I haven’t posted much lately, partly because not much has been going on that would be interesting to write about, and partly because I’m probably going to shut the blog down and rethink it. I may not, also; I may work on something in the background and the “flip the switch” when the new project is ready. But it’ll probably change before long up in here. Continue reading
I’m lucky in so many ways to live in New Mexico. I mean, it’s not blind, dumb luck, it’s the kind of luck I sought out and it actually turned out to have been worth looking for. One very cool thing about New Mexico that not everyone knows about is Michael Reynolds, the innovative architect who creates Earthship communities up in Taos. If you don’t know about Earthships, he’s got a pretty comprehensive website on them. They’re handmade, self sustaining homes made out of recycled materials. They create their own electricity, cache their own water, and maintain an internal temperature in the 70s all year without any heating or cooling systems other than windows and walls. They’re wonderfully eccentric, with spires and walls with wine bottles in them that let in blue and green light and hand-molded bathtubs, and the south-facing windows are always lined with plants because they cleanse the air, the filter out UV rays, they and provide food, and their roots help cleanse the greywater. It’s a cool setup. Continue reading
I just read an article on ABC News’s website that described the great efforts the inaugural committee was putting into emulating what the 16th president served at his own, right down to the china patterns. It’s not the kind of article I usually come across, much less read, I’m all hung up on “real issues” and “substance” and stuff, but this one caught my eye for some reason. I won’t recap it, it’s concise and well written if anyone’s interested.
What I thought was cool was that the inaugural staff has not only posted the menu itself, probably as expected, but also the recipes! I’m probably not going to make me any pheasant any time soon – you really ought to hunt your own if you’re going to eat pheasant, and I’m not going to hunt my own – but I’m pretty tempted to scale down that seafood stew/puff pastry recipe my damn self. (The recipe calls for 6 Maine Lobster tails. I’m thinking of a quantity that is more in the zero-to-one lobster tail range.) My kid will probably make “that face” at me if I offer her some, she’s not big on seafood or creamy soups, but if it’s good enough for the leader of the free world (am I supposed to capitalize some of that?), it’s durned well good enough for my family. No matter. More for the grownups. Continue reading
To paraphrase George Carlin, it’s pretty easy to consider anyone who’d driving much faster than you as crazy, and anyone who’s driving slower than you to be a jackass. I’ve noticed some more granular versions of the rules here in Eldorado, and it’s deepend the awareness I already have that I’m a hypocrite. (Yay!) Continue reading
I love living in New Mexico, and I love the seasons. Autumn has gently started; we still have mild weather and quiet nights, but the leaves are changing. It’s beautiful. I’ll trick myself into ignoring that it’s what precedes winter – not my favorite time of year – and enjoy what is usually a long and enjoyable autumn. Continue reading
As I do whenever I broach a not-totally-male topic, I must start by insecurely pointing out that I watch kung fu movies, drink lots of beer, and have fathered a human baby with a real woman, and I will only eat quiche if I’m allowed to refer to it as Egg Pie. I know the names of lots of cars, I like to start fires, and have more than one friend who rides a motorcycle. So I’m cool. Really.
That being said, I love hummingbirds. Continue reading
I was trying to sleep last night, it was a rare windless night, so every little sound in and out of the house set off my tribe of dogs. We have a guest, so that could mean someone in another room flipping a light switch or closing a door. It was garbage night, so it could also mean a neighbor wheeling out their week’s haul for the next morning’s pickup. Or it could be inexplicable whistling noises followed by coyote howls, as the case may be. The heat wasn’t anything that was genuinely stifling, but without the normal breeze to push some of the cooler night air through the house, it was definitely warmer than we were used to and it made it just that much harder to sleep. Continue reading
I’m still trying to figure out the meaning of the whole accident thing. I’ve come up with “don’t have deer run in front of you while you’re driving at freeway speeds,” which seems pretty strong, and by reading a lot of fortune cookies, I’ve come up with some other whoppers like, “Life is short,” and “Live every day to the fullest.” Inspiring, no? Continue reading
I was standing next to my pickup putting gas in it. A red Chevy pickup at the little mini-mart backed out of a parking spot to drive off; nothing weird about it, I’m still kind of a car dork and pay attention to makes and models of the vehicles around me. There were two locals inside, and they slowed down as they were driving by me, I couldn’t tell what they were looking at, so I just kind of stared into the distance. I figured they were looking at people behind me or something, if even that, it’s not weird for people to drive slowly out of a gas station or to pause for a second after they’ve backed out of a spot.
They started to drive away. Then they stopped, and backed up and paused directly in front of my pickup. They were both looking straight at me with the window down and my eyes snapped to theirs when I realized they were looking at me and not someone behind me. The driver had a bandana on and he was smiling, the passenger had a goatee and a crew cut and tattoos all the way up his face and he wasn’t smiling at all. The driver leaned forward and said, “Hey, white boy – it’s not polite to not say ‘hi’ back to someone.” Continue reading
Once a week, I try to take my dogs out for The Big Walk. The circumtances change based on the season and the weather and the window of time I have to put into it, sometimes it’s hiking trails, sometimes it’s just neighborhood stuff. I’ve recently started exploring the system of greenbelts right around me and it’s a great combination of being new enough to feel like we’re getting away, undeveloped enough that there are cactus flowers and weird plants and rocks, and it’s close enough that we don’t have to build in any commute time. It’s been a great way to maximize our Big Walking. Continue reading