Aaron Balick expected to find a tiny mouse rustling behind the TV in his apartment. Instead, he found a venomous giant centipede that somehow hitched a ride from South America to Britain.[full story]
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
I already received an e-mail from someone about K&N air filters. I guess I will definitely have to try them now.
K&N air filters have been known in the hot rod scene for a long time. You'll notice an increase in power in your car, too. They're pricey considering what a normal air filter costs, but the benefits far outweigh the negatives...
My Aunt e-mailed me about these washable air filters that let 40% to 60% more air into your engine. I think I am going to give them a try in one of our cars and see how it affects mileage.
In Europe commercial drivers need to take classes and be certified as "Eco-drivers". By consistently eco-driving you can reduce the amount of fuel use by 10% to 20%, which also translates into less air pollution. So if gas is at $3.00 gallon, you can effectively knock $0.30 to $0.60 off per gallon just by modifying the way you drive!
This is a short and very interesting article about eco-driving, and where I first heard of the concept.
This article details the things to change about your driving habits to start eco-driving.
One thing I didn't realize is that when you first start a car after it has been sitting for more than an hour, it pollutes up to five times more than when the engine is warm. Therefore they recommend combining errands into one trip. Several short trips taken from a cold start can use twice as much fuel as a longer multi-purpose trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm. Common sense tells me to combine several errands together, but I assumed it was just to reduce mileage. I never considered the effect a warm engine had on mileage.
It takes 20% less gas to accelerate from 5 mpg than from a full stop. Therefore try to anticipate traffic ahead and try to avoid coming to a complete stop if possible. I am pretty good at this, especially out in the country roads on my way to work.
Maintaining a safe following distance helps reduce the need for stop-and-go driving.
Gas mileage decreases rapidly at speeds above 55 mph. Each 5 mph you drive over 55 mph is like paying an additional $0.10 per gallon for gas.
I read an interesting observation the other day that the market for radar detectors will drop in proportion to the price of gas because people just won't be able to afford the luxury of driving fast anymore. Interesting.
When I was in Switzerland I actually observed cab drivers waiting at a taxi stand getting out of their cabs and pushing the car ahead rather than starting it up as their place in line advanced.
This is a short and very interesting article about eco-driving, and where I first heard of the concept.
This article details the things to change about your driving habits to start eco-driving.
One thing I didn't realize is that when you first start a car after it has been sitting for more than an hour, it pollutes up to five times more than when the engine is warm. Therefore they recommend combining errands into one trip. Several short trips taken from a cold start can use twice as much fuel as a longer multi-purpose trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm. Common sense tells me to combine several errands together, but I assumed it was just to reduce mileage. I never considered the effect a warm engine had on mileage.
It takes 20% less gas to accelerate from 5 mpg than from a full stop. Therefore try to anticipate traffic ahead and try to avoid coming to a complete stop if possible. I am pretty good at this, especially out in the country roads on my way to work.
Maintaining a safe following distance helps reduce the need for stop-and-go driving.
Gas mileage decreases rapidly at speeds above 55 mph. Each 5 mph you drive over 55 mph is like paying an additional $0.10 per gallon for gas.
I read an interesting observation the other day that the market for radar detectors will drop in proportion to the price of gas because people just won't be able to afford the luxury of driving fast anymore. Interesting.
When I was in Switzerland I actually observed cab drivers waiting at a taxi stand getting out of their cabs and pushing the car ahead rather than starting it up as their place in line advanced.
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Here is a Reader's Digest recap of our weekend.
Friday night
Watched Sin City. Loved it. I want to read the comic books now. Grilled the last of our pork tenderloin on the grill. Ate that with corn and a tomato.
Saturday
McDonalds for Egg McMuffins to eat in the car while driving to the Fisher Nut thrift store. Bought about $23 of stuff. Best part was the self-service peanut butter machines. One had just peanuts, the other had peanuts and carob chips mixed in. The result is a delicious chocolaty peanut butter. I will definitely stock up on both of those the next time we go back.
Went to the Woodfield Mall which is just a few miles from the peanut factory. Just got some Starbuck's coffee drinks and people-watched in big comfy couches in the middle of the mall. Sheri had her usual iced coffee, and I had a tall decaf triple Americano. Delicious. I never ordered it decaf before, but I could not tell the difference.
Before we left Sheri was getting hungry so she got some pretzel sticks from Auntie Anne's and a Diet Coke for me. Auntie Anne's pretzels are NOT pretzels. They are sweet bread sticks with coarse salt and butter added to their exterior. If you want a sweet salty buttery breadstick, to ahead and get one, but if you want something that tastes like a good traditional pretzel, the frozen ones you get at the grocery store and microwave are much better. A good pretzel should be more like a bagel than a breadstick.
Went to Meijer and got an electric hair clipper for me. My hair cut is so simple (a number 2 on the sides and a number 6 on the top) we thought we would give it a try at home. If we replace three haircuts at the barbershop we will have paid for the clippers plus a little extra. Our first try actually looks pretty good.
Watched The Ring Two. Sheri actually watched it. I played a new type of puzzle that I have been getting into. We had ham sandwiches and some corn for dinner.
Sunday
Went for an 11.6 mile bike ride. Half way through we stopped at the dog park to watch dogs. Not many dogs there today. We don't know why, because it was beautiful. I packed ham sandwich for brunch.
Got home. Showered. Rested.
Went out and got our propane tank refilled. About $22 with tax. Is that high? It seemed high to me.
Dropped that off at home.
Went to A&W Root Beer for Dinner. Sheri had a chicken sandwich. I had a chili dog and lots of delicious diet root beer. We split a small order of onion rings.
Went to Lowe's and got a hatchet.
Went to Office Depot and got two black ink jet cartridges.
Stopped at McDonalds to get an ice cream cone to split.
Got home and watched some Sunday night Fox TV. (Simpson's, Family Guy, etc.)
Moved the party upstairs, getting ready for bed.
Friday night
Watched Sin City. Loved it. I want to read the comic books now. Grilled the last of our pork tenderloin on the grill. Ate that with corn and a tomato.
Saturday
McDonalds for Egg McMuffins to eat in the car while driving to the Fisher Nut thrift store. Bought about $23 of stuff. Best part was the self-service peanut butter machines. One had just peanuts, the other had peanuts and carob chips mixed in. The result is a delicious chocolaty peanut butter. I will definitely stock up on both of those the next time we go back.
Went to the Woodfield Mall which is just a few miles from the peanut factory. Just got some Starbuck's coffee drinks and people-watched in big comfy couches in the middle of the mall. Sheri had her usual iced coffee, and I had a tall decaf triple Americano. Delicious. I never ordered it decaf before, but I could not tell the difference.
Before we left Sheri was getting hungry so she got some pretzel sticks from Auntie Anne's and a Diet Coke for me. Auntie Anne's pretzels are NOT pretzels. They are sweet bread sticks with coarse salt and butter added to their exterior. If you want a sweet salty buttery breadstick, to ahead and get one, but if you want something that tastes like a good traditional pretzel, the frozen ones you get at the grocery store and microwave are much better. A good pretzel should be more like a bagel than a breadstick.
Went to Meijer and got an electric hair clipper for me. My hair cut is so simple (a number 2 on the sides and a number 6 on the top) we thought we would give it a try at home. If we replace three haircuts at the barbershop we will have paid for the clippers plus a little extra. Our first try actually looks pretty good.
Watched The Ring Two. Sheri actually watched it. I played a new type of puzzle that I have been getting into. We had ham sandwiches and some corn for dinner.
Sunday
Went for an 11.6 mile bike ride. Half way through we stopped at the dog park to watch dogs. Not many dogs there today. We don't know why, because it was beautiful. I packed ham sandwich for brunch.
Got home. Showered. Rested.
Went out and got our propane tank refilled. About $22 with tax. Is that high? It seemed high to me.
Dropped that off at home.
Went to A&W Root Beer for Dinner. Sheri had a chicken sandwich. I had a chili dog and lots of delicious diet root beer. We split a small order of onion rings.
Went to Lowe's and got a hatchet.
Went to Office Depot and got two black ink jet cartridges.
Stopped at McDonalds to get an ice cream cone to split.
Got home and watched some Sunday night Fox TV. (Simpson's, Family Guy, etc.)
Moved the party upstairs, getting ready for bed.
I bought this 14" hatchet at Lowe's tonight for $20. I did a little searching when I got home and one thing I read was that it is the number one selling hatchet in Europe. The hatchet is made in Finland.
I already used it to sharpen the end of a stake so I could pound it in the ground to indicate where the tree guys should plant our tree.
The edge is so sharp I already cut my self with it and I bled for a good 10 minutes. It happened when I was first taking it out of its snap-in sheath. I was holding the sheath the wrong way (obviously!) and when it popped out the area between my thumb and index finger was in the way.
I already used it to sharpen the end of a stake so I could pound it in the ground to indicate where the tree guys should plant our tree.
The edge is so sharp I already cut my self with it and I bled for a good 10 minutes. It happened when I was first taking it out of its snap-in sheath. I was holding the sheath the wrong way (obviously!) and when it popped out the area between my thumb and index finger was in the way.
Friday, August 26, 2005
Mom just called with a cute story.
She was sitting in front of the computer with my nephew Shawn looking at a batch of pictures I sent out via the Wal-Mart photo service. Shawn was looking at each one and saying whom it was. "That's Aunt Sheri in a dress." is what he said for this picture.
This was the next picture, and for this one he said: "Oh look! It's Aunt Sheri as a little girl."
She was sitting in front of the computer with my nephew Shawn looking at a batch of pictures I sent out via the Wal-Mart photo service. Shawn was looking at each one and saying whom it was. "That's Aunt Sheri in a dress." is what he said for this picture.
This was the next picture, and for this one he said: "Oh look! It's Aunt Sheri as a little girl."
I get really annoyed when I hear weather forecasters continue to announce what the relative humidity is. Why am I annoyed at this? Because it doesn't tell you squat about how comfortable you will feel!
The relative humidity value is RELATIVE to what the temperature is. Everyone knows if the relative humidity (RH from here on out) is 80% on a 100° they will be very uncomfortable. But what about an RH of 80% on an 80° day? The cooler the air gets, the less moisture is can hold, so there won't be the same level of moisture in the air on an 80° day with an RH of 80% as there is on a 100° day with an RH of 80%.
The number I want all of you to start paying attention to is the dew point. Say it: Dew point! Dew point! Dew point! Dew point!
It is really easy to use also. You basically only need to remember one number no matter what the temperature is. That number is 65°.
Any dew point above 65° you can consider uncomfortable.
Any dew point below 65° you can consider comfortable.
Below is a little table that breaks it down a little further, but as a rule of thumb you can use the 65° dew point as you listen to weather reports:
The relative humidity value is RELATIVE to what the temperature is. Everyone knows if the relative humidity (RH from here on out) is 80% on a 100° they will be very uncomfortable. But what about an RH of 80% on an 80° day? The cooler the air gets, the less moisture is can hold, so there won't be the same level of moisture in the air on an 80° day with an RH of 80% as there is on a 100° day with an RH of 80%.
The number I want all of you to start paying attention to is the dew point. Say it: Dew point! Dew point! Dew point! Dew point!
It is really easy to use also. You basically only need to remember one number no matter what the temperature is. That number is 65°.
Any dew point above 65° you can consider uncomfortable.
Any dew point below 65° you can consider comfortable.
Below is a little table that breaks it down a little further, but as a rule of thumb you can use the 65° dew point as you listen to weather reports:
75+....Extremely uncomfortableA good example of how much more useful dew point is over RH is our local 3 PM forecast. They predict the temperature will be 86° and the RH will be 54%. That doesn't sound too bad, right? Wrong. By looking at the dew point, which is predicted to be 67° and above the rule-of-thumb 65° dew point, you now know that it is going to feel a little sticky.
70-74..Very humid, quite unfomfortable
65-69..A bit uncomfortable for most people
60-64..Ok for most, but everyone begins to feel the humidity
55-59..Comfortable
50-54..Very comfortable
<=49...Feels like the west, very pleasant, a bit dry to some
Thursday, August 25, 2005
I am very afraid that stories like this are indications that they will take superficial short-term measures to address the symptoms (high oil and gas prices) rather than try to address the underlying problems (low fuel efficiency requirements for cars and trucks, energy conservation in general, etc.)
This happened less than 15 miles from our house today.
A bank robbery, a high-speed police pursuit and a chase on foot today ended with officers surrounding a house in west suburban Elmhurst where the suspect was believed to be hiding.
The events began about 12:30 p.m. when police received a report about a robbery of the Harris Bank branch in LaGrange, said LaGrange Police Chief Michael Holub.
Nearby police officers in squad cars responded and began following a white sedan, Holub said. The driver of that car allegedly opened fire on police, and one officer sustained minor injuries from flying glass.
The motorist sped off with LaGrange police in pursuit, soon joined by officers from other departments, officials said. The driver headed north on the Tri-State Tollway (Interstate Highway 294).
The pursuit ended near North Avenue and Illinois Highway 83, where the suspect was believed to have abandoned his car and fled on foot, through a patch of woods, to a house near Villa and Alexander Avenues, CLTV reported.
Police flooded the area and as of 1:30 p.m., officers in SWAT gear and with guns drawn had taken up positions around the residence. Streets have been closed in the immediate vicinity.
One thing that has really disappointed me about Chicagoland is the absence of places to get freshly roasted nuts. Toledo has the Bassett Nut Company and Columbus has the Krema Nut Company.
Chicago has lots of places to get nuts, like Nuts On Clark, but they don't talk about their roasting facilities, which leads me to believe they just buy their already-roasted nuts from a supplier out of state and resell them. I want to smell the roasters as I am buying my nuts!
Chicago is home to John B. Sanfilippo & Son, which you know better as Fisher Nuts. I enjoy their nuts, we just bought a five-pound bag of peanuts in the shell a couple weeks ago, but it is not the same as buying them right next to where they are roasted.
Well I may have found the next best thing. Fisher Nuts has two thrift stores in their production facilities. I just called and they are open on Saturdays from 9 AM until 4 PM. We are going to take a drive up there this weekend and see if the nuts are any fresher than what we can buy in the store.
They have two thrift stores located about three miles from each other. The main, and larger, store is located:
1717 Arthur Avenue
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
847-871-6662
(Their website lists the address as 2299 Busse Rd. The two locations are on the same block.)
