Bad Ass

Puppy Dog. Cat Teat.

Need I say more?

Think Your Day at Work Was Bad?

It could always be worse...

WARNING: A whole mess of foul language in this one.

Colorado Trip Part 1

I just got back from helping my parents move from California to Colorado. It has been nice to have a relaxing vacation in the week between jobs. That's right; I quit my old job and am starting a new one on Monday.

My parents hired a moving company to take the heavy stuff, but we still needed to drive to Colorado to get the cars there. My dad and I drove his truck. Road trips can be a lot of fun, but I really don't recommend driving through the deserts of Southern California and Nevada if you can help it. It's quite possibly the most mind-numbingly dull scenery it's ever been my displeasure to pass through. The first night we stayed in Needles, and although the Hungry Bear Diner makes a mean Yankee Pot Roast, it was interesting for all of thirty seconds. Half of the buildings looked like the one in the picture to the right, and the rest looked the same, only with cars out front.

My dad and I had plenty of time to talk. He's the smartest man I've ever met, and we always have something to talk about. He knows a little bit about everything, and a substantial deal about a lot of things. We noted how difficult it was to believe the romatic descriptions of the desert when you're in the middle of it. The one thing that kept the trip from being cranium-collapsingly dull was the audio book I brought along, Ender's Game that I brought along with me. I read the book a long time ago, but I never finished the series. Don't let the plot fool you because it's about kids. It's an excellent book, one that really gets you thinking, and it's definitely not a kids' book.

Arriving in Durango the scenery picked up substantially. The forests, half evergreen, half turning yellow in the autumn sun, painted colorful swaths across the landscape. Aside from the occasional cabin most of the houses were hidden from the highway by the mountains and trees. When we pulled in to the neighborhood I was so exhausted that I didn't really pay attention, but when the sun came up the next day it was over a large pond surrounded by patches of grass and reeds I knew my parents had made a good choice. I took a cup of coffee down to the edge of the pond to enjoy the fresh air. There are trails that lead past the pond through the fields around the houses. I would have liked to explore more than I did, but the altitude was making breathing difficult. It's a strange feeling having your heart and lungs work overtime while you've barely broken a sweat.

My sister, her husband (a.k.a. The Father, J. O'Brien) and I went into town one night to see what there was to do. We stopped by the Steamworks Brewery first. The food was good, but we got the beer sampler and all of the beers were too light for my taste. It was like someone who really liked Bud Light decided to open a brewery. Our next stop, though, was the Scoot'n Blues. The music was good, the atmosphere was great, there was a guy with a black eye patch, and there were interesting tables. What more could you ask for? I tried to take some pictures with my phone, and they came out kind of interesting.

The best part of the trip was the Hummer tour. My brother takes people in a Hummer on a tour of the mountains above Silverton for Get Out Adventures. We went all the way up to California Peak, almost 13,000 feet above sea level. At that altitude the effects on our lungs were impossible to ignore. My nephew who is four years old sat in the middle of the seat with his floppy bear and gave us a guided tour. My three-year-old niece was there too, in her car seat. At the end of the tour we drove in to Silverton to eat at Handlebars Saloon in Silverton. The hamburgers were excellent and the Rocky Mountain Oysters were quite good as well. Polish off the meal with some of the best Peach Cobbler I've ever had in my life, and I was one contented little hombre.

Hopefully I'll be heading back for Thanksgiving. They had their first snow the day after I left, and I'm looking forward to seeing the house in winter. I'm going to miss my parents, but the house already feels like home.

Bear With Me...

I am preparing some posts for the near future, but I just got back from a road trip to Colorado and am busy trying to get things wrapped up around here.

COMING SOON: Suck My Catling T-Shirts!

Get Your Own Bioengineered Pet

Why bother with the cost and cleanup of a traditional pet when you can get your very own Genpet? Each has a unique personality, they don't eat much, and they don't shed, but be careful! These are genetically engineered biological pets, so you do have to feed them, and they will be injured if mishandled.

Are Genpets Real animals? How?
Genpets are living, breathing mammals. Bio-Genica is a Bioengineering Company that has combined, and modified existing DNA to create the Genpets lineup. Genpets have blood, bones, and muscle; they will bleed if you cut them, and die if mistreated just like any other animal. The electronic components are only in the packages and are for basic life support, outside of the packages the Genpets are wholly organic.

