Beware of Lava Lamps!

Poor Philip Quinn

I wish I would have seen this when I built my house. Isn't it cool? 

So what's this Internet thingamagig anyhow?

Do you know what really bites? Trying to recreate a blog post that you accidentally wasted. Oh well, here's my attempt.

I'm sitting here after setting up my new high speed access last night and I'm loving it. My speed is about 3 times what I have at work. It is very nice. So I'm poking around the web tonight and I ran across an interesting article. You can do just about ANYTHING on the internet these days. Remember dot.com guy from a few years ago? Well, here is the new hunting fad?

So my wife and I were discussing the possibility of this car that can fly prototype that they showed tonight on the news. I can easily see that happening in the future. My wife was a bit skeptical. Not so much that the technology would come about but how in the world would we be able to police such a society.

I think it would be cool! I hope I'm around to see it. Take that one, Segway!

How do I really feel?

Celebs are campaign trail-er trash

World o Meters

Well, it has been a bit since I last wrote. I've been home for a few weeks now and I'm enjoying being home! I came across this interesting site today:

www.worldometers.info

¿Que es un callejeada?

I’ll tell you what it is. We met in the center of town. We were all given these tiny porcelain cups that were worn around our necks. Then these cups were filled with Tequilla. The Mariachi band began to play. The singing starts and so does the dancing. Once everyone is in a good mood, and the sun starts to set, the singing and dancing and drinking take to the streets. We wound our ways through the tiny streets of the city. It was quite amazing. Every few blocks we would stop and dance. The people of the town would come out to watch, clap, and enjoy the party. After marching around for more than an hour, we ended up in this big square. It was nicely decorated and there was plenty of food (and more Tequilla). The dancing was lots of fun. There is a group of people that I have hung out with this week. Most of them were in my class that I taught. The girls were from Hungary, Italy, Brazil, and Italy, and the guys were from Argentina and Mexico. We have really had a good time together. It was quite an experience.

PETA-SHMETA

Tonight we got to watch a typical Mexican rodeo. It was somewhat entertaining. My favorite part was when a caballero would chase around a bull, grab it by its tail, and pull it to the ground. That was entertainment. You won’t see that in America.

Menudo in Mexico

My title was originally ‘Mande Mexico” because most Mexican use the word “mande” when they didn’t hear something or they want you to repeat something. But eating some very tasty menudo on Saturday night forced me to change. I traveled to Zacatecas on Friday and arrived at the hotel late that night. For a surprisingly short distance, it took me all day to get here. I’m sure I paid too much for the taxi ride from the airport to the hotel but oh well.

My hotel is on the edge of the town center and the city it quite pretty. It is located in the center of Mexico about 400 miles north of Mexico City. It is quite an old city and still has the colonial feel to it. I believe it was founded in the late 1500’s.

I taught a class on Saturday and Sunday to a group of people from 12 different countries. Even though most were from Spanish speaking countries I taught the class in English. After the class on Saturday some of the local participants took me around the city for a bit and then I went to one of their homes for a small dinner. The menudo was very tasty.
I also had some other fruits and such that I had never tried before. Another funny thing is the house where I visited, they had a big eagle in a cage on their front porch. You would never see that in the States.

On Sunday night I went to Mass (I couldn’t find a iglesias Mormona). It is quite entertaining. I also hiked up the big hill (Cerro del Bufo) that overlooks the city. It is quite an impressive view.

There is a congress that runs all week so I’ll be pretty busy (selling my wares as my mother puts it). The people here in Zacatecas want me to come back next year to teach another class.

If anything unusual happens, I’ll be sure to write about it.

Spent the afternoon surfing at Pacific Beach! 

Surfin' in San Diego

Well, my travels took me back to a place that I was with my family just a couple of months ago. One of my favorite beaches, Pacific Beach. I'm here teaching a class this week. Most everyone is from the States, with one guy from Denmark and three people from mainland China.

On Monday, I was able to spend the afternoon in the surf and had a wonderful time. Man I love the beach! Had several fish tacos at Rubios. You just can't get enough of them. My highlight of the day was watching a homeless guy take a piss on the beach not far from a family that was sitting on the sand enjoying the sun and sand. Lots of homeless people here. It is sad and disturbing. I want to take them to a hotel or somewhere where they can take a shower, wash their clothes and eat a good meal. But then I feel overwhelmed because you can't help them all. I go running every morning and they are all over the city, sleeping in all of the cracks and crevices of the buildings. Here I am carrying my laptop (my life) around and their "life" consists of a plastic shopping bag with maybe a comb and a pair of underwear. Actually, I wonder what is in their bag. I wonder what their plan is? What do they think they'll be doing next week? Next year? Ten years from now? Same thing? Wow, I kind of went off on that tangent.

I am running in the morning. As tired as I am, I am still glad that I can pull my lazy ass out of bed and work up a sweat. I'm here for one more day then I head off to the heartland of Mexico.

