Abby Normal

This Blog

2011-12-29T21:57:00.000-08:00

Wow, this blog is still here, huh?

It's Been a Long Time

2011-04-06T20:21:00.001-07:00

So I guess the last time I posted to this blog was to announce that I was dating a young lady named Liz. A lot has changed since then.

To cut to the chase, Liz and I are now engaged to be married. Our relationship was long distance for most of the time, but we both felt strongly about keeping it going, and visited each other several times over the last six months. I proposed to her New Year's Eve and we're getting married in June.

I think, for the most part, I'll spare you the details. I may give a brief summary of how the last six months have been, but I don't really think my audience of two readers really wants to hear too much of it.

I will, however, briefly offer up some thoughts on dating. I was pretty happy when I started dating Liz, first of all because she's awesome. Second of all, it had been 7 (seven) years since my last relationship. That's a long time. I can't really explain why it had been that long, either (well, I can for some of those years). And finally, in the months and weeks prior to our relationship, I had dealt with a couple of difficult rejections.

The funny thing is, from the time she got back from her mission to our first date, my brain was telling me, "Mark, you really ought to be dating this girl." I didn't listen to this, for some reason, and ended up hurting myself (and others, in all likelihood) in the process. Then I started dating Liz. At this point, my brain said, "Why didn't you listen to me earlier, idiot?" Oh brain, you smart-ass.

So the point of this is, if your brain and/or common sense is telling you that you should be dating someone, you should probably heed that advice. I'm glad I (finally) did.

On a personal note

2010-08-28T16:06:00.001-07:00

I guess most of you have figured it out at this point but for those who haven't, yes, I am dating someone. Her name is Liz and she is from Ohio.

It's long distance right now, unfortunately, and will continue to be so until she gets her degree in actuarial science. What this means for me is I will be flying over to Utah from time to time.

So, now you know!

Another reason I like to visit Olympia

2010-07-22T00:18:00.000-07:00

You get to read some of my late-night ramblings. Lucky you!

I visit Olympia a lot. It is, after all, my hometown. I usually don't do much in the town itself, I just head straight for my parents' house and have dinner, and then spend time with the family.

Family gatherings are usually pretty hectic. There are lots of kids, and by extension lots of noise, and many (most) of them misbehave. I often feel downright curmudgeonly because I try to keep the kids from causing disaster more than playing with them (when I bring a girl down to meet my family, I'm going to make darn sure she's prepared for the chaos in advance).

So while I love my nieces and nephews, my favorite part of going home is after they've all gone to bed. It usually results in whatever adults are present (generally just me, my parents, and my brothers) migrating to the living room, getting comfortable, and chatting for an hour or two. These are the times when all the big ideas get discussed (vacation plans, new pie experiments, and so forth), jokes are exchanged, and problems (and potential solutions) are discussed. It's one of the few places where I can really cut loose and say whatever is on my mind.

So I like going down to Olympia for many reasons, but the evening lounging-around-the-living-room chat is probably my favorite one. There are, of course, other things I like about Olympia, but family is first and foremost.

(Anybody else think I overused parentheses in this post?)

Songs I Like: "That's the Way" by Led Zeppelin

2010-07-20T22:40:00.001-07:00

Normally if you ask me my favorite Led Zeppelin song, I would say "Ramble On."

But right now it's this song.

This might be the most beautiful song Led Zeppelin made.

Philosophy Corner

2010-07-09T18:02:00.001-07:00

When you look back at the things you have done, what are the things you regret?

I have noticed the things I regret the most are not the things that I have done, but the things that I have not done. One example I like to give is grad school, which I started - and ended - in 2005. By most measures it was a disaster: I struggled, hated my courses, and didn't have any friends. I left after one quarter in a severe depression, and it took me a long time to recover from it. But I don't regret trying. I learned a lot about myself in those three months.

To put a contrary example, in college, I mostly just tried to coast through and get my degree, without doing much research or laying the foundation for my career. As a result of this, my career started a couple years later than it should have. And on top of that, when I look back, I don't have very many friends from college that I remember, either - I was not terribly social and didn't know anybody outside of my department. Well, those days are gone forever,* and I wish I could go back and live them the way I should have.

I moved to Seattle after grad school and started my career, and while my personality is still more or less the same, I am a different person now than I was five years ago. There are still problems, and occasionally it takes a lot of effort to get out of my comfort zone and do things that I normally wouldn't do. But it is rewarding - even when I fail, at least I learn something.

*I should just let them go.

Mormon Jokes

2010-07-01T18:12:00.001-07:00

My co-workers are clearly getting used to my presence at the office. I won't go into too many details, but we were discussing one team member's divorce, and he mentioned that he can't move in with another woman at the moment as it would cause problems. Another co-worker asked would it be okay if he were married.

Team Member 1: I don't think that would be legal.

Team Member 2: Why not?

Team Member 3: I think there are laws against being married to two women at the same time.

*uncomfortable pause*

Me: Go ahead and say it, I know it's coming.

So yes, my co-workers aren't quite sure yet whether they can make Mormon jokes or not. I think the ice will be broken the first time I make one.

30 Songs in 30 Years: 1984 - Dancing in the Dark by Bruce Springsteen

2010-06-15T21:39:00.000-07:00

It was a bright, cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen.

1984 was probably the first year that I really became cognizant of my surroundings, and is (probably) the earliest year I have any memory of. My family still lived in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and it was in the early months of this year that I would first learn to ski at the tender age of three. We continued to live in Garmisch, a beautiful town in the German alps.

At the time, the only music I really enjoyed were Fiddler on the Roof and the 1812 Overture, but as I grew a bit older I would of course become aware of some of the music that came out that year. A few groups that I would later enjoy in my teenage years started in 1984, notably The Offspring and Primus. Neither of these bands would hit their stride until the 1990's, of course. Prince released Purple Rain - both the movie and the album - much to the chagrin of Tipper Gore. And notably for the future of music media, the first compact disk manufacturing plant opened in Indiana. CD's are growing obsolete by now, of course, but are not likely to disappear entirely anytime soon.

Among the albums released in 1984 were, well, 1984 by Van Halen - their last album featuring Diamond Dave. The Pretenders released Learning to Crawl, which featured their most famous song, My City Was Gone. Run D.M.C. started their journey to being hip-hop megastars with their eponymous first album.

I have a funny story about one song that came out in 1984. In Argentina, some other missionaries and I encountered a group of thuggish teenagers in one of the poorer neighborhoods in the town we were in (Comodoro Rivadavia). They were all wearing their black t-shirts that featured names of metal bands like Def Leppard*, and were gathered around a boom box, listening to music and looking tough. The song? Cyndi Lauper's immortal rebel anthem Girls Just Want to Have Fun.

But the song I want to talk about is Bruce Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark. I first became familiar with The Boss the following year, when Born in the USA was a mega-hit and I heard it all the time on the school bus radio. I didn't become familiar with Dancing in the Dark until a few years later, but it's easily one of my favorites of his. Synthesizers were pretty big in 1980's music, and this song was no exception: the synthesizer hook is part of what makes this song a classic. As usual, Bruce puts everything he's got into his vocal performance, and the end product is something amazing.

This is a concert video from 2002, and interestingly, the synthesizer part is done on violin.

I always knew that rock music had too much sax and violins.

*Their drummer, Rick Allen, lost his arm on New Year's Eve, 1984

Kindness

2010-05-31T21:50:00.001-07:00

My trip to Maui was my first vacation by myself. I had booked airfare by myself before, I had rented a hotel room by myself before, but I had never rented a car before - and I had certainly never done all three things at once. And so, I was excited, but nervous that something might go wrong.

On the last day of my vacation, I decided to spend the late afternoon and early evening at my new favorite beach at Makena State Park. I relaxed in the shade for a bit, splashed around in the ocean and played in the waves, and then went back to my beach chair and read a few chapters in my book. When I decided I'd had enough, I began to head back to my rental car.

To my horror, I discovered I no longer had my key. I looked all over for it - it wasn't in my pockets, it wasn't in my backpack, and I couldn't find it out on the beach where I was earlier.

I was now in panic mode. I had about 90 minutes until the park gates closed, and with the odds against me finding the key, I had to call the rental company to have them rescue me. My luck got worse when they told me that they didn't have a spare key, and would have to tow the car away, and to get a new car, they would have to have the new one towed out to my location.

With only 16 hours before I was supposed to fly out anyway, I didn't want to go to the trouble of getting a new car brought to me. So, I just had the car towed away. I told the guy driving the truck about my plight, and asked if he could drop me off at my hotel. He did not seem enthusiastic about the idea (although he didn't say no).

Thankfully, a man nearby saw what was going on and offered me a ride to my condo. I took him up on his offer and accepted a ride from him and his travel buddy. If I recall correctly, their names were Roger and Andy. Thanks to them, I was able to get back to my room in about 20 minutes, instead of having to walk for several hours in my sandals, carrying a beach chair.

I was incredibly grateful for their act of kindness. At a time when I was at my wit's end, the act of a couple of strangers offering me a ride back to my room was so incredibly helpful. I thanked them profusely for their good deed, and regretted that I couldn't offer them anything in return. "No need for that," the driver said, "just pass it forward."

Sometimes we forget that people are struggling. My struggle was obvious - I was a man who had an immediate problem. But the problems others go through are more subtle sometimes. Maybe somebody is depressed, or needs a friend, or even just a kind word. And by showing kindness to others, we not only help them out, but we feel better about ourselves as well.

I do realize that this post is a bit cheesy, but it's an important principle and one that we need to remember. The whole situation I was in made me think of how I'm not always a nice person, and how I can be critical of others. But everybody has their own struggles and battles they're going through, and everybody needs help. The event I went through reminded me of how good it feels to be offered help when you really need it.

So, I know what I need to do better.

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

Vacation

2010-05-27T22:01:00.000-07:00

So, it is difficult to update my blog from my phone, so I will be brief.

I am currently in Maui. I am enjoying myself thoroughly and spending a lot of time in the sunshine. I have also watched the sun rise over the clouds and ridden a bike down a volcano. Tomorrow I am going snorkeling. I will be back Sunday morning with many stories to tell.

This trip was so worth it.

I Quit!

2010-05-21T00:54:00.001-07:00

I am up far later than I should be, and it's mostly because there is one thing on my mind right now.

But let's start with a long-winded story.

Back in January of 2006, my brother and I drove through Seattle to get to a free concert at Alderwood Mall. Along the way, we picked up my friend Aaron, who was living in a studio apartment in South Lake Union. I was intrigued by the idea of living in Seattle, and having recently dropped out of grad school, thought it would be a good idea to start my career here. So, Aaron referred me to the company that found his job for him, CampusPoint, and I began looking for jobs. Within a month, I had one, starting as an intern for a company called aQuantive, for meager pay and no benefits.

I persevered at the job, learned a lot, matured a lot, and made some friends. After a year at the internship (yes, long internship, I know), I wound up as a contract employee for Microsoft. I hated this job, and seven months later, found myself at a permanent job at aQuantive again...and aQuantive was about to become a part of Microsoft.

I remember how excited I was when I got the job offer. Finally! A permanent, full-time job! One that does not have a time limit! I began to realize how much this job would change my life. It gave me a sense of security, a sense of permanence, and assured that I would be living in Seattle for the long-haul.

However, after two and a half years, I have quit my job, and am ready to begin the next step of my career at Marchex.

Leaving Microsoft was a difficult decision, and it was incredibly weird to quit the first job I've had that did not have a time limit attached to it. I thought I would stay at this job longer, but I slowly became dissatisfied with it, and was ready to move on (honestly, I've been ready to move on for some time now, but I couldn't bring myself to do it until now).

I still have mixed feelings about leaving the job. There's nobody in Seattle that can match Microsoft's benefits, and I'm willfully giving up the coveted Blue Badge that full time Microsoft employees have. I'm going to a smaller company with different challenges. I'm leaving behind some good friends I've made (but already have friends where I'm going).

So, tomorrow's a big day for me. While I may not show it on the outside, this is a difficult change for me to go through, and I've experienced a wide range of emotions over the last week or two (mostly anxiety). I'm confident that I've made the right decision, and I realize that as a software engineer I'm not going to stick with one job my whole career, but that still doesn't make the decision any less difficult.

But all in all, things are going to turn out alright. I'll be successful at my new job, and it will hopefully lead to bigger and better things.

Naptime

2010-05-17T13:00:00.000-07:00

I believe I am somewhat of a rarity among my friends: I do not take naps. In fact, I actively take measures to prevent taking them.

I believe my antagonism toward napping began when I was in Argentina. When there was a good two-hour block in which I could not get any work done because everybody was taking the siesta, I got annoyed. Fast forward to today, and when I have a large block of time in front of me, I usually want to get something done. Add to that I don't like the groggy feeling I get when I wake up from a nap, and the disruption to my sleep schedule.

I realized that I must be in a minority when my church schedule switched from 1-4 PM to 9 AM - 12 PM. I was happy because it meant I would have all Sunday afternoon in which to do stuff. My friends in my ward were all happy because it meant they got to take a Sunday afternoon nap.

I guess I'm just weird that way. That being said, I will admit to resting my eyes while riding the bus every once in a while.

30

2010-05-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

Well, it's finally here. Two days ago, I reached thirty years of age. The day was spent well: I brought donuts from Top Pot to share with my co-workers, my parents came up to meet me for lunch, I relaxed at home for a couple hours, and then I went out for sushi with some of my close friends. All in all, I enjoyed the day, didn't feel bad about shifting the most significant digit in my age, and fell asleep happy.

I honestly feel optimistic about the year ahead. There's a big change coming in my life, a new job with a company called Marchex. I'm nervous about changing jobs, but I think it's the right move. The job has other implications on my life, which I'll go into more detail when the time is right. Needless to say, there are some new challenges facing me, and some new opportunities, and I'm feeling good about them.

So I think I've handled turning 30 pretty well, and am ready to see what I can accomplish in the next year of my life.

