Clever Title to Come

Sitting on a nice, warm car with the sun at your back, munching on some Red Hot Cheetos, with a commanding view up the street, waiting for your friends to come by.

Car is Found

My wife's car, which was stolen from in front of our house ten days ago, was found yesterday (Sunday) morning. Tuuli saw the car as she was driving to the Petco pet store to do some shopping. It was neatly parked on the street in front of a non-descript white house, about ten blocks north of our own house, and just one block away from the street we drive every morning when taking the kids to school.

There was absolutely no damage. The car was locked and there was still some gas in the tank. The interior had been ransacked but nothing was missing. The license plates were still on the car, the tab still on the license plate and the ignition had not been punched. According to my wife, the vehicle had been driven about 200 miles, so we're wondering how long it had actually been at that location.

Needless to say, we're very grateful. We got the car home, cleaned it out real good and installed one of those Club steering wheel bars, as obviously someone out there has a key. Would it have been nice if the police had found it earlier or if they had taken more of an interest in the details of the recovery? Sure, but evidently stolen cars are a low priority for them. So low, in fact, that they basically take the approach that the car will turn up on its own parked sideways on somebody's planting strip, or be involved in a crash or be pulled over for a traffic infraction. Or the owners might recover it themselves, less than a mile from where it was stolen. In any event, the car usually finds the police--the police dont' find the car, and they can still brag that they have a near-90% recovery rate.

Vancouver BC

Spent Easter weekend up in Vancouver, where I think the snow level was somewhere around the 25th floor of most downtown hotels. Since we were staying on the third floor of an apartment/hotel in the West End, all we got was cold rain, much of which was coming at us sideways.

But that's totally typical for this city in mid-April. It's pretty much typical in mid-June, as well, though the snow level is probably somewhat higher. I don't know if I've ever been to Vancouver when it wasn't windy and wet, but that's largely because I usually go in the low season when hotels are cheap and you're only competing with the locals for a table at the latest Indian or Greek restaurant (I recommend the Olympia on Denman).

Even at this time of year, however, you can find plenty of tourists at the border crossings, which are almost bad enough to make the whole idea of traveling to Canada unpalatable. The trip up from Seattle was bad enough. Because of Tuuli's work, we couldn't leave until 3:30. That's the Friday afternoon of Easter Weekend. It was not good. It took us nearly two hours just to get up to Marysville. There was stop and go traffic in Bellingham. We waited at the border for over an hour. We finally limped into Vancouver at about 8:45--over five hours after we left. Mapquest said it should take two hours and 38 minutes. The wait at the border coming back was even worse: an hour and twenty minutes.

We stayed in a small apartment building (the Oceanside) which had been converted to a hotel a few years ago. It was right across from the famous Sylvia Hotel, so was convenient to the water and Stanley Park. Our hotel selections were limited because we had the dog with us, but this place turned out just fine. It was quiet, adjacent to Denman Street, which was great for eating and people-watching and near Stanley Park, with it's Seawall Walk and 22 miles of hiking trails. The hotel was very modest, with simple but clean rooms. There was no pool. Parking, though free, was very limited and there is virtually no street parking in this area. The four-story hotel has no view rooms, so during the worst rain squalls when were stuck in the room, we amused ourselves with the constant parade of scavengers going through the dozens of dumpsters immediate vicinity. There was a notice in the lobby that all rooms had free wireless Internet access. It would have been nice if they had made mention of that on their website. Having my laptop would have made it much easier to research things to do and would have been a boon for the kids.

After arriving late Friday, I took a long walk in the rain to the other end of Denman where there is a large marina. Saturday was spent just screwing around (mostly involving the one thing the kids are interested in--eating) and Sunday we went to the Aquarium. We got home around 5. I immediately threw a big ham (pre-cooked) into the oven and we had our Easter dinner at about 7:30.

One disappointment: I had wanted to pickup a bottle of Absinthe (see earlier post) in Vancouver, where it is supposedly legal. The first liquor store I checked didn't have any, but it was pretty small and I thought the bigger one by the hotel would surely stock it. After not finding it on the shelf, I asked a clerk. He had never heard of it. That depressed me even more than the weather. I'm learning that some things are just not meant to be.

Case #99-234665

Yesterday (Wednesday) morning we awoke to find that Tuuli's car was missing from the its accustomed place in front of our house. Apparently, it had been stolen.

