Screws In My Coffee

I created a Google web page in 2005 to demonstrate how easy it is to create a web page for free. I am an advocate in open source software and I really like what Google has done in this effort. Having access to the Internet for free has always been one of my passions. In Portland Oregon back in 2000 I help found one of the largest free wireless groups in the country. Personal Telco Project is still active today using a logo that I created with my Wacom tablet. So with all of the tools available that are free, why use tools that cost money? Well I use both and I hate to say it but I use the tools that cost money more than the tools that are free. One reason that I use commercial software tools from Adobe and Microsoft is that I make my living using and teaching folks how to use them. When I was unemployed in Portland for two years I used open source tools a lot. During that time I did not have to use commercial tools and I choose to use open source tools. I quickly learned

I did this test while streaming Sirius radio

I decided to do a Sprint Speed Test of the EDVO network here in Austin at the RV park located on E 7th street. Direct card connettion in laptop

Dean the Deer Hunter is at it again. This time he may have bagged one of Santa's drivin' gears. Dean has been very successful at bringing in some winter meat this season. To some it may be easier and cheaper to go down to the local Wal-Mart and get your meat, but there is something to be said about being able to hunt for your food.

Last night I completed my third day in a row that I ran the I-35 to Mo-Pac loop.  This loop is about 7 miles.

I am visiting my sister and her family in Plainfield, New Jersey.  This year the trees still had fall color in the remaining leaves. I took several pictures walking in the park.  I asked Peter Vietze, my sister's husband to take this picture of Sylvia and I.  I ran through the neighborhood twice during my visit.  One morning the temperature was 50 degrees and in a few days it was 28 degrees.  I enjoyed running through the streets looking at the bright red and yellow fall leaves on the trees.  I am working on another portrait of a woman. I am working on getting all of my work in the gallery

Dean is Sylvia's son. He is a nice guy and has helped make the Lone Worm Ranch a well irrigated and maintained place. Tonight he was hunting and he shot two deer. Sylvia and I were just getting to leave the ranch after spending the night. Dean had been hunting all day Saturday and was out in the evening trying to get a deer. When Sylvia and I were just about to leave we heard two shots. A short time later Dean came to the house all excited as he had just shot two deer. I offered to help him load the deer in his truck so we headed to the back woods where the deer lay. Dean was in the process of turning his Dodge 4 X 4 truck around and got stuck in the deep sandy mud. The mud was the result of about 5 inches of rain that had fallen the night before. We had to get the deer so Sylvia called for a tow truck and Dean and I went to the red barn and got the wheel barrow and headed across the 30 acre pasture to the edge of the woods. After taking pictures of Dean and the deer, we loade

This is my second drawing that I completed in my hotel room in Cincinnati, Ohio. I wanted to capture the feeling that I have when I am running. This picture along with the self portrait that I drew last week are two pictures that have a common technique. Most of my pencil drawings are worked on until I get completely tired of them. I work to get everything finished or just right. These two pictures still have some rough edges and show some sketch like pencil lines. I like drawing on the 13 x 17 size paper. So what I am doing is drawing faster and focusing on what I am drawing so that I can finish the drawing quickly. Sometimes I like not knowing what I am drawing, but those drawings are harder to finish and take longer to complete. I want to get to a point where I can have nice drawings that convey what I want with minimal amount of color work. I want to develop a quick light style of drawing to complement my very meticulous style of drawing.

So what motivates me to go out and run 10 miles before watching a football game?  Well for starters it is the way I feel at mile eight when Little Feat came on my iPod singing Feets Don't Fail Me Now .  Somehow after running the first two miles that seem like death at mile eight I feel like I am invincible. Running is really a basic activity that involves putting one foot in front of the other faster than when you walk.  As an avid cyclyst I know what it is like to ride 100 miles in one day.  Today I saw a lot of cyclist on the trail, but only two other runners besides me.  If I had my bike I would easily ride the whole 50-60 mile length of this flat railroad bike trail. What I am so proud of is that in February 2005 I started running after 20 years of telling myself that I could not run because of my knee.  I started off training to walk a 5k race and I ended up running the whole distance in April 2005. So now this summer I have started running 10 miles regularly.  I have never in

Today I went for a hike in California Woods Park .  I wanted to get a chance to hike in a park with some trees and trails.  Cincinnati has several nice parks so I want to see a few this weekend while I have the time. So here I am standing by some giant ash trees. When I lived in LA as a boy the house that I grew up in had a big ash tree in the back yard.  This is the first tree that I remember climbing and hugging.  Today as I walked through this woods I saw so many ash trees and my mind was lush with the memories of how my brother and I could be on top of the work when we were in the South Central ghetto of LA when we were in our tree. I take pictures like this by placing my camera on a timer.  then I pick a spot on the ground or on an object to take the picture.  I press he button and then run to a spot that I think is in focus and wait.  I like taking pictures like this because they are fun and produce random results. One of the random results that this type of photography produces

