For MATT -

Songbird
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

pimpin' the santa hat and Songbird..

YOU RAWK!

h2 in the country

h2 in the country
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

So, its one thing to give the bird in the city or on the freeway because the person behind the wheel is probably not a gun toting hunter. Its another to do it in the wilds of nature- ergo the distance....



Sent from my communicator, probably while hiding from the man...

Clean h2?

Clean h2?
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

No matter how much you scrub, you can't wash away the guilt of owning such a POS.



Sent from my communicator, probably while hiding from the man...

2005, a great year for Walking Portland

i've been thinking about this post for a week now and decided the next few days are probably gonna be too hectic to get the thoughts out, so i should take advantage of the downtime. i wanted to take post and look back at the changes over the past year. yes, the blog is 1 year old in January and i am excited for the coming year. i started the blog as a way to express my experience in walking the streets of portland. A. and I had pledged to walk 10,000 steps a day and wow, we did it for most of the year. granted, there were some slow days (jaw surgery does that), but there were also some great days and weekends.

Some walking statistics:
Total steps this year Brett: 2,757,560 - approximately 1103 miles
Total steps this year Anna: 4,467,357 - approximately 1786 miles
Lifetime average for steps per day Brett: 10,445
Personal Best in a day: 29,802 (11.9 miles)
Best Day (also known as Gale Harold Day): July 9 in Montreal- 29,016 steps.

one year ago, i remember mulling over a walk up to Fred Meyer's and thinking - wow, that's a long walk. now, walking downtown to NW for lunch on a sunday is nothing for the two of us. we plan our lives and our days around walking places. we've sold our cars in order to support a change in our lifestyle.

Wow, can you believe that? 11.9 miles in a day. 1103 miles in the year. oh, and there were some other benefits. one year ago, i weighed a chunky 235lbs. granted, that was post holiday weight, but let's be honest, i wasn't in the best of shape. one year later i'm at a trimmer 200lbs. and i feel great. i have dropped 2 pant sizes and my clothes feel big on me. i'm not complaining. i even got down to 190 as a result of the liquid diet.

this blog has brought us some other wonderful amenities: FRIENDS!!!! along the way, both A. and I have met some great people and I am overjoyed at the new friendships being created via the interweb. Thanks to all of you - Mikey and Bev (rekindled and new), Michael and Kamarin, Paula, Nancy and Matt, Cari, Lelo and Adri, Rigo and many more. wow, to think this time last year we would meet so many amazing souls and create friendships that are so uplifting.

so, here's to a new year and new adventures. i'm gonna try and beat my personal best and i'm gonna try and post more here about my walks. i want to venture further away from what is currently comfortable. i want to take the bus somewhere and then walk home for example. i want to grid out downtown and walk every street. i want to venture to another city and repeat our experience in Montreal where we walk 10-12 miles in a day. you know how much you can see that way?

thank you all for supporting me with your comments and friendship. wishing you a happy, prosperous, and loving new year.

first there was blogging and then moblogging - what's next

i've been thinking of all the different types of blogging there could be in this modern times. help me out here with your suggestions:

blogging - generic diary type blogging
moblogging - usually from a cell phone or mobile device - new for some
drunk blogging - as coined by rigo

now for some new ideas:
shop-blogging - blogging while shopping - i.e. take photos of people buying stuff or photos of people taking photos of people buying stuff
auto-blogging - taking photos from the car (usually blurry) - FUH2 for example - some may just call it rubber-necking.....
comment-blogging - 2 thought - A) blogging only about other people's comments or B) only blogging IN other people's comments (your comment would have nothing to do with their post for example.)
"take a trip"-blogging - blogging from afar when on that life changing journey and you wander upon an internet cafe in the forests of borneo or something....
"in your underwear" or couch-blogging - what i'm doing today...sitting on the couch blogging
cook-blogging - blogging with hands covered in flour and breadcrumbs, telling everyone what you're cooking..


what are your ideas....

