Happy New Year!

Heidi is throwing a birthday party for me and the new year today, at the same time! We're making red beans and rice and boston baked beans with the ham hock left over from christmas dinner. Yum.
From my parents, I received one of those weather-stations you've read me pining over. See, wishes do come true! At least if you shamelessly broadcast them to the world, repeatedly.
Alida Jacobson has a blog, which gets more photos than text, but they are good photos of her life and friends. I'm adding her to my blogroll.
My dad and I will be sawing up windfall, into tiny chunks that fit into our woodstove today. We may even fell a new tree if two desk-potatoes have the mustard to get it done. We'll be moving the windfall pieces across the seasonal creek, which is burgeoning currently. The land is saturated from consistent heavy rain we've had for the past 2-3 weeks.

Chew 'Em Up & Spitzer 'Em Out

I hope Elliot Spitzer finds out what I've always suspected: 99 cents is about double what I should have to pay for a single track of downloaded music. Man, if tracks were 50 cents, it would be open season, I'd be back in the music-buying business. But at 99 cents, I feel like there is no discount for not costing them the overhead of publishing the content on CDs with labelling etc.. I mean, with my DSL connection I'm paying for at least half of their distribution costs. I'm saving them at least 10 cents in packaging, probably much more than that. Maybe 99 cents is right for hot new songs. I mean, who am I to deny a company the ability to charge a premium for brand-new material. But everything else in the world should be 50 cents or less. The doofuses don't realize people would just buy tons of stuff that they hadn't bought before due to price.
Steve Jobs was right. The record execs are being greedy. Spitzer is going to prove it, and we'll all be living large with 50 cent downloads.

Coolin' It on Christmas

Coolin' It on Christmas
Originally uploaded by King Cnut.

Jamey and Arthur, lounging in their new Mr. Incredible lawn-chairs, with umbrellas. And playing Lego Star Wars for XBox. Hour 2 of 7.

Merry Christmas

In case I don't get a chance to blog this before Sunday:
Merry Christmas!

Rap Follow-Up

I'm not going to try to vivisect all the opinions expressed in the prior post's comments. I'm fascinated by the strong reactions to rap, which I've been aware of for a long time. I figured that post would generate at least one heated comment.
I puzzle often over the source of my enjoyment of rap, especially when the genre is rife with so much vulgarity, posturing, misogyny and probably many more negative things not currently coming to mind. Rap, is perhaps like Darth Vader: mostly bad and terribly fascinating to watch. And, if you believe there is good in it, you may find it. I have come across endearing, touching, noble, and just plain artful poetry in popular rap. It is drowned out by the sheer quantity of the negative and lame stuff, but it is in there. If you want, you can don some scuba gear and go see it.
For a good many people the 'obscene' language presents an obstacle that is insurmountable. I prefer to disregard it when it's boring and try to understand why, sometimes it sounds cool.

At any rate, I'm thrilled at the comments you all left. Ever since I started reading the now-defunct Rocket in high-school, I've fancied the notion of being a music-critic. Now I get to be, whenever I feels like it, and at least four or five people will read it. And with such positive reviews of my reviews, I feel like a huge success.
Even 'Anonymous' with her curiously firm grasp of things I've said in blog-mas past, (i couldn't find what I said, even with Google's Blogsearch, though I remember saying something like that) and the interesting description of the seemingly paradoxical behaviour of Madonna, is piquing and engaging.
This themed-post idea went off well, I think. I'll be checking out Will's old-school faves, and using Pandora.com to broaden my horizons (I've played the crap out of those songs I reviewed).
It's now thirteen minutes past the witching-hour (anyone know where that saying comes from?) so I'm off to bed, but I'll leave you with the sage words of 'the other Jay-Z':

If you're feelin like a pimp, go on brush your shoulders off
Ladies is pimps too, go on brush your shoulders off

Music Post

Since Will and Lief dispatched their Music Post so quickly, the pressure is on for me to hold up my end.
Feeling like I already spent my fuel on prior recommendations for last.fm and Unheard Beethoven, I've been doing some mental digging about what I could add to the topic. What I came up with is:
James' Rap Recomendations!
Wherein James Gives Rap-Artist and Track Recommendations With Brief Explanations of the Merits of Each, And in the Order They Surface in His Mental Soup
Yes, I'm reviewing some favorites from "That Genre With the Heavy Beats and All the Obscene Language"

1. Ice Cube - It Was a Good Day - Ice Cube is not the most versatile, or flamboyant rap artist, his style is fairly stable and representative of rap of the early to mid nineties. However, this particular track is a delightful romp of imagination based on the premise of what it would be like to have a good day when you live in south-central LA. The wishful thinking is universal, if the setting isn't, as exemplified by this bit of verse:
   Picked up a girl been tryin to f*** since the 12th grade
   It's ironic, I had the booze she had the chronic
   The Lakers beat the Supersonics
   It is comical, well-written and not burdened with an annoying, repetetive chorus.
   
