Mental Detours

Rumble

2010-10-29T18:42:00.000-07:00

Just in time for Halloween, this song was the theme from "Screaming Yellow Theater" which ultimately became "Svengoolie", then "Son of Svengoolie".

Island Style

2010-10-12T17:19:00.000-07:00

Here's my latest YouTube contribution. The sound isn't as good as usual because I only used the camera microphone to record.

Penetration

2010-09-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

Here's a music video I put up on YouTube recently.
Hope you like it.

iPod Touch

2010-07-02T16:35:00.000-07:00

I got an iPod touch for my birthday recently. It's one of the best gifts I ever got. I can load it up with more music than I could ever listen to. It has space to hold full length movies and multiple episodes of my favorite TV show. There are thousands of free apps I can download that are useful or entertaining. I've had it with me on vacation this week and the games have been keeping me amused whenever I wasn't busy. I can even connect to wifi hotspots and surf the web almost anywhere. In fact, I'm posting this blog entry from my iPod while sitting in the airport waiting for my plane. The keyboard interface is a little awkward but I'm getting used to it. I still have to type one finger style. I haven't mastered the two thumb technique yet.

But I'm an expert at Up and Away.

Up In The Air

2010-06-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

I recently watched the movie "Up in the Air" starring George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, an HR consultant who's job is to fly all around the country and fire people. Ryan loves his on the wing lifestyle and the perqs he receives as a frequent flyer, particularly his accumulated frequent flyer miles. For Ryan, frequent flyer miles aren't something you cash in and treat yourself to a vacation with. They are for collecting and building to an ever higher total like trying to beat your high score in a video game. When he meets another frequent flyer mile junkie on the road and she asks him how many miles he has, he replies "Let's just say I have a number in mind, and I haven't hit it yet." That number, it turns out, is 10 million miles. When he finally reaches his goal he is told he is the youngest person to ever attain that status.

I started thinking about that and wondered just how long it would take for someone like George Clooney's character to fly 10 million miles. So I worked up a hypothetical itinerary for Ryan Bingham.

Let's assume he is based in New York, and being conscious of his company's bottom line, schedules his business so he isn't zig zagging across the continent every day, but instead tries to follow some semblance of the solution to the traveling salesman problem.

On Sunday night he flies out to Miami for his first appointment of the week Monday morning. Monday he flies to San Antonio for his next day of firing. Tuesday he takes off for Los Angeles, Wednesday he's off to Seattle, Thursday he catches a red-eye to Chicago, and Friday he's winging home for the weekend.

New York to Miami	1086 miles
Miami to San Antonio	1155
San Antonio to Los Angeles	1210
LA to Seattle	954
Seattle to Chicago	1720
Chicago to New York	733
TOTAL	6858 miles

That's 6858 miles in one week. So how many weeks of this sample itinerary would it take to reach 10 million miles? 1,458 weeks or 27½ years! George Clooney is 49, and his character can probably be considered about the same age, so if Ryan Bingham joined the company when he graduated college at age 22, and flew an equivalent of the above itinerary every week of every year with no vacations, he could reach 10 million miles by age 49.

I'll leave the computation of the total cost to fly 10 million miles as an exercise for the reader.

What is the World Cup?

2010-06-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

I don't follow sports very closely. I don't watch games on TV or check scores online. I do pay attention to the big events like the World Series, Superbowl, and recently the Stanley Cup only because a local team was involved.

I work in an international department and many of my colleagues and associates originate from or reside in countries other than the U.S., and it seems that for them the FIFA World Cup Tournament is an important international event on par with the Olympics. So I have been paying some attention lately, but didn't really understand how the tournament works.

I spent some time trying to find out, and I guess if you follow football or basketball playoffs it might already make sense, but it was new to me so I thought I'd share what I learned.

There are 32 national teams that compete in the tournament. They are the result of a qualification process that started with 204 national teams, making it equal to the Olympics in terms of national participation. The qualification began in 2007 and I did not research it enough to explain it.

The tournament is divided into 2 phases, the group phase and the knockout phase. For the group phase, the 32 teams are divided into 8 groups of 4 teams. Each team plays 3 matches, one against each other team in its group. Teams are awarded points according to the outcome of each match: 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 for a loss. At the end of the group phase, the 2 teams with the most points in each group advance to the knockout phase.

In the knockout phase the top 16 teams are paired up through another mysterious process called seeding, and play a winner take all match to advance to the next round. There are no draws in this phase. Tied games go into overtime play, and ultimately to a penalty kick contest if no decision is reached in overtime. The 8 winners play to 4 and then to the final 2 teams that compete in the championship match. The championship match is scheduled to be played July 11, and is expected to draw a viewing audience that rivals the Olympic opening ceremonies.

I might even watch.

For Emily Whenever I May Find Her - collaboration video

2010-06-17T16:46:00.000-07:00

Carl England and I recently got together to spend some time working on this song from Simon and Garfunkel's "Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme" album. Here's the result.

Pilates of the Caribbean

2010-06-08T12:14:00.000-07:00

I recently returned from a Caribbean cruise. It was a great vacation with plenty of sun and balmy tropical temperatures. Though I no longer blog about it, I have been watching my weight lately, and just prior to departing on the cruise I reached a new milestone. I was resolute not to gain the 5 to 14 pounds acquired by typical cruisers, and intended to make use of the on ship walking/jogging track and possibly even the fitness center. The first cruise day I did a 1.6 mile power walk around the ship deck. Unfortunately that represents my total exercise effort for the entire trip. I succumbed to the Sirens' call of boat drinks and 24/7 available dining and came home with an 11 pound weight gain.

The cruise was one of the best I've been on. It had a great cruise director, and the dining room service team was very accommodating. It stopped at two ports of call that I have not seen before: Grand Cayman and Cozumel. In Grand Cayman I toured the port town of Georgetown on foot and walked to 7 mile beach. At Cozumel I took lunch and drinks at Señor Frogs and participated in a snorkeling excursion that was followed by free beer and margaritas.

But the best part was my luck in the ship casino. I started out losing the first night, but during the first day at sea I won the blackjack tournament and then won some more at the poker table that night. Over the rest of the cruise my winnings outpaced my losses and I came home ahead for the first time ever after a cruise.

Here are a few pictures.

Stateroom

Ship Pool

Boat Drinks

Caribbean Band
Seven Mile Beach

Holly Kirby CD Review

2010-05-28T10:37:00.000-07:00

Holly Kirby, the talented young singer/songwriter from the U.K. has released her long awaited first album on CD. Titled "A Woman You Don't Know", the CD is packed with 11 Holly Kirby original songs.

She wastes no time grabbing your attention on the opening track, a rousing rendition of "Tea Leaves and Old Magazines" that features passionate vocals backed by a stirring mix of guitar, drums, piano and strings. The eponymous 2nd track "A Woman You Don't Know", is a haunting melody with rich close harmony. Overall the CD contains a nice mixture of both lively and contemplative tunes. "Topsy Turvy World" is a toe tapper, while "Gold and Blue" demonstrates her Celtic influences with a lilting melody and piano accompaniment reminiscent of Phil Coulter.

A hidden gem resides at track 9. The enigmatically named "Impossible" is a tune that has real potential to be a pop hit for her someday.

You can buy Holly's CD at her website http://www.hollykirbymusic.com/. The supply is limited, and her nearly 7000 YouTube subscribers have been clamoring for her to release a CD for ages, so don't wait too long to order one.

Read more about Holly Kirby's escapades on her blog Tripping Through Violets

Lazarus Effect

2010-05-25T09:41:00.000-07:00

Sorry, this post has nothing to do with the HBO Documentary. The title refers to this blog's tendency to die and come back to life. It's 84 degrees outside, and my last post says "Merry Christmas". It's not like I haven't been doing anything for the last 5 months. I just haven't been motivated to post any of it. Maybe this is the problem. :)

I'm going to try to post something at least once or twice a week. Probably more like once. Maybe I'll find time to make some more music videos. I did one back in March that I never posted here. Most readers of this blog probably already saw it on YouTube or FB, but I'll use it here as an opportunity to shake the dust off this blog.

Kenny Rogers' song about a gambler is pretty well known, but you might not have heard Dan Fogelberg's "There's a Place in the World for a Gambler" from his 1974 "Souvenirs" album. Here's my attempt at it.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted anything in quite a while. Here's a Christmas video I hope you enjoy:

Live/Wired

2009-11-25T09:46:00.001-08:00

Twenty six acts have submitted music tracks for round one of this years Live/Wired competition. The top four, as chosen by popular vote at the website, will move on to a live competition with the hope of ultimately winning a recording session and chance to play at the 2010 Isle of Wight Festival.

Prominent among the 26 contestants is Holly Kirby, the singer-songwriter who showcases her talent on her personal website and popular YouTube channel. Holly won the online vote last year but missed the live competition due to an untimely illness. She is poised to win again this year with her "Tea Leaves and Old Magazines" entry, but she has worthy competition, and can use everyone's vote.

This is not one of those "vote every day" contests. It's one vote per person, so every vote counts. Click on the link below to visit the LiveWired website and cast your vote.

http://www.iwcp.co.uk/livewired/index.php?page=poll-poll

Yodel Contest Finals

2009-11-09T09:12:00.000-08:00

Tiffany Jo Allen was a late entry into Yahoo's yodeling contest, but quickly zoomed to the top with over a quarter million views. She finished in 3rd place overall and #1 in U.S. entries. Tiffany is a 15 year old singer and musician from Colorado with a popular YouTube channel, and a very nice website of her own.

