Saturday, September 24, 2005

5 secrets....

1) I never shave on days that I travel.

2) I am a pack rat.

3) I am an obsessive AIM away-message-checker.... Can't help it.

4) While I pretend to be a beer snob, I can't really tell you what I enjoy in a beer. I think an interesting (i.e. complex) taste is key.

5) My idea of a perfect weekend is fly-fishing in a river in Texas drinking Shiner. Haven't had one of those yet, but perhaps this fall will be the year....

ACL Part 2

well shit.... I retract my previous statment that I'm glad I'm not going tomorrow... It looks like all the weather from Rita went east of us. We've got blue skies and a little respite from the heat.

Speaking of Rita, I hope everyone made it through alright, and that the damages are not too terrible. I've already seen a picture of a collapsed wall in Galveston. The lampost made it through alright though...

ACL

No, I did not throw my knee out on the basketball court, I went to Austin City Limits Music festival!!! It kicked ass!

I got there for the last song of REK's set. Of course, it was The Road Goes On Forever. Too bad I didn't make it for the earlier part.

I finished up the night watching the Black Crowes behind a dirty old man who kept taking pictures with his digital camera of the rather hot girls dancing together in front of us. The Crowes were awesome, as usual. I enjoyed this set much more than when I saw them at Jazzfest. It was a bit longer than their set at Jazzfest (1 1/2 hours) so they got to a few more good songs. I especially liked Remedy, Hard to Handle, Jealous Again, and She Talks To Angels. One or two of the jam sessions got a little tedious, but all in all, they were very good.

When they came on stage, Chris said something to the effect of the following:

"We're glad to be in Austin, where the hippies and the rednecks seem to get along just fine. It's also probably the only place in the world where you can say "Hippies" and "Rednecks" and no one takes offense."

I agree. As someone who could pass for both a redneck and a hippie, I really like Austin.

I always get a kick out of seeing Chris Robinson dance around on stage. He likes to coordinate his moves with his chorus girls. He seems like a bit of a diva. With the frilly white shirt, the beard, and the long brown hair, I can't help thinking of the baptist portrayal of Jesus.

Other bands that I saw:

Blues Traveler - You gotta love the harmonica
John Prine - Love his scratchy out of tune voice. Just perfect for the type of songs he sings. I wish I had been a bit closer so I could have understood some of the words.
The Allman Brothers - Quality Texas rock set. It sucks that I only could catch the first half before heading back to hear John Prine.

I'm glad that I will not be going tomorrow. Not because I don't want to hear any of the acts, but because gales and rain have been forcasted. I'm glad that the weather ended up working out like it has.

I hope everything is working out for the best on the Gulf Coast. I'm glad it's not hitting Galveston, but I feel bad for the part of Texas/LA that it is hitting. Hopefully everyone is out.

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

As if I had forgotten I work in an astronomy department....

I swear. This is real. I got this email TODAY!

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To: graduate@astro.as.utexas.edu
Re: LunchTrek

Greetings fellow students,

I'm resurrecting LunchTrek for the semester. For those of you new to this, once a week at noon we bring our lunches and watch Star Trek episodes in the 15th floor lecture room. Original Series, Next Gen, or both.

Those of you on my notification list from last semester will stay on my list unless you'd like to be removed. Anyone who would like to start receiving the weekly episode summaries (or can't remember if you're on my notify list), please respond to this email. The rest of you, I promise this is the only time you'll hear from me!

Also let me know if you have a preference for Monday or Friday, and if you would like to see only Original, Next Gen, or alternating episodes.

Live long and prosper,
xxxxxxxxxx

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Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good space opera as much as anyone, but come on people, don't perpetuate the stereotypes any more than absolutely necessary!!