2. Eminem - Rock Bottom - Eminem is truly a talented individual. I am a fairly decent mimic and I often judge an artists interestingness by their ability to foil my attempts at mimicry through sheer complexity and nuance. Norah Jones and Emmylou Harris come to mind. Eminem has a rapid-fire delivery, interesting rhythms and a seemingly supernatural ability to string together rhyme and slant-rhyme. All of which make it extremely difficult to mimic him convincingly. Take this example of slant-rhyming 'oranges':
   There is no denying that my weenie is much bigger than yours is
   Mine is like sticking a banana between two oranges
   Why you even doing this to yourself, it's pointless
   Why do we have to keep on going through this, this is torturous
   My point is this
   The highlighted words may not sound the same in the reading, but you should hear him rap them.
   
3. Dr. Dre - The Watcher - "Thing's just ain't the same for gangstas". At least we have it on Dr. Dre's authority. The master of G-Funk gives the impression he's surveying ages in this reflection on a career in the music industry. 20 years in the music industry is, relatively speaking, ages. But Dre's lyrics always tend to convey the impression that the author has a broader view on the world than his peers. He delivers well-engineered lyrics with one of the most indelicate voices in the business, making an odd presentation that somehow works, perhaps due in large part to the inventive, moody tracks he raps over.
   
4. Jay-Z - Dirt Off Your Shoulder - Snap! Crackle! Pop! That's Jay-Z. Besides a dope moniker, Jay-Z has, and delivers the goods. Early in the track you hear him shout something like: "You're now tuned into the mother*****in' greatest!" And follows with a track that stops you from arguing. His theme is one I had to look up in the Urban Dictionary, but it really wouldn't matter what it meant, you can't help but get caught up in his energy. The track is somewhat techno and his vocal style is kind of breathy, which adds to the effect of him sounding like he's working out really hard.
   
5. The Game - Hate It or Love It - Again, reflections on life in the bad part of town, but this time by an up-and-coming artist, albeit with loads of help from Dr. Dre. This track is sweet, the lyrics blend a world-weary, reflective attitude with a slightly angry one and a track that blends brass, soulful vocals and more in an unusual and very slick way.

Bonus Tracks with no explanation: Nas - I Know I Can, Tupac Shakur - Momma's Just a Little Girl, Snoop Dogg - Gin And Juice

All of these artists have plenty more top-notch tracks.

Icy Sheets

I knew it was dangerous to plan a trip based on weather reporting accuracy, but I tried, last night to leave the Erskine family Christmas party in time to avoid the ice-storm, which was scheduled to hit our area at 7 pm. Well, it hit at 4:30, and was thereby well established before we arrived. I-5 was only wet, but when we exited at Woodland, the picture was different. Slush on the off-ramp, ice and snow on less-travelled roads. Cedar Creek Road was pure, dry sheets of ice. Out of the remotest hope of better conditions, we followed it along the flat stretches near Woodland, until we reached the first hill, which is plenty steep. Opened the door, reached down and felt the texture of the roadway. Nope. Not going to make it. Turned around and stayed at the Econolodge, in Woodland (which I can recommend as fully passable economy lodging.)
This morning, the rain came and melted the ice. We made a break for home. Four cars were in varying states of catiwhompussness on the very hill we turned away from on the night before. Smugness filled my head, and indeed our whole car.
So now we're safely ensconced in our cozy abode. The power must have been out overnight for 6 hours or so, based on our stove's blinking time. The temperature was still 69 F though, when we arrived.
The oppossum must have thawed enough to fall out of it's tree. Sorry folks, I know how much you wanted to see that picture.

Welcome to December

How can it be halfway through December already?
This month has been a whirlwind of cleaning and get-togethers. And there will be just as much happening in the second half of the month. In addition to the normal holiday bustle, I've been trying to make a go of some freelance coding/consulting/database work.
A word of advice: do not try this without a competent mentor available to help.
My flight is just starting. Still uncertain if it will be like the flight of Icarus, Lindbergh or the bumble-bee. But I guess that goes for most things.

My fat pipe enthusiasm has diminished somewhat. I realized that my connection is not symmetrical, the upload is only about 500Kbps, while the download appears to be only about 1Mbps. So, I might have to do a reversal on my prior enthusiasm.

Another Country Living Vignette
Heidi spotted an Opossum, in a tree. Dead. Frozen. Hanging by it's tail.
Are they still called "Opossum's"? I haven't heard that word spoke at me in so long, it sounds weird.

Getting a Fat Pipe Baby, Yeah!

The very existence of my phone company instills a sense of awe in me that borders on belief in the supernatural. Especially when contrasted with every other phone company I've ever dealt with. Those are all dark entities in my brain from which no light, sound or even thought can escape, and so they must remain nameless.
TDS Telecom, on the other hand, is a sunny, glowing panorama, where deer graze on the slope below me while I'm sipping fresh coffee and my family is gathered around, gazing at me in obvious adoration. And I'm outdoors, high in the mountains on a cold morning, but the chill doesn't penetrate.
We live 3 miles outside of a town that only recently acquired a gas-station. We are at the end of the road. Our neighbors, on at least one side, are coyotes. And they may be wily, but I don't think they are paying for DSL service.
So to be offered DSL in our location tickled me cyclamen. Now, they are offering double the speed for the same price. So, as of 5 this evening, I should be getting something close to 3 Mbps synchronous bandwidth on my DSL. This phone company is so good I'm scared. Scared that one day I'll awaken and find it was all just a pleasant dream.
Every transaction with them has been smooth and easy. No billing errors, no long waits on the phone for customer service, which I've only had to use maybe once to figure out my router.
TDS Telecom is awesome.

