lightrail

lightrail, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

Light rail + student U pass = free transportation/free fotos.

Serpentine

Serpentine, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

Fun times with the light rail.

Me in Miror

Me in Miror, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

Oh, yeah, new camera.

Jeep Woes

A long day of problem hunting

Yesterday when I dropped the jeep of at a local, reputable mechanic for an oil change, I was assured that they would hunt for any possible problems that they could work on. Today, when I picked the Gila Monster up, I was warned that the CVs in both of my driveshafts were about to go. I was told that I could send the driveshafts off to be rebuilt for $290 apiece. I knew from my receipts that the rear shaft cost $300 new, and I found out online that the pricing is still the same from the same manufacturer. I declined to take action for the moment to take time to consider my options and to get my jeep inclined friends’ opinions.

As I drove, I could definitely hear the rumble from the driveshaft, and I could also hear other miscellaneous rattles and bumps. With a mechanically inclined friend, I looked around the underbelly of the beast to see what the condition of the various parts was. We found some damage that had been completely missed by the mechanic, including a Johnny Control Arm that had sheared at it’s connection point with the frame. This arm was banging around and letting the axle wobble and letting the steering be loose. The front axle has probably been moving back and forth, messing with the transfer case geometry. This could even be the cause of the rumble in the rear driveshaft.

So, when I get to Internet, I’ll be looking up the logistics of replacing these darned arms. That should take care of the steering issues and the rattles and bumps from below. Hopefully, it’ll also straighten the issues with the rear shaft and CV.

Music game

Step 1: Put your music player on shuffle.
Step 2: Post the first line from the first 25 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing
Step 3: People guess and leave feedback and I will strike through the songs when someone guesses both artist and track correctly.
Step 4: Looking them up on Google or any other search engine is CHEATING!
Step 5: If you like the game, post your own.
Step 6: After a week, any songs left, I'll just post the answers in a follow up.
Bonus for corect guesses of the songs in German.


1. Was, du willst heute nicht kommen? erzähl davon später bloß nichts deinen Kindern

2. Few creatures of the night have fascinated us like vampires.

3. Wish I were with you, but I couldn’t stay

4. Du sagst du willst Frieden und nie wieder Krieg

5. Life is one big road, with lots of signs

6. Seems like only yesterday, life belonged to runaways

7. I can’t escape this hell, so many times I’ve tried

8. I feel better now I’ve seen you but deep inside my bones feel like timber

9. I try to make it through my life in my ways with you

10. Du erkennst mich nicht wieder.

11. I’m sitting in a crowded room

12. I need an alarm system in my house

13. Telling Layla Story spoken, about all her bones are broken

14. The first duty of man is to collect as many things as he can

15. Eveline grips the railing as her lover calls her to the sea

16. Streets like a jungle, so call the police

17. On a cobweb afternoon

18. When you’re on, I swear you’re on

19. How long before I get in?

20. I walk the streets where I regret all

21. Du, du hast, …

22. I've come to decide that the things I’ve tried will ruin my life just to get high on

23. Alpha step, omega step, kappa step, sigma step, gangsters walk, pimp’s gonna talk, oh hecky ya'll this boy is raw

24. War is overdue, the child has come for you

25. Clean shirt, new shoes, I don’t know where I’m going to

Well, time to check out the ole google stuffs.

I remember years ago that Muddled Ramblings featured blurbs(scroll down to christmas eve) about what searches hit frequently, or with odd queries. Since I'm just waiting for the laundry machines to be free, I'll just try to reproduce something along those lines, with lot's o those shiny links to click on!

So, we have a search that is appearing frequently this week: Real Turkeys. Those clicks must be from determined googlers, I'm not on the first page! I'm not even on the first 5 pages. I can only guess that they land on this page.

Next up is the search on Murphy's Mule Barn, which is a great little joint in north Albuquerque. Try it if you're in the area and hugry for good comfort eats. My little rave is number one in the search rankings! How awesome.

Now, another one that comes up often is a search for a Philmont Skit. The funny thing is that I haven't been there in years and I'm still seventh in the rankings! I guess that means that the traditions haven't changed much since I was there. Here's where I posted things about it.

I also get hit with a particular multi-media search time and time again. It even fits the car I own and the loaner I had before it. I am number one for the image search for Rocky Jeep, and, get this, I am number two for the web search for Rocky Jeep! Both searches lead to this page featuring Grandma's jeep. I am also number four in the google.com.tr search for racky jeep.

I could also get the typos coming, but I haven't yet. I typed (2 hlurs) in the recent post abouth getting to santa barbara with teh Arizona State University sailing club. So, I found that when I search for (2 hlurs) santa barbara, I come up in second! Now, why would anyone be searchoing for (2 hlurs) santa barbara? I don't know, but I might jump to number one sometime after this post goes up. In the same vein, I come up in second for (2 hlurs) weget, since that was another typo in that post.

Special assignment: tell me what a weget is, and what it has to do with (2 hlurs) or Santa Barbara.

