Apparently Mt. Tamalpais and the rest of the Bay Area are experiencing warm, potentially, record temperatures this week. I wouldn't know.
I've been in NW Pennsylvania and Philadelphia so far this week. So I only know what sfgate says. When I check the weather at the Duck Shack, I don't see it yet.
I flew to Buffalo on Monday and drove to Bradford, PA that night for a sales meeting the next day. It had snowed that day and was a bit of a winter wonderland. The next morning at the meeting I asked about the snow, and they reckoned it wasn't enough snow to be counted as "a snow". I may be a California boy these days, but even I know it was definitely snow. I think the Lake Effect has probably knocked the local snow gauge out of calibration.
After my sales meeting I drove all the way across Pennsylvania to the Philadelphia area for two sales meetings today. Lots of fun. One thing I did learn, Pennsylvania is hilly from corner to corner. Very hilly. Not quite mountainous -- except when you are in the mountains of course, but very hilly. BTW, there is no snow in Philadelphia.
Tonight I am traveling to Memphis again. I told you I would get to go back! I understand it is rainy there. Can't wait. I get to stay until Friday evening. I get home after Midnight. Oh boy!
No pictures to show, though I did bring my G9. I just didn't have the time to take anything other than windshields and airports so far. I'm sure folks are bored of those pictures by now. Maybe tomorrow in Memphis.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Wedding Pictures
I'm still working on the pictures from the wedding, but I have posted a few on Flickr. Click here to check them out.
Cataract Trail
For our honeymoon we stayed at the ranch a couple of extra days and then came home to the mountain. It took us all day on Tuesday to clean the ranch house, load all the stuff in the Jeep and camper, and then drive home.
The last few days we hung around here. We went to the beach. Rode our mountain bikes on the mountain, enjoyed the sunsets, grilled yummy food, etc. Yesterday we went for a hike on the Cataract Trail. I had never been down the trail to the waterfalls. It was really beautiful. And a great workout coming back up the mountain. Lori took the picture of me using the G9. I shot mostly with the Hasselblad, so we'll have to wait a while to see how those turned out.
Anyway, lots of fun and a fantastic trail. Oh yeah, a fantastic week too.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Trail Junctions and Wedding Bales
Over the last five years my mountain trail has crossed and re-crossed the trail of a very special person. I met Lori by chance at a triathlon/duathlon race in Bend, OR . After subsequent running, biking, and dinner dates in Mt. Tamalpais country, I knew our trails would join. At long last, that happened this weekend at a friend's ranch in Middletown, CA. Lori and I were married at about 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, November 1, 2008 in a hay barn!
We had planned to get married under the wisteria arbor in the yard at our friend's ranch house. It was a magical place. Despite perfect weather for a month leading up to our wedding, Winter set in and it started raining last Friday. We had three inches of rain over the weekend, so it wasn't just a little storm either. Anyway, scrambling for a backup plan, we decided to get married in the Hennessey barn on a neighboring ranch. It was loaded with hay, but otherwise pretty clean and dry. The only hitch was the very muddy road down to the barn. So, with three 4x4 SUVs and our Jeep we hauled the entire wedding party (no one was "just" an observer -- all had a role) down to the barn and we got hitched!
The whole adventure fit our personalities well. Afterwards we four-wheeled our way back to the ranch house for an amazing dinner put on by one of Lori's catering friends.
So now, Lori's and my trails have merged and my mountain trail includes my permanent companion and her dog. :-)
Cool!
We had planned to get married under the wisteria arbor in the yard at our friend's ranch house. It was a magical place. Despite perfect weather for a month leading up to our wedding, Winter set in and it started raining last Friday. We had three inches of rain over the weekend, so it wasn't just a little storm either. Anyway, scrambling for a backup plan, we decided to get married in the Hennessey barn on a neighboring ranch. It was loaded with hay, but otherwise pretty clean and dry. The only hitch was the very muddy road down to the barn. So, with three 4x4 SUVs and our Jeep we hauled the entire wedding party (no one was "just" an observer -- all had a role) down to the barn and we got hitched!
The whole adventure fit our personalities well. Afterwards we four-wheeled our way back to the ranch house for an amazing dinner put on by one of Lori's catering friends.
So now, Lori's and my trails have merged and my mountain trail includes my permanent companion and her dog. :-)
Cool!
