Hummingbirds in Cap Hill

Mudslide

Easy played a great double-header Sunday against Badger and Pan-Galactic Groove Squad. Both games were great, both games won by 3 points or less, and Huckin' came out on top both times--nice! Also, everyone from all the teams had great spirit.

The only downside came in the form of a large mud pit in one of the end zones, which I dove into headfirst on a layout. Normally, this wouldn't be any kind of a problem, but apparently this field had been recently fertilized. With very fresh fertilizer. Like, fresh from the cow's arse fresh.

This resulted in some less-than-glorious nicknames for the remainder of the game, including 'Stinky,' and 'Mr Poopy-Pants.'

It also resulted in the following cheer:

Charlie Brown had a dog named snoopy
If you lay out, don't slide in the poopy

When Nevin plays he wears a jock strap
If you throw, don't throw toward the crap

Pan-Galactic's hot like a skewer
Too bad Jay layed out in the manure

Ah, the poetry of ultimate. It just goes to show that all great art is born of suffering.

A day about town

Today was a normal Saturday, I made some calls, got a haircut, went shopping.

Before I get to that though, I have to say one thing: banks are evil. I am deeply unhappy about bailing them out in the way that we are. The last time things were this bad our new President had this to say:

"[T]he rulers of the exchange of mankind's goods have failed through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failures and abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men."

-FDR

Hell, yes, and thank you, Franklin for saying that better than I ever could. That is exactly how I felt talking to Chase last week.

Two months ago I made a payment 4 days late. I got dinged with a $40 late fee, plus I had to pay interest on my charges for that month. Fine, whatever. The next month they charged me interest on my purchases again. Long story short, that is how it works. Miss a payment one month, pay interest for two months.

I don't know how that's not illegal, but it's definitely evil. Revolution is looking likelier by the day, so those that are gonna be first against the wall better watch their step. Do you really want to die in a blindfold because you screwed your own customers for a few measly bucks? Was it worth it? That's all I'm saying...

Speaking of new Presidents, the Acme Barbershop was all abuzz about the inauguration. Curt, my regular hair-cutter, told everybody that once Obama is inaugurated, gas will cost four cents-a-gallon and cars will emit perfume & flowers. Brian, my hair-cutter from today, muttered, "I don't know what the fuck that's about. Sometimes I wish I were deaf." Ah, topical banter in a barbershop--just like in the movies!

I don't do a lot of shopping, but it was more interesting with my iPhone. Borders often sends me coupons for 25% to 30% off an item, so I wandered around Borders trying to find something I want that is less than 125% of its price on Amazon. It was not easy. I bought a $45 book (Beautiful Code,) and an $11 CD (Fab Four Suture.) Then I realized that Amazon employees and most of the rest of the country don't pay sales tax on Amazon. Considering that, my net savings was $5. It took me about an hour in the store, and an hour in transit to save that $5.

I guess it's obvious that brick & mortar stores are hurting, but that really threw it into sharp relief. A lot of people have smart phones, and it's incredibly easy and cheap to shop online, so who will buy from these stores anymore? Only people who have time, an obsessive desire to save, coupons for a steep discount, and cheap public transit. (Gas and parking would more than cancel out my savings. Counting my bus fare, savings from today was $3.50.)

In addition to my $3.50, I also got a front row seat to several protests being held on the same block downtown.

There were Christians:

Zionists? (I couldn't get a good picture of the last flag, but I'm pretty sure it's a firefighters emblem, so I really don't know what this person was about.)

And Iraq war protesters. (Not pictured. I did give them a thumbs up though.)

It's ironic for someone to yell, "Jesus loves you!," very angrily at everyone who walks by. It reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw: "Lord, please protect me from your followers."

Frankly though I don't think they're any less effective than any of the other groups out there. I don't want to be mean to the Iraq war protesters, whom I sympathize with, but if massive worldwide demonstrations didn't prevent (or even slow) the war, then handing out fliers on the corner isn't going to end it.

