Tempus Blogged

End of the weekend

2011-05-15T11:49:00.001-05:00

As soon as it started, it ended. Sadly, it was over far too soon. See and helping relatives is nice, but the peace of mind ... The calm... It was priceless. There was so much silence, so much lack of noise. No constant prodding from my to do list for my attention. It was nice, but no moment like that is permanent. So today I'm returning to the broader stretch of urbanization, work and the waiting to so list.

At least I have the memory of standing on the stone deck, the wind blowing through the trees and off the lake. The leaves and pine needles stirring around me, circulating lazily on invisible hands.

Good memory.

-- Post From My iPhone

Dinner on Saturday

2011-05-14T18:16:00.000-05:00

Spent the day with the family, extended family. It's a bittersweet moment. On one hand, it's heartwarming, being around family I've not seen for months, in some cases - years. The bitter side is seeing the passage of years, and remembering those that are no longer with us.

Afterwards, we ended it with a nice meal at a lakeside steak and rib place.

-- Post From My iPhone

Next morning

2011-05-14T09:08:00.001-05:00

It's overcast this morning, heavy with the faithful promise of rain. Not a heavy downpour, but a gentle soothing rain that massages away the mind of knotted thoughts.

-- Post From My iPhone

View from the restaurant

2011-05-13T18:42:00.001-05:00

Stopped for dinner at a place called Sinclair's Kowaliga's restaurant. They even have one of the two original Kowaliga wooden statue!

We sat out on the deck with the rain tapping out a staccato tune on the tin roof overhead. The wind was blowing in gently, almost a soft breath from the rain clouds above.

-- Post From My iPhone

Very small trip

2011-05-13T16:45:00.000-05:00

Heading off for a weekend trip down south off Lake Martin. I've been there once but it was a day trip. This time I'll be overnight there. Hopefully, I'll get my head clear and mind centered. I need the mental break I think.

-- Post From My iPhone

Peruvian Adventure: day 2+

2010-03-09T21:12:00.003-06:00

Day 2 and 3 into the Peruvian trip.

Been a modestly slow couple of days. Which, honestly was nice. The weather has grown hotter now, more humid at noonday. However, the night is still cool and temperate.

On Monday we took a cab down to the Parque Kennedy. It's a large, large park down in the Miraflores district. It's super nice, and on the weekends, craftsfolk and painters show up and display their wares. Naturally some is for sale.

On one side of Parque Kennedy is a lovely church called Iglesia de la Virgin Milagrosa. The design was by a Polish architect named Ricardo de Jaxa Malachowski in 1939. The design is a pre-modern, with a heavy local influence on the architecture. It's very very beautiful. Also the home of one of Peru's most beloved writers is turned into a museum.

We tried to visit the church but it was closed at that time. Most unfortunate, I wanted to see what the interior architecture was like. We never made it down to visit much else, we decided to come back later.

Stopped off for a pizza then, which was really good! Like most things here, the food was fresh. Which makes a difference. Off Parque Kennedy, there is an overabundance of little places to eat. Several are pizza places. McDonalds, Burger King and the like are all there also.

After the pizza, we headed over to Inca Market. It's like the flea market style with merchants setup in a large, sprawling open air location. Lots of booths held much the same thing. Not all though. Some held some really unique stuff. One, for example, had a man who specialized in making flutes. Amazing flutes of all kinds. The sounds were amazing. I had to get one. I loved the sound, now.. all I need to do is practice!

After that, we came back to the apartment and relaxed for awhile. Then we considered going for dinner, but kinda gave up on it and ordered in. Amazingly almost everything delivers - even McDonalds! So we had fast food for dinner. Not very 'local' in the food variety but eh... it was dinner.

Tuesday morning, we got up and headed over to the Embassy (Charley got called into work for the morning). I followed him around and hung out in his office for awhile. Then he led me over to a Starbucks while Charl went into a meeting. That was a small adventure. I got to practice my spanish while ordering and dealing with the locals. More often than not, the locals would come over to ask me a question or two, I'd answer (fortunately I was able to), and they'd go about their day.

Eventually, around my second cup of coffee, I sat down with a couple of American ladies and talked a long time with them. They had a really bad time of it. They started off in Chili visiting relatives, then the earthquake kicked off. Once they could leave Chili, they came to Peru and visited Cuscos... and immediately was robbed. They headed for the embassy to get replacement passports and were 'OVERJOYED' to speak with an American. I felt sorry for them.

They were really nice to talk to. One lady I know was from New York. Her husband was in the music industry before he passed away. She was a historian also. I don't know if they got home, but I hope they did. They seemed to be more than ready to go home.

Other than that, we came back to the apartment and mostly crashed. That turned out to be a better idea than I first thought. I slept like a rock, which I apparently needed. While in Starbucks, one guy was smoking a russian cigar and it seriously kicked off a bad case of allergies. More of a chemical burn meets allergy. Very irritating. But the swelling isn't bad and seems to be slowly leaving. Which is good.

Well, tomorrow should be interesting. We'll be taking the city tour, then exploring the local ruins..or maybe the other way around! Not sure! But that's all part of the fun.

Peruvian Adventure: day 1

2010-03-07T09:42:00.003-06:00

Actually, I suppose the title should be 'day 1 1/3'. We arrived in Peru late last night. The flight was .. a flight. No flight is actually completely comfortable, you are sitting in a flying bus with recycled air after all, but this wasn't vile.

We arrived about 11:30 (12:30 local time), met up with Charl and headed to his place. Given it was midnight on a Saturday night, I spend time looking around as best I could in the taxi. At night, it's interesting. Lima is trying to do their best to boost things for tourism. They are doing a good job too, but there are some things left to work on.

The traffic is the most interesting part. Cars, taxi's, etc aren't all that bad. The traffic rates right up along with the worst of Atlanta traffic, however ... the small bus traffic - commuter type buses - are just unreal! They seem to pack them full of people and bus them between districts. Ok, that sounds normal, yes? Now imagine a small mini-bus, holds roughly 10 to 15 people now packed with 20! Now imagine they are racing along at breakneck speed, darting in and out of traffic like mad. That would be a recipe for disaster. From what I understand, it often is, as traffic accidents are the leading cause of death in Peru.

Where we are staying is a nice place, with a fantastic view of the Pacific ocean. Out the main bay window, there is a modest park with a large lighthouse in it. Very nice.

Today (Sunday), we'll be taking is slow, with a lunch at a nice place that overlooks the Pacific from 300 feet up. Tonight possibly a nice dinner as well. Between that, not too sure yet, I think we'll just take it as it goes.

On the last day, the Magic Kingdom

2009-10-31T11:35:00.001-05:00

The last day we got in very late from the Not So Scary Halloween Party and slept in a bit. Then we headed for the Magic Kingdom. It was like the Magic Kingdom in Anaheim but not. Everything was bigger, more flushed out. Like they had the budget and / or space this time.

This was a mostly relaxing day. We rode the Small World ride, Peter pan, Pirates of the Carribean, the jungle cruise, Country Bears Jamboree and so on. There was the transit authority that was a cool tour of the park. We missed the train though. That was a shame , I love riding the trains.

And the parades! Wow! They had several shows going on constantly. One was for the Disney vilIains, one for the princess and the frog, one for just the Celebrate You parade, one for Halloween, and then one for at night that was all lit up with lights. That last was awesome.

Towards the end of the night, Terry managed to score reservations at O'Hanas, a Hawaiian restaurant. We took the ferry across the giant lake to that resort, and got a surprise ... There is a parade they do on the lake with Massive Fireworks! I tried to get pictures but they don't do it justice.

Anyway O'Hanas was awesome and fun. They grill the meat and just walk by with the skewers and cut off what you want. Though be careful, they won't stop coming by and giving you meat until you convince them you really are done.

Then was dessert. This was this massive bread pudding with ice cream and bananas fosters topping. And .. That one is "bottomless" too. Just way too much food for me.

But it was a great way to end the night.

-- Post From My iPhone

Epcott!

2009-10-29T14:33:00.001-05:00

Today we make our way to Epcott and the world pavillion! Mostly the world pavillion today as I've been told Epcott really is a two day visit.

This place is massive! The world pavillions wrap around the giant lake in back of spaceship earth. Most major countries are here. Some are full exhibits and some are just booths for walk up restaurants. All of them serve food unique to their country. There are some differences however. In the Germany pavillion, they've the soft pretzels but none of that awesome mustard I had in Munich. So its accurate enough. Course some foods, like haggis, isn't served here because the FDA frowns on it.

We stayed and wandered the pavillions until nightfall. The stayed for the fireworks. Those were unreal. Just great. We stood in the morocco pavillion where we had dinner and enjoyed the show. I got several great pics of the fireworks over the lake.

Oh! In the Japanese pavillion I found a real brush pen! It was a little pricy but I didn't care. It was a rare find for me.

I loved it overall. There really is too much to see in one day. So we decided to come back tomorrow.

However, as the park was open late, we got into spaceshift earth. There was no line that late. That was a fun slow ride that takes awhile.

-- Post From My iPhone

Disney Studios day

2009-10-27T17:38:00.001-05:00

Got up, got breakfast and headed over to Disney Studios. This is not so much themed around a single Disney 'thing' but Hollywood itself. Everything has a movie backlot feel. I enjoyed it but wasn't as thrilled with the park overall as I was animal kingdom.

Some of the fun things were the Indina Jones stunt show, a Narnia exhibit, lots of vehcile stunt shows and ...

The muppets and their 3d show. Also tons of Disney street parades like usual.

I took tons of pictures of the stunt show, the exhibits and just the area in general. All in all a good day.

Unlike the other parks, this one delta bit disconnected. Like it wasn't one solid theme. I know it was 'Hollywood' but something was missing. Just not sure what.

Tonight we're heading to a pirate dinner theater - which is just too much fun - and then back to the room.

Tomorrow is Epcott!

-- Post From My iPhone

An excellent day

2009-10-26T18:04:00.001-05:00

Today was quick to rise then take a buss to Disney's animal kingdom. That's an amazing place! It's essentially a gigantic wildlife preserve. Each area of the park is divided up into regions: Africa , Asia , and so on. We started off by walking some of the trails and the crossing the bridge into here:

The buildings are simply awesome. Mercantile stores, themed places to eat (hot dogs and such for kids) but it is great.

There are rides but I think my favorite was the safari ride through the preserve. True Disney style, they wrap a story and some excitement into it. At one point we take a detour and cross an old bridge that almost turns us over! Then we go chasing "poachers" across the Savannah. It was great. I could do that several times.

We ate at essentially a BBQ place which was good then wandered some through more habitats. After that we went to the Asia are and stopped in the Yak and Yeti restaurant. I stumbled across this tea called a 'monks tea'. It's great. It was likely the pain killers but I drank the tea and my headache just faded off. So I bought two boxes on the spot. And a cast iron tea pot and a few other things. I got carried away a little bit that's ok.

Well it's time for dinner!

-- Post From My iPhone

And now ... Disney World!

2009-10-25T21:16:00.000-05:00

This week begins the trip to Disney World for a week. Unlike Disneyland , this place is Huge! I had heard that it is a small city, well no joke! I never expected this.

We got in late at 9 pm so there isn't much to report on other than the sheer size of the place.

We got our rooms in the Pop Century hotel on Disney World itself. Very cool place, each building is done in a theme of a century. Ours was the 1950s.

Even the food court shares the theme.

But it's late, so some rest and tomorrow , the Disney experience!

-- Post From My iPhone

Last day

2009-05-23T14:32:00.001-05:00

On the last day it was mostly a free day. No one had anything in particular they wanted to do, so we just picked stuff at random. Small world again, walked through toontown and took pictures, rode jungle cruise and the Indy ride again.

I could very much tell that Memorial Day holiday was here. The crowds were everwhere and moved in waves through the park.

One thing different is that I took a long ride on the three masted Columbia around the Rivers of America area. It was neat. I took tons of pictures, both above and below decks.

At lunch, as we were tired of fast food, we took the monorail to Downtown Disney. There we ate at a place called Catala. Lots of Mediterranean quisine and some more traditional American flair. A little pricey but very good.

One thing I did notice was that the rides seemed to have more 'turned on'. Maybe it was the weekend, maybe it was that they had not fully come on during the week due to the hurricane.

We left towards the evening to mail gifts home. There was not much left to see or do, we experienced most of Disneyland - some of it twice!

It will be good to he home. Like any trip, home sometimes is the good part!

-- Post From My iPhone

Another neat disney day

2009-05-22T12:17:00.001-05:00

Thursday we tromped back to disney (yes, with the events and all, there is that much to see) to roam, ride rides and see more shows. Today was stuff like the monorail, Tom Sawyers island, and several live bands.

We went on the monorail pretty early. Neat train. Bullet shaped, it's a Mark vii monorail that circles both Disneyland, Disney California Adventures, and has a stop in Downtown Disney. We rode it all the way back into Disneyland. It was a great ride. At times when the track was tilted just a little it left me a little uneasy for a moment, mostly cause it was unexpected, but I got used to it.

Then we tried auotopia and the pirates of the carribbean ride. Autotopia was fun, kind of a relaxing ride. Then we did pirates. That was cool. Boat ride through and along waterways where they showed scenes from the pirates of the carribbean story. Two small waterfalls, a hologram of Davy Jones in fog, and tons of amazing animatronics of the pirates, Jack Sparrow, and all.

After that we split up, mostly cause Donald and I wanted to go to Tom Sawyers island. And wow was I glad we did. You get there by raft, aka Tom and Huck Finn's raft. The island has buildings and caves everywhere. Some caves have Pirates of the Carribbean things such as Davy Jones chest, Will Turners' blacksmith shop and so on. Other parts have Tom and Huck's treehouse, and yes you can actually go in it. At one point, I'm pretty sure I found Injun Joe's treasure cave. Donald took my picture, I'll post here when I get it uploaded.

We spent hours there , it was just too much fun. Then we all got back together then had silluette pictures made. That was really fascinating and looked cool when we were done.

Then Donald took off for the finding Nemo submarine ride. I chose to stay and get a good seat for the parade. Jennie stayed with me.

The parade is as much a street party as anything. During this, there was this girl , couldn't have been older than 7. There was room beside me so she squeezed in to watch. Naturally I made room. Her parents wanted to get onto her but I assured them she wasn't a bother. See, we had watched the parade the other day and I knew the dancers and characters would play with and dance with the kids. Donald picked the spot we stayed at for the parade for good pictures. I had hoped it would mean the characters would see this little girl. Wow was I right.

While I was taking more action shots than I ever have before and ever faster than before, the cool moment showed when Stitch (from Lilu and Stitch) showed up. Stitch saw her and raced over to high five the girl. Then came the Disney dancers , then Pluto , then the dancers pulled the girl out with the other kids to dance, then the conga line, then the Mad Hattter danced by , then Clarabelle the cow, then Goofy! It was this absolutely chaotic explosion of music, lights, color and dancing that just never seemed to end. Finally the little girl came back over literally bouncing and laughing. Then parade finally started to move onto to other parts of the park.

The little girl grabbed her Minnie Mouse doll, squeezed her tight and waved as Minnie went by on the float. The girl waved and waved. Then Minnie saw the girl. She pointed at her, did the Minnie giggle pose, leaned against the float railing and waved frantically at the little girl who waved and bounced back in return. The parents were crying, the little girl was laughing and bouncing. It was a good moment. We even helped her to get some Mikey shaped confetti to take home with her before we got ice cream from the Gibson Girl ice cream parlor.

Later after they had gone, the parade had gone by and dusk fell, all of the evening lights came on. I stood at the top of Disney Main St, near the train end, and looked down the street at the lights and where we had been for the parade.

I couldn't help but think ... Y'know ... I feel like Walt would've been proud.

-- Post From My iPhone

Knott bad!

2009-05-22T11:23:00.000-05:00

Pretty much the park can be divided into two parts, ghost town and rides. We walked through the rides but nothing was appealing. Though the ghost town! Now that was fun. We walked through that and a bunch of shops. Lots of old west clothing, leatherworkers, a blacksmith and lots of animitronic sites. I liked it.

After we got something to drink and rested a bit, I had to take the stagecoach ride around the park. That was awsome! And amazingly comfortable. Though sitting there days on end probably would not have been so great.

Then we went into a place called the mystery lodge. That was a Native American storytelling place with totems styled like northwestern American tribes. It was a massively cool magic show with holograms. In the end, the narrator actually does vanish! No hologram, he really does the vanishing act except for his cane! Unfortunately they didn't allow photos.

After we bought some jams and preserves (it is knott's berry farm after all) we got to the car and rushed over to the Pirate Adventure dinner show. That was awsome. It's like Medieval Times only with pirates and a lot more interaction with the audience. Some help the pirates raise their pirate's flag, some help the pirate compete to become first mate, others get pulled up on stage to have the audience sworn in as pirates!

The whole thing was amazingly done. The meal was great and the show was one part theater and one part acrobatic display. Just out of this world!

-- Post From My iPhone

Mid week!

2009-05-20T14:05:00.000-05:00

Spent 2 days at Disney and now to Knott's berry farm. I've never been there but always heard a lot about it. Looks really interesting as we show up. Lots of rides, roller coasters, and stuff in general.

So well see. I'm fascinated by the train and Camp Snoopy!

-- Post From My iPhone

Did the earth move for you?

2009-05-19T18:55:00.001-05:00

Well, day 2 at Disney has been ok. I decided to go in my usual clothes. For those that don't know, that means knee high boots, long brown pants, white shirt and old gas mask shoulder bag. With the hat I was told I look like Indiana Jones. I don't see it.

We made a pass through adventureland which caused some stir , a few rides then boom. All rides shut down. Everyone is confused. But then come to find out, we just had two earthquakes back to back!

I completely missed them! Probably because I was on a train at the time. But how bout that. Maybe if I ride the boat to adventure island we'll get a tsunami!!

-- Post From My iPhone

Burnt and beat

2009-05-18T23:10:00.001-05:00

Ending day 1 of Disneyland. We managed to make it to tomorrowland. Star Tours was slick but so very very short! But it was worth the few minutes to whiz through it.

After that we went to see the innovations exhibit. Now that was awsome. A home of the future but what it was really was a gone setup with full touch screen controls for everything. Lights, you name it. The best was this table that used a touch screen ebook reader. Of course I was drawn there immediately. I hung out and played with that for a long long time.

We made our way back to the New Orleans section then. Jennie got a parasol with some customized stuff on it. While she was doing that, I hung out and listened to the Marti Gras show:

Great performance. Fun to listen to. I took lots of pictures of them while they sang and cut up.

The one thing I think I've figured out is that most of the staff have some sort of performance. Even the cleaning crew had a song and dance number. Kinda like a musical performance all the time.

