Small Business Saturday

I guess that this is Small Business Saturday or something.  I could look up the exact wording.  

However, Sherman Alexie (fellow WSU grad from the same time I was there) seems to have found a way to get authors into bookstores on this Saturday after Thanksgiving.  My understanding is that there are hundreds of writers and stores now participating. 

This is very cool.

The photo was taken at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, WA by my son, who has read Alexie at school.  I purchased a used copy of Reservation Blues and got it signed.

It's Starting To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Coney Island Christmas

Burien Actors Theatre

Opening Night

November 29, 2013

It is very difficult to write a truly objective review of a play I have close personal ties to, so I will not actually try to.

This is a fun show.  It is full of comedy and drama and fun little nuggets.

I Heart live theatre.

Two trips to Freddie's

In the span of only a couple of days I made two trips to two different Freddie's.  At one there was a $3.99 plus tax purchase of a pack of M14 and at the other a $1.00 purchase of a single Lotto ticket.

I forgot to check the numbers right away and when I did a few days later I did not get a single number.  Poof, a dollar is gone and I am not actually paying off everything I owe and shopping for a condo downtown.  This is not nearly as much fun as they would lead one to believe.  So, I cannot speak to when I will ever actually go and buy another ticket.  Who knows?

That same week at a different Freddie's I tossed a pack of M14 Magic cards into the cart and when I opened them there was a foil variant Mutavault card in the pack.  The current as of this posting value on the card I pulled is forty bucks and going up.

Magic cards are a better return than lottery tickets in my experience.

My Great Grandfather

My Great Grandfather Henry Knutson arrived as a 24 year old single male from Norway.  

To the best of my knowledge this is on my mother's side, her father's father.

I am now a Doctor

ECCC Celeb Ops Loves Underdogs 2013 GISHWHES

Tape does amazing things

Yes, my Android went flying.

Yes, the screen shattered.

Yes, the case is dead.

Yes, it is over a year old.

No, the store will not fix it now.

No, the company said I am not able to get a new one with my plan since it is not close enough to the two year point.

Yes, the tape is holding.

No, my fingers are not getting cut.

Yes, I might get it fixed.

Yes, I might change companies because of them not working with me even though I want to give them more money.

Yes, the tape is holding.

It's Tom's world

A character I have generally found to be lame in the comics and boom amazing in film, basically entirely because of the actor. I found myself calling it Loki 2, even though the lead and cast and everyone involved was amazing and a great fun film. He is that good.

The smoke

Cornish in Seattle put on this adaptation at their performance space at Seattle Center. The performance I saw November 9 was cut short near the end due to the fog machine triggering the fire department, an evacuation, and the inability to get back into the theatre as a result of the smoke lingering.

Art with my mother

My mother has found a new arts and crafts project that allows her to continue being actively creative despite her limited sight.  By taking various objects and combining them and then placing them on a pole or a stick for display these pieces can be displayed in yards and gardens as yard art.  

So, I took one of the pieces she had and we put this together like a 3D chess board.

It's always a good thing to beat the Dawgs

#24 WSU 1
UW 0
November 8, 2013
Seattle, WA - Husky Soccer Field
PAC-12 Regular Season
In a week when Liverpool lost to Arsenal and PDX ousted the Rave Green from the playoffs a Cougar victory over the Dawgs makes this ex-Cougar goalkeeper coach feel a little better as a soccer fan.

Also, it has now been a decade since UW won a game in this series, sort of like the Dawgs and Ducks in football.  7-0-3 over the past decade.

This is how I roll

Dice from back in the day, PAX, a birthday gift set, and my new ones from The Doubleclicks.

DnD and MTG is covered as needed.

The story behind this photo

Mountlake Terrace Elementary

Talent Show

Fifth or Sixth Grade

Swan Lake

My Basketball Team

I really think I will let all that speak for itself.

My Sounders before the NASL Sounders

Kingdome

Summer 1979

The correct sign is back atop the building

Rrrrrrrrrainierrrrrrrr

Beeeeeerrrrrrrr

The colors this year

I do not remember the colors of Fall being quite as vivid in years past.  It appears that our longer and dryer weather into the Fall allowed for the leaves to stay on the trees longer and go through more color stages and bring us the more vivid reds.

Awesome.

Oh My Goodness Sarah

Sarah Brightman
The Paramount Theater
Seattle, WA
October 26, 2013

This was a spectacular show.  My mother was able to enjoy not only the music but a bit of the show through binoculars, so that was an extra bonus.

Name Tag

For AngelHack today I decided that there were so many guys named Jeff signed up I would just be silly and use this.  I left it on.  Some people got the reference.  One guy asked me if it really was my name.

OK Howard

I recently decided to just get over something.

There have been times in the recent past that Howard has stood up for things that I consider important and interesting. I generally dislike corporate political posturing but when he was called out he answered back at a shareholder.  He has stones.

Yes, he screwed up when the team was sold. Whether he really thought the assholes from OKC would really move the team or just flip it, I don't know or care anymore. He basically took his ball and went home.  On this blog I have ranted a number of times in the past about this topic. It still sucks, but I still want to be able to enjoy the NBA and some good coffee.

I actually met him in 02. He is generally a good guy and that came across to me as we discussed his teams.

A few months back it looked like the years without the NBA would be over and so I should be looking forward to attending a game and watching a new arena being built.  That didn't happen.  I was really bummed when I was reading up on the upcoming season.  It was like a second sucker punch.

But, I decided while having a cup of coffee at the original store, that I was past being upset at Howard.  I have ranted and whatnot, but I like the coffee.  This is a bit of a ramble but the bottom line is that I do not like being angry.

So, even though I should be (could be, whatever) celebrating another season of Sonics basketball, I have decided to stop being pissed about it.  It is doing me no good.