Here and There Blog

I'm on the plane and gearing up mentally for the challenge! The movies are all ones i missed in the theater so i am set! Next stop Heathrow! -- ================================================================== This mobile text message is brought to you by Cingular, now the new AT&T

The Zurich challenge was conquered in March 2006 and made for a long but fun weekend destination. This weekend, the Oslo challenge is on! Crazier than Zurich, this is my own personal amazing race, to go where I've never been and in a short weekend. At the time I booked the travel, it all made sense. I was going to be off this entire week so why not add on a few days in Europe? Airfares were low and I had the time. Now, I've worked all week and only have off Friday-Sunday. But it can be done. Tonight I'll be on the LAX-London non-stop. I arrive in London at 12:15 pm local time and have a few hours to tranist the airport for the flight to Oslo. I get in late evening in Oslo and take the train to my hotel. I expect that I will arrive just in time to fall into a deep sleep! (That may be hampered by the 18.5 hours of sunlight and that never works well for me at bedtime.) On Saturday I'll wake up hopefully refreshed and head out on the Hop-On-Hop-Off tour. I've banned...

For some reason, this convention was all about C3PO and R2-D2. Here I am with the duo, below we have 3PO in progress along with Pink 5. And who knew? Lego C3PO was there too!

In addition to robot building and costuming, it turns out there is a whole sub-set of fandom that makes dioramas. This is something that I had been totally unaware of until C4. Above is a spaceport, patterned after Mos Eisley and it may well be Mos Eisley. The Obi-Wan mural on the building is an interesting touch. Below is Endor. At another table were dozens of diorama tree bases as people were planning to spend their evening making a large scale Endor forest.

Today was the day I finally figured out that unless I said something, my yard would be considered open playground forever. I don't mind the normal kid's playing in the street since they do no harm. But I drew the line this morning when the playground moved onto my side yard and front porch area. There were 4 kids all playing as if they lived here, the mom and dog were sitting on the lawn without a care in the world. If I'm not here, I'd never know but sometimes, Hello, I live here too. I couldn't even believe that I had to be in a position to ask them to move. Their own house is right across the street corner from me and there's plenty of grass and yard there. I had to apologize for my own right to have a peaceful morning without the sounds of pre-schoolers crushing the yard. Well, maybe next time the parents will actually think first before moving in. My guess is that it lasts about 3 weeks before they forget and move back in.

Back up beer.

After a day of enjoying good beer and company at LJ's house warming party, Ms Kitty and I checked out the new Irish pub in OB. Turns out that there was no Guinness on tap! The tap was broke and the new pub had to tell 90% of the customers the bad news. I guess is was the opening jinx because the satellite radio and television kept going out as well.

Back to Karl Strauss!

C4 is Star Wars geek heaven! The event has everything from Stromtroopers, to Leias, to Droids, a huge dealer's room, panels on movies, books, history, costuming, anything that you can imagine related to Star Wars is here! There are also props of all kinds. Here's Anakin's pod-racer. There are Droid races. Here two different R2 units are in a photo finish! Even X-Wing Squadron is represented!

C4 Has everything!

This weekend is the 30th anniversary of Star Wars. The event is marked by Celebration IV, know as C4 to fans. It's the biggest Star Wars convention in the world and this is the 4th time that it's been held. This time around C4 is in Los Angeles so I am up early to make the drive. I am in fan mode and ready to go!

http://www.heromiles.org/ This weekend the 10 major US airlines are matching mile donations to Fisher House. This program is partnered with CNN and if you even channel surf CNN, you've seen the ads. I think this is a great way to donate those random miles that will never be used. If you travel at all, you've probably got a few thousand miles getting ready to expire on an airline that you might never fly again. I figure, I earned those miles and I don't want to let them go unused. It's a long flight to Iraq. Most military families cannot afford the ticket and don't have the 100,000's of miles that it requires for a free ticket to the Middle East. From now until Monday at 6:00 pm, the airlines will match your donation. I donated miles this morning. There must be thousands of others donating too because the site was slow and had trouble loading but it was quick and easy to donate miles.

