Happy Bday

Happy Birthday Lhes!

I want my 2 hours back

Last night we went to see a movie at our awesome art theater. Here is the description straight from the website.

Flight of the Red Balloon
Director: Hsiao-Hsien Hou, Country: France, Release: 2007, Runtime: 113, Rating: NR, Language: in French with subtitles
“A work of tremendous precision and heartfelt emotion, made by one of the great artists in the medium.” (Salon.com)
Starring Juliette Binoche, this exquisite homage to the original Red Balloon is by one of cinema’s masters, the Taiwanese director Hsiao-Hsien Hou (The Puppetmaster, Flowers of Shanghai). Receiving rave reviews at last year’s Cannes, this subtle and lyrical meditation on childhood and loss is told through the quiet story of a young boy in Paris and his harried mother (Binoche, in a marvelous performance), whose life is slowly fraying at the seams. Not for children.

Both of us wanted to walk out. Mike ended up sleeping through a fair amount of the movie. First of all, I still do not have any idea how it was a homage to the original movie. They kept showing a red balloon floating around at times with some really dull piano music. It just appeared like they were trying way to hard. As Homer would say, "Less Artsy, More Fartsy". I sensed we were in trouble when a character in the movie raved about a movie she saw, because it was so real. It was really like watching paint dry with absolutely no plot. I could have stared into space at home and been more entertained. There was no intellectual challenge either. Here are some quotes from Mike:
"I think I want to do some taxes when we get home; it would be more exciting than that movie"
"I liked Barney's submission to the Springfield Film Festival better"
"Forget the $20, I want my life back"
I lamented that we could have snuck over to the other screen and saw part of "Where in the World is Osama?" Grandma would have appreciated that one. It also reminded me of a movie I saw with Ann and Kevin years ago at the DIA. The first 10 or 15 minutes was a guy drinking tea. At least that movie picked up when the old lady used a basket as a marital aide!

How to look 10 years older....

Put your passport pictures side to side after renewal and see how you have changed! I suppose I cheat with my hair color, but the world really is not ready for my salt n' pepa hair!

Changing Speeds to Go the Distance - New York Times

Changing Speeds to Go the Distance - New York Times

I respond to commands

I did not know this for a long time, but I recently learned that when I am snoring at night, Mike tells me "No Snoring" and I stop. Last night I stirred when he got up in the middle of the night, and I was laughing and repeating the word, "Ghosts". That's when Mike said, "There are no ghosts", and I returned peacefully to sleep.

Doing something wrong

Mike and I cruised by a new house on the market in CT in a neighborhood we liked. When we went to turn around, there was this huge stone and shingle house (classic snooty New England style, but I just really love the stone and shingle despite how impratical it is). Parked next to the estate was one of the local hot dog lunch trucks. In our town, there are 3 trucks that park at regular spots every day. I wonder what they charge for those hot dogs?

WE presents - High School Confidential - March 10th

I would have been the lamest subject for this show. I did not get pregnant, anorexic, or cut myself during high school. My statements would have been, "This is where I shared a whole packet of crackers with HH every morning". I suppose the worst would have been, "This is where I would avoid the creepy comments of our school's diving coach".

Munich

There was a NY times article about Munich. It is becoming hip to visit there apparently. This is what I remember about Munich. I did have a gut time there.

1. Thinking I was jaded when we wandered over to the Glockenspiel to see the clock in action. By then I had seen a lot of old clocks going off on my trip, and I did not have my camera ready. Whoah, I wrestled the camera out of the bag for that one. It is the best old clock I have seen.
2. Hofbrau house: eating at the long picnic tables and Mike arguing in German with the waiter.
3. The seedy bar that featured booths with curtains and Eurotrash techno musik pumping. The song that captured our collective attention had a refrain "I want to go to Ibiza" in a staccato rhythm.

So although it was not hip when I visited, it was a good time.

Run Noisy, Run Deep - The New York Times

Run Noisy, Run Deep - The New York Times
Am I a geek for thinking this is interesting? I will have to take a listen next time I am underwater.

Birthdaypalooza

Happy Birthday Gucky.

The big one...

Happy Birthday to Sue!

Dream analysis

Here are some of the bizarre events during my dreams over the last few days:

Discovered that I was another of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends

Swimming with seals in the ocean that were swarming me and getting close, nuzzling my neck, and being generally friendly.

