Saturday, October 31, 2009
Jackasses and laptops
Using a laptop in coach on a plane can be difficult. The distance between the seat back to the seat in front of you varies between 30 inches and 33 inches. Not a lot of room. Long ago I learned that anything bigger than a 14 inch screen isn't doable if the person in front leans back.
I have two portable computers. I have a 15 inch Macbook Pro and a 10.6 inch HP Mini 5101.
The MAcbook Pro does decently in coach as its a wide screen and the screen slides behind the keybaord when opened. The HP Mini 5101 fits just fine all the time.
Here comes my rant.
People who use laptops in coach KNOW room is tight. I never lean my chair back when I use my laptop or when I think a computer is being used behind me. If I'm not sure I check. It's a common courtesy.
The Jackass in front of me just whipped is chair back. If I was using my Macbook OR the HP he is using, the screen could have been damaged. He went straight back. Grrr..
I am hoping the guy in front of him whips his chair back and f's up his viewing angle. Annoying.
Even on my netbook I had a problem clearly seeing the screen. I moved to the seat next to me (Kelli and I are in a row by ourselves).
We've spent a lot of time on planes over the last week. Using my "back of the napkin" math, we have flown 32 hours in the last 8 days. Yowzers.
My second anniversary at my job passed on the 29th. I got a decent pay raise. I get another smaller one in January.
New York was quick.My new niece Renee can't talk. She's only three weeks old so I won't hold it against her. She is amazingly quiet though. Cried for maybe 2 minutes combined during the entire time we were there. My niece Gianna is almost 4. I think she carries something in common with me....but more severe. I think she has ADD. Her attention span is crazy short. Microseconds. Kinda wore me out.
While in New York I gave my brother in laws computer a tune up. He had a ton of spyware on it. I installed and ran Microsoft Security Essentials anti-virus and spyware removal. Much better now. I also helped my mother in law connect with my brother in law via Skype. If he had a Mac it would be easier as Ichat is easier to use and provides much better video.
Woopra. No it's not some Oprah thing. Woopra is a web site analytics software tool on steroids. It allows LIVE tracking versus historical data. I heard about it via Net@Night on TWIT. Once installed via an easy Wordpress Plug in, I can launch the software and get tons of data about the people who visit my sites.
I get data about the computer (browser, operating system, screen resolution), part of the country they are in, what country they are in, how long they viewed each page, where they came from (direct link/search/typed it in) and more. This is way better than Google Anayltics....and of course it's free.
With two full months left in the year.....we have no trips planned. We do have to get a cruise out of the way sometime before April...or maybe will have to give it away.
I do have weekends off in November. Booyah.
GoGo Internet on American Airlines rocks. Today it's free! No code needed!
Using a laptop in coach on a plane can be difficult. The distance between the seat back to the seat in front of you varies between 30 inches and 33 inches. Not a lot of room. Long ago I learned that anything bigger than a 14 inch screen isn't doable if the person in front leans back.
I have two portable computers. I have a 15 inch Macbook Pro and a 10.6 inch HP Mini 5101.
The Macbook Pro does decently in coach as its a wide screen and the screen slides behind the keybaord when opened. The HP Mini 5101 fits just fine all the time.
Here comes my rant.
People who use laptops in coach KNOW room is tight. I never lean my chair back when I use my laptop or when I think a computer is being used behind me. If I'm not sure I check. It's a common courtesy.
The Jackass in front of me just whipped is chair back. If I was using my Macbook OR the HP he is using, the screen could have been damaged. He went straight back. Grrr..
I am hoping the guy in front of him whips his chair back and f's up his viewing angle. Annoying.
Even on my netbook I had a problem clearly seeing the screen. I moved to the seat next to me (Kelli and I are in a row by ourselves).
We've spent a lot of time on planes over the last week. Using my "back of the napkin" math, we have flown 32 hours in the last 8 days. Yowzers.
My second anniversary at my job passed on the 29th. I got a decent pay raise. I get another smaller one in January.
New York was quick.My new niece Renee can't talk. She's only three weeks old so I won't hold it against her. She is amazingly quiet though. Cried for maybe 2 minutes combined during the entire time we were there. My niece Gianna is almost 4. I think she carries something in common with me....but more severe. I think she has ADD. Her attention span is crazy short. Microseconds. Kinda wore me out
While in New York I gave my brother in laws computer a tune up. He had a ton of spyware on it. I installed and ran Microsoft Security Essentials anti-virus and spyware removal. Much better now. I also helped my mother in law connect with my brother in law via Skype. If he had a Mac it would be easier as Ichat is easier to use and provides much better video.
Woopra. No it's not some Oprah thing. Woopra is a web site analytics software tool on steroids. It allows LIVE tracking versus historical data. I heard about it via Net@Night on TWIT. Once installed via an easy Wordpress Plug in, I can launch the software and get tons of data about the people who visit my sites.
I get data about the computer (browser, operating system, screen resolution), part of the country they are in, what country they are in, how long they viewed each page, where they came from (direct link/search/typed it in) and more. This is way better than Google Anayltics....and of course it's free.
With two full months left in the year.....we have no trips planned. We do have to get a cruise out of the way sometime before April...or maybe will have to give it away.
I do have weekends off in November. Booyah.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Japan Trip: Blog 11
We are currently over southern Washington State/Northern Oregon at 37,000 feet. We've endured 7 hours in coach. Not comfortable in the slightest.
I've dozed in and out a few times. Never more than 20 minutes of sleep at a time. Kelli hasn't done anywhere near as good. What a stark contrast to the flight here.
There are about 3 hours left. Once we land and clear customs, the plan is to head home for a nap, wash clothes, shower an then head back to the airport for a flight to Newark. We are listed for First Class…who knows if we will get it.
Tokyo was the first time for both of us to be out of the country. Sure we have been to Canada, Mexico, The Bahamas, Oregon….but I don't feel they count. We could easily communicate in Canada and The Bahamas. I know enough Spanish to get by in Mexico. Tokyo was a whole different country!
A good amount knew a bit of English. Some none at all. We knew no Japanese beyond Domioragto Mr. Roboto. Yeah.
I really fell in love with Tokyo. The city is clean and full of culture. It practically oozes culture.
Everyone knows I am a bit of a germ-a-phob. Not compare to the Japanese though. We quickly got use to seeing people in mask. The cleanliness of the city though was crazy.
The city cleaners don't just blow the leaves away. They scoop them all up. We passed a building worker shining the building fire hydrants. Everything is clean. As much as they smoked, we NEVER saw a cigarette butt on the sidewalk. Never a can smashed on the ground. Never a wrapper smashed into the pavement. Nothing.
Over the two years I have been at my airline I have visited (from memory)
Washington D.C (3x), Las Vegas (5X), New York (3X), Portland (2X), Detroit, Toronto, Canada, Chicago (2X), New Orleans, St Louis, Atlanta, Cabo San Lucas, Nassau, Monterrey, San Francisco , Sacramento (4X), San Diego, Houston (5X), Denver, Jacksonville, FL, Minneapolis.
None of them affected me as much as Tokyo. I never wanted to move to any of those cities. I want to move to Tokyo. Of course this won't happen anytime soon. But if it did I'd love it.
I really hope to go back within a year or so. One thing about our offspring…they will be very well traveled.
I've dozed in and out a few times. Never more than 20 minutes of sleep at a time. Kelli hasn't done anywhere near as good. What a stark contrast to the flight here.
There are about 3 hours left. Once we land and clear customs, the plan is to head home for a nap, wash clothes, shower an then head back to the airport for a flight to Newark. We are listed for First Class…who knows if we will get it.
Tokyo was the first time for both of us to be out of the country. Sure we have been to Canada, Mexico, The Bahamas, Oregon….but I don't feel they count. We could easily communicate in Canada and The Bahamas. I know enough Spanish to get by in Mexico. Tokyo was a whole different country!
A good amount knew a bit of English. Some none at all. We knew no Japanese beyond Domioragto Mr. Roboto. Yeah.
I really fell in love with Tokyo. The city is clean and full of culture. It practically oozes culture.
Everyone knows I am a bit of a germ-a-phob. Not compare to the Japanese though. We quickly got use to seeing people in mask. The cleanliness of the city though was crazy.
The city cleaners don't just blow the leaves away. They scoop them all up. We passed a building worker shining the building fire hydrants. Everything is clean. As much as they smoked, we NEVER saw a cigarette butt on the sidewalk. Never a can smashed on the ground. Never a wrapper smashed into the pavement. Nothing.
Over the two years I have been at my airline I have visited (from memory)
Washington D.C (3x), Las Vegas (5X), New York (3X), Portland (2X), Detroit, Toronto, Canada, Chicago (2X), New Orleans, St Louis, Atlanta, Cabo San Lucas, Nassau, Monterrey, San Francisco , Sacramento (4X), San Diego, Houston (5X), Denver, Jacksonville, FL, Minneapolis.
None of them affected me as much as Tokyo. I never wanted to move to any of those cities. I want to move to Tokyo. Of course this won't happen anytime soon. But if it did I'd love it.
I really hope to go back within a year or so. One thing about our offspring…they will be very well traveled.
Japan Trip: Blog 10
Right now I am sitting in seat 20B....19 rows back from my last seat of 1D. Is 20B First class? No. Surely 20B is Business class. Nope. Missed it by that much. Literally we missed Business by 2 seats. We were pushed down by other non-rev employees who were traveling thru Tokyo. The non-rev system is kinda complex. One big rule is if you are traveling thru you are placed higher on the list than those who are just starting out. I never thought there would be thru passengers in Tokyo.
The day started at 4:30AM. We left the hotel at 5:20AM. We didn't pay a dime for 4 nights in the hotel....all points.
There are many ways to get from Tokyo to the Narita airport (which is located more than 60 miles away!).
We paid $30 a piece to ride an “Airport Limo” , which was just a bus, to the hotel. The ride was quick and efficient. Problem getting back was that the bus company didn't have an office/desk in our hotel. We could have called and made a reservation, but decided against it.
Taxis in Tokyo are ridiculously expensive. Never even an option.
That left trains. There are several different train routes, prices and comfort levels to pick from for the ride to the airport.
I researched them all and picked a line operated by a private company that charges $19 per person. The trip to that station went past another company offering express service to the airport for $30 a person.
All seats on the train are reserved in advance. Online reviews stated trains fill up fast. I planned on arriving at the station in time to catch the first train out at 6:30AM. If we were lucky there was a “rapid service” train leaving at 6:10AM for only $10 a person.
We arrived at the first station at 5:25AM. We caught the 5:27AM train. After 6 stops we reached the first transfer point.
Tokyo subways are not wheelchair or luggage friendly. Sometimes there are stairs and escalators. Sometimes only stairs. Every now and then an elevator.
We lugged our bags up and down a few sets of stairs and escalators before reaching the next train. It left at 5:50AM and would arrive at our next transfer at 6:07AM. The website stated the trip between the two stations on foot was 2 minutes.
Since it was the but crack of Tokyo dawn the trains were very empty. We had seats to ourselves.
A word about Tokyo subways. For the most part they are all ridiculously clean and well kept. The seats are very comfortable and look brand new. Little signs of wear. Not a hint of smoke. The same can't be said for subways in New York, Washington D.C or Chicago.
Right on time the train stopped at 6:07 AM. Five minutes later we reached the final transfer (2 minutes by foot my ass...maybe if we were running!).
We bought our tickets and made our way to the platform. The tickets were in Japanese of course. I used the English guide to figure out what the symbols and numbers meant.
The train was nice. Vending machines and restrooms were on board. There was space to store luggage. After one stop we were on the way. It wasn't a bullet train, just a non-stop train.
For our non-rev flights we can't check in until 4 hours prior to departure. The flight left at 12:05PM. We pulled into the station at 7:26AM and were sitting in front of the check in kiosk shortly thereafter. Problem.....they don't open until 9AM.
We settled in next too two other ladies who I could tell were also non-reving. I looked into the reservation system and saw they were also listing for first class. With just 4 First Class seats open at the time it would be close but doable.
Just before 9AM they stood in line. I stood behind them. When the kiosk turned on I approached and checked us in. I beat them! As I sat down Kelli was smiling. We were at the top of the list. That was her last smile for a while.
Over the course of the next two hours we were pushed further down the list and the number of first and business class seats dwindled.
Prior to clearing security I finally enjoyed a Japanese hot dog. Again they are crazy for hot dogs here. I had a Mc Hot Dog from McDonalds. It was very tastey. Awesome bread.
After buying a hat for my dad I watched the bags while Kelli went to buy souveniers. We then cleared security.
No need to take off shoes here. We still had to put liquids in a separate bag although they didn't appear to really care as I had bottles of lotion and shampoo scattered between my suitcase, laptop bag and jacket. Done.
Once at the gate our fate was sealed. We missed business class. At least we had seats together and ourselves. Coach is a 2-5-2 arrangement. We have two seats together right behind business. Yeah that close.
We just finished our meal. The quality of food between classes is shocking. Not visually appealing at all. It tasted decent though. Now I get to figure out how to occupy myself for the next 9 hours. Oh and a baby is screaming to my right.....I can hear him over my music. Bose noise cancellation is no match for this kids lungs.
Right now I am sitting in seat 20B....19 rows back from my last seat of 1D. Is 20B First class? No. Surely 20B is Business class. Nope. Missed it by that much. Literally we missed Business by 2 seats. We were pushed down by other non-rev employees who were traveling thru Tokyo. The non-rev system is kinda complex. One big rule is if you are traveling thru you are placed higher on the list than those who are just starting out. I never thought there would be thru passengers in Tokyo.
The day started at 4:30AM. We left the hotel at 5:20AM. We didn't pay a dime for 4 nights in the hotel....all points.
There are many ways to get from Tokyo to the Narita airport (which is located more than 60 miles away!).
We paid $30 a piece to ride an “Airport Limo” , which was just a bus, to the hotel. The ride was quick and efficient. Problem getting back was that the bus company didn't have an office/desk in our hotel. We could have called and made a reservation, but decided against it.
Taxis in Tokyo are ridiculously expensive. Never even an option.
That left trains. There are several different train routes, prices and comfort levels to pick from for the ride to the airport.
I researched them all and picked a line operated by a private company that charges $19 per person. The trip to that station went past another company offering express service to the airport for $30 a person.