Of course, in addition to the google searches, I do get referals from places that happen to feature a link to here. These include It's Five O'Clock Somewhere, Desert Sea, Fuego's Place and, of course, Myspace and Facebook,(who really don't need links on thier own, but get them anyway).

Well, so much for all the googlieness of this. I'm flying home on thanksgiving day, wich is in this very week, so I might or might not post before then. Who knows, I might have more photos of New Mexico or the Gila Monster. I might even have pictures of a cat sedated by quantities of turkey.

Night Drive

Cruising to Santa Barbara
Well, this friday has been a long day.
I of course went to all my classes (yes, both of them), and then came the drive. Studio took forever to come, and when it did, it took forever to pass. I dipped out a few minutes early, and with Kruser’s blessing, I took off for the coast. Eventually, that is. Several carloads of people were to come out from ASU. My ride wasn’t scheduled to leave until six. I just had to bike over to my dorm from studio to get my bag, then walk to the M.U. to meet Andy, Ioana and Red. We piled into the four-runner, and we took off for the airport, to get a more economical car at an airport rental agency that did not try harder. They wouldn’t let us leave a vehicle there, so we had to take the rental and convoy back into Tempe to deposit the four-runner in a secure, undisclosed location. Well, just one problem: the undisclosed location was being set up for a party.
So, we eventually got to Santa Barbara, and now it’s time for some (2 hlurs) sleep before weget up in the new time zone to get to try for some sailing.

Wow jeff

Well, jeff wanted a massage. Hands just didn't do the job, so Jon was recruited. Actually, jon's feet were recruited for the job. geraldo
Alltel has no control over, and is not responsible for, the content or use of this picture or the accompanying personal message.

Hayden Butte at Night

Hayden Butte at Night, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

This is the same sort of deal as below, but in full color. I found that even without the moonlight, the butte was lit well enough to see even at midnight. The color is more orange from the glare of the city than it normally is. Sorry about the graininess, but with film, I don't get to review what happened until a few days after I finish the roll. So, If you have a decent digital SLR, and you're thinking about upgrading to a better one, or if you have a digital SLR camera and you found it's not your style, or if you just have a camera you don't want for any circumstances, just drop me an email. Or leave a comment on the page for this post. I'd love to hear from you!

P.S. To any Parents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Other Relatives and Family Friends: Christmas is coming up, and fancy digital SLR cameras make great gifts for starving college students!

Hayden Butte

Hayden Butte, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

This is Hayden Butte, aka "A Mountain" at night in the glow of the city. Airplanes fly by frequently.

Tempe Night Intersection

Tempe Night Intersection, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

Here is Tempe at Night. This is the intersection of Mill Ave and Rio Salado Parkway. I found a nearby parking garage without security at night, an I went all the way to the eighth level. I just waited for the light to turn, then I held the shutter open.

First Millennial Office Holder!

Cool deal, and almost hard to believe, but I checked Sitemeter today to find that crazy 1,014!

I hadn't even been keeping track of things too much. Visitor 1,001 was in the Portsmouth, RI area.

Here is that area:

View Larger Map

This visitor came from my Profile page on Blogger, which can be googled, or clicked on from Desertsea. So, thanks to that visitor from Rhode Island! Do you happen to sail Lasers? 

So far things have been going quite smoothly here in Tempe. I've joined the sailing group, my roommate likes Jimmy Buffet, and the Ramen is cheap. I saw a great concert last night. The bass prof here can do some crazy stuff with his instrument. The recording's going to be available in the music department library within about a week, so I'll try to get ahold of that. 

A few weeks ago I met a girl at the shuttle stop at West Campus. Today we met again and after some lunch I missed the shuttle. Ok, it's just another hour to talk. She's got a six hour gap between classes, and she carpools to and from school. Now I have some local contacts, even if on the opposite side of the nations second largest metro area. Only Los Angeles metro covers more area. The city of Scottsdale is larger than Manhattan! But that's another story.

The weather is getting better, I can stand being outside now. The evenings are wonderful and cool.

 

This is based on my past experience in a car accident last spring. I am currently fine, and my current car is also ok, to the best of my knowledge. Thanks for the sympathy, but really, I repeat, I'm fine.

 

I was not going too fast, or so I thought. I was cruising, comfortable in my cocoon of steel. I knew that nothing could happen to me.  I was invincible. I was a teenager after all, and my perishability had never entered my mind. I knew nothing would happen on that hot, dry stretch of freeway.

But then it did happen. Everything happened. I couldn’t hear anything. My face was numb. Half of what I saw was just Red. Red with a capital “R”, a physical presence that was there with me. I had to look to find my hands. One was on the wheel where I left it; the other was laying on the passenger seat. My glass and steel shell was ripped to smoky shreds. I coughed and choked on the powder acridly hanging in the still, quiet air. I looked for my hands again and forced the to stop shaking enough to pick up my phone and get the door open. I fell out. My feet weren’t working, but I didn’t even question why.

As I they cleaned me up, I called my friends. I talked to different people for hours until my phone battery ran dry. I now know that anything can and will happen. My friends are not there to be taken for granted. Life, just the chance to breath again, smelling the clean New Mexico desert air is my drug; I cant’ get enough time.