I'm Leaving My Mistress

Yesterday's extended family Christmas party was a success. Since we knew we'd be too busy to stoke our woodstove, we decided to turn on our radiant floor heat, just for the day.
Well, now it's the day after and my toasty toes have spent the entire morning smooth-talking my id to forget to turn off the floor heat. Let me tell you, those toes are persuasive.
So, science, my mistress, has been abandoned for a more comfortable situation, yet again.

Things That Make You Go Hmmm

When you reach for the thin, plastic bottle of mouthwash, and find a thin, plastic bottle of toilet bowl cleanser where the mouthwash normally is.

Sapsucker At Breakfast

Sapsucker At Breakfast
Originally uploaded by King Cnut.

I was up at dawn and was able to get this red-naped sapsucker in perpendicular lighting.

Frost was coating everything this morning. And it was spiked. It made every plant look like a cactus, riddled with spines.

Weekend Update

On a clear day, like today, a large shadow on the side of Mt. St. Helens' snowy SE slope is slightly jarring. Of course the only explanation is that ash must have blown over the lip of the crater to settle on the otherwise pristine white southern face. It's fun to see evidence of activity on the mountain; a little disturbing, yes, but fun nonetheless. It is also rare to have a winter day clear enough to know without doubt that it is not a cloud-shadow.
This sunny day has also allowed us to avoid having a fire all day, despite conditions that caused 1/2 inch ice-sheets in any water standing outside last night. The temp has raised inside about 4 degrees farenheit since this morning.
We're preparing to host a large party over the weekend. As such I ran to the dump to purge more of the seemingly endless stream of trash we've generated during the construction of this house. After the dump I went a few miles south to pick up a used dryer I'd found on craigslist.com. When I got to the house with the dryer, I realized I had left my hand-truck/dolly at the dump. : So, after loading the dryer by hand, I zoomed back to the dump and made my way back to the place where I left the dolly only to see it being scooped up in the bucket of a massive bulldozer. I watched it get pushed along, with a sensation similar to watching a kite get tangled in an impossibly high tree, or a cell-phone dropped into deep water. However, the dozer finished his push and backed up for another go. The dolly was on the near side of the heap. I dashed out across the mounds of mattresses and sheetrock-scraps, trying to remember how it was that Remo Williams was able to run on water. Miraculously the dolly appears unharmed, albeit wet and covered in heaven-knows-what.

Isn't the lichen lovely, dear?

Highly Color-Saturated Cascara & Lichen
Originally uploaded by King Cnut.

It has come to my attention that my prior post about lichen in bloom lacked context. So I'm sharing this picture that explains a bit of what I'm referring to.
I increased the color saturation 100% to make the colors more noticeable.

Snow-covered Firs

Snow-covered Firs
Originally uploaded by King Cnut.

This snow melted overnight, and now we have a similar amount again, from this morning's snow.

Lyrics. Snow Update.

These look like pretty decent lyrics to Lida Rose:
http://www.geocities.com/merrystar3/allysongs/LidaRose.htm

I have a po-dunk thermometer I could put outside, but it's accuracy is probably about as good as mine. That is, it will say 32 F and I won't be sure it's not 30 or 34.

The flakes are coming down medium-sized and medium-paced. They've been continuous since 9 am and sticking since 11:30 or so. In the last hour, the size and rate have stabilized.

And It's Sticking

Snow sticking now at 550' near Amboy. Trees whitening. Noise dampening. Clouds thickening.

Heidi said it's only rain in Battle Ground, but I think it will be on the roads between here and there. She may have to stay there for a while.

Pre-School Birthday Party Outfit

Pre-School Birthday Party Outfit
Originally uploaded by King Cnut.

This is Jamey, a few minutes before leaving for pre-school and his birthday celebration there.

Light-a Snow At Home Again Snow

(Title sung to the tune of Lida Rose. Hope you have some other music handy, cause that one tends to stick around in one's head for an irritating while.)

Yes, it is in fact snowing here. Not sticking yet, but the pace has been increasing since 9 am. Heidi and the kids may get stuck in Battle Ground if it starts sticking. Or in particular, the 980 foot-high pass between Fargher Lake and Amboy. We're at roughly 550' here.
Jamey was desperate to get to his pre-school today because they are celebrating his 5th (cough, cough, sputter) birthday today. That includes special attention for him, cupcakes for the class and Jamey gets to be the teacher's special assistant today. He has dressed in his finest attire for the occasion, and is, quite rightfully, proud of himself.

And the snow kept falling...