Elevator

I’ve wanted to do this so many times, especially when people get on the car/leave every single floor until my stop

More birds

Turned in my final assignment for my photojournalism class. We had a guest speaker, named Steve Simon, who is part of the Apple campus lecture series hawking the Aperture 2.1 program. Thoroughly enjoyed his presentation showcasing all the work he did in Rwanda, AIDS in Africa, Sept 11, and subtle political jabs with his Republican series. A little heavy on the software plugs, but that was part of the package.

At the end of the lecture, his Apple dude entourage distributed a free copy of Aperture 2.1 ($200 software that was just release this past March) to every student. Pretty awesome, except I don’t own a Mac.

Went back to the bird place this afternoon, a few more shots…

Full album

Lakeside

1. Create at least 1 HDR shot a week, because they’re so awesome looking

Apparently I need an insanely high grade on my test on Thursday. I’ve been camping out at Mozart’s now that the weather is beautiful outside. Generally very quiet and relaxing, especially on the bottom deck. However, every once in awhile an obnoxious group of people sits at the table right next to mine. There are 3-4 other people working or studying down there, but this group completely ignores us and start chatting and laughing, much to the chagrin of everyone trying to concentrate. It’s midday, the entire cafe is empty and there are plenty of other spots to sit at, so learn to be considerate and move.

Another annoyance…the people passing by on boats, with the stereo blasting Fergie and 50 cent. I’m glad you are outside, having fun and partaking in a healthy recreational activity, but is there really a need to turn the volume up so high? We can hear you loud and clear from several hundred feet on the other side of the lake.

Minor complaints, only a small fraction of the time I’m there.

Easily spent six hours there today. Free wifi, wall plugin for my laptop, a good strong coffee and amazing cheesecake, plus a great view…not a bad deal I think. Knocked out 40 pages of textbook reading, which may not sound like much, but when there is no filler or fluff and every detail and diagram must be committed to memory, that’s a hell of a lot to get through in one sitting.

Sushi and 101

39. Get off the bus one stop earlier and walk the rest of way home everyday, unless it’s raining, I have time constraints, or I’m sick

54. Find all my furniture for the condo for less than $20 a piece on Craigslist (treasure hunt!)

So far so good. I found that I actually get home faster if I get off the stop before if the bus is packed or lots of people need to jump on. The fresh air is pretty nice, we’ll see how it goes when the heat kicks in.

I got a nightstand of Craigslist for free practically, minus gas expenses and a $2 touchup marker from Lowe’s. Now I just need a bed, dresser, and desk, all of which I can’t really get until the end of summer anyways.

I went to Kenichi, a fancy sushi restaurant downtown for Tian’s 20th birthday. Expensive, but pretty food. Apparently it’s a hip place to go because both the restaurant and the bar were packed with young executives and scene goers.

Hanging out in Mary and Lucy’s room, waiting for everyone to get there. We were still half an hour late for our reservation. Oops.

Sushi roll, called “Aleutian Island” on the menu and cost $10

The birthday girl cutting the cheesecake that took an unfortunate tumble in the car. It was still delicious though

J&M Aviaries and Austin Avian Rescue and Rehabilitation

My final project for my photojournalism class is to do a photostory. Rather than do what had been done hundreds of times before, like interview firefighters, following student life, or showcasing a band, I decided to drive to the only Central Texas rescue and rehab center for exotic birds. Situated on 3 acres of land it houses over 90 birds, of which 70% are rescue cases that come in from all over the country. They receive no help from the government and rely solely on private donations. Many of the birds are permanent residents, which is a huge commitment considering the lifespans of parrots can reach up to 100+ years. Therefore several birds end up at AARR because of a death in the family, not abuse or negligence.

This is Jerry Nolan, the co-founder of the organization with Michael Glend Haley who recently passed away in 2005. Very nice guy, extremely knowledgeable about birds as he has run the aviary for over two decades. He personally greeted me when I walked up to the door, showed me around, and explained pretty much everything about AustinAvianRR and J&M aviaries.

Very peaceful place. There are trees everywhere to provide shade for the various bird enclosures, a few ponds, benches, lots of flowers and plants. There’s a memorial garden for Michael Haley in the sanctuary.

The white cockatoo is an amazing speaker. I was walking around and here the clearest “Hello” imaginable from a bird. We chatted for awhile, then he said “Bye bye” at least ten times when I walked away.

So I need to organize everything from today and do some research on Homer the Homeless Goose who is apparently a major Austin icon. All in all, was great fun and will probably head back for followup.

[More pictures here]

Spotlight on Tibet

With the Olympics being held in Beijing, the media and thousands of people have jumped on the latest human rights bandwagon, condemning China over its crackdown on Tibet. So much so that ceremonial Olympic torch routes are being canceled or rerouted to avoid the hordes of protesters trying to sabotage the event, thinking somehow they’d be making the statement. The US House of Representatives were right in with the pack, passing a resolution to call out China on its misbehavior. It’s great that the situation in Tibet is getting worldwide attention, but only because it is the ‘popular’ thing to do. I can almost guarantee a large percentage of the sign wavers have not bothered to read up and research on the decades long crisis they claim to be so passionate about, to the point of outright racism.

Hold up your pretty signs, sign lots of online petitions, talk about it in your social circles to make you sound like an activist so you can score a hot date…does anyone really believe China gives a fuck about the fanfare? The above CNN news story where the House decided “Let’s vote to tell China to stop its crackdown on Tibet” was just another classic media ploy by our government. China already has the US wrapped around its pinky and ‘telling’ them to do something has never been successful in the history books. If they cared what the rest of the world thought, China wouldn’t be committing these crimes in the first place.

If you really want to bring about change, the only way is to pressure them economically.

