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Big Day for US Amateur Couples in Blackpool!

2011-05-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

Today's dance contests at the Blackpool Dance Festival were the Amateur Rising Star events. "Rising Star" competitions are for up-and-comers. If you get a certain placing in that division, you become ineligible for it. So, dancing in a Rising Star event is a great way to get noticed, because the established top couples aren't competing. Three US couples got a lot of notice today. Igor Mikushov & Margaretta Midura (pictured) came in 6th out of 249 in the Ballroom dances. The Rising Star Latin was won by Denys Drozdyuk & Antonina Skobina, and US 10-Dance Champions Pasha Pashkov & Daniella Karagach were runners-up. The Latin event was particularly tough: nearly 400 couples entered!

A Typical Day in Blackpool

2011-05-28T23:39:00.000-07:00

LOONNNGGGG day is over. Saw men dressed like Baywatch lifeguards pub-hopping in the cold and wind, marching English neo-Nazis, teenage Latin dancers in dresses that hookers might turn down, and some very nice ballroom and Latin dancing. Going to try to sleep, I'll rant on about it all tomorrow. With pictures! (Of the nice dresses, I won't embarrass minors who make poor fashion choices.)

Blackpool: First Night

2011-05-27T22:47:00.000-07:00

If you're a competitive ballroom dancer, "Blackpool" means one thing: The British Open Dance Championships, also known as the Blackpool Dance Festival. It is arguably the world's most prestigious dance competition -- a bigger deal than the World Championships. The World Championships only allows two couples per country, but some countries have such a strong depth of talent that more than two couples rank amongst the tops in the world. (Recent politics in the dance world are dulling Blackpool's luster, but that's a long story I won't even try to relate.) If this were tennis, it would be Wimbledon. You get the idea.

Today the Senior (Over-35) Amateur Ballroom and the Professional "Rising Star" Latin were contested. I missed the early rounds, but got to see plenty of fine dancing as the field was winnowed down to the top couples in each division. The USA had a very strong showing, with three out of twelve couples in the semi-finals in both divisions. My friends Andreas & Jody Meijer were one of the Ballroom semi-finalists, they danced wonderfully and I'm so happy for them for this great result. Pictured here is another US semi-finalist couple, David & Liva Wright.

Unfortunately I'm adjusting to my "new" camera, which really isn't so great for this kind of work, so I don't have decent pictures to share like I did in 2009. I'm heading back tomorrow afternoon to watch the Under-21 Amateur Latin Championship, and will see if I start to get the hang of things then. Most people shooting here have awesome set-ups with super fast long lenses. I used to shoot with a Nikon digital SLR with a slow-ish zoom, but that camera got lost at San Francisco Airport on a trip to Seattle in 2009. It was replaced with a compact point-and-shoot Leica with an F2 lens, but there's no real telephoto so that makes taking dance pictures difficult. Oh well. I'm going to have to replace the lost Nikon this summer or fall because I want to have something decent to use when I go to the US National Figure Skating Championships next January.

On the other hand, the rest of my set-up is kind of fun: between competitive rounds I can upload pictures to my iPad via the Apple camera connection kit, and then edit them in Photogene. My iPhone is unlocked, and I've put a UK SIM card in it. I use PhotoShare+ to bluetooth the edited photos over to the iPhone, and then can post to Twitter or Facebook from there. Pretty fun -- I just need to work on the source material :)

Going from Point B(FS) to B(LK)

2011-05-26T23:05:00.000-07:00

Travel day today. I took British low-cost carrier Jet2.com from Belfast International to Blackpool, and I must say it was a very pleasant experience. So pleasant, in fact, that I'm seriously considering using them to tack a Red Sea diving trip to Sharm el-Sheikh or Hurghada on to next year's Blackpool pilgrimage. The planes are spiffy, with "trimline" leather seats in grey and red, and the flight attendants were very cheerful. Two young boys traveling on the plane whooped with delight during take off. I smiled and wondered if it was their first flight.

A couple of notes about Jet2.com: although they are low-fare, they are not low-service. Rather, all the services are offered a la carte. If you want to check a bag (up to 22kg, which is generous), you have to pay. If you want to check in at the airport, you have to pay. If you want a pre-assigned seat, you have to pay. If you pay for all these features in advance, they cost MUCH less than if you purchase them at the airport. However, and this is the most important point, if you decide to go for "airport" check-in you still have to print out and bring your confirmation notice. It's not all paperless like in the US. When I got to the check-in counter I didn't have the paper and the agent sent me to the ticketing counter where a supervisor had to verify that I had in fact paid for airport check-in. This seemed totally weird to me -- why couldn't the check-in agent see that when she looked up my Passenger Name Record? The supervisor was super-nice, but apparently there wasn't a way for her to just look this kind of thing up in the computer. Fortunately I had the original confirmation email from Jet2.com in my iPhone, which indicated that I had prepaid for my features. The supervisor walked me to the front of the very long queue (a planeload of people were heading off to Murcia, in Spain), and I got checked in and bag-tagged with no further problems.

Once in Blackpool I headed to my home-away-from-home and base of operations for the next week, the comfortable and modern (modern is VERY important in Blackpool) Coast Apartments. The owners, Karen & Steve, greeted me warmly. This is my second year here and I feel like a long-lost friend. I was also delighted to find that two friends of mine from California, who will be dancing tomorrow in the Senior (Over-35) Standard Ballroom Championship, are also staying here. I've got a new camera with a faster lens than I had on my last visit, so I'm hoping I'll manage to get a nice picture of Jody & Andreas dancing. Other friends from California are arriving in the morning, it will be a sort of reunion for me. When I quit competitive ballroom dancing in October of 2009 I stopped seeing my dancing friends as much, and I must say that I do think about them a lot and miss them. So here's to a week of great dancing and lovely friends!

Travel Statistics:

Countries == The United Kingdom (Northern Ireland, England)
Miles Flown Thus Far == 5870
Fight Segments == 4
Airlines Flown == United, Continental, Jet2.com
Hotels == Radisson Blu, Coast Apartments
Loads of Laundry == 2
Favorite Alcoholic Beverage == Magner's Irish Cider

Oysters and Art

2011-05-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

In the UK, T.J. Maxx is called T.K. Maxx. I don't know why but I bet the answer is sitting somewhere on the Internet. Potato chips are what we call french fries, and potato crisps are what we call potato chips. I've developed a strong love for red leicester (a cheddar-like cheese) & chive potato crisps. I've been getting a small packet (bag) of them every day at Marks & Spencer. I adore Marks & Spencer, it's sort of a mash-up of a low-to-mid range department store (think of JC Penney in their heyday) with Trader Joe's. If you're visiting the UK and need sandwiches, snacks, or booze for your hotel room, the M&S "Food Hall" is your best bet. If you need underwear, t-shirts, umbrellas or other basics, then head upstairs for decent stuff at decent prices.

Today was a bit about shopping and a bit about sightseeing. I began at the Ormeau Baths Gallery, billed as the leading contemporary art gallery in Northern Ireland. When I was younger I hated modern art and really only was interested in seeing works by famous artists. I guess this was because I didn't have my own sense if what art "is," and figured if it was famous then it was "real" and I could enjoy it and learn from it. My opinion changed drastically in Paris in 2002, when I was confronted by a giant technicolor rhinoceros at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. It stood there at the top of a long escalator, and I burst out laughing when I saw it. I got the idea that art wasn't just tied to art history. I started visiting modern galleries, and noticed the term "Contemporary Art" used to describe recent works. Contemporary art was alive, and "present" in the real world that I lived in. Some of it expressed a great sense of humor. I started to see that art is simply the artist getting something in their mind's eye out into the physical world. I decided that anyone with a vision can be an artist. Since then I've made a point of visiting contemporary art exhibitions, which lead me to the OBG. Contemporary artists work in a variety of media, across a gamut of styles. I saw trompe l'oeil, watercolors, woodblock prints, and still lives. The painting that stood out for me had a sort of 40's-50's propaganda look, and featured two hulking shifty-eyed bankers stuffing money into their breast pockets.

From there I walked across town to Belfast Cathedral, also known as St. Anne's. Even though the church is over 100 years old, it does not have a traditional steeple. Instead there is a modern slim stainless steel spire, nicknamed "the toothpick." The spire was installed in 2007, and dedicated to hope and the memory of the victims of the 9/11 attacks.

The one awkward thing for me about traveling alone is eating out. I love trying new restaurants, but going out for dinner alone is just sad to me. Lunch, however, is a different story, so I headed over to Belfast's best seafood restaurant, the Mourne Seafood Bar. My waiter was very knowledgeable and friendly, and set me up with a tasty local (hard) apple cider. We chatted about the source for the various fish, and he explained at one of the owners is a marine biologist who farms Pacific oysters up the coast from Belfast. I love oysters, so I ordered a plateful as well as a small portion of Queen scallops that were sauteed with greens, linguine, and finished with a light saffron cream sauce. Everything was delicious!

One of the most famous pubs in Belfast is the Crown Liquor Saloon. It's known for its ornate Victorian interior, and for being across the street from The Europa -- the most bombed hotel in Europe. I meant to drop in and have a pint of cider (I've developed a strong admiration for Irish apple cider), but when I walked in I did not like the vibe of the place. I had heard that it is a big draw for tourists and for locals having lunch, but I didn't think it would be so completely crowded at 2:30 in the afternoon. So, after admiring the chandeliers and the mirrors behind the bar, I wended my way back to my hotel, making a few shopping stops for shoes and those delicious potato crisps.

One Giant Step for a Causeway

2011-05-24T23:10:00.000-07:00

Despite insomnia and jet lag, I managed to drag myself awake at 8am to prepare for my full-day trip out into the Irish countryside. My destination was to be the UNESCO World Heritage site, The Giant's Causeway. Years ago in China I met two young archeologists from Belfast, and they both told me that if I ever went to Northern Ireland I should make sure I head up the wild and windy coast of Country Antrim to see this interesting natural basalt rock formation. But first, breakfast, or lack thereof. I'm not usually one to complain about this sort of thing, but I was stunned when I found out that the continental breakfast at my hotel was priced at the equivalent of $22 US. For that kind of money I want a French baker to personally make me the croissant while I watch. I skipped the breakfast and grabbed something at a corner store.

The countryside was beautiful, windy and green with crashing waves on the shore. Sheep, cows, horses, and goats grazed placidly. Little villages dotted the coastline. We stopped at a couple of ruined castles, and a pretty fishing village in one of the Nine Glens of Antrim. OK, I'll admit it: it was pretty but I was so tired that I kept falling asleep. There were a few highlights, though. We stopped at the Old Bushmills distillery, long enough for a free tasting but not long enough for a tour. I drank their 10-year-old whiskey with a tiny splash of water and tried not to giggle while another tourist went on about how he had no idea that whiskey could taste so good, and how different it was from "downing" rum & coke. As the bartender said "it's about quality, it's not a volume drink."

After Bushmills we wended our way to the Giant's Causeway itself. I took a ninety minute walk along the shoreline, marveling at the basalt rock formations that were created by an ancient volcano. I also thought about my life a lot, and frankly hit a low point and the thought of throwing myself into the sea crossed my mind. I kept walking, though. I am, after all, on a trip around the world. It would be stupid to give up now.

On the way back from the Causeway we stopped at the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. It was originally built so that salmon fishermen could cross to a rocky islet from which they spread their nets. Nowadays it's there as an attraction along a particularly lovely stretch of coastline. I took a 45-minute round-trip walk to the bridge but did not actually cross it. Along the way I saw the fattest and furriest caterpillar ever, with two-tone brown stripes. I tried to take his picture but I messed up the macro settings on my camera.

The outbound trip had been along the coast road, so we took the Motorway back to save time. I napped, and when I arrived back at the hotel I decided another Magner's was in order.

Belfast-Go-Round

2011-05-23T20:32:00.000-07:00

I tried to get up this morning, but jet lag kept me asleep until my "emergency" alarm set for 10am went off. Fortunately I woke to a lovely day: the forecast had said rain, but it was sunny-interspersed-with-showers. If you've ever wondered why people in the UK and Ireland talk about the weather so much -- it's because there's always something to talk about! After dragging myself out of my comfy and stylish bed at the Radisson Blu, I made the 10-minute walk into the center of town. There I picked up a double-decker tourist bus, as previously recommended by my cab driver.

The tour took us all over town, most interestingly through the Shankill Road, Falls, and Sandy Row sections. These are the neighborhoods that outsiders think of when they think of Belfast: violent, sectarian, and separated by gated "Peace Walls" erected to prevent cross-border car bombings. Fortunately this is all in the past, as "most sensible" Belfasters just want to live in peace. At this point in time, with so much political and economic progress made, it's considered to be just a radical fringe that keeps any problems going. Heck, the 2002-2003 Lord Mayor of Belfast was a member of the Sinn Féin party -- now that's saying something for political progress. The bus driver gave us a brief history of the conflicts, and as usual they are much more longer-lived and complex than someone who grew up outside of Northern Ireland would immediately imagine. Hundreds of years ago, Catholics and non-Conformists (i.e., non Church of England) were economically and politically persecuted. For instance, they couldn't own land, and they weren't allowed to hold public office. The story is long and involved and as it evolved it wasn't simply a matter of Catholics and Protestants killing each other over religious beliefs. I'm not going to go into it here, though, until I've read a good book on the subject. I will say that it's painful to look at a neat and tidy working-class neighborhood, made up of buildings that have been standing for about 100 years, and thinking that within my lifetime it was a war zone. People were living and working and shopping there then, as they are today. There but for the grace of god go I. If sectarian violence could happen in a place like this, among otherwise normal people, then where else could it happen? The USA, as a country, must continually find ways to take care of each other and get along.

After the bus tour, which also wended its way past what the bus driver claimed that Prince Charles said was the ugliest building in Belfast, I paid a visit to a far prettier edifice. Belfast's City Hall has a lovely rotunda and lots of interesting glass, and we even got to sit in the City Council chambers. A big conference was going on in the Great Hall, a bunch of technology/manufacturing companies were in town discussing doing business in the Belfast area.

I got caught in an intermittent rain shower and returned, soaked, to the Radisson. There I sat in their comfy bar listening to excellent tunes (it's as if they had Groove Salad on) and drank some delicious Magner's Irish Cider.

Belfast (Arrival)

2011-05-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

So after taking the long and winding flights, and not being Raptured along the way (I was in the air between O'Hare and Newark at the time), I arrived to a lovely morning in Belfast. The weather had said it would be rainy, but it was breaking up. Ireland is such a green and pretty place. Lush gentle hills, cows and sheep everywhere, red brick houses and farms.

Belfast International Airport is a tiny affair. The sheep and cow pastures go right up to the runway, and the animals placidly grazed as the planes roared overhead. We were the only international flight to arrive, and were a mere 757 at that, so there were no snaking hoards for UK Immigration like at Heathrow. I grabbed a cab for a scenic 20-minute ride to Belfast city center, my cabbie Dixie giving me a running commentary on the sights and geography of Northern Ireland. I'm usually pretty good with accents, but sometimes Dixie lost me. Maybe I was just tired from not sleeping two nights in a row.

Dixie deposited me at my hotel, the Radisson Blu, where I was delighted to find that I could get into my room right away. I guess that's the advantage of arriving in a business hotel on a weekend morning. Belfast is very quiet on Sundays, shops and restaurants open up after lunch at 1pm, so I took a very long nap and then headed out for a walk in the warm sunshine.

My first impression of Belfast is that it's very compact, clean, and pretty. I grew up hearing about all the bombings and protests and fighting here, but that's been gone for a good long time now. Now it's a lovely small city with a compact walkable center, with branches of all my favorite shopping stops: Vodaphone, Monsoon, Boots, Marks & Spencer. I think there's even a Primark (affectionately called "Primani"), which means there's an adventure in fighting crowds for cheap underwear and t-shirts in my future.

Tomorrow my sight-seeing starts in earnest. Dixie-the-cabbie told me that the best things to do are to take a tour of City Hall, ride the double-deck tourist bus around the city, go out to Giant's Causeway, and in general just walk around and have a pint of beer or a glass of whisky every now and then. I aim to heed his advice!

Around the World in 29 Days

2011-05-21T23:39:00.000-07:00

My trip from San Francisco to Belfast was about as boring as could be. I flew from San Francisco to Chicago on United, then to Belfast via Newark on Continental. I chose this rather grueling milk run because I have more time than money and it saved me over $400 to make the extra stop. The trip was tiresome because I had to leave for the departure airport at 5:00am. Twenty hours later I arrived in Belfast. Absolutely nothing interesting happened, even my 40+ pounds of scuba gear arrived as planned.

I did watch one movie on the way over, The Green Hornet. I was surprised at how stupid it was. Yes, Josh Rogan's character was supposed to be dumb, but the whole thing was just a little too dopey. Kato was the bomb, though -- and the character made me think a lot about awesome Mythbuster Grant Imahara. I have no idea if Grant can do martial arts, but he can build stuff!

Night Swimming

2011-05-15T23:57:00.000-07:00

Since I first started diving in October of 2009, I've made a total of fifty dives. Tonight was my 51st, and my third night dive ever. I'm up in the small town of Hoodsport, on the lovely Hood Canal in Washington, taking some specialty training classes so I can improve my skills. What was weird about tonight was just how bad it was. I saw very clearly how a few small things can rapidly snowball into the kinds of diving problems that could result in serious injuries.

It all started simply enough: we were going to swim around the training course in the cove across from The Yellow House, a lovely 100-year-old farmhouse owned by Don Kinney of Edmonds Technical Diving Services. I dove the site several times in the daylight past March, and thought it would be easy and even a little boring. What I ended up with was a lot of bouyancy issues which resulted in a runaway ascent from 24 feet of water to the surface. In between I experienced mounting frustrations. The major lesson I learned is that its very easy to get complacent. A few good dives in a row and I feel like I can take on the undersea world. But little things really do matter, like how I changed the distribution of four out of 34 pounds of weight I was carrying, or what side of my body I attached my dive light to. Dry suit diving is a little like going on a space walk, astronauts have a methodical checklist for everything, and a plan for every contingency. I need to think more like an astronaut to keep the good dives coming.

The A380 is Coming! The A380 is Coming!

2011-05-03T13:46:00.000-07:00

I'm not quite sure why I'm so excited, but I do have a fascination for huge things that fly. I adore the Boeing 747, it's an icon of style that still looks fresh and elegant today. The A380, however, looks like a flying railroad boxcar to me. But then I've never seen one in person, so I'm willing to keep my mind open. Lufthansa is landing an A380 at San Francisco International for the first time on May 10th, and I plan to go down and watch. Actually what I really want to see is it take off, so I'll probably head back a second time when it starts its return trip to Frankfurt.

Lufthansa and San Francisco International are having a plane watching party at Bayfront Park in Millbrae on May 10th. I'll be there with my camera and sunscreen!

Laura's Big Adventure

2011-05-02T12:14:00.000-07:00

I'm sure I've told this story before. When I was in grade school I used to read the New York Times travel section every Sunday, and dream about all the awesome places there are in the world to see. There once was an interview with actress/model Lauren Hutton, who was on vacation in Africa. She said the reason why she worked was so she could earn the time and money to go on trips. This inspired me immensely, and to this day I remember thinking "Yes, that's what I want to do, too!" I'm not a model or an actress, but I did work for over a decade as a computer programmer, including a run of five Silicon Valley start-ups that left me burnt-out but in a good position to have adventures from time to time.

I'm about to embark on a Big Adventure. I'm going to go around the world! There's something magical about being able to say that, it puts me in mind of the greatest traveler of all, Magellan. Anyway, I'm firing up "One Reader Per Blog" again to track my adventure.

It will be a short trip, and I'm only stopping in a few places, but hey it's MY trip and I'm excited about it. Here's the basic itinerary:

Belfast, Northern Ireland -- I've long had the goal of visiting every state- or country-level geo-political entity that ends in LAND in English. So far I've been to England, Scotland, Ireland, Maryland, Queensland, Thailand, New Zealand, Finland, and the Netherlands. Visiting Belfast will knock another -LAND off the list.

Blackpool, England -- For the past few years I've met a bunch of ballroom dancing friends there to watch the biggest most prestigious ballroom dancing competition of all. If it were Tennis, the British Open Dancing Championships would be the equivalent of Wimbledon.