All seats on the train are reserved in advance. Online reviews stated trains fill up fast. I planned on arriving at the station in time to catch the first train out at 6:30AM. If we were lucky there was a “rapid service” train leaving at 6:10AM for only $10 a person.
We arrived at the first station at 5:25AM. We caught the 5:27AM train. After 6 stops we reached the first transfer point.
Tokyo subways are not wheelchair or luggage friendly. Sometimes there are stairs and escalators. Sometimes only stairs. Every now and then an elevator.
We lugged our bags up and down a few sets of stairs and escalators before reaching the next train. It left at 5:50AM and would arrive at our next transfer at 6:07AM. The website stated the trip between the two stations on foot was 2 minutes.
Since it was the but crack of Tokyo dawn the trains were very empty. We had seats to ourselves.
A word about Tokyo subways. For the most part they are all ridiculously clean and well kept. The seats are very comfortable and look brand new. Little signs of wear. Not a hint of smoke. The same can't be said for subways in New York, Washington D.C or Chicago.
Right on time the train stopped at 6:07 AM. Five minutes later we reached the final transfer (2 minutes by foot my ass...maybe if we were running!).
We bought our tickets and made our way to the platform. The tickets were in Japanese of course. I used the English guide to figure out what the symbols and numbers meant.
The train was nice. Vending machines and restrooms were on board. There was space to store luggage. After one stop we were on the way. It wasn't a bullet train, just a non-stop train.
For our non-rev flights we can't check in until 4 hours prior to departure. The flight left at 12:05PM. We pulled into the station at 7:26AM and were sitting in front of the check in kiosk shortly thereafter. Problem.....they don't open until 9AM.
We settled in next too two other ladies who I could tell were also non-reving. I looked into the reservation system and saw they were also listing for first class. With just 4 First Class seats open at the time it would be close but doable.
Just before 9AM they stood in line. I stood behind them. When the kiosk turned on I approached and checked us in. I beat them! As I sat down Kelli was smiling. We were at the top of the list. That was her last smile for a while.
Over the course of the next two hours we were pushed further down the list and the number of first and business class seats dwindled.
Prior to clearing security I finally enjoyed a Japanese hot dog. Again they are crazy for hot dogs here. I had a Mc Hot Dog from McDonalds. It was very tastey. Awesome bread.
After buying a hat for my dad I watched the bags while Kelli went to buy souveniers. We then cleared security.
No need to take off shoes here. We still had to put liquids in a separate bag although they didn't appear to really care as I had bottles of lotion and shampoo scattered between my suitcase, laptop bag and jacket. Done.
Once at the gate our fate was sealed. We missed business class. At least we had seats together and ourselves. Coach is a 2-5-2 arrangement. We have two seats together right behind business. Yeah that close.
We just finished our meal. The quality of food between classes is shocking. Not visually appealing at all. It tasted decent though. Now I get to figure out how to occupy myself for the next 9 hours. Oh and a baby is screaming to my right.....I can hear him over my music. Bose noise cancellation is no match for this kids lungs.
Japan Trip: Blog 9
Our last day in Tokyo was a long day.
Tokyo Disney opens at 9AM. The problem is that rush hour on the subway is from 8AM to 9AM. The subway ride we estimated was just about an hour including each of the two connections.
We discussed the situation and decided to leave the hotel around 8:30AM. We would hopefully catch the end of rush hour. We did.
The first train was fairly full. We were standing room only. The second train was even more full. So full that I discussed at “what to do if we get separated” plan. The final train was also full...standing room only.
We finally reached Tokyo Disney. Our choice of park was the DisneySea park. To get there one HAS to take the Disney train system. In the United States Disney trains are free. Tokyo Disney isn't owned by Walt Disney and is only slightly affiliated. The charge for the Tokyo Disney train is $2.50 per person each way! Scam!
Once we reached the park....wow. Long lines just to buy tickets. The line was 35 minutes by itself. Nutty.
The park was way more packed than we assumed it would be. One perk of being at Tokyo Disney....most of the guest were shorter than me....around Kelli's height. Nice.
Our first stop was the “Tower of Terror”. We have been on this ride both in Florida and California. Each of those rides were unique but similar.
The Tokyo Disneysea “Tower of Terror” looked the same on the outside. The line was an hour long. The safety warnings were announced in Japanese, English and Chinese.
Fastpass is a great innovation that works very well at theme parks. In the United States the fast pass line allows access to a ride during a certain time frame. We used it at both Disney parks. The fast pass line/system in the United States is minimally intrusive to the regular line. Not so in Tokyo.
The Fastpass line in Tokyo is like being of a higher class. The regular line is held up and streams of Fastpass riders are streamed by. There was a much higher number of fast pass riders per time frame than in the United States. Throughout the day literally over 20 Fastpass riders were let on per 6-8 “standby” riders. This is what caused the regular lines to be so long and have limited movement.
The “standby” lines in the United States are always moving. It's rare that you are just standing still. Not so much at Tokyo Disney.
Back to the “Tower of Terror”. The employees and pre-show were all in Japanese. They could have been announcing we were all going to die or be poisoned. Kelli and I were clueless.
The ride was very short. Just two quick drops and it was over. Less than 2 minutes. Both “Tower of Terror” rides in the United States are much longer and have more interaction.
After the “Tower of Terror” we headed over to “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”. On the way we needed a restroom. As soon as I opened a map, a Disney employee came over and asked what we needed. He then escorted us a good 100 yards to the restroom. In the United States they would have simply pointed. Service in Japan never stops.
On the way to the next ride we got a quick snack. The Japanese appear to love hot dogs (lines for hot dogs were ALWAYS 25+ people deep!) and churros. If I win the lottery I am going to open up a Hot Dog and Churro resturant in Japan.
“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” was neat. Very detailed. This ride line was just 25 minutes long. This ride was also short. A theme was starting. I guess the Japanese like short rides?
It quickly became apparent we wouldn't be getting our full DisneySea experience due to the crazy large crowd. This sucked.
We headed over to “Journey to the Center of the Earth”. The line was 100 minutes long. Wow.
Once again the Fastpass to standby ratio was way off. All the reservations for Fastpass tickets were after 7PM. Too late for us. We waited.
The ride was neat. Once again short. Disney in the United States is just really detailed and engaging. The rides grab and demand your attention. When I get off a ride in the United States I feel totally satisfied. Not so in Japan.
We were pretty tired after waiting in line. Time for lunch. We bypassed the Mexican food (fool me once was enough...there would be no fool me twice!) and went for Chinese food. Kelli was hesitant.
One common thing in Japan is a the “lunch set”. The set is a meal consisting of several parts. They are normally really good deals but allow for little if any changes.
I went for the “Chef Special Set”. Lots of food and options. I looked like a “fat American” as I got an extra appetizer. Oh well.
After paying the excellent service continued. A employee picked up Kelli's tray and escorted us to a table. She then began speaking a lot in Japanese. We were clueless. We just smiled. Again she could have been calling us “stupid fat Americans, thank you for nuking my grandparents”. Yeah.
Lunch was good. I ate a a lot.
Next ride was “Stormrider”. It is the type of ride where you sit in a seat watch a movie while the entire ride moves in sync with the movie. It was pretty neat. Lots of detail. Not terribly short. Of course the line was an hour long. Lots of standing and walking during this vacation.
Our final ride was the “Indiana Jones” ride. After 90 minutes we reached the line. Again if the ratio of fastpasses was similar to what is used in the United States the wait time would EASILY be 45 minutes or less.
The ride was neat. Much like the ride in the United States.
When we left the sun had set. It was around 6:30PM. I had initially planned on heading back to the electronics district. Too tired. The long lines wore me out.
After paying another $2.50 we boarded the Disney train for ONE stop....about a 1 minute long trip...to the front of the park.
Three subway trains later (thankfully we had seats on two of them) we were at our stop.
Each night, before heading back to the hotel, we stopped by 7-11 for snacks for the next day.
Nearly all the snacks and products are in Japanese. We just used the appearance of the items to make a choice. I had more than a few bad choices. The items looked great....but they were awful. Bad. Gross.
I also tried a new beer each night. I was never disappointed in that area.
By 9PM we were in bed. The trip back would be long. That's for the next blog.
Our last day in Tokyo was a long day.
Tokyo Disney opens at 9AM. The problem is that rush hour on the subway is from 8AM to 9AM. The subway ride we estimated was just about an hour including each of the two connections.
We discussed the situation and decided to leave the hotel around 8:30AM. We would hopefully catch the end of rush hour. We did.
The first train was fairly full. We were standing room only. The second train was even more full. So full that I discussed at “what to do if we get separated” plan. The final train was also full...standing room only.
We finally reached Tokyo Disney. Our choice of park was the DisneySea park. To get there one HAS to take the Disney train system. In the United States Disney trains are free. Tokyo Disney isn't owned by Walt Disney and is only slightly affiliated. The charge for the Tokyo Disney train is $2.50 per person each way! Scam!
Once we reached the park....wow. Long lines just to buy tickets. The line was 35 minutes by itself. Nutty.
The park was way more packed than we assumed it would be. One perk of being at Tokyo Disney....most of the guest were shorter than me....around Kelli's height. Nice.
Our first stop was the “Tower of Terror”. We have been on this ride both in Florida and California. Each of those rides were unique but similar.
The Tokyo Disneysea “Tower of Terror” looked the same on the outside. The line was an hour long. The safety warnings were announced in Japanese, English and Chinese.
Fastpass is a great innovation that works very well at theme parks. In the United States the fast pass line allows access to a ride during a certain time frame. We used it at both Disney parks. The fast pass line/system in the United States is minimally intrusive to the regular line. Not so in Tokyo.
The Fastpass line in Tokyo is like being of a higher class. The regular line is held up and streams of Fastpass riders are streamed by. There was a much higher number of fast pass riders per time frame than in the United States. Throughout the day literally over 20 Fastpass riders were let on per 6-8 “standby” riders. This is what caused the regular lines to be so long and have limited movement.
The “standby” lines in the United States are always moving. It's rare that you are just standing still. Not so much at Tokyo Disney.
Back to the “Tower of Terror”. The employees and pre-show were all in Japanese. They could have been announcing we were all going to die or be poisoned. Kelli and I were clueless.
The ride was very short. Just two quick drops and it was over. Less than 2 minutes. Both “Tower of Terror” rides in the United States are much longer and have more interaction.
After the “Tower of Terror” we headed over to “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”. On the way we needed a restroom. As soon as I opened a map, a Disney employee came over and asked what we needed. He then escorted us a good 100 yards to the restroom. In the United States they would have simply pointed. Service in Japan never stops.
On the way to the next ride we got a quick snack. The Japanese appear to love hot dogs (lines for hot dogs were ALWAYS 25+ people deep!) and churros. If I win the lottery I am going to open up a Hot Dog and Churro resturant in Japan.
“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” was neat. Very detailed. This ride line was just 25 minutes long. This ride was also short. A theme was starting. I guess the Japanese like short rides?
It quickly became apparent we wouldn't be getting our full DisneySea experience due to the crazy large crowd. This sucked.
We headed over to “Journey to the Center of the Earth”. The line was 100 minutes long. Wow.
Once again the Fastpass to standby ratio was way off. All the reservations for Fastpass tickets were after 7PM. Too late for us. We waited.
The ride was neat. Once again short. Disney in the United States is just really detailed and engaging. The rides grab and demand your attention. When I get off a ride in the United States I feel totally satisfied. Not so in Japan.
We were pretty tired after waiting in line. Time for lunch. We bypassed the Mexican food (fool me once was enough...there would be no fool me twice!) and went for Chinese food. Kelli was hesitant.
One common thing in Japan is a the “lunch set”. The set is a meal consisting of several parts. They are normally really good deals but allow for little if any changes.
I went for the “Chef Special Set”. Lots of food and options. I looked like a “fat American” as I got an extra appetizer. Oh well.
After paying the excellent service continued. A employee picked up Kelli's tray and escorted us to a table. She then began speaking a lot in Japanese. We were clueless. We just smiled. Again she could have been calling us “stupid fat Americans, thank you for nuking my grandparents”. Yeah.
Lunch was good. I ate a a lot.
Next ride was “Stormrider”. It is the type of ride where you sit in a seat watch a movie while the entire ride moves in sync with the movie. It was pretty neat. Lots of detail. Not terribly short. Of course the line was an hour long. Lots of standing and walking during this vacation.
Our final ride was the “Indiana Jones” ride. After 90 minutes we reached the line. Again if the ratio of fastpasses was similar to what is used in the United States the wait time would EASILY be 45 minutes or less.
The ride was neat. Much like the ride in the United States.
When we left the sun had set. It was around 6:30PM. I had initially planned on heading back to the electronics district. Too tired. The long lines wore me out.
After paying another $2.50 we boarded the Disney train for ONE stop....about a 1 minute long trip...to the front of the park.
Three subway trains later (thankfully we had seats on two of them) we were at our stop.
Each night, before heading back to the hotel, we stopped by 7-11 for snacks for the next day.
Nearly all the snacks and products are in Japanese. We just used the appearance of the items to make a choice. I had more than a few bad choices. The items looked great....but they were awful. Bad. Gross.
I also tried a new beer each night. I was never disappointed in that area.
By 9PM we were in bed. The trip back would be long. That's for the next blog.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Heading home
The final blogs will be written during the flight home. Tired. We are at the airport now. Hope to get First Class. It's been an amazing trip. I WILL be back. Maybe next year. I've been to a number of different cities. Tokyo is by far my favorite. We saw a lot but there is MUCH more to see. For now...back home.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Japan Trip: Blog 8
Tuesday was a day of travel for us. We zig zagged across the city....for fairly cheap.
The day started with a trip to the Tokyo National Museum. This was for Kelli. I don't care for Museums unless they have computers or cars.
The trip over there required two subway lines. We've yet to go anywhere on just one subway.
[singlepic id=1438 w=640 h=480 float=center]
The museum is located in a very beautiful park. Of course I forgot to charge the camera batteries and had to use my cell phone for photos for the day. Most came out nice.
We walked thru the HUGE park to the Museum, passing temples and a zoo along the way.
There was some major event going on inside the Museum grounds. Lots of Japanese were very dressed up and all bought the higher priced "all access" ticket. We bought the 500 Yen basic ticket.
The Museum was nice. I was bored after about 9 minutes.
