Retro Career
Jo and I attended the previous mentioned concert last night at Ogden Theatre in Denver, CO. It's a pretty great venue, especially the upstairs for us old folks. I was very relieved to see there were a ton of 30 somethings in the crowd. Back in KC, I'd been feeling like the old guy for the last 10 years. This is definitely a good town to see shows... but man, it hurts on week nights. Fischerspooner is coming in a week or so... we'll see.
Ruca caught a bird on our walk today. She actually was fairly gentle with it once it was in her mouth, and after prancing around for a few minutes with her trophy, dropped it at my feet, still very much alive. I guess retrievers were bred to be gentle with the birds so they didn't ruin dinner. I think it's really neat to see a dog fulfilling its intended purpose, 'cause they so clearly enjoy it. That's the happiest I've ever seen this pup... and she nearly broke my arm jerking on the leash so hard when we let the bird limp away.
Things are swell in Denver. We've got a trip to Seattle coming up which I'm very excited about, both to reunite with so many friends, and to finally experience this great city for ourselves.
Ruca caught a bird on our walk today. She actually was fairly gentle with it once it was in her mouth, and after prancing around for a few minutes with her trophy, dropped it at my feet, still very much alive. I guess retrievers were bred to be gentle with the birds so they didn't ruin dinner. I think it's really neat to see a dog fulfilling its intended purpose, 'cause they so clearly enjoy it. That's the happiest I've ever seen this pup... and she nearly broke my arm jerking on the leash so hard when we let the bird limp away.
Things are swell in Denver. We've got a trip to Seattle coming up which I'm very excited about, both to reunite with so many friends, and to finally experience this great city for ourselves.
May 7th, 2009 (12:37 AM)
Out at the Pictures
Show me on the doll where Ticketmaster touched you. :(
Tickets (The Faint, Ladytron)
Full Price Ticket US $25.50 x 1
Total Convenience Charge(s) US $8.50 x 1
Order Processing Charge(s) US $5.35
TicketFast Delivery US $2.50
TOTAL CHARGES US $41.85
And we're gonna see Metric in Seattle a month later!
Tickets (The Faint, Ladytron)
Full Price Ticket US $25.50 x 1
Total Convenience Charge(s) US $8.50 x 1
Order Processing Charge(s) US $5.35
TicketFast Delivery US $2.50
TOTAL CHARGES US $41.85
And we're gonna see Metric in Seattle a month later!
Apr 19th, 2009 (12:20 AM)
Video Editing
Editing video, and the whole film thing in general is popular in my family. I'm more of a photography guy, but I can definitely see the fun and allure of doing things with video (and music!) Here's my first weak attempt, hampered greatly by my unfamiliarity with the software and all its functions. I think we're going to purchase a better camera soon, so that should give me plenty of chances to improve.
I'm not sure what's up with Vimeo's inability to properly sync the music and video. It makes my edits look even worse. :(
I'm not sure what's up with Vimeo's inability to properly sync the music and video. It makes my edits look even worse. :(
Mar 8th, 2009 (3:12 PM)
Big Dog
We threw a party for Ruca's birthday, and it turned out to be a great time. People showed up around noon with their dogs for some drinking and grilling, and stayed until nearly midnight. We've thrown a lot of house parties over the years, and they nearly always started around 8-9PM. Those are fun, for sure, but starting early might actually be a better plan, especially if it's nice outside. This is one of the best parties we've ever had. I'm REALLY looking forward to summer, but these 70 degree winter days aren't so bad either.
Gallery: Ruca's 1st Birthday Party
Gallery: Ruca's 1st Birthday Party
Mar 4th, 2009 (12:07 PM)
Day Trip
JoLynn and I braved the wind on an otherwise pretty winter day, and checked out Castlewood Canyon.
Gallery: Castlewood Canyon (1-19-09)
Gallery: Castlewood Canyon (1-19-09)
Jan 20th, 2009 (12:19 AM)
Yesteryear
I came across a site recently called "Disappearing Places." The point of the site seems to be to document information about places from our past that no longer exist. I've long wanted to find a site like this with a social networking aspect, that would allow people from those places to reconnect. Mostly, I'd love to get get friends from the old arcade days in OKC back together in one place.