Okinawa, Japan -- I have two diving buddies that like to tack on diving expeditions to business trips. They needed to go to Japan for something, and decided to dive Okinawa. When they suggested the trip, the rest of us in our little dive group said HELL YEAH. Why? I'm not really sure, I never thought of Okinawa as a famous diving destination. I think we all said yes because we all love diving, like diving together, and pretty much will take anything as an excuse to take a cool trip that includes diving. What more could one ask for from a group of friends?

Honolulu, Hawaii -- I've been to Honolulu a few times, but only "on business" for a ballroom dancing competition. I'd fly in, go to the hotel, dance my events, and fly home again as soon as possible. (I'd also kick ass, for some reason Hawaii Star Ball was always awesome for me.) Anyway, I've never done any of the tourist stuff on Oahu, like visit the Arizona memorial or Diamond Head. I'm glad to finally take the time to do this.

Kona, Hawaii -- In truth, though, the real reason for the stop in Honolulu was that I needed to kill a few days between Okinawa and the departure date for the live-aboard dive yacht, Kona Aggressor II. I'll be spending a week sharing a quad-bunked cabin with any other single women who book the trip, diving off the west and south coasts of the Big Island of Hawaii. The highlight of this may be seeing huge manta rays feeding at night. I now have an underwater camera, maybe if I can figure out how to use it I'll get a decent picture.

More later as I prepare for this grand excursion :)

Youthful Dreams Becoming Reality

2011-03-14T09:42:00.000-07:00

The things you dream about as a kid don't necessarily go away when you grow up. I was a child during the glory days of manned space flight, although despite my mother's best efforts my four-year-old-self fell asleep during Neil Armstrong's "one giant step." It was also during these years, the late 1960's through the 1970's, that undersea exploration was popularized to the world via Jacques Cousteau. This combination of influences made very interested in NASA's activities, while also wanting to be a marine biologist (rather than an astronaut) when I grew up.

I got distracted along the way, though, and ended up studying computer science in college. I thought about learning to scuba dive, but never got around to it until 2009 when my boyfriend Dale talked me into taking a "resort course" during a trip to Bali. At first I resisted, but then all those memories of the Rod Serling-narrated Cousteau TV specials came flooding back. And once I was in the water with my gear on, I was hooked.

This weekend I'm going to experience dry suit diving for the first time. Aside from opening up the possibilities for where and when I can dive, it's also the closest I can come to being an astronaut!

Interview: Dave Minion at the Space Shuttle Launch

2011-02-24T09:52:00.000-08:00

NASA is winding down their Shuttle program, and today is the (delayed) final launch of Discovery. Discovery is heading to the International Space Station (ISS). It is the US government's plan to have NASA shift orbital flights to private-sector space companies, with the possibility of NASA then having resources to mount a manned expedition to Mars.

Dave Minion has traveled to Kennedy Space Center with Dale Larson for the NASATweetUp, and will be viewing the launch from the Press Center near the famous Countdown Clock. This is the closest that non-mission personnel can get to the pad for a launch. Dave has ties to the civilian-commercial space industry, most recently working on the nefarious yet successful project staged by Dr. Gru to launch a rocket to steal the Moon. I caught up Dave by phone as he watched the RSS retraction (when the large protective structure is moved away from the shuttle) at Kennedy on Wednesday night.

Laura: Hi Dave, and thanks for taking the time to talk to me. How does Discovery look?

Dave: She looks great, it's really majestic seeing her sitting on the pad with all her fuel tanks, and realizing that humans built her.

Laura: Yes, what an achievement for science and technology, and for human creativity and ingenuity!

Dave: Well, what I was really getting at was that this was not a Minion-assisted project. When I was working for Dr. Gru we built an entire manned rocket with what we could raise by emptying our piggy banks and pawning our watches. We successfully launched a manned rocket to the Moon, carrying a Chinese-designed shrink ray. Furthermore we were able to shrink the Moon and bring it back to Earth. This Shuttle is beautiful, it looks like a graceful bird strapped to a Harley-Davidson, but really besides looks, what does it have going for it? The Shuttle program is vastly expensive, and its goal seems to be to build a tree-house in Earth orbit. It's kind of a yawner, frankly, after the work I've done with Gru and Nefario. [Dave is referring to Dr. Nefario, the well-known "black market" rocket scientist who designed Gru's Moon-stealing vehicle].

Laura: Well, there are all the great experiments that have taken place on the shuttles and on the ISS, bringing about advancements in medicine, metallurgy, and on living in zero-g.

Dave: Of course of course. It's just not as glamorous or attention-getting as actually stealing the Moon.

Laura: Umm, okay...so how is the launch countdown going? Any signs of the kinds of issues that plagued the launch window back in late October/early November?

Dave: Everything looks great. NASA engineers spent a lot of time working on the external fuel tank problem. They have confidence that the tank is in working order. The final proof of that will be during the actual tanking of fuel tomorrow morning, but at this point so much thorough analysis has gone into the repairs that NASA is ready to go.

Laura: For many people, it's a bittersweet day that Discovery is being retired. However, there is a future with private-sector launches and commercial-NASA cooperations. What do you think about the growing private-sector space industry?

Dave: If the companies can make money sending people and payloads up, then it will be great for them. It will also help maintain the aerospace jobs that are being lost due to the downsizing of NASA's programs, and might even become a growth industry. However, I must say that it also will make space flight more mundane. It used to be that you had to be a major government, or a major villain, to get a rocket into orbit. There was a certain cachet of seeing the rocket go up with the NASA or Gru logo on it. You would be on the news everywhere. You knew you were one of a very few organizations who could do what you do. Now that space flight is opening up, it will someday be like the airline industry. Rockets won't grab the headlines they used to. And on a more personal note, Dr. Gru's mother will be even less impressed than ever.

Laura: How is she and the girls, by the way?

Dave: Oh they're all doing great, although I must say that Gru and Nefario have really slowed down their operations lately. We've been having a lot of fun, especially watching little Agnes grow up, but sometimes I miss the exciting times, like when we flew to China and broke into that secret research facility to steal the shrink-ray.

Laura: Well Dave, thanks very much for your time. Enjoy the launch!

Dave: Eeeeep!

Outward Bound

2010-11-13T13:04:00.000-08:00

After hydrating and packing my bags, I caught BART to San Francisco Airport to take my overnight flight to Sydney, Australia. Since coach food can be pretty depressing, I stopped at Ebisu sushi bar for a light but tasty meal of my favorite fishy bits. I wasn't the only person with that idea: at least five other people who would be on my flight were also there.

After exchanging $100 US into Australian dollars so that I'd be sure to have some cash until I could find the appropriate Australian ATM, I met up with my mileage running companion in the United Red Carpet lounge. We downed a couple of free drinks (made from el cheapo booze) and then boarded. My friend has a lot of experience in the flying-for-fun-and-profit game, and he wisely had reserved a seat in an exit row. Despite my initial inclination to book into Economy Plus, I had chosen the "middle" seat next to him in the back of the bus. Once on board I was really glad I had done this, because I realized I could get up at any time and not have to climb over the person sitting on the other side of me.

The plane was broiling hot when we boarded, but got quite cool after take-off, making me very happy that I'd both worn a lightweight sweater and had brought an extra pashmina-style wrap.

My husband had booked my ticket for me, and suggested I order a vegetarian meal. In his experience, the special-ordered meals are superior to what everyone else is served. United has a new policy of offering a vegetarian option to everyone on international flights, and I was interested to see how the meals would compare.

When my meal arrived I was extremely glad I had enjoyed a nice sushi snack prior to boarding. The main dish was nearly unidentifiable. There was stewed fruit served in the same container-tray as something that may have been couscous, with about a tablespoon of chopped mixed veggies in one corner. In the dim cabin light it looked like a fruit crisp gone very very wrong. This was accompanied by a hard individually-wrapped dinner roll, a mini-tub of margarine, a small salad, and a bag of sugar-free pecan cookies.

Meanwhile, the general public was offered baked ziti. They got real butter, and a pre-packaged fudge brownie for dessert. The ziti tasted like an over-microwaved tv dinner, but at least it looked and smelled like a real food item. I have a feeling I got a "vegan" (no animal products) meal, and it was just sad. The lesson learned here is that if you're a lacto-ovum vegetarian (you eat dairy and eggs), then don't bother with the special meal on an international flight with United. Except then they screw you on breakfast, because both of the regular breakfast offerings had sausage right in the dish touching everything else. I guess the real lesson is don't count on United being able to feed you decently, special meal order or not.

The bad food was the most interesting thing about the whole 13 1/2 hour flight. We each took a time-released Ambien and snoozed our way through about six or seven hour's worth of flying time.

Interesting Info:

BART has cheap service from downtown San Francisco to San Francisco International Airport. It costs $8.05 each way, which is 1/4th the rate of a cab. Figure 45 minutes for the trip, once you actually get on a train.

Ebisu sushi, a branch of the well-loved San Francisco Inner Sunset establishment, is located in the International Terminal's food court, right past the end of the United check-in counters. Eat a good meal here and you won't care so much about the slop served in flight.

Different US-based banks have agreements with overseas banks that eliminate ATM fees. Check your bsnk's web site for details. I use Bank of America at home, and so can use WestPac for free in Australia. My friend is a Citibank client, which has a similar arrangement with St. George's Bank.

The United Red Carpet Club lounge is members-only. If you're really dying to get in, you can usually purchase a day pass at the door. It's probably not worth it--the people who join are usually very frequent fliers who like to use it to avoid the rest of the usual airport chaos. If you really just want a drink, there are better bars in the gate areas.

Economy Plus is the front section of United's coach cabin. Depending on plane, it gives 3" to 5" of extra leg room over regular Economy. If you are a Premiere-level or higher member of United's Mileage Plus program, you can reserve a seat there for free. Otherwise, you can "opt up" for a fee after purchasing your ticket. The fee depends on the flight, and is higher for long-haul flights than for shorter hops.

Return to Oz

2010-11-09T21:23:00.000-08:00

My crazy fun mileage-earning trip to Sydney begins this Friday. Check back here for the travelogue, including hotel and restaurant reviews, and for some of my favorite trip photos. My main focus will be on the Blue Mountains, a World Heritage Site about two hours west of Sydney by train.

TIP: Dealing with Jet Lag

2010-11-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

Inexperience with jet lag put a damper on my first overseas trip. I was 18, and my mother took me to London as a graduation present. I felt groggy and unable to make decisions, and was generally crabby for the first half of the trip. Since then I've made several dozens of trips across many combinations of time zones, and have learned a few things that really help me to feel as good as possible despite jet lag.

Try to move yourself, even a little bit, toward your destination time zone.
In the week before your departure, try pushing your bedtime and meal tines forward or backwards as needed. I have had good luck with shifting by half-hour increments each night, and can generally push myself about three hours toward my destination without wrecking my daily life at home.
Advanced Tip: Take melatonin and tryptophan about an hour before going to sleep. If you are a caffeine drinker, do it at times compatible with your destination.

Get and stay hydrated.
Unless you already have a good hydration habit, work on it in the week before your departure. It's such a simple thing, but having enough water in your system really does seem to head off a host of travel discomforts.
Advanced Tip: Counteract the diuretic effects of caffeine and alcohol with extra water.

Sleep on the plane as appropriate for your destination time zone.
For an overnight flight, try to sleep as much as possible, using a sleep aid for flights longer than eight hours. For a day flight, take a short nap or two but try to stay awake so you can really sleep the first night at your destination.
Advanced Tip: If you really want to sleep on the plane, bring an eye mask and stick a note on it that says "Do not wake me for meal service."

Get active on arrival.
Do not just head to your hotel and collapse. Chances are your room won't be ready for hours anyway. Do something that keeps you moving but isn't mentally taxing. A leisurely breakfast followed by a walk in a park and window shopping usually works for me. Once I check into my hotel, I take a shower and decide what to do next. Another sight-seeing walk is a great idea, but sometimes I just lounge around and watch TV until about 8pm, when I'll let myself go to sleep. Listen to your body: if you feel up to a museum or a boat ride, do it, but if you're feeling quiet and overwhelmed then don't push yourself.
Advanced Tip: Apply caffeine only before noon at your destination.

Get up at a reasonable hour in your new time zone.
If you're heading west-to-east, you'll be tempted to sleep late. Don't, even if it requires setting a "just-in-case" alarm for 10am. If you're going the other way, you'll be waking up really early. If you can convince yourself to cat nap until six or seven AM that will help a lot.
Advanced Tip: If you absolutely can't sleep when it's night time at your destination, let yourself be awake. No sense stressing about it. A few years ago I went to Cambodia with a friend. We both ended up waking in the middle of the night due to jet lag. We made the best of it by having a tea party our first few nights: we'd wake up, have cookies and something to drink, and would read and chat until we fell asleep again. Our tea parties generally went from about 4-6am, and we'd get up for real around 8 or 9.

Eat during the local meal times.
If you aren't hungry for a real meal, then have a snack.
Advanced Tip: Make breakfast or lunch your biggest meal of the day.

Be kind to yourself.
You might have a big agenda of sight-seeing and shopping planned, but if you start feeling crappy then you start feeling crappy. Do enough to make you feel satisfied without pushing yourself to the point where you aren't really taking things in or enjoying your experience.
Advanced Tip: If you need a nap in the middle of the day, take one. Make sure you set your alarm for 20-30 minutes so it doesn't turn into full-fledged sleep and really knock you off schedule.

TIP: Long-Haul Comfort in Economy Class

2010-10-27T16:33:00.001-07:00

Get hydrated before your trip.
Unless you've already got the personal hydration habit, focus on drinking at least six 8-ounce glasses of water per day leading up to your flight. Yes, at first you'll have to pee a lot, but you also will adjust somewhat. Good hydration greatly reduces the headaches and fogginess associated with long-haul jet travel. Make sure you also drink water during the flight,
Advanced Tip: Add one glass per each alcoholic or caffeinated drink you consume during that day, to mitigate those substances's diuretic effects.

Choose your seat wisely.
If you sleep like a log, get a window seat. If you're a super hydrator, or just like to get up and stretch a lot, go for the aisle. Sitting by the bulkhead or in an exit row can reduce that closed-in feeling, although it does eliminate your under-seat storage area.
Advanced Tip: Check seatguru.com in advance for potential unexpected circumstances at your particular seat such as no window, limited recline, or reduced seat width.

Get to the flight in a relaxed manner.
The less stress you have before getting on the plane, the easier it will be to relax and have a comfortable trip. Leave for the airport early, be organized and prepared for the security procedures, and cultivate a peaceful attitude toward whatever happens between leaving your house and take-off.
Advanced Tip: Eat a tasty yet light meal or snack, if possible at the airport, before getting on the plane.

Dress for comfort in a variety of temperatures.
Wear soft layers that do not chafe or bind. Bring a wrap to throw over your chest, shoulders, or even face when you sleep, as it is often difficult to get an extra blanket (and blankets are being eliminated on many domestic US flights).
Advanced Tip: Airplane bathrooms are small and can get yukky, so avoid wearing anything complex to adjust or that could drag on the floor.

Prepare for sleep.
Bring an eye mask that you are already used to sleeping in, and ear plugs. If those horseshoe-shaped pillows help you, bring an inflatable one. Make sure if you take your shoes off during flight that you have socks to keep your feet warm and clean.
Advanced Tip: For a flight of longer than eight hours, try a time-released Ambien after the bustle of the first meal service is over.

Stretch your body.
If you're awake, stand up for a minute or two every hour or two. Walk to the bathroom, shake your legs, move your arms, anything to break up the pattern you've been sitting in.
Advanced Tip: The galley area gets really quiet outside of meal service times. Try a couple of deep knee bends and toe touches neat there -- just don't hang around long enough to get in the flight attendants' way.

TIP: The Fine Art of Packing

2010-10-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

It all starts with the suitcase. If you're dropping in to a country for a few days, you'll want to go carry-on only. This doesn't mean you should use the largest carry-on your airline allows, though! There are two reasons for this: first, you have to carry it. Bringing as little as practical in a small lightweight maneuverable bag will make your passes through security and trips on public transportation easier. Second, not all airplane overhead bins are created equal. For instance, United flies four different types of planes overseas. The maximum allowable sized carry-on fits just fine "wheels first" in a 777's overhead bin, but must be turned sideways in the shallower bins on a 767. I've seen this lead to chaos during boarding, as bins fill up faster while confused passengers struggle to stow their belongings--many which had fit just fine on their last trip on different equipment. A smaller bag will fit "wheels first" in the space leftover from someone else's sideways-stowed bag.

I am a huge fan of the smallest-size hard-sided four-wheeled "spinner" bag available at Brookstone. It's easy to push ahead of me through public transport turnstiles, and it makes a good footrest when sitting around a waiting room. I've even slid it under the seat in front of me on a train (or airplane after take off) to use as a footrest.

Now that you've got a bag to hold your stuff, you need to work out how little you can pack. The best piece of advice I ever heard on this subject came from a stranger on the parking lot shuttle at Newark Airport. She revealed that she never takes more than two pairs of shoes on a trip: the pair she has on her feet, and a second pair, if needed, in her suitcase. I've found this to be very helpful in putting together a tightly mix-and-match trip wardrobe. This approach can be extended to other clothing articles: wear one pair of pants, pack a second, wear one outer layer, such as a sweater, and pack a second (like a lightweight water-repellant jacket).

I'm not suggesting that you go gnarly and underpack to the point of discomfort. Everyone has their limits. I am not a fan of washing out my socks and underwear in the sink, so I always pack enough of each for the trip. I avoid anything that will wrinkle, generally sticking to colored t-shirts layered under knitwear. For a short trip I'll bring a clean shirt for each day. For a longer trip I will pack half the shirts required and air them out and re-wear them once.

If I'm traveling to a place where I know I'm going to do some serious clothes shopping, like London, I will pack less than I actually need. That way I can pick up an outfit or two while there, wear it, and have room in my tiny suitcase to get it back home.

I like to be as fresh as possible on the return plane trip, so I plan to keep one shirt unworn until that day. I've even packed that "last day" shirt (and a pair of undies and socks) in a ziplock bag to keep it away from my dirty laundry.

In general it really helps me to lay out all the clothes I'm packing on my bed before putting them in to my carry-on. That way I can see goes with what, and can eliminate any outliers. When it's all out there I then work through the days in my head, making sure I have enough of some items while not inadvertently packing anything extra.

One last tip on underpacking clothes: I've found that having ALL my laundry done before starting makes a huge difference in putting together a tightly-packable travel wardrobe. It saves me time in looking for items, and provides me with the greatest freedom of choice because nothing is ruled out because it's in the laundry bin.

Minimizing toiletries is essential for light packing. If you're feeling brave, you can do without everything and pick up what you need in a local store after arriving. You can either toss your new finds before heading home, or bring them back as souvenirs. I've gotten my liquid/gel toiletries down to travel-sized bottles of my shampoo and conditioner, a tube of mascara, a small tube of toothpaste, and a tiny tube of suntan lotion that doubles as my moisturizer for both hands and face. For everything else I use solids or powders that the TSA doesn't fret about--solid deodorant, and mineral-powder makeup. I sometimes don't even bother with the makeup.

Don't forget the charging devices for any electronics you'll be bringing, including your phone, camera, and/or laptop! If you can get a plug adaptor in advance bring that too. Organize these small things into ziplock bags to reduce the chances of them falling out when you open your carry-on.

Remember to pack your purse (or if you're a guy, your messenger bag) too. Dump everything out, see what you really need for the trip, and re-pack accordingly. Check your wallet for overload, too. You won't need to be hauling around crumpled up ATM statements, fourteen pens, or that book you keep forgetting to return.

TIP: Hotel Hokey Pokey -- My Strategy for Finding a Place to Stay

2010-10-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

Now that I've figured out when I'm going to be in Australia and where I'd Iike to be, it's time to book hotels. I'm not the sort who will wing it on such a short trip. I'd rather know exactly where I'll sleep and how much it will cost than spend any time at local accommodation booking offices. I usually start by taking a look at Expedia and hotels.com, and by making bids on Priceline. Although I adore boutique hotels and fancy resorts, it's also pretty ridiculous to blow the budget on a luxe room during what amounts to a mileage run.