After the Museum (I don't know why I am capitalizing that word), we headed to lunch. Frommers guide (anyone traveling should buy one!) suggested an Indian buffet close to park. The area is very interesting....all of Tokyo is interesting. The restaurant is located in a small building on the 3rd floor. Each floor has ONE restaurant/cafe. We took the wrong elevator the first time and ended up in the lobby of a Japanese cafe.
The Indian buffet was small but good. Only about 6 choices for food. One very odd thing was the requirement to reuse the same plate over and over again. Also no covers over anything. There were two men sitting directly next to uncovered food. Odd in deed.
In Japan when you order a drink...other than water...that's all you get. No refills. It doesn't matter if it cost $4 (we paid that for ONE glass of coke somewhere) that's all you get. Expensive and annoying. I finally found "big" coffee at Starbucks. Haven't bought it...just saw it. All the Japanese I could see had small or "tall" size cups.
After lunch we explored the area. It was a shopping district. Lots of store lined alleys. The stores are all open faced....like a flea market.
The Japanese appear to love shoes...there were a ton of shoe stores. I joked that I should go ask for a size 14. I bet they would say, "Ah, finally...one day I knew a crazy big foot American would walk into my store, here you go." He would then hand over a pair of Converse from 1986.
We bought a Halloween fancy cupcake from a cafe. Halloween is big here. The cupcake tasted odd to me....Kelli liked it though.
I bought a huge can of coke...17 ounces.
[singlepic id=1429 w=640 h=480 float=center]
I then opened it and drank it while walking down the alley. Later I read that it's considered rude and bad taste to walk and drink ANYTHING.I find this odd as there are a ton of vending machines. The proper thing to do is buy a drink...chug it down...and keep on walking. Seriously? Makes sense as next to every vending machine is a trash can/recycling box. There are no public trash cans. Again odd because the entire city is very clean. For example they have crews who rake up leaves rather than blow them away. These are government crews...not companies.
The area has a lot of casinos. I would have played if I knew how the machines worked. They play with these little silver marbles...not tokens.
[singlepic id=1431 w=640 h=480 float=center]
[singlepic id=1432 w=640 h=480 float=center]
We then headed to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.They have two free observations areas each on the 45th floor. Getting there required 2 subways as normal. Once there we had to walk on surface streets for quite a distance. Later on the way back I saw where we could have taken a free train. Doh!
The views were amazing. Tokyo is seriously huge. I mean huge. I couldn't see the end of the city from any direction.
[singlepic id=1434 w=640 h=480 float=center]
[singlepic id=1435 w=640 h=480 float=center]
[singlepic id=1436 w=640 h=480 float=center]
[singlepic id=1437 w=640 h=480 float=center]
We were somewhat tired by this point. It was 3PM. I dug through Frommers guide for shopping. It mentioned the Electronics district (which I hope to stop by again this evening) and that many subway stations have huge shopping areas. We decided to head to Tokyo Station.
One thing about subways here. The fare we pay has NO direction relationship to how far we travel. We went from west Tokyo to central Tokyo. The first subway ride was under 3 minutes...maybe 1/3 of a mile. Cost deducted from our card was $1.60. We then rode for over 15 minutes...10 stops...several miles...and paid $0.90. WTF?!?!? It's a guessing game. We just keep putting money on the card.
After arriving at Tokyo Station we stopped by a vending machine and chugged down drinks.
[singlepic id=1428 w=640 h=480 float=center]
We never found the shopping areas. We did find the Imperial Palace Gardens. The area was very nice. We spent about 30 minutes in the area before heading to dinner.
We got lucky and walked to the subway line we needed. For the first time we took one subway to our destination...actually near our destination.
[singlepic id=1430 w=640 h=480 float=center]
This restroom map is important...it shows there is ONE western toilet
Emerging from the subway I quickly noticed we were surrounded by teens. All around and dressed in very trendy clothes.
It took us a bit to figure out where we were. Very few streets in Tokyo have names. We then followed Frommers instructions to "possibly the best Mexican food in Tokyo." Stop laughing.
After thinking we were lost 3 times we made it. Right at opening time.
The restaurant is WAY under ground. We walked down two flights of circling stairs before reaching the front door.
The front desk host feverishly studied the seating guide and then wrote several numbers on a piece of paper. We then were led further underground.
The scenery and music is 100% spot on for a Mexican restaurant. I could have easily been anywhere in Texas.....until the food arrived.
Placed on our table was the smallest bowl of chips and salsa I have ever seen. There were not more than 20 chips in this small bowl. The salsa bowl was no bigger than the top of a coke can. Seriously.
The prices were crazy expensive .Beer was 985 Yen (about $9.85). A margarita was 1200 Yen (about $12.00). I ordered a margarita. Kelli ordered a cola (no brand given).
For dinner I ordered beef tacos. Kelli ordered Quesadillas. The menu said Spinach, Cheese and Mushroom Quesadillas. Now Quesa means literally cheese tortilla.
My tacos were decent. Small. Decent beef chunks. The margarita was awful. It was a Cadillac Margarita with top shelf liquor...but horrible. Kelli however was in for an adventure.
On her plate were three fried pies. They looked like fruit pies. She took a bite. All spinach. I told her surely there was cheese in the next bite. She kept going. More spinach. I cheered her on. More Spinach. They appeared to have forgotten cheese or mushrooms! It was a spinach pie.
I picked up the next one. I took a bite. Cheese! She took the next bite. More cheese. I figured it out. See the menu said Spinach, Cheese AND Mushroom Quesadillas....not Spinach, Cheese, Mushroom Quesadillas. Each pie was it's own creation. WTF?!!?!?
The bill for our horrible meal was 4500 yen...about $45. This for a meal that would be $20 top in the United States. Word to visitors...never eat Mexican food in Japan. I can only imagine what Eric and Angela would have thought of this place. They like Mexican food as much as we do...I think Eric likes it more than me. Yeah.
We took the long walk back to the subway. More teens about. Crazy the number of them. Very trendy area.
After two subways we were back to the hotel.
I haven't slept past 3AM Tokyo time (1PM Dallas) since I have been here. Odd. Today is Tokyo Disney. Tokyo Disney isn't owned or operated by Walt Disney. It's owned by a private company.
The day started with a trip to the Tokyo National Museum. This was for Kelli. I don't care for Museums unless they have computers or cars.
The trip over there required two subway lines. We've yet to go anywhere on just one subway.
[singlepic id=1438 w=640 h=480 float=center]
The museum is located in a very beautiful park. Of course I forgot to charge the camera batteries and had to use my cell phone for photos for the day. Most came out nice.
We walked thru the HUGE park to the Museum, passing temples and a zoo along the way.
There was some major event going on inside the Museum grounds. Lots of Japanese were very dressed up and all bought the higher priced "all access" ticket. We bought the 500 Yen basic ticket.
The Museum was nice. I was bored after about 9 minutes.
After the Museum (I don't know why I am capitalizing that word), we headed to lunch. Frommers guide (anyone traveling should buy one!) suggested an Indian buffet close to park. The area is very interesting....all of Tokyo is interesting. The restaurant is located in a small building on the 3rd floor. Each floor has ONE restaurant/cafe. We took the wrong elevator the first time and ended up in the lobby of a Japanese cafe.
The Indian buffet was small but good. Only about 6 choices for food. One very odd thing was the requirement to reuse the same plate over and over again. Also no covers over anything. There were two men sitting directly next to uncovered food. Odd in deed.
In Japan when you order a drink...other than water...that's all you get. No refills. It doesn't matter if it cost $4 (we paid that for ONE glass of coke somewhere) that's all you get. Expensive and annoying. I finally found "big" coffee at Starbucks. Haven't bought it...just saw it. All the Japanese I could see had small or "tall" size cups.
After lunch we explored the area. It was a shopping district. Lots of store lined alleys. The stores are all open faced....like a flea market.
The Japanese appear to love shoes...there were a ton of shoe stores. I joked that I should go ask for a size 14. I bet they would say, "Ah, finally...one day I knew a crazy big foot American would walk into my store, here you go." He would then hand over a pair of Converse from 1986.
We bought a Halloween fancy cupcake from a cafe. Halloween is big here. The cupcake tasted odd to me....Kelli liked it though.
I bought a huge can of coke...17 ounces.
[singlepic id=1429 w=640 h=480 float=center]
I then opened it and drank it while walking down the alley. Later I read that it's considered rude and bad taste to walk and drink ANYTHING.I find this odd as there are a ton of vending machines. The proper thing to do is buy a drink...chug it down...and keep on walking. Seriously? Makes sense as next to every vending machine is a trash can/recycling box. There are no public trash cans. Again odd because the entire city is very clean. For example they have crews who rake up leaves rather than blow them away. These are government crews...not companies.
The area has a lot of casinos. I would have played if I knew how the machines worked. They play with these little silver marbles...not tokens.
[singlepic id=1431 w=640 h=480 float=center]
[singlepic id=1432 w=640 h=480 float=center]
We then headed to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.They have two free observations areas each on the 45th floor. Getting there required 2 subways as normal. Once there we had to walk on surface streets for quite a distance. Later on the way back I saw where we could have taken a free train. Doh!
The views were amazing. Tokyo is seriously huge. I mean huge. I couldn't see the end of the city from any direction.
[singlepic id=1434 w=640 h=480 float=center]
[singlepic id=1435 w=640 h=480 float=center]
[singlepic id=1436 w=640 h=480 float=center]
[singlepic id=1437 w=640 h=480 float=center]
We were somewhat tired by this point. It was 3PM. I dug through Frommers guide for shopping. It mentioned the Electronics district (which I hope to stop by again this evening) and that many subway stations have huge shopping areas. We decided to head to Tokyo Station.
One thing about subways here. The fare we pay has NO direction relationship to how far we travel. We went from west Tokyo to central Tokyo. The first subway ride was under 3 minutes...maybe 1/3 of a mile. Cost deducted from our card was $1.60. We then rode for over 15 minutes...10 stops...several miles...and paid $0.90. WTF?!?!? It's a guessing game. We just keep putting money on the card.
After arriving at Tokyo Station we stopped by a vending machine and chugged down drinks.
[singlepic id=1428 w=640 h=480 float=center]
We never found the shopping areas. We did find the Imperial Palace Gardens. The area was very nice. We spent about 30 minutes in the area before heading to dinner.
We got lucky and walked to the subway line we needed. For the first time we took one subway to our destination...actually near our destination.
[singlepic id=1430 w=640 h=480 float=center]
This restroom map is important...it shows there is ONE western toilet
Emerging from the subway I quickly noticed we were surrounded by teens. All around and dressed in very trendy clothes.
It took us a bit to figure out where we were. Very few streets in Tokyo have names. We then followed Frommers instructions to "possibly the best Mexican food in Tokyo." Stop laughing.
After thinking we were lost 3 times we made it. Right at opening time.
The restaurant is WAY under ground. We walked down two flights of circling stairs before reaching the front door.
The front desk host feverishly studied the seating guide and then wrote several numbers on a piece of paper. We then were led further underground.
The scenery and music is 100% spot on for a Mexican restaurant. I could have easily been anywhere in Texas.....until the food arrived.
Placed on our table was the smallest bowl of chips and salsa I have ever seen. There were not more than 20 chips in this small bowl. The salsa bowl was no bigger than the top of a coke can. Seriously.
The prices were crazy expensive .Beer was 985 Yen (about $9.85). A margarita was 1200 Yen (about $12.00). I ordered a margarita. Kelli ordered a cola (no brand given).
For dinner I ordered beef tacos. Kelli ordered Quesadillas. The menu said Spinach, Cheese and Mushroom Quesadillas. Now Quesa means literally cheese tortilla.
My tacos were decent. Small. Decent beef chunks. The margarita was awful. It was a Cadillac Margarita with top shelf liquor...but horrible. Kelli however was in for an adventure.
On her plate were three fried pies. They looked like fruit pies. She took a bite. All spinach. I told her surely there was cheese in the next bite. She kept going. More spinach. I cheered her on. More Spinach. They appeared to have forgotten cheese or mushrooms! It was a spinach pie.
I picked up the next one. I took a bite. Cheese! She took the next bite. More cheese. I figured it out. See the menu said Spinach, Cheese AND Mushroom Quesadillas....not Spinach, Cheese, Mushroom Quesadillas. Each pie was it's own creation. WTF?!!?!?
The bill for our horrible meal was 4500 yen...about $45. This for a meal that would be $20 top in the United States. Word to visitors...never eat Mexican food in Japan. I can only imagine what Eric and Angela would have thought of this place. They like Mexican food as much as we do...I think Eric likes it more than me. Yeah.
We took the long walk back to the subway. More teens about. Crazy the number of them. Very trendy area.
After two subways we were back to the hotel.
I haven't slept past 3AM Tokyo time (1PM Dallas) since I have been here. Odd. Today is Tokyo Disney. Tokyo Disney isn't owned or operated by Walt Disney. It's owned by a private company.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Japan Trip: Blog 7
Monday morning was rainy. Really rainy. The outside temp was around 61 degrees and was predicted to rise to 71 degrees. I figured with it being that warm and humid I wouldn't need a jacket. Mistake.
We walked out of the hotel just before 6AM. The guide book stated to get to the fish market early in the morning. After two subway rides we exited the subway to a very rainy street. We had no idea which way to walk. We went right.
After about a minute I saw those beautiful golden arches. Breakfast.
McDonalds Tokyo doesn't have nearly the number of items as in the United States. One really nice thing is the food that we order looks EXACTLY like the photos. Crazy idea eh?
While walking thru the entrance we smelled fish..really strongly...we figured we were CLOSE to the fish market.
After pointing at a picture menu we had our breakfast. Every place we have been has had a smoking section...some have a non-smoking section. Even the non-smoking section smells like smoke. Coffee is everywhere here...problem is the biggest I have found is equal to a small in the United States....but it's a medium here.
After breakfast we headed back into the rain. We found what we thought was the fish market. Lots of vendors selling seafood and such. We walked all around the area seeing foods and sights that were very interesting. After about 20 minutes we found a map that showed us where the REAL fish market was.
After walking thru the rain we found it. That place was CRAZY busy. Lots of motorized carts hustling about. Scary.
The market was huge....size of several football fields side by side.
We walked around and saw so many different types of seafood we have never seen before. I took a lot of photos.