The car, a 1995 Subaru AWD Legacy wagon, was no beauty. With trim pieces missing here and there, a faded paint job and worn-out tires, it's the kind of vehicle you could leave unlocked, with the keys in the ignition, and the bad guys would just keep walking until they came to the next Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla, the two most-stolen cars in the Seattle area.

For some reason, however, they wanted this car. There was nothing of personal value inside. The interior was filthy, with dog hair, mud and other junk related to my wife's pet-sitting business. Nobody was taking this car to a chop-shop. We're not going to find it somewhere on cinder-blocks with its wheels and tires missing. I wouldn't give you 50 cents for the stereo.

So yes, one does wonder why it was this car that was stolen. The simple answer is that it was just a crime of opportunity, probably done by some local kids. Walking down the street in the middle of the night, checking every car on the street for unlocked doors. Looking for something in the glove compartment or the back seat that they could grab. Maybe someone had experience with a similar car and knew how to get it started. Or maybe someone put a little more thought into it and decided that a ten-year old Subaru wagon was the perfect low-profile, non-descript sort of car with which to commit other crimes. Chances are we'll never know.

But the really unfortunate part is what a pinch this puts us in logistically. Like most families, we simply need two cars. And because money is tight right now, the idea of renting a car for $50 or $60 a day is not too palatable (our insurance reimbursement for rentals tops out at $20 a day). And when the car is found (almost 90% of cars stolen in Seattle are recovered), it undoubtedly will have some damage. It may have been crashed into another car and thus be totalled, or it could just have had its ignition punched. The former scenario will get us a couple thousand from the insurance company, the latter a few days in the shop and the cost of our deductible. If it turns out that we need to buy a replacement vehicle, that is going to be a huge hit.

I'm not really mad that the car was stolen. That happens all the time and we just have to deal with it. But nothing, and especially nothing bad, ever occurs in a vacuum and this has just been a tough week, for a lot of reasons. This was just the topping on the cake, as they say.

A Different Kind of Post

This is what posting means in Cle Elum.

Went over to our cabin Tuesday night and spent all day Wednesday working in a new garden I'm putting in. I actually started the garden last fall when I cleared an area at the bottom of our front yard of a hodgepodge of brush, small trees, an old firepit and miscellaneous garbage that had been left there by the home's previous owners. Once cleared, I gave it a good tilling and let it sit for the winter.

Yesterday, I pulled the tiller out of storage and worked the ground again for a couple hours, mixing in much of the organic debris that had collected over the winter (mostly old leaves and twigs) until I had a nice, rich composty loam to a depth of about ten inches.

Because our yard is a magnet for deer, elk, rabbits and skunks, I felt that a fence was a necessity to ensure a viable garden. To support the fence, I dug 11 post holes to a depth of 18 inches, put in the posts and set them with concrete. In the next couple weeks I'll string some chicken wire and complete the job.

The garden has a dead south exposure and will get plenty of sun, even though there are two or three tall pines that will give some shade. The plot is also on a mild slope, which should not only help get everything some extra sun, but should also provide good drainage. At some point before the weather gets really hot, I'll have to install some kind of automatic irrigation system that will water the garden when I'm not around.

Now the only question is what to plant. The growing season in Cle Elum is quite short, with freezing temperatures expected from the first of October until the end of April. Most local gardeners do their planting in late April or early May, so that precludes the possibility of many vegetables that might be available in a milder climate.

Other possibilities would be something like grapes and berries. I put in some grapes about ten years ago in a small garden closer to the house and they have done quite well, with virtually no supplemental water and very little care. The only problem is that as they are still maturing toward the end of September, if you get an early freeze, the fruit is killed immediately.

Another thing you have to plan for, besides the short growing season, is minimum temperature tolerance. Although the winters have been relatively warm lately, there's never been a December or January when the temperature doesn't get close to 0 degrees and I remember several times when it got down to -10 or -15, which is low enough to kill many perennials, including a lot of popular grape varieties.

Therefore, I'm also looking closely at berries, some of which, such as blueberries, should do quite well in Cle Elum's climate. Another possibility would be a mini-orchard. The space is big enough (being about 500 square feet) where I could probably put in three or four dward fruit trees.

I'd love to put in some corn, peas, potatoes and tomatoes, but for reasons already mentioned, I don't know if that's going to work. Vegetables are extra tough because they require more frequent care and I just don't know if I'll be over there enough this summer to do all the weeding, etc that's necessary for their survival. I'll let you know in a couple weeks what I've decided!

