Balloons & Monsters

The boys were playing with punching balloons and roaring like monsters in their pajamas the other morning:

Oh My Gosh Zoooooom!

Oh My Gosh Zoooooom!
Originally uploaded by Pablo Mercado.

Un superbicho es un bicho de ficción, cuyas características superan las del bicho clásico, generalmente con poderes sobrebichosos.

The real state of our union

Hi everybody. First off, everyone's kids are just adorable. Sorry I missed the New Year's party at Adolph & Amber's. The Rabb Glen Lounge was full of people doing their best to make the living room smell like balls. Tomas came in from Pennsylvania, Dave & Ross from San Diego. I was just there in a supervisory capacity, but it was great to see everyone for the holidays. Dave's back in Austin interviewing for a few environment design positions and one for a concept artist at Midway. Colin, you're skills are as badass as ever. (I spent a couple hours drooling over your sketches on flickr.)

I'm taking one class (personal computing--which is just a Windows training class) in an attempt to turn a 24-month program into an 18-month program. If I'm accepted, I'll start in August in Houston.

On to pressing matters:

If anyone hasn't seen the exchange between Alberto Gonzales and Arlen Specter (R) Pennsylvania, take a minute. In fact, make sure you're sitting down with a glass of water nearby. This is frankly, the most frightening thing I've ever heard a high-ranking public official say on record.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZY5BwMjpUOI&mode=related&search=


This seems to be in response to the Military commissions act of 2006--passed last October by a largely silent Congress and signed into law shortly thereafter--presumably because if someone poses a threat to the government, they should not be given the right to know why they are incarcerated--because they're freakin' terrorists! They KNOW why they're in jail. If they weren't a terrorist threat, they wouldn't be in jail in the first place whining about "my rights this," and "my rights that...". A little late, however, our senators from both sides of the isle seem to have awakened from their septuagenarian naps.

See you all soon.

Texas Tribute

Okay, so my mom has been asking Anthony to make a video with me and Antonio it it, since she misses both of us. So we made this really silly Texas Tribute video, where we sing along with Sandy the Squirrel from Spongebob (who is also from Texas, of course). So, here it is ...

Anybody Catch Jim Webb's Response to the State of the Union speech?

I love Houston

I love Houston
Originally uploaded by TaggartCojanSorensen.

Being the not raining, clear, and not in the hospitable night in about a week I went downtown to take pictures.

First Snowfall of the Year!!!

Being Two

Two minutes in the life of a 2-year-old -- gives a nice little glimpse into our daily life, complete with near-disasters, drool, misunderstood words, and those charming little smiles that melt our hearts:

Paola's First Fever

When we picked her up from the sitter, she had developed a nasty
sounding 'honk' when she would cough. Carol took her to the doctor
while i worked Katzenbach. The doc said the mucus had just irritated
her throat and to just make sure she stays warm and keep the
humidifier on. This morning at 4:00 a.m. she had a fever - 102.3

After an emergency call into the doctor we gave her .8 ml of Infant
Tylenol and the fever went down by the time I woke up for soccer at 8.

I took adolfo with me to play soccer so that carol and paola could
sleep, but it ended up being WAY too cold (for adolfo IV) so i was
only able to play for about 5 minutes.

Executive Admin

I am an executive admin

it's been such a long time coming - but I actually have that title now - how difficult is it to get that title? you ask - not so difficult if you have a business degree - but pretty difficult if you don't - and I don't - but I have been doing this for almost 20 years - so it's 20 years worth of difficult

why is this job the best thing to happen to me in years?