After about 30 minutes we left. Content that there is a lot of seafood I will likely never see again...glad I saw it.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOUOtMUtUUs
After the fish market we headed to the auto show. The guide book mentioned to avoid the subway during rush hour. We kinda did.
The first train was decently full...we had to stand. I told Kelli if we got separated that we should meet at the last station we were at. The next train was much more full....we had to stand.
When we got off the second train the walkway was very packed. Wall to wall Japanese...and us. I grabbed another $2 small coffee.
After walking 10 minutes in the rain we reached the autoshow. The show didn't open till 10AM. It was 8:30AM. I figured we should be able to wait in the waiting area. Wrong.
We waited out in the rain...under an awning though. Wasn't horrible. Wasn't great. It was cold.
Finally at 10 AM the doors opened. Wow. Hands down the best auto show I have ever visited. I've been to Dallas, Houston, New York, Chicago and Detroit. Tokyo is the best.
This is mostly due to seeing cars I can't seen in the United States. Some many cool cars are here that I think would sell in the United States. Also of note were the Japanese versions of our cars.
My Mazda 5 is known as the Premacy here. There are many high tech options here that aren't sold in the United States. Same with Kelli's Prius. Sad.
They had free test drives...but only for Japanese licensed drivers. Boo.
More smoking sections.
After a few hours we were done. Pretty tired. The 1 1/2 hours of standing in the cold rain did a number on us.
The subways were standing room only again. The Japanese appear to be a tired culture. On EVERY train so far most of the people sitting were sleeping. Odd.
Today (Tuesday) we are headed to a few museums. Tomorrow is Tokyo Disney. Thursday is home.
We walked out of the hotel just before 6AM. The guide book stated to get to the fish market early in the morning. After two subway rides we exited the subway to a very rainy street. We had no idea which way to walk. We went right.
After about a minute I saw those beautiful golden arches. Breakfast.
McDonalds Tokyo doesn't have nearly the number of items as in the United States. One really nice thing is the food that we order looks EXACTLY like the photos. Crazy idea eh?
While walking thru the entrance we smelled fish..really strongly...we figured we were CLOSE to the fish market.
After pointing at a picture menu we had our breakfast. Every place we have been has had a smoking section...some have a non-smoking section. Even the non-smoking section smells like smoke. Coffee is everywhere here...problem is the biggest I have found is equal to a small in the United States....but it's a medium here.
After breakfast we headed back into the rain. We found what we thought was the fish market. Lots of vendors selling seafood and such. We walked all around the area seeing foods and sights that were very interesting. After about 20 minutes we found a map that showed us where the REAL fish market was.
After walking thru the rain we found it. That place was CRAZY busy. Lots of motorized carts hustling about. Scary.
The market was huge....size of several football fields side by side.
We walked around and saw so many different types of seafood we have never seen before. I took a lot of photos.
After about 30 minutes we left. Content that there is a lot of seafood I will likely never see again...glad I saw it.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOUOtMUtUUs
After the fish market we headed to the auto show. The guide book mentioned to avoid the subway during rush hour. We kinda did.
The first train was decently full...we had to stand. I told Kelli if we got separated that we should meet at the last station we were at. The next train was much more full....we had to stand.
When we got off the second train the walkway was very packed. Wall to wall Japanese...and us. I grabbed another $2 small coffee.
After walking 10 minutes in the rain we reached the autoshow. The show didn't open till 10AM. It was 8:30AM. I figured we should be able to wait in the waiting area. Wrong.
We waited out in the rain...under an awning though. Wasn't horrible. Wasn't great. It was cold.
Finally at 10 AM the doors opened. Wow. Hands down the best auto show I have ever visited. I've been to Dallas, Houston, New York, Chicago and Detroit. Tokyo is the best.
This is mostly due to seeing cars I can't seen in the United States. Some many cool cars are here that I think would sell in the United States. Also of note were the Japanese versions of our cars.
My Mazda 5 is known as the Premacy here. There are many high tech options here that aren't sold in the United States. Same with Kelli's Prius. Sad.
They had free test drives...but only for Japanese licensed drivers. Boo.
More smoking sections.
After a few hours we were done. Pretty tired. The 1 1/2 hours of standing in the cold rain did a number on us.
The subways were standing room only again. The Japanese appear to be a tired culture. On EVERY train so far most of the people sitting were sleeping. Odd.
Today (Tuesday) we are headed to a few museums. Tomorrow is Tokyo Disney. Thursday is home.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Japan Trip:Blog 6
Last night we headed to the Tokyo Electronics area known as the Akihabara district. This was eye opening.
The area is very crowded...kind like Las Vegas. I thought computers/electronics would be cheaper in Tokyo. Nope. Same prices for most things. There were several used laptops for sale. They all seemed really sketchy and over priced.
Windows 7 was everywhere. It seems Microsoft is pushing the product more there than in the United States. The prices for Windows 7 seemed a bit lower than the prices in the United States.
While walking around we came upon a casino. I walked in and only saw men. Kelli waited outside. It was very loud with techno music blaring for the speakers. Heavy smoke all around. I didn't gamble as the machines (a video/non slot) were confusing. They were putting in little silver marbles.
We walked quite a bit. The stores were amazing. There were a few huge complexes 5+ stories high full of teens/20 somethings. Very smokey. They had various types of games/activities from high tech huge arcade games to photo booths on one floor for girls only.
Windows 7 was being pushed hard all around the area.
After about an hour we are dinner at McDonalds. I had a Teryaki Burger that was interesting to say the least. When I think burger I think beef. This thing had sausage on it. Yeah. Odd. McDonalds has smoking sections in every location. The smoke seems into the non-smoking section. Yeah.
The subway system is very confusing. It puts NY/Chicago to shame. There are so many different lines operated by entirely different companies. Most have English and Japanese maps/announcements. The map shows one line, the blue line, going from stop 1 thru 20. It lies. It all depends on what train arrives at the stop when you get on. The first time we went one stop then had to transfer. The next time we rode all the way to our next transfer. If we didn't have a guidebook we would be screwed.
On the way back last night we made it to our stop fine. We were tired. We rode the escalator up to the street (the subways are much further underground than in the United States....several flights of escalators) and turned left. We thought we were walking in the right direction. After about 10 minutes we realized we made a mistake. There are two exits at our stop. We exited the wrong one. It was late. We were exhausted.
Tired right now. I'll write about today (Monday) later. Long day.
The area is very crowded...kind like Las Vegas. I thought computers/electronics would be cheaper in Tokyo. Nope. Same prices for most things. There were several used laptops for sale. They all seemed really sketchy and over priced.
Windows 7 was everywhere. It seems Microsoft is pushing the product more there than in the United States. The prices for Windows 7 seemed a bit lower than the prices in the United States.
While walking around we came upon a casino. I walked in and only saw men. Kelli waited outside. It was very loud with techno music blaring for the speakers. Heavy smoke all around. I didn't gamble as the machines (a video/non slot) were confusing. They were putting in little silver marbles.
We walked quite a bit. The stores were amazing. There were a few huge complexes 5+ stories high full of teens/20 somethings. Very smokey. They had various types of games/activities from high tech huge arcade games to photo booths on one floor for girls only.
Windows 7 was being pushed hard all around the area.
After about an hour we are dinner at McDonalds. I had a Teryaki Burger that was interesting to say the least. When I think burger I think beef. This thing had sausage on it. Yeah. Odd. McDonalds has smoking sections in every location. The smoke seems into the non-smoking section. Yeah.
The subway system is very confusing. It puts NY/Chicago to shame. There are so many different lines operated by entirely different companies. Most have English and Japanese maps/announcements. The map shows one line, the blue line, going from stop 1 thru 20. It lies. It all depends on what train arrives at the stop when you get on. The first time we went one stop then had to transfer. The next time we rode all the way to our next transfer. If we didn't have a guidebook we would be screwed.
On the way back last night we made it to our stop fine. We were tired. We rode the escalator up to the street (the subways are much further underground than in the United States....several flights of escalators) and turned left. We thought we were walking in the right direction. After about 10 minutes we realized we made a mistake. There are two exits at our stop. We exited the wrong one. It was late. We were exhausted.
Tired right now. I'll write about today (Monday) later. Long day.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Japan Trip: Blog 5
Today is Sunday in Japan. My day started at 1AM. I couldn't sleep anymore. Kelli woke up around 3AM.
Kelli then called her mom via Skype. Worked pretty well.
Originally we were going to take a bus from the hotel to the airport and then a train to the autoshow. I nixed that idea as there were a least 3 transfers along the way. By going to the autoshow and needing a late checkout would have cost us 5500 YEN or around $60.
Instead we headed to Narita for a morning if sightseeing. We saw a truly amazing temple. It's huge. We spent almost 2 hours there wandering around the huge grounds. They had a few signs in English.
Halfway thru we took a stroll around some secluded ponds. Very peaceful.
Afterwards we headed back to the bus. We stopped at various shops along the way and had the hardest time figuring out what they were selling. No idea most of the time.
We then stopped by two subway/train stations. ALL of the signs were in Japanese. In Tokyo proper (supposedly) most of the signs are in English/Spanish. I seriously doubted we would have made it to the autoshow. I am almost certain we would have gotten lost.
We checked out of the hotel a 10:45AM and caught a bus back to the airport. We then bought tickets (3000 yen a piece) to the next hotel. Most prices in Tokyo are in even amounts. Makes for easy payment.
There was an hour before the bus left. We had lunch at a cafe at the airport. None of the staff spoke much English. We got by. I was shocked that a soft drink cost as much as an octopus appetizer....$4!!!! Our entrees were only $10! Crazy!
The bus ride was quick. The hotel lobby is crazy nice. Service was top notch. A bellman promptly grabbed our bags and escorted us to the check in desk. After a quick check in another woman took our bags to our room.
This room isn't as fancy as the room last night, but it will do....it is free after all (word to Peggy start earning points you can use for hotels!).
Tonight we are headed to the electronic section of Tokyo.
Glad I have my wireless router. Wifi is almost non-existent in hotels. Just one wired connection.
Kelli then called her mom via Skype. Worked pretty well.
Originally we were going to take a bus from the hotel to the airport and then a train to the autoshow. I nixed that idea as there were a least 3 transfers along the way. By going to the autoshow and needing a late checkout would have cost us 5500 YEN or around $60.
Instead we headed to Narita for a morning if sightseeing. We saw a truly amazing temple. It's huge. We spent almost 2 hours there wandering around the huge grounds. They had a few signs in English.
Halfway thru we took a stroll around some secluded ponds. Very peaceful.
Afterwards we headed back to the bus. We stopped at various shops along the way and had the hardest time figuring out what they were selling. No idea most of the time.
We then stopped by two subway/train stations. ALL of the signs were in Japanese. In Tokyo proper (supposedly) most of the signs are in English/Spanish. I seriously doubted we would have made it to the autoshow. I am almost certain we would have gotten lost.
We checked out of the hotel a 10:45AM and caught a bus back to the airport. We then bought tickets (3000 yen a piece) to the next hotel. Most prices in Tokyo are in even amounts. Makes for easy payment.
There was an hour before the bus left. We had lunch at a cafe at the airport. None of the staff spoke much English. We got by. I was shocked that a soft drink cost as much as an octopus appetizer....$4!!!! Our entrees were only $10! Crazy!
The bus ride was quick. The hotel lobby is crazy nice. Service was top notch. A bellman promptly grabbed our bags and escorted us to the check in desk. After a quick check in another woman took our bags to our room.
This room isn't as fancy as the room last night, but it will do....it is free after all (word to Peggy start earning points you can use for hotels!).
Tonight we are headed to the electronic section of Tokyo.
Glad I have my wireless router. Wifi is almost non-existent in hotels. Just one wired connection.
Photos from Tokyo
Click at the top of this screen or to the left on the words "Tokyo Trip" or click here. Photos will LIKELY be updated daily. No captions till we get home.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Japan Trip: Blog 4
Made it to Japan!
The flight was awesome. Clearing customs was very quick. From the plane to the curb was under 10 minutes. We had to wait 30 minutes for the hotel van.
Hotel is very nice. Room isn't terribly small. Photos later. Been up for 21 hours.
Free WIRED internet in the room. I brought an old wireless router. Reason is I brought my HP 5101 netbook for Kelli. She didn't want to bring her Macbook. We are now both using the Internet.
We walked down to a 7-11. Best place to find an ATM. Strangely smallest amount we could take out was 10,000 yen or about $100! Nutty. I bought a Japanese beer while Kelli got a Japanese candy bar. I wanted something hot. I pointed to their hot food case. Lady said "chicken". I said "one". It was fried chicken on a stick. Pretty tastey.
The coins here are interesting. Smallest value is equal to $1.00.
Tired. Going to bed. It's 4:20PM here. 2:20AM in Dallas.
The flight was awesome. Clearing customs was very quick. From the plane to the curb was under 10 minutes. We had to wait 30 minutes for the hotel van.
Hotel is very nice. Room isn't terribly small. Photos later. Been up for 21 hours.
Free WIRED internet in the room. I brought an old wireless router. Reason is I brought my HP 5101 netbook for Kelli. She didn't want to bring her Macbook. We are now both using the Internet.
We walked down to a 7-11. Best place to find an ATM. Strangely smallest amount we could take out was 10,000 yen or about $100! Nutty. I bought a Japanese beer while Kelli got a Japanese candy bar. I wanted something hot. I pointed to their hot food case. Lady said "chicken". I said "one". It was fried chicken on a stick. Pretty tastey.
The coins here are interesting. Smallest value is equal to $1.00.
Tired. Going to bed. It's 4:20PM here. 2:20AM in Dallas.
Japan Trip: Blog 3
We are now just 2 1/2 hours from Tokyo. Kelli has been sleep for about an hour. I can't sleep. It's 9:15PM in Dallas.
We have one meal left. A light meal. I'm thinking of trying a glass of dessert plum wine.
One thing I have done on every International voyage (except for Canada….but that's like our backyard) is purchase travel insurance. I thought about buying it….but I forgot. Wonder if I can buy it online once I get there? CYA.
We had originally planned on arriving tomorrow. Glad we didn't. I imagine once we get there we will be dog tired and will go straight to bed. The main hotel we are staying at is at least 90 minutes from the airport. Long journey. The first hotel is at the airport. Hopefully a short ride to the bed. True we will be going to bed at like 4PM. Hopefully we can stay up till a "normal" time then go to bed and wake up around 6AM to start our day.
