Life spiel

Tipsy too

Phoenixsf — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:27:56 GMT

Last weekend's camping trip with the boats, the string quartet, swimming and beautiful weather. http://www.flickr.com/photos/34483565@N00/sets/72157605670202452/ This weekend is midsummer or as my Swedish relatives call it, "lets get as fucked up as the day is long and embarrass ourselves day". Next weekend after that is MWB. I love June.

Camp Tipsy

Phoenixsf — Wed, 07 May 2008 04:29:40 GMT

Ok I had a blast this weekend up at East Park Reservoir camping (shmamping) with Chicken John and a bunch of folks. So here are my pics. check em out , comment whatever. http://www.flickr.com/photos/34483565@N00/sets/72157604902636934/ marc

Oh my gawd Britney it's getting bigger!

Phoenixsf — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 03:53:58 GMT

Two teenage girls in awe of the natural world. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1e4_1207332746

First night shift with the X-ray techs.

Phoenixsf — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 04:48:01 GMT

Just finished my 1st evening shift with patients. The night crew is way different then the day crew. Night time X-ray tech guys are totally irreverent but super efficient. We had a drunk lady with a fractured wrist, good thing she was drunk because her wrist was all crunchified ulna fractured with loose chunks and little bits of scaphoid lunate and triquetral floating around. Good thing she was drunk because when we moved her wrist you could feel and hear stuff crunching. Then we had a super skinny black dude who was a junky crack head who needed a chest x ray to see if the I V in his neck was properly placed. All his veins in his arms and legs had collapsed so they had to put one in his Aorta. His heart was supper tiny and way elongated. Then finally had a Latino roofer who had a propane tank fall two stories onto his head. A miracle that his skull was not fractured but he had a nasty laceration and a good deal of blood. We did a cervical series of 5 x-rays to see if his neck was OK. He spoke very little English so my construction Spanish came in handy. All this in just two and half hours It was so much fun and a total information overload. I gota come down now.

And the creator saw that it was good

Phoenixsf — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 02:52:15 GMT

There are somethings I don't get like viruses and mosquitoes but this woman Robyn I just have to say thank you thank you thank you got that one right. Happy birthday Robyn you have always been kind gentle and patient with me and you laugh at my jokes. You bring joy and happiness to my life. I'm glad you are my friend.

And its only wednesday

Phoenixsf — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 07:02:23 GMT

Fuuuck how di dthis happen????????????/ For Pete's it 's Wednesday and I almost got in fight to boot.

the techno enforcer

Phoenixsf — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 01:27:50 GMT

The new lord of the dance will kick yr ass. http://www.break.com/knockedupdvd/all-hail-technoviking.html Another example of scary white people

Daiso the great

Phoenixsf — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 20:40:05 GMT

Hey I just want to share this with ya'll. I found this new store out in Serramonte called Daiso. It is a Japanese ... things store . It's full of weird and not so weird Japanese stuff, everything from kitchen wear to stationary, toys and decorative bric-a-brac. Almost everything is a buck fifty or less. Frank would love this place. I got a bunch of naked lady lighters for 50 cents, some blinky lights, a Bill Clinton mask and some bicycle cable locks. But the big score were a pair of fake boobies that self inflate and a swans neck and head thingy that also self inflates and is intended to be worn on your crotch. I guess Japanese people like animal shaped penis accessories. Anyway it is at 146 Serramonte Ctr 650-992-7642 check it out