I was late to my second wedding, even though I had a wedding already. Since I had a wedding already, I was not concerned about how the second wedding would go. I think I have had a similar dream before.

Please don't commit me.

Go Team

Mike and I got into a discussion about mascots tonight. We noticed that the following mascot types are not generally represented:

primates
rodents (except the MIT beavers, and occasional gophers)
African animals (elephants, hyenas, zebras, hippos, giraffes)
insects (I know about the banana slug)
most birds (except Raptors and things like Cardinals)
most fish (How about "Go Flounders"?)
Ungulates
fruits and vegetables

Speaking of flounder, what the hell is up with those fish? They are too ugly to eat. I wonder if their mothers love their looks.

This one's for P

Can you find the fine athletes from our family in these pictures. These are from the same year. I put a bad one of me so I would not hear any whining.

BP Opens Multi-Floor, 1,000-Pump Flagship Gas Station In Times Square

Is it me, or is the baby a little creepy in this logo?

Who Cares About Pennies When There’s Candy? - Freakonomics - Opinion - New York Times Blog

Who Cares About Pennies When There’s Candy? - Freakonomics - Opinion - New York Times Blog
I think it is time to move!

Not worthy

Check out what Mike got in the mail today. I get invited to test drive Masaratis, and he gets to carry an Ironman credit card. If only the Ironman people could see what sorry shape we are in! If you have not completed an Ironman, can you really use this? That would be another layer of poserdom.

We go to possibly one of the most hard-core Ys I have ever seen. There are a bunch of triathletes that train there, and they are into it all year. I have witnessed something that resembled a transition in the locker in the WINTER (going from Masters to a spin class)! There are a ton of people who are rocking Ironman tattoos. One dude was decked out head to toe with Ironman gear (bike shorts, jersey, helmet, backpack, possibly underwear). There are a lot of oval stickers that have the 140.6 on it parked in the lot. We used to joke about getting 1/2 of the ironman logo tattoed since we have only done half ironman distance! So I am willing to bet somebody has the credit card!

One of the hard core people we talk to is going to do Lake Placid this summer. He was telling us about riding over this winter. I will not ride under 45 degrees. It is just not fun at all. That is what you would need to do though to get ready for a race in the end of June! Otherwise, biking, swimming, and running inside! It is hard enough to train long distances, but indoors? Forget it. That is why we are never in shape until August! We are signed up for our first event on May 18th, so here's to motivation!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Mom! I hope you find a great way to celebrate. I also hope that your day is more springlike.

Ambivalent

I am thinking I need to get off my sorry arse and contribute to society in some way (rather than ranting and raving about the state of affairs or lying on the couch). So I will be searching for some ideas how to accomplish that. Any suggestions are welcome.
Horney told me that they are planning a 20th reunion for high school. Holy crap how did that many years fly by? So she told me about some of the people organizing, and I have to say that I really did not know them. Entering high school after going to a different elementary and middle school did not allow for much clique infiltration frankly. So I am mildly curious about the reunion, but I am not sure if I would get anything out of it. I would love to go to a grade school reunion since that group of 30 or so kids is who I remember the most. A swim team reunion would be really great since by high school that is all that I did besides school. Is is just me? Pat said he had fun at his 10th. Maybe it would be more fun than I think. Horney says she is not going, so I do not think I will since I will not have any close friends there.

ein vollkommenes Radler

Mike and I have been working feverishly between illness and lazy habits to perfect a Radler for the summer. We had a great one during the party for his aunt in Germany, and it is a great drink for the summer. Our first attempt was 50% Sprite, 50% Beer (Bitburger, a good German Pilsner). Pretty close, but not quite there. We then tried 50% lemonade, but it was too sweet. I liked the version I made with 1/2 beer and one cup of Sprite (pretty damn close and good). We decided to try Natural Italian Lemon Soda yesterday (50% lemon soda which is more like a lemonade diluted by mineral water). I think we have a winner. It is really good, and that type of soda is not too sweet so it had a perfect balance. So I included a picture of EuroMike and a perfect Radler!

Fearmongers, Warmongers Gather For Annual Mongering Conference

We be illin'

I was home sick until Tuesday. Wed night, Mike developed cold symptoms. He had to work through it due to important stuff he had to do at work. This is the first time we have transmitted an illness to each other. We are really good about treating the sick one like a leper and avoiding various bugs. Mike suggested the other night we need to update our quarantine policy. He was thinking now we need to get a hotel room when somebody comes home sick.