We also made the adventureland safari cruise. That was the last of the day. That is where you ride on an African queen boat along the Nile. Tons of animotronic creatures from piranah to hippos and so on. Excellent work and honestly after a long day it was a great ride since I was sitting down through the whole thing!

Now beat and burnt from the sun , we shuffled off for dinner. I had some hopes of writing more Brass Griffin episodes but I may be too worn out!

Definately advice on disney.... Be ready! You're gonna walk a LOT!

-- Post From My iPhone

And I was made to buy a hat

2009-05-18T17:45:00.001-05:00

Spent a day here and yes, it's a small city. Mostly rides for the kids. The wandering shows are what is hard to see.

I forgot to bring a hat for the heat - my bad -sooooo while in adventureland I got talked into buying a hat. It cotton/poly and pleather I think but it keeps the heat off and I'm told looks good on me.

Each section of Disney is a massive chunk of someplace. Done very well I might add. Plenty of stores, places to eat and so on.

The steam boat was nice. I'd never travelled by one but I could very much get into that. I think I'll look into the riverboat cruises.

Tried some of the rides but mostly spent the day getting the lay of the land.

Oh! We did catch a Mary Poppins show! The performers had the voices down well and the dance moves! I got several pictures.

Well time for the rest break to be over.

-- Post From My iPhone

The long drive and California

2009-05-18T12:24:00.001-05:00

Well, we set out at late afternoon and drove for California. A good 7 or so hours across the Arizona desert and into California.

The desert was lovely. Something about it I truly enjoyed. I think it it was the isolation and silence. I could really think clearly and consistently. Normally there's just the background noise of just human beings in general. But there, it was nothing. I loved it.

I did get some nice sunset photos (some not do good) as the sun hit the mountains.

After the sun went down, we got back on the road and headed across the mountains for California. It was a long drive. Some places to stop here and there but mostly road and lots of it.

On entering California, I'd heard of the inspections for fruit and whatever. I never expected a no joke border patrol gate. I could not believe it. Only in California.

We rolled in late, got some sleep, then got up to totally not 95-100 degree desert weather. Right now it's 70 degrees, 77 % humidity , light wind blowing. Feels like where I grew up a little. Add some salt in the air and it'd be the gulf coast!

Here's a sample of the day:

Our hotel is right outside Disneyland. Literally across the street. We can see the monorail humming by and tons of 'disney things'.

Well on to a meal (there goes the money!) and to disneyland.

-- Post From My iPhone

A funny thing on the way to the hotel

2009-05-17T00:21:00.001-05:00

... We ran into a family of wild boars behind the restaurant!

The male was huge, easily 250lbs and real unhappy to be there. Begins him was a couple of females with the babies. Roughly seven or more total. We tried to get closer so I could get a photo but no dice. By the time we could slip up on them, nurses, security and interns came out of the hopital behind Joe's Crab shack (let the jokes commence) to corral the boars.

The boars , quite naturally, had felt this was too many humans and raced off onto the night.

And that is definately how to end an evening!

-- Post From My iPhone

A long, yet interesting day

2009-05-16T22:56:00.001-05:00

Well, the best laid plans of mice, men and anyone caught between oft go astray as it's said. We got here to celebrate Jennie's sister's graduation from Law School ... But ... Her husband was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia a couple of nights before!!

Fortunately he's on the mend (and very soundly teased that he planned the whole thing). We took charge of 'the nieces' as they are collectively called and helped keep them occupied. This wasn't hard. Though ... They had eaten donuts ... With sprinkles ... Oh the humanity!

Seriously, it was quite fun all the way around. We managed a picnic and then went to tge hospital to celebrate graduation with David (he is on the recovery) and Heather, the girls and all.

Besides the fun, I did get to see some of the desert terrain and it's 95 degree temps. Quite hot!

I must admit there is a start beauty to the place. No grass of course, and all yards are gravel with scrub trees and cactus in them. On the horizon all around, the desert mountains rose up against a sapphire blue sky. I took some photos of the mountains and the local buildings. The architecture, which is appropriate for the environment, is usually adobe, stucco and clay tile rooftops. The 'spanish hacienda' look.

After the trio of nieces were delivered to home for bedtime, we ended our day at Joe's Cran shack.

A day well spent all in all.

If travelling through Tucson, my advice is to keep sunscreen handy - besides the sun, they have Mosquitos here and West Nile troubles - it shields your skin from bugs and sun. Oh, and drink plenty of water. It's 10% humidity at best so water just soaks into the air out of everything.

So , with that goodnight and onto tomorrow!

-- Post From My iPhone

Interesting view

2009-05-15T18:04:00.001-05:00

Mostly the flight to and from is not that interesting (save the one trans-atlantic where there was an illness outbreak) but in flight to Tucson there was some things to see. Not sure how high up we were but the sky was amazingly clear. Clouds floated just beneath us, like small islands.

Beyond that , most naturally, was the ground. In this area farming is done in circles. Done due to the environment and efficiency of land vs water irrigation I suppose. I'll have to look that up later. But from above, it's an interesting sight.

Quite fascinating to look at drifting by below (if drifting is the right word for zipping along at hundreds of miles per hour or more).

The flight is only an hour and some few minutes today. Which is good. Long flights can wear a bit on the nerves.

-- Post From My iPhone

On the way to Tuscon

2009-05-15T14:16:00.001-05:00

Started the trip off fairly well. Amazed I was more organized than normal. Hit the airport by 10 and left on time at 12.

Made a stop over at Dallas to change planes. Kinds cool. They've a new monorail that we'll take to cross the terminal.

The airport is huge with the usual stuff, and the not so normal!

That's a ice castle or something. Looked more like the Fortress of Solitude from Superman to me.

Anyway , on to the monorail!

-- Post From My iPhone

New worlds to conquer

2008-10-05T12:46:00.001-05:00

Ok. Lofty title, but I'm feeling a bit eloquent today. I finished or published a new work last week. Saying published seems a bit misleading since it's not a book but another web serial like what I did with spec ops. This one's different however.

Spec ops is a Star Wars fan fiction. No shame there. I enjoy writing the stories (when time permits) but in the end I'm constrained by the movies and setting that was set down by someone else.

Feeling that old returning itch to explore that tends to take me to Scotland, Ireland and abroad I decided to make something new to explore so ... http://brassgriffin.net

It's a steampunk genre with airships, intricate clockwork mechanisms and plenty of room for stories. All in all, I'm happy with the first story, I think it's got a good flow. The plot is probably a little thin but I was shooting at the 'pulp adventure' target rather than epic story.

Here's hoping it's well receieved. You just never know with Internet based media, the public is just so very fickle!

-- Post From My iPhone

End of the journey

2008-09-25T19:07:00.001-05:00

And now I'm back home. At least in the airport anyway.

It was a long long flight. Eight and a half hours just to hop the Atlantic. The attendants did their best to help though but still it is a long long trip.

Security and customs is rough only because of the lines. Being tired doesn't help either.

But Ireland was super fun. I look forward to making that trip again. One thing that helped was two large books. One for the flight over and one for the flight back. Once there, perhaps not doing quite so much in each given afternoon would be better. That way there would be time to wander and explore more thoroughly.

-- Post From My iPhone

Last day before the flight

2008-09-24T15:05:00.001-05:00

Since there was no tour, we didn't have to rise at 5 am thankfully. Instead it was a more sensible 8:30 am. The weather has turned a bit colder today, cloudy and a little windy.

Dad needed to get a checkup on the eye surgery he had done so we took a cab over to Blackrock clinic. Our cabbie was very funny and fun to talk to. As a small bonus, he on purpose took us by the embassies and ambassadorial homes (he asked first), he even showed us the home of the french ambassador which was recently sold for €52 million (about $72 million). It was very impressive in a white stone done in a gothic style.

After the doctor's visit we went by the natural history musuem.

Again, no photographs, but that's ok. The museum is free and composed of two floors.

Exhibits cover from stone age Ireland through iron age , bronze age and so on. Also there were the remains of mummified remains found in bogs across Ireland. On the second floor are exhibits from Egypt, medieval Ireland and Viking Ireland.

On the second floor, an entire two rooms were devoted to Egyptian mummies, artifacts and details about Egyptian life. The room next to that was a large exhibit containing artifacts from medieval Irish life. Primarily focused on what has survived the years, it was military, ecclesiastical and a little from nobility. There was even a centuries old bishop's cloak that was literally covered in embrodery from Florence.

Last but least was a large exhibit to the Viking contribution of Ireland. At the start was a to scale reproduction of a two man Viking rowboat. That stood at the entrance to the Viking exhibit. Inside there was a full size skeleton and weapons on display.

It wasn't all weapons and armor though, many of the Viking exhibits covered everyday life in Dublin at the time of Viking occupation. Games, clothes, and many items pertaining to various craftworks was on display there.

Unfortunately, we were running short of time so we took as little time as we could there at the end.

We left there and made our way to O'Connell street where Dad could locate someplace that sold glasses to match his new perscription.

Then finally, we grabbed dinner at Finnigans again before we headed back to the hotel to pack.

Overall, the trip was fantastic. Fast paced at times, hectic or busy at others, but in general just fantastic fun. I don't look forward to the nine hour flight back to the States, but that's really a small price to pay for such a great trip.

-- Post From My iPhone

Waterford Crystal, Killkenny City, and the East Coast

2008-09-24T02:57:00.001-05:00

Another early rise at 5 am to catch the train at Connolly Station to make our way to Wexford. This train takes you south along the Wicklow Mountains which is lovely right now.

At least they're called mountains, they seem to be rather large foothills.

Primarily coastline all the way, you pass through nunerous small towns before you reach Wexford. Anyone else following this route, I'd recommend bringing water, coffee and some kind of snack.

Wexford, as it turns out, is the home of Commodore Barry and the Kennedy family. President Kennedy's father in fact.

Fishing is the main industry in Wexford but they can only fish at certain times as the waters have been heavily overfished.

From Wexford we headed by buss to New Ross, the home of the ship Dunbrody which carried people across the Atlantic and brought back timber.

We toured the ship and was given a view of life from a steerage passenger and from first class. The difference was massive. Steerage slept on straw, slept 5 to 10 per bunk with almost no luggage. First class had a cabin, was served cooked meals and tended not to suffer illness the steerage did. It was a sobering presentation.

They also have a database of names where you can look up your family name. Impressive list all in all.

I thought about that in relation to travel by boat or plane. While the conditions are not unsanitary, the mindset of 'first class' and 'steerage' seems all to similar to 'business class' and 'coach'.

Anyway, next came Waterford. Billy (yes, the same from the Blarney tour) likened it to a whaling town in the States.

The Waterford glass factory resides in Waterford. Dominating a mile square in real estate, they still hand blow glass there for the crystal objects they make.

Each step from making the cast iron molds, to blowing the glass, quality control, and etching is done by hand. The only part not done by hand is the marking where etchings should be done. It takes ten years to make Master engraver. Same for glass blower and so on. Given they make trophies for such as Wimbleton or the New Year's Eve ball, well the hand quality shows.

Next was Kilkenny castle. Kilkenny is known as the City of Marble. There used to be a quarry there with numerous kinds and colors of marble there.

The city has elaborate stonework of various older buildings that have been converted to banks, tenanents and the like.

Just past main street, along the river's edge, stands Castle Kilkenny. As the story goes, the castle had been retained by the family throughout all the uprisings and strife right through to the current age. Unfortunately, the family could no longer afford the upkeep and taxes like so many families that retained their ancestral homes. This one was turned over to the government who opened it for tourism. To this day it's impressive as a small castle and manor.

Given the hour was late we made the choice to skip the guided tour and visit the castle bookstore and rose garden that was in the front.

That was excellent! The layout was wonderful with two stone statues on either side of the front that faced a rounded, almost flower-shaped pool. In the middle of the pool was a statue that I suspect was a fountain, but was not working at that time.

After that we walked across the street to the stables of the castle. The original structure was still there but it had been turned into a gift shop, textile store and restaurant. So instead of walking a good distance, we just opted to eat there instead. I was glad we did, the food was excellent! I had a chicken in a mushroom tarragon sauce. Vegetables on the side of course. Probably had too much coffee today but that's ok. I'll get some water or something when I reach the hotel.

Speaking of which, after dinner we caught the train back to Dublin after some lively confersation with Billy. He's a fountain of stories and it never got old listening to them. From stories about the Titanic to the Luthistania to how to stay healthy!

-- Post From My iPhone

Guiness Factory and more ancient tomes

2008-09-22T13:43:00.001-05:00

A bright, pleasant day greeted us when we left this morning for the Guiness Storehouse and museum. It's a fascinating place that talks about the brewing of Guiness itself. My favorite part is the lease that Authur Guiness managed to wrangle. A 9000 year lease to be exact, where the company owes only 45 pounds a year on the lease of the land. Talk about low overhead!

The entire place is in the shape of a giant guiness pint glass all the way to the top.

Or as shown on the map

Pretty clever idea if you ask me.

At the top is the 'Gravity Bar', which has the best view of Dublin I've ever seen.

It's a 360 degree view of the city where you can get a complimentary Guiness as well!

After that we took a taxi to the Chester Beatty Library. It is over by Dublin Castle, which we were near the other day, but we had no idea what was in there!

Inside, was not just any books, but a collection of ancient manuscripts. These range from ancient works from Japan, India, and so on.

From Japan was the world's first and oldest novel, a work 1000 years old. Among breathtaking works of Sumi paintings, there was an example of a micro-manuscript. It was a full chinese manuscript carved on a one by one inch piece of ivory!

Along with that was pre-Islam manuscripts, Islanic leather book covers, tibetan books of jade (carved literally from large plates of jade) and more. The next gallery contained works from western Europe, examples from Germany, France, etc. Many were bibles and other religious texts. Fantastic illuminated documents with beautifully orante covers and bindings.

There were videoes showing how woodblock printing worked, binding and other ancient methods of book creation.

Also on that floor was an amazing display of an actual Egyptian book of the dead. Beautifully preserved and intact to read.

And that was just the first floor. The second floor was that and more. It housed centuries old documents ok Buddha, 4th century copies of the Qu'ran and illuminated bibles.

Then one of the more startling sights was letters of St Paul to the Romans written in 150AD. Several of such manuscripts written in and around 200AD, seven or more in fact. Some of the world's oldest manuscripts in one location!

It was breathtaking and sadly no pictures allowed. But I did gather some postcards which have pictures of some of the works so that was close enough.

Since it was so close to five, we thought it better to get dinner. Which we went looking for Harry B', a place recommended to us, but found it named the Blarney Inn. That was ok, the food was still just as good.

-- Post From My iPhone

Touring about the museums

2008-09-21T11:40:00.001-05:00

It's been a busy week, so we got a slow start today. We were going to go to mass but just couldn't make it.

Instead we took a taxi over to the Writer's Museum off Parnell Square. Now that was downright fascinating. I learned SO much about Irish writers I wouldn't begin to know where to start describing it all. The museum itself was made from a Gregorian mansion.

Unfortunately, there were no pictures allowed anywhere in the building. Probably due to the oil paintings, first edition copies of manuscripts sometimes hundreds of years old. Dozens and dozens of Irish writers were covered here: Yeats, Oscar Wilde, James Shaw, Sam Beckett, and Johnathan Swift just to name a few.

There was three floors to the place, but only the first two had anything to the public. The first floor contained the writers and lots of information about them, the second was a lecture hall with more about select writers (James Joyce, Swift, Yeats, and Wilde) with a fully stocked Victoria/Gregorian Library. Of all rooms that one I wanted pictures of the most.

We stopped after that for a bite to eat and to sit for a moment at a great pub called Flannigans. Great food, we ate here once already and it really is great.

By the time we got done, it was not long before everything shut down at 4:30 or 5 pm (save the pubs). So we just walked and looked for another hour or nearly so. The crowds were still thick about since the final game of the Gaelic football league was playing today. Basically Ireland's Super Bowl for their league. Gaelic football isn't soccer either. It's some odd conbination of soccer and a little basketball. One person here explained it thus: "soccer is a game made by gentlemen yet played by ruffians, rugby is a game made by ruffians but played by gentlemen, and Gaelic football is a game made by ruffians and played by ruffians."

Other than that, today was a light day. Which is a good chance to take a load off, rest and store pictures from my camera.

-- Post From My iPhone

Trinity College and the Book of Kells

2008-09-20T14:30:00.001-05:00

Today is a trip to historic Trinity College and the Old Library there. Several ancient manuscripts, such as the Book of Kells is held there for viewing.

The college is massive

Sadly, yet I did understand, no photos were allowed in the Old Library or of the book of Kells (or any other work there). That's alright, the gift shop contained more than enough reproductions and so on to make up for it.

The books are well beyond a thousand years old, yet are in fantasic condition. Naturally they are kept in pressurized cases and guarded. As with any illuminated manuscript, the detail is exquisite. Some letters covered one page and words could span pages. Simply fantastic work. The books themselves are vellum and hand sewn according to the culture back then. The Book of Kells is bound in a white leather, as white as snow. Almost as if it was made just yesterday. The book of Armaugh was older and did show it's age, but only a little more since it had little color like the book of Kells did. Perhaps that was due to a farmer (the previous owner) who kept it in a bucket of water and pulled it out only to bless his cattle.

Now this isn't to detract from the college itself. I can see many items from Trinity being used in popular media, from the Potter books, to Star Wars. Just overwhelmingly impressive.

Like with the Book of Kells, only on the order of a thousand times over, the old books would not survive a camera flash. They were also roped off, which was a large shame. I would have loved to have browsed through them. One thing stands out in my mind is that I have to bring others back here. It's well worth seeing.

Outside Trinity College we wandered a bit near the shops of O'Connell street. At the top of the street there was a statue to Molly MacGuire. Mom got her picture made with it then we all were in a picture with the statue. It was right after that the fun began. A man playing the drum, took our picture and started flirting with Mom. That lead to her and the drummer singing the Molly MacGuire song which caused a whole crowd to sing along. Finally that lead to dancing! It was hilarious! Dad got a movie of the whole thing.

After that we hurried to the writer's museum but just did not make it in time. That museum closes slightly after 4pm. Luckily tomorrow they are open (which is odd, most are not since it's a Sunday) afternoon.

Across from the Writer's Musuem is the Remembeance Memorial. It's an immense memorial, garden with statue and pond, dedicated to those lost in the wars. It was pretty moving.

The weather today was great, temperate, warm with a light breeze. Apparently it was the best day all season for Ireland. The rest of the time it's been overcast and rainy.

Before dinner we stopped by the remains of St. Valentine. It's a small shrine with his remains below the altar. His story is posted along the wall next to the altar. On the altar sat a large red, leather book where people could write prayers and thank you to the saint. I noticed other books like that on in the shrine with the saint's relics. Pretty cool, y'know?

