Morgan: Grecian Perspective

I've been thinking for weeks on how I could write about our adventures in Greece. Its hard to describe but our trip had a profound effect on me on many levels. Most people who travel to Greece are impressed by how old their ancient civilization is. However the opposite happened to me. I took along Carl Sagan's Cosmos to read on the plane and bus and before bed. It was an interesting coincidence that part of the book explored the discovery of Science on the the Grecian Isle of Io. The book is really great even though it was written 28 years ago. In its descriptions of the formation of stars and planets, which happened "billions and billions" of years ago I wouldn't say I had an epiphany but was very close to understanding how young humankind really is. Which was an odd perspective considering I was standing in the cradle of western civilization.

Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.

Carl Sagan
US astronomer & popularizer of astronomy (1934 - 1996)

I really did enjoy traveling with my wife and watching her learn and be awed by the the historical sites we visited. Ok I was impressed also. Our favorite place had to be Delphi situated in the mountains above the Sea of Olives. The temperature was perfect, cool and sunny as we climbed the mountain to the oracle of Delphi. There were not a lot of people that morning and as the sun finally peeked over the mountains, I could see past the ruins in front of us, back through time. I could see the temples and monuments as they used to be. I could see people gathering in the amphitheater to watch a play or hear a concert. Occupation of the site at Delphi can be traced back to the Neolithic period with extensive occupation and use beginning in the Mycenaean period (1600-1100 B.C). Most of the ruins that survive today date from the most intense period of activity at the site in the 6th century BC. Yeah, that means old!

I began thinking of how young we were as technological society. And how much we are changing the planet with our toxic emissions and consumption of resources. I began to wonder how much longer can we exist as technological adolescents, will we survive to maturity? or cause our own demise. These issues and questions are so much bigger than one man...or are they? Maybe I can recycle more, consume less, conserve energy.

Finally I just want to say what a joy it is to travel with my wife. To take a break from the everyday grind of life and do something so different is rejuvenating to the spirit and refreshing for the mind. Exploration of new cultures and ancient societies gives us an appreciation of where we came from and what we have. Our Greek adventure didn't change my perspective...It just gave me a new lense to peer through.

OurGirl: Purho's Petri Dish of Games

i found out i'm currently receiving a A in managing public organizations (heh. dork.), but i feel like a total underachiever ever since i downloaded crayon physics from http://www.kloonigames.com/blog/

the blogs caretaker and feeder is petri purho, a 24 year old computer science engineer from helsinki. in his about himself bio area, petri explains:

The point of this blog is I try to crank out an experimental game every month. I was inspired by Experimental Gameplay Project, so I try to follow their rules. Basically this means that every game I create I have to make within 7-day limit, they have to made by me alone and they have to test some new form of gameplay.

gah. mind is slowing....calcifying...brain...waves slowing dowwwwnnnnnn......i feel so old. really, petri—an experimental game every month? show off. but petri, you are so cool—you are my 10 year old's new superhero. i would immediately adopt you, myself. what a great mind you have!

i downloaded crayon physics immediately on my mac but couldn't get it to work and then headed over to the pc everyone in my family disdains, but is really pretty useful, especially in times like these. i managed to play a couple of rounds before the family, unused to seeing momma at the pc, came running over to see what she was doing. that was the end of the game for me. it captivated everyone in the family. its simply elegant. petri, let us know when that full version comes out. we will be purchasing this one.

i think you should look at making games for the ipod, too.

for the rest of you not familiar with petri's work, here is the game on youtube.

Morgan: Layover In Amsterdam

I'll have to check the archives but this could potentially beat Byrne as the First International Post on our blog...ever. I just got done with a week in Athens, and I have a five hour layover here in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Instead of leaving the airport and going into town we decided to kill the time here in the airport. First my wife went shopping, Chocolate by the kilo....I waited. Then she decided to shop for glasses...I waited, patiently holding fifty kilos of chocolate than we argued about me sighing....sigh. She don't like that. Than we had Irish stew and a beer at Murphy's restaurant. We got to get rid of all these silly Euro's before we come home. I got eight minutes left so I better post this before I have to pay another 6 euros for thirty minutes...or is that kilominutes, I'm not sure. I 'll write more later about Hellas and my observations of Greek culture...I'm running out of time! 00:03 minutes left ahhhhhh!

OurGirl: My First Intentional Playlist

mark the date. 14 march 08.

why?

i've purchased and assembled my first music playlist.











yeh. if i was really motivated, i would have embedding the sound of crickets as well. or the sound of my boys' dramatic sound bite: da-da-da-daaaaahhhh!

but this is really something. i'm actually pretty jazzed to have music. dont get me wrong, i still loves me lectures, but i'm going a bit slower and trying to let my brain process a bit better, now that i know better.

also, i promise that this will be my last list blog.

so here is the playlist (wait til you get a load of this). and no, this isn't a definitive collection. this is just a few songs from my way-back machine that buoys my spirit. and i sing to these songs as well. so when you pass a certain car that girl in that car? could be me. and i'm singing along to:

1. somethin' stupid
   nancy sinatra and frank
2. higher ground
   UB40
3. Red, Red Wine
   UB40
4. Come and Get Your Love
   Redbone
5. Gimme Little Sign
   Brenton Wood
6. Shambala
   Three Dog Night
7. Black & White
   Three Dog Night
8. Never Been to Spain
   Three Dog Night
9. Dancing in the Moonlight
   King Harvest
10. Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)

AND i've got my eye on a few albums. WAY! here they are:

1. philly soul—featuring the incomparable Me and Mrs. Jones; When Will I See You Again; and the most passionate songs, EVER, by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes: Don't Leave Me This Way and If You Dont Know Me By Now
2. Kiko: Los Lobos—Saint Behind the Glass; Whiskey Trail; Reva's House; Just a Man
3. The Very Best of Hall and Oates—Rich Girl; Sara Smile; Out of Touch; and the dreamy One on One
4. So Far So Good: Bryan Adams— yeh. another anthology. but really. Summer of 69!
   
