Still Awesome

This video is from 1998, which was before I could legally drink. It is still completely fantastic, but it makes me think several things:

1) Dude, this video is old;
2) Dude, I'M old;
3) Maybe I should get drunk and watch this again. You know, now that the option is available to me.

You gotta love those crazy Finn brothers....

Everything is a Remix

Everything is a Remix from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.

Honolulu Marathon 2010

Back in June I officially signed up for the 2010 Honolulu Marathon. The special early registration discount for local runners was too good to pass up. As I get older I become more of a sucker for "a good deal". Save about $100 by signing up early? You got me. Uncle. Unfortunately, I am still on the fence about whether I am actually gonna run this year. So I decided to make a pro and con list. Here it is:

Pro: The feeling of accomplishment after running 26.2.
Con: Porta potties

Pro: The starting line. Feeling the nervous excitement of all the runners. Hearing the gun sound and the explosion of the fireworks.
Con: Blisters

Pro: Early morning downtown Honolulu in all of its Christmas time glory. The giant Christmas tree at Honolulu Hale and festive Bishop Square (they decorate the trees with red, white and green lights, which turns the square into a forest of giant cauliflower, broccoli and evil broccoli).
Con: Having to run almost every day from here to the end of November to get where I need to be.

Pro: The crowd of people lining the streets and cheering you on. These people did not have to wake up at 5:00 to stand on the side lines to encourage you. But they did. Because they are that nice.
Con: The heat. My god, the heat.

Pro: Ice cold Gatorade and water soaked sponges right when you need it.
Con: Finding out they serve the Gatorade by scooping it out of what looks to be a giant trash can. And that the sponges are used.

Pro: Playlists! And skipping to Eminem's Lose Yourself to get you through a rough patch.
Con: Ipod dead. Silence.

Pro: The final 200 meter stretch.
Con: The final 2 miles leading up to the 200 meter stretch.

Pro: Picking up the shirt given only to HM finishers.
Con: Picking up the BRIGHT NEON GREEN shirt given only to HM finishers.

Pro: The excitement of the night before.
Con: The feeling of the week after. The feeling immediately after the marathon reminds me of lyrics from the song Accidental Death by Rilo Kiley, "You're lying motionless on your back, And your legs aren't taking anymore requests".

Still undecided. Mainly, it's the porta potties that get me.

Awesome Sighting Of The Day

This morning I spotted a gentlemen, probably in his 50's or 60's, and of some sort of middle eastern decent. His head was shaved bald and he had tied a colorful sports bandanna across his forehead. He wore running shoes and track pants and covered his slightly protruding belly with a Gold's Gym T-shirt. He also sported a well-worn backpack. The awesome part? In his right hand he carried a Trapper Keeper style folder adorned with the most adorably sad kitten face you can imagine.

I'd like to think he is some kind of fitness guru who keeps his business records in his kitten folder.

Totally makes me smile :)

David Sedaris

Just got tickets to see David Sedaris. Orchestra seats. Third row from the front and right smack dab in the middle.

So excited!

Space is AWESOME

More Images from the newly refurbished Hubble Telescope here.

Everyone's a Collector

I got my degree in Anthropology with an emphasis in Physical Anthropology. Which basically means many hours of looking at bones. That little bump on the inside of your ankle, that's your Medial Malleolus (that's probably the extent of what I remember).

Anyway, this article that ran over the weekend reminded me of when I visited the Hickam identification lab (then known as CILHI) way back when. The lab does the identification of all recovered remains of soldiers lost abroad. I'm not sure how things are setup now, but back then there was a series of about 6 tables each laid with the remains of what was thought to be a recovered soldier. Essentially, it's a big puzzle. Not only do you need to piece together the fractured remains, but once you do you need to look at the structural indicators on the bones and the overall body to help you identify (in general terms) who you are looking at. Male or Female? How old? What build/stature? etc. They also have a separate odontology department that helps more specifically identify remains when teeth are available. Pretty fascinating to see one of these labs in operation.

The one thing that really stands out in my mind though was not related to the actual identification process at all. Apparently HPD had uncovered a special little find when it had to remove an unstable older woman from her home. What they had found they turned over to the lab. The prize? Several sets of woman's pantyhose filled with patella. Patella is the proper name for your knee cap bones. There were probably between 20 or 30 patella in all. All neatly tied up and organized. Everyone assumed she unearthed them from a graveyard. But you have to wonder. I guess we all have hobbies, some more morbid than others.