nostatic at all...

A day on the couch - going on 12 straight hours actually. Of course work continues thanks to laptop and wireless. Could it be the notorious P-I-G? (flu that is)

If it is, it is mild. No sense going to the doctor as it is just fatigue, headache and fatigue. Did I mention fatigue? This too shall pass...

Thumbing my nose at persistent malaise, a trip to the desert to witness a wedding.

Turns out it is difficult to aim in a 35mph wind. Gives a little more perspective on the SEALs that took out the Somali pirates...

Mother ship landing, Twentynine Palms, CA. Photo by st

Well, it was a good run. Bought this about a week after the first iPhone came out (mostly avoiding the hysteria and crowds). It has survived multiple drops onto concrete but today Murphy won out as it landed face down in the parking lot. While I pondered just going back to a plain phone, the reality is that the iPhone is damn useful. I end up getting a lot of work done wherever I am and that saves things from piling up. So I end up going 3G by necessity rather than choice...

heh, it's hot. Left work in Marina del Rey and it was 72 degrees (per my bike's external temp gauge). By the time I hit Sepulveda it was 85. Then another mile north 95. By the time I hit my apartment it was triple digits. At 6pm on 6May. In fact, at 9pm it was still in the mid 80's. And windy as all heck. No fun riding in the wind, especially on raised freeway transition ramps...

Now just need a story.

Up to Ft. Irwin for a video shoot. When I pulled in the parking lot I heard a "tick tick tick" that coincided with tire speed. Hmm...took a quick look but didn't see anything. Did the shoot, had lunch (with the boy in tow as "crew") and then headed back south around 1:30pm. Just south of Barstow on the 15 I start to smell burning rubber and look in the rear view mirror to see smoke. Hey, that might be coming from me. I ease over to the shoulder and stop. Sure enough, flat rear left tire. Great. It is 95 degrees out, semi trucks are flying past me a couple feet away, and I've never used this jack/tire combo. Oh well, no time like the present to learn. Pulled into the dirt to get a little more room, the boy stayed in the car (safer I figured) and I went to work. 10 minutes later we're rolling south on the donut spare, doing 55mph the whole rest of the way. Then to the tire shop to get a replacement. Thankfully free (except for $20 to mount/balance) due to the warranty. Gotta take the small favors where you get them.

I hate car dealerships. Really. Well, some more than others. But they all suck to some degree.

Sometimes you spend time in places that just feel depressing. Barstow is a place that seems as if people are either passing through (to LA or Vegas depending on direction) or they are stuck. There are those that are biding time relating to Ft. Irwin. But then you have the desert drifters. The meth heads. People with stories that may remind you of days of future passed depending on the path you've traveled.

There but for the grace of god...

Murphy was on set today. A flat tire, a trip to the base ER, and getting locked inside the compound at the end of the day all contribute to a memorable location shoot. Started in Barstow with 0600 wakeup, ended back in LA at 0030 the next day.

Off road? On road? Both? Neither? Sigh.

An interesting film that I hope to catch given my current working world.

Brothers at War

Not me (yet), but rather the boy. After some morning meetings, a call around noon from the boy with those festive words, "I'm sick" coming from the phone. For once I actually was close to his school rather than in the office, so it was off to pick him up. He don't look so good. Some bug is going around (swiney?), and his mom had something for the past week. As long as it isn't getting passed to me...

Schedule another shoot. Since the first one yielded footage that the boss said, "yuck" to. Oh well...at least it won't be in the desert this time.

Was it an anthropological expedition, or sociological exploration? Or is that all just semantics? I think the latter (ahh, but which latter?). First trip to a gun show. Interesting times. The bulk ammo booth was hopping, completely encircled and about 3-4 people deep. No wonder I can't find any .357 magnum (or much of anything else) these days.

The conversations with friends were much more interesting actually. As were the art artifacts from the Saddam era. Crazy stuff...

An interesting and unintended sociological experiment. Or impromptu performance art...not sure which. An opening at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery for the 2009 COLA recipients. As st was one of the visual artists showing, it was an opportunity to spin up the hill on the bike and make an appearance. Little did I know it would provide an opportunity for transitory art.

Meeting, another meeting, thinking, another meeting, thinking about a meeting, dinner, class, movie (for work research...really). Sleep.

Watch this space for further details...

You want it when?!?

Sometimes you just need a change. I'm still not quite sure why, but a desire to get outdoors more, get back on the bike, and spend more time doing the aforementioned with the boy led away from the Audi towards something else. Regular viewers will remember first the Subie (and the theft/return of it), followed by the motorcycle accident leading to a swap for the VW GTI with DSG (auto) tranny. Then following the knee healing, a desire to return back to manual transmission, leading to the Audi A3. Well, for some reason I never was comfortable in the driver's seat, and I also didn't want to subject a leather interior to the harsh reality of desert shooting trips, mtn bike jaunts, beach junkets, etc. And of course getting something that could also go to the track (since the 911 is gone) would be a bonus. So presenting the full circle tilt back to Subaru:

Officially it is a 3-day weekend. Given the work deadlines, more like a no-day weekend. This script isn't going to rewrite itself. And these graphics aren't going to wordsmith themselves. I need to find something that will take care of itself...

sans motor

Part of the "lifestyle" change, and one of the points of the Subie. Yakima roof racks with "universal" (sort of) mount. The only problem is that there are some diffusers on the bottom of the Subie crossbar. So hello, hand drill. Note to self - find a Dremel.

How much can you cram into a day? I depends. Reading with the boy, riding to the range, driving to the hills. Then sleep. Never enough sleep.

There was a time when I had time to write something other than work-related material. At least I think there was. Yes, yes...there was. I have proof. That time, however, is not now.

No, not the target kind. A reshoot of our mission brief with a different actor cast as the sergeant. Hopefully this one will be a keeper. If not, we'll do it again. Without Jack.

Living in the physical realm. First thing in the AM, loading in a set for a shoot on Monday. Amazing what two flats can do along with the right "stuff." And then a field trip to see the mythical container boxes in a preliminary state. Walking through, determining all timing so that the integrators can start integrating and the builders can keep building. They are real...there is light at the end of the tunnel. At least the west coast tunnel. I fear the east coast build is a black hole, but we'll find out next week.

Good, not great. I still think that Bug's Life was the best of the lot, and the first half of Wall*E being some of the best material ever put to "film." Up had a touching love story though, and following Walt Disney's edict, "a tear for every laugh."

A week from hell on the horizon. Hmm, that sounds like a song lyric. Sassy.