May 31st, 10:20AM
Blogging and French
Man, I used to enjoy writing in this thing. It's a lot like studying French:
- It sounds fun when you're thinking of doing it
- It's fun when you do it
- It's totally for me, and otherwise unnecessary to my daily life; therefore, it is the first thing sacrificed when time is a factor
- When I slack off and come back to it, I am usually reminded of how enjoyable it is
Speaking of the French
It looks like it's gonna be a long hot summer in gay Pah-ree. Rioting and other bullshit is flaring up again. Sucks.
This 'n' that
Anyhoo. I gotta go get some interviewage with Levi H. today; I'm looking forward to that.
My niece is having a graduation-from-the-eighth-grade ceremony tonight, which I will try to attend.
I watched the first episode of "Last Comic Standing" last night; first time I've caught the show from the start of a season. I enjoyed it, but I was surprised to see that some celebrities, already famous comics, didn't make the cuts.
I put up a virtual tour component for Manteca's Shasta Park on the MantecaStuff.com website, fulfilling a desire to start posting fresh content on that slogging zombie of a site. I believe it can be revived; just not easily.
May 30th, 6:34AM
Levi footage
I grabbed all my gear, and made it to Vino Piazza for a Saturday afternoon music session, hosted by Pasos Vineyards and entertained by the inimitable Levi Huffman.
I taped some DV footage of Levi doing his thing, and it was such a beautiful day, I couldn't resist the call of bold red wine and several cheeses. I hung out, and was more at ease than I've been in a long time.
My Dad was supposed to accompany me, but was waylaid by other commitments; my wife as well. They both missed a stunning afternoon. The music was mellow and groovy, and the weather was per-FECT, and it was just a great time.
May 24th, 7:25AM
A little rain
Some business items warming up, getting rolling; that's nice.
My wife said some comforting things to me about the dynamics of our relationship. That was very nice. I worry sometimes, and it's always a relief to get the "all clear."
Big things on the horizon this week, and damn few of them make money. What the Hell.
I got the opportunity to videotape a local musician, Levi Huffman, this weekend, and interview him for cable TV next week. Now that's exciting.
The same cable outfit wants my volunteer help for an election night broadcast in early June. I would like to be a part of that.
Bored people are boring people
Somebody told me that when I was a teenager, and it pissed me off. Being bored was very convenient at the time; a passive dare to the world. Entertain me, world! Dance!
Being told that I was the boring one turned that whole idea on its head, and it was true. If you can't find ways entertain yourself, then it's a good bet your a real snoozer to the rest of the planet as well. Which leads into a more recent revelation...
I've been lamenting the hibernation of my creativity. Ideas and drive just don't flow like they used to. It's a real bummer, because it seems like something really important just up and died. But I realize that as long as I can be inspired, there is hope. As long as I can admire other works, I have it within me to do something special of my own.
May 21st, 7:08AM
Back in the saddle
Ech, as much as it needs a facelift, I have restored my website to its previous ignominy.
Un-fair
Egads, yesterday sucked. Sucked for everybody. Sucking all around, and that isn't half as appealing as it sounds.
I accompanied my wife and son to the fair where my daughter has ben showing animals (and doing pretty well overall). I wish I had stayed home and bashed my toes with a ball-pean hammer instead. Ah, what a more-pleasant alternative that would have been.
Most of the day was listening to my son whine, squeal and cry at things he saw but couldn't touch, and restrict him from places he couldn't go. If it was anything more like torture, the U.N. would have stepped in to condemn it on the spot.
I don't think I'll be going back today.
May 16th, 4:43PM
"It's all for me grog..."
I wrote a while back (but I'm too lazy to link to it) about my brother taking me and my daughter to the Calaveras Celtic Faire, where many bodices were ogled, and much Scotch was enjoyed.
Something else that was enjoyed was a bardic song called "All for me grog," about the love that some have and the sacrifice they make for their pursuit. Great song, and you can hear it at the link above, too.
May 15th, 5:12PM
What goes down must come up
I haven't had much to blog about lately. I was feeling like my creative impulse had pretty much dried up. I think it's truer to say that writer's block is just a step in the cycle. Just when you put your pen down and do something else, topics and phrases wiggle sneakily back into your frontal lobe. For instance...
When a chicken salad sandwich is a lot like cunnilingus
I was waiting for a business comrade this morning at the Country Charm Cafe here in beautiful downtown Valley Springs, and I ordered a quarter-sandwich, a hefty little gob of nourishment in its own right, with chicken salad, cashews and lots of other delicious goodies thrown in. Believe me, the half-sandwich is a challenge to finish, and a whole sandwich will get a family of six through a weeklong blizzard, if stored properly.
Anyway, this small fraction of an enormous sandwich sat before me, and I every time I started to pick it up, the thing would start to wobble and disintegrate, almost in a refusal to be eaten, and making any genteel attempt to consume it nearly impossible. Grabbing it from the middle, the sides would loll and threaten to spill out like diarrhea on the space shuttle - a horrible mess. Going for the outside, not only did the sides seep, but the middle gaped and yawned and that just encouraged the whole damn thing to evacuate like stepping on a Twinkie.
I finally had my epiphany for the day, and I harkened back to a happy and heady (pun intended) time. I decided that the whole endeavor is like one's first oral sex - no matter what it looks like, one must jump in with exuberance and without trepidation, and be unafraid of making a bit of a mess.
Onward, I thrust my face into the mix, and gobbled and gulped my way to the middle of a very satisfying sandwich experience. As I knew he would, my brunch buddy walked in as I was up to my cheeks in this delightful sandwich. "Ghlehg...!" I said to Greg, in welcome. Out of courtesy, I didn't share with him the source of my inspiration, nor its result. I simply wiped my face off, and got down to business.