Carlsbad has been so cold and foggy this week I'm starting to wonder if we've been transported somewhere else. The sun has been awol for a good 10 days minus the two hour break yesterday. It doesn't seem to bother the birds who are up at 5:45 am and I don't have any need to set an alarm clock until the nesting season is over in August. The chirping ends around 6:15 am and I fall back asleep but that 30 minutes sure seems long. Again, better than bullets but it's hard to remember that at 5:45 am. I have officially been home too long. I am ready to hit the road. July's Asia trip seems years away right now. I have a weekend getaway coming up but that's still 7 days off. At least there's a 3 day weekend waiting right around the corner!

The workday is over and we're on to the final 2 days before a 3 day weekend! I'm not sure what all this weekend will bring but I know it will be fun! Pirates 3 opens and I can only hope I enjoy it. If not, it's also the weekend of Celebration IV, one of the biggest fandom events for Star Wars so I'll be at the LA convention center on Saturday with thousands of others like me. Sunday is LJ's housewarming, and so far, I think Monday is for relaxing!

If you watch CNN/Fox/MSNBC at all, then inbetween the whales, bears, missing kid in Portugal and missing mom where ever, you may have noticed that Lebanon is back in the news. Of course the clip that is shown is only about 15 seconds whereas the whales get a whole news story and biology lesson. But for those of you that noticed, you've probably figured that I wouldn't be able to keep quiet much longer. So, it's time to put this into perspective from my point of view. It won't provide you peace of mind but some of you worry anyhow so I figure it doesn't matter. This is a glimpse into my reality. The Palestinian camp in Tripoli is not someplace that I would normally go to. But, I have been to Tripoli and when the shooting broke out in the streets and the main road was closed, well it's the main road. There is a Hardee's there and they had to close early that day. Since a coworker spends everyweekend with his family in Tripoli, I called to find out what was ...

Saturday night saw my return to the Belly Up Tavern for the first time in years. I had pretty much given up on the place as a concert venue but decided to return for They Might Be Giants. After all, it was a lot easier to drive 10 miles instead of the 80 to LA for a concert. The Belly Up looked bigger than I remembered. Usually places seem smaller after time or maybe it was because we had to stand the whole night that there was more time for me to look up and realize there was balcony seating! Those lucky people. I made a decision that night that there was no more standing cheap tickets for me. I want a balcony seat. I had a clear view to the stage which was pretty amzing given that some of the guys there were taller than Homer! Many were much wider too but that was more of a space issue rather than a viewing issue. I'm sure the concert was great. TMBG played a good mix of old & new, hits and B sides, and made the show fun. It was a starter show for the tour so the se...

Shrek 3 is an easily the least interesting of the Shrek movies to date. This isn't to say it's all bad, but this isn't the witty, solid movie that made the previous incarnations a fun favorite. This time around, Fiona's frog dad is dying and Prince Charming is still seeking to become King. Shrek is named King to be but is desperate to find a back-up and goes off in search of Arthur, who is somehow distantly the only second choice for King. What should be the usual charming misadventure takes a dark twist for the first 45 minutes as the movie focuses on death, revenge, and depressed fairy tale characters. There's little to laugh about. Once the halfway point is crossed, the movie has some life. There are really 3 storylines in process, Shrek's, Fiona's, and Prince Charmings. This movie seems to center around Fiona as the strong princess and there are entertaining moments where she has to cope with Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel, and Sleeping Beauty. This wa...

This morning I woke up to my own tent city next door. All last night I couldn't understand why so many people seemed to be running amok in the school field. No one ever goes there at night since there's a huge park across the street. Turns out that the school was having some camping event. The parents are waking up looking confused as to how they ended up sleeping on cold, damp grass, with no beach or mountain activities. I can't imagine anything more boring than camping at a school. Maybe they'll get some entertainment later today.

