For the first post of News with the subcategory covering my health, I want to let you all know I managed to run the distance between our house and our Las Vegas-based timeshare! It only took 969 days to achieve. I didn’t run every day though.
Where to next? Apple HQ in Cupertino, CA which is 1737 miles.
What a great way for Austin to kick off Pride Week! The man who made sure the Enterprise sailed through outer space smoothly before he commanded the Excelsior, Mr. Sulu! He’s also an accomplished voice actor for Adventure Time (Ricardio), The Simpsons (Wink, Sushi Waiter), Futurama (himself), Avatar: the Last Air Bender (Fire Nation prison warden), Clone Wars (Neimoidian general) and obviously the Star Trek cartoon from the Seventies.
George is also in Austin to promote his new book and a musical he’s loaning his assistance to; it’s about the Japanese Americans forced to internment camps during WWII, one of FDR’s uglier, inappropriate decisions.
It was a great honor to meet Mr. Takei (or sir, as I addressed him out of respect). I congratulated him on his relatively recent marriage to Brad (he was there, many recognized him from George’s FaceBook posts). I can relate, my parents don’t like my wife, thankfully my ‘rents are not a government that can deny Somara spousal rights.
Since my friend Nelson is a huge Star Trek fan, I had to get an autographed photo for him. To keep the tremendous line at Dragon’s Lair moving, I just took an autographed headshot so Nelson could have his personalized. It balances out, I got face time with George.
My brief chat? Telling Mr. Takei how cool it was to see him in an Archie comic. He said, it was a thrill because he grew up reading them. He never thought he’d ever be in one. I have it too. It’s pretty well done without any pandering.
Now I gotta’ see the Voyager episode when Tuvok tells Janeway about his time as a young officer on Sulu’s Excelsior.
The day isn’t completely over yet so I can post this photo with its pun.
This morning while we were carrying out our house-/catsitting duties, I went out front to throw away the trash from the fast food we ate and I stumbled upon what I initially thought was a dead mouse. Then I saw it was breathing/twitching. I still figured…mouse, the house we’re covering is bordering on space the wildlife continues to live in.
Upon further inspection, I realized it was a bunny due to the feet, ears and no tail. I guess the poor thing got separated from its mother. I picked it up with a towel, I have four cats and they’ve given me enough scratches, and placed the bunny somewhere in the grass to hide it from predators. Around here, I would guess birds of prey types but I wouldn’t rule out snakes and coyotes.
Hopefully the rabbits aren’t wreaking any havoc on the Lowrys’ landscaping unlike a couple squirrels we chased off. Those tree rats kept munching on some herbs as if they were at Souper Salad!
I think sparing the baby bunny’s life is also why I nailed the 50,000,000 bonus on Bugs Bunny’s Birthday Bash today.
September is always a super-busy month. There’s the back-to-school stuff going into full swing, Labor Day Weekend tends to be the official end of Summer as per a favorite movie (The Flamingo Kid), the Silder wedding anniversary, 3000 deaths justifying the loss of trillions to invade Iraq, Somara’s birthday, when we tend to go to Las Vegas, just to name a few things. I thought about changing the Header every week to signify cool things every decade.
Note to self, get nice wedding photo from Helen.
Even if things stay with this image of Vans, it brings back a pleasant memory I want to ramble on about because these shoes always do it for me.
With the move to the Gulf Freeway part of Houston, I would be attending public school for the first time since kindergarten. Despite my ongoing evolution toward being a devout Atheist, I had my apprehensions. Catholic schools fill kids’ head up with bullshit horror stories about the lack of order in public schools, like getting mugged in the bathroom. The movie My Bodyguard seemed to fuel this fear. Never mind the institutionalized bullying St. Matthews, St. Agnes and Strake Jesuit permitted or at times, encouraged if the kid’s parents were bigshots. I think the bigger concern I was coming to grips with was…I wasn’t special anymore. Instead of attending a relatively smaller school where you practically knew everybody and vice versa, I would be a mere blip in place with 3000 students. Brian got this shock the year before, now it was my turn to receive my comeuppance. (Pardon me here, I just skimmed a similar entry from five years earlier. I somehow, inadvertently plagiarized myself! I promise the follow will be more original.)
Mom took us shopping before or after Hurricane Alisha (sic) and the one really cool thing I remember her buying me was this lace-up pair of Vans. The Header picture doesn’t do the originals justice. The pair I had in 1983 came up higher on the ankles, not quite like the Chucks I prefer. They didn’t have the signature toe area neither. What I could find via a Google search makes its point.
