Ramblin

Wed, 2 Jun 2010 16:15:11 -0500

Sometimes I want to blog. Not because I necessarily have something so compelling that I feel the need to share it with the world. No. Sometimes I just want to. However, there lies a problem in wanting to do something when the need to do it doesn’t match up with the tools to do so. I have no topic, but I want to communicate with anonymous readers (all three of them) about what is happening inside my 5 star hotel room size brain. But what do I write about? The fact that I’m sitting at my kitchen table eating hell flavored salsa from the Taco Shack, torturing my taste buds? Or maybe I can write about how I conquered a 7-Eleven slurpee addiction, and that I use my slurpee-free life to pressure my friends into eradicating their addictions, for the betterment of mankind.

I like to use descriptive words when I write. Yeah, I get wrongly criticized for using them incorrectly but I think the important thing to take away from the criticism is that maybe these words are too descriptive, too BIG of words for those listening around me to fully comprehend. Maybe they don’t really get what I’m trying to describe so they attack my mastery of the English language so as not to expose their confusion. I’ll start using smaller, get-to-the-point type of words in order to keep their attention.

I was accused this weekend of being very outgoing, as in the opposite of reserved. I’d like to take some space here to dispute that, although I don’t consider that a bad thing. First off, I’m two people. I’m one person around people I know and trust, and a different person around people I am just acquaintances with, people I just met, and strangers. Its few and far between when I meet someone and then soon after be myself and comfortable with. Those people do exist though, and I can count most of them as my best friends. Usually, people meet me and then I hear later about how quiet they think I am, or how I don’t talk much. But get me around my people and you’ll probably be hoping I shut up soon. So, yeah, I am outgoing but you wont find me freewheeling jokes around a campfire with a bunch of people whom are all a part of the same inner circle. I’m reserved, when I’m the new guy. I’m the conversation starter, when I’m around people who are all new and large groups of people. And I’m outgoing around my people.

We woke up on Sunday, at our campsite, started breakfast and this trio stopped by and asked if we’d seen a “little camper” wander through our campsite early that morning. I’m thinking, little camper, like a kid? Minutes later, this grown man crawls out of the back of a friends SUV, still drunk from the night before, scratching his belly button and zipping up his jeans. Haha, then he says, “I’d like to know who brought me over here...” Never a dull moment.

Biker Beef

Sat, 15 May 2010 13:15:45 -0500

I need to address something that is becoming an increasing issue, at least as far as I’m concerned, bicyclists. They demand that they be treated as a vehicle and given the same rights of way. “Share the road,” they say, as they want to be recognized as a moving vehicle. That’s all fine and dandy to me. I give them the right of way, don’t crowd them against the curb, drive 5 mph behind them down Lamar when I can’t change lanes. I share the road with them. The problem arises when they turn sharing the road with vehicles into sharing the rules with pedestrians.

Pedestrians always have the right of way, that’s the rule. Cars stop at stop lights, and when the “walk” light comes on, pedestrians can safely cross the street. But wait! People on bicycles take the “walk” light to mean they can also cross the street. Wrong! Nowhere is this a bigger problem than around The University of Texas at Austin campus. Here’s a recent example:

I’m waiting patiently to cross Dean Keaton Ave. to get to the Littlefield Patio Cafe and grab some morning coffee. The traffic lights in all directions turn red and all of the “walk” lights come on, allowing pedestrians to cross in either direction and even cross diagonally. Yet, here comes this idiot on a bike, cruising down Dean Keaton, who slows down some and sees that he can zip though the passersby and cross the intersection. He speeds past me, through the intersection, and continues down the road.

A perfect example of these morons taking the best of both worlds, basically having no regards for laws, rules, or others safety and respect. I can give you the respect of a motor vehicle, and share the road with you, or I can treat you as a pedestrian (but really only if you’re on the sidewalk and that’s not allowed in a lot of places), but I refuse to respect bicyclists as both. I had half an inkling to knock that dude off his bike as he flew by me, sending him skidding down Dean Keaton as his bike veered off into the curb, flipping end over end into the student services building. That would have taught him a lesson (and probably would have been pretty funny). But, I held my impulses back and imagined it happening. That was satisfaction enough for me. Maybe next time.

Happiness

Tue, 11 May 2010 16:28:01 -0500

I realize, as I get older, that it’s the little things that make me happy. I don’t need TV, video games, a fancy house or car, the latest and greatest gadgets, or anything like that. They help me make it through the boring times, sure, but in the end they don’t bring any long term satisfaction to me. They really just leave me wanting more.

