Shock and Awe

So, KVC is on her way to Europe. An "inspiration" trip, reportedly.
We could all use a bit of the old inspiration, every now and again...

Today was also the Asphalt Invitational. One of those car shows I have used as a motivator, to get my own project done. I thought maybe I would get things together in time for this show, and a list of others, but no...

I didn't go to the Invitational, for the doing of domestic things and to work on the T a bit.

I did some yard work stuff, to cross off some chores on the List.

Following that I did some very manly stuff, finishing the floor in the Model T. Lots of time with a welder, hammer and grinder. Sparks flew. Manly stuff. indeed.

As I was nearing the end of tasks, I decided it would be good to order a pizza. See, it would add closure to the guy stuff - plus provide some nourishment in the coming week. So, I did, order a pizza that is...

Well, I opened up the garage door to air out the acrid welding smoke, ya know.

I cracked open another High Life and took in my afternoon's work.

Real manly, you can picture it surely.

I took notice of Derald's double-barrel, which serves as a reference to things extra John Wayne-esque, and realized that it could use a bit of oil.

Naturally, I hunkered down on the frame of the Model T and got to oiling that shotgun straight away.


So, pizza-guy shows up to a perceived maniac, in a garage roiling with smoke and the scent of burnt metal, swilling beer and polishing a shotgun on the chassis of what must be some illegal manner of automobile.
His teen, suburban California frame of reference has most all of these things available only in video games, with no connection to the real world.
Pizza-guy was somewhat disquieted.

Good pizza, though...

creepy crawlers

Hey! There are black widow spiders around.
Like the one posing in the above photo.

Didja know they are really good jumpers?
Me neither...
Well, they are. Wow.

This is number three, that I know of,
passing through the garage as of late.
She, above, is not the largest one I have had
the pleasure of encountering.
I watched the really big one grab some other
normal spider, kill it and drag it off into the
privacy of a dark corner. Lunch.


So, that got me to thinking about the "Black Widow"
sedans that Chevy built in the 50's...

summer reading

I suppose it includes some spring reading, but here are some of the books recently consumed while I hang out on BART...




Skip is one of the dudes who started Jansport, KVC's employer. In his "hippie guide" he recounts stories of his own bounding into the business world like a labrador retreiver jumps into a lake.
It does have a very nice, conversational tone. Short summary: don't be an asshole to the folks you work with...



Yeah, some PK Dick. Ed, a guy I work with loaned it to me. I needed a book, for the ride home. So, um, Valis is the story of split personalities, religion, technology, drug use and maybe some alien higher meddling with everyone's heads. Short summary: if you look closely, you might find signs of God on television.
So, watch more TV to find God.



Sure, Valis might be dark but I thought a reread of Interzone would cap it off nicely. Mr Burroughs has his own way of stringing words together and it takes some patience. This was my third read of this, I think I get it now.
Short summary: don't shoot your wife, go gay, run to Tangiers, abuse heroin and write childrens stories.


I gnawwed through a couple of Vonnegut books to, but you should already doing the same - what with his passing and such.


Oh, I nearly forgot this one, Kite Runner. I really enjoyed this story of growing up in Kabul, fleeing the Taliban, escaping to the SF and dealing with fucked up family history. Afgan culture is almost entirely absent in my frame of reference, but this book clued me in, a bit.
Short summary: war sucks, persecution sucks and sometimes family sucks.




There is an Afgan food vendor at the market, today. I am off to restock the bollani supplies. The spinach version is damned tastey...

Hey! It's Bill Murrary

Well, the random picture of my cat Bill does not indicate a big wussy turn in the content of Pretty Not Good. I am not going to start posting gushy pics of the cats and telling stories of their cute activities.
It was an experiment in mobile-blogging, the ultra-nerd act of sending content here from my phone.


Now, if I can get that damned google-mobile-maps application going on the Motorola, I will be cool.



Oh, isn't that Bill just the cutest little buddy!