We have one meal left. A light meal. I'm thinking of trying a glass of dessert plum wine.
One thing I have done on every International voyage (except for Canada….but that's like our backyard) is purchase travel insurance. I thought about buying it….but I forgot. Wonder if I can buy it online once I get there? CYA.
We had originally planned on arriving tomorrow. Glad we didn't. I imagine once we get there we will be dog tired and will go straight to bed. The main hotel we are staying at is at least 90 minutes from the airport. Long journey. The first hotel is at the airport. Hopefully a short ride to the bed. True we will be going to bed at like 4PM. Hopefully we can stay up till a "normal" time then go to bed and wake up around 6AM to start our day.
Japan Trip: Blog 2
We are currently over Alaska. I slept for about an hour. In and out quiet a bit. All of the window shades in First class are closed helping to create a sleepy atmosphere. Problem is my body knows it's really 5:30PM.
The seats are very customizable and somewhat complicated. There is a 5 minute video explaining how to use them. Kelli didn't want it. For a few minutes her seat was jammed. Shoulda watched the video.
After dinner I watched a few episodes of The Office and 30 Rock. About an hour ago they came through with personal Uno's cheese and pesto pizzas with fresh fruit. Kelli didn't eat the melon. I thought she liked melon?
They gave each of us a bottle of water. I downed the first one within 3 hours. On my second. Haven't had any more alcohol. Might have a beer later.
In addition to the food service there is a snack center set up with all name brand snacks such as Ruffles, Rice Krispy Treats and Girardelli chocolates. I can't complain about the lack of food.
We are about halfway there. I just realized I have no idea how to contact the first hotel or how to find the shuttle. Seeing as we will be there in 6 hours….around 11PM DFW time….I'm sure I will be up and awake. Not.
Oh….I don't want to ever fly coach again. Everywhere we fly for now on will be on a 777 First Class. If you aren't rich….travel like you are.
The seats are very customizable and somewhat complicated. There is a 5 minute video explaining how to use them. Kelli didn't want it. For a few minutes her seat was jammed. Shoulda watched the video.
After dinner I watched a few episodes of The Office and 30 Rock. About an hour ago they came through with personal Uno's cheese and pesto pizzas with fresh fruit. Kelli didn't eat the melon. I thought she liked melon?
They gave each of us a bottle of water. I downed the first one within 3 hours. On my second. Haven't had any more alcohol. Might have a beer later.
In addition to the food service there is a snack center set up with all name brand snacks such as Ruffles, Rice Krispy Treats and Girardelli chocolates. I can't complain about the lack of food.
We are about halfway there. I just realized I have no idea how to contact the first hotel or how to find the shuttle. Seeing as we will be there in 6 hours….around 11PM DFW time….I'm sure I will be up and awake. Not.
Oh….I don't want to ever fly coach again. Everywhere we fly for now on will be on a 777 First Class. If you aren't rich….travel like you are.
Japan Trip: Blog 1
We are currently cruising at 32,000 feet over northern Colorado. In order to prevent what happened the last time we went on a vacation, I decided to do my best to blog along the way versus try and remember it all at the end.
Our day started at 5:15 AM with my alarm going off. The rules of non-rev travel are somewhat complex. The game starts 4 hours prior to departure….when we are allowed to check in. Check in determines seat assignment order. Check in time is vital.
For Domestic travel we simply check in online. American Airlines is fairly high tech in this area. We can check in via our cell phones or laptops. Nice.
For International travel we have to check in at the airport. The four hour rule still applies. The flight we hoped to get was scheduled to leave at 10:10AM. Thus at 6:10AM I can check in.
I left for the airport at 5:40AM. Tired. Stopped by Starbucks for the first time in months. Black coffee (free with purchase of a 3 pack of Via…which is $0.05 cheaper than my coffee!) I headed to the terminal.
Of course I was very early. The reason behind needing to check in at the airport is to make sure we have valid passports. I can check in via a kiosk. The scanner attached can read the passports .I did the same thing when we went to Toronto and Cabo.
I first tried checking in at 6:05AM. I was able to scan the passports….but then it error'd out as I was 5 minutes too early. I walked away for 3 minutes. Tried again. Denied. Finally at 6:10AM it checked us in. Done.
Once back at home we finished up the last few things needed before we left. We packed our bags the night prior. We each fit 5 nights of clothes into a standard carry on. I then had my laptop messenger bag while Kelli ad a backpack.
There were 4 First Class seats open at the time with 5 non-rev's vying for First. We were at the top of the list. Looked good.
To have a relaxing time of it, we left home at 7:20AM. I decided to not travel in uniform. This meant I was subject to the 3-1-1 rule. This meant leaving behind my new awesome shaving system. Booo. No biggie. By 8AM we were inside security.
I had an awesome egg, cheese and turkey sausage burrito at the U Food Grill. Yum.
We then headed to the gate. For the first time in nearly 2 years of non-rev travel, we were at the airport 2 hours prior to departure.
Once there we checked the standby list. Now only 3 seats available. Two together and one by itself. It looked like we wouldn't get them for a while. Complicated to explain.
While waiting I remembered that I forgot to buy ZED(Zonal Employee Discount) tickets for our return trip. The flights back are kinda full. We can use the ZED passes to fly back on Japan Airlines, Delta Airlines, United Airlines or anyone else who partners with American.
The passes aren't cheap. They are almost double what we pay for coach if we flew back on American. They are only going to be used as a backup.
By 9:20AM we were assigned 1D and 1G. Middle First class seats together. First class on the 777 is a 1-2-1 arrangement.
I went out to buy ZED passes. Done.
The 777 is boarded through the 2nd door…behind First Class. This reduces the traffic walking through First Class. As we entered we got to turn left, while everyone else turned right. Nice.
The seats are amazing. Truly are suites. After stowing our bags we settled in. I watched The Hangover while Kelli watched The Proposal.
Water, Orange Juice and Champagne were served right away. After takeoff the real fun began. They passed out Bose Quiet Comfort 3 headphones. Kelli and I each had our own, but used theirs instead.
After takeoff the food began. First up was Kelli's favorite warm nuts accompanied by marinated cheese antipasto. I loved the cheese. Kelli loved the nuts.
This was followed by the best salmon I have ever had. It was a smoked salmon and honey ginger shrimp appetizer. Kelli passed.
We both enjoyed an amazingly high quality salad with our choice of toppings. Served chair side.
After salad I had a Grilled Salmon Shiso Rice Bowl while Kelli had Four Cheese Ravioli. I also had a glass of wine.
Dessert was just as awesome. Ice cream sundaes made chair side. I had butterscotch…so did Kelli. I thought she would have gone for the chocolate topping instead. Eh.
I then had a cup of coffee and turned my seat sideways to use the expandable desk. Nice. I bought a 75 watt power inverter. It powered my Macbook Pro the entire flight while recharging my phone and Zune.
Right now we are just 3 hours into the flight. 9 hours 20 minutes left. We will be in daylight the entire time. We land at 1:30PM okay time. I hope to sleep at some point.
Our day started at 5:15 AM with my alarm going off. The rules of non-rev travel are somewhat complex. The game starts 4 hours prior to departure….when we are allowed to check in. Check in determines seat assignment order. Check in time is vital.
For Domestic travel we simply check in online. American Airlines is fairly high tech in this area. We can check in via our cell phones or laptops. Nice.
For International travel we have to check in at the airport. The four hour rule still applies. The flight we hoped to get was scheduled to leave at 10:10AM. Thus at 6:10AM I can check in.
I left for the airport at 5:40AM. Tired. Stopped by Starbucks for the first time in months. Black coffee (free with purchase of a 3 pack of Via…which is $0.05 cheaper than my coffee!) I headed to the terminal.
Of course I was very early. The reason behind needing to check in at the airport is to make sure we have valid passports. I can check in via a kiosk. The scanner attached can read the passports .I did the same thing when we went to Toronto and Cabo.
I first tried checking in at 6:05AM. I was able to scan the passports….but then it error'd out as I was 5 minutes too early. I walked away for 3 minutes. Tried again. Denied. Finally at 6:10AM it checked us in. Done.
Once back at home we finished up the last few things needed before we left. We packed our bags the night prior. We each fit 5 nights of clothes into a standard carry on. I then had my laptop messenger bag while Kelli ad a backpack.
There were 4 First Class seats open at the time with 5 non-rev's vying for First. We were at the top of the list. Looked good.
To have a relaxing time of it, we left home at 7:20AM. I decided to not travel in uniform. This meant I was subject to the 3-1-1 rule. This meant leaving behind my new awesome shaving system. Booo. No biggie. By 8AM we were inside security.
I had an awesome egg, cheese and turkey sausage burrito at the U Food Grill. Yum.
We then headed to the gate. For the first time in nearly 2 years of non-rev travel, we were at the airport 2 hours prior to departure.
Once there we checked the standby list. Now only 3 seats available. Two together and one by itself. It looked like we wouldn't get them for a while. Complicated to explain.
While waiting I remembered that I forgot to buy ZED(Zonal Employee Discount) tickets for our return trip. The flights back are kinda full. We can use the ZED passes to fly back on Japan Airlines, Delta Airlines, United Airlines or anyone else who partners with American.
The passes aren't cheap. They are almost double what we pay for coach if we flew back on American. They are only going to be used as a backup.
By 9:20AM we were assigned 1D and 1G. Middle First class seats together. First class on the 777 is a 1-2-1 arrangement.
I went out to buy ZED passes. Done.
The 777 is boarded through the 2nd door…behind First Class. This reduces the traffic walking through First Class. As we entered we got to turn left, while everyone else turned right. Nice.
The seats are amazing. Truly are suites. After stowing our bags we settled in. I watched The Hangover while Kelli watched The Proposal.
Water, Orange Juice and Champagne were served right away. After takeoff the real fun began. They passed out Bose Quiet Comfort 3 headphones. Kelli and I each had our own, but used theirs instead.
After takeoff the food began. First up was Kelli's favorite warm nuts accompanied by marinated cheese antipasto. I loved the cheese. Kelli loved the nuts.
This was followed by the best salmon I have ever had. It was a smoked salmon and honey ginger shrimp appetizer. Kelli passed.
We both enjoyed an amazingly high quality salad with our choice of toppings. Served chair side.
After salad I had a Grilled Salmon Shiso Rice Bowl while Kelli had Four Cheese Ravioli. I also had a glass of wine.
Dessert was just as awesome. Ice cream sundaes made chair side. I had butterscotch…so did Kelli. I thought she would have gone for the chocolate topping instead. Eh.
I then had a cup of coffee and turned my seat sideways to use the expandable desk. Nice. I bought a 75 watt power inverter. It powered my Macbook Pro the entire flight while recharging my phone and Zune.
Right now we are just 3 hours into the flight. 9 hours 20 minutes left. We will be in daylight the entire time. We land at 1:30PM okay time. I hope to sleep at some point.
Follow us
We are at the airport. Our flight status will auto update via Twitter the entire way. Click on "Geek on the Go" to follow us.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
The Man Cave gets more....caveier....yeah it's a word
Man cave is coming along. Cleaned it up a bit yesterday. One problem with a Plasma TV is the highly reflective screen. The window in the man cave was annoying. To fix this I bought a black out curtain. Problem solved.
New problem...it's too damn dark now. I need to get some night lights or something.
Looks like Friday is the day. We will have to *pay* for a hotel room for the first night. Not cheap. Can't complain too much, using points for the remaining nights.
My schedule for next month was awarded. I DIDN'T GET THE AIRPORT STANDBY LINE! This kinda sucks as that line had the first few days of November off. Instead I got a regular reserve line. This is a double edged sword.
I won't be sitting at the airport everyday...but I likely will most days as I am on reserve on days when there isn't someone assigned airport standby. I now go back to work on November 1st. The good part is I have 2 full weekends off and 2 partial weekends. Yeah I'm on reserve on Thanksgiving. Bleh.
Tokens. The car wash up the street used to sell tokens. If a credit card was used for the purchase instead of cash, bonus tokens were given. So for $20 of purchased tokens, an extra $5 were thrown in free. Score! I never carry cash anyway.
Over the years I have purchased lots of tokens. They are all around the house. Yesterday I stopped by to wash my car. The token didn't fit. I looked over at the main token dispenser. Out of order! WTF?!?!?! I was on a hunt. I stopped by 3 other car washes before finally finding a location that takes the tokens. Phew.
Today I plan on finding a hotel, planning something other than the autoshow...and being a geek. The third one will be the easiest.
New problem...it's too damn dark now. I need to get some night lights or something.
Looks like Friday is the day. We will have to *pay* for a hotel room for the first night. Not cheap. Can't complain too much, using points for the remaining nights.
My schedule for next month was awarded. I DIDN'T GET THE AIRPORT STANDBY LINE! This kinda sucks as that line had the first few days of November off. Instead I got a regular reserve line. This is a double edged sword.
I won't be sitting at the airport everyday...but I likely will most days as I am on reserve on days when there isn't someone assigned airport standby. I now go back to work on November 1st. The good part is I have 2 full weekends off and 2 partial weekends. Yeah I'm on reserve on Thanksgiving. Bleh.
Tokens. The car wash up the street used to sell tokens. If a credit card was used for the purchase instead of cash, bonus tokens were given. So for $20 of purchased tokens, an extra $5 were thrown in free. Score! I never carry cash anyway.
Over the years I have purchased lots of tokens. They are all around the house. Yesterday I stopped by to wash my car. The token didn't fit. I looked over at the main token dispenser. Out of order! WTF?!?!?! I was on a hunt. I stopped by 3 other car washes before finally finding a location that takes the tokens. Phew.
Today I plan on finding a hotel, planning something other than the autoshow...and being a geek. The third one will be the easiest.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Long 5 days
My profession leans toward being away from home for days at a time.
For myself however that hasn't been true this year. Until this month I have not been away from home for more than two nights in a row. Even then I was only away twice for two nights in a row. Most of the time I am home each night. I like this.
Thursday I went to work thinking I would be home that night. I slept in 4 different hotels between then and Monday night. It was rough. Friday night I was put on minimum rest. I arrived at the hotel a 1AM. The van left for the airport at 8:30AM. My body isn't set up for instant sleep. I fell asleep around 1:45AM. I woke up at 8AM to get ready. Thankfully I just had to sit in the back of a plane as a passenger to DFW. Once there I had a 3 hour break. I went home. Barely awake. I was very tired. Thankfully the next flight was another ride in the back as passenger to Northwest Arkansas. If I was assigned to fly I would have called in fatigued. I had problems doing basic things. Scary.