On another note, I could not watch my Spartans last night (due to regional coverage friggin' CBS). That spared me significant pain.

Sold Out 2

So I marked my calender to sign up for the Westchester Tri. As I said before, I have not done the race since 2004 since it keeps selling out. I used to sign up for the race the week before (and that was in 2002, 2003 which is not ancient history).

So I grabbed my sleeping bag and headed outside to spend the night near the cyber ticketmaster. It really felt like getting tickets to a rock concert that was expected to sell out quickly.

I asked Mike to get them, but he can not access these types of things at work. So I rushed home between school and my home care cases to buy them. I checked at 1:50 and discovered the entry fee was $175. WTF!!!! That was almost triple the fee we paid 4 years ago! I called Mike to confer, and he called me back at 2. When I logged back in, THE EVENT WAS SOLD OUT :(

They really need a lottery, or at least open registration on a Sat so everyone would have a fair chance entering the race. I sent a whiny email to the race director, and now we are on a waiting list. Oh wait, I could have signed up and paid $300 for a charity slot. They also had $500 slots selling a training program. I wonder how many of those they reserved. It is so crazy. What are they, Golden circle entries? I think for $300 I should get a message on the run every mile (or a push).
So enough of my whining, at least I saved us 350 dollars!

Good excuse

passive-aggressive (and just plain aggressive) notes — painfully polite and hilariously hostile writings from shared spaces the world over

Yes, Running Can Make You High - New York Times

Yes, Running Can Make You High - New York Times
Yeah, sometimes running can make me wolf down a pizza too.

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

This one's for Pat. I could not get it to download from Youtube. I think little J needs to add this one to his repetiore.

Cure for the common cold

Killepitsch
As you all know I missed the Easter celebration yesterday. Mike arrived home last night from his parents house with a care package that included something for my cold. A few years ago, I got into a discussion about Jaegermeister with his family. The discussion ended when my father-in-law appeared with a bottle of it and began pouring shots for everyone. This has escaleted to doing shots of Jaeger when we are visiting and somebody has a cold (like taking Nyquil). In the last couple of years, this product has also appeared. It is just like Jaeger, and they stock it at the German club. So we have all been forced to take a shot of Killepitsch too (including my mother-in-law). I think my mom and John did shots of Jaeger or Killepitsch the last time we visited! So bottoms up for my health!

Beaster

Of course, since I made it through both Christmas and New Years without getting sick, I have a cold. I went to church this AM, and I have been lying around the house ever since. I watched the Enron documentary and read half my book. I went out to get some soup, and I thought, "The steering wheel feels a little mushy". Pulled into a parking lot, and my right front tire was really low! Drove slowly to a gas station, filled up the tire, and heard air rushing out. I realized the rubber by the stem had a hole since I could make it stop. I went into the gas station mini mart and bought flat fixer and electrical tape. I was able to make it home using the electrical tape. I figured if the hole was in the stem, I may waste the 8 dollars I paid for the flat fixer. Soo, I have to deal with that one tomorrow.

Last night we went to a club that is in a hotel by us to watch the State game. Sometimes the local UM alumni club gathers there to watch games, and we figured it would be quiet. They had a DJ blasting really crappy music the whole time! It is a dead place, and the DJ is really incongruous. At one point, the DJ started singing in a super deep voice (like Lou Rawls or Barry White) to a backing track! The song was really cheesy. So I lost a year of hearing off my life to crappy music. Oh well, at least my team won!

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

Einstein

Smooth move of the week:

Leaving keys in car with ignition switch on and radio on all night long. Say goodbye to a year of battery life!

I felt like a bonehead about this until a woman I know shared that she left a car in reverse. She was confused about why her car was in the center island of the cul-de-sac where they live!