Spring Reign 2006

"Spring Reign" is what they call it, but this year "Winter Deluge" might have been more appropriate. This is the world's ultimate Ultimate Frisbee tournament, attracting teams from as far away as Alberta, Canada, Northern California and Billings, Montana, 56 of them to be exact, in a 2-day feast of food, fun and coping with fickle Northwest weather..

Younger daughter Savanna and I arrived at the incredibly expansive Burlington site next to the Skagit River early Saturday morning. It was raining. It was blowing. The temperature was in the low 40s. It was good weather for soccer, but very bad weather for throwing a 175 gram disc. After checking in at the official headquarters, we plotted a course for our field. Unfortunately, we forgot to bring our GPS plotter and field glasses, but after what seemed to be some kind of vision quest, we did hook up with our teammates, who were huddled under a white and red awning, resisting the coach's plea to take the field and start warming up.

At 10am sharp, the first of the three Saturday games began and despite the inclement conditions, the game went well, with the good guys (the Whitman Wildcats) winning 13-0. The second and third games went a little less-well, with one blowout to a team that included some high school players and a close loss to a very good private school from Tacoma. The kids played great for all three games and seemed to be enjoying themselves despite the near-impossibility of staying warm or dry.

After the game Savi and I checked into our motel, where she hooked up with some of her teammates. A bunch of us went out for dinner and when we returned to the room at about 8, we were so tired that we just watched TV for a couple hours and went to bed at 10.

Thanks goodness the rain stopped sometime during the night and Sunday morning found the conditions much better. We got to the fields at about 9:30 and again started our first game promptly at 10. Because of the results from yesterday's games we got into a difficult bracket, but the kids held on to a win a very tight match. The second and third games were also very close, but both resulted in tough losses against very good teams.

With the exception of one game, there were five matchups that were very close, with the average margin of victory being somewhere between two and three points. The games were exciting and fun to watch and they all lasted close to the 90-minute time limit. I think most of the kids had a great time, especially on Sunday. The tournament was very well organized with lots of food, and the weekend just sort of flew by. In the spirit of Ultimate Frisbee, where good sportsmanship is part of the culture and co-ed play is mandated (each team must have three girls and four guys), a lot of friends no doubt were made.

Savanna, as usual, was one of the star players and made several spectacular sliding catches and was the top scorer for the Whitman team. Along the sideline, she earned the nickname "The Claw" for her uncanny ability to make difficult one-handed snags. She also won two "Spirit Disks" which the opposing team awards to players who show exceptional sportsmanship and enthusiasm.

Rue Are You??

It's not often we're able to use the quaint little word "rue." You know what I'm talking about, as in: 'I rue the day my sister was born," or "I rue the fact that my sister won't join me in an absinthe-tasting party." In common usage, I think most of us use "rue" as a shortcut for regret, or to imply disappointment.

The primary dictionary definition of rue is to "bitterly regret," such as "I bitterly regret that my sister is being such a jerk about this." Remember the part about bitterly, as that's going to be important in a minute or two.

I love learning about the origin and development of words, or their "etymology" as it is technically called. Do you know what the etymology of etymology is? Like most English words, it comes from a Greek root, in this case "etumos" which means true or truth. Therefore, the study of a word's origin leads us to the truth of its original meaning, which in many cases leads to a better understanding of its current usage, or at the very least, is just plain interesting in the sense of how words can change their meaning over time.

Getting back to rue. While doing my research on absinthe (see previous post), I ran across wormwood, which is a type of herb, the oil of which is often regarded as the second-most bitter substance out there. I can hear you asking, "Well, if wormwood is the second-most bitter substance, what is the most bitter?" I'm glad you asked me that, because that's what this whole posting is about!

According to my highly suspect sources (the Internet), the most bitter natural substance on earth comes from a perennial plant called Ruta graveolens, also known as the common rue, which is an ancient medicinal herb from the citrus family, still valued today for its uniquely bitter properties (often used as a natural insect repellant). The actual word rue (in both its noun and verb forms) goes back through old English, Latin and even Greek, where its basic meanings have remained similar--bitterness, in all its forms.

