Would you ever...

bungee jump? No. I don't do heights.

surf? I have.

run a marathon? No. Have you seen what shape I'm in?

eat squid? I have

eat cow brain? Maybe. With BBQ sauce...

eat a living insect? Yes.

walk on hot coals? No. I look like an idiot?

go on a reality show? NO! I know how to edit video...

scuba dive? I have

... with sharks? I have

I miss blogging. I should do it more often.

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=56198.0

 Knitted Yoda Ears for Halloween...

 

I went out to the desert near Joshua Tree National Monument this last weekend with some friends.I own a 4X4 truck and I love to drive down dirt roads.  This is a photo out the window of my truck as I was driving back down a mountain. Note the angle fo the window and the horizon. It wasn't that steep, but it was interesting. I was driving back down to that road you see a the middle of the photo.

We sat around and talked a whole lot. It was very relaxing. I really enjoy the desert and the sunshine and sitting in the shade. It was like being back home again. I'll go to the desert for any reason, any time, just to be there.

They were there because is was opening day of quail season, so they were up at 5am to go shoot innocent little birds. Now, I don't find hunting morally incorrect, but I'm not a fan. I like to shoot guns, but not at animals. I own guns, but for self defense in my home, so I guess you could say that I own guns to kill people, not animals.

I didn't take a lot of photos this trip, because I was too relaxed. There was a nice sunset, so I did take these next few. They're just nice photos from the cabin that we were staying at.  

After the sun went down, I used the flash to take a couple more. I like these shots. Yes, it was a full moon, or really close to it.

 

We stayed at a friend's cabin/shack that his grandfather built when he homesteaded the 40 acres back in the 1930's or so. The area is being built up all around his lot. More and more newer houses going in.  It's a pretty old cabin, so it doesn't have running water. It does have electricity and propane, so we can turn on the lights and cook food and use the refrigerator, but when it comes to using the bathroom, this is what we get to use, an outhouse.  It's pretty scenery that you get to look at while you use it, since the door is not really there any more.

 

 

This is the reason that none of our wives come with us on the trip. 

 

Of course, I drove into to town and used the bathroom at WalMart...

My favorite board game is:

What's a "Board Game"? Using a Video Board? Huh?

1. What is your favorite word?

yes

2. What is your least favorite word?

can't

3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?

The desert, being by myself, being quiet and still, sitting on a rock, watching the catus grow.

4. What turns you off?

Stupid people who are not aware that there other people in the world and that the world doesn't revolve around them. Stupid people in general.

5. What is your favorite curse word? 

Frit

6. What sound or noise do you love?

My wife's laughter and any sound that she makes when she's happy, including "Here's my credit card".

7. What sound or noise do you hate? 

Disco music

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Movie Director or Script Writer

9. What profession would you not like to do?

Doctor. I don't do blood... 

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Dude! Well done, good and faithful servant!

The best birthday present I ever received was a cheap, second hand bicycle.

I got it when I turned 10, in 1965.

And here's why it was the best: 

I guess I grew up poor. I didn't realize it back then, but we didn't have a lot of money. Getting this bike for me was a big effort on my parents part and it was just what I wanted. It was bright yellow. 20" rims. Not a Sting Ray, which cost $30 new. This one was only $10, which was still not cheap. These were the days of 29 cent gas.

It gave me freedom. I could now go blocks away from my house. Before, I could only go on my own block or cross the street if I asked my mom. My world expanded. I was growing up and this was a symbol of my new maturity and responsibilty.  It was a new, exciting time in my life. I was still a kid who liked to play, but I was old enough to have some real fun and travel the world.

 Wind in my face... I've never outgrown my love of speed. Maybe it's all due to that bike.

 

OK - Funny story about the bike. I had to learn how to ride it. I'll never forget my older brother pushing my by the seat post back and forth on this level street around the corner from our house. We lived on a steep hill, so I couldn't learn there. So, he's pushing me and I get going and I lose it, so he pushes me again. All of a sudden, I'm flying down the street all by myself. I look back and my brother is standing way back behind me in the street. It's just me riding the bike. My first time! The thrill of freedom coursing through my veins! The wind in my hair! The Speed! The Thrill! It was amazing!

So amazing that I forgot how to use the brakes. I ran into the curb across the intersection, tumbled over the handle bars, and almost hit a fire hydrant as I fell onto the ground with my bike falling on top of me. 

Good times.

My five favorite stars are:

1. Neil Young - I like his attitude about his music. He does what he wants to do, no matter  the cost. He seems to be pretty authentic. He's explored a lot of styles of music and doesn't seem to care too much about the commercial aspect.

2. Andy Kauffman - I like his attitude about his comedy. He did what he wanted to do, no matter  the cost. He  seemed to be completely joking the whole world. Nothing is as it seems. He lived in his own world and the joke was on everyone else.  ...and, yes, I do believe that  he's still alive...

3. Elive Costello - I like his attitude about his music. He does what he wants to do, no matter  the cost. On SNL, with the emphasis on "live",  when he changed the sing that they were singing after starting the song. Freaked out the production crew who had no idea that he would just do something completely unexpected.

4. Mel Gibson - I like his attitude about his movies. He does what he wants to do,  no matter  the cost. He made The Passion against all advice and it was a huge hit that made tons of money. He also played Hamlet and a crazy cop who wanted to kill himself. How can you not love someone like that?