As a side note, each time I've turned over a new decade, it's been in a different country and continent. I was in Berlin when I turned ten, Argentina when I turned twenty, and right here in my home state of Washington at thirty.

My goal is to be in Asia, Africa or Australia for forty.

30 Songs in 30 Years: 1983 - "Kino" by Nena

2010-05-05T11:52:00.000-07:00

1983 was an extremely eventful year in music. By far, the biggest musical act of the year was Michael Jackson. "Thriller" was released the previous November, but it dominated the charts for most of 1983. The singles were mostly released this year, and the famous music video came out in the fall. It eventually became the best-selling album in history. He famously performed at the Motown 25 Special, giving his fans an electrifying performance of "Billie Jean," in which he introduced the Moonwalk. Yeah, he was probably lip syncing, but so what?

Speaking of mega-hits, David Bowie released his own best-seller, "Let's Dance." Bowie was already big, and had been making music since the late 60's. "Let's Dance," however, became his most popular album to date, with pop-oriented songs and guitar riffs by an up-and-coming Stevie Ray Vaughan. He would release his own album, "Texas Flood," later that year.

Other major releases this year included Cyndi Lauper's "She's So Unusual," and from then onward, teenagers would slow dance to "Time After Time." One of my favorites, Weird Al Yankovic, released his first album in 1983, and met with success thanks in part to help from Dr. Demento and Rick Derringer. "Eat It" would be the song that really catapulted him to success, but that was from a later album.

And, just to mention another band that would be popular among me and my friends in High School, the Violent Femmes released their self-titled album, which includes their most famous song, "Blister in the Sun."

So, in such a busy year for music, what song am I going to feature? Well, German new wave musician Nena released her self-titled album that year (technically, Nena is also the name of the band). While she was a one-hit-wonder in the United States, she was huge in the German speaking world. So I'm going to post a video of a fun, poppy song of Nena's called "Kino." Most people only know Nena for "99 Red Balloons," so here's something a little different.

Menschenfresser!

30 Songs in 30 Years: 1982 - "Eye in the Sky" by the Alan Parsons Project

2010-05-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

1982 saw my family move from Heidelberg to Garmisch, both in Germany. I don't have any recollection of the move itself, but my earliest memories are from Garmisch. It's a beautiful town in the German Alps that had (and still has) a large presence of the American military. It also the home of composer Richard Strauss, who had several famous compositions, including "Also Sprach Zarathustra" which was famously used in the film "2001: A Space Odyssey," and the operas Electra and Salome.

A few bands that I would enjoy in my teenage years released their debut albums in 1982, including the Meat Puppets and Bad Religion. The biggest single from 1982 was "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor, which has been used in all kinds of montage scenes in the years since (probably most hilariously in the film "Persepolis" and a coffee commercial - I forget which brand though). One of the absolute best songs of the New Wave era, Modern English's "I Melt With You," was released this year, and remains an enduring classic. Other than this song, however, Modern English had an unremarkable career.

The 1982 song I choose to focus on, however, is The Alan Parson Project's "Eye in the Sky." I choose this song not only because it's awesome, but because Alan Parsons also helped produce Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon (since most of Pink Floyd's best work is from the 1970's, I won't be covering them in this feature). The song is really a two-parter, since "Sirius," the first track of the album, blends seamlessly into the song. "Sirius" is a pretty famous song in its own right, partially due to its use as the intro music for the Chicago Bulls, and also many other sporting events. "Eye in the Sky" is mellow, a bit slow, and has sinister Orwellian lyrics: I love the juxtaposition. And really, it's just a beautiful song.

Here's a live performance of both "Sirius" and "Eye in the Sky" from 1995. Alan Parsons is the guy with the beard on keyboard and later, guitar. That's not the late Eric Woolfson singing, unfortunately.

A helicopter? This isn't "On The Run!"

30 Songs in 30 Years: 1981 - "Under Pressure" by David Bowie and Queen

2010-04-26T23:53:00.000-07:00

1981 saw the loss of a musical legend, Bob Marley, as he lost his battle with cancer. It also saw the birth of another musical legend, Justin Timberlake.

...

Okay, maybe Timberlake isn't quite a musical legend, but I thought I would provide an amusing counterpoint.

Meanwhile, the 80's began to hit their stride with the release of Duran Duran's self-titled debut album. They wouldn't become big in the United States until the 1983 reissue, but were very strong in the UK. Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" was one of the biggest singles of the year, setting the tone for a decade that would be dominated by synth pop. Journey released their most famous song, "Don't Stop Believing" in 1981, and Phil Collins began his successful solo career with the release of Face Value.

I could not talk about 1981 without talking about one of my all-time favorite songs: Under Pressure. It's a collaboration between David Bowie and Queen, with all members of the band contributing. The lyrics were written by Bowie and Freddie Mercury, each one writing their own parts - they blend together beautifully.

Of course, I didn't hear the song, or at least recognize it, before I had heard a hip-hop song that shall remain nameless that sampled the famous bassline. It was a revelation to me when I heard "Under Pressure." The hip-hop song was so utterly lame, and yet the original is one of the most moving and powerful rock songs ever written.

Here's a performance of "Under Pressure" from the Freddie Mercury tribute concert, with Annie Lennox filling in for Freddie.

Annie Lennox is kinda scary.

30 Songs in 30 Years: 1980 - "Call Me" by Blondie

2010-04-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

So I'm doing a new feature at this here blog. Seeing as I have been alive for almost thirty years now, I'm going to do a post about a song for each year I have been alive. The song I discuss for each year will be significant to me in some way or another. The song I select may or may not be my favorite song of the year (heck, I might not even like the song at all) but it will be notable.

So, 1980. The year I was born was incidentally the year my favorite rock band broke up: Led Zeppelin, after the death of drummer John Bonham. AC/DC also had a death, lead singer Bon Scott, but they rebounded and released Back in Black with new frontman Brian Johnson. It eventually became one of the best selling albums ever. The musical film Xanadu was released, starring Olivia Newton-John and featuring the music of ELO, Cliff Richard and the Tubes (I haven't seen the film, by the way, but I like ELO). BTO also broke up, and to this day, nobody cares.

On the day of my birth, the #1 song in America was "Call Me" by Blondie, a song used as the main theme for the film American Gigolo. While I haven't seen the film, nor do I want to, the song remains an enduring classic, and combines a hard driving guitar section with great use of synthesizers to produce a sound that is very 80's, for lack of a better word.

I don't know if "Call Me" is my favorite song of 1980, but it's high up on the list. And hey, if it was the most popular song the day I was born, I just have to mention it.

Also, am I the only who thinks that the Muse song "Uprising" borrows a bit from "Call Me?"

A couple notes

2010-04-25T22:23:00.001-07:00

So, my broken foot. It's slowly getting better. It's progressed from "painful all the time" to "painful when I put any weight on it" to "painful occasionally" to "uncomfortable occasionally." I'd say that's progress. Hopefully I'll be out of the boot next week, but it may be longer still.

Oh, I posted earlier about the concert that's happening at my house. Well, as it turns out, I suck at writing music, and won't be able to write an actual decent song until I write, let's say, two dozen crappy ones first. So I'd better get to that. Needless to say, I won't be performing anything at this concert. The last song that I wrote that's actually good I composed in 2001.

Oh snap!

2010-04-13T22:13:00.001-07:00

I almost made it to age 30 without breaking a bone.

Almost.

Last Wednesday, I rode my bike to work, as I am wont to do. Owing to the fact that A) It was raining in the evening and B) I am a big sissy, I decided to bus home instead of biking. I made my way to the Pioneer Square bus tunnel station and saw my bus arrive (the 76 in this case). I stepped off the curb to place my bike on the rack, and for some reason miscalculated my landing.

As soon as my foot hit the ground in an awkward position, I knew this was going to hurt for several days. Fortunately, I was able to load my bike on the rack, ride the bus back to Wedgwood, and get home safely. My foot continued to hurt for the next two days, and since my previous foot injury several years ago had improved much faster than this, I decided to go to the ER to get it looked at.

As it turns out, my fifth metatarsal bone in my right foot is in fact broken. I am now in a special shoe, using crutches, and taking vicodin. I don't like the crutches, but hopefully I won't need them for long. The real bummer is I won't be able to bike for a while.

The interesting thing about crutches is how you suddenly depend a lot more on people helping you out. I can not go to the Starbucks machine to retrieve my precious hot chocolate unless somebody carries it for me, I have a hard time opening doors on my own, and getting on and off the bus is a real hassle (I turn down any offers to extend the mechanical ramp, however - I still have my pride).

Also, while I have noticed that people aggressively avoid each other on the bus, it doubles when you are a cripple. At one point, the last open seat on the bus was right next to me, and nobody wanted to take it - there were people standing who wouldn't take the seat. Really, my company is not THAT unpleasant! And broken bones are not contagious!

I hope to be off the crutches as soon as possible, and with luck I'll be back on my bike soon.

This is what I post when I should be in bed

2010-03-30T23:47:00.000-07:00

So after being out for the majority of the evening, I realized to my chagrin that my laundry was still in the washer when I got home. Since this laundry includes my bedding, I can't get any sleep until it's done from the dryer.

So, I'm sitting here wondering what to blog about, and I realized that not everybody who reads this blog has the dubious benefit of seeing me on a regular basis. So I'll post a little bit about my life here in Seattle, starting by talking about a few of my friends.

First, there's Layne. I met Layne before I moved up here, when I was checking out the ward and finding places to live. Layne shares my interest in computers and geeky things, no surprise considering he was a computer science major as well. Layne is very large. I am about the size of one of his calves, and he could probably eat me if he decided I would provide him nutritional value. Thankfully, Layne is a very nice guy and would never do such a thing. Layne also grows a magnificent beard, which was later discovered to be the only man-made object visible from space.

Then there's Laird. Laird and I were almost certainly separated at birth, even though I am approximately ten months older than he is. I'm still working on solving that little discrepancy. Individually, Laird and I are accomplished, intelligent men of diverse and discriminating tastes, but whenever we get together we immediately transform into a pair of easily amused teenagers. Laird is my ski buddy, biking partner, occasional home teaching companion, vaudeville counterpart and color commentator - the Joe Morgan to my Jon Miller, if you will. Laird and I eventually plan to start our own movie review show, entitled "How Bad Was It?"

The last person I will talk about is Patrick. Patrick and I have been roommates for seven months, but it really feels like it's been seven months. Patrick is extremely opinionated on the matter of music and cinema, to the point that he maintains a list of film directors who are not permitted to enter our house. Michael Bay was very disappointed to learn that he will not be invited to my birthday party as a result of this. Patrick spends much of his time playing his guitar, and someday hopes to discover the Ultimate Riff.

So there you have it...three of the people with whom I hang out here in Seattle. Perhaps I shall continue this series of posts while made in a state of semi-consciousness in the future.

Music

2010-03-29T00:22:00.000-07:00

So apparently my roommates Rocky and Hollis are planning on doing a concert at our house next month, and I will be contributing.

Allow me to provide some background. Back when I was a teenager, I got into the mod music scene and wrote about 75 songs from the time I was 15 until just after my 19th birthday. After my mission, I didn't do much more composing, only having written two songs since returning, both in summer break between college semesters. None of them had lyrics and most of them were 100% synthesized, except for a couple songs where I recorded my own samples on real instruments and used them.

So now I might be writing a song to perform live for this concert. I have a month to get it done. I'm going to shoot for eight minutes long or thereabout, with a backing track providing most of the instrumentation. I will sing and play the violin live.

As for the style of the song, I'm not totally sure yet. Since I don't have the skill with real instruments or a great ability to record, it will be mostly synthesized. Right now what I'm envisioning involves the use of pipe organs and a mix of percussion instruments (standard drum set, but also xylophone and bells).

The only problem I'm running into is that the way the song is going in my head, it's probably going to end up sounding cheesy and overblown. But that's not so bad, is it?

Possibilities

2010-03-22T09:56:00.000-07:00

This Thursday, I will be giving a presentation to a group of computer science students from BYU-Idaho, telling them about careers at Microsoft.

If you weren't aware, BYU-I is my alma mater. I graduated five years ago with a BS in computer science.

Now, it is my great opportunity to mold their young minds into my own image by impressing upon them the values of agility, extreme programming, and test driven development. Of course, given that I may seek to be employed at other teams within Microsoft in the future, I probably shouldn't bash the waterfall model too much.

Also, I hope my adviser is with them.

Spring

2010-03-21T17:56:00.001-07:00

A well-kept secret of western Washington is its weather. I've noticed that outside of the Pacific Northwest, Washington has a reputation of being very rainy. In some ways, this reputation is deserved: it is overcast for the majority of the fall and winter, and there is usually a constant nagging drizzle. We do not usually get heavy downpours.

This is the time of year, however, that makes me love this part of the country. For six months of the year, the weather is usually warm, sunny and pleasant. Occasionally we get heat waves during the summer, but they're nothing you can't handle. And better yet, in late May, berry season begins, and you know what that means.

That's right...berry pie. And strawberry shortcake. And berry puddings. And many other things I can think of that involve berries.

So yes, spring and summer in western Washington is a beautiful thing. I'm glad it's here again.

Training

2010-03-15T23:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, I think I may have found a good training loop for hill climbs.

I used to live on 95th street, near the bottom of a long, steep hill. Tonight, I rode my bike through a narrow, windy, wooded street to the bottom of said hill* to a friends house, where a group of us hung out and played some card games for a bit.

Afterward, I got on my bike to go home, and rode up the hill, and thought, "Why don't I just sprint all the way to the top of the hill?"

So, I did it, and it was intense. It might be just the hill I need for training.

In fact, let me map it for you.

*Riding down this street is awesome.

30

2010-03-14T00:04:00.001-08:00

When I turned 29 last year, I couldn't help but panic over the inevitable milestone that was a year away: turning over that first digit in my age and becoming the dreaded 30.

I'm not 30 yet, but the coming day doesn't worry me nearly as much as it did when I turned 29.

