Feel like I got hit by a truck…no amount of coffee is rousing a single brain cell.

I’m an interesting paradox (or collection of paradoxes): I hate stuff, yet I like stuff. I hate stuff in that it’s all just so much future yardsale junk–the shiny gadget of today quickly becomes the Sony Walkman cassette player marked at $0.50 in somebody’s yard.

And yet…there’s usually some shiny new something that catches my eye that I want. Something I can’t have, or don’t really need, or that’s somehow lower on the priority list than everything else. And I talk myself out of it.

I read stuff like this and I have to admit it: Ford is in much better shape than any of the other domestics.

Look at it:

• They’re not the Ivory Tower. GM is, for better or worse, still the face of American automotive industry. They take the flak. They killed the electric car. They build Hummers. Ford is an also-ran…they’re not haulling Mulally in front of Senate panels. They’re hauling-up GM CEO Rick Wagoner. Ford benefits from GM taking all this flack because it can quietly consolidate and grow without too much focus.

…or, What Theatre People Do in their Spare Time.

Simple curriculum dies:

• Thursday night: Worked until 8:30 on spec due that day. Didn’t finish it. Grudgingly resolved to come into work on 4th of July.

• Friday: Up before dawn, work until 11am on spec. Finish version 0.2 and email. Return home, resolving to take daughter to Jackson for family fun. Recongize I’m exhausted and will probably crash into tree on return trip. Decide not to go. Take wife and daughter on excursion around Lexington, ending up at Fayette Mall around 6pm when torrential downpour hits. Walk through mall even though all mall stores closed, except JC Penny’s and Dillards. Chase wife through baby clothes section on 3rd floor of Dillards (“But these are so CUTE!”). Watch Romeo Must Die, have chortling good time watching Jet Li parroting English phrases like, ‘Right on!’

Insomnia consists of the inability to fall asleep …

Whitney - Jul 1, 2008

Insomnia consists of the inability to fall asleep NOT being consistently awakened by your husband snoring, jumping up and down, rolling on top of and smothering you, and hitting you in the back. Which is why I was pissed when I nudged you and asked you to roll over bc you were snoring and you told me to GET UP AND READ A BOOK bc that helps you when you can’t sleep and then followed me upstairs after I’d halfway fallen asleep and yelled at me. Yeah. I’d say most of America would be pissed.

Nothing like some hard numbers to support one’s anecdotal observations.

More motorcycle licenses, yup. :-)

Honey, you’re not a monogamous shiny gadget guy; you’re a promiscuous shiny gadget guy. You’d buy it. You’d use it. And then you’d be done.

Segue: I got to ride Stu’s Silverwing for a good half-hour. I LOVED IT. Wow, the wind, the smells, the feeling of oneness with the road. I enjoyed it much more than the last time–felt much more comfortable maneuvering the bike.

I’ve been noticing some changes here in the Ivory Tower/Crystal Palace parking lots–there are fewer cars, more newer small cars, and more motorcycles.

Though of course the sample size is small and narrow (buncha engineers!), it seems clear that people’s habits are changing where they can, from what they drive to even if they drive.

Some examples:

• More people carpool, meaning fewer cars total in the lot

• The new cars I’ve noticed in the lot are the new econo-class–Yaris, Fit, Scion, etc.

ROFL!!!

hmmmmm…..usually you detest p… Whitney - Jul 2, 2008

ROFL!!!

hmmmmm…..usually you detest people who make you look bad in public…..

Those guys at Edmunds have done it again–made it stupid easy to see how stupid you are:

Try this out: Gas Mileage Savings Calculator.

It’s essentially the same thing I did on my own with a Google Docs spreadsheet. The numbers aren’t pretty. ROI is 8-10 years moving up from my 25mpg Camry to something like a MINI or a TDI VW.

The calculation I keep trying to make is how high …

Jeff Roberts - Jun 1, 2008

The calculation I keep trying to make is how high gas has to go before I switch from my 550cc motorcycle to Sandra’s dweeby 185 :-)

- “So, don’t you think that’s a requirement for being a software developer: Being detail-oriented?”

