I'm out to church tonite

Remember Farm Aid

Eat with your family. Serve tea.

Rounded edges

OMG_1337

IMG_0137
Originally uploaded by Jrome

This is a tractor pen & ink I worked up a few days before Christmas day 2009. It is likely to be the last such drawing of the decade. The drawing was done like I do all my drawings. I take my pen, scribble lines without any intention or motivation, then I look at the mess and try to make it look like something. Usually that something is a jeep or a tractor or some vehicle. One day I'll make a video of the process, but for now, you'll have to just imagine me scribbling in your mind, darkening the lines on your forehead and inking over your soul.

Watch movies with your entire family ( at least once)

This tries to keep me from the work in the kitchen...

Bloxes.com = great gift

Letters (& present) for Santa 2009

Show us your haircut while stopped at this red light

Letter from the President to me, yes me.

jrome --

Although it's Christmas Eve, I wanted to share some exciting news: The Senate just passed a historic health reform bill.

In all the back and forth, it's easy to lose sight of what this incredible breakthrough really means. But consider this: This Christmas, there are millions of Americans without health insurance who risk losing everything if they get sick.

There are mothers and fathers who wonder how they'll provide for their children because an illness has wiped out their savings. There are small business owners who worry that they'll have to lay off a long-time employee because the cost of insurance is rapidly rising.

If we finish the job, all this can change. We will have beaten back the special interests who have for so long perpetuated the status quo. We will have enacted the most important piece of social policy since the Social Security Act in the 1930s, and the most important health reform since Medicare in the 1960s.

In Decembers to come, millions more will have access to affordable coverage. Parents will have the security and stability of knowing their insurance can't be revoked at a moment's notice. And the skyrocketing costs plaguing our small businesses will be brought under control.

When you make calls, write letters, organize, this is the change you're making -- a better life for your family and for men and women in every state.

There is still more to do before I can sign reform into law -- a last round of negotiations and final votes in the Senate and the House -- and I'm counting on your help every step of the way. But for now, I hope that as you celebrate this holiday season, you remember that the work you are doing is making our union more perfect, one step at a time. For that, I am grateful to you.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays,

President Barack Obama

Sent from my iPhone

Snowstorm and snowball fight in Times Square, Manhattan, New York (larger size)

Snowstorm and snowball fight in Times Square, Manhattan, New York (larger size)
Originally uploaded by zokuga

get out there and throw a snowball this winter. and no namby pamby throws. chuck it!

What English Sounds Like To Foreigners

I'm sure my children will learn every word. Let's all sing along!

See more funny videos and Music Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Your goal should be to stand out, even in death.

Best "Your order has shipped" email evar

Just wanted to let you know that I sent your leather out just a little bit ago. Your tracking number is listed below along with a link to the shipping company so you can track your leather piece every couple of hours. To care for your leather piece and read about the photo contest please see the Questions page on the website. I have all sorts of tips to keep your leather in top shape.
Oh, and by the way, I didn't want to tell you this before you joined, but 10% of the gross amount that you gave to Saddleback went directly to one of those aid organizations on the Dave's Links page. If you spent $500 + $20 for shipping then $52 went out to love people. Basically, you just contributed to drilling a well for an entire village or partially sponsored a 5 year old street kid in Rwanda to get into a loving orphanage and go to one of the best schools in the country. This is the main reason Saddleback Leather exists. Just wanted to let you know... between friends. Thanks for helping.

The way I see it, out of the thousands and thousands of companies in the world, on the Internet or down on the corner selling leather goods, you chose mine and I really do feel honored. You are very much appreciated.. Welcome to the family.

Thank you and have a great week.

Warm regards,

Dave Munson
Presidente
Saddleback Leather Co

Waiting for a Christmas tree

Waiting for a Christmas tree
Originally uploaded by Jrome

good things come to those who wait, and often delays aren't the end of the world.

Where is my lovely wife?

Work hard to give the best gift, the best product too. Get dusty.