Having made the top 3 U.S. finalists, Tiffany is now eligible to win Yahoo's platinum level and be the featured yodeler on Yahoo's home page. The winner will be chosen by the votes of Yahoo account holders, and votes are accepted daily until November 15th. If you don't already have a Yahoo account, it's free to sign up here.

You can vote for Tiffany at: http://yodelstudio.yahoo.com/us/index.php

Yodel Contest

2009-11-06T11:42:00.000-08:00

Remember the vote for the V Model contest a while back? Well here's a contest that's a little different. This young lady is competing in the Yahoo Yodel Contest, and really wants to win. Every view of her yodeling video counts as a vote, so go have a listen and help her out.

Click here: http://yodelstudio.yahoo.com/us/gallery.php?id=14498

The contest ends in 3 days so don't wait!

Beatles Movie

2009-10-15T17:17:00.000-07:00

OK, Not really a Beatles movie. Just a movie of me singing a Beatles song. Remember the scene in "Help" where they're all sitting around in a house singing to the lady in pink? That was this song.

How Far to the Nearest McDonalds?

2009-10-01T07:53:00.000-07:00

A colleague emailed this image that illustrates the density of McDonald's restaurants in the U.S. Click here for the blog post that explains the image.

click the image for a larger view

Just Another Day In Paradise

2009-09-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday started with breakfast at the Tiki Terrace. After breakfast we took the short walk down to Whaler's Village where the 13th annual Youth Ukulele Contest was going on. We stayed and listened to the group competition. After the contest Janet did some shopping at the Whaler's Village Mall, while I returned to the hotel and relaxed with a book by the pool. I took a little too much sun and got a slight burn, but nothing serious. After Janet returned we had a snack and a couple of tropical drinks. Saturday evening we went for a sunset sailing cruise on Trilogy's catamaran. We finished up our day with island fish and chips at the Hula Grill while listening to their nightly live entertainment. Sorry, we didn't bring the camera to the uke contest or on the sunset sail.

Maui Re-Re-Re-Re-Revisited

2009-09-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

Thursday evening we arrived for our 6th visit to the valley isle. It was a long day of travel. We left home at 7am CDT and flew 4½ hours to LAX and after a 2 hour airport layover flew another 5½ hours to Kahului where we landed at about 9:30pm Chicago time. But we successfully upgraded our seats to 1st class on both flights, so I don't really have any complaint about the flight.

Our vacation package from United included an economy car rental, but on arrival we splurged for the extra amount to upgrade to a Mustang convertible. Cruisin' the island in style. We made it to the hotel in time to check in, grab a couple of MaiTais from the Tiki Bar, and sip them while enjoying the sunset from the lanai of our oceanfront room. After sunset we took the short walk along Ka'anapali beach to the Barefoot Bar at the Hula Grill where it has become almost a tradition to enjoy our first meal on Maui. We had island fish & chips and bbq pork along with a couple more MaiTais while enjoying the live Hawaiian music. We got back to the hotel in time to catch some of the nightly hula show in the Tiki courtyard, then headed back to the room to turn in at about 3am Chicago time.

Friday we relaxed around the hotel for a while, enjoying the Hawaiian singing and dancing in the lobby, and shopping some of the art and craft vendors set up there. Janet found some more jewelry she liked from Stephanie and from Gigi's. After sipping a couple more MaiTais from the Tiki Bar, we headed out to an early dinner at Mama's Fish House. Janet had 'discovered' this restaurant while reading online about area restaurants and it turned out to be an exceptional find. The restaurant is situated on the beach of a small cove on the north Maui coast, and offers breathtaking views of the huge surf crashing over the rocks. But the view isn't all this restaurant offers. The food was out of this world. Not long ago, I wouldn't eat fish, but I learned a couple of trips back that fish in Hawaii is excellent, and the fish at Mama's is as good as it gets. Not to mention their MaiTais (how many is that now?) and their desserts. The bill was a little pricy, but it was an unforgettable dining experience.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel where I caught 40 winks while Janet caught up on Facebook. Then we headed out to Kimo's in Lahaina where we had found out that Peter deAquino was playing. Peter is a talented singer and uke player that we first heard at the Napili Kai slack key concert a couple of trips back. We listened to Peter and had (you guessed it) some more MaiTais before calling it a night and heading back to the hotel around midnight.

Saturday brings a keiki ukulele contest at the Hula Grill and more tropical treats I'm sure.

(Check back to this post later. I hope to add some pictures if I can.)

NTL3 - Street View

2009-09-25T00:01:00.001-07:00

click image for a larger view
Here you see the best known landmark of one of my favorite cities, in another of my favorite cities. The Paris Las Vegas 5/8ths scale replica of Paris France's Tour D'Eiffel was originally intended to be full size but had to be scaled back because of the proximity of the airport. We've experienced the view from the top of Las Vegas' Eiffel Tower as well as the original in France.

NTL3 - Birdseye View

2009-09-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to make it a little trickier, I rotated the satellite and airplane views with south to the top. (because there is no north and south in space, right Jen?) If yesterday's airplane view left any ambiguity, this picture should clear it up.
click image for a larger view

NTL3 - Airplane View

2009-09-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

It's probably apparent where we are now, but which landmark?
click image for a larger view

Name That Landmark III - Satellite View

2009-09-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd do one more guess the landmark puzzle. Here's your satellite view. If you need to zoom out a little farther to get your bearings, then click here.

Name That Landmark II - Street View

2009-09-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

Located on the Côte d'Azur in the tiny country of Monaco, the Monte Carlo Casino is probably the best known casino outside of Las Vegas. (There is a Monte Carlo Casino in Las Vegas, but it doesn't look anything like the original.) Like other cities along the Riviera, Monte Carlo is known for glamour, luxurious yachts, and sightings of famous people. It is also known for the annual Monaco Grand Prix, whose course runs right by the casino.

We visited the casino in May of 2006 on a day trip from Sanary that also included stops in St. Tropez, Cannes, and Nice. I lost a "few" Euro playing blackjack, but the experience was worth the price. One of my best memories of our Monte Carlo visit is the profiteroles we enjoyed at the outdoor cafe across from the casino.

Name That Landmark II - Birdseye View

2009-09-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

If you've figured out the city, then you probably guessed this landmark building.

Click image for a larger view

Name That Landmark II - Airplane View

2009-09-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

Here's the airplane view. There's probably lots of similar harbors on this coast. Can you tell where we are yet?

Click image for a larger view

Name That Landmark II

2009-09-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

I was out of town on a cruise to Cabo San Lucas over the holiday weekend. It was a great trip with plenty of good weather, good food, good drinks, and good times with our friends the Binghams.

Consequently, I'm a little behind posting a new guess the landmark puzzle, but here it is. If you need help orienting yourself on the globe, click here for a higher view from space. We'll drop down to airplane height tomorrow.

Click the image for a larger view

Name That Landmark - Street View

2009-09-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

The target landmark is the London Eye located on the south bank of the River Thames in London, England. We were there in October of 2005 on our way back from Anna Szot's wedding in Warsaw. We didn't have much time in London, but we took in quite a few major landmarks. Can you name the following pair of landmarks we photographed from our nighttime ride on the London Eye?

Name That Landmark - Birdseye View

2009-09-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

It should be pretty obvious now.

click image for a larger view

Name That Landmark - Airplane View

2009-09-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a closer look at our destination. Have you got it yet?

click image for a larger view

Satellite View Help

2009-09-01T11:50:00.001-07:00

I think I cropped the satellite view too tightly to allow a reasonable chance at guessing the country and city. Click on the image below for an expanded satellite view.

Name That Landmark

2009-09-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

It's amazing what views of the world are visible to us through satellite imaging technology available on Google maps and other such sites. You can start at a satellite view, and zoom down to an airplane view, then zoom even closer to a bird's eye view, and finally all the way down to a street level view, without ever leaving your computer chair.
So with that capability at our fingertips, I decided to take you on a tour of some well known landmarks I've visited. See if you can guess where we're going as we descend closer and closer from high above.

Here's your first satellite view. Obviously too high to choose the landmark yet, but see if you can identify the country or even city. Tomorrow we'll take a look from an airplane level, and bird's eye level on Thursday. If you haven't guessed it by then, the answer will be up with the street view on Friday. Have fun.

Geography Quiz

2009-08-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure that most everyone recognizes the outline below, and can name the country.
But how good are you at recognizing the outline of other countries? Try the quiz below to find out. After you've made your choices, you can check your results by clicking on the "Check Answers" button. Note: the outlines of the different countries below are not of the same scale.

Carmen Sandiego Cornered in the Belltower at Chartres

2009-08-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

Notre Dame Chartres

	Perched on a hill high above the surrounding town, the Cathedral at Chartres, France appears to be floating over the fields of grain when viewed from a distance.
Along with the clue about flying buttresses, the first clue picture might have been mistaken for the spire over the crossing at Notre Dame de Paris, but the second clue picture clearly revealed the contrasting spires above the western facade of the Cathedral Notre Dame de Chartres. Paris' Notre Dame does not in fact, have any spires above the western facade towers. Both cathedrals are considered examples of the finest Gothic architecture in France.	Notre Dame Paris
Notre Dame Chartres	Notre Dame Paris flickr © Peter Rivera

Having climbed to the top just 2 years ago, Janet recognized the tower and guessed it right.

Carmen goes to church

2009-08-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

Clue: She was intrigued by the mismatched spires that were built hundreds of years apart.