The other smaller store is located:
300 E Touhy Avenue
Des Plaines, IL 60018
847-298-1510
Chicago has lots of places to get nuts, like Nuts On Clark, but they don't talk about their roasting facilities, which leads me to believe they just buy their already-roasted nuts from a supplier out of state and resell them. I want to smell the roasters as I am buying my nuts!
Chicago is home to John B. Sanfilippo & Son, which you know better as Fisher Nuts. I enjoy their nuts, we just bought a five-pound bag of peanuts in the shell a couple weeks ago, but it is not the same as buying them right next to where they are roasted.
Well I may have found the next best thing. Fisher Nuts has two thrift stores in their production facilities. I just called and they are open on Saturdays from 9 AM until 4 PM. We are going to take a drive up there this weekend and see if the nuts are any fresher than what we can buy in the store.
They have two thrift stores located about three miles from each other. The main, and larger, store is located:
1717 Arthur Avenue
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
847-871-6662
(Their website lists the address as 2299 Busse Rd. The two locations are on the same block.)
The other smaller store is located:
300 E Touhy Avenue
Des Plaines, IL 60018
847-298-1510
General Motors and Ford Motors Debt Ratings Cut to Junk Status by Moody's!
[full story]
I guess "employee pricing" wasn't such a good idea after all.
As $3 and $4 a gallon gas becomes more a question of when, not if, Toyota and Honda appear to be better positioned with their hybrids and other quality fuel efficient smaller cars, while GM and Ford are stuck 5 to 10 years behind the technology curve with their gas guzzling Hummers, SUVs, and trucks.
[full story]
I guess "employee pricing" wasn't such a good idea after all.
As $3 and $4 a gallon gas becomes more a question of when, not if, Toyota and Honda appear to be better positioned with their hybrids and other quality fuel efficient smaller cars, while GM and Ford are stuck 5 to 10 years behind the technology curve with their gas guzzling Hummers, SUVs, and trucks.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Oh snap!
U.S. stocks dropped to six-week lows, erasing the Standard & Poor's 500 Index's gain for the year, as crude-oil prices rose above $67 a barrel to a record.
[full story]
[full story]
Last night on TV someone was griping about pre-existing condition clauses in medical insurance policies. I am not trying to be a defender of insurance companies, but if those clauses were not in there the insurance companies would go out of business. Why? There would be no need to carry insurance until you needed medical care. Diagnosed with a melanoma? Call the insurance company and tell them to start your coverage. After your treatment is finished call them back and cancel. They would have a 100% load of sick people and no healthy people to balance the load.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
After I wrote all of this in Panera maybe a month ago I didn't want to post it until I proofed it a little bit. I did that tonight. Better late than never.
=====================
It is over 100º so we have been hanging out at Panera today. I brought the laptop and my travel notes from our San Francisco vacation and finally transcribed everything. You better go to the restroom first and get an iced tea. This will take a while.
=====================
Sheri and I just got back from a vacation to San Francisco, and we got there and back via an Amtrak sleeper car. We actually spent more time on the train than in San Francisco, but that was the idea; getting there was part of the vacation. Also, because of rumblings from Congress about cutting funding for Amtrak we were worried that if we didn't take the Amtrak trip now we might never be able to.
The big overview of the trip is:
1. A nice relaxing train ride to give us time to decompress and enjoy doing nothing and each other.
2. Stay with friends in San Bruno and see the San Francisco sights.
3. Repeat step one, but in the other direction.
Here is a detailed day-by-day account of our vacation:
Saturday April 30
Our good friend Emily picked us up at home around 11:00 AM and drove us to the local commuter train station. We then took the commuter train to Union Station. Our local station is also an Amtrak station, but we couldn't board there because there is no checked bag service here and we needed to check a big bag. It weighed 47 pounds!
Because we had never ridden Amtrak we wanted to get there on the early side in case there were any unexpected events that might stop us up. As it turned out the check-in process was very smooth and fast. We had our tickets within five minutes of arriving at the Amtrak counter. Therefore we had two hours to kill before boarding.
Traveling in a sleeper car automatically bumps you up to first class status. First class passengers can use the Metropolitan Lounge in Union Station. Very nice. First and foremost you don't have to deal with as many people. The normal waiting room can have lots of screaming kids, unsavory types, etc. The Metropolitan Lounge is carpeted, has dark wood paneling throughout, big comfortable easy chairs and couches, nice clean restrooms not open to the public, free fountain drinks, coffee, tea, and assorted muffins. There were also two plasma sets with CNN on. I was in heaven! We could also check our carry-on bags behind the counter so we were free to walk around and not have to carry our bags everywhere. I went upstairs and got a chardog and fries from Gold Coast Hot Dogs while we were waiting.
Our train was scheduled to depart at 1:50 PM. They lined us up to board at 1:20 PM. We quickly got to our room on the upper level. Most of the rooms are on the upper level. There are two large handicap accessible rooms on the lower level as well as two or three smaller rooms. There are also three extra restrooms on the lower level and the shower stall.
On the upper level there is one restroom. There is also an urn of coffee available 24 hours a day as well as orange, apple, and cranberry juice, bottled water, and ice. This is all complimentary in the sleeper cars. Coach passengers must purchase these in the lounge car.
We had what is called a roomette. It has two large chairs that face each other and collapse into one bunk. The second bunk folds down from the ceiling. Even with the upper bunk in the down position I could still sit upright in the seats below.
We had four carry-on bags. We could shove three of them under the seats and the fourth we hung from a coat hook.
Our first meal on the train was dinner. I had a New York strip steak and Sheri had the lamb shank. Both were pretty good. We ate with a father and his college freshman son that were taking Amtrak around the US for two weeks. They were from the Upper Penninsula of Michigan. The dad, Howard, was retired from Michigan Tech, and son, Ryan, was pre-med there. We enjoyed their company.
They were showing The Incredibles in the lounge car at 8:00 PM, but the sound was bad and the picture was full of static so we went to bed a little before 9:00 PM.
Sunday May 1
We woke up early in Denver; I think around 7 AM. We had a one hour stop and I was excited about seeing what I could of the city, so we got dressed and off the train as soon as it stopped. It was snowing which was kind of neat because it was May. The station was right next to Coors Field which was also cool. It looked like we were in a really neat part of the city, kind of like the Short North area in Columbus only a lot bigger and more stuff, but because it was so early and on a Sunday nothing was open. We stood in front of the station for a couple of minutes and then just walked back to the train for breakfast. Oh well.
I had the Tuscan Omelet and Sheri had the Railroad French toast. Chunky stewed tomatoes with oregano made it Tuscan. It also had onions, green peppers and I think mushrooms and cheese. It would have been better with out the Italian flavored tomatoes. Sheri's French toast was room temperature. Very disappointing.
We sat with a couple that just loves train rides. He carried a scanner with him all over the train listening to anything the engineer and conductor were saying. He had it with him at the breakfast table too. They have taken a three-week train vacation every year for the last several years. They start in Florida where they are from and just criss-cross the country. We thought they were both very dorky and just made for each other.
David our car steward picked up Sunday papers in Denver and we spent the rest of our Sunday morning reading the Denver Post in the lounge car watching the scenery rolling by. Very relaxing.
The landscape on the east side of the Moffat Tunnel is the most amazing I have ever seen. It had just snowed so all of the huge pine trees were covered in thick snow. The cliffs, both above us and below us were almost vertical. It was so beautiful it didn't look real; like we were actually riding in someone's model railroad that went a little overboard with the decorations.
Because it was so curvy I don't think we went faster than 10 mph the whole hour before we approached the tunnel. The ledge that the track was on was not much wider than the train itself. Maybe 30 feet. There were trip wires along this entire portion of the route to detect landslides. If a bolder breaks through a trip wire, a warning is instantly sent to the main dispatch office so they can stop all traffic in the area and get a crew out there to clear debris and fix the tracks.
The Moffat tunnel is over six miles long and took about 10 minutes to go through. Pitch black inside; no lights. The announced before we entered the tunnel not to go from car to car in order to keep the diesel exhaust from entering the cars.
For lunch I had a black angus steak burger and Sheri had a prime rib sandwich. The hamburger was just average. Sheri's prime rib was a thin slice of prime rib on a hard roll. The prime rib was far from being rare, and little salty, but because it was so thin it was not too overpowering. It was OK too. We ate with a father and son again from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The son was on spring break and this was their first long train trip. They were going to make stops in cities along the way. Spend a few days, and then continue on. Howard, the dad, was an administrator at a college, and I think he said he was partially retired, although he looked to young to be retired. The son was going to the same school his dad works or worked and is pre-med. We really enjoyed their company. Really nice people.
After lunch I decided to take my first shower on-board. It was a little difficult because the train is always moving and you are trying to keep your balance and keep from crashing into the sides of the shower. It felt really good though and I was very refreshed afterwards. A nice Sunday so far.
For dinner we ate with an older woman named Harriet that was riding in coach. She was returning from visiting her daughter in Iowa. She was very nice. I think she lived in a small town in Utah. I had turkey medallions for dinner and Sheri had roast turkey. The turkey was good, but Sheri's chicken was on the dry side.
Monday May 2
We woke up and had breakfast though Nevada. We ate with an older couple from St. Louis. At first I thought they would be really annoying. It turned out that they were not annoying, but I wouldn't want to spend too much time with them. Not sure what it was. Maybe a little shallow. We each had two eggs and grits. Good hearty breakfast. The steward picked up the USA Today newspaper in Reno for us. Sheri took a shower after breakfast in anticipation of seeing Addy that afternoon.
We ate lunch while riding through the Sierra Nevada's with Homer and his daughter Polly. Homer was a chaplain in World War 2. He was very old and frail but seemed pretty sharp. He was in the process of writing a book about his life, experiences, lessons, etc. for the main purpose of something to pass on to his grandchildren. He said a blessing before we ate. He told us some stories from the war. Very enjoyable. Polly was a little hard to read. I thought I heard one of them mention that she was in education, and because Homer was doing all of the talking I asked what she did for a living. She just pointed to Homer. I kind of made a "What do you mean face." She said that since Homer's wife died all she does is take care of Homer. We weren't sure, but we think she kind of resented it, and was maybe a little tired of hearing Homer tell everyone his stories. They were taking a three week or longer train trip around the country too.
The Sierra Nevada's were just stunning. We had to go very slow because of all the twists and turns. I've never seen anything like it.
I took another shower so I would be fresh for the afternoon. We arrived at our destination Emeryville, CA that afternoon eight minutes ahead of schedule. Amazing.
Addy was there waiting for us. We were walking around the campus of U.C. Berkeley within 15 minutes of getting into Addy's car! The first thing we did was go to the campus bookstore so I could get a UCB t-shirt. Then we had an apple-and-cheddar crepe at Crepe-A-Go-Go. Crepe places are all over the place in California. It was very good. The crepes out there are more similar to tortillas that what I am used to. We ate it like an ice cream cone.
Then we went to Bongo Burger and had some of the best falafel I have ever had, and a Persian burger. We found these places in one of the tour books that Sheri brought along on the train. Sheri hadn't had an iced coffee in a few days so we stopped and took care of her fix at a little coffee shop. I could have spent a lot more time walking around there. I loved the vibe the place and the people had. I can't explain it. Just very cool.
I was really excited about driving through San Francisco. We had to drive over the Bay Bridge. The Bay Bridge goes over Treasure Island which used to be a military base. People live on there now. We were heading back to Addy and Jeff's house during rush hour. I think the traffic was similar to Chicago's freeway rush hour traffic. Fast and heavy.
We spent the rest of the evening just sitting with them in their living room catching up and playing with their two adorable pugs. I was covered in pug hair at the end of the night from all of the pug love I got.
Tuesday May 3
Jeff and Addy both took off work Tuesday to show us around. Addy works for Oracle and Jeff works for Comcast. Jeff drove us all into the city. We started at Castro which is the main gay area. For breakfast Sheri and I split a chili rellano and a tamale. It was OK. I've had better. A little bit later we stopped at Tom's Peasant Pies, a place that Sheri read about in a tour book. It was WONDERFUL. We split a spinach, feta, cheddar pie.
We got back in the car and drove to the Mission which is the big Mexican area. We stopped at a Mexican bakery and got some cookies and things. Went to a taquira and got a very good pork taco and chips and salsa. Then we walked one block over to Valencia Street. We just walked up and down looking at a lot of neat little shops.
Got back in the car and drove to Haight-Ashbury. That is the hippy place where the Grateful Dead hung out. Very cool. Went into a lot of head shops. I was looking for the five Grateful Dead teddy bears marching on a white t-shirt and nothing else. I couldn't find it though. Everything was tie died or had a lot of extra graphics that I didn't like.
For dinner we were going to meet up with a couple of their good friends at a sushi place called Toyko A-Go-Go. We got there early and sat at the bar for a couple hours and talked and relaxed until their friends got there.
For dessert we walked to a place that they said was supposed to have the best crepes evar. They were pretty good. Sheri and I split a banana and Nutella crepe.
Wednesday May 4
Today was our 9 year anniversary! Jeff and Addy both had to work so we were on our own. Addy dropped us off at the BART station before she went to work and we rode the train into the city.
We got downtown and walked just a couple blocks to the Powell Street cable car stop. I didn't really think much about the cable cars before I got there other than it is something we have to do just because that's what you have to do when you visit there. It was the highlight of the day if not the trip. It is so cool. It is a great way to see the city. It is scary going up and down the hills though. It is amazing how steep they are. It just seems like it is going to go out of control down the hill. It can't stop on a hill to let people on and off; it has to be flat. The hills only flatten out at intersections, so the cable cars stop right in the middle of intersections to let people on and off. That felt really weird. It is probably a 20 minute ride from Powell Street to Fisherman's Wharf and you really get to see a lot of the city. We went by Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world. We snaked through their China Town. I think we went through their financial district. I don't think it goes faster than maybe 20 mph, so it is very relaxing. We sat up front facing out. Our feet almost dangling in traffic. If you sit in the back you are enclosed by glass. Don't site there.
When we got to Fisherman's Wharf it was lightly misting, so the first thing we did was stop and get me a baseball cap. I hate it when my glasses get rain-spattered and my vision is obscured. Then we stopped at the famous Boudin's bakery for breakfast. We each had a sourdough roll with butter and I had a Diet Coke.
