hibtone ( the dusty crunch of harold )

Love you, miss you Dad

After a courageous and heartrending battle with cancer, beloved father, friend and successful business man, Dan Mahony has passed away. His passing came tenderly in his home on March 5, 2009. Born to Grant and Bernice (Warila) Mahony, Dan's life began in Astoria, OR on June 26, 1944. In 1945, while stationed in the South Pacific with the Army Air Force, Dan's father, a decorated ace fighter pilot with the Flying Tigers, was tragically killed in action.

Dan began his academic career at Oregon State University with a subsequent transfer to the University of Oregon. While attending U of O, he met his future wife Susan Atherton, whom he married in 1967. They had two children together; their son Tod currently lives in Johnston, RI and their daughter Megan currently resides in Lake Oswego, OR. Dan and Susan later divorced.

Dan's career in the equipment business spanned over four decades. He landed his first job in Peoria, IL with Caterpillar, Inc., only later to move to Portland where he was offered a job with Halton Company in 1968. Dan was employed with Halton Company for over 15 years before he accepted a job with Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. After one year he returned to Halton Company, staying until 1984. Dan's extensive experience and tireless determination set the foundation for the birth of his own successful company, Mahony Machinery Corporation, celebrating 25 years of business this spring. Dan's knowledge of equipment, competitive spirit and unwavering honesty were the cornerstones of his success, not to mention his great sense of humor.

Dan's love of travel and passion for photography exemplified the richness of his spirit and his appreciation of life. Dan traveled extensively for both business and pleasure; from a trip to Scotland to study photography with his daughter Megan to a recent trip to Belize with his friends Max Bigby and Bill Bremmeyer, Dan could not only capture poignant moments with his camera but create art in the infinity of those moments. Dan's creative photography evolved over the years from black and white film to the latest Photoshop digital technology. A showing of his art will be presented during a Celebration of Life.

A man who knew from the beginning that there was little hope, fought a courageous battle to the end. He will be remembered always and lovingly by his family and friends.

Dan is survived by his son Tod, his daughter-in-law Michelle and their three children, Staley, Audry and Neko, his daughter Megan and her two children, Sophia and Makinly, and his faithful Blue Healer, Twinkle Toes. He is also survived by his aunts Waverlie Warila and Marge Warila, cousins Ted and Steve Warila and countless friends and business associates from around the globe.

Family and friends are invited to a celebration of Dan's life at the Astoria Maritime Museum on Saturday, April 18th between 1PM and 3PM.

"Smile with me, with good memories that live on with you--my family, my friends, and good dogs....

With love,

Dan, Dad, Grandpa"

In lieu of flowers the family asks that you make a contribution to the Cancer Research Institute (http://www.cancerresearch.org/), the Oregon Humane Society (http://www.oregonhumane.org/) or the charity of your choice.

A wolf in Johnston?

Tonight, for the second time in the last few weeks, there's something howling in the woods near our house here in the suburbs. We've heard coyotes in the past but this is a lone howl, lower-pitched and just plain different. In fact it sounds almost exactly like the "Pup Howl" audio link at the bottom of this page.

According to this Boston Globe article, gray wolves have been extinct in Massachusetts for over a century. Completely uninformed assumption leads me therefore to believe that wolves have been absent from Rhode Island for at least that long. That said, a wild eastern gray wolf showed up and started eating lambs and sheep in Massachusetts last fall (and was shot and killed shortly thereafter).

I doubt wild wolves have made it back this far south, but it sure as hell doesn't sound any neighbor dogs I've ever heard. Maybe an escapee from the local zoo?

link: Onion: Soundgarden Inadvertently Reunites At Area Cinnabon

Faux-tosythesis

Researchers have have found a relatively cheap and simple solution to the problem of how to store solar energy, by mimicking plant photosynthesis.

Nocera hopes that within 10 years, homeowners will be able to power their homes in daylight through photovoltaic cells, while using excess solar energy to produce hydrogen and oxygen to power their own household fuel cell. Electricity-by-wire from a central source could be a thing of the past.

Storing pure oxygen and hydrogen at home sounds a little dicey,
but probably no more so than propane, heating oil, natural gas or any of the other explosive and/or noxious fuels we use today. And it's an acceptable risk when weighed against the benefits.

I hope ten years from now this turns out to be a reality, and not just another sweet nothing whispered across the internets.

hype

Have you listened to Bon Iver? I got the album, maybe I haven’t listened enough but I am having trouble reconciling the music with the falling-over-vomiting-on-themselves praise I keep reading on music sites and blogs. I’m sure it was a harrowing process of self-discovery and demon wrestling and eventual salvation and an album to document the journey, but three winter months alone in a cabin with instruments and recording equipment sounds like a vacation to me.

It always takes me a while to catch on to the music I love the most, so I hope that’s the case here. Judging from the mountains of praise and surprising lack of backlash, this album grows on you. Like a fungus.

Speaking of legitimate hype, if you are even later to the Vampire Weekend party than I was, get the album.