Discovery - YEAH!

The space shuttle Discovery launched this morning for the first flight since the Columbia broke up nearly 2.5 years ago. There is something about shuttle launches that really gets me going. I have watched lots of launches on TV, but this one was even cooler. They've added about 100 cameras to the shuttle and it's external tank to check for damage during launch but the coolest one was the live view of the shuttle from the external tank up to and including the separation. It was a view that no one had ever seen before and with the exception of a few glitches, it was remarkably clear.

I love knowing that there are people orbiting in the shuttle right now. Very cool.

Airtunes Take 2

Almost a year ago, I tried out the Apple Airport Express with AirTunes. It didn't go so well. I figured it was time to try it again and this time it actually works. First, they changed the device so it doesn't have to be a wireless base station. I already have one of those so there is no need to deal with making them work together. This is a big part of where it fell down last time. So now it is only a remote pair of speakers across our home network. Now any copy of iTunes can start streaming it's audio to the AirTunes speakers. I am going to hook it up to my home audio system that can then route the music to any pair of speakers in the house (the house is wired with about 8 or 9 pairs of speakers in different rooms). The really cool thing is that I can then get another one and have multiple playlists going on in different rooms in the house.

This should be cool :)

Bear Creek Invitational - Day 3

We didn't win.

Now that I've got that out of the way. We were actually doing pretty well for the first 14 holes or so. Today it was Dave's turn to hit it close on number 9 -- he had it to about 2 feet. We both sank birdie putts for two net eagles. That was sweet. Near the end though, it went sour. With 4 holes to go, the wheels fell off when we were both sitting 135 yards out after 2 shots on a par 5 and somehow both walked away with 8s. Couldn't even blame it on penalty strokes. If those last 4 holes had gone better, we could have been in contention but you can't do many one or zero point holes as end up near the top.

We did finish somewhere in the middle though, and it was a lot of fun. Now it is time to start preparing for the Plateau Club Member/Guest in less than two week.

Oh boy!

Bear Creek Invitational - Days 1 and 2

I still haven't hit a hole in one, but I've come close twice in 24 hours.

During the par 3 tournament yesterday, one of the guys on a different team hits his shot to the number 12 green and it rolls to 8 inches from the hole. I then hit mine and it lands to the right of the hole and starts rolling left. It rolls between his ball and the hole, missing it by about 2 inches as it slowly rolled past. Dang!!

Then today we are playing in the main tournament. There are 4 par 3 holes on the course and every one of them has a hole in one contest. Three cars and one motorcycle. On number 9 - a 210 yard long par 3 over water that I've never even hit the green on - I pull my 3 wood and hit a high draw that lands on the green to the left of the hole and starts rolling right towards it. Closer. Closer...... then it stops. 4 feet from the hole. Soooo close. And then I missed the putt. Grrr....

The high point was a birdie following a pretty bad tee shot on 14. Finally, a putt longer than three feet dropped. My driver has been terrible. My irons were bad yesterday, but a swing adjustment had them rocking today. My putting has been completely without feel for a while now. I even got a new putter which may or may not be helping.

Even with my somewhat weak play over the past couple of days it is still fun. Even when you hit a bad tee shot, there is often a chance to recover (like my birdie on 14) so that helps. Plus, the stableford scoring system used in the member guest is less confrontational than the match play tournament the Plateau uses at their M/G.

Tomorrow is the last round. 8:00 am tee time. Must get sleep.

Tournament 1: Bear Creek Member/Guest

I'm playing in the Bear Creek Country Club Member/Guest tournament this weekend - the first of two M/Gs this month. It starts tomorrow with the practice round. Last year, I practiced a bunch in the weeks leading up to the tournament and was pretty bad. This year, I didn't. I haven't played since last week in Vegas, but I'll be out early tomorrow warming up.

Of course, Leslie returns from China tomorrow as well so I hope the round goes pretty fast :)

Should be fun.

Seattle Summer Music Games

Taking the geek in Duffergeek to an entirely new level. Insert: Band Geek.

When I was in high school, I was in marching band. Now we weren't your typical high school marching band featuring the full spectrum of band instruments. We were small, but we wanted to sound big, so we were more like a small drum corps than a marching band. We used to go to DCI drum corps shows all the time around Ohio and we worked hard at emulating their style and discipline. And this one time... and band camp...

No wait -- jump to modern times.

So this Saturday is the Seattle Summer Music Games. It is the only real drum corps show in the Northwest (that I know of) and it usually features a couple of the top west coast corps. The Seattle Cascades are always there and last year, the Santa Clara Vanguard performed as well. The Blue Devils from Concord CA have been there before and this year their B corps will be there.

This year is going to be much cooler for me. I sent mail to the folks at the Northwest Youth Music Association and asked for permission to get field access to take pictures of the event. They said yes! DCI events can be some of the most interesting things to take pictures of. Lots of action, bright, bold colors and kids working their butts off to nail their routines. For me, the most amazing thing is the synchronization needed to pull off a great show. 10 snare drummers all playing at blistering speed in perfect unison so that it sounds like a single drum is one thing. Throw in having to keep moving the entire time, a horn line that can peel paint off the stadium and intersperse a color guard that is spinning and throwing flags, rifles and sabres all over the place and it is really something to behold. Then -- spread it out over 100 yards and try to synchronize THAT. When done well, it is an awesome experience.