Merry Christmas all

i wanted to give a holla out to all you walkingportland readers. Merry Christmas, Happy Chanuka, Happy Kwanzaa - ergo - Happy Holidays. we're doing the family thing today and tomorrow and i'm actaully looking forward to it eventhough i have been stressed out leading up to today. i'm am very grateful to have family and friends close to celebrate with. i'm also thankful for all the new friends we have met through our blogging ventures. this greeting goes out to you too.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Christmas Bear........................saved

Bear
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

yes, i went down and saved the little bear. yes, i held it with only two fingers and when i got home, i washed my hands 20 times with bleach and some acid to make sure they were clean....
seriously, the bear is cute. he's been washed (with bleach) and dried and is kinda cute. his eyes broke off in the dryer, but hey, at least he'll have a warm christmas.
i seem to remember something about a Christmas bear on the radio. i may be confusing this with the gingerbread man, but throw me a bone here.
ps: the dogs love him.....

Poor bear...poor bear

Poor bear...poor bear
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

I wanted to pick you up and bring you home, wash you, dry you and let the little ones play with you, but you are in front of a mess of a house and i wonder what is all in your fur. Then again, maybe i should rescue you. Maybe you are ready for a warm house eventhough it will require some time with little chiuahuas fighting for your attention. I'm coming mr bear, i'm coming to rescue you.



Sent from my communicator, probably while hiding from the man...

Little Red Book

boingboing has a story from the other day about a college student who attempted to check out Mao's Little Red Book via interlibrary loan and was summarily interviewed by the Department of Homeland Security. further, there is a debate there wether the story is actually true and factual.

now, i'm watching NBC Today and Jame's Carville just cited the story. does that make it true?

i'm wondering if this is just an elaborate internet hoax like toothing.....

boingboing story

Oh friday night traffic

Oh friday night traffic
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

Chucklehead came onto the freeway and crossed three lanes and then ran into traffic.



Sent from my communicator, probably while hiding from the man...

101 things

following up on cari's idea, i really thought - "hey, let's let it go and see what people think."

i have already received some comments.......