I had a conversation with a co-worker earlier this year, who was lamenting the fact that he is turning 30 this year. At first I was surprised that he and I were the same age - I would have pegged him for 35 or so (by contrast I'm often told that I look a few years younger than I actually am - I only mention that because I'm bragging about my youthful appearance). But what really stuck out to me was how downtrodden he seemed. I still worry about my own aging sometimes, but I have resolved to only have a good attitude about it (if I must have an attitude about it). So far, it's working.

I'm still 29 for a couple months more, but as the imminent arrival of my thirtieth birthday has inched nearer, the more at ease I am about it. Age is, after all, just a number. And when 30 comes, I won't be grouchy, upset or depressed about it - just feeling happy and fortunate to have had all the experiences I've had in my life in a mere 30 years.

March update

2010-03-13T00:22:00.000-08:00

I realize it's been over ten days since my last entry, and the three people who read my blog are probably wondering what's going on. I have no justifiable reason for neglecting to post, and thus I will give an unjustifiable reason instead: I was pining for the fjords!

So, what's new? A few things...

I finally met my new nephew, Uriah Gregory Nadeau on Sunday. Like most babies, he resembles Walter Matthau at this stage, but he'll grow out of that phase (all babies do, except for one). Also, it's always fun to watch kids master such concepts as "crawling," "being cute" and "doing things" over the first few years of their lives, and I expect no less from baby Riah.

My bike commuting has continued unabated. Of ten commutes in the month of March so far, eight of them have been by bike, the other two by bus. Given that the weather wasn't particularly good this week and it's still pretty cold, I consider this a victory over whatever abstract villain bikers seek victory over.

I continue to find opportunities to go out and do karaoke, usually with my friends Judith and Rachel. While I occasionally branch out into styles of songs I typically don't sing (recently including the Boomtown Rats and Bob Marley) my favorite songs generally fall into the classic rock bucket. Maybe one of these days I should surprise everyone and bust out some Carrie Underwood.

Tomorrow will be a busy day for me: Service project at DI, bike expo, grocery shopping, and capping off the day by seeing Falstaff at the Seattle Opera. Sunday is Pi Day, and I plan to celebrate by making pie.

Light Rail

2010-03-02T12:24:00.001-08:00

I watched part of a live stream of the Bellevue City Council two nights ago. Today, I have a concussion from the number of times I banged my head on my desk in frustration.

The discussion was the alignment of the South Bellevue segment of the forthcming East Link light rail, approved by voters in 2008. The options: The B3 alignment serving the South Bellevue Park and Ride and travelling to downtown along Bellevue Way, or the B7, going through the Mercer Slough and north along 118th using the BNSF corridor.

Full disclosure: I believe B3 to be the superior alignment because it serves more people, has less environmental impact, and will be easier to connect to downtown Bellevue.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter what the city council chooses, as Sound Transit has the final say in which alignment they go with.

Here are a few of the lowlights:

The majority of the discussion was not over which alignment they prefer, but how to word a letter to Sound Transit stating that they prefer the B7 alignment (favored by the council by a 4-3 margin).
Deputy Mayor Conrad Lee gave a long rambling monologue, in which he claimed to be the biggest supporter of transit but said they shouldn't build transit lines in already congested areas like Bellevue Way. What's the alternative, then? Build transit lines in places where fewer people will benefit from it?
Mayor Don Davidson seems to think an acceptable compromise is to build a stub-end station at the South Bellevue Park and Ride. This would involve the train arriving at the station and reversing directions. Has he even consulted an engineer about this ludicrous and inefficient idea?
Claudia Balducci, a supporter of B3, was the only one who seemed to have any interest in building the best possible transit system. The supporters of B7 only ever talked about how their preferred alignment mitigated impact, and never mentioned why it was the best alignment for building an effective rail line.

Ugh. Bellevue. What a pit of voles.

Clean Room

2010-03-01T12:12:00.000-08:00

On Friday, I did something I have needed to do for a long time. I successfully finished my room cleaning project.

It's basically been a disaster since I've moved in, on account of A) owning too much stuff, and B) being kinda lazy when it comes to having a clean room.

The problem is, having a cluttered room added an unnecessary level of stress to my life. It's amazing how much calm and productive I am when my floor is clear. As an added bonus, I even figured out how to get the extension cord out of the way (the outlet my desk is closest to doesn't work, so I have to run an extension cord to get power to my computer), by running it around the perimeter of the room instead of right down the middle.

It's taken some adjusting - when I get up in the morning, I find myself still trying to step over things as I make my way out of the room, when there is, in fact, nothing to step over.

The real challenge is going to be in keeping it clean. We'll see how that goes.

Predictable

2010-02-26T10:55:00.000-08:00

I think my blog is becoming a bit predictable. I'll have to take a closer look at my topics, but off the top of my head my subject matter is broken down thusly:

65% of my blog posts are about biking.
35% of my blog posts are about music.
10% of my blog posts are about other stuff.*

So hopefully you all like biking and music, because that seems to be what I talk about most. Maybe I'll throw some cooking into the mix.

*When I blog, I give 110%

Bicycle Race

2010-02-25T23:40:00.000-08:00

I had to wake up early this morning to get to a Friends of Scouting breakfast (more on that in a different post), and I decided to take my bike. However, I was cutting it a bit close and figured it would be faster to bus in to work, and then bike home in the evening.

Unfortunately, after I had showered and shaved, I noticed I had five minutes to get ready and go. I furiously put on my clothes*, gathered my things, and got my bike out, but missed the bus by about thirty seconds. I raced down 35th to catch it, but nobody was getting on or off it, so there was no way I could catch it.

At this point I was over a half mile away from home, so I decided to just ride the rest of the way to downtown. I did my usual trek through the U-District, across the bridge, down Eastlake and onto Stewart, when I saw the very bus that I had missed not far from the convention center.

Unfortunately, the convention center was my destination, so it would have done me no good to get on the bus. Although maybe I could have poked my head in the door and declared victory to the driver.

*This is not an exception to the norm. I usually clothe myself quite furiously.

Perspective

2010-02-25T11:37:00.000-08:00

I just realized today that in my 29 years, only two thirds of my life have been spent living in the United States.

That kind of blew my mind. It feels like longer (probably because the majority of my years living abroad happened in my childhood).

Here Comes the Rain Again

2010-02-23T23:22:00.000-08:00

When it comes to biking to work, there are times when I only go once or twice a week by bike, and take the bus the rest of the time. There are other times, however, where I really get on a roll* and bike every day for a week, or nine out of ten days in two weeks. This wouldn't be a huge deal during the summer, when there is rarely an excuse for me to not be biking, but this is February. I've commuted to work by bike about a dozen times in February. This is a big deal.

The remainder of this week will be a test of my resolve. Our early spring weather has all but disappeared, and it's going to be cold, gray and rainy for the rest of the week. In other words, a typical Washington February.

The question is, can I keep it up? Will I continue to ride my bike in spite of the conditions?

Since my rain / cold weather biking gear is somewhat lacking, I'm thinking the answer is "probably not." But you never know how I'm feeling when I wake up and get ready to go to work. I might just be crazy enough to ride out in the rain...depending on how hard it's raining.

Of course, regardless of temperature, it's no fun to ride during a downpour. I experienced that last summer, and came home sopping wet. I DID get a stronger sense of self-righteousness out of the ordeal, however, so I can't say I didn't gain anything from it.

*Ha! It's a pun! Get it?

Ain't No Grave

2010-02-23T21:31:00.001-08:00

I just acquired the latest Johnny Cash album, American VI: Ain't No Grave. Yeah, that's right, a new Johnny Cash album in spite of the fact that he's been dead for several years now.

I've only listened to a couple of songs now, currently listening to Redemption Day. And it's awesome. I'm only two songs in, but I'm already a fan of this album. There's something about the American recordings - they achieved a different tone to them than Cash's early work. I can't hear the music without thinking of the inevitability of death. Depressing? Maybe a little, but it makes for great music.

So in short, I like this album. You should check it out.

Early Spring

2010-02-21T13:13:00.000-08:00

It's a beautiful, sunny Sunday, with unseasonably warm weather. What am I doing inside?

Posting on my blog immediately before going out for a bike ride, of course.

Friends

2010-02-20T22:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I received a friend request on facebook from somebody named Clyde Natividad. I don't know anybody by that name, and in spite of the masculine name "Clyde," the person's photo was that of a buxom woman. We had no friends in common (in fact, at the time, she had exactly one friend), and so I decided to approve the request.

I did, however, leave the request open for a few hours to see how many people would click the "confirm" button for miss Natividad. After several hours, 31 people had confirmed that they are in fact friends with Clyde. Curiously, they were all male.

So basically, this person sends out a ton of friend requests, and a bunch of men saw the request and said "Duh, girl pretty" and clicked confirm, thus granting her access to any personal information they've put up there (if it wasn't visible to the general public already). I'm sure nobody has put, say, their social security or bank account number up there (at least, I hope they haven't), but there IS a lot of personal information that people are putting up on facebook, that perhaps they should not let random people see.

At any rate, I would advise against friending Clyde.

Shine On

2010-02-14T14:53:00.000-08:00

Right now I have about a million things going on inside my head, but no idea how to adequately express them into words.

I suppose this is the biggest challenge of self expression - the translation from the mind to a physical medium (if digitized words on the internet can be considered physical). Although in this case, the problem is really deciding what to express, rather than how to express it.

So what that amounts to is I am sitting at my desktop, writing about not knowing what to write about.

While listening to Pink Floyd.

So I guess the point of this post is, I like Pink Floyd.

A Huge Waste of Time

2010-02-10T10:59:00.000-08:00

I've grown less and less interested in television over the years, to the point that I hardly ever watch it anymore. I first started disliking it when I was a missionary in Argentina, and realized how much of a time waster and distraction it was (incidentally, I probably saw more MTV as a missionary in Argentina than the rest of my life combined). While there are certainly huge time wasters in my life (Hi, internet!), I'm glad TV is one that really isn't a factor anymore.

So, after some discussion, my roommates and I decided we no longer needed our cable service. It is now gone. How much do I miss it? Well, it was disconnected on Sunday and I didn't even remember that had happened until yesterday.

True, I'll miss a few nationally televised Sounders games this year, and I'll need to go to a friend's house to watch World Cup matches (Ken, I'm looking in your direction), but for the most part I am not going to miss cable at all. For the few times that I actually want to watch TV, network channels should do just fine.

Cell Phones

2010-02-08T12:08:00.000-08:00

Cyclists are often subject to the ire of drivers - I know many people who have commented on how annoyed they are by cyclists while driving their car on the streets.

Sometimes the complaints are justified. There are bikers who flagrantly violate the rules of the road from time to time, often putting themselves and others in danger, and needlessly annoying other users of the road. I admit that while I consider myself law-abiding for the most part, sometimes the temptation to split traffic and zip ahead of everybody waiting for the light to change is too great. Hey, when you're on a small vehicle that can do that sort of thing, sometimes you just have to get ahead. I usually don't do this, however (I would actually switch to using the sidewalk in most cases, and yes, this is legal).

However, there is one safety violation that I consider to be unforgivable while biking, and that's riding while talking on a cell phone. On Saturday, when I was riding with Ken, we were riding single-file close together somewhere between Kenmore and Woodinville. There was a slower rider, and we moved to pass her. There was also an oncoming rider, but there was plenty of space for us to safely pass without getting in the oncoming rider's way.

There was another rider behind him, however, and he was way out in the middle of the path, where he should not have been, and it was apparent that he was not going to move. Ken hit his brakes, and I hit mine. Had we not reacted sooner we would have had a three-bike collision with the lady we were passing. Ken yelled at the offending rider - I didn't get a good look at him, but he appeared to have been adjusting his helmet straps. Ken told me that wasn't what he was doing. He was on a cell phone.

Seriously.

I don't know why one needs to be so connected that they talk on their cell phone while biking. It is so easy to pull over and get out of the way, rather than put himself and others in danger.

Thankfully, there was no accident, and Ken and I stayed on our bikes (I fell off my bike in comical fashion about an hour later, however).

I like cell phones and all, but we should never neglect common sense when using them.

I Am Not a Gun

2010-02-07T23:38:00.001-08:00

I really can't emphasize enough how much I like The Iron Giant. It's just a delightful film.

There's a certain artistry to traditional animation that is lost with 3d computer animation. You notice this particularly in the backgrounds - the forest scenes in The Iron Giant, for example, are not nearly as detailed as what you could achieve with 3d renderings, but I think they are much more interesting to look at.

At any rate, if you have not seen this movie, I would highly recommend it.

I am what I play

2010-02-07T15:30:00.000-08:00

Last night was my first experience as a DJ...karaoke DJ, to be specific. A week ago, Laird asked me to put together the karaoke rig for a joint birthday party for him and Jon Cox. My roommates and I put together our system involving my computer, software and songs, Rocky's speakers, Layne's microphones, and went over to Laird's house where we used his TV as the monitor.

It was a rollicking success, with a few caveats. Everybody had a good time, a lot of songs were sung, and we lasted well into the evening. A few of the popular numbers included Jon Cox leading a rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody, me and Layne giving it our all in Under Pressure, Rachel doing her signature 99 Problems, and Laird burning down the house with Burning Down the House.

Oh, I also sang Love Stinks, which was way fun - lots of audience participation!

For next time, I'm hoping to make it easier for people to sign up for songs, which was the one thing that I think didn't work out too well. I also need to organize the song library and prune some of the songs that have duplicates.

On the whole, a successful evening. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to practice some Beastie Boys for the next time.

Biking update

2010-02-05T11:59:00.001-08:00

I rode my bike to work four out of five days this week. I registered for STP on Monday, and rode every day since then. I may or may not go on a bike ride tomorrow.

Given that it's still rather chilly out there and it's been a bit wet, I consider this a pretty good achievement. I've been riding my hybrid, which is better suited for commuting to work - a bit more comfortable for short rides, and has a luggage rack so I don't need a backpack.

