UMTravels

Today the choices were:

• Free Duwamish River Tour about the ecology of the river
• Ride in a B-17 for $450

The river tour won because of price, but as we were getting ready to leave (all 40 of us)… one of the engines wouldn’t turn over. We got a 45 minute overview and a priority invitation to the next one.

Here is a shot of the dead boat in the water:

On the upside — at least now I know where the dock is and how long it takes to get there.

I did see the B-17 fly overhead while I was on the boat…

And as the day continued, I ended up at Habitat For Humanity’s store of left over materials on the way home picking up a sink for the outdoor kitchen. Yet another project!

Ross was supposed to be here for dinner and cruise clothes consultation at 5. Try 6:30 — the boy does run late. Dress up had to wait until after dinner.

Dinner? two beautiful pork chops, salad, much wine, cornbread muffins.

Dress up? he actually has a dark suit that will work for one of the evenings that is formal… but for the first evening we were thinking of this as the outfits… matching, sort of Wayne Newton like with the white shirts in flared collars with chest hair showing….

Stayed up way too late.

[218.1]

Well, what was to be a quiet dinner for two, Salamander and I, turned noisy when Wonderful called up to invite me to dinner, but got himself invited instead.

Dinner was a standing rib roast, boneless, with salad and fresh bread. It being a sunny day/evening, it was dinner al fresco in the breeze…

And then Missy shows up and the party begins… all this from what was going to be a quiet evening for two. Wonderful is disgusted with the booze in my cabinet and goes out and stocks up on:

• Half a Gallon of Vodka
• A Fifth of Tanqueray
• A Fifth of Triple Sec
• A Fifth of Cosmopolitan mix

None of it is left. Just kidding half the vodka, triple sec and cosmo mix, all the lemon juice and most of a Papaya are gone. Oh, and a glass is gone, a victim of knifes falling into the sink.

Oh well, a good time was had by all — and Salamander got a ride home saving him an hour and a half bus ride — the reason he doesn’t come to dinner often.

[221.3]

So, from my dear friend Ticker comes the following concept of how to save the economy… though it may not be original to him, I really like the idea. I’ve taken some liberties with it, but the basic gist is intact. And it’s cheaper than any other proposal I’ve seen at a mere $40 trillion dollars.

How to save the economy in 90 days….

There are 40 million people who are over 50 working today.

Give one million dollars to each and every one of them with these three conditions (and by the way, that million would be net, after taxes):

1. Quit their job. Forever. Instant result (besides chaos), 40 million job vacancies (assuming we all quit en mass). Unemployment solved.
2. Buy a new car, either American produced (that means lots of Toyota’s and Nissan cars) or American owned (meaning Ford’s European models, Volvo). Automobile manufacturers and their suppliers saved.
3. Buy a house or pay off your mortgage. Banking crisis solved — they’d be awash in cash.

Sounds good to me. A million clams to stop collecting a paycheck — imagine what it would do for the volunteer positions with all those type A folks needing something to throw themselves into.

So, other than that… I have a great picture from last night’s dinner. This is what happens with loose batter in a convection oven… with the strong hot air swirling around. Slightly suggestive corn muffins.

Yes, they were weird, but tasty.

Dinner tonight was the leftover chicken over greens. And a little wine as well, but that isn’t out of the norm.

[219.1]

Well, this is today:

This would be my friend Javier making masks in Mexico City to liven up the population. That would be with regard to SWINE FLU — or for the Jewish or Muslin population, Mexican Flu, or for the CDC, H1N1 would be the name. Click on the last underline for the latest from the CDC on Swine Flu.

I guess that means that my post for today having to do with the economic bailout will have to wait for tomorrow.

Dinner at Swanda’s place. Roasted a whole chicken. Wine, salad, the usual trimmings.

[218.1]

On this last trip, just completed, to the Bay Area, I finished all the magazines and I started working on the back log of thicker reading material.

First on the list… the book I printed out in January and it’s now the end of April: World At Risk (The Report of the Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism). Actually I got half way through it on the plane and it is good reading, if not exactly uplifting. Download a copy HERE.

