Najma!
About two years ago I found this wonderful singer on a compilation CD and after a few months of listening to the CD, decided to find some of her own CD's. She's an amazing artist and an incredibly unique talent! I played her CD's a lot for a few months, and then I went on to other things. Lately, I've started listening to her again and I have to say that I'm stunned once more. She grew up in the UK, and studied traditional Indian song styles, but went to school to become a chemical engineer. She won a contest and decided to try a music career, much to her parents dismay. She took the traditional styles and did a fusion thing with harmonies and modern instruments that also dismayed Indian music traditionalists. The result is sublime to my ears; she is brilliant! You can read more about her HERE
Robert and the Art of Illumination.
As I told you, Robert, my friend and neighbor, has been amassing a collection of vintage Christmas lights. He's been diligently doing the E-Bay thing and has found a lot of interesting things from the last forty years or so. Some of the stuff is sturdy enough to be used in the back yard and the pic above is, I think, only a preview of things to come. What you see there is the deck that rises in the middle of the yard and provides a convenient jumping in place for the pool. Robert has had to fill in for the "pool boy" position for now, but I think he may be taking applications...
The Most Amusing Bicycle Parade.
I posted a bit about these amusing people on the message board last time I updated. Karen and Chris and I were walking through the French Quarter on our way back to my house on a Monday afternoon, and ran across this group of people who had decorated their bicycles, sort of made them into mini-floats, and were riding around from bar to bar showing them off. They had stopped to wait for one of the riders, the "unicorn", who had fallen behind. A woman on a flamingo bicycle informed me that the "unicorn" had a bit more to drink than the rest of them... they were all feeling no pain... and eventually, the unicorn came wobbling up the street and they all took off to the next destination. I must tell you... this kind of thing is not all that unusual in New Orleans; people love to dress up, put on costumes, decorate things and party in the streets with friends while they're doing it. Of course, Mardi Gras is the most obvious example, but it happens all year long.
Tech Junkie.
"Hi, my name is Durlx, and I am a tech-oholic."
(This is where you all say "Hi, Durlx!" at the meeting...)
I recently got a Viewsonic Pocket PC V35, a sweet lil' PDA, like a Palm, but it runs a Windows operating system. It's a brilliant thing with a bright color screen; it has ten times the power and storage of my first desk top computer and it fits in my top pocket, which makes me wet! It syncs with my desktop and holds Excel and Word files and MP3's and pics, and keeps all my Outlook appointments current. I've added a program that puts the weeks weather forecast on the first screen with nice little icons and gives me a daily news update, as well. I also got the fold-up keyboard for it, so I could do this journal entry on it from a park bench somewhere... perfect should I ever become homeless... But seriously, after over a decade of buying, using and cobbling together computers and networks on the cheap just because I get a charge out of learning how they work, I still find this fascinating and exciting. I love this stuff! Not to mention the new cell phone upgrade... I just speak the word "luca" and it automatically dials the number!
Work, or is it?
The career track continues to be interesting, although occasionally, well, not always what I expect. There's yet again something new on the horizon, an interesting challenge, and I think it might work out rather well. I won't say more now, because I haven't committed yet, but it's one of the best things about the company I work for; there's always something new out there for you.
My Dad.
I mentioned him last time and how we were dealing with him and driving and living alone. Things are progressing, he is not happy about not having the keys to the car or the old truck and he has come up with some very odd reasons why he should have them. I won't go into details now, just to say that it's important to realize that the disease doesn't make him stupid; he's still a very intelligent man and capable of reasoning, but his judgement is oddly impaired. He's still a kind and gentle man with very good manners most of the time, but we are seeing another side beginning to develop and there is some raw anger there; when it surfaces he changes, he's not just angry about something... there's a different personality. Karen and Chris are now going out to the country two times a week and have been dealing with a lot of the legal medical forms that have to be filed. And my brother, David, will be back from Japan in about a week to continue to manage his end of the situation. Me? I feel bad sometimes that I do not live closer to them all. My brother and his wife, and Karen and Chris continually assure me that my moving back to NY and dropping what I am doing right now is not a good or useful thing to do, and I know that... but I sometimes feel like I am not taking care of my Dad like I should. So, I do what I can from a distance; it turns out that my father actually listens to what I say over the phone, and he tends to remember it. I call often now.