I really dug those shoes. It softened the sting of public school. I remember almost missing the bus on my first day too as I ran like hell in them.
Within weeks, I came to love public high school. Being relatively anonymous was great because it really limited the bullying you’d receive, if at all. Seeing girls my age not having to wear uniforms was awesome. The Vans were never a conversation starter though, the brand and style were becoming passé already. I didn’t care. They were comfortable and I had been accustomed to wearing something in a solid color, the whole checkerboard thing was rather daring for me, what I thought was New Wave.
I returned to the Chucks fold in 1985 when Vans were very difficult to find. The Vans people have been more successful now thanks to Tony Hawk. They have licensed properties to compete with Converse too: Marvel Comics, Yo Gabba Gabba!, Hello Kitty, Iron Maiden, Bad Brains and Kiss. Nice try but I think I will only get a pair for getting through TSA’s idiocy faster at Bergstrom.
I’m grateful Converse went with the Aughts’ cartoon version since their new show is mediocre. The Titans’ 1980 incarnation with the Perez art would’ve better, but these were on sale, I couldn’t resist.
Slade, Mammoth and Jinx
They followed the Batman tradition by putting the Titans’ enemies on the other side, a rather streamlined version of the Fearsome Five with Slade (aka Deathstroke) as the leader. Next time, the Mad Mod please!
Since the Teen Titans are led by the first superhero I really identified with and liked as a kid, Robin (aka Dick Grayson, not the wannabes who followed); and the The New Teen Titans comic book by Marv Wolfman and George Perez gave Uncanny X-Men a good run for the money in the early Eighties, these shoes kick off this remodeling segment.
While The Onion celebrated its 25th birthday yesterday, this brought up memories of a hilarious infomercial my ex-roommate and I watched a couple times on late-night TV; yeah, we should’ve been sleeping or studying.
This fraudulent product was called anushka. Allegedly it reduced cellulite on women’s legs by wrapping wet bandages over the affected area. News flash. Your body shrivels up a tad when soaked in water: Pruney fingers and shrinkage.
However, the production quality was terrible, the acting cheesy and the science awful. The 800 number shown on the screen meant they were asking for trouble.
I recall making the first call. Mine was lame. I think I asked if I could get the number of the cute woman swallowing the seaweed pills.
Paul was a comic genius with his turn. He asked if it would work on his beer gut. Even the operator was giggling.
Well played Paul. Well played. Maybe Paul can send a well-written inquiry to prank the Austin-based number here through a text message.
I did alright today. His oldest son TJ complained about the Geometry teacher (on FaceBook of course). Said the instructor was the worst ever. I asked if the teacher is really the worst ever or was he just obtuse? One day the kid will laugh. I’m probably getting a virtual stinkeye.
This is no joke. America’s leading, grown-up satirical newspaper can finally rent a car, get its insurance premium lowered and not be automatically carded when entering Dave & Busters. Comedy Central has cornered the TV segment and MAD remains the entry-level satire drug.
I’m not surprised this publication originated in Madison, WI. The state’s capital is like Milwaukee’s younger, funnier and cooler sibling everybody wants to party with. It’s a city with a rich history of pranksters. When I was a kid, some students were on Real People doing gags such as a replica of the Statue of Liberty, just from the torch up.
Oddly, I never heard of The Onion until 1997. Brian showed me its Web page during a mutual visit in Raleigh to see our parents. Back then, everybody would be anxiously await the new stories/jokes they posted on Wednesday. Today there’s a steady stream on a week-day basis.
It’s a bummer their other endeavors: two TV shows on cable, a shelved movie (not very good) and radio news stories have fizzled out. I think the Web is what they should stick to, the writers are excellent at capturing the immediacy. One even left for a successful stint in Hollywood…Dan Vebber, producer on Futurama and American Dad, aka Family Guy with a narrative.
May these guys remain for at least another 25. They make the world a better place by helping us all laugh about everything. They’ve often shinned after a horrible crisis.
The case gives my voice that silly Christian Bale gruff, I-need-a-lozenge tone.
Last week, Somara had an accident with her iPhone 4. After a couple days of trying to save it, the verdict was hopeless.
We chose to hit the local AT&T store and see what options the staff could offer us other than signing up for another two-year contract. All the fuss regarding what Apple is going to release in the near future didn’t concern us. Somara needed an operational iPhone period.
