David at Rothbury, July 4, 2008

Very excited to see Colette and David arrive from Los Angeles today, for a long weekend in Austin. Most excited to go with them as guests of Caroline and KLRU to see Radiohead tape an episode of Austin City Limits. David and Colette were in our circle of folks who made the trip to Rothbury, Michigan for Rothbury Music Festival, so it will be a reunion of sorts. Today is a lazy day with a lots of sun, but a chilly wind out of the north. Quite a difference from yesterdays warm day in the 80s.

Tomorrow is the 84th Zilker Park Kite Festival. We jokingly refer to it as “People Fest” given the experience last year in which thousands upon thousands of people stood in Zilker Park, with absolutely no wind whatsoever. Just a line of food concessions and not much else going on.

Rendering of the future Austin F1 track

Was lucky to meet a few of the guys from Circuit of the Americas this week, again at ACL Live (for a taping of the Grammy-winning duo The Civil Wars). They are incredibly pumped up for the upcoming Formula 1 race this Fall, and the more I learn about it, and the swirl of parties and events surrounding it, the more I’m looking forward to the whole F1 racing world coming to Austin.

The family is in a new home. Now if we can just get the bathroom sinks delivered from the factory, I can stop having to explain that the beard I’ve grown is a matter of function. No bathroom sink means no shaving. I can’t bring myself to shave in the shower. Too big of a project and I have too many other projects on my plate. Like deciding whether or not I like Helvetica for the address label on the new mailbox. Or obsessively employing geometry in my (to this point successful) hanging of perfectly level and spaced artwork.

The neighborhood is great. I can count among my neighbors some new friends, and they seem to enjoy making good margaritas. They seem to enjoy making babies, too, which means the kids have other kids their age to play with. It’s a long way from the days of driving forty-five minutes across Los Angeles to eat a hot dog and have a beer. And as the summer days and Texas heat rapidly approach, it’s nice to know we’re just a hop, skip and a jump (did I just write something that hokey?) away from the cool waters of Barton Spring Pool.

I hear the girl talking to her dolls. My coffee is getting cold, so it’s time to chug it down, hug the wife and get on with another great day in Austin.

Life is good in the summertime in Austin, Texas. Work keeps me busy, life keeps rolling along, the kids are getting older, and the bugs are getting buggier.

The lake is still when I drive to work in the morning. Occasionally I see a rower, the wake of the boat making a perfect ripple across what had been the still surface of the lake.

It’s a great price, and a huge lot with a guest house. Nice photos on the site – it’s a great buy.

Taught a digital marketing class last week at USC as part of the Advertising Educational Foundation program with DDB. My how things have changed. For one thing, the kids are taking notes with laptops. Which is to say they are using the free school wifi to update Facebook pages while the boring guest speaker drones on about social media and brand engagement.

I managed to get one pot smoking joke in which the professor pointed out was a wise choice to get them on my side. They also enjoyed the case studies as I used some YouTube bids to make my points.

The kids are alright.

Detail from my wedding poster, October 29 – 30, 2005.