Anyway, the first thing I searched for was "arcade," which brought up an entry for the Del Mar Skate Park. What's odd about that is the site would be second on my list of disappearing places, but only because in its wake, an old R/C track called E&L was created, and I spent many of my pre-teen weekends there, racing toy cars. The entry on the skate park mentions the bulldozers leveling the place... and I remember it, 'cause I was there. Once it was cleaned up, we used that area of an off-road race track. And now I feel kinda guilty about it...
Anyway, the first thing I searched for was "arcade," which brought up an entry for the Del Mar Skate Park. What's odd about that is the site would be second on my list of disappearing places, but only because in its wake, an old R/C track called E&L was created, and I spent many of my pre-teen weekends there, racing toy cars. The entry on the skate park mentions the bulldozers leveling the place... and I remember it, 'cause I was there. Once it was cleaned up, we used that area of an off-road race track. And now I feel kinda guilty about it...
Dec 11th, 2008 (2:37 AM)
Sensitivity
The pup (all 55lbs. of her) is turning out to be a very sweet, but rather sensitive little dog.
We noticed after pulling the halloween stuff out that she's scared of the masks with the creepy faces. She immediately hid under the couch and growled upon seeing them. Since then, we've tried to keep them away from her since it seemed to be so upsetting.
Last night, after finishing up with our scary garage display, we threw all the stuff on to the bed in our spare bedroom (where Ruca's kennel is) since we're bringing it over to a friend's house tonight for a party. We didn't think much of it, because the only time Ruca goes into the kennel now is when we leave the house. Well... and to drag out one of her blankets to rest on when she gets tired.
So, I'm looking all around for the dog, and finally decide to check her kennel. Sure enough, she's in there, and totally petrified with fear. It seems, she went in there to drag out a blanket, and when she went to head back out, caught a glimpse of one of the scary masks that was near the edge of the bed. She wouldn't come out until I moved it out of sight, and then she required a few minutes of love before she quit making her "mean" face.
We adore the new dog, but it's apparent we're going to have to be careful with her feelings.
Things here in Denver are going quite well. We're at the tail end of the most beautiful summer I've ever experienced, and that includes my first 18 years in California. We didn't get out to explore as much as we'd hoped, mostly due to rearing a young pup, but still had quite a few adventures. We're hoping to continue to improve upon that, and get more familiar with everything around us. Jo picked up a few books on hikes that are good for dogs, so we may give that a shot with Roo once she's a little bigger. Our older dog Ty would undoubtedly love to go as well, but he's a bit hobbled these days by arthritis, so we'll have to make it up to him with frequent walks, and trips to the dog park.
We noticed after pulling the halloween stuff out that she's scared of the masks with the creepy faces. She immediately hid under the couch and growled upon seeing them. Since then, we've tried to keep them away from her since it seemed to be so upsetting.
Last night, after finishing up with our scary garage display, we threw all the stuff on to the bed in our spare bedroom (where Ruca's kennel is) since we're bringing it over to a friend's house tonight for a party. We didn't think much of it, because the only time Ruca goes into the kennel now is when we leave the house. Well... and to drag out one of her blankets to rest on when she gets tired.
So, I'm looking all around for the dog, and finally decide to check her kennel. Sure enough, she's in there, and totally petrified with fear. It seems, she went in there to drag out a blanket, and when she went to head back out, caught a glimpse of one of the scary masks that was near the edge of the bed. She wouldn't come out until I moved it out of sight, and then she required a few minutes of love before she quit making her "mean" face.
We adore the new dog, but it's apparent we're going to have to be careful with her feelings.
Things here in Denver are going quite well. We're at the tail end of the most beautiful summer I've ever experienced, and that includes my first 18 years in California. We didn't get out to explore as much as we'd hoped, mostly due to rearing a young pup, but still had quite a few adventures. We're hoping to continue to improve upon that, and get more familiar with everything around us. Jo picked up a few books on hikes that are good for dogs, so we may give that a shot with Roo once she's a little bigger. Our older dog Ty would undoubtedly love to go as well, but he's a bit hobbled these days by arthritis, so we'll have to make it up to him with frequent walks, and trips to the dog park.
Nov 1st, 2008 (1:09 PM)
TORNADO!
The tornado that came through Parker, Colorado yesterday came dangerously close to our house. Here's the view we had from the back yard.
