tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222599802011-10-04T11:32:53.451-05:00A personal collection of thoughts/insights/indulgences made in my quest for self-actualization or at least some glimmer of self-understanding... most likely made late at night while procastinating at the office.Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.comBlogger491100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-33841328336955056792011-04-25T20:55:00.000-05:002011-04-25T20:55:03.921-05:00

Sadie has something she wants to tell you...

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-13932249044224205102011-04-01T18:56:00.002-05:002011-04-01T18:59:34.159-05:00

For me there have been a couple things in life that I obsess over and that honestly have probably held me back from truly opening up myself to someone and letting myself relax and enjoy a relationship. 1st (appropriately) is "The First..." 2nd is "The One..." The first... the first time you kiss, the first time you fall in love, the first time you have sex, the first... you get the idea. I

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-47206837578875189692010-05-04T17:55:00.001-05:002010-05-04T17:56:39.659-05:00

I have no idea how I ended up on youtube, but I found this video and it instantly took me back to growing up. Okay, I do know how it happened... it was the end of a trail on Wikipedia. First I was looking for info on THIS, then that lead to THIS, and ultimately to THIS and the video below. On the weekends, my parents would let me stay up and watch Dr. Who, and sometimes even Blakes 7. On

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-67798369393257634902010-04-08T18:18:00.000-05:002010-04-08T18:18:09.636-05:00

A 15 min animated action movie made up entirely of corporate logos... too cool. Logorama from Marc Altshuler - Human Music on Vimeo.

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-40912369894900864542010-03-31T12:35:00.006-05:002010-03-31T12:40:33.597-05:00

I like how this guy thinks... keep things simple. It's just the way things should be done. Here's an example.  This is his suggested revision to the book that you get from your credit card company for their agreement with you. (click the picture to read it in larger copy). . via TED Blog

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-90026856139567914262010-02-05T15:49:00.016-06:002010-02-05T16:49:59.051-06:00

So here's a new/old concept, travel by airship.Short version: I like it!Long version: romantic, slow, classy... this is how vacation travel should be done. I've often wanted to go across the ocean on a boat simply because of the journey. Today's cruise ships aren't really what I'm wanting, they go out and come back... I think it would be cool to go from A to B and have done it in an unusual

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-28570005305697533642010-02-02T07:08:00.004-06:002010-02-02T08:23:52.790-06:00

I've been working some nutty hours recently... going to bed early and getting up at 2am so I can get to work at 3am and get 5 or 6 hours of uninterrupted productivity done before people show up and my phone starts to ring off the hook. Last night was the first night in about 2 weeks that I was planning on going to bed at a somewhat normal time (9pm) and getting up at a similar somewhat normal

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-32034106605926933592010-02-01T15:59:00.006-06:002010-02-01T16:04:03.195-06:00

The Winter Olympics are right around the corner. Here's a time lapsed video of the host city. It's so cool to see how the fog and mist engulf the city--it makes us seem small and much less significant than our egos might lead us to believe. It's really an amazingly beautiful city.Expand the video to fit the screen for the full effect--sound is important too... enjoy!

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-34326852076177877272010-01-13T10:49:00.003-06:002010-01-13T20:35:43.659-06:00

The lawsuit about the constitutionality of Prop 8 began it's slow advance towards the US Supreme Court this week. I'll keep this simple:Amendment 14 - Citizenship Rights1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-6059465355448181372009-12-22T11:53:00.006-06:002009-12-22T12:07:01.432-06:00

I don't want to be a grinch, but Christmas is one of my least favorite times of the year. It's waaaay too close to Thanksgiving. There's too much pressure from every direction to shop and give gifts. You can almost taste the stress in the air. I'm all for spending time with family and being thoughtful of our gifts and time together, but there is so much commercialism out there that I think the

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-32026143175601708272009-07-16T12:01:00.002-05:002010-02-02T08:28:25.153-06:00

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-42051496046266981032009-03-19T16:16:00.007-05:002009-03-19T16:29:39.629-05:00

You don't know how good you have it till you don't have it anymore.Growing up I was 45 min from this amazing place (and it's hiking, camping, climbing, etc.) Now it sometimes takes me longer to get home from work than it used to take me to escape to a place like this.... I need an escape.