Then we walked over and got our tickets to go to Alcatraz. Make sure you get your tickets early because it sells out fast. After we got our tickets we walked to the famous Pier 39. We split a spinach and cheese crepe. After that Sheri got an iced coffee. We walked over to the famous sunbathing sea lions and watched them for probably 20 minutes. We went to the Candy Barron and got an assortment of salt water taffy to snack on while at Alcatraz.
We walked back over to the boat docks to get in line for our scheduled boat trip. They don't tell you this when you buy your tickets, but when the boat drops you off on Alcatraz you have to walk up a long curving road that has a 130 foot rise. That is like walking up a 13 story building.
The first thing we did after walking up the big grade was stop in the theater. They had a 15 minute film loop that gave a lot of neat background history. They also had one of the inmates there that wrote a book about his experience. His name was Darwin Coon.
They have an excellent audio tour that costs a few dollars extra, but if you don't get it you won't know what you are looking at. Very good. Highly recommended. People that didn't have the audio tour looked kind of confused stumbling around.
After we were done with the audio tour we sat outside on a bench for half an hour just watching the Bay and San Francisco and listened to a park ranger talking about the lighthouse that was next to us. It was misting off and on.
We made our way back across the bay and it was lunch time. One thing that all of the tour books talk about is a walking crab cocktail. There must be 30 little booths and restaurants where for $5 you can get a little cup of freshly steamed Dungeness crab with a little cocktail sauce. I was all ready to gorge myself silly on crab. The only problem was that Dungeness crab doesn't have much flavor. It is nothing like snow crab or king crab. Oh well, I tried it.
One thing we wanted to try in California was an In-N-Out burger. We had heard of a lot of celebrities talking about In-N-Out so we had to see what the fuss was about. There happened to be one near Fisherman's Wharf so we went and tried one. They were good, but not as good as a Fat Burger. We thought it was similar to a Frisch's Big Boy only a lot better, if that makes any sense. We were tired and my back hurt so we sat there for a while.
After that we just wandered around the Fisherman's Wharf area holding hands. Nice. After a while we needed a snack so we stopped back at Boudin's. We had another couple of sour dough rolls and butter. Sheri had a chocolate muffin and I had an oatmeal cookie. While we were sitting in their outside patio eating our snack it started to rain pretty hard. We were under an awning so it was really nice. When it started to let up we picked up a couple of sourdough baguettes for dinner and headed back to the cable car.
There was a long line for the cable cars, and a car left the station only every 20 minutes or so. Then it started to rain hard again, and there was nothing to stand under, so we just stood there for over an hour and got soaked. Sheri did a pretty good job of keeping the bread dry under her windbreaker.
We finally got on the cable car for a nice relaxing ride back in the rain. At one point we picked up a 40+ year old guy and his mom. There were no seats so they just stood on the running board. The mom was standing between my legs. She was really fun. She said she always wanted to do that and to yell "Yahoo!" as the car crested a hill, so I said do it, and she did.
Jeff and Addy picked us up back at the BART station and then we stopped at the grocery store to get some steaks and corn on the cob for dinner.
That night we just ate dinner, watched TV, and gave the pugs a bath with some coal tar shampoo. They were really itchy and we told them that coal tar shampoo was the only thing that helped Goliath's sensitive skin, so they picked some up and gave it a try. It worked for them.
Thursday May 5
Jeff and Addy took another day off from work again. The first thing we did was drive to Pacifica. We got some coffee on a pier and walked along the beach for a bit looking at the ocean.
Then we drove to a BART station and took the train into the city again. We went to the Ferry Building. This is kind of like a huge North Market in Columbus but more upscale. We went to a really nice Mexican restaurant. Sheri and I split a pork taco and a masa quesadilla, and a flan for dessert. Excellent.
Then Jeff and I split a 7 caviar sampler at a caviar restaurant. The best I ever had. The Jeff and I split an oyster sampler at an oyster bar. There were three different kinds and they were the most delicious flavorful sweet amazing oysters I have ever had. Then Sheri and I split a gelato. We got one scoop of coffee and one scoop of caramel. Again, delicious.
We washed that down with a cup of coffee from Peet's Coffee. There was a chocolate store that had the biggest chocolate samples I have ever seen. From the couple that I had and the couple that Sheri gave me I probably ate $3 in chocolate.
From the Ferry Building we walked through downtown San Francisco. We ended up in Union Square just sitting and watching people go by for a while.
We walked into a huge fancy mall and that is where I bought my Faber Castell mechanical pencil, and then had a snack from a pizza place.
We took BART back to the Mission and had iced tea at a sidewalk café. Then we went to a nice restaurant called Luna Park and Sheri and I split an amazing order of mushroom ravioli. The tastes were unbelievable.
We went to a poetry reading that a friend of Sheri's was in. Interesting. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Then we got home late and packed for our return trip to Chicago.
Friday May 6
We left the house at 6:30 AM. We stopped at Walgreen's first to pick up a few things:
Newspaper
Time magazine
Mouthwash
Safety pins (the curtains in our cabin on the way out wouldn't stay closed)
Shampoo
Tablet of paper so I could write these notes down
We got to the station at 7 AM, but our train didn’t leave until 9:15 AM. Sheri said she saw a Starbucks on the way there and she wanted to go get some iced coffee. It turned out that it was 8 blocks away. I was starting to get really nervous because it was taking her so long. We each had an iced coffee and split some banana walnut coffee cake and some blueberry coffee cake.
One we got on the train I started writing my trip notes in my tablet with my new pencil.
For lunch I had a pot roast pot pie and Sheri had cheese quiche. Both were really good. We split a piece of apple pie with ice cream for dessert. We ate with a San Francisco couple that was going to Reno to visit family. She worked for the San Francisco Park Department in charge of the 5 gardeners for the 20 parks.
After lunch we went back to our cabin where I got my trip notes caught up.
The bathroom on our car this time had a window. Our car going west did not have a window. Every time I went in there someone kept closing the curtains tight even though we are going through desolate countryside and desert. I liked watching the scenery roll by while I was in there.
We got to Reno at 4 PM and had a crew change. The cabin stewards stay with us the whole trip, but the engineers swap out.
We had 7:15 PM dinner reservations. We ate with a New Zealand couple that were heading to Boulder, Colorado. He was a rowing coach and somehow got a 6 month job at the university there coaching their rowing team. I had two pork shanks and Sheri had the chicken marsala. They had catfish on the menu and the Kiwis made a big fuss about how awful that would be to eat and they definitely wouldn't be trying that. I told them about how we have catfish farms in the US and they are fed a diet of corn, and they are not wild-caught muck eating catfish, and how catfish is extremely mild and sweet. I eventually talked them into it and they really really liked it.
After dinner Sheri watched a movie in the lounge car with four kids that adopted her. Their ages were 4, 5, 7, and 9. Three brother and one sister. They were riding from Reno to their new home in Nebraska.
I went back to our compartment and read my book "The Devil in the White City."
Saturday May 7
We skipped breakfast. We read the "Desert News" newspaper from Salt Lake City.
For lunch we ate with two old ladies from Colorado. I had the grilled chicken sandwich and Sheri had a turkey and Swiss sandwich.
I took a shower at 3:30 PM.
We had 6 PM dinner reservations. We ate with a software trainer from San Francisco that was going to Manhattan to train some people on his company's product. He said their product is similar to Crystal Reports. He said he doesn't fly anymore. Hates it. Loves taking the train and he can get a lot of work done. I had country fried steak and Sheri had the pasta primavera.
At 7 PM we arrived in Denver. I got out and stretched my legs for a half hour.
There was a guy in the compartment next to ours that was watching movies on his laptop. He had the volume up too loud and I couldn't concentrate on my book or take naps. I finally asked him if he could please turn it down. A little bit later when I was somewhere else on the train he stopped by to say he was sorry again. Turns out he was a gay guy that just broke up with his boyfriend and just needed to get away, so he was taking the train to Chicago for a while. He and Sheri hit it off and did a lot of talking the rest of the trip.
Sunday May 8 (Mother's Day)
Sheri got up early and showered. I had the Mediterranean omelet. Sheri had eggs and grits.
For most of the trip we didn't have cell phone reception. We had to wait until we pulled into a decent sized city before we had cell phone reception. We kept looking to see how many bars we had on my phone when we pulled in so we could call our moms for Mother's day.
We arrived back in Union Station about 2 PM. We took the commuter train from there back to our city where Sheri's friend picked us up. It was good to be home.
Miscellaneous
For snacks we packed:
Beef jerky
Almond, cashew, and cranberry trail mix
Pistachios
These little red and black chewy raspberry candies with a light floral taste we like.
Luna bars
Peanut butter filled pretzels
Gum
I wore slippers around the train most of the time.
The trains top speed was 79 mph
The train had in this order:
2 engines
1 baggage car
3 sleepers
1 dining car
1 lounge car
2-3 coach class cars
The dining portion of the dining car was on the upper level and the galley was on the lower level. There is a dumb waiter to move meals and dirty dishes between the two levels.
=====================
It is over 100º so we have been hanging out at Panera today. I brought the laptop and my travel notes from our San Francisco vacation and finally transcribed everything. You better go to the restroom first and get an iced tea. This will take a while.
=====================
Sheri and I just got back from a vacation to San Francisco, and we got there and back via an Amtrak sleeper car. We actually spent more time on the train than in San Francisco, but that was the idea; getting there was part of the vacation. Also, because of rumblings from Congress about cutting funding for Amtrak we were worried that if we didn't take the Amtrak trip now we might never be able to.
The big overview of the trip is:
1. A nice relaxing train ride to give us time to decompress and enjoy doing nothing and each other.
2. Stay with friends in San Bruno and see the San Francisco sights.
3. Repeat step one, but in the other direction.
Here is a detailed day-by-day account of our vacation:
Saturday April 30
Our good friend Emily picked us up at home around 11:00 AM and drove us to the local commuter train station. We then took the commuter train to Union Station. Our local station is also an Amtrak station, but we couldn't board there because there is no checked bag service here and we needed to check a big bag. It weighed 47 pounds!
Because we had never ridden Amtrak we wanted to get there on the early side in case there were any unexpected events that might stop us up. As it turned out the check-in process was very smooth and fast. We had our tickets within five minutes of arriving at the Amtrak counter. Therefore we had two hours to kill before boarding.
Traveling in a sleeper car automatically bumps you up to first class status. First class passengers can use the Metropolitan Lounge in Union Station. Very nice. First and foremost you don't have to deal with as many people. The normal waiting room can have lots of screaming kids, unsavory types, etc. The Metropolitan Lounge is carpeted, has dark wood paneling throughout, big comfortable easy chairs and couches, nice clean restrooms not open to the public, free fountain drinks, coffee, tea, and assorted muffins. There were also two plasma sets with CNN on. I was in heaven! We could also check our carry-on bags behind the counter so we were free to walk around and not have to carry our bags everywhere. I went upstairs and got a chardog and fries from Gold Coast Hot Dogs while we were waiting.
Our train was scheduled to depart at 1:50 PM. They lined us up to board at 1:20 PM. We quickly got to our room on the upper level. Most of the rooms are on the upper level. There are two large handicap accessible rooms on the lower level as well as two or three smaller rooms. There are also three extra restrooms on the lower level and the shower stall.
On the upper level there is one restroom. There is also an urn of coffee available 24 hours a day as well as orange, apple, and cranberry juice, bottled water, and ice. This is all complimentary in the sleeper cars. Coach passengers must purchase these in the lounge car.
We had what is called a roomette. It has two large chairs that face each other and collapse into one bunk. The second bunk folds down from the ceiling. Even with the upper bunk in the down position I could still sit upright in the seats below.
We had four carry-on bags. We could shove three of them under the seats and the fourth we hung from a coat hook.
Our first meal on the train was dinner. I had a New York strip steak and Sheri had the lamb shank. Both were pretty good. We ate with a father and his college freshman son that were taking Amtrak around the US for two weeks. They were from the Upper Penninsula of Michigan. The dad, Howard, was retired from Michigan Tech, and son, Ryan, was pre-med there. We enjoyed their company.
They were showing The Incredibles in the lounge car at 8:00 PM, but the sound was bad and the picture was full of static so we went to bed a little before 9:00 PM.
Sunday May 1
We woke up early in Denver; I think around 7 AM. We had a one hour stop and I was excited about seeing what I could of the city, so we got dressed and off the train as soon as it stopped. It was snowing which was kind of neat because it was May. The station was right next to Coors Field which was also cool. It looked like we were in a really neat part of the city, kind of like the Short North area in Columbus only a lot bigger and more stuff, but because it was so early and on a Sunday nothing was open. We stood in front of the station for a couple of minutes and then just walked back to the train for breakfast. Oh well.
I had the Tuscan Omelet and Sheri had the Railroad French toast. Chunky stewed tomatoes with oregano made it Tuscan. It also had onions, green peppers and I think mushrooms and cheese. It would have been better with out the Italian flavored tomatoes. Sheri's French toast was room temperature. Very disappointing.
We sat with a couple that just loves train rides. He carried a scanner with him all over the train listening to anything the engineer and conductor were saying. He had it with him at the breakfast table too. They have taken a three-week train vacation every year for the last several years. They start in Florida where they are from and just criss-cross the country. We thought they were both very dorky and just made for each other.
David our car steward picked up Sunday papers in Denver and we spent the rest of our Sunday morning reading the Denver Post in the lounge car watching the scenery rolling by. Very relaxing.
The landscape on the east side of the Moffat Tunnel is the most amazing I have ever seen. It had just snowed so all of the huge pine trees were covered in thick snow. The cliffs, both above us and below us were almost vertical. It was so beautiful it didn't look real; like we were actually riding in someone's model railroad that went a little overboard with the decorations.
Because it was so curvy I don't think we went faster than 10 mph the whole hour before we approached the tunnel. The ledge that the track was on was not much wider than the train itself. Maybe 30 feet. There were trip wires along this entire portion of the route to detect landslides. If a bolder breaks through a trip wire, a warning is instantly sent to the main dispatch office so they can stop all traffic in the area and get a crew out there to clear debris and fix the tracks.
The Moffat tunnel is over six miles long and took about 10 minutes to go through. Pitch black inside; no lights. The announced before we entered the tunnel not to go from car to car in order to keep the diesel exhaust from entering the cars.
