Oslo and Bad Travel Days

I am just back from Oslo, Norway. This was a business trip, and was short – only two nights there. (Three nights if you count the night on the airplane)

The outbound trip was uneventful, and the business meetings went well. I even got a cool waterproof windbreaker with a Norwegian flag out of it.

The trip back, however, was another story.

My flight from Oslo to Amsterdam was scheduled to leave at 6:40, so instead of staying at a hotel in downtown Oslo, which I usually do (more ambiance, more restaurants, more interesting things to do) I opted to stay at the airport hotel. Ostensibly to get an extra hour of sleep, but in reality so I would have one less type of transportation to worry about that day.

(You can ask my wife. All modes of transportation make me somewhat nervous. I tend to get to the airport a little before the recommended arrival time, and I am always worried about the next leg of the journey. She things I am obsessive, I think I am prudent)

I stayed in bed (though didn't sleep) as long as I could. I even watched a Steven Seagal movie called Half Past Dead. There is something viscerally appealing about movies like this. Sort of like Pro Wrestling. I mean, you know that the good guys will win, and there will be a lot of head crunching (or flying bullets and broken necks) on the way there. It was not the best movie I have seen late at night in a hotel room (that may have been Hello Dolly).

Since I wanted to get to the airport the recommended 2 hours before the flight, I got out of bed about 4:00 AM, showered and finished packing. The hotel's breakfast room was not yet open, so I figured I would get a coffee and a handful of peanuts at the business class lounge in the airport.

I walked across the street in the snow, in the fog, and got to the airport precisely at 4:40. There was one person in front of me in line, and I waited patiently. When it was my turn, I gave up my passport and the young woman told me I had already checked in. Yes, I said, but I had no printer in my hotel room (To make sure I didn't get bumped, I had checked in and changed my seats several hours earlier.) She gave me my boarding passes, and I noticed that my new seats were not on the flight from Oslo to Amsterdam. SO I asked her to change the flight, which she did gladly.

Now, you need to understand something about me and airplanes. I don't fit. I mean, I am 6'6” and about 218 pounds. That translates to almost 2 meters and almost 100 kg. These little intra-Europe airplanes are three across 737s and little Airbuses (I can never remember their numbers) even in business class. I have one seat I like in that airplane (1D if you must know. It gives me leg room) and I asked for it. I was glad I did.

After checking in (I carried on my bags this trip. Something I am doing more and more these days) I walked though security (Nobody in line at all. That was a first) and down to the lounge. Much to my chagrin, but I suppose not my surprise, it was closed until 5:45. We were supposed to board at 6:10.

So I walked to the gate to wait. And wait. And wait.

We finally boarded at the appointed time, and I got my nice seat with good legroom. Every seat on the plane was full (Norway shuts down for the week before easter – semana santa in Latin America, as well as the two days after. SO everyone was looking to get someplace warm). and then we waited to take off.

Remember how I always am worried about the next leg of my journey? Well, this trip had sort of tight connections in Amsterdam. I had 1 hour and 25 minutes to get from my gate, through security, and onto the Amsterdam to Houston leg of the flight. So I was already planning my exit from the plane and dash to the new gate.

Wed, 12MAR08 KL662 J HOUSTON BUSH INTL (IAH) 4:50PM AMSTERDAM (AMS) 7:55AM

Thu, 13MAR08 KL1143 J AMSTERDAM (AMS) 9:50AM OSLO/OSL (OSL) 11:40AM

Sat, 15MAR08 KL1140 J OSLO/OSL (OSL) 6:40AM AMSTERDAM (AMS) 8:45AM

Sat, 15MAR08 KL661 J AMSTERDAM (AMS) 10:10AM HOUSTON BUSH INTL (IAH) 2:35PM

And then the pilot announced a gate hold. He didn't know why. Weather? Maybe, it was snowing and foggy. More likely was an ATC hold over Brussels. They had installed a new computer system (probably new middleware) and it couldn't handle the traffic. SO we waited.

He said our slot was now 7:40 (an hour late!) and we could make up some time in the air. But then, Hallelujah! we got an earlier slot. You could feel him racing to the runway, but first we had to de-ice.

The de-icing made us lose our slot. Damn that ice! Damn those engines! Why couldn't they just take off with the ice in place? I am sure we had the power. But regardless, we waited.

We finally made the runway at about 7:45, in the air by about 8:00. He said it was about a 1.5 hour flight, and he was as good as his word. Now it was 9:30, and I had to get to another terminal (well, arm, anyway) through immigration, and through security in 30 minutes (if you are closer than ten minutes to your flight, they don't let you on.

I grabbed my bags, and rushed out the door. I stopped twice in the terminal. Once to confirm my gate (E18) and once to grab a cart. Sure, my bag has wheels, but my sweet, lovely, and long surffering wife has taught me many things, one of which is always grab a cart if one is available. (click here and scroll all the way to the bottom of the page)

Rushing through an airport always makes me feel like OJ Simpson. (the pre-murder one, not the killer one). I don't mind bumping into people who are lolly gagging or blocking the transit way. They need to either get moving or get out of the way.

I got to through immigration without a problem, and got to the gate with a few minutes to spare. Those of you who have flown through Schiphol Airport lately know, every gate now has gate security. I had to take out my laptop and blah blah blah. I set off the buzzer (and I have no idea why. I don't ever set of the buzzer here in the USA) and got the most thorough pat-down I have ever received. This fellow knew that I dressed left, if you know what I mean. But I was clean, and was able to walk right onto the gangplank.

The plane was a 747, and I was on the upper deck. It was a nice enough plane, and I got settled in quickly. The flight attendant came by with water, juice, or champagne, and I had to have a drink. I chatted with the ExxonMobil environmental engineer sitting next to me.

And we headed out to the runway. And we stopped.

The pilot said that we had a problem with our flaps. Not good. Not good at all. He said that maintenance had been called, and we would be heading back to the gate.

But we didn't head to the gate, we headed to a maintenance facility. For about an hour we could see the folks working on the wing. During this time, I took the opportunity to check the flight status using my phone.

Imagine my surprise when I saw the flight had been canceled! I told my seat mate and others nearby. there was a flurry of activity as everyone (including myself) started calling our travel agents or airlines to try and get a new flight. Continental told me that there was nothing they could do until we were off the plane and the flight was officially canceled.

Oddly enough, I was not at all worried by the delay. After all, it was my last leg! Sure I wanted to get home, but I knew that my Sweet Everloving had some errands to run and I would not see her when I first got home anyway. So I waited.

The crew decided to turn on the entertainment system and had out sandwiches and drinks. That was fun, and I got to see Scoop, the Woody Allen film (Better than Half Past Dead)

Finally the pilot came on and said that they had to replace a motor. This would take another two hours. We settled in for the long hall.

In the end, we took off (and arrived) five hours late. It was a bad travel day, but I got home none the less.

If you can't win by the rules, challenge the rules!

Burnt Orange Report::: Clinton Request Violates the Law

Europe wins from Globalization

Charlemagne | Winners and losers | Economist.com

Best Wishes, Elliott, Love, Hillary

The XX Factor : Hillary Sends her "Best Wishes" to the Governor.

More on Free. Moore's Law makes computers Too Cheap to Matter.

Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business

Makes me want to move to Montana

NPR: Montana Governor on 'Real ID' Act

Denouce and reject, Senator McCain! Denouce and Reject!!!