Monday morning was also rough. The hotel van left at 4:30AM. I was suppose to fly 5 flights (Little Rock to Dallas to Lubbock to Dallas to Des Moines to Dallas) first flight left at 5:40AM and the last flight was to land at 5:15PM. Long day. Thankfully after coming back from Lubbock (where I made a stellar landing) the next flight to Des Moines was downgraded to a smaller plane. I bolted.
I was so tired I don't think I would have been able to function on the Des Moines turn.
Done till next month.
Lawn mower is back is business.
I love my Zune HD.
I installed a program on my G1 called Flyscreen. The program allows various social media sites (like Twitter and Facebook) along with other RSS type services (CNN, Weather) to be displayed on the screen without having to "unlock" the phone. Pretty neat.
I made a cake yesterday. I even iced it.
My car needs a wash...bad.
I love grits.
Tried to new Bose QC15 headphones while flying around over the last 5 days. I had 6 flights (SIX!) where I was assigned to deadhead in the back of a plane as a passenger. They worked amazingly well. I didn't think Bose could reduce the noise any further after the QC2s. They did. The sound is better as well. The QC2's over emphasized the bass. The QC15s do not
For myself however that hasn't been true this year. Until this month I have not been away from home for more than two nights in a row. Even then I was only away twice for two nights in a row. Most of the time I am home each night. I like this.
Thursday I went to work thinking I would be home that night. I slept in 4 different hotels between then and Monday night. It was rough. Friday night I was put on minimum rest. I arrived at the hotel a 1AM. The van left for the airport at 8:30AM. My body isn't set up for instant sleep. I fell asleep around 1:45AM. I woke up at 8AM to get ready. Thankfully I just had to sit in the back of a plane as a passenger to DFW. Once there I had a 3 hour break. I went home. Barely awake. I was very tired. Thankfully the next flight was another ride in the back as passenger to Northwest Arkansas. If I was assigned to fly I would have called in fatigued. I had problems doing basic things. Scary.
Monday morning was also rough. The hotel van left at 4:30AM. I was suppose to fly 5 flights (Little Rock to Dallas to Lubbock to Dallas to Des Moines to Dallas) first flight left at 5:40AM and the last flight was to land at 5:15PM. Long day. Thankfully after coming back from Lubbock (where I made a stellar landing) the next flight to Des Moines was downgraded to a smaller plane. I bolted.
I was so tired I don't think I would have been able to function on the Des Moines turn.
Done till next month.
Lawn mower is back is business.
I love my Zune HD.
I installed a program on my G1 called Flyscreen. The program allows various social media sites (like Twitter and Facebook) along with other RSS type services (CNN, Weather) to be displayed on the screen without having to "unlock" the phone. Pretty neat.
I made a cake yesterday. I even iced it.
My car needs a wash...bad.
I love grits.
Tried to new Bose QC15 headphones while flying around over the last 5 days. I had 6 flights (SIX!) where I was assigned to deadhead in the back of a plane as a passenger. They worked amazingly well. I didn't think Bose could reduce the noise any further after the QC2s. They did. The sound is better as well. The QC2's over emphasized the bass. The QC15s do not
Thursday, October 15, 2009
When they use the word Elegante'
Right now I am sitting in hotel suite at the MCM Elegante in Abilene, TX. Never been to this hotel before. Why I am here will be covered in a blog over at my pilot blog.
When a business uses the word Elegante in the title, it's usually to cover up how crappy it really is. This reminds me of the "Royal with Cheese" from Pulp Fiction....really just a Quarter Pounder.
This hotel is really just a decent OLD hotel. The only Elegante parts are two 32 inch LCDs and truly awesome beds. The rooms, furniture, decor and elevators are all 80's vintage. The breakfast this morning was full of salty/fatty items. I had to get eggs made fresh as the ones in the buffet were pre-salted. I then grabbed a single serving of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and coffee. Everything else looked decent (sausage patties, bacon, biscuits, and such).
I am missing the DFW Airport Lost and Found sale this morning. Kinda bummed about it. Oh well...maybe next time.
I'm going to spend Tuesday planning Tokyo. I hope to head to Houston to visit my dad Wednesday or Thursday. Rental cars are crazy expensive in Houston right now. Lowest I could find for a day was $65 all in. I used to get $23 all in.
Thinking about getting a Kindle for Christmas. I think if we put them both on the same account we can trade books back and forth.....not that I see that happening though. Over the last 7 1/2 years I think we shared one book.....which happens to be travel related.
Don't think I posted this earlier in the week. The NY Times posted an article about a pilot for Expressjet Airlines (they fly for Continental Express) who went from First Officer making crap money, to Captain and back to First Officer. The article goes deep and looks at how it has affected his family.
Here is an excerpt that hit me.
They closed on the house in August 2008, on the eve of the downgrade, and soon there were regrets. “We would not have bought the house on a first officer’s salary,” Tracy Lawlor said. She had considered giving up teaching to be a stay-at-home mom. “We felt we had some breathing room for the first time in our 11 years of marriage,” she said, “and that went out the window with the downgrade.”
She was sitting at her kitchen table, and her husband, across from her, winced, but did not disagree. Even if his captain’s rank and pay are restored she will continue to teach, she said. His pay could be cut again. They are convinced of that and, in preparation, they made certain there would be no more children. Their fourth, Jackson, was just 4 months old when the downgrade came, and soon after, Mr. Lawlor underwent a vasectomy.
“We could not take the risk of having another child,” he said.
Silver, and Dark, Linings
The West Coast assignment, while representing a promotion, meant long, often overnight commutes, with Mr. Lawlor sleeping fitfully in the jump seat of a FedExcargo jet or in a sleeping bag rolled out in the cargo area. His first day home, he often spent dozing on the living room couch. His wife hated the time taken from the family, and her husband’s exhaustion.
“He was totally worn out the first day back, and tired the whole time he was home,” she said.
One year later, even after such a big pay cut, Mrs. Lawlor sees her husband’s shorter commute to his new base at Newark as a blessing she is reluctant to give up. Her husband says that moving back up to captain, with a captain’s pay, might mean commuting again to California. “If that is what it takes, I’ll do it,” he said, and this time his wife winced.
“I would probably not be happy,” she said. But she “wouldn’t trade him for another husband,” as she put it, and while she had never wanted her husband to be a pilot, at this point she would be alarmed if he left aviation in an attempt to please her.
“He likes what he does,” she said, “whereas before he did not like what he did. That has made him easier to be around, whereas before he became a pilot, he wasn’t happy at all.”
Full article by clicking here
Right now Kelli and I "live" on her salary. Once my flight loan is paid off we plan on continuing to do so, using my pay for savings and such. We live a very comfortable lifestyle. Having an offspring will likely reduce us to just comfortable. By getting used to living on just her salary, if I ever lose my job we should be okay. By using my pay for savings, if she ever loses her job we will be decent to comfortable.
When a business uses the word Elegante in the title, it's usually to cover up how crappy it really is. This reminds me of the "Royal with Cheese" from Pulp Fiction....really just a Quarter Pounder.
This hotel is really just a decent OLD hotel. The only Elegante parts are two 32 inch LCDs and truly awesome beds. The rooms, furniture, decor and elevators are all 80's vintage. The breakfast this morning was full of salty/fatty items. I had to get eggs made fresh as the ones in the buffet were pre-salted. I then grabbed a single serving of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and coffee. Everything else looked decent (sausage patties, bacon, biscuits, and such).
I am missing the DFW Airport Lost and Found sale this morning. Kinda bummed about it. Oh well...maybe next time.
I'm going to spend Tuesday planning Tokyo. I hope to head to Houston to visit my dad Wednesday or Thursday. Rental cars are crazy expensive in Houston right now. Lowest I could find for a day was $65 all in. I used to get $23 all in.
Thinking about getting a Kindle for Christmas. I think if we put them both on the same account we can trade books back and forth.....not that I see that happening though. Over the last 7 1/2 years I think we shared one book.....which happens to be travel related.
Don't think I posted this earlier in the week. The NY Times posted an article about a pilot for Expressjet Airlines (they fly for Continental Express) who went from First Officer making crap money, to Captain and back to First Officer. The article goes deep and looks at how it has affected his family.
Here is an excerpt that hit me.
They closed on the house in August 2008, on the eve of the downgrade, and soon there were regrets. “We would not have bought the house on a first officer’s salary,” Tracy Lawlor said. She had considered giving up teaching to be a stay-at-home mom. “We felt we had some breathing room for the first time in our 11 years of marriage,” she said, “and that went out the window with the downgrade.”
She was sitting at her kitchen table, and her husband, across from her, winced, but did not disagree. Even if his captain’s rank and pay are restored she will continue to teach, she said. His pay could be cut again. They are convinced of that and, in preparation, they made certain there would be no more children. Their fourth, Jackson, was just 4 months old when the downgrade came, and soon after, Mr. Lawlor underwent a vasectomy.
“We could not take the risk of having another child,” he said.
Silver, and Dark, Linings
The West Coast assignment, while representing a promotion, meant long, often overnight commutes, with Mr. Lawlor sleeping fitfully in the jump seat of a FedExcargo jet or in a sleeping bag rolled out in the cargo area. His first day home, he often spent dozing on the living room couch. His wife hated the time taken from the family, and her husband’s exhaustion.
“He was totally worn out the first day back, and tired the whole time he was home,” she said.
One year later, even after such a big pay cut, Mrs. Lawlor sees her husband’s shorter commute to his new base at Newark as a blessing she is reluctant to give up. Her husband says that moving back up to captain, with a captain’s pay, might mean commuting again to California. “If that is what it takes, I’ll do it,” he said, and this time his wife winced.
“I would probably not be happy,” she said. But she “wouldn’t trade him for another husband,” as she put it, and while she had never wanted her husband to be a pilot, at this point she would be alarmed if he left aviation in an attempt to please her.
“He likes what he does,” she said, “whereas before he did not like what he did. That has made him easier to be around, whereas before he became a pilot, he wasn’t happy at all.”
Full article by clicking here
Right now Kelli and I "live" on her salary. Once my flight loan is paid off we plan on continuing to do so, using my pay for savings and such. We live a very comfortable lifestyle. Having an offspring will likely reduce us to just comfortable. By getting used to living on just her salary, if I ever lose my job we should be okay. By using my pay for savings, if she ever loses her job we will be decent to comfortable.
It's not my birthday
A box arrived yesterday on our doorstep. Not uncommon as we order from Amazon.com weekly. This box had Kelli's name on it....but it was from Bose.
Since it wasn't my box I didn't open it. When she got home Kelli cut the box open and told me the contents were for me. She bought me a new set of Bose headphones....the new QC15s.
I've had my Bose QC2 headphones for at least 3 years....I think almost 4 years. They work great. The only thing I've had too do was replace the ear cups...they were well worn. I did cheap out and buy aftermarket cuprs for $20 vs Bose ear cups for $45. The aftermarket cups aren't as soft. eh.
I read reviews on the QC15s. They all stated they were better than QC2s on blocking outside noise. Impossible I thought. I was wrong.
When my niece Haley was here I put the QC2 headphones on her head while she watched movies on a laptop. While watching she could barely hear us. The volume wasn't turned up load, they just blocked out the outside noise. A few times she would talk to us and would do so in an elevated voice. Pretty funny.
The QC15's look exactly like the QC2s...because they are designed to replace the QC2s. I did a back to back comparison yesterday. Wow.
We were watching TV at a normal volume. With the QC2's on I could still hear the TV. Once I slipped on the QC15's the TV turned into a small whisper. Nutty. I am sure it would block out all white noise on an airplane. Nice.
I go back to work today thru Monday.
Kelli and I might leave a day early and hit Tokyo Disney. Flights are better on Friday.
I'm having Xbox 360 issues. I have on Xbox Live account...but two Xbox's. I can only have a Xbox Live account ACTIVE on one Xbox at a time. I watch Netflix movies on them which require me to be signed in. Each time I have to go through the annoying process of recovering my account. The solution appears to be buying a Xbox 360 memory card and then using sneaker net (unplugging the memory card and walking it between the two Xboxs) to sign in. Eh.
I sent Kelli a link to the American Airlines onboard TV software and movie listing for our flight. Pretty neat (check it out here). She went thru it and found more than enough movies to keep her occupied for 26 hours (13 hours each way). Funny thing about the 777 though.
In First Class a passenger has complete control. They can start a movie/tv show at will and pause whenever. In business class they have to wait until the show starts (normally every 15 minutes) but can pause whenever. In coach you have to wait till it starts and hammer through. No pausing. Bleh.
Kelli really wanted to go on a Barcelona cruise. Yesterday I got the following email via a Facebook group I belong too
NCL Gem sailing this Sunday 10/18 , 7-day roundtrip from Barcelona is selling with the Admin Fees for a total is $256.44 for 2 people!! This is all the way up to a suite!
This is apparently a mistake in the NCL pricing dept so if you think would be interested, CALL US ASAP and get this booked! It won’t last long! Make sure at least one of the names is correct when you put it on hold, because they won’t allow a double name change. Full payment is needed when you book!
See http://www.interlinetravel.com/member for more info.
This is the company I used for our last cruise. This is a crazy good deal....but it's one week too early. Doh!
Since it wasn't my box I didn't open it. When she got home Kelli cut the box open and told me the contents were for me. She bought me a new set of Bose headphones....the new QC15s.
I've had my Bose QC2 headphones for at least 3 years....I think almost 4 years. They work great. The only thing I've had too do was replace the ear cups...they were well worn. I did cheap out and buy aftermarket cuprs for $20 vs Bose ear cups for $45. The aftermarket cups aren't as soft. eh.
I read reviews on the QC15s. They all stated they were better than QC2s on blocking outside noise. Impossible I thought. I was wrong.
When my niece Haley was here I put the QC2 headphones on her head while she watched movies on a laptop. While watching she could barely hear us. The volume wasn't turned up load, they just blocked out the outside noise. A few times she would talk to us and would do so in an elevated voice. Pretty funny.
The QC15's look exactly like the QC2s...because they are designed to replace the QC2s. I did a back to back comparison yesterday. Wow.
