Fitz dreams of living in a dome-shaped house surrounded by a vast desert. Therein he would spend his days creating music, doing martial arts, and tinkering with computers.
Until then, he has this
Web site...
Fitz dreams of living in a dome-shaped house surrounded by a vast desert. Therein he would spend his days creating music, doing martial arts, and tinkering with computers.
Until then, he has this
Web site...
2008 -- Annus Horriblis?
That's perhaps too strong, but it certainly won't go down as a good year. The death of my father, my uncle, and many others. The disintegration of the economy. The lack of any progress with my band. The loss of my job. Life just threw a lot at me and at the world in general.
It had its ups as well though. Burning Man AND Mexico. A new job that pays a lot more. A solo album written and just about ready to be recorded. And I have to say I'm very glad Obama won the White House.
So how would I bottom line it? Maybe that's why I'm having a hard time writing this post because I just can't summon up a strong reaction one way or the other. 2008 was a year of big changes, deep valleys, and moderate peaks. I think I grew a lot this year and certainly feel more the "adult" than I ever have in my life. Not adult old, but adult competent and adult assured. It's a good feeling to be honest.
Again, the best pictures taken by me or of me. Lots this round - Burning Man will do that...
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12/31/2008 | Permanent Link
Sunday we met with Ron and Mike and they were kind enough to take us for a ride around Capitol Hill in their all-vintage (except for the mandatory safety glass) Ford Model T. It's a fascinating vehicle that is more akin to a tractor really than a modern car. I'm surprised it's allowed to drive on the roads considering it's bereft of any signal lights. The car weights about two tons and has a mere 20-odd horsepower. Its top speed is around 40 miles-per-hour.
12/30/2008 | Permanent Link
It was a nice Xmas. My brother's kids weren't sick like they were at Thanksgiving and I have to say that not having child-puke splashing all about enhances any holiday. To be honest, the kids don't bother me a bit and I enjoyed having them around. The kid's parents, however, need to chill a bit on the whole parenting thing. THAT was stressing me out far more than the little ones.
Not having my dad around was odd. There were several times where I just felt he should be chiming in on a conversation or should be sitting next to the fire reading a book. Sigh. But we carried on. We did the santa thing, the gifts thing. I helped my mom set up this nifty glowing horse and sled. I think having the kids around helped with his absence. They made the whole event feel a lot larger, not smaller.
12/29/2008 | Permanent Link
When the seasons started to shift I resolved to keep on biking the five miles into work in anything short of snow. This morning was a bracing 17 degrees as I departed at 6:15. It takes about 10 minutes to start warming up and shaking off the last of the night's grogginess and chill.
Perhaps it's a product of being in my fifth decade of existence, or perhaps the death of my father is still haunting my thoughts; but when I stop at the airport to admire the prefect orange light playing across the water as the icy air bites my face I ask: "How many more times? How many more times in my life will I feel this good physically? How much longer will my eyes be sharp enough to really bask in the sights around me? How many more perfect moments like this am I allotted?"
I have no answers, of course, but I'll damn well try to make the most of each one.
12/22/2008 | Permanent Link
By coincidence Will and I wake almost exactly at the Winter Solstice this morning around 7:00. We'd spend the night with Mike and Scott doing a holiday celebration and had to race back into town to get Charlotte to an adoption event (she's a great cat that still needs a home folks...).
Then it was a quick jaunt into DC to meet with Rob and Tom, and Jeff and Gary. We toured the botanical gardens which renewed my desire for a large greenhouse dome, meandered thru the Multiverse which sparked my interest for an underground walkway between my future home and the aforementioned dome, and finally trekked with faces down against the cold to Madam Tussauds Wax Museum which though interesting, didn't inspire any desire in me for wax simulacrums in any future dwellings.
Now to try a little of that worm-wood laced absinthe I got as a present last night...
12/21/2008 | Permanent Link
And a beautiful Reason Tree it is! I just need to get some good scientific ornaments to hang on it next year...
Previous Trees:
12/20/2008 | Permanent Link
If you get a chance you really should take a stroll thru the underground walkway that connects the East and West buildings of the National Gallery of Art. Leo Villareal's Multiverse adds a new dimension to it with a slew of computer-controlled, scintillating LEDs.
From the description at the walkway:
The moving walkway between the East and West Buildings had taken on a new dimension with the addition of the site-specific LED sculpture by artist Leo Villarea. About 41,000 LEDs were inserted into he vaulted architecture of the walkway. The artist then programmed the electronic circuitry to form kinetic configurations of white light conveying associations ranging from artificial life to organic form. The programming both instructs the lights and allows for an element of chance, While it is possible that a pattern will repeat during a viewer's experience, it is unlikely. This sculpture will be on view until November 2009.
It makes the whole walkway even more old school Battlestar Galactica than ever.
12/16/2008 | Permanent Link