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The Bus

Join 4 Tri-State Area prep school kids as they Greyhound to places unknown (The South).

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I believe in tipping street performers…

it’s the urban version of cow tipping.

Balance Blues

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A little ditty I wrote when I had some issues with my head:

Woke up this mornin’
(Da-neh na naught)
Rolled out of bed.
(Da-neh na naught)
Had to crawl on the floor.
(Da-neh na naught)
Somethin’s wrong with my head!

I’ve got the Verrrrtigo. Yeah!
V-E-R-T-I Go!
I’ve got the Verrritigo. Yeah!
Head spinnin’ round, so now y’know.

 

Music

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The first CD I ever owned was a gift from my father, Dire Straits, Brothers in Arms. But even before that I was exposed to the wonderful complexity of Mark Knophfler’s work when a song would come on the radio, and observing my dad’s excitement over it, I’d ask for the name of the artist and he’d reply, “Dire Straits”, with that tone that makes a kid realize that even though they may be hearing this for the first time, it’s common knowledge among adults, and so you’d better remember this, and make it part of your common knowledge.
 
Similarly, my first exposure to The Doors was while watching an episode of Family Ties with my mom in which Michael J. Fox sings along to Light My Fire. I remember my mother saying, “that was a great song” and as before, though I was hearing it for the first time, it was clear to me that the song had some affect on her. Regardless of the content of the show, the song is what stood out for her. There must be something to that, and sure enough there are beautifully complexities to the keyboards of Ray Manzerek throughout the catalog of The Doors.
 
I must have somehow passed these on to my son too, because one of the first guitar songs Marcus learned was Money for Nothing and when he wanted to really show off the results of 3 years of lessons and practice, he tackled Sultans of Swing. And taking up these new challenges did not take away from his progress on the piano as he simultaneously tackled the intricacies of Riders on The Storm (while singing no less!) and the theme to Interstellar by Hanns Zimmer.
 
And those other two guys, playing on Sultans, they’re his teachers. They’re the kind of teachers who, when kids come to them with pie-in-the-sky dreams, react with an emphatic “Hell yeah, let’s go for it!” They provide constant encouragement, guidance, and expertise and yet remain focused on letting the student shine.
 
And if that wasn’t enough, the band he plays in with his brother and friends joined with the acapella group to do Bohemian Rhapsody.
 
Speaking of his brother, Jared has assumed my love of punk music and that manifested in his performance of 21 Guns by Green Day, where he too takes his first foray into vocal performances while also playing guitar.

Blindness

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Me on social media: So, for 3-8 hours after my optometrist appointment, I will effectively be blind. What activities are available for the temporarily visually impaired without supervision?

My friends: Quality time…with yourself….What’s it gonna do, make you blinder? 🙂

Are You Not Entertained

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Laura: I have to do some sit ups, could you put something on to entertain me.

Me: I don’t have any leopard skin boxers, but maybe I can find something…

Laura: A clown suit?

Me: Oh did you mean on TV?

Progress?

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Not only does this reaffirm my distrust of progress bars, but it’s increasing every second. As we speak it’s over 3 million percent, and 32 days. If I am to believe this, then the process won’t be complete for over a month, but it’s already complete many times over?!

It’s over 5 million now, but the green bar has gone, so we have many millions of percent completed, but a visual that says it hasn’t even started, and a eta of some time in the winter.

Nightwork

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Because I had the foresight to keep them in the car, twice (separated by 15 years and multiple cars) I’ve been able to say to friends, “put the hammer down I’ve got lock picks.”

In 1991 a dorky role playing game sparked my interest in lock picking and being employed working with the Internet, I turned to it and found the MIT lock picking guide. Computers, hacking, and lock picking all share an element of puzzle or problem solving. Eventually I read Nightwork:

A History of Hacks and Pranks at MIT By Institute Historian T. F. Peterson and learned more of the MIT Hacking community and its history. Before the term hacking became associated with computers, MIT undergraduates used it to describe any activity that took their minds off studying, suggested an unusual solution to a technical problem, or generally fostered nondestructive mischief. Hacks can be technical, physical, virtual, or verbal. Often the underlying motivation is to conquer the inaccessible and make possible the improbable.

Ultimately it’s about solving the problem, learning from it, and using the learned skills for good.

https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/nightwork

This is How How Remind Me

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Overheard the following conversation between my kids and their 20 year old cousin while getting ready to power wash and paint their grandfather’s roof. The powerwasher was on the roof and they were trying to get the hose up there:
 
Jared: I know. We can get a big bucket and you can shoot the water up here and we can catch it.
 
Carter: You know, sometimes I forget that you’re twelve and then you remind me.
 
Jared: What? Would that not work?
 
My Wife: Mike! the kids need some supervision!

The Hole in My House

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This is the hole in my house.
I thought a mouse came in this hole I found in my house.

This is the nest I found in the hole I found in my house.
Twas not a mouse, but a stinging yellow pest’s nest I found in the hole I found in my house.

This my flamethrower, a gift from my wife.

This is a wingless yellow jacket, having lost his life,
from the flamethrower I got from my wife.

I hate nature.

 

Comments

Did Tolkien Influence Top Gun?

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“But see here, Master Sandyman, I’ve a score to pay in this village, and don’t you make it any longer with your jeering, or you’ll foot a bill too big for your purse.” -JRR Tolkien, Return of the King, 1955
 
“Your ego is writing checks your body can’t cash.” -Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr. Top Gun, 1986
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