Somewhere in the early years of Old English's development, the bitterness of the herb came to be applied to people's feelings of regret or disappointment and hence its modern usage as a verb. So now you know that if you want to use the non-noun form of the word "rue" in its traditional sense, your meaning must include an element of bitterness or recrimination, such as "She'll rue the day she decided not to share a goblet of absinthe with me." Have I made my point yet???

Finally, you might also be asking: "Well, Frank, that's all very interesting, but what about the French word rue, which we often hear, and which means street or boulevard. Surely that must come from the same root, but I don't get the connection between a bitter herb and a Parisian street. How do you explain that?" OK, I don't have quite enough time to delve into that, but I'm sure that if I did, it would have something to do with my sister being narrow-minded and petty, so we'll just have to leave it there for now.

Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

It was sometime in college, or possibly a little thereafter, that I first heard about absinthe. All I remember is a friend telling me that it tasted like mouthwash. Well, I liked mouthwash then and I still like it today. The only thing is, now I don't drink it.

Absinthe has been technically illegal in the United States since about 1910, so I never did get a chance to try what is affectionately known as "The Green Fairy," or, if you happen to be anywhere near the Balkans where an inferior version is distilled, "The Green Death."

What is absinthe? Well, you could call it a liqueur, or spirits, or bitters or an apertif. Predominantly produced and consumed in Europe (where the EU has recently legalized it), the best brands are French and Swiss. It is known for its high alcohol content, which often exceeds 150 proof, and for its unique distillation process, which involves the use of several bitter herbs and oils, not the least of which is wormwood, and its primary active ingredient, thujone.

Thujone, as it turns out, has an infamous history. As a component of wormwood oil, one of the bitterest natural substances known to exist, it plays a key part in the absinthe folklore. It is also the main reason that the FDA has banned the distillation (though not the possession) of absinthe in the United States. It seems that thujone is at once somewhat psychoactive, as well as quite poisonous, in large enough quantities. As my sister Sue has said, there are plenty of other foul-tasting alcoholic products on the market, so I guess this was an easy one for Western nations to ban. The fact that wormwood oil was known to cause seizures in epileptics didn't help.

Even in Switzerland and especially France, where absinthe had sort of a cult following with the artistic underground, its possession became illegal after the turn of the 20th century due to fears that it caused insanity, apathy (which was a big deal in the years leading up to the first World War), lessening of sexual inhibitions and last but possibly not least, death.

Still, afficionados found a way to get their fix and distilleries started popping up in Eastern Europe, catering to niche absinthe markets on the Continent as well as a strong following in New Orleans, which often honors the French tradition. Speaking of tradition, absinthe is often consumed, even today, in the time-honored manner where one pours a certain amount of the beverage into a glass goblet, which is then diluted with an equal part of water, poured over a cube of sugar, supported on the rim of the glass by an ornate spoon. This process of dilution produces what's called the "louche," which is a swirling-up of the absinthe's essential oils, intensifying the the drink's green color and producing, it is said, an almost hypnotic state in some observers.

From the little research I've done, it appears that absinthe can be ordered over the Internet from European retailers for legal delivery to the United States. Its cost is about $40-$75 (+ shipping) per half litre bottle. It is also available in parts of Canada, including British Columbia, where the thujone content is strictly controlled. I understand that it is allowable to bring it across the border.

I may be going up to Vancouver in the next couple weeks and I have every intention of bringing back some absinthe. I'm only discouraged by the knowledge that my dear sister Sue has preemptively declared her lack of interest in the requisite absinthe party. She has done her own research and calls the liquor "Vile, contemptible, dangerous and illicit," or words to that effect. And yet she still doesn't want to try it. She did admit, however, that it would probably make an excellent rat poison.

Well, all is know is that if it tastes anything like mouthwash, that's good enough for me. And I hear it doesn't have that minty methyl-alcohol aftertaste, either. I'll give you a full and objective report in a couple weeks. In the meantime, for more information on absinthe, just google it.

Restaurant Review

Just got back from the latest star in Seattle's dining scene, Tutta Bella's Neapolitan Pizzeria in Upper Fremont.

Ironically (for me at least), the massive space this veritable pizza factory occupies is a former print shop, one in which I actually worked. I half-expected the miasma of printer's ink and solvent as I walked up the familiar front steps, but even though it was early evening, the kitchen was humming and the only smell was a delightful one wafting out from the massive twin brick ovens.

