This year's JingEling comes in four parts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Merry Christmas! Be sure to leave Ryan & Bethany lots of messages if you like it.
Go to the JingEling blog or Ryan's Youtube channel for this year's JingEling videos and outtakes.
Over Labor Day Weekend I went to Portland to see my nephew, Isaiah, for the first time.
Pictures
More Pictures
Some of the pictures are from other peoples' visits - everyone is eager to be in The Presence. I was lucky enough to be there at the same time Karen was visiting. She is Isaiah's godmother, and clearly adores him. It was nice to see her and catch up; she's on a few different rescue squads now, takes classes on how to use the jaws of life (including how to avoid being shocked while chopping up a hybrid), and has driven the fire truck in Bristol. She continues to be awesome.
He does seem like a pretty good kid, for a first try. He didn't cry much when I was around, and slept regularly for long stretches. I couldn't help but imagine that he would easily upset and waking up at random times. But he's great, and according to Nana Cheryl is the cutest baby ever.
The visit was more than just attending on the new Eling. I went for a nice bike ride with Dad, around the Back Cove, through the Old Port, and over to Ryan and Bethany's... to see the baby. And do yard work to help them out.
One night we went to a Portland Sea Dogs game, the Red Sox' AA affiliate. Good game, though it got to be a bit of a blowout. We had seats behind home plate, right in front of the press box. Many nearby foul balls, until later in the game, when one came right at me. I'm still kicking myself - I did not have a glove, and tried to barehand it. Got a piece of it, but I wasn't quick enough to clap down both hands and hold on.
We also took an outstanding cruise on Casco Bay. Rather than a tour for vacationers, we just rode the evening ferry that goes from the Old Port to Great Diamond, Long, Great Chebeague, and Cliff Islands. Looking at the crowd, especially on the way out, it was more like riding a bus. People coming home from work, bringing groceries packed up by the supermarket in banana boxes. While the islands are mostly filled with summer homes, many people live there year-round. So it gave the boat a much different feel than what I expected, but it was a blast. The Bay is beautiful, and the islands are dotted with amazing homes. Great Diamond even has an elegant restaurant at the stony cove where the ferry docks. Lots to see, and it is always a great pleasure to me to get out on the water. The campers on Little Chebeague even set off fireworks as we went by.
It was a fantastic visit, very restful and reinvigorating. Mom took a few thousand more photos, I think, which hopefully will be up soon. Then you can enjoy Babytime preserved for the ages.
This morning at 0019 little brother and his wife had a baby boy. Everyone is doing great - healthy baby, relatively easy delivery, everything as you would wish. Mom took many photos, and is convinced young Isaiah will have red hair.
I'm very excited and proud of Ryan and Bethany. I'm so happy for them, and the family they've started. Now I'm going to start buying loud toys and fireworks. I will be Cool Uncle Dan.
On his way back from Grandma & Grandpa's 60th anniversary party, Chris was able to stop by this past weekend. He had spent some time in Columbus as well, watching minor league games and visiting his old friend Virgil. He got here late on Thursday, and I left him to his own devices on Friday.
Saturday, we had hoped to go out to Shenandoah and hike Old Rag, but the forecast said there could be strong thunderstorms because the atmosphere was "energetic." Instead, we went up to Rock Creek Park.
I've ridden through the park plenty of times, but never really stopped there. We hiked out from the Nature Center (which includes a planetarium!) and went to the ruins of a Civil War battery, Fort Drury. Not particularly impressive, just mounds of dirt really. But interesting for as a touchstone of local history.
We headed down into the park, and ended up going along the creek for some distance. Not rough hiking, by any means - easy grades, well maintained trails. Really quite nice. It was easy to forget we were essentially in the middle of the city - felt like a "real" forest. We even came upon a deer on the trail - clearly used to people, since it let us get within about 15 feet before shambling off. And while it was hot and humid, but proximity to the creek and the plentiful shade helped ease things a little.