Let's see if I can keep this up next week!

On days like these...

2010-02-04T22:46:00.001-08:00

I'm usually what I would consider to be a fairly upbeat guy. But there are some days when you're down in the dumps that you have to rely on a good friend to pick yourself up.

Today was a really rotten day for me in many ways. But it ended much better than it started.

I've been through depression before, and I would not have been able to overcome it without the support of family and friends. Nowadays, whenever I have a hard day, it's wonderful to have people upon whom I can rely to help me through it, because I could not do it alone.

So, to all those who have extended a hand of friendship to me in the past, or are extending it to me now, I'd just like to say that I am eternally grateful to you.

Seattle to Portland

2010-02-01T12:31:00.000-08:00

I am now registered for my second Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic, and this time, I intend to finish it.

Last year our attempt was beset with mechanical problems and illness, and we didn't finish. Hopefully we won't have the same problems this year.

My training plan begins this month, as I start riding my bike to work on a regular basis once again. I will only use my hybrid to ride to work, which will provide me about 18 miles per day on a heavier bike than the one I will attempt on STP. I may use the hybrid for the actual training rides with my team, but only early on (need to make sure my body's accustomed to the road bike).

I need to get both bikes cleaned and tuned up, especially getting some adjustments to the derailleurs. I'm interested in picking up a new saddle for the road bike, and maybe some new bike clothing - but for the most part I'm ready to get started with training.

The War on Clutter

2010-01-29T09:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I fired my first salvo in the war on clutter. I have a sizeable DVD collection, and I decided to take the DVDs and sleeve them into binders. I then took about 80 of the cases, stored the covers in a binder, and gave away the empty cases. The cases that I didn't give away are stored in boxes in the basement now.

This is all a part of an effort to reduce clutter in my room and make my life a bit more manageable. There is much, much more to be done, but this is a good start. Maybe by the time I move out* my room will be clean.

I'm thinking the next thing I will get rid of will be my DDR dance pads (have not used them in about two years) but those are going up on Craigslist, not Freecycle.

*Not anytime soon.

Lying on the Floor

2010-01-28T19:16:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, my friend Rachel asked me "If you had a montage of your life's highlights, what song would it be set to?"

I thought about this for a while and couldn't give an answer right away. My musical tastes are squarely in the Rock and Roll camp, my favorites including Led Zeppelin, David Bowie and Pink Floyd. As a teenager, I listened to a lot of Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Live, and whatever else they were playing on The End in those days.

It would have to be a song that fit my own personality (I'm not sure how everybody else sees me, but I see myself as a fairly easygoing guy with a couple of personality quirks). The events in my life range from the kind of things people usually have (first steps, moving, first kiss, high school, graduation) to the inspiring (serving as a missionary, witnessing the fall of the Berlin Wall) to the odd (random things my friends and I did in high school - I'd best not go into details).

I suddenly realized sometime today that the perfect song for such a thing is none other than Weezer's "Undone," also known as "The Sweater Song." I probably identified better with Weezer than any other band as a teenager, and "Undone" perfectly showcases their musical style and off-beat lyrics. It's a pretty popular song, to be sure, but it was one of my favorites from the 90's (right up there with "Daughter" by Pearl Jam).

Incidentally, if I were to create such a montage, I would probably end it when I got my hair cut in college, forever losing my signature hair helmet* that I wore through most of my life. This was, I think, the definitive end to my teenage years (even though I was still 18 at the time). A lot of interesting stuff has happened in my life since then, but that would seem the fitting place to end it.

*If you think my hair is helmet-like now, you should have seen it back then. Trust me.

A Garden of Pure Idealogy

2010-01-28T12:34:00.000-08:00

It was impossible to avoid news about Apple's latest wonderful gadget that will solve all our problems, as much as I wanted to. As those who know me will attest, I am no fan of Apple, and while I do own an iPod, I have no interest in buying any further Apple products than that.

There is something that seriously bothers me about the iPad. You can only install software on it from the App Store, meaning you cannot install software that is not subject to approval by Apple. Likewise, if you want to develop software, nobody can install it without Apple's approval first. If I am buying a computer, I want to be able to install whatever software I want, from wherever I want - this is not possible with the iPad.

Which is why I find it funny that Apple products / Macintosh computers have the reputation of being non-conformist and intended for "free thinkers." Apple's own advertisements, particularly the famous 1984 ad, made this claim. Given the tight control that Apple places over its products, however, I don't think they resemble the plucky hammer thrower as much as they think they do.

Ultimately, I don't think the iPad will be successful, and I don't think we'll be seeing the App Store model of software distribution adopted anytime soon. And even if that does happen, we can at least take comfort in the fact that we can install whatever software we want on our Windows PCs.

And Linux, too, I suppose. But the cult of Linux is even scarier than the cult of Apple.

The Fine Arts

2010-01-25T08:34:00.000-08:00

My friend Cherilyn plays the violin, and performs with a local symphony called the Seattle Philharmonic. I was invited to attend a concert yesterday, which I did, and enjoyed the performance quite a bit.

It was, however, not without incident.

First, in a performance of Maazel's "The Giving Tree," the narrator attempted to speak, but discovered that the microphone was turned off. The orchestra had to stop, the conductor briefly walked offstage, and then he walked back and started over. This time the microphone worked.

The second incident occurred while the orchestra was performing Dvorak's 7th symphony, 3rd movement. An audience member had a baby and a toddler. The toddler, being adventurous, managed to escape her and climbed the stairs onto the stage. She then gleefully walked across the stage, turned around, and ran back to her awaiting guardian. My reaction was halfway between horror and "Aww, that's adorable."

Other than that, the performance went off without a hitch, and I had a good time watching it.

Songs I Like: "If This is a Plan" by the Delgados

2010-01-22T16:57:00.000-08:00

The Delgados are a Scottish indie rock band to whom I was introduced while watching Gunslinger Girl, their song The Light Before We Land* was its opening theme song. I liked the song enough that I decided to buy the album it came from. The album's title? Hate. Looks like it's depressing lyrics time!

The album itself is pretty well done, and I like how guitar itself is not the primary instrument - instead, it's guitar blended with strings and piano. Most songs on the album feature an overdriven blow-out-the-speakers sound, and all of them are melancholy.

If This is a Plan is a good song to hear if you want to get a feel for their sound. The lyrics are dark, the chorus is appropriately overblown, and the strings and piano (and flute!) are out in full force. The only strange thing about this song to me is the chiming guitar part right before each chorus: it reminds me of the Mormon hymn "Love One Another." An odd juxtaposition, to be sure.

*It is itself an awesome song, which I may feature at some point in the future

Where are my internets?

2010-01-22T08:28:00.000-08:00

Every now and then, I have an experience that reminds me that the internet is kind of wasting my time.

Last week, while on the cruise, I knew I would be out of communication the entire time, and so I brought some books and a notebook along. I did a lot of reading, and spent even more time than that writing. In fact, I probably wrote more in that week than all of last year.

Normally when I'm at loose ends and need something to entertain me, I slouch into my chair and load up facebook, or read the news, or go check out what's being discussed on BigSoccer, or whatever. When I deprive myself of that connection, I turn to creative outlets to keep myself busy.

The last time I had an experience like this was when I went backpacking last summer, also a great experience. The difference that time being that I didn't have any technology of any kind, just the outdoors, a few friends, and my imagination.

I do love many things that technology and online communication bring us, but I think it's good to go offline every now and then to focus on other things.

Creature Comforts

2010-01-20T07:46:00.000-08:00

There were a couple of things that I was looking forward to coming back to, and that I always miss when I'm on vacation: my shower and my bed.

The shower's not that big of a deal, I like hot showers and you don't quite get those when you're in a hotel / on a cruise ship. But I'm only in the shower for about ten minutes, so the quality of the shower does not have a huge effect on my happiness.

The bed is another story. I'm in my bed anywhere between 6-8 hours of the day*, which is a pretty healthy chunk of time. I'm also a light sleeper: it takes me a while to get to sleep, and that is compounded when the bed or pillow is uncomfortable, or there is a source of noise that I don't usually have around. During the trip, it took me at least an hour to fall asleep, every night - both on the ship and in the hotel.

So as you can imagine, snuggling into my down comforter and resting my head on my good memory foam pillow in my completely silent room was, in a word, blissful.

*Somebody once asked me "Doesn't it depress you to think that you're wasting over a quarter of your lifetime by being in bed, sleeping?" My response was "That doesn't sound so bad."

Home

2010-01-19T22:46:00.000-08:00

I arrived at Sea-Tac a few hours ago, and I did the natural thing that one does after arriving home on a 2000 mile plane ride across the United States: I went to a dance party.

I definitely missed being with my friends while away, so tonight was a nice welcome home, even if it wasn't supposed to be a welcome home (it happened to coincide with my return - these 45 minute weeknight dance parties are a regular thing here in Seattle).

As I said before, the vacation was great but it's good to be home. Now I face the prospect of starting work up again and returning to the monstrous task of cleaning my room.

Oh right, pictures! I'll post them when I get around to it, in the next few days or so.

Vacation

2010-01-18T20:35:00.000-08:00

My vacation is reaching its imminent end, tomorrow I fly from New Orleans to Cincinnati to Seattle.

It was a grand trip, and I enjoyed taking some time off and seeing new parts of the world. I climbed Mayan ruins, set foot on a country that's new to me (Guatemala) and went snorkeling in Cozumel. And I ate lots and lots of gourmet food.

I never really get the "end of vacation blues" like some people get. While I love travel and I love taking time off, I also value structure and routine in my life, which is why I actually look forward (kinda) to getting back to my real life. I'm sure I will regret saying this in two days or so.

Plus, being separated from my social life for over a week is putting me into withdrawals. I like cruising, but one aspect of it that I don't like is the fact that there's hardly anybody my age on the ship that I can hang out with.

That being said, it was an awesome vacation, and I will recount it in more detail after I return home (with pictures!).

On the Road

2010-01-09T20:47:00.000-08:00

I'm currently in New Orleans, about to depart for a 7 day cruise to Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. We will make it to the boat tomorrow and enjoy a leisurely week of luxury (I'm with my bro and parents).

Before you all panic wondering what you're going to do without my blogging for the next week, set your minds at ease. I will provide you with an image so insightful, you will have plenty to discuss among yourselves until I return. Here it is:

See you when I get back, everyone!

On facebook and undergarments

2010-01-08T12:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, many people witnessed a phenomenon on facebook in which their friends, mostly females, posted a color as their status update. For example, our friend Olga Bonemarrow may have posted the following:

Olga Bonemarrow white

So, what did this all mean? I found out that girls were posting their color of their undergarments to raise awareness of breast cancer. I was vaguely amused at first, but the more I thought about it the more I disliked it.

What happens is that I don't think a stunt like this is really effective at what it does. For one thing, we're already pretty aware of breast cancer, in fact, I'd say we're more aware of it than any other form of cancer. What about other types? My grandmother died of brain cancer, which struck suddenly and swiftly. And how about skin cancer, the most common type of the disease? Are males going to post what's on our boxer shorts when the time comes for prostate cancer awareness?

And, dare I say it, are we aware of lung cancer? Of course not, because as we all know, the only people who get lung cancer deserve everything they get because you can only get it due to vice.*

The other thing is, awareness only does so much, and I don't think any of the awareness generated by this stunt will translate into action. If people truly want to do something about this, as a friend of mine said, volunteer at Cancer Care Alliance or donate money to cancer research. Posting your bra color will do little more than elicit snickers.

If you care about getting something done about breast cancer, doing something easy like posting a facebook status will accomplish next to nothing. The amount of sacrifice you put into making a difference shows your true commitment.

*Note: This is not true.

Songs I Like: "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder / Stevie Ray Vaughan

2010-01-06T11:59:00.001-08:00

For this edition of Songs I Like, you get not one, but two videos!

First, Stevie Wonder singing Superstition on Sesame Street. I don't know if the kids realized the greatness they were seeing and hearing. Well, one of the kids was really getting into it, at least.

Then, Stevie Ray Vaughan's excellent cover. What do you get when you put a black cat and the greatest Stevies in music in the same video? You get awesome, that's what.

Work and Not Work

2010-01-05T19:03:00.001-08:00

Well, it's been a harrowing week already, and it's only Tuesday. I don't want to dwell too much on the topic of work, but I will say that my team bid farewell to our boss of the last three years or so. We all wished him well - the team I work for is one of the most effective teams I've witnessed, everybody likes working together, and our boss was a big part of making that possible. He'll be missed, and we wish him success at his new job.

I have three more days of work, and then I am off for a cruise in the Caribbean next week, and will not even be anywhere near thinking about work. Can't wait!

Songs I Like: "Strangers" by Yoko Kanno

2010-01-04T17:50:00.001-08:00

Yoko Kanno is a Japanese musician who has composed soundtracks for many animated TV series. Her works tend to be a cut above most of her contemporaries, with complex arrangements, songs done in multiple languages (including, but not limited to, English, Italian, Portuguese and Russian), and an unmistakable flair for the original. She also fronted a jazz / blues band called The Seatbelts.

I love most of Kanno's work,* but without a doubt, my favorite song of hers is Strangers, a beautiful piece from the Wolf's Rain soundtrack. The best part of this song is the trumpet, which reverberates through the background and sets the tone for the song from the very start.

Here's a recording I found on youtube.

*Even when her work seems awfully similar to more recognizable tunes, such as a piece from the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack that's a dead ringer for Pink Floyd's "On the Run."

A New Year

2010-01-02T21:31:00.000-08:00

I want to do something a bit different for my New Year's Resolutions. I am planning on only focusing on one thing that I want to accomplish by the end of the year, instead of setting many goals. It will be something different, and something I have never done before.

The trap I often fall into for New Year's Resolutions is that I get overambitious. Oftentimes the resolutions are for things I should be doing anyway, such as exercise, scriptural study, dating, career goals, being less of a jerk, and so on. The result of this is that I have way too many goals to keep track of, and I neglect them.

