Any Thoughts On The Debate?

Who caught the debate? What did y'all think?

Commuting

This is a great essay from the New Yorker about commuting. Having grown up in a family that suffered and benefited from long commutes I find essays on this topic and my reactions to them fascinating. It is my great fear that I will someday slip into a lifestyle that trades too much time away.

This is my hell:

The trip took eighty minutes, with no accidents or extenuating circumstances—just enough time to engender the feeling that we deserved a nap or a big greasy breakfast. He parked his car outside his office: a one-story industrial building overlooking the interstate. He had worked downtown previously and so had come into contact with other people—in the foyer, at lunch, on the way to the garage. “That’s what makes this so damn boring,” he said. “I wouldn’t have moved if I could’ve taken public transportation. I could read a book or talk to somebody.” He slipped in through a side door and into his office; it was a little like going into a motel. There was no one around to greet him or to make small talk.

But what is hellish about this scenario is not just the eighty minute commute, but also the isolation that the fellow finds at work. Ironically, perhaps, I have encountered such dismal isolation when I have spent extended periods of time "working from home."

It's been a while...

...So here is a post of decent length.

1. I like it that some people still know that "Howdy!" is verbal shorthand for "How do you do?" and respond appropriately.

2. Coda from Panic Software looks veeeeeeery interesting.

3. SQL is interesting stuff. I have been working playing with ExpressionEngine for a little while now, and it lets you execute custom SQL queries and loops through them for you. I worked all bloody day on one that needs no fewer than seven tables to spit out six fields. I am betting my query can be slimmed down. if anyone wants to take a crack at it, here it is:

SELECT t.title, t.url_title, d.field_id_13, d.field_id_16, g.gallery_image_url, gc.cat_folder, ge.filename, ge.extension
FROM exp_weblog_data AS d
LEFT JOIN exp_category_posts AS cp ON cp.entry_id = d.entry_id
LEFT JOIN exp_weblog_titles AS t ON t.entry_id = d.entry_id
LEFT JOIN exp_relationships AS r ON r.rel_id = d.field_id_16
LEFT JOIN exp_gallery_entries AS ge ON r.rel_child_id = ge.entry_id
LEFT JOIN exp_galleries AS g ON g.gallery_id = ge.gallery_id
LEFT JOIN exp_gallery_categories AS gc ON gc.cat_id = ge.cat_id
WHERE t.status = 'open' AND d.weblog_id = '6' and cp.cat_id = '11'
ORDER BY t.entry_date
DESC LIMIT 6

and, yes, it works.

WORK

WORK
Originally uploaded by TaggartCojanSorensen.

My Stint of bi-coastal ping-pong is almost up. I return tomorrow after going back and forth between California, Florida, and NJ. This is how I have spent most of my down time between shots. Now that the MS150 is over, Spring is here, and the Horizon of my first child rapidly approaching I am looking forward to spending some quality time the good people of Houston.

Tulips!

Tulips!
Originally uploaded by Pablo Mercado.

So after some false starts I think that it is now safe to say that Spring has sprung here. Witness the tulips!

Lionel Messi Scored An Amazing Maradonna Style Gol Last Night

Wow.

Ratatat @ The 9:30 Club

I caught Ratatat at the 9:30c Club last night. It was a fantastic show: pleading metallica guitars, big beats, smoke machines and bright lights. The crowd was kinda out of control. Folks jumped up on stage and air-guitared; a large group of kids trampled the lcd projector; people were crowd-surfing. Thankfully there was a balcony from which I could observe this amusing behavior.

ce reve ne m'appartient pas

ce reve ne m'appartient pas
Originally uploaded by Pablo Mercado.

I did this drawing on the train back to Montpellier from Barcelona. The words in french mean (i hope) "this dream does not belong to me".

Aside from the wonderful moleskin that Killy gave me at his wedding, this is the first moleskin sketchbook that i have ever kept. I have always wondered what the deal was with moleskins, and i was always a little wary of the slick, thick pages. But after keeping this one for a couple of weeks I may be hooked. The pages seem to love all sorts of ink...

and so it goes...

Dang, Kurt Vonnegut has passed away. My first couple of years of college were dominated by this writer's words. The girl who introduced me to Cat's Cradle and set off a typical Kurt Vonnegut reading binge, also took me too see Mr. Vonnegut speak at U.T. The meaning that managed to settle on my 20 year old mind has caused such pleasant turbulence ever since...

Egg Hunt!

The New Google Maps 'My Maps' Doodad Is Super Rad

Here is a quick map I made of the cities I have lived in...