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May 26, 2008
Courage
I stopped by Best Buy after work to check out their selection of Camera Bags (after Best Buy and the Ritz Camera in the mall, the one at Costco is looking better and better) and discovered that Paula Cole but out an album (Courage) in 2007 that I missed. A quick check of Amazon revealed their price was the same as Best Buy, so I picked up a copy.
It's quite good. Lots of jazz under (and over) tones, and some really solid songwriting and performing.
Posted by dberger at 8:46 PM | Comments (0)
Fsking Live Journal
A long time back, a friend setup my blog to syndicate to LiveJournal, which is great - it means my friends who are LJ users can easily keep track of my posts here.
Unfortunately, they can also comment through LiveJournal.
I say unfortunately because the link is one way - I don't get notified that a comment's been posted, and LJ only keeps the last few entries available, so when I remember (as I did today) that someone might have said something interesting, I can only read the comments on the latest half-dozen entries.
And since Syndicated Accounts aren't "real accounts" no one can edit them (so no one can prevent people from posting comments).
Gah!
Posted by dberger at 3:33 PM | Comments (0)
New Toys
On Saturday Dawnise and I needed to hit Costco, and ended up coming home with a bit more than we planned.
Continue reading "New Toys"
Posted by dberger at 1:17 PM | Comments (0)
In Memoriam
I've never been sure how "memorial day" translates to "BBQ and drink beer" but that's America for you, I guess.
To the fallen. To the lost. To those who never really made it home.
May you find peace.
Posted by dberger at 7:58 AM | Comments (0)
May 25, 2008
So Good, and So Bad For You
Last night Dawnise and I went to Alfred and Jodie's for a BBQ, and Dawnise followed through with her long-standing "threat" to make bacon burgers.
As in patties of ground bacon.
Continue reading "So Good, and So Bad For You"
Posted by dberger at 8:37 AM | Comments (0)
May 23, 2008
Squirrel + Airzooka = Awesome
We've got a bird feeder hanging off our back deck - and despite it being the type with a weight-activated cage meant to prevent non-avian diners, we've got a pretty determined squirrel.
Dawnise, in a moment of inspiration, grabbed the Airzooka.
I've only managed to hit him once so far, but damn was it funny.
Posted by dberger at 12:33 PM | Comments (0)
So. Much. Sugar.
About every six months, Dawnise or I get a hankering for a donut. This morning was one of those mornings, so we hopped in the car and headed to our local Krispy Kreme.
I've eaten (gulp) four glazed donuts this morning, and a cup of coffee.
And for some reason - I really can't explain it - I just went and looked at their published nutritional information.
I've had 800 calories, 120% of my daily recommended saturated fat, and 40 grams of sugar.
Suddenly I don't feel so well.
But still, they are tasty.
Posted by dberger at 9:56 AM | Comments (0)
I Hate Waiting
Monday is Memorial day, which I'm sure is obvious to most of you (who get the day off), but I'd forgotten
That means my camera, shipped UPS 3 Day on Thursday, won't arrive 'till Tuesday. It's currently on it's way from Ontario, CA to Portland, OR.
I hate waiting...
Posted by dberger at 9:44 AM | Comments (0)
May 21, 2008
Expensive Hobbies
I'm not good at spending money on myself. I'll pick up small stuff, like music, the occasional book or DVD (though I've pretty much stopped accumulating books and DVDs, the library and Netflix work really well), but anything with a price tag in the three digits makes me think long, and hard.
Continue reading "Expensive Hobbies"
Posted by dberger at 10:24 AM | Comments (2)
May 19, 2008
A Sailor Called to the Rocks
I've been waiting (and trying) to see Tina Dico for years - and I'm happy to say that last night's show at the Nectar lounge was worth the wait.
Continue reading "A Sailor Called to the Rocks"
Posted by dberger at 9:33 AM | Comments (0)
May 17, 2008
Long Way Round
While waiting for the decidedly un-Seattle-like weather to break yesterday, I finished up Long Way Round, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman's account of riding two BMW GS 1150's around the world - from London to New York.
It was an interesting book, in part because it was the first motorcycle travelogue I've read that didn't instill in me a deep desire to follow in their footsteps. I think part of the problem is that both of the principals are actors not writers - and it shows. But more fundamentally, they paint a picture of constant adversary, crappy riding conditions, and deep loneliness and homesickness that completely overshadows any positives that came out of the trip.
It seems likely that they wrote the book as a sort of foot-note to the documentary they made of their travels, but having read the book first, I doubt I'll make an effort to see the documentary. It was an impressive feat of perseverance and logistics, but not something I see myself ever aspiring to.
Posted by dberger at 5:48 PM | Comments (1)
Let's Go Fly A Kite (redux)
Our attempt to get our kite aloft on Thursday night ended in disappointment, and the weather prediction for Friday and Saturday was "hot," so Dawnise and I decided that I'd play hookie from work on Friday and we'd head to one of the self-proclaimed kite capitals, Long Beach, WA for an over-night get-away.