Unfortunately, the free park map doesn't include a lot of detail on the trails, things like the badging used to mark the way. And the signage and badging was fairly poor. So we ended up doing a figure eight instead of a loop, since I took us left when we should have gone right. Still, it was a lucky mistake - the distance ended up being just about perfect, about four and half miles of easy trails. And that extra loop was very nice - it reminded me of some of the cross country trails we ran in high school.
The timing could not have been better - we got home, and just as we finished cleaning up, the sky opened up. The storms were brief but intense. I'm glad we weren't stuck out in anything like that out on the Blue Ridge.
After that, we had lunch, and went to see the new Indiana Jones movie at the Odeon Uptown, the big movie palace up by the zoo. Pretty fun movie, if you know what to expect (basically a 50s B-movie with modern effects and a huge budget). And the Uptown is just a fun place to see a movie - huge curved CinemaScope screen, real balcony, etc. They even show the awesome 70mm prints sometimes - better than HD.
And we ended up back in Del Ray, having dinner at the Afghan Restaurant and Strawberry Shortcake (with fresh Del Ray Farmer's Market berries) at the Dairy Godmother. So, pretty good visit.
Once again, Ryan and Bethany have made an outstanding video. This one has some technical and editing flourishes which I haven't seen them do before - they are getting better and better. Go check it out, vote for it or something, maybe they'll win some furniture for their new home.
Help Ryan and Bethany pay the mortgage on their new house: go here and vote for their entry in the latest of many video contests. If they win, money and fame await. Or at least some free dental care products.
Ryan & Bethany have entered another video contest for big big prizes. This time it is for something called DentaBurst. You will understand its virtues after seeing their entry here. I'm excited about this one, since Ryan and I talked about it and he liked some of my ideas enough to use them. I don't feel like a director, or a cinematographer - I didn't have a lot of ideas. I feel like a producer - I'm Robert Evans!
You can vote for Ryan's video here from now until November 12th. Apparently you have to register as a YouTube user in order to vote, but it is worth it to win Ryan money to spend on my Christmas and birthday gifts.
My brother, Ryan, is extremely creative. Actually, both of my brothers are. But just now you can enjoy one of the fruits of Ryan's creativity.
He likes to enter various online video contests. He recently won a Mac Book and a $2500 gift certificate to the Apple Store from Friendlys. He also won a free ice cream party from same. And he keeps knocking out more brilliant shorts. This one is in the form of a commercial, for Tiger Balm. I will be reminding everyone I know to vote for this one, starting early next month according to Ryan.
So, without further delay, enjoy Tiger Balm Attack.
I just got back from a long weekend in Portland with the Eling clan. Nothing too newsworthy - we had a picnic at Two Lights State Park, saw a movie, went to museums and out for bike rides. It was a lot of fun, though. It has been a while since I've been able to get together with the whole family, so that fact alone made it an excellent vacation.
While he is "on hiatus" and "between projects," Ryan put together a little something as a gift. We all got t-shirts:
So, that's awesome. For comparison:
Make your own humorous caricatures at simpsonizeme.com. I'm working up more here.
I like to think I know a little bit about some things. I'm not an expert about much of anything, just enough to be dangerous. But one of my chief pleasures is learning more, especially from people who are experts. And it is doubly enjoyable when they are passionate about the subject.
I bring this up because I recently had three very enjoyable conversations along these lines. The first was part of my ongoing rowing education courtesy Steph, Aaron, and Sarah. Aaron and Steph have explained technique and the various positions in the boat (stroke, "engine room," etc). Sarah has been teaching me about how they start, training methods, and coxing (which she did for the first time recently). I'm not a rower and don't imagine I'll ever find myself in a shell, but they make it interesting. Probably because all three of them clearly love rowing.