Make no mistake, this is a big, open restaurant with minimalist wall treatments, few dividers and little adornment. It's meant to be a loud, family-style bistro, with plain wood tables and unfinished ceilings. Though we were shuffled off to a far corner of the restaurant, the service was excellent. The girls' sodas (bibite) were quickly refilled and our salads arrived within ten minutes of ordering. The Caesar was wonderfully fresh with a spicy dressing. The small easily fed two, while the large, as I was told, would serve 4.

Of course, most people are coming to Tutta Bella's for the impossibly thin-crusted Neapolitan style pizzas. With the fresh tomato sauce and the excellent organic toppings, the eleven inch pizzas are just right for one person. Even my youngest daughter finished hers with no problem. The pizzas matched the decor--tasteful, understated, even Spartan.

Prices for pizza ranged from $7.95 to $10.95. The Caesar was $5.50 for the small or $8.50 for the large. Finish up with the ever-changing gelata specials or the incomparable bucket of tiramisu, big enough to serve three or four, but just right for two. Get a dessert, and a single-shot of Antibassi espresso is complementary.

Other Seattle restaurants have tried to make their fortune in the thin-crust pizza game, but have had to compromise along the way, usually be offering non-pizza options. Tutta Bella succeeds in making the pizza joint a restaurant destination and a special event. Get there early and even then plan on parking on the street, as the parking lot will probably be full. A second Tutta Bella location is in the resurgent Columbia City neighborhood, on Rainier Avenue South. There will probably be more--look for one on the Eastside soon.

Fashion Illustration

I've been after my 14-year old daughter Tiana to take a fashion illustration course since last September. I still can vividly remember some fashion design sketches she drew several years that just blew me away. She hasn't done much drawing since then, but I know she has talent and definitely has an interest in fashion. The New York Fashion Academy, which is located in Old Ballard (not far from our house) each quarter offers a full range of fashion-related courses and though the overall focus of the school is more in the vocational realm, I talked to the teachers and we all felt that Tiana would do just fine with the introductory course.

I had sort of given up hope that Tiana would ever agree to take the class, especially if none of her friends could take it with her. And besides, she is playing softball 2-3 times a week now and has just joined up with the local cheerleading squad, so she is reasonably busy. I was very pleased, however, and quite surprised, when she told me a couple weeks ago that she would take the course.

Last night was her first class. They'll meet every Monday for 2-1/2 hours for the next month and then she can go on to more advanced classes, if she wants. She said last night went fine, even though she was the youngest in the class by about ten years. I'm looking forward to seeing how her interest and talents evolve in the next four weeks. The accompanying pic is a scan of some sketches she made last night, which we can sort of use for a baseline. I'll try to post something that she has drawn after every class.

Table Returns

The table that mysteriously disappeared from my driveway earlier today has magically returned--whence, I know not.

Table Has Legs, Walks Away

This is unbelievable!

I've been meaning to refinish our kitchen table, so when today's weather looked sunny and reasonably warm, I hauled it outside and set it up in the driveway, by the garage.

I totally sanded off the old finish and put on three coats of a water-based gloss finish, waiting about an hour between coats. The sun was shining and the garage/driveway gets a clear south exposure, so the finish was setting up and drying nicely. I'd easily have it done in time for the kids coming home from school.

The mail come early and because I had something that needed to get out, I walked down to the corner mail box to drop off a letter. When I came back, the table was gone!

Because the table was fairly close to the sidewalk (although still clearly on my private driveway), someone must have thought I was giving it away and they just took it. For God's sake, the finish was probably still wet! There was sandpaper, rags and a can of varnish right next to it. Can you freakin' believe that?? I am so upset....

Well, I talked to the neighbors and nobody saw anything. I also put up a sign stating that the table was not free and that it would be nice if whomever took it, brought it back.

Anyway, it's probably gone for good. It was a nice table and looked really sharp after refinishing. Just disappointing that someone would take it.

Hill Climbing in Seattle, Cycle-style

My brother-in-law (Greg) and I met at his Fremont home yesterday (Sunday) morning at 8:45 for a quick two hour tour of some of the city's hills. As I've done more and more riding the last couple years, I've found it increasingly difficult to get a goodcardiovascular workout without going for very long rides, often in the 4-6 hour range. It became really tough to fit in that much time, especially in the standard time months, where daylight hours are at a premium.

