tim merritt [dot] net

I just wrote this post from my phone.

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Because I could, that’s why. Sheesh.

I’ve got more to tell, and show, about the trip I took to New Orleans last month with some folks from my church. We worked on a house, mudding and sanding drywall, painting the porch, and more. We stayed at Olive Tree Village, formerly a church and now a center for housing volunteer work crews from all over the country staying in New Orleans and helping Presbyterian Disaster Assistance with the ongoing Katrina recovery effort.

Of all the disasters of the last few years, one reason to keep New Orleans in mind is that it’s a great and unique American city, and it deserves far better than the sham “heck of a job” of recovery it’s received. Do what you can for New Orleans – it makes America a better country. Even if you don’t do it for New Orleans, do it for somewhere hit by disaster. It’ll make you a better person.

This guy was there, always keeping a helpful eye on sanitary conditions. He never complained and he had a drink of water ready whenever anyone was thirsty. So say hello to SinkMan.

As I said, more to come on the trip, but I thought you might want to meet him.

I sent Stefan “a link to David Foster Wallace’s introduction to the 2007 edition of Best American Essays. I have enjoyed his magazine pieces, and own two of his books, so I sent the link unread with a promise to him to come back to it later. Stef sent back a grumpy rant about the piece, and without getting into the nature of his complaints, what impressed me most was the closeness of his reading and the concentration he must have brought to bear. It forced me to realize that I don’t as a matter of course bring more than minimal attention to what I read – I’ve been scanning, not reading, and my mental muscles are weak. They need to do some weight lifting, and so do I.

Yes, “Tim” is an anagram for TMI, “Too Much Information.” Email messages unread: 68. RSS items unread: 625. Current browser tabs among 5 windows: 11. Too. Much. Information.

So where to cut back? I don’t want to lose more sleep. I would have trouble giving up reading political coverage during this run-up to an election year, especially when the Republicans are fielding such a bizarre misguided flip-flopping fear-mongering group of candidates. And the Democrats, ah the Democrats… they’re so amazingly timid about really pounding on the most incompetent regime America’s seen in my lifetime, and on the Congressional Republicans that have enabled it. George W.Bush makes Nixon look like a smart progressive on most issues. Who’d have thought we’d pine for Nixon? Ever? And in a situation like this, how can I keep from following it?

But back to Too Much Information. There’s always something new just a click away, whether it’s one of those emails, or in a feed, or on a site I haven’t checked this last foru minutes, or something. And I have this blog, see, the one you’re reading? Having a domain, and a blog, implies a commitment, and I have not kept that commitment. I have a camera, too, that camera implies another commitment, to take and publish pictures. I have not kept this commitment either.

Will Richardson writes and lives the Read/Write web, and I do not. Too much reading and not enough writing/photographing/publishing. I’ve allowed the too-many opportunities for something new to become data smog and I have to filter more of it out. I guess that output would become more of the smog for someone else, but the exercise of doing it myself would be better for my mind and my health.

I made a Brilliant Button with Brilliant Button Maker at LucaZappa.com, and now will litter this and my other site with them. An example:

This pleases me in odd, but not disturbing, ways.

A Food Timline, which seems to have explanations for when what food was discovered/exploited/domesticated.

Ivan Day’s Historic Food, with sections on several types of food throughout the ages, including this interesting and in places digestively dubious page on English puddings.

Andrew Barnett, writing in a Beards thread in the Textdrive forums, called this his “near-favourite blog post evah: We Face Follicular Armageddon. Just hurry up and go read it, but don’t drink anything while you do.

Thanks to Teresa and Patrick Nielsen Hayden for the link, a B Kliban Picture Gallery: Cartoons In Order Of Increasing Difficulty.

B. Kliban’s cat cartoons were very popular in the 80s, but his other cartoons were surreal and subversive. Just the thing for me, anyway, trying to find my way through early adulthood.

Click to find out why this man is running away. Simple rules, simple pictures.

Driving Will home from wrestling practice just a few minutes ago, we came up behind a car with a New York plate, in a frame that’s worth a post:

I wish I’d thought of 30 Days of Pork. Proof that bacon is a starter meat that leads to harder uses of pork. I also wish I’d thought of Serious Eats. I need to take my serious eating to a whole new level.