Picture:

Carmen Sandiego IV

2009-08-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

Another Carmen Sandiego puzzle:

Clue:She wanted to see the flying buttresses.

Picture:

A New Music Video

2009-08-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

A short while back, Jennifer showed me a funny video of a weatherman who was wearing a green tie while working in front of a green screen, and his weather map was showing through his tie. She said I should try something like that, and I was inspired to record this cover of the Beatles' "You Wont See Me" with some clever video editing. Special thanks to Christian for his help making the video and recording the music.

Making the video reminded me of this funny Monty Python skit.

Carmen Sandiego nearly caught in Kyoto, Japan

2009-08-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

The picture is of the Deva Gate at the entrance to the Kiyomizu (clear water) Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. The temple is built high on the side of a mountain and offers breathtaking views of the city below. Drinking from the streams of the Otawa waterfall at the temple is said to bring wisdom, health, and longevity.

Kyoto is known for it's Gion district where Geisha and Maiko can be seen travelling to their appointments. The literal English translation of Geisha is "art doer" or "art person".

A new clue!

2009-08-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

Clue: She said the city was known for training "art doers" or "art persons".

Picture:

Carmen Sandiego III

2009-08-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

Here's another chance to catch Carmen Sandiego.

Clue: She said she wanted to drink from the waterfall at the place known as "clear water".

Picture:

Carmen Sandiego on Easter Island

2009-08-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

I haven't yet been to Easter island, but it is one of the places I'd like to see. A small island in the South Pacific, it is best known for the large stone statues called Moai that surround its shore. Easter Island is directly in the path of the July 11, 2010 total solar eclipse, and for a mere $10,000 or so (airfare not included) you can join an eclipse tour.

Moai on Easter Island (from Flickr)
I thought this one would be harder to guess since the hint was indirect and the picture could have been anything from a Hawaiian tiki to a Japanese buddha, each of which might have been posted from my pictures folder. But Janet solved the puzzle in record time.

The agents from Acme Detective Agency were fast, but Carmen Sandiego is faster. She'll have to miss the eclipse, but she's made another getaway. Try to find out where next week.

Carmen Sandiego II

2009-08-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

Carmen got away in Munich last week, but Interpol has turned up some clues to her current whereabouts.

Clue:"She said she hoped she could stay until after next year's total eclipse."

Picture:

Carmen Sandiego Answer

2009-07-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

Well everybody who posted an answer got it right although Cuckoo was the first to reply. The correct answer for the pictured building is the Rathaus (town hall) in the Marienplatz in downtown Munich, Germany. As Danny pointed out, it became the New Town Hall when it replaced the the old town hall in 1874. The clues were not specific to the picture, so I would have also accepted simply Munich as a correct answer.

Neues Rathaus - München, De.

But Carmen Sandiego isn't caught that easily. While we were distracted by the Rathaus Glockenspiel she and her henchmen slipped away to Franz Josef Strauss airport and fled to another part of the world. Near or far? We don't know. Maybe the locals will have some clues. Check back next week.

Clue 2

2009-07-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

No guesses yesterday? Or maybe no readers. :(
Here's a bigger picture, and another clue.

Picture:

Clue:
She said something about attending the big festival in the fall.

Where In The World Is Carmen SanDiego?

2009-07-28T14:16:00.000-07:00

Do you remember that 1985 computer game? Want to play a blog version? I'll start with a picture and clue, and reveal a little more each post. See if you can guess where Carmen SanDiego is before I give the answer.

Picture:

Clue:
She wanted to exchange some money for euros.

101st Mackinac Race

2009-07-18T13:02:00.000-07:00

The 101st annual race from Chicago to Mackinac Island set off today. Danny is racing on the Cyclone team again this year. Here are a few pictures from the start of the race. You can click on any picture for a larger view.

The Cyclone "shore crew" assembles and prepares to cheer the Cyclone on.

Cyclone approaches the parade point

Cyclone and crew at the parade point. That's Danny waving near the mast.

The shore crew displays their banners

Here's a look at their current position within section 7 as of about 3:30pm Saturday

Coffee

2009-07-09T18:50:00.000-07:00

I've been a coffee drinker as long as I can remember. I enjoyed coffee long before I cared about what kind of beans were used or how they were ground. A can of 8 O'Clock suited me just fine. With the advent of the popular coffee shops like Starbucks and Caribou Coffee, I became more particular about my coffee. Now I only use arabica beans that are roasted to the fullness that I prefer. I grind them fresh for each brewing, and only use a burr grinder. I can make drip coffee, french press coffee, and even have a Nespresso machine with a milk steamer for making lattes and cappuccinos. But even with my current coffee snobbery I still love a cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee. They made great coffee before the coffee craze, and they still do.

Simon

2009-07-06T13:27:00.000-07:00

Do you remember this game? How high can you score?

Simon made by Neave Games

Big Snake

2009-06-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

Check out this video I found of a really big snake!

New Video

2009-06-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

Sunday was father's day, and we all got together yesterday morning for breakfast. I like making breakfast, and Saturday mornings are usually pancake day at my house. But I didn't have to cook today. We enjoyed French toast, cinnamon rolls, coffee, and at my special request, bacon. It was nice getting together with everyone. And I received a new Belgian waffle iron so now we can have waffles for Saturday breakfast more often.

Sunday afternoon, I finally got around to setting up a camera to make a new YouTube video. I didn't bother with all the fancy recording gear, I just used the camera audio. So you might hear a few birds tweeting, or train whistles, but it makes for a natural, relaxed video which is just what it was.

The song is Jimmy Buffett's "Changes In Latitudes"

Click here to comment and rate!

Social Internetworking

2009-06-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

Well it seems like the entire family and many of my friends are on Facebook these days, so I finally set up my account. I'm already on YouTube, although I haven't been very active there lately. I've been itching to do a new video, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Maybe I'll find time to do one this weekend. Then of course there is this blog, which I've been trying to post to at least once a week. That was easier when I was cranking out YouTube videos regularly. I also signed up for Twitter account, but haven't tweeted much since I don't have any listeners. I'm not having much luck finding people I know with twitter accounts to follow either. Maybe I just haven't figured out how to do it yet.

Weekend Winging Westward

2009-06-14T21:24:00.000-07:00

Janet and I took off on a getaway to San Francisco this weekend. We found a great airfare, and thanks to Paul and Jennifer we enjoyed a discounted rate at a first class Marriott hotel near the San Francisco airport. The hotel has a nice lobby bar where we had dinner and drinks Friday and Saturday nights. The bartender makes an excellent Caipirinha. The glass wall provides an entertaining view of planes as they take off and land at SFO.

We only had Saturday to do any sightseeing so we rented a car and decided to take a driving tour. Our first stop was the Golden Gate Bridge, an internationally recognized symbol of San Francisco and California. According to Frommer's, it ranks as one of the most photographed bridges in the world. We did our part to help uphold it's reputation. As we did with the Harbor bridge in Sydney, we took a walk halfway across and back again, which we count as walking across the bridge.

From the bridge we decided to drive to the Napa Valley wine country. While driving through the valley among all the wineries, we stopped at the famous Oakville Grocery where you can buy freshly made sandwiches, wine, and much more and have a picnic lunch on the tables right out back.

Of course, you can't drive the Napa Valley without stopping at a winery for some complimentary wine tasting.

Near the town of Calistoga, we came upon an unexpected tourist attraction. It seems there is geothermal activity in the area and Calistoga is home to California's Old Faithful Geyser. We paid the admission fee to see it, and while it's not as impressive as Yellowstone's, it certainly qualifies as 'faithful', erupting about every 10 minutes while we were there.

We decided to take the scenic drive along California Highway 1 to return to San Francisco. This lengthened the trip quite a bit with the winding roads and slow speeds, but we were treated to some fantastic views of the California Pacific coast.

This was a short trip, but we really appreciated being able to get away together. And we are always amazed at how much we can do in a short time.

Blog Tracker

2009-06-10T08:09:00.000-07:00

As a blogger, one of the questions you might ask yourself is "Does anybody actually read this?" One way to find out is to install a web counter on your blog. There are lots of these available, and since August 2008 I have been using a free blog tracker from Icerocket. Besides just counting visits, Icerocket gives you some cool ways to analyze your data.

As you can see, I usually get between 30 and 40 visits a day, with occasional spikes when I actually post something. :) But I'm pretty sure there are only a dozen or so people that I know actually look at my blog, so where are all those other views coming from? My blog tracker tells me that too. This chart shows that I am getting hits from all over the world, and that they mainly are the result of google searches.

It also shows that they are all looking at my Mythology Zoo post, or the April 2008 archive which contains the Mythology Zoo post. In fact, the Mythology Zoo is my single most viewed page since I started my blog. So here's a tip if you want to increase your blog's page views. Include a picture of a mythological creature in every post.

Celebrations

2009-06-07T21:03:00.000-07:00

This was a weekend of celebrations. Saturday there was a birthday celebration at my house with 2 cakes decorated by Shannon and Katelyn, and peanut butter cookies made by me (with help). I don't hold any prizes for peanut butter cookies, but they were a special request. We also enjoyed BBQ chicken and plenty of fixin's. And some of our favorite libations were also provided.

Then today we celebrated my nephew Troy's high school graduation with a party at my sister Julie's house. Julie also provided plenty of good food and drink, and Troy provided some fine musical entertainment with his most excellent guitar stylings. Enjoy your trip to Bonnaroo Troy, and stay safe.