Matthew Yglesias (March 05, 2008) - Hagee on Katrina (Politics)

Caucus confusion

Here is how we started the caucus:

We were waiting in line to sign in for the caucus, and the precinct chairman came to explain the rules. He told us all that we had to sign in, and pick our presidential preference, but if we did NOT stay until the end of the caucus, our vote would not be counted.

When we got to the front of the line, Doreen told the guy that we had read in the paper that all we had to do was sign in and leave. He went to check the rules, then came back and told her that she was right – all we had to do was sign in and go. But he wanted us to stay until the end, because that is how we picked the delegates and passed some rules.

We were there when the votes were counted, as described below.

Precinct 34 Caucus

The Texas Democratic Primary is complicated. It may have always been complicated, but it never mattered before – or rather it has not mattered since 1976. Or was it 1968? In any case, it matters now.

A quick recap – about 2/3s of the delegates are allocated by the primary. But not proportionally by voter (one man one vote) but allocated per Texas Senate District. We live in Senate District 13, and we have 7 delegates. Only one district has more – one of the Austin Districts, which has 8. The Senate Districts in the Rio Grand Valley have about 2. So our votes are more valuable than the votes down south. These delegates were allocated by Democratic voter turnout in the past two elections. Go figure.

We have just returned from our caucus. There were about 300 people waiting in line yet.

Now we are just back from the finalization of the caucus. We returned shortly before the started counting the votes. Now, you have to remember that this is a Democratic voting place. They had a tally of the votes, and they added them up BY HAND! Nobody had a calculator! My gosh!

After electing a precinct chairman and a secretary, they told us the final vote. 172 Obama, 120 Clinton, 2 uncommitted (What the heck? Uncommitted? Who comes to a caucus and votes uncommitted?)

That makes our precinct, #34, 59% Obama, 41% Clinton.

GO Obama!

Women voters in Houston

The woman who hosted the party for Linda Worthheimer is on Doreen's board. (She is the one who says that she likes and respects Hillary, but is voting for Obama)

NPR: Texas Women Reflect Shift in Political Sentiments

A brush with greatness!

Starbucks vs Walmart (updated)

Updated

Another example of Farm Policy gone wrong

My Forbidden Fruits (and Vegetables) - New York Times

Obama

The CEO of the Orange County Register has endorsed Barack Obama.

So what, you may ask?

Scott Flanders is a well known Libertarian.

Here is the article.

Here is the punchline:

“But there was a hush as Flanders reasoned that Obama is the best candidate to work on four top libertarian reforms: 1) Iraq withdrawal, 2) restoring the separation of church and state; 3) easing off victimless crimes such as drug use; 4) curtailing the Patriot Act.”

It's a lead pipe cinch in my book.

Cedar Waxwing

Today while riding our bikes down to see the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Trail Riders, we noticed a small bird sitting in the middle of the road looking like this:

I stopped and gently picked it up and placed it on a big rock in a side yard. After I set it down, I gently stroked its breast, and it quickly flew up to the trees to join its compatriots!

I have always liked these Cedar Waxwings, and it was nice to see one up close, and even better that it seemed to be unharmed.

All the water in the world. All the air in the world.

Dan Phiffer

Greenies use a zero discount rate?

Marginal Revolution: Moral puzzles about collective action

I get to fly a lot, not having progeny.

Viva Obama

Looks good for Obama in Texas

Pollster.com

Is it art?

Frozen in Grand Central Station - Video

Voting vs Income

Income matters a lot in "red states," not so much in "blue states": What's the matter with Connecticut?

College matters

More proof that you need to go to college:

Higher Education Gap May Slow Economic Mobility - New York Times

You may need to register for the NYTimes site, but it is free.

Another way to be "Nickled and Dimed"

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

Braised Short Ribs, BLTs, and Weekend Culture

We made Braised Short Ribs from Mark Bittman's recipe this weekend. So rich! So rich! As he said in the video - Chocolate is for Wussies.

We also had some Barley Pilaf with it. Nice, very nutty. Barley is an underappreciated grain.

See photos here.

After eating these delicious ribs, we went to see Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It was a fun concert, but it does get a little repetitive. Interestingly enough, it made me think of the movie Zulu, Michael Caine's first big role. I don't think that Doreen will like the movie, but I ordered it (for $2.90) from Amazon so I could watch it when she was out of town.

Sunday we had an amazingly productive day. We read the paper, roasted coffee and baked bread (our standard Sunday chores) and then took off on our bicycles. We had breakfast at Cafe Artiste and sat outside (the weather was perfect - high 60s and sunny, with a nice breeze). I had pancakes, Doreen had an omelet like creation, but with the best biscuits and gravy this side of the Mississippi. And parts of the other side of the Mississippi as well. It was all delicious.

Then we rode through her park and wound our way home.

When we arrived home we realized that the Monarch Caterpillars had eaten all of our milk weed (AKA Butterfly weed) so we had to go and get some more. We drove to The Heights and stopped at Buchanan's. We used the opportunity to get some parsley, thyme, and dill as well. (we have Rosemary, and don't use too much sage). We got home and planted them.

After a short nap (it was Sunday, after all!) we made supper – BLTs on our freshly homemade (no bread machine!) bread. With it, we had a nice glass of a 2005 Olson Ogden Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley. Great combination! Doreen was lucky enough to get a really fresh tomato from the market. (Handed to her by a nice young man who didn’t plan on eating his tomatoes immediately. People in The Montrose are so friendly!)

Then we were off again, this time to an Inprint Houston reading event. Dave Eggers and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie were reading from their latest books: What is the What and Half a Yellow Sun. I think we enjoyed Chimamanda’s talk better.

It was a full weekend.

More on the Texas Primary

Read here how the Clinton campaign does not understand the Texas delegate selection process.

And here about how Obama can win Texas.

Texas Delegate Selection. Complicated.

Texas delegate system makes candidates pick their battles | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Caffeine

Developing Intelligence : Caffeine: A User's Guide to Getting Optimally Wired

Is your fish sustainable? Check here!

Eat Food. Mostly Plants. Not too much.

And check and see if your fish is environmentally destructive:

Shopping for Fish - Bitten - Dining & Wine - New York Times Blog

Sense spoken about airport security

Megan McArdle (February 11, 2008) - A nice, secure feeling

Hillary tries to steal FL and MI

Just as I predicted:

Stop Thief!

Bougainvillea and Fish

Today I was working in the yard while Doreen was still reading the paper.

She finished up the paper and came into the back yard. I needed a little help cutting down our Bougainvillea, and asked her: “Dear, can you come and give me a hand with cutting down the Bougainvillea?”

She replied: “We aren't getting any more fish”

Borges

Habitus - A Conversation with Jorge Luis Borges

Sounds like good advice.

Ben Casnocha: The Blog: Some of the Best Speaking Advice Ever

Kevin Kelly on "Free"

If you can't compete with Free, you can't compete.

Back in Houston

Both flights (Singapore to Tokyo and Tokyo to Houston) were on time or early.

That is just a long way to go.

Only do it for the food in Singapore.

Singapore Food

My last night in Singapore I was lucky enough to be able to have dinner with one of the people I worked with while here back in the ‘90s, and another ex-Landmarker who is (coincidently) working for PGS. Pauline always knew the best places to eat in town, so Mark and I gladly ceded all responsibility for the food to her.

We met about 7:00 PM. She has not changed a bit in 11 years. We started off to the food, stopping tp pick up Mark in the meantime. She drove us to a house on the East Coast called Hua Yu Wee. IT looked very promising. We walked around to the back, and Pauline asked for her favorite waitress. They chatted and laughed in Chinese. My only request was that we get a jug of cold Tiger, and some Black Pepper Crab. The beer was soon on the table, and we also had a plate of peanuts.