For lunch I had a black angus steak burger and Sheri had a prime rib sandwich. The hamburger was just average. Sheri's prime rib was a thin slice of prime rib on a hard roll. The prime rib was far from being rare, and little salty, but because it was so thin it was not too overpowering. It was OK too. We ate with a father and son again from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The son was on spring break and this was their first long train trip. They were going to make stops in cities along the way. Spend a few days, and then continue on. Howard, the dad, was an administrator at a college, and I think he said he was partially retired, although he looked to young to be retired. The son was going to the same school his dad works or worked and is pre-med. We really enjoyed their company. Really nice people.
After lunch I decided to take my first shower on-board. It was a little difficult because the train is always moving and you are trying to keep your balance and keep from crashing into the sides of the shower. It felt really good though and I was very refreshed afterwards. A nice Sunday so far.
For dinner we ate with an older woman named Harriet that was riding in coach. She was returning from visiting her daughter in Iowa. She was very nice. I think she lived in a small town in Utah. I had turkey medallions for dinner and Sheri had roast turkey. The turkey was good, but Sheri's chicken was on the dry side.
Monday May 2
We woke up and had breakfast though Nevada. We ate with an older couple from St. Louis. At first I thought they would be really annoying. It turned out that they were not annoying, but I wouldn't want to spend too much time with them. Not sure what it was. Maybe a little shallow. We each had two eggs and grits. Good hearty breakfast. The steward picked up the USA Today newspaper in Reno for us. Sheri took a shower after breakfast in anticipation of seeing Addy that afternoon.
We ate lunch while riding through the Sierra Nevada's with Homer and his daughter Polly. Homer was a chaplain in World War 2. He was very old and frail but seemed pretty sharp. He was in the process of writing a book about his life, experiences, lessons, etc. for the main purpose of something to pass on to his grandchildren. He said a blessing before we ate. He told us some stories from the war. Very enjoyable. Polly was a little hard to read. I thought I heard one of them mention that she was in education, and because Homer was doing all of the talking I asked what she did for a living. She just pointed to Homer. I kind of made a "What do you mean face." She said that since Homer's wife died all she does is take care of Homer. We weren't sure, but we think she kind of resented it, and was maybe a little tired of hearing Homer tell everyone his stories. They were taking a three week or longer train trip around the country too.
The Sierra Nevada's were just stunning. We had to go very slow because of all the twists and turns. I've never seen anything like it.
I took another shower so I would be fresh for the afternoon. We arrived at our destination Emeryville, CA that afternoon eight minutes ahead of schedule. Amazing.
Addy was there waiting for us. We were walking around the campus of U.C. Berkeley within 15 minutes of getting into Addy's car! The first thing we did was go to the campus bookstore so I could get a UCB t-shirt. Then we had an apple-and-cheddar crepe at Crepe-A-Go-Go. Crepe places are all over the place in California. It was very good. The crepes out there are more similar to tortillas that what I am used to. We ate it like an ice cream cone.
Then we went to Bongo Burger and had some of the best falafel I have ever had, and a Persian burger. We found these places in one of the tour books that Sheri brought along on the train. Sheri hadn't had an iced coffee in a few days so we stopped and took care of her fix at a little coffee shop. I could have spent a lot more time walking around there. I loved the vibe the place and the people had. I can't explain it. Just very cool.
I was really excited about driving through San Francisco. We had to drive over the Bay Bridge. The Bay Bridge goes over Treasure Island which used to be a military base. People live on there now. We were heading back to Addy and Jeff's house during rush hour. I think the traffic was similar to Chicago's freeway rush hour traffic. Fast and heavy.
We spent the rest of the evening just sitting with them in their living room catching up and playing with their two adorable pugs. I was covered in pug hair at the end of the night from all of the pug love I got.
Tuesday May 3
Jeff and Addy both took off work Tuesday to show us around. Addy works for Oracle and Jeff works for Comcast. Jeff drove us all into the city. We started at Castro which is the main gay area. For breakfast Sheri and I split a chili rellano and a tamale. It was OK. I've had better. A little bit later we stopped at Tom's Peasant Pies, a place that Sheri read about in a tour book. It was WONDERFUL. We split a spinach, feta, cheddar pie.
We got back in the car and drove to the Mission which is the big Mexican area. We stopped at a Mexican bakery and got some cookies and things. Went to a taquira and got a very good pork taco and chips and salsa. Then we walked one block over to Valencia Street. We just walked up and down looking at a lot of neat little shops.
Got back in the car and drove to Haight-Ashbury. That is the hippy place where the Grateful Dead hung out. Very cool. Went into a lot of head shops. I was looking for the five Grateful Dead teddy bears marching on a white t-shirt and nothing else. I couldn't find it though. Everything was tie died or had a lot of extra graphics that I didn't like.
For dinner we were going to meet up with a couple of their good friends at a sushi place called Toyko A-Go-Go. We got there early and sat at the bar for a couple hours and talked and relaxed until their friends got there.
For dessert we walked to a place that they said was supposed to have the best crepes evar. They were pretty good. Sheri and I split a banana and Nutella crepe.
Wednesday May 4
Today was our 9 year anniversary! Jeff and Addy both had to work so we were on our own. Addy dropped us off at the BART station before she went to work and we rode the train into the city.
We got downtown and walked just a couple blocks to the Powell Street cable car stop. I didn't really think much about the cable cars before I got there other than it is something we have to do just because that's what you have to do when you visit there. It was the highlight of the day if not the trip. It is so cool. It is a great way to see the city. It is scary going up and down the hills though. It is amazing how steep they are. It just seems like it is going to go out of control down the hill. It can't stop on a hill to let people on and off; it has to be flat. The hills only flatten out at intersections, so the cable cars stop right in the middle of intersections to let people on and off. That felt really weird. It is probably a 20 minute ride from Powell Street to Fisherman's Wharf and you really get to see a lot of the city. We went by Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world. We snaked through their China Town. I think we went through their financial district. I don't think it goes faster than maybe 20 mph, so it is very relaxing. We sat up front facing out. Our feet almost dangling in traffic. If you sit in the back you are enclosed by glass. Don't site there.
When we got to Fisherman's Wharf it was lightly misting, so the first thing we did was stop and get me a baseball cap. I hate it when my glasses get rain-spattered and my vision is obscured. Then we stopped at the famous Boudin's bakery for breakfast. We each had a sourdough roll with butter and I had a Diet Coke.
Then we walked over and got our tickets to go to Alcatraz. Make sure you get your tickets early because it sells out fast. After we got our tickets we walked to the famous Pier 39. We split a spinach and cheese crepe. After that Sheri got an iced coffee. We walked over to the famous sunbathing sea lions and watched them for probably 20 minutes. We went to the Candy Barron and got an assortment of salt water taffy to snack on while at Alcatraz.
We walked back over to the boat docks to get in line for our scheduled boat trip. They don't tell you this when you buy your tickets, but when the boat drops you off on Alcatraz you have to walk up a long curving road that has a 130 foot rise. That is like walking up a 13 story building.
The first thing we did after walking up the big grade was stop in the theater. They had a 15 minute film loop that gave a lot of neat background history. They also had one of the inmates there that wrote a book about his experience. His name was Darwin Coon.
They have an excellent audio tour that costs a few dollars extra, but if you don't get it you won't know what you are looking at. Very good. Highly recommended. People that didn't have the audio tour looked kind of confused stumbling around.
After we were done with the audio tour we sat outside on a bench for half an hour just watching the Bay and San Francisco and listened to a park ranger talking about the lighthouse that was next to us. It was misting off and on.
We made our way back across the bay and it was lunch time. One thing that all of the tour books talk about is a walking crab cocktail. There must be 30 little booths and restaurants where for $5 you can get a little cup of freshly steamed Dungeness crab with a little cocktail sauce. I was all ready to gorge myself silly on crab. The only problem was that Dungeness crab doesn't have much flavor. It is nothing like snow crab or king crab. Oh well, I tried it.
One thing we wanted to try in California was an In-N-Out burger. We had heard of a lot of celebrities talking about In-N-Out so we had to see what the fuss was about. There happened to be one near Fisherman's Wharf so we went and tried one. They were good, but not as good as a Fat Burger. We thought it was similar to a Frisch's Big Boy only a lot better, if that makes any sense. We were tired and my back hurt so we sat there for a while.
After that we just wandered around the Fisherman's Wharf area holding hands. Nice. After a while we needed a snack so we stopped back at Boudin's. We had another couple of sour dough rolls and butter. Sheri had a chocolate muffin and I had an oatmeal cookie. While we were sitting in their outside patio eating our snack it started to rain pretty hard. We were under an awning so it was really nice. When it started to let up we picked up a couple of sourdough baguettes for dinner and headed back to the cable car.
There was a long line for the cable cars, and a car left the station only every 20 minutes or so. Then it started to rain hard again, and there was nothing to stand under, so we just stood there for over an hour and got soaked. Sheri did a pretty good job of keeping the bread dry under her windbreaker.
We finally got on the cable car for a nice relaxing ride back in the rain. At one point we picked up a 40+ year old guy and his mom. There were no seats so they just stood on the running board. The mom was standing between my legs. She was really fun. She said she always wanted to do that and to yell "Yahoo!" as the car crested a hill, so I said do it, and she did.
Jeff and Addy picked us up back at the BART station and then we stopped at the grocery store to get some steaks and corn on the cob for dinner.
That night we just ate dinner, watched TV, and gave the pugs a bath with some coal tar shampoo. They were really itchy and we told them that coal tar shampoo was the only thing that helped Goliath's sensitive skin, so they picked some up and gave it a try. It worked for them.
Thursday May 5
Jeff and Addy took another day off from work again. The first thing we did was drive to Pacifica. We got some coffee on a pier and walked along the beach for a bit looking at the ocean.
Then we drove to a BART station and took the train into the city again. We went to the Ferry Building. This is kind of like a huge North Market in Columbus but more upscale. We went to a really nice Mexican restaurant. Sheri and I split a pork taco and a masa quesadilla, and a flan for dessert. Excellent.
Then Jeff and I split a 7 caviar sampler at a caviar restaurant. The best I ever had. The Jeff and I split an oyster sampler at an oyster bar. There were three different kinds and they were the most delicious flavorful sweet amazing oysters I have ever had. Then Sheri and I split a gelato. We got one scoop of coffee and one scoop of caramel. Again, delicious.
We washed that down with a cup of coffee from Peet's Coffee. There was a chocolate store that had the biggest chocolate samples I have ever seen. From the couple that I had and the couple that Sheri gave me I probably ate $3 in chocolate.
From the Ferry Building we walked through downtown San Francisco. We ended up in Union Square just sitting and watching people go by for a while.
We walked into a huge fancy mall and that is where I bought my Faber Castell mechanical pencil, and then had a snack from a pizza place.
We took BART back to the Mission and had iced tea at a sidewalk café. Then we went to a nice restaurant called Luna Park and Sheri and I split an amazing order of mushroom ravioli. The tastes were unbelievable.
We went to a poetry reading that a friend of Sheri's was in. Interesting. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Then we got home late and packed for our return trip to Chicago.
Friday May 6
We left the house at 6:30 AM. We stopped at Walgreen's first to pick up a few things:
Newspaper
Time magazine
Mouthwash
Safety pins (the curtains in our cabin on the way out wouldn't stay closed)
Shampoo
Tablet of paper so I could write these notes down
We got to the station at 7 AM, but our train didn’t leave until 9:15 AM. Sheri said she saw a Starbucks on the way there and she wanted to go get some iced coffee. It turned out that it was 8 blocks away. I was starting to get really nervous because it was taking her so long. We each had an iced coffee and split some banana walnut coffee cake and some blueberry coffee cake.
One we got on the train I started writing my trip notes in my tablet with my new pencil.
For lunch I had a pot roast pot pie and Sheri had cheese quiche. Both were really good. We split a piece of apple pie with ice cream for dessert. We ate with a San Francisco couple that was going to Reno to visit family. She worked for the San Francisco Park Department in charge of the 5 gardeners for the 20 parks.
After lunch we went back to our cabin where I got my trip notes caught up.
The bathroom on our car this time had a window. Our car going west did not have a window. Every time I went in there someone kept closing the curtains tight even though we are going through desolate countryside and desert. I liked watching the scenery roll by while I was in there.
We got to Reno at 4 PM and had a crew change. The cabin stewards stay with us the whole trip, but the engineers swap out.
We had 7:15 PM dinner reservations. We ate with a New Zealand couple that were heading to Boulder, Colorado. He was a rowing coach and somehow got a 6 month job at the university there coaching their rowing team. I had two pork shanks and Sheri had the chicken marsala. They had catfish on the menu and the Kiwis made a big fuss about how awful that would be to eat and they definitely wouldn't be trying that. I told them about how we have catfish farms in the US and they are fed a diet of corn, and they are not wild-caught muck eating catfish, and how catfish is extremely mild and sweet. I eventually talked them into it and they really really liked it.
After dinner Sheri watched a movie in the lounge car with four kids that adopted her. Their ages were 4, 5, 7, and 9. Three brother and one sister. They were riding from Reno to their new home in Nebraska.
I went back to our compartment and read my book "The Devil in the White City."
Saturday May 7
We skipped breakfast. We read the "Desert News" newspaper from Salt Lake City.
For lunch we ate with two old ladies from Colorado. I had the grilled chicken sandwich and Sheri had a turkey and Swiss sandwich.
I took a shower at 3:30 PM.
We had 6 PM dinner reservations. We ate with a software trainer from San Francisco that was going to Manhattan to train some people on his company's product. He said their product is similar to Crystal Reports. He said he doesn't fly anymore. Hates it. Loves taking the train and he can get a lot of work done. I had country fried steak and Sheri had the pasta primavera.
At 7 PM we arrived in Denver. I got out and stretched my legs for a half hour.
There was a guy in the compartment next to ours that was watching movies on his laptop. He had the volume up too loud and I couldn't concentrate on my book or take naps. I finally asked him if he could please turn it down. A little bit later when I was somewhere else on the train he stopped by to say he was sorry again. Turns out he was a gay guy that just broke up with his boyfriend and just needed to get away, so he was taking the train to Chicago for a while. He and Sheri hit it off and did a lot of talking the rest of the trip.
Sunday May 8 (Mother's Day)
Sheri got up early and showered. I had the Mediterranean omelet. Sheri had eggs and grits.
For most of the trip we didn't have cell phone reception. We had to wait until we pulled into a decent sized city before we had cell phone reception. We kept looking to see how many bars we had on my phone when we pulled in so we could call our moms for Mother's day.
