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Far too long since my last blog entry!
06 04 10 16:45
It’s not that life hasn’t been busy!
We’ve been to Ecuador to see the Galapagos, the rainforest, and Quito over Christmas and New Years Eve...
...been to many Tucson Symphony Orchestra concerts...
...seen Lily Tomlin...
...had another birthday...
...helped a friend get a staffperson of the year award...
...been elected to the board of our Homeowner’s Association...
...continued playing Gamelan...
...finished the pool construction...
...started planting and landscaping the backyard now that construction is completed...
...built a new cluster for processing video and audio at work...
...rejoiced that national healthcare passed...
...been bowling with neighbors...
but even better, Susan arrives tomorrow! I Can’t wait!
Peace,
Gregory
We’ve been to Ecuador to see the Galapagos, the rainforest, and Quito over Christmas and New Years Eve...
...been to many Tucson Symphony Orchestra concerts...
...seen Lily Tomlin...
...had another birthday...
...helped a friend get a staffperson of the year award...
...been elected to the board of our Homeowner’s Association...
...continued playing Gamelan...
...finished the pool construction...
...started planting and landscaping the backyard now that construction is completed...
...built a new cluster for processing video and audio at work...
...rejoiced that national healthcare passed...
...been bowling with neighbors...
but even better, Susan arrives tomorrow! I Can’t wait!
Peace,
Gregory
Blooming Cacti
22 04 09 18:10
I almost forgot to mention how amazing the cactus flowers are around our house this year. Don’t take my word for it - check it out:
Grateful Journal
19 03 09 15:36
Gardening with Carl
My 40th Birthday!
Technology
Barack Obama
My Open-Minded, Freindly, Atheist Neighbor
Listening
That I Feel Useful and Valued Every Day
Difficult Week
04 07 08 08:14
This has been a difficult week. I’m not fully ready to talk about why, but keep Carl and I in your thoughts.
Last weekend, something wonderful happened in our neighborhood. The email flame war I wrote about in the ‘HOA Meeting’ posting a couple weeks ago resulted in another positive outcome. The email flame war started when a neighbor’s Obama sign was thrice vandalized. Because we are in a gated neighborhood, it was most likely vandalized by a neighbor. Some have disagreed with me about this assesment, but one important axiom about crime is that it is almost always perpetrated by someone close to the crime. It’s doubtful someone outside the neighborhood took the time to come back several times to vandalize an Obama sign here in Los Arroyos del Oeste...
Anyway, one of my neighbors decided to host a gathering of ‘neighbors for change’ at her place. I was able to meet a whole bunh of friendly neighbors and had my belief that there are few progressive folks in the neighborhood shattered.
A couple days ago, two of our night blooming cereus cacti bloomed... here’s a photo:
The other big event this week was Carl’s shoulder surgery yesterday. He’s in a lot more pain than he was last time they repaired a rotator cuff, probably because they also had to deal with some severe arthritis in the joint. They couldn’t do this shoulder laproscopically, they had to open him up. He didn’t sleep very well last night.
Happy 4th everyone!
Last weekend, something wonderful happened in our neighborhood. The email flame war I wrote about in the ‘HOA Meeting’ posting a couple weeks ago resulted in another positive outcome. The email flame war started when a neighbor’s Obama sign was thrice vandalized. Because we are in a gated neighborhood, it was most likely vandalized by a neighbor. Some have disagreed with me about this assesment, but one important axiom about crime is that it is almost always perpetrated by someone close to the crime. It’s doubtful someone outside the neighborhood took the time to come back several times to vandalize an Obama sign here in Los Arroyos del Oeste...
Anyway, one of my neighbors decided to host a gathering of ‘neighbors for change’ at her place. I was able to meet a whole bunh of friendly neighbors and had my belief that there are few progressive folks in the neighborhood shattered.
A couple days ago, two of our night blooming cereus cacti bloomed... here’s a photo:
The other big event this week was Carl’s shoulder surgery yesterday. He’s in a lot more pain than he was last time they repaired a rotator cuff, probably because they also had to deal with some severe arthritis in the joint. They couldn’t do this shoulder laproscopically, they had to open him up. He didn’t sleep very well last night.
Happy 4th everyone!
Final Cut Pro Certification
21 06 08 17:04
I passed the Final Cut Pro certification exam yesterday! Yaay! To pass, you need a score of 80 or better. I took the training, and at the end of the training about half of us went ahead and took the test. I was nervous because the test costs $150, which I know limell’ (OSCR’s director) was willing to shell out for us, but I would have had a hard time telling her I needed to take it again. I would have probably paid for myself the second time, anyway, or at least offered to, but I still would have been embarassed.
Regardless of the certification test outcome, the training was great fun, partly because I continued to sit with Melanie and Catherine all week. In four days, we pretty much blazed through Diana’s entire book. Diana was an incredible instructor. If you want or need Final Cut Pro certification, I would recommend trying really hard to attend one of her own trainings.
Finally, I want to post a couple photos from my front yard. Enjoy!
Regardless of the certification test outcome, the training was great fun, partly because I continued to sit with Melanie and Catherine all week. In four days, we pretty much blazed through Diana’s entire book. Diana was an incredible instructor. If you want or need Final Cut Pro certification, I would recommend trying really hard to attend one of her own trainings.
Finally, I want to post a couple photos from my front yard. Enjoy!
HOA Meeting
18 06 08 19:38
OMG I am sitting in our neighborhood’s Homeowner’s Association Meeting listening to the business. This is definitely the kind of event that would make a great South Park episode. I think we ought to contact them, if we can sell the idea to the South Park creators, we might be able to use the funds to build a back entrance to our neighborhood, which apparently costs somewhere between 20,000 and 600,000 dollars...
