07.24.03
Posted in Music at 10:06 am by Leopoldo
Well, Launchast just put a major damper on our relationship. When I went to listen to my music this morning I was greeted by a message that said that they were restricting me to listening to the audio stream in mono, with no ability to skip a song I don’t like and with more commercials unless I begin shelling out some money. Alas, another great Internet luxury goes the way of commercialism and out of my world. With 5,790 ratings I will not be listening to Launchcast any more.
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07.23.03
Posted in Personal at 9:28 pm by Leopoldo
Yesterday morning I was dealing with emergencies at work when I got a phone call telling me that water was seeping up through the floor in the garage. I had Sara shut off the water to the house at the main Valve. I used my lunch hour to make phone calls and had to call 9 plumbers before I found one available to examine the break the same day. The plumber came out and told us we would have to use a jackhammer to break up the floor and then dig the 3 feet down to the pipe so it could be exposed for a patch… either that or pay him $800 to dig and fix. I made a decision to live without water for a day and take care of it the next morning.
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07.22.03
Posted in Travels at 3:12 pm by Leopoldo
In the decade that I lived in Seattle I had never seen a cruise ship sail into the harbor. It never occurred to me to wonder why, but for some reason Seattle simply did not seem to be a cruise destination. Then, while enjoying the deck at Anthony’s Home Port on Shilshole I last weekend I saw no fewer than four cruise ships leave harbor! Curious to find out why I did a google search and found this article in the Settle PI:
Seattle tries to lure cruise ship business
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07.16.03
Posted in Geekdom at 10:23 am by Leopoldo
A BBC news article reports that the autonomos flyer flyborg flew off last week and is roaming the skies of England.
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07.05.03
Posted in Travels at 1:57 pm by Leopoldo
Saturday, July 5, 2003 2:22 PM – George Bush International Airport in Houston Texas
The language shift has been a gradual one. I heard some words of English getting on the plane in Bogotá, a bit more as we arrived at customs in Houston, by now Spanish is the exception not the rule. I don’t usually drink when I travel, however after being awake for ten hours and four and a half squished into a tin can I need a drink.
I have been poked, prodded, searched, x-rayed, questioned, interviewed, had my documents examined and re-examined about a dozen times in the last few hours. I have the uneasy feeling that the thorough examination I received in Colombia was derived from a first hand awareness of the need for security and undesired results from security lapses while the mostly senseless demands that I take off my shoes and belt every time I pass through a US security gate is more the product of bureaucratic doctrine. It is hard to be explicit, but one gets the feeling Colombian officials are doing everything they know how to catch law-breakers while US officials are following a procedure written by well paid specialist who has not bothered to visit an airport in his career… just doing their jobs as it were.
3:08 PM
Ah… a beer, a hamburger and a face wash. Much better.
5:07 PM
I was just called up to the gate. I was afraid they might try to put me off the plane (it is full and I am sure oversold) but instead they just moved me to a first class seat. I am ecstatic. This is the first time in my 25 plus years of flying that I will get to fly first class.
10:00 PM
First class rocks! Did you know they actually serve food in first class? I mean, real actual food! Ah.. precious leg room. Enough for a 6′3″ boy to arrive feeling ok.
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07.04.03
Posted in Travels at 1:55 pm by Leopoldo
Friday, July 4, 2003 – Santa Marta
This morning we took advantage of our last day on the beach to get as much ocean swimming, swimming pool playing, beach walking and general tropic joy as we could. The afternoon was a bit hectic and included constant counting and recounting of check-in luggage, carry-on luggage and kids as we made our way from Santa Marta back to Bogotá. The altitude hit me again, but not as hard as when I first arrived.
A necklace vendor has been visiting us every morning with a beautiful assortment of necklaces made from all sort of tropical rock. On the first visit the necklaces were priced around 150K Pesos. By showing interest but not at those prices and bringing him back for regular bartering we eventually got to the point where he is selling two for 60K Pesos[1]. Never buy goods at the first given price.
1 = About $20 US.
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07.02.03
Posted in Travels at 1:38 pm by Leopoldo
Wednesday, July 2 – Santa Marta
Lying around on the beach this morning we were buzzed by police helicopters. One had a gunner with an M-60 hanging out the side door; they both had snipers at each door. It was a reminder that even in this heavenly vacation spot we are still in a country at war.
We spent the afternoon at the hacienda where Simon Bolivar died. The trip had an odd sort of a triple purpose. On the one hand was the historic house and marble monument. This was probably the least interesting part of the trip. Then you had the attached museum, which is currently exhibiting watercolors. Some of the art was ok, most was pretty crude a few pieces were quite excellent. The most interesting part was the gorgeous tropical gardens. The house is surrounded by beautifully maintained grounds with huge trees.
I just had a few slices of Pizza. It was delicious. They use some type of cheese here that is quite different and quite delicious. I accompanied it with a glass of fresh mango juice.
The nights in Santa Marta are full of mosquitoes. They pretty much ate me alive on the second day as if I were some sort of a delicacy. I guess to them I am imported meat. We have been playing Continental Rummy each night this week, which has me delighted. I love playing continental but have yet to find someone in the US interested in learning and playing it.
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