And we can't forget to mention Friday's end of year award celebrations. Katelyn and Elliot received awards for outstanding academic achievement including the BUG (bring up grades) award. Christian, Kyle, and Shannon each received High Honors awards for 4 quarters with all A's. And Shannon received the Presidents Education Award including a signed letter from President Obama. Congratulations to all of you for an outstanding school year.

Beginner's Blackjack

2009-06-02T11:20:00.000-07:00

When I go to Las Vegas, I like to play blackjack. I've been playing for about 8 years and while I'm no expert, I've read several authors' books on the subject and I regularly read the articles at Casino City Times. I'm not an advantage player. I've read books on that subject as well, and actually given it a try but I don't think you'll see me bringing down the house anytime soon. I've enjoyed some winning sessions, and also suffered my share of losing streaks. I'd estimate my overall results to be right on par with the expected -0.5% of a basic strategy player.

When a friend recently expressed interest in learning the game, I offered a few tips to help him get started. Nothing that couldn't be found in books or online but a condensed, quick-start guide. I decided to share it with the world, or at least that small part of it that occasionally hits my blog through a Google search.

Basic Strategy:
Basic strategy was developed by running millions of computer simulations to determine the optimal way to play your first two cards, depending on what card the dealer is showing. Sometimes, optimal means winning more money. Doubling down falls in this category. Sometimes optimal means losing less money. Splitting 8's against a 10 falls in this category. In either case, optimal means that in the looooooong run, that particular play will win more or lose less. On any one hand the recommended play may or may not produce the desired result. The point is, don't fret about it if you occasionally make a basic strategy error. If you always play a hand wrong then over the long run you are giving the house a slightly higher edge. But an occasional misplay may help you as much as hurt you.

Boiled Down Basic Strategy:
The basic strategy chart can seem a little daunting to memorize when you first look at it, especially if you take into account variations in game rules (surrender allowed, dealer hits/stands on soft 17, etc ). But if you remember a few simple rules, you'll cover most of the basic strategy.
1. When the dealer shows a 7 or higher, hit until you have a hard 17 or higher. ( if you already have hard 17 or more, just stand)
2. When the dealer shows a 6 or less, hit until you have a hard 12 or higher. ( if you already have hard 12 or more, just stand)
3. Always split Aces or 8's.
4. Double down if you have 10 or 11 except when the dealer has 10 or Ace.
If you do the above, you can take your time learning about splits and soft doubles, and be confident you are playing a good game of blackjack.

Game and Table Selection:
Not all blackjack games are the same. Variations in the rules can raise or lower the edge against you. A game where the dealer must stand on all 17's is better than a game where the dealer hits soft 17. 2 decks are better than 6. 6 decks are better than 8. Surrender allowed is better than not allowed. Even within the same casino, you will find these variations at different tables. The caveat is that the better games are usually at higher limit tables. I usually try to find the best rules at a table limit I can afford to play. The worst game however, is the single deck, blackjack pays 6 to 5 game. This rule triples the house advantage on the game.

There are other factors that don't change the edge against you, but do affect how much you lose. Since the house has an edge on every hand dealt, a way they can make more money is to deal more hands. So you will see some tables where the dealer must stop and shuffle 6 decks between each shoe, some where there are automatic shufflers and the dealer only stops long enough at the end of the shoe to transfer the cards between the shuffler and the shoe, and other tables with continuous shuffling machines that the dealer feeds the cards from each round into, and never stops dealing. The more hands per hour you play, the more your bankroll is exposed to the house edge, so I usually try to play the slower game, but again the table limits are usually lower at the faster game so that may be the overriding factor on table choice.

Even though I'm not all that talkative of a person, I enjoy the camaraderie that often develops at a full blackjack table, so I usually try to find a table with several people already seated at it. Another reason for this goes back to the previous paragraph about hands per hour. A full table plays much slower than a table with only one or two players, so your potential loss per hour will be less. Card counters want just the opposite. Since they are playing with an advantage against the house, they want to play as many hands as possible.

Bankroll:
While the primary objective is to get lucky and win, we realize that the house has an edge and we are playing a negative expectation game, so the secondary objective is to be able to play long enough to enjoy our casino blackjack experience. To do this, you must have enough of a bankroll to withstand a losing streak and still be in the game when your luck turns around. While there is a lot of win one, lose one in blackjack, it is not uncommon to experience a 10 hand or more losing streak. If you buy in at a $10 table with $50 you could find yourself getting up again before the waitress even takes your drink order. As a rule of thumb I usually buy in with about 15-20 times the minimum bet, but that's just how much I put on the table at one time. I actually like to have a bankroll I am willing to lose that is at least 40 times the minimum bet. Risk of ruin calculations show that with 40 units, you stand a 95% chance of playing 300 hands (about 4 hours at a mostly full table) without losing your entire stake ( and a 5% chance of losing it all ). If you're interested you can go to wizardofodds.com for all kinds of mathematical info about blackjack and other casino games.

Win Goals and Loss Limits:
Setting a win goal and a loss limit is usually a good practice simply because it gives you a reason to get up from the table instead of continuing to play until you've lost your entire stake or given back all your winnings. However, it is important to realize that these money management techniques cannot make you a winner at blackjack. You cannot always 'quit while you're ahead'. Eventually the 'quit while you're down' sessions will catch up and overtake any winnings you reserved. It's just the nature of a negative expectation game. The only way to stay a winner is to quit while you're ahead and never play again. A problem with win goals/loss limits is what happens when you hit them too quickly? It's not very satisfying to go to a casino for an evening of gambling and be finished in 10 minutes. So, while I set goals, I sometimes adjust them as I go.

Vacation Is Done

2009-05-30T10:31:00.000-07:00

We left Sydney at about 2pm Friday, and landed in LA at 9:30am Friday, 4½ hours before we left! We were unable to upgrade our return flight, but we did have exit row seats, so the 12½ hour flight was not so bad.

We stayed with the Shangri-La hotel chain our entire time in Australia and were very happy with the accomodations. I knew that Shangri-La is a common synonym for paradise, even though I had never read James Hilton's "Lost Horizon", nor seen the movie. Our room at the Shangri-La contained a complimentary copy of the 1933 novel in the bedside table, so I brought it home with me.

We checked in to our room at the LAX Marriott early yesterday and were hoping to spend some time enjoying the pool, but it was cloudy and cool here so we just relaxed in the room and enjoyed an early dinner at the hotel restaurant. We're having a little trouble re-adjusting to the time zone change.

This evening we board our last flight for home. We've been in 7 airplanes and 4 hotels in the last 10 days, but tonight we can sleep in our own bed. We had a great trip but we're looking forward to seeing everyone again.

2009-05-28T05:35:00.000-07:00

The weather in Sydney was perfect today. Temperatures were mild, and the sun stayed out all day. We started the day with a walk over for a close look at the Opera House and then a stroll through the Royal Botanical Gardens. Next we booked a harbor tour cruise with Captain Cook Cruises that offered narrated harbor tours with all day on/off privileges at each of the stops on their route. We rode the entire circuit and stopped at the Taronga Zoo and at Watson's Bay. The zoo had a nice collection of Australian wildlife as well as spectacular views of Sydney from across the harbor.

Watson's Bay is scenic area of natural beauty with views of the ocean from the top of high cliffs. The walk to up to the top of the cliffs was tiring, but the views were worth it.

When we finished our harbor cruise, we took a walk halfway across the harbor bridge before returning to the hotel for dinner and a drink at the bar.

Tomorrow we head back for home.

Rainy Days

2009-05-27T04:24:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was our last day in Cairns. We originally planned to take a driving tour of the tablelands that promised views of numerous waterfalls. But we awoke to rain on Tuesday and decided to pass on the driving tour and just hang out around the hotel instead. We had lunch and drinks at the pool bar, and did some window shopping in the hotel shops area. We also walked over to the Reef Casino where I managed to extend my current losing streak a little further. :( But I only played a little bit, mostly so I could say I've played blackjack in Australia. We did have a little good luck winning 2000 coins on a penny Wheel of Fortune machine.

Our flight out of Cairns got us into Sydney close to 10 pm, and it was after 11 by the time we got the car and drove to the Hotel. We enjoyed our stay at the Cairns Shangri-La so much that we cancelled our Sydney Marriott reservation and booked a room at the Sydney Shangri-La instead. We have a very nice room with a view of the Opera House. There is a festival called Vivid Sydney going on and the Opera House sails are lit up at night with changing colorful designs.

View from hotel room
Today we drove to the Blue Mountains area. The weather started out looking good, but it got foggy as we drove higher into the mountains. We stopped at Wentworth Falls and walked down 200+ stairs to an overlook to see the falls. They were visible as we arrived at the overlook, but within minutes they were completely covered over by fog. We waited for a while and eventually the fog cleared enough to get a good view again.

Wentworth Falls
From the falls we drove on to Katoomba where everyone goes to see the famous rock formation known as the "Three Sisters". Normally the Three Sisters are seen towering above a deep valley, but when we arrived the valley was filled with fog and the Three Sisters were seen floating in a cloud.

The Three Sisters
We left the three sisters area with plans to visit some more waterfalls in the area, but it began to rain so once again our waterfall tour was rained out. We took a scenic route back towards Sydney and along the way we made an 8km detour towards Mt. Wilson. Along that route we saw some amazing dense vegetation and giant trees that reminded me of the forest moon of Endor.

Giant Tree
When we got back to Sydney we had beer and dinner at the 160+ year old Customs House Bar. Tomorrow we may take a harbor cruise tour. Unless it rains.

