James McMurry

Some recent kayaking has helped me decide that this really needs to happen soon. Maybe sometime this fall…

My second Ethiopian experience was just as good, though I ordered a single dish rather than a full meal. I’m a fan.

BTW, this restaurant doesn’t take credit cards, so bring the cash if you stop in.

It was a great time. Delicious Ethiopian food right down the street, then some rockin’ out.

Mates of State was badass.

I especially enjoyed Ben Gibbard’s marching in place as though his ankles were shackled.

The sound was especially nice. Not too loud, and since we were right behind the sound board, the mix was just right.

I thought Transatlanticism was an impressive crescendo on the record, but it was even more of an impact live.

The Fillmore was darn hot.

I’ve applied as a non-degree seeking graduate student. This is the first actual step I’ve taken towards this goal.

I have to take the GRE again… :\

...according to the official results.

I ran my first 5k this weekend, and though I don’t know my exact time, I know it was under 29 minutes.

I was pleasantly surprised.

I had two running goals for the summer: run a 5k, and run a 5k in less than 30 minutes. Guess I’ll need to set another goal.

Given the amount of shoving and sneaking ahead going on in the men’s line for the finisher’s table, I don’t know how they’ll provide an accurate finish time. I know for certain that I finished at least one position higher than the official results will show. That lack of sportsmanship was an annoyance, but it doesn’t matter; I had a good time running.

I still find it strange when I say that… it wasn’t long ago when I fairly well hated running…

It was fun! We had a welcome break from the heat today, which helped a lot. I thought about walking for a while on the last mile, but I hung in and actually pushed at the end, thanks to Walter’s encouragement.

The best move I made was to get some real running shorts yesterday. Much more comfortable, much less swamp ass. The fabric, it wicks…

I definitely want to do this again. I’d like to improve my time, but mostly I enjoyed being around several hundred people who all wanted to do something good for the charity and for themselves.

I’ve been working with my good friend Steve on some ridiculous music lately. I’ve written a couple of songs with my guitar, and the finished products feature (?) me actually playing guitar into a recording device.

Happily, Steve’s sonic arsenal includes pitch and tempo correction. My advice to novice musicians is to make friends with a professional musician who knows what he’s doing.

I find it very difficult to play with a pick in time, but I suspect this, like all technical problems when playing an instrument, is something I can solve with lots of practice. Not that I have a great track record in solving technical problems with lots of practice, but it’s rumored to be the answer.

So I still don’t think I’ve learned to play the guitar, but I sure am having fun with my limited abilities. It’s nice to be creating something again.

I’ve just registered for my first race, not that I’ll be doing much racing. I merely want to run the entire distance without stopping or walking. That’s a good initial goal, I think.

I usually run four miles twice a week, and I often take a break and walk a bit just after mile three to catch my breath after the hill. I’ll try to do that just after the finish line this time. Seems possible.

I thought I’d get an Intel Mac mini, but then my workplace graciously provided me with a MacBook Pro. I’m good on computers for now…

I think I’m at the point where I can do this, and that’s a nice change. I usually choose not to utilize this talent, but that’s no reason to leave this marked as undone. :\

Just to see how much I remember, how much I’ve forgotten, and how much it will hurt.

I’m afraid of opening the case though; it’s probably a biohazard. Nine years.

This is off my list: I haven’t watched TV at home in four months, so it’s not such a useful goal.

When I start watching TV again (which I’m sure I will), it will be back on the list. At the top.

I don’t know about “bounce”, but I’m at least up.

I cheat though: My alarm plays the radio at t0, then the buzzer at t1, which is the time I’d like to wake up. I attempt to bounce at t1, since that’s the first “ring”.

I’m enjoying the extra time in the morning, and t1 keeps moving later and later because I know I’ll get up. That means I get more sleep. That makes it easier to get up. Nice.

I never finished my music degree. That’s fine, though I was awfully close.

I’m thinking about applying again in a different area, going part time with no pressure or deadlines. Might be worthwhile…

It’s all about options. Dual-boot isn’t all that exciting though; I want to be able to run apps side-by-side.

Still, I receive strange pleasure from seeing it work. And Boot Camp makes it easy.

Remember, this is beta software and you might toast your computer along with all the files you care so much about…

I know I’ve completed this task because it’s rainy today, and I’m sad that I didn’t ride my bike. (Rain and glasses and automobile traffic are a bad biking combination, in my opinion.)

I’m not sure how it’ll go once the heat arrives, but my morning checklist now includes deciding if I have to drive. Sweet.

Thanks to the Robots, this is the new list.

Thanks to the Robots, this is the new list.

My goal for this week is to ride to work four out of the five days. I nearly didn’t ride today, but RadarInMotion showed a break in two lines of rain, so I went for it. I got a little damp at the end, but no harm done.