Besides working, here are my weekly pursuits:

1. Attempting to make a Radler as good as the one we had in Schweinfurt! We were close, but no cigar yet!
2. Cruising real estate listings like a stalker.
3. Struggling through guitar practice.
4. Nearly buying Radiohead tickets, but stopping. The tickets are 90 dollars with a 12 dollar service charge. It is a music festival with some other good bands. Then I wondered how long they would play. That is who I really want to see. I am not sure if I should see them when they are just plain touring.
5. Bought a new game for work called Hypertag. Mike thinks it is a recipe for me popping my knee out. I plan to be lazy and make the kids play it!
6. Letting you all see a picture I find scary. That is a photo of what is called "Einstein Hair". There is nothing like when your husband says your hair looks just like Einstein's.

Brownies anyone??

We continued the open house ritual this weekend. We may be waiting a few months longer than we really want to, because the economic reality still has not hit our local market as hard as we need it to. Things may change with all of the banks taking a hit on the subprime market.

Anyhoo, we did see some good stuff, but among the bad was a common theme. Never mind the insane prices. Never mind the realtors and their BS. We wandered into this one open house, because it was next door to another we wanted to see (which actually was reasonable in price and beautiful!). The house we stumbled upon was 150,000 more, but as far as I am concerned, the cheaper house was way better (restored farm house, owner is an architect and it had a modern layout which you do not see in old buildings, replaced the wiring as well). The more expensive house had finished part of the attic. In the unfinished section of the attic, there was a full bath. So imagine a typical attic (boards from the roof with nails sticking through the wood, ceiling shaped like the roof, etc) which you could use to get ready for work. They had a claw foot tub under the window. In a pathetic (possible part of a staging) attempt to make this seem pleasant, a book entitled, The Art of Bathing rested nearby. The attic bathroom also had a sink and toilet. I am going to make it a point for now on to ask if they have an attic bathroom when a realtor is bothering me! In the same house, they also had a full bath that opened into the kitchen. That resulted in a reprise of inappropriate jokes. It is a common theme that we ran across weeks ago.

Flashback to another renovated farm house. This particular house we looked at did not have a ground floor bathroom. I am sure renovating old houses is tough and you have more limitations. The kitchen in the house we saw a few weeks ago was tiny, and they put the fridge right next to the back door. There was a minuscule dining nook with windows on one side of the kitchen (I am sure Mike and I would not fit in that nook with a table). The realtor suggested we could put the powder room in the nook (which is essentially the heart of the tiny kitchen). I do like a good potty joke (I think it may be genetic) and we riffed off each other for about 10 minutes on that one. "What are you making for dinner?" We thought about awkward moments while hosting a holiday meal. The kitchen bathroom is just not a plus. I would rather walk upstairs personally. The full bath right off the kitchen was weird. Could you imagine cooking when a wet person walks by in a towel? You would have to ban #2 in the kitchen bathroom for sure.

The worst part is these houses are all over 800,000!

How about this one?

I liked it until I realized the pool is not 25 yards.

Smarty Pants

I just found out my nephew Jim received a prestigious scholarship to Purdue. It is a full ride through the doctoral level! It is great to see scholarship and intelligence rewarded! What an amazing opportunity!

Sold Out

I am sitting here this morning trying to find out when all of the races we like are scheduled. There is a tri in Rye that we like, but the last 2 years we have not done it, because it has sold out in HOURS (that's right, hours!). Not too many years ago we signed up the week of the race so we could make sure the weather would be good (after all, they are getting more and more expensive!).

There was a new race last year in CT that I found out about too late. I just checked on it, and it is sold out (WTF!!!!!). I suppose you have to plan more than 3 months in advance of a sprint triathlon! Timberman (not that I want to do that one again!) has been sold out for a while, and the race is the end of August (but at least it makes more sense since it is a 1/2 ironman). Tri is just getting really popular and expensive.

Last year, my knee was bad and we got really lazy. We now have decided a 2-3 races would be fun and really keep us on track for getting out and moving our fat arses! That is if they do not all sell out. It just seems ridiculous to actually plan out our summer now. We are thinking about doing Montauk Century this year too, but the new one with my favorite ride leader, Glen. Glen is a typical New Yorker. He used to run a bike tour run by a local club to Montauk, but they started fighting and he broke away from the club. The club ran the ride the next year, and they totally sucked. For example, Glen had pizza at the 50 mile mark (along with the expected bananas and power bar sort of fare). They had ice cream at mile 75. The next year when the club ran it, there was no food, water, or bathrooms at the 50 mile rest stop. When you do an organized ride, you never bring food or extra water since it is provided. So that was a major issue for those riding 100 miles.