May 12th, 12:55PM
A brief respite
Just chillin'. I bought some cheeses earlier this week, and I've been eyeballing them ever since, mindful of the way I've left gob after gob of dairy delight go to pot, just because I forgot it was in there. Not today. Today, I got me some Brie, and some cheaper Tholstrup blue cheese (cheaper than the spendier French blue cheese, Roquefort), and a 2002 Italian Merlot, Bolla brand.
I got some things to do, and I'm about to do them, but for the moment, some mild Brie, some strong blue cheese and a mouthful of Merlot wine, and it's gonna be all right.
Winewatch
Note to self: this Bolla 2002 Merlot has a gorgeous nose, smells like heaven, but tastes like a little less than that, a little bitter. Not bad, but not a new favorite or anything.
May 10th, 7:50PM
Busy lately
Several days since I've blogged.
I've been trying like Hell to keep the house presentable now that my wife is finally back to work; somebody's got to earn a living around here. We can't all dick around on computers all day. I've been doing laundry, mopping floors, watching my buddy. All of that, a lot. I don't mind it, but I'm a little worn down tonight. Daddy needs a break. I'd have a beer, but that another thing I need a break from. So be it.
I have recently made some moves and promises to take on new projects that sound like work, sound like fun, and sound scary, because they are new. I have nevertheless thrown my hat over the fence, and committed to doing.
Someone recently told me: Try. Do. Be.
"Try doobie?" Hey, that's it! It all makes perfect sense now.
May 6th, 8:03AM
Stuff of note
Thanks to a good friend who helped me decipher my little problem with Drupal, my site isn't as broken as it was early last night. This proves once again that a friend in need is a pathetic jerk indeed.
Apparently, there are two separate versions of Drupal install instructions, whose only difference is "formatting for readability." Oh, and that little thing about the crucial setup of some database tables. Those, too. Turns out, those are important.
Also, I left some vestiges of the old site in place, including my blog and some php scripting that some other stuff depends on, but other than that, I've gone and obliterated my site for the reckless pleasure of screwing with Drupal. I thought about the horror one is normally supposed to experience when their signature website is down. My response to that concern is, apparently, one that falls between apathy and naked enmity. Let it burn.
CliffBickle.com - registered!
Okay, here's a real fun fact. My brother has been toying with the idea of registering his namesake domain for a while now, and I keep telling him how easy and cheap and smart it would be to do so, especially before somebody else does it.
Well. Yesterday I threatened him with my registering the domain if he didn't. Well, he didn't, so I am now the proud owner of cliffbickle.com It isn't hosted anywhere yet, so don't waste your click, but at least it's snapped up.
I also promised he wouldn't like what I posted there if he let me secure the domain name. Now, I must ponder to what I will dedicate this purloined domain. Pardon me while I shuffle my hands evilly and giggle maniacally, considering my devilish options.
May 5th, 8:26PM
Yes, I know it's down
A local, respected web guy told me recently that "Drupal is the bomb," so with a little nudge from a non-local web guy, I set about installing Drupal. The result is the page-after-page of database errors that any traveler gets when they go to my home page at tombickle.com.
I have a note into my host peeps, to see what they have to say. In the meantime, I am leaving the mess on the front page for all to see, since my host folks might wanna see it to identify the problem.
Besides, I have been told by more than one person that my website isn't very exciting, so I don't imagine I'll lose too many of those tasty sales that come by way of the casual web browser who just happens into my site with a fat check in his hand. God knows there have been so many lately... I know you can't see it, but I'm rolling my eyes with dry sarcasm. Just so you know. I think in another 12 - 24 hours, I'll restore my old site stuff, if I don't have it fixed by then.
May 1st, 8:55AM
A little cooler
Although I had tried to keep internal my seething panic for the last 14 hours or so, a little bit of the assholishness has seeped out. My wife took pity on me, and in her own little, non-techie way, tried to help out.
"My cell phone did that once. Have you tried taking out the battery?" The battery. Psh. Her cell phone. Pish posh, and tish tosh. Yeah, I had a toaster go on the fritz once too; maybe I should stick a butter knife into the hard drive bay on my Dell Inspiron 1000 laptop, and jiggle it around in there. Does she realize I have a degree in computer science?
As it happens, I had tried removing the battery earlier this morning, but only as prelude to open-heart laptop surgery which had yet to get under weigh, and I hadn't tried rebooting since. I told her so, and led her over to the laptop. I explained what had been happening, with the "click click kuh-click," and all. Not because she cares or could offer meaningful advice, but so that someone could share my distraught psychic torture. So, I prepared her for the Big Nothing, and pushed the Power button.
And I'll be Goddamned if the stupid thing (not me, the laptop) booted right up much like nothing ever happened. I was more than a little amazed, and most of the ulcer-inducing stress that had cemented my insides dissipated. Of course, my joy was apparent, but it was not only due to the new life blown into the lungs of my laptop, but that I had not given voice to my sarcastic cynicism only moments before. O, how I would never have lived it down. You won't tell her, will you? This is between you and me.
Finally, something still makes a disturbing clicking sound; only at start-up, not throughout the operation of the thing. I fear for my hard drive's health. Therefore I have hurriedly collected all the data which I had spent all night picturing with wings on it, and burned it gratefully to CD.
Now, where's that darn butter knife?
May 1st, 6:21AM
Not cool
Ohhhh boy... My laptop decided to stop booting last night, and I'm taking it pretty hard. When I power it on, I get nothing on-screen, no hard drive light activity, and something important-sounding goes: "click click kuh-click."
I have made regular monthly backups, but due to my increasingly diligent work ethic lately, much work has been done that hasn't been backed up. Among the things not backed up is the registration key for some software I purchased via download a few weeks ago. I am hoping I won't have to buy it all over again.
Fuck.