Wow, maybe it's good we didn't get coffee today, vado!

I'm so slammed right now, with three things due already in the next 10 days, a client just requested another bit be done in that time frame too. Ugh. I can't say no.

so my teaching time has double and the number of students has tripled. I am not afraid - but I am tired. Feeling for a scotch and a certain red head... I forgot what it was like to be busy ALL THE TIME!

lb i didn't come into contact with the swine flu victim. i need to go get a flu shot though. maybe we can work in a coffee sometime later in the week.

NPR just did a story on the proposed national arsonists registry. The song accompanying the piece: Wildfire. Tasteless, or hilarious?

holz, we've come into contact with this new agenda already, a federal design excellence project we have is leaving no energy stone unturned. I was rather suprised at what our engineers have put on the table (we don't normally do this sort of thing). And I am glad that they are going this route. It seems like the process have been one of exploration and education for all the PM's involved. I know ARRA is heavy handedly creating these opportunities, but I hope to see it spread across all of the projects now and in the future.

for those of you with kids or those of you without. this book is fantastic, and one day i'd like to teach a studio with this book as a stepping off point...

the great thing about october is that the weather is finally cool enough that you can start playing holiday music without feeling silly about it. which means i think there is a thread that i need to revive somewhere...

surprise! tropical storm grace! she looks completely lost out there in the north atlantic...drunk?

Wow, she does look like she can't find her house, doesn't she?

puddles, I appreciate how much fun you bring. I think I'll listen to Nightmare Before Christmas now - Halloween is definitely in the air around here. Angus has, for the moment, decided to be Luke Skywalker this year.

i think i'm having alot of subconscious anxiety about my halloween costume this year...

i woke up from a dream this morning where i was shopping. at first it was about shoes and i couldn't find two pair that matched but then it transitioned to costumes. i was at a department store and they had a rack of grim reaper costumes amongst others that i was fond of but they didn't appear to have my size. the sales lady suggested that i try the next size smaller which i and i wasn't the least bit surprised to find that it was too short. it stopped well short of my feet. the sales lady, trying to be helpful suggested that i simply wear black pants and, especially at night, nobody would likely notice.
-uh, do you know who i am?, i glared (thinking "puddles" hello i don't wear pants...)
-ohh, yes...then i guess that won't work for you. sorry, she replied looking slightly embarrassed for her suggestion.
then i woke up...but i'm pretty sure that i would have left without buying anything. how disappointing for a dream. kind of my own 'nightmare before christmas', no?

Morning all,

I have to get some plumbing work done in the next few days.
As well as another wisdom tooth removed.

Yeah for holidays! Personally, puddles i am a year round holiday music kind of guy, but usually just humming them to myself (often without realizing it) in my cubicle. Or so say co-workers.

red dawn was the best cold war era movie ever...and the thought of a remake filmed in detroit is almost enough to make me cry joyfully on a tuesday morning.

i hope they don't fuck it up...but remakes are always such crapshoots.

Wait, nam: is "plumbing work" a euphemism?

yeah...sounds like his viagra isn't working or something like that

second nam's thoughts (about the music at least)... vince guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas is suitable for any rainy day regardless of whether it's December or July

it's not even october, and we're seeing xmas decorations.

while i despise most holiday music, guaraldi's charlie brown christmas is acceptable.

oops, had i written that a week ago it would have been applicable. it's not even halloween...

no my plumbing is fine but the plumbing in my bathroom not so much

best postwar movie ever? i'm sorry, but Slim Pickens and Colonel Bat Guano, might have something to say about that.

sorry, that should be "cold war" movie.

this is another|



especially the bull fight dream sequences.

IMO - October (well... to us northerners) deserves to stand on it's own wonderfulness... October has its own colors, music, tastes, and smells... It's the end of the harvest - it's the moment when we get to enjoy comfort and hearty foods again - it's still warm enough to be active and social outside, but cool enough to curl up inside with loved ones.

it's that point where we take stock of the year and prepare for the winter... it's nature's last golden-hued hurrah before its deep slumber.

so - I'm going to raise up my glass of hot-spiced (and spiked) cider and toast October!

btw - that's an emphatic NO on the holiday music for me.

there is nothing like Christmas at the beach with 80 degree weather. But seriously they should put a 5 year ban on all Christmas themed music. It would do the world... well a world of good.

So I'm not one that normally remembers dreams but lately I've been having really weird ones. Last night I had a dream I was driving with my BFF on a really curvy bridge that had no guard rail and missed one of the turns. We flew off the side and into the water. I scared myself awake and was unable to sleep soundly the rest of the night.

toaster,

in some cases, oktober is the beginning of the harvest.

but i agree, the feel of october is something i have missed greatly since moving out west.

mmm. apple cider - it might be time to hit the pumpkin patch!

I go away for a few days, and they switch the Discussions link back to viewing all the threads at once! Amazing.

Hi friends. How is everyone? I need to go read the last page.

