November 22, 2008
November 21, 2008
November 20, 2008
in a Canterbury pub
On the train to Canterbury
We took a bus to Victoria Station, and the station master told us to get on the train on track #6. We jumped on, and it left.
Now it appears that we have to move to a different car, as they divide the train at Faversham, and we are on the wrong side.
November 19, 2008
November 18, 2008
November 17, 2008
November 16, 2008
Paddington Express
we spent about an hour in a 'yotel' in the airport thanks to Continental.
very nice
November 15, 2008
Review of a local restaurant
Money quote:
"Brunch at Beaver’s can be a ton of fun too. I am the worlds most pathetic drinker, but even I couldn’t refuse the Squealing Mary made with bacon infused vodka, rimmed with bacon salt and finished with… a slice of bacon."
chefy bits at Beaver’s at Tasty Bits
"Brunch at Beaver’s can be a ton of fun too. I am the worlds most pathetic drinker, but even I couldn’t refuse the Squealing Mary made with bacon infused vodka, rimmed with bacon salt and finished with… a slice of bacon."
chefy bits at Beaver’s at Tasty Bits
November 14, 2008
FastTech 50
I am remiss in not mentioning that OpenSpirit has made the Fast Tech 50 again:
click here
This is our fourth time. I may not apply next year, though. We are getting to the size where the confidentiality of the numbers may matter.
click here
This is our fourth time. I may not apply next year, though. We are getting to the size where the confidentiality of the numbers may matter.
On our way to London
Doreen and I are heading to London tomorrow for a week. I will be attending (and oddly enough, hosting) the Oil & Gas Exchange London 2008.
After that, we will be taking a few days to see The Changing of the Guard and enjoy London.
We will be seeing our friend Keith, who will be moving back to the US next summer.
Then we are back next weekend, just in time for Thanksgiving.
After that, we will be taking a few days to see The Changing of the Guard and enjoy London.
We will be seeing our friend Keith, who will be moving back to the US next summer.
Then we are back next weekend, just in time for Thanksgiving.
November 12, 2008
November 10, 2008
November 9, 2008
loading the plane
November 8, 2008
November 5, 2008
It is over
The election is over. What has been a two year interview process has culminated with us, the American People giving the job to Barak Obama. Whether you voted for him or voted against him, he will soon be your President. That is the way Democracy works. You may not like it, but I would defy you to find a better system.
And now we all have a choice. We can sit on our hands, cry in our beds, complain and threaten to leave the country, or we can fight for what we believe. It does not matter if you believe that Obama will be a great President or an awful failure. If you do not fight for your country, you have no right to call yourself patriotic.
The US faces some horrible challenges. Some are a result of the current administration; some are the result of outside forces. When BHO started his campaign, he engaged people down to the very grass roots to make a change. If you disagree with him, and what he is hoping to accomplish, you can help put forward your own agenda the same way. Vote for local officials, Donate money to the party of your choice. Get active in party politics.
If you support him and want him to succeed, it does not end here, either. There are plenty of opportunities to become part of the process, and more frequently than once every four years. He will need help, all of our elected officials will need help, to pull us out of this mess.
He has my support. But as with all elected officials he needs to prove himself worthy of that support. I will help where and when I can. And I will continually be measuring him against the ideals that I have set.
And now we all have a choice. We can sit on our hands, cry in our beds, complain and threaten to leave the country, or we can fight for what we believe. It does not matter if you believe that Obama will be a great President or an awful failure. If you do not fight for your country, you have no right to call yourself patriotic.
The US faces some horrible challenges. Some are a result of the current administration; some are the result of outside forces. When BHO started his campaign, he engaged people down to the very grass roots to make a change. If you disagree with him, and what he is hoping to accomplish, you can help put forward your own agenda the same way. Vote for local officials, Donate money to the party of your choice. Get active in party politics.
If you support him and want him to succeed, it does not end here, either. There are plenty of opportunities to become part of the process, and more frequently than once every four years. He will need help, all of our elected officials will need help, to pull us out of this mess.