Reefer Madness

2009-05-25T05:39:00.000-07:00

Today we got up at 5:30 AM and drove more than an hour to Port Douglas to participate in a snorkeling excursion at the Great Barrier Reef. The tour was provided by Calypso Reef Cruises whose friendly and knowledgeable crew enabled this to be an awesome snorkeling experience.

It was an all day excursion visiting 3 different areas on the outer reef. Food and beverages were provided on the ride out to the reef, and between each snorkeling session. The snorkeling conditions were perfect with calm seas and warm air and water temperatures. We saw an amazing variety of coral, and some fascinating sea creatures including giant clams, sea turtles, and even anemones harboring little "Nemo" fish.

We finished the day with a nice steak dinner at yet another of the marina boardwalk restaurants. Tomorrow we plan to sleep in a little, and then do some more touring by automobile.

Driving Tour

2009-05-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

We have a lovely marina view room at the Shangri-La here in Cairns.

Cairns is a wonderful tropical city. We spent some time exploring the hotel grounds, and then went out for a walk on the esplanade.

We booked a tour of the barrier reef for tomorrow, and then took a drive north to the Mossman Gorge National Park. Along the way we stopped at the Cairns Tropical Zoo where we saw dingoes, wallabies, kangaroo, wombats, crocodiles, and other assorted Australian critters. And where we were photographed cuddling a koala.

We also stopped for a bit in Palm Cove where there are lots of resort hotels and a beautiful sandy beach.

When we reached the Mossman Gorge we followed the walking paths through the rainforest and near the river.

Later back at the hotel we had dinner at a seafood restaurant where I ventured to try a local fish that was very good. Before dinner we had time to catch some of the final rays of sunset from the esplanade.

More after our reef tour tomorrow.

Aussie Update

2009-05-24T01:47:00.000-07:00

It was a long flight from LA to Sydney, but we were very lucky because United honored my upgrade request and we got to make the 14 hour flight in business class. Janet had no problem adjusting to the additional level of comfort. She looked like when she used to set herself with pillows and blankets in the back of the van when we used to do long road trips.

After we got to Sydney we had about a 5 hour wait in the airport until our next flight to Brisbane. Then in Brisbane another hour or so wait for the flight to Cairns. We finally arrived at our hotel in Cairns around 5:30 pm Saturday. We enjoyed a nice dinner at a restaurant on the marina boardwalk and then headed to bed early. It had been a long trip.

More updates to follow soon.

Slow Start

2009-05-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

We took off on the first leg of our trip Wednesday evening. Thanks to Jennifer for driving us to the airport. Our flight to LA was overbooked and they were offering a free R/T ticket anywhere in the U.S., free overnight hotel accomodations, plus first class seats on the next day's 6:30 am flight to anyone volunteering to give up their seat. We were tempted by the offer, but decided to stick to our original itinerary which gave us an overnight in LA before embarking on the long flight to Sydney. They eventually got all the volunteers they needed.

After boarding, the pilot announced that there was a problem with closing the entry door, and mechanics were working on it. We had to sit in the completely full plane while they worked on the door. We finally took off nearly an hour after our scheduled departure. But don't feel too sorry for me. I had used upgrades on this flight so we were sitting in roomy seats with flight attendants serving us chilled drinks during the wait. The 14 hour leg to Sydney will not be so comfy.

We had nice accomodations at the Marriott here in LA. We extended our stay so we can relax and enjoy the hotel instead of sitting in LAX all day waiting for our evening flight to Sydney.

Bye for now. The next update will probably be after we've checked in at Cairns.

"He's Dead Jim"

2009-05-20T13:02:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not dead yet. Like many others, I've allowed my blog to go dormant for a while. Even though I haven't posted anything new since April 3rd, I was surprised to find out that there are still some readers checking it from time to time. And according to icerocket.com, I'm still getting somewhere around 150 hits per week. So I'm hoping to bring it back to life with some more frequent posting.

Apparently there is a tradition of doing a "101 things about me" post on your 1st blog anniversary. My Blog anniversary was February 6th, and I did not do a 101 post. So to kick off my blog's return I am posting my 101 things list. It's more a "101 lines" about me, rather than 101 things. I didn't try to group it in categories but just added things as I thought of them.

0. I'm a C programmer. Lists begin with zero.
1. I was born at 5:59AM June 10th, 1951.
2. I am the oldest of 4.
3. I have 1 brother and 2 sisters.
4. I lived on Chicago's south side until age 10.
5. From kindergarten to 8th grade, I attended 5 different schools.
6. I WALKED to all but one. :)
7. In 1961 my parents bought a 'starter' house in Oak Lawn.
8. My mother STILL lives there.
9. In 1976 I bought a 'starter' house in Oak Lawn.
10. I still live there.
11. As a child, I wanted to be a scientist when I grew up.
12. Today I work at an innovation research and development lab!
13. As a computer programmer.
14. For a clown. :)
15. I married my high school sweetheart in 1970.
16. Together we parented 5 children.
17. All 5 have since married and moved out.
18. I am a grandfather 10 times.
19. Soon to be 11.
20. I fell in love with the Toyota MR2 in 1985 when they first appeared in the U.S.
21. I finally bought one 19 years later.
22. I have a lot of patience.
23. I've always had an interest in music.
24. My musical tastes are eclectic.
25. When I was in 5th grade our music teacher told us we could bring our favorite record to school.
26. Most kids brought early 60's pop music.
27. I brought the William Tell Overture.
28. When I was in 7th grade my parents offered me guitar lessons.
29. I quit after 9 months.
30. But I kept learning guitar on my own.
31. By 8th grade I had formed my first garage band with my brother and cousins.
32. I've played guitar in musical groups of one kind or another ever since.
33. In 7th grade I joined the school chorus.
34. I sang Alto.
35. I've been singing in choral groups of one kind or another ever since.
36. But somewhere around 10th grade I finally graduated to Bass.
38. Pretty much since I left high school, I've struggled with my weight.
39. It's a continuous battle of gaining weight and trying to lose it.
40. The gaining is winning.
41. I've gone through several job/career changes.
42. My first job after high school was Telephone Company Lineman.
43. That meant climbing telephone poles.
44. I'm afraid of heights.
45. Fortunately most suburban telephone lines are buried.
46. That meant digging ditches, but it was better than climbing poles.
47. I followed the phone company with 6 years as a full time National Guard employee.
48. 2 as an air defense radar technician.
49. And 4 as a supply 'technician'.
50. I left the National Guard to become a diesel engine mechanic.
51. I did that for nearly 8 years.
52. In the interim I went back to school to get a college degree.
53. I started as a math major at a community college.
54. I transferred to IIT for engineering.
55. A physics teacher showed me how to solve problems using FORTRAN.
56. I returned to the community college to study computer science.
57. I taught myself to write computer games on a home computer.
58. In 1984 I got hired as a computer programmer.
59. My college degree gave me the necessary credibility.
60. But my self taught ability to write and sell computer games gave the necessary experience.
61. I've been working in the computer/IT field ever since.
62. I love to travel.
63. I've slept under the stars in Canada.
64. I've stood inside the Taj Mahal.
65. I've been to the top of the Bavarian Alps in Germany.
66. I've driven over the Sydney Harbor Bridge in Australia.
67. I've sunned on the beach in St. Tropez.
68. I've played blackjack in the casino at Monte Carlo.
69. I've climbed to the top of the bell tower at Chartres,
70. And the top of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
71. I've taken a ride on the London Eye.
72. I've seen the Royal Baths in Warsaw.
73. I've toured the temples in Kyoto, and fed the bowing deer in Nara.
74. I've slept in an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora.
75. And experienced the peaceful quiet of Tikehau.
76. I've sipped wine in Austria.
77. I've consumed Caipirinhas in Brazil.
78. I've overindulged in Rum in the Caribbean.
79. I've had a few beers on a beach in Mexico.
80. I've downed a few Mai Tais in Maui.
81. I like to take a drink now and then. :)
82. I've seen a good bit of the U.S., but I'd have to start another 101 list.
83. But I have to mention Las Vegas, which I've seen quite a few times.
84. I like to play Poker and Blackjack but I lose more than I win.
85. I enjoy eating in nice restaurants.
86. I like most foods, but I don't generally like seafood.
87. Except in Hawaii where I've had some really good seafood.
88. I like single malt scotch.
89. But when I'm feeling tropical, I love a boat drink.
90. My favorite candy is jelly beans.
91. Or candy corn in the fall.
92. I'm not particularly fond of chocolate, but I have been seen eating it.
93. I am a coffee aficionado, and have my own espresso machine.
94. According to family and friends, I make the world's best chocolate chip cookies.
95. I've never been very athletic, but I ran a half marathon when I was in my 30's.
96. I was nearly electrocuted once.
97. But I survived with only scars from electrical burns.
98. And a healthy respect for electricity.
99. My favorite television show was Dr. Who.
100. My favorite movie is Casablanca.

All I Really Need To Know

2009-04-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

You may already be familiar with Robert Fulghum's list All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten. This list has spawned a number of less serious lists, some of which can be found here (thanks Jennifer). I especially enjoyed one of those, and I'm reproducing it here. Speaking of lists, I'm actually working on a 101 things list, but I'm only up to around 50. I'll post it when/if I finish it.