We arrived back in Union Station about 2 PM. We took the commuter train from there back to our city where Sheri's friend picked us up. It was good to be home.
Miscellaneous
For snacks we packed:
Beef jerky
Almond, cashew, and cranberry trail mix
Pistachios
These little red and black chewy raspberry candies with a light floral taste we like.
Luna bars
Peanut butter filled pretzels
Gum
I wore slippers around the train most of the time.
The trains top speed was 79 mph
The train had in this order:
2 engines
1 baggage car
3 sleepers
1 dining car
1 lounge car
2-3 coach class cars
The dining portion of the dining car was on the upper level and the galley was on the lower level. There is a dumb waiter to move meals and dirty dishes between the two levels.
I posted just a few days ago comparing the current next generation DVD wars with the Beta versus VHS wars a couple decades ago.
Well a big development in the story was just announced today and it is not good news. The two sides, Blu-ray and HD-DVD have not been able to reach a compromise and agree on a standard format, so both sides will be going ahead with their holiday production plans soon.
This is bad for you because having both formats on the market will slow the adoption of the new technology. (I am not going to buy a new player until I know which one is going to end up being the new standard.)
The DVD format took off very quickly because everyone in the industry agreed on one format. I forget the exact number but the number of DVD players was outselling the number of VCR players after just a few years of being introduced. That kind of cooperation also drops prices very quickly for the consumer.
Well a big development in the story was just announced today and it is not good news. The two sides, Blu-ray and HD-DVD have not been able to reach a compromise and agree on a standard format, so both sides will be going ahead with their holiday production plans soon.
This is bad for you because having both formats on the market will slow the adoption of the new technology. (I am not going to buy a new player until I know which one is going to end up being the new standard.)
The DVD format took off very quickly because everyone in the industry agreed on one format. I forget the exact number but the number of DVD players was outselling the number of VCR players after just a few years of being introduced. That kind of cooperation also drops prices very quickly for the consumer.
In this Sunday's newspaper CompUSA advertised a Hewlett-Packard Pavilion PC for $199.99 after rebates! It comes with a flat panel LCD monitor too. Just amazing. I wouldn't get it for GIS work, but for just browsing the web, light word processing, listening to MP3's, watching a DVD, etc. it would be perfect. I am half tempted to get one for our front room "den" downstairs just for the convenience of always having a live connection nearby.
I remember just a few years ago that industry pundits said PC's wouldn't be able to go much lower than $1,000, and when they did everyone went nuts.
I remember just a few years ago that industry pundits said PC's wouldn't be able to go much lower than $1,000, and when they did everyone went nuts.
The first Ohio State game of the season is less than two weeks away!! Saturday September 3 on ABC at 11 AM Central (noon Eastern). I can hardly wait. Right now our pre-season ranking is number three or four.
There's optimism in Columbus, and for good reason. The Buckeyes are stacked at virtually every position, and they have plenty of candidates in a running backs unit that remains their biggest question. The schedule is tough, but OSU won't be overmatched by anybody and its defense should be good enough to keep even the most dangerous offense in check. If Ohio State gets past Texas in the second game, it could be primed for another visit to the BCS title game.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Meijer has pork tender loins on sale this week for something like $2.49 a pound, so we picked one up yesterday. I never really heard of that cut before. If I did I probably assumed it was the same as a loin. Well it's not. We grilled a few chops from it tonight and the meat is much more tender and flavorful, and I think the meat from a plain old loin is good.
Sheri successfully exercised her creative side today and marinated the meat this afternoon with something besides our usual standby of teriyaki. She combined some pineapple curry sauce we had on hand with a little but of teriyaki and some garlic powder. Delicious. She also picked up a couple ears of the most expensive corn we have ever had ($0.67 per ear!) and a few tomatoes.
For dessert we had some fat free / sugar free vanilla pudding and a few animal crackers.
For tomorrow night Sheri is already planning on creating a marinade with some peanut sate sauce we have on hand.
The kitchen is cleaned up and we are both in the office now. I have a few bills to pay and Mildred Pierce is on TV.
Sheri successfully exercised her creative side today and marinated the meat this afternoon with something besides our usual standby of teriyaki. She combined some pineapple curry sauce we had on hand with a little but of teriyaki and some garlic powder. Delicious. She also picked up a couple ears of the most expensive corn we have ever had ($0.67 per ear!) and a few tomatoes.
For dessert we had some fat free / sugar free vanilla pudding and a few animal crackers.
For tomorrow night Sheri is already planning on creating a marinade with some peanut sate sauce we have on hand.
The kitchen is cleaned up and we are both in the office now. I have a few bills to pay and Mildred Pierce is on TV.
I need to go out with my GPS unit this week and show the road crew supervisor where the county line is on a particular road so he can place a sign there indicating the boundary. I think there has been a dispute with the neighboring county exactly where the responsibilities of snow plowing, pavement maintenance, etc. starts and stops.
The exact spot is right here. It's kind of neat looking at this aerial because you can already see very distinctly, especially on the north side of the road, where the boundaries of the parcels are that border the county line.
The exact spot is right here. It's kind of neat looking at this aerial because you can already see very distinctly, especially on the north side of the road, where the boundaries of the parcels are that border the county line.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
This is my tomato crop this year. They are planted a little too close together for two reasons. One, when I was planting them the area around the perimeter of the garden was not good soil down past a couple of inches. I just couldn't dig a hole deep enough with my small trowel and I wasn’t about to get back up and work on conditioning the soil anymore. So they all got grouped in the center of the garden patch. This fall I will get the pick, shovel, and a few bags of peat and work on conditioning the edges of the plot for next season. The second reason they are too close is I had either 8 or 12 plants and I couldn't bring myself just to plant a few of them and throw the rest away, so they all got planted.
I am really happy with how healthy they look. I have been using Miracle Gro on them about every three weeks. They are due for an application right now. Maybe I will do that later this evening.
Greta brought some tomatoes from her garden when she visited last weekend and they were delicious. I ate a couple of them right over the sink like and apple. A juicy tomato in one hand and the salt shaker in the other. I also sliced a couple of them up and ate them on a piece of freshly cut bread. We were at a farmers market a few weeks ago and one of the booths was selling both tomatoes and bread. They had slices of tomatoes and slices of bread. I took one of each, put them together and ate. I was amazed at how well just the two of them together complimented each other. The salt from the bread balanced out the tangy and sweet of the tomato, and it also soaked up the juices. I of course have had tomatoes on sandwiches my whole life, but just having the two tastes together and nothing else to get in their way was a nice surprise from a place I never would have expected to find something new. Try it.
Our Treegator holds 20 gallons of water and we fill it up twice a week. It takes about 12 hours to drain through two pin holes in the bottom. They say that this allows the water to penetrate deeper and with less waste. The tree has never looked better. I think the tree we are using it on was planted improperly. It looks like they left the metal cage around the root ball and it is root bound. The tree has always had a small number of leaves and hasn’t grown many new branches. This year, even with the drought, it is full of large healthy lush leaves and I think it has shown some branch growth.
We are going to make a trip to Meijer for some dinner fixin's. Hamburgers on the grill, sans buns, with some melted pepper jack we got at Bobak's yesterday. A couple ears of corn, a tomato for slicing, and some baked beans will round out our perfect summer dinner. (And plenty of fresh iced tea of course.)
I am really happy with how healthy they look. I have been using Miracle Gro on them about every three weeks. They are due for an application right now. Maybe I will do that later this evening.
Greta brought some tomatoes from her garden when she visited last weekend and they were delicious. I ate a couple of them right over the sink like and apple. A juicy tomato in one hand and the salt shaker in the other. I also sliced a couple of them up and ate them on a piece of freshly cut bread. We were at a farmers market a few weeks ago and one of the booths was selling both tomatoes and bread. They had slices of tomatoes and slices of bread. I took one of each, put them together and ate. I was amazed at how well just the two of them together complimented each other. The salt from the bread balanced out the tangy and sweet of the tomato, and it also soaked up the juices. I of course have had tomatoes on sandwiches my whole life, but just having the two tastes together and nothing else to get in their way was a nice surprise from a place I never would have expected to find something new. Try it.
Our Treegator holds 20 gallons of water and we fill it up twice a week. It takes about 12 hours to drain through two pin holes in the bottom. They say that this allows the water to penetrate deeper and with less waste. The tree has never looked better. I think the tree we are using it on was planted improperly. It looks like they left the metal cage around the root ball and it is root bound. The tree has always had a small number of leaves and hasn’t grown many new branches. This year, even with the drought, it is full of large healthy lush leaves and I think it has shown some branch growth.
We are going to make a trip to Meijer for some dinner fixin's. Hamburgers on the grill, sans buns, with some melted pepper jack we got at Bobak's yesterday. A couple ears of corn, a tomato for slicing, and some baked beans will round out our perfect summer dinner. (And plenty of fresh iced tea of course.)
This picture really stood out from a batch of photos that Lisa just e-mailed to the family. The uniform distribution of flowers filling the background, and Shawn not being perfectly centered in the frame but off to the right a little bit makes it a very aesthetically pleasing, interesting, and nicely composed shot. He is also such a photogenic kid too. This would be a good candidate to blow up and mount above the fireplace or someplace prominent. Good job!
Saturday, August 20, 2005
"Coffee and Cigarettes" sucked eggs. Don't rent it. We fast-forwarded through it in about 20 minutes.
We felt too tired to start another movie and be able to stick with it, but it was still too early to go to bed, and nothing was on TV. We decided it would be a nice night to go to our downtown and just people watch. We got there and parked a little after 9 PM. We strolled for a little bit and then found a bench on the main street going through downtown. It was a great place to watch all kinds of people walk up and down the sidewalk.
After about a half hour we made our way to the Starbucks and got a 20 ounce iced coffee to split. We went back outside and found another bench near the Starbucks. We sat there for another half hour just talking and watching people.
We left that bench with the intention of strolling back to the car and go back home, but as we passed the first bench we were sitting on there was a cop giving someone a traffic ticket so we thought we'd sit back down and watch that happen. We ended up sitting for another half hour.
Now we are home and in bed. We will watch "Saturday Night Live" for a while.
The Turkish Grand Prix is on TV tomorrow morning at 6:30 AM and I am thinking about getting up to watch it. We'll see how late I stay up tonight though.
We felt too tired to start another movie and be able to stick with it, but it was still too early to go to bed, and nothing was on TV. We decided it would be a nice night to go to our downtown and just people watch. We got there and parked a little after 9 PM. We strolled for a little bit and then found a bench on the main street going through downtown. It was a great place to watch all kinds of people walk up and down the sidewalk.
After about a half hour we made our way to the Starbucks and got a 20 ounce iced coffee to split. We went back outside and found another bench near the Starbucks. We sat there for another half hour just talking and watching people.
We left that bench with the intention of strolling back to the car and go back home, but as we passed the first bench we were sitting on there was a cop giving someone a traffic ticket so we thought we'd sit back down and watch that happen. We ended up sitting for another half hour.
Now we are home and in bed. We will watch "Saturday Night Live" for a while.
The Turkish Grand Prix is on TV tomorrow morning at 6:30 AM and I am thinking about getting up to watch it. We'll see how late I stay up tonight though.
Turkey is the latest addition to the F1 calendar. As in China, Bahrain and Malaysia, a new state-of-the-art circuit has been constructed at great expense from a design by Hermann Tilke.
The Istanbul Racing Circuit (Turkish:Istanbul Otodrom) is located on the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey, close to the junction of Kurtkoy on the north side of TEM Motorway, linking Istanbul to Ankara; it is adjacent to the newly constructed Sabiha Gökçen International Airport. Surrounded by pristine forest and green, cultivated fields, the circuit will be the venue of the Turkish Grand Prix from August 21, 2005.
The circuit, covering over 2.215 million m2, runs counter-clockwise at 5,340 m long, with an average width of 15m ranging between 12.5 and 21.5m. There are a total of 14 curves (six right turns and eight left), the sharpest having a radius of merely 15m. With a start/finish straight over 650m in length, the circuit runs over four level sections, with rising and descending grades. The maximum attainable speed is expected to be 320.5 km/h (199.2 mph) by modern F1 cars. The total race distance will be 309.720 km by 57 laps.
The main grandstand will have a seating capacity of 30,000 spectators. In addition, natural ground stands and temporary stands will provide a total capacity of over 155,000. The paddock buildings are two-level structures; the ground floor reserved for F1 teams, the upper floor serving as hospitality areas, with an additional viewing capacity of 5,000 seats. At each end of the paddock, there are two 7-story VIP towers.
Unlike those other three tracks, this one is not built on flat wasteland - and this gradient should ensure that it is more spectacular than any of them. Or at least that's the theory.
This morning after walking the dogs we went to Sally Beauty Supply to look for a few things. I wanted to check out their selection of electric clippers. Every time I go to the barber shop I order a number 2 on the sides and a 6 on the top. I could save a lot of money if Sheri could just run the clippers over my head. They started out in the $40 range and I am not sure how happy I would be with a DIY haircut. Maybe we will see if Wal-Mart has a cheaper one to see how it works, and if we like it then we can buy a better one at Sally's.
Next we went to Performance Bicycle to finally get a water bottle and cage for Sheri's bike. I took hers a while back so I could have two bottles of water when I go riding by myself. They also had a great sale on gel seat covers so we got one for Sheri. The one we got is normally $22 but it was on sale for only $12.
Up until this point neither of us had anything to eat, so we stopped at Taco Bell for lunch.
The next stop was Menards. The dimmer switch in the master bathroom has started to malfunction so we picked up a replacement switch. (Sheri's eyes are very light sensitive when she wakes in the middle of the night, so she likes the dimmer switch for going to the restroom so she doesn't get blinded with full-on lights.) The electric garage door button has also started to malfunction sporadically so I picked up a new doorbell button for that.
When watching movies on the weekends I like to crunch on the big pickles from Bobak's, so are last stop was there. We also got a little bit of pepper jack cheese and a surprisingly good bag of chocolate cereal from Poland. They had a half pound bag on sale for $0.34 so I thought what do we have to lose. I didn't want them for breakfast. I wanted them for snacking in the evening when I get a sweet tooth. The name of the cereal is "Cocoa Kraks". I love that name. The website of the company that makes them is www.granex.pl.
When we got home I replaced the garage door button first and then the dimmer switch in the bathroom.