Well dinner was fish and chips. Since all the cigarette smoke was bothering me, I broke my rule and ate some of the French fries that came with my fish. It helped some, walking in the evening air (without the cigarette smoke) helps more. Just a leftover from going nonstop and that Cork county adventure.

Some rest tonight after unwinding, that's just what the doctor ordered.

-- Post From My iPhone

Concluding the adventure or a mystery solved

2008-09-19T14:55:00.001-05:00

Ok this wasn't as much a mystery as when I was trapped aboard a trans-Atlantic flight when people starting falling (literally) ill, or tracking down a lost college girl in a white tshirt among a Boston marathon before the creepy family disappeared with her (seriously, white tshirt among thousands of nearly identical tshirts and a REALLY creepy family ... They kept ogling her like she was prime beef or something)

The end to this is slightly more pedestrian.

As happenstance would have it, our tour was two tour groups. I had suspected that given the way the guides were sorting people. What I didn't suspect was that our group of 25 was still multiple tours. It seems our one day was overlapped with a multiple day tour. We took long enough at each stop and with that number of people, things ran late. One group was to go to Killenny, the other (ours) was bound for Dublin. The tour guide didn't want to go 70 miles out of the way before heading to Dublin.

That much I confirmed, now the part with the driver is conjecture but the pieces fit. What I suspect is that the driver, impatient to maintain schedule, was trying to leave us. Billy, our guide, I believe talked him out of it which explains the tense conversation that was much longer than "hey we're runnin late" "ok, I know". In the end, Billy pulled strings with a conductor and got us a train. Which got the Killenny tour back on track and the rest of us towards Dublin. It also explains why the buss was not parked where it should be, and why the driver looked so perturbed.

I think anyway. I have not asked to confirm that last part, nor will I. The tour guide was doing his best to keep a good face on the tour company and its services. No matter, those of us from the tour bound for Dublin made it to the train and headed on quietly to Dublin.

Ok, not exactly 'Murder on the Orient Express' complete with dead bodies, more like 'Near shanghai on the Blarney tour'. Well, maybe there were bodies, we did visit a cathedral that had the bodies of two deceased bishops, do they count?

-- Post From My iPhone

Trip to Cork, Blarney, and the Queenstown Story

2008-09-19T14:53:00.001-05:00

Woke at the crack of dawn, 5 am actually, and got ready for the train trip to Cork, Blarney Castle and Queenstown Story.

The train itself was much like what was in Scotland, real comfortable overall. It made for a pleasant ride with the countryside flying by but none of it so fast that it was impossible to see anything.

Cork, as I understand it, is the southern capital of Ireland along the coast. Not far, by road, is Blarney Castle where the Blarney stone is. Supposedly if you kiss it, you gain the gift of gab. I've been told that I've got that to spare in the right situation so I'll pass on that.

Outside, the countryside really is the rolling hills dotted with homes and farms once you get away from anything major like Dublin.

The Castle Blarney itself is a massive structure, probably forbiding in it's day. There are 195 steps to the top where the stone rests and where a view of the moat and countryside around the castle itself.

The castle is kept in it's historical condition, so some parts are a little less stable than others!

The trip was a long climb up narrow stone stairs. Several times, offshoots led into other corridors and entire other rooms in the castle that can't be seen from any other angle.

We all did make it to the top, though only my father leaned back to kiss the blarney stone. The stone itself is a section of wall along the battlements.

After that we worked our way down another long winding twist of stairs to the main grounds. Coming out we found what was called the Blarney gardens, given the reputation of the stone, I figured the gardens could be anything.

Most was well manicured gardens, then there was the Rock Close. That was cool, it was like an overgrown fantasy rock garden with large rocks, huge oaks, a waterfall and other natural and cultivated sights. It reminded me of Mirkwood forest from the Lord of the Rings movies.

A few pictures and a short walk later, we found ourselves at Blarney restaurant and a pub called Christys Bar.

There we got some lunch, it was buffet and naturally I overate a little on turkey and dressing. Good but overly filling.

Now after that, we made our way to the Queensland Story, the port of call of the Titanic. At the doc is an old pub called the Titanic Pub which has a large collection of Titanic memorabilia. Including a reproduction of the Presidential Suite from the Titanic itself.

The bar suffered what it's namesake did, as the man who built it did not expect how much Titanic relics would cost and so he went bankrupt. When he did, the pub sunk like the ship. Now it's a ruin unfortunately.

Along the same stretch was a memorial to the Lusithania sinking. Cobh (called Cove) was where they sorted and buried 1200 American victims of the torpedo strike.

Last was a visit to a museum and memorial for the immigrants to America, the sinking of the Lusithania and photos and memorabilia from the Titanic before she launched the last time and sank in the North Atlantic. The museum was styled in the fashion of the Victorian style of the period.

I tried to get more photos but before I could finish, the tour guide raced through, grabbing us all to rush us off. Something had gone wrong, what I don't know. All I knew is that we were hurried onto a smaller train leaving Cobh instead of the tour bus.

As it turned out, the train took us to Kent station at Cork. All fine and good, but none of us knew what happened. Therefore I was determined to find out. What I pieced together (since I had yet to corner the tour guide):

[a] the tour guide mentioned "he doesn't speak good English"
[b] I witnessed a stressed conversation between the tour guide and the driver at our next to last stop.
[c] someone else noticed the tour bus not with the other buses and the engine was off.
[c] The last stop was the only one where the driver turned off the engine completely and left the buss.

Rough guess would be the tour ran long and the driver wanted to leave us. Once I corner the driver I'll know for certain.

-- Post From My iPhone

Late start on the day

2008-09-18T14:34:00.001-05:00

Got a late start on the day today, so the touring is a bit more relaxed today. So we took a trip over to Christchruch to see the cathedral and the Viking museum there named Dublina.

The exhibit covers three floors, and covers the period of history from the founding of Dublin, through the invasion of the Vikings, into William of Normandy and the middle ages. One part was particularly interesting with it's focus on the archeological dig that took place uncovering original wooden plank walkways, stone walls and building foundations, tools, and other personal effects from the earliest period of Dublin's history.

The third floor went into details about the Vikings themselves such as their lives, trade they established, their fighting "tactics", and even had an example of their longboats. Very fascinating stuff!

Finally we stopped off to see the remains of the original gate of Dublin that dated back from the time of the Vikings.

While there, one of the curators commented on my style of dress (my usual of knee high boots, long cargo pants, long linen shirt and brown waistcoat best, and by usual Mark VII gas mask bag turned shoulder bag). He claimed that I looked like a type of cavalier calvary soldier. I'll have to look up which he was talking about.

After that we stayed at the cathedral to listen to a Thursday service called Eveningsong. It was nice, apparently their choir is one that competes regularly and it showed.

But since we started late there wasn't much to see before everything closed up, save for the restaurants and pubs. Since we were at Christchurch cathedral, the Bull and Castle was across the street. We ate there the other night, and the food was good then. So we went there again. I got fish and chips this time.

The meal was really good. Good quality fish and chips, like the kind you can get in Boston or any other coastal city. It was a nice way to round out the day.

Tomorrow is an early morning, we'll be rising early for a tour trip to Blarney Castle.

-- Post From My iPhone

Not quite Tony's House Of Ribs

2008-09-17T13:53:00.001-05:00

It may not be Tony's House Of Ribs but sometimes Captain America has a sense of dry humor about him ...

or not

-- Post From My iPhone

City Tour

2008-09-17T13:17:00.001-05:00

After lunch was a brisk city tour by bus. Pretty good way to see the city overall. Most have live tour guides and here in Ireland they tend to be REAL funny. The tour takes a few hours but stops at certain points. This was great since we got off at Dublin Castle for a great tour. It covered all the government apartments, historical painting and all. Amazing stuff!

Jail where the leaders of the Easter rebellion were executed:

Across the street was the castle entrance to the museum of modern art. The lawn there was covered in greeny, hard to see much in the way of the place. I bet it's a sight past the trees.

Next was Houston station, named for one of the leaders of the 1916 revolution and used in part for filming the 'Great Train Robbery'.

Two more bad puns later ("There's the grave of the guy who invented the crossword, the grave right by that tree, just two down and three across.") from the driver, we arrived at Phoenix Park. Twice as large as Cental Park in New York or five times as large as Hyde park in London.

After that came the decorative Museum of Arts, it was built from an old army barracks. Outside was several stone sculptures and arrangements a person could walk through.

After that came worse puns, then the judicial building. A massive structure, as big as the cathedrals!

The tour bus!

Finally we stopped off at a pub called 'Flannagan's' for dinner, which for me was Irish Stew!

-- Post From My iPhone

Along Grafton St.

2008-09-17T13:16:00.001-05:00

There is one thing I've learned is that jet lag or no, the time zone difference will really confuse you for a day or two, I'd say +/- 3 hour difference and you're gonna take a day or two to adjust.

Anyway, on Grafton St today. It's the main outdoor shopping area in Dublin. Pedestrian only type of walking area with some interesting archtecture but not a lot.

The shops are small but cool places. Small locations which a many are "mom an pop" places. One really cool place caught my eye, it was "Captain America's Cookhouse"! I nearly fell over. (picture pending)

Around the corner we wanted to stop for some coffee and to sit for a bit, and find the Gotham Cafe:

Cool place. I got something called chicken skewers. They are grilled chicken on skewers covered in some really good garlic sauce. I'll have to figure out how to make that.

-- Post From My iPhone

Relaxing in Ireland

2008-09-16T11:44:00.001-05:00

Made it in through the airport, which wasn't all that bad, then by taxi to the hotel. As usual the taxi driver was very informative. On the way to the hotel, he gave us the 'cabbie tour' ... Like where the book of Kells is held, a museum to Oscar Wilde and so on. Plenty of places to explore!

For now, a bit of relaxing at the pub!

-- Post From My iPhone

Off to Ireland

2008-09-15T16:36:00.001-05:00

Despite travel delays, I'm finally at the airport for Ireland. It's been a tense couple of days with getting packed, to the airport and so on. Still tense from a couple week's worth of 14 hour days ... I'm hoping to unwind and relax.

Behold the airport!

Naturally no plane yet.

In other news, the cover art for the new web serial is coming along nicely. Should be ready for me to post on my return. It'll be a nine week run, then I'd better have the next story ready. Which isn't so bad, I've got the outline done, just have to write the story part. Easy eh?

-- Post From My iPhone

When worlds collide

2008-07-03T14:23:00.001-05:00

I always get a kick out of people and their particular interests. Especially when one particular fascination of one person runs full tilt into another. Especially these days of 'homogenized' entertainment.

For example ...

I was at the gym for lunch today and I was wearing an orange man-at-arms shirt with a black outlined drawing of Man-At-Arms from the most recent run of the He-Man cartoon. This guy in all black kept giving me this REAL strange look for most of the time I'm there. Finally he nerved himself up and came over then asked:

“Hey... hey, man, is … is that a Warhammer 40K shirt? Warhammer? 40k… yknow 40K shirt?”

Given I was standing there holding a 40 pound plate after doing back exercises I wasn’t really in the mood for conversation. I put the plate on the rack and shrugged, “No, sorry. It’s man-at-arms from the most recent He-Man cartoon series.”

“Uh … what?”

“Man-At-Arms … He-Man ?”

“Oh yeah yeah yeah … ok … uhm … yeah. Uhm, wow I really thought it was a 40K shirt. That’s cool though. Wow, yeah I feel like a big fool now ... uhm look, I’d better go before I just pass out. See ya!”

“Yeah, no worries. See ya.”

In no time flat he vanished off among the machines. It left me considering the moment and I did chuckle a little. I felt for him, he was a little embarrassed, and apparently he really thought it over hard and was convinced it was what he thought it was!

Again... such are the little joys of 'homogenized' entertainment. It all winds up looking alike.

A break from the normal

2008-05-22T14:34:00.001-05:00

I know I'm behind on getting the Munich updates in (work ultimately to blame here) but I just experienced something that I had to share with the vapor of the Net. A 'Bacon Bar'.

Yes Bacon Bar

It actually is squares of chocolate with bacon inside. You can smell the hickory smell like a huge strip of well cooked bacon... then you eat a bite. The rush of chocolate and (as Emril would say) BAM ... salty, beefy bacon mixed in. Which DOES NOT fade easily away. Green tea, diet coke (which supposedly can clean porcelain from what I understand) will not wash away the flavor.

It's definitely an experience, that is for sure and for certain. Sadly, as bizarre as it is... it almost makes you want to try more to make sure "did it really taste like that?" Truly a dastardly plan! I approve!

Munich, Germany - Day 4, The former royal residence and walkway

2008-01-29T20:22:00.000-06:00

(got a bit behind, but I'm pulling notes from my notebooks as fast as I can)

Today was more tours around Munich. This time we rose, then went into town to see Ludwig IIs tomb, the royal residence and a grand plaza that sits outside the residence.

The residence was amazing! It was more of a palace than a castle. Wood carvings, fresco ceilings, all were layered with gold. In between that, paintings adorned the ceilings and walls of scenes from battles to mythology. Red marble stairs with imported Italian marble for the slabs of walls. It was very much what I'd thought of when I thought of 'palace'.

The most impressive was the relic shrine. It was a ten by ten room, with the walls, floor and ceiling dripping with gold covered baroque carvings. Behind that, the walls were a dark purplish-black and seemed to gleam dark and heavy in the lights that shone on the cases.

Centerpiece of that room was the menagerie of items that sat in cases around the room. In glass and steel cases, silver challises, sections of burial cloths, skulls and even the skeletons of two young children. I've no idea what they were and the usual information card was missing. Ancestors? Saints? I'm not certain.

Beyond was a private worship chamber for just the ruler of Bavaria. Simply magnificent gold leaf baroque trim, dark marbled floor and walls that all combined to an arched ceiling that was dominated by an impressive mural of what I think were saints, clouds and a rich blue sky.

Further in was tall corridors and a staircase to the royal residences themselves. Most of this had been destroyed during World War II, so part of what was there was recreations. But still some furnishings, and oak desk inlaid with lapis luzi from Afghanistan for example, survived the bombing of Munich.

The biggest sight was descending below to come out in an enormous room roughly fifty yards long and what seemed to be thirty feet across. The ceiling was arched, giving the room a decided semi-cylindrical shape. Every literal square inch of the walls and ceiling were covered in the baroque style trim again, only this was fashioned with a Roman classical theme in mind. The floor was an amber colored marble and the only lights were from wall scones intermittently placed between major sections of room supports that were, for all intents and purposes, gold-leaf spines along the curve of the marble walls and fresco covered wooden ceiling. To finish the sight, was a collection of classic Roman and Greek antiquities. Busts, statues, and other works were regularly distributed along the walls. The entire room was commissioned by Maximillian II, I believe, to simply house these antiquities. Nothing more. Even in photographs, the light along the walls was caught by the gold leaf trim and expanse of marble, surrounding them all with an eerie glow.

Besides the 'treasure room', that left the actual audience chamber for the king, and one for the queen, and the family's personal chapel (for family gatherings). The chapel was two story, comprised mainly of oak and white marble with the occasional gold leaf trim accenting the walls and furnishings.

Two hallways and the royal dish collection, which filled the floor to ceiling cabinets in a twenty foot by twenty foot, two story tall room, later we returned to the exit just in time before they closed the residence for the day. Being close to dinner, we took our cameras and made our way to a bierhaus to eat and plan for tomorrow for the tour of two of Ludwig II's castles. One of which, was the inspiration for Walt Disney.

Munich, Germany - Day 3, Salsburg and Moondee in the Austrian Alps

2008-01-18T17:26:00.000-06:00

Rising early we grabbed a quick breakfast and headed for the train station (bahnhof) to catch a train for Salsburg.

A quick rundown of Salsburg. A border town between Bavaria and Austria, it's a modest sized city of 150,000 people. Despite that, the buildings of the town are tightly packed together so Salsburg is a small city. Other things Salsburg is known for is being the home of Mozart, the world famous music school, various castles there that belonged to the Hapsburgs, and being the primary location (and inspiration) for the movie, the Sound of Music (which is based on a real family from named von Trapp.

We signed up for two tours, one for the city itself and the other called the Sound of Music tour. There are other tours but it was enough to get these two for today.

The city tour drives you around Salsburg in a slightly larger than normal minivan where a guide explains the city. Naturally he was quite passionate for music, and so took great pleasure to explain about Mozart's personal home, his family's home and so on. No complaints really, it was fascinating information. Like how he preferred to dress, the various titles of nobility that were conferred on him and that he never , ever bothered to use them or pay attention to them and so on. Really fun stuff.

After that hour tour, we ran over to a coffee shop and got some lunch. They had gulash so of course I had some! I'm raving about the gulash because it's nothing like what we have in the US. The gulash here is not spicy at all. It's closer to a beef stew with vegetables, only the stew broth is not so thick. Goes quite well with the Bavarian pretzels which are good all by themselves. Apparently real Bavarian pretzels have a crunchy outside but are very soft on the inside.
In a way, twisted toast comes to mind.

Afterwards I was quite proud to have managed a complete transaction in German. Now, Im sure I fooled no one, as most certainly I'm sure I've an accent. That aside I was proud to have managed the conversation. If I keep practicing, I bet I can be well on my way to getting a handle on this language.

After the coffee we went back over and joined the tour going to all the sites used for the Sound of Music movie. Fantastic stuff. Various castles were used, and many tree-lined areas. Surprisingly, the working Abbey there wanted to have nothing to do with the movie but the castles did. Maybe not so surprising as they possibly didn't want the disturbance.

Part of the tour led us up into the Austrian side of the Alps proper. Just an amazing sight! Snow capped mountains skirted in fog with a hint of gray to the trees that dotted the snowy slopes. The large mountain lakes were like glass, reflecting the sky and the Alps themselves. just takes your breath away.

Finally we wound up in a little town called Moondee. That was were the 'wedding scene' of the Sound of Music was filmed. The church there is every bit magnificent as anything. It has been so far the highlight of the architecture that I've seen. Simply magnificent. words fail to describe the appearance. Everything had some glow or luster to it. everywhere you turned 'wow' did not do it justice.

When we had our fill of the sights there, the tour leader took us to a small cafe in Moondee that reportedly has the best hot chocolate in the world. After having some, I agree. I've heard some people call hot chocolate a 'warm fuzzy' when drunk on a cold day. If that's so, this is a 'warm fuzzy that wraps itself around you and hugs you for 30 minutes while purring'. That was, beyond any shadow of doubt, a fantastic cup of hot chocolate.

The tour leader, amid playing songs from the Sound of Music, took us back to the terminal for the train, told us the stories about the historical Von trapp family. She even had a CD with a recording of the real Von Trapp children singing. They were very, very good. Mostly hymns and choral pieces and a few German folk tunes. And she had a few stories about the historical Maria. Apparently she was a wild child. Who knew?