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-77358902933190029652009-01-04T23:15:00.027-06:002010-01-13T19:32:24.874-06:00

While catching up on my blog reading, I came across a posting on Passing Fancy's (formerly Speeding Motorcycle) Cooking Blog regarding omelet making (since his blog has closed, I've gotten the entry from him and posted it below). This inspired me to try my own hand at omelet making--even though I lack a solid "omelet pan." While Speedy makes the point that zen in omelet making isn't to be rushed,

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-63961645749000769682009-01-04T18:13:00.020-06:002009-01-04T23:57:24.823-06:00

So I've been sick since New Years Eve until about today--ironically, the last day of vacation before starting back up at the office tomorrow. Between NyQuil induced comas, I spent some time looking at weird stuff on the internet.... some of which I will now post for your enjoyment.Happy New Year!

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-797269289966027882008-11-12T12:09:00.006-06:002008-11-14T10:40:49.105-06:00

I recently became the new Editor for the Dallas AIA magazine. This is a really awesome opportunity. The magazine is just now going to a large 60+ page glossy format and the internal people who make the magic happen are exceptional professionals that I already enjoy working with. So here's a sneak peak at my first "Letter from the Editor," which was fun to write at the beginning but quickly

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-28350874968055153572008-10-08T11:44:00.005-05:002011-03-13T22:51:44.559-05:00

This is John Barrowman. He's on BBC and Torchwood (which I've been told is a spin off of the new Dr. Who). I can't confirm any of this since I haven't had a t.v. for several years. Anyway, a friend sent me a link to the video. I really like it. He's an interesting combo of looks and sound. He's like Mr. Big meets young all American guy with some Mark Harmon thrown in (whom I've probably

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-79327572889771822012008-08-23T16:32:00.005-05:002008-08-27T13:20:51.218-05:00

An observation... closeted gay men date the most beautiful women. Someone asked me if the picture from the previous blog was Mary. It's not, I pulled it from the net, but its a dead ringer for her. Milky skin, incredible smile, flowing brown hair that cascaded down her back... and a personality that lights up a room and draws you to her. This got me thinking--when I was 'straight' I didn't

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-2138845093583298052008-08-19T20:57:00.017-05:002011-03-13T23:14:51.724-05:00

...so I just woke up from the most bizarre dream and had to write it down while I could still remember it. To give you some background (and probably what triggered the dream), I got an e-mail on facebook 3 or 4 days ago from a girl named Mary. Mary and I dated in college. She was the first person I ever said 'I love you' to, and she turned my world on edge for about a year and a half after she

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-80970607705547112972008-08-15T08:07:00.001-05:002008-08-15T08:08:05.381-05:00

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-68520778837885971572008-07-02T07:20:00.008-05:002008-07-03T08:23:23.914-05:00

I'm not a huge movie guy. I grew up in a small town [34° 24' 12.42" N, 99° 0' 29.12" W] where the closest movie theater was an hour drive away. For me, movies are truly social things that I do because I want to share a social ritual with friends or something along those lines. All of that being said, I really like a lot of the movies coming out this summer. I went to go see WANTED last night

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-26229441536226413512008-05-21T15:52:00.016-05:002008-06-11T18:28:17.647-05:00

My friends make fun of me sometimes because of 'the rules,' but for me, there is a certain rationale to having a few basic ideas that you can rely on. People sometimes call this Common Sense.I guess this first started with a roommate I had in college who had a simplified view of the world that he based his decisions on. Simple things that are sometimes stupid, but at their core, they make sense

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-77378866019869197452008-05-21T14:44:00.011-05:002010-12-11T15:20:50.683-06:00

First let me give this disclaimer: I'm a bad driver. I know I'm a bad driver, this is not news to me. If you know me or have ridden with me, then this is not news to you either. Now the blog post: I've enjoyed Speeding Motorcycles blog for a while. We first talked through some random comment I left on his blog. We also have a mutual friend, so we've randomly run into each other around town

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-38189768738280260842008-05-09T06:14:00.007-05:002008-05-09T10:42:14.423-05:00

I work out at 5a. I do this because the gym is less crowded with only a dozen people all together, compared to 5 dozen at 7a or in the evenings. I also found that when I tried to work out after work, something always came up: social stuff, work stuff, meetings, etc. For some reason, no one wants to schedule anything with me at 5a--so I enjoy my time at the gym.There's a handful of people who

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-31509323807024252712008-03-29T09:26:00.005-05:002008-03-29T09:32:03.342-05:00

A better explainition of the techonology behind the first post.

