While the last episode of BSG will remain a controversy forever, love it or hate it, you probably found that having everything revealed in the last eight episodes or so was quite a bit to digest. I found a link to this picture on Twitter, and it helps sum up the history quite well.
From Rush’s March 30th radio show, he expressed utter discontent over the new taxes laws going into effect in New York on citizens making over $500k a year:
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_033009/content/01125108.guest.html
Is Rush really trying to gain sympathy from his listeners who are majority male, conservative or independent, from middle- to low- income tax brackets? Please vacate New York for some place like Nebraska or South Dakota, and don’t get lost on the way.
So I was thinking the other day of places that we have dived, good and poor dives. There have been many less interesting or down-right dangerous dives, like anything Oregon Coast. But we have also been privileged to dive some the greatest dive sites on the planet, specifically the Poor Knights Islands in New Zealand. Here’s a list of great dive sites we have enjoyed in the order of awesomeness:
- Poor Knights Islands, North Island, New Zealand
- Molokini Crater, Maui, US
- Kapalua Bay Beach, Maui, US
- Breakwater Point, Monterey, CA, US
- Edmonds Water Park, Edmonds, WA, US
When Natalie and I moved into this house a few years ago, it was always assumed that the bathrooms would need an overhaul. They were straight out of the 80s with the vinyl molding, Formica counters, severely outdated flooring. Shortly before we got married we had completed the remodeling of the master bathroom. We swore that the guest bathroom was next.
Well that was 4 years ago, and we finally got around to tackling the second bathroom. Progress has been much better this time around, having learned a thing or two from the first effort.
The centerpiece of the new bathroom was the new 20″ deep tub. The previous tub was so shallow I think the toilet was deeper. This tub will be surrounded with new marbleized tile and accompanied by a halogen light on a dimmer. Natalie chose the wonderful color of blue for the walls and slightly lighter color for the ceiling (not shown). The wood flooring, along with the new while moulding has done a great job of bringing the room back into the 21st century. Left for the project is replacing the ancient ceiling fan, and tiling the new tub.
A huge thanks to my father and brother for this assistance, without them I guarantee the doors would have been backwards, the tub upright, and the sink would resemble a water-fountain.
I’m sure just about everyone wants to join me for this demand! The funny thing is that is not that I am burned out of work or can’t take it anymore. Actually, still very motivated. I am really tired of this gloomy weather! I love the weather in the northwest, having never cared for the extreme heat, but I admit after a very long winter it is time to retreat to sunnier skies! Seriously, I could use the tan! Even willing to settle for red, and that earn me some points after I get back. Looking forward to our upcoming vacation to the tropics. To help set the mood is are favorites for the previous trip.
Stumbled across this photo the other day, behold the interior of the space shuttle in high-resolution! The first thing that terrified me was how old the technology is on-board. I suspect my iPhone probably has 10X the CPU capability of the shuttle computers. . .but the shuttle systems have never, ever failed. Hmmm. . .can’t think of a single computer platform with that kind of track record. BSOD while landed = death!
Who currently travels or has traveled as a part of their job? I am among those who are required to do a fair amount of travel for my job. While I have been fortunate recently to have received many local or west-coast opportunities, it is not uncommon to hop on the plane to fly to the east-coast or another country on a weekly basis.
As frequent traveler, there are only a few benefits of this lifestyle, the most important being the point accumulation for hotels, airfare, and car rentals. As frequent travelers you should never, ever have to pay for your vacations. Of course, like many the last thing you want to do is head to the airport for your vacation. I am more than willing to make the exception for some place tropical or European.
You are rewarded for your frequent travels by obtaining different elite levels, each one granting you more privileges and opportunities than the previous. With programs like Platinum-members, Premier-Executives, 1K members, MVP-elite, and so on. . .it is easy to start to look down upon those poor individuals who are holding a “group 4″ boarding pass or get to stay on the second floor when you are offered the 47th floor with concierge service. One needs to remember that at the start of our traveling, we too had the opportunity to guard the lavatory back in row 36. I guess it is easy to look back simply because the rewards appear to diminish as you climb the ranks. Sure there are plenty of perks, but they become less significant. Does the 47th floor really offer a better view than the 45th floor?
It hit me the other day that I have been overlooking an aspect of traveling elite-ness. As I boarded a flight to Atlanta, I noticed that I recognized one of the crew members. I had seen Jim and the rest of the crew for this flight on a few other previous flights. Now this got me thinking, what type of status do you acquire when you get on a first-name basis with TSA members? The airport coffee shop staff?
I think that this should serve as a reality check, if you know too many people (especially those that are not from your home airport), you may be traveling too much! 
The following is a brief summary of the events as Natalie and I experienced them from our vantage point at home. More pictures can be found at www.andyandnataliepics.com.
SUNDAY 12/14: This started on Saturday with the rapid drop in temperatures. Finally on Sunday we got a bit of snow, which was little more than a dusting mostly affecting east Portland. West Portland was slammed with a couple of inches and ice, but once you crossed over the river there was nothing, very disappointing.
THURSDAY 12/18: We finally got a good inch in the morning. I woke up around 6:00a and there was nothing, but after the shower and some breakfast it was accumulating fast. Natalie had to work from home, I was not so fortunate.
FRIDAY 12/19: More ice accumulating than snow, it was not a tough drive to Beaverton for the Gingerbread Party.
SATURDAY 12/20: Oh wow, now the snow came down, and it did not give up all day. We have 4-5 inches on the ground by the end of the day.
SUNDAY 12/21: The snow kept going through the night, but later changed to freezing rain leaving a 1/2 inch of ice all over everything. Took about 30 minutes to de-ice the truck. Definitely enjoyed driving in this! Kept snowing into the night.
MONDAY 12/22: Got a few more inches of just snow during the night. Surprisingly the commute to downtown was not too bad, did I mention my truck rocks? Natalie headed out in the afternoon to build the snow bear.
TUESDAY 12/23: Well the roads have greatly improved, of course still have not needed chains. The downside is that everyone decided today was the day to go to work, made for a bad commute.
WEDNESDAY 12/24: Well it is snowing very heavily again, nice for driving and snow creatures. Going to make Christmas more interesting though.
THURSDAY 12/25: Started out warm, but the temperatures dropped quickly and we received at least an inch of fresh snow right before the Christmas party.
SATURDAY 12/27: The great thaw has begun, the temperatures have increased to 48 degrees and the snow is rapidly disappearing. Too bad!
For anyone who is hopeful that Gov. Sarah Palin is the next rising star in the Republican party, I would like to show you what happens to the losers of the previous Presidential Election:
Okay, these guys are made of pure awesome!!