I'm too old and too prissy to stay in backpacker dorms or youth hostels. I prefer en suite facilities, but really have no objection to sharing a bathroom or even going down the hall for the shower and toilet. In general, I start by seeing what I can get for the equivalent of $100 US per night. At this writing, the US and Australian dollars are nearly on par.

The last time I went to Sydney, just after New Year's 2008/2009, I was able to score a room at the Hilton for $112/night. I found this rate on hilton.com, it did not appear on third-party booking sites. My room was fantastic, with a postcard-perfect view of the Sydney Tower framed in one of my floor-to-ceiling windows. I didn't expect to get this lucky again.

I decided to spend my first and last nights in Sydney, with two nights in the Blue Mountains in-between. I began by bidding on Priceline, trying a combination of star levels and prices ranging from $100-$175 per night for 3-5 star hotels in Sydney. Bid after bid got rejected. Priceline sent me an email, supposedly to help me make a more effective bid by showing me what had been successful during the past 24 hours for the night I needed. I saw that people had been able to book 3-star hotels for as little as $105/night, but I had had no success for the same night for as much as $160/night. Frustrated, I gave up on Priceline. I've had amazing results with Priceline in the past (a $500 room in Singapore in fall 2009 for about $125), but it was just not happening for this trip.

After searching Expedia and hotels.com for a room within walking distance of the Central Train Station, I settled on the Travelodge Sydney, which at this point seemed a good value at $140/night including taxes. Before committing, I briefly checked with TripAdvisor to make sure the hotel wasn't a disaster waiting to happen.

I always take TripAdvisor reviews with a liberal helping of salt. A place with a few strong negative reviews that I stayed at in Bali in October 2009 ended up being nearly paradise. Another in Belize, with mixed to glowing reviews, pretty much ruined my June 2010 honeymoon. The sheer number and variety of reviews can completely overwhelm. That said, I'll note that the management of the Bali property were active participants on TripAdvisor, and showed exemplary attitude in addressing complaints. I think evidence of a high level of positive engagement with past and potential guests is a sign that a property really does strive to be the best it can be, and so counterbalances a number of less-than-glowing reviews. When there's not an obvious choice based on price, location, and TripAdvisor reviews, I turn to a more classic travel-guide type web site. Time Out, Frommer's, and Lonely Planet are my usual choices.

Anyway, TripAdvisor didn't have enough negative comments within the past three months to warn me off the Travelodge, so I booked for my first night. I repeated the process to find a place in the Blue Mountains, and then for my final night in Sydney. I picked the Leisure Inn Spires for $109/night in Leura in the Blue Mountains, and then the Y Hotel Hyde Park at $119. I'd have happily gone back to the Travelodge for that last night, but the price had jumped by about $100!

One last bit of advice on hotel searches: if you belong to AAA (the American Automobile Association), always check your most likely hotel candidates' web sites to see if you can get an even better price that way. If you're booking into a chain hotel--even if it's a non-US chain--it's worth a look. I've had my AAA membership dues repay itself many times over every year by doing this.

A Mileage Proposal

2010-10-06T22:51:00.000-07:00

Booking a TWARE requires snap decision-making. While thinking through when I would leave and how long I'd be gone, I received an email from a friend who is a bigger player in the mileage game than I'll ever aspire to be. Precisely twice as big: while I'm chasing United's Premiere Executive level (50,000 miles flown per year), my friend flies to maintain "1K" status (100,000 miles flown). Like me, he loves to ride on airplanes and drop in on interesting places. He planned to "go to Sydney for brunch" so he could earn nearly 15k miles without missing a moment of work. By leaving San Francisco on United's Friday 10:30pm flight, he'd get to Sydney around 8:30am Sunday. That would give ample time for brunch and a bit of fun before heading back on the 4:30pm flight to San Francisco. Due to the magic of crossing the International Date Line from west to east, the arrival time in San Francisco is around 10:45am. Lunch, a shower, and a good night's sleep later and he'd be back in the office on Monday. United awards bonus miles for his current 1k status in addition to the qualification miles he earns, so he'll return home with the equivalent of a free ticket to anywhere United (or US Air, or Continental) flies in the continental US.

While I knew that flying with him would be a lot more fun than going alone, I couldn't bear the thought of back-to-back long haul flights in coach. I figured a four night recovery time would more than work out any physical kinks, and would give me an opportunity to further explore Sydney. I'd spent nearly a week there two years ago, so my "must see" list had already been covered. Three non-flying days would let me see and do a new thing or two without spending too much time and money on my mileage run. I decided to split my time between Sydney and the Blue Mountains, which are easily reached by a scenic two-hour train ride from Sydney.

But Why Fly?

2010-10-05T11:21:00.000-07:00

I remember a "Mary Tyler Moore Show" rerun from when I was a child: Mary and her best friend Rhoda dared each other to do something fun and exciting that they would never have done otherwise. One of them (I think it was Rhoda) asked out a cute doctor. The other flew to Paris for the weekend. When I saw that show I thought "heck yeah, I'm going to do what Mary did someday!"

With those pictures in mind, and a United Airlines TWARE ticket in my pocket, I'm planning a short trip to Australia. I'll spend about six hours in airports and 27 hours in the air for four nights and five days in Sydney. Why not stay longer? Why bother to go at all? So much hassle and stress and jet lag for what? For FUN. For manifesting that image of Mary getting off the plane from Paris, laden with shopping bags, smiling that it was wonderful. For the rush of takeoff, for that comforting "floomph" of landing. For the stamp in my brand-new passport. For the pleasure of revisiting a city I've very much enjoyed in the past, and to get to know it a little more. For the frequent flier miles.

There's a hobbyist-cult of people who actually like riding on planes, and hold jet lag and airport hassles very secondary to the magic of going from home to some awesome place far away. We appreciate that a century after the Wright Brothers, powered flight is still an incredibly cool and sometimes beautiful achievement of human ingenuity and creativity. The best place find this kind of airplane nerd is on flyertalk.com. This discussion board is so stuffed with information that even in digital form it would incur excess baggage fees. A good way to dive in is to start with the section for your favorite airline's frequent flyer program. If you don't have a favorite, and reading a section at random doesn't start you thinking that you should go and choose one, then you're likely not a commercial passenger flight nerd.

Joining an airline's program, and sticking to flights within that carrier's alliance, will earn miles that get you benefits that make flying a lot easier. I picked United years ago. I accrue miles toward their Mileage Plus program if I fly on any Star Alliance partner, including US Air, Continental, Air Canada, Lufthansa, and Singapore Airlines. If I fly 25,000 miles in a year (the equivalent of five cross country trips), I get free checked baggage, free access to the extra legroom in United's Economy Plus, and a shorter special security line at some airports. Fly more miles, and get more benefits like a dedicated call center with agents who specialize in helping frequent travelers, free upgrades to domestic first class, and the ability to book exit row seating with its acres of leg room. Even more miles, and you get adult beverage vouchers and free international upgrades.

Sometimes, if a flier is a bit short on fulfilling the minimum mileage requirement for their desired benefits level, they'll take a trip primarily to earn miles. This is known as a mileage run, and flyertalk.com has a section devoted to it. Finding a low enough fare that earns enough miles to make the trip worthwhile is a science and a game, and is also a significant part of why I jumped on that TWARE ticket in the first place.

TIP: Tweets for Cheap Seats

2010-09-29T13:29:00.000-07:00

Every so often United Airlines tweets a link to a web page containing a special promotion code giving significant discounts to specific destinations. These secret TWitter fAREs, called TWAREs, are only available for a short time window, usually around two hours. So, if you see something good, you have to grab it fast. Last May my friends and I got half price TWARE tickets for a July trip from San
Francisco to Maui. Today, I scored a deeply discounted ticket from San Francisco to Sydney, Australia. You can get in on the TWARE action by joining twitter.com and then following @UnitedAirlines.

Pat Meier's Lunch@Piero's

2010-01-09T14:03:00.000-08:00

Every year during CES, Pat Meier hosts a lunchtime showcase at Piero's restaurant, right across from the Las Vegas Convention Center. Pat brings in twenty innovative companies to talk directly to the media in a relaxed environment away from the random chaos of the CES show floors.

Visiting with the exhibitors at Lunch was probably my favorite part of CES. I don't do well in huge crowds, especially ones where I'm shorter than most everyone else. At Piero's I was able to spend as much time as I wanted with whoever I wanted, saw some great demos, and talked to some interesting people. I'll cover the products I found the most compelling in my next few posts, including Sound Trends' Looptastic Producer 3, Panelfly, PowerGenix's rechargeable nickel-zinc batteries, and Pointy Heads Software's Knocking live video.

Walk the Walk in Vegas, Baby

2010-01-08T17:03:00.001-08:00

One Reader Per Blog's One Writer arrived in Las Vegas this morning to check out the legendary CES (Consumer Electronics Show). If some new gear is going to be the hottest gadget in 2010, it will be here.

I'd been warned about how huge the show is, but figured I could start out with a sort of random walk across the show floor to get oriented. Then I woke up to reality. CES is massive. Imagine something about the size of the Death Star full of glittering shops displaying the coolest electronic-related stuff ever. Oh wait, that's Singapore. Scale it down to an area code or two and you've got CES.

This morning's random walk (and the hot fiancé's nose for adventure) led us through the Ed Hardy booth (tons of rhinestoned device skins) to Parrot. Currently known for their Bluetooth devices, they're about to get really famous for the AR.Drone. This is the ultimate robo-helicopter, quad-rotored, iPhone-controlled, and otherwise-hyphenatedly-neat. As you fly it, it transmits live video and flight data to your iPhone. Parrot doesn't know what their super copter will retail for, but they've open-sourced their API and published it on their web site. Over one hundred developers have signed up to create games and other applications for it. This is going to be waaay fun!

A Tale of Three Smart Phones

2009-09-10T12:03:00.000-07:00

I'm often an early adopter of new consumer electronic technologies. I got a digital PCS back when Pacific Bell was the only carrier to offer them. I had a TiVo before David Letterman ever mentioned them in a joke. I ordered my MacBook Air from a hotel room in Bournemouth, England, hours after they were announced at Mac World. I have been driving a hybrid Honda Insight since before the Toyota Prius became what looks like the most popular car in the Bay Area.

With that kind of background, you'd think I'd have gone straight to the Blackberry or iPhone when they first became available. However, I have a tendency to lose mobile phones in taxis, and could not bear the thought of having a costly device go missing. For years I've always used whatever multi-band GSM phone I could get free from my carrier. Most recently my phone of choice was a magenta Motorola Razr, obtained at no cost as part of my most recent re-up with T-Mobile. It served me well, although triple-tapping to send text messages was beyond onerous.

All my friends were getting smart phones, and more and more of them were communicating via text. I hoped that when it came time for me to renew my phone contract, I'd be able to get an entry-level Blackberry for free. Then I started dating an iPhone user. His comment on my cute pink Razr: "we need to get you a real phone."

He first brought me a Google Android Phone, fresh from the Google I/O Developer Conference, to try out. This phone is now available through T-Mobile as the myTouch 3G, which I think is a lame name. We popped my SIM card in and fired it up. At the time I couldn't figure out how to import my contacts list from my MacBook Air, which was rather annoying because there were about 70 entries that weren't already on my SIM card. I decided if I loved the phone and had to end up typing them all in myself I would, but was not looking forward to that.

I loved a couple of things about the myTouch (do I really have to call it that?). The first is that it just looks slick. And the android alien is super duper cute! Best of all, the little white trackball lit up and blinked excitedly when a call was coming in. It was like having an alien invasion party in my purse.

Sometimes it was a little difficult for me to remember what icon got me to where I wanted to go, but I figured I'd have it all down pat in under a week. Unfortunately, less than 36 hours later I couldn't stand the darling phone any more and happily went back to my Razr. The sole reason for this was texting. I found the touch screen keyboard difficult to use accurately and was spending as much time backing up and correcting as I had been triple-tapping out letters on the Razr. I have average sized fingers for a woman, yet felt fumble-fingered all the time, and never could quite tell what keys I was actually hitting. This frustration showed up most strongly on what has become my acid test for a smart phone: being able to text while driving. Yeah yeah, I know you're not supposed to do it.... Anyway, I couldn't even get out "b there in 15 mins" without major effort.

After a brief respite with the Razr to cleanse my palate, my boyfriend presented me with his old iPhone 3G. I liked it instantly. Already being a Mac person helped a lot: my contacts uploaded to the phone seamlessly, and I really appreciated being able to backup and recharge with my Air. Right away I was downloading apps, playing Foursquare, and IDing music on the radio with Shazam. The touch screen keys were a bit larger than on the myTouch, which made my typing so much more accurate. I especially liked the way the keys animate when tapped, giving a good confirmation that (a) something happened and (b) that I hit the right key. Best of all, I could text easily from a moving car, so easily that now I have to really restrain myself for health and safety reasons.

About three days later we dropped by a Sprint store to check out the new Palm Pre. They didn't have a fully operational one to play with, and their demo models were tethered to the display, making it very difficult to get a sense of the phone and what it was all about. In a display of great salesmanship, a Sprint associate pulled his personal Pre out of his pocket and let me play with it for a good fifteen minutes. I looked at pictures of his kids, played around with texting, did some web browsing, added and deleted a phone number, and made a brief phone call.

The Pre is a nice phone. It's got the techy-slick look and feel of the myTouch, but in a smaller package that was designed to fit comfortably in your hand. Navigating between applications is done with a swipe, giving me the feeling that I was simply mousing around on a larger desktop of sorts. The screen, though the smallest of the three phones, was easy to read due to the very high quality of the display. I appreciated the "bubble buttons," since I touch type it's nice to have feedback from a physical keyboard. I was especially impressed by the fact that the Pre backs itself up to the Cloud every night. This very much alleviated my fears of losing everything if I lost the phone in a taxi in Helsinki or something.

Which then brought me to the deal breaker: there would be no way I could lose the phone in Helsinki or something because the Pre was only available on Sprint in a CDMA model. I have to have GSM, simple as that. It was suggested that I purchase a Pre so I could take it home and try it for a few days, but I turned to my boyfriend and said "You're only getting that iPhone back if you pry it out of my cold dead hands."

I've been happily using the iPhone for a few months now!

Happy New Year

2009-09-10T11:30:00.001-07:00

In some traditions, Autumn is the start of the new year. The Jews have Rosh Hashana, the Celtic Pagans have Samhain...heck, in the USA it's the start of a new school year. September has always been a time of restarting and renewal for me. When I was a kid it was about new friends and teachers and classes and shoes and clothes and books, and that feeling has never really left me. Having "New Year's" right after Christmas always seems a bit excessive and arbitrary to me.

So in the spirit of the New Year, I'm thinking about what's next in my life. I've been doing a lot of the same things for a long time, without really thinking about why I was still doing them. I've been putting off a lot of things for a long time, without really thinking why I wasn't doing them. I've basically been on auto-pilot, which was a great coping strategy when my life was turned upside-down a few years ago in a not very good way, but now I'm ready to do and be something again.

2009 Open British Professional Latin Championship

2009-05-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the hottest night in the ballroom. And I don't just mean "hot" because it's the Latin, I mean hot because the entire place is packed to the gills. The Pro Latin event at Blackpool draws the biggest crowd of the week.

I went down and watched the first round and took a bunch of pictures, trying to get shots of every couple from the USA I could find plus anyone else who caught my eye. There was a Japanese couple, Shota Sesoko & Shizuka Hara, who I really liked. They caught my eye in the first round and I was delighted to see them in for a few more rounds. They weren't the highest finishing Japanese couple, but they got as far as the 48. They were the first Japanese couple that I've ever really liked in Latin. It was their Jive that pulled me in -- energetic but not over the top, presented with a lot of happiness that seemed to come from a sense of genuine enjoyment rather than theatrical hamming it up.

It was fun trying to take pictures, I have a whole bunch to process but will stick a couple of the best here when they're ready.

Anyway, to me most everyone is good, and I'm not Latin-trained, so I can't distinguish "stand outs" except for when it comes to things like costumes and personality. And besides, by the time you get to the final (or even the semi) they are all so amazingly good! You will hear things like "Leunis is by far the best girl in Latin today" or "Melia is the best on the floor," or "I really didn't like his new partner" but really I can't truly see or say why one is "better" or "worse" than the other. I can see that they are different, but not what makes one better or even what would make one stand out more than the other. I just watched the final with delight, taking in the costumes, the energy, the performances, and enjoying the whole thing.

As expected, Michal Maltowski & Joanna Leunis from Poland won, but Ricardo Cocci & Yulia Zorguychenko from the US beat them in the Jive. That was certainly a thrilling moment.

2009 Blackpool Under-21 Ballroom and Amateur Latin

2009-05-26T23:56:00.000-07:00

I really hope no one is expecting a real report on these events. I don't like to write too much about actual dancing because people's feelings get hurt so easily, and there get to be snappish arguments that go something like "well you would never even make the first cut at Blackpool so who are you to say anything?!" So the bottom line is there was dancing, a lot of it, and even the not so great dancing was pretty good. The numbers and level of competitors at Blackpool is high, I'm guessing many hobbyist competitors in the US have no idea how big things can be. For instance, the Amateur Latin had 360 couples listed in the program. Competitors had to dance two qualifying rounds, one earlier in the week, and one the morning of the actual competition. Well over 200 couples were cut just to weed the field down to "the first round proper." And once they got started, they still had a total of six rounds to dance if they got all the way through to the final. That second qualifier was at 11:30am, and the final for the whole thing was danced at 11:30pm. It is a long grueling marathon, and some otherwise fine dancers just don't have the physical, emotional, and mental stamina to go that long. And some otherwise fine dancers just don't have what it takes to get noticed and promoted in the early rounds. It's a tremendous event, really.

Tonight the rounds for the Amateur Latin were interspersed with the Under-21 Ballroom. This was much smaller, only 175 couples/six rounds of competition. This event always makes me smile. The Under-21s have so much energy and raw talent, and the floor is a swirl of sweet and lovely dresses. In the early rounds, though, you can really see who is a "young" Under-21 and still dancing like a Junior (regardless of actual age), and who is making that transition to "adult" dancing and really stepping it up. My favorite couple in the final (quite possibly because of her awesome raspberry sorbet and neon mango dress), Jack Beale & Karolina Szmit (England), have only been dancing together for a very few months and already can produce this great a result! I hope that, unlike many young couples, they stay together for a while and I can see how they've developed next year.

I had watched the first round proper of the Amateur Latin in the afternoon, and was completely impressed by Alexi Silde & Anna Fristova (Russia). I liked the way their performance energy was directed strongly toward each other, toward actually dancing with each other while acknowledging that the crowd was there and watching, rather than each playing up to the audience alone. Their basic movement is very very smooth, I saw them dance a long series of cha cha locks across the floor and they looked like they were gliding on wheels. Several people told me that they were "supposed" to win, but this is Blackpool and all kinds of odd things can and do happen. During the final, Alexi went over and hugged Stefano Di Fillippo. I had no idea why, until the very end of the event.

So anyway, Stefano's partner is the truly awesome and lovely Anna Melnikova. As much as I admire Anna Fristova, Melnikova was the best woman on the floor and also exciting to watch. Stefano didn't do much for me, though. He's a muscular broad-shouldered looking guy (compared to the rest of the Latin dancers, at least) and he has to take care not to look hulking. He did dance great in the semi-final, but in the final he got really emotional and spent the whole time hamming it up for his friends in the audience, sometimes it seemed to me that he lost track of Anna. She handled it great, though, and just kept on dancing fabulously.

And now for the result and some explanations. It turns out that Silde & Fristova didn't win, and in fact ended up in third place due to a Rule 10 tie with the second place couple from Croatia. Di Fillippo & Melnikova won, and right afterwards the MC, Marcus Hilton, announced that this was Di Fillippo & Melnikova's last competition together. So that explains the hugging in the final. It was good for them to go out on a high note together. Melnikova already has a new partner, according to what is going around the Empress Ballroom she will be dancing with none other than Slavik Kryklyvyy.

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted...

2009-05-25T23:17:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you just need a vacation from your vacation. So, it being a gorgeous sunny day, I piled into the car with the friends I'm staying with, and we took a drive south from Blackpool.