It's time for a Friday rant. I've been meaning to do this for 2 weeks now but work kept taking away my mental alertness! It happens. I've been quiet on all things Middle East but the recent news headlines are bothering me. First off, the terrible stoning to death of that poor girl in Iraq. I'm not sure what bothers me more, the actual death or the fact that CNN is showing it over and over in a fashion that makes me wonder, are we so different than the people who were there? We can watch and be outraged on our couches but will anyone help? The story is only as important until the next pretty blonde goes missing in the Heartland. The stonings, beheadings, and other forms of "honor" killings happen frequently in the Middle East. I suspect that there are people in the US who would enjoy the excuse to kill in a legal manner as well. After all, these are the same people who kill the pretty blondes that dominate the news talk shows. Change happens within. Th...

After eating all that exotic seafood in Tijuana, I was happy to wake up this morning to a calm and peaceful stomach. I rarely ever get sick from eating in other countries but yesterday's lunch was full of new menu items. So abalone chorizo, you have my stamp of approval!

Today was another Tijuana day but this time without incident. No rogue cops to pull us over, no worries at the border crossing. Just another normal day of business followed by a typical Mexico business lunch. Today's lunch slightly deviated from normal as I learned that there is a whole specialty of regional seafood dishes for Baja Norte. For the first time in my life I tried Abalone Chorizo (my idea but not my favorite), sashimi scallops - thinly sliced large scallops marinated in different sauces (liked one but not the other), and thinly sliced potatos (think potato salad thin) with sliced salmon on top. On top of that we ended up eating ahi tuna, seared tuni, and pesto salmon. Add in some steamed veggies, tortillas, and wine to the mix and after 4 hours, were full. We left just in time otherwise the evening would have rolled into dinner and there would be more food and more wine. Next time, I'm back to the old safety net - shrimp scampi for dinner.

This post could also be titled, "I saw this so you wouldn't have to." Zombie movies are one of my favorite genres and while the two "28" movies are not technically zombie movies, they fall into that catergory. Yesterday I rewatched "28 Days Later" to get a refresher for the sequel but I didn't really need to do that. This time around there is a whole new set of characters and plot points and the only thing that ties into the original is the location (UK) and the virus known as The Rage. Basic plot points from movie #1. Scientists have infected chimps with a rage virus to learn how to cure the virus. Angry chimps get set loose and bit humans. 10 - 20 seconds later, the bitten humans are infected and need to feed on unifected humans to survive. The virus is transmitted by blood and saliva. The UK is put under quarantine. Our small band of survivors fights zombie-like victims, survivalist groups, and finally hide out in a small country farm unti...

LJ and I are having Karl Strauss at Boll Weevil to celebrate her new house!

And all cleaned up!

Even I recognize when it's time to prune the flowers and weed out the dead life so that the other plants can have room to survive. I'm not sure how long the evidence will remain and I assume that at some point this weekend I'll move the yard waste into a trash can. For now, (not that you can tell) the flower beds do look a lot better and more life is coming into the purple plants. Spring is here and the swallows have returned. The parents have secured the nest and I'm not sure if there are eggs yet or not but there is a constant viligence kept up by both parents-to-be from either the roof or the trees. Only once did I see both of them go into the nest. Otherwise, they are on the look out. I'm also getting 5:45 am wake-up calls from them and this must cease and desist if we are all to be happy neighbors for the next 3 months! As you might expect, the cat is on the prowl for both birds and gophers now.

This morning I was in the mood for lengthy blogging and then the phone started. The last 8 hours has been pretty much one phone call, with another coming in, a text message, and a record pace of e-mails. It's as if the entire work world wants resolution now on projects that have languished for months. This is a good thing because I have at least a dozen projects to say good-bye to. I guess OB and I forgot to tell Homer that he had plans to go to Rome but now he knows. This really isn't a far reach since S2 and I are going to the Bahamas in 2009. Even that is pretty far in the future for me! I'm going to have to explore the family online calendar idea again!

