Word(s)of the day 3

Here's a history lesson. Was talking to my mom who was talking about my grandpa, and the vocabulary he uses, from the 50's. My gramma and grampa (henceforth referred to by their common names, bun (gramma) and papa) this past weekend with the help of the family moved from their 2 level condo in Lake Oswego to my other grandparents old single level house in Beaverton. It's better for Bun so she can get up and down the stairs, she was struggling with that at their old place. So now she can move around much easier. I hope they like it there. This is the house brother Joel has been working on fixing and remodeling and putting a ton of work into, so I'm glad it's going to good use. It's strange to think of visiting Bun and Papa and not having them in their old Red Fox Hills condo, that's where they've been for so long.

Anyways to the point -- vocabulary/history lesson.

Mom was talking to Papa and he uses the old 50's words to describe things. Here is (loosely interpreted) quote:

"I don't get up off this davenport, I like it so much. Can you get me the hassock?"

Now for you and me that above sentence may have you scratching your head. But to Papa, it's just what things are.

dav·en·port: 1.a large sofa, often one convertible into a bed.

has·sock: 1.a thick, firm cushion used as a footstool or for kneeling. (What you or I would call an Ottoman)

And just for good measure, here is one more:

drain·board: a working surface beside or on a kitchen sink, formed and inclined to drain into the sink. (Now this one is obvious, but in Papa-speak, it is basically any counter, not just the drainboard by the sink)

Hope you enjoyed, I'm off to watch the Andy Griffith Show!

Surfing Sells

Random internet browsing brought me to this random internet clip: a 1965 Hamm's Beer commercial, featuring surfing. I think the 60's were a surf explosion time of popularity kind of like now, with surfing being used to sell everything from cars to credit cards and yes Hamm's Beer! Too bad the Hamm's Bear doesn't surf in this clip, that woulda been better.



Is Hamm's still around these days?

Word of the day 2

So in follow up to my earlier word of the day post, I looked online at some of those gadgets you can add to the Google homepage that automatically give you a word of the day. And while they're all well and good and all, problem is I knew all those words. So I'm not going to bother with that nonsense. My word of the day will probably be more like a word of the week. Or word of the month. I'll keep it real -- will try to have my ear to the ground and when I come across a new word will try to remember it and look it up and put it on here. Kind of like I did with Pariah. I should have known that word, I know it now that I type it, what was I thinking a few days ago? stupid.

Surf photography

I need to get more good surfing photos. Of ME. This new waterproof active camera Selin got me should help -- but I need some assistance on the photographer side. Selin is a very strong and dedicated land based photog, but to really make the (relative) tiny waves I surf look good, I need somebody there with me. In the water, close up and personal. Consider this an open invitation -- if you want to be my dedicated water photog, let me know. Just think about it, your photos can be viewed here on this very blog by (maybe!) a grand total of 3 people! :)

Also, I need to figure out how to get this new camera of mine to take faster photos. There's gotta be a setting to change. Right now the lag between one photo and another is literally about 2 seconds. Unless I go back to Pavones, that's simply not going to cut it. Most of the time, the sad reality is I'm lucky if my ride lasts 2 seconds total. So I've got to get that figured out as well, or I wind up with a lot of splash photos/closed out wave photos/wipeout photos/bellyride photos/basically not photos I want photos.

So, the above being said: I'm really looking to get some more good photos soon with this new camera. For now, here is the best photo of me surfing taken (that I know of) to date, courtesy of reknowned land based photog Selin from our Kauai trip. (I did not find the cable needed to upload photos off my camera, but instead I went and bought a $15 digital media card reader.) Check me out...



SWEET.

obamania

Obama was at Google yesterday. As just another of the things Google does, all the presidential candidates are coming in for open talks. Googlers can attend as well as a lot of press invites too. It's a bit of a madhouse, in my observation. I actually wasn't able to attend Obama's talk...I was stuck in a advertiser client forum in the room just next door to the main cafe where he was talking...just my luck. But I did sneak out of the forum for about 10 minutes to try and catch a glimpse of him....not happening. That place was packed. I could get close enough to hear but nowhere I could actually view the man himself.

Anyways all the sessions are filmed and posted on to YouTube. I haven't watched this yet myself but here it is if you want to check it out.



