Category Archives: Portland

Anatomy of a geek

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I am such a geek.  Seriously, today in particular, I am overwhelmed with the extent of my geekiness.  Luckily, there was a split in the space time continuum and my particular particles got sucked into the alternative universe where being a geek is so tres chic.

(Hey!  I did a little rhyme there!  See that?  I’m a creative geek.)

Here’s the latest things that make my pocket protectors shudder with pleasure me so very cool:

  1. I bought the new iPhone.  When I already have an iPhone.  I squee’ed so hard when it came out it pretty much cemented my geekdom for the next millennium.  And, I got the discount pricing even though I already am an AT&T customer, because I was due for my bi-yearly phone upgrade.  Why did I buy an iPhone?  Um, improved VGA video recording camera? Push notification?  Photo and video geotagging?  Digital compass?  Improved battery life?  Faster downloads and web browsing?  Not to mention I still have the first generation, so no 3G for me yet.  I’d like some REAL (assisted) GPS, thankyouverymuch.  Call me spoiled, call me demanding…yes I am.
  2. This is my new favorite blog.  It makes me feel very, very smart.   Mostly, because I am.  But it helps me be more smart.  Er.  Smarter.
  3. Speaking of smart, this is my new favorite show.  It’s full of very smart people doing very cool things.  Plus, they’re hot.  In fact, I’ve decided my ideal woman is a cross between Emily Deschanel as Temperance Brennan and Sandra Bullock.   Quirky yet intelligent.  Rowwrrr.
  4. I’m having heart palpitations knowing that Wil Wheaton is in Portland.  Yes, Wil Wheaton.  OMG I KNOW!  Because of course all of Portland is palpitating right along with me.  Just check out Rick Turoczy’s fanboi blog post about him!  Everyone from KGW’s Live at 7 to OSBridge is clamoring for him to make an appearance so the legions of the pdx tech community can bask in the presence of the godfather of geekhood.
Phew.  That’s a whole lotta geek right there.

The Fair Returns.

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I have very important news to tell you, interwebs.  You best sit down.

Sitting?

Ok.

So, I tend to scoff at screaming squealy fangirl/fanboi displays.  And when I say tend to, I mean seriously people, have some dignity, would you?  Just because someone has achieved success in music or film, doesn’t mean they are any better a person that you or I.  Assuming you and I aren’t serial killers or pedophiles or psychotic lunatics, of course.

(Damn.  Now I’m gonna get google hits for pedophiles and serial killers.  One can never win this google war, fer fuck’s sake.)

Now, mind you, I have my favorite public figures.  And as you may or may not know, one of the people on top of that list is Sarah McLachlan.  I’m sure I’ve mentioned her?  Once or twice?  No?  Lies!  You OBVIOUSLY never read my blog, EVER.

Yes, so I’m a big Sarah fangirl.  I think she’s not only talented, and driven, but she gives of herself and goes out of her way to help women and children and puppies and kittens.  You’ve seen the ASPCA/BCSPCA spot she did?  Yeah, I get teary EVERY TIME, dammit.  Hello, manipulation….  But I don’t get swoony-all-over-shit-and-be-generally-pathetic when she comes to town.  Oh no sirree.  I buy my ticket, and bask in her awesomeness, frame my ticket stubs, travel to Vancouver BC just to visit the Nettwerk Records offices, and nearly get kicked out of places for taking a bajillion pictures of her.

No, because I’m an amateur PHOTOGRAPHER.  Get your mind outta the gutter, interwebs.  Just cause I mentioned …oh never mind.  And hey, there’s lots of great bands on the Nettwerk label.  Like…um…hmm…like….huh.

No no really, I kid.  Like Ladytron, Guster, BNL, Jars of Clay, Manufacture, Delerium, Severed Heads, Skinny Puppy, etc  to name a few that I like off the top of my head.

So of course I’m on Sarah lists, and I get Sarah notifications. And because of this, I have news, interwebs.  NEWS OF THE GREATEST IMPORT.  If any of these apply to you:

1. You like Sarah Mchlachlan

2. Enjoy indie women’s music

3. Think girl rockers kick ass

Then hold on to your hats, interwebs.  Sit down.  Take a deep breath.