After that we boarded the train and returned to Munich for dinner and to turn in. A note on the trains. As in Scotland, it is a fantastic way to travel and the most comfortable. With that said, there are some differences. German trains are a touch more utilitarian. They don't have the tables in the middle of four seats. I missed that.It made for a good place to sit and unpack your things for the trip if you so chose. Still, it was comfortable and a very quick two hour trip back to Munich from Salsburg.

Munich, Germany - Day 2 (a day late to blog , sorry bout that)

2008-01-18T15:49:00.000-06:00

It was supposed to rain today but the weather decided against it. More's the better, it made for cool air while walking around. Woke a bit late today due uploading pictures, but a little extra sleep wasn't bad.

Lunch was at a bierhaus named the Augustina Keller. Supposedly they had the best beer in Munich. I didn't try it so I'll take everyone's word for it. I did have a super good veal. Lunch in Germany is quite a bit what I was told. It isn't the meal, it's the moment. Our waiter was great, he was from Croatia but had lived in Munich for twenty years. His wife's 40th birthday was tomorrow also, he said they had a big blowout planned. I bet they have fun.

My grasp of German is improving slowly, due to necessity overall. Yes, they speak English but it's 'basic' English. Accents and slang throw them. Which is to be expected. I've been asking for more help with my diction, but I've learned I'm being taught Bavarian-German. I've noticed a difference too. Bavarian speech is much like American southern, relaxed. Makes it easier to learn by listening.

After lunch, we took a taxi back to the Marianplatz and toured more shops and churches. The churches and cathedrals are amazing. The architecture is overwhelming with the sweeping baroque styles and gold layering over all the carved wood. What wood that isn't painted in gold, silver and so on is polished and oiled until it glows with a character all its own.

One cathedral allowed walking tours up to the bell tower, so naturally I had to go. I'm uncertain how many stories it was but I lost count at fifteen flights of stairs. The view from the top was amazing! I could take photos of places like the Glockenspiel from above! I stayed for quite awhile.

In between the churches, we walked through the shops. They range from a variety of tourist fair to expensive (there was a rolex store) to crafts (a local clockmaker's shop). Among that, I discovered ... the bookstore! I browsed awhile and settled on a book or mathematical formulas and a biography of da Vinci, both in german.

After the bookstore we wound past a bag store, naturally I stopped there for while until I realized my own messenger bag was good enough for me. I did pick up some small utility bags, after all, you never know when you'll need them.

Dinner was at a place called Augustiner on Domm. There I had some Bratwurst with saurkraut with some hot chocolate on the side. Now that was quite good! The saurkraut was sweet,something I had been told but it's better to experience than be told about. I really need to figure out how to make that.

We lingered awhile then walked down to a church dedicated to a Father Mayer, a priest who defied and spoke out against the Nazi's in WWII. They killed him for it eventually, but is buried there in the church. My father, as it turns out, knows a lady there at the church. We stayed and visited awhile, she wanted to know where we had been, what we had done, and so on. When we left, she gave us each keepsakes, blessed sections from a hat that the Father (whom I understand may be considered a saint) wore regularly. I was touched, of anything, that will stay with me always. I should figure a way to wear it so I don't lose it.

Finally we returned to the hotel and made plans for tomorrow and the next day. Good to plan ahead, eh? Tomorrow we catch a train to Salsburg, home of Mozart and where the Sound of Music was filmed, for the day. The Alps will be in view and we'll be on the Austrian border. I'm looking forward to the view.

Munich, Germany - Day 1 (aka Adventures in Grammar-sitting)

2008-01-16T17:58:00.000-06:00

Hmm it's been awhile here hasn't it? I should get out more.

This time the journey led to Munich, Germany. At first I have to admit, I was nervous. Travel that far out is new for me and this time it's to a country where language becomes a barrier, or an embarrassment as many in Germany speak English better than I do (and it's supposedly my native language! Ah the benefits of a public education eh?)

I digress. The flight was as I expected, long and boring. I amused myself with books and some writing to pass the time when the shrill siren's wail of the three year old child across the aisle from me serenading the flight. Hm little angel has the lungs I tell you.

Customs was not nearly as invasive as the UK or Amsterdam. I was grateful, nine hours on a plane is taxing. Arriving at the hotel, I waited for thirty minutes for my room, choosing instead to enjoy some space on a bed in my parents room next door. At some point I passed out to have three hours of blissful sleep.

After the nap, I went with my father out of the hotel. Munich! What a lovely place! Urban without being too irritating, yet not so rural with urban trappings to lean it in the opposite direction.

Munich is old, hailing as of 2008, a hearty 850 years of existance. Their main marketplace, the Marianplact, still is in use!

We toured through that but were not in time to watch the famous Glockenspeil. But instead we browsed shops and found a cafe where the employees and owners did not or would not speak English. Ah I do have the luck! Fortunately my father speaks German to an acceptable degree and this was just ample moment for me to stretch my own linguistics skills. This little enterprise proved to me that apparently I'm funny in at least two languages because my grammar is ... lets say 'bravely utilized' ... in both English and German. Thankfully the cafe staff sought to fix that so I've been corrected on many a sentence structure now.

After the cafe, we walked through st Michael's church. An impressive church, still in use today. The architecture had been recreated in many places as it suffered during the Allied bombings in WWII, but nonetheless, it was awe inspiring.

that took some time (though it was well spent) and then we wandered the shops again. Finally mom had recovered enough to join us and we tooled back along the Marianplact showing her around. I found a hardback biography on da Vinci (in German of course), so I bought it as a keepsake.

By the time we walked the Marianplact four times over, we settled on a place called the Ratskeller. The food was fantastic! Sadly I'm not sure I would ever have the skill to reproduce those meals, all I can do is enjoy them. But the meal is as what I've been told ... German restaurants are an experience not 'sit down, eat, leave'. it was quite relaxing and our waiter was fantastic to talk to and put up with my attempts to lay waste to his native language.

In the end, we returned to the hotel to rest for tomorrow.

Thursday musings

2007-07-26T08:47:00.001-05:00

Just something I've noticed lately... how exuberance and ego are so very much intertwined.
Sometimes it's hard to tell the two apart. I'm thinking being able to differ between the two is a great skill to have. Otherwise the misunderstandings and hurt feelings from mistaking one for the other and reacting incorrectly is immense.

Finally started putting some of my scotland pics up on http://www.cafepress.com/penstylepress. Right now I'm sticking to the prints but I may break down into the tiles too. The first one of the writing table in John Knox house turned out fantastic! It still amazes me to think that I didn't do any photoshop work at all, that was just from me with a camera, nothing else.

I see why people go into digital photography as a career. Kinda like painting in a way.

Another journey comes to a close, Scotland part Deux

2007-05-28T07:23:00.000-05:00

And at last, this journey comes to an end. Like before, and with any good 'adventure', it wasn't the destination, it was the journey that made it memorable. Some things I saw again, Edinburgh castle, St Jiles' cathedral, John Knox's house and so on. Some things were new, like the dozens of 'closes' I wandered down, Culloden battlefield, the cottage JM Barrie stayed at as a writer's retreat. But really it was all worth it.

In the end I enjoyed certain places more, the Inverness countryside for one. Something very settling about that area. The spare population, the climate and the slower pace I believe is what did it. Something theraputic about it, and mentally stimulating. For me, change is not only good, but desrired, and that most certainly was change.

But the trip back was not very eventful. The plane wasn't quite as old but not nearly new. The seats were not that uncomfortable and the staff did their best to help people get through the trip. But really... 8-9 hours on a plane... the tedium of 'sameness' was a little tough to get through at times. US Customs was .. well... their usual selves and suffered a lag in the process because the airport stumbled around a bit. Specifically this time, the baggage handlers brought the baggage from our plane AND a plane from London Heathrow but didn't keep straight which luggage carosel was for which plane. So picture it ... passengers from two overseas planes wandering between two carosels that were next to each other looking for their baggage. And yes True Believers, you guessed it, there was a high change your luggage (if you had more than one bag) would come out on either carosel at any given moment. Never thought I'd get to play "Where's Waldo" with my luggage!

Past customs was a 4-5 hour layout in the airport. Nothing much to tell about that, found a charging station and recharged my laptop then slept a little in the seat while waiting for the next plane. I did score a really nice travel backpack. Wide enough to handle most anything I want to carry... overnight stay clothes, laptop, you name it. Brookstone and very durable. I'll definately make some use out of it.

I'm back home now, gifts and such are sorted. I also realized the pics I took were at high resolution with my new camera! Not that the pics are bad, but they are LARGE. I'll have to look at them in detail before I burn CDs and upload them for viewing.

Scotland was enjoyable as usual. Unwound a lot of knots in my spirit and my mind and let me think clearly about a lot of things for the first time in a long, long time. Like I said before, I'll be going back. Not sure when but it'll be soon. I think next time, I'll look into a cottage. Even if I find myself going to Ireland or Wales or so on. Y'know.. follow JM Barrie's example on that one. It sure seems like a sound idea.

If anyone wants to head to Scotland.. one word of advice. Plan your stay carefully. It's expensive (at the time of this writing, the exchange rate from dollar to pound sterling is *insane*. Two dollars to every pound sterling roughly!) to just eat and stay there. You have to be on very disciplined budget. If not, you'll kill your bank account.

Though if you manage it, be sure to visit some of the 'closes' in Edinburgh. Some are worth it. Like the one with the Forsyth Tearoom (yes.. it was a *real* tearoom the locals use... not some tourist trap... scones, biscuits, tea and all). And if you wander down underground visiting Mary King's Close and you feel a small hand on your lower back when no one is behind you then see a shadow move just so while in a very tiny room deep underground during the tour... tell Annie I said hello and that I'll be back to visit her as soon as I wander that way.

Nearing the end of the road, Scotland part Deux

2007-05-25T18:19:00.000-05:00

Back in Edinburgh after two days in Inverness, so this'll be a wrap up.

Day before yesterday, we toured some like through the house of the protestant reformer John Knox and then took a buss tour through Edinburgh. We *were* going to go to Holyroodhouse palace... until the Queen decided to show up ... well there went that. Makes sense, it is her house after all. Beyond that Dad had to go to the doctor, something was wrong with a muscle in his shoulder, I think its tension but no one really knows. So after a good stretch with UK medicine, Dad had a prescription and we were on our way.

We caught the train to Inverness but got on the wrong part of the train! Dad got first class for everyone but because the cars aren't marked on all train types we got on the wrong end! It turned out for the best anyway. There was a British couple up from Bristol touring the UK on holiday. The husband is a train geek... serious train geek... and could tell us anything about the railway system in the UK.. and even some about the US train systems! He let us know when we were at the highest point of the trip and crossing the peak of one of the tallest mountains in Scotland and all. They were lovely to talk to and stayed on board with us all the way to Inverness. We didn't miss first class at all.

Once in Inverness, Mom immediately spotted all shopping opportunities before anyone else quite naturally. We walked around after getting checked in and got some dinner. During our stay, the hotel had rotated out staff, but some were still there. Like the restaurant manager remembered us.. mostly me for some reason.

The next day was shopping and then taking Mom on the ride across Loch Ness and touring Urquhart Castle. It was captivating as always. Something about the cool loch air with the peace and stillness. It really gets you. Settles the soul. Something anyone can use these days.

But we spent most of the day touring the loch, the exhibition center about the loch and the castle. We even got a talkative buss driver. He took us by the cottage that J.M. Barrie stayed in to write Peter Pan! Also pointed out the house that Alister Crowley stayed in while in Scotland when he was alive and pulling his shenanigans. He knew all sorts of local legends and stories. He told so many, I tried to memorize them but it may take me days to sort through them all.

That evening we came back, got some dinner and stayed up late just talking. Truth be told, we were too tired to do much more!

The following day was another tour.. this time of Culloden Battlefield.. that was great! With being able to see the battlefield, we also got a presentation about it and a "living history" demonstration from a re-enactor there showing how all the weapons worked. Simply fascinating stuff. I took as many pictures as I could. There was one spot that fascinated me.. ok... in short, Culloden Battlefield is part of a giant moor in Scotland. After the battle (very bloody one) the wounded were murdered by the victors where the wounded lay and then all were buried right where they lay on the battlefield. Stones with clan names and such carved into them litter the moor all over the place with a two story cairn of stones marking the entire battlefield/graveyard. But the really unusual thing is that next to the stone for what apparently was the one main military strategist on the Jacobite side (one whom history remembers as having a brilliant military mind and one that prince Charley *ignored* going into the Battle of Culloden) was a marker for the 'well of souls'. And sure enough.. there was a small well there. The water was dark and clear. Something felt just unquiet there. Naturally... I had to get closer.

Now bear in mind ... when I set foot on the battlefield it suddenly turned from spring to cloudy and winter ice cold! Gusts like November get. Fortunately I had my fedora and leather coat on. I stepped up to the well.. which was a small hole in the ground with water in it. Very ordinary, right? Wrong.

I never could see the reflection of the sky. I saw the reflection of the grass *beside* the water and the well.. but never the sky. Naturally.. I had to stay to look longer. The water would ripple.. when there was no wind gusts. It barely rippled when the wind would blast over.

So encouraged... I walked further into the battlefield. The further I got, the colder it got, and colder and COLDER. When I reached the carin I was wishing for gloves. I took a picture of the commemorative plaque there and read it. Then I looked around at the surrounding moor. For some reason it was very still and hushed and the chill eased back some. We went inside then and got some coffee. I was still cold but the chill wasn't quite what it was when I set foot out the back of the culloden battlefield exhibit and museum.

I would've gone back again ( I really wanted to ) but the tour needed to leave. More's the pity. I wanted to read more headstones.

Once back in Inverness, we caught the train back to Edinburgh. Now that time, we caught first class proper. That was nice. We had the first class car all to ourselves. Very sweet deal. I even got a chapter and a half done on a new Kinloch story! Good stuff too.. right out of the gate I re-read it and thought "damn that's good stuff". Just 'felt' good.

Any case, the train trip back to Edinburgh was great. Very soothing. Even got to see a double rainbow on the route. I think Mom got pics of it. Finally here almost at journey's end we're at the hotel and all but me are sensibly asleep. Me? I'm catching up my blog!

Scotland part Deux,day 3

2007-05-22T17:14:00.000-05:00

Got up early to face clouds but the rain never showed itself. Instead it turned into what I would call a lovely early fall day. Even if it is spring in Scotland. The people were out in droves, many many Americans and Japanese tourists were out and about. Stopped by the Whiskey distillery for a tour, that was as entertaining as always, then dropped by a phone place to get some pay by the minute cell phones. Those came in handy off and on during the day for all of us to locate each other. Especially my dad who does have a habit of wandering.

Any case, we tooled through some gift shops then finally struck out through some of the side streets (called a "close" here) which would end in a courtyard almost always, and sometimes with a walled garden as well. Many had a cafe or small shop and all seemed to have a bronze plate up to some historical significance. So there was no loss of entertainment.

Down one such close, we stopped at an honest to goodness tearoom. Teas, scones, you name it.. all on fine china with gold plated edging. And it was actually fairly inexpensive! It seems we had found a place the locals go to and do not normally tell tourists...but they still accepted us with no problems. It was as if they had the attitude "Ok if you can find your way here.. then you're good enough for us to stay." Who knew?

After that, we all went on a tour of underground Edinburgh... literally. It seems that when the Scots in Edinburgh build the City Council building in the early 1700s, they literally built it on top of four "close" streets.. one of which being Mary King's close. This was all on the heels of the plague so the area was beyond economically depressed, it was actually considered haunted.

Any case, the lower half of the original medieval buildings were still intact and there. We were part of a tour that wound underground through that several blocks beneath Edinburgh and saw (and smelled ... one room was used for cattle storage!) apartments for both the very poor and what was then the middle class. Our guide was in period garb and very well schooled on the time period. I learned a LOT. It was a remarkable distinction between poor and not poor. The well to do had wood paneling and such and even a strange plaster that was apparently made from human bones! Our guide joked about it saying "In a way it makes a bit o' sense y'see.. that way ya really kin have granny for yet one moore Christmas,eh?" Needless to say I enjoyed his dark humor.

He even took us to one room that was supposedly haunted. And yes, that room was *definitely* colder. It had been the bedroom of a little girl that had died of the plague. Actually, her parents had locked her in when they saw she was very ill with it as a way to spare the rest of her family. Apparently she haunts the place still. When her body was removed the cleaners had burned her clothes and doll. Which disturbed the spirit until a noted Japanese psychic tested the place and found the girl still there... wanting her doll! So now dolls have been brought down to the place and left. Which apparently makes the spirit of the little girl happy. I had to admit.. something was off about the room. Even before he really talked about it. Naturally imagination plays into some of it... but when shadows move oddly, temperature drops... sometimes I'd rather err on the side of 'could be'. Especially when it could be the ghost of a lonely 8 yr old girl who was abandoned by her parents in a bad time in history.

So... yes, my paladin side came out with that notable rattle of sword, shield and armor. I am a sucker for people in trouble.. especially kids... even dead ones. I made my own contribution to a small dedication there. After I made my contribution, I lingered back after the group left. I smiled at the shadows while in that room alone. Nodded and wished her well and told her it would be alright. I *swear* the room felt better and I didn't feel cold, but "warm" somehow. Not hot but soothingly warm. Maybe I imagined it.. dunno. I like to think maybe she gave me a hug or smiled back.

In any case ... rest well Annie. You deserved better but now you should have plenty of warm wishes and dolls.

After that we walked well the length of Royal Mile. We were weary and in the end it was Dad and myself who hit the streets for dinner. We found some trendy place down Fisherman's close that was... welll....trendy. Food was good... but .. trendy. Serves me right for not just getting a burger.

Now the day is closing and I'm for bed.Tomorrow is more touring and then the train for Inverness. I'm looking forward to re touring Loch Ness and then Culloden battlefield and all the sites up north!

On holiday, Scotland part Deux

2007-05-21T15:33:00.000-05:00

It was a lovely day in Edinburgh today. Wind blowing none too hard, sun shining none too hot. At first I thought I'd need a coat, but I wound up carrying it all day when it warmed up. That'll teach me not to check the weather before I venture out!

Most of the day was Edinburgh castle again. Glad we spent time there as the construction last year was done and more of the castle was open to visitors. The lower defenses and so on were all open. It was a lot of fun to see all that again, and of course I took pictures.

Ah pictures... that reminds me. I did manage to score a camera. I found a store called a catalog store that reminded me of a Service Merchandise mixed with ebay. Neat place and well run. I picked up a really nice camera that should last me a long time. Which I would hope since it cost me 119 pounds sterling. Not that I had a lot of options (it is tourist season here).