Blackpool's seaside is a pit, kind of like Atlantic City in the 1980's (maybe even still today, who knows, I haven't been there in like 20 years). Venturing south along the Irish Sea, though, through the towns of St. Anne's and Lytham, is a treat. There are very high sand dunes along the coast at St. Anne's, and Lytham features lots of really nice brick Victorian buildings, and cute shops on the main street. We walked around for a while and had lunch at an outdoor cafe'. I got a little sunburned.

Later that evening I caught the final four rounds of the Senior Latin and the Professional Rising Star Standard. My favorite Senior Latin couple from last year, from Spain, did not dance. I was sorry not to see them again because the lady in that couple was so strong and sexy and soft and mature and classy -- all the things I like to see in a lady dancer. The quality level of the couples improves every year; the friend I was sitting with turned to me at one point and said "it's so nice to see adults dancing Latin."

The big event of the day was the Professional Rising Star Standard. I noticed right away that former Blackpool and World Amateur Standard Champion Edita Daniute was back with a new partner. Judging from his name, Angelo Madonia, he's probably from Italy. They danced very well, and won the event. There was an Australian couple in the final, Matthew Rooke & Anna Longmore, who I also quite liked. The lady had a white dress with large wide silver metallic strips on it -- a sort of "mirror ball" dress. I loved it, but I can't say it was universally admired.

Lazy Sunny Sunday

2009-05-24T23:17:00.000-07:00

Nothing to report today. I didn't have tickets for the Amateur Rising Star events and wasn't highly motivated to attend, so I puttered around and went for a long walk along the seafront promenade. It was so clear I could see mountains in the north. I also did some fabric shopping -- or rather looking -- but am still trying to decide what I want to purchase.

2009 Blackpool Professional Team Match

2009-05-23T23:49:00.000-07:00

I love the Team Match at Blackpool. It really kicks things off, it gets the crowd going and features some amazing dancing.

This year there the four teams and their "introductions" were:

Germany
Their captain was Oliver Wessel-Therhorn, and so they did a pun on his name with their theme of "Ollywood." Each couple was meant to represent a different famous dance team. Standard dancers Stanislaw Massold & Christine Deck were Gene Kelly & Debbie Reynolds in "Singing in the Rain," and danced out with umbrellas. Sascha Karabey & Natascha Karabey were Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers. I missed who Evgenij Vosnyk & Oksana Nikiforva were representing, but they were in western cowboy style outfits. Perhaps they were Roy Rodgers & Dale Evans? Last, but by no means least, Franco Formica & Oxana Lebedew were Rudolf Nureyev & Margot Fonteyn. Franco was shirtless, in white ballet tights, and had a white feather in his hair that made me think of Nureyev in Le Corsaire.

USA
This year the couples did a "Style Swap" -- the Latin couples came out dressed for Standard, and vice-versa. Arunas Bizokas & Katusha Demidova danced cha cha, Victor Fung & Anna Mikhed did jive, and Riccardo Cocchi & Yulia Zagoruychenko an over-the-top tango. And finally, Eugene Katsevman & Maria Manusova danced quickstep.

Italy
The Italian women were all dressed up very chic in black, and were fine ladies out walking their dogs. Each of their partners was in a full-on furry dog costume, walking on a leash on all fours! Mirko Gozzoli was a St. Bernard, and he spent a good deal of time marking his territory. There was also a bulldog, a poodle, and a chihuahua who walked on his hind legs. At one point all the dogs got loose and hilarity ensued, including the St. Bernard running upstairs to the balcony and barking like crazy.

Great Britain
The British team's theme was "circus," and the team's parade included captain Robert Grover dressed as a Ringmaster, break dancers, clowns, a rhythmic gymnast, and a guy doing stunts on a small bicycle. Each lady on the team did a short dance with an animal -- jiving chimpanzee, tangoing lion, and a gorilla (not sure what dance, think it was paso). At the end of each dance, the animal's costume head was removed to reveal an important British coach. For example, the foxtrotting elephant was revealed by Hazel Newberry to be no other than Sammy Stopford.

After all the merriment, the teams changed into their proper dance clothing and the match itself commenced. The final scores were:

USA - 297.4
Italy - 293.5
Germany - 292.9
Great Britain - 290.0

This is the second year in a row that the USA has won the team match.

And We're Off!

2009-05-22T23:08:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of the marathon of dance incredibleness that is the Blackpool Dance Festival. Competition actually started yesterday, with the qualifying rounds for the Amateur Rising Star events, so today is the first day I actually went to watch. A bunch of people I know were dancing in the Senior (Over-35) Standard, so I went down to watch from the first round. Interspersed with the Senior Standard was the Professional Rising Star Latin, so I got to see a few rounds of that, too.

A pair of teachers from Dance Spectrum, the studio where I take lessons, were competing at Blackpool for the first time in the Latin event. I usually see Danielle Gozzi & Cecilia Giovacchini working with their students, so it was a real treat for me to see them competing in a big event. Cecilia's dress was stunning -- and she bought it off the rack the day before at the competition itself! I thought they danced really well, giving a really genuine performance, and was pleased to see them dance three rounds to get to the top 96.

Also appearing in the Latin, and getting through to the semi-final, was Kimberley Mitchell. She used to dance in the United States with Bill Sparks, and came out to the US again a couple of years ago for a one-off with Clive Uter. Her new partner's name is Christian Polanc. Kimberley looked great, I really liked her dress and her style was very fit and classy. I enjoyed seeing her dance again.

The Standard started with 226 couples, and seven US couples made the cut to the second round. Five got through to the "round of 48", one to the quarter-final, and a US couple even made the final! I was impressed with everyone's dancing, particularly with Evelyn Lafferty and Jody Frease. Both of these ladies have developed their stretch and poise and looked very composed and smooth yet strong.

Backpool Hoy!

2009-05-21T17:56:00.000-07:00

Today Mom flew back to New Hampshire from Edinburgh, and I took a train down to Blackpool. It took about three hours, and I passed through some of the most lovely bucolic countryside scenery I have ever seen. There were green hills with yellow flowers, young lambs gamboling in the grass, contented cows chewing their cud, and picturesque ruins.

I arrived at my home for the next week and a half, the wonderfully comfortable Coast Apartments, and was warmly greeted by host Steve Livesay. Steve and his wife Karen renovated this old set of flats, putting in brand modern appliances -- including a clothes washer/dryer! I immediately started the first of three loads of laundry :) The first year I came to Blackpool I stayed in a place where we had to bring our own towels, and had to put money in a meter to get electricity. None of that at here, thank goodness.

My good friends Turtle & Ava had just arrived, and were staying in the flat upstairs. Turtle and I walked down to the Winter Gardens to collect our tickets, check out the lay of the land, and do a little shopping. There were qualifying heats for the Amateur Rising Star events today, but I really needed a day off to regroup before diving in to the Dance Festival. Sure, all I'll be doing all week is watch, but there's a LOT of dancing to see and it's very easy for me to go into complete overload to the point where I don't really see or appreciate what is in front of me. So, time for a good meal, a whisky and soda, and a good night's sleep.

Museum-Go-Round

2009-05-20T17:39:00.000-07:00

For our final day in Edinburgh, Mom and I visited a cluster of museums near where we were staying. The first was the Museum of Edinburgh, and featured an impressive collection of silver. Across the street was a museum that focused on the lives of ordinary working-class people through the centuries. Called "The People's Story," it showed what their families and living conditions were like, what they did for leisure, and what kind of jobs they had. It was fascinating to know that as late as 1968 there were families of 10 living in a single room. At that time the city had public washing facilities where people could do their laundry, these facilities had these large racks that you could hang your clothes on and then push into a super heated cabinet that would dry out the clothes in about 20 minutes.

From there we visited the crazy modern Scottish Parliament. We were able to go inside the assembly room, and noticed that the back walls are decorated with silhouettes of whisky bottles! Another really interesting feature of the building are the stepped window bays that stick out from each member's office. Each bay has an upholstered bench, and windows that open, and was designed to be a place for private peaceful contemplation for the members.

We wanted to tour the Palace of the Holyroodhouse, but it was closed for a government function. We were able to tour the Queen's Gallery in the gatehouse, though, and took in an exhibition of informal paintings of various Kings and Queens of England. My favorite one was by Landseer, of a young Queen Victoria going out riding with some of her ministers. She was very young when she came to the throne, and I think many people these days forget how glamorous she was.

Of Castles and Witches

2009-05-19T19:38:00.000-07:00

Today's big event was touring Edinburgh Castle, located on a cold and windy hill that has held a fortress of some sort or other since, oh, about 600. The first royal castle there was built around 1130. I went to the bathroom in a tower that had been built in 1356. Well, actually, it had been mostly destroyed in 1573 but then rebuilt. No matter how you figure it, this place is old! (The visitors' bathrooms, though, are thoroughly modern and well-heated, which was a plus because it was a blustery day with off-and-on rain interspersed with outbreaks of sunshine -- in short, typical Scottish springtime weather.) The castle also houses the Honours of Scotland (the Scottish Crown along with a sword and sceptre) and the Stone of Destiny (also known as the Stone of Scone). The Stone of Destiny is basically a plain oblong rock that supposedly came from the Holy Land, via Ireland where it was blessed by St. Patrick, to Scotland where it was used in coronation ceremonies. That is, until the English hauled it off to London in 1296 where it sat in Westminster Abbey for 700 years, despite them saying in 1328 that they would give it back. It finally came back to Edinburgh in 1996, but only as a "permanent loan" from the Queen. The timeline of British history is astounding, but then I live in a state where anything over 150 years old is ancient. In Edinburgh, anything over 150 years is still pretty new.

We came down off the cold castle heights and stopped for lunch at a beautiful place with a bit of an ugly past. The restaurant is called The Witchery by the Castle, and is named for being a yard where hundreds of witches were burned in the 1500's. The restaurant building itself was built for a merchant, and features a lovely dining room with a charming painted ceiling. Mom dined on fresh pea soup and a zucchini/ricotta tart, while I had haggis and roasted salmon. Yes, I ate haggis, and I hadn't even been drinking whisky at the time. I definitely enjoyed it, it has an oily sausage taste and was the consistency of porridge. Which makes sense because oats is a prime component. I'd definitely eat it again -- at least at this restaurant.

After our very late lunch we went next door to the Scotch Whisky Experience. This is a combination museum, tasting bar, and Disney's Haunted-Mansion style ride. It sounds really silly and tacky but it ended up being interesting and fun. We opted for the "Gold Tour" which allowed us to taste five different whiskies. I tried a Lowland single-malt on the tour, which turned out to be the same Glenkinchie that I had enjoyed a couple of nights before. Then, in the tasting bar, we sampled:

Auchentoshan Select - This is a Lowland single-malt that to me smelled like manure. Adding a drop of water only made it worse, and to me it pretty much tasted like how it smelled. This surprised me because I have enjoyed other Lowland malts on this trip.
Glen Deveron 10yo - A Highland single-malt that I quite liked. The tasting notes say "malty with toffee notes" on the nose and "rich maltiness with hints of sherry" for the taste.
Tomintoul 10yo - A Speyside single-malt that was Mom's favorite. We both thought the color was beautifully bright gold, and noticed that the nose was consistent whether it was straight or had a bit of water added. Mom remarked that it would "stand up well to ice."
Ledaig Light Finish - An Island single-malt that neither of us liked at all at first. To us it smelled like a combination of a blacksmith shop and gasoline. Interestingly enough, once we hit it with a spash of water and actually drank it, we found that it had a nice smoky taste that was not harsh at all. I decided that if I had to keep a "manly" smokey whisky around the house, this would be the one.

Whisky tasting completed, we then did a bit of shopping. Is there any better time to shop than after a few drams of whisky? Scotland is a haven for cashmere knitwear, and the prices I was seeing, even in the middle of downtown tourist Edinburgh, were definitely better than at home -- although this sort of knitwear doesn't come cheap anywhere. I picked up a pair of gloves at Kinross that matched the lining of my raincoat, along with a locally-hand-woven merino-and-silk scarf. Then I stopped in just down the street at Highland Cashmere where I picked up a sort of poppy-colored cardigan and a moss green pullover.

Britannia Rules the Waves

2009-05-18T19:48:00.000-07:00

Today we headed via city bus down to the Ocean Terminal in Leith, where the Royal Yacht Britannia is preserved as a historical site. This was Queen Elizabeth II's ship of State, as it were, and we had a great time looking into the Royal apartments, the State dining room, and so on. From there we went to the Georgian House, which is an 18th-century town house set up to show how a "gentleman" (a non-working landowner who derives his income from rents collected from the people who live and work on his property) and his family would live in town.

After strolling past a monument to Sir Walter Scott, we stopped at Marks & Spencer to stock up on whisky and snax. The whisky we picked up is bottled specifically for Marks & Spencer, which makes it a kind of Trader Joe's-type buy. It's a 12-year-old single malt fro the Deanston distillery in Doune (Perthshire).

The weather today was changeable, ranging from downright rainy to mistily dreary to delightfully sunny with a fresh wind.

Traditional Sunday Roast

2009-05-17T23:36:00.000-07:00

Today is Sunday, and Mom wanted to go to church, so we made a point of going to Services at St. Giles (Presbyterian) Cathedral. This church has been in use since at least 1559, and parts of it date from 1495. Right now it's being renovated, but I have a feeling that's been a constant over the centuries as much of the church has been altered since the 16th century. What most impressed me were the modern halogen chandeliers, which float like UFOs in the vaulted ceilings.

As part of my personal effort to help change people's perceptions of British food, we headed to yet another New British Cuisine brassiere, Hadrian's at the Balmoral Hotel. We were also there as part of Mom's personal effort to find the ultimate roast beef. She reports that hers was cooked perfectly and quite tasty, but it should have been sliced thicker. My lamb steak in red currant sauce was interesting and enjoyable, and was accompanied by tiny delicious sauteed green beans.

Aside from needing to walk off lunch, I figured that climbing Arthur's Seat is one of the traditional that one cannot miss doing in Edinburgh. It had been (partly-somewhat-mostly) sunny all morning, and I figured now would be a good time because the ground would be in its least-damp-between-the-rains condition. I tramped up the steep paths, every so often stopping to take in the views of the Firth of Forth, Edinburgh Castle, and the surrounding city and countryside. Arthur's Seat is but part of the very large and very bucolic Holyrood Park, behind the high crags hides a lovely valley with two little lochs and what looks like a bit of ruined castle. It's wild and windy and I could almost imagine myself out on the moors in the countryside.

It was also cold, and I took a wrong turning on the path down, ending up on a mountain-goat-friendly descent that wore me out. Once back on level ground I strolled past the ultra-modern Scottish Parliament, arriving back in the hotel room to collapse on the sofa in happy exhaustion.

Mom revived me with some shortbread and a banana, and promises of a whisky and soda downstairs, so we made our way to the bar and enjoyed more Isle of Jura and some Glenkinchie (single malt from near Edinburgh), accompanied by fish cakes and a hot carrot-coriander soup.

Whisky Express

2009-05-16T20:21:00.000-07:00

Mom has developed a strong fondness for Pret A Manger, so we had lunch there and then did some more power shopping in the Covent Garden area. We hit my favorite British ladies' clothing chain, Monsoon, where I picked up a lovely silk tunic blouse, and then went to Marks & Spencer where I tried on hats and purchased (what else but) "knickers." Supposedly everyone buys their underwear (knickers) at M&S, and I like what they sell, so of course I had to pick up a pack on this trip.

We caught a cab to King's Cross Station, famous for many reasons (an IRA bombing in the 1970's, a Pet Shop Boy's song), most recently for being the location of the London terminus of the Hogwart's Express in the Harry Potter Stories. I went to look for Platform 9 3/4's and found it -- just as a baggage trolley was disappearing through the barrier!

Our train left London at 2pm for the 4 1/2 hour trip up to Edinburgh. It was very clean and comfortable, except for the toilet which was nearly as bad as the one on the train between Beijing and Xi'an in China. Facilities aside, the ride was smooth and quiet, and attendants came through after every stop to offer us tea and coffee (complimentary) and snacks (for sale). We were seated with a guy on his way up to Dundee, and he helped us do the crossword puzzle in the Independent.

The train had free wireless internet for the duration of our trip. It worked great but oddly enough when I'd go to to the Google home page, the default language it came up in was Swedish.

Arrival in Edinburgh was spot on time, and a short cab ride brought us to our hotel. When I booked us into the MacDonald Holyrood Hotel, I picked it because it was a highly recommended mid-price hotel and because I got a good price on it from Expedia. When we got into our room we nearly fell over. It is massively huge, large by even US business-class hotel standards. The room (#300) is about 2 1/2 times larger than what we had in London, and has a million-pound view of Arthur's Seat, the remains of an ancient extinct volcano that broods over Edinburgh. We went down to the hotel lobby for some dinner and to taste some local whisky, enjoying some local smoked salmon with a plate of British cheeses. Mom sampled the Highland Park (a single malt from Orkney), while I enjoyed the light and almost floral Isle of Jura (another single malt from off the west coast of Scotland).

The hotel is a T-Mobile Hot Spot. It works great but oddly enough when I go to the Google home page, the default language it comes up in is German.

The British Empire's Attic

2009-05-15T23:14:00.000-07:00

I've heard it said that the Smithsonian is "America's Attic." Well, if that's so then the Victoria & Albert Museum (the "V&A") is definitely the British Empire's attic. Mom and I took the tube over there to poke around, she wanted to peruse the very large silver collection, and I wanted to see a special exhibition about hats. Somewhere between the hats and the silver we got lost and ended up on a floor filled with William Morris and other Arts & Crafts artisan's objects domestiques. There were decorative tiles, stained glass panels, carpets, textiles, furnishings...that whole style of design really appeals to me in the way that it combines various ethnic and natural motifs into useful objects that are anything but utilitarian.

From there we stopped at Barclay's Bank on Picadilly Circus, which I only mention because a man there told Mom that it used to be a Burger King.

Our evening started with a well-exected dinner of tasteful new British cuisine (Mom had steamed mussels, I had a red onion-stilton tart), we walked around the corner to the Prince of Wales Theater to see "Mamma Mia!" In general I had been feeling kind of dubious about the whole stage-musical-made-into-a-movie thing, but I had enjoyed the movie version despite Pierce Brosnan's atrocious singing on "S.O.S." The movie was so entertaining overall that I decided I wanted to see the stage play, but missed it when it was running in Las Vegas. I'm so glad I finally got to see it, because the live musical was so much more intimate and had a more personal and energetic vibe than the movie. Comparing the two, I feel that some of the production numbers of the movie that rambled all over the island took a bit away from the actual interactions between the character, despite the beauty of the locations where they were filmed. Mom summed it all up the best, saying "It was the best stage play I have ever seen. You could not point to one actor and say well he was better than so-and-so. You could not point to one singer and say she was better than so-and-so. Every single dance sequence was fabulous, it was wonderful!" I also really appreciated the technical aspects of the show, and found that the high-tech sets did not overwhelm or detract from the show, as I find they sometimes do (for comparison, I thought some aspects of "Phantom of the Opera" were just too much of a muchness).

After the show we headed back to the room to pack, as we were checking out the next day and heading to Edinburgh by train.

London Callling

2009-05-14T23:46:00.000-07:00

I ran from Harrison Street to the 16th Street BART Station this morning, dragging two rolling suitcases, so I could make my train to my plane so I could get to London. Fortunately that was the most exciting aspect of my journey. The plane arrived early and I was able to use the rather nice Star Alliance arrival shower facilities at Heathrow Terminal 1 before schlepping over to Terminal 4 to meet Mom. I must note here that Terminal 1 is still kind of a pit, despite the trumpeted consolidation of Star Alliance airlines there last year. I had thought that meant that Terminal 1 would also be renovated, but apparently not on the Arrivals level.

Mom's flight was about 45 minutes late, but eventually she emerged from Customs & Immigration and we hopped on the Underground to head for Central London. Our hotel was the Radisson Edwardian Leicester Square (located just off Leicester Square), not to be confused with the Radisson Edwardian Hampshire (located directly on Leicester Square). Our room wasn't ready when we arrived so I took Mom to my favorite quick food stop, Pret A Manger, for healthy sandwiches. After stopping at Tkts for some discount tickets to Hairspray, we checked in to our tiny but very comfortable and modern-looking room.