a few reasons actually

first - the title - i never really cared about the specific title thing - it's not a stroke to my ego or anything - simply put - there is more money involved - as an Executive Admin - the ceiling is much higher - i had reached the Admin Asst ceiling years ago but hadn't done anything about it until now - i dawdled with the idea of going back to school - but the reality is - i've never been a good student - my life's path has never been a scholastic one - although I am going back to school - it's not for my career - career to me is a different animal altogether - career is paying the bills and buying pretty clothes (so much more important now with a little girl about to be a teenager) - career is lakefront property in mexico sooner rather than later - career is recognition and respect

i have specific wants and desires and this career will enable me to obtain these things and provide for my family

so this leads to another compelling reason - i learn by living - it's probably because i was such a bad student in school - i never had the patience to see myself through a semester and it's laughable how many times i signed up for math and then dropped it immediately - and the industry i'm walking into is one where learning is in doing and first-hand knowledge is valued equal to, if not more than, a college degree - I am entering at the top where I will be working with top leaders in the industry who can guide me and will give me opportunities - the likes of which cannot be obtained at any of the places that have sent me on my interviews

finally - i can go back to school - for me and not for my career - I think this is the main reason it's been easy for me not to go back to school - because I have always pressured myself with the question, "Will this be what I am going to do for the rest of my life?" - going back to school had always been a question of pursuing a degree for the purposes of establishing a career - i know it's common knowledge that when one graduates from college, one inevitably ends up doing something other than what one studied - but that pertains only to first time college students - returning college students go back for other reasons - they get their masters in a specialized field - they go back to enrich their already established career goals - and lastly - they return to enrich their personal life - and with this opportunity I can actually go back to school without guilt for the purposes of enriching my own personal interests

so there

job of a lifetime

i will always wear suits from this day forth...

My Little Brother In the Denver Post

My mom alerted me this morning that there is a photo of my brother in the Denver Post!!!!

Wonderful lines and colors

HE 01-16-07 LC
Originally uploaded by SToppin.

I been really enjoying this artist's line and color...

Pablo Recommends:

Music —Best of Bootie 2006

A collection of really great mashups…

• Divide & Kreate – Always With You (Willie Nelson vs. U2 vs. MARRS) – Stockholm
• Lenlow – Work It Out (Beyonce vs. Dave Matthews vs. Jurassic 5 vs. Deee-Lite) – Boston
• Victor Menegaux – Going Back To Dani (Notorious B.I.G. vs. Red Hot Chili Peppers) – Seattle etc…

Netflix —The Duchess of Duke Street

I started watching this series with my folks over the holiday break. It is great!!

kind of cheesy - yet brilliant

a little background - i was fired on 11/28/06 and the chavezes were famously freaked out about it - i have a mental block up about filling out forms (this is really the SINGLE reason i am not a citizen of the united states) so now i have to file an appeal for unemployment benefits because i didn't fill out the forms on time - so i had SOME interviews over the holidays - but nothing panned out - christmas came and went and then there was new years - and i was in denial the whole time - nothing was coming through the tubes - so i got two new credit cards and did some shopping - and the weeks dragged by -

well 2007 showed up and things started to happen - i landed a temp gig and then another - in the meantime and during - i power-interviewed - i started off cold - still couldn't embrace the fact that i was in this situation - again - but this time not by my own hand - i was in a state of shock - AND i found a gray hair for christmas - i still don't know if that's supposed to mean something - but it was an event - nonetheless - it might just be my romantic tendencies to make something out of nothing - in any case - cold interviews and a gray hair

but before i knew it - i was warming up - i was cracking sly jokes - hokey jokes and sometimes i would drop a clever little word trick and my confidence soared

and it paid off - i got a job offer - a REAL job offer for a REAL job

and what makes this a real job? - I think that for the first time in my life I have agreed with where chance has taken me - and this time - unlike any other time - I really want to make a go at it - I actually had to choose to say yes to this offer with my entire soul - and there is no tinge of regret - there is also no room to daydream - this is a path of purpose - this is where i am supposed to be going - and it's going to be great - i have found my rising star and i will ride it to the very heavens

so my good friend suggested i post this - so i will - but just so you know - i thought it was kind of cheesy - but this little thing here is what got me the job - oh - that and my stellar performance

Who is Carolina Chavez? She is a romantic, sincere and caring partner and a supportive wife. She is the mother of two wonderful children who depend and count on her for stability and nurturing. She is a good friend who has maintained relationships that have spanned decades. She is an artist who appreciates history and values the origin of all things. She is an adventurer and a student and takes delight in learning something new. Carolina is an energetic, positive and creative person who enjoys good food, good company and good stories. Everyone has one, what is yours?

