It took me all week, but I finally got my mage a kitty cat to ride! I think she looks great on it and it's soooo much faster than running! Yay!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Unity - Not just another campaign slogan
RJ Eskow: Have We Missed the Key to Obama's Leadership Style?
An interesting take on what makes Obama's leadership style unique, and why he's not really "moving to the right" at all.
An interesting take on what makes Obama's leadership style unique, and why he's not really "moving to the right" at all.
His political architecture isn't built on the old foundation of Right vs. Left - or on Right vs. Wrong, for that matter. It isn't even binary. When it comes to policy he inclines toward the progressive position, but he's not thinking in terms of "winning" or "losing." His goal is group unity around the best possible realistic outcome. That means assess the situation, get what you can, then move to bring the parties together around a new consensus.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
The real world of warcraft
Most of you know that I play World of Warcraft. It's a fun diversion that I picked up when Bobbo was working nights and I had lots of free time to kill. One of the things I like most about the game is the social aspect - meeting other players, working together to accomplish goals, helping others when I can. Last night was one of those times that really reinforced why I enjoy the game.
(Hang on, it's gonna get geeky for a bit here, but stick with me!) For the past few days I've been working on improving my level 40 mage's reputation among the Night Elves so I can qualify to purchase one of their big cat mounts. The easiest way to do this is to complete a ton of lower level quests in the Night Elf starting areas. It's pretty easy, just time consuming. Often I'll run into a lower level elf working in the same area as me and I'll offer to team up with them and help them out, since I can blast through things much faster than they could by themselves.
This is exactly what happened yesterday when I teamed up with a level 14 druid. We worked through a number of quests and I also answered some questions for him, as he seemed to be fairly new to the game. As we chatted, he told me he was 18 years old and he seemed like a sweet kid. As we continued to work together he thanked me numerous times, expressing his gratitude for all my help. I told him it was my pleasure, and that all I asked in return was that he passed the same kindness on to others.
As we were finishing up, I remarked on the lateness of the hour and that I had to be going. He replied that it was morning for him, as he was serving in Iraq. Eighteen years old. In Iraq. As I let that sink in, I realized how paltry my kindness had been in comparison. Here I am feeling all good about myself for helping him kill virtual beasties, while he's over there in a "world of warcraft" of the truest sense, putting himself in harm's way for us. It was my turn to express my sincerest gratitude and as we said goodbye for the evening I thanked him for his service and hoped that he would stay safe until the next time we met.
So to Tyler, somewhere in Iraq, again I say thank you and be safe. I hope to see you in Azeroth for a long time to come.
(Hang on, it's gonna get geeky for a bit here, but stick with me!) For the past few days I've been working on improving my level 40 mage's reputation among the Night Elves so I can qualify to purchase one of their big cat mounts. The easiest way to do this is to complete a ton of lower level quests in the Night Elf starting areas. It's pretty easy, just time consuming. Often I'll run into a lower level elf working in the same area as me and I'll offer to team up with them and help them out, since I can blast through things much faster than they could by themselves.
This is exactly what happened yesterday when I teamed up with a level 14 druid. We worked through a number of quests and I also answered some questions for him, as he seemed to be fairly new to the game. As we chatted, he told me he was 18 years old and he seemed like a sweet kid. As we continued to work together he thanked me numerous times, expressing his gratitude for all my help. I told him it was my pleasure, and that all I asked in return was that he passed the same kindness on to others.
As we were finishing up, I remarked on the lateness of the hour and that I had to be going. He replied that it was morning for him, as he was serving in Iraq. Eighteen years old. In Iraq. As I let that sink in, I realized how paltry my kindness had been in comparison. Here I am feeling all good about myself for helping him kill virtual beasties, while he's over there in a "world of warcraft" of the truest sense, putting himself in harm's way for us. It was my turn to express my sincerest gratitude and as we said goodbye for the evening I thanked him for his service and hoped that he would stay safe until the next time we met.
So to Tyler, somewhere in Iraq, again I say thank you and be safe. I hope to see you in Azeroth for a long time to come.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
OCTA and Me
As some of you may remember, Bobbo was hit by an OCTA bus while riding his bicycle two years ago tomorrow. With the settlement from that accident, the two of us were able to spend three fantastic weeks traveling through Europe. During the trip we visited six countries and relied almost exclusively on public transportation to get around, which is pretty easy considering how great the rail, bus and subway systems are over there. So when we returned to California after living car-free for almost a month to find gas prices had jumped up to $4.70/gallon in our absence, it was a bit of a shock to the system.
