Not really a secret, I prefer to do my exercise out of doors. Whether it is hiking, or cycling, or even jogging, I vastly prefer to get out and pound the pavement (or trail). But it can be challenging when summer happens here in Arizona. When the thermometer goes past 100F by 10:00AM, and at 5:00AM it is already 88F, it is difficult to get out and exercise. Yet I do it nonetheless. But I do take...
I was cleaning up some programs that I am not likely to use on my new MacBook Air (iPhoto, iMovie), and I figured I would also blow away Garage Band. Before I deleted it, I thought I would open it up and see what it was all about. Then I found the Lessons part. Damn, that is cool. Really cool. Now I need to buy widget to get my guitar plugged into my Mac. I bought the Artist Lesson of Alex...
I took a plunge and went for one of the new MBA’s that were announced this month. (I am claiming that my boys got it for me as a Father’s day gift. Shhhh, don’t tell anyone). Of course, the design, the fit and the finish are outstanding. I got the 13” version, and I opted for the 8G memory on the system, so I had to wait until it built and was shipped from Foxconn. I gently unboxed it and fired...
I have long been a photographer. I began back in high school with my grandfather’s old Canon from the ’60’s. I shot a lot of B&W film in high school (it was super cheap, and we learned how to process it ourselves, so it was a no brainer. I have stayed true to Canon over the years, with several film cameras, and not I am fully in the digital realm. Last year, on a whim, I...
In my job, I often must write long, boring, detailed technical specifications for products under development. A full set of requirements includes the up front market justification that is needed to “sell” the proposal, an accounting of the types of customers who will buy (buyer personas, user personas) and the actual requirements in excruciating detail. It is not hard, once I get...
(Well, re-reading really) My memory is foggy, but I think this is the book that someone tossed at me in my sophomore year of high school. Written by Robert Heinlein, and originally published in 1961, it is one of the “must reads” in the SciFi genre. The premise is fairly simple. A manned expedition to Mars meets with tragedy, and the only survivor was an infant born shortly on their...
Our family is complete with two furkids. We have adopted retired racing greyhounds, and made them completely spoiled. Greyhounds are some of the sweetest, laziest, dogs you will ever know. Both of ours are couch potatoes, and are often ridiculed for being the slowest walkers. We don’t mind. However, there are some downsides to the Greyhounds. Their upbringing and time on the track is...
I posted this AM about our neighbors’ new nasty habit of having loud parties on Tuesday nights. This is most annoying for a variety of reasons, but the main negative is that I get to lose three hours of sleep.
This leads to a domino effect of me being logy and off my game all day. I hate this. Tonight, I will fall asleep early, and hopefully will not be disturbed.
I am fully acclimatized to the Phoenix (and Arizona in general) weather. Yesterday, I thought nothing about pulling on shorts and going for a 4 mile run at lunch time (95F when I left). Additionally, yesterday, it was 100F at the high. The lowest temperature this June (from my memory), and it felt very comfortable. Of course today it will be 108, tomorrow 113, and Friday 117 or more. Yes, I am...
(Warning: I am going to use some harsh language below) We live in a nice subdivision in Chandler, in SE Phoenix. It is a clean, well kept, and in general a very friendly neighborhood. But there always seems to be someone who has to stand out as a twat-waffle. Our neighbors to the north are one such “family”*. They have a Son who just graduated high school, and he was a baseball player...