5. James Dean - I like his attitude about his movies. He did what he wanted to do, no matter the cost. He would throw in extra moments that were not in the script and let the other actors react in real time to him. He experienced everything that he could, both good and bad. He embraced life.  He really was too fast to live and too young to die. He died young, so there will never be a "Fat James Dean".

6. Robert Rodriguez - I like his attitude about his movies. He does what he wants to do, no matter the cost. He makes the movies that he wants to make. He resigned from the Directors Guild when they wouldn't allow Frank Miller to join when he made SIn City. He does whatever he can to remain true to his vision of what a film should be. Art for art's sake.

Is there a trend here?  hhhmmm....

First he bugs me to write for the Official Blog, then he features me on top of that. I'm honored. 

 If you read my blog below, you know that we are remodeling a small house on the back of our property. The electrician that we are using, we've used before a few years ago and we really like him. Reasonably priced, does a great job, and he's really nice on top of it all. He only does electrical work on people's homes part time. His "day job" is working at Home Depot 4 days a week.

 So, we're watching TV the other night and my wife stops the TV and makes it go back (we have a Tivo. We can do that.) She says "Watch this Home Depot commercial". At the end of it, there is our electrician, big as day. If you see a Home Depot commercial and the last guy you see is a dark haired guy with a mustach and and nice smile, that's our guy.

 I haven't been home while he's been working at the house, but I'll try ot get a photo. You'll recognize him from TV.

I know someone from a TV commercial! I'm famous!

They say on the eveing news that there are fires in LA and they show big flames and firetrucks. In reality, they are miles away from anything that you'd really call "LA". I think they are about 20 miles from us here at Grab. 

When I left work last night, you could see the smoke rising up from the mountains to the North and floating out to the West, over the ocean. It was right after sunset, so it was pretty dramatic looking.

I wanted to get a photo on my way to work this morning to show you what it looks like.  It's not so dramatic. The smoke is almost the same color as the sky, so it's not very impressive at all. It's kind of brown over there, but it's not as exciting as they show it on TV. Maybe next time.  

I don't live near a levee, so I won't get flooded. I don't live at sea level, so a tsunami won't get me. I don't live in the South East, so a hurricane won't tear the rook off my house. I don't live at the base of a hill, so a mudslide won't bury my house.  All we have left is wild fires and earthquakes.

 

If money were no object and I could have any job in the world, I would be a...

 

Movie director. 

 

 

For me, the ideal day's weather would be hot and dry. Death Valley in May, with the wildflowers blooming and a slight breeze, feet propped up on the balcony railing.

It really is a "dry heat", which makes all the difference. I've been to Atlanta, Georgia in the Summertime.

Thought I was gonna die.

I woke up yesterday when my wife had to leave to be somewhere by a certain time. I saw that it was 20 minutes til, so I had to get ready for work, which I did. She left and I was running a few minutes late. I ran into a bunch of traffic on the way to work, much more than normal. I'm going to be 20 minutes late for work. Very strange. I pull into the parking lot and instead of the usual 10 cars where I park, there were none. Is it a holiday or something? It slowly dawns on me. I'm an hour early.

This means that I can leave an hour early then also. Wemmick tells me as I'm leaving that there's some airplane thing happening at the airport. I live on the south side of LAX and I work on the north side. As I drive towards the airport on my way home, two police cars pass with lights and sirens. The radio says that an airplane, Jet Blue Flight 292 is burning off fuel in order to land with a broken landing gear. Cool. I know that this is a totally survivable landing, so it'll be fun to watch.

I drive along a road just on the north edge of LAX. Here's a photo of a police car going by with lights and siren. It's like watching a car chase on TV, but in person. There is no parking on this street. Note the people parked in the photo that I took while I was parked.

 

The radio says that the airplane is on final approach and will land in 10 minutes. 5 minutes. I stop the truck, jump up in the back and take these amazing photos.

 

At this point, I realize that this is not Flight 292, but some completely unrelated airplane.

Cool photos though...

I drive a little farther and stop where there's a bunch more people. The radio sounds very bizarre all of a sudden as I realize that everyone has theirs tuned to the same station. It's everywhere. It's like TV in the round.

Then it's over. I missed it all. I didn't see it land. I saw nothing. I'm on the North side of the airport and they landed on the South runway.

Well, I can't let that happen. I drive around to my house on the south side, then over towards the airport. All the main streets are closed. I park on a grassy knoll, overlooking the airport. TV vans are there. I take these photos of the plane as passengers deplane. I got to see the plane after it was on the ground. It was directly North of my house, less distance from my house than it took to land from the East.

There were helicopters overhead. I could count 7 of them from my house. Here is a shot of one.

I went home and watched it on TV. Very impressive landing. The pilot was amazing.

Later that night, the new season of Lost was on TV. It's about an airplane that crashes and these people survive.

 
Was it all just a TV promotion? Hhhhmmm....

Mig got voted out first, so it was Marty and JD at the end. They picked JD. I could write a bunch about what all happened, but I can't. The more I watched this show, the more I I realized why I was NOT an INXS fan. I don't like JD and I don't like INXS. They deserve each other.

My prediction is that they fade into obscurity within a year and that Marty skyrockets with his band. Mark my words.

Here is Marty's Band Site. http://www.lovehammers.com

I've always thought that JD was a great Elvis impersonator. Tonight he sang You Can't 'Always Get What You Want. It was "Elvis Does The Rolling Stones". Here's a photo of JD.

I can't write any more. It's too depressing. Go talk about it in the forum...