Video

From Jon Abad

One of my reoccurring problems is how I deal with sleeplessness.

If I’m tired, and can’t fall asleep… I stop trying. Instead, I get up and do something productive.

The other night at quarter to twelve I started cleaning my room. After I get started I become a cleaning zombie. Suddenly it’s quarter to two, I’m completely exhausted, and I have no problem falling to sleep.

Unfortunately, four hours later the alarm goes off. I think I need to put more effort into sleeping before throwing in the towel and hunting down the vacuum.

It is done!

The whole legal process went smoothly. The lawyer explained the documents and I signed them one by one.

It was all quite professional. Until I went to stand up and smashed my head against the chandelier above the table and then turned around and practically knocked over chair I had been sitting on.

Oh well.

Provided all goes according to plan by the end of this day I will be the official sole owner of the House of Rock. In order to get Jesse’s name removed, I was forced to refinance.

And let me tell you, refinancing is a huge pain in the butt. In addition to costing scores and scores of mula, it’s an adventure that requires a legal team, a mortgage lender, a mortgage broker, an insurance team, an accountant (or someone equally as tax-savvy), and the alignment of the 48 moons of Saturn. As it happens, the celestial bodies seem to have fallen into order and at 2:00pm I will be passed a stack of papers 8 inches thick and a blue pen with which I am to sign blindly because, seriously, who’s going to read all that crap. Oh yes… and thank you so much for lending me the money that’s already being lent to me. Here, let me write you a staggering check to pay you for your troubles.

Adding to the frustrations is this whole credit crunch mayhem. The lender actually required me to write a short something stating why I wanted to refinance. Essentially… an essay. I had to write an essay. You can’t make this stuff up. Being the meager homebuyer that I am, I gladly bucked to their demands, wrote up my piece, and thanked them for the opportunities.

Back in the day, J.P. Morgan used to give out loans based on the character of the borrower. Frankly, I think it’s unfortunate that we can’t fall back on this. These days it doesn’t matter how much dirt is under your fingernails… it’s more important that your mortgage costs won’t exceed 30% of your salary* and that you can write an essay explaining your desires to refinance**

Kung Fu threats don’t work either***. In fact they aren’t typically taken very well at all. Those bankers are an ornery bunch.

No matter. Sometimes you pass Go and other times you land on Luxury Tax. Let’s leave the banking matters to the banks and just hope that the coming years find the house of rock filled with good times. Here’s to you House of Rock!

*That number might not be right. I don’t remember exactly.
** The purpose of this, if you’re curious, is to create a paper trail so that if something goes horribly awry and it is found that I refinanced for some other less worthy reason, I can be held responsible and the bank can cover its butt.
***
bank: Mr. DiDonato, how’s 6%?
mike d: 6%!?!?! It sounds like you guys need a good crescent kick to the head.
bank: how’s 6 and an eighth?
mike d: 6 and an eighth is just fine.

I am not usually a fan of Swiss cheese.

But Gruyere is just so perfectly pleasant. I love it.

This weekend was perfect.

Friday night I had a very important kung fu session and I’m pleased that I went. Sijeh Shannon was running class and critiqued my forms to a level beyond any other. It was extremely helpful.

Saturday Dave Susco and I hit up Main Cliff in the early AM. I started with a quick Broadway lead (5.8). Then Dave led a two pitch route: Jessica (5.8+ R). In actuality we never meant to have him start up an R. I was looking at the book, got confused, and we started up the wrong route. That said, it turned out to be the best climb of the day. The top was extremely tricky, and despite it being an R (this means rare gear placement) Dave threw down 6 pieces of protection in 20 feet. And this was absolutely necessary. He ended up taking a pretty big fall right before topping out. I would guess that he fell about 12 feet. It was wild.

The gear held without a problem. The top ended up requiring three consecutive sharp crimps and some creative footwork. It was a blast.

After eventually finishing that route we headed over to Vector and I led that route without too much difficulty. The crux was a thin off width that required a 4 cam. Unfortunately, I’d already used it so I had to run out about 12 feet of rope (not ideal). But I never felt very nervous… I think I will soon be ready for my first attempt of YMC - Main cliff’s infamous 5.9.

Some day I will be leading 5.10s. And that will be a triumphant day.

After climbing Dave and I shared some martial arts knowledge (he does Bando*… a thailand fighting style). It was fun.

Sunday, Shaun L. and I cleaned out the fridge (it was very dirty), I finished my cleaning of the downstairs bath, and we hit up the grocery store.

Good times. Very good times.

*SEE COMMENTS

Yesterday Shaun L. and I threw together some asian cuisine for dinner. We made a sweet and sour pork and it surpassed all expectations.

Basic ingredients
Pork
Green pepper
Red pepper
Onion
Pineapple
Carrots
Celery
egg
Flour
Tomato Paste
Soy Sauce
Vinegar
Sugar
Corn Starch
Various Oils
Orange Juice

After coating the pork in some flour and egg, we fried it. Then softened the veggies and added the last 7 ingredients as a sauce. The sauce thickened slightly and we served it over rice with a side of broccoli.