The peanuts are there for an appetizer, and you are supposed to eat them with your chopsticks. That is quite fun, especially since these are not dry roasted, but the oiled ones. Delicious, and entertaining as well.

The food started coming shortly thereafter. The first thing we got was fried mushroom caps. They were covered with something or other, and were large – about the diameter of a cue ball (but not round, of course. Nor hard. Nor white) These were quickly followed by a plate of Baby Kai Lan. Those are similar to baby Bok Choy in the US. You can’t stop eating them!

Drunken Shrimp followed (Shrimp boiled in some sort of alcohol) with a hot dipping sauce. Concurrent with the Shrimp were Butter Crayfish. There were just the tails, breaded and stir fried. Deep fried, maybe. They were LARGE, too. About 5” long and at least 1 ½ “ wide. They brought us forks so that we could hold one side down and dig the meat out with a chopstick. Now we were really eating.

We also got a plate of deep fried squid. These are tiny. Popcorn or peanut size. You can just eat a million of these little things.

Ah, but then, the dish I was waiting for. Black Pepper Crabs. Big Sri Lankan crabs that are partially steamed, then cracked and covered with spices, mostly black pepper, and other goodness, and finished off in a wok. It is sort of like heaven in a claw. I ate more than my share, though I must say that nobody left that table hungry.

We finished with some fruits and more conversation.

11 years is too long to stay away from this sort of food.

Singapore

The first thing that I notice when I get off the plane is that Singapore smells exactly the same as it did 11 years ago. I looked around the airport, and the airport looks exactly the same way it did 11 years ago. And this is a good thing. I walk down the concourse and it all seems so familiar. I see the immigration control and the only difference I notice is that there is not a special lane for residents. Of course, I could have missed it, since everything was moving so fast.

To my mind, there is no better airport than Changi. I landed, and the doors opened quickly. I got to the concourse and quickly walked down the (wide and fast) moving sidewalks to immigration. There was only one person in front of me in line. I was stamped through with little fanfare. I walked down to baggage claim, waited under 5 minutes and my bag was on the belt. I walked to the taxi queue and waited no more than another five minutes and was whisked off to the hotel.

The hotel was sort of another story. I am not sure why we were put up in The Negara (well, I actually do. But that is another story) It is old, dank, and under renovation. The drilling in the wall kept up, but no one seemed to pay it any mind. It made the rooms uninhabitable from 9:00 AM until 7:00 PM.

The only interesting thing about the hotel was that the first night when I got back after dinner was that the work crew next door had obviously tapped into my electrical system in my room. When I turned my bathroom light off some mechanical device next door turned on. It sounded like a drum spinning up a wire rope. I played with it for a while, and then decided to leave the light on for the night and just close the door. The next morning I showed the manager (she was reluctant to accompany me to my room, but I insisted) the problem. She was mystified.

Dubai – Singapore.

I lived in Singapore from January of 1995 to October of 1996. During those 22 months I flew to Houston 18 times. Each one way trip was at least 24 hours in the air, and two stops with at least 2 hours between flights, so in real time each flight took at least 30 hours. So 18 (flights) x 2 (round trip) = 36 trips. 36 x 30 (hours) = 1,080 hours spent in travel just to Houston during those 22 months. 1,080 hours is 45 days. 45 days! And that doesn’t count the trips to China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, India, Vietnam, Bangkok, or Brunei.

And then people ask me why I hate to travel. I think that the answer is obvious. I have not been back to Singapore since I left. I still have some people I keep in touch with occasionally, and will try to meet with them. I am not sure if it will happen.

I am reading a book called The Singapore Grip by JG Farrell. I am not sure how far it goes, but it opens in Singapore right before the Japanese overrun Singapore in WWII. The book focuses on the truly myopic view of the war and the Japanese by the local British community. This is one of the more embarrassing episodes in British Military History. Incompetence and cowardice by the military leaders. Courts martial ensued if I recall correctly.

Qatar

I got to Dubai on last Thursday.

On Friday we flew to Saudi Arabia for a Saturday meeting.

On Sunday we stayed in town to visit local clients

On Monday we flew to Qatar to meet with QP (Qatar Petroleum).

It was an uneventful trip that I believe will bear fruit over the next year.

But how DO you pronounce Qatar, anyway?

Dubai Desert Adventure

After a day of successful meetings with our business partners, our local staff decided that we should go out to the Dubai desert on what is sometimes called a “Desert Safari” and what I have been calling a Dubai Desert Adventure.

I was not really sure what to expect, and this is always a fun thing. We met at my hotel around 3:00 and waited for our driver from Oriental Tours. He was right on time. We piled into the Toyota Land Cruiser (absolutely the best off road 4x4 you can buy) and started off. First we had to pick up one more passenger, a young Japanese woman whose husband was working in Saudi Arabia. She could not get a visa, so she stayed in Dubai.

The driver Mustafa said we had to go about 30 minutes to the “rendezvous point” and they off into the desert we go. Rendezvous point? I asked. Yes, we were meeting with nine other 4x4s for safety reasons.

Now, you know that I could spin the story that five of the other nine Toyotas were technicals, but that would be an exaggeration. Only was was. (that, actually, would be an exaggeration, too. After all, we were in Dubai, not Yemen.). The other nine vehicles were filled with a bunch of other tourists. German, Dutch, a TON of Italians from some company that couldn’t afford a name. They only had initials. A handful of Australians (dressed for a summer desert adventure) and us. We consisted of an American (me), a Frenchman (our local manager) and a Pakistani (Our local technical guy. Not technical like above, of course.)

We met at a gas station/convenience store, and then set out of the dunes.

We drove about 20o minutes and then all lined up in the desert like a convoy. The drivers all got out and let some air out of the tires so they would have better grip in the sand.

This, I was told, was only for show. Because of recent heavy rains, the sand was quite compact and was more like riding on a freeway. Nonetheless, we reduced air pressure and were off!

I have never really been a fan of “off roading” since I had to do it for a living while working as an engineer in Kemmerer, WY. But it was fun enough as we rolled through the sand, up and down over multiple sand dunes.

After about 45 minutes we took off to stop at a camel farm. They raise these camels for racing, and while we didn’t see any other people there, the animals seemed well treated.

Then we visited the Oasis Desert Camp. This consisted of several open air thatched huts with low tables and cushions to sit upon. We also had “Sand boarding” (sliding down a dune while sitting on a snow board – which my dignity did not allow), riding a camel (which it did), dressing up in dishdash, and eating some BBQ mutton, beef, and chicken. They also had a falcon handler.

The night ended with a belly dancer. She was very engaging, and got several of the crowd up to dance. That was very funny. At one point they got us all on our feet and we did something like the hokey pokey, where we had to try and shake was she was shaking. It was not pretty.

We got back to the hotel about 9:00. While perhaps not quite an adventure, it was certainly fun.

Saudi Arabia

We got to the Dubai airport about an hour and a half before the flight. That is tighter than I usually cut it, but what the heck. I am trying to relax about these things.

We got in line to check in for the flight, and got to the counter. The agent told us that we could not check in there, since we had business class tickets. We had to move to a different row. “The one with the Red Carpet”. So we checked in and walked through security. Not a big deal, less security than I am use to in the US (No need to take off your shoes. No need to remove your laptop from the bag.) Everyone was very gracious.

We stopped for a while in the lounge (there was a soccer game on) and waited for the flight.

