Dave Maass

Our terrier Marlowe is a prisoner on an escorted furlough and, of course, she tries to make a run for it.

Happy Halloween.

Tags: halloween, Marlowe, morkie, puppy porn, terrier

Yeah, Wolf, I feel ya.

Here’s an alternative view of the Sept. 12 Republican presidential debate.

The Santa Fe Reporter asked me to contribute 150 words about where I was on 9.11. Here’s what I wrote:

I’d quit my job as a reporter covering state government in Phoenix two weeks before. The morning of 9.11, a girl I was seeing called to wake me. She said we were under attack. I did not know what that meant. I was lying in an underinflated, inflatable mattress on the floor. I reached over and turned on the radio. NPR made no sense. I went downstairs and my roommate and I watched it unfold on a portable TV with rabbit ears. It wasn’t so shocking on the three-inch screen. I don’t think I’d ever seen the World Trade Center before. That night, the city sky was silent except for helicopters. A lot of businesses were closed, even the Chinese restaurants. Our favorite coffee shop was open, so that’s where we went. Sitting outside, smoking cigarettes, I said to myself, “You picked the wrong time to quit your job.”

Recently, I had the stupidest idea: A few of the switches on my* Moog synthesizer were broken, so I thought I could open the thing up and repair it myself.

Not only was I unable to fix it, I was unable to put the Moog together again. I was so sad. I’d destroyed something beautiful.

I put a call for help on Twitter and suddenly, Mattzog, a local lover of synthesizers, got in touch. He told me he had a Moog Rogue and wanted to compare it to my Realistic Concertmate MG-1. And sure enough, in less than an hour he had it back in one piece.

Here’s a short video from the moment Mattzog turned the Moog back on.

* Not actually my Moog, but my father’s, which I have come to claim as my own over the years.

Tags: moog

Wondering how the Dustball 2000 went?

In a word—and a video—awesome.

Tags: car porn, dustball rally

Just a couple instructional videos of Marlowe to help you relax over your Fourth of July weekend.

Part 1

Part 2

Tags: Marlowe, puppy porn

I’m riding on the Dustball again.

Back in 2009, I was invited to cover the Dustball 1500, a two-day, 1,500-mile scavenger-hunt style road rally. This year, the rally organizers have asked me to be their official blogger. This time it’s three days and 2000 miles. And I jumped at the opportunity.

I’ve got an epic multimedia package planned, where I’ll be blogging and chatting live from the road. The San Diego Automotive Museum at Balboa Park is on board to have a whole live display right inside the front doors.

Thing is, I have to do a little fundraising for technology and my food budget (flight, hotels are covered). I’m using IndieGoGo, a “crowdfunding” website. I’m accepting small donations (as low as $5) all the way to big sponsorships. I’ve got a lot rewards for your funding contributions, including official T-shirts, framed photographs and knick-knacks from the road.

If you’ve got two minutes, please watch my two-minute pitch video (above). It features the song “Motion Sickness” by New Mexico, which alone is worth a click.

If I’ve caught your attention check out my IndieGoGo page for a detailed breakdown or to make a contribution.

Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!

Tags: cars, dustball 2000, dustball rally, indiegogo, road rally

It’s a weird thing. The last three stories I’ve put together have shared a common theme: Brilliant men who have lost control and found themselves, literally or symbolically, out on the street. It wasn’t planned or anything. It just sort of happened. Another commonality is that none of them are white. One’s Vietnamese, another African-American and the third, Hispanic. I don’t know what to make of that.

Tuan’s paradoxes
He has a brilliant mind, broken kidneys and Downtown’s most conspicuous minivan. Is the CIA really out to get Tuan Nguyen?

“The first time I approached Nguyen, he was protesting on the cramped island of sidewalk across from the convention center in the middle of San Diego Comic-Con. Surrounded by zombies, geeks and handbillers, Nguyen was a comic-book character in his own right.” More…

Mad skills
You can feed him pills, but Zany-Zane’s rhymes are still sick.

“With eyes turned away, the 31-year-old rapper answers questions in manic circles, spinning off on flashes of thought and winding back to repeat his original point. His hands pat the air like he’s dribbling a helium balloon that he just can’t keep down.” More…

Elephant exits the room

The rapid rise and fall of William Rodriguez-Kennedy, Log Cabin Republican wunderkind

“After the story ran, an anonymous person continued to circulate rumors, restating the financial missteps and accusing Rodriguez-Kennedy of harassment. The smears threw Rodriguez-Kennedy for a loop. He vacillated before ultimately insisting he have the chance to put the story out there and behind him. ” More…

Tags: san diego citybeat, thomas nguyen, tuan nguyen, zany-zane

The OTHER Dave Maass, the one who serves on the South Milwaukee school board, is at it again, trying to steal my thunder. And now his brother’s involved.

Read: “The Two Maasses.”

A long report I published this week on the obscure local agency that manages emergency freeway call boxes is getting a lot of attention. As it should: It’s an infuriating story of government fat in the leanest of times and the politicians who don’t think taxpayers care about a dollar.

The local NBC affiliate interviewed me and, for the first time, I was invited to be a guest on San Diego Week, a public-policy program that runs on Friday night on the local PBS station.

NBC: You may have to watch a commercial first.

KPBS: Start at the 12:00 mark.

Watch the full episode. See more San Diego Week.

Tags: call boxes, kpbs, nbc