We both showered up and relaxed on the bed watching TV for a bit. Sheri had a craving for pizza so she went to a new place we have not tried yet called "Zia Pizzeria" in Bolingbrook. I think what happened is the guy that owned a bunch of Papa John's stores didn't like the franchise agreement anymore, so he changed them all to Zia Pizzerias. I pretty much expected them to taste exactly like Papa John's pizza which I think is just OK. Papa John's crust is very soggy and can't hold up under its own weight. Their cheese is also just OK. Not much flavor, but I have also had worse. Anyway, I was VERY pleasantly surprised with the quality of Zia's. The cheese was of a much better quality. It has a very good taste. It might even be a provolone / mozzarella blend; not just mozzarella. The mushrooms were fresh sliced, not canned, and applied liberally. The sauce had a nice fresh tomato flavor and not overly salty or with too much added sugar. The crust had a wonderful complex texture and a nice taste. It might be my new second place pizza. Lou Malnati's is number one, but you don't always feel like the large meal that Lou's is.
We had a few slices of that while Sheri watched Big Brother 6. Now we are getting ready to settle into watching Coffee and Cigarettes.
Last night we watched a really fun movie that I highly recommend called Kung Fu Hustle. It is a comedy and like no other movie you have ever seen. It has a look, style, and feel all its own.
Next we went to Performance Bicycle to finally get a water bottle and cage for Sheri's bike. I took hers a while back so I could have two bottles of water when I go riding by myself. They also had a great sale on gel seat covers so we got one for Sheri. The one we got is normally $22 but it was on sale for only $12.
Up until this point neither of us had anything to eat, so we stopped at Taco Bell for lunch.
The next stop was Menards. The dimmer switch in the master bathroom has started to malfunction so we picked up a replacement switch. (Sheri's eyes are very light sensitive when she wakes in the middle of the night, so she likes the dimmer switch for going to the restroom so she doesn't get blinded with full-on lights.) The electric garage door button has also started to malfunction sporadically so I picked up a new doorbell button for that.
When watching movies on the weekends I like to crunch on the big pickles from Bobak's, so are last stop was there. We also got a little bit of pepper jack cheese and a surprisingly good bag of chocolate cereal from Poland. They had a half pound bag on sale for $0.34 so I thought what do we have to lose. I didn't want them for breakfast. I wanted them for snacking in the evening when I get a sweet tooth. The name of the cereal is "Cocoa Kraks". I love that name. The website of the company that makes them is www.granex.pl.
When we got home I replaced the garage door button first and then the dimmer switch in the bathroom.
We both showered up and relaxed on the bed watching TV for a bit. Sheri had a craving for pizza so she went to a new place we have not tried yet called "Zia Pizzeria" in Bolingbrook. I think what happened is the guy that owned a bunch of Papa John's stores didn't like the franchise agreement anymore, so he changed them all to Zia Pizzerias. I pretty much expected them to taste exactly like Papa John's pizza which I think is just OK. Papa John's crust is very soggy and can't hold up under its own weight. Their cheese is also just OK. Not much flavor, but I have also had worse. Anyway, I was VERY pleasantly surprised with the quality of Zia's. The cheese was of a much better quality. It has a very good taste. It might even be a provolone / mozzarella blend; not just mozzarella. The mushrooms were fresh sliced, not canned, and applied liberally. The sauce had a nice fresh tomato flavor and not overly salty or with too much added sugar. The crust had a wonderful complex texture and a nice taste. It might be my new second place pizza. Lou Malnati's is number one, but you don't always feel like the large meal that Lou's is.
We had a few slices of that while Sheri watched Big Brother 6. Now we are getting ready to settle into watching Coffee and Cigarettes.
Last night we watched a really fun movie that I highly recommend called Kung Fu Hustle. It is a comedy and like no other movie you have ever seen. It has a look, style, and feel all its own.
These pictures were taken about four hours ago, not four years ago.
I was really enjoying pretending she was Goliath for a while, which was probably a mistake. She made the same faces. Had the same playful temperament. Liked to be scratched in the same places. Same mannerisms. Same size. Same build. Same color. Everything. Except for the missing white splash between the eyes and on the tip of her tale she was Goliath.
After a getting spoiled for a good long time outside I put her back in her run and went to wash my hands. When I came back into the run area she was demanding more attention. OK, what the heck. I went into her run and sat down with her. I hand fed her the entire contents of her food bowl which reminded me of what we had to do with Goliath during his final couple of months fighting cancer. I think that is what started it. Then we were playing with his plush toy. We played the same exact hide and seek game Goliath loved in exactly the same way. My eyes started to well up a bit, then a lot. I had to get out of there. I went outside and there were two puppies in the outside run. I went in to be distracted by them, but then another volunteer came in and was overly chit-chatty with me. She was actually really really cute and I normally would have eaten up the attention, but I just wanted to be left alone. Some more people started to come outside so I just disappeared as she started talking to them. A couple more times I felt my eyes start to well up. Sheri could tell it was getting to me because my eyes were bloodshot.
I was really enjoying pretending she was Goliath for a while, which was probably a mistake. She made the same faces. Had the same playful temperament. Liked to be scratched in the same places. Same mannerisms. Same size. Same build. Same color. Everything. Except for the missing white splash between the eyes and on the tip of her tale she was Goliath.
After a getting spoiled for a good long time outside I put her back in her run and went to wash my hands. When I came back into the run area she was demanding more attention. OK, what the heck. I went into her run and sat down with her. I hand fed her the entire contents of her food bowl which reminded me of what we had to do with Goliath during his final couple of months fighting cancer. I think that is what started it. Then we were playing with his plush toy. We played the same exact hide and seek game Goliath loved in exactly the same way. My eyes started to well up a bit, then a lot. I had to get out of there. I went outside and there were two puppies in the outside run. I went in to be distracted by them, but then another volunteer came in and was overly chit-chatty with me. She was actually really really cute and I normally would have eaten up the attention, but I just wanted to be left alone. Some more people started to come outside so I just disappeared as she started talking to them. A couple more times I felt my eyes start to well up. Sheri could tell it was getting to me because my eyes were bloodshot.
Friday, August 19, 2005
On Canon SLR's it makes sense that "M" stands for manual mode and "P" stands for full program mode. I'm cool with that.
"Av" indicates aperture priority mode and the acronym stands for aperture value. I can live with that, but it seems like a better acronym might have been "Ap" for aperture priority, just the way the instruction manual explains it. Oh well.
Now what do you think they call Shutter Priority? SP? Or maybe to be consistent call it "Sv" for shutter value? The S could even stand for speed since that is what you are setting: how fast the shutter opens and closes.
Nope, Shutter Priority is indicated on the camera with the acronym "Tv" which stands for Time value. I guess since you are setting the length of time the shutter will be open.
"Av" indicates aperture priority mode and the acronym stands for aperture value. I can live with that, but it seems like a better acronym might have been "Ap" for aperture priority, just the way the instruction manual explains it. Oh well.
Now what do you think they call Shutter Priority? SP? Or maybe to be consistent call it "Sv" for shutter value? The S could even stand for speed since that is what you are setting: how fast the shutter opens and closes.
Nope, Shutter Priority is indicated on the camera with the acronym "Tv" which stands for Time value. I guess since you are setting the length of time the shutter will be open.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Remember back in the late 70's and early 80's there was the war between VHS and Betamax. When you went into video rental stores they had two different sections for the two formats. People had to choose which format player to purchase, and back then I think they were between $500 and $1,000, so it was a big deal. Finally VHS won out and the movie studios started cranking out the movies and made a ton of money.
Well there is another format war underway. This time it is for the format that will replace DVD's. The two contenders are Blu-Ray and HD-DVD and each has its backers.
What makes this interesting is that until on side surrenders the whole market for the new formats will be at a standstill. Consumers don't want to spend a lot of money on movies in one format if it is possible that the other format will win and there collection will be unplayable on future machines. Studios won't want invest in stamping equipment in either format because if their choice is wrong they will have wasted a lot of money.
The two formats are HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. The advantage of HD-DVD is that they can be produced on the machines that currently make DVD's with only small and inexpensive modifications. They hold about twice as much as current DVD's.
Blu-Ray can hold about three times as much as current DVD's, but they require totally different and very expensive machines to produce the disks.
Below is a list of which companies back which format.
Current DVD's – 8.5 GB per side
HD-DVD – 15 GB per side
HBO Home Video
NEC
New Line Cinema
Paramount Pictures
Toshiba
Universal Pictures
Warner Brothers
Blu-Ray – 25 GB per side
Apple
Dell
HP
Panasonic
Philips
Pioneer
Sony
Twentieth Century Fox
Walt Disney Pictures and Television
Well there is another format war underway. This time it is for the format that will replace DVD's. The two contenders are Blu-Ray and HD-DVD and each has its backers.
What makes this interesting is that until on side surrenders the whole market for the new formats will be at a standstill. Consumers don't want to spend a lot of money on movies in one format if it is possible that the other format will win and there collection will be unplayable on future machines. Studios won't want invest in stamping equipment in either format because if their choice is wrong they will have wasted a lot of money.
The two formats are HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. The advantage of HD-DVD is that they can be produced on the machines that currently make DVD's with only small and inexpensive modifications. They hold about twice as much as current DVD's.
Blu-Ray can hold about three times as much as current DVD's, but they require totally different and very expensive machines to produce the disks.
Below is a list of which companies back which format.
Current DVD's – 8.5 GB per side
HD-DVD – 15 GB per side
HBO Home Video
NEC
New Line Cinema
Paramount Pictures
Toshiba
Universal Pictures
Warner Brothers
Blu-Ray – 25 GB per side
Apple
Dell
HP
Panasonic
Philips
Pioneer
Sony
Twentieth Century Fox
Walt Disney Pictures and Television
I learned a new word today: monopsony. It is the situation where there is only one buyer of something in a market and many sellers. It was used in a story about Wal-Mart dictating what kind of content is, and is not, allowed in Hollywood movies because they are such a huge purchaser of DVD's. The writer said that Wal-Mart is a near monopsony. In monopsonies the price of the product eventually gets reduced to almost the cost of production.
We had a good downpour here a bit ago and I wanted to see how the Rain-X wiper fluid would perform compared to the regular Rain-X product, so I took a drive down to the carryout for a soda.
I have only used the wipers about three or four times with the new washer fluid, but it has already added a pretty good layer of rain repellant, but it didn't seem to bead up quite as well as when I used the dedicated product. The difference was small though. Maybe it worked 90% as well as the regular stuff, which is still very good.
I imagine as I use it regularly it will build up the repellant layer on the windshield and could eventually perform better than the dedicated product.
Verdict: I highly recommend it and it is what I will be using from now on in both cars.
Note: Rain-X is best at speeds of about 45 mph and higher. At slower speeds and through stop-and-go traffic you really do need your wipers. Have you ever been in one of those downpours where you have to switch your wipers to the double-time speed, and even then you can't see and everyone is going about 15 mph slower? Rain-X really earns its keep then. Last year I was on the highway in one of those storms and it was almost like it wasn't raining at all.
I have only used the wipers about three or four times with the new washer fluid, but it has already added a pretty good layer of rain repellant, but it didn't seem to bead up quite as well as when I used the dedicated product. The difference was small though. Maybe it worked 90% as well as the regular stuff, which is still very good.
I imagine as I use it regularly it will build up the repellant layer on the windshield and could eventually perform better than the dedicated product.
Verdict: I highly recommend it and it is what I will be using from now on in both cars.
Note: Rain-X is best at speeds of about 45 mph and higher. At slower speeds and through stop-and-go traffic you really do need your wipers. Have you ever been in one of those downpours where you have to switch your wipers to the double-time speed, and even then you can't see and everyone is going about 15 mph slower? Rain-X really earns its keep then. Last year I was on the highway in one of those storms and it was almost like it wasn't raining at all.
This is what the water tower looks like today with the drape dropped. They raise and lower it periodically, but I don't know why. I would have thought it would have been raised and left there until they were done. You can tell we are going to get a good rain in a few minutes from the dark angry clouds. Yeah!
It is frustrating when politicians twist language to hide what they are really trying to do. The earliest example I can think of is on both sides of the abortion issue. The two sides are pro-abortion and anti-abortion. Those are extremely accurate terms of where a person stands on the legalization of abortion. However, no one wants to be "anti" anything, so one side became pro-life. The word abortion has too many negative connotations, so the other side became pro-choice. That is positive and it gets rid of the "a" word.
Recently the estate tax became a hot political topic. The only problem is the word estate is too elitist, and the large percentage of people would not describe what they have to leave behind as an estate, so that was changed to the death tax. Everyone dies. Not everyone has an estate. (Technically they do, but not in the sense that the law makers are trying to convey.)
When the Republicans wanted to prevent the Democrats from filibustering they named the plan they came up with "The Nuclear Option". They thought that was just great for a few weeks, and then they realized it was too easy to spin the name of that plan into something too overbearing and hawkish, so they changed that to "The Constitutional Option" even though it has nothing to do with anything in the Constitution.
The latest one I heard today is really annoying. There is a tax scheme that has been talked about for at least a couple of decades called the flat tax. Everyone pays exactly the same rate, with a few exceptions for the very poor, regardless if you make $20,000, $200,000, or $2,000,000 per year. Apparently "flat tax" was not polling too well because now they are calling it the "Fair Tax". Morons.
Recently the estate tax became a hot political topic. The only problem is the word estate is too elitist, and the large percentage of people would not describe what they have to leave behind as an estate, so that was changed to the death tax. Everyone dies. Not everyone has an estate. (Technically they do, but not in the sense that the law makers are trying to convey.)
When the Republicans wanted to prevent the Democrats from filibustering they named the plan they came up with "The Nuclear Option". They thought that was just great for a few weeks, and then they realized it was too easy to spin the name of that plan into something too overbearing and hawkish, so they changed that to "The Constitutional Option" even though it has nothing to do with anything in the Constitution.
The latest one I heard today is really annoying. There is a tax scheme that has been talked about for at least a couple of decades called the flat tax. Everyone pays exactly the same rate, with a few exceptions for the very poor, regardless if you make $20,000, $200,000, or $2,000,000 per year. Apparently "flat tax" was not polling too well because now they are calling it the "Fair Tax". Morons.
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Last night I discovered possibly one of the greatest inventions of 2005.