Land of 1000 Steeples 

Presenting Prague

I was pretty excited to meet Marcella in one of my favorite cities in the world. There is so much to see and so much to do. Lots of museums, churches, shopping, and restaurants. The city is known as the “City of 1000 Spires”. Somehow Prague survived both World Wars so the city is full of architecture dating back several hundred years. We had a couple of days before and after our week in Karlovy Vary. I took Marcella to all of the popular spots: Charles Bridge, Old Town Square, and of course the Castle (the largest castle in Europe). I was so surprised at the mobs of people in and around the city. It was just crazy. I did run every morning around town. I love doing that. The streets are more or less empty except for the old ladies walking their dogs. A couple of times I got lost but that was part of the fun and the experience of the morning run. Funny thing, I never saw anyone else out running ever. That seemed a bit strange.

One morning we took a short river trip along the Vlata river. This runs right through the middle of town. Shortly after my last visit a couple of years ago, there was a major flood that came through. The river flooded most of the downtown area and overtopped most of the bridges. As we were going along the river it was hard to imagine that much water. The bridges were a good 25-30 feet above the river.

We ate lots of chocolate, ice cream, fish, venison, pork, potato dumplings, and Marcella’s favorite croquettes.

Although Marcella wasn’t ready to come home, I was. Being away from home for almost three weeks was a bit long for me.

You deserve a break today, at Karlovy Vary 

Kan’t say Karlovy Vary

I couldn’t come up with a better title than that??? After meeting Marcella in Prague we took a bus through the countryside of Czech Republic to the wonderful spa town of Karlovy Vary. It is also known as Karlsbad. A very popular place for Germans and Russians, the place is known for it’s special healing powers of its hot springs. There are 12 of them in all. There are old people walking around sipping the hot mineral water from these special cups. We got upgraded to the Grand Hotel Pupp (a 5 star hotel and the nicest place in Karlovy Vary). Very good food, very nice people. Every morning I got up and ran around the town. Usually I would run through the nearby forests and climb the small hills for a spectacular sunrise over the city.

One night we went to a castle in a nearby town called Loket. We had medieval food (a flat piece of bread was our plate) and entertainment (sword flights, belly dancers, music, and a dart contest which I took second). It is so different from anything you would see here in the States.

Freiberg Temple. Very Beautiful! 

How's your German? 

Finding Freiberg

After missing a chance a couple of years ago to visit Freiberg, I was determined to visit and find the Temple. How big could Freiberg be anyhow? So I drove down from Berlin and starting searching. And searching, And searching. I turned away disappointed but what did I expect. No map. No idea what I was even looking for. I came back to Berlin, looked up the address on the Internet and determined to go back and find it. It being the Freiberg Temple, the first temple build behind the Iron Curtain. Tonight I drove right to it (I was just a street away the first time). What a treat! I met not only Temple President but also a group of Hungarians on their first visit to the temple. What a treat!

Afterwards, I strolled down the walking/shopping area of town and found what…a dürüm
shop! So good I just had to have two. I topped it off with a cup of ice cream.

Arrive Alive! The Autobahn

“Slow dow!” she says……”You’ll get a ticket!”…..Have you even just wanted to drive and know that no matter how fast you went, you would never see those blue and red lights in your rear view mirror. Try driving on the Autobahn. Sure there are some areas where the speed limit is posted but once you pass construction areas or on/off ramps, it is time to go go go. But beware! Do not get in the inside lane unless you’re prepared to go fast. Even going speeds of over 190 kph I was passed like I was standing still. The Nissan that I was driving didn’t go much faster than 200 but that’s fast enough for me
(that’s 125 mph). Driving fast is fun but it sure is expensive. Gas here in Germany is more than $5/gal.

Back in Berlin

Well after just a few short days in the Canterbury neighborhood, I traveled back to one of my favorite cities, Berlin. After some last minute rerouting, I went through Houston and Amsterdam before arrive in Berlin. The weather has been nice and I’ve had an enjoyable time (even though I’ve been working 14+ hours a day). I decided that every morning I’d get up and go running. It’s been hard but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.

Went to a “Beer Garden” to watch the friendly match between Germany and Brazil. No way I was getting a ticket in the recently renovated Olympic Stadium. We strolled around Berlin after the match looking for a dürüm MADE FROM BEEF. We had to settle on falafels from a Lebanese eatery. Afterwards I witnessed first hand the party scene (Berlin style). Lots of drinking, smoking, dancing, and loud music. Just what I pictured.

Wonderful food and courteous people!

Thanks, Berlin!

Chillin' in Chile

Well, since it IS my last day in Chile I guess I should take a few moments to records some thoughts and so on and so on blah blah blah. This was mi viaje primero a Sur America.

I spent a week with a group of engineers that work for the company Codelco. They are in charge of the Chuquicamata mine (the biggest open pit mine in the world). Actually, I spent some time last night searching around and it appears that Chuqui and the Bingham Canyon copper mine are about the same size.