Anyway, today was a tour and walk through of Edinburgh castle and pics of the sights. Nice relaxing trip. After that we toured a textile mill that makes tartans. The most interesting was when I got to talk to one young lady that works there about tartans themselves. I never in my wildest dreams thought there was over 4000 tartans in the world today with more showing up all the time! But in any case, the process for making tartans is complicated with the thread count and layout being quite particular. I manged to get a couple of photos of the loom weaving some tartans, Bannochburn and Stewart I think.

As the castle tends to take all day to tour, that was most of today. Got a good meal at a nice pub named Albannach, specifically it was a scottish beef stew (to which I had a coffee with it).

Tomorrow will be tours of the underground, John Knox' house and several nearby churches and cathedrals. At the end will be Hollyroodhouse Palace... if none of the British Royals are in residence there right now that is.

More tomorrow... then Wednesday.. on to Inverness!

Return of the Non-Native, Scotland part Deux

2007-05-20T17:25:00.000-05:00

I tried to think of a snappier title, but titles are my great weakness.
I'm back in Scotland again. More family vacation. No worries, but it really is telling that it takes leaving the United States borders to get away from my work stress. Which I've had plenty. Working something on the order of 3-4 projects that in some perverse way were all intertwined nearly got to me. In any case...

I arrived off the plane today and found Scotland right where I left it. Good to know some things stay put when you put them away!

The flight was memorable... or perhaps the fact that it was uncomfortable was what made it memorable. Delta Airlines has the most uncomfortable international flights at least when compared to Dutch Royal Airlines and American Airlines. Delta was the most direct route, but then again, so is Fed Ex. Next time I may splurge and mail myself. I'm sure the seats may be more comfortable.

It was supposed to rain today, but really it never did. Mostly the wind was chilly and there was the hint of water in the air but nothing more. A pleasant 52ish degrees (not sure what it really was, that was what it felt like), ahh late spring next to the North Sea! Compared to humid 70s back home, it felt fantastic.

Other than acclimate, we wandered about the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, especially since we were staying in a hotel there. Seems the construction last November on St Jiles Cathedral and on the Royal Mile is complete. Looks nice too.

No new shops or stores, but saw some new street performers. One Harlequin - mime, a really funny juggler and a street corner bagpiper were an addition to the atmosphere. All were good, and I took some camcorder video of them. I'll post links when I get them up someplace.

Got some writing done, notes on my current projects and tinkered with a new Star Wars fanfic I've been writing off and on for a couple of weeks now. I may post it somewhere as I like how it is playing out. I must admit, I did do some programming, but only a little. Just enough to rid some ideas from my mind so I would quit thinking about them. This whole 'Software Architect/just get it started for everyone then invent something else' thing that work has me doing is hard to get used to.. but that would be something I'll blog on later.

Ate at a REALLY nice place called "The Witchery" ( http://www.thewitchery.com/home.html ) that serves some mean butternut soup. A bit pricy but when a place is 100 yards from the front gates of Edinburgh Castle... well ... I guess one can be excused.

Other than that, planned tomorrow. One... get a new digital camera... yes mine finally died. Digital cameras should not moan and rattle when being turned on. Then tour John Knox's home, a Tartan textile mill museum, and Edinburgh castle again (mostly cause it's just too cool to tour), and then tour a whiskey distillery (also just fun to tour). Plan to try and get to the 'Underground' tour where they take people on tours covering the plagues in scotland and so on. But that's a "as time permits" since I dunno how long it'll take. Definately taking notes again. I get the most lovely ideas when touring through there.

In any case.. that's all for now. Oh, and you can tell its spring near the Artic Circle up here... sun shining at 9pm at "night"... just too odd for words. Plays ugly with your mind if you're not careful.

Always pays to be careful

2007-04-25T13:21:00.000-05:00

Just got back from lunch, and I thought while this event was on my mind I'd blog over it.

It was a quiet lunch at a restaurant I enjoy. A little sandwich shop not far from where I work (2 minutes drive or so). It's been a good stretch since I'd had time to write because I've had so much programming work to do, and this was my first chance to just get quiet and pour out some prose. Well pour over since I was editing anyhow.

I was mostly done, the restaurant was empty (they know me there so sometimes they leave me alone for short stretches in the store by myself) when a woman at the table behind me spilled something. I didn't worry too much, but started saving my manuscript. Time to get the mop.

But instead she had spit up her meal and was choking on a piece of bread or something else from her sandwich. I did the usual, "Ma'am are you alright?" I got the head shake and wheeze reply. So I stood and knocked the food out with the heimlich maneuver. Smart guy that Heimlich. I'd buy him a drink if I could. Couple of rounds of that and she was breathing easier.

She told me she was a widow, her husband passed only, quite literally, a week before. She had choked like this one other time in her life a long time ago. I smiled a lot with some "You'll be alright now" and tried to help her clean up but she wouldn't have any of it. I'd helped her out of a jam and she wanted to clean up herself. So I sat down and just kept her company for the rest of my lunch. She finally got the rest of her sandwich to go and left. When I left it got me to thinking about two things: First, how interconnected everything and everyone in life really is and Second, just how important it is to chew slowly and not rush a meal!

I hope she'll be ok. She seemed shaken but none the worse for wear.

Observations

2007-01-23T10:58:00.000-06:00

Two bits here..

I held off on posting this, mostly to get a grip on it myself. Late at the end of 2006, my Grandmother passed on. Heart attack the doctor said. She died on the same day as my Uncle's funeral right after Christmas. For a small favor, I'm glad she got to see Christmas. It was her favorite time of year above all others.

Unfortunately, after she had the attack, she fell and passed away. She wasn't found until a week later by relatives that live nearby (I do not). It turn a hard turn from there. Dad came back from Iraq to find things in a shambles which caused even more of a 'stress bomb'. Then work reared its stressful head, with a software release, tense negotiations and all. Then, if that wasn't enough, a costume club I'm a member of (yes I'm a member of a costume club... though some days... I wonder how I thought I'd have time for it!) holds their elections for their officers with me as 'election chair'! Naturally, as with any election, the best and worst of humanity sprung out like a hyperactive cat chasing a hapless mouse. Arguments, personality clashes, insults, 'mud-slingning', damaged friendships... the works. After awhile it was all I could do to try and mediate, shake my head and figure out ways to trick myself into sleeping for the 2-4 hours I could actually manage to rest.

I've heard the stories and dealt with the stress of ill-mannered relatives, ill-mannered club members as well as unexpected gems of kindness and fairness. It's amazing who, when under pressure, will rise to the occasion or embarass themselves in falling from it. It's never who you would expect I think. Heck they even asked me to 'run' for club president (the club terms it as 'commanding officer'). Given all this with my job(s), my Grandmother and all. I've just had more stress-testing of my own personal tolerance level than I want. Running for an election and undergoing the potential debates, questions, etc (I believe sociologists term it as 'fight for pack dominance') was just not something I wanted to engage in right now. Not that I couldn't, just would prefer not to fight that fight so I can win in the other struggles I'm slogging through.

Now though... my Grandmother is laid to rest, her estate (and some ill mannered people) is dealt with. The software release went off successfully. It almost didn't, but I put in a solid 13 hour day to make it happen. I'm sure there were bugs missed. Hey nobody's perfect, but at least most of it was released. The rest is cleanup.

Also fought over the club election repeatedly as well... just amazing how something so simple can dominate a person's life so easily without their wanting it to. Weeks long running arguments that really have left me tired... really really tired. The gym helps but really there comes a moment when you cannot shed the stress fast enough! The election continues but its more sedate now. Enough hurt feelings and insults have been tossed that the members look to be just flat burnt out or exhausted. Not too different from two street fighters, exhausted from hours of hard, bloody fighting are sitting on the pavement just glaring at each other because they've not enough energy to attack the other.

I need to find a place somwhere and do a "writer's retreat". Someplace out of the ordinary and just unwind for a couple of days and get some writing done. It'd be nice if it was someplace I'd not been yet. That way I could take breaks and wander around.

But overall.. I look back and find it interesting how people reacted. Watching how people have reacted to both a funeral of a loved one and of club officer elections both drag out the good and bad. Who ever would think two such events, not even related in the least, would cause the same end effect.

And as for my Grandmother... God bless Grandma. Sleep well and I'll see you later. I promise I'll still keep my word and stand up for what I believe and myself.

Tis the season..

2006-12-25T13:16:00.000-06:00

It's been quite busy since I've been back in the states.. work, home, rush rush. At least it's the holidays. Not quite my personal best time of year but one that grants some peace to the spirit however large or small. I take it where I can get it.

Aside from the collection of unique and inventive gifts ( I know unique and inventive people.. I expect no less than for their thoughts and gifts to reflect that amazing intelligence that they all seem to possess ), its been the usual visiting relatives and holiday chaos. Whereupon the struggle begins.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Christmas, I really do. But its the spirit I enjoy. The rampant march of Commercialism that tends to stomp with black leather jackboots all over most holidays can take a hike. Shoppers ... even relatives .... screaming unpleasant phrases and threats at each other can give it a rest too. Usually I find the spirit in the chill of the evening, when the purveyors of Commercialism are sleeping with visions of commerce dancing in their heads. I doubt I'm alone, at least I hope I'm not. It would be a shame if I was.

I'm still looking for the spirit, I think its still there lost among the mounds of gifts, the mad panic of "Christmas Dinner" which often seems more obligation than enjoyment and so on..

I don't give up looking, that would be wrong. Like giving up on your dreams. 'Course I'm still looking for that second star to the right so I can follow it straight on till morning too.

So ... to any and all who happen by ... Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. *raises a glass* Cheers.

To 2006... you were interesting if not erratic.. no offense.

To 2007... remember .. play nice.

Scottish Tale, the beginning at the end

2006-11-12T17:11:00.001-06:00

Morning came early yesterday but with flights leaving at 8 and 9 am, there was little choice but to rise at 5 am. A wash, a brushing and a quick cab ride navigating the traffic brought us to the airport and the end of the time in Scotland. The airport was uneventful, but crowded. At the terminal I looked out at the rain and clouds, silently thinking back over the clouds moving across the light sky on the cold morning over Loch Ness, the warmth of the dark wood in the Whitehart Inn as I enjoyed a rich, dark coffee and a freshly cooked lunch. Good memories, ones to keep and treasure on the cold days like that day.

The ride to Amsterdam was calm and only took an hour. I enjoyed the conversation with a Scottish lady on her way to a vacation adventure of her own in New York City. Broadway specifically. I imagine that she and her daughter will have a wonderful time.

My arrival into Amsterdam was unusual. Long lines and a new security checkpoint was what I faced. While this was the end of my Scotland experience and adventure, I did not realize that my adventure had one surprise left for me. Dutch customs was polite and even approachable, but they were indeed thorough. After checking all the passengers, we boarded and were in the air after an hour. On the plane I found myself seated between a member of the Dutch Royal Air Force and a fascinating young lady who was a commercial jet pilot who had been volunteering in Africa. He was travelling to the States for a class on antennas and her was for medical treatment over the malaria she caught in Tanzania. If that sounds like the beginning of a thriller manuscript, then such a guess would be right.

Despite the overly curt flight attendent, a young man obviously new to the job, the flight went relatively uneventful at first. I chatted with the young lady pilot on my left, talking some over our jobs and lives, places and times far away from us at the moment until lunch was served. It was the typical airline fare for economy class, 'nuke and serve' instant meals with a side of bread and salad. Nothing too fancy but nothing terrible. I ate a good portion of my meal but my travelling companion Jenny ate little as she was tired and lost her appetite to the malaria.

The attendants took away the meals but then only a few minutes later an attendant called for a doctor. Jenny and I looked around to see what was going on and spotted a knot of people clustered only six seats ahead over someone. Finally, a paramedic raised his hand and offered to help. Between him and the flight attendants, they helped a young Indian man back to the mid-plane area for flight attendants. It was thought he was airsick, something I considered unusual to say the least. We were in a large Airbus 330, no turbulance and I thought it was fairly stable as a rock. Thinking little of it, aside from hopes he would recover, I returned to my writing and Jenny to her nap.

Then another person fell ill and then another. Then another call for a doctor came over the loudspeaker. Flight attendants were doing their best but in the end were not keeping any more calm than the passengers who were becoming alarmed over the calls for doctors. Jenny asked me what was going on, to which I didn't know. I thought back to the start, the first passenger was Indian. Given the meal choices, I made a guess he might have chosen the noodle dish. Looking at the other passengers, I couldn't guess as to what they had but as they came down with but they had to have the same thing. Then an attendant came to get the gentleman next to me, asking him about his companion and if he had any medical problems. The answer was no, but despite that I noticed that a fourth passenger, himself another member of the Dutch air force, was on oxygen in the same place as the other ill passengers. When the man who had been so quietly sitting on my right returned, we asked if his friend was going to be alright. He replied that he would need to be put into the hospital on landing that he was suddenly not feeling well. All through this, people started making their way to the lavatories rather quickly.

I turned to Jenny and talked it out. For something to hit this fast after the plane had been in the air over the atlantic for so long, it pointed to something ingested. Going to the meal, I listed out what was served. Jenny and I each had the two types of meals offered. Both had a salad, bread, dessert but the main course was different. Now the main course was prepackaged and obviously needed microwaving. Good guess that most paracites would be removed at that point. The salad had been refrigerated and was fresh, also it was mostly lettuce, cabbage and some tomatoes. Jenny had eaten little, being ill with her malaria. I had eaten more, but both of us tried the dessert. Her only a bite, myself most of it.

I repeat this to her and tell her that assuming that the Indian man ate mostly a modified vegetarian meal, he would have possibly had the noodles. The others had the same attendant we had, the smart alec young man. When asked he was recommending the noodles and not the chicken. Most were taking his advice. I didn't and took the chicken. But that meant that a good many of the ill passengers possibly had the noodles, possibly.

Taking a leap of faith, I deduced down that the bread was fine, the salad was likely innocent. That meant the microwave meals and the dessert was suspect. My meal was well heated and fully cooked, that left the dessert. The dessert was a custard of some kind, slightly whipped and very gel like. It was slightly warm, despite that I thought it should be colder. That lead me to suspect the dessert was bad, which would explain the very sick passengers, such as the Indian man, the Dutch pilot and so on. Each had the dessert since it was the common food served to both.

I mentioned this to Jenny who told me that it seemed very likely. She figured out where we were using the inflight map, and determined that the pilot ought to be turning around to set down. She figured out the logical places on the map he would go, if he was told. Apparently the flight crew has to tell the pilot there is a problem. Given how alarmed the flight crew was, it was unlikely the pilot was told.

In any case, the word made it back to the paramedic about the food poisoning theory and the illness cases settled down. The pilot did push on and the rest of the flight was tense, but rather uneventful. As for myself, I suffered no jet lag again but apparently, the super dry recycled air played havoc with my metabolism as I got a terrible migraine. The light case of food poisoning didn't help either.

Finally we landed, a 10 hour flight squeezed into a nice compact 11+ hours. Changing planes, I made it out to Huntsville and home. Tired, worn thin, I was glad to be back. The trip was worthwhile, I saw things that I'd never thought I'd see. And I found places I want to return to regularly as a vacation spot to relax.

Scottish Tale, and the road goes ever on

2006-11-10T13:38:00.000-06:00

More of Edinborough, this time the lesser known places, out of the way spots. Though today the weather moved in to herald the end of the week, or perhaps the start of winter. Some would call it a drizzle of rain, perhaps more. I doubt such does the weather justice as I would prefer to liken it to Fog with great character and dubious intentions.

The first of the morning was spent in a tour of the city. Seeing the statues and architecture of the city. 200 statues to historic people grace Edinborough, placed everywhere, from parks to cathedrals, from small hidden courtyards to in front of banks or hotels. It was impressive, we even saw the hill known as Arthur's Seat.. a small mountain that rises in the middle of the city park, topped with the tan basalt volcanic outcrops of rock. The same kind Edinborough castle is made from.

When that was done, we spent time with a stroll along the Royal Mile, touring the shops and places there. Most of the shops range from chains to personal owned places. It was the personal owned shops that drew my interest more. They also had the more interesting fare. Hats, scarfs, and other small items that the chains don't carry at slightly less than normal tourist fare. We bought some and moved on, all and all it was lovely walking weather despite the near light flakes of slush that decorated the cobblestone roads, pedestrians, cars and structures. The wind blew in small gusts, pulling along the twisting roads still following the midieval plan from pre-1600, 1200 and even earlier in some places.

Down Royal Mile, we found the home of John Knox, the great protestant reformer. There are much of his speeches on display, his sermons and much on his life. He was quite the rascal, challenging Mary Queen of Scots, calling her a 'Hussie of Rome'. I'm very surprised he was never executed but only deported. Ah politics I suppose.

From there we wound our way along the Royal Mile back down past Grayfriar's Kirk to the oldest pub in Edinborough, called the Whitehart pub. Here Robert Burns, Sir Scott, Wordsworth, and others sat for a drink and composed their manuscripts. It was a warm place with wooden beams with messages like 'a man can drink but not be drunk' and so on. A page there told the story of the pub, as it was around during the hangings that took place in the 12th century and earlier, doing a lively business to the spectators of the grisley scenes. I can't speak for the scenes but I can speak for their Haggis, Leek and Tattles which is fantastic.

After our lunch we wandered back up across the Royal Mile and over to see the large statues at the City Council chambers. Built like a Greek temple in the front, the columns dominate the courtyard, giving an impressive spectacle, especially in the rain.

Even wet, live is bustling and busy. Most don't notice the weather, commenting on the cold and chill. The work crews refurbish the cobblestones and people hand out brochures to the passer-bys about upcoming plays or what-have-you. There is a feel to it that is friendly despite the fog with character, or perhaps in part to it!

By four it was time to pack, and catch the train to Glasgow. Edinborough is a full city, rich with history and in love with its tourists. While the history is impressive, it is a bit too urban for my tastes for a long visit. At Glasgow will be a bed and room waiting for some sleep. In the morning the flight out, the long trip to Amsterdamn and then to the US.

On the plane I'll have in my mind's eye or ear, the sound of the bagpiper standing on the street corner in the drizzle, dressed in full Highland regalia playing what seemed an endless variety of Scottish folk songs and tunes on his bagpipe. We encountered him early in the day but I couldn't help but stop and nod, smile and toss a healthy handful of pounds into his case. With a smile back, he gave me a grin, paused for a breath and a nod in return. I'll carry his songs and the words I've read on numerous monuments and places about Scotland. I'll paraphrase it a bit...

Your heart is free, it's up to you to follow it.

Good words.

Scottish Trip, not so much a hobbit's tale

2006-11-09T13:19:00.000-06:00

Or is it?