This past weekend, Chris was visiting while he was at a professional conference. He gave me a copy of the most recent Architectural Record. It had very interesting articles and gorgeous photos of the church of Saint-Pierre de Firminy by Le Corbusier, the refurbishment of Griffith Observatory, and other significant buildings. But what really got Chris going was the bit about the opening of Glass House. I'm not fluent in the design arts, so he had to teach my why Glass House was just an inferior rip-off of Mies Van der Rohe's Farnsworth House. In Chris's opinion, Farnsworth is "otherworldly" and a consistent expression of Van der Rohe's ideology and architectural ideals, while Glass House is the unwieldy marriage of the otherworldliness of Van der Rohe and the site-specificity and engagement of a Frank Lloyd Wright design. It was very cool to hear him hold forth.
And yesterday, I skipped out of work to have lunch with Sarah and Heidi, who is in town for a few days. She talked at length about her trip to China, how to find work in the pastry and 4-Star restaurant businesses, and Alexander Hamilton. I've always found Heidi to be much more culturally literate than myself, more traveled and with excellent taste. So I pay attention and try to pick up a few things. We talked about her visit to the National Portrait Gallery, and then about Hamilton. This was a bit more in my wheelhouse, but she just finished the latest big biography on him, and taught me a few things. So now I'm looking forward to getting that off my "to-read" shelf soon.
I am interested in all of these topics, in of themselves. But even more, I am interested in these people, and that includes their hobbies, interests, and passions. So I really enjoyed all of these conversations. They remind me how broad the world is.
Spring is ... springing here in Del Ray. I think we've seen the last of the snow, runners and bikers are returning to the paths in force, and I found some flowers blossoming in my front yard. Using my expertise in horticulture, I can tell you that they are yellow (see photo).
This is a good thing, since it means it will soon be warm enough for bike rides. I may even be able to bike into the DC office instead of riding the Metro. As much as I enjoy the convenience of Metro, I like the idea of getting in to work for free while also getting my daily ride at the same time. Efficiency appeals to us engineers.
I noticed the flowers when I left the house to visit St. Elmo's. Really, I was just getting out to get some fresh air.
I topped off Stella's tank yesterday, and forgot that she has a minor fuel leak. I think it is in the fill line, since it only happens right after I fill up. No puddles of gasoline or anything, but the smell is quite strong. And having forgotten, I parked her in the basement garage. Under my bedroom. So the house, especially the bedroom, smells like a filling station. It gives me a terrific headache.
So, I aired out the house and went for a walk to clear my head. If I'm out in the neighborhood on the weekends, I usually go by St. Elmo's for hot chocolate and cookies. They have good chocolate chip cookies. But it is also a great place to people-watch and eavesdrop. Not the most appropriate entertainment, maybe. Today I sat next to three young women who are all engaged to wed soon. I listened to a long conversation about their future children, and possible names. Lot's of "I think Jack is such a cute name! And how about Charles! I would call him Charlie, and dress him up in little short pants and bow ties!" I feel sorry for Charlie. Please, don't pick out your kids' names because they are "cute." Cuteness fades. Choose a name that means something, either from a family connection, or it's own history. Don't name your child "Dakota." What the hell? Why not just name him Indiana Jones?
At any rate, I cleared my head. Maybe part of the headache was from the night before. I had told Ryan about getting the PC version of Halo, so he got it too. He called me up and suggested we set up a game online and play each other. I thought "hell yeah, I would love to spend an hour taking him to school." He. Kicked. My. Ass. Seriously, the dude can bring it. We had some technical problems setting up our own games, and ended up having to join other's already in progress. Nevertheless, we went mano-a-mano a few times, and I went home limping. Those whom the gods would destroy, they first make proud. I am psyched for playing again really soon. I'm going to lose, but I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.
Last, a note on the second photo. Walking home from St. Elmo's, I noticed this truck. I remember the converted Hearse-style ambulance from Ghostbusters, but I've never seen a converted truck-style ambulance. It looks like someone might be living in this thing. I don't think it would very comfortable. But I developed a bit of a taste for living on the road from our family camper trip Out West when I was 12, so I definitely see the appeal.
It has not been a very busy week for me. But there have been extraordinary events for my friends and family. It would be inappropriate for me to share any details, since a lot of it is private and quite personal.