I decided this year that I will not set any goals on any of those topics. That's not to say they aren't important (in fact, they're probably more important than my actual resolution). But since those are things I always need to work on, I'll leave that to my weekly and monthly goal planning.

So, without further ado, my goal this year is to learn to play a new instrument. I already play the violin, and want to learn either piano or guitar. I'm leaning toward piano, since I think that will be more useful (male piano players are frequently needed in church -- think priesthood meetings, and I think learning piano would teach me more in general about music than guitar). I could attempt both.

I'm not sure how to measure this goal for the whole year, but I know how to measure it for the short term - find somebody who can teach me, find a place I can practice, and start learning. As I start to get into it, I think I'll get a clearer idea for what my goal for year end should be.

So let it be written! That's my goal for the year. I'm sure I will post on my progress throughout the year.

2009 was definitely that year I just lived in

2009-12-31T20:01:00.001-08:00

With the advent of 2010 upon us, I think it's time to reflect upon what happened in 2009. From a personal standpoint, here are the highlights of the year:

Rang in the New Year in Vienna, Austria after seeing the philharmonic perform
Participated in my first ever Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic (but didn't finish)
Went on an awesome backpacking trip in the Olympic mountains
Discovered that cooking oil is flammable
Said goodbye to one of my best friends, who moved out of the area
Survived a harrowing week of moving several people, including myself
Met several awesome friends who I hang out with on a regular basis now
Welcomed my parents home from their mission in Germany
Climbed, biked, hiked, and skied my way through probably my most outdoorsy year in my life.
Shaved my legs
For what may be the only time in my life, I got to see Laird Bennion with a look of sheer terror on his face (Note: not related to the previous item)

The most important thing I learned in 2009 was this: Anything that is worthwhile is worth taking a risk to get.

Witness the Whiteness

2009-12-31T12:15:00.000-08:00

I was thinking about the blog Stuff White People Like and came up with a theory: you can determine your level of whiteness based on the percentage of items that you like from Stuff White People Like.

The standard metric unit for whiteness is the Vanilli. I will be measuring my whiteness in one thousandths of this, or millivanillis.

A vanilli is defined as the whiteness of Dr. Niles Crane. If your whiteness is measure in one vanilli, you are as white as Niles Crane.

The formula for determining your whiteness in vanillis is (n-x) / n, where n is the total number of items on the list, and x is the number of items on the list you have crossed out.

I am being conservative with this list by only leaving in things that I genuinely like. If it's crossed out, I either dislike it or, in most cases, it's just something that's not as important.

Here is the list, with a few of my own notes.

#130 Ray-Ban Wayfarers
#129 Banksy
#128 Camping
#127 Where the Wild Things Are
#126 Vespa Scooters
#125 Bob Marley
#124 Hating People Who Wear Ed Hardy
#123 Mad Men
#122 Moleskine Notebooks
#121 Funny or Ironic Tattoos
#120 Taking a Year Off
#119 Sea Salt
#118 Ugly Sweater Parties
#117 Political Prisoners
#116 Black Music that Black People Don’t Listen to Anymore
#115 Promising to Learn a New Language
#114 America
#113 Halloween
#112 Hummus
#111 Pea Coats - I own a pea coat, in fact!
#110 Frisbee Sports
#109 The Onion
#108 Appearing to Enjoy Classical Music - I really do enjoy classical music, actually
#107 Self Aware Hip Hop References
#106 Facebook
#105 Unpaid Internships
#104 Girls with Bangs - I also like girls without bangs
#103 Sweaters
#102 Children’s Games as Adults - Is Super Mario Bros. a children's game?
#101 Being Offended
#100 Bumper Stickers
#99 Grammar
#98 The Ivy League
#97 Scarves
#96 New Balance Shoes
#95 Rugby
#94 Free Healthcare - Or at least making sure everybody has access to health coverage.
#93 Music Piracy
#92 Book Deals
#91 San Francisco
#90 Dinner Parties
#89 St. Patrick’s Day
#88 Having Gay Friends
#87 Outdoor Performance Clothes
#86 Shorts
#85 The Wire
#84 T-Shirts
#83 Bad Memories of High School - Though I really did enjoy high school
#82 Hating Corporations
#81 Graduate School
#80 The Idea of Soccer
#79 Modern Furniture
#78 Multilingual Children
#77 Musical Comedy
#76 Bottles of Water
#75 Threatening to Move to Canada
#74 Oscar Parties
#73 Gentrification
#72 Study Abroad
#71 Being the only white person around
#70 Difficult Breakups
#69 Mos Def
#68 Michel Gondry
#67 Standing Still at Concerts
#66 Divorce
#65 Co-Ed Sports
#64 Recycling
#63 Expensive Sandwiches
#62 Knowing What’s Best for Poor People
#61 Bicycles
#60 Toyota Prius - I wouldn't ever be caught driving one, however
#59 Natural Medicine
#58 Japan
#57 Juno
#56 Lawyers
#55 Apologies
#54 Kitchen Gadgets
#53 Dogs
#52 Sarah Silverman
#51 Living by the Water
#50 Irony
#49 Vintage
#48 Whole Foods and Grocery Co-ops
#47 Arts Degrees
#46 The Sunday New York Times
#45 Asian Fusion Food
#44 Public Radio
#43 Plays
#42 Sushi
#41 Indie Music
#40 Apple Products
#39 Netflix
#38 Arrested Development
#37 Renovations
#36 Breakfast Places
#35 The Daily Show/Colbert Report
#34 Architecture
#33 Marijuana
#32 Vegan/Vegetarianism
#31 Snowboarding
#30 Wrigley Field
#29 80s Night
#28 Not having a TV
#27 Marathons
#26 Manhattan (now Brooklyn too!)
#25 David Sedaris
#24 Wine
#23 Microbreweries
#22 Having Two Last Names
#21 Writers Workshops
#20 Being an expert on YOUR culture
#19 Traveling
#18 Awareness
#17 Hating their Parents
#16 Gifted Children
#15 Yoga
#14 Having Black Friends
#13 Tea
#12 Non-Profit Organizations
#11 Asian Girls
#10 Wes Anderson Movies
#9 Making you feel bad about not going outside
#8 Barack Obama
#7 Diversity
#6 Organic Food
#5 Farmer’s Markets
#4 Assists
#3 Film Festivals
#2 Religions their parents don’t belong to
#1 Coffee

I may need to tweak the list and come up with a more accurate measure of determining my whiteness, but as it stands, if we plug this into the formula, we get:

n = 130
x = 48

((130 - 48) / 130 ) * 1000 = 630.77 mV

A Conversation

2009-12-29T19:01:00.001-08:00

Today, I brought my car in for an emissions inspection, as is required every two years in King County. Afterward, the guy who did the inspection said goodbye in the following manner:

[him] Well, hope you make the most of this sunny day.

[me] Yep...it's a sunny day.*

[him] Sunny day...chasing the clouds away...

[me] (nervous laughter)

[him] Did you ever watch that show Sesame Street?

[me] Uh, yeah, when I was a kid...

He then proceeded to chat me up for about a minute about Sesame Street, naming the Count, specifically, as his favorite character. As soon as I could get a word in, I said "Well, I'd better be on my way" and took off to the wild blue yonder. And by the wild blue yonder, I mean the park and ride so I could catch the bus to work.

*Hey, I never said I was good at making small talk.

The Beard and I - A Tale of a Doomed Relationship

2009-12-28T20:53:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of November, my roommates decided to not shave for the rest of the month. For some inexplicable reason, I joined them.

Some background: I had never attempted facial hair before, aside from a feeble attempt at a goatee shortly after graduating college. I abandoned that quest after a week when I realized that (A) it didn't look very good and (B) goatees are for jerks.

So, I grew the beard. I did shave my neck, however. There's no way I'm growing a throatee. The beard came in nicely, although I realized I didn't have much facial hair on my cheeks. It was kind of scraggly and I didn't particularly like the upkeep on the beard - it was almost as much trouble as shaving. Not to mention the constant itchiness against my face. I did get some compliments on the beard, but then again, I got some compliments after I got rid of it, too.

So now the beard is gone. I think I'm going to stay clean-shaven from here on out. I personally didn't like how the beard looked, and I'm willing to put up with the trouble of shaving because it's preferable to the trouble of not shaving. And besides, while many consider beards to be manly, I take a particular kind of manly pride in the art of giving myself a clean, close shave.

And of course, this post is useless without pics, so here they are - the beard, and what I did in the process of shaving the beard.

Right before shaving.

Truly, goatees are for jerks.

Stick it in your ear, Le Fleur!

The stache.

I'm-a Borat!

It's Only Rock and Roll (But I Like It)

2009-12-28T12:14:00.000-08:00

I can't remember exactly when I developed my early tastes for music, but I can definitely remember when I started to listen to rock and roll. I couldn't have been any older than seven, and I may have been six - before my older brother left for college, he introduced me to Pink Floyd's album Dark Side of the Moon. I loved it, and I listened to it a lot. He later introduced me to the Beatles, which I also loved.

This created an interesting situation for me at school: at the time, when it came to music, Michael Jackson ruled over all. That's all my friends wanted to talk about. And Michael Jackson was okay, I thought, but Pink Floyd was much cooler. I once tried to play what I described as the coolest song ever for a friend ("Time"), which he didn't like. I guess the intro was too long for him.

I latched onto the big rock bands when I was a teenager, such as Pearl Jam and Weezer, and now in my twenties have become a huge fan of classic rock.

It fills my heart with joy to see my four-year-old nephew walking around singing rock songs like "Livin' on a Prayer," "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Under Pressure." I'll have to introduce him to the Beastie Boys at some point.

Zzzzz

2009-12-26T11:26:00.001-08:00

It seems every time I visit my parents' house, I get a good nine or ten hours of sleep every night.

This is a good thing.

Still dreaming of a white Christmas

2009-12-24T21:27:00.000-08:00

White Christmases seem to be the romantic ideal for this time of year, so I started to think, how many White Christmases have I ever experienced?

My memory is a bit hazy prior to the Berlin years (1989-1992). I'm fairly certain my Christmases in Garmisch were snowy, and that my Christmases in the first four years in Oly were not. I have no recollection of the Heidelberg Christmases, but my mother informs me that there was no snow. After moving back to the USA in 1985, we traveled to Logan, Utah for two Christmases, which I believe were snowy.

However, since then, I have only had one Christmas with any kind of snow. That would be 2007, when we got a light sprinkling of snow. None of it stuck to the ground, however. Apparently there was an abundance of snow last winter, but I was in Germany, and the part of Germany I was in...had no snow!

So, let's list these out:

1980, Heidelberg: No Snow
1981, Heidelberg: No Snow
1982, Garmisch: White Christmas
1983, Garmisch: White Christmas
1984, Garmisch: White Christmas
1985, Logan: White Christmas
1986, Logan: White Christmas
1987, Olympia: No Snow
1988, Olympia: No Snow
1989, Berlin: No Snow
1990, Berlin: No Snow
1991, Berlin: No Snow
1992, Olympia: No Snow
1993, Olympia: No Snow
1994, Olympia: No Snow
1995, Olympia: No Snow
1996, Olympia: No Snow
1997, Olympia: No Snow
1998, Olympia: No Snow
1999, Comodoro Rivadavia: It's Summer in Argentina
2000, Plottier: It's Summer in Argentina
2001, Olympia: No Snow
2002, Olympia: No Snow
2003, Olympia: No Snow
2004, Olympia: No Snow
2005, Olympia: No Snow
2006, Olympia: No Snow
2007, Olympia: Holy crap, a smattering of snow that didn't stick to the ground!
2008, Grafenwohr: No snow
2009, Olympia: No Snow

Dang, that's a lot of Christmases.

Xmas

2009-12-23T22:11:00.000-08:00

It's a strange feeling to be at my parents' house after they've retired to bed, with nobody else home. Like any other situation in which there's no people to talk to and no forms of amusement immediately at hand, I am forced to entertain myself with my own thoughts (which can be a scary prospect). Frequently, my thoughts turn to where I am in my life, and where I'd like to be in the future.

However, being the Christmas season, my thoughts are of course turned to Christmas. I've been thinking about the "war on Christmas," which has become a big debate in the last few years. Conservative Christians seem very offended by the fact that many organizations no longer wish people a Merry Christmas, but they now simply use the generic phrase "Happy Holidays."

I don't really see what the big deal is. We have a lot of cultures and religions represented in this country, and there are many celebrations that take place around the Winter Solstice. Whether it's Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Saturnalia* or Yule, somebody's celebrating something. Happy Holidays is a pretty easy way of including everybody in that statement. I don't see anything wrong with this because nobody's attempting to change your personal celebration of the season. In fact, frequently it's businesses saying Happy Holidays, for business reasons.

Of course, I don't really see why anybody would take offense at being wished a Merry Christmas, either. In fact, most people probably wouldn't. Christmas is the most popular of the solstice holidays and it's usually reasonable to assume that somebody is observing it. If they don't, I would hope they understand that there's nothing wrong with being wished a happy Christmas, even if you don't celebrate it. Yeah, I know, that's easy for me to say coming from a Christian perspective, and I'm trying hard to think of a situation where I'm on the receiving end - being a Mormon, maybe the closest equivalent is being offered alcohol when I'm a teetotaler?

So, after all my meandering observations, my point is that people need to relax and just enjoy the holidays for what they are. There's no reason to get irritated about whether it's PC to say your holiday by name, or get huffy because somebody assumed you celebrate one holiday and not the other.

'tis the season to not let yourself get ticked off!

And personally, I'm far more offended by the horrible, horrible pop renditions of popular Christmas tunes that are constantly being played on department store speakers.

*I am being needlessly clever.

Microsoft products

2009-12-21T22:32:00.001-08:00

Being a Microsoft employee, I am compelled to use our own products for the betterment of the company. I do this, to a point. If a Microsoft product meets or exceeds my minimum level of acceptability, I will use it, but if a far superior option is available, I will use that instead.