Visited Edinborough Castle today... WOW... It's made from the volcanic rock of the immense hill it sits on. Seven gates and walls defend it (yes I got visions to the City of Gondor in Lord of the Rings *more* than once). It was fantastic. The main road winds up and around the castle, through the main gates. Off to the left, the original stairs used during the middle ages are there and accessable (why not, they're carved from granite!) Up along the top of the ramp before you reach the actual Inner court, you come across a set of buildings that were barracks, field hospice/hospitals, governor's home and so on. These have been converted into a cafe and holds a museum to the Royal Highlanders regiment and the Royal Scott Dragoon. Fascinating!

Other than those, you can take the ramp further up to the main courtyard. There you've four main buildings around you. One is a war memorial chapel. It's much like our US war memorials in Washington DC and about. It's also just as riveting. They've an entire chamber for a slew of unknown scottish soldiers. Fifteen feet tall bronze plates adorned with relief carvings of scottish soldiers wrap around, two columns meeting in the middle and the inscription reads that they have cleared the way for the rest of us, going onto God's grace. Now no longer knowing evil or pain, they reside in the honor they have earned. Gave me chills standing there. The President of Poland was there dedicating a wreath to the scottish regiments and soldiers too.

Back out in the courtyard (in the COLD wind) .. across from the chapel was the royal apartments. Still used for government functions, it was the meeting hall that was commissioned in the 1600's (I think) by the monarchy. It's all teak wood walls literally lined with scottish swords, spears, daggers, flintlock pistols and armor. In a glass case against one spot near the door is a key with brass plates, some kind of honor bestowed upon whatever ruling monarch of the time period.

Next to that was the original chambers of Mary Queen of Scotts. Boy did she have a spartan place. It had a creepy, almost sad or trapped feeling to it. Couldn't take pictures so I didn't stay long.

Beside that was the original midieval palace for the Scottish kings. This told the history of the scottish monarchy and what they went through with the English. Also... it housed the Scottish crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny. You'd better believe they had that under observation at all times. The Scottish Crown Jewels consist of a gold scepter, crown, sword, velvet and gold scabbard and gilded sword belt. The belt, scabbard, sword and scepter were a gift from the Pope (the one who had a fancy for warfare back then... can't remember which one at the moment). But, the funny thing is, the scottish royalty had the sword reworked once it arrived! I got the impression they had it reworked so it was no longer a ceremonial sword but a functional, usable weapon. Somehow I'm not surprised.

The Stone of Destiny... well... its a giant sandstone block with two iron rings in it. Ok, that's an understatement as it is awe inspiring. Though you can't quite put your finger on why when you see it in person. It's large.. something on the order of no more than four feet long and two to three feet wide. Maybe three feet at most thick. The really interesting part is that you can so easily see the original chisel marks on it. There was a celtic cross on it but I couldn't find it... now what I *swear* I did see was faint etchings of celtic knotwork that caught the light. It was setup so a person could walk all around it and I did. I checked three times and I swear I saw very faint knotwork carvings about four inches tall running along the length. I told no one, figured they'd call me nuts. So I just moved along.

Oh, a fun surprise came at 1pm when at the top of the castle, they have a .105 howitzer that they fire to mark 1pm. They do it daily (unless a major holiday like Christmas or on Sundays), and it came from when the cannon fire was a guide signal to ships in the river.

Aside from the Castle, I got to see St Giles Cathedral. Massive 11th century kirk (scottish for church .. I'm learning!) that has a separate chapel for the Order of the Thistle, an actual scottish kight order. It is magnificent. Wood seats, places for about 12 knights and their leige. Scrollwork, and other details that went right down to a bulldog figure on one chair where you could see the collar on the bulldog and its individual eyes, eyelids and so on. Bear in mind, this figure would fit in the palm of my hand. Now picture the room filled from floor to ceiling with ornate carvings of such detail. Very amazing!

Those two took most of the day, but after that I toured around Old Town, which is the still standing and in use midieval buildings that surround Edinborough castle. Cobblestone streets where cars don't fit, winding roads, tall buildings, maze of alleys and shortcuts with yet more shops in them. Simply stunning. I took a few pictures there but my batteries died between that and St Giles so I missed some good shots. Maybe I'll get some more tomorrow.

Oh and I did walk the "royal mile".. that is the main road down from the castle that winds past Old Town and to Hollyrood House Palace which was the palace of the Scottish Queen. Lots of shops and middle ages feel to the buildings.

Last for the day, I took a tour of a scottish whiskey distillery. I passed on trying any but I loved seeing how it was made, finding out about the various types, I even was shown how to 'nose' a whiskey. Apparently to determine a good whiskey, you don't taste it because your taste buds are easily fooled. You sniff it. I had to try, I was ok at it. I could almost tell some smells apart. But the alcohol was enough that it did tend to wipe out most of the odor. At least it opened up my sinuses though!

That was all for today. Tommorrow may be another few cathedrals, perhaps John Knox's house or Sir Walter Scott's home or even a city tour to get an overview of all of it. Not sure yet. But in any case, that's the morning before the trip back to Glasgow.

I liked Edinborough, but only to visit and even then briefly. I think for a longer stay I prefer the Highlands. The culture and atmosphere is more what I think I prefer.

Scotland Trip, there and back again

2006-11-08T15:01:00.000-06:00

Ok, we left Glasgow yesterday morning and took a train to Inverness. I would've blogged but Inverness is not quite as connected as most places. ( Asking about wi-fi didn't translate to wireless internet apparenetly ). So I saved it up until reaching Edinborough today.

Inverness was really good. Rustic yet not. There is no better way to put it. You step out of the train and you see the narrow streets, most are too narrow for cars so they are pedestrian only. A good bit of those are original cobblestone or modern brick or a bit of both. Also.. gothic architecture. A TON of it. Churches, stores, you name it. Even the McDonalds (yes I saw a McDonalds). We walked from the station to the hotel (I'm REAL glad I bought the bag that converts into a backpack now!) and yes, the locals stared at us as we walked by. Given most were waiting on a bus and were quite likely bored out of their minds probably had something to do with it.

In any case, we hit the hotel (it was a Bed and Breakfast / Ramada Inn) then walked out and around Inverness. Inverness is a fishing town growing into something larger. Now given it *prefers* being a fishing town.. the end result of their growth ought to be real interesting in a few years. It was amazing walking out at night, no one bothers you, people say hello. Very nice.

The next day was good as well, we took a tour to Loch Ness... yes, the Loch Ness. Took a boat onto the Loch itself. Fantastic view. The boat ended at the castle pictured along Loch Ness. What most probably don't know is that Urquart Castle is on a jet of land that sits in the middle of the Loch and right over the deepest portion of the Loch. Perfect position to be a fortress on the lookout for oncoming ships, which is what Urquart Castle was until the British destroyed it to keep the Jacobites from using it as a base of operations. And no, I saw no monster but I saw plenty of great scenery.

After the Loch, we came back and walked around through Inverness a bit, browsed several shops, bought gifts for people. Had a great conversation with one lady in a homemade soap shop (pictures do *not* to that place justice.. someone would have to invent 'smell a vision' first). We taught her the difference in American Southerners and American Yankess, and she taught us the difference between Scottish Lowlanders and Scottish Highlanders... then further the difference (and rivalry.. Alabama - Auburn has *nothing* on these people!) between Glasgow and Edinborough natives.

After all that, we grabbed our bags and headed for the train. Caught in just in time for Edinborough and moved on. Had a lively conversation with a gent on the train who began the trip with a full bottle of vodka and orange aide and finished when he got off at Perth (a good twoish hours later) with an empty vodka bottle and nearly empty bottle of orange aide. I learned a good bit about where to go and not go in Edinborough. Though given what he was telling me.. I'll reverse his (and his wife's)advice just for safety's sake! To quote Forest Gump... "and that's all I got to say abot thot!"

Once hitting Edinborough, we've checked in and had dinner. I'm thinking back over the day, and I have to admit. Glasgow and Edinborough are full of history, they are VERY busy. It causes me to remember my day job and all its stress and rushed pace. I do think I miss Inverness. In my head I'm already thinking of when I could make a trip back. There are cemetaries, hills called things like "dance of the fairies" and battle fields (like the battle of culloden) and even a prehistoric standing stone site like Stonehenge... just without the crowds and new age merchants! And there is a slower pace. People didn't go to work until 9 am, they closed up shop at 4:30pm and hit the pubs or the riverwalk at 4:35-5pm. Maybe next time I come back, it won't be right before the start of winter!

Well that's the catch up for two days. More to come on the 'morrow, eh?

Scotland Trip day 1

2006-11-06T13:34:00.000-06:00

Technically its day 1 1/2 because I got in mid-day on sunday. But anyway.

To catch up.. yesterday was Guy Fawkles day... while the guy isn't that popular with the British ( he did try and blow up parlement ) the Scottish LOVE this guy. Firework display for 5 hours non stop! That and dinner at a cool Victorian - Pub call Frankenstein. During the night, the 'lab' lit up, music played and an animitronic Frankenstein's monster was brought to life and it sat up and tried to break it's chains! Way too cool!

Now... today's been great! Glasgow is a fun place, both urban and scottish culture mixed in. Trouble is that its so 'modernized' it has only a small amount of scottish culture. Ask for a restaurant with 'scottish food' and you get sent to an italian place!!!

Today I saw the Glasgow Cathedral, built in the 5th century and the home to the tomb of St Mungo who died in 603. The tomb is under the cathedral itself. Really cool place. Next to that was the first medical school in Scotland, the same place Dr Lister invented the anticeptic and the first SUCCESSFUL brain surgery was performed!

On the buss tour, we rode a double decker buss.. but it was open topped so I was a bit cold. But not too badly. Speaking of weather, it's no colder here than in Huntsville! And the locals kept apologizing for it being so cold! I didn't laugh but I wanted to.

I've taken several pictures so far, used up new batteries already ... something like 30 pictures. Tomorrow, we take a train to inverness and see Loch Ness and what else we can find. The day after we'll be in Edinborough then back in Glasgow on Friday and I'll fly out on Sat morning for that lovely 10 hour flight back across the atlantic.

I've had enough fun that I know I'm coming back to here or Ireland next year or as soon as I can for another week. This is a fantastic vacation. Though next time, I'm picking a city and staying around it. There is just SO much to see!

On being bushwhacked

2006-09-21T07:58:00.000-05:00

Ok, I really do think people trust *not* to be ambushed at work. I prefer to call it bushwhacked. For example, I was told to make a design.. get done only to be informed of *new* information that was known about the whole time.. and I should have been told about it before I started because it sends the software in a totally different direction. On top of that, my manager just absolutely cannot let go of anything he delegates to people. Put the two together.. its a train wreck. I just went through that yesterday. The fallout comes today.. *rolls eyes* .. wastes time.

But a good friend came to my rescue .. he almost can be called a disgruntled aerospace engineer! I'm sure you've seen those cheesy 'employee motivational posters' that couldn't motivate cheese to mold. Well this is a 'musical motivational poster' that is downright effective! motivational music!

Its a tad Not For Work Safe, but if you keep the volume down you'll probably be ok, its a short tune.

Now.. I've had some requests to see a large version of the cover for Cold Case... well here you go:

Cold Case Cover

Still waiting for Ingram to update their database and that hit amazon and others. I distract myself with working on my other manuscripts ( Kinloch 2, a couple of short stories, notes on a new Spec Ops update.. and so on..) When it does make it there, I'll be kicking it hard to get some marketing done.

New Manuscript!!

2006-09-18T16:05:00.000-05:00

Ok, not much on the workfront... worth talking about anyway. BUT ... I took the plunge and used lulu.com as my means to publish "Cold Case", now I know its "self publishing" which is a foul phrase for many but these days I don't see it being that bad. Many writers have self-publishes and many do still. While I don't have the credentials of say like Diane Duane, but I'm curious enough to try it.

SO.. got my proof copy in last friday.. it looks *fantastic*. I adore how the fonts look and the cover is very nice! Given Ingram updates their database once a month, it'll be later this month or next month before it appears on Amazon and others at least. But until then, Lulu.com's storefront carries it (naturally)... http://stores.lulu.com/writer_by_night

Pardon the plainness of the storefront, I've not figured out a theme yet. I'll be figuring one out this week to make the storefront look better. But I'll be adding a "buy now" link to my blog and maybe a few other sites too.

Once I know its in Ingram, I'll be hitting up Barnes and Nobles for a book signing.. hopefully I'll get in with them.

Time does fly, it just doesn't land well

2006-09-14T15:09:00.000-05:00

Been a bit since I blogged. Biggest news is Dragon Con (which is always over Labor day in atlanta) has come and gone. It was a fun con overall, some down points which I won't go into here. But it was a stress break. Felt like myself again.

Work was waiting when I returned... I just love how taking a vacation is a double edged sword. You need the time away but when you come back all that ..'stuff' gets so piled up you burn yourself out catching back up. Just doesn't seem right to me all in all.

Anyway, I'm going to try and build up a readership for 'Cold Case'. That manuscript is going through lulu.com, I'll do some marketing and if I can get the numbers up enough, I'll hit agents with it then. From what I understand, once you show that you've got the fanbase, you at least get their attention. So we'll see.

By the Numbers

2006-08-18T13:35:00.000-05:00

Well been back from my Chicago vacation for a few weeks... my day job is still messed up. You know its bad when senior management cannot agree on what the company does. Some say "we make a product" (which is a lie, we don't, we make web sites. Don't believe me? Ask in detail what an eBrochure is or what the "components" are).. others of them say "We do data mining" (also untrue, just ask them what data and make sure you've got your galoshes on). There are others but those are my personal favorites. Anyway, as Dragon Con is coming up I'm stalling but after DCon I think I'll look at my options available to me very closely.

Had lunch with a friend of mine today. Former co-worker who was blessed with being let go from the particular politcal 3 ring circus I work in (15 people in a business should not have the politics of a company of 300... sorry small rant over)... to that in case he's reading... *waves* hey Lee!

He's happier now, and I'm glad for him. He's a good guy, he didn't deserve the cramdown he got. I was going to tell him a few others things at lunch, but lunch is only an hour so another time I suppose.

On to the writing department.. Cold Case is out to a ePublisher.. hopefully they buy it. Response Time is out to a magazine, they've got it and so far its standing a good chance of a being bought so my hopes are still up on that one. In the meantime, I'm working on Kinloch 2. The initial pass is done, now I'm into the chapter by chapter edits. Its pretty smooth. Still needs a good title but I'll think of something.

I think the most interesting thing about writing is that its a lot like assembling something, but with the twist that it has to be pleasing to the mind's eye. Not unlike being an architect in a way. I was thinking that yesterday at lunch when I finished polishing chapter 1 again for the 5th or so time.

Well.. wasted enough time. Guess I'll do something to appear productive until I can go home for the day.

Chicago trip day 2

2006-07-13T16:54:00.000-05:00

I got nearly 2 1/2 to 3 chapters written yesterday so I took off for the coffee shop again this morning. The women working there remembered me and some of the locals did also. This time, they all talked me up like I was a local! Dang.. not sure if that means I'm the 'token tourist' they all like or what. Pretty fun though. Got a bunch more written.

I ate at the Cheesecake factory last night... and ate WAY too much. Not doing that again. Gotta watch how much of this rich food I eat.
Spent time this afternoon at the Navy Pier with Mom. Navy Pier is a really cool place, it was part of the US Naval training Academy but now is a giant amusement park and such.

Inside there are boat tours, and even a stained glass museum! The stained glass museum was really cool, lots of stuff from the 1800s and earlier. Some modern stuff but not a lot. I took some pics, they'll be posted when I return.

Bought a tshirt so I think I've filled my 'silly tourist purchase' obligation. Not really seen much for anyone else though. I'm hoping to see stuff at the aquarium on sat and at the natural history museum tonight.

Yeah I get to go to this big fancy banquet at the Natural History Museum and after dinner I get to walk through the King Tut exhibit. I'm really hoping its the real deal not replicas. But if not, there's dinosaur skeletons, actual classical paintings by famous painters (not duplicates), and other things. Maybe the gift shop will have some cool things.

Chicago Trip day 1

2006-07-13T16:41:00.000-05:00

I'll skip the day I arrived by plane, that ate up most of the day.

This day, mom spent the time in conference meetings. Which left me to write and nose around Chicago. First thing was an old Presbyterian Church that was across the street and the left from the hotel. Really cool architecture. I've got pictures, when I get back I'll post them up. Vines covered one wall and there was this really cool courtyard with a fountain. The fountain had ornate marbel scrollwork and relief carvings of saints on them. Four drainspouts sat a foot above the water basin itself. Really cool.

I'm staying in the Westin on Michigan Avenue right downtown in what is called the Magnificent Mile... why I dunno. I'm still working that one out. Across the street is the John Hancock building, the second tallest in the US. Really neat place, At the bottom is a dias for bands and there is a outdoor cafe for several cafes and the Cheesecake factory. I 'discovered' a coffee shop there that I think I may take up temporary residence in. The staff thinks I'm funny with my 'laptop' ( aka PDA + keyboard + mouse ). Though their coffee is really good and the atmosphere is very condusive to writing. I guess I'm my own best gimmick this way.

Bought a couple of pens at a store in the John Hancock... $7!! gah... They'd better last is all I've gotta say.

Chicago people find me interesting. They stare a bunch and so I look them right in the eye, give'em a plesant smile and say 'hello'. They either blush (the ladies tend to do that, a couple of guys did once also... ) and smile or just blush and run off. Guess the ones that run are embarassed they got busted staring at the guy dressed in the knee high boots, cargo pants and western-like shirt. Oh and I'm sporting that shoulder bag made from a Mark 7 gas mask bag. So I suppose I'm pretty strange looking to people around here.

One of the people at this conference Mom is going to said I have a certain unique 'charisma' about me that most men don't have. She said that people around here are just drawn to staring at me. heh.. I just think its funny.

Been a long road

2006-05-24T08:16:00.000-05:00

Been a bit since my last blog. Its been a long hard road. I'm to the point with my job that I'm perpetually angry. Not good. To that end, I'm not being nice today. I'm being blunt. Somebody told me one time (I honestly forget who told me this) that when I focus my entire attention to something I wind up making / forcing amazing things to happen. Well I'm gonna focus today. Hopefully I wont get SO angry that it blurs my focus.

End of week

2006-03-23T09:00:00.000-06:00

I know its Thursday, but for me its a Friday since I have tomorrow off.
MidSouth con is this weekend and I'll be heading there. Not really looking forward to it, too much drama from all sides of my life has made me a bit harsh. When I get harsh I tend to go into defense mode waiting to be attacked again.

Got word, another rejection letter. I think I'll start keeping score. heh
Not sure who I'll submit to next, I'll go through my list tonight.

Work is still work. No need to belabor that. CB still wants formal meetings, but at least he holds it in check until he thinks there is a lack of communication. Course when he even suspects there is, he's lightning fast to jump in and set that up. Amazingly he won't step up to other responsibilities though.. really dissappointing.

