Hair Issues July 17, 2006
Posted by David in Editorial, Personal.add a comment
Well, my beard and my hair had gotten a little larger than I would like. This picture shows it yesterday. I’m, planning to get a haircut a little later this week, probably on Saturday. Today, though, I trimmed the beard on the side of my face a little shorter. I left the front long for now though. I don’t want to go into shock from losing too much hair too quickly after all.
Maybe I’ll trim some more later this week. I haven’t decided yet. I started reading the novel Snow Crash that I mentioned the other day. So far, I have to say it’s a great book. It’s been about 36 hours since I started reading it and I’m around 2/3 of the way through it. I can’t imagine that I won’t finish it tomorrow. I’ll give you all my review after I’ve finished it.
Unfortunately, I still have some work to get too, so I’ve got to go. Last update. It is so freakin hot over here. I don’t know if I could go to sleep now if I wanted too.
Ethical? June 19, 2006
Posted by David in Editorial, Nature, Technology.2 comments
What you’re looking at here is a pet that is still in the approval stages. It’s a genpet. It looks like a toy, but it’s not. It’s supposedly a genetically engineered animal. While in the package, it is sustained with an IV so that it is like being in the womb. It is then supposed to imprint on the person who opens the package. I hope that they’re careful using scissors on that package, those always give me trouble.
The animals are genetically engineered to have one of several dispositions and one of two lifespans. The lifespans are one or three years. This is where I’m starting to have problems. First off, we’re engineering pets when there are plenty of pets being killed in pounds around the country. Second, we’re setting a death date for those pets. That seems wrong to me on so many levels. I’m not sure if I should buy one to save it from languishing in plastic or boycott the company because they’d only make more anyway…
I’ll let you all check it out and decide for yourselves.
Clinic Closing/Business Planning Dinner @ Jardiniere June 14, 2006
Posted by David in Business, Editorial, Family/Friends, Food/Wine, Politics, Technology.add a comment
Last night, I wasn’t able to post a blog because Talli and I were at Jardiniere in San Francisco for an 8:00 pm reservation. It was our official clinic closing dinner. It was also a business meeting where we discussed plans for the future of our business. (Our new business that is.) You didn’t think we’d just rush to get employed by someone else, did you? America is built by entrepeneurs, not employees after all. It doesn’t matter what the employees think or say.
The dinner was excellent as it always is at Jardiniere. I had some excellent beef short ribs. The wine was nice and the Quinta do Noval1986 Colheita Port was tremendous.
Discussions of the business were fruitful and helped to focus us a little bit more. Today, I’ll be continuing on the podcast portion of that plan. The rest of the plan is still not public information and, as such, I’m not at liberty to discuss it. So, to all inquiries I’ll have to politely prefer no comment.
New Header Image May 12, 2006
Posted by David in Editorial, Food/Wine, Nature.add a comment
As you can all see, I added a new banner image. That’s been my latest bit of website handiwork. I built it to demonstrate what I believe to be the three main components of the current “Renaissance” Man.
My holy trinity of interests for the polymath are a combination of technology/science, history, and nature/the natural world.
Technology/science is symbolized by the equipment on the left. Technology and science continue to move us forward, ever searching for improvement and the advancement of knowledge. Denying technology relegates one to the fringes of society. It also stops the pursuit of a large amount of knowledge which is out there to be learned. Technology must be embraced, but it should also be managed in a healthy way.
Nature and the natural world are symbolized by the image of Mt. Shasta on the right. The natural world is something to be enjoyed, understood, respected and protected. We all need a connection to it to ground us and slow our ever faster lives. People pursue this connection through hiking, nature preservation, painting, writing, a fresh natural meal, or even sitting under a tree at night sipping wine and listening to the crickets as they view the stars. The natural world enables us to live and we must respect it’s right to exist, so that others might enjoy what we have had the good fortune to enjoy.
History and historical science are symbolized by the Vitruvian Man in the center which I believe bridges the two areas. It shows you where you came from and how you got to where you are now as a person, a society, and as a species. It symbolizes the quest for knowledge that prompts the technology that we have today and that we continue to develop. It also gives us a glimpse into the consequences of certain actions so that we might avoid the mistakes of people of the past.
Now I will embark upon further development of the website while trying to keep all of my other areas in balance. May you all find balance and happiness in your lives. Until next time, I continue exploring and learning…
Missing Serenity May 7, 2006
Posted by David in Editorial, Nature.add a comment
It’s only been six days, but I’m already missing the serenity of beautiful Lake Shastina. *sigh* It would be so nice to live up there right now. I’d miss my family, but life in general would be slower, nicer, easier and cleaner. Besides, what is there that I do now that I couldn’t do there? I wouldn’t be able to walk to the store, but that’s all I can come up with. I can live with that though. I only go to the store once or twice a week. With proper planning, I could make sure I only went once a week.
The big question is, what could I do there that I can’t do here? For this I have a lot of answers. I could:
1. Commune with nature.
2. Breath cleaner air.
3. Stop having near death experiences because of bad drivers.
4. Get to know my neighbors and have a sense of community.
5. Live where people care about the environment instead of hating it. (To those who say that people here don’t hate the environment I have five words. “Actions speak louder than words.”)
6. Hike more.
7. Maybe fish from my backyard or after rowing out from my backyard.
8. Take a boat out on the lake in the early morning.
9. Enjoy the silence.
10. Be happy and fit in. (I know this sounds strange, but I feel like too many people here are on the wrong wavelength. Yes, mine is the correct one. I’m sure of it. Those of you who agree…welcome to the correct minority.)
Well, one day…
A Little Bit of Shasta Coming at You May 3, 2006
Posted by David in Editorial, Family/Friends, Food/Wine.add a comment
Heads up! Next time, duck to avoid that snowball.
Lake Shastina is still calling my name. I think I need a little change of pace. A little calmer, cleaner, nicer environment would do me right.
Talli made a good point the other day. When I was in Shasta, I didn’t complain about the driving of the people around me. Down here, it takes a few minutes for me to complain. Of course, I’m justified because I would have been cut off or almost hit by a bad driver within minutes of driving here. I think that people turn off their brains when they get in the car.
I did forget to give my Wal-Mart & Target truck count during our Shasta trip in my last post.
On the way up we passed:
Wal-Mart: 8
Target: 3
While there:
Wal-Mart: 1
Target: 0
The way home:
Wal-Mart: 2
Target: 0
Day two of the lamb was excellent. Talli and I still enjoyed it immensely. I found a great recipe. Since the recipe was requested, here it is: Rack of Lamb. The only modification I made was to replace the 1 TBSP of butter with the same amount of olive oil. I never tried it with the butter, but it was great with the olive oil.
As you can see, Hunter enjoyed the lamb as well. His tail was wagging so fast that I thought it would fly right off his bottom. It was good to see him really enjoying himself. I’m glad that I decided to share the bones with him. He cracked through them and not a shard of bone was left.
After dinner, Talli made a mint tisane with the organic mint that we’re growing in the back yard. It was excellent. By the end of the summer, the plants will probably be large enough for us to have the mint tisane every day if we want to. Now, we’re just waiting to see how many tomatoes the tomato plants that we planted will produce to see how many tomatoes we will eat from the yard and how many we will have to buy at the farmer’s market.
Until tomorrow, drive safely. Everyone on the road is crazy…except you and me.
