I didn't want to write about it for fear of Jinxing it but the entire week has been very sunny in Seattle. I think the always rainy / cloudy thing about Seattle might be one of the greatest myths around today. It might be a little more gray or rainy than the Midwest but you'll get no complaints from me since we just had a cold snap of 27 degrees. I might have grown up in parts of the world with pretty extreme cold and I'm sure I could do it again but it would take some getting used to.
There has been a significant drop off in the amount of posts since the free wireless went away so I'm looking into options to have the internet again. This is sort of a pain without it. I'm debating getting a broadband card instead of a standard wireless router that way I can take the internet with me instead of being tethered to my apartment.
The Post Holiday party is this weekend at the EMP, which stands for Experience Music Project. It's sort of a combination of a museum or Rock and Roll history and an interactive exhibition center. Seattle had strong impacts on Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix, Curt Cobain, and various others so there is a fair amount of history plus there are 5 or 6 billionaires around to contribute money to the interactive part so it should be pretty fun. Free drinks and encouragement to dress up as "stormtroopers, Borg, or your favorite Battlestar Galactica character" should also add to the evenings ambiance. MU plays earlier in the day so it should be a fun day.
Monday means a flight to Kentucky. I like Louisville on Monday night so it should be a good time even if it is for work. The dry county part doesn't sound too exciting and I've been told there is a wide variety of bible study shows on public access cable so I'm excited by that prospect. I need to get up to speed on Job...
Friday, January 25, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
Marquette - Notre Dame
That's right. The big game this weekend isn't the Seahawks - Packer game, which would be obvious since I live in Seattle and recently moved from Milwaukee, it's actually the Marquette - Notre Dame basketball game that's on a few hours earlier. I'll be watching at a sports bar or something but we need to crush the Domers.
View Larger Map That's what the middle of Kentucky looks like. I'm headed there for work at the end of the month. It's a dry county and it probably won't be any fun but duty calls I guess.
I feel like a Morlock. That's a fairly obscure literary reference for people to look up although the opposite equivalent is a Eloi if that helps. Anyway, the sun has been out for a hours now which hasn't happened in a while. The sun shines more than I thought it would in the winter but this prolonged exposure is blinding. I'll take the mostly cloudy 40's over then -20's and partly cloudy any day. I don't even consider the weather here to be winter right now because it would be an insult to the winters I knew growing up.
Off to research wireless internet.
View Larger Map That's what the middle of Kentucky looks like. I'm headed there for work at the end of the month. It's a dry county and it probably won't be any fun but duty calls I guess.
I feel like a Morlock. That's a fairly obscure literary reference for people to look up although the opposite equivalent is a Eloi if that helps. Anyway, the sun has been out for a hours now which hasn't happened in a while. The sun shines more than I thought it would in the winter but this prolonged exposure is blinding. I'll take the mostly cloudy 40's over then -20's and partly cloudy any day. I don't even consider the weather here to be winter right now because it would be an insult to the winters I knew growing up.
Off to research wireless internet.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
More issues with free wireless...
But I found out I'm going to Kentucky at the end of the month... not a decent part either but the middle of nowhere in a dry county. Sigh.
These things happen for a reason right.
These things happen for a reason right.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
The Kite Runner
The Vikings managed to lose to the Bronco's today to finish the season 8-8 which is a little better than Vegas expected. I took a prop bet in Reno that the Vikings would win more than 7 games this year. Because of the Vikings I managed to turn $5 into nearly $10 so thank you for that. As much I enjoy checking the mail for my $10 check I'm a little annoyed they managed to blow there chances at the playoffs between this week and last. I am less than impressed than impressed with the Brad Childress era but then again I don't have a vote since I live too far away to make my displeasure known.
After I got sick of watching the Vikings lose I decided to go see a movie. For some reason I decided to see The Kite Runner, which is a pretty interesting movie. It is fictional and not a memoir but it feels like a true story while you watch it. At times it gets a little hard to believe with some of the events and the neat conclusion but it was a good movie. After the movie ended nobody talked for a very long time and nobody left their seat for a good minute. Always the sign of a good movie.
I wonder how many other people realize there are two separate movies about Afghanistan (at least indirectly) at the same time. The Kite Runner begins in Kabul prior to the Soviet invasion and returns during what appears to be the horrific Taliban years pre 9/11. Charlie Wilson's war, which I haven't seen, is some sort of comedic drama about how Senator Wilson funneled Billions of $$ into fighting the Soviets. This begs the question; did the former Soviet republics end up better off in the long run or did Afghanistan which managed to fight off communism with the help of the Americans? To be sure neither would be ideal but it's a fair question.