So, that’s how I spent my flight from Oakland back to Seattle this afternoon — well, and with scotch on the rocks and a stoic seatmate. Trip up was good — free Wi-Fi in the Oakland airport, great fish tacos, what more can you ask.

Luckily the predicted rain didn’t get me on the way home — I even put the top down — and it was nice to pick up a car that had been detailed.

Dinner at home had no vegetables — the problem of getting home after six. Steak and Zinfandel.

Rest of the evening spent dealing with email needing files off the server. Many clients, many problems.

[? ? ?]

Countrymen and ladies, today we celebrate 1001 posts.

Is it time for a new car? I found a lovely 1990 Bentley R for 40K… now why it was parked in the McDonald’s parking lot next to Trader Joes. Go figure.

Online I’ve seen them for $32,500 — with less miles. Apparently this model will do 6.7 seconds to get to 60 miles per hour… with a top speed of 170. I’m guessing premium.

Speaking of Trader Joes — there is now also a BevMo in the same parking lot. Turns out their Glen Livet is $22 a bottle ($25 at Costco), but their Lismore is $30, which is $5 higher than Washington prices. I just replaced the bar at the boys house, but didn’t get anything for the trip back north. I hate checking luggage.

Dinner  tonight is chicken tits stuff with blue cheese and wrapped in Bacon. More of the Kale sauteed in Bacon. Now I’m just looking for a Bacon Ranch Dressing.

Champagne (Rose) to start, then on to a Pinotage/Syrah blend form South Africa.

Yum.

[? ? ?

26hat a glorious day to be inside working on getting the laptop tweaked to perfection. Luckily the 26 downloaded updates take time to install so I can go out on the deck and sit in the sun and read the New Yorker.

The boys are working about the house and I’m working in the basement. All is well.

Tonight we are getting take-out from a local Ethiopian restaurant — damn good, though I’m expecting “ring of fire” in the morning. For those of you who don’t know the concept of Ethiopian food — it is served on the thin round pieces of spongy bread know as injera which is also used to pick up the food. Typically you would get several dishes and share. For our dishes it was this raw beef thing, a couple of orders of a lentil stew, something with chickpeas, or maybe yellow lentils, a kale dish, and a chicken dish.

I guess I should have take a picture of how nicely Onyx arranged the platter.

Interested? Here is the website: http://www.addisethiopian.com/

In other news, my upgrade came through for tomorrow’s flight back to Seattle — though not as good as I’d like. 1A (window) rather than 1C (aisle).

Poor me.

[feeling chunky]

Try as I might to get out of the house by noon, the computer gods were against me. It took half an hour for the3 computer to install updates before it would shut down. At least the flight wasn’t until three thirty — but I did want to get to the board room while there was still soup.

Dropped the car off with the valet at MasterPark along with instructions to hand wash the exterior and deal with vacuuming and cleaning the glass on the inside. $40. ($25 for just the hand-job on the outside).

Today I’m off to Northern California, Berkeley to be specific, but flying into Oakland.

Flight was a little bit early, but I’m getting tired of that high-fat snack basket that they pass around — or maybe I’m just getting tired of not turning down the salami and cheese.

By 6pm I was at the boys and having cocktails. Dinner tonight is large steaks done on the grill, and kale stir fried up with bacon… yum. In addition to the shine I packed, I also brought a 1999 Bonny Doon le Cigare Volant — which went perfectly with the steaks.