The very first thing I saw when getting off the airplane was several men at their prayers. That sort of set the tone. Saudi Arabia is very devout. Saudi Aramco had a driver meet us at the airport, and the hotel was all ready for us. The town (Dammam) was the location of the first field discovered in Saudi Arabia. It seems like an unlikely place for a headquarters, but that is why.

The work meetings went well, and as we were coming back from lunch I asked if the Saudis felt lucky that Mecca was in their country, and if they had been on The Haj. They laughed and said yes to both. One of the guys that I was meeting with had been on The Haj five times!

As we were driving back to the airport, we saw camels walking in the desert. Camels! I guess it really is like Lawrence of Arabia.

Dubai

After a while every flight feels close to every other flight. You wait to get on the plane, you wait while the plane loads, you wait to take off, and you wait to land. You watch a movie, you eat something. Eight hours or so later, you land.

Most flights I take these days has a map that shows the progress of the plane. It shows current position, and then the cities you are flying over.

Today, I glanced over to the map, and was startled – The first city name I saw was Kirkuk. We were flying over Iraq! Then I looked more closely. No – that is Tabriz! Tehran! We were flying over Iran! Now I knew I was going somewhere I had never been before.

Airports, too, tend to be rather generic. Except here you have about half the men in gutra and thobe. There women were in hijabs, or bare headed. I think that will be different when I get to Saudi Arabia tomorrow

Around the World in the interest of Commerce

I am heading around the world in a couple of hours, trying to do my best to reduct the US Trade Deficit.

I start in Dubai for an evening. I get there via London.

Then I go to Saudi Arabia Friday evening, back to Dubai on Saturday evening. I am hopeful that we will sell some software to Saudi Aramco sometime this year.

On Tuesday I head to Singapore (non-stop). This will be my first visit to Singapore since I moved away in October 1996.

On Friday, I leave Singapore to Houston, via Tokyo. I get here four hours after I leave (calendar time)

I gain a day by going around the world eastward. Though my sweet ever lovin' pointed out that the day I saved will be spent on an airplane. Oh well.

I have my camera, and hope to post some interesting photos.

Grade a Flag

Grades by name of country

Hitch on Hillary (it's not pretty)

The case against Hillary Clinton. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine

18 Stunning Bridges From Around The World - Frikoo

Makes you proud to be an engineer:

18 Stunning Bridges From Around The World - Frikoo

Why the Clintons are a problem

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

Gravity and evolution. You don't have to believe in either one.

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

Huckabee is not liked at the Cato

Cato-at-liberty » What Fresh Hell Is This?

Barack's Quote for the day

"This feels good. It's just like I imagined it when I was talking to my kindergarten teacher," -

Barack Obama this morning.

Learn Something New

Every year, my brother Chas posts the following to our family newsgroup. In 2007 he moved to the wild hinterlands of Wyoming, and consequently is currently without internet access. (He believes this to be a short lived phenomenon. I trust it to be so)

So I thought I would post this for everyone to think about for 2008.

Happy New Year!

Dan

Resolved: to Learn Something New

It's that time again. Time for all those wonderful new year's resolutions that are usually, unfortunately, soon forgotten.

Here's one that all of you on this email list should make for 2008. And one that will be easy to remember.

Learn something new in 2003. It doesn't matter what it is as long as it offers you a challenge. There will be no assignments, no tests, no grades, no diplomas; just the satisfaction of mastering something that you knew little or nothing about before.

The most important criterion is that it be something that interests you and that will make you feel better about yourself when you've gotten on top of the subject. Many of you will choose something in technology or business. How something works, perhaps how it could be improved. The structure and trends in a market. Who knows, a whole new product or business opportunity may result from your efforts.

It could be associated with a hobby or avocation. You may want to build some kits, install a satellite receiving antenna, invent your own computer games, make a home video movie, or grow some grapes and make your own wine.

Or it could be something unassociated with your present work or hobbies. You may have always wanted to learn about a period in history, read a writer's works, learn a new language, or delve into a branch of math or science you have always wondered about but never quite had the time for.

You must set aside a certain amount of time for your studies. Perhaps it will be an hour a week, a day a month. Skip some TV viewing, take your learning materials along on trips, or whatever makes sense to you. Buy a little note book and keep track of time spent in learning about your chosen area. Set some goals, with dates to meet them. Write them down in a book, and than make notes as you progress towards your goals.

The world around us is changing rapidly, and each of our own individual worlds evolves as well. We are free to expand our knowledge, our interests, our universe. Too often we don't. We grow in little ways just to meet our commitments, but too often we fail to choose our own course for expanding our horizons.

Here's your chance. Make learning something new a resolution for 2009, and this time do it. Post a comment below if you like, telling us what you are going to learn (that will make it harder not to follow through). But remember, you are the one who benefits by learning new things. All we can promise you is a richer life. Good luck.

Chas

Excellent essay on Airport Security

I guess we all need to send this to our congressmen:

The Airport Security Follies - Jet Lagged - Air Travel - Opinion - New York Times Blog

Coyote

This morning we were walking Blaze a little later than usual – it was close to 7:00 AM, and was starting to get light.

We walk Blaze every day – rain, shine, or cold. This morning was chilly (about 45º according to the Mighty Weather Station) and cloudy. We were walking briskly on our standard walk when we saw what looked like a loose dog.

When we walk, we each have our particular chores. Mine is to hold the dog. Doreen’s is to guard us from stray dogs, or even dogs on leashes with inattentive owners. So when we saw this “dog” off leash, she started walking toward it.

As we got a bit closer, it was apparent that this was not a dog – it was a coyote! So I have Blaze to Doreen and starting toward the coyote. I raised my arms and my voice. It took a gander at me and started trotting away down the street.

It was a good looking animal, about the size of a small German Sheppard, gray to brown (not the black and tan typical of dogs) with long legs and a thick mane around its shoulders.

We know that there are dogs in the city, but we have never before seen one in the ‘hood.

Interview with Bill Haast - the snake guy

I read everything he wrote when I was about 12 years old:

Bite Me | Outside Online

And I know a guy (who works for ExxonMobil) who knows him.

Brush with greatness!

A few more photos

We cooked up our traditional Goose Gumbo last night. You can see some photos of it here.

Christmas and Birthday Feast

I will write more about it later, but for now you can see photos of our celebration here.

Merry Christmas to all!

Houston Chronicle editorial about Hermann Park

Following is a Houston Chronicle editorial about Hermann Park. My wife is the Executive Director of the Hermann Park Conservancy mentioned:

On the right track:Phase 2 of Hermann Park revival follows the huge success of Phase 1 Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

They are doing a great job!

Here's to more parks!

How do you reduce waiting in line?

A counterintuitive way to reduce queuing time:

FT.com | The Undercover Economist: Dear Economist: How can i reduce my queuing time at the bank?

Of course, some people have time to burn and don't mind waiting in line...

Brave Combo

We took the night off and went to see Brave Combo at the Warehouse Live this evening.

It started at 8:30 and they played until 11:30, so that was good value for our $14. We also dance, and danced, and danced as if nobody was looking. It was great fun.

It was a funny crowd – not very diverse. I would say that we were representative of 80% of the audience – white and middle aged. There was a smattering of others (two black guys, a couple Hispanics, and plenty of gays and lesbians) and most people danced. One poor guy sat on a sofa the whole time, not even tapping his toes. What was that all about?

They did a lot of their Christmas music, and of course they did the Hokey Pokey and the Chicken Dance.

And what could be better than that?

