Ahhhh.... barcodes. Warms me heart they do.

There's something deeply satisfying about bringing a new barcode web site to life. Doubly so when one is about Code 128 barcodes. Know what I mean?

Home Ec

I never learned how to sew, but this article makes me wish I did.

Never too late, ehhh?

Good Advice From OakTown

Black Panther Party reunion in Oakland

We had a great weekend in Oakland. Spent time with my brother David. Iguana Joe was in from Boston. Saw both Craig and his brother Mick. Dropped by to see Pirkle in Mill Valley.

The trip centered around a number of events surrounding the 40th anniversary of the Black Panther Party. We went to a book signing and banquet dinner Saturday night. There was a photo op on the Alameda County Court House steps Sunday morning. I took lots of pictures Sunday. Pretty darn good pictures if I may say so myself.

Coleman and Bryan were truly inspired, as were we all.

Barcodes: once jargon, now slang

I collect photos of barcode tattoos, barcode graffiti, , graffiti t-shirts, etc. No surprise given that I own a barcode software company.

I've written a white paper, "Barcodes: once jargon, now slang" (PDF). Summary: barcodes have been part of our collective visual vocabulary.

Now go read it.

It's that "life" thing again.

Or maybe I should say that "living on this planet, in this corner of the universe" thing. I do hope someone explains when it's all over. Or during the commercial break between incarnations.

Shouldn't I never see this?

Someone tell me why oh why I should ever see this dialog box. The check box is checked.

Jackass Number Two Trailer

Go Number Two on September 22nd

...one more thing Santa

As long as we're talking about wood (no, not that kind perv), Santa can ya git me this too.

You the man, Nick.

Dear Santa

Santa, I've been a good boy this year. Soooo, would you entertain something like this as a holiday reward? You don't even have to read Japanese to appreciate how hip this is.

Pleeeeease...

Jones Soda

It seems like forever since I've had a photo of mine grace a bottle of Jones Soda.

So I'm back at it again.

HHDL Vancouver webcast et al.

Seminal event. That's the best way I can describe seeing HH The Dalai Lama in Vancouver a couple weeks ago. You can read the books but there's nothing like being in his presence.

Just to make sure I wasn't fooling myself I listened to his talk again via this webcast (Cultivating Happiness, skip to :50). Yep. He's the real deal.

Bryan and I watched Kundun last night. Whoa. Great compliment to Little Monk, an HBO documentary we saw about a young monk.

I've been sitting since March. I've gone as far as I can. I need a teacher. (That's me asking the Buddha.)

BTW, HHDL is coming to The Bay in April07.

engadet does gizmodo

Is it me or does the newly redesigned engadget bear a suspiciously striking resemblence to Gizmodo?

You be the judge.

Teen-aged boys

It's been over 6 weeks since my 17 yr old hit me. Needless to say, I've never gone this long without seeing any of my kids. Number one son is hiding at his mother's house or should I say "behind his mother's apron".

Some women recognize what's going on, almost all men grok it in fullness.

1a: karma is real
1b: payback's a bitch
1c: now I know how my father felt (tho I never smacked him nor spent time in juvy

2: as a Buddhist who believes in reincarnation, I realize it may take while before Michael grows up and learns the lesson(s) at hand

3: while my other two are watching their older brother, I pray they at least make their own (different) mistakes

This may take awhile.

Speaking of family, I had a great trip home last week. Spent lots of time with Mom, who's doing incredibly well after 2 breast cancer operations in 6 weeks. The unexpected joy was spending mucho quality time with my brother. As in 3 meals in three days. Not to mention is seemingly normal new girlfriend. Big shout out to Bruce'n'Barb as well. Ahhhh, Cleveland. Land of my birth.

HHDL in Vancouver

Lisa and I saw His Holiness the Dalai Lama today in Vancouver. He's here for the opening of a new center.

Tears streamed down my face though his speech was what I called "Dalai Lama Lite". Lovely enough but not a spiritual talk per se. I've been reading a handful of his books lately and I guess I had my hopes set a bit too high.

Being in his presence and hearing his voice was a joy. A true joy.

Perhaps the most touching moment was when he entered the room and his two RCMP escorts clasped their hands together and bowed to him. F*cking secret service agents wouldn't have done that. Oh yeah, it was qualatatively different being in Canada seeing him.

I promise to work harder for the enlightenment of all sentient beings. Each and every day.


Om mani padme hum.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Lisa and I are on our way to Vancouver BC today to hear His Holiness the Dalai Lama speak tomorrow.

First time. I could use the inspiration about now.

Altoids tin pocket shrines

While I admire those that re-use Altoids tins for DIY electronic projects, I use them to make pocket shrines.

Mints, gum, smalls, you name it, I'm shoving something into it.

I finally completed enough to warrant a web gallery of my Altoids personal shrines. Still working on several more so I'm looking forward to posting new pix as I complete them.

This one is for the older guys out there

I've got three sons who I love dearly. Three teen-aged sons. Starting to get the picture?

I always suspected that this upcoming school year was going to be a "challenge". I'm going to have a 12th, 9th, and 7th grader. Two in high school, one in middle school. Come Feb, the oldest turns 18 and God willing graduates in June.

Getting there is proving to be a trip. I have to laugh at myself because we've all gotten along so well this far, that it shouldn't be a surprise how quickly it's fallen apart.

When I relate stories of my rebelling 17 yr old, my male peers stop me midsentence and remmind me what it was like for us. Whether we knew each other back then or not. One of those Universal Truths.

So he's pushing off from Dad, discovering himself, making his own mistakes, living at his mom's, and probably hating me with every fiber of his being.

I'm trying to pace myself given that I have two more to go.

Fatherhood. Wouldn't given it up for anything. <sigh>

One's employess

I was renting a DVD at Blockbuster yesterday. The clerk was trying to get me to sign up for their online deal. Hey, I'm a Netflix junkie.

Anyway the thing that struck me was he kept saying "they're desperate to have people sign up". Hello... You work for them. You should be saying "we/we're".

Note to company owners everywhere: make your employees part of the corporate family. Duh...