It was heaven.

I think we’re going to get back into the habit of making delicious dinners.

Jes Saint asks:

“who would win in a fair fight between Jack Bauer and Jason Bourne?”

In Kung Fu on Wednesday we did break falling and rolls. These classes rarely treat me well. Typically we’ll set up some mats and take turns diving and falling to the ground. I have a high tendency to tense up my neck when practicing this and the result is extreme soreness. Even today, two days later, it hurts to rotate my head. I’m sure once I get the maneuvers down I’ll loosen up a bit.

So much about Kung Fu requires looseness. Many of the wrist grabs and pressure point stuff can’t be completed if you try and throw in some muscle.

It can be frustrating.

In House news, I’ve finally completed the work on the downstairs bathroom. It took well over two weeks of restructuring, painting, caulking, and cleaning. I’m mostly pleased with the result - though the tub is stained and I’m not sure how to clean it. Anyone have any surefire methods to shine up a tub?

A variation of the ‘penguin baseball’ game where you slam your bicycle into a dude. But watch where he falls… he’ll hit characters with super powers. Also, on the way up and down you can click on the dude to add a boost.

current record: 5169.61m

I think I’m going to try a new personal rule.

Unless there’s a specific task I must complete: No computers after 8:00pm.

My vacation was so wonderful and part of the reason for this was the complete absence of internet, e-mail, and news. So I’m going to try and turn off my computer at 8:00pm. This will, hopefully, keep me reading, moving, cooking, and expanding my mind more than I would with a monitor or television.

It’s such a strange balance. I love the internet… but I find it draining as well.

I think I’d much prefer a simple life. These computer goals stay right in line with dreams to rid myself of excess possessions. I’d love to get rid of all those things I just never use. Organization, cleanliness, and escape from technology fit well together. Maybe not ‘escape from technology’ as much as a lack of dependency on it.

How would you rate yourself on organization, cleanliness, and computer/television usage?

A short while back Shaun left a comment on my website that made reference to the Liebeck vs. McDonald’s case where a woman burned by coffee sued McDonalds. This is a case that is often referred to when the topic of frivolous lawsuits comes up. I’ve always been hesitant to throw my opinion into the hat on that case because I think it’s possible that not all the facts are understood by the average American. I’m pretty sure it was a Jury trial, and a jury is bound to include at least one rational individual. If everyone is so sure that the lawsuit was stupid why did the Jury come to the conclusion that it did?

So I decided that I should read a book on it and get as many facts as possible. Then I could write a synopsis from a non-biased perspective so that people could read a brief description of the case that helped explain the case in full.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any books. Amazon.com proved near useless. The library’s online card catalog gave me nothing. Even general google searches were providing weak results. I didn’t know what to do.

Eventually, I decided to try InfoAnytime.

InfoAnytime is a library source in which the general public can chat 1 on 1 with a librarian at any hour of any day. The Librarian, with his or her intense research experience, can assist you in finding answers to your questions.

My librarian was Melissa H. In less than 3 minutes she provided me with seven different books about the Liebeck vs. McDonald’s case.

Color me impressed.

Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold, is a perfect combination of awesome, creepy, out-there, tragic, and fulfilling. It’s a story written from the perspective of a 14 year old girl after she was raped and murdered. She looks down on Earth from heaven and describes the process of her family and friends trying to come to grips with her death/disappearance. She follows her killer and her friends - tagging along as an invisible companion.

The book is captivating. The writing is good, but it’s the plot and the tension that really holds on to you.

I highly recommend this book.

Rock climbing rating:
5.10a chimney with Great protection: once you start there’s no turning back. It’s tough to read at times… you feel cramped and uncomfortable with the content… but upon completion it feels heavily fulfilling.

A video.

from Schenk.

My time in Cape Cod was extremely relaxing. While I only spent 2 full days there, I felt like I was able to fully escape the ties to home. I didn’t use a computer and didn’t feel the need to. There were no e-mails or phone calls. It was bliss.

I drove out on Thursday night. Friday was spent on the beach: flying kites, bicycling, reading like crazy, and swimming. Alicia, Theresa, and Alicia’s fiance Dwane were down there too and we were enjoying our bonding time.

Friday night we had fried fish, watched a movie, and then despite Dwane and my general feelings of laziness we were convinced by Theresa and Alicia to hit up Karaoke.

Theresa started our group off with a thrilling version of Son of a Preacher Man. She was classy and reserved. I had forgotten how nice her voice is and I think the local crowd at the Sea Dog was impressed. Alicia followed her with Call me by Blondie. It was full of energy. She mixed her emotions with angst and the result was a firey explosion of umph.

Then I was called up. I had, obviously, decided to perform Journey. I went with ‘Lights’ my personal favorite and a song with which I feel very comfortable. Despite being tired, when Journey starts playing I have a hard time not rocking out. I put everything I had into it and was told afterwards that my air guitar was wild.

Who were these DiDonato kids who took the local karaoke bar by storm? “Are you some sort of theater troop?” asked the Karaoke DJ.

