Gelkote

IdeaFestival announced their 2008 speakers earlier this week. For the uninitiated, IdeaFestival brings a diverse group of passionate and engaging speakers to Louisville, KY over three days in September. The caliber of presenters is on par with TED but the conference is much more accessible for the average Joe. While TED places their presentations online for free, they charge $1000s of dollars to attend in person. IdeaFestival has some presentations for free, most in the $15 to $20 range or all access for $300~$350 depending on when you register. I’m a little bummed that the number of free sessions has decreased from 2007 but it’s worth a few hundred bucks to be engaged and expand one’s horizons.

Planning for IF 2008, I’m reminded of a few cool discoveries from my 2007 IF travels. Carmichael’s Bookstore, Ear X-tacy, Toast on Market, Rainbow Blossom Natural Foods and
The Louisville Eccentric Observer (LEO). I also learned about the Keep Louisville Weird campaign encouraging folks to shop local stores. It’s a very cool concept that should be repeated everywhere. Especially true as I’m 3/4 the way through the book Deep Economy.

Learned today that 2600 Magazine is coming out with a Best of 2600 book covering the last 24 years of the magazine and hacker/phreaking scene. Should be fun to see how things have changed. Most of the folks I talk to aren’t familiar with Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs). For those needing a BBS history lesson, check out Jason Scott’s BBS Documentary or hit me up to borrow my copy.

Also learned today about a musician named Brigid Kaelin while snooping around the Ear X-tacy website. The tracks on her myspace vary from rock to bluegrass to what I call old school Patsy Cline country. Brigid’s versed on the piano, guitar, accordion and even a musical saw. But her voice, wow. One review on her Myspace compares her vocal magic to Eva Cassidy. I couldn’t agree more. For a sampling of Eva, check out Live at Blues Alley.

I was on the porch talking to my parents this evening when I noticed something unusual. There were two ducks sitting on the second story ridge of my neighbor’s roof.

I have never been a fan of web comics. Comics like xkcd and Questionable Content catch my attention for a few days then quickly fade. However, I might have found something different in a comic called Another Random Day. Discovered the comic below during my travels yesterday and I can’t stop laughing. So much so that I replaced my boring single colored background of 6 years.

Not every issue strikes my fancy but those that do are honest and crazily hilarious. Oh, and they are sometimes less than politically correct.  Plus, the characters are simple and expressive.

I caught a CNN video via Boingboing about a guy name Greg Pike. Greg taught a rat to ride a cat riding a dog. It’s kind of like There was an Old Lady but backwards and inside out. What caught my attention isn’t the animals but his personality. He’s amazingly down to earth with a great sense of humor.

What I’m trying to do with this performance, is to teach people that nothing’s impossible and that we can all get along. It’s real simple. You know?”

Findlay Reservoir 1 – January 12th, 2008

The singer song writer Harry Chapin once told the story…

My grandfather was a painter. He died at age 88. He illustrated Robert Frost’s first two books of poetry. And he was looking at me and he said, “Harry, there’s two kinds of tired. There’s good tired and there’s bad tired.”

He said, “Ironically enough, bad tired can be a day that you won. But you won other people’s battles, you lived other people’s days, other people’s agendas, other people’s dreams and when it’s all over there was very little you in there. And when you hit the hay at night somehow you toss and turn, you don’t settle easy.”

He said, “Good tired, ironically enough, can be a day that you lost. But you won’t even have to tell yourself, because you knew you fought your battles, you chased your dreams, you lived your days. And when you hit the hay at night, you settle easy, you sleep the sleep of the just and you can say, “Take me away.”

He said, “Harry, all my life I’ve wanted to be a painter and I’ve painted. God, I would have loved to have been more successful but I’ve painted and I’ve painted and I am good tired and they can take me away.”

Now if there is a process in your and my lives in the insecurity that we have about a prior life or an afterlife and God… I hope there is a god – if he does exist, he’s got a rather weird sense of humor however…

But if there is a process that will allow us to live our days, that will allow us that degree of equanimity towards the end, looking at that black implacable wall of death to allow us that degree of peace, that degree of non-fear, I want in!

June 2008 marks the 10th anniversary of graduating college with a degree in Information Technology. It marks 10 years of being an adult. 10 years with a real job and a little over 10 years since I last shared this Harry Chapin quote. I found it profound at the time but damned if I didn’t learn. Little did I know the years from 1998 to 2008 would be marked mainly as bad tired. Days with more them than me. It’s time to break out. Learn! Grow! Dream!