We took a nap, but unfortunately Mom was suddenly feeling quite ill, so I headed off to the theater alone. Along the way I did a bit of power shopping, picking up all kinds of face creams and lotions at Neal's Yard Remedies. I love Neal's Yard because everything is all-natural with no parabens or other odd chemicals, and much of each product is organic too. I then passed a store dedicated to socks, called Tabio. Apparently this is a Tokyo-based chain that pretty much only exists in London and Japan. I went a little crazy and bought 10 pairs of socks, but I'm completely delighted because several pairs were the kind of "toe" socks that I very much like to wear. Tabio had them in normal colors, not just bizarre stripey combinations.

The musical itself was wonderful. I thought the original John Waters movie with Rickie Lake totally rocked, and enjoyed but was also a bit let down by the later musical version with John Travolta. The live musical itself, though, is super enjoyable and I much preferred it to the movie musical. (The original movie is still the best in my opinion.)

When I got back to the room after the show, I found that Mom was feeling immensely better, so we planned our next day and then hit the sack.

-LAND Ho!

2009-05-07T19:09:00.001-07:00

I've mentioned before that I'm doing this little personal project where I go to every country or state that ends in -LAND in English. My rules are that it has to be the name of the place that we use in English, it has to be a state or country level political entity, and that names ending in "Island" do not count. That results in the following list:

England
Finland
Greenland
Iceland
Ireland
Maryland
The Netherlands
Newfoundland
New Zealand
Northern Ireland
Poland
Queensland
Scotland
Swaziland
Switzerland
Thailand

I've made good progess on this list, and next week I will be going to ScotLAND with my mother.

Mom and I take a trip together every year. We usually go on a cruise, but I was feeling cruised out. She kind of wanted to go to London, so we decided that since I was going to the UK in late May anyway, we'd tack on a trip to London and Edinburgh before I went to Blackpool to watch the British Open Ballroom Dancing Championships.

Once we get to Scotland (Edinburgh), I'll just have Greenland, Iceland, Newfoundland, Northern Ireland, Poland, and Swaziland left on the list.

When Lightning Strikes

2009-04-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

All I needed was a big hit of inspiration. At this point I've sewn as much as I can, the remaining steps are:

flat stone the bodice
sew the bodice back and side seams
draft the sleeves
flat stone the sleeves
set the sleeves into the bodice
sew the bodice to the bottom half of the bodysuit/dress
sew the skirts to the bodice
finish stoning the dress
hem the chiffon skirts with poly braid
finish the legs of the bodysuit
make the float

Then there's the issue of figuring out what I'm going to do for "support." I wear a 34F dresses made with just those little sew-in bra cups are problematic. I'll worry about this later, at worst case I can replace all the straps on one of my regular bras with nude elastic and just wear it under the dress.

This sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but it is manageable if I just keep working diligently.

Flatland

2009-04-26T16:27:00.000-07:00

I've started again from Burda 7879, with a bunch of modifications:

made the back have a V shape
added the "salsa" skirt layer to the "ballroom" skirt so as to get an interesting layered effect
increased the layers of chiffon in the "ballroom" skirt from two to three
am adding sleeves

I've got everything cut out, and have constructed the three chiffon layers in the skirt. Those are now hanging up on my fitting dummy so that the bias will stretch out.

I've also constructed the "salsa" layer, which itself is a modification because rather than having it be straight in the front and pointy in the back, I have it pointy in both front and back. I've finished the edges in poly hem braid, and have stoned the hem. Usually I complete the entire dress before I start stoning, but I realized that it's easier to stone things like sleeves and hems flat rather. So, even though I haven't attached the "salsa" layer to the rest of the garment, I stoned the hem while it was laying flat on the table. I plan to do something similar when I make the sleeves: I'm going to do most of the stone work with the fabric flat, before I sew up the sleeve seams and set them into the armhole. It will be interesting to see how that works out.

Uhh, yeah.

2009-04-26T09:20:00.001-07:00

So you know that dress I was working on? Junked it. I just can't get with the light pink right now. I woke up this morning with a new idea and have the new dress cut out, except for the underskirts. Must run to the fabric store and buy some black and red chiffon or georgette!

Sleeves

2009-04-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

I really hate dealing with sleeves. But, being a woman of a certain size and shape, I really should have them on my ballgowns. I made and attached the under-leotard, and then made the left sleeve. The sleeve looks horrible. I feel like my arm is a pale pink sausage. I will have to ponder this sleeve issue some more.

Shell Game

2009-04-25T16:17:00.000-07:00

I now have the basic shell of the dress completed. It's just a basic 8-panel princess seamed style right now. The next step is to make the under-leotard, and once that is done I can work out the neckline and sleeve option(s). Then I will sew the dress and leotard together, and start with the "finishing" work, such a putting elastic in the openings and figuring out if I'm going to try to insert a silver godet in the back center seam or not.

Sewing gives me lots of time to think, while actually getting something done. Today I listened to The Police's Message in a Box and remembered the crush I had on Sting when I was 17.

Cut & Sew

2009-04-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

Whew, the dress is now cut out, time to clean up the great room (I cut out on my dining table). Then I can move on to actually sewing the garment together. Right now I'm entirely avoiding the whole issue of the under-leotard.

When in Doubt, Stick to the Basics

2009-04-24T17:30:00.001-07:00

Actually, when in doubt, go make the dress that you made years ago for a client and always wanted for yourself. We'll see how this works out, I'm cutting out now.

I'm starting, as I often do, from Kwik Sew 2514, with minor modifications:

split the front center panel so the dress has eight panels rather than seven
make the skirt floor-length
flare the skirt out from just below the waist so that it will sufficiently full for ballroom
add a sleeve
add a float
change the neckline

It sounds like a lot but I'm back in familiar territory so I'm no longer panicking.

I Just Can't Do It

2009-04-24T15:24:00.000-07:00

I am so daunted by this project that I am paralyzed. Making a high-quality ballgown is a complex and time-consuming process, and I haven't sewn anything in a year. I know what I want to do, but I'm just not up to cutting out and sewing together all the different shapes and pieces. I want something nearly instant. People ask why good dresses are so expensive -- well, there's the time spent thinking out the design, the costs of quality materials, the time spent cutting and sewing and fitting, all the finish work, and then the stoning. It takes time, a lot of time.

I think I need to ease back into sewing by doing something smaller first, as badly as I want a new ballgown -- and as badly as I am going to need one come June.

Sorry for anyone expecting to see an interesting project, I'm just crumbling here.

Frankenpattern

2009-04-24T13:36:00.001-07:00

As far as people who make dresses go, I'm probably weird. I can't sketch, I don't drape, instead I look at existing patterns and figure out how to graft them together. Sometimes while I'm working I'll completely change my mind. It's like doing a weird flat puzzle that becomes this cool 3-d thing.

I like to work with Kwik Sew brand patterns, and usually start from one of their swimsuits, ice skating dresses, or leotards. Today I'm using view B of Kiwk Sew 3272, and grafting it on to either an 8-panel skirt (that's a skirt made of eight pieces that flare out) or a layered skirt (to get my take on the ruffly "cupcake" look that is in fashion right now). If I do the layered skirt, it will be loosely based on Burda 7879.

So anyway, I've picked my base pattern, taken my measurements, and used tracing paper to trace my size off the printed pattern. I do this to save the printed pattern in case I want to go back and make a different size or variant later. Then I cut out the traced pieces and play with them to see how things fit together so I can create my Frankenpattern. Sometimes I cut up and re-shape the pattern pieces, for instance taking something that was meant to be one piece and splitting it into two. One of the things I'm going to do for sure this time is combine the panties and top part of the Kiwk Sew patterns together into one piece -- I don't need a waist seam on that leotard because the skirt is going to be attached to the outermost layer of the dress.

At this stage it's important to make sure you have enough fabric for what it is you think you might want to do. I'm going to go measure things and think for a while.

Making a Ballgown in ??? Easy Steps

2009-04-24T12:27:00.000-07:00

I am suffering from fashion fatigue and have decided that I want a new dress for Emerald Ball next week. How does one make a ballgown you might ask? Well, basically it goes like this:

Step One: Inspiration

Some people sketch. Some people drape. I just tend to roll around on the floor with some fabric and see what happens.

Step Two: Fabric Preparation

I like to start by washing the fabric. It pre-shrinks it, gets off any surface dirt or cat hair, and if any color is going to fade it will happen now. I usually only wash the main stretchy fabrics that the dress is going to be made out of. Chiffon, metallics, and other delicate things can just be used as is.

Oh Yeah, I Have a Blog!

2009-04-24T12:25:00.001-07:00

Q: Where have you been for the past month and a half?
A: Around.
Q: What have you been doing?
A: Stuff.
Q: With whom?
A: Just people. Jeeze, are you my Mom or something?

Nothing Could be Finer than to Dance in Carolina

2009-03-09T16:55:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the Heritage Dance Classic, held at the totally beautiful Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina. I had a super fun time dancing, pulled some good marks, and looked pretty nice dancing. It's hard to complain.

No Cute Title Here

2009-02-26T22:40:00.000-08:00

I totally forgot to post this, but I spent Valentine's Day competing at the California Open in Irvine. The dancing was good, the marks were decent, and I even took home a smidgen of Scholarship money.

The video is rather dark but here goes:

Trip the Light Fantastic

2009-02-04T14:45:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I danced at the City Lights Ball in San Jose. I had three goals for this first competition of 2009, and I'm proud to say that I achieved them all. One goal was to make the final of the Open Pro/Am Standard "A" (45 and under) Scholarship. There were eight couples, so the cut wasn't so bad, but still the people dancing were very good so it's never safe to take anything for granted.

Here is the semi-final:

I think for the most part my dancing was better in the Semi, but for completeness sake, I've uploaded the Final too:

In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room

2009-01-18T13:55:00.000-08:00

In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room
all the birds sing words
and the flowers croon
in the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room!

When I was a kid, and to this day, I was entranced by the "talking" birds in Disney's "Tropical Serenade." This was the attraction in Adeventureland where you'd go into a theater modeled after a Polynesian long house and see talking animatronic birds, singing flowers, and drumming Tiki statues. I loved it. The entire setting was beautiful, especially the birds. It still exists, except that in 1998 Disney added a component from their succesful movie Aladdin to the mix. Now, what a Persian boy has to do with Polynesian kitsch is beyond me -- the premise is that Aladdin has taken over management of the Enchanted Tiki Room. Guess I'll have to go see it some time to find out.

Anyway, last night I went to my friend Danese's 50th birthday party. While there I ran into some other friends who had just come from a Tiki bar in Alameda, and suggested that a bunch of us go back for some tropical cocktail fun. So, Kim, Jengo, Cliff, Kara, and I headed over to Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge. It was an adult-drink paradise!

The 43 Hour Friday

2009-01-09T14:58:00.000-08:00

After a long and boring trip where I drank way too much (it started when I found they had a nice Piper-Heidsieck champagne in cute little bottles in fridge in the United lounge) and slept too little (watched "Tropic Thunder," "Baby Mama," and "The X-Files: I Want to Believe") I arrived home. My bag made it, with both bottles of wine and all Christmas presents intact, although the TSA did open and inspect it.

My next "-land" trip will be ScotLAND, in May!

A Rainy Day in Sydney Town

2009-01-08T18:46:00.000-08:00

Well, not much rain, but some spotty light wetness did fall from the sky. Today was dark, dreary and cold -- a huge change from the unending sunshine earlier in the week. I guess this will prepare me for returning to the dark Northern Hemisphere and cool foggy San Francisco.

I had a bit of a late start this morning, so I headed to the Museum of Contemporary Art. After my great experience at a similar museum in Brisbane, I was very interested to view the work on display here in Sydney. This museum seemed smaller, but it did have one exhibition that I really enjoyed. Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare MBE works with Dutch "wax cloth," which is the very brightly designed and colored cloth used in a lot of West African clothing. He's done collage paintings with it, and a series of sculptural reworkings of famous European paintings. For an example of what I mean, look at this famous painting by Fragonard, and then at the Shonibare's sculpture.

The art museum had a nice café, so after a tasty lunch I made my way to the Art Gallery of New South Wales to view the Yiribana Gallery. This is Australia's best collection of aboriginal and Torres Strait islander art. Unfortunately, the Yiribana was closed! I was disappointed, but walked through the 19th and 20th century collections of Australian art. This included some pieces by indigenous artists, but was mostly art by European and European-descended painters and sculptors.

By this time my head was swimming, I can only look at so much art at once, so I picked up my bags and took the train to my final hotel, the Holiday Inn Sydney Airport. I decided to spent my last night here because I have a 9am flight tomorrow to Melbourne, connecting to my 2pm flight to Los Angeles, and I wanted to reduce the chances of me having problems in the morning. When I checked in I was once again pleasantly surprised. The last two Holiday Inns I've stayed in were kind of dodgy, but this one is decently decorated and quite comfortable.

Missed it by That Much

2009-01-07T23:19:00.000-08:00

My plan for today was to tour historic houses, but due to a series of barely missed connections, I ran out of time. Still, I really enjoyed what I did get to see.

I started out by taking the train to Kings Cross and walking to the Elizabeth Bay House. This was built during the Australian colonial period, and features a beautiful cantilevered stairway under a domed ceiling. Unfortunately over the years the parkland around the house was sold off and sub divided, so this gorgeous specimen of a stately home is packed in cheek by jowl with apartment buildings.

I walked back toward Kings Cross to get the bus to my next destination, and just barely (by less than five minute) missed it. Then I made a bad decision when a different bus came by -- I should have gotten on it, but I wasn't sure, and so I had to wait about 25 minutes for the next one. Meanwhile, some totally blotto guy was sleeping on the narrow bench in the bush shelter, so I couldn't sit down. At one point he rolled off the bench and didn't even wake up when he smacked into the ground. He just kept sleeping on the sidewalk pavement. It was sad and gross at the same time. I've seen several homeless people in Sydney, and even got panhandled walking around an upscale shopping street, which was a bit surprising because a friend had been explaining to me about how there are basically no homeless people in Australia because anyone in that situation can still get basic health care and other assistance from the government. Maybe this guy was a junkie? Anyway, it was an odd interlude. The bus came and I got on, it was a very nice clean bus, with nice normal people on it.

After about a half hour ride, I arrived in the eastern suburb of Vaucluse, where Vaucluse House is located. The bus conveniently stopped right at the end of the drive. This was another colonial house, built in an oddly gothic style (yet still sporting a characteristic wide and deep shaded veranda). The family who had lived here were well off but were social outcasts due to the fact that the husband and wife only married after they had had two children -- they had ten in all. Also, both the husband and wife had some ancestors who had either gotten on the wrong side of the law or who were actual convicts. Still, they worked hard and built an interesting home, and the family had very nice furnishings and traveled to Europe a lot (where they were more accepted in Society). I wandered the property, where there is a working vegetable garden, and was offered a delicious sample of heirloom cherry tomatoes. After lunch in the on-site tea room, I went to catch the bus, only to find that I had missed it by about five minutes. This means I had another half hour to kill, so I walked through the quite ritzy neighborhood next to the house and stopped by the family's mausoleum.

I took the bus to the end of the line, where I had planned to catch a ferry back to the City. I went down to the pier and found that I had missed the very last ferry of the day by less than ten minutes. This is when I came up with the title for today's post. I went back to the bus stop and hopped on the first bus that I thought was heading back to downtown, but it turned out it was a bus for Bondi Beach. The positive thing about this was that I got to see the beach and people watch as sunbathers and surfers got on and off at the various stops. The negative thing was that it was getting very cloudy so everyone seemed to have decided to leave Bondi at the exact same time, and the bus moved at walking pace for quite some time. After about 40 minutes of this, I got off at the first rail station and took a very fast train back into the City.

My original plan had been to go to Elizabeth Farm in the western suburbs, but it was way too late for that. So, after a spot of shopping for Christmas presents, I stopped in at the Marble Bar, a very beautiful and ornate bar in the basement of the Hilton. The bar was built in 1889, and so has been around long before the Hilton even existed. I had a pink fruity drink called a Love Letter, which was based on raspberry vodka, and then called it a day. I have one more full day in Sydney, although tonight is my last night at the Hilton. I'm moving camp to the Holiday Inn by the airport so as to facilitate me catching a 9am flight on Friday morning. It took me about two hours to completely unpack and then repack, but I got everything situated and I'm hoping that my checked bag still weighs in at under 17kg. It was 16.5kg on the flight from Brisbane, and although I've picked up some things I've also gotten rid of others, so I think it will all work out in the end.

Tourist Marathon, Day 2

2009-01-06T22:56:00.000-08:00

This trip has been the longest I've been away from home at a stretch in a number of years. I'm handling it well, usually I get kind of homesick but I think I'm staying too busy for that. I know the cats are well, I've been communicating with my friends via Facebook and email, so it's all good. However, I am starting to get tired of being a tourist, and my writing juices have pretty much dried up. But I also feel like there's so much to see and do and I came all this way that I can't let up now. So, today I toured the Sydney Opera House, briefly visited the Museum of Sydney (where I took a quiz about pet ownership and was told that I should only own a Pet Rock), took the ferry to the Taronga Zoo, walked up on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, stopped in at the Luna Park amusement park to ride a couple of rides, and then went to the top of the Sydney Tower.

I was hoping I'd see a Platypus at the Zoo, but the Platypus enclosure in the Platypus House was being renovated so the animals were in a natural walk-through habitat. It was a hot day, and Platypuses (Platypii?) are nocturnal, so they were not to be seen. I did manage to see another wombat, this one was sleeping in his burrow so really all I saw was a snoring mound of fur. The Tasmanian Devils were out and about in their enclosure, though, and I've got to say that they are charming little guys. Maybe they're called "Devils" 'cause they're cute as the devil! My favorite place was a large walk-through aviary, filled with dozens and dozens of different native Australian birds. They're pretty used to people, and I found that after I sat in the same place for about ten minutes I was able to see many birds up close.

Harbour, Darling!

2009-01-05T22:47:00.000-08:00

Spent the day visiting attractions around the tourist area known as Darling Harbour. There was really a lot to see, and the cheese factor was rather low -- no wax museums, for instance. I visited the National Maritime Museum, where I toured a decommissioned destroyer and a submarine, plus saw a fascinating exhibit about Australnesian (they don't use the term Polynesian here, it seems, or this is a new term) navigators. Next was the Powerhouse Museum, where I focused on the exhibits concerning Australian design (fashion, advertising, and industrial). After that I spent a relaxing hour in the Chinese Friendship Garden, which is the largest such garden outside of China and would do any formal garden in Suzhou proud. Next I walked through Sydney Wildlife World, where I finally saw a wombat. There were two of them, sleeping in their burrow, flat on their backs with all four (eight) feet in the air, snoozing mightily.

I capped it all off at the Sydney Aquarium, which many people apologized for in advance ("it's not that great if you've seen the Monterey Bay Aquarium") but I thought it was worth it for three things:

seeing a woman struggling with her Louis Vuitton purse while yelling at her kid named "Chanel." I wanted to ask what her son's name was.
walking past a another woman who, while gazing at the large fishes in the Ocean Tank, remarked, "those look delicious!"
seeing the Great Barrier Reef Tank, and realizing that I can actually take pictures of the fish! I'd never tried it until today.

In all, a long day, and completed with a soak in my large and deep bathtub while sipping more of that wine.

Sydney Style

2009-01-04T21:50:00.000-08:00

I like to travel in style and relative comfort. I also like getting a good deal for my money. When the two intersect I'm really happy. I managed to book the Hilton Sydney through Expedia for much less than the hotel was charging for its best rate. I've stayed in many nice business-class hotels over the years, and appreciate fancy toiletries and fluffy duvets. But when I got to my room today, I was really wowed. It's a corner room with a partial view of Sydney Harbor, and a full-on view of the Sydney Tower (as pictured here). I love having windows on two sides. There's a sleek chaise lounge, and a very modern frosted glass bathroom with separate tub and shower.

After I unpacked, I resisted the urge to lounge and headed out for some lunch/dinner and for a walk. The Hilton is in the Central Business District, but it's a straight shot to The Rocks and Circular Quay, where the famous bridge and opera house can be seen. When I got to the quay, the first thing I noticed was that Celebrity Millennium was in port. Mom & I have cruised on two of Millennium's sisters, Summit (Panama Canal) and Infinity (Alaska). Millennium was berthed right between the two famous sights I had come to see.