Endorphines are free

Phoenixsf — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 04:20:24 GMT

I've been pretty lucky when it comes to accidents at work. Except for cutting myself pretty bad with a utuility knife and getting stuck in the hand with a 16 penny nail I've never really hurt myself on the job. I've never broken a bone either which if you consider all the dumb things I've done on bicycles, skateboards and skis is pretty amazing. Well today I experienced the most painful thing I can remember since I was a teenager and had a severe inner ear infection and had to be given dilaudid (synthetic morphine) at the hospital. I was working with Matt, who was putting plywood sheathing on a steeply pitched roof when he asked me to get a 2 X 4 for him to nail onto the plywood so he could have a step to keep from sliding off the roof. In the immediate area we were working there were no 2 X 4's laying around but there were a few temporary 2 X 4 braces on some walls we had recently framed that were no longer needed as braces so I went to take one off. These temporary braces were just nailed diagaonally across the studs with one or two nails at each end. We do this to keep the walls square and plumb until the top plates are all connected and everything is tied together. So I swung my 23 oz framing hammer at this brace to loosen the nails a bit so I could get the claw of the hammer in between the studs and the brace and pry it free. To do this I had to swing the hammer towards me. It was around 3.30 and we rushing to get the rest of the plywood up and in my haste I missed the 2 X 4 and hit myself pretty hard on the interior side of my knee. I immediately dropped my hammer and collapsed to the ground. It was so painfull I could not move or hold onto anything, it was like I lost complete control of my body. It was the knee equivalent of hitting your elbow funny bone only much much worse. Why is it called the funny bone??? when you hit it nothing fun or funny happens. Anyway I lay there cursing the hammer, the 2 X 4, Jesus Christ, God, myself and everything and nothing in particular for about 30 seconds. I heard Matt calling my name and asking if I was OK but his voice seemed very far off. As I looked around everything seemed... different, the light got brighter and colors seemed more vibrant and objects sharper and more in focus, the air seemed warmer too and then just as quickly as the pain came it subsided rapidly. I rubbed my knee a little flexed my leg back and forth everything seemed OK so I got up and walked over to the ladder through the roof as Matt was descending it. He asked me what happened and as I was recounting my accident I began to giggle and laugh uncontrolably, I felt great... euphoric even. Sure my knee was a bit tender to the touch and I could see the beginings of some swelling and a bruise but I felt strangely... wonderful. Just minutes before I was practically in tears but at that moment I felt reeaaalll gooood. I must have been high on the endorphines. I have never felt them kick in so fast before or so strongly. I used to run the mile and two mile races on my high school track team and remember sometimes in the begining of the season after exhautive training sessions being all numb and warm on the bus ride home but I have never felt anything like this before. It was so cool. Isn't it wonderful that our bodies produce this natural pain killer hundreds of times more powerful and fast acting than heroin with no side effects or nasty come down. Thank you oh greater being or evolutionary process or whatever, that was awesome.. yee haw ! I remember a friend of mine telling me about getting his tongue peirced and how after the immediate pain went away feeling totally high and giddy. I guess that's why some people get addicted to being peirced and tattooed. Certain types of pain that stimulate the nerves suddenly and forcefully yet leave no major tissue damage can get you real high... cool huh. However I don't think I am going to deliberately hit myself on the side the knee with a framing hammer again just to get high. That'd be hella stupid.

Some pics from BM 06

Phoenixsf — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 04:47:23 GMT

Vindaloo! http://www.flickr.com/photos/34483565@N00/?saved=1 marc

I used to be younger.

Phoenixsf — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 02:42:41 GMT

Hmm... a picture of me from 1994 on Baker Beach. Oh yea, that was the first year I went to Burning Man. I don't know why I am drinking Mickey's, that stuff is vomitous.

I've got nothing .

Phoenixsf — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 01:39:18 GMT

Obviously.. but hey I just found another example of how the Japanese are bizarre http://www.hedonistica.com/yt.php?path=http://www.youtube.com/v/864B8BiIFJw Wow what a combination aerobics, english lessons and self defense all in one no wonder they make better cars than we do.

Cows, a wedding, flat beer, and smoking

Phoenixsf — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 05:53:28 GMT

I just got back from two weeks in Suffolk, England. I am tired and really it's all a blur now. Much drinking, much smoking, much green and pleasant land. More later when my liver recovers. More pics on my flickr account. http://www.flickr.com/photos/34483565@N00/

To build a house

Phoenixsf — Sat, 10 Jun 2006 03:29:38 GMT

Ok I don't usually get to do much frameing because most of the jobs I do are kitchen and bath remodels but here I am up on the fricken roof putting in rafters. This house is soooo stupid. its the SUV of houses. 6 bathrooms, 3 car garage. almost the entire second floor is master bedroom suite. Nice part of al this frameing work is I am getting a little tan, have lost some fat and gained some muscle. Anyway I am going to england on sunday don't have much time to go into details I gots to pack. http://static.flickr.com/74/163964387_b93eff8f2b_b.jpg

Don't think I won't throw this shit away.