What are Carolina's passions? She loves collecting shiny things. People’s stories and ideas are the shiniest of these and always the most interesting to study. Carolina is passionate about history which is in everything. When her interest is piqued, she dedicates energy and time for researching her passion. She enjoys accumulating bits of information that when looked at individually may appear insignificant, but when used strategically, as in conversation openers, yield rich and exciting adventures.

Where is Carolina going with this? Carolina is headed toward bigger and better things, always, as she embraces every change in her life with fervor and respect. Carolina strives to show her children that there can be balance in the world and that obstacles can be overcome with grace and integrity. They will learn that any difficulty’s final outcome is theirs to control. She hopes to inspire a love of learning and a sense of adventure in her children. She looks forward to one day driving across the country with her photographer husband and her notebook and watercolors with a mission to capture what’s left of Route 66. She will have a book published at some point in her life.

When does Carolina have time for herself? Every day provides small opportunities for self reflection. Is it in the ride to work or in the rhythm of a song? Can it be a moment while preparing dinner when she remembers her little girl's smile or glancing up from her desk to spot the drawing her son made for her? Maybe it’s this morning’s good luck kiss her husband gave her; any of these are moments when she catches her breath and is grateful for what she has.

How did she come to be? Growing up in a family of six is a chaotic and fun-filled adventure from which different personalities emerge. It was important to be singled out in any way, especially in a positive way. Carolina stood out by being a good helper for mom and a good friend to brothers and sisters. She was the six year-old family greeter who welcomed visitors with prepared coffee, tea or lemonade. She was the dancer and the singer who knew her mother’s favorite songs and would perform for any audience. She was the translator of letters, movies and conferences with the school. She was the miniature reader at mass and the youngest choir singer. She was the personal concession booth at family movie night, the tips were horrible. Carolina shined best when helping others.

Why is she here? Every choice she has made has led her to this point. There is a constant emotional, professional and self evolution in her daily interactions. This consideration is what keeps Carolina driven and enthusiastic and determines her choices. There is a reason for the journey she has taken and for the lessons she’s learned along the way. There is a purpose for the skills she’s accumulated and for the person she’s become. Right now, Carolina believes that Boyden is that reason.

Pan's Labyrinth

I caught Pan’s Labyrinth this weekend. It is excellent!

I also saw Blood Diamond which was a good, and horrifying.

Also, has anybody else read Neil Stephenson’s The Diamond Age? Apparently it is going to be made into a miniseries!

some thoughts on chairjockey.com

Howdy everyone! i realize it has been a while since i posted, but here is one that, i hope, sparks some discussion.

First off:
Colin, More Drawings!!!
Amber and Antony, congrats on careers and overall adorable-childness!
Carol, yay job!
Killy, more photos!
Amber and Adolph, be in more killy photos!
Taggart, become bionic, like Will Smith in I, Robot! It'll be cool!
Exclamation, exclaim!

D and i just got back from vacation, but she took all the pictures. I'll update this post when she Flickrs them.

And, on to the meat of the post. I have been hosting chairjockey.com with VerveHosting since Valentine's day, 2003. I am currently managing three domains, chairjockey, starepod and starebox (a storage site for client stuff). The sites are on two different hosts: Verve (not bad) and FatCow (crappy). I am moving the starexxx domains to my brand new MediaTemple account, and am pondering doing the same with chairjockey.com. Most of the reason i am considering it is to save a little money.

One option, that has some pros and cons, is using the new Blogger Custom Domains feature, which will let us update to the 'new' blogger features, since it is really just a blogspot blog with a custom domain.

The Pros:
1. It is free.
2. Fancy new features.
3. Faster publishing.

The Cons:
1. Everyone will need a Google account to continue posting.
2. Links to content (images, movies, etc.) currently hosted on chairjockey.com will break.

The other option is to move chairjockey to my new MediaTemple account. The account type i am getting offers 100Gb, which should be plenty for my 'business', but there is a (modest) cost associated with it.

The Pros:
1. No chairjockey.com links will break.
2. A modest amount of storage can be dedicated to all y'all as necessary.

