David’s Ramblings

How in the world can a journalist write a story like this, especially one that works for CNN?
Here’s a link to the story… it may get ’silently corrected’ so I’ve copied it below for your enjoyment…
“(CNN) — A man climbed to the top of a nearly 60-story skyscraper in downtown San Francisco, California, on […]

At the outset let me say I am a software developer, and have been for over 30 years. So I’ve done my share of stupid things.
But it seems that over the years that software has become dumber and more cluttered. One thing in particular that most programmers just don’t get is input focus.
…you […]

Wow amazing upbeat Motown sounding soul R&B all packed into one… can’t wait to buy the album…

I’ve inserted an image which is a link to Youtube since Google has broken the old way of embedding… ‘do no evil’ yeah greed gets in the way of good intentions always…

I just got back from a very busy vacation in New Mexico…
For the first few days I was doing some WWII reenacting as the commander of the German forces for the March on Rome event at Fort Stanton near Ruidoso.

Here I am trying on a panzer III for size…
After the event Lyn and I […]

It’s been a while since I update the fountain, I’m still working on it though it’s taking time to get it right. But it is looking good!
“

Two of my sisters came to Texas visit and find out how hot a Texas summer is… Hot! I’ve enjoyed hosting them for the week. Pity work was so busy but we did get away for a few adventures…
Karyn surprised while eating breakfast…
”
Valerie learning how to handle a side hack rig, her first motorcycle experience […]

I finally wore out the old tires and got a chance to mount new rubber on the rims I purchased early this year. I’ve upgraded to the Pegasus R model rims in black.
They radically change the look of Mur… and with BF Goodrich Radial T/A stickies she handles really well…
”
”
Now to sell the old rims…

I started laying down more of the walkway around the base of the fountain. Man this is taking forever and was way more work than I envisioned at the start of this project. But is turning out to be a really nice piece and a focal point of the side yard. This will be […]

We took a couple of days off during Spring break and on one of these we traveled down to San Antonio. I picked up a really nice hand woven blanket from Guatemala! It’s now on the back of the couch in the living room and looks like it was made for the room. I also […]

Bob and Evelyn are back from Mexico and they brought with them the painting I purchased back in November while I was visiting. Wow it’s more beautiful than I remembered.
We were out for dinner in a local restaurant in Ajjic when a painting on the wall caught my eye. I purchased it on the spot…
La […]

With a few nice sunny days here in Central Texas I was able to add more rocks around the fountain. I am almost finished with the lower pond!
It’s looking good…

On another topic I’ve finally bought a plasma TV… I’ve been watching the same old TV I bought when I first moved to Texas years ago. […]

a Saturday update…
Worked more on setting rocks, about 9 feet of wall done so far. Man this is taking a long time, but it is looking good…

It finally stopped raining and got warm enough for me to cement more rocks on the wall of the fountain… It’s coming along more slowly than I’d like but […]

I was passing through Bastrop Texas this weekend on my way to an event in Anderson and I happened across this fellow in a parking lot. He was pulling in towing his survival home and stopping at the cell phone store.

This guy seems to have a lot of skills, talents and smarts in […]

Sometimes the view out the window of my home office isn’t a cheery and nice as usual. Today it’s been grey, rainy and cold all day long. At least the indoor scenery can remind me of Spring approaching…

While on the way back from North Carolina over the holidays, Ursula lost 3rd gear synchronization…further along the way 4th gear lost synchro too. After limping back home with as few shifts as possible she’s at the transmission shop with her guts out being repaired.
Ursula up on the lift…

with her tranny removed…

…her guts on the […]

It got down to 10 degrees at the ranch on Friday night… coldest in over 25 years here in Central Texas. Despite having lamps with 150W bulbs in the water building and under the tarps protecting the lines from the water tank the lines froze solid.
The standing water in the fountain froze completely solid and […]

I know I want a nice little netbook like the Yoga and an E-reader like the Skiff. The money is ready to jump out of my pocket.
But the brakes come on every time I read about this hot new gadget it is accompanied by some text like this… “the Skiff is optimized for newspaper and […]

I have a few Eastern Screech Owls nesting here at the ranch…
One sits in a tree outside my balcony…

All I can say is wow… Sophie Madeleine from Rocky & Balls

Yesterday we were in Santiago de Tequila for a look around the town and a little shopping. We went to the the Museo Los Abuelos (the Sauza Family Museum). What a wonderful experience and tour! One interesting stop on the tour was a room full of Sauza family memorabilia… photos of many celebrities including my […]

Since I won’t be able to do much work over the holidays here is a short set of shots of the current state of the work…

I’ve been working on the fountain pool lately…
it’s coming along nicely…

I took my Peace Officer certification exam yesterday and passed. I am now licensed in the State of Texas!