Today finally feels as if summer will arrive at last! It's nice and warm, the beach was perfect for a late day exercise and now my mind is wandering to - well to Rome 2008. After all, when you've almost mapped out all 2007 travel what's left? Only plans for next year of course!

The Mondays of life are often dull and lifeless. Today, was a pleasant change up from the usual panic routine of being behind after taking off the weekend. While the morning brought up a few unknown surprises, they were quickly dealt with and the rest of the work day has gone to plan. Now the week has turned into hurry up and wait , which is sometimes worse than dull. I hope all your Monday's fared better.

Watching "Spiderman 3" is a bit like reading a comic book with some of the pages torn out. There's a disconnect where your mind can fill in the blanks but it would have been easier to have the complete comic. With 3 villians, the Mary Jane/Peter Parker romance, and the dark Spidey storylines, "Spiderman 3" has too much going on to be a great movie. At times, it was even downright dull and I found myself wishing I was on an airplane or watching this at home so at least I would have other distractions. As it was, by the time each plot was introduced and the movie rotated into the developing story, the audience was already lost. Add in transitions that made no sense and instead of confusion, boredom set in. After all, we know that eventually the invincible enemy will be defeated. Normally in a movie we care about the how but in "Spiderman 3" it was hard to care. The fault lies with too much going on and too many cool FX villians to follow. "Spiderm...

"Lucky You" is the back-up choice for people who aren't going to see "Spiderman 3" this weekend. I found it by accident when I realized that I was too lazy to go to a 1:00 movie but too late for the 10:00 am Spiderman. Moviefone told me that "Lucky You" starred Eric Bana and Drew Barrymore and I figured, why not? Essentially this is a movie about poker, playing poker, what it's like to be a hard core compulsive gambler, and how even compulsive gamblers who steal, can change. There's a side story about a father-son relationship and a romantic love interest. It's a bit much and a bit long for anyone to really care. The movie ran over two hours and it seemed as if at least 90 minutes was all about watching people play poker. I don't play or every watch poker on TV, so I was pretty bored. Maybe others will enjoy the poker world series storyline. Eric Bana as the hero is the likeable guy who makes calculated bad choices and Drew Barrymor...

A perfect day in So Cal!

Now it's the mid-point of the hotel week and the routine starts to drag. Morning coffee, drive to meetings, lunch, meetings, drive back to the hotel, dinner. Repeat. Have the energy for another round of topics and try to remember to look interested.

It turns out that May 1st is Labor Day for almost every country in the world except the US. To us, it's simply May Day where we might have some spring festivities but otherwise - nothing. Restaurants were closed in Mexico, businesses were closed overseas, it was acutally an easy work day since the rest of the world was off. Today everything is back to normal and I'm happy to be working in LA. No corrupt police who are going to peg you as a tourista here!

Going to Mexico is a regular part of my job. I always either make someone pick me up on the US side of the border or I get a ride with someone who is going across. Today, I was riding with someone from work who hadn't stopped for Mexico insurance. As we got ready to cross the border, he made the joke, "pray for us because we don't have insurance." Karma always gets you. Sure enough, it was a major holiday in Mexico and we ended up getting separated from our normal buisness destination and the person we were following left us in the dust. So you have two gringos pointing at random buildings trying to get a landmark and next thing you know, we're pulled over. Normally this is bad but we know people so we were not overly concerned. 45 minutes later, 5 police officers later, no bribes and no movement, we're still not concerned. After all, we know that we know people. Apparantly our lack of concern and ability to sit in the car while we waited for the poli...

And churros as u leave Mexico.

And freedom brings a tequila at the end of the day.

And the view of freedom.

This the street view in Tiajuna when you are pulled over by the police.