things that secretly delight me

I picked up saying "No worries" in lieu of "You're welcome" in work-based contexts thanks to Simon Travaglia (one of my Aussie coworkers even asked me if i was from Oz).  Nowadays, about half of my co-sysadmins say it, too.

things that secretly delight me

I picked up saying "No worries" in lieu of "You're welcome" in work-based contexts thanks to Simon Travaglia (one of my Aussie coworkers even asked me if i was from Oz).  Nowadays, about half of my co-sysadmins say it, too.

`ele and the gryph (part 8)

The druid chuckled twice.  "Well, you didn't strike me as the sort of fellow who thinks he can own another life form.  Where is this gryphon?"

I pointed with my head.  "Just outside the entrance."  We walked outside.  The gryphon was lying down, but it sat up as soon as i came out.

"Well, well.  An Eastern Range gryphon," N'Jeet mused to himself.  "What is he doing out here, i wonder?"  He turned to me.  "Where did you find this gryphon?"

"I found it, well, it found me once i woke up after the explosion," i replied.  "I'm fairly sure it's one of Teraad's gryphons."

"Hnh."  He knelt and looked at its hurt leg.  "That is a nasty wound."  He looked at it closely.  "Darkwood."

"Huh?"

"There are darkwood splinters in his leg.  How was he hurt?"

"A big piece of timber went through it.  I'm guessing it was one of the supports from the keep."  I coughed.  "Er, how'd you know it's male?"

He gave me a look halfway between amused and surprised.  "It was a simple matter of inspecting his nether regions."

I felt like an idiot.  "Oh."

He returned to his examination.  "Strange.  Darkwood is rare enough for weapons; to find enough to use as joists or beams..."  He grunted.  "A wasteful and extravagant thing.  Darkwood's special because of its lightness, but while it's tough, there's tougher woods for construction."

"I see."  I looked at him curiously.  "You seem to know a lot about engineering for a woodsy type."

"At my age, young man, if you don't know a bit about everything, you should damn well know everything about something.  And if you think you know everything about something, you're deluding yourself."  He muttered as he made some sweeping motions with his hands, smacked his fist into his palm, and applied his hands to the gryphon's wound.  In a few seconds, it looked almost as good as new, missing only a patch of fur.  N'Jeet straightened up and walked around to face the gryphon.  He bowed and spoke.

"I am Nallim ez Jeet, Master Druid of this compound, and i welcome you, young gryphon.  I would be honored to hear your tale of how you came to be here."

`ele and the gryph (part 8)

The druid chuckled twice.  "Well, you didn't strike me as the sort of fellow who thinks he can own another life form.  Where is this gryphon?"

I pointed with my head.  "Just outside the entrance."  We walked outside.  The gryphon was lying down, but it sat up as soon as i came out.

"Well, well.  An Eastern Range gryphon," N'Jeet mused to himself.  "What is he doing out here, i wonder?"  He turned to me.  "Where did you find this gryphon?"

"I found it, well, it found me once i woke up after the explosion," i replied.  "I'm fairly sure it's one of Teraad's gryphons."

"Hnh."  He knelt and looked at its hurt leg.  "That is a nasty wound."  He looked at it closely.  "Darkwood."

"Huh?"

"There are darkwood splinters in his leg.  How was he hurt?"

"A big piece of timber went through it.  I'm guessing it was one of the supports from the keep."  I coughed.  "Er, how'd you know it's male?"

He gave me a look halfway between amused and surprised.  "It was a simple matter of inspecting his nether regions."

I felt like an idiot.  "Oh."

He returned to his examination.  "Strange.  Darkwood is rare enough for weapons; to find enough to use as joists or beams..."  He grunted.  "A wasteful and extravagant thing.  Darkwood's special because of its lightness, but while it's tough, there's tougher woods for construction."

"I see."  I looked at him curiously.  "You seem to know a lot about engineering for a woodsy type."

"At my age, young man, if you don't know a bit about everything, you should damn well know everything about something.  And if you think you know everything about something, you're deluding yourself."  He muttered as he made some sweeping motions with his hands, smacked his fist into his palm, and applied his hands to the gryphon's wound.  In a few seconds, it looked almost as good as new, missing only a patch of fur.  N'Jeet straightened up and walked around to face the gryphon.  He bowed and spoke.