For you out of state officers that wish to make the transition (like me) here’s the agency;
Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education

I started stacking the sections of the fountain now that I’ve made the centre pad to set the base of the fountain on. The base sits perfectly level. I cannot lift the bottom basin by myself since it’s over three feet across and solid concrete. So I temporarily set the top basin in it’s place […]

and I’ve started to build the lower wall of the bottom of the fountain using native rock from the property…
Shows the bottom piece of the fountain on the centre pad and a bit of the start of the rock wall…

Valentina supervising…

Father Charles Coughlin denounces FRD’s New Deal… sounds just like the Repugnicans on FOX spewing disinformation and invoking the specter of Socialism, Communism and outrageous taxation…
Give it a listen, the big money business folks were wrong then and again now…
Father Charles Coughlin denounces FRD’s New Deal

One tired albañilo… We finished digging the hole for the fuente and I filled the bed with gravel and leveled it.
Smoothing the gravel…

Next step rebar…

Mixing and pouring concrete…

We spent a long day cutting trees, removing the old patio and digging the base for pouring the concrete foundation. Major progress, but still a long way to go!
Tired albañila…

Started on the fountain project yesterday… today it’s raining so no work outside instead I’m warm and dry listening to Julieta Venegas’ “Andar Conmigo” on the speakers while I do computer work.
Here’s a photo of the side yard where the fountain will go… It’s right outside of the dining area and living room.

In the […]

Some random things…
On a recent trip to the Museum of the America GI in College Station we passed this abandoned railroad bridge. Made for a nice photo stop rest break…

At La Fonda San Miguel a while back I captured this captivating painting on the wall…

Been cutting cedar back and clearing ares of the […]

With 4 wonderful days of rain, everything here on the ranch is a beautiful shade of green!
Truly wonderful!
The bougainvillea are happy too…

The yuccas perked up…

And I can sit in the tree seat and enjoy el bosqe…

Well not me, I missed this years trip, but Val and Karyn are in Nova Scotia and have sent me some photos to show me what I’m missing.

Flowers on the hillside at Hall’s Harbour…

The Lunnenburg shorline…

A fisherman’s building on the South shore…

I loved Dave Carroll’s first jab at United Airlines, his second shows great imagination too! Great video and a great comment on the airlines policies of treating people like cattle…

John brought us some very cool films; Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink.

Despite my watering these thirsty gardens a little rain was all that was needed to pop everything into bloom. This Texas xeriscaped garden is looking good!

The shrubs in the front after the rain…

George watching me inspect the garden in the evening…

The pride of Barbados by the birdbath…

The courtyard garden flowering, it’s full of colibri y […]

I picked up some talavera pots for the porch to replace the ones that are falling apart. Haven’t figured out what plants I’ll put into them yet.

The new pots and Valé posing…
You can see the replanted bougainvillea down to the left, it’s thriving. I found the fountain for the side yard too!

It’s going in place […]

While working in the garden tonight… watering I turned to see that I had an audience… well they do follow me everywhere!

A great new series of commercials from Air New Zealand touting that their airfares and service are all open and above board. No secret charges, destinations, taxes, seat charges baggage fees or other sneak fares… Unlike our US airlines who all seem to be run by sneaky MBAs bent on monetizing every last bit possible […]

This is exactly what Moré does at the back door to get breakfast in the morning!

I’ve added a new vehicle to the stable… a ‘41 Willys Jeep. Her name is Gracie…

We’ve had some good rains lately and the garden is really shaping up well…
Almost everything is in bloom…

Even the Bougainvilleas are looking up…

Enjoying the Spring Sunday working in the yard on breaks from studying. Trimmed the shrubs in front of the house and raked the plant beds and lawn of old leaves. There are a ton!
The raking task…

Valentina enjoying the cool saltillo tiles on the patio. I moved all the plants outside after their winter hibernation inside.

Everything […]

Wow now this is a real discovery… that is if it is confirmed… for those not into particle physics matter is supposed to be composed of building blocks called quarks. These quarks fit together in various established / theorized ways to build other particles… However this discovery of a previously unknown and untheorized particle throws […]

Some things simply bring a smile… this video from the movie Taare Zameen Par (2007) staring Aamir Khan and Darsheel Safary does just that. Enjoy!