Woodrow

Woodrow
Originally uploaded by Jrome

Sometimes you just need to get out there and buy the wood. Get the project done. Then enjoy the holidays that come afterwards.

Heavy things are often quite light

This is not how one should have installed vinyl on this truck

Me in nutshell

Yeah, well, win some, lose a lot.

So incredibly tired...just take a nap.

Finger pickin' for Spain

It's really not everyday I take photos for fanzines, but today I did.

Let this be a reminder to all your ordinary folks out there: everything you do during the day can BE something special to someone. We're all little rock stars in some way. Well, I'm not. But you could be. Maybe. If you tried.

The Day's Simplest Things

All here.

One more thing

Family can really make or break a holiday. This one was spectacular
for me. I hope it was for you as well.

The Old, The New

Nearly 20 years ago when I was in college, I typed everything on the Apple Extended keyboard. These things were huge and loud and practically perfect in every way.

The Web is Influencing my Child!

Around here we like Homestar Runner. You should too.

Maddy really likes Homestar and Strong Bad. The above is a picture she drew after watching the Loading Screens video, subtitled "What Everyone will be talkin' abrat!"

M and Momma on the 6

M and Momma on the 6
Originally uploaded by Jrome

Ride the bus. Ride your bike. Enjoy your ride and those along the ride with you.

Post trick, the real treat

Dancing to Singing in the Rain

by the power of the internets

odd that I ffffound this, but I did. enjoy normal ordinary people everywhere...



this reminds me to keep practicing

Best Five Minutes

mealy photo

family morning photo

Taste

When the economy went in the hole and hid itself this winter, I turned
into a cheap beer guy. I started drinking Black Label, or Pabst Blue
Ribbon, or Miller High Life. If it was $4.89 a six pack, I tried it.
My tastes suffered some, but I steeled my mind, took it all in stride.
I became suspicious even of those who condemned my purchases, who
offered to buy me "something better." I've since sobered up, pardon
the expression, and have come to enjoy more balanced and more
expensive brews, but I shall not forget the good cheap beers I
enjoyed. And if 97bottles.com gets back up and running, you can all
marvel at my reviews of them.

Sometimes you cannot do what you want to do

And it needn't be your fault every time.

Indulgence

Years ago, before I raced bikes and gave all my time to them, I played
soccer. I wanted nothing more than to play. And I always lusted for a
pair of Copas. Like a De Rosa, for those who ride, but only $99 a pair.

Sometimes good mistakes will happen

In this case, an odd effect with the iPhone camera on a piece of
children's art. I think it was a ballerina.

Postscript to previous post

So I'm sitting in the eye doctor's studio reading Car & Driver, when I
notice this. Seems no one can say how bad the Fiats designed for
America will be, but when the reports all point out the Fiat 500 is a
solid good looking car already, I ask "Why screw with it?" just build
them here...I will buy two.

Chrysler to bring Fiat cars to US market

Sigh. Saw this in our local paper I think, but here's a link to the story on Foxsneews. Anyway, I know the facts of the matter are Euro models cost more to bring to the States than they do to build to US specs here, but damn if they're not cooler, more economical (more diesel), and just so smart. It's about time we had some real Euro cars in the marketplace. Gimme a choice, I'll pay more for TWO (count 'em!) EURO FIATS, quirks and all, than drive a Fiat some Chrysler designer gave 200 hours of his time.

CameraBag photo

how it is done.

sunlight on the passenger dash

I sometimes get inspired by mundane things. Like the dash of our 1991 Volvo 740 Turbo Estate Wagon. this will be rolled into a useful web app coming. to you in late 2010.

The littlest things can make all the difference

Ze (rhymes with "gay")

Don't be scared, I might save your life!

On August 20, 2009 Twitter announced it was adding location awareness to its API.


Real time search on the web, that is being able to find out about news or information as it happens, is compelling. Getting real time in your pocket is even more compelling. Real time on the phone in your pocket, matched to your location is most compelling of all. Sure, Twitter hasn't made any money yet, but that doesn't mean smart businesses are ignoring it, any more than they ignored Google when Google.com first launched. Twitter is that important.

