Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Tim Allen on Martha Stewart
My muse sent me this fun little quote from Tim Allen. It put things in perspective:
"Boy, I feel safer now that [Martha Stewart] is behind bars. O.J. & Kobe are walking around, Scott Peterson's going to be soon if appealed. But they take the one woman in America willing to cook, clean and work in the yard and haul her ass to jail."
Friday, November 19, 2004
$35 For Travels?!
I stumbled across a copy of my book, Travels, on Alibris Books ... I guess they think it's rare or something, as they want $35 for it. I wonder if it's a signed copy or something?
Heck, I'll sell signed copies for half that price. ;-)
Putting It In Perspective
It sounded like an airplane was going to crash into the building. Could this really be happening, I wondered? Should I duck under my desk? The thrumming sound vibrated the air around me, and I seriously thought about "duck and cover." No, instead, I went to the window.
I watched as they carried someone out of an industrial building and put them into the helicopter, then the helicopter flew off toward Dallas. It reminded me that, no matter how bad some of my problems might be, they could always be much worse. That poor guy was definitely having a bad day.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Hello, God Calling...
Sitting here at work, plinking away at the keyboard, and suddenly I get a very strange and uncomfortable feeling in my chest. It's a feeling I've never had before. It happens, then happens again, and I realize, OH MY GOD, I'm having a heart attack. I put my hand to my chest. There's a lump there, and it's vibrating. What the hell? My cell phone in my shirt pocket, set to vibrate instead of ring. I answer, only to find myself listening to a recorded message from the local Catholic church, asking for donations. Great, God has a computer with a war dialer and a modem. How fun. Calling every number combination possible, ignoring the fact that it costs me to answer. "The God I believe in isn't short of cash, Mister." - U2, Bullet The Blue Sky
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Raining, Tuesday Night
It's raining outside my tree house. It sounds forlorn and hollow. Instead of restful, it puts me on edge, like I'm listening to trees being scrubbed with sandpaper.
My arms and legs are full of lead tonight. My smile is broken. I feel disconnected from the air around me, as if there's a vacuum bubble.
My computer makes a desperate whirring noise, vital and serious, an endless intake of breath lest it overheat and die. My computer wants to live, so it grinds on, complains little, and hopes to maintain the status quo.
Likewise my heart beats on because a small part of my brain tells it not to stop. That part of the brain is so primitive it resembles the brain of a lizard. It's pure determination. Keep pumping. Just keep pumping.
It doesn't ask why.
Friday, November 12, 2004
Happy Birthday to Me
Today I turn 44 years old, and I have nothing profound to say. Statistically, my life is half over, but to put a positive spin on that, I still have 44 more years of life to look forward to.
My grandfather, on the other hand, had some great things to say about his birthdays. I remember one in particular, after he'd turned 100 years old, a reporter asked him how he's managed to stay alive so long.
"I keep breathing," was my grandpa's reply.
Life is good.
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Eye Sea Ewe
I read something very interesting in a JPL newsletter today. A Dr. Wolfgang Fink, JPL senior research scientist and assistant professor of ophthalmology and neurosurgery at the University of Southern California, will be giving two free public lectures on the prevention and treatment of blindness. What especially caught my eye is this passage:
"Blindness is not necessarily an irreversible stroke of fate any more," said Fink. "We are at the dawn of artificial vision, thanks to recent developments in microdevices and image processing." Fink and his visual and autonomous exploration systems research group at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena are working on computer-enhanced vision for patients wearing visual prostheses.
Anyone remember Steve Austin, the Six Million Dollar Man? And his bionic eye?
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Live From Jerry's Tree House
This is the kind of view I get from my windows:  It's much better than living in a cave.
Saturday, November 06, 2004
Up A Tree
The apartment I've lived in for the last several months came to be known as "The Cave" because, well, it smelled like one. Down at the bottom of a hill, no cross ventilation, the ground always moist, and dark most of the time ... it really did feel like being in a cave. This weekend I moved up the hill to a new apartment, smaller, cheaper, and on the second story. When I look out the window, or sit on my balcony, all I see are trees, and through the trees I see a "lake" (that's what they call it, but it's nothing more than a big pond). I call this place my "Tree House" and, frankly, it's a lot like being in one. Light, airy, and high in the air, it fits the description. Because of a Comcast technicality, I'm currently without Internet, TV, or phone, because the former resident neglected to have her Comcast account shut down, and Comcast's system is so rigid that it refuses to let me move my account there while the other one is still active. But they did manage to shut it off, and so for this weekend at least, it will REALLY be like living in a tree house.
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Newsflash:
After 4 long years, acting president George W. Bush is finally elected.
Time to reunite and become one America again.
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