I'm trying to stave off a bit of writer's block. I've been down a bit and its sapped my inspiration a bunch. Still working on various stories.. put a new Episode out for Spec Ops, hope people like it. Who knows.

Monday again

2006-03-13T07:44:00.000-06:00

I think I need a vacation or something. Maybe its the weather, its turning spring and the pollen is coming out, which means my allergies take a beating. Not heard back from Reflection's Edge about my short story, but they have 2 more weeks until I email them. I'm working on a couple of other manuscripts but its slow. I think I need to get away from things for a bit. Get away from the monotony. I don't cope with monotonous routines very well.

Well back to work again I guess.

Stressed ...

2006-02-28T14:26:00.000-06:00

While I'm waiting on a test to finish I'm going to blog to vent...

Had everything hit me all at once today. Just all over the place. Processes failing, taking too long. I can't quite code fast enough to patch up the holes in the ship so to speak.

I hate to say this cause it sound like some bad 'B' sci fi movie.. but I've had to turn on modules I invented in the AI that I didn't want to. I'm not happy about it. You could say my Spidey Sense is tingling over this. Nothing good's going to come from it.

win one, lose one

2006-02-23T08:47:00.000-06:00

As it turns out, one of the two people yesterday IS going to be fired today... but the other one I fought for and she stays. Its never easy being around when someone is fired. It's like watching them be condemned to death by hanging or something. Kinda gruesome.

This whole two managers thing is REAL confusing at times. The CTO did my review, the "daily manager" did the other engineers reviews. YET, I report to the daily manager and never talk to the CTO. I think he's a bit miffed that I jump in and lead the charge at times on things. They want all this paperwork and process and meetings to determine meetings. Just stupid. I'm more of a 'get the work done and move on' type of person.

Also.. I'm *still* not over that gunk.. I've got that clearing the throat thing going on. I kept waking up every two hours all night. So tired today.

No word yet from Low Budget Sci Fi. My fingers are still crossed on that. No name yet for the new Kinloch story and I'm I finished edit 1 of part 11 of Spec Ops. Part 11 turned out to be real short. Makes for a good last chapter.

Overall, I think its going to be a long day.

Pressure ...

2006-02-22T08:57:00.000-06:00

Ok.. this is the second time in as many days that I've been asked to give advice on how to handle people and how to approach the hiring / firing of an employee.

I just have to ask.. WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH THIS COMPANY THAT THEY ARE SO QUICK TO FIRE SOMEONE? and WHY in the HELL am I the one to advise management??

True, I've no fear of firing someone (or much else actually)... BUT ONLY IF THEY DESERVE IT!

These are people (as of today TWO!!!!) that are diligent workers. One works a bit slow, the other is only a little inexperienced. But they work hard and try hard to learn. No customers have been lost over it and missing a damn deadline by a day or two is NOT a reason to fire someone! These two are productive. One of which I know is coming up to speed but is having to do on the job training to get there!

I've a friend who keeps asking me "I can't believe you've not taken the Clark Kent glasses off over this ..." or "Man when is the red scarf and fedora coming out?"(meaning the character the Shadow that I'm a fan of).

I've no answer. But I'm still protecting them, as best as I can. Maybe that's all I can do. I dunno.

Tired

2006-02-21T07:29:00.000-06:00

Finally getting over my cold, flu, whatever. As always the end of an illness is about as disgusting as when it starts. The difference being you can feel your health slowly improve and know there is a light at the end of the tunnel that ISN'T the oncoming "flu train".

Damn, I'm tired. Sent off Response Time to a small press in philly named "Low Budget Science Fiction". This one has a longer response time but that's ok. He'll take simultaneous submissions. So I may find another mag who also takes simul submissions and send it to them as well.

This past weekend had a hacker decide to put digital graphitti all over a forum I manage for a costume club. That made for a very long, dull Sunday. All while not feeling well AND having stayed up late the night before! What a weekend. Got it fixed though, took 8ish plus hours with a friend of mine being a second pair of hands to copy files and download new versions while I moved database tables around and such. I'd love to say "on this day I work on updates" but I know better. I overplan for myself SO much I don't dare. Hell I never have time to work on stories and such like I prefer. Got a new one, a Kinloch story that I like where its going. I'm trying to stay focused on that and the last part of this latest story of Spec Ops. I should finish cold Case but I got burned out from doing the workaholic thing. So I'll set it aside for a short bit to get over my writer's block on it.

I need a vacation. A real one, yknow? One where I *go* somewhere and do something restful. Even if I go somewhere and write, stare at scerery or whatever. I need to refresh my mental batteries. I liked arizona, that was a fun trip. I know there is stuff around here in Alabama that I've never seen that is driving distance. I've not done it because I feel responsible for everyone around me. That everyone is relying on me for.. dunno.. something.

The wait is over

2006-02-15T07:24:00.000-06:00

Well, finally got a response from iHero and they turned it down. Nice comments from them. They liked some elements, but thought the setting was limited and the editor figured out who the villian was early on so it made the story seem long. Oh well. I wasn't really going for a mystery as much as I was going for an adventure story. I'll try some other mags and see if I get anywhere with them. If not, I'll hang onto it for later or rewrite it. One comment on it though.. 3000 words.. cmon. That's pretty small to setup an entire environment, characters and all in.

The Day After

2006-02-14T07:25:00.000-06:00

What is it about the day after being sick that is so depressing? I actually caught myself thinking.. 'I have to go to work... damnit! I'm not sick..'.

Maybe its the return to a very dreary, repetative cycle. I don't deal well with constant unchanging cycles. A lot of people feel that way about their jobs though. Dreary, boring tasks that generate money for them.

Still no word on 'Response Time'. I've picked out several other magazines to submit to. Hopefully one will be interested. Got another short story in the works, a Kinloch one. I'm about 3300 words into it. Not sure how long it'll be yet but it'll be healthy.

Well.. more coffee then tea to fight off the cold remnants.

2006-02-13T12:07:00.000-06:00

Today started off like a typical Monday, then dove into "classic" real fast when I found I had a low grade fever and almost couldn't talk. Huzzah...

Called in and slept nearly an additional 8 hours! Man Robutussin is strong at times.
But I'm feeling better now and nursing a bowl of chicken soup I've amped with a few different kinds of peppers. Seems to help. I should be ok and back to what I call normal tomorrow.

Still no word on Response Time. Their 4 week limit is approaching so I'm going to make a list of potential mags to send to next. Then work on the next Spec Ops installment AND a short story. For me that's light stuff.

I think I may paint today some too. Something quiet and low effort.

And so I finally get it accomplished

2006-01-31T09:44:00.000-06:00

Finally ... finally finally.. I get the title of the Jeep Wrangler moved over into my name. After 4 forms, 10 emails, 2 fed ex trips to Iraq (and back), 3 visits to the county clerks office, 1 visit to a REALLY nice lady with the bank who was a notary... the Jeep is in my name.

And all my Dad wanted to do was give me a unique, nice gift. Leave it to the American administration system to screw up a gift. But at least its done. I think I'll recommend to Dad that next time.. just get me a gift card to a bookstore.

Other than that, today will probably be busy. I'll try and duck out for lunch to edit part 10 of spec ops. If I get that done, I'll work some more on Cold case. Sometimes, I think it sure would be nice to write all day. I bet I could really get some manuscripts cranked out if I had more than an hour at lunch and sometimes an hour at night to write.

StReSs AnD OvErWoRkInG

2006-01-27T09:21:00.000-06:00

Getting a bit strung out, but I can't decide if its from only getting 4-5 hours a night or working so much. I counted it up, I actually have up to 5 jobs/careers depending how you look at it. One of my coworkers called me Banzai (sometimes Dr in front of it) as from the movie Buckaroo Banzai because I fit the opening line about the main character "began life as he was destined to live it...going in several directions at once". This week I never noticed before that he really does have a point. Who knew?

But to that end I'm glad its friday, this weekend will be BuSy! I've got to get the license key web service "productized" so it looks really cool and snazzy.. not to mention lets a customer actually log in to use it! lol. Then there is desgin notes for the pda writers' outline tool... Writing on Spec Ops, two manuscripts and one short story... clean the house, hang pics (which is VERY overdue for it) ... tons of laundry ... and get this stupid eKit Portal and Maps Core support coding done.

All in two days. Somewhere in there I'll need to eat and sleep I guess. Man I need a vacation, to just sit and watch the world go by. Bad part it when I do that.. I wonder "damn what am I not doing that I *should* be doing?!"

Busy Weekend, Boring Monday

2006-01-23T08:54:00.000-06:00

Quite a busy weekend overall, running errands, getting little things done.
Got to try using a fondue pot Sunday night. That was ... different. Seemed like a fancy name for "lets eat out of a boiling pot of ...whatever".

I finished "Response Time" and submitted it late last week. No word yet, but the magazine's guidelines state 4 weeks so we'll see. I started back on "Cold Case" and some notes for a Kinloch short story.

Got a new cafe press site up for my paintings: http://www.cafepress.com/penstylepress it may not make a fortune, but it feels kinda cool to get my paintings out on the internet. Kinda like a gallery.

Today is boring, had a thunderstorm last night and its still raining today. Kinda leaves me a bit gray. On top of that, the push is really on to force all developers into coding on "emulated" systems. Pretty stupid if you ask me. An emulated machine is not the same as a real one, so there may be unexpected results. And then there is the issue that I have to start up a vmware session, then copy files then start up my dev studio. Lots of hoops to jump through.

But my manager is very excited over it and really really wants me using it. So.. I'll try it.

I just keep thinking.. is it lunch yet?

Finshed Story and Machine bingo

2006-01-19T06:53:00.000-06:00

First off, I'm done with "Response Time". It has a good feel, nice and comfortable. I think it grabs the reader right away and doesn't let go. So, now I'll be writing a cover letter for it and start submitting. Sadly I can't go the route of a Literary agent (they don't normally handle short stories, only larger manuscripts) but its a good learning experience. I've got one magazine in mind, its a new, small publication so I'm hoping they are hungry for submissions.

On the other side of life, I'm forced into playing machine bingo. I'm to see if VMWare works as a dev platform because we've more junk machines than reliable machines around here. I happen to have one of the reliable ones. The concept is to use a VMWare "emulated" machine as a "vitrual laptop". Cool idea but the flaw is that unlike a laptop you really can't take this and work anywhere. You're limited to a machine that has VMWare hosting software installed. Admittedly, they're trying to get around buying hardware, etc. But really, this isn't portable in the least.

Last but not least, I finally got around to collecting my ink paintings in one place in a kind of gallery / storefront:
Pen, Paper, and Stylus
I'll be adding more of my paintings as time allows but once my existing ones are there, then I'll start making some new ones (and promoting the store!)

now if I can just think of what to put in for the store front text. ...

Things to ponder

2006-01-13T07:29:00.000-06:00

Its a rainy morning so I suppose I'm a bit thoughtful.. not sleeping enough last night probably contributes to it also I'm sure! Anyway I was at lunch at Ruby Tuesdays yesterday, I had a craving for their salad bar for some reason, and three ladies in nurses' medical scrubs walk in before me. Nothing unsual, where I live there are lots of medical research labs, clinics, two hospitals, and so on. What caught my attention was that all the nurses (pediatric nurses from what I could tell) were serious smokers. Now, I'm alergic to smoking so I noticed it in spades. But it made my think.. you would think people who work in the medical field wouldn't do things like smoke, heavily drink, or anything else the medical community has labeled as "life threatening bad". Often though, they do and with relish in some occasional cases. Really, does that seem right to you?

Never did get the hang of Thursdays

2006-01-12T08:48:00.000-06:00

Boy is that ever true.

I understand the purpose of a "stand up" meeting every morning. It forces total communication between team and team leads. Of course if you are a team lead that is actually any good at your job you'll talk to your team regularly anyway. Therefore making a "stand up" meeting useful for a large team, and useless for a small team (of which I'm on a VERY small team right now).

Which brings me to my rambling point that it seems that this "extreme programming" concept is partially designed to compensate for bad management in some ways. I wonder, instead of inventing buzz words and elaborate processes to cover up or compensate for things like bad management. Why not learn to do your job effectively? Guess that makes too much common sense. Though, common sense is a very rare commodity in the business world. More and more I get the impression that if you either cannot figure out what to do for a career or you really don't have an aptitude for anything in particular, etc you wind up in "business". That way you can spend your days trying to push paperwork without really *doing* anything yet feel like you've contributed to the Greater Good of the company. Scary to think of human beings willingly being reduced to the level of barnyard cattle. It's not "Brave New World" its "Brave New Barnyard"! Though it would explain the legions of people who can't quite explain what they really *do* as work during the day.

Rant aside, it *is* Thursday.. which means tomorrow is Friday. There is such a relief and a weight tossed off my shoulders as I leave work on Fridays. Which, I know is a sign of my job and myself being incompatable. That brings up another rant of the American culture being obsessed with health ruining work ethics. But I'll save that for another entry. One rant per entry should be enough for anyone.

On to writing. On the second edit of "Response Time". Its a short story set in the Spartika City universe. Yes, another superhero story. But this isn't Pulsewave, this is Skyburner. New character. I'm going to keep Skyburner in the realm of "pulp short stories" for awhile. After working on Spec Ops, I find there is a singular joy in making small, compact stories for magazine publication. Sense of accomplishment I guess. In any case, I like the story. I got the idea from hearing a story about a nursing home in New Orleans that was beseiged after the Katrina disaster by looters. The staff fought the looters off and protected the people staying in the nursing home. I have great respect for that so I used lots of elements of that for "Response Time". After edit #3 it *should* be in a shape to send. We'll see.

Reinventing the wheel... again

2006-01-06T08:36:00.000-06:00

Just got out of a meeting. I'm not sure but once again I think I've just heard that my manager and another engineer reinvented an existing software package that was already made. Just a gut feeling but I think that is what I heard. I'm curious, and a bit exasperated, that they won't ask before they run off and design something. So far 9 times out of 10, we've already got it (at least so far) and they burned a bunch of time needlessly.

I'm supposed to meet with them on it sometime today. So we'll see.

Post Holidays

2006-01-03T07:38:00.000-06:00

Been awhile since I blogged. Went on Thanksgiving, get back and work's insane. Such is the way of life. Fortunately I took a week and a couple of days (thanks to New Years being on a Sunday) which seemed to really help get the knots out of my rope.

Not really a lot to blog today. Its kind of a hum day, looks like rain outside my office window. Probably a good day to go to that nearby coffee shop at lunch, eat a sandwich and get a bunch of writing and editing done.

Got the garage cleaned, and a new workbench setup. Been wanting to do that for awhile. Now I can clean, paint, etc my pinball game! Heh.. been really wanting to give it a touch up for some time now. Paint and cleaning for it first, then maybe fix that LED display that is a bit futzed up.

Writing is coming along, I've got one short story that I'll finish and give it the usual 3 edit polish. I'm gonna try and send it off to iHero. Beyond that, I've got several other ideas in my mind for short stories. I'll get those on paper and start working through them.

Need to check google for freelance writing gigs. Be nice to do something simple on the side.

Decisions

2005-11-17T08:48:00.000-06:00

Had a long talk with an old friend on the phone. He helped put some stuff in perspective. Thanks for that Kelvin, you're the man.

I have a lot of knots in my rope, and to be honest, its cause I've been trying to "swallow my pride and soldier on". All the while my confidence has been slowly eroding. I suddenly realized while talking to Kelvin, yknow.. I did that contract work for Mom's company and wrote that reporting app. It went over huge and its being used. Better than that, no bugs were found! So, while I'm sure there are some flaws somewhere in the software, they are deep enough that the average user won't find them. But all that means is the software stable for a version 1. It also means I'm not a moron or inexperienced. I couldn't have pulled that off if I really was inexperienced or just not bright. I know, I've got to leave the company. I'm not really learning very much that is new. The work isn't that interesting, I mean, cmon I've been writing software in the electronic document industry for almost 5 years now. There is only so much you can learn about a PDF and how to squeeze it. Also, I found out yesterday, my company has moved the medical monthly payments onto the employee base which has increased what is taken out of my paycheck... *NOT* cool.

First off, I have to acquire the gear to support what I have to do. Which means a laptop for myself at home and development software. I've some development software that can carry me. I just need the laptop. I've already started pricing and looking for a good buy. Even if I go to another company, it wouldn't hurt to have my own laptop for development. I know I'd be very comfortable doing contract / consulting work and I want to be equipped for it.

Other than that, I've got to start keeping in touch with people. I've got my resume in the hands of some good friends of mine. Next I need to start sifting through monster to see what jobs are available. BUT I'll be looking very closely at guru.com for what contract work is available. Lately I've seen a little stir from companies needing people.. but I've seen TONS of emails from guru.com of available work for software contractors. And, as an added bonus, guru.com also handles contracts for freelance writers as well!

Its time, I can feel it. My 'Spidey Sense' is telling me something is wrong here at my company that I can't see and I need to get out of the way. Could be its cause I know the CEO lies outright to the employees to keep them calm and under control.

And today.. I give you a peek into the wallpaper I just created to use at work! Its kind of a cool link of the day:

Click here for wallpaper

Show and Tell

2005-11-16T07:53:00.000-06:00

I remember back in kindergarden and elementary school, we did "show and tell". To this day I cannot fathom why we had to do that. I suppose it was to build public speaking skills. At this time in my life now, I would have *never* expected to have to start doing that again.

Ok, I've already mentioned that they've demoted me and placed a second level of management over me. With new management comes new management's collection of new ideas they think are the "right thing to fix all the problems". Well one of those is some kind of "stand up meeting" which is part of the Extreme Programming initiative. I'll talk about Extreme Programming in a moment.

"Stand up Meeting" is literally that. Everyone stands in a room and talks about what they did yesterday and announces what they will do today. In effect... show and tell. We all stand because its felt that will keep the meeting short. Feh.. given I can stand in my 501st biker scout costume for hours without sitting down I somehow think the effect of "standing to keep the meeting short" is lost on me. So far I'm not getting a benefit from the meetings and they are anything but short. Just a lovely way to stand around, drink coffee and waste a part of my work morning.
I could deal with it, if it made something, anything more efficient. So far its not accomplished what its advertised to do. Perhaps its because we're doing these *EVERY SINGLE DAY*!!

Now. Extreme Programming. I've read write up on it and had it described to me more than once. The concept is sorta sound but I've yet to see it put into practice well. New management here is trying to put some of it in practice here, but instead of increasing productivity its increasing the amount of meetings and red tape. Now instead of having a short design meeting then go implement the software.. its 4 or 5 repeated meetings over almost as many days, prototypes for a couple of weeks, then reports on the prototype/experiment results. After all that, the real work might begin. Seems like a safe approach right? Ok, now the process I just spoke about is for altering two functions in one file...

yeah.. efficiency.