The Cons:
1. Few, if any, fancy new Blogger features.
2. A bit of cost to me.
3. I gotta be the bad guy who says "no more space for you" if necessary.

I am already commited to moving the starexxx domains to MediaTemple, i am just awaiting the activation email. Let me know what you think about the chairjockey options above, or come up with your own!

i got a job!

woo hoo!

You Tube 1st Attempt

So I posted my first video on You Tube. It's Antonio on Christmas morning -- check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsSxC-h79OE

I did everything you told me to do, Paul and Adolph -- imported it into iMovie, cut out some bad camer-work, saved it as a compressed file, and saved it as a streaming web file (was that right?). I'm really happy I got it up, but the quality seems really bad compared with the original. Are there any tricks to getting higher res uploads?

Also, how do I get the movie player icon to come up like Sara did on her spring morning clip?

Hey Amber!

Maybe this is old news and everyone has already congratulated Anthony,
I saw his work in the Communication Design illustration annual.

Way to go big Tony.

Work looks great.

In training

Just Outside the Entrance to the Battleship Texas
Originally uploaded by killy.

The more i carry my camera around the better it feels in my hands. Sometimes i am sitting in a place where i don't see anything, but i know the composition is there, starting back at me. I'll be sitting on the train staring into the sea of people as if i were waiting for a 3-D Tyrannasarous Rex to pop out at me - i'll squint, cross my eyes, stare only at the colors, look for reflections, follow the pools of light as we lumber towards downtown ...

It's frustrating for me because i am an impatient man.

Amber and Adolph

Amber and Adolph
Originally uploaded by killy.

This night meant a lot to me. Thanks you guys, particularly Taggart.

A day at the Orange Show (which was closed) and The Battleship Texas

A day at the Orange Show (which was closed) and The Battleship Texas
Originally uploaded by killy.

Paola has unfortunately not gotten a lot of exposure here on the blog, so here she is in all her utter cuteness. Regrettably, this is the only photo of her from this past weekend's road adventure, but a good one nonetheless.

I'll be posting more photos from a late night basement photo shoot at Taggart's apartment bldg as well as some more shots from The Battleship Texas at some point in the future.

Show Your Bones

I would attach the scans Killy did of my x-rays but he has not passed them on to me yet.
So I attach these pretend ones.



So I started AShtonga Yoga with Liz several months ago. I really liked it. It felt awesome, I could tell it was a nice mixture of is-o-kinetic resistance to strengthen my core and a supplemental cardio workout. I felt limber.
Then my past came up and kicked me in the ass. I dislocated my shoulder in a car accident when I was 9, and since then when-ever I do more than 15 minutes of aggressive activity, it begins to burn so bad that I can not raise my arm over my shoulder.
It killed my yoga aspirations dead in the water.
I made plans to do something about it. See a doctor and get better. Move on.
After a month I finally saw a general practitioner, his X-rays were inconclusive.
After another month I took those same X-rays to a orthopedic specialist.
He recommended a MRI, because he could not tell much by way of the X-Rays.
That was last week.
Today I went to St. Lukes and had my very first Fluoroscopy and M.R.I.

First things first.
1. Two X-Rays-Nothing like a healthy dose of radiation.
2. I dont know what the purpose of the X-rays but I guess it was for the Fluoroscope.
or Back-up.
3. If you dont know what a Fluoroscope is (I didn't), Imagine a moving X-Ray.
It's SUPeR-bAdASs!!!!!!! (except for all the harmful radiation)
4. They used the Fluoro to check and see if they were putting the contrast improving
fluid they were injecting with a very long needle into my shoulder in the right place.
(It sucked but not as bad as it sounded thanks to Anesthesia, so it sucks more now that
such pain reducing injections have worn off)
5. Despite the pain, irritation, embarrassing gown, and radiation I cannot tell you how
awesome it was to watch, in real-time, my bones moving around (sans flesh) on T.V.!!!!!!!!
6. Sooooooo, after all that fun it was time for the MRI, the FINALE!!!!!!
Before the MRI I was asked about a billion times if I was claustrophobic.
I always said no, but truth be told maybe I am a little bit.
I will talk about that in more in detail later.
After the MRI the operator asked how it was.
I spent 35 minutes inside the machine, and there were 3 things
I thought about to self-sooth. (truth-fully)
A. How wonderful Liz is.
B. How I could explain this to Todd.
C. What I could say after-ward to make the operator laugh.
So I was more than pre-pared for the question.
""It was like being trapped in a coffin, on-stage, at the worst rock concert ever."
He Laughed.

