Woohoo! Our (Oregon) laws aren’t copyrighted!
I blow a big raspberry to the thought processes that got Justia into trouble at all, but cooler heads prevailed and now anyone can delve into Oregon’s laws all they want.
1 comment June 20th, 2008
Posts filed under 'Oregon'
Backpacking in the Mill Creek Wilderness Area
A photo entry follows the jump…
Continue Reading 2 comments August 29th, 2007
My own personal raindance…
Some people think that washing their cars or windows invites gray skies and rain. Other people think that loading your car the night before a camping trip leads to monsoon camping.
I have found that having a large pile of barkdust delivered to my driveway is also quite effective - with the added benefit that the future chore of hustling the barkdust around the yard and spreading it will become more and more work with every drop of moisture absorbed by the pile. And nine cubic yards of hemlock can absorb a *lot* of water.
On a related note, I have my barkdust delivered by Best Buy In Town. They seem to have decent prices. In case you need to make it rain have barkdust delivered, check ‘em out @ www.gotbark.com
2 comments June 4th, 2007
Projects.
As I continue to age…
Some of my interests have shifted. For instance, instead of the excess drinking and incredible debauchery that characterized the summers of my youth, I now find myself more interested in “old man” pursuits, like a having a garden, and a relatively maintained yard.
For the first time, I’ve built a garden. Well, a raised garden bed anyways. I’ve got big plans for it. Will I be able to keep it together and remember to water? Can I actually pay enough attention to it and keep it weed free? Can I find something to do with the 6 billion tomatoes I’ll wind up with if I can keep the plants alive? We shall see.
I’ve also been pondering other complimentary projects. And since the hippy side of my personality is constantly struggling for freedom, I think a rain collection system may be in order. This project would also allow me to finally meet whatever character has been selling plastic barrels out of his driveway on Gardenhome Rd for the last 10+ years.
8 comments May 11th, 2007
We are the Champions!!
Last night, my team and I won championship game of the Tuesday nights Recess Time bowling league! Booya! More pictures to come, once I find them… In the meantime, check me out with the ladies!
4 comments December 13th, 2006
Recent Pictures…
It’s been a while since I’ve posted any pictures, so here’s a poorly-thought-out selection of pictures.
Continue Reading 8 comments December 11th, 2006
Pear Clafoutis
Last night, I was invited over to a friends house for turkey leftovers with four of my most favorite people in the [entire] world. I thought I should bring something other than wine. Recently, my father delivered the yearly box of Hood River pears. Since a few inevitably go bad before I get a chance to eat them, I thought I’d try my hand at cooking a few pears. Specifically, in a desserty kind of way. After finding a pointer from Slashfood, I headed over to the Domestic Goddess and tried out her recipe for Pear Clafoutis.
It’s a great recipe. Simple, easy to follow instructions, and no missing steps or measurements. Overall, it was a very simple dish to make, except that I ended up with too much pear to fit all the custard in a simple 9 inch glass pie dish. Next time, I’ll still use three large pears and the same amount of custard, but in an 11 inch glass pie dish. I’ll also follow the instuctions and actually let it cook for the correct amount of time (about five minutes longer than i gave it). And of course, next time I’ll remember to take a picture too.
I think I’ll make one for my new work group’s Friday afternoon meeting. Hello goodwill points.
2 comments November 27th, 2006
Snow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There was snow on my car this morning!! Of course, it was at 6:30, and melted shortly thereafter, but still, snow!!!
[Update : 11:15 AM] It’s snowing in Wilsonville!! I could see little flurries through the windows, so I went outside to revel in my first snow of the year. Snow, oh wonderful snow! I love snow! Really, I do! I also took a small amount of perverse pleasure in watching the smokers huddle and shiver in the smoking area. That was right before a twinge of loss fluttered across my heart; the instant comraderie of smokers, especially during inclement weather will be missed. No more huddling together, creating smokey windbreaks while dishing on the latest company dirt and poking fun at the hive-like antics of all those who weren’t currently and happily Suffering Together©.
C’est la vie
4 comments November 27th, 2006
Metro-Fi turns the screws on Portland a little harder…
Portland is set to get a municipal wifi network. This is good. However, they turned to wifi scheisters MetroFi to provide it. And now, it seems that MetroFi has made a deal with Microsoft’s MSN for advertising and search services. Of course, I’m very much biased against MSN Internet services for various reasons - but to subject an entire city to pages that won’t load correctly in all modern and recent browsers is pretty short-sighted. I would have much preferred either a more civic-minded provider or at the very least, an operating system/browser agnostic advertising provider. And search? Microsoft? Who even makes that association?
Of course, very little of this is directly relevant to me, since the municipal wifi network will likely not cover my area of suburbia for many years, if ever, even though I’m only five minutes from downtown, very near I-5 and the Barbur transit center (which would be a good place for municipal wifi, don’t you think?). However, I still expected better of Portland.