Monday, October 27, 2008
11,000 Miles and Nine Time Zones
I wrote this post on Saturday, October 25 as I was traveling home from Botswana:
I arrived at the airport in Gaborone yesterday (Friday) at about 12:30 p.m., so that was my official start on my trip home. After a several hour stopover and change of planes in Johannesburg, a 1-hour plane-refueling/seatmate change-out in Dakar, a 1:30-hour plane change and layover in New York, and blasting off in yet another jet, it is now 6:41 p.m. in Botswana. On Saturday. We should land in another 3:00 hours, and then it’s just a bit more than an hour or so to home. So, doing the math, that means my commute home will be 34 hours long. If I was just driving to and fro’ the office each day, that would last me for about two months.
I’m not complaining. Just doing the math. The silver lining is, er, the silver. As in, it pays the bills. Oh yeah, and I get about 30,000 FF miles (including some bonuses) that I have little interest in using. Yes, these are the thoughts one has when they are chained to a seat for 26 hours of air time. I can’t imagine what it would have been like back in coach (with no scampi).
Since this trip was all about work, I didn’t even have time to do anything interesting. I might as well have gone to Memphis. Of course you can’t get Sesswa in Memphis. And people look at you funny if you say “Cheerio!” Ha ha! Ya’ll know I will get my chance to go back to Memphis soon enough!
Truth be told, I am really happy to be going home.
I brought my Amazon Kindle along on the trip (as I did last time). I read a couple of books (plus bits of other) and downloaded and read the NY Times a couple of times. What a great travel companion! Unfortunately, the “2-week” battery (if you don’t have the wireless receiver/transmitter on) was too weak to get me through these seven days. The battery just died on this final JFK-SFO leg and I didn’t bring the charger along. Oh well, I still think it’s a great way to bring reading material on the road.
We just flew over Denver, and then Golden, CO. I remember when I was living there as a kid (my first year or so of life), it sure didn’t look like that! What, you can’t remember your first year? Sorry to hear that, I think age might be catching up with you.
BTW, the “M” in Golden looked nicely maintained, and there is snow on Pikes Peak and Mt. Democrat.
After arriving at home, spending some time with Lori and Cookie, I managed to get out for a run on the mountain. It was a perfect, 75 degree afternoon run. It is so nice to be home!
I arrived at the airport in Gaborone yesterday (Friday) at about 12:30 p.m., so that was my official start on my trip home. After a several hour stopover and change of planes in Johannesburg, a 1-hour plane-refueling/seatmate change-out in Dakar, a 1:30-hour plane change and layover in New York, and blasting off in yet another jet, it is now 6:41 p.m. in Botswana. On Saturday. We should land in another 3:00 hours, and then it’s just a bit more than an hour or so to home. So, doing the math, that means my commute home will be 34 hours long. If I was just driving to and fro’ the office each day, that would last me for about two months.
I’m not complaining. Just doing the math. The silver lining is, er, the silver. As in, it pays the bills. Oh yeah, and I get about 30,000 FF miles (including some bonuses) that I have little interest in using. Yes, these are the thoughts one has when they are chained to a seat for 26 hours of air time. I can’t imagine what it would have been like back in coach (with no scampi).
Since this trip was all about work, I didn’t even have time to do anything interesting. I might as well have gone to Memphis. Of course you can’t get Sesswa in Memphis. And people look at you funny if you say “Cheerio!” Ha ha! Ya’ll know I will get my chance to go back to Memphis soon enough!
Truth be told, I am really happy to be going home.
I brought my Amazon Kindle along on the trip (as I did last time). I read a couple of books (plus bits of other) and downloaded and read the NY Times a couple of times. What a great travel companion! Unfortunately, the “2-week” battery (if you don’t have the wireless receiver/transmitter on) was too weak to get me through these seven days. The battery just died on this final JFK-SFO leg and I didn’t bring the charger along. Oh well, I still think it’s a great way to bring reading material on the road.
We just flew over Denver, and then Golden, CO. I remember when I was living there as a kid (my first year or so of life), it sure didn’t look like that! What, you can’t remember your first year? Sorry to hear that, I think age might be catching up with you.
BTW, the “M” in Golden looked nicely maintained, and there is snow on Pikes Peak and Mt. Democrat.
After arriving at home, spending some time with Lori and Cookie, I managed to get out for a run on the mountain. It was a perfect, 75 degree afternoon run. It is so nice to be home!