LILITH FAIR IS BACK ONCE AGAIN.

Yes, Lilith Fair, the paragon of women’s music festivals, will be hitting the tour maps in 2010.  Last time, I followed it for three days, from Portland to the Gorge and back.  Three days of Erica Badu, and Natalie Merchant, and Tara McLean (who gave me a free ticket to the portland date!), and K’s Choice and Suzanne Vega and The Pretenders and Dar Williams and Bonnie Raitt  and and andand!  It was three days of pure hedonistic drunken women’s music bliss.  I can’t even imagine who will be on the bill this time.  Let the speculation begin!  Plus, we all know that Portland has traditionally been one of , if not THE first stops, because Sarah loves Portland.  I know, she told me.  There was this dream, and…

*cough*

Never mind.

Now I’m not saying I’m gonna get all squealy and screamy and stuff…But when I heard this news of awesomeness I did let out a huge SQUEEEE!!  of happiness.  In the privacy of my own home.  Where no one can see me.

Don’t tell anyone, ok?

Can I buy tickets yet?

Liquid Sunshine

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Rain.  Sun.  Spring.  Portland.

I am deeply, madly in love with this moment, with this place, with the people in it and the hope they create.

I know this is my true home.  I know, because a simple sunbreak, standing on MLK Blvd, makes my heart swell with joy and love for a place, for a name on a map.  A name that is more than the sum of its letters, much like the place is more than the sum of its residents.

Portland.  A place full of possibilities.

I love this place.

Duh, what’s up Doc? Duh…

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I had a pet rabbit once.  Rabbits are stupid.  Yes, they’re cute and fuzzy and soft, but underneath the surface…they’re cute and fuzzy and soft.  In other words, there’s just not a lot of synapses firing in there.  I dunno, maybe I had a particularly stupid bunny, but from what I’ve seen and heard, it was pretty average.  And by average, I mean stupid.

Case in point:

NOM NOM NOM. From my new most favorite website, http://www.epicpicsofwin.com

NOM NOM NOM. From my new most favorite website, http://www.epicpicsofwin.com

This of course does not include bugs bunny, who is very very smart, not to mention delightfully snarky.  But then, he’s a cartoon character, not a real bunny rabbit.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, is my dog.  My dog is a FREAKIN GENIUS.  People ask me if my dog is smart.  In answer, I tell them she does my taxes.  They laugh, because they think I’m kidding.

I’m not.

Ok yes I am.  But if she could grasp concepts like the US Tax Code and the use of a computer, I’d totally let her do my taxes.  I’d probably get more money back.  I could start up my very own tax consulting business, and I’d give her her very own office complete with buckets of liver and salmon treats and her very own ball boy to toss her tennis ball three times a day for an hour.  And a wading pool.  And sticks to chew on, that won’t get all splintery.  She’d do people’s taxes, and then play with her tennis ball, splash in the water, and I’d be rich, because duh, my dog can do people’s taxes.  And people would pay me to have her do their taxes, and they’d tell their friends that a dog does their taxes, and they saved OODLES of money, and how cool is that?

Don’t believe me?  Well, forget about the fact that she knew more commands at the age of 6 months than any stupid rabbit.  Forget that she is probably the most awesome dog on the planet.  You want unbiased proof, well here you go.

I took her to the Doggie Dash on the waterfront when she was 15 months old.  They had a frisbee competition that day, and any dog could register to compete.  I knew she was a fetching fool with balls, but she’d never even SEEN a frisbee before.  I’d read that it’s not a good idea for young pups to jump too much, and frisbee is just begging for jumps, so I hadn’t exposed her to that yet.  This would be her first time.  15 months old.  Never seen a frisbee.  And competing against probably 20 other dogs, many of whom have seen a frisbee, and knew what to do with it.

My dog came in FIFTH.  FIFTH!!!!!

So there.

Check out my post on OurPDX.net about the 22nd!!! annual Oregon Humane Society Doggie Dash, coming up on May 9th.  Jessie will be there, but she’s pretty good about not being all elitist and rubbing your face in the fact that she’s a genius.  Me, I have a bit more trouble with it.  Proud mother, I guess.  But…

<whisper whisper growl grunt bark bark grunt>

Um.  Jessie says I should quit being a crazy proud doggie mom.  So, sorry.