We were watching TV at a normal volume. With the QC2's on I could still hear the TV. Once I slipped on the QC15's the TV turned into a small whisper. Nutty. I am sure it would block out all white noise on an airplane. Nice.
I go back to work today thru Monday.
Kelli and I might leave a day early and hit Tokyo Disney. Flights are better on Friday.
I'm having Xbox 360 issues. I have on Xbox Live account...but two Xbox's. I can only have a Xbox Live account ACTIVE on one Xbox at a time. I watch Netflix movies on them which require me to be signed in. Each time I have to go through the annoying process of recovering my account. The solution appears to be buying a Xbox 360 memory card and then using sneaker net (unplugging the memory card and walking it between the two Xboxs) to sign in. Eh.
I sent Kelli a link to the American Airlines onboard TV software and movie listing for our flight. Pretty neat (check it out here). She went thru it and found more than enough movies to keep her occupied for 26 hours (13 hours each way). Funny thing about the 777 though.
In First Class a passenger has complete control. They can start a movie/tv show at will and pause whenever. In business class they have to wait until the show starts (normally every 15 minutes) but can pause whenever. In coach you have to wait till it starts and hammer through. No pausing. Bleh.
Kelli really wanted to go on a Barcelona cruise. Yesterday I got the following email via a Facebook group I belong too
NCL Gem sailing this Sunday 10/18 , 7-day roundtrip from Barcelona is selling with the Admin Fees for a total is $256.44 for 2 people!! This is all the way up to a suite!
This is apparently a mistake in the NCL pricing dept so if you think would be interested, CALL US ASAP and get this booked! It won’t last long! Make sure at least one of the names is correct when you put it on hold, because they won’t allow a double name change. Full payment is needed when you book!
See http://www.interlinetravel.com/member for more info.
This is the company I used for our last cruise. This is a crazy good deal....but it's one week too early. Doh!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Time off
My second (and last) week of vacation from work starts October 20th. I was able to move my work days around to have 15 days off while only using 7 days of vacation. This is the combitination of 7 days of vacation this month plus 6 additional days off per my schedule this month plus the first 4 days of November off if I get the same crappy schedule I have had the last 5 months. Not too shabby.
I have started using the treadmill again. It just sits there a few feet behind where I just sit. I figure I can walk on the treadmill just as easy as I sit. I might order a stand to hold a laptop on top of the treadmill. I would be far more likely to use the treadmill if I can keep my mind occupied on line as well as on TV.
I made beer bread last night for the first time. I bought the mix from the Coors factory last month. Instead of Coors beer I used Bud Light. I was a little worried about ripping a whole in the universe by using Coors mix with Bud Light beer. All turned out fine...we all woke up this morning right? Well most of us....hmm maybe it wasn't so fine.
Still working on building up muy Slot Machine credits. I have put over $2000 into it over the last week. I haven't won more than $300 in a single jackpot.
I'm watching more and more TV downloaded from the Internet. This is all high quality, professinal content. Almost all of it is tech related. There was once a cable TV channel filled with high quality tech tv. ZDTV was full of awesome TV shows like The Screen Savers and Call For Help. I was actually ON The Screen Savers back in 1998.
They had a call in segment for those who had netcams. Not many people had them, but I did. It was dial-up and I was required to have two phone lines (one for the computer, one for voice) and I did. After appearing online I got a magnet....still have it...unopened.
Several years ago the name changed to G4TV...I think....it's horrible programming. Funny thing is I follow most of the talent from the original ZDTV shows on their current online shows. The talent are all knowledgable and entertaining.
I am debating reducing our cable package. We almost never watch movies on cable anymore. Just our weekly TV shows. For movies...we have streaming Netflix.
I have started using the treadmill again. It just sits there a few feet behind where I just sit. I figure I can walk on the treadmill just as easy as I sit. I might order a stand to hold a laptop on top of the treadmill. I would be far more likely to use the treadmill if I can keep my mind occupied on line as well as on TV.
I made beer bread last night for the first time. I bought the mix from the Coors factory last month. Instead of Coors beer I used Bud Light. I was a little worried about ripping a whole in the universe by using Coors mix with Bud Light beer. All turned out fine...we all woke up this morning right? Well most of us....hmm maybe it wasn't so fine.
Still working on building up muy Slot Machine credits. I have put over $2000 into it over the last week. I haven't won more than $300 in a single jackpot.
I'm watching more and more TV downloaded from the Internet. This is all high quality, professinal content. Almost all of it is tech related. There was once a cable TV channel filled with high quality tech tv. ZDTV was full of awesome TV shows like The Screen Savers and Call For Help. I was actually ON The Screen Savers back in 1998.
They had a call in segment for those who had netcams. Not many people had them, but I did. It was dial-up and I was required to have two phone lines (one for the computer, one for voice) and I did. After appearing online I got a magnet....still have it...unopened.
Several years ago the name changed to G4TV...I think....it's horrible programming. Funny thing is I follow most of the talent from the original ZDTV shows on their current online shows. The talent are all knowledgable and entertaining.
I am debating reducing our cable package. We almost never watch movies on cable anymore. Just our weekly TV shows. For movies...we have streaming Netflix.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Mint
Mint.com. I first ran across this site a year ago. I passed. The site allows you to look at all of your financials on one site. It aggregates all of your data into one database. If you have 4 credit cards and use them regularly, it will combine the purchases into categories. Pretty neat. Kinda scary too.
The backend of mint.com is the exact same security software the banks use. Not "like" it's exactly the same. Thus logging into BankofAmerica.com is just as risky as mint.com. Once I had my brain around this factoid...I signed up.
Signing up is very easy. You don't need to know many account numbers....just web logins. I had all of my accounts set up in under 10 minutes. Mint then takes a few minutes and displayed my total debt, total assets (my mortgage and car accounts were included...literally EVERY possible account can be added!), net worth and more. Very eye opening.
Mint.com also keeps track of your interest rates, payment due dates, and more. All automatically. Emails are sent out when your interest rate changes or a payment is due. There is a lot more to the website....I recommend it to everyone with more than one credit card.
Our "W-I-D-E open" flight to Tokyo ain't so wide open anymore. We might be heading to Los Angeles first and then to Tokyo. No biggie.
There isn't a lot of software that is available on 3 different Operating Systems. Okay maybe there is, but I didn't regularly use 3 different Operating Systems until recently.
Handbrake is a piece of software designed to copy a DVD movie into a single file that can be played on my laptop, XBox 360, G1 or any other device. This can be very useful for those who travel a lot, but don't want to carry a bunch of DVD's.
I first ran the software in Windows 7 on my Macbook Pro (Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz). It took more than 8 hours to rip a DVD. The software rips the video off the DVD and then rencodes it into a file for playback later. I thought that was decent.
I then tried it on a single core Pentium 4 2.4 Ghz running Ubuntu. Same encoding settings. The process ETA to finish was more than 15 hours!!!!! No go!
I then tried it on another single core Petium 4 2.4 Ghz computer running Windows 7. ETA.....36 hours!
Finally I tried it again on my Macbook Pro in Mac OS X. Total time???? 4 hours! Wow!
I have all the TV's mounted. One 37 inch LCD in the bedroom, one 42 inch Plasma (don't tell Kelli about the insane power Plasmas use) in the man cave and our existing (almost 1 year old) 52 inch LCD in the living room. The number of digital TV's finally out numbers the number of analog TV's (3 digital, 2 analog). I am going to sell one of the analog TV's on craigslist for $40. The other will hang out for a bit in the guest bedroom.
I needed a HDMI cable to mount the bedroom TV. I headed to Fry's because Radio Shack/Walmart/Best Buy/Target all charge insane prices for HDMI cables. By insane I mean $25+ for a 6 foot cable. I bought a 3 pack of HDMI 1.3 cables from Fry's for $9. I then bought a 10 foot HDMI 1.3 cable for $7 with a $7 mail in rebate! Nice.
Off today and tomorrow. I then work Thursday thru Monday then I'm off the rest of the month.
The backend of mint.com is the exact same security software the banks use. Not "like" it's exactly the same. Thus logging into BankofAmerica.com is just as risky as mint.com. Once I had my brain around this factoid...I signed up.
Signing up is very easy. You don't need to know many account numbers....just web logins. I had all of my accounts set up in under 10 minutes. Mint then takes a few minutes and displayed my total debt, total assets (my mortgage and car accounts were included...literally EVERY possible account can be added!), net worth and more. Very eye opening.
Mint.com also keeps track of your interest rates, payment due dates, and more. All automatically. Emails are sent out when your interest rate changes or a payment is due. There is a lot more to the website....I recommend it to everyone with more than one credit card.
Our "W-I-D-E open" flight to Tokyo ain't so wide open anymore. We might be heading to Los Angeles first and then to Tokyo. No biggie.
There isn't a lot of software that is available on 3 different Operating Systems. Okay maybe there is, but I didn't regularly use 3 different Operating Systems until recently.
Handbrake is a piece of software designed to copy a DVD movie into a single file that can be played on my laptop, XBox 360, G1 or any other device. This can be very useful for those who travel a lot, but don't want to carry a bunch of DVD's.
I first ran the software in Windows 7 on my Macbook Pro (Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz). It took more than 8 hours to rip a DVD. The software rips the video off the DVD and then rencodes it into a file for playback later. I thought that was decent.
I then tried it on a single core Pentium 4 2.4 Ghz running Ubuntu. Same encoding settings. The process ETA to finish was more than 15 hours!!!!! No go!
I then tried it on another single core Petium 4 2.4 Ghz computer running Windows 7. ETA.....36 hours!
Finally I tried it again on my Macbook Pro in Mac OS X. Total time???? 4 hours! Wow!
I have all the TV's mounted. One 37 inch LCD in the bedroom, one 42 inch Plasma (don't tell Kelli about the insane power Plasmas use) in the man cave and our existing (almost 1 year old) 52 inch LCD in the living room. The number of digital TV's finally out numbers the number of analog TV's (3 digital, 2 analog). I am going to sell one of the analog TV's on craigslist for $40. The other will hang out for a bit in the guest bedroom.
I needed a HDMI cable to mount the bedroom TV. I headed to Fry's because Radio Shack/Walmart/Best Buy/Target all charge insane prices for HDMI cables. By insane I mean $25+ for a 6 foot cable. I bought a 3 pack of HDMI 1.3 cables from Fry's for $9. I then bought a 10 foot HDMI 1.3 cable for $7 with a $7 mail in rebate! Nice.
Off today and tomorrow. I then work Thursday thru Monday then I'm off the rest of the month.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
In need of a vacation
This weekend was rough. I worked a 14 hour day Saturday. Tired.
The wonderful Sony 57 inch TV we paid $1600 for back in April 2004 left out the front door today for $200. Horrible investment indeed. The TV is in need of repair though. From what I researched online the part is at least $300. Glad it's gone. Next up on Craigslist will be the desk.
I emailed a guy about cutting our line grass on Craigslist this morning. Thirty minutes later (and without a phone call) he arrived at our front door. The lawn was in serious need of a cut. Thirty bucks later the lawn was cut. Our mower is out of commission for a bit.
I scored 27.7 MPG on my last fill up. The Mazda5 is a truly amazing vehicle. When my in laws were here it was loaded with my self, Kelli, Jami (sister in law), Peggy (my mother in law) and Haley (my niece...in a car seat) and none of us were crowded. This is due to having three rows of seats. The middle row consist of Captains chairs. In a sedan the car seat takes up so much room that two adults have a hard time sitting comfortably. Not so in the Mazda5. I'm 1/2 way thru my current lease. At 12,100 miles. I have 18 months and 24,000 miles left.
I got an email address from Australia.edu. Why? So I could get Windows 7 Professional for $29 from Win741.com . Score.
Vacation can't come fast enough.
The wonderful Sony 57 inch TV we paid $1600 for back in April 2004 left out the front door today for $200. Horrible investment indeed. The TV is in need of repair though. From what I researched online the part is at least $300. Glad it's gone. Next up on Craigslist will be the desk.
I emailed a guy about cutting our line grass on Craigslist this morning. Thirty minutes later (and without a phone call) he arrived at our front door. The lawn was in serious need of a cut. Thirty bucks later the lawn was cut. Our mower is out of commission for a bit.
I scored 27.7 MPG on my last fill up. The Mazda5 is a truly amazing vehicle. When my in laws were here it was loaded with my self, Kelli, Jami (sister in law), Peggy (my mother in law) and Haley (my niece...in a car seat) and none of us were crowded. This is due to having three rows of seats. The middle row consist of Captains chairs. In a sedan the car seat takes up so much room that two adults have a hard time sitting comfortably. Not so in the Mazda5. I'm 1/2 way thru my current lease. At 12,100 miles. I have 18 months and 24,000 miles left.
I got an email address from Australia.edu. Why? So I could get Windows 7 Professional for $29 from Win741.com . Score.
Vacation can't come fast enough.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Detox
I went on salt overload when my in laws were here. Way bloated. Ooof. Back on the wagon for me. Even after a day of low sodium I can feel a difference again. Detox.
Mounted the TV in my man cave. Mounting the TV in our bedroom now. What ?!?!? Bedroom??!?! Yeah Kelli and I held technology conference and decided it made the most fiscal sense to mount the TV in our bedroom versus the guest bedroom. We have guest over 3-4 times a year. Not worth it. We are still in discussion over what to put in there.
I ordered 2 HDMI cables when I ordered the mounts for the TV's. I foolishly routed both of them behind the man cave. The mounts I bought are super slim...meaning almost no room behind the TV once it's mounted. It would be too difficult to remove it now. I need one for the bedroom TV. HDMI cables at Walmart/Radio Shack/Best Buy/ Home Depot are all over $25. At Fry's they are $8. Off to Fry's.
Tokyo is quickly approaching. Plane is getting fuller than we thought. We will still be going.....should be in First Class....but might not be sitting together. The good thing is the First Class seats on the 777 have a sitting area for someone else to hangout.
Problem with one of the ethernet jacks in the bedroom. Problem is at the patch panel. The patch panel is a pain in the rear to take down. Scheduled for sometime in the future.
Might move the slot machine to the man cave...after I sell the desk.
People on craigslist....buyers on craigslist are so flaky. Over 10 people contacted me about buying our TV....all flaked out. WTF??!?!
Desk go on craigslist soon.