Iced Coffee and Barley Soup

I sit in a small coffee joint on Mill Ave. (not the “cool” labeled end, but the segment across from the art museum, where one can walk through to various degrees, but is governed by the elemental nature of the edifice). The bitter brew revives. As the ice melts, the flavors diminish and subtler note can be heard forming a contrapuntal line to the melody of the bold body. New strains add interest and accent the harmony, while repeating the melodic theme in paraphrase. The barley soup has the body and spice to announce that this meal will be served with verve and my taste buds rejoice. Accompanying will be a peanut butter and fruit sandwich made for the gods. Crunchy, thick whole grain bread topped with smooth peanut butter, layers of impossibly thinly sliced apples and bananas drizzled with pure honey and sprinkled with walnuts: textures juxtaposed within a dynamic matrix of taste and flavor.
The barista, attractively filling her apron, happily served my food and beverage. She seems inexperienced; we discovered the menu together when I walked up. She knows how to make guests happy, though. I face the counter as I write. My current soundtrack is Apocalyptica’s When Worlds Collide, a great example of the range and flexibility of the cello as an anchor instrument in a rock band situation. The dorms were eerily quiet today, so after some translation from a topo to a project for my architecture studio, I headed out. Yesterday was the game, and the campus was filled with roaming golden clad groups of fans, cheering and celebrating.
Notes:
I sit and I drink. I have good music, and I just got another iced coffee on the house. Last night I had a completely odd dream sequence. I’ve already posted it as “Edward abbey, where art thou?” Tempe is hot, but I almost think I might be starting to get used to it. Tuesday I’ll be getting a bike, that’ll make getting around campus so much quicker, Excepting studio and sinfonietta, of course. The damage from the storm is being cleaned up. All streets are usable now, but there are still downed trees and sideways palo verde dot the cityscape.
I’ll go wander around now.

Edward Abbey, where art thou?

Hiking in N AZ

See Oil and Natural Gas drilling rigs

See dead animals in area

See small pond near rig with dead animals around

Start taking pics of dead critters

 GluttonGreesy Co. pick-up drives up

Two men get out

I start talking

One pulls out small machine gun

He shoots me

I don’t die

They drive off

I walk back to Tempe

Tempe Hospital won’t let me in because I don’t have all three forms of photo ID that guarantee citizenship and proofs of insurance

Different GluttonGreesy trucks in hospital parking lot

I call office of Congressman Udall

The guys who shot me also serve in the AZ government

Somehow I get dumped at the NM state line

A Navajo there gives me a horse and a loaded burro, with lots of food and stuff

I get to Albuquerque

New Mexico has health care

I somehow keep about 20 bullets in my body the whole time, without much pain, bleeding, or damage

I set off metal detectors in Senate office buildings in DC

I testify before congress

I have a lawsuit against the State of AZ for not treating people w/o proof of citizenship

It goes to Supreme Court

Amy Poehler is my lawyer

Hiking again in Northern AZ

Damn

Crazy storm went through the valley. Got hit by powerful wet. Wind came.

Howled. Screamed. Visibility 5. 1.5 in meters. Streets too flooded for fire engines.

Palo Verde on the ground. Uprooted and thrown against the landscape. Palm tree blocking University. Chainsaws. Trucks of branches. Windows burst. Water forced into the building through cracks: miniature fountains. Non-stop lightening to the tempe towers. World's longest lightening strike duration? More than forty seconds of contact on one bolt. Crazy damage.

Der Gila Monster

Well, I have to admit that I like this place. It's quiet and the view is great. I have great memories in this place with great people. Big juicy burgers made fresh over a juniper fire and friendships that still last. Friends I will always remember and nights I can't forget. And of course the vehicle that got me there.

At frontier

Friday, August 15, 2008 12:48 AM
Frontier Restaurant

I’m sitting at my table at the Frontier now. It’s pretty early, but I’ve been watching the Olympic sailing on Chinese TV. NBC doesn’t think that sailing is even worth their time to put onto their website.

My neighbors here are interesting: a bunch of friends gathered from around the area. The closest one is from Acoma, but the others are all from further afield. None of them have been to the Frontier before, and the Native regalia on the walls of this back room fascinate all. There are rugs form mostly modern times, and paintings on the wall depict scenes that are rarely seen in Fresno, California. I should mention that about half of this group is wearing regalia.  They are talking it  up, and it seems that there is nothing  like this  anywhere else.

This is New Mexico.

Thinking outside the Box

Thinking outside the Box

Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Santa Fe Bypass

I’ve had an interesting weekend. We started out in Abq, met with NJ, shoved a cat into an ever-smaller box, and took off. After we left the city, we let the cat out of the box. We attached a rope to her harness, so she wasn’t roaming about completely freely. She liked being able to roam, and she was ecstatic at the chance.

Have you ever seen a cat stick it’s head out the window of a car like a dog does? Let me tell you, it gets attention.

We first went to the lake upon arrival in the upper Chama Valley. NJ checked out a campsite at the top of the hill near the marina (insert google maps link here). We then proceeded, still with the cat, down to the marina.