Phoenixsf — Tue, 23 May 2006 05:40:35 GMT

I've been feelin the need to purge lately. I really really want nothing. I wish my house were empty. Paradise for me would be a basement full of tools and materials and a living space with.... almost nothing maybe a vase with some crooked sticks and a single flower... ack I'm turning japanese. Anyway this weekend I filled a large contractor garbage bag with clothes. Mostly pocket T-shirts, a few sweaters but really I had a butt load of Pocket T-shirts, all colors. I used to wear nothing but pocket T's (of course) pants and shoes and stuff too( I'm no shirt cocker) but for tops it was all pocket T's all the time. I came across a few regular T-shirts, the printed kind, from my days in the outdoor and bicycle industries. I got 2 Sycip T's, a Ibis, a Danner boots T-shirt, a Arc-teryx, a Moonstone, a 2000 bicycle messenger world championship, some bike club jerseys and various weird stuff like a doggy diner shirt. Next I am gonna go through my other closet which has thrift store suits flannel shirts and plaid golf pants. I probably could haul some of the better stuff over to bufffalo exchange and wasteland to sell but it'd be easier to just dump it at the salvation army a few blocks from my house. Everytime I go to haight st. I just wanna scream GO HOME TO MOMMY AND DADDY HIPPY GUTTER PUNKS, WHY SHOULD I GIVE YOU MY SPARE CHANGE SO YOU CAN GET ANOTHER LAME ASS TRIBAL TATTOO OR DYE YOUR HAIR FUSCIA. Anyway if anyone wants some of my stuff let me know.

M.I.T students trying very hard to get laid.

Phoenixsf — Tue, 16 May 2006 04:06:45 GMT

http://web.mit.edu/zacka/www/midas.html At most colleges students use cheap and plentiful alcohol to get laid but not MIT students. Two students at MIT have spent the past school year transforming their dorm room into an extremely automated living area. The Multifunction In-Dorm Automation System (MIDAS) controls various aspects of the room, including the lights, electric window blinds, text displays, security cameras, alarms, and music system. The MIDAS is controlled by various computer interfaces and buttons, one of the most prominent being the "party button," which cuts out the lights, shuts the blinds and starts pumping intense techno with random laser lights. Unfortunately, if you spend your entire first year of college working on your computer-controlled dorm room, you might lack the friends required to host an actual party. Oh, wait. They have a fog machine. Well then, the parties will come to them.

How to prepare your home for a zombie invasion

Phoenixsf — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 18:35:43 GMT

Another interesting and usefull article from Amazon's tool site. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/3RG72PX31LOAK/ref=cm_bg_guides/102-8306428-6173721 This seems to be a popular subject there are more articles on Zombie invasion survival. These are more about zombie combat http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/TI6RXGVC01C1/ref=cm_bg_guides/102-8306428-6173721 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/UC6TWHX78V8H/ref=cm_bg_guides/102-8306428-6173721 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/19A8DLBUR9841/ref=cm_bg_guides/102-8306428-6173721 This one from a woman's perspective http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/1BS8OC58FO4HP/ref=cm_bg_guides/102-8306428-6173721 There is even a whole book on this subject http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400049628/ref=cm_bg_f_1/102-8306428-6173721?v=glance&n=283155 Wow who knew there was so much useful information out there on lifes pressing problems. Humans are such clever monkeys.

