Birthdays and World Cup Soccer

As much as I wanted to watch the World Cup final yesterday, Megan had a better idea even though I had no idea what it was. I trusted her, and it turned out my trust was not misplaced. She can be a truly devious woman, and she managed to keep her true intent a secret until we were there. Where was there? It was Sunday brunch at the restaurant at the end of two chairlift rides to the peak at the Crystal Mountain ski area.

The weather and views were truly spectacular! For all you flatlanders out there who might not recognize it, that's Mount Rainier in the background.

Here's Megan, looking rightfully pleased with herself for her deception!

Not only were the views spectacular, the food was great! A good spread of fresh fruit, the usual bacon and eggs and hashbrowns, and a lovely roast of lamb with a horseradish a cream cheese condiment. I'll have to try and re-create it the next time I prepare lamb.

But what about the World Cup? Megan was able to keep me updated with an app she downloaded on her very smart Droid phone. I was cheering for The Netherlands, but it was hard to be too despondent on a wonderful day in the mountains. Thanks Megan!!

Report from the CITW

Here it is. The first post from the CITW. The fiber optics cable that resides inside the conduit I so lovingly installed is now officially lit, and I am now connected with the outside world.

I installed the orange stuff coming out of the ground. The PUD installed the rest.

The internet company hooked up a wireless modem and turned the internet on.

And I even have a phone attached to a plug in the wall! How '80's is that? The phone is not absolutely necessary, but cell coverage out here in the wilderness can be pretty spotty at times. And there is something to be said for a phone that is associated with a place, not a person.

While all this was going on, I wasn't sitting by idly watching. I built this 22 bottle wine rack.! Now all I have to do is fill it up. Those two bottles there look pretty lonely.

World Cup Soccer

I'm not much of a sports fan. I think American football is ridiculous; baseball is boring; basketball is a game for mutants; and hockey is only moderately interesting (in my Canadian genes or something). I do watch golf once in a while, especially the major tournaments, but I can certainly understand the feeling that it's like watching paint dry.

But not so with World cup Soccer. The game at this level is fascinating and spellbinding and has me hooked. I've watched several games, and for the most part I've watched them alone, so it's not like it's a social thing. I've jumped up and down and yelled at the TV to point that Farley retreats to his cage when I'm watching a game.

The Ghana v. Uruguay quarter-final game was heartbreaking. Ghana, the underdog and the only African team left at that point, scored first and were taking it to the Uruguayans. Then Uruguay scored and it was tied. The game went into 30 minutes of extra time, and on the last play of the last second of extra time, the Ghanaians kicked what should have been a sure goal. The goalkeeper was way out of position, and the ball was only stopped at the goal line by another player using his hands. The result - a direct penalty kick, is a goal about 80% of the time. The Ghanaian missed his chance, time was up, and the game went to the penalty kick shootout. The Ghana team lost the shootout 4-2. This had to be one of the best games ever in the history of sport.

Other games I watched and enjoyed included Ghana v USA, 2-1; Brazil v Chile, 3-0; Germany v Argentina, 4-0; and The Netherlands v Uruguay, 3-2. In a couple of hours I will be watching Germany against Spain; on Sunday I will be watching the final; and in 2014 I think I'll go to Brazil for the next World Cup.

In the meantime, does anyone out there want to come over to Fremont for a World Cup final party?

For those of you with Iphones or want to get one

Watch this all the way through. It's pretty funny....

Gulf Oil Spill

If you want to get pissed off or depressed or both, check out these apocalyptic images from the Gulf.

American Exceptionalism

I had read reports about how the US had refused help from foreign countries in containing and cleaning up the mess in the Gulf, but I had dismissed them as the usual anti-Obama blather from the usual right-wing-whacko sources. Then I came across this article from the Financial Post, a respectable Canadian publication. Here's an excerpt:

Some are attuned to the possibility of looming catastrophe and know how to head it off. Others are unprepared for risk and even unable to get their priorities straight when risk turns to reality.The Dutch fall into the first group. Three days after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico began on April 20, the Netherlands offered the U.S. government ships equipped to handle a major spill, one much larger than the BP spill that then appeared to be underway. "Our system can handle 400 cubic metres per hour," Weird Koops, the chairman of Spill Response Group Holland, told Radio Netherlands Worldwide, giving each Dutch ship more cleanup capacity than all the ships that the U.S. was then employing in the Gulf to combat the spill.To protect against the possibility that its equipment wouldn't capture all the oil gushing from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, the Dutch also offered to prepare for the U.S. a contingency plan to protect Louisiana's marshlands with sand barriers. One Dutch research institute specializing in deltas, coastal areas and rivers, in fact, developed a strategy to begin building 60-mile-long sand dikes within three weeks.

But wait, there's more:

The Americans, overwhelmed by the catastrophic consequences of the BP spill, finally relented and took the Dutch up on their offer -- but only partly. Because the U.S. didn't want Dutch ships working the Gulf, the U.S. airlifted the Dutch equipment to the Gulf and then retrofitted it to U.S. vessels. And rather than have experienced Dutch crews immediately operate the oil-skimming equipment, to appease labour unions the U.S. postponed the clean-up operation to allow U.S. crews to be trained.

If this is all true, the US government is truly exceptional - , EXCEPTIONALLY ARROGANT, EXCEPTIONALLY INCOMPETENT, AND EXCEPTIONALLY STUPID!

Check Engine Light

I think that Audi (and probably most car makers) should replace the check engine icon with a check wallet icon. My check engine light came on a couple of days ago, and today I'll pick the car up with the light off, but my wallet lighter by $1500!

I guess I shouldn't bitch too much. The Audi can be expensive to maintain, but it's been a great car and has over  100,000 mostly trouble-free miles on it.