New XBOX 360 Elite in the house. I planned on putting in the living room. Well Microsoft changed the connectors and power supply on the new XBOX's. The new 360's have built in HDMI. Our existing 360 used VGA adapter in order to display on the TV. I get 1080P over the connection and am happy. Well the old cable works with the new 360. Problem is the old 360 now has no cable. The Plasma TV in the man cave doesn't have a PC connection...only HDMI and composite. Boo. Yadda, yadda, yadda new 360 goes in the man cave. At least for now.
Mounted the TV in my man cave. Mounting the TV in our bedroom now. What ?!?!? Bedroom??!?! Yeah Kelli and I held technology conference and decided it made the most fiscal sense to mount the TV in our bedroom versus the guest bedroom. We have guest over 3-4 times a year. Not worth it. We are still in discussion over what to put in there.
I ordered 2 HDMI cables when I ordered the mounts for the TV's. I foolishly routed both of them behind the man cave. The mounts I bought are super slim...meaning almost no room behind the TV once it's mounted. It would be too difficult to remove it now. I need one for the bedroom TV. HDMI cables at Walmart/Radio Shack/Best Buy/ Home Depot are all over $25. At Fry's they are $8. Off to Fry's.
Tokyo is quickly approaching. Plane is getting fuller than we thought. We will still be going.....should be in First Class....but might not be sitting together. The good thing is the First Class seats on the 777 have a sitting area for someone else to hangout.
Problem with one of the ethernet jacks in the bedroom. Problem is at the patch panel. The patch panel is a pain in the rear to take down. Scheduled for sometime in the future.
Might move the slot machine to the man cave...after I sell the desk.
People on craigslist....buyers on craigslist are so flaky. Over 10 people contacted me about buying our TV....all flaked out. WTF??!?!
Desk go on craigslist soon.
New XBOX 360 Elite in the house. I planned on putting in the living room. Well Microsoft changed the connectors and power supply on the new XBOX's. The new 360's have built in HDMI. Our existing 360 used VGA adapter in order to display on the TV. I get 1080P over the connection and am happy. Well the old cable works with the new 360. Problem is the old 360 now has no cable. The Plasma TV in the man cave doesn't have a PC connection...only HDMI and composite. Boo. Yadda, yadda, yadda new 360 goes in the man cave. At least for now.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Not that bad
Peggy, Jami and Haley all boarded American Airlines jets and flew home yesterday.
I had the day off so I brought them to the airport. Since I work at the airport I am allowed to escort them inside security. When I go to work I can bypass the TSA. If I am not working I can bypass TSA as long as I am not boarding a plane. Since I was helping them with bags/items I went thru TSA...not a big deal.
On the way here Jami stated Haley had a meltdown in the airport. I was expecting the same on the return. Nope. Haley was fine. I am sure the nap right before we left helped. Since I live at the airport I know where everything is. While waiting for the flight (in the swanky Terminal D) I took Haley to see the train system. She enjoyed the trains and the long escalator ride to see them.
Unfortunately the Peggy's flight to Portland was delayed by more than hour and changed terminals. Jami's flight was also a bit delayed, but at least she didn't have to change terminals.
Haley really enjoyed the dogs....well mostly Doogie. She liked running around and throwing toys for Doogie. He was happy to have anyone play with him. Vegas has never liked kids...especially when kids run around. Lilo loves anyone who will pet her.
While at the airport my brother in law Kevin got a call from the Mid-Cities Police Department hiring agency. One agency handles hiring for several cities. He flew down months ago to take the test. This is REALLY good timing for him. His wife, Jenny, just had their second child. She finished nursing school, but has no job. With the second child born they can easily move and get settled in before Jenny starts the job hunt. The commute for BOTH of them will be shorter and cheaper in the Dallas area than anywhere in New York. There are now 2 houses for sale on our street. I am positive Kevin will get hired by a local Police department. The two can survive on Kevin's pay alone in Texas. The starting pay for Police Officers isn't far off from what Kelli and I earned COMBINED when we bought this house. I really hope Kevin takes advantage of this opportunity. The timing is perfect.
The new dishwasher is installed. Lowes really dropped the ball on our installation. They never called updating us with the delays in shipment of the dishwasher. When we ordered the dishwasher the sales rep had us buy $19 or so in parts we MIGHT need. The installer picked up the parts and the dishwasher. The camera in the kitchen was pointed right at him. When he was done I asked if he used the parts. He said he did.I reviewed the video. He never used them. He stole them. Nice. The washer works great. Much quieter than the old dishwasher and much more efficient.
For some reason the Windows 7 installation on the computer next to the bed refused to play sound. The sound card worked in Vista. I even bought a cheap $3 USB sound card. No dice. I only use that computer to use the Internet. Last night I installed Ubuntu Linux. Sound card works. Done.
My mother in law has a cell phone from 2003. She needs a new one. It's some small flip phone. Crazy small screen. I hope that the next time I see her phone...and her she has a phone worthy of a mother in law of a geek. I might have to do some research on them and give her advice.
Picking up the TV's today.
Selling our old one on Craigslist for $125. No biters yet. It's a 57 inch Sony Widescreen HDTV. Needs a little work. Hmm I could empty it out and make a high tech crib for the offspring. Hmmm....prolly cheaper than a "store bought" crib. Hmmmm.
I had the day off so I brought them to the airport. Since I work at the airport I am allowed to escort them inside security. When I go to work I can bypass the TSA. If I am not working I can bypass TSA as long as I am not boarding a plane. Since I was helping them with bags/items I went thru TSA...not a big deal.
On the way here Jami stated Haley had a meltdown in the airport. I was expecting the same on the return. Nope. Haley was fine. I am sure the nap right before we left helped. Since I live at the airport I know where everything is. While waiting for the flight (in the swanky Terminal D) I took Haley to see the train system. She enjoyed the trains and the long escalator ride to see them.
Unfortunately the Peggy's flight to Portland was delayed by more than hour and changed terminals. Jami's flight was also a bit delayed, but at least she didn't have to change terminals.
Haley really enjoyed the dogs....well mostly Doogie. She liked running around and throwing toys for Doogie. He was happy to have anyone play with him. Vegas has never liked kids...especially when kids run around. Lilo loves anyone who will pet her.
While at the airport my brother in law Kevin got a call from the Mid-Cities Police Department hiring agency. One agency handles hiring for several cities. He flew down months ago to take the test. This is REALLY good timing for him. His wife, Jenny, just had their second child. She finished nursing school, but has no job. With the second child born they can easily move and get settled in before Jenny starts the job hunt. The commute for BOTH of them will be shorter and cheaper in the Dallas area than anywhere in New York. There are now 2 houses for sale on our street. I am positive Kevin will get hired by a local Police department. The two can survive on Kevin's pay alone in Texas. The starting pay for Police Officers isn't far off from what Kelli and I earned COMBINED when we bought this house. I really hope Kevin takes advantage of this opportunity. The timing is perfect.
The new dishwasher is installed. Lowes really dropped the ball on our installation. They never called updating us with the delays in shipment of the dishwasher. When we ordered the dishwasher the sales rep had us buy $19 or so in parts we MIGHT need. The installer picked up the parts and the dishwasher. The camera in the kitchen was pointed right at him. When he was done I asked if he used the parts. He said he did.I reviewed the video. He never used them. He stole them. Nice. The washer works great. Much quieter than the old dishwasher and much more efficient.
For some reason the Windows 7 installation on the computer next to the bed refused to play sound. The sound card worked in Vista. I even bought a cheap $3 USB sound card. No dice. I only use that computer to use the Internet. Last night I installed Ubuntu Linux. Sound card works. Done.
My mother in law has a cell phone from 2003. She needs a new one. It's some small flip phone. Crazy small screen. I hope that the next time I see her phone...and her she has a phone worthy of a mother in law of a geek. I might have to do some research on them and give her advice.
Picking up the TV's today.
Selling our old one on Craigslist for $125. No biters yet. It's a 57 inch Sony Widescreen HDTV. Needs a little work. Hmm I could empty it out and make a high tech crib for the offspring. Hmmm....prolly cheaper than a "store bought" crib. Hmmmm.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Not ready for kids
Not ready for kids. Our house isn't anyway. Haley proved that.
Okay so Kelli and I did most of the flooring work. We have plans to redo the front bathroom. We left...well I left...a piece of metal ,from the previous carpet installation, attached to the linoleum in the bathroom. Long strip with teeth to grip the carpet. Do you see where this is going?
Haley walked into the bathroom, pointed down and said, "look Aunt Kelli this is an owey". Haley then took her foot and pulled it along the piece of metal. Screaming and crying followed. A small amount of blood. Jami (a newly licensed RN) quickly took care of the very minor cut. I then whipped out my pry bar and pulled up the metal. Yeah.
We hit the State Fair yesterday.I had 2 regular corn dogs, 1 jalapeno shrimp corn dog, 1 fried twinkie, 2 pieces of fried butter (Jami, Peggy and Kelli all had a piece as well), and french fries....might have been more. Good times. My mother in law did enjoy a fried twinkie with me....she kinda liked it.
[singlepic id=770 w=640 h=480 float=center]
[singlepic id=771 w=640 h= 480 float=center]
[singlepic id=769 w=640 h= 480 float=center]
Because I was on call Monday we had to take two cars to the fair. I got called for a Little Rock turn at 1:05PM. I had to sign in at 3:05PM. Just a few minutes later I was called back and told they downgraded to a smaller plane. One great thing about flying the CRJ700 is that downgrades happen. There are three different ERJs...50 seat, 44 seat and 37 seat. They might downgrade from a 50 seat to a 37 seat....but the same pilots are going to fly the flight.
After the fair we all came back for some family bonding time.
[singlepic id=768 w=640 h= 480 float=center]
I bought two LCD mounts from Monoprice. To my surprise they had built in levels! Nice! Going to pick up the TV's tomorrow after I drop off the in laws.
Okay so Kelli and I did most of the flooring work. We have plans to redo the front bathroom. We left...well I left...a piece of metal ,from the previous carpet installation, attached to the linoleum in the bathroom. Long strip with teeth to grip the carpet. Do you see where this is going?
Haley walked into the bathroom, pointed down and said, "look Aunt Kelli this is an owey". Haley then took her foot and pulled it along the piece of metal. Screaming and crying followed. A small amount of blood. Jami (a newly licensed RN) quickly took care of the very minor cut. I then whipped out my pry bar and pulled up the metal. Yeah.
We hit the State Fair yesterday.I had 2 regular corn dogs, 1 jalapeno shrimp corn dog, 1 fried twinkie, 2 pieces of fried butter (Jami, Peggy and Kelli all had a piece as well), and french fries....might have been more. Good times. My mother in law did enjoy a fried twinkie with me....she kinda liked it.
[singlepic id=770 w=640 h=480 float=center]
[singlepic id=771 w=640 h= 480 float=center]
[singlepic id=769 w=640 h= 480 float=center]
Because I was on call Monday we had to take two cars to the fair. I got called for a Little Rock turn at 1:05PM. I had to sign in at 3:05PM. Just a few minutes later I was called back and told they downgraded to a smaller plane. One great thing about flying the CRJ700 is that downgrades happen. There are three different ERJs...50 seat, 44 seat and 37 seat. They might downgrade from a 50 seat to a 37 seat....but the same pilots are going to fly the flight.
After the fair we all came back for some family bonding time.
[singlepic id=768 w=640 h= 480 float=center]
I bought two LCD mounts from Monoprice. To my surprise they had built in levels! Nice! Going to pick up the TV's tomorrow after I drop off the in laws.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Man Cave
Men Caves....they exists all over the north in basements. A Man Cave is a place where a man is free of all outside distractions. In preparation for our offspring (byrdintheoven.com will be dusted off and active again!) I am preparing my man cave. This is similar to how a bird will prepare a nest. Kelli will be prepping the offspring room. I will likely install a camera in the offspring room....better and WAY more secure than a baby monitors (baby monitors, as discovered by Eric and Angela, use common frequencies....your neighbors can hear you and vice versa).
As is my man cave has our old leather couch and three computers. One computer is a home server, one is a media/zune server and the other downloads torrents. I am installing a 42 inch Plasma on the wall this week. Over time I will install surround sound and a kegerator.
The old office will become the new guest bedroom. The old guest bedroom will be the off spring room. We are still pondering the idea of ripping out the carpet in the offspring room.
My mother in law cleaned my garage yesterday. I wonder what the neighbors were thinking...."This guy has hired maid....he must be well off". She spent two full hours in there....crazy.
Today we are heading to the State Fair. We were going tomorrow but it's going to rain MORE tomorrow than today. I am on call so we will have to take two cars.
Loving my Zune HD. Still miss my Zune 80 gig. I will fix it one day.
Less than three weeks till we hit Tokyo.
Haley (my niece) loves my slot machines. She QUICKLY learned how to hit the max credit button OR hit the one credit button and then pull the handle. Very smart she is. Her terrible two's are in effect though. Oooof.
Another niece is being born today in New York.
Passed 12,000 miles on my car. Had it 19 months.
Facebook, Twitter and the like have killed blogs. I have fallen victim myself. Even my FLickr uploads have slowed. Gotta fix that.
As is my man cave has our old leather couch and three computers. One computer is a home server, one is a media/zune server and the other downloads torrents. I am installing a 42 inch Plasma on the wall this week. Over time I will install surround sound and a kegerator.
The old office will become the new guest bedroom. The old guest bedroom will be the off spring room. We are still pondering the idea of ripping out the carpet in the offspring room.
My mother in law cleaned my garage yesterday. I wonder what the neighbors were thinking...."This guy has hired maid....he must be well off". She spent two full hours in there....crazy.
Today we are heading to the State Fair. We were going tomorrow but it's going to rain MORE tomorrow than today. I am on call so we will have to take two cars.
Loving my Zune HD. Still miss my Zune 80 gig. I will fix it one day.
Less than three weeks till we hit Tokyo.
Haley (my niece) loves my slot machines. She QUICKLY learned how to hit the max credit button OR hit the one credit button and then pull the handle. Very smart she is. Her terrible two's are in effect though. Oooof.
(too keep my niece AND photos from appearing elsewhere...I've had to watermark the photo...just one of those things)
Another niece is being born today in New York.
Passed 12,000 miles on my car. Had it 19 months.
Facebook, Twitter and the like have killed blogs. I have fallen victim myself. Even my FLickr uploads have slowed. Gotta fix that.
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