[221.2]

Well — it seems that the Denver/Santa Fe trip in late May has sorted itself into the following:

• Wednesday morning – Seattle-Denver on Alaska airlines
• Wednesday afternoon –Dan’s father picks me up at the airport and gives me the keys to his Corvette
• Wednesday evening – WorldMark Taos in a one-bedroom (it’s on the grounds of the Fechin)
• Thursday – check out at noon, hopefully tour the Fechin
• Thursday afternoon – check into the WorldMark Santa Fe (maybe with a visit to the parents if time permits)
• Thursday evening – Emily’s graduation and dinner
• Friday morning – revel in having space to myself
• Friday mid-day – check out, and lunch with Aunt Nancy if I’m invited
• Friday evening – parents for dinner? Where is the dance for Karen? Certainly sleeping at the parents if there is room
• Saturday – the Greek Graduation Gala – so Emily is going into a sorority?
• Sunday – head back to Denver to return the car and hang out with Dan, his brother, father, Sean and his family, and go see Leonard Cohen at Red Rocks on Tuesday night before heading home on Wednesday.

So, that is my week split between Denver, Taos, and Santa Fe.

Today, I also booked (yet another) trip to the Bay Area for the weekend following all the stuff above. Actually booked First Class since it was 30% off. Three times what I’m paying for the trip this weekend, but $110 round-trip is so low that it won’t happen again.

Spent tons of time today reworking the house computers to deal with a Shirts of Bamboo email server change which meant re-setting-up my Gmail and Events and Adventures accounts on those machines as well.

Now if I could only bill for that!

Dinner tonight (after an afternoon beer run) was steak and salad. Working through the groceries before I leave town tomorrow, it’s eggs and toast for breakfast.

For tomorrow’s flight I have my favorite Alaska seat: 1C

Life is good.

[220.7]

So, today is the weekly marketing meeting… and I have a ton of projects on the plate… but then there are the upcoming travel plans.

Item One:

Pre-Olympics 2010. We (the Royal we) have 8 nights in the Victoria Hot Tub Condo, followed by 7 nights outside of Port Townsend (a short ferry ride away), and then the actual 3 nights at Whistler Sundance, after most of the Olympics stuff is done. I should cancel it all.

Item Two:

Graduation for my niece Emily. Just got confirmation that the Corvette is on for the road trip from Denver to Santa Fe. When I ask about how he likes it washed, he said just return it full “it drinks the good stuff”. When I asked for pictures he sent me to a link of his type corvette for sale. I feel better now knowing it’s a daily driver rather than a “show car”. Here is what it looks like, in theory….

Item Three:

I found an interesting place that I’d like to have dinner in the Bay Area this weekend….

Here is the gig on this place:

Here is the link in case you want to check it out:
http://www.fairmont.com/sanfrancisco/guestservices/restaurants/thetongaroomhurricanebar.htm

Long day and night today. More chicken for dinner (after chicken, chicken, chicken yesterday for breakfast, lunch and dinner).

[217.0]

It’s hump day and I feel like I have a hump… too much time at the keyboard.

As usual, Wednesday is the day before the weekly marketing meeting, and my last chance to get all of my “action” items off of my list and onto someone else’s to-do list.

Add another run of beer, and baking a loaf of bread for dinner, it was a full day before heading over to Swanda’s place for the news and dinner.

Dinner was slices of chicken over romaine lettuce with a lovely Fume Blanc.

Short entry for today — totally wiped out.

[219.1]

Fuck, I’m not going to die anytime soon….

Here are the results from my doctor’s appointment yesterday… yes, test results in a little over 24 hours. I like them already!

So, here are the results (and his comments):

Your cholesterol looks fine.  Some values are elevated, but you were not fasting for these labs so this is fine.

 

Triglycerides: 264 (goal < 150)

Total Cholesterol: 214 (goal < 200)

HDL “good” cholesterol: 46 (goal > 40)

LDL “bad” cholesterol: 115 (goal < 130)

 

Your glucose was 183 (like to see that below 100), but again you were not fasting.  Your other labs looking at your kidneys and liver were normal.

 

Your tests for HIV and syphilis were both negative and the test we did for your prostate was also normal.  All good news.

So — apparently I’m not checking out any time soon. Damn. Guess I’d better get that DNR necklace for myself. (Inside Joke). And to think what I drink!

So — work today. Checks signed, cashed, spent. Yard mowed and trimmed. Dinner cooked for Jonathan (Fillet Mignon, Lamb, Chicken, Beans, Salad, Bread, Wine).