We met Glen a couple of times, and we really like him. Before the first Montauk Century we did, he would send all sorts of emails about the event and FAQs. He was a little blunt to say the least in those emails, but they were hilarious too. He would basically request that nobody would ask him dumb questions like, "How long does it take to ride to Montauk?" His answer, "Depends on how fast you can pedal". He told us some people would complain about the awesome food. I think there are just some prickly and anal bike people personally. Anyhoo, we are thinking about this ride if anyone would like to join us. It is a great flat and beautiful ride. I think the hilarious thing about this year is the slogan on the jerseys, "We ride for Pie". I think he organized a ride to a bunch of bakeries around NYC too.

http://www.ridetomontauk.com/

Another thing that sells out immediately are concerts. I just found out Radiohead are coming and there are tickets! I want to buy them immediately, but I think I will ask Mike when he wakes up. I have wanted to see them for a long time, and they are always sold out once I figure it out.

Captain Simian - Surf Monkeys Must Dive! (Part 2)

the moment at 7:53 is for Kevin.

Optimum Triple Play Reggaeton Beach Commercial Ad

Does this ad play anywhere else? I figured it was local. I have to admit I know the phone number.

DOT Creates New Lane For Reckless Drivers

Cali Kids

Here is a video that Nicky and Anthony are in for Heinz, the commercial with the most hits will be put on TV, so give them a lot of hits!

It’s Not an Adventure, It’s a Job - New York Times

It’s Not an Adventure, It’s a Job - New York Times
This is a familiar to me.

Mature?

I am a ready to buy a house when I just engaged in a 30 minute mini-marshmallow fight?

I am sure I will be sorry I asked. When it comes to who is perceived as more mature in my marriage, I usually get voted #2.

Drop and give me 10!

An Enduring Measure of Fitness: The Simple Push-Up - New York Times
I have always been OK with push-ups, but even when I was in top form years ago, I could never do more than 4 pull ups! I suppose it is due to my lax ligaments, but it still makes me feel like a wimp. Mike and I plan on testing ourselves, and I will get back to you to report the findings.

Weekend in Review

Since it rained all day Saturday, I was able to read Musicophilia (Oliver Sacks) in almost its entirety. It is my kinda geeky read about music and the brain. It also gave a a new set a maladies to worry about. It is like the medical students developing every disease they study. In the back of my mind I worried that I would develop music hallucinations like the case studies in the book!

I also just heard a major flashback on the radio(Six Different Ways, by the Cure). Man, that takes me back to the school bus with a walkman in high school. I am pretty sure it was not a hallucination, because Mike acknowledged hearing it too.

Hit some open houses today. There was another house in our area that needs work (price not bad for 'round here), but has really good potential. I really dug a house we saw in Rye, but Mike was not on board for that one. We also did drivebys in the pouring rain to assess neighborhood flooding and check out some alternate areas. I swear we get more confused the more we look. We are both wishy washy and would be cool with a lot of options 'round here. Before we see a house in our town, we agree on a story about where we live. I have determined that there is common type of woman from this area (typically in her 50s-70s) who is abnormally nosy. For example, they ask where we live. They then want full addressess, who we bought the house from, etc. I have no idea why they even give a shit frankly. They just tend to fluster me with the third degree. Why should I give a shit where they grew up or why would they care which street exactly we live on? It is like saying, "How are you?" and following up with "Why do you feel fine? Is is your love life? Is it your career? Did you just have a satifying meal?

This one's for Ann

Here's a little something to smile about, and I hope your week is much better than the last.

Rain!!

I am jealous of all of the Michiganders, because you all have snow! We just get rain now.
We went to see Oscar animated Shorts last night, and they were fun. My favorite was Peter and the Wolf (I think it won too).
Otherwise trying to get rainy day stuff done!

School of Rock

Tonight we learned "Back in Black", "Sedated", and "Sweet Home Alabama" on the guitar tonight. It was funny to see a bunch of middle aged folks try to hammer these out.

Now if I could get the last Little House on the Prarie Book....

1888 photo depicts Helen Keller, teacher - Yahoo! News
One of my childhood obsessions! I think Sylvia the protagonist of one of my dramatic stories would be inspired too.