All I Really Need To Know I Learned By Watching Dr. Who

Don't be afraid to dress conspicuously

"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes"

Be polite to strangers - offer them a jelly baby

Face bureaucracy with sarcasm

Bad guys always wear black

Almost any problem can be solved by reversing the polarity of the neutron flow

Never trust anyone with a sinister beard and a high collar

When in doubt, bang the console

Nearly anyone will fall for the really big lie at some point

If it glows, avoid it

The gravel quarries are not what they seem

Bad guys will not see you if you stand really close to the wall, even if they walk right past you

All the aliens speak with British accents

All alien planets have corridors somewhere

There's nothing the sonic screwdriver can't handle (apart from a voice activated lock)

Every alien planet has open cast mining

"When I say run, RUN!"

"Everyone remotely interesting is mad in one way or another"

"Somewhere else the Tea's getting cold"

The worst won't happen if you do something immensely clever

"Humans have an amazing capacity for self-deception"

If you're so clever, follow me up the stairs

Your best weapons are your mind, your scarf, and your brolly (British slang for umbrella)

Blowing up earth will not solve your own impotence

You never know what you're going to get

"I am the master, you will obey me"

Life is hard, then you regenerate

However bad it may be, it'll all blow up in the last scene

Companions may come and go, but your K9 is forever

"I'm HAPPY!"

"First things first - but not necessarily in that order"

Welcome Spring

2009-03-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

At 6:44AM local time, Winter left, and Spring came in. And not a minute too soon if you ask me. Let's all celebrate by standing an egg on end.

Obrigado e tchau

2009-03-05T18:07:00.000-08:00

Not too much to say today and no pictures either. We head for home tomorrow. Lunch today was at another weigh your plate restaurant. They seem to be a popular way to eat. The hotel has 3 restaurants, Japanese, French, and Italian. Tonight we had dinner at the Italian. I had a spaghetti with chili peppers, garlic, and olive oil but no sauce. It was good and spicy.

It's been an interesting visit. The meetings were productive. We had a driver to take us to and from the office each day. Riding in Sao Paulo traffic makes you surprised that the cars don't all look like they've been in a demolition derby. And the motorcycles that weave at high speed between the cars would give even a Chicago cab driver a fright. It's remarkable that there aren't more accidents. But we were safely transported every day.

I have another overnight flight to endure, but it will be good to be home again.

Boa Noite

2009-03-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

Nothing much to report tonight. So I'll just put up a couple more pictures.

We are on an executive floor of the hotel. It has a club lounge where they serve snacks and cocktails every evening, and a continental breakfast every morning. There is free Wi-Fi in there and you can also get DVDs to play in your room. This is a view from the club lounge window.

Here is the building that houses the VSI offices. They have to scan their fingerprint every time they enter or leave the building.

Across the street from the office is a restaurant. This is a self serve buffet type restaurant. You fill your plate with your choices from the buffet which includes salad items, hot vegetables and meats, and desserts. Then they weigh your plate at the end of the line kind of like a salad bar, and you pay per ounce or kilogram or whatever.

I tried a new soft drink that is very popular in Brazil. It's called Guarana Antarctica and it tastes something like cream soda. Apparently it is very high in caffeine. I didn't notice any effects from drinking it, but I already had plenty of strong Brazilian coffee by then.

Bom Dia

2009-03-03T18:21:00.000-08:00

Today was a full day of meetings. I think they went well. We ended the day at a Churrascaria restaurant called the Montana Grill. This is one of those Brazilian all you can eat steak houses. You start at a self serve salad bar, and then they start bringing you meat on skewers non stop. We all ate until we were stuffed. The meal was accompanied by some delicious Caipirinhas. These tasty drinks go down easy and each one makes you want another. I know I had more than one, and less than four, but my counting got a little foggy. :) After the dinner we enjoyed a delicious papaya cream desert, and finished the night with a shot of Cointreau. Fortunately we had a driver to bring us back to the hotel. Some pictures:

Complimentary breakfast buffet

Dinner group

Meat on a stick

Caipirinha number ??

Sao Paulo night view

Brazil

2009-03-02T18:10:00.000-08:00

The company that supplies software for our POS devices is located in São Paulo, Brazil and I am here this week for some meetings. The overnight flight got me here around noon. Leaving Chicago's 20 degree temperatures and stepping off the plane into 93° was quite a shock, although a welcome one. We had pre-arranged transportation that picked us up and brought us to the São Paulo Grand Hyatt, a very nice hotel where we have exceptional accommodations. After arriving we walked to a nearby shopping area for lunch. Our meetings start tomorrow, so I had the afternoon off to rest from our travel. This evening we had dinner at one of the 3 hotel restaurants where I had a chance to get to know a couple of the VSI employees a little better. Tomorrow morning begins our series of meetings this week. Here are a few pictures.

The Hyatt

My colleague, Mr. Weatherby in front of the Hyatt entrance

Hotel Lobby

São Paulo

The Hyatt entrance, viewed from hotel room

View of suspension bridge from hotel room

Hotel room

Music Video Day - I'd Rather Be A Cowboy

2009-02-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

It got a little difficult to maintain a series of scheduled posts, particularly video Friday, so now if I have a new video, or a cool website, or other news I'll just post it when I have it, and not necessarily on a specific day.

Today I have a new music video of John Denver's "I'd Rather Be A Cowboy." This song was released on his 1973 "Farewell Andromeda" album. It's not one I've ever performed in the past and it's a little high for me, but I always liked the overall sound and especially the guitar figure.

I'd Rather Be A Cowboy

Click here to comment and rate!

Music Video Friday - Paradise

2009-02-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

"Paradise" is a song by John (blow up your TV) Prine. I first heard it when John Denver covered it on his "Rocky Mountain High" album. This is the 4th song from that album that I've put up on YouTube. Except for Darcy Farrow and Season Suite, I've played all the songs from that album at one time or another during my years of playing with Carl & Jim. I'm hoping to cover them all here eventually. Season suite may present a guitar challenge.

Paradise

Click here to comment and rate!

Vacation Report - Part One

2009-02-19T00:01:00.001-08:00

Last weekend we had a short tropical getaway. Even though we were just there in November, the bargain airfare made it impossible to refuse this chance to spend Valentine's Day on Maui. The weather was perfect, and we had enough time to do both a little sightseeing and relaxing.

Day 1
We were picked up at 5:15 AM by the airport limo service, and arrived at the airport with ample time for our 8:10 AM flight. We had put in for upgrades for all of the flights there and back but only the first flight from Chicago to San Francisco came through so we got to ride in business class for that leg of the trip. We arrived in Maui around 5:00 PM and rented a Mustang convertible. At the hotel check-in we were happy to learn that we had been assigned the ocean front rooms we wanted.

After settling into our room we headed over to the Hula Grill for some late dinner and our first Mai Tai of the trip. We had to wait about an hour for a table, and were disappointed when the band finished for the night just after we were seated. The waiter explained that the slow economy had resulted in shorter and shorter hours for live entertainment. The food and Mai Tais were good though. On our last trip I discovered that fish in Hawaii can be very good, so I ordered the Island Fish and Chips along with everyone else.

Day 2
This was our whale watch sail day. We were in Maui at the peak of whale season, and you could even see whales from the lanai of the hotel room. We booked a 2 hour whale watch tour on Trilogy and were treated to some spectacular sights of many of the humpback whale behaviors including breaches, fluke slapping, and flipper slapping.

Breach Series

We also had time for some relaxation, and I got a sunburned face from laying by the pool. Dinner was at the Sea House, an excellent restaurant that Janet and I found at the Napili Kai resort on our last trip. We all enjoyed the macadamia crusted mahi-mahi. They also make a very good Mai Tai. All through dinner we were entertained by a guitarist playing and singing Hawaiian songs. The dinner was delicious, but we saved enough room for dessert.

For a short trip, the report seems to be getting long, so I'll put it up in parts. Friday is music video day, so look for vacation report part 2 maybe on Saturday.

Weblink Wednesday

2009-02-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

Today's cool weblink is to the online video on demand service called "Hulu". Hulu provides free on demand viewing of TV shows, movies, and clips, with content from FOX, NBC, Universal, MGM, Sony, Warner Bros., and more. Some content is even in HD*. Hulu doesn't require any special software downloads. Just go to http://www.hulu.com/ and click on a video to watch. You can even embed all or part of a video on your blog:

Missed an episode of "ER"? Hulu has it. Want to see the entire season of "Firefly" but don't know how to download torrents? Watch it on Hulu. Save a trip to the video store and watch "Muppets From Space" right on your computer. If they don't have the show you're looking for, keep checking back. New content is being added all the time.

Click here: http://www.hulu.com/ to explore Hulu.

*Higher system requirements for HD.

Measure Up Monday

2009-02-16T11:26:00.000-08:00

I'm fresh back (5:30 AM today) from a short vacation and as far as weight watching is concerned, I'm still on vacation, so I wont be posting any stats today. Check back next Monday to see if I manage to recover from the last several days of indulgence. I'll try to get a trip report and a few pictures up in the next day or two.

Music Video Friday - Four Strong Winds

2009-02-13T00:01:00.000-08:00

Does everybody have their paraskavedekatriaphobia under control? Good. On to the music.

Four Strong Winds is a great Ian Tyson song about migrant workers and the effect of their seasonal movements on a love affair. It was written in 1961 and has been covered many times, notably by Neil Young in 1979. But I'm pretty sure the guy who taught me this song learned it from a guy who learned it from a John Denver cover. I hope you enjoy my version.

Four Strong Winds

Click here to comment and rate!