Ok, so am I a writer *now*?

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I’m excited.

Stoked.

Thrilled.

Giddy!  (yeah I know, I used that word again.  It’s a rare occurrence, really.)

In fact, if you could hear the chatter inside my head, it would sound something like this:

“omg omg omg omg omg omg omg yay!!!”

Pretty much that’s it.

So.  I guess you’re wondering why I’m all hyped up, happy, bouncing off stuff and…stuff.  Are you?  Really?

Ok.  I’ll tell you.

You ready?

Maybe you should sit down first.  I’ll wait.

……..

Sitting?  Ok.

<deep breath>

Ok.

I’m one of the newest writer/bloggers for OurPDX.net.

Allow me to give you a moment to just let that sink in.

……..

I KNOW HUH!!!!  HOW AWESOME IS THAT!!!!!

Pretty damn, my friends.  Pretty damn.

No worries about my slacking off on blogging here though.  OurPDX.net is all about Portland, so my PDX-type posts will be drifting over in that direction, but there’s oh so much more stuff I blog about than that.  I’ll let you know when I post over there, so you can hop over there and check it out too.  No worries!

In fact, check out my VERY FIRST POST, about how our own dear Mayor Sam forgot about bikes for the storm response survey they did last month.  Unbelievable, but true.

One final thought:

OMG YAY!

Sniff sniff sniff: Is that spring I smell?

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Right.  I know, it snowed the other day.  I figure, it don’t stick, it don’t count, right?  And yes, I heard Dave Salesky saying it’s gonna snow tomorrow, too. 

And that, my friends, will make SEVENTEEN days of snow this winter!

But!  There was that one day last week.  Were you there?  Did you see it?  It was warm!  I took my jacket off!  I wore my sunglasses!

Well, I mean, I often wear my sunglasses even when it’s cloudy.  Cloud glare, you know.  Anyway…

It was just one day.  But hear me, my fellow PDXers:  Spring, she is a-comin!

It’s hard to believe it after the winter we’ve had.  But buck up, lil’ buckaroos.  There’s stuff sprouting.  The sun is warming.  Trees are shooting!  Err, you know, putting out shoots!  My bike gloves are looking awfully tempting!  My hyacinths are BLOOMING!  Seriously, like out of the ground, flowers, all…bloomed.  (I tried shoving ’em back in, telling them it’s too early, but they didn’t seem to like that too much.)  My fave Springwater Corridor Trail will be seeing my return soon!  Joy.  Happy sigh, even.

SO!  In honour of this impending nice weather craziness that is looming in our future (oh please!  Loom!  LOOM FASTER!), how about getting out to get that Springwater Corridor Trail, and the Johnson Creek Watershed it’s in, all spruced up for springtime?

Well, then, block March 7th on your iPhones, because it’s the 11th Annual Watershed Wide Work Party!  Complete with Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon!  (*cough* free lunch *cough*)  Come on out and lend a hand, meet your fellow PDX-lovin’ neighbors, get some fresh (hopefully springy!) air, exercise and fun!  And hello, free food.  Did I mention the free food? 

I, alas, will not be able to join you.  Please go in my stead.  Represent, and stuff.  I will be working VERY, VERY hard to facilitate the return of ORBlogs to our beloved PDX interweb at the first ORBlogs Code Sprint, kindly hosted by our friends at CubeSpace.  So if you’re not feeling up to the task of watershed sprucing, come and hang out at CubeSpace and lend a hand to make ORBlogs a thing of beauty for all of us to use.

Huzzah for Volunteers!

Spreadin’ the blog love

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My fellow bloggers have truly been outdoing themselves lately.  So I thought I’d just give a shout out to some great stuff they’ve been writing lately.  Hey, Valentine’s Day is coming, right?  What better way to spread some blogger on blogger love then to …ahem…expose each other 😉

@caseorganic, aka Amber Case, wrote a great post with five dating tips for nerds.  Very useful!  Plus, she quotes me, so you know it must be really good info. 

