reyes-chow :: FAITH

My unintentional technology desert

I had to sit down and have one of "those" conversations with Eldest yesterday.

Me, "Honey, I have some bad news."
Eldest, "Yes, dad?"
Me, "I lost our iPod."
Eldest, "Daaaaaaad?!?!?!

All-in-all she handled it pretty well.  She paid for half of the iPod so we will figure out how to make it up to her beyond the clothing, food, shelter and love we already provide on a daily basis ;-)

But that is not the worst of it as the iPod was only part of a bonanza for someone who does not mind using the tech fruits from another's labor.  I somehow, someway lost my "Man Bag" last week and it has not turned up.  I posted something on Craigslist and have retraced my steps through every cafe and dive that I have been hanging out in.  No dice.  And while there is always a chance a good samaritan will turn it in or it is simply buried under a pile of something in our house, I think my stuff is gone.

ipod 80, gone
digital camera, gone
flip video camera, gone
chrome bag, gone
bravado for never losing anything, destroyed

And while these are only possessions, I am feeling pretty sucky about the whole situation.  All that money, all that technology, all that fun.  Gone.

Bummer.

I was never a fan . . .

I was going to try and post something slightly meaningful, but then my eyes were blinded by this little tidbit,  Yep,it is true!

I watch AI and I don't care what you think ;-)

Okay, so many of you know that I am big American Idol fan.  Without trying to defend myself from the mocking that has been and will continue to be launched my way by those who drink haterade for fun, here are my picks for this year based on nothing more than, "I like them."

I KNOW there are more out there who also watch the AI. 
Out yourselves if you dare.

For the men // David Cook

For the Women // Ramiele Malubay

Watch out for // Carly Smithson


Sorry she is gone // Kady Malloy

Glad he is gone // Danny Noriega


My all-time fav American Idol // Ruben Studdard

Too old for an ethnic identity crisis

If you have not heard of this new blog, Stuff White People Like, you might be living under a blog rock.  I have been seeing this blog being referenced all over the freaking place.  I figured, OK, let me go and see what the big deal is.  After all, I have 3 1/2 White people living in my house - well make the 3 5/8 of you count my 1/8 Spanish blood, but that's for another day - so I should know, right?

Oh no!!!!!!

I may just be White.

Or at least we are now defining all upper-middle-class educated urban hipsters as White.

This is freaking funny!

And true.

Welcome to MBCC.

Jokes people, jokes ;-)

Community, Conflict and jpgmag.com

So I did it.  Despite my yearnings to stay with this very cool site, I deleted my account from www.jpgmag.com. Seems kind of insignificant, but for those of us who have enjoyed the style, vibe and communal nature of this SF-based mag site, recent developments have tainted the whole experience.

Now granted we only get one side from Derek - BTW, I only know him through JPGmag and 1 degree of separation - in his post The Real Story of JPG Magazine and the follow-up Why I Did It, but if only a small portion of what is said is true, man . . . and I thought the church could be harsh.

Again, I realize in the whole scheme of things, this conflict at a high-tech artsy website pales in comparison to issues of global violence and poverty, but there are a few observations to make that might be helpful for us as all as we strive to be in authentic community.  Here are a couple of quotes from his posts that are some nuggets that we all might do well to remember.

On Transparency: I chose to tell this story because I wanted the community I spent three years growing to know that I didn’t leave on a whim. As sad and embarrassing as it is to tell, I put the truth out there because my personal and professional credibility is on the line.

On Truth Telling: If there’s one thing I’ve learned about community-building, it’s this: Do Not Lie. People are too smart and well-connected to believe a lie anymore. So, with that in mind, the story I’m about to tell is absolutely true as I experienced it.

On Community: I’ve always said that JPG doesn’t own its community - it rents. And that rent is paid by treating the community members with honesty, integrity, and respect.

Farewell once awesome jpgmag.com it's been real.

Freegan gone too far

Okay, so it is the day after Easter.  I am reveling in a the Sunday glow of good attendance, a great family meal and the overall reminder of the blessings of God.  this day I am enjoying a casual lunch at the Brickhouse Cafe when I observed the following incident.
I kid you not.

1. Two guys eating their burgers and fries at a table across from me, I'll call them "Eaters."
2. Group of young hipsters waiting for their to go orders, I'll call them "Waiters."
3. Eater #1 and #2 finish their burgers and leave.
4. Waiter #1 looks at the plate of Eater #1
5. Waiter #1 grabs uneaten french fry off of said plate of Eater #1
6. Waiter #2 looks horrified at what she just saw and says, "What the f@#!, that's nasty!"
7. Waiter #1 says, "What? It was right there!"

"It was right there." Let me echo Waiter #2, "What the f@#!"   THAT is the justification for eating something that other people have clearly been touching, people you don't know, food that is not even good for you?  Now I am trying not to be a prude about food and such, and I am sure in the eyes of God, not a big deal, but in my world, come on!  It is one thing if survival comes into play or if you are a committed Freegan, but "It was right there" as the justification? My solidarity stops there. 

Note to self: Teach daughters not to eat food off of another person's plate while waiting for their to go order, even if it is right there.