Keeping with recent reports on how narcissistic young people are nowadays, I'm going to make this all about me. I understand that these events are more significant for my friends and family who experienced them. But they all made a profound impact on me as well. Some on an emotional and psychological level - no change to my life or plans. Others will really alter my day-to-day life. Not necessarily in a negative or positive way. Things will just change for me as a result.
After a fashion, this causes me to think on one of my favorite topics, systems of morals and ethics. I know, it sounds thrilling. Bear with me, though. The fact that these significant events in other people's lives impact me to such a degree is a great illustration of how humans are social animals (And by the by, what is the proper noun of assembly for humans? There's a gaggle of geese, a parliament of owls, a murder of crows. Would it simply be a crowd of people?). The interconnections are so common, so complex and dense, that any human event can send ripples, with unforeseen results.
This begs the question, how can we decided what is right and wrong, when predicting the full impact of our decision is so complex? Kant argued that there is a categorical imperative, that something is only right if it would be acceptable if everyone did it (oversimplifying some there). I've never been a fan of Kant, and here's why: the categorical imperative makes a solid argument against lying. Therefore, by Kant, lying is never right. But take a counter case from real life: if the family that was hiding Anne Frank and her family was asked by the SS "Do you know where any Jews are," Kant's system says the morally right thing to do is to say "Yes, in the attic." That was an example from my Morals and Ethics class in college, and it has stuck with me. I just had a gut level reaction to it, and rejected deontological ethics because of it.
I've always been more of a utilitarian - the greatest good should be the goal of all our moral decisions. But the difficulty of predicting that, the chaos created by the dense social network connecting all people, makes it nearly impossible. I have to satisfy myself with the fact that the perfect application of this moral system is unrealistic, but the moral thing to do is to make the attempt nevertheless.
And that moral system helps me respond to the recent events in the lives of people close to me. For those who have experienced trials and troubles, I can try to lend aid, though it may cost me. For those who have suddenly had incredible new opportunities open up, that may make my life less interesting, I can be excited and supportive. Because while these events impact me, they impact my friends and family more, so what is best for them determines the greatest good. Besides, any drawbacks for me are minimal. I don't want to come off as a martyr here, because I am not. I am genuinely excited for the good things, and truly want to help those who have suffered setbacks.
Which leads to another interesting question: is it a moral right choice if you are doing what you wanted to do anyway? That is to say, who is the better person: the person who wants to do the right thing and does it, or the person who wants to do the wrong thing but does the right? Are those who have morally right desires more or less laudable than those who have base instincts but still make morally correct decisions?
In less intellectually stimulating news, I logged into an online Halo slayer deathmatch for the first time this week. It was fun, but I got my ass handed to me on a platter. I got run over by a jet, again. Clearly, I need to be wasting more time on this, so I can get good at it.
Last week, Sarah made me extremely jealous at work when she announced that she would be starting a new project. Doing analyzes of pirate attacks. Honestly, I would plunder and kill for this job (like a pirate, one might say). But now, everything is fine. I was lucky enough to get some great birthday presents, which included pirate bath sailboat, and the Jolly Roger shower curtain seen on the left. Sure, it might be like showering in a Hefty Bag; I don't care. It is awesome.
I also got a book (Collected Writings of Thoreau), a new PSP game (Twisted Metal) and bunch of t-shirts. One of the shirts deserves further explanation. Ryan likes to doff his pants around the house; this has been going on for years. I have a "Pro-Pants Policy" in effect. He has countered with an "Anti-Pants Agenda." So now, thanks to Ryan and Bethany, we have shirts to clarify the situation.
I also took a quick photo of the kick-ass insulated blackout blinds Mom made for Christmas. The windows in my bedroom are not well insulated, lights often wake me up or keep me awake at night, and the room could use some color. So Mom took the situation in hand, and consulted her Art History texts to find examples of
one my favorite artists, Piet Mondrian. Resulting in a colorful and classy addition to my decor.