Maybe it’s the state of the economy, everybody trying to save their hard earned money, or maybe it’s a shift in lifestyle. Lately, our Friday nights have consisted of going to dinner with friends. No fancy joints which require elaborate costumes or dress-up attire, no outlandishly expensive establishments tacking on additional cost for the “atmosphere.” No ridiculous waiting periods in places so full you can’t even find a chair to rest your behind while you wonder how they determine your waiting period in the first place. No, just a good cooked meal with friendly service and the company of friends is all we require. We finish our meals, swap stories of the week, make fun of our friends that aren’t there (they are defenseless that way), and maybe make plans for Saturday or Sunday. That’s a successful Friday night. Maybe we meet up afterwards at someone’s house or maybe we don’t, but either way it makes for a fulfilling evening.
Part II:
Having a dog brings so much joy. I’ve learned as I’ve grown up how to relax. It used to be fast, late nights, let it all hang out, sleep in the next day and start it up again. These days, I’m content to set up a lawn chair on my back porch, or in the driveway, grab a cold beverage, throw on some country music, and watch Juno chew on a stick. Now being that it’s springtime and the temperatures are comfortable, this may be short lived, but nevertheless I find it very relaxing. The only thing better would be with a rocking chair. I’ve always said that when I get old, I want to sit on my porch in a rocking chair with a bloodhound lying at my feet. I’ve since been told that bloodhounds don’t really lay around, they run around, and that I shouldn’t get one unless I like dog slobber all over everything including the ceiling. So, maybe I’m just a rocking chair short of achieving my destiny of old age. After all, a beagle is a hound and I can’t think of anything being a mans best friend much better than Juno is already.

There it is. In my young age of infinite wisdom, I’ve been able to find peace and happiness in my wife, my dog, and my friends. No technology will ever replace any of it, and it’ll never grow stale.

Meet Little Miss Juno

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:11:12 -0600

A new Fogarty has been added to the family! Little Miss Juno is her official AKC registered name. Juno is a 13” female beagle we picked up from a breeder in Dimebox, TX. She is very smart and has quite the personality, but can be easily distracted by whatever nearby scents her nose picks up.

Juno can sit, stay, lay down, roll over, shake, fetch, leave it, speak, heel, come, and crate (go in her crate). She plays well with many different size dogs and loves to run. We’re working with her to track scents and discover what activities she likes to do. Maybe we’ll try agility as well.

Juno loves to sleep under the covers and loves to cuddle. She howls at Max, our cat, when Max won’t play with her but besides that she doesn’t really make much noise unless some deer try to take over the backyard. She defends her turf.

Juno will have her own page up soon and can be followed on twitter @LittleMissJuno

Veterans Day Appreciation

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:26:58 -0600

What is it that we do to honor and remember veterans? We celebrate Veterans Day, sure, but what is it that honors veterans? Many people go the commercialized route, putting yellow ribbon decals on their car, plastering “I support the troops” stickers on their bumpers. I guess that works but its more than that. This video is aimed to help people realize what our veterans do and how really simple it can be, if they’re willing, to honor our veterans. It is aimed at the younger generations who don’t know about the sacrifices the servicemen and women went through during the World Wars, and the Vietnam and Korean wars. Sure, they know about the Iraq conflict, and maybe Desert Storm, but do they support the troops regardless of whether or not they support the decisions of our leaders? This video will steer them, along with the others who just don’t know what they can do, in the right direction.
To reach the college audience, I felt it was important to reach individuals. I chose video clips of servicemen and women’s faces as often as I could to give the video a personable feel. People of different race and gender were shown serving or country. One thing I didn’t do well enough was portray women although this was not from lack of trying, there simply was just not as much footage of women serving as there was men. Another thing which there was less of was Iraq footage. This was partially intended. Many people have strong feelings towards Iraq, especially younger generations, and I didn’t want those emotions getting in the way of the message which was to honor those who serve. I wanted to try to show men and women serving in the early years, then portray some of them as older veterans and mix in men and women of today at college age to show that some of their fellow students are veterans themselves. College is about learning who you are and speaking out for causes and exercising your rights, but I wanted to educate them to appreciate those rights and understand what’s sacrificed for them.
The editing used was intended to keep the audience’s attention. I didn’t want to put text on the screen because it has that presentation feel and college age kids don’t want to be lectured. Instead, I used footage of persons writing and supplemented it with footage of myself writing out the three points. I sped the writing up to keep their short attention spans glued to the screen. Most of the video clips were short, no more than 2 seconds, just long enough to understand them, then on to the next clip.
The audio was tough to steer towards the college age. It was older music, but classic songs. New, hipper music didn’t really flow with the message I was sending. So, the audio was chosen to coincide with the older 1950’s -70’s footage, but still makes sense with the more recent video clips. Like the short video clips, I used about one minute audio sequences to keep the audience together while not allowing them to get bored.
This video was to show college students that honoring veterans isn’t something just for their parents. It shows that they can honor veterans by appreciating their college life, studying hard to make the best of themselves and not taking it for granted. When they see a veteran they don’t know, they will have the thought to go up and say, “thanks.” Nothing else is needed and it really means so much to the former and current men and women of the military. The next time they hear the national anthem, played before every Texas football game, maybe the students will take 45 seconds, remove their hats, place their hands on their hearts, and stop talking with their friends to think about those who serve and have served their country. And maybe, if they look close enough, they will notice the yellow ribbon on the back of the Longhorn players football helmets, who run out of the tunnel with the American flag, signifying their remembrance of veterans for which the stadium is named.

College Football: Playoffs would defeat the BCS

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 11:55:53 -0600

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