Archive for January, 2006
January 31, 2006 at 1:31 pm · Filed under General
Well, I am now just barely getting over a cold, but I think the path here is interesting. This is what I remember of January.
3 weekends ago, we went to Tahoe, and the hit on the family was huge. It was a big energy drain as we lived in the snow for 4 days.
The next Thursday, I was heading for Park City, Utah to go to Sundance. Of course, to make things more complicated, I decide to buy a car. So, on that Wednesday I purchase a 2004 Honda Pilot in near mint condition (very low mileage). The next day I’m on a plane.
For the next 4 days I’m in the cold of Utah at the Sundance Film Festival. This was the festivals 25th anniversary. I went with a great group of people and had a lot of fun. After getting back, I tallied that I had seen 8 movies. More on the festival in another post.
After I get back, on Tuesday I resume work and fix bugs for a release that is happening on Thursday. Also worth noting is that I will not be at work on Thursday since I will be a participating parent at my daughters Pre-K class that day, so it’s gotta get done quickly. All goes well, I handle being in my daughters class, but I get the block room. This means that I have to clean the floors and the bathrooms after the kids are done. This means that I miss ‘circle time’.
The next day, I have to be at work early to interview a candidate. When I get there, I notice that I really don’t feel great. This is not a surprise since there were at least 4 people not at work on Friday due to an illness going around the office. I struggle through the day, but the next day, Saturday, is basically a picture of me asleep all day. This may have been due to my own idea of a natural remedy… drink a half a bottle of Merlot the night before. Don’t give those microorganisms a comfy environment and enjoy the process at the same time.
Does it end there? Nope, some more hoops to jump through, of course.
It turns out that my wife decided to repaint the interior of the house when I was gone and this was the weekend to finish. So most of the house was out of place and there were fans blowing everywhere. Add to that, we got an invite a week earlier from an old friend from Miami to have brunch on Sunday up on nob hill in the city. I call them late Saturday and mention that we’ll play it by ear. Sunday rolls around and I feel, ‘good enough’. We painstakingly get the family up to the city. We arrive just before they close the brunch and get to catch up. It was really good to see them as I haven’t seen them in 6 years. This couple was a positive influence on me when I was growing up in Miami. After we said our goodbyes, it was time to head back down the hill to the house. I don’t remember much after that. I think we got some Baja Fresh burritos since we were in a hurry and then I went to bed early again to try and get better for work the next day.
So then there is today and yesterday. I stayed home and recouped. I’m still just getting over this bug. Some of the other people in the office had to go see a doctor due to their own variant of the illness. I’ll probably make it into work tomorrow and then I’ll start putting all the pieces of my normal life back where they belong.
I still haven’t even unpacked my suitcase from Utah, and I like my new car 
January 19, 2006 at 1:49 pm · Filed under General
Here is an article that discusses a link between Alzheimers and our metabolism. Interesting stuff. My seat of the pants belief here is that we are all consuming too much energy, and this has long term negative effects.
January 17, 2006 at 6:04 pm · Filed under General
Lately, I’ve been thinking of getting a Sony PSP. Why? I’m going to be taking more trips and it would be cool to watch movies, surf the web, and play a few games with something that isnt’ a laptop. I’m going to try one out tomorrow, so I’ll post my mini-review then.
January 17, 2006 at 6:00 pm · Filed under General
It was a good trip as far as family trips go. We took off on late Friday and made it there in the night. It wasn’t snowing, so we didn’t have to worry about cables. We visited my wife’s sister who had this awesome timeshare they were going to let us stay in.
The moon was full, the winds were high, and the forecast was for snow. We stayed up chatting with the in-laws way too late. They had caught some huge trout and we grilled it on the BBQ for dinner.
The next day was just beautiful snow. It was the first time the kids saw snow like that and it dropped at least 12 inches over that day and night. We didn’t have cables for the minivan, so we were stuck. Also, it was getting late and I didn’t want to risk waiting for a shuttle to get to the closest ski resort, Northstar.
That night, I walked to a gas station and picked up some cables for the van. It was an easy walk and refreshing. We were going to be ready for the next day.
Sunday happens and we are ready. We get up in the morning, and with much shouting and frustration we make it to the resort. The lines were long and we rush through the rental line and the ticket purchasing. As we get to the gondola, there is only 10 more minutes until the classes start for my two girls. Did I mention that they didn’t get to eat lunch? This is just crazy.
Well, they both get into their classes. The youngest one bails after 30 mins, but the oldest one makes it through the class for 2.5 hours. She can now, kinda, snowboard. In the meantime, my wife gives me permission to get a few runs in. The lift lines are long, but I do some blue runs just to tune up. Guess what? I did pretty damn good for being out of shape. I could still link my turns and cruise at a good clip.
At the end of the day, everybody else is freezing and dying to get home. We trudge through the smoke and crowds to return our equipment. Then we trudge through the huge parking lot to the van. Very little patience is left in the group.
The next challenge is to get to a friends so my oldest daughter can go spend the night. It should go well but…. the traffic is like 15 miles an hour all the way down the mountain. It takes us 2 hours just to get from Northstar to Grass Valley !! 
After we finally meet the friend and get home, it is past midnight! What a day!
Final thoughts:
Tahoe is great, and the kids got some good new experiences.
I’m never going to Tahoe without a 4×4 and proper tires. Cables/chains just suck.
After doing the runs, I probably don’t need a new board and bindings just yet.
If possible, I will only go to Tahoe during the weekdays. Weekends, especially holiday weekends, are still crazy packed even if you leave a day early!
January 11, 2006 at 4:13 pm · Filed under General
I just heard from my sister, who lives in the Pittsburgh, PA area… that she got fiber from Verizon.
I’m so damn jealous. To think that I was going to brag about being upgraded from 1.5 mbps down to 3 mbps down a couple of weeks ago
Slowly but surely, things are getting better.
January 9, 2006 at 10:59 am · Filed under General
I will join the SUV driving ranks here in America.
Now, in typical fashion, it is time to optimize the choice.
- GPS Nav or no nav.
- Leather or not.
- Colors.
I think GPS is the toughest question. Usually the NAV system costs an extra couple of thousand.
However, if Mr. T is riding shotgun with me… man it is totally worth it!
Anyways, the choices are as follows:
I like GPS and mapping. It sucks to get lost. It seems like a nobrainer to have this
kind of system everywhere. The problem, is the cost. What is the fair price.
Buy it integrated - most expensive: $2500 - $2900
Buy an add-on: Tom-Tom Go. These are like $800
Buy an add-on embedded: Alpine or some other manufacturer. Didn’t check on how much these cost. I think this is a great option.
Wait for my phone to pull it off: Now that would be the best option. How are those location aware phones doing?
Seriously, though. Why hasn’t GPS become a commodity yet?
So, car purchase, almost there.
dru
January 7, 2006 at 11:15 am · Filed under General
Neat concept car. I could actually see people using these.
January 4, 2006 at 2:12 pm · Filed under General
Well, my Honda Civic is looking like it is just going to give me more and more problems.
I’ve got to get a new car.
I’m down to two choices.
- Toyota Prius
- Honda Pilot
What do you think?
Based on price, the Prius wins. Based on sporty-ness, the Pilot wins.
This is a tough call.
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