Weblink Wednesday

2009-02-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

Today's weblink is to Definr, the "Incredibly fast dictionary". There are certainly plenty of online dictionaries available, and some probably have a larger word database, but I doubt if any can compete with Definr for its fast lookup speed. You simply begin typing the word and Definr presents you with suggestions that match what you have typed so far. Click on one of the suggested words to get to the definition.

Click here http://definr.com/ to try Definr.

Measure Up Monday

2009-02-09T07:19:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed the ++ on the end of some of my Measure Up Monday posts. That was an indicator that I had something besides my weight to post about in the "Other News" section. No such additional post today. :)

Date	Weight	Gain/Loss	Upper Waist	Lower Waist
01/19/09	216	+++	43.0	41.0
01/26/09	215	-1
02/02/09	218	+3
02/09/09	212	-6

Music Video Friday - For Baby (For Bobbie)

2009-02-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

"For Baby (For Bobbie)" is one of John Denver's early successes that appeared on his "Rocky Mountain High" album. I've previously performed 2 other songs here from that album , "Prisoners" and "Mother Nature's Son". I didn't do any fancy video tricks or multi-track audio for this one, but I am featuring my new 12 string Taylor. Hope you like it.

For Baby (For Bobbie)

Click here to comment and rate!

1 Year of Blogging

2009-02-05T00:01:00.000-08:00

Today is my unofficial blog anniversary. Tomorrow is the actual anniversary date of my first post, but since last year was a leap year, my blog is really 365 days old today.

When I started this blog, I wasn't sure how far I would go with it. I have a reputation for starting a new interest, obsessing intensely about it for a while, and then abandoning it when a new interest comes along. Some would say this is a manifestation of my Gemini astrological sign.

So it's kind of surprising that I've been at this for a whole year now. Another surprise is how much I've had to say. I am not known to be a very communicative person, and in fact many of my blog posts are quite terse. So I guess it's not really how much I had to say, as much as how often. In the past 365 days I have made 160 blog posts, for an average of 1 post every 2.3 days. Once someone jokingly said my blog was boring because all I ever post about is my weight. While it's true that my weight is the largest single category of posts, 77% of my posts were on other topics. Here is a list of general categories:

Category	# of Posts
Weight	37
Travel	33
Music	24
Jokes	22
Web Links	8
Mackinaw Race	5
Other	30

Happy bloggiversary to me. Watch tomorrow for my first new YouTube video in 5 weeks.

Weblink Wednesday

2009-02-04T09:08:00.000-08:00

Last week I told you about a site that allowed you to make anagrams of your name, or any other words for that matter. Today I have another fun name site.

"Behind The Name", contains a huge database of names and their associated etymologies. It even contains "Ginette"! Depending on how common the name is you may be able to learn other interesting facts like the name's popularity over time, or even how it is rated by other people. If you're having trouble coming up with a name for a new arrival, give the random name generator a try.

Visit http://www.behindthename.com/ and have some fun!

Pictures from the ICIC

2009-02-02T12:38:00.000-08:00

You can check out the menu from the ICIC here:
It Menu

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Asian Cooking & Menus

Measure Up Monday++

2009-02-02T08:57:00.000-08:00

I was on track early in the week, but a weekend of celebratory eating including birthdays, graduations, and Friday's Iron Chef (see below) blew it all. Look for redoubled effort next week.

Date	Weight	Gain/Loss	Upper Waist	Lower Waist
01/19/09	216	+++	43.0	41.0
01/26/09	215	-1
02/02/09	218	+3

In other news...
I work on the technology team of a cross-discipline department consisting of teams from Customer Experience, Restaurant Operations, Equipment Engineering, and Computer Technology. As a team building exercise we've instituted a bi-monthly Iron Chef competition. Last Friday the tech team was the first to compete. We were given a theme choice, fixed monetary resources, and 4.5 hours to come up with a meal to feed the rest of the department for lunch. Initially I was dreading it but it actually turned out to be fun.

The theme choices were "Super Bowl" or "Chinese New Year". We decided to go with "Chinese Super Bowl". We planned a menu, found recipes on the internet, dashed to the store for ingredients and started cooking. I was designated as "soup chef" and charged with making 2 gallons of egg drop soup (Chinese soup-er bowl). It was pretty easy to make so I also pitched in helping to chop chicken and vegetables for the other items on the menu. We served up a delicious meal consisting of fried rice, kung pao chicken, egg rolls, egg drop soup, and fortune cookies, all made from scratch ingredients. The fortune cookies were a little unfortunate, but everything else turned out great. I'm hoping to have some pictures to post later.

Music Video Friday - Here Comes The Sun

2009-01-30T00:01:00.000-08:00

Today's video is an example of what can happen when some outstanding musicians from around the globe collaborate electronically and form a virtual band over the internet.

"Here Comes The Sun" combines the skills of Fanoguitar, ScalerWave and Batmankozyy, three musicians who share their talents on YouTube. Their individual efforts are blended into an amazingly smooth and coherent performance that is enhanced even more by the accompanying video.

Please enjoy this cover of "Here Comes The Sun" and then I encourage you to visit the artists' YouTube channels to leave a comment and rating.

Here Comes The Sun

Weblink Wednesday

2009-01-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

The author of today's weblink claims that "All the life's wisdom can be found in anagrams. Anagrams never lie." He may well be right. Consider these:

Dormitory = Dirty room
Clint Eastwood = Old west action
Mental Detours = Most unrelated

And who'da thunk that when I was named so many years ago, my interest in blackjack would be embedded in my name?

Daniel Hamilton = Deal in man, hit lo.

The Internet Anagram Server is a website that lets you find all the possible anagrams for words you enter. There are also links to other fun pages like the Anagram Hall of Fame, or the Anagram FAQ.

Internet Anagram Server is actually a sub-site of Wordsmith.Org, the host site for Anu Garg's "A Word A Day" newsletter and webpage.

So click on over to http://wordsmith.org/anagram/index.html for some diversionary fun with anagrams.

Measure Up Monday++

2009-01-26T09:07:00.000-08:00

I didn't lose much this week, but it's better than gaining. Since the measurements of my girth don't change much weekly, I decided to only update those monthly.

Date	Weight	Gain/Loss	Upper Waist	Lower Waist
01/19/09	216	+++	43.0	41.0
01/26/09	215	-1

In other news...
I played in a fund-raiser poker tournament last Friday. This was a repeat of the Chargers Little League fund-raiser I played in last year. It was a smaller event this time with about 40 players, and was held at an area bar/lounge that has a party room in the basement. The $75 buy-in included a contribution to the baseball team, food, beer and soft drinks, and the prize pool. The food was supposed to be served at 6:30 and the game started at 7:00, but by 7:30 there was no food yet and the tournament had not been started. Around 8:00 they started the tournament and announced there would be a break for food at 9:00.

The tournament was run surprisingly well considering its shaky start. An electronic device hung where everyone could see displayed the current blinds level and the remaining time until the next level. The tournament emcee did a pretty good job of balancing and consolidating tables.

The food arrived in time for the 9:00 break, and consisted of salad, italian sausage, roast beef in gravy, corn, and fried chicken. It was pretty good, but the fact that our appetites waited an extra 2½ hours may have enhanced the flavor. :)

The tournament started with 5 tables of 8, and I lasted until the final 2 tables when I was knocked out by a bad beat. I had raised preflop with a suited AJ, and had one caller. I caught an ace on the flop and pushed all-in. The villian pondered my bet for a long time, and ended up calling me with nothing but an inside straight draw. Of course he caught his card on the river, and I was out.

Congratulations to Danny for making it to the final table, and to Jeff for finishing in the money at 3rd.

Music Video Friday - Tommy Emmanuel

2009-01-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

I still have no video camera and so am unable to make a new video to put up here. So this week I'd like to introduce you to the amazing fingerstyle guitarist from Australia, Tommy Emmanuel. According to his Wikipedia biography, Tommy received his first guitar at age 4, and by age 9 was working as a professional musician.

Tommy is know for his expressive finger picking playing style, and also for sometimes using his guitar as a percussion instrument.

Here Tommy performs "Over the Rainbow".

Weblink Wednesday

2009-01-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

This week's weblink was given to me as a suggestion from Danny. The link is to a list of Frequently Asked Questions received by Dr. David P. Stern, who is the author of an online book called "From Stargazers to Starships", encompassing an entire course in Astronomy and Physics.

The FAQ contains answers to many interesting questions, such as "Do the drains swirl backwards in Australia?"

Click Here: http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/StarFAQs.htm for the answer to that and a few hundred other questions.

Measure Up Monday++

2009-01-19T01:00:00.000-08:00

OK, the holidays and the Vegas trip are over, so now it's time to get back to the business of getting fit. I had been maintaining for a few months before the holidays, and then took about a month off from any kind of weight watching with the expectation that I was going to put some of the weight back on. So today I'm reporting my current weight and waist for a new beginning of my Measure Up Monday program. I'd really like to get under 200 by spring but let's see how it goes.

Date	Weight	Gain/Loss	Upper Waist	Lower Waist
01/19/09	216	+++	43.0	41.0

In other news...
I was recently asked to give some advice to my nephew about choosing an acoustic 12 string guitar. So I spent some time researching them online to see what brands and models were available and for what prices. Then I suggested a couple that were in his budget with the recommendation that he go try them out to see if he liked their sound and feel.

However, I also have often thought I'd like to own a 12 string, and the research I did for my nephew rekindled my interest. So yesterday I went out guitar shopping. I visited a couple of different stores, and tried out several different 12's by Martin, Ovation, and others but the Taylor's renowned playability and sparkling tone won me over. Watch for it in my next video.

