Matthew Alan Thyer's Blog, page 12

Hallelujah

I can’t let this slide anymore, nope, not going to do it. Seriously, is the pantry of Xmas songs so picked over that we have no other choice? Since the season rolled over me like an elephant in bed and commercial establishments began playing themed music I’ve heard plenty of annoying stuff. Everything from that sparkly, jazz-hands rendition of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite that gets more airtime from its grave than an extra crawling across a set on The Walking Dead to the creepier version of...

Warm Up

What, exactly, broke him. This man, who, day after day, stands on a little island’s crumbling remnant concrete sidewalks and strums away at his guitar while rain ceaselessly dampens his strawberry hair.

Never far away from his well-worn guitar case, for instance, you will find a beer or bottle. I’ve heard him comment more than once, in a jovial manner that belies a remarkable self-knowledge, “Every day, playing my guitar and drinking myself to sleep.” Every damn day, I think to myself standin...

Keys

Before me is eleven inches of trim functionality. Last Saturday, in an effort to write once more, I plonked down a few hundred clams for a used 2015 MacBook Air. Since then I’ve been able to make steady progress on the outline for Distance, today I’m well into the second act.

That’s some really good news, my word count more or less stopped at the end of August and I spent most of the summer struggling to wring words onto the page. This post is a review of the “new” machine.

Size Matters

Relat...

Sony AUX-AX100 Installation

I should preface this by saying that it’s not completed yet, but I’ve mostly installed the new stereo head unit in my 1991 Mitsubishi Delica Chamonix. This whole thing turned into a bit of a wiring nightmare which is why it took me so darn long to finish up. Well, that and the fact that I decided to wait for installation of several elements until I get an intact windshield back in the van.

What Was I Dealing With?

So the van came from Japan with a karaoke machine and a TV installed. All of th...

What Do You Like?

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I’ve been considering what I’m going to work on next. Have some thoughts? Please do share them with me.

Going It Alone

Yesterday, a friend from what seems another lifetime, posted a job opening for work that I used to be qualified to do. He’s a good guy, working with good people and my first impulse was to dust off my resume.

And that’s me pretty much in a nutshell. I never bothered testing the waters with a toe, I’ve always just jumped in head first. More than once this has resulted in me gasping for air as my chest contracts and a vagus nerve shorts in both literal and metaphorical deep, arctic waters.

Back...

Invigorating

I just spent an hour wandering around one of the many island beaches we have here on Vashon taking pictures and wallowing in the autumn weather. Thick gray clouds, chilly air and the umami scent of big leaf maple detritus decomposing. Consequently, I’ve got sand in my shoes and a song in my heart.

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My New Old Van

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If you follow me on Instagram you may have noticed a number of strange vehicle pictures creeping into my feed. If you know me at all you know that my superpowers have a weakness. My dumb ass just can’t stay away from old vans. Vanagans, microbuses, pretty much anything that looks like it was designed to roll over Martian sands. Well, I’ve gone and bought another one. This time the king-daddy of vans (IMHO) a 1991 Mitsubishi Delica L300 Chamonix Space Gear.

Mine began its life in Kyoto, Japan...

Last Sunny Days for a While

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Aral and Nathan make it to the border of Wilderness

Last Friday, because there wasn’t any school, I loaded up Aral and his good friend Nathan and meandered my way up into the Cascades. The goal was to get the boys and me out on a trail to enjoy some of the last dregs of sunshine before its gone. We ended up climbing up to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness border via the Pacific Crest Trail northbound from Snoqualmie Pass.

To be sure, this section of trail is a favorite of mine, so it’s no wonder wh...

Today I Give You

A picture of a volcano pretending to be Gandalf.

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