Marc and Morgan’s spot on the web

Life has been so busy.  That is probably very obvious by how little we get to blog. But when funny, irritating, or weird stuff happens, I feel it necessary to update you all.

EcoReno is awesome. I love doing it and I love making a difference. I have also become very receptive to free publicity. You want a news story on green cleaners? You got it!  Anything to get the word out.

I got a call from KOLO a few weeks ago wanting to do a story on green cleaning products.  A very nice reporter called and asked if she could shoot footage and then come back to shoot live for their morning show. Yep, the morning show that airs from 5am to 7am. What time should I be here Monday? 4:15am. Again, free publicity.

We shot the some footage on Friday morning – a reasonable time of 10am. We confirmed for Monday morning at 4:15. (Let me remind you that even though there is a Starbucks across the lot, they don’t even open that early!) She said the only thing that would keep them is breaking news. I think she said something about WWIII.

I had been having problems with the cell phone, but never gave it a second thought. I drug my butt out of bed at 3:45 after a restless night. I kept thinking that I would over sleep. I got dressed, made myself presentable, and took off into the dark morning. There weren’t many people out, a few early morning people heading to work and passed a few guys probably heading home from a bar. Oh, and I got a full moon. Who does that? Okay, besides Kelly Ricciardi?  Seriously, a big, white ugly butt thrown in my face. Ewwwwww!  Got into the store, locking myself in quickly, and disabled the alarm.

BEEP.  BEEP. Ah, a message on the phone. BREAKING NEWS!!  Not WWIII, but a body found near Caughlin Ranch. No live shoot for me. There had a been a message left on my cell phone and she hoped that I had gotten it before I left the house. NOPE, because my cell phone is acting up and I didn’t do anything to try and fix it. It was a simple fix too – turn off and back on. I headed back home to bed. When I got into the bedroom, Marc asked if I had even left, that is how little time had passed.

The story did air. They used the previously shot footage and I am also happy to say that it aired again during the evening news. I heard it while cooking dinner. So, worth it, but I can tell you that I will be sure that cell phone is working before I head out for a 4:15am shoot!

Other updates: Dad was just here and we had a great visit including the Sacramento Zoo.  The kids are great – both getting so big! Sid’s sitter, Michelle, is telling us that he is very interested in the potty. Trained before his second birthday? You never know.

Just added something new here – to the right, below the photo of our house, you’ll now see a little box that will automatically display links to posts from other blogs that I find interesting and want to share.  You folks who subscribe to posts via email are missing the boat here.  It will eliminate the need to write a new post here linking to whatever item of interest.  So make sure you actually visit the site once in a while to see what’s new!  That first one on "Last Night’s Summer Rain" isn’t really all that great, I just needed one to test things out.  Enjoy!

Really cool, Google Maps now has Street View for Reno!  Photos appear (at least in NW Reno) to be from sometime around spring 2007.

I’ve been meaning to post here but lack of anything particularly interesting or time to post has hindered me. So without further delay, I present today’s Marc mind- and link-dump, gathered from my usual ponderings and roamings about the web:

• Morgan splurged and bought me this shirt. Love it.
• Probably due in part to my new subscription to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, I’m looking into 529 plans for both Lola and Sid.
• The site is unresponsive at the moment, but I thought this recent post from Cory Farley especially good. Episodes like this continue to make me embarrassed to be an American.
• Having significantly upgraded our coffee with the burr grinder and french press, now this item has me pondering whether or not to take the next step….
• It’s looking like a good time to be a barfly in downtown Reno. As I told Rayna, I like the *idea* of a nice selection of drinking establishments more than I actually patronize them.
• How awesome would this be for Burning Man?
• Maggie sent this. Can’t decide how funny I think it is.

Well, I think that’s all I’ve got on my mind for now. Time to shave my head, wait for Morgan and Lola to come home from yard sales (it must be spring), and get pumped up for sushi lunch.

Lola picked out a DVD (okay, I did) at the library. Sing Yourself Silly is so much fun. First, we stumbled across Ladybug Picnic. My mom sings this to the kids, finally found it on You Tube and Lola wouldn’t stop asking to see it. Even Sid starts to yell when it comes on. I think it is also how Lola started using the mouse pad on the laptop. I came home from work one day to find Lola sitting on the side of the rocking chair, saying,”watch this Momma,” and then Ladybug Picnic blasting so loud that I wasn’t surprised when she loudly said, “What!?!?” when I asked what she was doing and why it was so loud. By the way, Gigi is sitting right there in the rocking chair. Apparently this had been going on a while. Marc said it was on when he came home at 1 and I don’t get home until after 4:30pm. Yikes.

