Grant Cerny

Last weekend my parents dropped off a cardboard box. This box, I discovered, was a box full of desk materials I sent back from the UK to home, during my last few weeks of graduate school at Oxford. In it I discovered a lot of pencil leads, a well-wrapped ink pot, a pair of (now-broken) Wayfarer sunglasses, countless postcards of paintings I really liked, a handful of photos, a “Bananas in Pyjamas” mousepad, a box of 3 1/2″ floppy disks with many papers and notes inside, I’m sure, countless pens, a screwdriver, two blankets, two pairs of pants, and lastly: the pipe that Marina had sent to me from the High Street Tobacconist my first week in Oxford, because “every English Professor needs a pipe.”

That box had been sitting somewhere in my parents’ house for the past eleven years. Here’s a little collage of a handful of these items.

A handful of stuff from a box of desk things from graduate school

This one should have more staying power.  We used large storage container blocks for the first two tiers, then medium-sized blocks on the next few tiers, then went to the smaller blocks as we created the conical cupola.  The big block on the top is a keystone, I hope, forcing everything to hold shape.  It was a workout, and a lot of fun!

Here’s a 30-second video slideshow I made with Animoto.

Apparently there is more snow coming tonight!



Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

I built this igloo yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately because the rain was coming on, I didn’t get my real camera out and I only got this pic with a Blackberry.

Grant's Igloo, took 2 hours to build.

Then it rained all day today. What a terrible day weather-wise for the day after Christmas. The kids had been planning to play Eskimo Family, or Russian Tea Party again, in that igloo. But no, we were indoors all day while the Igloo slowly melted away, but to its credit (and to the credit of its craftsman), it still hasn’t actually fallen, it’s just a withered, low-weight skeleton of its former might. Maybe this is the way to create featherlight igloos. OK, enough futurism. Here is the withered igloo.

It still holds up, but barely. Surely signs of excellent craftsmanship.

I may post future updates on the demise of the Igloo of Christmas Day 2009, in subsequent updates to this post. Which I’m sure would be very well appreciated by the igloo-spotters amongst you.

Fancy post title – simple update. Maeve started crawling last week. Right now she’s making her first laps around the kitchen island, just like the “Circus Maximus” of Ella & Isabel fame. It must be wondrous to discover that the world is not only so colorful, but stretches out so many places you can go! Her world will keep getting bigger every day now… just like she’s getting bigger. That kid is turning into a little tank! Go, tank, go!

I visited Yosemite National Park as a sixteen-year-old in 1989 with my parents and one of my brothers.   I was awestruck and filed Yosemite as a “must return” location for future travels and generations.

This was reminded to me today when I read a poignant observance in the Bob Lefsetz Letter, which really, really made me think about how I contribute, and collect, and gain satisfaction (or not) from what I contribute (daily work).  Most of what I’ll discuss below, however, has to do with Yosemite.  I expect Bob will have no problem with my reprinting his post below.

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… Yosemite is an amusement park of the mind.  Rather than going on rides, being turned upside down by mechanical contraptions, you look at the landscape and your mind does somersaults.  How did this happen?  It’s hard to imagine a glacier that creates Half Dome, and how can El Capitan be almost perfectly vertical?

At the visitor center near Yosemite Falls there’s a bit of cell service.  But you get no e-mail on your BlackBerry, you’re disconnected from everything deemed important.  You’re placed in natural perspective.  We’re here for such a very short time.  What do we want to do, what do we want to accomplish?

Money won’t help you if you’re hiking in Tuolomne Meadows and it starts to rain.  Rich people get no better view from Glacier Point than poor.  In Yosemite, we’re all in it together.

On a nature walk behind the Ahwahnee Hotel, the ranger told us the John Muir story.  It’s stuck with me.  It’s shown me that those Americans not on the cover of “Us”, not featured in the “Forbes” 500 are not losers, but in many cases winners.  Money is not the only priority.  You need it to live, but how much?

Would you rap if there was no Biggie, no Jay-Z?