I don't have any pictures to share, but I went out to Taqueria Poblano for a birthday dinner yesterday with Steph & Aaron, Jane & Ian, and Dave & Sadie. It was a great time. We had a long wait at the bar while a big enough table opened up, but that just gave us a chance to catch up. Dinner was great, as always. Then we went to St. Elmo's down the street for cake and coffee. I had a piece of Triple Chocolate cake - I highly recommend it.
There was live music, a band made of teachers called Jumping for Strangers. Pretty good. While we were eating, Steph went up to talk to the band, but I didn't pay much mind. Then, as we were leaving, the band said "Wait! Is the birthday guy leaving?" Then they played Happy Birthday to me, with scattered participation from the crowd. It was fun.
The other day, Mom had the day off from Panera, so we ran around all day getting into hijinx. The best part may have been going to the ocean. The sound of surf restores the soul, I find. Then we went to Arby's for lunch, and bought Chris some music for his birthday at a very cool shop in Portland, Bull Moose. We also went to a uniform shop so Bethany could buy a nurse's uniform, now that she has graduated from nursing school at Bunker Hill in Boston. While she tried them on, Chris, Ryan and I defaced children's coloring books in the waiting area. It was childish, but we laughed so hard I couldn't stand up.
I took some pictures at the shore; hopefully, I'll have some more holiday shots soon.
Ryan and Bethany have been making JingEling videos for Christmas the past three years. Check out this year's offering, and selections from 2005, here. I love the first Scatitor sketch, and the Wykira chips, and the entire Kringle campaign. Have a look, and make sure to vote.
I had my first big visit at my new (ish) place. My parents, my godparents, and some friends of the family all came down a little over a week ago for a long weekend. Our friends had never been to visit DC before, so we did a lot of the more tourist-y stuff. It was fun, though: I was looking forward to the company more than any particular activity.
We did the Air&Space, the Post Office Tower (still my pick for anyone visiting DC for the first time), the Museum of American Art/ National Portrait Gallery (featuring the excellent Sam and the Perfect World and the freaky Giant Baby Head), and the National Building Museum. We drove the monuments at night, stopping to have a closer look at the Lincoln and the Korean War Memorials. We covered a lot, in not much time.
We also went out for some very good meals. We went to Poblano, Mai Thai, and a fairly new place in Del Ray called the Del Merei Grill. A little pricey, but I liked it a lot; excellent garlic mashed potatoes.
This past week, I've started working at a different office, a "collaboration site" in DC where engineers and managers from a number of different companies and federal entities gather to work on one big project. And it is big. They've spent $4.6 billion on it so far; time to get my cut, I guess. Actually, the office site is pretty slick, and we get some toys for the job (new Core Duo laptops, company cell phones, etc). But the site is so crowded, we don't even have our own desks; we have to "hot-desk" in empty cubicles, visitor offices, or conference rooms. At least the work is pretty easy - no complaints there. It will be a lot like my previous work at the 80 M street office, for a different program. I'm experienced; I guess that makes me an expert.
This weekend has been a busy one; Steph was back in town, since her Dad ran in the Marine Corps Marathon. And Kirk's wife Melissa was running in the associated 10K as well. So Kirk, Melissa, and her son Kolton came over to stay at my house Saturday night, which was a lot of fun. We all went to Steph's and had a big pasta dinner with Steph, her older sister Heather, her parent's, and Aaron. I made an apple pie, and Kirk bought vanilla frozen custard so we could have it a la mode. It was an excellent meal, and a nice chance to catch up with Steph since she's been on travel for the past month (and for the next two).
Lastly, I got my two pumpkins carved and waiting for trick-or-treaters. This is my fifth Halloween in Alexandria, and I've gotten a grand total of 3 trick-or-treaters. That's just not right. I'm hoping that here in the heart of Del Ray, with it's many families and children, I can finally give away some of all the candy I bought, instead of eating it for lunch for the next couple of weeks.
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