Friday, October 24, 2008
I Smell a Barn!
Not just any barn either. MY barn. I'm heading home.
This was an intense week right up to the end. My second "big" meeting was this morning. We drove to Jwaneng, met with the project team's client, finished a few minutes late, and then Iain drove us back to Gabs. Why did Iain drive? Well, because he's young, and we needed to fly for me to make my flight. We did the 160KM, including a fair amount at 80KPH, in 1.5 hours, so you can imagine the non-80KPH parts. Lots of fun, and no guineas, donkeys, cows, or goats were killed. We didn't see any baboons, so there was no chance to try for them.
Anyway, we made it and I am in Johannesburg again. I am really tired, but now I need to stay up as long as possible to try to get back to California time. I think I will take a short nap, but then stay up until it is evening at home.
We'll see how that works...
C U soon Lori and Cookie!!!!
This was an intense week right up to the end. My second "big" meeting was this morning. We drove to Jwaneng, met with the project team's client, finished a few minutes late, and then Iain drove us back to Gabs. Why did Iain drive? Well, because he's young, and we needed to fly for me to make my flight. We did the 160KM, including a fair amount at 80KPH, in 1.5 hours, so you can imagine the non-80KPH parts. Lots of fun, and no guineas, donkeys, cows, or goats were killed. We didn't see any baboons, so there was no chance to try for them.
Anyway, we made it and I am in Johannesburg again. I am really tired, but now I need to stay up as long as possible to try to get back to California time. I think I will take a short nap, but then stay up until it is evening at home.
We'll see how that works...
C U soon Lori and Cookie!!!!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Boom! Bob's Your Uncle!
The last four days have been 12+ hour workdays. I arrived Saturday evening, slept pretty well (because I was a bit sleep deprived), and then worked all day Sunday to get ready for a pre-review meeting with my client. That went well, then we spent the next two days split between Gaborone and Jwaneng narrowing down on the real numbers.
Well, I made it, and made the first “big” presentation to my client, the project team, today. Now, with a bit of feedback from them, I will present to their client on Friday morning. It’s going to be exciting because we will drive to Jwaneng at 0-dark-30, have the meeting (hopefully on time, which is not always guaranteed in these parts), and then I will make the dash for
the airport for a 1330 flight. Keep your fingers crossed!
Anyway, all the work has been worth it. As my client said today, “It’s nice to see hard numbers instead of anecdotal comments today.” My sentiments exactly. It’s too easy to ignore stories, but very hard to dispute the numbers the client provided.
So, it was a good day. And that probably means that I get to come back to Africa at some point in the future. Where is Scotty when we need him? I need that transporter to be available to beam me back here if I come back! These analog airplanes are just too slow to travel this far.
Anyway, here are a couple of pictures outside my hotel room this time – different hotel…
First a picture of a colorful little creature on, as we (me and the mouse under the bed) say in this room, The Pepper Tree.
The second picture is The Pepper Tree at night. The green leaves in the background look that way because there is a pool there. The pool reflects the light as bluer light than the tungsten lights, correcting the light balance. Interesting isn’t it. Don’t answer that!!!
Well, I made it, and made the first “big” presentation to my client, the project team, today. Now, with a bit of feedback from them, I will present to their client on Friday morning. It’s going to be exciting because we will drive to Jwaneng at 0-dark-30, have the meeting (hopefully on time, which is not always guaranteed in these parts), and then I will make the dash for
the airport for a 1330 flight. Keep your fingers crossed!Anyway, all the work has been worth it. As my client said today, “It’s nice to see hard numbers instead of anecdotal comments today.” My sentiments exactly. It’s too easy to ignore stories, but very hard to dispute the numbers the client provided.
So, it was a good day. And that probably means that I get to come back to Africa at some point in the future. Where is Scotty when we need him? I need that transporter to be available to beam me back here if I come back! These analog airplanes are just too slow to travel this far.
Anyway, here are a couple of pictures outside my hotel room this time – different hotel…
First a picture of a colorful little creature on, as we (me and the mouse under the bed) say in this room, The Pepper Tree.
The second picture is The Pepper Tree at night. The green leaves in the background look that way because there is a pool there. The pool reflects the light as bluer light than the tungsten lights, correcting the light balance. Interesting isn’t it. Don’t answer that!!!
And now, since I only slept 4 hours last night, it's time for bed...
Cheerio! (Do I have a Botswana accent yet?)
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