Phoenixsf — Sun, 19 Mar 2006 22:44:49 GMT

I have not owned guns since I was.... 19 or something. I had a Remington 22 rifle and a Ruger 22 semi auto pistol. Both were super fun to shoot at bottles and targets and ...stuff. One time me and friend found a case of Coors cans sitting in the sun on the roof of the Serene Lakes Lodge. Someone must've put em out there in the winter and forgotten them. Normally this would be a great find but since Coors is not pasturized the beer inside had gone sour from lack of refridgeration. Anyway we took them down the logging road a bit to where some rusty old shot up cars were and set em up for targets. I guess when Coors goes bad the internal pressure in the can goes sky high cuz these suckers disintergrated when you shot em with the 22s and man did it stink. Shooting is fun... shooting those thin walled cans of camping gaz is spectacular, you build a little fire next to em and then step back and let the bullets fly, at night it's even more sectacular with the balls of fire and stuff. Sometimes a can will shoot off like a rocket with fire coming out behind, its like fireworks. I hear some of the cacophany society folks like to shoot the big BBQ size bottles of propane. I think they had a santa shoot out once and they met at High Bridge Arms on Mission st. for ammo. You need larger calibers to penetrate the thicker skins on those propane tanks. I've shot some bigger calibers like a Marlin .306 lever action, a 12 gauge shot gun and a Colt Gov. 1911 45 a buddy stole form the army when he was discharged. Bigger guns are fun too but the ammo cost too much for a cheap bastard like me. You can get 500 22 rounds for less than 20 bucks but a single .45 is like 50/60 cents. I guess I'm just not as evolved as folks who hate guns. I think shooting appeals to the stupid/clever monkey in me. its powerful, destructive, technological and completely frivolous. You point this thing at something and it projects a hunk of lead at a high speed towards your target and if you did it right the target is destroyed. It's powerful and primitive yet evil scientist at the same time and it goes boom what more can a monkey ask for. Getting real accurate is fun. I got to the point with my 22 riffle I could light a stike anywhere match 1 out of 4 times at a 100 feet. But just blazing away with the semi auto pistol at a row of cans 10 feet away is fun too. I've been hunting...twice, more as an excuse to go camping than in the hope of killing some animals. My neighbor was a med student from Texas and he grew up hunting birds and deer and little pigs called javelinas. He got into bow hunting and would shoot a hundred arrows a day on the open hillside in back of my parents house on 9th ave. He was part Cherokee, sort of dark with long black hair and a Fu-Manchu mustache, he looked the part. It'd be totally foggy outside and he'd be out there shirtless letting fly with the compound bow. Those suckers have a 90 pound pull so after a few months of shooting he got this weird asymmetrical muscle build. He could hit the middle of a paper plate from 100 yards everytime. This was all preparation for going feral pig hunting one day. A feral pig is cross between a domestic hog and a european boar http://www.enature.com/flashcard/show_flash_card.asp?recordNumber=MA0047 They can get upwards of 300 pounds and are usually pretty harmless, I've stood less tha 10 feet from a pack of sows in Pinnacles nation monument and they just ignored me. The males are different, they got big 6 inch long sharp tusks and will challenge anything that crosses their path. So, my neighbor wanted me to come along with him on his hunt as back up with a rifle in case he got into trouble with a pig. Feral pigs are smart and mean and can cause you serious harm if they're wounded and decide to charge you. You've all seen that movie Hannibal so you know what I'm talking about. So my neighbor took me to the shooting range to practice a bit with the .306. I shot 50 rounds to familiarize myself with the gun and the next day we went a huntin. Long story short... we saw plenty of sows and a few boars.... off in the distance. Never got to shoot any pigs which is probably for the best . The other time I went hunting again with my neighbor we were gonna get some wabbits with 22's but whenever we went out with guns we saw no rabbits. If we were just out walking around there plenty af rabbits... with guns, no wabbits. So pardon the long winded meandering story. Guns... I don't have any now. I sold both my 22's to buy a guitar and amp because having a gun in the city is kinda pointless cuz there is no place to shoot round here. I did not have a car to drive somewhere to shoot and the guns just sat there gathering dust. An electric guitar was far more useful to the 19 year old me. Beside beng in a rock band might get me laid and a gun'd only get me laid if... well lets not go there, thats just wrong. Am I anti gun? no, I think guns are cool, maybe someday I'd like to have pistol or a rifle again but right now I'd rather have a new air compressor. I try not to spend money frivolously buying things just to have em. I am also not anti gun for the same reason I am not anti alot of things that can be bad for you. I don't believe in prohibitions. I believe in consequences. If you drink and drive and kill or main someone you should go to jail for a very long time. If you use a gun to commit a crime or even just accidently shoot someone like VP Dick Cheney did you should go to jail. Prohibitions only feed criminal enterprise, corrupt those in charge of enforcing prohibitions and limit the freedom of folks who have never done anything wrong. The american ideal is to have the freedom to take risks and suffer the consequences of our mistakes. I've traveled to almost every place I might consider living and still would rather live here in San Francisco. Someday it might get bad enough to make me consider Canada or Mexico or Sweden (burrrr). But I like being american and being free to do potentially stupid things.