Back to the DVD. There is a wonderful song Jelly Man Kelly done by James Taylor. I love it. It is catchy, cute and there are all these kids that sing a long with him. He wrote it off of a poem that his daughter wrote in school. And he is hot in a 70’s rock star kind of way. So one morning, Lola and I are enjoying a little James when I notice that he has these pretty long yucky nails. “Really?” I think to myself. So I rewind and have Marc look. I was kinda put off. They are pretty long and thick. I am not one that should judge fingernails, as I have been a biter since second grade when I observed Erin Wheelock doing this very thing. I have never been able to quit despite my mother’s numerous attempts with hot sauce, rubber-bands, and continuous swatting. But long nails on men are just gross. I like them clipped and short. Heck, I wouldn’t even frown upon some bitten down nails. But not James Taylor. This guy has long nails.

So this morning I decided to do a little research to see if anyone else had noticed. I found this quote by James himself: “My style of playing is evolved around hymns … mostly I think hymns and Woody Guthrie. A few Christmas carols. But it’s the thumb. I use the thumb (emphasizes the word ‘thumb’) (L) and the hands that are attached to my arms … the thumb and these three fingers. For a while there I was breaking fingernails regularly and I had these artificial nails put on. But some of you may do that I don’t know. Do any of you use those nails? Well, they’re interesting. It’s hard to get them to believe you. You say what you want just play the guitar (L). But there’s something inherently evil about them. It is epoxying something to your fingertips. You have power.” Transcript of James Taylor Workshop At A&R Studios – circa 1976 or 1977

Huh. I never would have thought. Then again, I have never played a guitar. This explains it all. Love him – long nails and all!!

Embarrassed by how long it’s been since my last post (over 2 weeks!) and knowing that I absolutely MUST add some new photos, as well as update Wordpress, I humbly offer a couple of worthy links for your consumption:

Another “presidential candidate match” thing and, a kind of funny, kind of useless, translation thingamajig.

Photos and upgrade to come soon, really!

I was just going to dump two sweet links on you, scans from a 1975 JCPenney catalog someone was kind enough to post.  Here and here.  That was a few years before my mom started working for JCP, but having grown up in a JCPenney household, I fondly remember poring over Christmas catalogs throughout my childhood.  I don’t remember seeing anything as fabulous as these, but I guess it’s the historical perspective as an adult rather than childhood fondness for toys that makes them so great now.

Morgan mentioned our visit to SF.  In a nutshell, we (us four plus Paige and Maggie) had a great trip over, overnight at friends (who weren’t there but let us stay at their house) in Oakland, then a truly wonderful visit with friends visiting from France.  Great time was had by all, Lola included, who had some really good fun playing with little Zoe.  We forgot our camera, but fortunately they didn’t.  I should have photos to post someday soon.  Stay tuned.

Just a couple good things I found online this week, both from BoingBoing…

Crazy video, an excellent example of two very dissimilar pieces of media together raising the art of the mashup higher.  This video is Burning Man caliber insane.  If you’re impatient, ffwd to the 1 minute 10 second point.

Amazing photos of ceramics the instant they shatter.

Along the same lines as the trivia/IQ tests linked below, may I present:

71%The Movie Quiz

FilmCritic.com – Movie Reviews

I was going to wax poetic about how it’s starting to feel like fall has its foot in the door, brisk tingly mornings as I ride my scooter through the streets to work each morning, fewer dust-covered Burning Man cars passing through, and balloons in the skies.  But Morgan beat me to the punch, so there you go.  Other tidbits, we’re FINALLY taking possession of the Eurovan tonight, and Lola’s started pooping on the potty!  Good times all around

In addition to the general updates above, I found a handful of cool things to share with you loyal readers, fun/neat/cool sites on this here world wide web.  Most came from an article in PC Magazine of 100 best undiscovered websites.   These are the ones I thought most share-worthy:

Top Secret Recipes – for recreating the yummy things you get when you eat out.

LumosIQ test – totally fun mind games (just 3 of ‘em) that give you a score of how smart you are.  I got 140.  Report back in the comments.

Another test – This one sent by Gigi, you have to think fast (8 seconds to pick an answer), it’s more a trivia test than IQ.  Still fun.  Can’t remember what I scored, 25 or something?

LikeBetter – Pick the picture you like better.  Pick enough of them and the brain tries to tell you something about yourself. 

DaFont – Mostly included here for me to refer back to another time, tons of free fonts for your computer.  Good for posters, flyers, tattoos, etc.

Boomshine – Totally addictive, fun, simple, and relaxing game. 

OK, that’s all I’ve got.  Must….play…more….boomshine….