A Math Limerick

(12 + 144 + 20 + 3 x sqrt(4)) ÷ 7 + 5 x 11 = 9² + 0

…which reads…

A dozen, a gross, and a score
Plus three times the square root of four
Divided by seven
Plus five times eleven
Equals nine squared and not a bit more

Mind Body Control

This will boggle your mind and you will keep trying over and over again to see if you can outsmart your foot, but, you can't! It's preprogrammed in your brain!

Here goes.......


1. WITHOUT anyone watching you, as they will think you are GOOFY.....while sitting where you are, at your desk in front of your computer, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.



2. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand.



Your foot will change direction.



I told you so, and there's nothing you can do about it! You and I both know how stupid it is, but before the day is done you are going to try it again, if you've not already done so. So send it to your buddies to frustrate them too!

"Fine Art" in China

You ever wonder where the art for those "Starving Artist" sales from from?

Well, it comes from China:

James Fallows (December 19, 2007) - Workshop of the world, fine arts division

Story about Doreen's park in the Houston Chronicle

They are improving the train:

Bigger, ritzy Hermann Park train in works | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Peace Prize Concert and Reception with Al

I was fortunate to attend a reception for Al Gore and the International intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IIPCC – represented by Rajendra Pachuari) as the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize this year. Following the reception, I attended the annual Peace Prize Concert, hosted by Kevin Spacey and Uma Thurman.

The reception was fun and interesting. It was hosted by Hydro, the big Norwegian Aluminum producer. (The CEO of PGS is on the Board of Directors of Hydro, hence our attendance). They had also commissioned a piece of art made from discarded and recycled aluminum pieces. It was cut and constructed to look like a house of cards. The artist was Magne Furuholmen, who is evidently a big pop star here in a band called a-ha. I chatted with him afterwards, and asked if he had a card with his name on it. He must have thought I was crazy, as all these Norwegians were crowding around to talk to him. Oh well. My pop quotient of Norwegian rock stars has gone up by two (one more later)

Al and Pachi gave nice little speeches about how it is good that Hydro is starting to try and fix their energy consumption problem. But Aluminum production takes a lot of energy.

We had some nice Norwegian (read that fish) treats, from Salmon to Cod Fritters at the reception. Quite nice.

Then we took a bus to the Peace Prize Concert. It is held at the Oslo Spektrum Arena, and is televised locally. The arena holds 10,000 and it was full.

Kevin and Uma started out with some jokes and introductions. She is certainly tall! A good 6” taller than Kevin. She was wearing some sort of a fancy gray gown. It was probably by some famous designer.

The concert started with Kylie Minogue. I can not name any of her songs, but she is a good looking Australian girl who can really belt them out. She hops around on stage seductively. We were not close enough to be seduced, and the camera never focused on the seducing parts. So we listened to the songs, which were nice.

Then was another a-ha singer – Morton Harket (I can’t find a website or even a Wikipedia entry. Poor Morton!). He was OK. He had a boy’s choir traipse out on stage. Been there…

Then we had Melissa Etheridge. She won an Oscar for the them song (I think it is called What About Tomorrow) from An Inconvenient Truth. She really rocked out the place. But it was not without irony – she had dry ice form a fog on stage when she started playing. Dry Ice, isn’t that, uh, CO₂?

Then Juanes played a couple of songs. He is a Colombian who only sings in Spanish. Good stuff.

The first half ended with Alicia Keys. I tell you what!

I was thinking about Alica Keys,

I couldn’t keep from cryin’

But she was born in Hell’s Kitchen

And I was livin’ down the line!

Can she ever sing! She can play the piano kneeling on the piano stool! She can dance seductively, too! What fun!

Then we had an intermission.

When we returned, we had Earth Wind & Fire. (yes, you read that right) They rocked the house, too. They jump and dance, and sing, and even got the whole arena up! (they had to say, “everyone get up!” and the dutiful Norwegians did. They all looked like Garrison Keillor trying to rock out. Except for the women, who looked like blond valkyries rocking out. They were a lot better at it than the Garrison Keillors)

Then we had an Irish Folk Rock Queen named KT Tunstall. I think that I have seen her on the Irish Music (Whistle and Shamrocks? Something like that) show that follows A Prairie Home Companion. She was fun, but didn’t dance seductively enough. She was very short.

After that we were treated to a Pakistani Rock and Roll band called Junoon. It means something like Chaos and Destruction. I am not sure. Fun to listen to, though.

The concert ended with Annie Lennox. Sweet dreams are made of these.

Oslo

I am about to get on an airplane to Newark. A couple hours after I land, I will beheading to Oslo on another.

While in Oslo, I will be attending the Nobel Peace Prize Concert. Look for me on your TV.

I can’t wait to see Earth, Wind, and Fire.

No, really…

Sales

The first fellow quoted in this article - Carl Herman, used to work at Landmark when I was there:

A sales career is often a hard sell | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Sales is hard. It is not for the faint of heart.

This is enraging

Add this to the list of things that the Bush administration has done to make us embarrassed to be Americans:

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

Thank Goodness for Quicklime!

Last Sunday Evening I let Blaze out into the yard to hang around outside, as she is wont to do. I walked to the back yard to do some chore, and Doreen called to me from our sun room to ask if Blaze was outside, as she heard a big ruckus from under the house. Remember our house is pier and beam.

SO I called to Blaze and she didn’t come. I called some more, and she still didn’t come. I called a third time and heard some feint barking from way under the house. Doreen then came to the back yard to see what was going on.

Some of you may recall an earlier story where Blaze spent some time under the house to no good effect. This is a similar story.

So Doreen crawled again under the house. (Note to all: Doreen is much smaller than I am and fits under the house much better. As a matter of fact we now call the area under the house “Doreen’s Domain”. So you shouldn’t fuss at me. We all have our particular chores. Mine involve high things, and hers involve low things) There she finally found Blaze, covered in dust, chomping on something under the house. She was able to get her out (by gentle persuasion) and when I saw her (Blaze, not Doreen) I was not sure that she was even our dog! She was completely gray, with a spot of blood on her snoot.

We had to give her a bath in our shower that evening and waited for the inevitable decay to commence.

By Thursday we could not spend any time downstairs because of the smell of death. So today Doreen had to reenter her Domain with a shovel, a rake, and a bag of quicklime. I won’t go into any more details, but needless to say she got the job done. And now, this afternoon, the scent is slowly dissipating.

All I can say is Thank Goodness for Quicklime!

Good site to see what sort of traveller you are

This was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal today, so it may be a bit slow for a couple of days.

It is interesting, though, and worth the five minutes it takes:

Best Trip Choices | Home

John Browne on Energy

While the following contains no astounding insights, it is interesting to see what someone of Lord Browne's stature has to say about energy, carbon, global warming, and the economy:

John Browne on the Future of Energy

New Conservative Problem

Mick LaSalle : Like Crossing the Street in London

Good analogy.

A really bad music video

One night in Bangkok:

An interesting take on Chavez

Johann Hari - Archive

Hong Kong on the flop

On the way back home we had one more night in Hong Kong. This time, we stayed at the Mandarin Oriental. It is on Hong Kong island itself (the Peninsula is in Kowloon) and one of the other great hotels in town. We were greeted by a nice German girl at the front counter who was planning a trip to Cambodia herself. We gave her a few tips as we went up to the room.

The room was done in a very modern style. It was nicely done, but not necessarily to our taste. We wandered about the city a bit before a bath and then off to dinner.

We started with a nice coup of champagne in the bar on the top of the hotel. As we were heading up to the bar, we happened to run into the sommelier for the Pierre Garnier restaurant that is located in the hotel. We asked for a recommendation for a champagne, and he gave us great one that they import solely for their own use.