Continue reading "Let's Go Fly A Kite (redux)"
Posted by dberger at 4:55 PM | Comments (1)
May 15, 2008
Let's Go Fly A Kite
Today was absolutely beautiful - the sun was out, the clouds were white and fluffy, and there was a pleasant breeze all day. I took the motorcycle in to work this morning, and as I passed the park on my way home had an idea...
So Dawnise and I grabbed the kite from the garage and took a walk back to the park, only to find that the wind was too small for the great-hulking pirate ship of a kite (on the bottom of the page) we've got. So after 20 or so minutes of trying, we packed it in and walked home.
Still, it was a nice walk, and a really glorious day.
Posted by dberger at 9:36 PM | Comments (0)
A Month With a Blackberry
It's been about a month since I decommissioned my Treo 650 in favor of a work-provided BlackBerry 8100 ("Perl").
I've found that I like it much better than my Treo, despite the predictive type keyboard taking some getting used to.
Continue reading "A Month With a Blackberry"
Posted by dberger at 1:45 PM | Comments (0)
May 13, 2008
I Think I'm Gonna Need a Bigger Trap...
The question of weather or not we've got rodents has been answered.
In a fairly big way.
Continue reading "I Think I'm Gonna Need a Bigger Trap..."
Posted by dberger at 8:31 AM | Comments (0)
May 12, 2008
Kitchen Update
A colleague turned me on to a contractor he's worked with happily a couple times, including a "down to the studs" kitchen remodel, and we've had some promising initial conversations with him that might lead to us actually doing the kitchen.
Continue reading "Kitchen Update"
Posted by dberger at 9:28 AM | Comments (0)
Robin Hood: First Reactions
While watching the Dr. Who episode The Family of Blood, Dawnise and I were both quite impressed with Harry Lloyd, so I took a look at what else he's been in of late, and ended up adding Robin Hood to my Netflix queue. The first disc arrived the other day, and Dawnise and I watched two episodes last night...
Continue reading "Robin Hood: First Reactions"
Posted by dberger at 9:10 AM | Comments (0)
May 9, 2008
Of Mice and Viruses
Seems that disturbing the insulation and, in particular, vacuuming out the basement the other night may not have been my best idea ever.
Continue reading "Of Mice and Viruses"
Posted by dberger at 10:22 AM | Comments (0)
May 8, 2008
Mice: The Ongoing Saga
Dawnise was out last night - she had a craft-group meeting on the island, and spent the night there with a friend to "do" the annual Girls Night Out today/tonight. (It starts at Noon, which isn't technically "night," is it?) So I got home from work and decided to attack the basement and see what I could learn about the mouse problem.
Continue reading "Mice: The Ongoing Saga"
Posted by dberger at 8:44 AM | Comments (0)
May 7, 2008
A Trinity of Trance
I recently picked up the "latest" releases from Armin van Buuren, Paul van Dyk, and Tiësto; Imagine, In Between, and Elements of Life, respectively.
Some awesome stuff, if they're the sort of stuff that appeals to you. (Hrm, that's a bit circular, isn't it...)
I also learned that Tiësto's making a fairly uncommon appearance in Seattle at the end of May. I had just decided that I'd look into tickets when I realized we're out of town that weekend for my Grandparents 65th anniversary.
Drat.
Can't complain, really - "fairly uncommon" is more common than "exactly once."
Posted by dberger at 9:11 AM | Comments (0)
May 5, 2008
Mice: D.I.Y., or call someone?
Looks like we've got mice - Dawnise found droppings in the basement/crawl space. Nothing in the living space (yet).
I checked all the ground-level venting, and it's appropriately screened (1/2" mesh). We just did a roof, so I'm sure we disturbed an existing problem, rather than being recently invaded.
The previous owners had an inspection/treatment about a year ago - at the time (based on the invoice I got when we bought the house) it looks like they put down some traps, and in two weeks got no kills and called the problem solved.
I think they're coming in between the insulation and the sub-floor somehow, so I'd have to pull down the insulation, see if I can figure out where they're coming in and stop them, with prejudice.
So, the question is, is it worth fighting the battle without the heavy artillery of a pest control company?
Anyone?
Posted by dberger at 7:45 PM | Comments (0)
May 1, 2008
V for Constantine
Over the past couple weeks, Dawnise has had outings that have left me and the DVD collection alone for a couple evenings, so I've been able to (re-)watch a couple movies that she's not been interested in.
I I was surprised at how well both Constantine and V for Vendetta held up to reviewing.
Since seeing them both for the first time, I've made it a point to read the material on which they were based (I've not read all the Hellblazer stories, but I've read several), and while both works deviated significantly from their sources, they were both entertaining and engaging in their own right.
Without reading too much into this comparison, they're sorta like DADoES and Bladerunner.
I give 'em both a thumbs up.
Posted by dberger at 8:58 AM | Comments (0)