Update: I just watched the first part...the introducton. Which is done by David Drummond, a VP here. Funny to watch these things w/ the perspective I have. I used to play pickup basketball with David Drummond on this old portable single hoop in the parking lot outside of the old Google building. Now David Drummond is introducing Barrack Obama. He's always been a bigshot here though...so it's not like that's changed. Just interesting to think about sometimes, where these guys were and where they are now. I've witnessed and been a part of a pretty amazing company growth experience. Where/what do I have to show for it all? Sometimes I get introspective and wonder these things. But those moments don't last for long. Is the corporate world something I'll ever be fully made for? Sometimes I'm sad I'm still here doing the same stuff I've been doing for the last 5 years, there's not many of me left. This is one of those times. But what am I talking about here...enjoy Obama!

(wow he's on a single name only basis. Like Madonna. Hillary Clinton can't pull that off.)

update: it is equally as funny to think back that Google's only bball hoop was once one of those plastic based, water-filled rollable deals set up in the uneven, sloping parking lot out back. And people were happy OK with it. No chance of that happening now.

Wednesday

Work: In all day training today, learning all about effective sales. Our training guy is actually pretty good, he's entertaining. Quite a personality, and the content is good. But its interesting to compare all this sales emphasis to what we used to do.

Play: I'm rarin' to go and share some Kauai pictures with you, but I can't find the cable needed to transfer photos from my camera to my computer. It's really annoying me...tonight I'll be buying a card reader device to get around this problem. And then I'll have some pictures up.

Word of the Day

Yesterday Selin and I watched the movie American Gangster, Great movie! Really enjoyed every last 160 minutes of it -- yeah it's long but it is a great story, great entertainment, very well acted. Even the rapper-actors are solid! Denzel has really got the role of badass down... nailed it as Alonzo in Training Day, might have nailed it even more as Frank Lucas this time around. And Russell Crowe was pretty good too but it is all Denzel's show, he's really good. Better than George Clooney, who is also good, but Denzel blows him out of the water, no doubt.

Anyways I digress...real point of this post: I think I'll occasionally post a word-of-the-day. To help improve my vocabulary. So, in the movie, one of the characters who (spoiler alert!) winds up becoming a heroin junkie, says that if he and his cop partner (Crowe) turn in the million dollars of drug money they find in a car trunk, they'll be treated as pariahs. This word of course I've heard before and read and seen many many times -- I actually have read quite a lot and consider myself better than the average Joe when it comes to verbiage -- but then later in the night on the drive home we were talking about the movie and I used the word pariah and I used it wrong. Right meaning (outcast) but wrong definition. Selin was quick to correct me and we confirmed the correct definition of the word on her blackberry. But, it prompted me to continue to keep my mind sharp and learning (and remembering!) words. So, there you have it: word of the day.

pariah: pa - ri - ah

1.	an outcast.

2.	any person or animal that is generally despised or avoided.

3.	(initial capital letter) a member of a low caste in southern India and Burma.

My words may or may not get progressively harder as time goes on.

Thanks.

Oh and here is a really long but from the first page which is all I've read so far seems pretty good article about the real Frank Lucas, the character Denzel plays in the movie.

Tuesday

Back at work. Catching up on email. Phone calls. Customer questions. Butt to chair, eyes to monitor, getting re-acquainted with this lovely cube I spend so much of my time in...

Reminiscing of Hawaii, that's the life!

Lunchtime.

Monday

We just got back from Kauai this morning, and as any good vacationer should do, we have today off as well to wind down back at home before heading back to the office with a fresh new tan. It's been a while with no posts as I didn't have internet in Kauai, but rest assured that it was a fantastic vacation, Kauai might be my new most favorite island, and I have a bunch of good pictures, sights, stories, surf sessions, and other updates to share soon.

But, for the immediate forseeable future, instead of a heavenly warm cozy nap after the overnight redeye Hawaii flight which is what i REALLY should be doing.......I will be doing ONLINE TRAFFIC SCHOOL. Hoooray. Stupid speeding tickets.

And Brrrrr! it sure is cold here. We left for a week and it became winter in Northern California. Where are my mittens??

Hale Kipa!

TOMORROW!!!!!!