I also made a stop at David Jones, Australia's fancy department store, for some wine and Australian cheese. This time I'm drinking Wirra Wirra "Church Block," a Cabernet/Shiraz/Merlot blend that is very nice. I usually don't like Cabernet but the addition of Shiraz and Merlot makes it very enjoyable for me.

Take Me to the River

2009-01-03T21:48:00.000-08:00

My final full day in Brisbane began with the soft pattering of rain on the corrugated steel roof of Bryce's traditional Queensland-style house. The weather had turned quite cool, and the rain was soft and dreamy.

We decided to head to the Miegunyah Folk Museum, which was housed in a historical old house. Unfortunately, when we got there, there was a sign on the door saying it was closed until February. So then we tried to go to the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame, but when we got there, we found out that the address given was just an office space. The real Hall of Fame is about 1200km away in Longreach!

Not to be deterred in our sight-seeing, Bryce suggested a cruise on the Brisbane River. It meanders through town, and a series of boats and motorized catamarans taxi passengers up and down and across. Many people use these, which are owned and run by the city as part of their public transit system, too and from work.

Continuing in our theme of things being closed, we had planned to go to Tukka for "advanced Australian fare" -- i.e. "bush tukka." They offer dishes such as strawberry and tonka bean cured Queensland crocodile with asparagus and a passion fruit dressing, and kangaroo fillet. When Bryce called for a booking, though, he was told the restaurant was closed until next week. So, we went for Balinese food, which I had never had before. I had a spectacularly delicious lamb stew cooked in a hot pot with bok choi.

Artistic Optimism

2009-01-02T23:00:00.000-08:00

Spent this afternoon at a fantastic art exhibit, "Contemporary Australia: Optimism" at the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art. The three most interesting exhibits were a video montage of rabid Michael Jackson fans singing along to all the tracks on "Thriller," a plush fake-fur winter wonderland forest, and a series of information kiosks about space aliens that were aimed at little kids (one of which showed an alien dancing happily to Outkast's "Hey Now").

Tony Albert

Alien nation embassy

Tony Albert’s interest in aliens responds to both the alienation of Indigenous people within their own country and the ‘alien invasion’ of Australia by Europeans in 1788. Especially for kids, Tony Albert has created the Alien nation embassy and invites all earthlings to become honorary citizens — but not before passing the ‘citizenship test’! The multimedia installation features a population counter, video footage of the artist with the aliens, and electronic swipe cards for kids to access secret alien information.

(Warning -- this video is really awful quality, but you'll get the idea!)

After that, I did did a spot of shopping and picked up a new bathing suit at my now-favorite Australian store, Witchery. Since summer is in full swing here, everything is on sale, and I got a great new tankini for the equivalent of $20 US!

I capped off the evening sipping yet another great Australian Shiraz with Bryce, interrupted by a possum wandering into the kitchen! It brushed up against his toes under the kitchen table, and when he flinched and jumped to look at it, it rapidly scampered out to the back porch.

Surf 'n Turf

2009-01-01T21:28:00.000-08:00

We hit the road around 10am and head north out of Brisbane for the Sunshine Coast. This is a string of beaches and beach towns extending upward toward the Tropic of Capricorn. It's Florida-hot here, but not at all as humid. We arrive at Sunrise Beach, find a place to park the Land Rover (it's wide and long), and head down to the sand. Now, I usually hate sand, but a good experience last week when we drove down toward Portsea has made me think twice about it. Australian sand is golden, and sort of the consistency of light brown sugar. The sand I can't stand is the very soft, very talc-y, and very dry.

I slather myself with sunblock, and then hit the water. Although the surf is kind of rough, there is no real undertow and the water is pleasantly warm. A team of surf lifesavers have set up a patrol area, the idea is to always swim between their flags. It turns out that the surf lifesavers are volunteers, and that there are surf clubs all over Australia that watch over various beaches. Bryce continues further up the beach so he can go fishing.

I go in and out of the water a few times, and crack open the huge Thomas Pynchon novel that I've been hauling around all week. The breeze is stiff, the sun is bright, the day is warm. I am so relaxed that I think my brain would just slide out of my head if I tilted it the right way. I take a long walk to the far end of the beach, where there are rocky tide pools. The rocks are covered with little limpets and barnacles, and tiny fish. After my walk, Bryce notices that I'm starting to sunburn, so we pack up and head back toward Brisbane.

After a stop at McDonald's (abbreviated to "Macca's" by the locals, Aussies seem to abbreviate everything) for a frozen Coca Cola (think Slurpee), we drive the tourist road to the Glasshouse Mountains. On the way we pass the zoo started by Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, the guy that was killed a couple of years ago in a bizzare stingray accident. The mountains are all that are left of a series of ancient volcanoes. All the parts of the cones have eroded away, leaving only the basalt lava "plugs" that were the heart of the volcanoes.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T08:36:00.000-08:00

Bryce gave me the scenic tour of Brisbane yesterday. We walked around the lovely City Botanic Gardens, which included an actual mangrove, and drove up into the hills of Mt. Coot-tha, the highest point in the city. After taking in the panoramic view, we navigated toward a large scholastic-gothic building we had seen on a hill. It was private school, and seemed extremely upper-crust. As we pulled up to the main buildings and stopped to take pictures, a security guard came by and informed us that this was private property and suggested that we move along. From there Bryce drove to an old cemetery, located along hillsides with spectacular views.

We ended our perambulations downtown at the Anglican Cathedral, which has the distinction of being a brand-new gothic style church. The spires were just completed this year, in fact.

There were several sets of fireworks planned for bringing in the New Year, but I was feeling hot, tired, and sticky, and so we stayed home. Bryce fired up his grill and cooked lamb steaks, eggplant, sweet potato, and summer squash. Everything was delicious and we washed it down with yet more shiraz (regular and sparkling). I fell asleep around 10pm watching a replay of Aussie Rules Football. Guess I'm getting old. Happy 2009!

Yarra Yarra Hey!

2008-12-30T17:56:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting with Bryce in the Qantas lounge at Melbourne, waiting for our flight to Brisbane, in QueensLAND. Remember my project to go to all the states/countries that end in -land in English? Well, that's part of why I'm here, all the way down in Australia.

This morning we headed up to the Yarra Valley for a scenic drive and some wine tasting. Both were achieved, to the point where I had to say "no more" at lunch time. On the way up, we stopped in at Domaine Chandon. We tasted two very nice sparkling wines, and a variety of reds and whites. Their Brut méthode champagnoise was quite tasty.

We continued to the Yarra Valley visitor's center in Healesville, where a very helpful lady pulled out a map and marked it up with suggestions as to where we should go. Our first winery was RiverStone, in Coldstream. We tried a variety of reds, but what really stood out for me was a 10 year old Tokay that they made at another winery further south. I'm developing a fascination for sweet dessert wines, and this one really knocked my socks off. It was sweet without being cloying, and had the most wonderful toasted coconut finish that kicked in definitely after swallowing. I really enjoyed that it did that, so I picked up a bottle to bring back to California. The winery building and land at RiverStone were really lovely:

Next stop was Yering Station, which bills itself as Australia's oldest winery -- even though there was a good space of time when the vines were ripped up and the land was used for various agricultural purposes, including stock grazing. The place seemed rather large and full of tourists, so I was a bit worried that it would be sort of a Gallo-type place. However, once we got into the tasting room, we were not disappointed. They had a very long tasting list, which included a really tasty nebbiolo that has given me a really great opinion of that variety. They also had an interesting "M.S.R" blended white made up of 67% Marsanne, 25% Viognier, and 8% Roussane. Bryce ordered a mixed case of this wine, plus some Sangiovese and Shiraz. I was hoping it all would be delivered before I left Brisbane so I could sample a bit more, but alas that was not the case. As for myself, I snapped up yet another sweet wine -- this one a fortified Shiraz. It was really delicious, not quite a tawny port, but not exactly a late-harvest type sweet wine either. I'm curious to learn more about these types of wines, as knowledge of and consumption of them does not seem to be very widespread in the US. I will have to do some research -- including tasting trips -- after I get home.

We were getting hungry, and so decided to stop at the Balgownie Estate. This was a large facility, with a hotel, spa, and conference center attached. We wanted lunch, so we decided to taste wine first to determine what we would drink with our meal. The gentleman helping us taste was quite gregarious, and we sipped our way through some Pinot Noirs, including the proprietor's reserve which was quite yummy. The dining room and menu at the Estate were lovely, but unfortunately we did not have a reservation and so were turned away. Not to be deterred, we headed to another winery that had been suggested, only to find a sign on the door saying that the restaurant was entirely booked for lunch that day. We backtracked a bit, and stopped at the café at Yarrawood. I ordered some pasta with grilled chicken and basil cream sauce, and drank it with something...at this point I can't remember. At that point I probably couldn't have remembered either. I had tasted/drank a lot of wine that morning, so after we finished eating I turned to Bryce and said "No more."

The afternoon and evening were consumed by wending our way back to Melbourne and then flying on to Brisbane.

When the Going Gets Weird, the Weird Turn Pro

2008-12-29T23:51:00.000-08:00

Bryce and I headed west along the Great Ocean Road, going toward Warrnambool. The first part of the road leaving Port Campbell followed the ocean cliffs, where there were a series of spectacular rock formations.

Then the road turned inland. I was fiddling with the camera when Bryce announced that he had just seen a kangaroo sitting by the side of the road. This totally bummed me out, as I really wanted to see some native Australian wildlife in their native Australian habitats. As we continued west, Bryce saw a country lane turn-off and said "let's go here!" so we randomly started down the narrow drive. All of a sudden we passed something marsupial in the grass! I was so excited, we turned around and I saw what turned out to be a wallaby hopping across the road. It sat in the grass and stared at us for a bit.

We continued onward to Warranmbool, the road dipping and rising in soft rolling hills. A few kilometers outside of town Bryce saw a dome with a cross on top and remarked with a bit of surprise that he was seeing a Russian Orthodox Church in the dstance. As we got closer, we encountered this structure, visible across hill and dale for many a kilometer:

Obviously that silver ball is not a Russian Orthodox Church. We navigated closer and saw that it was located atop a trouser factory. But why? And especially why the cross? As we drove around town, just looking to see what was there, it seemed to us that there was an inordinate number of churches. There seemed to be a dozen steeples in the distance, a church on nearly every corner. Had we stumbled into some kind of hotbed of Australian religious expression? And why when we cruised by the Temperance Hall was it closed?

Some more random wandering brought us to a beautiful ANZAC memorial. Pretty much every town in Australia has one, honoring and remembering the forces who fought and fell at Gallipoli in World War I (see the film, it is amazing and heartbreaking).

This is where stuff started getting strange. The memorial was in the middle of a roundabout, and we noticed a bright yellow flower power van going around and around while the driver ground the gears pretty seriously. A few moments of observation revealed that the youth of Warranmbool appear to cruise the streets for fun and entertainment. After making some comments about disaffected youth, we hopped back in the car to search for dinner. Along the way we encountered the yellow van again, this time receiving roadside assistance from a tall young guy (it seems all Aussie guys are tall).

From there we decided that Mexican food was our best bet, so we stopped inside Taco Bill and discovered that it is a chain, with franchise opportunities available all over Australia. Apparently Mexican food is kind of new and exotic in the Australian countryside, because the place mats at Taco Bill included handy pronunciation guides to the various dishes. You know that thing made up of corn chips, melted cheese, salsa, beans, guac etc? Yep, that's right, NAR-choes. And you can wash them down with a liqueur-flavored margarita -- they were offered some of the flavors you'd expect, and then some exotics like Sambuca or creme de menthe. Creme de menthe and tequila, it boggles my mind. I had a passionfruit margarita, which was quite delicious with actual fresh passionfruit puree in it.

After dinner we started the drive back to Port Campbell. At this point the cross on top of the silver ball was lit up, and it kind of floated like a holy UFO on the outskirts of town. The drive back through the dark countryside on a moonless night, roads lined with gum (eucalyptus) trees and the ever-present danger of a 'roo hopping out of the woods and wrecking our car (worse than hitting a deer), was like something out of a gothic horror movie.

Off into the Victorian Countryside

2008-12-28T18:57:00.000-08:00

We left Melbourne about 2pm, heading west and south toward Port Campbell, which would be our overnight stop and jumping-off point for driving the Great Ocean Road back to Melbourne. This is considered one of the most spectacular drives in Australia, winding along limestone cliffs and sandy beaches.

Our outbound trip was inland, through dairy cow and sheep country. It was very bucolic, with farm after farm, many smelling of fresh-cut hay. We stopped in the metropolis of Colac (population 11,000) for "Australia's Number One Pizza." This was stated as being in terms of "price and value," but based on the taste of the pizza, I'm not really sure what it meant.

We arrived in Port Campbell, a very small town with a cluster of hotels, restaurants, and souvenir shops. After checking into the Loch Ard Motor Inn, we had a cup of tea and hit the road again, heading west.

Cricket 101

2008-12-28T18:23:00.000-08:00

This morning I took part in a long-standing Melbourne tradition, attending the Boxing Day Test Match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. I'll understand if you are confused. After all, Boxing Day was two days ago, and what the hell is cricket anyway?

Don't ask me where and how cricket started. I heard it was invented by crazy Englishmen who spent too much time in the noonday sun in India drinking gin and tonics, but apparently cricket is older than that. Here are some basics.

There are two teams. One team is in the field, the other is batting. The field is a big grassy oval, with a tan dirt rectangle in the middle. This rectangle is called the pitch, and is where pretty much everything happens. At each end of the pitch stands three thigh-high wooden stakes pounded into the ground close to each other. This is the wicket. A batter stands at each end of the pitch, in front of the wicket, so that two batters from the same team are up at the same time. On the defending team (or attacking, depending on how you look at it, since the bowler can look pretty darn violent when he runs down the pitch), the bowler stands off at one end of the pitch and the rest of his teammates fan out in various locations on the field.

There is no foul territory, the entire oval is in play, so fielders can be behind either batter, on either long side of the pitch, spread out, clustered together, and so on. Play starts by the bowler running into the pitch, hurling the ball before his foot crosses a certain white line. The batter being aimed at does his best to hit the ball, which can be traveling at speeds exceeding 145kmph.

The basic idea for the fielders is to catch the ball and/or throw it in to the wicket keeper (a fielder who stands right by a wicket) so that the batter can be caught out or tagged out. There are rules about how to catch it but they've escaped me now. If the batter gets a decent hit, he starts running down the pitch toward the other wicket, and the batter at that wicket runs in the opposite direction, so the two batters in effect exchange places during the scoring of one run. When the batter has a good hit, the batters can run down, tag their "crease" (their batting zone), and then run back to their original locations. In this case, two runs are scored. Sometimes, on a really flubbed fielding play, three runs can be scored. There are also rules where umpires automatically give credit for four or more runs.

Now we come to the part about scores. This is where things get murky for North Americans who are used to baseball. If you've ever watched BBC World News, you'll hear cricket scores reported something like this:

In the third day of the International Test Match at Melbourne, Australia has 347 runs in the first inning, and South Africa is 8 for 249. Play will continue tomorrow.

A "proper" cricket match, the best of the best, are the Test Matches. Why are they called this? Who knows. Probably because it's test of strength and skill to play cricket for six hours a day for five days. An inning lasts until 10 players are out. In the above example, saying South Africa is 8 for 249 means that 8 players are out, and those 8 scored a total of 249 runs while they were playing. South Africa still has two more batters, which means they could score anywhere between another zero (highly unlikely) and 50 or so (much more likely) before the 10th man goes out and the inning is over.

When Grant, Bryce, and I joined the Boxing Day Test Match already in progress, the game was still in the first inning and the score was something along the lines of what I gave in the example above. Game play is further divided into "overs" (a series of six good bowls), and then there are mandatory breaks. After one hour of play at the MCG, a giant bottle of Gatorade was wheeled onto the the oval and all the players and officials were given something to drink. After the second hour of play, everyone stopped for a 40-minute lunch break. That is when we headed out. It was interesting but I couldn't see staying for the full six hours of play on my first attempt, plus Bryce and I wanted to hit the Great Ocean Road.

A Nice Little Afternoon Drive

2008-12-27T23:49:00.000-08:00

Bryce and I hopped in the car and headed south from Melbourne, following the beaches along Mornington Peninsula about 100km to its tip. Parts of the drive were reminiscent of the Jersey Shore, parts had a sort of Malibu flavor, and the last two towns -- Sorrento and Portsea -- were definitely very Hamptons.

Along the way we stopped for a walk on a municipal pier, and I stuck my feet in the water. I figured dipping into Port Phillip Bay was close enough to count toward putting my feet in the Great Southern Ocean. At this point only the Arctic is left on my list, unless I start adding things like the Adriatic, Black, Caspian, and Baltic seas.

We parked at the end of the road in Portsea, in a neighborhood of very nice houses with modern architecture, tennis courts, and swimming pools, and went for a brief smoke (Bryce) and a walk. Aside from seeing magpies and hearing a kookaburra, we viewed Preppius Australus, the Australian preppie. Like their American counterparts, they wear Topsiders, sweaters looped around their shoulders, walk sporting dogs, drive Land Rovers, and tend to look askance at "those people," which includes tourists, middle-class urbanites who don't belong to the country club, and foreigners. We're all three, so we got quite a glance.

After having a good chuckle about Biff and Muffy, we backtracked to Sorrento where we stopped at Spargos. I had been craving steak, so had a lovely ribeye and yet another glass of Shiraz. Mmmmm. This one was Mr. Ribbs "The Gaffer," a very very odd name for yet another McLaren Vale wine. That's three in a row, I need to try something from another area!

A Day in Downtown Melbourne

2008-12-27T17:02:00.000-08:00

Today I started in on the actual hardcore touristic stuff. Bryce and I took the tram down to the central district of Melbourne, and walked around the old "Laneways." This is a series of narrow streets and arcades (passageways cut through buildings) in the center of downtown. They're full of cute stores, cafes', and art galleries, but the truth is that I think they sounded better on paper. We walked around for a couple of hours, and although we had some great coffee and visited a nice wine shop, I can't say I was particularly wowed by the architecture or the people. We passed a couple of nice looking art galleries that were unfortunately closed for the Christmas Holiday, but looking in the windows did whet my appetite for viewing more native Australian art in the future. One of the most interesting features of the Laneways is the graffiti art. It's actually protected as an art form in certain locations, I took a picture of my favorite mural.

On the advice of another Bryce, an Australian transplanted to San Francisco, I stopped at gourmet chocolatier Haigh's. I picked up a small "dark connoisseurs selection" and am impressed. The flavors are very clear and fruity, and the chocolate is not too sweet. So far I've sampled a caramel, and pieces filled with mint creme, espresso creme, and bits of dried apricot. I'm liking these enough that I might just haul a box back to the US on the plane.

We haven't sampled the wine we picked up at Vintage Cellars yet, but the person who I asked for advice was super enthusiastic about this Shiraz. We'll probably drink it this evening :)

After our tramp through the Laneways, including a nice simple lunch at a fish and chips place where I had grilled sea bass (nicely done with herbs) and a salad, we went to the Melbourne Aquarium. I love aquariums, and this one included an exhibit of King penguins from the Antarctic, weird creatures like the highly dangerous Poison Dart Frog, and a huge marine tank with massive rays, schooling tuna, and some mid-sized sharks.

The Two Towers

2008-12-26T22:38:00.000-08:00

For anyone wondering: the contents of my bag arrived unscathed. Grant is now enjoying the tequila.

My friend Bryce, originally from San Francisco and now living in Brisbane (Australia, not California), arrived this afternoon. I met him at our hotel, the Urban St. Kilda in St. Kilda (of course). St. Kilda is a sort of arty/hippy/beachy/touristy/loungy neighborhood across the bay from the central business district of Melbourne. The architecture is a mix of Victorian cottages, 1960's style boxy brick buildings, and 2000's style modern curvilinear styles. We walked along the esplanade to St. Kilda pier, a very long construction that juts out to a seawall inhabited by fairy penguins (did not see any) and swans (saw a big black one).