After returning to laundry and cleaning post holidays I sat down to watch some TV and ended up with The Sound of Music. I'm watching it as I type. Maybe it's because I'm reading a book on WWII right now but some of the references to Nazi's and the political climate have a whole new meaning once you start to pay attention. Rolf and Liesl Von Trapp were just discussing the joys of being 16 going on 17... according to IMDB Julie Andrews character doesn't have a last name, she's just "Maria". That's pretty odd.
After I got sick of watching the Vikings lose I decided to go see a movie. For some reason I decided to see The Kite Runner, which is a pretty interesting movie. It is fictional and not a memoir but it feels like a true story while you watch it. At times it gets a little hard to believe with some of the events and the neat conclusion but it was a good movie. After the movie ended nobody talked for a very long time and nobody left their seat for a good minute. Always the sign of a good movie.
I wonder how many other people realize there are two separate movies about Afghanistan (at least indirectly) at the same time. The Kite Runner begins in Kabul prior to the Soviet invasion and returns during what appears to be the horrific Taliban years pre 9/11. Charlie Wilson's war, which I haven't seen, is some sort of comedic drama about how Senator Wilson funneled Billions of $$ into fighting the Soviets. This begs the question; did the former Soviet republics end up better off in the long run or did Afghanistan which managed to fight off communism with the help of the Americans? To be sure neither would be ideal but it's a fair question.
After returning to laundry and cleaning post holidays I sat down to watch some TV and ended up with The Sound of Music. I'm watching it as I type. Maybe it's because I'm reading a book on WWII right now but some of the references to Nazi's and the political climate have a whole new meaning once you start to pay attention. Rolf and Liesl Von Trapp were just discussing the joys of being 16 going on 17... according to IMDB Julie Andrews character doesn't have a last name, she's just "Maria". That's pretty odd.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Philly Cheese and Two Fights
Friday was a very low key day at work. Most people were still on vacation and the holiday rush was over so the team took a lunch. Success!! I have found a good Philly Cheese place in Seattle! It is called Tats (like tattoo's) and is run by some Penn State grads who really know how to make a good and authentic cheese steak with Whiz. Now to find a good Italian beef and possible a good corned beef / pastrami place. Finding the great local places has been particularly enjoyable.
After work I had to drive to the FedEx Ground hub to the south of town in order to pick up my Christmas present from my aunt. The package contained alcohol (wine) so that added to the difficultly because the package can't be left without a signature and age verification. Apple Jalapeño Pepper wine. You read that right, Jalapeño is included in the wine, so I think I'll take it to work and have a tasting session to see how this tastes in wide audience.
When I got home I walked a few blocks to Key Arena and watched a Junior league hockey game, the Seattle Thunderbirds were talking on local rivals the Everett Silvertips. It was a decent hockey game with some solid play but with a Junior league you have 16 - 20 years old learning how to play so for the price it was a solid deal. At about the 5 minute mark of a 3 - 0 Seattle lead 2 separate fights broke out at the same time. You don't see that very often so I was glad I stayed until the end. Key Arena is awful. If the Sonics do stay I 100% support funding a new arena for them.
At some point I need to make the drive and spend the money to go to a Vancouver Canucks hockey game. They are crazy about hockey and it's just a few hours up the road. Woo hoo!
After work I had to drive to the FedEx Ground hub to the south of town in order to pick up my Christmas present from my aunt. The package contained alcohol (wine) so that added to the difficultly because the package can't be left without a signature and age verification. Apple Jalapeño Pepper wine. You read that right, Jalapeño is included in the wine, so I think I'll take it to work and have a tasting session to see how this tastes in wide audience.
When I got home I walked a few blocks to Key Arena and watched a Junior league hockey game, the Seattle Thunderbirds were talking on local rivals the Everett Silvertips. It was a decent hockey game with some solid play but with a Junior league you have 16 - 20 years old learning how to play so for the price it was a solid deal. At about the 5 minute mark of a 3 - 0 Seattle lead 2 separate fights broke out at the same time. You don't see that very often so I was glad I stayed until the end. Key Arena is awful. If the Sonics do stay I 100% support funding a new arena for them.
At some point I need to make the drive and spend the money to go to a Vancouver Canucks hockey game. They are crazy about hockey and it's just a few hours up the road. Woo hoo!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
"Is there a Dr. on the plane?!"