In semi-related news, I’m in an area serviced only by Qwest, who gets a big middle finger award for refusing to invest in fiber-to-the-crub projects for residential services. Meanwhile, Verizon is beginning to pump FiOS all over the place. I almost made FiOS availability a key factor in my last home purchase, and now I wish I had.
2 comments November 16th, 2006
A note to the Blazers:
Nobody cares anymore. Sorry.
You know that ticket sales are bad when sales reps show up randomly at workplaces with huge incentives.
I just got this email:
“There’s a Trail Blazer Representative in the lobby that just stopped by with a $40 card promotion for $300+ worth of seats, upgrades, etc. She’ll be down there for 15 minutes only.”
Add comment November 15th, 2006
Winter Hawks attendance down…
at least, according to this article in Willamette Week.
Alright, alright - I’ll go to a game soon. But if you ask me, getting replay screens should be the *highest* priority to get fans into the seats. As I understand it, the fans and team were promised a replay screen at the beginning of the season, but a string of problems and excuses have ensued.
Webcasts should always be done *in addition* to regular radio coverage, not instead of it. Plenty of sports fans are luddites and won’t be able to figure webcasts out, or they’re on dial-up
Also, improve the television broadcasts. After watching part of one home game, I’m convinced that they’re filming with the original video cameras purchased to broadcast Trailblazer games in the mid-eighties. The video quality was crap, and televised hockey needs good picture quality. And if you insist on a silly stat bar across the whole screen, how about filling it with more than the score and time? Give me more game stats (penalty info, SOG, etc..)!
Also, allow beer in the seats.
Still, I’m looking forward to seeing a game soon. Go Hawks!
Add comment November 13th, 2006
Gifford Pinchot CD
The Gifford Pinchot CD I ordered from CD baby arrived yesterday.
I’m impressed. It’s pretty damn good.
Negatives:
- The CD showed up a little more scratched than I would have liked. The envelope was pretty beat-up though, so it probably had to deal with some rough handling.
- Noise levels. When alone, I like loud music. Really loud music. I’m no audiophile, but I have some pretty decent mid to high-end gear and an okay ear. On the CDs initial listen, I gave it some volume and there was a little too much hiss in the background for my tastes. I tried it on two other stereo systems in the house and on my car stereo and got the same results. Of course, I realize that perhaps the hiss is there for artistic reasons, but I’ve just never been a fan of hiss.
- No lyrics in the CD packaging. Not a big deal, but I’m a sucker for a lyric booklet. This could easily be rectified if they posted them on their website.
Positives:
- The music is great.
- Nice variety. Some of the tracks feel pretty accessible, and definitely radio-playable. Some of the other tracks rock a *lot* harder and really make me feel good. One or two of them aren’t as polished and fit-together as the others, but that may be by design - and they’re still good tracks. The track length varies too. From 6 second tracks to 17+ minute songs.
- The packaging. The art and layout is nice, and the packing is made of 100% recycled paper and printed with vegetable based inks. Nice touch, and very respectable.
Do yourself a favor and buy this cd. I’ll add that I think it would be a good idea if they tossed all their tracks online instead of just a few. Let people have a good and thorough listen, and why not post a paypal link? CD baby is nice, but I would have been more than happy to download some decently encoded mp3s and paypal over some money.
Add comment November 10th, 2006
Portland
Usually, I love the the feeling of being connected to so incredibly many people in Portland between myself, friends, family, and the internets. Occasionally though, there’s a bizarrely coincedental overlap between people that’s slightly uncomfortable and not just a little weird.
When people say “Keep Portland Weird!!”, this is not what they mean. Oh well, things are going far too well to complain :)
2 comments November 8th, 2006
Gifford Pinchot
Gifford Pinchot National Forest is one of my favorite national forests. In fact, Secret Waterfall Camp is located there.
During the recent Musicfest NW, I was at Dante’s (watching a pretty bad band), and I picked up a sleeved CD that was sitting on the bar. The name - Gifford Pinchot - caught my attention. So I pocketed it and took it home. Once I gave it a listen, I felt a bit let down. After all, it was pretty damn good, but only had four tracks. I wanted more. So I dug around online and found the band’s website at GiffordPinchotMusic.com. Not much information. Indeed, not even any contact info.
Apparently they had a CD release party at Berbati’s last night. Unfortunately, their website still has no contact information. And even worse, there’s no information on purchasing a CD (or purchasing some mp3 files, which is what I really want). Hopefully they’ll Google themselves, find this post, and rectify the situation.
Anyways, you should still have a listen.
[Update: 11/06/06 12:44 PM] If you happen to be involved with Gifford Pinchot, please post a comment. I’d be more than willing to paypal over some money for the rest of the tracks (in mp3 or CD format, though if I get a CD I’ll rip it to mp3 files anyways) - no need to wait for a some sort of ecommerce system to get setup on your website.