That's okay. This year when I was in California during the Prop 8 battle, I decided that protesting isn't actually about convincing anyone. It's just an outlet for people who care about some issue or another, because they have a voice and they want to be heard. I totally get that. I do blog, after all.

Why have one name when you can have two?

Apologies for not posting since, (gasp) October. I guess the spirit hasn't moved me, or I've grown tired of calling out the Democrats for their obvious fakery.

This morning I rode the bus. I forgot my book, and I didn't feel like listening to the iPod, so I just sat there and took it all in. Lately I've been musing on the nature of perception & consciousness (sorry, no big insights here) but for some reason everything seemed like I was seeing it for the first time. Perhaps because I don't usually ride the 60 to work.

Bringing it back to the title of the post, this is what I saw at one of the stops on the way to Beacon Hill.


Tee-hee. It seems like the second guy they hired to make the English sign came up with a different answer, consistency be damned. This was probably a smart move, since careless white people such as myself will never notice, and everyone in the Hau Hau/How How can read the Chinese and doesn't give a damn what the letters say.

The thing is, unlike the rest of the 60 route, I've seen this sign on an almost daily basis for the past four years. For whatever reason, today I actually looked at it.

I wonder what else is out there that I haven't been seeing?

September Trip, Part 1: Zion

We've been back for a week now, but I finally got around to uploading our pictures. Zion is just a beautiful place, which I think everyone should see at some point. We were only there for two days and two nights but we went on some amazing hikes, had beautiful weather and took in more scenic vistas than you can shake a stick at. It was amazing, but not nearly enough time. We were planning our next trip before we left.

The one thing we couldn't figure out was where to buy groceries on the way to Zion National Park. (Are you listening, GoogleBot?) This, here, is the answer. This is where you buy groceries on the way into Zion:

View Larger Map
Okay, I hope that helps someone.

The whole region is kind of a geographic marvel. Basically, several hundred million years ago, about half the continent was an immense desert. The sand dunes were up to 3,000 feet deep. However, being 3,000 feet tall did not prevent them from later becoming the bottom of an ocean. The ocean was full sea monkeys and other aquatic creatures who died over the years, and saturated the sand below with organic material. The dead sea monkeys acted as cement and the sand dunes became layers of sandstone.

Later, for reasons not explained in my hiking guidebook, the whole area was raised up by thousands of feet. In the midst of all this the Virgin River formed. Gradually it cut its way down through the sandstone, forming Zion Canyon.

Interesting note: At one point Zion Canyon tried to stop the river by dumping a big rockslide on it. It only took the Virgin River a few tens of thousands of years to break through. A mere hiccup on the geological scale.

Seeing something so unbelievably awesome has a way of putting things in perspective. It's easy to get caught up with a lot of stuff that seems important at the time. Water the plants, make money, send thank-you notes, don't forget to stretch before exercising, etc. Yet on the other hand, the most significant thing you can possibly do will not exist for one millionth of the time it took to make Zion, and even that used to be a sand dune.

Check out the pictures. I hope it inspires you to plan a trip there. Plus, when you're in the neighborhood you can do like us and hit the slots. Stay tuned for September Trip, Part 2: Las Vegas.

Befriend me on last.fm

I've been using this last.fm site for awhile now, and I must say it's pretty cool.

Basically it keeps track of what you're listening to, on the site and otherwise, and then takes that information and gives it to the NSA to determine whether or not you're a terrorist.

In addition to that it also lets your friends know what you're listening to, recommends music, and lets you listen to an ungodly amount of music legally for free. There are no ads, and you can fast-forward through the tracks, or ban them outright.

There was a time (college) when I would wantonly download every album by any artist I had remotely heard of. Thus I became fairly well versed in musicology. However since my conscience caught up with me a few years back, my exposure to new music has dwindled.

Along with KEXP and WUFM, last.fm is my solution for staying hip. Bonus, it turns out I'm still pretty much with it. I know a good 75% of the tracks on the Hiphopatitis B playlist.

So check it out, add me as a friend, check out my profile and I'll do the same.