He has my support. But as with all elected officials he needs to prove himself worthy of that support. I will help where and when I can. And I will continually be measuring him against the ideals that I have set.
November 3, 2008
Vote for Obama
For the first time in my voting career - and that would be 1976 when Carter ran against Ford, I am voting for a major party candidate whom I think will win.
Historically I have voted for the Libertarian candidate, as that is the party with whom I generally share the most ideals. But I think that in this election it is too important to throw away your vote. Even in as red a state as Texas, I want people to know that I have voted for a candidate I think will make a difference, both to the United States domestically and to our standing in the world.
Call me naive or call me foolish, but there is only one candidate in this election who stand for individual freedoms as well as international sanity, and that candidate is Barack Obama. I know that I am voting for higher taxes on me and my family, but that is inevitable. McCain is simply lying to us if he thinks he can do all he claims and not raise taxes.
And Barack is a vote against the US Taliban, AKA the Christian Coalition. Republicans are all for Federalism until it touches Gay Marriage, Abortion, Gun Control, Assisted Suicide, Marijuana Laws, or Education. Then they want the big daddy US government to step in. Does anyone care that "Under God" was added to the Pledge in the 1950s? I do. Does anyone care that the Founding Fathers purposefully eliminated a state religion from the constitution? I do. I do not want our government acting like the Stasi in cold war East Germany. We are better than that. Even in Hogans Hero's we abided by the Geneva convention.
Most libertarians I know are voting for Obama. Because we are sick of an elected dictator. One who believes that the Executive branch of government trumps all others. And and Executive who signs legislation "with his fingers crossed" and institutes what he believes to be a line item veto. We have three co-equal branches of Government, and I am ready to have them restored.
I am ready for a federal government of whom I can be proud, both domestically and internationally. I work in an international business, and am I sick and tired of having to apologize for our President and our actions.
I am proud to be an American. I am ready, for the first time in my life, to be proud to be an American under a Democratic President that I voted for.
Vote.
Historically I have voted for the Libertarian candidate, as that is the party with whom I generally share the most ideals. But I think that in this election it is too important to throw away your vote. Even in as red a state as Texas, I want people to know that I have voted for a candidate I think will make a difference, both to the United States domestically and to our standing in the world.
Call me naive or call me foolish, but there is only one candidate in this election who stand for individual freedoms as well as international sanity, and that candidate is Barack Obama. I know that I am voting for higher taxes on me and my family, but that is inevitable. McCain is simply lying to us if he thinks he can do all he claims and not raise taxes.
And Barack is a vote against the US Taliban, AKA the Christian Coalition. Republicans are all for Federalism until it touches Gay Marriage, Abortion, Gun Control, Assisted Suicide, Marijuana Laws, or Education. Then they want the big daddy US government to step in. Does anyone care that "Under God" was added to the Pledge in the 1950s? I do. Does anyone care that the Founding Fathers purposefully eliminated a state religion from the constitution? I do. I do not want our government acting like the Stasi in cold war East Germany. We are better than that. Even in Hogans Hero's we abided by the Geneva convention.
Most libertarians I know are voting for Obama. Because we are sick of an elected dictator. One who believes that the Executive branch of government trumps all others. And and Executive who signs legislation "with his fingers crossed" and institutes what he believes to be a line item veto. We have three co-equal branches of Government, and I am ready to have them restored.
I am ready for a federal government of whom I can be proud, both domestically and internationally. I work in an international business, and am I sick and tired of having to apologize for our President and our actions.
I am proud to be an American. I am ready, for the first time in my life, to be proud to be an American under a Democratic President that I voted for.
Vote.
Andrew Sullivan (November 03, 2008) - Barack Obama For President
Measured and rational support for BHO:
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan (November 03, 2008) - Barack Obama For President
GO VOTE!!!
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan (November 03, 2008) - Barack Obama For President
GO VOTE!!!
November 1, 2008
Flatlanders and Jerry Jeff Walker
This evening we went to hear The Flatlanders and Jerry Jeff Walker perform at Miller Outdoor Theater in Houston.
It was a blast.
