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As of yesterday morning around 9 a.m. I was laid off from my job with [local portland] design company and I can’t say that I’m too sad about it. I will miss the people that I worked with as they were some solid, fun-lovin’ folks, but certain circumstances at that job always left me unsatisfied and stressed out at the end of the day.

Soon after leaving the building I rode my bike to NE Alberta St. and had coffee at Random Order, writing down my thoughts and calling my parents. The call to my parents wasn’t for money as I know they don’t have any, but was caused by a strange urge to reach out to people. It didn’t help much.

I rode to SE Ankeny and 28th to sit at Crema, reading a book, and not having much of a care in the world. Had I been more responsible I wouldn’t have immediately begun spending money, but responsible I am not.

I settled in for a night of drinking at East Burn, then Binks for their 8th anniversary party, then back to East Burn. I realized that all day the only people I had spoken to were other unemployed PDX folks. How do they survive?

I filed for unemployment.

Last night I fell asleep eating a banana and peanut butter from the jar.

What’s next? Well, Today my goal was to email local folks that may need Drupal/wordpress or just general design/build work. The question always returns, “Can we see your work?”. Alas, almost 2 years of web work have not yielded as many “live” projects as I’d like. So, today I begin building my portfolio and blogging aimlessly and poorly about my unemployment and scumbaggery. Let’s hope tomorrow the quality of my sentences improves.

Filed under news by adrian on Tuesday, June 9th, 2009 at 1:41:36 pm
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I fucking love this song.

Filed under news by adrian on Thursday, June 4th, 2009 at 11:14:22 am
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I’m a little surprised that this one hasn’t been used more. Twitter, in certain ways, is kind of a symptom of this anyway: Existential Dread

Less surprised at these results, though I believe that many people aren’t using the term correctly. Existential Crisis

I need to step it up, I used to be 14,000 in the world: Cursebird

Filed under news by adrian on Thursday, June 4th, 2009 at 10:15:14 am
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This is a great video about bicycle safety and the breakdown of types of accidents that cyclists/motorists face.

Death Rides on my Left

Filed under news by adrian on Friday, March 27th, 2009 at 3:36:01 pm
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From http://www.medicinenet.com/pneumonia/article.htm:
What is pneumonia?

Pneumonia is an infection of one or both lungs which is usually caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi. Prior to the discovery of antibiotics, one-third of all people who developed pneumonia subsequently died from the infection. Currently, over 3 million people develop pneumonia each year in the United States. Over a half a million of these people are admitted to a hospital for treatment. Although most of these people recover, approximately 5% will die from pneumonia. Pneumonia is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.

How do people “catch pneumonia”?

Some cases of pneumonia are contracted by breathing in small droplets that contain the organisms that can cause pneumonia. These droplets get into the air when a person infected with these germs coughs or sneezes. In other cases, pneumonia is caused when bacteria or viruses that are normally present in the mouth, throat, or nose inadvertently enter the lung. During sleep, it is quite common for people to aspirate secretions from the mouth, throat, or nose. Normally, the body’s reflex response (coughing back up the secretions) and immune system will prevent the aspirated organisms from causing pneumonia. However, if a person is in a weakened condition from another illness, a severe pneumonia can develop. People with recent viral infections, lung disease, heart disease, and swallowing problems, as well as alcoholics, drug users, and those who have suffered a stroke or seizure are at higher risk for developing pneumonia than the general population.

Once organisms enter the lungs, they usually settle in the air sacs of the lung where they rapidly grow in number. This area of the lung then becomes filled with fluid and pus as the body attempts to fight off the infection.

From Mayoclinic.com:
Definition

Every year, more than 60,000 Americans die of pneumonia — an inflammation of the lungs that’s usually caused by infection with bacteria, viruses, fungi or other organisms. Pneumonia is a particular concern for older adults and people with chronic illnesses or impaired immune systems, but it can also strike young, healthy people. Worldwide, it’s a leading cause of death in children.

There are many kinds of pneumonia ranging in seriousness from mild to life-threatening. Pneumonia acquired while in the hospital can be particularly virulent and deadly. Although signs and symptoms vary, many cases of pneumonia develop suddenly, with chest pain, fever, chills, cough and shortness of breath. Infection often follows a cold or the flu, but it can also be associated with other illnesses or occur on its own.

Although antibiotics can treat some of the most common forms of bacterial pneumonias, antibiotic-resistant strains are a growing problem. For that reason, and because the disease can be very serious, it’s best to try to prevent infection in the first place.

Filed under news by adrian on Monday, February 2nd, 2009 at 11:00:59 am
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I failed at Blog Action Day as well as kicking of NaNoWriMo on time. I haven’t updated in months. What the hell? Hell. Work has been keeping me oppressed and a trip to Kansas City, MO has my head spinning. updates, overhaul and new content/purpose coming soon.

Filed under news by adrian on Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 at 1:11:15 pm
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Filed under news, nothing by adrian on Friday, August 15th, 2008 at 10:32:08 am
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MINI Pedi-Cab Stunt in China: Not So Green : TreeHugger.

Being a former pedicabber, this little bit of greenwashing from MINI grabbed by attention. Promoting your AUTOMOBILE company using green transportation methods such as pedicabbing by way of shipping your husk of a product all over the world (using resources along the way) to make your company look green is just wrong. No getting around it. Clever stunt, but totally not appreciated.

Filed under bicycle, news by adrian on Tuesday, August 12th, 2008 at 3:01:04 pm
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Rubin Hirschbeck :: Saatchi Online.

Oil on wood
66,5X57 cm
(Women on three feet)

I found Rubin Hirschbeck several months ago and keep returning to his awkward figure paintings as a reminder of something challenging that isn’t being made in the city that I live in. These aren’t pretty. These aren’t easy. I love his portrayal of women with exaggerated features, thick faces and joints, involved in awkward interactions on their own or with ugly men (or other women such as themselves). Awkward art.

Filed under art by adrian on Monday, August 11th, 2008 at 9:24:28 pm
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Willamette Week | “No Car, No Problem” | August 6th, 2008.

Article from local (to me) paper, the Willamette Week, with an example of how families can live without an automobile given the use of single-day or hourly car rental services for far trips.

My only point of contention is that I have been a car-free cyclist for two years and wouldn’t mind having the use of an auto or a year-long trimet pass for those few obstacles that arise – though, since I wasn’t already a motorist I wasn’t eligible for the Low-Car Diet featured in the article. I won’t complain though. I have been happy about not having set foot in a car in over a year and having to find alternate means for far travel and heavy moving (so far I haven’t really found solutions, just the occasional helping hand or excessive bike trip… no real trips though. Not until I build my touring bike!)

Filed under bicycle, nothing by adrian on Monday, August 11th, 2008 at 9:15:33 pm
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