Look out for this one, it'll be the hottest toy this Christmas season!

I Miss Mexicans

I've always lived around Hispanic people, from my year in Costa Rica at age 5 to the four years I spent after that in Argentina to Mexicans I've known in the years since then that I've lived in the San Jose/Santa Cruz area. Where I live now there aren't many, and what's probably worse is that in most of the tech industry that I've seen the number of Mexicans has been very low, with the exception of the Facilities staff, which is kind of depressing (I bring up Mexicans because they're the Hispanic population that lives around me). I'm part Mexican myself, among other things, and maybe that's part of where I've formed my own feelings about race. In any case, I came across this video while poking through the Internet, and I thought I'd share:

I Just Want to Take Him Home

I just got back from taking my cat to the vet. Yes, it's the same one that bit me. It's the one I inherited from my parents. I took it in for some blood work and several vaccines, and to get a microchip put in. I stopped short from getting the last vaccine because I didn't want to put him through everything at once.

I knew something was wrong as soon as they took him in the back. No, there's nothing wrong with the cat; it's with me. I was tapping my foot, and looking around, and feeling kind of nauseous, and I realized that I was really worried. God help me if I ever have kids, because I just couldn't take it, knowing that they were poking needles in him, and that he was so scared that he wasn't even growling at them when we weighed him, and that I wasn't even there when they were doing the bloodwork. I started thinking that it was stupid to be so worried, but I couldn't stop it. Then I started thinking about why it was worrying me so much. I'm putting in the microchip because so far he hates my cats, and I want to put him outside. He's always been an outdoor cat, and he'd probably be happier that way. I'm worried that it won't work out, though.

I took the cat because my parents couldn't take him with them. I took the cat, even though I knew that it would make finding the next place to live harder, because I know what happens to 10-year-old cats that get put up for adoption, and I won't send him to die. My parents' dog already died, and now I'm starting to realize that taking the cat is connected to that as well. Thinking about this, sitting on the filthy bile-colored benches at the veterenarian, tapping my feet, trying to distract myself, it all starts adding up: the cat, the dog, and my parents. I've never really lived far away from my parents, and as much as my eyes dart from brochure to brochure, as much as the dirty rubber soles of my sneakers keep tap-tapping at an ever-increasing pace, as much as I try to just zone out and think of anything else but what's going on my stupid, mechanical, analytical asshole of a mind keeps making connections, stringing together stressors and pains that I didn't even know were bothering me until they're one big awful tangle of strings tugging away that I can't ignore.

Yesterday I had convinced myself that I would have to give the cat up for adoption. Today I'm sitting on a bench taking back the carrier from a veterinary assistant and one little pitiful meow is all it takes to push me over the edge. My eyes are starting to get wet, and I just want to take him home and be out of there, so of course they lose the paperwork. Finally I get him signed out and pay the $300 and rush out the door. I'm really starting to wish I hadn't forgotten my sunglasses when my nose starts running. Just great. Well maybe my roommate won't be there when I get home. She is. Stellar. I let the cat out and shuffle into the office, hurt and humiliated.

So I guess I've got three cats now, and I'm never having kids. It looks like you can buy yourself a life-altering decision for a mere 300 bucks. It's just a good thing that cats don't have to go to school, or I'd be completely screwed.

How patient are you?

Probably not as patient as these guys. Mizuta Tasogare and Kato Jado make intricate carvings out of ordinary lead pencils that are simply amazing.

Tiger-Pimp My Ride

The ultimate car accessory: a tiger following you everywhere you go.

Cat Bite

I was bitten by my parents' cat this weekend. I took him in because they're moving and can't take him with them. I already have two cats, and he didn't take it well when he came face to face with my giant Maine Coon. Below is an actual re-enactment:

(Hat Tip to Sofie)

Labor Day

Kyra Phillips' Top Ten Excuses

Just a little background: Kyra Phillips is the reporter whose microphone was left on while she was in the bathroom during President Bush's speech recently. She was on Dave Letterman recently to do the Top Ten.

A Nice Break

Sorry about the sparse updates lately. I've started a half dozen but haven't had the time to finish. I'll publish a few good links to pass the time. Here's one that can be a nice time-waster. It's a series of flash vignettes. Move your mouse around the box to get the full effect.


Modern Living