My first impressions of Calama were not that good. It appeared to be out in the middle of nowhere! I crashed in my hotel room after a 26+ hour trip traveling via Atlanta, Lima, Santiago, and finally Calama.

I guess I stayed in the nicest hotel in Calama. Food was good and I became good friends with the hotel staff. The hotel had a nice pool outside but since it was winter and the pool was not heated, it was butt cold.

By the way, Calama sits around 7500 feet above sea level and the mine is closer to 10000 feet above sea level.

I spent the next five days working with a group of mining engineers teaching them groundwater modeling principles and how to use GMS.

It wasn’t until day 4 or 5 that I learned that Calama was actually a real town, with a main bus stop and even a mall! Up until then, we had always traveled on the outskirts of town. There is a great deal of construction going on because they are moving everyone out of the Chuquicamata town. They have a big arsenic problem there but the real issue is that they need some place to put all of the material that they are pulling out of the mine. So what is going to happen is over the next 20 years or so, the town will be completely buried. They are leaving everything, buildings and such, even the cemetery. Pretty bizarre. They have already closed off a bunch of sections and started putting burying stuff.

Another thing I got to experience was the wind and dust. Apparently the months of August and September are really bad. For the first 4 days I was there the wind blew hard all day long. It did remind me of home a bit. The wind kicks up the dust so that visibility is basically nothing. It is not a pleasant thing but the people deal with it. During this time there are lots of accidents on the roads because you cannot see where you’re going. Many people die each year so the roads to and from the mine are lined with an assortment of crosses and memorials. I took a picture of one of the bigger ones. I’ll try and post it.

Everywhere I went the people were very nice. Food was just fine. I had a lot of fish and some meat. Their salads are most often lettuce-less and I didn’t think much of their desserts until they learned my love for helado (ice cream). After that, I was a happy camper.

On one of my last days, the guys took me to meet the general manager of the mine. I got to see them do some blasting. Kind of cool. Then we smuggled some ore out so that I could bring some home. Pretty cool.

The engineers were pleased how the training went and so we’re planning on doing some additional work over the next year and a half. Our next meeting will be in Santiago instead of the high desert.

Stillwater, Calama, and now….Back to Berlin!

Sitting in Stillwater

Well, one of the reasons I have this blog is to write a few notes and thoughts on my travels. Last week I was able to spend an enjoyable week in Southern Utah and San Diego. Our family traveled with our neighbors, the Drapers and we went everywhere with our Talkabouts.

This week I traveled to Stillwater, Minnesota. First time to Stillwater, second time to Minnesota. Very nice town. I became good friends with my gracious client and host, George.
For those who know me understand that eating good food is up there on my list of favorite things. I was certainly not disappointed here in Stillwater. You will not find a single chain-type restaurant here (although I did learn that there is a Wendy's at the edge of town). Every breakfast, lunch, and dinner was a complete treat. The town has that real small-town feel and it seems like everyone knows everyone. I think George enjoyed going to his favorite eating places, introducing me to the chef and eating with someone that enjoys food as much as he does.

If you ever get the chance to go to Stillwater, don't miss these places:

Byerley's - Great wild rice soup and Rueben sandwhiches
Marx - Fruit-del-mar (seafood pasta)
Dock's cafe - grilled Walleye (a local favorite)
River Oasis - any special of the day (I met the owner/chef of Marx there eating lunch)
Phil's Tara Hideaway - cozy, loud, delicious Greek restaurant (did I mention that George is Greek?)

Last but not least is my personal favorite - Nelson's ice cream shop! Soooo much ice cream for a couple of bucks.

Tomorrow I'm heading home for a couple of days before Chile

Me and my friend Tim taking a break in TJ 

Where am I? How specific can you get? 

Sick and Wrong

I really don't understand some people. Luckily, the Dutch were smart enough to pass a law outlawing "toe-licking"

My first geocache!

I started yet another hobby.  Last week I hid my first geocache at the Scout camp and registered it on geocaching.com.  My cache was accepted so now I sit back and see if anyone finds it.  The name of my cache is "Aspen Ridge" and the ID is WGS84.  Give the site a whirl
and see what I wrote.

I'll give you the shirt off my back! 

Aspen Ridge

I spent the entire week last week with my son, JJ and our Boy Scout troop.  We went to a place called Aspen Ridge.  We had a great time.  In my quest to lose "the fat" I did lots of hiking and swiming.  There was a nice peak that we climb a couple of times.  We left a geocache for future hikers and geocachers.  Once I put the info on http://www.geocaching.com I'll let you know.

Marcella, LeAnn, and me! 

Nice Father's Day gift

Well, I had to wait until I really had something to share.  For Father's Day my wife gave me tickets to go see LeAnn Rimes.  It was at the Thansgiving amphitheater.  The setting was beautiful and the concert was lots of fun (mainly because I love LeAnn).  After the show because of friend connections we got to meet LeAnn!

That will be a hard Father's Day to beat!

Am I fat? 

Why Am I Here

Someone showed me to the door. I opened it and walked in.

So here I am.