Why voters pick Bugs Bunny over Daffy Duck. - By Jeff Greenfield - Slate Magazine

Why voters pick Bugs Bunny over Daffy Duck. - By Jeff Greenfield - Slate Magazine

The Language of Autism - Well - Tara Parker-Pope - Health - New York Times Blog

The Language of Autism - Well - Tara Parker-Pope - Health - New York Times Blog

Demographic shift

I have no idea how I got on this mailing list.

Mobile Desktop

I just love this stuff.

Nada Mas

I swear I really do not have much to say lately. Just working mostly and trying to enjoy free time. There is a lot that I am putting off (yearly business taxes, annual paperwork for work, etc). I can kill a day so quickly. All I accomplished today was the following:
1. Go to Whole Foods (before all of White Plains)
2. Wash my toys
3. Straighten up the house a little
4. Put away our ski stuff (only out of guilt since Mike was working on tax planning)
5. Played guitar twice
6. Made some scheduling calls for work
7. Printed paperwork that I need signed this week
8. Cooked breakfast, lunch, and dinner
9. Worked out at the Y
10. Went to an open house
11. Drove by 4 houses nearby for a look
12. Watched Breaking Bad (pretty damn good little show)

Yesterday was similarly eventful, except we got to cross country ski for a while. I also went shopping for a classical guitar which is complicated since stores do not ever have any lefty classical guitars. I think I know which one I want, but I need to find out if it can be switched without messing up the guitar. We also did some drive-bys yesterday, and it left us more on the depressed side. Today was more uplifting. I need a good book. My last book was depressing, but I just want a good book that I can not put down. The last one I read like that was before Christmas, Special Topics in Calamity Physics.

Ohh, the Horror!

We drove up to Fahnstock to ski today, and we passed a sign that said,

Donald Trump State Park

Vacation Aside

I did not really write much about my trip. When you ski, it is up the mountain and down for hours and hours. It was the perfect Utah week.

Due to my advanced age and crappy joints, I need to take a break after skiing 3 days in a row (I can ski daily with a full backpack on cross country, but downhill just kicks my silly knee's ass- I bet you did not know that knees have asses did you?). My in-laws who are 30+ years older than me can ski more days than I can. I do not think I will be out there when I am 75. Mike thinks by then they will have sport knee replacements, so that is my best hope. You would not believe all of the octogenarian skiers we come across. We met a man last week who was complaining about waiting to turn 80 so he could ski free at Deer Valley, and when he turned 80 they discontinued the program. They used to let you ski for free at Park City when you hit 70, but I guess too many people are skiing after 70 and the program was pulled (much to my father-in-law's sadness!). I digress........

On my day off, I had the opportunity to see one of my pool clients try adaptive skiing at the National Ability Center (based in Park City)

http://www.discovernac.org/

My client is a little guy, so his first day out was not the greatest. I got to ski with him on the second day though, and it was really great. He did not like the chairlift much, but I can not blame him (he was skiing in a sitting set up where they lift you up on the chairlift. I would not like that either, and I am used to lifts). They work with adults and kids with a full range of disabilities, and they offer other activities in addition to the ski program. The adaptive equipment was really cool to see and I had to ask how they evaluated candidates for appropriate devices. All you need is to be able to move your head a little, and you are able to ski with assistance.

It is pretty pathetic that there are not many adaptive sports programs around here. A huge metropolitan area and not many options. It makes me want to start a program around here. Maybe in the water?????

Never Too Young for That First Pedicure - New York Times

Never Too Young for That First Pedicure - New York Times
I know multiple preschool girls who have had professional manicures. Pretty scary.

The little things

One of my patients who is significantly autistic looked me in the eyes today 3 times. That made my day.

More pics

I wish I was still on vacation!!!

Here is my second try. Peruvian tunnel at Snowbird. You stand on a conveyer belt to get through the tunnel to the other side of the mountain. Hey, wasn't that a book that I read obsessively when I was a kid?

Greatest snow on Earth

9 feet of snow in the last 3 weeks, blue skies, powder days, friends, and family created the perfect conditions for a good time.

Unnecessary Low Ridin'

We saw a girl today with a snow suit that was designed for snowboarding (one piece). The funny thing was that the suit had the belt low around the waist as if she was wearing low riders. I did not think it would matter for a snow suit, but what do I know.