5. Home: Dixie Chicks—Truth No.2; A Home; Long Time Gone
6. Aquarium: Aqua—You know it! Barbie Girl; Doctor Jones
   

OurGirl: His and Her Great Cinematic Speeches

with rhino supertramping across greece, my husband—the irish king—graciously agreed to fill in. i work best with a blog muse. plus, this gets him out of the pruning post he is supposed to be working on for our vineyard blog, so he's happy to oblige.

ever since boy1 displayed his formidable laser-like intensity and indomitable will, the irish king has looked at his progeny and quoted theatrically:

....Well, one man came close. Went by the name of Homer. Seven feet tall, he was, with arms like tree trunks, and eyes like steel: cold and hard. Had a shock of hair. Red, like the fires of Hell.

so much for cinematic speeches. he just told me that was from the simpsons.

whatever.

his vote: quint's indianapolis speech from jaws:

so, eleven hundred men went into the water. 316 men came out, the sharks took the rest, June the 29th, 1945. Anyway, we delivered the bomb.

her vote: octavian's marc anthony is dead speech, cleopatra

Antony is dead? You say that as if it were an everyday occurence. The soup is hot, the soup is cold. Antony is alive, Antony is dead."

his vote: office space, the bobs:

Peter Gibbons: The thing is, Bob, it's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care.
Bob Porter: Don't... don't care?
Peter Gibbons: It's a problem of motivation, all right? Now if I work my ass off and Initech ships a few extra units, I don't see another dime; so where's the motivation? And here's something else, Bob: I have eight different bosses right now.
Bob Slydell: I beg your pardon?
Peter Gibbons: Eight bosses.
Bob Slydell: Eight?
Peter Gibbons: Eight, Bob. So that means that when I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it. That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled; that, and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired.

her favorite: jerry maguire, this used to be my specialty:

Jerry: Hello. I’m looking for my wife.

Dorothy: Wait…

Jerry: If this is where it has to happen, then this is where it has to happen. I’m not letting you get rid of me. How about that?

[beat]

Jerry: This used to be my specialty. I was good in a living room. And now, I just… Tonight… our little company had a very big night. A very, very big night. But it wasn’t complete. It wasn’t nearly close to being complete. Because I couldn’t share it with you. I couldn’t hear your voice. I couldn’t laugh about it with you. I missed my wife. We live in a cynical world. And we work in a business of tough competitors. I love you. You… complete me. And I just…

Dorothy: Shut up! You had me at “hello”. You had me at “hello”.

his n' her favorites: glengarry glen ross:

A-B-C. A-Always, B-Be, C-Closing. Always be closing, always be closing.

Put. That coffee. Down.
[pause]
Coffee's for closers only.

OurGirl: 5 favorite words i do not use

The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say. ~Anaïs Nin

words i like but never use. its a curse to have a love of words and yet not care enough to learn how to pronounce them. ask walsh. i have a couple of acronyms i mangle on a daily basis.

1. unctuous: in this case, full, rich, buttery, oily
2. oeuvre: a work of art
3. perspicacious: acutely perceptive
4. contretemps: a dispute, an inopportune incident
5. halcyon: calm, peaceful, prosperous

Exploration and Discovery

I believe the inquisitive mind is the elixir of youth. To bad I didn't realize this until midlife. I truly enjoy learning from people, experiences, and through my reading. Today at work a friend of mine, came by the cubicle. He saw what I was working on and made a few alternate suggestions on how to accomplish what I was trying to do. I'm not proud of my first response, which was to immediately go on the defensive and shut him out as a know-it-all, meddler. But I checked myself and quickly realized I needed to listen to his advise. Here was a true friend willing to share his knowledge and I almost blew it. I apologized and encouraged him to continue. 30 seconds of collaboration and my project looked 1000% better.

Its easy to become complacent in my daily routine. Get up, shower, schlep to work, go home and repeat the next day. Boring? I try to keep it lively, but all work and no play makes Morgan a dull boy! Thats why this vacation to Greece with my wife means so much to me. We are going on a great adventure to one of oldest civilizations in the world. We are embarking on a voyage of exploration and discovery. Of what? I don't know, but I'll share it with you when I find it.

We do not ask for what useful purpose the birds do sing, for song is their pleasure since they were created for singing. Similarly, we ought not ask why the human mind troubles to fathom the secrets of the heavens...The diversity of the phenomena of nature is so great, and the treasures hidden in the heavens so rich, precisely in order that the human mind shall never be lacking in fresh nourishment.
-- Johannes Kepler, Mysterium Cosmographicum