1. I have 2 tattoos
2. I have more piercings than just my ears
3. my first bike was a KIA
4. my fist car was a 1978 toyota corolla that I damaged the door the first time I drove it.
5. I am an Eagle Scout
6. I played the trombone in high school marching band
7. I got a music scholarship to college for singing.
8. I have never ridden a motorcycle, but have ridden a scooter.
9. I have seriously injured myself with power tools while at home alone
10. I have injured myself with tools and not told anyone so not to worry them.
11. I hide things in the walls when doing house projects. Things like current news clips, a cell phone, a harry potter book…..
12. there is not a bible in our main bookshelf. The only bible I know we own is in a box in the basement
13. when I was a kid, I had all the original star wars trading cards, but no toys. My friend stole them from me.
14. I have few really close friends
15. I am extremely insecure about how I look
16. I do not own a functional suit
17. I have an artificial eye. My real one never grew and was eventually removed when I was 12.
18. I had a heart murmur upon birth
19. I lived in a round turret room for 3 years
20. I have lived in Vienna Austria, Yerevan Armenia and Kirovakan Armenia for extended periods of time.
21. I was in the Peace Corp in Armenia.
22. I had no idea how to teach, but was an English teacher
23. I went to class drunk once and taught the kids the English words for body parts – leg, knee, mouth, ear….
24. I have met Gale Harold (Queer as Folk fame.)
25. I saw Pearl Jam before they became Pearl Jam – they were called Mookie Blalock
26. my first CD was Pearl Jam 10
27. I have paid more than $150 for a pair of jeans
28. I don’t wear a watch
29. I went to the first Lollapalooza concert in Enumclaw Washington in 1991. My wife was also at the show. We met 5 years later.
30. I have made out with a Morman.
31. I have never been officially arrested, but have been inside a secure jail cell (fingerprinting)
32. I have an FBI record.
33. I applied for a job with the CIA
34. I protested nuclear bombs the same day as a test in the Nevada Desert. I was detained, but not arrested.
35. I have never been to Las Vegas.
36. I have been to Monaco and Monte Carlo (twice)
37. I convinced Germans that I was Austrian with my superb language skills.
38. At one time, I could get by in three foreign languages – Russian, Armenian and German. German by far the best.
39. I was able to use my limited skills in Russian (6 months of classes) to purchase a bottle of Stoli Vodka from a street vendor for less than $1 the first day in Armenia.
40. I bought a 4x4 truck that did not have a front driveline.
41. I have never been to Asia
42. I do not own a gun as I am scared I would actually use it to hurt someone else.
43. I have been so angry with my neighbors that I have secretly plotted in my mind nefarious things to do to them. (sorry, no details.)
44. I once skied for 11 days straight in Austria. On day one, I got a bloody nose on the kiddie run, but by the 11th day, I was doing the black diamond.
45. I got stuck in the snow once with friends for 10 hours before we called for help.
46. I don’t have any friends or acquaintances from high school or college in my life now.
47. I am a very light sleeper and make up scenarios of people breaking into my house when I hear bumps and noises.
48. I live in a house that was built in 1890.
49. I sometimes feel I am tethered to my smart phone and want to throw it across the room.
50. I was once accused of being a slave to computers because I was the only person at the party with an email address (1995)
51. My first real job was doing yard work for Burgerville, I was 15.
52. I visited East Berlin and East Germany when it was communist.
53. I have seen Martin Luther’s 99 Theses in Wittenberg East Germany
54. I was raised a Lutheran, am baptized and confirmed, but currently do not go to church, not even for the holidays.
55. I consider myself spiritual, but find it difficult to worship any one belief.
56. I am part German and part Swedish.
57. I can’t eat oysters cooked, but love them raw.
58. I wear mismatched socks on a regular basis because I am lazy with laundry.
59. I have purchased new socks and underwear instead of washing what I have – again laziness.
60. I have donated brand new clothes to goodwill because the first time I wore them, someone close to me made a comment that made me insecure.
61. I once contemplated suicide because I had mis-trimmed my hair and thought I looked like a dork.
62. I wear braces and had jaw surgery to fix an overbite
63. My first pair of glasses were for safety instead of a prescription.
64. I had a crush on my brother’s wife before they started dating. I was angry with him for dating her at the time. They’ve been together now for over 10 years.
65. I never liked my sister’s first husband but never told her that until it was too late.
66. I sometimes lie to my mom to get out of family functions.
67. I never had a girlfriend in high school.
68. I drink alcohol almost every night
69. I started drinking whisky in the 90’s because I felt it was what I was supposed to be drinking at that age.
70. I never read comics as a kid and now visit the comic book store on a weekly basis.
71. I have been known to sleep walk and eat cheese – sometimes referred to as a sleep cheese eater.
72. The best sushi I have had is mackerel.
73. I feel the job I have now has to do with my personality and not my technical skills
74. I fought kids a lot in grade school to get attention.
75. I was suspended the last day of classes in middle school for a fight, but they couldn’t contact my parents. I stole the letter out of the mail a few days later.
76. I almost asked a girlfriend to marry me one week before she decided our relationship was over. That was the first time someone broke up with me.
77. I have dropped trow at a gay club on stage to get beads for Mardi Gras
78. I worked at McDonald’s for 18 months in high school. I even received an award for it.
79. I played on the undefeated McDonald’s softball team during that time.
80. I wrote a 66 page senior thesis for my history degree on the decolonization of India.
81. I met a friend of my parents who is Jordanian and worked indirectly for Yassar Arafat at the time and lived in Geneva
82. I give dog food samples to homeless dogs in downtown when I can.
83. I am proud of my wife every single day of the year.
84. I have three dogs – Chihuahuas.
85. I have two cats – both strays.
86. There are three different animals buried in our yard that we know of.
87. I have been party to a lawsuit against an individual and won.
88. I like top ramen, but don’t eat it much.
89. My favorite movie is Die Hard with Fight Club a close second.
90. No person close to me has ever died. The closest I have come to grieving is when my cats and dog have died. I am scared for the future.
91. I got a crush on someone one week before I was to be married.
92. I don’t know my paternal grandmother’s first name.
93. I almost became a US Marine, but was sidelined due to item #17. I even got a letter of support from then Senator Packwood.
94. I sometime smoke cigars and love them.
95. I voted for Jesse Jackson in 1988 for president.
96. I met Wesley Clark in 2005. I was his Oregon campaign coordinator during the 2004 attempt.
97. I visited the World Trade Center in 2000.
98. I watch the OC, but never watched 90210
99. I have bank accounts open in foreign countries. And yes, there is money in them.
100. I have a tough time remembering people’s names – even those I work with or are close to. I sometime have to rely on name plates or other people introducing them.
101. I was married on a beach in Kauai at sunset. The rain let up and the clouds broke at that moment. I was the only person wearing shoes.

comment's welcome.