Man I've *got* to get that next manuscript finished and into an agents' hands.

Monday Rain

2005-11-14T07:52:00.000-06:00

Back to work today. I caught whatever cold/flu/virus that was running around last week and finally gave into the fever Thurs and Fri. Man I was sick! Felt just awful, especially that first day. Good thing was it lasted for about 2 days overall.. I managed to make NovaCon for at least Sat.

NovaCon was a lot of fun, and I got some writing done towards the end of the weekend too. Still feel a bit behind overall. Got the next entry for Spec Ops nearly written in one sitting! I'll work on that at lunch today and polish a short story.

Trying to keep an open mind at work, cause today the new hires are starting. Db guy starts today, and the new manager CB starts full time too. We'll see how it all goes. If he and Dr R start competing then I'll carry through with my promise and camp on the CEO's doorstep till he does something about it. If he doesn't, well, my resume is up to date and some people already have it. Not that I've not had a LOT of people already hound me into getting another day job.

Good thing is that Thanksgiving is coming up! Company holiday!! That'll be nice. If I'm lucky I'll get a lot of writing done. I'd love to get at least a short story and a manuscript *done* and ready to send. That's my current goal.

Under the weather

2005-11-09T07:16:00.000-06:00

The weather here has been nuts. Freezing cold then suddenly its like summer. In all that I caught a cold or sinus problem or whatever. So I'm not feeling all well today.

Got fed up monday, emailed A about my concerns over the new organization for work. Figured, he's supposedly got an "open door" policy and he runs the company so I'll just ask. Well given he didn't answer me until yesterday means I probably confused him. In a nutshell, all I asked was "Why do I have two managers?" Simple direct question. I got a scripted answer. A lot of "you're doing a good job" stuff. I came away with the idea that the people "in charge" had an agenda to pursue and I was in the way. I think the phrase is "collateral damage".

So now I'm a 'team lead', which means I'll get to program some, but I'll be delivering reports on what the team is doing to the managers and handing down designs and information from the managers to the team. Bear in mind, the 'team' consists of mostly me, maybe the one junior programmer and rarely, maybe the new database programmer. Oh, also, I get to do research and hand my findings over to others for them to make the designs and decisions. At least I make an ok salary.

I think the worst part is that I'll have to prove myself again. To me that's funny cause, if I changed jobs and worked somewhere else, I'd have to prove myself again. And now, after 5 years, I'm having to prove myself again but I didn't have to change companies I work for! Quite handy I suppose. At least I didn't have to fill out any new tax paperwork!

Well, I better get back to work.

Lively Morning

2005-11-07T07:19:00.000-06:00

I started getting up early again. I'm not much to label myself a "morning" or "night" person, I like to think I'm adaptable to either schedule. This morning I was glad I did do the "rise early" routine. While driving to work, I see a car swerve out of control around a pair of dogs ahead of me in the oncoming lane. Because of the dew on the roads, the angle which the driver swerved and the speed of the vehicle, the car flew off the road and rolled at least twice. The car was a total loss from what I could see. The driver was a correction facility officer and seemed to be a nice guy. Fortunately he wasn't hurt other than a few cuts here and there. He was more dazed and ticked off at losing control over the vehicle more than anything else. I got him what he needed to clean the blood up off himself and let him call his wife, police, whoever he needed to. It was amazing he was ok given how badly messed up the car was when it was all over. Once I was *positive* he was ok and people were there to keep an eye on him, etc. I left for work again.

Made me think though. One, I'm glad I drive a Jeep Wrangler. If for some reason I accidentally rolled that wrangler, there is no doubt in my mind that it would roll right over and be mostly ok. Nothing like a gigantic roll bar to make you feel safe! Two, life is dangerous, unexpected and should be experienced. Too many people closet themselves, all obsessed with all the knots in their rope that have been tied off. I'm not saying anything new mind you. There are *dozens* of books on this topic. I think the latest that everyone got behind was "Who moved my Cheese?" The message is still clear: pay attention to what is going on around you and act accordingly! That is something I've not been doing as of late. I've been bitching and moaning over things that I have no control over. Its the fact I can't control them that bothers me, not necessarily what happened. Well, I'm going to try and keep my head about me a bit better. That and start listing pros and cons about where I'm working, what I'm doing. I know I'll keep writing as a second job, that's not going to chance. Perhaps its time to change Job #1? Dunno, that's the million dollar question I think its time to figure out.

And to the gentleman I helped on North Balch road, God go with you, sir. I really hope the rest of your day goes *much* better than it started!

Defying Reality

2005-11-04T10:18:00.000-06:00

Nothing like it when life imitates art ( aka Office Space ). I just got told about a change to the company structure. Ok.. so now I'll report to Dr R, BUT I'll also report to a new guy ( I'll call him CB ). So.. in effect, I'll have TWO managers! Given one handles long range architecture planning, and the other will oversee engineering. The people left in "engineering" will be one database engineer, one junior engineer to be mentored and ... me. If CB isn't coding, the database guy isn't coding except for database work, and the junior enigneer is to be mentored... I'm back to working as a bottom end grunt coder. Talk about a blow to my self-worth.

Gotta think about this one. I know I don't like it, just got to figure out what I'm going to do about it.

Back to work

2005-11-03T09:10:00.000-06:00

Been on vacation for a few days. Good thing is that it leaves me with 2 days left for the work week. I'll pack in all my work into 2 days and be done with it. Though, what I think is really funny... lately I think I've only got about 2 days worth of work per work week!

Vacation was nice, I ran errands a lot, did housework as time permitted. Naturally when done, I looked around and grumbled cause it looked like nothing was done. Maybe I'll make headway tonight after work. Didn't help that I got VERY sick yesterday. Not sure why cause today I'm feeling pretty much ok, just a bit washed out.

I also got a lot farther along with several outlines. The errands kept me from turning the outlines into anything more, but I'll get them there.

Work, as always, hasn't changed any. GB is trying to be the company software architect as usual. He's good at hacking at code, but he's by no means a really good programmer. I think if you forced him to use a coding style, he'd come unhinged.

Got to meet with Dr R today. More design work. Not a big deal. Its yet to be applied which is the neat trick. Too many people wanting to do their own thing here.

Well, while I was writing this GB came in to talk to me about what he's coding... he's so off on his own writing all of what he's doing. We need to be under ONE architecture... ONE. His customer-specific work fragments that.

Oh well.. back on the work treadmill I guess.

Joys of Paperwork

2005-10-27T07:36:00.000-05:00

Another day, another meeting.

As near as I can tell, the only thing that was settled yesterday in that meeting was that the product sold does not match what we currently can offer or in some cases or want to make ourselves responsible for. Oh and that GB has been off working in a vacuum again so the software he has is no longer compatable with what we have. I have to admit, he is the poster child for why a company needs a coding standard though. Maybe, if I really have an impact here, I can help craft a coding standard that isn't cumbersome.

Just realized I forgot my flash drive again today. Fantastic. I've got my pda with me though. At least there is that.

I was told I need to burn my vacation before the end of the year or lose it. All 249.37 hours which is 6 weeks. Bear in mind this is not counting the 80 hours I'm allowed to carry over to next year. I just about can say "Hey.. I'll see you guys in January!". Not that I would, its not right to do something like that. I'd probably get fired if I tried it.

It's funny though, I collect massive amounts of vacation, get told "you have to use it." Then when I try to use some, I'm told "uhm ok.. but we *really* need this done/fixed!!"

Anyway.. I need to try and get some work done before I wind up in meetings and being a manager. bleah.

Setting Standards

2005-10-26T08:07:00.000-05:00

Well, the powers on high have decided to "take a step back and get our bearings"... whatever they really mean, I'm not sure I want to know. What it means for me is that I'm now on the "Architecture team" (team of 2 by the way) and we are to create a corporate software architecture and standard. Which in layman's terms mean I meet with R almost daily for a theory/bs/problem solving session for an hour to two hours (or more at times). I personally feel like nothing's getting done. He thinks we're making *great* progress. Guess it all depends on your point of view.

Standards have a place, they really do. Put a coding standard in place and anyone can pick up the code and maintain it with little hassle over how it was written. But coding standards more times than not go WAY too far, forcing developers to pay more attention to how they spell variables than what they're supposed to be coding! I just don't feel right about it I guess. In the end, I'm more of a contractor / consulting guy I think. I was good at it too, I actually had customers specifically request me during contract negotiations back then! How cool is that?

Well, maybe this coding standard stuff won't take too long. Maybe it just feels like its gonna take months and really it'll take a few weeks. Not that we have a few weeks to spare really. R's not aware of the code and backend pieces that already exist... it'll take time to get him up to speed on 5 years of software evolution.

Oh those crazy humans

2005-10-20T12:52:00.000-05:00

Ok, just got out of the presentation. Just what is it about people to think they are automatically being fooled? I run the software, the AI does its job quite well (pats software on the head in praise) and the tech guy starts with the questions ... absolutely thinking this is all smoke and mirrors! lol

Course the tech guy was doing his best to get at the algorithms and code. I gave him just enough so he could shoot himself in the foot if he tries this on his own I believe. If he's *really* slick, he may figure it out. But it sure won't be quickly!

On top of that, we had a guy come through to be interviewed. I'm terrible at giving interviews. I never know what to ask. And if the person is very sure of themselves jeez.. that makes it worse. I think the worst one I dealt with was one guy that was so sure of himself, he started asking pointed questions about how he could get my job!! Dude had nerve, I wouldn't have tried that.

Demo Day

2005-10-20T08:30:00.000-05:00

Today is the day I do the 'show and tell' to a customer about the AI. I have to remember that I do NOT need to drown them in technobabble. Something I know I'll launch into quickly, especially when I get nervous.

Not sleeping much lately, mostly from nerves. I'm really torn about this saturday, whether to troop or not. I feel obligated to go for a variety of reasons and in some small way I do want to go. I'm just so TIRED. I go to bed tired, I wake up tired, I got to be again just a little more tired than I was before. I keep thinking I need to get away from everything for awhile.

Well time's almost there for me to go present.

Public Speaking ...

2005-10-19T09:24:00.000-05:00

Unless you're a bit of an exhibitionist or just *really* like people, its the 'public' part of 'public speaking' that gets to most people.
A customer is coming into work tomorrow for a big demo on our software. Naturally what they really want is not what our software does.. but also as usual, we've got the various components (sometimes they even work! lol) we just have to put them together in the right spot. I wrote and designed 90% of all that collection of "duct tape and bailing wire" so I get to be in it. Mostly to talk about the artificial intelligence I wrote to read/process those financial docs. Not that the AI is done mind you, something like that really never is. As long as people are making new documents, that AI is never really done. But anyway.. other than my boss, myself and one person from the customer the rest of the room will be filled with non-technical people. So I have to figure out how to talk intelligently about the AI without boring the non-technical people to absolute tears.

Got a new entry up for Star Wars Spec Ops. I really like this one, I had fun with it. Though next part I need to do some more character development of the bad guy and a few other characters. So Clang and Doc may get a rest from me trying to beat the snot out of them for awhile!

Got a trooping event this weekend.. not totally up for it. I really need to get sleep and take some time to putter about doing something minor for just 'mental therapy' sake. Lately I feel like I've been so hard so constantly I'm not sure how to operate unless I'm in a crisis mode for something. LOL... I bout freaked out this past weekend cause of that too! Didn't have anything pressing, just some minor little errands to do. But I actually invented pressure on myself so I could function! How's that for messed up? I can't believe I have to relearn how to relax... oh well.

Monday Monday

2005-10-17T07:44:00.000-05:00

Not much to blog about today. Last week was a bit long, mostly filled with a stretch of "quickly code/test/release/repeat" every few hours. But, as far as I know, both projects were delivered on thurs and fri. Truckload of eDocuments created.. I've no idea how many. "Lots" probably applies here! lol

In addition, I'd been working on some reporting software for TRE Consulting based on some spreadsheet reports. Thankfully, I got that done. That was as hard in its own way as what I had been doing for financial doc processing! But I got that done too. Both slowed me down considerably in getting any writing done. But I managed a little. Another round of editing and the next part of Spec Ops written and edited. I like what I've got for Spec Ops... but I'll do one more pass through it. For 'Cold Case', after I get these changes typed in, I'll add in one more small passage, polish it and start getting a list of writing agents.

Courtesy.. common and otherwise

2005-09-22T09:24:00.000-05:00

I was going to blog on the rash of hurricanes lately.. but as I sat down to do so, I experienced a hurricane of my own. Into my office spills a stream of people, and out of all of them. Only two wanted to just say "good morning". The rest didn't even bother to say "good morning". The rest were 'I need this fixed', 'can you make..?', 'how do I do..?'. I'm not sure its chivalry that's dead.. its manners. I see small evidence of chivalry all the time. Nothing overt but its there. Manners seem harder to come by. Don't get me wrong, answering questions like that is part of my job and I accept that (With enough coffee in the morning I can even handle the instant 'pressure cooker' stress level it puts on me first thing in the morning). But some days.. saying "Good morning" or "How's it going?" and actually mean the sentiment.. well now, that would go a long way. Just my humble opinion, take it for what you will.

Next part of Spec Ops is up on: http://swspecops.blogspot.com/ for any that haven't dropped by. Had a bit of trouble with the intro this time. I think I rewrote it a dozen times. What I've got there I'm the most comfortable with. The character development took a jump forward this time. I like how that's progressing.

Almost done with the latest edits for Cold Case. I'll start back through it.. got new scenes to add. I'll be adding in a small passage talking about PulseWave's origin, how he got his powers and so on. And of course, costume description. I had that lower down in the manuscript but it really needs to be higher up in the story.

I got fed up with Kinloch 2 recently. I really didn't like where the manuscript was going. So, taking some advice from Karen Traviss (most excellent author of "Hard Contact") who said: If a scene is impossibly hard to write.. it may be that the scene really doesn't work for the story. So.. I nixed a TON of scenes. I adore the first half of the whole manuscript... so I'm pulling back to those chapters and moving forward from there.

Now if my day job would quit keeping me busy for 15+ hours a day.. I'll get more than a few pages edited or a half a page typed every few days.

Last but not least... your cool link of the day:
http://devilspanties.keenspot.com/

GREAT webcomic!! Talk about serious fun.

Back from Vacation ... and into the cooker

2005-09-12T20:34:00.000-05:00

Greetings all. Been back a week from Dragon Con. It was fantastic! The costumes! The contests! The panels! I still say Dragon Con is like a modern day Circus Maximus.. only without the gladiators vs lions. Unless you count the mosh pit. ;-)

But.. back to work I've been. Can you believe that I was gone a solid week and not a single software bug was fixed? I showed this one guy, he's no dummy mind you, how the software worked and what it did when. And he didn't touch a single thing! Just let it pile up while I was gone. Unreal. As a result this week has been a mad dash to get things done. More working insane hours under intense pressue. ... yippee ...

ok.. big warning.. I've got to vent to get this off my chest so I won't think about it anymore.

Today tops it all. Today, because a lady who works with QA ( doesn't run it mind you but sometimes acts like she does ) had to work on Sunday ... I get told "We're going to have daily morning meetings to figure out how to become more efficient and speed you up so she won't have to go through that again!" What a crock! I've been working most weekends and nights for most of my employment at this company! There was another lady, really cool person, she had to work this weekend as well... what about her? Are we to work like maniacs to get work done so this ONE PERSON doesn't hav to work on a weekend? I was so insulted. It came across as "How dare you cause HER work the weekends? Obviously, the people around here like you are not really working because SHE had to work!" Jeez.. I swear I'm living out that movie 'Office Space'... now where's my red swingline stapler?!

Anyway.. I really do have the next installment of Spec Ops done. Just need to polish it some and I'll post it. Also, I'm still working ( slowly, remember I almost have no personal life ) on two other manuscripts. I think if I can get a few days to myself I might can get at least one manuscript actually finished! How bout that?

Oh at Dragon Con, I ran into Mesha Merlin Publishing ( I think I spelled it right ) again. I was not expecting to see them there! They are mega-cool people, it was great to see them.

Well ... as usual signing off now. Need to go check the laptop to see how the latest software test ran. Again.. sorry for the rant and I hope I didnt offend. I just had to get that out of my system.

Improvements

2005-08-17T12:06:00.000-05:00

Mid week update.. things have improved I think. After five years of effort, everything at work seems to show promise of settling down and becoming a more enjoyable place to work ( with sane working hours ). The AI is up and running, its not perfect by any means ( I based its ability/thought process on my own thought patterns ... which means while its FAR from perfect ... it probably has a hidden preference for coconut cake, science fiction and murder mystery novels! ) but its able to read a financial doc and identify sections of information and remember what made it want to use that section. Then it makes a new document of that section and quietly waits to do it again. Neat stuff.

I've actually thought about having it remember base patterns and concepts and occasionally spin off threads to "think" about those search patterns and routinely test them for efficiency. Maybe even have that thread go search the net on its own looking for new patterns to use. hmm .. this idea has promise.

Upcoming.. DRAGON CON!! And a good time will be had by all. I can't wait. One and half weeks and I'll be off for Atlanta and a damn good vacation. Man I could use it.

Work on my manuscripts has been slow but steady. Most of the way done with Cold Case, slowly put some notes down about Kinloch 2. I've thought about scribbling down a brief short story for a nice mag called : Cyber Age. They've a website here.

Good stories there if you like sci fi / superheroes.
They say 3000 words.. kinda small, but a bit of a challenge. I think I can pull that off.

A new week begins

2005-08-15T07:48:00.000-05:00

Rough week last week. I did another 15 hour day thing.. not because I wanted to mind you but for the usual reasons. I did try and come up with a way around it by writing an algorithm that would run and figure out the regular expression patterns it needed on its own and remember the ones that worked to use again later. Kinda like an artificial intelligent system only very crude. It worked on friday.. was working when I left. I come in today and find out.. it didn't work at all over the weekend ... I'm tired of feeling stupid. I'm not a moron, and I do know what I'm doing.

I know a job typically isn't "fun", that's not the purpose of a job exactly, but ... well.. nevermind. Its not worth belaboring the point. It is what it is. I'll keep at it until the business goes bankrupt or I'm able to find a solid lead on work somewhere else. A co-worker put it REAL well last week: "The toast rate here is really high." Man, what an understatement! Give that lady the prize!

I did get a weekend without work though, with the system running on its own ( or so I thought ) I stayed away from work. It made me realize just how fatigued I'd gotten and what it was doing to me. It was nice to have a weekend break. I got to do some writing and relax some. Boy do I need to do more of that!

Well, on with the work week... huzzah..

Oh and the next part is posted to Spec Ops.. enjoy!