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-81389649929396951662008-02-23T08:03:00.005-06:002008-02-23T08:13:35.420-06:00

This is a follow up post to THIS ONE from last year.We're actually going to try to set this up in the office with our own projector and a Wii I've bid on on e-bay.  We use Sketch-Up (since before they were bought by google)... and the ability to use a white board and draw/manipulate/present while a client is watching is just too cool.I'll keep you posted on this as we actually try it out.Check

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-62322598237221326382008-02-21T14:42:00.014-06:002008-02-21T18:14:19.515-06:00

Very few things will piss me off more than a pretentious person. The only thing that pisses me off more is a large gathering of pretentious people.A little bit of background. I own my own architecture firm. We have a nice quiet office in a warehouse showroom area north of downtown. By and large, the neighbors are fun and friendly and the epitome of southern hospitality and courtesy. The exception

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-84119911736042209972007-12-22T19:27:00.001-06:002008-02-21T18:16:33.499-06:00

THIS ARTICLE is why the government scares me.It reinforces that some of the most bizarre plots that you think come from Hollywood or some conspiricy theorist nut-case, might in-fact be real.About 10 min after I posted this, I read THIS ARTICLE. Seriously, does this freak anyone else out?!?!?ACLU website

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-66238494332137839372007-12-05T10:20:00.000-06:002007-12-05T10:29:49.821-06:00

Some music just makes you feel relaxed and good.Kings of Convenience are my new favorite group of the moment. I've never seen their albums, I've only found them on YouTube. I should probably use part of that iTunes gift card in my desk and actually buy one of their albums so I have it with me on the road or something.Music is amazing in it's ability to manipulate you. When I hear this song,

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-89403648437800727392007-12-04T08:06:00.002-06:002008-02-21T18:22:33.738-06:00

I was reading this ARTICLE today.Am I the only one that sees a SERIOUS conflict in this? The state is paying for cancer treatments for a guy with terminal cancer, who is ON death row. And NOW he gets a stay of execution because the medication that they are giving him to save his life MIGHT interact with the medication they would give him to kill him? WTF?

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-51213768727362353722007-11-20T11:46:00.000-06:002007-11-20T11:55:33.775-06:00

During a recent business trip, I was struck by the fact that people who work on airplanes always have beautiful weather. Once you get over the clouds, there's always clear blue skies around you. The rain and the grey are below you. You look down on puffy clouds and have sun shine all around you. How cool is that?

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-81397335516778300922007-09-27T05:37:00.000-05:002007-09-27T11:36:47.806-05:00

This article basically shows what I think is fundamentally wrong with the Republican party. I should make this note... I'm not a Democrat.I'm a capitalist and I'm a realist.I believe that everyone should be able to pursue their dream, make a good living, contribute to the creative world, and do it all with as little government involvment as possible. I run into some problems with the idea of

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-15189595836852971672007-09-09T23:26:00.002-05:002008-06-11T18:27:16.380-05:00

Best line for describing how I think love should work.And there is a longer blog entry buried here about friends vs lovers--which comes first and can one really come before the other....anyway... here's the clip

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-43641562641403669072007-08-28T21:59:00.001-05:002007-09-27T06:04:27.624-05:00

Bjork is just weird.Enough said.

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-3176374836792349522007-08-22T23:47:00.001-05:002007-08-22T23:54:49.957-05:00

I'm a goober. This is one of my top 5 movies of all time... and this, the opening scene just makes me laugh every time I see it especially when he lays her down at the end of it. i like how there's no words, just cheesy tuba music and drums. I'm a Kate Hepburn fan in a huge way. I guess that should've been a clue I was gay years ago. I don't go for the normal diva's. Madonna annoys me. And

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-31273269262812577542007-03-24T17:27:00.000-05:002007-04-10T20:08:12.953-05:00

Recently I was having a conversation with my good friend Kevin about life, the universe, and everything. On the topic of happiness, he offered up a simple and unappologetic perspective on how to be happy. His theory on happiness boils down to two things. Find love and have a lot of money. With those two things you can be happy. Other theories discussed were that you needed 4 things to be

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-24081115934774817032007-03-22T19:42:00.000-05:002007-03-22T21:40:33.238-05:00

File this under 'things I want.'I'll credit Towleroad with turning me on to this one too.For the record, it's a 3'x8' multi-touch computer interface.Here's the inventor's research site. The thing that whets my appetite is what this could do for the creative process.Architecture (with a capital "A") used to be about creativity and art, but along with technology's increase in productivity has come

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-2225640380526045812007-03-22T19:29:00.000-05:002007-03-22T23:16:18.115-05:00

... I discovered Musicovery on Towleroad a week ago. It's a flash based internet radio that has a great user-interface. It makes for a great way to discover random playlists based on a matrix of tempo and mood.

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-80928499412199988502007-02-17T22:02:00.000-06:002007-02-17T22:04:00.043-06:00

This News Article from the paper today is a footnote to the Valentine's Day post.

