Here and There Blog

Going into this I knew the fan reviews had panned the movie and blasted it (rightfully so) to a mere blip in the Star Wars universe. But some things have to be done and for me as a Star Wars fan, that meant going to the theater and sitting through The Clone Wars . It had to be today or never since the movie was down to only a 10:15 am screening in Carlsbad and that was it. The idea came from the television animated series of the same name which was short five minute episodes that finished right where Revenge of the Sith began. The series was great. Clone Wars the movie is not great. The series of events (since a plot did not exist) revolved around Anakin and his Padawan rescuing Jabba the Hutt's son. A secondary action line had to do with a lot of fighting along the way. After watching this movie, I can totally understand why downfall of the Jedi happened because Yoda seems to have lost control of the Jedi. Poor Obi Wan, he's the only one trying to follow the Jedi code...

Italian beer at the Pops. I took ia picture of it to remind me that I didn't like the beer. I was trying to avoid Heinekin and I ended up with a Heinekin skunk beer clone.

It felt like most of the work world either took today off or bailed out early. What a slow day! Now I'm up for a slow day once in a while but once all the misc paperwork is done and you're caught up, it's kinda boring! Well onto the 3 day weekend and I'm looking foward to it!

If I'm not careful, Twitter will retrain me to write in short Hemingway- esque sentences. Those quick feeds during the day can be hazardous to normal blogging sensibilities. While the day was ordinary in the work sense, I did learn how to use LinkedIn as the next move in business networking online instead of social networking online. It's fascinating to see who else at work uses it but I'll keep it for idea browsing for now. I did find an excellent job in Beirut working for the largest construction company. The allure of it all wasn't quite enough to entice me to live there no matter how much I enjoy visiting Lebanon. Still, tempting...

Sami and Karen in front of the Queen Mary. We later went on the Ghosts & Legends tour which was silly for adults but two little kids cried the whole time. It was pretty dark and you were way down in the ship. Between the steam, sound, and lights, any ghosts were long gone! The Scorpion.

This week I have people from Lahore, Pakistan with me. It's their first trip to California so after a day of meetings in Long Beach, we popped over to the pier to check out the Russian Scorpion Submarine. Since my brochure is in the car, I can't remember the history of how it went into disrepair and ended up in Long Beach but it's been here for a long time and escaped my radar until I had the panic of finding something to do. In the corridor. Sohail and Sami looking at the missles. The sub was armed on both sides. At the officer's mess hall.

And I should mention that Mondo is going to Malta with me. Yea! Company!

Time to go back a week to Mondo's b-day. These days, birthdays are best spent with friends and Ms. Kitty and Auntie Opsie were enjoying drinks while Mondo and I tested our rusty pool skills. Two games and it was a draw. We decided not to go for the tie breaker.

The opening act for Al was a blur that I will forget. Luckily Al was fun as usual and worth sitting through two bands that were not of my music taste.

Home but only for a brief moment. I'm off to see Al Stewart tonight and then an unexpected schedule change has me back in hotels Sunday-Wednesday.

Michele and Takisha with mini cosmos.

St. Louis is so boring that ladybugs are entertainment.

No news. Nothing to report. I've been inside buildings during the day and it's lightly raining in St. Louis. I'm looking forward to sleeping in on Sunday when I'm back on PST.

I wanted to upload photos of Mondo's b-day pool game but the hotel connection doesn't seem capable of doing such a thing. I'm in St. Louis now and for once in August I was able to arrive and not be hit with high heat. That made for a nice walk from the metro station to the hotel. I'm glad I was in Utah over the weekend, it's helping with the 2 hour time change here.

Taking a break from the normal blog to plug Amazing Race 13 - cheer for Mark & Bill - Comic geeks, San Diegans, and friends. Should be entertaining. http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/08/19/tv.amazing.race.ap/index.html

The bingo session is always fun. This group is prettyintent and this is the first game! Mrs. OB takes a turn as bingo caller while OB isn't playing bingo at all. My unexpected auction buy - a metal scorpion.

Saturday was the family reunion in SLC. I woke up to the view of the local hills behind me and all signs indicated a good day. No hint of the 30+mph wind gusts from the night before so we were set to go. This year the reunion was inside at the DAV center and that kept us from wandering so it was better to hang out and enjoy each other's company. The kids had their own "fishing pond" complete with fish. This boy looked pretty skeptical of what was happening under the water! Home inspects the auction table to see what will fit in a carry-on bag. Below, OB gets a lesson from Ferol in how to hang beaded decorations. More later. We had fun and ate a lot. Too bad I didn't take a picture of the 200 hot dogs in the steamer and everyone trying to eat 3 to do their part!

Home from Utah - pictures on Monday. I've finished this week's paper and it's off and on it's way to grading scrutiny. This completes class 9 out of 10 and on Tuesday I begin the last class!

Today launches a travel week but this time all in the US. Tonight I'm off to Utah for a family reunion, home Sunday and then off again for work to St. Louis. As I type this from foggy Carlsbad I'm not looking forward to the transition to hot and dry Utah with no humidity and then to hot and humid Missouri. I have 4 different meds packed to deal with various allergies. I love being outside but sometimes I think an artificial outside is the place for me.

I have to wonder.... why are children golfing in my front yard?

http://www.grand-prix-de-malte.com/intro_gb.htm Somehow with all the websites that I checked out on Malta, including malta.com and airmalta.com, the fact that the GTO Grand Prix Classic Car Race circuit is happening that same week eluded me. Had I known this, I would have been scared off and clicked buy on the Vienna ticket instead. But it's too late now so I'll be in Malta with the racers and this will probably be much more fun than without it. My only concern is I leave on Sunday which is the day of the actual race and how am I ever going to get from my hotel to the airport if the city is blocked off? I'll have to invest in a good map and hope my hotel is outside the race zone.