Greetings from Park City

There is a ton of snow here, and our first day yesterday was typical Utah sunshine. The drifts in town are taller then me! Everyone is skiing well too, so that is good. In fact, Park City was pretty dead yesterday. Usually it is much more crowded this weekend.

We also made it out here reasonably well. I was happy not to have to spend the night on the floor of an airport like last year. The crowd on our flight was on the annoying side though. I was worried we would have to abort takeoff. This is the first time I have seen somebody get out of their seat when the plane was beginning to take off. I kid you not. I was on a plane once where we landed with some guy in the bathroom, and he had the pilot bitching him out when we deplaned. We ended up in the last row where your seats do not recline. Then the dude in front of Mike laid all the way back. Mike decided to be a little annoying in response.

What is the deal with people standing right next to the luggage belt so you have to hit them with your bag when you get it? Is it a NY crowd sort of thing? That just drives me nuts, especially in an airport when people are bringing a ton of large bags and gear. I wanted to unleash a little passive-aggressive behavior.

It is all worth it to have a few days of winter!

I'm about to pay way too much for a house, and I know it. Does that make me a fool? - By Tim Harford - Slate Magazine

I'm about to pay way too much for a house, and I know it. Does that make me a fool? - By Tim Harford - Slate Magazine

Off to Utah

We are heading out tommorrow to ski. I am excited as usual (they have a ton of snow!), but one of my patients is going to be out there learning adaptive skiing. So now I will have something to do on my days off! I am really excited to check it out, and I will be sure to take pictures of it! So I will be checking out the National Abilities Center!

http://69.2.249.50/index.htm

I apologize about the inability to link. Believe me, I have tried to get this fixed to no avail several times.

V Day

As a child, my birthday cake was always decorated with Valentine hearts. You would think that I would be into Valentine's day, but I am not. Valentine's day is in my mind the equivalent to New Year's Eve. You go out to a crowded and more expensive dinner. You expect the day or night to be the best one of the year. It's just too much pressure. I suppose I have never had a great Valentine's day.
I think it is great to take time out to express good feelings to people. I do not have a problem with people celebrating it. Mike and I do not do anything for it either. I find that we find our own version of in throughout the years. Here are some pictures of what I mean. We challenge each other to achieve and find beauty in the world. I would not trade that for a dozen roses.

Copy Cats

Psychology - Mimicry - Persuasion - How to Build Rapport - New York Times

Frozen Grand Central

F'in great!

F'in chord

I have always hated playing the F chord. It is just really f'in hard. It is really appropriately named. We started guitar class again this week, and the teacher just told me to move my elbow down. Now I can actually play an F. That only took about 3 years to find the one piece of advice that works consistently. The other good sign about our teacher is that he has not given me a hard time about my lefty guitar. So now I am less frustrated and motivated to achieve my resolution of 3x/week playing. So Pat will someday get my lefty recital.

Video Games Activate Reward Regions Of Brain In Men More Than Women

ScienceDaily (2008-02-08) -- In a first-of-its-kind imaging study, the Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have shown that the part of the brain that generates rewarding feelings is more activated in men than women during video-game play. ... > read full article

Daily Show - John Oliver and the Polling Crew

Priceless!

Good Day

My week has been a little on the weird side. I just have been really busy trying to get my caseload ready for all of the reports I have to just sit down and write. I have all of my annual reviews nearly done. I like to have them all down around now in case one is popped on me.

I had a bunch of breakthroughs in the pool this week. It has been really fun and the kids are really improving. So that is fun to see too. I have been upset about a child I see and the family situation, so that has weighed on my mind a lot too. So a good pool day is just what I needed today.

Dept. Of Homeland Security: 'Has Anybody Seen A Blue Folder?'

This one's for KC

Harrison police: Naked Giants fan faces charge | lohud.com | The Journal News
Who has the smarter fans?

Super Tuesday?

Happy Fat and Super Tuesday. It does not feel super to me, since I am not really excited to vote today. Although Obama is inspirational and charismatic, he lacks substance. I tend to agree with most of Hillary's policy, but is she electable? I liked some other the other guys who dropped out! Maybe I will register as a Republican and vote for Huckabee!!!

As for Fat Tuesday, there are no Paczki anywhere around here. That is what Fat Tuesday is all about. I like to roll Polish style!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4490722

Yeah!

When will America embrace Pingu? - By Dana Stevens - Slate Magazine

I have been a fan for a while.