Last fall, I started doing some hill-climbs--running style--and found that was a great workout. In 30-40 minutes I could get the heart-rate way up and after a steady diet of that for 6 months, I feel really fit. But running up and down the same hill four or five times a week got a bit tiresome, so I guess it was time to get out on the bike.

The weather yesterday morning was blustery and cool, with a solid 15 mph wind blowing out of the south. The two miles to Greg's place involves a couple little hills and halfway there I already felt like this was going to be a long morning. It's a funny thing about cycling--it can take an incredibly long time to get warmed up. Especially with the wind blowing and the cool temps, I was just dragging. It's a psychological thing you have to get over. Just like riding up a big hill, things always get better on the other side.

We did have a nice break as we rode down Fremont Ave to the bridge. Then it was over the Ship Canal, up a moderate incline (Dexter), until we came to the cutoff that led to the Aurora Avenue underpass, going past Canlis Restaurant. Then another incline as we worked out way up the northside of Queen Anne hill, with a very steep section going up 4th Avenue N.

We made our way to the very top of QA (watertower) and worked our way down the south face to the bottom. Just for fun, we climbed up the west side of the hill and soon found oursevles on the top once again. We rode to the north side of the hill, found Dravus and sped west toward Magnolia. As it goes up the Magnolia hill, Dravus becomes very steep (unrideable?), so we just made it up as far as we could and took a left, heading south. After a few blocks, we found a very steep, but more manageable way up and soon were at Bayview Park, a fairly obscure, but very nice city park with a wonderful view of the Port Area and the north end of Queen Anne.

We made it to the top of Magnolia's east ridge, slid down and headed up the west ridge, toward the watertower. Again the way was very steep and quite long and though we both powered up, it was the most challenging part of the ride and definitely one of the more challenging hill climbs I've ever done.

We headed north to Discovery Park, worked our way through the old parade grounds with its wide open view of Puget Sound, and snuck down toward the locks, following an old road loaded with downed trees, shady and slippery with a winter's growth of moss. We were soon walking through the Government locks, picked a newly-completed section of the Burke Gilman trail that took us to Shilshole Bay and biked north to Golden Garden Park, where we took a winding, unshouldered road up the hill to the top of 32nd Ave NW. Then it was just a short ride home for me (Greg still had to go to Fremont) with the overall time of the ride being about 100 minutes.

FutureMe.org Update

On a website, far, far away, I once wrote about FutureMe.org. Basically, FutureMe is an email gateway where one can write a message to any valid email address, and have it delivered at some future date of the user's choosing, whether it be next week or in five years. If FutureMe is even around in five years is a question I choose to ignore, mainly because their basic premise is so compelling to me that I want them to survive a long, long time. The idea of a successful delayed email delivery may not have flown a few years ago, where most of us were changing their email addresses more frequently than their cars' oil filters, but now with gmail, yahoo mail and other free web-based (non ISP-dependent) email services available, the odds that someone will keep the same email address for more than a few years is reasonably good.

The idea of sending an email on a delayed basis is frought with tingly possibilities. As FutureMe makes clear, once the message is sent, there is no taking it back. As my sister Sue would say (albeit for different reasons), it has a high "cringe factor."

I sent a test message to myself on December 15, for delivery three months later. Sure enough, last week on March 15, I received it. The system works! I would love to send a message to my older daughter, for reception when she was 18 years old. I would say that I hope she's happy and fulfilled and at least somewhat educated. I would also tell her that I hope we're still on speaking terms and that she feels loved. I would tell her that she has no idea how difficult she sometimes made things for me, and for herself, and how I know she didn't understand that the things I was trying to teach her were for her ultimate good. There's a lot more that I would say that I can't go into now, but you get the point. It's a great vehicle for conveying emotions that might otherwise be lost forever.

Apparently, it's also a great vehicle for conveying a bunch of crap. Interesting, and occasionally poignant, crap--but crap nonethless. Have you ever noticed how poor writing and grammar can make the tenderest of thoughts irrelevant? All of that and more are in the public pages of FutureMe.org, where those who so choose, share their future emails. Go there, and prepare to be amused. While you're at it, send me a message to be delivered in six months. I'd appreciate it. A digital divulgence or disclosure would be nice--something juicy!

CCFA Luncheon

Yesterday afternoon found me at the Westin Hotel's Grand Ballroom for the fourth Annual Awards Luncheon for the Northwest Chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America.