@melissalion, aka um, well Melissa Lion, has tasked us with crawling up from the muck that is our paltry existence, raise ourselves up and try to be her!  Oh happy day!  If you think you’re up to the task, my pretties, take a shot at The Melissa Lion International* Superiority Smugacity Self-Improvement Challenge.  I’m making chai.  From Starbucks. 

The Recovering Straight Girl has some food for thought on the idea that being gay is a choice.  I must say, I agree…whether or not it’s a choice, I wouldn’t want to be any other way.

Seems my love affair with PDX is rubbing off on people.  @jarvitron aka zenboy wrote this blog post about how much he loves Portland, too.  We should have a PDX love-in or something.

As far as work-type blogs go, one of my favorites is Web Worker Daily.  Although they tend to cater to gig workers, there’s still lots of great info.  And now, I have a go-to article to send all my friends to when I find myself at a loss to explain the coolness of Twitter, complete with some of its drawbacks.

And not the least, @cecivirtue posted some AMAZING phone pix of the opening night party of Coraline.  They had the actual sets on display at the party!  Wow.  Cherry blossoms done with spray painted popcorn?  Very, very cool.  Makes me miss my old movie construction days, when I built breakaway doors, installed fake plastic Japanese roof tiles, and got to play with gas torches to distress wood beams.  Ahh, movie magic.

Spread the blog love, and take a peek at some of my favorite bloggers.  Or check my new blogroll over there on the right.  Yeah over there.  Under my recent flickr pictures.  Read their stuff, and comment often.  They and I will appreciate it!

Zut Alor! Or how to keep your non-photog friends

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I clearly remember the first time I realized that being a photographer can strain relationships.

I was 15 years old, in Paris.  (Wheee!!!)

I was 15 years old, in Paris, with my mother.  (Ouch.)

So here I am, tooling around Paris with my mom.  I’d been taking french classes in high school, so I knew all the history, the art, the things to see.  We saw the Louvre.  We did Versailles.  We floated down the Seine, and saw the (other, original) Statue of Liberty.  Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, all connected by the Champs Elysee.  Notre Dame. 

And yes, we went to Le Tour Eiffel.

Now granted, this was before digital photography.  Each roll of film cost money to look at, and you couldn’t erase the bad shots  right when you took them.  I know.  I get that.

But dude.  The fraking Eiffel Tower, right?!

So due to my penchant for it, my mother entrusted me as official trip photographer.  Or, maybe I was the one willing to carry the camera.  Either way, I took lotsa pictures.  Lots and lots and lots.  I think we went home with something around 16 rolls of film.

Including the one iconic shot, of the Eiffel Tower in the background, my mother in the foreground, yelling at me to QUIT TAKING SO MANY DAMN PICTURES!!!!

But…It’s the Eiffel Tower, I insisted!

Yeah, and you’ve already taken 50 pictures of it already!

But…but I gotta get it *just right*.

Bless the inventors of the digital camera, by the way.  May you be showered with blessings upon you, and upon your children, and their children’s children. 

So I learned that people who don’t appreciate and/or enjoy the craft of photography tend to get pissy when you stop every five minutes and spend 10 minutes ‘framing your shot’ and then taking 30 versions of that shot to get it, you know, *just right*.

If you’re gonna go off walking around, taking pictures, go with other photo walkers.  They are far more understanding of the slow pace required.  And will most likely still talk to you afterwards.  They certainly won’t berate you, or ground you for using up 16 rolls of film.

With that in mind, thanks to Aaron Hockley, aka @ahockley, for organizing the first Geek Photo Walk!

There will be pictures.  Oh, yes, there will be pictures.  Look!  To the right!  A Recent Flickr Photos stream!

Yeah I know it’s empty.  Check back tomorrow, my peeps, check back tomorrow.   Activated! 

PS –  all you Flickr pros, any tips on using it = much appreciated!

Oh how I love thee, let me count the ways…

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I’m in love.

I’ve been in love for years and years.  Totally, madly, head over heels in love.

With Oregon.  

And my love, my dearest most precious state, she turns 150 years old.  On Valentine’s Day!

So I’ll be counting the ways I love Oregon, all 150 years of her, on February 14th.   Won’t you join me?