Parotting myndsweep and eilanwhiteswan

You're an African grey. You are smart talkative andin your own way very pretty. What parrot are you? brought to you by Quizilla

Saying goodbye to Pearl

So, I'm saying my goodbyes to Pearl today. Pearl is my VW bus, and I've finally decided to sell her. This is a bittersweet moment. Today I'm selling my VW bus, Pearl. (She's named "Pearl" because that was Janis Joplin's nickname)I've had her since 1993, and traveled many places with her. We've been to lots of Rainbow gatherings, on consulting gigs in San Francisco, up and down the Rockies, to the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico, too.I haven't been driving her much recently, and so it really became time to let her go. I have found a buyer who is about the age I was when I first got her, and he's "always wanted a VW bus". I think she's going to a good home.So, this is my tribute to Pearl, may she travel many new and exciting places and treat her new person well!

The Ultimate Rush

I went to a nifty beachside attraction in Biloxi last week called The Ultimate Rush. So, this thing is like a cross between a bungee jump and a swing. There are three tower structures, two of which are parallel and the third is set back behind and between the others.You get strapped into a harness, then suspended horizontally (face down) from a set of cords attached to the two parallel towers. Then they slowly reel you 110 feet up to the top of the third tower. When they give the word using a bullhorn, you pull your own ripcord and it lets you go. You swing down to within about 10 feet of the ground and then out over the beach. You end up swinging back and forth this way 6-8 times until you run out of momentum. The freefall at the start, and then at the apex of each swing was the real kicker for me.It was an absolute blast! I highly recommend doing this if you ever see one. Anyone else ever done this?

Gimmee a drink

""Which cocktail are you?"" brought to you by QuizillaHey, I don't really see myself as traditional!

What a week!

Whew, helluva week!Last Friday (Feb 21) I drove to Biloxi, MS to take part in a two-day core shamanism workshop. The drive wasn't too bad (5.5 hours in the rain), but after I arrived at the hotel my car wouldn't start! The starter on my old '86 bimmer had finally died. I say finally because it had been trying to die for the past month or so, but I was too lazy to fix it. Bad acorn! Bad acorn!The interesting thing about Biloxi, if you haven't been there in 15 years, like me, is that they now have gambling. Long/short story on my gambling is that, no, I didn't come out ahead this time. I did enjoy playing craps for the first time this trip, though! After losing several hundred across several days at craps, I resorted to my old standby, blackjack. That went better, well, uh, until it went worse again ;) Anyway, enough of that.The shamanism class was incredible. I'd done shamanic journeying before, but the more organized small-group teaching helped me get much more out of it. We did lower and upper world journeys, and I learned several techniques to help recover lost power for others. This was a real verification for me that this should be a more important part of my path. I also met some neat folks, including a Reiki master from Alpharetta, who will probably do my attunements in mid March.So, the special personal challenge of the broken starter is that I therefore needed to ASK FOR HELP. Yes, I'm not good at doing that, but I'm getting better ;) Long/short -- I ended up getting rides back and forth to the workshop, and was able to offer some folks without a place to stay room in my hotel, so it was all okay.On Monday, I bought a new starter and decided that I *should* be able to put it in myself. Well, that may have been true if I'd had the right tools and wasn't trying to do this in the hotel parking lot. I finally gave up and found that the cheapest mechanics in the world work in Biloxi. It cost me all of $35 in labor! $35!! I feel like I should drive to Biloxi the next time I need car repair!So, I wasted a few more (frustrating) days around Biloxi with a new acquaintance, and finally drove to New Orleans on Thursday.For the unitiated, Mardi Gras is Mar 4, 2003 and the week before is a huge party in NOLA. Thanks to Irish and earendel, I did find Lafitte's, which I concur is the best bar in the quarter. At Lafitte's, I met Mario Grillo, the extremely nutty editor for a number of porn magazines.I also left an offering at Marie Laveau's tomb in St. Louis #1. Thanks for the pointer on that, too, earendel.Across the rest of the evening, I met lots of beautiful people, some of who were mostly naked. Mmmm. I also danced until about 5:00am. I walked around the quarter and danced so much that my feet were sore for two days afterwards. I stumbled to my car and slept until 7:30am, then drove to a rest area and slept again until about noon. Finally I was on the road again and got back to Atlanta around 7pm on Friday. I'm definitely going to start doing Mardi Gras every year.I ended up with a head cold (and mucho exhaustion) and fell asleep soon after getting home. Unfortunately, I missed beauty_moves's phone call after the crowd returned from The Magic Flute, which really meant I missed myndsweep getting experienced. (Think "JH")Well, I think that's enough, don't you?

Bizarre signs seen on my recent travels

On a roadside billboard:Time flies when you're having Pork.Two of the same sign tacked to the back of a large piece of machinery on a flatbed trailer:Do Not Hump

(scots) gaelic & swahili

What do Scots Gaelic and Swahili have in common?

At least one thing: I'm interested in learning both. Anyone know a fluent speaker of either? I pick up languages very quickly (call me 'audio-eidetic'), but I really need in-person interaction to do it.

Anybody know someone?

Meadery

I've spoken to a few folks recently about the concept of a meadery -- in this case, really a brewpub that brews its own mead (and traditional non-hopped ales, too)....hmm, first a little backgroundAs most of you know, I am what one might call a "serial entrepreneur", which is to say that I've got the entrepreneurial bug in a bad way and I've done it several times in a row now. I'm currently working on two businesses that are both going decently well. However, I've been in computer and technology related fields for 20+ years now, and frankly I'm getting sick of it. So, I've been thinking long and hard about what my next project might be....So, I thought that opening a restaurant/pub/microbrewery might be fun, especially if I create a place that really appeals to the pagan community. There must be several dozen pagan groups that meet weekly in Atlanta, and I'd like to create a place where they ALL want to meet -- perhaps even offer freebies/goodies to get them to come.So, I'm opening this idea up for suggestions from the LJ peanut gallery. The two things foremost on my mind are:1. If such a place existed, would you be a regular patron?2. If such a place existed, where best to locate it?