Take a Hike!

Where have you been lately... Me? Well just the other day I went for a hike while I had some free time on a business trip. My co-worker, Alex, and I found a nice trail just outside of Vancouver Washington. The goal: Hamilton Mountain.

This is the actual path that we took; I found a way to upload my GPS tracks onto Google Earth. Fitting since it was G-Earth that I found this hike in the first place.

Neat trail, we saw plenty of H2O: rain, streams, snow, waterfalls, ice...

Yes that is me wearing shorts, like you had to ask! The legs did not get cold, but I should have had a better jacket to keep a little dryer.

This last photo is the shear cliff that we hiked down next too, the old adage is SO true: a picture does not due it justice. But I still have to post it... the vertial face you see is atleast 150ft and there was a deep gorge between where we were standing. Awesome!

Get out and enjoy the our country!

London Calling... what does it want?

Well another trip to London and a visit to something I have continually missed on previous trips. God forbid that I actually learn something when out and about!

Being a freak about hiking, maps, GPS and such, it is surprising that I have not visited the National Maritime Museum earlier and more often. The significance you ask? Well it is not just the location of the Prime Meridian, but also home to the Royal Observatory, Royal Naval Academy and other exhibits including a Planetarium.

This site is where we (global) have designated to be ground zero of all maps (Prime Meridian)

Royal Observatory

Royal Navel Academy

Prime Meridian, at the top of the of the picture you can see a small black circle; this houses a laser that projects the Prime Meridian. The picture below show the laser at night. (Taken near one of the hotels I stay at, just opposite of the River Thames)

Public Standard of Lengths was posted at the observatory gate sometime before 1866, as noted on of the plaques. Here you can verify the accuracy of your measuring devices, although these are not the "official".

I also paid a visit to one of the more well known London Breweries, Fullers. Nice cask brews of very traditional English Ales.

To bad the their pub was closed on the weekends, but I was able to pick up a few mementos at the gift shop. The day also gave a few opportunities to take a few pictures of one of my favorite subjects, trees and branch/sky silhouette.

Frankfurt... home and namesake of the hot dog

Well I have finally update this blog and it is 'bout time.

We I am just finishing up a +2 week European business trip and it all started in Frankfurt, Germany. Crisp, cool air and an abundance of beer, applewine and sausages to permanently preserve any living creature for an eternity... seriously!

The city is nice to view from an architectural view too... well at least from my untrained eye, but I like it!

From the traditional German village

And the newer plazas...

To the modern high risers.

Boy do they loved meat out here. After working all day in the office, the team (~12) headed out for some dinner and drinks. We headed to a traditional German restaurant, where our leader told the waiter to just bring out some food.

I saw this platter and thought, wow that is a lot of meat... that should feed all of use. Yeah then two more waiters came out with the same platters! Oh what succulent and flavorful pork, gammon and mixed sausages; they were awesome.

I was fortunate to be able to escape the city one day and headed south to Stuttgart, home of Porsche; my boss Darryl, was the one that suggested the idea to go to the brand new Porsche Museum. The history was cool but the display of cars was simply amazing. Everything from the cars you see today, the birth of the Beetle and down to fire trucks Ferdinand Porsche build in beginning of the 1900s.

Classic American Roadster!

...and the Iconic 911 Turbo

And I was not joking about the Fire Truck!

New Kitchen... OK refreshed is more like it!

So I have finally started on some of the projects around the house and the first to be tackled was the kitchen. So dark, dated and absolutely nasty! But what to you expect from something that was designed and built in the 70s... guess that does not say much about me, eh?

Now I still have one item that needs to be replaced or refresh for the time being and that is the lights, oh how I loathe them!

But take a look for yourself...



Cleaning up also make the place look better, but the before pictures are from the weekend I moved in.



This is only a temporary fix til I have the money to truly update my kitchen... I still hope that is sooner than later, but at least now I am not repulsed by the site of it.

"...Prehaps it should have been Rule of Wrist?"

Alright... enough already! Yes I have not posted in a while; some would say I am lazy... This goes out to all my fellow Saint fans.

In the past few weeks I have heard or read 'rule of thumb' several times and it just made me giggle inside thinking of the scene in Boondock Saints. In the movie, the phrase was said to have originated from when a man could be his wife with a stick no bigger than his thumb. Settle down PC fruitcakes, this is not the origin. And watch the movie for the reason I giggle. In all seriousness, I decided to do a little research on the term of my endearment.

Definition ‘A useful principle having wide application but not intended to be strictly accurate or reliable in every situation.’ The origin is also listed here.

Quotes ‘People are basically honest. And they're even more honest when you watch them.’ - Alan C. "Ace" Greenberg
‘Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys’ - P.J. O'Rourke

Every Rule of Thumb in one place a fun and interesting website, example: On fence posts in open country, red-tailed hawks space themselves every 1.5 miles.

Well there is more out there on the www than I needed to see; I could go on and on about what you find when researching the web and how much time is wasted going to site that only resemble what your looking for. I did stumble across this one gem I have to post here:
From http://www.5ives.com/

Five Rules of Thumb
1. The stupider your ringtone, the longer it will take you to answer your phone.
2. The twin miracles of childbirth and pet ownership render you unable to share one photo of anything.
3. If your vanity license plate makes any reference to the make of your vehicle, the people you work with despise you.
4. Ph.D.s who ask to be called “Doctor” should be prepared to refer to every college graduate as “Bachelor.”
5. If you own more than one Enya record you might as well buy all of them and make a little fort.

I seem to have lost focus on the post, but if you have not seen the Boondock Saints, check it out.

In nomine Patri, Et Fili, Spiritus Sancti.

Stimulus Payment Info

My cousin sent me this and I concur

"This year, taxpayers will receive an Economic Stimulus Payment. This is a very exciting new program that I will explain using the Q and A format:

Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?
A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.

Q. Where will the government get this money?
A. From taxpayers.

Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?
A. Only a smidgen.

Q. What is the purpose of this payment?
A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.

Q But isn't that stimulating the economy of China ?
A. Shut up.


Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the US economy by spending your stimulus check wisely:

If you spend that money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China.
If you spend it on gasoline it will go to the Arabs.
If you purchase a computer it will go to India.
If you purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala (unless you buy organic).
If you buy a car it will go to Japan.
If you purchase useless crap it will go to Taiwan.

And none of it will help the American economy. We need to keep that money here in America. You can keep the money in America by spending it at yard sales, going to a baseball game, or spend it on prostitutes, beer and wine (domestic ONLY), or tattoos, since those are the only businesses still in the US.

Panoramic View

I just downloaded the latest Windows Live Photo Gallery which has an auto panoramic stitcher... VERY COOL!

The blog shrunk the pic on upload, much better when viewed in full!