Along the beach in St. Kilda are old public "conveniences" (bathrooms), bath houses (to serve beach goers), and a lovely clock tower.

After our walk we stopped at a wine bar/tapas place called Barcelona, where we drank a nice bottle of Australian Shiraz. It was Pertaringa, and was a 2006 McLaren Vale "Undercover" Shiraz. I have no idea what that means, but it did taste quite delicious. The vines are over fifty years old, and grow on their own rootstock.

I've done nothing but eat and sleep for the past three days, but it has been delightful. Tomorrow should bring some actual sight seeing.

Oh yeah, about the two towers...when I arrived in Melbourne yesterday one of the first buildings I noticed as we were driving in from the airport was the modern tower shown here. I remarked that at the angle I was looking from, it was awfully reminiscent of Barad-Dûr from The Lord of the Rings. Grant laughed, apparently this parallel is often drawn. At certain times of the day the gold square on the top reflects a lot of sunlight -- all it needs is a big eye. Unfortunately the picture here is too straight-on, so you don't get the best effect, but coming in from the airport the side towers aren't as noticeable and the tower appears much more curvy and narrower at the top.

Boxing Day, Aussie Style

2008-12-26T13:48:00.000-08:00

Had a nice sleep and seem to have awoken on Melbourne time. Nik wandered into the living room at 7:45am to fire up the Wii, and we played through a series of Wii Fit, Rabbid, and painting blob games. I'm really getting fond of the Wii Fit, there are all these fascinating balance games. My favorites so far are ski jumping (you stand on the board, rush down the ski jump, then straighten your knees to jump) and this one where you move a "table" around to drop a marble through a hole. I think I need to get one of these when I get home. The Wii is very cute and friendly and I appreciate that the games don't involve large amounts of blood and killing. Although shooting something with a ray gun can be fun.

Kitt made an awesome breakfast of buttermilk pancakes, tropical fruit salad, and Grand Mariner sauce. We're now sitting around watching the Sydney-Hobart yacht race, drinking champagne, and otherwise digesting -- so that we can have lunch later!

The baggage service just called and my bag has arrived in Melbourne and cleared customs. It's now on a van headed my way, and should arrive within the next five hours. They didn't mention if it reeked of tequila or not!

The Flying Cubicle

2008-12-25T16:09:00.000-08:00

Due to the interaction of crossing the International Date Line from East to West combined with an overnight flight from the US to Australia, I have no Christmas Eve. I depart Los Angeles on the 23rd, and arrive in Sydney on the morning of the 25th. A whole day, gone, just like that. (I'll make it up on the return trip, of course.)

The flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, once I calmed down from all the excitement of wondering what was going to happen to me, was boring. Nice dinner (herbed chicken in some kind of apricot chutney sauce, with cous cous and sauteed spinach), several glasses of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and a couple of movies later ("Get Smart," "Bottle Shock") and it's time for bed. I recline the seat to its full laid-out flat position, and curled up under a blanket for a few hours. It turns out I slept off and on for about eight hours, which is pretty amazing, but that's the major benefit of traveling in a lay-flat seat. The plane from LAX to SYD is a newly-refurbished 747, with the vaunted new United First Suite.

It's like a cubicle in the sky. Everything is grey and plastic, with nondescript indoor-outdoor type carpeting. The overhead storage bins are a weird shape so people struggled with their carry-on bags, and there is very little storage in the seats themselves. Except for the large video screen and the actual US-style 110v plug, it's not any better than the old First Class product that United offers. In fact, I think the seats might be a bit narrower in this new configuration. Still, it's better than having to sit semi-upright for 13 1/2 hours, so I can't complain too much.

We land and I'm the first person off the plane. Everyone is very cheerful and wishes "Merry Christmas" to each other. I head through immigration (a snap) and on to baggage claim. I'm pretty sure my bags aren't going to show, and sure enough they don't. The baggage services people take my information and tell me that my luggage will be sent to Melbourne tonight, and that I should get it tomorrow. Domestic connections to Qantas are straightforward, and soon enough I am in Terminal 3 waiting to board my connecting flight.

Wonder of wonders, there are open shops in the terminal, and I pick up a cute pair of dark blue cargo pants and two nice t-shirts from the designed-in-Australia brand store Witchery. I'm ecstatic to so easily find pants that fit: usually anything that fits my butt is way too large in the waist. I guess this particular Australian company cuts their clothes for actual human women rather than fashionable stick figures.

I arrive in Melbourne and see my friend Grant at the gate. Huge hugs ensue, he picks me up and spins me around and my shoes come off. The weather is gorgeous, sunny, clear, pleasantly warm but not humid. I'm so excited to be here.

Grant spends the car ride to his home in St. Kilda explaining the basics of cricket. I swear it's one of the weirdest games ever, even more bizarre and pointless than American-style football. I draw a few parallels to American baseball, and sort of get the idea of how cricket works. I'll hopefully attend part of a test match later in the week: it's the big Australia versus South Africa game.

Grant's partner Kitt made the most amazing meal: a terrine of minced chicken and pork, brandy, garlic, thyme, cranberries and pistachios wrapped in pancetta; a potato salad with creme fraiche and two kinds of mustard; salad of fresh greens with figs, chicken, and buffalo mozzarella; and another salad of mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, and goat cheese with a balsamic vinegarette. This repast is paired with a sparkling Shiraz -- utterly delicious.

Nykolai, Grant's son, received a Wii Fit, and is now demonstrating all kinds of crazy games. He's playing one now that involves psychopathic French rabbits racing dragster tractors around a farm. I want to try the ski jumping game later.

K.A.O.S. and C.O.N.T.R.O.L

2008-12-23T22:15:00.000-08:00

It started innocently enough: 3:36pm flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles, with a 10:25pm connection to Melbourne. United had originally wanted to book me on the 7:10pm flight from San Francisco, but SFO being what it is, I asked them to put me on an earlier flight.

I checked in at SFO only to find that my regularly scheduled plane had not only been downgraded to a TED flight, but that the plane was going to be a little late. There were all sorts of delays of people and equipment due to snow in the Pacific Northwest and bad weather elsewhere in the US. Two crew-related flight delays later (the plane was there, but no one to fly it) we finally board for a 5:30pm departure. I find someone sitting in my seat and am concerned that with all the chaos that my seat was double-assigned, but it turns out that it was just someone sitting in the wrong place. Some lady whines to the flight attendant that "there's going to be an insurrection" because we're so late. The attendant asks if the lady would like to get off the plane, and the lady says no, she just wants to get going. The attendant replies that is exactly what she wants too. We all do.

We start to head out to the runway, but not long after the plane circles around back to the gate. It seems there was a brake-related mechanical problem, so they offload everyone and send us to another plane, now scheduled for a 7:30pm departure.

There's still plenty of time for me to get to LAX, so I'm not concerned, until I get the message that my Melbourne flight has been delayed by 12 hours. I didn't want to end up stuck in LA overnight, so I call United to find out what my options are and if I'll be given a hotel room there. The agent tells me that I've been rebooked via Sydney, so I think everything is okay, and head to the new gate. I decide to call United to get all my new flight times, and the agent tells me that no, I'm not rebooked via Sydney, so she tries to do it and can't get the change accepted by the system. She guesses it's because I've got checked bags. Not long afterward, I get another message telling me that my flight to Melbourne is completely canceled. I call United again, and they rebook me for the next night, which means I can go home and sleep with my cats.

Rather than just heading out to BART to go home, I stop by the Red Carpet Club to get my new boarding passes. Truth is, I'd feel a lot better about the changes if I had an official document in my hand. While waiting for an agent to help me, I get a phone call from Ruby in the International First Lounge in LAX, wanting to know where I am. I tell her I'm in the San Francisco Domestic Red Carpet Club, and she tells me I'm rebooked via Sydney and to get on my original flight to LA. I tell her the flight is leaving in 6 minutes and besides I'd given up my seat to someone else. She tells me to get down to the gate, that I can still get on the plane. I tell her I'd be on the plane but someone from United already told me they can't send me via Sydney because they couldn't get me a ticket to Melbourne, and I was all set to go tomorrow, but she says no, she has a ticket for me and will meet me at the gate in LA, I should go get on the plane now.

So I run to the gate, and am worried that the door has closed and that I've missed my flight. The gate agents are very busy, and there is a line, but somehow despite the chaos an agent asks me to follow her and I get on the plane. My original seat is available, so off I go. The flight to LA takes off at 8:33pm and lands 47 minutes later, I've never been on one that's gotten down there so fast. I get off the plane and walk to my connection, and as I approach the gate I hear my name being called. Ruby is there with my new boarding pass and a Qantas ticket from Sydney to Melbourne for the next morning, so it's all good.

I'm now settled in my new United First Suite, which consists of a chair pod that reclines to a 6'6" bed. I've got a big (17"?) video screen with on-demand access to dozens of movies, a glass of champagne, and an actual 110v outlet to charge my laptop. Rather than being 24 hours late for Christmas Day in Melbourne, I'm only going to be 3 1/2. Not bad for going half way around the planet.

The only question, of course, is regarding where my luggage is. It got on my flight in San Francisco, but whether it got on the Sydney flight or not is unknown. At worst case it will arrive in Melbourne the morning of the 26th. I've got an extra pair of underwear in my purse, plus some makeup and a toothbrush, so I'll survive. I'd just hate for the bottle of tequila and carton of cigarettes I'm bringing as presents for Grant and Bryce to be lost in the wilds of the United baggage system for weeks.

I Go to the Land Down Under

2008-12-21T16:42:00.001-08:00

It's been a long long time since I've posted. Truth is, I've been busy. Doing what, I don't know, it's not like I have a real job or anything. But I've been running around. First I went to New Hampshire for Thanksgiving with my parents, then I went to Las Vegas to compete in the Holiday Dance Classic. And now I'm preparing for the trip of the year: I'm going to Australia for about two weeks.

Holiday Dance Classic was great, I danced very well, wore a new dress that looked wonderful on me, and even got to see "Phantom of the Opera." "Phantom" was lovely, I was afraid it was going to be very cheesy, but it was really rather lush and romantic. I enjoyed it -- although I did nearly fall asleep at one point. Not because the musical was bad or boring, just because I couldn't keep up any more. I had gone out for cocktails and dinner beforehand at one of Mario Batali's restaurants, and I guess there is only so much fun I can handle at once. I'm trying to get the video up, but am having problems digitizing it. Actually, it digitizes just fine, but when I upload it to YouTube it gets converted into something else and looks awful. This is not something I've had an issue with before, so I'm at a bit of a loss as to what is going on.

I'm leaving for Australia in a couple of days, and have come to the stunning realization that I have no summer clothes. I've been living in San Francisco for nearly 15 years. It rarely gets really hot here, and it rarely gets really cold. I can't shop for anything because it's the dead of winter, either. I'll have to sort this out and figure out what to pack for the trip!

I Can't Keep Up

2008-11-13T23:08:00.000-08:00

I'm so lame and have barely written in my blog for over a month now. I recently went to New Orleans, basically to have dinner with a friend, but also to roam the lovely French Quarter. From 1975-1976 I lived in Moss Point, Mississippi, and my mom used to take me and my brother to New Orleans regularly -- mainly because there really wasn't much to do in Moss Point. I have fond memories of shopping for toys, going to voodoo and Mardi Gras museums, and having hot chocolate and beignets at Cafe' du Monde.

This time I stayed at the W in the French Quarter in New Orleans. They have an open-air courtyard filled with loungy sofas and chairs, and little curtained cabanas with sofas and light-up cocktail tables in them. There were water fountains and fire fountains, and a jazz band payed in the bar inside the restaurant adjoining the courtyard. It was a very warm night, and people were just laying around chatting and drinking. A guy was stretched out on a sofa near me, chatting with two friends, they were sharing a bottle of wine. It was the coolest, most relaxed and lovely bar I've ever been in. I wish there were something like this where I live. I would go back to NoLa just to chill out here again.

Hawai'i Revisited

2008-10-30T01:03:00.000-07:00

My video from the Hawai'i Star Ball finally arrived.

Why-ki-ki....

2008-10-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here listening to Hawaiian music and the gentle crash of the surf, while the dusk fades into night looking at the twinkling lights going along the shore to Diamond Head and wondering . . .

Why the heck would anyone fly all the way to Hawai'i and stay in Waikiki??

Really, now, it's a row of high-rise resorts on a stretch of sand, connected by what amounts to a shopping mall. If you substituted gambling for the ocean, you'd have Vegas. And Vegas is cheaper and closer to home.

Don't get me wrong, Hawai'i itself is lovely and wonderful. I've spent a bit of time on Maui, Kauai, and The Big Island and enjoyed them all. And I don't have anything against Honolulu either, it can't help it that it's grown up into a big city. Living in the middle of it in a high-rise apartment could make sense for a lot of people.

But to get on a plane for 5 hours from the West Coast, or 9 from the East Coast or Japan, just to go stay in Waikiki? It's like going to EPCOT to see France. I wonder what it was like here 50 or 70 years ago, before all the hotels and 747's full of tourists? That's the Waikiki that the songs and dreams are all about.

I came here to compete in the Hawai'i Star Ball, and despite a PMS-induced stressed-out beginning (note to self: chill the heck out!) it all ended up great. We came in 2nd place, and I feel like I danced decently. Will check the video later....

Heh, Politics and Economics

2008-09-27T00:59:00.000-07:00

This evening I went out to a wine bar with a dear friend who I'm pretty sure is a lifelong Republican. As the level of wine in bottle went down, the craziness level of the conversation went up. To wit:

*) Sarah Palin is an idiot, and thus is dangerous. (I helpfully pointed out that some liberal commentators have named her "Caribou Barbie".) My Republican friend is rather upset about Palin shooting wolves from an airplane.
*) We're all going to hell in a handbasket, and should start raising chickens. One friend decided to name his Corky after the former World Latin Champion and "Dancing With the Stars" teacher Corky Ballas.
*) Those of us who have accounts at WaMu are going to withdraw $1000 tomorrow and stick it under our mattresses (I am a Bank of America customer, I got some crap for that in the past from my hippie friends, but I notice that BofA seems to be holding things together lately -- and has bought Merrill Lynch).

I suppose I should be freaking out but what can I do at this point? I'm stuck here until and unless I can sell my place, which I can't in this market. And if worse comes to worse I can move back to where my parents live, pay off their mortgage, eat vegetables from their home garden, and raise a couple of chickens. I'll name one Inna, after my favorite female teacher on "Dancing with the Stars," Inna Brayer. Too bad she got voted off this week.

Gaarrrrrgh! Another Social Networking Site!

2008-09-23T00:06:00.000-07:00

I broke down and joined Facebook today. Lord help me. I can't keep up with this crap. Well, to be fair, I have been ignoring Friendster and Tribe for years, and I don't even know if Orkut exists any more. And then there's MyDanceChat, which seems to have quickly flamed out.

In other news, I recently visited New Mexico, and learned that I am a green chili kind of girl. See, whenever you order New Mexican food (which is distinct from Tex/Mex and actual Mexican Mexican, and vastly different from American Suburban Mexican), you get asked if you want "red" or "green" sauce. "Red" is made with dried chilies, and "green" with fresh. After sampling both at the Albuquerque institution known as Sadie's, I decided that I definitely like the green. This kind of surprised me as I simply assumed that, based on color and consistency, that I'd prefer the red. But there's just something really nice about that fresh green chili sauce.

I also laid by the pool at the lovely Hyatt Tamaya Resort & Spa, and got an actual tan. Although pretty much no one could tell because I'm so pale to begin with. Overall, New Mexico was beautiful and relaxing with delicious food, I'm looking forward to going back the next time I want a quick getaway vacation.

There's No Place Like Home

2008-09-07T23:47:00.000-07:00

It's nice to not be traveling this week. I spent my weekend cleaning house, reading books, and dancing. I hadn't been social dancing in a very long time, and this weekend I went out both Saturday and Sunday nights. Aside from being fun, I started having a lot of thoughts about music and rhythm -- it was like my techie head finally got out of my way and my body just really danced at times. And I discovered that I'm something of a Hustle queen. Who knew? I might have to find a way to explore this more at some point.

Oh yeah, last weekend I was in another dancing competition, the Embassy Ball down in Irvine (Orange County). I danced well, but didn't get marked so well, I was pretty frustrated with the whole thing until I got on the plane to go home. Once I got up in the air and looked down at the beautiful California coast line, I felt calmer. I was able to let go of a bunch of negative emotions (including envy, jealousy, self-doubt and even a bit of anger) and just move on. Competitive dancing can do a number on a person if they're not protective of themselves. Or at least it can on me some days. I'm resolved to keep "letting go" whenever it gets to be too much and finding the "body happiness" I got when social dancing this weekend, combined with my ongoing pursuit of technical improvement.

Things that go Bump! in the Afternoon

2008-08-24T15:15:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to Wilmington, Delaware, for a meeting related to planning the 2009 USA Dance National DanceSport (ballroom dancing) Championships. I really went because they were having a "thank you" party for the 2008 volunteers, and because I had frequent flier miles to burn.

When I got to Wilmington and met up with the other USA Dance people, I commented to the Competition Chairman (woman) that I didn't know if I was supposed to be at the meeting or not, but I'd like to tag along if she didn't mind. I was a little surprised when she turned to me and told me I am actually a member of the 2009 National Organizing Committee! Good thing I went out for the party :) I guess I'm dense or something. I really get a kick out of organizing dance competitions so this is a nice thing for me.

I funded this trip with a frequent flier award ticket from Northwest Airlines. Right now I'm sitting in the airport in Minneapolis, watching my connecting flight to San Francisco pull away from the gate. But it's okay -- I volunteered to be bumped. Northwest is putting me on the next flight, is paying for most of my dinner, and gave me a $300 voucher to use for my next trip. So it worked out pretty well -- I didn't pay for the plane ticket in the first place, and now they just gave me another $300.

People can complain all they want about the airlines, but if you just stay calm and flexible you can make things go a lot easier -- or cheaper -- for yourself.

Which brings me to a comment on Delta Air Lines. Not only am I traveling on an award ticket, but because I flew on an off day or during off hours or something I managed to get the outbound trip to be first class on Delta without having to spend extra miles. Usually I fly United, and have been in domestic first class on United and US Air this year. I must say, Delta's first class beats the pants off of these other two. It's the little things that count: the cabin seemed cleaner and in better repair, the flight attendants seemed happier and more attentive, the coffee was served in a nice-sized coffee mug, lunch was quite delicious with real butter (United just stopped serving real butter), and there was an excellent personal seat-back video system that allows you to pick and choose what you want to watch, fast forward, pause, and rewind.

A Nod in Nevada

2008-08-17T16:39:00.000-07:00

I'm back on the dance competition circuit, this weekend competing at the Nevada Star Ball held at the Green Valley Ranch Resort in Henderson (Las Vegas). I'm not usually one to go ga ga over a competition hotel, but this one was really nice. The rooms were large with a variety of well-lit mirrors, including one with a console table in front of it, the perfect height to sit in front of and do hair and makeup. The bathroom was huge, with a very deep tub, perfect for soaking in between or after rounds. I had forgotten I was in Vegas until I had to walk through the casino to get to the very nice and very large ballroom in the "Event Center." On top of all that, the comp was run precisely on-time, and hosted by the lovely and gracious Sue Puttock. I'm already looking forward to going back next year -- and not just because of the hotel, but because I also danced well.

For the first time since I was in Bronze level, I won all of my single-dance events. We were only dancing against one other couple, but still a win is a win and it felt good :) After that came my best round, the DanceSport Series event. We came in 4th out of 5 couples but we took the Tango and Quickstep off the 3rd place couple.

Since my last competition, Desert Classic, I've been working very diligently to improve my Waltz. I've always felt it was kind of messy and lacked impact. The effort has paid off, because in the Scholarship event at the end of the day I danced what I think was my best Waltz ever.

All in all, a good weekend!

The Magic of Mayo

2008-08-10T10:24:00.000-07:00

I have been a fan of Jamie Oliver's cookbooks ever since I saw his first (and second best, after "Jamie's Italy") TV series, "The Naked Chef." A few months ago I picked up Cook with Jamie as an impulse purchase at Whole Foods, but haven't gotten around to looking at it.