Finished a nice run through the equipment tonight, god I love cleaning the new machine.

[218.6]

So — here are the results of the scholarship reading… the numbers were delayed because of an issue with Outlook and Excel on my netbook. Got to fix that tomorrow….

So, out of the condo at 10, stuck at the border for 40 minutes — but once I got up to the window the border guy said — “Ah, informed traveler, waving his license around like a flag.” Dinner with friends, nothing to declare — not up long enough for duty-free. “Have a nice day”.

Got back to town in time for a quick sandwich before heading to the doctor for what was, I guess, the annual physical — which I haven’t had in at least ten years… and yes, complete with the finger up the bum, but at least now my tetanus shot is up to date.

Dinner tonight we the trio, me, myself and I. Filet mignon, salad and wine.

And no, the doctor’s weren’t really happy with my alcohol consumption, but on the positive side I met Gene Shallot’s son — who is one of the two doc’s in the box. I have the PA (that would be Physician’s Assistant rather than Prince Albert).

[? ? ?]

Got out of Birch Bay a little before noon and by 12:30 I was across the border with a bottle of scotch on the front seat.

A quick call to Tom and Stephen and a lunch date it set for Red Burrito — yummy, quick, but no Visa/Mastercard so Tom had to pay with his Canadian dollars.

After lunch I took a tour around Hummingbird and BamBam’s burnt out house that has finally started to be worked on:

Got checked into the WorldMark at The Canadian a little after three:

A quick trip to the wine store across the street and to the IGA for salad stuff and I’m ready for dinner company.

BamBam arrived at 6 for a wonderful steak dinner on TV trays since the unit doesn’t have a dining room. Much conversation before he had to catch the last bus home. I offered him the other bedroom (or mine) but with a pile of cats at home if was more important to not return to a disaster.

Oh well.

[? ? ?]

Just another day at the beach sitting around in  front of the fire reading scholarship applications. It’s a wee bit cold to be running around with the top down, but apparently that doesn’t apply to the boys across the road skim-boarding. It’s like 45 degrees out and the water is even colder.

MaryBeth’s kids are happy just moving between the hot tub on the deck and the heated outdoor pool at the back of the property. Ah, youth.

Dinner tonight is a lovely leg of lamb with roasted potatoes, salad, spinach in a bacon dressing and lots of wine.

Off to Vancouver tomorrow for dinner with BamBam.

[? ? ?]

It was a long night with the folks upstairs partying until three. It didn’t help that the hot tub was not up to temperature — I figured it was that it was new and just warming up, but at noon it was still tepid. Call number two to maintenance (call number one was the ice maker last night).

Had to run into Blaine to try and find a USB to mini-USB cable to charge my phone — forgot it (one of like 20 I have). Got a nice one with lots of adapters, mini, micro, A, B. And two 1 gig micro SD cards with adapters ($40 marked down to $8), and a twelve pack of Diet Coke. Rite-Aid — who would ahve thought.

Owner re-education at 12:30. Liquor store run with the proceeds at 1:30.

Lots of billable hours before MaryBeth and the kids (one hers, one not) showed up a little after 5. I couldn’t believe that those two twig thin 14-year-old girls plowed through 1-pound rib steaks. Baked potatoes, salad, wine, and Wonderful for dessert.

Wonderful will be reading scholarship applications tomorrow with MaryBeth, John Weber, and me. Nineteen applications to read this year. Fun.

The movie for the night — after call number three to maintenance because the signal was fuzzy, which they couldn’t fix tonight — was the 1967 version of Casino Royale. It wasn’t until we watched making of the movie that it came out that we figured out why the movie was so dysfunctional. Try four directors, and actors fighting with other actors and leaving the movie half way through. It felt like each of the four directors did a quarter of the film.

Thankfully, no noisy neighbors tonight.

[? ? ?]

After this morning’s meeting the “to-do” list is growing, growing, growing. Lot’s of stuff to get off the plate before next week’s meeting — and once again, on the road sampling WorldMark resorts in Birch Bay and Vancouver.

