Dec 222004
 

I officially and somewhat belatedly accept defeat in my attempt to participate in Holidailies this year. I’ve fallen too far behind to try to catch up at this point. Perhaps next year.

My project list continues to grow. I’ve got two websites and a pet film-related project slated for this site bearing down on me in addition to the annual holiday card that may become an e-card this year due to my dead hard drive and lost contact list. Many of you are about to get a mass e-mail requesting address/phone/e-mail updates so I can get back up-to-date. My geek ego is still reeling from the fact that I didn’t back the damn thing up. I technically have most things duplicated on my work pc and on my phone, but there were quite a few addresses that were only used at Christmas time residing only on the dead hard drive.

We managed to hit Trail of Lights on Monday night. Our tradition of going to Green Mesquite beforehand was thwarted. They were closed for their own holiday party. Our alternate choice was the newly-opened Austin Java in Pizza Nizza’s old digs. If the crowd that I saw Monday night and Sunday afternoon is any indication, they’ve made a wise decision in moving to that location. The old location in Barton Creek mall never seemed to get much traffic for some reason.

 Posted by on December 22, 2004 at 5:49 pm
Dec 222004
 

I just noticed that the City Council has amended the ordinance banning skateboarding to include the new city hall. They’ve posted photos of the damage that prompted the amendment. Some of it does look pretty bad, particularly the bottom center photo where people have clearly been doing grinds and leaving behind a fair amount of paint.

As the press release mentions, this highlights the need for a skatepark in Austin and skaters will soon get their wish. Our local park, Mabel Davis, is finally undergoing remediation for the contaminated landfill on which it sits. If memory serves, the park has been closed for four years since the discovery of pesticide and broken car battery cases in different parts of the park. The history and details of the situation are too long for me to go into here, but the cleanup will result in the loss of much of the tree cover in the park, making it an ideal candidate for a long-planned city-sponsored skate park. I think it’s a really cool addition to the neighborhood and expect that my six-year-old is going to have a great time with it once it opens next fall.

 Posted by on December 22, 2004 at 10:53 am