Seems that multiple carriers in America have fostered a limited amount of competition. AT&T now has an arrangement in which we got Somara and me an iPhone 5 without a new commitment. They remain a few hundred bucks but we pay them off over 20 months at zero percent interest! No penalty should we choose to contribute more than the minimum required. We did get billed for all the sales tax on them up front.
The experience did take a couple hours. The location’s point-of-purchase software refused to cooperate. We weren’t in a hurry. It was a Friday evening, the weekend was under way. The Uverse TV being left on the Food Network was torture because I had barely eaten all day. You know I was starving since I didn’t wretch during Kid Rock’s guest appearance on one show. The wonderful ladies setting us up were real troopers: Patrice and Lizette. Not once did they lose their cool. Their manager decided to give us free iPhone cases for the trouble. A nice gesture. I love it when being pleasant, nonplussed is rewarded instead of it going to jerks who blow their tops.
How do we like the iPhone 5? Still getting accustomed the larger screen and lesser weight. I was already accustomed to iOS 6 due to my iPod Touch. After getting our traditional Ghost Armor modifications, I couldn’t resist the Batman case. Later on, I will set up the appropriate generic ring tone…the Neil Hefti-based theme song!
Got a ringtone you want applied to your contact information. Let me know. Some of you have been associated with tunes incorporating your name. The ladies have such luck.
This season’s shirts coinciding with the fifth season of The Venture Brothers were alright. Maybe I would’ve appreciated them more if I were keeping up, so don’t spoil anything for me! The DVD covering all the episodes should be appearing soon.
Meanwhile I decided to do another take on an action figure posing with its respective shirt and gag. The Busted Tees people did reply about the Bender bit, they liked it and said they will miss Futurama. Now I just need a dedicated Guild shirt.
Jeremy has the action figure of 24, we probably should do another photo with the deceased henchman.
This was the segment of Apple employees who turned up.
I’m getting better every day over the loss of my co-worker and friend Ben. Monday afternoon was part of the healing process with the memorial service. As you can see from the photo above, Ben did make an impact from the Apple turnout.
Overall the service was very touching. Ben’s brother definitely made a bold statement which led to applause he requested. Family friends spoke too. They confirmed what I felt…Ben was the same person 24 hours/day. There was no “Work Ben” and “Social Ben,” he was the delightful dude we all loved. Sunny was his last manager so he covered the Apple segment.
We have received the approval on the lab name from Ami along with the picture of Dexter to accompany the name plaque.
Now on to the next project we’re awaiting HR’s guidance about.
Purchased circa 2003, ironically during the Iraq Invasion.
To those who doubt my resolve and claim I have an addiction to accumulating too many pairs of Chucks, I say “HA!” Over my birthday vacation, I turned these in to the Converse Store’s recycling bin. In time these shoes will live on as material for a new gym floor or other sporting surface.
I will miss what may have been my oldest pair (2003). They could’ve lasted another few years because I now have so many sets. However, their interiors had ripped and the support materials sometimes scratched my heels, making the decision easy.
Let’s hope the Converse people will bring back the peace symbol as an option. I’m no hippie (I mostly despise them), I just like peace and non-violent resolutions.
Eighty pairs is what this holds.
The Container Store definitely has my number. Over the Summer, the company sent me a limited-run coupon for the Elfa line of shelving. It was good until I think the end of June but we didn’t get around to assembling the pieces for another month…it was a highlight around my birthday weekend.
What you see above was no easy task because Elfa/Container Store discontinued the six-foot (1.8 m) pieces. We figured, OK, just substitute two three-foot pieces (0.9 m) and throw in additional supports. Nope! (No idea how to say it Swedish, maybe Mike Lowry can assist). There’s a small gap between three-footers. this resulted in us making one last trip to the Container Store for braces.
You can’t easily tell in the photo but the gap only exists with the top three shelves. These are also six inches smaller in depth.
Is this the end of the Chucks accumulation? Maybe. The modified setup does accommodate the lion’s share. The Converse display is mostly freed up and I did scrap a 10-year-old pair.
I just wish the Imelda Marcos jokes from unfunny people stopped.
I wasn’t going to let the sadness of the weekend completely obscure the birthday of another good friend.
Still awaiting his assessment on San Diego and the recent Superman flick since he is the biggest, most knowledgeable fan I know when it comes to the Man of Steel.
Hope he contacts me soon. I’m mainly trying to get his shoe size. Why should I be the only Steve in our small circle decked out in Supes Chucks?