Family birthday at Alfresco's in San Marcos. I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture until we had destroyed round one of buffet eating. Top Mrs. OB (aka Lorie) and OB (aka Other Brother aka Brad). And below Homer (aka Keith). [For the one of you who was asked.] No photo of me. I was sunburnt from swimming and had peel & eat shrimp all over my face and clothes.

Above Frankie on the left, the pastor, Sandi, Cheryl, Andrew, and Marybeth. Sandi and Cheryl got to be part of California history last night. The two life partners were legally married, along with their two sons, as part of not only a gay wedding but truly a family commitment to each other. Historic or controversial doesn't matter. The end result is that two people who have been together for over 14 years, are raising two sons, and in love were able to affirm that love like everyone else. Traditional but not. The happy couple right after the vows and then the grand finale of the night, the family pool jump!

This must be the August weekend of events. Last night (while ignoring the main Olymic event) was a great dinner at Turf Supper Club with the usual gang. Our timing was perfect as the coals were hot and the first wave of diners had already cooked their steaks and the grill was ours. For the first time ever, I finished all of my dinner at Turf. My only regret is today there are no wonderful leftovers for lunch. If I had known I would eat so much, I might have ordered two dinners! Today is Sandi and Cheryl's legal wedding and more surprising than gay marriage is how quickly the wedding card selection changed at Target. Neutral cards now exist and while I didn't find anything that said Bride & Bride, it was close. (Note to self, must remember to sign said card.) And tomorrow is the post-birthday lunch for OB where I really must remember to not eat it all or order extras for lunch on Monday. 7 weeks and 2 days before graduation.

So long frequent flyer miles, you've been a good ride and I will miss you! Today is the unofficial end of free travel as we know it. The US carriers have announced so many restrictions, fees, and increase in miles needed to travel that mileage redemption as we've known it is essentially over. Anyone who has excessive miles needs to start cashing out now. Frequent flyer programs are not banks and miles are not currency. At any given time the airlines can end the program, change the rules, or cease to exist. Earlier this summer I even splurged on myself and did my own free travel along with that for friends. I sensed the end was near and why not enjoy my own miles and travel for free myself? So where to go with the remaining miles? I have enough for a Key West run on AA if Homer ever gets a weekend trip when I can go and one last blow out with Jean next year. (Jean, this serves as a 2009 notice for you, more details in December.) And what more proof do you need that even I ...

Malta. I'm going at last. I rarely confess to it but I enjoyed the 1983 film Trenchcoat with Margot Kidder. Sort of a spoof on film noir and male detectives, Margot Kidder stars as a mystery writer on vacation in Malta who becomes involved in her own real life mystery. It's a dry comedy, rather silly but it made me want to go to Malta. Given that at the time I was young and poor and had never left the country, I pushed it all to the back of my head until about a year ago. Finally the time has come and in about 10 weeks (Oct. 29 to be specific) I'll be there. It took a wide variety of airports to get the price in my range and I can only say that I'm glad I have free hotel nights or I'd never be there at all. Even with all my hotel points I don't have enough for a full stay and I'll still have to gasp a little bit for the price I did pay. $238 per night but I upgraded to a full breakfast and dinner plan. This is at the Intercontinental and other hotels were ...

Happy Birthday to OB! It's Brad's 45th today and in his birthday honor, a photo from one of his favorite National Parks! I'll let him identify it.

One of my favorite ways to pass time is to search for good airfares and hotel bargains. As the end of school is finally 8 weeks away, I feel compelled to do a celebration trip. The choices are limited to where I can earn 10,000 United miles for the flight but still make it under a week, and a place where I've never been. The playing field has been leveled down to Vienna but why oh why are hotel costs still so high? Even with all my points it's still expensive in freebie land. So I thought Budapest might make a cheaper base. Nope. I can fly there cheaper but the hotels are actually higher per night. As I type this, I realize I will have 5 more Marriott nights racked up within two weeks. Maybe Vienna isn't so out of reach after all. I stil have 48 hours to decide before the current airline sale is over. I'm betting on Vienna unless something Taiwanish happens in the next 36.

Cornville, AZ. Most people have never heard of it and most will never go. 2 hours north of Phoenix and about 15 minutes south of Sedona, Cornville can only be described as a retirement community similar to Rancho Bernardo 40 or 50 years ago. I was there over the weekend to visit a member of said retirement community and that is the only reason to go. Hot, hot, hot was Cornville as it’s 98 ° F weather was a good 30° F above Carlsbad. Due to heat, wind, and light rain I was just to lazy to take a single picture but it is pretty with the Sedona mountain range in the distance. Cornville facts just for fun: Population: Under 4000 Avg Income: $43,000 Race: White and mostly married Age: Unknown but probably much higher than the country avg of 41 yrs. Recent Crime: 370 pot plants seized, police pursuit (1) of the pot cultivator, and the recent arrest of the gun store owner after it was learned he had a criminal past and was prohibited from owning guns. No such excitement was happening while ...

Last night I went to the Summer Pops for the first time in years and promptly got lost finding the venue. In 2000, the Pops were held on the Navy Pier but the USS Midway has somehow settled in as a permanant maritime museum now. The Pops are way down by the convention center. Seats were good, show was a bit mellow and for July 31 it was chilly! I'm thinking my favorite part of the night was the fish & chips at The Field. I'm off to Arizona for the weekend and won't be blogging till Monday due to lack of Internet where I'm going. Maybe a moblog or two but maybe not.