Pet Cobra

That Was The Week That Was

Here's what happened:

Beth was out of town, at a Work Thing in Orlando.

Lucas was generally well-behaved. We did our traditional Father-Son Dinner at Pei Wei, and watched Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope. I only had to pause it once - Lucas insisted on finding and wearing his toy Safety Goggles during the Rebels' final assault on the Death Star.

I watched The Departed. I typically think remakes are completely devoid of merit, but thought Scorsese's version of Infernal Affairs was better than the original. That's what you call a paradox.

And...drum roll please...Ted finished the board, and it will soon on its way to Moonlight Glassing. A bit different than the revised version - the blank wouldn't yield up a roundtail - but that's ok; it looks like it'll be a great board for the summer, just the thing to get me back on track with my surfing. There was a winner in the Pet Cobra Logo Contest; he came up with a doozy, and it shall be unveiled when the new ride is done.

Kind of a flat post, but I'm six kinds of tired.

String Theory

For some reason, TypePad isn't showing the little picture of the cover of the latest book I've added to the reading list. No matter - it can be found to your right. As a...fuck!...junior high schooler I've exposed to the teachings of the all-knowing Douglas Adams. He made a lasting impression on me - witness the tattoo on my right shoulder blade. The Universe is a big and scary place, I've learned, ever changing and constantly throwing surprises our way, but there's facets that remain, well, universal. Target, for instance. I've spoken to a great many people about Target, and we all are in complete agreement - that regardless of your reason for going to Target, you can't walk out of there without spending at least $50. Need to make a quick run to pick up some paper towels? $50. Want to buy a DVD and a pack of tube socks? $50. Thirsty? Nantucket Nectars brand Lemonade sound good? Some stale popcorn with that? $50. I used to get upset over this, but it's now a kind of comfort. As the Universe continues to expand, as our sun continues to slowly extinguish itself over the next several billion years, as we constantly seek to find explanations for the reasons Why, and as I'm sure that my attempts to gain some sort of understanding of the nature of space and time via Mr. Greene's book will only serve to remind me that there's a big difference between being clever and being smart, I will look to Target and the $50 Axiom and be thankful that there's at least one constant in the Universe.

Lazy Sunday with The Floor General

A rudderless entry. Mystic, Connecticut was the dominating factor this week. I went there for work, and had an altogether pleasant time. The four day trip had the unfortunate effect of sucking the life out me for the remainder of the week - I don't do jetlag, which does not bode well for any future travel plans (a return to Alaska is on tap for the summer, Italy has been mentioned for next year, and I'm pushing for a trip to Vancouver in 2010 for the Olympics).

Which is just as well. Yesterday we had an impromptu St. Patrick's Day feast - I'm genetically compelled to celebrate, as my dad's mom is Irish - after friends had cancelled plans to hold a party at their house. I made an excellent beef and Guinness stew, accompanied with from-scratch boxty (what could be healthier than a wad of shredded potatoes and flour, deep-fried in butter?); many bottles of Smithwick's and Guinness were downed (along with a little Tullamore Dew), and a good time was had by all. Needless to say, I'm doing absolutely nothing today.

Which doesn't mean that nothing was done. The nice thing about a Lazy Sunday is that when you don't have piles of laundry to address, or grocery shopping to attend to, or yardwork, or any of the other numerous tasks that you put off until the weekend, you get time to actually have some fun. Lucas and I spent the morning on the patio, where I've set up his latest favorite item - a pint-sized adjustable basketball hoop.  For a three-year-old, he's got a good shot, passes well, and showed nice ball control as I attempted to teach him how to dribble. We had an hour-long shootaround, and the kid's type-A personality set the tone - "You throw the ball, Daddy! You stand there! You bounce the ball!" Point guard. Definitely.

Brad Delp, RIP

A while back, I ranked Boston's debut album as The Greatest Of All Time. Kidding, of course - well, half-kidding - but lead singer Brad Delp was found dead in his home today, and that's a bit of a bummer.

The Pet Cobra Surfboard Logo Design Contest! Also, Some Crazy Shit About Death!

The bad thing about not having a working stereo in one's car is that one's mind tends to wander during the a.m. commute. This morning, mine took a turn down Wallace Stevens Boulvevard; sitting there, surrounded by thousands of fellow travelers, I began thinking about death. Death bothers me; scares the shit out of me, in fact. Looking around at everyone in their various cars, thoughts began a-rollin'. "Wow - lots of people seem to like that Honda Element. Do you think the guy in the Porsche Cayman is somewhat miffed that he spent many, many thousands of dollars on the thing, and about 90% of the time he spends in it, he'll be driving no faster than that guy in the '85 Chevy Cavalier? All of these people are going to die one day. So am I. Whoa." Then I started thinking about that. Nothingness. With a capital N. What's that gonna be like? How's it going to be, that final fade to black? Let be be finale of seem...the only emperor is the emperor of ice cream...I was really skeeving myself out. Then I thought about Einstein, and physics, and how energy never ceases to exist, it takes on other forms, and if that's the case, do any of us really die? Is tonight's Lost a rerun?

Eh, who knows. Well, Lost is new tonight. The other stuff, eh. We can't control the Universe, but there are some things that lie within our grasp. Like the design of the board that Ted's shaping for me. The Pet Cobra Model. I had a thought, after seeing Whiff's funk-tastic new twinfin. Observant readers of his blog will note the cool custom logo that appears on the board's underside. Bitchin'. So here's the deal: I'm accepting submissions for a Pet Cobra logo design. We'll have ourselves a contest. Send me your logos - by, say, the end of next week (Friday 3/16). I'll post them all up, and let you guys vote in the Comments. The logo that gets the most props wins and goes on the board. Democracy in action. The winner will receive...well, nothing, but on your death bed, you'll achieve total consciousness. Which is nice.