They're tearing the shit out of California Avenue. They've scraped about 3-6 inches off the top of the whole street using this incredible machine that looks like the love child of a brontosaurus and a U.S. Army Combat Engineers' street sweeper (if there was such a thing). I am now certain that anybody with a Y chromosome can't help but be utterly ( Read more... )

This sort of heat just isn't for me. I have managed to avoid sunburn, but still, this all sorts of sucks.

The real news has actually been developing over a couple days. Earlier this week I found that my (aka their) kitchen sink didn't seem to drain. Figuring this was just a case of foodstuff in the drain, I bought some drain cleaner and ran it ( Read more... )

So, left the country for the first time in years this past Saturday, and entered Canada for the first time since I used to go skiing there with my family in 2002 or so. Matinay's sister, Davi, invited me to go along with her and her husband, Manu, Matinay, and their younger brother Davin to go to Vancouver for the day. Since I'd never been there, ( Read more... )

So, went out with the Husky crew last night to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Bad, bad movie. I'd say 45 minutes to an hour too long, for one thing. There wasn't enough plot to fill that running time, and the plot itself was pretty weak to begin with. There was meandering sidetracks, and the action sequences generally sucked. I was ( Read more... )

One of my favorite things to do in the world is to sit out on a deck in the summer, after a long, agreeably exhausting day of work, and wait as the sun sets over the Olympics and dusk grows in the sky. I like to listen to music, read, and drink something cool, then later, something warm. I like leaving the windows and doors open, and all the lights ( Read more... )

So, addendum. Cafe Verite has just taken a lead by providing a nice view of the California and Alaska intersection, providing me with marquee space to wave at my old ice cream regular customers, and for playing DJ Shadow.

So now that I've made my peace with coffee via a truce forged in the colds of winter and the grueling hours of holiday catering, I like to dabble in in here and there. Lately, as I've been living with dialup internet access at the place where I'm housesitting, I've been jumping around Junction spots for wifi. Today brings me to the new Cafe Verite/ ( Read more... )

    (1)    Listening to strangers' conversations.
    (2)    Long deliveries, with plenty of gas, a working radio, a complete order, plenty of time, and some snacks for me.
    (3)    Arguing with my family.
    (4)    Talking with my brother.
    (5)    Semi-useful but oh so well designed share- or freeware.
    (6)    Biking with the wind at my back.
  ( Read more... )

I just finished reading a book, American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. Now, it wasn't true to form science fiction, as I tend to read, but it does fall under the SF banner, if you take the abbreviation to stand for "speculative fiction" as well. In short, it's about the appearance of and continued existence of gods and mythological figures from throughout ( Read more... )

So, I'm housesitting for the next 5ish weeks at the house of an old elementary school friend, down on Beach Drive, south of Alki. I know I get all these great housesitting gigs, and I gotta say, I'm kinda spoiled. Ergo, I'm sort of disappointed about this one. The view is wonderful, the houses across the street are right on the beach. I just feel ( Read more... )