Category: whatever

Two weekends ago my friend Dale and I were at the skatepark up in McKinney, Texas. There is one feature we skate at the park. It’s kind of a little ditch-style bowl with banked walls (not round wall) that empties into a round-wall bowl. The surface of this run is not typical skatepark-smooth. It has a weird texture to it. When I ride hard wheels they never feel right in it. So for this particular trip I slapped some 56mm 87a OJ Keyframes on my larger street/ditch board. With the softer wheels my speed and flow were increased a lot. The bowl as a lot more fun to skate.

Dale and I weren’t doing that much. Dropping in, carving around, bending our knees, compressing, etc. I had a better time in that bowl than I’ve ever had. A young kid, about 13, came up to me and said “You look like you are flowing on water.” I was really surprised by this. I told him “Thank you – that is a really nice thing to say and I really appreciate it.”

I hope I see that kid again. I feel like I need to thank him again. At the time I didn’t realize how impactful that simple but kind comment was to me. It really made my day. Hell, I suppose it made my week, since I’m still talking about it.

This morning, unlike most mornings, I did not wake to an alarm clock. I woke up about 7am. I let the dog out to do his business. Then he and I both went back to bed. So the whole family, including the cat, in bed til about 8:30am. I slept.

I feel so damned when I can just sleep in. Got out of bed feeling great.

This week FaceBook decided I am a weak loser man who needs to see “reels” of men who are more manly than me giving me advice on general masculinity improvements, how to be an alpha douche, and stuff like that. Apparently I need to also be more tan, grow a beard, and have big veins in my over-muscled arms and neck.

Side note: If I have need to kill one of those guys, a simple razor blade cute to one of those easily-found bulging veins should do the trick.

Oh, I have also learned that people who aren’t happy simply haven’t “decided” to be happy. Isn’t that amazing? For the record I am happy, in general, except when I’m watching these stupid videos. Also, everyone has the right to be unhappy. It is a natural emotional state that humans have, and it is sometimes appropriate.

It’s been an amazing and educational delve into the dungeon of alpha male wisdom influencers.

My old skateboarding website was mentioned on this week’s episode of a popular skateboarding YouTube show/podcast.

It was cool to hear it mentioned.  It was a fun project for about 10 years and I made a lot of good friends because of it. Knowing that someone remembers it is nice.

My first job as a librarian was at the Johnson Space Center library – the Scientific and Technical Information Center. I was there from 1996 to 1998. It was a great first job. As a young person it made me feel great to be part of something important. I got to work with some incredible people. I was there there morning of the fire on Space Station Mir. When I got to work I was immediately pressed into service, retrieving documents and specifications as engineers worked to keep the astronauts alive. It was a great start to my career.

Watching the Artemis II moon flyby mission today is very moving. Thirty years ago you needed NASA TV on cable to watch this kind of thing. Today you can watch the mission from launch to splashdown on a phone in your pocket.

Remembering these words from Carl Sagan seems appropriate today, as four smart and brave people travel farther from Earth than anyone ever has, to loop around the moon and come home. We can still do great things. BUT we need great people in charge, not the orange scumbag and his circle of religious kooks, bigots, and nincompoops.  We could provide healthcare and education to everyone. We could shelter and feed the world’s hungry. We should do that and more.