One of mi pasiones is Art Deco… I managed to pick up a few pieces while antique hunting in North Carolina…
A 1949 Philco radio sitting next to Anjelica; a ‘72 Yamaha…

A deco sideboard I picked up one rainy day in Raleigh… I asked “How much?” and was startled when the dealer said “$285″, I immediately […]

Things are blossoming and leaves are budding out all over! Love the bright green new leaves!

On sunny mornings the kitchen really looks good… especially after the remodeling. The sun fills the kitchen and everything sparkles and looks warm and inviting. A great place for a cup of coffee and the paper when it’s windy and chilly outside.
Warm corner of la cocina…

My plants like it too…

A little music and some vino […]

I’ve always been into motorcycles… currently my stable consists of a Kawasaki ZRx1100 and a Honda CB350/4… I’ve just purchased a motorcycle sidecar rig. This one is a look alike of the famous German BMW WWII military bikes. It is a CJ750. Looking forward to much fun and of course mechanical work too… more as […]

I loved Taleb’s book, Fooled by Randomness.
Taleb’s top life tips…
1 Scepticism is effortful and costly. It is better to be sceptical about matters of large consequences, and be imperfect, foolish and human in the small and the aesthetic.
2 Go to parties. You can’t even start to know what you may find on the envelope of […]

I was traveling up I35 through downtown Austin the other day, don’t often get up that way, as I usually travel up Lamar… saw a terrible sight. There used to be a small place called Angie’s Mexican Restaurant… just an old converted house with wonderful food. Tortillas de maiz to die for… chuletas de puerco […]

Put up the Christmas decorations around the house this week. Seeing the lights on the River Walk and shopping the day away in Fredricksburg put me in the Christmas spirit.
The fireplace… added gas logs finally too…

Arranged the Christmas cards…

La gatita waiting for Santa…

Los venados waiting also…

Muy bonita luces! You have to see them…

My sister is here on a visit and we took the opportunity to go to Fredricksburg and San Antonio for Christmas shopping and see the lights on River Walk. The day was mucho fun! I bought a bunch of switch plates as finishing touches to my renovations on the house.
Photos of various locations in the […]

I know this has been around the net several times… but I just love this video! From WherTheHellIsMatt.com It makes me smile.

Well I’ve succumbed and I have an iphone now. It’s nice and I have to say I was primarily driven to purchase by my invention being available on it.
However I am very underwhelmed by a few really stupid features…
Alas programmers continue to let me down… first the spell checker feature… it’s fixing words for […]

Last weekend I went to Camp Swift and played army just like when I was a little kid after watching Vic Morrow on Combat! on TV…except now with big toys!

I’m the tiny soldier in the middle top that runs up then ducks in the grass starting at 1:54 — just a bit part for my […]

We had a day of rain and it really brought out the garden. That coupled with the nice Fall weather and I’ve thrown the doors open and been enjoying the country.
The view out the front door to the round bench…

Some snaps of the plants in the jardin…

Fall is here and the leaves are changing fast. I received three new plants from Sam this weekend; blue agave plants. All are planted in the jardin… should I grow more and make tequila?

The asters are blooming!

Fall is definitely here…

El Grito de Dolores Long live independence! Long live America! Death to bad Government!
Watching the celebrations en Zocalo on Galvision, looks like a lot of fun. Happy Independence Day Mexico!

me gusta! canción de Carlos Vives … Carito

Old Mel, a throwback to the 60’s…

I meant to post these way back when it happened… but forgot. A huge oak tree crashed down on top of my parent’s house. It did a huge amount of damage. Things are fixed now though.

Karyn stopped by the farm on her drive back to Winnipeg from Parrsboro and took a snap. We spent a lot of summers playing all over the place here. You kids get off the gravel pile! It’s changed a lot since then…
The farm house now…

The farm house in 1973 on my last visit…

Val and Grandma […]

The garden is growing really well, since I got back it’s presented me with a lot of new flowers. The bougainvilleas are blooming, the Pride is as well and some random seeds I found are giving me little purple flowers. Only the little soldiers at the gate are not growing, they are always green but […]

Another company is selling an implementation of our QWERsive Input Method patent. This one is called Swype and they have a very impressive demo.

United States Patent 7,250,938

It’s not a big secret that my interest in science was ignited by my love of making stinks and bangs as a youngster. I could usually be found concocting and detonating all sorts of little experiments. Things that would unfortunately in today’s paranoiac zero tolerance* world be immediately classed as terroristic… shame.
Anyway the ultimate […]

One thing that I love is dance… nothing like moving on the dance floor to the beat of good music!
My favorites are East Coast Swing (Lindy Hop), Salsa and West Coast Swing.
East Coast Swing; my dance teacher from Raleigh, Debbie Ramsey

More East Coast Swing, spin, sling and twirl!