So, that raises the question, what Microsoft products do I use, and which ones do I eschew? Time to make a list!

Microsoft products I use

Windows 7
Office
Bing
Visual Studio (for home use as well as work)
Mesh

Microsoft products I don't use

Internet Explorer (I use Firefox)
Windows Mobile (I have an Android phone)
Virtual Server (Currently looking for a better VM player)
Zune (I have an iPod, although I'm trying to figure out if I can sync it with Windows Media Player instead of iTunes.**)

So as you can see, I "eat my own dogfood," but only when I consider the dogfood good enough to beat out the alternatives.

*Please note that I did not say "begs the question," as begging the question is a logical fallacy, not an occasion in which someone asks a question.

**I dislike iTunes.

Unsolicited technical support

2009-12-18T09:41:00.000-08:00

Attention Mac users:

Before asserting that one should use an Apple product to solve a problem, it would probably be a good idea to make sure that A) you understand what the problem is, and B) verify whether the problem was created by an Apple product.

If you cannot satisfy either of these, I'm not particularly interested in your technical expertise.

Sports sports sports sports

2009-12-14T22:49:00.001-08:00

Today I have become more interested in the Mariners - the possibility of getting Cliff Lee in a trade has almost made me believe that the Mariners can be contenders next season. If they add a big bat and maybe bring a couple positions up to the league average, they could be contenders.

I'll admit, ever since 2004 I've been disenchanted with the Mariners and baseball in general. This season, after attending many soccer games and a few baseball games, I realized I enjoyed the soccer games a lot more. I might even dare to say that soccer has replaced baseball as my favorite spectator sport.

I still like baseball, of course. But I like baseball and soccer for different reasons. Soccer is more fast-paced and has few breaks in the action. Baseball is much more slow and deliberate, and a lot less action-oriented. On TV, soccer is more fun to watch. On the radio, baseball is more fun to hear.

It's funny to note that for all the criticism I give to American football, baseball is an even bigger offender. Long pauses in the action? Frequent commercial breaks? Baseball has football beat on both fronts. And yet, I enjoy it more - I think one reason I like it more is the aforementioned superiority of baseball on the radio. If I'm listening to any sport on the radio, I'd pick baseball. I also love the numbers game. I'm a geek at heart, and there's no geek like a sports geek. Baseball is the ultimate geek sport, because there is a stat for everything. Soccer, being a more free-flowing game, has few stats that are worth looking into.

At any rate, consider me a lot more interested in following what is hopefully a successful season for the Seattle Mariners next year.

BEARDFACE

2009-11-27T19:57:00.000-08:00

I'm home for Thanksgiving Day, once again, and it's good to have mom and dad back this year (last year, they were off on their mission). Family dinners always seem so much more organized when my mom is spearheading them.

I brought a surprise home this year. No, not a girl, unfortunately, but I brought the next best thing: a beard! That's right, starting November 4, I started growing a beard for the first time in my life.

I got some amusing reactions. One of my nephews stared at me with his mouth agape. My mom and dad just looked at me and laughed. My older brother said, "I think your face is moldy."

I, for one, am actually not wild about the beard and will most likely shave it off, maybe even tomorrow. Maybe I'll give it another shot further down the road but as of right now I think I prefer being clean-shaven.

When Things Go Wrong

2009-11-16T23:37:00.001-08:00

On a day when nothing seems to go right, I like to listen to a song or two to pick myself up. Today, that song was Jessica by the Allman Brothers Band. It seemed to do the trick, at least temporarily.

Unfortunately, things got worse later on in the day, and I admit I was a bit of a grouch around the house this evening, even with guests over.

Maybe I should pick a different song next time.

Football, the Role-Playing Game

2009-11-11T19:58:00.001-08:00

Many people I know, both friends and co-workers, participate in the phenomenon known as Fantasy Football. Well, fantasy sports in general, but especially football. I have only attempted a fantasy sport once myself: baseball. I got sick of it after about a month - granted, perhaps it was due to the nature of baseball being played almost every day rather than weekly like football, but I got tired nonetheless.

A recent Penny Arcade cast fantasy football in a different light. You create a party of characters based on optimal stats. Every week, your party does battle, and depending on the outcome of their encounters, you either end your battle gloriously, or wallow in defeat. Yes, that's right: fantasy football is a role playing game. "They might as well call it Final Fantasy Football," as Gabe puts it.

The popularity of the game puts football in an interesting light: are we more concerned with the flow of the game itself, or the outcome? I tend to think it's the latter: you often hear people obsess more about statistics than the game itself (although I suppose that's okay in baseball, in which the game basically IS statistics). I think this is why I have become a fan of soccer. It's harder to quantify with numbers, to describe how a game went you have to talk more about the play itself rather than the numbers afterward, and of course, ties are considered acceptable. Yeah, I think that's a good thing.

Of course, the real reason might be the fact that there are far fewer commercials and breaks in play.

The Unwalled City

2009-11-09T17:11:00.001-08:00

November 8, 9 and 10 of 1989 were a few days of an emotional roller coaster ride for me. It all started on the 8th, with the death of Grandma Edith, my paternal grandmother. This being the first time I had lost a close family member, it hit me pretty hard.

The next day was different. I don't remember exactly where I was or what I was doing when I got the news, but I got the news nonetheless. East Germany was lifting travel restrictions for its citizens. In minutes, Berliners from east and west headed for the checkpoints and the Ku'Damm, and the border guards could not keep the East Berliners out. A mass of people flooded into the West, literally into the waiting arms of the West Berliners. Pandemonium ensued (but the good kind of pandemonium).

We did not go out on the night of the 9th, as we were still in mourning for grandma. My dad left for her funeral on the 10th. That night, my mom decided to take me and my siblings Kurt and Carolyn out.

We left our house in southern Zehlendorf and took the S-Bahn through Steglitz up to the city center. The train was packed, standing room only. We stayed on for the segment of the S-Bahn that went through the east, as it passed through the eerie abandoned Potsdamer Platz station. We got off in the West, and I'm not sure how which direction we walked, but we ended up just outside the Brandenburg Gate.

The festive atmosphere from the night before had died down. Now there were guards lining the top of the wall, and news vans from networks all over the world parked everywhere. Mom wanted us to see this to show how important an event this was not just to Germany, but to the entire world.

After that, we had to walk through Tiergarten to find a train station, which we eventually did. Mom was a bit worried about walking all the way through Tiergarten, but I wasn't particularly worried - I was having fun! We eventually caught the U-Bahn, I'm not sure which station it was, but I want to say it was Gleisdreick. After a few transfers, we found ourselves home. We didn't go to the Ku'Damm, probably because Mom didn't want to take three kids to a crowded shopping district.

A few days later, we found ourselves with hammers and chisels at the Steinstucken exclave of Berlin, chipping away at the wall and bringing home as many pieces as we could. We still have a box of pieces of the wall in our garage at home.

They were three incredible days. While I don't exactly remember the details of what happened (I was nine, give me a break!), I don't forget how it felt.

I look forward to writing about the twentieth anniversary of reunification day next year!

Divided Berlin

2009-11-09T12:43:00.001-08:00

Sometime in 1989, my parents started talking about a potential move. I don't know when the discussion started, but they eventually told the children that we might be moving back to Germany. We had already lived in Germany for five years - while I was born in Kansas, we moved to Germany shortly afterward and I spent my earliest years there. I was happy with our home in Washington, but being a military family I wasn't too surprised about having to move.

I knew we were going to Berlin, and I started to learn a few things about the city. Its role in World War II, the blockade, the Cold War, and of course, the wall. When we arrived in Berlin sometime in July, we went to see the wall in the American sector, near an apartment complex in Duppel where many Americans lived. The western side of the wall was covered in graffiti - some of it simple vandalism, some of it art - and there was a wooden observation tower for us to scale and look over to the eastern portion of the wall.

The image of looking over the wall was unforgettable even to my nine-year-old mind. The death strip was a stark, lonely strip of land, littered with tank barriers, ditches, and cordoned off by multiple fences, most of which had barbed wire over the top. On the other side of the wall, you could just see the small town of Kleinmachnow. There was a single guard tower in the middle of the death strip, and we could see two guards keeping watch. I waved at them, and one of the guards waved back.

In the first few months of living in Berlin, the realities of the divided city hit me. We went to Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate, and saw some of the memorials set up for those who died trying to escape into West Berlin. I saw the monument to the Berlin Airlift at Tempelhof Airport (and later, saw its corresponding monument in Frankfurt). And of course, we walked along the wall at Potsdamer Platz.

I was perhaps too young to truly understand all the context of the Cold War, and why the wall was there. But I was old enough to realize what an injustice it was, and what it stood for. I figured it would remain standing for the three years we were planning on living in Berlin, and that it would stay up for most of my life.

Twenty years ago today, that all changed.

Crustaceans

2009-11-08T10:05:00.001-08:00

Lately, my roommate Christian has had an obsession with crawdads. Some of the local lakes (Lake Union and Lake Washington) are supposedly teeming with them, and he had the idea of creating a trap to catch them. So, he bought some wire fencing and got to work, eventually creating three traps.

It's hard to describe how these traps look, but they're quite unusual. They are cylindrical, with a cone pointing inward on either end, and a suspended wire cube in the middle. When looking at the completed trap, I almost expected Carl Sagan to show up and begin using these traps to model the theory of a cylindrical universe (I would have been very surprised if he had shown up).

Last night, Christian and Stephanie laid the traps in Lake Union and waited a little over an hour. We returned to check on them and alas, no crawdads. Just a few bottom feeding fish and nothing else. Obviously some of the parameters of the crawdad hunt are going to need to change (perhaps leaving them in the water longer will do the trick, or using different bait).

Of course, crawdads are never going to help me fulfill my dream of having lobster rage fists, but they're a step in the right direction.

As I walk down the highway, all I do is sing this song

2009-11-06T17:48:00.001-08:00

Karaoke, as we all know, is awesome. Wednesday night, I had the opportunity to do some karaoke with a few friends, and a good time was had by all.

The funny thing about karaoke is how my favorite songs or favorite musicians may not always make great karaoke songs. For example, I love Pink Floyd, but most Pink Floyd songs aren't much fun for karaoke (given the fact that some of them are over twenty freakin' minutes long). On the flipside, some songs that I would rarely or never listen to on my own volition make surprisingly fun karaoke numbers.

The first time I ever sang karaoke was when I was 18, at a school activity. The song was "Pinball Wizard," which was appropriate given that I sang it with some friends who happened to be appearing in the all-city musical Tommy (I was the hawker, incidentally).

When my family and I went on a cruise back in December 2005, karaoke was a regular activity as well, and last year my brother created his own karaoke system, which turns out to be awesome. It is now a regular activity when I visit family once a month or so.

The key to enjoying karaoke (besides being drunk, of course, and as a teetotaler I am never in that situation) is to first pick a song that's fun to sing, and then just get up there and put everything you've got into it. Don't worry about looking ridiculous because EVERYBODY looks ridiculous doing it. The question is what kind of ridiculous you're going to be: awesome ridiculous, or embarrassing ridiculous? I prefer the former.

For the record, I sang two of my favorite karaoke songs (Sabotage and Born to Run), and one that I'd never done before (Out on the Tiles, which I didn't do a great job on - Zeppelin was not meant be sung an octave lower). When I'm with the family, Queen is usually a popular selection - my brother and I have a killer duet of Under Pressure, and the whole family joins in for Bohemian Rhapsody.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to practice for my rousing rendition of "Baby Got Back."

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

2009-11-06T13:42:00.001-08:00

After having worked in the building at 5th and Jackson in the International District for two years, my corporate superiors finally saw it fit to move me to a different location.

Four blocks away, in fact.

My new office is in Seattle's Pioneer Square district, a building I've worked in the past back in 2006. The building is nice, and it has a certain older charm to it than the relatively young 5th and Jackson had.

I have mixed feelings about the move. I like being closer to the teams with whom we coordinate, and a change of scenery can be nice. On the other hand, 5th and Jackson is the place where I got my first "real" job in February 2006, and I have a lot of fond memories for the place. I also like its ideal location in the heart of the International District, just two blocks away from Uwajimaya and many good restaurants.

Not only that, but the dreaded team split finally took place, and there are now only three developers and one database guy on my team. We have a new boss, who I met earlier this week. And most impactingly (I am allowed to invent new words), I find myself with newfound responsibilities on the smaller team. I won't describe too much how that's been, but suffice it to say, I am being asked a lot more questions now, and I frequently don't have the answer.

I must admit I am a little intimidated about all the new demands that are placed on me, but I will do everything I can to rise to the challenge and fill the void left behind by the team split.

Either that, or I'll start a bakery and sell cookies for a living instead.

In Memoriam

2009-10-05T22:30:00.001-07:00

Many years ago, when I was in high school, I joined a writing group known as Operation CWAL. I was a bored teenager looking for a creative outlet, and Operation CWAL combined two of my favorite things: video games and off-the-wall humor. While my story writing has slowed down substantially since then, I still look back on the early days of CWAL with fondness.

One of the members of CWAL was Mark "Maggott" Argyle, who wrote hilarious stories about an evil alien overlord (the eponymous Maggott) who was supremely powerful, but too lazy to actually cause any serious destruction. He later began a pre-podcast radio show hosted by that character (voiced by himself, of course). I used to download each new episode as soon as it came out and listen to it several times, cackling madly the entire time. I was even a guest on the show once, playing the role of my own character, Arcturus (a paintball-obsessed front lines fighter).

It was to my great dismay that I learned that Maggott was found dead today in an apparent suicide. I was shocked, and then saddened.

It is difficult to describe the role Operation CWAL has had in my life. I didn't write very many stories that were particularly good, and many of the stories that made me laugh back when I was seventeen might not make me laugh now. I didn't know anybody in the group in person - they were spread all over the continent (and in some cases, across the world). I didn't meet any of them in person until I was twenty-one.

