Happy Birthday Buckminsterfullerene

Happy Birthday Ray Bradbury

I just finished Fahrenheit 451. It was wonderful.

Crickettes go down smooth

I ate a cricket.
I wanted to try something completely different from what is normally eaten. I was hankering for bug.

I was a hardcore vegetarian for over 5 years. During that time I explored a great variety of what the supermarket produce selection was able to provide. I explored new flavors and new textures of foods. I would eat something and people would say to me, “Is it safe?” On occasion someone would ask me, “Is it safe?” I bought this food at the local supermarket. There is a sign, a price, and a checkout code for my food. Do I think that the local supermarket would put a poisonous plant in the produce section next to the lettuce?

Red lettuce, green lettuce, kohlrabi, rat poison, beets...

I don’t believe they would.

This is when I realized I ask myself different questions when trying a new food:

• Is this food I’m about to eat edible? This question is to eliminate me eating something dangerous like sand or deep fried garden hose.
• Do I believe it will kill me? This is the allergic question. If I will not die from eating it, then it is still an option for me.
• Is this a common dish anywhere in the world? If anyone in the world eats this type of food frequently I know that I can eat it. This is not saying is this a gourmet food in another part of the world. It’s simply saying that in another part of the world there are lots of people who eat this food regularly like we eat french fries.
• Is this being served at a restaurant? If it is being served in a restaurant I’m going to assume that they know how to cook it. Maybe not as well as 5 star restaurant, but at least well enough to list it on their menu.
• Do I believe I will like it? This is an interesting question. If I have never eaten it, how do I know if I will like it?

The crickets tasted like a very mild peanut.

World Alpaca Conference Cleveland

On Saturday, June 6th, 2009 Rebecca and I attended the World Alpaca Conference held at the Cleveland International Exhibition and Convention Center in Ohio. Link

I'm a long time fan of trade shows - no matter the industry or niche. It's part of my world belief of keeping an open mind and exploring. You'll never know what you'll find or who'll meet. This event was a real treat. In addition to just learning about all things related to the different facets of this industry, they had alpacas there. It was part trade show, part animal show, part family get together. At the lunch counter, some people were brokering deals worth thousands of dollars while a few seats away little ones were playing with alpaca finger puppets. It was interesting all around.

Rebecca and I walked to the back part of the Convention Center to watch a few alpacas being sheered. The alpacas didn't seem to mind. They were quiet and still. Afterwards they were led peacefully away. The incredible stillness and apparent serenity of the animals overall really struck me. The massive conference site was full of people noise not the animals. From an animal standpoint, it was a strange environment filled with weird people, smells of all sorts, and other animals. You would think they would be going nuts or at least be skittish. I came away thinking if anything is a model for a Zen nature it's an alpaca.

How Not to Suck At Sales - Jeffrey Gitomer

Jeffrey Gitomer is a great salesman and a great motivator. Watch this video (Amazon video, iTunes audio):



At 31:35 in the video above (you have watched it right?) Jeffery begins talking about life. This has been on my mind lately. What have I been doing to take myself to the better future I dream of? What is taking me there and what is stopping me?

If you have never heard of Jeffrey Gitomer, seek him out. If it has been a while, re-read his books.

A3 - Alabama 3

Sometimes visiting with an old friend you haven't seen in a while can bring bring out something new in them and you.

Thank you to Jessica for giving me A3.












From Peace in the Valley (iTunes | Amazon)

For whatever reason you refuse to feel this space we're in,
to know its insanity, really know it,
whatever your particular anaesthetic is,
that you hold on to so desperately,
the thing I mean that makes you think you know who you are,
whatever that thing is you allow to keep you sane,
your ace in the hole,
the psyche that keeps you from trying to guess at what your pimp has in store for you,
whatever keeps you from screaming out at this very moment in absolute and sheer horror,
whatever you f**k your brain with,
whatever that is,
whatever that is,
it's a lie.
It's a lie.

So, who is my pimp? What is my anesthetic?

Microsoft Windows XP - Not My Friend

I love Mac OSX. My Mac just works. It runs all the software I need including Microsoft Office for Mac. But, sadly, on occasion there is a need for the other OS. We have a Windows box running XP. It is currently used only for college software.

And today it sucked 4 hours from my life.

Today, for some unknown reason, the Windows box decided not connect to the internet. Nothing changed. No updates. No changes. No new software. No new hardware. Just broke. This is why I hate Windows.

Four hours of fiddling later the box connected. What did I do? Not a thing. I finally had given up and was about to throw the box out the window. I reset everything to the original settings just to see if it would connect. It did.

I am thinking the Windows box was jealous and missed my attention.