"I am Nallim ez Jeet, Master Druid of this compound, and i welcome you, young gryphon.  I would be honored to hear your tale of how you came to be here."

gig review: we followed tigers @ someone's house

On Thursday, i got e-mail from Shaun of We Followed Tigers (whom you might recall i discovered almost two years ago), informing me that they'd be playing somewhere in Santa Cruz on Friday night.  So i was geared up to go see them, but then through a stroke of luck, Kim was able to come with me.  After a bracing Thai meal, we drove down to find a bunch of Santa Cruz kids lollygagging behind the house, smoking and drinking.  We walked past them and into the house, where a blast of noise greeted us.  Oof.  We decided to retreat between songs, but then one guy walked in and yelled, "WE FOLLOWED TIGERS!"  So i talked to him and he asked me almost immediately, "You're Rone, right?"  I thought he was psychic, or maybe he recognized me from a picture online, but he just guessed who i was because he's best friends with the band and he knows everyone who's a fan except for me.  He was a very cheerful ambassador and WFT is lucky to have him around (and good luck with that knee, Tony).

He brought us around the front, where Joe, the bassist (who i thought looked a fair bit like tongodeon), was guarding the gear.  We bought their CD and chatted for a while.  Then we walked to the nearby 7 Eleven to buy beer and met Taylor (drums) and Shaun (guitar) on the way there.  Once we got our beer, we stuck around the front, where we could hear the music at a comfortable volume and talked a bit more with the guys.  The first band we heard was named Rocinante (great name) and sounded good; i talked with one of their guys and he said they'd be playing at The Attic on the 29th, so i might go check `em out.  The second band was pretty good, too; they had a Hammond-heavy sound.  Then WFT came on and they rocked.  They played eight songs, three of which were new to me.  Lots of Shaun's relatives came out to listen and cheer, and they were all very enthusiastic.

One thing i especially like about their music is that, while it's all instrumental, they use screams as percussion (just a couple in each song, on average).  There's a spot in what's probably my favorite song of theirs, “The People From the Sky Said They'd Return.” (even the title kicks ass), where the music reaches this point of tension, and they let out a big scream, that gives me goosebumps every time.  When they played it last night, i tilted my head back and screamed (i startled Kim), and so did a few others.  It was fucking excellent.

You can hear "I Died in an Eighties Car Crash" if you visit their MySpace area (¡PELIGRO!  VERY LOUD!).  I'm looking forward to more music from them.

gig review: we followed tigers @ someone's house

On Thursday, i got e-mail from Shaun of We Followed Tigers (whom you might recall i discovered almost two years ago), informing me that they'd be playing somewhere in Santa Cruz on Friday night.  So i was geared up to go see them, but then through a stroke of luck, Kim was able to come with me.  After a bracing Thai meal, we drove down to find a bunch of Santa Cruz kids lollygagging behind the house, smoking and drinking.  We walked past them and into the house, where a blast of noise greeted us.  Oof.  We decided to retreat between songs, but then one guy walked in and yelled, "WE FOLLOWED TIGERS!"  So i talked to him and he asked me almost immediately, "You're Rone, right?"  I thought he was psychic, or maybe he recognized me from a picture online, but he just guessed who i was because he's best friends with the band and he knows everyone who's a fan except for me.  He was a very cheerful ambassador and WFT is lucky to have him around (and good luck with that knee, Tony).

He brought us around the front, where Joe, the bassist (who i thought looked a fair bit like tongodeon), was guarding the gear.  We bought their CD and chatted for a while.  Then we walked to the nearby 7 Eleven to buy beer and met Taylor (drums) and Shaun (guitar) on the way there.  Once we got our beer, we stuck around the front, where we could hear the music at a comfortable volume and talked a bit more with the guys.  The first band we heard was named Rocinante (great name) and sounded good; i talked with one of their guys and he said they'd be playing at The Attic on the 29th, so i might go check `em out.  The second band was pretty good, too; they had a Hammond-heavy sound.  Then WFT came on and they rocked.  They played eight songs, three of which were new to me.  Lots of Shaun's relatives came out to listen and cheer, and they were all very enthusiastic.

One thing i especially like about their music is that, while it's all instrumental, they use screams as percussion (just a couple in each song, on average).  There's a spot in what's probably my favorite song of theirs, “The People From the Sky Said They'd Return.” (even the title kicks ass), where the music reaches this point of tension, and they let out a big scream, that gives me goosebumps every time.  When they played it last night, i tilted my head back and screamed (i startled Kim), and so did a few others.  It was fucking excellent.

You can hear "I Died in an Eighties Car Crash" if you visit their MySpace area (¡PELIGRO!  VERY LOUD!).  I'm looking forward to more music from them.