This appeals to me, not sure why.

Phoenixsf — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 02:15:38 GMT

I don't have problems with moles since my backyard is actually the roof of my garage and well there is no dirt there. Then again moles are kinda creepy, what with the long pointy fleshy noses, tiny black beedy eyes and those grotesquely oversized pink paddle like fore limbs with long claws... ewwee. Nothing cuddly about moles. Like rats they get a bad rap because they're considered ugly by society's fucked up standards. Just look at squirrels, everyone thinks oh cute a squirrel, just cuz they got big fluffy tails and sit up holding their food with their paws and bound around instead of scurrying, they're no better than rats. In fact squirrels are far more annoying, they make all kinds of noise and fight with each other nonstop. At least rats are quiet, eat garbage and seem to get along with each other. Anyway I digress as usuall.. moles... not exactly man's best friend. So we kill em as best we can. Now you can buy poisonous fake worms to trick the moles into thinking they're getting something num num. I can't imagine moles being finicky about stuff like a wary old trout eschewing the anglers salmon egg bait but I guess there is a need for realistic looking fake worm mole poison hence MOTOMCO mole killer.

This I know

Phoenixsf — Sun, 05 Mar 2006 23:44:21 GMT

The more I know, the more I know I don't know shit. I know that has been said before and man is it true for me. I know how to do some things, like skills. I know how to cope an inside corner, I can build a straight run of stairs, just don't throw in too many turns. But even with skills, I learn something new almost everyday. I make alot of mistakes. Babe Ruth hit alot of home runs but he struck out way more times. If only life were more like baseball where you can fuck up 70% of the time and still be considered one of the greatest of all time.

Loyalty Oath

Phoenixsf — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 02:58:27 GMT

Well it looks like the great zaadz purge of february 2006 has begun. When I went to use my zaadz account i got this "friendly" message. Commit. Hi Marc, In order to preserve the sanctity of the Zaadz community, We are asking all users to agree to the following points. If you don't agree, you can choose to have your account de-activated. You will only have to do this once. Thanks! I have read the Zaadz Mission and it inspires me. I recognize that Zaadz is creating an online sanctuary for personal development and I commit to co-creating this sacred space by honoring the Terms of Use. - or - Please de-activate my account. Rather than sign their loyalty oath I adopted to deactivate my account. It seems very close minded of them and passive aggressive. What are they so afraid of, debate, scepticism, honesty? I am not against folks wanting to be self actualized, positive and all that but to me it seems like a whole lot of "selling" is going on. Some guy tells you he can make you happy and successful ( meaning rich) if you give him a few Benjamins and attend his seminar at the airport Hilton. He then proceeds to get up and tell you a whole bunch of obvious things rehashing practical everyday knowledge with a heavy dose of wooo tripy eastern philosophy and if it does not "change your life" then you are just mentally weak or supressive. OOOOOKAAAAY... whatever. Besides the whole thing is just so damn white hippy middle class lets go to Taos man.

Probably the nicest thing I have ever made.

Phoenixsf — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 03:13:17 GMT

My favorite thing to do is finish carpentry. I'm pretty good at it but I have to say I am really proud of this last project. Picture is a box beamed ceiling (coffered) I just finished for my bosses house in Hillsborough made from american Cherry wood. The flat panels on the ceiling are veneered plywood the rest is solid wood.... very expensive.Each boxed section is about 4 feet square. The room will have a bar and a pool table when done. It took two carpenters 6 days to finish. You don't see this kind of work in most new homes. Oh we also did the railing on the lower right hand side.

City kid Speil.