I am drawing a portrait that may be a self portrait.  I have been working on the drawing in the hotel after my training.  I never know where a drawing is going until after I finish it.  this drawing depicts a male with dreadlocks and a checkered shirt. I started the drawing on Wednesday and I worked on it Thursday after class from about 4:00 PM until 2:00 AM on Friday morning. This is the second portrait that I have done in recent years.  I have a limited arsenal of things that I like to draw that can be easily recognized in my art, but portraits of humans is one that I like.  Usually my drawings are so abstract that they mainly consist of wild blends of color that leave the viewer with the task of figuring out what they are looking at.  That is the main goal of my drawings, I want to draw nothing that the viewer has seen before and at the same time draw something that allows the viewer to feel that they see something in the drawing that is familiar. Drawing a self portrait is so

Today after my UNIX training class I went for a walk with some classmates on a trail. I took this first picture from an old railroad bridge that crosses the Miami River. The sun was not in an optimal location for the picture but I took it anyway. I hope to return to this location one morning to take more pictures. The second picture is of the trail showing how the trees line up along the edges. The trail is a old railway right-of-way so it is flat and straight. I like trails like this because they pass through parts of towns where you can see industrial sites as well as residential homes with ease. Sometimes I imagine that I am a train and I am rolling along pulling cars to my destination.

I am attending Jenzabar Cars CX training in Loveland, Ohio this week.  Loveland is north east of Cincinnati, Ohio.  After the class today I went for a run along a bike trail that use to be the Miami railroad .  This railroad played a part in the Civil War.  It is now a Little Miami state park established in 1970.  I ran for about 8 miles. Fall weather is beautiful here in Loveland, Ohio.  Today the high was 60 degrees and the low last night was 30 degrees.  Last night was the first freeze of the fall for this area.  I was running in my shorts and everyone that I saw had on long leggings and long sleeves or jackets.  Some bike riders even had gloves.  I just think that just a few days ago when I was running in Austin it was 85 degrees.

Today I ran all the way around Lady Bird Johnson Lake in Austin. I started at the Longhorn dam on Pleasant Valley and ran counter clockwise. I chose to run counter clockwise so that I would have the steep side of the Riverside Drive hill at the end mf my run. I ran the 10 miles in 95 minutes. I am inspired that I ran an average of 9.5-minute miles. For this week I ran three days for a total of 22 miles.  I want to run a marathon, 26 miles in one day.  I was not tired or exhausted after the 10 mile run today.  I will have to carry my water pack the next time that I do a 10 mile run.

I ran around the lake in Austin starting from the Longhorn Dam going clockwise last night.  I ran across the I-35 bridge and back to my car starting at 7:15 PM and finished at 7:52 PM.  It was a nice cool run  and the last moments of the sunset were spectacular.

Tonight I was shredding the fields on the Lone Worm Ranch and I was in awe of the bright orange sunset. I got the tractor out to the ranch around 5 PM. I wanted to run the tractor until it got dark. I always get a peacful frame of mind when I am riding on the tractor across the fields. Tonight it was especially beautiful as I watched the big red sun slide down to the horizon. the oak trees made a nice black contrast against the flaming sky. There was no one out in the field but me, the tractor and thousands of grass hoppers and other bugs.

I watched DJ Jesus on Lucy the Devil’s Daughter tonight on [Adult Swim].  I must say I like it better than Robot Chicken (RC).  I am getting into RC but it is still a little beyond me.

I rebuilt my FC 5 box that I have had since 2002 into a Windows Vista Ultimate box.  I splirged on the graphics card and the monitor.  My old P3 laptop was 8 years old and I could not do nay serious graphic or web development on it any more.

Who am I? I am a problem solver. I have always solved problems for hire and other people’s problems before my own. I have solved computer problems with a vengeance. Listed below are answers to a problem that I will solve on my truck. My possibility is to create my ideal truck. I have always envied folks who have taken the time to express themselves with the vehichel that thy drive. I waited until my old Toyota was dead and gone to pain it. I told myself that I would wait until it was too old to sell and then play with it. Well the waiting game does not cut it. I want to have fun with my truck while it is still running. I will always keep this truck running. Anyway here is the information and technical reasons for dual wheels that are larger and look cool. BTW, my truck has 17 inch rims with 8 bolts. The conversion to a 10 bold will require an adapter plate. This company is in Houston. http://www.chromewheel.com/dominator.htm Top Ten reasons to convert to the Big Wheels! #1: Most 4x4’s