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-62966570408225978032007-02-14T20:12:00.000-06:002007-04-02T10:34:19.389-05:00

I'm not the most mushy guy. I find that friends and family are generally enough to keep me motivated and moving in a forward/positive direction. Truth be told, I haven't made a big deal out of Valentine's Day in probably 15 years, and it looks like I'm not going to start this year either.I would be lying if I said that being single didn't suck sometimes. Generally,I don't have that empty

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-1750910998528928972007-01-16T07:59:00.002-06:002011-03-24T22:15:33.325-05:00

Plan B, the back up plan to Plan A. I'm realizing that most of life we spend working on a plan and only occassionally do we have a Plan B. For a lot of people (myself included) there is a huge motivator in making Plan A work--an overwhelming fear of failure. For the most part I don't usually have a back up plan. But recently, there's a dissatisfaction in the pit of my stomach that makes me

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-13344483009945533392007-01-12T21:06:00.000-06:002007-01-12T21:08:10.336-06:00

Here's my first attempt at embedding a video in my blog.Let me start by saying I don't watch TV. But seriously... this is funny!I like how she's so drunk she almost falls out of her chair twice--and the interview starts out "good morning Paula Abdul!"

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-15651430354437851862007-01-12T08:55:00.000-06:002007-01-12T13:56:45.506-06:00

I was browsing my iTunes store and happened upon the celebrity playlists.Most of it was pretty common. I wasn't suprised by who listens to what, for the most part. Some of it was insightful. I think that Annie Lennox's list shows her influences. I was actually suprised that Liv Tyler had an Aerosmith song listed. What I did find interesting was that Bill Mayer's list was noticably gay with

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-80210953376309446762007-01-08T06:43:00.000-06:002007-01-12T21:59:12.428-06:00

After a night of much drunkeness, friend 'X' crashes with a drinking pal 'Y' (subject of another blog down the road), at another friend's 'Z' house. (Note: I am not part of this night of drunkeness--I'm an old boring guy who stayed in that night.)X and Y end up making out and having 'happy fun times' that night EVEN THOUGH a 'pillow barrier' had been erected by X between them to keep both X and Y

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-33631837438291683162006-12-03T10:35:00.000-06:002007-01-12T22:06:39.720-06:00

I always think of weird stuff when I shower. The process is a 4 step one. 1. Wash Body2. Wash Hair3. Shave face4. Rinse.The tools of this process actually are pertinent for the post. I use Dial. It's clean; produces a nice lather; rinses clean easily; and has a fresh smell that isn't too fru fru.Tea Tree shampoo. If you haven't used this... it's powerful. If your hair could feel sensations,

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-71878197653230618692006-11-10T16:22:00.000-06:002007-01-08T09:31:55.178-06:00

I'm not a genuis. I test well, but when I think about everything I don't know--well, there's a lot of it. I KNOW a lot of smart people. Jeb is the guy that knows stuff both useful and not. When we were in High School, we were on the academic team together, and in college I would call him at 3 a.m. asking how to spell a word for a paper I was writing. He has a PhD and an amazing vocabulary.

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-1154725956011964022006-08-04T16:07:00.000-05:002006-11-09T13:57:35.289-06:00

It occurs to me that I'm a blogging failure. I think it's because I have unrealistic expectations for my blogs. I have drafted a couple blogs but can't seem to finish them--they seem to fall short of my expection for asounding insight.It seems that blogging can take two paths.1. insight and genuis, but rarely updated 2. short commentary, updated oftenClearly I suck at #1. So we'll try #2.

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-1146272520716267532006-04-28T19:57:00.000-05:002006-11-09T13:57:35.165-06:00

So I've been threatened with banishment if I don't update this blog.HONESTLY, I have 3 posts in "draft." Two are about the economics of urban design and parking based on a free market system and a third on midgets. Urban design is a passion of mine... and I have many theories on what would work better than what we have now--and midgets, well midgets are just inherently funny. No offense to the

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-1141966211605388782006-03-09T22:48:00.000-06:002006-11-09T13:57:35.100-06:00

Why do all the cool ideas I want to capture on this blog occur to me in the middle of my morning shower?Convenience?

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259980.post-1139596025235879402006-02-10T12:17:00.000-06:002007-01-08T07:30:55.660-06:00

I don't know why I'm starting this... I know going into it that I'm not going to be good about keeping this up. Okay, I DO know why I'm starting this... peer pressure, guilt, and angst. Peer pressure because I just got another link from a friend who has started a Blog. Guilt because I secretely read about 4 of these a day. Angst because I need to stop bitching about stuff out load and

Brian McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474414911007869984noreply@blogger.com0