- “Perhaps I’m a bad software developer, then.”

Well, I’m back.

Whitney has several excellent Posts on our vacation.

I enjoyed it, but I got overtired and fed-up with the whole thing. Sleeping-in doesn’t agree with me. Not working (that is, being aimless) doesn’t agree with me.

Had some time away from computers and blogging, as well, and that’s got me thinking. I’m thinking that my blogging these days is full of crap. What I really think and feel and perceive about this world is frankly unfit for the light of day (any day), much less consumption by people I care about.

• Sometimes, when I find someone insufferable, my wife does, too. Algorithm IS a latin word, but it’s a bastardized version of the original Arabic.

• Wood stain is like chickenpox for horizontal or vertical surfaces.

• I really like sushi. As in, if I had the money, I’d eat it every day for lunch.

• I can tan, much like a rump roast can cook: Eventually.

Sushi, eh? I like tuna and salmon, so is it anythi…

Jeff Roberts - Jun 4, 2008

Sushi, eh? I like tuna and salmon, so is it anything at all like that?

Yes and no…there are flavo… HarryC - Jun 4, 2008

@Jeff Roberts:

Yes and no…there are flavors and textures in the sushi that simply aren’t there once the fish is cooked.

So, I read somewhere once (citation be damned!) that people with active, physical jobs should enjoy relaxing vacations, and that people with sedentary jobs should try for more active, involved holidays.

Hoo boy. Sign me up for some bricklaying.

So, in the short few days since last Friday, this happened:

• Friday: We put together the kids’ swing set: .

  Assembly time: 8 hours

• Sunday, we did church and Father’s day, including a trip to Malone’s restaurant for a sampling of excellent sushi from the Aqua Sushi bar. Man, it was awesome!

Suddenly I’m feeling vicariously productive and fu…

Jeff Roberts - Jun 3, 2008

Suddenly I’m feeling vicariously productive and fulfilled!

Wow.

Imagine Vince Vaughn, minus 30 pounds, plus lots of hair, still unable to act. Then imagine a vapid plot, based around hollow, vapid Hollywood people.

At that point, you’ll have Swingers, a picture of the walking id that is maleness in America in the 1970’s…er…I mean, the 1990’s in Hollywood.

From reading the trivia on imdb, it looks like Writer/Director/Star/Gaffer/Wardrobe-Mistress Favreau based the plot on his own life when coming out to L.A.

What an awesome, awesome weekend it was! Productive, surprising, exhausting, with both family time and some time to myself.

Friday night Whitney and I watched Juno the indie hit from last year that made Ellen Page an ingenue phenomenon. A nuanced film, it has the same deep characters and self-deprecating humor as Little Miss Sunshine. We both liked it.

Saturday was busy, as most Saturdays before Autocross are for me. But man, was I motivated–up at 6:30, TODO list in hand, ticking-off chores. It freaked-out Bella just a tad: “I get freaked out when you’re…organized.” We were the snack-bringers at the final Coach-pitch game of the regular season at 4, but we decided to head into Lexington to buy Bella some new running shoes and head to Sams.

Sounds like a full and fun weekend. I’m trying to…

Jeff Roberts - Jun 1, 2008

Sounds like a full and fun weekend. I’m trying to decide if my class will go feral if I leave it next weekend and go with Sandra to pick up Kate from camp.

I had a thought today, a shining inkling of something spectacular, something different, something…red.

That is a Porsche 356 spyder.

Yeah, the thought goes like this: I’m commuting in the automotive novacaine known as my 2000 Toyota Camry. It’s smooth, quiet, and reliable. On the weekends, I’d like to have something to drive and autox.

I love my E30, but it’s far from a classic sportscar–it has body roll and understeer like the sedan it actually is. So, does it make more sense to get something less compromised and more focused. (And, more classic?)