Vacation: Day 3 (Need some ZZZZ's)

Day 3 and the kids have decided that sleep is not an option. The 94 degrees, 95% humidity didn't help. I've never been in Seattle in weather like this! So last we had a really bad thunderstorm come through. Lots of thunder and lightning! Very cool!

Anyways, Caitlyn was up til after 11 and finally crashed after driving around the Puget Sound area for over an hour.

Today, we make the journey down to Portland. It should be a fairly easy 3 hour drive since the kids should be sleeping during their nap time. We'll see though. As long as we can listen to our music and not Caitlyn's "Sing a Long Favorites" I'll be happy.

We should be there by 4 but who knows with this crew. Tonight, we're hoping to meet up with some friends in town and maybe take a swim in the hotel pool. Thank god for air conditioning and indoor pools :)

Vacation: Day 2 (Reinjured)

This will be a short post as I'm back in my sling. All I did was try to catch a glass that was falling out of the fridge, turned my wrist, and I was on the floor in pain!

Shoulder again! Damn it!

Anyways, today was a trip to the Kitsap Mall and Costco. Costco pizza is the best by the way! It's currently 95 degrees in Seattle and hotter than hell!

Tomorrow we drive to Portland for 5 days. It'll still be hot, but can't wait! Very much looking forward to seeing old co workers at Haggen Food & Pharmacy and others we haven't seen in quite some time :)

Vacation: Day 1 (Portland to Poulsbo)

Well, I'm hoping to write a post for each day I'm in the Pacific Northwest. I can't guarantee I'll keep up but we'll see.

So I made my plane flight to Portland in time yesterday. Not a problem since security lines were not as bad as I thought on a Friday afternoon. I can say that the San Jose Airport construction is finally coming along! They still have a long way to go but you can notice the progress.

I ran into Garvin Thomas of NBC11 who was shooting a piece on airline travel and security. Always a nice guy and constant professional.

I gave up my assigned seat to a family who was not going to be able to sit together. It worked out great for me because the only seat they had for me was in 1st class. Nice!

I got into Portland around 5:50 pm and made my way to Hertz. I was lucky enough to get the car my wife had requested (a Mazda 5 which is basically a mini, minivan). If you have a family and have not checked out this vehicle, give it a test drive. We're contemplating purchasing one ourselves. Anyways, I was then off to Seattle. Well to be more precise, Poulsbo.

I made my stop at the usual exit 82, otherwise known as the "outlet mall exit" in Centralia. There I made a quick stop in at Burgerville for my usual, a Tillamook cheeseburger, large fries and the BEST vanilla milkshake. MMM MMM good! That would hold me over for the evening.

I was pleased to see that the Washington troopers were out in force last night. A guy in a Porsche thought he was all that and passed me so fast that I couldn't even see his license plate as he went past. Luckily 2 miles down the road I know that the trooper got it as he had been pulled over.

I got to the in laws house about 9 pm and was able to see Cailtyn and Johnny before they went to bed. They were VERY happy to see me. It had been 4 days!!! Oh, my wife was happy too.

Anyways, its been a good first 24 hours and we'll see what the rest of the week brings. I now have to run off to my favorite place to people watch, Wal-Mart!!! It seems that someone forgot his toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant and razors on his bathroom counter in San Jose.

Have a great weekend out there!!!

No Ice For You!!!!

Ok, so it's not as funny as when the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld says it, but I tried.

According to an article out today, for the first time in ever, the North Pole could be ice-free this summer. Ice-free??? How does the North Pole become ice-free??? While there has never been solid ground at the North Pole, it has always remained a giant block of ice throughout the year. But scientists have been watching the ice around the Arctic sea melt more and more each year and over time the amount of ice has gotten thinner and thinner.

From the article:

Several studies in recent years have predicted that the North Pole could be ice-free within a few decades. Alarm has ratcheted up every summer as the ice gets thinner and thinner. In a study released June 10, scientist said the rapid meltoff in the Arctic could threaten permafrost in continental soil elsewhere above the Arctic circle in a warm version of the snowball effect.

Last summer saw a record melt of Arctic sea ice, which shrank to more than 30 percent below its average. Around the peak of the melt, in September, air temperatures over land in the western Arctic from August to October were more than 4 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) above the 1978-2006 average.

Can you say "Global Warming"??? Oh wait, I forgot, according to some politicians and other people out there, global warming doesn't exist....Wanna bet???