As I drove downtown, the weather had me worried, even though the event was obviously inside. If it started raining hard, I might have to park in the Westin's very pricey garage. If it was reasonably dry, I could feed the meters with a pound of coins and walk. Yes, I'm cheap. Luckily, the weather held.

The banquet room was already bursting at its seams when I arrived about twenty minutes early. I was expecting a lot of people but was amazed at how tightly packed everybody was. That definitely added some electricity to the event and made going through the silent auction line somewhat of an ordeal.

We were let into the ballroom right at 12 noon and I was able to briefly chat with the other 9 people at my table, all whom were very amiable. The middle-aged woman on my left reviled me with horror stories of her medical condition, but the only other mild-negative for the whole event (other than forgetting to take some pictures with my cameraphone) was the meal's entree: what appeared on the plate to be a nice, big flaky, piece of fish turned out to be something quite different--I think it was chicken. The lack of a readily-identifiable taste/texture of the questionable creature was somewhat disconcerting, as well as indigestible. But I digress.

The program started off with a bit from Pat Cashman, who handed off to Tony Ventrella, who handed off to my buddy Steve Wright, the foundation's Executive Director. Other speakers included a very poised 14-year old Chelsea Nofield, representing a youthful perspective on living with Crohn's disease (a serious digestive disorder). I was quite amazed that she was able to carry herself so well in front of such a big audience. Equally impressive was Cody Shadle, a guitar-playing teenager, who shared his experiences with Crohn's as well as how much he was helped by the CCFA-sponsored Camp Oasis, which he said was a life changing event. Very cool speakers.

Next up on the podium was Mike McCready, guitarist from Pearl Jam, who has kind of spearheaded the entire luncheon thing and has become a big part of local fundraising and awareness efforts, particuarly since he publicly disclosed a few years ago that he also suffers from Crohn's.

Finally, it was time for the luncheon's featured speaker, Ron Reagan, whom I had really been looking forward to hearing. He bounced up onto the platform, looking very energetic and stylish in his black-on-black linen outfit, the true picture, perhaps, of a professional speaker. His 30-minute talk was at times serious, at times humorous, but always inspirational. The Seattle-area resident touched on things dear to most liberal's hearts, including healthcare reform (universal coverage) and stem-cell research, and how the present administration is blocking both. Very little was said of his rather better-known father, and then it was only in passing, in a very-detached and objective manner. I found his message very appealing, and was somewhat surprised that he was not given a standing ovation.

The event ended with an exciting live auction for an X-box 360 autographed by Bill Gates and four box-seat tickets for next year's Super Bowl, provided by the Seattle Seahawks.

CCFA's mission statement is "To cure and prevent Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis through research, and to improve the quality of life of children and adults affected by these digestive diseases through education and support." To learn more, go to http://www.ccfa.org/chapters/northwest/ .

Fusion Fizzle

Well, it's been about a month now, since I purchased the new Fusion Razor. By Gillette, as they say. Let's see--a month...that equals about 7-8 shaves for me. That should be a pretty good test.

As some of you will remember from an earlier posting, my first time shaving with the Fusion was rather underwhelming. The shave, while fairly smooth, should have been smoother. I thought there was a bit much pulling and scratching, but the end result was a very, very close shave. Probably close enough where a lot of people wouldn't bother shaving the next day.

But the Fusion started to fizzle, the more I used it. It seemed that the blades dulled rapidly and what wasn't all that smooth a shave in the first place, quickly became even less so. While still cutting close to the skin, the much-touted comfort of the shaving experience wasn't there for me. The large head of the razor was a distraction, requiring too much attention to keep the five blades evenly pressed upon the skin. And because of the razor's width, it was impossible to get right under the nose, or even to make a clean cut on your sideburns. Gillette does include a single blade on the opposite side of the razor for getting into those tight spaces, but I found its use counter-intuitive and again had difficulty finding the optimum angle for that blade to cut on.

All in all, I much preferred the 3-bladed Mach 3 razor, also by Gillette. I found that unit to be very comfortable to maneuver, very smooth, with little pulling. While its closeness doesn't quite match the Fusion's, it was plenty good for me.

Giant multi-national corporations rarely make blunders when developing products like the Fusion, so my dissenting views may not represent the mainstream, nor have I really studied the general public's reception of this pricey razor. I'll just say that, in my humble opinion, Gillette has made a billion dollar goof. If that's the case, look for a new Fusion marketing/advertising campaign and for the price of the razor and blades to start coming down, as the company tries to jumpstart sales. Failing that, the razor will be phased out in a year or two and a new one will take its place. Possibly to "save face," the new razor will be called something like Fusion2 and most assuredly, it will be "new and improved."