[Update: 11/07/06 4:07 PM] It looks like they’ve updated their website to inlcude a link to buy the cd on CD Baby. I just bought it. Hopefully it’ll show up soon!
Add comment November 5th, 2006
Monday.
Things could be worse :)
Also, this morning was the first frost of the year!
2 comments October 30th, 2006
Getting ready to vote…
I haven’t cracked open my ballot or voter’s pamphlet yet, but I’m getting ready. If you don’t already know, this is how I’ll vote:
I will always vote for measures and candidates supporting libraries, healthcare, schools, or the environment (including greener energy) - unless they involve an income tax (like the lame Multonomah county tax I’ll have to pay this year).
I will always vote against measures or candidates that want to further fund the police or restrict any sort of civil liberty, including smoking bans, abortion restrictions and recreational drug prohibition.
I will vote for measures or candidates that support the extension of public transit and road improvements, as long as it’s fiscally reasonable and promoted honestly.
I will never vote for a sales tax (it’s regressive, unfair and flies in the face of being an Oregonian) (Also, I won’t ever vote for self serve gas).
I will vote for measures or candidates that will support consumer choice and/or raise the minimum business tax. (I shouldn’t pay more tax than a profitable business.)
I consider myself a green libertarian with socialist leanings and a bent towards fiscal responsibility, but am purposefully affiliated with no party.
2 comments October 27th, 2006
Snack Time: Apple
Washington. Land of apples and cities that think (mistakenly) that they’re better than Portland. Of course, they do have an IKEA. And a market where they throw fish. And some of my friends. Washington is probably okay after all. But Oregon is better!
In other apple related news, I ate this one yesterday afternoon. Before I ate it, I noticed someone else’s teethmarks on the apple - like they started to take a bite and had a change of heart. Hunger won, and I ate the apple anyways. I didn’t even wash it.
Sodexho sells crappy produce. But I buy it. Not for long though! I’m starting to get into the habit of buying more than beer, cheese and frozen food at the store.
Add comment September 27th, 2006
The new playa-haters!
Willamette Week Online | News | COVER STORY | MAGIC KINGDOM | Wednesday September 20th, 2006
If you live in Portland, maybe all you’ve heard for the last few years is “public transit” this, and “live where you work” that. You probably can’t even stop hearing the low and sweet chants of “bike commute” and “roasted/brewed locally”. This is awesome. It means that we live with a lot of people who care enough to do what they can for our environment and culture (or at least talk about it).
Click “Continue Reading” for more of my opinions and a chance to tell me why I’m disgustingly wrong! (I won’t mind, I promise!)
Continue Reading 6 comments September 22nd, 2006
In other meta-news…
In other news, I bowled a 148 last night. And my boy? He bowled an 84. Pretty darn good for 9! Of course, we were on the bumper lanes - but rarely were the bumpers used.
We went to the batting cages as well. I’ll admit that I was a bit nervous, since I knew he’d want to see me bat too, and I haven’t picked up a bat since I was finally able to convince my dad that I hated little league, nearly 18 years ago. Nonetheless, I gave it a shot and was able to connect with nearly every ball. Looks like all these years of video games really has improved my hand-eye coordination. As good as I felt about my hits, my boy still gave me a run for the money. I’m impressed. I think we’ll be hitting the batting cages more often. They’re fun, my boy gets to practice his swing, and I can take him to Powell’s afterwards and buy him any subversive books he wants (maybe even Harry Potter, someday)!
Add comment September 20th, 2006
SOLV beach cleanup!
Finally… After a year’s abscence I made it back to another SOLV beach cleanup. Since I wasn’t planning on staying at the beach, I got up at 6:30 (AM!) on Saturday morning and drove out to the beach. I arrived at 9:30, about a half hour early, but the SOLV guy was already ready for volunteers; plastic bags and gloves in hand. I so I grabbed a bag, declined the gloves and went to work. The beach was relatively free of large items. I saw no netting or giant plastic trays or any of the other stuff that’s obviously boat-borne detritus. Having done this before, I know that there are two types of beach trash. There’s the stuff that the oceans spits up onto the beach, and then there’s the stuff that Oregon’s beach visitors have left behind. I chose to walk along the wash lines of the tide on the beach, where the most of the trash has been deposited by the last high tide - you get more interesting crap like that. All in all, it was a big year for cigarette butts and plastic end-caps for from spent fireworks. I picked up tons of little bits of closed-cell styrofoam, and quite a number of plastic bags too.
For the rest, click “Continue Reading”!
Continue Reading Add comment September 18th, 2006
It’s a business, but…
Google’s lawyers should google for a sense of humor and an understanding of gratitude.
Add comment August 14th, 2006
Oolighan. State of fish grease.
Oregon. California’s Canada, Washington’s Mexico, or Idaho’s Portugal?
(Oolighan is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon. See also Where’s Oregon?)
3 comments August 11th, 2006