Mmmmm Puttanesca

Mmmmm Puttanesca
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

Walked over here to Lorenzos on N. Mississippi to pick up dinner. I called it in around 7:00 and arrived to discover they didn't have my order. Did you know there's another Lorenzos in town and they have Puttanesa and a Caeser salad waiting for me. I feel so bad. I am really going to need to do something good for the world to make up for this.

Walking here was crisp. It is another cool evening and since there is moisture in the air, the sidewalk was actually a bit slippy.

check out Lorenzos on N Mississippi when you can.

i want to start a meme

so, i was thinking last night. i want to start a meme and see if it can spread accross the internet. so, here it goes:

Top 5 live music concerts you went to during the 4 years you were in High School.

mine:
1. Depeche Mode and OMD at Civic Auditorium supporting Music For the Masses album. I stayed up all night to get tickets at Greshem GI Joes and ended up with last row tickets. On the way home, crushed, I realized they had to do a second show and by the time I had returned, the second show had just gone on sale and I was able to get 2nd row tickets.
2. Sting at the Memorial Coliseum for the ..Nothing like the sun. Amazing show! I ended up seeing Sting 4 times in the next 2 years.
3. Mayor's Ball, April 1988 - saw The Dan Reed Network and the Crazy Eights.
4. David Bowie and Duran Duran - The Glass Spider Tour, August 1987 at Civic Stadium. wow, what an amazing show. it wasn't a concert, but a spectacle. we were in the 9th row too.
5. Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith - numerous times during my high school years and numerous venues, including the Memorial Coliseum.

so, i'm sending this out to my homeys: superinkygrrl, lelo, rigo, tinymeat, matt and nedra.

spread it around too, i'm interested to see the first blogger to post they went to the beattles or elvis in high school.

enjoy.

im

hey all you readers and supporters of the walker. do you have IM? i'm on msn and would love to chat with anyone if you're out there. email me and i'll get you my im handle.

Since some of you don't believe me

Since some of you don't believe me
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

Sonny and Crocket

miami

well, tubbs and sonny are together and working like a well oiled machine. and yes, phil collins has already made his cameo along with melanie griffith as a madam.

remember that cool hotel with the garden in the middle

i love miami. i love crocket. i love his alligator

now off to a show.

scary

Dec 10
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

i don't really know what to say about this.

i think i'll be having some nightmares...

strange.

tubs

just joined the cast. sonny's previous partner was blownd up doing a drug deal. guess who it was. you'll never guess.... i'll give you a hint - he adopted the daughter if darth vader......

sonny is all choked up having to say goodbye to his partner.

this is 1984 - were all the people in the 80's meth thin? it's kinda crazy.

miami vice marathon

after a bunch of walking so far today, i'm sitting here relaxing with a cold amnesia IPA watching a miami vice marathon. i love those clothes tubs. and the pastels sonny, woo hooooo.

Don't fuck with the fish

Don't F with the fish
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

well, i gues that's one way to put it. the other evening, after the twilight rummage holiday sale, we ventured out for drinks to the scorboard tavern on SE division. our friend lives down there and recommended it.
we were the oldest people there, but it was ok. from the outside, it appears to be an old working class sports pub. i expected to see a couple of old codgers sitting at the bar. instead, the crowd was predominately between 21-28 and mostly asian and latino. there was a birthday party going on too and we were invited to join in. a great crowd with little attitude.
and the sign by the fish tank said - don't fuck with the fish.

FUH2 madness

H2 madness
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

on the way home from SE last night and ran into not 1, but 2 stretch H2s. the first one on I5 north heading to lloyd area for some mcdonals. yes, we followed them like paparazzi and took these amazing photos. the whole time i thought the cops would come and snatch me and A.

2nd one, while driving:

some have asked, why do i hate H2's so much and not other big rigs. well, the H2 has no funtional purpose in life. The H1, or "original hummer" actually had functional purpose, that's why it started out in the military. the H2 is just a re-badged chevy pickup that can go 4x4. it is a gas hog and just ugly. oh, and it's a status symbol for some which really irks me. yes, i don't think people should be commuting in full size F350 pickups either, but at least the F350 pickup has a functional purpose.