Final note, last.fm can show you all kinds of reports, top artists, top albums, et cetera. I think my list of top artists since I joined last.fm proves that I have nothing to worry about in the hipness department:

1. Randy Newman ~ 473 plays
2. Steely Dan ~ 376 plays
3. Beastie Boys ~ 287 plays

And yes, those really are my top three artists. Join last.fm and see for yourself.

New leadership

"It is time for new leadership that understands the way to win a debate with John McCain or any Republican who is nominated is not by nominating someone who agreed with him on voting for the war in Iraq,"

Barack Obama, January 11, 2008

Funny, I don't remember Obama going on about Biden's "judgement" during the primary campaign.

I know they'll say anything to get elected. Really, what kind of politician are you if you won't? It's just so much more cathartic to take the piss out of Obama. Partly because he won, and partly because he can be so sanctimonious.

He's like the Doors. I don't give a rip about most terrible bands, but Barack Obama and the Doors give "overrated" new meaning. Therefore I'm justified in holding my grudge.

Anniversary Trip: Seaplanes & Orcas

Actually, our anniversary isn't for a couple of weeks, but last weekend was good weather for a day trip, and I've been plotting this for a while. Jenny knew that Saturday was a surprise day-trip, but otherwise I played my cards close to the vest.

Me: You should wear long pants, and bring a raincoat. It might be cold. Bring your camera. It's not dress up, but there is a meal involved. Oh, and it might be slippery. And we're not going to exercise at all. Oh no--I've said too much!

Jenny: ??

Luckily that was not enough information to go on, and my secret was safe until we rolled up to the Kenmore Air terminal at South Lake Union. Needless to say, the flight was amazing. We were about a hundred feet off the water the whole time.

Below is the route we took. The squiggle out by Friday Harbor is our jaunt in the whale-watching ship.


That picture pretty much sums up why I love the Northwest. We are surrounded by mountains.

Right when we got to Friday Harbor we passed the Ferry from Anacortes and I caught the fly-by on video.


We had a nice brunch in town, sipped mimosas by the water, and then headed back out on the water. We caught up with L pod, one of three resident pods, on the other side of San Juan Island. The whales were very close at times, and we saw several of them breach.

While we were checking them out, L pod headed offshore to meet up with K pod. (The naturalist thought there may have been some inter-pod mating going on.) Based on the sizes of the pods, there may have been more than 60 animals in the water. They put a hydrophone in to listen and it sounded like an Orca cocktail party.

Apparently pods don't meet up all that much, so we were really lucky to see that. The flight back was at higher elevation so not as thrilling, but we had great views of Mt. Baker and Mt. Rainier. Like any good Seattlite I salivate at the sight of Rainier, so this more or less put me in a Northwest-loving coma. A perfect sight to come home to.


All told, it was a perfect day. I can't think of a better way to celebrate a great two years together, or a better person to spend it with.

Shi Shi Beach

Memorial-day weekend Bob, Joy, John, Jenny and I hit up the Olympic Peninsula for some beach camping.

Three months later, I uploaded the pictures:

It's a short hike, but when we got there a ranger hassled us about not having a bear barrel. (He also carded us because we brought wine.) John volunteered to go back to town and get one as long as someone came with him, so we did the hike three times that day. We're basically world-experts on the Shi Shi Beach trail now. (It's pronounced shy shy.)

So that was an important lesson, bring something to keep out bears, like this fine TrueValue paint bucket, pictured here.

I think the bucket would have slowed the bear down by maybe two minutes, but it seemed to make the ranger happy.

The other thing we learned was that Bob hasn't figured out s'mores yet:Hang in there, buddy!

On our way out we went to Cape Flattery, one of the Northwesternmost points of the continental U.S. It's about a 10-minute "hike," and very pretty. If you're in the neighborhood, definitely check it out.

HSBC sounding kind of desperate

It might just be me, but I'm starting to think that HSBC would like me to deposit some money, and soon. Today I got an email from them regarding my online savings account.

• Deposit more now to take full advantage of our great rate extension.

Now’s the time to watch your savings grow. So deposit more today.

Deposit more now Sincerely, Kevin Martin
Executive Vice President,
Head of HSBC Direct U.S.