Ben and I at my Pinballz-based birthday party last Summer
Last Friday morning (Aug. 23, 2013) Austin, TX and Apple, Inc lost a person who made the world a better place. This is no hyperbole because many co-workers of all stripes liked Ben. I never heard a negative thing about his character or his work ethic, a hard thing to do in life regardless if you’re the POTUS or a burger flipper. I recently wanted to use his abilities at putting customers at ease with Aperture as a foundation to help others struggling with their interactions.
Ben Rasberry came into my life around early 2010 after he had completed his Enterprise ProApps training. I believe he was recruited from the iApps team so supporting Logic, Final Cut and Aperture wasn’t a difficult transition after mastering Garage Band, iMovie and iPhoto respectively. Being a Stars season-ticketholder and Ben having a cube along the high-traffic section of work area inevitably led to us socializing on the day he wore his Dallas Stars jersey.
Many conversations later led to us sharing numerous other favorite interests: D&D/Pathfinder, cartoons (Dexter’s Lab was the big inside joke for us), hockey and clever shirts. Ben once told me he originally wanted to get a job with DNA Productions since they were based in his original home area of Dallas; DNA is the company you see at the end of Jimmy Neutron cartoons. This plan was nixed by The Ant Bully, the movie responsible for tanking DNA. Still, it all evolved into our ongoing inside joke of “omelete du fromage/it’s all you can say!” from Dexter’s Lab.
I’m glad Ben was able to attend a couple Stars games with me too. He was a Dallas fan and it’s always great to see how your team’s future prospects are tearing up the rink. Then you can say, “I saw so-and-so back when he was on our AHL team. He was awesome during those days too.”
Lastly, I want to say Ben’s smile, more upbeat demeanor and frequent, sincere laughter were infectious. There were times it helped me put my grouchiness or irritation at other co-workers into perspective. Plus the dude made some impressive beef jerky he was always willing to share. I was bummed the day Ben left for another, equally exclusive team at Apple a few weeks ago. However, I didn’t begrudge his decision, I immediately admitted to Ben I wanted him to stay for my own selfish reasons. I saw the upside though, Ben would be our organization’s liaison to his new one. Maybe we’d join up for team-building outings and/or have a friendly, annual game of softball against each other. He was a smart guy with solid customer-handling skills who would definitely have an advantage in this team thanks to his three years with ProApps.
All those past, wonderful memories do counter the sadness I feel, especially when I choked back the tears last Friday morning as my former manager Walt and current area manager Corky broke the news in private to me. Being human, I wanted to know the details but in the end, it doesn’t matter. What will matter is how we all remember Ben.
Currently the gears are turning in our collective heads, primarily by keeping an old AppleCare tradition. Naming a lab or meeting room after co-workers as a tribute to their memory. I would like to take a step further by piecing together a little plaque giving a quick explanation (for lack of a better word) due to the influx of new people at Apple. There are probably a couple hundred remaining employees who can say who was Lyons, Dee, Shank and Mistuyoshi; I knew two personally and the stories of the remainder. Several of us are petitioning to name the new ProApps lab in memoriam to Ben. Co-worker Misty helped coin its title too…Rasberry Fields Forever. We’ll see. I want to make sure Ben’s wife Ami approves. Much like Mitsuyoshi’s picture of Mount Fuji accompanying the Enterprise Server lab, I think there should be either a picture of the Dexter character (Ben’s favorite?) or the Dallas Stars logo. Again, Ami will be the best judge to decide this in due time.
The other matter some of us are collaborating on will require HR’s assistance. We want to do it correctly without anything coming off as panhandling or coercion.
Ben’s service will be tomorrow (Monday, August 26, 2013) up in Cedar Park. He is survived by his wife Ami and son Alex.
I’ve only read one novel of his, Cuba Libre. It was pretty hard to put down. After reading this, I could see how Leonard’s material was easier to adapt to film or TV unlike his contemporaries James Ellroy or Carl Hiassen; I’ve never read Walter Mosely (yet). He had somewhat of a renaissance in the Nineties with Jackie Brown (originally the novel Rum Punch, modified by the king of cut n’ pasting other films, QT), Out of Sight (Jennifer Lopez’s only role that didn’t make me want to wretch) and Get Shorty.
Cuba was also a return to form for him in many ways. After writing mostly contemporary stories involving criminals with a heart of gold (Chili Palmer, Jack Foley), the plot and characters were a return to his roots…Westerns.
As the years go by, I hope Elmore Leonard gets added to the cannon of American literature for high school and college students alike. He does belong amongst the revered ranks with Mark Twain and Ernest Hemmingway.