Any way about it, it will make for a great set of pictures. If anyone is interested, the show is Saturday July 9 at 6:30 at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

Remind me to tell you about the time I ran over a judge with my tuba...

Wynn Las Vegas - Recap

Here's something I didn't expect. Las Vegas doesn't really put on a show for the 4th of July. Huh. Imagine that! A holiday specifically designed for being loud and flashy at night and Las Vegas passes it by. Whodathunkit?!?

It turns out there are plenty of other things to do in Vegas though, so I was not bored. It was a little strange to go there alone. Usually I am there with a group of friends, or with a bunch of folks from work for a trade show but this time, it was just me. I stayed at the new Wynn resort where they upgraded me to the Tower Suites. I ended up with a great room overlooking the golf course (no doubt taunting me for my previous post).

I played a round of golf at Bali Hai. A nice course just south of the Mandalay Bay resort (where I usually stay in Vegas). Unfortunately the greens had just been punched about 4 days earlier so they were very sandy and bumpy which really affected the round. Lots of 3 putts as the ball bounced all over the place. I did have a nice birdie on the second hole, a long par 5 where I hit a good drive a weak second shot and an amazing 200 yard 5 wood that stopped 4 feet from the hole. I was even after 2 holes but that was pretty much it for highlights. Did I mention that it was hot? About 105° which makes the ball go far, but it also makes the grips so hot that they start to burn your hands after a while. It was a fun round though and I have yet another logo ball for the case.

After that, it was pretty much a bunch of eating and gambling. I had dinner at Okana where the master chef was my own private sushi chef for the evening. OMG, it was fantastic! He made an exquisite nigiri of toro tuna with crushed pepper, then torched it to sear it and added some fresh lemon juice. It melted in my mouth -- simply amazing. There were other great delights there as well but that one was outstanding.

After dinner, a great round of blackjack with some friendly folks from Texas. Great because I was up $400 at the end of it (don't worry -- it all went away later). On the second night, I went to the poker room and signed up for a $4/$8 table after getting lots of tips from a blackjack dealer at the Venetian. I was a bit nervous since I would be playing against other players, not just the house but it ended up being a great time. I started out with $100, won some, lost some, went all in once and won, then went back to being up $60.00 before I eventually withered to nothing but it took 3.5 hours and was a lot of fun. $100 for 3.5 hours was cheaper than the golf in a pure dollars to fun time ratio. :)

It ended up being pretty nice being there alone. I was able to relax, hang out by the pool, go shoot pictures, read, and gamble on my own schedule. I think next time I'll go with friends though -- much more fun at the tables with people you know.

Here are some pictures from the trip.





The Hilton did have a fireworks display and I was able to watch it from my hotel room. It's pretty cool when you zoom in.




This is a statue in the near the waterfall. The hair looks amazing considering it's metal.

Wynn Las Vegas

Two words. Poolside Casino.

Lessons learned

I like to summarize. Sometimes at the end of a conversation or at the end of a trip, or maybe at the end of some period in my life, I'll try to come up with the pithy statement that ties it all together so I can put that moment on the shelf with a nice tag.

Sometimes the summaries are vague, like Bob Barrenger said after flipping a station wagon in State and Main -- "So... that happened." Other times the lessons are much more specific -- "Lighting a campfire inside the tent is a bad idea."

Here are some other ones I remember.

• Don't try to charge $5.00 for a bottle of water to 300,000 people fenced in at a concert. They will burn shit.
• Lists are good, but if you never look at them, they're not as good.
• Cows are always funny
• Phantom stock is a bad idea. The work "phantom" should have been a clue.
• You always have to have someone to talk to.
• Remember to send in your tax forms. Otherwise, bad things happen.
• Sometimes, a peaceful solution is the wrong solution.
• Things usually happen for a reason, you just might not see that reason for a while.
• If you go into the interview with an attitude, even McDonald's will give you a no hire.
• If you're really good at rationalizing, you can fool yourself.
• Sometimes you need to dig in, sometimes you need to move on. It is tough to know the difference.
• It's interesting the things people will give you in Las Vegas.
• I care about elegance and elegance is all about the details.
• I'm not a details guy, though I often wish I was.
• Palm Springs in late May is extraordinarily hot.
• There are two ways to have a long term consistent golf swing. Quit or die.
• I need goals.
• Pictures are amazing evocative.
• So is music.
• Video is less so.
• Some rules are just guidelines. It's good to know which are which.
• You have to know when to hit "Post"

Distributed Friends

It must be that travelin' time of year. Everyone is out of town. Leslie is on her way to China. Eric is in Mexico. Lara is in France. David's heading to Hawaii. Katie is in New Zealand. Angie is leaving for Washington, DC. Looks like I gotta get out of town :)