Gallery: Parker, CO Tornado (8-24-08)
Gallery: Parker, CO Tornado (8-24-08)
Aug 25th, 2008 (4:12 PM)
Looking Back
"In this age of obsessive video sharing and social networking, nearly every action is designed and packaged for public consumption. Especially with young people," says co-director Joe Stevens. The immediate charm of Nick and his crew is that they're the exact opposite of all that. There is nothing calculated or self-conscious about who they are. They're just a group of friends doing some thing to challenge themselves and have some laughs."
And that pretty much sums up exactly what's been bothering me about the world, and how it's changed thanks to the Internet. I'm not sure what I miss more, the days before they got here, or the days before I did.
Aug 2nd, 2008 (9:46 PM)
Down Time
Jo and I enjoyed our first peaceful, travel-free, guest-free weekend in over a month. We're preparing for another round of visitors, so we figured it was a good opportunity to catch up. We also visited two of the area's dog parks, and gave our furry friends some quality play time.
On Saturday, we went to Cherry Creek, and gave Ruca her first off-leash experience. I was rather tense about the whole thing, since she has a tendency to run away, but it turned out to be just fine. The pup spent most of her time following our older dog around, and checking in with us at regular intervals. The only challenge is that she likes to jump on strangers to greet them. This isn't entirely unexpected at a dog park, but Ruca also likes to "smile," which looks a whole lot like a snarl, teeth and all. It makes people uncomfortable, and little kids scream. The trip was punctuated by a snake encounter. Jo spotted what we believe was a gopher snake stretched across the trail ahead of us. We're wary of snakes, 'cause Ty tries to kill them, which usually ends poorly for the snake, and the dog too, if they're poisonous. I'm a big fan of reptiles, so it upsets me when the dog tries to murder them. Luckily, we distracted the animals, and the snake slithered away without incident.
Sunday, we decided to hit Chatfield, since it's got more water, and we wanted to give the pup her first swimming experience. After a few minutes of apprehension, she jumped right in, and started swimming. The retrieving instinct is strong in her, and by the end of the day, she was swimming out farther than our adult dog to retrieve sticks. The day went pretty well, aside from a hard lesson learned about red ant hills. Ruca ate (and got bit) by a few before we could grab her. The whole thing caused her to foam at the mouth, which isn't exactly what you'd like to happen at a park full of dogs and their concerned owners.
So, I suppose we can officially declare the pup a second dog, and not just some strange domesticated animal with a partially formed brain. She's beginning to act like a canine, and that's nice, 'cause I'm totally over the puppy phase. They're cute, no doubt, but it's a lot more work than I remembered.
On Saturday, we went to Cherry Creek, and gave Ruca her first off-leash experience. I was rather tense about the whole thing, since she has a tendency to run away, but it turned out to be just fine. The pup spent most of her time following our older dog around, and checking in with us at regular intervals. The only challenge is that she likes to jump on strangers to greet them. This isn't entirely unexpected at a dog park, but Ruca also likes to "smile," which looks a whole lot like a snarl, teeth and all. It makes people uncomfortable, and little kids scream. The trip was punctuated by a snake encounter. Jo spotted what we believe was a gopher snake stretched across the trail ahead of us. We're wary of snakes, 'cause Ty tries to kill them, which usually ends poorly for the snake, and the dog too, if they're poisonous. I'm a big fan of reptiles, so it upsets me when the dog tries to murder them. Luckily, we distracted the animals, and the snake slithered away without incident.
Sunday, we decided to hit Chatfield, since it's got more water, and we wanted to give the pup her first swimming experience. After a few minutes of apprehension, she jumped right in, and started swimming. The retrieving instinct is strong in her, and by the end of the day, she was swimming out farther than our adult dog to retrieve sticks. The day went pretty well, aside from a hard lesson learned about red ant hills. Ruca ate (and got bit) by a few before we could grab her. The whole thing caused her to foam at the mouth, which isn't exactly what you'd like to happen at a park full of dogs and their concerned owners.
So, I suppose we can officially declare the pup a second dog, and not just some strange domesticated animal with a partially formed brain. She's beginning to act like a canine, and that's nice, 'cause I'm totally over the puppy phase. They're cute, no doubt, but it's a lot more work than I remembered.