Happy Rat

College Remembrance Continued

This is the Psychedelic Furs, the headlining act.

I recently was on my college’s campus and became confused about my own intellectual roots. Why do I think the way I do? Those professors I admired, were they great men or gassbags?

X helped me exit my quandary of rumination.

Later in the week I saw a concert at the zoo which featured the bands X and the Psychedelic Furs. I liked the band X during my college years and knew their music well.

I worried that X would give a crappy show and be an example of old people not rocking hard enough.

I shouldn’t have stressed, the band still had their groove and sounded great. The results reaffirmed my life and all is well. 

Woo!

Kid Does Tech Camp At Alma Mater

I had a nice sensation of middle-agedness when I picked up the kid from his tech camp at my alma mater.

I remember being at the exact same spot 30 years ago. Then I had a completely different problem set which most likely involved social situations and the question of what the hell would I do with my life.

My social situation has solidified considerably in recent years, but I still ask myself what the hell am I doing. Having kids in the picture helps answer the question.

I suspect my predilection to declare stoke started on this campus.

The tech genius. 

Rat Exploration 11: Funky Rat Lounge

Where do rats go when they want to chill? They climb into a bucket of plush toys and burrow down in the softness and contemplate.

What the rats fail to comprehend is that when humans let them out of the cage they expect to see the rats scamper around and interact with the room. When the rats have other ideas how their time should be used, they get rousted from their funky lair.

In the video, you can see one of the rats peed on me. I guess I deserved it, forcing my agenda on a low-energy rat.

Now the rats are full-grown and getting mellow, I suspect rousing them to action, in the name of education, entertainment, and art, will be more of an issue.

Driving With Purple Hair

There's a time and place for everything -- junior year high school is right for the purple hair.

Oregon Parenting Report: Kid Climbs Tree

Sometimes children just act like kids.

The Iceland Adventure

Parents Worry Kids Lack Foosball Skills

Professionals exhibit skills honed by decades of wasted time.

Suddenly I realized the kids really can't play foosball. The thought occurred to me during a bout of insomnia, forcing me to sit bolt upright and run to the computer.

After checking my email and Facebook, I realized I could have stayed in bed and done all this on the phone, before remembering my sacred mission -- to get the kids interested in foosball!

Of course, all research leads to Youtube, where I intended to flag how-to-play foosball videos for the kids. Unfortunately, I became distracted by the cool video of Kelly Slater's Wave Ranch.

By then it was too late, and I returned to bed to sleep. I made mental note to do something vaguely education for the kids.

This is parenting in 2018.

A College Reminiscence

The above photo was taken in 1989 as I made my way to school for my senior year at college.

Mike, my housemate, made me pull over when we saw the Oscar Mayer Weiner mobile. For him, it was a dream come true.

“How did you get this job?” he asked the driver, who was only a year out of college. “I majored in marketing,” he replied, a bit confused at the reverence we gave his gig. For him, driving around to different events, sleeping on the road, eating in 7-11s was just a step up from being the guy in a chicken suit holding a sign for the discount at a restaurant.

Mike asked him about gas mileage, other features of the vehicle, and generally imagined all the fun he could have, both ironically and in earnest, with the car.

The driver’s life stood out as interesting in that he traveled around the Western states, but not one of ease. I couldn’t see myself meeting any cool women in the thing, which at the time animated my thoughts. Perhaps my lack of vision has diminished my life. Even now, I’m hard-pressed to imagine a situation where the Oscar Mayer Weiner mobile would be the essential ingredient to achieve that elusive goal.

The driver snapped a picture with my camera and wished us well.

This Is Us

Before the kid set off on his international backpacking trip, we did a test pack -- all systems appeared at the ready.

A broken tooth brought me to the dentist's chair. Lucky for me, the eye protection was worthy of social media.

A Passion for Fashion

Above, a smiling kid celebrates the completion of her first experiment with hair dye. She was not satisfied with the result, so she went to the pros. 

Much better!

I Like Digital Photography

One of my cherished possessions is my mom's 1950's Rolleiflex.




This was a great camera, precision optics, medium format film, and the revolutionary notion of the day that what you saw when you peered into the viewfinder was the same framing and focus of what the picture would be.

The camera was hard to load, this was a drawback.

When my mom gave me the camera more than a decade ago, I had it serviced at a camera shop, thinking I would use it for special projects. The guy at the store wanted to buy it, which made me feel good that I had a coveted camera.

Sorry to say I never used the Rolleiflex. Digital photography cuts through all the friction points of film so thoroughly that there's just no comparison. I don't need to toil, I want to play with images as soon as I find them.

I also have my dad's vintage Leica, which I'll save for another post.

Cleaning Out The Files

When I bought an iPad the above is an exploration of how to take notes and process information.

This video is to illustrate the best sound file ever.

We Are Full Of It: Next Home Improvement Project

Don't ask.

Say It Ain't So: Ed Davis Leaving Blazers

The inspiration for so much ridiculous play in the home, Ed Davis, has decided to leave the Blazers and go play for the Brooklyn Nets. We are in shock, dismayed and confused, and looking for answers.

Although not the best player, Ed was the spiritual lodestar for our fandom.

We hope in the coming season Meyers Leonard, Zach Collins, or Caleb Swanigan will rise to the occasion and fill our hearts and minds with Blazer Stoke, much the way Ed did.