5:20PM - Tigger, rest in peace. (1999-2009)

Tigger never really recovered from anesthesia used for a dental procedure back in March, and he was fighting his treatment more and more. He'd lost almost 6 pounds since February (from 14.5 to 9something) and wasn't showing signs of getting any better. This morning at 1AM I had to take him to the vet, and it was pretty clear things would never get better for him. It was a terrible decision, and I miss him terribly.

I'll always remember him like this, in February when he was healthy:


 

2:17PM

The new Miata has been great this year....it's so much more car than the old one and is really challenging me to push harder.

So far this year I've done 18 days at the track, and run 3 time trials with COM. In those I've placed 3rd, 3rd and 1st (and set a class record this weekend). I've been blessed with good students at all of the schools I've taught at, and mostly good weather (though the hail at Lime Rock was not much fun).

The downside of the new Miata is that it's a much harsher car, and the highway miles to and from the track have been more and more painful. It's so loud that even with earplugs in, my ears are ringing a bit after 6 hours in the car, and a friend of mine that borrowed the Miata got pulled over by the State Police for noise. Plus, I'm more and more worried about what would happen in an accident with the roll cage right next to my helmet-less head.

In May I started thinking about getting some sort of vehicle to haul the Miata (and tools/tires/etc) to the track. I wanted something that was enclosed for the tracks that have no garages. I stumbled on something a bit out of the ordinary on Ebay: A truck that was set up to haul cars on the bed:





It's got a hitch to tow a trailer, so I can split the driving/fuel/tolls with someone that has a trailer (and it looks like I have someone to go with for many of the remaining events this year).

My friend Jay Sohn and I flew into Houston last night, and we're waiting on them to finish pulling the lettering off the other side and then we're on the road.

There's a few more pix here. I'll post some updates on the trip back....1855 miles!

2:19AM - Everyone Needs A Hobby

And mine had me at Hobby (Houston) Airport tonight. More info tomorrow. Sleep now.

11:16PM - Noe Venable, reading her play "The Homecomer"

Tonight, Noe (accompanied by Greta Gertler) read (and sang) her play "The Homecomer". It came out of her experience teaching English for a semester at Arlington High School.

The play was wonderful, ranging from hilarious to bitterly sad. Whatever Noe goes on to do, she'll always make a big impression (and she'll always be a teacher).

The rest are here.

10:12PM - Noe Venable, reading her play "The Homecomer" (Tuesday 6/2 @ Harvard)

I'm pretty sure this will be something not to be missed. I'd drive to NYC to see Noe play, and I'm excited to see what she's doing on the theatrical front. Anyone want to go? Dinner at Bartley's before?

**********

Please join us for a staged reading of

The Homecomer

a new, one-person play
written, performed and
featuring original music by
Noe Venable

Tuesday, June 2nd
Andover Chapel
45 Francis Avenue
Cambridge, MA  02138
doors @ 7:45, show at 8PM
Free!  (of course  :)


This past fall, Noe was one of eight HDS students who student taught at
Arlington High School as part of the Program in Religious Studies and
Education.  This play draws upon that experience.  In it, Noe grapples with
the question, what does it mean to pursue teaching as ministry?  What are
the implications of cultivating religious sensibility in a secular
institution?   Told in vignettes and songs, The Homecomer explores issues
of identity, calling, and the challenges one faces embarking on a life of
service.



Press from Venable's albums:

"Here we have a homegrown, full blown young musical visionary, and a window
into a part of the new San Francisco sound. This train is headed somewhere"
--puremusic.com

"She's the freshest voice in San Francisco"
--San Francisco Magazine

"Ravishingly melodic!"
--Ani Difranco

Noe Venable is a singer-songwriter, composer, and poet. Having honed her
songwriting and musicianship within the context of San Franciscoâs rich
experimental and jazz music scene, Venable has gone on to wider recognition
through the release of five albums, as well as several national tours
opening for such artists as Ani DiFranco and They Might be Giants.  This
June she completes the Program in Religious Studies and Education at
Harvard Divinity School.

http://www.noevenable.com

http://www.myspace.com/noevenable

9:14PM

London was beautiful yesterday. saw the eye, and did lots of walking around to fight the jetlag. super easy flight and trip into london. Hotel rocks (it's right off Hyde Park). Today was mostly spent having lunch with a friend of Valerie's and then wandering around the Tate Modern. A quick dinner at an amazing off-the-beaten-path restaurant and then we went to see Avenue Q, which rocked. Puppets!

3:57PM - Things to do in London

I'm visiting London March 18-26th, and while I've already got some plans I'm looking for some things I might have missed. What's your favorite things to do/see/etc in London?

-j

5:09PM - because i know folks on my friendslist will like this.....

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

10:41PM - Jaggery and Molly Zenobia at Speakerproject

Back in November, Jaggery and Molly Zenobia played at the Speaker Project, which was an art installation at the Mass College of Art.

The lighting was a bit weird since it was being taped, which meant I wasn't able to use any fill flash. Again, so happy for Canon's useful ISO 3200. I think I'd be totally spoiled if I had a 5D Mark II (it supposedly is good beyond ISO 6400).