After the champagne we headed to the Peking Kitchen for Beggar’s Chicken. We had to order this in advance by at least 24 hours. We had arranged this meal before we left Hong Kong for Cambodia.

Now, Beggar’s Chicken is quite good. But for some reason they didn’t ask us to order anything else! I guess they thought “these dumb quai lohs don’t know what the heck they are doing with the Beggar’s Chicken, never mind!” But it is pretty good. You take a chicken, stuff it with some muchrooms, some meat, and then wrap it with lotus leaves. You then cover the lotus leaves with wet clay and back the darn thing. It was quite good. But we could have used some rice, or maybe baby kalian, or something or other.

The next day we headed to the central train station (we took the train rather than getting picked up by the hotel on this leg) so we could check in and hope for lucky transportation. (they have a check in counter at the train station, which is nice)

I had handed over our passports and the guy behind the counter typed our names into the computer. He then stopped, made a phone call, and handed me the phone. Now THAT can only be bad news!

The Continental Concierge told me that we really did have a confirmed seat on our flights. But if I would be interested, they would re route us through Narita (Tokyo) and get us to Houston 5 hours earlier than our original plan. Not only that, but that meant that we would avoid Newark and almost certain delays. We said “You bet!” and were told to hop to it to the airport. They had to get us on a JAL flight that was leaving an hour before our Continental flight.

We got to the airport and were met by a JAL and a Continental person. They hurried us through all the official procedures, and told us we would not be able to sit next to each other on the four hour Hong Kong to Tokyo leg. We were both in center seats, one behind the other (I was behind Doreen). But the seats were very comfortable, we had on demand video, and a pretty good Japanese meal.

We got to Narita and had to proceed briskly to a different terminal. We once again had seats in different rows, but one in front of the other. We were able to secure a trade once onboard, and that is where we are now. Doreen is sleeping, and I am not.

Tonle Sap

The last day in Siem Reap we did not have a temple pass, so we decided to tuktuk down to Tonle Sap lake with Mr Phaunna (the sad driver). It was about 17 km. quite a ride, and when we got down there we had to buy a boat to take us out ON the lake. It was different than anything we had done before. This is the largest lake in Asia, and its size changes from a 3,000 diameter to a 1,000 km diameter. This is because of the monsoon flooding upstream in Thailand and China. It is one of the few “inundated forest” ecosystems (the only other one I know of is in the Amazon basin) where the trees are underwater for about ½ the year, and exposed the other half. Fish thrive in this environment, actually eating fruits off the trees. Spectacular.

We were there just as the rainy season had ended, so the lake was starting to recede. There are many people who live on the lake, and as it recedes, they follow the water in their houseboats. So we saw several boats being towed to deeper water. We even saw a Catholic Church being towed to the lake!

Even here, the tourists are a way to make money. There were many boats trying to sell soda, beer, and fruits. On the lake itself a boat came alongside with a momma, poppa, and young girl (maybe 5?) with a baby Burmese python (my guess on the species). She was playing with this snake, it was very docile. I took some photos and gave her a small rial bill. She immediately put it in her pocket and climbed on out boat. I took the snake (I am pretty sure that there were going to eat it when it got to big to be cute) and the boat driver took our photo with the little girl. She flashed a peace sign (the second time I saw this when a photo was snapped) and then she got back on her boat and they drove away. There was another boat with another family, and another snake waiting nearby as we started our way back to land.

That night, our last in Cambodia, we ate at one of the fancy restaurants in Siem Reap. Fittingly, one of the courses on the tasting menu we had was “Pounded Dry Bar-b-Que Snake”. Snake or no, the meal was great. The next day we headed back to Hong Kong.

Siem Reap.

We arrived in Siem Reap after a short 1/2 hour flight on Siem Reap air. The flight was mostly empty. We got to the hotel, another Raffles and checked in. We didn’t like the room we were given and asked for another. They said none were available, but Doreen persisted, and they found us one with a better balcony overlooking the gardens, not the pool. This sort of set the stage for our relationship with this hotel. While it wasn’t a bad hotel by any means, everything seemed just about a half beat off. Nothing was horrible, but plenty could have been better.

The hotel had arranged for a tour guide to get us to Angkor Wat the next day. We left about 8:30 and made it to the temple after buying a three day pass to the ruins at a very efficient waystation run by the richest guy in Cambodia (who we were told is Vietnamese).

The temples are something. You can see my photos in my Picasa albums. I won’t try to describe them here, others have done a better job than I could even start to do. I would recommend visiting these places to anyone who can take the travel.

Since we stayed in Siem Reap for five nights, we had quite a time arranging transportation and food. We were lucky with the food. We used several resources to uncover some interesting places to eat. The Robert Parker bulletin board (ebob) was extremely useful in getting ideas of places to eat. Doreen got a bunch of ideas from Patricia Wells (we love her recommendations for Paris) and the hotel as well.

The food ranged from fancy cooked by creative Australian Chefs to a local kitchen where we could not spend much more than $10 if we tried, but the food was outstanding.

The geegaws in Siem Reap were much more expensive than in Phnom Penh. I think that was because there are so many more tourists. The shopkeepers were less willing to negotiate as well.

You had your standard contingent of dissolute ex-pats and hippies in Siem Reap. You could find places to stay for under $5 a night! And some of these people were odd, and some of them sort of mean. I saw one guy negotiate with a little Khmer kid until he started to cry (the kid, not the hippy). We saw another couple go to a café, (which served food) then proceed to pull out a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter and make sandwiches and comment on the local (male) talent.

But the strangest thing about Siem Reap is how you developed a relationship with your transportation. As in Phnom Penh, the tuktuk was the most common way to get along. And once you used a tuktuk drive, you were his, and he was yours. You were expected to use that same guy whenever you saw him (or more like, he saw you). The good thing about that was you could honestly answer you had a tuktuk waiting when the others came by to bug you. You had better remember his name, though. Because they would ask. (we used number 555 for a while, but our favorite was Mr Phaunna – he was one sad looking guy. But he was a good driver. One night I negotiated a different guy too low for his preference, so he got drunk when we were eating dinner. You have not lived until you have been driven around Siem Reap by a drunk tuktuk driver)

Phonm Penh, last full day

The next day we decided to go to the Royal Palace, and then the Russian Market. Lunch would be leisurely and we have a quiet afternoon. So after breakfast we walked outside the hotel to negotiate with the phalanxes of Tuktuks for a daily rate. We sat in two (it is important to be able to see out the front of the Tuktuk, we discovered. It makes the ride much more enjoyable) and negotiated a day rate with Pol, one of the few drivers who uses a helmet.

We told him the plan and started down the road. We got to the Royal Palace and were dropped off. Pol told us he would wait across the road. We walked in and tried to buy tickets (One of the few places with prices in Cambodian Baht – it was B/.25,000 – or $6.25US – also one of the most expensive places.) and were told that Doreen could not come in. She was wearing a top that had very short sleeves (see photo) and that was not allowed. We went back out, grabbed Pol and were headed back to the hotel so she could change.

We decided it that we ultimately wanted an FCC t-shirt, so we turned the tuktuk around and rode to that bar. We bought her an XXL shirt so that I will be able to use it later, and headed back to the palace.

This time they let us in with no problems. We walked in and the place looked like it is some third world country’s idea of what a palace grounds should be. Plenty of buildings with fancy roofs, and some of the buildings you needed to take your shoes off before you walked in. The coolest place was the Silver Pagoda, which housed a “crystal” Buddha. It had a silver floor! Yes, a floor made out of silver. They did not allow photos in there (so we had to sneak some).