Blue Skies, Clean Air, Fireworks and Burgerville!

That's right! I'm on my way to the Pacific Northwest for a week's vacation starting tomorrow afternoon. It's time to see a few good friends and some family who we haven't seen in, oh, 7 months. With the prices to fly nowadays, more than twice a year is going to prove to be a major challenge with a family. Did everyone know that most airlines are now charging for more than one bag??? But I digress...

It'll be a fun 4th of July week that's for sure. Temperatures are expected to be in the mid 90's most of the week in Portland. How often do you hear that? For the past week here in San Jose, we have been covered in a blanket of gray smoke. This week will surely be a welcome change.

One of the best parts of this vacation though will be daily trips to Burgerville. And when I say daily, I really mean daily. My debit card will have charges at least once a day and I'm sure to get a call from my bank making sure that my card hasn't been stolen!

I'll admit, I was a huge fan of Burgerville long before I left the Portland area. When my wife was pregnant with our first child, we found ourselves at Burgerville at least two to three times a week. Typically visiting Mama Rosa at the Beaverton location or across the river in Vancouver. I don't know exactly what it is about pregnancy, but every time she spotted that Burgerville sign, the car magically pulled into the drive thru.

Now I find them as a client and over the past year and a half, I have gained even more respect for this quick service restaurant chain who demonstrates constant leadership in sustainable business practices and a deep commitment to their employees, local communities and the environment. 100% wind power, cage-free eggs, an industry leading health care program, full recycling and composting programs and they turn their used trans fat free cooking oil into biodiesel fuel. What's not to love???

I'll start my trip tomorrow evening with a quick 3 hour drive from Portland to Seattle to meet up with my wife and two kids who have already been in the Pacific Northwest for 3 days. I used to do this drive every other weekend and I could pretty much do it on auto pilot. We'll see how the drive is this time, minus the rain.

Of course I'll be making my customary stop at the Burgerville restaurant in Centralia (the exact halfway point between Portland and Seattle) for a Tillamook cheeseburger, fries and a large vanilla milkshake. It has been far too long since I had a real ice cream milkshake. Sorry, In N Out Burger just doesn't cut it for me.

The plan is to spend a few days with my in laws in Poulsbo, Washington and then we'll be back on our way to Portland for 5 days in the Rose City. Since it has been so long since we have been there, I'm interested to see the reactions we get now that the kids have gotten older. Can't wait for that!

The 4th of July tradition will once again be in full force as my buddy has already stocked up on fireworks to entertain the entire neighborhood for an night of fun! Two years ago we almost burned down the place with enough firepower to take out a small country. This year will be a bit lower key with four total kids under 5 in our party. Then again, with an ex-marine in charge of the fireworks, who knows, right?

So now I'm off but like Arnold "I'll be back!" The time will go by too quickly but it should be fun.

The Slipper Fits: Fresno State Wins First NCAA Baseball Title

Congratulations Fresno State Bulldogs!!! A great postseason has capped off a Cinderella like fairy tale in one of the most improbable runs in College World Series history.

Steve Detwiler homered twice and drove in all six runs for Fresno State and starting pitcher Justin Wilson allowed five hits in eight innings to culminate Fresno State’s journey to its first ever title.

The team was believed to be a Top 25 team coming into the season, but the Bulldogs lost 12 of their first 20 games and looked as though they may finish dead last in their conference. The Bulldogs needed to win the Western Athletic Conference tournament just to make the final field of 64, fought off elimination in both the regionals and super regionals, and became the first #4 regional seed to reach the College World Series.

From ESPN:

Fresno State entered the NCAA tournament with a pedestrian 33-27 record and a No. 4 seed in the Long Beach Regional. Six weeks later, the Bulldogs have become the first regional 4-seed to win a national championship. They finished as the lowest-seeded team in college sports history to claim an NCAA team championship, staying alive with victories in six elimination games -- including two against Georgia.

"We've been through a lot, there's no doubt," Fresno State pitcher Jason Breckley said. "I'll admit, I thought we were going down a couple of times on that plane ride here. But it just makes everything that much sweeter with what we were able to accomplish."

"When we got to the regional, they told us that the only advantage a No. 4 team gets is getting dinner first," Fresno State right fielder Steve Detwiler said. "We all laughed about that at the time. But it's amazing. As much as we were underdogs out here, we just tried to go out and have fun."