When Sylvia and I got back to Austin we re-located the fifth-wheel to the east side of Austin. I am 2 miles from work. I could jog to Huston-Tillotson if I wanted to. This is the closest that I have ever lived to my place of employment. There is a lot to be said about scaling down your junk. When I cam to Texas in late 2003 I left behind a 1300 square foot home, wife and two kids. I plied all of my belongings in a Toyota Camry and headed to Texas to help my dad build a home. Currently I am planning modifications to the interior of my 2006 Grand Junction 29DRL. It is beautiful inside, but I need some place to work as a graphic artist using my computer and colored pencils. Sylvia also needs space to work on the computer. It is interesting to move from the far west side of Austin from the Westlake and RR 620 area to the central East site of Austin. I have wanted to live closer to the center of Austin ever since I came to Texas. All of my favorite restaurants are on the East

We arrived back in Houston last night at about 11 PM. Today we just relaxed by the pool and reflected on what a great trip we had. We just got back from seeing The Simpsons animated movie . Zak and I spent most of the time in the pool playing basket ball. The pool had a basket ball and hoop so we invented a game that was fun and crazy. There were no fouls and we could splash water in the face of the shooter during a shot.

We dipped our feet in the Atlantic Ocean today. Zak wanted to touch the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans in one summer. He accomplished his goal today. Seeing the sun rise over the ocean was a little odd for me because I grew up on the west coast so I am use to seeing the sun set over the ocean.

Zak and I spent a lot of time today walking to the major Washington DC memorials. We were most impressed at how many buss loads of Korean nationals came to visit the Korean War Memorial. At the Lincoln Memorial we saw the words of Dr. Martin Luther King "I have a Dream" carved in the stone at the top step.  I have seen many pictures of this memorial during my life and I never thought that I would actually visit this place with my son.  I was very happy that I could experience this with my son.  We walked a lot today and it was hot and humid but we had a lot of fun.

We finally made it to the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Yesterday we got a late start because we played basketball in the morning. I then forgot my wallet at the RV park and had to return to get it. By the time we got to the museum it was too late to really see it so we went to a movie instead. Today we got an early start and made a complete visit of the museum. The airplanes, jets and rockets were really cool. The tour guides are all retired military personnel that were former pilots or mechanics that worked on the aircraft. Our tour guide fought in WWII, Korea and the Vietnam wars. He gave an interesting perspective of the museums exhibits because he flew propeller airplanes and jets before he retired,

Today I had a nice time exploring Washington DC with my son Zak. We are staying at an RV park in the Cherry Hill area of College Park. WE got from the RV park down to the National Mall using public transportation. Zak had never ridden on a public bus or subway so for him today was an adventure. We went to the National Air and Space Museum to learn about the Wright brothers quest for flight. We saw many airplanes and learned all about the history of flight and the trip to the moon.

Zak read that the zoo had something like 5,000 animals. He wanted to see the whole zoo in one day. I believe that we saw most of the animals that we on display.

After leaving South Carolina we continued on for North Carolina.

After leaving Alabama we continued on for Georgia.

After the flat tire, Zak cools off in the RV park pool

After leaving Texas we continued on for Louisiana.

Yesterday I was working out in the hot humid Texas sun. I drank a lot of water while I use my DR Trimmer to continue my work of clearing brush from around the house and the Pecan Trees. I was walking with the wheel burrow and I had my reoccurring feeling that my ancestors were with me. Working the land does not feel as strange as it did when I first came to Texas to live in late 2003.

I live at 10013 RR-620 N Austin, TX 78726. I rode 32 miles to work at 900 Chicon Street in Austin. I rode west on RR-620 to Bee Caves and then cut behind the new mall on a road that is still under construction.

I rode from east Austin where I work out to the trailer storage where I now live on FM 620. It was a 30 mile ride that was hilly, hot and humid. I am getting into the rhythm of bike commuteing again. I rode my bike to work and back twice this week. I located my bike light so that I can start riding early in the morning or late at night.

So 11-15 inches of rain has fallen in Marble Falls last night. For the past 10 days it has been raining in Central Texas. I could not shred the fields out at my ranch near Winchester Texas this weekend because the ground was soggy.

KLH

My daughter Kalia is graduating from high school today. I am so proud of her.

Here is the shirt artwork with a black background. Here is the shirt artwork with a gray background. Here is the shirt artwork with a aqua background. Here is the shirt artwork with a white background.  Thsi file is 200% of the previous files.  It can be used for printing. Here is the shirt artwork with a transparent background (PNG).

My server with all of my images is not officially online with a domain name. I am in the process of uploading all supporting images to this blog, but as of now that project is incomplete. I am considering placing one of my servers is a data center hosted by Mario Leal. Mario works with me at Huston-Tillotson University.