Made it on the road by 2pm, with, as much as I can tell, everything I need for the next four days. That would be:

• Most of a cow
• Most of a vineyard
• Most of a corn field in liquid form
• Most of a potato field
• Most of a bakery

I should have taken a shot of one person filling a rolling trolley checking in.

After another comment on my voice track on videos, I offer a tour of the current unit I’m in.

Marybeth and kids (some her’s, some not) show up tomorrow afternoon after my “owner re-education camp” at noon tomorrow.

Steak for dinner tonight — and more steak tomorrow — lamb roast on Saturday night. Off to Vancouver on Sunday.

[216.7]

It’s midnight.

I’m tired.

Got a double run of new beer in one run — how’s that for math.

Billed hours, sent the bills.

Packing for tomorrow.

Entertained Graf for dinner (and a tour in the Jag).

Need to go to bed.

Meetings tomorrow.

Ick.

[2176.7]

Didn’t take Ambien last night — as a 6am wake-up call is early, as is waking up at 4:30 and tossing and turning.

I was out of the house at 6:15am with Peter looking perky and Linda looking, well, like I look at 6am.

Forty minutes later I was at Heathrow — not bad for Transport of London!

Checked in — thought there might have been a possibility of an upgrade on the LA-SEA flight for $30, but she couldn’t get it to work, and I wasn’t about to pay $200 for upgrade coupons (and use $100 worth on a commuter jet flight), and the 500 pounds ($802) for an upgrade to business class on the LHR-LAX flight would have been 150% of what my round-trip ticket cost.

A little breakfast (huevos rancheros), but no duty free liquor because of the connecting flight problem in LAX. No worries.

Boarded the Boeing 777 for the 11 hour flight to LAX and was pleasantly surprised when they closed the doors, that in the 2-5-2 seating row that I was in, the “5” had one person on each aisle seat and 3 seats between us.

After the initial beverage/food service I stretched out across three seats with my friend Ambien and was out for 4 hours, then another beverage, then another 3-4 hours until the final food service.

The cheap United bastards actually had the gall to try and charge $3 for the mid-flight snack on an 11 hour flight. It’s bad enough that there isn’t free booze on trans-Atlantic flights anymore.

Got to LAX and through passport/customs — and yet another security (hence, the no liquor — at least SFO has fixed that problem) and checked into the Route 66 Bar/Grill where I had dinner on my Christmas trip to Santa Fe. A double shot of Maker’s Mark and I was ready to be stuffed into a cigar tube sitting next to a hottie. And back to sleep it was again.

By 6:45pm I was back an home and defrosting a steak for dinner. Open to wine, start the ice maker for after dinner drinks, and go through the mail while chewing on cow.

After dinner. Boob tube. Email. Catching up.

[218.9 in the evening]

Got to sleep in… until 8:30 this morning. Yahoo. Thanks to Ambien I slept through the night. No jet-lag.

Today’s adventure is a walk along the Thames into downtown Richmond so see Linda’s church, then onto the bus to Hampton Court Palace.

Here is a lovely shot of my in the dining room of Henry VIII’s apartment:

If you want to see the entire album of photos, here is the link:
http://share.ovi.com/album/markso.London2009

My friend Spin showed up, and off to the cafe we went for lunch. Tempted by the fish and chips, I restrained and went for the Beef and Ale Pie with a mixed green salad. Linda had a cheese and piccadilly sandwich, Andy the Beef and Ale Pie with the mashed potatoes and mushy peas (their name, not mine), and wee Claire had a sugar and lemon pancake.

With a split of wine in us (Spin and I) we all set out to explore the palace. Tons of people since it’s Easter Monday — but the upside are all sorts of actors playing roles, and the kitchens were showing traditional food preparation. Sort of like a British version of Henry Ford Village in Dearborn.

Wonderful leftovers for dinner tonight — which will be early since I have to be at the bus stop at 7am to make my flight from Heathrow at 10:35am. Ick.

[97 kilos]