This marks the third straight year a team from the West Coast has won the NCAA Title (Oregon State won each of the previous two years).

From the San Jose Mercury News:

"Pride is forever," Detwiler said. Wilson added, "It was pretty awesome. I can't believe it."

That pretty much sums it up. Congratulations Fresno State!!! One hell of a run!!! Someone call the BCS in football so they can see what a tournament is all about!

Grand Theft Auto...There's Theft in This Game?

Forrest Gump once said "Stupid is as stupid does".

Well check out this New York Times story about a lawsuit against the game Grand Theft Auto.

From the article:

Lawyers who sued the makers of the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas profess to be shocked, simply shocked, that few people who bought the game were offended by sex scenes buried in its software.

Any buyer upset about hidden sex in the violent game could file a claim under a settlement the lawyers struck with the game’s makers, Rockstar Games and its corporate parent, Take-Two Interactive. Of the millions of people who bought the San Andreas version after its release in 2004, exactly 2,676 filed claims.

Its true, sex sells! But the number of people who filed claims is not what is surprising to me. It's the stupidity of some people out there who actually purchased the game.

Check out more from the article:

For example, Brenda Stanhouse, who bought the game for her son, 15 years old at the time, said in a deposition that she did not know that a player in the game could “stomp to death innocent pedestrians.”

She also did not know that the game included prostitutes, that players could kill policemen or that “a player in the game can kill innocent pedestrians and steal money from them.”

“I’m aware that there is killing in the game,” Ms. Stanhouse said in the deposition. “I wasn’t aware of the stealing.”

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the name of the game is Grand Theft Auto, right??

The Great Toilet Paper Debate...

Ok, so my wife and I have had this debate for years and I want to hear answers from you: Which way should the toilet paper go, over or under?

I found a survey which was done by DemocraticUnderground.com on this and 77% of people said that toilet paper goes over the top but I still disagree. Prove me wrong. You tell me. Which way does it go???

No Death Penalty for Child Rape...

In a 5-4 vote on Wednesday, the Supreme Court struck down a law that allows execution for raping a child, ruling that it would violate the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

From the article:

Not since 1964 has anyone been executed in the United States for a crime other than murder, and of about 3,300 inmates now on death row, only two are facing execution for an offense that did not involve a killing — and both of those inmates are in Louisiana. Patrick Kennedy, was sentenced to death for the rape of his 8-year-old stepdaughter and the other is Richard Davis, who was condemned for assaulting a 5-year-old girl.

Whether you are for or against the death penalty, cases like this are ones you need to watch. The Supreme Court has the power to make some of the most important decisions in our lives and it will be interesting to see what happens in the coming months with many more rulings to be rendered.

Personally, I see no wrong with executing a child rapist. At the very least, they need to be locked away from the public with no access to children or society for that matter. We are currently spending too much time and tax payer money locking up drug users and other petty criminals while over populated prisons are releasing murderers and other violent criminals. Does this make sense?

Here is an interesting quote from the 2007 Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University:

"We need diversion, like drug courts. Non-violent offenders should not be serving hard time in our prisons. They need to be diverted from our prison system. Ultimately we need an attorney general and a system of justice that truly does treat people equally, and that has not happened under this administration."
-Hillary Clinton

While I may not always agree with Senator Clinton, she does raise an interesting point. Thoughts?

Shaq...The Rapper!

Oh Shaq. What will you rap about next.

This weekend, Shaquille O'Neal decided that he would demonstrate his musical talents once again in a freestyle rap about his former teammate Kobe Bryant.

Here's a sample of the rap from Fox News:

"Check it, you know how I be. Last week Kobe couldn't do without me."

The San Jose Mercury News also added this bit of the rap which was in reference to the Colorado rape charge where Bryant told police he should have paid the woman $1 million like Shaq does:

"I'm a horse, Kobe ratted me out, that's why I'm getting divorced"

Following up, here's what Shaq said to ESPN about the whole incident:

"I was freestyling. That's all. It was all done in fun. Nothing serious whatsoever. That is what MCs do. They freestyle when called upon. I'm totally cool with Kobe. No issue at all"

I guess the feud isn't dead after all! At least his talent as a rapper is a little better than his performance as a genie in Shazam! Well, kind of... Does that even count as a performance? That's a topic for another posting all together!