Another interesting building was a wrought iron building built by the French to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal. Then Napoleon III decided to give that building to King Norodom. And it was shipped to the palace grounds. Go figure.

We then went to the Russian Market – so called because so many foreigners shop there and there was a time when the only foreigners here were Russian. And because Russians are so cheap, they have the best prices in town. We looked at silk and picked up a small Buddha, but mostly just wandered around.

Then back to the tuktuk and on to The Metro for lunch. It was a great lunch with pork and beef satay, green beans and bacon and chicken wings. The best chicken wings in the world, by the way.

More Phnom Penh

On our second day in Phnom Penh we started with breakfast at the hotel. We then took a tuk tuk to the National Museum to look at some statues that had been rescued from around the world and reunited (bodies and heads). It was interesting.

You really need to understand how traffic works here. First of all there are millions of scooters on the streets. Many have two people on them. Several have three people on them. And some even have four. We did see one with FIVE people on it, but two of them were babies. Few people wear helmets, and many of the women sit side saddle. Doreen even saw a gut texting while driving, with his girlfriend sitting sidesaddle in the back reading what he was texting. That is skill!
The tuktuks are like little open air cabs pulled by motorcycles. They are everywhere, and they are cheap. To make a left turn they will pull into oncoming traffic, and then slowly wind their way across the traffic flow. Don’t ask me how, but it is quite an efficient way to get around. Scary, but efficient.

We had a light lunch and then went to the Genocide Museum at the old high school where the Khmer Rouge tortured and killed so many people. It was extremely sad and disturbing. It didn’t help to see some idiot wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt. As we walked by I said that Che would have really understood that museum. It was just want he wanted.

It was also disturbing to see a waterboarding table, as well as a dunking table. Horrible that we, the USA, would think that things like that are OK. Trials without juries, secret evidence, punishment without due process. This is the end result of such actions. We should make everyone in Bush’s administration come here and look at this.

Then we came back to the hotel and relaxed by the pool a bit. Some bigshot (no doubt here to do good deeds) came to the pool with his 18 year old Cambodian girlfriend, his bodyguard and his Personal Assistant (who was wearing a suit and tie)

We got up to leave. Doreen is now getting a massage.

Phnom Penh day one

Leaving Honk Kong was as uneventful as arriving. The queues were short and all the officials were efficient. We boarded the plane on time, we left on time, and we arrived in Phnom Penh on time.

But when we got to Phnom Penh, we knew we had entered the third world. We were the first off the plane, and we had our visa forms all filled out. Now, I had a photo (as required) but Doreen did not. So I said we did not have the necessary photos. The official muttered something about us needing to pay an extra $1 (which we knew. Thank you Jack!) and they passed us down the line.

You need to think about this line. Picture a cafeteria serving line except on the other side of the line there are eight officials dressed in uniforms. Some men, some women. All sitting down looking at something in front of them (which you cannot see). You proceed to the end of the line where you have to pay your $20 entry fee. The first person attached a visa to your passport and hands it to the next person in line. The next person stamps the visa and passes it to the next person in line. The next person writes something on the visa, perhaps the expiration date and passes it down. Well, you get the idea. By the time it reached the end of the line (about five minutes) it was completely processed. But they don’t come in order. Two people’s passports came before ours did. Then you pay your $20 (each)

You then take your duly authorized passport to the immigration line. There, then check to make sure you are not a bad fellow, and they take your photo! (remember the $1 fee?). But they take EVERYONE’S photo. It goes pretty fast and by that time your bags are already on the belt. You grab the bags, walk through customs (no problems there) and proceed to every third world airport in the world.

The airport is teeming with people. Some are holding signs, some are milling around. They are all behind a barrier. The official Airport Taxi people are on our side of the barrier. So we grab one ($7US into town) and proceed to some small Toyota taxi into which I get shoe horned. I cannot sit upright in the Taxi, but of course he wants to be our tour guide for the week. We say no thanks.

We get to the hotel and it is very nice. We are greeted with a welcome cocktail of some tropical fruit juice. John Spooner, the Guest Relationships Manager meets us as well and tells us a bit about Phnom Penh. Our friends Jack and Bruce had been to Cambodia this past summer and met John up in Siem Reap. He is now working out of Phnom Penh and gave us some nice hints about the city.

That night we grabbed a tuk tuk ($2US) and drove into the city. We started at The Metro Cafe and wandered down the riverfront. We ended up eating at the Foreign Correspondents Club. We started with a couple of beers on their great balcony overlooking the street and the river. Nothing ever stopped while we were watching. We had some treats and then tuk-tuked back and called it a night.

Hong Kong last outbound day

During our last day in Hong Kong we took the tram to The Peak and walked around the mountain. It was about an hour’s walk, and had some very spectacular views. It was very scary for me, being afraid of heights.

We had lunch at a great place called The Pearl at The Peak. It was Sunday, so they did a brunch. We started out with a beer, then a glass of champagne. We had a Seafood Platter (crab, oysters, two sorts of clams, a small conch like thing, some crabs) and then we each got the “Toasty” which was a poached egg inside a yeast roll with salmon roe on top. It was great! We also had two seared Japanese scallops on the side.

Finally, there was some sort of dessert stuff. I didn’t partake. We had a bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to go with the food. It was all quite nice.
That evening we went back to the Spring Deer and had dumplings and some sort of a crispy chicken. It was all good.

The next day we checked out. It was a nice hotel with great staff. As we were leaving the clerk asked us where we were heading next. We told him we were going to Phnom Penh in Cambodia.

“Cambodia!” he said. “Wow. That is exotic!”

And here I thought that Hong Kong was exotic.

a Toasty

This is a Toasty from the Peal at the Peak, a restaurant at the Peak in Hong Kong.

It is a poached egginside a toasted yeast roll that is then covered with a garlic mayonaisse and topped with salmon roe.

It was accompanied by seared Japonese scallops and a dry New Zealand SB

Delicious!

(I took this photo of a neighboring table's toasty. They were expats from the UK, Oz, and the US. more on them later)

Hong Kong Day Two

We slept rather fitfully last night, in spite of taking some Melatonin for relaxation. We both woke up about 4:00 AM, after getting to sleep about midnight. We lounged in bet until about 7:00, and then got on the road about 8:30.

We stated off by taking the Ferry (HK$2.20 each) to the Hong Kong side of the island (we are staying in Kowloon). Once there, we walked and walk for several hours. (Check out some of the photos by clicking on My Picassa Albums to the right). We saw some interesting antiques, and some interesting fake antiques.

We ate lunch at a Dim Sum place called Victoria Seafood. It was good (Hairy Crab Coral Dumplings – both steamed and fried) but not great. We took the ferry back to the hotel.

Doreen is having a spa treatment. I am reading.

Fancy dinner tonight

Asian Adventure - Hong Kong

We had the good fortune of arriving in Newark on time, en route to Hong Kong. The first flight was normal, and we arrived in Newark about two hours before our scheduled departure
.
The Newark airport was crowded at the gates. There was a family that was particularly annoying as they were trying to get on an earlier flight than they had booked. The kids were screaming, the parents were whining and yelling. Let ‘em walk.

Our flight left about an hour late, but that time was made up in transit (!). We flew on a 777, which are now beginning to show their ages. Neither my seat nor Doreen’s worked that well. They had to substitute one movie for another (The Simpsons for Harry Potter. Good for us! “Spider pig, spider pig. Does whatever a spider pig does. Weave a web? No he doesn’t. Because he is a spider pig”)

This flight flew over the North Pole and over Russia. I looked out the window while over Siberia. It was very clear, and it was very white. There was no sign of life.