I'm still kind of jet lagged from that quick trip to Finland; I've been waking up at dawn and falling asleep around 10pm. This morning I finally picked up "Cook with Jamie" and started reading. Not too far in I got to his recipe for mayonnaise. It sounded so perfect: I had too much canola oil in my fridge, plus a few egg yolks. These were leftovers from my failed wedding cake project.

Making mayonnaise is extremely simple, but not easy. All you have to do is beat oil into an egg yolk. Simple, but not easy. You have to drip in the oil slowly enough that it and the egg yolk will form a creamy emulsion. As you add oil and keep beating, it's possible that the resulting gel-like substance will "break," meaning it will suddenly turn from a thick creamy spread back to liquid.

I had just read Julie and Julia, the one about the woman who spent a year cooking her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Aside from being in turns hilarious and disgusting, it contained a few cooking tips. When Julie was desperately trying to master mayonnaise, she figured out that the little hole in that cup/plunger like thingy that goes in the top of the food processor is the perfect size for dribbling in oil when making mayonnaise. So, I decided to use Jamie's recipe and Julie's food processor technique.

I started by putting the egg yolk and some dijon mustard into the food processor, and turned it on. Then I measured out a cup of canola oil, and put it in the dribble cup. Magically, the oil incorporated into the egg yolk and a beautiful creamy sauce developed. I was entranced. Jamie's recipe called for one egg yolk to a pint of oil, since I had started with two egg yolks (that what was left over from the wedding cakes), I attempted to dribble in four cups (two pints) of oil. After the second cup, I had a very thick mayo that was getting stiff and globby. I thought that continuing adding the oil would smooth it out, so I forged on ahead with the third cup.

Sure enough, the mayo got creamier -- for about five seconds. Then it all turned to liquid. I don't know if this was because of the oil/yolk ratio, the heat that had built up from the food processor motor, or what, but there it was, a mess.

Fortunately Jamie had advice: don't throw out the broken sauce, start over with a new egg yolk and a couple of tablespoons of oil, and then slowly dribble the broken mayo back in.

It worked! I ended up with about two cups of perfectly creamy mayonnaise. I added lemon juice, salt, and pepper to season it. I put it into a Mason jar, and wonder how long this will last in the fridge?

Goodbye, Helsinki

2008-08-03T02:42:00.000-07:00

All in all it was a very nice trip. Helsinki, while not the most thrilling city in Europe, is very tourist-friendly. It's incredibly easy to get around, the Helsinki Card make sight seeing and transportation quite affordable, and the whole environment is rather calm and relaxing. Would I come back? Probably not, unless it was part of another trip I wanted to make. Helsinki strikes me more as being a great place to live than a place to keep revisiting (like my favorite of favorites, London). That said, I do think that if I ever needed a place to go to get away from accelerated global warming, Helsinki could be a great place to live -- provided I learn Finnish and take sunny vacations in the winter so I don't die of Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Next -land on my list? Most likely Scotland, next May.

The Nature of Art, the Art of Nature

2008-08-02T09:46:00.000-07:00

This morning I walked over to another market hall, this one about two blocks from my hotel. Outside were dozens of fruit vendors, each with piles of berries. I don't think I've ever seen such luscious looking blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries all in one place. Plus there were other Scandinavian berries, like cloudberries and gooseberries. The strawberries were smaller, darker, and more tart than what I'm used to in the US, and had a much more fragrant smell. Cloudberries are vaguely like yellow raspberries, but with sort of apple-ish taste all their own that I later enjoyed in ice cream form. In the market I had another one of those great salmon sandwiches, this one made from cut-up bits of salmon mixed with dill and something called rose pepper. The lady behind the counter explained that rose pepper is not really pepper, but the skin of a berry. It does have a sharp taste, but it's not at all like black pepper, and goes very nicely with the fish. I found a packet of it in a nearby spice stall to try at home.

My first sight-seeing stop this morning was the Kiasma, a rather mind-bending museum of contemporary art. To begin with, the building itself is a sort of sculpture itself. Exhibits flow from level to level, and it's not always entirely clear how to get around and through things. The shape and interconnection of levels in the exhibit space breaks the mold of more traditional museums that feature row on row of gallery rooms. Much of the works on exhibit were video installations. In a regular art gallery, a visitor can sort of 'cruise' by many pieces and form instant impressions of them. The video works, however, have a fourth dimension -- a time element -- that forms like painting and sculpture don't have. So, at each installation the visitor needs to stop and sit for at least a few minutes to get a fuller sense of what the work is about. I found it fascinating, and a bit challenging. How long is long enough to watch a piece? If it doesn't interest me and I decide to leave, will I miss something? It wasn't like looking at a painting and being able to decide if I wanted to keep looking at it or move on.

What I saw yesterday at the Design Museum, and then today at Kiasma, made me ponder of the nature of art, and I came to the comforting conclusion that art can simply just be something that the artist wants to show the world. It doesn't have to be brilliant, original, of a certain style or technique. It just is a manifested idea. Sure, there's a lot more to it than that, but this simplicity is helping me to see a way to get past the huge mental block I've had about creating art.

With this in mind, I headed to the meeting point for my afternoon bus tour to the Nuuksio National Park, located about 25 miles from Helsinki. The Finnish countryside in this area looks a lot like where I grew up in New Hampshire, but with no real mountains, just hills. The tour group walked through the forest for about an hour, passing along small lakes, until we ended up at a small resort where we had coffee and fresh-made bread and butter. Some people went swimming on the lake at the resort. I stuck my feet in and it wasn't cold but it did have a lot of organic matter floating in it that made the water kind of blackish.

I realized that the light slanting through the trees and making patterns on the forest floor reminded me a lot of how the light came into that Russian Orthodox church I visited on the first day. I started seeing the mosses and leaves on the forest floor as carpeting, and the patterns of the leaves and sunlight on the floor as similar to stained glass windows, and tree trunks as being like structural columns. The forest suddenly seemed very artistic in an architectural sense. I tried to capture this in a photograph:

Later on, at the lake, I was intrigued by the green lily pads on the black/blue lake. I've always been fascinated with patterned rugs and ornate floor tiles, and thought I'd try to picture them as something on a floor. I also played around with color saturation in Aperture, and basically pushed the greens up very high because I liked the shade and because I wanted to make them start to look manufactured rather than something organic:

On the way back to Helsinki I considered heading over to the zoo once I got back into town, but when all was said and done I was just too tired to do anything more. Tomorrow will be a very long day traveling back to San Francisco, and although I haven't seen everything there is to see in Helsinki, it was just time for me to stop.

A Market, Finnish Design, and a Sea Fortress

2008-08-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

The weather report called for showers today, so I planned to make it an all-museum day. After browsing the Old Market Hall and eating a delicious rye-bread-and-smoked-salmon sandwich for breakfast, I headed to the Design Museum. This month they featured a brilliantly humorous and thought-provoking collection of young Finnish artists who use a variety of mediums. The displays included clothing, oil paintings of traditionally-garbed Finns skiing with Elvis, videos of ravers (including a DJ dressed as a starfish), sculptures made of piles of pillows, and samples of gorgeous glassware. After that, I realized it wasn't going to rain, so I went back to my hotel to pick up my camera, and headed to Suomenlinna, a "Sea Fort" (Naval Base) on a large island a couple of miles from Helsinki.

Walking around on the island on a gorgeous summer day makes it tough to picture what that place was really like when it was in use. The Swedes built starting in the 1700's to keep the Russians at bay, but the Russians captured it (along with the rest of Finland) not long after it was completed. Over the years, it degenerated into a sort of garrison to park young men while serving out their compulsory military service. At one point doing the Crimean War the British sailed up to the island, ready to bombard it with their newer and more superior artillery. The people of Helsinki spent a few days taking all their valuables out of the city, thinking at least if their homes were flattened their belongings would be spared. When the fighting started, the people shortly realized that the conflict was confined to the British fleet and the Russian garrison, so they dragged out sofas and tables and chairs and sat on hilltops watching the fireworks.

Although the Russians didn't have very advanced weaponry in the fort, they were still able to put up a fight by sending ships out toward the British to launch fireballs in an attempt to burn the fleet. After a couple of days of this, the British turned around and left. The Russians later installed better cannon, just in case they came back. I'm sure I've forgotten major points in this history, but it was quite interesting to realize that Western Europe has been trying to contain the Russians for centuries, that fear of Russian military might and presence wasn't just a Cold War thing.

The island itself is lovely in the summertime, and many people were out there having picnics and swimming because the afternoon was warm and sunny. Despite the extreme pleasantness of it all, I could not stop thinking about what it must be like in the winter time. They say it doesn't snow that much in Helsinki because of the moderating effect of the Baltic Sea, but still what with stiff onshore winds, many hours of darkness, and temperatures commonly below zero, I just cannot imagine living there. There are a decent number of people living on the island year-round, it's so popular that when last winter eight accommodations opened up, nearly 200 applications were file for each place. I walked around a good portion of the island until dark clouds piled up and it started to thunder and lightening. By the time I got back to the ferry I was quite wet, but it was kind of nice to be walking in the rain since warm summer rain is rarer than rare in San Francisco.

I dried out by riding the clean and comfortable 3T Tram on its figure-eight route around the main part of the city. Helsinki strikes me as being very pleasant and comfortable and livable. The public transportation is so good that many people don't own cars.

Helsinki Basics

2008-07-31T13:02:00.000-07:00

Helsinki is a city of about half a million people. It's extremely clean, quiet, uncrowded, and gorgeous in the Summer. For some reason I thought it would have a lot of modern architecture, but most of what I've seen so far is in that kind of "Imperial" style that I know from Vienna and from pictures of St. Petersburg. I started out this morning by walking down to the Market Square and browsing the good-sized Farmer's Market there. The berries were plentiful and gorgeous, and there were stalls selling all kinds of grilled and fried fish. There were some typical totchke vendors (shot glasses, magnets, t-shirts) and also a number of arts and crafts people. One artisan makes trays and serving utensils out of steel, sandblasted with modern designs, another had bowls made of birch, others had fur hats and winter accessories like mittens and woolen socks.

I've never been in a Russian Orthodox church, so I climbed the hill above the market
to visit Uspenski Kathedralen. I believe that this is the largest Russian Orthodox church outside of Russia. The inside was full of very colorful paintings and ornate icons trimmed with gold and silver. I found out that the "onion" domes on top of these churches represent flames.

There were a lot of people inside lighting candles placed near the various icons. My favorite feature of the inside of the church is that the interior of the main dome is painted with stars. I like that you can look up at the highest point of the church and see "heaven." It was very lovely and even peaceful, considering how many people were milling about taking photos.

When I boarded the bus for my afternoon tour of the city, I noticed something extremely interesting:

As you can see, the bus tour is even offered in Latin. And you thought that was a dead language. I should have tuned in to hear what it sounded like....

The most interesting stop on tour was Temppeliaukio Kirkko, also known as the "Church of the Rock." The architect brothers who designed it decided to quarry into the hill of rock at the site rather than blast it all away, and the result is a very beautiful, very modern yet very "organic" church. The interior dome is made of a sort of woven copper wire, and seems to float above the ground.

After following a self-guided walking tour for a couple of hours, I stopped at the Ateneum Art Museum. The main draw there was the exhibition of paintings by Finland's foremost artist, Pekka Halonen. My favorite works of his are his paintings of the Finnish forests in winter. They're sort of impressionistic, and sort of like Japanese woodblock prints, and evoke my own memories of the woods in New Hampshire. Trees are covered with soft mounds of snow, branches bending down to the ground, everything is very still and quiet and calm. The Ateneum is not a huge museum, it took me about an hour and a half to survey it all. By this time my feet were killing me and my jet lag was in full swing so I stopped by a supermarket to pick up something for dinner and headed back to my comfy hotel room for a long soak in the very deep bathtub.

Le Fin des Landes

2008-07-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

Supposedly "Finland" got its name from Medieval French sailors, who called it "the end of the lands." I don't know if they meant it based on land features, or based on distance, but to me it's more like "the end of the Earth." In other words, it was a long trip. Despite a strike at Lufthansa, my flights ran reasonably on time and completely without anything remarkable happening, unless you count seeing the sun set twice in the same day. We left Munich at dusk, with the sun slipping below the horizon. There was a good bit of cloud cover over central Germany, but as we got clear of it over the Baltic Sea I noticed the sun was back in the sky again, and witnessed a very long slow second sunset. We landed in Helsinki at about 11:30pm, and the last rays of daylight were fading -- but not enough to notice any stars.

I started wondering if there were any great Scandinavian astronomers from back before people could and did travel everywhere: what kind of observations could they make in a land where it doesn't get dark enough to see the stars for several months out of the year? But then, what kind of observations could they make in a land where it's very dark indeed for several months of the year? I can't imagine what it would be like to live this far north. Sure, Summer is warm and glorious right now (high 70's), but in the winter it can get down to the negative teens!

For the Want of $1.50....

2008-07-29T20:44:00.000-07:00

I'm heading off to another "-land" right now: Finland. I have this goal to go to every country that ends in "-land" in English. However, for the want of $1.50 I might have missed my flight. I was all packed up and ready to go and I realized that all I had in my wallet was a bunch of $20's. I needed change to take the bus to BART so I could take BART to the airport...thank goodness my synchronized-swimming neighbor Bob came through, I made it to the airport right on time and am now enjoying a drink in the Red Carpet Club before boarding my flight to Munich. Today San Francisco, tomorrow Helsinki!

It's a Nice Day for a White Wedding Cake

2008-07-19T00:35:00.000-07:00

Taking advantage of California's all-inclusive marriage laws, last week my ex-dance-partner Kyle married Michael, his boyfriend of nine years. I decided to throw them a dinner party to celebrate, and inquired as to what type of cake they wanted. It came down to a white cake, with lemon filling, and buttercream frosting. I cracked open my Betty Crocker Cookbook and followed the directions for the "Silver White Cake."

Much to my dismay, it came out flat and rubbery, like an overgrown sugar cookie. It was then I realized that not only had my baking powder expired two years ago, but also that I had used jumbo eggs rather than large, which resulted in there just being too much egg white in the batter.

No problem, I thought, I'll just buy more baking powder and start again. Sadly, once again, it came out flat and sort of rubbery. At this point I kind of panicked, and decided to use a store-bought white cake mix. I was feeling kind of angry at Betty for her cookbook failing me twice, so I chose Duncan Hines mix over Better Crocker and Pillsbury. I followed the directions exactly, and when it came out of the oven . . . it was still kind of flat, but at least it had good texture and wasn't rubbery. I wonder if there's something goofy with my baking pans: they are non-stick stainless steel, which does not seem to appear on any list of good baking pans that I've seen.

When all was said and done, the came was yummy, with homemade lemon curd and buttercream frosting. I wished the layers would have baked up higher, though.

Down to Brass Tacks

2008-07-17T22:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the purpose of this blog wasn't to chronicle my dancing successes (or lack thereof), but rather to just freakin' write. It's time I just sat down and blathered for a while.

Tonight I'm watching the premiere of "The Gong Show with Dave Attell." I'm old enough to recall the original "Gong Show," hosted by purported CIA-undercover-operative Chuck Barris (see "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind"). I loved that show when I was a kid, because it was completely wacky, had adult humor that I didn't get but still knew was funny, and most of all because of the big brass gong.

So far the reincarnation doesn't disappoint. It's even campier than the first, with an even snarkier host. Dave Attell is a kind of regular guy who drinks too much, smokes too much, stays up too late, and has too much fun all while having a slightly misanthropic view of the Universe. His judges are the insanely hot rocker Dave Navarro, the insanely annoying Andy Dick, and the just plain insane JB Smoove.

Acts included a magician who pulled a rabbit (bloody) out of his stomach, a burlesque girl named Trixie who popped out of a volcano, and a guy looking like Thomas Dolby crossed with a homeless person playing my favorite quickstep, "Istanbul Not Constantinople" on glasses partially filled with water. (So far he appears to be winning, but then I wasn't paying attention to Trixie's scores because I was still getting over Dave smoking on camera after the midget wrestling.)

God this show is AWESOME. Comedy Central, Wednesdays at 10pm.

Video Ga Ga

2008-07-15T08:29:00.000-07:00

More video from Desert Classic, this time the Open Pro/Am Standard Scholarship "B":

I have to say, I'm kind of boring myself here. The dancing is nice and all, but that's all it is. I show no particular spark or fire, and I'm wondering what to do with myself between now and the next competition to improve it. Maybe it was just comp burn-out, maybe I'm such a dance nerd that I can't get past the technical aspects, maybe I was just off because the event ran early and I panicked because my teacher wasn't in the ballroom when they started calling our event to the floor.

Anyway, something has to change because I'm feeling a little pointless as a dancer. Also, as lovely as my dress is, I'm kind of getting sick of it. Yeah yeah, whine whine whine....

Dancing in the Desert

2008-07-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

I'm now at the end of my dance competition mini-marathon: three competitions in four weeks. Compared to professionals chasing a title, and the big Pro/Am heavy hitters, this is nothing, but for me it was a big deal. My third comp in this cycle was the Desert Classic, in Palm Desert (next to Palm Springs). My best dancing was in a somewhat odd multi-dance event. What made it odd was that we only had to dance Waltz, Tango, and Foxtrot, and that they played the music for a very short amount of time.

We finished third out of six couples, our best result of the day. I'm not sure if this looks any better or worse than the other competitions we danced in this month-long competition binge -- I really feel like I want to take a day or two off, then get back and have several weeks in the studio to work on my dancing and several weeks at home to work on my fitness level.

Uh oh!

2008-07-08T12:09:00.000-07:00

Ooops, I haven't posted in a while. I guess talking about myself is boring even me. Or that I've been busy. Or both.

In late June I went to Denver, Colorado, to dance in the Colorado Star Ball. It went wonderfully well, we came in second in the Open Pro/Am "A" Scholarship (warning -- something is wrong with how I edited the video, and the audio got out of synch...I'll try to fix it at some point but in the meantime believe me when I say that we were dancing on time!):

Two weeks later I went to New York City to work the Fancy Foods Show for Charles Chocolates, and then to dance in the Manhattan DanceSport Championships. The field was much larger and stronger there, 22 couples entered, and we came in 10th (also audio synch issues here):

Working the Fancy Foods show was a ton of fun. Imagine a gourmet grocery like Balducci's or Dean and De Luca as large as the Javits Center. There were all kinds of makers of fancy sauces, baking mixes, drinks, spices...it just went on and on...and there were so many chocolatiers. My job was to hang out around the booth all day, entice people to try the chocolates, and answer their questions. Unlike some booths, ours was large and roomy. The product was set up on self-serve trays on a very large table that people could walk around. Everything was labeled with a description card, plus we were there to describe and explain things. I felt like I was at the show with the "in" crowd, because our booth always had a lot of traffic and people were raving about how beautiful everything looked and how wonderful the chocolates tasted. I would so love to do something like this again!

42

2008-06-15T23:29:00.000-07:00

Many of us know that 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.

Unfortunately what the actual question was has been lost to the world, until now...

The question is "how many pairs of shoes does a woman actually need?"

I just counted mine and it came out to 42.

Too Much Small Stuff

2008-06-14T21:45:00.000-07:00

I've got too much small stuff to keep track of. In late April or early May I lost one of the remote controls for my TV. It's annoying enough that it take three remotes to watch TV -- one for the amp (some exotic South African brand based on tubes), one for the screen itself (a Samsung LCD flat-screen), and one for the TiVo (so I can do necessary things like change channels). Since I lost the TV screen remote, the "TV" setting has been set on Wide Screen (annoying, because most TV shows are in the usual 4:3 aspect ratio) and the DVD player has been set in "normal" (annoying, because most of the movies I watch are in letterbox format). I can't win.

I searched everywhere for the damn remote and ended up having to spend about $45 (includes shipping and handling!) to get a replacement.

In other "small stuff" news, I combed through years of travel photography to select images to use on my new Moo cards. These are half-size mini cards that are basically very informal and creative business cards. On one side is an image (up to 100 different images for a 100-card order), and the other side holds text (I used my name, email, blog address, and phone number). Moo cards are the new "in" way for techies, artists, and other fringe/freak types to pass personal information around, and of course come with special accoutrements in the form of custom-made holders and dispensers. I am looking forward to the arrival of my shipment!