Places To Go, People To See
As I mentioned earlier, we are going on a big road trip over Christmas break. Our main destination is Phoenix, Arizona, where Tina’s sister, Michelle, lives. We’ll be traveling through California to get there and come back, so we’re seeking advice on places to visit and sites to see along the way. We may not see all of them, but we’re compiling a long list so we have many choices. Please leave your suggestions in the comments.
All I Got For Christmas
- Gift certificate to Half.com redeemed for:
- Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
- Pearl Jam by Pearl Jam
- Letting Off The Happiness by Bright Eyes
- Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen by various artists
- Gift certificate to Borders redeemed for 7 Seconds Or Less by Jack McCallum
- The best pressure washer
- Sugar Free Creme Savers
- Sugar Free Werther’s Originals
- Sugar Free Lifesavers Butter Toffee
- Corrine Bailey Rae by Corrine Bailey Rae
- The Book of Totally Useless Information by Don Voorhees
- 2107 Curious Word Origins, Sayings & Expressions by Charles Earl Funk
- Foldable tool chest on wheels
- New gloves
- White LED head lamp
- White LED best brightest flashlight
Update 1/4: Yesterday I got two books in the mail: Metal Cowboy and Momentum Is Your Friend. Both are by bike journalist Joe Kurmaskie.
Vital Statistics
Bike odometer: n/a
Weight lost: 50 lbs.
Hours of sleep last night: 8
Hours billed this week: 14
Current reading: The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, Coverville, Corinne Bailey Rae by Corinne Bailey Rae
Recent viewing: Sportscenter, Suns at Mavericks, Comedy Central’s Roast of William Shatner, Dr. Who
Recent playing: Sketchfighter
Recently accomplished: Paid bills, bought Wii, finished Thomas’ “new” computer, created my Mii (which looks just like me according to all accounts)
Imperative To Do: Finish garage, finish old blog entries, call mechanic, rake, fix laundry room door, RMA old Tivo drive, Best of 2006
Cool Link: Wii for Christmas: Thomas and Graham opening their box of cash to be used for purchasing a Wii (which we did two days later).
Wiiquest, Part Eight
This morning Tina decided to call around the Targets before we left to spend our gift cards at Borders (thanks, Uncle Buddy). The first one she called in Fairview reported that they had units and, after some wrangling on the phone, they reserved one for us. Thomas and I jetted over there shortly after and successfully acquired our Wii! I bought ExciteTruck with it. Graham and Thomas have agreed to split the cost of an additional Wiimote, but they are still hard to find.
After the purchase, we met the rest of the family at Buddy’s house for lunch. We hooked the Wii up to Buddy’s TV and tried out boxing, golf, bowling, tennis and ExciteTruck. Part of the fun is playing but a large part is also watching other people play. Everyone enjoyed it before we were off to Borders and now home. Thomas is configuring the wireless internet connection and will probably spend the next hour setting up his Mii.
Vital Statistics
Bike odometer: n/a
Weight lost: 51 lbs.
Hours of sleep last night: 5
Hours billed this week: 21
Current reading: The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, Coverville, various Christmas songs
Recent viewing: Sportscenter, Everest: Beyond the Limit, It Takes A Thief
Recent playing: Sketchfighter
Recently accomplished: Waited in line, dried van carpet, paid bills
Imperative To Do: Buy Wii, finish garage, finish old blog entries, call mechanic, build new computer for Thomas, rake, clean garage, fix laundry room door, RMA old Tivo drive, Best of 2006
Cool Link: Pandora: Discovering more music you like
Vital Statistics
Bike odometer: n/a
Weight lost: 44 lbs.
Hours of sleep last night: 5.5
Hours billed this week: 4
Current reading: The Prince by Machiavelli, Feminism Is For Everybody by Bell Hooks
Recent listening: XO by Elliott Smith, Either/Or by Elliott Smith, The Lost Christmas Eve by Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Jimmie Rodgers, Not For Kids Only by Jerry Garcia & David Grisman
Recent viewing: Sportscenter, Bengals at Colts, Eagles at Giants, Medium, Discoveries This Week, Man vs. Wild
Recent playing: Sketchfighter
Recently accomplished: Sorted and stored computer stuff in garage, attempted to RMA hard drive (Seagate website messed up), reorganized workbench in garage, waited in line, called many Wii resellers
Imperative To Do: Buy Wii, dry van, finish garage, finish old blog entries, call mechanic, build new computer for Thomas, rake, clean garage, fix laundry room door, RMA old Tivo drive, Best of 2006
Cool Link: A Charlie Brown Scrubs Christmas
Any way the wind blows
The wind was blowing very hard last night when I came home. So hard that it caused Max service disruptions throughout my ride home, causing my hour ride home to take an hour and a half. While I waited downtown for the train to arrive, the wind was blowing hard enough that I had to hold my bike in place. Never mind trying to read while waiting!
Graham had his holiday program at school last night and shortly after we got home last night all the lights went out. Graham was scared at first but we declared the situation “cool” and “fun” and he was soon at ease. We played Name That Tune (Christmas edition) with my iPod and the Boomtube. The boys and Tina went to bed around 9:30. I stayed up and played Brain Age on Thomas’ DS. Just as I finished my Sudoku puzzle the lights blinked on at about 10:15.
The aftermath this morning is lots of downed trees and branches across the Portland area. Winds on the coast gusted over 100 mph. Power outages are still prevalent throughout the area. Most schools were delayed two hours, but not ours. Here’s some links:
What I got for Christmas
- Gift card for Tower Records turned into greatest hits CDs:
- The Carter Family
- Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
- Michael Martin Murphy
- Box of Botticelli Masterpiece chocolates
- Crooked Fingers CD
- Half.com gift certificate turned into CDs
- Imagine by John Lennon
- Kindred Spirits: A Tribute to Johnny Cash
- Rid of Me by P.J. Harvey
- House of Large Sizes
- Half.com gift certificate turned into CDs and books:
- Especially for You by The Smithereens
- Fight Songs by Old 97’s
- Still Feel Gone by Uncle Tupelo
- No Prima Donna: A Tribute to Van Morrison
- Postville by Stephen G. Bloom
- High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
- Flavius Josephus by Josephus
- The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
- The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
- Update 1/3: I almost forgot that my lovely wife bought matching gear hoodies for me just before Christmas.