Phoenixsf — Sat, 14 Jan 2006 02:54:32 GMT

I lived just above hoover junior high on 9th ave where it dead ends into 12th ave. My parents backyard opened onto the 4 acres of open hillside above the school yard. There were loads of kids in the neighborhood back then and we used to have mega dirt clod wars and other adventures all over tha hillside and in the trees down by Forest Hill. Sliding down the ice plant on pieces of cardboard, diging giant holes, stealing wood from construction sites to build skate ramps or tree forts, getting chased by big scary dogs playing hide and go seek with 20 other kids with a 4 acre "in-bounds" could go on for hours. On saturdays we'd say goodby to our parents around 8 am and not see them untill diner, J.P Murphy playground had free lunches. Noone cared, we were wild feral children getting into all sorts of mischief. There were perverts and child molestors and bigger kids who'd steal your stuff or beat you up just for fun same as there are now but no one made a big deal or tried too hard to protect us from bad things. We fell out of trees, broke bones jumping our bikes off ramps and got hellacious rode rash skate boarding. Scabs and casts were badges of honor, rewards for heroic child daring do. When Rick Mock fell fifty feet off the rope swing above Lugana Honda resevoir and broke three ribs he was an instant legend because only he was brave/stupid enough to actually climb one tree to swing from another, swinging past horizontal into kid history. There were no "playdates" or structured supervised recreation. We developed survival skills or paid the price. Stories of kids who got hurt were our epic poems, legends and life lessons. The too friendly older guy who lived two blocks over and tried to touch Jeff Burks ass got his house egged every weekend for months untill he moved away, it was kid justice, we got in fights with each other but also watched out for each other. There was safety in numbers. There was also danger in numbers. One day my friends older brother who was sort of an Irish ganster got shot in the head a block from where we were hanging out. He hung out with a harder bunch of kids who got into that sort of trouble.We NEVER told mom and dad what ywe did, ignorance was parents' bliss and our freedom. What happened outside stayed outside. It was'nt just trees and empty lots either, the concrete and pavement offered another kind of play too. All that matered was there were kids around and freedom to do as we pleased. When skating first hit in the mid seventies everyone got cheap plastic skate boards(rolling stars) with real urethane wheels from Consumer Distributers and we'd ride down to 9th and Judah in packs and took the 6 Masonic back up to the top all day long. The bus was a nickel and transfers were good all day as long as you were going in one direction, we only needed to go up. We explored every route downhill from Cragmont and Quintara. 9th ave, 10th ave, Turtle Hill, bombing the steep part of Ortega or taking it easy on the backside, the hill was like one big skating resort and the number 6 was our chair lift. I still have a scar on the top of my head and on my right hand from the time I went through the windshield of a parked car while bombing 10th ave. I woke up in the front seat to my friends pulling me by my feet out the window while laughing and begging me to run before someone saw and got us in trouble. I think I told my mom I cut myself on a broken bottle in the playground. Anyway... there are few kids in The City these days, schools are being closed and consolidated. It is too damn expensive for a regular working class family to own a home here because everytime someone wants to build more housing a bunch of NIMBY neighborhood "IN-activists" throw a hissy fit cuz they want to "preserve" the nieghborhood character and their parking spaces. I still would'nt want to live anwhere else. This is my home.

Snow makes things prettier

Phoenixsf — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 07:35:27 GMT

Here is another picture from my family Christmas at Serene lakes atop Donner Summit

White X-Mas 2005

Phoenixsf — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 06:44:58 GMT

Well it finaly snowed. When Ali and I drove up to Donner Summit friday there was barely any snow on the ground and it was about 55 degrees. Some white dude was walking down old Hwy 40 in shorts and a wife beater, it was kinda sad. Finally on christmas day it started to snow... and snow big frickin snow balls of snow. My whole extended family got together in a rented cabin for X-mas we feasted on the usuall swedish holiday food including four kinds of pickeled herring and many many shots of aquavit. As always it was great. On sunday x-mas day we went for a long walk around the lake while it snowed. My dog Zoe had never been in the snow before and even though she has real short fur she enjoyed bounding around in the snow banks. We made snow angels and a snow man and almost got burried by the snow sliding off the roof. Ali also enjoyed her first time in the snow.