He sent me a video too:



Okay, I'll deposit! Just don't... awww, not on the rug, man!

David Sedaris at Amazon

One of the perks of working at Amazon is this thing called "Amazon Fishbowl." Basically, visiting authors and musicians come by to talk or perform and sign stuff. A lot of people come through but so far I've only seen They Might Be Giants, and Lewis Black. (Also, Russell Simmons.) Today was David Sedaris. The line to the big conference room was out the door , around the lobby, and down the hall. Jenny and I were near the front of the line, and we barely got seats.

Seeing him in person was a bit surreal. I've heard his voice so many times on NPR that it's impossible to imagine him as an actual person, and having him there didn't help that much. Surreal or not, he was hilarious. A lot of his humor is in the delivery, and it's even better in person.

I've never been sure how much to believe of his stories, so when he told us that he works with a charity that provides helper monkeys to quadriplegics I was skeptical, but maybe it's for real. Anyway, this is what he looks like:Some of the authors who speak at Fishbowl are very effusive about how great Amazon has been for them, but not David Sedaris:

"I have never been on Amazon. I have no idea what it looks like. I know that people order stuff on there but I have no idea how."

He also mocked authors who are obsessed with their Amazon ranking, and who write reviews of their own books. He offered up this review of his latest:

"The type is so small. I coudln't hardly read it! The author's picture is so ugly!"

Then he took questions from the audience. There was a lull so I asked about the promo for his interview on KUOW this morning, which described him as "one of the most humane writers alive." He hadn't heard it, and he was kind of puzzled. He said I must have misheard.

A better question was about writing about his family, and whether that causes problems. His response,

"People will come up to [my older sister] and say 'I know all about you.' They don't know anything about her. Except she has a parrot... and she had her first period on a golf course."

Hopefully that's funny to someone reading this who wasn't there. Like most of his writing, you have to picture him saying it.

By the way, this is my first post where I explicitly mention my employer, Amazon.com. This means I'm now operating under the External Communications guidelines which state that I must:

make it clear to your readers that the views you express are yours alone and that they do not necessarily reflect the views of Amazon.com.

Since I have to do that, I might as well express an opinion which does not necessarily reflect that of Amazon.com. Hmm... let's see here... Okay, here goes:

• The title of Russel Simmons' new book, Do You!, sounds kinda filthy.

Please note that Amazon.com does not necessarily agree with the above--but they might!

"It goes from the Cheesecake Factory to Hooters"

--Seattle Post Intelligencer's D. Parvaz on the eminent usefulness of the new streetcar.

Storybook minute: Dube vs. Dube

A few weeks ago I got to see my good buddy Matt "Doobie" Dube in Seattle and Whistler. There were a lot of highlights, but by far the most-photographed was his run-in with Dave "Doobie" Dube at the Japanese Steakhouse.

Dave took it upon himself to steal Matt's wallet just before we left, and string him along all through dinner until the bill came, when he sneakily paid for Matt's dinner using Matt's credit card. Matt stared at the card in disbelief, and then went and sat by himself for a while to show his appreciation for his older brother's trickery.

After we left, Matt challenged Dave to a fight.

Actually he pretty much just went for it--

--and was subdued by his less-intoxicated bro.

All-in all it was a great weekend--wish you were back here already Doob.

Gold's Gym is shady

Jenny and I recently signed up for 24-Hour Fitness, so I had to cancel my membership with Gold's. I went to the gym and told them I wanted to cancel, only to find that in order to do so, I needed to place a call to a descriptively-named company, ABC Financial.

I figured this was a bit of a hassle, but not a big deal. However when I called ABC Financial they wanted me to send a cancellation notice via certified mail. I talked to the supervisor long enough to figure out that she couldn't or wouldn't help me, so I guess there's going to be some certified mail in my future. My only hope is that my membership actually gets canceled when I do this. Others in my situation have not been so lucky.