Cuban Salsa Rueda

I ran across this song by Marco Antonio Solis who’s very famous for his voice, great song, unfortunately kind of a cheesy video… well I guess you can close your eyes while you listen ;-)
Antes de que te vayas

I love inventing new things and solving problems… we needed a way to hold the camera up so all three of us could get into a picture… a tree branch and a new way of slinging the camera and presto!
Who are these explorers in the woods?

New camera sling method…

between what we are thinking and what we say
between what we feel and what we do
between what we think […]

I wrote about watching the full moon on the ranch page… but I have to rave about this movie of the same name; La Misma Luna is a wonderful movie… If you have a chance see it. A refreshing change from the xenophobic anti immigrant crap on the nightly news and in the political ads.
La […]

I’ve been corresponding with a lot of old friends from high school… not saying when but it was a long time ago! One thing we’ve been doing is finding out that we’re scattered all over the world… and I’ve even got a classmate located here in Austin!
The fun part is looking at now and […]

As you know Juanes is one of my favorite performers… a couple of really good clips from Youtube.
Para tu amor

Nada Valgo Sin Tu Amor

Well it is a radical colour change but I like it. I think it turned out rather well…

Lining surrounded by woods brings with it a risk of wildfire. One step I take to manage that risk is to thin the highly flammable cedars and remove all of the dead fallen trees and limbs. So I have the occasional bonfire… of course it’s always an excuse to roast some marshmallows!
I find that one […]

With the rains from the last two hurricanes one of the most colourful plants in the garden has bloomed.
The Pride of Barbados plant flower.

Interesting development. Back in 2004 I was working with some talented folks; Dustin Kirkland, Emily Ratliff and Kylie Smith. We came up with an awesome new way to input data on a PDA or cell phone. We called our method QWERsive and filed for and received a patent.
Interesting to see a small company develop […]

A continuación..
Dos niñas en Coyocan Mexico.

Piper the cat in the patio in Austin.

Courtyard con luces de papel en San Miguel de Allende Mexico.

Iglesia en Querétaro Mexico.

Courtyard in Querétaro Mexico.

Burro en San Miguel de Allende Mexico.

I’ve been looking back over many thousands of photographs I’ve taken over the years. Like most photographers you get lucky once in a while… I’ve got a small few of great photos, mostly by pure chance. Anyway I’ve always wanted to collect the best together…so I’m going to try to cull my best ones over […]

The ranch house hasn’t been painted since ‘97, that’s a long time to be out in the scorching Texas sun and it shows. After power washing off the old paint flakes I’m starting to repaint… I’m changing the colours too… I’ll be posting the photos on the Peace Place Ranch blog.
Here’s one teaser photo:

I’ve added a rainwater collecting page. Out here in Texas Hill Country we get our water from wells drilled in the limestone down to the Edwards Aquifer. Unfortunately that means a great depth (my well is 650 feet) and very hard mineralized water. So you need a softener and they don’t work all that well […]

I was looking for some tracks of Juanes, a favorite performer of mine and I came across a few mas artistas Columbianos… some of them are really good! Me gustas mucho!
So far Andrea Echeverri and her song A Eme O is my favorite…

But Ekhymosis and La Tierra is very good… but Juanes was their lead […]

I don’t dread cleaning days quite so much now that Rosita is here to help me. She vaccums under the beds, tables and everywhere, just turn her loose, and she never complains. She just has to be cleaned herself now and again.

The iRobot Roomba is a great little household appliance. Since they have a programming […]

I received a lovely gift of a new watercolour by a local artist, Maya Rolf-Barlin. It fits with my mixed decors; Mexican and art deco. It’s the hotel Colon from South Beach.

Among my various daytime delusions, ramblings and make believes are mis changos [my monkeys] that live in my woods [bosque] surrounding my house, the band of bicycle riding banditos lead by El Huachinango, el hombe mui peligroso and the political dissident, Cualtemoc Cacahuate. Of course I’m the king of the changos.
Cualtemoc is the leader of […]

Well I managed to obtain tickets to see Juanes in San Antonio! Adios Pepito! [inside joke] Juanes is one of my favorite artists… if you aren’t familiar with him, well you probably are only listening to soft rock oldies stations. Give him a listen… some of my favorites are:

A Dios le Pido
La Camisa […]