Well here I am at work at 3 AM re-booting computers that may have gotten wacked by an electrical storm here in Austin. This is one of the responsibilities that one takes on when you have to keep stuff working. Yesterday it was so hot in the office that we decided to do an old school air conditioner. We got a fan and opened up the regridgerator and cooled off.

Sometimes I wonder what a super hero thinks when he  or she wakes up eack morning.  I was driving to work this past week and I started imagining what a super hero thinks when he wakes up each day. Each day he knows that someone will need his help and he will have to solve a life threating situation at the last minute.  Does he dread this or does he just accept that way things are? I have the same way of being when I go to work at Huston-Tillotson University.  I use to complain about the way things were.  now I take complete responsibility for my actions and I am prepared to create from nothing a solotion to any problem that I may face.

This was a very interesting month.  I created a new web site and logo for Elite Land Works . I dusted off my Wacom tablet and converted a sketch that I had drawn into a digital logo for the company web site.  I drew the logo while I was assisting a Landmark Education Advanced Course (LEAC).  During this LEAC I really got a chance to re-discover my act. My act is "Don't tell me what to do, I can handle it!" The birth of my act is when I was about 5 years old and I was in the car waiting for my dad to close the garage door.  I pushed in the cigarette lighter and then put my finger inside of the hot element.  My dad said, " Don't you know if you play with fire you will get burned?"   That was the birth of my act.  Ever since then my act has been setting up my view of the world so that I can say "Don't tell me what to do, I can handle it!" 

When I did the Landmark Education Advanced course I had the realization that my act was controlling a lot of how I was being in life. I articulated this fact in my sharing by telling the group that dealing with my act was like I was in a car riding in the back seat and there was a drunk at the wheel. After being exposed to the Landmark Education Advance I am able to notice when my act is in control and I fight my way to the front seat and take control. So now I am in a seminar on relationships. This morning I was reflecting on how my relationship with my act was going. My act is that I am stupid. My act filters a lot of what I perceive to be as what is so. If I use the analogy of the car I can now say that I am driving the car most of the time and my act is in the back seat. My act is always going to be there but I can see what it is and make a choice to listen to if or ignore it. I can now see that a lot of barriers in my relationships are created when I pretend to be stupid so that

I had to Google this for a few hours before finding a solution on the Microsoft web site. I ran this command to get my web page working, attrib -r -s Inetpub .

I watched a DVD on Joni Mitchell tonight. I have been a music fan of her since I was a teenager. I have a lot of her music on my iPod, but I have never seen her perform. It was a very powerful experience to finally her her talk about her music and her life.

It took very little effort to get my BLOG moved over to the new hosting provider.  I still have to move my photo archive, so some of the links on the photos will not work yet.  I may decide to just upload those to the Blog site and give up on having every image that I take on-line.

For the past 5 or 6 years I have run my own Linux and Windows servers. I started out with them in my house in Portland when I first got DSL. When I moved to Texas I had both servers in a data center. Then I moved them to my residence in Austin. Now I am in the process of moving my personal and client web sites to a real hosting service, Site Ground . I have learned a lot over the years about Linux and Windows by running my own servers. The trade-offs of doing this are many but there have been some benefits which I hate to part with. What got me started in running my own servers was that I got tired of my ISP in Portland telling me that I had to pay more money for disk space for my web site. I have a large archive of photos that I just like having online. I also liked being able to configure what ever I wanted on the servers. There are pit-falls in running your own servers. When something breaks and you see the famous error See Your Administrator , then that means you! Fixing my

I have joined an online social community called Second Life . I heard about it this week as I was watching an episode of Rocketboom on my Tivo . If you would like to join Second Life click here and I will get some Linden dollars as a referral. You can join for free but if you upgrade to a premium account you can get some Linden Dollars to spend in the virtual world of Second Life.  I decided to join Second Life because I have been futzing with computers and the Internet for over 15 years and I have not been able to use them for entertainment successfully. I always rely on using a television and DVD player for my home entertainment. I love listening to music, but I usually do that when I am driving in my truck, working (with computers mostly) or working out in the gym.  So during the 2007 ice storm in central Texas I decided to join Second Life.

Some folks have said that the new year means nothing. The belief is that time is an arbitrary measurement of time. Saying that a year starts at a certain moment really means nothing. So at this time when the western civilized world sees fit to mark an ending of a chapter in time and the start of a new one I am making an attempt to just continue to be consistent in keeping my life going the way that it is. This past year I have become officially divorced. There was a time in my life that I believed that I could not live as a divorced person. It has been very hard living without being around my sona and daughter. My children live in Portland, Oregon and I reside in Austin, Texas. But my problems are nothing compared to what a lot of other people in the world are going through. Katrina  did a lot of damage in 2005 and folks are still re-building their lives and homes. I am happy for my life and I am living the live I love and loving the life that I live.