The reasons for ABC Financial's shady practices are fairly obvious, but if you are naive, stupid, or your name is Sheila and you just spoke to me on the phone for 10 minutes, you can see ABC's mission statement on their website:

"Our company mission is two-fold: to be the resource for cutting edge technology in the health and fitness industry, and to collect the most money from the most members, every day."

Frankly, Sheila, I am shocked. You said this was for my protection! You said that only by raising the specter of Federal mail fraud charges could we deter the evildoers from surreptitiously canceling my Gold's Gym membership and depriving me of my God-given Freedom to bounce on the elliptical machine! But it was always about the money, wasn't it, Sheila? You never really cared about Freedom. (She really did say it was for my protection.)

Anyway, besides the fact that ABC Financial/Gold's Gym hate Freedom, and would probably give terrorists a nuclear weapon as long as they signed a two-year contract, it's not a great gym.

Specifically, the Seattle Gold's Gym in Capitol Hill is a mediocre little gym. There is no free parking. There are only a few treadmills and ellipticals. Most of them are in less than stellar shape, and a lot of them are broken outright. Some of the weight machines are broken. A new membership there is more expensive than 24-Hour Fitness which has none of these problems. (24-Hour Fitness is a bit crowded, but otherwise a superior gym.)

So yeah, if you're thinking of signing a contract at a Gold's Gym anywhere, be very careful, and if you're thinking about the Seattle Gold's Gym in Capitol Hill, that's my two cents.

Nobody is pregnant, pen spinning is real

I was had this morning. Jenny IM'ed me to say that her sister is pregnant and wants to come live with us. I jumped into action in my role as supportive boyfriend, only to have her laugh at me, a lot, when we went out for coffee.

I'm definitely gullible, but in other ways, I'm too not-gullible. I was ready for the NPR April Fool's fakeout this morning. When I heard that the Pen Spinning Association of Japan had crowned a new champion, I thought I was in on the joke.

Pen spinning is real, nobody is pregnant, and I am 0-for-2. Happy April Fool's everyone!

Valentine's Pics

We've been doing quite a bit of salsa lately. We went out dancing both New Year's and Valentines day at the Century Ballroom. I have to say, I'm getting way more mileage out of my suit than I ever imagined. Salsa is tons of fun, all the more so now that I know more than 3 moves. I highly recommend it. You can see more of Jenny and me in all my besuited glory here.

Ghost, I copped it on Amazon mp3, I swear

I was going to write about the presidential election, but something much, much more important is happening. No one is copping Ghostface's new album.



In the video Ghost challenges his fans to bring the CD to shows to prove they bought it. He says if we do that, he'll "kick it with [us], get goosed out, whatever [we] want to do." My problem is that I copped it on Amazon mp3.

I actually copped it twice because the first time I accidentally copped the non-explicit version. At first I thought the mp3 was scratched, because it was skipping a lot. Once I bought the swear words to fill in the skipping parts it was all good.

Insanely good. Ghost is on a level all by himself. Anyone can rap about shooting people in the drug game. Ghost raps about how shooting people in the drug game is making him crazy. ("Don't put me in no mental clinics!")

Anyway, I'm going to have a hard time proving I paid for the album and getting my "personal meeting" with Ghost. Now I won't be able to tell him in person that "cop" also means "to steal," so maybe his message is getting mixed up and that he should tell his fans to procure the album instead. I bet that would really help.

Happy Monday

Today I saw this on a t-shirt:

Haiku's are easy
But sometimes they don't make sense
Refrigerator

Delightful. Happy Monday, everyone.

Where to look for Jenny and me

Not a lot of fresh powder this week, so tomorrow we're going snowshoeing. Should be a good time. Anyway, when you go hiking/snowshoeing/etc you're supposed to tell people where you went. So here, in the nerdiest possible form, is where I'm going.

It's a Google Earth file. The TWL waypoint is our planned destination. The route should be pretty obvious.

Hope you don't have to rescue us, and I'll post some pics when we get back.

Gunshot update: no gunshots since last post.

I just heard gunshots

I'm just sitting here in my damn room playing with Google Earth. What's up with Capitol Hill these days? I'll keep this space posted, or call 911, or something.