So today I tried something that I hadn't done in the eight years we've lived in California - I took the bus! Yep, I left the car in the driveway this morning and walked to the bus stop to see what commuting on the OCTA was like. And frankly, it was as easy as pie! Using the online OCTA trip planner I found a bus route that runs straight between our apartment and my office in Irvine, with only a ten minute walk on either end. It's a 45 minute ride, which is a little longer than it usually takes in the car, but I get to spend it listening to my iPod and reading a book instead of fuming at the guy that just cut me off on the highway, so it all balances out. Plus it saves me about $1.20 a day in gas, is better for the environment, AND I get a total of about 40 minutes of exercise walking to and from the stops.
So I guess after all this I've made my peace with OCTA. Now if we could only get Bobbo on one of those busses!
So today I tried something that I hadn't done in the eight years we've lived in California - I took the bus! Yep, I left the car in the driveway this morning and walked to the bus stop to see what commuting on the OCTA was like. And frankly, it was as easy as pie! Using the online OCTA trip planner I found a bus route that runs straight between our apartment and my office in Irvine, with only a ten minute walk on either end. It's a 45 minute ride, which is a little longer than it usually takes in the car, but I get to spend it listening to my iPod and reading a book instead of fuming at the guy that just cut me off on the highway, so it all balances out. Plus it saves me about $1.20 a day in gas, is better for the environment, AND I get a total of about 40 minutes of exercise walking to and from the stops.
So I guess after all this I've made my peace with OCTA. Now if we could only get Bobbo on one of those busses!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Still recovering!
We've been back from Europe for about two weeks now, and I swear, we're still recovering! I just posted the photos from Germany, Austria and Italy on Flickr, you can see go see them here. More will be coming! In the meantime, I noticed that my last post ended in Paris. Let me see if I can sum up that last week for you here...
(Five minutes later) Ok, I can't seem to find my travel journal at the moment, so I'll have to get back to you on the details of the last week. Here, I'll give you some quick random impressions though:
- Paris - Famous monuments, Napoleon everywhere, art museums, Bobbo falls in love with Monet, train strike, amazing food
- Brugges - Pretty town, delicious chocolates, hanging out with a nice guy from NY
- London - Feet hurt, Petra, Natalie and Martin visit, Rami and the Foo Fighters, Churchill's bunker
Ok, that should hold you over until I find that journal. In the meantime, go browse through some pictures!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Updates from Europe!
Thanks to everyone for your birthday wishes! Bobbo and I are having an amazing time in Europe! I apologize for not keeping up with the blog, internet access has been harder to come by than expected. I have been taking tons of pictures though, so I'll be sharing them all when we get home, don't you worry about that!
I'll give you a very quick update since my last post was from Germany. After we left there we headed south to the castles of Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. These are nestled right at the foot of the Alps and it looks just like a scene out of Heidi or the Sound of Music.
Then we headed to Vienna, Austria where we meet Roman, a musician Bobbo had met over the internet. He and his girlfriend Nicole spent three days showing us all the sites of Vienna, as well as taking us to the home of his parents in the countryside, a tiny village in the Wachau valley where we hiked up to the ruins of a 12th century castle where King Richard the Lion-hearted was once held for ransom! I think that day was one of my favorites so far, just an amazing experience that you can't get out of any tour book!
After Vienna, we boarded an overnight train to Venice, Italy. By an unexpected turn of luck, we had a sleeping cabin for six all to ourselves. Thank goodness too, it was almost too small just for the two of us! Venice was absolutely lovely, we walked all through the city and had dinner at sunset right on the canals. A very pretty city, though a little too touristy I think.
The next day we were off again, this time to a tiny little Italian town called Pesina, on the shore of Lake Garda, the largest lake in Italy. After a somewhat stressful bus ride through Verona, we finally arrived at the home of Donato and Marina, a wonderful couple who are friends of our friend Rami. They welcomed us into their home, an incredible 14th century castle where over the years they have hosted performances by an impressive roster of musicians, including our friends Rami and Phil Cody, along with many others. (Bobbo almost fell over when Donato mentioned that Townes Van Zandt had stayed in our room!) That evening we were invited to join Donato and Marina, along with their daughter and her boyfriend, for dinner at the home of his friend Armando and his wife and two daughters. Armando's home was gorgeous, with a view of Lake Garda that took my breath away. And the food was amazing, wave after wave of fantastic courses, prepared by Armando's wife Chiara, but most of all, the company was wonderful. After dinner, they produced a guitar, and we gladly played and sang in repayment for such a lovely evening. This, as you may be able to tell, was my other favorite day of the trip so far. Though I would have loved to stay longer, we had to leave for Paris the next day, with promises to return for longer on our next trip.
And now I'd better get going, the morning is getting late and we're off for more sightseeing in Paris. The Musee D'Orsay and a return to the Louvre I think is on the schedule for today. I'll post more soon!
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