Category Archives: miscellany

Summer of Sloth

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My creative output this summer has been quite poor. No podcasts. Not much writing other than a few posts on this blog. No drawing. No music. No video.

Perhaps it’s the Texas heat that has gotten to me. Even in our nice air conditioned little house I feel like the oppression of the Texas summer heat  drives the will to create out of me. I’m starting to feel the need to be creative again, but man, it has been rough.

I’ve been reading a lot too, and I find that when I read a lot I don’t do very much. That’s alright sometimes, but not really a good plan in the long run. But really, when you work full time it is difficult. Once you are home, there are basic life functions that must be fulfilled. That leaves maybe 2.5 hours of useful time in the evenings. That’s not a lot.

Anyway, it looks like I will finish August having read 7 books this month.

However, I must admit that spending the evenings reading has been very nice. The wife has been mostly off from school this summer, and it has been great to spend more time with her, even when we’re just chilling out. It’s relaxing. Watching the Six Million Dollar Man reruns on TV while we read, or just listening to some music is really nice. Or to mimic what one of my English friends might say, “It’s quite lovely”. Englishmen use the word “lovely” a lot.

I’ve actually started and mostly completed a number of posts for this blog, but decided in each case they were really a lot more negative than I wanted to publish. I’m generally a pretty positive person, but my sense of humor tends toward sarcasm and meanness. Maybe I will rework some of those posts. Really, some of the stuff I’ve posted had gone a bit more in that direction than I’d really prefer, but fuck it, that stuff is there, so be it.

My back has been bothering me a lot for the last couple of months. It’s feeling better now, but it has forced me to take some time off from Aikido and skateboarding, which really has probably contributed to my creative lethargy. Those are my primary forms of exercise, and I love them, and not doing them makes me feel like I’m half asleep all the time. I’ll be returning to Aikido in September, however, at least once a week to start and just see how the back muscles do. And of course, in September I’ll be heading to a big skateboarding contest in Philly, for which I have not been able to practice at all.  No big deal. I will go, skate, and have a good time.

I suppose the back thing is a preview of old age for me, but it isn’t time to surrender yet. It will just force me to make my Aikido better — more efficient and smooth.

 

A good day of bike riding

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This morning I went for a ride with my friend Matt. A typical ride for us — starting at his house in Dallas, about 2 miles to White Rock Lake, around the lake, and back. Great ride — always fun to ride with Matt. A good, leisurely pace, good conversation, good exercise. It was hot, and I had multiple layers of sunscreen on. As I write this, I still do.

Then about 7:45pm I went out for a ride around the neighborhood here in Richardson. It was really nice outside. I weaved through the neighborhood to the church I “grew up in” and was married in. It is now some kind of Buddhist facility or something — the church built a new building several years ago.

Then I rode across the street to Richardson Heights Shopping Center, former home of Sun Rexall Drug Store — they had the best news stand in town when I was growing up, and I purchased many comics and Skateboarder Magazines there. Lots of candy too. It was one of those stores that had nearly everything. It went out of business some years ago, and is now one of those party supply stores.

The rest of the shopping center is mostly various kinds of specialty ethic stores, eateries, and a grocery. There’s a donut shop and a check cashing place right next door to my old dentist’s office — which is the only business that is still there.

While I’m kind of nostalgic for the way it used to be, the fact is that a lot of those old businesses were probably dying. I’m sure there are those who don’t like seeing “foreign” places in the shopping center, but you know — those businesses appear to be thriving. I rode by them – all nice, clean, and the food looks great. I’m not crazy about the check cashing place being there, but everything else looks great. And they are local businesses — not massive chains — which I like a lot. The shopping center and I suppose the surrounding neighborhoods have reinvented themselves — fortunately in a very good way.

I really wonder in 30 years, will one of the kids who grew up in this area, of immigrant parents, ride a bicycle through that parking lot and think about the time he spent there, and will he or she be glad that the businesses and people here are still prospering. I hope so. I was once one of those immigrant kids. We came here from Louisiana.

From the shopping center I threaded my way through the residential streets. Being on a bike can create a compelling need to explore. There’s a connection to your surroundings that you don’t get in a car, but the increased speed of the bike makes exploration more feasible than when you’re walking. I found streets and neighborhoods right here, in my old stomping grounds, that I’d never seen before — really great little places.

After a while I zipped back over to Waterview, headed north, and after a few turns I was home. Lots of fun.

Richardson is coming back, people. Watch out.

Good Pizza

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Homerun Inn PizzaLast month I discovered that the local Albertson’s supermarket carries frozen Home Run Inn Pizza — the best pizza in the world — from Chicago. Its so good. Well, they are in the process of closing all the Albertson’s stores. So tonight, in preparation for da Bears victory in tomorrow’s Super Bowl, we purchased enough of the glorious gift from God to last us a while. Here we see that pizza sitting safely in our freezer — 9 or 10 small ones and 3 big ones.

About this site

This is just my personal blog. I’m going to write about things I’m doing that may not belong on BTT.

You will not find political opinion or rants about religion here. While I’m prone to both, I’m going to try to keep to a few different subjects: skateboarding, web technology, cyberculture, librarianship (my profession), and learning aikido. I’ll probably also write about books I read — mostly non-fiction.