He's happy to be back in his home after staying with my brother for four months, he's just more comfortable there.. And his rather large lawn tractor has been fixed, so he was able to mow his three acre lawn for the first time last week, which he liked very much. When I was living with him for a couple of months after my Mom died, I used to watch him mow the lawn, riding around the area and carefully taking just the right amount of grass off the top and doing it so methodically and neatly and enjoying doing such a good job of it. It reminded me of when we were all so much younger and he was driving the tractors in the fields and lovingly growing and tending the crops that fed us and supported us so well. He was always happy then.
Odd Bits.
I am thinking of changing my journal software to "Moveable Type" because it's pretty cool. I'm using Blogger now for composition, but I am thinking that I'd like to re-organize the site around the Journal and get rid of the flashy front page. (I love the flash, but I feel a yearning for simplicty, a small yearning at least...) and I think Moveable Type might be the way to go. If any of you have used it, I'd appreciate your feedback. Should I actually get around to making the change, it shouldn't change the way you access anything here, and it won't change the message board which is hosted by GayCams and BadPuppy. But if something suddenly doesn't work for you, e-mail me...
There was some flaming on the message board recently and I hope that I clearly stated how I felt about it. If you have concerns about how things are going on the board, just e-mail me about them. I'll respond as soon as I can. I care about your input here, I check the boards daily, I just don't always have the time to respond immediately.
We are now in the midst of our annual Formosan termite swarms... sort of like a lite snow storm, but of bugs that will eat your house! Fortunately, there are new controls that seem to be working.
Great to see Ford back!
Great to see Tejaz back!
Noah, where are my Tim Tams!
And what's all this about a gay housing complex in Las Vegas? I hear there may be more than one new GayCams home owner in that community!
And lastly, if you happen to check out the Cam Page and you see me wearing some tiny lil' specs on the almost end of my nose, well, I am now sporting Walgreens' fanciest reading glasses when the need arises. They slide into a tube that fits in pocket or purse. You just can't easily wear them in bed where I often read myself to sleep. If only I could get someone to hold the book for me....
durlx
About two years ago I found this wonderful singer on a compilation CD and after a few months of listening to the CD, decided to find some of her own CD's. She's an amazing artist and an incredibly unique talent! I played her CD's a lot for a few months, and then I went on to other things. Lately, I've started listening to her again and I have to say that I'm stunned once more. She grew up in the UK, and studied traditional Indian song styles, but went to school to become a chemical engineer. She won a contest and decided to try a music career, much to her parents dismay. She took the traditional styles and did a fusion thing with harmonies and modern instruments that also dismayed Indian music traditionalists. The result is sublime to my ears; she is brilliant! You can read more about her HERE
Robert and the Art of Illumination.
As I told you, Robert, my friend and neighbor, has been amassing a collection of vintage Christmas lights. He's been diligently doing the E-Bay thing and has found a lot of interesting things from the last forty years or so. Some of the stuff is sturdy enough to be used in the back yard and the pic above is, I think, only a preview of things to come. What you see there is the deck that rises in the middle of the yard and provides a convenient jumping in place for the pool. Robert has had to fill in for the "pool boy" position for now, but I think he may be taking applications...
The Most Amusing Bicycle Parade.
I posted a bit about these amusing people on the message board last time I updated. Karen and Chris and I were walking through the French Quarter on our way back to my house on a Monday afternoon, and ran across this group of people who had decorated their bicycles, sort of made them into mini-floats, and were riding around from bar to bar showing them off. They had stopped to wait for one of the riders, the "unicorn", who had fallen behind. A woman on a flamingo bicycle informed me that the "unicorn" had a bit more to drink than the rest of them... they were all feeling no pain... and eventually, the unicorn came wobbling up the street and they all took off to the next destination. I must tell you... this kind of thing is not all that unusual in New Orleans; people love to dress up, put on costumes, decorate things and party in the streets with friends while they're doing it. Of course, Mardi Gras is the most obvious example, but it happens all year long.
Tech Junkie.
"Hi, my name is Durlx, and I am a tech-oholic."
(This is where you all say "Hi, Durlx!" at the meeting...)