First a little background: There is a product called Rain-X. You spray it on your windshield and then wipe it off. When it rains, and you are driving over about 45 mph, you don't need to use your windshield wipers. The water beads up like it is on Teflon and just gets blown off almost as fast as it lands. An application will last a month or two, and then it starts to go back to acting like a normal windshield. I always forget to apply the Rain-X when I am at home, and then when it rains I always kick myself because I have the bottle just sitting in the garage.
Now comes the new invention part. I went to get some windshield wiper fluid at Murray's last night and next to the regular stuff they had washer fluid with Rain-X mixed right in! Each time you use your squirts you are conditioning your windshield a little more. Isn't that great!
A gallon of regular fluid is usually a little more than $1. The Rain-X fluid was a little more than $2.
They have three flavors: All Season, Bug Remover for summer, and De-Icer for winter.
First a little background: There is a product called Rain-X. You spray it on your windshield and then wipe it off. When it rains, and you are driving over about 45 mph, you don't need to use your windshield wipers. The water beads up like it is on Teflon and just gets blown off almost as fast as it lands. An application will last a month or two, and then it starts to go back to acting like a normal windshield. I always forget to apply the Rain-X when I am at home, and then when it rains I always kick myself because I have the bottle just sitting in the garage.
Now comes the new invention part. I went to get some windshield wiper fluid at Murray's last night and next to the regular stuff they had washer fluid with Rain-X mixed right in! Each time you use your squirts you are conditioning your windshield a little more. Isn't that great!
A gallon of regular fluid is usually a little more than $1. The Rain-X fluid was a little more than $2.
They have three flavors: All Season, Bug Remover for summer, and De-Icer for winter.
I just sent 22 pictures via the Internet to Wal-Mart for photofinishing. At $0.16 per print, which includes taxes, that was only $3.52. What a bargain.
There is something very important to know before sending pictures to any on-line photofinisher: You HAVE to crop them on-line or else you will be unhappy with the large majority of your prints. Here is the reason why:
The image sensor in your camera has a different shape, or aspect ratio, than the common print sizes. Here is a list of the aspect ratios of the three standard print sizes as well as the aspect ratio of a common digital camera image sensor:
For some of your pictures this will work out just fine, but for most of the pictures it will cut out part of the picture you wanted to keep, and include more of the stuff you don't care about. For the 22 pictures I just uploaded I would guess only about 25% of the pictures I didn't need to change the default cropping.
You could look at it as a pain in the butt because it as an extra step, or you could look at it as a plus because you get more creative control over the finished product. It is actually not too time consuming. I think it didn't take me more than 10 minutes to go through all 22 of my prints, so about 30 seconds per picture.
There is something very important to know before sending pictures to any on-line photofinisher: You HAVE to crop them on-line or else you will be unhappy with the large majority of your prints. Here is the reason why:
The image sensor in your camera has a different shape, or aspect ratio, than the common print sizes. Here is a list of the aspect ratios of the three standard print sizes as well as the aspect ratio of a common digital camera image sensor:
Width length aspect ratioSo because the shape is not the same between any of the different format sizes some part of the picture needs to be cropped out. If you don't specify how you want it cropped the software just whacks off a little off the top and a little off the bottom of a landscape oriented picture, and a little off the left and right for a portrait oriented picture.
Camera 1,200 1,600 1:1.333
4" x 6" 1:1.5
5" x 7" 1:1.4
8" x 10" 1:1.25
For some of your pictures this will work out just fine, but for most of the pictures it will cut out part of the picture you wanted to keep, and include more of the stuff you don't care about. For the 22 pictures I just uploaded I would guess only about 25% of the pictures I didn't need to change the default cropping.
You could look at it as a pain in the butt because it as an extra step, or you could look at it as a plus because you get more creative control over the finished product. It is actually not too time consuming. I think it didn't take me more than 10 minutes to go through all 22 of my prints, so about 30 seconds per picture.
Single-family home prices are "extremely overvalued" in 53 cities that make up nearly a third of the overall U.S. housing market, putting them at high risk of price declines, according to a study released today.
The report, by Richard DeKaser, chief economist of National City Corp., examined 299 metro areas accounting for 80% of the U.S. housing market.
[Rest of story]
This is the list sorted by how much houses in that market are over or undervalued.
1 Santa Barbara, Calif. 69%
2 Salinas, Calif. 67%
3 Naples, Fla. 62%
4 Riverside, Calif. 60%
5 Merced, Calif. 59%
6 Stockton, Calif. 58%
7 Port St. Lucie, Fla. 58%
8 Madera, Calif. 57%
9 Napa, Calif. 57%
10 Medford, Ore. 55%
11 Sacramento, Calif. 54%
12 Modesto, Calif. 53%
13 San Diego, Calif. 53%
14 Santa Rosa, Calif. 52%
15 Chico, Calif. 52%
16 Barnstable Town, Mass. 50%
17 San Luis Obispo, Calif. 49%
18 Oxnard, Calif. 48%
19 Fresno, Calif. 48%
20 Los Angeles, Calif. 48%
21 Miami, Fla. 46%
22 West Palm Beach, Fla. 46%
23 Vallejo, Calif. 45%
24 Ocean City, N.J. 45%
25 Bend, Ore. 45%
26 Sarasota, Fla. 45%
27 Redding, Calif. 44%
28 Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 43%
29 Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y. 42%
30 Santa Ana, Calif. 41%
31 Atlantic City, N.J. 41%
32 Bakersfield, Calif. 40%
33 Oakland, Calif. 39%
34 Santa Cruz, Calif. 39%
35 Palm Bay, Fla. 38%
36 Las Vegas, Nev. 38%
37 Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 37%
38 Vero Beach, Fla. 37%
39 San Jose, Calif. 36%
40 Bellingham, Wash. 35%
41 Panama City, Fla. 35%
42 Calif.pe Coral, Fla. 35%
43 Providence, R.I. 34%
44 Reno, Nev. 33%
45 Kingston, N.Y. 32%
46 Visalia, Calif. 32%
47 Deltona, Fla. 31%
48 Boston, Mass. 31%
49 Washington D.C. 31%
50 Essex County, Mass. 30%
51 San Francisco, Calif. 30%
52 Prescott, Ariz. 30%
53 Duluth, Minn. 30%
54 Portland, Ore. 29%
55 Eugene, Ore. 29%
56 Worcester, Mass. 28%
57 Bay City, Mich. 27%
58 Tampa, Fla. 27%
59 Edison, N.J. 27%
60 Bethesda, Md. 27%
61 Minneapolis, Minn. 27%
62 Grand Junction, Colo. 27%
63 Fort Walton Beach, Fla. 27%
64 Flint, Mich. 27%
65 Monroe, Mich. 26%
66 Jackson, Mich. 25%
67 Portland, Maine 25%
68 New York, N.Y. 25%
69 Asheville, N.C. 25%
70 Cambridge, Mass. 24%
71 Charlottesville, Va. 24%
72 Greeley, Colo. 24%
73 Charleston, S.C. 24%
74 Jacksonville, Fla. 24%
75 Holland, Mich. 23%
76 Newark, N.J. 23%
77 Honolulu, Hawaii 23%
78 Boulder, Colo. 23%
79 Santa Fe, N.M. 22%
80 Baltimore, Md. 22%
81 Salem, Ore. 22%
82 Virginia Beach, Va. 21%
83 Battle Creek, Mich. 21%
84 Manchester, N.H. 21%
85 Springfield, Mass. 20%
86 Seattle, Wash. 20%
87 Detroit, Mich. 20%
88 Ocala, Fla. 20%
89 Lansing, Mich. 20%
90 Pensacola, Fla. 19%
91 Chicago, Ill. 19%
92 Savannah, Ga. 19%
93 Niles, Mich. 19%
94 Orlando, Fla. 19%
95 Rockingham, N.H. 19%
96 Brunswick, Ga. 19%
97 Gainesville, Fla. 18%
98 Wilmington, N.C. 18%
99 Tallahassee, Fla. 18%
100 Tacoma, Wash. 18%
101 Ann Arbor, Mich. 18%
102 Olympia, Wash. 18%
103 Warren, Mich. 17%
104 Longview, Wash. 17%
105 Casper, Wyo. 17%
106 Racine, Wis. 17%
107 Bremerton, Wash. 17%
108 Phoenix, Ariz. 17%
109 Eau Claire, Wis. 16%
110 Corvallis, Ore. 16%
111 St. George, Utah 16%
112 Flagstaff, Ariz. 16%
113 Saginaw, Mich. 16%
114 Muskegon, Mich. 15%
115 Trenton, N.J. 15%
116 Denver, Colo. 15%
117 Mount Vernon, Wash. 15%
118 Fort Collins, Colo. 15%
119 Tucson, Ariz. 15%
120 Camden, N.J. 15%
121 Norwich, Conn. 14%
122 Lake-Kenosha, Ill.-Wis. 14%
123 Richmond, Va. 14%
124 Milwaukee, Wis. 13%
125 Anchorage, Ala. 13%
126 Grand Rapids, Mich. 13%
127 Madison, Wis. 13%
128 Michigan City, Ind. 12%
129 La Crosse, Wis. 12%
130 York, Pa. 12%
131 Farmington, N.M. 12%
132 Rockford, Ill. 12%
133 Kalamazoo, Mich. 12%
134 Canton, Ohio 11%
135 Colorado Springs, Colo. 11%
136 Gainesville, Ga. 11%
137 Burlington, Vt. 11%
138 Philadelphia, Pa. 11%
139 Lakeland, Fla. 11%
140 Waterloo, Iowa 10%
141 Wilmington, Del. 10%
142 Pittsfield, Mass. 10%
143 Lynchburg, Va. 10%
144 Dalton, Ga. 10%
145 Dubuque, Iowa 10%
146 Toledo, Ohio 10%
147 Hickory, N.C. 10%
148 Vineland, N.J. 9%
149 Janesville, Wis. 9%
150 Roanoke, Va. 9%
151 Peoria, Ill. 9%
152 St. Joseph, Mo. 9%
153 New Haven, Conn. 9%
154 Fayetteville, Ark. 9%
155 St. Louis, Mo. 9%
156 Mansfield, Ohio 8%
157 Harrisonburg, Va. 8%
158 Billings, Mont. 8%
159 Davenport, Iowa 8%
160 Albany, N.Y. 8%
161 Allentown, Pa. 7%
162 Spokane, Wash. 7%
163 Springfield, Ohio 7%
164 Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. 7%
165 Reading, Pa. 7%
166 Cleveland, Ohio 7%
167 Burlington, N.C. 7%
168 Pueblo, Colo. 7%
169 Erie, Pa. 6%
170 Yakima, Wash. 6%
171 Green Bay, Wis. 6%
172 Lancaster, Pa. 6%
173 Sheboygan, WI 6%
174 Youngstown, Ohio 6%
175 Wenatchee, Wash. 6%
176 Gary, Ind. 5%
177 Athens, Ga. 5%
178 Topeka, Kan. 5%
179 Cheyenne, Wyo. 5%
180 Durham, N.C. 5%
181 Fond du Lac,W is. 4%
182 Atlanta, Ga. 4%
183 Champaign, Ill. 4%
184 Bridgeport, Conn. 4%
185 Hartford, Conn. 4%
186 Boise City, Idaho 4%
187 Sandusky, Ohio 3%
188 Akron, Ohio 3%
189 Columbus, Ohio 3%
190 Omaha, Neb. 3%
191 Salt Lake City, Utah 3%
192 Wausau, Wis. 3%
193 Lawrence, Kan. 3%
194 Kennewick, Wash. 3%
195 New Orleans, La. 3%
196 Rochester, Minn. 2%
197 Anderson, Ind. 2%
198 Chattanooga, Tenn. 2%
199 Lima, Ohio 2%
200 Amarillo, Texas 2%
201 Spartanburg, S.C. 2%
202 Florence, S.C. 1%
203 Bloomington, Ind. 1%
204 Louisville, Ky. 1%
205 Raleigh, N.C. 1%
206 Provo, Utah 1%
207 Lexington, Ky. 1%
208 Ogden, Utah 1%
209 Winston-Salem, N.C. 1%
210 Cincinnati, Ohio 1%
211 Appleton, Wis. 1%
212 Columbia, Mo. 1%
213 Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1%
214 Houma, La. 1%
Priced correctly
215 Lafayette, La. 0%
216 Columbia, S.C. 0%
217 Greenville, S..C 0%
218 Greensboro, N.C. 0%
219 Dayton, Ohio 0%
220 Oshkosh, Wis. 0%
221 Utica, N.Y. 0%
222 Decatur, Ill. 0%
223 Lincoln, Neb. 0%
Undervalued
224 Scranton, Pa. -1%
225 Pittsburgh, Pa. -1%
226 Monroe, La. -1%
227 Las Cruces, N.M. -1%
228 Knoxville, Tenn. -1%
229 Harrisburg, Pa. -1%
230 Des Moines, Iowa -1%
231 Fargo, N.D. -2%
232 Greenville, N.C. -2%
233 Sioux Falls, S.D. -2%
234 Charlotte, N.C. -2%
235 Baton Rouge, La. -2%
236 Rocky Mount, N.C. -2%
237 Sherman, Texas -3%
238 Bloomington, Ill. -3%
239 Albany, Ga. -3%
240 Kokomo, Ind. -3%
241 Nashville, Tenn. -3%
242 Owensboro, Ky. -3%
243 Albuquerque, N.M. -3%
244 Jefferson City, Mo. -3%
245 Evansville, Ind. -3%
246 Columbus, Ind. -3%
247 Lubbock, Texas -3%
248 Waco, Texas -4%
249 Augusta, Ga. -4%
250 Columbus, Ga. -4%
251 Warner Robins, Ga. -4%
252 Idaho Falls, Idaho -4%
253 Wichita, Kan. -4%
254 Iowa City, Iowa -4%
255 Bowling Green, Ky. -4%
256 Tyler, Texas -4%
257 Birmingham, Ala. -4%
258 Springfield, Ill. -4%
259 Buffalo, N.Y. -5%
260 Corpus Christi, Texas -5%
261 Macon, Ga. -5%
262 Austin, Texas -5%
263 Syracuse, N.Y. -5%
264 Fort Wayne, Ind. -6%
265 Tulsa, Okla. -6%
266 Fort Smith, Ark. -6%
267 Binghamton, .NY. -6%
268 Abilene, Texas -6%
269 Alexandria, La. -6%
270 San Angelo, Texas -6%
271 Indianapolis, Ind. -6%
272 Hattiesburg, Miss. -6%
273 Midland, Texas -6%
274 South Bend, Ind. -6%
275 Oklahoma City, Okla. -7%
276 Springfield, Mo. -7%
277 Mobile, Ala. -7%
278 Shreveport, La. -7%
279 DeCalif.tur, Ala. -7%
280 Little Rock, Ark. -8%
281 Bismarck, N.D. -8%
282 Houston, Texas -8%
283 Lafayette, Ind. -9%
284 Jackson, Miss. -9%
285 Charleston, W.V. -10%
286 Fort Worth, Texas -10%
287 Rochester, N.Y. -10%
288 Longview, Texas -10%
289 San Antonio, Texas -10%
290 Elkhart, Ind. -11%
291 Dallas, Texas -11%
292 Memphis, Tenn. -11%
293 Huntsville, Ala. -11%
294 Beaumont, Texas -12%
295 Killeen, Texas -13%
296 Odessa, Texas -14%
297 Montgomery, Ala. -15%
298 El Paso, Texas -17%
299 College Station, Texas -19%
The report, by Richard DeKaser, chief economist of National City Corp., examined 299 metro areas accounting for 80% of the U.S. housing market.
