Tue 17 Apr 2007
After sitting on a box of stuff for a year and a half, I have finally started selling things on ebay. My first auction is for a Mountain Dew can (that I drank) from 1988 or so that I think is a rare design, but we’ll see if the collectors are into it.
I got my first bid today, and they matched my starting price of 99 cents. So far I am GUARANTEED to make 45 cents for my trouble. That’s right… I’m a high roller….
Tue 17 Apr 2007
Woke up late today at around 10:00. Listened to a little Within Temptation (metal band with a female lead singer) on YouTube. Took Lenore to work. Walked the dog. Had a light lunch consisting of a yogurt and some Ass-Kickin’ Snack Mix which says right on it that it is “Kick Yo Ass Hot!” And, as it turns out, it is. Went out to the garage and got my tools organized to put the radiator back on my family’s 1930 Model A Ford. Had to cut short workin’ on the car to go to a event for the artistic community that is trying to get established in Indianapolis called “Culturati”. Came home, walked the dog, ate dinner, made juggilng balls out of old tennis balls to use tomorrow at a gig where I will be teaching race-car drivers how to juggle in order to improve their hand-eye coordination and reaction time. Got a call from a buddy telling me that his dogs might have given my dog Whip Worms. Ick. Ate Brittish candy bar that I bought in San Francisco called “Toffee Crisp”. It was yummy.
Tue 10 Apr 2007
One morning a few months ago, when I let my dog out, there was a hawk in my backyard eating a freshly killed pigeon. It was awesome. There was a big circle of feathers, and bright red blood in the snow. As Vader ran out to see what was going on the hawk tried to fly off with its prey, but couldn’t manage it, so it had to drop the pigeon in the yard. Although it came back later, it couldn’t find the carcass in the snow. I felt bad for it. I am VERY much in favor of anything that will kill and eat pigeons… especially if it’ll do it with such style. After a misidentification by me in the bird book, my wife Lenore looked it up, and we both agree that it must’ve been a juvenile Northern Goshawk.
thanks to www.birdchick.com for the image
Today, I think I spotted its nest in a tree a few houses down the street from ours. I love raptors, so I’m excited about having the chance to watch this one more often. The leaves are just starting to come out, so in another week or so I won’t be able to see its nest, but at least I know where it is now so I can watch for it better.
I also saw a pretty big owl in the neighborhood last week, but it was far away and silouetted, so I really couldn’t see enough to try to identify it. I have seen very few owls in my life, so I hope I can get a better view of it.
Sat 7 Apr 2007
Posted by mark under Regular Ol' Stories
Comments Off on The Voyage to San Francisco: An Incredible Day
San Francisco Voyage
My brother Kent got married last week in Cambria California, which is in wine country in between Los Angeles and San Francisco. I flew into San Francisco, and then caught a ride with my cousin and family down to the wedding. It ended up being a fantastic weekend all in all, but the first day of my trip alone was pretty incredible.
First of all, as I was headed to the Airport I got a call from the Orbitz automated Traveler Update telling me that my flight into O’Hare was delayed due to bad weather, but when I got to the airport and checked in, I had already been re-routed through Dallas/Fort Worth. Amazing! It’s never that easy when you fly! I especially appreciated the re-routing since throughout the afternoon I kept getting calls from the Orbitz automated Traveler Update telling me how much more my original flight was now delayed.
The flight was packed. They had oversold it by something crazy like 18 people. It was a small plane that had just two seats on either side of the aisle. I sat down and tried to get organized and situated quickly since I knew that the seat next to me would fill up any second. Amazingly enough, when we took off there was only one empty seat on the whole plane, and it was next to me! Time to stretch out and relax. I put the armrest up, and thoroughly enjoyed the extra room.