The Flatlanders is sort of a Texas "Super Group" with Joe Ely, Butch Hancock, and Jimmy Dale Gilmore. If you like Texas music, you should buy at least one of their discs. You will recognize all three voices.'
Jerry Jeff Walker was as good as every. AND he was sober (!) He did a nice mix of old stuff (Redneck Mother, LA Freeway) and some new songs he had written.
This was part of a birthday party for one of Doreen's friends. The party part was OK. The music made it all worthwhile.
It was a blast.
The Flatlanders is sort of a Texas "Super Group" with Joe Ely, Butch Hancock, and Jimmy Dale Gilmore. If you like Texas music, you should buy at least one of their discs. You will recognize all three voices.'
Jerry Jeff Walker was as good as every. AND he was sober (!) He did a nice mix of old stuff (Redneck Mother, LA Freeway) and some new songs he had written.
This was part of a birthday party for one of Doreen's friends. The party part was OK. The music made it all worthwhile.
October 31, 2008
October 29, 2008
Monbiot.com » The Triumph of Ignorance
Monbiot.com » The Triumph of Ignorance:
"US education, like the US health system, is notorious for its failures. In the most powerful nation on earth, one adult in five believes the sun revolves around the earth; only 26% accept that evolution takes place by means of natural selection; two-thirds of young adults are unable to find Iraq on a map; two-thirds of US voters cannot name the three branches of government; the maths skills of 15 year-olds in the US are ranked 24th out of the 29 countries of the OECD"
"US education, like the US health system, is notorious for its failures. In the most powerful nation on earth, one adult in five believes the sun revolves around the earth; only 26% accept that evolution takes place by means of natural selection; two-thirds of young adults are unable to find Iraq on a map; two-thirds of US voters cannot name the three branches of government; the maths skills of 15 year-olds in the US are ranked 24th out of the 29 countries of the OECD"
October 27, 2008
Cyrano de Bergerac
Doreen and I wen to see Cyrano de Bergerac last night at the Alley Theatre. It was an excellent production, and we enjoyed it quite a bit.
This is one of those plays that everyone thinks they know, and yet few can really tell you how it turns out. We have all seen numerous movies, and they mostly seem to have happy endings.
The original play (first performed in 1897) is much darker. I will not give away the ending in case anyone wants to see it with fresh eyes, but it is really quite sad.
Go see it if you can.
This is one of those plays that everyone thinks they know, and yet few can really tell you how it turns out. We have all seen numerous movies, and they mostly seem to have happy endings.
The original play (first performed in 1897) is much darker. I will not give away the ending in case anyone wants to see it with fresh eyes, but it is really quite sad.
Go see it if you can.
October 26, 2008
October 24, 2008
Hawk
I got home from Oslo and saw this:
in the yard. From a distance, it looked like ashes. But close up you can see it is the feathers that have been plucked from a dove by a hawk.
Brother Matthew has similar photographs from his backyard. That is how I know what it was.
 |
| From Dove Feathers and Leaves |
in the yard. From a distance, it looked like ashes. But close up you can see it is the feathers that have been plucked from a dove by a hawk.
Brother Matthew has similar photographs from his backyard. That is how I know what it was.
another view of the plane
And I have it on good authority that time spent waiting at the gate for flights does not count as part of your lifespan. So I lose nothing.
airplane from Amsterdam to Houston
Oslo airport
When I was living in Caracas I flew quite a bit in Latin America. On almost every flight, someone took a photo of the plane. You don't see that so much these days.
October 23, 2008
In Oslo
I am in Oslo for work (returning tomorrow - Friday) and have had a chance to talk to several Norwegians.
The question inevitable comes up about the election. Everyone seems to be excited about the fact that the US is changing our President. Everyone I talked to (and these are some very competent business executives) believe that Obama will win, and will be very good for the US.
The question inevitable comes up about the election. Everyone seems to be excited about the fact that the US is changing our President. Everyone I talked to (and these are some very competent business executives) believe that Obama will win, and will be very good for the US.