The rest of the photos (and photos of Molly) are here.

10:38PM - Dar Williams at Paradise Rock Club

On Thursday Dar played at Paradise Rock Club, amazingly enough, for the first time. Jesse Harris (ex of Once Blue, one of my favorite bands that no one knows) opened and then later played in Dar's band.

The lighting guy at the Paradise was very good, so I was really happy with the shots, other than the overall quantity of light. In the past I've been able to shoot at ISO 800 or 1600 at the Paradise, but this time I found myself at 3200 to get a decent shutter speed. Kudos to Canon's DPP for producing amazingly noise-free JPGs from the RAW files.





I've given in and decided to try Flickr for photo hosting, so the rest of the pix are here

I'd be curious to hear comments about Flickr vs. my lame old gallery.

12:55PM - Vote, vote vote

Vote, vote vote
like a baby stoat!

Stoat, stoat stoat
Cast a leeetle vote!

(from http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2008/11/vote-vote-vote.html   )

11:21PM - 2nd place!

This weekend was the 2nd of 2 COM time trials in a week at NHMS. At the beginning of October, I finally broke into the 1:26 range, but hadn't been able to get below 1:26, so I made that my goal this weekend. Early on Saturday I managed to do that with a 1:25.9 or so, and throughout the weekend I was dipping down to 1:25.3.

During the time trials, I laid down a 1:25.8 which was fast enough to place 2nd in my class, and also to beat out COM's chief instructor (bumping him to 3rd).

This was the last track day of the year and in a year where I managed to get 22 days in on the track, was probably the best.

I also got the chance to drive another Miata that might be for sale, and if I can arrange a buyer for mine, I might pick it up. It's got way better suspension and a much stronger engine, so it'd be a great place to start out next year!

10:54PM - meottr milestones

Today at NHMS the Miata (aka the meottr) turned 100,000 miles. I think i bought it with 89,000 miles on it about 3 years ago.

This weekend I was teaching at a BMW school, and my first 2 days (Fri-Sat) had me instructing with their Instructor Training School. It's an intensive 2-day school that tries to cram a year's worth of mentoring into 2 days. Only 2 out of 9 candidates graduated (and I'm proud that one of them was my student). Today I had 2 'regular' students and had a blast with them.

The other milestone is that this weekend I finally broke into the 1:26.x laptime window at NHMS. I'd been solidly in the 1:27-1:28 timeframe there all year, and just couldn't get it down lower. This weekend I tried a few different lines and tried to get more comfortable with the car sliding a bit and that seemed to do it. I was able to lay down a bunch of 1:26 laps yesterday and today.




I also got a chance to drive a friend's miata with better suspension and a new engine and by the 4th lap in it I was turning 1:24 laps. So, this winter, as a present to the meottr for lasting 100,000 miles, it'll get a new engine and some upgraded suspension...

11:38PM - rumors that become true

I'd been hearing from a couple of sources that the Dresden Dolls as a band were more or less done, but I was hoping it wasn't true. Sadly, tonight this came to my inbox:

http://www.theshadowbox.net/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=40ad200b6eff8c0f9bb7388a3a88200e&topic=5056.msg117844#msg117844

Besides being an amazing band, they supported a wonderful cadre of opening acts, many that I came to love. They were also supportive of other non-musical artists (with the Brigade), and as a photographer they gave me the opportunity to hone my art and share it with others. I'll always be thankful for that opportunity and the memories I have.

4:14PM - Something for tomorrow....

1:08PM - borrow a GSM phone for the weekend?

I'm in a bit of a bind and need to port my cellphone # out of Verizon by Saturday. I've got a temporary AT&T phone on order (which will be replaced by an iPhone), but it looks like the temp phone may not be here by Friday.

Anyone have a AT&T compatible GSM phone I could borrow for a few days?

-j

5:30PM - QA, anyone?

I'm in the midst of updating my new treo, and the title bar of the update app made me look twice:



"Power Vision" is Sprint's name for their high speed access. I think someone missed a search & replace!

5:05PM - public safety

While sitting on the front porch, working, a firetruck, then ambulance and then a police car pulled up at my neighbor's house. 2 minutes later everyone left. False Alarm. The best kind!

3:43PM - cabaret this weekend to support kidney transplant

A friend of a friend needs a kidney transplant, and so they're raising funds to help cover some of the costs. The live donor (a friend of the person in need) can't get paid time off work for the operation and will need time to recover.

They are doing a cabaret performance in Harvard Square on Friday & Saturday as a fundraiser. I'm planning on going to the Friday show at this point and would love to meet up with folks for dinner before. I might also be convinced to go Saturday (it's a good cause!). Let me know if you'd like to go and i'll get tickets for you.

More info at  www.smoe.org/jeffw/tmp/Hear_Our_Songs_flyer.pdf or  www.brownpapertickets.com/event/37944

6:31PM - anyone need a sprint treo?

I've got a new-ish sprint treo 755p that I am looking to sell cheaply. I switched to Verizon since my company pays for cell phones only if I'm on their corporate plan. It's in decent shape, but has a small 1/8" scratch on the screen.

Save me the hassle of ebay & shipping!