Perhaps the one thing that didn’t go my way on this trip was food… although it kept almost going my way. When I got to my gate in Dallas I had a few minutes before boarding, I was a little hungry, and I knew there would be no food on the plane unless you bought it. Just so that I would have a goal I decided to think of what I really wanted to eat before I went out in search of it. “A sandwich. That would be the perfect thing.†I thought. I looked up and to my right, and there was a sign that read, “Sandwichesâ€. So I went up the stairs to the sandwich shop only to find it closed. “Ok, what’s the next best thing? A bagel.†I walked around the corner and found myself face to face with a giant sign for Einstein’s Bagels… and it was also closed. “Ok, the next best thing… ice cream!†Six more steps around the next corner and I found a Ben and Jerry’s stand. The cheapest thing on the menu was $5. The cheapskate part of me was not into paying $5 for two scoops of ice cream when I could get a whole pint of the same stuff at home for $2.50. At this point I decided to just get the snack pack they had been pushing on us on my last flight. For $3 you got a nice grab bag with chips and M&Ms and crackers and all kinds of stuff. (more…)
Fri 16 Mar 2007
Posted by mark under General
Comments Off on My Fame Continues to Grow
The Daily Illini Newspaper found me at the Champaign-Urbana Jugglefest
Wed 14 Mar 2007
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This time my dog and I are Eastward bound. First a stop yesterday in Cleveland to hang out with the illustrious Steve Brown , and today we’re in Leonia NJ staying with Cousin Scott and family. The purpose of this trip is to go to the opening of Lenore’s first solo NY art show tomorrow night in Manhattan. It should be great. We both have a number of friends in the area, so I’m hoping that it will end up to be a little reunion of all our East Coast pals. We’ll see who can make it. Then after the show I get to go to the weekly post-juggling-practice meal with the NY juggling club. Good Chinese food, and always good times.
It’ll be a short visit here; on Friday we’ll take off again back to the good ol’ Midwest. After another stop at Steve Brown’s house, we’ll be home again for a couple of days before heading up to Milwaukee for a gig (in Chicago), and for me to fly out to California for my brother’s wedding. Vader will hang out in his “vacation home” with Lenore’s mother in Milwaukee. After that I’ll be home for a few days, then back up to Milwaukee for the Shorewood juggling festival where I will be MC for the big show.
March is a big month for traveling but April won’t be so bad.
Thu 8 Mar 2007
Posted by mark under General
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As if Giant Squids weren’t cool enough, BEHOLD THE COLOSSAL SQUID!!! Larger than it cousin the giant squid, and believed to be nastier, this is the first living specimen ever caught, and the first to ever be captured on film. Of course it died in the capturing, but the footage should be incredibly valuable.
For more on Colossal Squids check out Wikipedia.
Thu 22 Feb 2007
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I spent some time this week painting the custom Freehand Zero yo-yo sidecaps that I ordered from Duncan. I got 150 pairs, and they are clear plastic so I can paint the inside of them however I want. This is the second batch.
At the moment the yo-yos and caps are only available through ExtremeSpin.com or from me directly. Here’s a great shot of an assembled yo-yo from the ExtremeSpin website:
Mon 12 Feb 2007
Posted by mark under General
Comments Off on 14 Feet of Snow Predicted for Indianapolis
It’s gona snow tonight. A lot. People are FREAKING OUT. The grocery store had every single lane open and there were at least 10 people in every line. They were running out of milk.
Natives tell me that it regularly snows here in the winter, but you sure can’t tell that by the level of panic in the face of a snow storm. We’re supposed to get 6-12 inches tonight, and the little “Snow Warning” tag in the corner of the TV screen has now been there for 18 hours. The local news people are just SO excited about the big storm. By the amount of coverage it has gotten so far you’d think that the Manson Family was moving to town.
Of course snow and slippery roads can be dangerous, and people need to be careful and properly prepared, but is it really necessary to make a national emergency out of everything? This is exactly what Michael Moore was talking about in Bowling for Columbine, we live in a culture of fear where the media just can’t wait to blow everything WAY out of proportion.