I recently got a Viewsonic Pocket PC V35, a sweet lil' PDA, like a Palm, but it runs a Windows operating system. It's a brilliant thing with a bright color screen; it has ten times the power and storage of my first desk top computer and it fits in my top pocket, which makes me wet! It syncs with my desktop and holds Excel and Word files and MP3's and pics, and keeps all my Outlook appointments current. I've added a program that puts the weeks weather forecast on the first screen with nice little icons and gives me a daily news update, as well. I also got the fold-up keyboard for it, so I could do this journal entry on it from a park bench somewhere... perfect should I ever become homeless... But seriously, after over a decade of buying, using and cobbling together computers and networks on the cheap just because I get a charge out of learning how they work, I still find this fascinating and exciting. I love this stuff! Not to mention the new cell phone upgrade... I just speak the word "luca" and it automatically dials the number!
Work, or is it?
The career track continues to be interesting, although occasionally, well, not always what I expect. There's yet again something new on the horizon, an interesting challenge, and I think it might work out rather well. I won't say more now, because I haven't committed yet, but it's one of the best things about the company I work for; there's always something new out there for you.
My Dad.
I mentioned him last time and how we were dealing with him and driving and living alone. Things are progressing, he is not happy about not having the keys to the car or the old truck and he has come up with some very odd reasons why he should have them. I won't go into details now, just to say that it's important to realize that the disease doesn't make him stupid; he's still a very intelligent man and capable of reasoning, but his judgement is oddly impaired. He's still a kind and gentle man with very good manners most of the time, but we are seeing another side beginning to develop and there is some raw anger there; when it surfaces he changes, he's not just angry about something... there's a different personality. Karen and Chris are now going out to the country two times a week and have been dealing with a lot of the legal medical forms that have to be filed. And my brother, David, will be back from Japan in about a week to continue to manage his end of the situation. Me? I feel bad sometimes that I do not live closer to them all. My brother and his wife, and Karen and Chris continually assure me that my moving back to NY and dropping what I am doing right now is not a good or useful thing to do, and I know that... but I sometimes feel like I am not taking care of my Dad like I should. So, I do what I can from a distance; it turns out that my father actually listens to what I say over the phone, and he tends to remember it. I call often now.
He's happy to be back in his home after staying with my brother for four months, he's just more comfortable there.. And his rather large lawn tractor has been fixed, so he was able to mow his three acre lawn for the first time last week, which he liked very much. When I was living with him for a couple of months after my Mom died, I used to watch him mow the lawn, riding around the area and carefully taking just the right amount of grass off the top and doing it so methodically and neatly and enjoying doing such a good job of it. It reminded me of when we were all so much younger and he was driving the tractors in the fields and lovingly growing and tending the crops that fed us and supported us so well. He was always happy then.
Odd Bits.
I am thinking of changing my journal software to "Moveable Type" because it's pretty cool. I'm using Blogger now for composition, but I am thinking that I'd like to re-organize the site around the Journal and get rid of the flashy front page. (I love the flash, but I feel a yearning for simplicty, a small yearning at least...) and I think Moveable Type might be the way to go. If any of you have used it, I'd appreciate your feedback. Should I actually get around to making the change, it shouldn't change the way you access anything here, and it won't change the message board which is hosted by GayCams and BadPuppy. But if something suddenly doesn't work for you, e-mail me...
There was some flaming on the message board recently and I hope that I clearly stated how I felt about it. If you have concerns about how things are going on the board, just e-mail me about them. I'll respond as soon as I can. I care about your input here, I check the boards daily, I just don't always have the time to respond immediately.
We are now in the midst of our annual Formosan termite swarms... sort of like a lite snow storm, but of bugs that will eat your house! Fortunately, there are new controls that seem to be working.
Great to see Ford back!
Great to see Tejaz back!
Noah, where are my Tim Tams!
And what's all this about a gay housing complex in Las Vegas? I hear there may be more than one new GayCams home owner in that community!
And lastly, if you happen to check out the Cam Page and you see me wearing some tiny lil' specs on the almost end of my nose, well, I am now sporting Walgreens' fanciest reading glasses when the need arises. They slide into a tube that fits in pocket or purse. You just can't easily wear them in bed where I often read myself to sleep. If only I could get someone to hold the book for me....
durlx
posted by durlx at 5/15/2003 05:57:00 PM
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