prediction check 3

Time to check on Brad Carter's third prediction from the blogger bash of July 29, 2008.

90 banks will fail in the next 12 months

it's good enough for one, but not for the other

Why is it that every media mention I hear of African American Studies professor Henry Louis Gates uses his middle name, but the same media refused to acknowledge Barack Hussein Obama's middle name? Is there some other Henry Gates with whom they are trying to avoid confusion?

what the hell is that sound?

While in Concourse B of the Seattle airport I heard gurgling water. I thought I was back in the mountains next to a running stream. Where was this loud, out of place sound coming from? A water fountain 40 feet away, but this was not the natural sound of water. It was coming from a speaker wired to the water fountain. Apparently this is considered art.

pics from phase two of summer 2009 vacation

The trip was not as successful as I would have liked, but here is a sampling of pictures I took.

summer 2009 vacation phase 2 ends

Not with a bang, but with a whimper. Maybe I will post some pictures when I get all the way home, for now just a few random things that came up:

• In Washington, all elevator doors have a traditional door in front of them poised to be closed in the event of what I do not know
• Flew Continental and other than having to go through Houston to get from Detroit to Seattle, it was the most pleasant (i.e. least painful) flying experience I have had in several years
• On one flight they said to turn off phones and electronic devices like CD players, apparently they haven't updated their little script since 2002
• Why are all male flight attendants gay?
• I bet I have spent more time in wilderness and on glaciers in the last week than Al Gore has in his entire life, yet he is supposedly the environmental expert
• Thank you to the cute blonde at the airport who chose to wear skin hugging gray tights to show off her excellent ass

summer 2009 vacation phase 2 begins

Departing this morning for Seattle and will be offline for the rest of the week. I can only hope the weather is as favorable for this part of the vacation as it was for the first phase. Many arduous days ahead and I worry that I am not up to the task. Even if I my illness hadn't interrupted my training and even if I weren't still recovering, I would be concerned, but now even more so. I will find out shortly one way or another.

summer 2009 vacation report 2

Phase one of the vacation is over. We left the cottage and J's family this morning. It is a good thing that the carbon tax is not yet in effect because we burned a lot of wood in the fire pit in the last few days. The weather remained almost ideal the whole week so kudos to CAT for choosing this week for the Mossville plant shutdown. Everyone seemed to have a very good time with minimal friction despite the close quarters. I can also report that the beer distribution industry in western Michigan was positively impacted by the family's stay. The mosquito population south of Grand Haven was also well fed, as evidenced by the numerous, itching bites on my legs.

One of the sunsets viewed from the backyard (just above the beach) of the cottage.

Another picture of natural beauty (wife J) from the vacation:

summer 2009 vacation report 1

So far vacation has been quite good. The accommodations here on the Lake Michigan shore that J's parents found are excellent. The weather has been great and everyone is getting along well together. My only real complaint about the cottage is the lack of internet access, but I guess that's what Panera and Starbucks are for. I forgot to bring the cable for my camera so I can't transfer the pictures which is going to make this post terribly boring.

Every deck and boardwalk that I have seen here so far has exclusively used square drive screws.

vacation prep

Due to the plant shutdown in Mossville, I will be on vacation next week hanging out with J's family (parents, brother, sister in law, niece, nephew). This is our first trip since getting rid of the minivan and replacing it with a smaller vehicle. The additional rigor of packing more efficiently is stressing J out. Unfortunately we will not be able to see the air show this year since we leave first thing tomorrow morning. Hopefully the trip will result in something interesting about which to blog.

what I learned while being sick last week

• J is the best, a true partner and caregiver
• 102.2 °F temperature really gets people's attention (especially in an adult)
• intense illness = weight loss
• if it weren't for the need of money, I think I could be happy without working
• one can learn how to solve a Rubik's cube from YouTube