It was really loud. and very cramped. I cannot see how ANYONE could fit in those things.
I am not a big person. Adolph is bigger than me but I dont consider him obese or have
a negative size association with him. However I dont see how he could fit inside it.
I dont think Adolph sized people were the reason they invented those open MRI's either.
I closed my eyes real-real tight and did not open them I couldnt or I would have flipped out.
I knew it was tight, too tight, but I pretended that there was an extra inch or two between me and the walls.

The whole experience was crazy, I know it will be worth it in the long run, but I am glad it is over with.

E-mailing Movies

So we got this little canon powershot sd600 elph for christmas -- it's sooooo cute! takes movies and pics and is ultra-tiny... nice quality images, too. only thing i can't figure out is how to e-mail movies. the shortest movie i've taken so far is 1.5 minutes and is 169mb -- way too big to e-mail. what's a girl to do??!

Another example of the wonderous world of the internet

http://bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/

This guy had made me a contact

on Flicker.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/immo_kuss/

His photos are real nice.

I have also put up 4 new drawings.

Some fun music

Okay, if you want an injection of summertime into your winter check out Lily Allen.

Some Brit kid the music is fun.
You can hear her songs on her web site www.lilyallenmusic.com
I don't think it has been released domestically as of yet.

The Be Good Tanyas new on - Hello Love
is by far their best yet. As with all really great and lasting albums, it took a couple of listens before I was in the new and different place. So easily worth the money.

Jollie Holland also has a new one, came out about 5 or 6 months ago - "Spring time can kill you" this is one where if you let yourself get used to it, it unfolds like an interesting friend. Some of the song on it are quite wonderful. And the whole thing flows real nice.

I like what is going on it the Hip-Hop world musically, but most of the time I an not interested in what the artists are saying, so I figured if I didn't understand what they were saying.....perfect. So there is a French guy I play soccer with and he hooked me up with some frency rap.

The group is called IAM and the album I have is called "L'Ecole Du Micro D'Argent"
It's not new - just new to me. real cool.

Some arty music - Jonathan Bepler - Music For Matthew Barney's Cremaster 2
If you know anything about Matthew Barney (married to Bjork) then you know what realm to expect.

Sun Kill Moon - I only have "Ghosts of the Great Highway" from 2003 - it is a beautiful album - If you like Iron and Wine you will probably be into this. (if you have not checked out Iron and Wine then do so.)

Kaki Kings - Legs to make us longer - all instumental mostly gitaur stuff - nice background when working.

And now that Hannah is old enough (14) to start having her own musical interests - I am catching up on some stuff I did not listen to before - she got me into Modest Mouse. All good. The Moon And Antarctica is a real nice one.

Last but not least-
FJF with the album "Blow Horn"
Now this one starts out blaring and doesn't stop.
A swedish experimental jazz group.
They are crazy over there.

I want to know what ya'll have been hearing that is note worthy.

C.

Looking at kiils flickr photos...

My goodness,
your beautiful daughter has so much hair on her head.
I think carol was messing around with kieth richards.

Congratulations To The Casserole Queens!

My good friend Sandy Pollock and her business partner Crystal Oakes started a food delivery business called CasseroleQueens.

Today they were featured in the Austin American Statesmen.

Congratulations to the queens of casserole!

Police Garage

Police Garage
Originally uploaded by TaggartCojanSorensen.

Police Garage on Washington. Adolph does not hesitate to enter the building. Adolph makes trespassing respectable, pure intellectual curiosity. Under different circumstances and other company it would not seem as innocent.

Happy New Year - 2007

Happy New Year - 2007
Originally uploaded by killy.

Happy New Year everyone!

TRUEdeaus

DSC02839
Originally uploaded by ann_aurora.

Please tell me I am not the only one who gets this.