If you haven't yet figured it out, here's why: every byte that flows through Twitter has the potential to create business or at least foster a connection between a company and a consumer that someday very soon may involve a business transaction.

Let's play For Example, because it's so much fun.

From my iPhone I tweet "I have a headache." A grocery store chain's computer program, monitoring tweets originating in a 1 mile vicinity of any their 428 nationwide stores, recognizes my location and matches the keyword "headache" to a manufacturers coupon offer that can be redeemed at the in-store pharmacy just a block from where I'm standing. The program tweets "@jrome sorry about the headache, maybe this will help: http://bit.ly/VWhjo"
Now this might trouble some readers, especially those who haven't yet tasted the Kool-Aid that is Twitter and the tweets that make it so sweet. They're probably familiar with email and are thinking "Do I really want to be bombarded by marketing any more than I want to see 1,000 spam emails in my inbox every morning? Heck no, I hate the sound of it!" Ah, ha! But Twitter makes it very easy to control who can grab our attention. With hundreds of millions of @ replies flying around Twitter, it's easy to ignore all of them if you so choose. The tweets you want to see, you'll see. How? Well, perhaps that company paid Twitter for the privilege NOT to spam every Twitter user tweeting a mile away from one of its stores, but offer real value to only those who signed up to receive offers. Perhaps I opted in when I signed up for my frequent grocery store buyer's card. If buyer's cards all don't hop on this within 6 months, somebody needs to lose their job.

Let's try one more.

I'm out on the town. I see a house on fire, but I don't know the address. I tweet "OMG house on fire! FD come quick!" The local fire department has a computer program automagically monitoring tweets just like the grocery store company in the example above. It sees my tweet and corroborates four or five other people are tweeting from the same location (and not calling 911 because the line was busy.) It promptly issues an alert that dispatches firemen to the scene. Moreover, the local newspaper, watching the events unfold using the same technology pings a staff reporter to check out the fire and hit up the four or five eye witnesses using their twitter credentials to schedule interviews. Suddenly getting the local scoop doesn't seem so difficult and lives were saved.

Oktoberfest is coming

Just a reminder

Whoops. Cops.

First Day of School

Seasonal

I'm convinced: Summer is equal parts sand, sun, and water. If you
don't get enough of one, you really can't claim to have "had a
summer." Time "had you," or it was "rain that did you in."

For me, having children got my priorities back in line. I had lost
out, had blurred my spring and early autumn for at least 5 years. It
wasn't hard in San Francisco. "Next year," I always thought, "I'll
catch up."

So let this post be a lesson. Get your priorities aligned. Enjoy
summer again. There's still time.

I haven't thought about widgets for two years, but this is a new one. So an exception is due. It's almost what I envisioned so long ago, but maybe it will get even more clever in time.

Williamsburg snack bar clientele

Cabin fever

I've been hiding out in a cabin on a lake for a while. Stripped of
wifi or even the whiff of a cellular siggy, this place is stuck in a
perpetual state of 1968. And I likes it.

So who attends these tweetups in western mass? Should I come out of
the woods for tomorrow's at the Apollo?

Back to my puzzle.

Yeah, we got bikes.

Aug 6 get yourself out to Florence

For at least Primate Fiasco!

myrahq.com is a dictionary that you can tag

For years I've been wanting to tag a dictionary. Just login and bam, I'm tagging entries. Nothing revolutionary, just a handy and helpful new feature or two. That'd be neat.

So, without much fuss (but with a lot of time in between the fusses) Mark Greene, Brad Pauly, and I tackled this basic idea and we launched myrahq.com.

It's unfinished, simple, and over a year old. Please play with it and let us know what you think.

Be your own secret shopper.

Analyze. Commend. Condemn. Pay. Leave.

Sign language and observation of the Self and the Other

Jasper here uses sign language to indicate "more" for someone other
than himself, in this case another treat for Rose the beagle. This was
the first time I noted him exhibiting this behavior.