-
A Few Words From Your Sponsor
Hi! I'm David. And I'm incredible. A while back, during a compliment-gone-hilarious someone once told me that I was THE Incredible D-A-V. My guess is that Dave was the intended destination for that little name-game, but as I never liked the name Dave, Dav stuck.
I'll write about all sorts of stuff in this blog, probably only 1/3 of it will be of any interest at any given time. Keep coming back...we'll see what we can find out about each other.
Sep
27
New iMac at work.
Filed Under | Leave a Comment
It’s almost 7:30 post meridiem and I am still tethered to my desk chair. I want to stand up, walk about, avoid nasty chair-sores…but I’m busy installing the new computer at my desk. I could be more excited, but I’m already missing the old one. I’ve gone from a Mac 2 GHz Dual-processor G5 with a 20″ Apple Studio Display to a new 20″ iMac (with the super small keyboard), now a 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo.
It’s fast (I think, although importing the Center’s 6,000+ photo library is taking most of it’s resources), it’s sleek and everyone is oogling the new keyboard (which I find a little hard to get used to…).
But there is a serious problem. It’s so tall that it blocks my window. Not just a little bit of the window, either. I have to strain my head to see out.
This needs to be fixed.
Also, 1 iPod went kapoot today. The 20GB that the Apple Store gave me whilst I worked there is no more, so those of you who make fun of my excess - note that I am minus one thingy.
Sep
25
Opening.
Filed Under | Leave a Comment
McColl Center for Visual Art is having an opening reception for Veronica’s Veils: Herb Jackson, A Retrospective. The show is hanging now, and it’s nice - and we’re expecting a good turnout. I’d like to invite you all, dear readers, to enjoy an evening of culture and class with us.
6-9 PM at McColl Center for Visual Art. 721 N. Tryon Street, Charlotte 28202.
Sep
23
Idle hands.
Filed Under | Leave a Comment
In the interest of staying off the Devil’s playground for the last little week, I’ve been staying extraordinarily busy. It’s the best way I know to keep the brain busy, and a busy brain is a wrinkly brain is a happy brain.
Here’s a brief recap:
John and Steve kidnapped me a week ago Saturday while I was feeling glum and took me to the US National Whitewater Center here in Charlotte where we hiked a little and stood in the Catawba river for a few minutes.
Whitewater rafting looked like so much fun, that we decided that we would have to give it a shot. There are no photos of us in the boat, but here is an image of John, Gilly and I wearing protective gear. It’s proof enough.
We went on the water around 6:30 (it’s a man-made course, so it’s well lit after dark) and stayed out for about 2 hours. At one point the raft flipped over and all 6 of us (John, Steve, Gilly, Dre, Dre’s boyfriend Stephen and I) went flying out with our guide, Bear. After washing around a little bit and sustaining a scrape to my right knee, we get scooped back up into boats - first Steve and I into ours, then the girls into ours then John and Steven into someone else’s. It was very dramatic. At one point spectators on the side walls were cheering as Bear made us do something that I’ve forgotten as the adrenaline wears off, but that must have been pretty freakin’ impressive looking. I was glad that we were all thrown off the boat at once, it eliminated the stigma of being the first to go over, but I was almost the only person to go over by myself. My paddle got trapped under the boat in some rapids (I think I hit a rock) and it wrenched my left arm down and under the boat a little, which nearly pulled me over the edge. Luckily Steve pulled me back in. I’m so insanely sore that I think I may never walk again, but absolutely, without doubt want to go do it again.
Saturday, Bryan and I had a big adventure that involved meals and trying to find things in the University area that clearly don’t exist. But we did find the Alexandriana Historic Site, which is an important spot for celebrating the birth of Mecklenburg County and Mec Dec.
Noteworthy: I didn’t actually know what Alexandriana was until I wrote this. But if you’ve had the pleasure of taking a car trip with me, you’ll know that I need to make a stop at every “World’s biggest ball of twine” and “Man-eating walnut” tourist stop along the way. It’s Americana at it’s best.
This sign literally says “Duck bread is Duck dead”. And that makes me laugh. Laughing is a good thing.
