Entries from April 2007 ↓

The Virgin Grill April 7, 2007
The tax deadline in the U.S. usually falls on April 15th, but this year for reasons I haven’t even bothered to look up, the deadline was the 17th. We survived it once again – somehow.

In celebration of being done with our taxes we got a new Weber bar-b-q and some torches for the nasties that like to fly around and bite you (bloodsuckers). We promptly assembled it, drinking Dos Equis Amber all the while, and got her fired up. Her name is Evelyn – the grill that is. I had to take some pictures of the innagural event which are appearing here as a set on our Flickr account in all their glory. Featured here are the virgin grill (above) and THE MOST random picture I have ever seen (below). Shannon took a self portrait and in the background John is sprawled on the ground while I am cleaning the grill in the far background. Who the hell knows where Julia was…

Random as hell Shannon picture

2561 CommentA+bar-b-q+for+Tax+Day2007-04-18+10%3A39%3A10Julian

links for 2007-04-17

April 16th, 2007 — Daily NetTrek

globeandmail.com: Vista on your Mac? Not so fast

notes on virtualization software for Mac to run Vista

(tags: Mac Apple Vista Bootcamp Virtualization)
Virtual pc, virtual machine and multiple operating system solutions by Parallels, Inc.

Parallels virtualization software for Mac

(tags: Mac Apple Virtualization Bootcamp)
Macworld: Mac 911: iSight alternatives

web cam info for the Mac.

(tags: iSight iChat iChatUSB Firewire Apple Webcam)
Walkthrough: Running Windows Vista on your Intel Mac with Parallels Desktop – The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

(tags: Parallels Virtualization)
LaCie – Big Disk Extreme with Triple Interface – USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800

LaCie Big Disk Extreme with Triple Interface (usb 2.0 Firewire 400 and Firewire 800)

(tags: Lacie Big-Disk Storage external-hard-disk-drive hdd)

255No Commentslinks+for+2007-04-172007-04-17+04%3A23%3A51Julian

links for 2007-04-14

April 13th, 2007 — Daily NetTrek

Rolling Stone : My List: Akon: Akon

A great article on Akon and his breakthrough album

(tags: akon)
Home — AMERICAN.COM: A Magazine of Ideas, Online

a new magazine – just subscribed to their RSS

(tags: magazines news opinion)

254No Commentslinks+for+2007-04-142007-04-14+04%3A22%3A43Julian

Akon and John Meyer – Young bucks with skills

April 13th, 2007 — Music

Akon
I was reading the latest Rolling Stone Magazine and an article on Akon. Akon is a pretty interesting character and artist in his own right. I enjoy his music.

Akon mentions some of the artists that he’s listening to right now and the list includes John Mayer, The Dixie Chicks and 50 Cent. 50 Cent is what you’d expect, but John Mayer and The Dixie Chicks? I took it as a sign that Akon is a real musical artist. Well, that and some compelling supporting evidence in the Rolling Stone article and on the radio.

I get a hold of John Mayer’s album Continuum because I’ve already heard a couple of tracks off it (like Gravity) and they’re the first Mayer songs I’ve really liked. What came as a shock to me, and not to any of his fans, is that Mayer is a blues man and a fantastic blues guitarist. I’m floored by Continuum. It’s an amazing album.

Here’s a song sample that hit me right between the eyes.

Lyrics: In repair

Too many shadows in my room
too many hours in this midnight
too many corners in my mind
so much to do to set my heart right
oh it’s taking so long i could be wrong, i could be ready
oh but if i take my heart’s advice
i should assume it’s still unsteady
i am in repair, i am in repair

stood on the corner for a while
to wait for the wind to blow down on me
hoping it takes with it my old ways
and brings some brand new look upon me
oh it’s taking so long i could be wrong, i could be ready
oh but if i take my heart’s advice
i should assume it’s still unsteady
i am in repair, i am in repair

and now i’m walking in a park
all of the birds they dance below me
maybe when things turn green again
it will be good to say you know me

oh it’s taking so long i could be wrong, i could be ready
oh but if i take my heart’s advice
i should assume it’s still unready
oh i’m never really ready, i’m never really ready
i’m in repair, i’m not together but i’m getting there
i’m in repair, i’m not together but i’m getting there

Listen to a sample of John Mayer’s In Repair and then go out and buy the album

253No Comments2007-04-14+01%3A33%3A33Julian

Shannon gets home safe and sound

April 13th, 2007 — Family, Journal, Travel, Video

I have a lot of occasions to be thankful for Shannon but last night’s version stood out from the crowd.

Shannon left work and after an hour and a half she still wasn’t home (takes 45-60 minutes normally). I was just about to call her when Shannon beat me to it.

“I’ve been stuck behind a huge wreck on I95 and I’m just about to get past it now.” Thankfully for the truck driver, there were two off-duty Fort Lauderdale Fire Fighters on the Highway that pulled him from the wreckage of his burning big rig.

I95 crash April 12, 2007

We commiserated as fellow commuters will.

“I’ve used up so much gas idling that I have to get off the freeway now and fill up.”

“OK Shan, drive safe and I’ll see you in a bit.”

10 minutes later…

“Julian I’ve just narrowly avoided a horrible accident!”

Shannon went on to explain that just after getting back on Interstate 95 two cars in front of her collided at high-speed. The only way to not run into them was to punch the accelerator to get around them. She had to swerve aggressively to the left, punch it, and watch as the cars spun around careening into each other, hoping that she’d out run them.

She did it. She went all the way from the second to right lane of 95 into the far-left breakdown lane and right up to the freeway divider wall. As Shannon squeaked by the wrecking cars she found herself steering back to the right and traveling at far too high a rate of speed. She applied the break a little. If you’re into driving you may know what comes next. Drift. The breaking lightens up the rear end of the vehicle and when combined with a little steering it induces a drift.

Imagine if you will, just avoiding a high-speed freeway accident in front of you and in your recovery mode you now find yourself in a high speed drift going down the middle of the freeway. Shannon said that after wards she realized that in that momentary drift she closed her eyes for a fraction of second while she waited for the vehicles behind her to smack into our Toyota 4-Runner. Fortunately, her instincts stayed true and she turned into the drift with a counter steer move. If she had gone the other way with that steering wheel it would have been a horrible rollover. Shannon’s not in to driving like I am, and she hasn’t practiced drifting and counter steering as I used to on the snowy roads back in New Hampshire, but her driving instincts were good all the way around.

Those instincts may have saved her life yesterday, from the initial move to get around the wrecking cars, to punching the accelerator, to the counter steer move to extricate herself from a potentially lethal high-speed drift. The force of the avoidance and drift moves slammed her head into the side of the door jam and she has a bump on the head to remember her near-miss by. Shannon also has the typical post-accident muscle soreness to boot. You have to say that it’s amazing as well, that the 4-Runner, with its high center of gravity, never rolled. Good on ya Toyota.

All I can say is THANK YOU. For whatever real world driving skills and unseen forces that brought her home to us safe last night. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

Just this morning mum sent me a commercial that has fun with the typical ‘women driver’ stereotype. I’ve had the good fortune to be around a lot of good women drivers – starting with my mum. On the topic of my mum’s driving: don’t ever take her on at a traffic light – she’ll shame you.