DDR gone wild

Posted on August 20th, 2008 by george.
Categories: friends, music, fun, humor, dance.

There is such a thing as too fast.

0 comments.

HURRICANE!

Posted on August 19th, 2008 by george.
Categories: environment, fun.

And you know what that means.

PARTY!

Fay is rather weak as tropical storms go, so we’re just lounging about the house, watching the palms bend over and the rain come down in sheets, flickring and playing video games.  All is well.  This is better than a snow day!

3 comments.

Let’s dance

Posted on August 14th, 2008 by george.
Categories: poetry, future, music, photography, dreams, youtube.

last night met David Bowie
in future New York City
he said, “Hey man
wanna see my pad?”

felt like a suffragette
face in elevator chrome
got off at twenty-seven
the view on top so rad

private island high rise
I spied the streets below
I had my baby’s camera
to shoot the passing scene

out into the lobby
escorted by the duke
asian paparazzi
then crashed my little dream

how odd it must be for him
to deal with all the fame
for just a little stardust
the people scream and yell

elbow to the window
ignoring all the din
I zoom on things below
to see what tales they tell

a traffic jam with police
directing all the flow
I couldn’t time the shot right
being jostled at the glass

finally I got it
the next moment I awoke
two cops, a jumping high-five
now that’s a dream with class

1 comment.

The beholder

Posted on July 18th, 2008 by george.
Categories: poetry.

he is the one
who lights the match
holds it to the tear-soaked wood
and prays
his faith is worthy
of the miracle
to set the pile of sticks
the tinder of his past
all that counts for his life
ablaze
to melt the golden calf
and let run
the molten, searing pain
of his vain imaginings
away
far away
down the river
clogged with self-wrought
chains

2 comments.

Deep blue

Posted on July 14th, 2008 by george.
Categories: travel, future, life, environment, fun, video, animals, youtube, sports, water.

In spite of childhood swim lessons in frigid water at the crack of dawn (or perhaps because of them), I have always been a waterbaby.  In the past six months I’ve made rapid progress in scuba diving, beyond PADI certified rescue diver into specialties like wreck penetration diving.  Lately I’ve become obsessed with the geology and location of blue holes, occuring in equatorial karst regions throughout the Caribbean and across the globe, ranging from the cenotes of Mexico to the springs of Florida to the blue holes of the Bahamas, Belize, and the Red Sea.  In exploring online what I hope to someday explore in person, I ran across this video and was entranced.  If you can’t see yourself doing this, then imagine you were along with Lorenia today, as she swam in the azure waters off the Yucatan with massive sea turtles and giant whale sharks, exploring undersea caves and catching rides from 12-foot wide manta rays.

5 comments.

Leeward

Posted on July 2nd, 2008 by george.
Categories: poetry.

Scraping along on a dirty hull
Lord in heaven my senses are dull
Won’t you lift off the veil from my cloudy eyes
Or make wings of my sails that can take to the skies
Can’t you hear how heavy I’m heaving my sighs
As the night
Draws near
Like a thief

So low seem the clouds on this soft blue ball
Should I reach for my star and let go of it all
Loose the chains, free the mooring and leap for my life
Tumbling headlong for children, a mortgage, a wife
With this freedom of choice should I steer clear of strife
Or see light
Shed a tear
And believe?

3 comments.

The overview effect

Posted on July 1st, 2008 by george.
Categories: synthesis, space, future, life, music, love, society, environment, fun, epiphany, enlightenment, humor, film, video, youtube.

5 comments.

I believe

Posted on June 23rd, 2008 by george.
Categories: technology, space, fun.

16 comments.

Sky high

Posted on June 19th, 2008 by george.
Categories: travel, society.

Let’s talk for a second about airlines, shall we?  (Disclaimer:  Lacey, my friend, this is in no way directed at you.  I realize you and hundreds of thousands of other people make their living working in the air transportation industry.)

Now.  I’m an avid flyer.  I love it.  I love travel.  I want to be a pilot.  And amidst all the clamor of rising fuel prices, I’ve kept mum.  I’m happy petrol prices are rising; I hope it spurs change, since nothing but the bottom line seems to be able to motivate the majority of humanity.

But I’m gonna take a moment right now just to vent about the creative ways that airlines are looking to make their business profitable.  You’ve heard about American setting the standard by charging for checked bags.  Within weeks everyone else jumped on the bandwagon, and that one’s easy:  I travel light.  I never check bags.  It got a little tougher after the Theater Security Administration banned liquids and gels, but it’s just another bump in the turbulence, right?

Well we’re headed up to Chattanooga in a couple weeks to meet my new nephew (due any day now!) and I got the good word from Dad that I should check out Allegiant Air for direct flights from Orlando.  All well and good, right?  Yeah…

It’s nice that the internet has forced (or allowed, depending on your perspective) airlines to show you the price of each leg of your journey, so you can adjust departure and arrival dates in search of the lowest fare.  But the fees are starting to get ridiculous.  You think to yourself…each leg for under $100, that’s not bad at all!  Then you’re reminded…oh yeah…taxes and fees.  It would be one thing if it were on the order of sales tax, somewhere under ten percent.  But twenty-seven percent of the base price?!  Isn’t that higher that credit card interest rates?

Ok, where do we begin?  Federal taxes of $23?  That should cover the FAA and ATC and the TSA and any other TLA, right?  Wrong.  They’re STILL charging a “September 11th fee.”  Just to keep the fear in us, I suppose.  Segment fees?  PFC?  Miscellaneous?  Forget what those are even supposed mean?  Miscellaneous?  Seriously, guys?  You might as well say, “we added this on so we could advertise a lower fare.”

Still, all this I was already grudgingly aware of.  What gets me is what comes next.  Just like signing up for websites means that the little box for “please send me spam” is already checked, Allegiant pre-selects all its fees for you.  Oh!  How convenient!  You’re going to charge me $15 to reserve EACH seat?  There and back?  It took me a full minute to figure out how to decline seat reservations.  Surely that’s it.  But wait, there’s more!

These are small regional jets, so the carryons are limited to 8 by 16 by 19 inches.  Good thing I bought my suitcase in Lilliput.  Even if I wanted to check a bag?  $20 apiece.  Just to start.  And that’s when you tell them in advance!  It’s even more if you show up at the counter with grandma’s heirloom wardrobe in tow.

Click through to the next screen.  Surely I can input my credit card info now.  Oh wait, what’s this?  A rescheduling fee?  You want me to pay you sixty bucks just so I can have the OPTION of changing my flights?  You must be joking.  Southwest does that for free.  Quick, where’s the deselect button?  Better yet, where’s another airline?

Add this to the fact that many airlines are now charging piecemeal for every single consumable on board, coupled with the TSA’s diligent prohibition of food and drinks from home and the airport’s oh-so-reasonable prices (did I mention how convenient it is to the airport’s quarterly projections that you’re forced to buy food there?), and you have a perfect storm of passenger discontent.

Still, I guess it beats driving.

8 comments.

Fame

Posted on June 18th, 2008 by george.
Categories: space, video.

My sister Caroline is on TV with Dan Rather!  She starts at 24:50.

Also, if you act now, you can send your name to the moon.

I’m serious.  The deadline is June 27th.

8 comments.

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