Ultimate Frisbee Report

For those interested (and I'm quite sure you number in the high single-digits), Savanna's Ultimate Frisbee team won their opening two games today. The first game of the doubleheader was a forfeit against Salmon Bay, who had misread the schedule. The second game was a very hard-fought battle against middle-school arch-rival Eckstein, one of the best teams in the league last year.

Savanna's team, the Whitman Wildcats, got off to an early 5-1 lead with Savi scoring the second and third points. But like the cold and cruel wind that was blowing across the muddy field, Eckstein would not relent and mounted a cataytic comeback on five straight points, taking a 6-5 lead, mostly due their sudden switch to a zone defense. The game was then tied at six and then tied at seven, at which point I began feeling totally faint (I've been sick--yeah!) and had to leave.

From what I understand, the next few points were epic battles and then with the game again tied at 9-9, Savanna scored on the best catch of the afternoon, leaping high over the opposing team's best defender and snagging the dish, putting the Wildcats in a position to win with one more point. The Whitman defense held and the plucky blue and yellow disc-dishers were finally able to punch in the eleventh and winning goal (which also required at least a two-point margin of victory). The game took over two hours to play, which is almost unheard of in Ultimate Frisbee. Being considered quite long.

Question...

Must we acknowledge just the truth, or the perception of truth?

Dual-booting Mac

As some of you may have heard, Apple is phasing out the long-toothed Motorola G-series of processors in favor of Intel chips. For the first time, Mac and Windows machines will be running on similar, if not identical, chips.

Of course, the operating systems are as divergent as ever, if not more so. The Apple machines are based on the UNIX operating system, and Windows is running--well, Windows.

But the hardware commonalities between the two systems, including not just the chips, but the hard-drives, RAM, CD and DVD drives, external devices and connectivity and networking, present some interesting opportunities, the coolest of which is the idea of a single computer that can boot up from either operating system. This has long been a quest of many Mac users who must co-exist in a world where Windows operating systems constitute 90+ percent of the personal computer market. Emulation software, while popular, just doesn't cut it.

The big news is that just yesterday March 15, 2006), a winner was announced in a coding contest for the first person/group to successfully boot up an Intel Mac into either Windows XP or OS X. To win the nearly $14,000 pool (all of which was contributed by interested individuals and small businesses), the code was independently verified to:

--Boot Windows XP natively (no virtualization) on an Intel Mac
--Allow Windows XP to coexist with Mac OS X with neither OS interfering with the other
--Upon starting the computer, user must be offered a choice of which OS to boot

Undoubtedly the workaround will not be endorsed by either Microsoft or Apple, but the winning code has just been posted on the Internet and is available for enthusiasts to play with. More information, including a link to the winning code, is HERE. The implications of such a versatile operating environment are enormous, if the licensing details can be worked out, and will be discussed in a future posting when more details become available.

Spring Training

The field was muddy and the south wind was biting. Rain was forecast and hamstrings were tight, but "our" first baseball practice of the year was pulled off a couple nights ago at the Loyal Heights field, four days before the opening day of spring.

This year it's really a family affair, with me helping out as the inept but well-liked assistant coach, my brother-in-law Don appearing as the Manager, sister Cindy the misunderstood Player Agent, and of course, nephew Sam as one of the team's star players.

We started off with some warm-up stretches, led by Stu, a real-life conditioning coach, and went right into ten minutes of short throwing. After that was fifteen minutes of fielding practice and we finished with bunting and hitting drills. At 6:15 it was already getting dark and the line-drives were becoming a blur, so we called it quits before someone got beaned (me).

It felt great to dust off the glove and throw on the cleats again, which had been stowed away in the garage since last July. The Little League team will have two practices a week for the next couple weeks and then the games start. Then on this coming Monday, it's the first practice for my girls' softball team, which I also coach. That'll be two days a week, plus one weekly game starting in early April. Last but not least is the men's softball team I play on, whose practices will also start in a couple weeks. So for the next few months, there will be plenty to do.

Savanna's UIltimate Frisbee practices started last week with her first games tomorrow, and Tiana has turned out for cheerleading, so for the first time in quite a while, the girls will also be busy.