Ooooh, all caught up. I, too, am very excited about Obama's announcement today! Why don't they play this up? This is AMAZING news! There is going to be so much work in this for so many people, and I'm not just saying this because I now work for an energy efficiency firm :o) Now if he could just end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"...

Also, toaster, I love October too, and not just because it's my birthday month, but because of all those things you mentioned, too.

big typhoon coming. my brother was visiting and he and his wife and kids packed up to head back home to prepare their flat for when the wind hits. he gonna get it before us.

halloween started last month for us. it isn't celebrated in japan so my wife feels comfortable decorating the house whenever she wants. we been pumpkined right up for a coupla weeks aready. which is fine with me. i have no objections to any fun at all and refuse to be cynical about happiness even if it is what i was trained to do as a north american ;-) jingle bells? grinch with the christmas, and bing crosby singing the old stuff? oh yeah, we going for all of that ;-)

Matisse and my self share the same birthday and we are exactly the same age this year on this Day! I LUV FALL!

Happy birthday snook and Matisse!

happy birthday snook dude and matisse pooch.

Happy b-day snook.

Jump, I have become one of those anti-cynics lately.. Especially when it comes to holidays and traditions. I just think they are dandy...

Yep, I'm anti-cynic the same way. I guess the cynical side of me feels like there's so much to seriously worry about, why not enjoy the things that really are supposed to be fun? Which is why I go a little nutty with holidays. Bring on the decorations!

Also, autumn is one of a few things the Midwest does not just well but spectacularly well. Today is a perfect example: glittering blue sky, crisp air, leaves turning, geese flying, pumpkins everywhere, kids walking to school, dogs all yippy due to the weather, apples and pear cake and warm food and....yeah. Growing up in Phoenix I was totally deprived of seasons, so I get giddy about them now.

In the same vein, can I just admit how much I'm loving "Paparazzi" by Lady Gaga? I must have listened to it 20 times in the last two days (since I downloaded it after Saturday Night Live).

lb,
Did you catch here performance? I was never that impressed with here. But the last song she signed off with was really breath taking though. It actually made me like her as a musician/person. It seemed so personal.

Watch here

I'm mostly happy to be in LA, but I really miss fall in Seattle. The leaves, the air, riding over the Ravenna footbridge with the tops of the trees all around my head, getting pumpkins from the pumpkin patch... sigh. It's just not the same here.

Going to be in Carbondale (near Aspen) this weekend, but the leaves might be gone already. Here in the city, leaves have not even started to change, but we have the heat on!

yay snook! Happy Birthday to you both!

Our fall has been weird this season due to bizarre weather patterns. Currently it's COLD but the leaves are dropping straight off the trees without turning! Here's hoping it picks up quickly, as we are going apple-picking this weekend.

In other news, I passed the CDs exam I took!! 1 down, 6 to go, 4 in the next 2 months! Wish me luck!

Lastly : snook, may I venture a guess that you are turning 56 and Matisse 8? Happy birthday to both of you!

One of the things i hate most about north florida is the lack of seasonality..

Is it really fall? With our current weather you wouldn't believe it.

Yay, manta!

hm, I'm thinking snook 42 and matisse 6 are more likely. I don't know why, I've just always pictured snook to be a little younger than that. Either way, happy birthday to both!

typhoon's are scary damage...has japan recovered from the godzilla attacks yet? those always looked pretty bad on the tv?

of typhoon in japan courtesy of weatherunderground.com

japan sounds like a nice place if it wasn't so dangerous.

it's the middle of the week and I'm drained. I feel like a headless chicken lately but weekend is almost here.

godzilla is well tamed. we got robots (really big robots!) but they seem pretty tame too.

we are just getting hit by storm now. cleared balcony off just to be safe...rain stopped for awhile so took kids to school (by bicycle). wind is still strong so was real workout to get to daycare, but coming back was a blast. barely had to peddle. will probably walk to pick them up. unless they get sent home early. in which case i will run t pick them up...

oh happy birthday Matisse and Snook - I'm not smart enough to render a guess rather hope you two have a great day, and share your presents

lady gaga was cool.

reminds of david bowie. am looking forward to when she gets to the tin machine years.

Spent a wonderful day in "Santa Fe."

I actually decided I wanted to go hiking with a big bottle of hard liquor. Decided that was probably a bad idea... So I put on my best leather shoes and my best suit.

You know, just in case I die... I'll die in style. I also likened it to coyotes getting a plate for their carcass.

I got blackout drunk, walked for miles and woke up on a rock shivering without a sunburn.

hey jump thanks for keeping us update. Typhoons/hurricanes/cyclones are no joke

That's a pretty cool map puddles. Weather totally fascinates me.

Happy birthday snook and Matisse. Hope you are bother bale to enjoy it equally.

I agree the midwest does autumn wonderfully. Today was a beautiful day. The leaves are beginning to hit their peak. It looks like I'll be traveling around the Asheville, NC area next week. Am quite excited. Hopefully it'll be a good fall show.

Lady Gaga is very Ziggy Stardust... but there is a measure of talent under the charade.

Orochi that was considerate of you, no one ever wonders if the coyotes want to eat in style