When we arrived we were greeted by two little (short) women from The Peninsula. They took our claim passes and guided us to Customs. There was about a 20 minute wait there, and then we were scooted off to the hotel.

It is an excellent hotel, and we have a harbor view. Click on My Picasa Albums to the right to see some of the photos.

We went out to eat at a place called The Spring Deer and had Peking Duck. It was a very large place, and the food was great. Crispy duck skin with abundant fat. We also ordered some Baby Kai Lan with Garlic. I bet we STILL smell of garlic this morning. This is a Food City!

More later.

Fixin' to leave

We will be packing in a couple of hours, and are taking off tomorrow morning at about 9:00 AM. We will land in Hong Kong about 6:30 PM on Friday, November 2. Remember – Asia bound, add a day. State bound, subtract a day. Flight time is about 19 hours, elapse time is about 22 hours.

When you start a trip like this you surrender your free will to the airline industry. You can’t make any changes, and you pretty much have to just do what you are told. It is not that much fun, but at the same time it is not really time “lost” because it is more like you are in suspended animation.

We will be picked up by the hotel (an indulgence, indeed. But this is a vacation!) at the gate and escorted through all the complexities of immigration into Hong Kong.

SO think of us winging our way over the North Pole tomorrow. And the day after that.

News about Salt

Salt News | Blog exploring Gourmet Salt, Sea Salt, Artisan Salt, Finishing & Culinary Salts

Isn't the internet great?

Pink Salt Blocks to cook on!

Take a look at this.

and then look here.

I will be ordering a salt block for Christmas!

Talk about cool!

Where is the outrage?

Suicide Is Not Painless - New York Times

Shibboleth

I am in London. I am between obligations - one ended Friday here, and other starts Monday evening in Oslo. So what do you do in London? Call up and old friend and go to the Tate Modern.

The feature show at the Tate is something called Shibboleth by Doris Salcedo. Here is a picture of my friend Keith at the exhibit:



It was really something to see. It is a crack that goes down about a meter in spots into the concrete floor (or is that a cement floor, Matthew?) of the museum. The museum itself used to be a power plant, so this is one BIG floor

We also went to the British Museum yesterday to make sure that the Rosetta Stone is still behind glass. It is.

Then we met my younger sister, who is coincidently enough here this weekend also, for a drink in a pub. They have very good beer here.

Other than that, it was just a lot of walking around. The weather cooperated by being coolish but not cold, sunny and not damp. Overall, an excellent time to kill a weekend here.

(But the truth is I would much rather be home with my sweet ever-lovin')

In Memory of Joey Bishop

You must watch this!

"You got me talking Colored!"

Andrew Sullivan/John Cole

The Daily Dish

How does your Zip Code compare?

ZIPskinny - Get the Skinny on that ZIP

We are in 77006. We have a lot of "Bachelors" and unmarried people.

The Right Brain vs Left Brain test | PerthNow

The Right Brain vs Left Brain test | PerthNow

I could only see her going clockwise. So I am right brained!

Places I've Been

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What a house!

The Borjas Blog: Money Can't Buy You Taste

It looks as if it should be in Kohler, WI!

People!

Doreen was working late (ish) last night, and we had not been out for a drink alone together in a while. So we decided to try a new little wine bar that just opened this weekend down the street called SoVino (South American wines according to their tag. We didn’t have any of those. Not that we don’t like them, we just didn’t see any we wanted to order.) We walked over there about 7:10, and sat outside as the temperature is starting to cool off in the evenings.

We started with a couple of nice glasses of California Sparkling Wine. But this post is not about the wine or the food. It is about a fellow patron.

We had just been sipping our wine for a while when this skinny dark haired woman comes bouncing out of the restaurant. She has a cigarette in hand (Houston recently banned smoking in all indoor buildings – bars included) looking for a place to sit down. Inexplicably, one of the busboys had just placed a “reserved” marker on the table next to us (there were several empty tables) and she said, “Oh, this table is reserved!” and we told her to go ahead and sit down. There were no people coming to that table for a while.

SO she sat, and she chatted. And I mean chatted! She told us that she was about to sell a house that she had owned with her ex-husband, and she had a three year old kid, and oh my! did she ever want to move back to Austin! And he ex-husband was from east Berlin, and you know he was really good with the cats when they had cats so she thought that he would be a great father and he was an extremely talented bio-mechanical engineer and now he was in sales but he was moving back to Germany because he couldn’t take the stress and she just had ristoline and goddAM but that hurt and her father moved out of his condo so she could move in because her ex husband was satying in the house and did she mention that she was closing on her house tomorrow?

Whew.

They her fiancé came outside, looking like an imperious controlling, demanding jerk and said, “Karen, the doctor was wondering where you were.” She hopped up and went inside.

Not more than five minutes later she came back outside and asked if she could sit with us!

We said sure, and she proceeded to tell us how “Lance” (her fiancé) was really a nice guy but he was under a lot of pressure because he left his big law firm for her and opened up his own practice and he has to do all the copying and phone calls and scheduling himself and he is working on a really big case and she wants to move into West Univeristy with him because he has a nine year old daughter and they need to go to good schools and Lance’ parents are living in the house that THEY should be living in but they aren’t moving and they are getting married in Napa in November and it will only be a small wedding and she had to give her two dogs away and don’t you dare judge me because you don’t have a three year old kid and I am allergic to dogs and Lance has a dog and he is now living in a condo and her father is giving away the dogs tomorrow and she is very sad about it and if you don’t approve why don’t YOU take the goddamed dogs and I met my ex at a New Year’s Eve party and he was really nice and smart but growing up in East Germany down weird things to you and I only smoke two to three cigarettes a day.

Check, please.

Nice to meet you, good luck, and enjoy the rest of your life!

Whew.

Don't worry about the issues! What color are the canditate's eyes?

Is Eye Color the Key to the White House? - Freakonomics - Opinion - New York Times Blog#more-1960

There are some interesting comments down below on this blog as well.

The Real Che Guevara

Johann Hari - Archive

Dinner with a spy?

Last night we had a delightful dinner with Jim and Gary to celebrate Jim’s birthday. As usual, they had some interesting friends there as well. One is the managing partner for Baker and Botts – a woman from Mississippi who still carries an extra strong southern accent. She can be very entertaining.

They also had three neighbors over for the dinner.

It was a great meal – we started with a pink Veuve Clicquot champagne with some cheese straws, and several selections of nice artisanal cheeses.

The three neighbors were a mother, father, and their daughter who had recently graduated from Northwestern with a masters in Journalism. She was moving to The Hague to work for a non-profit organizations that helps journalists do good deeds in third world countries.

Her father, who must have been in his mid to late 70s had been an executive at Gulf Oil. But his earlier work history is what intrigued us.

He served in the US Army during WWII (he must have been very young) and as soon as he got out he went to the Harvard Business School. After graduating from there, he went to work for the US Foreign Service. Now, I don’t know about you, but when I hear US Foreign Service in the early 1950s I think of only one thing – CIA.

He started his service in Copenhagen (you know, part of that alliance thing) and the was posted to Saigon in 1953. The Quiet American! While he denied any association with covert operations, well, that is what he would have to say.

After Saigon he was posted to Phnom Penh! What a coincidence. Doreen and I are heading to PP this November.

While he stayed with his story about being only a Foreign Service employee, you could see that he was dying to tell the true story.

Maybe after a couple of drinks we will get to the bottom of it all.