A few more groups went up as we went through the book. Alicia would do Straight Up, Theresa would do some Cher. I got a tap on the shoulder.

A group of girls wanted to sing Summer Lovin’ but needed a guy’s voice. I gladly participated. And if I do say so myself, I think we did a pretty bang-up job. One of the girls, Cherise, was actually a back up singer for a band. She knew all the harmonies and it stepped the performance up a level.

After that, Tree did ‘Busta Move’ while I danced backup. And Alicia did another. The song escapes me for a moment… which is unfortunate because it was the best of her three. Alicia, determined to get me to spend time with Cherise (I must admit my sisters have good taste, she was cute and had a beautiful voice), signed the two of us up for Sonny and Cher’s “I got you babe.”

Unfortunately, neither Cherise or I knew the tune well, but we got up there anyway and did our best.

Outside of that obscure Karaoke experience in China, this was my first real Karaoke attempt. It was a blast and I hope to be able to get out in CT sometime. Apparently there’s a Rock and Roll Karaoke place in Hartford. I’ll keep you updated.

Anyway, the vacation finished smoothly. We ate smores and played Scrabble on the beach. I came back Sunday for some rock climbing with Pete and Irene. It couldn’t have worked out better.

And last night, as we sat on top of Wet Wall, a 5.6 with a dangerous start, the sun setting made the sky look like Orange Sherbet. It was beautiful and a great conclusion to a sweet break.

Mike D: Hi. I already have one book out. Can I take out two more? Is there a limit to the number of books I can take out on my card?

Librarian: You can take out as many as you want to feel responsible for.

Libraries are amazing.

I took a vacation day today and tomorrow. today I’m working on the house… tonight I’m headed for the cape.

Posting will likely resume Sunday or Monday.

Read and follow the rules.

From Shaun

Now that school’s out (mostly) and the summer has begun, I’ve started reading some fun books.

Here’s the tally so far:

The Brothers Bulger - Howie Carr

This is an extremely destructive tale of corruption and mob work in Boston by Whitey and Billy Bulger. It’s a very interesting read. The Author writes it like a history book, though there’s a definite feeling of bias. And as the book deals with Billy Bulger and the Senate, one can’t help but wonder if his bias results in any exaggerations. Even still, the book is an eye opener to those of us with a more innocent view of the world. There are definitely some bad people out there, and even the most steadfast of Billy Bulger supporters would likely have some questions after finishing the book.

Rock climbing rating: chossy 5.7
interesting, but hard to get through at times… not because of difficulty so much as loose rock

Shutter Island - Dennis LeHane

Described by the author as “Gothic Noir,” Shutter Island is a story about a detective sent to an island turned rehab facility to investigate the escape of a mental institute patient. The back of the book describes it as ‘chilling.’ I’m not so sure. The book was creepy at times and mildly captivating, but rarely did I get a real sense of being there with the characters. It was also a little too weird to understand. Come the end of the book I had no idea what happened.

Rock climbing rating: 5.4 lead.
fun, easy, but probably skippable

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting - Milan Kundera
in process

This is a collection of fictional stories that all revolve around the past, memories, laughter, and self worth. The text goes back and forth between a third person story of unique characters and the author talking directly to the reader* explaining the history of the story or why he used a particular descriptive word.

It’s powerful and seems to force introspective thinking. Some of the stories are depressing, so don’t go to this book if you need a pick-me-up. But Kundera’s writing is wonderful and, so far, I love it.

Rock climbing rating: 5.10c toprope
Flat face, not overly exciting from the ground, but the holds are tight… and it’s rewarding.

*I think there’s a word for this, but it escapes me at the moment.

“When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.”

-Arthur Clarke

(from Tom L.)

Today I fly to Cleveland. It’s just a day trip, so nothing too overwhelming. We’re headed out to meet a potential customer and spread the company joy.

Also: This morning I somehow achieved an uncommonly close shave.

It’s 3:30am and, really, that’s about as complicated of a thought that I can muster.

And American for “Staggeringly Delicious.”

When I was a kid my mom used to occasionally make us Calzones for lunch. It’d be a long calzone cut into thin slices and filled with such delicious combos as ham and cheese or meatball and sauce.

Well, yesterday I tried making some Calzones following my mother’s instructions. And they came out near flawless. The idea is simple enough. Buy some frozen meatballs and some pizza dough. Let the dough sit for an hour or two to rise, thaw the meatballs, and then roll into a long strip. Perhaps about 30 centimeters wide and 60 centimeters long.

Throw some meatballs, sauce, and cheese in there and roll. It’s even more exciting if you do multiple layers.

Put it in the oven at 190 C (375 F) for 15-20 minutes and you’ll be good to go.

You’ll know it’s reached its maximum potential for delicious if you tap the calzone and it knocks as if hollow. So delicious!

This weekend’s project was painting the downstairs bathroom.

I already purchased paint so really, all it would entail is taping and covering fixtures with drop cloths.

And then there was that little crack in the wall.

One hour later, the tile floor is covered in plaster and I had a significantly more complicated project ahead of me.