been exercise and shopping activities. I had to go back to studio last night to move all my crap back home. It took nearly 4 hours to clean up and vacate, and boy was it PAINFUL. My car was FULL of junk I keep at studio, including a toaster oven and several changes of clothes I found tucked away in the back of my desk.

Tonight I ate at a Louisiana-cuisine place on Shattuck. Now I have indigestion. I ordered the fried catfish. I guess my body isn't used to deep fried food and simply doesn't want to process it. My stomach has been churning away since I ate nearly 6 hours ago.

Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment where I will receive test results for my cholesterol levels. We will see if my lipid level health has been maintained by the Omega-3 regimen I've been on since early 2006 (5 huge capsules of fish and flax oil EVERY morning). Last year my LDL dropped by 20-30 points under this diet treatment. I am hoping that things will be along the same lines this year. I've been touting this diet secret for a few years, but I have sparse evidence to back up my claims.

When I post next I will likely be in Portland. I begin work in one week there am excited to be near my awesome family unit.

Landscape and Dragons

As of tonight, I have put one of my final projects into its rightful and deserved grave. Nonetheless (is that one word?), there are still 2 beasts to wage axe battles against before May 15.

I notice my choice of vocabulary is going a certain way...

In other news, I am a bit soured by the political developments. I hope that Oregon gives Hillary a victory. I would be satisfied if that happened, and then she can drop out. We will see. If either of them showed up to one of the rallies on a bicycle, they'd get Portand's vote in a heartbeat. I should do political consulting on the side.

Joseph Ivan Karash (Feb 22, 1912-May 2, 2008)

My grandfather, who I have not seen since 1991, has passed away in Wickliffe, OH.

Monkey biznass

I've officially turned into a monkey. A CAD monkey, to be more specific.

Working in CAD is pretty maddening. I've heard it before, but it will make you crazy. My latest battle has been with with scaling viewports and editing embedded xrefs. Yes, it is THAT exciting!

At least I am surrounded by people that can help me when I am in a pinch. A huge project, which I got an extension for last week, is due in the next couple days. Therefore, I have assumed my banana task and have gotten behind the monitor with willingness. However, tomorrow is Derby Day, so this monkey may have to go to Tim and Danielle's house to watch the pony race shortly past 2pm.

In other news, life at Wurster is getting difficult to stand. My students are getting flaky so prof and I instituted a student-led review session for all the readings in the course. They are probably cursing at us, but they are still getting off pretty easy. Three people are assigned to each article; in between themselves they are responsible for presenting a 1-2 minute synopsis of the article when we meet next Thursday.

My stepdad's mother is about to die. That's really sad. Poor Bruce. Anyway, there's a lot of issues going around. And presently, I add to the woe as I am still unemployed.

Current Grove Street status: people across my interior block are having a party and you men are yelling expletives. Our downstairs neighbors Christopher and Jeffrey are also moving to San Rafael. I overheard Jeffrey talking about it to the neighbors earlier today.

Visual camp out

As promised.....paintings are annotated so there are no labels.














Here Joe McBride is telling us about all the vegetation and geology around us.
























I thought this one was fitting to end the entry. Joe McBride is our hero.

The McBride Graduate Camp-Out

The Joe McBride sponsored camp-out begins tomorrow, er, today, in less than 7 hours. I just returned home from another arduous day and night at studio and there is still packing and preparation to do.

I heard today that I will not need my hairdryer as the places we are staying at "only have pit toilets." The last CA State Park I stayed at had flushing toilets, many outlets, and really nice showers in these cute log cabin houses. A peek at the web link reveals this place also provides free wireless signals these days. So much for getting away from the office...

I am looking forward to seeing Sea Ranch and Mendocino. Both are places I've wanted to visit since I arrived in Berkeley 4 years ago.

I will come back with about 36 watercolors of this journey (12 paintings per day x 3 days = 36). I will scan some of them later down the road and post them here. But probably not for a few weeks.

It could have been a sure win

I just saw this article in The Oregonian. It looks like the competition my stepdad was facing in the mayor's race was flimsy at best. He should have stayed in the race and used this candidate's gaffe to his advantage in the small town Beaverton Valley Times.

This guy Doyle looks like some villianous character from central casting....

There goes another $300

This week my new camera finally arrived in the mail. The thing is really nice, I love the upgrade from the S230.

Sadly, after discussing the screen problem that prompted my recent purchase with a classmate, I learned that the defect has been recognized by Canon and you can get a replacement camera or repair, REGARDLESS of warranty status.

Oh, dear.

I suppose I can bestow the replacement, once I get it, on a deserving soul. Or just have two cameras.

Hibernation

This blog has lately suffered from lack of entries, and outlook for future entries also looks dreary. Check back in a couple of weeks. Much is happening, deadlines are being (barely) met, and my public speaking practice increased by 65 minutes this week. I'll try to be more specific at a later date.

Until then, happy computing.

Free publicity

This postcard is being delivered to various parties in Sausalito. I was surprised that it features one of the images I produced for my boards.

Too bad I won't be able to practice my presentation until the day before. I am swamped to the gills.

Cancion de la noche

We've Been Had, The Walkmen

A favorite for 3 years now. I can still listen to it with fresh ears. But that goes for pretty much any Walkmen song, come to think about it.

There is MUCH work to be done this week. I am going to be lucky to take off for even a few hours for the next 8-16 days.

Cancion del dia

Thirsty and Miserable, The Dirty Projectors

Canon SD 800 IS

I've had to purchase a new camera! This is about my third or fourth big purchase this month, not including my tax bill.

My old Canon Digital Elph, the S230, that I received as a gift in 2003-2004, has decided to die on me. It's been giving me photos like these:



This one below has a purple hot spot. When the photos aren't fuzzy they end up purple and disfigured like this one.



I found one, here below, which is more typical than atypical.



I didn't even include the worst of them....usually the viewfinder is all fuzzy and wavy, and the pictures you take look like that. It is terrible.

Anyway, I figure the old one has gotten tons of intense use the last few years. I am buying another Canon, but this one has some expanded features. It has a 28mm-105mm focal length, so I can finally get some wide angle shots. You really need those extra 7mm when you are taking photos of landscapes as much as I do. It's still a very basic Canon point and shoot, but I don't need one that has anymore features than I already had. Plus, I have a tendency to lose things so I don't want to set myself up for disaster.