http://www.svsapien.net/wordpress Searching for the Meaning of the Word Civilization Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:35:33 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I love my birthday - it's myyyyyy day. James and I agree that birthdays are the most important holidays. We went and bought me some books, then went to a fancy bakery that does the kinds of cakes I think of as BD cakes and got slices of Black ... http://www.svsapien.net/wordpress/2008/12/01/yeah/ I don't know, but I had a ball yesterday. James and I rode out to this big empty square. I remembered it being very quiet there one Sunday when we were looking for a beach, so it seemed like a good place to try my hand at riding the motorcycle ... http://www.svsapien.net/wordpress/2008/11/17/am-i-a-rock-star-or-a-comedian/ Imagine, just for a second trying to accurately describe one second in the life of our universe, our galaxy, solar system, world, country, city, the very place you are standing right now... In one second the smell of the 2000 automobiles in front of me violently rushes past into the ... http://www.svsapien.net/wordpress/2008/11/11/for-a-moment/ Our usual lunch guys did us an accidental favor. When the flood happened, around the 20th, they closed down.  I assumed it had something to do with the unsanitary nature of serving food while ankle deep in ditch water, but I was wrong.  Turns out that they close down for a ... http://www.svsapien.net/wordpress/2008/11/04/new-routine/ So, on Monday the 27 of October in 2008 in Trivandrum, Kerala, India the rain just stopped, kaput! It was like someone just turned the faucet off. On Tuesday the 28th the sun came out and Dena and I hit the road on our Royal Enfield Bullet headed for the ... http://www.svsapien.net/wordpress/2008/11/01/hitting-the-road/ 12 years ago I met Dena for our first "real" date at Louie The Blacksmiths Halloween party and we have been almost inseparable since that day, that day being October 25 1996. Two short years after that day we called all of our friends and family together to meet us ... http://www.svsapien.net/wordpress/2008/10/25/12-whole-years/ I have never been so unwilling to be mistaken for a Christian. It's been a long time now since I claimed that belief system, and I've gotten used to the subtle and blatant ways of cluing the people around me into the fact that ... http://www.svsapien.net/wordpress/2008/10/16/no-god/ Chapter 1 Lania dripped sweat. Dizzy with exhilaration, she tripped on the ramp down to the fresh water of Lake Union, catching herself on the wooden two-by-four railing. Her reflection in the water laughed at her lack of grace. Her thick-muscled legs looked solid enough, but they felt ... http://www.svsapien.net/wordpress/2008/10/15/blue-water-dreams-chapter-1/ There is etiquette and the rules. There is also non-verbal communication, the cues that are below conscious interpretation most of the time. If you find yourself studying someone's posture, expression, hand motions for meaning, for clues about the meaning behind their ... http://www.svsapien.net/wordpress/2008/10/13/the-barbarians/ No, really. Here's how it works. Put the clothes in the side with the big bin.  Turn the water faucet on. Once there's enough water, turn the water off.  Add soap.  Set the timer for the agitator. When the timer goes off, click over to "Drain" to, you know, drain. Click back and refill.  ... http://www.svsapien.net/wordpress/2008/10/11/i-love-my-washing-machine/