And yet, the CWALers were like brothers to me. The humor may have been juvenile sometimes, and we frequently ripped off from other published works, but the storyverse we created was OURS! We were proud of what we made, and while writing will only ever be a hobby of mine, I feel being a part of CWAL gave me a better appreciation for the written word, and for the craft of comedy.

Maggott was one of the creative driving forces behind the group. He was one of the first to join. He wrote some of the earliest gut-bustingly funny stories. Through his music and radio show, he branched out into a new medium for the group.

Operation CWAL doesn't write stories anymore. We're grown up now, and the CWALers have stopped writing stories and are moving on with their lives, going to school, and getting married. What was once a group of bored teenagers are now scientists, engineers, doctors and lawyers. We have become husbands, wives, and parents to children. But the world we created all those years ago has kept us together.

When we lost Maggott, it was like losing a family member. I had no idea that things were so bad for him that he felt the need to take his own life. I wish I could have done something to sway him from his decision.

But whenever someone is taken from this world, I feel it best to remember them for the life they lived. With that in mind, I'm going to dig up some of his stories, listen to a few episodes of the Maggott Show, and laugh myself silly.

Rest in peace, Maggott. You won't be forgotten.

Something to Look Forward To

2009-09-30T20:34:00.001-07:00

For many here in the great Northwest, the passage of summer into autumn is a somber time, where the days grow shorter, the sky turns grayer, and all about us seems to get a bit more dreary.

Me, I'm used to Washington, having lived in this state for well over half my life. I think there are always things to be excited about here at all times of year.

For example, we're now getting the fresh local apples, which also means that the cider from the mill south of Olympia is at its peak. It's just about time for pie baking season, and Thanksgiving and Christmas will follow. December, January and February are prime ski months. It's the time of year for staying inside, spending time with family, and cooking comfort food.

Yes, the beautiful Washington summer is behind us, but that doesn't mean the autumn and winter can't be enjoyed.

Party! Pizza party!

2009-09-12T12:01:00.001-07:00

Some weeks ago, my roommate Christian decided to do something awesome: He would build a wood-fired brick oven at his parents' house in Kenmore, so that we could use it to make pizza, and other delicious things. After about a month of toiling away, his project was complete. All that remained was to bring delicious ingredients and turn them into pizza, and bring a sufficient number of friends to eat them all.

Last week, we did just that.

The pizza was delicious. I was appointed toppings manager, and fulfilled my duty with aplomb. I think we ended up making over thirty pizzas, and there was no trace of leftovers. Afterward, we decided to use the oven's residual heat to make s'mores (you're killing me, Smalls!), and they were the best s'mores we ever had. Theresa also decided to make a loaf of rosemary bread, and it came out perfectly.

We also gathered around the television to watch the Argentina vs. Brazil world cup qualifying match. It was a good match, but unfortunately, Argentina lost.

The party was a huge success. I want one of these ovens for myself someday!

Welcome home, Sounders

2009-09-10T22:01:00.001-07:00

Last week, the Sounders won their first ever trophy, the U.S. Open Cup. The Open Cup is a tournament that has been around since the early 20th century, and is one of the oldest running sports competitions in the country. I was pretty thrilled that the Sounders won a trophy in their very first season, and since I wasn't working the next day, decided to go to the airport to welcome the Sounders back.

At 2:30 in the morning.

I wasn't the only Sounder fan there, about 150 other people gathered to welcome the team home. In spite of how late (or early) it was, everybody was excited, and we stood around chatting and singing victory songs while we waited for the plane to arrive. They didn't get there until about 3:45, but walked right to us, let us touch the trophy, and gave us high fives. Kasey Keller gave a short speech to thank us for welcoming them home. At that point, I really wanted to get to bed, so I left.

Here are the pictures from the evening. While they may appear to be blurry, let me assure you that that's how the world looked to me at that hour.

Crazy Train

2009-08-11T15:23:00.000-07:00

I am a bit of a transit nerd. The day Seattle's new light rail opened, I made sure to ride the entire distance of it, both ways. I think it's an awesome addition to the city and am glad we have it.

Today, I had some spare time during my lunch break and rode to the Beacon Hill station to check it out and look around the neighborhood it services. The station itself is probably my favorite along the entire line: it's the one that most resembles a Berlin U-Bahn station (although compared to the U-Bahn, it's almost eerily quiet). It's also a very interesting station with some cool sculptures hanging from the ceilings.

What made me smile is on the ride back to the office, I spotted two kids who looked to be about ten years old or so, raptly peering down the tunnel to watch for when the train would come. I used to do the exact same thing when I was that age, living in Berlin.

I'm excited for more light rail service to open in Seattle, I just wish it wouldn't take so long!

10 Years Ago

2009-08-10T12:46:00.000-07:00

Today marks the ten year anniversary of my arrival in Argentina. I remember that day well. It seemed like the longest plane ride of my life (probably because it was, in fact, the longest plane ride of my life). Here's a few memories I have of the voyage:

Saying goodbye to my parents, two siblings, and my grandmother at the Salt Lake City airport. Missionaries heading out into the field can no longer have family members come to the airport, unfortunately.
In Chicago, I found a pay phone and called up my other two siblings to bid them a final farewell, and sent a letter to my best friend, who had recently arrived to his own mission in Georgia.
A man passing by in the airport saw us and said, "Good luck, Elders." Ten seconds later, my companion told me "Wipe that smile off your face!"
The plane was underbooked, so most of us had several seats we could stretch out across and sleep on. They played "Never Been Kissed" as the in-flight movie, twice. Being a good missionary, I tried to avoid watching it.
One of our group left his sleeping bag on the plane in Buenos Aires, but was able to retrieve it.
We were escorted to the temple grounds after that. We didn't go into the temple, but we did eat at the adjacent cafeteria. It was my first encounter with the Argentine meal I would probably eat more than any other: Milanesa. It's kind of like a schnitzel made with beef.
Our escort then drove us through the heart of Buenos Aires to get to the national airport and our flight to Neuquen. It is hard to describe how I felt looking at the city, but I can say for sure that I felt like a lost little boy when I looked out there.
The Buenos Aires airport does not have a ban on smoking.
We arrived in Neuquen late at night, and we were all dead tired.

It was a grueling, bewildering, busy day. My mission was full of vivid experiences, but the drive through Buenos Aires is what really made me realize I wasn't in Kansas anymore.

And every time I think back to the me of ten years ago, I think "Man, I really had no idea what I was in for!"

Another Conversation

2009-07-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, somebody mistakenly called the wrong number and reached my cell phone. Normally in this situation, the person making the erroneous call apologizes and exits gracefully. This was not one of those times.

I got the first call and the lady said "This is Carla, we're right across the street," or something along those lines. I said, "I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong number." "Oh, is this Steve?" "No, it isn't. Sorry."

A minute later, I got a call from the same number. "Steve, this is Carla."

Figuring that she had been given the wrong number, I asked "Are you trying to reach (my phone number)?" "Yes." "Well, I'm not Steve, so you must have been given the wrong number. Sorry."

This is where it got weird. Apparently, the lady was unable to handle the cognitive dissonance that the situation presented, and insisted that I was, in fact, Steve. "No, this isn't the wrong number, Steve!"

"Look, I'm not Steve."

"Yes you are, Steve, and this is Carla!"

It was at this point that I realized this wasn't going anywhere, so I quickly ended the conversation and hung up. I never got a return call, which I assume means she got the right number.

Either that, or a lot of people got called Steve yesterday.

A Brief Conversation

2009-07-22T20:53:00.001-07:00

While driving to a friend's house last night, I stopped at a red light. A car stopped in the lane next to me, and the guy in the passenger seat waved. I waved back, but he was looking at my intently. I didn't recognize the guy, so I decided to unroll my window to find out what he wanted to say. Here's how our conversation went:

Me: What's up?

Guy: Hey, fun night?

(a brief pause)

Me: Uh...yeah.

Not my most eloquent moment, but I've never been much for conversing with strangers while I'm driving.

STP

2009-07-21T08:29:00.001-07:00

I’d been looking forward to doing STP for a year now, and the day finally arrived. I actually woke up on my own at 2:30 AM, but I snoozed in bed until my alarm went off at 3. I ate a small breakfast, did some quick preparations, and was ready to go before 4.

Christian and I met up with Ken at his place, along with another guy, Clay, who would be riding with us. We rode to the starting line (all downhill, so not a problem) and met up with Catherine and Lacey. I was very excited about starting, but five minutes before we were supposed to begin, disaster struck: Christian attempted to tighten the bolt holding his seat in place, and broke it. He quickly searched for a repair hut and thankfully, he fixed the problem with a mere two minutes to go.

My team decided to wear ugly sweaters to keep warm for the first two hours (keeping in mind we were leaving at 4:45 AM). A lot of people asked us about the sweaters, especially me (I guess my sweater was the ugliest because I got asked the most, “What’s with the sweaters?”).

The starting signal was given and we took off, and let me tell you, the beginning few miles where everybody is riding together is just exhilarating. I loved hearing the whirring of hundreds of bikes around me for the first few miles. I am also glad I got a chance to ride down the winding portion of Lake Washington Boulevard with no cars on it.

Once the crowd thinned out and we grouped together the ride went pretty well for the first fifty miles. We got to the food stop in Kent and got some food, and ditched the sweaters (a lady took them and said she’d give them to a thrift store).

It was after the first food stop that we had our first flat tire, the rear tire on Catherine’s bike. We changed out the innertube, but 15 miles later the same tire got a flat. We changed it again and continued, but this tire continued to give us problems. We eventually solved the problem, but more on that later.

While we were between Kent and Spanaway, a guy named Joe joined us in our paceline, and Clay took off to find a group his own speed. We let Joe ride with us, but he broke a couple of cardinal rules: don’t join a paceline without asking, and when you take the lead, don’t just take off without allowing everybody to group up behind you. He went on his own after the next flat tire.

When we got to Tenino, mom and dad met us there and gave us chocolate. There was a guy with a repair hut who fixed Catherine’s wheel, which never gave us another problem. I said goodbye to mom and dad and we took off, now well over two hours behind schedule.

Another setback happened later: Christian had been not feeling well for the past several days, and after the halfway point it caught up to him. We took two fairly long breaks before he decided to call it. We left him in Vader for Hope to pick up (and I mean an actual person named Hope, not the concept of hope).

The rest of Washington was uneventful. We crossed the harrowing Lewis and Clark bridge, over which Lacey lost a bottle when hitting an expansion joint. She looked back to see if she could get it, but I just yelled “It’s gone, let it go!” like I was in a war movie.

We went about 25 miles through Oregon through a few towns. A little kid in one town saw us ride by and yelled “Go bikers!” Cute. Unfortunately, Lacey’s knees were not doing well, and we had to stop in St. Helens. It was here that we decided to not finish. I was disappointed – we were less than 25 miles away, and I was feeling good enough to finish (but butt and back were sore, but I still had enough energy to finish). However, ending the ride there was probably the right decision. We were so far behind schedule that it was getting dark, and we didn’t have lights. It would be almost 10:00 when we would have arrived. So, I called Mom and Dad and they picked me up. The team picked me up from their house the next day. They all enjoyed meeting Mom and Dad, and also the chocolate they gave us.

Even though we didn’t finish, I’m glad I did STP. We got a chance to see some beautiful parts of the state, and we can be proud of how much we did (180 miles is nothing to shrug about). I will do it again next year and this time, I will finish.

STP

2009-07-10T21:08:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow I will be doing the Seattle to Portland bicycle classic. 205 miles, all in one day. I'm excited, but nervous.

I will report on how it went when I'm done. I've made lots of preparations for this and think I'm ready. I even shaved my legs to make myself more aerodynamic!

Here's hoping there are no incidents.

July

2009-06-30T22:51:00.001-07:00

The month of July is usually quite relaxed for me, a month in which I get to enjoy the best of Seattle's summer weather and leisurely enjoy what free time I have.

This year, that will not be the case.

The month starts off well enough, with my parents returning from their 18 month mission in Germany and spending the weekend with them in Olympia. Then on Sunday, I return to Seattle and have a barbecue with some friends from around here and one of my best friends from my own missionary days, who will be visiting.

Then the tough part begins.

I have to move out of my house due to the owner deciding to sell the place on a whim (lucky I didn't do the couple of projects I was thinking of doing around the house). I have until the end of July to do it, and I hope to find a place by the middle of the month. The last half of the month I can spend making the transition to wherever I go. I've looked at a few places but will not make a decision until I talk with my roommates to find out what their plans are (one of them is on vacation in peru at the moment). I would say there is a 90% chance that I will stay on this side of Lake Washington.

Then, on July 11 I have STP, which I have been training for. I'm excited but nervous. It's going to be a long day, that's for sure (205 miles of cycling in one day!).

At the end of the month, I will start commuting to Bellevue, where my new office is located. I'm not wild about the idea of crossing the lake to get to work, but it's better than Redmond (and certainly better than not having work).

I'm excited about what's going to be happening this month but recognize that there's going to be a lot of challenges. Am I up to the task? I suppose we'll find out August 1.

AdBlade

2009-06-10T23:47:00.001-07:00

There's a new display ad service I've been seeing over the past month called AdBlade. I don't like it.

My reason for not liking it? Well, AdBlade is similar to Google's AdSense in that it displays a number of text advertisements in a single placement. However, it differs in that these are not context ads - they do not depend on what text shows up in the page you're viewing. They also pair images with these ads. I don't mind AdSense, it doesn't get in my way or distract me when I'm trying to browse. AdBlade with its images, however, is distracting.

My real problem, though, is with the ads themselves. They do not (yet) advertise what I would consider reputable businesses. They're all teeth whiteners, lip plumpers, colon cleansers, and "get thin by following one simple rule" scams.

Now, open up your favorite email account and take a look at your junk mail folder sometime. Notice what you see in all those subject lines. That's right - advertisements for the same products! That's why I don't like AdBlade: The advertisements you see are hard to ignore, and the products they advertise are sketchy at best. I certainly wouldn't want to pay money for any of them.