Making Light pointed to this (and gave credit for it as well).

He’s an old friend from the College of Business, and he wanted to see what blogging is about. Hi, Roy!

This is an old link I should have posted ages ago, from the UK’s Observer Monthy Music (“OMM”): Tom Waits on his cherished albums of all time: ‘It’s perfect madness’

In the first of an occasional series in which the greatest recording artists reveal their favourite records, Tom Waits writes about his 20 most cherished albums of all time. So for the lowdown on Zappa and Bill Hicks, step right up…

Here’s that take on Bill Hicks:

bq.15 Rant in E Minor by Bill Hicks (Rykodisc) 1997

Bill Hicks, blowtorch, excavator, truthsayer and brain specialist, like a reverend waving a gun around. Pay attention to Rant in E Minor, it is a major work, as important as Lenny Bruce’s. He will correct your vision. His life was cut short by cancer, though he did leave his tools here. Others will drive on the road he built. Long may his records rant even though he can’t.

How to Get Six Pack Abs – WikiHow

Yeah. I’m soon to be 48 years old… but we all have to have goals.

Had a car wreck today with Jack in the car – as far as we know now, nothing worse than a bump on my head from one of those hand-holds on the interior of the car right above the door – mild concussion, a gash with 8 staples in it, a little stiffness, and burn on the back of my hand from the airbag (who knew they could burn you?). Jack’s just a little bruised. The car is totalled; the other car crossed the median from the northbound side of Peachtree Industrial and T-boned our Civic. Fortunately most of the impact seems to have been on the left front wheel, and less on the driver’s side door with me right on the other side of it. Don’t know much about the other folks; apparently they went to another hospital.

Poor Ellen heard it happen over the phone; she was in Dallas TX and due to return midday, and was talking to Jack when the other car came our way. She heard him say “Oh s—-”, heard the impact, Jack saying to me “Oh my god, Tim” a couple of times, and me disoriented and moaning. Then the connection broke. I saw the car just before it hit, and the next thing I knew was realizing the airbags had opened and that the red stuff on them was blood from my head.

We got out of the car – I couldn’t open my door, and remember realizing I had to get out on Jack’s side, but I don’t remember doing it. A guy who saw the wreck helped me out on the passenger side, Jack tells me. Jack also immediately called 911, and I suppose some other folks did too, as police and EMTs were there within minutes. I had time to call Ellen back and let her know we were both okay, but it was quite traumatic for her, not knowing for those minutes what had happened to us.

May you never have an ambulance ride to a hospital while strapped to a backboard. It wasn’t awful, though; I just wish the necessity of it on no one. The EMTs, Ashley and Portia, were very good, though they cut our clothes off – we were in just our boxers for a while (mothers everywhere, know that we had clean underwear on). Jack seemed fine, but I’m guessing they did it to him because they thought he was a hottie. (Joke.) A few hours in the emergency room – we got into exam rooms immediately – then waits for for X-rays and a CAT scan for me and then the staples in the gash on my head.

All told I got home about 6 hours after the wreck, had something to eat, and slept the rest of the afternoon away. Now I’m ignoring work email.

I’ve posted pictures. We had our camera in the car, and while the EMTs were strapping me to the backboard just in case, I had Jack take some shots. He was great – calm throughout. I hope the other folks are okay. Altogether more than enough excitement for the month.

Update: Apparently, comments are broken. Working to fix this. Thanks to all who wrote to say so.

I am apparently late in finding the show with zefrank but it’s never too late.

Download Now: The Free iPod Book 2.0

It’s here: The Free iPod Book 2.0, by iLounge.com! Weighing in at 194 pages, this revised and expanded second edition of our popular Book is your one-stop answer to every major iPod and iTunes question… plus much, much more.

Stefan sent me this link to Men’s Journal: Things You Didn’t Know About Your Body, a bunch of facts and tips for health, well-being, and “I didn’t know that!” moments.

Lifehacker pointed to this Quick and Dirty Mosquito Trap. The floorboards of our screened porch let the little nasties in. I’ll try this.

I just found this WordPressDash

Many things happened; much food was eaten; many many photos were taken. Best experience: mule ride down the canyon on a snowy morning. Apparently it’s tough to get a spot, but as it was February, we signed up on Sunday and rode on Monday. Unforgettable.