Would you play the guitar if there was no Eddie Van Halen?

Would you be in the music business if David Geffen hadn’t made all that money?

If not, give up.  Please.  You’re hurting yourself.  And you’ll leave no lasting mark.

But if you need to play, don’t lament that you’re not a millionaire.  The music should be enough.  If you’ve got a roof over your head, if you can pay the bills, you’re on the map.  Affecting a coterie deeply is more important than being a momentary comet, burning brightly and then flaming out.

So don’t do what you should do, do what you want to do.  Even if your chosen field is not perceived to be a road to riches.  Who knew all those chefs would become stars on the Food Network?  Who knew you could make a career in extreme sports?  Who knew gaming would outstrip both music and movies in revenue?

I’m not saying to forgo an education.  Fundamentals are important.  Only by establishing a foundation do you have a place to build.

It’s time to establish your own independence.  To make your own decisions.  So when you’re on your deathbed, surrounded by loved ones who will soon reach their demise also, you’ve got no regrets.

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Anyone who hasn’t been to Yosemite, who has reasonable means to go there, should go   Bob is right.  The magnitude, the amplitude and majesty of nature’s might must be witnessed, serves to humble any size of ego that approaches, tames it, and suggests much greater things extant and capable in this life we all share.

This is what I find striking.  At the age of 16, filled with libido and pop culture, I filed Yosemite in the “must take kids to” category, for the impression it made upon me.  I imagined coming back with my own kids, doing some mountain biking, camping with some tents, spending more time there exploring, much more time than my brief visit with my parents had allowed, and sharing this experience with my future family.  Twenty years later I have a family of my own and I plan to bring them to Yosemite at the first opportunity… very likely this September!

I just checked out of work.  I’m checking into the family for at least 2 weeks.  We’ve got a newborn baby coming any day now.

My wife is ready to deliver.  She’s ready for the end of this road.  I keep reminding her that it’s the beginning of a new road.   She understands but isn’t buying the positivity vibe.

Ready to go.  Bring it, girl.

This Friday evening got really interesting when I found out that Mike Arrington had written up our Love.com project in TechCrunch.  I found out when I had friends arriving for a cocktail and what with ditching to my laptop and watching the post comments I’m afraid I was a really bad host.

This likely had something to do with my talking to Frank Gruber about an hour beforehand, and Frank’s posting about the same.   I guess TC follows SOMEWHAT FRANK.

I suppose that most folks just now caught wind of what we are doing, but we’ve been developing it in Production (that means available live on the web) since February.  Now that I’m counting it, it’s less than 2 months, but it feels like a four or five…

Today we were supposed to have the new “Rainbow All-American Double Decker Playground Swingset” installed.  The kids and I had grand visions of a sunny fun weekend with the new playset.  But it rained.  And the guy who was supposed to come and install it for us, didn’t show, and didn’t call.  I had to call him to figure out what was going on.  Grrr.

Then.  We noticed the carpet in the basement was wet.  Turns out our water heater tank just came of age, and is leaking.  Dealt with that business.  Many phone calls.

Tubs, showers, dishwashing etc. are on sporadic duty until we get the water heater worked out.

We wake up. Cook & eat waffles. Put on coffee. Sleep a little more.

Get up and go. On the road 2 hours – lots of cops – arrive in Beaverkill NY where my mom & dad are building a Fountainhead of a lake house.

Kids are surprised to find cousin Amelia and her parents Ian & Kristina at lake. Much joy.

Dad & Kids tour new house. very large and tall. Kids play awhile. Dad takes Ella & Isabel out on the lake briefly before we turn around and go home

Another 2 hour drive – lots of cops. Kids fall asleep quickly on the way back. When we get home to Powder Horn, it’s dad’s turn to relax. No not even, Dad! Forget about that! Dad disassembles the current playset, since the new one is coming tomorrow. Wife Kristin is about to birth baby 3 so Dad is in
hyperdrive. Next up – TUB TIME.