Now, you're probably saying "Mark, why don't you just block all the ads so you never have to see them again?" Well, since I work in the realm of online advertising, that's kind of self-defeating. I like to be more aware of what kind of advertising there is out there, who my competitors are, and what new technologies are being developed (plus I consider it mildly unethical to block the ads that are being used to pay for much of the internet's existence).

At any rate, I'm not worried about AdBlade stealing business from us. I'll start paying attention to them when they start drawing reputable advertisers.

As an aside, I'm going to read it as "lip plumbers" from now on because it amuses me.

Plants Vs. Zombies

2009-06-01T16:34:00.000-07:00

A phenomenon has swept across my team, spreading faster than an outbreak of the solanum virus. Yes, it's Plants vs. Zombies, a tower defense style game from PopCap, noted developer of other casual games such as Bejeweled and Peggle.

The concept of the game is simple. There are zombies that are trying to get into a house so that they can eat the brains of the people living in said house. But to get there they have to cross the yard, and the last line of defense is...the yard's plants. Basically, you place the plants in the yard to defend against the zombies. It's a quirky little game, but it's a lot of fun.

So, a former member of our team now works for PopCap (their office is located in Belltown) and managed to get our team addicted to the game. At any given point during the workday, somebody is playing it. I play it at home, but it's funny to see (and hear) people playing it at the office. Especially when I hear somebody trash talking the zombies from across the room.

High Fructose Corn Syrup

2009-05-28T13:24:00.001-07:00

Several months ago, I decided to drastically reduce the amount of high fructose corn syrup in my diet. This has gone well so far, and while I was already in pretty good shape at the time, I think taking initiative now will help me stay in shape well into the future.

I've had several people ask me what makes HFCS worse than foods with regular sugar in them. That's a good question. I'll be honest, if you replaced the amount of HFCS you eat with equal amounts of sugar, it would still be just as unhealthy. True, there are studies that suggest that HFCS is more easily converted into fat than cane sugar, but there hasn't yet been enough conclusive evidence to convince me that the difference is more than negligible.

The real problem with HFCS is that it's everywhere. Sugar cane is mainly produced outside the USA, while corn is grown right here. Thanks to farmer subsidies, it is cheaper to sweeten foods with HFCS than it is with sugar. This had the effect of making junk food cheaper to produce, and thereby cheaper to purchase.

If you eliminate HFCS from your diet, you cannot consume many (perhaps most) junk foods available at grocery and convenience stores. So in essence, you're not watching out for your health by replacing one sweetener with another, you're doing it by eliminating the sweetener from your diet entirely.

I wasn't sure how easy it would be for me to do this at first. Prior to starting, I had a tendency to drink one or two 12 ounce cans of soda per day. Since I work at Microsoft, a refrigerator full of free soda is a short walk away from my desk. But since starting I almost never go to the fridge anymore - I've replaced soda with just plain water. I still drink soda, of course, but now when I drink it, it's much less frequent. And since I only drink soda that's made with cane sugar now, I drink the good stuff (Thomas Kemper, Jones, Hansen's, and so forth).

So I'm convinced the real value of not eating or drinking anything with HFCS in it isn't that replacing it with sugar will be better for you, but that you can replace it with either nothing, or healthier foods. It's pretty hard to eliminate HFCS completely from my diet (because, like I said, it's EVERYWHERE), but I'm making good progress toward my goal.

Cleaning

2009-05-27T22:55:00.001-07:00

While I don't particularly enjoy cleaning, there's something satisfying about having a sparkling, pristine bathroom after working on it for a couple hours.

I just need to clean it more often so that in the future the job doesn't take as long.

Of bike rides and LARPing

2009-05-24T10:51:00.001-07:00

I went for a 50 mile bike ride yesterday along the Green River, and on the return ride, I saw a curious thing.

There is a park next to the area where the Green River trail meets the Interurban Trail, called Foster Park. When my team and I arrived there, we saw about a hundred young men gathered there, ready for battle.

Yes, I said battle. They were armed with shields and various kinds of weaponry - swords, halberds, clubs, whatever. All appeared to be nonlethal, of course. When we arrived they were simply milling about, but after waiting a few minutes, they began to charge each other and attack.

At first I thought it was a very large group of LARPers (for those unfamiliar with the term: LARPing is Live Actin Role-Playing. It's like Dungeons and Dragons taken to a whole new dimension of nerdiness). However, I didn't see any actual role-playing taking place, so I figured it was more like a competition of some sort.

We watched them for a few minutes, and moved on. I considered having us ride in and wreaking havoc like unto the Mongol hordes, but we wisely decided against it.

Strawberry Season

2009-05-23T20:51:00.001-07:00

It's almost June, which means it's almost time for me to start eating strawberries again. Strawberry season is short, and so I buy strawberries just about every week. Once strawberry season is over, I don't buy them again until next June.

Now, I know that strawberries are available in more months than June. However, these are the berries that are imported from warmer states where the growing season is longer. I prefer buying strawberries from local growers when they're in season: they're less expensive and they taste better, to the point that I don't feel like spending money on Driscoll's strawberries is really worth it (I'm a patient guy, I can wait until June to enjoy really great berries). The berries I buy come from Spooner Farms, a local grower. I find imported berries to be not as flavorful.

Perhaps this makes me into a berry snob, but once you've eaten Spooner's berries, you really can't go back to the imported stuff.

I must add parenthetically that when offered berries that are neither local nor in season I certainly don't turn them down, because they still taste good. But when I buy berries, I buy local.

3D Realms

2009-05-13T20:50:00.001-07:00

I was somewhat saddened by the news that 3D Realms went under last week. A bit of background: Being a nerd, I played a lot of computer games during my high school years, and one of my favorites was Duke Nukem 3D, a game by 3D Realms. I used to regularly play 1 on 1 "Dukematches" with my friend Phil, which we would accomplish by using our modems to directly dial each other's computer. We were fairly evenly matched, I thought, although Phil conceded right before graduating that I was the king of Dukematching (and I still have it in writing, in my senior yearbook).

Before my junior year was over, 3D Realms announced the sequel to Duke3D: Duke Nukem Forever. I highly anticipated that this game would come out in time for me to play it the summer after graduation. When that didn't happen, I figured it would get released my freshman year of college. When that didn't happen, I left for Argentina for two years, and figured it would be out by the time I got back.

Anyway, twelve years after they announced the project, 3D Realms is shutting down, without ever having released the game. I'm disappointed, but not surprised. Duke Nukem Forever had become somewhat of a legend for being the ultimate vaporware: a project that was promised to be great, but never saw the light of day.

I'm curious to find out what went wrong with this project: Were there ego problems within 3D Realms? Were they never satisfied with the final product? Incompetence? A combination of multiple factors?

To be honest, I'm not that upset about the project being canceled - I still like video games, but my LAN party days are behind me. Ten years ago, I might have been upset by the news (actually, ten years ago I was getting ready to go to Argentina and probably would not have cared, either - so make that twelve years ago). I'm more saddened by the demise of 3D Realms / Apogee. I played a lot of their games during my adolescence and it's a bit sad to see them go.

Birthday Thoughts

2009-05-11T21:06:00.001-07:00

Today I turned 29 years old. I admit I was dreading this birthday a bit because it is my final birthday before turning 30, but I suppose I shouldn't worry about something that is inevitable.

It was a pretty good birthday: my program manager at work (who is a bike racer) gave me a bike jersey that she received once, but doesn't fit her. It fits me perfectly, so now I have a great jersey to wear for my bike rides.

Then, I got an email from my brother indicating that he had won free tickets to the symphony - looks like I will be going to Benaroya Hall in a month. Thanks, Dale!

And finally, when I got home, I found that mom and dad's birthday card had arrived in the mail. Perfect timing. I made some almond butter cookies and departed for FHE, where everybody sang me happy birthday.

All in all, it was a good day.

Layoffs

2009-05-06T08:23:00.001-07:00

There were more layoffs at Microsoft yesterday, as you may have heard. My team did not suffer any casualties - all developers, managers, IT and DBAs are still there. However, not everybody at the Atlas organization was spared the same fate. A good number of people, some of whom I know personally, lost their jobs.

It was a grim day at the office. The mood was down in our area, and our receptionist at one point was in tears because of all the people saying goodbye to her.

It was interesting for me to note that when I was working at my contract position in Redmond, I interviewed for full-time jobs three times. I was only offered one of them (the job I have now), and if I had been offered either of the other two, I would have been laid off at some point (one of the jobs was at an Atlas division that lost six developers).

Since my team is profitable, I am not overly preoccupied with my job status. It also seems like MSFT has big plans for us (we are likely moving to a brand new skyscraper this July) so I don't think we're in danger of losing people quite yet.

Biking

2009-05-04T19:04:00.001-07:00

This week will be a test of my resolve.

It is bike to work month, and I planned on biking to work every day. It was nice this morning, but was sprinkling as I started home. By the time I got home, it was showering, but I wasn't too wet.

Now, tomorrow morning, we'll see just how dedicated I am. If it's raining, will I still make the trek on my bike? Will I bike part of the way and then take the bus? Or will I completely wuss out and take the bus, leaving the bike at home?

Time will tell.

Happy Earth Day

2009-04-22T18:45:00.001-07:00

Happy Earth Day, everyone!

I was hoping to celebrate Earth Day by biking to work, but it was raining and I am kind of a wimp. So I took the bus instead. I did bike Monday and Tuesday, however, and on Tuesday I even went the entire day without using any vehicle that runs on gas (and I went to institute in addition to work), so at least I can feel self-righteous in that regard.

This Saturday is my favorite event related to Earth Day: Arts Walk and the Procession of the Species in Olympia. I'm planning on spending most of the day in Olympia with friends and family.

Speaking of biking, I am now a member of a team in the annual Bike-to-Work Month, beginning May 1. There are three teams in my organization, and I am a member of "The Burke-Gilman Supremacy." I will hopefully ride my bike to work every day next month. Should be fun!

10 Things I Like About Olympia

2009-04-06T21:46:00.001-07:00

Having spent the weekend in Olympia, I got to thinking that it is a really great place to live, and how glad I was to be brought up in the area. I've lived in Olympia (well, Lacey) longer than any other place in my life, and I'm glad that as long as I have family there, I'll always have a reason to visit. So here's my list of ten things I like about Olympia:

1. The local restaurants. I have yet to have Thai food that is quite as good as Chili Thai, which is in Lacey. If you want a burger, you can always go to the local burger joint, Egan's. And for pizza, there's nothing better than getting the Plum Street Pizza at Casa Mia (the pizza doesn't actually have plums on it, the restaurant is located on Plum Street).

2. Tumwater Falls. No, they're not as big or as impressive as Snoqualmie Falls, but Tumwater Falls are quite lovely in their own right. After parking on the park grounds and taking a short little stroll, the falls are a great way to spend an hour or two in the afternoon.

3. Wind Up Here. As a kid, I always wanted to go to Toys R Us, but my experiences there were somewhat lacking when I actually went. I realized that it was because it was not a very interesting toy store. Wind Up Here, on the other hand, is a fun toy store with lots of things that kids can play with while they're there. Even as an adult I like visiting just to see what they have on stock.

4. The parks along Budd Inlet. Priest Point Park and Burfoot Park are two great parks along the southern tip of Puget Sound. I slightly favor Burfoot Park - it's smaller, but I always remember going there for church picnics and playing in the big open area. The short hike down to the water is quite lovely, too. One time my little brother got squirted by a geoduck on the shore. It was amusing.

5. The Procession of the Species. When April rolls around, it's time for Olympia's hippie subculture to get wild and crazy. The procession is a parade where everybody dresses up as animals (or other things found in nature). Sounds silly, but it's actually a lot of fun. Adults and kids alike have a great time. Plus, the event corresponds with Arts Walk. Good times!

6. The Flat Win Company. The guy who runs this is a great performance artist - he sets up his booth before the procession and sells things like twigs, crushed cans, and burnt toast. The way he presents them is oddly hilarious. I wonder what would happen if a competing company ever came up, however...

7. The arts scene. Olympia has a vibrants theater scene, starting with some strong youth theater programs like Capital Playhouse, and the theater companies at Capital and Timberline High Schools (the latter being my school). Ah, what would my extra-curricular activities had been like without being directed by Jeff Kingsbury, Troy Fisher and of course, Brenda Amburgy (or Kirk, as I continued to call her all throughout high school). There are always good shows at the Washington Center, of course - I took my mom to a ballet once, saw the Olympia Symphony, and saw the performers from Whose Line is it Anyway twice.

8. The sounds in my parents neighbordhood. In the warm months, you'll hear all varieties of birdsong during the day. At night, the birds go silent and give way to a thundering chorus of croaking frogs, thanks to the nearby swamp. Listening to these sounds makes me think of growing up and exploring the forest nearby, which unfortunately has been partially leveled. The swamp, thankfully, remains undisturbed.

9. Lattin's Cider Mill. My father used to take me here when I was a boy, and I always liked going there. Not just for the quaint mill, farm animals and delicious cider (the best I've ever tasted), but also for the pleasant drive through the country to get there. I still make the trek down there every now and then when I'm visiting, and I almost never leave Lacey without going to a supermarket to pick up a gallon of their cider. Yum.

10. The view from Lakeridge Drive. When I returned from my mission in Argentina, I was so glad to see green country again. I got a job driving a mail truck, which took me to the state offices on the east side of Capitol Lake. When driving down Lakeridge Drive to finish my route, I saw a spectacular view of the Capitol Building and surrounding area. Now, whenever I take people to Olympia for the first time, I always make sure to take them on this drive. It is, in my opinion, the best view of the city.

11. Nisqually Road. When coming to (or leaving from) Olympia during the daytime, it's worth it to approach my parents house by taking Nisqually Road rather than going through town. It's a fun drive, passing by farmland and the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. For some reason, it's always more gratifying for me to approach this way rather than by going through town.

So there you have it. Ten things I like about Olympia, except this list goes to eleven.