[Rest of story]
This is the list sorted by how much houses in that market are over or undervalued.
1 Santa Barbara, Calif. 69%
2 Salinas, Calif. 67%
3 Naples, Fla. 62%
4 Riverside, Calif. 60%
5 Merced, Calif. 59%
6 Stockton, Calif. 58%
7 Port St. Lucie, Fla. 58%
8 Madera, Calif. 57%
9 Napa, Calif. 57%
10 Medford, Ore. 55%
11 Sacramento, Calif. 54%
12 Modesto, Calif. 53%
13 San Diego, Calif. 53%
14 Santa Rosa, Calif. 52%
15 Chico, Calif. 52%
16 Barnstable Town, Mass. 50%
17 San Luis Obispo, Calif. 49%
18 Oxnard, Calif. 48%
19 Fresno, Calif. 48%
20 Los Angeles, Calif. 48%
21 Miami, Fla. 46%
22 West Palm Beach, Fla. 46%
23 Vallejo, Calif. 45%
24 Ocean City, N.J. 45%
25 Bend, Ore. 45%
26 Sarasota, Fla. 45%
27 Redding, Calif. 44%
28 Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 43%
29 Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y. 42%
30 Santa Ana, Calif. 41%
31 Atlantic City, N.J. 41%
32 Bakersfield, Calif. 40%
33 Oakland, Calif. 39%
34 Santa Cruz, Calif. 39%
35 Palm Bay, Fla. 38%
36 Las Vegas, Nev. 38%
37 Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 37%
38 Vero Beach, Fla. 37%
39 San Jose, Calif. 36%
40 Bellingham, Wash. 35%
41 Panama City, Fla. 35%
42 Calif.pe Coral, Fla. 35%
43 Providence, R.I. 34%
44 Reno, Nev. 33%
45 Kingston, N.Y. 32%
46 Visalia, Calif. 32%
47 Deltona, Fla. 31%
48 Boston, Mass. 31%
49 Washington D.C. 31%
50 Essex County, Mass. 30%
51 San Francisco, Calif. 30%
52 Prescott, Ariz. 30%
53 Duluth, Minn. 30%
54 Portland, Ore. 29%
55 Eugene, Ore. 29%
56 Worcester, Mass. 28%
57 Bay City, Mich. 27%
58 Tampa, Fla. 27%
59 Edison, N.J. 27%
60 Bethesda, Md. 27%
61 Minneapolis, Minn. 27%
62 Grand Junction, Colo. 27%
63 Fort Walton Beach, Fla. 27%
64 Flint, Mich. 27%
65 Monroe, Mich. 26%
66 Jackson, Mich. 25%
67 Portland, Maine 25%
68 New York, N.Y. 25%
69 Asheville, N.C. 25%
70 Cambridge, Mass. 24%
71 Charlottesville, Va. 24%
72 Greeley, Colo. 24%
73 Charleston, S.C. 24%
74 Jacksonville, Fla. 24%
75 Holland, Mich. 23%
76 Newark, N.J. 23%
77 Honolulu, Hawaii 23%
78 Boulder, Colo. 23%
79 Santa Fe, N.M. 22%
80 Baltimore, Md. 22%
81 Salem, Ore. 22%
82 Virginia Beach, Va. 21%
83 Battle Creek, Mich. 21%
84 Manchester, N.H. 21%
85 Springfield, Mass. 20%
86 Seattle, Wash. 20%
87 Detroit, Mich. 20%
88 Ocala, Fla. 20%
89 Lansing, Mich. 20%
90 Pensacola, Fla. 19%
91 Chicago, Ill. 19%
92 Savannah, Ga. 19%
93 Niles, Mich. 19%
94 Orlando, Fla. 19%
95 Rockingham, N.H. 19%
96 Brunswick, Ga. 19%
97 Gainesville, Fla. 18%
98 Wilmington, N.C. 18%
99 Tallahassee, Fla. 18%
100 Tacoma, Wash. 18%
101 Ann Arbor, Mich. 18%
102 Olympia, Wash. 18%
103 Warren, Mich. 17%
104 Longview, Wash. 17%
105 Casper, Wyo. 17%
106 Racine, Wis. 17%
107 Bremerton, Wash. 17%
108 Phoenix, Ariz. 17%
109 Eau Claire, Wis. 16%
110 Corvallis, Ore. 16%
111 St. George, Utah 16%
112 Flagstaff, Ariz. 16%
113 Saginaw, Mich. 16%
114 Muskegon, Mich. 15%
115 Trenton, N.J. 15%
116 Denver, Colo. 15%
117 Mount Vernon, Wash. 15%
118 Fort Collins, Colo. 15%
119 Tucson, Ariz. 15%
120 Camden, N.J. 15%
121 Norwich, Conn. 14%
122 Lake-Kenosha, Ill.-Wis. 14%
123 Richmond, Va. 14%
124 Milwaukee, Wis. 13%
125 Anchorage, Ala. 13%
126 Grand Rapids, Mich. 13%
127 Madison, Wis. 13%
128 Michigan City, Ind. 12%
129 La Crosse, Wis. 12%
130 York, Pa. 12%
131 Farmington, N.M. 12%
132 Rockford, Ill. 12%
133 Kalamazoo, Mich. 12%
134 Canton, Ohio 11%
135 Colorado Springs, Colo. 11%
136 Gainesville, Ga. 11%
137 Burlington, Vt. 11%
138 Philadelphia, Pa. 11%
139 Lakeland, Fla. 11%
140 Waterloo, Iowa 10%
141 Wilmington, Del. 10%
142 Pittsfield, Mass. 10%
143 Lynchburg, Va. 10%
144 Dalton, Ga. 10%
145 Dubuque, Iowa 10%
146 Toledo, Ohio 10%
147 Hickory, N.C. 10%
148 Vineland, N.J. 9%
149 Janesville, Wis. 9%
150 Roanoke, Va. 9%
151 Peoria, Ill. 9%
152 St. Joseph, Mo. 9%
153 New Haven, Conn. 9%
154 Fayetteville, Ark. 9%
155 St. Louis, Mo. 9%
156 Mansfield, Ohio 8%
157 Harrisonburg, Va. 8%
158 Billings, Mont. 8%
159 Davenport, Iowa 8%
160 Albany, N.Y. 8%
161 Allentown, Pa. 7%
162 Spokane, Wash. 7%
163 Springfield, Ohio 7%
164 Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. 7%
165 Reading, Pa. 7%
166 Cleveland, Ohio 7%
167 Burlington, N.C. 7%
168 Pueblo, Colo. 7%
169 Erie, Pa. 6%
170 Yakima, Wash. 6%
171 Green Bay, Wis. 6%
172 Lancaster, Pa. 6%
173 Sheboygan, WI 6%
174 Youngstown, Ohio 6%
175 Wenatchee, Wash. 6%
176 Gary, Ind. 5%
177 Athens, Ga. 5%
178 Topeka, Kan. 5%
179 Cheyenne, Wyo. 5%
180 Durham, N.C. 5%
181 Fond du Lac,W is. 4%
182 Atlanta, Ga. 4%
183 Champaign, Ill. 4%
184 Bridgeport, Conn. 4%
185 Hartford, Conn. 4%
186 Boise City, Idaho 4%
187 Sandusky, Ohio 3%
188 Akron, Ohio 3%
189 Columbus, Ohio 3%
190 Omaha, Neb. 3%
191 Salt Lake City, Utah 3%
192 Wausau, Wis. 3%
193 Lawrence, Kan. 3%
194 Kennewick, Wash. 3%
195 New Orleans, La. 3%
196 Rochester, Minn. 2%
197 Anderson, Ind. 2%
198 Chattanooga, Tenn. 2%
199 Lima, Ohio 2%
200 Amarillo, Texas 2%
201 Spartanburg, S.C. 2%
202 Florence, S.C. 1%
203 Bloomington, Ind. 1%
204 Louisville, Ky. 1%
205 Raleigh, N.C. 1%
206 Provo, Utah 1%
207 Lexington, Ky. 1%
208 Ogden, Utah 1%
209 Winston-Salem, N.C. 1%
210 Cincinnati, Ohio 1%
211 Appleton, Wis. 1%
212 Columbia, Mo. 1%
213 Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1%
214 Houma, La. 1%
Priced correctly
215 Lafayette, La. 0%
216 Columbia, S.C. 0%
217 Greenville, S..C 0%
218 Greensboro, N.C. 0%
219 Dayton, Ohio 0%
220 Oshkosh, Wis. 0%
221 Utica, N.Y. 0%
222 Decatur, Ill. 0%
223 Lincoln, Neb. 0%
Undervalued
224 Scranton, Pa. -1%
225 Pittsburgh, Pa. -1%
226 Monroe, La. -1%
227 Las Cruces, N.M. -1%
228 Knoxville, Tenn. -1%
229 Harrisburg, Pa. -1%
230 Des Moines, Iowa -1%
231 Fargo, N.D. -2%
232 Greenville, N.C. -2%
233 Sioux Falls, S.D. -2%
234 Charlotte, N.C. -2%
235 Baton Rouge, La. -2%
236 Rocky Mount, N.C. -2%
237 Sherman, Texas -3%
238 Bloomington, Ill. -3%
239 Albany, Ga. -3%
240 Kokomo, Ind. -3%
241 Nashville, Tenn. -3%
242 Owensboro, Ky. -3%
243 Albuquerque, N.M. -3%
244 Jefferson City, Mo. -3%
245 Evansville, Ind. -3%
246 Columbus, Ind. -3%
247 Lubbock, Texas -3%
248 Waco, Texas -4%
249 Augusta, Ga. -4%
250 Columbus, Ga. -4%
251 Warner Robins, Ga. -4%
252 Idaho Falls, Idaho -4%
253 Wichita, Kan. -4%
254 Iowa City, Iowa -4%
255 Bowling Green, Ky. -4%
256 Tyler, Texas -4%
257 Birmingham, Ala. -4%
258 Springfield, Ill. -4%
259 Buffalo, N.Y. -5%
260 Corpus Christi, Texas -5%
261 Macon, Ga. -5%
262 Austin, Texas -5%
263 Syracuse, N.Y. -5%
264 Fort Wayne, Ind. -6%
265 Tulsa, Okla. -6%
266 Fort Smith, Ark. -6%
267 Binghamton, .NY. -6%
268 Abilene, Texas -6%
269 Alexandria, La. -6%
270 San Angelo, Texas -6%
271 Indianapolis, Ind. -6%
272 Hattiesburg, Miss. -6%
273 Midland, Texas -6%
274 South Bend, Ind. -6%
275 Oklahoma City, Okla. -7%
276 Springfield, Mo. -7%
277 Mobile, Ala. -7%
278 Shreveport, La. -7%
279 DeCalif.tur, Ala. -7%
280 Little Rock, Ark. -8%
281 Bismarck, N.D. -8%
282 Houston, Texas -8%
283 Lafayette, Ind. -9%
284 Jackson, Miss. -9%
285 Charleston, W.V. -10%
286 Fort Worth, Texas -10%
287 Rochester, N.Y. -10%
288 Longview, Texas -10%
289 San Antonio, Texas -10%
290 Elkhart, Ind. -11%
291 Dallas, Texas -11%
292 Memphis, Tenn. -11%
293 Huntsville, Ala. -11%
294 Beaumont, Texas -12%
295 Killeen, Texas -13%
296 Odessa, Texas -14%
297 Montgomery, Ala. -15%
298 El Paso, Texas -17%
299 College Station, Texas -19%
Sheri came in from cutting the grass with a sick mourning dove in her hands. We took it back outside and put it in the shade on the ground.* It just sat there. I gave it a little poke and it flew 20 feet and made a tumble landing. I poked it again and it did the same thing.
Sheri wanted me to kill it rather than let it get mauled alive by whatever got the rabbit last week. I picked it up and a brown murky fluid was coming out of its mouth. Yeah, this bird wasn't going to make it through the night.
I thought back to my chicken killing days on Tom's farm. I gripped its little head between the side of my thumb and the side of my index finger and gave it a good firm pull. Apparently mourning dove necks are much more tender than chicken necks because before I knew it I had the body in my left hand and a little unattached head in my right hand.
Sheri was a little shocked at how fast and quick the whole thing was over. I tossed it back on the ground with the hope that the smell of fresh blood will scare the rabbits away. I thought about putting its little head on a pike as a warning to anything that might have designs on my tomatoes, the way we used to do it with vendors at B1 as an example to the other vendors.
* We now have a new rule of "no wild animals in the house".
Sheri wanted me to kill it rather than let it get mauled alive by whatever got the rabbit last week. I picked it up and a brown murky fluid was coming out of its mouth. Yeah, this bird wasn't going to make it through the night.
I thought back to my chicken killing days on Tom's farm. I gripped its little head between the side of my thumb and the side of my index finger and gave it a good firm pull. Apparently mourning dove necks are much more tender than chicken necks because before I knew it I had the body in my left hand and a little unattached head in my right hand.
Sheri was a little shocked at how fast and quick the whole thing was over. I tossed it back on the ground with the hope that the smell of fresh blood will scare the rabbits away. I thought about putting its little head on a pike as a warning to anything that might have designs on my tomatoes, the way we used to do it with vendors at B1 as an example to the other vendors.
* We now have a new rule of "no wild animals in the house".