Yep, they really do say that when something crazy happens. I went home for Christmas, and since I use the word home to mean different places (ND, MN, WI) I'll be specific and say I went to my parents house in MN. The plane ride out to MN was pretty boring but I sat next to crying kids and a fidgeter with an overactive bladder. I can't wait to fly first class someday. Someday being the operative word because it means never in this case.
The ride back on the other hand had good seat mates but some serious excitement for once. Based on the time in the air we had to be somewhere over Montana when a guy 4 rows behind me had a pretty serious seizure. Someone repeatedly hit the call button to alert the attendants all the way in the front of the plane (I was in row 41 of the cattle car) that something was up and then a different attendant announced "Is there a DR. on the plane?!" As it turns out the guy ahead of me was a firefighter or EMT and a surgeon or surgical nurse showed from somewhere and worked through the seizure. I was sitting 1 row back from one of the intercom phones and they were discussing an emergency landing somewhere in MT for a while. The guy came out of it and medics met him at the gate so everything turned out OK or now. It was pretty wild but it makes me wonder how often something like that happens because lots of people fly so it can't be that rare. Just new to me I guess.
Totally unrelated to flying excitement is the homemade wine experiment. I would call the results mixed to positive. My buddy in ND made two kinds of wine, one was pretty traditional using Welch's frozen grape juice, the other used a variety frozen juices (Apple, Cranberry, etc). In Fargo the results of the grape based wine came out a little tart but very drinkable. The mixed fruit varietal was not so good and I cannot recommend this option without serious reservations about how it will taste and smell. The batch of Welch's based wine I made at my parents house turned out a little less tart and tasted good enough for my mother to say "I've had much worse" at some wine tasting club she belongs too. Success!! We are now in the process of doing a postmortem to figure out why we had such variety in the taste of the grape juice based wines. For $7 we ended up with some pretty good wine.
Pictures will be forthcoming.
The ride back on the other hand had good seat mates but some serious excitement for once. Based on the time in the air we had to be somewhere over Montana when a guy 4 rows behind me had a pretty serious seizure. Someone repeatedly hit the call button to alert the attendants all the way in the front of the plane (I was in row 41 of the cattle car) that something was up and then a different attendant announced "Is there a DR. on the plane?!" As it turns out the guy ahead of me was a firefighter or EMT and a surgeon or surgical nurse showed from somewhere and worked through the seizure. I was sitting 1 row back from one of the intercom phones and they were discussing an emergency landing somewhere in MT for a while. The guy came out of it and medics met him at the gate so everything turned out OK or now. It was pretty wild but it makes me wonder how often something like that happens because lots of people fly so it can't be that rare. Just new to me I guess.
Totally unrelated to flying excitement is the homemade wine experiment. I would call the results mixed to positive. My buddy in ND made two kinds of wine, one was pretty traditional using Welch's frozen grape juice, the other used a variety frozen juices (Apple, Cranberry, etc). In Fargo the results of the grape based wine came out a little tart but very drinkable. The mixed fruit varietal was not so good and I cannot recommend this option without serious reservations about how it will taste and smell. The batch of Welch's based wine I made at my parents house turned out a little less tart and tasted good enough for my mother to say "I've had much worse" at some wine tasting club she belongs too. Success!! We are now in the process of doing a postmortem to figure out why we had such variety in the taste of the grape juice based wines. For $7 we ended up with some pretty good wine.
Pictures will be forthcoming.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Happy Holidays
The holidays are upon us. After spending some time with my distant relatives in Seattle last weekend I'm headed to the Midwest to spend Christmas with my family. My brother will be home from college and I'll be seeing as many relatives in a 3 day period as possible. That means driving back and forth to Fargo but that's cool. I'll get to try my homemade wine in Fargo.
I leave for MN in a few hours and I'll be taking a camera with me to maybe take some photo's of huge snow piles. Seattle hasn't got any snow while I've been in town. There was an inch or three a few weeks ago when I was in Portland but nothing that I've been able to find. I actually am I going to get my winter coat out of the closet just for this trip home because Seattle doesn't even get weather that I would call winter.
Here's to Northwest having an on-time flight.
I leave for MN in a few hours and I'll be taking a camera with me to maybe take some photo's of huge snow piles. Seattle hasn't got any snow while I've been in town. There was an inch or three a few weeks ago when I was in Portland but nothing that I've been able to find. I actually am I going to get my winter coat out of the closet just for this trip home because Seattle doesn't even get weather that I would call winter.
Here's to Northwest having an on-time flight.
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