Music Video Friday - Kansas City

2009-01-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

I'm back from my vacation but my video camera has gone on a vacation of its own, traveling to Australia with Colleen and Tim. So I cut another clip from the 19 year old Way Off Broadway videotape. This time it's Kansas City, a song originally written in 1952, and covered by many artists, including Bill Haley & the Comets, Little Richard, and the Beatles. The best known version was recorded by Wilbert Harrison in 1959.

Kansas City

Click here to comment and rate!

Weblink Wednesday

2009-01-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

Wednesday is the new time to look for posts about a website that I've heard about and think is worth sharing. This Wednesday I'm featuring a site that I've been visiting daily for a long time. The site is Astronomy Picture Of The Day, where every day you can find a cool new picture from the outer reaches of the universe, or sometimes interesting atmospheric effects right here on earth.

The pictures are always accompanied by a detailed explanation with hotlinks to various other articles that offer even more information if you're interested. But the pictures are almost always guaranteed to wow you.

Click here http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html to visit "Astronomy Picture of the Day".

Las Vegas Continued

2009-01-12T17:53:00.000-08:00

The Consumer Electronics Show was interesting. This was my first ever visit to CES and I was impressed by the size and by the crowds of attendees, even though I've heard that the show is slightly smaller than previous years. I spent Thursday and Friday walking around the exhibit floors with people from work, and returned on Saturday with Janet. There is a lot of interesting technology on display, but I didn't see anything that looks like it is destined to be the 'Next Big Thing'. High Definition video displays are getting larger and thinner, and there were a few manufacturers showing 3D displays, but I don't think those will be catching on soon except maybe with gamers.

We saw Bette Midler's show at Caesar's on Saturday night. I've never been one of her fans, but her Las Vegas show was very impressive and entertaining.

The Mirage has refurbished its Volcano show and we watched that Saturday night as well. They've added music and choreographed fire displays along with a rebuilt volcano cone and improved eruption effects. It's a spectacular 5 minute show.

After four nights at Caesar's Palace, we have now moved over to Steve Wynn's new property, Encore. My first impression of Encore when I entered was RED. Everywhere you look, red is the dominant color. To me it almost seems like too much. The hotel is brand new so everything is very nice. They also seem very intent on making you feel like a welcome and recognized guest. Every person I've encountered has been very friendly and called me by name if they knew it. The rooms are as nice as the rooms at Wynn, but laid out differently. Our only complaint is that the swiveling flat panel display is mounted such that it blocks your view of the window from the bed.

Today we took a drive up to Mt. Charleston and had lunch at the Mt. Charleston hotel. Janet and Gini like to make the drive up there every time we visit, but I usually decline going along so it's been some time since I've been up there. It's a nice break away from the 'Vegas scene' for a few hours.

I played some poker with Colleen while she was here. We both played in a cash NL Holdem game where she won a little, and I didn't. Then we entered a 40 person tournament where neither of us made the final table. I played in a sit-n-go at the Mirage that pays the top 2 finishers, but I finished in 3rd. :( I've also been playing some blackjack and having better luck at it than usual, so I'm a little bit up overall for the trip. I still have a couple of days here though, so we'll see how it all comes out.

I had been posting a weblink here on Monday for the last few weeks, but I'm planning to get back to Measure Up Monday after this trip is over, so I think I'll move the weblink post over a couple of days since Weblink Wednesday sounds better anyway.

Music Video Friday - Surfin' U S A

2009-01-09T00:01:00.000-08:00

I'm away from home, so I don't have a new video made to put up this week. However, before I left I found an old videotape from the Way Off Broadway days and captured one of the songs from it. The video and audio quality aren't all that good but it's an interesting look at me from back in 1990.

The song is the Beach Boy's first big hit from 1963, "Surfin' USA"

Surfin' USA

Click here to comment and rate!

CES - Las Vegas Trip Report

2009-01-07T16:15:00.000-08:00

I am at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The show starts tomorrow, but Janet and I came down a few days early to enjoy some vacation time away from the cold of Chicago. Trouble is, it was in the low 40's when we got here so we aren't all that far away from the cold.

The trip getting here was an adventure. We had confirmed upgrades on a 5:30pm flight, but that flight had already been delayed by 45 minutes, and we were concerned about missing our connecting flight in Denver, so we accepted standby seats on a earlier flight. Unfortunately the standby seats were not in first, and not even in economy plus, and not even on the window or aisle, and not even on the same sides of the plane! We were each assigned a middle seat on opposite sides of the aisle. However, a nice UA flight attendant that was seated at the window next to me offered her seat up so Janet could sit next to me. That was a very kind thing for her to do.

We arrived in Denver with plenty of time to make our connection, but our originally scheduled flight left Chicago an hour late, so I really think we would have been sorry had we waited and kept our comfy upgraded seats.

We spent 2 nights here at the Venetian hotel before moving to Caesar's Palace today for the CES event. While at the Venetian we met up with Colleen for dinner Tuesday night and lunch today. Colleen is running into some problems getting her company's booth ready for the show, but I'll let her blog about it when she gets a chance.

The gaming was going OK the first day with some modest wins, but turned around on me the next day, putting me in the red for the trip so far. But we're having fun!

I'll try to post an update in a couple of days.

Bonzer Weblink Monday

2009-01-05T00:01:00.000-08:00

If your're a regular reader here you already know that I'm a fan of the rising star from YouTube named Holly. Her talents continue to amaze all of her nearly 1500 subscribers. Her musical career hit a new height recently when she performed onstage with the popular UK artist Amy MacDonald.

Her lastest endeavor is the launching of her personal website. On her website you can view photos and videos, listen to her music, leave messages, and communicate with other fans in the forums. It's a very well presented site.

Click on http://www.hollykirbymusic.com/ to check it out today.

Music Video Friday - Pipeline

2009-01-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

This week's tune was originally recorded by the Chantays in 1963. It is a classic surf rock song and has been covered a number of times by artists such as Dick Dale or The Ventures. I've played it in bands as far back as I can remember being in a band. I didn't stick to the classic surf guitar sound. I hope you like it.

I may be absent from the music video Friday for a few weeks. One reason is I'll be at CES and on vacation for a while. The other reason is my video camera is going on vacation with Colleen.

Pipeline

Click here to comment and rate!

Bonzer WebLink Monday (aka Measure Up Monday)

2008-12-29T10:25:00.000-08:00

I'm still on holiday from rigorously monitoring my weight, but I can honestly say I have not veered too far and could reasonably be called maintaining.

I promised to try and have an interesting link here every Monday. It seems my idea of interesting may not match everyone else's. If you know of an interesting link with general appeal, email it to me. Otherwise, it's my blog so I get to pick.

Today's link is to Yesterland. While your grandchildren will probably be able to ride the flying Dumbo ride just like you did, there are dozens of other Disneyland attractions that have become outdated or removed to make room for something else. Yesterland documents what has disappeared from Disneyland over the years.

Music Video Friday - Blame It On The Rum

2008-12-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

Back in May of 2004, we went on our first Caribbean cruise, which was a lot of fun. To get in the mood for the cruise, I made a compilation CD of about 20 tropical themed songs, and this is one of the songs that was on that CD. It sounds like a Jimmy Buffet song, but it's actually by 'Sunny' Jim White, and is from the Tom Cruise movie "The Firm".

Blame It On The Rum

Click here to comment and rate!

Measure Up Monday (aka Bonzer WebLink Monday)

2008-12-22T09:13:00.001-08:00

The past week has included: Daily treats and snacks on colleagues' desks, an office holiday party, a birthday party, holiday drinks and dinner with friends, and home baked cakes and Christmas cookies. Therefore due to the plethora of consumed calories, the great Lose Weight by Blogging experiment has gone on holiday. I wish all the readers who have been following my progress a Merry Christmas, and promise that I won't completely abandon my efforts.

I'll still try to have something of interest to share here on Mondays in the interim. Today I have an interesting educational link from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game concerning certain subspecies of Reindeer.

Music Video Friday - Wasted On The Way

2008-12-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

We played several Crosby Stills & Nash songs during our 'Way Off Broadway' days. This one is from the 1982 "Daylight Again" album, the same as Nov 7th's video was. I didn't do any cloning of myself this time, although the vocals are recorded in 3 part harmony.

Wasted On The Way

Click here to comment and rate!

Measure Up Monday

2008-12-15T05:53:00.000-08:00

No surprises here. If I come out of the Holiday Season within a few pounds of 211, I'll consider it a success. I don't expect to show any real progress again until after the CES in January.

Date	Weight	Gain/Loss	Upper Waist	Lower Waist
11/24/08	210	+3	43.0	41.0
12/01/08	212	+2	43.5	40.5
12/08/08	209	-3	43.0	40.0
12/15/08	211	+2	43.5	40.0

Music Video Friday - Teach Your Children

2008-12-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

In 1970, Crosby Stills and Nash became Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. Their first album after adding Neil was "Deja Vu", and it included this great song that I'm singing for you this Friday.

Teach Your Children

Click here to comment and rate!

	Austria Switzerland China United Kingdom Kentucky		Norway VietNam Chile Japan Baja California
	Spain Germany Poland France Georgia		Brazil India Antarctica China South Carolina
	Japan Phillipines Sweden Norway Delaware		Brazil India Antarctica China Illinois
	France Algeria Canada Egypt Arkansas		France Poland Germany Switzerland New Jersey
	Japan Phillipines Society Islands Sweden Key West		Japan Phillipines Society Islands Greece Hawaiian Islands