Despite moral disagreements, the US continues to do massive amount of business with China. Our reliance on them has reached out of control proportions and they damn well know all they need is their economic clout to make the rest of the world bend to their will. The US has no negotiating power, especially when we’re trillions of dollars in debt and counting. Slow down China’s rise as a global superpower, and only then will you see their government squirm in their seats.

Sadly, after the 2008 Olympics are over, the fervor will die and the “SAVE TIBET” shirts will lie in a hamper along with “SAVE THE WHALES” and “SAVE DARFUR” (made in china of course). That’s what you get with a Western world that runs on fads and limited attention spans. China will continue playing the world like puppets, victims will continue suffering, and the US will continue turning a blind eye on the escalating problem.

101 in 1001 days

I’ve seen quite a few people jump on this bandwagon. Here’s the premise, copy pasted verbatim from the website.

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past – frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Here’s my list so far….

START: Thursday, April 5, 2008

End: Thursday, January 1, 2011

KEY: IN PROGRESS COMPLETED

Creative

1. Create at least 1 HDR shot a week, because they’re so awesome looking (1/143)

2. Draw a tattoo

3. Learn how to make sushi

4. See a show on Broadway

5. Learn and perfect that Chopin piano piece I’ve been taking a go at once every month for the past two years

6. Find a new favorite author and buy at least two books authored by him, because I only buy books I really enjoy

7. Buy the audio cable to connect my digital piano and computer

8. Buy a Canon EF f/1.8 50mm lens for my DSLR

9. Actually sew a pillow, instead of looking at fabric and going “Oh, that’d be a cool pillow”

10. Redeem my MOO cards from Flickr before the deadline

11. Redeem my free photostory book from Amazon.com because I paid them lots of my money for a camera

12. Write at least one blog entry a week

13. Watch and photograph a sunrise

14. Send something to Postsecret

Fun Stuff

15. Go to a John Mayer concert

16. Finally get my epic flying mount on World of Warcraft (yes, I know, you’re shaking your heads)

17. Legally buy alcohol

18. Go to a wine tasting

19. Go to SXSW

20. Watch a super early showing at the movie theater

21. Sell something completely random on eBay

22. Curl my hair once a month

23. Get another pet

24. Teach my cockatiel how to sing a song

25. Go horseback riding

26. Play Darkfall, if it ever comes out. This list is giving them plenty of time to release it.

27. Beat Majora’s Mask on N64

28. Get a new bike because mine was stolen, after 9 years of loving care and attachment

29. Be a guest at someone’s wedding

30. Actually dress up for Halloween

31. Buy a pair of socks and not have one go missing when this ends

32. Solve a rubik’s cube

Wellbeing

33. Join a new recreational sport for fun; right now it’s either sailing or archery because I don’t like contact sports

34. If I am going to be less than 15 minutes late to a class, I have to attend instead of convincing myself that it’s not worth the embarrassment of walking into the lecture hall through the extremely loud doors, garnering a glare from the professor, and that I’ve already missed enough material that I’ll have to review the entire lecture on my own anyways

35. Go without the internet for a full week

36. Get my braces off

37. Whiten my teeth

38. Get my eyes checked and switch to new contacts because the night ones are pretty useless if I don’t wear them

39. Get off the bus one stop earlier and walk the rest of way home everyday, unless it’s raining, I have time constraints, or I’m sick

40. Find a face lotion I actually like and would buy again

41. Get a health check at least once a year

42. Gain 5 lbs

43. Keep my CPR certification and renew it

44. Go to bed before 11pm for a week

Travel and tourism

45. Go to New Zealand

46. See Matt at LEAST once every 6 months, for sanity’s sake

47. Take a picture of myself at the Eiffel Tower

48. Visit Greece

49. Go visit the Umluaf Sculpture Garden in Austin, TX

50. Go surfing, anywhere, and not make a complete ass out of myself

51. Take a real cruise

52. Take a picture of every airport sign I travel through

Money

53. Open up a Bank of America savings account so I can access my money in Australia for free

54. Find all my furniture for the condo for less than $20 a piece on Craigslist (treasure hunt!) [Nightstand]

55. Save $10,000 outside of living expenses

56. Get a decent full time job in my field after I graduate

57. Redeem all those random coins lying around my room and assorted purses for actual cash

58. Find an efficient way to keep track of my finances that I won’t be fed up with after a week

59. Donate $1 for every item on this list I don’t accomplish

Domestic/Housekeeping

60. Organize and file all my old TAMS schoolwork sitting in my parent’s garage

61. Get a new driver’s license when I turn 21

62. Completely clean out and sort my closet and dresser every month

63. Make a list of everything perishable I buy at the grocery store and update it so I don’t throw out moldy food I never used a month later

64. Keep my organic herb garden alive

65. Plant a tomato plant so I stop buying the little tubs of cherry tomatoes for $5 at whole foods

66. Plant a blueberry bush…antioxidants are good plus blueberries are just yummy

67. Learn two new recipes a month

68. Clean out my computer and reorganize all 80+ gigs of files and folders instead of having things saved everywhere

69. Paint my bedroom

70. Buy a shoerack that can hold my collection

71. Make my bed everyday for a week

Relationships

72. Talk to both my parents once a week

73. Eat lunch with 10 people I haven’t seen in several months

74. Use my newfound photography knowledge and take portraits of my entire immediate family

75. Send my cousin Phillip a card/present every birthday

76. Bake and decorate 10 birthday cakes for family/friends

77. Message or talk to Matt at least once a day

78. Still be with Matt and happy when this list expires

79. Meet another online friend in person

Future

80. Fill in the next 20 spots as the 2 years, 8 months, 27 days progresses

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First post ever…

I officially own jessles.com

Except it only half works.

Time to go click more stuff.