Heading home

Doreen mocks me because I like to get to the gate early. Honestly, I like to get on the plane as early as I can. It makes me think that the jouney has started and we are one step closer to our destination. She indulges me, and we have never missed a flight.

There is an odd change in Continental's preflight drinks - they are now serving those little champagne 'pops' rather than opening a whole bottle. I think they are only 6 or 8 oz, which means we barely get a sip, as they split one between the two of us. Maybe I will write a letter.

This was a good trip, and I am looking forward to getting home.

CO 05 to Houston

777

tate modern

I was scolded for taking this photo.

Tate Modern

cornelia parker

St Paul Cathedral

on the train to London

Heading back to London

meat pie detritus

meat pie

in a Canterbury pub

Doreen is lamenting the fact that she is drinking a half pint of Spitfire Ale, while I get a full pint

Canterbury Cathedral

Chalk cliffs at Rockchester

English Countryside

whan that aprile with its showres soote

On the train to Canterbury

We are (we hope) on the train to Canterbury. Two people have asked us where the train is going, AND THEY ARE ON IT!

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.

Dick Cavett on Sarah. Will she never leave?

The Wild Wordsmith of Wasilla - Dick Cavett Blog - NYTimes.com

Beets on Burgers: Who Knew?

A Beet Paradox - Freakonomics Blog - NYTimes.com

regent st

fountains at the royal acadamy

the British Acadamy

Paddington Express

half an hour to London.

we spent about an hour in a 'yotel' in the airport thanks to Continental.

very nice

inter terminal train at Heathrow

on the plane

middle seats on the 777.

life is good!

boeing 777

you can barely see the plane on the left

in the airport

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

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.

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.

Las Vegas to Houston

757 for the trip back home

New York, New York in Las Vegas

The title says it all.

Hills outside of Las Vegas

I think this is looking west

in vegas

this is the view from my room at the excalibur

one more

looking forward to the cockpit

on the plane

loading the plane

these small planes are very uncomfortable. this is a 737 (800, i think). that is my head at the bottom of the image.

on the plane to Vegas

I am on the plane waiting for a beer

plane to Las Vegas

headin to Las Vegas. The flight is 2 hours late

Good article in the Wall Street Journal about the Death of Conservative Intellectuals

The Perils of 'Populist Chic' - WSJ.com

My Niece in Thailand's Blog

Abbie’s Blog » Yes we can. (And Thai Dance)

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.

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.

The Economist's endorsement

Barack Obama should be the next president of America | It's time | The Economist

It's time.

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!!!

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.

Panel in Paris

From Moderating a panel in Paris, at the SIS Forum

From Moderating a panel in Paris, at the SIS Forum

From Moderating a panel in Paris, at the SIS Forum

Sitting on the front porch

It is so pretty outside we are sitting on our front porch.

Beautiful day in Houston

it is about 70 degrees and couldn't be nicer.

I didn't even know there WAS a 'My Dog Looks Like Obama/McCain Contest'!

Texas Politics: I didn't even know there WAS a 'My Dog Looks Like Obama/McCain Contest'!

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"

Country first: A consideration

MeMo: Country first: A consideration

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.

We voted

Doreen and I went to vote today. We had to wait about 35 minutes, but it was mostly painless.

From I voted!

We both feel very patriotic today.

Go Vote!

Hawk

I got home from Oslo and saw this:

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.

on the plane

note the single row of seats

another view of the plane

Can you tell I get to the gate early? Old habits are hard to break.

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

I believe the is a 767, unless they changed equipment. That is unlikely. This plane has a single row of seats down the middle. I like to sit there because nobody bothers me.

from inside the plane

looking out.

Oslo airport

Here is the airplane I am taking to Amsterdam.

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.

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.

But where is Shadenfreuda?

Ten Most Difficult Words to Translate

I am a Real American, too!

A Very Open Letter To Sarah Palin | Capital Gains and Games

Awww!: Monkeys Form Dangerous But Adorable Alliance With Tigers

Awww!: Monkeys Form Dangerous But Adorable Alliance With Tigers

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

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:

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.

tour d'eiffel

Doreen in our window

 

This is our apartment on the Ile del la Cite.

on the plane

at the airport

phone photo of Doreen doing some last minute business

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.

Nice (relatively simple) explaination of the fiscal crisis

The Roots of the Crisis: How did Wall Street get into this mess? - Reason Magazine