We have some cantankerous neighbors, for sure! I knew this before coming to this meeting because an email went out last weekend regarding someone’s political sign twice being vandalized. The initial email was followed by an email flame war.
Which brings me to my reason for being here. After witnessing the email flame war, I bounced emails back to the most offensive responses so it would look like they had an erroneous email address, and then wrote to the secretary to offer to manage a website for th HOA. My thought is that a well built website would increase appropriate communication by doing the following:
• we could procure our own domain on the cheap (about $50/year)
• we could post documents, for HOA residents (CC&Rs, for example)
• access to the webpage can be restricted to HOA using passwords
• a well manged blogpage can allow for free speech, without responses being pushed to email accounts
• newsletters can be posted online
• directory can be posted as password protected PDF
• alerts can be posted online
• PDF postings can be downloaded and searched
• RSS feeds on blogpages can notify residents of news/changes if they choose to subscribe
• We could then offer folks the option to receive newsletters via mail or not, if we post them online anyway...
I’m going to pitch these ideas to the board, and that I am willing to return with a better researched presentation (I don’t have costs tonight, don’t know the best blog service to use).
We have some cantankerous neighbors, for sure! I knew this before coming to this meeting because an email went out last weekend regarding someone’s political sign twice being vandalized. The initial email was followed by an email flame war.
Which brings me to my reason for being here. After witnessing the email flame war, I bounced emails back to the most offensive responses so it would look like they had an erroneous email address, and then wrote to the secretary to offer to manage a website for th HOA. My thought is that a well built website would increase appropriate communication by doing the following:
• we could procure our own domain on the cheap (about $50/year)
• we could post documents, for HOA residents (CC&Rs, for example)
• access to the webpage can be restricted to HOA using passwords
• a well manged blogpage can allow for free speech, without responses being pushed to email accounts
• newsletters can be posted online
• directory can be posted as password protected PDF
• alerts can be posted online
• PDF postings can be downloaded and searched
• RSS feeds on blogpages can notify residents of news/changes if they choose to subscribe
• We could then offer folks the option to receive newsletters via mail or not, if we post them online anyway...
I’m going to pitch these ideas to the board, and that I am willing to return with a better researched presentation (I don’t have costs tonight, don’t know the best blog service to use).
Bobcat
09 05 08 19:30
We had a visitor in our front yard today! She was sitting on top of the adobe wall in front of our house when I left via our front door to go to Gamelan. We startled each other! She jumped down from the wall, found a choice location in our front yard, and plunked down to groom herself and rest a bit. She waited long enough for me to grab my camera and take this picture from about 20 feet away. I've shown this picture to several people who expressed annoyance that I would get so close to a wild animal. In my own defense, I would like to ask everyone to please note her body language, especially ears! She was hardly in 'attack cat' mode...
Entomologists
30 07 07 21:41
Last night we had a couple old friends of Carl's 'check in' to our guest house. Many of you know I say 'check in' because Carl used to own a gay bed and breakfast called Tortuga Roja, which we closed down last June when Carl sold the property to a developer. Now we sometimes have former-guests-now-friends come and stay with us.
Doug and John are entomologists. They are in town for an entomology conference in Rio Rito. Last night they set up a contraption and a blacklight to catch bugs. Tonight, when Carl and I returned home from shopping for a new large screen LCD TV, which is probably a story in itself, they had scoped out a tarantula that was climbing the wall. I snapped a couple photos for y'all!
Doug and John are entomologists. They are in town for an entomology conference in Rio Rito. Last night they set up a contraption and a blacklight to catch bugs. Tonight, when Carl and I returned home from shopping for a new large screen LCD TV, which is probably a story in itself, they had scoped out a tarantula that was climbing the wall. I snapped a couple photos for y'all!
Post Music Camp Doldrums
23 07 07 08:37
I'm really down today. I miss Santa Fe, and being able to call up Steven or Jim or Deloria and hang out or have breakfast. I miss the Music Department and working with Steve as my boss. I will say this: I am so grateful that I had so many great years in Santa Fe at a job where I felt so appreciated, challenged, loved, and accomplished!
Time to focus on building community in Tucson.
Besides, I came in to the office yesterday and discovered that my new laptop has arrived. Nothing cures the doldrums better than playing with a new toy, eh?
Time to focus on building community in Tucson.
Besides, I came in to the office yesterday and discovered that my new laptop has arrived. Nothing cures the doldrums better than playing with a new toy, eh?
Mexican Cardinal
23 06 07 15:13
I was sitting outside in 100+ degree weather making calls to family with a hot laptop on my lap when Carl came out and said "come look, quick! It's a Mexican Cardinal!" Grabbed the camera with zoom lens and caught this. Thought you all might enjoy! Out of focus but you can't tell so much at this low resolution...
A couple photos from home...
20 06 07 20:08
Bats in our front entry in the middle of the night last night:
...and one of our transplanted "peniocereus greggii" or
"reina de la noche" cacti blooming last week:
...and one of our transplanted "peniocereus greggii" or
"reina de la noche" cacti blooming last week:
Javalina Invasion
10 04 07 06:09
Spring Fever
09 03 07 10:42
Colors seem brighter, sound has more definition... I am more affected by life vibration since Grandma died. The closest thing I can think of to describe it is Spring Fever. Maybe it is Spring Fever! Daylight lasts longer, cold weather is behind us. For some reason I'm experiencing it differently this year. I'm feeling lucky to be alive, to be where I am, to be with the people I am with, and be from such an amazing family. I'm sad that one of us has left the planet. Maybe I'm enjoying Spring this year for Grandma, too... that's why it's so intense.