One may or may not know that I bake when I feel stress. I’m about to make cranberry oatmeal cookies. It’s really just an excuse to fire up my Kitchen Aid mixer. It smells like my grandmother’s kitchen and makes a reassuring noise. The cookies are just an added bonus.
Sep
19
Lung love, part trois.
Filed Under | Leave a Comment
Eight weeks. No smoking.
If I make it to tomorrow, I’ve beat my record. If I make it to the day after that, I’m a rockstar (in my own brain, at least).
Self, repeat after me: “I am taking control of my habits and my health”.
Sep
17
Tantrum.
Filed Under | Leave a Comment
For those of you who haven’t heard the story, on Sunday night I threw a tantrum and destroyed my trusty cell phone. It died in good company, with a casserole dish and my dignity. And a bit of my sanity.
I’m ashamed of throwing such a childish fit. It was stupid and I spent the next hour or two fussing at myself for not exercising better control over such an immature moment.
The reason for telling the world this shameful moment is this: I’m replacing my Black RAZR with an iPhone. I can hear you now “you’re rewarding yourself for being a prat” or “wow, what’s next…strangle your dog and buy yourself a diamond ring”. Neither of those things are true. I had been saving for an iPhone for awhile, and have enough money in my new-toy fund for it. I was going to wait until Christmas or the 2nd revision (whichever came first), but I can’t justify using the insurance on my old phone to replace it with the same model, using it for 3 or 4 months and then replacing it with what I was going to buy already.
You may be saying to yourself these things too: “Who the hell do you think you are you self absorbed tantrum-throwing child? Why do I care what you do with your money or how guilty you feel about it”. You don’t care, and I’m okay with that. This post is to remind me to be more careful with things that cost money. More adult when things don’t go my way. More responsible with my life. Perhaps my new toy - the thing that should be so neat and enjoyable - will be a reminder not only that I’m fortunate enough to buy such a lavish gift for myself, but also that I should take care of my things; my phones, my brain and my emotions.
Sep
9
Bling.
Filed Under | Leave a Comment
Bling Water sells for $55 per bottle.
It is interesting, though, that if the average American family’s water bill reflected bottled water prices, they’d be paying over $100,000 per year.
Sep
2
Cat stew.
Filed Under | Leave a Comment
In a cooking contest in the Outback, Australians are cooking wild-cat stew. It’s garnished with plums and mistletoe berries, but one judge considered it “impossibly tough” and had to spit it out.
My favorite quote:
“The woman behind the controversial cat stew recipe has said Australians could do their bit to help the environment by tucking into more feral pests, including pigeons and camels.”
Really? Feral camels?
Sep
1
Things I like.
Filed Under | Leave a Comment
Thomas Allen creates work by clipping characters out of books and then rearranging them in new, 3-D scenes. You can see more of his Pulp Fiction exhibition here, or look at Joseph Bellows Gallery to see more neat stuff.
Indexed is just plain clever.
And finally, For all of my photographer friends, apparently vodka makes the best camera lens cleaner. It’s also good for disinfecting that laceration from the bottle that the Bolsheviks threw at your head. Speaking of the walking-wackiness that is Russia, a Russian mayor has banned excuse making from civil servants including “What am I supposed to do?”, “We’re having lunch” and “Somebody else has the documents”. Brilliant!
Sep
1
I personally believe.
Filed Under | Leave a Comment
If you haven’t seen this video of Miss Teen South Carolina making a fool of herself, you have to watch it first.
Sep
1
Cellie.
Filed Under | Leave a Comment
Should I be concerned that I received this email at 7:58 am this morning?
Hello DAVID HILL,
After several unsuccessful attempts were made to log in to your account, we have temporarily locked online access to your wireless account.
Please try again after one hour. If you still experience difficulties, please contact AT&T Customer Care at 1-800-331-0500 or dial 611 from your wireless phone.
Thank You,
The New AT&T
What I think is peculiar is that I was awake at 6 am (which is a completely different story) and the email was already there. It was an email from the future!
As a side note, I haven’t tried to log into that account in weeks. I think I see a malicious computer hacker trying to break into my cell phone account. I’ll bet they’re trying to steal my roll-over minutes.