October 21, 2008
October 20, 2008
October 13, 2008
Lessons from Ike
1. Paper phone list
2. Landline phone (portable won’t do)
3. Garbage bags at hand
4. Grill and Charcoal or Gas ready and full
5. Plenty of towels and throw rugs
6. Batteries and more batteries
7. LED reading lights and lanterns
8. Canned food – for pets and people
9. PUT THINGS AWAY ALL YEAR LONG, especially FLASHLIGHTS
10. Have coolers cleaned and full of ice
11. Plenty of water for drinking and flushing
12. Drying racks or clothes lines
13. Dry food like crackers and chips
14. UHT milk
15. Hummus!
16. Do the laundry before the storm
17. Fill up the gas tanks before the storm
18. Have plenty of matches or lighters IN THE SAME PLACE YOU KEEP THEM ALL YEAR LONG (see #9)
19. Plenty of candles
20. Mow the lawn
21. Trim the bushes and the trees
22. Freeze as much water as you can
23. Know how to open the garage door when there is no power
2. Landline phone (portable won’t do)
3. Garbage bags at hand
4. Grill and Charcoal or Gas ready and full
5. Plenty of towels and throw rugs
6. Batteries and more batteries
7. LED reading lights and lanterns
8. Canned food – for pets and people
9. PUT THINGS AWAY ALL YEAR LONG, especially FLASHLIGHTS
10. Have coolers cleaned and full of ice
11. Plenty of water for drinking and flushing
12. Drying racks or clothes lines
13. Dry food like crackers and chips
14. UHT milk
15. Hummus!
16. Do the laundry before the storm
17. Fill up the gas tanks before the storm
18. Have plenty of matches or lighters IN THE SAME PLACE YOU KEEP THEM ALL YEAR LONG (see #9)
19. Plenty of candles
20. Mow the lawn
21. Trim the bushes and the trees
22. Freeze as much water as you can
23. Know how to open the garage door when there is no power
October 12, 2008
Snipers on the roof
While in Paris last week, there was a trial going on at the Ministry of Justice, which was just down the street from our apartment. During the whole week, there were plenty o'cops on the street. Every car that drove down the Quai de Orfevres was stopped, and was inspected with mirrors on sticks so they could see if there were bombs underneath the car.
At the same time, Doreen noticed police with long guns on the roof of various buildings across the river.
She took photos:
I would never take photos of cops with guns.
We never did figure out who was being tried, but we didn't try too hard. Doreen asked one of the cops, and he said it was a criminal.
There you go.
At the same time, Doreen noticed police with long guns on the roof of various buildings across the river.
She took photos:
 |
| From Paris, October 2008 |
I would never take photos of cops with guns.
We never did figure out who was being tried, but we didn't try too hard. Doreen asked one of the cops, and he said it was a criminal.
There you go.
October 7, 2008
October 5, 2008
October 3, 2008
Leaving for Paris tonight
We will be staying here:
View Larger Map
until next Saturday the 11th. I am attending a conference there, where I will be moderating one of the forums.
Doreen will be having fun the whole time. I will have a couple of very nice days.
We should be posting some photos.
View Larger Map
until next Saturday the 11th. I am attending a conference there, where I will be moderating one of the forums.
Doreen will be having fun the whole time. I will have a couple of very nice days.
We should be posting some photos.
October 1, 2008
September 30, 2008
September 29, 2008
September 28, 2008
September 25, 2008
September 23, 2008
652 Messages
I had 652 messages on my e-mail account in the 253 hours our power was off.
Some of them were spam, but most were legitimate.
Doreen hasn't even booted her computer up yet.
I will be posting a "What I wish we would have done" entry soon. Mostly so that the next time a hurricane comes by, we will remember the lessons learned.
Some of them were spam, but most were legitimate.
Doreen hasn't even booted her computer up yet.
I will be posting a "What I wish we would have done" entry soon. Mostly so that the next time a hurricane comes by, we will remember the lessons learned.
We got juice!
at 5:00 PM.
I am at the airport picking up Doreen from Pittsburgh.
ten and a half days was enough.
Ree is still powerless.
September 22, 2008
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